a thief in the kingdom 7 - god's bible school and college · street, cincinnati, ohio 45202,...

April 2003Volume 115 No. 3

FEATURES Behind Prison Walls 5

by Jack Hooker

A Thief in the Kingdom 7by Edsel Trouten

Easter Hymn 9by Christopher Wordsworth

DEPARTMENTS The Editor’s View 2The President’s Page 3Letters To The Editor 4A World To Win 42nd Thoughts 6News From The Hilltop 10Revivalist Family 10Dear Phil 14Archives 16Revivalist Pulpit 19Mending Nets 21Thoughts For The Quiet Hour 23Faith In The Future Campaign 24

EDITORLarry D. Smith

STAFFMyra Brown, production managerKevin Moser, art directorJon Plank, graphic designer

God’s Revivalist and Bible Advocate (ISSN 0745-0788) is published ninetimes a year for $10.00 per year ($11.50 in Canada and foreign countries)by the Revivalist Press of God’s Bible School, College and MissionaryTraining Home, 1810 Young Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. Periodicalpostage paid at Cincinnati, Ohio, and at additional mailing offices. POST-MASTER: send address changes to God’s Revivalist and Bible Advocate,1810 Young Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202.

God’s Revivalist and Bible Advocate, the official organ of God’s Bible School, is a mag-azine founded by Martin Wells Knapp in July of 1888. We seek to proclaim the goodnews of salvation; to stir a revival spirit among Christians; to stimulate Christian growthand responsible Christian living; to present the happenings and interests of God’sBible School.

Please obtain permission before reprinting any articles from God’s Revivalistand Bible Advocate. Unsolicited manuscripts are welcomed, but notreturned.

God’s Bible School and College does not discriminate on the basis of age,race, color, national or ethnic origin, or against otherwise qualified handi-capped persons in its admission of students or employment of its facultyand staff.

God’s Bible School and College can be reached by telephone at (513) 721-7944 (Revivalist Press, ext. 296); by fax at (513) 721-3971;by E-Mail at [email protected] or [email protected].

CONTENTS

LARRY D. SMITH

GRAVEYARD GLORY

“Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” Used inthose final moments before closed coffins are low-ered into open graves, these words are poignant

and familiar. For centuries now, our pastors have read themfrom the classic English “order for the burial of the dead,”sometimes accenting the committal with a handful of sprin-kled dirt or scattered petals. All this is memorable and fit-ting—a dramatic reminder that our hope does not rest incorruptible and mortal flesh.

But why quote graveyard liturgy when it’s almostEaster? Isn’t this the most exalted day of all the ChristianYear, our joyous “queen of festivals” which celebrates life’svictory over death? Why ponder dust and ashes while we’replacing lilies on the Holy Table and singing anthems in thechoir? At first glance, this seems as morbid as the oldMoravians who used to hold their Easter sunrise services ina cemetery.

Still those happy, earnest Christians knew exactly whythey went among the graves to greet their risen Lord. Andonce they had explained it, their choice seemed logical andfitting—as logical and fitting, indeed, as for us to murmurfuneral rites while we also prepare for His resurrection. Forafter all, as the Moravians declared, the first Easter tookplace in a cemetery, since it was in Joseph’s rock-hewntomb that Jesus rose up from the dead. Why not proclaimHis triumph, then, in a cemetery, as He had done?

Moreover, as we may add, Easter has everything to dowith cemeteries; for its purpose is to change their gloom toglory and finally to empty them forever. Our Lord Jesus cameto conquer sin for us; and this means He also came to con-quer death, which is sin’s penalty and partner. To accomplishthis, He took upon Himself our flesh and blood, that throughthe atonement of His death—attested by the power of Hisresurrection—“He might destroy him who had the (p22)➡

GOD'S REVIVALIST and BIBLE ADVOCATE

02

theeditor’s

view

People who work closely with the stock market have been carefully evalu-ating their investments over the last few years. They want a balanced port-folio that will yield both short-term and long-term gains. I have been eval-

uating my investments as well—not those in the stock market, but those I makein peoples’ lives. I want to make sure I’m investing in those relationships that mat-ter most. (For those who are following, this is my third New Year’s resolution.)

Life makes tremendous demands on our time and energy. If we aren’textremely careful, we will invest a significant amount of time in things thatmean the least to us and have the smallest impact for long-term good. At age46, I’m realizing how quickly time is slipping away and how few years I haveleft to invest the talents God has given me. That forces me to be more discrim-inating in how I invest my time and in whom I invest it.

First, I want to invest my time and energy in people who want the investmentI can make in them. These are people who are passionate about improvement,have a teachable spirit, and have allowed me to develop the kind of relationshipwith them that makes it possible for me to be a blessing. To those who are older,I want to be a source of consolation in loneliness, strength in weakness andencouragement in the dark moments of life. To those who are younger, I want tobe what Paul was to Timothy and what Barnabas was to John Mark. To those whoare my peers, I want to be a “friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”

I also want to invest in my larger family. I want to be a good son, son-in-law, brother, and uncle. I want to make a serious contribution to the well-beingof each member of my family. It’s so easy to take them for granted or just makethem a part of holidays and funerals. I want to give a listening ear, a word ofencouragement, a warm embrace, and any other means of support availableto me to give. This will take time,

But it is time I want to give!

A large part of the stewardship of my time will be given to my sons. I’mtheir father, and I refuse to neglect that role. They will have my time, myheart, my prayers, my counsel, my support, and my ear. I will proof termpapers, talk sports, or sit on the edge of the bed and talk half the night if itbuilds bridges and makes them better. I’ll teach, preach and nag (if neces-sary) until certain values and traits are theirs. I’ll see to it that they educatetheir minds, discipline their bodies, value hard work, love their country,respect their elders, act with manners, and treat their mother like aqueen—or they will face the consequences! This will require, and hasalready required, a huge amount of time; but I’m going to give it to them.They’re mine, they deserve my best, and I will not let them down.

A special portion of my time will go to my wife. Ruth and I haveshared so much life in the past 24 years of (p20)➡

EVALUATING MY RELATIONSHIP PORTFOLIOby Michael R. Avery, president

thepresident’s

page

APRIL 2003

03

TO THE EDITOR

MISSIONS REPORTS

Each month we publish brief “field reports” from missionar-ies around the world. Missionaries are invited to send us theirnewsletters and other information about their activities. GBSgraduates are especially urged to respond, but we also wish toinclude others who uphold our vision and our commitment.

AFRICA. “To God be the glory! We have passed the$9000 mark and contributions are still coming in[for Bible distribution]. The money is being dividedbetween two groups of our holiness missionaries whoare reaching out to [those] famishing for the Word ofLife. The above amount will buy 2250 Lozi Bibles.Both groups say that thousands of Bibles are neededso any amount will not be too much.” —Ropeholders.

ARGENTINA. “The Cup of Milk program is a tem-porary ministry we are involved in during the pre-sent economic crisis in Argentina. Children aregiven a cup of hot chocolate milk and bread and jellyseveral times a week. Each time, they also hear aBible lesson. This serves as an afternoon snack for thechildren, but for some it is probably their supper.” —Call to Prayer (World Gospel Mission).

CANADA. “Peguis Reserve in Manitoba, Canada,had a camp meeting held at Fisher Bay. It was verygood with Rev. Jonathan Bellas the evangelist. Manypeople received spiritual help. Two alchololics weresaved, along with several others. On Sunday they hada baptismal service. Each one gave a testimony.” —Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. “The annual winter holi-ness convention in Santa Domino took placeJanuary 14–17, 2003, at the Los Pardos Church.The guest speaker was J. Steven Manley, and thefaithful interpreter was David Middleton. Nearlyevery service ended with seekers praying at the altar.Saturday afternoon, time was spent instructing newconverts about spiritual preparation for water bap-tism. The Lord was good to His people and visitedthem every service of the 2003 convention.” — Missionary Herald. (p14)➡

Letters should be addressed to the Editorial Office, 1810 YoungStreet, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202, or e-mailed to [email protected] reprinted here do not necessarily reflect the opinions of theeditor of God’s Revivalist nor those of the administration of God’sBible School. Names and locations of writers will be withheld at theirspecific request or at the discretion of the editor. We reserve the rightto edit and condense.

PRESIDENT AVERY’S ARTICLE ON WORSHIPI received my best mail yesterday, God’s Revivalist, and

that’s an understatement…I just read the best sermon thatI’ve read for a long time [“New Year’s Resolutions, Anyone?Part II,” Michael R. Avery, The President’s Page, Winter2003]. Thank you, President Avery…The Revivalist hasbeen in the family many years. You and all your wonderfulpeople on the Hilltop are in my thoughts and prayersalways.

LEE POWELLLapeer, Michigan

I…want to commend President Avery for his splendidarticle on corporate worship. For many years, this hasbeen a deep concern of mine, as I have tried to establishchurches spiritually and to lead down the road towardexcellence. Keeping the balance in the areas that thepresident dealt with in the article is often a difficult task,not only in our conservative churches, but in other groupsas well. The article states it better than I could, but itstates it the way I see it.

