Earlier text: JESUS AND NICODEMUS.HOLD FAST TO GOD’S PRINCIPLES.
No counsel of men can with safety remove God’s principles, and set up their own; for the word of God declares, “Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place.” “For the Lord shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act. Now therefore49be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord God of Hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.” We are living in times full of importance to each one. Light is shining in clear, steady rays around us. If this light is rightly received and appreciated, it will be a blessing to us and to others; but if we trust in our own wisdom and strength, or in the wisdom and strength of our fellow men, it will be turned into a poison. In the struggle for eternal life, we cannot lean upon one another. The bread of life must be eaten by each one. Individually we must partake of it, that soul, body, and mind may be revived and strengthened by its transforming power, thus becoming assimilated to the mind and character of Jesus Christ. God must be made first and last and best in everything. Each one must hunger and thirst after righteousness for himself. Leaning upon men, and trusting in their wisdom, is dangerous to the spiritual life of any Christian. Those in whom confidence is placed may be honest and true, serving the Lord with all diligence. But if, individually, we are endeavoring to walk in the footsteps of Christ, we can follow him as well as those whom we admire for their consistent, humble lives. It is too often the case that those who are looked up to, are not what they are supposed to be. Often sin lurks in the heart, and wrong habits and deceptive practises are woven into the character. How does our Heavenly Father regard this? His counsel is always reliable, and50he has evidenced his great love for the human race, and he looks on with sadness when his children are encouraged to turn away from him, and place their dependence upon finite men, whom they know not, and whose judgment and experience may not be reliable. But this has been done, and God has been made secondary. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I beseech the people of God to depend upon the Lord for strength. Beware how you place men where God should be. We are not safe in taking men as our authority or our guide, for they will surely disappoint us. Individually, we are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, “for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” We have a high calling in Christ Jesus; we are carrying forward a vast and holy work, and God calls upon each one to uplift his standard in the sight of this world and of the universe of heaven, by the power of the Lord Jehovah, in whom is “everlasting strength.”
E. G. WHITE. GIVE ME THINE HEART.
ADELAIDE, Oct. 12, 1896.
Those who are in responsible positions are not to become converted to the self-indulgent, extravagant principles of the world; for they cannot afford it; and if they could, Christlike principles would not allow it. Manifold teaching needs to be given. “Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.” Thus the word of the Lord is patiently to be brought before the children, and kept before them, by parents who believe the word of God. “For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.” Why?—Because they did not heed the word of the Lord that came unto them. This means those who have not received instruction, but have cherished their own wisdom, and have chosen to work themselves according to their own ideas. The Lord gives these the52test, that they shall either take their position to follow his counsel, or refuse and do according to their own ideas, and then the Lord will leave them to the sure result. In all our ways, in all our service to God, he speaks to us, “Give me thine heart.” It is the submissive, teachable spirit that God wants. That which gives to prayer its excellence is the fact that it is breathed from a loving, obedient heart. God requires certain things of his people; if they say, I will not give up my heart to do this thing, the Lord lets them go on in their supposed wise judgment without heavenly wisdom, until this scripture [Isa. 28:13] is fulfilled. You are not to say, I will follow the Lord’s guidance up to a certain point that is in harmony with my judgment, and then hold fast to your own ideas, refusing to be molded after the Lord’s similitude. Let the question be asked, Is this the will of the Lord? not, Is this the opinion or judgment of —? Everything must be viewed in the light of the example of Christ. He is the truth. He is the true Light that lighteth every man who cometh into the world. Listen to his words, copy his example in self-denial and self-sacrifice, and look to the merits of Christ for the glory in character which he possesses to be bestowed on you. Those who follow Christ live not to please themselves. Human standards are like feeble reeds. The Lord’s standard is perfection of character. “For the Lord shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act. Now therefore53be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord God of Hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.” Read Deut. 7:6. Read the whole chapter, also chapters 1 and 8. These were presented to me as the words of the Lord. These things are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. We are to have only those connected with our institutions who will hear the word of the Lord, and appreciate and obey his voice. When a man will plead and urge to have his mind and his judgment to be supreme in any one of our institutions, you can have no greater evidence that that man does not know himself, and is not qualified to manage. He will make mistakes, and injure rather than restore. He does not know what responsibilities are involved in his relation to God or to his fellow men. “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be?” Those who walk humbly with God will not be striving to obtain greater responsibilities, but will consider that they have a special work to do, and will be faithful to their duty. In our institutions, great good can be done in educating by precept and example, in economy in all lines. If you, my brother, had learned in the school of Christ to be meek and lowly in heart, you would always stand on vantage-ground. You have not an evenly balanced character. You cannot safely put confidence in your own judgment in all things. Man’s way is to devise and scheme; God implants a principle. Man is striving to make duty soft and accommodating to his own natural character; but life is a battle-field; life is a race which he has to run if he is victor. Those who would work in God’s service must not be seeking worldly gratification and selfish indulgence. The physicians in our institutions must be imbued with the living principles of health reform. Men will never be truly temperate until the grace of Christ is an abiding principle in the heart. All the pledges in the world will not make you or your wife health reformers. No mere restriction of your diet will cure your diseased appetite. Brother and Sister—will not practise temperance in all things until their hearts are transformed by the grace of God. Circumstances cannot work reforms. Christianity proposes a reformation in the heart. What Christ works within, will be worked out under the dictation of a converted intellect. The plan of beginning outside and trying to work inward has always failed, and always will fail. God’s plan with you is to begin at the very seat of all difficulties, the heart, and then from out of the heart will issue the principles of righteousness; the reformation will be outward as well as inward. God’s way is to give man something he has not. But you have said, I want it not. God’s way is to make man something he is not. Man’s way is to get an easy place, and indulge appetite and selfish ambition. God’s plan is to set man to work in reformatory lines; then he will learn by experience how long he has pampered fleshly appetites, and ministered to his own temperament, bringing weakness upon himself. God’s way is to work in power. He gives the grace if the sick man realizes that he needs it.55Man is too often satisfied to treat himself according to the methods of quackery, and he vindicates his manner of working as right. God proposes to purify and refine the defiled soul; then he will implant in the heart his own righteousness and peace and health, and man becomes complete in him. Then the issues of life, proceeding from the heart, are represented as a well of water, springing up into everlasting life. THE KINGDOM OF GOD WITHIN.
This is the kingdom of God within you. Day by day men are revealing whether the kingdom of God is within them. If Christ rules in their hearts, they are gaining strength of principle, power, ability to stand as faithful sentinels, true reformers; for there can be no reform unless there is a thorough co-operation with Jesus Christ. Through the grace of Christ, men are to use their God-given faculties to reform themselves; by this self-denying action, which the Lord of heaven looks upon with approval, they gain victories over their own hereditary and cultivated tendencies. Then like Daniel they make impressions upon other hearts that will never be effaced. The influence will be carried to all parts of the world. Men are taking sides, according to their choice. Those that are feeding on the word of God will show this by their practise; they are on the Lord’s side, seeking by precept and example to reform the world. All that have refused to be taught of God, hold the traditions of men. They at last pass over on the side of the enemy, against God, and are written, “antichrist.” The people of God, who understand our position in this world’s history, are, with ears open and hearts softened56and subdued, pressing together in unity—one with Jesus Christ. Those who will not practise the lessons of Christ, but keep themselves in hand to mold themselves, find in antichrist the center of their union. While the two parties stand in