In this issue:
From Whence cometh the Gift of Salvation
Progress in Australia
David Clayton
General Impressions
Our trip to Australia lasted for a little over four weeks. The trip
was packed with assignments from the very beginning and for the entire
duration of the four and a half weeks we did not have much more than a
couple of days free. I had to remark at one point that I would always
remember this trip as “the days of the whirlwind.”
Our itinerary took us from Sydney to Brisbane, then to Perth on the
other side of Australia, then back to Sydney, then to Melbourne, then to
Sydney again and from there a trip back up to Brisbane which involved
several stops and visits along the way. Initially we had been scheduled
to spend a week in the Solomon islands, but the threat of unrest and a
possible civil war indicated that it was best for us to cancel this
trip. Instead we spent this time in Cooranbong, holding other meetings
and having a couple of days of rest and recreation.
We spoke in home school gatherings, public halls, private homes and in
parks. Allen even had the privilege of discussing Adventism with a
group of Lutherans in their church, and I had the privilege of speaking
in an Assemblies of God Church, even though only the pastor and his wife
turned up to listen. I also discussed the truth with a group of hippie
type Christians who lived together in a type of commune and were
strongly Trinitarian.
The campmeeting in Numinbah was probably the high point of our visit.
Thirteen persons were baptized at this campmeeting (Allen did the
baptizing) and with the other 12 who were baptized at other places a
total of 25 people were baptized during this trip. In addition we had
the privilege of seeing several others come to an understanding and an
appreciation of the truth about God.
As in other countries the truth about God has crossed Adventism’s
boundaries in Australia like nothing else has ever done, and it is not
only in the mainline SDA church that people have been taking a stand for
the truth, but also in the SDA reform movement. We met several
believers who were former members of this church and who had been either
disfellowshipped or had withdrawn their membership because of the
Trinitarian apostasy within their former church. The truth has even made
inroads within the ranks of the other independent ministries which have
maintained a strong Tritheistic stand and have spoken strongly against
the truth. Nevertheless, in every place, despite the strong efforts of
their leaders and teachers, honest persons are coming to see the truth
and are taking a stand for it.
One of the great regrets which we had on this trip was the fact that
we did not see several of our friends and brethren whom we had met on
our first visit to Australia. We did not go further South than Melbourne
and as a result we did not see any of our friends from South of
Melbourne. This was a disappointment. The people who organized our visit
had apparently been unable to arrange meetings in those areas and this
was apparently the reason for our not traveling in that direction.
However, we found that there were many new believers. Since our
previous visit two and a half years ago many others had come to believe
and understand the truth about God. On our previous visit for example we
had had no meetings in Sydney because we had had no contacts there. On
this occasion we had three meetings there at which there were
approximately thirty persons present on each occasion.
The message is spreading fast. There is a problem however in that the
movement is not unified. There are isolated individuals and pockets of
believers, but there is need of regular meetings such as a campmeeting
or a couple of campmeetings annually which will give the people a sense
of belonging to something which is going somewhere. There is also the
need for leaders to arise who will take the steps necessary to keep the
message and its importance before the people of Australia. This is
something which we need to pray earnestly about.
The believers in Australia have many issues being constantly kept
before them and the truth is that this has led to fragmentation in the
movement. While most of us agree that the most important truth in the
Bible is the truth concerning God and His Son, there are others who feel
that there are other things which must be attached to the message such
as the “holy names,” or the observance of the feast days, or the message
that God does not kill etc. This has certainly led to division and
fragmentation among the believers and is one of the main reasons why the
truth about God has not presented a more unified front in Australia.
During our meetings we endeavoured to show the supreme importance of the
truth about God and His Son. All our meetings were aimed at helping
people to have a clearer understanding of how an appreciation of this
truth affects us and our Christian experience in a very practical way.
We had the satisfaction of seeing that our emphasis was appreciated and
eagerly received. Several persons in various places remarked that they
had never understood the message and its importance before. We felt that
the trip was well worth the effort and expense.
The trip had been organized chiefly by two ladies who live in the
Queensland area, and who have indicated that they would prefer to remain
anonymous. The names of some others have also been withheld because
they are still working in the mainline Seventh-day Adventist Church or
the Reform branch, and feel that their influence might be harmed if it
is known that they are actively involved with groups which work outside
of the mainline branches of Seventh-day Adventism.
Arrival
Marty picked us up when we arrived at the airport in Brisbane. He was a
good natured man with an endless supply of experiences and anecdotes.
He took us to his home about three hours from the airport where we met
his wife who was the person who was mainly responsible for organizing
our visit to Australia. There we had a meeting with a few people who
came over for worship that night.
After the meeting we left for the home of Glenn and Megan Blakemore
where we had a few hours sleep before Marty arrived to take us to the
airport for the next leg of our journey which was the flight to Perth on
the other side of Australia. The flight was scheduled to leave at 5.00
in the morning so we had to be there by close to 4.00 in order to ensure
that we were not left behind. This meant that we had to leave at 1.00
a.m. and it seemed like I had only just fallen asleep when it was time
to get up again. Fortunately we were able to get some sleep in the car
while Marty drove us to the airport. He did not have a problem staying
awake for another brother was with him and I could hear him cheerfully
talking away as I drifted in and out of sleep during the trip.
