(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Amen, it is a blessing to be here, I'm so thankful for the privilege to be able to come back to Faithful Word Baptist Church and preach to you all, I'm going to be here of course this morning and then tonight and the only regret I really have, the only complaint that I have about being here is only one complaint and that is that I'm not back at home listening to your pastor preach to my congregation because he's over there at First Works right now preaching and he's going to be there Sunday morning, Sunday night, they kind of have like an unorthodox type of service today over there at First Works because he has an appointment to keep so as soon as he gets there at 1030 he's preaching and then we're going to do all the preliminaries like afterwards and so it's kind of odd but you know it's like a Pastor Anderson thing to do so you can just come and just change up the service and it's all good but we're thankful that you would allow us to borrow him for a Sunday, it's a blessing I know to have him there and so hopefully I can be a blessing to you tonight, look what it says in 2 Corinthians chapter 8 and verse number 11, it says now therefore perform the doing of it that as there was a readiness to will so there may be a performance also out of that which he have for if there be first a willing mind it is accepted according to that a man hath and not according to that he hath not and the time of my sermon this morning is do what you can with what you have, do what you can with what you have. Here in 2 Corinthians chapter 8 the Apostle Paul is writing to the church at Corinth and in this particular chapter and in chapter 9 he's addressing the subject of giving and more specifically taking a collection and offering for the saints and he gives them some instructions here in chapter 8 as well as chapter 9 regarding giving a lot of good principles in that regard he obviously instructs them to be generous for example if you look at verse 14 it says but by equality that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want and that their abundance also may be a supply for your want that there may be equality. He's basically saying here is he's encouraging the church at Corinth to make sure that they're generous with their giving that they are supplying the needs of the believers out of their abundance why? Well because of the fact that there's going to come a time when the church at Corinth is in need and maybe they're going to lack something and because they were sowing those good seeds of being generous those other churches can also be generous with them once they have an abundance as well. Let me pause for a second. Is this water? Is this mine? Brother Segura? Did anybody drink out of this? Too late. So he instructs them to be generous there and of course he says in verse 15 as it is written he that hath gathered much had nothing over and he that hath gathered little had no lack. If you look at chapter 9 it says in verse number 6 but this I say he which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart so let him give not grudgingly or of necessity for God loveth a cheerful giver. He's basically telling the church at Corinth make sure that when you participate in this collection you participate in this offering that you do it with a good attitude. Don't be a sour puss about it. Don't give grudgingly. Make sure you do it with a cheerful heart knowing that God's going to bless you for it and knowing that what you're giving to the churches is obviously going to be a blessing to them. He says in verse 8 and God is able to make all grace abound toward you that ye always having all sufficiency in all things may abound to every good work. In other words when you give just understand that God's not going to let you go without. He's obviously going to provide for your needs and he is going to allow you to have enough and sufficient that which is sufficient to abound in every good work. He says in verse number 10 now he that ministered seed to the sower both minister bread for your food and multiply your seed sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness being enriched in everything to all bountifulness which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. He's actually saying be generous, give of your bounty, make sure you give of your abundance and he also reminds them and of course this is all in context of giving. He reminds them like hey I've been boasting about you by the way so make sure you don't disappoint me. Don't make me look bad because apparently you know the Apostle Paul has been bragging on how generous they are, how spiritual they are. Look at chapter 9 verse the beginning of chapter 9 verse 1 it says for us touching the ministry to the saints it is superfluous for me to write to you for I know the forwardness of your mind for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia that Achiah was ready a year ago and your zeal hath provoked very many. So he's saying look I've been boasting about you, I've been bragging about how generous you are, how spiritual you are, don't let me down, make sure you follow through and actually you know give to these collections, give to these saints because everyone thinks that you're going to do that. So make sure you actually follow through on that. Look at chapter 8 again and then he also encourages them to fulfill their commitments. He says in verse number 10 of chapter 8 he says here and I give my advice for this is expedient for you who have begun before not only to do but also to be forward a year ago and I believe what this is referring to is that the church at Corinth had already predetermined at least a year ago when this is being written that they were going to participate in this. They were inspired, they had zeal and they were moved in their hearts to participate in this particular collection and so the Apostle Paul is just kind of reminding them of that commitment that they made a year ago and he says in verse number 11 now therefore perform the doing of it. He says you have a readiness to will, you have a ready mind, that's good but now perform it. You've committed to do something, you've committed to be a blessing, you've committed to give to this collection, just make sure you actually perform that which you have determined to do. He says in verse 24 wherefore show ye to them and before the churches the proof of your love and of our boasting of you, excuse me, our boasting on your behalf. So again he's