The reports from Pentecost are very positive. Mr. and Mrs. Meredith were in Kansas City where Mr. Meredith spoke on the Sabbath and on Pentecost to a combined congregation of more than 300 people both days. Mr. and Mrs. Ames were in West Virginia for Sabbath services and a combined service on Pentecost. Mr. and Mrs. Apartian were in Quebec (see Canadian Update below). My wife and I were in Atlanta for the Sabbath and in Manchester, Tennessee, for a combined service on Pentecost. Dr. Scott Winnail and his family were in Anderson, South Carolina, on Pentecost. A number of ordinations occurred over the weekend. Many commented that the services were inspiring and that getting together on Pentecost was almost like the Feast! Yesterday, we held a Living University Board meeting and this afternoon we have a Living Church of God Board meeting. Currently, we are approaching a deadline for articles for the September-October issue of Tomorrow’s World magazine and the semi-annual letter is being mailed. In his timely letter, Mr. Meredith offers Tomorrow’s World subscribers a DVD titled The Big Picture. This is an adaptation of the Feast of Tabernacles “Behind the Work” film 2008. It is the second time we have offered a DVD in our semi-annual letter. The first DVD offer, The Power of Prophecy, proved to be very successful: we received almost 58,000 responses, excluding the Philippines, Malaysia and South Africa—a 16% response rate. The Big Picture DVD will give our subscribers an eye-opening insight into the mission of the Living Church of God. We hope also that it will move those whom God is calling to become a part of this end-time Work. Your prayers are most appreciated. 

On Sunday, June 6, Mr. Richard Stafford will be presenting a public Bible lecture in Memphis, Tennessee. More than 2,700 subscribers have been invited to attend. Mr. Stafford will speak on “What Is Ahead for the USA? How You Can Be Prepared!”

 

 

Nine ordinations were performed on the day of Pentecost and on the Sabbath preceding it. In Anderson (South Carolina), Manuel Burdette was ordained a deacon, Henry and Patti Ridgeway were ordained deacon and deaconess, and David Wakefield was ordained an elder. In Atlanta (Georgia), Vernon Bush was ordained a deacon. In Fort Lauderdale (Florida), Juan Carlos Jidy and Robert Stephens were ordained deacons, and Richard Thomas was ordained an elder. In Nashville (Tennessee), Pat McKinnon was ordained a deaconess.

 

Regional Director Gerald Weston writes: As was mentioned in last week’s The World Ahead, we are trying out a new method to advertise Tomorrow’s World Bible Studies in Canada.  We send a color brochure that gives the title of the Bible Study, a short bio of the speaker, an explanation of the Church behind the magazine and telecast, and an opportunity to pre-register.  This is mailed three to four weeks in advance.  We then mail a reminder letter timed to arrive a few days prior to the study.  To those who register, we send an e-mail reminder message the day before.  Last night gave us our first opportunity to see what kind of response this might bring.  Out of the 630 invitations sent for our London (Ontario) Bible Study, 70 “brand new” people attended, a whopping 11% response!  This was WAY above anything we have seen before in Canada.  Two percent has been more typical.  How many will respond and go to the next step remains to be seen.  We do not know if the next two studies on June 12 and 14 in Kamloops and Abbotsford, British Columbia, will do as well, as it is possible that the London study may not be typical. 

 

In addition, we were very encouraged by Mr. Dibar Apartian’s French language public lecture in Quebec City.  We only sent 125 invitations, but eight “brand new” people attended—a 6.4% response.  We did not use the new methods of advertising for this lecture, but this was an excellent response, considering the distances involved.  Mr. Apartian’s long-standing familiarity with the audience was no doubt helpful in bringing this high response.

 

Quebec City Area Pastor Mr. Yvon Brochu adds to Mr. Weston’s report: Mr. and Mrs. Dibar Apartian kept Pentecost with 39 enthusiastic brethren in Quebec City, Canada. After morning services, to honor Mr. and Mrs. Apartian’s encouragement and service to the House of God, the Church chorale performed a special song to the glory of our great God. In the afternoon, Mr. Apartian gave a public Bible lecture. In addition to the Church members, eight “new” people attended and some of them may soon be attending Sabbath services. Two other individuals were kind enough to call and express their regret of not being able to attend.

 

The first Living Church of God Sabbath service was held in St. Lucia on May 23 with an attendance of five. The second and third Sabbath services were held on May 30 and on Pentecost, the next day. Six persons were present. Mr. Dexter Wakefield is scheduled to visit St. Lucia again from June 13 to 14. We expect our starting congregation in St. Lucia will solidify and grow.

 

 

Regional Director Rod King reports: It was a privilege to be in Charlotte to attend the Council of Elders meetings and to spend time with Mr. Meredith and his team there.  I had the chance to make two more programs titled, “What on Earth is God Doing?” and “America’s Fall, Europe’s Rise.”  It was sobering to put the facts together of the fall of great American institutions such as Lehman Brothers and General Motors.  Pontiac will cease to exist and Opel in Germany will be propped up by the German government.  Vauxhall in England will most probably not survive, which will end a name that goes back to the very beginning of British motoring history.  GM’s Australian division, Holden, is in better shape and looks set to continue…

 

I have pleasure in announcing Mr. Meredith’s recognition of Mr. John (Jock) Bennie’s ordination as an elder in the Living Church of God.  Mr. Bennie will assist Mr. Botha in pastoring the Durban and Pietermaritzburg area in Kwa Zulu Natal.  We appreciate his faithfulness and know that he will contribute a great deal in the future.  Mr. Botha also reports a surge in new visits and attendees in the Kimberley and Bloemfontein areas.