TERRY D. GOINGEasley, South Carolina

For quite sometime now I have felt that our servicesneed to be focused on true worship. It is my own wor-ship I’m sure needs to be examined, and my heart’sdesire is to worship as God wants and desires. Thankyou for taking the time to share and to be transparentenough to help others.

BILL SPENCERE-mail

I thought the recent (Winter 2003) issue of theRevivalist was the best yet. You are addressing many rel-evant issues (like worship) and including first-personexperiences which are always captivating. It is alsointeresting to get the update on weddings, babies,deaths, and other important alumni news. We willkeep the school in our prayers.

DOROTHY B. KLASSNorth Carolina

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By Jack Hooker

Part of preparing young people forChristian service is instilling the value ofbeing a servant. This must be accom-plished by immersing them in real min-istry. One shining example of a studentwho really has a heart for service isKimberly Easley. Recently she had thehonor of directing the 19-voice inmatechoir at the dedication service for the newchapel at the Hamilton County JusticeCenter in Cincinnati. Included in the con-gregation were Sheriff Simon Leis, policeofficers, chaplains, and inmates of the jail.The facility will be used for worship ser-vices and Bible studies. Kim is one of theGBS students involved in the jail ministryunder the direction of Floyd Hyatt.

Jack: How long have you beeninvolved with the jail ministry,Kim? Kim: This is my 3rd year.

What made you get involved withthis ministry? It seemed as if it was sort of a for-gotten mission field, and I thoughtit would be great chance to sharethe gospel.

Please describe the jail ministry. In the Justice Center the inmatesare being held, awaiting sentenc-

ing. They are usually there a fewmonths. During this time, we builda friendship with them and earntheir trust through consistency. Wehave two Bible studies (like achurch service) each week, aninmate choir that practices once aweek, and calling. Calling is whenwe visit the inmates and have achance to talk to them personallyabout their spiritual condition,questions they have, or strugglesthey are facing.

What are your specific responsi-bilities? I direct the inmate choir onThursday nights, help in Bible studyeach week, and also go calling.

What rewards do you receive? The best reward is when I see aman get saved and start growing inthe Lord. Watching new believersdevelop and get established is thehighest pay I could receive.Occasionally, one of them willwrite a poem, send a card, or dedi-cate a song to let us know heappreciates what we do. Thatmeans a lot, too.

How has the experience preparedyou for your life’s calling? It has helped me learn how to walk

someone through the plan of salva-tion. It has helped me become abetter listener and learn somecounseling skills. The Bible studiesand teaching choir have taught meabout being a leader and gettingcomfortable in front of a group. Ibelieve with my whole heart thiswill help me in my future ministry.

Have you seen God truly work inthis ministry? I have actually! Sunday in, Sundayout; choir practice after choir prac-tice, God is faithful! Many times it’sthe little things and sometimes it’sthe big things—but always youknow He is at work!

How important is serving othersto you? Well, I guess it’s the second great-est commandment— to love oth-ers. Letting the Lord love someonethrough you. What could be moreimportant than that?

Yes, Kim, what could be moreimportant!

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

AN INTERVIEW WITH KIMBERLY EASLEY

Kim Easley and Floyd Hyattminister to a prisoner

Rev. Jack Hooker,Vice President forAdvancement,God’s Bible School andCollege


06

EVIDENCE OF THERESURRECTION“Ye shall be witnesses unto me.” (Acts 1:8)

How does Watergate relate to theresurrection of Jesus? That was my

question as I perused the table of con-tents in Charles Colson’s book LovingGod a few years ago. Soon I was read-ing with great interest his chapter withthis most unusual title, “Watergate andthe Resurrection.”

In that chapter, Colson, a formerlawyer for President Nixon, evaluatedthe theory that the story of Jesus’ resur-

rection was fabricated by His disciplesfollowing His crucifixion. Embarrassedby the ignoble death of the man theythought to be Messiah—so the theoryruns—the followers of Christ somehowhatched a scheme to steal and disposeof His body and then reported to theworld that He had risen.

With a lawyer’s mind, Colsonprobes the apostles’ motives for such adeed. Their reason certainly wasn’t mon-etary, for no one benefited financially.Nor was it a quest for political powerand prestige. In fact, they found them-selves to be the objects of contempt onall sides. The only possible motive forsuch a preposterous act would have

been merely to save face—-to neutralizethe embarrassment of having believed sodevoutly in Jesus for three years.

Then Colson weighs this ratherinnocuous motive against the staggeringamount of hardship the disciples andtheir associates endured. As the warmblood drains from the crushed body ofStephen, as James’ head rolls, as Peterbecomes the next target of Herod’smalicious sword, not one of the disci-ples recants his story and confesses hislie, thus bringing an immediate end tothe brutality. Could Peter possibly havewatched silently as Stephen died,knowing that this good man was dyingfor a lie that Peter had willingly perpet-uated? Could Peter have possibly keptsilent as James then met his fate?

Colson recalls the Watergate cover-up, in which a group of powerful men—men who had the motives of money,authority and political prestige—tried toperpetuate a lie. He explains that whenthe pressure was on, the human instinctof self-preservation so consumed themthat they abandoned the Presidentwhom they had worked so hard to electin order to “save their own skin.” Yetnone of them faced the possibility ofbeatings or death! Colson writes, “Takeit from one inside the Watergate weblooking out. I know how vulnerable acover-up is.” Knowing human nature ashe does, he concludes that it was impos-sible for the supposed “resurrection lie”to have survived the horrendous scourgeof persecution and the intense scrutinyof the early church councils. Surelysomeone would have abandoned ship tosave his own life or that of his family. Butno one did!

As I reflect on the evidence of theresurrection, it occurs to me that thestrongest proof of the risen Lord is foundin the clear and unerring testimony ofthose who called themselves Christians.And as I would add, even to this daythe strongest validation of Christ contin-ues to be found where it has alwaysbeen—in the faithful witness of thosewho worthily bear His name!

Ben Durr Jr. is a pastor and member of thefaculty in the Division of MinisterialEducation, God’s Bible School and College.

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How the threecrosses may

have appeared onthat skull-like hilloutside Jerusalem

that Friday long ago we do not know,except that the cross on which Jesusdied was in the middle; and on theother crosses were two commonthieves. Barclay noted, “It was of setand deliberate purpose that theauthorities crucified Jesus betweentwo known thieves to humiliate himand rank him with robbers.”

We do not know the intent ofthe Romans that day, but whateverit was, God sovereignly overruledtheir purpose and arranged ameeting between Jesus and thosetwo thieves. This was no chancemeeting! God wanted to dosomething for those thieves; butbetter still, God wanted to saysomething to men and women wholive in fear today because they thinkHe will not forgive their sins.

Christians should rejoice thatthe Holy Spirit inspired Luke to tellthis part of the story, because itshows how close to death God willstoop to pick up a repentant sinnerand forgive him. A poet caught thisconviction perfection, when hepenned the couplet:

Betwixt the stirrup and the ground,Mercy I asked and mercy found.

Can a person find God’s mercywho is that close to the end? Or wasthe poet playing games with words?Not if Jesus meant what He said:“Him who comes to me I will in nowise cast out” (John 6:37).

According to the Gospelrecords, the centurions scourgedJesus between 6:00 and 9:00 a.m.and then led Him to a hill outsideof Jerusalem to crucify Him. Marknotes that “it was the third hour,and they crucified him” (Mk.15:25). According to Roman reck-oning, the third hour would be9:00 a.m. So they crucified Jesusand the two thieves at that time.During the next three hours, Jesuswas reviled by the watching crowd.He was vilified by the chief priests.Even the Roman soldiers enteredinto the derision. Matthew remindsus that even the two thieves wereblaspheming Jesus (Matt. 27:44).

Sometime near the end of thesethree hours, one of the thievesbecame especially abusive in hisremarks about Jesus. “Are you notthe Messiah? If you are,” he taunt-ed Jesus derisively, “save yourselfand us!” This probably happenedabout 11:00 a.m. The other thiefturned to his dying companionacross the hillside and called out apain-filled rebuke. Luke tells us itwas then that he turned to Jesusand sought forgiveness (Lk. 23:42).

Mark notes that the darknessthat began at noon remained untilJesus died at 3:00 p. m. (Mk.15:33). Shortly after Jesus died, thesoldiers broke the legs of the twothieves to hasten their death; sothey died sometime after 3:00p.m. That morning, both thieveshad been mocking and blasphem-ing Jesus; but something happenedto one of them that caused him toturn to the dying Jesus to seek andfind forgiveness.

As best as we can put it togeth-er, it was near noon when therepentant thief heard Jesus saythose wonderful words, “Today youshall be with me in paradise.” If hedied sometime around 4:00 or5:00 p.m., he found forgivenessabout four hours before he died.That sounds like rider in the poem,doesn’t it?

Betwixt the stirrup and the ground,Mercy I asked and mercy found.

We cannot tell for certain whatprompted the dying thief to turn toJesus. Had he heard Jesus preachto the crowds in the marketplaceone day the message of forgive-ness? We do not know, but some-thing happened to cause him toseek the pardon he so desperatelyneeded. Why did Jesus, in the clos-ing minutes of his life, say to thisthief, “Today, you shall be with mein paradise?”

