1909

August 25, 1909

Talk by Sister White, at Morning Worship, Monday, August Sixteenth Especially Addressed to the Sanitarium Family

EGW 

Our experiences every day are of the highest value to us. We must have a daily experience in living with the Lord. We have a tempting devil. He will be tempting us to the end. When one says something to provoke you, shut your lips and say in your mind, “Silence is Eloquence.” Don't put magazines on your table. Let the magazines alone. It is like eating trash. Now, if we profess to be children of God, we will do just as He teaches us in His word. We will not go to magazines and such light trifling things and feed on these but get something right from the word and commit it to memory and we will find that when the enemy combats us, we can resist him. WR August 25, 1909, par. 1

When he came to Christ did he come as a very offensive looking man? No, he came as an angel of glory and said in regard to Christ's hunger, “If thou be the son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” Did Christ take him right up? Not a word did He say. He only took the scripture, “It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Think of that. Be full of scripture, not these old magazines. You want to commit to memory scripture. WR August 25, 1909, par. 2

Satan could not do anything with Christ on that point. Then he took him up onto a pinnacle of the temple and said to him. “If thou be the son of God cast thyself down, for it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways.” God did not want Christ to take up an argument with Satan. Satan continued, “Throw thyself down; It is written that His angels shall have charge over thee.” And so Christ quoted the scriptures, “It is written that thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” He would not place himself in peril to show his greater power. He was hungry. He had fasted forty days. Satan came to him in his weakness thinking to get the better of him, but was disappointed. WR August 25, 1909, par. 3

“He will keep thee in all thy ways,”—not Satan's ways. Temptations will come to us and we have got to be storing our minds now with scripture lessons and the blessing of God will come to every one in this institution and there will be sick ones here to whom you can speak a word in season. Nothing helps so much as a word of sympathy, kindness and love and let that come into the Sanitarium and it will do you just as much good as it would do them and perhaps a good deal more. WR August 25, 1909, par. 4

Well, the devil found out that he could not tempt Christ in that way so he took him up onto a high mountain and showed him the glory of the world and said, “This is mine. I have the right to give it and if thou wilt fall down and worship me, I will give it to thee.” Then Christ's time came. He said, “Get thee hence Satan. It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.” Now, these are the very lessons we have got to go over. We must live, every one of us, by the simplicity of true Godliness. It brings such a power, for the angels of God are right around us. We are not left to our own dispositions and to have no help. There are angels of God that will encourage every thought that is sent up to God in prayer even when walking wherever we are. We have a God who understands every move that we make and these Sanitariums are established in the order of God, that we might be co-laborers with Jesus Christ. He is just as merciful in heaven as he was here upon earth, just as glad to take hold and help if we will take hold of him by faith, and because he is in the heavens, it is not at all for you to feel that you are left alone to struggle and struggle and struggle with difficulties. Thank God you can speak a word in season to some one around you. You can fight the devil in that very way. “It is written.” You can thus meet the enemy with words out of the scripture and you will become strengthened; your living experience will grow day by day and you will find that you are perfecting such a character that you can be transferred to the future immortal life, and there is no danger of your being overthrown by the devil there. Then let every one, young and old, put entire trust in the word and let all heaven see that you understand the word of the living God, that you have studied it and that you will meet the devil on his own ground by a power that he has no influence to oppose. He can't do it. Why? Your hand has a hold on the Infinite; by living faith you grasp a power and Satan cannot come in to lead you away from that word while you have it in your mind and heart and your lips. How much you can help those who come to this institution who know nothing hardly about God, by dropping a word in season. God help every one of you. WR August 25, 1909, par. 5

I am thankful to see so many here and feel that every one of us will struggle on, for we must, in the name of the overcomer, with the strength of the overcomer, and we can say, “I overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of His testimony,”—that testimony that Christ has given and let us strive to see how much missionary work we can do right here in this blessed Sanitarium, and if we do we shall bring light here. We shall bring the presence of God here and our own hearts will be strengthened to resist temptations. Well, now let us launch right out upon the path of faith, “It is written,” and the blessing of God will abide upon us abundantly. WR August 25, 1909, par. 6