The Call from Destitute Fields

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The following Testimony has been received, addressed to our brethren in America:-

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Wellington, New Zealand, Aug. 1, 1893. Dear Brethren in America: I am thankful to be able to write to you that I am improving in health; and although I have passed this winter in the city of Wellington, which has not a healthful climate because of constant storms and high winds, yet the Lord has blessed me. I was nearly prostrated for some weeks, about two months since. I had an appointment at Petone, and the subject I thought to speak upon was the necessity of growth in grace; but it was taken from me, and in its place a most solemn warning was given me for the congregation in regard to the withdrawal of the Spirit of God from the world, and the judgments of God, which were plagues of sickness, disasters by sea and by land, destruction everywhere in our world by fire and floods, earthquakes in «divers places,» and the words of Christ: «And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat; they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the days when the Son of man is revealed.»

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I felt deeply the power of God resting upon me as I warned the people that the end of this earth’s history was soon to close, and we could see the fulfillment of the words of warning of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are indeed in the time which Christ has foretold would come upon the world.

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The Spirit of the Lord was upon me, and from that time I have had physical strength. For a while before, I was unable to write, my mental machinery was about ready to stop; but it was quickened by the power of God, and I praise his holy name for what he has done for me in giving me the «balm of Gilead,» and the healing power of the great physician. We see a great work to be done in this field, and long to have facilities to work with. I will speak of Wellington. It is a place where churches are abundant, and there are plenty of ministers. But I have never been in a place where prejudice was so perseveringly and determinedly carried on as it is in this place. This is the capital and great center of New Zealand. A mission should be established here. A church, if ever so humble, should be erected. It will take money to do this.

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It is not God’s plan, although the gold and silver are his own, to send his angels from heaven to build churches in any town or city. He has made man his almoner, his steward and trust, and the Lord’s field is a very extensive one. «But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.» This was the commission given to the disciples, and here has been a place where the people have determined that the banner of truth should not be lifted.

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And yet God has a people in this place, and how can we reach them?-Only through a steady, persevering effort, carried on judiciously. A humble house of worship should be erected, that the people may know that they are not to be left out in the cold. Many minds are half persuaded, but dare not make the final decision. Workers are needed, and money is needed to erect a house of worship. If we can get a hold here, then the door is opened to get a hold in other large cities.

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I cannot express my feelings. Sometimes I think it is best for me to return to America; for we can do so little. When our people in America shall feel that this field is as important as the fields in America, that souls are just as precious here as there, I think they will not take the whole, or nearly all the money from the treasury, to add building to building; and in the face of all our pleading and warnings given in reference to this subject for years, carry so light burden for those foreign fields, tying our hands so we cannot work, only to the greatest disadvantage. We have nothing wherewith we can make even a start by calling out the people.

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I entreat of you to extend your vision and broaden your ideas. In the place of investing so largely in your supposed necessities, and swallowing up the available means in the treasury, give us something that we may work in cities where there are not any souls who have an interest in the truth, who must be warned and aroused that the kingdom of God may be built up. God does not purpose to do your work; but he requires that you give some chance that the seeds of truth may be sown in places where the soil has never been broken; and the seed sown in these cities will be watered by the Lord of heaven, and there will be an increase. The leaven of truth must be first hidden in the meal before it will leaven the lump. Once get the truth planted in new fields, in cities where they have never heard the message, and then the increase and progress will follow. The people know nothing of the truth. They are ignorant of truth. They know nothing of the reasons of our faith. They believe what the church ministers tell them. And is there, then, to be no effort made, that they shall know what is truth for this time? What can be done in these cities, without money to start the work? And if you continually see places where you think you may use to advantage the means, must these countries be left and the ground not plowed or sown? Will the Lord be pleased with this kind of neglect? The field is the world. America is not the whole world,-only a little piece of it. I know there are many calls for means in all foreign countries; but here there is such a condition of things financially that we cannot depend on any help coming from these fields, until we have some facilities to till the soil and sow the seed.

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I think I shall have to turn my face homeward and go among our churches in America, and see if I cannot arouse an interest that something shall be done; for all I may trace with pen and ink, seems to be regarded as idle tales. I never expect to return to this field; but I can see that some workers, even private families, ought to get the missionary spirit, and come this way.

