Independence-2 quotes

1) “Had professed Sabbath-keepers...earnestly sought and labored to be in union with the prayer of Christ, to be one as He is one with the Father, Satan’s work would have been defeated. If all had sought to be in union with the body, the fanaticism which has brought so deep a stain upon the cause of present truth...would not have arisen, for it is the result of drawing off from the body, and seeking to have an original, independent faith, regardless of the faith of the body.” Testimonies, vol 1, p 327.

“...the work of God is not committed to men who feel it their privilege to move out on their own independent judgement, to preach whatever they please, and to be responsible to no one for their instructions or work. Let this spirit of self-sufficiency once rule in our midst, and there will be no harmony of action, no unity of spirit, no safety for the work, and no healthful growth in the cause. There will be false teachers, evil workers who will, by insinuating error, draw away souls from the truth. Christ prayed that His followers might be one as He and the Father were one. Those who desire to see this prayer answered, should seek to discourage the slightest tendency to division, and try to keep the spirit of unity and love among brethren.” Review and Herald, May 28, 1888.

2) “Satan well knows that success can only attend order and harmonious action. He well knows that everything connected with heaven is in perfect order, that subjection and perfect discipline mark the movements of the angelic host. It is his studied effort to lead professed Christians just as far from heaven’s arrangement as he can; therefore he deceives even the professed people of God and makes them believe that order and discipline are enemies to spirituality, that the only safety for them is to let each pursue his own course, and to remain especially distinct from bodies of Christians who are united and are laboring to establish discipline and harmony of action. All the efforts made to establish order are considered dangerous, a restriction of rightful liberty, and hence are feared as popery. These devoted souls consider it a virtue to boast of their freedom to think and act independently. They will not take any man’s say-so. They are amenable to no man. I was shown that it is Satan’s special work to lead men to feel that it is God’s order for them to strike out for themselves and choose their own course independent of their brethren.

“God is leading a people out from the world upon the exalted platform of eternal truth...They will not be at variance, one believing one thing and another having faith and views entirely opposite, each moving independently of the body.” Testimonies, vol 1, p 650.

4) “An army would be demoralized if they did not learn to obey orders of the captain. Each soldier must act in concert. Union is strength; without union efforts are meaningless. Whatever excellent qualities a soldier may possess, he cannot be a safe trustworthy soldier if he claims a right to act independent of his fellow comrades. This independent action cannot be maintained in the service of Christ.

“Self-restraint is essential to be exercised by every Christian if they answer the prayer of Christ. He is not a good soldier who will not submit his own judgement and his own ideas to preserve unity of action....The meekness and lowliness of Christ always leads to unity and hence to strength in united action.” Manuscript Releases, vol 5, p 373-374.

“In spite of all the good qualities a man may have, he cannot be a good soldier if he acts independent of those connected with him....Take a strong team of horses. If, instead of both pulling together, one should suddenly jerk forward and the other pull back, they would not move the load, notwithstanding their great strength. So the soldiers of Christ must work in concert, else there will be a mere concourse of independent atoms....In union is strength. A few men and women who unite together, having the glory of God in view, will be growing in strength and wisdom, and gaining new victories.” Signs of the Times, September 7, 1891.

5) “One who works in harmony with the counsel of God, and in unity with the brethren, will be more efficient to do good, than ten will be who do not realize the necessity of depending upon God, and of acting in harmony with the general plan of the work.” Review and Herald, May 29, 1888.

6) “The two great powers in controversy are working, one from beneath, the other from above. Every man is under the secret influence of the one or the other, and his acts will reveal the character of the inspiration from which they proceed. Those who are united with Christ will work always in Christ’s lines. Those who are in union with Satan will work under the inspiration of their leader, opposed to the Holy Spirit’s power and action. The will of man is left free to act, and by action is revealed what spirit is moving upon the heart. ‘By their fruits ye shall know them.’” 1888 Materials, p 1508.

“Where there is unity there is strength. United we stand, divided we fall. It is the special, declared plan of the enemy of Christ and man, to break up the church into independent factions....He loves to see discord and want of harmonious action in the church.” Review and Herald, July 10, 1888.