collision, the Lord will appear, and shine before his ancients gloriously. He will set up a kingdom that shall stand forever. The question for us to consider is, Have we the attributes of Christ? Excuses are valueless. All circumstances, all appetites and passions are to be servants to the God-fearing man, not rulers over him. The Christian is not to be enslaved by any hereditary or cultivated tendency. He is to rule the animal passions, rather than to be held in the bondage of habit. We are not to be the servants of circumstances, but to control circumstances by an inwrought principle learned of the greatest Teacher the world ever knew. The solemn position in which we stand to-day toward the world, the solemn responsibilities and duties enjoined upon us by our Lord, are not to be ignored until our will and our circumstances are adjusted. The principle of self-denial and self-sacrifice, as revealed in the example of Christ, of John the Baptist, of Daniel and the three worthies, is to pass like a plowshare through hereditary and cultivated habits, through all circumstances and surroundings. I ask you, Is the kingdom of God within you? God’s people are to be minutemen, always ready, always composed in Jesus Christ. The time is now come when one moment we may be on solid earth, the next the earth may be heaving beneath57our feet. Earthquakes will take place where least expected. Christianity has a much broader meaning than many have hitherto given it. It is not a creed. It is the word of Him who liveth and abideth forever. It is a living, animating principle, that takes possession of mind, heart, motives, and the entire man. Christianity—O that we might experience its operations! It is a vital, personal experience, that elevates and ennobles the whole man. Every man is responsible to God, who has made provision for all to receive this blessing. But many do not receive it, although Christ has purchased it for them at infinite cost. They have not grasped the blessing within their reach, and therefore they have retained their objectionable traits of character, and sin lieth at the door. While they profess piety, Satan has made them his agents to pull down and confuse where he thought best. They exert an influence deleterious to the souls of many who need an example that would help them heavenward. Who are the subjects of the kingdom of God?—All those who do his will. They have righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. The members of Christ’s kingdom are the sons of God, partners in his great firm. The elect of God are a chosen generation, a peculiar people, a holy nation, to show forth the praises of him who hath called them out of darkness into his marvelous light. They are the salt of the earth, the light of the world. They are living stones, a royal priesthood. They are in copartnership with Jesus Christ. These are they that follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. HOW SHALL WE LEARN OF CHRIST?
How shall we follow him to learn of him who is our Teacher? We can search his word, and become acquainted with his life and works. His words we are to receive as bread for our souls. In every sphere where man shall be placed, the Lord Jesus has left us his footprints. We do well to follow him. The Spirit by which he spake, we must cherish; we are to present the truth as it is in Jesus. We are to follow him especially in heart-purity, in love. Self must be hid with Christ in God; then when Christ who is our life shall appear, we also shall appear with him in glory. What can I say more than I have said? The Old Testament should be studied most diligently. The New Testament does not present a lower standard than the Old. In his sermon on the mount Jesus set forth the very principles that came from his lips to Moses, to be given to the children of Israel. Christ delineated the duties of men to God and to their fellow men in much stronger lines, because through disobedience men had become confused in regard to God’s claims. Read carefully the sermon on the mount. “DO ALL TO THE GLORY OF GOD.”
By the inspiration of the Spirit of God, Paul the apostle writes that “whatsoever ye do,” even the natural act of eating or drinking, should be done, not to gratify a perverted appetite, but under a sense of responsibility,—“do all to the glory of God.” Every part of the man is to be guarded; we are to beware lest that which is taken into the stomach shall banish from the mind high and holy thoughts. May I not do as59I please with myself? ask some, as if we were seeking to deprive them of a great good, when we present before them the necessity of eating intelligently, and conforming all their habits to the laws God has established. There are rights which belong to every individual. We have an individuality and an identity that is our own. No one can submerge his identity in that of any other. All must act for themselves, according to the dictates of their own conscience. As regards our responsibility and influence, we are amenable to God as deriving our life from him. This we do not obtain from