MR No. 242—Place a Right Estimate Upon Eternal Things
The same men are not to compose your boards year after year. Changes should have been made long ago. God would have the church roll away her reproach, but as long as men who have felt fully competent to work without accepting counsel of God are kept in office year after year, this cannot be done. This state of things is leavening every branch of the work, because men do not feel their need of the guidance of the Holy Spirit. When men feel competent to pronounce judgment and condemn the Holy Spirit, they do a work for themselves which will be difficult to counteract. The whole head becomes weak, and the discernment so weak that it is apt to judge unrighteously. The Spirit still calls, but they do not hear nor heed the call of God.—Letter 6, 1895, p. 7. (To “The Brethren Who Shall Assemble in General Conference,” October 21, 1894.)
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Better far would be the cross, the disappointment, the shattered earthly prospect, the neglect of friends, the disapproval of the world, than to sit with princes, and lose heaven.
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One passion after another, one project after another, sways the heart, and expels the Holy Spirit from the soul. The love of the world is permitted to come in and take possession of, and rule the heart but the Lord Jesus would have us, as rational creatures, place a right estimate upon eternal things, so as not to lose eternity out of our reckoning.—Manuscript 52, 1896, 1. (Untitled, undated.)
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If we could only realize that in every congregation there may be souls who are being called upon for the last time to repent! who, like the Jewish nation, have advanced step by step almost imperceptibly in resistance of the Spirit of God, until spiritual blindness has taken the place of the light they once enjoyed. Under a spirit of unbelief, envy, and criticism, the evidences they have had are no longer evidence, but a matter of questioning and doubt. Truth is misunderstood, and perverted to mean error....
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Those who resist the Holy Spirit of God, and provoke Him to depart, know not to what lengths Satan will lead them. “O, that thou hadst known, even thou, in this thy day, the things that belong unto thy peace.” Shall the words of Christ be irrevocably spoken, “But now they are hid from thine eyes?” When the Holy Spirit departs from the human agents, they will do those things which they once viewed in a correct light. They will follow step by step in the footsteps of Satan. Who then can strive with them to any purpose? Will the minister plead for them and with them? All their words are as idle tales. These souls have Satan close beside them to misconstrue the words spoken, and bring them to their understanding in a perverted light. They are misinterpreted by them; for when the Spirit of God is grieved away, every appeal made through the Lord’s servants is meaningless to them. They will misconstrue every word. They will laugh and turn into ridicule the most solemn words of Scripture, which, if they were not bewitched by satanic agencies, would make them tremble. Every appeal made to those who are in need of help is in vain. They will not hear a word of reproof or counsel. They despise all the entreaties of the Spirit, and disobey the commandments of God which they have once vindicated and exalted. Well may the words of 360the apostle come home to such souls, “Who hath bewitched you that ye should not obey the truth?” They have followed the counsel of their own heart until truth is no more truth to them.—Manuscript 28, 1897, 11-13. (Manuscript entitled “Judas,” undated.)
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The Pharisees sinned against the Holy Ghost. Their talent of speech was used to abuse the world’s Redeemer, and the recording angel wrote their words in the books of heaven. They attributed to satanic agencies the holy power of God, manifested in the works of Christ. They could not evade His wonderful works, or attribute them to natural causes, so they said, “They are the works of the devil.” In unbelief they spoke of the Son of God as a human being. The works of healing done before them, works which no man had done or could do, were a manifestation of the power of God, but they charged Christ with being in league with hell. Stubborn, sullen, ironhearted, they determined to close their eyes to all evidence, and thus they committed the unpardonable sin.—Manuscript 73, 1897, 4, 5. (“Our Words,” July 2, 1897.)
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God will not trust His Holy Spirit to those who would work contrary to its deep inward earnest working. Young men who will indulge in intemperate habits, in smoking and tampering with the wine cup, will so corrupt the principles of the soul, that these objectionable things become one with their nature, a part of themselves, not only to demoralize themselves, but others. Low gratifications indulged, and indulged continuously, degrade the entire being. The taste for evil and love of coarseness becomes natural. Stain after stain gathers like leprosy upon the soul, until they are suddenly
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destroyed, and that without remedy. The sinner may repent, and Jesus may accept his contrition, and will pardon his transgression, but the influence of that time of evil-doing upon others can never be entirely counteracted.—Manuscript 126, 1897, 13, 14. (“The Training of Children,” November 15, 1897.)
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The sin of foolish talk is common among those who claim to believe the most solemn truths ever given to our world. Because of this commonplace, frivolous talk, the Spirit of the Lord is grieved away. Improper conversation is the reason of such a lack of faith and power among the people of God.—Letter 47, 1897, p. 2. (To Brethren Daniells and Palmer, June 28, 1897.)
