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Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. — Jude 3Vol. 106-1

2 Higher Way

Statesmanship

Higher Way (ISSN #1084-9807) is published quarterly by the Apostolic Faith Church, 6615 SE 52nd Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97206, U.S.A. and is mailed out subscription free. Periodicals postage is paid at Portland, Oregon. Postmaster: Please send address changes to Higher Way, Apostolic Faith Church, 6615 SE 52nd Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97206, U.S.A.

January—March 2013

Table of Contents

Darrel D. LeeSuperintendent

General

VIEWPOINT

Day to Day ............ 9

Evidence .............. 14

Today’s Youth ...... 17

Highlighting our

Heritage .............. 21

Salvation: A Closer Look ........................... 3

My Way or God’s Way? ............................ 6

Christian Giving ..................................... 11

Grateful for God’s Faithfulness ................. 16

The Power of a Personal Testimony .......... 19

BRANDON FRYMIRE’S combat experiences (see his testimony on page 17) remind me of his grandfather Roy’s warfare of a different sort, although Roy Frymire also served in our country’s military. Brother Roy was the fi fth of nine children born to Brandon’s godly great-grandparents. Through the years, dozens of Frymire descendants have faithfully served in Apostolic Faith churches, with many still living and serving.

Brother Roy was among those of his family who quietly, yet effectively, min-istered in the work of the Lord. As an elder statesmen of the Gospel, he died at the age of ninety-one. With Paul the Apostle, Brother Roy could certainly have declared, “I have fought a good fi ght, I have fi nished my course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).

Statesmanship is not simply a matter of becoming elderly. The word statesman describes an individual who has exhibited wisdom and experience over a long

and respected career. Brother Roy did not strive for that characterization of himself—it just came with time.

As a new convert in the 1970s, one of my fi rst assign-ments in the work of the Lord was to make milkshakes

in the campground snack bar with Brother Roy. At times the orders piled up, the equipment was uncooperative—and Brother Roy’s new partner proved his inex-perience! Yet Brother Roy showed himself kind, patient, and unfl appable.

Years later found me working in the Portland headquarters offi ce, with Brother Roy as part of a supportive ministerial staff. Recognizing his statesman qualities, many times I solicited his thoughtful and deliberate perspectives.

Three attributes made Brother Roy the statesman he proved to be. First, he fought the fi ght. The fi ght to win an eternal reward is a “good” or worthy fi ght. Next, he fi nished the course. In military terms, that is to execute the plan to com-pletion. Finally, he kept the faith. The S criptural sense draws a parallel with a soldier guarding a fortress. Brother Roy faithfully preserved the Latter Rain Gospel that was entrusted to his keeping.

“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness” (2 Timothy 4:8). Like the Apostle Paul before him, Brother Roy gained the victor’s reward. We pray that the content of this Higher Way magazine will inspire you to do the same.

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Sunday morning sermons at the headquarters church in Portland, Oregon, have recently fea-tured some key doctrines taught in the Word of God. This sermon is the fi rst in that series.

Two subjects in the Word of God that I love to hear about are Bible doctrine and salvation. Bible doctrines are the funda-

mental teachings of the Christian faith; the word doctrine means “teaching” or “instruc-tion.” Salvation is the act of God’s grace by which man receives forgiveness for his sins and stands before God as though he had never committed them.

We read in 1 Timothy 2:4 that God wills for “all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” Notice the order. It does not say that we must fi rst come to the knowledge of the truth and then are saved. I am thankful for that, because I was saved with-out knowledge of the truth. I had no under-standing of the experience of salvation or what it could do in a person’s life. In spite of that, God saved me!

However, we do want to have a good under-standing of the Bible, because it is a message

from God Himself. Anytime a book is recommended to us, we should be interested in knowing something about the author. What is his background? What does he stand for? At times such information is disclosed and at other times it is not, but knowing something about an author helps us to understand him and his perspective. The same is true when it comes to Scripture. If we know the Author, we will have a better understanding of His Book.

God’s Word is where we learn God’s doctrines—and doc-trines are the foundation and the framework of our faith. They could be compared to the framework of this building. Take away the structural components that hold the roof and the walls together and the building would not stand. If we were alerted that the structural components were to be removed, we would make a quick dash for the exit. We would similarly make a “quick dash for the exit” if we

A closer look at a foundational Bible doctrine.

From a sermon by Darrel Lee

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discovered that the framework of what this body of believ-ers stands for was to be removed. Bible doctrine is vital.

We want to know the teachings of the Bible, but we also want to live by them. Jesus said, “Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock” (Matthew 7:24). It is not enough to simply know the doctrines and teachings of God’s Word. We want to obey them! Then, as Jesus described in this parable, when the winds come and the fl oods beat upon us, our spiritual house will stand fi rm because it is built upon the Rock.

Jesus went on to say that those who hear His sayings and fail to do them are like a man who built his house upon the sand. When the rains and storms came, that man’s house fell, “and great was the fall of it.” When Jesus concluded His teaching, the Bible says that the people were “astonished at his doctrine” because He taught as one having author-ity, and not as the scribes. The religious leaders of that day had a doctrinal founda-tion, but it was corrupt and unsound. So the people mar-veled at Jesus’ words; they had never heard teaching like His.

The Apostle Paul also emphasized the importance of a framework of beliefs, or doctrines. In his fi rst epistle to Timothy, he instructed the younger man to “charge some that they teach no other doc-trine” (1 Timothy 1:3). He was warning Timothy of those who wanted to be teachers of the Law but who taught prin-ciples that were contrary to sound doctrine.

Sound doctrine is still vital in our day. What will hold us steady when the testing times come? What will prevent us from having an erratic spiritual walk as we endeavor to serve the Lord? Sound doctrine! It is good to have friends who support us, but friends come and go. It is good to have family worshiping with us, but one day family members will pass on to Heaven. So we must build our spiritual lives on something more solid than individuals, and what is more solid than a right understanding of Biblical teachings? That will hold us; it will guide us through the storms of life. It will provide the basis for our decisions in such matters as academic and career selections, friends, the choice of a mar-riage partner, and how we teach our children and grand-children. We have a purpose to serve the Lord, so we want to make our decisions based upon an understanding of the principles of God’s Word.

One of the foundational doctrines of the Word of God is the doctrine of salvation from sin. The word saved comes from a Greek word meaning “delivered” or “made whole.” Sometimes we refer to the experience of salvation as justi-fi cation—being pardoned by God and absolved from the penalty of sin. Looking again at 1 Timothy 2:4, we under-stand that it is God’s will for all men to be saved.

Paul the Apostle was one who experienced salvation when he did not know what being saved was. In 2 Timothy 1:9, he spoke of God “who hath saved us, and called us with a

holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace.” Experiencing salvation is not so much the result of us initiating action toward God as it is the result of God reaching out to and calling us.

We read in Acts 9 how Paul—then known as Saul—was traveling on the road to Damascus bearing letters from the High Priest authorizing him to arrest the followers of Christ. The Lord reached out, by His own purpose and grace, and spoke from Heaven saying, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” Paul responded by asking, “Who art thou, Lord?” The reply came back, “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest” (Acts 9:4-5).

Paul was not looking for God, but God was penetrating Paul’s disposition to do wrong. Paul had a sinful nature, and the manifestation of that nature is seen in his deeds. He lived a life of defeat even though he was a religious

zealot and claimed to serve the God of Heaven. However, the Lord broke down all of that. This self-suffi cient, aca-demic, highly-respected man suddenly found himself help-less on the road to Damascus, struck blind by a light from Heaven. He had to be led by the hand into the city, where

he was taken to the home of Judas on a street called Straight. Paul stayed there for three days without eating or drink-

ing, and then God instructed a disciple named Ananias to go and pray for him. Ananias initially objected, saying, “Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem.” However, God reiterated His command, telling Ananias, “Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, . . . for I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake” (Acts 9:16). Ananias obeyed, and when he prayed, Paul’s sight was restored. Immediately Paul arose and was water baptized. He was a transformed man, and for the rest of his life, he worshiped the God who had reached his undeserving soul.

Notice that God alluded to what Paul would suffer after he was saved. We are not promised that serving God will be a way of ease. Salvation will not be the end of all our problems. It will be the end of some, but it will be the begin-ning of others. In his writings to Timothy, Paul addressed that as well. In the course of his service to God, he found himself imprisoned and persecuted beyond measure. How-ever, though he suffered for the cause of Christ, he could state with assurance, “Nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day” (2 Timothy 1:12). God has not promised us a way of ease, but He has promised to keep us regardless of what may come our way.

