The Testimonies Slighted - PDF document

The Testimonies Slighted PART ONE This is one of the most solemn chapters in the entire Spirit of Prophecy. Please read it praying that God willhelp you see yourself better, and that He will help 2Waymarks You are defective in character, inas were Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. You havetheir history. You know how stubborn they were in‘Ye have killed the people of the Lord.’ We see whatHow hard it is to convince souls that have be-As Christ’s ambassador, I would say to you: Be This is God’s The doubt thatFaith rests upon evidence, not demonstration. Lord requires us to obey the voice of duty, when It requires earnestattention from us to distinguish the voice whichWe must resist and conquer in-out parleying or compromise, lest its and will and impulse control. His Spirit by determining not to hear and obey.This voice is heard in warnings, in counsels, in It is the Lord’s message of light to HisGod’s Spirit and His Word, when obedience involvesday. The pleadings of the Spirit, neglected todaybecause pleasure or inclination leads in an oppo-impress, tomorrow. To improve the opportunities and the knowl-We should ever cherish a sensethat, individually, we are standing before the LordWe shall then have no fear of man or of earthlydestinies for time and eternity, is taking cognizancemore worthy, if the presence of God is continuallyYou have not pursued this course at Battle Creek. Ihave been shown that painful and contagious dis- We should move steadily forward, neverPatience, faith, and love for dutylooking to Jesus is an everyday work. The Lord The crown of life is placed onlyupon the brow of the overcomer. There is, for ev-lasts. As Satan’s power increases and his devices“It pains me to say, my brethren, that You may now be honest in nothave entertained, your neglect to heed the re-quirements of God, have blinded your percep- so that darkness is now to you light, and lightis darkness. God has bidden you to go forward toLight from God is full and ample, waiting our de- haustible store from which we may draw. Skepti-jests, scoffing, and denial. by great exertion and continual sacrifice, yet itwill triumph finally.dividual duty, and leave all consequences in the If we move forward where Jesusshare His joy. We must share the conflicts if we must share the conflicts if wewear the crown of victory. Like Jesus,tinual self-denial, suffering, and self-sacrifice, weWe can walk safely in the darkest path if wecounseled, admonished, and entreated. speaks to correct or counsel, and you disregardHis voice, the more disposed will you be to re-nought all My counsel, and would none of My re-they shall seek Me early, but they shall not find me;they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filledGod has given you? Take heed lest there be in You know not the time of yourvisitation. The great sin of the Jews was that of ne-today, He sees base ingratitude, hollow formal-ism, hypocritical insincerity, pharisaical pride ‘If thou hadst known,even thou, at least in this thy day, the things whichbelong to thy peace!’ ‘Thou, . . even thou’—at this moment addressing you personally, stoop- over those who feel not their danger, who These will one day say:Me, ye that work iniquity.’ Woe will be pronounced Oh, that the cold,not only tears for us, but His own blood. Will notabasement that we need, to be approved of God . .“The spirit of Christ should so control our char-encourage, and edify. all who are connected with Christ may est fragrance that make the least display.“Our people are making very dangerous mis-We cannot praise and flatter any man with-; those who do thisis fast leavening the church. You are followingpeculiar people. You are having fellowship with theYour concord with You know not the things that belong to your 4Waymarks WAYMARKS 1288 MYERS TOWN ROAD - BEERSHEBA SPRINGS, TN 37305 USA Your neglect to follow the light will place you No one knows how great the mercythat has been exercised toward us. But few are heart-from God’s Word are dead spiritually, while they For years they have come and gone TheyNeither the Word of God nor the testimonies Just according to the light, the privileges,to others are themselves cherishing iniquity. Theentreaties of the Spirit of God, like divine melody,the promises of His Word so rich and abundant, its If they remain in this state, HeChrist as their Saviour, but will not bear the cross May the Lord have mercy uponif you go on in this way, nothing but eviland by, but it will be too late. God commandedover Syria, that he might be a scourge to idolatrousunder the hand of Satan and only wait the de-parture of a few more standard-bearers to take, and with the voice of the false prophetcry, ‘Peace, peace,’ when the Lord hath not spokenthe earth, when holy hands bear the ark no longer,known, even thou, in this thy day, the things that Oh, that our people may,as did Nineveh, repent with all their might and be- at. Parents do notthe way of the Lord. They have allowed them to gobe found largely in so-called good society. By theirWe must not yield one inch to the cus- “What can I say to arouse our people? Yet many arecrying, ‘Peace, peace;’ and the workers of iniquity The church is corrupt because of herThere are men among us in responsible po- Such a faith as that ofPaul, Peter, or John is considered old-fashioned andinsufferable at the present day. It is pronounced This unbelief