Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 22 (1907)

Ms 191, 1907

Sermon/Remarks at Loma Linda, California

Loma Linda, California

October 31, 1907

Previously unpublished.

I have been awake since half past two o’clock. In the night season I was deeply exercised in regard to the great truths that we have had brought to our knowledge, and the necessity of revealing these truths by tongue and voice and character, and our Christian courtesy, and our kindness and our love for all that we associate with. I was in a meeting last night, and it seemed that there was a work to be done in that meeting that was not done. And I arose and said, I am afraid this meeting is going to be like other meetings—that they scattered and went away but they had not that rich blessing which heaven was all ready to give them. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 1

Now when we consider what is our work, that it is to have a living connection that must be first, then we shall have a proper connection with our brethren and our sisters. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 2

At our meetings that we had just prior to the time when we expected our Lord, we would not let one soul alone, we must know how every one stood before God. And here we are so much nearer the end than we were then, although we were brought right up to the very period that we expected the Lord to come before morning. And there we were pleading with God, and we were urging our cases before Him, and if one was under a cloud, we would stop and petition with God to clear that cloud away, and let the sunlight of His righteousness in. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 3

Now we have great things before us. We have come and we have talked them over at our camp meetings, but some way there was not a planting of the principles in the very heart, each feeling the necessity of having that living connection with God that would bring him into a position to have the right kind of principles carried out in the life. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 4

I took up the Testimony that was lying before me on the bed, and read something from it: 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 5

“Some will urge that if religious teaching is to be made prominent, our schools will become unpopular.” That is just what we want. We want it unpopular in the sense that they use it. “That those who are not of our faith will not patronize them.” I differ there. The unbelievers recognize when there is a voice within a voice; they will recognize it. I know it to be a fact. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 6

I remember I was sick, very sick, in Wisconsin I think it was, and they did not know what would become of me. I was so sick I could not eat. But my husband came from the meeting. There was a large camp meeting of Seventh Day Baptists that came in to the meeting and united with us. He said, “I told them you would speak this morning!” “Why, my dear husband, here I have been on this bed unable to eat for days, and I have put nothing in my lips, and you told them that I would come there to speak!” “Well,” said he, “you can at least try.” He knew what it would be if I did. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 7

So I dressed and he put his arm around me, and supported me to the camp—it was not a great ways off—and he told them, “My wife has been sick, but she has consented to come here, and we want you all to pray that God will give her strength.” He stood up with his arm around me, supporting me. About five minutes I stood, and then I felt the electric power of God through every nerve of my body. I talked one hour and a half to that people. Well, when I had gotten through there rushed up to the stand ladies covered with jewelry, and dressed to the very height of fashion, and they rushed up. “I must speak to you, I must speak to you,” they said. “God has spoken through you today; I must ask you to pray for me. You have something that I have not, and I want the Spirit of God.” Now there were twenty there that I had to speak to before I left the ground to go to the place where I could find my rest. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 8

Now I want to tell you that God speaks with us when we come in a right position so that He can. And I have felt more sad that language can express that the Holy Spirit that is promised unto us did not work with us as a people as God designed and would have it work. We want a religion that has not merely sentiment, but that is life, that is light, that is power, and this will move the people. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 9

Here is a great work to be done for us, and I do hope that at this meeting we shall see the salvation of God. Expect it, pray for it, wait for it, and rejoice because it is your privilege to have it. How much rejoicing do we have? “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth God.” [See Psalm 50:23.] Now, I want to ask you how much praise goes forth from our lips to God for His kindness, and His mercy and His great salvation to us that we are not left in ignorance? 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 10

Now, we have been speaking of a school being established in Loma Linda. And that is the great reason that I ventured to come from my home. I have not been well for some time, but thought I might, by coming to this meeting, have every advantage away from Los Angeles, where there is confusion, so you could not get out of the door. Our meetings must be held in a different atmosphere. We could not have our schools in such an atmosphere. We want our schools where there should be quiet and less to attract the attention, less noise. Well, here we are to see what Loma Linda is. I am glad that our people are here. I thank God we are here. Now, we won’t talk about Los Angeles anymore. But we want to talk more about the living connection with God. We must have it and can have it, seeing He is the Fountain. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 11

