“But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.”- Acts 7:55-56.
Put a man without zeal into the front place, and he will gradually recede into his native insignificance, or only linger in the front to be an impediment and a nuisance; but put a man into the rear of the army of God’s elect, if his soul be full of holy fire, you will hear of the unknown Samson in the camps of Dan, and, ere long, he will dash into the vanguard, and make the enemies of God’s church know that the Holy Ghost still dwells in the midst of Zion in the men whom he has chosen.
If there be any of my brethren and sisters here whose abilities are as yet dormant, I trust that, without ambitiously seeking the chief places of the synagogue, if they have been useful in any one walk of life, they will enquire whether they may not have talents for a yet wider sphere; since, in these evil days, we have need to use every soldier in the army to the utmost of his capacity. When the world is so dark, we had need that every lamp should give some light, and that each lamp should burn as much oil as it will carry, that its light may be of the brightest possible kind.
From a sermon entitled "Stephen's Martyrdom," delivered March 17, 1867. Image by Reinante El Pintor de Fuego under Creative Commons License.
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