Just as God called Paul, He has called you. If you are saved, you did not earn salvation. You had no merit that made you worthy of God’s grace; salvation comes through the mercy of the Lord. Paul wrote to Titus, “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers

God has not promised us a way of ease, but He has

promised to keep us regardless of what may come our way.

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lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us” (Titus 3:3-5).

In one of our recent services, a sister testifi ed about pray-ing for an individual whose life was in jeopardy. She said she told the Lord, “He is a good person. He has a good family.” She went on to list all the merits of that person that she could think of, but at last she concluded that her prayer must be based solely on God’s mercy and grace. That is true! You can be the best person in the world, but if you have not experi-enced salvation, you are just one of the best sinners in the world. Good deeds and a moral life will not earn salvation.

When God’s mercy and grace reaches out to an individ-ual and that person responds, there is an inward change. That is what happened to the Philippian jailer. He was a ruthless man—clearly a sinner. When Paul and Silas were apprehended by the authori-ties for preaching the Gospel, this jailer thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks. But at midnight, as the two men of God sang praises and prayed, an earthquake shook the prison, the doors were opened, and the prisoners’ bonds were broken.

Assuming that the prisoners had all escaped, the jailer drew his sword to kill himself. But when Paul assured him that all the prisoners were still there, he fell down before Paul and Silas and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” He recognized that there was something different about those two men, and he wanted to be saved as well. Paul and Silas’ response was, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:30-31).

As we proceed through the account, it is apparent that the man did get saved, for his subsequent actions bore it out. He brought Paul and Silas into his house, bandaged up their wounds, fed them, and let his family hear the Gospel. That very night they were all saved and water baptized. The jailer became a different person than the one who had thrust Paul and Silas into the inner prison. We do not know the end of his story, but we can imagine that if he went back to work the next day, the prisoners in the jail must have asked, “What happened to the jailer? He is a different person!” If they inquired of the jailer, no doubt the reply would have been, “The Lord saved me!”

Paul explained the transformation that takes place at sal-vation when he wrote to the believers at Corinth, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are not just patched up. We are recreated! We are regenerated! We used to do ungodly things, but we do not do them anymore. We are changed from the inside out.

Prior to getting saved, I was a twenty-one-year-old col-lege student who lived from weekend to weekend, bound by

the sinful habits and appetites that are part of many college students’ lives. Then I was saved. Nobody told me not to do the sinful things I had done before—God instantly removed those things from my life. My buddies came over the next Friday night expecting me to go with them to do what we had done every weekend. Not understanding how to explain what had happened to me, I simply told them, “I am not going to do those things anymore.” And I didn’t do them anymore—not because I was told that I should not, but because God had changed my heart in an instant of time. It was a crisis experience, and it made a difference in me! That is what happens when we are saved.

It is true that everyone does not get saved in the same way. You may not be on the road to Damascus. You may not be a jailer, or a twenty-one-year-old college student when you respond to the truth of the Gospel and experience God’s

salvation. But wherever and however you receive salvation, you will be a different person on the inside.

Some have the benefi t of learning early and compre-hending God’s willingness to save them when they are quite young. They may not experi-ence a crisis in the sense that

an older person does, but there is still a moment in time when they become acutely aware of their need of forgive-ness for sins. They pray a simple prayer, trusting in Jesus, and they are saved.

No matter what our background, there is something for us to do. Paul put it this way, “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” However, those actions do not save us. The transformation takes place through an operation of God upon the heart, for Paul goes on to say, “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).

Today, the Savior of the world is willing to hear the sin-ner’s prayer and forgive sins. Paul assures us, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). If you are not saved today, and you sense that the Lord is calling after your heart, seize this opportunity. Pray an honest prayer, admitting that you have sinned and that you need help from Heaven. Confess to God what you have done wrong; He knows all about it anyway. Turn away from all sin in your life, and believe that God hears your prayer and saves you!

The urgency of making our peace with God and expe-riencing His salvation is immeasurable. There is nothing more important! Salvation is a miraculous act of God, and He is waiting today to respond to those who will turn with all their hearts to Him.

Darrel Lee is Superintendent General of the Apostolic Faith Church and pastor of the headquarters church in Portland, Oregon.

Wherever and however youreceive salvation, you will

be a different person on the inside.

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Sometimes God’s plans take a person where he never thought he would be.

Serving God is an adventure. Some-times God’s plans take a person where he never thought he would

go and provide the opportunity to meet and make friends from around the world. My parents met in the small town of Chehalis, Washington, and that’s where I was raised in a Christian home. Opportunities to “expand my horizons” might have seemed limited there, but God had something else in mind.

My dad’s parents attended our church, while my mom was raised in the old-time Free Methodist faith. My parents were not Christians when they married, but a few months before I was born they were both saved on the same day and made the decision to bring up their family in the Apostolic Faith Church.

During my growing-up years, Dad did not always have steady work. At one time he worked for a logging company, and that job took him out of town during the week, leaving my

mom at home with the challenge of raising three boys. On December 1, 1960, my dad took over a small local gas station. It was a good change for our family, because Dad was home more. My parents were faithful in their church activities, and they made sure we boys were in services at every pos-sible opportunity.

When I was fourteen years old, I started working at the gas station. A few years later my dad began selling used cars, and in 1973, he became a Subaru franchise dealer. Selling cars appealed to me, and upon graduating from high school, it was my desire to work with my dad and take over the business when he retired.

In my younger years, there were times when I sought the Lord, but I did not take serving God seriously. While I never had a desire to forsake God or my childhood teachings, I was just busy doing what I wanted to do. Then in my early twenties, God helped me to see the importance of really

yielding myself to Him. When I got honest with the Lord and committed my life to Him, He made a change in my heart that is still very real today.

A while after I was saved, a friend explained sanctifi cation to me so that it was more understandable to me than ever before. The following night I sought for and received that wonder-ful experience. It felt as if I was walk-ing on air as I left the altar of prayer.

Our pastor and his wife had a daughter named Cheryl, and over some years, we developed an interest in each other. She had been saved as a young girl and had also been sanc-tifi ed and received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. When we were making plans to get married, she told me her parents were concerned that I was not seriously seeking for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which they considered a necessary part of a strong founda-tion for a good marriage. At the time, I did not consider it that important and was just excited about getting married.

By Robert Downey

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A few months after our wedding, the Lord started dealing with my soul, and helping me see that something was lacking in my life. This feeling was especially strong while we were on vacation, and I thought it was because we were not in church services. How-ever, after returning home, I realized my soul was really hungry for more from God. The Sunday evening after our vacation, I prayed earnestly, con-secrating everything I could think

of to the Lord. There were require-ments—believing that the Lord was going to give me the experience, and getting myself and my own ideas out of the way. I had been trying to fi gure out how it would happen and what it would feel like. When I was willing to let God fi ll me with His Spirit in any way He wanted and then believed, the Lord baptized me.

What an impact that experience had on my walk with the Lord! I had

not realized how much I needed it to establish me in the Gospel and to help keep my focus on being what God wants me to be. This experience also impacted our marriage and brought my wife and me closer together as we sought God’s will for our lives.

Cheryl and I have three children, and in the challenging times of life, we have felt God’s help and strength. When our daughter was born devel-opmentally delayed, many decisions

God supplies the encouragement and abilities we need to fulfi ll His calling on our lives.

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had to be made, and we learned to lean on the Lord more fully. There was a time when we faced a confl ict with the school offi cials where she was attending. They insisted that she take medication to lengthen her atten-tion span. However, after a short time our daughter began to experience adverse side effects at home, and so we stopped the medication. The teachers threatened to pull her out of the classroom, but we prayed earnestly about the matter and God inter-vened. Our daugh-ter was able to stay focused without the medication, and the teachers were amazed. That was an encouraging spiritual milestone for us.

In 1979, the Lord called me to the ministry. In spite of making many excuses as to why I was not adequate, I found out after yielding to His will that God supplies the encouragement and abilities we need to fulfi ll His call-ing on our lives.

My dad retired in January of 1981, and I took over his Subaru business at that time. We had a good staff of employees to assist with the business, and the Lord provided many oppor-tunities over the next several years for me to visit branch churches in the Midwest and on the West Coast.

In 1989, Cheryl and I attended our fi rst Midwest camp meeting in Mur-physboro, Illinois. We were excited about being there and meeting new friends. During that camp meeting, God began drawing consecrations out of my heart. He asked if I would be willing to give up the business and become a pastor. A struggle went on in my soul. My dad had passed away by then, and my mom, who had worked with him over the years, was living nearby. Also, I was concerned about the impact on our children. I told the

Lord all my reasons why fulltime min-istry would not work. However, every time I knelt to pray, the matter came up again. Before the week was over, my heart was willing to yield, and I told God I would do whatever He wanted if He would work out all the details.

