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. 13      Jane Sellers Hancock, Editor     December 2013

 

THOUGHTS FROM THE EDITOR

Jane S. Hancock

When my dad, Otis Q. Sellers, died in 1992, he left me his legacy, The Word of Truth Ministry. I didn’t know what to do but David Hettema came to the rescue. He found a place in Pasadena that we could use for headquarters. He moved all of the bookshelves and the books, the furniture, the cardboard boxes of pamphlets and past issues of Seed and Bread. He even took pictures of the books on the shelves so he could replace them almost exactly the way they were when my dad was alive.

Over the years of Sellers’ illness, the mailing list had shrunk. We knew we had to get a Bulletin going again, to get new material written. We had to continue to get the message out. My job was to write the front page of the bulletin every month and edit it.

Now I’m a writer. That’s what I do. I write and I teach writing. But this was way beyond my comfort zone. I had been writing articles for professional teaching journals, poems for my own amazement, and memoirs so that my own family would know who I was and what I did. Never had I written about studies around the Word of God.

I have saved all the Bulletins since March 1992—about 80, all told. Recently I started re-reading my articles and discovered some really good ones, messages that told the readers what I believed. My testimony was in those articles—hidden in a file drawer in my office.

But no longer. I took twenty-three of the best and have published them in a book called My Resting Place. You can buy it on amazon.com. However, I’m going to give one FREE to anyone on our mailing list who requests it before December 31, 2013! FREE. Just e-mail the Word of Truth Ministry at rustywoft@aol.com or send us a letter at 228 N. El Molino, Pasadena, CA 91101-1675.

I hope you enjoy reading them for the first time or reading them again. They don’t have to be read in order. Just open the book and start reading anywhere. I have tried to take the truths that we know and write them in a simple form that everyone can understand, even people who have not been studying along with us for many years. This collection might be a good one to give to people just starting in the study of God’s word and the truths of the coming Kingdom of God.

These are the articles I chose:

Jesus Included Me
The Language of the Bible
Seasons’ Greetings
Word Study
Easter
The Millennium
Jesus Is Always There for Me
Christ Jesus, the Only Mediator
The Legacy of Otis Q. Sellers
I Believe
My Resting Place
Death Is an Enemy
The Christian in Today’s World
The Silence of God
The Message of the Kingdom of God
The Most Important Book
A Review of The Rich Man and Lazarus
Gog and Magog
Christian Individualism
This I Believe
Where God Can Be Found
The Role of the Gentiles
Complete in Christ Jesus

My Resting Place

Available now on amazon.com.

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LOVE AND THE TRUTH

By Nathan C. Johnson

It is a joy for anyone to see true marital love in an elderly couple. It is inspiring to see two people who have gone through life together for decades and whose love has grown and matured. Their love is something beyond what Hollywood promotes, which is based largely on physical attraction. Young couples might count physical attraction as an important part of their love, but this must not be what holds a couple together in later years, when such attractiveness has largely disappeared. What holds a couple together when external beauty is gone? We conclude it is a deep knowledge of the other person, respect for the character of that person, and joy in the good parts of the other’s personality along with acceptance of the bad, that holds a couple together long after outward attractiveness has faded away. A love for the beauty within transcends the reality without.

This is similar to how we develop love for our Lord and Savior. We have never seen Him physically, so it is not His appearance that draws us. Rather, it is His character, His great goodness, and His flawless personality that attract us and cause us to respect and love Him. Knowing the truth about Him is our greatest ally when it comes to increasing in love for Him.

Do not mistake my meaning. I am not saying that one who does not know all the truth of the Word cannot love our Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, I am often quite impressed by the deep love a person can have for the good things he sees in Christ in spite of the ugly picture that some of his wrong beliefs would paint of Him. Nevertheless, a better knowledge of the truth can help greatly in generating love for God, respect for His character, and passion for a relationship with Him.

Consider the popular belief that God is a tormentor of those who do not believe in Him. I once overheard a young girl, no doubt thinking of unbelieving members of her family, ask one of her teachers, “Why can’t God just let people die in hell, rather than keeping them alive?” In her innocence, she had asked a very profound question, a question which the Bible clearly answers when It says, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). The Biblical contrast is between eternal life and death, not between torment and bliss. The difficulty of developing a deep love for God and passion for Him is greatly increased when one believes He is planning to eternally torment unbelieving loved ones. Surely in this case a person’s love for Him would be greatly increased by the truth.

