Special instruction has been given me for God’s people, for perilous times are upon us. In the world, destruction and violence are increasing. In the church, man-power is gaining the ascendancy; those who have been chosen to occupy positions of trust think it their prerogative to rule.
Men whom the Lord calls to important positions in His work are to cultivate a humble dependence upon Him. They are not to seek to embrace too much authority, for God has not called them to a work of ruling, but to plan and counsel with their fellow-laborers. Every worker alike is to hold himself amenable to the requirements and instructions of God.
Because of the importance of the work in Southern California, and the perplexities which now surround it, there should be selected no less than five men of wisdom and experience to consult with the presidents of the local and union conferences regarding general plans and policies. The Lord is not pleased with the disposition some have manifested to rule those of more experience than themselves. By this course of action, some have revealed that they are not qualified to fill the important positions which they occupy. Any human being who spreads himself out to large proportions, and who seeks to have the control of his fellows, proves himself to be a dangerous man to be entrusted with religious responsibilities.
Let no one cling to the idea that unless money is in hand,29no move should be made that calls for the investment of means. If in our past experience we had always followed this method, we would often have lost special advantages, such as we gained in the purchase of the Fernando school property, and in the purchase of the sanitarium properties at Paradise Valley, Glendale, and Loma Linda.
To make no move that calls for the investment of means unless we have the money in hand to complete the contemplated work, should not always be considered the wisest plan. In the upbuilding of His work, the Lord does not always make everything plain before His servants. He sometimes tries the confidence of His people by having them move forward in faith. Often He brings them into strait and trying places, bidding them go forward when their feet seem to be touching the waters of the Red Sea. It is at such times, when the prayers of His servants ascend to Him in earnest faith, that He opens the way before them, and brings them out into a large place.
The Lord wants His people in these days to believe that He will do as great things for them as He did for the children of Israel in their journey from Egypt to Canaan. We are to have an educated faith that will not hesitate to follow His instructions in the most difficult experiences. “Go forward” is the command of God to His people.
Faith and cheerful obedience are needed to bring the Lord’s designs to pass. When He points out the necessity of establishing the work in places where it will have influence, the people are to walk and work by faith. By30their godly conversation, their humility, their prayers and earnest efforts, they should strive to bring the people to appreciate the good work that the Lord has established among them. It was the Lord’s purpose that the Loma Linda Sanitarium should become the property of our people, and He brought it about at a time when the rivers of difficulty were full and overflowing their banks.
The working of private interests for the gaining of personal ends is one thing. In this men may follow their own judgment. But the carrying forward of the Lord’s work in the earth is entirely another matter. When He designates that a certain property should be secured for the advancement of His cause and the building up of His work, whether it be for sanitarium or school work, or for any other branch, He will make the doing of that work possible, if those who have experience will show their faith and trust in His purposes, and will move forward promptly to secure the advantages He points out. While we are not to seek to wrest property from any man, yet when advantages are offered, we should be wide awake to see the advantage, that we may make plans for the upbuilding of the work. And when we have done this, we should exert every energy to secure the free-will offerings of God’s people for the support of these new plants.
Often the Lord sees that His workers are in doubt as to what they should do. At such times, if they will put their confidence in Him, He will reveal to them His will. God’s work is now to advance rapidly, and if His people will respond to His call. He will make the possessors31of property willing to donate of their means, and thus make it possible for His work to be accomplished in the earth. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Faith in the word of God will place His people in the possession of property which will enable them to work the large cities that are waiting for the message of truth.
The cold, formal, unbelieving way in which some of the laborers do their work is a deep offense to the Spirit of God. The apostle Paul says, “Do all things without murmurings and disputings: that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain. Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.”
We are to encourage in one another that living faith which Christ has made it possible for every believer to have. The work is to be carried forward as the Lord prepares the way. When He brings His people into strait places, then it is their privilege to assemble together for prayer, remembering that all things come of God. Those who have not yet shared in the trying experiences that attend the work in these last days, will soon have to pass through scenes that will severely test their confidence in God. It is at the time His people see no way to advance, when the Red Sea is before them and the pursuing army behind, that God bids them “Go forward.” Thus He is working to test their faith.32When such experiences come to you, go forward, trusting in Christ. Walk step by step in the path He marks out. Trials will come, but go forward. This will give you an experience that will strengthen your faith in God, and fit you for truest service.
