In the Face of Great Obstacles

4. A GREATLY EXPANDED COLPORTEUR ARMY: "From the light given me I know that where there is one canvasser in the field there should be one hundred."—Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 315.

We have not yet found the key for making this feature of God's pattern program a reality. But God will show us the way. Past adventures of our literature evangelists have thrilled our hearts, and the story of the expansion of our lit­erature work borders on the miraculous, but this is only the beginning. We must plan for and expect still greater things. The inspiring words of J. D. Snider are worth remembering : "The glories of our bookwork are not in its yes­terdays, but in its tomorrows." How prophetically true! This conviction must guide us in our planning. Our literature work is not just a method of missionary work. It is one of the few divinely revealed indispensable features of His program.

"And in a large degree through our publishing houses is to be accomplished the work of that other angel who comes down from heaven with great power, and who lightens the earth with his glory. Solemn is the responsibility that rests upon our houses of publi­cation. Those who conduct these institutions, those who edit the periodicals and prepare the books, standing as they do in the light of God's purpose, and called to give warning to the world, are held by God account­able for the souls of their fellow-men."---Ibid., vol. 7, p. 140.

This much too is certain, the pattern calls for multiplied thousands of men and women in the literature ministry, men and women as care­fully selected for -their service as men in the gospel ministry.

4. AN ARMY OF YOUTH TRAINED FOR SERV­ICE is still another feature of the divine pro­gram forfor a finished work. "With such an army of workers as our youth, rightly trained, might furnish, how soon the message of a crucified, risen, and soon-coming Saviour might be car­ried to the whole world !"—Education, p. 271.

The religious education of the children of the church is something infinitely more than a de­sirable undertaking if convenient and not too costly ! It is one of the divine imperatives. If the church fails in this, she will imperil God's plan for finishing His work. Note the implica­tions of the instruction : "With such an army . . . as our youth." That means the whole of our youth, not a fractional percentage of them.

God has never consented to the training of any of His little ones in an atmosphere where Christ is not acknowledged, or by teachers in whose hearts the truth does not dwell.

We glory in the large number of our youth in our training centers. But while we thus re­joice, let repentance seize our hearts, because still larger numbers go daily for instruction to institutions where Christ does not rule. This is to our shame. It is due to our neglect. On this point the church is being tested, and on this point she is found wanting. Christian education is by many regarded as desirable, but not as a grim necessity, and as a result how great has been the loss ! There is an unprecedented need for broadening the base of our educational sys­tem. The first formal educational experience of every child should be his introduction to a Christian teacher.

And our youth are to be "rightly trained.' That means schools—more and better schools. Let those who may be skeptical about the value of and need for expanded facilities in these clos­ing days examine again God's blueprint. Note these utterances found in Testimonies, volume 6, pages 440, 441:

"A great work must be done all through the world, and let no one conclude that because the end is near, there is no need of special effort to build up the vari­ous institutions as the cause shall demand.

"Schools must be established, that the youth may be educated, that those engaged in the work of the minis­try may reach higher attainments in the knowledge of the Bible and the sciences. . . . Since the Lord is soon to come, act decidedly and determinedly to increase the facilities, that a great work may be done in a short time.

"Since the Lord is soon coming, it is . .. time to put every dollar we can spare into the Lord's treasury, that institutions may be established for the education of workers, who shall be instructed as were those in the schools of the prophets. If the Lord comes and finds you doing this work, He will say, 'Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord !' "

5. A HEALTH PROGRAM FOR EVERY HOUSE­HOLD that will make every home in Israel a light in the world. This is yet another feature we find in God's program for the finishing of His work. I greatly rejoice in the professional growth of our medical work. Our large flour­ishing sanitariums and our medical college have brought untold blessings to suffering hu­manity. But these alone are not sufficient. God intended every Seventh-day Adventist home to be a miniature sanitarium—homes where the principles of health are understood and lived, homes where suffering humanity might find help.

Yet more: In secluded spots, all through the land, God has called for the establishment of small sanitariums—outposts from which the large cities might be worked. Health restau­rants, we were instructed, are to send forth the light of health and temperance in the cities. in all this work we are far behind God's expecta­tions. As a matter of fact, in these respects we have gone backward and not forward. We have witnessed the closing of many small sanitari­ums rather than their multiplication. And yet the instruction in the pattern program is clear:

"The proclamation of the truth in all parts of the world calls for small sanitariums in many places, not in the heart of cities, but in places where city influ­ences will be as little felt as possible."

"It is that thirsting souls may be led to the living water that we plead for sanitariums, not expensive, mammoth sanitariums, but homelike institutions, in pleasant places.

