the wonder of weakness 10 - god's bible school and college€¦ · happiness, nor health, but...
TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 2012Volume 124 No. 2
FEATURES
Skipping A Day 9by Don Davison
The Wonder Of Weakness 10by Marc Sankey
DEPARTMENTS
The Editor’s View 2The President’s Page 3Letters To The Editor 4Called Unto Holiness 7News From The Hilltop 12Revivalist Family 12Dear Phil 14World Pulse 15Student Focus 15From The Classics 16Revivalist Pulpit 17The World To Win 19Alumni News 20Thoughts For The Quiet Hour 23
STAFF
Kevin Moser, art director, managing editor
Shane Muir, assistant graphic designer Jon Plank, assistant graphic designer, webmaster
Larry D. Smith, editor
God’s Revivalist and Bible Advocate (ISSN 0745-0788) is published monthly except forcombined issues in January-February and June-July-August for $12.00 per year($28.00, Canada; $45.00, other countries) by the Revivalist Press of God’s BibleSchool, College and Missionary Training Home, 1810 Young Street, Cincinnati, Ohio45202. Periodical postage paid at Cincinnati, Ohio, and at additional mailing offices.POSTMASTER: send address changes to God’s Revivalist and Bible Advocate, 1810Young Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202.
God’s Revivalist and Bible Advocate, the official organ of God’s Bible School, is a maga-zine founded by Martin Wells Knapp in July of 1888. We seek to proclaim the good newsof salvation; to stir a revival spirit among Christians; to stimulate Christian growth andresponsible Christian living; to present the happenings and interests of God’s Bible School.
Please obtain permission before reprinting any articles from God’s Revivalist and BibleAdvocate. Unsolicited manuscripts are welcomed, but not returned.
God’s Bible School and College seeks to glorify God and to serve His Church by pro-viding higher education centered in Holy Scripture and shaped by Wesleyan convic-tion, thus preparing faithful servants to proclaim Jesus Christ and spread scriptural holi-ness throughout the world.
God’s Bible School and College does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color,national or ethnic origin, or against otherwise qualified handicapped persons in itsadmission of students or employment of its faculty and staff.
Contact us by telephone at (513) 721-7944 (Revivalist Press, ext. 1351); by fax at(513) 763-6649; by email at [email protected] or [email protected]. Visit us onlineat www.gbs.edu or www.godsrevivalist.com.
COVER PHOTO: A white stallion in snow ©2012 iStockphoto.
CONTENTS
LARRY D. SMITH
HOLINESS: BEYOND THE SLOGANS!
“Holiness!” Here’s a word that will bring the housedown at camp meetings all across America. Justlet the evangelist slap the pulpit, announcing,
“Holiness is why we’re having this meeting tonight!” Oftenthere will be a chorus of amens so vibrant that it will seemto bounce off the rafters and rise up to heaven itself.
This is fitting, of course, for what the evangelist says isright. Holiness is basic to every act of Christian worship,whether it’s in a rude country tabernacle or an elegant citychurch. But that’s not all, for holiness is also basic to everyother act of Christian life. That’s why we repeat Hebrews12:14 so often: “Follow peace with all men, and holiness,without which no man shall see the Lord.”
So it’s for the best of reasons that we’re theConservative Holiness Movement, founded to keep alivethe passion that gave us birth. For until the trumpet soundswe’re under divine commission to “spread scriptural holi-ness” everywhere and thus “to raise up a holy people.” Forholiness is “religion itself,” as John Wesley said, for it’s allabout being authentic followers of Jesus.
This is why Article IV of “The Call to the CHM” is soemphatic: “Holiness of heart and life flowing out of love forGod, as we believe, is the ‘central idea of Christianity,’ forthis is God’s redemptive purpose for our fallen humanity.”Let us now examine what else the Call asserts about this“central idea”—the term was first used by Bishop Peck—and its present relationship to our movement.
I. PRINCIPLE DECLARED:The Holiness Witness Affirmed
“Be ye holy for I am holy” (I Pet. 1:16). But what does thisreally mean? Dr. W.T. Purkiser answers that in Biblical usage,holiness embraces the concepts of “separation from (p22)�
GOD’S REVIVALIST and BIBLE ADVOCATE
02
theeditor’s
view
Iwas sitting in the barber’s chair when my barber,Tony, asked me what I was working on that day. Itold him I was writing. He asked me what I was writ-
ing about. I told him I was writing on the subject of“holiness.” He grew very quiet and finally said, “That’sa subject nobody talks about. Of all the things that gettalked about in here, I have never heard anybody talkabout holiness.”
Tony is right. Purity—moral excellence—is cer-tainly not in the top ten lists of today’s societal values.The media will only talk about it when they have theopportunity to mock a morally-decent person as ahypocrite; otherwise the subject is just too boring.Movies typically cast the morally-upright as some “outof touch simpleton” whose attempts to do the rightthing are valued only for a few laughs. Sadly, mostpeople have never heard a sound, scriptural discus-sion on holy living—not even in church.
The subject of holiness desperately needs to be re-discovered and re-introduced into the culture and values ofAmerica. That process should begin in the church. The practical presentation of holiness has long since been cast outof the pulpits and publishing houses of the people who once made it a household word in America—the Methodists.Actually, many of the 20th-century holiness groups, who are the spiritual descendents of early Methodism, have alsode-emphasized the message or abandoned it altogether in their quest for respectability and acceptance at the tablewith mainstream evangelicals.
It is true that evangelicalism has become the dominant expression of Christianity in America. But it is also truethat the moral and spiritual life of the nation has collapsed while embracing its flimsy offers of cheap grace, thepromise of heaven no matter how you live, and the disgusting doctrinal conclusions that Christians are just “savedsinners” who are far from “perfect” but are “forgiven” nonetheless. It shouldn’t surprise any of us when surveysshow that there is almost no difference at all in the core values between the churched and the unchurched inAmerica! What is missing? Holiness!
The Biblical call to holiness leaves no room for Christians who want to coddle sin and live in a state of perpet-ual immaturity and worldliness. Not only does scriptural holiness teach that Christians can be liberated from willfulsin and empowered to live lives of obedience to Christ, but it also teaches that the Christian can be cleansed (p5)�
MARCH 2012
03
thepresident’s
page
HOLINESS
by Michael R. Avery, President
TO THE EDITOR
A CALL TO THE CHM
Thank you for being com-pletely open, honest, and frank,and also for making yourselvesvulnerable to the criticism thatwill definitely come your way,mostly, alas, from professing holi-ness Christians. You have broughtto us the deep Biblical disciplinesand way to live a holy life beforeour world.
REGINA M. PERKINSParish, New York
“A Call To The ConservativeHoliness Movement” as issued bythe president and ministerial facultyof God’s Bible School is timely andclarion. To be successful, a renewedcommitment to the essential princi-ples of scriptural Christianity mustexist beyond a short-term ardor; itmust be a lifetime obsession acrossour ranks.
What will our movement looklike when the purpose of the callhas been realized? Who knows? Itseems to me that a forum of serious,interested persons might be called todiagnose the condition, determinethe remedy, prescribe the cure, andcry unto God for restoration of theyears the cankerworm has eaten.
TOM ELLISSalem, Ohio
I really appreciate the recentemphasis to return to deeper spiritu-ality. [God’s Revivalist is] one of thebest magazines I receive.
EVELYN PHILLIPSHorton, Michigan
04GOD’S REVIVALIST and BIBLE ADVOCATE
Letters should be addressed to the Editorial Office, 1810 Young Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202, or emailed to [email protected]. Lettersreprinted here do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editor of God’s Revivalist nor those of the administration of God’s Bible School. Namesand locations of writers will be withheld at their specific request or at the discretion of the editor. We reserve the right to edit and condense.
The following letter was sent to President Avery from Dr. Samuel E. Deets, president
of
GBS 1965–1975. It has been edited and reprinted with Dr. Deets’ permission. —Edit
or
Hi, Brother Michael,
I took time this forenoon to go through much of the GBS yearbook and must
say it’s breathtaking. How we love to know that God’s Bible School lives on—and
does so with class. It’s been 48 years since I was asked as president of the Alumni
Association to find a new president [for GBS], and when several prospects turned
us down, was then asked to take on the responsibility of an institution that was
apparently folding. I’m sure you can appreciate the elation one feels to know that
that institution lives on. Carolyn and I pray daily that God will continue to inter-
vene on its behalf as He has for nearly 112 years. Think of it: 112 years! That’s a
long time. The school and you and your administration are continually in the fore-
front of our thoughts and concerns—and prayers.
The middle of last June, Carolyn fell and broke her upper right arm next to
the socket. 911 came and carried her away and she didn’t come back for a
month-and-a-half. She was in the hospital, then nursing home, then hospital
again, then rehabilitation center. While in the nursing home, she suffered a stroke
which left her unable to communicate. It turned out to be a relatively light stroke,
for which we were certainly thankful; but it added months to the rehabilitation
process. She is just now beginning to walk without support from me—or equip-
ment. And, she can now engage in some household activities again. What a relief!
