Good News 1959 (Vol VIII No 12) Dec_w

7/28/2019 Good News 1959 (Vol VIII No 12) Dec_w

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International Magaztne o fTHE CHURCH OF GOD

VOL. VIII, NUMBER 12 DECEMBER, 1959

Should Your Cbld Participatein School Activities?

What About Our Children?

We Need to Understand This WorldAs Chris t' s disciples today, we mustpresen t the gospel- the message ofGod's kingdom-to the world in a powerful and convincing manner. In orderto understand the worldly people we will

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As God wants us all to lead happy,abundant lives, your child should not bedeprived of doing whatever in the endwill result in a happier, more worthwhile life.There are many things which we, andour children, can do in the world-andyet not have fellowship wirh the world.We need to know where to draw theline!In Christ's prayer for His disciples,He said, "I pray not that thou shouldsttake them out of the world, but thatthou shouldst keep them from the evil"(John 17: 15). Later, He told them, "Goye into all the world, and preach thegospel to every creature" (Mark 16: 15) .They were to go into the world, butwere not to be of i t -not to partake ofits evil.

We are not to be part and parcel withthis world-"chis present evil world."

No Fellowship With This WorldThe apostle James tells us, "whosoevertherefore will be a friend of the world isthe enemy of God" (J ames 4:4). Paulwas inspired to write, "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers:for what fellowship hath righteousnesswith unrighteousness? and what com

munion hath l ight with darkness?" (I ICor. 6: 14).Unrighteousness, or sin, is defined asbreaking God's law ( I John 3:4). Christians cannot have religious and social fel-lowship with the people of this worldwho refuse to acknowledge God's l aw-much less obey it. Of course, we can dobusiness with the world, so long as wedon't begin fellowshipping the world orpracticing its WtlY ( I Cor. 5:9-11) .

Members continue to write us for advice in meeting the seriousproblems which children !ac;e in public schools. Should childrenjoin clubs, take part in Christmas and Easter plays, participate insports after school hours?by Roderick C. Meredith

is a definite way of life. In Acts 9: 2 and19:9,23, it is referred to as "this WAY"and "that WAY."

The present organized society doesn'tfollow that way!"Strait is the gate, and narrow is theway, which leadeth unto life, and FEWthere be that find it" (Matt. 7: 14). Thisworld has separated itself from God andis going a far di fferent way than tha t ofthe early true Church. In Gala tians 1:4it is called "th is present evil world."

H ERE is a recent let ter from Ill inoiswhich is typical of hundredswe receive."We have a daughter six years old attending public school. She went to kinderga rt en last year and is in the firstgrade this year. I know that many of thethings they teach and the activi ties theyhave are of pagan origin, such as Hallowe'en, Christmas, Easter. I do not thinkthey are right. The problem that troublesme is what I should do or could doabour it."Should I go ahead and let the childparticipate in these activit ies with theothe r children at school and then try toexplain to the child at home that thesepractices and customs are pagan andwrong? If I do this, will it not be ratherconfusing to the child? Or would it bebest for me to forbid the child to participate at all in these activities?"Almighty God, our Creator, wants ourchildren to live happy, joyous lives!Chris t came that we all might live moreabundantly-have lives full of interesting and worthwhile activit ies (John10: 10).In order to provide a way for our happiness, God gave us His law-His way ofI ife-ro guide us in the paths that leadto that happiness. The early, Spirit-filledchurch understood that true Christianity


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Page 2 The GOOD NEWS December, 1959

Oklahoma

ministering to its membersscattered abroad

International magazine ofTHE CHURCH OF GOD

French Canadians hungry f or truth"Dear Mr. Armstrong:

"Would you please send me all theliterature that you have? 1: will make itmy duty to distribute them and dispersethem throughout our city (where) ...my people, who are French Canadianare hungry for the Word of God. "

A man from Montreal, Canada

In accord"Dear Mr. Armstrong:

"We have received the three bookletsthat you sent us, as wel l as the long andexplicit letter, and the book 'A TrueHistory of the True Church' that I translated into French for my husband. (H ecan 't read English.) Thus far we are ent irely in agreement with you."A French Woman from Passaic, NewJersey

Blessed by broadcast"Dear Mr. Armstrong:"I thank you for the trouble to whichyou have gone in sending me the litera

ture that I requested, . . I served in twoWorld Wars and am a pensioner. Alsowas a drunkard and led a bad life, butoday I am happy to have encounteresome friends like The WORLD TOMORROWI "An old man from Montreal, Canad

Confused"Dear Mr. Armstrong:"1 love the Bible, and I love God, bu t

I am confused with all these 'Churchesof God,' the Seventh-day Adventists andthe rest. I will really love to be pu t onthe right road, for God must surely haveHi s Church on the earth since He isgoing to come to look for it."

Man From Mont real, Canada

EDITOR 'S NOTE: The following fourletters were received by the French Department, and have been translated intoEnglish.

wc want to dcdicarc our lives to scrvingthe Lord in the truths that we havelearned f rom God's ministers, We havedecided to heed the command of Godto 'come out of Babylon'."

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Coming o ut of Babylon"Dear Mr. Armstrong:"Several months ago I wrote you re

quest ing p rayer and an anointed clothfor my wife; she was suffering from atumor and fai ling fast. She would haveto undergo an operation or die, I received th e ano int ed cl ot h and a fte r weprayed, I laid it on the affected parts asyou ins tr uc ted me to do and my wifewas healed that same n ight . She told methat when the anointed clo th was laidon her she felt a strong moving in herstomach, and the next morning thetumor was gone. Pra ise the Lord! Now

Woman f rom Austral ia

God heals Australian Lady"Dear Mr. Armstrong:

"This letter is to tell you of the wonderful way in which God is rapidly healing me of my affliction, through yourminis try and my faith in His mightyhealing power."I wrote to you requesting prayer a fewweeks ago and received your reply a fewdays ago. We did as you instructed and

after reading your two wonderful booklets on healing , we applied the anointedhandkerchief to my leg This was lasrTuesday. On Wednesday the nurs e whocalls at my home and has been dressingthe incision in my leg, was delighted totel l me that the discharge had ceased entire ly. Last Friday I had an appointmentto see my doctor at Newcastle Hospital.My doctor had told me two months agothat I would be better without my leg,but after examining me, t old me that Ishall now keep my limb and that thehealing process was vpry good indeedI bel ieve with all my heart t ha t God israpidly healing my damaged bone or hashealed it."Mr. Aunsuoug, my leg had been discharging for twenty months and nowGod has heal ed me of this terrible disease in a moment. What a wonderfulGod He is."

Booths better"Dear Mr. Armstrong:

"After seeing the booths at the fallfestival, I realize that they are muchbetter than a tent or even a hotel r oom,I am sure this is God's way,"

Man f rom Houston, Texas

ered at that amazing, wonderful Feastof Tabernacles."Woman from Santa Barbara, California

NUMBER i zOL. VIIIHerbert W. ArmstrongPublisher and EditorGarner Ted ArmstrongExecutive Editor

Herman L. HoehManaging EditorRoderick C. MeredithAssociate Editor

LETTERS TO THEEDITOR

Enjoyed Feast"Dear Mr. Armstrong:"I had the most wonderful time at

i he Fens! this fall, and with God's help1 don't want to miss another one as longas God keeps me able to go. I don'tmean just to have a minor il lness , Imean to really not be able-physicallyand financially,"

Woman from Morgan Mill, Texas

Profitable way to spend your timewaiting for the lessons."Correspondence Course Statl :

"For once, s ince starring the BibleCorrespondence Course, I ~ m thankfulthe lessons have been delayed. It g ivesme extra time to spend on notes gat h-

Address communica tions to the Edi to r,Box 111, Pasadena, California.Copyright, December, 1959By the Radio Church of God

Quits smoking"Dear Mr. Armstrong:

"One thing impressed my husbandvery much at the Feast. We did not seeone man on the tabernacle ground smoking' When we got back home my husband quit smoking, and he had smokedfor 60 years."

