FOR THE LOVE OF A SOUL

“That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life” John 3:15 

In loving and caring for souls, there are many ways to give of ourselves to reach the lost and the dying. As we care for souls and love them as Jesus loves, we are fulfilling the words of Jesus, “Go, and do thou likewise.” I wish to share with you what the Antioch, Tennessee, church is doing for the “love of a soul.” Let us be inspired to increase our outreach efforts, allowing God to move us out into this lost world sharing the message of Christ and His Church! Sharon Griffin, General WMB Coord.

HARVESTING HOPE 

“Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest” (John 4:35).

About 2 years ago, I found myself becoming comfortable. Comfortable with what was very normal for me. Attending church every Sunday and Wednesday and having great fellowship with my brothers and sisters in the Lord. The Lord began to convict my heart that while I was very comfortable with all of this, there were people all around me, in our community, who desperately needed the love of Jesus. There is a lady in our area who has had a street ministry for many years and welcomed anyone to volunteer and help her. I decided to help. What I saw on the streets was very eye opening, and I thought, “shame on me” for allowing myself to become so comfortable. After prayer and seeking the Lord, He began to speak to my heart that we, The Church of God at Antioch, Tennessee, need to get out of our four walls and do more. I shared my heart with my pastor, and he supported this completely. This is when Harvesting Hope began. I thought the best place to start would be to feed the less fortunate in the community around our local church. So, we got to work. We went through the necessary steps to ensure we were compliant with serving food from our fellowship hall and contacted a local food donation bank in our area. We had a large sign made to display in front of the church, so that we could be sure it would “attract” people to come. We went door to door right around our local church and shared what we were doing—that we had hot dinners—and invited them to come. That first night, one person showed up. Although one soul is always worth the effort, I felt sure that we would have many, many, people to come.

I knew this inspiration was from the Lord so I was confused when it didn’t turn out the way “I” thought it would.

I remember vividly standing in front of the church, somewhat disappointed, and I began to pray, “Lord, please send the people” and VERY clearly I heard in my spirit the Lord speak to me…. “And the lord said unto the servant, GO OUT into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled” (Luke 14:23).

I knew in that moment that the Lord was directing us to go to them. So, we did! And, have been for the past 2 years. Every first Wednesday of the month, we prepare a meal, (most of what we make comes from our local donation food bank, that we get for free), meet at the church to put to-go boxes together, load up our cars and go out. We typically give out 100-125 box plates each time. We go out into the community and share food with those who need it. We have made relationships with some of these wonderful souls. They look for us to come. It is evident that some of these individuals are in desperate need for Jesus. Some of the places we go to are very poor conditions, and the enemy has such a hold on their lives, But I’m confident that God is doing a work through our efforts. I’m confident that heaven holds the record of the lives being touched through this ministry. We have been able to join hands with some and have prayer. We began this ministry to be blessing, but we have been the ones who have been so blessed. I encourage you to pray about a ministry such as this. If you want to do more, if you want to be the hands and feet of Jesus, I encourage you to GO OUT. There are many, many, souls waiting for us.

Tammy Fox—Antioch, Tennessee

Watch Her Now, Righteous Rebekah

“And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor. And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water. And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master” (Gen. 24:10-14).

Abraham’s eldest servant, Eliezer, was a man on a mission. He took of his master what goods were to be given as a gift to the damsel, and to the family, who would become the wife of Abraham’s son. It is apparent that when the servant came to the city to which he was sent, he felt the weight of the responsibility that was laid upon him. I’m almost certain that the heaviness of the responsibility was felt from the moment he understood Abraham’s instructions, and this heaviness was with him for the duration of his travels to Mesopotamia.

Imagine this tremendous duty of finding an adequate help to his master’s son. No doubt he understood that such a serious task allowed only “one go at it,” so to speak, and that he could not afford to make even one mistake. He had to be certain that this damsel was the right one, the adequate one, a willing one.

So, what did this man do under such serious obligation? He prayed! He lifted his voice to the God of heaven to guide him. Also, he prayed for the damsel to be sensitive to his need which in turn would serve as an indicator that this was she who should be Isaac’s wife from among the many daughters of men who came to draw water from the well.

“And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up” (Gen. 24:15, 16).

There near the well, the servant patiently waited and observed. As he watched he must have seen her fill her pitcher and then toss it up upon her shoulder and begin to leave the area where they were. The Bible says that “she went down to the well.” I read somewhere that some of these wells had long staircases built to provide convenient access to them. Some wells were 30, 75 or more feet deep and the women would come and fill their pitchers down at these wells.

Was this her? She was young, she was pretty, she had come to the well—could it be her? Of course, he would have his answer if she fit the pattern described in his prayer. For Rebekah, it was evening time—the time the women would typically come to draw water, possibly about sunset. Would she pass him and his companions by in a hurry because it was late in the day and she had some distance to travel to get home, seeing that the well was outside the city? What would he encounter in her? Would she wait on him and demonstrate a spirit of servanthood? Would she be too busy to give a drink of water to this stranger? That water she had drawn from the well was their salvation, after all; they were thirsty, and they were tired from the long distance traveled.

