The Testimony of Gordon Lilly

Rev. & Mrs. Gordon Lilly

I, Gordon Lilly, will forever be grateful for the saving, sanctifying and keeping grace of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I praise God for allowing me to be born into a Christian home where Christ and His Church were first place at all times. I cannot remember a time when work took priority over the church. I grew up on a farm where the work never seemed to be done. However, that did not keep our family from attending church. The word vacation was not in my father’s vocabulary. We did, however, observe the Lord’s Day religiously. On Sunday the field work stopped, although the cows were milked morning and night and the other farm animals were fed and watered. We were in church Sunday AM and PM and back in church on Wednesday night and every other night when extended evangelistic meetings were scheduled for one to two weeks. Every time the church door was open we were there. Only Sunday afternoons were rest times.

The only thing close to entertainment was listening to the radio. My father listened to little except the radio preachers, the news and farm reports. Radio gospel messages were a constant companion while I was growing up, whether in the house or in the barn. Many mornings I awoke to Mrs. D Howard Cadle singing “Ere you left your room this morning, did you think to pray?” There was no place to hide from God’s influence. I must admit, that on the sly, I tried to listen to the Detroit Tiger’s baseball games. It was mostly futile because the radio stations were too distant to come in clearly. Some weekday nights I was able to listen to “The Lone Ranger,” and “Sky King” before father came in from his work. When he did come in the radio dial belonged to him.

I believe every child is born with a sin nature which is the cause of the wandering of every prodigal son or daughter from the things of God. My parents made heroic efforts to keep worldly influences from drawing my heart from God. I have said, in humor, “My mother was almost omniscient in detecting and heading off the sin in me.” PTL! However, because of the indwelling sin nature, I needed to be saved and was saved as a young child. I soon discovered, by experience, what the Apostle Paul described in Romans as the inability to do all he should and the inability to refrain from all he should. He then went on to describe a victorious life in Christ lived in the power of the Holy Spirit. As a young person, I was not always victorious, nor did I love Jesus with all my heart, mind, soul and strength.

I had heard the message of holiness all my life and was fully convinced of the validity of the theology. Three texts that I heard preached over and over were:

1. Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).

2. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification . . . .

(I Thessalonians 4:3)

3. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). This text rings in my memory. I can still hear Dr Kenneth Geiger preaching it at Prairie Street Camp in Indiana.

I was a member and traveled with the Helmsmen Quartet from Bethel College located in Mishawaka Indiana. One summer while the quartet was at the Ludlow Falls Camp in Ohio, the Holy Spirit convicted my heart of my spiritual need. The quartet was sleeping in a tent some distance from the tabernacle. Early one morning when I awoke I was under deep conviction and in the quietness of my heart I cried, “Oh God, I need you.” With that cry, the sanctifying power of God sent a deep settled peace into my soul. Previously all my spiritual striving had left me needy, but now the power of God filled and produced a victorious life which has held me steady for over 50 years. In a moment of time God made a radical change in my heart’s desires. Yes, maturity and growth were still needed and still is. By God’s grace I expect it to continue. About 20 years later I returned to Ludlow Falls Camp and was delighted to find a little prayer chapel had been built on the spot where the tent in which I was sanctified was pitched. PTL!

I am painfully aware that many who have professed the experience of sanctification have not exhibited a sanctified life. Hypocrites have always dwelt with the saints. The tares have always grown with the wheat. Only God can separate them at the end of the age. The dust had hardly settled from Pentecost when Anaias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit. They came under judgment in order to keep the church pure. The failure of Anaias and Sapphira or the failure of any professed saint does not disprove the clear command of Scripture to be holy; the essence of which is loving God with all our hearts and our neighbor as ourselves. Peter’s recounting of what happened at Pentecost was that their hearts were “purified by faith” (Acts 15:9). The evidence of a drastic change in Peter between John 18 and Act 2 cannot be denied. In Peter’s own words his heart was “purified by faith.” Nothing else can explain the change of a coward’s heart into a martyr’s heart. I pray that Pentecostal purity and power will return to the church and that hearts will again be “purified by faith.” If Peter’s heart was not cleansed and changed by faith he was deceived as to what took place.

