Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 25 (1910 - 1915)

Ms 9, 1910

Talk/Words of Counsel to Workers

Mountain View, California

January 27, 1910

Portions of this manuscript are published in MM 304.

(Portion of a talk given by Mrs. E. G. White during the Pacific Union Conference, Mountain View, California, January 27, 1910.) 25LtMs, Ms 9, 1910, par. 1

Last night I seemed to be standing before a crowd of people who were not united. One would stand back while another desired to go forward. They were not standing in unity one with another. I saw a heavenly being come and stand before them and heard Him say: “Come into line! No one is fighting a battle on his own charges. The Master of assemblies says, Come into line!” 25LtMs, Ms 9, 1910, par. 2

After this, I did not go to sleep again. I wondered whether in this meeting our brethren were coming into line. It is very difficult for some to come into line; but every one of us is to come into line and fill our appointed place. May God help us to do this, is my prayer. 25LtMs, Ms 9, 1910, par. 3

Although we may have followed our own way for a time, it is possible for us to return and get into line. We ought to be grateful to God for the privilege of returning when we have gone astray. The Lord sees that it is not best for us to go as we please and refuse to unite with our brethren who do not view matters just as we may view them. He sees that it is best for man to yield his wilful spirit. We who claim to believe the truths of God’s Word are to come into line while we still have opportunity to harmonize with our brethren. “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him: and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” [Isaiah 55:6, 7.] 25LtMs, Ms 9, 1910, par. 4

There are some who are not ready to respond to the invitation to forsake their own way and come into harmony with God’s way. They prefer to follow a way of their own choosing. Those who wish to do so have the privilege of continuing to walk in their own unconsecrated way, but the end of that way is sorrow and destruction. 25LtMs, Ms 9, 1910, par. 5

God has placed on no living being the authority to order and command his fellow men arbitrarily. 25LtMs, Ms 9, 1910, par. 6

We have come to a time when we need to look carefully to ourselves, to see whether we are learners of the meek and lowly Jesus, or whether we desire to be leaders. The Lord has men of His appointment whom He will use in His work so long as they allow themselves to be used in accordance with His good pleasure. He can never use any one who is seeking to humble some one else. Humble yourselves, brethren. When you do this, it is possible for holy angels to communicate with you, and place you on vantage ground. Then your experience, instead of being faulty, will be filled with happiness. Let us so relate ourselves to God that we shall be susceptible to the movings of His Holy Spirit. 25LtMs, Ms 9, 1910, par. 7

The Lord is coming. The end of all things is at hand. We have but little time in which to develop character. We have but a little while in which to show what the Lord can do through us if we walk humbly before Him. The Lord will do wonderful things for us, if only we let Him work through us by His Holy Spirit. 25LtMs, Ms 9, 1910, par. 8

Our experience, our testimony, our daily course of action are having an influence either for good or for evil. Which shall it be? Shall we choose to humble our hearts before God? We could be a mighty, moving force for good, if we should constantly advance in Christian perfection, from grace to grace. When, as individuals, we stand still, we do ourselves untold injury. 25LtMs, Ms 9, 1910, par. 9

In the lives of some who claim to be followers of the meek and lowly Jesus, there is revealed much self-esteem. The Lord desires us to get rid of all our assumptions, all our lofty ideas of ourselves, and place ourselves in His hands, as obedient children, to be molded and fashioned in the similitude of the divine. Let no man worship his own opinion. Let no one seek to serve and gratify himself. Let us all come into line. 25LtMs, Ms 9, 1910, par. 10

Often in the silent watches of the night I think of the sufferings of Christ in our behalf. Behold the Redeemer in the garden of Gethsemane. The thought of separation from His Father was the burden pressing so heavily upon His soul. He felt as if He might be unable to pass through such an experience. “If it be possible,” He prayed, “let this cup pass from Me.” [Matthew 26:39.] So great was His agony, that “His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” [Luke 22:44.] It was for us that He passed through this agony. 25LtMs, Ms 9, 1910, par. 11

While the Saviour was in the garden, the cup trembled in His hand. Should He refuse to drink it? Only through His sacrifice could the sinner be saved. Should the divine Sufferer refuse to drink of that cup trembling in His hand? It was then that a mighty angel came to strengthen Him, and He prayed, “Nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt.” [Matthew 26:39.] At times, when in great trial, or great pain, I think, What is the use of continuing to work as I do? But I am ashamed of myself as soon as such a thought passed through my mind. I see Jesus, my Redeemer, suffering in Gethsemane; I see trembling in His hand the cup that is to separate Him for a time, as it were, from His Father; I see Him suffering at the hands of cruel men, who struck Him in the face, and spat upon Him, and then mockingly commanded Him to give them a sign that He was the Saviour. Oh, what if He had refused to drink the bitter cup of agony He endured? What if His prayer had been answered? But God knew best and strengthened His only begotten Son to endure the agony and the shame and become a propitiation for the sins of a lost world. 25LtMs, Ms 9, 1910, par. 12

In view of the infinite sacrifice made by the Son of God, what sacrifices are we making today? There must be more Christlikeness revealed? We are to be laborers together with God. We are to labor along the lines followed by Christ during His earthly ministry. We are not to set up any standard of our own as to what we will do and what we will not do. Let us choose rather to follow Christlike methods of labor, and then we shall understand what it means to suffer for His sake. 25LtMs, Ms 9, 1910, par. 13

