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About the Book
"Love That Really Works" by Joseph King is a guidebook for building strong, lasting relationships based on trust, communication, and respect. The book provides practical advice and exercises to help couples improve their connection and navigate challenges in their relationship. King emphasizes the importance of understanding each other's needs and working together to create a fulfilling and loving partnership.
John Alexander Dowie
By John Alexander Dowie (1847 – 1907)
I sat in my study in the parsonage of the Congregational Church at Newtown, a suburb of the beautiful city of Sydney, Australia. My heart was very heavy, for I had visited the sick and dying beds of more than thirty of my flock, and I had cast the dust to its kindred dust into more than forty graves within a few weeks. Where, oh where, was He Who used to heal His suffering children? No prayer for healing seemed to reach His ear, and yet I knew His hand had not been shortened. Still it did not save from death even those for whom there was so much in life to live for God and others. Strong men, fathers, good citizens, and more than all, true Christians sickened with a putrid fever, suffered nameless agonies, passed into delirium, sometimes with convulsions, and then died.
Oh, what aching voids were left in many a widowed or orphaned heart. There were many homes where, one by one, the little children, the youths and the maidens lay stricken, and after a hard struggle with the foul disease, they too, lay cold and dead. It seemed sometimes as if I could almost hear the triumphant mockery of evil ringing in my ear whilst I spoke to the bereaved ones the words of Christian hope and consolation. Disease, the foul offspring of its father, Satan, and its mother Sin, was defiling and destroying the earthly temples of God’s children and there was no deliverance.
There I sat with sorrow-bowed head for my afflicted people, until the bitter tears came to relieve my burning heart. Then I prayed for some message, and oh, how I longed to hear some words from Him Who wept and sorrowed for the suffering long ago, a Man of Sorrows and Sympathies. The words of the Holy Ghost inspired In Acts 10:38, stood before me all radiant with light, revealing Satan as the Defiler, and Christ as the Healer. My tears were wiped away, my heart strong, I saw the way of healing, and the door thereto was opened wide, so I said, “God help me now to preach the Word to all the dying around, and tell them how Satan still defiles, and Jesus still delivers, for He is just the same today.”
A loud ring and several raps at the outer door, a rush of feet, and there at my door stood two panting messengers who said, “Oh, come at once, Mary is dying; come and pray. “With just a feeling as a shepherd has who hears that his sheep are being torn from the fold by a cruel wolf, I rushed from my house, ran without my hat down the street, and entered the room of the dying maiden. There she lay groaning and grinding her clenched teeth in the agony of the conflict with the destroyer. The white froth, mingled with her blood, oozing from her pale and distorted mouth. I looked at her and then my anger burned. “Oh,” I thought, “for some sharp sword of heavenly temper keen to slay this cruel foe who is strangling that lovely maiden like an invisible serpent, tightening his deadly coils for a final victory.”
In a strange way, It came to pass; I found the sword I needed was in my hands, and in my hand I hold it still and never will I lay It down. The doctor, a good Christian man, was quietly walking up and down the room, sharing the mother’s pain and grief. Presently he stood at my side and said, “Sir, are not God’s ways mysterious?” Instantly the sword was flashed in my hand, the Spirit’s sword, the Word of God. “God’s way?!” I said, pointing to the scene of conflict, “How dare you call that God’s way of bringing His children home from earth to Heaven? No sir, that is the devil’s work and it is time we called on Him Who came to destroy the work of the devil, to slay that deadly foul destroyer, and to save this child. Can you pray, Doctor, can you pray the prayer of faith that saves the sick?” At once, offended at my words, my friend was changed, and saying,” You are too much excited, sir, it is best to say ‘God’s will be done,’” and he left the room.
Excited?! The word was quite inadequate for I was almost frenzied with divinely imparted anger and hatred of that foul destroyer, disease, which was doing Satan’s will. “It is not so,” I exclaimed, “no will of God sends such cruelty, and I shall never say ‘God’s will be done’ to Satan’s works, which God’s own Son came to destroy, and this is one of them.” Oh, how the Word of God was burning in my heart: “Jesus of Nazareth went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him.” And was not God with me? And was not Jesus there and all His promises true? I felt that it was even so, and turning to the mother I inquired,” Why did you send for me?” To which she answered, “Do pray, oh pray for her that God may raise her up.” So we prayed.
What did I say? It may be that I cannot recall the words without mistake, but words are in themselves of small importance. The prayer of faith may be a voiceless prayer, a simple heartfelt look of confidence into the face of Christ. At such moment, words are few, but they mean much, for God is looking at the heart. Still, I can remember much of that prayer unto this day, and asking God to aid, I will attempt to recall it. I cried, “Our Father, help! and Holy Spirit, teach me how to pray. Plead Thou for us, oh, Jesus, Savior, Healer, Friend, our Advocate with God the Father. Hear and heal, Eternal One! From all disease and death, deliver this sweet child of yours. I rest upon the Word. We claim the promise now. The Word is true, ‘I am the Lord that heals thee.’ Then heal her now. The Word is true, ‘I am the Lord, I change not.’ Unchanging God, then prove Yourself the healer now. The Word is true. ‘These signs shall follow them that believe in My Name, they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.’ And I believe and I lay hands in Jesus’ Name on her and claim this promise now. Your Word is true. ‘The prayer of faith shall save the sick. Trusting in You alone. I cry. Oh, save her now, for Jesus’ sake. Amen!”