humanity, but from God only. We are his by creation and by redemption. Our very bodies are not our own, to treat as we please, to cripple by habits that lead to decay, making it impossible to render to God perfect service. Our lives and all our faculties belong to him. He is caring for us every moment; he keeps the living machinery in action; if we were left to run it for one moment, we should die. We are absolutely dependent upon God. A great lesson is learned when we understand our relation to God, and his relation to us. The words, “Ye are not your own, ye are bought with a price,” should be hung in memory’s hall, that we may ever recognize God’s right to our talents, our property, our influence, our individual selves. We are to learn how to treat this gift of God, in mind, in soul, in body, that as Christ’s purchased possession, we may do him healthful, savory service. Why did Daniel and his companions refuse to eat at the king’s table? Why did they refuse his meats and wines?—Because they had been taught that this class of food would not keep the mind or the physical structure in the very best condition of health to do God’s service. These youth urged most earnestly that the one who had charge of their food should not compel them to partake of the king’s luxuries, or drink of his wine. They begged him to try them ten days only, and then examine them, and decide by their physical appearance whether their abstemious diet would be to their disadvantage. When they came in for examination, the result was decidedly in their favor. It was otherwise with the youth who had eaten of the luxuries of the king’s table, and drank of his wine. The clear sparkle of the eye was gone, the ruddy, healthful glow had disappeared from the countenance. The four Hebrew captives were thereafter permitted to have the diet they had chosen. What effect did it have upon mind and character? They had conscientiously refused the stimulus of flesh and of wine. They obeyed God’s will in self-denial, and he showed his approval. He desired his servants to honor him by their adherence to steadfast principle in all their habits of life. Their countenances would be a certificate of physical soundness and moral purity. “And as for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.” These youth had the Lord as their educator. The golden links of the chain61of heaven connected the finite with the infinite. They were partakers of the divine nature. They were very careful to keep themselves in touch with God. They prayed and studied and brought into their practical life strictly conscientious, humble minds. They walked with God as did Enoch. The word of the Lord was their meat and their drink. “And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.” In the light of this Scripture history, all the testimony of man as to the advantages of a meat diet, or of a great variety of food, should not have the least weight with any human being. When the children of faith shall with earnest prayer dedicate themselves to God without reserve, the Lord will honor their faith, and will bless them with a clear mind. Those who at every step are murmuring and complaining, ambitious for more power and greater responsibility, show that they cannot carry responsibilities; and the Lord has been pleased to tell them this. They have thought it all a mistake, and have been determined to show the Lord that they could be managers of the first class. But God’s word never returns to him void, and when he reveals the deep and secret things, he makes no mistake. He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. The Lord has said, Those that honor me I will honor The very flesh in which the soul tabernacles, and through which it works, is the Lord’s. We have no right to neglect any part of the living62machinery. Every portion of the living organism is the Lord’s. The knowledge of our own physical organism should teach us that every member is to do God’s service, as an instrument of righteousness. None but God can subdue the pride of man’s heart. We cannot save ourselves. We cannot regenerate ourselves. In the heavenly courts there will be no song sung, To me that loved myself, and washed myself, redeemed myself, unto me be glory and honor, blessing and praise. But this is the key-note of the song that is sung by many here in this world. They do not know what it means to be meek and lowly in heart; and they do not mean to know this, if they can avoid it. The whole gospel is comprised in learning of Christ, his meekness and lowliness. JUSTIFICATION AND REGENERATION.
What is justification by faith?—It is the work of God in laying the glory of man in the dust, and doing for man that which it is not in his power to do for himself. When men see their own nothingness, they are prepared to be clothed with the righteousness of Christ. When they begin to praise and exalt God all the day long, then by beholding they are becoming changed into the same image. What is regeneration?—It is revealing to man what is his own real nature, that in himself he is worthless.
