170
Selected Messages Book 1
able to say that He will come in one, two, or five years, neither are you
to put off His coming by stating that it may not be for ten or twenty
years.
To Have Lamps Trimmed and Burning
It is the duty of the people of God to have their lamps trimmed
and burning, to be as men that wait for the Bridegroom, when He shall
return from the wedding. You have not a moment to lose in neglect
of the great salvation that has been provided for you. The time of the
probation of souls is coming to an end. From day to day the destiny
[190]
of men is being sealed, and even from this congregation we know not
how soon many shall close their eyes in death and be habited for the
tomb. We should now consider that our life is swiftly passing away,
that we are not safe one moment unless our life is hid with Christ in
God. Our duty is not to be looking forward to some special time for
some special work to be done for us, but to go forward in our work of
warning the world; for we are to be witnesses of Christ to the uttermost
parts of the world.
All around us are the young, the impenitent, the unconverted, and
what are we doing for them? Parents, in the ardor of your first love, are
you seeking for the conversion of your children, or are you engrossed
with the things of this life to such an extent that you are not making
earnest efforts to be laborers together with God? Do you have an
appreciation of the work and mission of the Holy Spirit? Do you
realize that the Holy Spirit is the agency whereby we are to reach the
souls of those around us? When this meeting shall close, will you go
from here and forget the earnest appeals that have been made to you?
Will the messages of warning be left unheeded, and the truth you have
heard leak out of your heart as water leaks out of a broken vessel?
The apostle says, “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest
heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let
them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every
transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the
first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by
them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs