Entire Sanctification by Commissioner T McKie (1907)

The following article is reprinted from The Bandsman and Songster October 26th 1907.

If it be asked whether I mean by sanctification or a Personal Pentecost the mighty rushing wind and the tongues of fire, gifts of healing and miraculous power, I answer emphatically, "No!" But I mean the plenitude of the Holy Spirit, the filling of our hearts with the Divine love and power which results in the salvation of many souls. Thank God we may now be so filled with the Spirit, entirely sanctified, made perfect in love, and possessed with a passionate enthu­siasm for the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

But in order to come into the enjoyment of this glorious experience certain conditions must be met. Need I point out that God has attached conditions to the bestowal of all His great gifts, and clearly stipulates them in His Word. With these conditions we must cheerfully comply; we must add nothing to them, and take nothing from them. But as soon as we meet the conditions, God undoubtedly will fulfil His pledge. He cannot mock us. He will not go back on His own truth. He lovingly waits now to confer the infinite riches of His Holy Spirit upon His every obedient child.

THE CONDITIONS

But now, putting aside all preliminaries, what are the conditions with which we must comply before Jesus can baptise us "with the Holy Ghost and with Fire," and fill us with all the fullness of God. Briefly, they are these:-

1. THERE MUST BE A GENUINE HUNGER­ING AND THIRSTING FOR THESE GIFTS. "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." This is the initial step - the cornerstone of the whole structure. No hungering, no thirsting - no filling. We may reckon positively that the Holy Ghost will never pour resurrection life and fullness into our lives until we are right dead in earnest about it, and feel we cannot live and work another day without it. Are you hungering and thirsting for this incoming? This is the first step, and we cannot take the second until we have taken this one.

2. THERE MUST BE A SPIRIT OF ABSOLUTE AND UNQUESTIONING OBEDIENCE. This was the condition attached by Christ to the bestowal of the first apostolic baptism. He commanded them “that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of Me" (Acts 1:4). This condition of all blessing is expressed in the words of the mother of Jesus, "Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it" (John2:5). The obedient alone shall eat of, the fat of the land. There must then be prompt, exact, and cheerful obedience if this gift is to be possessed.

3. THE BAPTISM MUST BE SOUGHT SOLELY FOR GOD'S GLORY. Not for my comfort, nor my joy, nor the promotion of neither my in­terests, nor that I may be happy. All these things will come in their natural course. One thought and purpose alone must possess and move me; "Not my glory, but His, and His alone!"

ENTIRE SURRENDER.

4. I MUST YIELD MYSELF UNRESERVEDLY TO GOD. I must “present” my “body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is" my "reasonable service" (Rom 12:1) “What things” are "gain unto me, these I” must count “loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I” must count “all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, and ... count them but dung.”

Another condition upon which the fullness of the Divine blessing is dependent is given in Malachi 3:10 “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."

See also Matthew 19:20; Mark 12:44. To yield is to possess; to lose is to find.

5. LASTLY, I MUST TAKE. One of the most significant words of the whole Bible is that little word TAKE. It is a case of "take it or leave it." You will get no more than you take. Do not remain talking about “trying” to take it. Take it! Help yourself!
THE RESULTS.

The results to any company of people receiving this baptism must be similar to those produced at its first bestowal. Let us see what those first results were, and their present day analogies on our life and work.

1. THE BAPTISM QUALIFIES US FOR AT­TRACTING THE CROWDS. We read that immediately after the first Pentecost, “when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together.” A house on fire always attracts a crowd, so does a man on fire. A Band or Brigade filled with the Holy Spirit and with Fire will not be long without crowds.

2. IT SETTLES THE QUESTION OF " HOW TO GET A MOVE ON - In some places the work of God may be stagnant; almost everything has been tried by way of a remedy, and yet things remain in, many instances as they were. Why not try a Pentecost? You will be certain to create a stir then. We read that when the hundred and twenty were baptised the people “were all amazed and marvelled”, they were “confounded” … "in doubt, saying to one another, what meaneth this?” (Acts 2:6-7 and 12). There is nothing like the Holy Ghost for creating interest, causing a stir, “getting a move on” among the people.

