Experiences in Australia

Words of Warning Regarding Phrenology.

Sermon, camp-meeting
Napier, N.Z. March 28, ‘93 EA 61.1

(377) “Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand; for God is with us.” EA 61.2

“For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself, and let Him be (378) your fear, and let Him be your dread. And He shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken. Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth His face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for Him. Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in Mount Zion. EA 61.3

“And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them which have familiar spirits, and unto wizards, that peep and that mutter; should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” EA 61.4

I have borne many burdens since coming to this country. When our people in America asked me to come to Australia, I thought it too much of an undertaking to travel so far in my feebleness To comfort me they said, “Sister White, you will (379) have no such burdens to bear as you have borne here. You will not have unbelief and opposition to meet. Everyone will believe your testimony. Yet I have met a firmness and determination in resisting the Spirit of God not surpassed in any other country. EA 61.5

How I labored for the Australian Conference one year ago; for I longed to see the Spirit of God move on the brethren and sisters there. There were dishonest practices to be put away. The leaders stood in the way of the work; there was not harmony among the workers. Things were practiced that were contrary to the Spirit of God. Some were working along lines that had no connection with the ministry of Jesus Christ. The work of the shepherd is to seek for the sheep; but instead of this the sheep were looking for the shepherd. Some of the ministers were studying along the lines of phrenology. Others took up the subject of the organism of man. When these things were presented to me as God regarded them, how terrible they appeared! After hard labor for souls in these meetings, I would reel on my way home. I was obliged to flee to save my life. For eleven months I suffered from a severe attack of fever and rheumatism. But (380) God revealed himself to me because I was in the line of duty. We afterwards went to Adelaide, and I have been able to bear my testimony ever since. EA 61.6

I have felt very deeply for this cause of God in New Zealand. There are souls here who are hungering for the word of life. The canvassers need to be instructed. In every line of the work a laxness and looseness is apparent. I have felt terribly over these matters. EA 61.7

Brother Hare, I ask you, Who covered up McAlpine’s course of action? That is one thing that accounts for the empty seats that we saw in the Auckland church. God is in earnest with us. We must work in his lines, and unless we learn them, the delusions of the last days will come upon this people. EA 61.8

Read in the record of Joshua of Achan’s theft of the Babylonish garment and the wedge of gold. Achan took the property appointed to destruction, and hid it in his tent. The children of Israel knew nothing of the theft; but the sin of that one man caused all Israel to be defeated before the enemy. EA 62.1

(381) “And Joshua rent his clothes and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads. And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of Jordan! O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs upon their enemies? For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?” EA 62.2

“And the Lord said unto Joshua; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow: for thus saith the Lord God of Israel. Three is an accursed thing in the midst of thee O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.” EA 62.3

Something more than prayer was required. They were to cleanse the camp of Israel. Achan had taken that which was appointed to destruction, and the Spirit of the Lord searched (382) him out; “In the morning,” God commanded, “ye shall be brought according to your tribes; and it shall be that the tribe which the Lord taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the Lord taketh shall come by households; and the household which the Lord taketh shall come man by man. And it shall be that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burned with fire, he and all that he hath; because he hath transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel. EA 62.4

“So Joshua arose early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken; and he brought the tribe of Judah, and He took the family of the Zarhites; and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and Zabdi was taken; and he brought his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi was taken. And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession unto Him, and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me. And Achan answered Joshua and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done. When I saw among the spoils a goodly (383) Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and I took them; and behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. EA 62.5

“So Joshua sent messengers and they ran and went to the tent and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it. And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them to Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the Lord. And Joshua, and all of Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor. And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the Lord shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after that they had stoned them with stones.” EA 62.6

I tell you, my brethren and sisters, we had better examine our cases before we undertake to examine the case of anybody else. Everything like the fraud of that man must be taken away. God knew about that Babylonish garment. The spirit of God searches (384) out the hidden things. God gives his people sufficient warnings and admonitions, and sometimes to bring them to their senses he sends affliction and suffering. It behooves us to act upon every ray of light that we receive. EA 62.7

When Nathan presented in a parable the terrible sin of David, David said, “As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this shall surely die.” Then Nathan said, “Thou art the man.” If David had been living close to God, he would have seen the application. We need to ask ourselves, Have I been working in God’s lines. Have I been working as a laborer together with God? We should be rooted and grounded in the truth. EA 63.1

