Among the members of our churches there
should be more house-to-house labor in giving Bible readings
and distributing literature. A Christian character can be symmetrically
and completely formed only when the human agent regards it as
a privilege to work disinterestedly in the proclamation of the
truth and to sustain the cause of God with means. We must sow
beside all waters, keeping our souls in the love of God, working
while it is day, and using the means the Lord has given us to
do whatever duty comes next. Whatever our hands find to do, we
are to do it with faithfulness; whatever sacrifice we are called
upon to make, we are to make it cheerfully. As we sow beside
all waters we shall realize that "he which soweth bountifully
shall reap also bountifully." 2 Corinthians 9:6.
Christ's example must be followed by those
who claim to be His children. Relieve the physical necessities
of your fellow men, and their gratitude will break down the barriers
and enable you to reach their hearts. Consider this matter earnestly.
As churches you have had opportunity to work as laborers together
with God. Had you obeyed the word of God, had you entered upon
this work, you would have been blessed and encouraged, and would
have obtained a rich experience. You would have found yourselves,
as the human agencies of God, earnestly advocating a scheme of
saving, of restoration, of salvation. This scheme would not be
fixed, but progressive, moving
on from grace to grace and from strength to strength.
The Lord has presented before me the work
that is to be done in our cities. The believers in these cities
are to work for God in the neighborhood of their homes. They
are to labor quietly and in humility, carrying with them wherever
they go the atmosphere of heaven. If they keep self out of sight,
pointing always to Christ, the power of their influence will
be felt.
It is not the Lord's purpose that ministers
should be left to do the greatest part of the work of sowing
the seeds of truth. Men who are not called to the ministry are
to labor for their Master according to their several ability.
As a worker gives himself unreservedly to the service of the
Lord, he gains an experience that enables him to work more and
more successfully for the Master. The influence that drew him
to Christ helps him to draw others to Christ. The work of a public
speaker may never be laid upon him, but he is nonetheless a minister
for God, and his work testifies that he is born of God.
Women as well as men can engage in the
work of hiding the truth where it can work out and be made manifest.
They can take their place in the work at this crisis, and the
Lord will work through them. If they are imbued with a sense
of their duty, and labor under the influence of the Spirit of
God, they will have just the self-possession required for this
time. The Saviour will reflect upon these self-sacrificing women
the light of His countenance, and this will give them a power
that will exceed that of men. They can do in families a work
that men cannot do, a work that reaches the inner life. They
can come close to the hearts of those whom men cannot reach.
Their work is needed. Discreet and humble women can do a good work in explaining the truth to
the people in their homes. The word of God thus explained will
do its leavening work, and through its influence whole families
will be converted.
My brethren and sisters, study your plans;
grasp every opportunity of speaking to your neighbors and associates
or of reading something to them from books that contain present
truth. Show that you regard as of first importance the salvation
of the souls for whom Christ has made so great a sacrifice.
In working for perishing souls, you have
the companionship of angels. Thousands upon thousands, and ten
thousand times ten thousand angels are waiting to cooperate with
members of our churches in communicating the light that God has
generously given, that a people may be prepared for the coming
of Christ. "Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the
day of salvation." Let every family seek the Lord in earnest
prayer for help to do the work of God.
Do not pass by the little things, and look
for a large work. You might do successfully the small work, but
fail utterly in attempting a large work and fall into discouragement.
Take hold wherever you see that there is work to be done. Whether
you are rich or poor, great or humble, God calls you into active
service for Him. It will be by doing with your might what your
hands find to do that you will develop talent and aptitude for
the work. And it is by neglecting your daily opportunities that
you become fruitless and withered. This is why there are so many
fruitless trees in the garden of the Lord.
In the home circle, at your neighbor's
fireside, at the bedside of the sick, in a quiet way you may
read the Scriptures and speak a word for Jesus and the truth.
Precious seed may thus be sown that will spring up and bring
forth fruit after many days.
There is missionary work to be done in
many unpromising places. The missionary spirit needs to take
hold of our souls, inspiring us to reach classes for whom we
had not planned to labor and in ways and places that we had no
idea of working. The Lord has His plan for the sowing of the
gospel seed. In sowing according to His will, we shall so multiply
the seed that His word may reach thousands who have never heard
the truth.
Opportunities are opening on every side.
Press into every providential opening. Eyes need to be anointed
with the heavenly eyesalve to see and sense their opportunities.
God calls now for wide-awake missionaries. There are ways that
will be presented before us. We are to see and understand these
providential openings.
God's messengers are commissioned to take up the very work that Christ did while on this earth. They are to give themselves to every line of ministry that He carried on. With earnestness and sincerity they are to tell men of the unsearchable riches and the immortal treasure of heaven. They are to be filled with the Holy Spirit. They are to repeat Heaven's offers of peace and pardon. They are to point to the gates of the city of God, saying: "Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Revelation 22:14.