G O D ’ S m i s s i o n a r y STANDARD VOLUME 7I | ISSUE I | JANUARY 2020 If God be for us... from the editor David Wise The Battle for a Bean Field Sometimes greatness is found in the unlikeliest of places. In the case of one of David’s mighty men, that place would be a “ground full of lentils”; a bean field if you will. We know very little about Shammah son of Agee the Hararite, but what we do know is most impressive and inspiring. The Phi- listines had come to fight Israel again. Their fighting men were apparently in no mood to show mercy, and the Israelites, sensing their spirit and seeing their force, fled in every direction. The battle seemed to be over before it had even begun. Yet one man, Shammah, stood his ground and would not run from the enemy like his brethren. The spot chosen by Shammah to be JANUARY 2020 Volume 71 | Issue 1 his “Alamo” was a bean field. There was no cover and there was no place © 2020 God’s Missionary Standard ISSN 1065-4879 to hide. He would have to fight and seemingly die in the midst of the beans. P.O. Box 970, Penns Creek, PA 17862 Why he chose not to run we don’t know. The “ground full of lentils” more God’s Missionary Standard is published five times per year by God’s Missionary Church and mailed from Shoals, Indiana. Subscriptions than likely was his own modest garden, and there is a strong probability that are FREE. Contributions to this non-profit ministry are always welcome and encouraged. he had just had enough of the enemy taking what did not belong to them. Web www.godsmissionarystandard.com This willingness to die for the cause gave him a recklessness and a courage Facebook facebook.com/gmstandard Twitter twitter.com/gmstandard that must have stunned the Philistine attackers. To them, the beans were Editor David Wise potentially part of a good meal but not a reason to die young. Shammah had Assistant Editor Brian Black drawn his “line in the sand,” and as he struck down Philistine after Philis- Advisors Timothy Cooley, Sr., Jeff Stratton, Greg Hobleman tine, the tide of battle turned in his direction. His principled stand must have Business Manager Alan Walter inspired the Israelites who were still around to watch his “rendezvous with Design Heidi Hoffman Printing Country Pines Printing death.” Man after man must have felt the tug of conscience and returned to News & Articles David Wise join the brave warrior in his stand for truth. What at first seemed like a fool- [email protected] ish decision turned out to be one of the greatest victories in the history of Subscriptions & Address Change Alan Walter 2127 Hill Street Lebanon, PA 17046 Old Testament Israel. A man willing to stand and fight for principle changed the course of history and secured a legacy of faith and heroism that speaks to us three thousand years later. We live in a day when the “Philistines” of this world are doing their best Conference President Jacob Martin to demoralize and destroy the people of God. Conservative Christians are 216 Schoch Street Middleburg, PA 17842 under attack in this nation and around the world. The culture of ungodliness [email protected] Vice President Jeremy Fuller all around us seeks to impose its false values and fake tolerance upon true [email protected] Bible believers. This vicious assault is not just from the “world” but within Secretary John Zechman [email protected] the ranks of Evangelicalism. Much pressure is being exerted to “conform Treasurer Alan Walter [email protected] to the culture.” Old-fashioned Holiness people with biblical continued on page 7 Home Missions Director Jeremy Fuller [email protected] World Missions Director Wilmer Paulus [email protected] facebook.com/gmstandard twitter.com/gmstandard 2 gms | january 2020 A Perfect Faith by Spencer Johnson from The Peerlessness of Holiness Faith must persistently press its claims upon see that they could have had the blessing long the authority of God's word. The seeker must ago if they had obediently trusted the Saviour. become so desperate that he loses sight of ev- "And this is the confidence that we have in erything else but the desire for the blessing be- him, that, if we ask any thing according to his fore victory will come. When Jacob became so will, he heareth us: And if we know that he desperate in his wrestling with the angel that hear us, whatsoever we ask we know that we he would not let him go until he blessed him, have the petitions that we desired of him." (I then he received the blessing that changed his John 5:14-15) nature and his name. (Gen. 32:26-29) "The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the In one of my meetings a young man was at violent take it by force." (Matt. 11:12) Weak the altar seeking to be sanctified. Everyone half-hearted seeking will never bring down the else at the altar had prayed through to victory. blessing. Living faith will not give up but it The hour was late and only a faithful few had preserves until it obtains the object of its de- stayed while the battle raged long and fierce. sires. "For ye have need of patience, that, after This young man had stayed on with a desper- ye have done the will of God, ye might receive ate determination to have the blessing of a the promise." (Heb. 10:36) If the blessing clean heart. I shall never forget the prayer he does not come immediately then search your prayed that night and the blessing he received. heart and He looked up toward Heaven and said, "Lord wait on the Thou knowest that I have yielded all to Thee. Lord, fully Weak half-hearted Nothing do I withhold. Thou art so big and I expecting seeking will never am so little. It would not be hard for Thee to victory. "I bring down sanctify me. Oh, Lord, I must have the assur- waited pa- the blessing ance that the work is done. I will never leave tiently for this altar until I know I am sanctified. Men the Lord; may carry my body out the door but I will not and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry." leave until thou dost make me holy." That was (Psalms 40:1) Some have received the bless- as far as he got in his prayer, for "God came ing of heart purity in a matter of minutes while down his soul to greet, and glory crowned the others have struggled for weeks and even mercy seat." He had crossed Jordan and swept years. Those who have waited long invariably into the Canaan experience. Praise God! january 2020 | gms 3 HE MEANT BUSINESS by Parker Maxey from “We’ll Get To That Later” “That cat moved me to get something for him to eat!” That was what a man said to us when a friend and I visited him in his ma- chine shop one cold, winter day in a city in Pennsylvania. It was an extremely hard winter for animals to keep alive in that part of the world. We found this man in his shop by a little gas heater where he would sit and eat his lunch during the noon hour. By sizing him up you wouldn’t have thought that big, rough machinist would have cared anything about a stray cat just like a lot of people have looked upon God as some distant, austere Person who cared noth- ing about them. As we listened with interest, he told us his cat sto- ry. We could see a man, rough appearing on the outside, but with a tender heart that could be touched with the struggling efforts of a stray cat to stay alive. He had made sure that his shop was closed up tight enough when he locked up every night so no animal could get in. One morning, however, when he opened shop, there inside was this cat. It was so thin he wondered how it was still alive. He had left a small jar of cream that he had for his coffee sitting on the floor beside where he sat to eat his lunch. There was some cream left in the bottom of the jar but there was no way the cat could Too often get his head into the jar to lick up the cream. The cat didn’t seem to we stop at have noticed his presence but was the halfway mark sticking his paw down into the jar and fail to wait and then drawing it out and lick- upon God ing it off. He kept this up until the cream was all gone. While that big man watched he was moved with the impulse to go and get some milk and cat food to help that cat in his effort to stay alive, and he did that very thing! I listened to that man tell about his part in aiding a helpless stray cat in real need and thought how often God has looked down upon poor, helpless humanity in their extremi- ties when they manifest a determination to keep alive spiritually regardless. We have often heard it repeated, “God helps those who help themselves.” This is not found in Scripture but it is true that God often holds back a blessing or help to see if we really mean business.