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Testimonies for the Church Volume 5
the present, with prompt and willing hearts, is the only way to grow
in grace and the knowledge of the truth. We should ever cherish a
sense that, individually, we are standing before the Lord of hosts; no
word, no act, no thought, even, should be indulged, to offend the eye
of the Eternal One. We shall then have no fear of man or of earthly
power, because a Monarch, whose empire is the universe, who holds
in His hands our individual destinies for time and eternity, is taking
cognizance of all our work. If we would feel that in every place we
are the servants of the Most High, we would be more circumspect;
our whole life would possess to us a meaning and a sacredness which
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earthly honors can never give.
The thoughts of the heart, the words of the lips, and every act of
the life, will make our character more worthy, if the presence of God
is continually felt. Let the language of the heart be: “Lo, God is here.”
Then the life will be pure, the character unspotted, the soul continually
uplifted to the Lord. You have not pursued this course at Battle Creek.
I have been shown that painful and contagious disease is upon you,
which will produce spiritual death unless it is arrested.
Many are ruined by their desire for a life of ease and pleasure.
Self-denial is disagreeable to them. They are constantly seeking to
escape trials that are inseparable from a course of fidelity to God. They
set their hearts upon having the good things of this life. This is human
success, but is it not won at the expense of future, eternal interests?
The great business of life is to show ourselves to be true servants
of God, loving righteousness and hating iniquity. We should accept
gratefully such measures of present happiness and present success as
are found in the path of duty. Our greatest strength is realized when
we feel and acknowledge our weakness. The greatest loss which any
one of you in Battle Creek can suffer is the loss of earnestness and
persevering zeal to do right, the loss of strength to resist temptation,
the loss of faith in the principles of truth and duty.
Let no man flatter himself that he is a successful man unless he
preserves the integrity of his conscience, giving himself wholly to the
truth and to God. We should move steadily forward, never losing heart
or hope in the good work, whatever trials beset our path, whatever
moral darkness may encompass us. Patience, faith, and love for duty
are the lessons we must learn. Subduing self and looking to Jesus is
an everyday work. The Lord will never forsake the soul that trusts in