The writer of Hebrews said, "For we do not have ahigh priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in allthings as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15). Whatwere some things Jesus was tempted to do?

1. To trust in Himself. The first recorded temptationof Jesus followed a forty-day fast. Jesus becamehungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you arethe Son of God, command that these stones becomebread" (Mt. 4:3). The attempt was to persuade Jesus torely on His own power to sustain Himself rather thantrusting in God. Jesus understood the temptation andreplied, "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of themouth of God.'" The Lord had given Israel mannawhen there was no bread, to teach them to trust inHim. Jesus was confident God would provide for Him, too.
2. Nothing would please Satan more than to persuadeus to turn our trust from God. He would have us be like the Pharisees, "who trusted in themselves that theywere righteous" (Lk. 18:9). He would have us be likeJudah, who trusted in her own fame and fortune (Ezek.16:15). She forgot God and trusted in falsehood (Jer.13:25). He would have us trust in anything except God, who richly supplies us with all things. How shall we escape this temptation? By remembering what is written: "Man shall not live on bread alone, but onevery word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."
1. To make a display. Satan did not concede after one setback. He took Jesus to Jerusalem, stood him on the

pinnacle of the temple, and said, "If You are the Son ofGod throw Yourself down." He added credibility to the suggestion by quoting Scripture, showing that theangels would not allow Jesus to be harmed. Perhapsthe tempter suggested this as a test of the confidencein God Jesus had affirmed in the first temptation. Besides it would be a great way to show the Jews thatHe was the Son of God. But this was neither the time nor the manner in which the Savior wanted to reveal Himself. Neither did He want any part in testing God.Which one of us has not been tempted to make adisplay of our religion to be seen of men? Jesus saidthose who sound a trumpet when giving alms arehypocrites (Mt. 6:24). So are those who pray long andloud in public places (vv. 5-7). Sometimes preachershave this problem. We ought to be like Paul, who "... did not come with superiority of speech or ofwisdom, ..." but"... in weakness and in fear and inmuch trembling" ( 1 Cor. 2:1,3). Our lights must shineso others can see our good works. However, there is a vast difference between others seeing our goodworks and our doing good works to be seen by others.

5. To seek a right thing in a wrong way. The devil was to make one more attempt on this occasion. Hetook Jesus to a high mountain, showed Him all thekingdoms of the world and their glory, then made hisproposal. "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me." This temptation was differentfrom the others. There was no deceit and no mention of Jesus' Sonship. It was a bold, forthright proposition.Jesus had come to establish a kingdom, one consisting of people from all nations. Satan stood ready to expedite the effort. His method would not have necessitated the suffering and shame the Savior was toface. But his price was too high. Jesus replied, "Begone, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worshipthe Lord your God, and serve Him only.' "

Jesus did not reason that the end justifies the means. He knew better. But some are satisfied with that line of reasoning and, like David, are building "new carts" with which to do God's will. In efforts to preach the gospel to a lost world, a right and much-needed work, churches have been persuaded tocooperate in ways not authorized by God. Food and fun has become the order of the day. Some act as though the gospel could not appeal to sinners withoutit. Numerous fund-raising activities, all foreign to theScriptures, have been concocted to finance these programs. Surely we can spread the good news withoutbowing to Satan and employing his methods.

1. To speak inadvisedly. Satan had struck out but he was not through. Luke said he departed until an opportune time. One of the snares Jesus had to avoid onmany occasions was saying something He should not.His enemies would come testing Him, trying to entrapHim (e.g. Mt. 19:3; 22:15, 23, 35). Yet He "committedno sin, neither was any deceit found in His mouth" ( 1Pet. 2:22).
2. The tempter is well aware of the difficulty we havewith our tongues. He would have us fill our mouthswith unwholesome speech, or speak angrily in a rage.He likes to hear us talk off the tops of our heads,speaking of things about which we understand little.The Preacher said of such an one, "The beginning ofhis talking is folly, and the end of it is wicked madness.Yet the fool multiplies words" (Ecc. 10:13, 14). Haveyou ever been asked a question and instead of saying, "I don't know," tried to bluff your way through it,only to put yourself in some ridiculous position with nograceful way out? Have you noticed that the discussion of problems with the tongue in James 3follows the statement, "Let not many of you becometeachers?" Let us be careful not to speak inadvisedlyand play right into Satan's hand.
1. To take the easy way out. It was time for the con summation of God's plan. The Son of God was about torender Satan powerless. It was time for one last confrontation between the Accuser and the Redeemer. Jesus, acutely aware of the suffering now only hoursaway, fell to the ground in prayer. "My Father, if it bepossible, let this cup pass from Me" (Mt. 26:39). It waspossible. And it would have been to the delight ofSatan. But it would have defeated the purpose ofChrist's coming into the world and disregarded the willof God. "Yet not as I will, but as Thou wilt." The Sonof man would not take the easy way out. Even as Hehung on the cross the suggestion was still confrontingHim. "If you are the Son of God, come down from thecross." Perhaps unknowingly, these mockers were echoing Satan's sentiment. "Come down—take theeasy way out."

Thanks be to God that He did not. Would that we had the same strength and courage. In the face of evenslight persecution or ridicule we all too often fail tostand. Some take the easy way out by compromising truth rather than defending it and suffering a few unpleasantries. Do you allow bad weather, traveling, orsocial activities to preclude assembling with thesaints? Do you permit peer pressure to lead you toimmoral conduct? Has an objecting family memberprevented you from obeying the Lord? If so you aretaking the easy way out, a way our Savior would not go.

Satan's appeals have not changed since Adam's day. Let us not be ignorant of his schemes.

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NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM

The church is the body of the saved. But what arethe saved supposed to do? The saved ought to worship God. The saved ought to live godly lives before theworld. The saved ought to teach the gospel to the world. That brings us to the work of evangelism—heralding the good news to dying humanity. Paul said the church is "the pillar andground of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:15). The Lord identifiedthe churches of Asia as candlesticks, hence, bearers oflight (Rev. 1:20).

The Early Church in Evangelism

The book of Acts tells the thrilling story of how the apostles became witnesses in Jerusalem, all Judea,Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts1:8). On the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem "they thatgladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousandsouls"(2:41). A short time later it was said "Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and thenumber of the men was about five thousand" (4:4).They did not decide the church was too big but pressedon in their teaching. "And the word of God increased;and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith" (6:7).

Persecution scattered many from Jerusalem but thisonly resulted in greater evangelistic effort as they"went everywhere preaching the word" (8:4). Samariawas next reached (8:12) and then many villages of theSamaritans heard the gospel (8:25). Later it was stated"Then had the churches rest throughout all Judea andGalilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking inthe fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the HolyGhost, were multiplied" (9:31). Several years after the persecution which scattered the disciples from Jerusalem, the church there was still large andthriving and referred to as "the multitude." "Then allthe multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul.. ."(15:12).

Beyond Palestine proper, the work flourished. Regarding the efforts in Asia Minor, Luke wrote "Andso were the churches established in the faith, andincreased in number daily" (16:5). At Thessalonica in Greece "some of them (Jews) believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few (17:4). At Corinth "Crispus, the chief ruler ofthe synagogue,

believed on the Lord with all his house; and many ofthe Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized"for God had "much people" in that city where Paulcontinued for a year and six months, "teaching theword of God among them" (18:8-11). At Ephesus there were many who believed and "so mightily grew theword of God and prevailed" (19:18-20).

From these accounts it is evident that the earlydisciples took the Great Commission seriously. Theyhad a compelling sense of urgency in this work. Whilethey were busy teaching and converting the lost,they also made provision for the functioning of localchurches in meeting their own needs for spiritual development and for discharging their responsibilitiesto the needy among them. In Acts 6 special servants were appointed to provide the needs of Grecian widows while the apostles gave themselves to theministry of the word. In Acts 14:23 Paul and Barnabas "ordained elders in every church" they hadestablished in Asia Minor. The church at Jerusalem had elders (Acts 15:4,6) as did the churches in Judea(Acts 11:29-30). But the lifeline of the church was evangelism.

Two Means of Evangelism

The Local Church. Jerusalem sent Barnabas to helpthe new work at Antioch (Acts 11:22-24) and thisresulted in "much people" being added to the Lord. The church at Antioch developed a great and successful teaching program (13:1). It was from thislive and growing church that the gospel launched amajor assault on the Roman Empire. Paul and Barnabas were sent forth with the blessings of these brethren who maintained a great interest in their work,for they came back and "rehearsed all that God haddone with them, and how he had opened the door offaith unto the Gentiles" (14:27). The church at Thessalonica, though a new congregation with growing pains and many trials to overcome, had caught that spark of urgency which motivated Pauland Silas so that within a year of the beginning of the work there Paul wrote them and said "For from you sounded out the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but everywhere your faith toGodward is spread abroad; so that we need not tospeak anything" (1 Thes. 1:8). Churches in Macedoniasupplied wages to Paul to sustain his work at Corinth,even though all those congregations were made up ofnew converts (2 Cor. 11:8). The church at Philippisent once and again to support Paul in his preachingat Thessalonica (Phil. 1:5; 4:15-16). It is not difficultto see where these congregations placed the emphasis. They were not in the business of hoardingmoney. They did not argue "the heathen are all at home." They needed facilities in which to meet,worship and edify each other. But they knew, aboveall else, what the primary work of the church was.