“And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink” (Gen. 24:17, 18). Watch her now, righteous Rebekah, whom God had prepared and who was also going about her daily duties of fetching water with a natural unselfish spirit and a sensitivity to the needs of others. By that same unselfish spirit and servanthood attitude she would unknowingly demonstrate to Eliezer her divine selection. It was no “show” on her part, no audition, it was just her being her. What a tense moment it must have been when he ran to meet her. Eliezer uncertain about the outcome, yet anxious to know as soon as possible, and it is certainly imaginable that Rebekah might have wondered for a brief moment who this stranger was.

As we examine some of the details of what took place during this brief period of time from the servant’s arrival, to his prayer and the appearing of Rebekah it brings to mind that wonderful and glorious relationship that is in existence today between Christ and His Church. It also brings into view what ought to be by nature the devotion, sensitivity, burden and work ethic of God’s Church everywhere at all times among all people.

There is a prayer that Christ uttered in John 17:6-23 from which we can put together a list of what Christ found and desired to find in His Bride. Think of this list as requirements that needed to be met by the one chosen to be the Bride of the Son of God. Just like Eliezer’s prayer over the damsel who would serve to be his master’s son’s wife, the institution claiming to be Christ’s True Bride must fit the pattern of the prayer of the Son of God. Listen to excerpts from Christ’s prayer: “They have kept they word” ; “The words which thou gavest me…they have received them” (while so called church groups everywhere give up the Word, His Church keeps it!); “They have believed that thou didst send me” (His Church declares, Thou art the Son of the living God!); “I am glorified in them”; “Keep them through thine own name” (The Church of God is His own name); “The world hath hated them, because they are not of the world”; “Not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil”; “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth”; “Even so have I sent them into the world”; “Believe on me through their word” (A gospel message sharing Church); “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, are in me, and I in thee, that they may be one in us” (Speaking and minding the same things. Walking by the same rule); “That they may be perfect in one.”

These things, among others, God requires of Her and they serve as indicators to God’s children that of all the “daughters” who come to “draw out water” from the well of Living Waters, She is the one appointed and divinely selected for Christ our King. The Bible says, “There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number. My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother...” (Song of Sol. 6:8, 9), and again “Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all” (Prov. 31:29). Rebekah was not chosen because she was “very fair to look upon” or for being “a virgin,” though this was good and right, but because she fit the pattern of a servant, and so it is with the Church. According to Scripture there are many good and pure Christian groups doing a good work, but they are not the Bride of Christ because they do not fit the pattern of Christ’s prayer. It would not have been enough for Eliezer that Rebekah was just pretty and a virgin but she had to also fit the pattern of what was prayed to God regarding her. The true Church will be presented to Christ a glorious Church and as a chaste virgin, and She will fit the pattern of that which was prayed to the Father regarding Her and all the types and shadows of the Old Testament.

“And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking. And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not” (Gen. 24:19, 21).

Some say that the jugs carried by the women could hold between 3-5 gallons, which is about 30-50 pounds when calculating the weight of the water jugs themselves. The servant only asked for “a little water of thy pitcher,” but watch her now, righteous Rebekah, a type and shadow of The Church of God, as she seeks out the opportunity to do a good thing and go beyond what has been requested of her. One man wrote, “Now figure that a thirsty camel could drink at least 10 gallons, and that the men also drank a minimum of 3 gallons after their trek across the desert. The water jars that the women carried held about 3 gallons and would have weighed about thirty pounds [the same as about 4 gallons of milk] when they were full. So, the total volume of water that this dear woman with a servant’s heart carried out of that well that day was about 103 gallons; about 34 trips [that evening], carrying about 30 pounds each trip. Do you get the picture? This was no small test.”

Had she been of a different spirit she may have told the man that she did not have time to help, or she may have felt that she had no obligation to bring the pitcher down from her shoulder, after all, they were complete strangers to her. However, she never once had any kind of motivation other than to demonstrate kindness to someone else who was in need. Regardless of all the work it may require, the Church, like Rebekah, must be sensitive and have a servant’s heart and learn to obey the beckoning of the Master. Rebekah cared little for what she had already gone through to draw the water, she did not fuss about how late in the evening it was and how far she had yet to walk to arrive at the comforts of her home in order to go on about her day.

We must be careful, Church, with getting too busy amongst ourselves—busy running to and from, busy with all our internal activities, busy with all of our programs that we forget about the strangers who approach us needing prayer, needing a kind word or gesture, and most importantly spiritual water to drink. It is not too difficult to be overtaken in the busyness of our church responsibilities. It is not to difficult to be overrun by the busyness of our administrative church duties. It is very possible that somewhere along our journey we have been guilty of passing some thirsty and needy soul by because we were “pressed for time” or maybe “late to some engagement” or “prior appointment.” Perhaps we passed a soul by simply because we felt that a portion of our daily routine, family time, weekly scheduled event, an annual outing of some sort could not be given up—no not even for a loved one, much less for a stranger. Some of the sweetest words a lost soul has ever heard were from someone who simply stopped what they were in the middle of and took the time to say, “I want to tell you about Jesus” and it changed the course of their lives.