7) “Those who are truly connected with God will not be at variance with one another. The spirit of harmony, peace, and love, His Spirit ruling in their hearts, will create harmony, love, and unity. The opposite of this works in the children of Satan; there is with them a continual contradiction. Strife, envy, and jealousy are the ruling elements. The characteristic of the Christian is the meekness of Christ. Benevolence, kindness, mercy, and love originate from Infinite Wisdom, while the opposite is the unholy fruit of a heart that is not in harmony with Jesus Christ. We ask in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, what fruit do you bear?” Manuscript Releases, vol 20, p 184.

8) “It is the will of God that union and harmony should exist among his people. Our Saviour prayed that his disciples might be one, as he is one with the Father. It should be our constant aim to reach this state of unity; but to do this we are not to sacrifice one principle of truth. It is through obedience to the truth that we are to be sanctified; for while Jesus prayed that his followers might be one, he prayed also, ‘Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.’ We are exhorted to keep the unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace. This is the evidence of our discipleship. ‘By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another;’ and conversely, our Saviour desired that his disciples might be one, that the world might know that the Father had sent him. What a thought! that the love and unity among Christians are presented as proof of our Saviour’s divine mission to the world.” Signs of the Times, May 12, 1881.

9) “...never, never forget that you are either servants of Jesus Christ, working strenuously for that unity of believers which Christ prayed might exist, or you are working against this unity and against Christ.” Testimonies, vol 5, p 478.

10) “A strange deception is upon the people of God. Selfishness prevents the unity that should exist....This shows that the members do not love God as they claim to. They give evidence that they need to be sanctified. It is the most fatal deception to suppose that a man can have faith unto life eternal without possessing Christlike love for his brethren.” Youth’s Instructor, March 22, 1900.

11) “I had a message to the believers...that all who are truly converted unto the proclamation of the third angel’s message must not present to the world, to angels, and to men, division in the place of unity.” Manuscript Releases, vol 4, p 297.

12) “Now, please stop walking in this unsanctified independence and self-confidence, for it will prove your ruin unless you see the evil and repent of it and submit to follow the way of the Lord.” Manuscript Releases, vol 20, p 119.

14) “In heaven there is perfect order, perfect obedience, perfect peace and harmony. Those who have had no respect for order or discipline in this life, would have no respect for the order which is observed in heaven. They can never be admitted into heaven, for all worthy of an entrance there will love order and respect discipline. The characters formed in this, will determine the future life. When Christ shall come, he will not change the character of any individual. Precious, probationary time is given to be improved in washing our robes of character, and making them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Counsels on Education, p 237.

15) “...the Lord Jesus has devised a plan whereby He may work counter to the work of Satan. He designs to imbue His human agents, the subjects of His kingdom, with the principles of love and unity. With sanctified heart they are to build one another up and strengthen and extend that which is good. Reciprocating Christ’s love, they are to deal in the goods of heaven. His church is to bear His superscription, and thus testify to the world that God has sent His Son to be the Saviour of the world....Love is to be interwoven as threads of gold in all their actions.” Our High Calling, p 185.

16) “The object of the gospel is met when this great end is achieved. Its work from age to age is to unite the hearts of his followers in a spirit of universal brotherhood, through belief of the truth, and thus establish heaven’s system of order and harmony in the family of God on earth, that they may be accounted worthy to become members of the royal family above. God, in his wisdom and mercy, tests men and women here, to see if they will obey his voice and respect his law, or rebel as Satan did. If they choose the side of Satan, putting his way above God’s, it would not be safe to admit them into heaven; for they would cause another revolt against the government of God in the heavenly courts.” Review and Herald, July 21, 1891.

17) “Perfection of character means perfection in unity. ‘That they all may be one,’ Christ said, ‘as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee’ (John 17:21). What possibilities are before us. Shall not our faith grasp them?” Manuscript Releases, vol 11, p 179.

“...they should not take on an independent spirit, but as followers of Christ be subject one to another. This is the very means that God has ordained that one shall have influence over another and all be transformed and molded after the divine Pattern, that all the believers in Christ are to be sanctified through the truth.” Manuscript Releases, vol 15, p 357.

