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26 - Talents, Part 2 - Christ's Object Lessons · Philosophy and Faith

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  Speaker 1: Talents Part two. Health. Health is a blessing of which
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  Speaker 1: few appreciate the value yet upon it. The efficiency of
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  Speaker 1: our mental and physical powers largely depends Our impulses and
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  Speaker 1: passions have their seat in the body, and it must
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  Speaker 1: be kept in the best condition physically and under the
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  Speaker 1: most spiritual influences, in order that our talents may be
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  Speaker 1: put to the highest use. Anything that lessens physical strength
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  Speaker 1: enfeebles the mind and makes it less capable of discriminating
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  Speaker 1: between right and wrong. We become less capable of choosing
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  Speaker 1: the good and have less strength of will to do
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  Speaker 1: that which we know to be right. The misuse of
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  Speaker 1: our physical powers shortens the period of time in which
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  Speaker 1: our lives can be used for the glory of God,
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  Speaker 1: and it unfits us to accomplish the work God has
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  Speaker 1: given us to do. By allowing ourselves to form wrong habits,
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  Speaker 1: by keeping late hours, by gratifying appetite at the expense
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  Speaker 1: of health, we lay the foundation for feebleness by neglecting
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  Speaker 1: physical exercise. By over working mind or body, we unbalance
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  Speaker 1: the nervous system. Those who thus shorten their lives and
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  Speaker 1: unfit themselves for service by disregarding nature's laws are guilty
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  Speaker 1: of robbery towards God, and they are robbing their fellow
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  Speaker 1: men also the opportunity of blessing others. The very work
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  Speaker 1: for which God sent them into the world has by
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  Speaker 1: their own course of action been cut short, and they
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  Speaker 1: have unfitted themselves to do even that which in a
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  Speaker 1: briefer period of time they might have accomplished. The Lord
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  Speaker 1: holds us guilty when by our injurious habits we thus
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  Speaker 1: deprive the world of good. Transgression of physical law is
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  Speaker 1: transgression of the moral law. For God is as truly
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  Speaker 1: the author of physical laws as he is the author
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  Speaker 1: of the moral law. His law is written with his
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  Speaker 1: own finger upon every nerve, every muscle, every faculty which
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  Speaker 1: has been entrusted to man, and every misuse of any
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  Speaker 1: part of our organism is a violation of that law.
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  Speaker 1: All should have an intelligent knowledge of the human frame,
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  Speaker 1: that they may keep their bodies in the condition necessary
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  Speaker 1: to do the work the Lord. The physical life is
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  Speaker 1: to be carefully preserved and developed, that through humanity the
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  Speaker 1: divine nature may be revealed in its fullness. The relation
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  Speaker 1: of the physical organism to the spiritual life is one
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  Speaker 1: of the most important branches of education. It should receive
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  Speaker 1: careful attention in the home and in the school. All
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  Speaker 1: need to become acquainted with their physical structure and the
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  Speaker 1: laws that control natural life. He who remains in willing
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  Speaker 1: ignorance of the laws of his physical being, and who
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  Speaker 1: violates them through ignorance, is sinning against God. All should
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  Speaker 1: place themselves in the best possible relation to life and health.
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  Speaker 1: Our habits should be brought under the control of a
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  Speaker 1: mind that is itself under the control of God. Know
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  Speaker 1: ye not, says the apostle Paul, that your body is
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  Speaker 1: the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you,
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  Speaker 1: which ye have of God. And ye are not your own,
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  Speaker 1: for ye are bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God
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  Speaker 1: in your body and in your spirit, which are Gods strength.
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  Speaker 1: We are to love God not only with all the heart, mind,
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  Speaker 1: and soul, but with all the strength. This covers the
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  Speaker 1: full intelligent use of the physical powers. Christ was a
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  Speaker 1: true worker in temporal as well as in spiritual things,
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  Speaker 1: and into all his work he brought a determination to
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  Speaker 1: do his Father's will. The things of heaven and earth
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  Speaker 1: are more closely connected and are more directly under the
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  Speaker 1: supervision of Christ than many realize. It was Christ who
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  Speaker 1: planned the arrangement for the first earthly Tabernacle. He gave
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  Speaker 1: every specification in regard to the building of Solomon's temple.