3. IT WILL SETTLE THE QUESTION OF WHAT WE ARE TO PREACH. Read Peter's sermon as recorded in Acts 2 from verse 17 to the finish of the chapter. We must give the people the pure unadulterated truth of God, without trimming or qualification, if, we want to cut men and women to the heart. There must be no withholding the sword from blood, no holding back unpalatable truths about sin or judgment or hell. The Holy Spirit will teach us to deliver “the whole counsel of God.”

4. IT WILL HELP TO SETTLE THE QUESTION OF CONVERTS STANDING. They will remain steadfast -not carried away by every wind of temptation, persecution, or false doc­trine that blows. “And they continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship." (Acts 2:42.)

DIFFICULTIES SOLVED.

5. IT WILL HELP TO SOLVE MANY DIFFICULTIES. “And all they that believed, were together, and had all things common.” They were of one heart and of one soul. Men sometimes call the sacrifices of love of that day fanaticism. Such practice is, perhaps, not possible in these days, but the spirit of it is as necessary now, as then, to the success of God's Kingdom on earth. No stingy man can have the Holy Ghost. The­ work of God is backward in many places, almost solely because of the stinginess of God's people. Nothing but a general and genuine Pentecost will alter such a state of things.

6. IT ALSO BRINGS CANDIDATES FOR OFFICERSHIP. “And ye shall be witnesses unto Me... Unto the uttermost parts of the earth.” A Pentecost brings men and women to that point where their highest joy is to devote all their powers to the publishing of the everlasting Gospel.

In conclusion, let me say that I believe it will help to solve all the problems connected with ourselves and the work God has given us to day. It is your high privilege, and the command of your Lord: - “Be ye FILLED with the Spirit.”

Why do bands exist?

An article by William Booth originally published in The Bandsman and Songster May 11th 1907 - Obviously directed at brass bands but equally applicable today to contemporary worships bands!

Love and prayers A

WHY DO BANDS EXIST

"Having assured you of the deep sym­pathy I feel with you in your work, and of my true appreciation or your toil and trouble involved in the discharge of your duties, I want to suggest some improvements which, if adopted, will, I think, make the services you render to the Corps more valuable and useful still.

I will begin by reminding you of the object for which The Salvation Army Bands exist, and after we have looked at that, I think you will be better able to judge whether your particular Band is conducted in the manner calculated to secure the accomplishment of that object.

NOT FOR THIS!

1. A Band is not created and maintained for the mere amusement of the individuals composing it. To say that this were the case would lower it very nearly to the level of a Cricket Club or a Choral Society.

2. Neither does a band exist for the benefit of its members, either as regards their musical attainments, or the promotion of their personal religion.

To those members who are faithful to their opportunity and the duties it de­volves upon them, the band will doubtless prove, a school in which their musical ability will be developed, and a means of grace by which their souls may be greatly blessed; but these are not the ends for which the band exists.

3. A band does not exist for the amuse­ment of other people.

Music is, beyond question, very attrac­tive, and capable of imparting many delightful emotions; but I certainly am not called to raise Salvation Army bands for the purpose of merely gratifying our own Soldiers or of pleasing the crowd outside.

THE ARMY'S PURPOSE

In a general way, I may say that a band exists for the same purpose as The Salvation Army itself. We all know what that object is but I may just express it in a few words; The Salvation Army exists to promote the Glory of God in the Salvation of a dying World, the Sanctification of our Soldiers, and the inspiration of all alike with that same Spirit that brought Jesus Christ from Heaven to live, suffer and die for the Salvation of the world.

That is the object for which The Salva­tion Army exists, and the bands, as a part of that Army, must have the same object, and be actuated by the same spirit - that is, if it is loyal to the purpose for which it has been called into being.

Is not this the object for which you expect your Officers will live and after which you desire that they should aspire? Would you be content with any aim lower than this in them? Suppose a Captain came to your Corps; who made it evident that all he wanted was to show off his abilities, to set forth how eloquently he could talk on the platform, what wonderful words and ideas he could express in his prayers, what marvellous reports he could write for "Cry," or how cleverly he could play on the cornet or something else of the same description, would not every right-minded Soldier in the Corps look down on such a Captain with pity, if not contempt, and say, "We thought you had come here to help us to save souls and live holy lives; we are afraid that you have mistaken your calling; had you not better go to the Peni­tent Form and get saved yourself?”

