LCG: Fasting to Do the Work and for Others to be Called

Roderick C. Meredith

Members of the Living Church of God are fasting today as suggested by Dr. R.C. Meredith (in two emails):

…we have set the Church-wide fast for the Sabbath of March 6, 2010. This will be just twenty-two days before Passover! And with Satan the Devil attacking many of us, attacking and even dividing many of our separated brethren and with the traumatic prophetic events now under way around the world—especially in Haiti—we as a Church need to “seek God” in prayer and fasting more than ever! As the end of this age truly draws close, God’s Word tells us in many ways to draw closer to Him.

So please announce to all the brethren that we as a unified body will be conducting a Church-wide fast on the Sabbath of March 6! Urge everyone to take part and to wholeheartedly “seek God” and ask the Father and our Head, Jesus Christ, to bring more and more of His faithful people together into one Church so a truly significant Work may be accomplished! Even now, many of us are putting our very beings into the Work—as many of you know. But we need help, we need more laborers and we need the “gifts” of the Holy Spirit in order to reach and to convict this very confused world.

So let us go “all out” in seeking God’s guidance and blessing on this coming fast and to draw us closer to Him in every way. God willing, I will be writing a complete letter to all of our brethren—explaining the reasons in more detail. But please earnestly encourage all of their participation, let them know the date so they can prepare, and let us pray for the success of this effort to draw closer to our Creator.

Your brother in Christ,

Roderick C. Meredith

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Right now—as far as I know—we have a wonderful sense of unity and loyalty throughout the Living Church of God. Yet, in spite of this, our income has suffered the early part of this year because of the unusual storms and upset weather and because of our severe national economic downturn. Yet, we truly need to be able to do more—not less—in reaching out to this world on television, on the Internet, and in hiring more ministers and servants to help do the Work. All this takes a great deal of money and many of God’s people are “hurting” at this time. So we certainly need to pray for God’s intervention and mercy. We truly need God’s intervention in this matter in order to effectively reach this confused world and to serve our dear brethren around the world!

Also, individually, many of our own brethren are having trials of serious illnesses, and spiritual trials and tests as well. As a Church, we need God’s Holy Spirit to be poured out upon us for healing, guidance and deliverance from all kinds of trials and from the assaults of Satan.

In addition, as many of you know, many of our “separated brethren” in other Church of God fellowships are being severely tried and tested as never before. In the splits and divisions that are already beginning to occur, many may simply fall away and leave the Church of God altogether! We do not want this. So we should pray and fast for these dear people as well! We should fervently ask God to guide them and lead them, to help them see the Big Picture and realize that He, their Creator, is very much alive and that He wants His people not only to serve Him individually, but to do His Work! For as Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” But, please remember, Jesus Christ did not stop right here! The Son of God continued with these words, “and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). Brethren, Christ never said that the Work would stop when Mr. Armstrong died. Mr. Armstrong would be horrified to hear people to say such silly things! We are commanded to go into “all the nations” and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God (Matthew 24:14). More and more of God’s people need to learn to work together to actually accomplish this powerful mission!

So let us pray for these scattered people and for their spiritual salvation. But we may rightly ask that God may—as He knows is best—bring many of these hurt and confused people with us in the Living Church of God in order to help us “finish” the Work with power. And when they come, let us warmly welcome them, encourage them and continue to pray for those who remain elsewhere that they may also be led into more Truth and may be in the first resurrection as God works with each one individually.

As these massive earthquakes and other “natural catastrophes” increase, we desperately need God’s divine protection, His guidance, His healing and His inspiration. As we come before God this coming Sabbath in earnest prayer and fasting, let us pour out our hearts for each other and for our separated brethren as well.

With Christian love,

Roderick C. Meredith

The late Herbert W. Armstrong used to teach that the Church of God moves forward on its knees. And prayer and fasting are tools to facilitate that.

I had previous reported this on the News of the Living Church of God page, but thought mentioning it here would also be a good idea.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

The Gospel of the Kingdom of God was the Emphasis of Jesus and the Early Church Did you know that? Do you even know what the gospel of the kingdom is all about? True religion should be based upon the true gospel.
Are You Saved? Do You Love Jesus? What is a True Christian? What is the Gospel? Evangelist Richard Ames answers those important questions.
Getting the Gospel Out is More than a Local Job Discusses Biblical rationale for doing an international, and not just a local, work.
How Much Did You Cost? Some have complained that the total costs spent to proclaim the gospel as a witness is too high since it does not (in their opinion) result in enough conversions. Is that how God sees it?
The Temple and the Work This article discusses the two temples of the Old Testament and gives insight as to their possible relevance to the situation which has impacted the Church during this past decade or so.
Parable of the Mustard Seed Jesus told many parables. Why? What might this one mean?
Should the Church Still Try to Place its Top Priority on Proclaiming the Gospel or Did Herbert W. Armstrong Change that Priority for the Work? Some say the Church should mainly feed the flock now as that is what Herbert W. Armstrong reportedly said. Is that what he said? Is that what the Bible says? What did Paul and Herbert W. Armstrong expect from evangelists?
There are Many COGs: Why Support the Living Church of God? This is an article for those who wish to more easily sort out the different COGs. It really should be a MUST READ for current and former WCG/GCI members or any interested in supporting the faithful church. It also explains a lot of what the COGs are all about.