"Never, never build mammoth institutions. Let these institutions be small, and let there be more of them, that the work of winning souls to Christ may be ac­complished. . . . The sick are to be reached, not by massive buildings, but by the establishment of many small sanitariums, which are to be as lights shining in a dark place. Those who are engaged in this work are to reflect the sunlight of Christ's face. They are to be as salt that has not lost its savor. By sanitarium work, properly conducted, the influence of true, pure religion will be extended to many souls."—Medical Ministry, PP. 539, 323.

6. THE RETURN OF THE PRIMITIVE SPIRIT OF SACRIFICE is what God calls for, as a feature that is to implement every other provision in this program for a finished work. The move­ment was launched in a spirit of self-denial and sacrifice. In that spirit and that alone can it be finished. And this means much more than most of us realize. A heart-warming illustration is recorded in Church Times:

"The gift of one man shines out in these latter days like a star. Robert Arthington, of Leeds, a Cambridge graduate, lived in a single room, cooking his own meals ; and he gave foreign missions 500,000 pounds on the condition that it was all to be spent on pioneer work within twenty-five years. A slip of paper was found after his death on which he had written these words: 'Gladly would I make the floor my bed, a box my chair, and another box my table than that Men should perish for want of the knowledge of Christ.'"

Every Christian working, an expanding working force, a large colporteur army, a youth army, a health program, and a spirit of sacri­fice—these, then, are the simple elements in the program which God, through His messenger, has blueprinted for the final days. Out of these elements every need of the work can be sup­plied. They make possible large city efforts as well as lay Bible schools. They assure the scat­tering of our literature as the "leaves of au­tumn." They furnish us with an army of lay workers going into homes with their Bibles under their arms. Through them radio will reach its long arm into every home in the land. God's program makes a finished work possible! And this program is to find its fulfillment not only in the homeland but in every land under the shining sun. What a staggering assign­ment!

Why HaVe We Failed?

I now ask a very serious question. If the work of God can be finished by means so sim­ple, then why are we so dangerously close to suffering the tragedy of an arrested develop­ment, as indicated by our statistical reports? The answer is plain: Because we have devel­oped so many complicated substitutes for these simple means. On this point it is best that we should let the messenger of the Lord speak :

"Everywhere there is a tendency to substitute the work of organizations for individual effort. Human wisdom tends to consolidation, to centralization, to the building up of great churches and institutions. Christ commits to His followers an individual work, —a work that can not be done by proxy."—Ministry of Healing, p. 147.

"The very simplest modes of work should be devised and set in operation among the churches. If the mem­bers will unitedly accept such plans, and perseveringly carry them out, they will reap a rich reward; for their experience will grow brighter, their ability will in­crease, and through their efforts souls will be saved." —Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 433. (Italics mine.)

"When the form and machinery take the pre-emi­nence, and a laborious task is made of carrying on the work that should be done with simplicity, evil will re­sult, and little will be accomplished in proportion to the effort put forth. . . . Evil results have been seen, both in the Sabbath-school work and in the missionary society, because of making much of machinery while vital experience was lost sight of."—Christian Edu­cation, p. 134.

"The people of God have lost much by not main­taining the simplicity of the truth as it is in Jesus. This simplicity has been crowded out, and forms and ceremonies and a round of busy activities in mechani­cal work have taken its place. Pride and lukewarmness have made the professed people of God an offense in His sight. Boastful self-sufficiency and complacent self-righteousness have masked and concealed the beg­gary and nakedness of the soul; but with God all things are naked and manifest."—Review and Herald, Aug, 7, 1894. (Italics mine.) (See also Testimonies, vol. 5, P. 535.)

What Is the Solution?

What then is the solution to our problem? That, too, has been plainly revealed to us. There must come a SPIRITUAL REVIVAL and a SPIRITUAL REFORMATION. That has been declared to be the greatest of all our needs :

"A revival of true godliness among us is the great­est and the most urgent of all our needs. To seek this should be our first work. . . . There is nothing that Satan fears so much as that the people of God shall clear the way by removing every hindrance, so that the Lord can pour out His spirit upon a languishing church and an impenitent congregation."—Review and Herald, March 22, 1887. (Italics mine.)

"A revival and a reformation must take place under the ministration of the Holy Spirit. Revival and ref­ormation are two different things. Revival signifies a renewal of spiritual life, a quickening of the powers of mind and heart, a resurrection from spiritual death. Reformation signifies a reorganization, a change in ideas and theories, habits and practices. Reformation will not bring forth the good fruit of righteousness unless it is connected with the revival of the Spirit. Revival and reformation are to do their appointed work, and in doing this work they must blend."­Ibid., Feb. 25, 5902.

Yes, a spiritual revival and a spiritual refor­mation are indeed the greatest of all our needs.