I have been dealing with wet macular degeneration in my left eye for the
past three years. About the same time Carolyn went to the hospital, it was discov-
ered that my right eye was beginning to exhibit the same symptoms, which
demanded immediate action if I were to continue to see well enough to live nor-
mally, or drive, etc. So for months now, I’ve been receiving shots in each eye on a
regular basis, which has largely stopped the deterioration. I mention this only to
indicate that when Carolyn was told she could no longer drive when she got out
of the hospital, I was keeping my fingers crossed that I could still drive, which I
can—depending on medical outcomes in the doctor’s office each visit.
One doesn’t much think of these things until the curtain begins to drop, and
one lives out in the countryside up in the woods, and all of one’s close-by siblings
are over 80 years old, and they too are crippled and sometimes dependent on me
for transportation. Carolyn will be 81 and I will be 78 before the year is over. Life
is real, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. God has never for a moment let us
down. Nor will He let you down.
[Our daughter] Shelly lives 11 miles from us, and she and her husband and
children are always available when we need them. God bless!SAM DEETS
Cochranton, Pennsylvania
MARCH 2012
05
A CALL TO THE CONSERVATIVE HOLINESS MOVEMENT
IV. A CALL TO CHRISTIAN HOLINESS
Holiness of heart and life flowing out of love for God, as we believe, is the “central idea of Christianity,”for this is God’s redemptive purpose for our fallen humanity. Holiness is both His gift and our pursuit, and asthe writer to the Hebrews reminds us, without it none of us shall ever see the Lord. Negatively, holiness isseparation from all that is sinful and unlike Christ; and positively, separation unto godliness, righteousness,and full Christlikeness. It begins in regeneration by the Spirit, flourishes in the work of entire sanctification,and advances throughout our lives. As Wesleyans, we reassert the biblical passion of our forebears “to reformthe continent and spread scriptural holiness over these lands.”
We confess, however, that our passion for holiness of heart and life has sometimes been reduced merelyto external codes and prohibitions, and “holier-than-thou” attitudes toward those who differ from us. As suchwe have become shell without substance, and betrayed the Scriptural mandate to be holy, because the Lordour God is holy. We therefore call our movement to a renewed love for God from which will blossom consis-tent and winsome lives of holiness, first in motivating purpose, and second, in outward conduct. This meansthat we must continue to accentuate both of the definitive moments we identify as works of divine grace,conversion, and entire sanctification, all the while giving proper attention to the progressive growth in graceby the Spirit and the increasing separation from the world which our Methodist forebears so firmly stressed.
�(p3) from the inner propensity to rebellion, self-ishness, and pride through the work of the HolySpirit. A holy life is a life where spiritual and moralcharacter is taking root and being lived out in asensible, upright, and godly way.
This is the message that birthed the WesleyanRevival, took 19th-century America by storm andraised the level of social and moral concern on twocontinents! The post-Civil War holiness revival im-pacted numerous denominations in America andinfluenced many Christian leaders outside theMethodist holiness tradition.
Oswald Chambers, a Scottish Baptist, for ex-ample, was significantly affected both spirituallyand theologically by his association with theAmerican holiness movement. In his popular de-votional My Utmost for His Highest he wrote,“Continually restate to yourself what the purposeof your life is. The destined end of man is nothappiness, nor health, but holiness…. God hasone destined end for mankind, viz., holiness.Never tolerate through sympathy with yourself orwith others any practice that is not in keepingwith a holy God. Holiness means unsullied walk-ing with the feet, unsullied talking with thetongue, unsullied thinking with the mind—everydetail of the life under the scrutiny of God.”
Many in the broader holiness movement todaywould be embarrassed by Chambers’ words. Theywould see them as extreme, maybe even hypocriti-cal. However, there is still a clear witness to the his-
toric message of scriptural holiness! The FrancisAsbury Society is a strong voice among Methodists.The mainline holiness groups still have a few schol-ars, pastors, and laity whoaren’t ashamed to lift thetorch for scriptural holiness.
The most welcominghome for the holiness messageis among the Conservative Ho-liness Movement. Members ofthe CHM write it in theirchurch disciplines, teach it intheir Bible colleges, preach itin their pulpits, editorialize itin their periodicals, celebrate itin their testimonies, and em-phasize it in their conventions.For the most part, the CHM isstrongly committed to themessage of holiness.
However, providing themessage of scriptural holinessa home and keeping it healthyare not one and the same.“The Call to the ConservativeHoliness Movement” ad-dresses this in Article V. TheCall points out certain weak-nesses that can and will undermine the message. Letme enumerate some of my own concerns with theCHM’s stewardship of the holiness message.
Holiness
means
unsullied
walking with
the feet,
unsullied
talking with
the tongue,
unsullied
thinking with
the mind.
06GOD’S REVIVALIST and BIBLE ADVOCATE
I am concerned about legalism. That scripturalholiness has behavioral and lifestyle ramificationscannot be argued—external matters are not unim-portant. But when we turn our primary focus away
from the heart and onto ex-ternals (usually particularstandards of dress or modesof behavior), we are in dan-ger of reducing holy virtue tocustom and thereby trivializ-ing both.
I am concerned about“works righteousness.” Holi-ness people take the forma-tion of moral and spiritualcharacter seriously. However,the balance between God’swork in us and our work informing holy habits can bethreatened more easily thanone might think. God gra-ciously invites us to work incooperation with the HolySpirit through a variety of spir-itual disciplines appropriate toour need, but it is always Godat work in us. We have noth-ing that has not been given tous by the Holy Spirit.
All holiness is God’s holi-ness in us! The temptation tobelieve that any progress for-ward is somehow our owndoing can be a very realproblem. The tendency tobelieve that careful obedi-ence to Biblical principles orpersonal adherence to codes
or cultures of lifestyle somehow earns merit orstanding with God is a subtle form of pride thatmust be rooted out. Andrew Murray reminds us,“There is no pride so dangerous, none so subtleand insidious, as the pride of holiness.” Deep devo-tion to Christ and careful attention to righteous liv-ing must be motivated by loving obedience or wewill fall into the ditch of works righteousness.
I am concerned about perfectionism. Holy peo-ple have not attained a state of “sinless perfection”that renders them incapable of any wrong action.Holiness involves both purity and maturity. There isstill much room for growth in the sanctified life.Holy habits deepen into fixed patterns of living aswe learn to walk in the Spirit. We can and do makemany mistakes. There may be times when our atti-
tudes or actions are simply wrong. When that hap-pens we should, in good old honest humility, exer-cise repentance, make amends and learn from ourfailures. We never learn from failures denied. Onlyby seeing them, admitting them, and mendingthem in total meekness will we follow Peter’s ad-monition to “grow in grace and in the knowledge ofour Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).
This is how holy people respond to failure.However, perfectionism cuts us off from our essen-tial humanity, forcing us to deny who and what wereally are, or to downplay or outright deny what wehave done. When this happens we are simply pre-tending we are something we are not, and such du-plicitous behavior is destructive. True holiness is notthe breeding ground for pretentious behavior orself-righteousness. Rather it is the womb in whichhonesty and humility are nurtured.
I am concerned about message drift. There is acertain amount of tension and balance in whichevery Biblical truth must be held. The same is cer-tainly true of the call to holiness. The balancewheel for holiness is unadulterated love for Godand others. If holiness loses that balance, it will be-come a crotchety, sterile, loveless way of rules andregulations that values law over love. One ends upbehaving like the priest who valued unsullied handsfor temple service more than helping the woundedSamaritan out of the ditch. It can also go the otherdirection and become nothing more than a mentalascent to a positional sanctification that is void ofany real sanctity. The theological concept of being“in Christ” is reduced to nothing more than a con-venient semantic cover-up for a life of sin and fail-ure. I fear both extremes. Scriptural holiness willnot take you down either path.
I am concerned about isolation. The CHM hasmade valiant attempts to honor the Biblical callto separation from the world, but in doing so ithas simply become isolated from the world,thereby hiding its candle under a bushel. Themessage of holiness needs to be lived out loudlyin the market place of life, and we are the peo-ple to do it! It needs to be broadcast over theWeb, printed in books, and argued as the path totrue happiness for individuals and families.
My barber is right. You don’t hear talk about ho-liness in the barber shops, bakeries, or board roomsof America. But the day will come when “Holinessunto the Lord” will resound throughout the earthand be part of an eternal conversation by those whohave pursued that “holiness without which no manshall see the Lord.” I want to be one who promotesthe conversation now—don’t you?
The temptation
to believe that
any progress
forward is
somehow our
own doing can
be a very real
problem.
