Selected highlights from this sermon
We live in a success-driven society, but we don’t really know what true success is or how to get it. Pastor Wiersbe defines true success as making the greatest use of our God-given abilities and gifts. To explain what he means, he walks us through the parable of the talents to show how we can have success in our own lives.
Transcripts for Dr. Wiersbe's sermons are forthcoming. Below is an outline of his message.
We live in a success-driven society, but we don’t really know what success is or how to get it.
If what most people view as success is truly success, then Jesus was the biggest failure.
Answering three questions helps us understand what true success is.
- What is success?
- We are all born with different abilities, and when we are saved God gives us different gifts.
- The talents (money) in this parable represent opportunities to use our abilities and gifts.
- Success is making the greatest use of my opportunities to use my God-given abilities and gifts to the glory of God and the good of others.
- Success is not always measured in terms of money.
- The key to success is faithfulness.
- Are you being faithful with the opportunities God is giving you?
- What are the principles of success?
- There are three basic principles of success.
- If we are faithful, we go from servants to rulers.
- If we are faithful, we go from a few things to many things.
- If we are faithful, we go from toil to joy.
- We cannot know how to rule unless we first know how to serve and be ruled.
- If we cannot be faithful with little things, why would God give us bigger opportunities?
- The greatest blessing in faithfulness is having developed a capacity for bigger responsibilities.
- In the parable, the men had to work hard to increase the money they were given.
- When we approach these principles backwards, we end up with nothing (e.g. the prodigal son).
- What are the enemies of success?
- A saved person can never lose his salvation, but failing to live as the Lord says would be miserable.
- The man in the parable who failed had three wrong attitudes.
- He had a wrong attitude toward himself. He didn’t believe in the abilities God had given him.
- He had a wrong attitude toward life. He was afraid of taking risks.
- He had a wrong attitude toward the Lord. He didn’t love his master.
- Our God is perfectly just; he doesn’t give us responsibilities above our ability.
- We all have the ability to be faithful to God.
- The first step toward failure is comparing ourselves to others.
- Next to going to hell, one of the greatest tragedies would be for a person to stand before God and say, “Nothing has changed.”
God does not want His investments wasted.
Are we faithful in using our abilities and gifts to the glory of God and for the good of others?