The Individual. Scattered disciples did not waitfor an eldership with an organized personal programto assign them cards for visitation. They found lostpeople on their own and taught them the gospel (Acts8:3-4). They were self-starters. Philip did not wait forsome church to "call" him to the work. He went to Samaria and preached the gospel and started the work.

Then he taught the Ethiopian treasurer and sent thegospel into that country by means of that devoutman. Then he was found at Azotus and preached allthe way up the coast to Caesarea. Every child of Godwas challenged by Peter to "be ready always to givean answer to every man that asketh you, a reason ofthe hope that is in you with meekness and fear" (1Pet. 3:15). Every Christian is to study so as to be anunashamed workman (2 Tim. 2:15) and is to learnhow to "teach faithful men who shall be able to teach others also" (2 Tim. 2:2).

Let each congregation do all it can to sound outthe word of the Lord at home and abroad and let each individual rise to his potential and take hold ofevery opportunity to teach the word to the lost.

Motives to Prompt Us

There are ample reasons why both congregationsand individuals should be busily engaged in the workof evangelism. "For if our gospel be hid, it is hid tothem that are lost" (2 Cor. 4:3-4). The gospel is God'spower to save a lost world. It is the universal remedy for the universal malady of sin (Rom. 1:16). Paul said "for I am debtor" (Rom. 1:14-15) and said he wasready to meet that obligation "as much as in me is."He wrote "For woe is unto me if I preach not thegospel" (1 Cor. 9:16). In 2 Cor. 5:10-14 there are threecompelling motives set forth which should move us allto greater activity in saving the lost: (1) the judgmentto come; (2) the terror of the Lord; and (3) the love ofChrist which ought to constrain us. The knowledgethat all men shall stand before the judgment seat ofChrist and that those who stand there unprepared will go away into everlasting punishment should so overwhelm us that the love which the Lord had for us and the knowledge of what his love can do for all,should impel us to overcome every excuse and rise tothe occasion.

Prior Assumptions

All who teach the gospel must approach that workwith certain presuppositions. First, people need whatwe have to offer. They may not even know that. Next,people can understand the gospel. Then, we ought to teach it in hope. Optimism must characterize us. We should expect to see people obey the truth oncethey understand it.. Further, we must understand that our efforts are often more successful than we think they are. We look always for "visible responses." Let us prepare the ground, sow the seedand water it, and then leave the rest to the Lord whogives the increase. Finally, we must work with thegenuine conviction that the salvation of one soul isworth more than all the world (Mt. 16:26).

It is time to stop worrying about congregationsgetting "too big" and get on with the work of thegospel. Some of us have become so obsessed withreal estate and with providing enough places to gratify the ambitions of those who are determined tolead, whether they are qualified or not, that we havelost sight of what the saved are supposed to do. "Speaking the truth in love" will cause the church toedify itself. It will also result in the saving of the lostand that is our

HOW THE SPIRIT INDWELLS

In the previous lessons we have talked about theHoly Spirit as a divine being, the third person of thegodhead. We have talked about the gift of the HolySpirit referred to in Acts chapter 2 and verse 38. I triedto point out some things which the Holy Spirit is not,also some things which the Holy Spirit is, that youmay be able to better identify this divine personality ofthe godhead. I believe that the Holy Spirit is a personand as a person he is one being and cannot be divided up, distributed out, or diffused throughout the universe as a person. Remember, we drew a line ofdistinction between person and presence. The presenceof one may be where the person is not and I think weestablished that in the outline I trust will be of benefit to you.

I know it isn't logical or always reasonable to talkabout the presence being the person. The presence isthrough instrumentality, medium, it is not direct andimmediate in and of itself. I'm satisfied that the representatives of our government oftentimes carry the very presence of the chief executive into foreignlands when the person is in the White House in Washington, D.C. And I use Vespasian as an illustration, a simple statement taken from a historicalwriter, a book entitled "Imperial Rome" which said that the presence of Vespasian was in every part of theempire, but it was through the instrumentality of hislaws, his legions, his monuments, his establishments,and in this way his presence was felt everywhere, buthis person was in the imperial city. I believe there is avital distinction that needs to be recognized.

Furthermore, while God is omnipresent in somesenses, he is not omnipresent in all senses, and becausein some senses we read of the omnipresence of God weneed not conclude that he is omnipresent in all ways.There are certain limitations which God himself has set. I do not believe that God is omnipresent in hisdwelling among his people. I think his presence there islimited to his people. I do not believe he dwells in thatsense among those who are not his people and so it iswith Christ and the Holy Spirit. It is possible for oneto go out from the presence of God, just keep that inmind and that will have a part to play in our study thismorning. So, as Christ said he would be with the saintseven though only two or three had gathered together,he'd be there in their midst, I do not believe that he isin the midst of every assembly of people. How Hedwells among those who are his, and so there islimitation even to the presence of God in certain fields or areas and that needs to be recognized.

I have sought to give you some principles of interpretation by which to be governed and guided indoing your own research and study. I approach thestudy of a passage first of all, grammatically, learn what it says. Look at it, read it and reread it. In someof the classes that I used to teach in Florida College, I would require the boys in that class to read a passage10 to 25 times before they even attempted to outline orto tell me what they thought it meant, so that theywould become familiar with every part. I wanted themto know what the passage says and what it doesn't say.

Furthermore, study words, their meaning and their usage. A lot of words have different meanings indifferent usage. So what does the word mean as it isused in the passage you're studying? Get down andstudy, if you don't know, learn.

And then, not only must we study it grammatically, learning everything we can about the words and thephrases and clauses that are involved, the limitations,the modifications that may be attached, but then whenyou have done that, study it historically. Projectyourself back to their time to see what it meant then,when it was written. Whatever it meant their is precisely what it means now. Whatever the writings ofthis book meant in the day when the book was written—that's exactly what those statements meannow. Now principles may be deduced that would beapplicable to twentieth century circumstances andproblems. But we need to learn that the meaning of the word of God hasn't changed since John laid down the pen of inspiration and heaven's will was completed. We're not trying to define terms on thebasis of twentieth century meanings, but what didthey mean when they were penned, and what did they mean to the people who received them. So study from a historical standpoint.

One would study it as I believe Berkhof wouldprobably say analogically, another theologically. Idon't particularly like to even use that word, but studyit in the light of the totality of divine revelation. Idon't mean that there's anything wrong with the word"theology" when properly used but it is so misused sooften that it might present an unscriptural idea tosomebody. But study whatever you're seeking to learnin the light of the totality of divine revelation andremember this, a fundamental rule of interpretation isthat no interpretation or construction can be placedupon a passage of scripture that does violence to, orruns counter to what is taught somewhere else. Theword of God is harmonious, so study it carefully.

Now this subject that we're dealing with this morning is possibly the most misunderstood and controversial lesson of all of those that I've endeavored to present. The leading, guiding,indwelling and comforting of the Holy Spirit havealways been battlegrounds of dispute and controversy. It's not the fact that the Holy Spirit leads,guides, indwells or comforts, but in each of theseactions the precise point of the issue is the manner ormeans by which he does these things.

Now I want us to consider the denominational view and I take it all of us have been pretty well united inour understanding of the position and are in opposition to it. There has been the denominational view throughall the years of the past that the Holy Spirit operatesupon the sinner guiding, leading that sinner to thesalvation of his soul through the word, but in additionto the influence wielded through the medium and means of divine revelation, the Holy Spirit also by direct action and through the use of immediate power,without media but in all omnipotent power to operatealso in addition to the word to convict and to convert the sinner. Now, we've stood opposed to that. We've seen the difference. There isn't a preacher here this morning but who would affirm that every sinner converted has been taught, instructed, moved,motivated, led, guided, to the salvation of his soul bythe Holy Spirit. But that it has been accomplished by,through, the teaching which the Spirit has given andwe have denied that in addition to that any power isneeded, or that any power is used, directly,immediately, without medium, in the conviction andconversion of the alien sinner. I take it that we'd all stand united on that ground. Now, when we point outthat we believe that the Spirit convicts and convertsthe alien sinner, but does so through the power of the word, denominationalists charge us with not believing in the operation of the Spirit.

In the Tingley-Porter debate that was held in Birmingham, Alabama (and I attended that debate, was there when this statement was made) Tingleyopposed what Porter had said about the means and methods by and through which the Holy Spiritconvicts and converts the sinner and he said, andthis is a direct quotation from him, "The question isnot how he operates, the question is, does he operate,in any way, through and directly upon the sinner aswell as through the word of truth or the gospel ofChrist?" Well, Tingley's wrong. It is a question ofhow he operates. There's no question but that he operates. We do not deny the operation of the Spiritbut the question is how, by what means does he operate? Now, it is admitted and Tingley admittedthat he operated through the word, but Tingley said ifyou don't believe he also, in addition to that, operatesdirectly, immediately, and without the medium of histeaching, you just don't believe in the operation of theSpirit.

