Matthew 25:14-16. Oh, there is trading to be done by every one of us. If God has given us talents, it is that we may trade with them; that we may put them out at usury, that we may make the very best use of every capability, of every power, that God has given us. Verses 17-24. When he said he knew the Lord, it was very evident that he did not know Him. Few can say, I know the Lord. Many proclaim that they know all about the will of God, all the knowledge that they should have of Him; but they do not have it. If they did know, they would never say that they did; because it would place them in such contrast with the God of heaven that they would feel that they did not know anything. “I knew thee that thou art a hard man” [Verse 24], shows that he did not know anything about God. He was afraid, and so will every one be who charges God with being a hard man.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 1

When we see God in His character as it is, we will see a God of goodness, as He proclaimed Himself to Moses, a God of compassion, one that forgiveth transgressions and sins, and that will by no means clear the guilty. He was afraid of God. What was he afraid about? [He was] afraid to lay his endowments at the feet of the Master. He laid them at the feet of the enemy by hiding his talents in the earth; but he was afraid to lay them at the feet of Him who purchased them with His own blood. Verses 25-29.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 2

Those who have not obtained a knowledge of God, and those that have not faith and trust in Him, are the ones who will not venture anything. Those who will take the powers that God has given them to see that they can gather to themselves some earthly gain, and that too, notwithstanding the calls on every side, from all parts of the world which is in darkness and sin, and notwithstanding God has said, “Ye are the light of the world” [Matthew 5:14],—every one that pursues such a course cannot commit that to Jesus Christ which He has purchased with His own blood. Thus the very capabilities, the very talents, that he had here will be taken away. He loses them. They dwindle away.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 3

Whence cometh our power of reasoning? Who gave it to us? Who has given us intellect? Who has given us tact, thought, sharpness to devise, plan, and execute? Did it spring from ourselves? Who gave Daniel wisdom? It was the God of heaven. He gave him understanding. To whom, then, are we responsible? To the God of heaven. Well, then, can we depend on the Lord when we watch on the right hand and when we watch on the left hand, and in His strength we can follow in the footsteps of Jesus, who said, “I came to seek and to save that which was lost.” [Luke 19:10.]7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 4

This is our work. And it is the most solemn work ever given to mortals. And when we take hold of this work intelligently, when we take hold of it consecrated to God, all that we have and are, then we will begin to exercise all the ability and tact and power that God has given us, with an eye single to His glory. We will not, then, be studying how to make the best account of our ability and talent in glorifying and pleasing ourselves. There is a greater work than this.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 5

The Master requires more of us than this. Here is a world lying in wickedness, and He does not ask of you anything that He has not given you an example of in His own life. He left the royal courts of heaven, clothed His divinity with humanity, became a man of sorrows, a man acquainted with grief.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 6

If you are trying to find an easy way to go through this world that you shall not suffer any cross, any temptation, any loss, just think of Jesus. He left the glory that He had with the Father before the world was and came to our world to walk among the children of men. He was the only one that could save us. He was the only one that could work out for us the glorious deliverance from the power and thraldom of Satan. He was the only one that could place us on vantage ground. How? Through any goodness of our own? No. Through His own merits; through His own righteousness. He has bought us. He has ransomed us. He bought our reason. He purchased our intellect; He purchased our souls; He purchased every power, every ability that God has given to man, that we should use that ability to the glory of the Master that has bought us, that we might engage in His work with all the powers of our being. He stands first. I stand less, in a subordinate position. Self cannot be regarded as supreme.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 7

The solemn, sacred work of God rests upon us. We want to gather every ray of light that comes from the throne of glory. We want knowledge; we want wisdom; we want to put to use every entrusted endowment received from our Heavenly Father. Then our knowledge increases. Use what you have, and you will receive more; but if you do not use what you have, you will lose even what you did have, as well as that which you might gain. Our Heavenly Father has committed to us talents, and we are to use them. Every one must work. There is not one excused. There is no excuse. There is not a soul that has professed the name of Jesus Christ that has any excuse for shunning [the] responsibility that is required of him in this age and time. As we approach the close of this earth’s history, our responsibilities press heavier upon us, and there is a necessity for every one to work.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 8

Here in Battle Creek is a large church, and they keep crowding into it. Suppose every one of you who professes to have tasted of the powers of the world to come, and who professes to believe the Bible, should let your light shine. “Ye are,” says Christ, “the light of the world.” [Matthew 5:14.] Is Battle Creek the world? No, only a small portion of it. But you can let your light shine to the very utmost where you are. If you are compelled to remain here, let it shine. But not only here; there are places all around us where we can let our light shine.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 9

