Making the Most of What We Have, Part 8

Right now you just need to prove thing that the biblical pattern God in the circumstances where you all you do what you can do for God. Now because you are breeding season of your life to see if you will prove faithful in Luke 1610. Jesus told his disciples that he was faithful in little will also be faithful in much hello and welcome this Friday edition of Destin for victory with pastor Paul Sheppard, senior pastor of destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont, California, was glad to have you join us.

You know sometimes we ask God to bless us with more before we been faithful with what he's already given us today.

Pastor Paul reminds us to be faithful to use our gifts and abilities for his glory.

Even in those times when it's not easy to do so. Stay with us now or visit Pastor Paul.net during recent Destin for victory message on demand.

That's Pastor Paul.net you can also subscribe to the Destin for victory podcast its bona fide Apple podcast or wherever you get your programs now in today's Destin for victory message making the most of what you have. Pastor Paul Matthew chapter 25, beginning with verse 14 Jesus says again it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them to want to gave five talents of money to another two talents and do another one talent, each according to his ability, then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more so also the one with the two talents gained two more, but the man who had received the one talent went off dug a hole in the ground and hit his master's money. After a long time, the master of both servants returned and settled accounts with them.

The man who had received the five talents brought the other five mastery said you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more his master replied. Well done good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things come and share your masters happiness. The man with the two talents also came master. He said you entrusted me with two talents.

See, I have gained two more. His master replied. Well done good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things come and share your masters happiness.

Then the man would receive the one talent came master.

He said I knew that you are a hard man harvesting where you have not sown in gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See here is what belongs to you.

This master replied, you wicked and lazy servant so you know that I harvest where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. Well then you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. Notice verse 28.

Take the talent from him, and give it to the one who has 10 talents. Everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him and throw that work listserv it outside into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth in the previous message. We looked at what it means to give our talents back to God and to give him a good return on his investment and we talked extensively about the fact that each of us has ability that God has given us, not talents.

In this parable have to do with money but talents in the way we typically use it has to do with abilities. We've already discussed earlier in the series giving God the best of our treasure and our time and now I want to look at giving them the best of our talents and we spent the last message talking about the fact that each of us has abilities, God-given abilities that are to be used in the Lord service. I talked about taking inventory all of the talents that God has given you. Don't be falsely humble and act like you can't do anything. Of course you can do some things God created you with purpose in mind. Some boats try to be humble by playing down their strengths and their abilities never do that you can glorify God with abilities that you don't acknowledge. You have and so you want to be sure to make the case that yes God has blessed me with abilities and gifts and I want to give them back to him so you want to begin. We said by taking inventory all your gifts and abilities, and having done that, then you need to set aside time to utilize them first for the kingdom of God and I talked about the kingdom first principle and the importance of dedicating some time and giving your talents in ministry and service to the Lord our church and every other church has many more things that would do as soon as people say yes I will give my time for the kingdom of God.

You can dedicate some of your time and we talked earlier in the series about tithing your waking hours and giving that time to spiritual development and to ministry. I defined in the last message I defined ministry is everything we do out of love for God to win the lost, edify believers and meet people's needs and so all of us have ministry. That doesn't mean you want to run out and get cards printed with Rev. in front of your name, but it does mean that you have a ministry. If you have gifts and abilities God's given you.

Then there are some ways that can be used when the loss to edify believers and to meet people's needs and so all of us must set aside some time in order to devote ourselves to that I talked about the fact that in doing that you want to treat that like a real job because our goal. According to this passage is that here the Lord one day say well done. And so when you give your time to service when you come and say to the church. How can you utilize me in a course in our church. We put out booklets regularly to let people know here are the things we need you to do and when you find your place here something that matches with my abilities and my gifting then you give yourself to that and although you are quote unquote volunteering you really want to take that as a serious job because the goal is to please the Lord. The last message talking about the fact that I'm so glad I didn't start out in vocational ministry. I started out in volunteer ministry. That's the way it was in all of our church is growing up there was a very small church paid staff because they really leaned on people to be volunteers, and even though we now have a large growing church and a large growing staff. Most of the ministry still has to be done by people who volunteered to three, four hours whatever it requires for you to do the work of service you committed to. And I want to encourage you to commit to that with all of your heart although your volunteers see it as just as important as what you do for your vocation don't play down the quality of what you do.