Then, the maid lay in sleep so deep and sweet that the mother asked in a low whisper, “Is she dead?” “No,” I answered, in a whisper lower still. “Mary will live; the fever is gone. She is perfectly well and sleeping as an infant sleeps.” I was smoothing the long dark hair from her now peaceful brow, and feeling the steady pulsation of her heart and cool moist hands. I saw that Christ had heard, and that once more, as long ago in Peter’s house, “He touched her and the fever left her.” Turning to the nurse, I said, “Get me at once, please, a cup of cocoa and several slices of bread and butter.” Beside the sleeping maid we sat quietly and almost silently until the nurse returned, and then I bent over her and snapping my fingers called, “Mary!”
Instantly she woke, smiled and said, “Oh, sir, when did you come? I have slept so long;” then stretching her arms out to meet her mother’s embrace, she said, “Mother, I feel so well.” “And hungry, too?” I asked, pouring some of the cocoa in a saucer and offering it to her when cooled by my breath. “Yes, hungry too,” she answered with a little laugh, and drank and ate again, and yet again until all was gone. In a few minutes, she fell asleep, breathing easily and softly. Quietly thanking God. We left her bed and went to the next room where her brother and sister also lay sick of the same fever. With these two, we prayed and they were healed too. The following day all three were well and in a week or so they brought me a little letter and a gift of gold, two sleeve links with my monogram, which I wore for many years. As I went away from the home where Christ as the Healer had been victorious, I could not but have somewhat in my heart of the triumphant song that rang through Heaven, and yet I was not a little amazed at my own strange doings, and still more at my discovery that He is just the same today.
Excerpt from the Sermons of John Alexander Dowie Champions of Faith by Gordon Lindsay
Act Like Men of God
How do men who believe in Jesus become more like Jesus? What is a man of God really like? When the apostle Paul wrote to a younger man, casting vision for what he might become in Christ, he charged him, Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. (1 Timothy 4:12) While the qualities in this verse may apply to young men and women alike, I find that they provide a simple yet challenging paradigm for becoming men of God. Previously, I addressed the first of these qualities, speech, with seven lessons for what men say. Now I want to press in to a godly man’s conduct. What does it mean for a man to set an example in his conduct? It’s an intentionally broad, all-encompassing term in Scripture, and it is often paired with speech (for example, Romans 15:18 and Colossians 3:17) — so, what we say and what we do. When it comes to our conduct, we might ask, What does the way we live say about Jesus? What kinds of conclusions would people draw about our Lord after watching us closely for a week, a month, a year? Uncommon Lifestyle In one sense, most of Paul’s letters address our conduct (directly or indirectly). In the immediate context of 1 Timothy, though, the elder qualifications in chapter 3 name and unpack some critical qualities of a godly man, including his conduct. While the qualifications are given for aspiring elders, they are not exclusive to these men — except, perhaps, for the ability to teach. Even with teaching, however, every man should aspire to handle God’s word faithfully, with accuracy and care. The qualities in the qualifications are simply what every Christian man should strive to be — and several of them speak specifically to how we live. The word that Paul uses for conduct also shows up a number of times in the apostle Peter’s letters (much more than in Paul), so we might also look to Peter to understand more fully what Paul charged Timothy (and us) to be and do. Between the elder qualifications and Peter’s instruction, we can isolate some specific ways men who believe in God become greater men of God in our conduct. This list of qualities is not exhaustive, but gives aspiring young men specific spiritual qualities to pursue. Men of Holiness Above all else, the lives of godly men are marked by holiness. “Do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:14–16). Some men continue to nurture and indulge the cravings of their flesh — lust, anger, greed, laziness, selfishness. Others wisely and joyfully seek to put to death their remaining sin (Romans 8:13). They strive to conform their conduct — all of their conduct — to the conduct of Christ (Romans 8:29). “What sort of men should we be? Holy men. Temptation-defying men. Sin-crucifying men.” “Since all these things [that is, heaven and earth] are thus to be dissolved,” Peter writes elsewhere, “what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness?” (2 Peter 3:11). We might translate the phrase “in lives of holiness” more literally as “in holy conduct” (the same word we’ve seen so far). So, in light of who Jesus really is, and the reality that he is coming again, what sort of men should we be? Holy men. Temptation-defying men. Sin-crucifying men. Not self-righteous men, but humble men who long to live like Jesus. Men of Self-Control Pursuing holiness will mean developing self-control. Women, of course, need self-control too (Titus 2:3–5). But given what God expects of heads of households and shepherds in the church, the cultivation of self-control is of particular importance for young men (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8). “This is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor” (1 Thessalonians 4:3–4). If we want our conduct to magnify the worth of our Savior, we have to learn how to control unholy and dishonorable impulses within us. And not just with our bodies, but with our time, our spending, even our attention. Growing in godliness will mean regularly saying no (and often to good things). “Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control . . .” (2 Peter 1:5–6). Where do you need to grow in self-control? What do you struggle to say no to, even when you know you should? Men of Sincerity Men of God also pursue God with sincerity. “Our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity” (2 