THE VOICE OF GODWE NEED TO DISTINGUISH THE VOICE OF GOD FROM IMITATIONS
“Those followers of Christ who accept the light that God sends them must obey the Voice of God speaking to them when there are many other voices crying out against it. It requires discernment to distinguish the Voice of God.”—3 Testimonies, 258. “It requires earnest attention from us to distinguish the Voice that speaks from God. We must resist and conquer inclination, and obey the voice of conscience without parleying or compromise, lest its promptings cease and will and impulse control.”—5 Testimonies, 69. “I speak not my own words when I say that God’s Spirit will pass by those who have had their day of test and opportunity, but who have not distinquished the Voice of God.”—2 Selected Messages, 16. “Higher education is an experimental knowledge of the plan of Salvation, and this knowledge is secured by earnest and diligent study of the Scriptures. Such an education will renew the mind and transform the character . . It will fortify the mind against the deceptive whisperings of the adversary, and enable us to understand the Voice of God.”—Counsels to Teachers, 11. SOME THINGS WHICH ARE NOT THE
VOICE OF GOD “Fanatical teachers gave themselves up to be governed by impressions, regarding every thought and impulse as the Voice of God; consequently they went to extremes.”—Great Controversy, 191. “The will and voice of finite man are not to be interpreted as the Voice of God.”—Fundamentals of Christian Education, 308. “We are not to accept the
opinions of commentators as the Voice of God; they are erring mortals like
ourselves.”—Testimonies to Ministers, 106. SOME THINGS WHICH
GOD SPEAKS TO US THROUGH “Conscience is the Voice of God, heard amid the conflict of human passions; when it is resisted, the Spirit of God is grieved.”—5 Testimonies, 120. “His Voice is also revealed in His providential workings; and it will be recognized if we do not separate our souls from Him by walking in our own ways, doing according to our own wills, and following the promptings of an unsanctified heart, until the senses have become so confused that eternal things are not discerned, and the voice of Satan is so disguised that it is accepted as the Voice of God.”—5 Testimonies, 512. “Many are still tested as was Abraham. They do not hear the Voice of God speaking directly from the heavens, but He calls them by the teachings of His Word and the events of His providence.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, 126. “The voice of duty is the Voice
of God.”—Testimonies to Ministers, 402. “The voice of duty is the Voice
of God,—an inborn Heaven-sent guide,—and the Lord will not be trifled
with upon these subjects.”—Counsels on Health, 562. TO THE DEGREE THAT THE CHURCH DRAWS AWAY FROM OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S WORD, IT CEASES TO BE GOD’S VOICE! IS THE GENERAL CONFERENCE THE
VOICE OF GOD? 1875—“I have been shown that no man’s judgment should be surrendered to the judgment of any one man. But when the judgment of the General Conference, which is the highest authority that God has on earth, is exercised, private independence and private judgment must not be maintained.”—3 Testimonies, 492. 1889—“We
acknowledge the General Conference to be the highest authority recognized
by God on earth. Here the whole of our people are represented, and speak
through their delegates. Here is not north nor south, nor east nor west,
it is one the world over.”—Taken from an address by President
Olsen. General Conference Bulletin, October 23, 1889. 1894—“Do not misunderstand me as approving of the recent action of the General Conference Association of which you write, but in regard to that matter it is right that I should speak to them. They have many difficulties to meet and if they err in their action, the Lord knows it all, and can overrule for the good of those who trust in Him.”—The Paulson Collection, 422. Testimony to Elder Littlejohn, August 1, 1894. 1895—“I do not find rest in spirit. Scene after scene is presented in symbols before me, and I find no rest until I begin to write out the matter. At the center of the work matters are being shaped so that every other institution is following in the same course. And the General Conference itself is becoming corrupted with wrong sentiments and principles.”—Testimonies to Ministers, 359. 1896—“Who can now feel sure that they are safe in respecting the voice of the General Conference Association? If the people in our churches understood the management of the men who walk in the light of the sparks of their own kindling, would they respect their decisions? I answer, no, not for a moment. I have been shown the heart of the work is being diseased at Battle Creek. Many of the people are in a lethargic, listless, apathetic condition and assent to plans which they do not understand.”