Earlier text: IN THE CITIES OF THE EAST.TOURIST CENTERS AND CENTERS OF COMMERCE.
Those who in response to the call of the hour have entered the service of the Master-workman, may well study His methods of labor. During His earthly ministry, the Saviour took advantage of the opportunities to be found along the great thoroughfares of travel. It was at Capernaum that Jesus dwelt at the intervals of His journeys to and fro, and it came to be known as “His own city.” This city was well adapted to be the center of the Saviour’s work. Being on the highway from Damascus to Jerusalem and Egypt, and to the Mediterranean Sea, it was a great thoroughfare of travel. People from many lands passed through the city, or tarried for rest on their journeyings to and fro. Here Jesus could meet all nations and all ranks, the rich and great, as well as the poor and lowly; and His lessons would be carried to other countries and into many households. Investigation of the prophecies would thus be excited; attention would be directed to the Saviour, and His mission would be brought before the world. In these days of travel, the opportunities for coming in contact with men and women of all classes, and122 of many nationalities, are much greater than in the days of Israel. The thoroughfares of travel have multiplied a thousandfold. God has wonderfully prepared the way. The agency of the printing-press, with its manifold facilities, is at our command. Bibles, and publications in many languages, setting forth the truth for this time, are at our hand, and can be swiftly carried to every part of the world. Christians who are living in the great centers of commerce and travel have special opportunities. Believers in these cities can work for God in the neighborhood of their homes. In the world-renowned health resorts and centers of tourist traffic, crowded with many thousands of seekers after health and pleasure, there should be stationed ministers and canvassers capable of arresting the attention of the multitudes. Let these workers watch their chance for presenting the message for this time, and hold meetings as they have opportunity. Let them be quick to seize opportunities to speak to the people. Accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit, let them meet the people with the message borne by John the Baptist, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matt. 3:2. The word of God is to be presented with clearness and power, that those who have ears to hear may hear the truth. Thus the gospel of present truth will be placed in the way of those who know it not, and it will be accepted by not a few, and carried by them to their own homes in all parts of the world. We are to give the last warning of God to men, and what should be our earnestness in studying the Bible, and our zeal in spreading the light! Let every soul who has received the divine illumination seek to123 impart it. Let the workers go from house to house, opening the Bible to the people, circulating the publications, telling others of the light that has blessed their own souls. Let literature be distributed judiciously, on the trains, in the street, on the great ships that ply the sea, and through the mails. A great work is to be done, and those who know the truth should make mighty intercession for help. The love of Christ must fill their own hearts. The Spirit of Christ must be poured out upon them, and they must be making ready to stand in the judgment. As they consecrate themselves to God, a convincing power will attend their efforts to present the truth to others. We must no longer sleep on Satan’s enchanted ground, but call into requisition all our resources, avail ourselves of every facility with which Providence has furnished us. The last warning is to be proclaimed before “many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings,” and the promise is given, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Rev. 10:11; Matt. 28:20. I am instructed to point our ministers to the unworked cities, and to urge them by every possible means to open the way for the presentation of the truth. In some of the cities where the message of the second coming of the Lord was first given, we are compelled to take up the work as if it were a new field. How much longer will these barren fields, these unworked cities, be passed by? Without delay, the sowing of the seed should begin in many, many places. The Lord demands that in His servants shall be found a spirit that is quick to feel the value of souls, quick to discern the duties to be done, quick to respond to the obligations that the Lord lays upon them. There must be a devotion that will regard no124 earthly interest of sufficient value to take the place of the work to be done in winning souls to a knowledge of the truth. Ministers, preach the truths that will lead to personal labor for those who are out of Christ. Encourage personal effort in every possible way. Remember that a minister’s work does not consist merely in preaching. He is to visit families in their homes, to pray with them, and to open to them the Scriptures. He who does faithful work outside of the pulpit, will accomplish tenfold more than He who confines His labors to the desk. Let our ministers carry their load of responsibility with fear and trembling, looking to the Lord for wisdom, and asking constantly for His grace. Let them make Jesus their pattern, diligently studying His life and bringing into the daily practise the principles that actuated Him in His service while upon the earth. “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” This is a prescription for the healing of all mental and physical and spiritual ills. It is Christ’s gift to those who seek Him in sincerity and in truth. He is the mighty Healer. Then comes another invitation: “Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” Matt. 11:28-30. Wearing Christ’s yoke, and learning of Him the lesson of meekness and lowliness, we find rest in faith, and confidence and trust. We find that Christ’s yoke is easy, and His burden light. When a special effort is put forth by laborers of experience in a community where our own people live, there rests upon the believers in that field a most solemn obligation to do all in their power to open the way for the Lord to work. They should search their hearts prayerfully, and clear the King’s highway, by putting away every sin that would hinder them from co-operating with God and with their brethren. This has not always been fully understood. Satan has often brought in a spirit that has made it impossible for church-members to discern opportunities for service. Believers have not infrequently allowed the enemy to work through them at the very time when they should have been wholly consecrated to God and to the advancement of His work. Unconsciously they have wandered far from the way of righteousness. Cherishing