Talk/Remarks by E. G. White at Carr Street Church, to Ministers and Workers
Los Angeles, California
March 20, 1912
Previously unpublished.
John 17:1-26. It is Jesus that is speaking. You see how strong is the power that God has given, that we should be one as Christ is one with the Father. 25LtMs, Ms 80, 1912, par. 1
I have had a tremendous burden upon me for some time. It is that I must speak to the people. Households must be brought into right relation to God if they expect to have a saving influence over their children. And this work is to be carried on intelligently. It is not to be a haphazard work. I have seen it so much, and had represented to me so much its influence on the children. Go right to the children and say to them, Do you know that I have dedicated you to the Lord? 25LtMs, Ms 80, 1912, par. 2
The parents must be just as careful not to allow the spirit of dissension to come into the house, not to allow the children to take up this spirit, for the devil is present to cause it to make its impression upon the home life. Here are the parents. They have a great work to bring their children to Jesus Christ. Christ has given them His Word, and if they will carry it out, all this dissension and lack of unity will be gone because they are baptized with the Holy Spirit. Now there is a tremendous work to be done, and I want that all should understand it. 25LtMs, Ms 80, 1912, par. 3
Parents are to be reconverted, and the Holy Spirit of God is to make its impression upon the human mind. Every soul that claims to read the Word must live that Word, must carry it out before the children. I have had a care of children beside my own, and I have seen what was the best influence. The Word will have an influence, and we want just the same kind of spirit to be exerted in the grown-up children, to come right up with a good sensible mind and be converted. That is the work that is to be done. It is a great work and a simple work. It is a work that can be carried out by parents, and in it you soften your own spirit. You are converting yourself, that you will not become passionate and fling yourself on the devil’s side. It will not answer. What we want is to know that we have gotten hold from above. 25LtMs, Ms 80, 1912, par. 4
I want to say that we are too independent in our own ideas of ourselves. Many are too independent. They want to carry the lead in doing, and thus they get out of the humble path of meekness and obedience. It will not answer. What we want is to educate, educate, educate, and then the children will see that we do not want to cause them suffering, but that we want them to be conformed into the likeness of Christ. I kept that before them over and over again, and I never struck one of them a blow, only once under a necessity. I want to say that the Lord wants parents to be converted. Day and night I am burdened with this so that I cannot sleep but a very few hours. 25LtMs, Ms 80, 1912, par. 5
My mind is drawn out after those that are to be warned and to be converted and to humble their hearts before God. If they will only come into right relation to God, do you think my Saviour would pass them by? Do you think my Saviour would not notice that these children, who have been brought up under the rattan whenever they did wrong, would respond to what we were trying to do for them? Well, this is the way that we want to bring ourselves into right relation to God. We want to humble our hearts before Him. Jesus loves us. 25LtMs, Ms 80, 1912, par. 6
This chapter that I have read to you is full of breadth and mercy and love that He is waiting to bestow upon everyone that will walk obediently and humbly with God. I wanted to say these few words to you, and to say that we have had our own way altogether too much. We have acted too much like stubborn children, but the Lord is not pleased with any stubbornness that we allow in the human disposition. 25LtMs, Ms 80, 1912, par. 7
We can divert the minds of the children to Christ and what He bore for us, and this will reach their hearts. What we want is religion. Let us take right hold, here at this meeting, and let us be determined that we will be transformed in character. We will have that spirit that Christ has enjoined upon us to bring to Him. He will accept that spirit and we shall be preparing our children for a home above. Where the parents are so careless, many of the children are not being converted. They are being transformed into another character, into a character that Christ will not accept, and that is a terrible thing. We cannot allow that. Our churches will become weak and feeble. 25LtMs, Ms 80, 1912, par. 8
Now, the Lord Jesus wants us to live out this chapter. Thank the Lord for the possibility of keeping His Word. Do not let those that are older and have an experience spoil that experience by hasty words and faultfinding. You cannot afford it. Now let us, for Christ’s sake, come into right relation to God. If we will do this, we shall see of the mighty power of God in such a place as this, and it is this that needs the melting, moving Spirit of Christ. 25LtMs, Ms 80, 1912, par. 9
As we have come together here, the less attention that we give to spiritual things the more bold we will become to think we are righteous. We will claim to be, and think that we are, righteous. But what we want is to be in harmony with the One that came to the world, whom the Father gave up to death to save us from eternal death. Now it is no use to talk that you are converted and then find fault with everything that does not exactly meet your mind, because your mind is no more perfect that somebody else’s. You want to know what saith the Scriptures. You take this chapter and read it. 25LtMs, Ms 80, 1912, par. 10
I have not had a night’s rest for a long time. I am charged to give the message to men and women and children. I do not want to talk long now. I want to just get your mind on the possibilities of your thorough conversion, and when that comes, you will strike a note that we shall all recognize. Let us every one be converted. Let this meeting be one of decided interest, a meeting where we shall do something ourselves—give ourselves to the converting power of God. We will cast ourselves into the arms of Jesus, and I beseech you, let us every one seek for a right relation to God with our families, fathers and mothers and children, and that spirit will run through this congregation, and we shall see that God accepts us as we come to Him in our weakness. The light of heaven we want, and perfect submission to Jesus Christ. 25LtMs, Ms 80, 1912, par. 11