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Testimonies for the Church Volume 5
ability to studying how to build up the church instead of weakening it
and helping the enemy in his work of leading its members to the world
you would be gaining a valuable experience every day as you pass
along. Brother-----has been a great hindrance to the church. He should
not be a member of the church unless his daily life is in harmony with
his profession. God does not acknowledge him as His child. He stands
today under the black banner of the powers of darkness. Satan has him
completely under his control.
Such strong, discouraging influences as these have been a tide
almost too strong for the church to stand against. Ten members, who
were walking in all humbleness of mind, would have a far greater
power upon the world than has the entire church, with its present num-
bers and lack of unity. The more there is of the divided, inharmonious
element, the less power will the church have for good in the world.
Would that I could make plain to your beclouded senses, my
brethren, the great peril you are in. Every action, good or bad, prepares
the way for its repetition. How was it in the case of Pharaoh? The
statement in Holy Writ is that God hardened his heart, and at every
repetition of light in the manifestation of God’s power the statement
is repeated. Every time he refused to submit to God’s will his heart
became harder and less impressible by the Spirit of God. He sowed the
seed of obstinacy, and God left it to vegetate. He might have prevented
it by a miracle, but that was not His plan. He allowed it to grow and
produce a harvest of its own kind, thus, proving the truthfulness of the
scripture: “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” When
a man plants doubts, he will reap doubts. By rejecting the first light
and every following ray, Pharaoh went from one degree of hardness
of heart to another, until the cold, dead forms of the first-born only
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checked his unbelief and obstinacy for a moment. And then, deter-
mined not to yield to God’s way, he continued his willful course until
overwhelmed by the waters of the Red Sea.
This case is placed on record for our benefit. Just what took place in
Pharaoh’s heart will take place in every soul that neglects to cherish the
light and walk promptly in its rays. God destroys no one. The sinner
destroys himself by his own impenitence. When a person once neglects
to heed the invitations, reproofs, and warnings of the Spirit of God, his
conscience becomes seared, and the next time he is admonished, it will
be more difficult to yield obedience than before. And thus with every