a spirit of criticism and faultfinding, of pharisaical piety and pride, they have grieved away the Spirit of God, and have greatly retarded the work of God’s messengers. This evil has been pointed out many times, and in many places. Sometimes those who have indulged in a censorious, condemnatory spirit have repented and been converted. Then God has been able to use them to His name’s honor and glory. We are living in a special period of this earth’s history. A great work must be done in a very short time, and every Christian is to act a part in sustaining this work. God is calling for men who will consecrate themselves to the work of soul-saving. When we begin to comprehend what a sacrifice Christ made126 in order to save a perishing world, there will be seen a mighty wrestling to save souls. O that all our churches might see and realize the infinite sacrifice of Christ! In visions of the night representations passed before me of a great reformatory movement among God’s people. Many were praising God. The sick were healed, and other miracles were wrought. A spirit of intercession was seen, even as was manifested before the great day of Pentecost. Hundreds and thousands were seen visiting families, and opening before them the word of God. Hearts were convicted by the power of the Holy Spirit, and a spirit of genuine conversion was manifest. On every side doors were thrown open to the proclamation of the truth. The world seemed to be lightened with the heavenly influence. Great blessings were received by the true and humble people of God. I heard voices of thanksgiving and praise, and there seemed to be a reformation such as we witnessed in 1844. Yet some refused to be converted. They were not willing to walk in God’s way, and when, in order that the work of God might be advanced, calls were made for free-will offerings, some clung selfishly to their earthly possessions. These covetous ones became separated from the company of believers. LABORING WHILE PROBATION LINGERS.
The judgments of God are in the earth, and, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, we must give the message of warning that He has entrusted to us. We must give this message quickly, line upon line, precept upon precept. Men will soon be forced to great decisions, and it is our duty to see that they127 are given an opportunity to understand the truth, that they may take their stand intelligently on the right side. The Lord calls upon His people to labor—labor earnestly and wisely—while probation lingers. THE IMPORTANCE OF PERSONAL LABOR.
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 Cor. 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,128 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 none the less 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 can not do, a work that reaches the inner life. They can come close to the hearts of those whom men can not reach. Their work is needed. Discreet and129 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 co-operate 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 may130 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 eye-salve 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.” Rev. 22:14. CHERISHING A SPIRIT OF SELF-DENIAL.
Every church-member should cherish a spirit of sacrifice. In every home there should be taught131 lessons of self-denial. Fathers and mothers, teach your children to economize. Encourage them to save their pennies for missionary work. Christ is our example. For our sakes He became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich. He taught that all should come together in love and unity, to work as He worked, to sacrifice as He sacrificed, to love as the children of God. My brethren and sisters, you must be willing to be converted yourselves in order to practise the self-denial of Christ. Dress plainly, but neatly. Spend as little as possible upon yourselves. Keep in your homes a self-denial box into which you can put the money saved by little acts of self-denial. Day by day gain a clearer understanding of the word of God, and improve every opportunity to impart the knowledge you have gained. Do not become weary in well-doing, for God is constantly imparting to you the great blessing of His Gift to the world. Cooperate with the Lord Jesus, and He will teach you the priceless lessons of His love. Time is short; in due season, when time shall be no longer, you will receive your reward. To those who love God sincerely and have means, I am bidden to say, Now is the time for you to invest your means in sustaining the work of the Lord. Now is the time to uphold the hands of the ministers in their self-denying efforts to save perishing souls. When you meet in the heavenly courts the souls you have helped to save, will you not have a glorious reward? Let none withhold their mites, and let those who have much rejoice that they can lay up in heaven a treasure that faileth not. The money that we refuse to invest in the work of the Lord, will perish. On it no interest will accumulate in the bank of heaven. In the following words the apostle Paul describes those who withhold from God His own: “They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
1 Tim. 6:9, 10. It means much to sow beside all waters. It means a continual imparting of gifts and offerings. God will furnish facilities so that the faithful steward of His entrusted means shall be supplied with a sufficiency in all things, and be enabled to abound to every good work. “As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth forever. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness.” 2 Cor. 9:9, 10. The seed sown with full, liberal hand, is taken charge of by the Lord. He who ministers seed to the sower gives His worker that which enables him to co-operate with the Giver of the seed. The Lord now calls upon Seventh-day Adventists in every locality to consecrate themselves to Him, and to do their very best, according to their circumstances, to assist in His work. By their liberality in making gifts and offerings, He desires them to reveal their appreciation of His blessings and their gratitude for His mercy. My dear brethren and sisters, all the money we have is the Lord’s. I now appeal to you in the name of the Lord to unite in carrying to successful completion the enterprises that have been undertaken in the counsels of God. Let not the work of133 establishing memorials for God in many places be made difficult and burdensome because the necessary means is withheld. Let not those who are struggling to build up important enterprises, great and small, become disheartened because we are slow to unite in placing these enterprises in a position to do efficient service. Let all our people arise and see what they can do. Let them show that there is unity and strength among Seventh-day Adventists. CONDITIONS OF ACCEPTABLE SERVICE.
