POWER FROM ABOVE

In describing to His disciples the office work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus sought to inspire them with the joy and hope that inspired His own heart. He rejoiced because of the abundant help He had provided for His church. The Holy Spirit was the highest of all gifts that He could solicit from His Father for the exaltation of His people. The Spirit was to be given as a regenerating agent, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail. The power of evil had been strengthening for centuries, and the submission of men to this satanic captivity was amazing. Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the Third Person of the Godhead, who would come with no modified energy, but in the fullness of divine power. It is the Spirit that makes effectual what has been wrought out by the world's Redeemer. It is by the Spirit that the heart is made pure. Through the Spirit the believer becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Christ has given His Spirit as a divine power to overcome all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil, and to impress His own character upon His church. {Desire of Ages 671.2}

As children prepare to attend one of our schools, wise parents will help them to understand that in school life they are to strive to form a character that will fit them to associate with the unfallen beings of the universe. And this they can do only through the overcoming power that Christ will give them. Without His grace, no one can form a Christlike character. {Reflecting Christ 188.3}

My brethren and sisters, I believe that you will grasp the promises of God, and that you will be able to overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony. The angels of God will surely work in every institution where there is an earnest resolve on the part of the workers to grow in grace and in the knowledge of God. This determination will bring overcoming power, whatever may be your temperament. And as you seek to walk in the way of the Lord that your influence on other lives may be uplifting, the Holy Spirit in your own life will make you the most blessed of mortals. {SpTB15 10.1 Letters to Sanitarium Workers}

Thus the fallen foe ever works to keep in his ranks men of influence who, if converted, might render effective service in God's cause. But the faithful gospel worker need not fear defeat at the hand of the enemy; for it is his privilege to be endued with power from above to withstand every satanic influence. {Acts of Apostles 167.3}

The position of those who have been called of God to labor in word and doctrine for the upbuilding of His church is one of grave responsibility. In Christ's stead they are to beseech men and women to be reconciled to God, and they can fulfill their mission only as they receive wisdom and power from above. {Acts of the Apostles 360.2}

To us today, as verily as to the first disciples, the promise of the Spirit belongs. God will today endow men and women with power from above, as He endowed those who on the day of Pentecost heard the word of salvation. At this very hour His Spirit and His grace are for all who need them and will take Him at His word.--Testimonies, vol. 8, p. 20. {Christian Service 250.1}

Teachers must have a living faith or they will be separate from Christ. The Saviour does not ask how much favor you have with the world, how much praise you are receiving from human lips; but He does ask you to live so that He can put His seal upon you. Satan is seeking to cast his shadow across your pathway, that he may hinder the success of your work. You must have within you a power from above, that in the name of Jesus of Nazareth you may resist the power which is working from beneath. To have in the heart the Spirit of Christ is of infinitely more consequence than the possession of worldly recognition. {Counsels to Teachers 235.2}

To young men and young women, as well as to those who are older, God will give power from above. With converted minds, converted hands, converted feet, and converted tongues, their lips touched with a living coal from the divine altar, they will go forth into the Master's service, moving steadily onward and upward, carrying the work forward to completion. {Faith I Live By 247.6}

In surrendering ourselves to God, we reap great advantages; for if we have weaknesses of character, as we all have, we unite ourselves to One who is mighty to save. Our ignorance will be united to infinite wisdom, our frailty to enduring might, and, like Jacob, we may each become a prince with God. Connected with the Lord God of Israel, we shall have power from above which will enable us to be overcomers; and by the impartation of divine love, we shall find access to the hearts of men. We shall have fastened our trembling grasp upon the throne of the Infinite, and shall say, "I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me." The assurance is given that He will bless us and make us a blessing; and this is our light, our joy, our triumph. When the youth understand what it is to have the favor and love of God in the heart, they will begin to realize the value of their blood-bought privileges, and will consecrate their ability to God, and strive with all their God-given powers to increase their talents to use in the Master's service. {Fundamentals of Education 232.1}

