(Sabbath morning sermon, Healdsburg, California,
Camp Meeting, Sept. 19th, 1891.)
"I pray for them: I pray not for the
world, but for them which Thou hast given Me; for they are Thine.
And all Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and I am glorified
in them" (John 17:9,
10).
Mark the words. It is Jesus Christ that
is praying to His Father, "and all Mine are Thine, and Thine
are Mine; and I am glorified in them."
Is it truth? Are we Bible believers? Is
Christ glorified in us? I want you to consider this. He is speaking
of the oneness and that unity that shall exist with Christ and
His disciples. In that unity, in that oneness, Christ is glorified
in us. Now I would have you consider how very light a matter
many of us make of seeking to preserve this unity. Why, this
unity with believers in and through Christ is the great strength
of the church! The oneness, the love which through their faith
and unity exists with God's people through faith in Christ, is
a power.
How earnest, how decided, how determined
should be our efforts to answer the prayer of Christ that we
may have that harmony one with another for which Christ died
to perfect; that we may be one with Christ; for, unless we are
constantly laboring for this harmony and this unity, we shall
certainly fail of answering the prayer of being one with Christ
as He was one with the Father.
(You will see I have contracted a severe
cold on this journey. It is very difficult for me to speak at
this time, but perhaps I can make you hear. I hope I can.)
In this oneness God is glorified. In division
and dissension and differences and pulling apart Satan is glorified,
and all heaven looks with astonishment upon those who claim to
be children of God. Have [they] not served the enemy long enough
in this line? "And now," prayed Christ, "I am
no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come
to Thee. Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom
Thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I
was with them in the world, I kept them in Thy name: those that
Thou gavest Me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the
son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. And
now I come to Thee; and these things I speak in the world, that
they might have My joy fulfilled in themselves" [verses
11-13].
Who? Believers in Jesus Christ. That they
might have the joy of Christ fulfilled in us through love and
unity as His disciples. What is that joy? Who for the joy that
was set before Him endured the cross, despised the shame, and
is forever set down at the right hand of God. What was the joy?
Was it the joy that we feel when we think that we are in a very
important position in this life? Is that the joy? No. What was
the joy? In seeing sons and daughters brought to Jesus Christ
because they have given their life to the service of Christ,
of soul saving.
That is the joy that Christ had. That is
our joy. And when we possess this joy we shall love souls and
work for souls for whom Christ has died. You will
not be in the position that you will think,
"My way is right, and I will carry this through on my line";
and thus you dishonor your Creator, because Christ's prayer is
against you, and you are against the prayer. Therefore how can
you have His joy fulfilled in you when you have a spirit of self-exaltation
and you are not at oneness with Jesus Christ?
What we want today is to be constantly
studying the life of Christ and working every day of our life
to answer the prayer of Christ that you may be one in His love,
and work for unity. The prayer that He offered to His Father
is to exercise interest and love for souls. You want in every
work, in your spirit, in your thoughts, in your actions, to be
cherishing the love of Christ which He has prayed might exist.
You want that faith that works out your salvation after the divine
similitude. Why, you tell us that by our works we are not saved!
Nevertheless, you are not saved by any evil works; but you have
that faith that works out a character after the divine similitude.
It is a faith that works out a unity of action, brother with
brother, and every hour of your life if you are standing in living
connection with God. You manifest His love. It works in your
home life.
There is no fretfulness seen in the home
if Christ is the peace principle exercised in your soul. There
is no uncourteousness there. There is no roughness or sharp speech
there. Why? Because we believe and act out that we are members
of the Royal Family, children of the Heavenly King, bound to
Jesus Christ by the strongest tie of love--that love which works
by faith and purifies the soul.
You love Jesus and you are constantly at
work to overcome all selfishness and be a blessing and comfort
and strength and a support to the souls He has purchased with
His blood. I cannot see why we should not the more earnestly
try to bring the peace of Christ right into our family, than
to labor for those that have no living connection with us; but
if we have religion in the home, it will extend outside of the
home. You will have it everywhere. You will carry it with you
to the church. You can carry it with you when you go out to your
work. It will be with you wherever you shall be. What we want
is religion in the home. What we need is the peace principle
which shall control our spirit and our life and character after
the Christlife. He has given us His example. God help us that
we may walk and work intelligently to this end.