Consider also the reality of God’s work, as He is managing the world in grace (Ephesians 3:2), pouring out the riches of His grace (Ephesians 3:8), yet doing so secretly (Ephesians 3:3), so that we cannot search these riches out. Those who are unaware of this are often confused when they consider the reality of life as we experience it. God’s silence can cause Him to seem uncaring to one who sees a loved one ill, a crippled body unhealed, or a little child in pain. The book of Acts, with its stunning stories of God’s miraculous power on behalf of His people, seems to raise more questions than answers. Why does God not reveal Himself to a world so desperately in need of Him? Why does He not stretch forth His hand to heal or work signs and wonders in the name of His holy child Jesus (Acts 4:30), as He did in the Acts period? Our love can be greatly aided by understanding that God is acting as He does, not because He is uncaring, nor because He has no power, but because He is working out His great purposes by showing forth the riches of His grace. Understanding the dispensation of grace means that we do not have to feel abandoned or unloved by God when troubles come upon us. Our love for Him can be greatly increased by the truth.

There is also the reality of God’s coming kingdom. At present, we cannot help but observe that wickedness is often very strong, and goodness is often very weak. The light of truth seems easily eclipsed by the darkness of error. The principle of justice seems like a weak thread quickly broken by corruption. Innocents suffer while criminals prosper. This world does not at all seem like the place God would want it to be. Many conclude that the fact that God does not appear to currently be winning in this world means that He does not have the ability to win. Therefore, they look for Him to get the victory only in a faraway land called “heaven.” Yet the Bible assures us that the world will not always be as it is now. Someday God’s kingdom will come to earth, and God will get the victory, even over this world. As Psalm 46:10 says “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the heathen (nations), I will be exalted in the earth!” Someday God will be exalted. Someday He will judge (set in order) the people righteously and govern the nations on earth (Psalm 67:4). Knowledge of the pre-millennial kingdom must surely lead to a greater respect for God, which is a significant step toward greater love for Him as well.

The truth is an extremely valuable thing. We should always be willing to buy the truth, and not to sell it (Proverbs 23:23). Yet the truth will not have achieved its end if it does not cause us to increase in love for the One Who is the truth. Christ is truth (John 14:6), and love rejoices in the truth (1 Corinthians 13:6). Let us not squander the truth we have, but rather allow it to produce its mature fruit in ever-increasing love for our Savior.

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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 10:45 a.m. to 12 p.m. Dr. Milton Hammond moderates. Contact Mr. Robert Hammond by e-mail at wordoftruth@earthlink.net or Mr. Rusty Hancock at rustywoft@aol.com. 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: quickby22@aol.com. “We use O.Q. Sellers’ Seed & Bread leaflets (found on www.seedandbread.org) as a guide for our discussions.”

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 Oregon:

Portland, No regular schedules.
Contact Mr. Bob English at (503) 357-8449 for information.

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) 733-5821 (work). Johnson encourages: “Please contact me, and come enjoy your time around God’s Word with our group.”

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, No regular schedules. Contact Mr. Frank Bonano at (561) 883-5018 or (954) 675-4501. “We use The Word of Truth Seed & Bread leaflets.”

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Errata

The last Bulletin contained the wrong issue number (Volume 3, No. 11) and date published (April 2013).

It should have been Volume 3, No. 12 and the date published should have been August 2013. The correct issue number and date published is shown on our website, www.seedandbread.org.

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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

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CONFERENCE NOTES

By Joanne L.H. Johnson

On Saturday and Sunday, October 26 and 27, 2013, The Word of Truth Ministry held a regional conference in Pasadena, California, attended by people from seven states.

Two of our guest speakers, cousins Nathan Johnson and Andrew Brown, came from the Midwest—Minnesota and Wisconsin. They have been studying the Bible together for years and both teach small groups in their areas. These young men have read through everything that Otis Q. Sellers wrote and have listened to all the tapes.

nathanandy
Nathan Johnson and Andy Brown

The other two speakers, Louis Tonetti and Milton Hammond, are from California. Louis Tonetti is the author of several Bible-study books, including his latest, Who Is Jesus? Do You Really Know? All of his books are available on amazon.com.

Among the folks who came for both days of the conference from out-of-state were Bob and Betty English from Oregon, Thelma Hazelton from Nevada, Ralph Luther and his friend, John Browner, from Montana, and Gwen Staiger from Texas.

It was nice to see these Southern Californians in attendance: Mark Hammond, Mike Terrazino, Jim and June Witt with Dale and Cindy, and Fred and John Atherton.

Jane Hancock, Rusty Hancock, Milt Hammond, Bob Hammond, Joanne Johnson and Gary Harrison made the Conference possible. David Hettema, Director Emeritus, was not in attendance due to poor health.

