BULLETIN

THE WORD OF TRUTH MINISTRY

228 NORTH EL MOLINO AVENUE

PASADENA, CALIFORNIA 91101-1675

Otis Q. Sellers, Founder David R. Hettema, Director

Volume 2, No. 40      Jane Sellers Hancock, Editor      June 2006

THOUGHTS FROM THE EDITOR

Jane S. Hancock

We call the time period in which we now live the Dispensation of Grace. God is silent; there are no miracles; sin and death rule. What we look forward to is the Kingdom of God. God’s Spirit touches us all; there are manifest miracles; righteousness and life rule. While the majority of people who live on earth today look for a future home in heaven, we look forward to wonderful days on earth. Let’s explore a few verses from God’s Word that make this so clear.

And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it (Isa. 40:5).

What does this mean? What does “the glory of the LORD” mean? What will happen when the glory of the LORD is revealed? It means God takes over. Death stops. What does “all flesh shall see it together” mean? They will see it together, feel the change, in much the same way that the disciples felt it on the Day of Pentecost.

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit (Joel 2:28-29).

This is divine intervention. It can come at any time. We don’t know. But when it comes, we will know. We will see it together.

Whatever we need provided will be furnished. Look at the miracles in John’s Gospel. These miracles are a taste of what man can expect when God takes over. Read the booklet, The 8 Signs of John’s Gospel, by David R. Hettema, from which the following is a very brief summary.

Jesus changes water to wine. The One Who changed the water into wine is the same One Who created this world. Christ the Creator can override all the laws of time and nature.

Jesus heals the nobleman’s son. When God in Christ takes over this earth, He will do for every individual living upon this earth what He did for the nobleman’s son. He will remove all sicknesses. His power will instantly stop death and dying.

Jesus tells the crippled man to walk. Jesus Christ can heal even existing conditions. When the glory of the Lord is revealed, we will have changed physical bodies, perfect ones, direct from God.

Jesus feeds 5,000 hungry people. When Christ rules the world, no one will be hungry. The entire earth will experience this great change.

Jesus walks upon the sea. He will again be the Master of the seas and all of nature’s power.

Jesus gives sight to a man born blind. Again Jesus has the power to give us perfect health, a perfect body, to every living being upon this earth.

Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. And Jesus will raise every person who waits in the grave, even after hundreds of years.

So shall My Word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off (Isa. 55:11-13).

God demands that His Words be listened to; He says that joy and peace will be a part of His government; He says that nature will also respond; He says it will be for His glory.

For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace (Psa. 37:10-11).

Themeek” in the passage are those who submit to God’s will.

I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together: that they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it (Isa. 41:18-20).

These descriptions are of a beautiful day. How wonderful it’s going to be during the Kingdom of God!


FROM THE DIRECTOR

David R. Hettema

It is with grateful joy to our great God and Savior Jesus Christ that we have attained a goal that had seemed previously impossible.

The Word of Truth Ministry has now recorded upon digital masters almost every written study and audio recording that the late Otis Q. Sellers had produced and presented to his followers through his ministry. Go to our Web site, www.seedandbread.org, to see what is available.

Those who do not have access to a computer may order the audio disks from The Word of Truth Ministry and listen to your selections on your MP3 compact disk player. Reaching this goal means that the joyful command given in the Scriptures to “proclaim the Word, in season and out of season” is now a worldwide reality for these messages of Truth written and voiced by Otis Q. Sellers.

We are grateful to Robert (Bob) Hammond who spearheaded this project. He and his numerous helpers have achieved a great goal. Send inquiries to our e-mail correspondent, Bob Hammond, at roberthammond@earthlink.net, or the Ministry at wordoftruth@earthlink.net. Written correspondence may be addressed to The Word of Truth Ministry, 228 N. El Molino Ave., Pasadena, CA 91101-1675.


 

To anyone who purchased the booklet, Matthew 24 and the Consummation of the Eon, by John Ribbens, during our year-end sale, please check to make sure that the two charts are on pages 87 and 89. If your book does not have the charts, please write to our office and we will send the charts to you. We apologize for the inconvenience.


 

In Isaiah 55:11 God makes this declaration concerning the Words that He speaks: “So shall My Word be that goes forth out of My mouth: but it shall not return to Me void, but shall accomplish that which I please and shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

People are finding The Word of Truth Ministry. Many are “just beginning” into the truths proclaimed through the Web site and the printed page. Many have questions that need answers to add to the truths of their discovery, such as: “What is the Kingdom of God?”; “Why don’t you teach that the dead go to heaven?”; and “Almost 99 percent of Christians believe that the ‘rapture’ is what is coming next, how can you deny that? Isn’t that what the Bible says?”

I have very strong feelings that this Ministry should RETURN TO THE BASICS and spend the next several months going over basic truths about the Kingdom of God, about death, about resurrection, and about the soul—those studies discovered and expounded by Otis Q. Sellers. In his memory we should be adding our voice to those things already written, already spoken. We need to return to the teaching of the basics for those who are new to these ideas, who are searching for Truth. Doing this will encourage and strengthen those that God’s Spirit has prompted to inquire into His Word for the Truth.

Our late friend Harry Wells once told us that we were too complacent in the Truth: “You folks who have the truth about the Kingdom of God are sitting on the best-kept secret in the world.” We don’t want to sit on that secret any more. We want to make the Truth comprehensible to all. Therefore, back to the basics. &


 

BIBLE STUDY AUDIO TAPES
By Otis Q. Sellers, Bible Teacher

The entire Tape Library (TL) series, consisting of numbers TL-001 to TL-570, is still available on MP3 compact disks. A complete subjects list may be obtained from our Web site, www.seedandbread.org, the home office in Pasadena, California, or writing/e-mailing:

The Word of Truth Ministry
Mrs. Gwen Staiger, Recorder
121 Wood Oak Dr., Joshua, TX 76058
E-mail: gsrecorder@sbcglobal.net


The Dutch Lachai-Roi Web Site

Read Seed & Bread and One-A-Day in Dutch on the European Web site: www.lachairoi.org. Johan Hansen and his son, Arnoud, translated these particular Otis Q. Sellers’ publications because they appreciated his independent studies, finding answers to unsolved problems.


Errata

The WOTM Bulletin, December 2006, Page 4: News Briefs. First column, first paragraph—the booklet title for Grace Publications’ transcription version of Otis Q. Sellers’ tape was titled in error, The REAL Story of Christmas. It should have read: Reflections On The First Christmas.

 


BIBLE STUDY SATELLITE GROUP LOCATIONS

Many Bible study groups, visited by our late teacher, Otis Q. Sellers, continue meeting within the United States. Also, similar groups meet throughout various parts of the world. As a service to those who lack a local Bible study location, preferring to study God’s Word and fellowship with similar believers utilizing Sellers’ Bible study materials, we now have some locations available, listed below.

We desire making available those Bible study groups not listed, but only with their advance permission. If you happen to be a Word of Truth “satellite” Bible Study Group and would like to have your group listed in future Bulletins, please send us by “snail mail” or e-mail your location, meeting frequency/times, host/moderator, contact information, and any additional comments. May our gracious God bless all!

In Southern California (Los Angeles Area):

The Word of Truth Ministry, 228 N. El Molino Ave., Pasadena; Sundays from 10:45 a.m. to 12 p.m. Mr. David Hettema presides; Dr. Milton Hammond alternates. Hettema may be reached at (626) 794-0819. Hymn “sing-a-long” before service. “We continue studies based upon the Biblical records of our Bible, and written/spoken words of the late Otis Q. Sellers.”

In New York (New York City Area):

The YMCA, 125 W. 14th St. (between 6th & 7th Avenues), New York City, the last Sunday of each month from 2 to 4 p.m. Mr. Luis
Casillas, moderator. Contact Mr. Mike Steele by e-mail: quickby@juno.com. “We use O.Q. Sellers’ Seed & Bread leaflets (found on www.seedandbread.org) as a guide for our discussions.”

In New York:

Endicott, No regular schedules. Contact Mr. Robert Briggs at (607) 746-4870 for information.

In New Jersey:

430 Boulevard Ave., Pitman, Mondays from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Mr. Sam Marrone presides as host and may be reached at (856) 589-6256. Marrone notes, “Bring your Bible and a hunger for the Word.”

In Texas (Houston Area):

5847 Chinaberry Drive, Houston, Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 or 1 p.m. Mr. and Mrs. Don Black are hosts and may be contacted at (713) 462-2250. “We usually listen and study one of Otis Sellers’ tapes.”

