There is need of both home and foreign missionaries. There is work right at hand that is strangely neglected by many. All who have tasted “the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come” (Hebrews 6:5), have a work to do for those in their homes and among their neighbors. The gospel of salvation must be proclaimed to others. Every man who has felt the converting power of God becomes in a sense a missionary. There are friends to whom he can speak of the love of God. He can tell in the church what the Lord is to him, even a personal Saviour; and the testimony given in simplicity may do more good than the most eloquent discourse. There is a great work to be done, too, in dealing justly with all and walking humbly with God. Those who are doing the work nearest them are gaining an experience that will fit them for a wider sphere of usefulness. There must be an experience in home missionary work as a preparation for foreign work.
(CH 33.1)
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How shall the Lord’s work be done? How can we gain access to souls buried in midnight darkness? Prejudice must be met; corrupt religion is hard to deal with. The very best ways and means of work must be prayerfully considered. There is a way in which many doors will be opened to the missionary. Let him become intelligent in the care of the sick, as a nurse, or learn how to treat disease, as a physician; and if he is imbued with the spirit of Christ, what a field of usefulness is opened before him!
(CH 33.2)
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Christ was the Saviour of the world. During His life on earth, the sick and afflicted were objects of His special compassion. When He sent out His disciples, He commissioned them to heal the sick as well as to preach the gospel. When He sent forth the seventy, He commanded them to heal the sick, and next to preach that the kingdom of God had come nigh unto them. Their physical health was to be first cared for, in order that the way might be prepared for the truth to reach their minds.
(CH 33.3)
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The Saviour devoted more time and labor to healing the afflicted of their maladies than to preaching. His last injunction to His apostles, His representatives on earth, was to lay hands on the sick that they might recover. When the Master shall come, He will commend those who have visited the sick and relieved the necessities of the afflicted.
(CH 34.1)
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The tender sympathies of our Saviour were aroused for fallen and suffering humanity. If you would be His followers, you must cultivate compassion and sympathy. Indifference to human woes must give place to lively interest in the sufferings of others. The widow, the orphan, the sick and the dying, will always need help. Here is an opportunity to proclaim the gospel—to hold up Jesus, the hope and consolation of all men. When the suffering body has been relieved, and you have shown a lively interest in the afflicted, the heart is opened, and you can pour in the heavenly balm. If you are looking to Jesus and drawing from Him knowledge and strength and grace, you can impart His consolation to others, because the Comforter is with you.
(CH 34.2)
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You will meet with much prejudice, a great deal of false zeal and miscalled piety, but in both the home and foreign field you will find more hearts that God has been preparing for the seed of truth than you imagine, and they will hail with joy the divine message when it is presented to them.
(CH 34.3)
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