BULLETIN

THE WORD OF TRUTH MINISTRY

228 NORTH EL MOLINO AVENUE

PASADENA, CALIFORNIA 91101-1675

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

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Volume 3, No. 1                                Jane Sellers Hancock, Editor                                         May  2010

THOUGHTS FROM THE EDITOR

Jane S. Hancock

We are so fortunate to have a place, a regular place and a regular time, for Bible study. Each week we are challenged to study, to think, to grow as students of the Bible. And that is our text. The Bible. Our charge? To study to show ourselves approved unto God (2 Tim. 2:15).

Weekly Bible classes provide us a regular place for reading the Bible and for study. But it takes more than that. In fact, it is more than a person can cover in a lifetime. In the Kingdom of God we can find out the answers to all our questions.

The Bible is a library of sixty-six books. It paints a picture of the history of the nation of Israel. But more than that, it is about the coming Kingdom of God. The entrance to the Book is not necessarily Genesis. Otis Q. Sellers always said the book of John in the New Testament was the entry-way and he bought many copies of that book, slim volumes, to give away, to get people started in their study of the Word of God, the words of God.

The book of John begins like the book of Genesis: “In the beginning . . . .” But John refers to Jesus Christ. He is the Word that was there in the beginning. The miracles recorded in John tell us what we can expect when God takes over—in His Kingdom. And near the end of John, we read this: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name (John 20:31).

We are challenged weekly, in our Bible-study class, to think about the Kingdom of God, the next event in the order of things to come. We look at the chart before us, the words on the chalkboard. We know that when the clock starts for this great event, we shall all see it together. We will see the Eden-like conditions wherever we turn; we will see the glory of the Lord.

We will see untroubled years with no wars, no curses, no sicknesses, no famine. It will be a re-creation.

The desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by, And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited. Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it (Ezekiel 36:34-36).

We think about and study what will happen. Corinthians 15:51 states: We shall all be changed. We will be changed physically, mentally, spiritually. We will be enlightened. We will have the wisdom to see and understand.

We think about what happens when we stand before the judgment seat of God. How does it work? We wonder about the rewards and penalties. We talk about eonian life or destruction and what does destruction look like. We know from reading the Bible that every knee shall bow to Him. We find it in many places.

But why dost thou judge thy brother? Or why dost thou set at nought thy brother?  For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God (Romans 14:10-12).

In Luke 8:17 we find that nothing is hidden, nothing is secret. In Isaiah 11:2-9 we discover that the spirit of the Lord will give us wisdom and understanding and knowledge, along with the fear of the Lord. (We note that “fear” does not mean “afraid of.”) In those same verses we learn that He shall “slay the wicked,” that the wolf and the lamb and the calf and the lion will lie down together along with the cow and the bear and that children will not be hurt by any of these animals. The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea (Isa. 11:9).

We think about the thief who was on the cross next to Jesus. “Will you remember me?” he asked. Yes. And we know He will remember us.

And about those rewards. We read Isaiah 25:6-9: And in this mountain shall the Lord of Hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines of the lees well refined. And He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.

God has given us light. What are we doing with the light He has given us?

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FROM THE DIRECTOR

David R. Hettema

We are living in a world that is increasingly being burdened with problems that men cannot solve. Every citizen of our country, as well as those of other nations, has been watching as our present government leaders put into law a National Health Care Plan for the United States. Many nations in Europe already have experienced such a plan and the consensus of their success is that socialized medical insurance financed by taxes creates a huge financial burden for the people and an overcrowded patient list. Mere man cannot handle the problem.

This writer is not making a political statement but is displaying the historical facts. In this corrupt and sinful world all nations of this earth have increasingly more problems that are far beyond man’s capability.

When God’s Government rules this earth, all of mankind will see that God has a better plan!  His plan has already been purchased for everyone who inherits a place in the Kingdom of God.


Yes, God’s Government is not seen today; it is  “waiting in the wings,” but will gloriously come to center stage when our God determines to go into action.

Look at the nations and watch—and be utterly amazed.  For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told (Hab. 1:5, NIV).

This verse from Habakkuk can be applied to every one of the great changes that God’s great government will bring to all the nations under His world domain. Think of an earth without the curse of death upon every inhabitant and their environment, a world of many nations living in peace and not learning about war any more.

Throughout the four gospels, Christ Jesus displayed His Kingdom’s benefits. He taught the people about His coming Kingdom and demonstrated His power over sin and death by raising the dead and healing the sick. He made whole every sick individual who was brought to Him. Consider this amazing record, and ask yourself, “Who paid this great cost?”

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Recently, the nuclear-equipped nations of the world gathered together to make a treaty, one that would reduce each nation’s stockpile of nuclear weapons to one-third of its present holdings. God has a much better plan! He will cause all wars to cease from one end of the Earth to the other.

He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore (Isa. 2:4, NIV). Say unto God, how terrible (awe-inspiring) are Thy works! Through the greatness of Thy (Your) power shall Thine (Your) enemies submit themselves unto Thee (You). All the earth shall worship Thee, and shall sing unto Thee; they shall sing to Thy Name. Selah. (Psa. 66:3-4, KJV).

Another great penalty that God will remove from the earth in His Kingdom is the long-standing curse imposed when man sinned by disobedience. God told Adam:  Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return (Gen. 3:17-19, NIV).

Jesus Christ died that we might live again. He said: . . . I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly (John 10:10, NKJV).

