Play Your Hand

Life is hard and more often than not, I feel like I’ve been dealt a terrible hand that I have no clue what to do with. But I know that staying in that mindset, and not using what I do have, what God has given me won’t help me in the long run. In this sermon Pastor Toure Roberts breaks down how and why we should play our hands. I hope this touches you.

The Parable of the Bags of Gold

14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

28 “ ‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Play Your Hand: Everyone has a portion in life. God makes certain that none of us are left without a portion in life, our hand is our portion. It is what God has given to us in his infinite wisdom.
As we journey through life our cards change.
We are never found in any season of our lives without cards that will produce a win if we see them right.
In the text Jesus is trying to teach us about life, so he teaches us in parables.
God distributed the talents in the text according to their ability.
Everyone has a hand
I have a good hand.
Talent initially meant to bear.
The talent represents opportunity, it was an opportunity to move forward and multiply.
God gave the talents based on their capacity to handle them. All men had different experiences with what God gave them.
Character One
Verse 16
Character #1 was given five talents/opportunities because he had the capacity to work them.
When he played his hand (worked his hand), God multiplied him, but he didn’t multiply the same thing. God multiplied him to get involved with different things.
When you work what you have God opens new doors to you.
You don’t know who you are until you step fully
into the opportunities God has set for you.
People who have a lot of opportunity and talent are often the laziest people on the planet.
When you are gifted or talented, stuff that’s difficult for others are easier for you. And instead of leveraging the fact that you are extremely gifted and adding to that hard work, and incredible work ethic so that you can become a G.O.A.T sometimes we have a tendency to shrink back and be lazy because we can do in two days what it would take people two months to do. It’s the curse of the gifted.
Gift + Hard Work + Incredible Work Ethic = Greatest Of All Time
The curse of the gifted is to Procrastinate.
Character #1 doesn’t allow all of his opportunities to make him shrink back, he works everything he has.
Character Two
Recognizes that his gifts are significantly less than Character #1.
If you aren’t careful when you have two talents, instead of recognizing that two talents is an advantage you will look at it as a disadvantage and make excuses seeing what God has given you wrong and as a result of it not moving forward.
This guy is a hustler.
He recognizes that since he only has two talents, he doesn’t have time to play, he doesn’t have time to hang with people who aren’t after what he is after.
Character two gained two talents.
Whereas Character #1 made more talents, Character #2 gained two.
Gained means to win.
Character #2 had a winners mentality.
A person with a winning mentality will go further than a guy with five.
Social media makes you falsely compare your hand. Stick & Move. Post & Go.
God gave them different appropriations but they were equal, because he distributed the talents based on their capacity/ability to handle them. And their reward was equal. it was “well done my good and faithful servant…”
two talent person = less tools = will still win
Opportunity is fair.
God will open doors that no man can shut, all you need is one door
Character 3
Verse 18
He buried his talent.
If you aren’t careful you will see your hand wrong. If you see your hand wrong, you can’t see whats in your hand.
Psalm 23: 1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
In other words I don’t have a mentality of lack even though I am waiting for the manifestation of what God promised.
Character #1 had something because he put it in the ground and dug it up to present it to God, but God said he had nothing.
The person who has, will have abundance.
If you look at your hand and you see lack, you’re in trouble.
If you look at your hand and you say “I have nothing” then you don’t have anything, and you can’t experience multiplication which leads to abundance.
speaking nothing = having nothing = no multiplication or abundance
A lack mentality is a threat to your destiny.
When you have a lack mentality, you look at the glass as half empty instead of half full.
Work your opportunity.
When you aren’t seeing things right, you will dig yourself into a hole.
When God deals a hand he has both insight and foresight.
Always be looking at your hand because there is something in your hand that will make sense in the world around you.
Don’t think small of your hand.
To much is given much is required ; Luke 12:48
God is a God of restoration.