Earlier text: OUR BURDEN-BEARER.THE NEED OF BROADER PLANS.
How many towns and cities there are that are utterly neglected. Our people are injuring themselves by crowding into one place. When trees in a nursery are crowded thickly together they can not grow healthfully and sturdily. Transplant trees from your thickly-planted nursery. God is not glorified in the centering of so many advantages in one place. Give room; put your plants in many places, where one will not lean for support upon another. Give them room to grow. This the Lord demands of you. The means expended in enlarging your advantages in Battle Creek, which are already overgrown, and have passed reasonable limits, should be used in establishing missionary stations elsewhere. You should broaden your plans and widen the field of your operations. You should send wise men into the cities and towns that have not yet heard the gospel message. Pick out the best men you can possibly spare, and give them opportunity to become caretakers and burden-bearers. Let them have opportunity to develop the talents that in the past have lain idle. Place them where they can use their God-given abilities in calling sinners to repentance. Let men who make it manifest that they love God have a chance to do something for Him. Let men learn to pray earnestly, and let them make their prayers short and right to the point. Let them learn to speak of the world’s Redeemer, and to lift up the Man of Calvary higher and still higher. All the preaching in the world will not make men feel deeply the need of the perishing souls around them. Nothing will so arouse in men and women a self-sacrificing zeal as to send them forth into new fields to work for those in darkness. Prepare workers to go out into the highways and hedges. Do not call men and women to the great center, encouraging them to leave churches that need their aid. Men must learn148 to bear responsibilities. Not one in a hundred among us is doing anything beyond engaging in common, worldly enterprises. We are not half awake to the worth of the souls for whom Christ died. We need wise nurserymen, who will transplant trees to different localities, and give them advantages that will enable them to grow. It is the positive duty of God’s people to go into the regions beyond. Let forces be set at work to clear new ground, to establish new centers of influence wherever an opening can be found. Rally workers who possess true missionary zeal, and let them go forth to diffuse light and knowledge far and near. Let them take the living principles of health reform into the communities that to a large degree are ignorant of these principles. Let classes be formed, and instruction be given regarding the treatment of disease. It is a fact that through the influence of the Sanitarium the truth of heaven has come to the notice of thousands. Yet there is a work to be done that has been neglected. Money has been expended in enlarging facilities in Battle Creek, when the Lord desires the leaven to be introduced into the mass of meal, that the whole may be leavened. Instead of building after building being added to the Sanitarium, there should be at this time many institutions fully equipped and in working order in other places. There are men who have been long connected with the Sanitarium who will always be shadows of some one else, if they are retained there, when, if they were permitted to rely upon their own judgment, they would become deep, self-reliant thinkers, capable of giving wise counsel. Let these men have a chance to learn to bear responsibilities in the strength of God. Thus they will gain an experience that will enable them to impart the truth to others. But instead of men being sent from Battle Creek, as God has directed in the pointed testimonies that149 have been given, thousands of dollars have been devoted to enlarging the institutions and increasing the facilities in Battle Creek. And the call comes from Battle Creek for more conveniences and more workers. But there must be a change. We are encouraged as we see the work that is being done in Chicago and a few other places. Years ago the large responsibilities centering in Battle Creek should have been distributed. You may look with satisfaction at the wide-spreading growth of the Sanitarium at Battle Creek, but God does not look upon it with the same approval that you do. If institutions had been built up in other places, if men had been given responsibilities to bear, there would have been far more strength, far more efficiency in our work, and we should have moved more nearly in accordance with the mind and will of God than we have. As it is, a few men are carrying heavy responsibilities. A few wield an influence that has a controlling power in the management of the work far and near, while there are many who carry no burdens. Many of those carrying heavy responsibilities need to be converted. Christ says to them as He said to Nicodemus: “Ye must be born again.” “Except a man be born again, he can not see the kingdom of God.” John 3:7, 3. Many are controlled by an unchristian spirit. They have not yet learned in the school of Christ His meekness and lowliness, and unless they change, they will yield to Satan’s temptations. Year after year, they carry