This parable of the householder and the talents follows another parable—the parable of the ten virgins. Five of them were wise, and five of them were foolish. It speaks of the foolish taking their lamps, but having no oil in them. How is it with us? Many of us profess to believe the Scriptures; but will that save us? No; the devils believe and tremble, but they have not the right kind of faith. The man with one talent hid it in the earth. What for: To center upon himself all his capabilities; [all his] thought and burden must be placed upon his poor self. That was what made him afraid.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 10

Many often come and say, O, that you could only tell me how I shall know that I am accepted of God! What answer can I give? What advice can I give? I can only say, Do not think anything about your feelings, that is no criterion; but just go to work; taking up the burdens lying next to you, consider that you are laborers together with God. Ye are God’s husbandry; ye are God’s building, and the work for you to do is to let God build you. You cannot build yourself. You can not cleanse yourself from a single spot or stain of sin. Ye are God’s building. He has built you. Just take hold of the power of God, and you will build for time and for eternity.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 11

You must have a molding influence upon those around you. It is your business, before God, to study how you can bring the solid timbers into your character. You want to cultivate a right disposition? You cannot have a fractious, fretting, miserable temper, and yet be building for eternity. God cannot have you in His kingdom unless you have the grace that comes from Christ, that you may be building character every day.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 12

Why were five wise and five foolish? What does this parable teach? It follows another parable of our Saviour, recorded in the 24th chapter of Matthew, commencing with the 42nd verse. “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?”7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 13

What is our work? We must diffuse light. We have to eat and work. What are we to eat? “Except ye eat my flesh,” said Christ, “and drink my blood, ye cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.” [John 6:54.] But again, He says, The flesh profiteth nothing; but My words, they are spirit, they are life. [Verse 63.] It is not enough to have merely an assenting faith. “Yes, yes, I believe this; I believe the Bible.” But what are you doing with it? Are you practicing it? Unless you practice the sayings of Christ, it will do you no good. You are just like that man who took his talent and buried it in the earth. He did nothing. It is for us to practice the truth God has given us, the rich jewels, the precious ore, and we are not to feel that we have it all, but sink the shaft deeper and deeper, that it may bring up the precious gold; every ray of light that we have, let it be dispensed to others.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 14

Why was the caution given that “in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh”? [Matthew 24:44.] The people have been, in their finite minds, hunting up the reckoning that will bring the period of Christ’s coming almost to a certainty and a definite time set for that event. But did He come? No; and we did not expect that He would. No one knows the time, and therefore the caution is, “Watch.” [Verse 42.] What is the matter? You get your mind fixed on a definite point of time, and what are you doing? What influence does it have upon you? You are led to neglect the very duties of the day. It is the very little, small duties, that appear small to you at the present time, that you omit although they are of great importance. That is the reason the matter is left in uncertainty.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 15

God wants you to be ready today. It is only today that is yours. Tomorrow is not yours at all. When tomorrow comes, if God spares your life for tomorrow, you have the day before you. What then? Don’t think of next week or next month, but what shall I do today? Difficulties will rush into your mind, but it is to have submission for the day. Then when the evils come, the grace of God will help you to bear them. If you do this, you will see that nine-tenths of all your difficulties will disappear.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 16

This poor man that hid his talent in the earth, expecting that he would thus preserve it, lost all he had. Why? Because he did not do as the Lord told him; he did not trade. Every one of us is to make the very best use of our talent here, because we are to bring the gems of truth into our character. Here is the simple truth. I have learned the truth of the Bible; I have learned the preciousness of the promise; I have learned what it means to be justified by faith; I have learned what the righteousness of Christ means: it is very precious; it is the precious gems of truth that we are to appreciate. What are we going to do with them? Are we going to bury up all there is of us in business matters in the earth? No; there is something better than that. What is it? Put it out to the exchangers.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 17

Do I see the danger of my brethren and sisters making everything of the world? Shall I not tell them of it? What shall I do?—just as Christ did. He came to the world because men had lost eternity out of their reckoning. And, oh, how many have lost it out of their reckoning now! Eternity was eclipsed to them. They made a world of an atom, and an atom of the world. But Christ came and took the world by the hand and placed it in its proper position. He does not despise the world, for He made it. He was the Creator of the world; but He takes it and places it in a position of subordination.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 18

If you can, glorify His name; if you can, honor the God of Heaven who created the heavens and the earth. That is your first business. It is to put every ray of light, and every jot of influence that you have, on the Lord’s side. You are not to gather any glory to yourself whatsoever. Stand in rank and file, and be ready, when the call is made, to answer, Here am I, Lord. The hand is up, ready for action, ready to take the work God has given me to do. This is the every-day business of our lifetime.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 19