essentially telling them to make sure to keep the commitment to be a blessing to them and obviously we see here in chapter 8 and chapter 9 that he is primarily talking about resources, giving, monetary gifts, things of that nature but I want you to notice what he says towards the latter end of chapter 8 verse number 12. He says for if there be first a willing mind it is accepted according to that a man hath and not according to that he hath not. Now why does he tell them that? Well if you think about it the church at Corinth like any church has people that probably are very wealthy but also has people that are probably destitute, they don't have a whole lot. You probably have people in that church that have money, they come for money or they have an abundance of resources but then you also may have people in that particular church that don't have as much as others and you can see the temptation within the person who doesn't have as much to look at the person who does and say well I don't have as much as this person has, I don't have the abundance of this individual therefore what impact can I make with my giving? What impact can I make with my offering therefore I don't even think I'm going to participate, no one will even notice because I don't even have a lot to give anyways. Which is why he says, well hold on a second, it is accepted according to that a man hath and not according to that he hath not. In other words, you know God doesn't expect for you to give something you don't have. He's not looking at your deficiencies, he's not looking at what you don't have in your bank account, what you don't have under your mattress or wherever you put your money, where you don't have and he's saying I want you to give what you don't have. No he's just saying do what you can with what you have. Just use what you have and be a blessing what God has blessed you with regardless of the amount is what he's essentially stating there. And you know when you think about this concept, you know God isn't necessarily concerned with necessarily the quantity but rather the percentage of what you give based upon what you have. Now go to Luke chapter 21, hold your place there in 2 Corinthians chapter 8. Go to Luke 21, let's look at an example of this. Do what you can with what you have. Look at Luke 21 in verse number 1 it says, and he looked up and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury and he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. Now how much is two mites? Well there's differing opinions on how much that is exactly but some would say it's an eighth of a penny or so. I don't really know, I just know that it's not a whole lot. It's very little and an eighth of a penny sounds about right. And obviously based upon what's being communicated here it's very little. He says in verse number 3, and he said of a truth, I say unto you that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all, for all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offering of God, but she of her penury, referring to her poverty, hath cast in all of the living that she had. What is he saying? You know what, when God looked at the giving of the widow woman, he saw the percentage of what she was giving based upon what she had. And according to her giving, she actually gave more than what those who were giving out of their abundance gave. And so what are we looking at here? We're looking at that God is concerned with what you do with what you have, not necessarily what you don't have. Now this particular principle obviously is applicable to finances and money, but really can be applied to all areas of the Christian life. Because at the end of the day, God wants us to do what we can with what we have, whether it be our talents, our abilities, our possessions, whatever it is that you possess. And you may think to yourself, yeah, but I don't have as much as so and so. You know, I don't have the resources that this family has, or I don't have the experience that this wife has, or this mom has, or I don't have the experience that this man has. Yeah, but just do what you can with what you have. Instead of allowing that to paralyze you into not doing anything at all, God just expects for you to do what you can with what you have. And this morning, I'm just going to give you four to five principles, because I can't remember how many I put down here. So I'll just say around four to five principles regarding doing what you can with what you have. Now you're in 2 Corinthians chapter 8, go to chapter 10 if you will. Do what you can with what you have. Here's a couple things to help you with this. Number one is don't compare what you don't have with what others do have. Okay? Why? Because comparison breeds discontentment. So when you begin to compare yourself to someone else who has more than you, or seems to possess something that you don't have, a certain amount of money, or maybe it's a wife, or it's a husband, it's a lifestyle, their possessions, whatever it may be, you know, don't compare yourself to that individual. Why? Because of the fact that it's going to breed discontentment. It's going to cause you to be ungrateful for what you have. Okay? Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 12, it says, for we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves, but they measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves are not wise. So why is it unwise for you to compare yourself with someone who has more than you? Well it's because of the fact that you can't do anything about it. Why is it unwise to compare yourself to someone who has more money than you? Because you don't have more money. And so all it's going to do is cause you to become discontent, ungrateful, it's going to cause you to be a murmur, and a complainer, and eventually you'll just be a miserable person because of the fact that you are comparing yourself. And this is the trap that a lot of people fall into where they'll often compare themselves to someone who has more than them, thereby making them feel discontent, or they'll compare themselves to someone who has less than them so they can feel a sense of superiority. But both comparisons are wrong. You say, what are they supposed to compare themselves to? Well how about just comparing yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ since we always fall short from his glory, right? But look at chapter 8, if you would. The good comparisons that people should make are comparisons with others, listen to this, who are doing