After we were home, I felt without a doubt that the day would come when we would leave Chehalis. It seemed

that my wife should know what I had told the Lord. One evening we went for a walk, and I told her what had happened at camp meeting. She started telling me all the reasons why we couldn’t do it. Our conversation ended there, and I never said anything about it for another year, but God began to work on her heart and draw consecrations from her also.

At the car business, we had a sec-retary who had worked for us many years. One day she said to me, “What are you going to do with the busi-ness when you go out as a pastor?” I was shocked! We had never discussed such an idea. I asked, “What are you thinking?” She said that she wanted to run our business. A few months later, we hired her hus-band, and they ran that business for several years for us. God was faithfully working out the details.

In 1994, we were sent to my fi rst pas-torate in Minne-apolis, Minnesota.

Our oldest son had just graduated from high school, and we were thrilled when he made the decision to move with us. The Lord has abundantly rewarded us for raising our family in the Gospel and yielding to His plans. Even with her limited abilities, our daughter loves the Lord, and her great-est desire is to be in church. Our two sons have both chosen to serve God

and have married wonderful Chris-tian women. They and their wives are actively involved in the Apostolic Faith churches where they live,

and our grandchildren are being raised in this Gospel.

In the eighteen years since we left Chehalis, God has been with us in the good times and in the diffi cult times. After pastoring in four locations, our friends and church family have greatly expanded over many miles. Now we live in Portland, where we have the opportunity of working at the church headquarters offi ce and seeing the Gospel spread worldwide through a number of venues. It has been my privilege to fellowship with other believers in places such as Newfound-land, Jamaica, Haiti, and many loca-tions in between.

As I look back, I am so thankful for the night I com-mitted my life to the Lord. He has blessed me beyond what I could have ever imag-ined, and following His will for my life has proved to be the best decision I have ever made.

Robert Downey is Director of North America Work for the Apostolic Faith organization and is on the ministerial staff in Portland, Oregon.

I told God I would do whatever He wanted if He would work out all the details.

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DAY TO DAY

Snail hunting: (n.) an activity pur-sued in the shallows of a lake or other large body of water with the

goal of fi nding snails.You may not spend much time

snail hunting—or maybe, you do. (Snails can be delicious, after all.) The snail hunting I have observed is usu-ally my nephew and my dad’s thing. They scour the bottom of the lake for snails to move into the large koi pond nearby. My nephew is almost two years old, and the truth is that he is not ter-rifi cally helpful in this endeavor. The process slows down when he gets involved, just like when he unloads the dishwasher with me or picks up his toys. In most cases, the work could be done faster and often better without his “help.”

So why does he get frequent invites to go snail hunting? It might not sur-prise you to hear that the time my dad spends with his grandson has more to do with being together than the task at hand. He could accomplish his goal of collecting snails more easily alone. He could do without counting them

seven times. But he chooses com-pany—chooses to have small hands join his in reaching through the chilly water to grab a small shell. He does it because he loves his grandson and enjoys spending time with him.

In 1 Corinthians 3:9 Paul wrote, “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” Paul was explaining that God has planned for us to have a part in His kingdom work; He meant for us to work together with Him. God is omnipotent; He is all-powerful and able to accomplish anything He wants independent of our involvement. Yet He has a long history of choosing fallible humans to join Him for the glory of His Name. God does this for the same reason my dad takes his grandson snail hunting: He values our relationship with Him. God does not need our help, yet He asks us to work alongside Him because He enjoys being with us.

If God invites us to join Him and we have decided to follow Him, what might keep us from succeeding in this

rarely glamorous but ultimately glori-ous pursuit? If the enemy of our souls had his way, nearly anything would. However, four predominant ways come to mind that can easily trip up even those who desire to be used of God. Let’s take a look at each of these traps and see what Scripture has to say about avoiding them.

Distraction — Perhaps this is the most subtle of ways we can be pre-vented from working in God’s king-dom. Whether it’s a grouchy boss on the job, children who are young (or old!) and need attention, or a schedule that is really too full, small things that distract hurt us. Over time, our desire to see God’s will be done “on earth as it is in Heaven” can be dulled. We end up feeling more isolated and less capa-ble of responding with God’s heart to the world around us. Distraction can also keep us from seeing the mundane activities of life as places where God would like to be prominent.

So what does God’s Word say to help us? When Jesus said, “But seek ye fi rst the kingdom of God, and his

A two-year-old’s “assistance” in a snail-hunting venture illustrates the power of partnership with God.

Working Working TogetherTogether

By Angela Olson

© Tara Malouf | www.redthreadimages.com

10 Higher Way

righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you,” He meant it! “These things” include food, clothes, and the stuff of daily life. If we focus on God, He has promised that all of our needs will be provided. When we look at Jesus, we see a perfect example of this—a focused, kingdom-oriented life. It’s easy to get distracted (even with kingdom work), so we must fi ght to keep our eyes on the Lord.

Comparison — Another easy way to get our eyes off the great call we have received is comparing ourselves with other believers. When we look at anyone else—which we must do in order to compare ourselves—we remove our focus from Christ, our Leader and Guide. Comparing ourselves often leads to hurt in rela-tionships, whether or not we recognize it, and usually involves discontent-ment and/or complaining, either about ourselves or another. A sure sign of the temptation to compare ourselves to others is when we begin to have thoughts like, “Why don’t I have ______ like them?” or, “If only they knew/did/thought like I do, we wouldn’t have this problem.” These are an indication that our focus has strayed from Jesus.

When we are tempted to compare, we can meditate on 2 Corinthians 10:12: “For we dare not make our-selves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring them-selves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” Wisdom is measuring ourselves by God’s standard, with His grace. When we see ourselves as we would be without Christ and see how powerful His grace is, other comparisons pale.

Pride — Occasionally, my nephew decides that he should be more inde-pendent, in which case he announces confi dently, “I do it.” Sometimes he is right; other times, his confi dence out-weighs his ability and a mess ensues. Isn’t that the way we feel at times? Life happens, and we are tempted to declare our ability to take care of a

situation. Or maybe we just do it, without conscious thought.

The glory of working for the Kingdom of God, though, is that we partner with One infi nitely greater than ourselves. Where we have abili-ties, He has gifted us with them. Where

we have strengths, He has provided them. A quick glance at His perspec-tive shows that we are all lacking the omnipotence and omniscience that would be required to participate in His Kingdom independently. We will not have success unless we submit to God’s way and work in cooperation with the other individuals He has called. Where pride keeps us from fel-lowship with other believers or from asking for help, we miss out on a piece of the grand story He is working out. Pride can also keep us from seeing the problem; Obadiah 1:3 records that “the pride of thine heart hath deceived thee. . .” We see only ourselves

instead of the big picture. Yet, if we ask Him, God can help us have the right perspective.

Fear — “No cankoo.” That’s “No, thank you.” This is what my nephew says if he would rather not do some-thing. As you can imagine, the rea-sons for a “no cankoo” vary greatly, but once in a while, when the option is something potentially scary, he will decline. I guess human habits start young, because I think many of us fi nd ourselves in the same position. Maybe we are afraid of failing at something God is calling us to do; maybe we are afraid of what it will cost. Or maybe, just maybe, we have a pretty good idea what it will cost, and paying the price sounds rather unpleasant!

Human habits are no match for God’s power to help and encourage. We fi nd directions to “fear not” over three hundred times in the Bible—probably because God knows we need to hear it frequently. We read in Hebrews 13:6 “. . . that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” Other places in Scripture hold direc-tions to not fear when faced with natural disasters, illness, or other adversities. Our circumstances may be fearful, but we need not panic. God’s sovereignty can be our peace, and His purposes are worked out in the stuff of everyday life. (See Romans 8:28.)

God has an aim that goes beyond fi nding snails or even working along-side us. He wants to change us as we work with Him. He has an amazing ability to bring about His great glory and our good through the simple things. Today and tomorrow and the next day, God holds out His hand, inviting us to join Him in receiving a Kingdom that will never be destroyed. It’s an eternal vision, and we are called to roll up our sleeves, get a little wet, and partner with Him in the adven-ture of a lifetime.

Angela Olson is a member of the Apostolic Faith Church in Seattle, Washington.

We fi nd directions to “fear not”

over three hundred times in the Bible—probably because

God knows we need to hear it frequently.