In Minnesota (St. Paul Area):

622 Selby Ave. (Room above Mississippi Market Food Co-op), St. Paul, Every other Friday, 6:15 p.m. Mr. Nathan C. Johnson presides and may be reached at (651) 737-0144 (work). Johnson encourages: “Please contact me, and come enjoy your time around God’s Word with our group.”


“Exalted by the God [even] . . . our Lord Jesus Christ, Who exalts us in every spiritual exaltation among the most elevated [ones] in Christ, according as He chooses us in Him before founding His order, we to be holy and flawless in His sight, in love designating us beforehand for the place of a son for Himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the good pleasure of His Will, for the extolling of the glories of His Grace, which graces us in the Beloved One, in Whom we have the redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins in accord with the out-flowing wealth of His grace; which He lavishes toward us in all wisdom and prudence.”

Ephesians 1:3-8;

The Resultant Version, Seed & Bread No. 58.


Bible Study “Question and Answer Column” Coming Soon

We need your questions! For those individuals or Bible-study groups meeting regularly within the United States, or throughout various parts of the world, we wish to extend a chance to share your in-depth Bible-study questions with us. Also, if there is a Bible-study subject that has not been addressed in the last two or so years in this Bulletin, please let us know what it is. The “better ones,” submitted to The Word of Truth Ministry by “snail mail” or e-mail and answered, may be published at a future date in this new column. We reserve the right to edit (usually for better grammar or punctuation) all submissions. For you all, even those who lack a local Bible study location, this allows a chance to “connect” with the Ministry via your Bible questions! Please be patient with us pertaining to your Bible-question answers, as we shall answer them eventually.


NEWS BRIEFS

E-Mail Ministry Group Expanding

Thanks to your continued interest, our “e-mail group” has expanded again! We have been providing what we like to call “encore presentations” of some of Otis Q. Sellers’ finer writings, published in his earlier The Word of Truth magazines.

If you want to be added to this list, please send an e-mail request to The Word of Truth Ministry address at wordoftruth@earthlink.net, or to the e-mail correspondent, Bob Hammond, at roberthammond@earthlink.net.

As a reminder to those of you already on the list, please send your new e-mail address when you change your provider. If you have not received any updates for a long time, please send us your updated information by e-mail.

New Project: Translating Seed & Bread (Semilla y Pan) In Spanish

We are working on making available Spanish translations of all our Seed & Bread Bible studies. Ten years ago, we started to translate into Spanish the first three Seed & Bread leaflets and now desire to finish the job. However, we need volunteers to help us do this. If you have good Spanish-language writing and translating skills, are familiar with Sellers’ materials, and would like to help, please let us know. We need translators, as well as good proofreaders.

We appreciate that this is not a simple task. Recalling the late Otis Q. Sellers’ many studies of Greek words, and their many mistranslations by others into the English language, we may encounter somewhat similar challenges with the Spanish-language translations. Please contact The Word of Truth Ministry at 228 N. El Molino Ave., Pasadena, CA 91101-1675 or at wordoftruth@earthlink.net.

Another New Project: Sunday Morning Bible Studies

“Sunday Morning Bible Studies” are intended for those wishing to hear lessons from our Sunday-morning, progressive Bible studies in Pasadena, California. The materials contained on our Web site are transcriptions of Sunday morning Bible studies taught by our Bible class teachers, Mr. David R. Hettema and Dr. Milton B. Hammond. We are placing them onto the Web site one topic at a time, with 10 messages per topic. For those of you who have not seen our Web site lately, we invite you to take a minute and look up www.seedandbread.org. We are also offering them to our readership for $7 per compact disk. Send your order requesting which disk you desire to The Word of Truth Ministry.

Compact Disk Orders Exceed Expectations

We have responded to all of the orders we received as a result of our Web site “Christmas Special” sale of 2006. Due to the fac
t that many orders for the compact disks and the Seed & Bread volumes exceeded our expectations, they also exceeded our capacity to produce!

Since we are more of a “mom and pop” operation, this means that filling the large volume of orders is challenging. On Sunday mornings before and after Bible Class, we reproduce compact disks, label, case, compile and bubble-wrap; assemble booklets and bind; and then fill many shipping boxes.

We appreciate your continued patience. And, for this, we convey a sincere “Thank you!” Also, to all who have contributed their time and effort in making this a reality, we also express a gracious “Thank you!” May God continue to benevolently bless this undertaking.