What do you reckon, my Comrades, is the purpose for which your General jour­neys to and fro over land and sea; for what do I sit writing at my desk by night and by day; for what do I argue and plead in councils and conferences with my Officers; for what do I stand on the Platform and talk, and pray, till I can scarcely stand at all? It is, as you know, that I may cooperate with my Comrades in the attain­ment of this object, that is, thee blessing of my Soldiers, and the saving of the People.

HOW ACCOMPLISHED.

Now, as a part and parcel of The Army, the object of the band must be the same as is that of The Army; the same as your Captain's; the same as your General's­ - you wish it to be so, and you glory in the fact that it is so.

This purpose can be carried out in various ways. And first and foremost, it can do this:-

1. By attracting strangers to our meet­ings, cheering up our own people, and generally commending The Army to public notice. I think this part of the work of a band is generally aimed at in a very rational and hearty manner, and I believe that in this respect great success has crowned the efforts put forth. Most of our tunes are of a popular character, and the manner in which they are played is in many cases very pleasing and attractive to the public ear.

In the performance of every kind of music I give to all my Bandsmen the same rule for their guidance that I give to every other class of Officer in the Army, the rule by which I hope I constantly strive to be guided myself, and which says: “Whether you pray to God, or talk to man; whether you write for the 'Cry,' or play your Music, or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God, do it for the benefit of your fellows, do it in the Spirit of The Salva­tion Army, and do it as well as ever you can”

Now, without posing as a musician, there is one thing I would like to say with regard to the playing of our bands which, if attended to, will, I am convinced, do more to improve our music, and more to make it acceptable and useful to our people, than ­perhaps any other thing that can be done. That one thing is, let there be an honest attempt on the part of every Bandsman to bring his particular Instrument into such agreement with the rest of his Comrades’ that the united sound shall be one harmonious whole.

In listening to a band we do not want to hear the cornet, or the trombone, or even the Drum, clanging and banging out loud and distinct above the rest. What we want is to hear the sound proceeding from every instrument, so blended together that it shall be as if the whole volume came from one instrument only. This will be a result not attained in a day, but, it should be aimed at and persistently sought if the highest success in band performances is to be reached."

The charm of the unifrom...

The text below is from the full page advert (left) printed on the backpage of the 'The Bandsman, Local Officer and Songster' March 14th 1914.

Aren't the sentiments it conveys equally valid today?

Love and prayers

A

"There is a charm about Salvation Army uniform which is perhaps, better experienced than described. It has an attractiveness which is entirely its own, and the impression it makes upon the casual observer is without parallel in the realms of religious attire.

How many thousands of people have been attracted to the Army, won for God, and helped in many ways by the means of this world famous uniform?

In every land the wearer of the Army uniform is recognised as a servant of suffering humanity... The Uniform is, undoubtedly, the most potent advertisement The Army has ever adopted, and its value cannot well be overstated. It brings bless­ing to the wearers as well as those with whom they come into contact. A Salvationist’s personal appearance should endorse his testimony. It is quite possible for the Army Suit of blue to be a silent testimony as to ‘whose we are and whom we serve.' As our Army Mother wrote; 'we speak to numbers by our, appearance to whom we can never speak by our words' "

Conversion of a Skeleton!

If you believe in the integrity of our early Officers (and I do!) and you don't believe that they enhanced the testimonies of the 'trophies' they captured then the following is a remarkable story.

The most challenging thing about this story is that the hero started out as an alcoholic paid thug who led organised persecution against Salvationists. As you read the testimony try and bring the story up to 2007 - we should taking prisoners like this today - why aren't we?

Sorry about the quality of the photo but that was how Band Sergeant 'Sam' appeared in the August 29th 1908 edition of 'The Bandsman and Songster' from whence I lifted this article.

"I believe we shall win - if we fight in the strenght of the king!"

"That's, your man," said the" publican to a “Brother Bung" as he pointed to "Sam the Bear," sitting in a corner of the taproom, and looking wistfully into an empty pint pot. "Good," said Mr. Bung, and approaching Sam with a great show of friendliness, he ordered the pot to be filled. "Drink that off," he said; "and when it’s gone, there's another waiting for you."

Sam did not want a second bidding, but he was quite sure he was not being “treated” for nothing, and therefore when he was well on the way of swallowing the second instalment of "free beer", he bluntly' asked what was wanted of him.