Jesus Christ gave His own precious life. And what for? To make it possible that we might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And when we consider that in order to do this, He clothed His divinity with humanity, that divinity might lay hold upon divinity, that humanity might be partaker with Christ and lay hold of divinity. That is how we can escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. And God want the truth to shine forth in unmistakable evidence to the world. They will know it. Certainly they will. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 12

I attended a meeting in the Washington church, and when I got out and was seated in the carriage, said I, Go quickly. If you don’t, we cannot get off. And, lo, before they got turned around hardly, there was a crowd right around the carriage, and one young man came up to me. Said he, “I never felt such convictions in my life as while you were speaking, representing Christ before the people. Now, I am not a Christian, but I want to take your hand and tell you that I never was thrilled in my life through and through as I am today.” 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 13

Right on the other side of the carriage was another young man, and he tried to get a chance. He was the brother to this one, but he was a Christian. The mother was there. Said she, “I am glad that you have spoken to my boys. I want them to be Christians. We have heard that today which we hope will never pass out of our minds.” 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 14

Now, we can see that it is not us that makes the impression. We are not to take credit to ourselves. It is the Lord Jesus that works through us. He came to this world. He might have had myriads of angels if He had asked for them. He came as a child. He came up as a child to give the example as a child, and He was tempted. Now let us consider this. In all points like as we are. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 15

Just think! the Son of the infinite God equal with God, hiding His divinity, laying off His costly robe, laying off His crown, and coming into our world as a little child, and there he came up with the education of a child. Tempted in all points like as we are, and according to His strength He was tempted, and yet without sin. His example in our world we are to follow. We are to seek with all the powers of our being to be Christlike, and we can be, because He wants us to be. But there must be more praying than there is talking unnecessarily. There is a great deal of unnecessary talk. But we need not be silent in every meeting after this order, we can represent Jesus Christ in character. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 16

I was before a congregation in the night season, and presenting to them what they might be and what they might do. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 17

Now if there are to be schools established in various places, as there will be, they should be of a higher order, not of that order that is to go into all the preliminaries and the studies that are provided from books and these things, but after the school of the prophets. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 18

The last journey Elijah took before his translation was to visit these schools. He went to these schools all through the country, and he knew what God had before him. And he told Elisha, the one that was with him, “What will thou ask of me before I leave you?” “That a double portion of your spirit shall be upon me.” Only think of it, a double portion. Said he, “If you see me when I am taken up, your request shall be granted.” [2 Kings 2:9, 10.] But he would keep saying to Elisha, “What are you following me for? Go back.” Said he, “I will not go back.” [Verses 2, 4, 6.] He was determined to follow him to the last, and finally he beheld the chariot, and his master was taken up, and his mantle fell from him, there it was, falling down to him, and he knew that his request was granted. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 19

I want to say, brethren and sisters, if we have a school, all this mass of studies we do not need. We are getting ready for heaven. The most we want is to have a preparation, climbing the ladder step by step toward heaven, until we shall come into that school where Christ will walk by the tree of life and He will instruct us. We do not need this great mass of instruction, but we want to know the Bible, what saith the Scriptures, what saith the Word, and we want to go right to that Word, and we want to heed it. We want to believe it. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 20

Revelation 22. Here was the angel which came to John from place to place and gave him sights that he should see to bring back to us. Verses 1-4. You know the word had been spoken: no one can see His face and live. But here they are to behold the face of God. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 21

Verse 5. Supposing we study these things in our schools. Supposing we let the impress of the Spirit of God come right to our hearts in our schools. What a quickening there would be of the understanding, what an impression there would be upon the mind in regard to God and heavenly things. That is just what we want. We want the power of the Holy Spirit upon our hearts, upon our lips, and to be expressed in our characters. Now that is what the Lord wants us to have. Verses 12-17. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 22