Denominationalists have always charged us alongthat particular line. It's just not so. We believe in theoperation of the Spirit, but we do not believe in thisadditional, separate and apart from, operation that ismaintained by the denominationalists. Now, on this concept developed the mourner's bench system of getting religion, which bore fruit that is completelyunknown unto the word of God. A wrong concept canproduce wrong results whether they intend it or not. So this system of praying for God to send the HolySpirit down to convict and convert the sinner andmake him receive the word of divine revelation whether it be in coming to the mourner's bench, or theseeker's altar, or the angel seat, or, even according toBilly Graham's method, coining down there to the rostrum where he's standing, and making a decision. Whatever it may be, this whole thing stems from thisconcept of a direct operation of the Holy Spirit inaddition to, and separate from, the influence which the Spirit exercises upon the sinner through theteaching and medium of the gospel which is God'spower unto salvation.

Now, we have today the view existing among manygood brethren who are friends of mine (I just don'tthink they understand all that's involved. They think they do, of course), but they admit now that the HolySpirit operates through the word, in the life,development and edification of the Christian, butthen say that in addition to that the Holy Spirit as a divine person, in his eternal being, separate and apartfrom the influence wrought in the life of that Christian by the teaching of the word of God, comes inand dwells in the physical body of the Christian tobecome a power of spirituality in his life. Now, I don't see much difference in the two concepts. Maybe youdo, but I don't. About the only difference I can see is that the denominationalist holds the view of this additional operation of the Spirit before one becomes a Christian and some of us hold the view that it's after one become a Christian. So the difference is not in method of operation, but rather in point of time, and subject, of operation.

Now, I bid you think about that as we continue on.In addition to this indwelling, comforting and strengthening of the Holy Spirit through the influenceof His word, He also, separate and apart from theword, comes personally by direct, immediate, personalimpact into the body of the Christian and gives aid, comfort, and assistance to him as a consequent resultof this personal indwelling which he does not and cannot have through the medium of the word.

I want to read a statement here that I copied from The Christian Chronicle written by Stafford North,dean of instruction of Oklahoma Christian College andit appeared October 6,1967 and he makes the samedifference on this that Tingley did over here. He saysthe difference here has been over whether the New Testament teaches that the Holy Spirit dwells personally as a dynamic in the Christian, to work withthe written word, or whether the Spirit's indwellingis solely the word working in us. Well, that's a pointof controversy. And now then, those who hold thatposition oftentimes will charge that if we do not acceptthis additional operation, we just don't believe in theindwelling of the Spirit, or you just don't think there is any Holy Spirit. Now, no matter how much we stressthe influence and power and work of the Holy Spiritthrough the medium of the word, if we don't acceptthis additional thing, we have among us those who will say, "You just don't believe in the indwelling of the Spirit. You just think it's the word." No, my friend, I've pointed out that the Holy Spirit is not the Bible, it is not the New Testament, it is not the written word,but here the word revealed is the product of the Spirit, and the means that the Spirit uses. It's the sword of the Spirit, by which He convicts and converts the aliensinner and edifies, builds up and comforts the child of God, the means the Holy Spirit used. But because wedo not accept that other, there are those who'd saythat you just don't believe that the Holy Spirit dwellsin us at all.

James Bales wrote a book getting all over Pat Boonebecause Pat accepted the ultimate consequences ofthis, separate and apart, mysterious, not understandable, indwelling of the Spirit in all omnipotent power, went on to produce the fruit thatwould be the consequence. Bales got all over him, butBales holds this same view and I think it becomes the tap root for the development of these other things. Now, not everybody who holds that view is going to belike Pat Boone. Don't misunderstand me. There are a lot of good men who hold that view that certainly arenot going into that kind of thing and should not be charged with those consequences because it would be amisrepresentation of them. They know too much truthand I have some good personal friends who would disagree with me that would be just as much opposedunto the tongue-speaking and the prophecy-deliveringand miracle-working people like Pat Boone and others.But personally, I think that this is the tap root that yields that fruit.

Now, I have here a little booklet put out by MacLay ton and he says, "but if we say the Spirit is in usonly through the word, we say the Spirit does not dwell inus at all." Then again, "if the Spirit does not dwell in uspersonally, then how can we know that God and Christdwell in us." And again, "is it impossible for the Spirit todwell in us because of a lack of power?" Certainly not,why nobody would so claim. That's just like the questions that the Pentecostals and all others raise about divine healing when they talk about Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. HasGod lost any of his power? Can't God performmiracles? Yes, He can, if he chooses to do so, but is he?No, I don't know of anybody that's saying it is impossible for the Holy Spirit to dwell in us in some supernatural way, but, nevertheless, the question is, isthat what he's doing? Then again on page 40, "The Spirit leads the Christian to a deeper spiritual life justas he leads the sinner to salvation, by the word of God.The Spirit leads by speaking. When we follow the NewTestament, we are led by the Spirit. He leads in noother way."

All right, now then, he is admitting the very thing about the Spirit's operation through the medium of theword. So, he admits all that the word of God saysabout it and there he raises this question which isnothing but a straw man, "Why does man resist theinspired message of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament today. Have you heard anyone say the NewTestament is only paper and ink and mere book?"Well, I wonder if he doesn't think so when it comes to the indwelling because he'll say, "Aw, you just think it's only a book." No, and I think the Holy Spirit hasdone it through the medium and instrumentality of theword.

Now, then, when we come to talk about the indwelling of the Spirit, the fact of this proposition will hardly be disputed by anyone. For instance, in Romans8:9-11 we read, "But ye are not in the flesh, but in theSpirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Nowif any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none ofhis, and if Christ be in you, the body is dead because ofsin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. Butif the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the deaddwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the deadshall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit thatdwelleth in you."

In First Corinthians 6:19 "What? know ye not thatyour body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is inyou, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God inyour body, and in your spirit, which are God's." Now,in Second Timothy 1:13-14, "Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith andlove which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghostwhich dwelleth in us." Now, brother, I believe everything that's said in those passages. I believe precisely what the passages say.

I want you to notice that the Spirit of God, the Spiritof Christ, the Spirit, and the Spirit of Him that raisedup Jesus from the dead are all made to equate eachother. They all refer to the same thing. Now, I believewhat the passages say, so the Spirit of God thatdwelleth in you can be referred to as the Spirit ofChrist, or as Christ dwelling in you, or just simply theSpirit dwelling in you, or the Spirit of him who raisedup Jesus from the dead.

In this passage, Romans 8:9-11, you have these allused to refer unto the same thing, so I believe what thepassage is saying, that the Holy Spirit dwells in us,Christ dwells in us, but these passages neither statenor imply that the Holy Spirit as a person, the divinebeing himself, the third person of the godhead,actually and literally dwells in the physical body ofeach Christian. Now that's what the passage doesn't say. Now, we have already established the fact thatoftentimes terms are used metaphorically, or as metonymy of cause, whereby the names of God, Christand the Holy Spirit are put for the effects which theyproduce.

Now, let's look at some of the alleged modes of the Spirit's indwelling, things that are affirmed today. I have here a little booklet entitled, The Spirit in Spirituality, by J. D. Thomas, who is head of the Bibledepartment at Abilene Christian College, and he, ofcourse, would connect the Holy Spirit's personalindwelling with spiritual development, but I want toread rather extensively from this book this morning toshow you that most all of those who hold to thisseparate and apart indwelling will readily grant the very position that I occupy, that is, that the HolySpirit can indwell the child of God by or through themedium or influence of his teaching contained in hisword. That is admitting the position I occupy is reallynot the position being challenged.

Here on page 28, Thomas says, "It is true that allthree members of the godhead dwell in us through the word and this is no small matter, (right, BrotherThomas, it's no small matter). "The teachings ofChrist are a powerful influence in our lives, but theyare imparted by the Spirit and authorized by theFather so when the influence of the word exists in our lives, there is no doubt but that in a real sense eachmember of the godhead dwells in us in that manner."Now, that's exactly what I believe.

And then, on page 29, he says again, "The word doesdwell in us and all members of the godhead do trulydwell in us through the word." So the position I occupyis not being challenged. But now then, he is notsatisfied with what here he admits, he wants to go andget in this additional, mysterious indwelling, by direct indwelling of the Spirit. So he says the argumentobviously seems rather over-simplified but indeed itcan be true up to a point. Well, that's a little bit amazing to me. If it's true, just say it's true, don'tsay up to a point. It can be true, it isn't a matter of itcan be true, it is true. It isn't a matter of being trueup to a point, it's just true, that's all. But he goesright ahead to say "one thing wrong, however, isthat there is nothing here to indicate that this is the only, exclusive way that deity can dwell in humanitywhich is a necessary conclusion to some who hold thispoint of view."

It isn't a question of what deity can do, it's a question of what deity does, and so, Thomas admitsthe very position that I occupy. By the word is meantthe gospel of divine revelation—the Holy Spirit is notthe word, I emphasized that, the word is not the HolySpirit, but the Holy Spirit uses the word as the meansby which he accomplishes his work in conviction, conversion and sanctification. The power for the conversion of the alien sinner, and we have all arguedthis, has been placed in the gospel of Christ. Romans1:16, "I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth." In First Corinthians 4:15, Paul says, "Ihave begotten you through the gospel," and then inJames 1:18, "Of his own will begat he us with theword of truth," and First Peter 1:22-25, "Seeing yehave purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, seethat ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. For all flesh is as grass, and the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth,and the flower thereof falleth away: but the word ofthe Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you." Sothrough the medium and power of the gospel, theHoly Spirit affects the conviction and conversion ofthe alien sinner.

