The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-08-09
STURDIYANT AT
 BESSEMER CHURCH
TAKES TEXT FROM PARABLE OF THE TALENTS TO SHOW MANS RESPONSIBILITY FOR GIFTS EN- TRUSTED BY MAsTER.

Bessemer, August S.-(Special)- )--The Rev. J. F. Sturdivant preached at the First Methodist church this morning and his sermon pleased a large congre- gation. MT. Sturdivant's text was For the Kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants. and delivered unto them his goods"
 The man gave to one servant one talent, to another two. and to a thir five" said MT. Sturdivant. "The man who had received five taients used them and made five more, the servant with two did the same, but the third buried his- When the day of reckoning came the two enterprising servants were re- warded, but the third was deprived of even his one talent and cast into out CT darkness.
 ITO call the attention to the wording of the simile, the Kingdom of heaven Is as.' Generally speaking the Kingdom of heaven means the rule of God on earth. It can mean any of three things, namely, the sovereignty of the church, the grace of God in the hu- man heart, or the home of the soul beyond the sky. Christ pictures to us in this parable of the talents the gov ernment of God. I consider talents to mean in this passage anything that has been committed to us by God for use. If we have money it should be con secrated to the use of God, if we have mental ability 1t should be used for the glory of God. Everything that is given us should be increased and used for the furthering of the Kingdom of the Lord. God shows us that he ap- preciates the different grades of ability in His commitment of talents, for did He not give one man five, another two and a third one? In the commitment of talents God shows wisdom, for He will not give any man to do that which is beyond his ability.
 The absolute sovereignty and au- thority of God are the next thought that presents itself. This Is shown in the parable by His calling His ser wants for the disposal of their goods. He asked no questions. and rewarded the worthy and punished the slothful without advice He demanded report and made the final awards without conferring with any one. The practi- cal application of the parable Is this: God made all things, He rules all things, all are dependent on Him, He asks no one for permission, and when He commands He must be obeyed, or there will be wailing and a gnashing of teeth.
 Mans relation to God is one of honor and responsibility. It Is one of honor for God made man in His own image and placed him as king of all things, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, and the fish of the sea. Man Is made a little lower than God, kind of underGod. God trusts man for He depends on him to carry out His work and to mature Gods plan of salvation. Man is responsible to God for his action on earth for the highest trust cannot be placed in any thing and that thing, whatever 1t mas be, will bear a responsibility. Gods earthly honor and glory are in the hands of man and tho saving of many souls are in his keeping.
 There will come reckoning day as in the parable. Each servant had to give an account of his work in the masters absence, so each man will be compelled to do likewise. We will be rewarded and punished in accordance of what We have made Of our oppor- tunities. None can escape His sum mons to the Judgment bar to receive the reward or the punishment
 The destiny of man Is determined by what he does. So it was In each case of the parable, two were blessed for their diligence and the third was punished for laziness A man makes or mars his life, and his destiny Is in his own hands. The comforting thought is that no unjust demand will be made of him"
 The Rev. MT. Sturdivant drew the following lessons from the text: Man must work. Great things are in the reach of all. Mans destiny depends on himself. Great trusts are committed unto them that are worthy. Be worthy"