p. 9 | An Experience by Sever Jacobson

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 8, 1902

An Experience

By Sever Jacobson

SEVER JACOBSON

A GREAT reformation is before us. It has just begun. The Spirit of God is moving upon his people everywhere, reproving, teaching, and guiding all who are sincere. “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: . . . and he will show you things to come.” John 16:13. “Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: for he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness.” Rom. 9:28. The time has come when the Lord will make a short work upon the earth. “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” Matt. 24:34. “Watch therefore.” Verse 42. “Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments.” Rev. 16:15. The words “his garments” are to be understood as the righteousness of Christ. Zech. 3:3-5. Righteousness is right doing,—doing the

will of God, working in harmony with the laws of nature. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,” “who loved me, and gave himself for me.” The mind of Christ is a mind to give. “Freely ye have received, freely give.” “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, . . . and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing. . . . And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes.” Mal. 3:10, 11.

“Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” If we were single minded, there would be no inclination to draw back; but now we are double minded. In the beginning God created man in his image. By obeying the deceiver our first parents partook of a different mind, which is enmity against God. Rom. 8:7. This mind must be annihilated. “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life.” Hence a new mind must be created in us if we would have life. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.” And flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” And this love he is commending toward us every day; for “he that spared not his own Son, . . . how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”

“Give, and it shall be given unto you.” The carnal mind is not inclined to give: this I know from personal experience. About ten years ago I accepted the rudiments of the theory of present truth. Nobody ever taught me the principles of the truth; and I never knew the difference between theory and principle until the Spirit of truth opened my eyes. About a year ago I was impressed with a sense of duty to pray for the Spirit; why, I did not know. Nevertheless, my prayer was answered, and now I see things in a different light. Beginning with the year 1900 we set aside a second tithe, to be used for foreign mission work, as the Mission Board might direct. The Lord blessed our work, and our little garden of one and one-half acres yielded abundantly. We were planning to live quite comfortably, not luxuriously; yet there was no real desire to live for others. We were tested, however. We lost forty dollars’ worth of vegetables; and with no other means of income than the garden, our plans were frustrated. In October of the same year we took a motherless baby, but received very little help in caring for it. We decided that our loss was a test from the Lord, and as a thank offering we set aside five per cent of our income for the Chicago Medical Mission, making twenty-five per cent in all devoted to the Lord’s work.

In “Patriarchs and Prophets” there is a statement to the effect that ancient Israel gave at least one fourth of their income for religious and benevolent purposes. “There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.” Prov. 11:24. We have now set aside all the eggs laid on the Sabbath, for a reserve fund. “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” The Lord does not need our means. The fact is, we have nothing to give but what the Lord in his mercy gives us; but we need to practice giving, as it is one of the characteristics of God. “Freely ye have received, freely give.”