As a people, we must come into a sacred nearness to God. We need the light of heaven to shine into our hearts, and into the chambers of our mind; we need the wisdom that God alone can give, if we carry the message to these cities with success. Let our churches everywhere come into line. Let none who have pledged themselves by baptism to live for the service and glory of God, take back their pledge. There is a world to be saved: let this thought urge us on to greater sacrifices and more earnest labor for those who are out of the way. When you follow out the principles of the word of God, your influence will be of value to any church, any organization. You are to come up to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty. All frivolous words, all lightness and trifling, are enticements of the enemy to deprive you of spiritual strength. Brace yourselves against this evil, in the name of the God of Israel. If you will humble yourselves before God, He will give you a message for those in the highways and the hedges, and for those in foreign countries who need your help. Trim your lamps, and keep them burning, that wherever you may go, you may reveal in speech and action precious rays of light. If we will give ourselves for service to the Lord, He will instruct us what to do. If we will come into close relation with God, He will work with us. Let us not become so absorbed in self and self-interests that we shall forget those who are climbing the ladder of Christian experience, and who need our help. We must stand ready to use our God-given capabilities in the work of the Lord, ready to speak words in season and out of season,— words that will help and bless. My brethren and sisters, do we take into consideration the needs of the large cities of the East? Do we not know that they must be warned of Christ’s near approach? The work we have to do is a wonderfully great work. There is a world to be saved; there are souls to be labored for in the cities of the East, in the States where the message of the coming of our Lord was first preached. Who will give themselves to do this line of missionary work? There are hundreds of our people who ought to be out in the field, who are doing little or nothing for the advancement of the message. Those who have had every advantage of knowing the truth, who have received instruction line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, have a great responsibility resting upon them in these souls who have never heard the last gospel message. If in this opportune time the members of the churches will come humbly before God, putting out of their hearts all that is wrong, and consulting Him at every step, He will manifest Himself to them, and will give them courage in Him. And as the church-members do their part faithfully, the Lord will lead and guide His chosen ministers, and strengthen them for their important work. In much prayer let us all unite in holding up their hands,135 and in drawing bright beams from the heavenly sanctuary. The end is near, stealing upon us stealthily, imperceptibility, like the noiseless approach of a thief in the night. May the Lord grant that we shall no longer sleep as do others, but that we shall watch and be sober. The truth is soon to triumph gloriously, and all who now choose to be laborers together with God, will triumph with it. The time is short; the night soon cometh when no man can work. Let those who are rejoicing in the light of present truth now make haste to impart the truth to others. The Lord is inquiring, “Whom shall I send?” Those who wish to sacrifice for the truth’s sake are now to respond, “Here am I; send me.” Isa. 6:8. Let those who bear responsibilities remember that it is the Holy Spirit who is to do the fashioning. It is the Lord who controls. We are not to try to mold, according to our own ideas, those for whom we work, but to let Christ do the molding. He follows no human pattern. He works according to His own mind and Spirit. It is man’s work to reveal to the world that which Christ has placed in his heart; through His grace man becomes a partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. The higher powers of the one who receives Christ are strengthened and enabled, and he receives a fitness for God’s service. Many of the world’s learned men have received so high an education that they can not touch the common people. Their knowledge is intricate. It soars high, but rests nowhere. The most intelligent business men desire simple truth, such as Christ gave to136 the people when He was on this earth — the truth that He declares to be spirit and life. His words are as the leaves of the tree of life. What the world needs to-day is the light of Christ’s example, reflected from the lives of Christlike men and women. The intellect most powerful in behalf of truth is the intellect that Christ controls, ennobling and purifying it by the sanctification of the Holy Spirit. Christ has given His commission, “Go ye into all the world.” Mark 16:15. All must hear the message of warning. A prize of richest value is held up before those who are running the Christian race. Those who run with patience will receive a crown of life that fadeth not away. Cultivate restfulness, and commit the keeping of your souls unto God as unto a faithful Creator. He will keep that which is committed to His trust. He is not pleased to have us cover His altar with our tears and complaints. You have enough to praise God for already, if you do not see another soul converted. But the good work will go on if you will only go forward, and not be trying to adjust everything to your own ideas. Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, and be ye thankful. Let the Lord have room to work. Do not block His way. He can and will work if we will let Him. While extensive plans should be laid, great care must be taken that the work in each branch of the cause be harmoniously united with that in every other branch, thus making a perfect whole. WORDS OF COUNSEL TO MINISTERS.