Nathan presented three thought–provoking seminars on Kingdom truths. In his first talk Nathan showed us the lessons we can learn about the way the Kingdom of God is to be in the future, especially from the book of Acts, and then took us to the Old Testament which offers parallels with the Kingdom to come. In his next study he took us on a quick trip through the book of Zechariah, outlining what this prophet had to say about the Kingdom, about the final days of the Tribulation period, and the coming of Christ. He concluded his final study with this admonition: “We should live as if we had one foot firmly in the Kingdom, bearing fruit out of season.”

Andy spoke about “Kingdom Realities,” which proved of interest. He discussed and took us to the Scriptures so we could envision Paul’s reality, Peter’s reality, and Ezekiel’s reality. He concluded with these three references: Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, 2 Corinthians 4:18, and 2 Timothy 4:8. An article by Andy on this same subject will appear in a future Bulletin.

louis
Louis Tonetti

Louis Tonetti’s lesson was an overview of his most recent book which focuses on letting God’s Word tell us exactly who Jesus Christ is.

Milt ended the conference with a summary of what the Kingdom was going to be like. He has written these thoughts for a More Seed & Bread No. 294, included in this mailing, titled Traces of the Early Kingdom of Our God.

The conference was a huge success. MP3 recordings were made of all the speakers and will be available soon.

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CONFERENCE PHOTOS

 

grouppics

group2

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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Question (from Mr. Bass):

My wife and I were listening to one of Otis Sellers’ messages No. TL-160. On the disk Mr. Sellers said that Isaac did not want Jacob to take a wife of the Canaanites, because they were involved in the seed of the race that perished during the flood. We were under the impression that every person except Noah and his family perished in the flood. This indicates that something related to a race before the flood carried over. Is this the way or is this not?

Answer (from Nathan Johnson):

You are correct that everything except Noah and the other inhabitants of the ark perished in the flood. Obviously, the passengers on the ark did not include any of the cursed hybrid race of Nephilim. What Mr. Sellers is doubtless referring to is what is mentioned in Genesis 6:4, where it says: “There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.”

That little phrase “and also afterward” is very important. It tells us that, though that cursed race of giants was wiped out by the flood, yet afterward another outbreak occurred wherein after the flood once again the sons of God came in to the daughters of Adam and they bore children to them. This resulted in another outbreak of this race of giants, known this time as the “Rephaim.”

Therefore, it was the children of this later outbreak who were mixed up with the Canaanites, and not those who had perished in the flood. It was the same hybrid race as before the flood, but not the same individuals, since they had perished. This time, God wiped them out, using the sword of Israel and of the other, Shemite nations around Israel. At some point, the angels who thus sinned were cast into prison, and no longer are free to trouble the earth (2 Peter 2:4). Therefore, we need not fear another such occurrence in our day.

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BOARD OF DIRECTOR CHANGES

The Word of Truth Ministry announces some changes to the Board of Directors.

Gwen Staiger, who has contributed to the success of the tape and disk-recorded ministry and will continue to do so, has requested to leave the Board.  We have accepted her request with regret and thank her for her generous contributions over the last few years.

We welcome newly appointed Board member, Nathan C. Johnson. He has already contributed his time and effort to writing articles for the Bulletin and for More Seed & Bread.  As noted in this Bulletin, he played a major role in our recent conference.

David Hettema, our new Director Emeritus, has for many years been instrumental in keeping the Ministry running smoothly. Due to poor health, he is no longer able to keep up his duties and leaves them to Directors Jane Hancock, Robert and Milton Hammond, along with Rusty Hancock and Joanne Johnson.

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NOTES ON BOOKS

One of our speakers at the conference, Louis Tonetti, besides speaking on the subject of “Who Is Jesus Christ?,” brought a large collection of all of his books that he has published in the last few years. These were free to anybody who wanted them.

Louis is an avid student of the Word of God and a follower of the many insightful Bible studies of the late Otis Q. Sellers. He has been with Los Angeles Area Bible study arm of the Ministry for many years.

These books can be purchased on amazon.com. Here’s a list of the books that he has published:

“The Seven Pillars of Death;”

“What’s Up With the Jews: You Know, Jacob’s (Israel’s) Kids;”

“The Kingdom of God 101: A Primer;”

“The Salvation Bringing Message of God: AKA The Gospel of John;”

“Resurrection 101: What You Need to Know and Why;”

“Who Is Jesus? Do You Really Know?”

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WE GET LETTERS

From Fred Atherton: “I just wanted you to know how much I enjoyed the Bible Study conference on Sunday the 27th of October. It was so nice to see and talk to everyone again—and to meet Louis, Nathan and Andrew, and the others who were there. I was hoping to see David

[Hettema] and was saddened to hear he is not doing well. Please give him my best.”