Living Church of God members got a dressing down again by God's only end-time prophet and apostle to be. Why is it that LCG leaders never have any confidence in their members? As you can see below, there is a reason for this constant dressing down. Money! When LCG members slack off and work on holidays or don't save enough 2 tithe for the feast or have extra money for offerings the income of the only true church suffers.
Apparently, Weston believes that those who struggle financially are under a curse because they do not tithe properly or give offerings.Then, the reality pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles will be here. At that time, all nations will be commanded to come up (i.e., send representatives) to Jerusalem to learn of God’s master plan. It is evident from Zechariah 14:16–19 that Jesus Christ will accept no excuses for failing to do so. This should be a lesson for all of us that we must take these holy convocations seriously and prepare each year to observe them. I hope all of you will be doing so. We have the better part of six months from the Feast of Tabernacles until Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread to ensure time off from work.The First Day of Unleavened Bread 2018 falls on a weekly Sabbath, so most who work daylight hours have to take off only the last Day of Unleavened Bread, which falls on a Friday. You should have plenty of time to work out arrangements to have that day off. The Festivals that fall later in the year will require more time off, but most members have little trouble arranging that, if they plan early and work with their employers. It should go without saying that the better employee you are year round, the more inclined your employer will be to meet your needs. And the same may be said for students who must miss classes. We know that there are exceptions, but most employees and students will do just fine with a bit of hard work and planning.Another way to prepare for the Festivals and Holy Days is by preparing according to God’s financial instructions. Deuteronomy 14:22–26 explains how each of us are to set aside a tithe for these special days. (See Mr. Dexter Wakefield’s article in this issue for more on this topic.) This is a well-ingrained habit for most members, but there are those who think they have a better way. Some wait until the Feast and use their last paycheck. Others go to the Feast on credit cards that they know will take months to pay off. Others try to save a Festival tithe, but end up “borrowing” from it for various emergencies. This should not be the case.
Remember Living Church of God members, the more you give the more you will be blessed! This is the same as the prosperity gospel crap fostered off on individuals in other money grubbing churches.Brethren, we understand that many struggle financially, but as one minister put it, “How can you be blessed if you are under a curse?” For the scripture asks and explains: “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’” And God’s answer? “In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation” (Malachi 3:8–9).
Remember, Weston needs your money, as that is the reason for your calling. If you do not give more money your chances of being changed into spirit-born sons and daughters of God is rather slim.When God tells us to do something and we don’t do it, how can He then bless us? We have all learned from experience that it works out better when we obey God! Please examine yourself in this regard. Obey His commands and then claim His promises: “‘And try [KJV: prove] Me now in this,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it’” (v. 10).One has to wonder: How many more Feasts will there be before the seventh trumpet sounds and Christ returns? May we all prepare to rehearse God’s great plan of salvation for mankind next year and for as many years as need be until we are changed into spirit-born sons and daughters of God! May we all be busy, diligently fulfilling our calling! Personal-After the Feast, The Work Continues!
18 comments:
Cut out Weston's check and make that SOB get out and get a real job and let that POS see what it is like to struggle to make ends meet out here in the real world.
Once again cog members are being screwed because they fail to study deeply into the scriptures.
For example, Dt.22 does not mention a second tithe. It refers to tithing, but no where does it state that it is a second tithe.
There was only one tithe, and that tithe was made up of food products and animals if you farmed sheep or goats, or cows. Like many countries, only certain food stuffs were grown and harvested during certain times of the year. These were tithed upon during the three festivals in Jerusalem. They were to take to Jerusalem all their tithes of various crops/animals.
They were to use these tithes at the feasts for their own enjoyment. At the end of the feasts, whatever excess they had was given to the Levites. They then returned home to start the cycle all over again.
There was never three tithes. It was one tithe with three purposes. At the end of the third year, they did not travel to Jerusalem. Instead their tithes were shared with the poor and the Levites in their area.