A deeper and wider experience in religious things is to come to God’s people. Christ is our example. If through living faith and sanctified obedience to God’s word, we reveal the love and grace of Christ, if we show that we have a true conception of God’s guiding providences in the work, we shall carry to the world a convincing power. A high position does not give us value in the sight of God. Man is measured by his consecration and faithfulness in working out the will of God. If the remnant people of God will walk before Him in humility and faith, He will carry out through them His eternal purpose, enabling them to work harmoniously in giving to the world the truth as it is in Jesus. He will use all—men, women, and children—in making the light shine forth to the world, and calling out a people that will be true to His commandments. Through the faith that His people exercise in Him, God will make known to the world that He is the true God, the God of Israel.
“Let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ,” the apostle Paul exhorts, “that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; and in nothing terrified by your adversaries; which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation,33and that of God. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake. . . .
“If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”
“Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.”
I have been instructed to present these words to our people in Southern California. They are needed in every34place where a church is established; for a strange experience has been coming into our ranks.
It is time now for men to humble their hearts before God, and to learn to work in His ways. Let those who have sought to rule their fellow-workers study to know what manner of spirit they are of. They should seek the Lord by fasting and prayer, and in humility of soul.
Christ in His earthly life gave an example that all can safely follow. He appreciates His flock, and He wants no power set over them that will restrict their freedom in His service. He has never placed man as a ruler over His heritage. True Bible religion will lead to self-control, not to control of one another. As a people we need a larger measure of the Holy Spirit, that we may bear the solemn message that God has given us without exaltation.
Brethren, keep your words of censure for your individual selves. Teach the flock of God to look to Christ, not to erring man. Every soul who becomes a teacher of the truth must bear in his own life the fruit of holiness. Looking to Christ and following Him, he will present to the souls under his charge an example of what a living, learning Christian will be. Let God teach you His way. Inquire of Him daily to know His will. He will give unerring counsel to all who seek Him with a sincere heart. Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called, praising God in your daily conversation as well as in your prayers. Thus, holding forth the word of life, you will constrain other souls to become followers of Christ.
“I Am But a Little Child”
At the beginning of his reign, Solomon prayed, “O Lord my God, Thou hast made Thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.”
Solomon had succeeded his father David to the throne of Israel. God greatly honored him, and, as we know, he became in later years the greatest, richest, and wisest king that had ever sat upon an earthly throne. Early in his reign Solomon was impressed by the Holy Spirit with the solemnity of his responsibilities, and though rich in talents and ability, he realized that without divine aid he was helpless as a little child to perform them. Solomon was never so rich or so wise or so truly great as when he confessed to the Lord, “I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.”
It was in a dream, in which the Lord appeared to him, saying, “Ask what I shall give thee,” that Solomon thus gave expression to his feeling of helplessness and need of divine aid. He continued: “Thy servant is in the midst of Thy people which Thou hast chosen, a great people, that can not be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore Thy servant an understanding heart to judge Thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this Thy so great a people?”
“And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life: neither hast asked riches for thyself;36nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart: so there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honor; so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.” Now the conditions, “And if thou wilt walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.
“And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt-offerings, and offered peace-offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.”
All who occupy responsible positions need to learn the lesson that is taught in Solomon’s humble prayer. They are ever to remember that position will never change the character or render man infallible. The higher the position a man occupies, the greater the responsibility he has to bear, the wider will be the influence he exerts, and the greater his need to feel his dependence on the wisdom and strength of God, and to cultivate the best and most holy character. Those who accept a position of responsibility in the cause of God should always remember that with the call to this work God has also called them to walk circumspectly before Him and before their fellow-men. Instead of considering it their duty to order and dictate and command, they should realize37that they are to be learners themselves. When a responsible worker fails to learn this lesson, the sooner he is released from his responsibilities the better it will be for him and for the work of God. Position never will give holiness and excellence of character. He who honors God and keeps His commandments, is himself honored.
The question which each should ask himself in all humility is, Am I qualified for this position? Have I learned to keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment? The Saviour’s earthly example has been given us that we should not walk in our own strength, but that each should consider himself, as Solomon expressed it, “A little child.”
