ossessmg Prayer Promises by Rev. Thomas E. Steele
The report that "came from Jeru salem was not a pleasant one to the ears of this dedicated professional man, because he was deeply concerned for the welfare of his own brethren. It was a report that told of a desperate need that existed in his homeland. In 1959, after over fifty years at the downtown location, The Bible Institute of Los Angeles moved to the 75-acre campus in La Mirada, which God had miraculously provided. However, be cause of limited dormitory facilities there, it has been necessary for us to house over two hundred of the students in the downtown buildings and, at great cost, transport them daily for classes on the new campus. Since the move, our student body has grown by more than one hundred each year. With the predicted increase in enroll ment for the fall of 1962, it will be necessary to actually turn away choice, dedicated, Christian young people who desire to receive the Bible-centered edu cation Biola offers, unless we can build additional dormitories and classroom buildings. This is, indeed, a real and vital need! With the onslaught of com munism and that of atheism on every hand, the desperate need of the mission fields of the world, the crying need for thoroughly trained leadership here at home, Biola cannot afford to turn these youth away. Therefore, out of desper ate need has come the Campus Expan sion Campaign — a need just as vital, in our crisis-tom world, as the need (continued on next page) 11
T h e c a m pu s expansion campaign h'as been launched and is well into its mission in this, the month of April. In this message let me share with you the vital part that PRAYER — your prayers, the prayers of the students, faculty and staff of Biola — will play in this important campaign. Will you turn with me to a very thrilling and interesting portion of the Old Testament, Nehemiah, chapter one. We’ll find here some very interesting similarities to the situation that Biola faces today, for the book of Nehemiah is the record of a building program that originated in the mind and heart of God. Through the leadership of one man and the dedicated labor and prayers of many, it became a reality. As we look more closely at this text, I want to point out five important parallels for your thoughtful and prayerful consideration. First, the building of the wall at Jerusalem was a project bom of deep need. In chapter one: “And it came to pass, as I was in Shushan the palace, that Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked thern concerning the Jews that- had escaped which were left in cap tivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and re proach; the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.”
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