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Discharge of Duty ( 39 )
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Quotations from the writings of Ellen G. White with the phrase . . .
 
Discharge  of  Dity
Related phrase:  discharge his duty  ( 6 )
In their contests with Og and Sihon, the people of God were brought to the same test beneath which they had so signally failed nearly forty years before. But the trial was now far more severe than when God first commanded them to go forward and their cowardly hearts refused to obey. There was then no army to oppose their progress or to strike terror to their souls. The difficulties which were then to be encountered in the discharge of duty were not nearly so great as now. The clouds that then darkened the path of faith became more dense and forbidding while they were halting and doubting and standing still, refusing to go forward when commanded to do so in the name of the Lord. When the word came again to Israel, Go forward, they must, if they would possess Canaan, advance against violent, skillful, and well-equipped armies.  {ST, November 11, 1880 par. 10}
 
 
Let me assure you that the struggles and conflicts which must be endured in the discharge of duty, the self-denials and sacrifices which must be made if we are faithful to Christ, are not created by Him. They are not imposed by arbitrary or unnecessary command; they do not come from the severity of the life which He requires us to lead in His service. Trials would exist in greater power and number were we to refuse obedience to Christ and become the servants of Satan and the slaves of sin.-- 4T 557, 558 (1881).  {2MCP 555.4}
 
My brother, we are living in a solemn time. An important work is to be done for our own souls and for the souls of others, or we shall meet with an infinite loss. We must be transformed by the grace of God, or we shall fail of Heaven; and through our influence, others will fail with us. Let me assure you, my brother, the struggles and conflicts which must be endured in the discharge of duty, the self-denials and sacrifices which must be made if we are faithful to Christ, are not created by him. They are not imposed by arbitrary or unnecessary command; they do not come from the severity of the life which he requires us to lead in his service. Trials would exist in greater power and number, were we to refuse obedience to Christ, and become the servants of Satan and the slaves of sin.  {PH100 33.2}
 
 
I am instructed to say to teachers, ministers, and physicians, who hold responsible positions in the work of the third angel's message, You have a solemn work to do, a holy work. Those who hold positions of trust in the cause of God are to perfect the life after the divine similitude. In the home, in the church, before the world, they are to reveal the power of Christian principle to transform the life. Let them work honestly; let them seek to reveal the spirit of Christ in their work; let them ever strive to reach higher ground. As I realize the perilous times before us and the great responsibilities resting upon teachers, ministers, and physicians, a heavy burden comes upon me lest they be unfaithful in the discharge of duty.  {CT 397.1}
 
Those who have entered the canvassing field are in danger of not feeling the necessity of being particular in their work. They are in danger of becoming content with superficial attainments, of being careless in their manners and lazy in mind. There should be faithful discharge of duty in the canvassing field, for it is important and sacred.-- Review and Herald, May 20, 1890.  {CM 78.1}
 
 By the simplest means character is often tested. Those who in time of peril were intent upon supplying their own wants were not the men to be trusted in an emergency. The Lord has no place in His work for the indolent and self-indulgent. The men of His choice were the few who would not permit their own wants to delay them in the discharge of duty. The three hundred chosen men not only possessed courage and self-control, but they were men of faith. They had not defiled themselves with idolatry. God could direct them, and through them He could work deliverance for Israel. Success does not depend upon numbers. God can deliver by few as well as by many. He is honored not so much by the great numbers as by the character of those who serve Him.  {PP 549.3}
 
As God's human agents we are to do the work that He has given us. To every man He has given his work, and we are not going to give ourselves up to conjecture as to whether or not our earnest endeavors will prove successful. All that we as individuals are responsible for is the unwearied, conscientious discharge of duty that someone must do; and if we fail to do that which is placed in our way, we cannot be excused of God. But having done the best we can, then we are to leave all results with God. But it is required of us that we exercise more mental and spiritual power. It is your duty, and it has been your duty every day of the life God has graciously granted you, to pull at the oars of duty, for you are a responsible agent of God.  {TM 183.2}
 