In the Holy Bible I read of a God who is Holy and commands His people to be Holy. The closing chapter of the Word warns that nothing unclean will enter the Holy City and further warns that to add or take away from the Word is to forfeit our right to the Tree of Life and our right to the Holy City. Our names will also be removed from the Holy Book where the names of the saints, the Holy Ones, are recorded.

Sanctification, Whom It Is For

by Quinton J. Everest

"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." John 17:17.

Dr. Quinton J. Everest, was the speaker for Your Worship Hour which was heard around the world for over fifty years. He and Seth Rohrer were two of the founders of Bethel College, Mishawaka, Indiana and the Everest-Rohrer Chapel pictured above is named in their honor.

"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."

"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word." John 17:17, 20.

"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the pro. mise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." Acts 2:38, 39.

Matthew Henry says, "that when Christ died He left a will, in which He bequeathed His soul to His Father, His body to Joseph of Arimathea, His clothes fell to the soldiers, His mother He gave to John; but to His disciples, who had left all for Him, He left not silver and gold, but something that was infinitely better -- "His peace." "My peace I give unto you."

It is one thing to be at peace with God, but it is quite another to have the peace of God. It is a peace handed down from Heaven and implanted in the believing soul. This is the peace that comes to the believer who consecrates himself to God for heart-cleansing and Holy Spirit-infilling.

Scripture Proof

In searching the scriptures, we find that the truly Sanctified life, the Spirit-filled life, the life of fullness of joy is only promised to, and provided for, the born-again believer. It was for the disciples that Jesus prayed, "Sanctify them."

The promise of the Father was to them. The promise of power resulting from the incoming Holy Spirit was to them. The indictment against the Corinthians was "Ye are yet carnal." I Corinthians 3:3.

They were babes in Christ, but evidently Paul realized that they were remaining in the baby stage too long. They were natural men, and now they are classed as carnal; but Paul, wants them to move on to the stage where they can be called spiritual. They had been saved, but they needed a cleansing, sanctifying, infilling work performed in their hearts. In Acts 19:2 Paul coming to Ephesus asks: "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" and these Ephesians replied, "We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost."

Going on in this passage, we see that they were then definitely filled with the Holy Ghost. The gift of the Spirit was not expected in, but after conversion. The same fact is referred to and affirmed in Ephesians 1:13:

"In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation: in whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise." This reveals that there is a seal for those already saved. The seal is the promised Holy Spirit. This seal carried with it the thought of ownership, authority, power, protection, security, and identity. When a Christian is "sealed" by the Holy Ghost, "sealed" as the property of his Master, there will be no need to ask, "Whose image and superscription is this?" Matthew 22:20.

The King's image the image of God, will be visibly and unmistakably stamped upon us. This definitely reveals the tragic condition of much present-day Christianity. Many may have at one time been saved, but have failed to go on to the Sanctified, Spirit-filled Life, and as a result are spiritually dead, worldly, passionless, visionless, and earthly minded.

Again in Acts 8, we learn that this need Was the common conviction of the disciples. Note verses 14-17: "Now when the Apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: For as yet he was fallen upon none of them; only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost."

Here again it is made very plain that as soon as individuals believed, the great concern was that they should then be "sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise." The first thing to remember then in speaking of the Sanctified and Spirit-filled life is that it is promised and provided for the Christian. On the day of Pentecost, only those who were followers of Christ received the Holy Spirit. Following this, they began to preach Christ crucified, and to promise the gift of the Holy Spirit to all who would repent and accept Christ. Under the power of Holy Ghost preaching, men were pricked to the heart and cried out: "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Peter replied,

"Repent, and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Acts 2:37, 38.