Now, my friend, I want to suggest unto you that thepower for the sanctification, edification, developmentof the saved is in the same gospel. In John 17:17, Jesussaid as he prayed for his disciples, "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." They were sanctified through the word of truth. Now I want toread a statement over in First Thessalonians 4:1-7,"Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us

how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye wouldabound more and more. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. Forthis is the will of God, even your sanctification, thatye should abstain from fornication: that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know notGod: that no man go beyond and defraud his brotherin any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger ofall such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but untoholiness." The word of God, the revelation of divinetruth has called upon us to live lives of purity andholiness and sanctification, telling us how to live those lives. We don't need some additional influence. Spirituality is not developed within us by somemysterious, separate and apart indwelling of the HolySpirit, but is developed within us through the power ofthe teaching of the word of the Lord. That word ofGod is sufficient to instruct us in everything that isneeded to make our lives and our characters exactlywhat we ought to be. Not only have we been called"not to uncleanness but unto holiness", but I want to turn and read another statement this time from Second Thessalonians 2:13-14. "But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren belovedof the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of theSpirit and belief of the truth: whereunto he hath called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the gloryof our Lord Jesus Christ." God calls us to sanctification and purity and to holiness without which no man should see God but the call is delivered through the power of the gospel, friends, and it's sufficient to accomplish it.

Over in First Thessalonians 2:13, Paul said, "Forthis cause also thank we God without ceasing, because,when ye received the word of God which he heard of us,ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is intruth, the word of God, which effectually worketh alsoin you that believe." It works and it works effectually,it gets the job done, brethren, all we need to do is getthis teaching of the Holy Spirit down, learn it, acceptit, imbibe it, and let it take control of us and the workwhich God wants accomplished and the work that theSpirit does accomplish will be accomplished in us.

And so the power for the conviction and conversionof the alien sinner is in the gospel, but the power for the development of the saved, the development of spirituality is in the same gospel.

And, then, furthermore, in First Peter 2:2-3, we read"as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby: if so be ye have tasted thatthe Lord is gracious." Now ye may growthereby—thereby what?—by the word of God and itsteaching. In Ephesians 4:17-21, the apostle Paul wroteto them and told them not to walk after the manner of the Gentiles, "in the vanity of their mind, having theunderstanding darkened being alienated from the lifeof God through the ignorance that is in them, becauseof the blindness of their heart: who being past feelinghave given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have notso learned Christ; if so be that ye have heard him, andhave been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus."Now when you learn Christ, is when you learn histeaching and here is the teaching that teaches us howto become children of God and how to live as children of God and what we need to do is to accept that word ingenuine faith and let it have its proper effect in our daily activities and the job will be accomplished.

But now we could enlarge upon that a great deal.Some, however, argue that the Holy Spirit as a personal being also inhabits personally the body ofthe Christian and operates in him and on his behalf inways separate and apart from His influence. Now,where do they read about that? Where do they readabout a personal indwelling separate and apart? It's a bit difficult to figure out what the advocates of thisdoctrine think the Holy Spirit does as a result and the means of this alleged personal indwelling.

Now, Thomas says that he gives no revelation ofGod, furnishes no religious knowledge and he seems tothink that takes care of it. "Oh, I don't claim that thisHoly Spirit gives any additional revelation in the personal indwelling." Why, my friend that's exactlywhat John Calvin has taught through all these yearsand I can read it in his Institutes. John Calvin ridiculed the idea that God would have to reveal anything by the operation of the Holy Spirit when Hecame to convict and to convert them. He said that all the instruction we can ever receive concerning what we are to do must come from the holy scripturesalready revealed and he said God doesn't have to re-reveal that which is already revealed. He never claimed that by this direct operation that the HolySpirit revealed anything to the one that he came uponbut it simply warmed his heart, prepared his heart, toreceive the scripture as already revealed and gave hima sense of the divinity of the origin of the scriptures sothat he would see that they ought to be accepted. Hedidn't claim to reveal anything and I can produce astatement from the Institutes along that line. Nowsome of his followers, some who have accepted formsof Calvinism, probably hold to the idea of some additional revelation, but Calvin didn't. And when brethren today, and I know of an instance where abrother was being pressed with what was the HolySpirit doing—he said, "Well, he just warms my heart and my soul, and makes me feel so good and makesme just want to accept the scripture." That's exactly what John Calvin taught.

A lot of brethren haven't come to realize that, butthat's exactly what he taught. Well, he says heprovides no power unto salvation. Well, what power dowe need, except power unto salvation? He produces nofaith, the word is exclusive in this function. Then whatdoes he do? What is the benefit of it? Well, he eitherdoes something, or he does nothing. If he does nothingby this alleged separate and apart personal indwelling,it isn't worth anything and God doesn't work that way. If he does something by this separate and apartindwelling I want to know what it is. Name it. Now, Idon't think that every operation of God or of Christ orof the Holy Spirit equates the word, but the effect produced in the mind and in the lives of people by theoperation of the Spirit can also be attributed unto theinfluence and power and teaching of the word. But nowthen, he does something or he does nothing. If he doesnothing, he isn't worth anything, and if he doessomething, what is it? I know of one man, a good brother, who is alleged to have said, Well, he didn'tknow, said he might just lie there dormant. Well, if helies there dormant, what's the benefit? Where is the value?

And now then, I have here some statements fromGarth Black in the Word of Life Series and he's talkingabout the Holy Spirit and he says the argument thatthere isn't any work that the indwelling of the Spiritcould perform that isn't done by the Spirit acting through the word, plainly contradicts the teaching ofthe New Testament." All right, now then, where is the passage? I want to look at it, see what it says and whatit doesn't say. And he says the strengthening of theinner man by the indwelling Spirit is a work that cannot be completely accomplished by the HolySpirit through the word. That is strange. You've gotto have some power in addition. Then what's accomplished through the word can only be accomplished through the Holy Spirit. It is onlythrough the help of the indwelling Spirit that man isable to overcome the flesh and tendency to sin.

Now, brethren, whether you realize it or not, that's Calvinism! A man is born depraved. He can't do anything for himself and before he can accept theteaching of the word of God, he's got to have thisoperation of the Holy Spirit, separate and apart fromit, to enable him to overcome sin and see the divinity of the scriptures, so the doctrine is practically the same.

Then, again, another work of the Spirit that obviously cannot be accomplished through the wordis his work as an intercessor. The word cannot prayfor the child of God. This can only be done or achieved by the personal indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Now, Ichallenge your thinking, brethren. Where is the passage that shows that any intercession of the Spiriton our behalf is conditioned upon a personalindwelling. Now, Christ intercedes for us, but I don'tknow of many who'd say that Christ personallyindwells the Christian. But where is the passage? The point is assumed.

But now then it's getting closer home. I have here aseries of lectures on the Holy Spirit delivered by ourfriend, Carl Ketcherside and as he talks about the HolySpirit and the Christian, and what he does he says, "this is exactly what the Holy Spirit is to do for us.The Holy Spirit does not reveal unto us anything thatis not contained in the word." (Well, Calvin said the same thing.) "But the Holy Spirit gives us a newinsight into His word. The Holy Spirit dwells in youand He projects your mind into the word of God as faras it is capable of going with your mental power if youwill allow him to do so." Well, he talks about how heused to be the most radical of the radicals and he plays on that tune a lot. And I'll tell you this, he wascloser to the truth then than he is now. But then, hesays that he changed and he said, "the reason I did isbecause the

Holy Spirit dwelling in me when I began to really talkto God and pray to Him and allow Him to lead my life and to guide it, opened up new insights into the thingscontained in this book."

Now, then, that's nothing in the world but the old Calvinistic theory and so, here we begin to see thefruits of a wrong concept of the way the Spirit operatesin the life of Christians. Not everybody is going to bearthat fruit, but we see it born by some.

Thomas says that the Holy Spirit operates in therealm of providence and I believe in the providence ofGod. I want that understood, but how God operatesand what he does in the realm of providence I don'tknow and it isn't revealed in the book. Now let me suggest unto you, my friend, that whatever operation,or whatever the Holy Spirit, or Christ, or God may doin the realm of providence, there is no passage thatindicates that such operation is conditioned upon theHoly Spirit personal indwelling and that's assumed. So be not deceived about it. We have proved, and it isadmitted that the Holy Spirit not only can, but does,dwell in the Christian through the instrumentality ofHis teaching and his word. Now, why go beyond thatand assert a position that cannot be established by thetestimony of a single passage of scripture anyway?

And so, I'd like for us to close with this additionalpoint. We've talked about God, the godhead, divinity,and their personalities in the Father, the Son, and theHoly Spirit. Now we can show how God dwells in Hischildren. I call your attention to some statementsfound in John 4:15, "Whosoever shall confess thatJesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he inGod." Now, how do we come to confess that JesusChrist is the Son of God? It's through the testimony delivered by the divine revelation—the Spirit, toconvict us of the reality of His sonship. In that way weare enabled to confess, acknowledge that he is the Sonof God, but through that means God is said to dwellin us.