Every truly converted soul can say, “I am but a little child: but I am God’s child.” It was at infinite cost that provision was made whereby the human family might be restored to sonship with God. In the beginning God made man in His own likeness. Our first parents listened to the voice of the tempter, and yielded to the power of Satan. But man was not abandoned to the results of the evil he had chosen. The promise of a Deliverer was given. “I will put enmity between thee and the woman,” God said to the serpent, “and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.” Before they heard of the thorn and the thistle, of the sorrow and toil that must be their portion, or of the dust to which they must return, they listened to words that could not fail of giving them hope. All that had been lost by yielding to Satan could be regained through Christ.
The Son of God was given to redeem the race. At38infinite suffering, the sinless for the sinful, the price was paid that was to redeem the human family from the power of the destroyer, and restore them again to the image of God. Those who accept the salvation brought to them in Christ will humble themselves before God as His little children.
God wants His children to ask for those things that will enable Him to reveal His grace through them to the world. He wants them to seek His counsel, to acknowledge His power. Christ lays loving claims on all for whom He has given His life: they are to obey His will if they would share the joys that He has prepared for all who reflect His character here. It is well for us to feel our weakness; for then we will seek the strength and wisdom that the Father delights to give to His children for their daily strife against the powers of evil.
ELLEN G. WHITE.
To the Workers in Southern California
This morning I can not rest. My mind is troubled over the situation in Southern California. God has given to every man his work; but there are some who are not prayerfully considering their individual responsibility.
When a worker is selected for an office, that office of itself does not bring to him power of capability that he did not have before. A high position does not give to the character Christian virtues. The man who supposes that his individual mind is capable of planning and devising for all branches of the work, reveals a great lack of wisdom. No one human mind is capable of carrying the
many and varied responsibilities of a conference embracing thousands of people and many branches of work.
But a greater danger than this has been revealed to me in the feeling that has been growing among our workers that ministers and other laborers in the cause should depend upon the mind of certain leading workers to define their duties. One man’s mind and judgment is not to be considered capable of controlling and molding a conference. The individual and the church have responsibilities of their own. God has given to every man some talent or talents to use and improve. In using these talents he increases his capability to serve. God has given to each individual judgment, and this gift He wants His workers to use and improve. The president of a conference must not consider that his individual judgment is to control the judgment of all.
In no conference should propositions be rushed through without time being taken by the brethren to carefully weigh all sides of the question. Because the president of a conference suggested certain plans, it has sometimes been considered unnecessary to consult the Lord about them. Thus propositions have been accepted that were not for the spiritual benefit of believers, and which involved far more than was apparent at the first casual consideration. Such movements are not in the order of God. Many, very many matters have been taken up and carried by vote, that have involved far more than was anticipated and far more than those who voted would have been willing to assent to, had they taken time to consider the question from all sides.
We can not at this time afford to be careless or negligent40in the work of God. We must seek the Lord earnestly every day, if we would be prepared for the experiences that come to us. Our hearts are to be cleansed from every feeling of superiority, and the living principles of the truth are to be planted in the soul. Young and aged and middle-aged should now be practising the virtues of Christ’s character. They should daily be making spiritual development, that they may become vessels unto honor in the Master’s service.
“And it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, one of His disciples said unto Him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” The prayer that Christ gave to His disciples in answer to this request is not made in high-flown language, but expresses in simple words the necessities of the soul. It is short, and deals directly with the daily needs.
Every soul has the privilege of stating to the Lord his own special necessities, and to offer his individual thanksgiving for the blessings that he daily receives. But the many long and spiritless, faithless prayers that are offered to God, instead of being a joy to Him, are a burden. We need, O so much! clean, converted hearts. We need to have our faith strengthened. “Ask, and ye shall receive,” the Saviour promised; “seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” We need to educate ourselves to trust in this word, and to bring the light and grace of Christ into all our works. We need to take hold of Christ, and to retain our hold of Him until we know that the power of His transforming grace is manifested in us.41We must have faith in Christ if we would reflect the divine character.
Christ clothed His divinity with humanity, and lived a life of prayer and self-denial, and of daily battle with temptation, that He might help those who to-day are assailed by temptation. He is our efficiency and power. He desires that through the appropriation of His grace humanity shall become partakers of the divine nature, and thus escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. The word of God in the Old and New Testaments, if faithfully studied and received into the life, will give spiritual wisdom and life. This word is to be sacredly cherished. Faith in the word of God and in the power of Christ to transform the life will enable the believer to work His works, and to live a life of rejoicing in the Lord.
