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Every Church a Training School, October 24
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the
gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach
deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at
liberty them that are bruised.
Luke 4:18
.
In giving light to His people anciently, God did not work exclusively through
any one class. Daniel was a prince of Judah. Isaiah also was of the royal line. David
was a shepherd boy, Amos a herdsman, Zechariah a captive from Babylon, Elisha a
tiller of the soil. The Lord raised up as His representatives prophets and princes, the
noble and the lowly, and taught them the truths to be given to the world....
Every church should be a training school for Christian workers. Its members
should be taught how to give Bible readings, how to conduct and teach Sabbath
school classes, how best to help the poor and to care for the sick, how to work for
the unconverted. There should be schools of health, cooking schools, and classes
in various lines of Christian help work. There should not only be teaching, but
actual work under experienced instructors. Let the teachers lead the way in working
among the people, and others, uniting with them, will learn from their example. One
example is worth more than many precepts....
If those to whom God has entrusted great talents of intellect put these gifts
to a selfish use, they will be left, after a period of trial, to follow their own way.
God will take men who do not appear to be so richly endowed, who have not large
self-confidence, and He will make the weak strong, because they trust in Him to do
for them that which they cannot do for themselves. God will accept the wholehearted
service, and will Himself make up the deficiencies....
As His blessing came to the captives in the courts of Babylon, so does He give
wisdom and knowledge to His workers today.
Men deficient in school education, lowly in social position, have, through the
grace of Christ, sometimes been wonderfully successful in winning souls for Him.
The secret of their success was their confidence in God. They learned daily of Him
who is wonderful in counsel and mighty in power.
Such workers are to be encouraged. The Lord brings them into connection with
those of more marked ability, to fill up the gaps that others leave. Their quickness to
see what is to be done, their readiness to help those in need, their kind words and
deeds, open doors of usefulness that otherwise would remain closed. They come
close to those in trouble, and the persuasive influence of their words has power to
draw many trembling souls to God. Their work shows what thousands of others
might do (
The Ministry of Healing, 148-151
).
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