Be sure to notify us immediately ofchange of address.


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Are You JustWAITING IT OUT?

Keep Mind Off SELF"Next, your mind is too much on

YOURSELF. Get your mind on your jobin this world-our calling to carryonGod's mission PREPARING THE WAY forGod 's grea t superna tu ra l intervent ionand SAVING this world-and the realizat ion that, while our labors, NOW, do notbring forth visible evidence of thechanged and happy world to come, nevertheless this is OUR PART IN IT, fo/(PleclSe continue on page 7 )

That was almost 55 years ago, and theunp leasant ordea l of it linger s sti ll as amost unpleasant aftertaste. Just to waitout something is s tark boredom. YouHAVE A JOB TO DO, young lady-whynot find it, and get so busy with i t - sowrapped up in i t -you have no time forall this dread, fear, and unhappy stateyou've permitted your mind to driftinto?"That job is dual-c--huilding a godlikeCHARACTER, overcoming SELF, growingin grace and the knowledge of Christ,on the one hand, and contributing YOURPART in the closing WORK OF GOD, thegreatest , mos t wonderful , mos t importan t act ivi ty on earth, on the o ther. Perhaps your only part, for now, in God'swork is your constan t prayers and yourtithes and offerings. But even that is amost important part-far more, I realize,than our co-workers know! Weare having our part in CHANGING the world.Tho I know the world pays little realheed to the Message from God r ightnow, yet when God supernaturally movesto shake this ear th , as people have heardme proclaim in advance, then they willturn, by the hundreds of thousands, toGod and His ways! We are doing the jobnow of plowing up the ground, sowingthe seed. God will cause the seed tosprout forth, and produce an abundantharvest, after our labors are over! It'sthe grea tes t job on earth . We ought tobe THRILLED with i t, filled with JOYin being part of i t -so INTENT on ourhappy job tha t the ridicule and scorn ofthe ignorant in this world , coming fromthose whom we really love and serve,and yet must endure and tolerate, neverruffles us at all. We love them enoughto suffer their misconstructions, for theirsakes."

Only One GOAL"There' s only one GOAL in life thatcan be sat is fying and resul t in ultimate

success-to ATTAIN TO THE RESURREC-TION IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD. Weare mere temporary mortals , now. Youneed to have p.iricnce and tolerance toward people - real love toward them,even the supposedly highly educatednot FEAR of them. Now, to attain thesupreme GOAL, you have to GO TOWORKAT IT. You have to become a busy, enrhusiastic DOIiR, not merely a hearer ofGod's truth. You need to pu t your heart,your enthusiasm, your whole life into it.You indicate you have been just waitingfor Chr is t' s coming - waiting it out.Meanwhile life is burdensome, full ofweighty problems, upset by fears. 'Thisisolation,' you say, 'is not pleasant.'"I remember, when I was eight yearsold, being taken to church and just having to sit the re for hours, with no program, no act ivi ty, nothing to do-justSIT, waiting the old cen tu ry out, and thenew cen tu ry in- just waiting it our!

Thi s subject is so vital for us today that we are reprinting it fromthe September 1954 issue.by Herbert W. Armstrong

merely laymen, and ignorant of TRUTH."You cont inue , '1 would be laughedat and ridiculed, but I do not believe

;1ny amount of brainwashing could makeme lose my grip on what I now believe.'Don't be AFRAID of the trurh you believe.Don't be afraid of r idicule or of people .You say, 'How can I alone observe' whatGod commands. My dear girl, Mrs. Armstrong and I had to do this for yearshundreds are doing it now-and you can,IF you eradicate that FEAR, and replace itwith FAITH, and HOPE and JO Y in thetruth! You ask, 'WillI be condemned ifI do not observe them to the let ter, thoI do not reject them?' First, don't be interror of God. He won't condemn you but you could condemn yourself. Remember God LOVES you. His way isRIGHT for you. And remember, too, 'Notthe hearers , bur the DOERS of the lawshall be just i/ if'c l' Gocl commands Hisways because they are BEST for us. Toaccept them mentally, but reject themin doing , is to re ject THE WAY to happiness and eternal life. Try co find JOY inGod's better ways. Quit FEARING peopleand the ir opinions and ridicule, whichwill not come to the extent you imagineanyway."

An Open Letter"Perhaps 1 can help you. Two or threepoints stick out in your lett er. At firstyour let ter sounded like that of an introvert, bur as I proceeded I sensed thatyou are permitting FEAR to grip you andisolate you. I see indications of fear ofpeople and their opinions, and fear ofGod-I mean a fear dif ferent f rom thenormal true fear of The Eternal we

ought to feel."You say, 'I am completely alone inmy faith'-which is normal enough andtrue of hundreds of God's people-then,'1 have confided in no one, for ... theywould merely think I had become indoctrinated with some fanatical theory. '

You indica te tha t the so-called bettereducated, intelligent people scorn thetruth in ridicule , which I gather youfear. True, mos t so-called better educated peopl e have been indoctrinatedwith the godless fable of the evolutionaryconcept, and inoculated with the assumption that all religion is superstitionbut this is only ignorance and fo lklorein itself, and I have many highly educated peopl e in my radio audience, thothe percentage may be small. Personally,[ do not fear the opinions of thesepseudo-educated, for I know they are

DECENTLY I received a let ter from a1. girl, 21 years of age, who hasproblems I believe to be commonto many of you.

This girl found herself totally isolated-without f riends or companions-i-because of the TRUTH of God. She wasafraid of what people would think audsay if they learned about her religion.They would think her "fanatical"would ridicule her.She had been taught as a child by hermother about the second coming ofChrist, and the end of this world. Shehad been led to expect it immediately,but now, since lis tening to The WORLDTOMORROW, and re ading The PLAINTRUTH, she realizes it may yet be a fewyears before Chr ist comes. Now, shefaces the problem of "waiting it our,"until Jesus appears.Ir jusr occurred to me tha t many ofyou face the same problems, and thatthe l etter I sent her might help many ofyou, too. So here it is:


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Your questions ansurered. in these columns! Your opportunity to havediscussed those problems pertaining directly to members of God's Church.

f2!jestion ~ o x

Page 'I

School Activities(Continued f rom page 1)

be dealing with, we need to observe theirwayof life and learn their basic attitudes.We need to know what they are thinkingand doing.This doesn't mean that we are tofellowship t hem- join their churches,lodges, clubs, parties, or become intimatewith them in any other way. But to understand this world, we can not shutourselves off in some dark corner andhave no contact with the outside world.

Teach Chi ld ren God 's Way\'Ve need to ask God daily to help usassociate with the unconverted in afriendly, loving manner but never tofellowrhip-to associate approvingly

with t hem in their worldly activities.Chi ldren need special trai ni ng, andGod's guidance, to help them meet theseproblems, especially in their school life.Your l it tle chi ldren should gradual ly becaught and trained to live God's way.God inspired Solomon to write, "Trainup a child in the U',ty he should go: andwhen he is old, he will not depart fromit" (Proverbs 22: () .If God's way is the best way-thebiljijJiert way-why shouldn't we want toteach our children that way?We had better no t be ashamed of theprecious truth of God, but learn to teachit to our children. Too [nany parents

don't know how to teach their childrenat home.The Problem of School Activit iesWhen your child understands God'sway of life, he will encounter manyschool act iv it ies which are contrary tothat way. He will also f ind rome activi-ties which are necessary to develop abili-ties mid perJollality ill the right direction

-leithOllt breaeing God'J lau:For instance, the ab il ity to producebeautiful music certainly glorifies Godif it is exercised properly. In most cases,your child need not [ellousbip the worldin order to take mus ic lessons, play in aband or orchestra or si ng in the schoolchorus. In these activities, the idea isnot social or religious fellowship, but toproduce co-operatively good music andto cul tiva te each ind ividua l's ta lentsSuch act iviti es will g ive your ch ild thecontact with others he needs. They willteach him to work in harmony and toco-openlle-in a worthwhile activitywith his fellow human beings. This willhelp develop his personali ty , his confidence, and will enable him to better/rnderst.nrd and deal with those aroundhim. Lack of mlY such activity or contactwill almost inevitably result in a narrou,

The GOOD NEWSstunted personality development.The main problem these activitiespresent is the fact that they are oft enheld on God's Sabbath and are sometimes directly connected with the celeb ra tion of this world's pagan holidays.The parent and chi ld will have to workthis out w ith teachers according to thecircumstances in each particular case.

