Sermon Questions from Sunday, September 13th
Q1: What scripture references support the occupation vs. spiritual vocation idea?
Please view the following scriptures that support the concept of your work verses your calling. This idea is not one that comes from one specific verse but it is a principle seen throughout scripture.
Calling/Vocation:
- Abraham’s calling - Genesis 12: 1-4; Moses - Exodus 3, Isaiah – Isaiah 6: Our call in the New Testament is Matthew 28:16-20 and Matthew 22:37-40; Acts 13:36.
- Esther’s calling – Her occupation was queen but her spiritual vocation was deliverer of the Jews. Esther. 3:13-14
- God equips the saints (us) with Spiritual Gifts that don’t necessarily determine our occupation: 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, Ephesians 4
- Many of the disciples were fishermen (occupation) but their spiritual avocation was changing the world and drawing men to the truth of Christ. (Luke 5:1-11, Matthew 28:19-20)
Occupation:
- God gives us skills that can be used for work. (Exodus 31:1-5)
- God gives a calling even before we are born. (Luke 1:15; Galatians 1:15)
- If your spiritual vocation is not also your occupation the scriptures say we are responsible for providing for ourselves. (1 Thess. 3:10)
Q2: How do you reconcile when people tell you that you have 1 talent when you have 5 talents? What if you’re like Michael Jordan was in high school and you just need to keep working at it?
It depends on who the person is who is telling you that you have one talent (when you think you actually have 5). If it is a trusted mentor or someone who knows you well, it may be a good idea to pay attention to them. There is nothing wrong with developing new talents but there is everything wrong with developing new talents when they take time away from the one that you have.
If someone is really good at baking, but they want to become a singer (when they absolutely cannot hold a tune) that is okay as long as the time they spend practicing to become a singer does not supersede the time they spend developing their baking talent. If their talent in baking suffers and gets worse because they are spending more effort and time to become a singer, this may not be the best use of their time. The baking talent may be what God wants to use to expand His Kingdom.
Therefore make sure you ask trusted mentors to be brutally honest with you and seek out advice from people who have known you more than 6 months to a year and who will speak the truth in love.
Q3: How can we still fulfill the 4T’s and remain balanced without getting caught up in works, especially when our priority should be Christ?
Even though works do not determine our salvation they are important when it comes to our sanctification, which is our growth into becoming the kind of Christians Christ wants us to become (James 2:22-26). Fulfilling the 4 T’s (time, talents [gifts], treasures and truth) should be a grace-filled process. We have to be careful to not forget that as we pursue these 4 T’s God is gracious and understanding that there will be times when we will fail to pursue them properly. So, the key to remaining balanced while not getting caught up in works is to keep God’s grace in mind. If our Time with God is the motivating force for all that we do, then our motivation and balance will be appropriate. The question then is: Is your love for Christ the reason why you are giving your treasures, using your gifts and discipling colleagues with the truth?.
Q4: Why did the Master unequally distribute the talents to start with?
The talents were actually distributed equally. The quantity of the talents should not be our focus but rather the heart behind the distribution. The talents were distributed equally based on their ability. God is omniscient and He has all wisdom and He gives talents gifts and abilities based on our ability. He determines the ability and he determines the talent because He is God and we must trust his infinite wisdom and personal knowledge of what’s best for each of us.