Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)
Ms 8, 1899
Talk/A Talk Given by Sister White at the Opening of the Cooranbong School.
NP
February 1, 1899
Portions of this manuscript are published in OHC 19; 1MCP 190; 2MCP 806; 8MR 261.
There is a great responsibility resting upon those here today who have in the past been connected with this school. They have been given many precious opportunities. The Word of God has been opened before them day after day. They have had the privilege of listening to the message God sent them. They have had the opportunity of knowing what God requires from every human being. Therefore a great responsibility rests upon them. 14LtMs, Ms 8, 1899, par. 1
We read in the Word, “We are laborers together with God.” [1 Corinthians 3:9.] If you could only begin to feel one hundredth part of the burden I feel as I read these words, you would have no trouble in the school here. If you could only realize that you are probationers, that the God of heaven takes those who have been rebels against His government, and says, You may be laborers together with me, you would this day consecrate yourselves wholly to Him. You may be in living connection with Jesus Christ. You may be channels of light. 14LtMs, Ms 8, 1899, par. 2
Is it not wonderful that we can receive the rich current of grace from Deity, and work in harmony with Deity? What does Deity want with us, poor, weak, and feeble as we are? What can Deity do with us? Everything, if we are willing to surrender all. God loves every youth. He knows all about your trials. He knows that you will have to battle against the powers of darkness, who strive to gain control of the human mind. This school has been established in the order of God, that young men and young women may be partakers of the divine nature by linking up with Christ. The good that we may accomplish by thus uniting with our Saviour we never shall know till as overcomers we enter the city of God. 14LtMs, Ms 8, 1899, par. 3
I used to think, when God called me in my very childhood to work for Him, What can I do? God says, Do my bidding. This is all that any of us need to do. I want to tell you what each of you, from the oldest to the youngest, can do for this school. You can co-operate with God, with your teachers, and with one another. Are you prepared to co-operate with those who carry a burden for the school? If so, you will not drift along from day to day just where your inclination leads you without an anxiety on your mind. You will not study how to please yourself. You will realize that you are responsible for the influence you exert. 14LtMs, Ms 8, 1899, par. 4
At the very beginning of this term of school, it is your privilege to understand the meaning of the words, “We are laborers together with God.” “Ye are God’s husbandry.” Think of it! He is seeking to work the mind, just as you work the land. He is trying to sow seed that will bear fruit to His glory. “Ye are God’s building.” [Verse 9.] But God does not build without any care for you. He says to each one of you, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” [Matthew 11:28-30.] Where do we find rest. In meekness and lowliness. In submitting to God as a dutiful child submits to his father. 14LtMs, Ms 8, 1899, par. 5
Here are your teachers. Instead of complaining about them being too strict, come into line with them. Draw with Christ. Take His yoke upon you and learn of Him, for He is meek and lowly in heart. You will never need to complain of your teachers’ strictness if you will keep faithful watch over yourselves, guarding jealously the citadel of the heart. Ever remember the words. “What, know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” [1 Corinthians 6:19, 20.] God longs to work in you, to will and to do of His good pleasure. Are you willing to submit to His working? The success of the school depends upon the consecration and sanctification of the students, upon the holy influence [that] under God they feel bound to exert. 14LtMs, Ms 8, 1899, par. 6
We must put to the stretch every spiritual nerve and muscle if we would stand as Daniel stood. God spoke of Daniel as a man greatly beloved. Would we not rejoice if this could be said of us? Strive to be like Daniel, affable, kind, forbearing. Show great love for those who are seeking to help you to form right characters. Do all you can to help yourselves, that your intelligence may reach the highest point of excellence, as God wishes it to. He does not desire you to remain novices. He wants you to reach the very highest round of the ladder, and then step from it into the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 14LtMs, Ms 8, 1899, par. 7
God needs in His work everything that you can gain here in the lines of mental culture and keen discernment. The Lord desires you to understand the position you occupy as sons and daughters of the Most High, children of the heavenly King. He desires you to live in close connection with Him, so that your words may educate those around you. Cut away from everything frivolous. Do not think that you must indulge in this pleasure and that pleasure. Determine that you will be on the Lord’s side from the beginning to the close of this term. If you will stand under the bloodstained banner of Prince Emmanuel, faithfully doing His service, you need never yield to temptation, for One stands by your side who is able to keep you from falling. Let the impression go from this place that the school here is just what the Lord would have it—a school carried on in a different manner and for holier objects than any school that has ever been established. 14LtMs, Ms 8, 1899, par. 8
Do not feel as though you could not trust the Lord. You are here in the school family as part of the family firm. You are here to be trained and disciplined, here to use the powers you have to make the school a success. If you give yourself up to this work, you will have something to say when you write to your friends. You will be able to say, I am gaining and mental and physical power. I am gaining an experience I never had before. 14LtMs, Ms 8, 1899, par. 9
But God cannot carry forward this work unless you give Him all the powers of heart and mind. Let your teachers understand that you are on their side. You are working for time and for eternity. The angels of God are watching the development of character in this school. God is weighing moral worth. He longs to see every mind used aright. He has given you the precious talent of reason, and He calls upon you to use it aright. He desires you to feel that you can acquire and will acquire greater and greater strength. 14LtMs, Ms 8, 1899, par. 10
Take heed to yourselves, lest you lead others astray. If by your wrong course of action others are turned aside from the right way, this is recorded against you in the books of heaven. We have one great object before us—the salvation of our souls. Christ left the royal courts and come to this earth in human flesh, to show us that we may co-operate with Him to save our souls. After He has made this great sacrifice for us, should we deem any sacrifice too great to keep our passions, our inherited and cultivated tendencies to wrong, under control? 14LtMs, Ms 8, 1899, par. 11
This is what we need. We desire that this work shall be accomplished in our school. We are praying for it. Do not make the burden too heavy for us. Pray for yourselves. Take a firm hold of the arm of divine power, determining as did Daniel not to swerve from any duty. Harness your habits. Put on the bit and bridle. Say, I love the Lord, and I am determined to use every particle of my intelligence in His work. 14LtMs, Ms 8, 1899, par. 12
We are living amid the perils of the last days. We need to receive an education as missionaries. Let each one here make up his mind that he will not stand in the army of the enemy. We are working for eternity, and we expect to receive light and grace from the Lord. Strive to reach all that it is possible for you to reach with the blessing of God. When you have such a Helper, when angels of God are watching your every movement, when all heaven is interested in your welfare, will you not do all in your power for yourselves? 14LtMs, Ms 8, 1899, par. 13
I feel an intense interest in you. Let us all, teachers and students, and I with you, draw in even cords. Let us be determined that this school shall not be regarded as a lie. We have said that it should be the best school ever established; let us make it so. You can do this if you will. God help us that we may overcome as Christ overcame, and sit with Him in His throne. May God help the teachers and give them wisdom. Dealing with human minds is the most delicate work that can be done, and teachers need to be inspired by the Spirit of God, that they may be able to do their work aright. Students, will you help them? Will you let your sympathies go out to your teachers? God grant it. May the Spirit of God rest upon this school, and may you [have] His blessing and approval every day, is my prayer. 14LtMs, Ms 8, 1899, par. 14