sacred responsibilities, yet prove themselves incapable of distinguishing between the sacred and the common. How long shall such men continue to wield a controlling influence? How long shall their word be permitted to exalt or to cast down, to condemn or to lift up? How long shall they hold such power that no one dare make a change in their methods? People are encouraged to settle in Battle Creek, to give their influence to the building up of a modern Jerusalem. This is not after God’s order. Thus other places are deprived of facilities that they should have. Enlarge ye; spread ye; yes, but not in one place only. Go out, and establish centers of influence in places where nothing, or next to nothing, has been done. Break up your consolidated mass; diffuse the saving beams of light into the darkened corners of the earth. A work similar to that of an eagle stirring up her nest needs to be done. “Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel; neither hath he gone into captivity; therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.” Jer. 48:11. This is true of many of the believers who are coming to Battle Creek. Many have a spasmodic zeal in battle, but their light is like that of a meteor that flashes across the heavens and then goes out. Let God’s workmen who have the interests of His cause at heart do something for the colored people in the Southern field. Let not God’s stewards be content merely to touch this field with the tips of their fingers. Let those at the heart of the work plan in earnest for this field. Many have talked about it, but what are they doing as the stewards of God’s means? Why do they feel at liberty to bind up God’s capital of means in Battle Creek? Why do they do the very things that they have been warned not to do? The matter is becoming serious; for warnings and entreaties have been given in vain. The arms of power in Battle Creek are being extended more and more widely, seeking to control the work far and near, and to crush that which they can not control. I lift my voice in protest. The spirit that now controls is not the Spirit of the Lord. The Lord has blessed Battle Creek again and again151 by pouring out His Spirit upon the church and the workers, but how few have cherished the influence of the Spirit. How few have expended their money as God has directed. Means has been expended in educating those who knew the truth, while fields that are wholly unenlightened have been neglected. Had ministers gone out as Christ has commissioned them, had they used the gifts entrusted them to carry the light to those in darkness, they would have obtained far more knowledge of God and of Christ than they have obtained by seeking additional education in our schools. A FAILURE TO APPRECIATE GOD-GIVEN RESPONSIBILITIES.
Has not God given us a work to do? Has He not bidden us go among opposing influences and convert men from error to truth? Why have not those who have so frequently gathered in the large assemblies in Battle Creek put into practise the truth that they have heard. If they had imparted the light that they have received, what a transformation of character would have been seen. For every grace imparted, God would have given grace. They have not prized as they should the work that has been done for them, or they would have gone forth into the dark places of the earth, to shed abroad the light. They would have given to the world the message of righteousness by faith, and their own light would have grown clearer and clearer; for God would have worked with them. Many have gone down into the grave in error because those who know the truth have failed to communicate the precious knowledge they have received. If the light that has shone so freely in Battle Creek had been diffused, many would have been raised up to become laborers together with God. O that our brethren and sisters might value aright the truth! O that they might become sanctified by it! O that they might realize that upon them rests the responsibility of communicating this truth to others!152 But they do not feel the importance of living the truth, of being doers of the words of Christ. Many are self-sufficient. They are not filled with the missionary spirit that should animate the disciples of Christ. If they knew what it means to have travail of soul for others, angels of God would work through them to communicate a knowledge of the truth. They would know the truth, and the truth would make them free. Money would no longer be expended in adding building to building in one place, but would be used in opening new fields, in planting the standard of truth in cities that have not yet been worked. The elevating, purifying, ennobling principles of heaven would be introduced into society, and would work like leaven. Extract from letter in 1899, written from Cooranbong, N. S. W.—It is God’s design that those fields which have abundant facilities shall share their advantages with more needy fields. The principle is ever to be followed in all our institutions. God requires that there be less planning for buildings in places where the work is already established, and that means be sent to fields where, for lack of facilities, the laborers work at a great disadvantage. GOD’S PURPOSE FOR HIS INSTITUTIONS.
