The Counsel Is Explicit—I have no fears of workers who are engaged in the work represented in the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah. This chapter is explicit, and is enough to enlighten anyone who wishes to do the will of God. There is plenty of opportunity for everyone to be a blessing to humanity. The third angel’s message is not to be given a second place in this work, but is to be one with it. There may be, and there is, a danger of burying up the great principles of truth when doing the work that is right to do. This work is to be to the message what the hand is to the body. The spiritual necessities of the soul are to be kept prominent.—Letter 24, 1898.
(WM 33.1)
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Our God-appointed Work—I cannot too strongly urge all our church members, all who are true missionaries, all who believe the third angel’s message, all who turn away their feet from the Sabbath, to consider the message of the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah. The work of beneficence enjoined in this chapter is the work that God requires His people to do at this time. It is a work of His own appointment. We are not left in doubt as to where the message applies, and the time of its marked fulfillment, for we read: “They that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.”Isaiah 58:12. God’s memorial, the seventh-day Sabbath, the sign of His work in creating the world, has been displaced by the man of sin. God’s people have a special work to do in repairing the breach that has been made in His law; and the nearer we approach the end, the more urgent this work becomes. All who love God will show that they bear His sign by keeping His commandments....
(WM 33.2)
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Welfare Ministry on the Sabbath—According to the fourth commandment the Sabbath was dedicated to rest and religious worship. All secular employment was to be suspended, but works of mercy and benevolence were in accordance with the purpose of the Lord. They were not to be limited to time or place. To relieve the afflicted, to comfort the sorrowing, is a labor of love that does honor to God’s holy day.—;Redemption: or the Teachings of Christ, 4:46.
(WM 77.1)
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Early-Day Methods of Visitation—Let those who feel the burden of souls resting upon them go out and do house-to-house work, and teach the people precept upon precept, here a little, and there a little, gradually leading them into the full light of Bible truth. This is what we had to do in the early days of the message. As earnest efforts are put forth, the Lord will let His blessing rest upon the workers and upon those who are seeking for an understanding of the truth as it is in the Word of God.
(WM 77.2)
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There are precious truths, glorious truths, in God’s Word, and it is our privilege to bring these truths before the people. In those parts of the field where many cannot attend meetings far away from their homes, we can bring the truth to them personally and can work with them in simplicity.
(WM 77.3)
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What light there is in the Word! In Isaiah we read, “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew My people their transgressions.”Isaiah 58:1. This is the work we are to do. Note the expression, “My people.” Why should the prophet say, “My people” ? They were not walking in accordance with the light of truth, but God desired to save them from their sins. The truth was to be brought to them anew in its simplicity.
(WM 77.4)
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The message of the third angel must go to all people, and Christ has declared that it is to be proclaimed in the highways and in the byways. “Cry aloud, spare not,”(Isaiah 58:1) He commands. This means that wherever they shall present the truth, whether before a public congregation or from house to house, they are to present it as it is revealed in God’s Word.—Manuscript 15, 1909.
(WM 77.5)
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Not to Wait for Souls to Come to Us—We are not to wait for souls to come to us; we must seek them out where they are. When the Word has been preached in the pulpit, the work has but just began. There are multitudes who will never be reached by the gospel unless it is carried to them.—Christ’s Object Lessons, 229.
(WM 78.1)
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Labor from house to house, not neglecting the poor, who are usually passed by. Christ said, “He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor,”(Luke 4:18) and we are to go and do likewise.—The Review and Herald, June 11, 1895.
(WM 78.2)
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“I Am Lost! and You Never Warned Me!”—Go to the homes of those even who manifest no interest. While mercy’s sweet voice invites the sinner, work with every energy of heart and brain, as did Paul, “who ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.” In the day of God how many will confront us and say, “I am lost! I am lost! And you never warned me; you never entreated me to come to Jesus. Had I believed as you did, I would have followed every Judgment-bound soul within my reach with prayers and tears and warnings.”—The Review and Herald, June 24, 1884.
(WM 78.3)
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Relationship of Visitation Evangelism to Our Own Spirituality—Visit your neighbors in a friendly way, and become acquainted with them....Those who do not take up this work, those who act with the indifference that some have manifested, will soon lose their first love and will begin to censure, criticise, and condemn their own brethren.—The Review and Herald, May 13, 1902.
(WM 78.4)
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Chapter 12—The Effectiveness of Visitation Evangelism
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The Place of Visitation Evangelism in Finishing God’s Work on Earth—How can the great work of the third angel’s message be accomplished? It must be largely accomplished by persevering, individual effort, by visiting the people in their homes.—Historical Sketches, 150.
(WM 97.1)
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One of the most effective ways in which light can be communicated is by private, personal effort. In the home circle, at your neighbor’s fireside, at the bedside of the sick, in a quiet way you may read the Scriptures and speak a word for Jesus and the truth. Thus you may sow precious seed that will spring up and bring forth fruit.—Testimonies for the Church 6:428, 429.
(WM 97.2)
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Repaid a Thousand Times—Wake up, brethren and sisters. Don’t be afraid of good works. Be not weary in well-doing, for you shall reap in due time if you faint not.... Encourage in yourselves a love of hospitality, a love to help those who need help.
