Gold In The Ground | Don’t Bury the Gold | Kyle Rodgers

Come on, City First, put those hands together at all of our locations. Cape Coral, Janesville, God behind bars. Can we give Jesus one more big praise this morning? Such a good day to be in God's house. If we haven't met yet, my name is Kyle. It's such a joy to get a chance to take the next step in our series, Gold in the Ground, where we are discovering the life God's planned for you and I while seeing his dreams come alive for us. And last weekend, Pastor Jeremy DeWirt got us kicked off in an incredible fashion. The Spirit of God moved upon so many hearts. Hundreds of people started a brand new relationship with Jesus. One more time, can we just give God praise for what he is doing? It is no small thing, incredibly significant. And I just wanna help us to take a next step today. So look at somebody next to you and tell them, we're taking a next step, we're taking a next step. Nope, you're looking at me still. Come on, turn around behind you and tell them we're taking a next step. We are taking a next step. A key thought that I'd love for you to be able to put your arms around today is this. What you do with what God gave you reveals what you believe about him. I'm gonna say it again.

What you do with what God gave you reveals what you believe about him. The story we're gonna look at today is found in Matthew chapter 25. It is a parable and it begins like this. For it will be, what is the it? The it here is the kingdom of heaven. Jesus takes time to tell this story. It's the third story that's a part of a trilogy. The first story identifies the value of being a faithful servant. The second story Jesus tells is about what it is to be a prepared servant of God. And the third story here is about stewardship. And in Matthew 25, 14, Jesus lets us know who the audience is he's speaking to when he uses the phrase for it will be like a man going on a journey. Pause for a moment. The word it here means the kingdom of heaven. For the kingdom of heaven will be like a man going on a journey who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. We notice here in the very first sentence that the context in which Jesus is communicating this story, this parable, an earthly story with a heavenly meaning is outlining to this group of listeners, believers and followers of Jesus then and believers and followers of Jesus today. That, hey, look, there's something

that you're being entrusted with in preparation for what is to come. What Jesus is doing as well is letting the listeners know, I am getting ready to make a move away from you back to heaven again. And I am preparing you for what your responsibility is when I'm no longer on earth with you. We also know based upon what historians and theologians have helped us to understand that this is a part of Jesus helping us to understand our responsibility during the end times or in preparation for the return of Jesus. Can I pause right here just for a moment and say that one of the greatest opportunities of hope for us as believers and followers of Jesus is to wrap our arms around the fact that what we see in front of us today is not what will be with us eternally. There is something better than what we see. I thought I'd get a better shout right there knowing that there is hope connected to the Jesus that we follow. Jesus is preparing the disciples then and disciples now. Hey, look, your faithfulness, your preparedness and your stewardship is imperative here. And the kingdom of heaven that you've signed up to be a part of requires faithfulness, preparedness and here we go, stewardship. It's a good spot in the message to stop for a moment. And if you're taking notes, write this down.

You have a job to do. I thought I'd get a better amen from somebody who's been following Jesus for a little while. You have a job to do. It continues here in Matthew 25 and he begins to give layers to the story. Jesus says that this master to one, he gives five talents. To another, he gives two talents. And to a third, he gives one. Lean in, each according to his ability. And then he went away. It's important here that we take layer by layer. So what the master does before he leaves is that he delegates talents to three different men in the story. And each of them have a response. to work with the talents they have been given. Historians tell us that one talent is the equivalent of 10 to 20 years of wages and weighs between 50 and 85 pounds a piece. How many know? One talent is significant. Five talents is even larger, not just in number, but also in weight. What this does, though, is it causes us to step back and address something that the text brings up for us, that if you're a five-talent person, you have been given five-talent responsibility. If you're a one-talent person, you've been given one-talent responsibility.

