Study – Grow – Know

What’s Your Talent?

January 26, 2021 at 1:12 PM 11 comments

We’ll be back with more about The Ashtar Command and future events. This article is important to me because it is a bit of an epiphany that may also help you.

For years, I’ve thought that God was going to direct me into the pastorate. Because of that belief, I often tried to push myself in that direction. It never really worked out.

After I became a Christian, it simply seemed natural that God would use me in the pastorate so I tried to prepare for that. Over the years, I have been a youth director/pastor, associate pastor, teacher and author. What I find interesting is that the idea of being a pastor of a church (and all that it entails), is a bit unnerving to me. In fact, the idea causes me to blanche and withdraw from it. I originally thought I was simply not trusting God at all. However, now in my 60’s I realize that was not the case. If God had wanted me to be in the pastorate, I fully believe that would have happened and it wasn’t for my lack of trying.

Yet, during most of these years, I’ve felt a bit guilty for not being in the pastorate, as though there’s been something in me that kept that from happening. Did I not want to follow His leading there?

No, that’s not been it because I truly believe had God wanted me to go into the pastorate, He would have clearly opened those doors. He did not. I never saw doors open that I should walk through. It simply didn’t happen, but why the continual pull for the pastorate?

What God did do instead was to create within me a desire to teach and to write. It’s been a very natural outflow from me. I never had to really work at it.

Over the years, in spite of the fact that I’ve not been in the pastorate officially, I’ve almost always taught adult Sunday school classes at whatever church we’ve attended without exception. God always opened those doors without effort on my part. It’s been pretty amazing to look back and see.

I enjoy teaching. I like to impart knowledge and the very act of preparing for teaching keeps me in the Word and helps me research to continue to understand the subjects found in God’s Word.

So what is the epiphany?

In Exodus 31, we read about a situation where God tells Moses that He (God), has specifically prepared “Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,” with certain abilities. It seems clear enough that Bezaleel played no part in it except to be the receptacle for the abilities that God simply bestowed upon him (v 3 below).

2 See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:

3 And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,

4 To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,

5 And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.

6 And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee; (Exodus 31:2-6 KJV; emphasis added)

God simply chose Bezaleel and gifted him to be able to do certain things so that aspects of God’s Tabernacle revealed to Moses could be built. Is that amazing or what?

So Bezaleel became a superb craftsman, along with Aholiab and a few others. Why did God do this? Obviously, it was so that the items needed for the Tabernacle could be created to the specifications God told Moses about.

Hold that thought for a moment and head on over to Matthew 25:14-30, where Jesus teaches a parable on the “talents.” In this parable, the landowner goes on a journey and entrusts three of his servants with “talents” (money). The first he gives five, the second he gives two and the third he gives one. Their job was to make a return on the master’s investment (talent).

Hopefully you know the story, but for those who do not, the one who received five talents doubled it to ten. The one who had two doubled that to four. Finally, there’s the servant who had only one talent and buried it so that it wouldn’t be stolen. Because he didn’t even think to put it into the bank where it would earn interest and therefore, grow, the master was angry with that servant. The master had given him a talent and he acted as though he had nothing.

So, here is my epiphany and Satan does this to many of God’s children to keep them from fully appreciating what God has given them to use for His glory. It simply dawned on me recently that God had not given me “five” talents. Maybe He had only given me two or even one.

The question is what was I doing with that talent? Obviously, I was using it, but at the same time, I was thinking that I was not doing all that God wanted me to do so I wasn’t really appreciating the talent that God had given me because I was distracted by what I thought God wanted me to do.

Here’s what I mean. For years, even though I have been faithfully using my gift(s), I thought I failed God somehow by not going into the official pastorate. Yet, now I realize that this was not necessarily part of the “talents” that God gave me. He has given me the ability to teach and to write. Many have told me that the way I teach makes it very easy for them to follow and understand. He has not called me into the pastorate and I’m fine with that whereas before, I always thought I was coming up short even though I was always using the gifts of teaching and writing.

This would be like Bezaleel being extremely gifted as a craftsman, but always thinking that he should be doing what Moses was doing, and then not being content with being a wonderful craftsman! But God had not gifted Bezaleel to do what Moses did. God had gifted Bezaleel the specific gifts he needed to beautifully create the needed items for the Tabernacle!

Was Bezaleel’s job needed? Was it important? Yes, to both! Without God having gifted Bezaleel and a few others with the ability to create what God designed, the Tabernacle would not have been built! While they did not share in the importance of Moses’ job, their job was, nonetheless, also very important.

Ephesians 4:7, 11-13 tells us in no uncertain terms the following:

7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ…

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

What this says is that every believer has been given some type of gift to be used for the purpose of edifying and equipping the saints and for God’s glory. It’ll be like that until we reach eternity, where our knowledge of our faith will be completely unified and perfected by God Himself and we will no longer need anyone to teach us or pastor us. Christ Himself will be our Teacher and Shepherd.

This means that EVERY Christian has some gift(s). Since it is clear to me that I have the gift of teaching, then I should absolutely use that to serve God. In fact, I’d better use it for that purpose. I can and have also preached, but that is not my main gift or calling, though teaching and preaching are certainly related.

Will God ever use me to be a full-time pastor? I doubt it because I don’t believe I have the particular gift needed and just because I have filled the pulpit does not mean that I am qualified to be an actual pastor of a particular flock of believers. That is a huge responsibility and requires God gifting each man for that purpose.

So, my main point is that after all these years, I am free to simply be a teacher and a writer. I can explain things and make them understandable to myself and others. I do not have to worry about whether or not God called me into the pastorate (He hasn’t). I am totally responsible to understand my gift(s) and to use that gift for God’s service.

This may seem so simple to understand and it really is but it is amazing how the enemy likes to keep us off kilter and confused about certain things. Each Christian has at least one gift and that gift should be used to bring glory to God and edify the saints. I recall my sister had a tremendous gift of hospitality. That is an extremely important gift to have and not everyone can do what she did.

Learn what your gift is and do not fail to use it. If God gives you a gift (which He will), He will also open doors to avenues to use the gifts He gives you.

Entry filed under: Atheism and religion, christianity, eternity, Political Correctness, Politically Correct, Religious - Christian - End Times, Religious - Christian - Prophecy, Religious - Christian - Theology, salvation.