NT
St. Helena, California
September 19, 1906
Previously unpublished. +NoteOne or more typed copies of this document contain additional Ellen White handwritten interlineations which may be viewed at the main office of the Ellen G. White Estate.
I am bidden to warn our people to keep on the whole armor of God. Remember that Christ is our Rock. He never changes. Look unto Him continually. Your brethren may change; through the subtle reasoning of satanic whisperings, they may seek to divert the mind to falsisms; but if you will look unto Jesus, heeding every warning He has given, you will never be deceived by false presentations into trusting the words of changeable man. Trust and obey the words of Christ, and you are safe. But do not trust the words of men, nor make flesh your arm. Men will change. They are often deceived and work on the enemy’s side. They accept false theories. If they preach the theory of the truth, it is for a purpose, to lead others into erroneous positions. Those who follow such men will do so at the peril of their souls. 21LtMs, Ms 115, 1906, par. 1
The Lord Jesus bids you be strong. Place your feet in His footsteps. Jesus has given you the orders that it will be safe for you to follow. Do not listen to your own ideas or plans, nor follow the suggestions of your own mind. “Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wise is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. 21LtMs, Ms 115, 1906, par. 2
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so, every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21LtMs, Ms 115, 1906, par. 3
“Not every one that saith unto Me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say unto Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from Me, ye that work iniquity. 21LtMs, Ms 115, 1906, par. 4
“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rains descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house: and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand; and the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall thereof. And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at His doctrine: for He taught as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” [Matthew 7:13-29.] 21LtMs, Ms 115, 1906, par. 5
The Saviour knew the men who would not believe in Him, and who would unite in putting Him to death. He comforted His disciples with the promise that He would arise from the dead and appear to them to comfort them and strengthen them. When I go to heaven, He said, I will send you a Comforter to strengthen and encourage you, and guide you to obey My teachings. My words shall be a light to guide you at every step, if you will follow Me, and do the words I have given you. “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth in Me shall never thirst. ... It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” [John 6:35, 63.] 21LtMs, Ms 115, 1906, par. 6
We need to seek counsel of God daily. We need to study the lessons of Christ and to enter into the very spirit of the words of truth. These lessons should be brought into the life and character of His ministers; then a healthful, life-giving power will attend their words. 21LtMs, Ms 115, 1906, par. 7
“And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith He unto His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that He will send forth laborers into His harvest.” [Matthew 9:35-38.] 21LtMs, Ms 115, 1906, par. 8
This is the work before us. We need to feel a vital interest in the souls perishing in their sins. The judgments of God will surely visit cities, and God will prove those whose lives He has spared, whether they will continue to open their saloons and allow the health and reason of men to be destroyed by the sale of the liquor that makes men mad. These men are tried in the courts of justice, because under the influence of drugged liquors [they] have committed all kinds of violence and sin. The devil looks on and is highly gratified with the men through whom he has worked, who have sold their reason for poisonous drinks. 21LtMs, Ms 115, 1906, par. 9
When the Lord sees that this work is continued in by men whose lives He has spared, as He did the inhabitants of Nineveh, the next stroke from the Infinite will be to destroy life. God has given men opportunity to repent, to prepare to meet death with Christ’s armor on, if death must come; and yet they continue in the wicked works, that brought the cities under the rebuke and chastening of God and caused the devastation of a city that was the pride of the world. Human lives have been wonderfully preserved. Should there not be an acknowledgement of the Lord’s mercy? Should there not be an exercise of repentance? and should not there be a work done to abolish entirely the saloons that have worked such terrible results? 21LtMs, Ms 115, 1906, par. 10
God is now forbearing further vengeance, that a work may be done by the ministers of the gospel that are faithful to their charge. Let them give the messages God has given in His Word to “Watch; for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh.” [Matthew 24:44.] The voice of the faithful sentinel is to be heard in every place. God is calling for the talents of men who are now tied up in mercantile business. He calls for men who are entering into that which might in a moderate degree be used, but is far from being a necessity to life. Do not let men tie you up in handling expensive foods, while souls are perishing for the bread of eternal life. We must be wide-awake to work for souls who are perishing in their sins. Bind not yourself up in food factories, that your talents and influence be confined to the work of providing food for the sustenance of the bodies. Count the cost. Souls are perishing in sin. 21LtMs, Ms 115, 1906, par. 11