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  Speaker 1: The one who in his earthly life worked as a
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  Speaker 1: carpenter in the village of Nazareth was the heavenly architect
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  Speaker 1: who marked out the plan for the sacred building where
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  Speaker 1: his name was to be honored. It was Christ who
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  Speaker 1: gave to the builders of the Tabernacle wisdom to execute
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  Speaker 1: the most skillful and beautiful workmanship. He said, See, I
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  Speaker 1: have called by name Bezaliel, the son of Uri, the
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  Speaker 1: son of her of the tribe of Judah. And I
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  Speaker 1: have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom
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  Speaker 1: and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner
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  Speaker 1: of workmanship. And I behold, I have given with him
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  Speaker 1: a holyab the son of a Hisamach, of the tribe
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  Speaker 1: of Dan. And in the hearts of all that are
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  Speaker 1: wise hearted, I have put wisdom that they may make
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  Speaker 1: all that I have commanded. Thee God desires that his
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  Speaker 1: workers in every line shall look to Him as the
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  Speaker 1: giver of all they possess. All right inventions and improvements
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  Speaker 1: have their source in Him who is wonderful in counsel
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  Speaker 1: and excellent in working. The skillful touch of the physician's hand,
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  Speaker 1: his power over nerve and muscle, his knowledge of the
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  Speaker 1: delicate organism of the body, is the wisdom of divine power,
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  Speaker 1: to be used in behalf of the suffering. The skill
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  Speaker 1: with which the carpenter uses the hammer, the strength with
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  Speaker 1: which the blacksmith makes the anvil ring comes from God.
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  Speaker 1: He has entrusted men with talents, and he expects them
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  Speaker 1: to look to him for counsel. Whatever we do, in
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  Speaker 1: whatever department of the work we are placed, He desires
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  Speaker 1: to control our minds that we may do perfect work.
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  Speaker 1: Religion and business not two separate things. They are one Bible.
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  Speaker 1: Religion is to be interwoven with all we do or say.
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  Speaker 1: Divine and human agencies are to combine in temporal as
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  Speaker 1: well as in spiritual achievements. They are to be united
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  Speaker 1: in all human pursuits, in mechanical and agricultural labors, in
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  Speaker 1: mercantile and scientific enterprises. There must be co operation in
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  Speaker 1: everything embraced in Christian activity. God has proclaimed the principles
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  Speaker 1: on which alone this corporation is possible. His glory must
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  Speaker 1: be the motive of all who are laborers together with him.
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  Speaker 1: All our work is to be done from love to
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  Speaker 1: God and in accordance with His will. It is just
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  Speaker 1: as essential to do the will of God when erecting
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  Speaker 1: a building as when taking part in a religious service.
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  Speaker 1: And if the workers have brought the right principles into
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  Speaker 1: their own character making, then in the erection of every
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  Speaker 1: building they will grow in grace and knowledge. But God
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  Speaker 1: will not accept the greatest talents or the most splendid service,
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  Speaker 1: unless self is laid upon the altar, a living, consuming sacrifice.
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  Speaker 1: The root must be wholly, else there can be no
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  Speaker 1: fruit acceptable to God. The Lord made Daniel and Joseph
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  Speaker 1: shrewd managers. He could work through them because they did
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  Speaker 1: not live to please their own inclination, but to please God.
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  Speaker 1: The case of Daniel has a lesson for us. It
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  Speaker 1: reveals the fact that a business man is not necessarily
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  Speaker 1: a sharp policy man. He can be instructed by God
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  Speaker 1: at every step. Daniel, while Prime Minister of the Kingdom
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  Speaker 1: of Babylon, was a prophet of God, receiving the light
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  Speaker 1: of heavenly inspiration. Worldly ambitious statesmen are represented in the
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  Speaker 1: Word of God as the grass that groweth up and
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  Speaker 1: as the flower of the grass that fadeth. Yet the
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  Speaker 1: Lord desires to have in his service intelligent men, men
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  Speaker 1: qualified for various lines of work. There is need of
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  Speaker 1: business men who will weave the grand principles of truth
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  Speaker 1: into all their transactions, and their talents should be perfected
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  Speaker 1: by most thorough study and training. If men in any
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  Speaker 1: line of work need to improve their opportunities to become
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  Speaker 1: wise deficient, it is those who are using their ability
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  Speaker 1: in building up the Kingdom of God. In our world
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  Speaker 1: of Daniel, we learn that in all his business transactions,
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  Speaker 1: when subjected to the closest scrutiny, not one fault or
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  Speaker 1: error could be found. He was a sample of what
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  Speaker 1: every business man may be. His history shows what may
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  Speaker 1: be accomplished by one who consecrates the strength of brain
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  Speaker 1: and bone, and muscle of heart and life to the
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  Speaker 1: service of God. Money. God also entrusts men with means.