—The Paulson Collection, 422. Special Testimony to the Review and Herald Office in Battle Creek, 1896. “The same work that has been done in the past will be carried forward under the guise of the General Conference Association. The sacred character of this association is fast disappearing. Who then will be respected as pure, holy, and undefiled? Will there be any voice that God’s people can respect as a voice to be respected? There certainly is nothing now that bears the divine credentials. Who can now feel sure that they are safe in respecting the voice of the General Conference Association? Much pride and loftiness and a spirit which desires to rule has been manifested; but very little of the spirit which leads men to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn of Him, has been shown. Human inventions and human plans are eclipsing sacred things, and excluding divine instruction. Men are taking the place of God by seeking to assume authority over their fellowmen.”— Spalding and Magan Collection, 35. Taken from letter to Elder O. A. Olsen, “Sunnyside, Cooranbong, NSW, May 31, 1896. 1899—“Let those in America who suppose the voice of the General Conference to be the Voice of God, that is past.”—General Conference Bulletin 1901, page 25, column 2, para. 1. 1901—“Let those in America who suppose the voice of the General Conference to be the Voice of God, become one with God before they utter their opinions.”—Manuscript Releases, Vol. 13, 291. Testimony to Elder S.N. Haskell, November 15, 1899. “The voice of the General Conference has been represented as an authority to be heeded as the Voice of the Holy Spirit. But when members of the General Conference become entangled in business affairs and financial perplexities, the sacred elevated character of their work is to a great degree lost. The temple of God becomes a place of merchandise and the ministers of God’s house as commercial businessmen.”—Manuscript Releases, Vol. 14, 278. “Those who have not been in the habit of searching the Bible for themselves or weighing evidence have confidence in the leading men and accept the decisions they make; and thus many will reject the very messages God sends to His people if these leading brethren do not accept them.”—Testimonies to Ministers, 106-107. “A strange thing has come into our churches. Men who are placed in positions of responsibility that they may be wise helpers to their fellow workers have come to suppose that they were set as kings and rulers in the churches, to say to one brother, Do this; to another, Do that; and to another, Be sure to labor in such and such a way. There have been places where workers have been told that, if they do not follow the instructions of these men of responsibility, their pay from the conference would be withheld.”—Testimonies to Ministers, 477. “There is a little hope in one direction. Take the young men and women and place them where they will come as little in contact with our churches as possible, that the low grade of piety which is current in this day shall not leaven their ideas of what it means to be a Christian.”—The Paulson Collection, 344-345. Letter 16-16f, May 9, 1892. “One thing certain is soon to be realized,—the great apostasy, which is developing and increasing and waxing stronger will continue to do so until the Lord shall descend from heaven with a shout.”— Series B, No. 7, 1905, 57. “The church has turned back from following Christ her Leader and is steadily retreating toward Egypt.”—5 Testimonies, 217. “Christ has departed. His Spirit has been quenched in the church.”—2 Testimonies, 442. “Let laborers take into their confidence the brethren who are free to point out every departure from right principles.”—9 Testimonies, 258. “Many will stand in our pulpits with the torch of false prophesy in their hands, kindled from the hellish torch of Satan.”—Testimonies To Ministers, 409-410. “We should never permit the spirit to be manifested that arraigned the priests and rulers against the Redeemer of the world. They complained that He disturbed the people, and they wished He would let them alone; for He caused perplexity and dissension. The Lord sends light to us to prove what manner of spirit we are of.”—Counsels to Editors, 43. The following quotation, from Ellen White, comes from page two of a letter to Edson and William White, and recorded April 21, 1921, in a letter to Elder A.G. Daniels, Takoma Park, Washington, D.C. “Because those in position of
responsibility have for years left the Southern field unworked,