Here's where we lean in. Be careful that you don't get jealous or compare the talents you've been given with the talents somebody else has. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. One talent, the equivalent of 10 to 20 years worth of wages and weighed between 50 and 85 pounds, one talent still carried an immense amount of significance. And the wise man that delegates these talents knows that if I give, hear me, a five-talent person one talent, they get bored, but if I give a one-talent person five talents, they'll get overwhelmed. It shows this value that God doesn't distribute equally, He distributes intentionally. Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Here we go. This ought to help us to make sure that we don't get distracted to the right or to the left, especially in a social media society that we're a part of,

where you can do three scrolls and see what someone has and compare it to what you don't. Lean in with me. Understand God has put in your hand and in your life exactly what you need to bring Him glory. You need nothing more and you better not bring back anything less. Use what He has given you to move your story forward and bring Him glory as a result. You have what you need. Here we go. You have the gold. All the gold you need is what God has provided according to this story. Listen, Jesus then continues, he who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them and he made five talents more. I didn't do that great math, but five plus five still equals 10. The one who had been given two immediately went out and did the same and two plus two now equals four. They had doubled what they had been given, but he who had received one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Hang on. There's two very distinct differences between what the first two gentlemen do as opposed to what the third does. The first two gentlemen take the gold that has been put in their hands

and they went and did something with it. I would argue the third gentleman actually does something with it too. Here we go. He was busy, but he wasn't productive. Okay, now I'm coming for your calendar. Because I'm afraid that as believers and followers of Jesus in the next steps that we take, we've got to be so careful that we don't become so busy that we're not productive for eternity's sake. I would argue if you're going to dig a hole, which by the way, in this day and time, historically speaking, it is not weird for someone to dig a hole and put a treasure in the ground because banks were in an embryonic stage at that point. They didn't have what we have today where we can put assets in different places and believe that they're protected. They would dig a hole and bury it in the ground. That wasn't weird. What was weird was the first two immediately went and did something. The third one took all of his energy and put it in the ground. My man, at least look at the fact that they were active with what they were given. You were active too, just in the wrong direction. You ever been in a place in life before? Well, you've been really busy, but you look back at how busy you were and realize you

was busy about nothing? I know that's bad English, but it's good preaching right there. We got to be so cautious that we're not just filling up our calendar for the sake of being able to say, look what I got going on, I'm busy. We got to be so careful that we're not so busy. Here we go about stuff that's good, that we're not productive about the stuff that's the best. You know, the greatest enemy of the best is the stuff that's good. Something you should know about me, I just hate saying no. I hate saying no to stuff. I hate saying no to opportunities. I hate saying no to coffee meetings. I hate saying no to hangouts. I always hate saying no to going to play golf. Can I get a good amen from somebody right there? Thank you. Appreciate that. Five hands. Y'all understand. Here we go. I hate saying no, but in 40 years on this planet, I realized the more that I say yes, the less space that I have to be able to sign up for the stuff that's the best. What's the best? Lean in with me for a moment. There are really three specific areas that if you say, hey, what are the talents that God's put in your hand? They're really connected to three specific spots, time, relationships, and resources. Write that down. Time, relationships, and resources. I'll work in reverse.

Resources. Show me where you spend your money and I'll tell you what you value the most. That's not my personal opinion. That's Bible. Jesus says where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. He told on you already. Your resources. Where do your resources go? Where are you allocating them to end up? Are you surprised at how many dollars end up in your coffee budget every month? All right. I'll ease up on that one. I'm sorry. I'll ease up. Are you shocked at how many subscriptions you have that you don't even pay attention to? When's the last time the gym saw you that you've been paying for for the last 27 months? Somebody's like, easy, pastor, easy. Your resources matter. Here we go. Because generosity matters. This is not a money message, but this is one that reminds us that everything that we've been given, God has given it to us for a purpose and a reason. We're not just getting promotions or going after new jobs or new opportunities or trying to finish college so we can get into a career path space just so that we can get our dollars up. No. At some point, it's got to be used to move his kingdom forward. Resources. Second one, relationships.

I'm going to stay here just for a moment because this one, relationships and time actually, they hold hands. Because in 20 years of being a pastor, I've done a few funerals and standing in front of the casket of a loved one, I've, I've never heard a family say that. I wish we'd made more money. I wish we'd started the business. I wish I had a better 401k or investment plan. All those things are good. You know what they usually say? I wish we had spent more time. Let me talk to those of you that like you serve and you give your time in different spaces in our community. I love the fact that you do it. I love the fact that you're making an internal significance in the lives of others, but can we just challenge each other today and say, if I'm not making an eternal significance in the home that I'm a part of with the people I'm related to, I'm missing it. Let me talk to a dad for a moment. Maybe the greatest talent you have, dad, is the fact that you get a chance to help build a legacy inside of those little ones or those older ones that still act like little ones sometimes. Maybe the greatest opportunity talent you have is just to make an investment in the lives of others. And I know that's a big deal. I know that's a big deal. I know that's a big deal. I know that's a big deal. I know that's a big deal. I know that's a big deal. I know that's a big deal. Maybe the greatest talent you have is just to make an investment in the people that share

