Constant
Attainment Essential to Christian
Life
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Constant
Attainment Essential
to Christian Life
Review and
Herald Articles June 4, 1889
By Mrs. Ellen
G. White
[SERMON AT
POTTERVILLE, MICH., NOV. 24, 1888]
Text: "Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God
which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God; even the mystery
which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to
his saints; to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of
this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may
present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Whereunto I also labor,
striving according to his working, which worketh in me
mightily." Col. 1:25-29. {RH, June
4, 1889 par. 1}
In this scripture, instruction is given as to the position of those who are
seeking to open the word of God to others. This work cannot be done
negligently. It cannot be undertaken in mere human strength. The work of
the ministry has been carried forward altogether too much in our own human
wisdom. We have seemed to think that an understanding of the theory of the
truth was sufficient for the work. When we have talked to the people, we have
gone over the ground to them, and explained all the lines of truth, and yet we have
not brought into it the divine power of the truth to transform the life and
character. When the work of God is done mechanically, it cannot be effective in
converting souls. Though we have the truth, though our position be so well
taken that our enemies cannot controvert it, this is not all that is necessary.
There must be a power with our work beyond the mere knowledge of the theory of
the truth. We must have divine energy to accompany our human effort. {RH,
June 4, 1889 par. 2}
Paul speaks of the riches of the glory of the mystery that is to be made known
to the Gentiles. There are many mysteries in the word of God that we do not
comprehend, and many of us are content to stop our investigation when we have
just began to receive a little knowledge concerning
Christ. When there begins to be a little unfolding of the divine purposes to
the mind, and we begin to obtain a slight knowledge of the character of God, we
become satisfied, and think that we have received about all the light that
there is for us in the word of God. But the truth of God is infinite. With
painstaking effort, we should work in the mines of truth, discovering the
precious jewels that have been hidden. It is the minister's
privilege to have a constant supply of fresh truth for the people. He should be
in such a position that he can bring from the treasure-house of God not the
same thing over and over, but new beauty and new truth. {RH, June 4, 1889
par. 3}
The Spirit of God will rest upon the diligent searcher for truth. He who
desires the truth in his heart, who longs for the working of its power upon the
life and character, will be sure to have it. Says the Saviour, "Blessed
are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be
filled." When ministers themselves taste and see that the Lord is good,
when their minds are filled with thoughts of heaven, then the eternal realities
of the unseen world will open to their understanding, and they will be able to
present the truth of God, and it will make an impression upon human
minds. {RH, June 4, 1889 par. 4}
Those who
seek for more and still more of the Spirit of God,
will not be disappointed. They will hold daily communion with God, and
divine power will surely attend their efforts as they present the truth. As
certainly as the truth is presented in the Spirit of Christ, it will reach the
hearts of the people. Brethren, we should not go into the desk unless we have
previously devoted some time to wrestling with God in prayer. We should not be
satisfied to use the set discourses that we have preached over and over for the
last ten, fifteen, or twenty years. We should draw fresh, new matter from the
store-house of God's word. We are desirous that the angels of God may stand by
our side when we are in the sacred desk, that God may impress the mind; that
there may be glorious unfoldings of the truth; that
it may be presented in the demonstration of the Spirit; that it may be meat in
due season to the flock of God. It is the special grace of God that makes the
sermon effectual. The minister's words will have very little influence upon the people,
unless divine enlightenment accompanies them to the hearts of the hearers. We
need much more of the Spirit of God than we have had in the past. Brethren, how
long are you going to continue to labor without receiving the holy unction from
on high? {RH, June 4, 1889 par. 5}
If you search the Scriptures with a meek and teachable spirit, your efforts
will be richly rewarded. "The natural man receiveth not of the things of
the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned." The Bible should be studied with
prayer. We should pray as did David, "Open thou mine eyes, that I may
behold wondrous things out of thy law." No man can have insight
into the word of God without the illumination of the Holy Spirit. If we will
but come into the right position before God, his light will shine upon us in
rich, clear rays. This was the experience of the early disciples. The
Scriptures declare that "when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they
were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from
heaven as a rushing, mighty wind, and it filled all the
house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like
as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the
Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance." God is willing to give us a similar blessing, when we seek for
it as earnestly. {RH, June 4, 1889 par. 6}
The Lord did not lock the reservoir of heaven after pouring his Spirit upon the
early disciples. We, also, may receive of the fullness of his blessing. Heaven
is full of the treasures of his grace, and those who come to God in faith may
claim all that he has promised. If we do not have his power it is because of
our spiritual lethargy, our indifference, our indolence. Let us come out of
this formality and deadness. {RH, June 4, 1889 par. 7}
There is a great work to be done for this time, and we do not half realize what
the Lord is willing to do for his people. We talk about the first angel's
message, and the second angel's message, and we think we have some
understanding of the third angel's message; but we should not be
satisfied with our present knowledge. Our petitions, mingled with faith and contrition,
should go up to God, for an understanding of the mysteries that God would make
known to his saints. We should have a realization that unless taught by the
Holy Spirit, we shall not rightly comprehend the Bible; for it is a sealed book
even to the learned, who are wise in their own conceit. Jesus meant just what
he said when he directed his disciples to "search the Scriptures."