Sanitarium, Cal., Nov. 3, 1901.
To a Worker of Long Experience in New York City —
As I have considered the situation in New York, a great burden has come upon my soul. In the night season matters have been presented to me in this light: New York will be worked; openings will be found in parts of the city in which there are no churches, where the truth will find standing-room. There is a vast amount of work to be done in proclaiming the truth for this time to those who are dead in trespasses and sins. Most startling messages will be borne by men of God’s appointment, messages of a character to warn the people, to arouse them. And while some will be provoked by the warning, and led to resist light and evidence, we are to see from this that we are giving the testing message for this time. Messages will be given out of the usual order. The judgments of God are in the land. While city missions must be established where colporteurs, Bible workers, and practical medical missionaries may be trained to reach certain classes, we must also have, in our cities, consecrated evangelists through whom a message is to be borne so decidedly as to startle the hearers. “Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears. Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and show us former things? Let them bring forth their witnesses, that138 they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth. Ye are My witnesses, saith the Lord, and My servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He: before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the Lord; and beside Me there is no savior. I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are My witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God. Yea, before the day was I am He; and there is none that can deliver out of My hand: I will work, and who shall let it?” Isa. 43:8-13. “I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them. They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods. Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see. Who is blind, but My servant; or deaf, as My messenger that I sent? Who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord’s servant? Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not. The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake; He will magnify the law, and make it honorable.” Isa. 42 : 16-21. The work outlined in these scriptures is the work before us. The terms “My servant,” “Israel,” “the servant of the Lord,” mean any one that the Lord may select and appoint to do a certain work. He makes them ministers of His will, though some who are selected may be as ignorant of His will as was Nebuchadnezzar. God will work for those of His people who will139 submit themselves to the working of the Holy Spirit. He pledges His glory for the success of the Messiah and His kingdom. “Thus saith God the Lord, He that created the heavens, and stretched them out; He that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; He that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house.” “Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come?” Isa. 42:5-7, 23. The people of God who have had light and knowledge have not carried out the high and holy purposes of God. They have not advanced from victory to victory, adding new territory, lifting up the standard in the cities and their suburbs. Great spiritual blindness has been shown by those who have had great light flashed upon them by the Lord, but who have not advanced in the light to greater and still greater light. Church-members have not been encouraged to use spiritual nerve and muscle in the work of advancement. They should be made to understand that ministers can not work out their salvation by hovering over them. It is thus that they are made weaklings when they ought to be strong men. In every church young men and young women should be selected to bear responsibilities. Let them make every effort to qualify themselves to help those who know not the truth. God calls for earnest, whole-souled workers. The humble and contrite will140 learn by personal experience that beside Him there is no savior. Bible truth must be preached and practised. Every ray of light given is to shine forth with clear, distinct brightness. The truth is to go forth as a lamp that burneth. There are hundreds of God’s servants who must respond to this call, and take the field as earnest, soul-saving workers, coming up to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty. God calls for live men; men who are filled with the vivifying influence of His Spirit, men who see God as the Supreme Ruler, and receive from Him abundant proof of the fulfilment of His promises, men who are not lukewarm, but hot and fervent with His love. Should all the labor that has been expended on the churches during the past twenty years, be again expended upon them, it would fail, as it has failed in the past, of making the members self-denying, cross-bearing followers of Christ. Many have been overfed with spiritual food, while in the world thousands are perishing for the bread of life. Church-members must work; they must educate themselves, striving to reach the high standard set before them. This the Lord will help them to reach if they will co-operate with Him. If they keep their own souls in the love of the truth, they will not hold the ministers back from presenting the truth in new fields. The large cities should have been worked just as soon as the churches received the light, but many have carried no burden for souls, and Satan, finding them susceptible to his temptations, has spoiled their experience. God asks His people to repent, to be converted, and return to their first love, which they have lost by their failure to follow in the footsteps of the self-sacrificing Redeemer. IN COURAGE AND SIMPLICITY.