a last name and DNA with you, the people that you have adopted into your family and love them just like they're your own. Maybe that's the greatest opportunity you get. Maybe it's the talent that God is asking you to tap into, dad. You matter. Your presence matters. Your availability matters. And you know where you can let that show up? In the family you're a part of, dad? In your calendar. What gets calendared is what gets prioritized. And we got our Zoom meetings in the calendar, right? We got our work hours in the calendar. We got our commute hours in the calendar. We got travel ball in the calendar. We got cheerleading in the calendar. We got dance, we got all these things in the calendar. And I'm not saying that any of these things are bad. I'm just saying, let's make sure that these things are not overshadowing the best things. I don't care if your kid is three, 13, 23, or 33, they still need you. If you're married, you already get this. If you want to be married one day, I'll let you know what it takes. It takes you putting your spouse in your calendar. And not just a date night. No, no, no, I mean uninterrupted time. Space where you remind them, I said for better or for worse, and I know we're going through a for worse chapter

right now, but I'm still just as committed to you today as I was the day you walked down the aisle looking so fine. Show me what you're doing. Not show me, show the Lord what you're doing with the talent he gave you. Why? Because at some point he's coming back to account for the things that he gave us to do something with. How do you know this? Here we go. Matthew 25 and 19. Now, after a long time, the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. Just so we're clear, when he comes back, he is coming back to settle accounts with us. He wants us to walk through and give an account for what we have done with the things that he has put in our hands. Our marriage, we're gonna give an account for that. Our parenting, we're giving an account for that. How we were friends. Here we go, how you show up for your siblings, even that one that you gotta hide the liquor from. Come on, don't act Christian on me now. Let's go, let's go. Yeah, yeah. How, here we go, how we show up in our community. How we show up for those who educate our kids. We're gonna have to account for these things, the words of our voice, the intentions of our hearts.

We will have to give an account for these just according to the scripture and this story. And he who had received the five came forward, bringing five talents more and said, master, you delivered me five talents. Here, I made five more. His master said to him, what? Well done, good and faithful servant. You've been faithful over a little. I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. And he also, who had the two talents, came forward saying, master, you delivered me two talents here and I have made two talents more. The master then says the same thing in return. Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over little. I will set you over much more. Enter into the joy of your master. What Jesus is reminding us is that this life we are living is simply a practice run for the next one. And what we do with what we are entrusted with today, lets him know what we qualify to oversee in the life to come. Yeah, I know it's a little weird because we don't know the impact that we're making with what we've been given to be responsible for today. We just know our job is to be faithful. Stewards, managers, to see our lives as something

that we have been entrusted with and not entitled to. Something happens though with the third dude. First one, he's high capacity leader. He takes five, turns it to 10. Second one, high capacity leader. He takes two and he turns it to four. I don't know about you, but I'm trying to be with those kinds of people. Come on. Yeah, exactly. But then the third one, he comes along and he says, he also who had received the one talent, hey, just so we're clear, don't feel bad about the guy who got the one talent. Cause that one talent was still worth between 10 and 20 years worth of wages. Like you want somebody to cut you a check right now for what you make times 10 or 20? You and I would be like, yeah. And that's what significant. It holds weight. This one guy comes forward, the one talent guy comes forward and says, master, I knew you to be a hard man. That's the equivalent of somebody saying, see what had happened was. And how many know somebody says, see what had happened was, I ain't hearing you no more. Why? Because everything you say from here is what, and,

come on, say it like you mean it, and, excuse. So let's read this man's excuse. Master, I knew you to be a hard man, grieving where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. I was afraid. And I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours. The saddest part of this entire excuse and the reason he makes the excuse, he makes it abundantly clear. He says, I was afraid. He put effort in. Only problem was he let fear dupe him into burying something he was meant to build with. Can we pause right here, not to be narcissistic and make this story about us, but to see ourselves in this narrative and ask a question. What have you been afraid to put to work? What talent have you been afraid to put to work? What talent has fear been the number one enabler? For this guy, he was so afraid, he dug a hole and he buried it. Fear made him dig and fear today makes us bury. What do we bury? We bury the God given purpose that he created for us and then created us to accomplish. And we bury it in one word. And that one word is someday.