Apparently, there was some-thing in the tone of the voice ofthe railing, taunting thief thatconvicted his dying companion.The rebuking thief asked, “Don’tyou have any fear of God?”“Man, don’t you realize what isgoing to happen to us in a fewminutes?” In one man, death pro-duced nothing but a taunt; but inthe other, it produced a genuinefear of God—a fear which ledhim to repentance.

This dying thief’s attention wasnow riveted on the Man on thecenter cross. If we listen carefully,we can hear him making a realstab at confessing his (p9)➡

aThief

in theKingdom

by the Rev. Edsel Trouten

APRIL 2003

09

➡ (p7) sinfulness. Still speaking to his companion, the repentantcriminal said, “Don’t you realize we are guilty? We deserve thiscross!” His words did not have the ring of self-preservation. Therewas no projection of blame. He didn’t ask Jesus to save him from theagonies of the cross. In his confrontation with his companion, hecried out, “I am guilty!” These three words unlocked the gates ofparadise for this dying thief, for they were the soil out of which sav-ing faith could spring!

If we listen further, we can hear him confessing that the Man onthe center cross was none other than his Lord! “Lord, remember mewhen You come into your kingdom” (v. 42). Not only was he willingto confess his guilt—that he deserved to die in the manner he wasdying—but also he was willing to confess and submit to the lordshipof Jesus. What kind of Lord was this which the thief was confess-ing—a Lord nailed to a cross? Jesus was dying just exactly like hewas! Paul insists that a sinner must confess Jesus as Lord to be saved(Rom. 10:9). This is ”Lordship salvation.” Jesus will permit no rivalsin our lives! He must be Lord!

The thief apparently realized that though Jesus was dying, deathsomehow could not hold Him. His taunting companion had spokento the Saviour as if he were a “victim”; but by a faith—granted, aweak faith—the repentant thief spoke to Jesus, not as a victim, but asa victor. In some remarkable manner, he realized that Jesus’ deathwas only a way-station to a kingdom. He realized that the Man onthe center cross was indeed a king!

Then he became even more desperate. “Lord, remember mewhen You come into Your kingdom!” Death was very close; but witha simple but shaky faith, he cried out to Jesus to remember himwhen He came into His kingdom. Think of it—a thief in the king-dom! He didn’t have time to make anything right. He just threwhimself on the mercies of the dying King. He didn’t know much, butthis much he surely must have known: if I enter into His kingdom, itwill not be because I am a good man, but because this King is merci-ful and gracious.

Thank God, he received an immediate answer: “Today you shallbe with me in paradise!” What a promise! This is more than apromise of future immortality in Heaven. Surely, it includes that; butthere is something even more wonderful implied. Paradise is a wordmeaning “a walled garden.” When a king wanted to honor someone,he made him a “companion of his garden.” This promise of theSaviour, then, is a promise of companionship—a promise of relation-ship! Think of this—the thief was now a friend and companion of theKing, the Lord Jesus Christ!

As we ponder those three crosses on Mount Calvary, we mustrealize that Jesus’ promise is not just reserved for that dying thief.“Today you shall be with me in paradise” is a promise to all of us, ifwe will confess our sins, submit to the Lordship of Jesus, and rest onHis offered mercies. This comforting thought is caught in the familiarwords of William Cowper:

The dying thief rejoiced to seeThat fountain in his day;And there may I, though vile as he,Wash all my sins away.

Edsel Trouten (GBS ’61), is a veteran pastor, conference speaker and evangelist nowresiding in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Easter Hymn

ALLELUIA! Alleluia!Hearts and voices heavenward raise;

Sing to God a hymn of gladness.Sing to God a hymn of praise.

He, who on the cross a victim,For the world’s salvation bled,

Jesus Christ, the King of Glory,Now is risen from the dead!

Now the iron bars are broken,Christ from death to life is born.

Glorious life, and life immortal,On the holy Easter morn.

Christ has triumphed, and we conquerBy His mighty enterprise.

We with Him to life eternalBy His resurrection rise!

Christ is risen, Christ, the first-fruitsOf the holy harvest-field,

Which will all its full abundanceAt His Second Coming yield;

Then the golden ears of harvestWill their heads before Him wave,

Ripened by His glorious sunshineFrom the furrows of the grave!

Christ is risen, we are risen!Shed upon us heavenly grace.

Rain and dew and gleams of gloryFrom the brightness of Thy face;

That, with hearts in heaven dwelling,We on earth may fruitful be.

And by angel hands be gathered,And be ever, Lord, with Thee!

Alleluia! Alleluia!Glory be to God on high;

Alleluia to the SaviourWho has won the victory;

Alleluia to the Spirit,Fount of love and sanctity;

Alleluia! Alleluia!To the Triune Majesty!

—Christopher Wordsworth, 1872

EASTER SUNDAY IS APRIL 20


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On these pages, wefeature items about GBSalumni, vital statistics,significant eventsscheduled throughout the“Revivalist family,” andbrief news notes fromacross the holinessmovement. An item forinclusion in the “RevivalistFamily” must be submittedwithin four months of theevent which it reports andshould be addressed tothe Editorial Office,1810 Young Street,Cincinnati, Ohio 45202;or [email protected].

CHOIR TOUR TOUCHES SEVEN STATES

“The Mid-Winter Tour of thecollege choir was greatly blessed of

the Lord,” reports VicePresident of AdvancementJack Hooker. The choir trav-eled to 13 services in sevenstates. One service in Virginiawas cancelled due to a winterstorm. The bus logged 3,765

miles with no problems. Fiveservices were held over three

days in the state of Florida. Atleast 2,800 people attended

these services. The offeringsreceived inthe servicesexceeded pre-vious years.

Tour personnel included DonDavison, Tour Director; Garen Wolf,Choir Director; Deanna Wolf,Assistant Director; Martha Miller,Accompanist; and John Lum, BusDriver. Combined, the staff have 67years of tour experience. Hookeradds, “Through the tour we wereable to renew friendships and walkin new doors. God anointed ouryoung people as they uplifted Christin a dynamic way.”

THE DEATH OF C. HELEN MOOSHIANCelia Helen Mooshian, 95, Sacramento,

California, died February 15, 2003. A nativeof Garmery, Armemia, which now is inTurkey, she came with her family to theUnited States in 1911. Converted in a tentmeeting at 16, she attended EasternNazarene College, from which she was grad-uated in 1937. Her ministry began amongNative American tribes in the western UnitedStates and Canada. After ten years of work-ing under the auspices of the Church of theNazarene, in which she was an ordainedelder, she launched her worldwide ministryas a traveling missionary. This was to take herto six continents and 181 countries, workingwith over 60 different denominations, andtraveling on 176 airlines.

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Her fervent exhortations, herlife of faith, and her selflessencouragement became a legendthroughout the conservative holi-ness movement which she loved;and in 1998 a scholarship wasestablished in her honor at God’sBible School. At that time shewrote, “I am 91 with no desire forretirement. Praise God forever.Still sharing the glorious messageof salvation and holiness. Amen.It’s been a glorious walk with theKing of Kings.” Her funeral ser-vices were held in the WesleyanMethodist Church in Sacramentounder the direction of her pastor,the Rev. Jason Corbin.

BIRTHSTo Matt and Julia

(Imhoff) Thomas,Salem, Illinois, ason, Josiah DouglasThomas, bornFebruary 24,2003.

CORRESPONDENCE“With the 24/7 media coverage

of impending war with its devasta-tion and disaster, it was a refreshingexperience to draw aside and sit “atthe feet of Jesus” under the ministryof GBS & College Choir, DonDavison and Garen Wolf. In fact, wehad a “mini” camp meeting service

that February evening at Teays ValleyChurch of the Nazarene. Thanks toall who were involved in putting thiswinter choir tour together. It wasblessed with the Presence of God!”—Harold and Omajean Smith, 10Windsong Way, Nitro, WV 25143.

SPECIAL INTERESTMrs. Wanda Storey, former GBS

staff member and director of theGeneral Office, is now living in anursing facility. Friends may contacther at the Sequoyah Point LivingCenter, 8515 North 123rd Ave. East,Owosso, Oklahoma 74055.

Mrs. Dorothy B. Klass, newly-appointed Prayer (p12)➡

ACE TO OFFER FREECURRICULUM MATERIALS

“Through its new initiative,Operation Lighthouse, ACEMinistries will provide curriculummaterials for missionaries to usewith children, even their own, andat no cost,” Dr. Kenneth Farmer,GBS Vice-President for AcademicAffairs, has announced. “Specificgoals are to have 300 OperationLighthouse schools ministering inAmerica’s worst poverty centers and1,000 of them ministeringinternationally.”

ACE, a long-establishedpublisher of curriculum materialsused in hundreds of Christianschools, including GBS’s K–8academy, is now under the directionof Dr. David Gibbs, Jr. In his firstmajor presentation to his staff aspresident, Dr. Gibbs announced 22national and global goals that willchange ACE’s focus from selling aproduct to working for ministrygoals. These include bringing at least6,000 people to Christ and todistributing one million gospel tractsworldwide each year.