Higher Way 11

In the banking industry, there is a saying that the most sensitive nerve people have is connected to their wallets. Nearly everyone has a need for and therefore some interest in money. As Christians, it is important that we honor God in every area of our lives,

including our fi nances.When our children were little, my wife and I taught them about tithing by setting

up a saving jar, a spending jar, and the Lord’s jar. We made sure that whatever money they received was in the correct denominations so they could put the right amount in each jar. Sometimes I would ask, “Which jar do you put money in fi rst?” They knew the answer: the Lord’s jar. Some might say it would not matter which jar they put money in fi rst, but we thought it did matter! We wanted our children to recognize the importance of putting God fi rst.

If we agree that we want to honor God with our fi nances, how do we go about that? God’s Word has much to say on the subject of money and fi nancial matters, and many of those Scriptures relate to giving.

God himself set the example of giving. He is a Giver—a Provider. One of the names of God is Jehovah-jireh, which literally means “God the Provider.” God provided Himself as the ultimate Sacrifi ce through the offering of His Son Jesus Christ at Calvary. We often quote the familiar verse, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son” (John 3:16). We appreciate the fact that God gave His Son for your salvation and mine.

God is a giving God, and since we are called to refl ect His nature, we want to be a giving people. Our purpose is to pattern our lives after Christ’s example and follow His teachings, and Jesus taught the principle of giving. In His Sermon on the Mount, He said, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:38). As we give to God, He is always generous in showering His blessings upon our lives. We cannot out-give God.

Interestingly, giving is one of the fi rst places where we have an opportunity to inter-act with God’s Kingdom after we become disciples. Giving is not dependent upon age,

Christian GivingGetting to the heart of the matter.

From a sermon by Bill McKibben

12 Higher Way

national origin, or marital status. It is not even dependent upon our income. We can begin to give the moment we become followers of Christ, and in so doing, we have a part in the Kingdom of God.

In 1 Chronicles 16:29, giving is associated with worship. We read, “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” When we assemble with other believers in our church sanctuaries, we want to give unto the Lord the glory due His Name. But the Scripture goes on to say, “bring an offering.” We come to church wanting God to pour out His blessings but we must do our part if we want to receive. If we do our part, we can be assured God will do His part.

God may intend that our resources be used to benefi t others. Cal Wolfe was a Christian brother who lived in the city of Denver, Colorado, a number of years ago. A bakery there donated leftover bread for our church members to use at a local mission. Sometimes the church received more than could be used, so a freezer was needed. One day Brother Cal and another brother decided to go to the church to pray specifi cally about this need. They had a prayer meeting for about forty-fi ve minutes, and then Brother Cal jumped up and said, “Quit praying. God told me to buy a freezer!” Sometimes we pray that God will provide for a particular need, and God has already provided for it—through us! It is more about getting our hearts where they need to be than getting God’s resources where they need to be.

In this church we do not make money or fi nances a part of our worship services. In fact, you will seldom hear money mentioned from the pulpit. We have never taken collections in our services. It is clearly taught in the Word of God that believers are to support the work of the Lord through tithes and offerings, and we have found that God provides.

What is a tithe? What is an offering? Leviticus 27:30, which is a command from God to the Children of Israel, gives us a perspective. It reads, “And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s: it is holy unto the Lord.” The word tithe means tenth, or ten percent, so the tithe is ten percent of our increase. In Israel’s time, the people tithed of their crops, but in our day, we bring a tenth of our monetary increase.

The tithe is really our acknowledgement that God owns all of our resources. We should not presume that when we pay our tithes, God signs off on the other ninety percent and that amount is ours to spend how we want. God is interested in all our money. What if God were only con-cerned with ten percent of our lives? Which ten percent would we like Him to be concerned with? We want God to be interested in every part of our lives, and so we must acknowledge His ownership of all we are and have.

Some people may wonder, “Do I tithe on the gross amount of my paycheck or just on what I bring home?” The tithe should be on our gross income. All we receive comes from the hand of God—the Bible tells us that all blessings in life come from the Giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). Tithing on our gross income indicates our recognition of that fact. The right thing to do is to honor God through obedience—and to do so with gratitude.

A giving heart refl ects God’s nature. Do you remember the parable of the man who tore down his barns and built greater ones? That man’s problem was not his wealth and possessions. His problem was that his self-centered, covet-ous nature had caused him to forget he had a soul he needed to care for. If we develop a giving heart, we will realize there is a God in Heaven who wants to work with us and through us. We will want to honor God with what He has provided.

Several generations after the Law was given, Jerusalem had been destroyed. While in Persia, Nehemiah heard of the sad condition of his native land, and asked the king for

permission to return and rebuild the walls of the city. The people of Jeru-salem worked with him, and then they wanted to rebuild the place of worship. Nehemiah 10 tells how the people purposed to observe the commandments of God

which they had departed from. They committed to bring “the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites” (Nehemiah 10:37). They were beginning to develop giving hearts again! It was not just a matter of holding a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other, and fi ghting off Sanballat and Tobiah. It was not merely completing a section of the wall, reviewing it, and saying, “Look what we have done.” No, the people were developing a relationship with God and hearts that refl ected His nature. And what was the result? They pur-posed to start giving again.

Notice that the tithes were used for the support of the work of the Lord—for the building of the place of worship and to support the Levites and the priests who served in it. Nehemiah 12:44 restates that the fi rstfruits and the tithes were to be distributed “for the priests and Levites.” The end of this verse says, “Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the Levites.” This group of people had not had spiritual lead-ers for a long time. When they had a chance to give for the rebuilding of the walls and those who labored in the Lord’s service, they rejoiced.

Some may ask where they should pay their tithes. The Bible indicates that tithes were given in the place where the people worshipped. If you worship regularly in a certain location, ideally that is the place where you pay your tithes. In so doing, you put those resources under the jurisdic-tion of the leaders in that location whom God has called to make the decisions for the furtherance of the Gospel.

God is a giving God,and since we are called to refl ect His nature, we want

to be a giving people.

Higher Way 13

We know that God owns this whole world and everything in it, so He does not need our money. However, we also understand that the church’s light bill must be paid. Water for the landscaping on the church grounds costs money. Someone bought the comfortable seats we sit on and the songbooks we sing from. God provides the means through faithful saints who give, trying to refl ect God’s nature. God has called us to be a part of His Kingdom, and this is one way we invest in it.

At times, individuals will want to give money toward a certain area of the work of the Lord—perhaps the music, the Sunday school, the publishing ministry, or the outreach in a particular geographic area. If we make a freewill offer-ing over and above our tithes, we can designate where we would like that offering to be used. Those who deal with the fi nances of this organization do their best to honor such requests. However, that is not our tithes. Our tithes go for the work of the Lord in the place where we worship.

We fi nd references to the principle of tithing through-out Scripture. One is in Genesis 14, which relates Abram’s rescue of his nephew Lot from the fi ve kings. God had helped Abram, and on his way home, he stopped in Jerusalem—called Salem in this chapter—and met with Melchizedek, the king of Salem and priest of the most high God. In Genesis 14:20, we fi nd these words, “And he [Abram] gave him tithes of all.” This event took place prior to the giving of the Law, so we see that tithing was not just a teaching of the Law, as some would suggest. And the New Testament actually requires more, not less, than the Old Testament. The New Testament not only teaches tithing, but it also teaches that God loves a cheerful giver. It teaches that we will be blessed when our hearts refl ect God’s heart.

For example, in Matthew 23:23, Jesus indicated that the matters of the heart are the most important. He said, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” He was not saying that it was unnecessary to pay tithes. Rather, He was saying that we should pay tithes, but that the desire to do so should come from within.

Jesus commended the poor widow who cast her two mites into the treasury, saying that she gave more than all the rich people who contributed from their abundance, because she gave sacrifi cially. God wants us to have a giving heart! He does not want us to be an accountant, fi guring out to the penny just how much we owe God and not giving a bit more. We want to be careful to be sure we pay our tithes, but I do not think we can outgive God.

A number of Scriptures in the New Testament reference churches supporting one another. For example, the church in Corinth gave to the church in Jerusalem. However, those

churches were made up of individuals. It was individuals who gave.

In Acts 5 we read how the believers of the Early Church began putting their resources together and living with all things common. A man by the name of Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, purported to give the total proceeds from the sale of a piece of property to the disciples, but they kept some back. God knows what we have; we are not going to fool Him. If we are going to give, we must give from our hearts. We must give as unto the Lord and not to be seen of man. Ananias died on the spot, as did his wife, who came to Peter a little later, collaborating in the same deceit.

In Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, we read how Jewish society had progressed from dishonoring God to dishonoring marriage, and the people were living totally for themselves. In chapter 3, verse 8, the prophet spoke for God, saying, “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me.” The people responded by asking in effect, “What do you mean, we have robbed You?” God answered, “In tithes and

offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation” (Malachi 3:8-9).

That tragic assessment reminds me of our own nation. It seems we have become a society that is always looking for more.

Many people have accumulated so much stuff that they must borrow money to pay their bills, and work extra hours to pay back loans for things that were not really needed. What if those individuals did not have so much debt and did not have to work so many hours? Might that free up time that could be spent praying or serving the Lord?

Sadly, tithing has declined in recent years, even among professing Christians. Data compiled by the Barna Research group states that only fi ve percent of adults in the United States give ten percent or more of their incomes to the church. Less than ten percent of those who claim to be born-again Christians actually follow God’s Word in the area of tithing. As Christians, we should strive to follow Christ in living lives of sacrifi cial generosity. If we fail to do so, we risk missing the blessing of having giving hearts!

If we develop a giving heart, we will have God’s blessing. Malachi offered a simple formula: “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10).

Let us purpose to honor God in every aspect of our lives. As we refl ect His character by having hearts focused on giving rather than receiving, we are assured of His blessing!

Bill McKibben is Director of Asia Work for the Apostolic Faith organization, and pastor of the Apostolic Faith Church in Medford, Oregon.

The tithe is really our acknowledgement

that God owns all of our resources.

14 Higher Way

IT IS WONDERFUL to be in the house of the Lord tonight. There has been a precious spirit as the songs were sung, and the violin special brought back a vivid memory to me. When I was very young, the Lord called after my heart and saved me, and I’m so thank-ful He gave me a tender conscience. Not much later, the Lord showed me that I needed to be sanctifi ed. I went down to pray and the Lord reminded me that I needed to make a restitu-tion—it had to do with that violin song. I loved that song so much, and I had a violin teacher from church who had loaned me the music for it. Before I was saved she asked me if I still had that music, and I said no. I did still have it, but I wanted to keep it so badly because I loved it. But when I got down to pray for my sanctifi ca-tion, the Lord showed me that I had to make that right, and He was not going to answer until I did. To me, that res-titution seemed like the most horrible thing I could have to do, but I got up and went over to my teacher and told her that I had her music. I said I was so sorry that I had lied about it, and she indicated it was a small thing and I was forgiven. The Lord is so good.

Every morning when I wake up I think, Lord, is this the day that You will return? I look forward to walking through those pearly gates, and I just thank Him and praise Him for all He has done for me. — Deanna Moen

PRAISE GOD FOR what the Lord has done, not just for me but also for everybody at the recent youth retreat. There have been people seeking their deeper experiences with the Lord, and some people got what they needed, and others know where they are or where they need to go spiritually.

I’m thankful that I came out of our last youth camp saved, and that

wants us to suffer through it by His grace or if He wants to touch us. This time, God just told me, “I want to heal you.” How could I doubt that? I’m so thankful and I’ve just been praising Him ever since. — Trina Paulsen

I WAS RAISED IN the Los Angeles missions before and during WWII. We learned a lot of songs there, and sometimes we had to sing through blackouts. I remember singing, “Happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away. He taught me how to watch and pray, and live rejoicing every day.” I’m thankful that I learned those songs when I was just a young fellow.

When I was nine years of age in the Hillstreet mission, the Lord was calling me, but I said, “I’m not going forward to pray.” The next year, 1944, our family came to camp meeting and I was saved over on the campground. I’m so thankful for that experience, although I didn’t hang onto it and started drifting with the tide. But one day the Lord cornered me up. I was in a place where I shouldn’t have been, with my brother, and the Lord spoke to me d own in my heart. He said, “Is this what you want to do the rest of your life?” I answered, “No, I don’t want it to be this way.” The next Sunday found me in church. I knew where the altars were, and that is where I went to get down on my knees and pray, and the Lord saved me once again. I’m thankful that I still have the victory in Jesus’ Name. — Art Engle

MY UPBRINGING was not in a Christian home; I was in several dif-ferent foster homes that were far from being Christian. But at the age of six-teen, I landed in a home where the mother was a Christian. She taught us

next weekend I was sanctifi ed. I went to this youth retreat seeking for my baptism. The hunger for it was so strong—stronger than I’d ever felt. The last night, I felt a hunger in my heart to just go kneel down and pray, and I knew that night was the night for me to get my baptism. I prayed and prayed, and just let God have everything I had. I didn’t hold any-thing back but I just gave it all to Him. I bowed before Him and prayed, “Oh Lord, please fi ll me with Your Holy Spirit,” and then before I knew it, I was speakin g in tongues to the Lord. It was so great, and I love the Lord with everything I have. — Blake Tappin

GOD SAVED ME almost twenty-fi ve years ago and then sanctifi ed me and fi lled me with His Spirit. A couple weeks ago I had a physical problem. My heart’s desire was just that the Lord would take care of it; I really didn’t want to go to the doctor, not for any special reason except that I was afraid. I just said, “Lord, won’t You take care of this for me?” Not long after that, I was sitting in church and Brother Chris Botofan was preaching about seeking the deeper experiences. Toward the end of his sermon he said, “The Lord would love to baptize you,” and in that moment the Lord spoke to me and said, “I would love to heal you.” My heart just cried out, “I would love to be healed!” and instantly the Lord took care of that problem, and I knew it was taken care of. It wasn’t all gone the next day, but I had a con-fi dence that it would be, and within two or three days it was completely gone.

Sometimes in the past I’ve strug-gled with praying for healing. With the basic Christian experiences, we know they are God’s will for us, but with a healing, we don’t know if God

EVIDENCE

Higher Way 15

the right way to go. I was only there for two years, but that is still who I consider to be my family. I look to her today as my mother. At the age of eigh-teen, I was saved in the Apostolic Faith Church, and attended church from then on. Before that, it seemed like things were so hard for me. I wanted to be what the Lord wanted me to be, but there was something in my heart that struggled. I am thankful, though, that the Lord saved me and put me on the straight and narrow way.

Since moving here about two years ago, the Lord has been with me, and I can honestly say I don’t miss my old home in Chehalis. When I want to go someplace, I don’t have to ask some-one to take me here or take me there; the Lord has provided a bus for me that takes me wherever I want to go. I am also thankful for the prayers of the saints. As I underwent a hip surgery, I could feel those prayers in my heart and life. I thank the Lord for every-thing He has done for me. — Shirley Mueller

THANK GOD THAT HE SAVED, sanctifi ed, and fi lled me with His Holy Spirit. Now I have blessings that I can’t even count. I’m so thankful I was born in a Christian home, but that did not make me a Christian. In fact, at times I actually resented it, but now I look back on what a blessing it was to have that example.

When I was seeking for my sancti-fi cation, it was a struggle of faith for me. I thought, When a person is saved there’s an outward change that others can see, and when one receives the baptism of the Holy Ghost, he speaks another language. But when a person is sanctifi ed, it seemed to me there was no visible sign. However, I’m so thankful that when the Lord sancti-fi ed me, He made it very clear in my

heart; there was a real change in my desires. He put a song in my heart. He changed everything about me. God took the temptations and made them a side note; it was easier to be a Chris-tian. During the next church service I heard someone say, “Amen,” and I looked around and realized it was me! I had never said “amen” in a service in my life, but the Lord just did that. He made that change in my heart. I’m so thankful that the Gospel is real. — Justin Green

THE LORD HAS BEEN very good to me. I wasn’t born into a Chris-tian home; I didn’t learn about the Gospel through my family. When I was about four or fi ve years old a neighbor who went to Sunday school on the Sunday school bus invited me to come with her, and I did. For at least eight years I came. Faithful Sunday school teachers and bus driv-ers taught me the lessons from the Bible and planted them in my heart. But what really made an impression on me was their lives and the kind-ness that they showed. The love of God really shined through them, and

I didn’t see that love anywhere else. It was a very stark contrast to what I saw in other places around me, and I wanted it. I also really wanted the joy and peace that I saw.

As I got a little older, I drifted away from the church for a year or two. When people are making bad choices and doing wrong things, often they don’t want to be in Sunday school lis-tening to the Word of God because it convicts them. But the Lord still kept talking to me during that time. All those lessons were really down in my heart, and I couldn’t do wrong things without feeling bad.

One Easter Sunday I came to Sunday school, and the Lord made my options clear to me. He showed me how much He loved me and the good life I could have if I would choose Him. I’m so thankful that I went to the altar, prayed, and gave my heart to the Lord. He made a wonderful change—He changed all the desires of my heart and gave me a new life.