NEWTOWN, Tasmania, Dec. 1, 1895. To the Medical Superintendent of a Large Sanitarium— My Dear Brother: Every institution that bears the name of Seventh-day Adventist is to be to the world as was Joseph in Egypt, and as were Daniel and his fellows in Babylon. In the providence of God these men were taken captive, that they might carry to heathen nations the knowledge of the true God. They were to be representatives of God in our world. They were to make no compromise with the idolatrous nations with which they were brought in contact, but were to stand loyal to their faith, bearing as a special honor the name of worshipers of the God who created the heavens and the earth. These youth stood firm to principle. They lived in close connection with God, honoring Him in all their ways, and He honored them. He was their wisdom. He gave them knowledge and understanding. To-day the remnant people of God are to glorify His name by proclaiming the last message of warning, the last invitation to the marriage supper of the Lamb. The only way in which they can fulfil God’s expectations is by being representatives of the truth for this time. The Lord has wrought through human agents to fulfil the prophecies. He has made sacred, eternal truth stand out plainly amidst the heresies and delusions that Christ declared should exist in the last days. My brother, you are situated where you can be a representative of the truth for this time. Keep close to the great Teacher. I saw you holding up the banner on which are written the words, “Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14:12.154 Several men, some of them those with whom you are connected in the Sanitarium, were presenting to you a banner on which was a different inscription. You were letting go the banner of Seventh-day Adventists, and were reaching out to grasp the banner presented to you. One of great dignity approached you, and with deep earnestness said:— “Unto you therefore which believe He is precious; but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient; whereunto also they were appointed. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2:7-9. Then your hand firmly grasped the true banner, and these encouraging words were spoken: “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” Rev. 19:7, 8. I was instructed that you and your fellow laborers were in danger of hiding the principles of our faith in order to obtain large patronage. Every jot done in this line, instead of extending the influence of the truth, will hinder its advance. You and your associates in the Sanitarium work need a pilot with you constantly, else you will be shipwrecked. You surely must understand your peril. Satan is making every effort to turn you aside into strange paths. God has strengthened you. Your soul must be sanctified through the truth, that your steadfast adherence to principles may be plain to all. The more fully your helpless soul leans upon God, the more155 fully you make Him your trust, the more hungry you will become for the bread of life. God is to be recognized and honored by the people calling themselves Seventh-day Adventists. In the past, the truth has, to the honor of God, been proclaimed with convincing power by the physicians and helpers in our sanitariums. God will accept no less of you, but will expect far more. You and your associates are to labor on in faith and firmness, to prevent decline and to insure progress. There must be no narrowing down of your work, no concealing of the principles of truth; there must be a widening of the base of operations. Many plants must be made in different places. There is need of more zeal, more faith, more influence, of more active, spirited workers. Remember that you are working for time and for eternity. Heavenly angels are commissioned to co-operate with your efforts for the conquest of souls. More earnest efforts should be made to establish the truth in various localities. And there must be no covering up of any phase of our message. The truth for this time must be given to the souls ready to perish. Those who in any way hide the truth dishonor God. Upon their garments will be the blood of souls. GOD’S PURPOSE FOR THE SANITARIUM.
The Battle Creek Sanitarium is a broad missionary field. God has been moving upon souls to seek in this institution relief from physical suffering. He requires that everything connected with it shall be such as He can approve. He is pleased that a chapel should be built in connection with the Sanitarium, that those who visit the institution may be given an opportunity to hear for themselves the truth as it is in Jesus. The precious gospel is to be presented to them, not in a weak, diluted style, but in strong, warm accents. As it is made plain that godliness is necessary to salvation, the peculiarities of our faith will appear,156 distinguishing us from the world. But no tirade is to be made against the doctrines held by others. In our association with worldlings, we are to recommend our faith by living, in all true modesty, the principles of Christianity. THE VALUE OF A STUDY OF GOD’S WORD.
If the medical students will study the word of God diligently, they will be far better prepared to understand their other studies; for enlightenment always comes with an earnest study of the word of God. Let our medical missionary workers understand that the more they become acquainted with God and with Christ, and the more they become acquainted with Bible history, the better prepared they will be to do their work. - The students in our schools should aspire to higher knowledge. Nothing will so help to give them a retentive memory as a study of the Scriptures. Nothing will so help them in gaining a knowledge of their other studies.
If unbelievers desire to join your classes for the training of medical missionaries, and you think that they would not exert an influence that would draw other students away from the truth, give them a chance. Some of your best missionaries may come from among them. They have never heard the truth, and as they are placed where they are surrounded with an influence that reveals the spirit of the Master, some will be won to the truth. In the studies given there should be no concealment of one principle of Bible truth. If admitting to your classes those not of our faith will lead to silence on the great themes that concern our present and eternal good,—themes that should ever be kept before the mind,—let them not be admitted. In no case is principle to be sacrificed or the peculiar characteristics of our faith hidden in order to add outside students to our classes. Faithful teachers should be placed in charge of the Bible classes, teachers who will strive to make the students understand their lessons, not by explaining everything to them, but by requiring them to explain clearly every passage they read. Let these teachers remember that little good will be accomplished by skimming over the surface of the word. Thoughtful investigation and earnest, taxing study are required in order for this word to be understood. There are truths in the word which, like veins of precious ore, are hidden beneath the surface. The hidden treasure is discovered as it is searched for, as a miner searches for gold and silver. The evidence of the truth of God’s word is in the word itself. Scripture is the key that unlocks scripture. The deep meaning of the truths of God’s word is unfolded to our minds by His Spirit. The Bible is the great lesson book for the students in our schools. It teaches the whole will of God concerning the sons and daughters of Adam. It is the rule of life, teaching us of the character that we must form for the future life. We need not the dim light of truth to make the Scriptures comprehensible. As well might we suppose that the noonday sun needs the glimmering torchlight of earth to increase its glory. The utterances of priest and minister are not needed to save men from error. Those who consult the divine Oracle will have light. In the Bible every duty is made plain. Every lesson given is comprehensible. Every lesson reveals to us the Father and the Son. The word is able to make all wise unto salvation. In the word the science of salvation is plainly revealed. Search the Scriptures; for they are the voice of God speaking to the soul. GOD’S PURPOSE IN MEDICAL MISSIONARY WORK.