Andrew Murray
reminds us,
“There is no
pride so
dangerous,
none so subtle
and insidious,
as the pride of
holiness.”
“Though all desire, yet few attain happiness, be-cause they seek it where it is not to be found,”
writes Mr. Wesley in his explanatory notes on theBeatitudes (Matthew 5:1–11). Here, however, at thebeginning of the Sermon on the Mount, our Lord Jesus“pronounces eight blessings together, annexing them toso many steps to Christianity.” Carefully considerWesley’s comments, here edited and rephrased for usein this column.
1. Happy are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the king-dom of heaven. “The poor in spirit are those who aresincerely penitent, who are truly convinced of sin, andwho see and feel the state they are in by nature, beingkeenly aware of their sinfulness, guiltiness, and help-lessness. They are promised the kingdom of heaven—that is, the present inward kingdom which is righteous-ness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, as well as theeternal kingdom if they will endure to the end.”
2. Happy are they that mourn, for they shall be com-forted. “This promise is to those who mourn either fortheir own sins or the sins of others and who are steadilyand habitually serious. They shall be comforted even inthis world and then eternally in heaven.”
3. Happy are the meek, for they shall inherit theearth. “This refers to those who hold all their passionsand affections evenly balanced. They shall have allthings that are really necessary for life and godliness.They shall enjoy whatever portion God hath given themhere, and they shall also possess hereafter the newearth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”
4. Happy are they who hunger and thirst after right-eousness, for they shall be satisfied. “All those who inearnest search after the holiness described in theseverses shall be satisfied with it.”
5. Happy are the merciful, for they shall obtainmercy. “Here the blessed ones are the tender-hearted, those who love others as themselves.Whatever mercy therefore we desire from God, thesame let us show to our brothers and sisters. He willrepay us a thousand-fold for the love that we extendto any for His sake.”
6. Happy are the pure in heart, for they shall seeGod. “The pure in heart are those who are sanctified—those who love God with all their hearts. Most certainlythey shall see God in all things here and then hereafterin Glory.”
7. Happy are the peacemakers, for they shall becalled the children of God. “To those who out of lovefor God and others do all the possible good they can toeveryone is this blessing promised. Peace in the scrip-tural sense implies all blessings both temporal and eter-nal. The peacemakers shall be acknowledged as suchby both God and men.”
8. Happy are they who are persecuted for right-eousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.“One would think that all those who have the kind ofholiness that Jesus blesses in this passage would bethe darling of mankind. But He knew that it wouldnot be so as long as Satan is the prince of this world.He therefore warns his disciples of the treatment thatthey were to expect. He who is truly a righteous per-son, he who mourns, and he who is pure in heart,yea, all that will live godly in Christ Jesus (II Tim 3:12)shall suffer persecution. [Shortly thereafter, Jesus saysto these persecuted ones], ‘Rejoice and be exceedingglad, for great is your reward in heaven.’ So they arepromised eternal reward beyond the happiness thatthey shall have in this world resulting from holiness ofheart and life.”
In this space we use writers both past and present to discuss various aspects of Christian holiness.
EIGHT STEPS TO HOLINESS AND HAPPINESS
by the Rev. John Wesley
MARCH 2012
07
MAY 9-13, 2012
Dr. Michael Avery, presidentRev. John Manley, campus pastor
GUEST SPEAKERSRev. Randy Brown, Wed, Thurs evenings
Rev. Blake Jones, Thurs, Fri, Sun mornings
Rev. John Manley, Sunday eveningRev. Larry Smith, Sunday communion
Rev. Darrell Lee Stetler, Saturday eveningMrs. Elizabeth Stetler, Friday break-out
Dr. Bill Ury, Friday evening
FIRST SERVICEWednesday, 7 pm
PRAYER SERVICESThursday – Friday, 7:30 am
BREAK-OUT SESSIONSThursday – Friday, 9 am
MORNING WORSHIPThursday – Friday, Sunday, 10:30 am
EVENING SERVICESWed – Sat, 7 pm; Sunday, 6 pm
GBS COMMENCEMENTSaturday, 10 am
COMMUNION SERVICESunday, 9 am
STUDENT MINISTRIES SERVICESunday, 2:30 pm
MARCH 2012
09
In its switch to the west side of the International Date Line, the Pacific island of Samoa simplyskipped Friday, December 30, 2011!
For those of you who skipped a day of school when your teacher explained what theInternational Date Line is, Wikipedia informs us that it is an imaginary line on the surface of the earth,running between the North and South Poles, that demarcates one calendar day from the next. It pass-es through the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and it is drawn with certain diversions to pass aroundsome territories and island groups.
So Samoa—with some compelling need to switch over to the other side of the Date Line—didjust that. It skipped a whole day! It was as though December 30, 2011, just wasn’t on the calendar.
Did you ever have a day that you wish you could have skipped—even a few hours you wish youcould just edit out of the storyline of your life?
I have a feeling that if Joseph could have had his way, he would have liked to erase that day whenhis brothers kidnapped him, sold him into slavery, and passed him for dead to his father.
Surely Job would have liked to wipe out a day or two of his life.The truth is, we all have life-altering days that we never would have chosen to experience. Some
of those days play out in the examining room of a doctor’s office. Others pierce their way into ourheart with news that a loved one’s life has gone incredibly bad. Think—jobs lost, dreamsdestroyed…days for which we didn’t plan and likely will never understand in this life.
Yes, events that define our lives can happen so quickly. In a single moment, a life path can bealtered—unexpectedly, traumatically, irreversibly! And, frankly, sometimes there’s no way aroundthis. As Providence would have it, many times the only way to get past a situation is to go through it.
But whatever a day may bring, that day is in God’s hands. Even past days—days that were spentin unbelief and days marked by wrong choices that mark life without God—are made into somethinguseful when we give ourselves and the memories of those days to God. For He delights in new begin-nings, meeting us right where we are and moving us forward in His plan.
Do you want to skip days of suffering or setback? No, that’s not possible, for those days are justpart of the reality of life. Do you want to navigate storms without spiritual defeat? Now that’s themagnificent possibility offered every believer through grace!
“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing thatHis divine POWER has granted to US everything pertaining to life and godliness through the trueknowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to usHis precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divinenature….” (2 Peter 1:2–4 NASB).
Rev. Don Davison is director of Public Relations at God’s Bible School and College.
10GOD’S REVIVALIST and BIBLE ADVOCATE
photo of Jason Klotz by Kara Moore and Thom
as Olson
Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission, knewthe wonder of strength through weakness. Complimentedonce by a friend on the impact of his mission, Taylor an-swered, “It seemed to me that God looked over thewhole world to find a man who was weak enough to doHis work; and when He at last found me, He said, ‘He isweak enough—he’ll do.’”
The Apostle Paul also experienced weakness in his lifeand as a result was profoundly impacted with God’sstrength. His testimony is found in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10,where he tells us that this weakness was a gift from God.He knew that he was not the victim of some errant throwof the cosmic dice—not a mere victim of chance. No,
God in His providence had lovingly andpurposefully chosen this weakness forhim. James tells us that “…every goodand perfect gift is from above andcomes down from the Father…”
Paul describes this weaknessgiven him as “a thorn in the flesh.”Whether this was a physical afflic-tion or not, we must understandthat it was a painful, persistent,and perpetual problem in his life.Three times he had asked theLord to take this away. The orig-inal language indicates thatPaul felt he was unable tobreak free from this weakness,as though he were tied to astake. Perhaps even Paul wastempted to think, “If I justdidn’t have this thing in mylife, Lord, how much moreI could do for You.”
At times, we wonderwho is responsible for ourweakness. We look around
Consider God’s purpose to use His children’s weakness.
by Marc Sankey
for someone to blame for our negative lot in life.In his case, Paul clearly identifies the one who iscausing this weakness as a messenger of Satan.But as we also know, as the Old Testament storyof Job informs us, Satan’s schemes serve God’spurposes. We learn from his example thatthough we may suffer severe limitations and de-bilitating weakness, God is ultimately in control.Though Paul was being beat up by “…infirmi-ties, reproaches, necessities, persecutions, dis-tresses…,” he realized that there was a greatergood in weakness.
As Christians, we are promised that all thingsserve a redemptive purpose. When negativethings happen to us, it is for Christ’s sake. Allthings, painful and negative, though they maybe, are eternally significant when they are takenfor Christ’s sake. Human weakness is an oppor-tunity for God to demonstrate His power. Thus,someone has rightly noted, “Human deficiencyshines light on God’s all-sufficiency.”
Weakness, then, is anything negative thatempowers us to understand our own deficiencyand enables the power of God to flow throughour lives.
Though Paul tells us that he was in themiddle of weakness, he was also experiencingunparalleled power through the glorious reve-lation of Christ. Many times in our hours ofdeepest agony and weakness, we experiencethe mightiest manifestations of Christ. Thethree Hebrew children never would have hadtheir encounter with the Son of God had theynot gone through the fire.
