When the Holy Spirit Comes as the Comforter, October 20

But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me. John 15:26. It is not right for us to devote time, brain, bone, and muscle to gathering in the things of earth and drop eternity out of our reckoning, but we should gather sheaves for the Master's garner.... The Lord wants us to expand, to grow like the seed introduced into the soil—first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear.... Some have asked, What shall I do to receive the Holy Ghost? Ask God to search your hearts as with a lighted candle. Do nothing for selfish gratification. Suppose that Christ's professed followers were representatives of Christ in our earth; would not worldlings see this and take knowledge of such that they had learned of Jesus? Will not such be a power? We want the religion of Christ. This will bring forth the fruits of love, joy, and peace. The desire of the Master is not for a scanty supply, but to bear it in abundance. John 15:17-21 points to the opposition between Christ and the world, and to the persecution inflicted upon Christ and His followers.... We want to know Christ, whom to know aright is life eternal. In John 15 He points to trials, to conflicts. He asks if you can endure the conflict; then He points to eternal realities and shows you the thousands of angels sent to be ministers to those who are heirs of salvation. Though He shows the armies arrayed against you, yet He tells you that you need not be discouraged, for the Captain of the Lord's host is with you, as with the Lord's people in Joshua's time.... What we want is to know how to fight the battle. The victory is not in the minister or the layperson, but in the Captain of the Lord's host who fights the battle for us.... We fight not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, and powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places, and God is with us. We are not to consider that the smartness of men and women will bring success. People may have all the learning possible for a human being to comprehend, and yet they may be alone; without Christ they can do nothing. Do you walk humbly before Him? Have you a cherishing of inward sins, heartburnings against anyone? Are you seeking God with all your heart? We can bear to be separated from everything else but the Spirit of God. We want the inspiration of the cross, making us to fall helpless, and the Lord will lift us up.—Manuscript 27, 1891.