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There are special communications which the Lord makes through His word and His Spirit which always agree; but some peculiar bias of mind, some cultivated traits of character, make it impossible for the Lord to work us by His Holy Spirit, because we think we know how to work ourselves.—Letter 147, 1897, p. 6. (To Edson White, September 12, 1897.)
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Oh, how my heart longs to see the workers place themselves in positions where the Lord can pour out His Holy Spirit abundantly upon them, that they may give God all the glory of the increase, and not take any credit to themselves. Here is where the Spirit of God is quenched. Man is placed where God should be, if any good is accomplished. God has not received the glory, and man has been exalted, as the one who gave the increase.—Letter 150, 1897, p. 2. (To “Dear Children,” November 6, 1897.)
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The Lord sustained me through the camp meeting. I attended some counsel meetings which called out from me the reason why the Holy Spirit does not work among us. It is the unbelief of God and the lack of confidence in one another. It is the work of the power of darkness to lead us to suspect our brethren and stand apart as criticizers. At one meeting I think I read and talked to the ministers for two hours. I needed to brace up all I possibly could to do the work the Lord had appointed me to do.—Letter 7, 1899, pp. 1, 2. (To Elder and Mrs. S. N. Haskell, January 22, 1899.)
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Those who do evil with their gossiping tongues, who sow discord by selfish ideas and thoughts by any jealousies, evil surmisings, or covetousness, they grieve the Holy Spirit of God, for they are working at cross-purposes with God, instead of answering the purposes of Christ, instead of answering the prayer of Christ that His disciples may be one as He is one with the Father. They are working entirely in the lines the enemy has marked out.—Letter 20, 1899, pp. 7, 7a. (To Philip Wessels, February 3, 1899.)
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If the Holy Spirit is rejected, all my words will not help to remove, even for the time being, the false representations that have been made, and Satan stands ready to invent more. If the evidence already given is rejected, all other evidence will be useless until there is seen the converting power of God upon minds. If the convincing impressions of the Holy Spirit made in the past will not be accepted as trustworthy evidence, nothing that can be presented hereafter will reach them, because the 363bewitching guile of Satan has perverted their discernment.—Manuscript 61, 1906, 1, 2. (“Hold Fast the Beginning of Your Confidence”, June 3, 1906.)
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The Body as the Temple of God
We profess to believe a very great and solemn truth; we profess to believe that we are living in the very last scenes of this earth’s history, and if we practice our faith we shall have a telling influence upon all that are around us. But if while we claim to believe this great and divine truth while our works do not correspond with our faith our influence is far less than though we made no profession to believe the sacred and important truths.
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The apostle continues “I keep under my body and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a cast away” [1 Corinthians 9:27]. Everything in regard to his appetite, his words, his practices, and his passions, all his members were brought under the controlling influence of the Spirit of God and sanctified intellect. He shows to those who are around him the advantages of the knowledge that he has gained through the Scriptures and the living oracles of God. By living in connection with God, he shows the advantages he has gained by having right principles and by practicing them in his daily life. He will deny himself; he will not indulge himself.
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Every temptation and every suggestion that he has to gratify his inclination and passion, he meets and overcomes with his resolution: “I keep under my body and bring it into subjection.” Then he gives the reason, “lest that by any means when I have preached to others I myself should be cast away.” What a tremendous result is here brought out! How clearly it is 364presented before us that he must carry out the principles of truth which he has accepted, and claimed to believe; must carry out these principles when he sits down at another’s table, or when he engages in conversation with others. There is one principle to be kept ever before him, and that is as a representative of Jesus Christ, he must gather the divine rays from glory. He must reveal that the light which he grasps with his intellect has reached not only the chambers of the mind but has taken possession of the inner sanctuary of the soul. He must exhibit all the aptness, all the advantages of this kind, that he may elevate these ennobling truths, and the light which is of heavenly origin.... The influence of the Spirit of God is brought to combine with human agencies. The power is all of God but there must be a cooperation. The God of heaven does not work for man without his cooperation. The Spirit of God unites with the human effort. Thus it is that we become laborers together with God.—Manuscript 3, 1888, 1, 2. (“Living for God,” September 25, 1888.)
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Day by day the human structure performs its work under the great Master Architect, who superintends every function of the body, seeking to make it into a glorious temple for Himself. This is beyond the comprehension of any physician unless he has a knowledge of God, the great Master-Builder. If he does not seek to know God, and to become intelligent in regard to His constant and ceaseless miracle-working power, he will abuse God’s building. When God works so wondrously, man, the human agent, should become intelligent in regard to the machinery of his body, that this temple of God shall not be misused, and become the habitation of devils, the hold of every foul spirit, 365and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird. But thousands upon thousands are ignorant of the house they live in. David exclaims, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Then let us consider this matter carefully, exercising self-denial and temperance in all things.”—Letter 17, 1895, pp. 7, 8. (To Brother Caldwell, September 6, 1895.)