So, all those of cog organizations that read this, do not just take for granted what your organization teaches, but prove it from the scriptures. A careful reading of Malachi, shows that Yahweh was speaking to the priests, not the people. THEY were the ones robbing Him by sacrificing lame animals. Since they had animals it is obvious that the people were tithing.
Read the entire book and not just a couple verses that seem to point to the people. You owe it to yourself to protect yourself and family from being ripped off.
Weston and many of his fellows ought to meditate on Luke 17:9...
"It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones."
God will have mercy on those who are deceived by Weston's money-grab. God will not, however, show such mercy to money-grabbers like Weston. Back when LCG had more money, ministers would often say that God blesses the church with income when it is obedient and faithful, and withholds income when it is straying from His ways. Instead of pressurizing the brethren to give more money to keep all of his existing programs afloat, maybe Weston ought to submit to God, clean up the corruption in the ministry and at headquarters, eliminate wasteful spending (including the ministerial luxuries most brethren can't afford), and then trust that God's sheep will hear His voice and will flock to LCG. Many of Weston's pleas seem to ignore a fundamental scripture, John 10:27...
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me."
What has happened in the past several decades to make this the problem that it apparently is today? At one time, everyone tithed, and everyone looked forward to the feasts or holy days and took them seriously.
Any way you look at it, if this is a problem today, it traces back to management. The ministry is failing to inspire, are turning the members off, or through clumsy administration of authority are making these occasions burdensome so that members would seek to avoid them. It could also be due to a general sense of boredom since somehow the prophecies which these days were originally said by HWA to foreshadow (as God's plan) somehow never seem to kick in.
BB
How does Weston know these LCG members are NOT taking time off work for Holy days nor saving their tithe ? Does Weston have supersonic brain powers ? Has he seen into their bank accounts and seen them in work ?
These could be the 'disenchanted ' who are checking out other COG groups, COGWA,UCG and the mirade of other independent groups.
There is certainly a new wind blowing through, of independance and strength, with the advancement of technology the is a growing group of baptised members who go where they want, and are far more grounded in truth than the despots who want to rule and destroy.
God moves in mysterious ways and it is clearly evident a new wind from God is emerging and I don't mean apostate wind.
With a large amount of people in the various COGs in retirement, personal financial concerns are prevalent. For many it is difficult to afford to go to the FOT , when total Social Security income might be less than $18k a year.
11:48 AM asked:
How does Weston know these LCG members are NOT taking time off work for Holy days nor saving their tithe ?
LCG takes attendance at every service. There's a record of who attends and who misses services. People who show up every Saturday, but skip Holy Day services when those services are M-F, get noticed and counseled.
LCG also checks up on people's tithes if they are (1) proposed for ordination or (2) being counseled for disobedience/attitude, or (3) big tithers when the income is dropping.
I heard about one LCG member who worked in a cash-only business and didn't make enough money to itemize his charitable donations. For years he put his Holy Day donations in the basket in cash, not in a Holy Day envelope, and he would sometimes put his regular cash tithes in with the Holy Day donations as well. His conscience was clear and he knew he was not robbing God. Well, someone visiting from HQ saw him giving a sermonette and was very impressed, so he asked for a tithe check on this dedicated, obedient LCG member. When the tithe-check couldn't prove that this member was giving Holy Day offerings and regular tithes, HQ asked the local pastor to take him off the sermonette list. When this loyal LCG member found out why he was taken off the sermonette list, he became disenchanted and left for another ACOG. I wonder how often LCG makes this kind of short-sighted, controlling mistake?
I always wondered just how much "all the nations of the earth" who didn't go to the Feast and had their crops and income go south until they showed up paid attention the sermon in a grateful and receptive attitude?
"Love Jesus or Burn Forever in Hell" as the sign said on the barn down the street from me in Kentucky = "Give Daddy a hug or I'll kill you."
"When God tells us to do something and we don’t do it, how can He then bless us? We have all learned from experience that it works out better when we obey God!"
That wouldn't be one of the prime lessons I learned from the chosen religion or WCG experience
"When God tells us to do something and we don’t do it, how can He then bless us?"