There is no virtue in your prayers to God
when you get right up from your prayers and begin to speak sharp
words and make yourself disagreeable in your family. When you
get up from your prayers and begin to fret and to find fault
with everything and with God Himself--for this has been done--your
prayers don't go any higher than your head. Shall we now have
that faith that works by love and purifies the soul here where
this reformation means so much? Well, that is what we want; because
the latter rain is coming, and we want the vessel all cleansed
from its work of impurity. We want the vessel to be a vessel
unto honor, fit for the Master's use. There are vessels to dishonor,
and there are vessels to honor. Now we want to make our choice,
and reveal we choose to be a vessel unto honor.
There is not a quarreling man--no matter
if your profession is as high as heaven--nor a quarreling woman;
not one that loves to talk and berate and wound and injure the
souls and reputation of God's people, that will ever enter the
portals of the city of God. Why? Because there would be a second
rebellion in heaven. What we need now is to be students, to learn
in the school of Christ to perfect a Christlike character.
"Come," says Jesus. "Come,"
says Christ your Saviour, "learn of Me; for I am meek and
lowly in heart." His arm is extended, "Come unto Me,
all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
He has told you where to go. "Come unto Me," every
one of you, "and I will give you rest." Do you believe
it? Do we believe the word of God today? Do we believe just what
He tells us? What is the matter with us, that we do not have
more freedom, and that Christ is not glorified in us? It is because
we don't believe Him. Every soul will act out all the faith that
he has.
If we are weary, if we are heavy laden,
why, then, come right to the great Burden Bearer. Say, "Here,
Lord, I come just as I am. I come because I am sinful. I come
because I am needy. I come because I am wholly dependent, and
I want to drink in this life of the waters of life. I want to
drink of the streams of salvation which flow from the throne
of God."
Well, then, if you drink, how shall we
know that you have been drinking? How will anyone know that you
have been drinking? Will you go out and begin to kick and scold
your cattle, and beat them, and bruise them? They are God's dumb
animals and cannot retaliate. He made them. You must respect
your cattle. Will you rise from
prayer and begin to scold and fret at your children, and at the
circumstances and things that transpire in your house? Will you
do it? Well, what shall we think of you? We will think you are
an agent of the devil, that is what; we think the thoughts that
such a course of action produces. Whatever your profession, however
high it may be, if the truth your profess does not have influence
enough on you to change your natural heart, to convert you to
be kind and courteous, and to give you a new heart and a new
mind, seek the true character now.
Now what does every man and woman need?
A conversion to God. That is what he needs. Then what? Why, we
begin to cherish this love which Christ had. We are converted.
We love one another. We see that every individual has his own
individual trials. We see that every soul that we are brought
into connection with knows what it is to battle with the powers
of darkness if they ever overcome. "We," saith the
True Teacher, "fight not against flesh and blood,"
but we fight "against spiritual wickedness in high places."
Well, we know Satan is against us; we know
the whole confederacy of evil is united and works with the evil
men and women. Satan and his angels and evil men are there manifested
to attempt to deceive, to allure, and to make our lives uncomfortable
and unhappy and wretched by words and actions, and is it not
very poor policy for professed Christians to open the door of
their house and say to the devil, come in? Many are doing this.
Is it not the most wretched policy for you to give place to the
devil, and then you judge [that] everybody is your enemy, and
you are the enemy of everybody, and thus you talk and thus you
act.
Is the joy of Christ in you? Is Christ
glorified, or God glorified in you? Verily, verily, I say unto
you, unless you are born again you never can see the kingdom
of heaven. [See John 3:3] You may have addicted yourself to fretting
and to scolding for a long while, but it has not perfected your
Christian character. Now suppose you change the order of things
and you begin, when Satan begins to put in the word of complaint,
to find fault, you begin to sing a song, if it is the simple
hymn, "I will follow Thee, my Saviour, Wheresoe'er my lot
may be." Just begin to sing. Do you think that will please
the devil and the confederacy of evil angels? No; they will get
out of your presence as soon as possible. You have garrisoned
the soul against them.
Well then, what shall we do? We shall pray
more in the spirit and understanding also. We shall talk more
comfortable words because the heart is converted. We will lift
up the weights that are upon the souls, knowing that they are
tempted of the devil and, in our turn, we will not make ourselves
tempters. Now that is what we will do when converted. You try
it, and you will see what that will do for you, and you will
see that you are exercising a faith that works--that works by
love, which purifies the soul.
And then I will tell you what else to do.
Keep the praise of God on your lips. You have had so little of
it that it is a strange song. Now, we want to learn that song
because in heaven the angels are constantly offering praise and
thanksgiving and glory to the God of heaven. Therefore we want
to catch the strain here, and heaven is much nearer to earth
than we think, and we are much nearer to heaven than we imagine,
because the heavenly intelligences are all through such an assembly
as this.
