For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. Hebrews 6:10.

Christ has identified His interest with that of suffering humanity; and while He is neglected in the person of His afflicted ones, all our assemblies, all our appointed meetings, all the machinery that is set in operation to advance the cause of God, will be of little avail….

All who are to be saints in heaven will first be saints upon the earth. They will not follow the sparks of their own kindling, they will not work for praise nor speak words of vanity, nor put forth the finger in condemnation and oppression; but they will follow the Light of Life, diffuse light, comfort, hope, and courage to the very ones who need help, and not censure and reproach….

The rich, clear light that has been shining upon our pathway has placed us on vantage ground, and we should improve every opportunity to do good. Christ came from the royal courts of heaven to seek and save the lost, and this is to be our work. The zeal which we manifest in this direction will show the measure of our love for Jesus and for others, [the measure] of our efficiency and missionary spirit.

To every member of the church is committed a work, and their sanctification will be seen in the efficiency, the unselfishness, the zeal and purity and intelligence, with which they do the work. The cause of humanity and religion must not retrograde. Progress is expected of those who have received great light and have many advantages.

The church must be a working church if it would be a living church. It should not be content merely to hold its own against the opposing forces of sin and error, not be content to advance with dilatory step, but it should bear the yoke of Christ and keep step with the Leader, gaining new recruits along the way.

When we are truly Christ’s, our hearts will be full of meekness, gentleness, and kindness, because Jesus has forgiven our sins. As obedient children we shall receive and cherish the precepts He has given and shall attend to the ordinances He has instituted. We shall be seeking constantly to obtain a knowledge of Him.—The Review and Herald, May 1, 1913.

From From the Heart

And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him. Acts 5:32.

True Christians will be Christlike. The Redeemer clothed His divinity with humanity and came to our world—a world seared and marred by the curse of sin, a vale of darkness and woe—to accomplish a great work, as He announced in the synagogue of Nazareth: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.” …

Each church member is to be a representative of the character and spirit of Christ. By precept and example the essential elements of a true, healthy, influential Christianity are to be revealed. Christ should be constantly set forth as the fountain of life, mercy, and love….

By beholding we become changed. Through close study and earnest contemplation of the character of Christ, His image is reflected in our own lives, and a higher tone is imparted to the spirituality of the church. If the truth of God has not transformed our characters into the likeness of Christ, all our professed knowledge of Him and the truth is but as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal….

Let all who claim to keep the commandments of God look well to this matter and see if there are not reasons why they do not have more of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. How many have lifted up their souls unto vanity! They think themselves exalted in the favor of God, but they neglect the needy, they turn a deaf ear to the calls of the oppressed, and speak sharp, cutting words to those who need altogether different treatment. Thus they offend God daily by their hardness of heart. These afflicted ones have claims upon the sympathies and the interest of their fellow human beings. They have a right to expect help, comfort, and Christlike love. But this is not what they receive. Every neglect of God’s suffering ones is written in the books of heaven as if shown to Christ Himself. Let all members of the church closely examine their heart and investigate their course of action to see if these are in harmony with the spirit and work of Jesus; for if not, what can they say when they stand before the Judge of all the earth? Can the Lord say to them, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world?”—The Review and Herald, April 24, 1913.

From From the Heart

Hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God. Ezekiel 20:20.

“The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.” …

Do not these words point us out as God’s denominated people? And do they not declare to us that so long as time shall last we are to cherish the sacred, denominational distinction placed on us? … The Sabbath has lost none of its meaning. It is still the sign between God and His people, and it will be so forever….

God is testing His people to see who will be loyal to the principles of His truth. Our work is to proclaim to the world the first, second, and third angels’ messages. In the discharge of our duty, we are neither to despise nor fear our enemies. To bind ourselves up by contracts or in partnerships or business associations with those not of our faith is not in the order of God. We are to treat with kindness and courtesy those who refuse to be loyal to God, but we are never, never to unite with them in counsel regarding the vital interests of His work….

Putting our trust in God, we are to move steadily forward, doing His work with unselfishness, … committing ourselves and our present and future to His wise providence, holding the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end, remembering that it is not because of our worthiness that we receive the blessings of heaven, but because of the worthiness of Christ and our acceptance, through faith in Him, of God’s abounding grace.