Now look at verse 24 in the third chapter, "He thatkeepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he inhim. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by theSpirit which he hath given us." Through keeping hiscommandments, we have assurance that the Spirit isdwelling in us and God dwells in us.

But then again, down in chapter 4:12, "No man hathseen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Herebyknow we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because hehath given us of his Spirit." We dwell in him, he dwellsin us. Now, if he is literally in us, we are literally inhim.

Well, now then in verse 16, "And we have known andbelieved the love that God hath to us. God is love." Now, how did we come to believe the love that God hastoward us? Through the testimony of his divine revelation. So we know and believe the love that God has to us. "God is love; and he that dwelleth in lovedwelleth in God."

Over in the 5th chapter, "If we receive the witness ofman, the witness of God is greater. Now, this is thewitness of God which he hath testified of His Son."

Where do we have it? Right here. That's the testimonyand only testimony we have that God has deliveredconcerning His Son unto us. "He that believeth on theSon of God hath the witness in Himself." He has received that testimony with his heart and life, he hasthe witness in Himself. "He that believeth not, Godhas made him a liar because he believeth not the record," or the witness of God. Now, here's the testimony, here is the teaching, you can believe it ordisbelieve it, but if you say it's not so, then you make God a liar because he's testified that it is so, but if youreceive it then the witness dwells in you, not the divineperson of the Holy Spirit, but the witness dwells inyou. That's what the record says and that's what we need to receive "and this is the record that God hath given to us—eternal life and this life is in His Son,"The testimony of life in the Son is the means by which we've come into the direction of the blessing.

In Ephesians 3:17, it is said that Christ dwelleth inour hearts by faith, but how does faith come? InGalatians 2:20, Paul said, "I am crucified with Christ:nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gavehimself for me." Faith is believing, the faith is that which is believed. Now Paul said, "I died and Christlives. Christ lives in me and the life which I live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who lovedme and gave himself for me." Brethren, when I live by the faith, that system of teaching the gospel ofChrist, then Christ lives in me. That's not talking about just having some passages of scripture memorized. That's nothing in the world but a misunderstanding of the whole thing, that when Ireceive that testimony into my heart I believe it with my whole heart. I let it become the controllinginfluence in my life, to direct me in what I am to doand how I am to live. I trust implicitly in His promisesand I walk day by day with my hand in God's, thenGod dwells in me, Christ dwells in me, the Holy Spiritdwells in me, but neither of them directly,immediately, or without medium. The way that Godand Christ dwell in us is the way the Holy Spiritdwells in us. Having learned how one divine beingindwells us, we can see how the other one indwells us. Now, we need to understand that.

Oh, my friends, we need to draw close unto God and walk with Him. Christianity is not merely a name to beassumed—it is not simply something that is to be donein a ritualistic way, but letting these divine powers bein us through the instrumentality of the divine revelation of God and of His will, we walk with himday by day in the doing of His will and that's what it means to be in God and in Christ and for them to be in us. When he talks about that he's not talking aboutspace indwelling or anything of the kind. If you'll read John, chapters 14 and 15—they can help you. Jesussaid "abide in me, and I in you" and then he goesahead to say "if ye abide in me and my words abide inyou." When the words of Christ abide in us, remain inus, Christ is dwelling in us. This simply means unity,oneness, harmony, fusion, togetherness, not speciallocation. May God bless all of you, may we all together come down to the business of studying more diligentlythe divine will as revealed in the divine words and consecrate our hearts and souls unto the practice of itso that when this life is past and we come to the end ofthe way we'll all be gathered home to dwell with Godforevermore. It's been a joy to be here. May God blessyou in your studies.

ELDERS MUST BE LEADERS

To be an elder in the church is a grave and seriousresponsibility. Some take the office lightly, treating itas some glorified position to hold rather than a work tobe done. The Bible states: "If a man desire the office,he desireth a good work" (1 Tim, 3:1). A man who ismotivated to become an elder simply to control the church, or for honor, esteem and prestige, has thewrong attitude. He has no business being an elder.

One of the musts for being an elder is the ability tolead. The Bible states: "Obey them that have the ruleover you. . . ." (Heb. 13:17). The word "rule" in this passage means "to go before, to show the way, to guide, to lead" (cf. Vine & Thayer). Hence, an elder is to be a leader, a guide, a ruler. Competentleadership necessitates the following things:

Regular Business Meetings

Before elders can know in which direction to lead,they must make plans. This requires businessmeetings. Some of these meetings must include the preacher, deacons, teachers, and other members, as allplay a part in the growth of the church. Some places,elders never have any meetings with anybody. There isno way that a good working relationship can berealized between the elders and preacher, or the eldersand deacons, or the elders and members, withoutmeetings to discuss the work of the church.

Some places, even the elders meet infrequently, andthen the time may be consumed talking about materialthings. Or, they huddle in a corner for a few minutesafter or before worship and try to discuss the work ofthe church. A few matters might be decided in ahuddle, but no serious and in-depth plans can beworked out to move the church ahead.

Too, all the time necessary should be devoted to abusiness meeting. Some limit a meeting to an hour,regardless of the problems to deal with. Any unfinished business is postponed until the next meeting, perhaps a month or two later. Thirty tosixty days have been procrastinated simply becausesome men did not think enough of the Lord's workto spend the

amount of time needed to get the job done. Elders areto rule diligently (Rom. 12:8) and not slothfully (Rom.12:11).

Vision

Someone said: "A leader sees three things: what ought to be done, what can be done, and how to do it."Elders need this kind of vision. They need to see theopportunities to stimulate, both the spiritual and numerical growth of the church.

L.R. Wilson wrote: "In most instances the evangelist will supply the vision, but the elders willhave to translate it into concrete terms. The evangelist will generate the power, but the elders will have toharness it and put it to work. The elders are to thecongregation what the governors are to a machine.Sometimes the preacher catches the vision, generatesthe power, and gets the congregation all steamed up, but the overseers fail to properly direct the accumulated energy; instead they try to throttle it,and the inevitable happens—an explosion takes placeand the congregation is torn to bits. Elders who are notinterested in making any progress should always select a minister who is content to drift along" (Congregational Development, p. 30).

Initiative

After seeing what can be done to promote the goodof the church, they then must initiate the plans. Too many elders have to be goaded into nearly everythingthat is attempted. It is so easy to stay in the rut and besatisfied with the status-quo. Elders should initiateteaching and training programs, new and better methods of work, visitation programs, changes in order of worship occasionally, better facilities and equipment by which to work, etc. In other words,they should lead in a positive manner and not alwayshave to be prompted to take every step forward.They should be the leaders and not the led.

The story goes of a man flagging down a motoristand asking: "Mister, have you seen a group of peopledown the road anywhere?" When the motorist repliedin the affirmative, the man said: "Well, I must hurryon down there, cause I'se their leader." They had already run off and left their leader.

Distribution of Responsibility

God gave elders the authority to rule the church, butthis does not preclude distributing work to the other members. In fact, delegation of responsibility must bemade to others if the work gets done. This is good leadership.

Deacons need to be given the job God authorizedthem to do, that is, take care of the physicalresponsibilities, and the elders can devote their timeto the spiritual aspects of the church (cf. Acts 6:1-4).Some elders take over the deacon's work and the elder's work goes wanting.

Members can be given the task of checking absentees, visiting some of them for the elders,writing letters, helping in Bible classes to see that supplies are adequate and several other things. Some elders seemingly do not know how to systematically assign

duties to others. They either try to do everythingthemselves or it is not done at all. All members should be made responsible in some duty or other.

Communication

A good leader has a harmonious relation with hisfollowers. He takes them into his confidence and at times asks their advice. All the brains are not in one man—not even a preacher. He informs them of hisplans and stimulates them to serve by saying, "Let usrise up and build" (Neh. 2:17). Elders cannot expectcooperation by aloofness and an air of "bossism." Theattitude: "We are running things around here and it isnone of your business what we do," will not work.Elders are members of the congregation, too, and it isGod's heritage, not theirs. They were chosen by themembers to lead, guide and coordinate the functions of the church. The church deserves some consideration.

"Elders are not autocrats. They should rule in muchthe same way that a wise father rules his house (1Timothy 3:4-5). In the Model Church, G.C. Brewersaid, 'In all cases where no principle of right or wrongis involved, the elders should have due regard for thewishes of the congregation.' A father ought to involvehis wife and children in the decision-making process ifhe expects to succeed. In like manner, it is appropriate for godly elders to be careful to not ignore the wishes ofthe congregation. When the people have something tosay about the affairs of the church, they will be morelikely to support the decisions that are made. In matters concerning building, schedules, who shallpreach (assuming he is sound), how money is to be used;elders who have a scriptural attitude will consult thewishes of the congregation. If they do not, they maynot long have a congregation. Elders are hindranceswhen they stifle the interest of people by ignoringtheir desires and handing down decisions without regard for the desires of those they are supposed tolead. When elders consider the feelings of the congregation, the people will understand and respectthe decisions which the elders must finally make. Nothing is any more out of order than eldership jealous of its authority, secretive about what is beingplanned, and condescending in its attitude toward thecongregation. Men who act in an arbitrary and highhanded manner are not qualified to be elders, foran elder must not be self-willed. (Titus 1:7.) Godly elders rule by the power of example and by the authority of the word of God. When correctlyunderstood, the only rulers whom God has approvedfor the church are elders. No rule is anarchy; majorityrule leads to digression; minority rule becomes crankrule; one-elder rule is tyranny; but eldership rule isscriptural" (Ross. W. Dye, Gospel Advocate, June 3, 1982, pp. 324-325).

