SSLS 2017-01-27
2017 1st Quarter
Lesson 4, January 21-27, The Personality of the Holy Spirit
Friday, January 27
“Those who consecrate soul, body, and spirit to God, purifying their thoughts by obedience to the law of God, will continually receive a new endowment of physical and mental power. There will be heart yearnings after God and earnest prayer for clear perception to discern the office and work of the Holy Spirit. It is not for us to use it, but for the Holy Spirit to use us, molding, fashioning every power.”—Testimonies on Sabbath-School Work, 106.
“I saw that none could share the ‘refreshing’ unless they obtain the victory over every besetment, over pride, selfishness, love of the world, and over every wrong word and action. We should therefore be drawing nearer and nearer to the Lord and be earnestly seeking that preparation necessary to enable us to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord.”—Early Writings, 71 (1851).
“It is left with us to remedy the defects in our characters, to cleanse the soul temple of every defilement. Then the latter rain will fall upon us as the early rain fell upon the disciples on the Day of Pentecost.”—Vol. 5, Testimonies for the Church, 214 (1882).
“There is nothing that Satan fears so much as that the people of God shall clear the way by removing every hindrance, so that the Lord can pour out His Spirit upon a languishing church…. Every temptation, every opposing influence, whether open or secret, may be successfully resisted, ‘not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts’ ( Zechariah 4:6).”—Selected Messages 1:124 (1887).
“The latter rain will come, and the blessing of God will fill every soul that is purified from every defilement. It is our work today to yield our souls to Christ, that we may be fitted for the time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord—fitted for the baptism of the Holy Spirit.”—Selected Messages 1:191 (1892). (Ellen White, Last Day Events, 192, 193.)
“The Lord Jesus Christ, the Anointed One of God, is seeking to assimilate our characters to his own. Although we profess great things, we are represented as salt that has lost its savor, and as entirely worthless, unless the Holy Spirit can use us as channels by which to communicate to the world the truth as it is in Jesus. By precept and example we are to reveal to the world that Christ has made reconciliation for sin, that he is our only hope, the One who has brought in everlasting righteousness. He is the Anointed Priest that ever liveth to make intercession for every individual soul. Our only efficiency is Jesus Christ. We are to represent to the world his love, both in words and works. We are constantly to express to the world our appreciation of God’s unspeakable gift, which he has given to us because of the great love wherewith he hath loved us. ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.'” (Ellen White, Signs of the Times, November 7, 1895, emphasis added.)