Perth
We flew to Sydney, and then from Sydney to Perth. In Perth we were met
by Corrine Stanley who had organized the meetings there. She took us to
her home out in the country about a half an hour away from town. She
lives with her husband Royce and their three children in a secluded
place surrounded by trees with no other neighbour within sight or sound.
We had two meetings in Perth, one on the evening after we arrived, and
the other on Sabbath evening. These meetings had been advertised in the
local newspaper but we had a very poor turnout. Only a few people came.
Because of this, we changed the format of the meetings from that of a
lecture into a discussion format and this worked very well. We were able
to get the questions which were in the minds of those who were present
and were able to more thoroughly examine the issues involved in the
study of the godhead. In spite of the fact that there were so few of us,
we felt that the trip to Perth was a worthwhile one because those who
came were able to receive a good understanding of the truth and would be
able to share it with others after we were gone.
We thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent with the Stanleys and were
sorry when we finally left on Saturday night, March 27, for the journey
back to Melbourne. We left at midnight and flew for three and a half
hours, but again we were caught by a two hour time adjustment and when
we arrived in Melbourne it was not three thirty, but five thirty and
time to begin the new day. Needless to say I was just ready to begin
sleeping when we arrived in Brisbane. Here in Brisbane Allen and I
separated. He went on to Sydney where he would hold meetings while I
stayed on in Melbourne.
Melbourne
I was met at the airport by Andrew, a brother who originates from
Fiji, but who has been living in Melbourne for the past 20 years. He is a
very zealous distributor of literature and his home was packed with all
kinds of books and tracts. When we arrived at his apartment I was able
to get a welcome two hours of sleep before we left for the hall where we
would be having the first meeting.
These meetings were held at the Mullauna Secondary College Arts
Centre. At the first meeting there were 20 people but at the evening
meeting there were about 35. At this first meeting I spoke on the topic,
“The Fruit of the Gospel.” Later in the evening I spoke on, “The God of
the Bible.” The first meeting was mostly believers but the later
meeting had a few who did not believe and a few of them asked a few
questions in an attempt to show that we were wrong. The main questioner
said that what I had presented was true, but my method of studying the
Bible was wrong. One of the problems he had was that in Revelation 4:2, I
read where it says, “one sat on the throne,” I made an issue of the
fact that there was only one on the throne, while the word one is in
italics which shows that it is a supplied word. In response I asked him
if he thought there was more than one on the throne as the rest of the
passage clearly shows that only one was on the throne. He answered no,
but I should not make a big thing of the word “one” since the word was a
supplied word. Needless to say both the people and I were somewhat
mystified in attempting to discover what the point really
was. Nevertheless, God blessed these meetings and several expressed the
fact that they had learned a great deal. Several were there who had
never heard these truths before and were favourably impressed.
That night I stayed at the home of David and Rada Afele. By the grace of God I was able to get a good night’s sleep.
The next day I had a meeting with a few mothers who were homeschooling
their children. This meeting was at a place called Lilydale, which was a
kind of park beside a lake. I spent a few hours with these ladies and
mostly shared some biblical reasons for homeschooling and also shared
some of my own experiences in homeschooling my own children.
Later in the evening we returned to Mullauna College Arts Centre for
the final meeting. This time I spoke on “The Truth of the Gospel” and
showed how the doctrine of the Trinity embodies the spirit of
antichrist. Our friends from the previous day were there again with
their questions and we had a session at the end of the meeting where
they presented their objections. Their main objection was that we cannot
understand many things about God and that we were attempting to explain
too much. In their opinion, it was really safer to accept that these
things were mysteries which we could not understand. Our reply was that
we were willing to leave everything alone which God had not revealed,
but that we were not willing to ignore what he had revealed in His word.
That night I stayed at the home
of Igor Vujica who lives fairly close to the airport and would be taking
me to catch my flight to Sydney the following morning. Igor was full of
questions and I think he would cheerfully have continued to question me
all night if he had not discovered that I was very tired and in need of
rest. The next morning he continued his questioning and tried to pry
every bit of knowledge out of me before I left. When we got to the
airport with a few minutes to spare, he found a place where he could
park and said, “now brother David, what else can you tell me.” He really
appreciated what he could gain from our discussion and I think in all
my travels I never met anyone who was as appreciative of the opportunity
to learn more, as he was. Finally, and with reluctance he had to let me
go after I made him a promise to send him whatever tapes and other
materials I could.
Sydney
When I arrived in Sydney I was picked up by Tom Pinto, an Adventist of
four years. He and His brother Bill had arranged the meetings in
Sydney. Though he is only a young believer, having been a Seventh-day
Adventist for four years and a believer in the truth about God for only a
few weeks, already Tom has suffered for his beliefs. His stand for the
truth has brought painful division into his own personal family. Now, he
is faced with another mountain as the truth about God has taken hold on
his heart and he can see that another tremendous upheaval is on the
horizon.
When we arrived at Tom’s home, we met his father and his mother, Luigi
and Linda. They are very nice people and they welcomed me to their
beautiful home like a son. His mother is not a Christian but she is one
of those delightful souls who believes that good food is one way of
keeping people happy. She greeted us with a lovely meal which I
thoroughly enjoyed.