If we would have the spirit and power of the third angel's message, we must present the law and the gospel together, for they go hand in hand. As a power from beneath is stirring up the children of disobedience to make void the law of God, and to trample upon the faith of Christ as our righteousness, a power from above is moving upon the hearts of those who are loyal, to exalt the law, and to lift up Jesus as a complete Saviour. Unless divine power is brought into the experience of the people of God, false theories and erroneous ideas will take minds captive, Christ and his righteousness will be dropped out of the experience of many, and their faith will be without power or life. Such will not have a daily, living experience of the love of God in the heart; and if they do not zealously repent, they will be among those who are represented by the Laodiceans, who will be spewed out of the mouth of God. {Gospel Workers 92 103.3}

In this age of moral darkness it will take something more than dry theory to move souls. Ministers must have a living connection with God. They must preach as though they believed what they said. Living truths, falling from the lips of the man of God, will cause sinners to tremble, and the convicted to cry out, “Jehovah is the God; I am resolved to be wholly on the Lord's side.” Never should the messenger of God cease his strivings for greater light and power from above. He should toil on, pray on, hope on, amid discouragement and darkness, determined to gain a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures, and to come behind in no gift. As long as there is one soul to be benefited, he should press forward with new courage at every effort. There is work, earnest work, to be accomplished. Souls for whom Christ died are in peril. So long as Jesus has said, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee,” [Hebrews 13:5.] so long as the crown of righteousness is offered to the overcomer, so long as our Advocate pleads in the sinner's behalf, ministers of Christ should labor in hope, with tireless energy and persevering faith. {Gospel Workers92 139.1}

Satan knows full well what a power for good is the life of a man of unbending integrity, and he puts forth zealous efforts to prevent men from living such lives. He comes to them with alluring temptations, promising them wealth, position, worldly honor, if they will but yield the principles of righteousness. And he has much success. . . . From the sad history of many who have failed we learn the danger of prosperity. It is not those who have lost their property who are in greatest danger, but those who have obtained a fortune. . . . Prayer is often requested for men and women in affliction, and this is right. But those in prosperity are more in need of the prayers of God's servants, for they are in greater danger of losing salvation. In the valley of humiliation men walk securely while they reverence God and make Him their trust. On the lofty pinnacle, where praise is heard they need the help of special power from above. . . . {Heavenly Places 243.3}

The joy of Christ is a pure, unalloyed cheerfulness. It is not a cheap gaiety that leads to vanity of words or lightness of conduct. No, we are to have His joy, and His greatest joy was to see men obeying the truth. . . . Plead with God, saying, "I make an entire surrender. I give myself away to Thee." Then be joyful. The Word is in you, purifying and cleansing your character. God does not want His children to go about with anxiety and sorrow expressed in their faces. He wants the lovely expression of His countenance to be revealed in every one of us who are partakers of the divine nature; for we have power to escape the corruptions of the world. . . . {Our High Calling 148.4}

We are not to follow human leading. Christ is our leader. At all times and in all places we shall find Him a present help. Because there are professing Christians who dishonor Christ in thought, word, and deed, we are to give plainer evidence than ever before of our completeness in Him. We are to walk in the light of His countenance. We are to show that He is light, and that in Him is no darkness at all. If we will submit to His guidance, He will lead us from the low level on which sin has left us, to the loftiest heights of grace. And as we strive for the crown of immortal life, praying that we may be made strong in the strength of Him who is invincible, we can help those who seem to have no power to escape from the snare into which they have fallen. {Signs of the Times, August 31, 1904 par. 6}

He [Christ] stood forth as God's representative in the world, to show that man in his humanity may take hold of divinity, and through that divine nature have power to escape the corruptions that are in the world through lust. . . . {8Manuscript Releases 290.3}

God calls upon His people to come into line. There is a great work to be done in a short time, and there is no time for hesitation. Plead with God, saying, "I make an entire surrender. I give myself away to Thee." Then be joyful. The Word is in you, purifying and cleaning your character. God does not want His children to go about with anxiety and sorrow expressed in their faces. He wants the lovely expression of His countenance to be revealed in every one of us who are partakers of the divine nature, for we have power to escape the corruptions of the world. {2Sermons and Talks 297.6}

These quotes come from the pen of E. G. White. We hope you blessed by them. Thank you for take the time to read this material.