what they can with what they have, in spite of how much they have. Here's a good example, look at 2 Corinthians chapter 8 and verse number 1, it says, Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia, how that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality, liberality referring to their generosity. So he's using this church as an example to the church at Corinth that even though they are destitute, they are impoverished, they're going through a great trial of affliction, it didn't hinder them from being generous with others. Now that's a great comparison, right? To compare yourself with someone regardless of how much they have of what they're doing with what they have. It says in verse number 3, For to their power I bear record, yea, beyond their power they were willing of themselves, praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And this they did, not as we hope, but first gave their own selves to the Lord and unto us by the will of God. We see here that the comparison that God wants us to make is with those who are not necessarily in the same situation as far as how much they have, how much they possess, but the attitude that they're approaching that situation with, which is I just need to do what I can with what I have and not complain about what I have. Now let me give you a personal illustration about this, okay? Because this is something within recent years that I've struggled with a lot, and I'm going to give you a real personal, I'm going to get real transparent with you this morning after I take a drink of water. About comparison, okay? Now within the last couple years, towards the latter end of 2021, I got really into powerlifting. Why are you laughing? Don't I look like a powerlifter? I mean, you weren't surprised, right? I got really into powerlifting, and when I talk about powerlifting, I'm talking about specifically the three particular lifts which are the squats, bench, and deadlifts, okay? And in particular, the squats and the deadlifts, and favorably, the deadlifts, okay? Those are the three that I really like to focus on. And so towards the latter end of 2021, life was just really stressful because of some buildings that were blown up during that time and things that happened. And so my evangelist, he's been into powerlifting for quite some time, he's always like, let's just go to the gym. Why don't you come to the gym with me? And I'm thinking to myself, why? What's the purpose? I don't want to, why? That sounds painful. And he's like, you'll feel better, and I don't remember what he did to coax me into doing it. But I ended up going, and I did feel great, and I liked it. So then he started kind of showing me how to do the squats, bench, and deadlifts, and it was fantastic, and I ended up getting really into it. And basically what happened to me during that time is I experienced this phenomenon known as newbie gains. It's incredible, it's awesome, and I always encourage every person to get into the gym and start working out and lifting weights because you will experience what's known as newbie gains. You say, what is that? It's essentially when you first start lifting, it's for the first time you start lifting weights, and you start making this incredible progress just rapidly. In other words, you get strong really fast, you build muscle really fast, and it's just a phenomenon that takes place with everyone who lifts weights for the first time, and it typically lasts, the window of time is about a year, that's how long it lasts for. And so I was just taking advantage of that, and it was great, just adding more weights to the barbell every week, just adding 20 pounds and 20 pounds and 20 pounds, and the recovery was fine, so it's just like, I worked out, go home, go take care of work, the next day I'm not even sore, just go back to the gym, put more weight, I mean it was great. They consider it the honeymoon stage of powerlifting. Nothing can go wrong. And so I took advantage of it so that I can lift as much weight as I possibly could. And I think I started towards the latter end of September, beginning of October, and by, I want to say January or February, I was deadlifting about 415 pounds, and I was really ecstatic about that. I mean, I was super excited, and I really liked deadlifting, I was squatting a decent amount, but my strongest lift was the deadlift. And I thought to myself, alright, I got a couple more months for these newbie gains, I got to keep progressing here, because I basically came up with the idea that I wanted to hit, these are my lifetime goals, okay, my lifetime goals is to deadlift 500 pounds, to squat 400 pounds, and to bench 315. That's like the all-time goal right there, right? And so I'm like, you know, I got to make sure I do this, and so I got really strict and started training five days a week, and you know, I'm lifting a lot, I'm programming, and then finally, I think it was like in June or so, around that time, summer, I hit 443 on the deadlift. I was ecstatic about it, I'm like, man, if I could just get to 500 by the end of the year, it would be fantastic. Well, I get injured, okay, in July, and it's not from deadlifting or anything like that, everyone always says, like, ah, you see, you should have been doing that. I actually got injured playing basketball, which I don't know why anybody would even play basketball, it's not even, you know, like, nah, looking back, I'm like, that was a waste, because I crashed into someone, and I ended up tearing ligaments in my finger, and took me out for six months, because I couldn't bend my finger at all, so I couldn't grab any barbell, I couldn't do any of that, and it was devastating. So then December came around, and then finally I can move my finger a little bit, I started lifting again, and I said, you know what, newbie games are over, but now I'm still determined to reach 500. And so I start training again, and then I get really strict about eating calories, consuming 200 grams of protein a day, I'm training five days a week, I'm trying to sleep eight hours a day, but with life and kids, that just doesn't, you know, it's a fantasy, amen? But I'm doing everything I possibly can to make sure that I hit those numbers. And so I'm progressing, I'm progressing, but then, you know, age gets to you, you know? And you know, it just, the numbers weren't going up like they used to. And in fact, I was having a hard time just reaching my previous numbers. And I just couldn't do it. And so, you know, and then I'm like, all right, I'm