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The prayer-prophecy Psalm 67 printed below was inspired and written over 2,500 years ago. The words of the Psalmist are prayer requests for Heaven’s government to rule the earth and let the nations rejoice and enjoy the abundant life. As you read Psalm 67 (KJV) below, you can find seven requests by the Psalmist that are positive Kingdom blessings that will cause the nations to praise God. Can you recognize each one of the seven?

God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause His face to shine upon us; Selah. That Thy way may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among all nations. Let the people praise Thee, O God; let all the people praise Thee. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for Thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah. Let the people praise Thee, O God; let all the people praise Thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.

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THE INTERNET CORNER

By Bob Hammond
Word of Truth E-Mail Corrupted

Someone successfully sent a corrupted e-mail to us and put our wordoftruth@earthlink.net e-mail out of business for almost a month. We’re back online now, though!

Web Site Work

We’re developing a new “Shopping Cart” for the Ministry’s website, www.seedandbread.org. This should be operable soon.

Defective Disks

Have one defective disk? We’ve again found some faulty disks among the 570 Sellers’ MP3 Audio Studies. The last one involved a reader with a new computer. She returned the disk to us and it played fine on our computer, as well as on our portable MP3 player. Indeed a mystery to us all.

If you have a bad one, please let us know, and we’ll try to get you one that works. And, let us know the specific problem, and where on the disk you’ve experienced the defect, if you can. Meanwhile, if any of you have run into this kind of problem before, please let me know what it was and how you solved it. Unfortunately, my own technical skills have reached their limit.

Searching New Media for Audio Ministry

When we put the tape-recorded Ministry onto the MP3 disks back in the early ’90s, we seemed to be quite a bit ahead of the times. Today, we see that new technologies have continued to come onto the scene, and our system must look ahead once more. We know of a few already, such as DVD—all 570 messages onto 4 disks (but must be viewed/heard on a computer), or iPod, which Gwen Staiger has said she would load all 570 messages for you if you supply the iPod device (which costs about $200 at a retail outlet) to her. Please contact her directly if this interests you. The next media to apply isn’t yet very clear to us, but we are searching for it. Maybe iPads or AmazonKindles. If you can help there, we’d love to hear from you.

The Dutch Lachai-Roi Web Site

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

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BIBLE STUDY SATELLITE GROUP LOCATIONS

In Southern California  (Los Angeles Area):

The Word of Truth Ministry, 228 N. El Molino Ave., Pasadena; Sundays from 1
0:45 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 Chelsea Studios, 151 West 26th Street (Room No. 609), 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) 748-4870 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 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.”

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THE HOLY GHOST OR HOLY SPIRIT

By Joanne L.H. Johnson

What is meant by the name “Holy Ghost” or “Holy Spirit”? What do we know about it in Scripture?

The Holy Spirit did many things to people in New Testament times. It was given to the Eleven Apostles after Christ was raised from the dead so that they could do miracles: “. . . . ‘Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (John 20:21-22).  And during the Acts Period it was given to the saints in Christ, including the Apostle Paul, so that they also could perform miracles, speak in different languages and prophesy. Today, however, we live in God’s day of silence, the Dispensation of Grace, and do not have the manifest gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The name “Holy Spirit” is the same name as the “Holy Ghost” found translated that way in the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible. “Holy Spirit” is synonymous with God the Father and/even Jesus Christ “the expression” or Son of God, hence the term “The Trinity” which is unscriptural.

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew name, as found individually in Young’s Analytical Concordance, for “Holy Spirit” is qadosh ruach. In the New Testament, the Greek name for “Holy Spirit” is hagion pneuma. The term “Holy Spirit” is used in some Old Testament verses and is found in the New Testament, especially about Christ’s birth. “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 1:18, NASB). And this is what the angel told Mary: “. . . . The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35, NASB).

“Holy Spirit” is also found mentioned in the predicted birth of John the Baptist that the angel Gabriel told to Zacharias in the temple: “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb” (Luke 1:15, NASB). And Elizabeth, Zacharias’ wife, was pregnant in old age and was visited by Mary, the future mother of Jesus: “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit” (Luke 1:41, NASB).

The “Holy Spirit” is mentioned in the Old Testament as well. In Psalm 51:11, King David is petitioning God: “Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” In times of old, especially in one of the instances when Israel rebelled against God, this is what the Bible says: “But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them. Then His people remembered the days of old, of Moses. Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of His flock? Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in the midst of them, who caused His glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to make for Himself an everlasting name, Who led them through the depths? . . . .” (Isa. 63:10-13, NASB).

Consequently, in today’s Dispensation of Grace, the “Holy Spirit” works in secret in all those who will allow Him. There is no proof that He is working in us, but we know in our hearts that God is there working in secret by inspiring us to read Scripture and follow that which is true to the Word of God. Remember the Scripture: “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9, KJV). And it is His grace that saves us from the wiles of Satan: “For in the grace are you saved, through faith, and this is not out of you; it is God’s gift, not of works, so that no one might boast” (Eph. 2:8-9, Seed & Bread No. 59, Ephesians—Chapter 2, The Resultant Version). God’s grace provides us with the faith to believe in Jesus Christ and the “Holy Spirit” is the divine source of that faith.

We are known by the Holy Spirit: “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus is accursed’; and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:3, NASB). And the Apostle Paul gives a wonderful salutation at the end of 2 Corinthians 13:14 (NASB): “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.”

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Bible Study Audio Disks

By Otis Q. Sellers, Bible Teacher

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

The Word of Truth Ministry

Mrs. Gwen Staiger

121 Wood Oak Dr., Joshua, TX 76058

E-mail:  gsrecorder@sbcglobal.net