Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Lt 160, 1903

Hart, Brother and Sister [R. A.]

Oakland, California

March, 1903

Portions of this letter are published in Ev 447.

Dear Brother and Sister Hart,—

I should be very much pleased to see you both and to converse with you. I regret that this cannot be. 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 1

We have wonderful opportunities, in this age of the world, to do work for the Master, and we should consider these opportunities in the fear of God. We feel deeply over the fact that the cities of America are not worked as they should be. 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 2

At the time of our baptism, we pledged ourselves in the presence of the three most powerful agencies of heaven—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost—that we would henceforth walk in newness of life. At the same time, all Heaven pledged itself to endow us with the power of the Holy Spirit. The fulfilment of our pledge is represented in the third chapter of Colossians: “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth.” [Verses 1-5.] Read the entire chapter. In striving to win in the Christian conflict, we are not to try to overcome in our own strength, but in the strength of these mighty Powers that have promised to lead and guide us onward to victory. 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 3

Life and inspiration are brought into the church only when the church members constantly depend on these pledged Powers for help and strength. God is always ready to help those who call on Him in faith. If we act our part faithfully as co-laborers with Him, all the Powers of heaven are at our command. We are authorized to put our entire trust in the Head of the church, who has pledged Himself in His Word to give us the presence of the Holy Spirit in proportion to our necessities. 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 4

The true believer has a right to expect that sinners will be converted as the result of his labors, because he is one with those who believe in Christ; because he represents Christ in character. God will hear the prayers that are offered in faith. The church must come into her appointed place and by faith and true works prepare to sow the seeds of truth in every field where God’s messengers shall find an entrance. 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 5

We ask the members of the church, Are you converted? From the apostle John comes the message to the church, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” [1 John 5:21.] A commercial spirit must not be permitted to come into our church or into any of our institutions. Sharp, money-making practices are Satan’s snares. Every man who is not converted is an idolater. Those who are satisfied to remain under the power of worldly influences will meet with sorrow and disappointment. 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 6

Christ asks, “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” [Mark 8:36, 37.] My dear brother, let me tell you in the name of the Lord that your spiritual position, and the position of many others in Battle Creek, has been presented to me as perilous. If you remain where you are now, there will be no future blessedness for your soul. 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 7

Brother Hart, the Lord has instructed me to present before you a world that needs to be warned and saved. He says to you, “When thou art converted, thou canst be a laborer together with God.” But your present spiritual condition is portrayed in the words of Christ, spoken through John the Revelator, to the church at Ephesus: “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” [Revelation 2:4, 5.] 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 8

The message sent to the church at Sardis is applicable alike to you and to all others who are developing similar characters: “These things saith He that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.” [Revelation 3:1-3.] 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 9

My brother, Jesus says to you: “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels. ... As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne.” [Verses 5, 19-21.] 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 10

*****

“Elmshaven,” St. Helena, California

July 30, 1903

My brother, my sister, will you realize that you are greatly indebted to God, and that you should strive to meet this indebtedness with a sense that you belong to Him, and that you are to use all your powers in His service? I see so much to be done; and in the night, representations pass before me that bring me great sadness. 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 11

Brother and Sister Hart, add to every prayer that you offer the prayer that Christ taught His disciples, and through the day study this prayer as a lesson of the highest value. Strive, by good works, to answer it. 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 12

Man has broken the law of Jehovah and is under sentence of death. But Christ paid the penalty, and if we receive Him as our Saviour, He pleads for us before the Father, saying, “I have taken the debt upon Myself. I have paid the penalty. I gave My life, the Just for the unjust. The law has not been changed. I became surety for the debtor. I died that through My merits man might stand before Jehovah accepted in the Beloved. He who believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. He who liveth and believeth on Me hath everlasting life.” 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 13

“You hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” [Ephesians 2:1.] “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believed on His name.” [John 1:12.] But we cannot be accepted while we continue to transgress. We are brought to God through Christ only as we accept the obligation resting on us to obey the law and are renewed in the spirit of our mind. “Wherefore,” Paul writes, “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” [1 Corinthians 15:58.] 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 14

Brother and Sister Hart, do not, I entreat of you, regard the destruction of the printing office as a matter with which the Lord had nothing to do. For years it has been presented to me that the Lord would turn and overturn until His people understood that He is in earnest with them. 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 15

“And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” [Ephesians 2:1.] Christ will give us the vivifying influence of His Holy Spirit. This is what you both need, else you will never see the kingdom of God. When you are converted, you will see Christ as your sin-pardoning Saviour. 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 16

I have just read the following incident: “An old man, about seventy or eighty years of age, was once brought to me, as a monument of God’s mercy. I asked him how old he was. He looked at me for a little while, and then said in faltering tones, while the tears ran down his cheeks, ‘I am two years old.’ I expressed my surprise, and then he said, ‘Ah, until two years ago I lived the life of a dead man. I never knew what it was to live until I met with the life that is hid with Christ in God.’” 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 17

