For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:11.

There are many who profess to be followers of Christ who do not have an eye single to His glory. They have their own ideas and standards, and they keep these before them instead of the standard of the Word of God. What we need is pure and undefiled religion. We need to plead for the righteousness that comes to the truly converted soul who accepts the life of the Redeemer as his example.

Let us not think that we can pass through this world doing just as we please and yet be accepted by God as followers of His Son. The gates of the City of God will never be thrown open to those who have not lifted the cross and followed after Christ in self-denial and self-sacrifice. We are never to lose sight of the fact that if ever we come into possession of the kingdom of glory, we must accept by faith the merits of Jesus Christ….

Some who pass through hardship and discouragements may feel that theirs is a joyless lot. Let them remember that Christ passed through similar experiences. He knew what poverty and hardship was. He bids you believe on His love and follow in His footsteps. He will work through those who have means to provide for those who need….

There is a world to be saved. What are you doing to cooperate with Christ? What are you doing to represent His humility of spirit? Are you seeking to become acquainted with those who are afflicted and suffering, and who need your help? Are you using your opportunities and advantages and means in winning souls to Christ? You may say, “I am not a minister, and therefore cannot preach the truth.” You may not be a minister in the generally accepted sense of the word; you may never be called to stand in the desk. Nevertheless, you can be a minister for Christ. If you will have your eyes opened to see the opportunities that present themselves for speaking a word to this soul and to that, God will speak through you to lead them to Christ….

Many of us have neglected to study the Scriptures. We have failed to develop such characters as Christ can use. The Son of God left the courts of glory and came to our world to partake of its temptations and hardships that He might lift us up and make us sons and daughters of God. He calls upon us individually to take up our appointed work wherever we are. We are to watch for souls as they that must give an account. We are to do what we can to minister to the spiritual needs of mankind….

Every day we are building character. Let us build on the Rock, Christ Jesus. This sure foundation will stand for every one of us.—Manuscript 85, August 21, 1909, sermon preached at Nevada, Iowa.

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And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Revelation 21:27.

This morning my hope is in Christ my Saviour. I pray that He will impart His Holy Spirit to me every day, that with heart and mind and strength I may glorify Him in this life. We are to do God’s work, not according to our own plans, but in accordance with the example that the Lord Jesus has given us. He came to our world to do the work appointed Him by His Father, that we might receive an education in the high science of performing genuine service for the Master.

If we practice the teachings He has given in His Word, these principles become a part of the life. This is what is meant by eating Christ’s flesh and drinking His blood. In this world we are daily to prepare for the higher life; and when we unite with the family above, we shall not be given new lessons, but a continuation of the lessons that Christ gave His disciples when He was here….

Never are we to forget that we are a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. We are to labor with a constant sense of our obligation to Him who gave His life for us…. Thus we shall glorify our heavenly Father; and when the time comes for us to lay off our armor, we shall with sincerity be able to say that we have finished the work given us to do….

Every capability and power that we possess is to be regarded as a sacred trust, to be used in revealing the power of saving grace. Let there be day by day a well-doing for God. Thus we shall prepare for a place in the mansions that Christ has gone to prepare for those who love Him…. These mansions He is preparing for those who accept the invitation “Come unto me … and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). This is the highest science that we can possibly obtain, but those who refuse Christ will never understand it. The Word of God, studied and obeyed, fits men and women for entrance into the higher courts. Those who are striving to be true Christians have the constant guardianship of heavenly angels, for they are laborers together with God….

Every day we are to become more like Jesus, learning the meekness and lowliness of Him who, though the only begotten Son of God, came to this world as our Redeemer, giving His life to pay the penalty of sin. Though hiding His divinity under the guise of humanity, He was the Mighty Counselor, the Prince of Peace. His life was filled with sympathy and love, goodness, kindness, and benevolence. He revealed the science of everlasting life—the science that we are to carry into all our efforts.—Manuscript 83, August 20, 1904, “Revealing Christ to the World.”

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He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. Revelation 21:7.

If we will put self out of sight and come into right relation to God, we will manifest a forbearance and kindness that will make us a blessing to all with whom we associate. We need to come into right relation to God, for we are not safe unless we place ourselves under the broad shield of Omnipotence. Only there can God work through us to will and to do of His good pleasure, as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling….

Many of us need a clearer understanding of what it means to be an overcomer by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. We need to learn, as we follow on to know the Lord, that His going forth is prepared as the morning. You have watched the rising sun and the gradual breaking of day over the earth. Little by little the light increases till the sun appears. Then, growing constantly stronger, the light increases until we have the full glory of the day. This preparation of the morning is a beautiful illustration of what God desires to do for us in the perfecting of our Christian experience. We cannot afford to do a haphazard work in this world. We are seeking for a life that measures with the life of God….