At the meeting that night about 35 people were present. The subject
was, “Who is the Holy Spirit.” To be truthful, I wanted to speak on,
“The Fruit of the Gospel,” the truth which has been burning in my heart
for the past few weeks. However, I was told that this was a pressing
need of the people and so I decided to speak on the holy spirit. The
Lord blessed the meeting and those who attended were able to get a clear
understanding of the subject. Most people were already believers, but
most of them were new believers and did not have a clear answer to some
of the questions which people often ask. They were happy for the
presentation.
One experience in Sydney stands out in my mind particularly. While
there I met a lady who had several burning questions, and being a
forthright type of person she approached me with these questions.
Among her questions was, “why did God allow such suffering and sin
when he knew millions of years before it happened that it would happen?”
She expressed herself very forcefully and I could tell that it was a
very sore spot with her. I breathed a prayer for wisdom and gave her the
answer as best as I could. When I was through, she nodded her head
slowly. Her next question was, “what about this woman Ellen White?” I
told her that I believed that Ellen White was a messenger of God and
explained that one of the reasons why I believed this, was the fact that
reading her writings always drew me closer to God. She replied, “it is
not like that with me. When I read her writings I get scared, especially
this book, Great Controversy.” She continued by saying that she could
not understand why she had suffered all her life, she had had so many
bad things happen to her and then in this book, Great Controversy, it
says that she will have to suffer still more at the end. Instead of
things getting easier, they get worse! Still more suffering!
Again I lifted my heart to God and again he gave me an illustration
which appealed to her. I told her of the poem entitled “footprints,”
which illustrates the fact that when we go through the most difficult
times in our lives God bears us up in His arms. I quoted the verse which
says, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and
through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest
through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame
kindle upon thee. (Isa 43:2) I told her that there is no real difficulty
in life if we have the right kind of company. It is only when we are
alone that things are really very hard. I mentioned the statement which
my wife had made before we were married that she would live in a cave
with me, and I said, “we would have been happy living together no matter
how hard things were, and we would have been unhappy living apart no
matter how easy things were. It’s not the load that gets you down, it’s
the fact that you bear it all alone.” At the end she was silent for a
while and I encouraged her to give her life to the Lord. She whispered,
“I would like to but I do not trust Him.” I told her that the only way
to trust someone was to get to know them better and I encouraged her to
seek to know the Lord better by prayer and reading of the Bible. She
nodded her head and promised that she would try.
Cooranbong to Coffs Harbour
I left Sydney at 7:00 am on Wednesday, March 31 heading for Cooranbong
where I would meet Allen. Tom and his brother Bill took me. It was a
drive of nearly four hours and we arrived at about eleven o’clock. It
was a joy to meet Allen again, but it was an extra special blessing to
also meet again Alan Walker and his mother Esther, dear friends from our
previous visit to Australia.
At this point we transferred our luggage to Alan’s van and said
goodbye to Bill and Tom. Alan would be taking us on to our next
assignment, which was a meeting of home schoolers. We drove for two
hours before we arrived at the meeting place. This was in an area called
Taree. There we found several families gathered and waiting for us.
There seemed to be children everywhere. The talks on homeschooling were
not something which I felt very comfortable with. I had never spoken on
the subject before coming to Australia. I was much more comfortable with
preaching and the sight of all those expectant faces, about 20 children
and 8 mothers was a little intimidating, even though I had been a
schoolteacher some years ago. Nevertheless, Allen and I proceeded to
give talks based on our own experiences and the insights we had gained
from the Bible which were relevant to homeschooling. To our joy and
relief, these talks were enthusiastically received and the parents and
students expressed the feeling that they had been very blessed by
hearing us.
From the home school meeting we were taken to the home of Peter and
Vikki Marshall. Here we would be spending the night before going on to
Coffs Harbour for a meeting the following day. The Marshalls live out in
the middle of very beautiful country without a single neighbour in
sight anywhere. The landscape is very lovely with hills all around and
yet the area is open enough that you can get a view for many miles on
one side. I could not help thinking that it was the perfect place for
rearing children if one was interested in keeping them close to nature
and away from the influences of the city. Peter and Vikki have four
children ranging in age from 12 to 1 year old. We found them to be
mannerly children who had an intense interest in every living thing that
moved. They were constantly bringing bugs crickets and butterflies to
show to us. Living as they are out in the country they constantly have
encounters with all kinds of wildlife. While we were there they had a
large goanna lizard more than two feet in length which they had captured
when it came to steal the fowl (or “chooks” as they are called in
Australia) eggs. They said that it was the third such lizard which they
had caught since the year began. They regaled us with all kinds of
stories of their encounters with snakes and other creatures. At one
point they had been awakened in the night by the sound of one of the
children whimpering in his sleep. When they turned on the light they
discovered a python wrapped around the child’s leg with its teeth
fastened in the leg! I was impressed that this family had a special
regard for life as they always try to relocate these animals rather than
killing them. Even this python which bit Nathan in his sleep was
released far away from the home rather than being hacked to bits. I had
to admit that they were far more tolerant than I was!
