Four Letters to a Leading Missionary Worker in Africa
61
Letter B
“Sunnyside,” Cooranbong
September 2, 1896
Dear Brother_____,
I would be pleased to see you and your family, but do not expect
that I shall enjoy this privilege. May the Lord give you increased faith
and courage in Him. Do not depend on any man to be brains for you.
Think and put every God-given ability to the tax. Expect that the Lord
will work in and by and through you. Do not lose your zeal. Do not
submerge your identity in any human being. You may be safely one
with God. You may hide your entire self in Him. Be no man’s shadow.
“Our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in
the Holy Ghost.” The word and the Spirit agree. The instrument and
the agent co-operate together. The truth is represented as the sword of
the Spirit. No tame message must come from our lips. “The word of
God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword.”
This makes the Word a power.
Do not, I beg of you, sink down into a faithless position. Arise
and shine, for the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. Believe, believe
without a doubt that God hears your prayers. If you feel weak and
unworthy, He is your strength. The Word is abundant in promises from
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God to us, and the Spirit helps our infirmities to plead these promises.
The Word shows the way, the Spirit helps us to walk in it. You need
to cling to the Lord with all your might. The word is the seed of the
Spirit, and the Spirit is the quickening power. Be firm, and full of faith
and trust in God.
I feel deeply in regard to the missionary work in South Africa. I
do hope you will not look to men, nor trust in men, but look to God
and trust in God. We may expect large things, even the deep movings
of the Spirit of God, if we have faith in His promises. Our greatest sin
is unbelief in God. Has He not shown us how precious we are in His
sight, and with what value He regards our souls, by giving us Jesus?
We are required to unite our souls with Jesus Christ, that we may have
no tame, commonplace experience.
Stand in God, work with full confidence in God. Daily a genuine
conversion is needed. Unite your heart with God by clinging faith.
He is the friend of sinners. You are invited to join your weakness to