Watch her now, righteous Rebekah, as she is anxious to be of service. She not only gave the men to drink but said, “I will draw water for thy camels also.” This was not asked and certainly not expected of her. Have you ever been anxious to be of service for the Lord? Have you ever been accused of and persecuted for seeking the welfare of others? Some people have; Nehemiah made some folks angry because he dared to seek the welfare of others. The devil will not be happy when God’s people really begin to seek the welfare of others, especially the spiritual welfare of others. But we’re not here to make him happy, we are here to please the Lord.

Her work ethics and willingness to do good unto others, and to forget about self, seem to just naturally flow and spill out of her. Church of God, lets take her example, let’s reach up and reach out to follow after the pattern set before us! Rebekah, this great woman of God, would not stop until all had the opportunity to drink. How much more then should the Church work and labor nonstop until every soul has had the opportunity to taste of the Water of Life? The Bible says that Rebekah “ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all.” Oh, it seems as though her servant-like spirit cannot be matched in this present age of a narcissistic world and among (so-called) Christian culture that, in great part, is interested only in its small circle of friends. But you and I, Church of God, in view of lost and dying humanity, should we not run again to the Fountain of Life that does not run dry, run to Jesus, and be filled with His Spirit so we have plenty to give to as many as we may encounter?

The Church, as a servant, must not hesitate to do something kind and even go beyond our reasonable service. The Church must not hesitate in the face of the thirsty and tired multitudes that need spiritual water, but we must work and employ every effort to go down to the well and get upon our knees and “DRAW UP” the Living Water to give a little water of our pitcher. We’ve got to have something to give something! Like Rebekah, let’s not occupy any of our time questioning if it is really necessary, but let us be swift to satisfy the request!

Eliezer and the other men who traveled with him were not helpless, but able-bodied men. They could have gone down and drawn the water for themselves and their camels. Nevertheless, Eliezer watched and wondered to see if she fit the pattern of a servant’s heart. Rebekah was not a poor servant girl, and she had no need or reason to do what she chose to do. In like manner, our God is well able, and He doesn’t really need us to do anything for Him, but He is watching Church, wondering if we will obediently and willingly with a servant’s heart wait on Him and serve those in need.

By The Church of God, General Overseer, Bishop Oscar Pimentel

Step into the water

When Joshua and the children of Israel were in the plains of Moab before crossing the Jordan River, God reminded them of His greatness and ability to “drive out the Canaanites” (Joshua 3). At the same time, the credibility of their leader, Joshua, was enhanced. If their faith had not been in God, circumstances would certainly have caused them to be dismayed.

Here they were on the brink of an overflowing river, and somehow they were going to get to the other side. Right. They were even going to walk across on dry land. Right. Circumstances said, “No way,” but God said, “Trust me.”

Someone asked an ex-paratrooper how may jumps he had made. He responded by saying, “None! I was pushed out 18 times.” This is not exactly what is meant by “stepping out in faith.”

Is this what New Year’s resolutions are all about? Rather than the negative, “Gotta quit this,” or “Have to stop that,” why not turn the negative to a positive action by “stepping out in faith”?

The priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant way out front—about a thousand yards, so that multitude of people could see the way and follow—were told to “step into the water.”

Now would we have said, “I will, just as soon as I see some land to step on”?

F. B. Meyer said, “Unbelief puts our circumstance between us and God; but faith puts God between us and our circumstance.”

The priests didn’t hesitate. Obedience to God through faith brought results. Circumstances don’t phase those who are fully trusting in God. I don’t believe those people had to be pushed to cross the Jordan. Can’t you just see them rejoicing as they gathered speed in their eagerness to get to the other side?

Wouldn’t you have just loved to put your feet on the bottom of a river bed, knowing that God was holding up the waters, so you wouldn’t be destroyed? You do that, you know, every time you surrender your circumstances to Him. Is that the way you handle your resolutions?

God has given every man a measure of faith. “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Rom. 12:3).

Philip Yancey defines faith as: “Believing in advance in something that will only seem logical when seen in reverse.”

I’m glad that God is not bound by rules of logic, aren’t you? And He is not bound by our ability to keep a resolution. None of us know what will happen in 2019, but aren’t you glad we know “Who holds tomorrow.”

“I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, ‘Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the unknown.’

“And he replied, ‘Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.’”

Those words, penned by British author, M. Louise Haskins, and spoken by King George VI of England in his 1939 Christmas message to the British Empire, describe the type of faith we need to cope with adversity.

By Bettie Marlowe, General Sunday School Coordinator

What Are You Doing About It?

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-13).

The General ABM theme for this year is taken from the passage above. In it, we see that there are those who have been given, and anointed, for the task of perfecting of the saints (Christians), the work of the ministry (the called ministers) and the edifying of the Body of Christ (the building up/encouragement of the Church membership). These jobs are not easy ones. It takes much diligence, consistency and faithful repetitions to see that these things are fulfilled.

