Consecrated Ministry
239
awake and that no harm had befallen any. The cry of good cheer or of
warning was borne from one to another, each repeating the call till it
echoed round the city.
To every minister the Lord declares: “O son of man, I have set
thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear
the word at My mouth, and warn them from Me. When I say unto the
wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak
to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his
[361]
iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if
thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, ... thou hast delivered
thy soul.”
Ezekiel 33:7-9
.
The words of the prophet declare the solemn responsibility of those
who are appointed as guardians of the church of God, stewards of the
mysteries of God. They are to stand as watchmen on the walls of Zion,
to sound the note of alarm at the approach of the enemy. Souls are in
danger of falling under temptation, and they will perish unless God’s
ministers are faithful to their trust. If for any reason their spiritual
senses become so benumbed that they are unable to discern danger,
and through their failure to give warning the people perish, God will
require at their hands the blood of those who are lost.
It is the privilege of the watchmen on the walls of Zion to live so
near to God, and to be susceptible to the impressions of His Spirit, that
He can work through them to tell men and women of their peril and
point them to the place of safety. Faithfully are they to warn them of
the sure result of transgression, and faithfully are they to safeguard
the interests of the church. At no time may they relax their vigilance.
Theirs is a work requiring the exercise of every faculty of the being. In
trumpet tones their voices are to be lifted, and never are they to sound
one wavering, uncertain note. Not for wages are they to labor, but
because they cannot do otherwise, because they realize that there is a
woe upon them if they fail to preach the gospel. Chosen of God, sealed
[362]
with the blood of consecration, they are to rescue men and women
from impending destruction.
The minister who is a co-worker with Christ will have a deep sense
of the sacredness of his work and of the toil and sacrifice required to
perform it successfully. He does not study his own ease or convenience.
He is forgetful of self. In his search for the lost sheep he does not