The matter of displaced glory was at stake inPaul’s life. There were false prophets in Corinthwho were touting themselves as having trueapostolic authority, trumping Paul’s clear claim ofapostleship. But Paul had seen Christ on theDamascus road. He had been elevated to thethird heaven. He had seen and heard revelationsso glorious that he wasn’t permitted even to talkabout them. Essentially Paul says that if anyonehad a right to glory, he was that person. Yet heunderstood the danger of displaced glory. Heknew that all of his life must bring glory to God.
So we experience weakness so that Godmay be glorified in us. God must be in Hisplace, and we must be in ours. Our place is oneof humility and submission. His place is one ofhonor and sovereignty. Sometimes He placesthis gift of weakness in our lives so that we canremain in our place.
When we acknowledge our place of humil-ity and God’s place of glory, then His strengthbecomes personal in weakness. God’s power
can rest upon a person who knows that he isweak. This is not some vague, impersonal “lifeforce” that envelopes us mystically at our mo-ment of deepest need. Rather this is the personof Christ Himself coming to abide in andthrough us, saying, “My grace is sufficient forthee.” There are certain men and women whohave learned how to stay weak before God sothat they are continually experiencing this typeof personal strength and power, not just at mo-ments, but throughout their life.
So we are made weak to learn that we areweak. When we understand the depth of ourweakness and how profoundlyunable we are to do anythingoutside of God, that is preciselythe moment when God’s powerwill be mightily unleashed inour lives. Christ perfects HISpower in our weakness. Weak-ness has the unique quality ofbringing Christ’s power to com-pletion. Our recognition of per-sonal weakness permits God’spower to do all that it can do inour lives. Some people only ex-perience a measure of Christ’spower because they are still toostrong. But remember that Godis attracted to our weakness,and our humble acknowledge-ment of that weakness. In thissense, He longs for us to beweak so that He might show usHis great power.
There are times when ourchildren get sick and suffer,when loved ones fly away andleave us alone and hurting ,when care for an aging parenthas wiped away our joy and vi-tality, when depression hangs like a constantblack cloud over our existence, when we gaspin pain because of misunderstandings andinter-personal conflict, and when fear of theunknown comes at night and tries to choke ourfaith. We cry out, “O Lord take it away! I can’tbear it, it is too much! too dark! too difficult!”But it is then we hear the words of Christ, “Mygrace is sufficient for Thee, for my strength ismade perfect in weakness.”
Rev. Marc Sankey, an alumnus of GBS (’94 BRE), hasserved both as pastor, evangelist, and missionary. This arti-cle is condensed from a sermon he preached at the 2010GBS camp meeting.
Human
weakness is an
opportunity for
God to
demonstrate
His power.
Thus, someone
has rightly
noted, “Human
deficiency
shines light on
God’s all-
sufficiency.”
MARCH 2012
11
12GOD’S REVIVALIST and BIBLE ADVOCATE
BIRTHS
To Joey (BA ministerial ’08) andAndrea (Cranor) (BA music ’04) Ratcliffof Cincinnati, Ohio, a son, Ezekiel JosephRatcliff, born June 10, 2011. He joinsbrothers Ethan and Joel (who are currentlyattending GBS’s Aldersgate Christian
Academy) and sister, Chloe.
DEATHS
Virginia (Dillon) Crook, 93, of Salem, Ohio, diedJanuary 1, 2012. A graduate from God’s Bible Schooland College (Christian Workers Certificate) in 1939, shewas a member of East Fairfield United Methodist Church.She was a simple, godly, faithful, loving, contented, gen-
erous, and hard-working woman; and her unfailing lovefor her family reached each new generation.
Preceded in death by her husband, Charles Crook,and her son, Thomas Crook, she is survived by twodaughters, Nancy and Nina; six grandchildren; andeight great-grandchildren. Funeral services were held atEast Fairfield United Methodist Church.
Beulah Haggard, 85, of Cincinnati, Ohio, diedJanuary 27, 2012. A happy and earnest Christian,Beulah was a faithful member of the Kenwood BibleMethodist Church, Cincinnati. She was an alumna ofGod’s Bible School and College (’51) and deeply loved
her alma mater. She had retired from FirstNational Bank, Elmwood Place, havingserved there as a teller for many years.She was the sister of Mildred Wesley,Carolyn Stavermann, and the lateCharlotte Perry, Millard Haggard, and
Raymond Russell Haggard. She is also survived by sev-eral nieces and nephews and other relatives. Funeralservices were held at Kenwood Bible Methodist
On these pages, we feature items about GBS alumni, significantevents scheduled throughout the “Revivalist family,” and brief newsnotes from across the holiness movement.
GBS SPRING SEMESTERENROLLMENT STANDS AT 296
by Dr. Ken Farmer, GBS Vice Presidentfor Academic Affairs
For the spring semester 2012,college enrollment stands at 296(243 Full-Time Equivalency). This isessentially the same as theenrollment this time last year (298;244 FTE). Additionally, the fall-to-
spring drop of 7.79% ishigher than the 10-yearaverage drop of 4.53%. Itseems that largerenrollments, e.g., 321 for fall2011, tend to be followed byan enrollment drop. One of
our longer term goals hasbeen to stabilize enrollment at
about 300. Pray withus toward this end.
REV. ROLLIN MITCHELLEVANGELIST FORWINTER REVIVAL
From his opening mes-sage at GBS’s winter re-vival, based on Abrahams’sacrifice of Isaac, Mondayevening, January 9, throughhis closing message on howto meet life’s reverses, Fri-day morning, January 13,
Rev. Rollin Mitchell challenged ourcampus family with wit, exhortation,and illustration. Blessed by the HolySpirit, whose presence was keenlysensed, the messages produced aready response as students foundtime for prayer, gave public testi-mony, and sought the Lord at thepublic altar. Rev. Mitchell’s ministry
Rev. Rollin Mitchell
was timely and helpful, and we willrecall with gratitude his pointed ap-plications of divine truth.
CAMPUS UPDATE VIDEOSAVAILABLE ONLINE
GBS’s Strategic PlanningCommittee, in cooperation withMarketing Media, has released videosthat give updates for three sections ofthe college’s Strategic Plan. Thesesections are Facilities Planning andManagement, Student Services, andAcademic Development. They canbe viewed by clicking on the link onthe home page of the GBS website,www.gbs.edu.
Three other update videos willbe similarly published in the spring.Watch for them and keep up withwhat is going on at GBS!
BRIEFLY NOTED: Dr. Phillip Brown,
steering committee chair ofAldersgate Forum, a fellowship pro-moting informed dialogue andscholarly analysis of theological
issues, notifies us that the paperspresented at the 2011 AldersgateForum are now available online athttp://s.gbs.edu/thealdersgateforum.
Church, Rev. Ben Durr, Sr., and Rev. Michael Avery,officiating, with burial at Oak Grove Cemetery. Beulahwas known for many years for giving out candy follow-ing church services, and in token of this, candy wasavailable in the foyer of the church at her funeral.
Katherine D. Kelley, 92, died January 10, 2012, inDeland, Florida. A member of Calvary Community
Church, she had served at God’s BibleSchool and College as AssistantHousekeeping Supervisor (1978–1979) andas Kitchen Supervisor (1981–1984). She issurvived by her sons, James, Thomas, andFred; daughters, Patricia and Kathryn; 13
grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Followingfuneral services she was interred at Pine Level Cemetery,Oxford, Florida.
The Rev. Omar E. Lee, 89, of Thomasville, NorthCarolina, died October 23, 2011. He was well-knownthroughout the holiness movement, which he served aspastor, evangelist, and teacher. He taught at KansasCity College and Bible School 36 years and also taught
courses at God’s Bible School and College, UnionBible College, and Hobe Sound Bible College. Heserved the Church of God (Holiness) in many capaci-
ties, was the author of two books, and formany years wrote for The Way, Truth, andLife Sunday school literature.
He is survived by his wife of 70 years,Geneva (Smith) Lee; his children, Margaretand Daniel; seven grandchildren; and four
great-grandchildren. Funeral services were held inWashington, Indiana, Mark D. Avery, officiating, withentombment at Sugarland Memory Gardens.
The Rev. Herman K. Noll, 81, of Paoli, Indiana,died January 17. He was a veteran of the U.S. MarineCorps in which he served his country during the Korean
War. On April 18, 1951, he was united inmarriage to Marilyn Shuey. Rev. Noll was aminister of the gospel for over 50 yearswith service in the states of Pennsylvania,Ohio, Maryland, and Indiana. From1981–1984 he was Director (p19)�
MARCH 2012
13
Dear Louise,Great question! When you
compare translations of Romans8:28, you find two main variations.Some versions say “God works allthings together for good” (NASB,NIV, NLT). Others say, “All thingswork together for good” (KJV, ESV,HCSB, NET). The reason for thisdifference is that the NASB, NIV,and NLT follow three early manu-scripts of Romans that have God asthe explicit subject of the verb“works together.” On the otherhand, the ESV, KJV, NET, and HCSBfollow the majority of manuscriptswhich do not have the word “God”as the subject of the verb “workstogether.” In this case, I’m inclinedto agree with the KJV and othersthat “all things work together forgood” is the best translation.