This is precisely the attitude displayed by the brother of the Prodigal Son. "I was better than that other guy, so God is obligated to treat me better than he treats the other guy." One aspect of Christianity is that we trust God's judgment to give rain to sinners and to let them prosper as He wills, and to let us undergo Job-like trials while "sinners" seem to have their pie, not in the sky, but now.
this person has virtually a job for life; he has a high income and lives with few worries; he doesnt necessarily have to fear being fired; he can take time off work at will, without fear of angering a boss...
he speaks as one what cannot relate to the real world experiences of everyday people; he speaks as if the cog elite doesnt have a history of living high on the hog off the tithes of the poor lay people what struggle every day to make ends meet...
then at the end of the day he wonders why the Church has not grown significantly: it is because the Church is cursed with a curse; the curse of a callous lack of empathy, understanding, and the disregard for the struggles of those in their congregations ...
the layman has to contend with taxation, tithing, everyday living expenses (with ever increasing costs of living), all within the context of stagnant wages..
add to this these ministers in their ivory towers brow beating them? indeed an insensitive human being is more cursed than any what would miss a tithe from time to time...
3.03 PM
Well put. I recall Rod shortly before his death, asking members to send in their 'excess' wealth, such as their beach houses. All for that 'one last push' of course. I know several people who own beach houses. Non of them managed this by winning the lottery. Rather they lived a frugal if not a near ascetic lifestyle. Everything was basic. Basic entertainment, a basic wardrobe until their cloths and shoes wore out. Holidays were rare. Every time I noticed, they were driving old cars.
Such sacrifice is foreign and incomprehensible to the ministers. Can anyone imagine a minister driving an old car?
Yet these greedy ministers want to lay their hands on these financial assets - 80% of which goes to church administration.
Roderick C. Meredith was a bloody bastard for even asking people to hand in such wealth.
What is Georges mailing address. I would like to write and explain, why I don't send in money.
"tithing" was eliminated when the Messiah died....."It is finished"....remember...???
the old covenant (Levitical priesthood) has been demolished.
what a crock....
1 Corinthians 9:5-18...
It was noted in a previous comment that:
“the old covenant (Levitical priesthood) has been demolished”.
Whatever that means, it must be said that the Levitical priesthood has not been abolished.
In the dark days when the Old Covenant Kingdom of God was being dissolved, God promised through Jeremiah that the two pillars of that kingdom – the Davidic kingship and the Levitical priesthood would be re-established in the New Covenant Kingdom of God.
The Millennial context:
Jer 33:14a Behold, the days come…
Jer 33:15a In those days, and at that time…
Jer 33:16a In those days…
The promise:
Jer 33:17 For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;
Jer 33:18 Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually.
(Unfortunately, promoters of British Israelism take 33:17 out of it context in arguing for the continuation of the Davidic throne from Zedekiah onwards; one group goes as far to say: “Though all the male heirs to David’s throne were eventually killed, Zedekiah had daughters who survived the Babylonian invasion” – if so, how then does Christ inherit the throne? Over 20 years after the fall of Jerusalem Jehoiachin was still regarded as the legitimate Davidic king: 2Ki 25:27; cp. Mt 1:11).
I would suggest that this promise for the restoration of the Levitical priesthood has to be kept in mind when interpreting: “For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law (Heb 7:12).
Heb 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us
Rev 7:15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
Rev 7:17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne…
There has been no change in the priesthood and the law as regards the earth. Hypothetically there has been a change in the priesthood and law in that to be a member of the heavenly priesthood does not require a descent from Aaron.
Heb 8:4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
Heb 8:5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things…
In 8:4 the author of Hebrews confirms that the law hasn’t been changed. The sons of Zadok served in Solomon’s Temple and they will serve in Ezekiel’s Temple.
Gerald Weston (GW) wrote: "...When God tells us to do something and we don’t do it, how can He then bless us? We have all learned from experience that it works out better when we obey God! Please examine yourself in this regard..."