The one-talent man has a work to do, and God will not excuse you from using it. If you bury up all there is of you in the world, God will call you to account. If all your influence and ability is to plan and devise how you can make money, how you can lay up treasure on the earth, you will have taken away from you even that which you have. Even your very ability. And He can take away all that you have, in more senses than one, for He states that there shall be a gathering that scattereth, and a scattering that increaseth.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 20

We want to understand our proper relation to God; we want to know how we stand in the presence of God. I want you to see that it is not in the providence of God that any finite man shall, by any device or reckoning that he may make of figures or of symbols or of types, know with any definiteness in regard to the very period of the Lord’s coming. What shall we know? We are to study the signs, which show that He is at the door. Well, you say, I have expected it, and I have waited a long time, and the Master has not come yet; and this long time of waiting makes me think that He is not coming.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 21

Just so those foolish virgins began to think. They did not have any supply of grace to enable them to stand the test or trial. Yes, it takes time, and God knew it. And He takes time to test us and to prove us, to see who has the real, genuine righteousness of Christ. And He will test us to see if we can bear with patience, waiting and watching, and working as well. We may be waiting, but not in idle expectancy, saying, I will not plant that tree because the Lord is coming; I will not do this work in building a meetinghouse for the people to assemble to worship God because the Lord is coming. No; if the Lord is coming, we want to work with the more diligence to uphold and to gather the Lord’s sheep and to bring them into the fold.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 22

We want our colleges. Why? Because we want to bring the students out of the world that they may leave its practices, its customs, its superstitions, and its policy; and that they may be educated as to what truth is. It means something to bring practical religion into the life. There are so many who profess godliness, and yet you cannot distinguish by their dress, by their appearance, by their conversation, by their deportment, or by any of their actions that there is any difference between them and the world.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 23

We are to represent Jesus Christ. We are to look at His character, at His life of self-denial, patience, kindness, [and] forbearance. He ate with publicans and sinners, not that He might partake of their luxuries or their amusement, or of their feasting, but that He might diffuse the precious gems of truth, [and] scatter these gems as He was sitting at their table. And those precious jewels of truth which fell from His lips would remain in their hearts. And although they might not yield at once to the influences of the Spirit of God, they would be affected by them and finally yield to them. Why? Because He is drawing them all the time.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 24

Christ is drawing every soul in this congregation, and if you do not come to Him it is because sin lies at your own door. What are we to do? Have Jesus Christ with us every hour and every minute. You are to have an eye single to the glory of God, and not one moment for trifling conversation. There must be no guile in your mouth; there must be no joking or trifling; and yet you can be the most cheerful and happy people in all the world, because Christ is bound up in your life, and your life is bound up in the life of Jesus Christ. Why, then, should we not be happy, connected with the Redeemer of the world, connected with the God of heaven?7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 25

All the heavenly intelligences are your witnesses, and you are a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men. We want, then, a religion that saves every moment, saves from ourselves. We are not to look here to see how we feel. We are not to glorify ourselves, because we have nothing to glory in. All that we have [is] entrusted to us that we may bless all with whom we associate. [Is it] a poor widow? Try to comfort and encourage her. Is it one in poverty, man or woman? Try to speak a comforting word. Do as Christ did—diffuse light. Let the word of kindness be upon your lips. Be courteous. Try in every way to represent the love and tenderness and compassion of Jesus Christ. We ought, every soul, to live by the day. Let us seek to understand our Bibles just for today. And when we come to the types, let us trace in them all that God has given us, that we may understand them.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 26

But when your finite minds are seeking to settle upon some definite point at which Christ will come, beware, be careful! Why? Because if you set a time, that time will pass. We know that time will pass. And when that time passes, there will be a shaking always. “There!” you say, “there! there must be an error. I thought I was perfectly right; I thought the Spirit of God was moving upon me. I thought I saw great light; but now I cannot tell where I am.” No, we must live by the moment; and every moment we are to watch. How does any one of us know when the hour will come for our probation to close and our work be done, and we can lay our armor off? How can we know? How can we tell? We cannot tell.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 27

We know that those who go out from their homes, frequently never return again. Therefore, when you arise in the morning, rise with the praise of God upon your lips; and when you go out to your work, go with a prayer to God for help. If you have a large amount of work to do don’t you see that then you have a large amount of praying to do as well? And if you have a press of financial responsibilities, then you are to seek the throne of grace with greater earnestness, saying, “I will not let thee go except thou bless me,” just as did Jacob, praying to the Mighty One. [Genesis 32:26.] As you feel after God, He takes your hand, and lays it in His own.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 28

