102
Pastoral Ministry
mean? Who are standing as representatives of Jesus Christ? Who feels
[100]
a burden for the souls who cannot receive the truth till it is brought
to them? Our ministers are hovering over the churches, as though the
angel of mercy was not making efforts to save souls.
God holds these ministers responsible for the souls of those who
are in darkness. He does not call you to go into fields that need no
physician. Establish your churches with the understanding that they
need not expect the minister to wait upon them and to be continually
feeding them. They have the truth; they know what truth is. They
should have root in themselves. These should strike down deeply, that
they may reach up higher and still higher. They must be rooted and
grounded in the faith. EGW’88 1752.
Congregation—People’s part
Members should wrestle with God for their ministers—
Brethren and sisters, have you forgotten that your prayers should
go out, like sharp sickles, with the laborers in the great harvest field?
As young men go forth to preach the truth, you should have seasons
of prayer for them. Pray that God will connect them with Himself
and give them wisdom, grace, and knowledge. Pray that they may
be guarded from the snares of Satan and kept pure in thought and
holy in heart. I entreat you who fear the Lord to waste no time in
unprofitable talk or in needless labor to gratify pride or to indulge the
appetite. Let the time thus gained be spent in wrestling with God for
your ministers. Hold up their hands as did Aaron and Hur the hands of
Moses.—
Testimonies for the Church 5:162
.
Members should work with their ministers, rather than hang-
ing burdens on them—I entreat you, my brethren and sisters, to be
self-reliant in the strength of Jesus. Do not hang the weight of your
perplexities and burdens upon your ministers. Christ has invited you
to come to him, your burden-bearer. If you pass along in a state of
unbelief and lack of consecration to God, you hang your weight upon
the heart of your ministers, and you take just so much time and strength
from them which God requires them to use in giving the message to
those who have not heard it. Brethren, will you not rather work your-
selves in union with the ambassadors of Christ in seeking to win souls
to the truth? When tempted to become unbelieving and discouraged,