The ministry is responsible for so much, and as fellow members, you are too. Your job description is outlined in Galatians 6:1, 2: “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” This is a great mandate for each of us to follow. It must be done with great care and concern for the souls of our spiritual siblings, and it must be done with great purity of heart and motive. Let’s break this passage down a bit to be sure we are aware of the job by which God will judge our labors.

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault…” Take note that this does not read, “If a brother has a fault.” It is important that we recognize the difference, because too many of us move under the assumption that because someone doesn’t do things we think they should or move under the same premise as we would, they should be corrected. This does not leave much room for personalities, preferences, individuality or uniqueness that are all things given to each human being by God. It is important that we first be able to recognize if the person has been overtaken, or simply has a weakness in one area or another. A weakness is something that can be and should be endured as a person is taught properly. “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves” (Rom. 15:1). Being overtaken in a fault is different than simply being at fault or having a fault. It would serve us all better if we knew the difference.

“…ye which are spiritual…” This portion of the passage speaks to a specific demographic. Proper restoration cannot come from just anyone. Being spiritual doesn’t mean you simply faithfully attend church, are a tither or that you can even speak in tongues more than anyone else. It doesn’t happen by your tenure as a Church member either. The spirituality needed to restore others is one that is seasoned with fasting, consistently studying God’s Word and in steady life application of that Word. That application of His Word to our own lives will, more often than not, reveal to us where we are spiritually deficient and what faults we, too, must repair before we are able to help another.

“And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye” (Luke 6:41, 42). It would be rather difficult to help a brother or sister in their great struggle with their fault or mote in their eye, while we are struggling to see at all with the large, protruding beam that is in our own eye.

“…restore such an one…” Restoring takes work, whether it is on a classic car, a piece of furniture or a precious human soul. It takes some corrective work and some tender polishing. It takes cutting away the bad and accentuating the good. Whether correction, rebuke or simple advice is used, it should never be given to expose them or make an example of them.

There is no room in restoration for those who will only be responsible for critiquing or being critical or searching for someone whom they can discipline or correct. It is a false love that will constantly look for and point out every detail of what another person is doing or has done wrong. There are no offices in the Body of Christ that hold those credentials. No position, appointed or not, has a job description which mandates one be critical of every person, at all times for all manner of reasons.

This brings us to the rest of that portion of the verse, “in the spirit of meekness.” If you cannot have and demonstrate a spirit of meekness, and your position or duty does not mandate your authority to point out the fault of another, it is best you leave it to the Lord and His government within the Church, as someday it could be you who is in need of such consideration and/or correction—"considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.”

“Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” This last part of the passage leaves no room for neglecting our part in the bearing of burdens of our brothers or sisters. In fact, it says, that doing so fulfills Christ’s law. So, if I cannot be critical and go about setting people straight or giving them my opinion, how can I be part of their restoration? You can bear their burdens. Bearing means to carry, endure and exercise longsuffering. Bear them as they struggle with that fault. Bear them when they are in the altar on Sunday morning, and it’s time for lunch. Bear them when they don’t treat you just as you feel they should. Bear their tendency to do that thing you don’t agree with or that makes you cringe. Bear them as they carry that fault (burden).

As you do, you will find the longsuffering that should be part of your salvation experience as the fruit of the Spirit come to full bloom. You will see the soul under the load. You will see the resemblance of that person to you, since you are both from the same Father. You will see they aren’t any more crucifixion-worthy than you are. You will realize their true worth to you and to the whole Body, and you will begin to pray harder than ever before. When that happens, you may actually be helping restore them before that fault ever overtakes them. The power of intercessory prayer that has been fortified with genuine love for someone is more powerful than we can ever imagine, and it can serve the Church as a great preventative measure of retraining rather than restoring.

So then, no member is without a job in the Body of Christ. Not being listed in Ephesians 4:11 does not excuse you from responsibility. What are you doing about that brother who is perpetually late? What are you doing about that sister who constantly gossips or complains? What are you doing to help the disrespectful child on your pew? What are you going to do about it? Will you take matters into your own hands? Will you be critical? Will you go tell them how awful they are? Or will you be spiritual yourself, and labor to bear their burdens before their fault becomes a overcoming stronghold that draws them completely from the fellowship? You must do something. So, develop a personal, biblical, spiritual strategy, and then put it in motion. Be deliberate and diligent in your efforts to keep your brother and sister in the Fold.

Remove your beam and then go in the right spirit to make a difference. This is the true spirit of the ABM “TILL WE ALL COME.”

No Short Cut to Perfection

“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ” (Eph. 4:13-15).

Unity of faith, knowledge/revelation of who Jesus is, measuring up to Him—these things are what perfection looks like. It is summed up verse 15:“may grow up into him in all things.” This sounds impossible. The whole notion of a perfect people is inconceivable to our finite minds. We look around with eyes of flesh and cannot imagine one another perfect and most of us cannot see perfection happening in our own lives. Since perfection seems unattainable and we cannot get past the things that keep us from it, we look for short cuts or ways to make it easier.