As I read this, I thought, What a beautiful idea! God has engraved it in my heart. “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory.” [Colossians 3:4.] What a miracle of mercy that will be! Is this your hope—not a casual hope, but a hope well grounded and secure? 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 18

Have we not, in our experience, reached the time typified by the offering of the lamb on the night of Israel’s deliverance out of Egypt? The ceremonies connected with this time are of deep significance to us. They were to eat the lamb with the staff in their hand, with shoes on their feet, and with their loins girded. Does not this show us that we are to stand prepared to meet our foes? Are we not to be armed with the promises of God, that we may put to flight our enemies? 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 19

Let us be prepared; for the great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly. Let us be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, ready to march at a moment’s notice. Every hour is precious. We have no time to use in self-gratification. All around us there are souls perishing in sin. Every day there is something to do for the Master. Every day we are to point souls to the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world. 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 20

I am instructed to tell you to prepare to meet your Lord in peace; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. And in saying this to you, I say it, also, to the whole of the Battle Creek church. Be ye always ready. Go to your rest at night with every sin confessed. Thus we did when we expected to meet our Lord. And now this great event is nearer than when we first believed. Be ye also ready, in the evening, at morning, and at noon, that when the cry comes, “Behold the Bridegroom cometh! go ye out to meet Him” [Matthew 25:6], you may, even though awakened out of sleep, go forth to meet Him with your lamps trimmed and burning. 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 21

You need now to trim your lamps, and fill them with oil. God wants you to fill your vessels with the holy oil. Your hearts are to be filled with sacred zeal, else you will be found unready. I am instructed to say to you, Put your means in circulation to establish in various places memorials for the Lord. We must all do what we can to give the warning in places that have never heard the message for this time. Do not keep the Lord’s money bound up where it is doing nothing to advance His cause. 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 22

Study the scenes connected with the departure of the Israelites from the land of bondage. Prepare for the call, “Behold the Bridegroom cometh! go ye out to meet Him.” [Verse 6.] Not only are you to be aroused; you are to arouse others. The time will soon come when it will be impossible to do the work that ought to have been done years ago. “Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end.” [1 Peter 1:13.] If you would move in the Lord’s order, turn your attention wholly to yourselves for a while, until you have no disposition to criticize others. Prepare to meet thy God. You have no time to bind yourselves up with worldly interests. 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 23

Do not worry about Dr. Kellogg or talk discouragingly concerning him. Keep looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. You are not ready, you are not prepared, for the scenes that ere long will open before us. I want you to break the spell that is upon you. “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” [1 Corinthians 15:58.] Your mind must be renewed, your character reformed; your thoughts, words, and deeds must be such that they will show that the miracle-working power of God has transformed the whole man. 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 24

When this miracle has been wrought out for you, keep praying, watching, and working. Never allow yourselves to fall back into the worldly condition that you have been in in the past. If you would meet Jesus in peace when He comes, and be made like Him, your efforts of preparation must never flag. What a blessing it is to know that as we watch and pray and work, we may have the assurance that our labors are not in vain in the Lord. 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 25

God sends to the individual members of the church this message: “Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not.” [Luke 12:33.] The Lord calls upon you to send the light of truth to fields right here in America that have never heard the message. We must do all we possibly can to work every place and to raise up workers who can give the message. We must stand prepared to meet anything that shall come. 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 26

Consecrate yourselves to God for service. If you would be partakers of His glory, you must be partakers of His suffering. Let no evil speech go forth from your lips. Let your words be profitable unto all. Let your works reveal the miracle-working power of God. 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 27

My brother, my sister, are you prepared to be partakers of Christ’s self-denial and self-sacrifice? What is life? Why is it that we who are human live not the life of the brute creation? Oh, it is because Christ so loved fallen human beings that He laid aside His royal robe and kingly crown, and stepping down from His high command in the heavenly courts, came to this world as a man, that humanity might touch humanity, and divinity grasp the throne of the Infinite. Our life is of value to God and of value to ourselves, because of the great price that has been paid for it. Those who live mere animal lives are not fulfilling God’s purpose for them. He designs His blood-bought heritage to live lives filled with great possibilities and probabilities. Christ became poor that we might inherit eternal riches. Every man, through the merits of the blood of Christ, may become a new creature in Christ, possessing a new nature. 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 28

My brother and sister, your two lives are worth more than a thousand worlds if of you it can in the heavenly courts be said, “They are dead, and their lives are hid with Christ in God.” [Colossians 3:3.] “You hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” [Ephesians 2:1.] It is yours to say, “I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” [Galatians 2:20.] The richest of heaven’s blessings are ours through the gospel of our Redeemer. We may rise to our high privileges. Shall we not make a determined effort to live wholly for God? 18LtMs, Lt 160, 1903, par. 29