Basic HTML Version
392
Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers
we need to guard. The world is filled with strife for the supremacy.
The spirit of pulling away from our fellow laborers, the spirit of
disorganization, is in the very air we breathe. By some, all efforts
to establish order are regarded as dangerous—as a restriction of
personal liberty, and hence to be feared as popery. They declare
that they will not take any man’s say-so; that they are amenable to
[489]
no man. I have been instructed that it is Satan’s special effort to
lead men to feel that God is pleased to have them choose their own
course, independent of the counsel of their brethren.
Herein lies a grave danger to the prosperity of our work. We
must move discreetly, sensibly, in harmony with the judgment of
God-fearing counselors; for in this course alone lies our safety and
strength. Otherwise God cannot work with us and by us and for us.
Oh, how Satan would rejoice if he could succeed in his efforts to
get in among this people and disorganize the work at a time when
thorough organization is essential and will be the greatest power to
keep out spurious uprisings and to refute claims not endorsed by the
word of God! We want to hold the lines evenly, that there shall be
no breaking down of the system of organization and order that has
been built up by wise, careful labor. License must not be given to
disorderly elements that desire to control the work at this time.
Unity of Effort
Some have advanced the thought that as we near the close of
time, every child of God will act independently of any religious
organization. But I have been instructed by the Lord that in this
work there is no such thing as every man’s being independent. The
stars of heaven are all under law, each influencing the other to do
the will of God, yielding their common obedience to the law that
controls their action. And in order that the Lord’s work may advance
healthfully and solidly, His people must draw together.
The spasmodic, fitful movements of some who claim to be Chris-
tians is well represented by the work of strong but untrained horses.
When one pulls forward, another pulls back; and at the voice of their
[490]
master, one plunges ahead, and the other stands immovable. If men
will not move in concert in the great and grand work for this time,
there will be confusion. It is not a good sign when men refuse to