notwithstanding the most decided testimonies urging them to take up this
work; because they continue to neglect this field, and use every manner of
device in trying to uproot the confidence of the people in those who have
done the hardest and the most self-sacrificing work in the South, I have
but very little confidence that the Lord is giving these men in position
of responsibility spiritual eyesight and heavenly discernment. I am thrown
into perplexity over their course; and I desire now to attend to my
special work, to have no part in any of their councils, and to attend no
camp-meetings nigh and afar off. My mind shall not be dragged into
confusion by the tendency they
manifest to work directly contrary to the light that God has given me. I
am done. I will preserve my God-given intelligence.”—Manuscript
Releases, Vol. 17, 64. The spirit of domination is extended to the presidents of our conferences . . They are following in the track of Romanism.”—Testimonies to Ministers, 1895, 362. “Men are seeking to grasp the scepter of power and hold control . . and the voice they now have in the cause of God is not the Voice of God.”—Testimonies to Ministers, 1896, 291. BUT, WHEN FELLOW BELIEVERS ARE OBEYING GOD’S WORD, WE SHOULD RESPECT THEIR COUNSEL “God has invested His
church with special authority and power which no one can be justified in
disregarding and despising, for he who does this despises the Voice of
God.”—Acts of the Apostles, 164. “God has placed a voice in the church which must control its members.”—5 Testimonies, 108. “It is the Voice of God in His
united people in church capacity which is to be respected.”—3
Testimonies, 451. WE CAN BE CERTAIN THAT THE INSPIRED WRITINGS CONTAIN THE VOICE OF GOD “Those who have not a
living connection with God have not an appreciation of the Holy Spirit’s
manifestation, and do not distinguish between the sacred and common. They
do not obey God’s Voice, because, as the Jewish nation, they know not
the time of their visitation. There is no help for man, woman, or child,
who will not hear and obey the voice of duty, for the voice of duty is the
Voice of God.”—Testimonies to Ministers, 402. “The Voice of God was heard by
the prophets whom He had appointed to do a special work and to bear a
special message.”—Testimonies to Ministers, 405. “Through His Holy Spirit the
Voice of God has come to us continually in warning and instruction, to
confirm the faith of the believers in the Spirit of Prophecy.”—1
Selected Messages, 41. “All whom God is leading will
manifest a high regard for the Scriptures in which His voice is
heard.”—5 Bible Commentary, 1147. THE
SCRIPTURES ARE THE
VOICE OF GOD TO US TODAY “The Bible, fully received and
studied, as the Voice of God, tells the human family how to reach the
abodes of eternal happiness, and secure the treasures of heaven.”—Fundamentals
of Christian Education, 444. “As
he studies and meditates upon the themes into which ‘the angels desire
to look’ (1 Peter 1:12), he may have their companionship. He may . .
listen to His words as when He taught on mountain and plain and sea
. . He who, through the Word of God has lived in fellowship with Heaven,
will find himself at home in Heaven’s companionship.”—Education,
127. “The Bible is God’s Voice
speaking to us, just as surely as though we could hear it with our
ears.”—6 Testimonies, 393. “Parents must learn the lesson of
implicit obedience to God’s Voice, which speaks to them out of His Word;
and as they learn this lesson, they can teach their children respect and
obedience in word and action.”—Child Guidance, 24. “The Sacred Word, if made
the rule of life, will refine, elevate, and sanctify. It is the Voice of
God to man.”—Messages to Young People, 257. “We should make the Bible our
study above every other book; we should love it, and obey it as the Voice
of God.”—Fundamentals of Christian Education, 133. “Those who read the Scriptures,
as the Voice of God speaking to them, are true learners.”—Counsels
to Teachers, 450. “The Bible is God’s Voice
speaking to us, just as surely as if we could hear it with our ears. If we
realize this, with what awe we would open God’s Word and with what
earnestness we would search its precepts.”—My Life Today, 283. “Only he who receives the
Scriptures as the Voice of God speaking to himself is a true learner . .
for him it is a living reality.”—Christ’s Object Lessons, 59. “Read the Bible, and regard it as
the Voice of God speaking directly to you.”—7 Testimonies, 205. “Why do I believe the
Bible?—Because I have found it to be the Voice of God to my soul . .
every power of the soul being brought into direct contact with the Source
of light.”—Steps to Christ, 112-113. |