E. G. WHITE. MINISTERS AND BUSINESS MATTERS.
I was awakened at half past eleven o’clock. Matters of importance had been presented to me. I was in an assembly consisting of a number of our people who had the burden of the work upon them. They were laying out work for the future, consulting as to how the work could be managed in the most successful manner. —— was explaining his plan, and that which he desired to have accomplished, and several others had matters to present for consideration. Finances were the great burden of some, and they were studying how to limit the workers, and yet realize all the results essential. One brother had spoken in reference to plans for his part of the moral vineyard. Then there stood among us One with dignity and authority, who proceeded to state principles for our guidance. I have strength to write only a few points, although the things suggested affected me deeply. To several the Speaker said: “Your work is not the management of financial matters. It is not wise for you to undertake this. God has burdens for you to bear; but if your attention is called to lines for which you are not adapted, your efforts will not prove successful. This will bring upon you discouragement that will disqualify you for the very work you should do, which requires a discriminating mind, and deep, unselfish judgment.” Far too little attention is given to the preservation of physical health. Nothing is gained by robbing nature of her hours for rest and recuperation. To allow one man to do the work of four, or of two, or three, will result in irreparable loss. There is need of physical vigor in order to produce healthful thought. Fewer committee meetings should be attended by men who are employed to write and to speak the word. Many minor matters should be adjusted without keeping one or two men on the strain constantly. Under such a strain the mind loses its vigor. Its action cannot be as healthful and all-sided as if it were allowed proper periods of sleep and refreshment. An abundance of physical exercise is required to keep the machinery in healthful action. EDUCATE MEN FOR BUSINESS.
You may load on one man the care and burden which should be divided among several, but you will gain nothing by this. Men should be educated as business men. Experience is of value. You work at great disadvantage when you suppose that because one man can fill a certain position, he is qualified to fill several positions. There is great necessity of selecting men as students, to learn rapidly all they can in business lines of education. This line of work is essential, and those who do the business in the work of God are not to assume responsibilities which they suppose themselves capable of bearing. Those who carry the responsibilities of the work have erred in allowing persons to be placed as managers of financial matters, when there was65the best of evidence that these persons had not tact nor ability for the position. The case of Daniel, portrayed in a very limited manner by the prophetic pencil, has a lesson for us. It reveals the fact that a business man is not necessarily a sharp, policy man. He can be a man instructed of God at every step. Daniel, while prime minister of the kingdom of Babylon, was a prophet of God, receiving the light of heavenly inspiration. Worldly, ambitious statesmen are represented in the word of God as the grass that groweth up, and as the flower of the grass that fadeth. Yet the Lord would have intelligent men in his work, men qualified for the various lines of work. Especially are business men needed, not irreligious business men, but those who will weave the great, grand principles of truth into all their business transactions. Men who have qualifications for the work need to have their talents exercised and perfected by most thorough study and training. Not one business man that has any appointment in the work need to be a novice. If men in any line of work need to improve their opportunities to become wise, efficient business men, it is those who are using their ability in the work of building up the kingdom of God in our world. The lessons for the present time are for all to understand, but they are very feebly appreciated. There should be greater thoroughness in labor; and more vigilant waiting, more vigilant watching and praying, and more vigilant working, in prospect of the events now taking place, and which are swelling to larger importance as we near the close of this earth’s history. The human agent is to reach for perfection, to be an ideal Christian, complete in Jesus Christ. RIGHT PRINCIPLES ESSENTIAL.
Those who labor in business lines should exercise every precaution against error through wrong principles or methods. Their record may be like that of Daniel in the courts of Babylon. In all his business transactions, when subjected to the closest scrutiny, there was not found one item that was faulty. He was a sample of what every business man may be. But the heart must be converted and consecrated. The motives must be right with God. The inner lamp must be supplied with the oil that flows from the true messengers of heaven through the golden tubes into the golden bowl. Then the Lord’s communication never comes to man in vain. God will not accept the most splendid services unless self is laid upon the altar, a living, consuming sacrifice. The root must be holy, else there can be no sound, healthful fruit, which alone is acceptable to God. Truths, precious, vital truths, are bound up with man’s eternal well-being both in this life and in the eternity which is opening before us. “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” The word of God is to be practised. The word of God liveth and endureth forever. While worldly ambition and worldly projects and the greatest plans and purposes of men shall fade like the grass, “they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” Man’s experience and history are occupied with himself, his own achievements and victories. God’s history, as traced with unerring accuracy in the books of heaven, describes man as seen in67the light of eternity. All his motives and all his actions are seen in their relation to eternal realities. Everything said and done has a reference to tremendous issues which we must meet again.
