The Review and Herald
January 30, 1894
Danger of Light Becoming Darkness
The Lord has condescended to give you an outpouring of his Holy Spirit. At the camp-meetings, and in our various institutions, a great blessing has been showered upon you. You have been visited by the heavenly messengers of light and truth and power, and it should not be thought a strange thing that God should thus bless you. How does Christ subdue his chosen people to himself?—It is by the power of his Holy Spirit; for the Holy Spirit, through the Scriptures, speaks to the mind, and impresses truth upon the hearts of men. Before his crucifixion, Christ promised that the Comforter should be sent to his disciples. He said: “It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.... When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.” RH January 30, 1894, par. 1
This promise of Christ has been made little enough of, and because of a dearth of the Spirit of God, the spirituality of the law and its eternal obligations have not been comprehended. Those who have professed to love Christ, have not comprehended the relation which exists between them and God, and it is still but dimly outlined to their understanding. They but vaguely comprehend the amazing grace of God in giving his only begotten Son for the salvation of the world. They do not understand how far-reaching are the claims of the holy law, how intimately the precepts of the law are to be brought into practical life. They do not realize what a great privilege and necessity are prayer, repentance, and the doing of the words of Christ. It is the office of the Holy Spirit to reveal to the mind the character of the consecration that God will accept. Through the agency of the Holy Spirit, the soul is enlightened, and the character is renewed, sanctified, and uplifted. RH January 30, 1894, par. 2
Through the deep movings of the Spirit of God, I have had opened before me the character of the work of the visitation of the Spirit of God. I have had opened before me the danger in which souls would be placed who had been thus visited; for afterward, they would have to meet fiercer assaults of the enemy, who would press upon them his temptations to make of none effect the workings of the Spirit of God, and cause that the momentous truths presented and witnessed by the Holy Spirit, should not purify and sanctify those who had received the light of heaven, and thus cause that Christ should not be glorified in them. The period of great spiritual light, if that light is not sacredly cherished and acted upon, will be turned into a time of corresponding spiritual darkness. The impression made by the Spirit of God, if men do not cherish the sacred impression, and occupy holy ground, will fade from the mind. Those who would advance in spiritual knowledge must stand by the very fount of God, and drink again and again from the wells of salvation so graciously opened unto them. They must never leave the source of refreshment; but with hearts swelling with gratitude and love at the display of the goodness and compassion of God, they must be continually partakers of the living water. RH January 30, 1894, par. 3
O, how much this means to every soul,—“I am the light of the world;” “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger [for anything more satisfying]; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” To come to this condition means that you have found the Source of light and love, and have learned when and how you may be replenished, and may make use of the promises of God by continually applying them to your souls. RH January 30, 1894, par. 4
“But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.” This has been literally fulfilled in the cases of many; for the Lord gave them a deeper insight into truth, into his character of mercy and compassion and love; and yet after being thus enlightened, they have turned from him in unbelief. They saw the deep movings of the Spirit of God; but when the insidious temptations of Satan came in, as they always will come after a season of revival, they did not resist unto blood, striving against sin; and those who might have stood on vantage-ground, had they made a right use of the precious enlightenment that they had, were overcome by the enemy. They should have reflected the light that God gave to them upon the souls of others; they should have worked and acted in harmony with the sacred revealings of the Holy Spirit; and in not doing so, they suffered loss. RH January 30, 1894, par. 5
Among the students the spirit of fun and frolic was indulged. They became so interested in playing games that the Lord was crowded out of their minds; and Jesus stood among you in the playground, saying, O that thou hadst known, “even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace!” “Ye also have seen me, and believed not.” Yes; Christ revealed himself to you, and deep impressions were made as the Holy Spirit moved upon your hearts; but you pursued a course by which you lost these sacred impressions, and failed to maintain the victory. “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” You began to come to Christ, but you did not abide in Christ. You forsook him, and the realization you had had of the great favors and blessings he had given you, was lost from your heart. The question of amusement occupied so large a place in your minds, that after the solemn visitation of the Spirit of God, you entered into its discussion with such great zeal that all barriers were broken down; and through your passion for games, you neglected to heed the word of Christ: “Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.” The place that should have been occupied by Jesus was usurped by your passion for games. You chose your amusements instead of the comfort of the Holy Spirit. You did not follow the example of Jesus, who said, “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” RH January 30, 1894, par. 6
The minds of many are so bewildered with their own human desires and inclinations, and they have been so in the habit of indulging them, that they cannot comprehend the true sense of the Scriptures. Many suppose that in following Christ they will be obliged to be gloomy and disconsolate, because they are required to deny themselves the pleasures and follies that the world indulge in. The living Christian will be filled with cheerfulness and peace, because he lives as seeing Him who is invisible; and those who seek Christ in his true character have within them the elements of everlasting life, because they are partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruptions that are in the world through lust. Jesus said, “This is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” RH January 30, 1894, par. 7
All spiritual life is derived from Jesus Christ. “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God.” But what is the sure result of becoming a child of God? The result is that we become laborers together with God. There is a great work to be done for your own soul's salvation, and to qualify you to win others from unbelief to a life sustained by faith in Christ Jesus. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me [with a casual faith?—No, with an abiding faith that works by love and purifies the soul] hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life.... I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.... Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whosoever eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.... It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.” RH January 30, 1894, par. 8
When Jesus spoke these words, he spoke them with authority, assurance, and power. At times he manifested himself in such a way that the deep movings of his Spirit were sensibly realized. But many who saw and heard and participated in the blessings of the hour, went their way, and soon forgot the light he had given them. RH January 30, 1894, par. 9
The treasures of eternity have been committed to the keeping of Jesus Christ, to give to whomsoever he will; but how sad it is that so many quickly lose sight of the precious grace that is proffered unto them through faith in him. He will impart the heavenly treasures to those who will believe in him, look to him, and abide in him. He thought it not robbery to be equal with God, and he knows no restraint nor control in bestowing the heavenly treasures upon whom he will. He does not exalt and honor the great ones of the world, who are flattered and applauded; but he calls upon his chosen, peculiar people who love and serve him, to come unto him and ask, and he will give them the bread of life, and endow them with the water of life, which shall be in them as a well of water springing up unto everlasting life. RH January 30, 1894, par. 10
Jesus brought to our world the accumulated treasures of God, and all who believe upon him are adopted as his heirs. He declares that great shall be the reward of them who suffer for his name's sake. 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.” RH January 30, 1894, par. 11