“Oh! Nothing much,” said Mr. Bung. “Only a bit of fun. The fact is some of us in the trade think these Army people are going a bit too far, hollering about the streets, deceiving honest British workmen into giving up their beer, and drawing our customers out of the bar. Why should they have it all, their own way? Why don't you, and a few lads of spirit, stick, up for your rights? We'll help you; and as for beer you can have as much of it as you want, and a quart to pour over the Army Captain as well!"

"I'm your man”, said the poor drunkard. "Lor'! What a game we'll have!"

The publican, who had recommended him as a fitting leader for a local "Skeleton" army, came round from behind the bar, and patted on the shoulder. "I'd back ‘Sam the Bear’ for beer and devilment against any man breathing," he said.

“‘Sam the Bear'?" queried Mr, Bung. “Is that his right name?” Sam laughed. “It's what they call me,” he said, in drunken pride, “for a bit o’ play-acting I used to do when me, and, my mates wanted a copper or two for beer. I was younger then, and a lot of us were up to anything. A pal o' mine says to me one day, when we was both stone broke and dreadful thirsty, ‘Sam, you play bear and I'll act keeper, and we'll make" as much as that Frenchy who went round the fair last year!’ So he gets a rope and puts it round my neck, and I gets down on all fours, and then dances about while he flourishes his pole and says, 'drop a copper in my cap, ladies and gents, to encourage the British bear and his keeper. "Lor’ how it worked, we wasn't sober for weeks together!”

“Well, you play the bear with them interfering Salvationists and you won't go short of beer," said Mr Bung. "There’s a few at my house as will be pleased to join you. We’ll show those red-shirted chaps that the British working-man ain't going to be frightened out of having his pint by the likes of them."

"So the ‘Skeleton’ army sprang into being that very night, and its appointed leader, ‘Sam the Bear,’ did his best to earn the beer which flowed in a never-ending stream from the taps of the publicans who had at first only laughed when The Army ‘opened fire’ in the town, but, when they saw some of their best customers leaving the bard for the penitent-form, they grow angry.

‘Sam the Bear,’ became a regular attendant at The Army meetings, indoor and open-air, and made himself a thorough nuisance to the Officers and Soldiers.

Every now and then, however, a ‘shot’ went home. He couldn’t help seeing that these people were better of than he was, and when they told him he was ‘a slave to drink’ he knew it was true! He roared out some drunken song in reply, but he fairly ‘squirmed’ when the Captain got in another ‘arrow’ in the shape of the words, “The wages of sin is death!”

In the middle of the night he woke up and thought it all over. “A slave to drink!

“Yes, he had been that from his youth up, and the demon had proved a hard task­master. At his bidding, ‘Sam the Bear’ had made a public exhibition of his own foolishness, become a terror to his Wife and children, broken up home after home, gone upon the tramp, and got into trouble of all descriptions. He had tried to get free many a time, but the demon drink had only ­riveted his chains the, faster. That Army man was right! He was a slave!

Yet he was going to be paid his wages! He had seen many another slave "paid off" on this earth, and wondered when his own time would come. Death! Yes, that was the Devil's currency in which" he- paid his bitter wages. The Army man was right, and yet he, ‘Sam the Bear’ was trying every night to upset these' people whose every thought was to do him good! He was a fool for his pains! He would give up beer and get better work than leading the Skeletons. So he thought, but, with the morning all his good resolutions vanished.

Presently, a ‘Skeleton’ got converted - then another - and another!

‘Sam the Bear’ looked on aghast! Very soon the publicans told him he was recruit­ing for The Salvation Army instead of driving them out of the town!

The comrade, who sent us the outlines of the above story, adds: “The whole of Sam’s Skeleton army were caught in the Salvation net; and at last, Sam himself, utterly broken down, fell at the mercy-seat and within half an hour was testifying to the fact of his conversion, in the open-air before hundreds of people congregated at Rowell Fair. For twenty-two years he has continued praying, preaching, and testifying to the saving and keeping power of God, indoor and out.

The ‘Skeleton, the, drunkard who was once known as ‘Sam the Bear,' is now Band-Sergeant Law, of the Rothwell Salvation Army Band, Northants, prompt, with spiritual counsel, ever ready to visit the sick, assist in the meetings, to go any­where and do anything for God, and The Army.