The next day Peter took us to Coffs Harbour which was about four hours
away from where they lived. His eldest child, Amelia, came with us. We
were also accompanied by Sarah, a 17 year old girl who had joined up
with us in Sydney and was traveling with us to the campmeeting in
Brisbane. Speaking at this campmeeting was to be our main assignment
while we were in Australia and as we traveled from place to place we
were gradually working our way up the coast towards the place where this
camp would be held.
We arrived in Coffs Harbour late in the evening, just a half an hour
before the meeting was scheduled to begin. We had set out a little late
from the Marshall’s home. I think Peter miscalculated the time it would
take us to travel to Coffs Harbour. In addition we had stopped along the
way to do some sight seeing.
When we arrived in Coffs Harbour there were already some people
waiting for us at the high school where the meeting was scheduled to
take place. In a few minutes they were all there and we started. There
were only 14 of us in all, but those who were there paid close attention
as first, Allen spoke on the subject of the love of God manifested in
the giving of His Son, and then I spoke on the subject of the holy
spirit. The only opposition came from a little old lady who was not
obnoxious but dogmatic. She kept asking questions and making comments
which annoyed some of the other visitors. At the end of my presentation
she said, “well I believe in three Gods, God the Father, God the Son and
God the Holy Spirit.” This was too much for one of the others who said,
“your problem is that you will not listen! You must listen, or else you
will not learn.” This created a little tension but we called for prayer
and things calmed down before they got out of hand.
From the meeting place we went to the home of John and Karla where we
would spend the night. It was a lovely home with a swimming pool in
front of it. In fact there were two houses and one was quite empty. This
was where we would spend the night. John told us that we were welcome
to use the swimming pool, the only condition being that we should have a
bath first as the water in the swimming pool was cleaner than drinking
water! It was too late for me to face up to it but Allen had a swim
before he turned in. Peter and Amelia had planned to return home that
night but by the time the meeting was over it was so late that we all
pleaded with Peter not to take that four hour drive back home at that
late hour. Finally he reluctantly agreed to stay.
The next morning we left early for Brisbane. John would be taking us
and since it was a four hour drive, he was anxious to make an early
start so that he could get back before it was Sabbath. We sadly said
goodbye to Peter and Amelia, while Allen, Sarah and I set off with John
on the journey to Brisbane. When we arrived in Brisbane we were somewhat
disappointed to discover that Allen and I were again to be separated.
He was to go to Stanthorpe and Toowoomba while I was to go first to the
sunshine coast and then to Maryborough
Sunshine Coast
When I arrived at the sunshine coast I discovered that an interview
had been arranged for me with a local newspaper. The interviewer was a
young lady who seemed quite interested in my idea that it was only in a
relationship with God that we can experience true love and that the key
to selflessness in love, is to understand the nature of God’s own
unconditional love as displayed in the gift of His only begotten Son.
This young lady professed not to believe in God, but she asked many
questions, some of them apparently for her own benefit, for she put down
her pen at one point and listened intently as I explained that we
really have no reason for doing what is right unless we accept the
reality that there is a God to whom we are accountable, one who has the
authority to determine what is right and what is wrong.. Later, an
article was published based on this interview which was entitled,
“Jamaican here to spread some love.”
The next day, April 3 was a Sabbath. A meeting had been arranged in a
building called the Federal hall. I had stayed in the home brother Arch
Chater for the night and he took me there in the morning. Eventually
about 20 – 25 people turned up for the meeting. I spoke on the fruit of
the gospel and also on the holy spirit. After the meeting I went to
Maryborough to the home of one of the families who had organized our
trip to Australia. There I would spend the next couple of days.
Maryborough
While I was there in Maryborough the schedule was especially hectic.
On one occasion I had four different engagements for the day. However,
these kept me busy and prevented me from missing home too much. I have
to confess though that everything seemed to go by in a kind of blur.
On April 4 I went to speak at an Assemblies of God church in Bauple.
Our hostess had arranged these meetings on an impulse. She had just
happened to be passing the church one day and had stopped to ask the
pastor if he would be willing to allow a visiting minister from Jamaica
to have a meeting in his church. Astonishingly, the minister had agreed!
However, when we arrived for the meeting we found that only he and his
wife were present. He explained that there was another meeting later on
in the evening and that most of the people were planning to attend that
meeting and so had not turned up for my meeting.
We had a good discussion on the love of God manifested in the gift of
His Son. However, we did not touch on anything controversial. The
minister was impressed and wished me to tarry so that I could speak to
his church for the evening meeting. However I had to decline since I was
scheduled to have another meeting in just a few minutes from that time
at the QCWA hall in Maryborough.
At the meeting in Maryborough that night about thirty people turned up
and listened attentively as I spoke on “The Fruit of the Gospel.” The
audience was a mixture of some who already believed in the truth about
God and others who wanted to know more about this much criticized
doctrine. All who came seemed to have been favourably impressed.
The next day I took worship with the staff and students at Riverside
Christian school. Both sessions were short but in addressing the staff I
again spoke on God’s love in giving His Son and the response was very
favourable. We left directly from there and traveled to a place called
Glenwood to meet with a group of hippie-type people. These people live
in a kind of commune and seemed to me to be very self-righteous. They
feel that they have obeyed the Bible and forsaken everything. They do
not believe in secular employment although when I asked how they obtain
money to buy food they answered that now and then one of them will go
out and do some work. They cook with a wood fire and try to live as
primitively as possible. Their women do not seem to shake hands because
twice I offered my hand when I was about to leave and both times it was
ignored.
