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Oddities and Eccentricities, December 16
And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of
man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.
1
Corinthians 2:4
.
We are not surprised to find that Satan will work today as he has worked
in the past. We must live by faith; for without faith it is impossible to
please God.... Boasting claims of righteousness and noisy demonstrations are
calculated to lead to a fanatical experience that will confuse many minds. If
such things are encouraged, a wave of fanaticism will come into our ranks
that will be detrimental to the work of God, and that will sweep away many
souls in a dangerous delusion. These things are designed by Satan to deceive,
if possible, the very elect.
It is our privilege to preach the Word in the demonstration of the Spirit. It
is the privilege of every soul to exercise faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. But
pure spiritual life comes only as the soul surrenders itself to the will of God
through Christ, the reconciling Saviour. It is our privilege to be worked by the
Holy Spirit. Through the exercise of faith we are brought into communion
with Christ Jesus, for Christ dwells in the hearts of all who are meek and lowly.
Theirs is a faith that works by love and purifies the soul, a faith that brings
peace to the heart, and leads in the path of self-denial and self-sacrifice....
Let there be no oddities or eccentricities of movement on the part of those
who speak the Word of truth, for such things will weaken the impression that
should be made by the Word. We must be guarded, for Satan is determined,
if possible, to intermingle with religious services his evil influence. Let there
be no theatrical display, for this will not help to strengthen belief in the Word
of God. Rather it will divert attention to the human instrument....
Those who are really under the influence of the Holy Spirit, will reveal
its power by a practical application of the eternal principles of truth. They
will reveal that the holy oil is emptied from the two olive branches into the
chambers of the soul temple. Their words will be imbued with the power of
the Holy Spirit to soften and subdue the heart. It will be manifest that the
words spoken are spirit and life.—
Letter 352, December 16, 1908
, to Elder S.
N. Haskell, president of the California Conference.
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