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  Speaker 1: He gives them power to get wealth. He waters the
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  Speaker 1: earth with the dews of heaven and with the showers
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  Speaker 1: of refreshing rain. He gives the sunlight which warms the earth,
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  Speaker 1: awakening to life the things of nature and causing them
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  Speaker 1: to flourish and bear fruit, and he asks for a
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  Speaker 1: return of his own. Our money has not been given
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  Speaker 1: us that we might honor and glorify ourselves. As faithful stewards.
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  Speaker 1: We are to use it for the glory and honor
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  Speaker 1: of God. Some think that only a portion of their
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  Speaker 1: means is the law. When they have set apart a
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  Speaker 1: portion for religious and charitable purposes, they regard the remainder
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  Speaker 1: as their own, to be used as they see fit.
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  Speaker 1: But in this they mistake. All we possess is the Lord's,
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  Speaker 1: and we are accountable to Him for the use we
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  Speaker 1: make of it. In the use of every penny, it
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  Speaker 1: will be seen whether we love God supremely and our
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  Speaker 1: neighbor as ourselves. Money has great value because it can
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  Speaker 1: do great good in the hands of God's children. It
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  Speaker 1: is food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, and
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  Speaker 1: clothing for the naked. It is a defense for the oppressed,
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  Speaker 1: and a means to help the sick. But money is
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  Speaker 1: of no more value than sand, only as it is
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  Speaker 1: put to use in providing for the necessities of life,
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  Speaker 1: in blessing others, and in advancing the cause of Christ.
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  Speaker 1: Hoarded wealth is not merely useless. It is a curse.
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  Speaker 1: In this life. It is a snare to the soul,
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  Speaker 1: drawing the affections away from the heavenly treasure in the
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  Speaker 1: great day of God. Its witness to unused talents and
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  Speaker 1: neglected opportunities will can its possessor. The scripture says, go too, now,
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  Speaker 1: ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that
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  Speaker 1: shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your
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  Speaker 1: garments are moth eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered,
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  Speaker 1: and the rust of them shall be a witness against you,
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  Speaker 1: and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye
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  Speaker 1: have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold the
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  Speaker 1: higher of the laborers who have reaped down your fields,
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  Speaker 1: which is of you kept back by fraud crieth, And
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  Speaker 1: the cries of them which have reaped are entered into
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  Speaker 1: the ears of the Lord of Sabaot. But Christ sanctions
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  Speaker 1: no lavish or careless use of means. His lesson in economy.
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  Speaker 1: Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost
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  Speaker 1: is for all his followers. He who realizes that his
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  Speaker 1: money is a talent from God will use it economically
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  Speaker 1: and will feel it a duty to save that he
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  Speaker 1: may give. The more means we expend in display and
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  Speaker 1: self indulgence, the less we can have to feed the
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  Speaker 1: hungry and clothe the naked. Every penny use unnecessarily deprives
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  Speaker 1: the spender of a precious opportunity of doing good. It
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  Speaker 1: is robbing God of the honor and glory which should
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  Speaker 1: flow back to him through the improvement of his entrusted talents.
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  Speaker 1: Kindly impulses and affections. Kindly affections, generous impulses, and a
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  Speaker 1: quick apprehension of spiritual things are precious talents, and lay
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  Speaker 1: their possessor under a weighty responsibility. All are to be
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  Speaker 1: used in God's service. But here many err Satisfied with
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  Speaker 1: the possession of these qualities, they fail to bring them
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  Speaker 1: into active service for others. They flatter themselves as if
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  Speaker 1: they had the opportunity, if circumstances were favorable, they would
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  Speaker 1: do a great and good work. But they are awaiting
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  Speaker 1: the opportunity. They despise the narrowness of the poor niggard
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  Speaker 1: who grudges even a pittance to the needy. They see
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  Speaker 1: that he is living for self, and that he is
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  Speaker 1: responsible for his misused talents. With much complacency, they draw
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  Speaker 1: the contrast between themselves and such narrow minded ones, feeling
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  Speaker 1: that their own can is much more favorable than that
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  Speaker 1: of their mean, souled neighbors. But they are deceiving themselves.
