Is this the language of your heart? “I am wholly Thine, my Saviour; Thou hast paid the ransom for my soul, and all that I am or ever hope to be is Thine. Help me to acquire means, not to expend foolishly, not to indulge pride, but to use to Thine own name’s glory.”
(CS 46.1)
In all you do, let your thought be, “Is this the way of the Lord? Will this please my Saviour? He gave His life for me; what can I give back to God? I can only say, ‘Of Thine own, O lord, I freely give Thee.’” Unless the name of God is written in your forehead,—written there because God is the center of your thoughts,—you will not be meet for the inheritance in light. It is your Creator who has poured out to you all heaven in one wondrous gift,—His only-begotten Son....
(CS 46.2)
God lays His hand upon the tithe, as well as upon gifts and offerings, and says, “That is Mine. When I entrusted you with My goods, I specified that a portion should be your own, to supply your necessities, and a portion should be returned to Me.”
(CS 46.3)
As you gathered in your harvest, storing barns and granary for your own comfort, did you return to God a faithful tithe? Have you presented to Him your gifts and offerings, that His cause may not suffer? Have you looked after the fatherless and the widow? This is a branch of home missionary work that should by no means be neglected.
(CS 46.4)
Are there not around you poor and suffering ones who need warmer clothing, better food, and, above everything else, that which will be most highly prized,— sympathy and love? What have you done for the widows, the distressed, who call upon you to aid them in educating and training their children or grandchildren? How have you treated these cases? Have you tried to help the orphans? When anxious, soul-burdened parents or grandparents have asked you, and even begged you, to consider their case, have you turned them away with unfeeling, unsympathetic refusals? If so, may the Lord pity your future; for “with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”Matthew 7:2. Can we be surprised that the Lord withholds His blessing, when His gifts are selfishly perverted and misapplied?
(CS 46.5)
God is constantly bestowing upon you the blessings of this life; and if He asks you to dispense His gifts by helping the various branches of His work, it is for your own temporal and spiritual interest to do so, and thus acknowledge God as the giver of every blessing. God, as the Master Worker, cooperates with men in securing the means necessary for their sustenance; and He requires them to cooperate with Him in the salvation of souls. He has placed in the hands of His servants the means wherewith to carry forward His work in home and foreign missions. But if only half the people do their duty, the treasury will not be supplied with the necessary funds, and many parts of the work of God must be left incomplete.—The Review and Herald, December 23, 1890.
(CS 47.1) 1 I
Answering Christ’s Prayer for Unity
Never can the church reach the position that God desires it to reach until it is bound up in sympathy with its missionary workers. Never can the unity for which Christ prayed exist until spirituality is brought into missionary service, and until the church becomes an agency for the support of missions. The efforts of the missionaries will not accomplish what they should until the church members in the home field show, not only in word, but in deed, that they realize the obligation resting on them to give these missionaries their hearty support.
(CS 47.2)
God calls for workers. Personal activity is needed. But conversion comes first; seeking for the salvation of others, next.—The Review and Herald, September 10, 1903.
(CS 48.1)
Empty the Heart of Selfishness
It is to be regretted that the church today feels so little inclination to express thanksgiving to the Lord for enriching her with His grace, for giving her His talents of means, that she may have wherewith to supply His treasury.
(CS 48.2)
The barren portions of the Lord’s vineyard cry to God, saying, “Men have neglected to care for me.” By allowing their fellow beings to remain in the bondage of want and degradation, men and women allow Satan to reproach God for permitting His children to suffer for the necessaries of life. God is insulted by the indifference of those to whom He has entrusted His goods. His stewards refuse to notice the distress which they might relieve. Thus they bring a reproach upon God.
(CS 48.3)
Let no one trifle with his responsibilities. If you are not trading upon dollars, but only upon cents, remember that the blessing of God rests upon unwearied diligence. He does not despise the day of small things. A wise use of the littles will bring a wonderful increase. One talent wisely used will bring two to God. Interest is expected in proportion to the entrusted capital. God accepts according to what a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.
(CS 48.4)
God calls for what you owe Him in tithes and offerings. He calls for consecration in every line of His work. Act faithfully your part at your appointed post of duty. Work earnestly, remembering that Christ is by your side, planning, devising, and constructing for you. “God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.”2 Corinthians 9:8. Give cheerfully, gladly, willingly, thankful that you are able to do something to advance God’s kingdom in the world. Empty the heart of selfishness, and brace the mind for Christian activity. If you are in close connection with God, you will be willing to make any sacrifice to place eternal life within the reach of the perishing.
(CS 48.5) 2 I
Spiritual Prosperity and Christian Liberality
In the name of the Lord, I beseech my brethren and sisters, at this crisis in our work, to come up to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty. Withholding from God always brings a curse. Spiritual prosperity is closely bound up with Christian liberality. Hunger only for the exaltation of imitating the divine beneficence of the Redeemer. You have the precious assurance that your treasure is going before you to the heavenly courts.
(CS 49.1)
Would you make your property secure? Place it in the hand that bears the nail prints of the crucifixion. Retain all in your possession, and it will be to your eternal loss. Give it to God, and from that moment it bears His inscription. It is sealed with His immutability. Would you enjoy your substance? Then use it to bless the suffering. Would you increase your possessions? “Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.”Proverbs 3:9, 10.
(CS 49.2)
God Will Refill the Hand
If all will act their part, the barrenness of the Lord’s vineyard will no longer speak in condemnation of those who profess to follow Christ. Medical missionary work is to open the door for the gospel of present truth. The third angel’s message is to be heard in all places. Economize! Strip yourselves of pride. Give to God your earthly treasure. Give what you can now, and as you cooperate with Christ, your hand will open to impart still more. And God will refill your hand, that the treasure of truth may be taken to many souls. He will give to you that you may give to others.—The Review and Herald, December 10, 1901.
(CS 50.1)