MRS. E. G. WHITE. GOD’S CLAIMS ON HIS STEWARDS.
SYDNEY, N. S. WALES, October, 1896. Sabbath afternoon [October 3] I met with the church at Ashfield. The Lord gave me a message for the people assembled. I presented before them the third chapter of Malachi. I cannot see how the Lord could present his requirements in a clearer and more forcible manner than he has done in this chapter. All should remember that God’s claims upon us underlie every other claim. He gives to us bountifully, and the contract which he has made with man is that he is to return to him the tenth of his possessions. God graciously entrusts his stewards with his treasures, but he lays his hand upon the tenth, saying, This is mine. Just in proportion as God has given his property to man, so man is to pay a faithful tithe of all his substance. This distinct arrangement was made by Jesus Christ himself. This work involves solemn and eternal results, and it is too sacred to be left to human impulse. We should not feel free to deal with this matter as we may choose. In answer to the claims of God, regular reserves should be set apart as sacred to his work. Besides the tithe, the Lord demands the first-fruits of our increase as his. These he has reserved, in order that his work in the earth may be amply sustained, and that his servants may not be limited to a meager supply. The Lord’s messengers should not be handicapped in their work of holding forth the word of life. As they teach the truth, they should have means which they can invest for the advancement of the work which must be done at the right time, in order to have the best and most saving influence. Deeds of mercy must be done; the poor and suffering must be aided. Gifts and offerings should be appropriated for this purpose. Especially in new fields, where the standard of truth has never yet been uplifted, this work must be done. If all, both old and young, would do their duty, there would be no dearth in the treasury. If all would pay a faithful tithe, and devote to the Lord the first-fruits of their mercies, there would be a full supply of funds for his work. But the law of God is not respected or obeyed, and this has brought a pressure of want. Every extravagance should be cut out of our lives; for the time which we have to work is none too long. All around us we see suffering humanity. Families are in want of food; little ones are crying for bread. The houses of the poor lack proper furniture and bedding. Many live in mere hovels, which are almost destitute of all conveniences. The cry of the poor reaches to heaven. God sees; God hears. But many glorify themselves. While their fellow men are69poor and hungry, suffering for want of food, they expend much on their tables, and eat far more than they require. What an account men will by and by have to render for their selfish use of God’s money! Those who disregard the provision God has made for the poor, will find that they have not only robbed their fellow men, but that in robbing them, they have robbed God, and have embezzled his goods. ALL THINGS BELONG TO GOD.
And all the good that man enjoys comes because of the mercy of God. He is the great and bountiful Giver of all. His love is manifest to all in the abundant provision which he has made for man. He has given us probationary time in which to form characters that will fit us for the courts above. And it is not because he needs anything that he asks us to reserve part of our possessions for him. The Lord created every tree in Eden pleasant to the eyes and good for food, and he bade Adam and Eve freely enjoy his bounties. But he made one exception. Of the tree of knowledge of good and evil they were not to eat. This tree God reserved as a constant reminder of his ownership of all. Thus he gave them an opportunity to demonstrate their faith and trust in him, and their perfect obedience to his requirements. So it is with God's claims upon us. He places his treasures in the hands of humanity, but requires that one tenth shall be faithfully laid aside for his work. He teaches us the lesson that he requires this portion to be placed in his treasury. It is to be rendered to him as his own; it is sacred, and is to be used for sacred purposes, for the support of those who carry the message of70salvation to all parts of the world. He reserves this portion, that means may ever be flowing into his treasure-house, and that the light of truth may be carried to those who are nigh and those who are afar off. By faithfully obeying this requirement, we prove that we realize that all belongs to God. And has not the Lord a right to demand this much of us? Did he not give us his only-begotten Son because he loved us and desired to save us from death? And shall not our gratitude offerings flow into the Lord’s treasury, to be drawn therefrom to advance his kingdom in the earth? God is the owner of all our goods, and shall not gratitude to him prompt us to make free-will offerings and thank offerings, thus acknowledging his ownership of soul, body, spirit, and property? Had God’s plan been followed, means would now be flowing into his treasury; and funds to enable ministers to enter new