18) “There is order in heaven, and it is to be imitated by those upon earth who are heirs of salvation. The nearer mortals attain to the order and arrangement of heaven, the nearer are they brought to that acceptable state before God which will make them subjects of the heavenly kingdom and give them that fitness for translation from earth to heaven...” Testimonies, vol 2, p 697-698.

19) “None should feel that it is of no special importance whether they are in union with their brethren or not; for those who do not learn to live in harmony here will never be united in heaven.” Ellen G. White in Europe, p 70.

20) “I call upon you, my (brethren), in the name of the Lord to unite with us, to close every door through which Satan would enter to cause strife and alienation among brethren. Let us counsel together. There has been altogether too much moving in one’s own independent judgement. Self-sufficiency and self-esteem lay at the foundation of the greatest trials and discords that have ever existed among the people of God. The angel of God has repeated again and again, ‘Press together! Press together! Be of one mind, of one judgement! Let God be your Leader! Follow His footsteps!’” Manuscript Releases, vol 20, p 369.

22) “In the carrying forward of God’s work, we shall not be as separate, independent agents. The unity of God’s people is to be to the world a convincing argument that God sent His Son to save the world. Christ prayed for His disciples, [John 17:21-23 quoted].

25) “It is your privilege and your duty to seek for this oneness, this unity, and thus answer the prayer of Christ. This prayer is full of instruction and consolation. As our intercessor in heaven, Christ is ever working for the unity of His people. In order to be in harmony with heaven, we must seek to be one in faith and in practice.” Manuscript Releases, vol 14, p 175-176.


