Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 10 (1895)

Lt 24, 1895

Ekman, Sister

North Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia

May 19, 1895

This letter is published in entirety in 12MR 33-39.

Dear Sister Ekman:

Your letter reached me on my return from Tasmania, two days since. I have not forgotten you, nor the visit I made your family, where we were so hospitably entertained. I would be pleased if I could sit down by your side and talk with you face to face, but since thousands of miles of the broad waters separate between us, I will talk to you with my pen. 10LtMs, Lt 24, 1895, par. 1

I have a message from the Lord for you. Hear His voice speaking to you: “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. ... Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in welldoing, as unto a faithful Creator.” [1 Peter 4:12-14, 19.] 10LtMs, Lt 24, 1895, par. 2

You are in perplexity as to what is the best course for you to pursue. Please consider that the Lord is acquainted with you. He knows every event connected with your life. He knoweth our frame, that we are but dust. Knowing this, He desires to impress us with the conviction that our only hope is in and through the merits of Jesus Christ. Of our own selves we cannot bear the weight of our own sins, nor atone for our mistakes and errors, but the Lord has provided a way of escape: for it is because He saw us sinners, unable to save ourselves, that God’s great heart was touched, and He “so loved the world, (in their degradation and sin) that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” [John 3:16.] 10LtMs, Lt 24, 1895, par. 3

This promise is to you, my beloved sister. Jesus loves you. You have been purchased by the Lord Jesus Christ. He gave His precious life to redeem you. Through faith, you are a child of promise. In giving Jesus, in that one precious Gift, our heavenly Father gave you all the treasures of heaven. And when you come to God in prayer, bear in mind that He is your Father, and that He regards you as His child. He looks upon you with the most tender pity. He will not forsake you, though you may be the weakest, the very feeblest of His creatures. If you put your trust in Him, He abideth faithful. 10LtMs, Lt 24, 1895, par. 4

You are not to entertain the thought that because you have made mistakes and your life has been darkened with errors, that your heavenly Father does not love you, and therefore has forsaken you. No, dear sister. I tell you NO! Jesus loves you still. His eye is upon you, and He “will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” [1 Corinthians 10:13.] 10LtMs, Lt 24, 1895, par. 5

You may say, I have sinned against God; but if you have, you are just the one who needs the Saviour, for Christ is our Sin-bearer. He says, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” [Mark 2:17.] When Satan tells you that the Lord has forgotten you and will not regard you with favor, tell him you know in whom you believe. 10LtMs, Lt 24, 1895, par. 6

Say to him, “Get thee behind me Satan. Jesus gave His own life for me. He suffered a most cruel death that He might save me from being overcome by your temptations. I believe in Jesus. I know my Saviour loves me, and I love my Jesus. I rest in His love, notwithstanding my imperfections. God has accepted His perfection in my behalf. He is my righteousness, and I trust in his merits. I am his repenting, believing child. He has taken away my sin-stained garments and covered me with the robe of His righteousness. Clothed in this garment I stand before the Father justified. I am of that number who are addressed as the ‘elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit.’” And what constitutes them the “elect”? “Obedience and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” Therefore he adds, “Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.” [1 Peter 1:2.] 10LtMs, Lt 24, 1895, par. 7

If we were perfect, we would not need a Saviour, a Redeemer to rescue us from the slavery of Satan. But if we have sinned, let us rejoice with Peter when he recovered himself from his fall. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” [Verses 3-5.] Therefore, our Saviour’s voice echoes back from the clouds as He ascended to heaven: “Let not your hearts be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also.” [John 14:1-3.] 10LtMs, Lt 24, 1895, par. 8

When Christ rose from the dead, He proclaimed in triumph, over Joseph’s sepulcher, rent by the power of God, “I am the resurrection and the life.” [John 11:25.] Jesus died to prove that he loves you, and he has risen again, and ascended on high. And now He stands before His Father as your Advocate. He pleads your case before the throne of God, and you may say, I have slept over my task, but I will trust in Jesus Christ for pardon. As a little child believes in and trusts in its loving parents, even so do I hope in thee, O my Saviour. 10LtMs, Lt 24, 1895, par. 9

My dear sister, you are the Lord’s purchased possession. We have a merciful and faithful High Priest. “Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered, being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.” [Hebrews 2:17, 18.] 10LtMs, Lt 24, 1895, par. 10

My dear sister in Christ Jesus, you cannot keep yourself one moment. You are kept by the power of God through faith. Let your faith rest in His merits, rely upon His mercy, trust in the sufficiency of His grace to keep you every moment. Never allow the enemy to obtain an advantage over you because you do not think you are good enough to be called a child of God. By faith you are to constantly repose in the righteousness which God has provided you through His Substitute, Jesus Christ the Righteous. He forgiveth sins, and pardoneth iniquities and transgressions. He takes away our sin and in its place imputes His own righteousness. What a blessing this is for us! It is only as you take God at His Word, accept Jesus Christ as your Redeemer, that you preserve the honor of God, that you show “that you are kept by the power of God through faith ready to be revealed in the last time.” [1 Peter 1:5.] 10LtMs, Lt 24, 1895, par. 11