This verse does not mean thateverything that happens to us is re-ally good, i.e., “a blessing in dis-guise.” It does not mean that Godwill turn all the bad things that hap-pen to us into perceptibly goodthings. Genuinely bad things hap-pen to genuinely blameless peoplefor no apparently good reason.
What this verse does teach isthat “all things” work together forthe ultimate good of those who
love God. That ultimate good isidentified in v. 29: “to be con-formed to the image of His Son,that he might be preeminentamong all his brothers.” The great-est good that can happen to us isfor us to become like Jesus, who isthe exact image of the Father.
Precisely why, in each case,God permits specific trials, suffer-ings, and consequences of sin to in-vade the lives of those who loveHim is not something He has re-vealed to us (Deut. 29:29). Neitherhas He promised to reveal how the“all things” of our lives relate tomaking us like His Son. What Godhas revealed to us in Scripture andwhat is implicit in Romans 8:28 isthat He is sovereign, good, wise,and faithful. I call these the four pil-lars. A life founded firmly uponthese four truths about God’s char-acter cannot be shaken.
God is sovereign. That meansthere is nothing outside the boundsof his control. There are no acci-dents or “oops’s” in Heaven’s con-trol room. God superintends allthings. The book of Job teaches usthat nothing comes into our lives aschildren of God that has not firstcome before the Heavenly Councilto receive God’s permission.
God is good. That means thatHe has my best interest at heart ineverything that He allows to comeinto my life. God is never mean-spirited. He is never fickle. He al-ways intends good both in what Hedoes and what He permits.
God is wise. That means Godnever makes a mistake when He al-lows evil to touch our lives. Henever permits too much tragedy.He is never guilty of “overkill.” Hiswisdom insures that He alwayschooses the best methods and tim-ing for accomplishing His grand de-sign of fashioning us in the image ofHis Son. No matter how impossibleor how bad our situation appears tobe, God’s wisdom enables Him tobring great good out of it for us andgreat glory out of it for Him.
God is faithful. That meansthat He always keeps Hispromises. He is completely trust-worthy and absolutely reliable.He never fails. He never falters.He is always true to His word.God’s sovereignty and wisdomconspire together to bring Hisgood plan for “all things” unerr-ingly to fruition in our lives.
No wonder Paul exclaims,“What shall we say to these things?If God be for us, who can beagainst us! He that spared not Hisown son, but freely gave him up forus all, how shall he not also withhim freely give us all things!”
Does this mean that Romans8:28 is no comfort that “every-thing will eventually work outOK?” It depends on what youthink OK is. If OK = Christlikenessin the lives of those who love God,then “all things” do work togetherfor good.
Blessings,Philip
Dr. A. Philip Brown II is a member of thefaculty in the Division of MinisterialEducation at God’s Bible School and College.
GOD’S REVIVALIST and BIBLE ADVOCATE
14
DOES GOD ALWAYS BRING GOOD FROM BAD?
Does “all things work together for good” in Romans 8:28 mean thatGod always brings good out of the bad things that happen to us, andhow can we know what that good is? —Louise
MARCH 2012
15
LEADER WARNS OF “GREATDIVISION” IN THE CHURCH
“Christianity has entered theage of post-Christendom,” theVery Rev. Robert Munday, promi-nent American Anglican leaderand educator, wrote recently. “It isquickly becoming an age like thatbefore Constantine, when authen-tic Christianity is often misunder-stood and persecuted. And so theChurch is faced with a time ofgreat division. On the one handthere are those who cooperatewith the new imperial establish-ment of secularists and post-mod-ern pagans, and who attempt tomake Christianity acceptable to its‘cultured despisers.’” In contrast,however, “there will be those whorespond to the challenges of thepost-Christendom period the wayChristians did in the pre-Constantinian era—by upholdingand proclaiming the apostolic faithand message, even at great cost.
IRANIAN PASTOR SENTENCEDTO DEATH, PRESSURED TODENY CHRIST
“Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani isfacing new pressure to recant hisfaith in Christ,” according toJordan Sekulow, Executive Directorof the American Center for Lawand Justice, headquartered inWashington, D.C. “Sources in Iranhave reported to us that an Iranianjudge is once again telling him todeny Christ or he will be execut-
ed. Pastor Youcef is again refusingto recant.”
Pastor Nadarkhani was arrestedin October 2009 for “protesting theteaching of Islam in his children’sschool,” according to a release inChristian Post. “His charges werelater changed to apostasy andattempting to evangelize Muslims.”Great international pressure hasbeen placed on Iran because of itspersecution of the pastor. Prayersare urged for his release.
MORE MISSIONARIESMURDERED IN MEXICO
According to Fox News, twomore American missionaries havebeen murdered in Mexico. Johnand Wanda Casias were founddead February 2 at their home inSantiago, Nuevo Leon. Mr. Casias,76, was a Baptist pastor who withhis wife operated the FirstFundamentalist IndependentBaptist Church in Santiago. Whentheir son Shawn stopped at theirhome to get a trailer, he found hismother’s body, and an investigatorlater reported the discovery of thepastor’s body. Several objects werealso stolen.
In January 2011, anotherAmerican missionary, Nancy Davis,was killed as she and her husbandSam were fleeing from drug cartelgunmen. “Fighting between theZetas and Gulf drug cartels hasbrought a surge of violence andother crimes to Monterrey and thesurrounding region since 2010.”
What’s your ministry dream?Energy, potential, and hope arealways palpable in the answer.
The adopted fourth child ofsix, DARNELL WILSON describedhis family as “balanced,” withthree black and three white sib-lings among them. Prior to gradu-ating from high school in JeffersonCounty, Tennessee, he lived ineight different states. He wasquick to laugh and loved people,but was on a path of self-destruc-tion—without time for God.
He landed on the campus ofGod’s Bible School and College—rebellious, angry, and undisci-plined. With his mother faithfullypraying, God helped Darnell findlasting satisfaction “in Him.” Hispassion is no longer for himself,but for God and His people.
Four years later, Darnell—stilllaughing and loving people—nowhas a ministry dream to comple-ment his winsome personality. Asa junior in the Ministerial Educa-tion Division, he is preparing tobecome a small group pastor andcounselor! Living in Cincinnati, inthe center of God’s will, is excit-ing for Darnell.
Student scholarship funds have assistedDarnell in attending GBSC. If you would liketo support a student like him, you may senda gift to:
Student FundGod’s Bible School and College1810 Young StreetCincinnati, OH 45202
or give online anytime at www.gbsgift.com
SEE HOW GREAT A CONFLICT IS AT HAND
by John Chrysostom
“Know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (I Cor. 15:58). Let us nottherefore sleep, my beloved. For it cannot be that anyone by sloth can
attain to the kingdom of heaven, nor shall those who live luxuriously or softly.Yes, it is a great thing, if restraining ourselves and “keeping under the body,”and enduring innumerable labors, we are able to reach those blessings. Do younot see how vast the distance is between heaven and earth? And how great aconflict is at hand? And how prone a thing to evil man is? And how manysnares are in the way?
Why then do we draw upon ourselves such great cares over and abovethose of nature and give ourselves more trouble and make our burden greater?Is it not enough that we have to care for our food, clothing, and houses? Is itnot enough to take thought for those things that are really necessary.Remember how Jesus said, “Be not anxious for your life what you shall eat, nei-ther for your body what you shall put on” (Matt. 6:25). But if we ought not tobe anxious for necessary food and clothing nor for tomorrow, what of thosewho bring on themselves so great a mass of rubbish?
Do you not know what tribunal before which we are to stand—theJudgment Seat of Christ? Do you not consider that both for our words andthoughts an account will be demanded of us then? So I entreat you while lifeis now prolonged that you would be pricked in your hearts and be convertedand become better men and women. This is so that we may not be like thatrich man and lament to no purpose in that world after death. For such is thattribunal that shall judge by our actions alone.
These things I say, not to grieve you nor to throw you into despair. But I donot wish you to be nourished by vain and cold hopes, place vain confidencein this person or that, or neglect your own salvation. For if we are slothful,there will be neither righteous man nor prophet nor apostle or anyone else tostand by us when we shall appear before Christ. But if we have been earnest,having in sufficiency the plea which comes from a life lived for Christ, we shalldepart this world with confidence and shall obtain the good things that are laidup for them who love God.