Is that all? No. The heavenly helpers are
with you in your family. Those angels want that family [to be]
a sample of the family in heaven. Those angels are at work to
mold, to fashion, and to make every family after the divine family.
Well then, would it not be very poor policy to speak and act
like sinners, to awaken an element in your family which will
set them all at variance, and make them unhappy and miserable?
But this work is done daily by unconverted men and women who
claim to be followers of Christ. But God help us to be converted,
that we may show forth the praises of Him who hath called us
out of darkness into His marvelous light.
Well then, how shall we know that we have
been drinking of the living streams of salvation? How shall we
understand this? Oh, the heart is changed; out of it are the
issues of life. The good man bringeth out of the treasure of
his heart good things. Now we are to learn and are to know by
their words and works who are converted. The evil man bringeth
out of the treasure of his heart evil things, showing he is under
the control of Satan. Every word is a seed. We are scattering
it in words and actions--sowing seed--and then what will the
harvest be? God help us that we may sow unto life eternal, that
we may reap the precious grain in this life, and then the good
works will cause souls to be converted.
I want to tell you that you have every
reason to rejoice today. Christ says, "Come, come unto Me,
and I will give you rest." What have we to rejoice in? That
Christ is not in Joseph's new tomb, and a great stone rolled
before it. Where is He? Where is Jesus? He has arisen; He has
risen from the dead; He has ascended
on high. He is our Advocate, and He pleads in our behalf before
the Father. We have a Friend at court. Thank God, we have a Friend
at court! Then offer up your petitions. The righteousness of
Christ is there. The perfection of Christ is there.
You may look up and say, "Oh, I am
discouraged; I am in despair; I feel so terrible," and all
this! What have your feelings to do with the matter? Do tell
me. What have your feelings to do with these matters? Are they
stronger than the word, the immutable word of Jehovah? Which
is stronger? Is not the word of God a solid basis? Is it not
the Rock of ages? Well now, what will you do? Hide in that Rock.
Let your heart go out to Jesus who has bought you as His own
property with the price of His sacred life-blood.
There are thousands that have been addicted
to complaining; they are chronic grumblers. But all such will
never enter heaven. How can you be cured? Christ tells you: "A
new heart will I give you." Do they profess to believe the
truth? I shall know it when there is a change in that unruly
member, the tongue. "A new heart will I give thee."
We shall find in the place of a stirring up by the leaven of
disaffection, we shall find there are words that cement; there
are words that bind together. They will not see something in
everyone around them to find fault with but themselves, and expatiate
upon other's evil. But they are beginning to look and say, Am
I right? Have I that love, that faith that works by love and
purifies the heart for the second, the latter, rain, the descent
of the Holy Spirit of God?
Now, some will tell you, and they will
begin to reckon, and reckon, and reckon when the latter rain
is coming. I would rather that you would reckon right now whether you have brought eternity into your
reckoning concerning your individual self. Consider whether you
have brought eternity daily to view. If you are right with God
today, you are ready if Christ should come today. What we need
is Christ formed within, the hope of glory. We want that you
should have a deep and earnest longing for the righteousness
of Jesus Christ. Your old, tattered garments of self-righteousness
will not give you an entrance into the kingdom of God, but that
garment that is woven in the loom of heaven--the righteousness
of Jesus Christ--will. It will give you an inheritance among
the sanctified. That is what we want. It is worth more than all
the worldly gain; it is worth more than all your farms; it is
worth more than all the honor that finite beings can bestow upon
you.
What we want to know is, Are you individually,
daily preparing that you can unite with the family of heaven?
Are you quarrelsome here? Are you finding fault with your household
here? If your are, you will find fault with them in heaven. Your
character is being tested and proved in this life, whether you
will make a peaceable subject of God's kingdom in heaven.
Now let the parents go to work for their
children. Don't let them hear a fretful word spoken in the house.
Tell them angels are there watching over them and they must enter
into no sinful practice. Tell them the heavenly intelligences
are looking upon them, and don't allow a word to be spoken from
your lips to educate your children in words to dishonor God.
Ah, there are scores here that need to be converted on this line,
and unless they are converted, they never will know what the
love and joy of Christ is in the heart, and can never be translated
to live with the heavenly family.
