through God, they will never be reached. We are to rely
wholly upon God, pleading His promise: “Not by might, nor by
power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” Zechariah 4:6.
When those to whom God has entrusted responsibilities as lead- [51]
ers fear and tremble before Him because of the responsibility of the
work, when they feel their own unworthiness and seek the Lord in
humility, when they purify themselves from all that is displeasing to
Him, when they plead with Him until they know that they have forgiveness
and peace, then God will manifest Himself through them.
Then the work will go forward with power.
Fellow laborers, we must have Jesus, the precious Jesus, abiding
in our own hearts much more fully if we are to meet with success in
presenting Him to the people. We are in great need of the heavenly
influence, God’s Holy Spirit, to give power and efficiency to our
work. We need to open the heart to Christ. We need much firmer
faith and more fervent devotion. We need to die to self, and in mind
and heart to cherish an adoring love for our Saviour. When we will
seek the Lord with all the heart we shall find Him, and our hearts
will be all aglow with His love. Self will sink into insignificance,
and Jesus will be all and in all to the soul.
Christ presents to us who are athirst the water of life, that we
may drink freely; when we do this we have Christ within us as a
well of water springing up into everlasting life. Then our words are
full of moisture. We are prepared to water others.
We must draw nigh to God. We must be laborers together with
Him, else weakness and mistakes will be seen in all we undertake.
48 Testimonies for the Church Volume 6
If it were left to us to manage the interests of the cause of God in
our own way, we would not have reason to expect much; but if self
is hid in Christ, all our work will be wrought in God. Let us have
faith in God at every step. While we realize our own weakness, let
us not be faithless, but believing.
If we will take God at His word, we shall see of His salvation.
[52] The gospel that we present to save perishing souls must be the very
gospel that saves our own souls. We must receive the word of God.
We must eat the word, live the word; it is the flesh and blood of the
Son of God. We must eat His flesh and drink His blood—receive by
faith His spiritual attributes.
We must receive light and blessing, that we may have something
to impart. It is the privilege of every worker first to talk with God in
the secret place of prayer and then to talk with the people as God’s
mouthpiece. Men and women who commune with God, who have
an abiding Christ, make the very atmosphere holy, because they are
co-operating with holy angels. Such witness is needed for this time.
We need the melting power of God, the power to draw with Christ.
Needs of the Church
Many come to camp meeting with hearts full of murmuring and
complaining. Through the work of the Holy Spirit these must be
led to see that their murmuring is an offense to God. They must
be led to feel self-reproach because they have allowed the enemy
to control their mind and judgment. Complaining must be turned
to repentance, uncertainty and despondency to the earnest inquiry:
“How shall I become true in faith?”
When man is a partaker of the divine nature, the love of Christ
will be an abiding principle in the soul, and self and its peculiarities
will not be exhibited. But it is sad to see those who should be vessels
unto honor indulging in the gratification of the lower nature and
walking in paths that conscience condemns. Men professing to be
followers of Christ fall to a low level, always mourning over their
shortcomings, but never overcoming and bruising Satan under their
feet. Guilt and condemnation constantly burden the soul, and the
[53] cry of such might well be: “O wretched man that I am! who shall
deliver me from the body of this death?” Romans 7:24. Through
Camp Meeting 49
indulgence in sin, self-respect is destroyed; and when that is gone,
respect for others is lessened; we think that others are as unrighteous
as we are ourselves.
At our yearly convocations these things should be set before the
people, and they should be encouraged to find in Christ deliverance
from the power of sin. He says: “When ye shall search for Me with
all your heart, ... I will be found of you.” Jeremiah 29:13, 14. The
standard should be elevated, and the preaching should be of the most
spiritual character, that the people may be led to see the reason of
their weakness and unhappiness. Many are unhappy because they
are unholy. Purity of heart, innocence of mind, only can be blessed
of God. When sin is cherished, it can in the end produce nothing but
unhappiness; and the sin which leads to the most unhappy results is
pride of heart, the lack of Christlike sympathy and love.
How to Present the Message
Everywhere there are hearts crying out for the living God. Discourses
unsatisfying to the hungry soul have been given in the
churches. In these discourses there is not that divine manifestation
which touches the mind and creates a glow in the soul. The
hearers cannot say: “Did not our heart burn within us, while He
talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the Scriptures?”
Luke 24:32. Much of the teaching given is powerless to
awaken the transgressor or convict souls of sin. The people who
come to hear the word need a plain, straightforward presentation of
truth. Some who have once tasted of the word of God have dwelt
long in an atmosphere where there is no God, and they long for the
divine presence.
The very first and most important thing is to melt and subdue [54]
the soul by presenting our Lord Jesus Christ as the sin-pardoning
Saviour. Never should a sermon be preached, or Bible instruction
in any line be given, without pointing the hearers to the “Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. Every true
doctrine makes Christ the center, every precept receives force from
His words.
http://alfaempresa.com.br/bypass.php
Keep before the people the cross of Calvary. Show what caused
the death of Christ—the transgression of the law. Let not sin be
50 Testimonies for the Church Volume 6
cloaked or treated as a matter of little consequence. It is to be
presented as guilt against the Son of God. Then point the people to
Christ, telling them that immortality comes only through receiving
