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Testimonies for the Church Volume 8
say: I am so sorry, so very sorry, that it was necessary for this stroke
to come. Light enough has been given. If it were acted upon, further
light would not be needed.
To our people, ministers and lay members, I am instructed to say:
“Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He
is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his
thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord,”—for many ministers and
people are walking in strange paths,—“and He will have mercy upon
him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”
Isaiah 55:6, 7
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Let every soul be on the alert. The adversary is on your track.
Be vigilant, watching diligently lest some carefully concealed and
masterly snare shall take you unawares. Let the careless and indifferent
beware lest the day of the Lord come upon them as a thief in the night.
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Many will wander from the path of humility, and, casting aside the
yoke of Christ, will walk in strange paths. Blinded and bewildered,
they will leave the narrow path that leads to the city of God.
A man cannot be a happy Christian unless he is a watchful Chris-
tian. He who overcomes must watch; for, with worldly entanglements,
error, and superstition, Satan strives to win Christ’s followers from
Him. It is not enough that we avoid glaring dangers and perilous,
inconsistent moves. We are to keep close to the side of Christ, walking
in the path of self-denial and sacrifice. We are in an enemy’s country.
He who was cast out of heaven has come down with great power.
With every conceivable artifice and device he is seeking to take souls
captive. Unless we are constantly on guard we shall fall an easy prey
to his unnumbered deceptions.
The experience of the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane
contains a lesson for the Lord’s people today. Taking with Him Peter
and James and John, Christ went to Gethsemane to pray. He said
to them: “My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here,
and watch. And He went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and
prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. And
He said, Abba Father, all things are possible unto Thee; take away this
cup from Me: nevertheless not what I will, but what Thou wilt. And
He cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon,
sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? Watch ye and pray,
lest ye enter into temptation.”
Mark 14:34-38
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