But we hope this meeting will be a time
when you will surrender to God. We hope it will be a time when
you will place yourself fully in Christ's love. He is coming
in a little while, and when we think of it every one of you may
look back and consider what your life has been. Consider how
you have had the truth. Summer after summer line upon line, testimony
after testimony, has come from heaven to you, and the Word, the
precious Word of God--and yet, where is your reform? Where is
the cleansing of the soul temple? Where is the fitting up for
the finishing touch of immortality? What are you doing? Have
you that faith that works, or have you that faith which does
not do anything for you?
The truth of a heavenly origin converts
the soul. The truth from heaven has an influence upon the human
life and upon the human character that is elevating, ennobling,
sanctifying, refining--making us more and more like Jesus; and
thus we are changed through the sanctification of the truth from
glory to glory. What is the glory? It is the character--"From
character to character." And we are fitting for heaven in
this life, that we may see Jesus and that we may be like Him;
that we may reflect His image, and from character to character
marching, marching right straight along; step by step you keep
with the Leader, and He is leading you. Who is it? The Light
of the world, the Truth, the Life.--all these combined, and He
is leading in straight paths. You are never left without angels'
care. Do you respond and seek to perfect a true righteous character?
Will you be led? That is the question, the whole question of
your salvation today. Will you be led?
I want to read still more. The last I read
was, "And all Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and I
am glorified in them." Is it so? Is God glorified in
you? Are you a gossiper? Are you a faultfinder?
Are you suspicious? Are you jealous? Is God glorified in you?
No, indeed! The devil is glorified in you, and he is wonderfully
pleased with you. But what we want is to change that order by
being converted to God right here and not to wait until we get
off of this tent ground. What we want is to be clad with the
robes of Christ's righteousness. We want to be built up in the
most holy faith. We want to rejoice in Jesus Christ.
Now I read some verses further than this:
"And now come I to Thee; and these things I speak in the
world, that they might have"--what?--"My joy fulfilled
in themselves." Well now, this is the privilege of every
individual soul. The joy of Christ fulfilled in themselves. Think
that this can be done; believe that it can be done. Act it; and
you will find that you are brought into a purer atmosphere; you
are breathing the atmosphere of heaven--not the atmosphere of
hell, but the atmosphere of heaven--and when you breathe in that
atmosphere, and this atmosphere surrounds the soul, all that
come within the sphere of your influence are benefited and blessed.
The "joy fulfilled in themselves."
What does it mean? Why, I get up in the morning, [and] I don't
feel any particular joy. When I wake up, I don't feel that wonderful
joy; perhaps some days, sometimes I do. But then what? Looking
unto Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith, I begin
to look up to Jesus for His presence, His light, and His love.
A very simple thing. I thank God that He has kept me through
the night. I am so thankful that He is a living Saviour. I am
so grateful that He lives to make intercession for me; that He
is not in Joseph's new tomb. He
is a living Saviour and ready to bless me. Well then, I believe
that He means I shall be blessed. He died for me that I might
be blessed, and that His joy might remain in me, therefore I
keep my mind in that channel. I educate it; I train my tongue;
I train my thoughts; I train all that there is of me that I may
fasten it upon Jesus Christ.
Oh, evil things come in between me and
the Saviour. It is the hellish shadow of Satan. I see that shadow
and darkness; shall I fall under it? Well, when I was coming
in the cars in the evening and in the night season I looked at
the moon, there was a whole bank of clouds it went into. Now,
I thought, we will see what that moon does. I kept my eyes upon
it, and soon I began to see that there was a bright, brightness
coming into the cloud. The darkness of the cloud did not put
out the moon nor its light, but the light kept shining. The moon
in its brightness began to scatter and lighten and brighten the
darkness until it rolled back and revealed the glory and light
of the moon, and then its glory lighted up the clouds all around
us. There is what we want to be.
Satan is not dead by any means. He is working
to bring the shadow of death over your souls. Will you let him
do it? Will you let him make you look at the darkness, and talk
of the darkness? We are just to be like that moon. Light up all
our way by faith. Through the shadow of darkness and of death
Thou art the light of heaven. We are to talk of heaven and of
heavenly things. We are to become more and more heavenly-minded.
Now all the faith that you profess--we shall know something about
it. You need not think that you can shut it up in a box like
a nice perfume, and keep it there or in a bottle. But we shall
know just the measure of your faith.
How? By your works. By the fruits that you bear. If you have
Christ abiding in your heart, you will talk Christ.