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I am reminded of a family of children. One is more prepossessing than the others, and that one is favored. Gifts and considerations are made without stint and partiality, and the others are left to get along as best they can. I think this is a good symbol of the present state of things in America and this country. God knows we have done what we could, but crippled in every way; our hands tied without workers or money. The places that have nothing done in them need money, and devising, and planning to create an interest. I rejoiced when I heard that the Holy Ghost had been poured out upon our people in America, and I have been anxiously waiting new developments in America as was seen after the Holy Spirit descended on the day of Pentecost. I thought similar fruits would be seen, that the missionary spirit of God would burn in the hearts of all upon whom the Spirit of God was manifestly moving.

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There should be a decided change in the spirit and character of the work. If men and women have received increased light, what are they doing? What are they doing to warn men and women who do not understand that the Lord is soon coming? He goeth out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the world for their iniquity. «The earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.» Where, I ask, is the burden for souls that are perishing out of Christ? Who will go forth without the camp bearing the reproach? Who will leave pleasant homes and dear ties of relationship, and carry the precious light of truth to lands afar off, but not beyond the domain of God? Every day and every moment comes to those intrusted with the light of truth with terrible significance, while men and women in every clime and land are fitting themselves for weal or woe, fixing their own destinies for eternity.

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God has expended amazing sacrifices upon men, and mighty energies for the reclaiming of man from transgression and sin to loyalty and obedience; but I have been shown that he does nothing without the co-operation of human agencies. Every endowment of grace and power and efficiency has been liberally provided, and the strongest motives presented to arouse and keep living in the human heart the missionary spirit, that divine and human agency may be combined. What more has been done in self-denial in moving out of Battle Creek? in carrying the light, the influence of God’s Spirit, testifying to the truth in regions where the standard has never yet been lifted? Did the Lord open to you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing at the last Conference? What use have you made of the gift of God? He has supplied the motive forces of which he has made a lodgement in your hearts, that with patience and hope and untiring vigilance you might set forth Jesus Christ and him crucified, that you might send the note of warning that Christ is coming the second time with power and great glory, calling men to repent of their sins. If the brethren in Battle Creek do not now arouse and go to work in missionary fields, they will fall back into death-like slumber. How did the Holy Spirit work upon your hearts? By the energies of the Holy Spirit it was stimulating you to the exercise of the talents God has given you, that every man and woman and youth should employ them to set forth the truth for this time, making personal efforts, going into the cities where truth has never been and lifting the standard. In the blessing God has bestowed upon you, have not your energies been quickened, and the truth been more deeply impressed upon your soul, and its important relation to perishing souls out of Christ? Are ye witnesses for Christ in a more distinct and decided manner, after the manifest revealing of God’s blessing upon you? The Holy Spirit’s office is to bring decidedly to your minds the important, vital truths. Is this extra endowment to be bound up in a napkin and hidden in the earth?-No, no, it is to be put out to the exchangers; and as man uses his talents, however small, the Holy Spirit takes the things of God, and presents them anew to the mind. He makes the neglected word to be a vivifying agency. Through the Spirit, it is quick and powerful upon human minds, not because of the smartness, the educational power of the human agency, but because the divine power works with the human, and to the divine belongs all the credit.

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Shall selfishness and ease, and love of earthly comforts and attractive homes allure us? Shall we cease as moral agencies to use our powers to the saving of souls? Shall our voices be indistinct? Then God will put his curse upon us that have had so great light, and inscribe upon the walls of our home, «Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.» He will put a tongue in the stones, and they will speak; but God demands of you in Battle Creek to go forth. Resolve not in your own strength; but in the strength and grace given of God that you will consecrate to God, now, just now, every power, every ability. You will follow Jesus because he bids you, and you will not ask where, nor what reward shall be given. It is well with you if you obey the words of the Master, «Follow me.» Your work is to lead every one to the light by judicious, well-put-forth efforts, under the guardianship of the divine Leader. Will to do, resolve to act, without a moment’s delay make terms with God. Let every ray of light that God has been giving you shine forth in good works. You are not alone. God’s grace stands forth to work with every effort to enlighten the ignorant and those who do not know that the end of all things is at hand. But he will not be your substitute to do your God-given work. Light may shine in abundance, but the graces given will convert your soul only as they arouse you to co-operate with divine agencies. You are called up to be active soldiers, to put on the divine armor, and put forth energies, divine power working with the human to break the spell of worldly enchantments.

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Again I call for the help that we ought to have had, the means we must have if anything is accomplished in this country. Let your minds be drawn out for perishing souls. Obey the impulse given by High Heaven. Grieve not the Holy Spirit by delay. Resist not God’s methods of recovering poor souls from the thralldom of sin. To every man was given his work. Then do the very best with the powers God has given you, and he will accept your efforts put forth with an eye single to his glory. To every man he has given his work according to his several ability. Mrs. E. G. White.