'The Holy One Is Making Holy Ones' During NSC Holiness Retreat
History was made in the North & South Carolina Division as their first Holiness Retreat also tapped into the virtual realm, with the theme Beauty of Holiness. The corps in near proximity to Camp Walter Johnson brought some 80 delegates in person to each of the five sessions, while an average of 75 digitally connected groups and individuals throughout the division, as well as a few out of the territory—including two non-Army churches—watched in “viewing parties” either in corps settings or in their homes.
Dr. Bill and Rev. Diane Ury, national ambassadors of holiness for The Salvation Army, were the weekend’s guests, as the Beauty of Holiness became more real than ever to those seeking God’s blessing of entire sanctification.
The Urys tag-teamed “Holy-making Spirit” lessons designed to emphasize what seem in our world to be little-known truths: that sanctification is available to every believer in Christ, that it comes through a sacred four-letter word, OBEY, and that holiness is everywhere and “the easiest thing you can ever do!” Many other truths were brought forward, such as, “Why Pentecost Matters,” “I Will Listen (to God) as a Means of Grace,” and “Why Entire Sanctification is Beautiful.”
“Holiness is the physical embodiment of the presence of God, Himself, transforming and recreating any person, any situation that will say ‘Yes!’ to Him,” Rev. Diane defined in her first session.
“We all—every one of us—have a hunger for God,” she declared. “Holiness is not the avoidance of being a naughty person, but to have Him in our lives despite our being earthen jars of clay. Only Jesus can satisfy this hunger, this need, this void. His presence within us is the only real satisfaction in life.” God wants to give us Himself, and He wants us to give Him ourselves, she said.
Another subtheme she brought was the Greek word for “touch” (Hapto)— more than merely tapping someone, but a literal “grasping onto, clinging to, fastening onto, adhering to”—such as the woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment.
A beautiful Hebrew word shared by Dr. Bill is the one for Holiness (Kadosh).
“Holiness is about God, not about you!” he exclaimed. Proclaiming that God is not an expression (He is a presence), Dr. Bill returned often to our need to seek “His theology, not our ‘me-ology.’”
Dr. Bill often referred to the Third Person of the Trinity as the “Holy-making Spirit,” proving the importance of Jesus’ ascension for the Holy Spirit to come to make sanctification possible in every believer’s life. “The Holy One is making holy ones!”
The world’s view is that holiness is impossible, due to a myriad of excuses and misconceptions about God, “But the exact opposite is the truth,” Dr. Bill said. “Holiness is the easiest thing you can ever do” because it’s not us doing it, but it is God, Himself. “He is holy, and He is love—you cannot separate the two! Because He made us, He can also remake us.”
Without Pentecost, there is no church. “If the world could see God’s transforming love in our hearts, they’d come running in through the (church) doors!”
In another session, Dr. Bill spoke of Paul’s address to the Thessalonians, observing that as a church they are doing well but still have a few things they lack and must address (sexual purity, practicing brotherly love, having a proper view of Christ’s Second Coming)—things that, arguably, are some of the same problems Christians must deal with today.
A question-and-answer period followed the Saturday afternoon session, the audience readily engaging with the Urys. Attendees presented probing questions regarding holiness and current cultural obstacles, either voiced in person in the camp chapel or sent in virtually.
Among the questions were: “Are you finding an increased interest for Holiness within the Army throughout the nation?” (Yes! There is a growing hunger plainly evident); “How do you hear God?” and “How do you know it is really God speaking?” (You must listen to God through prayer and the Bible; be in community through small groups and with someone who can hold you accountable); and “What stories in the Bible do you think best represent Holiness?” (Among innumerable examples are the stories of Ruth, Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac, and God’s deliverance of Jesus as our sacrifice).
The Urys shared favorite scripture passages on which they love to meditate (Psalm 63, Exodus 19, among others). They deftly answered sensitive questions about Wesleyan doctrine vs. Catholicism and sexual confusion in our national culture. By the end of the weekend, the 80 in-person delegates and hundreds of virtual attendees left their time together with new knowledge and renewed spirits.