“In these last days beforeChrist’s coming, we have anunprecedented opportunity totake the Gospel to the far cornersof the globe,” Dr. Farmer adds.“One of the tools God is using toopen doors to countries that havelong been closed to missionsendeavors is education.” Thosewishing further information aboutOperation Lighthouse shouldcontact ACE Ministries at (727) 319-0700.

MARY HOLLENBACH: FEBRUARY STUDENT OF THE MONTH

“God has given me a strongdesire to work with children—notjust to teach them the basic skills,such as math and English; but toteach them that God has createdthem special persons and that Hehas an awesome plan for theirlives.” In these words, MaryHollenbach, GBS’s March Studentof the Month, expresses hercommitment to God’s will for herfuture. A Christian TeacherEducation junior from Middleburg,

Pennsylvania, she came to GBS afterher conversion at the age of 18.“GBS has been a place where Ihave grown spiritually throughclasses, chapels, and small groupsand where I am learning how to bea teacher,” she comments. Heradvice to other young people: “LetGod have control of your lifebecause that is where you will findhappiness, peace, andcontentment.” (p12)➡


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HELP WANTED! WHERE ARE THESTUDENTS?

I have just returned from the56th annual meeting of theAccrediting Association of BibleColleges (AABC) in Orlando, Florida.It was wonderful—eighty degrees andclear skies! Oh, yes, the conventionwas good, too.

Although I came away encour-aged about finding better ways toserve our students as they prepare forChristian service, I was also disap-pointed because we are reachingsuch a small percentage of ourprospects. If you look at our sister col-leges in AABC as a cohort comparisongroup, you can see that we have ourwork cut out for us. This is true forGBS, but it is also true for all thesmaller colleges serving the holinessmovement [see statistics in box].

Where are all the students?Obviously our holiness young peopleare not coming to our institutions inthe numbers we would like. Our taskis to convince our various constituen-

cies (prospects, parents, and pastors)of the importance of a Bible collegeeducation for every Christian youngperson, regardless of what his or hergoal in life may be. Part of our prob-lem is overcoming the materialisticcontamination of our thinking thatcauses many parents to ascribe higherstatus for their children becomingdoctors or lawyers rather thanChristian educators or missionaries.

Too few of our young people areaspiring to these ministries, but it isoften not their fault. Too many parentsare failing to instill the right values intheir children, and subsequently thosechildren do not see the need for

Christian education. Additionally, pas-tors need to be more actively involvedby mentioning from the pulpit andwithout apology the dire need forChristian education.

We need your help! Parents,teach your children to value Christianeducation and to be open to a call toservice. Pastors, talk to the youth ofyour church about seeking and fol-lowing God’s will in vocational choic-es. Expose your congregations togood Christian role models by bring-ing in music and ministry teams fromBible schools. Help us make a differ-ence! —Dr. Ken Farmer, Vice-President for Academic Affairs

NEWS FROM THE HILLTOP continued

continued

➡ (p11) Coordinator for the NorthCarolina East District of the WesleyanChurch has notified us that anyoneinterested in subscribing to the“prayer page” which she distributesmay do so by [email protected] and putting“u2canpray” on the subject line.

HITHER AND THITHERThe historic Freedom Hill

Wesleyan Methodist Church, builtin 1848 in Almance County, NorthCarolina and now relocated on thecampus of Southwestern WesleyanUniversity, now serves as a “ministrycenter—to be used in a variety of

ways—for small group worshipexperiences, private prayer andreflection, musical programs, acade-mic purposes, weddings, tours anddrama,” according to a recent arti-cle in the Wesleyan Advocate. The

building, originally constructed byWesleyan pioneer Adam Crooks,who suffered greatly for his opposi-tion to slavery, was the firstWesleyan Methodist church buildingin the South.

ENROLLMENT AT AABC–AFFILIATED HOLINESS COLLEGES

HC FTE Allegheny Wesleyan College 64 51 Circleville Bible College 317 300 God’s Bible School and College 245 228 Hobe Sound Bible College 138 118 Kentucky Mountain Bible College 85 75 Vernard College 119 82 AABC Average 325 275

EXPLANATION: AABC tracks headcount(HC) and full-time equivalency (FTE).HC is simply a count of all students,regardless of how many hours they aretaking. FTE is a bit more complicated.The semester hours of all part-time stu-dents (less than 12 semester hours) areadded together and divided by 12. Thisnumber is then added to the number ofstudents who are taking at least 12semester hours. The FTE is a more stableindicator of enrollment.

GBS Alumni Receptionat IHC

Wednesday, April 234:30 pm – 6:00 pm

Dayton Convention Center, Dayton, OhioRooms 303-304

APRIL 2003

13

OUTSTANDING TEACHERSTO PRESENT CAMP MEETINGCLASSES

Two outstanding GBS Bible teach-ers will present classes during campmeeting on the Hilltop, May 18 to25. These are as follows:

(1) Holiness: Critical Issues: Dr.Allan Brown. The class will meetMonday—Friday, from 1:00 to 4:00PM. Tuition charges are as follows:College Credit ($300), Certificate($100), or Non-Credit PersonalEnrichment ($75). Prerequisite for thisclass is prior completion of the col-lege’s class on “Doctrine of Holiness.”Advance registration is required sothat course materials can be sentbefore class begins.

(2) Principles of Christian Life:Dr. Philip Brown. The class will meetMonday–Friday, from 1:30 to 3:30PM. This class is open to all who areinterested in improving their loverelationship with God. This is aBible-based survey of Christian life-style issues. Tuition charges are asfollows: Credit ($150) or Non-Credit(no cost). Everyone, old or young,

will benefit from this practical,down-to-earth, present-day applica-tion of real life issues.

To enroll or get additional infor-mation about either of these classes,contact Lottie Tryon at God’s BibleSchool. Telephone (513) 721-7944,Ext. 122/124 or by e-mail,[email protected].

“As a convention, we can lookback on 50 years of history…,”writes Leonard Sankey, executivesecretary of the IHC and editor ofits Convention Herald. “The prob-lem that I believe plagues us is thatfor too many, that relatively shortperiod of time [the so-called ‘goldenyears’ of the conservative holinessmovement]—let’s say from 1940 to1970—is the only church historythey care about. They are perfectlywilling to forget the thirty years thathave passed since then, writingthem off and stamping them withwords like ‘wholesale compromise,soft preaching, declining atten-

dance, entertainment-oriented,social gatherings instead of holinessmeetings, etc.’ And even more dis-turbing, they are willing to foregothinking about some 1900 years ofchurch history that went before the‘golden age.’

“The primera edicion (premieredition) of Alianza Hispana is nowa reality! Alianza Hispana is aSpanish Christian magazine forthe whole family. It is written,designed, edited, and printed byconservative, holiness people. Foryears, John Dykes—missionary toMexico—dreamed of producingsuch a magazine for the Hispanic

world. Today, that ‘dream’ is gettinginto the hands of thousands ofSpanish-speaking people.” —God’sMissionary Standard.

“On an average Sunday morn-ing, two-thirds of Nazarene wor-shippers 15 and older in theUnited States are married, and78% of those are in their first mar-riage, according to a recent study.Another 16 percent are singles whohave never married, and most ofthose, 65%, are under 25 years ofage. Nineteen percent of Nazareneworshippers have experienceddivorce; of those 67 percent haveremarried.” —Holiness Today.

STUDENT KIM EASLEY DIRECTS PRISON CHOIRRead the special interview on page 5.

The following items are for sale fromthe Revivalist office: 130 used WorshipIn Song hymn books; 200 used Hymns ofthe Living Faith; various extra copies ofGBS yearbooks since 1951; variousbound sets and loose copies of oldRevivalist magazines. Any reasonableoffers accepted. Call Myra for more infor-mation. (513) 721-7944, ext. 296.

GBS professor Dr. Philip Brownanswers a young woman’s questionabout “unconditional eternal security.”