ofthe very truths of God’s Word because human judg-is found in every district, in all ranks of society. It Every- But thenever before. Well may we exclaim: ‘Help, Lord; forfar too favorably of the present time. These ease-Yet we do not despair. We have been inclined to thinkwill thoroughly purge His floor.many. Every wind of doctrine will be blowing. Thosewho have trusted to intellect, genius, or talentbe entrusted with the flock. In the last solemnself-sufficient, independent of God, and He can-ing, testing time will be disclosed to view. They have not had theupon you. But it may be under a rough and uninvit-ing exterior the pure brightness of a genuine Chris-genuine luster.themselves to derision, insult, threatened impris-of men. In this time the gold will be separated True godliness willPART TWO The Testimonies Slighted 6Waymarks All who assume the ornaments of the sanc-tuary, but are not clothed with Christ’s righteous-Those who have been timid and self-distrustful The most weak and hesitating in the church Then will the church of Christ appear ‘fair Souls will receive the truth whoJehovah’s floor, God will be the help of His The trophies of Satan may be exalted on This was not the case with the He will raise up and exalt among us those The separation causes pain and bit- But theless tThe true Christian cannot, while with unbe- The value ofis the idol of many. Its golden chain binds is the idol of oth-These are Satan’s snares, set for unwary feet.We cannot be half the Lord’s and half theworld’s. We are not God’s people unless we aresuch entirely. Every weight, every besetting sin, mustGod’s watchmen will not cry, ‘Peace,from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of theweighed in the balances of the sanctuary. If hermoral character and spiritual state do not corre-conferred upon her, she will be found wanting.“The light has been shining clear and definiteupon her pathway, and the light of 1882 , and the light of 1882 mony was penned in 1882; we have received evenmore light through the Spirit of Prophecy since thatyear] calls her to an account. If her talents are unim-proved, if her fruit is not perfect before God, if herlight has become darkness, she is indeed found want-ing. The knowledge of our state as God views it, seemsto be hidden from us. We see, but perceive not; wehear, but do not understand; and we rest as un-concerned as if the pillar of cloud by day, andtuary. We profess to know God, and to believe Our deeds areEllen G. White, The Testimonies Slighted, 5 Testi- heaven to us, but our own course of continual back- Pride, covet-Egypt. Yet few are alarmed or astonished at theirwant of spiritual power. Satan would have it God has spoken to you. been shining from His Word and from the and both have been slighted and disre- The result is apparent in the lack of purityTestimones, 217.iniquity shall have reached the stated boundaryof God’s mercy, His forbearance will cease. Whenthe accumulated figures in heaven’s record books, unmixed with mercy, and then itvoid God’s law.iniquity. None but divine power can stay the arro-of the church’s greatest danger most fervent prayerbe zealous in prayer, and their faith will growstrong.—5 Testimonies, 524. There is no more pleading of mercyThe choicest of heaven’s blessings have beengiven them, but increased pride, covetousness, idola-try, contempt of God, and base ingratitude are writ-But that which causes me to tremble is theprivileges have become contaminated by the pre-vailing iniquity. Influenced by the unrighteous aroundthem, many, even of those who profess the truth, havewith God to lose their reverence for His law. If theywere following the light and obeying the truth fromthe heart, this holy law would seem even more pre-The crisis is fast approaching. The rapidlynevertheless He will punish, and that speedily. in the day of visitation. Far from it. They should real-it is their duty to labor diligently to savepower. At the time when the danger and depres-be in vain. When the Lord comes forth as an avenger, 8Waymarks WAYMARKS 1288 MYERS TOWN ROAD - BEERSHEBA SPRINGS, TN 37305 USA It is at thiscity, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a that be done inthe midst thereof.’ These sighing, crying ones hadbeen holding forth the words of life; they had re-were lacking.world by their soul anguishlamentation and weeping, reproofs and warnings.rushing torrent of iniquity, and hence they are filled They lament and afflictunderfoot, while the servants of Satan triumph. God is . .“No superiority of rank, dignity, or worldly wis-from sacrificing principle when left to their own de- and in thetolerate no longer, and in His wrath He deals withthem without mercy. and who have felt the power of theWord in ministering to others. They were once Hiserror, and therefore are brought under the divine dis- Those who link in sympathy withand will surely be destroyed with the workers ofiniquity. ‘The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, Al-poured out without mixture into the cup of His indig-nation, then it will be forever too late to repent andfind shelter. No atoning blood will then wash awayNot one of us will ever receive the seal of Godcharacters, to cleanse the soul temple of every de- asPentecost. . .“What are you doing, brethren, in the great work and prepar-Those who are dis-trustful of self, who are humbling themselves be- andeternity. The seal of God will—5 Testimonies, 208-216.