That was a long time ago and I’ve had a chance to prove Him through good times and bad, in easy times and hard, and I’m even more thankful and grateful now that He is in my heart. — Melanie Ewers

PERSONAL TESTIMONIES OF THE POWER OF GOD

WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?Acknowledge “For all have

sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13).

Confess “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Repent “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all like-wise perish” (Luke 13:3). “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19).

Forsake “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him . . . for he will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:7).

Believe “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begot-ten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

If you are a new Christian, write us and request the tract entitled, “Start-ing Out.”

www.apostolicfaith.org

16 Higher Way

Through good times and hard times, this woman has found that she can

trust God with each aspect of her life.

God has been so faithful to me. I was born into an Apostolic Faith family, and my parents were faithful to

teach me the Word of God. Church activi-ties were a part of normal life for us, but of course all of this didn’t make me a Christian.

As a child I prayed many times for salvation but I didn’t quite understand how to receive it. Then, when I was thir-teen years old, we went to Mid-Wales for Youth Week, and on the last night one of my friends was saved as she prayed next to me. I was amazed, and I determined that I would get saved too. I asked the Lord to forgive all of my sins and He wonderfully saved me. I was ecstatic! I still have a photo of the two of us on the coach on the way back home; we were so happy that we were fi nally saved. Later, at our church in London, the Lord wonderfully sanctifi ed me and fi lled me with the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Then, when I was six-teen years old, I recommitted my life to God and renewed my experiences. The Lord has been with me ever since.

I am particularly thankful for God’s direction in my life. One major decision I had to make was regarding which university I would attend. I had a specifi c school in mind, but when I didn’t get accepted there, I realized I had to give everything over to God. After visiting several schools, the Lord showed me where He wanted me, and then worked out everything so that I ended up there.

While at the university, I also went through a spiritual schooling in which I learned so many things. Just before my fi nal exams, I received a letter from the university falsely accusing me of stealing library material. There was an inves-tigation and a hearing. It was a traumatic experience, but I am thankful for my parents and the youth at church who rallied around me in prayer. In the end, the administration found that there was no case against me, withdrew their decision to take away my degree qualifi cation, and awarded me with a very good grade as well as an additional prize for a subject that wasn’t even my major.

Every time I have needed a job, the Lord has directed me. After one particular interview, He assured me that I would get the job. Before I even reached home, the telephone call came that the job was mine.

The area of marriage was one that I had a hard time giving over to God. While I was at the university, the Lord dealt with me on this issue, and I fi nally got to the point where I could say that I really trusted Him

to take care of everything. Of course, God proved faithful once again, and in September 2007, I married a wonderful, God-fearing man .

Later, when our daughter was born, she was barely alive. I didn’t get to see or hold her because the medical profession-als whisked her away to try and resuscitate her. Even though that was successful, she was put on life support. The fol-lowing evening, we were told that she was not responding to medication and would probably not survive the night. We called our pastor who was at the Portland camp meet-ing, and he gathered some people to pray at the altars in the tabernacle. Because of the time difference, they prayed through the night for us. Our family and friends in London also prayed, and the Lord gave my husband an assurance that our daughter would live.

The next morning, the medical consultants were amazed; our little girl had survived and had started to respond to treatment. She spent several more days in special care but God was with us. Once, a nurse forgot to administer a med-ication, but they realized later that treatment would have caused additional complications. For almost two years we took her in for special check-ups and at each appointment the consultant was amazed and pleased at her development. We had been told that she might not be able to swallow or walk or talk, but she is now so active we can hardly keep her from running or talking!

God has been so faithful to our little family. He blessed us with another child, was with us when my husband was hospitalized with a serious medical issue, comforted us in family bereavement twice in succession, and encouraged us during unemployment and fi nancial strain. I can’t imagine life without the Lord. I want to serve Him all the days of my life and see Him in Heaven.

Modupe Yalley and her family are members of the Apostolic Faith Church in London, England, United Kingdom.

Grateful for God’sFaithfulness

By Modupe Yalley

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Higher Way 17

Today’s YouthToday’s Youth

There was so much dust—too much dust. We always tried to stay in the tire tracks of the vehi-

cle in front of us. We fi gured if they didn’t explode, we wouldn’t explode either. But that day we had stopped to assist one of our companies who was searching for possible insurgents and were returning to the base on a little dirt path that we didn’t normally take. We were the third vehicle in the convoy, but there was so much dust that we could not see the tire tracks in front of us. Suddenly, the worst hap-pened. We hit an explosive buried in the path. It went off right underneath the wheel on my side. It’s a wonder that any of us even survived, but none of us had any more than superfi cial injuries. My fellow Marines told me I was lucky, but I knew better. God was protecting me because of the prayers of my Christian family back home.

The Gospel goes back at least three generations on both sides of my family. I was brought to the Apostolic Faith Church right from the beginning, and my parents and grandparents all lived victorious Christian lives before me. I knew that God was real and that Jesus was the only way to make it to Heaven, and I planned to live a Christian life someday. But I felt that I needed to try the world and have some fun before I really got serious and gave my life to the Lord.

As I neared the completion of high school, I wasn’t sure what to do next. A friend of mine was planning to join the Marine Corps and invited me to talk to a recruiter with him. I liked what I heard. Growing up, my grand-father had told lots of stories about his service in the Army Air Force in England during World War II. I looked up to the men of his generation who

made so many sacrifi ces to protect our freedoms and save Europe from tyr-anny. In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, I wanted to do some-thing to serve my country and protect our way of life the way my grandfather had. I decided that I wanted to be a Marine.

Boot camp was very diffi cult and, although I wasn’t saved, I really leaned on the Lord and He undertook for me in many diffi cult situations. That should have caused me to give my life to Him, but I selfi shly persisted in my own ways. After graduating from boot camp and military occupation school, I was stationed in Hawaii. There I chose to take part in many sinful things, seeking to fi nd the excitement and fun that I thought the world had to offer. Some of those activities did bring temporary pleasure, but they led me further away from the Lord. In an

God kept this Marine alive and helped him realize he needed a change in his life.

By Brandon Frymire

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18 Higher Way

effort to maintain some sort of con-nection to the goodness of the Lord that I had grown up with, I tried to pray every day like I had been taught. But every so often I would catch myself forgetting to pray before a meal, and I realized that I was slipping even fur-ther away from the truth. Deep down I wasn’t at peace because I knew I wasn’t right with the Lord.

In September of 2006, I deployed to the Al Anbar province of Iraq with the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regi-ment. During our fi rst few days in Iraq, the battalion we were replacing lost a Marine to a roadside bomb, and it was very sobering to realize what a deadly situation we were in. I was assigned to the commanding offi cer’s personal security team as his driver. Nearly every day we were on some of the deadliest roads in the world. The day our vehicle was hit on that dirt path was particularly memorable, but we were attacked with roadside bombs or mortars many times. I personally knew several Marines who lost their lives due to enemy action or tragic accidents, yet the Lord miraculously brought me through.

After returning to Hawaii, I con-tinued to make sinful choices, even though I had seen the Lord come through for me. I knew I was bound for Hell if I didn’t repent, but I was buried deep in sin. My bad choices had led me nowhere and I realized I had nothing to stand on. Finally, on June 3, 2007, I cried out to the Lord and told Him that I was sorry for the way I had been living and that from then on I wanted to do the right thing and follow Him. All it took was one prayer and a truly repentant heart, and I felt heavenly peace descend. I fi nally had what I needed.

By this time my contract was close to being up, and I had a lot of steps to complete in order to sign out of my unit and leave the Marine Corps. Every day I asked the Lord for help, and He never disappointed me. I’m so thank-ful for how He helped me in every way and with every problem that arose.

Not long after my discharge, I moved away from home again to attend the University of Oregon. I had only been saved for a short time and college can be a challenging environment for a Christian. I really missed attending the weeknight services and youth activi-ties of my home church and, as far as I knew, I was the only Christian on the rugby team. But the Lord helped me hold on to what He had given me, and I was able to live for Him.

During my junior year, I was able to start attending the Apostolic Faith Church in Roseburg, Oregon, which is about an hour’s drive from the university. I’m thankful for my time there; the saints were so wonderful to welcome me into their church family. It was always nice to be able to get away from the burdens and stress of college, if only for a day, and enjoy being with the family of God.

In March of 2011, I graduated and moved back home to Portland, and God has continued to be faithful to me. My college apartment man-ager was able to fi nd someone to take over my lease shortly after I moved, something I hadn’t yet prayed about

before it was answered. The Lord pro-vided me with a good job despite poor economic conditions and I have a nice place to live.