Dear Phil, I am working at Chick-Fil-A

now, and I have made somefriends there. I have been debat-ing the issue of unconditionaleternal security with one ofthem. He has been asking mesome questions that are basicallybeyond my knowledge andinsight. I have been doing a lotof research in the Bible; and Ihave gotten some books frommy pastor, but I need some help.My friend is arguing for uncondi-tional eternal security from Rom.8:15 on the basis of Roman law.Here’s an email he sent me:

Here are some things that Ithought you may want to knowabout Roman law: First of all,there was a law that Paul appar-ently made reference to when hesaid, “For ye have not receivedthe spirit of bondage again tofear; but ye have received theSpirit of adoption, whereby wecry, Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15).In Paul’s day, if someone adopt-ed a child, then he could notunadopt that child for any rea-son. The Roman law said so,because if someone wentthrough so much (p19)➡

A BIBLICAL RESPONSE THE WORLD TO WIN continued


ERITREA. “The Faith Mission Churchesof Eritrea have been closed by the gov-ernment since May of 2002. However,our nat iona l d i rec tor, So lomonTesfamichael, writes: ‘We are beingencouraged in the Lord. New soulsare being saved and new membersare being added. Our people are ingreat need of food aid at themoment. The harvest of last year wasthe poorest in twenty years. Please, tryto lend a helping hand if you can.” —Missionary Herald

ROMANIA. “After much prayer, plan-ning and donations, FEA built its firstorphanage in Talpos, Romania, thisyear. Sally Sebo, a nurse, is FEA’s mis-s ionary there a t the orphanage,Maranatha House of Hope. God is usingSally in a wonderful way to give thosechildren the gospel and show themJesus.” —FEA World Update

RUSSIA. “Vyborg Christian Center[celebrated] ten years in Russia onMarch 18–21, 2003. The story of VCC

is the story of a work that only Godcould do. From our beginning untiltoday, millions of New Testaments, tensof thousands of Bibles and Christianbooks and tracts have been distributed.Hundreds o f ch i ldren have beenreached through Child EvangelismFellowship corespondence courseswith more than 100 of these little onestelling us they have come to Christ.Thousands have been ministered tothrough bowls of hot soup, bread, andcups of tea. Clothing has been distrib-uted to those facing the long cold win-ters of Russa. But best of all, the gospelhas been given ‘in His name’ withevery ‘cup of water’ that has beenplaced in outstretched hands.”—FEA World Update

ALASKA. “Pray for a moving of God inthe villages of Alaska. There are about50 people in Dot Lake and most of themneed Jesus. We have been going intoTetlin every week. There are 150 peo-ple there, most of them unsaved.” —-Ropeholders


14

• Lifetime Income • Tax Savings • Tax-Free Income • Capital Gains Savings • Special Blessing

The GBS Charitable Gift Annuity Program provides an opportunity tomake a significant gift while still retaining lifetime income. Forindividuals our annuity rates are:

Age 60: 6.0% Age 70: 6.7% Age 80: 8.3% Age 90: 11.5%

For a no-obligation gift annuity proposal, please fill in the followinginformation and mail to: God's Bible School, Jack Hooker, VicePresident for Advancement, 1810 Young St., Cincinnati, OH 45202(513) 721-7944, [email protected]

Name Date of Birth

Address

City State Zip Phone

Amount considering $

Sun. Mon. Tue. Wed. Thu. Fri. Sat. Sun5/18 5/19 5/20 5/21 5/22 5/23 5/24 5/25

9:00 am Taylor Taylor Taylor Taylor

10:30 am McGinnis Scott McGinnis Scott Scott

7:00 pm Scott McGinnis Scott McGinnis Scott McGinnis Scott McGinnis

2:30 pmStudentService

10:00 amCommence-

ment

GBS TRAVELING QUARTETS

Traveling quartets have been a long tradition at GBS.Two such groups from the summer of 1930 are pic-

tured here. There were at least three quartets represent-ing God’s Bible School that summer, as indicated by oldRevivalist accounts and photos.


16

LOVI

NG

GO

D:

THE

PRIM

ARY

PRIN

CIP

LEO

FTH

EC

HRI

STIA

NLI

FE

Scri

ptur

e: “

Thou

sha

lt lo

ve th

e Lo

rd th

y G

od w

ith a

ll th

y he

art,

and

with

all

thy

soul

, and

with

all

thy

min

d” (

Mat

thew

22:

36-3

8)

INTR

OD

UC

TIO

NW

hat i

s it—

the

part

that

rea

lly m

atte

rs?

Can

we

dist

ill th

e es

senc

e of

Chr

istia

nlif

e to

find

the

part

that

rea

lly m

atte

rs?

Jesu

s gi

ves

us th

e an

swer

in th

e G

ospe

l of M

atth

ew. H

e sa

id th

e m

ost i

mpo

r-ta

nt th

ing

in li

fe, t

he q

uint

esse

ntia

l ing

redi

ent t

hat G

od re

quire

s, is

to lo

ve H

im w

ithal

l our

hea

rt, a

ll ou

r sou

l, an

d al

l our

min

d. In

fact

, I th

ink

it no

exa

gger

atio

n to

say

that

the

chie

f end

of m

an, t

he p

rimar

y pu

rpos

e fo

r ou

r ex

isten

ce, i

s to

glo

rify

God

by lo

ving

Him

fore

ver.

Love

is th

e ke

y to

eve

ry o

ther

requ

irem

ent o

f the

Chr

istia

n lif

e. If

we

lear

n ho

wto

love

God

pro

perly

, lo

ve f

or o

ther

s, t

he s

econ

d m

ost

impo

rtant

com

man

d, w

illflo

w o

ut o

f tha

t lo

ve. O

bedi

ence

to

God

and

His

Wor

d w

ill fl

ow o

ut o

f tha

t lo

ve.

Hol

ines

s of

life

will

flow

out

of t

hat l

ove.

In

our

stu

dy, l

et’s

first

exam

ine

the

mea

ning

of t

he c

omm

and

to lo

ve G

od to

tally

.Se

cond

, we

will

con

sider

why

ther

e is

so m

uch

conf

usio

n ab

out t

he m

eani

ng o

f the

term

“lo

ve.”

Las

tly, w

e w

ill e

xam

ine

each

of t

he c

hara

cter

istic

s of

a to

tal l

ove

for G

od.

I. TH

E C

OM

MAN

DTO

LO

VE G

OD

TO

TALL

Y (M

at. 3

2:27

) Je

sus s

ays t

hat t

he c

omm

and

to lo

ve G

od is

the

mos

t im

porta

nt c

omm

andm

ent

in a

ll Sc

riptu

re. T

his i

mm

edia

tely

raise

s the

que

stio

n, “

Wha

t doe

s Jes

us m

ean

by th

ete

rms

“hea

rt, s

oul,

and

min

d,”

as M

atth

ew g

ives

it,

or “

hear

t, so

ul,

min

d, a

ndst

reng

th,”

as

Luke

10:

27 s

tate

s? T

o an

swer

this,

let’s

mak

e su

re th

at w

e un

ders

tand

that

nei

ther

Mat

thew

nor

Luk

e ar

e gi

ving

ver

batim

quo

tes.

The

y ar

e gi

ving

us

inte

r-pr

etiv

e st

atem

ents

of w

hat

Jesu

s ta

ught

from

Deu

tero

nom

y 6:

5. J

esus

str

esse

d th

efa

ct t

hat

ever

y pa

rt o

f on

e’s

bein

g m

ust

be c

omm

itted

tot

ally

to

lovi

ng G

od.

The

term

s “h

eart,

sou

l, m

ind,

and

stre

ngth

” ar

e no

t mut

ually

exc

lusiv

e, in

deed

they

are

over

lapp

ing

cate

gorie

s. W

e ar

e to

love

God

with

our

tota

l inn

er b

eing

(all

our h

eart)

,w

ith e

very

one

of o

ur fa

culti

es (s

oul—

incl

udes

our

min

d, w

ill, a

nd e

mot

ions

), to

the

utm

ost e

xten

t of o

ur c

apac

ity (w

ith a

ll ou

r st

reng

th).

This

is th

e fir

st a

nd g

reat

est o

fal

l God

’s c

omm

ands

.Th

e se

cond

mos

t im

porta

nt c

omm

and

is sim

ilar.

We

are

to lo

ve o

ur n

eigh

bor a

sou

rsel

ves (

Mat

. 22:

39).

Jesu

s sai

d, “

on th

ese

two

com

man

dmen

ts h

ang

all t

he la

w a

nd

14

ever

y ac

tion

of e

very

man

, eve

n of

thos

e w

ho h

ang

them

selv

es.”

4

To lo

ve G

od to

tally

is to

see

k ou

r hap

pine

ss in

Him

. “Bl

esse

d is

ever

y on

e th

atfe

aret

h th

e LO

RD;

that

wal

ks i

n hi

s w

ays.

For

tho

u sh

alt

eat

the

labo

r of

thi

neha

nds:

hap

py s

halt

thou

be,

and

it

shal

l be

wel

l w

ith t

hee”

(Ps

a. 1

28:1

). Th

ePs

alm

ist w

ell

unde

rsto

od t

hat

ultim

ate

happ

ines

s co

mes

fro

m l

ovin

g G

od.

He

wro

te, “

My

soul

sha

ll be

sat

isfie

d as

with

mar

row

and

fatn

ess,

And

my

mou

th s

hall

prai

se Y

ou w

ith jo

yful

lips

. Whe

n I r

emem

ber Y

ou o

n m

y be

d, I

med

itate

on

You

inth

e ni

ght w

atch

es”

(Psa

. 63:

5, 6

). A

gain

, the

Psa

lmist

wro

te, “

How

exc

elle

nt is

thy

lovi

ng-k

indn

ess,

O G

od!

Ther

efor

e th

e ch

ildre

n of

men

put

the

ir tru

st u

nder

the

shad

ow o

f th

y w

ings

. Th

ey s

hall

be a

bund

antly

sat

isfie

d w

ith t

he f

atne

ss o

f th

yho

use;

and

thou

sha

lt m

ake

them

drin

k of

the

river

of t

hy p

leas

ures

” (P

sa. 3

6:7-

9).