MELBOURNE, N. S. W., Feb. 3, 1898. MY DEAR BROTHER: Special light has been given me that you are in danger of losing sight of the work for this time. You are erecting barriers to separate your work and those you are educating from the church. This must not be. Those who are receiving instruction in medical missionary lines should be led to realize that their education is to fit them to do better work in connection with the ministers of God. You are to remember, my brother, that the Lord has a people upon the earth whom He respects. But your words, and the way in which they are often spoken, create unbelief in the position that we occupy as a people. You are in danger of failing to hold fast the faith once delivered to the saints, of making shipwreck of your faith. The words were spoken: “A very small leak will sink a ship. One defective link makes a chain worthless.” EDUCATE MEDICAL MISSIONARIES.
Remember, my brother, that medical missionary work is not to take men from the ministry, but is to place men in the field, better qualified to minister because of their knowledge of medical missionary work. Young men should receive an education in medical missionary lines, and should then go forth to connect with the ministers. They should not be influenced to give themselves exclusively to the work of rescuing the fallen and degraded. That work is found everywhere, and is to be combined with the work of preparing a people to make Bible truth their defense against the sophistries of worldlings and of the fallen church. The third angel is to go forth with great power. Let none ignore this work, or treat it as of159 little importance. The truth is to be proclaimed to the world, that men and women may see the light. What saith the Lord in the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah? The whole chapter is of the highest importance. “Is not this the fast that I have chosen?” God asks: “to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am.” “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” Isa. 58:6-9, 13, 14. This is our work. The light that we have upon the third angel’s message is the true light. The mark of the beast is exactly what it has been proclaimed to be. Not all in regard to this matter is yet understood, and will not be understood until the unrolling of the scroll; but a most solemn work is to be accomplished in our world. The Lord’s command to His servants is, “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” Isa. 58:1.160 A message that will arouse the churches is to be proclaimed. Every effort is to be made to give the light, not only to our people, but to the world. I have been instructed that the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation should be printed in small books, with the necessary explanations, and should be sent all over the world. Our own people need to have the light placed before them in clearer lines. NO CHANGE IN GOD’S CAUSE.
There is to be no change in the general features of God’s cause. It is to stand out as clear and distinct as prophecy has made it. We are to enter into no confederacy with the world, supposing that by so doing we could accomplish more. My brother, if you stand in the way to hinder the advancement of the work on the lines that God has appointed, you will greatly displease Him. The warning message is to be given, and after you have faithfully accomplished your part of the work, you are not to hinder others of the Lord’s servants from going forth to do the work that they should do. Laboring for the degraded and fallen is not to be made the principal and all-important line. This work is to be combined with the work of instructing the churches. Our people are to be taught how to help the needy and the outcast. No line of our faith that has made us what we are is to be weakened. We have the old landmarks of truth, experience, and duty, and we are to stand firm in defense of our principles, in full view of the world. With hearts filled with interest and solicitude, we are to give the invitation to those in the highways and the byways. Medical missionary work is to be done. But this is only one part of the work that is to be accomplished, and it is not to be made all and in all. It is to be to the work of God as the hand is to the body. There may be unworthy ones connected with the ministry, yet no one can ignore the ministry without ignoring God. My brother, you are represented to me as in danger of standing apart from our people, feeling that you are a complete whole. But if you bind yourself up with those of your own mind, apart from the church, which is Christ’s body, you will make a confederacy that will be broken to pieces; for no union can stand but that which God has framed. Those who are receiving an education in medical lines hear insinuations from time to time that disparage the church and the ministry. These insinuations are seeds that will spring up and bear fruit. The students might better be educated to realize that the church of Christ on earth is to be respected. They need a clear knowledge of the reasons of our faith. This knowledge they must have, in order to serve God acceptably. Line upon line, precept upon precept, they must receive the Bible evidence of the truth as it is in Jesus. Do not, I beg of you, instil into the minds of the students ideas that will cause them to lose confidence in God’s appointed ministers. But this you are most certainly doing, whether you are aware of it or not. In His providence the Lord has placed you in a position where you may do a good work for Him in connection with the gospel ministry, bringing the truth before many who otherwise would not become acquainted with it. Temptations will come to you to think that in order to carry forward the medical missionary work you must stand aloof from church organization or church discipline. To stand thus would place you on an unsound footing. The work done for those who come to you for instruction is not complete unless they are educated to work in connection with the church. The medical missionary work is not to be made all and in all. In this point you are carrying things to162 extremes. There is a large work to be done. Publications teaching the truth are to be circulated everywhere. Medical students should not be encouraged to circulate only the books treating on health reform. Be careful that you are not found working out your own plans, to the disregard of God’s plans. Extract from letter written from Cooranbong, N. S. W., December, 1898.