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Testimonies on Sabbath-School Work
The charge given to Peter by Christ just before His ascension
was, “Feed My lambs, “Feed My sheep;” and this commission has
been given to every minister and worker. But the work has been
neglected. While something has been done for the education and
religious training of the youth, there is still a great lack. Many more
need to be encouraged and helped. There is not that personal labor
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given which the case requires. It is not the ministers alone who have
neglected this solemn work of saving the youth; the members of the
churches will have to settle with the Master for their indifference and
neglect of duty.
The Lord is not glorified when the children are neglected and
passed by. They are to be educated, disciplined and patiently in-
structed. They require more than casual notice, more than a word of
encouragement. They need painstaking, prayerful, careful labor. The
heart that is filled with love and sympathy will reach the hearts of the
youth who are apparently careless and hopeless.—
The Review and
Herald, January 10, 1899
.
The Teacher’s Influence
It is our own character and experience that determine our influence
upon others. In order to convince others of the power of Christ’s grace,
we must know its power in our own hearts and lives. The gospel we
present for the saving of souls must be the gospel by which our own
souls are saved. Only through a living faith in Christ as a personal
Saviour is it possible to make our influence felt in a skeptical world. If
we would draw sinners out of the swift-running current, our own feet
must be firmly set upon the Rock, Christ Jesus.
The badge of Christianity is not an outward sign, not the wearing
of a cross or a crown, but it is that which reveals the union of man with
God. By the power of his grace manifested in the transformation of
character the world is to be convinced that God has sent his Son as
its Redeemer. No other influence that can surround the human soul
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has such power as the influence of an unselfish life. The strongest
argument in favor of the gospel is a loving and lovable Christian.—
The
Ministry of Healing, 469-470
.
Remember that you cannot read hearts. You do not know the
motives which prompted the actions that to you look wrong. There