These people are very Trinitarian in their beliefs and I was not able
to make much of an impression on them though I presented clear Biblical
evidence to the contrary. However, they seemed to be quite set in their
ways and had an air of knowing it all. They did not smile much while I
was there and when we left I was somewhat relieved.
In the evening I spoke again at the QCWA hall. The topic was, “the God
of The Bible.” These meetings were public meetings and had been
advertised as “Elijah on mount Carmel: Who is the God of the Bible.”
Again, the response seemed to be very good. Everybody listened
attentively and although I challenged the audience to please stop me if I
used one single text out of context or with a false interpretation,
there was complete silence throughout the presentation.
The following day I went to visit with Sandra and Wally Claus at their
beautiful home. They live on a property of fourteen acres named
Walandra. I enjoyed the time I spent with them. Later in the afternoon I
transferred to the home of Glen and Megan Blakemore and enjoyed a
restful time with them and their four children, Sam, Lachie, Connie and
Mia.
In the evening we returned to the QCWA hall for the final meeting
there. I spoke on the subject of the holy spirit. This evening saw the
largest audience so far. The local newspaper had carried an article on
Allen and myself entitled, “Group without name has message for all,” and
this apparently brought out a few people. They listened attentively and
at the end, almost all of them expressed appreciation for what they had
heard. One person walked out during the sermon but apart from him there
seemed to be united agreement by the time the message was over. One
lady thanked me and then left to go home. Soon she was back with a bag
of bread rolls which she placed in my hand. “I know that a traveling
preacher needs the bread of life,” she said and as she handed me the
rolls she pressed a little money into my hand. I was especially moved by
this because she was not one of the believers but just a lady who had
come in response to the newspaper article. This sign of genuine
appreciation was heartwarming. Afterwards I spent a restful night at
Glenn’s and Megan’s.
Marburg
The next day, April 7, I Travelled to Brisbane where we were picked up
by Andrew Coyte who took me to Marburg where I would meet up with Allen
again. We met at the home of Trish, a lady who is a homeschooler. There
was a meeting of homeschoolers in her home which we were scheduled to
address. The ladies there seemed to appreciate and to be encouraged by
the experiences we related as we told of what it had been like
homeschooling our children. We spent the night at this home. I admired
the lady for her willingness to have us stay and I wondered at the irony
that two Sabbath-keeping ministers who had said so much against the
Papacy should be entertained by this Catholic lady. I was even more
impressed when she willingly agreed for another lady and four of her
children to also spend the night.
Campmeeting
The next major event was a campmeeting. This in fact was one of the
main events on our itinerary. The next day we traveled with Andrew
Coyte, his mother, Robin and his grandmother, Ida Murray, up to the
campsite. The campsite was called “The Log Cabin.” It is a secluded
place in the mountains in a place called Numinbah, and is set on 20
acres. There are trees and hills on every side and it is a really
beautiful setting. Here is where we would be for the next three days or
so. I would be leaving on Sunday afternoon for an appointment in another
part of Australia but the campmeeting would continue until Monday
morning.
The campmeeting was one of the highlights of the trip to Australia.
The people who came appeared to be truly blessed by the messages which
we presented. Our main focus was on the implications of the message –
how it affects our lives and not just the theory of trying to prove
doctrines. This emphasis was appreciated and on the whole we had a
blessed time. On the Sabbath there were perhaps close to 80 persons in
attendance. Some came already believing in the truth about God, but
there were a few who were skeptical and even one or two who were
outrightly opposed to the message.
At the end, there was one lady who attended most of the meetings but
was not convinced. However, to the best of my knowledge she was the only
one. One couple told me that they had heard the message six years ago
but had not seen any light in it. They had come to the campmeeting for a
second look, but not with any real expectancy that they would find
anything different. However, as they spoke to me they were overjoyed
with their new understanding and felt that the message was most
important. Another lady told me that she had only come to observe, but
she stated that she had found herself weeping as she had listened to the
messages of the love of God manifested in the gift of His Son and she
rejoiced that God had opened her eyes. These testimonies were very
encouraging to us and we felt that our trip to Australia had really been
worthwhile.
Blair Andrew took me to the airport on Sunday, shortly after mid-day.
Leaving my new friends at Camp was a somewhat traumatic experience for
me. I was reluctant to go. I had known them for only a couple of days,
but it does not take long for people to become embedded in your heart
when the love of God is the binding factor, and it was only reluctantly
that I pulled myself away after some painful farewells.
Rockhampton
After an hour’s flight I arrived in Rockhampton where I was met by
Vera Latcham. Vera is a very pleasant and easy going lady, but a
committed Christian who is a very good hostess. While I was in the home
of herself and her husband Barry I was treated to the very best
hospitality and although Barry is not a believer in God, I found him to
be a very likeable and genuinely friendly and considerate person who is
easy to get along with. They live on a lovely property of 14 hectares
with a river flowing on one side and a creek going through the middle of
it.