Searching means to compare scripture with scripture, and spiritual things with
spiritual. We should not be satisfied with a superficial knowledge. We should
search for the hidden treasure concealed beneath the surface, as the
merchant-man seeks for goodly pearls. Light, great light, will reward the
diligent searcher for truth. {RH, June 4, 1889 par. 8}
There are many who have not taxed their mental powers, and who have no
experience in putting to the stretch their utmost ability to find out what is
truth. It is not possible that the Holy Spirit shall fall upon you unless you
feel your need, and are more desirous for its descent than you now are. You should
realize that you are living upon the very borders of the eternal world, that
Christ is coming very soon, and that all heaven is interested in the work that
is in progress in fitting up a people for his coming. If ever there was a people
that needed to heed the counsel of the True Witness to the Laodicean church to
be zealous and to repent before God, it is the people who have had opened up
before them the stupendous truths for this time, and who have not lived up to their
high privileges and responsibilities. We have lost much in not living up to the
light of the solemn truths which we profess to believe. {RH, June 4, 1889
par. 9}
Isaiah had a wonderful view of God's glory. He saw the manifestation of God's
power, and after beholding his majesty, a message came to him to go and do a
certain work. He felt wholly unworthy for the work. What made him esteem himself unworthy? Did he think himself unworthy before he
had a view of God's glory?-- No; he imagined himself
in a righteous state before God; but when the glory of the Lord of hosts was
revealed to him, when he beheld the inexpressible majesty of God, he said,
"I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst
of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of
hosts. Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a living coal in his
hands, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar, and he laid it
upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is
taken away, and thy sin purged." This is the work that as individuals we
need to have done for us. We want the living coal from off the altar placed
upon our lips. We want to hear the word spoken, "Thine iniquity is taken
away, and thy sin purged." {RH, June 4, 1889 par. 10}
If you are content to think and to preach in one narrow channel, you will not
advance in understanding, nor know the depth and grandeur of the truth. If you
desire to understand the mysteries of God, you must search the Scriptures. There is
nothing that will develop the intellect like wrestling with the great problems
of truth revealed in God's word. You may keep your mind in constant meditation
and prayer, even when your hands are busy. The truth of God is a treasure that
is of more value than everything else in the world. Its priceless value is
illustrated by the parable of Christ, concerning the man who found a treasure
in a field, and he went and bought that field, that he might plow every part of
it, and search out all the treasure that it contained. The blessed Bible, the
field that contains the treasure, the garden of God, is open to you. Search the
Scriptures; dig in the mines of truth until the precious jewels that have been
hidden there for ages shall be brought out, and you can present them to the
people. {RH, June 4, 1889 par. 11}
In the time of the Saviour, the Jews had so covered over the precious jewels of
truth with the rubbish of tradition and fable, that it was impossible to
distinguish the true from the false. The Saviour came to clear away the rubbish of
superstition and long-cherished errors, and to set the jewels of God's word in
the frame-work of truth. What would the Saviour do if he should come to us now
as he did to the Jews? He would have to do a similar work in clearing away the
rubbish of tradition and ceremony. The Jews were greatly disturbed when he did
this work. They had lost sight of the original truth of God, but Christ brought
it again to view. It is our work to free the precious truths of God from
superstition and error. What a work is committed to us in the gospel! An
angel's pen could not portray all the glory of the revealed plan of redemption.
The Bible tells how Christ bore our sins, and carried our sorrows. Here is
revealed how mercy and truth have met together at the cross of Calvary, how
righteousness and peace have kissed each other, how the righteousness of Christ
may be imparted to fallen man. There infinite wisdom, infinite justice,
infinite mercy, and infinite love were displayed. Depths, heights, lengths, and
breadths of love and wisdom, all passing knowledge, are made known in the plan
of salvation. {RH, June 4, 1889 par. 12}
When the scribes and Pharisees saw that Christ did not reverence their forms
and traditions, they accused him of contempt for the law and the prophets. But
Christ did not show the least contempt for the old truths. Because he did not
work in the same narrow forms that they did, they said, "He is come to
destroy the law." But there fell upon their astonished ears the words of
Christ, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I
am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be
fulfilled." Christ was the originator of the law; and the blindness of the
Pharisees is an illustration of how people who claim great light and knowledge
can misunderstand and misrepresent the work of God. Glorious truths have been
buried out of sight, and have been made lusterless and unattractive by error
and superstition. Jesus reveals the light of God, and brings forth the
beautiful radiance of the truth in all its divine glory. The minds of the
honest are filled with admiration. Their hearts are attracted in holy
affections toward him who brought forth the jewels of truth and displayed them
to their understanding. {RH, June 4, 1889 par. 13}
The Jews understood some portion of the truth, and taught some part of the word
of God; but they did not comprehend the far-reaching nature of the law of God.
Christ swept away the rubbish of tradition, and displayed the real kernel and
heart of the purposes of God. When he did this, they became exasperated beyond
control. They circulated false reports from one town to another that Christ was
destroying the work of God. But while Jesus did away with the old forms, he
re-instated the old truths, placing them in the frame- work of truth. He
matched and joined them together, making a complete and symmetrical system of
truth. This was the work our Saviour did; and now what shall we do? Shall we
not work in harmony with Christ? Shall we be ruled by hearsay? Shall we let our
own imaginings hide from us the light of God? We are to read attentively, to
hear understandingly, and to teach others also the things we have learned. We
must be constantly hungering for the bread of life, constantly seeking for the
living water and the snow of Lebanon, that we may be able to lead the people to
the living, cooling waters of the Fountain of truth. {RH, June 4, 1889
par. 14}