St. John Chrysostom (c. 347–407), archbishop of Constantinople, is remembered for his elo-quent preaching, his firm stand for godly living, and his courage in confronting sin. This extract,condensed and edited, is from his Homilies on First Corinthians.
16
�
FACIN
GTE
MPT
ATIO
N(P
ART
1)
by D
r. Al
lan
P. B
row
n, C
hair
GBS
Div
isio
n of
Min
iste
rial
Edu
catio
n
Script
ures
: 1
Cor
inth
ians
10:
13; Ja
mes
1:1
2-15
; G
alat
ians
5:1
6;Ro
man
s 13
:14;
Mar
k 14
:38.
A re
adin
g of
the
abov
e Sc
riptu
res r
evea
ls th
at e
very
one
face
s tem
p-ta
tion;
the
re a
re n
o ex
cept
ions
. It
furth
er r
evea
ls th
at n
o on
e ev
er h
asto
yie
ld t
o te
mpt
atio
n. H
owev
er,
if a
pers
on d
oes
not
know
how
to
resp
ond
bibl
ical
ly, it
is e
asy
to g
row
spi
ritua
lly w
eary
and
then
spi
ritua
l-ly
wea
k w
hen
faci
ng p
rolo
nged
tem
ptat
ion.
Hav
e yo
u ev
er to
ld G
od th
at y
ou w
ere
tired
of h
avin
g to
dea
l with
a ce
rtain
tem
ptat
ion?
Hav
e yo
u ev
er b
egge
d G
od t
o re
mov
e a
certa
inte
mpt
atio
n fro
m y
our l
ife, b
ut H
e di
dn’t
do it
? H
ave
you
ever
bee
n to
ldth
at if
you
wer
e th
e pe
rson
God
wan
ted
you
to b
e, y
ou w
ould
not
be
tem
pted
in a
cer
tain
are
a? H
ave
you
ever
hea
rd p
eopl
e te
ll ho
w G
odm
iracu
lous
ly d
eliv
ered
them
from
the
bond
age
of a
cer
tain
sin
with
the
resu
lts th
at th
ey n
ever
wer
e te
mpt
ed in
that
are
a of
life
aga
in?
I wou
ld li
ke to
beg
in th
is m
essa
ge b
y sh
arin
g te
n bi
blic
al fa
cts a
bout
tem
ptat
ion
that
eve
ryon
e sh
ould
kno
w.
1. T
o fe
el t
empt
atio
n in
its
elf
is ne
ither
goo
d no
r ev
il. J
esus
was
tem
pted
and
He
was
with
out s
in.
2. T
he p
urpo
se o
f te
mpt
atio
n is
alw
ays to trigger a choice
andto
provoke a definite stand or action.
14
Of c
ours
e, S
atan
is a
n ac
cuse
r, a
liar,
and
a de
ceiv
er (R
evel
atio
n 12
:10;
John
8:4
4; R
evel
atio
n 20
:3).
Whe
n yo
u be
com
e aw
are
that
ther
e ar
e un
godl
y th
ough
ts in
you
rm
ind,
that
is th
e m
omen
t you
are
requ
ired
to m
ake
a de
cisio
n. Y
ou c
anei
ther
del
iber
atel
y ch
oose
to a
llow
thos
e ev
il th
ough
ts to
rem
ain
in y
our
min
d, o
r you
can
cho
ose
to e
xpel
thos
e ev
il th
ough
ts a
nd re
plac
e th
emw
ith g
odly
tho
ught
s. Y
our
choi
ce d
eter
min
es w
heth
er y
ou a
re s
impl
ybe
ing
tem
pted
to th
ink
sinfu
l tho
ught
s or
whe
ther
you
are
con
scio
usly
choo
sing
to a
llow
sin
ful t
houg
hts
to re
mai
n in
you
r hea
d. T
he fo
rmer
isno
t sin
; th
e la
tter
is.
The
pres
ence
of a
sin
ful t
houg
ht in
you
r m
ind
may
be
liken
ed to
a bi
rd f
lyin
g ov
er y
our
head
. If
you
allo
w t
he s
infu
l tho
ught
to
stay
in y
our
min
d, y
ou a
re a
llow
ing
the
bird
to
mak
e a
nest
in y
our
hair.
But
if yo
u re
ject
the
sin
ful t
houg
ht,
and
refu
se t
o al
low
it t
o st
ay in
your
min
d, r
epla
cing
it
with
god
ly t
houg
hts,
you
are
sto
ppin
g th
ebi
rd fr
om m
akin
g a
nest
in y
our
hair.
Thi
s m
eans
tha
tyo
u m
ust
fight
the
goo
d fig
ht o
f fa
ith a
nd n
ot g
ive
into
the
tem
ptat
ion
to a
llow
sin
ful
thou
ghts
to
stay
in
your
min
d. T
o co
ntin
ue t
o th
ink
on t
hem
is
to g
ive
them
a c
onsc
ious
wel
com
e. I
thi
nk t
he c
arto
on h
ere
illus
trat
es t
his
trut
h w
ell.
—se
rmon
by
DR.
ALL
AN P
. BRO
WN
“COMMITTED TO EXCELLENCE
IN P
REACHIN
G”
�
23
“temptation,” “tem
pted,” “tempt,” and “tested” are all from
the same
Greek w
ord family.
The Greek w
ord family denoting tem
pt/testis neutral in m
eaning.There is nothing inherently evil im
plied by the Greek term
s. What m
at-ters is w
ho is doing it. Translators try to comm
unicate this truth by trans-lating the G
reek word fam
ily differently, depending on the source andintent of the activity. If G
od is the one doing it, they translate it “test,”because in English the term
“test” does not have the same negative
meaning as the w
ord “tempt.”
If Satan, however, is the one doing it, they translate it “tem
pt.” Thebasic difference is that w
hen God “tests” or “tem
pts,” he is not solicit-ing the person to do evil. Rather, G
od is testing the person’s loyalty andcom
mitm
ent to Him
self. When Satan “tests” or “tem
pts,” he is solicit-ing the person to do evil. Satan’s goal is alw
ays to try to cause a personto be disloyal to G
od and to disobey Scripture. Conclusion: tem
ptationdoes not necessarily com
e from an evil or corrupt heart. Jesus w
astem
pted [peirazo]by the devil; but His tem
ptation did not indicate anevil heart, for Jesus w
as without sin (M
atthew 4:1; 1 John 3:5).
Where does tem
ptation come from
? The conscious recognition ofthe presence of tem
ptation occurs in the mind. Scripture tells us that the
devil’s prim
ary target
is our
minds.
Paul em
phasized this
in 2
Corinthians 11:3: “But I fear, lest som
ehow, as the serpent deceived Eve
by his craftiness, so your minds
may be corrupted from
the simplicity
that is in Christ.” Satan tries to lead us astray by injecting unbiblical and
ungodly thoughts into our minds. Because of this, Paul urged all
Christians to be aw
are of Satan’s strategy and to guard their thoughts. H
e likened our minds to a battlefield and w
arned us to be aware
that spiritual warfare is occurring: “For though w
e walk in the flesh, w
edo not w
ar according to the flesh. For the weapons of our w
arfare arenot carnal but m
ighty in God for pulling dow
n strongholds, castingdow
n arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the
knowledge of G
od, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedi-ence
of C
hrist”(2
Corinthians
10:3-5). N
otice the
terms,
“war,”
“weapons,” “w
arfare,” and the necessity to be alert to thoughts that arein our m
inds. We m
ust “capture” all thoughts that are not in harmony
with G
od’s Word.
Satan injects wrong thoughts into our m
inds. He attacks us and
wants us to w
elcome his unbiblical and ungodly thoughts. W
hen we
seek to capture them and to replace them
with biblical and godly
thoughts, he accuses us of being the originator of the ungodly thoughts.
3. Temptation is not the cause of sin, trouble, or w
rongdoing. It justpresents us w
ith a choice to make.
4. Temptation w
ill bring out what is really in our hearts, for how
we
respond to temptation reveals w
hat we really are!
5. Our response to tem
ptation also reveals whether w
e havelearned the lessons G
od wants us to learn.
6. Some tem
ptations are the result of natural causes (i.e., biologicaldesign, em
otional temperam
ent); other temptations result from
wrong or sinful choices in the past.
7. Temptation and testing, w
hen faced correctly, become m
eans ofgrace and can result in a m
ore powerful m
anifestation of theH
oly Spirit in your life. For example, after severe testing in the
wilderness, Jesus returned from
His experience “in the pow
erof the Spirit” (see Luke 4:1–14).
8. How
we respond to tem
ptation reveals the depth of our love,com
mitm
ent, and loyalty to God.
9. Temptation and testing are part of G
od’s character development
curriculum. G
od uses them to rebuild our m
inds and give usnew
values.
10. When you are facing tem
ptation, there are just two choices on
the shelf: pleasing God or pleasing self.