We need to live in daily communion with heavenly agencies. Unless we do, we cannot maintain our spirituality. There is no excuse for any of us being half-hearted in Christian service. There is no excuse for us to scatter our ways, so that it can hardly be known whether we are Christians or not. Christ’s example is to be followed. When in the heavenly courts, He chose to lay aside His kingly crown and His royal robe and come to this earth as a man to live a life of poverty and self-denial. When, on one occasion during His earthly ministry, a certain man said, “I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest,” Christ answered, “Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head.” [Luke 9:57, 58.] Night after night He would pray for His flock—pray that God would give them strength to obey: and then He would lie down upon the ground, as that was the only place He had to rest for the night. 25LtMs, Ms 9, 1910, par. 14

When we are tempted to think that we are having a hard time, oh, let us humble ourselves! By humbling ourselves, we may come into communion with God, and then we can tell Him of our necessities. We must throw our helpless souls upon Christ Jesus. He is willing to give every one of us an experience that is of more value than gold or silver or precious stones. 25LtMs, Ms 9, 1910, par. 15

The One who was exalted above all others in the heavenly courts as the Son of the Highest is the One whose hands were nailed to the cross of Calvary. He it is who was mocked and derided by those who would not receive Him. There was one poor thief on a cross beside Him, and he said to Christ, “Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.” And Christ replied, “Verily I say unto thee today”—while hanging on this cross—“thou shalt be with Me in paradise.” [Luke 23:42, 43.] 25LtMs, Ms 9, 1910, par. 16

We can in some measure see how God worked through His Son, but we do not half appreciate His infinite sacrifice in our behalf. We need to humble ourselves before God. Unless we do this, we shall keep exalting ourselves in our own estimation until Christ will say, You cannot be with Me in My kingdom. You would lead others astray if you were there. 25LtMs, Ms 9, 1910, par. 17

We should be very careful that our influence is sacredly kept on the side of truth and righteousness. The Lord Jesus has promised to clothe us with the robe of His righteousness, if we will walk humbly with God, and He exacts humility of heart, and rightdoing from every one of us. There is a world to be warned, and we are to bring ourselves into line, that we may be prepared to co-operate with heavenly intelligences in giving the last warning message to the world. 25LtMs, Ms 9, 1910, par. 18

Brother Haskell, will you take hold of the work as you have taken hold of it for the past two years? If you stand in the same position you have formerly occupied, God helping you, you must have help. We will try to help you. We know how it has been in the past. God will work with those who will work with Him. My very souls goes out after God, and I desire that every one who stands in an important position shall not stand as men stood at the time of our return to America from Australia—with a rod in the hand, saying, You shall do this, or, You shall not do that. We do not know where these men learned to follow such a course with God’s heritage. They certainly had not been learning of the great Teacher, who is our Leader. But we are thankful that such manifestations of arbitrary dealing are not seen so often now. We desire to place in positions of responsibility those who do not exalt themselves, but who feel that unless God helps them, it is impossible for them to carry the responsibilities placed upon them. We want men who can co-operate with God. It is so easy for men to become exalted; but God does not want any of us to exalt self. He wants us to fall helpless into His arms. If we are meek and lowly, He will care for us. 25LtMs, Ms 9, 1910, par. 19

Brethren and sisters, will we covenant with God at this meeting that we will not seek for the highest place and make that the burden of our thoughts? We are to seek to the meek and lowly of the heart. Christ can then abide with us by His Holy Spirit. If we have Christ with us, if angels are round about us, as we present the sacred truths of God’s Word, a solemn impression is made upon the minds of those who hear. 25LtMs, Ms 9, 1910, par. 20

There are cities all around us that have not been worked. For the past twenty years it has been presented to me that these cities should be worked. But, as yet, they have not been warned. Who is answerable for this neglect? Although the needs of the great centers of population have been presented before our people over and over again, yet comparatively little has been done. Brethren, consider how you can ever expect to be clear in the sight of a holy God, if you leave these cities unwarned. Very few of the ministers are carrying forward aggressive work in these larger centers where so many thousands are in need of the saving truths we have to proclaim. The means that should be used to carry the message to the cities seems to be taken away and used where it perhaps ought not to be. But where is seen a burden in behalf of these cities that have long been pointed out as places that must be worked without delay? Who will take up the burden of this work? Who will labor faithfully to set a right example before the inhabitants of our centers of population? 25LtMs, Ms 9, 1910, par. 21

It almost seems as if scarcely any one dares ask a worker to go into our cities, because of the means that would be required to carry on a strong, solid work. It is true that much means will be required in order to do our duty toward the unwarned in these places; and God desires us to lift our voices and our influence in favor of using means wisely in this special line of effort. Over and over again has come to us the message, “Go out into the highways and the byways, and compel them to come in, that My house may be filled.” [Luke 14:23.] This is the work we must take hold of; for it is the work that must be done. 25LtMs, Ms 9, 1910, par. 22

In this effort in behalf of the cities, we greatly need the co-operation of all classes of laborers. Especially do we need the help that the physician can render as an evangelist. If ministers and physicians will plan to unite in an effort to reach the honest-hearted ones in our cities, the physicians, as well as the ministers, will be placed on vantage-ground. As they labor in humility, God will open the way before them, and many will receive a saving knowledge of truth. 25LtMs, Ms 9, 1910, par. 23

Last night I slept only two hours; for I was thinking what I could say to help the men in positions of responsibility to realize that they are not rulers. Men in responsible positions should be Christlike in deportment. We wish to see a reformation such as we have not seen for years. We desire you to reveal that angels of God are round about you. We desire you to reveal that everything like selfishness and greed is put out of your hearts, that you may walk humbly with God. 25LtMs, Ms 9, 1910, par. 24