A Bit of Useful Trivia

We have received orders from some readers for “the works” on our available CDs (both audio and written materials), which include practically all of the historical studies by the late Otis Q. Sellers, as well as other Bible students of the Ministry. Most of the materials that we have in publication form, including Sellers’ Bible-study-subject booklets, Seed & Bread, The Word of Truth magazine volumes, exist on seven disks. Additionally, we now have ALL of Sellers’ 570 Tape Library/Lecture audio lessons existing on 57 disks! Also available is an audio CD on Sellers’ booklet, The Rich Man & Lazarus, nicely narrated by the late Harry G. Wells. All materials are listed on our Web site, www.seedandbread.org., and are found optionally listed in our Bulletin enclosure for ease of ordering by regular post-office-delivery mail.


 

“But as it is written, ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’”

1 Corinthians 2:9, NKJV


HONORARY AGENT IN GREAT BRITAIN

Our honorary agent, George T. Morris, provides a supply of Word of Truth materials. A list of materials and prices will be sent by writing or e-mailing:

Mr. George T. Morris
67 Wood Lane, Sutton Coldfield,
West Midlands, B74 3LS,
United Kingdom

E-mail: geo.morris@virgin.net

Web Site: christianindividualism.info


WE GET LETTERS

“Thank you for the recent packet of marvelous Biblical material. I always enjoy the Bulletin and I was happy to know [that] you are still publishing [More] Seed & Bread.”

“I’ve been wanting to thank all of you for your faithfulness in serving Christ and carrying on Otis Sellers’ work.”

“I’m glad to hear that you book, tape and disk sale was so good! The written work and the tapes I’ve been so glad to have [used] in the many past years.”

“Thanks for sending out [PDF copies of] The Word of Truth magazine, [and] thanks for your faithfulness for getting out the truth of GOD’S WORD; it’s so wonderful to understand what the WORD teaches us than what men would have us believe. Man and religion would have us in bondage to ‘control our minds and money,’ but thanks to great teachers like [the late] Mr. Sellers and all of you at the WORD OF TRUTH, through GOD’S WORD, we have been made free indeed.”

Referring to receiving The Word of Truth magazine through the “e-mail newsletter”: “It’s almost as though this teacher [Mr. Sellers] is still among us.”

“Thanks for the [e-mail newsletter] messages, I really look forward to receiving them.”


(See below)

We are honored to bring onboard one of our Newest Board Members, Mrs. Gwen Staiger from Joshua, Texas, who has been handling for years, along with her husband, Jim, our tape-recorded Ministry, which is now considered our audio MP3-CD Ministry.

Our Word of Truth Ministry Board of Directors:

Mr. Robert (Bob) Hammond (also newly elected); Mrs. Jane S. Hancock, Bulletin Editor; Mr. David R. Hettema, Executive Director; and Dr. Milton B. Hammond.


 

Thoughts On Psalm 23

Joanne L.H. Johnson

One of Israel’s greatest warrior kings, King David, wrote the most famous of all psalms, Psalm 23. This psalm is particularly popular at funerals, both read aloud and written into memorial services brochures. However, I, as a former military wife, see this psalm like the words of a very loyal soldier who has found enormous trust and rest in our Almighty God. (All verses shown quoted from New American Standard Bible [NASB] unless otherwise noted.)

According to The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible, New American Standard [Bible], compiled and edited by Dr. Spiros Zodhiates, in a footnote quoted beneath this psalm (page 732), it says: “This psalm was written by David during a time when he was fleeing from Saul. He had been wandering from place to place. He was in exile from his own people and constantly living among strangers, even enemies. His life was continually being threatened. It [the psalm] is an outpouring of David’s confidence in the LORD and trust in His care for him in every moment of his life even to the point of death. With His [Jehovah’s] loving care and concern there could be no reason to fear even before his enemies.”

Psalm 23:1 begins: “The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want.”

The first part of this verse, “The LORD is my Shepherd . . .” could very well be tied into how our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ described Himself in John 10:11-15: “I am the Good Shepherd; the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hireling, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, beholds the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees, and the wolf snatches them, and scatters then. He flees because he is a hireling, and is not concerned about the sheep. I am the Good Shepherd; and I know My own, and My own know Me . . . and I lay down My life for the sheep.” Consequently, with what most soldiers go through, it seems more like this to me: “My Sovereign LORD (Jehovah Messiah) is my guide/scout/protector (or ‘Shepherd’) to me in ANY awful situation—ALL my necessary protection and other painful needs are ALL covered in Him.”

