Some Blessings the Week of Prayer Should Bring to the Cause of God
By Arthur G. Daniells
If a situation or condition could speak by either voice or pen, there would now be presented to Seventh-day Adventists the most earnest, solemn, touching appeal ever made to the church of Christ. That appeal would no doubt say much, and produce large results. It would surely bring us all to the foot of the cross for personal cleansing from all sin. It would lead us to seek most earnestly a preparation for service in the work of God. It would send us forth endued with power from on high to proclaim the great threefold message of Revelation 14 to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. And it would cause us cheerfully and promptly to place in the treasury of the Lord’s cause the money necessary to do the work committed to us. Whatever else this appeal might call for and produce, it is certain that it would bring the results mentioned above. These are mentioned because they are fundamental. They lie at the very foundation of the development and final triumph of God’s work in the earth. Men can do nothing to advance a spiritual work without a personal fitness for it. They must be saved from their sins. They must be clean. Without this, there can be no baptism of the Holy Spirit, and therefore no enduement with heavenly power for effectual service. And unless there is a cheerful and liberal consecration of the means of God’s people, the work will most certainly be hindered and delayed. Each feature here mentioned is deserving of fuller presentation than the limits of this article will admit. Only one point can be enlarged upon in this article; and under all the circumstances and conditions of the present situation, the consecration of our means seems to be the question needing special emphasis. All through the history of God’s people the consecration of their earthly possessions to his work has been a prominent feature of their experience. Traces of this appear in the brief history from Abel to the exodus of Israel from Egypt. The building of the sanctuary required large gifts from the people. The same is true regarding the building of the temple by David and Solomon, and later by Ezra and Nehemiah. After Pentecost large contributions were required and made by the church to carry the gospel speedily to the ends of the earth. We have now come to the last generation that shall dwell on the earth. God’s work is now to be finished. The last warning message to the world is now being given. It is to be taken to the uttermost parts of the earth, and clearly and fully proclaimed to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. This is the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom in all the world for a witness unto all nations. When this is done, then the end will come. And the end will not come until this proclamation is made. Seventh-day Adventists have believed from their earliest history that the providence of God has raised them up to do this work. They have counted on nothing less than going to the uttermost parts of the earth with the message God has given them. Although few in number and poor in this world’s goods, we have pushed forward from one community, State, and country to another, until our missions are established in almost every land. It is true that in some countries we have made only a beginning; but every true believer in this message must rejoice that we have done that much. Who does not thank God that we have at last established a permanent mission in the city of Rome, Italy? Who does not rejoice that at last we have entered old Spain? Whose hearts have not been made glad by the thrilling reports that have come from China of late, and by the advance steps that have been taken the last year to enter that vast field? Brethren and sisters, please look over the great field and see if you can find a mission that you would blot out. Is there a single fortress that you would dare to surrender? Think of what it would mean to pull down the banner of Prince Emmanuel, beat a retreat, and surrender the territory to the enemy! Do you say7this must never be done by this people? God bless you for taking this loyal stand. We can take no other. But now let us see what this means. We have missionaries in all parts of the world. Most of them are our brethren who have gone from our midst. They are in Spain, Italy, Egypt, Palestine, Turkey, Russia, India, Africa, China, Japan, South America, the islands of the sea, and other places too numerous to mention. We have faithful men and women working hard in destitute and difficult fields in the Southern States. The laborers who have gone abroad have left homes, relatives, friends, and native land. They have surrendered all to carry God’s last message of light and salvation to the millions who sit in darkness and the shadow of death. Now I want to put a straight, pointed question to every Seventh-day Adventist in the United States. It is this: Shall these laborers—our brethren and sisters—who have gone from us to proclaim this message to the ends of the earth, be supported? Shall they be sustained financially in the lands to which they have gone? Only one answer can be given to this question. A grand chorus will go up all around the world, declaring that our missions must be maintained, and the laborers well supported. Now brethren, this means a good, liberal offering to missions during the coming week of prayer. The Mission Board has had a close struggle during the past year to supply the fields with barely enough to keep them going. We have not dared to enlarge the work to any extent. The pressure at times has been very great. We can not stand it to be so terribly cramped for funds. None of you would add this burden if you fully realized the situation. In order to carry on our missions with any degree of ease, we should have a week-of-prayer offering this year of $50,000. This must be done to help us out. Some of our missions are now sorely pressed for the funds they were encouraged at the beginning of the year to expect they would receive. They need every dollar voted to them. This is especially true of the missions under the direction of the European General Conference and the Southern Union Conference. The amount appropriated by vote at the beginning of the year to these fields was exceedingly small compared with their great needs. They should have received much more, but the General Conference Committee feared to promise more. We can send only what comes to the treasury from the people. But the most painful feature of the situation has been that we have not had sufficient funds to send all of even the small amount voted. Our brethren managing the work in those fields have carried on their work with the hope of getting the full amount specified in the vote of appropriations. To fail to get this will cause them great perplexity, and even suffering. A large week-of-prayer offering now will save all this. Shall we not in this time of great prosperity make a liberal offering to our mission fields? Will not our brethren who have been blessed with much, put hundreds into the annual offering this year? I appeal to all lovers of this cause to take this matter to heart, and come to the assistance of our missions at this time. A. G. DANIELLS.