Corinthians 1:12). Sincerity is freedom from pretense or hypocrisy. A sincere man is the same in secret as he is everywhere else. His conduct is not a concerted effort to cover or compensate for his immaturities. It is the natural and consistent (not perfect) fruit of an increasingly healthy and holy soul. Paul’s counsel to servants applies well to all our conduct: “Obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord” (Colossians 3:22). This kind of man does not live and work to be seen a certain way, but lives and works knowing he is always seen by God. He fears God more than he fears the disapproval or rejection of others. And so those who know him well — those in his home, those in church, those he works with day in and day out at the office — know him to be the man he claims to be. Again, he is not perfect, but he is consistent, honest, and humble. Men Who Make Peace Another countercultural pattern among godly men is their commitment to pursue and keep peace. The qualifications say it negatively: a man must not be “quarrelsome” (1 Timothy 3:3). The clear message, though, is not simply an avoidance of petty disagreements, but a pursuit and protection of God-honoring peace. As Paul says elsewhere, “Let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding” (Romans 14:19). Or 2 Corinthians 13:11: “Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace.” In what relationships does this hit home most for you? In the polarized and hostile climate we live in, peacemaking will set men of God apart all the more. They are men who savor the promise, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). These are men who disagree charitably and patiently, who initiate difficult private conversations, who take responsibility, who persevere in pursuing peace when others give up and walk away. They are quick to confess and apologize when they have sinned, and even quicker to forgive and restore when sinned against. They know that peace is not cheap, easy, or superficial, but costly, hard-earned, and profound, even miraculous. And so, as far as it depends on them, they pursue it (Romans 12:18). Men of the Home Before a man can lead the church, “he must manage his own household well” (1 Timothy 3:4). How could he shepherd a flock of dozens (or hundreds) if he can’t shepherd the few in his own home? Again, however, this ambition is not only for men aspiring to ministry, but for any man aspiring to maturity. Everything the godly man is and does in the world begins and springs from how he loves at home. Does he love his wife as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25)? Does he train up his children in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6), without provoking them to anger (Ephesians 6:4), treating them with dignity (1 Timothy 3:4)? “A sincere man is the same in secret as he is everywhere else.” This godly man is also hospitable (1 Timothy 3:2). Meaning, he not only cares well for those within his home, but he also welcomes others into his home. Home, for him, is not a place merely for rest and comfort, but for serving the kingdom of God — first, toward those of the household of faith (Romans 12:13), but also toward those who might yet believe (Hebrews 13:2). All of this is relevant to single men as well. First of all, if you eventually marry and have children, you are becoming now the man you will be then. Marriage will not make you a different man overnight; but it will soon reveal the kind of man you are. And even if you never marry, the heart of what is required here still applies. Are you the kind of man who cares for the needs of others — for roommates, for neighbors, for extended family, for the young and the old in your church? Singleness does not keep us from spiritual fatherhood and brotherhood. If anything, it may make us all the more available to those in need. Men Who Do Good In some ways, this last thread may help tie together the others. How do we set an example with our conduct? What does God want us to do? In the end, the man of God stands out for doing good. What Paul says to the rich applies to us all: “They are to do good, to be rich in good works” (1 Timothy 6:18). And not just rich in good works — so, doing lots of good works — but “zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14). The good of others, especially the eternal good of others — the good of knowing and enjoying Jesus — is an ambition these men bring to each day. It is the ambition of all their ambitions. These men know that just as God chose them before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), he also prepared good works for them to walk in (Ephesians 2:10). They know that thousands and thousands of years before they were born, God laid out good for them to do — and not just over their lifetime, but today and tomorrow and next Tuesday. And they do not assume the good will just happen, but they give careful thought to how that good will happen (Titus 3:8; see also 3:14). The Man You Once Were Maybe the best way to assess what kind of men we are would be to assess what kind of men we once were. How much has knowing Christ changed you? Paul does not use the word for conduct in 1 Timothy 4:12 often, but when he does, he is describing who he was and how he lived before grace made him someone new: “You have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it” (Galatians 1:13). Or he is describing who we once were: “[You were taught in Christ] to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires” (Ephesians 4:22; see also 2:3). So how does your current manner of life — your time, your attention, your spending — correspond with your former manner of life? And if you came to faith younger than most, how does your current life correspond to the life you might have lived apart from Christ? Whoever you were, and whoever you are, Peter’s charge is a good one to end with: Conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. (1 Peter 1:17–19) Conduct yourself with a healthy, trusting, joyful fear of God. Conduct yourself as if Christ delivered you from the futility of worldliness. Conduct yourself as if your life was bought with the blood of heaven. Conduct yourself as a man chosen, saved, and sent by God. Article by Marshall Segal
