Countdown – TURN

 The countdown continues...

I had the lead-off sermon at my second year of PAS. I knew that I would preach on the Parable of the Talents. I also knew it wouldn’t be the only time that I would do that, and I have preached this parable over 100 times here, and probably 200 more over the years in various places.

This parable is a gold mine of wisdom and insight!

I came up with an acronym that I think covers some essential lessons. There is a whole bunch more to this parable, but this is what comes up repeatedly. Here it is.

TURN

T is for trusted. All of the servants were trusted with money in accordance with their ability. They had a preexisting relationship with their master before this parable began. They were trusted servants. Even the third servant was trusted with a substantial investment in his ability.

U stands for urgency. The first two servants put their talents to work at once. They were ready to be trusted more, and because of that, they could put their master’s money to work immediately.

R is for Return on Investment (ROI). The master expected a return on the trust he placed in his servants.

N is for No Fear. Every servant had to contend with fear, but only the third one was debilitated by fear. We all deal with fear, but we should not be afraid. Our desire to produce a return for our master should be enough to overcome whatever fear is taunting us. If you must be afraid, be afraid of not pleasing your master, but fear does not govern the trusted servants thinking or actions.

This acronym brings us to the question, what did we do with what our Master (the Lord) gave us. We must realize that we are his trusted servants, are to act with urgency, are to produce a return on our Master’s trust, and that fear does not govern in our lives.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge… The key word there is beginning.

Perfect love casts out fear.

I hope you continue to read the Parable of the Talents and find some value in the acronym.

We are God’s Trusted Servants!