“And He entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into His own city. And, behold, they brought to Him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith, said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. And, behold certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For whether is easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And he arose and departed to his house. But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled and glorified God, which had given such power unto men. 21LtMs, Ms 115, 1906, par. 12
“And as Jesus passed forth from thence, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the receipt of custom; and He saith unto him, Arise, and follow Me. And he arose and followed Him. 21LtMs, Ms 115, 1906, par. 13
“And it came to pass as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto His disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, He said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that be sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” [Matthew 9:1-13.] 21LtMs, Ms 115, 1906, par. 14
These wonderful things Christ did, and yet the Pharisees were upon His track to confuse the ones who needed the words and works of Christ, to bring them hope and freedom and courage. This is Satan’s business today, and his agents are numerous. They would deceive and destroy the hungry, starving souls whom Christ came to save. Now I am authorized to work on the side of Christ and God, and not with those who, claiming to be shepherds of the sheep, would seek to scatter and destroy. 21LtMs, Ms 115, 1906, par. 15
“Then began He to upbraid the cities wherein most of His mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which have been done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon, at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell; for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto thee, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom, in the day of judgment, than for thee.” [Matthew 11:20-24.] 21LtMs, Ms 115, 1906, par. 16
“The men of Nineveh shall rise up in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it; because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in judgment, and shall condemn it; for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.” [Matthew 12:41, 42.] 21LtMs, Ms 115, 1906, par. 17
Christ our Master has set all our tasks. No one is to be decoyed from his special work to do some wonderful work that costs much money and many workers to make the enterprise a success. We stand as the Lord’s stewards, and we must not at this time place in the hands of men thousands of dollars for a special food which is not essential for the sustenance of life. It is God’s purpose to feed His people with simple preparations of health foods, and they can forgo the high-priced foods that are not necessary to sustain life. God warns His people not to enter into snares that involve such immense sums, when that means is needed just now to invest in simple foods that will sustain life. We are to refuse these speculative foods, which really contain no more nutrition than the less costly ones. 21LtMs, Ms 115, 1906, par. 18
During the past night, I received this instruction: Keep your money, and deal in foods that are much less costly, and which, prepared in a nutritious form, will answer every purpose. I call upon our people: Be not deceived; be not decoyed; neither begrudge to the speculating parties their wonderful advantages. The Lord bids me raise my voice in warning to our people. Beware how you invest the Lord’s money in things that you can get along without. Use every dollar to produce the best kind of food from the grains and fruits. All these are freely given us of God to supply our necessities. Your health will not be ensured by the use of an expensive preparation. You can have just as good health in preparing foods from the grains and the trees with their burden of fruit. And if we will return to Him a tenth of all that we receive of His blessings, this can be used to prepare the ministers for work and support them in their work. 21LtMs, Ms 115, 1906, par. 19
Do your best, fathers and mothers, to get out of the cities, out of commercial lines of work that hold you to the cities. Get your children on to the land, and improve it to the best of your ability. This will mean health and strength to you; it will mean physical, and mental, and moral power. 21LtMs, Ms 115, 1906, par. 20
The Lord is our God, our front guard, and our rearward. By His miracle-working power, He fed a multitude, five thousand men besides women and children, with a few loaves and fishes. Christ is the great Provider for this world. He has given His own life to save the human family unto eternal life. Keep out of all these speculative offers. They are a snare, just as surely as God has given food for the sustenance of life in the grain productions of the earth, the fruits of our orchards, and the vegetables of our gardens. Beware, beware of entering into game trades for an article of commerce to feed the people when there are just as healthful and palatable foods at our service for the care we will give in making our grounds productive. 21LtMs, Ms 115, 1906, par. 21
Where are the wise men who will voice the words of Christ. Study the thirteenth chapter of Matthew. It is all important. They are the words of the great Medical Missionary. Here are revealed the two working forces. Study the Word. Become familiar with the lessons of Christ. I want all to turn away from the deceptive wiles of the enemy that would allure you into works and ways that God has not called you to. Be content to take the products of the soil, the fruits and grains and vegetables, and prepare them in a healthful way. We need not the most expensive food preparations that men can provide. If men of the world desire to handle these expensive foods, let them do so; but let the children of God be satisfied with the simple preparations that give just as good blood, just as good physical strength. Yield not to the temptation to so tie up the means we need in the cause of God, to thus bind up men of talent. The Lord will bless the simple foods prepared for His people. This I give to you as the light God has given me. 21LtMs, Ms 115, 1906, par. 22