If you have Christ abiding there, you cannot
fret or scold. You cannot make others unhappy and wretched and
miserable. No. Because Christ is there, His joy is there, His
peace is there. You want everybody to have peace; you want them
to have comfort; you want them to have good hope; you want them
to have courage, and you keep talking of Jesus and His love--what
He has done for me. Now we lose sight of this; we lose sight
of it. You look and see what Christ has done for you again and
again, and the precious victories He has given you, and then
as you look at things you talk of these. Don't you see, every
trial sinks into insignificance in comparison with this?
Paul looked at it, and now let us hear
his language--just listen to it--"I reckon that the sufferings
of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory
which shall be revealed in us" [Rom. 8:18]. When? At that
time. "Revealed in us." Now let us make the reckoning.
"I reckon," he says, Well, then, let us begin to reckon.
We have reckoned long enough that the darkness is worthy to be
dwelt upon. Now we reckon that the trials of this present time
are not worthy to be compared with the glory. Well then, let
us talk of the glory. Let us talk of what Christ is to you, what
Christ is to [me]. Just talk in that way. What is He to you?
A present Saviour; and if He is not a present Saviour He is not
worth anything to you. You need not think He will be of any advantage
to you.
Is He my Saviour? Can I lay hold upon His
merits this very hour? Can I commit the keeping of my soul to
Jesus Christ today? Yes. How? What assurance have I? I point
you to Christ of Calvary. Can you stand under the shadow of the
cross and there talk your crosses, your darkness, your wicked
feelings? Can you do it? Dare you do it? You never dare to do
it when standing under the shadow of the cross, because all that
infinite sacrifice was made to make me love God. It was made
that I might reflect the image of God in Jesus Christ. Well then,
when all this sacrifice has been made for me, shall I let everybody
know that it amounts to something? Shall I let the world know
that Jesus, the precious Saviour, has made all this infinite
sacrifice that He might be formed within, the hope of glory,
and that I might rejoice in His love?
Well then, why talk darkness? Why talk
rebelliousness? Why not lift yourself up in the holier, purer
atmosphere? Why talk all the time that you don't feel as you
want to feel? Take hold of Jesus Christ. As you feel after His
hand, He takes that hand. He puts it in His; He lifts you up.
Well then, be lifted up. Don't let your body, like the body of
death, [remain] in darkness, [so] that nothing can lift it. Come
where the light is, and let it reveal its glory--glorious beams
that come from Jesus Christ through you. Talk hope; talk courage.
Cease your faultfinding, and let us talk of heaven and heavenly
things.
The more you do, you are shaped into the
same image. Talk doubt, and you will find plenty of doubt. Talk
darkness and you will find plenty of darkness and, more than
that, you will have a terrible harvest to garner. You cannot
afford it. Time is too precious. Every moment
is golden. Every word is to be a treasure of life. Every word
is to be of value to help somebody; and if you cannot, don't
speak. Silence is excellent. Keep still, and, if you speak, let
the law of kindness be on your lips. By thy words shalt thou
be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned"
[Matt. 12:37], because by your words you show whether Satan is
abiding in the heart or whether Jesus Christ is abiding there.
"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" [Rev. 3:20].
Let us answer the knock. Let us open the door. That is our part
of the business, and then the glory of God shall pervade our
souls. What then? We shall be one in Christ Jesus. "I have
given them Thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they
are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." Well,
shall we be engaged in hating one another? The world, He says,
hated them. But shall we be working to annoy and make unhappy
and hate one another? Is that our business? God forbid. "I
pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but
that thou shouldst keep them from the evil."
Now, we want to be kept from the evil.
"They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Sanctify them through Thy truth. . . . As thou hast sent Me into
the world, even so" I also send them into the world. [It
is] just as much your work to act out right in the world as it
was the work of Christ to redeem. He sent you into the world.
You are to be the light of the world. You are to show the distinction
between the spirit of Christianity and the spirit of the worldling. You are to show the controlling
influence of the power of God upon the human heart. God help
us that we may be sanctified through the truth; and that sanctification
shall have its influence to leaven those that are around us.
Not the leaven of malice; not the leaven of jealousy; not the
leaven of evil surmisings, but it is the leaven of the spirit
of Jesus Christ, which is sent down from heaven, called the Holy
Ghost, and that Spirit affects the heart and the character.
Now, God wants His converting power to
come on this occasion. There are some that come to our meetings--they
will sit all through the meetings; they have borne a few words
of testimony now and then; they have gone home and done just
exactly [the same as], if not worse than, before. Why? Because
they had not the new heart. What is the new heart? It is the
new mind. What is the mind? It is the will. Where is your will?