—My brother, the Lord God of Israel must be your counselor. Satan has come down with great power to work with all deceivableness of unrighteousness. Lean hard on Christ. You have worked untiringly to bring about good results. Do not now make mistakes. Never, never seek to remove one landmark that the Lord has given His people. The truth stands firmly established on the eternal Rock,—a foundation that storm and tempest can never move. Remember that just as soon as you allow your influence to lead away from the straight and narrow path that the Lord has cast up for His people, your prosperity will cease; for God will not be your guide. Again and again the record of Nebuchadnezzar’s life has been presented to me to present to you, that you may be warned not to trust in your own wisdom, or to make flesh your arm. Do not lower the banner of truth, or allow it to drop from your hands, in order to unite with the solemn message for these last days anything that will tend to hide the peculiar features of our faith. BRISBANE, Queensland, Australia, Oct. 26, 1898. To the Advisers of Medical Students— There is a burden upon my soul. There are young people who are encouraged to take up a course of study in medical lines who ought to be preparing themselves most decidedly to proclaim the third angel’s message. It is not necessary for our medical students to spend all the time that they are spending in medical studies. Their work should be more decidedly combined with a study of God’s word. Ideas are inculcated that are not at all necessary, and the necessary things do not receive sufficient attention. A DANGER TO BE GUARDED AGAINST.
While students are being educated in this way, they are being made less able to do acceptable work for the Master. The taxation that they undergo to obtain an extended knowledge in medical lines unfits them to work as they should in ministerial lines. Physical and mental weariness come because of the overstrain of study, and because the students are encouraged to labor unduly for the outcasts and the degraded. Thus some are disqualified for the work that they might have done had they begun missionary work where it was needed, and let the medical line come in as an essential part, connected with the work of the gospel ministry as a whole, as the hand is connected with the body. Life is not to be imperiled in an effort to obtain a medical education. There is danger, in some cases, that students will ruin their health and unfit themselves to do the service they might have done had they not been unwisely encouraged to take a medical course. Often erroneous opinions are transcribed on the mind, and these lead to an unwise course of action. Students should have time to talk with God, time to live in hourly, conscious communion with the principles of truth and righteousness and mercy. At this time straightforward investigation of the heart is essential. The student must place himself where he can draw from the Source of spiritual and intellectual power. He must require that every cause which asks his sympathy and co-operation has the approval of the reason which God has given him, and the conscience, which the Holy Spirit is controlling. He is not to perform an action that does not harmonize with the deep, holy principles which minister light to his soul and vigor to his will. Only thus can he do God the highest service. He is not to be taught that medical missionary work will bind him to any man, who shall dictate what his work shall be. Medical missionary work is not to be drawn apart and made separate from church organization. The medical students are not to receive the idea that they may regard themselves as amenable only to the leaders in the medical work. They are to be left free to receive counsel from God. They are not to pledge themselves and their future to anything that erring human beings may outline for them. No thread of selfishness is to be drawn into the web; no scheme is to be devised that has in it one particle of injustice. Selfishness is not to control any line of the work. Let us remember that individually we are working in full view of the heavenly universe. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.”165 Luke 10:27. Just before He left His disciples to return to heaven, Christ declared, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” Here we see the standard lifted higher and still higher. “By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13:34, 35. The disciples could not then comprehend Christ’s words, but after His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, they understood His love as never before. They had seen it expressed in His suffering in the garden, in the judgment-hall, and in His death on the cross of Calvary. The Lord’s people are to be one. There is to be no separation in His work. Christ sent out the twelve apostles, and afterward the seventy disciples, to preach the gospel and to heal the sick. “As ye go,” He said, “preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.” Matt. 10:7, 8. And as they went forth preaching the kingdom of God, power was given them to heal the sick and cast out