We live in a Swiffer, McDonalds, check-yourself-out at WalMart world. We have learned how to make things quick and easy for ourselves. Sometimes though, there is just no substitute for the elbow grease of a mop and bucket for tough stains on a floor. Nothing can substitute for a good home-cooked meal, and while most may try to avoid it, there still are things best done by a human cashier. When it comes to the perfecting of the Church, we cannot afford another shortcut failure. Sometimes we lose people faster than we find new ones. We have to get this business of unity, knowledge and measuring up to Him right if we plan to make heaven.

Don’t settle for another “love program” this year. Don’t fall into a quick fix. Our theme verse eludes to a length of time (till) it will take for us all to reach perfection. This doesn’t give us a specific length of time or span in measurements that we can estimate. This means we must work every hour as if it is our last.

May His Spirit and His Word work on me, work on you, work on us all, till we all come to the perfection He requires. When it comes to the ABM work of your local church, don’t take a short cut. Go the extra mile for that soul who is straying. Take the time to teach that faithful member how to be a disciple. Make sure you are operating this auxiliary of love and perfection to its fullest capacity “till we all come.”

Repair the Breaches

Repair the Breaches, I say Don’t let any of My sheep go astrayI say Repair the BreachesAnd prepare for the enemy’s siegesRepair the Breaches that you may be whole and not apartRepair the Breaches and bind up the broken in heartRepair the Breach of the spirit caused by the tongue perverseAnd to one another, let’s encourage, edify, exhort, and serveRepair the Breaches of the house of the LordBy the hand of the doers of the work and the doers of the WordRepair the Breaches by removing the pointing finger and the yokeRepair the Breaches by removing thy beam, and thy brother his moteRepair the Breaches that thy light break forth as the morningThat a meek and quiet spirit and a heart of love be your adorningRepair the Breaches, I sayDon’t let any of My sheep go astray

by Michelle Harden.

Have you been compelled to Repair the Breaches this year? Your encouraging word, kind act, devotion at band service or song may be the very thing that can keep that weak or wandering sheep from leaving the protection and love of The Church of God. Be a Joshua this year! War on your knees for the army of the Lord! Be a Nehemiah in your region! Encourage the workers around you in word and deed. Be an Esther for such a time as this and fast for this holy nation of God! These three gave all for their people. Will you?

Brighten the Corner Where You Are

Oscar Pimentel, General Overseer The Church of God

“Every member a worker, and a work for every member” —A. J. Tomlinson

A. J. Tomlinson’s challenging words (above) remind everyone that all can do something for God no matter what. It is certain that no matter where we are in the world and who or where we are in the Church, we can, by God’s grace, brighten the corner where we are. There is an old hymn we used to sing, perhaps some of the youth may never have sung it before, it is entitled “Brighten the Corner Where You Are.” Some of the lyrics of the song are:

Do not wait until some deed
of greatness you may do
Do not wait to shed your light afar
To the many duties ever near you now be true
Brighten the corner where you are.

Here for all your talent you may
surely find a need
Here reflect the bright and Morning Star
Even from your humble hand
the Bread of Life may feed
Brighten the corner where you are.

The hymn encourages us to gleam for Christ right where we find ourselves now and not wait for some sort of platform that may be able to catapult us into the so-called “limelight” of public or Church attention. Neither should one wait for some special occasion, event or opportunity, but one should identify and understand that especially in our normal, even mundane, everyday lives we can do some good deed, share some encouraging words or simply testify of what the Lord has been doing in our own lives. You can be a worker!

One does not need special acknowledgment or recognition to shine for Christ wherever he or she finds him or herself, after all, Christ’s notice of us is a recognition far greater than any other; rather, we should acknowledge and recognize the great necessity that strangers, coworkers, neighbors and families have of the Saviour. Let’s not leave all the work to the pastors or the evangelists, although they have a special calling on their lives into the ministry for which they will report to the Lord, but you and I someway, somehow, to some person or persons, can be the difference makers if we simply brighten our important corner of the world.

You may judge that your corner of the world is not important, but if there is a soul near you it is, in fact, an important corner of the world! Take a look around, without respect to persons, do you see the poor, rich, sick, healthy, happy, sad, friendly, unfriendly, small and great? Most importantly, do you see the soul? Allow me to remind you of some of the words of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, “Ye are the light of the world...Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 5:14-16).