It is either on Satan's side or Christ's side. Now it is up to
you. Will you put your will today on Christ's side of the question?
That is the new heart. It is the new will, a new mind. "A
new heart will I give thee." Then let us begin right here.
Conversion is simple, very simple. Let
us commence right here to come into the kingdom of heaven. How?
As a little child. Just as simple as simple can be. You may get
all your mysteries of the new birth, and you cannot make anybody
understand it, or understand it yourself. But the best way for
you is to give your mind to Jesus Christ. And the mind is the
will to put it on, and do just as Matthew did.
The Lord Jesus came to Matthew. He was
in a very unpopular business, and all the Jews looked upon them
[publicans, as people] to be despised, and Christ said to Matthew,
"Matthew, follow Me." Did he say, "O Lord, when
I get good enough I will follow you"? Did he say, "O
Lord, when I have this agony, this awful agony for my sin, then
I will come"?
Well, that is what many of you are saying.
No, Matthew rose up and followed Him. He was walking in the light,
because he could not follow Christ unless he was walking in the
light. Well then, what are we to do? We are just to believe as
simply as a little child. We are to take our position on the
Lord's side, and we are to be Christ's children because He wants
us to be, and because He died that we might be; and will we be?
I love Jesus. I had things trouble me before
I went on the cars. I was afraid the shadow would hang over me
all the way; and I could not forbear as I would wake up in the
night season, saying over and over, "I love the Lord; I
love the Lord; I know I love Thee; Oh, I love Jesus who gave
His life for me. I love the souls of all those for whom Christ
has died." And thus I feel the sweet comfort of peace and
hope and light and love in my heart. Well, let us educate our
minds; let us educate our thoughts.
Now I am not going to hold you here, but
I do want that the converting power of God should be in your
midst. There is a great work to be done for many souls, but they
don't see it. They don't realize it enough to go to work. Why,
how, you say, can I be going to work to help myself? How can
I do it? God works, and all you have to do is to cooperate with
Him, and let Him work. Work in
harmony with God. But He never works unless the human agent wills
that He shall work, and works with Him. Then, with the human
and the divine combined, we can make a glorious success. We will
have the victory. Will you let Christ work on your human mind?
Shall this glorious opportunity in 1891 pass over and work no
decided change in our ideas and feelings? Go to work, brethren;
go to work, sisters. I appeal to you to go to work.
Christ is coming, and Christ is to be revealed
in you, if you will only allow His image to be revealed in you.
Fall on the Rock and be broken. What did they do to Moses? They
took that atom of humanity, the heavenly intelligences, and put
him in the cleft of the rock, and the hand of God over the rock.
Now, what you want is to be in the cleft of the rock. You want
to break in pieces before God your pride, yourself, your folly,
your wickedness, your dishonesty, your corruption of heart, your
licentiousness, your impurity. You want to fall on that Rock,
and then if the superscription of the divine plays upon you,
that the love of Christ may abide with you and Jesus be in your
heart.
God help you to begin the work right here;
not to wait for the ministers to stir you up to a wonderful excitement.
God wants intelligent Christians. He wants you to count the cost
of the battle. He wants you to count whether you can war against
Satan and his spiritual wickedness in high places. He wants you
to see the plan of the battle, of the confederacy of evil, and
then He wants you to see that angels are in the army, that the
Captain of our salvation is at the head. It is they that do the
warring. It is they that do the work, and we cooperate, coincide,
and work with them.
Now, that is our work. Will you commence
the warfare here against lust? Will you commence it against wickedness?
Will you commence it against impurity? Will you be fitting up
for the home in heaven above? God help you right here to be converted.
You want to go from this meeting with your affection lighted
up with the glory of God, saying, Hear what the Lord has done
for me. He has put a new song in my mouth; even praise to our
God. Well now, commence to praise God. And praise Him with heart
and soul and voice. The devil doesn't want you [to], because
you would be a living witness to them that you had drunk of the
living waters, and he doesn't want you to praise God. Still,
shall we disappoint the devil? Shall we please Jesus Christ?
Well, let us work as intelligent Christians,
and may we hear the beautiful testimony from your lips, "I
love Jesus, and I know that He loves me." Then the world
will see [that we] have been with Jesus and have learned of Him.
This is the lesson that we want you to learn in the school of
Christ.
[This was followed by an altar call. The
response was good. See report of camp meeting in Signs, October
12, 1891.] (MR 900.38)