evil spirits. In God’s work teaching and healing are never to be separated. His commandment-keeping people are to be one. Satan will invent every device to separate those whom God is seeking to make one. But the Lord will reveal Himself as a God of judgment. We are working under the eyes of the heavenly host. There is a divine Watcher among us, inspecting all that is planned and carried on. COORANBONG, N. S. W., Feb. 1, 1899. I address those in responsible positions in the General Conference, and those who are working in medical missionary lines. I am commissioned to speak also to the church in Battle Creek, and to all our other churches. I have been instructed to say, in reference to the medical missionary work, that there is danger of swaying things too heavily in one line. But what I say on this point must not be understood as in any sense justifying those who have held themselves aloof from medical missionary work. There are many who have not been in sympathy with this work. They should now be very careful how they speak in regard to it; for they are not intelligent on the subject, because they have not walked in the light. Whatever their position in the work of God, they should be very careful not to give utterance to sentiments that will discourage and hinder our conferences from taking hold of this work. The position that some have occupied in reference to medical missionary work makes it impossible for their words on this subject to have any weight. They are not clear-sighted; their judgment is warped. Every branch of the work is needed, but every branch of the work is to be under the supervision of God. The medical missionary work is to be to the cause of God as the right hand to the body. It would not be right for all the strength of the body to go into the right hand, and neither would it be right for all the strength of the cause of God to be used in medical missionary work. The ministry of the word must be sustained, and there must be unity, perfect oneness, in God’s work. Those who have felt no interest in medical missionary work are treating the right hand of167 God’s cause disrespectfully. Let all such change their attitude toward this work. Let them speak as few words as possible, until they stand in a right position. Silence is eloquence when the mind is not sanctified, and therefore can not discern spiritual things. There is at the present time great need of caution. “Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.” James 1:19. Let us heed the warning: “I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, . . . and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf; but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.” Rom. 16:17-19. “I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” 1 Cor. 1:10. This is the will of God concerning us. Shall we obey it? “The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? . . . For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” 1 Cor. 1:18-24. What a change would be seen if all who are in responsible positions would realize that they are working under the eye of an all-seeing God. What is needed now is the free working of the Holy Spirit on mind and heart. Without this, our efforts will be fruitless. When the Spirit moulds and fashions us, our words and acts will reveal heartfelt thanksgiving. THE IMPORTANCE OF MEDICAL MISSIONARY WORK.
There is great need of an increase of knowledge in every line of health reform. Those who have had the privilege of hearing the truth are to give the trumpet a certain sound as they proclaim the third angel’s message. Special lines of work are to be taken up, such as the medical missionary work. This work should be carried forward in connection with the gospel message for this time. Genuine medical missionary work is the gospel practised. Those who can not see the bearing of this work should not feel authorized to control any phase of it until they do understand its bearing. I wish to say decidedly that the Lord has accomplished great good through the medical missionary work, and that He has used our leading physician as His appointed agent. Not everything in the medical work has been without a flaw. With it have been blended many things that have marred its sacredness. But the Lord will take supervision of His cause, and will see that it does not become disproportionate in this one branch. The work will not be marred if the church will arise and shine, making it manifest that her light has come, and that the glory of the Lord is risen upon her. The medical missionary workers are to be purified, sanctified, ennobled. They are to rise to the highest point of excellence. They are to be moulded and fashioned after the divine similitude. Then they will see that health reform and medical missionary work are to be bound up with the preaching of the gospel. The reason why church-members do not understand169 this branch of the work, is that they are not following the light, walking step by step after their great Leader. The medical missionary work is of God, and bears His signature. For this reason, let man keep his hands off it, and not desire to manage it according to his own ideas. Our message is a world-wide message. And while means is not to be absorbed in one line of work, so that the last gospel message can not be carried into new fields, the medical missionary work is not in any wise to be disparaged; it is not to be represented as an inferior work. The world is a great lazar-house; it is corrupted under the inhabitants thereof, and misery is universal. The Lord has given our leading physician a work in aiding to prepare a people to stand in the great day of God. But he is to work under the supervision of God. There are some things in his labors that will have to be modeled more closely after the principles of the head worker.