Again and again I have been instructed to say to our people, Let your faith and trust be in God. Do not depend on any erring man to define your duty. It is your privilege to say, “I will declare Thy name unto my brethren; in the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee. Ye that fear the Lord, praise Him. All ye the seed of Jacob, glorify Him; and fear Him, all ye the seed of Israel. For He hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath He hid His face from him; but when he cried unto Him, He heard. My praise shall be of Thee. . . . I will pay my vows before them that fear Him. The meek shall eat and be satisfied; they shall praise the Lord that seek Him; your heart shall live forever.”
These scriptures are right to the point. Every42church-member should understand that God is the One to whom to look for an understanding of individual duty. It is right that brethren counsel together; but when men arrange just what their brethren shall do, let them answer that they have chosen the Lord as their counselor. Those who will humbly seek Him will find His grace sufficient. But when one man allows another to step in between him and the duty that God has pointed out to him, giving to man his confidence and accepting him as guide, then he steps from the true platform to a false and dangerous one. Such a man, instead of growing and developing, will lose his spirituality.
There is no power in any man to remedy the defective character. Individually our hope and trust must be in One who is more than human. We need ever to remember that help has been laid on One who is mighty. The Lord has provided the needed help for every soul who will accept it.
Sanitarium, Cal., Oct. 3, 1907.
To Ministers, Physicians, and Teachers in Southern California
The men who stand as leaders in any part of the solemn work of the last gospel message must cultivate and cherish broad views and ideas. It is the privilege of all who bear responsibilities in the work of the gospel to be apt learners in the school of Christ. The professed follower of Christ must not be led by the dictates of his own will; his mind must be trained to think Christ’s thoughts, and enlightened to comprehend the43will and way of God. Such a believer will be a follower of Christ’s methods of work.
Provision for Our Schools.
Our brethren should not forget that the wisdom of God has made provision for our schools in a way that will bring blessing to all who participate in the enterprise. The book, “Christ’s Object Lessons,” was donated to the educational work that the students and other friends of the schools might handle these books, and by their sale raise much of the means needed to lift the school indebtedness. But this plan has not been presented to our schools as it should have been; the teachers and students have not been educated to take hold of this book and courageously push its sale for the benefit of the educational work.
Long ago, the teachers and students in our schools should have learned to take advantage of the opportunity to raise means by the sale of “Christ’s Object Lessons.” In selling these books the students will serve the cause of God, and, while doing this, by the dissemination of precious light, they will learn invaluable lessons in Christian experience. All our schools should now come into line, and earnestly endeavor to carry out the plan presented to us for the education of the workers, for the relief of the schools, and for the winning of souls to the cause of Christ.
In the cities of Riverside, Redlands, and San Bernardino a mission field is open to us that we have as yet only touched with the tips of our fingers. A good work has been done there as far as our workers have44had encouragement to do it; but there is need of means to carry the work forward successfully. It was God’s purpose that by the sale of “Ministry of Healing,” and “Christ’s Object Lessons” much means should be raised for the work of our sanitariums and schools, and that our people would thereby be left more free to donate of their means for the opening of the work in new missionary fields. If our people will now engage in the sale of these books as they ought, we shall have much more means to carry the work in the way the Lord designed.
Wherever the work of selling “Christ’s Object Lessons” has been taken hold of in earnest, the book has done good. And the lessons that have been learned by those who have engaged in this work, have well repaid their efforts. And now our people should all be encouraged to take part in this special missionary effort. Light has been given me that in every possible way instruction should be given to our people as to the best methods of presenting these books to the people.
I have been instructed that at our large gatherings, workers should be present who will teach our people how to sow the seeds of truth. This means more than instructing them how to sell the Signs of the Times and other periodicals. It includes thorough instruction in how to handle such books as “Christ’s Object Lessons” and “Ministry of Healing.” These are books which contain precious truths, and from which the reader can draw lessons of highest value.