Just because you're not paid for and find what you're looking for when you serve the Lord is far more valuable reward than anything you get in the way of a paycheck and so you want to take it very very seriously and we're trying to build that culture into our ministry in many ministries around the country are doing the same helping people understand you as I'm to the Lord. I'm glad that's the way I started in ministry glad that I started out learning that ministry is not about what you can get.

It's about what you can give your rewards come on the backside of your people if they don't come up front that come on the backside and I was right is what you do the work and you get in there. I'm glad I didn't start out preaching. I started out teaching Sunday school classroom from jail set out and teach those people the word of God. Later on I thought about how as a deacon that gave me an assignment of driving the lady from the chart I had to drive home every week then let them know what that town was standing there waiting for her to be finished.

We had the long services been a church early morning prayer Sunday school law morning service and then dinner afterward and she submitted to do better in food all evening. Everything all done. The protested madness, fellowship, and in chatting and what young man singled trying to get my Mac all married and what my date years I'm trying to see what God and you're messing up above the whole, but I was proving the same for making sure I could prove over those few thing when I started preaching pop would send me out. The raggedy charges and go out that little handful of some Sunday afternoon service they've gone down in emerald and holiday eat and what have you been tired, but they don't have afternoon service and they might my pop to go. He said no. I'll send my son he was training me in ministry and I got to go preach what are you sleeping on a Sunday after no 12 I'm sitting up there and I get started on time. The one place that I got at the time it was the start walked in the sanctuary. Nothing. They all downstairs finishing up their meal, Lord, what has he gotten me into got away but he spoke to come up with the Lord taught me in those years preach like this place is full preach like these people souls are at stake when he sent me to one church in New York and I was ecstatic a little. Give me a love offering, but they took five offerings and one was mine.

I'm not. Next, the rest of today's destined for victory message with pastor Paul Sheppard. We want to take a moment and think all of you whose prayers and financial support help pastor Paul share the gospel all over the world. Your donations do make a difference. So as God leads prayerfully consider making a generous gift destined for victory today. You can give securely online@pastorpaul.net or by calling 855-339-5500 God's blessings don't usually come up front and they come on the backside of this is pastor Paul was arrested today's message making the most of what you have known about five offerings and when they got a friend in a regular offering and then it was some sort of special project offering and they had another dog I forget what that was, and now we have a guest speaker and we want to be a blessing to him. I said that and pops five offerings and he wanted to make sure here at the outset of my ministry. I understood is not about you, God bless you and reward you on the backside right now you just need to prove faithful over a few things that the biblical pattern used God in the circumstances where you all you do what you can do for God now because you are being in this season of your life to see if you will prove faithful and so God want you to utilize your gifts and when you serve in the chart volunteer you do it as though you're on the clock. Well, you know, I just feel like going out there today counting on you. We need to know we can count on you when you can't call somebody don't treat it lightly because the things of God are important in the Lord watches what we do in secret, and your reward is tied to your faithfulness or your black bear all and so it is important that we understand that the matter is when you are all over the gifts and the talents and abilities God has given you, he will actually open doors for you as a result you proving faithful and so if you will simply exercise your gifts and use them for God. God will bless your life. As a result, 1916 says a gift opens the way for the giver and ushered him into the presence of the great King James is a man's gift makes room for him to make room for your God will bless you, God will give you some divine appointments once he sees that you will prove faithful over a few things and so it is important that we learn to exercise our gifts and our talents by setting aside adequate time for them now want to wrap up this look at the talents with a few final lessons. The next thing I want to say to you focus on what you have not what you lack.

I want you to notice in this parable that when the master returns to settle accounts with his servants. The first two servants come back with a report that master. We have given you a 100% return on your investment. The man who had five talents comes back with those five and five more 100% return. The man who had to tell us comes back with those two talents and two more again a 100% return what that symbolizes for you and for me, God oneself will return on his investment in us. He wants us one day when we stand before him to be hell to say Lord I use the gifts you gave me over to work into your service so that you could be glorified and others could be blessed, and what these two had in common is they focused on what they had.