I’m so thankful that I surrendered to the Lord. Life isn’t always easy and I haven’t always made perfect deci-sions, but my desire has been to follow the Lord, and He has kept me in the Gospel by His grace. Remembering how good God has been to me in the past makes me even more determined to continue to follow and serve Him and draw closer to Him. I know that His promises are real and that I can count on Him no matter what.

Brandon Frymire is a member of the Apostolic Faith Church in Portland, Oregon. The photos below are his Marine boot camp portrait and the vehicle that exploded under him during his tour of duty in Iraq.

Brandon’s testimony is a reminder to pray for military personnel who are defending freedom around the world.

Higher Way 19

The

Power of aPersonal Testimony

Paul was a highly-educated man, and possessed suffi cient knowledge of both religious and secular law to offer a strong defense regarding the charges leveled against him. He could have effectively used his knowledge of the Scriptures to make his case, argue a good point, and convince all present that Jesus was, in fact, the Christ. However, when given the opportunity to defend himself before King Agrippa, Paul chose to share his personal testimony of salvation.

In verses 19-23, we read the conclusion of Paul ‘s testi-mony: “Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedi-ent unto the heavenly vision: but shewed fi rst unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me. Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: that Christ should suffer, and that he should be the fi rst that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.”

The Apostle Paul understood the power and value of a personal testimony. And the way he delivered his testimony in Acts 26 gives us a good pattern to follow in how to effec-tively give our Christian testimonies to unbelievers.

There are three key parts in giving an effective testimony, all of which can be found in Acts 26. First, we should tell what we were like before our conversion. Second, we should

A personal testimony is a powerful tool. In a court of law, arguments based on material evidence and motive can have an impact, but often it is a personal

testimony that has the greatest infl uence on a judge or jury.Several years ago I was called for jury duty, and was

selected to serve as a jurist for a criminal case in which the defendant was accused of robbing several convenience stores. The prosecutor presented evidence linking the defendant to the time and place of the crime. However, what really established the defendant’s guilt was the testi-mony of store employees. One by one, they were brought to the stand and asked to verify information that had been presented to the court. Then they were asked to identify the robber if he was present in the courtroom. One by one, they all pointed to the defendant. That was devastating to his case! In fact, the trial was terminated before the jury ever met to determine a verdict. One morning we were told by the judge that the defendant had decided to accept a plea bargain rather than to continue with the trial. The personal testimonies pointing to his guilt could not be refuted.

In Acts 26, we read the personal testimony of Paul, given to King Agrippa. Prior chapters describe how Paul had been brought before Roman authorities and falsely accused of sedition by the Jewish religious leaders. They claimed he had polluted the Temple in Jerusalem and was the ringleader of the Christian faith, or the Nazarene sect, as they called it. Paul denied the charge. Eventually his case was brought before King Agrippa, who was well-versed in Jewish law, and the Apostle was given a chance to defend himself.

Paul’s example reveals three key parts to an effective Christian witness.

From a sermon by John Musgrave

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20 Higher Way

relate what happened that caused us to change—our expe-rience of salvation. Finally, we should describe what we have been like since that change occurred.

What was Paul like before his conversion? In verses 4-11, he gave a brief account of his early life, concluding with a description of his condition just prior to his encounter with God. He acknowledged, “I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities” (Acts 26:9-11).

What Paul did not do was to glory in his past life, give a lurid account of his ungodly behavior, or spend much time dwelling on what an evil man he had been. Simi-larly, when we give our testimonies, we do not want to draw the listener’s attention to our-selves by dwelling extensively on our past. We tell just enough to establish that we had a great need for salvation. Focus should be directed toward Christ who can save anyone.

Even when recounting our past, the objective of a testi-mony is to give honor and glory to God. The Psalmist said in Psalm 107:1-2, “O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy.” The redeemed of the Lord—those of us who have been born again—should give thanks to God who extended mercy to us and delivered us from the enemy. That really should be our purpose when we share our tes-timonies.

Next, in verses 12-18, Paul described in a very straight-forward manner his conversion on the Damascus Road. The Lord Jesus had revealed Himself in such a vivid way that Paul could still rehearse the exact words that had been exchanged between them. He did not need to prop up his testimony in any way. His simple account was convincing because it had been such a defi nite experience in his life. In just a few words, he was able to explain how God had met him, what God had said, and what God wanted from him—a life of service with the goal of pointing others to repentance and salvation.

In verses 19-23, Paul declared that he had obeyed that call, and that by God’s help he had been able to continue serving the Lord to that very day, witnessing to both small and great. What was he saying? He was relating what his life had been like since his salvation. The Lord had given him victory, and by His help he had been able to share his testimony and witness to everyone that the Lord had led his way. What a good, solid, victorious testimony!

A simple testimony of what God has done in a life will have an impact. After this account we read the reaction of two of those who heard Paul that day. Verse 24 tells the reaction of Festus. Upon hearing Paul’s testimony, he could not seem to contain himself—a probable indicator of con-viction. It says he responded with a loud voice, “Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.” It is evident that he had no way to explain what he had just heard, or what he was feeling in response to having heard it.

In verse 28, King Agrippa responded, “Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” There are different inter-pretations as to how he said these words. Some think he may have said them sarcastically, while others suppose he was sincere. Either way, King Agrippa felt compelled to respond to the testimony that he had just heard. Paul’s testimony impacted him personally. When we give our testimonies, people may dismiss us. However, a victorious testimony

is a hard thing to dismiss inwardly because of the impression that it leaves on the one who heard it.

At times our tes-timonies may not be given verbally,

but they can still make an impact. Body language experts say that seventy percent of communication is non-verbal. I remember a fellow student in my high-school drafting class in Bozeman, Montana. I knew he was a Christian. He never told me his testimony; he never said anything to me that indicated he had been saved. However, I knew he was a Christian simply by watching how he conducted himself and how he responded to other students who would play pranks on him. He never got mad. He never reacted poorly. Each day he brought a positive attitude to that class. And I noticed! Four years later, when I was under heavy convic-tion for the way I was living, that young man’s non-verbal testimony was one of the things that came up before me. In my heart I knew that a Christian could live a victorious life. That fellow student had witnessed to me every day, even though his testimony was never given to me verbally. To this very day I appreciate his Christian witness.

Another result of our testimonies is revealed in Revelation 12:11. It says: “And they overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” When we give our tes-timonies, we wield a conquering weapon that will help us obtain victory over the enemy.

Do you have a personal testimony today? If not, God can give you one—a powerful testimony that not only tells of victory over the enemy, but also gives you a way to talk to others and encourage them toward a life that is fulfi lling, full of hope, and that leads to an eternal reward.

John Musgrave is Director of Eastern Europe Work for the Apostolic Faith organization, and is on the ministerial staff in Portland, Oregon.

A victorious testimony is a hard thing to dismiss inwardly because of the impression

that it leaves on the one who heard it.

Higher Way 21

Highlighting Our Heritage

In the midst of the Great Depression, the Lord saved a young couple and taught them to trust Him.

By Alice Snyder

God Has Never Failed UsIt was 1935 and the Great Depres-

sion was felt in all our land. My husband and I were the parents of

two little girls, who at this time were six and eight years old. For the past fi ve years we had operated a conces-sion stand in a golf course clubhouse. Conditions were not as good as they should have been, in either our busi-ness or our once happy home. My hus-band had dedicated his life to Christ as a young man and had sincerely tried to serve God. I had believed in the Lord ever since I was a little girl. However, I did not understand real salvation. I thought if I went to church, did my best to be a good wife and mother, and treated my neighbors right, I would go to Heaven someday. I did help anyone who came to me hungry or in need. When I was a small child I had known real hunger, for my father was an alco-holic and my mother worked at any-thing she could fi nd to try to feed her four children.

In the depression years there were many men walking the highways in search of work. They came to our club-house offering to work for a little food.

We could not turn them away, but our profi ts dwindled. Also, to my great disappointment, my husband started to drink and to smoke the big cigars we had for sale. Our profi ts dwindled even more.

Then, my husband narrowly escaped a speeding train that almost struck his car as he was crossing the railroad tracks. The Lord, in His mercy, began talking to each of us. We knew that we should leave that town and try to get back to where God wanted us to be. But we didn’t have the money to move, and we wondered if anyone in those days had enough money to pur-chase our concession stand. We put an advertisement in the paper and had an answer soon from a couple who had to come to our climate for their health. They had little money, but we didn’t care. We only wanted enough to move away from that place.