The time has come to make decided efforts in places where the truth has not yet been proclaimed. How shall the Lord’s work be done? In every place that is entered, a solid foundation is to be laid for permanent work. The Lord’s methods are to be followed. It is not for you to be intimidated by outward appearances, however forbidding they may be. It is for you to carry forward the work as the Lord has said it should be carried. Preach the word, and the Lord by His Holy Spirit will send conviction to the minds of the hearers. The word is, “And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.” Mark 16:20. Many workers are to act their part, doing house-to-house work, and giving Bible readings in families. They are to show their growth in grace by submission to the will of Christ. Thus they will gain a rich experience. As in faith they receive, believe, and obey Christ’s word, the efficiency of the Holy Spirit will be seen in their life-work. There will be seen an intensity of earnest effort. There will be cherished a faith that works by love and purifies the soul. The fruits of the Spirit will be seen in the life. Christ is the light of the world. Those who follow Him do not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. John declares of Christ, “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” John 1:12. Behold Christ. Beholding Him brings heart and mind and character into conformity to the will of God. There is need of all the instruction that our missions can give. Continue in your work in the power142 of the same Spirit that led in its establishment. By opening the Scriptures, by praying, by exercising faith, educate the people in the way of the Lord; and there will be built up a church founded on the Rock, Christ Jesus. The work must be carried forward in the simplicity of truth. God says, “I have words of encouragement for you.” The Lord has in our large cities many precious souls who have not bowed the knee to Baal, and He has those who have worshiped Baal ignorantly. On these the light of truth is to shine, that they may see Christ as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Carry forward your work in humility. Never rise above the simplicity of the gospel of Christ. Not in the art of display, but in lifting up Christ, the sin-pardoning Redeemer, will you find success in winning souls. As you work for God in humility and lowliness of heart, He will manifest Himself to you. By the use of charts, symbols, and representations of various kinds, the minister can make the truth stand out clearly and distinctly. This is a help, and in harmony with the word of God; but when the worker makes his labors so expensive that others are unable to secure from the treasury sufficient means to support them in the field, he is not working in harmony with God’s plan. The work in the large cities is to be done after Christ’s order, not after the order of a theatrical performance. It is not a theatrical performance that glorifies God, but the presentation of the truth in the love of Christ. Do not divest the truth of its dignity and impressiveness by preliminaries that are more after the order of the world than after the order of heaven. Let your hearers understand that you hold meetings,143 not to charm their senses with music and other things, but to preach the truth in all its solemnity, that it may come to them as a warning, arousing them from their deathlike sleep of self-indulgence. It is the naked truth that like a sharp, two-edged sword cuts both ways. It is this that will arouse those who are dead in trespasses and sins. He who gave His life to save men and women from idolatry and self-indulgence left an example to be followed by all who take up the work of presenting the gospel to others. God’s servants in this age have been given most solemn truths to proclaim, and their actions and methods and plans must correspond to the importance of their message. If you are presenting the word in Christ’s way, your audience will be deeply impressed with the truths you teach. The conviction will come to them that this is the word of the living God. In their efforts to reach the people, the Lord’s messengers are not to follow the ways of the world. In the meetings that are held, they are not to depend on worldly singers and theatrical display to awaken an interest. How can those who have no interest in the word of God, who have never read His word with a sincere desire to understand its truths, be expected to sing with the spirit and the understanding? How can their hearts be in harmony with the words of sacred song? How can the heavenly choir join in music that is only a form? The evil of formal worship can not be too strongly depicted, but no words can properly set forth the deep blessedness of genuine worship. When human beings sing with the Spirit and the understanding, heavenly musicians take up the strain, and join in144 the song of thanksgiving. He who has bestowed upon us all the gifts that enable us to be workers together with God, expects His servants to cultivate their voices, so that they can speak and sing in a way that all can understand. It is not loud singing that is needed, but clear intonation, correct pronunciation, and distinct utterance. Let all take time to cultivate the voice, so that God’s praise can be sung in clear, soft tones, not with harshness and shrillness that offend the ear. The ability to sing is the gift of God; let it be used to His glory. In the meetings held, let a number be chosen to take part in the song service. And let the singing be accompanied with musical instruments skilfully handled. We are not to oppose the use of instrumental music in our work. This part of the service is to be carefully conducted; for it is the praise of God in song. The singing is not always to be done by a few. As often as possible, let the entire congregation join.