We want daily religion. We want to manifest a zeal which we have not yet manifested. We do not need to get up an excitement or an emotion, as in regard to a special, definite time for the Lord to come. No, we have truth enough that will prepare us for the time; but we do not want to go to sleep. We want the oil of grace, and we want that righteousness of Jesus Christ; we are not safe an hour without it. What if you should, for one day, be careless or indifferent? The souls with whom you are associating are watching you, because you are a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men; and they say, There! I don’t see that he acts any differently from what I do; he is just as full of amusement and lightness and trifling, and I don’t see any difference between us. I guess I am safe. And thus they neglect their souls.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 29

Let us remember that every one of us will be judged according to the light which God has given us. We are accountable for the light which shines upon our pathway for today. Has God given us light and knowledge? If He has, then we should impart it to others. How? Your very deportment, your very character, is to show that we have a religion that corresponds with our profession of faith. If you do not act in accordance with your profession, if you are light and frivolous and worldly, if you love money, and if you are burying your talent in the earth, all you can expect is to fare just as did that unfaithful servant.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 30

Will the Master say, “Good and faithful,” when you are not? when you are only self-centered? [Matthew 25:21.] The world requires at least that your light shall shine, that you shall be a living stone in the building that you may reveal the light that is in you to others, that you shall show that the truth means something to you, that it sanctifies the heart, that it is brought into the inner temple, that it is not left in the outer court. You do not take off your religion as a cloak, neither can you thus put it on.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 31

The Lord is coming; I believe it with all my heart, and I am going to work just as diligently, and need to work, all the time, every day, just as though I knew it was the last. Shall we not work on that plan? There are thousands who are tarrying, backslidden from God, exerting an influence on the enemy’s side. Can you afford it? Can you allow your time to pass, and you not lifting up your voice and proclaiming, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world”? [John 1:29.]7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 32

What are you doing? Are you beholding Him? Are your eyes riveted upon Him? If you are beholding Him, you are being made like Him. If the enemy is interposing his hellish shadow between your soul and your God, you are able to remove that shadow because you have divine assistance. What we want is to look and live. Look in faith, and there will be a power that will come into your life, interwoven into your experience, and the invitation of every one will be, “Come and hear what the Lord has done for me. He died to redeem me. He is coming to take me to Himself; and I am living for the future, the immortal life. I am taking eternity into my reckoning; and I reckon that the trials and afflictions and persecutions of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 33

Paul took eternity into his reckoning, and he declares that those light afflictions which are but for a moment here, work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. [2 Corinthians 4:17.] Then how can the light afflictions of this life so absorb our attention, our life, and our affections? We are looking beyond time; we are looking to eternity. We are trying to live in such a way that Christ can say, Well done, good and faithful servant. Let us live, every one of us, in that way.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 34

We may make mistakes; we may err; but God will not leave us in error. “If we sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous.” [1 John 2:1.] There is hope for us; we are prisoners of hope. Let us grasp the rich promises of God. The garden of God is full of rich promises. Oh let us gather them; let us take them home; let us show that we believe in God. Let us take Him at His word; let not one of us be found distrusting God or doubting Him.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 35

Let us be growing Christians. We are not to stand still. We are to be in advance today of what we were yesterday, every day learning to be more trustful, more fully relying upon Jesus. Thus we are to grow up. You do not, at one bound, reach perfection; sanctification is the work of a lifetime. Trials come today. Do I throw myself like a spoiled child? I have seen professed Christians act in just that way; they throw themselves, desperately. They are desperate. They talk desperately; they act desperately. They are just like spoiled children. In that case they get no reward. They come out of the trial on the devil’s side.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 36

When the trials come, look to Jesus. And in the help He gives, we can say we are more than conquerors through Him that hath loved us. And then when the next trial comes, we know how to endure it. We do not fall in it. But we know that He gave us the victory; and we will go to God. We will not be afraid of Him, afraid that we will offend Him. We will not take anything that is His and use it for ourselves. Of His own He has freely given. That is the spirit that we are to have.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 37

And let me tell you that just as sure as you begin to live on excitement, on the emotions, on this kind of religion, you will be just like a dead dry stick. You will be worthless if you are not a branch of the living Vine, drawing sap and nourishment from it every day. The branch that is grafted into the vine is nourished by the sap which flows through the parent stock, and the branch receives that nutriment each day. If you receive nutriment, you will bear fruit every day. What is the reason some do not bear fruit in words to the glory of God? What is the reason you do not speak of heaven and heavenly things? Is not heaven worth talking about? Are not eternal realities worth dwelling upon? Oh, then, let us talk of Jesus. Let us talk of heaven and heavenly things. Let our minds take in something of the greatness of the plan of redemption, and let us make the most of our God-given responsibilities.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 38

