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Believe His Prophets

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    The Practical Nature of the Messages

    The practical nature of Ellen G. White’s messages may well be illustrated by one of her experiences in Australia. She went there to help lay solid foundations for the building of our work in that part of the world. Being a great believer in youth as God’s heritage in the church, and realizing that trained leadership for the church of tomorrow depends upon the training of boys and girls of today, she at once proposed the founding of a college, a Seventh-day Adventist training center—and this was to be not just another college, but an institution such as God had shown her to be His kind of school.BHP 117.2

    How impossible it seemed for our few, poor church members in Australia to carry out such a plan! But there was the counsel given as instruction from the Lord. Not all the Australian brethren were convinced that the plan was a wise one, and some gave expression to their feelings. W. C. White wrote of this attitude:BHP 118.1

    “One day an influential and talented member of the Melbourne church, after listening to our plans for the establishment of such a school as we had at Healdsburg, said to me, ‘Brother White, this plan of building such a school is not an Australian plan at all, the demand for having such a school is not an Australian demand. The idea of establishing a school at this time, when our cause is so young and weak, is not an Australian idea.’”—Quoted in Divine Predictions of Mrs. Ellen G. White Fulfilled, compiled by F. C. Gilbert, p. 340.BHP 118.2

    All of which was perfectly true and obvious. Neither was it Ellen G. White’s plan or idea, but rather both plan and idea were God’s. Australia had colleges and universities—good ones—but the kind of school that God wanted established in Australia was not just an ordinary one. He knew exactly the kind of school that He wanted established in that country, and for that reason He sent His messenger there to direct the minds of the people in the achievement of His purpose.BHP 118.3

    As Sister White went on to describe the school to be established, the Australian brethren shook their heads, and some of them came to a conclusion that she was all wrong.BHP 119.1

    It was not an Australian idea; it was God’s. It was not an Australian demand; it was God’s plan. It was, therefore, what God wanted as expressed through His servant, Ellen G. White.BHP 119.2

    I think, dear friends, there is something here that all of us should catch as significant. We are following not man’s ideas, not man’s plans; but God’s ideas, and God’s plans. The closer we follow the pattern, the nearer we shall come to carrying out the specifications for the building of God’s kingdom, and the greater will be the blessing that rests upon us as we carry out God’s plans. I hope all of us will ever bear in mind that this work is not our work. The success or failure of this work does not depend entirely upon us or upon our efforts. God will see His work through to a successful conclusion. You and I might stand in His way a bit and hinder His plans for a while but not for long. God will finish His work and He will see it done in His own time and way.BHP 119.3

    The brethren in Australia looked at one another and wondered, “Where shall we find the kind of place that she wants us to use for such a school?” Sister White was sure that God had a place somewhere there in Australia. She suggested that they should look for a farm away from the city. So they appointed a committee to search for a suitable area, but each time they returned with the report that the price was far beyond their financial resources.BHP 119.4

    In due time the committee found a block of 1,500 acres near Cooranbong, some seventy-five miles north of Sydney. It had but one commendatory feature—it was cheap at $3 an acre. That price would and could buy only “poor, sandy, and hungry” land. The committee members were disappointed, but it seemed to be the best they could find within their financial resources.BHP 120.1

    They decided to request a government agricultural expert to visit the land and give his frank and honest appraisal of it. His comment was that the land was so poor that if a bandicoot wanted to cross the 1,500 acres he would have to take with him his lunch in a basket, for there would be nothing for him to eat. This did not bring much courage to the brethren. It was felt that Sister White should join the group in their final visit to the property for the purpose of making the decision.BHP 120.2

    From several sources we put the story together. It seems that part of the committee went ahead, leaving Sister White to make the journey with Elder and Mrs. G. B. Starr. On the train she told the Starrs of her dream in which she and they were standing on the piece of property, looking it over, and came upon a neat-cut furrow about one quarter of a yard deep and two yards in length. She saw two of the brethren, who had grown up with the Iowa type of rich, deep soil, standing by the furrow and saying, “This is not good land; the soil is not favorable.” As they spoke these words Sister White was told by One who had often given her counsel, “False witness has been borne of this land,” and He explained the value of the different strata in the soil and their use.BHP 120.3

    In due time she and her party arrived at Cooranbong, and they looked over the estate without reaching a decision that day. The next morning, May 25, 1894, the whole group met in a fisherman’s hut for a season of prayer. Sister White felt a burden to pray for divine healing to come to Brother McCullagh’s tuberculosis-weakened body. As she prayed for him, he felt a sensation like an electric wave pass through his whole body, and he rose from that season of prayer a completely restored man. He lived for more than thirty-five years after this experience.BHP 121.1

    This manifestation of the divine presence assured them all of divine guidance in the decision to be made that day. The group scattered out to examine further the various parts of the property. The Starrs and Sister White walked over the place and came upon a spot where a neat-cut furrow had been plowed one quarter of a yard deep and two yards in length. As they stood there looking at the turned-up soil, two brethren came upon them from different directions. On seeing Sister White they remarked, “This is not good land; the soil is not favorable.” Sister White then told them of her dream and of the fulfillment. With this evidence and evidence of the presence and the power of God as seen in the healing of Brother McCullagh, they decided to take the place, and made a down payment.BHP 121.2

    In the spring of 1895 the place was bought on the advice of the Lord and in spite of the expert’s adverse report. To show her own confidence in what God had revealed to her, Sister White selected sixty-six acres of the same land, moved into a few tents, and began work on her place, which she called “Sunnyside.” She demonstrated that with proper cultivation the land would produce abundantly—and so it has all these years—a splendid harvest of fruit and vegetables and of fine Seventh-day Adventist youth to be workers in the great harvest fields.BHP 122.1

    I have never been there myself, but I have seen pictures of it. It is a lovely place with beautiful green grass, wonderful flowers and trees, the finest kinds of fruit trees. I tell you, dear friends, the messages that came from the servant of the Lord were down-to-earth, practical messages. Sometimes we have not been able to see the wisdom of the message or the counsel, and yet when our people have followed the instruction given we have made no mistakes. It is when we have failed to follow the instruction that we have made mistakes. The very practical nature of all the messages given through the servant of the Lord must appeal to us as another evidence that God is in her work.BHP 122.2

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