There is everywhere a work to be done for those who through
intemperance have fallen. True reformation begins with soul cleansing. He who taught Adam and Eve in Eden how to tend the garden, desires to instruct men today.
--The widow and the fatherless are the objects of the Lord's special care.
"Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive;
And let thy widows trust in Me."
Jeremiah 49:11.
--Many among the rich are longing for some divine assurance, some spiritual hope. Many long for something that will bring to an end the monotony of their aimless lives.
Q:Shall we make no personal appeal to them? The Bible condemns no man for being rich, if he has acquired his riches honestly. Not money, but the love of money, is the root of all evil.
As their minds are thus drawn away from their own selfish interests, many will surrender themselves to Christ. With their talents of influence and means they will gladly unite in the work of beneficence with the humble missionary who was God's agent in their conversion.
--When Christ sent out the twelve disciples on their first missionary tour, He bade them, "As ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give." Matthew 10:7, 8.
--After Christ's ascension the same work was continued. The scenes of His own ministry were repeated. "Out of the cities round about" there came a multitude "unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one." Acts 5:16.
--Luke, the writer of the Gospel that bears his name, was a medical missionary. In the Scriptures he is called "the beloved physician." Colossians 4:14.
--The giving of the gospel to the world is the work that God has committed to those who bear His name.
--For earth's sin and misery the gospel is the only antidote.
--Among the Jewish people, who professed to have a knowledge of Jehovah, His word had been set aside for tradition and human speculation. Selfish ambition, greed of gain, absorbed men's thoughts. As reverence for God departed, so also departed compassion toward men. Selfishness was the ruling principle, and Satan worked his will in the misery and degradation of mankind.
--Satanic agencies took possession of men. The bodies of human beings, made for the dwelling place of God, became the habitation of demons. The senses, the nerves, the organs of men were worked by supernatural agencies in the indulgence of the vilest lust.
Q: What is the condition in the world today?
Q: Is not faith in the Bible as effectually destroyed by the higher criticism and speculation of today as it was by tradition and rabbinism in the days of Christ?
Q: Have not greed and ambition and love of pleasure as strong a hold on men's hearts now as they had then?
--In the professedly Christian world, even in the professed churches of Christ, how few are governed by Christian principles.
--Every day brings its heart-sickening record of violence and lawlessness, of indifference to human suffering, of brutal, fiendish destruction of human life.
--Every day testifies to the increase of insanity, murder, and suicide.
--Those who hold the reins of government are unable to solve the problem of poverty and increasing crime.
Q:Who can doubt that satanic agencies are at work among men with increasing activity to distract and corrupt the mind, and defile and destroy the body?
--The world needs today what it needed nineteen hundred years ago—a revelation of Christ.
--We should ever remember that the object of the medical missionary work is to point sin-sick men and women to the Man of Calvary, who taketh away the sin of the world.
--The widow and the fatherless are the objects of the Lord's special care.
"Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive;
And let thy widows trust in Me."
Jeremiah 49:11.
--Many among the rich are longing for some divine assurance, some spiritual hope. Many long for something that will bring to an end the monotony of their aimless lives.
Q:Shall we make no personal appeal to them? The Bible condemns no man for being rich, if he has acquired his riches honestly. Not money, but the love of money, is the root of all evil.
As their minds are thus drawn away from their own selfish interests, many will surrender themselves to Christ. With their talents of influence and means they will gladly unite in the work of beneficence with the humble missionary who was God's agent in their conversion.
--When Christ sent out the twelve disciples on their first missionary tour, He bade them, "As ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give." Matthew 10:7, 8.
--After Christ's ascension the same work was continued. The scenes of His own ministry were repeated. "Out of the cities round about" there came a multitude "unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one." Acts 5:16.
--Luke, the writer of the Gospel that bears his name, was a medical missionary. In the Scriptures he is called "the beloved physician." Colossians 4:14.
--The giving of the gospel to the world is the work that God has committed to those who bear His name.
--For earth's sin and misery the gospel is the only antidote.
--Among the Jewish people, who professed to have a knowledge of Jehovah, His word had been set aside for tradition and human speculation. Selfish ambition, greed of gain, absorbed men's thoughts. As reverence for God departed, so also departed compassion toward men. Selfishness was the ruling principle, and Satan worked his will in the misery and degradation of mankind.
