Talented

You are listening to a message from Thrive Community Church, a church located in Southwest Florida. For more info, visit us at thrive-fl.org. Hey, before we get going, I just want to have one more announcement, Brett. And it's back to the one for our house, the red one, you know, if you could kind of put that up. I'm excited today that I'm not cooking. Okay, no, actually I love to cook and all, but tonight we're having Dave's Famous Ribs. Not Dave's Famous Dave's Barbecue, but Dave Buelow's Famous Ribs. And it's probably even better, okay? And it starts at 5. And if you haven't been, I really encourage you to come. It's been a lot of fun. I mean, it's just a couple of hours. Right, Eric? Have you played spoons like that before, so militantly where you break spoon after spoon? Three spoons. You broke three alone. But, you know, what's amazing to me is just the amount of laughter and just getting to know each other. Because we've got our home huddles, which I love my home huddle. I love the people in my home huddle. But it's a smaller group, and it's much better when we get to interact with a lot of people, right? And so I encourage you. Flood our house, okay? Well, not with water, but with people. And you can bring anyone, anyone. In fact, this week I'm going to be inviting the two classes I teach at FGCU, the college students, to come and join. Not today, but next week, and see if anybody shows up. I don't care, you know. I'd love to have them involved in that, okay? So tonight it's Dave's Famous Ribs. We will have vegetarian options as well, you know. So don't worry about that. I've got a daughter who's a vegetarian herself, you know. And we need to make sure that works, okay? And anyway, so we'd love to have you with us for that tonight. Let's look at our scripture lesson now, okay? We're going to be going through a parable of Jesus today. It's quite the parable. Do you know, Jesus told stories like this partly to get you involved in it and for you to just kind of sit on it and think a lot. And go like, hmm, what is this about? And it just kind of gets under your skin and into your life. Because if he could just tell us some straightforward principles, and they'd be like, yep, okay, boom, gone. But to have a story like this is just amazing to me, how he kind of gets and you just kind of keep thinking about it. So this occurs in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 25. It's one of his last teachings to his disciples before his crucifixion. This is what it says. Now, after a long time, the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, Master, you delivered to me five talents here. I have made five talents more. His master said to him, well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little. I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, Master, you delivered to me two talents here. I have made two talents more. His master said to him, well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little. I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, Master, I knew you had you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. So I was afraid. And I went and hid your talent in the ground here. You have what is yours. But his master answered him, you wicked and slothful servant. You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers. And am I coming? I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given and he will have an abundance. But from whom? But from the one who has not even that what he has will be taken away and cast the worthless servant out into the outer, outer darkness in that place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. So we're in this series called Shape and Shape is an acronym. S.H.A.P.E. standing for spiritual gifts, heart abilities, personality and experience. And we started out saying you are a piece of work. OK, and not just any piece of work. God's piece of work. OK, God's work. In fact, he excuse me, Ephesians chapter two, verse 10, our theme verse says this. For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. And that word for workmanship. Paul, the writer of this letter, only uses it twice in all of his writings in the New Testament. And it's the word Poiema, which is a fascinating it's poem poetry. You are God's poetry, his epic story of love and glory and grace. OK, every one of us is poetry in motion, in action, alive and well. And so you are shaped. And a couple of weeks ago we talked about sp...