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Testimonies for the Church Volume 8
“These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have
washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and
night in His temple: and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among
them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall
the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst
of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains
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of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. “And
there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall
there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
Verses
14-17
;
21:4
.
Will you catch the inspiration of the vision? Will you let your
mind dwell upon the picture? Will you not be truly converted, and then
go forth to labor in a spirit entirely different from the spirit in which
you have labored in the past, displacing the enemy, breaking down
every barrier to the advancement of the gospel, filling hearts with the
light and peace and joy of the Lord? Shall not the miserable spirit of
faultfinding and murmuring be buried, never to have a resurrection?
Shall not the incense of praise and thanksgiving ascend from hearts
purified and sanctified and glorified by the presence of Christ? Shall
we not in faith lay hold of sinners and bring them to the cross?
Who will now consecrate themselves to the service of the Lord?
Who will now pledge themselves not to affiliate with the world, but
to come out from the world and be separate, refusing to pollute the
soul with the worldly schemes and practices that have been keeping
the church under the enemy’s influence?
We are in this world to lift the cross of self-denial. As we lift this
cross we shall find that it lifts us. Let every Christian stand in his place,
catching the inspiration of the work that Christ did for souls while in
this world. We need the ardor of the Christian hero, who can endure the
seeing of Him who is invisible. Our faith is to have a resurrection. The
soldiers of the cross are to exert a positive influence for good. Christ
says: “He that is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathereth
not with Me scattereth abroad.”
Matthew 12:30
. Indifference in the
Christian life is a manifest denial of the Saviour.
Should we not see in the world today Christians who in all the
features of their work are worthy of the name they bear? who aspire
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to the doing of deeds worthy of valiant soldiers of the cross? We are