Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 25 (1910 - 1915)

Ms 17, 1912

Sermon/Accepting the Promise

Los Angeles, California

March 16, 1912

Previously unpublished.

(Remarks by Mrs. E. G. White, Temple Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, Sabbath afternoon, March 16, 1912.)

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the husbandman. Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit, He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the vine, ye are the branches; he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” [John 15:1-6.] 25LtMs, Ms 17, 1912, par. 1

What a promise is this from the lips of Jesus Christ, the Son of the infinite God! And what a work is brought to our attention! This is the work before us—fruit-bearing for Christ. Every one for whom Christ has given His life should learn to know his duty to live and labor for others. 25LtMs, Ms 17, 1912, par. 2

It was that He might save you unto eternal life that Jesus gave His precious life. And eternal life is yours, if you will accept the Gift. But if you go on indifferent, careless, self-serving, and doing just as you please, then that precious promise cannot be fulfilled in your behalf. You must abide in Christ. My brethren and sisters, will you accept it? believe it? carry it out in your daily life? Or will you go carelessly on, indifferent to the lessons that Christ would have you learn from His life of sacrifice and service? It is for you to decide whether you will accept what God offers you for your present and eternal good. 25LtMs, Ms 17, 1912, par. 3

What are all the riches in the world in comparison with the fulfilment to you of Christ’s promise: “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you”? [Verse 7.] When we realize the fulness of blessing that is thus brought within our reach, we shall begin to comprehend something of what eternal life will mean to us. And we need to realize what great blessings in this life are assured to those who comply with the conditions that Christ enjoins. If we believed the promise as we should, there would not be so little zeal, so little love, so little fruit revealed in the lives of God’s professed people. 25LtMs, Ms 17, 1912, par. 4

“Herein is My Father glorified,” the Saviour continued, “that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples. As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you: continue ye in My love. If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is My commandment, that ye love one another; as I have loved you.” [Verses 8-12.] 25LtMs, Ms 17, 1912, par. 5

It is by maintaining a living connection with God that we learn to take Him at His word and to claim His promises as our own. The Father gave His only Son to pass through the experiences of human life, that He might make it possible for us to have the life that measures with His own. In the life of Christ is the great Gift that God has prepared for every soul who will believe Him and accept the promise. 25LtMs, Ms 17, 1912, par. 6

“Greater love hath no man than this,” Christ declares, “that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of My Father, I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He may give it you.” [Verses 13-16.] 25LtMs, Ms 17, 1912, par. 7

These are the words of the Eternal, the One who rules in the heavens and who controls all things. He bids you commit the keeping of your soul to Him as to a faithful Creator. Then the cares and anxieties that worry you now will seem but a light affair. 25LtMs, Ms 17, 1912, par. 8

To every believer in Christ the words are spoken, “These things I command you, That ye love one another.” [Verse 17.] My brethren and sisters, study the truths of this chapter, and try to comprehend their height, their depth, their spirituality, their power to bring to pass the very thing that Christ came to earth to accomplish. To those who will walk in faith, and in obedience to the will of God, who will yield the life to His control, salvation is assured. They will stand within the city of our God, to go no more out forever. Again I say: Take your Bibles, and study these words at your homes; and may the Lord give you understanding as you seek to know His will and to be guided by His Spirit. 25LtMs, Ms 17, 1912, par. 9