going to bump it up to 220 grams of protein. Okay? So I'm consuming 220 grams of protein, which is a lot of protein, it's a lot, okay? And then they're just like, well, mass moves mass. I'm like, great, so I'm going to go ahead and get fat then. If that's what I got to do, that's what I got to do. So I started gaining weight, and it helped for sure. I started squatting more and deadlifting more and benching more. And you know, just the disciplines, I was just being really disciplined with lifting. And you know, within recent, I think within the last two weeks, I finally got my deadlift back up to 435 for a single. But it's still not even my previous max, which is 443. And this is with eating, training, doing everything, right? Well, a couple weeks or a couple months ago, I preached at Hold Fast Baptist Church. And I got there a little early. And so they had a powerlifting gym there. And it was my deadlifting day. So my evangelist and I went there. And there's a member of our church who met us up there. And he wanted to go to the service as well. So he goes and he ends up going to the gym with us. And he does powerlifting as well. But he had taken a break for a while. And he's 19 years old. You know where I'm going with this already. The guy's 19 years old, okay. So I'm at the powerlifting gym, you know, just slamming weights and just getting pumped up about 300 pounds or so that I'm lifting. And then he's like, you know what, I think I'm going to max out. Maxing out means like I'm going to see how much weight I can lift right now. And keep in mind, he's just not lifted weights within the last couple months or so. Not dieting, nothing. So he's like, I'm going to hit 500 today. And all this powerlifting is in calibrated weights too. So this is like very heavy weight. And then he puts 500 on there. And he's like, I'm not really motivated to do this right now. I don't really feel like working out today. I'm just going to try it. You know. Eh. I'm just kind of like, 500 I guess. I'll try it. Never done it before. And keep in mind, so him and I, like in the very beginning, we're kind of like competing to see who would get to 500 first. So when I hit 443 in my deadlift, his max was like 450 or so. And so I was inching my way to like catching up to him. So he gets to this gym and then he just lifts up 500 pounds like, like nothing. And I remember thinking to myself, you know, I'm eating, I'm fat, 220 grams of protein, I'm training five days a week, I'm reading my Bible, I'm soul winning, I love my wife as Christ loved the church, I'm getting persecuted for righteousness sake, I love the Lord, and you know, it's just, and this is all I can do. This guy just minimal training to no training at all, just goes in there and just does my max, my lifetime goal, like it was, and he just moves on with his life. And just doesn't even lift after that. He's like, eh, and you know, for a week or so, I was pretty discontent. I'm like, this is all, this is vanity. So you say, what'd you do? I went up to him and said, well, how many times have you read your Bible though? No, I'm just kidding. I didn't tell him, I didn't tell him that, I didn't tell him. I rejoiced with him while inwardly I was crying and all that. And you know, I'm pushing 40 now because I'm 38, so I'm getting around that, you know, I'm getting into my 40s, and so muscle doesn't grow as fast. And so, you know, I remember just thinking to myself like, man, I'm trying so hard to get to these, I can't even get to my previous max. This guy has obviously testosterone coming out of his ears because he's 19, he's 19 years old. He doesn't, he barely sleeps maybe like five hours a day or something. And he just pulls 500 like it's nothing. And I was discontent. Why? Because I was comparing myself. You know, I wasn't considering what I have, right? And so I was discontent. And you know, the temptation is just like, well, you know, powerlifting is so vain anyways. It's such a carnal thing to do anyways. No Christian should be involved in it. You know, I can't believe we're even involved. What are we doing? You know, no, you know, I had the attitude of, you know what, I'm going to keep pressing forward and I'm going to keep training because it's good for my overall health anyways. And it's good for my back, it's good for my muscles. And let's say I just never hit 500, which I still believe one day I will. I mean my goal is basically to hit 500 by the time I'm 40. That's probably how long it's going to take for me to get to those numbers, okay? And so, you know, but I just remember thinking to myself, like, if I constantly compare myself to others and what they're capable of doing and what I'm not capable of, you know, it's just going to cause me to be discontent. And it's going to cause me to be discouraged and not be grateful for, you know, what I do have. And so I'm still thankful that I can rep in the 400s as far as deadlifting is concerned. I can rep in the 300s as far as, you know, squats are concerned. And I still think that's great. And you say, well, yeah, but what about compared to that guy though? Well, I'm not going to compare myself to him though. Because if I do, I'll be discontent. And in fact, but the reality is this, there's a bunch of 19 year olds in this world that I could probably outlift. But that wouldn't be a fair comparison either, right? The fair comparison is, like, who can I compare myself with who's doing what they can with what they have, okay? And so that's my personal testimony. I just have to get that off my chest regarding my great trial of affliction. You know, can the thing form, say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? You know, oh man, I'm 5'8, that's why I can't lift as much. Or you know, I'm not as young anymore, I started powerlifting late, or you know, he has an advantage, he's 19 years old, youth is on his side. All those things are true, but at the end of the day, it doesn't change what I can do. So I have to change what I can do by just being consistent and doing what I can with what I have. And in like manner, you know, we as Christians, we can't look at someone who's been a Christian for 20 years and wonder why can't I produce the same results as them when you've only been saved for two? Moms can't look at another mom who has been homeschooling and raising kids for years and think to yourselves, man, why can't I be like them? Well, it's because they've been around a block longer than you. They've been gifted, you know, with experience, they have