Christ is the True Light, and He has lit a flame in every child of God with full intent that we should be used of Him where He has placed us for His Father’s glory unto the saving of souls. Do we believe that we are where we are today by accident? Dear loved one, you are exactly where the Lord needs you to be, and you are an important part of God’s great program. The splendor of the glorious light of the gospel of Jesus Christ which now shines in you is not to be hindered by past or present life conditions. We may, at times, ask ourselves, “What difference can I, one person, really make?”, but we underestimate the power of ONE. Read the following tidbit of information I found during some personal time of reading:

ONE mischievous boy can break up a school. One false alarm can cause a panic. One match can start a conflagration. One false step can cost a life or ruin a character. One broken wheel can ditch a train. One quarrelsome worker can create a strike of ten thousand men. One undiplomatic word can provoke a war involving thousands of lives and destruction of millions of dollars in property. One hasty act of legislation can entail untold hardships. One wayward daughter can break a mother’s heart. One lie can destroy a person’s character. One false witness can send an innocent man to jail. One vote can decide an election. One kind word at the right time may save a person from suicide. One sermon may fire a man’s soul and set the course for his future life. One drink may start a person on the road to alcoholism. One wrong example may lead dozens down the wrong path. One decision for Christ will determine future destiny.

And the Bible says: “one sinner destroyeth much good” (Eccl. 9:18). Yes, just as one broken link can make a chain useless, just as one leak can sink a ship, or just as one worm can spoil an apple. But we are glad to note that ONE can do good, as when one good word makes a heavy heart glad: “Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad” (Prov. 12:25). One faithful ambassador is health: “A wicked messengerfalleth into mischief: but a faithful ambassador is health” (Prov. 13:17). Just one word spoken in due season—how good it is: “A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!” (Prov. 15:23). Just one word:

“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver” (Prov. 25:11). Noah found grace in the eyes of God, one man upon the whole earth, and because of his obedience the human race was spared. Esther put her life in jeopardy and risked death by daring to enter in to the king’s hall, she saved her nation from extinction. Jonah, after his escapade, went to Nineveh in obedience to God and preached, and a great revival of repentance broke out in the city.”

Oh, the power of ONE! There are two great personages whom we often speak of from the Old Testament passage of 2 Kings 5; and rightly so, because by Elisha the prophet of God and Naaman the captain of the host of the king of Syria, God was glorified. Yet there is one person often overlooked in this whole account who, as a matter of fact, is far more important than either of these two men of renown, for without her neither of these two men would have had this encounter.

She has no name; at least her name, unlike Elisha’s and Naaman’s, is not shared with us—she is only known as “a little maid” (v. 2). Perhaps her name is not given on purpose since it affords us the chance, if we will take it, to add our name in its place, therein granting us the opportunity—better yet, the privilege to place ourselves in her spot and to do as she did—brighten the corner where she was.

We know by Scripture that her country had been attacked by the enemy, Syria, and she had been brought to Naaman’s house a captive, no doubt a slave and a servant void of any rights or voice. Let us continue to consider her possible life’s conditions. Her parents may have been slaughtered during Syria’s invasion of Israel.

She must have seen her city destroyed and burned to the ground; if not, she may have at least had the unfortunate occasion to witness her childhood community destroyed. Who knows if she may have had siblings whose whereabouts were unknown to her when she was removed from her homeland. She was torn away from friends and loved ones and the comforts of her home, to be dragged away to an uncertain future.

How would you and I fare under such sorrows of life? What would be our spirit under similar experiences? Have tough and unexpected experiences of life caused us to feel like the prophet Jeremiah who said, “I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name” (Jer. 20:9) in his time of temptation? Perhaps it would be all the reason to abandon the faith and wallow in self-pity. We have all, somewhere along the way, had our fill of sorrow and heartbreak and, unfortunately, others may come, but what we do amid those moments is what ultimately matters.

Take courage dear saint, have another look at this one little maid’s testimony in Naaman’s house. She is reminiscent of that great man Job who, having lost everything, declared, “...Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21). Furthermore, it was said of him, “In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly” (Job 1:22), and this same spirit seems to have taken hold of this little maid, and can take hold of you and me as well. She was not there by accident, nor were her circumstances merely unfortunate. No! Someone has said, “Unless affliction is seen to be God’s work, it does little good to the soul.” They were God ordained! God knows how to put us where He needs us, and He knows what to allow into our lives for His divine purposes.

Unto the man who was responsible for the army of Syria—the same army which was dispatched by his orders to ravage her homeland and strip her and her countrymen of all they had and ever hoped to be—she, seeing his infirmity unto death, would in effect say to him, “I know a Man whom you can go to and be healed!” It is apparent that she had no anger or resentment or hatred in her heart toward this man, or any man, nor was she entertaining a pessimistic spirit of “Woe is me, how can I help, if I need the help?” The little maid was not looking for a blessing but desired to be a blessing! She wasn’t talking about “I’m just barely holding on,” but she had, as it were, laid hold of eternal life!

She, looking beyond herself and beyond this man’s own faults, observed his need. She goes on to share the news of help, health, and hope that can be found in God; not from the vantage point of having achieved her life goals, ambitions and dreams, or from the comforts of a life where all things had turned out the way she planned them, but amid her life’s condition as a captive and servant in Naaman’s house and the experience of all that led to this point in her life.

What an inspiring example of one person who brightened the corner where she was, regardless of her circumstances! Calling or no calling! She was not some great preacher, like the prophet or a person in great authority like Naaman, but she was one person who obeyed God.