	"LET THERE BE LIGHT" Ministries home \| Sermon Quotes INDEPENDENCE, Part 2 quotes 1) “Had professed Sabbath-keepers...earnestly sought and labored to be in union with the prayer of Christ, to be one as He is one with the Father, Satan’s work would have been defeated. If all had sought to be in union with the body, the fanaticism which has brought so deep a stain upon the cause of present truth...would not have arisen, for it is the result of drawing off from the body, and seeking to have an original, independent faith, regardless of the faith of the body.” Testimonies, vol 1, p 327. “...the work of God is not committed to men who feel it their privilege to move out on their own independent judgement, to preach whatever they please, and to be responsible to no one for their instructions or work. Let this spirit of self-sufficiency once rule in our midst, and there will be no harmony of action, no unity of spirit, no safety for the work, and no healthful growth in the cause. There will be false teachers, evil workers who will, by insinuating error, draw away souls from the truth. Christ prayed that His followers might be one as He and the Father were one. Those who desire to see this prayer answered, should seek to discourage the slightest tendency to division, and try to keep the spirit of unity and love among brethren.” Review and Herald, May 28, 1888. 2) “Satan well knows that success can only attend order and harmonious action. He well knows that everything connected with heaven is in perfect order, that subjection and perfect discipline mark the movements of the angelic host. It is his studied effort to lead professed Christians just as far from heaven’s arrangement as he can; therefore he deceives even the professed people of God and makes them believe that order and discipline are enemies to spirituality, that the only safety for them is to let each pursue his own course, and to remain especially distinct from bodies of Christians who are united and are laboring to establish discipline and harmony of action. All the efforts made to establish order are considered dangerous, a restriction of rightful liberty, and hence are feared as popery. These devoted souls consider it a virtue to boast of their freedom to think and act independently. They will not take any man’s say-so. They are amenable to no man. I was shown that it is Satan’s special work to lead men to feel that it is God’s order for them to strike out for themselves and choose their own course independent of their brethren. “God is leading a people out from the world upon the exalted platform of eternal truth...They will not be at variance, one believing one thing and another having faith and views entirely opposite, each moving independently of the body.” Testimonies, vol 1, p 650. 3) “...please do not use my name as sustaining you in taking an independent course.” Manuscript Releases, vol 17, p 257. 4) “An army would be demoralized if they did not learn to obey orders of the captain. Each soldier must act in concert. Union is strength; without union efforts are meaningless. Whatever excellent qualities a soldier may possess, he cannot be a safe trustworthy soldier if he claims a right to act independent of his fellow comrades. This independent action cannot be maintained in the service of Christ. “Self-restraint is essential to be exercised by every Christian if they answer the prayer of Christ. He is not a good soldier who will not submit his own judgement and his own ideas to preserve unity of action....The meekness and lowliness of Christ always leads to unity and hence to strength in united action.” Manuscript Releases, vol 5, p 373-374. “He (Christ) calls for a united army, which moves steadily forward, not for a company composed of independent atoms.” Bible Commentary, vol 4, p 1146. “In spite of all the good qualities a man may have, he cannot be a good soldier if he acts independent of those connected with him....Take a strong team of horses. If, instead of both pulling together, one should suddenly jerk forward and the other pull back, they would not move the load, notwithstanding their great strength. So the soldiers of Christ must work in concert, else there will be a mere concourse of independent atoms....In union is strength. A few men and women who unite together, having the glory of God in view, will be growing in strength and wisdom, and gaining new victories.” Signs of the Times, September 7, 1891. 5) “One who works in harmony with the counsel of God, and in unity with the brethren, will be more efficient to do good, than ten will be who do not realize the necessity of depending upon God, and of acting in harmony with the general plan of the work.” Review and Herald, May 29, 1888. 6) “The two great powers in controversy are working, one from beneath, the other from above. Every man is under the secret influence of the one or the other, and his acts will reveal the character of the inspiration from which they proceed. Those who are united with Christ will work always in Christ’s lines. Those who are in union with Satan will work under the inspiration of their leader, opposed to the Holy Spirit’s power and action. The will of man is left free to act, and by action is revealed what spirit is moving upon the heart. ‘By their fruits ye shall know them.’” 1888 Materials, p 1508. “Where there is unity there is strength. United we stand, divided we fall. It is the special, declared plan of the enemy of Christ and man, to break up the church into independent factions....He loves to see discord and want of harmonious action in the church.” Review and Herald, July 10, 1888. 7) “Those who are truly connected with God will not be at variance with one another. The spirit of harmony, peace, and love, His Spirit ruling in their hearts, will create harmony, love, and unity. The opposite of this works in the children of Satan; there is with them a continual contradiction. Strife, envy, and jealousy are the ruling elements. The characteristic of the Christian is the meekness of Christ. Benevolence, kindness, mercy, and love originate from Infinite Wisdom, while the opposite is the unholy fruit of a heart that is not in harmony with Jesus Christ. We ask in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, what fruit do you bear?” Manuscript Releases, vol 20, p 184. 8) “It is the will of God that union and harmony should exist among his people. Our Saviour prayed that his disciples might be one, as he is one with the Father. It should be our constant aim to reach this state of unity; but to do this we are not to sacrifice one principle of truth. It is through obedience to the truth that we are to be sanctified; for while Jesus prayed that his followers might be one, he prayed also, ‘Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.’ We are exhorted to keep the unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace. This is the evidence of our discipleship. ‘By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another;’ and conversely, our Saviour desired that his disciples might be one, that the world might know that the Father had sent him. What a thought! that the love and unity among Christians are presented as proof of our Saviour’s divine mission to the world.” Signs of the Times, May 12, 1881. 9) “...never, never forget that you are either servants of Jesus Christ, working strenuously for that unity of believers which Christ prayed might exist, or you are working against this unity and against Christ.” Testimonies, vol 5, p 478. 10) “A strange deception is upon the people of God. Selfishness prevents the unity that should exist....This shows that the members do not love God as they claim to. They give evidence that they need to be sanctified. It is the most fatal deception to suppose that a man can have faith unto life eternal without possessing Christlike love for his brethren.” Youth’s Instructor, March 22, 1900. 11) “I had a message to the believers...that all who are truly converted unto the proclamation of the third angel’s message must not present to the world, to angels, and to men, division in the place of unity.” Manuscript Releases, vol 4, p 297. 12) “Now, please stop walking in this unsanctified independence and self-confidence, for it will prove your ruin unless you see the evil and repent of it and submit to follow the way of the Lord.” Manuscript Releases, vol 20, p 119. 13) “A self-confident, independent spirit will never enter into the kingdom of God.” Selected Messages, book 2, p 216. “You would act an independent part in heaven as you have acted on the earth.” Kress Collection, p 152. 14) “In heaven there is perfect order, perfect obedience, perfect peace and harmony. Those who have had no respect for order or discipline in this life, would have no respect for the order which is observed in heaven. They can never be admitted into heaven, for all worthy of an entrance there will love order and respect discipline. The characters formed in this, will determine the future life. When Christ shall come, he will not change the character of any individual. Precious, probationary time is given to be improved in washing our robes of character, and making them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Counsels on Education, p 237. 15) “...the Lord Jesus has devised a plan whereby He may work counter to the work of Satan. He designs to imbue His human agents, the subjects of His kingdom, with the principles of love and unity. With sanctified heart they are to build one another up and strengthen and extend that which is good. Reciprocating Christ’s love, they are to deal in the goods of heaven. His church is to bear His superscription, and thus testify to the world that God has sent His Son to be the Saviour of the world....Love is to be interwoven as threads of gold in all their actions.” Our High Calling, p 185. 16) “The object of the gospel is met when this great end is achieved. Its work from age to age is to unite the hearts of his followers in a spirit of universal brotherhood, through belief of the truth, and thus establish heaven’s system of order and harmony in the family of God on earth, that they may be accounted worthy to become members of the royal family above. God, in his wisdom and mercy, tests men and women here, to see if they will obey his voice and respect his law, or rebel as Satan did. If they choose the side of Satan, putting his way above God’s, it would not be safe to admit them into heaven; for they would cause another revolt against the government of God in the heavenly courts.” Review and Herald, July 21, 1891. 17) “Perfection of character means perfection in unity. ‘That they all may be one,’ Christ said, ‘as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee’ (John 17:21). What possibilities are before us. Shall not our faith grasp them?” Manuscript Releases, vol 11, p 179. “...they should not take on an independent spirit, but as followers of Christ be subject one to another. This is the very means that God has ordained that one shall have influence over another and all be transformed and molded after the divine Pattern, that all the believers in Christ are to be sanctified through the truth.” Manuscript Releases, vol 15, p 357. 18) “There is order in heaven, and it is to be imitated by those upon earth who are heirs of salvation. The nearer mortals attain to the order and arrangement of heaven, the nearer are they brought to that acceptable state before God which will make them subjects of the heavenly kingdom and give them that fitness for translation from earth to heaven...” Testimonies, vol 2, p 697-698. 19) “None should feel that it is of no special importance whether they are in union with their brethren or not; for those who do not learn to live in harmony here will never be united in heaven.” Ellen G. White in Europe, p 70. 20) “I call upon you, my (brethren), in the name of the Lord to unite with us, to close every door through which Satan would enter to cause strife and alienation among brethren. Let us counsel together. There has been altogether too much moving in one’s own independent judgement. Self-sufficiency and self-esteem lay at the foundation of the greatest trials and discords that have ever existed among the people of God. The angel of God has repeated again and again, ‘Press together! Press together! Be of one mind, of one judgement! Let God be your Leader! Follow His footsteps!’” Manuscript Releases, vol 20, p 369. 21) “We may safely seek to be of one accord in doctrine and spirit, and if this were done, we would be in harmony with God's will.” Review and Herald, April 22, 1890. 22) “In the carrying forward of God’s work, we shall not be as separate, independent agents. The unity of God’s people is to be to the world a convincing argument that God sent His Son to save the world. Christ prayed for His disciples, [John 17:21-23 quoted]. “Such is the unity for which we are to seek,--such unity as exists between the Father and the Son.” Review and Herald, August 15, 1907. 23) Let There Be Light Ministries PO Box 328, Rogue River, Oregon, 97537 E-mail -- lightmin@terragon.com OR The Seventh Day Remnant Publishing Association PO Box 1794, Willits, California, 95490 E-mail -- SDRPA@SDRPA.org 24) “To a world that is broken up by discord and strife, their love and unity will testify to their connection with heaven.” Testimonies, vol 7, p 156-157. 25) “It is your privilege and your duty to seek for this oneness, this unity, and thus answer the prayer of Christ. This prayer is full of instruction and consolation. As our intercessor in heaven, Christ is ever working for the unity of His people. In order to be in harmony with heaven, we must seek to be one in faith and in practice.” Manuscript Releases, vol 14, p 175-176.