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Messengers
77
I also saw that God had messengers that He would use in His
cause, but they were not ready. They were too light and trifling to
exert a good influence over the flock and did not feel the weight
of the cause and the worth of souls as God’s messengers must feel
in order to effect good. Said the angel, “
Be ye clean that bear the
vessels of the Lord. Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord
.”
They can accomplish but little good unless they are wholly given up
to God and feel the importance and solemnity of the last message of
mercy that is now being given to the scattered flock. Some who are
not called of God are very willing to go with the message. But if they
felt the weight of the cause and the responsibilities of such a station,
they would feel to shrink back and say with the apostle, “Who is
sufficient for these things?” One reason why they are so willing to
go is that God has not laid upon them the weight of the cause. Not
all who proclaimed the first and the second angel’s message are to
give the third, even after they fully embrace it, for some have been
in so many errors and delusions that they can but just save their own
souls, and if they undertake to guide others, they will be the means
of overthrowing them. But I saw that some who have formerly run
deep into fanaticism would be the first now to run before God sends
them, before they are purified from their past errors; having error
mixed with the truth, they would feed the flock of God with it, and
if they were suffered to go on, the flock would become sickly, and
distraction and death would follow. I saw that they would have to be
sifted and sifted, until they were freed from all their errors, or they
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could never enter the kingdom. The messengers could not have that
confidence in the judgment and discernment of those who have been
in errors and fanaticism that they could have in those who have been
in the truth and not in extravagant errors. Many, also, are too apt to
urge out into the field some who have but just professed the present
truth, who have much to learn and much to do before they can be
right in the sight of God themselves, much less point out the way to
others.
I saw the necessity of the messengers, especially, watching and
checking all fanaticism wherever they might see it rise. Satan is
pressing in on every side, and unless we watch for him, and have our
eyes open to his devices and snares, and have on the whole armor
of God, the fiery darts of the wicked will hit us. There are many