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  Speaker 1: The mere possession of unused qualities only increases their responsibility.
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  Speaker 1: Those who possess large affections are under obligation to God
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  Speaker 1: to bestow them, not merely on their friends, but on
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  Speaker 1: all who need their help. Social advantages are talents and
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  Speaker 1: are to be used for the benefit of all within
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  Speaker 1: reach of our influence. The love that gives kindness to
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  Speaker 1: only a few is not love but selfishness. It will
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  Speaker 1: not in any way work for the good of souls
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  Speaker 1: or the glory of God. Those who thus leave their
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  Speaker 1: master's talents unimproved are even more guilty than other ones
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  Speaker 1: for whom they feel such contempt to them. It will
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  Speaker 1: be said, ye knew your master's will, but did it not?
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  Speaker 1: Talents multiplied by use. Talents used are talents multiplied. Success
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  Speaker 1: is not the result of chance or of destiny. It
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  Speaker 1: is the outworking of God's own providence, the reward of
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  Speaker 1: faith and discretion, of virtue and persevering effort. The Lord
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  Speaker 1: desires us to use every gift we have, and if
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  Speaker 1: we do this, we shall have greater gifts to use.
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  Speaker 1: He does not supernaturally endow us with the qualifications we lack,
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  Speaker 1: but while we use that which we have, He will
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  Speaker 1: work with us to increase and strengthen every faculty. By
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  Speaker 1: every wholehearted, earnest sacrifice for the Master's service, our powers
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  Speaker 1: will increase while we yield ourselves as instruments for the
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  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit's working. The grace of God works in us
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  Speaker 1: to deny old inclinations, to overcome powerful propensities, and to
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  Speaker 1: form new habits. As we cherish and obey the promptings
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  Speaker 1: of the Spirit, our hearts are enlarged to receive more
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  Speaker 1: and more of His power and to do more and
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  Speaker 1: better work. Dormant energies are aroused and palsied faculties receive
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  Speaker 1: new life. The humble worker who obediently responds to the
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  Speaker 1: call of God may be sure of receiving divine assistance.
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  Speaker 1: To accept so great and holy a responsibility is itself
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  Speaker 1: elevating to the character. It calls into action the highest
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  Speaker 1: mental and spiritual powers, and strengthens and purifies the mind
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  Speaker 1: and heart through faith in the power of God. It
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  Speaker 1: is wonderful, how strong a weak man may become, how
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  Speaker 1: decided his efforts, how prolific of great results. He who
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  Speaker 1: begins with a little knowledge in a humble way, and
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  Speaker 1: tells what he knows, while seeking diligently for further knowledge,
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  Speaker 1: will find the whole heavenly treasure awaiting his demand. The
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  Speaker 1: more he seeks to impart light, the more light he
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  Speaker 1: will receive. The more one tries to explain the word
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  Speaker 1: of God to others with the love for souls, the
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  Speaker 1: plainer it becomes to himself. The more we use our
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  Speaker 1: knowledge and exercise our powers, the more knowledge and power
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  Speaker 1: we shall have. Every effort made for Christ will react
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  Speaker 1: in blessing upon ourselves. If we use our means for
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  Speaker 1: His glory, He will give us more. As we seek
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  Speaker 1: to win others to Christ. Bearing the burden of souls
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  Speaker 1: in our prayers, our own hearts will throb with the
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  Speaker 1: quickening influence of God's grace, Our own affections will glow
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  Speaker 1: with more divine fervor. Our whole Christian life will be
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  Speaker 1: more of a reality, more earnest, more prayerful. The value
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  Speaker 1: of man is estimated in Heaven according to the capacity
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  Speaker 1: of the heart to know God. This knowledge is the
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  Speaker 1: spring from which flows all power. God created man, that
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  Speaker 1: every faculty might be the faculty of the Divine mind.
