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Testimonies for the Church Volume 3
and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let
us not be desirous of vainglory, provoking one another, envying one
another.”
I was shown fields of labor. Towns, cities, and villages everywhere
should hear the message of warning; for all will be tested and proved
by the message of present truth. A great work is to be done, but the
laborers who enter these fields should be men of sound judgment
who know how to deal with minds. They should be men of patience,
kindness, and courtesy who have the fear of God before them.
You frequently gain the confidence of the people; but if, by careless
deportment or some injudicious move, by severity or an overbearing
spirit, you then lose their confidence, more harm will result to the
cause of God than if no effort had been made. Great injury has been
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done to the cause of God by ministers moving from impulse. Some
are easily stirred and frequently become irritated; and, if abused, they
retaliate. This is just what Satan exults to have them do. The enemies
of truth triumph over this weakness in a minister of Christ, for it is a
reproach to the cause of present truth. Those who show this weakness
of character do not rightly represent the truth or the ministers of our
faith. The indiscretion of one minister throws a cloud of suspicion upon
all and makes the labors of those who follow after him exceedingly
difficult.
Brother R, when you go out to engage in labor in a new field you
love to dwell upon the argumentative, because you have educated
your mind for this kind of labor. But your labors have not been one
tenth as valuable as they would have been had you qualified yourself
by practical experience to give the people discourses upon practical
subjects. You need to become a learner in the school of Christ, that you
may experience practical godliness. When you have the saving power
of truth in your own soul you cannot forbear feeding the flock of God
with the same practical truths which have made your own heart joyful
in God. The practical and the doctrinal should be combined in order to
impress hearts with the importance of yielding to the claims of truth
after the understanding has been convinced by the weight of evidence.
The servants of Christ should imitate the example of the Master in
the manner of their labor. They should constantly keep before the
people, in the best manner to be comprehended by them, the necessity
of practical godliness, and should bring them, as did our Saviour in His