Why was not some one appointed at your recent camp-meeting to present the interests of this line of45work to our people? In your failure to do this, you lost a precious opportunity to place large blessings within the reach of the people, and you also lost an opportunity of raising means for the relief of our institutions. My brethren, let us encourage our people to take up this work without further delay.
There are some who have had experience in the sale of health foods who should now interest themselves in the sale of our precious books; for in them is food unto eternal life. Los Angeles has been presented to me as a very fruitful field for the sale of “Christ’s Object Lessons” and “Ministry of Healing.” The thousands of transient residents and visitors would be benefited by the lessons they contain, and those who bear responsibilities in our sanitariums should act wisely in this matter, encouraging all, nurses, helpers, and students, to gather by this means as much as possible of the money required to meet the expenses of the different institutions.
We have need of workers in Southern California who have clear spiritual eyesight, men who will weigh matters wisely, and who can discern what is needed both nigh and afar off. If our workers were more fully consecrated to the cause of God, a much more effective work would be done.
Why are our people so slow to understand what the Lord would have them do? Our leading workers should prepare beforehand to use their opportunities at our large and small gatherings to present these books to our people, and call for volunteers who will engage in their sale. When this work is entered into with the earnestness which our times demand,46the indebtedness which now rests upon our schools will be greatly lessened. And then the people who are now being called upon to give largely of their means to support these institutions, will be free to turn a larger part of their offerings to missionary work in other needy places, where special efforts have not yet been made.
Great good will result from bringing these books to the attention of the leaders of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. We should invite these workers to our meetings, and give them an opportunity to become acquainted with our people. Place these precious books in their hands, and tell them the story of their gift to the cause, and its results. Explain how, by the sale of “Ministry of Healing,” patients may be brought to the sanitarium for healing who could never get there unaided; and how through this means assistance will be rendered in the establishment of sanitariums in places where they are greatly needed. If our sanitariums are wisely managed by men and women who have the fear of God before them, they will be the means of bringing us in connection with workers in the W. C. T. U., and these workers will not be slow to see the advantage of the medical branch of our work. As a result of their contact with our medical work, some of them will learn truths that they need to know for the perfection of Christian character.
One point that should never be forgotten by our workers is that the Lord Jesus Christ is our chief director. He has outlined a plan by which the schools may be relieved of their indebtedness; and He will not47vindicate the course of those who lay this plan aside for lack of confidence in its success. When His people will come up unitedly to the help of His cause in the earth, no good thing that God has promised will be withheld from them.
In a place like Los Angeles, where the population is constantly changing, a wonderful opportunity is presented for the sale of our books. A great loss has been sustained because our people have not more fully embraced this opportunity. Why should not the teachers and students from the San Fernando school make Los Angeles a special field for the sale of “Object Lessons”? If with earnestness and faith they will work out the plan that has been given us for the use of this book, angels of God will attend their steps, and the blessing of heaven will be upon their efforts.
It would have been an excellent thing if the teachers of the San Fernando school had, during the vacation, availed themselves of this opportunity to push the work with “Christ’s Object Lessons.” They would have found a blessing in going out with the students and teaching them how to meet the people, and how to introduce the book. The story of the gift of the book and its object would lead some to have a special interest in the book and in the school for which it is sold. Why have not the teachers in our schools done more of this work? If our people would only realize it, there is no more acceptable work to be done in the home field than to engage in the sale of “Object Lessons;” for while they are thus helping to carry out the Lord’s plan for the relief of our schools, they are also bringing48the precious truths of the word of God to the attention of the people.
The indifference that has been manifested by some toward this enterprise is displeasing to God. He desires that it shall be recognized by all our people as His method of relieving our schools from debt. It is because this plan has been neglected, that we now feel so keenly our lack of means for the advancing work. Had the schools availed themselves of the provision thus made for them, there would be more money in the school treasury, and more money in the hands of His people to relieve the necessities of other needy departments of the cause; and, best of all, teachers and students would have received the very lessons that they needed to learn in the Master’s service.
I send you these lines because I see that there is need of a deeper intuition, a wider perception, on the part of our medical and educational workers, if they would get all the benefit that God intends shall come to them through the use of “Object Lessons” and “Ministry of Healing.” I ask you, my brethren, to read these words to our people, that they may learn to show the spirit of wisdom, and of power, and of a sound mind.
Sanitarium, Cal., Sept. 12, 1907.