"Behold, I come quickly," Christ
declares; "and My reward is with Me, to give every man according
as his work shall be." Revelation 22: 12. The Lord at His
coming will scrutinize every talent; He will demand interest
on the capital He has entrusted. By His own humiliation and agony,
by His life of toil and His death of shame, Christ has paid for
the service of all who have taken His name and profess to be
His servants. All are under deepest obligation to improve every
capability for the work of winning souls to Him. "Ye are
not your own," He says; "for ye are bought with a price;"
therefore glorify God by a life of service that will win men
and women from sin to righteousness. 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20.
We are bought with the price of Christ's own life, bought that
we may return to God His own in faithful service.
We have no time now to give our energies
and talents to worldly enterprises. Shall we become absorbed
in serving the world, serving ourselves, and lose eternal life
and the everlasting bliss of heaven? Oh, we cannot afford to
do this! Let every talent be employed in the work of God. Those
who receive the truth are, by their efforts, to increase the
number of men and women who shall be laborers together with God.
Souls are to be enlightened and taught to serve God intelligently;
they are to be continually increasing in the knowledge of righteousness.
All heaven is interested in the carrying
forward of the work that Christ came to the world to do. Heavenly
agencies are opening ways for the light of
truth to shine to the dark places of the earth. Angels are waiting
to communicate to those who will take hold of the work that has
been pointed out to us for years. Shall we not manifest an interest
to set in operation ways and means for the opening up of city
work? Many opportunities have been lost through neglecting to
do this work at once, through failing to go forward in faith.
The Lord says: "Had you exercised faith in the messages
I have sent, there would not be such a lack of workers and of
means for their support."
The coming of Christ is near and hasteth
greatly. The time in which to labor is short, and men and women
are perishing. Said the angel: "Should not the men who have
had great light co-operate with Him who sent His Son to the world
to give light and salvation to men?" Shall men who have
received the knowledge of the truth line upon line, precept upon
precept, here a little and there a little, show but little appreciation
of Him who came to the earth that His divine power might be the
heritage of every believing soul? It was thus that the divinity
of Christ was to become effectual in the salvation of the race,
and the intercession of our great High Priest avail before the
throne of God. The plan was devised in heaven. Shall those who
have been bought with such a price fail of appreciating the great
salvation?
The Lord cannot commend the people who,
professing godliness, professing to believe in the soon coming
of Christ, leave the cities unwarned of the judgments that are
soon to fall on the land. Those who do this will be judged for
their neglect. Christ gave His precious life to save the souls
that are perishing in their sins. Shall we refuse to do the work
assigned us, refuse to co-operate with God and heavenly agencies?
There are thousands who are doing
this, who are failing of becoming one with Christ, failing of
letting the great sacrifice of Christ shine forth in the life,
in saving grace that reveals the truth in works of righteousness.
Yet this is the work given to men by the sacrifice of the Son
of God. Knowing this, can we remain indifferent? I appeal to
our brethren to wake up. The spiritual faculties will grow weak
and die if they are not exercised in winning souls to Christ.
What excuse can be offered for the neglect of the great, grand
work that Christ gave His life to accomplish?
We cannot afford in the few days we have here
on earth to spend our time in trifling and nothingness. We need
to humble our souls before God, that every heart may drink in
the truth, and let it work in the life a reformation that will
convince the world that this is indeed the truth of God. Let
the life be hid with Christ in God. Only when we seek the Lord
as little children, when we cease picking flaws in our brethren
and sisters, and in those who are seeking to carry faithfully
the responsibilities of the work, and seek to get our own hearts
right with God, can He use us to the glory of His name.
We all need to come into a self-sacrificing
position before God if our work is to be accepted by Him. Let
us remember that profession is nothing unless we have the truth
in the heart. We need the converting power of God to take hold
of us, that we may understand the needs of a perishing world.
The burden of my message to you is: Get ready, get ready to meet
the Lord. Trim your lamps, and let the light of truth shine forth
into the byways and the hedges. There is a world to be warned
of the near approach of the end of all things.
My brethren and sisters, seek the Lord
while He may be found. There is a time coming when those who
have wasted their time and opportunities
will wish they had sought Him. God has given you reasoning faculties.
He wants you to keep in the line of reason and in the line of
labor. He wants you to go forth to our churches to labor earnestly
for Him. He wants you to institute meetings for those outside
the churches, that the people may learn the truths of this last
message of warning. There are places where you will be gladly
received, where souls will thank you for coming to their help.
May the Lord help you to take hold of this work as you have never
yet taken hold of it.
Let us begin to work for those who have
not had the light. "All power is given unto Me in heaven
and in earth," the Saviour declares, "and, lo, I am
with you alway." Matthew 28:18, 20. What we need is a living
faith, faith to proclaim over the rent sepulcher of Joseph that
we have a living Saviour, one who will go before us and who will
work with us. God will do the work if we will furnish Him the
instruments. There needs to be among us a great deal more of
prayer and much less of unbelief. We need to lift up the standard
higher and still higher before the people. We need to remember
that Christ is always at our right hand as we proclaim liberty
to the captives and deal the bread of life to hungry souls. When
we keep before our minds the urgency and importance of our work,
the salvation of God will be revealed in a remarkable manner.
God help us to put on the armor and to
act as if we were in earnest, as if the souls of men and women
were worth saving. Let us seek a new conversion. We need the
presence of the Holy Spirit of God with us, that our hearts may
be softened and that we may not bring a harsh spirit into the
work. I pray that the Holy Spirit may take full possession of
our hearts. Let us act like children
of God who are looking to Him for counsel, ready to work out
His plans wherever presented. God will be glorified by such a
people, and those who witness our zeal will say: Amen and amen.
Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion;
put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the Holy City. .
. . How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that
bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good
tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion,
Thy God reigneth! Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with
the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to
eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.
Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted His people, He hath redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord hath made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." Isaiah 52:1-10.