Important Testimony to our Brethren in New York

NI.1900-02-28.001

You want to buy of Christ gold, white raiment, and eyesalve. Study this message to the Laodicean church, for it applies to many in New York. You need to be zealous and repent. Please consider, zealous does not mean a few feeble prayers and half-hearted confessions, it means, a zealous, earnest, determined effort to conquer your worldly, selfish love, and to be consecrated, devoted Christians, shedding a tender warmth and love wherever you are. You must have a waking up, and heart culture, or you will fail of heaven. Christ is coming. Are you ready? Are you waiting? Are you loving his appearing? What a wondrous love Christ has evidenced for us! He has said, «Love one another as I have loved you.» We need purity, truth, helpfulness, and the love of Christ that sanctifies our influence. We must be full of Christ and then we shall estimate worldly things in the light of God, and when at work upon your farms, when engaged in your business vocations, you are not separating your souls from God, because you labor with the true purpose and object, recognizing God as the owner of all that you possess and you seeking wisdom to use his goods to advance his glory. You then are ministering, not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. Then human lives will be blessed through your influence. The mind will be on heavenly things, you will be as in the presence of Jesus, and diffuse light to all around you. A truly Christian life will cost us thoughtfulness, searching of the Scriptures, and most earnest, persevering prayer. It will not be prayer without point and purpose, but it will be the intercession of a heart burdened for poor sinners out of Christ. It will be a heart longing to do service for Jesus in personal effort for the saving of souls of men. Jesus made great sacrifices for these souls. «Ye are laborers together with God.» Many of you who have been years in the truth have not advanced in the spiritual and divine life, because worldly business has been exalted above the heavenly. The work of God ever calls for self-sacrificing men, and every soul who has the knowledge of the truth is bound to communicate the light to others, cultivating all the graces of the Spirit to do this precious work to God’s acceptance.

NI.1900-02-28.002

Your lifeless, heartless, frozen-up efforts are not acceptable to God. There is no excuse for you to do so little for Jesus, when he has done so much for you. Does not God behold your works? He says, «I know thy works;» God witnesses the heart service, and God witnesses the mere lip service. We are in perilous times. If you had kept pace with the opening providence of God, and made the most of the light and privileges granted to you, you would to-day be a power in the world. You would not need these words I now write you, you would be all light in the Lord; divine power and glory would be manifested in your gatherings. According to your faith so shall it be unto you. If your faith claims little, you will receive only little. If you by faith see the great work to be done in the harvest field, you would see that there are too few laborers. You would fall upon your knees and pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers in New York. Then you would say to those who would go forth to work in the cities, in the high-ways and hedges, with the compelling message, «I will do the very best in my power to sustain you, and I will work to the very best of my ability to reflect light upon our neighbors and to be a bright and shining light in the church, that our faith and our prayers shall go forth as sharp sickles with the laborers in the harvest field. We have work to do, a solemn work, which must bear the test of the Judgment.» Mrs. E. G. White. [Continued.]

NI.1900-03-07.001

We are called to have a superior faith, because of increased light above the light of God’s ancient people. Whosoever will be the friend of the world, is the enemy of God. The times in which we are living call for you who believe, to arouse, to put the armor on. You have not done any too much, but not enough. The natural consequence of works in accordance with your faith is an increased knowledge of truth and experience in heavenly things, a higher degree of consecration of all our powers and all our possessions to God; and the more firmly we walk in the path of faith, the greater will be our separation from the world, and from darkness. We will come closer and still closer to the side of the Great Light of the world. Christ is coming. We shall enter upon the year 1887 before this reaches you. Will you give to God a New Year’s offering? Will you consecrate yourselves, soul, body, and spirit to God? Will you lay upon his altar that which belongs to God? Will you cut loose from the world, and will you evidence that you believe the truth? Will you cease to rob God in tithes and in offerings? «Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.»

NI.1900-03-07.002

I was in my dream a few nights since talking with you who were assembled. A large congregation was before me. I talked, I wept, I prayed, and some seemed to be as unimpressible as the granite rocks, but there was a mighty revealing of the Spirit of God. Jesus walked through our midst, he touched one and another, and still another, and how their faces lighted up! They praised God with joyful hearts. Some were passed by. Light was shining, everywhere, but some poor souls Jesus looked upon with pity; they slunk into dark corners, they did not try to come to the light, while others rushed from the darkness, forcing their way, as tho it was life or death with them, and the cry went forth as I never heard it before, «What shall I do to be saved?» There were confessions of sins; there was rejoicing of sins forgiven. It seemed to me they were reigned up before the Judgment. But all did not participate. They had not been walking in the company of Jesus, but apart from him, and they did not realize his presence. They seemed to think it was not Jesus. Alas! they did not know him! What a solemn impression was left upon minds! I feel that it is time to awake out of sleep, to arise from the dead, and Christ will give you life. Ye are a royal nation, a peculiar people to show forth the praises of Him, who hath called you out of the darkness into his marvelous light. O, we may sit together in heavenly places! The light shineth in darkness, but the darkness comprehendeth it not. God forbid that we should lose the heavenly blessings because we do not comprehend the light. We must be God’s peculiar people in good works.

NI.1900-03-07.003

May the Lord help you to put away darkness, and come to the light. Where there is one man laboring in New York there ought to be one hundred. The Lord has given the light of truth, but men who have means are encouraged in the covetousness which will prove their ruin, by limiting the work of God to meet the selfishness, and worldly-loving spirit of those who claim to believe the truth. Brethren, it is too late in the day for this kind of work. The precious light which has been freely given to us of God was not given to Sodom or Gomorrah, or they would not have perished in their sins. We have superior advantages, and we shall be judged by the light and privileges of the times in which we are living. God will not give judgment in our favor, because like Capernaum we are now exalted to heaven in point of privileges. But what use have we made of God’s blessings? Are we walking in the light, working in the light, in accordance with the holy character of truth which we possess? There is a great work to be done in home missions. In laboring in America you do not have the difficulties which we have here in Europe. What is wanted is men sanctified in heart and life, elevated and ennobled by the greatness of the truth. We need men who will have the true enterprising spirit of doing something, who will walk humbly with God, and who will strive to push the triumphs of the cross of Christ.

NI.1900-03-07.004

May God help you not to do less than you have done, but to do a much greater work in the Lord. The day is far spent, the night is at hand. The watchman must cry, «The morning cometh, and also the night.» Mrs. E. G. White. [Concluded.]