That sounds good, but why doesn't GW follow his own advice.
God tells us that the Feast of Tabernacles has only 1 holy convocation during the 7 days, yet GW continues to have 7 holy convocations. Why? God never said to do that! What did God say to do?
Lev 23:35 On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
:36 Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.
:37 These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day:
That means to proclaim a holy convocation on day 1 and day 8...and on the 7th day Sabbath if one falls during those 8 days separate from day 1 and day 8. Why doesn't GW obey God in this matter? He sets the wrong example. I asked my wife why 8 days treated like holy convocations when God never required that, and she basically said: "It is okay to do more."
But why? To qualify for something? To become more righteous somehow? Be more righteous than the Pharisees? We know it isn't easy keeping the Sabbath as a holy convocation for all 24 hours, let alone keep 8 days! Who has perfectly observed one Sabbath day perfectly for all 24 hours ever? I never have. That's 1440 minutes!
GW just puts such a burden on people. No wonder many arrive home after the 8 days exhausted, tired, sick with sniffles or some cold...with them "Feast blues!"
GW said "it works out better when we obey God!" I agree. Why not do that instead of doing what seems right in your own eyes. Try it in the year 2018 and you might like it! Set the right example, the one God asked for.
GW also advised us that: "...One has to wonder: How many more Feasts will there be before the seventh trumpet sounds and Christ returns? May we all prepare to rehearse God’s great plan of salvation for mankind next year and for as many years as need be until we are changed into spirit-born sons and daughters of God! May we all be busy, diligently fulfilling our calling!..."
The 7th Trumpet sounding does not necessarily indicate Christ returns. God tells us:
Lev 23:24 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.
Don't double up on the holy convocations! Just one day, and that's okay, but the day is a memorial of what? Of blowing of trumpet(s)! It is not about Christ's return only. Some of the 7 Trumps will last for months. Only the 7th Trump is about the first resurrection and enabling the 7 Vials...lots of time involved.
GW believes in the Mickey Mouse Millennium, so he expects Jesus Christ to return soon and produce those spirit-born sons and daughters to guide and help out all of what remains of mankind.
Again, GW's advice is okay: "..."...When God tells us to do something and we don’t do it, how can He then bless us? We have all learned from experience that it works out better when we obey God!..."
But he needs to take his own advice and apply it too. Will he?
Time will tell...
John
BB 6:05 A.M.
Correct in your assessment. Back in the day, The cost of living was not as bad; the festival site coordinators did a pretty good job of negotiating affordable housing; the people came as they were with what ever they had; well tenured ministers gave really good sermons; family days were incredible because of there simplicity; big groups of people got together at other times for fun and food on the cheap - making it themselves.
In this present time, the festival coordinators block book expensive hotel rooms in resorts that most people can't afford when you figure the room fee plus 12-15% tax plus the maid tip. Everyone is commanded to stay at the facility. There is no refrigerator or stove in the rooms, so all meals have to be eaten out. The sermons are terribly boring and the announcements would make the mafia envious. Here is a list of the comments at a recent Feast I attended: If you can't keep yourself healthy, stay in your hotel room. Somebody's car is leaking oil in the parking lot, leave your car at the hotel and find your own way to services. If you are planning to get together as a group of 12 or more you have to let us know what and where you are planning to do this. Please wipe off the the faucet and marble vanity tops of the restroom after each use. Please do not touch or lean on the pillars. Please do not touch the glass doors or windows with your hands. Please do not let your child run. While the grounds are beautiful, no walking around on your own - we will have supervised tours. The leader of the church will be in to speak tomorrow, so anyone with a cough or who cannot keep their child perfectly quiet should not attend. All excess 2nd tithe should be turned in tomorrow for it is God's.
That gives you a petty good idea of what it is like in this day of the COGs If you want to experience the theme of how the 8 days will transpire, I challenge all to watch Gerald Weston and Bob Thiel's opening night messages ten straight times - it will only take once but in case you were not sober going into it, by the tenth time, sober or not, you will understand.
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