What is a tem
ptation? James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the m
an who
endures temptation
[peirasmos];
for when he has been approved, he
will receive the crow
n of life which the Lord has prom
ised to those who
love Him
.” Christians are to endure tem
ptation.Jam
es 1:13 says, “Let no one say when he is tem
pted[peirazo], ‘I
am tem
pted [peirazo] by God’; for G
od cannot be tempted
[apeirastos]by evil, nor does H
e Him
self tempt
[peirazo]anyone.” Yet w
e read inthe G
reek Old Testam
ent, “Now
it came to pass after these things that
God tested
[peirazo]A
braham, and said to him
, ‘Abraham!’ And he
said, ‘Here I am
’” (Genesis 22:1). Please note that the w
ords translated
Each month we publish brief “field reports” from missionariesaround the world. Missionaries are invited to send us theirnewsletters and other information about their activities. GBS grad-uates are especially urged to respond, but we also wish to includeothers who uphold our vision and our commitment.
CANADA. “Please pray for the family of John Weiss(SIM). John and his wife Glenda were serving in BloodVein, First Nations, Canada. He was killed recentlywhen his truck slid off the road and rolled. When theaccident happened, Brother and Sister Weiss were ontheir way home from Winnipeg where they hadbought Christmas gifts for the native children in thechurch.” —Ropeholders
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. “Our Dominican churchhas seen two periods of revival during its existence,and we are now asking God for a third period. We arebelieving God that it shall come soon. In recent yearsseveral Haitians have come our way. Two new Haitianchurches have asked us to take them under our wing.We hope to get acquainted. Please ask God to send anew missionary who can either speak or learn Creole.”—David Middleton, Missionary Herald
HONDURAS. “Eric and Hannah Kuhns (HIM) ask forprayer for a new church building in a farming com-munity called Las Delicias. The people have beengathering on the porch and in the front yard of ahouse. They are excited and want to build a church.Please pray that God will supply the needed financesfor this project.” —Ropeholders
MONGOLIA. “We are now in the midst of a very frigidwinter [with December temperatures down to -36 F].Please pray that our heating system will continue tofunction well…. Pray often for Mongolian staff and co-workers of New Hope Mission. Please pray that theHoly Spirit would call, provide, and arrange.” —JohnKnight, prayer letter
MISSIONS REPORTS
MARCH 2012
19
�(p13) of Public Relations at God’s Bible Schooland College, Cincinnati, Ohio.
He is survived by his wife, Marilyn Noll; hisdaughter, Donna Sexton; two grandchildren; onestep-grandson; three great-granddaughters; and twostep-great granddaughters. Funeral services were heldin the Paoli Wesleyan Church with burial in theCresthaven Memorial Gardens, Bedford, Indiana.
The Rev. Homer D. Sawyer, 84, of Christiansburg,Virginia, died December 15, 2011. He was a U.S. Armyveteran of the Korean War, founder of one of the firstChristian schools in the state of Virginia, and the found-ing minister of the Bible Holiness Church of Christians-burg, from whose pastorate he retired after 44 years ofservice. He was a pastor, evangelist, and church planter.Records indicate that he had conducted between threeto four thousand funerals. Funeral home officials saidthat he had been such a blessing to the community thatin appreciation they wished to donate his casket. Hun-dreds of people stood in line to pay their respects. Pre-ceded in death by his wife, Virginia Aileen Sawyer, he issurvived by his daughter Linda; two sons, Tim andMark; five grandsons; three granddaughters; twelvegreat-grandchildren; and other friends and relatives. Fu-neral services were conducted at Blacksburg, Dr. JoeSawyer and Dr. Mesgun Tedla, officiating, with burial inthe Sunset Cemetery.
MISCELLANY
“I would like to thank the GBS family for all theprayers, cards, gifts, phone calls, and expressions ofconcern during my recent struggle with cancer on mytonsils. You have been a blessing to me both spiritual-ly and emotionally during this difficult time. I havejust finished my treatments and now face the weeksof recovery. We are trusting the Lord for the healingof my voice, and that He will once again permit meto enter into a place of serving Him. We truly serve aGod who ‘can be touched by our infirmities,’ and weare grateful that He is our divine Physician.” —Rev.Domenick Pietro, 403 Hickory Street, Dixon, Missouri65459.
HITHER AND THITHER
InterChurch Holiness Convention (IHC) will beheld April 17–19, 2012, at the Dayton ConventionCenter, Dayton, Ohio. Rev. Jacob Martin will deliverthe keynote address, Tuesday, April 17, 2:45 PM, withRev. Rollin Mitchell preaching Wednesday at 7:15PM, and Rev. Rowan Fay delivering the closing chal-lenge Thursday at 6:00 PM.
REVIVALIST FAMILY continued
compiled by Rev. Jack Hooker, President,National Alumni Association of GBS
WALKING FOR JESUSGBS Alumnus Donald Lewis Stevenson(’61) shares his fascinating ministry
After leaving the Marines inJanuary, 1957, I enrolled in
high school and college classes atGod’s Bible School and Missionary
Training Homein Cincinnati,Ohio. Thanksto the GI Bill Iwas able tocompleteseven years ofschooling infour. I got myhigh schooldiploma and
received my Bachelor of Theologydegree with honors.
I pastored my first church inNewark, Ohio. I sure felt sorry forthose sweet people. They were trulyprecious people, and I was youngand had more zeal than sense wayback then.
Over the years I pastored orassisted pastoring several church-es, taught at a small Bible schoolin Phoenix, Arizona, drove 18-wheelers and smaller vehicles fora Seattle-based dairy (DarigoldInc.), was a volunteer fire fighterand station captain on VashonIsland, Washington, and did emer-gency medical work as an EMT
with the fire district and a privateSeattle ambulance company.
After 28 years of service withDarigold Inc., I retired in 1994 so Icould devote my time to writing.I’ve written several novels and inspi-rational books. All were desktoppublished, except one titled DeathWith a View. I’ve also authoredscores of children’s stories which Iincorporated in a two-volume settitled The Grandpa Story Book.
My lovely, precious wifeLoretta and I have been marriedsince 1983. She’s a real sport! I’ma hard man to love, but she makesit look so easy.
I started the habit of walking forhealth and meditation in Septemberof 1996. In 1998, because I lovedwalking so much, I decided to walkacross America. I didn’t want to dothe cross-continent walk just formyself, so I chose to do it to raiseawareness for the Alzheimer’sAssociation of America, dedicating itto the memory of my father-in-lawwho died from the disease. Thetheme for the walk was “Walking tothe Light for Alzheimer’s.” It was a3,000-mile walk from WashingtonState to the Portland headlight inPortland, Maine. A wonderful expe-rience! And it drew my wife Lorettaand me closer to Him as we weretruly aware of His approval. Thiswalk started a ministryin which I have walkedover 40,000 miles forvarious charities.
There are valuablelessons and inspira-tional stories behind allof my journeys, but itwould take a large vol-ume to relate themhere. At present I ampreparing for a 1500-mile blindfold walkfrom Rugby, NorthDakota, to Seattle,Washington, to benefitthe sight-impaired.That walk begins June
11, 2012, and ends on September7th. I’m dedicating the walk to an11-year-old boy who was bornblind. My prayer is that that littleguy will someday see. With God allthings are possible!
God has blessed me with goodhealth, and out of gratitude I’vetried sharing that blessing with thosewho are less fortunate. I’m a happy,wealthy man. I don’t possess muchof this world’s goods, but I do pos-sess that which money cannot pur-chase—love, joy, and peace!
CONGRATULATIONS to alumniDon (ThB ’77) and Ruth (Yount)(BA ’75) Nichols on 35 years of
continuous ministry at the PilgrimHoliness Church in Lima, Ohio. Thiswas celebrated Saturday evening,January 27, at a special dinner heldin their honor.
20GOD’S REVIVALIST and BIBLE ADVOCATE
GOD’S REVIVALIST and BIBLE ADVOCATE
22
EDITORIAL continued
�(p2) the profane and unholy and devotement toGod,” stressed in the Old Testament, and “moral pu-rity,” predominant in the New Testament. Thus, thebasic meaning is “separated, consecrated and/or puri-fied; made free from sin.”
Separated, consecrated, purified. Yes, these termsdefine holiness as we have preached it from the days ofthe Methodist Revival. They point firmly to what is es-sential to all authentic relationships with God, ensuringthat both our outward acts and our inward motives befreed from sin and brought into submission to His willand purpose. “Accordingly as he hath chosen us in himbefore the foundation of the world, that we should beholy and without blame before him in love” (Eph. 1:4).
Only God can transform us sinners into saints, free-ing us from engrained selfishness and enabling us tolove Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strengthand our neighbors as ourselves, as He enjoins. This isthe sanctifying work of the Spirit, renewing our fallennature as He implants His life in us—the life of love—forming all Christlike graces and expelling all sinful bar-riers that impede them. Thus in breathtaking splendorwe become “partakers of the divine nature”—humanand fallible yet, to be sure, but even now, “holy andwithout blame before him in love.”
