People Are Not Impressed By Meredith's Fasting Plea

Some comments from Apostle Malm's acolytes.  It's pretty bad when even diehard believers find it troubling that Meredith has declared a fast for his own healing.

Some I have talked to in LCG said that they will NOT be fasting this weekend.  They said that Meredith won't fast for regular members when they are ill, so why should they fast for the bigwigs when they are ill.  They are no more important than the regular folk.

One thing should be noted about LCG’s fast: it deeply troubles me that R. Meredith seems to use repeated enforced fasts not as a spiritual tool for his people, but more a political tool to his own benefit. He always uses terms like “leading ministers” or “leading elders” which explains to anyone that he Meredith is the “leading leading” minister. This latest fast is mainly for the health woes of LCG leadership. Boy when the Supreme Leader and/or his Lieutenants don’t feel well, the whole world should care! It’s odd that bizarre sicknesses keep striking LCG leaders more so than any other group I know.

So now members of the ekklesia of God, one of the most controversial (and the truth to tell one of the most detested)leaders in Church of God history has asked for your prayers for himself and others suffering from health problems and for his corporate business, LCG Inc.

I don’t know much about LCG, but if Rod M is very old and it is time for him to die (it will happen to us all), then perhaps we should pray that he will be able to finish off his last days, allowing God to work with him and helping him to give up his leadership of LCG.
Does he need to just accept that it is time for his life to end? I

A very large percentage of members of the COGs are dying either of disease or old age. Maybe it is just time to go and be in their place of safety (the grave) before the tribulation. If people are fasting perhaps it should not be for healing but that the members concerned straighten out their lives and repent of sin while we can. God is giving these people time to get their spiritual lives in order.

We can’t twist God’s arm into giving someone more time to do the things they want to do before they die.

What we should be concerned about is getting rid of the idolatry of putting ministers and the organisations on a pedestal as this letter from LCG is doing again. The death of a leading minister is no more important in God’s sight than the death of any other church member.

Rod Meredith over the years has consistently linked fasting with asking something of God, because there was a lack of faith, sicknesses and not as many healings as he wanted from God, yet his current letter indicates things are worse, not better. So, what “good” has been accomplished by those past fasts (usually on the Sabbath too)?

Rod Meredith (RM) wants those of his group to be: “…asking for His special mercy at this time and for the supernatural healing…”

But, as RM not read what God said about fasting and people lifting up their voices to Him to get something?
“Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.” Isaiah 58:4

I thought more about RM’s letter…where he wrote: “…let us all cry out to God for more of His Spirit, more of His power…” Isn’t that making one’s voice to be heard on high? Also, is God a respecter of persons? Why would God give more of His Spirit, and more of His power, to some sealed Firstfruits and NOT to other sealed Firstfruits of God’s Church? Does God have “favorites?”

I feel the leadership have used fasting to beat us over the head and convince us that any problems in the church organisation are our fault, not theirs.

Emergency Fast Declared For Rod Meredith

Living Church of God has been struck with numerous health issues regarding it's leaders and HQ employees.

Therefore, lo and behold, Jesus spoke to Rod Meredith in a private conversation the other day, and told him to declare a church wide fast so that God would intervene in the health situations of Rod and Ames.

I guess Jesus was too weak of a pansy to do anything about it so he told Rod to go above him (Jesus) to get some action on the situation

Meredith writes:

From the Presiding Evangelist

(Special letter and announcement to be read in all congregations)

Dear brethren and ministers around the world,

Greetings to all of you and love from all of us here in Charlotte! We are very grateful for the love and loyalty shown by virtually all of you and for the wonderful blessings showered upon us during the recent festival season. As some of you may have heard, we were blessed to have more than 9,000 people attending the Feast of Tabernacles this autumn! That is a new record—for which we are thankful! Most of all, of course, God is concerned with the spiritual strength of our brethren and we certainly do want to emphasize that which is more important. However, we are grateful that God is adding to our numbers in the Church, and that we are continuing to have wonderful responses to the telecast nearly every week and that the impact of this Work around the world is certainly growing—especially as prophetic events speed up.

However, my immediate purpose in writing all of you at this time is to explain the reason for the upcoming Church FAST on the Sabbath of December 17. There were many instances in biblical times when God’s servants called for a fast. Remember how—as the “Day of the Lord approaches”—God’s true ministers were exhorted: “Consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord. Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as destruction from the Almighty” (Joel 1:14-15).

When Daniel sorrowed over the “desolations of Jerusalem,” and the need for God’s intervention, what did he do? “Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, ‘O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments’” (Daniel 9:3-4). And when the soon-to-be Apostle Paul was struck down and blinded to humble him and to “awaken” him, notice what he did: “Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank” (Acts 9:8-9).

Dear brethren, as you know from our previous announcements, we have had an entire series of extremely serious illnesses among God’s people in recent months—including a number of our leading people directly involved in the Work. We all know that the radiant faith of people like Peter and Paul is very seldom found among God’s people today. We remember Jesus’s statement: “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8).

After meditating and praying about these things and conferring with our leading ministers here in Charlotte, I have been led by Jesus Christ to call for a Church-wide fast on the Sabbath of December 17—beginning, of course, the previous evening at sunset. I urge all of you faithful members, in Jesus’ name, to join with us in this day of fasting and prayer and in earnestly seeking God and asking for His special mercy at this time and for the supernatural healing of His people through the “stripes” of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:24). 

Dear brethren, as the end of this age approaches, let us all cry out to God for more of His Spirit, more of His power through divine healings and the “gifts of the Spirit.” I will not expound on this more here as a special taped sermon should arrive in time to explain all of this even more thoroughly. But I wanted to get this message to all of our people—ahead of time—so that you may be preparing yourselves—both physically and spiritually—for the upcoming fast. May God continue to guide and bless every one of you as you walk with Him.

With Christian love,

Roderick C. Meredith

** Please Announce: Mr. Meredith has requested that the special Must Play DVD titled, “Faith for Healing,” that he recorded about the Church-wide Fast, which has been called for the Sabbath of December 17, is to be played in services on December 10 (next Sabbath).

Apostle Malm has included the following in his announcement:

After his recent trip to Europe the health of Rod Meredith is in decline, his brother in law and designated successor is also elderly and in poor health.  In addition there are other health issues among the LCG leadership including one minister’s wife suffering from a brain tumour; and two workers at HQ and an elder’s wife struggling with cancer.

These issues have prompted instructions to play a message recorded by Rod on ”FAITH FOR HEALING” Dec 10th, and a day of fasting concerning health issues on 17 Dec.