The Service of This Generation
THE special service for us to accomplish in this generation is the sowing of the seed of truth world-wide in our time. It is God's message to the world. Wherever there are men and women, there this seed must be sown. This message must be given to the world in order to accomplish God's purpose. It must be given to the world in the body that God has given to it in this generation. The truth for this generation, the seed that is to be sown in this generation, that is to bring the right harvest for this generation, must be the truth of God in the body which God himself has given to that truth for this generation, and that is the third angel's message. We may preach eternally on truth in the abstract, about goodness in the abstract, and righteousness in the abstract, but the people of this generation can not embody these principles for this generation, according to God's word, unless we bring them to the people in the very setting that God has given for this generation. This generation is hungry for the third angel's message. In order to bring the harvest we wish to see in this generation, we can not be eternally sowing good religious principles that are common to our generation, but the principles must be in the setting that God has given for this generation. These are all set forth in the prophecy for this generation. The prophecies make the body for the setting of this whole seed sowing. It is not a new gospel, but God's old gospel in a new setting, and the old gospel in a new setting makes a new gospel for this generation in that sense. It will meet exactly the needs of this generation. Look out upon the face of the world. Read the record day after day, and ask yourself what will meet the needs of the people and of such a situation as the world is facing to-day. It must be a special application of God's gospel directly to these needs. God has given that which will meet the hungerings of the people of this generation, and it is our privilege to give that message to the world in a way that will meet their hungerings; and when we have rendered to him that service, he will give us the reward that comes with that service. There is just one thing to be done. The world must be sown with the message for this time, and it must be done quickly. The reward of that service will be the joy of the Lord, and that joy begins in rendering that service itself. It might be put in this way: the reward of rendering service in suffering and trial, is the ability and opportunity to render service to the Master in glory. The one hundred and forty-four thousand are spoken of as those who are sealed with the seal of God, “therefore are they before the throne of God.” What reason have they for being there before the throne of God in such a time as that? — They have come through great tribulations, and in passing through that experience they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, therefore are they before the throne. And what do they do? — They serve him day and night in his temple. What is the reward of service that is rendered in tribulation, in trial and much suffering? — “Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple.” Eternal service is the reward of short time service. Who wants the reward? Let him serve. Who wants to reap the fruit of this message? Let him sow the message. The law is the same as any law of God. He who would share in the triumph must share in the warfare. There is a work to be done. It is not to sit down and wait for the clock to strike the hour. It is to do the work that brings it. Shall we not arouse, using the very best method possible to do the work, arouse to give the message, arouse to serve where God has placed us? He gives to every man his work, and when this whole army of professed believers in the third angel's message becomes an army of workers in the third angel's message, we have struck the keynote. Then angels come down, the church triumphant comes down to unite with the church militant, the church that has the victory comes down to fight with those that are fighting for the victory, and God will lead his army against the foe, and will defeat the enemy, and we shall share in the triumph. Arouse to the service of this generation, to share in the reward of the service for this generation. May the spirit of service, the power for service, the willingness for service, come upon all this people, that each one in his place may render the service that God calls upon him to render, and then each one gloriously, thankfully, cheerfully share in the reward of the service.