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HELPFULNESS

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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Mar 27, 1900

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 77, No. 13.

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HELPFULNESS

The King's Messenger.
The gospel of help is the gospel of Jesus, is the gospel to be practiced as well as preached, is the only, the best, gospel needed to-day.
Help one another — not help to pauperize, but help to develop, help to bless; not only financially, but socially, mentally, physically, and spiritually. The church's lack is helpfulness. This is the cause of the separation between the church and those whom it has come to bless and save.
The church should be the place of the abiding of the Abider, the Comforter. Everyone should be comforted with the comfort of the Holy Ghost, and everyone should be under-comforters. Comforted ourselves, we should comfort others with the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. In fact, we should receive the Holy Ghost, not for ourselves, but for the comfort and helpfulness he will make us to others. Away with all selfishness, and let us put helpfulness in its place. What though we are rebuffed and ill-requited for our pains? what though the world is full of ingratitude, and we are buffeted and ill-treated for our helpfulness, and those we have helped and blessed are our accusers and persecutors? So they did to Jesus; so they have done, and ever will do, to Spirit-filled folks.
What, then? — Keep on helping. Yours to help. If they curse, you bless. When the Master was filled, he blessed, he healed them all. When the big, burly Jew smote him from behind on the cheek, and dropping back into the mocking crowd, tauntingly saying, Prophesy. Who struck thee? and again, when the same people, whom he blessed and desired to save, spit upon him and smote him and gave him vinegar mingled with gall to drink, he prayed, “Father, forgive them; they know not what they do.” So Stephen, so Paul. They still continued to help. Helpfulness must be our forte. Help one another.
This is the need of the church in the world to-day — a spirit of helpfulness. “Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” The Holy Spirit came not to Jesus to make him holy, but to make him helpful. So to us to-day; not holiness, but helpfulness, is to be our seeking — not for self, but for others; not to be blessed, but to bless. This is the cry of the Holy Ghost in us to-day: “Bless me, Lord, and make me a blessing.” Nothing selfish in our prayer: not for self, but others. Bless me, not make me happy, nor holy, nor wise, nor successful; but make me a blessing, and thus enable me to help others. This is the true desire of the Holy Ghost in each heart — helpfulness.