God waits patiently for His people to remove every hindering cause. His revealed program for the finishing of the work is clear, simple, and workable. The power for the finishing of the work awaits our demand and reception. This wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit, when claimed by faith, will bring all other blessings in its train. Thousands of souls are on the bor­ders of the church, waiting only to be gathered in. As the church faces these marvelous pro­visions which God has made, what, we ear­nestly ask, keeps it so impotent, so complacent, so self-satisfied ? It is our unwillingness to ac­cept God's remedy ! That remedy is a revival and a reformation.

There is no other remedy. Increased activity can never be substituted for it. Our good works cannot atone for the stubbornness of our hearts. "If all were willing, all would be filled with the Spirit." Then the absence of that divine power must be due to our unwillingness to let a revival and a reformation prepare the way for the com­ing of God's gift. Without the revival of primi­tive godliness the simple program for the finish­ing of the work can never be made operative. Without that revival we shall continue to de­velop plans and machinery and get our satisfac­tion out of these things, and come to feel less and less our need of the power that alone can finish the work.

With the coming of the revival must come a great reformation not only in the realm of per­sonal living but also in our methods of labor. Simplicity must be restored. Only then shall we feel the need of divine power. So long as we can develop elaborate programs of our own, programs that will not work and that must be bolstered up with reaffirming resolutions, and so long as we get our satisfactions out of such activities, just so long shall we delay taking hold ,of the power of God that awaits our de­mand and reception. We have been assured that when God is acknowledged and given the reins, we shall be surprised by what simple means He will finish the work and cut it short in right­eousness. Our only hope is a spiritually revived laity and a spiritually revived leadership going everywhere giving their personal witness to a crucified, risen, and soon-coming Christ. For this personal witness the enemy will seek to in­duce this people to substitute many devices. That may well prove to be our snare.

We as leaders, together with our people, know much more about our duty than we are able to perform. Many of our workers, as well as hundreds among our church members, labor continuously under the condemnation that "they are not doing enough for the Lord." This affects particularly the deeply sincere among us. The careless give little heed to their obliga­tions. I am convinced that the devising of new plans, the creating of new methods, can only result in deepened feelings of condemnation. The hours we spend poring over the turn of a phrase in some resolution result in no spiritual revivals. The same time and earnestness dedi­cated to prayer and Bible study in our councils. would work miracles.

I repeat, we already know more than we are able to perform. What is lacking is power to. perform. For that we must look to God. And for the reception of that power a spiritual re­vival and a spiritual reformation alone can pre­pare us. The gift of God's Holy Spirit, poured ' out in the latter rain, is held in restraint—waiting, waiting for leaders and people to re­move every hindering cause.

"If all were willing, all would be filled with the Spirit. Wherever the need of the Holy Spirit is a mat­ter little thought of, there is seen spiritual drought, spiritual darkness, spiritual declension and death. Whenever minor matters occupy the attention, the di­vine power which is necessary for the growth and prosperity of the church, and which would bring all other blessings in its train, is lacking, though offered in infinite plenitude."—Acts of the Apostles, p. 80.

The Latter Rain, Our Need

Yes, the latter rain is our only source of power for the finishing of the work. It is ours in promise. We may have it, but only on God's terms. "We cannot use the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is to use us."—The Desire of Ages, p. 672. Never will God baptize machinery with His Spirit ; He baptizes men and women. God

now waiting to clothe surrendered lives with His Holy Spirit. Christ must become to His people a very personal Saviour. The ground of their hope and confidence must be found only in the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. And their power must be found in His Spirit.

We can never find solutions for our problems until we realistically face those problems. Be­fore hindering causes can be removed they must be discovered and recognized. For this we shall always need great courage. Whatever else we do, we must determine that the coming of the power of God that "awaits our demand and reception" will not be long delayed. The dan­gers that confront the Christian church are the same dangers that the Advent Movement faces. These are strikingly stated by Dr. Samna Chadwick in his book, The Way to Pentecost. I urge upon our hearts a thoughtful considera­tion of three or four paragraphs from this soul-stirring volume:

"The church is helpless without the presence and power of the Spirit. The church never talked so much about itself and its problems. That is always a bad sign. The lust for talk about work increases as the power for work declines. . . . The problems of the church are never solved by talking about them. The problems arise out of failures. There is no need to dis­cuss the problem of reaching the masses, so long as the masses are being reached. There is no problem of empty churches, so long as the churches are full. . . . The power to attract is in attractiveness, and it is use­less to advertise the banquet when there is nothing to eat. We are acting as though the only remedy for fail­ure were method, organization, and compromise. The church is failing to meet modern needs, grip the mod­ern mind, and save modern life. The saints are the or­dained rulers of the earth, but they do not rule; in­deed, they have dropped the sceptre and repudiated the responsibility. The helplessness of the church is pathetic and tragic. There might be no such person as the Holy Ghost.