However, we need to know how farGod would wish us to go.In Jeremiah 10:2-3, God says, "Learnno t the way of the heathen, .. . for thecustoms of the people are vain." Thenhe goes on to describe as "hea theni sm"many of the social and religious activities tha t the people of this world part ic ipate in today-such as Chris tmas andEaster celebrations. God doesn't want us,or our children, to pa rti cip ate in theheathen prac tices of this world's holidays!In view of this divine command, wecannot let our children participate in theprograms centering around this world'spagan religious holidays. We should request the teachers in a non-argumentative, polite but firm manner to excuseour chi ldren from par ticipation in theseprograms.Concerning programs occurring on aweekly or annual Sabbath, we must remember that God 's Sabbath is holy time-" '" . \ ll\.ll lO be abused. However , if anunusual musical program of the rightkind were scheduled on the eve of theSabbath and your chi ld belonged to theschool musical organization producing it-it would be permis sib le for him topar ti cipa te simply as an expression ofthe musical talent to glorify the God whogave it. But we shou ld be very careful topray over the circumstances, and neverabuse this pr ivi lege , or allow it to takethe place of a commanded Sabbath assembly.This is the principle a parent and childshould follow in all worthwhile schoolactivities.

What is th e def in it ion o f "mingledseed" in th e c om ma nd , "thou shaltnot sow thy field with mingled seed,"found in leviticus 19 : 19, and Deuteronomy 22:9?

Notice the reason for this commandin Deuteronomy 22: 9, ". . . lest the fruitof thy seed which thou hast sown, andthe fruit of thy vineyard, BE DEFILED.'God gave this law for our protect ion!

December, 1959As for parr ir ipar ion in after-schoolsports, I can say f rom much experiencethat, although they may be enjoyable fora time, most school sport s consume too

IT1Llch valuable time. The possibility ofbodily injury, and the a lmost constan tnecessity of participation on the Sabbath,make it a rare case indeed that a realChristian child could conscientiously part ic ipate in this world' s athletic programbetween schools.I love sporrs, and think every childshould be taught to exercise and to enjoy the right kind of sports dur ing recesses and in gymnasi um classes. Butthis civilization's inter-school sports program is not set up to fit into a trueChristian's life.

Should Children Join ClubsIn many schools the re are numerous

clubs-music, art, foreign language, agricultural, to name a few-that are oftenbeneficial to the proper development ofchildren. It is your duty as a parent tolearn about these clubs to see if they arereally what your child needs, or if theyare a waste of valuable t ime.

Too many school clubs are purposelessand can lead young people to seek worldly fel lowship and momentary pleasureswhich end in empty fruitless lives. Clubsoften plan after-school activities whichare designed to occupy the minds ofyoung people who don' t know w hat todo with their time because they haven'tbeen t ra ined by the ir parent s to realizethe tremendous importance of usingtheir formative and impressionable years.Remember that God wants us, and ourchi ldren, to love others and to learn tounderstand and get along with our fellowmen. Ou r children should not grow up tobe nar row and bigoted. We should refuse what is wrong and also understandthat even cer ta in right things are sometimes pu t to a wrong use and at thewrong time by this world, These youmust teach your children to avoid.

He does not want us to defile or mix theproduce that we grow, nor the seed tha twe save for growing future crops.Just to make sure the point is clear,let us state a few specific examples. Youshould not plant cucumbers near watermelons because they wil l cross and produce a perversion. Likewise, the variousmembers of the muskmelon and can-(PleaJe continue on page 11 )


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"Please Give Us a Church!"is this your request? TVhy aren't churches established in more localareas? W7ill more be established soon?

by L. Leroy NeffHWE NEED a chu rch where wecan meet each Sabbath," wasa statement frequently heardat the recent Feast of Tabernacles. I fyou are one who wants to assemble

with Chr is ti an b re th ren each Sabbath,and yet are unable to, you may wonderwhy this has not been made possible.It is only natur al that all of you inGod's Church should want to assembleon the Sabbath. I t is also natural forsome of you to become impatient at nothaving a local congregation.But, there are reasons that morechurches have not been established, andtha t a chur ch may neve r be es tablishedin your local area. Here is a frank,

straightforward answer to these questions with proof from your own Bible.God's Church Scattered

During the beginning months andyears of God's Church, following A.D.31, God 's Church grew tremendously.On certain occasions, thousands were8dded to the Church. Here was the beginning of one tremendous local congregation or church. Was it God 's wil l thatthis t rend continue?The Bible shows us that it was notGod's will for all of His Church to bein just one place. It was only a shortwhile until persecutions arose, and God'sChurch was scattered. We read of thisin the 8th chapter of Acts. Notice Acts8: 1, "And Saul was consenting unto hisdeath. And at tha t time there was agreat persecution against the churchwhich was at Je rusalem; and they wereall scattered abroad throughout the reg ions of Judea and Samaria, except theapostles." Also see Acts 8: 4 and Acts11: 19.Yes, God 's Church W8S scattered almost nineteen hundred years ago, and ithas remained scattered to this day!

If it were contrary to God's will thatthe Church be scattered, then He wouldcall people in local church areas only.Therefore, the scattering and cal li ng ofGod is according to His own Divine planand will. God, not man, calls His Church,and ru les His Church. It is only God,who is able to call us to repentance andto p lace US within His Church.

Salt of t he Ear thGod's people are called the "salt ofthe ear th" (Matt . 5: 13 ). When food isseasoned with salt, ,I grain is found onlyhere and there. It is a very smal l amount

compared to all of the re st of the food.And so it is today with God's Church.God's Church is scattered, with onemember in one city, another member insome other area. Even in large c.ties, wefind God 's people still scattered. Theyare not grouped together in large gatherings.

I f God's people were all congregatedtogether, and not scattered, then it couldnot be said of th em tha t they are thesalt of the ear th .

Has God Made a Mistake?God does not make a mistake whenHe calls or invites a person into HisChurch. A person may not answer that

call. He may refuse, or may fall by thewayside, bu t God has not made a mis-take. "For the gifts and calling of Godare without repentance" (Rom, 11: 29 ) .The call that God gives is not a mistake .God may be sorry that we have fa iled torepent, or overcome. But He is not sorrythat He has called us to repentance, orhas opened our minds to understand Histruth.

God has called some of you completely alone, No one else in your familybelieves as you do. Do you think thatGod has made a mist ake in ca lli ng youonly, while not cal li ng the rest of yourfamily? Or do you bel ieve that God hascalled you in that state, knowing theproblems and trials you will face, andknowing that they are necessary to develop you in yom Christian life? If youthink that it is a mistake that God hasnot called your companion, or your family, you may also think that God hasmade a mistake in cal ling you. After all,God did not have to call you. It wasonly by His great mercy, compassion andlove toward you, that He opened yourmind to understand so that you couldcome to repencmce.In l ike manner, if God has called you,alone in your area, don't you believe thatGod understands and knows this?

God knows that a very large percent age of you may never have a local congregation to attend. Has God made amistake? No! God has not made a mistake in ca lli ng you under these circumstances. But you may be making amistake in expecting God to supply youwith those things which are not now bestfor you.Possibly God has called you, alone andapart f rom others, so that you might beable to grow spiritually in that environ-

rnent. The apostle Paul states: "Let everyman abide in the same calling whereinhe was called" (I Cor. 7: 20 ) . Apply thisregarding the place where God has calledyou,

You should abide in the place whe reGod has called you, unt il God makes itplain by circumstances, or by His ministers, that you should move elsewhere.