fields, and workers to unite with ministers to lift up the standard of truth in the dark places of the earth, would be abundant. It is a heaven-appointed plan that men should return to the Lord his own; and this is so plainly stated that men and women have no excuse for misunderstanding or evading the duties and responsibilities God has laid upon them. Those who claim that they cannot see this to be their duty, reveal to the heavenly universe, to the church, and to the world, that they do not want to see this plainly stated requirement. They think that if they followed the Lord’s plan, they would detract from their own possessions. In the covetousness of their selfish souls, they71desire to have the whole capital, both principal and interest, that they may use it for their own benefit. God lays his hand upon all man’s possessions, saying, I am the owner of the universe, and these goods are mine. The tithe you have withheld I reserved for the support of my servants in their work of opening the Scriptures to those who are in the regions of darkness, who do not understand my law. In using my reserve fund to gratify your own desires, you have robbed souls of the light which I made provision they should receive. You have had opportunity to show loyalty to me, but you have not done so. You have robbed me; for you have stolen my reserve fund. “Ye are cursed with a curse.” The Lord is long-suffering and gracious, and he gives those who have done this wickedness another chance. “Return unto me,” he says, “and I will return unto you.” But they say, “Wherein shall we return?” Their means have been made to flow in channels of self-service and self-glorification, as if their goods were their own, and not lent treasures. Their perverted consciences have become so hard and unimpressible that they do not realize the great wickedness they have done in so hedging up the way that the cause of truth could not advance. Man, finite man, though using for himself the talents which God has reserved to publish salvation, to send the glad news of a Saviour’s love to perishing souls, and hedging up the way by his selfishness, inquires, “Wherein have we robbed thee?” God answers, “In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed72me, even this whole nation.” The whole world is engaged in robbing God. With the money he has lent them they indulge in dissipation, in amusements, revelings, feasting, and disgraceful indulgences. But God says, “I will come near you to judgment.” The whole world will have an account to settle in that great day when every one shall receive sentence according to his deeds. God pledges himself to bless those who will obey his commandments. “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, 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, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of Hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of Hosts.” With these words of light and truth before them, how dare men neglect so plain a duty? How dare they disobey God when obedience to his requirements means prosperity in temporal and spiritual things, and disobedience means the curse of God? Satan is the destroyer. God cannot bless those who refuse to be faithful stewards. All he can do is to permit Satan to do his destroying work. We see calamities of every shape and in every degree coming upon the earth; and why?—The Lord’s restraining power is not exercised. The world has disregarded the word of God. They live as though there were no God.73Like the inhabitants of the Noachic world, they refuse to have any thought of God. Wickedness prevails to an alarming extent, and the earth is ripe for the harvest. “Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee? Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of Hosts? And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.” Those who withhold from God his own make these complaints. The Lord asks them to prove him by bringing their tithe into his storehouse, and to see whether he will not pour them out a blessing. But they cherish rebellion in their hearts, and complain of God, and at the same time they rob him, and embezzle his goods. When their sin is presented to them, they say, I have had adversity; my crops have been poor; but the wicked are prospered. It does not pay to keep the ordinance of the Lord. But God does not want any to walk mournfully before him. Those who thus complain of God have brought their adversity on themselves. They have robbed God, and his cause has been hindered because the money that should have flowed into his treasury was used for selfish purposes. They showed their disloyalty to God by failing to carry out his prescribed plan. When God prospered them, and they were asked to give him his portion, they shook their heads, and could not see that it was their duty. They closed the eyes of their understanding, that they might74not see it. They withheld the Lord’s money, and hindered the work which he designed should be done. God was not honored by the use of his entrusted goods. Therefore he let the curse fall upon them, permitting the spoiler to destroy their fruits and to bring calamities upon them.