My brother, a daily work must be done for you by the power of God, or else, instead of the Holy Spirit, the enemy of God and man will stand by your side. Under his influence, weakness will appear in your work. The most precious points of faith relative to the salvation of the soul will be marred and mutilated in your hands. (TM 312.1) MC VC

Unless you change your manner of labor, you will give a faulty education to those connected with you in the work. Let your heart struggle and break for the longing it has for God, the living God. Let nothing divert your mind from the work of God to unimportant matters. With all your God-given energies work earnestly and prayerfully, calling upon the church to cooperate with you. Put no trust in yourself, but rest in the assurance that God is the chief Worker. You are only His servant; and your work is to voice His words, “We are laborers together with God.” 1 Corinthians 3:9. (TM 312.2) MC VC

Denying of Self VC

Take no glory whatever to yourself. Do not work with a divided mind, trying to serve self and God at the same time. Keep self out of sight. Let your words lead the weary and heavy-laden to carry their burdens to Jesus. Work as seeing Him who is at your right hand, ready to give you His efficiency and omnipotent power in any emergency. (TM 312.3) MC VC

The Lord is your Counselor, your Guide, the Captain of your salvation. He goes before your face, conquering and to conquer. Dedicate yourself, soul and body, to Him, banishing all self-indulgence. Deny self; take up your cross, and work earnestly for the Master. Do not needlessly expend your strength by giving long discourses. This uses up the vitality, so that insufficient strength is left to devote to the most important part of the work—house-to-house ministry. (TM 312.4) MC VC

It is not the will of God that any shall perish, but that all shall have everlasting life. Oh, could I be assured that in the coming conference my brethren would feel a sense of what pure principles mean to them and to all with whom they are associated, my heart would leap with joy! If those that have wandered so far from God and true righteousness would show that the Holy Spirit was striving with them, that they were conscious of their guiltiness in departing from the word of God and acting as blind leaders of the blind, I should have hope. When these do awake from their paralysis, they will be overwhelmed with a sense of lost time,—the Lord’s precious talent,—lost opportunities, which were given to them that they might show their appreciation of the infinite compassion of God for fallen men. (TM 394.1) MC VC

A Soul Hunger for Service VC

Every soul that accepts Jesus as his personal Saviour will pant for the privilege of serving God and will eagerly seize the opportunity to signalize his gratitude by devoting his abilities to God’s service. He will long to show his love for Jesus and for His purchased possession. He will covet toil, hardship, sacrifice. He will think it a privilege to deny self, lift the cross, and follow in Christ’s footsteps, thus showing his loyalty and love. His holy and beneficent works will testify to his conversion, and will give to the world the evidence that he is not a spurious, but a true, devoted, Christian. (TM 394.2) MC VC

Men are now earnestly plying every art and trade in order to satisfy their desire for more gain. If they would use this tact and zeal and careful thoughtfulness in an effort to gain something for the Lord’s treasury, how much would be accomplished! When men who are thoroughly selfish accept Christ, they will show that they have a new heart; and instead of grasping all they possibly can obtain to benefit themselves, instead of making little, stunted sacrifices for the Lord, they will cheerfully do all that they can to advance His work. The spirit of grasping, which has been so largely developed, will die, and they will heed the words of Christ, “Sell that ye have, and give alms.” Luke 12:33. They will work as laboriously, with zeal and energy and earnestness, to build up the kingdom of God, as they have worked to obtain riches for themselves. (TM 394.3) MC VC

Results of Self-Serving VC

Oh, if those who profess to know the truth had the spirit of Christ, the self-sacrificing Redeemer, who gave up His riches, His splendor, His high command, and did all that a God could do to save souls, they would deny self, lift the cross and follow Jesus. How will you who love worldly treasure answer to God in the great day of judgment for your feeble and sleepy efforts to send the truth to regions beyond? The money expended in bicycles and dress and other needless things must be accounted for. [See appendixAppendix.] As God’s people you should represent Jesus; but Christ is ashamed of the self-indulgent ones. My heart is pained, I can scarcely restrain my feelings, when I think of how easily our people are led away from practical Christian principles to self-pleasing. As yet many of you only partially believe the truth. The Lord Jesus says, “Ye cannot serve God and mammon,”(Matthew 6:24) and we are to live by every word which proceedeth out of His mouth. How many believe His word? (TM 398.1) MC VC

The Lord abhors your selfish practices, and yet His hand is stretched out still. I urge you for your soul’s sake to hear my plea now for those who are missionaries in foreign countries, whose hands are tied by your ways. Satan has been working with all his powers of deception to bring matters to that pass where the way will be hedged up for want of means in the treasury. (TM 398.2) MC VC

Do you realize that every year thousands and thousands and ten times ten thousand souls are perishing, dying in their sins? The plagues and judgments of God are already doing their work, and souls are going to ruin because the light of truth has not been flashed upon their pathway. Do we fully believe that we are to carry the word of God to all the world? Who believes this? “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” Romans 10:14. Who has the faith that will enable them to practice this word? Who believes in the light which God has given? (TM 398.3) MC VC