Meetings were scheduled at their home on the night when I arrived and
also for most of the following day. The first meeting found twelve
persons present who listened attentively as I spoke on the subject of,
“the God of The Bible.” There were a few persons there who came with a
skeptical point of view. Happily, however, at the end of the meeting
most of the skepticism seemed to have disappeared. One man said that he
had been of the impression that we were downgrading Christ, but after
listening to the presentation he could see that this was not what was
happening at all.
The following day there were perhaps ten persons present. There were
two presentations, one, on the Holy Spirit, and the other on the Fruits
of the Gospel. The people listened attentively and appeared to be moved
by the presentations. There was one man present however, who raised up
discussion and argument at the end of every presentation and talked for
extended periods of time. He claimed to be impressed by what was said
but then went on to explain that he believed in the Trinity. He spoke at
great lengths of how the co-equal, co-eternal members of the godhead
had adopted certain roles and went on and on, though he did not shout,
raise his voice, or get offended. When he was asked for the scriptural
evidence for his beliefs he would avoid the issue by making more long
comments. He had many ideas but little Scripture to back them up and
when it was pointed out that there were many problems with his ideas he
would claim that these were “mysteries.” The other people were really
frustrated and it was somewhat of a relief when evening came and we
finally broke up.
The following day I rested for most of the morning. It was good to
have an opportunity for some quiet time, undisturbed by the pressure of
meetings. In the afternoon Vera took me for a visit to a park which was
kind of like a mini zoo. Afterwards we went to the airport where I said
goodbye and took flight back to Brisbane.
Brisbane Again
I was met at the Brisbane airport by a young man named Ben Turner. We
had grown to be good friends while I was at the campmeeting. He informed
me that I had to speak at a meeting in half an hour. The problem was
that the meeting place was one and a half hours from where we were. We
set off with him driving a bit like a Jamaican at times. Fortunately the
traffic was not heavy and we arrived in just about an hour and a
quarter. In the meantime Allen had been trying to hold the fort by
recapping some of the things which he had preached the night before. He
was relieved when I arrived although to tell the truth, I wished that I
had had a little time to catch my breath before speaking. However, I was
able to speak with conviction and the people seemed to have been
blessed by what they heard. That night we stayed at the home of one of
those who came to the meeting, a brother by the name of Andrew.
Australian Zoo
Early the next morning Ben came to pick us up. This was the only day
of the tour when we would have a full holiday. We were scheduled to
visit the Australian Zoo, owned and operated by the famous Steve Irwin,
the “crocodile hunter.” We got there at around 9.00 O’clock and stayed
there all day until closing time at 4:30. It was interesting, but I
missed my family especially at times like this and it somewhat dampened
the excitement of the situation for me. Nevertheless it was an
interesting day, and especially the various shows they had throughout
the day when they fed the animals or demonstrated how they responded to
training. There was a special show between 10.30 and midday when several
shows were done in a mini stadium called the Crocoseum. There were
demonstrations with birds, tigers and crocodiles. It was quite
interesting. We returned home satiated, but quite tired from all the
walking we had done (at least I was).
Baptism at Imbil
The next day we went up to a place called Imbil where we had a baptism
for three persons. The baptism was near the home of a couple who had
been to the campmeeting and who had called to say that there were some
persons in their area who desired baptism. This baptism took place in a
nearby river.
It was evening when Allen baptized these folks, two adults and a child
maybe 13 or 14 years old. It was getting cool, but the location was
beautiful and I could not help thinking that two thousand years ago when
John the Baptist baptized Jesus it might have been in a spot a lot like
this.
We again spent the night at Ben’s home. It was a tight squeeze because
Glenys Walkom with her two children, Jonathan and Jessica, as well as
her mother in law, sister Esther Walker, had stayed with us because they
would be taking us down to Cooranbong for the next few days. This was a
contingency plan which had been worked out when we discovered that the
plans for us to visit the Solomon islands had fallen through. So there
were the four of them as well as Allen and I, staying with Ben and his
wife Bethany. They were very happy to have us all stay with them
although it did inconvenience them a lot.
Cooranbong Again
The next morning we set out for the journey to Cooranbong. It was to
be a journey of nearly 14 hours so we set out very early at close to
4.00 A.M. We drove for most of the day stopping for a while at a place
called the “Big Banana,” where there were souvenirs and a few
attractions such as the opportunity to ride on the “Toboggan.” This was
something like a bobsled ride where you went sliding down a chute at
high speeds in a kind of sled.
We arrived in Cooranbong close to sunset. It was Friday evening and so
we hurriedly made preparations for the Sabbath and made contact with a
few people to see if they would be interested in coming to a meeting on
the following day. Quite a few people agreed to come.
Next day we went to a park where about 30 people turned up for the
meeting. This was a bit of a surprise as we had not expected anywhere
near so many, but apparently the news got around and some whom we had
not been able to contact heard and decided to come. We had a very good
day, with a study in the morning on the subject of how the doctrine of
the Trinity is related to the spirit of antichrist, and then in the
evening we had a question and answer session. The main subject of
discussion was the nature of Christ and how it was related to the truth
of the godhead. We finally parted as it was getting dark after a very
good day’s fellowship.