Don't Move UnwiselyOftentimes people who are just com

ing into God's Church decide they wantto move to one of God's Churches, orto Pasadena. Without using any wisdom,they move and find that they are unableto find work. Then they become a burdenon the Church. These thing s ought notto be, and yet they are repeated timea ft er time. These peop le , in good faith,and yet not understanding, do not usewisdom. They are only concerned aboutthe self. They want to attend a localchurch, not realizing that God may nothave yet intended them to do so. Theyget ahead of God. Do not make thissame mistake . Seek advice from God'sministers before making such a change.

If you are dissatisfied in not having achurch to attend, have you ever readthe statement of the apostle Paul in Phil.4: 11 ". . . I have learned , in whatsoevers tate I am, therewith to be content."Have you learned to be content inwhatever state you find yourself? Or areyou discontented because God has notprovided you with a local church? Godknew when He called you whether ornot you would be able to attend localSabbath services. Are you now dissatisfied with that calling of God? Youshould be thankful and appreciate thisvery precious call of God. You should becontent wirh wha t God has given you,and use the spiritual and physical toolstha t God has given you and work withthe best of your abili ty .

I f you are not able to assemble witha local congregation at present, do yourealize that this is God's will for you?Notice Romans 8:28. All of these thingswork togethe r for am good. The factthat you do not as yet have a church isfor your good. If t hi s is not so, then according to this very scripture, you arenot one of those who are called according to God's purpose.

New Churches EstablishedEven though many in God's Church

are not able to assemble regu lar ly in


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Page 6 The GOOD NEWS December, 1959

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.. .. ...... .. ' . : : ,.".11:'''. " "".-.' -' , -,-AUIAMA \I wi ......,.. .-. ... - - .. , # ". .. . " " . II ' .. , , " . I".. -...- .-. .. I ' .. " " ... . . . ' ...... , -. . .r ',.. pp. . . . . . _. . . - J! ;W . .y.. ., ISSIIIl . . . ,. . . .. . .. : .. - ....,. .. .. .. .. . , , ~ . . .. . ....... . I ' , 1; I" .. -... - ,t '" . ' . '" .. , ..""'" .,,, ,,' '. ' .- . . ~ . - ' .... .,fl'.'.... "...:.b... ~ . \ -,.. ..: "S.. '.-: ~ !:!....:. 1 .." J" _.4:.. .. .. leouiilMA .. ,. : I'........... .---... ..,: --.. .. - .. ,'fIii .' .. .. ....: ,t '.: I .. t :..J. .:. ~ a . : : ' f " ......( I. . ~ 4' . . ",' ." ., o ! ~ \. . . . . . . =. ..: .... . - ---!-- ; : : ~ ' \ ' " -'-,..-",..--

.. ' to . : ~ . '" . ... . ".- : b,. "". :Y . '. .... i!.:i.... .., "i .. ' ~ i " : l .." ... .

Here is an enlightening photographshowing t h ~ ' distribution of Churchmembership. Such aids as this are takeninto comideration in making plans for

the future. The map-here reproduced-has a dot to represent each familyin the Church (not including the near-thousand added in the past summer).

There are often set'eral members ineach family. Notice the concentrationalong the West Coast, especially atHeadquarters, mzd in Texas.

church congregations, God is still raisingup new churches. During the past year,new churches have been established andraised up in Seattle, Washington; LongBeach, California; Sherman Oaks, California; Akron, Ohio; and now in NewYork City, New York. Yes, God is adding churches for which we should bevery thankful and gratefuL

If God makes it possib le we hope tohave additional churches within this nextyear. Possibly there will be two in Oklahoma, and others in Cal ifornia . In addition, new churches are p lanned in Australia and in England. Are you pray ingfor God to raise up more of thesechurches? Or are you just praying forcne in your area?

You may ask why more churches areDot being raised up. Do you believe thatit is entirely up to Mr. Armstrong, theminis try, or for Ambassador College tosupply pastors for these churches? If so,you do not believe that Jesus Christ is thehead of this Church. Mr. Armstrong cannot call a person to repentance, nor canhe pu t within an individual the qualities


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December, 1959

.r;;;

necessary for a minister. Only God cangive these gifts, make such a call, andset aside a person for the minist ry . Thisis God's Church and Jesus Christ is thehead. It is through the power of HisHoly Spirit that He guides His ministersin appointing men to these various offices. Notice Acts 13: 2. Here we findwhere the Holy Spirit instructed theministry to separate and ordain Barnabasand Saul for the work to which theywere called. And so it is tuday.God does nor call all of those whocome to Ambassador College to be ministers. Only a percentage of them are

The GOOD NEWSmade ministers. There are many otherpositions of great need and importance inGod's work beside the ministry. There aremany office and teaching posi tions thatmust be filled. I t is God who decides,and who separates, those who come toAmbassador College to the work of theministry and for other posts of duty.As we look at how great this work hasgrown, from one of extreme smallness, toone of world-wide importance, it is evident that "the harvest truly is plenteous,but the laborers are few" (Mat. 9:37).It is this way according to God's will,and not contrary to His will! But we allcan have a part in helping to alleviate, orcorrect this si tuat ion. The next versetells us what we should do about it. Ittells each one of us what to do. It doesnot leave the burden of this on Mr.Armstrong, the minis try, AmbassadorCollege, or any other individual, but oneach and everyone in God' s Church.Notice verse 38. "Pray ye there fo re theLord of the harvest, that he will sendforth laborers into his harvest." Are youpraying diligently and effectually as youshould that God will send out more laborers into His harvest? Maybe insteadof God's ministry being at fault, you areat fault in not praying as you shouldthat God will send for th laborers, andthat churches wil l be raised up.

Our Fellowship with ChristSome of you state that you do nothave fellowship with others in theChurch. What greater, more profitable,and more wonderful fellowship can youhave t han with Jesus Christ, the very

head of this Church! When you read HisWord, He talks to you. By prayer, youtalk with H im . Tha t fel lowship can bewonderful beyond all words.That is the fellowship you can haveevery day, and not just on the Sabbath .In addit ion, you are able to attend thegreatest fellowship, the largest Churchmeeting on earth each day in your ownhome. You can listen to The WORLDTOMORROW broadcast, with millions ofother people. Yon also have The GoodNews, the Correspondence Course, ThePLAIN TRUTH, the Co-Worker bulletins. All of these things keep you in conrace with God's Church. Many of youwho have met other scattered brethrenat the Feast cor respond with them. Inthat way you also can have frequent fellowship with God's people.Some of you who are not able to attend local churches have said that youare not able to keep up with all theliterature that we send out from here.If you are not able to read, study, anddigest this information, how would youhave time to attend a local congregation?

Now just what should you do aboutthis problem? If you are not able to at-

Paget end local services, you are not alonPossibly three-fourths of God 's peopare not able to attend local church serices regularly. And God has made it thway according to His will. By tryingchange your situation, you may be takinyourself out of the very environmethat God wants you to spiritually groin - the environment that He wanteyou to overcome.

You can be a light and an exampwherever you are. Even though you aalone, remember that if you, as a "g raof salt" have lost your savor, how withose around you be salted?You need to develop patience. We ado. This is one way in which you cabe pat ient , in overcoming the problemthat come to you. Don't feel sorry foyourself, but grow in the grace anknowledge of our Lord and SavioJesus Christ wherever you are.You need to pray fervently and efectually, with all diligence, that Gowill send for th more laborers into Hharvest. Pray that God will raise umore churches in the places that Hchooses.Pray that God will guide His miniters in determining where to establichurches, when God provides the lborers.Yes, you too Canhave a vital part in thestablishing of new churches throughothe world. That part is to pray diligentthat God will send for th more laboreinto His ripened harvest.