F. T

hirs

ting

day

and

nigh

t for

a fu

ller

enjo

ymen

t of t

he o

bjec

t of o

ur lo

ve is

the

sixt

h el

emen

t in

lovi

ng G

od t

otal

ly.

Love

doe

sn’t

just

fin

d ha

ppin

ess

in t

he l

oved

one

; lo

ve w

ants

to

enjo

y th

atlo

ved

one

mor

e. I

t co

ntin

ually

see

ks f

or w

ays

to i

ncre

ase

its j

oy i

n th

e be

love

d.D

avid

exp

ress

es th

is ki

nd o

f lov

e w

hen

he w

rote

, “O

ne th

ing

I hav

e as

ked

from

the

LORD

, tha

t I s

hall

seek

: Th

at I

may

dw

ell i

n th

e ho

use

of th

e LO

RD a

ll th

e da

ys o

fm

y lif

e, T

o be

hold

the

bea

uty

of t

he L

ORD

And

to

med

itate

in H

is te

mpl

e” (

Psa.

27:4

). Lo

ving

God

tota

lly e

xpre

sses

itse

lf in

a d

esire

to e

njoy

God

mor

e. “A

s the

dee

rpa

nts f

or th

e w

ater

bro

oks s

o m

y so

ul p

ants

for y

ou, O

God

. My

soul

thirs

ts fo

r God

,fo

r the

livi

ng G

od”

(Psa

. 42:

1). A

gain

, the

Psa

lmist

wro

te, “

O G

od, t

hou

art m

y G

od;

early

will

I se

ek th

ee:

my

soul

thirs

ts fo

r th

ee, m

y fle

sh lo

ngs

for

thee

in a

dry

and

thirs

ty la

nd, w

here

no

wat

er is

; To

see

thy

pow

er a

nd t

hy g

lory

, so

as I

have

see

nth

ee in

the

san

ctua

ry. B

ecau

se t

hy lo

ving

-kin

dnes

s is

bette

r th

an li

fe, m

y lip

s sh

all

prai

se th

ee”

(Psa

. 63:

1-3)

.

CO

NC

LUSI

ON

The

mos

t im

porta

nt th

ing

in o

ur b

usy

sche

dule

s—in

deed

, the

mos

t im

porta

ntth

ing

we

will

eve

r do

in th

is lif

e—is

to lo

ve G

od w

ith a

ll ou

r hea

rt, w

ith a

ll ou

r sou

l,an

d w

ith a

ll ou

r m

ind,

and

with

all

our

stre

ngth

. Ev

ery

part

of o

ur b

eing

mus

t be

com

mitt

ed to

tally

to lo

ving

God

. W

hen

may

a p

erso

n sa

y th

at h

e or

she

love

s God

tota

lly? A

dam

Cla

rke

wro

te, “

He

love

s God

with

all

his h

eart,

who

love

s not

hing

in c

ompa

rison

of h

im, a

nd n

othi

ng b

utin

refe

renc

e to

him

; who

is re

ady

to g

ive

up, d

o, o

r suf

fer a

ny th

ing

in o

rder

to p

leas

ean

d gl

orify

him

; who

has

in h

is he

art n

eith

er lo

ve n

or h

atre

d, h

ope

nor

fear

, in

clin

atio

n, n

or a

vers

ion,

des

ire,

nor

delig

ht,

but

as t

hey

rela

te to

God

, and

are

regu

late

d by

him

.”5

To l

ove

God

with

our

tot

al i

nner

bei

ng r

equi

res

a co

mm

it-m

ent

to d

elig

ht in

Him

, to

rejo

ice

in s

ervi

ng H

im, t

o de

sire

con-

tinua

lly to

ple

ase

Him

, to

seek

our

hap

pine

ss in

Him

, and

to th

irst

day

and

nigh

t for

a fu

ller

enjo

ymen

t of H

im a

nd H

im a

lone

. Thi

sis

the

first

and

gre

ates

t of a

ll G

od’s

com

man

ds. L

et u

s com

mit

our-

selv

es to

lovi

ng G

od to

tally

.

1 Jo

hn W

esle

y, “

On

Love

,” T

he B

icen

tenn

ial E

ditio

n of

the

Wor

ks o

f Joh

n W

esle

y (N

ashv

ille:

Abi

ngdo

n Pr

ess,

1987

), Se

rmon

s IV

, #14

9, p

. 383

.2

Quo

ted

by Jo

hn P

iper

, Des

iring

God

(Mul

tinom

ah, r

ev. e

d., 1

996)

, p. 1

1.3

C.S

. Lew

is, R

efle

ctio

ns o

n th

e Ps

alm

s (L

ondo

n: G

eoffr

ey B

les,

195

8), p

p. 9

4-95

. 4

Quo

ted

by Jo

hn P

iper

, Des

iring

God

, p. 1

6.5

Ada

m C

lark

e, “

Mat

thew

” in

Cla

rke’

s C

omm

enta

ry, V

ol. 5

, p.

215

.

“CO

MM

ITTE

DTO

EXC

ELLE

NC

EIN

PREA

CH

ING

”

our earthly hearts so heavenly, that loving him, and delighting in him

, may be

the work of our lives.”

2

Psalm 37:4 gives us the com

mand, “D

elight yourself in the Lord.” Proverbs3:12 show

s that loving a person involves delighting in him. This passage likens

God’s love for H

is people to a father’s delight in his son. “For whom

the LORD

loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom

he delighteth.”W

hen we love G

od, we com

mit ourselves to delight in H

im. In addition to

delighting in God as a Person, w

e can join with the Psalm

ist who says, “I w

ill delightm

yself in Your comm

andments, w

hich I love” (Psa. 119:47). We can also delight in

God’s w

orks. “Great are the w

orks of the LORD

; they are studied by all who delight

in them” (Psa. 111:2).

C.

Rejoicing to serve the object of our love is the third element of lov-

ing God totally.

To love God totally m

eans we rejoice in serving H

im. This elem

ent of loverelates to the servant-m

aster aspect of our relationship with the Lord. D

euteronomy

11:13 says that to love God is “to serve him

with all your heart and w

ith all yoursoul.” Further, Psalm

100:2 tells us that we are to “serve the Lord w

ith gladness.”G

od does not want reluctant service; H

e requires rejoicing service.Listen to the

warning in D

euteronomy 28:47, 48; “Because you did not serve the LO

RD your

God w

ith joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things; therefore you shallserve your enem

ies whom

the LORD

shall send against you, in hunger, in thirst, innakedness, and in the lack of all things; and H

e will put an iron yoke on your neck

until He has destroyed you.”

When w

e love God totally w

e will be suprem

ely pleased and satisfied with

him as our portion and rejoice in our service to H

im.

D.D

esiring to please the object of our love is the fourth element of lov-

ing God totally.

We know

from hum

an relationships that when you love people, you enjoy

doing things that please them, that m

ake them happy. The sam

e is true in our rela-tionship w

ith God. Jesus said, “So that the w

orld may know

that I love the Father, Ido exactly as the Father com

manded M

e” (John 14:31). John wrote, “w

hoso keepshis w

ord, in him verily is the love of G

od perfected: hereby know w

e that we are

in him” (1 John 2:5). Jesus said, “If a m

an love me, he w

ill keep my w

ords: and my

Father will love him

, and we w

ill come unto him

, and make our abode w

ith him”

(John 14:23). W

hen we love G

od totally we w

ill desire to please God in everything w

e do. Paulspeaks of m

aking sure we do w

hat is pleasing to the Lord (Eph. 5:10), and of walking

in a manner that is w

orthy of the Lord, pleasing Him

in everything (Col. 1:10).

E. Seeking our happiness in the object of our love is the fifth element of lov-

ing God totally.

C. S. Lew

is in his book, Reflections on the Psalms, says,“All enjoym

ent sponta-neously overflow

s into praise…The w

orld rings with praise—

lovers praising theirsw

eethearts, readers their favorite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players

praising their favorite game…

I think we delight to praise w

hat we enjoy, because

praise not merely expresses but com

pletes the enjoyment; it is its appointed con-

summ

ation.”3

Blaise Pascal wrote, “All m

en seek happiness. This is without exception.

Whatever different m

eans they employ, all tend to this end…

This is the motive of

the prophets” (Mat. 22:40). As a door hangs on its hinges in order to operate proper-

ly, so the whole O

ld Testament hangs on these tw

o comm

ands. Hence, if w

e learnhow

to keep them properly, w

e will also keep all of G

od’s other comm

ands.

II. THE C

ON

FUSIO

N ABO

UT W

HAT IT M

EANS TO

LOVE G

OD

TOTALLY

Most of us associate “love” w

ith feelings of affection or emotion. W

e talk aboutloving lots of things: our favorite food, our pets, our job, our car, our house, our chil-dren. W

hat we m

ean by “love” and how strongly w

e feel “love” for any particularthing or person is largely dependent upon our fram

e of mind at any given m

oment,

so our “love” fluctuates greatly. Additionally, when w

e talk about “loving” some-

thing, we are usually talking about a positive feeling. As a result, m

ost people hon-estly believe they love the Lord. If you asked the typical professing C

hristian, “Do

you love God w

ill all your heart, soul, and mind?” he or she w

ould probably say,“Yes.” H

owever, m

ost would likely feel a bit uncom

fortable with their answ

er,because w

e also associate “love” with feelings of strong em

otion. Most C

hristiansdo not sustain a continual strong em

otional feeling of “love” for God. Because of

this, some w

ould suggest that it is impossible to love G

od continually with all our

heart, mind, soul, and strength.

