p. 124 | DOING AND PROSPERING by E. A. Sutherland

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Feb 25, 1902

DOING AND PROSPERING.

By E. A. Sutherland

ELDER COVERT, President of the Wisconsin Conference, is taking an active part in the “Christ’s Object Lessons” campaign in his State. He is spending a large part of his time going from church to church, inspiring the members to do their part of the work. He fully expects to see Wisconsin’s quota disposed of before the time set to finish the work.

The Conference has been divided into districts, and over each district has been placed a superintendent who is responsible for all the churches in his district. These districts are subdivided so that each laborer has a definite task before him. An earnest effort is being made by all the people, as they expect to sing the song of jubilee before many days.

The church at Milwaukee, Wis., believes that it is able to sell six hundred books. The church has a membership of one hundred and fifty. The officers of the church met the evening after the Sabbath, arranged for six hundred books, and divided the city into districts. The church was divided into companies with a competent leader over each, and has gone to work.

One of the elders of the church began his work by giving a short canvass after a cottage meeting, and succeeded in selling seven books to his readers. Saturday evening the same elder spent one hour and a half after half-past eight, and sold five books. The same day, after holding a meeting with some people not of our faith, he gave a short description of the book, and sold three copies.

In the same church a German sister who has never had any experience in canvassing, and who, being timid, hesitated to undertake the work, finally made up her mind that she would do what the Lord had told her to do. In one afternoon she secured fifteen orders. Those who have had experience in canvassing for this book say that they believe that the angels of the Lord go before them to prepare the people. We know that this is true. If the canvasser has the Spirit of Christ, it will be as easy to sell “Christ’s Object Lessons” as it was to cross the Red Sea or walk around the walls of Jericho.

The one hundred and forty-four thousand will be the most wonderful people that have ever lived. Their greatness will consist in implicit faith in God’s promises. Naturally they will be the weakest people that have ever lived, but trust in God, and confidence in His word will enable this company to pass through experiences that will make it possible for them to sing the song of Moses and the Lamb.

The one hundred and forty-four thousand will not be disheartened nor afraid when the sun scorches men with great heat. They will stand upon the Lord’s promises when the fearful earthquakes shall cause the islands to flee away and the mountains to sink out of sight. The sun will shine at midnight; all nature will be turned out of its course, and great hailstones will fall, and yet the one hundred and forty-four thousand will stand calmly trusting in God while the great men, the rich men, the chief captains and the mighty men, and every bondman and every freeman will hide themselves in the dens and rocks of the mountains.

The one hundred and forty-four thousand will be a marvelous people. They will not fear to do anything that God asks them to do. Like Israel of old, they will be willing to cross the Red Sea. They will pass over the Jordan, and walk around the walls of Jericho if God so commands.

David was successful in overthrowing Goliath because he had formed the habit of obeying God when the lion and the bear were destroying the sheep of his father’s flock. If we hope to be among the one hundred and forty-four thousand, we must now accustom ourselves to obedience, doing successfully the things that God calls upon us to do to-day.

The Lord is calling upon our workers and upon every church-member, and even upon the children, to sell “Christ’s Object Lessons,” in order that we may sing the song of jubilee. To do this it will be necessary for each member to sell four or five books—a very small task if each had the courage of Caleb and Joshua. Those who cannot do this will find it very hard to do the next task that God places before them; for we are rapidly nearing the end, and each move will require more courage and faith than the previous one. The individual who is weak and fearful now is certainly preparing himself for defeat in the future, while those who trust in God and move forward will have grand success. They will find that the Lord will do the work for them, and that which seemed hard will be done easily and quickly by the angels of God. And too, when God offers the opportunity to do a work, we should be doing it at that time. The children of Israel marched around the walls of Jericho on the very days that He told them to do it. If they had not marched at that time, but had taken their own time, they might have marched a long while without the co-operation of the angels of God.

The spirit of selling “Christ’s Object Lessons” is abroad in the land. Everybody who is having a close connection with God is catching the spirit. Ministers, teachers, lay members, and children feel the presence of the Spirit of God telling them to arouse and sell the book. Even those not of our faith have interested themselves in this book, and have taken copies to sell. Now is the time to do this work. We can do easily to-day what may be a very hard task later.

“And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly. . . . And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.”

E. A. SUTHERLAND.