May elders of God's church everywhere strive toproperly govern its affairs, adequately manage its interests and suitably promote its welfare. The church for which Jesus died deserves nothing less.

IS GOD THE AUTHOR OF RELIGIOUS CONFUSION?

When I hear people talk about "modern-day revelations," I am always faced with the same problem. What modern day prophet and revelation istrue? The Roman Catholic Church believes that the Pope is the modern-day prophet of God, and thatwhich he receives ex cathedra in matters of faith and morals is from God. They also believe that the Pope isthe head of the church on earth.

The Mormons believe that Joseph Smith is the headof the church on earth (Doctrine and Covenants 28:6).They also believe that their prophets are still receivingrevelation today from God.

In the magazine Plain Truth published by the WorldWide Church of God with headquarters in Pasadena,Ca. I read in the February, 1977 issue where Herbert

W. Armstrong said regarding God's church on earthtoday, "Therefore, God used me first in raising up HISChurch of this era, to stand loyally back of me, makingit possible. The parent church was 19 members. Thatwas August, 1933. I had really been given the GREATCOMMISSION in mid-July of that year when I was

40. I was not elected: I was appointed by Jesus Christ,the HEAD of the Church. How may that be known?BY THEIR FRUITS—BY THE FACTS, which cannot be contradicted."

Also, even though the Bible forbids women havingauthority over men (I Timothy 2:11-12), and in thedays of the apostles women were not allowed to speakin the assemblies (I Corinthians 14:34-35), Mary Baker Glover Eddy says in the preface of Science and Health, page 11, "When God called the author to proclaim HisGospel to this age, there came also the charge to plantand water His vineyard." And in connection with this,Ellen G. White also claimed the power of the HolySpirit, plus hundreds of different religious sects allclaiming the power of the Holy Spirit in leading themto teach and practice what they do. But this wouldmake God the author of such confusion. Who is right?God is! And as I shall point out in our next article, if allbelieved the Bible, they would know that the NewTestament is complete and there is no need for modern-day revelation.

Quite frequently people are heard to exclaim: "Godtook him!", or "God had plans for her elsewhere!", or"She was needed in the heavenly choir!" I, for one,cannot go along with this idea that God picks out oneperson, and removes them from earth's stage of action. Please let me suggest some Scriptures thatmay provide you with food for thought.

God Is Not A Respecter of Persons; No Partiality Is Shown.

"Peter said: "I most certainly understand now thatGod is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him" (Acts 10:34-35).

"For there is no partiality with God" (Romans 2:11).

"And, masters, do the same things to them, (slaves.LWM.) and give up threatening, knowing that boththeir Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him" (Eph. 6:9).

"My brethren, do not hold your faith in our gloriousLord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism" (Jas. 2:1).

The foregoing passages prove without question thatGod does not show favoritism or partiality among hischildren, or among nations. In another passage, we aretold that He causes the rain to fall upon the just and upon the unjust. Again, no favoritism. However, ifGod caused this person or that person to develop anillness and die, certainly He would be guilty of showingpartiality or favoritism.

Who Then Causes Sickness and Death Among Men?

You are no doubt familiar with Genesis record of

Eve's and Adam's sin in the Garden of Eden. Eve gave

heed to the temptation of Satan, who communicated

with her through the serpent, the serpent being more

crafty than any beast of the field. In turn, Eve

contributed to Adam's downfall. . . they both

disobeyed God! Note please, the penalties that were

visited upon the man and the woman, because of their

sin!

The serpent was punished for having permittedSatan to use him; the serpent would go upon his bellyand eat dust. A dual application might be stressedalso, that the seed of Satan (servants of the Devil) and the Seed of woman, pointing to Christ, would beenemies... that the serpent's or Satan's head would be bruised (a head-wound is serious), while the injury doneto the Seed of woman would be minimal, a bruised heel.The second possible portion of this enmity between thewoman's seed and the serpent's seed, might be shown by the well nigh universal hatred of snakes bymankind.

Woman would be punished by the pain of childbirth,yet her desire would be for her husband, and thehusband would rule over the woman.

Man would be punished by the ground being cursed,and in toil would man eat of the produce of the earth;thorns and thistles would be a continuing penalty forman as he tilled the soil; man would be required tolabor, (the sweat of his face) in order to eat.

Both man and woman were punished with physicaldeath. . . "Till you return to the ground, because fromit you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust youshall return." The writer of Hebrews reminds us that "It is appointed unto man, once to die, and after that,the judgment" (Heb. 9:27).

So, the penalty brought upon the human race byAdam's and Eve's sin, is universal.

Notice, please, that Satan caused them to sin ... heinduced them, or seduced them; he tempted them . . . and God does not tempt us! "Let no one say when he istempted, I am being tempted by God; for God cannotbe tempted by evil, and He Himself does not temptanyone. But each one is tempted when he is carriedaway and enticed by his own lust" (James 1:1-14).

The Devil Causes Sickness and Death!

"Since then the children share in flesh and blood, HeHimself (Christ-LWM) likewise also partook of thesame, that through death He might render powerlesshim (Satan-LWM) who had the power of death, that is,the devil;..."(Heb. 2:14).

Jesus was tempted of the devil (Matt. 4).

In the parable of the good grain and the tares, Jesusexplained it by teaching . . . "the enemy that sowedthem (the tares-LWM) is the devil" (Matt. 13:39).

The woman who was healed by Jesus on the sabbath day, had been deformed or crippled for eighteen years.Luke wrote that she "had been bound by Satan, Lothese eighteen years" (Luke 13:16).

When Judas Iscariot determined to betrayJesus..." then entered Satan into Judas" (Luke 22:3).

When Christ foretold Peter's three—time denial of Christ, our Master stated: "Satan has desired to haveyou, that he may sift you as wheat" (Luke 22:31).

"The devil having now put into the heart (mind-LWM) of Judas, to betray Him" (John 13:2).

When the covetous Christians, Ananias and Sapphira lied about the price received for the property thatthey sold, Peter said: "Ananias, why has Satan filledyour heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep backsome of the price of the land" (Acts 5:3)?

The Apostle Paul referred to his physical ailment,whatever it was, as being "a messenger of Satan tobuffet me." He also referred to his problem as being a "thorn in the flesh" (2 Cor. 12:7).

Paul wrote to the Ephesian Christians . . . "Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to standagainst the wiles of the devil" (Eph. 6:11).

Paul told the Christians at Thessalonica, that hewould have come their way more than once, "but Satan hindered me" (1 Thess. 2:18).

Paul warned the young man Timothy concerning"the condemnation of the devil, and the reproach and snare of the devil" (1 Tim. 3:6-7).

Peter wrote concerning the vigilance needed, "because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion,walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter5:8).

Summary and Conclusion.

Who caused the first SIN in the world? Satan! Who prompted our first parents to sin and thusbrought DEATH into the world? Satan!Who "bound the woman" with a crippling illness foreighteen years? Satan!

Who hindered Paul in his efforts? Satan!

Who has the power of death? Satan!

Who was the enemy that sowed the "tares" in thefield? Satan! Whose "Messenger" was Paul's illness? Satan! What adversary appeals to the lust of the eye, the

lust of the flesh, and the pride of life? Satan!Since God does not tempt us, who does? Satan orthose who serve him!

Since God does not show favoritism or partialityamong His children, or between the just and the unjust! Who does? Satan!

The devil is the author of all evil, sin, sickness andfinally death for the human race. So, please, let's not falsely accuse God of the things that Satan is responsible for.

Calling another "brother" is a practice that often istaken for granted and done without much thought. Theword can be made into a sort of unofficial title. A man who is called on to lead prayer in the assembly is called"Brother so-and-so" and after services are ended he is just "plain Joe." When the preacher for a congregation is introduced to a stranger, in order to identify the man as a preacher, he is called, "Brother so-and-so". Otherwise, he also later becomes just plain old "soand so." It is good to consider what is implied whenyou call someone, "brother."

It may be that you are referring to your own familywhen you call someone brother. The word means,"born to the same parents." It is used this way in theNew Testament. Of those children born to the parents,Joseph and Mary, it is said they were the "brethren"of our Lord (Luke 8:20-21; John 2:12; 7:3-5). It isevident that Jesus had more family than His motherand father. Actually He had the same mother but notthe same father, for Joseph was His father, only in atechnical and legal sense. He was simply the husbandof Mary; Mary became pregnant with Christ

miraculously and not by Joseph. She and Joseph hadother children called brethren of Christ.

