Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Lt 119, 1901

Sanderson, Sister [A. J.]

St. Helena, California

August 26, 1901

Portions of this letter are published in 5Bio 128.

My dear sister,—

I am up at one o’clock, my soul filled with sorrow on your account, because your whole moral taste is diseased by a perverted will. You have never been converted for any length of time. The hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong which you cherish place you on the losing side in the battle of life. God pities you. Christ wants to receive you. He desires to sanctify you by His Holy Spirit. Yet you continue in darkness and perversity, and the Saviour says to you, “Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” [John 5:40.] Repent and be converted, else in the great day when every case is brought up in review before God, when it is too late for anything to be changed, you will see your unlikeness to Christ. You will say, “I did it all myself. No one else is to blame. I did it. I did it,” while around you will be heard the joyous shouts of those who have washed their robes of character and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 16LtMs, Lt 119, 1901, par. 1

“And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia; for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.” [Revelation 19:6-9.] 16LtMs, Lt 119, 1901, par. 2

My sister, through this message I give you, the Lord Jesus is calling you. I beg of you in the name of the Lord to heed this message. You may find a certain satisfaction in worldly pleasure, in entertainments and the singing of worldly songs, but wherein is God glorified? Wherein is He honored? This is helping the enemy to seduce souls, helping to keep God and eternity out of their reckoning. The joys of earth are not the joys of heaven. The joys of earth are polluted, unsatisfying, of short duration, while the joys of heaven are pure, satisfying, and eternal. God will supply the needs of His people, satisfying the soul with His righteousness, filling it with His joy. His blessings never grow old; they never satiate. They are ever fresh. Through the ceaseless ages of eternity they will grow more and more precious. 16LtMs, Lt 119, 1901, par. 3

Time is short. The last message of mercy is to be given to the world. Should not this show us the importance of using every gift of God in a way that will honor Him? 16LtMs, Lt 119, 1901, par. 4

I call upon you in the name of the Lord to fall upon the Rock and be broken. I know that you are unprepared for the great events that are right upon us. Unless you change your attitude, you will be a great hindrance to your husband. You are a lover of pleasure more than a lover of God. This is a great drawback to a growth of spirituality in your life. You choose to associate with unbelievers. Your character-building is of such a character that you divert minds from the only true source of strength. Unless you seek the Lord with all your heart, you will become less and less sensitive to the convictions of the Spirit of God, and you will be a tempter to your husband, imperiling the salvation of his soul. 16LtMs, Lt 119, 1901, par. 5

Your husband does not believe this. He thinks he is fully capable of standing alone. But you are and always have been a great drawback to him. O, how I wish that you could see that your course of action will not only imperil your own soul, but the soul of your husband. 16LtMs, Lt 119, 1901, par. 6

I earnestly pray that you will change. Christ died to save sinners, not in their sins, but from their sins. But the robe of His righteousness, which makes the believing soul whiter than snow, does not cover one sin that is unrepented of. Will you now receive the Saviour’s mercy and love, and act your part in giving to the world His gracious invitation, “Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely”? [Revelation 22:17.] His service is life and peace and joy and satisfaction. 16LtMs, Lt 119, 1901, par. 7

I have a message to bear to you. Your worldly entertainments are cheap compared with the rich banquet Christ has prepared for you. What is the chaff to the wheat? Do you not desire to partake of the marriage supper of the Lamb? Christ is seeking to draw you to His heart of infinite love. 16LtMs, Lt 119, 1901, par. 8

If you respond to this effort, which the Spirit of the Lord has directed me to make in your behalf, will you not study the Bible, that you may understand it for yourself? If you desire to meet the Lord in peace, you must cultivate the attributes of Christ. 16LtMs, Lt 119, 1901, par. 9

I tell you decidedly that your influence in the Sanitarium on the patients and nurses is not a savor of life, but a snare to them, whereby they obtain wrong impressions of what constitutes godliness. You do nothing outrageous, but you exert a subtle influence which is detrimental to personal consecration. 16LtMs, Lt 119, 1901, par. 10

Remember that you are the wife of one who is under the greatest responsibility to be a light shining amid the moral darkness. 16LtMs, Lt 119, 1901, par. 11

Whatever you do for your own salvation and for the salvation of others, you must do soon; for the end is near. At times your heart has been touched, but you have never given yourself unreservedly to God. You have allowed self-pleasing to quench the Spirit of God. Do you think that the patients you have entertained with popular songs would, if dying, send for you to tell them how to find Christ and be saved? No, no; unless they were thoroughly deceived as to what constitutes pure and undefiled religion. 16LtMs, Lt 119, 1901, par. 12