An important prem

ise, when interpreting G

od’s comm

ands, is the premise that

the Creator w

ho knows our design w

ill not comm

and the impossible. Therefore, H

iscom

mands bring to us the needed grace and ability to obey. O

ur goal is to searchthe Scripture to find out w

hat God m

eans when H

e comm

ands us to love Him

with

all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

III. THE C

HARAC

TERISTICS

OF LO

VING

GO

D TO

TALLYJohn W

esley, in his sermon “O

n Love,” gives one of the best definitions of what

it means to love G

od that I have found. In answer to the question, “W

hat is it tolove G

od?” he replies that it is “to delight in him, to rejoice in his w

ill, to desire con-tinually to please him

, to seek and find our happiness in him, and to thirst day and

night for a fuller enjoyment of him

.”1The only m

odification I suggest is that love forG

od begins with a com

mitm

ent. Let’s examine each of these characteristics of lov-

ing God totally.

A.C

omm

itment is the first elem

ent of loving God totally.

This is implied in M

att. 22:37-38 in the phrase “with all your heart, all your soul,

and all your might.” This does not happen accidentally. It requires a conscious choice

and the cultivation of that choice. An illustration of the need for such a comm

itment

is given in Deuteronom

y 13:1-4. God tells Israel H

e may test their love by allow

inga false prophet to prophesy accurately som

e sign or wonder. The false prophet w

ouldthen use his prophetic success to try to entice Israel to serve another G

od. God

warns, “You shall not hearken to the w

ords of that prophet, or the dreamer of that

dream, because the Lord your G

od tries you, to know w

hether you love your God

with all your heart and w

ith all your soul” (Deut. 13:4). Israel’s com

mitm

ent to loveG

od would be dem

onstrated by their refusal to be led away from

Him

. W

hen God com

mands us to love H

im, H

e is comm

anding total comm

itment.

There must be no rivals for our affection and no reservations in our com

mitm

ent.B.

Delight in the object of our love is the second elem

ent of loving God totally.

Richard Baxter (who died in 1691) prayed, “M

ay the Living God, w

ho isthe portion and rest of the saints, m

ake these our carnal minds so spiritual, and

23

APRIL 2003

19

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For a generation, Wingrove Taylor—conferencespeaker, Wesleyan Church administrator, and GBSalumnus and “favorite son”—has challenged theHoliness Movement with his insightful use ofScripture and enlightened application. This new six-cassette Bible study series is no exception. Held in asturdy binder, the cassettes are titled (1) MoralNobility, (2) Ecclesiastical Identity, (3) MinisterialActivity, (4) Evangelical Intimacy, (5) RadicalSanctity, and (6) Radical Sanctity Part II.

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➡ (p14) trouble to adopt the child,then he should keep the child no mat-ter what. I think this is a great exampleof the Lord’s love for us. He wentthrough so much trouble (He lived onearth and died in our place) in orderto adopt us (John 1:12; Rom. 8:15,etc.). Now today He could not (Heb.6:18) and would not unadopt us.

Could you give me some ideas fora response? I really don’t have thefirst inkling of what to say. This guy is19 and reads a Greek Bible! So forme to argue with him is kind ofdumb—or at least I feel dumb.

Thanks, JENNY

Dear Jenny, I would encourage you not to be

intimidated by the fact your friendsays he reads Greek. If you’re readingthe New King James or the NewAmerican Standard Bible, 80-90% ofeverything the Greek says is rightthere in the English. In response toyour friend’s email:

1. I would ignore the argument forunconditional eternal security fromRoman laws about adoption. Whilethat may be the way Romans handledadoption, God is not bound byRoman rules. The Romans madethem, not God.

2. Your friend is using the Romanculture to understand Paul’s messageto the Romans. This is good as long ashe doesn’t use Roman culture to drawconclusions that contradict other partsof Scripture—such as what the Biblesays about the possibility of forfeitingsalvation through unbelief or disobe-dience (e.g., John 15:2, 6; Rom.11:19-23; Heb. 6:4-6; 10:26-31).These passages make it clear that any-one who fails to abide in Christ andbear fruit (John 15), who does notcontinue in faith and obedience(Romans 11), or who persists in willfulsin (Heb. 6 and 10) is cut off fromChrist. That is, those who continue inwillful sin will not enter Heaven.

3. I would encourage you not tospend time arguing about whether aperson can forfeit his salvation. It will

be much more edifying to both ofyou to talk about what the Bible saysregarding Christians and sin.

Here’s my suggestion. Tomorrowread through the whole book of FirstJohn five times. Write down every ref-erence that describes what a Christianis supposed to live like. Then writedown every reference that talks aboutsin (not just the word “sin,” but phrasesthat mean the same thing, like “walk indarkness.”) When you’re through, youshould see very clearly that anybodywho claims to be a Christian but liveslike a sinner cannot be a Christian. Infact, John gets downright blunt andcalls such a person a liar!

I’ll try to get to the part of yourfriend’s letter in which he used Roman culture to interpret Romans 7next time.

Your friend, PHILIP BROWN

Dr. A. Philip Brown II is a member ofthe ministerial faculty of God’s Bible Schooland College. He may be contacted by e-mailat [email protected].

DEAR PHIL continued

➡ (p3) marriage. We’ve experienced an abundance oflove and happiness. Together we’ve poured an unbe-lievable amount of time into the lives of our childrenand plan to continue doing so until God calls us home.Together we have pastored, pro-moted, and presided over vari-ous aspects of God’s work. Wehave shared sorrow, stress, andmisunderstandings. We haven’talways agreed, but we’ve alwaysbeen committed to loving andgoing on. Ruth has allowed meto invest a huge amount of timein others without complaint. Yet,I want to invest more of myselfin her—more quality time. Iwant to invest in our marriage,so we are planning to attend amarriage seminar. I want her lifeto be filled with more brightspots, so I’m going to invest inmore special moments. I want agreater degree of “soul connec-tion,” so I’m going to invest inmore time to listen and praywith her. Our relationship mat-ters, and I want my commitmentto it to reflect its importance.

Sooner than I realize, I will answer to God for mystewardship. When I report on my investment in peo-ple, I want to hear Him say, “Well done good andfaithful servant.”


20

Your brother’s murderer does not deserve to be forgiven! No onedeserves forgiveness. And yet Jesus prayed that His Father wouldforgive His murderers (Lk. 23:34), and Stephen prayed that those

who were murdering him would be absolved of their guilt (Acts 7:60).But what does forgiveness mean?

At the heart of forgiveness is the relinquishing of one’s right to vengeanceand the giving of mercy and goodness in its place. Jesus does this for us (Rom.5:8-11), and this is also what we must do for those who do evil to us (Rom.12:17-21; Mt. 5:43-48). I pray that I do not get what I deserve! I desper-ately want God’s forgiveness! Jesus’ death satisfied justice for all believers,but we must forgive others if we are to receive God’s forgiveness.

Forgiveness does not mean that civil government should not exactlegal punishment upon criminal offenders, for God has given it theauthority to judge and to avenge (Jn. 5:27; Rom. 12:17-13:6). Thus,duly-administered justice and judgment for a murderer are not wrong.Indeed, these are divine virtues, and they are virtues for society, even inthe case of your brother’s murderer. Even here, however, we must neverforget that we who have been forgiven are to forgive (Lk. 7:41-47).

I would like to know why you feel you have not forgiven. Is itbecause you feel sad, hurt, or angry? Feeling hurt or angry does notmean you have not forgiven. Forgiving does not remove pain.

You will not harm the murderer by not forgiving him; you will hurtonly yourself and your loved ones. Akhenaton wisely said, “Why seekeththou revenge, O man! With what purpose is it that thou pursuest it?Thinkest thou to pain thine adversary by it? Know that thou thyself fee-lest its greatest torments.” Forgiveness liberates you. If you do not for-give, you will be controlled by your animosity toward this person. Youwill become another of his victims.

The question concerning forgiveness as I originally received it wasactually much broader in scope. The specific application used here ispersonal, for it was my own brother who was murdered.

“Mending Nets” explores God’s readiness to mend the breakdowns which sooften mar our lives. It is written by the Rev. Richard Miles, GBS Vice President forStudent Affairs. He invites our readers to send questions to be addressed in thiscolumn. His e-mail address is [email protected].

FORGIVING MY BROTHER’S MURDERER

“My brother was senselessly murdered. How can I forgive the murdererand how will I know I have forgiven him?


WHEN STEEPLES ARE FALLINGThank you for sending the Revivalist.

I do so much enjoy reading each issue.I enjoy Brother Smith’s editorials. I amreading his book, When Steeples AreFalling.