Psalm 23:2: “He makes me lie down in green pastures: He leads me besides quiet waters.”

Coming from concentration and attention of the battlefield, this could very well be: “He provides the necessary solitude and restorative rest in Him (He makes/causes me to lie down in wonderful, peaceful, green, comfortable pastures) for my next ferocious and furious battle: He leads/guides me besides the waters of quietness (He provides almost noiseless solitude with maybe pleasant restorative sounds, perhaps like a spring of water or a flowing brook) after a horrible, bloody battle.”

Psalm 23:3: “He restores my soul: He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake.”

This is Hebrew poetry in its finest, reflecting back on the second and first verses. After seeing what most combat soldiers through, it seems more like this to me: “He fully restores my entire, weary being/soul, after being shot at, shell-shocked, and totally ‘nerved out’ by the enemy: He leads/guides me in His perfect paths of His Righteous Order for His Own Name’s sake or final purpose (see Isa. 46:9-10 and 48:9)—NOT any man’s/woman’s preferred order or purpose in ANY way, shape or form!

Psalm 23:4: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou (You) art (are) with me; Thy (Your) rod and Thy (Your) staff, they comfort me.”

Again, we find the wonderful, reflecting repetitions of soothing Hebrew poetry. This verse impresses me with this thought: “Even though my everyday ‘walks in life’ and encounters include every evil thing or satanic situations out there and I know that I can expire or die at any moment (with resurrection in view through God in Christ) (‘I walk through the valley of the shadow of death’), I have absolutely no need to fear ANY evil or satanic situation; for You (Jehovah) are with me; when I ‘trip over myself’ (cause myself to think wrongly) or place m
yself in extremely harmful or dangerous situations, Your ‘rod of correction’ and Your ‘staff of Fatherly Love’ brings/guides me back/towards to Your ‘fold’ or safe haven of rest with Your righteous laws in effect (refer to Psalm 1:1-2)—You (Jehovah Messiah) guide me and show me a way out of every unnecessary, harmful or dangerous situation out there known to mankind.”

Psalm 23:5: “Thou dost (You do) prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; Thou hast (You have) anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows.”

Here is a beautiful word-picture, another fine example of reflective Hebrew poetry, comparing itself to the verse above it. This leaves me with this strong impression: “You (Jehovah Messiah) are known to quench my thirst (both literally and figuratively in God’s Word), feed me, cloth me, protect and preserve me in the presence of ALL of my enemies; You, my Almighty God and Anointed Savior, have anointed me (referring to King David, anointed by the Prophet Samuel); my blessings from You are innumerable—they are countless (‘my cup overflows’).”

Psalm 23:6 ends: “Surely goodness and loving-kindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

What a statement of faith in God in Christ! Here David absolutely knows and trusts God that “goodness and mercy or loving-kindness” will “follow me all the days of my life,” probably referring to a future time when he will again rule over Israel, as found in Ezekiel 37:25. This psalm was perhaps written after he made his covenant with God (2 Sam. 7:8-16), as obviously members of King David’s family (such as his sons Amnon, Absalom and Adonijah) caused him a great deal of trouble during his lifetime. Again, the last part of this verse seems to refer to a future time period, when King David will “dwell in the house of the LORD forever,” where Otis Q. Sellers noted the word “forever” means “in respect of the eon” (see Seed & Bread issues No. 127, Olam And Aion; No. 128, What Does Aion Mean?). Perhaps the “house of the LORD” would be a reference to the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem in the future Kingdom of God (Isa. 66:20).

Today, in this, God’s silent Dispensation of Grace, we are confined to the study of the entire Word of God, both Old and New Testaments, with many wonderful examples of faith in God in Christ. These are ascertained throughout His Word and emphasized in Hebrews 11. Perhaps one of our life-goals should be following King David’s example of totally trusting and finding rest in our Almighty God, Who, as the late Otis Q. Sellers emphasized, is the Jehovah Messiah of the Old Testament and the Jesus Christ of the New Testament. And, may we continue believing/having faith in Him.

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