gathering_in_the_interested

People all over the world are longing for spiritual light and grace. We should engage in the work of bringing them to Christ, with the help of angels. We must not become weary or give up. It is important to reach out to those who have wandered and bring them back to the fold. We should have faith and hope and draw souls to the gospel. It is crucial to continue to nurture the interest of those who have been convicted, as it becomes harder to make an impression on their minds if they do not yield. It is difficult to bring believers to a true experience of faith and power. We should expect to find spiritual fruit in unexpected places and be diligent in our work. We should wrestle with God for the salvation of souls and not force results, but allow people to make their own decisions. Heading, gathering in the interested. Subheading, many looking wistfully to heaven. All over the world men and women are looking wistfully to heaven. Prayers and tears and inquiries go up from souls longing for light, for grace, for the Holy Spirit. Many are on the verge of the kingdom waiting only to be gathered in. Acts of the Apostles, page 109, 1911. Subheading, go after the lost. When we engage with all our hearts in the work, we are closely allied to the angels. We are co-workers with the angels and with Christ. And there is a sympathy with heaven and with us, a holy elevated sympathy. We are brought a little closer to heaven, a little closer to the angelic host, a little closer to Jesus. Then let us engage in this work with all our energies. Do not become weary in the work. God will help us. Angels will help us, because it is their work and the very work they are seeking to inspire us with. This is a work you must take hold of earnestly. And when you find a wandering sheep, call him to the fold and leave him not until you feel him safely enfolded there. May heaven let the spirit that was in our divine Lord rest upon us. This is what we want. He tells us, love one another as I have loved you. Go out for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Undated manuscript 141. Subheading, take hold of Christ and draw men. With one hand the workers would take hold of Christ, while with the other they would grasp sinners and draw them to the Savior. Review and Herald, September 10, 1903. Have faith and hope and draw, yes, draw souls to the gospel banquet. Letter 112, 1902. Subheading, may not reach them again. It is as much our duty to look at the after the interest of a camp meeting as it is to look after the present interest, because the next time you go, if they were impressed and convicted and did not yield to that conviction, it is harder to make an impression on their minds than it was before, and you cannot reach them again. Manuscript 19b, 1890. Subheading, getting decision now difficult. In our day it is a difficult matter to bring those who profess to believe the truth to the experimental knowledge of vitalizing sanctifying power. This has been experienced in years gone by, but form has taken the place of power, and the simplicity has been lost in a round of ceremonies. Manuscript 104, 1898. Subheading, a parable, gathering the ripening fruitage. In a dream given me, September 29, 1886, I was walking with a large company who were looking for berries. The day wore on, and very little was accomplished. At last I said, Brethren, you call this an unsuccessful expedition. If this is the way you work, I do not wonder at your lack of success. Your success or failure depends upon the way you take hold of the work. There are berries here, for I have found them. Some of you have been searching the low bushes in vain. Others have found a few berries, but the high bushes have been passed by, simply because you did not expect to find fruit on them. You see that the fruit which I have gathered is large and ripe. In a little while, other berries will ripen, and we can go over the bushes again. This is the way in which I was taught to gather fruit. If you have searched near the wagon, you might have found fruit as well as I. The Lord has placed the fruit-bearing bushes right in the midst of these thickly settled places, and expects you to find them. But you have been altogether too much engaged in eating and amusing yourselves. You did not come to the field with an earnest determination to find fruit. By working in the right way, you will teach the younger workers that such matters as eating and recreation are of minor importance. It has been hard work to bring the wagon of supplies to the ground, but you have thought more of the supplies than of the fruit you ought to carry home as the result of your labors. You should be diligent, first to pick the berries nearest you, and then to search for those farther away. And after that, you can return and work nearby again, and thus you will be successful. Gospel Workers, pages 136-139, 1886. Subheading, Wrestle with God for Souls. If we have the interest that John Knox had when he pleaded before God for Scotland, we shall have success. He cried, Give me Scotland, Lord, or I die. And when we take hold of the work and wrestle with God, saying, I must have souls, I will never give up the struggle, we shall find that God will look upon our efforts with favor. Manuscript 14, 1887. Subheading, Do not force results. As an interest is about to close up, be careful not to ripen it off too suddenly. But keep the confidence of the people, if possible, that souls who are on the valley of decision may find the true path, the way, and the life. Letter 7, 1885.