What is our excuse to not shine for God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ? Has our love for souls waxed cold due to our past or present experiences or actual circumstances? Paul asked, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” (Rom. 8:35). What is it, dear saint? What could cause the love of God, love for our neighbor, to exit our lives? “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:37-39). Don’t let life take it away, but be determined to brighten the corner where you are! Be determined! Be determined!

Do not wait until some deed
of greatness you may do
Do not wait to shed your light afar
To the many duties ever near you now be true
Brighten the corner where you are.

Somewhere she had learned, somewhere she had seen, somewhere she had experienced the love and power of God and did not forget about it when it mattered the most—when she was alone and even afraid. I wonder how many times Naaman and his wife walked past her while in his house and paid little to no attention to her, yet there in that place of little importance and little recognition that one little maid was the difference maker because she dared to tell them of her great big God upon recognizing his great big need. Oh, isn’t it true, we have a mighty God who is a match for mighty needs?!

Now imagine Naaman’s arrival at home to his wife and family after dipping seven times in the River Jordan according to the words of the prophet Elisha. His leprosy was gone; his flesh was left like unto that of a little child and was no more plagued by that horrible and dreaded flesh-eating disease. Imagine the joy of that man and his family and an untold number of others who knew what he was like before. Imagine the little maid’s delight. He wouldn’t have to keep people at a distance anymore, he wouldn’t have to hide any more, he had no need to feel ashamed anymore because his leprosy was gone!

Now imagine when you see that unkind and cruel man or woman come through the doors of your local church with a kind and gentle new behavior because you dared to “brighten the corner where you are” and made mention of a Man, Jesus Christ, whom they could go to for healing. Imagine the drunkard or drug addict whom everyone has lost hope for, even their very family, coming to a time of fellowship clean and in their right mind because you worked for God and brightened the corner by telling them “Come to God.” These are not things to be merely imagined, they have happened and will happen if we will only work for God where we are.

Work for God, dear saint, let your light so shine, brighten the corner where you are no matter the circumstances—pleasurable or disagreeable—which you are presently in; without respect to persons, whether you are under special appointment in your local church or not, whether you feel as if you are a God called minister or not, whether you hold an evangelist’s license or not, do as this little maid who right smack dab in the middle of her day-to-day living saw a need nearby and took the opportunity to tell someone about her God and His goodness toward us.

WHICH IS THE CHURCH?

By: Robert J. Pruitt

WHICH IS THE CHURCH?

Nothing has done more to confuse and frustrate the plan of God in the world than denominationalism.

One can understand the frustration of a new convert to Christ when he begins to look for a church home. Each one either claims to be the true church or a denominate part of it, yet there are others who claim the same thing and neither will have anything whatsoever to do with the other-no fellowship, no unity, no brotherhood, no agreement, no love for one another.

Can denominationalism, then, be the Church? Absolutely not. There is no similarity to it and the scriptural image of the Church. "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all" (Ephesians 4:4-6).

Where, then, is the Church? is it to be found in the world? Is it functioning now? These questions must be answered by the support of Scripture; otherwise we would remain as confused as when we started.

Briefly, we can use the same test to identify the Church, the Body of Christ, as was used to identify Jesus Christ as the Messiah. That test was that He fit and fulfilled the prophetic image of that One. There were, no doubt, many little boys the age of Jesus who had the same name as He. But there was only one who was the true Messiah. The same test may be applied to identify the Church.

When John the Baptist was in prison and had some misgivings and apprehensions about Jesus being the true Messiah, he sent some of his own disciples to Jesus to ask Him personally if He was the one or should they begin looking for another. How did Jesus answer their question? At first He told them nothing; He simply asked that they accompany Him. "And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight. Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. And blessed is he. whosoever shall not be offended in me" (Luke 7:21-23). That was Jesus' answer as to whether He was truly the Messiah. He did what the Messiah was supposed to do. He fulfilled that place in prophecy.

The same test of identity must be applied to the true Church. The one which fulfills exactly the image projected in prophecy is the true Church. Now, the only problem is to find it.

Let us return to the prophets and trace the conception, development, and continuity of the Church right to this moment.

The Church's appearance on the earth was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah and others: Isaiah 2:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house (the theocracy, the Church) shall be established in the top of the mountains (literally mountains), and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. Read also almost the same words by the prophet Micah (Micah 4:1, 2). Then the Psalmist David, filling the role of prophet wrote, "There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth" (Psalm 72:16). The initial phase of these three prophecies was fulfilled when Jesus took the twelve up into a mountain (Mt. Hattin, about A.D. 28) and established the Church: "And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils" (Mark 3:13-15). Thus, the Church was organized, the names of the twelve were listed Judas was appointed treasurer (John 12:6; 13:9), and the twelve were ordained.

The newly established Church worked with Christ and grew in its early stages. There were problems and persecutions but it was learning at the feet of Jesus.

After the crucifixion, at which time the Church was scattered and many turned away, it again was given a new impetus at Pentecost when one hundred and twenty of the saints experienced the infilling of the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, whom Jesus had promised to send after His ascension (Acts 2).