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The question is sometimes asked, “Why, if we have the truth, do we not see a greater manifestation of the Spirit of God?” God cannot reveal Himself till those who profess to be Christians are doers of His word in their private lives, till there is oneness with Christ, a sanctification of body, soul, and spirit. Then they will be fit temples for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit....
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“We are labourers together with God; ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.”
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God has given man land to be cultivated. But in order to reap the harvest, there must be harmonious action between divine and human agencies. The plough and other implements of labor must be used at the right times. The seed must be sown in its season. Man is not to fail of doing his part. If he is careless and negligent, his unfaithfulness testifies against him. The harvest is proportionate to the energy he has expended.—Letter 139, 1898, p. 16. (To Elder A. T. Jones, December 16, 1898.)
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If the truth were comprehended and practiced, licentiousness would not be allowed to destroy the physical and mental powers. The apostle Paul writes, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what 366fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God: as God hath said, I will dwell in them and walk in them: and I will be their God and they shall be My people. Wherefore, come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing: and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters saith the Lord Almighty,”“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
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There is no mystery in these words. If the human agent is a doer of the word he will be a laborer together with God in keeping his body free from defilement. If he loves God with all his heart and mind and soul and strength, he cannot defile his body, which is the temple of God.
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Abuse of the temple of God has brought upon men and women suffering and misery which no human tongue can describe. “The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor light. Let us walk honestly in the day, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof.”
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Those who will open their understanding to comprehend these things, will make wonderful reforms in their lives. The apostle writes, “Ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” Those who are perfecting Christian 367characters will make decided changes in their lives that they may present themselves to God holy and blameless, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.—Manuscript 143, 1899, 10, 11. (“Co-workers With Christ,” typed October 4, 1899.)
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Three nights before the Review office burned, I was in an agony that words cannot describe. I could not sleep. I walked the room, praying to God to have mercy upon His people. Then I seemed to be in the Review office, with the men who have the management of the institution. I was trying to speak to them and thus to help them. One of authority arose and said, “You say, The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are we; therefore we have authority to do this thing and that thing and the other thing. But the word of God forbids many of the things that you propose to do.” At His first advent, Christ cleansed the temple. Prior to His second advent, He will again cleanse the temple. Why? Because commercial work has been brought in, and God has been forgotten. With hurry here and hurry there somewhere else, there was no time to think of heaven. The principles of God’s law were presented, and I heard the question asked, “How much of the law have you obeyed?” Then the word was spoken, “God will cleanse and purify His temple in His displeasure.”
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In the visions of the night, I saw a sword of fire hung out over Battle Creek.
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Brethren, God is in earnest with us. I want to tell you that if after the warnings given in these burnings, the leaders of our people go right on, just as they have done in the past, exalting themselves, God will take the 368bodies next. Just as surely as He lives, He will speak to them in language that they cannot fail to understand.
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God is watching us to see if we will humble ourselves before Him as little children. I speak these words now that we may come to Him in humility and contrition, and find out what He requires of us.
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God wants us to learn what it means to be temples of the Lord. When we learn this, His saving grace will come to us, and the terrible dissension that is doing so much to weaken our efforts will no longer be seen among us.
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Think of these words; pray over them. Come to the Lord as little children. Plead with Him for His salvation. If we receive His salvation into our hearts, His power will be with us, and success will crown our efforts....
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Let us begin our work on correct principles. And when you go home, take your Bibles, and read the law that you must meet in the judgment. Read the specifications given regarding the law. Come near to God, and He will receive you. Exercise the simple faith of a little child.—Manuscript 11, 1903, 6, 6b. (“Words of Counsel,” March 26, 1903.)
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The three great powers of heaven pledge themselves to furnish to the Christian all the assistance he requires. The Spirit changes the heart of stone to the heart of flesh. And by partaking of the word of God, eating the flesh and drinking the blood of His Son, Christians obtain an experience that is after the divine similitude. When Christ abides in the heart by faith, the Christian is the temple of God. Christ does not abide in the heart of the sinner, but hearts that are susceptible to the influence of Heaven’s 369instrumentalities, and have been sanctified by obedience to the truth, are representatives of His righteousness.—Letter 53, 1904, p. 6. (To W. W. Prescott, January 26, 1904.)
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“Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
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As you learn how to care for the sick, and how to conform to the laws that will preserve the body in health, carry out the instruction you receive. Remember that you are not to yield to the temptations of appetite, or in any way defile or mar the body that God desires for the habitation of His Spirit. By a conscientious care of your health, show your appreciation of the price that Christ has paid for you.—Manuscript 8, 1905, 3, 4. (“Growing in Grace,” September 23, 1904.)
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