Natasha’s Baptism
The next day Natasha was baptized. Natasha was a young lady who had
travelled to the campmeeting with Donna and Alan Walker and whom we had
met on our previous trip to Australia. She had had some talks with
Allen, and had been especially moved by the baptisms which took place at
the campmeeting. Now she made up her mind that she wanted to be
baptized as well, so we drove to a slow flowing river which ran through
the grounds of Avondale college and Allen baptized her to the great joy
of the small group of us who were present. this baptism was especially
thrilling to Alan and Donna who have known Natasha and have been praying
for her for many years.
After the baptism we were taken to lake which was really an estuary as
the water originated in the sea and was salty. However, it came in
through a narrow channel and was almost completely surrounded by land so
it was almost a lake. It was quite large and was a lovely spot. Here we
met a friend of Glenys’ who owned a jet ski. Alan Walker also brought
his speed boat along and we had a day of recreation which was good fun
for everyone. I was even persuaded to ride on the jet ski and learned
that the art of survival was to cling to the person in front of you for
dear life. Our driver was skilled at his art and took delight in taking
his vehicle through all sorts of contortions with the express purpose of
trying to throw the passengers off. He made it buck worse than the
wildest bucking bronco of the wild west. He seemed to sense that I had
an antipathy to cold water and did not do his best while I was on the
vehicle. Later he succeeded in throwing Allen much to the delight of the
rest of us watching on shore.
We went back home to Esther Walker’s where we were staying, happy for
the opportunity to have had a little break. It was also a good
opportunity to get to know our brothers and sisters better. Brett and
Charlene Murray were there as well as Bob and Judith Higgs, Alan and
Donna Walker with their family, Glenys Walkom and her children, Jonathan
and Jessica, Natasha was also there, as well as Esther Walker and David
Holsten.
That evening we said goodbye to Alan and Donna and the family as well
as to Bob and Judith. It was a sad time. We have truly come to regard
them as family and it was as painful as having to say goodbye to our own
flesh and blood. The following morning Glenys, Jonathan and Jessica
also left very early before daylight and we had to go through the same
trauma again.
The next day, David Holsten took us to the airport from where we flew
back to Brisbane. There Ben met us and we returned to his home where we
spent one last night. There was a kind of get together with some members
of his family where we said our last nostalgic goodbyes. It was a
bitter-sweet time, sweetened by the thought that the next day we would
be heading for home. It would be a long trip, close to 45 hours for me
and a long wait in Los Angeles of nearly twelve hours. I would arrive
home dirty and tired. For Allen it would only be a little better as he
would get home about 14 hours or so before me. However, After having
been away for more than a month, the long journey home did not seem like
such a daunting prospect and we were eager to start.
We flew out the following morning at 11.00 a.m. After a 15 hour flight
with a short stop in New Zealand, we arrived at Los Angeles where Allen
and I separated. I arrived home two days after leaving Australia
grateful to God for a profitable journey and a safe return home.
Free tape offer
This month we would like to offer a special sermon on audio tape to all those who write to request it.
The sermon, by David Clayton, is entitled, “The Truth of the Gospel.”
This critically important message explores the biblical meaning of the
gospel and shows how the most vital elements of the gospel have been
obscured by traditional beliefs within Christendom, and particularly the
doctrine of the Trinity. Those who hear this message will see very
clearly that the truth about God is not a secondary issue but is indeed
the most vital truth which all people need to understand and to receive.
This audio tape is free to all who request it. Simply write and ask for the audio tape entitled, “The Truth of the Gospel.”
Jamaican Camp meeting Report
Karleen Williams
It was thrilling to see
believers gathered from across the island and the United States to share
in the blessings of another camp meeting held April 8-12, 2004. This
year our campmeeting was held for the first time at the “Youth With A
Mission” campgrounds which has more ground space, and a beautiful
chapel.
Our theme was, “Contending For the Faith”.
The daily schedule began with an early morning devotion, which began
at 6:00 – 7:00 a.m., a morning session 9:30-10:45 and a mid-morning
session 10:45 – 12:00. Lunch was between 12:00 and 2:30 followed by two
afternoon sessions, 2:30 –3:45 and 3:45 – 5:00, and then the day ended
with an evening session 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Our speakers for this camp meeting were David Sims from California,
Dr. Steven Burks of Ohio, and Arthan Wright from Florida. Our local
speakers included Sisters. Zemrie McGlashan and Tracey Wilson, Bros.
Leford Russell, Wayne Sutherland, Neville Morris, Marlon Cole, Walt
Brown, and Howard Williams.
FRIDAY
Friday morning devotion began with Sis. Zemrie who challenged us to
contend earnestly for the faith. She gave examples of Daniel, Moses and
Elijah who, in their day never ceased to contend for what they believed.
Following our devotion, Bro. David Sims gave an intense study on the
importance of knowing the truth, knowing what we believe. Bro Athan
followed with an interesting message on the life of Gideon. After lunch,
Bro. Marlon Cole gave an eye opening presentation on facts about the
coconut.
Dr. Burks began a series of interesting studies showing the origin of 666 and Pontifex Maximus.
SABBATH
The Sabbath morning was beautiful and was truly a high day. Everyone
stopped to look at the rising of the sun, it was magnificent, it added a
special luster to the day. Devotion began with song service conducted
by Bro. Howard Williams. The singing was melodious and of a nature to
bring out goose bumps on the skin of those who heard it. Bro. Leford was
our morning speaker. He focused on the question of “why is it that
older folk find it harder to accept Christ than younger folks?