In the New Testament times when someone was called "brother" it often meant a national kinship. Ananias called Saul, "Brother Saul" before Saul became a Christian and it is evident that they were notborn of the same parents. They were brothers in anational sense, inasmuch as both of them were Jews.More than that could not be said. The term was applied sometimes to a "neighbor" (Matt. 7:3) but the most significant and frequent use of it in the New Testament applies to the family relationship in Christ,the church.

You may call someone a brother and by this implythat the individual is a Christian, a member of thefamily of God, the church of Christ. This is, by far, the most extensive use of the term in the New Testament. Anyone can take a concordance and run the referenceson "brother" "brethren," and "brotherhood" and seehow it applies only to those in the family of God. If youcall someone a brother, you imply that such a personhas been born again (John 3:5) and is God's child (Gal.3:26-27). You also imply that they are members of theNew Testament church. Paul addressed the church at Colossae as "the saints and faithful brethren" (Col.1:1). Everett F. Harrison wrote, "It is clear from theBook of Acts and from the Epistles that 'brethren' was the common mode of designation for fellow believers."Baker's Dictionary of Theology, page 106

If you call someone a brother, and that person is nota Christian, a member of the church or a child of God,you have misled that individual and others into thinking that you believe he is saved and is God'schild. However, if you know that individual has neverobeyed the gospel of Christ, and has no intention ofbeing a member of God's only family, to call such a onea brother is wrong. Be careful, when you call someone a"brother" to be sure you do not imply more than Godwould. We may call some our brethren who are notGod's children and in so doing take more authority onourselves than God ever allowed anyone. He and Healone has the right to identify people as His children, and God has no children outside of His family. Themeans of getting into the family are simple: Faith tobecome a child of God (Gal. 3:26) and obedience,including repentance and baptism (vs. 27) are the requirements for membership in God's family. One isby this procedure, "born again." Then to remain in thefamily and remain a brother in Christ, that one must befaithful, even unto death (Rev. 2:10)

Luke's record of Paul's travels mentions somethingspecial about the Bereans. "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received theword with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures DAILY, whether those things were so"(Acts 17:11, Emphasis mine DVR). They stoodout because they were willing to take the time to study. I remember studying this passage once in aBible class when the teacher explained that "daily"didn't mean every day. He obviously didn't see theneed for studying our Bibles every day. I asked him ifthe doctor told him to take his medicine "daily" would that mean every day or every other day or once or twice a week. I have before me Webster's Elementary Dictionary For Boys and Girls. It defines the word "daily" as "Happening, done, or issued everyday; as, a daily bath; a daily newspaper.—adv. Everyday; day by day.—n;" p. 165. Hence if the Bereans searched the scriptures "daily" that means they did it every day.

Shall we let the Bereans condemn us? If those who are not Christians can do it, why can't we? Could it be said of us that we are somewhat different in that we study our Bible daily? Why can't we have the attitude of the man David described saying, "But his delight isin the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditateday and night" (Psa. 1:2).

Many Christians do not study their Bibles everyday. I've known of some who couldn't even find their Bibles when time came to go to worship. They leavetheir Bibles in the car or at the meeting house all weekwithout ever picking it up except on Sunday and Wednesday night. We can find time to read the newspaper every day, watch our T.V. programs andthe evening news every day, but we can't always find just a little time to spend with our Bibles.

May I suggest to you a few reasons why you should study your Bible daily (every day).

(1) You just might learn something. I'm impressedas I read Neh. 8 with the fact that we might and canlearn something that we did not know or have forgotten by just simply reading. When Ezra read from the"law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel"they found "that the children of Israel should dwell inbooths in the feast of the seventh month" (Neh. 8:14).This they had not been doing. So their reading helpedthem to learn what they needed to do. (See also Neh.13:1) (2) The scriptures tell us more about Jesus. Jesussaid to some unbelieving Jews, "Search the scriptures;for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they arethey which testify of me" (Jno. 5:39). Here Jesus wasspeaking of the Old Testament scriptures (the law and

prophets) which were a witness to the fact that indeedJesus is the Son of God. The N.T. also testifies to that fact. The more we study (either O.T. or N.T.) we willsee more and more evidence of the Deity of Christ.

(3) This is how we obtain faith. We ought to study our Bibles daily to increase our faith. Our faith comesfrom hearing the word of God (Rom. 10:17). The morewe read and study the greater our faith will be. Sup pose one Christian only studies his Bible on Sundayand Wednesday. Another Christian studies his Bibleevery day. Which one do you suppose would have thegreater faith? (4) We will be judged by this book. Suppose you wereabout to be tested, and if you pass the test you will win a million dollars. Your test will be over the material in a certain textbook. How often would you study thatbook? Once a week? Twice a week? Or every day? Myfriend the time will soon come when we will be judgedby the words of Christ (Jno. 12:48). However the thingwe anticipate is far greater than all the money in theworld—HEAVEN! (5) To see if the things we hear are so. That is the very reason the Bereans studied every day. They wanted to see if what they heard from Paul was true to thescriptures (Acts 17:11). That ought to be our attitude.Don't accept a matter just because some preacher orBible class teacher may say it is true. If we would justhave the attitude, "Let me see if my Bible teaches thatbefore I will believe it and practice it", many problemsand divisions will be prevented in the Lord's body. (6) Because of the love we have for and the delight wehave in the law of God. This was David's attitude all the way through Psa. 119. David had a superb love forthe law of God. He loved it above fine gold. Notice afew of these verses in this chapter (Vs. 16, 24, 35, 47,70, 72, 92, 127, 165). If we had that same attitudetoward the law of God—I think we would find our selves studying our Bibles day by day. Listen to David, "O how love I thy law! it is my meditation allthe day" (v. 97).

Many other reasons could possibly be given, but thiswill suffice for the Christian who wants to please God.I am bothered by the fact that many Christians do notsee the need to study their Bibles every day. Let uslearn to spend some time with our Bibles before weever lay our heads down to sleep. After all, what reasonwould you have for not studying your Bible daily?

Send all News Items to: Wilson Adams, 6334 Auburn Ave., Riverdale, MD 20737

FIELD REPORTS GARY P. EUBANKS, 313 Washington Ave., Valparaiso, FL 32580. Atthe beginning of 1982,1 began work with the Twin Cities church in theNiceville-Valparaiso area of Florida. The church is small with onlysixteen members, but we plan to grow. The church had its beginning just two years ago. As a whole, we are opposed to the church supporting human institutions and other such human innovations introduced by brethren in recent years. We meet in Room 3 of theMitchell Building which is located in Valparaiso on Hwy. 20/85. Weextend a cordial welcome to all who might be able to visit with us. Wemeet at 9 and 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Sundays and at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays. My phone number is (904) 678-5596.

MICHAEL GARRISON, 1100 3rd St. G.A., Andalusia, AL 36420.I've just returned from a week's gospel meeting with the church in Ash Fork, Arizona. The church is currently made up of four faithful sisterswho are standing for a "thus saith the Lord." The work is slow and somewhat disappointing, yet these faithful sisters continue to meet toworship God several times a week. Ash Fork is about one and a halfhours drive south of the Grand Canyon. Any saints vacationing in thearea might work it out so they could attend the worship with the AshFork church. If you are a brother, be ready to preach, lead singing, etc.Your presence would certainly be encouraging. Remember them in yourprayers. You can call sister Irene Toliver at (602) 637-2433 for more information.

MARK NITZ, 917 Fourth St., Cincinnati, OH 45215. My family and I have been with the church in Lockland approximately two and a halfyears. The work has been going well with some success in reaching the lost. Several may be interested in the approaches we have beenusing to evangelize the area.

Most of our efforts center around our Bible CorrespondenceCourses (four courses, each becoming more advanced). We have "pushed" the course through many different avenues of advertising.By far the most successful has been a thirty second television advertisement(approximately 200 requests in two weeks). Surprisingly,this was not as expensive as you might think. We have also mailedthe first lesson of our course to the surrounding community (18,000households) with instructions to complete and return if desiring to enrollin the course. This was followed up with a bulletin mailed monthly to the same 18,000. Not only are many enrolled in the course but wehave visitors at nearly every service (some with bulletin in hand). We have also advertised the course through radio and newspaper. Of course,the BCC is only a means to an end. Conversion comes when the personalcontact is made. When the course is completed we personally return the last lesson and try to set up a home Bible study. Most of ourconversions have come through this means.

For the past six months we have had a daily radio program ("call-in"format). Wayne Chappell, evangelist at the Springdale church of Christ,and myself serve as moderators. Cable Television has recently come totown providing us with the opportunity of taping a series of 21 programs and airing them absolutely tree, it has taken a lot of work butthe potential is tremendous. The company liked the programs enough tooffer us time on a much larger station. Those interested in similarwork, liking more information, feel free to write. Our "Dial-A-Bible-Message" has been an inexpensive but effective tool in reaching many. Using a simple telephone answering device along with a daily ad in the classified section, we receive asmany as 100 calls a day. We close each message with an invitation totake the Bible Correspondence Course.

There are several large congregations in town that supportinstitutions. We are making an effort to teach the truth on theseissues by means of a written discussion between brothers Robert Turner and Gaston Cogdell, a local evangelist. When completed, we plan to mail the discussion into the home of every family identified withthese groups. We greatly desire unity among the saints in Cincinnati andhope that this might be a step in the right direction. We would love to have anyone passing through to visit with the church in Lockland. Weare just one block off I-75. Call for directions; (513) 821-0410 or 7694016.