I pray that my brethren may realize that the third angel’s message means much to us, and that the observance of the true Sabbath is to be the sign that distinguishes those who serve God from those who serve Him not…. We are called to be holy, and we should carefully avoid giving the impression that it is of little consequence whether or not we retain the peculiar features of our faith. Upon us rests the solemn obligation of taking a more decided stand for truth and righteousness than we have taken in the past. The line of demarcation between those who keep the commandments of God and those who do not is to be revealed with unmistakable clearness.—The Review and Herald, August 4, 1904.

From From the Heart

You shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. 2 Corinthians 6:18.

I have been bidden to call the attention of our people to the instruction given by the Lord to Israel regarding the importance of separation from the world….

Under David’s rule, the people of Israel gained strength and uprightness through obedience to God’s law. But the kings that followed strove for self-exaltation….

God bore long with them, calling them often to repentance. But they refused to hear, and at last God spoke in judgment, showing them how weak they were without Him. He saw that they were determined to have their own way, and He gave them into the hands of their enemies….

The alliances made by the Israelites with their heathen neighbors resulted in the loss of their identity as God’s peculiar people. They became leavened by the evil practices of those with whom they formed forbidden alliances. Affiliation with worldlings caused them to lose their first love and their zeal for God’s service. The advantages they sold themselves to gain brought only disappointment and caused the loss of many souls.

The experience of Israel will be the experience of all who go to the world for strength, turning away from the living God. Those who forsake the mighty One, the source of all strength, and affiliate with worldlings, placing on them their dependence, become weak in moral power, as are those in whom they trust.

God comes with entreaties and assurances to those who are making mistakes. He seeks to show them their error and lead them to repentance. But if they refuse to humble their hearts before Him, if they strive to exalt themselves above Him, He must speak to them in judgment. No semblance of nearness to God, no assertion of connection with Him, will be accepted from those who persist in dishonoring Him by leaning upon the arm of worldly power.

Today God’s word to His people is: “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, … and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters.” …

God’s people are to be distinguished as a people who serve Him fully, wholeheartedly, taking no honor to themselves, and remembering that by a most solemn covenant they have bound themselves to serve the Lord, and Him only.—The Review and Herald, August 4, 1904.

From From the Heart

Who gave Himself for us, that He might … purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. Titus 2:14.

The Lord hath set apart them that are godly for Himself, and this consecration to God and separation from the world are plainly declared and positively enjoined in both the Old and New Testaments. There is a wall of separation which the Lord Himself has established between the things of the world and the things He has chosen out of the world and sanctified unto Himself. The calling and the character of God’s people are peculiar. Their prospects are peculiar, and these peculiarities distinguish them from all people. All of God’s people upon the earth are one body, from the beginning to the end of time. They have one Head that directs and governs the body. The same injunctions rest upon God’s people now, to be separate from the world, as rested upon ancient Israel. The great Head of the church has not changed. The experience of Christians in these days is much like the travels of ancient Israel….

As we read the Word of God, how plain that God’s people are peculiar and distinct from the unbelieving world around them. Our position is interesting and fearful; living in the last days, how important that we imitate the example of Christ and walk even as He walked….

The servants of Christ have not their home or their treasure here. Would that all of them could understand that it is only because the Lord reigns that we are even permitted to dwell in peace and safety among our enemies. It is not our privilege to claim special favors of the world. We must consent to be poor and despised in this world until the warfare is finished and the victory won. The members of Christ are called to come out and be separate from the friendship and spirit of the world, and their strength and power consist in their being chosen and accepted of God….

Even so the members of Christ are as He was in this world. They are the sons and daughters of God and joint heirs with Christ, and the kingdom and dominion belong to them. The world understand not their character and holy calling. They perceive not their adoption into the family of God. Their union and fellowship with the Father and the Son are not manifest to the world, and while they behold their humiliation and reproach, it does not appear what they shall be. They are strangers. The world knows them not and appreciates not the motives which actuate them.—The Review and Herald, July 5, 1875.

From From the Heart