BULLETINTHE WORD OF TRUTH MINISTRY228 NORTH EL MOLINO AVENUE, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA 91101-1675Otis Q. Sellers, Founder – David R. Hettema, Director ______________________________________________________Volume 3, No. 10 Jane Sellers Hancock, Editor December 2012 |
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THOUGHTS FROM THE EDITORJane S. HancockOur group here at the Word of Truth Ministry has been studying Philippians the last few weeks, using the Bible as our text along with Nathan Johnson’s notes, listening to Otis Q. Sellers’ tapes and reading his pamphlet “The Interpretation of Philippians 3:20.” We included the Resultant Version and Notes for Philippians 1 and 2 with our August Bulletin. This month you get Philippians 3 and 4 along with the pamphlet on Philippians 3:20. If you read all these, you will have much to think about. Philippians is a message to those who lived during the Acts period and now find themselves living in the Dispensation of Grace, a time when there are no miracles, no speaking in different languages, no direct word from God. It is the time of the silence of God. Not at all unlike today. Those of us living in this century can find peace in the message. In this dispensation, Christ is not only all but Christ is enough. You might be reading this in December but I am writing this on Thanksgiving Day, a day more about feasting and football than about giving thanks. We need to give thanks to God every day, not just one day. I am thankful that He has given me peace. No matter what life throws at me, I’m at peace because I have God, I have Jesus Christ, in my life. Some personal thoughts and thanks. Are you reading this? If you are, we would like to know. We hear from people who are supporting this ministry with monetary gifts, but we want to hear from you too. No need to send money. Just let us know via e-mail or snail mail. Just a short note. A brief greeting. Of course, if you want to send a gift, that’s all right too. This is the time of year that many people think about gift giving and the Word of Truth Ministry (WOTM) can really use whatever you feel like giving. I’m sure you know that no one on the WOTM board of directors receives any salary for what we do. In fact we contribute as well. All the contributions go to publishing and distributing materials, and to pay the rent on our store-front office which houses our supplies and our equipment. A gracious “thanks” for the notes and gifts already received! But bottom line, we do want to know that those of you who receive this do read it and we won’t know unless you tell us. Here is our contact information: 228 N. El Molino, Pasadena, California, 91101, or e-mail: wordoftruth@earthlink.net. David Hettema. I wish I could report that David has written his column for this issue but I can’t. As I reported in the last bulletin, we miss him and are doing our best without him. He is in our prayers constantly. WE GET LETTERSFrom Ralph Luther: We like this traveling billboard. Ralph Luther sent us this picture with a note: “I just arrived home [Montana] from a 7000 mile trip. I towed this trailer with the sign to Michigan and back through many States. Have you had any increase in the number of hits on the Seed & Bread website? I hope at least a few extra people will be looking.” Thank you, Ralph, for the free advertising.
From George Alton Richardson: “It is important to me that you know what I learned from the man Otis Q. Sellers. I cannot even imagine what my life would have been like without his teaching. I thank my God that I was able to tell him this before he died. . . . Please convey my thoughts and my thanks to all who work in the Word of Truth Ministry. Please keep me in your prayers as I continue to “apply my heart unto instruction and my ears to the words of knowledge” (Proverbs 23:12). From Wallace Stehle: “I loved O. [Otis] Sellers and his teachings. I still study his pamphlets. Thank you for your steady flow of info[rmation].” From Ralph and Donna Hazelett: “We live in Central Pennsylvania and were very blessed that Hurricane Sandy did not cause any destruction in our area. We are surrounded by mountains, which help keep a lot of the wind away from us. Of course, our Lord was watching over us. Feel so sorry for those people in NY [New York] and NJ New Jersey]. Wishing a wonderful Thanksgiving to everyone.” From Sam Marrone: “God bless you all, till His Kingdom comes to this Earth. May God speed the day.” GOD HAS SPOKEN By Otis Q. Sellers The most important fact in the universe is that God has spoken. The believer in the Lord Jesus Christ insists that the total record of what He has said is contained in the sixty-six books called the Bible. Since God has spoken, the supreme duty of all God-fearing men is to discover what He has said. But, alas, even professing Christians are not doing this, so there is an ever- diminishing company who are instructed in the facts of the Word of God. Many who profess to be heralds of the Word are extremely careless in the use they make of it. If its statements will serve their purposes, they make use of them. If not, they feel free to ignore them. In relationship to many things they refuse to allow the Bible to give any testimony. It is good to know that in the providence of God, lest the love of His truth should utterly perish from the hearts of men, He sees fit to do a gracious personal work upon the minds of many who believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. This is a generating work, done with the end in view that the truth revealed in His word will become the supreme motivating factor in their lives. This is a gracious work in which God opens the eyes of men to see the importance and value of His truth; in which He draws them to His truth by making manifest some of its beauties and glories. Thus He encourages men to take a stand for His truth, and He ever stands ready to provide strength and wisdom to all who respond to His gracious call. All of this is done in secret, and if it is not told, it is known only to the one in whose life it has taken place. As alr When a believer has responded to this gracious work, he has the conviction that it is a serious sin to be unfaithful or disloyal to the truth of God. Faithfulness to revealed truth becomes a part of his character. He will seek for truth even as some men seek for wealth. Never again will he even try to conform to the commonly accepted religious thoughts and practices of this world. He will never compromise or temporize in order to have some place of service. He has made his choice, and he declares it in the words of Scripture, “I have chosen the way of truth” (Psa. 119:30). In all humility, boasting excluded, and giving glory alone to God, the writer claims to be a man in whose life God has done such a work. 