They did look over and focus on what they lack or on what anybody else had a lot of people who don't do what God has equipped them to do because they are busy examining and focusing on something else. In some cases, we compare ourselves to other people. That is not God's plan for your life, your time comparing yourself to someone else you know why you don't have their calling when you don't have another person calling you need to stay out of that person's business. You don't know what it takes to be them, and you have no business being them because sometimes the very people you would be inclined to MV had bad druthers that would gladly trade with you. The fact of the matter is that you are called equipped to do certain trials in certain challenges that go along with that calling and we see the glory. We don't always know the story must be wonderful to be them.

No results are. The Bible says people is useless in the plan of God has no value in the plan of God for them because you don't know what it takes for them to deal with the calling they had pastor friend. It must be exciting.

The pastor such a large and growing church church is small, it must be exciting.

I say well there are moments of excitement, but there are also many challenges that go along with it when you see the more God's saving, and sending with people, their problems with people come their baggage. When people come their issues don't just get to see the wonderful part of people when you go to shepherd them right pastoral staff take seriously shepherding when you walk with them to all kinds of stuff and so this is not all joy and happiness. Sometimes it's tears and pain and walking with people through some difficult thing so multicultural that must be exciting. All the races coming together. I say there are moments of excitement and they also some knockdown drag out, take no prisoners conflicts. Some people in this chart didn't even know they were prejudice till they showed up. Because you never got enough with people like yourself, but just the ministries would like you and get in a small group with people who are like you three teams and what have you and you will begin to see that comes challenge and you can focus on the obstacle the opportunity and if you focus on the liquid becomes a stumbling block if you focus on the opportunity to become the steppingstone but not everybody is growing some growing and learning and get better and building character and learning how to love people and have a broader perspective, and I think your culture is the only culture and values of the only door that growing wonderful thing. Our trip in just straight up and still trying to make everybody like you, and instead of it being a growing opportunity. You're just stumbling all over the place and the point is where different by design. When God have a calling on your life the way to fulfill the calling is the focus on how to please God, where he has blessed me with what he has blessed me don't focus on other people that will mess you up every time. Don't every other people will die because you see them blasting away you're not pray for them that level. I wish I was up there with every new level comes a new devil.

I'm not tell you what I think I'm telling you what I know with every level comes a new devil you have trials using the noise when God takes you to another place and it doesn't always bring joy and happiness. Sometimes it brings you to tears and make you walk through difficult places and so you gotta realize that all of us were going to hear the Lord say well done. We need to focus on what we have not. What we lack the race in your old playing rice and yellow line if you ever ran track. You understand you're supposed to stay in your lane that have everybody does qualify if you try to get outside of your lane.

That lane is for somebody not for you to run the race in your lane who you are to God is looking for return from culture when he saved you and so you gotta run the race in your leg got comfortable being you and present you as a living sacrifice to God, holy and acceptable to him, which is your spiritual act of worship.

Don't spend your time imitating other people because God made you uniquely you. You were born an original don't die a copy God made you, and you'll see that he will bless you. I'm trying to encourage people to understand that you can hear the Lord say well done because he's not comparing you to other people. Therefore, you shouldn't compare yourself to other people.

The Bible says in second Corinthians. Paul said when we compare ourselves among ourselves. That is not a wise thing to get your focus off on the something that really will not bless your life or the lives of other people focus on who you are. Focus on the money.

God's given you. Your time will be somebody else's tide because your income is different but you give your tithe to the Lord and say God I'm investing is in the kingdom of worship believing that you will say well the matter because my paycheck is so small that it really doesn't matter. God is looking to reward you and bless others through your gift no matter what your tithe might be a small income God is not asking for a huge amount of money so you can measure up to somebody else. The average person in America. The latest soul. Josie is between two and 3% of their income. Imagine what will happen when the going to give you my God, it might not let somebody else worship you with what I matter if God will reward you. Every challenge presents us with an opportunity is pastor Paul Sheppard said today focus on the obstacle it will be a stumbling block focus on the opportunity and it will be a steppingstone. Thanks for joining us for today's destined for victory message making the most of what you have stopped by Pastor Paul.net to hear any recent message on demand. That's pastor Paul.net in appreciation of your generous gift today.

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Again, our address Destin for victory. Box 1767, Fremont, CA 94538 please not asking you what you don't have anything what you have in the way of treasure what do you have in the way of time what you have in the way of talent that's what I want to use for my glory. That's what I want to use the bless others and you will find that that is the key for your blessings as well. And that's Monday and pastor Paul Sheppard's message making the most of what you have. But until then, remember he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion in Christ, you are destined for victory