The mid-morning session was conducted by Bro. Neville Morris who led
us to look a little more closely namely at “The Formation of the Image
of the Beast.”
Dr. Burks continued on his study showing how Paganism and
Babylonianism has invaded Christianity and why we need to contend for
the faith.
The afternoon meeting was a continuation of a discussion raised just
before lunch, since lunch was a little late. This discussion centered
around the Anti- Trinitarian doctrine and just why we need to make this
an issue.
The presenters all seemed to have had an upper room experience as all
the messages were linked to each other. Our next session was taken by
Bro. David Sims who highlighted the right and wrong uses of music and
the need for parents to home school their children. The presentation was
well received.
The evening meeting featured Bro. Arthan who gave a timely and instructive message.
The atmosphere of camp meeting was very pleasant, as the lord brought many heart-searching messages through the speakers.
SUNDAY
Sunday morning devotion began with Sis. Tracey Wilson, instead of
David Wilson, her husband who was scheduled to share. Her message was
profound. She shared experiences linking them to Bible passages so
everyone could relate to and understand that we must earnestly content
for the faith.
Bro. David Sims followed with a message entitled “Country Living’ He
encouraged us to look towards going to the country and he quotes: “As
God’s commandment-keeping people, we must leave the cities. As did
Enoch, we must work in the cities but not dwell in them.”— Evangelism,
pp. 78, 79. (1899)
The morning session concluded with a forceful message by Dr. Burks in
which dealt with how we can live in Babylon and not be a part of
Babylon. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were prime examples. He
also showed that if we live a representative life then in the Kingdom to
come our position would be secure.
Our afternoon messages included a health talk by Sis Debbie Cole who
shared ways in which we can maintain optimum health, even as that of a
new born. Bro. Walt Brown then shared with us the importance of our
Savior’s ministry in the heavenly sanctuary.
The evening meeting was open for testimonies led by Sis. Naomi Morris.
Indeed our hearts were stimulated by these testimonies.
MONDAY
It was hard to come to grips with the fact that camp meeting that we
had long anticipated had come to an end. Our early morning devotion was
conducted by Bro. Wayne Sutherland, who shared with mixed feelings, as
this camp meeting was the last one for him and his family. They will be
leaving for England for a few years. He too encouraged us to contend for
the faith and asked us to pray that he and his family will do the same.
After breakfast Brother Howard encouraged us all to keep the focus of
contending for the faith before us at all times and that we should pray
that the Lord will keep our hearts fixed on the goal of reaching others
with the message of love that they too can experience the character of
Christ.
After this meeting we all had a congregational hymn where we joined hands together and sang, “side by side we stand.”
Camp meeting 2004 came to an end, but the experience we got is still living in our hearts.
Musical items
We were especially blessed by the presence of Godfrey Burks, brother
to Dr. Steven Burks also from Ohio who thrilled our souls with
inspirational singing.
Our own Restoration Ministries singers blessed our hearts as well with a few items.
Congregational Singing
One of the highlights of this camp meeting was the singing. It was
contagious and incomparable. The testimony of all was that this was the
best singing they had ever heard. The brethren would be gathered
sometimes even half an hour before the scheduled time just to
participate in the song service. I will say unapologetically, that those
of your who missed this campmeeting, missed one of the experiences of a
lifetime, so all those of us who love singing, should not miss another
camp meeting.
Those who would like to attend next year hould start planning from now
for an even richer and more blessed experience. Until then, may God
bless you.
From whence cometh the gift of salvation?
Am I trying too hard to please God? The answer most obvious, is that I
can never, in my entire lifetime, try too hard to please the One who
loves me most. It is impossible to do too much for the One, who made
priceless my salvation.
Many times, I am sure, in our Christian experience, it weighs heavily
on heart and mind, a compelling desire to speak the Word of Truth to a
particular person. We long to tell this dear soul about the love of God,
His coming judgment, the time of trouble, and much, much more. It has
indeed been my experience. Often—times I have forgotten the admonition
found in Ecclesiastes 3:7 “. . .a time to keep silence, and a time to
speak; . . .“ and Psalms 27:14 “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage,
and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” Instead I
have put on my “spiritual hipboots” and waded right in, trying to do
the entire saving thing all by myself. I envision the water of
worldliness rising higher and higher. My friend is’ drowning in sin. The
swirling waters of his unbelief will soon silence my voice. W;hat
should I do! What am I to say! Where is my strength? O’ wretched person
that I am. I cannot save myself. How am I to save somebody else?
The Lord opens the eye of my mind to 2 Samuel 22:33. “God is my
strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.” Precious Saviour,
please impress me to move out of Thy way. Thou only canst do the saving
work. Without Thee, I can do nothing. May I never neglect to bow humbly
before Thee, asking thy Divine instruction before speaking Thy Word to
any person. Remembering always that “Every good gift and every perfect
gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom
is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” James 1:17
May thou Lord, perfect thy gift of Salvation in me, and through me, is my prayer.
Open Face is published bi-monthly and is sent free to all who desire to receive it.
David Clayton: Editor and Publisher
P. O. Box 23 Knockpatrick
Manchester, Jamaica W.I.
Phone: (876) 904-7392
email: david@restorationministry.com