Waiting It Out?( Continaed from page 3)

now, and late r we shall rejoice to oveflowing, when we behold THE WORLTOMORROW, beaming and shininghappiness and joy and righteousness, anthen look back and realize we actualhad a part in PREPARING THE WAY fthis HAPPY World Tomorrow, burstiinto glad and glorious song and exulttion!"Finally, of course we cannot actualfellowship this world, socially, but muwithdraw from it in that respect. Nevetheless, tho not OF this wor ld we liveit, and must serve it in God' s work, ancan be all wrapped up in the joy ofdoing, tho isolated in companionship afellowship. Our fellowship is wiCHRIST. Now this means you canndate, nor marry, any outside God's trubu t only one who is converted, as a bgotten son uf God.

That should solve your fears of beimarried to an unbeliever. If you alreawere so married, before your convsion, then you should live with the ube lieving husband if possible-butchild of God is commanded NOT to


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Page Bunequally yoked with unbelievers (I ICor. 6: 14)."Happ ines s is a sta te of mind-not amatter of o ther people, or the ir fellowship, their i idicule, or their praise. Happiness comes from the knowledge , theSpirit, and obedience of God-and frombeing so BUSY in it-SO ENGROSSED inthis glorious interest and activity, and inBible study and prayer, that we have notime to become despondent, bored, unhappy."

How to Solve Your Problem"I believe it would be best for you,for the coming year at least, to go ahead

The GOOD NEWSand enrol l in the Teachers' col lege nearyou. Also to enrol l for the AmbassadorCollege Bible Correspondence Course,and make Bible study an active, busy,happy occupatIon. We have been forcedto curtail enrollment in AmbassadorCollege for this year, and our quota isfilled. I f you were to come to Pasadena,you would be thrown with a growingfamily of young people who know andbelieve the t ruth. Frankly, st range thoit may seem, I do not believe tha t is bestfor you right now. You have a problem- t o overcome this fear of the world,and the marking-time waiting-for-theLord attitude which has made you un-

December, 1959happy. At Ambassador you would haveno opportunity to overcome it or fightit off-the problem would be removedentirely. I think it's bet ter for you, wills tr engthen you and develop you more,to fight out this bat tle and win the victory over it. A year at Teachers' collegewill be of great benefit, if you shouldlater come to Ambassador, for we shallneed teachers in the futu re...."Just forget SELF, give your life whollyto GOD for Him to USE, lose yourself inthe act iv ity of the DOING, trust God, askHim for wisdom and guidance, rely onHim, and all your problems will besolved."

God Demands Teamwork!With the rapidly increasing growth of God's work, we againneed to read this vital article which appeared six years ago in the

Good News

I N HIS l it tl e-known prophetic message for the Church today, Jesusproiuiscd that He would set beforeus an open DOOR for the spreading ofthe gospel.Notice Jesus' own words for ourchurch today: "I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open

DOOR, and no man can shut it: for thouhast a little strength, and hast kept myword" (Rev. 3:8).This DOOR - th e opportunity ofspreading the gospel (I I Cor. 2: 1 2 ) includes today the means of RADIO andthe PRINTING PRESS! The t rue Churchof God today has li ttle strength in thisdegenerate age. It has no great financialresources, yet through Jesus' miraculousguidance this great work is constantlyexpanding around the world-now toAustralia, and with radio time thismonth available to go to all Europe inthe German language. It is not the workof one man, nor even of two dozen men.It is the work of every member of God'sChurch-everyone of you!

The Church Is a TEAM!One fundamental lesson we all need

to learn in this world is the need forteamuorl, Even' in athlet ics, the bestplayers can 't achieve victory unless theentire team works together in perfectcooperation and coordination.The apostle Pau l taught th e need ofteamwork by saying that the church is

I I l Ie body a lthough composed of manymembers . Every truly converted Chris tian has his specific function in theChurch just as each organ of a humanbody has its function. "But now hath

By Herman L. HoehGod set the members everyone of themin the body, as it hath pleased him....And the eye canno t say unto the hand,I have no need of thee: nor again thehead to the feet, I have no need of you"(T Cor. 12:18-2]).The Church is like a team or a body.Every member in the Church of God isessential. Perhaps it appears that thosewho help only through prayers, tithes,offerings, and letters of encouragementare of little need compared to preach

ing. Yet the work of God cannot function without every necessary part anymore than a human body can. "TheWORLD TOMORROW" program wouldnot be encircling the globe today if itwere not for the constant prayers andfaithful tithes and offerings of God'speople. Paul said: "Nay, much morethose members of the body, which seemto be more feeble, are necessary (I Cor.12:22).

Satan Causes DIvisionThe devil knows that one of theeasiest methods of wrecking teamwork

in the Church of God is to cause contention and division. It is a naturalhuman tendency to preci pita te strifeand controversy. That is the specialreason why each of us must striveagainst our carnal human nature and beon guard constantly to preserve harmony and teamwork in the spirit oflove.Notice, for a moment, how easy itwas for the devil to cause contentionsand divisions in the apostolic church.At Corinth it was repor ted to Paul thatthere were cl iques and dissensions de-

veloping. "Now this I say, that everyone of you saith, I am of Paul; and I ofApollos; and 1 of Cephas (Peter); andI of Chris t. Is Chr is t divided? Was Paulcrucified for you?" (I Cor. 1:1213)Those Corinthians were still carnallyminded. They wanted to be followersof important men. Some pre fe rr ed thee loquent style of Apollos' preaching(Acts 18:24), others liked Peter's.Without reali zing it they were gettinginto confusion and contentions overPaul, Apollos and Cephas who werefaithful ministers of Christ. Just as then,so today many do not realize the harmthat can be caused by factions withinthe Church.Wherever the spirit of strife,envy and dissension ente rs the church,it will embitter the brethren unlessstamped ou t by God's ministers.Among those Corinthians the Adversary cleverly induced many to criticize and find fault with the labors ofPaul. They began to say among themselves: "I don't believe Paul is doingthis right. I am going to support Apollos from now on." After leading the

Corinthian converts into fault finding,the devi l' s next step was secretly to introduce false brethren who set themselves up as ministers and who transformed "themselves into the apostles ofChrist," and who professed to be "theministers of r ighteousness" (I I Cor.11:13-15). Because they sought to follow men instead of Jesus Christ, it wasonly natural that the Corinthians wouldbe led astray by smooth-talking falsepreachers.Knowing that human nature has not(Please continue on page 11 )


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How To SolveYour Personal Problems

Here is the surprising Bible answer. You need to read this advice now!by L. Leroy Neff

Y o. U THINK it strange that you haveso many problems and trials!DOIl't think you are the only onewho has so many problems and trials,Ali the people in the world have theirmany problems, tOO, Your unconvertedneighbors are not immune to problems,troubles, worries and atflictions.Bur, there is a great difference betweenyour prohlerns and your neighbors. For"The Lord dclivercrh him [you-theChristian} Out of them all." God doesnot intervene to deliver the unrighteousOllt of their many pmbleIlls and troubles!

But just how does God deliver us outof all our afflictions? He does not usuallyremove these problems miraculously,But, He does del iver us out of them,Why Do We Have These Probl ems?