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  Speaker 1: He is ever seeking to bring the human mind into
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  Speaker 1: association with the divine. He offers us the privilege of
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  Speaker 1: cooperation with Christ in revealing his grace to the world,
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  Speaker 1: that we may receive increased knowledge of heavenly things. Looking
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  Speaker 1: unto Jesus, we obtain brighter and more distinct views of God,
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  Speaker 1: and by beholding we become changed. Goodness. Love for our
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  Speaker 1: fellow men becomes our natural instinct. We develop a character
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  Speaker 1: which is the counterpart of the divine character. Growing into
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  Speaker 1: his likeness, we enlarge our capacity for knowing God. More
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  Speaker 1: and more we enter into fellowship with the heavenly world,
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  Speaker 1: and we have continually increasing power to receive the riches
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  Speaker 1: of the knowledge and wisdom of eternity. The one talent.
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  Speaker 1: The man who received the one talent went and digged
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  Speaker 1: in the earth and hid his Lord's money. It was
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  Speaker 1: the one with the smallest gift who left his talent unimproved.
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  Speaker 1: In this is given a warning to all who feel
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  Speaker 1: that the smallness of their endowments excuses them from service
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  Speaker 1: for Christ. If they could do some great thing, how
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  Speaker 1: gladly would they undertake it? But because they can serve
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  Speaker 1: only in little things, they think themselves justified in doing nothing.
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  Speaker 1: In this they err The Lord, in his distribution of
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  Speaker 1: gifts is testing character. The man who neglected to improve
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  Speaker 1: his talent proved himself an unfaithful servant. Had he received
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  Speaker 1: five talents, he would have buried them as he buried
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  Speaker 1: the one. His misuse of the one talent showed that
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  Speaker 1: he despised the gifts of heaven. He that is faithful
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  Speaker 1: in that which is least is faithful also in much.
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  Speaker 1: The importance of the little things is often underrated, because
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  Speaker 1: because they are small, but they supply much of the
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  Speaker 1: actual discipline of life. There are really no non essentials
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  Speaker 1: in the Christian's life. Our character building will be full
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  Speaker 1: of peril while we underrate the importance of the little things.
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  Speaker 1: He that is unjust in the least is unjust also
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  Speaker 1: in much. By unfaithfulness in even the smallest duties, man
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  Speaker 1: robs his maker of the service which is his due.
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  Speaker 1: This unfaithfulness reacts upon himself. He fails of gaining the grace,
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  Speaker 1: the power, the force of character which may be received
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  Speaker 1: through an unreserved surrender to God. Living apart from Christ,
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  Speaker 1: he is subject to Satan's temptations, and he makes mistakes
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  Speaker 1: in his work for the Master because he is not
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  Speaker 1: guided by right principles in little things. He fails to
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  Speaker 1: obey God in the great matters, which he regards as
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  Speaker 1: his special work. The defects cherished in dealing with life's
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  Speaker 1: minor details pass into more important affairs. He acts on
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  Speaker 1: the principles to which he has accustomed himself. Thus, actions
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  Speaker 1: repeated form habits. Habits form character, and by the character,
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  Speaker 1: our destiny for time and for eternity is decided only
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  Speaker 1: by faithfulness in the little things. Can the soul be
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  Speaker 1: trained to act with fidelity under larger responsibilities. God brought
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  Speaker 1: Daniel and his fellows into connection with the great men
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  Speaker 1: of Babylon, that these heathen men might become acquainted with
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  Speaker 1: the principles of true religion in the midst of a
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  Speaker 1: nation of idolators. Daniel was to represent the character of God.
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  Speaker 1: How did he become fitted for a position of so
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  Speaker 1: great trust and honor? It was his faithfulness in the
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  Speaker 1: little things that gave complexion to his whole life. He
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  Speaker 1: honored God in the smallest duties, and the Lord co
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  Speaker 1: operated with him. To Daniel and his companions, God gave
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  Speaker 1: knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom, and Daniel
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  Speaker 1: had understanding in all visions and dreams. As God called
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  Speaker 1: Daniel to witness for him in Babylon, so he calls
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  Speaker 1: us to be his witnesses in the world to day.
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  Speaker 1: In the smallest as well as the largest affairs of life.