I'll start the business someday. I'll be a better dad someday. I'll be a better spouse someday. I'll coach my kid's team someday. I'll finish my education to make the difference that I know that God has called me to make. I'll do it someday. I'll join a life group someday. You ever noticed that sometimes when you make that phrase someday, it usually comes with another excuse. And that other excuse is not just someday, it's also when I get more time. How many know you ain't never gonna have time? We have time for the things, here we go, that we make time for. Because in the same breath, sometimes the excuse that we bury things with is someday. Sometimes we bury our obedience under this one, when I'm ready. I'll do this when I'm ready. I was talking to a friend of mine. I don't know if you have unsaved friends in your life, but unsaved friends in my life, they just keep me close to Jesus. Yeah, some of my unsaved friends, man, they out there, y'all, come on. You know what'll change your perspective about people in Jesus' eyes is when you get a couple of friends that are just out there.

Number one, it reminds you, at one point, you was out there too. Okay, y'all being Christian on me on Sunday. All right, all right, all right, yep. Number two, it also reminds you that the same Jesus that came and got you is the same Jesus that's pursuing them. I was talking to one of my unsaved friends the other day, and he looked back at me and said, hey man, you know, I got a lot going on in my life right now, but you know what? I'm gonna get my life together and I'm gonna come serve Jesus. Yeah, yeah, you do that. I said, hey man, you know I love you. We've been rocking together for a long time. Respectfully, if you could have got yourself together, you would have got yourself together. But since you ain't got yourself together, how about we do something we've never done to get something we've never had, and you don't have to come to Jesus with pretty prayers and having all your stuff together. You come to Jesus just like you are. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Amen. Amen. This hits different for us here at City Furnished Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. because just last week we saw hundreds of people Amen. Amen. Amen. make this eternally significant decision. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Let's say, I'm not trying to get my life together. Amen. Amen. I know my life ain't together and I know I'll never be ready, but this is my moment to be able to step in, here we go, in obedience to who God has called me to be. Another excuse. Sometimes we bury that gold that God's put in our life, that talent God's given us. Sometimes we bury it in this one question, what if I fail? What if the life that I claim that I live is not the life that I actually project in front of people

and people find out I'm not perfect, phenomenal. Now you give them an example of what it looks like to bounce back and know that Jesus was with you before you failed, Jesus was with you in the failure and Jesus will be with you on the other side of it as well. Don't let that gold fall on the ground. Don't let that gold fall on the ground, that talent you've been given. Some of you are so good with people that you have never met a stranger in your life. I'm raising one of those kinds of kids right now. Sweetheart, you can't talk to everybody. That's not just a random gift, that's a talent God gave you to help people to feel seen and known, cared for and loved. Some of you, you are so intuitive in relationships, your emotional intelligence is so high, but it's not just your EQ, it's the spirit of God that has given you a gift to be able to be in tune with people so well. Here we go, not just to lead them to a business deal, but lead them to do kingdom business and realize their life has value and purpose as well. Yes, you do. Some of the best coaches I've ever met in little league sports were not the best players. They just knew how to connect with people really well. They knew how to get down on their level and talk to them in language they understand.

Some of the best mentors that have been around in public and private school settings, they just saw it as an opportunity to be able to sit across from someone who was able to be influenced for something positive. And as believers and followers, we know it's not just something positive, it's also something eternal. Why? They just choose to take their talent and use it. Even if it only feels like you've been given one talent, it's still something significant. You don't need a title. You don't need to be so-and-so with a title in front of your name or letters after your name. You just be who God created you to be with the gifts and talents that he's given you and use them well. Why? Faith builds what fear tries to bury. And each of us in this room and in every one of our locations, you have been given a measure of faith to build with through the relationship you have with the Lord. Please use it. Please use it. Even if it's something that nobody sees and seemingly nobody celebrates, please use it.