(WM 97.3)
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You may say you have been deceived, bestowing your means upon those unworthy of your charity, and therefore have become discouraged in trying to help the needy. I present Jesus before you.... One soul wrenched from Satan’s grasp; one soul you have benefited; one soul encouraged! This will a thousand times pay you for all your efforts. To you Jesus will say, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.”Matthew 25:40. Should we not gladly do all we can to imitate the life of our divine Lord?—The Review and Herald, April 20, 1886.
(WM 97.4)
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When man places himself in this attitude, and realizes that he is working out God’s plan, and that God is working out His plan through him, he is in possession of divine power, which knows nothing of defeat. All the power of counteragencies is of no more account than the chaff of the threshing floor.—Manuscript 115, 1899.
(WM 124.1)
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It Will Bring Life to Churches—To my ministering brethren I would say, Prosecute this work with tact and ability. Set to work the young men and the young women in our churches. Combine the medical missionary work with the proclamation of the third angel’s message. Make regular, organized efforts to lift the churches out of the dead level into which they have fallen, and have remained for years. Send into the church workers who will set the principles of health reform in their connection with the third angel’s message before every family and individual. Encourage all to take a part in work for their fellow men, and see if the breath of life will not quickly return to these churches.—Letter 54, 1898.
(WM 124.2)
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Maintain Proper Perspective—As the work advances, dangers arise that need to be guarded against. As new enterprises are entered upon, there is a tendency to make some one line all absorbing; that which should have the first place becomes a secondary consideration. The church needs fresh power and vitality, but there is great danger of taking on new lines of work that will waste their energies instead of bringing life into the church.—The Daily Bulletin of the General Conference, March 2, 1899.
(WM 256.1)
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Work for the Outcasts Not the Burden of Our Work—Of late [1899] a great interest has been aroused for the poor and outcast classes; a great work has been entered upon for the uplifting of the fallen and degraded. This in itself is a good work. We should ever have the Spirit of Christ, and we are to do the same class of work that He did for suffering humanity. The Lord has a work to be done for the outcasts. There is no question but that it is the duty of some to labor among them and try to save the souls that are perishing. This will have its place in connection with the proclamation of the third angel’s message and the reception of Bible truth. But there is a danger of loading down everyone with this class of work, because of the intensity with which it is carried on. There is danger of leading men to center their energies in this line, when God has called them to another work.
(WM 256.2) 2 I
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The great question of our duty to humanity is a serious one, and much of the grace of God is needed in deciding how to work so as to accomplish the greatest amount of good. Not all are called to begin their work by laboring among the lowest classes. God does not require His workmen to obtain their education and training in order to devote themselves exclusively to these classes. The working of God is manifested in a way which will establish confidence that the work is of His devising, and that sound principles underlie every action. But I have had instruction from God that there is danger of planning for the outcasts in a way which will lead to spasmodic and excitable movements. These will produce no really beneficial results. A class will be encouraged to do a kind of work which will amount to the least in strengthening all parts of the work by harmonious action.
(WM 256.3)
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The gospel invitation is to be given to the rich and the poor, the high and the low, and we must devise means for carrying the truth into new places and to all classes of people. The Lord bids us, “Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that My house may be filled.”Luke 14:23. He says, “Begin in the highways; thoroughly work the highways; prepare a company who in unity with you can go forth to do the very work that Christ did in seeking and saving the lost.”
(WM 257.1)
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Christ preached the gospel to the poor, but He did not confine His labors to this class. He worked for all who would hear His word—not only the publican and the outcasts, but the rich and cultivated Pharisee, the Jewish nobleman, the centurion, and the Roman ruler. This is the kind of work I have ever seen should be done. We are not to strain every spiritual sinew and nerve to work for the lowest classes, and make that work the all in all. There are others whom we must bring to the Master, souls who need the truth, who are bearing responsibilities, and who will work with all their sanctified ability for the high places as well as for the low places.
(WM 257.2)
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The work for the poorer classes has no limit. It can never be got through with, and it must be treated as a part of the great whole. To give our first attention to this work, while there are vast portions of the Lord’s vineyard open to culture and yet untouched, is to begin in the wrong place. As the right arm is to the body, so is the medical missionary work to the third angel’s message. But the right arm is not to become the whole body. The work is seeking the outcasts is important, but it is not to become the great burden of our mission.—Manuscript 3, 1899.
(WM 258.1)
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Not Called Upon to Erect Homes for Abandoned Women or Babies—I must speak plainly in regard to some things which must be guarded. We should not enter into the work of maintaining homes for abandoned women or for infants. This responsibility might better be borne by families, who should care for those who need help in these lines.—Letter 11, 1900.
(WM 258.2)
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The Lord does not give us direction to erect buildings for the care of babies, although this is a good work, but it is not the work for the present time. Let the world do all it will in this line. Our time and means must be invested in a different line of work. We are to carry the last message of mercy in the very best way to reach those in the churches who are hungering and praying for light.—Letter 232, 1899.
(WM 258.3)
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Turn to Fields Ready to Harvest—This work is being made the all-absorbing work, but this is not in God’s order. It is a never-ending work, and if it is carried on as it has been in the past, all the power of God’s people will be required to counterbalance it, and the work of preparing a people to stand amid the perils of the last days will never be done.
(WM 258.4)
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