The Bible gives many reasons forproblems. Here are a few. One is givenin the Srh chapter of Deuteronomy,Notice in verse 2 that ancientIsrael was rrn-d and humbled so that

God might prove them. God needed toknow what was in their heart, andwhether or not they would keep Hiscommandme.its. God has also found inI his end time, that it is necessary tohumble us, to prove us, to find out justwha t is in ou r heart, and to knowwhether or not we will keep His commandments. We must also learn frompractical experience that man does notlive by bread a lone but by every wordthat proceeds out of the mouth of God.Many Christians have not fully learnedthis lesson yet. Some still seem to believethat we must live by having the physicalnecessities of life provided, and that living by el'ery word of God is not necessary.Before Jesus Chris t returns to thisearth, God is going to give a part of HisChurch rest and pro te cti on fr om thetribulation that shall come on the wholeworld. Notice this fact in Psalm 94: 1213, "Blessed is the man whom thouchastenesr, 0 Lord, and reachesr him ourof thy law; that thou mayest give himrest f rom the days of adversi ty, until thepi t be digged for the wicked." Duringt ha t short t ime a "pit" will be dug forthe wicked. Cod must chast en us andteach us His law now so that we mayhave rest, or protection from the daysof adversity to come.Sometimes our problems and trials arc

so severe that we shed tears, bu t thatshould not discourage us. It is for ourgood! A time of rejoicing is coming forthe fai thful . Notice Psa lm 126:5 -6."They that sow in tears shall re ap in joy.He tha t goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless comeagain with rejoicing bringing his sheaveswith him."

To those who will gain eternal life,this whole lifetime can be compared tothat of a youth. We live bu t a few years,compared to the vast unending ages ofeternity. "It is good for a man that hebear the yoke in his youth . . , for theLord will not cast off forever: bu t thoughhe cause grief , yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of hismercies, For he doth not afflict willinglynor g ri eve the children of man" (Lamentations 3:2733). It is good for usthat we learn these lessons, that we gothrough these trials and these tribulat ions now, so that we might grow in thecharacter and the nature of God tha t Heis creating within us, Without this experience, we cannot develop as we ought.

These afflictions and tribulations workpatience in us. Patience is something thatwe all need badly. This patience gives usexperience, and the experience givesUS hope (Rom. 5: 3-5). Because of thechastening that God gives, we mayescape the condemnation of the world(I Cor. 11: 32). These trials and tribulations are also more precious than finegold (I Pet. 1: 7). I f you personally hadthe choice of choosing between fine gold,and your trials, would you choose thegold or the trials?

Do not think that it is s tr ange whenthese problems come upon you. "Beloved, think it not strange concerningthe fiery trial which is to try you, asthough some strange thing happenedunto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye arepartakers of Christ's sufferings; that,when his glory shall be revealed, ye maybe glad also with exceeding joy" ( l Pet.4: 12 ). Are you rejoicing and thankingGod for your trials or are you sorry foryourself and trying to get the sympathyof others?

What Is t he Solut ion?Since: we all have these many prob

lems, just what can we do about it andwhat is the solution? Notice Philippians2: 12-13. The apostle Paul here instructs

us to work our our own salvation withfear and trembling. He does not say thatothers are to work our our salvation forus. We must work this out alone. Yourwife, your husband, your father or mothercannot work ou t your salvation for you.Neither can any of God's ministers workou t your salvation. Tb.a you must do.Some of you have the mistaken ideathat God's ministers can work out yoursalvation for you-that they can solveall of your personal problems. You willnot develop in God's character that way!The final burden is upon each ind iv idual . I do not mean tha t we cannotreceive assistance or help from God orfrom others.Since it is each person's responsibility,just how should we go about solving ourproblems?

Seek Advice from the BibleI f you have a problem, and you do not

know the solution or the answer, th efirst thing to do is seek advice. But whereshould you seek that advice? The Christian should always go to God first. Godhas the answer to all of our problems.He is the one who has all wi sdom, allunderstanding, all strength, and all power.The re for e, it is only logical that He isthe source to which we should go first.We should go to God with all of theseproblems in prayer. I f our prayers arefervent, with sincerity, and if we praywith all of our heart, God wil l hear andhelp us,

But how does Cod answer this request? He docs not usually int ervenemiraculously and lift the problem fromus, as that does not develop character inus. I ns tead he makes the answer available to us. Sometimes He does revealthe answer to us immediately, and thenwe can act accordingly. Bur, if we donot receive that understandiog, what isthe next step that we should take infinding the solution to our problem'We should seek wisdom and understanding so that we might make a rightdecision. One whole book in your Biblewas written so that you might have wisdom, discretion, knowledge and under standing. Read Proverbs 1:2-7. Here isone of the first places to look for wisdomand understanding . In the book of Proverbs! And yet, this is one book thatIllany know very little about. Such peoplelack in wisdom, and do many wrong


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Page 10things without realizing that the answeris found here in this one book. Haveyou ever thought about looking in thebook of Proverbs to find the answer toyour problem? The answer may be there.Some people have their problems written all over their faces. They go aroundwith a sad face, and a pained expression,seeking sympathy. Are you one of these?Or have you followed the advice givenin Proverbs 17: 22. "A merry heart doerhgood like a medicine: bur a broken spiritdryeth the bones." Even in times ofadversity, make yourself merry, be happy,and it will be like good medicine andwill he lp you immensely. It may not beas difficult as you think.Another problem that so many haveis that they want to talk about theirproblems all of the time. Haven't youmet people like that? All they want totalk about is their own particular problems. And some people like that are inGod's Church. They are more concerned

about their own problems than the workof God. This should not be! If you arcone who is coustautly telli llg everyoneelse of your problems, you are advert ising the fact that you are self-centered,that you are inconsiderate of others, andthat you love yourself more than anyone else. You love Jel! more than Godand his work! "When words are many,t r.msgrossion is no t lacking, but he whorestrains his lips is prudent" (Prov.10:19, RSV). I f you are one with manywords, it is evident that sin is not lack-ing in your life. Have you realized tintby your many words you are adverti singthis fact to others?Some need to learn that "even a foolwho keeps silent is considered wise;when he closes his lips, he is deemedintel ligent" (Prov. 17: 28 RSV).Another reason why some of you havemore problems than you should is this:you are not diligent in those things thatyou have to do. You may be slothful orlazy. Notice Proverbs 19: 15. "Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idleperson will suffer hunger." We need togo about all our affairs with { I l l dili-gence, doing those things that our handsfind to do with all our might (Eccles.9: 10).

Seek Wise Companion s and Counsel\X'hat k ind of company and companions do you keep? If you lack wisdom,maybe it is because you associate with

wrong companions. "He that walkethwith wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed"(Proverbs 13:20). Even in God's Churchit is sometimes apparent that "birds of afeather flock together." Have you noticedI hat those who arc strong, that have morewisdom, arc often together? And haveyou noticed that those who are on the

The GOOD NEWS"fringe," who are weak, and unstablein their ways very often seek that typeof person for companionship? God ins tructs us to seek those who are wise forcompanionship , and in that way we alsowill become more wise.But the wisest person to have for a

companion is God Himsel f. Are youwalking with God? Enoch walked withGod, and he will have his reward in thewor ld to come. Arc you walking withGod , or have you made fools your companions? I f you are going to walk withGod, you are going to be diligentlystudying His Word, because it reveals toyou His very character, His nature, Hiswisdom, and all His godly attributes.