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  Speaker 1: He desires us to reveal to men the principles of
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  Speaker 1: his kingdom. Christ in his life on earth, taught the
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  Speaker 1: lesson of careful attention to the little things. The great
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  Speaker 1: work of redemption weighed continually upon his soul as he
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  Speaker 1: was teaching and healing. All the energies of mind and
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  Speaker 1: body were taxed to the utmost. Yet he noticed the
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  Speaker 1: most simple things in life and in nature. His most
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: instructive lessons were those in which, by the simple things
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: of nature, he illustrated the great truths of the Kingdom
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: of God. He did not overlook the necessities of the
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: humblest of his servants. His ear heard every cry of need.
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: He was awake to the touch of the afflicted woman
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: in the crowd, the very slightest touch of faith brought
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: a response. When he raised from the dead the daughter
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: of Gyrus, he reminded her parents that she must have
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: something to eat. When by his own mighty power he
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: rose from the tomb, he did not disdain to fold
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: and put carefully in the proper place the grave clothes
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: in which he had been laid away. The work to which,
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: as Christians we are called is to co operate with
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: Christ for the salvation of souls. This work we have
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: entered into covenant with him. To do to neglect the
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: work is to prove disloyal to Christ. But in order
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: to accomplish this work, we must follow his example of faithful,
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: conscientious attention to the little things. This is the secret
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: of success in every line of Christian effort and influence.
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: The Lord desires his people to reach the highest round
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: of the latter, that they may glorify him by possessing
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: the ability he is willing to bestow through the grace
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: of God. Every provision has been made for us to
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: reveal that we act upon better plans than those upon
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: which the world acts. We are to show a superiority
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: in intellect, in understanding, in skill and knowledge, because we
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: believe in God and in his power to work upon
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: human hearts. But those who have not a large endowment
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: of gifts need not become discouraged. Let them use what
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: they have, faithfully guarding every weak point in their characters,
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: seeking by divine grace to make it strong. Into every
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: action of life. We are to weave faithfulness and loyalty,
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: cultiv relating the attributes that will enable us to accomplish
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: the work. Habits of negligence should be resolutely overcome. Many
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: think it is a sufficient excuse for the grossest errors
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: to plead forgetfulness. But do they not, as well as others,
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: possess intellectual faculties. Then they should discipline their minds to
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: be retentive. It is a sin to forget, a sin
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: to be negligent. If you form a habit of negligence,
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: you may neglect your own soul's salvation, and at last
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: find that you are unready for the Kingdom of God.
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: Great truths must be brought into little things. Practical religion
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: is to be carried into the lowly duties of daily life.
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: The greatest qualification for any man is to obey implicitly
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: the word of the Lord. Because they are not connected
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: with some directly religious work. Many feel that their lives
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: are useless, that they are doing nothing for the advancement
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: of God's kingdom. But this is a mistake. If their
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: work is that which someone must do, they should not
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: accuse themselves of uselessness. In the great household of God,
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: the humblest duties are not to be ignored. Any honest
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: work is a blessing, and faithfulness in it may prove
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: a training for higher trusts. However lowly, any work done
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: for God with a full surrender of self is as
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: acceptable to Him as the highest service. No offering is
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: small that is given with true heartedness and gladness of soul.
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: Wherever we may be, Christ bids us to take up
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: the duty that presents itself. If this is in the home,
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: take hold willingly and earnestly to make home a pleasant place.
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: If you are a mother, train your children for Christ.
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: This is as verily a work for God as is
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: that of the minister in the pulpit. If your duty
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: is in the kitchen, seek to be a perfect cook.
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: Prepare food that will be healthful, nourishing, and appetizing. And
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: as you employ the best ingredients in preparing food, remember
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: that you are to give your mind the best thoughts.
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: If it is your work to till the soil, or
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: to engage in any other trade or occupation, make a
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: success of the present duty. Put your mind on what
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: you are doing. In all your work, represent Christ. Do
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: as He would do in your place. However small your talent,
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: God has a place for it that one talent wisely
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: used will accomplish its appointed work. By faithfulness in little duties.
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: We are to work on the plan of addition, and
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: God will work for us on the plan of multiplication.
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: These littles will become the most precious influences in His work.
