568
Evangelism
before those who have not heard the message for this time. These
brethren whose names I have mentioned have a work to do in our
camp meetings, which are to be held in the large cities. But they are in
danger of disqualifying themselves for doing the work that God has
given them to do. Elder _____ will surely lose his bearings unless he
ceases to interest himself in work that God does not require him to
do, work that demands attention to business details. By engaging in
secular work he would not be doing that which has been appointed
him by God. The proclamation of the gospel message will be his light
and life.—
Manuscript 105, 1902
.
With an Eye Single to the Glory of God—It is Satan’s regular
employment to hinder the work of God, and to work for the destruction
of the race. Frequently when the interest in a certain locality is at its
height, he makes it appear to the mind of the worker that some trifling
matter at home is of great importance, and demands his immediate
presence. The eye of the worker not being single to the glory of God,
he leaves the work unfinished, and rushes home. He may be kept away
for days and even weeks, and his former work becomes raveled and
[655]
tangled. Stitch after stitch is dropped, never to be taken up again. This
pleases the enemy. And when he sees that he is successful in making
temporal matters supreme in the mind of this person, he gives him
his hands full of trouble. He at once begins to manufacture home
difficulties, so as to entangle his mind, and, if possible, to keep him
away from the work altogether....
When souls are deciding for or against the truth, do not, I beseech
you, allow yourselves to be drawn away from your field of labor. Do
not abandon it to the enemy, I might say, even if one lay dead in your
house. Christ said, “Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.” If
you could only see the importance of the work as it has been presented
to me, the paralysis that is upon many would be shaken off, and there
would be a rising from the dead and a coming to life through Jesus
Christ....
If we firmly take our stand as God’s workmen, saying, “The Lord
has given us a message, and we cannot be faithful watchmen unless we
stand at our post of duty; we will carry the work through at all hazards,”
then we shall find that angels of God will minister to our households at
home, and will say to the enemy, “Stand back.”—Historical Sketches,
pp. 127, 128. (1886).