In conversion, He initially sanctifies us; in expand-ing development, He progressively sanctifies us; and inperfected love He entirely sanctifies us. But althoughsanctification is entirely His gift, it also must be entirelyour pursuit; and in the dynamic of grace, the more weseek for holiness, the more holiness we shall be given.All of this is to enable us to live the “Jesus life”—”trans-formed into the same image from glory to glory, just asby the Spirit of the Lord” (II Cor. 3:18).
II. FAILURE ACKNOWLEDGED:The Holiness Witness Weakened
God be praised for that continuing stream of sane,balanced, scriptural spirituality among us, exemplifiedby thousands of earnest, happy, and consistentChristians whose saintly lives have witnessed to thetruth of our central emphasis on holiness of heart andlife. Thousands are now in heaven because of this, andthe world below is also a better place because of it.
“We confess, however, that our passion for holiness ofheart and life has sometimes been reduced merely to exter-nal codes and prohibitions, and ‘holier-than-thou’ attitudestoward those who differ from us. As such we have becomeshell without substance, and betrayed the Scriptural man-date to be holy, because the Lord our God is holy.”
This statement from the Call, however, acknowl-edges that distortions have clouded our holiness wit-
ness—distortions that we must honestly confront, forthey leave us “shell without substance.” In religion thisis a special peril, for sacred words are often used fortheir pious sound even when they are stripped of au-thentic content. Among us, for example, holiness caneasily become more of a revival slogan or a sectarianbuzzword than it is the gracious, loving life of Jesuswinsomely displayed in His saints.
It is with a deep sense of love for the CHM, myspiritual home, that I suggest these areas that havegiven imbalance to our message:• Externalism. Holiness is always ethical, for as theBible teaches it is always demonstrated by our pursuitof what is right and our rejection of what is wrong. Ourdanger is that sometimes we have substituted outwardconduct—”external codes and prohibitions,” as the Callexplains—for the “inward principle” set in our heartsby the Spirit. In doing this, we make sanctification away of works rather than a way of faith. Fussy nit-pick-ing and harsh legalism become more our focus thanperfect love graciously lived and winsomely portrayed.• Enculturation. This is simply giving in to the degradedvalues of society around us. Once we put great stress on“separation from the world,” sometimes to embarrassingextremes. But generally our problem is now the opposite.Historical drift is all too painfully apparent. Scriptural stan-dards of modesty in dress, reverent observance of theLord’s Day, careful stewardship of money, and conscien-tious restraint in entertainment are increasingly eroded.Much of this is fueled by embourgeoisement—the risingsocial mobility that comes with increased prosperity. Butremember, true holiness will never flourish in an atmos-phere of compromise and worldliness.• Sentimentalism. This is a mushy religion of exhila-rating “frames and feelings,” centered more in per-sonal emotional satisfaction than in holy love for Godand people. How desperately we need the oldMethodist emphasis on godly character, habituatedvirtue, and covenanted accountability! This is thatblessed “Christianity in earnest” that increasingly char-acterizes close and faithful communion with God.Granted, subjective emotional response is normativeand proper, but it must always be welcomed in thecontext of objective truth and holy duty. Otherwise webecome more fixated on feelings about “traveling on”than we are in doing the works of piety that God com-mands in our devotion to Him or the works of mercythat He commands in our duties to others. • Sectarianism. Too often we’ve assumed that holinessis mostly the exclusive property of the CHM. As the Calldeclares, this over-estimation of ourselves has resulted inugly “holier-than-thou” attitudes toward Christians whoare not members of our own particular tribe among all
the tribes of Israel. As we must acknowledge, God haswinsomely set forth His grace in the lives of all His dearones in every part of orthodox Christianity—in the livesof all who earnestly pursue that holiness without whichnone of us shall see the Lord.
III. CORRECTION OFFERED:The Holiness Witness Reasserted
We must be who God has called us to be. This iswhy the Call urges us “to a renewed love for God fromwhich will blossom consistent and winsome lives of ho-liness, first in motivating purpose, and second, in out-ward conduct.” This certainly implies the following:• Personal Godliness. Each of us who pursues theholy way must cultivate in ourselves a profound lovefor Christ, living the life of faith, which is demonstratedin faithful duty and holy tempers, embracing ”love,peace, joy, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,meekness, temperance.” We need learned expositionsof Christian holiness, but even more, we need holinessillustrated by consistent and attractive examples.• Focused Instruction. Sometimes we’ve been betterat calling sinners to repentance than in establishingsaints in holiness. To correct this imbalance we mustprovide sound and scriptural materials, attractively pre-sented, that will establish our people in what trueChristian sanctity really means.• Balanced Preaching. It’s essential that we have bibli-cal preaching that balances the Law with the Gospel.Once we overdid the first at the expense of the second.Now it’s the other way around. Sin with all its horror mustbe faithfully and specifically denounced, while grace withall its promises must be lovingly and lavishly offered.• Structured Accountability. We’ll probably neverbring back the Methodist class meeting, our historicmeans of spiritual formation. But somehow we mustrecapture its sense of covenant commitment and con-sistent accountability, all within an atmosphere of lov-ing affirmation. Small-group ministries to promote au-thentic piety can still accomplish this.
In conclusion, let us boldly reaffirm our founda-tional conviction that “the great central pervading ideaof the whole Book of God from the beginning to theend,” as Dr. John McClintock, that fine old Methodisteducator, once declared, is “the holiness of the humansoul, heart, mind, and will….” This means that wemust also share his conviction that “Our work is amoral work; that is to say, the work of making menholy…there is our mission, there is our glory, there isour power, and there shall be the ground of our tri-umph. God keep us true!”
Amen! God keep us true!
MARCH 2012
23
by Sonja Vernon
WAITING
“Therefore be patient, brethren, until the comingof the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious pro-duce of the soil, being patient about it, until it getsthe early and late rains. You too be patient;strengthening your hearts, for the coming of theLord is near.” — James 5:7–8 NASB
Jesus is coming again! Throughout the centuriesthose words have been proclaimed from count-
less pulpits, preached on street corners, and herald-ed wherever there were ears to hear. But to some,the fact that this message has remained unchangedfor two thousand years can make it seem a bit sus-pect. Why has He not returned? Evil abounds andfaith wavers. Prophets set dates, believers gather onmountain tops, and the skies remain empty. Criticsscoff, experts reinterpret the scriptures, and the clar-ion call is muted.
In the midst of this hostile environment weread the words of James. The farmer plants a cropand does not despair when it fails to appear im-mediately. He sows in faith believing in a harvest,and then he waits. He knows the rains will come,and the sun will do its work. We too must trustthe great heart of the One who made a promiseto come again. We must endure with patience theyears of waiting, knowing that just as the harvestcomes at its proper time, our Savior will returnexactly when He should. Just as the farmer tendshis crop, we also must occupy until He comes.There is work to do. The fields are white andready for reaping. So let us strengthen our hearts.Jesus is coming again!
Sonja Vernon is Dean of Women at God’s Bible School and College.
©2012 Jupiter Im
ages
FRI, MARCH 30, 7:00 PM Northwest Pennsylvania GBS RallyHeld at Commodore Perry
High School Auditorium3002 Perry Highway (Rte. 19), Hadley, PAHosted by Oak Grove Church,
Mercer, PARev. Randy Ritchey(724) 475-3448 (church)(724) 854-2811 (pastor)
SAT, MARCH 31, 6:00 PMGod’s Missionary Church2127 Hill St., Lebanon, PARev. Barry Arnold (717) 273-3690
SUN AM, APRIL 1 10:00 AM Combined Service God’s Missionary Church852 Ridge Rd., New Columbia, PARev. Matt Ellison (570) 713-5005
SUN PM, APRIL 1, 7:00 PM God’s Missionary ChurchCorner of Covered Bridge and Creek Rds.Beavertown, PARev. James Plank (570) 837-7813
MON, APRIL 2, 7:00 PMGreater Chambersburg Area RallyHeld at Air Hill Brethren in Christ Church7041 Cumberland Hwy., Chambersburg, PARev. Darrell Potteiger (717) 532-9307
TUES, APRIL 3, 7:00 PMCumberland Area GBS Rally Held at Flintstone Volunteer Fire Co. 21701 Flintstone Dr. NE, Flintstone, MD Hosted by Mountain Top Holiness Church, Flintstone, MDRev. Reuben Rinker(336) 689-3181 (church)(240) 362-7622 (pastor)
WED, APRIL 4, 7:00 PMZanesville Bible Methodist Church925 Grove Rd., Zanesville, OH Rev. William Blair (740) 452-5540 or (740) 704-0835