Testimonies for the Church
121
As the Lord has manifested Himself through the Spirit of prophecy,
past, present, and future have passed before me. I have been shown
faces that I had never seen, and years afterward I knew them when
I saw them. I have been aroused from my sleep with a vivid sense
of subjects previously presented to my mind; and I have written, at
midnight, letters that have gone across the continent and, arriving at
a crisis, have saved great disaster to the cause of God. This has been
my work for many years. A power has impelled me to reprove and
rebuke wrongs that I had not thought of. Is this work from above or
from beneath
Satan’s Aim Is to Cause Doubt
In many cases the Testimonies are fully received, the sin and in-
dulgence broken off, and reformation at once commences in harmony
with the light God has given. In other instances sinful indulgences are
cherished, the Testimonies are rejected, and many excuses which are
untrue are offered to others as the reason for refusing to receive them.
The true reason is not given. It is a lack of moral courage—a will,
strengthened and controlled by the Spirit of God, to renounce hurtful
habits.
Satan has ability to suggest doubts and to devise objections to the
pointed testimony that God sends, and many think it a virtue, a mark
of intelligence in them, to be unbelieving and to question and quibble.
Those who desire to doubt will have plenty of room. God does not
propose to remove all occasion for unbelief. He gives evidence, which
must be carefully investigated with a humble mind and a teachable
spirit, and all should decide from the weight of evidence. God gives
sufficient evidence for the candid mind to believe; but he who turns
from the weight of evidence because there are a few things which he
cannot make plain to his finite understanding will be left in the cold,
chilling atmosphere of unbelief and questioning doubts, and will make
shipwreck of faith.
It is Satan’s plan to weaken the faith of God’s people in the Testi-
monies. Satan knows how to make his attacks. He works upon minds
to excite jealousy and dissatisfaction toward those at the head of the
work.
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Testimonies for the Church 5:671