Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Lt 92, 1901

Craig, J.

St. Helena, California

July 22, 1901

Previously unpublished.

Dr. Craig

Dear Brother,—

I have not been well, or I should have written to you before. I will now seek to ease my mind of the burden that is resting upon it. I wish to say that you have been presented to me as in danger of moving unadvisedly. The Lord is good. He sends you counsel, telling you to draw nigh to Him, and He will draw nigh to you. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 1

We are living in a most solemn time, a time when everything is to be shaken that can be shaken, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. God calls upon every man to stand at his post of duty. You cannot be spared from the work. We have but few trustworthy workers who have had an experience in temptation and trial and proving. God’s people are now to advance rapidly and move solidly. Every man is to stand in his lot and in his place. 16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 2

There are many things to be set in order, and if ever we needed to pray to God, it is now. I am very anxious that there shall be a change in the St. Helena Sanitarium. Every one of our institutions needs to feel the power of the life of God. 16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 3

The Lord has a work for you to do, and He will help you to do this work intelligently. If you will abide in Him who gave His life for you, if you will trust wholly to His guidance, you will see the salvation of God. He will lay upon you no burden in the accomplishment of His work without giving you the needed grace and strength and courage and fortitude. 16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 4

You are presented to me as one whom the Lord will use to His name’s glory. God desires you to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, to be purified and cleansed and prepared as a vessel unto honor. Put on the new man day by day, and make great advancement in the knowledge of God’s will. Surrender yourself to God, to be refined and elevated by Him. True holiness is becoming in all His saints. 16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 5

Never, my dear brother, lose control of yourself, whatever the provocation. The Lord is your helper and your strength, your front guard and your rereward. Never lose confidence in the One who loves you so well that He gave His life to make it possible for you to be an overcomer. By the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony, you are to triumph over the temptations of the enemy. God has blessings for you. He wants you to look to Him, to learn of Him, to trust in Him. Then He will reveal His power through you. 16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 6

God has graciously bestowed rich blessings on His believing people, laying them under obligation to be meek and lowly in heart, patient under trial, willing to forgive injuries, and determined to preserve the unity and harmony which God has declared should exist among His people. We are not all constituted alike. In accordance with His wise purpose, and for the promotion of His kingdom, God bestows varied gifts upon His servants. These gifts are to be appreciated. 16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 7

They are bestowed for the holiness and happiness of those who are united with the great Master-Worker in the work of preparing a people to stand in the day of the Lord. Every God-given endowment is to be rightly appreciated and rightly used. 16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 8

Read and ponder the third chapter of Ephesians. Let its noble truth take hold upon your soul. This chapter reveals the work that is to be done for everyone who is saved. Christ is to be revealed in us and by us and through us. 16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 9

On no human power can we depend. It is God’s power, my brother, that qualifies us for service. It is this power that gives success. No human being is to seek to control another’s conscience. No man is to come between God and His heritage. Every mind is to be imbued with the wisdom which comes from God alone. 16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 10

Men do not always view things as God views them. They see disaster where there is triumph, and cause for bitter weeping when they should see cause for joy. Only on the power of Omniscience can we safely depend. That which human judgment might depreciate is often of the highest value. Movements which human judgment would not favor are often expedient in an emergency. 16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 11

At times the disciples of Christ manifest strong confidence in Him. Then again, when something occurs to disappoint their expectations, they act as though they had lost hold upon God. Were it not that God is merciful, kind, forbearing and longsuffering, we would utterly perish in our perversity. 16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 12

Only when a man is enlightened by the Holy Spirit, only when he has a living union with Christ, is he a safe guide and teacher. The mind of one who acts as leader, directing and advising, must be daily enlightened by the Spirit regarding God’s will. Understanding what this will is, he is to move steadily forward, determined to carry out the divine purpose. He is not to carry out his own will, or the will of any man, but the will of God. Then God will co-operate with him. 16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 13

The gospel of Christ is designed to make men and women members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King. Through Christ we have a free access to our heavenly Father. The Saviour leads us to unite in the bonds of holy union. When the church reveals a oneness divested of all selfishness, the impression that God desires to see will be made on the world. Those who are not seeking for this unity are not imbued with the Spirit of God. They are not a power for good in the world, for they cannot impart that which they have not received. 16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 14

Among Christians there is to be Christlike unity and unselfish love. God will utterly destroy all self-exaltation. In His prayer for His disciples and for us Christ said, “Neither pray I for these alone; but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” [John 17:20, 21.] 16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 15

Can we be surprised that the enemy of God seeks to prevent this wonderful testimony from being borne, by causing variance and strife and discord among Christ’s followers? 16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 16

Christians are to work unitedly under their great Head. He will supply all their deficiencies if they will accept Him as their Leader. 16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 17

“And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.” [Verse 22.] I have given them the glory which thou hast given me, that in their unselfish love for one another, the world may see the excellence of the truth. 16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 18

When Christians truly believe these words, no glory will be given to man. No one will seek his own glory. All dissension and strife will cease. No human kingly power will be exercised. The believers will be one in Christ. 16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 19

O that the people of God would believe and practice the instruction contained in the seventeenth chapter of John! They do not yet reach God’s standard of unity. But it must be reached. Every thread of selfishness must be taken out of the web. 16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 20

It is the duty of those to whom truth has been given to strive to reveal to the world the power and efficiency of truth. Believers in Christ are to make known God’s love and the happiness and blessedness found in His service. As they do this they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. 16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 21

The unity and love of believers is to condemn the unbelief of the world. It is to convince unbelievers that God has sent His Son into the world. Christ brings true disciples into close union with Him, and binds them to one another in the deepest interest and love. Thus the world is convinced of the truth of Christ’s mission. Thus the Saviour is rewarded for His infinite sacrifice and His unceasing labor as Mediator. 16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 22

There is a great difference between the spirit of the world and the Spirit of Christ. Those who are actuated by the spirit of the world seek only their own good. Those who are actuated by the Spirit of Christ are filled with a desire to work for the good of others. 16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 23

God wants to save men and women. Before an unbelieving, sin-loving world, He desires to reveal the power of His grace and the perfection of His character. Through those who are willing to learn and to obey, God will make known His power and glory in the world. The man who is willing to be moulded and fashioned by the divine hand will reveal a symmetrical character. In word, in spirit, in action, he will reveal Christlikeness. Thus God desires His people to show forth His power. 16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 24

Truth is the great means of sanctification. The more clearly the will of God is understood and the more faithfully it is practiced, the more consistent and pure and holy will be the character. God’s people are now to put forth the most determined efforts to be one with Christ in God. Jesus is preparing the members of God’s family on earth to take possession of the heavenly mansions He has prepared for them. 16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 25