I had the privilege of attending thecollege choir service at the TuscaloosaBible Methodist Church last Friday. Godhonored the service.

JAMES M. WALKERTuscaloosa, Alabama

Editor’s Note: When Steeples AreFalling may be ordered from theCashier’s Office, God’s Bible Schooland College, 1810 Young Street,Cincinnati, Ohio 45202.

FORMAT, CONTENT, AND GRAPHICDESIGN

I really appreciate and enjoy theGod’s Revivalist. In my opinion, it hasthe best format, content, and graphicdesign of all the holiness papers I’veseen. Keep up the good work.

DANNY PATTERSONDallas, Texas

EVANGELISTS’ SLATES?I have enjoyed reading the God’s

Revivalist, but I was very disappointedwhen I received the latest one. The rea-son: no evangelists’ slates. Have you dis-continued them? I sure hope not.

FERN STATENMartinsville, Illinois

Editor’s Note: God’s Revivalist nolonger publishes evangelists’ slates forseveral reasons: (1) the majority ofthose persons listed did not submitslates and many apparently were notactually active in itinerant evangelism;and (2) it was difficult to ensure thatall of those listed really endorsed themission and lifestyle commitments ofthe Revivalist and of God’s BibleSchool; (3) it was decided that thespace used for the slates could be usedto better advantage for our readershipand for our publishing purposes. Wedo appreciate your input.

APRIL 2003

21

LETTERS continued

together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph.2:5–7). No longer do we belong to the world below, butto the world above; and for us life eternal has begun.

On Easter Sunday, your congregation will surely singCharles Wesley’s magnificent hymn, “Christ the Lord IsRisen Today.” Its glorious alleluias, added by later edi-tors, punctuate the message of Jesus’ triumph in thatancient graveyard, which as Wesley emphasizes, is boththe promise and the pattern of our own:

Soar we now where Christ has led. Alleluia!Following our exalted Head. Alleluia!Made like Him, like Him we rise. Alleluia!Ours the cross, the graves, the skies. Alleluia!

From the cross to the grave to the Father’s house!This was the sequence of the Saviour’s triumph; and ifwe would triumph, too, we must follow the same waywhich He has taken.

Ours the cross! Easter glory rests upon the power ofHis cross, objectively perceived and subjectively experi-enced, for it is by that cross we are freed from sin and allits guilt and shame. But there is also a cross which eachof us must bear, and Jesus calls us to take it up and fol-low Him. This means surrendering our ambitions to Hiswill, denying ourselves of all that would offend Him, andsuffering reproach and deprivation for His sake. It is thecross which ensures the crown; and without the one, wenever shall receive the other.

Ours the grave! We still must go to Jesus by way ofdeath, which “peeks out at every limb,” as Martin Lutherhas reminded us. But our graves are sanctified by Hislying in a grave, and since His grave was empty, oursshall be empty, too. That is why we mark our graves withthe emblem of His cross, which is the sign of our salva-tion. “I am the resurrection and the life,” He assures us.“He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shallhe live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shallnever die!” (John 11:25–26). There is not a Christiangrave so neglected or forlorn but what light pours uponit from His open tomb; and there is not a saint so for-gotten or unknown but what He shall say to him or her,“Come, ye blessed of my Father.”

Ours the skies! “Let not your heart be troubled,” Hehas said. “In my Father’s house are many mansions. If itwere not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a placefor you…that where I am, there ye may be also” (John14:1–3). We cannot grasp all the joys which await usthere; but His promise is secure; and even in our numb-ing anguish, that promise points us up to heaven, whereHe will welcome us. “And God shall wipe away all tearsfrom their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neithersorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain;for the former things are passed away” (Rev. 21:4).

“Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” Forcorruptible and mortal flesh, these words are still theuniversal sentence. Death has postponements, but it

➡ (p2) power of death, that is the devil, and releasethose who through fear of death were all their lifetimesubject to bondage” (Heb. 2:14).

That bondage—that chilling fear of death—holds thebravest of us captive; for as we know, closed coffins andopen graves await us all. In his famous Thantatopsis,Bryant describes the tyranny of graveyard gloom—“whenthoughts of the last bitter hour come like a blight/ Overthy spirit, and sad images/ Of the stern agony, the shroudand pall/ And breathless darkness, and the narrow house/Make thee to shudder and grow sick of heart.”

Christians understand this language, for it is life, notdeath, which our humanity pursues; and death is theenemy of life—indeed, it is the “last enemy” which weshall ever face. Though for awhile it remains a relic of thecurse which Christ has lifted, we know that He haschanged it from the grim ruin of our hopes to the way totheir heavenly fulfillment. Cemeteries still have theirmelancholy gloom, but they have never been the samesince He was laid in one.

That is why cemeteries have always been protectedby the church as hallowed ground. For though they arerepositories of crumbling and forsaken bodies, even indeath those bodies bear the marks of God’s creation,and once they were the temples of the Holy Spirit. In thefirst Christian centuries, believers worshiped in dark cat-acombs, surrounded by their heroic martyr dead. In latertimes, cemeteries were often placed beside churchbuildings in testimony to our faith that all of us—the liv-ing and the dead—are one with one another becausewe are one in Him who is our Head.

Remember, too, that cemeteries are still included inGod’s consummating purpose, when those crumblingand forsaken bodies shall be raised up from the dust,renewed “like unto His glorious body” (Phil. 2:21), andreunited with the souls of descending saints. Those veryplaces which once sounded the mourners’ sobs shallecho the resurrection song. “We shall not all sleep, but weshall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of aneye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and thedead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall bechanged. For this corruptible must put on incorruption,and this mortal must put on immortality” (I Cor. 15:52).

This is because of Jesus’ lifted cross and empty grave.As our representative and champion, He faced all hell inbrutal combat; and then, “having disarmed principalitiesand powers, He made a public spectacle of them, tri-umphing over them…” (Col. 2:14–15). His wounds weredeep and red, for the serpent had sorely bruised Him; butHe also crushed the serpent’s head and scattered all thosedemon hordes who mocked Him at His dying.

Then forty days after His resurrection, He ascendedto His Father, leading “captivity captive” in the swellingprocession of His triumph. But He has promised to returnand take us back with Him to heaven, though in a senseHe has already “raised us up together and made us sit


22

has no exceptions. So in thosef ina l moments before c losedcoffins are lowered into opengraves, our pastors shall go onquoting that classic English “orderfor the burial of the dead.”

But it’s also right for us to quoteit now, as we prepare for Easter; andindeed that is all the better reasonfor us to quote it now. For thoughclosed coffins are committed toopen graves, they are lowered therein the Easter glory which Jesus wonfor us in Joseph’s tomb. Humanflesh is surrendered to the elementsfrom which it came, but it is only fora little while. For as the old grave-yard liturgy exults, that surrender is“in sure and certain hope of theResurrection unto eternal life,through our Lord Jesus Christ; atwhose coming in glorious majesty tojudge the world, the earth and thesea shall give up their dead; and thecorruptible bodies of those whosleep in him shall be changed.”

Yes, Easter has everything todo with cemeteries; for its pur-pose is to change their gloom toglory and finally to empty themforever. “Ours the cross, the grave,the skies. Alleluia!”

By Anita K. Brechbill

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5).

To have the mind of Christ is heaven begun below! To share His thoughts,to have Him confide in you! To walk and talk with Him, not just “in the

cool of the day,” but in the heat of noon; to have an ordinary day becomea day of glory by some new revelation of Himself. To be garrisoned aboutwith His peace in the midst of conflict. To have His mind is to know Hisvoice; there is no other like it.

But there is a catch. To have His mind, you must give up your own.

Anita Brechbill, Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania, is editor of RopeHolders and a regularcontributor to the Revivalist.

APRIL 2003

23

JACK HOOKERVice President

for Advancement

PHASE I$1,400,000

PHASE II$950,000

PHASE III$500,000

$800,000

Alumni Committeeof 250**As Of March 15, 2003

Michael Avery, James Beam, DannyBender, Glenn Betts, Nancy Bonewell,Marylin Burdette, Chris Christman,Grayson Cosens, Jean Cowdrey, A.Donald Crary, David Crosley, KlausDautermann, Gene Davidson, DonDavison, Catherine Ellingson, John Enyart,Betty Farmer, Ken Farmer, Gerald Fuller,David Greenwood, Fred Henschen, Ted Henschen, Jack Hooker, John Lum,Frederick Lyon, Aaron Marshall, IreneMaurer, William McBroom, PhillipMeabon, Edwin Messerschmidt, RichardMiles, Steve Miller, Paul Osbourne, JohnParker, Don Raines, CliffordRichardson, Isidro Risma, MaryRogers, Charles Smith, Thomas &Mary Sproles, James Stroup, J.Holland Vernon, Ruth Walk

* Alumni who commit atleast $1,000

$800,000

"I am very excited about the visionand forward-thinking represented bythe Capital Campaign. This willcertainly take us to the next level."

Robert England, Jr. Physician’s Assistant Jonestown, PA

a thief in the kingdom 7 - god's bible school and college · street, cincinnati, ohio 45202,...

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