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. SEED & BREAD VOLUMES 1 & 2 Would you like to read along with the Seed & Bread references given in Joanne Johnson’s or Jane Hancock’s articles? Here’s a chance to purchase the whole lot of the Seed & Bread articles in both volumes in hard cover or soft cover editions, called Seed & Bread Volumes 1 and/or 2. These two volumes are printed in large type and are easy on the eyes! The price for the soft-cover volumes is $19. The cost of the hard-cover volumes is $25 each volume. Please add $3 for orders up to $30 and 10% for orders over $30. Kindly make out checks or money orders in U.S. dollars to The Word of Truth Ministryand mail to 228 N. El Molino Ave., Pasadena, CA 91101-1675. Please allow 3-6 weeks delivery time for small orders (or more time for large orders). BIBLE STUDY SATELLITE GROUP LOCATIONS 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 (he has his own phone number now). 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) 308-3820 or by e-mail at andthewordwasgod@hotmail.com. 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.” In Oregon: Portland, No regular schedules. Contact Mr. Bob English at (503) 357-8449 for information. In South Carolina: 3800 Cottage Path, Sumter, the second Sunday and the last Sunday of each month from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mr. Allen Tolbert presides and is assisted by Mr. James Johnson. You can contact Tolbert at (803) 469-7190 in South Carolina or Johnson at (704) 864-4212 in North Carolina. “Bring your Bible and come believing God’s Word.” In Florida: 9082 Chatsworth Cascades, Boca Raton, Wednesday and Saturday at 7 p.m. Mr. Frank Bonano presides. You can contact us at (561) 367-3316 or (561) 883-5018. “We use The Word of Truth Seed & Bread leaflets.” Bible Study Audio DisksBy 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 “Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies; in You I take shelter. Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.” Psalm 143:9-10, NKJV A WORD FROM GODBy Joanne L.H. JohnsoHave you heard television evangelists, pastors or ministers, and people on the street with megaphones claim that they have had “a word from God”? Is God talking to them instead of to you or me? How can God talk to anyone, especially since this is the Dispensation of God’s Grace? (See Seed & Bread No. 57, The Dispensation of Grace, by Otis Q. Sellers.)How can anybody have “a word from God” when the only mediator between God and men and women is the Lord Jesus Christ during this dispensation? “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5, KJV). (See Seed & Bread No. 17, The One Mediator, also by Sellers.) First of all, God is invisible and inaudible. We can only know God through His Son (expression), Jesus Christ, and we get to know about Christ through the Gospel of John in the Bible (see John 1:1-14 and Seed & Bread No. 2, The Lord Jesus Is Jehovah). He “talks” to nobody today, though many would like to claim that they have the exclusive “scoop” from God. The only word that God in Christ has left for us is in the Bible—the Old Testament comprised of the Torah, the Psalms and the major and minor prophets, and the New Testament which includes the words of Christ and those of His apostles through the Gospels and Epistles. These together complete the inspired Word of God. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine (teaching), for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect (mature), thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim. 3:16-17, KJV). God talks to us through the pages of His Word. In Old Testament times, the Israelites (God’s people) had a direct word from God through the prophets and priests. “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:20-21, KJV). During the Acts Period, the Apostles dealt directly with Christ. In the future Kingdom of God, God in Christ will break His silence to judge the world when we are resurrected from the Is there anything too hard for God in Christ? No, there is nothing too hard for Maybe we get inspiration from just reading God’s Word. Maybe we take it on faith that God will help us with everyday problems through the medium of silent prayer. “Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving (giving thanks), let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth (surpasses) all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7, KJV). Maybe it is not necessary to have “a word from God” from other sources, like the television evangelists, when God can help us with small problems or large ones, especially when a prayerful request to God is not too selfish and ends with thankfulness for the numerous blessings from God everyday that we live. “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand” (Phil 4:5, KJV). We are His children, and just because God in Christ is silent in this day and age, it does not mean that He is not with us. He can be anywhere at anytime because that is how He operates. Nothing is too hard for God. God in Christ speaks to no one today. He can only speak to us through His Word, the Bible. But in the future Kingdom of God, when God breaks His silence, we will all be able to have a direct word from God. A Word From M.B. Hammond In this day when television and newspapers can be so negative, we need to keep an eye on maintaining a positive attitude in all we do and say. The Bible has many positive attributes such as this one: “This is the day the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24, KJV). |
Volume 3, No. 10, December 2012Rob2008-10-18T01:09:19+00:00