Without Christ we can do nothing. The pure principles of uprightness, virtue, and goodness are all from God. A conscientious discharge of duty, Christ-like sympathy, love for souls and love for your own soul, because you belong to God, and have been bought with the precious blood of Christ, will make you a laborer together with God, and endow you with persuasive, drawing power. You must respect your own faith in order successfully to introduce it to others. By example as well as precept, you must show that you reverence your faith, speaking reverently of sacred things. Never allow one expression of lightness and trifling to escape your lips when quoting scripture. As you take the Bible in your hands, remember that you are on holy ground. Angels are around you, and could your eyes be opened, you would behold them. Let your conduct be such that you will leave the impression upon every soul with whom you associate that a pure and holy atmosphere surrounds you. One vain word, one trifling laugh, may balance a soul in the wrong direction. Terrible are the consequences of not having a constant connection with God.  {RH, December 8, 1891 par. 11}
 
 
Faithful  Discharge  of  Duty
 
Those who live in close fellowship with Christ will be promoted by Him to positions of trust. The servant who does the best he can for his master is admitted to familiar intercourse with one whose commands he loves to obey. In the faithful discharge of duty we may become one with Christ, for those who are obeying God's commands may speak to Him freely. The one who talks most familiarly with his divine Leader has the most exalted conception of His greatness and is the most obedient to His commands.  {HP 58.4}
 
 
I tremble especially for mothers, as I see them so blind, and feeling so little the responsibilities that devolve upon a mother. They see Satan working in the self-willed child of even but a few months of age. Filled with spiteful passion, Satan seems to be taking full possession. But there may be in the house perhaps a grandmother, an aunt, or some other relative or friend, who will seek to make that parent believe that it would be cruelty to correct that child; whereas just the opposite is true; and it is the greatest cruelty to let Satan have the possession of that tender, helpless child. Satan must be rebuked. His hold on the child must be broken. If correction is needed, be faithful, be true. The love of God, true pity for the child, will lead to the faithful discharge of duty.  {CG 289.1}
 
 
The matron looked upon the same that I saw, but she good-naturedly passed it by and seemed to have no sense of the true state of things. I saw a few trying to change things for the better and pleading for a faithful discharge of duty; but an indignant protest was raised, and most unmerciful thrusts were given those who ventured to take this responsibility. Unpleasant remarks were unsparingly made, and feelings of jealousy and envy indulged, and those who would have been true and faithful found numbers so large against them that they were compelled to allow things to drift on as before. These are some of the existing evils at the sanitarium.  {CH 420.3}
 
Soon Christ will reward every man according to his works.  Soon your money will pass out of your hands for another to handle.  It will then not be the test of your stewardship.  Now it is yours, by which the Lord desires to try you.  While you are alive, be your own almoner and receive the blessings that will come to you in a faithful discharge of duty.  Give back to God that which is His own.  This is God's way.  He always lends His talents to His stewards, to be used to spread the knowledge of the truth.  This work cannot be done without the funds that are in the hands of God's servants.  {RY 98.1}
 
We are in a certain sense our brother's keeper. We are individually related to souls who may, through the merits of Jesus Christ, seek for glory, honor, and immortality. Their purity, sincerity, zeal, consistency, and piety are affected by our words, our works, our deportment, our prayers, and our faithful discharge of duty. Christ said to His disciples: "Ye are the light of the world." The ministers of Jesus Christ must teach, both in the church and to individuals, the fact that a profession of faith, even by Seventh-day Adventists, unless it proceeds from heartfelt piety, is powerless for good. Religious light is to shine forth from the church, and especially from the ministers, in clear, steady rays. It is not to flame up on special occasions, and then grow dim, and flicker, as if about to go out. The excellence of Jesus Christ will ever shine in the character of true believers, and they will adorn the doctrine of our Saviour.  Thus the excellency and the power of the gospel are revealed. Each member of the church is required to be in living connection with the Source of all light, and to be a spiritual worker, doing his part by good works to reflect light to the world.  {5T 531.1}
 
The minister's acceptance with God depends not on outward show, but on his faithful discharge of duty. Christ's road to exaltation lay through the deepest humiliation. Those who are partakers with Christ in His sufferings, who follow cheerfully in His footsteps, will be partakers with Him in His glory.  {1NL 21.5}
 
faithfully discharge his duty
The overseer of the flock of God should faithfully discharge his duty. If he takes the position that because this is not pleasant to him, he will leave it for someone else to do, he is not a faithful worker. Let him read in Malachi the words of the Lord charging the people with robbery toward God in withholding the tithes. The mighty God declares, "Ye are cursed with a curse." Mal. 3:9. When the one who ministers in word and doctrine sees the people pursuing a course that will bring this curse upon them, how can he neglect his duty to give them instruction and warning? Every church member should be taught to be faithful in paying an honest tithe.-- 9T 250, 251.  {CS 104.2}
 
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