Hillsong-Bonnke

Yesterday, I sat down to eat lunch on the sofa and turned on the news. It was too awful to watch so I turned on God TV. Rein---- Bonnke was preaching. I soon started to take notes. It was really good. Here goes... (He was preaching from the story of the 1,3,and 5 talents. )

"The man (who buried his one talent) didn't lose his talent; he preserved it. It would have been better had he risked his talent on an investment and lost than to have kept it and hid it."

"I am not worried about leaving a legacy. I want to see Hell empty and Heaven full."

"I am a treasure hunter looking for buried talent. Take out your buried talents and invest them in God so Jesus will have a return on His investment in you when He comes back. Get the shovel and dig it out."

"I don't know how many talents I have. I have less talents then people think. But this I have done. I have helped people find their talents. If you don't want your talents, please loan them to me. I believe I can get a million more souls in Heaven by using your talent."

He was scolded by some people for having women pastors on his team. He said regarding that encounter, "Every time my brain doesn't work so quick, I go one level higher where there is a flame. 'Lord, what do I say?' and quickly the words came. 'If I, as a man, was drowning in a river, it wouldn't matter to me, if my rescuer was a man or a woman.'
We fuss about things that aren't important. Rescue the perishing. Care for the dying. Jesus is merciful. Jesus will save."

"Jesus saves. There is no other Savior. Nobody can take the cross from us Christians. Nobody else died for the sins of the world but Jesus. Therefore, there is no other Savior. Jesus saves. You have to call on the name of the Lord."

"There were two parachuters. The first one jumped out of the plane. He fell rapidly and as he fell, he kept saying, 'I am absolutely safe. I have a parachute on my back.' He was still saying those words a split second before he hit the ground-hard. The second man jumped to a fast conclusion. He jumped out of the plane and said, 'Yes, I have a parachute on my back, but I have to do something with it.' He pulled the ripcord and landed safely on the ground."

"When it comes to your salvation, I have found the ripcord in the Bible. It is Romans 10:13-'Whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'"

"That parachute will open.
You will no more fall.
He will keep you from falling."

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We've been given talents to make investments so Jesus gets a return on His investment in us when He comes back. That really hits me. Sometimes, we hide our talent because we've been hurt or offended or betrayed and we think, 'I will just play it safe and hide. I might flub up and have to eat humble pie again and I don't want to risk it.'
Just like the man who hid the talent, we might be afraid..."I was afraid..." and we misjudge the character of God, saying that "He is too hard..."
Sometimes, our talent needs to be used in the invisible seasons of our life. We invest the gift given to us into our little children and think that we are not doing something important because no one else sees. But, what is done in secret, is more important than what is done in the public eye. Afterall, a seed is buried in the secret darkness of the soil. It can only grow that way. What is buried in secret will have a visible harvest if it is buried as a seed meant to grow instead of a treasure meant to be hidden.

Bottom line. We get caught up in self-preservation and the whole time we are doing this, people are going to hell.

Jesus never said we had to be perfect to use our talents, nor did He say we have to use them perfectly. We won't. We will fail. But to bury our talents and not use them at all, is a tragic failure with eternal sorrowful results. Our talents were never ours anyway. They were given to us so we'd have something to invest in the lives of others.

Take courage.
Don't be afraid.
A child falls alot when he is learning to use the gift of his legs.
What if he refused to get up after falling?

Let's get out our shovels and dig up our buried treasure.
Heaven waits for a return.