 

Here in the U.K., we are looking forward to welcoming the Staffords to the team in September.  Mr. Stafford is a native of Washington state, which is about as wet and overcast as England. Mrs. Stafford (nee Meredith) was born in South Kensington, London and so is eligible to hold a British passport.  Mr. Stafford will help out with the increasing load of new visit requests and new congregations here [….] Getting around England is both difficult and expensive, so we are trying to provide services where able for new people.  We now have sixteen congregations in the U.K. and Ireland.

 

 

We currently have room for several more campers at the Teen Voyageurs Adventure in Minnesota this year.  If you are interested, please get your application in without delay.  If you started the application process, but did not complete it, please do so right away, or let us know if you have changed your mind.  We need to know if you are not going so we can plan for others who may want to go.  If you have completed the application process and for some reason have not heard whether you are accepted or not, please contact Jenny Penman at: jennypenman@lcg.org or 704-844-1960, ext 237. Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime adventure experience.

Are You Filled with God’s Spirit? In the Scriptures, we read of numerous people who were “filled” with God’s Holy Spirit—John the Baptist, his mother Elizabeth and his father Zacharias (Luke 1:15, 41, 67). On the day of Pentecost, the disciples were “all filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4). Later, Peter and Paul were described as being “filled” with the Spirit (Acts 4:8; 9:17; 13:9). Paul admonished the brethren, “do not be drunk with wine… but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). How do we become filled with the Spirit? If we repent, make a commitment at baptism and receive the laying on of hands, we are promised the “gift” of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). God gives His Holy Spirit to those who obey His commandments (see John 14:15; Acts 5:32). However, that Spirit must be nourished daily by regular prayer and Bible study if we are to be “filled” with it (2 Corinthians 4:16). Paul’s admonition to Timothy to “stir up” the gift of God’s Spirit indicates that there are things we can and must do to become “filled” with the Spirit (2 Timothy 1:6-7)! Let’s make sure we are doing our part to nourish and exercise the fruits of God’s Spirit so that we can be instruments in His hands.

 

Have a profitable Sabbath,

Douglas S. Winnail   

 

  

Economics—Lessons of Current History. What lessons can we learn from the collapse of the Zimbabwean dollar? As of mid-April 2009, the Zimbabwean dollar became a casualty of history. Hyperinflation and a nearly defunct system of national production led to the removal of the Zimbabwean dollar and its replacement with another currency in which the people still have faith—the U.S. dollar. Prior to the Zimbabwean dollar’s total collapse, national inflation was greater than 313 million percent per month (The Zimbabwean, April 15, 2009). How might this situation relate to Bible prophecy? The Bible warns about the consequences of falling into debt (Proverbs 22:7) and observes that creditors can rise up suddenly against those who have borrowed money (Habakkuk 2:7). Bible prophecies indicate that many nations will experience scarcity and hyperinflation as the end of the age approaches (Revelation 6:5-6) and that Israelite nations will be economically dependent on foreign nations (Deuteronomy 28:43-44). From Zimbabwe, we learn what can happen if total confidence is lost in a national currency—that to stabilize an out-of-control economy, the trusted currency of another nation could be adopted. Iceland is considering the same option with the euro. Could this also happen in Israelite nations sometime in the future?

 

Will Israel and “Palestine” Join the EU? Although there is no formal comment from the European Union, the European press is discussing whether “…making Israel and Palestine EU member nations offer a solution to the [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict?” In a recent interview with a Palestinian citizen, a British journalist was presented with the argument that making “Palestine” and Israel both members of the EU would elevate their perspectives to a “supranational level” and help them see beyond their own local issues. The article continued, “The rug would be pulled from under the extremists who would not be able to use the Israeli/Palestinian conflict as an excuse to maintain hostilities. Palestine would move from being a developing country to a developed country; instead of receiving aid it would become part of the financial generation process. Israel would find its ever-eluding security and would function as a normal society” (guardian.co.uk, May 19, 2009). Whether or not Israel and a proposed Palestinian state join the EU, even for a time, will remain to be seen. However, this prospect provides an interesting window into the potential fulfillment of prophecies about Jerusalem. How and why would Arabs allow the Jews to sacrifice on the Temple Mount? Who are the “many” with whom the Beast will confirm a covenant for three-and-one-half years prior to Christ’s return (Daniel 9:26-27; 12:11)? An agreement will eventually be made with the kings of the north and south, but what must first happen in order for him to “enter peaceably into the richest places of the province” (Daniel 11:24)? And what will happen to cause the covenant between these regions to be undermined (vv. 27-32)? Could Israel and “Palestine” becoming EU members for a time be the way that God chooses to bring about the fulfillment of these prophecies? We must watch and see!       

Popular opinion overrides the Bible in the Church of Scotland. The Church of Scotland recently approved the appointment of an openly homosexual minister by a 326 to 267 vote of its ruling body. The minister, who was previously married to a woman, is now in a relationship with a man. Interestingly, many of the 900 voting members of the Church’s ruling body decided to abstain from voting. The outcome of the vote won the Church praise from Scotland’s Equality and Human Rights Commission. In a statement, The Commission noted that the Church of Scotland has shown itself to be “a modern church for a modern Scotland.” The dissenters on the Church’s ruling body cited the Bible’s condemnation of homosexuality as their reason for opposition (Onenewsnow.com, May 24, 2009). Following a modern trend, public opinion of what is right and wrong once again won rather than the word of God. As time goes on, we will see more unbiblical decision-making coming from the world’s so-called “Christian” churches (see Ezekiel 34, Isaiah 5:20, Jeremiah 17:9). As we see more amoral behavior pouring forth from these churches, we should be sobered, knowing that the end is drawing ever closer. In addition, we should be motivated to pray even more fervently for Christ’s return and the establishment of His Kingdom on earth—a time when righteousness will truly cover the earth.