So today, to all who are crying out, "What must I do?" the answer is -- "repent and accept Christ." You don't repent by joining the church or by water baptism, or by any other form or ritual; but by confessing your sins and your sinfulness to God and to your fellowmen where necessary. Included in repentance is not only confession of sins, but also sick enough of sin to quit the sinning business. If you have gone through a sort of confession, but are still living in sin, you have not really repented. There is no use for you to ask God to sanctify you and fill you with His Spirit until you have genuinely repented. This is one great trouble with many who seek to be sanctified. They want to hold on to some sin and at the same time be powerful Christians.

If God has saved you and has asked you to give up worldly associations, immodest dress, your tobacco habit and other anti- and non-Christian practices, habits, and attitudes, and you still insist on holding to these things, you need not expect God to sanctify you. You are not on sanctifying ground. When God saves a man, He does a complete job of it if the man will let Him. Then when God sanctifies a man, He also does a complete work if there is an unreserved consecration. (In a moment, we shall say more about this.)

Some have opposed this indispensable truth of the sanctified life. You never need worry about enjoying the gracious fullness of the Spirit's presence in your heart if you do not want Him there. When Jesus came in the flesh to the Jewish church, only those who were Israelites indeed recognized and received Him as the Son of God. The chief priests and scribes could not understand that Jesus was the Messiah even when He healed the sick and raised the dead. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him." Psalm 25:14.

Therefore, Simeon and Anna had no trouble recognizing Him. Just as the unbelieving and godless Jews in the church under the old dispensation rejected Jesus, so do the unconverted and backslidden in the Christian church in this new dispensation reject the Holy Ghost. Many know full well that we need the Holy Spirit in the individual life and in the church, but they refuse Him admittance. They are willing to give Him a restricted place in creeds and confessions; they may occasionally refer to Him in songs and sermons, but they shut Him out of their hearts. They object to His revelations, demonstrations, and manifestations. The lives of many church members are full of worldly desires and pursuits, full of jealousy and envy; and full of sectarian prejudice simply because the Holy Ghost has been kept out of the heart.

Prior to Pentecost, the disciples gave evidence of a further need in their hearts. James and John wanted to be the "big shots" in the coming kingdom. They manifested a spirit of revenge when the wicked Samaritans would not accept Christ. Fire was needed all right, not to burn the Samaritans, but to burn the spirit of carnality out of the hearts of these disciples. On various occasions they were too materialistically minded. Their behavior during the apprehension, trial, and crucifixion of Jesus and their lack of unity-all this and more revealed a lack in their lives. Had these disciples failed to obey the command of Jesus in waiting for the promise of the Father, we would never have heard of them. Either the cause of Christ would have been defeated or God would have had to call others who would have been obedient to His commands.

Surely it is dangerous and arrogant presumption for any one to undertake the work of Christ without going to Him for the promised purity and power. It surely is a sad sight to see an institution claiming to be the church of God undertake to do with organization, entertainment and socials the work that can be done only by the enduement of power which comes with the Sanctified, Holy Ghost-empowered life. No natural gifts, mental developments, or scholastic training can possibly take the place of the divine energy and unction that comes by the abiding presence of the Holy Ghost.

I am not inappreciative of the activities of the church today, yet I cannot help feeling that our spiritual power is at a tragically low ebb; the spiritual temperature is too chilling. We need fire! We need power -- the power of the Holy Ghost! It is comparatively easy to get a good crowd for an ice cream social or a church movie. It is not too hard to get a crowd for a picnic, but how about the mid-week prayer meeting? Some professing Christians are just as interested in a mid-week prayer meeting and just as interested in the real spiritual progress of the church as a dead man is in a sizzling porter-house steak. "Instead of the church evangelizing the world, the world is secularizing the church."

Friends, let us not attempt to battle against the foes of sin and Satan in our strength, but in humble, faithful prayer let us trust in God and receive the cleansing and power He has provided for His children. If we wait in humble prayer until we receive Him, then it will be said of us: "greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." I John 4:4. Since we must go forth to war against devils and mighty evil spirits, and since we must battle the prince of the power of the air, let us do it in the power of the Holy Ghost and be assured of victory.