H.E. PATTON, 7637 Fleming Hill Dr. SW, Huntsville, AL 35802.After forty five years in local work, with ten churches, I am retiring from local work, but NOT from evangelism. Reba and I will be moving to a home we have in Huntsville, Alabama. From there Ihope to hold meetings and work with brethren at various places where my services are desired and needed. Presently my strength is not abated and my desire to do all I can in the Kingdom is just as fervent as ever.If I ever retire from preaching, physical incapacity and/or the brethren-by not inviting me-will have to do it. The five years with the GayMeadows church here in Montgomery have been some of the mostsatisfying and fruitful of my life. With some of the finest folk to befound anywhere, together we have seen the Gay Meadows churchdouble in attendance, contributions, facilities, and we pray spiritually aswell. I appreciate all those who have been, and are now, a part of thiscongregation. Many have "passed through" (lived here for a while) thiscongregation. There seems now to be prospects for more "permanency"among the member than ever before. The church is scripturallyorganized with elders and deacons, and is composed of many menand women (young and older) with great talent and devotion to theLord. Prospects, therefore, for continued growth and work on thepart of Gay Meadows are great.

MIKE S. SCOTT, P.O. Box 30, Williams, IN 47470. Beginning July22nd, I will be laboring with the brethren in Middletown, Indiana(11th & Locust St. church of Christ). The congregation is quite small andcan only provide a portion of my support. Two sister congregationshave agreed to assist me while at Middletown, but my family and I feelthat we will still need around $100 to $200 more per month. Recommendations will be sent upon request.

WILLIAM C. SEXTON, 1937 Judson, Manhattan, KS 66502. Beginning June 30, 1982, the church that formerly met at 1112 PierreSt. shall be meeting in the basement of my house at 1937 Judson, inManhattan, Kansas. Our former building ( a renovated dwelling house)was really inadequate for us. We rejoiced that recently a lady, withwhom we had been studying, was baptized. Then, the next Sunday webaptized her husband. Possibly, then, we are beginning to breakthrough to some of the local people. Anyone coming to Manhattanshould take note of the change in meeting place. Remember us in your prayers.

RALPH SMART, 516 Union St., Bangor, ME 04401. A little news about the work in Maine. Bruce Hudson, who for the last three years has been with the Milbridge church, is moving to Caribou to help thelocal preacher, Luke Flynn, in an effort to build up that congregationcomposed mostly of military personnel. I have agreed to work with theMilbridge church until October. I plan to move to the Portland area bythen. I will work with the small church in Scarborough between anytrips I may make. I will be working to establish a congregation inPortland. There are now two families who drive through Portland to get to Scarborough. Bill Calame is the new preacher in Bangor. Thework there seems to be going well. At present, I am in a gospel meeting in the little town of Prospect (about forty minutes from Bangor). Thereare three members of the Bangor church who live here. Bro. Calameknocked doors with me and is leading the singing. We had 32 last night for the first service. Troy Adams and I had two gospel meetingsrecently. One in Blue Hill where we had a good meeting considering there are no Christians in the area. High attendance was52 with several visitors from the community. Another meeting atSullivan where the attendance ran in the thirties with three visitors from the community.

ROBERTO SPENCER, Box 452, Odessa, TX 79760. The Spanish church of Christ (Iglesia de Cristo) has increased in number recently. Wehave had a family to place membership with us and also we recently had one baptism and one restoration. As you can imagine we are veryhappy. We are a small congregation of about twelve members. At thistime we are in the process of buying a building to meet in. I ask for theprayers of all the saints for the work of the Lord in this city among theSpanish speaking people.

WORK IN MEXICO

(Taken from Along The Border by Glenn Rogers, 408 La Vista Ave.,McAllen, TX 78501) Mel Rose who lives in Oregon, made a trip intowestern Mexico during the month of May, accompanied by SamuelGonzales who is a member of the Spanish-speaking church inHillsboro. The trip took five days each way. The first meeting was inOjo de Agua (water spring) where they had services four nights. Oneperson was baptized there. The next four days were spent in Vicente Guerrero. There were two more baptisms here. The final four dayswere spent in Constancia, where Jose Luis Arroyo preaches. Onewas baptized in this effort. We are happy to report that elsewhere in thecountry of Mexico there have been twelve baptisms of late that havebeen reported to us.

PREACHER AVAILABLE DAVID BECK, 5108 43rd Ave., East, Bradenton, FL 33508. After much prayer and planning, I have decided to leave my secular job ofsixteen years and turn my full attention to preaching. I am 35 years old,married, and we have four children. I am blessed to have had some experience already in preaching. For the past two years I have comoderated with Kenneth Thomas on the "Bible Speaks" radio program.This is a live call-in program of one hour length heard every Sunday morning in this area. I have also had other radio preaching experience.During the last several years I have "filled in" at the Manatee Countychurch and have also spoken at Cortez, Palmetto, Sarasota,Okeechobee, and Jennings, Florida and in Franklin, North Carolina.My desire is to serve the King in His Kingdom using my talents inwhatever ways I can. If you desire further information please feel freeto contact me, or one of the following men from this area who knowme. Kenneth Thomas Kenneth Weliever

(813) 746-2237 (813) 729-2922 746-7014 722-1307 Herbert Fraser J. Paul Branch (813) 365-7628 (813) 748-5592

PREACHERS NEEDED CAMILLA, GA Eli and Mary Ann Goodwin are two faithful saints wholive in Camilla, Georgia (between Albany and Thomasville). Mary Annhas crippling arthritis. They presently drive to Thomasville to worship with the faithful brethren there, but that is some thirty miles one way, and is difficult on Mary Ann, and is getting more difficult all the time. They want to start a work in Camilla (population 12,000). They need someone to move there and do thepreaching, either full-time or part-time. If full-time one would have to secure needed support. Eli owns a grocery store, and for a man whowould be capable of preaching and working in the store, he could payhim $275 per week plus insurance. The Godwins have two children. Atthe present there would be potentially twelve who could meet regularly ifsomeone could come and work with them. The church in this area of Georgia is small, but is making strides. There is a small liberal group inCamilla which ousted the Godwins when they voiced opposition to theirunscriptural work and organization. Eli and Mary Ann are fine people.Could someone possibly help them? If you feel you could meet theneed of this situation, please write or call Eli Godwin at Rt. 2, Box 1AA, Camilla, GA 31730. (912) 336-0684.

VALDOSTA, GA The North Valdosta church of Christ needs a preacher. We can provide partial support. Contact Jack Dawling at (912)559-6436, or Bascam Parham at (912) 244-1574.

MILBRIDGE, ME—The church that meets in Milbridge, Maine is in need of a full-time preacher. They can provide some support. Anyone interested may contact Owen Beal on Kansas Road in Milbridge, ME 04658. Or phone (207) 546-7046.

ELDERS AND DEACONS APPOINTED

EDGAR E. HOLCOMB. 263 Massachusetts Ave., Elyria, OH44035—It gives me great pleasure to report that the church in North Ridgeville, Ohio is once again fully organized as the New Testamentdirects. Carl Conrad and Tom Lahman were appointed as elders and HerbHiser, Ken Coleman, Dana Warner, Bruce Dean and Dave Hagermanwere appointed as deacons. We thank our Father for His great blessings bestowed upon us. Our spirits are gladdened and our hearts rejoice to seethese fine families in the body of Christ living exemplary lives. When visiting our area stop and worship with us. We will make you feel welcome.

NEW CONGREGATION ALLAN R. FERGUSON, Rt. 1, Box 77A, Wilbur, Washington99185—We wish to inform the readers of SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES that a new congregation has begun to meet at 703 E.Pope in Wilbur, Washington. We met in my home for the first time onJuly 11, 1982. There were three families in attendance. Wilbur is a small farm town 21 miles east of Grand Coulee Dam, on highway 2. For information you may contact me at the above address or phone (509)647-5860 or 647-5451.

B. G. ECHOLS, 5643 Newberry, Wayne, Michigan 48184—After two years in a small town in Texas we have returned to a large metropolitan area to work with the Westland church in suburban Detroit. The need among the millions of this area and all of Michigan is great, but the brethren have a desire to reach others with the gospel. Attempting to work in Texas was poor judgment on mypart. We pray that the years we have left will be better utilized in Hisservice.

JACK H. KIRBY, 2300 W. Pioneer, Irving, Texas 75061—For the past four and one-half years I have been working with the PanlenerStreet church in Las Cruces, NM. We have resigned this work, and inAugust began work with the Westside church in Irving, Texas. Ourmailing address will be: 1425 Schukar Ct., Irving, TX 75061. During our work at Las Cruces 46 were baptized, several were restored to duty.Our membership tripled, with record attendance of 139 set twice thisyear. Our budget increased correspondingly. The brethren have not yetselected a man to move there. When in Irving, please contact us. If anyreader knows of any in Irving that are not faithful, please let us know

and we will encourage them.

IN THE NEWS THIS MONTH BAPTISMSRESTORATIONS(Taken from bulletins and papers received by the editor)	290 102