Your Gift Should be Yielded Back to God to Glorify Him - Part I

We have  all been given natural and supernatural gifts. The Bible says, "a man's gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men." (Prov. 18:16). So not only will the gift make room for the gifted but will also bring the gifted before the great. That's amazing. Today we are talking about how to treat our gifts. And in particular, how we should invest them.

Perhaps you have heard about the Parable of The Talents. Well in that parable the Bible tells us that the master required a profit on the talents he had left to his servants. However, there was one servant who decided to play it "safe" and bury the gift so that he could present it back to the master upon his return. He had completely missed the point. 

Invested Talent Yields More Talents

In that Scripture in Matthew 25:14-30, we learn that upon the master's return he called the unprofitable servant wicked and banished him to utter darkness. Seems harsh, but when you have been given something as a gift that requires a gain, you have no right to keep it to yourself. I believe the Lord is saying here that we have a responsibility to the Giver to gain more than he gave us; we must invest wisely.  The giver, the gifted and the gift must interact. You cannot become a great dancer if you never practice. That is similar burying the gift and it certainly does not glorify God with an increase. In the parable, the master wanted the servant to use the talent to make him more money. Do you think that servant would have lost anything if he had taken the chance, even if he had no guarantee of increase? Notice in that Scripture, all of the other servants only gained. None of them lost anything.

The Thing About the Gift  

God is giving us vital information about our gifts in this parable. 

Notice  -

1. the gifts did not belong to the servants.
• They were stewards of the gift.
• Stewards must benefit their masters with that was entrusted to them 
2. each servant was part of the master's larger organization so each part was necessary to the whole
3. the wicked servant was  lazy.
• He did not even investigate.
• He simply chose not to have anything to do with what was entrusted to him
4. the wicked servant also did not trust the master and regarded him harshly
5. the wicked servant did not value his talent
6. the wicked servant did not care about his master or the master's household
7. ultimately, the wicked servant was condemned and cast away
8. the good servants took their talents and ran with them
9. the good servants valued what they had been given
10. the good servants regarded the master as someone to whom they had great responsibility
11. the good servants gained double what they had been given and were entrusted with great authority and power

Read the parables. They are filled with wisdom and God uses them to teach us some vitally important lessons.

Yielding them Up for Increase

In the case of the gifts and talents God gives us as His sons and daughters, we are to yield those gifts and talents back up to Him saying, "Lord, here is what you have given me (song, dance, music, art, name your skill), I yield it back to you and ask you to anoint me to use it for Your glory alone and not for my own fame or wealth. I repent of every using it arrogantly or to show my superiority above others. Forgive me, Lord. All that I have is yours. Do with it and me as You will."

That that is a dangerous prayer, but do you know that God is obligated to do what you have just prayed. Why? Because it is His will. You are praying His will and He will always answer those prayers affirmatively. You will see that He will indeed use your gifts and you to the point where He will earn a profit for His Kingdom and His Glory.

Let's yield up the gift He has placed in us for His glory. We will be blessed in and through it.
In other words, He is the "Bank" in which we deposit our gifts and therefore can only yield a profit, never a loss.

Be Careful of Those Who Want to Glorify You

The funny thing about mankind is he is always seeking to replace God. We have an idolatry problem, whether it's a person, possession, activity, a food, a ministry (oh yeah). You name it. Here's a way to determine who or what you worship. Look at how you spend your money and your time. If any of it outweighs what you dedicate to God, you have an idolatry problem. So regarding your gifts and man's desire to place you on a pedestal, reject the glory, the gold, and the glitter if it is drawing you away from God; then deflect the glory to God where it belongs, and He will entrust more to you.

If you are a follower of Christ's, then you belong to God and so do your gifts. Yield them back to Him and He will do great things with them and you! If you are not a Christ follower, God is calling you to Himself because He has a plan for you that is far beyond what you could have ever conceived. Yield to them with all that you have and all that you are.

God bless you!

P.S. Please see the VISION OF THE LADY IN THE GOLDEN BED in the Gifts Part II post.