This one hits home because sometimes the faith building happens behind the scenes where seemingly nobody else is watching and nobody else knows what's going on, but God sees every step of the journey. Something I'd love for you to know about me is that I'm only one generation away from fatherlessness in my family line. See, my parents grew up in a home where their dads were not present and not available. And as a result, there were all different kinds of evil that crept into the family line, abuse and neglect. Just recently, I went on a trip with our oldest, my nine-year-old little girl, and Savannah and I spent time just having fun, making memories in a different city all weekend long. When I got home after sending pictures and videos to my parents and my in-laws all weekend long, my mom called me and she had some tears. tears that were in her voice and I could tell. I said, mom, what's going on? She said, Kyle, it just dawned on me. The entire weekend you were away with your daughter, she never thought once about being harmed by you. See, what you need to know about my family line is that my grandfather, my mom's dad, he served five years in the state penitentiary for harming one of his children. With tears in her eyes, she said, Kyle,

I realize that that curse has been broken in our family line. I'll tell you this, that curse ain't been broken just because my dad's a pastor and my family's in ministry. No, that curse has been broken because two people came together and said, the talent that God has put in our lives to raise our kids in the way the Lord is asking, to be the model and the, I feel the Holy Spirit in here, to be the model and the example of what it looks like to be a godly woman and a godly man. Sometimes you got to go get some extra virgin olive oil, walk into your baby's room at two o'clock in the morning, I don't care if they're 13 or three, slap some olive oil on their head, pray over them, and declare the blood of Jesus is against anything that tries to come against the plan and the purpose of God over my child. I realize everybody in here got kids and you might not be married, but there's some aspect of your life where you have influence. Build with faith, be strong and courageous, why? Because the Lord, your God is with you. Bring that faith to those talents and don't bury them. Amen. Would you stand with me all over this room, all of our locations, if you're comfortable, would you just lift one or both of your hands to the Lord, just for a moment?

Jesus, we just stand in this place and we acknowledge your presence and your power. I pray for families, that they're the ones that are stepping into reversing the curse over their family line. I pray that you give that husband, that wife, that father, that mother, those grandparents, those aunties and uncles, I pray you give them courage today. Those educators, those coaches, remind them you're with them, you're for them, and you have given them this talent for this time and this purpose, in Jesus' name. With heads bowed, with eyes closed, just for a moment, I wanna give someone a chance to step into that relationship with Jesus as hundreds of us have already chosen to do. And here's the thing, in just a moment, all we're gonna do is pray a simple prayer of commitment out loud. All that matters is that with the words of your voice, you believe what you're saying in your heart, and scripture says you will begin a relationship with your creator today, to use your talents for his glory every day to come. See, first, I'm gonna ask you to pray this out loud so no one feels left out. Just say, Jesus, I need you. I've tried on my own and I failed. Today, I hand you my sin, I receive your forgiveness. I hand you my life, I receive your leadership.

Be the Lord of my life and the King of my heart. Today and every day to come. In Jesus' name, amen, amen. Come on, give Jesus one big praise. Hey, what a powerful, powerful message by Pastor Kyle Rogers. And hey, if you prayed that prayer along with Pastor Kyle to make Jesus the leader and forgiver of your life, man, we're so excited for you. That's one of the best decisions you will ever make in your life. And a couple of things we wanna encourage you to do. Number one, tell somebody about it. We are not meant to do this life alone, especially in a journey with Christ. We're not meant to walk it alone. So let somebody know about it. Let us know about it. Drop it in the chat, whatever. And the second thing, scan that QR code on your screen. We wanna get you a New Beginnings resource. And that basically answers the question, what next, right? I prayed this prayer, what's next in this journey? And you can have information about all of that in the New Beginnings resource. That's right. Another great next step that you can take is to go through Growth Track. And Growth Track's designed for you to discover your God-given gifts

and how to use those to build God's kingdom, but also grow closer to him. And the nice part about Growth Track is that online is that you can do it at your own pace. So no matter your schedule, you can fit it in. And if you wanna sign up, you can scan the QR code on the screen or on the app. Yeah, and if you need prayer for anything, we have a team of people that pray over these prayer requests that come in every single week. We send them out, and we all agree that God's gonna answer these prayers in your life. So let us know about that. And don't forget to create an opportunity for someone else to be encouraged by this message. We wanna encourage you to share the link. From today's message with somebody who you're like man, they could really benefit from hearing what pastor Kyle had to say That's right And if you didn't make that decision to follow Jesus just want to remind you that we've got water baptism happening next Sunday So if you're around the Rockford area want to encourage you to drive out Come be a part of water baptisms and make that public declaration of that inward decision. You just made today. Well, we love you church We're so excited for all that God's doing in and through you. We can't wait to see you next week