If by studying God's Word, and especially the book of Proverbs, you stillhave not found the answer to your problem, then you should seek wise counsel."Where no counsel is, the people fall:but in the multitude of counselors thereis safety" (Prov. 11:14). And againthe Bible states "The way of a fool isright in his own eyes: but he that hearkenerh unto counsel is wise" (Prov.12:15). You need to seek wise counsel ,and then act upon that counsel.But where should you seek counsel?Those who have wise men as their companions will be wise, therefore, youshould seek counsel from those who havewisdom. Do not select those who arcweak for counsel, but seek those who ares tronger and wiser in the faith. Followthe example found in Exodus 18: 13-26.Notice that Moses appointed other men

to solve the smaller problems. Only themost difficult problems were brought tohim. In like manner , only the difficultproblems should be brought to Mr. Armstrong's personal attention or to the ministers who have many other extremelyimportant and t ime consuming dut ies toperform. You can often find the answerto your smaller problems by counsellingwith those s tronge r members in God 'sChurch. The bigger problems should betaken to God's ministers, when you needfurther advice and counsel.For those of you who are not able toattend a local congregation , you can always wri te to the headquarters Church ,to Mr. Armstrong, and he will appointsomeone to answer your letter. In thatway you are able to receive wise counsel.When you do receive that counsel, besure to act on it.Learn to Discern Good and EvilIn addit ion to seeking advice and wisecounsel, we l l lUSl learn to discern between gnnd and evil, right and wrongSolomon had the same need nf discernmerit between right and wrong. He didnot always know what was good and

what was evil, what was right and whatwas wrong. He went to God wit h this

December, 1959problem. "Give therefore thy servant anunderstanding heart to judge thy people,that I may discern between good andbad: for who is able to judge this thy sogrcat a people:'" (I Kings 9) . In seeking the answer to your problems, is thisthe way you pray?You also need to exercise your senses,so tha t you might learn to discern both

good and evil (Heb. 5: 14) . Do you praythat you might be able to discern andknow what is r ighr and wrong, and whatyou should do? Or do you just ask Godto solve your problem for you, so thatyou won't have anything to do about it?Yes, yOLl need to learn to decide manyof these things for yourself. Don't permit others to make all your decisionsto solve all of your problems. I f othersmake all of your decisions for you, andsolve all of your problems, you are notdeveloping in the character and natureof God. You need to learn how to standon your own two feet, with God's help.If you cannot learn to make decisions inthis life, if you cannot develop the talents that God has given you, so thatyou can make wise decisions, how do youthink God can use you in His Kingdom?There is yet another pitfall that somefall into. They want a particu lar answer

to a particular problem. They want it togo "their way." So in order to salve theirconscience, they shop around for the answer they want. They go to one personfor advice, and the answer is not justwha t they want. So, they go to another,and another, until they find the answerthey want. Don't make this serious mis-take, as it will only cause you to havemore problems and troubles.

God Will Do What YouCANNOT DoBy follow ing all of these instructions,you should be able to find the answer toall of your problems. The answer tosome of your problems may be God's direct intervention to change circumstancesin your behalf. God will help and intervene when you are not able to solve yourproblem yourself. But He will not dou.bat JO/I call do. If He did what youwere able to do, then yOll would notdevelop inro the character and nature

that God requires of His children.After you learn the solution to yourprobl em and make your decision, t henyou must ac t on that decision Do not bewishy-washy, or unstable in your waysFollow the example of Ruth (Ruth1: 16-18). She made up her mind, andstuck with it. Noihiug could change herAre yOll that way in your decisions, o.ifter making a decis ion, do you changeyour mind the next day? You need tofollow the advice of the Apostle Paul:"Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quiyou like men, be strong" (I Cor. 16: 13)


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December, 1959You should be helping other]', instead ofalways requiring their help. After all, itis more blessed to give than to receive.If you are on the receiving end all of thetime, then you are missing ou t on oneof God's greatest blessings.You need to ove rcome , and not be

overcome by these problems, these trialsand tribulations. I t is only those whoovercome (Rev. 3: 12) who will enterinto God's Kingdom. Persevere in all ofthe things that you do. Endure to the end,and do not be stopped by these day-today problems. Give diligence to makeyour calling and election sure.Yes, we ,,11 have our problems. Eventhe unconverted have theirs. But Godhas promised to de live r us out of themall (Psa. 34: 19). We can go to Himwith rbcse problems and He has theanswer. But He probably will not answer them in the W;lY we expect. If wefollow these instructions we should beable to say with Paul , "I have fought agood fight, I have finished my course, 1have kept the faith: henceforth there islaid up for me a crown of righteousness,which the Lord, the righteous judge, shallgive me at that day: and nor to me only,but unto all them also that love his appcaring" (I I Tim. 4: 7 -t> ).

Question Box(Clmtilllied [ron: Jhlge 4)

taloupe family will mix with pumpk insand certain types of squash. They shouldnot be pl ant ed nea r one another. Burthere is nothing wrong w ith plantingpeas or beans among your corn, or planting two pasture [r,r"sscs rnge ther. Inneither of these cases would one crop"defile" or mix with the other in anyway.In the beg inning God caused eachplant and animal to reproduce after itsoun kind (Gen. I : I 1,21,24). God twicecommands us to fol low that example instead of mingling our crops (Lev. 19: 19and Dcur, 22: 9) .We should plant thoseseeds that will reproduce after their ownkind.Hybr ids tha t p roduce confusion andan inferior (jUttlity t!fter th e jiHt yearshould NOT be used. " God is not

the author of confusion " (I Cor.14:33). Many scriptures show us thatGod wants His people to produce andown quality products.We should use good quality seed thatwill produce a cons is ten t good qualityyear after year. Good seed planted inland that is properly wurked wi ll p roduce strong, healthy plants that bearprofitable crops.Many of our seeds have come down

from crosses, bur have had the inferiorities selectively bred our, so that we wouldnor know whether a particular strain of

The GOOD NEWSproduce has come f rom a mixed, or apure, past . In such cases, it is permissibleto use seed that may have come from across in past years, if the inferiority hasbeen elim inarerl hy wise selection ofseed, so that the seed produces a purecrop of it]' own kind.- - - ~ - - - - - - -

TEAMWORK(Continued from page 8)changed since then, Sa tan is trying thisvery method t oday in order to thwartthe work of God and overthrow numerous brethren. It is so easy to criticize those whom God places in authorityand whom He is us ing. For years thedevil has struggled to gender the spiritof contention and r ivalry. Satan knowsthat if he can embitter the brethrenagainst God's ministers, particularly Mr.Armstrong, he can devour them andwreck the teamwork tha t is so essentialamong God's people.How t o Prevent Division

Saran is going about, as always, seeki ng whom he may devour. He wil l tryevery imaginable scheme to overthrowyou brethren. How shall we preservethe wonderful spi ri t of cooperationwhich still permeates the Church today?Let us noticf' the method Paulused in order to maintain teamworkand loving cooperation among thechurches. In I Corinthians 3:10 hewrote: "According to the grace of Godwhich is given unto me, as a wise mast erbu ilder , I have laid the foundat ion,and another buildeth thereon."Jesus Christ used the apost le Pau ld irec tly in car rying the gospel to theGentile nations. After Paul had foundedthe Corinthian church, Apallas wasone of several evangelists who continuedto build on the foundat ion which Paullaid. Paul and Apollos cooperated inevery way possible; but Paul, who wasan apostle, supervised the work of Apol-lo]' and generally directed his laborsjust as he did the labors of t he a th erevangelists, Timothy , T itus and Silas(Titus 3:13).Undoubtedly one of the major rea

sons for the division at Corinth was thefact that Apollos, an eloquent speaker,had no t been taught and trained person-tilly by the apostle. Apollos was doctrinally in error on several points, particularlythe dist inction between the bap ti sm ofJohn and Jesus (Acts 18:24 and 19:1-7) . No such controversy is noted between Paul and the other evangelistswhom he personally trained.Paul realized that in order to preserve harmony and the spirit of c o o p e r a ~rion, he had to direct Apollos and alsotrain other young men who could serve

Page 11him as evangelists. These young menwho accompanied him on his journeyswere unde r him in authori ty , in thesame manner tha t Paul was under th eauthority of Christ. I t was the g o v e r n ~ment or rule of God. God the Fathermade His will known to Jesus who inturn made it known to Paul. The apostlethen explained it to the evangelists whoin turn taught it to the elders and thelocal congregations. Wherever Paul journeyed, the evangelists who built onhis foundation were under his authority.Bur let us note another impor tantprinciple found in Romans 15:20-22.Paul wrote : "Yea, so have I strived topreach the gospel, not where Christ wasnamed, lest I ]'hould build upon anotherman'], foundation: hu t as it is written,To whom he was not spoken of, theyshall see: and they that have not heardshall understand."Here Pau l quo te s Scriptur e f rom theOld Testament to prove that those of

apostolic rank, being the direct representatives of Jesus Christ, should notbuild where others have preached thetrue gospel of the kingdom of God.This is important for us to remembertoday.In order tha t the "WORLD TOMOR

ROW" broadcast should not be hinderedby duplication, God directs that noothers of apostol ic rank should buildupon the foundat ion that Jesus Christlaid through the minis try of Mr. Armstrong. And all who do build on it rnesstbe under hi! direction and authurity.The Bible itself plainly reveals that anyother plan leads to confusion and trouble. Any individual or group no t yetunderstanding this phase of the government of God is only going to cause confusion and dissension among God'speople.