the capabilities, and so don't compare yourself to someone who's further down the road than you are, who has gained the experience, who has put in the work, and possibly has just been gifted in certain areas that maybe you're not gifted in. That's not a bad thing, it's just that it's the principle of just do what you can with what you have. You know, like, man, I wish I could just, you know, you look at some of these people, I'm sure there's people here in our church, in this church, just as well as my church, who have more time to go and preach the gospel than others. They probably could go sowing a lot. There might be people in this church who probably go sowing every single day, and you know what, the mom, who can only go sowing maybe once a week, or maybe once every two weeks, can look at that and get discouraged and think, man, I wish I could go that much, I can't though because, you know, I've got a husband, I've got kids to take care of, I've got all these responsibilities, but you're comparing yourself to a single person who doesn't have any responsibilities, other than maybe work, but they can go sowing far more frequently than you. Just do what you can with what you have. And God is concerned with the percentage that you can produce with what you have, okay? You can look at someone and say, well, man, you know, this church or that Christian, they seem to have more resources, or more capabilities, or this family seems to, you know, have these possessions or these privileges, but you know what, stop focusing on other people, just do what you can with what you have. Don't fall into the trap of comparing yourself with someone who has more than you, or even less than you, because it'll breed discontentment in your personal life. Go to Matthew chapter 25, if you would, Matthew chapter 25. The sermon this morning is do what you can with what you have. Do what you can with what you have. And the reality is this, you know, when it comes back to the subject of powerlifting, you know, a good comparison would be to compare myself to where I was two years ago. Two years ago, I could barely deadlift 145 pounds. My legs are shaking as I'm coming up and, you know, it's just, it's painful, but now I can do four plates for a single. And so why don't you compare yourself to where you used to be? How about that? You're like, man, I just wish I knew more Bible. I wish I did more sowing. I wish I could just be like this person. Well compare yourself to where you were five years ago. If you've been consistent as a Christian, compare your family to where it was five years ago. I just wish my wife would just get on the ball. Well compare her to where she was a year ago when she didn't want to come to church. How about that? My husband, he just needs to learn more Bible and lead the home. Well if he's in church, then compare him to when he wasn't in church. It's better to have him in church now. Those are the good comparisons that we should be making, okay? So point number one is don't compare yourself to someone. Don't compare what you have to someone who has what you don't have. Make sure you are content with what you have and be grateful for what you have. But secondly, do what you can with what you have, listen to this, before what you have becomes someone else's. You don't really know how valuable it is that you have until you lose it and it belongs to someone else. Now let me give you an example, look at Matthew 25. In verse 14, this is a great parable known as the parable of the talents, right? And it says here in verse 14, For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to every man according to his several ability, and straightway took his journey. And he that hath received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And of course we know the story, the one with five talents doubles it, the one with two talents doubles his as well. They're very good stewards of what the master gave them. But look at verse number, skip down to verse number 22, actually I'm sorry, go to verse 24. Then he which hath received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed, and I was afraid. And when I hid thy talent in the earth, lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed. Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. So what do we have here? Let me give you the main interpretation of this parable, and then we're going to get into the application. Because obviously what we see here is that the master distributes talents to these three servants. One has five, two, another has two, another has one. And I believe what this is picturing here, as far as the talents are concerned, the talent represents the kingdom of God. And we can say that the kingdom of God represents the knowledge of the gospel, it's the knowledge of God, it's the word of God. And if we were to put this on a spectrum, we can say that the person who has one talent can be compared to someone who's like in the Old Testament. Because they have a talent, they have the knowledge of the kingdom of God, but not a whole lot of knowledge of the kingdom of God. They're still seeing through a glass darkly, they're in the Old Testament, they're looking at things that are a shadow of things to come, but not the very image of the things. So we can say that that person has one talent. Well then you look at the person who has two talents, this can be likened unto maybe someone who's transitioning into the New Testament, some of the apostles and disciples. They don't have as much as the guy with five talents, but they definitely have more than the people who are in the Old Testament, right? Because now they know that his name is Jesus. Now they have a little more revelation of the word of God, they're transitioning into that new covenant. We can liken that person as having two talents. Well the person who has five talents can be compared to us, Gentiles. You know why? Because we have an overabundance of the knowledge of God's word, okay? I mean we have both Old and New Testament, we have the canonized Bible right here, we have a lot of knowledge of end times prophecy, and just various doctrines. Knowledge has increased. We have so much more understanding and knowledge of the kingdom of God than the person with one talent and the person with two talents, right? And so we see here these few groups, but here's the thing is that the person who had the one talent was the one individual that did nothing with his talent. And I believe that is a picture of the Jews, okay? Because