Historical Proof

In the past, many churches placed emphasis on this very truth which is so clearly and emphatically taught in God's Word. Not all have used the same theological terminology, but the important thing is to know we are sanctified and that the Holy Ghost abides.

The Methodists have described it as "entire sanctification," "holiness," or "perfect love." The Baptists and others may call it the "baptism with the Holy Ghost," or the "filling of the Spirit." The Presbyterians may call it the "life of faith," or the "rest of faith." The Quakers may call it "living in the Spirit," or "overcoming power." Some view it from the human side -- others from the Divine side; but the all-important thing is to come into possession of that which is provided.

There are many recorded testimonies of our church fathers which speak of this second definite work in the heart: Polycarp, the martyr, the Bishop of Smyrna, said: "He who is possessed of love is free from all sin."

Ignatius in commenting on I Thessalonians 5:23 declared that "he who presents these three (spirit, soul, and body) to God without fault is therefore perfect."

John Chrysostom, the golden-tongued preacher declared that "to obtain such power and to receive forgiveness of sins are not one and the same."

Matthew Henry, the noted commentator, says regarding the prayer of Jesus in John 17: "Jesus prayed for all that are His that they might be sanctified. He could not, for very shame, own them as His, either employ them in His service or present them to His Father if they be not sanctified."

Richard Watson, a renowned theologian said: "We have already spoken of regeneration, adoption, and the witness of the Spirit; we proceed to another experience as distinctly marked and as graciously promised in the scriptures: namely, the entire sanctification or perfection of believers."Charles Wesley sang:

"Speak the second time, 'Be clean'!

Take away my inbred sin;

Every stumbling-block remove,

Cast it out by perfect love."

Someone has suggested that those who do not believe in Entire Sanctification ought to sing the song, "Whiter Than Snow," like this:

"Dear Jesus, I long to be partially whole;

I want Thee occasionally to live in my soul:

Break down some of the idols, cast out a few foes,

Now wash me and I shall be whiter than I was a little while ago."

Little needs to be said of John Wesley and his experiences and teaching. Few, if any, have had such tremendous influence since the days of the Apostles. He preached, expounded and defended the doctrine of Entire Sanctification. He inquired of his preachers regularly whether they had received the gift of perfect love. If their testimony was not very clear, the question was followed by another! "Are you groaning after it?" Everywhere he inquired if believers were living in the enjoyment of entire sanctification. Nothing less was sufficient. New converts were urged to seek full salvation, lie observed that where this was not experienced, the cause of Christ suffered:

D. L. Moody relates that two ladies informed him that they were praying that he "might receive the power of the Spirit." Moody said he thought he had all that was needed, but soon there came a hunger into his soul. One day on a street in New York City, God filled him with His Spirit. Of that Moody says: "Oh, what a day.! I cannot describe it; I seldom refer to it; it is almost too sacred an experience to name." Then he said, "I went to preaching again. The sermons were not different; I did not present any new truths; and yet hundreds were converted. I would not now be placed back where I was before that blessed experience if you should give me all the world."

Your Need

My friend, what is your need? Are you saved-born again -- a child of God? If you are, thank God for it, but do not stop there. Let God sanctify you and fill you with His Holy Spirit. Confession of your need to God and a consecration of your possessions and" yourself to God will open the way for the Holy Spirit to come into your heart.

If you have a definite experience of sins forgiven-if you have been truly born of the Spirit -- inner, entire sanctification is for you.

Note: This is the second of a five series radio broadcast originally aired from June 15 - August 3, 1947. Let God Lead Us will be posting all the sermons in the series as follows: 1) Sanctification, what is it? 2) Sanctification, whom it is for? 3) Sanctification, when obtained? 4) Sanctification, why necessary. 5) Sanctification, what it will not do.