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The Acts of the Apostles
and go where He sends them. There are many who are reading the
Scriptures who cannot understand their true import. All over the world
men and women are looking wistfully to heaven. Prayers and tears
and inquiries go up from souls longing for light, for grace, for the
Holy Spirit. Many are on the verge of the kingdom, waiting only to be
gathered in.
An angel guided Philip to the one who was seeking for light and
who was ready to receive the gospel, and today angels will guide the
footsteps of those workers who will allow the Holy Spirit to sanctify
their tongues and refine and ennoble their hearts. The angel sent to
Philip could himself have done the work for the Ethiopian, but this is
not God’s way of working. It is His plan that men are to work for their
fellow men.
In the trust given to the first disciples, believers in every age have
shared. Everyone who has received the gospel has been given sacred
truth to impart to the world. God’s faithful people have always been
aggressive missionaries, consecrating their resources to the honor of
His name and wisely using their talents in His service.
The unselfish labor of Christians in the past should be to us an
object lesson and an inspiration. The members of God’s church are
to be zealous of good works, separating from worldly ambition and
walking in the footsteps of Him who went about doing good. With
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hearts filled with sympathy and compassion, they are to minister to
those in need of help, bringing to sinners a knowledge of the Saviour’s
love. Such work calls for laborious effort, but it brings a rich reward.
Those who engage in it with sincerity of purpose will see souls won to
the Saviour, for the influence that attends the practical carrying out of
the divine commission is irresistible.
Not upon the ordained minister only rests the responsibility of
going forth to fulfill this commission. Everyone who has received
Christ is called to work for the salvation of his fellow men. “The
Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come.”
Revelation 22:17
. The charge to give this invitation includes the entire
church. Everyone who has heard the invitation is to echo the message
from hill and valley, saying, “Come.”
It is fatal mistake to suppose that the work of soul-saving depends
alone upon the ministry. The humble, consecrated believer upon
whom the Master of the vineyard places a burden for souls is to be