The work of God in all its wide extent is one, and the same principles should control, the same spirit be revealed, in all its branches. It must bear the stamp of missionary work. Every department of the cause is related to all parts of the gospel field, and the spirit that controls one department will be felt throughout the entire field. If a portion of the workers receive large wages, there are others, in different branches of the work, who will call for higher wages, and the spirit of self-sacrifice will gradually be lost sight of. Other institutions and conferences will catch the same spirit, and the Lord’s favor will be removed from them; for He can never sanction selfishness. Thus our aggressive work would come to an end. Only by constant sacrifice can it be carried forward.
(2SM 178.1)
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God will test the faith of every soul. Christ has purchased us at an infinite sacrifice. Although He was rich, yet for our sake He became poor, that we through His poverty might come into possession of eternal riches. All that we possess of ability and intellect has been lent us in trust by the Lord, to use for Him. It is our privilege to be partakers with Christ in His sacrifice.
(2SM 178.2)
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The men of experience and piety who led out in this work, who denied self and did not hesitate to sacrifice anything for its success, are now sleeping in the grave. They were God’s appointed channels through which the principles of spiritual life were communicated to the church. They had an experience of the highest value. They could not be bought or sold. Their purity and devotion and self-sacrifice, their living connection with God, were blessed to the upbuilding of the work. Our institutions were characterized by the spirit of self-sacrifice.
(2SM 215.1)
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But in some respects the work has deteriorated. While it has grown in extent and facilities, it has waned in piety. In the days when we were struggling with poverty, those who saw how wondrously God wrought for the upbuilding of the cause, felt that no greater honor could be bestowed upon them than to be bound up with the interests of the work by sacred links which connected them with God. Would they lay down the burden and make terms with the Lord from a money standpoint? No, no. Should every timeserver forsake his post of duty, they would never desert the work. They would say, “If the Lord placed me here, He desires me to be a faithful steward, learning of Him day by day how to perform the work acceptably. I will stand at my post until God shall release me. I will know what it means to be a practical, wholehearted Christian. I expect my reward by and by.”
(2SM 215.2)
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The believers who in the early history of the cause sacrificed for the upbuilding of the work were imbued with the same spirit. They felt that God demanded of all connected with His cause an unreserved consecration of soul, body, and spirit, of all their services and capabilities, to make the work a success. The testimonies came to them, claiming for God all their energies in cooperation with the divine agencies, and all the increased ability gained through the exercise of every faculty.
(2SM 215.3)
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