what did he do with his talent? He hid it under the earth, right? And the Bible says, if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine unto them. And we know that the Jews had the responsibility to be a light unto the Gentiles. To use the one talent that God gave them to reach the world. But instead what did he do? He hid it under the earth, he kept it to himself, right? Whereas when you look at the Apostle Paul who had two talents, he doubled his talents because he actually went and preached the gospel. He got people saved, he started churches, and if you were to look at the person with the five talents, I mean, look at how many people are getting saved today just through the efforts of this church. Going into different countries and nations, you know, reaching a lot of different people groups week in and week out, doubling those talents five to ten, right? And what is the punishment that the person with the one talent received? Well, the master came and said, take the talent from him and give it to the person who has ten talents. You know why? Because the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation, bringing forth the fruits thereof. It shall be taken from you and given to the guy with five talents who doubled it to ten. And so I believe the main interpretation of this passage is that it's addressing the Jew of the Old Testament, and obviously there's Jews in the Old Testament who got saved, but we're referring to the ones who essentially, you know, rejected Jesus Christ, did not preach the gospel, did not want to reach out into other Gentiles because they had a superiority complex about themselves. And then the one with the two is essentially the disciples who did do something with the talent that God gave them, and then of course the five who are the Gentiles from then on up until today. Now what is the principle that we can learn here regarding doing what you can with what you have? Well, you know what? The guy with the one talent, it's one talent, but he could at least double his one talent though. He could have done something with that. He could have reached someone with the word of God. He could have preached the word of God to a Gentile, gotten someone saved. Even with the minimal knowledge that he had of the kingdom of God, he could have doubled it. And you know what? The guy with the two talent, he did. He did what he could with what he had. And the principle that we can learn here is the fact that just as the talent was taken from the guy who had one talent and given to someone else, you know, in like manner, if you don't use what you have, if you don't use the knowledge of what you have, you know, God can take away knowledge from you and start bestowing that knowledge to a person who's actually putting in the work to get people saved. We never want to become Christians that just take in all this knowledge and take in all this wisdom and get in all this preaching and we're not funneling it out to someone else. Right? Where you're just kind of sitting on the knowledge of the word of God. You're sitting on the gospel. You're sitting on the word of God but you're actually not doing anything with it. That can easily be taken from you and given to someone else. You say, well give me an example of that. Well how about old IFP, new IFP? That's a good example of that. And obviously we know, I know there's old IFP churches that have the two talents that are actually doing something and they're doubling their efforts. But you know what? I know a bunch of old IFP churches that have five talents and they're still not doing anything with those five talents. And in fact their ministries are dying out. They're scaling back on soul winning. They're not preaching the word of God. They don't even want to put their sermons on YouTube for fear of persecution whereas if you know the new IFP they'll put their, our problem is not you know whether we're afraid to put our stuff online it's just they can't stay up there. Correct me if I'm wrong. I'm pretty sure Pastor Anderson has a new channel like every week. And every week that passes by the names of the channels becomes less Christian. Right? You know what I'm talking about? It's just like poll. It's just ground YouTube channel. It's just something that just has nothing to do with Christianity so you can keep it up there. Our issue, our problem is not putting stuff on the internet it's just keeping it up there. Okay? And I'm all for rumble but man it's you know I don't know how much people are reaching with rumble. Maybe it'll change in the next ten years or so. I just put my stuff up there so we have a place that we can reference but but here's the thing there's a bunch of old IFP churches that can have access to YouTube channel. No one's going to take down their stuff. No one's going to remove, no one's going to flag their YouTube sermons. Private though, they put it on private or something. What are they doing? They're hiding their talent. You know and let me say this maybe there's someone in this building who you have a musical talent. Maybe you have multiple musical talents but you're hiding it in the earth. You're not using it to glorify God and to be a blessing. You know double that talent and one thing you'll notice is that you know there's some people I know brother Matt he's an anomaly but you know he you you start playing one instrument then you start learning other instruments then you start really understanding music and and music theology not theology what is it called theory not theology music theology is good too though you know because it's a music theology in the Bible but you start learning that why because now you're doubling your talents and one thing I've noticed is that once you begin to actually do what you can with what you have God actually begins to give you more of that you know and God actually begins to bless you with more because he actually sees that you're utilizing even the one talent that you have so you'll double it to two and so we never want to become these one talent type Christians where we just because we have one talent oh therefore I'm not going to do anything with it no double it do what you can with what you have before it becomes someone else's do what you can with what you have so that God can double your talents and bless you more and utilize you further in the future the Bible says in first Corinthians chapter 15 you don't have to turn there I think of the apostle Paul in first Corinthians 15 verse 9 says for I am the least of