Now here is our work. We are not to pass through this world and not speak to anybody except the believe just as we do. Now if we will carry with us the representation of the truth in our hearts, if we will develop it in our characters, it will make an impression upon the world. We want to reach the people where they are. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 23

The W.C.T.U., we want to reach them. We want to make special efforts to reach them. There are many that will respond if we make these efforts. Sister Henry is dead. We are sorry. I wrote to Sister Henry, “Sister Henry, you will feel that you must go over the field where the churches are, but don’t you go. You go to the very people that you can reach. You can reach the W.C.T.U.; you can reach them. There is a precious class there, and you can reach them.” “But” said I, “for Christ’s sake I entreat you not to use up your vitality with people that won’t comprehend it. They have a work to do in temperance, and you can unite with them, and you can work with them. Their prejudice is great now, but you can work with them until the light of truth shall go forth as a lamp that burneth.” But the first news I had she was going around to all the churches. O, she wanted to see them. But it cost her her life, and there she died in the South. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 24

Now, what do we want? We want to get hold of the very vital part of the truth. We want to take the Word of the living God. That is all and in all to us. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 25

When Christ was here He would teach His disciples, He was careful to bring to them the words that they should use and handle when He was taken away. He could not trust His life—only three years of ministry—with proclaiming the truth, because He knew that if He should go in their synagogues and with the atmosphere that surrounded them, they would take His life. He did not even dare to go up with the members of His own family. Why? Because they would distinguish Him, and therefore as soon as they would distinguish Him, they would put some one on the track to deprive Him of His liberty or to take His life. Here was our Saviour, the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory on the earth, and yet how they opposed Him! We think we have some suffering. But you consider what Christ suffered. Everything that could make that the most ridiculous and painful, they made to Him. Then let us not complain of trials. No, we cannot afford to. We will not complain of trials. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 26

Now, when there shall be an advanced step made to educate physicians, and to educate those that will become physicians, we want to every man be in his place and every woman be in her place that has an experience in the things of God. O, we want that power of the grace of God to come upon us! Let us every one arouse. Let us every one take right hold of the work, and take hold of the work of reform, and become as little children. We have it here in the Testimony for the Church: “If we ever reach heaven, it will be by linking our souls to Christ, leaning upon Him, and cutting loose from the world and its follies and enchantments.” That is the hardest thing. You must go to school, and there sail right in with the companies of all those people that know nothing of the truth. It is not the right principle at all. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 27

You see that Elijah went forth to all the schools of the prophets. And when Saul went out to hunt at one time for David, he was brought in connection with the school of the prophets. And he got the Spirit and went right on prophesying, and forgot all about his meanness against David. He had another spirit. But you see he did not carry it out. He did not entertain it as he should, therefore he lost it again, and was after David to take his life. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 28

We want to say that God lives and reigns. And so I want to read a few words more. Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 148: “Satan is playing the game of life for your soul ... advantage over you.” But we are to exalt God, the only true and living God. “The unselfish life, the generous, self-sacrificing spirit, the sympathy and love of those who hold positions of trust in our institutions should have a purifying, ennobling power of influence which would be eloquent for good.” To p. 149: It is knowledge of spiritual things we want, a living connection with the angels of light, and we can have it. But you may have to pray a great deal, and it is best for you to be in prayer very much more than you are, for all of us to be there. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 29

“Thus saith the Lord.” Micah 6:8; 7:18. When we see our wrongs, and come to Him and confess them, He forgives us. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 30

I do not want to take up all your time. I desire that each one shall have an opportunity to speak. You have some little chance. I thank God. I was weak when I left home, and it was a question whether I should come, and I said to Willie, I have not tried my voice yet. I do not know, said I. I have been so weak, I did not know as I could speak. But I have not realized any difficulty with my voice. Now I thank God for that. I want to thank God that He has kept me since I have been here, and the most that I thank God for is that I am out of Los Angeles; for if I should be there with all its confusion and all its bustle and all its noise, I think it would not be very favorable for me or you either. What we want is the quiet, right here at Loma Linda, to talk and consult together, and to pray together, and have the reception of the Holy Spirit come upon us. 22LtMs, Ms 191, 1907, par. 31