We need to keep ever before us the course that Christ followed. It was an overcoming course. When the devil came to Him in the wilderness of temptation, bidding Him command that the stones be made bread, that He might satisfy His hunger, the Saviour, though faint from want of food, refused to follow his suggestion…. It was in the order of God that He should have this experience that He might be touched with the feelings of the hungry, and know how to sympathize with those who were suffering and in want….

As the enemy worked to overcome the Saviour, so he will work with the human family today. But in every time of trial and difficulty, remember that Christ has passed through similar experiences, and He came out from every trial without a stain of sin upon His character. He came to show what every member of the human family may become through His grace. He understands every difficulty that we must meet, and He stands ready to strengthen those who struggle with Him against the powers of evil. He waits to hear and answer their prayers.

When heaven is won, and we pass through the gates of the City of God to hear the words “Well done, good and faithful servant;—enter thou into the joy of thy Lord,” how small will seem the trials and difficulties that have beset our pathway here.—Manuscript 17, August 19, 1911, sermon preached at Long Beach, California.

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Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. Malachi 3:18.

An awakening power must be revealed in every believer. We must no longer act like sinners, while as Christians we should be revealing a living, saving faith. Living faith in Christ Jesus will produce fruit. There will be a holy, unwavering devotion to the Lord. Laboring with an eye single to His glory, we shall be sustained amidst the perils of the last days.

What has sustained Christians in every age, amidst reproaches, temptations, and sufferings? A pure, trusting faith, constantly exercised to understand what is truth which sanctifies the receiver, a committing of the keeping of the soul to God, under any and every circumstance, as unto One whom they knew would not betray their trust. Our Creator will keep that which is committed unto Him against that day.

Christ, by His sacrifice to save sinners, evidenced His great love for the human soul. He gave His life to secure our salvation. What an insult so many, deceived by Satan’s temptations, offer to the Saviour by abusing their privileges, refusing to acknowledge His loving interest in them. Yet He, their Creator and Redeemer, bears long with them in their persistent disdain of His mercies. As this matter is daily urged upon my mind, I am so astonished that I cannot hold my peace. I long to reach sinners, and to cry out to them, “Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?” (Ezekiel 33:11).

Christ with His own blood has bought the whole human family. We are His purchased possession. He desires those who claim to believe in Him, to receive His power, that in this wicked and perverse generation they may become sons of God, and that they may reveal to a world entranced and corrupted by Satan, that God is love and [that] there is a difference, plain and distinct, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him [not]. The Lord knoweth them that are His.

The line of demarcation between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not is becoming more and more distinct. This is as the Lord designs it should be. An active, living faith distinguishes the people of God from the sinful, who by their rejection of Christ bear continually to the world a plain testimony: “I will not have this man Christ Jesus to rule over me. I will not eat and drink to the glory of God, but will follow my inclination, eating and drinking as I please. I will not wear the yoke of Christ; I will not learn His lessons of meekness and lowliness of heart; I will have my own way, and live in this world a life of pleasure.”—Letter 131, August 18, 1902, to Emma White.

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For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. Romans 14:7.

There is constant temptation for human beings to consider that any influence they have gained is the result of something valuable in themselves. The Lord does not work with these, for He will not give to any human being the glory that belongs to His own name. God would have everyone under His supervision, and recognize that to God belongs all the glory of their success….

If the human worker will walk in all humility of mind, looking to God, trusting in Him, working out his own salvation with fear and trembling, the Lord will cooperate with him. It is God that works in us to do His will for His own name’s glory. He will give His wisdom, His divine power, to everyone who is doing His service. He makes the humble trustful servant His representative—the one who will not lift himself up, and think of himself more highly than he ought to think. The life of such an one will be dedicated to God as a living sacrifice, and that life He will accept and use and sustain….

Our life is not our own. It is Christ’s life. All is His, and we are to spend our powers in doing the will of God. Watch and pray; spend and be spent in doing His will from the heart. Carry every entrusted capability as a sacred treasure, to be used in imparting to others the knowledge and grace received….

Nehemiah, after gaining so great an influence over the [Persian] monarch in whose court he lived, and over his people in Jerusalem, instead of ascribing praise to his own excellent traits of character, his remarkable aptness and energy, stated the manner just as it was. He declared that his success was due to the good hand of God that was upon him. He cherished the truth that God was his safeguard in every position of influence. For every trait of character by which he obtained favor, he praised the working power of God…. And God gave him wisdom, because he did not exalt himself. The Lord taught him how to use the gifts entrusted to him to the very best advantage, and under the supervision of God, these talents gained other talents….

Every jot of influence is to be appreciated as the gift of God. The eye of the mind is to be single to the glory of God. Then the sense of responsibility will increase. Our talents will be put out to the exchangers to increase and double. There are hundreds of men and women who, if they had a proper appreciation of the heavenly trust, would go diligently and earnestly to work to use what they have.—Letter 83, August 17, 1898, to a leading minister in Australia.

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