Let us bear in mind the parable of the virgins. Only five had oil in their lamps; the others had the lamps, the knowledge, the light, everything except the oil of grace to use in their lamps. Therefore, their lamps were going out. Let us, then, have the oil of grace, the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Let us depend upon God every hour, and then we shall not come up belated when He takes with Him those that have oil in their vessels, that we will enter in to the marriage supper and not be left without in the darkness and in the gloom and despair of midnight—in hopelessness.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 39

We want to take into consideration that we are to watch. Christ told you to watch. Will you do it? Will you watch today, that you may have your mind in a devotional frame until the very close of the Sabbath? Will you watch tomorrow when engaging in your business transactions? Will you say, “Religion is religion, and business is business”? Let me tell you that none of your business bears the seal and superscription of the Lord God of heaven unless religion is in it, unless Christ is in it, unless honesty marks it, unless you stand in a position where you can do justice and judgment to every soul that is connected with you in your work.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 40

Remember that the eye of the Infinite One is upon you and upon every word you utter; and He knows the very spirit you bear. This is religion. And if you carry any other spirit in your business, then let me tell you, you need to be converted; you need to repent before God that you have lost a day, that you have hurt your soul, that you have acted as a Christian ought not to act. Ye are My witnesses, saith the Lord [Isaiah 43:10]; therefore we are to represent Jesus Christ every day of our life. And God will help us in this matter. When our Saviour shall come in the clouds of heaven we know not; we know not the day; we know not the hour; we know not the time; therefore, every moment is to be spent as though it might be our last. We are to do work for time and eternity.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 41

Who of you have talents and are not using them to the glory of God? Whom has God entrusted with the treasures of His word? Who has the precious jewels of truth and their hearts fraught with the love and emotions of the Spirit of God, as the Spirit has prompted their hearts to respond to the truth? What are you doing with your talents? What are you doing for the Master? He requires all there is of you. May God grant that you may give it to Him.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 42

I want heaven. I want it even if it must be at the loss of all things else. I have seen the King in His beauty; I have beheld His matchless charms. I have seen the treasures of His Word. I have seen that which has uplifted my soul in faith and confidence and hope and courage. And oh, I want to understand the Master better. I want to be following on to know the Lord, that I may know His goings forth are prepared as the morning, and that I may grow up in grace, into Christ my living Head.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 43

What kind of record will the books of heaven reveal of our daily life? How many have been trifling in dress and appearance? And lightness and trifling characterize their minds? What a representation of Jesus! What a misrepresentation! They are a cross signboard; they say, I am a Christian; but they do not represent Christ. We have great need of humbling our hearts before God. It is an individual work.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 44

Every man has his talents. Only those who put them to use double their talents. If you can use that one talent to bring one soul to heaven, that soul will bring another, and that another, and thus it is like throwing a pebble into the lake: there is a small circle, and it widens, and widens, until it reaches the shore.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 45

Put your talent out to the exchangers; work with your talents for those around you, and you can bring souls to the Master. But wait and watch and pray. Be not surfeited and drunken with the cares of this life so that that day come upon you as a thief, and you are not ready. Be not like the foolish virgins. You want grace today. You want to know that you have a living connection with God today; and every day you want to know that your connection with God is complete.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 46

I remember in 1843 a man and his wife by the name of Martin who expected the Lord to come in 1844, and they were waiting and watching. And every day they would pray to God, [and] before they would bid each other good-night they would say, It may be the Lord will come when we are asleep, and we want to be ready. The husband would ask his wife if he had said a word during the day that she had thought was not in accordance with the truth and the faith which they professed; and then she would ask him the same question. Then they would bow before the Lord and ask Him if they had sinned in thought or word or action, and if so, that He would forgive that transgression. Now we want just such simplicity as this.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 47

You want to be like little children, hanging upon the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour, and then you will be fortified. How? The angels of God will be around you as a wall of fire; the righteousness of Christ, which you claim, goes before you, and the glory of God is your rereward. God sanctify our tongues; God sanctify our thoughts; God sanctify our minds that we may dwell upon heavenly themes: and then that we may impart that knowledge and light to others. There is great advancement for us, and do not stop here. May God help you to make the most of your responsibilities.7LtMs, Ms 9, 1891, par. 48

Ms 8c, 1891

Ms 10, 1891