We left in an old Model T Ford, partly held together with hay wire. Our two little girls were in the back seat with our dog and several cats in a cardboard box. We also pulled a trailer with a few boxes of clothes and a crate

22 Higher Way

I looked at my husband and wondered, “What

will we do for lunch?” He looked thoughtful

but said, “We will trust the Lord.”

of chickens. As we left, I looked back and said, “Thank you, Lord,” for I felt that we were like the Children of Israel leaving Egypt, trouble, and sin.

The only place we could stay tem-porarily was in my mother-in-law’s home. It was not very far from the Apostolic Faith tabernacle, and a camp meeting was in progress. The building was open on all sides in those days and we could hear the music—the songs of many happy Christians singing the praises of God.

One evening we went to hear the music, or I should say, the Lord led us there. As soon as I stepped onto those holy grounds, I knew that God was there, and somehow a hope sprang up in my soul. What an inspiring evening that was. I marveled at the testimonies and sermon and the praying of many voices in unison that sounded like the surging rush of mighty waterfalls.

I was given a church paper to take home. I took it out of courtesy, not really intending to read it. I had read so many religious papers over the years, and I was still all wrapped up in my own miserable thoughts about our unhappy home and the fact that I was fast becoming a cripple with arthritis. But the Lord was leading us to paths of glory. One day as I was ironing, so ill I could hardly work, the Lord spoke to my heart. The words were so real. He said to me, “Read that Apostolic Faith paper.” I began to weep, and with trembling hands I picked up the paper from where it was rolled up on the table. The tears blinded my eyes and I could not see to read. But sud-denly, as if they were written in letters of fi re, I could plainly see these words, “Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” At once my spiritually blinded eyes were opened and I knew that I was a sinner—a self-righteous one trusting in my own goodness and good works to get me into Heaven. I remember holding that paper over my heart and earnestly praying, “Oh, Lord, forgive me and I will serve You the rest of my life.” Such a simple prayer—but what marvelous results. Instantly all my burdens left me and such wonder-ful peace fl ooded my soul as I felt the cleansing power of the Blood of

Jesus wash away all the sin, doubt, and unhappiness from my life.

My husband was late coming home that evening, and I thought he was out looking for work. As he came in the back door, I looked at him with wonder for he looked young again—just as he looked when he fi rst started to serve Jesus, before all the sin and trouble had overtaken him. I said, “What has hap-pened to you?” He replied, “Jesus has saved me, and today as I was praying at the Apostolic Faith camp meeting Jesus sanctifi ed me. I am not going to drink any more or cause you any more trouble.” With joy I answered, “I didn’t know what to call it, but something happened to me, too. As I was reading the church paper and as I prayed, Jesus completely changed my life. I forgot to fi nish my ironing. Instead, I have been reading the Bible. I never knew it was such a wonderful Book with so many wonderful promises.”

In the days ahead, the Lord carefully took us through many hard trials to prove us and also to help us increase our faith in Him. One day He showed me that I needed to forgive someone for a great wrong. I knew I could say that I forgave, but could I really mean it in my heart? I prayed much about it and one day I told the Lord, “Yes, I can really forgive.” At that moment I was instantly healed of the arthritis.

Our younger daughter had been ill from the time she was an infant. Phy-sicians had not been able to help her. After we were saved, we decided to trust the Lord for her healing. For a long time she grew worse. One night as I prayed beside her bed, I looked out of the window at the stars and said, “Oh Lord, what have I done that You do not hear my prayer and heal our child?” A Scripture came to my mind, “Cast not away therefore your confi dence, which hath great recom-pense of reward” (Hebrew 10:35). My husband and I prayed all night by her bed. Then on another night, she went to sleep ill, as usual, but in the morn-ing she was entirely healed. Jesus had touched her during the night. The ill-ness never returned.

The time had come for our second camp meeting and we wanted to stay on the campground. We were told

Higher Way 23

You may obtain additional information about these doctrines, and learn about our publications in foreign languages by writing to the Apostolic Faith Church at 6615 SE 52nd Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97206, U.S.A. or visiting our website at www.apostolicfaith.org.

Before these magazines are sent out, they are always prayed over for the healing of the sick and the salvation of souls.

A Statement of Bible Doctrine

The Divine Trinity consists of three Persons: God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Ghost, perfectly united as one. Matthew 3:16-17; 1 John 5:7.

Repentance is a godly sorrow for and a renouncing of all sin. Isaiah 55:7; Matthew 4:17.

Justifi cation (salvation) is the act of God’s grace through which we receive forgiveness for sins and stand before God as though we had never sinned. Romans 5:1;2 Corinthians 5:17.

Entire Sanctifi cation, the act of God’s grace whereby we are made holy, is the second defi nite work and is subsequent to justi-fi cation. John 17:15-21; Hebrews 13:12.

The Baptism of the Holy Ghost is the enduement of power upon the sanctifi ed life, and is evidenced by speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives utterance. John 14:16-17,26; Acts 1:5-8; 2:1-4.

Divine Healing of sickness is provided through the atonement. James 5:14-16; 1 Peter 2:24.

The Second Coming of Jesus will consist of two appearances. First, He will come to catch away His waiting Bride. Matthew 24:40-44; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17. Second, He will come to execute judgment upon the ungodly.2 Thes salonians 1:7-10; Jude 14-15.

The Tribulation will occur between Christ’s coming for His Bride and His return in judg-ment. Isaiah 26:20-21; Revelation 9 and 16.

Christ’s Millennial Reign will be the 1000 years of peaceful reign by Jesus on earth. Isaiah 11 and 35; Revelation 20:1-6.

The Great White Throne Judgment will be the fi nal judg-ment when all the wicked dead will stand before God. Revelation 20:11-15.

The New Heaven and The New Earth will replace the pres-ent heaven and earth, which will be destroyed after the Great White Throne Judgment. 2 Peter 3:12-13; Revelation 21:1-3.

Eternal Heaven and Eternal Hell are literal places of fi nal and eternal destiny. Matthew 25:41-46; Luke 16:22-28.

Marriage is a covenant between one man and one woman that is binding before God for life. Neither person has a right to marry again while the fi rst companion lives. Mark10:6-12; Romans 7:1-3.

Restitution is necessary, where- in wrongs against others are righted. Ezekiel 33:15; Matthew 5:23-24.

Water Baptism is by one immersion “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” Matthew 3:16; 28:19.

The Lord’s Supper is an insti-tution ordained by Jesus so that we might remember His death until He returns. Matthew 26:26-29;1 Corinthians 11:23-26.

Foot Washing is practiced according to the example and commandment Jesus gave. John 13:14-15.

We believe in the divine inspiration of the Bible, and endorse all the teachings contained in it. Following is a summary of our basic doctrines.

that we could use a tent, and we did have some furnishings, but we needed a stove and money was scarce. Our family prayed together in our kitchen that God would help us go to camp meeting. Kneeling in a corner of the room, the daughter who had been healed was praying very earnestly, “Lord, give us a stove so we can go to camp meeting.” After prayer my hus-band went for a walk and passed an old house that workmen were taking apart. In one of the rooms was a small cast iron wood stove. My husband asked the foreman if he wanted to sell it. He replied, “If you can take it away, you may have it.” That stove served us very well for several camp meetings. I could even bake biscuits on it!

One Saturday night, I looked through the cupboard to fi nd some-thing to feed my family. Finally, we sat down and thanked the Lord for a very thin soup. The next day was Sunday, and we always took our lunch and stayed all day at church. I looked at my husband and wondered, “What will we do for lunch?” He looked thoughtful but said, “We will trust the Lord.”

At that moment there was a knock at the front door. We all hurried to answer it. There was a young woman from the Apostolic Faith Church standing there with a box of grocer-ies. As she brought them in, she said, “Mother was doing dishes when the Lord laid it on her heart to send you this food.” There was stuffed breast of veal, bread and butter, milk, fruit, and vegetables. We dropped to our knees in a great prayer of thanksgiving, not only for the food but for people who were close enough to the Lord to know when some of His children were in need. We thanked God also that He had revealed to us that we could trust Him in hard places.

In our fi rst year as new Christians, we found that we should trust, believe, and do God’s will. Through many years He never failed us.

Alice Snyder headed the Junior Sunday School Department at the Portland headquarters church for many years. During that time, she and her husband produced extraordinary Christmas pageants in the tabernacle.

DID YOU KNOW we offer many publications in addition to the Higher Way magazine? Visit www.apostolicfaith.org or write to us to fi nd literature and items of specifi c interest to you.

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