Relationships Within the Church
97
stead they beseech the people to be reconciled to God.—
Testimonies
for the Church 4:393
.
Every minister who does not have the love of Jesus in the
heart, will reveal the fact—I feel sorry that poor souls, failing to
find relief, appeal to Sister White. I want them to have confidence
[96]
that the shepherds of the flock will care for the flock of God. Every
minister of Christ who does not have the precious love of Jesus in
the heart, will reveal the fact. The Lord Jesus has given to every man
precious lessons of instruction in His holy Word. The Lord Jesus is
our pattern. The impress of the image of Christ will be manifest upon
the entire character of those who yield themselves to Him. Then the
mental and physical powers will be renewed day by day; for the true
believer is daily eating of the flesh and drinking of the blood of the
Son of God. Jesus says, “The flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I
speak unto you, they are Spirit and they are life.”—EGW’88 1276.
Walk with, talk about, exemplify Christ—To minister, compre-
hends much more than mere preaching. In order to fulfill this sacred
and important work freighted with eternal interests, the minister must
be a man of vital piety, or his labors will not be accepted of God. He
must be a man who will not have an exalted opinion of himself, or
of his own ability, but who will lose a sense of his importance in the
exalted view he has of the matchless mercy and love of Jesus Christ.
He then has a close walk with God. His life of piety and true holiness
which he carries with him wherever he goes, and which is interwoven
in all his works, makes him a successful and efficient worker. He is
a co-laborer with Jesus Christ, and is faithful in his appointed work,
as Christ was faithful in his work. He will not, in word or action,
exalt self, but in private conversation will talk of Christ; he will pray
Christ, he will preach Christ. This is the kind of ministry that proves
the worker to be called and chosen of God for his sacred work.—
The
Review and Herald, February 22, 1887
.
Rely more on your knowledge of Christ than on your learning
from books—In this age, just prior to the second coming of Christ in
the clouds of heaven, the Lord calls for men who will be earnest and
prepare a people to stand in the great day of the Lord. The men who
have spent long terms in the study of books are not revealing in their
lives that earnest ministry which is essential for this last time. They
do not bear a simple, straightforward testimony. Among ministers