“Preach the Word”
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Why could he not have moved along without incurring the anger of
Herodias?
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So men have argued, till policy has taken the place of faithfulness.
Sin is allowed to go unrebuked. When will be heard once more in
the church the voice of faithful rebuke, “Thou art the man”? [See
2
Samuel 12:7
.] If these words were not so rare, we should see more of
the power of God. The Lord’s messengers should not complain of their
efforts’ being fruitless until they repent of their love of approbation,
their desire to please men, which leads them to suppress the truth, and
to cry, Peace, when God has not spoken peace.
Would that every minister of God realized the holiness of his work
and the sacredness of his calling. As divinely appointed messengers,
ministers are in a position of awful responsibility. In Christ’s stead
they are to labor as stewards of the mysteries of heaven, encouraging
the obedient and warning the disobedient. Worldly policy is to have
no weight with them. Never are they to swerve from the path in
which Jesus has bidden them walk. They are to go forward in faith,
remembering that they are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. They
are not to speak their own words, but the words that One greater than
the potentates of earth has bidden them speak. Their message is to be,
“Thus saith the Lord.”
God calls for men who, like Nathan, Elijah, and John, will bear
His message with fearlessness, regardless of consequences; who will
speak the truth, though to do this calls for the sacrifice of all they have.
As Sharp Arrows
The words of Christ were as sharp arrows, which went to the mark
and wounded the hearts of His hearers. Every time He addressed
the people, whether His audience was large or small, His words took
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saving effect upon the soul of some one. No message that fell from His
lips was lost. Every word He spoke placed a new responsibility upon
those who heard. And today the ministers who in sincerity are giving
the last message of mercy to the world, relying on God for strength,
need not fear that their efforts will be in vain. Although no human
eye can see the path of the arrow of truth, who can say that the arrow
has not sped to the mark, and pierced the souls of those who listened?
Although no human ear has heard the cry of the wounded soul, yet the