--Satanic agencies took possession of men. The bodies of human beings, made for the dwelling place of God, became the habitation of demons. The senses, the nerves, the organs of men were worked by supernatural agencies in the indulgence of the vilest lust.
Q: What is the condition in the world today?
Q: Is not faith in the Bible as effectually destroyed by the higher criticism and speculation of today as it was by tradition and rabbinism in the days of Christ?
Q: Have not greed and ambition and love of pleasure as strong a hold on men's hearts now as they had then?
--In the professedly Christian world, even in the professed churches of Christ, how few are governed by Christian principles.
--Every day brings its heart-sickening record of violence and lawlessness, of indifference to human suffering, of brutal, fiendish destruction of human life.
--Every day testifies to the increase of insanity, murder, and suicide.
--Those who hold the reins of government are unable to solve the problem of poverty and increasing crime.
Q:Who can doubt that satanic agencies are at work among men with increasing activity to distract and corrupt the mind, and defile and destroy the body?
--The world needs today what it needed nineteen hundred years ago—a revelation of Christ.
--We should ever remember that the object of the medical missionary work is to point sin-sick men and women to the Man of Calvary, who taketh away the sin of the world.
By beholding Him,
they will be changed into His likeness.
--Gospel workers should be able also to give instruction in the principles of healthful living. There is sickness everywhere, and most of it might be prevented by attention to the laws of health. They need to be impressed with the truth conveyed in the words of Holy Writ:"Ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." 2 Corinthians 6:16.
--Through
intemperate habits they bring upon themselves disease,
and through
greed to obtain money for sinful indulgence
they fall into dishonest practices.
Health and character are ruined. With these, self-indulgence is not only a moral sin, but a physical disease. The victims of evil habit must be aroused to the necessity of making an effort for themselves.
Christ may entreat,
His angels may minister;
but all will be in vain unless they themselves are roused to fight the battle in their own behalf. They have debased their mental and spiritual powers by the gratification of appetite and passion, and this makes them weak.
--The tempted one needs to understand the true force of the will. This is the governing power in the nature of man—the power of decision, of choice. Man's conduct in this world decides his eternal destiny. As he has sown, so he must reap. Cause will be followed by effect. "By the word of Thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer." Psalm 17:4.
--Many will go down to ruin while hoping and desiring to overcome their evil propensities. They do not yield the will to God. They do not choose to serve Him.
--Christ commits to His followers an individual work—a work that cannot be done by proxy. Ministry to the sick and the poor, the giving of the gospel to the lost, is not to be left to committees or organized charities. Individual responsibility, individual effort, personal sacrifice, is the requirement of the gospel.
--Every church should be a training school for Christian workers. Its members should be taught how to give Bible readings, how to conduct and teach Sabbath-school classes, how best to help the poor and to care for the sick, how to work for the unconverted.
--Many professed Christians, in seeking church relationship, think only of themselves. They wish to enjoy church fellowship and pastoral care. They become members of large and prosperous churches, and are content to do little for others.
--Throughout the world, messengers of mercy are needed. As the dew and the still showers fall upon the withering plants, so let words fall gently when seeking to win men from error. The Holy Spirit will apply to the soul the word that is spoken in love. From age to age the Lord has been seeking to awaken in the souls of men a sense of their divine brotherhood. Be co-workers with Him. Grace is an attribute of God exercised toward undeserving human beings. We did not seek for it, but it was sent in search of us. If men would give more heed to the teaching of God's word, they would find a solution of these problems that perplex them.
--He bids us, in dealing with the tempted and the erring, consider "thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
" Galatians 6:1. With a sense of our own infirmities, we shall have compassion for the infirmities of others.
--It is always humiliating to have one's errors pointed out. None should make the experience more bitter by needless censure. No one was ever reclaimed by reproach; but many have thus been repelled. The mind is beclouded, he knows not what steps to take. Many a poor soul is misunderstood, unappreciated, full of distress and agony—a lost, straying sheep. He cannot find God, yet he has an intense longing for pardon and peace.
