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of God the means thus saved. Learn the lesson of self-denial, and
teach it to your children. All that can be saved by self-denial is needed
now in the work to be done. The suffering must be relieved, the naked
clothed, the hungry fed; the truth for this time must be told to those
who know it not. By denying ourselves of that which is not necessary,
we may have a part in the great work of God.
We are Christ’s witnesses, and we are not to allow worldly interests
so to absorb our time and attention that we pay no heed to the things
that God has said must come first. There are higher interests at stake.
“Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness.” Christ gave
His all to the work that He came to do, and His word to us is, “If any
man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross,
and follow Me.” “So shall ye be My disciples.”
Willingly and cheerfully Christ gave Himself to the carrying out
of the will of God. He became obedient unto death, even the death of
the cross. Shall we feel it a hardship to deny ourselves? Shall we draw
back from being partakers of His sufferings? His death ought to stir
every fiber of the being, making us willing to consecrate to His work
all that we have and are. As we think of what He has done for us, our
hearts should be filled with love.
When those who know the truth practice the self-denial enjoined
in God’s word, the message will go with power. The Lord will hear
our prayers for the conversion of souls. God’s people will let their
light shine forth, and unbelievers, seeing their good works, will glorify
our heavenly Father. Let us relate ourselves to God in self-sacrificing
obedience.—
The Review and Herald, December 1, 1910
.
[303]
Progress Despite Poverty
There were but very few of us to carry forward the work at first,
and it was very necessary for us to be of one mind in order to have
the work advance with order and uniformity. When we saw the im-
portance of being in the unity of faith, our prayers were answered,
and Christ’s prayer was answered that we should be one as He was
one with the Father. We were as destitute of means as you are here in
these kingdoms, [
Written in Europe.
] and we frequently went hungry,
and suffered from cold for want of proper clothing. But we saw that
the truth must advance, and we must have means to carry it forward.