the apostles that I am not me to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God so where would he fall in that spectrum in comparison to the other apostles he would be like a two maybe you know the other apostles I mean they were there with Jesus they were walking with Jesus he came last and in fact he was a part of the problem right he was persecuting the churches of God but it says in verse 10 by the grace of God I am what I am and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain but I labored more abundantly than they all yet not I but the grace of God which was with me so even though he came late in the game even though he was you know a two talent type of a Christian maybe he wasn't there during the beginning of the ministry of Jesus Christ because he did what he could with what he had God ended up using him more than the other disciples he ended up seeing more people saved more churches are started and we reference we probably reference the apostle Paul more than any of the disciples the other disciples we reference as an example sometimes of what they did in the gospels but as far as quoting we quote the apostle Paul more because he did what he could with what he had go with me if you would to Luke chapter 12 Luke chapter 12 if you would Luke chapter number 12 do what you can with what you have be a blessing with what you have don't look at your deficiencies and think to yourself well I'm not going to even try because what impact can I make with what I have do what you can with what you have look at Luke chapter 12 and verse 15 it says and he said unto them take heed and beware of covetousness for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesses and he spake a parable unto them saying the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully and he thought within himself saying what shall I do because I have no room where to where to bestow my fruits now what the answer should have been is I should just give this away I should find someone who is in need and is destitute and be a blessing to them right instead look at verse 18 he said this will I do I will pull down my barns and build greater and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods and I will say to my soul soul thou has much goods laid up for many years take thine ease eat drink and be merry and we can add to that for tomorrow you die right this is obviously an example of corrupt communication just careless verse 20 says but God said unto him thou fool this night thy soul shall be required of thee then whose shall those things be which thou has provided and my old pastor used to say her next husband that's what he used to say so is he that layeth up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God the Bible says and so this man stored up all these goods didn't do anything with him and you know what I guarantee you when he died his goods were just dispersed to someone else because he never used them I'm all for saving up for a rainy day whether that's financially or spiritually but at the end of the day do something with what you have regardless of how much it is be a blessing before what you have becomes someone else's go to Matthew chapter 15 if you would Matthew chapter 15 Matthew chapter 15 point number three is once you do what you can with what you have you actually realize that you have a lot you end up realizing that what you have is quite a bit look at Matthew 15 and verse 32 it says then Jesus called his disciples on Tim and said I have compassion on the multitude because they continue with me now three days and have nothing to eat and I will not send them away fast unless they faint in the way and his disciples and said when should we have so much bread in the wilderness as to feel so great a multitude and Jesus saith unto him how many loaves have ye they said seven and a few little fishes so he says he has seven loaves and a few little fishes and he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground he took the seven loaves and fishes and gave thanks and break them and gave to his disciples and the disciples to the multitude and they did all eat and were filled and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full now on the other account we have that the lad has the set of the loaves and the fishes and God was able to multiply that right so we see that regardless of the amount that you have regarding whether it be talents money or opportunity at the end of the day whatever you use God can multiply that God can multiply it and then you realize you know what I actually am able to do more with the little that I have compared to if I just didn't do anything with what I have right you may think to yourself well what can I do as one person preaching the gospel I get maybe a few people saved a week maybe just one person a week you know is that really an impact but you know what multiply that over a year over five years over ten years I mean that's a huge impact that you can make and if you look back at the end of ten years and see all the souls that you won all the people that you reached you start realizing you know what I actually had a lot so that one person that I got saved you know which by the way is still a lot you just got one person saved but hold on a second compare it to you being consistent and preaching the gospel every week every month every year you realize at the end of those ten years how big of an impact you actually made how much you actually did have and you know what obviously eternity will tell when we're in the millennial reign at the judgment seat of Christ you'll realize how much you actually had with what little you actually possessed you know we look at the influence of your pastor for example he obviously has a lot of influence and when we look at the how many people has reached for us it's just like wow multitudes that have been reached but you know what it's probably a lot more than that it's probably even a lot more than that because only eternity will tell how much of an impact we do make because a lot of it we just don't see there's people that you've preached to that you forgot about and they didn't get saved right at the door and you gave the gospel to them and maybe they weren't receptive at the time or whatever may be but you know what you might have sown that seed in their heart you moved away or they moved away and they kept that message in their heart and they remember that soul winner and in a time of trial and difficulty God sends another soul winner closes the deal