History of Our ChurchRecorded in Autobiography

Perhaps a little history is importantat this juncture. Our Church is no t aChurch founded or built by Herbert W.Armstrong. It was founded in A.D. 31by Jesus Christ. It is the very ChurchJesus Christ built'! HE is its governingHead. His Church has government,and that government is from the TOPdown, through those whom Christ hasset directly under Him in authority.When Mr. Armstrong first started

preaching, he was under the authori tyof the Oregon Conference of the Churchof God, now clearly identified in thelight of carefully documented historicalresearch as the "Sardis" church describedprophetically by Jesus in Revelation1 That church W'lS not properlyorganized according to the New Testament pat tern of God. Never theless Mr.Armstrong was under the Cltit!Jority of


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Page 12those holding o[[lces of aurhority in thatConference. He was ordained by thatChurch-Gad's Church for that period-in the year 1931. He received salaryfrom them, was sent by them, first toc:ngage in a t en t mee ting in Eugene,Oregon, then to St. Helens, Oregon, andthen to Umapine , Oregon. When themeeting at St. Helens ended, he waitedthere while the minister he was assigned to work with drove down to theW illarnet te Valley to obtain authorityfrom the constituted Church Board togo on to Umapine and hold the meetings there.In those days, under the period ofthe "Sardis" Church, Mr. Armstrong waswholly UNDER authority. No one canever be pu t IN authority under Christuntil he has demonstrated by experiencethat he can fai th fu lly be UNDER authority, and can loyally and faithfully part icipat e in the TEAMWORK which constitutes the very structure of God's t rueChurch.In early T')('cpmher, 193", the OregonConference t reasury was drained, andMr. Armstrong was released front minis terial dut ies for the time being. Hethen re-entered the advertising and publishing field, becoming advertising manager and acting business manager of adaily newspaper. Those wer e the depression days. At the end of February,1933, the president of the Oregon Conference came after Mr. Armstrong, andreturned him and his family to Salem,Oregon. There, with another evangelist,he held a five months' evangelistic campaign under salary from and under theauthority of the Oregon Conference, theChurch of God-the "Sardis" Church ofRev. 3.Mr . Armstrong UNDER AuthorityAfter this campaign ended in July,1933, Mr. Armstrong received a callfrom a family brought into the Church

under his personal ministry in 1931, inEugene, to open a campaign in a oneroom country schoolhouse eight mileswest of Eugene. Bur, before daring toaccept tbis call, Mr. Armstrong waitedfor the Church Board to act and decidewhether he could go, or whether he wasto be sent to some other place. TheChurch Board decided to send him tothis country schoolhouse west of Eugene. Mr. Armstrong went there, startedthose meetings UNDER AUTHORITY OFTHE OFFICIALS OVER HIM IN THECHURCH.Most of those in the Church todayknow nothing of this early history ofthe beginnings of what arc described inRevelation 2 and ."> as the "Philadelphia"Church-which in fact is mere ly anothert ime-era in the history of the CHURCH

The GOOD NEWSOF GOD, which Christ founded AD. 31.

Another vital point our present members do not know: Mr. Armstrong didnot build what bes developed into th e"Philadeipbi Church" ON ANY OTHERMAN'S FOUNDATION. He did not go toa place where a number of people, converted -rhrough another man's ministry, lived. He went where one family,brought into the Church through his ownwork, l ived, and started preaching topeople who never heard the Truth be-fore. A goodly number were converted-brought INTO the Truth by his preaching in this six weeks' campaign-and alittle Church of 19 members , the harvestof his own labors in the Lord, was organized.It was about the rime of the close ofthese meetings that the Church Boarddemanded that Mr. Armstrong preachand act unscr ipturally, Two human"wolves in sheep 's clothing," seeking todevour the flock, had come in from theoutside and managed to charm and deceive the layman board officials. So faras car ry ing out the divine ly commissioned PURPOSE of the Church- to proc la im Chr is t' s Gospel to the worldthe Sardis Church died at that point.Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong voluntarily relinquished the small salary, and solemnlyplaced themselves in GOD'S HANDS, relying solely and altogether upon GODfor guidance, for f inancial suppOrt andevery need from t ha t t ime on.

"Philadelphia" Church EmergesAfter this, the DOOR WAS OPENED for

the broadcast and publishing work. Thebroadcast began the first Sunday in 1934.The PLAIN TRUTH began February 1st,1934. April l sr that year a campaign indowntown Eugene resul ted in anothersmall Church in Eugene, then late thatfall and early winter another church of15 members-all new converts-wasraised up at Alvadore . These three werethen combined into the one Church ofGod at Eugene, which has continued tothis day.

And tha t was the actual beginning ofanother era-the "Philadelphia Church"era- in the true Church of God, ofwhich Jesus Christ is the Head. Sincethat time Mr. Armstrong has been solely, wholly, altogether UNDER THE DIRECT AUTHORITY OF JESUS CHRIST.Wh1t has been accomplished since thencould never have been brought about bymere human power. The f ru it s abundan tly reveal the mighty Hand andPower of ALMIGHTY GOD,who has ruled,governed, guided and directed-andbleJJed-this work ever since.Gradually, from that day to the present, the work of GOD'S CHURCH grewand grew. The sick have been healed.

l)ecernber, 1959The true Gospel has been preached to allNorth America, and now to all Europe,and soon to ALL THE WORLD! Thousands of lives have been changod-convert ed into begotten children of God.The same fruits have been borne as under the apostles in the first two 19-yeartime-cycles of Christ's true Church. GodHimself has revealed, by His blessings,mirac les, and f rui ts borne , that He haschosen, and placed in aposto lic powerand authority in His Church , the minister whom He called and used throughthese years in the bui ld ing and growthof the "Philadelphia" era of the trueChurch of God!

Why Ambassador College?Knowing the imperative need for

young men to assist him, Mr. Armstrongwas led to found Ambassador Collegein order to provide adequately trainedand quali fied help for the work inNorth America and now in Europe. Thisis the same pat te rn tha t Jesus himselffollowed. The Savior collected disciples(which means students or learners') andtrained them. Jesus could not use themall, fo r we read in John 6:66, "From thattime many of his disciples went back,and walked no more with him."Jesus had to tes t those whom he chose.The disciples had to demonstrate thatthey were willing to yield to th e government of God the Father.In l ike manner today, Mr. Armstrongis extremely careful no t to ordain anyministers or evangelists UNTIL theyhave first proved not only called of God,competent, and fully trained, but alsothat t hey are willing to submit unreservedly to the government of God,just as he, himself does, and has donefrom the start. This expla ins why noneare ordained until they have completedat least four years of int ens ive trainingat Ambassador College in Pasadena,California, or in London, England.All who have a part in the ministrymest learn to work together as a team.There can be no insubordination-the

~ ' e r y sin of the devil who wanted to carryout bis own will instead of that of theCreator.The work of spreading the gospel isso important, and its enemies are so

numerous and deceptive, that it is vitalfor everyone of you brethren to realizethe necessity of teamwork in God'sChurch today. Only through constantprayer and Bible s tudy can we maintaina spirit of love and cooperation so thatno effort of the devi l can int er fe re withthe peace and harmony that must reignin the Church of God. Let us all do ourpart on God's team, whether it be smallor great , each part is absolutely essentialfor the growth of the work.

Documents

Good News 1959 (Vol VIII No 12) Dec_w