Olivet Nazarene University Digital Commons @ Olivet Herald of Holiness/Holiness Today Church of the Nazarene 10-15-1985 Herald of Holiness Volume 74 Number 20 (1985) W. E. McCumber (Editor) Nazarene Publishing House Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.olivet.edu/cotn_hoh Part of the Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, Christianity Commons, History of Christianity Commons, Missions and World Christianity Commons, and the Practical Theology Commons Recommended Citation McCumber, W. E. (Editor), "Herald of Holiness Volume 74 Number 20 (1985)" (1985). Herald of Holiness/Holiness Today. 218. https://digitalcommons.olivet.edu/cotn_hoh/218 This Journal Issue is brought to you for free and open access by the Church of the Nazarene at Digital Commons @ Olivet. It has been accepted for inclusion in Herald of Holiness/Holiness Today by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Olivet. For more information, please contact [email protected]. L S ^ ^ A f j^ lc OlLLEtt. Thrust to the Cities, Chicago '86 A N • E D TOR A THE THANKSGIVING TRADITION by General Superintendent John A. Knight OR THE CHRISTIAN, Thanksgiving is not a sea­ In the light of these and numerous other benefits of son of the year, or an annual celebration. It is an thanksgiving, it is appropriate to nurture the spirit of Fattitude of the heart, a habit of the soul. Thus Paul ad­gratitude. In the United States and Canada, Thanks­ monished the believers, “In every thing give thanks." giving is dramatized and highlighted as a national hol­ Thanksgiving brings honor to God. Its center is iday in November and October respectively. While this is praise. It recognizes God for who He is and for what He not celebrated the world over, our international Naza- does. To give thanks is to acknowledge God as the renes have formed the tradition of expressing gratitude Source of our life, the One in whom “we live, and move, to God by bringing an offering for world mission. and have our being." In bringing an offering of gratitude At this time each year through this means, we have to God we exalt Him as the Sovereign Lord and loving been enabled to meet the commitments of the General Heavenly Father. Budget— which means commitments to our mis­ Thanksgiving brings spiritual growth. The soul ex­ sionaries and to our mission activities. pands as it expresses gratitude. To fail to be grateful This method of evangelization has proven to be effec­ either is evidence of a diseased spirit or is a virus that tive because of the gratitude of our people expressed in will destroy the spirit— or both. The most vibrant, radi­ “Thanks-giving" to others. Annually we lay on the altars ant, winsome, and effective Christians are those who of the church the fruit of our labors— our finances— in freely express gratitude to God and appreciation for oth­ order to spread the gospel to all men everywhere. By ers. To nurture ingratitude is to become an ingrate. our continued faithfulness we will be able to enter 20 Thanksgiving unleashes the resources o f heaven. It is new countries or mission areas by 1995, making a total almost a truism that God does big things for big people of 95 where we hold high the banner of holiness. Thou­ and little things for little people. These adjectives “big" sands will be converted and sanctified wholly by the and “little” do not refer to material or physical size, but to cleansing and indwelling Spirit of Christ. the quality of one’s spirit. We can limit God by our spirit The goal established by those who know our mission of greed and selfishness, which are expressions of in­ needs best has been set for this “thanksgiving season" gratitude. The grateful heart knows the blessings of the at $9,500,000. It is worthy and reasonable— and, with Lord. the Lord’s help, possible. Thanksgiving breaks down barriers between man Who knows but that God will choose this year and and God and between people. It is almost impossible to this quadrennium to honor our spirit of thanksgiving and maintain good relations with others so long as a spirit of open the windows of heaven— and send widespread ingratitude prevails. Wrong attitudes, preconceived revival to our Zion. judgments, unwieldy personal relationships can be over­ Whether He does, we will let Him be God. For our come where thanksgiving is present. This is why revival part, we will do our best. Our thanksgiving will be an often breaks out in the midst of those who delight in expression of our praise— and He alone is worthy. □ praise and thanksgiving. LTHOUGH UNINTENTIONAL, sometimes the victory.” Sanctification is not attained by growth, but crises and processes of holiness are over­ holy living is a matter of growth. A simplified. Go to the altar the first time and get saved,We do not get all the light we are going to need in a go a second time and get sanctified, and from then on lifetime when we get sanctified. It is a long way from it is clear sailing as a Christian. This misconception is the ABCs of the grammar school to the technical stud­ brought up short by the realities of everyday living. ies of the graduate school, academically and in Chris­ Some become confused when the first bloom of the tian experience. There is a real difference between new life of holiness is put to the test by temptation or Christian goodness and Christian growth. tension. When energy flags and happiness sags, be­ Another vital area is the contrast between the nega­ lievers are suddenly faced with the discovery that holi­ tive and the positive. To live completely on the nega­ ness must be maintained and there are hazards in holy tive plane is to live in a world without spiritual ro­ living. mance and dreams. To live completely on the positive It is important that doctrine and experience be re­ plane is to build no fences or establish no guidelines for lated and identified. To be effective the doctrine of holy living. holiness and the life of holiness must agree. To be genuine a doctrine must meet three tests: it Holy living is not liberty from law but liberty within must have the sanction of God by the witness of the spiritual law, and liberty can never be said to be un­ Holy Spirit; it must be corroborated by the Bible; and bridled license. Many are for almost anything and it must be placed on exhibition by daily living. against nothing. I have known people whose doctrine of holiness was One of the hazards to be dealt with is finding the so unrealistic that it would have been almost impos­ balance between the negative and the positive. The sible for an angel to live it. No allowance was made for “Thou shalt nots” are as important as the “Thou physical infirmities and human frailties. To them be­ shalts.” There are some places holy people cannot go. ing sanctified was to arrive at complete development in There are some things they cannot do. There are some Christian graces. It would be spiritual failure to say “ I attitudes they must not take. am sorry” to God for errors in judgment, speech, or life. There is no way we can maintain spiritual integrity God’s grace was not given the opportunity to minister in holy living until we take a stand against sin and the to them when life became abrasive and human rela­ evil prevalent in the world today. Hollywood is playing tionships difficult. They permitted no allowance for up to the lusts of the flesh, along with the TV “soaps” growing pains. and pornography. Secular humanism is deifying hu­ Differentiating between purity and maturity is im­ manity. A permissive society is ignoring Bible stan­ portant. Why can we not maintain the emotional dards and rules. “high” that occurred when we were sanctified? Why do To dare to be different has its personal and societal we have “down” times? costs, but it is the road to Why do we not make a by J 0 H N W . MAY true holiness and inner home run every time we are happiness. Holiness people at bat? Why do we find it must never leave a question hard sometimes to pray, to as to where they stand on testify, and to witness to sin, but it must not be with our peers? a dour attitude against sin­ Day by day we must face ners. the hazards and keep mov­ The light of holy living ing forward. We must try cannot be turned on like an before we fly. We learn by HAZA RDS electric light. It must be doing, we become more maintained by a holy life adept and effective as we and bolstered by a faithful grow, and holiness deepens TO HiOLY walk with God. The oil in as we go from “victory unto the lamp comes from God, but we must trim the wick. JOHN W. MAY is superinten­ It is our responsibility to dent of the Eastern Kentucky uvirsIG maintain the spiritual glow District and lives in Mount while confronting the haz­ Sterling, Kentucky. ards to holiness. □ i OCTOBER 15, 1985 HERALD of H O LIN E S S Bible Quotations in this issue: W. E. McCUMBER, Editor in Chief Unidentified quotations are from the KJV. Quotations from the following translations are used IVAN A. BEALS, Office Editor by permission. MABEL ADAMSON, Editorial Assistant (NKJV) From The New King James Version, copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.