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Prepare to Meet thy God, July 6
The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the
voice of the day of the Lord.
Zephaniah 1:14
.
I am bidden to call upon the churches to awake out of sleep. We must contend
with invisible, supernatural foes. We are to put on the whole armor of God, that
we may be prepared for the battles we have daily to fight.
I call upon those who have received light and knowledge to pray most earnestly,
and to come up “to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.”
Who are these mighty foes? They are the powers who, in the days of Daniel,
hindered the heavenly messengers from convincing the king of Persia of the work
he was to do.
Our work of heralding the second coming of Christ is similar to that of John
the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ at His first advent. We are to proclaim to the
world the message, “The great day of the Lord is near.” “Prepare to meet thy God.”
We are to do much more than we have yet done.
Among us, as among the children of Israel when they were being led to the
Promised Land, are many who, unless they can see clearly every step in advance,
will not move at the command of God to “go forward.” They have but little faith,
and but little of the spirit of self-denial....
There is room in the work of God for all who are filled with the spirit of
self-sacrifice. We have a solemn work before us. God is calling for men and
women who are willing to experience travail of soul, men and women who are
consecrated to His work. We need ... men who have a solid experience in the
things of God, who, when they encounter difficulties, will hold firmly to the work,
saying, We will not fail nor be discouraged. We want men who will strengthen
and build up the work, not tear down and seek to destroy that which others are
trying to do. We need men and women whom God can work, the fallow ground of
whose heart has been broken up.
We do not need workers who must be supported and carried by those who
have long been in the faith.... We want workers who are not steeped in selfishness,
those who are not self-sufficient....
Satan will always cooperate with those who are willing to betray sacred trusts.
There are traitors, ... men who claim to be Sabbathkeepers, but who, instead of
building up the work, hinder it by criticizing and falsely accusing their brethren.
Oh, how many might do a noble work in self-denial and self-sacrifice, who are
absorbed in the little things of life! They are blind and cannot see afar off. They
make a world of an atom and an atom of a world. They have become shallow
streams, because they do not impart to others the Water of Life.—
Manuscript 173,
1898
.
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