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: Let a living faith run like threads of gold through
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: the performance of even the smallest duties. Then all the
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: daily work will promote Christian growth. There will be a
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: continual looking unto Jesus. Love for Him will give vital
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: force to everything that is undertaken. Thus, through the right
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: use of our talents, we may link ourselves by a
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: golden chain to the higher world. This is true sanctification,
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: for sanctification consists in the cheerful performance of daily duties
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: in perfect obedience to the will of God. But many
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: Christians are waiting for some great work to be brought
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: to them. Because they cannot find a place large enough
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: to satisfy their ambition, they fail to perfer form faithfully
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: the common duties of life. These seem to them uninteresting.
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: Day by day, they let slip opportunities for showing their
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: faithfulness to God. While they are waiting for some great work.
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: Life passes away, its purposes unfulfilled, its work unaccomplished. The
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: talents returned after a long time. The Lord of these
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: servants cometh and reckoneth with them. When the Lord takes
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: account of his servants, the return from every talent will
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: be scrutinized. The work done reveals the character of the worker.
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: Those who have received the five and the two talents
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: return to the Lord the intrusted gifts with their increase.
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: In doing this, they claim no merit for themselves. Their
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: talents are those that have been delivered to them. They
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: have gained other talents, but there could have been no
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: gain without the deposit. They see that they have done
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: only their duty. The capital was the Lord's, the improvement
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: is his. Had not the Savior bestowed upon them his
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: love and grace, they would have been bankrupt for eternity.
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: But when the Master receives the talent, he approves and
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: rewards the workers as though the merit were all their own.
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: His countenance is full of joy and satisfaction. He is
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: filled with delight that he can bestow blessings upon them
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: for every service and every sacrifice he requites them, not
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: because it is a debt he owes, but because his
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: heart is overflowing with love and tenderness. Well done, thou,
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: good and faithful servant, he says, thou hast been faithful
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: over a few things. I will make thee ruler over
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: It is the faithfulness, the loyalty to God, the loving
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: service that wins divine approval. Every impulse of the Holy
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: Spirit leading men to goodness and to God is noted
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: in the books of Heaven and in the Day of God.
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: The workers through whom He has wrought will be commended.
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: They will enter into the joy of the Lord as
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: they see in his kingdom, those who have been redeemed
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: through their instrumentality, and they are privileged to participate in
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: his work there because they have gained a fitness for
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: it by participation in his work here. What we shall
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: be in heaven is the reflection of what we are
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: now in character and holy service. Christ said of himself,
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: the son of Man came not to be ministered unto,
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: but to minister this. His work on earth is his
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: work in heaven. And our reward for working with Christ
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: in this world is the greater power and wider privilege
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: of working with Him in the world to come. Then
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord,
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: not strewed. And I was afraid, and went and hid
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: thy talent in the earth. Lo there thou hast that
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: is thine. Thus men excuse their neglect of God's gifts.
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: They look upon God as severe and tyrannical, as watching
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: to spy out their mistakes and visit them with judgments.
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: They charge Him with demanding what he has never given,
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: with reaping where he has not sown. There are many who,
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: in their hearts charge God with being a hard master,
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: because he claims their possessions and their service. But we
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: can bring to God nothing that is not already his
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: All things come of THEE, said King David. And of
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: thine own have we given THEE. All things are gods,
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: not only by creation, but by redemption. All the blessings
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: of this life and of the life to come are
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: delivered to us stamped with the cross of Calvary. Therefore,
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: the charge that God is a hard master, reaping where
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: he has not sown, is false. The Master does not
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: deny the charge of the wicked servant unjust as it is.
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: But taking him on his own ground, he shows that
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: his conduct is without excuse. Ways and means had been
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: provided whereby the talent might have been improved to the
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: onus Prophet thou aughtest He said, to have put my
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: money to the exchanges, and then at my coming I
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: should have received mine own with ursery, Our heavenly Father
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: requires no more nor less than he has given us
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: ability to do. He lays upon his servants no burdens
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: that they are not able to bear. He knoweth our frame.
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: He remembereth that we are dust. All that He claims
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: from us, through divine grace, can render unto whomsoever much
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: is given of him, much shall be required. We shall
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: individually be held responsible for doing one jot less than
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: we have ability to do. The Lord measures with exactness
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: every possibility for service. The unused capabilities are as much
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: brought into account as are those that are improved. For
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: all that we might become through the right use of
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: our talents, God holds us responsible. We shall be judged
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: according to what we ought to have done but did
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: not accomplish, because we did not use our powers to
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: glorify God. Even if we do not lose our souls,
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: we shall realize in eternity the result of our unused talents.
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: For all the knowledge and ability that we might have
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: gained and did not, there will be an eternal loss.
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: But when we give ourselves wholly to God and in
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: our work follow his directions, he makes himself responsible for
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: its accomplishment. He would not have as conjecture as to
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: the success of our honest endeavors. Not once should we
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: even think of failure. We are to co operate with
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: one who knows no failure. We should not talk of
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: our own weakness and inability. This is a manifest distrust
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: of God, a denial of his word. When we murmur
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: because of our burdens, or refuse the responsibilities he calls
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: upon us to bear, We are virtually saying that He
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: is a hard master, that he requires what he has
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: not given us power to do, the spirit of the
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: slothful servant. We are often fain to call humility, but
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: true humility is widely different. To be clothed with humility
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: does not mean that we are to be dwarfs in intellect,
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: deficient in aspiration, and cowardly in our lives, shunning burdens
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: lest we fail to carry them successfully. Real humility fulfills
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: God's purposes. By depending upon his strength. God works by
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: whom he will. He sometimes selects the humblest instrument to
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: do the greatest work, for His power is revealed through
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: the weakness of men. We have our standard, and by
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: it we pronounce one thing great and another small. But
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: God does not estimate according to our We are not
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: to suppose that what is great to us must be
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: great to God, or that what is small to us
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: must be small to him. It does not rest with
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: us to pass judgment on our talents or to choose
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: our work. We are to take up the burdens that
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: God appoints, bearing them for his sake, and ever going
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: to Him for rest. Whatever our work, God is honored
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: by wholehearted, cheerful service. He is pleased when we take
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: up our duties with gratitude, rejoicing that we are accounted
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: worthy to be co laborers with him. The talent removed
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: upon this slothful servant. The sentence was, take therefore the
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: talent from him, and give it unto him which hath
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: ten talents. Here, as in the reward of the faithful worker,
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: is indicated not merely the reward at the final judgment,
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: but the gradual process of retribution. In this life, as
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: in the natural, so in the spiritual world. Every power
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: unused will weaken and decay. Activity is the law of life.
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: Idleness is death. The manifestation of the spirit is given
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: to every man to profit withal employed to bless others,
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: his gifts increase. Shut up to self serving, they diminish,
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: and are finally withdrawn. He who refuses to impart that
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: which he has received will at last find that he
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: has nothing to give. He is consenting to a process
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: that surely dwarfs and finally destroys the faculties of the soul.
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: Let none suppose that they can live a life of
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: selfishness and then, having served their own interests, enter into
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: the joy of their Lord. In the joy of unselfish love.
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: They could not participate. They would not be fitted for
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: the heavenly courts. They could not appreciate the pure atmosphere
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: of love that pervades heaven. The voices of the angels
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: and the music of their harps would not satisfy them
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: to their minds. The science of heaven would be as
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: an enigma. In the Great Judgment day, those who have
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: not worked for Christ, those who have drifted along carrying
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: no responsibility, thinking of themselves, pleasing themselves, will be judged
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: by the judge of all the earth with those who
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: did evil. They will receive the same condemnation. Many who
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: profess to be Christians neglect the claims of God, and
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: yet they do not feel that in this there is
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: any wrong. They know that the blasphema, the murderer, the
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: adulter at Deserv's punishment. But as for them, they enjoy
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: the services of religion. They love to hear the Gospel preached,
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: and therefore they think themselves Christians. Though they have spent
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: their lives in caring for themselves, they will be as
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: much surprised, as was the unfaithful servant in the parable,
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: to hear the sentence take the talent from him. Like
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: the Jews, they mistake the enjoyment of their blessings for
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: the use they should make of them. Many who excuse
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: themselves from Christian effort plead their inability for the work.
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: But did God make them so incapable? No, never, This
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: inability has been produced by their own inactivity, and perpetuated
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: by their deliberate choice. Already in their own characters, they
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: are realizing the result of the sentence, take the talent
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: from him. The continual misuse of their tale talance will
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: effectually quench for them the Holy Spirit, which is the
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: only light. The sentence cast ye the unprofitable servant into
• 32:08
  Speaker 1: outer darkness, sets Heaven's seal to the choice which they
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: themselves have made for eternity. End of Talents, Part two,