--We become too easily discouraged over the souls who do not at once respond to our efforts. Never should we cease to labor for a soul while there is one gleam of hope. Precious souls cost our self-sacrificing Redeemer too dear a price to be lightly given up to the tempter's power.
***Consider the power of heredity, the influence of evil associations and surroundings, the power of wrong habits.
---Some will be found whose minds have been so long debased that they will never in this life become what under more favorable circumstances they might have been. But the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness may shine into the soul. Plant in their minds uplifting, ennobling thoughts.
*The dull, clouded mind will awake. The slave of sin will be set free. Vice will disappear, and ignorance will be overcome.
*God has given us the power of choice; it is ours to exercise.
*Christ lived a life of perfect obedience to God's law, and in this He set an example for every human being.
--Many will go down to ruin while hoping and desiring to overcome their evil propensities. They do not yield the will to God. They do not choose to serve Him.
--Christ commits to His followers an individual work—a work that cannot be done by proxy. Ministry to the sick and the poor, the giving of the gospel to the lost, is not to be left to committees or organized charities. Individual responsibility, individual effort, personal sacrifice, is the requirement of the gospel.
--Every church should be a training school for Christian workers. Its members should be taught how to give Bible readings, how to conduct and teach Sabbath-school classes, how best to help the poor and to care for the sick, how to work for the unconverted.
--Many professed Christians, in seeking church relationship, think only of themselves. They wish to enjoy church fellowship and pastoral care. They become members of large and prosperous churches, and are content to do little for others.
--Throughout the world, messengers of mercy are needed. As the dew and the still showers fall upon the withering plants, so let words fall gently when seeking to win men from error. The Holy Spirit will apply to the soul the word that is spoken in love. From age to age the Lord has been seeking to awaken in the souls of men a sense of their divine brotherhood. Be co-workers with Him. Grace is an attribute of God exercised toward undeserving human beings. We did not seek for it, but it was sent in search of us. If men would give more heed to the teaching of God's word, they would find a solution of these problems that perplex them.
--The lost coin, in the Savior's parable,--
-though lying in the dirt and rubbish, was a piece of silver still.
-Its owner sought it because it was of value.
-So every soul, however degraded by sin,
-is in God's sight accounted precious.
-As the coin bore the image
and superscription of the reigning power,
-so man at his creation bore the image
and superscription of God.
-Though now marred and dim through the influence of sin,
-the traces of this inscription remain upon every soul.
*God desires to recover that soul
and to retrace upon it His own image
in righteousness and holiness.
--The necessary reformation will never be made unless men and women are assisted by a power outside of themselves. It is God's purpose that the rich and the poor shall be closely bound together by the ties of sympathy and helpfulness. Those who have means, talents, and capabilities are to use these gifts in blessing their fellow men.--He bids us, in dealing with the tempted and the erring, consider "thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
" Galatians 6:1. With a sense of our own infirmities, we shall have compassion for the infirmities of others.
--It is always humiliating to have one's errors pointed out. None should make the experience more bitter by needless censure. No one was ever reclaimed by reproach; but many have thus been repelled. The mind is beclouded, he knows not what steps to take. Many a poor soul is misunderstood, unappreciated, full of distress and agony—a lost, straying sheep. He cannot find God, yet he has an intense longing for pardon and peace.
--We become too easily discouraged over the souls who do not at once respond to our efforts. Never should we cease to labor for a soul while there is one gleam of hope. Precious souls cost our self-sacrificing Redeemer too dear a price to be lightly given up to the tempter's power.
***Consider the power of heredity, the influence of evil associations and surroundings, the power of wrong habits.
---Some will be found whose minds have been so long debased that they will never in this life become what under more favorable circumstances they might have been. But the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness may shine into the soul. Plant in their minds uplifting, ennobling thoughts.
*The dull, clouded mind will awake. The slave of sin will be set free. Vice will disappear, and ignorance will be overcome.
*God has given us the power of choice; it is ours to exercise.
*Christ lived a life of perfect obedience to God's law, and in this He set an example for every human being.
It is wrong to waste our time,
wrong to waste our thoughts.
*The last words of David to Solomon, then a young man, and soon to receive the crown of Israel, were, "Be ... strong, . . . and show thyself a man." 1 Kings 2:2.
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