A certain minister in California, while working in the ministry, was tampering with phrenology as a means of making money. He falsified in many instances, and souls were discouraged by his course of action. This man even went so far as to say to some married couples that they were unfitted for each other. God never gave this minister such a commission as that. I said to him, “I rebuke your spirit in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.” This man thought he could do (385) wonderful things. He made another young man think he could do the same; but he has not done that wonderful thing yet, He went home to live upon the earnings of his poor mother. The wife of this minister said, My husband is capable of standing in the highest positions;” It is astonishing the influence he had over human minds. But he did not walk in the light, and today he is selling brushes to earn a livelihood. EA 63.2

I said to a brother in America, “God wants you to preach his truth.” He answered, “I never can do it, Sister White. Look at my head. I have no faith. I am just as full of infidelity as I can be.” I told him that God had shown me that he should go and preach the message. He did go; and after he had labored for some time, he said to me, “Sister White, the hollow in my head is all filled up.” This brother had been cultivating faith, and working in God’s lines. You may say it was due to phrenology; it was due to the transforming power of God. EA 63.3

I have no faith in phrenology; for it certainly cannot be said of those who have practiced these things, “Thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward.” Many do not know what the glory of the Lord is. (386) A power from beneath has been acting upon their minds, and as a result such a state of criticizing has come in that even the Bible is not taken as a standard. Bible truth is not hid from anyone, unless it be hid to them that are lost, because they will not take the plain statement of the word of God. Satan and evil angels counsel to do away with God’s sign. They said, “We will seek to compel the conscience; and then we shall see the mark of the beast and his image. God has said, “Thou shalt keep the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” Some say that it makes no difference which day we keep. The word of God is made of no account by such. We want to show in our lives that it does make a decided difference. Christ is soon to come. We must preach the Third Angel’s message. The study of God’s word will transform the character. EA 63.4

The Lord’s power is revealed in the humble devoted worker who lives his religion rather than in the educated man who does not rely fully upon God. The example of a poor and illiterate man God has often used as successfully to promote the great designs (387) of the gospel, as the labors of the minister who is lauded and talented as eloquent. In the early days of the first angel’s message, a poor, foolish man was impressed with the truth. He went to a learned elder and repeated the words, “Elder G., Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet Him.” Instead of trying to give proof for the second coming of the Lord—he was unable to give any reasons—he kept repeating the words, “Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet Him.” The Spirit of the Lord went with the words, and Elder G. fell on his knees before the Lord, and confessed his pride of heart. God worked through this poor man in foolishness to bring the man of learning to his knees before God. EA 63.5

“Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For that after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and (388) unto the Greeks foolishness. But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called; but God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are despised, hath God chosen; yea, and things which are not to bring to nought things that are; that no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, He that glorieth let Him glory in the Lord.” EA 64.1

The apostle Paul had met people on their own ground—oratory with oratory, philosophy with philosophy. Now he says, “And I brethren, when I came unto you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God; for I determined not to know anything among you, save (389) Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my wisdom was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power; that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God. Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect; yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought; but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory; which none of the princes of this world knew, for had they known it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” EA 64.2

Christ came to bring back through the mighty power of the cross of Calvary that which was lost “As it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea the deep things of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things we also speak, not in the (390) words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. For who hath the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. EA 64.3

You need to understand the working of the Spirit of God, “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him; the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of the inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward that believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which He wrought in Christ , when he raised him from the dead, and set him at His own right hand in the heavenly places. EA 64.4

What we want to know is not what kind of heads, but what kind of hearts have we. The devil had a splendid head; but he had an envious, rebellious heart, for which there was no excuse. We want to see what Christ is and what God is. We have the most wonderful truth that was ever committed to men, and yet many (391) allow themselves to feast on a dish of fables rather than the word of god. We should not lay hold of these things with the tips of our fingers; we should seek to be rooted and grounded in the truth, - the truth that has been hidden by man’s inventions. EA 65.1

We want to know what you are going to do about this matter. We want God to walk through our camp. There should be the shout of the King in the camp. Seek the Lord, and search the Scriptures as you have never done before. Do not drop one discouraging word. Look to One who can save you to the uttermost. You may have the character of the Father who love you as He loves his Son. As you look at these words, cannot you put sin and iniquity away? We ask you to wash in the fountain open for Judah. Humble yourselves. Put away levity. Bring solid timbers into your character. Let the searching Spirt of God go through the congregation, cutting away the fleshy tables of the heart. Limit not the Holy One of Israel. Christ will walk through our encampment, writing <with> His spirit on our hearts. Then behold God’s people changed, not by phrenology, but from character to character, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. EA 65.2