Christ Holds Control
73
These faithful workers should have the sympathies of the church.
The Lord will hear prayer in their behalf. And the church should not
fail to show a practical interest in their work.
No one lives to himself. In God’s work each one is assigned a
post of duty. The union of all strengthens the work of each. As the
faith and love and unity of the church grow stronger their circle of
influence enlarges, and ever they are to reach to the farthest limit of
this influence, constantly extending the triumphs of the cross.
Arise, Shine
God calls upon us to burst the bands of our precise, indoor service.
The message of the gospel is to be borne in the cities and outside of the
cities. We are to call upon all to rally around the banner of the cross.
When this work is done as it should be, when we labor with divine
zeal to add converts to the truth, the world will see that a power attends
the message of truth. The unity of the believers bears testimony to the
power of the truth that can bring into perfect harmony men of different
dispositions, making their interests one.
The prayers and offerings of the believers are combined with
[85]
earnest, self-sacrificing efforts, and they are indeed a spectacle to
the world, to angels, and to men. Men are converted anew. The hand
that once grasped for recompense in higher wages has become the
helping hand of God. The believers are united by one interest—the
desire to make centers of truth where God shall be exalted. Christ
joins them together in holy bonds of union and love, bonds which have
irresistible power.
It was for this unity that Jesus prayed just before His trial, standing
but a step from the cross. “That they all may be one;” He said, “as
thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us:
that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (
John 17:21
).
God calls upon those who are half awake to arouse, and engage
in earnest labor, praying to Him for strength for service. Workers are
needed. It is not necessary to follow rules of exact precision. Receive
the Holy Spirit, and your efforts will be successful. Christ’s presence
is that which gives power. Let all dissension and strife cease. Let love
and unity prevail. Let all move under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
If God’s people will give themselves wholly to Him, He will restore