Los Angeles herald., 1906-09-17
SERVICE ONLY
TEST TN P|ETY
PASTOR SMITHER TALKS ON
REAL CONSIDERATION
at Is the Power We Have, the
Possession Committed to Our
Hands, That God Wants
Us to Use"

At the First Christian church yester-
day morning Rev. A. G. Smither
spoke from the apostles words: What
1 have that give" He spoke in part:
This beautiful incident of the heal
ing of the lame man at the beautiful
gate of the temple is most suggestive
and helpful in its application to mod
ern Christian work..
"These apostles had a gift from God.
Gods gifts are varied and bountiful
and are discovered in most unexpected
places.
He has poured his wealth into the
great prairies. He has expended his
riches in the mountains. He has not
withheld his bounty from the desert.
with flower and fruit, with metal
and mineral, with water and wind, he
scatters his gifts everywhere.
$50 with man. God has left upon man
of every age, rank and condition divine
endowments.
''These gifts are as varied as the
stars in the sky, and as useful as the
fruit produced by the earth.
Genuine Conservation
"These apostles consecrated their
gift of healing to the need of man, to
the good of the race. This is genuine
conservation.
ITO set apart to separate uses and
purposes, to turn our powers and pos
sessions to the service OF the race, to
the upbuilding of mankind, to the al
deviation of human suffering, is the
highest kind of conservation.
MANY people confuse pious preten-
sion and somber CALCULATIONS with
piety.
'Servce is the only true test and
proof of conservation. These apostles
gave of their heaven derived power to
minister relief to the needy sufferers.
"These apostls used the powers they
had-'What have that give 1 thee
"God only expects men to use such
gifts as they individually possess and
not such as may be the heritage of
their neighbors.
Rod and Harp
"Moses had but a rod, but when dedi-
Gated to the need of his people, 1t
wrought genuine and lasting service.
David had but a harp but with his
song brought comfort and helpfulness
to human hearts in all subsequent
generations.
1.-The widow had but two pennies but
with these she has given tribute to
generosity and a rebuke to stnginess
in all ages of the church.
"Dorcas had but needle, but with it
clothed the poor and made for herself
a rope OF lHlpeTlSlldDle Sloly'
"It is the power we have, the pos
session committed to our hands. that
God wants us to use. The smallest
power possessed by mans standard can
often render the largest service accord
ing to the divine standard.
Valuable as Used
"These gifts we're valuable only as
they were used. Use is the ultimate
purpose of all endowments.
1.-The diamond attains its value only
as it sparkles in the necklace of service.
"God challenges all men to bring
their endowments onto the field of
service.
"These gifts resulted in this lame
man being lifted up and placed on his
feet with his heart filled with gladness
and song. Such is the service we owe
our unfortunate fellow men. We are
to lift them up. are to add cheer to
their lives, are to put song upon their
lips.
1.-The man whose life is thus spent is
he who has caught to the fullest the
spirit of his Master.
"How many are the lame. the
manned. the halt. morally and spirit
ually, who await the helping hand, who
need the cheering word? Lend hand,
brother, and help this old world up to
God"