with them and they get saved and you will forever be remembered in their heart as being the person who sowed the seed in their heart I guarantee you I remember being about eight years old and my sister had a boyfriend and my sister was not safe she wasn't a Christian but she had this boyfriend and I don't know who he was I don't really remember him very much but one thing that will always stick out to me about him is that he gave us all King James Bibles that's the first thing he did when he met us as a family he came and he just gave us all King James Bibles you know not just any person does something like that you know what I mean like to give a Bible okay but to give a King James Bible though that's very specific it's not like here's an NIV for you here's an ESV for you here's a devotional for you it's just all King James Bibles and I kept that Bible and I think I still have it tucked away somewhere but I will never forget the fact that he did that and that was he was literally the first person that I ever heard of the King James Bible from and I don't remember too many I think he might have preached the gospel to us I don't really remember I was I was young at the time but only eternity will tell who knows he might have been a fundamental Baptist I don't know it's very possible but there's people that you think you might have made a big impact on you will see in the end that what you have was a lot you will see at the very end that the that the investment that you made in people's lives accounted for a lot so do what you can with what you have and don't talk it down don't think it's just nothing you know you say well you know I'm not going to come to church because you know no one's even going to notice that I'm not there what's one person amongst 300 people but what if you remove what if every person decides not to come right one person is one person and they're they're important but what if 300 people decide not to come then it makes a major impact and so you obviously see that what you have although in your eyes might not be a lot it's quite a bit in comparison to eternity what we're going to see in the end so do what you can with what you want once you do what you can with what you have you'll realize that what you have is actually quite a bit you know compare it to the unsaved world compare it to you know how the world is today you think to yourself man my house is so chaotic it's so crazy yeah but compared to what's going on out there though the world would love to have the chaos that we have in our home because what they have is just insane okay and so you're like oh man I just I'm just like trying to like survive this week and survive my kids or survive just being yeah but there's people out there who wish they had those problems though problems that you have are coveted by others in this world believe it or not and so do what you can with what you have and once you do that you realize that you have a lot and lastly it is four points it was four lastly number four is improve upon what you have so if you can't change what you have and you're just content with what you have okay then improve it you say what do you mean you know I think of David when he went to the cave when he was on the run and the bible tells us that everyone who was in distress everyone who was in debt and everyone who was discontented gathered themselves to him there's a motley crew who came to him people who are distressed people who are in debt people are discontent and you might add I don't know people who are depressed just people who are just like at their wits end and this is who he has to work with now he could have easily said I'm King David and I work with you know this is not what I'm used to here but you know what you read a couple chapters down the road couple books down the road these men who were in debt distressed and discontented became who David's mighty men so he took that group and improved them and made them mighty right and obviously it's a picture of Jesus Christ because David's a picture of Jesus Christ who takes us people who are in debt discontent people who are in distress and he makes us mighty for the Lord and so look at your marriage and realize instead of comparing it to someone else's marriage just improve your marriage and make it mighty look at your child rearing and instead of comparing it to someone else's child rearing just improve yours and make it mighty look at your work and make it mighty look at your walk with God and make it mighty regardless of what you have if you feel like you have a distress and discontent and an in debt type of a relationship then improve upon it you know don't focus on the grass that's on the other side improve upon what you have and you realize that it's actually pretty mighty and so this is a principle that I think we as Christians can always apply and that is that we always need to be reminded that we just need to do what we can with what we have okay and whether you're a one talent two talent five talent Christian whether you have one ability or several whether you're broke or you got money at the end of the day God expects you to do what you can with what you have but here's what you don't do don't just sit on the sidelines and say well I don't have much therefore I'm not going to do much well I don't have much and so I'm not going to participate I'm not going to serve I'm not going to win souls I'm not going to fill in the blank because I just don't have enough just do what you can with what you have amen let's pray father we thank you so much for your word Lord and we're so thankful for the fact that you would use us in spite of our flaws and our deficiencies Lord and that you would multiply our efforts Lord and multiply our capabilities you would even bestow upon us even more talents when we steward that which we have and think of a person who is just faithful in preaching the gospel they might just be one person but that one person can influence a multitude of people to preach the gospel thereby multiplying the effort of getting people saved and seeing more multitudes come to Christ because of it and I pray that you'd help us as your people Lord to have this attitude to steward that which you've given to us and not to compare it to someone who has more to incur upon ourselves a sense of discontentment or compare ourselves to someone who has less to have a sense of superiority help us to just do what we can with what we have and we love you we thank you pray these things in Jesus name amen