EGW
Brethren,
The Lord is coming, and we need to bend every energy to the work before us. We must not only give discourses in the desk, but minister out of the desk. We must be a savor of life unto life in our conversation and deportment. Watchmen upon the walls of Zion, God calls upon you to give yourselves wholly to the work. It is impossible for any man to answer the purpose of God unless he gives his whole soul, mind, and being to God, deciding that he will practice what he preaches, showing himself to be a faithful, devout Christian, a partaker with Christ of his sufferings. The servants of God should pray as never before, Lord, “open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” “Lord, open thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.” RH January 21, 1890, par. 1
We lose much by not diligently searching the Scriptures for precious gems of truth. We should study the word of God more earnestly. “Therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away by the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” Jesus is measuring the characters of those who profess to be his followers. He is going from congregation to congregation, from church to church, measuring the worshipers. He follows those who claim to be the sons and daughters of God, to take their measurement in business transactions, in trade, in all the affairs of life. His under-shepherds are bearing heavy responsibilities; for by virtue of their office they are to be representatives of Christ, representatives of the sanctifying power of the truth. The under-shepherds may sleep, they may fail to rightly divide the word of truth, they may fail to point the flock to the pastures provided for them. Instead of being a light to the world, they may be walking in darkness. They may stumble upon the dark mountains of unbelief. But the True Shepherd, he that keepeth Israel, shall neither slumber nor sleep. If the candlestick is held by unfaithful men, if it gives a flickering light that grows dim and dies out, there is One who sees, One who declares, “I know thy works.” RH January 21, 1890, par. 2
Christ is present at every assembly and at every private interview. He has made his people the depositaries of rare blessings. He has given them gems and treasures richer than gold; and every faithful co-laborer with God is to work the mine of truth and bring the treasures to view. The great Master-worker has an oversight of the whole. He notes those who toil with patience. He sees their faith, their forbearance, their love, their untiring zeal; and it is registered of them in the book of heaven, “Well done, good and faithful servants.” They are commended because they have toiled early and late, and because they cannot bear them which are evil. They have carried out the injunction of the apostle to “reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine.” They have administered impartial discipline, laying their hand upon all false teaching, upon false brethren whose works have denied the faith. Amid the scorn of men, suffering worldly loss, they have manifested steadfast integrity. While temptations to worldliness and licentiousness cause the love of many to wax cold, they stand true as the needle to the pole, as faithful workers, as standard-bearers for God, in principle firm as a rock. RH January 21, 1890, par. 3
Shall we forget our holy calling, brethren? Shall the mournful deterioration of piety be seen among us, that caused the rejection of the Jewish nation? Shall we who have had so great light upon Bible truth let a dry, dead formalism take the place of zeal and faith? Is our light to go out in darkness? Are we not to work zealously to counteract the arts of the enemy? We must watch and pray. We must arouse and take in the situation. We are in the day of atonement, and we are to work in harmony with Christ's work of cleansing the sanctuary from the sins of the people. Let no man who desires to be found with the wedding garment on, resist our Lord in his office work. As he is, so will his followers be in this world. We must now set before the people the work which by faith we see our great High-priest accomplishing in the heavenly sanctuary. Those who do not sympathize with Jesus in his work in the heavenly courts, who do not cleanse the soul temple of every defilement, but who engage in some enterprise not in harmony with this work, are joining with the enemy of God and man in leading minds away from the truth and work for this time. RH January 21, 1890, par. 4
The Spirit of truth has a refining, elevating, heavenly influence upon mind and character. We are to study the mind of Christ, and to receive the truth as it is in Jesus. We are to watch and pray, to consult the living oracles of God. When any lust takes possession of the mind in any way or to any degree, and there is a yielding to fleshly desires, we lose the image of Christ in spirit and character. The work in the heavenly sanctuary becomes obscure to the minds of those who are controlled by the temptations of the evil one, and they engage in side issues to gratify their own selfish purposes, and their true moral standing is determined by their works. RH January 21, 1890, par. 5
I appeal to you, my fellow-laborers, to meditate upon the sacred truths imparted unto you. The heavenly Master has intrusted you with the mine of truth, and you are to work out its treasures, to display its gems, and unveil its attractions, not merely when giving a discourse, but in your daily life you are to show the constraining, transforming power of the truth. Every faculty and power of our nature must receive the imprint of Christ's signature. We must become partakers of the divine nature. By beholding, we become changed into his image. RH January 21, 1890, par. 6
What are we doing for Jesus? Are we cooperating with him in his great work above? Are we using every jot of influence we have to cleanse the temple of God from defilement? Let not the ministers act in such a way that they will come under the same condemnation as did the priests and rulers whom Jesus charged with making the house of God a den of thieves. We might better be reduced to penury than gain means that will divorce our interest from the solemn truths for this time. It is Satan's studied effort to make of none effect saving, testing truth through the lives of those who preach the truth to others and who in their daily practices deny what they preach. If we are paralyzed spiritually, we shall not be able to realize that our obligations are in proportion to the light we have received. All the angels of heaven are united in the work of bringing to man the infinite treasures of the better world. Shall we not with grateful hearts show that we appreciate the heavenly gifts, and co-operate with the workers of heaven in bringing every power into captivity to Christ? RH January 21, 1890, par. 7
If we would come into possession of the heavenly inheritance, the glorious, eternal substance, we must be in covenant relation with God, and employ every faculty of our being to win souls to Christ. O, would that I could present this subject in more fitting language, that you might comprehend the matter as it really is! God's people must be a peculiar, holy people, distinct in character and practice from the world, distinguished from all the religionists of the day. They must be patterns in personal piety and good works. There is higher, holier work for us to do than we have yet done. Christ has said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” It has no principles that will meet the principles of the world. The Lord has set his Church as a light in the world, to guide the world to heaven. It is to be a part of heaven on the earth, flashing divine light on the pathway of benighted souls. RH January 21, 1890, par. 8
God himself has plucked men as brands from the burning, and through the sanctifying power of his truth, he has trained the children of wrath to be the children of light, that they might cooperate with him in life and character, by precept and example, and reveal his miracle of grace that has filled the angels with astonishment and joy. RH January 21, 1890, par. 9
Satan is working to put his seal and stamp upon the watchmen, that the purposes of God may not be fulfilled in them. He is working that the individual members of the Church shall not be one with Christ as he is one with the Father. But it is the privilege of Christ's followers to partake of the rich and full supplies of his grace, that the world may believe that Christ has indeed sent them. It is a lamentable fact that not all the ministers who preach the truth are converted. Many have ceased to advance in the path of progress, and they do not represent Christ, for they do not copy the Pattern. RH January 21, 1890, par. 10
The Lord cannot glorify his name through ministers who attempt to serve God and mammon. We are not to urge men to invest in mining stock, or in city lots, holding out the inducement that the money invested will be doubled in a short time. Our message for this time is, “Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” RH January 21, 1890, par. 11
Just before Israel entered the land of Canaan, Satan sought to seduce the people, and lead them to idolatry, thinking to compass their ruin. He works in the same way in our day. There are young men whom God would accept to become workers together with him, but they have become absorbed in this real-estate craze, and have sold their interest in the truth for the prospect of worldly advantage. There are many who hold themselves away from the service of God, because they desire worldly gain, and Satan uses those who claim to believe the truth, to seduce souls. The tempter comes to men as he came to Jesus, presenting the glory of the world; and when a measure of success attends the ventures of men, they become greedy for more gain, and their spirituality dies; they lose their love for the truth. The immortal inheritance, the love of Jesus, is eclipsed to their vision by the fleeting prospects of the world. RH January 21, 1890, par. 12