This new power caused the Church to grow and consequently to incur the wrath and persecution of those Jews who disagreed with its doctrine and the acceptance of Jesus as the Messiah. The Church survived the persecution and began to grow in numbers and influence. External threats were no longer their greatest problem. There was trouble brewing from within. The apostle Paul described it in Acts 20:29-31: "For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears." Read als 2 Peter 2:1, 2 and the book of Jude. All these warn the internal problems which threatened the Church.

This threat was not unknown to prophecy however, because both Isaiah and Micah again were inspired to warn of the events to come.

"For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth (the early Church), when thou wast refused, saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have l sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee (Isaiah 54:6-10).

On the same incident, Micah had this to say, "Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies" (Micah 4:10). (Although it is generally considered that the universal religious confusion constitutes the "Babylon" referred to in the Scriptures, there is a more specific application inferred here. In view of the fact that there is unlimited religious freedom in the United States of America, and as a result there are more than three thousand different religious organizations of all persuasions, both Christians and non-Christians this country above all other nations of the world is a seething bed of religious confusion. Within this context it seems plausible that it fits the description of the prophet Micah when he said of the Church ".. thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered . .." And since the Church arose this side of the Dark Ages in this land, the application seems to have some validity.)

These prophecies of the downfall of the early Church were officially fulfilled in A.D. 325 when the Church, weak in power and doctrine as a result of the evil leaders who had crept in, accepted an ecclesiastical, or council, form of government to replace theocracy at the Council of Nicaea. At that point it no longer existed as the Church, or the theocracy of God. This was the beginning of what is known in religious history as the Dark Age period.

In speaking of the eventual restoration of the Church, Isaiah gives a strong hint as to the geographical location of where it would be restored. For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed" thee up shall be far away" (lsaiah 49:19).

Then God speaks to the Church through the prophet Isaiah to awake from her sleep and begin to shine: "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising" (Isaiah 60:1-3).

After centuries of obscurity, glimmerings and rays of light began to appear, but the Church, theocracy, was still in the distance. God began to deal with devout men to take a stand on what they found to be true in the Word of God. Martin Luther discovered the doctrine of justification by faith, the regeneration of the new birth, which resulted in the formation of the Lutheran Church, but it stopped short of embracing all that God had provided in His word for the theocracy. John Wesley discovered the doctrine of personal sanctification and established the Methodist Church, but it, too, stopped short of embracing all that God had provided and required of the theocracy. Neither of the above officially recognized nor embraced the mighty outpouring of the Holy Ghost in the holiness and pentecostal movements which emerged during the latter part of the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth centuries.

But that was to be a part of doing all things and obeying "All that the Lord hath spoken." The theocracy had not yet been restored. Even the holiness and pentecostal movements did not embrace New Testament government and discipline. All of this is a matter of religious history and may be substantiated by further research.

At the turn of the twentieth century there was a flurry of religious activity, but the prophecy of Isaiah and David was yet unfulfilled. Through Isaiah God was speaking to no one else but the Church when He said "Arise and shine."

David was speaking in a dual prophetic role when he wrote Psalm 132:6. He was speaking of the immediate restoration of the Ark of the Covenant and prophetically of the arise of the Church, the theocracy, with the words, "Lo. we heard of it at Ephratah: we found it in the fields of the Wood" (Psalm 132:6).

The prophecy of David's was fulfilled on June 13, 1903, when A. J. Tomlinson met with a group of devout men and women who were seeking the true Church. They could not find it in the main line denominations. They were willing to make any sacrifice to find the Church which would obey God in everything.

After praying on the mountain near the cabin where the devout group had met, A. J. Tomlinson went down the mountain and joined the group in worship. Later he gave this testimony: "I came with the understanding that we were going to search the Bible to see if we could find the Church of God just like David said we would find it." And of the meeting after he came down from the mountain, he said, "I came back down the mountain and entered the meeting. Questions were asked; Bible answers were given. They said they took the whole Bible rightly divided as their only rule of faith and practice. I said, Well, if you take the whole Bible rightly divided, that makes it the Church of God. Why do you want to call it the Holiness Church at Camp Creek? They agreed with me but couldn't answer my question. Then I said, You have agreed that this I have said (taking the whole Bible rightly divided) makes it the Church of God, and will you be willing to take it and keep it the Church of God? They said they were willing.I then asked if they were willing to take me in with the understanding that it is the Church of God-not going to be, but is the Church of God? They were willing. So I stood right there in front of the fire place and Brother Spurling, who has gone to heaven, took the Bible and gave it to me. He handed it to me and said, Will you take this as the Word of God, believe it and practice it, obey its precepts and walk in the light as God is in the light?' I thought deeply. I remembered what a time I had on the mountain. I meant business. God meant business. Right there l gave my hand to Brother Spurling. I took the obligation (covenant) with deep sincerity and extreme sacredness never to be forgotten." At that moment the Church, the theocracy, began to function again after the centuries of sleep. It arose and will shine brighter and brighter until the day when Christ raptures it away to be with Him forever!