Basic HTML Version
Church to be Added to Church, October 7
Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.
Isaiah 55:6
.
Church members are to arise and shine amid the moral darkness of the world. If
we are connected with the Light of the world, we shall reflect light to others. If we
partake of the Saviour’s rich grace, we shall be a blessing to those around us....
It is because so many of Christ’s professed followers seek to be first that He
cannot trust them. Were they humble, willing to be taught by Him, they would be
a power in showing to the world the influence of the truth upon human character.
Those who work in Christ’s lines, never seeking to exalt self, will reveal constant
activity and steady progress in missionary enterprises. They will not be satisfied
unless church is added to church.
God expects those in His service to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered
to the saints. Our aggressive missionary work is to be more abundant than it has
been in the past. More territory is to be annexed; the standard of truth is to be
planted in new places; churches are to be established; all is to be done that can be
done to fulfill the commission, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with
you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
The life of a church depends on the interest which its members manifest in
those outside the fold. Let the church of God remember that Christ gave Himself
as a sacrifice to save a world from destruction. For our sake He became poor, that
we through His poverty might come into possession of eternal riches. Shall those
whom God has blessed with a knowledge of the truth become narrow in their plans?
Let them arouse to a sense of their vast obligations, cutting away every thread of
selfishness, that the Lord may pour upon them His Holy Spirit. Let them seek the
Lord while He may be found, and call upon Him while He is near. They have no
reason for being faithless and complaining. Let them cease all fault-finding and
murmuring, and encourage a spirit of gratitude for past mercies and blessings. Let
them praise the Lord in unfeigned gratitude for the light of His Word, which shines
upon their pathway, to be received into heart and mind, and reflected upon those
in darkness. Thus they will be prepared to work to the praise and glory of Christ,
and to inscribe upon their banners, “Here are they that keep the commandments of
God and the faith of Jesus” (
Revelation 14:12
) (
The Signs of the Times, August 21,
1901
).
[295]
298