Why this revelation of the power of faith in the last time? Why is it to be revealed in the very close of this world’s history? because iniquity abounds, and the love of many waxes cold, through the deceptive workings of the satanic agencies, who especially oppose the commandment keeping people of God at this time and bring trial and sorrow upon them. In these closing days of probation, days of great trial of faith, you cannot keep yourself. You are kept by the power of God alone, which is revealed in a special manner to offset the working of Satan through the children of disobedience. He would grieve and hurt the soul of everyone who would be loyal and true, who would keep the way of the Lord and do His commandments. Manifold temptations will come to all who believe in Jesus. Satan will seek to discourage those who manifest their love for God by keeping His commandments. 10LtMs, Lt 24, 1895, par. 12

The warfare against God’s law commenced in heaven. Satan was determined to bring God to his ideas, his way, to force Him to change the law of His government. This was the cause of the war in heaven. Satan worked upon the sympathies of the angelic host by his deceptive attitude, but he was expelled from heaven, and now he is determined to carry out on this earth the plans instituted in heaven. If he can persuade man to be disloyal to the law of God, he will feel that he is revenged upon God. He strives to instill into the minds of men his masterly deceptions, thus perverting judgment and justice, and trampling down the law of God. This work—the conflict between truth and error—lies at the foundation of the trials and tribulations which the children of God will experience. This is the “trial of their faith.” [Verse 7.] 10LtMs, Lt 24, 1895, par. 13

By pressing upon the soul the idea that God is displeased with us, Satan tries to torture us into unbelief. But we are to “rejoice in the Lord alway,” “though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: that the trial of your faith being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. Whom having not seen, yet love: in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.” [Philippians 4:4; 1 Peter 1:6-9.] The Lord Jesus is our only hope. He is your hope, and I am commissioned in His name to ask you to put your entire trust in Him. “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with Him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” [Isaiah 57:15.] 10LtMs, Lt 24, 1895, par. 14

Although God is so high and holy, and though His glory and majesty fills the heavens, yet He looks with pitying tenderness upon all that tremble at His Word. These are the contrite ones. They may feel that they can scarcely hope in His mercy, yet they are the special objects of His care and love. “I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.” [Verse 18.] 10LtMs, Lt 24, 1895, par. 15

“Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed; neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame ... For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of Hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall he be called.” [Isaiah 54:4, 5.] My sister, this is the word of God to you. Look to your precious Saviour and live. Let your faith take hold of the hope He presents to you in His Word. 10LtMs, Lt 24, 1895, par. 16

As you ask the Lord to help you, honor your Saviour by believing that you do receive His blessings. Mutual love between you and your Saviour will enable you to do His will against every opposing element. When you have a plain “Thus saith the Lord” for your course of action, He will sustain you. Cherish a spirit of kindness and affection for your children, but in your love for them do not lose sight of the requirements of God. Do not evade His claims. 10LtMs, Lt 24, 1895, par. 17

The efficiency of the Lord’s work upon the earth depends upon those whom He has made stewards of His means. We cannot afford to practice robbery toward God. If we are true to Him, we may be assured of His help. These must be harmonious action among those who are members of the body of Christ. My sister, God has entrusted to you the work of blessing and comforting those of like precious faith. Look up and believe in Jesus, and by your example, be a light to others. He has given His precious life to save you, and He wants you to respond to His love with cheerful service. 10LtMs, Lt 24, 1895, par. 18

Christ has sent you His invitation: “Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” [Matthew 11:28-30.] Then if Christ has not placed upon you a galling yoke, do not take one which any human being has made. Co-operating with Jesus Christ makes His yoke easy for you, and your daily burdens will be lightened by communion with Him. Let no earthly ties, however dear, obstruct the course of duty which He has made plain, but let no human agents frame duties for you. 10LtMs, Lt 24, 1895, par. 19

Do not let depression or discouragement mar your representation of Christ. “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” [1 Peter 2:9.] Then let your light be seen. Educate your heart and lips to speak the praises of God for His matchless love to you. If you will educate your soul to be hopeful and to see the light shining from the cross of Calvary, you will not walk in the shadow, but in the glorious rays of His righteousness. You will see His salvation brought near, and rejoice in the hope of a glorious immortality. 10LtMs, Lt 24, 1895, par. 20

As you contemplate the cross, you will realize that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that you should not perish, but have everlasting life. This theme will ever be as fresh manna from heaven. It is indeed sacred and yet is brought so near to us that we can by faith bring it into our practical life. When we have done this, we shall indeed realize that we are “laborers together with God” [1 Corinthians 3:9], and in giving all diligence to make our calling and election sure, we are doing our Master’s work, for the more consecrated we are, the better we can work to save for souls of those for whom He has given His life. 10LtMs, Lt 24, 1895, par. 21