The Dangers of the "God Given Purpose"

 

If you are like myself, and I assume you are, having a purpose in life is kinda what it all seems to be about. From "what's the purpose" to "what's my purpose", it tends to niggle at us in the background of our lives.

When we came "into the truth" back in the day, we found purpose. Not only did we find purpose, but we found a God given purpose. The Book told us that, as the chosen ones in the exact true church, our purpose was to become Kings and Priests and of course, go us therefore into all the world telling everyone else they could be too. 

For better or worse, in hindsight, worse, I felt my purpose was to go into ministry. At first it wasn't WCG ministry as I had been accepted at another seminary in New York before choosing WCG that in my mind was more accurate. So, my purpose was to go there and become a pastor. While GTA announced the first student forum that "if anyone here thinks they came here to be a minister, get that idea right out your head!", I thought to myself, "We' see..."  I didn't' understand then that God would decide who was the to be in ministry of WCG through the wisdom and leading of the Holy Spirit of the "Manpower Committee".  I guess that "we'll see" thing followed me through AC and the WCG. When my fourth year public speaking teacher announced "No one gets and 'A' in my class,"  "We'll see" thinks I and I made him retract that by getting an 'A'. 

All this because I had found my purpose. Of course, be careful what you wish for as I had no clue what was to follow over the next two decades of fulfilling my purpose in life. 

One personal note.  When I was told I was going into the ministry I called my dad to tell him. He got real quiet and I could tell he got teary, which I had never seen my dad ever do. I asked if he was, ok?  He said, "You know, when we had your brother (my only brother is blind, deaf and cannot speak from birth trauma and being born at 6 months weighing 1.5 lbs.,) I told God that if he gave me a healthy normal son, that He could have him."  (Questionable results I know :) Well, first I heard of that! No pressure there but I had purpose so obviously God made my dad a Diehl, err...deal.  I think this one conversation kept me in WCG ministry longer than my heart was actually in it not wanting to disappoint my dad or remove purpose form his own perceptions of his life and family. 

Gerald Waterhouse showed up every year or two to tell us all even more about our "God given purpose". It was to follow "Mr Urmstrong", who of course, would never die before the Jesus returned. I did ask him what he'd do when, not if, Mr Urmstrong, died?  He said "I'll believe it after three days and three nights!"  Ugh....hopeless. His God given purpose was getting really old and very annoying for me personally. I'm not sure it had not always been annoying to me personally when he showed up and I do recall telling him that he caused me more problems with the members than helped them. All he said to that was "really?". Yes, really. God given purposes are like that. 

As the years of scandal, BS and authoritarian control rolled on I convinced myself for a time that my God given purpose was to have come to the ministry "for such a time as this".  I thought I was there to stop the majoring in the minors and help the church grow up.  Wrong!  I failed to understand just how many first- and second-generation ministers were waiting to come up with their own God give purpose and either take over the church when HWA died or simply start their own version as the loons, Gerald Flurry, Rod Meredith, Dave Pack and many others did. 

Dave Pack is about as foolish and stupid a man believing in his own version of his God given purpose as it gets. I thank Marc Cebrian for exposing in the details what a foolish shepherd the guy is. Foolish, stupid, ill-trained in theology, delusional and not a little dangerous as he pretends to have his own version of a God given purpose. 

All this to say, that I have come to accept that one does not need a purpose to live life, learn all one can and exit. I don't need or even want a "God given purpose". I can't speak for anyone but me and in my own experience, but I have concluded that the most dangerous people on the planet are those who claim to live their lives with a God given purpose. Nothing but trouble especially if they insist that your God given purpose be identical to theirs with "send it in" attached for good measure. 

Those who claim a "God Given Purpose" have done most all of the most horrible things on the planet both in history and to this day. The concept of being "God's chosen people" doesn't help either. 

If one is not careful, life here in the now becomes less important and life in the fuzzy future more important.  For some, as it is said, "Some people are seeking the heavenly such that they are of no Earthly good". The Book tell us "the day of death than the day of one's birth." (Ecc 7:1). You can miss your entire life if that becomes your "God given purpose". I believe is one follows that path too obsessively "woulda, coulda and shoulda" will rear their heads somewhere down the line and regrets will pile up and infect the life we actually have.

I have become comfortable with being just a very small part of "life" and have my own personal experience of what some say is the Universe observing itself." That's enough purpose for me at this stage. I think most know I am not a believer in the Biblical story any longer. That is the result of my own questions, observations and studies about the Book. Your experience may vary as I am sure it does.

I did not know I did not exist the first 13.87 billion years before I showed up and I can "live" returning to that state when the time comes. I have no God given purpose to "make it into the Kingdom" or "do everything I can to avoid the Lake of Fire, which I have been consigned to many times in the past 20 years by those with their own God given purposes.

I had my DNA mutations outline my genetic trip out of Africa a few years back around 60,000 years ago. It only took one person between me and those genetic ancestors who either ducked or didn't duck to not lead to me. The chance of you being you today is pretty remote.

So I just wanted to share the two concepts that have brought me to making peace with my personal and original "God given purpose" gone awry.

While I have long ago gotten over following anyone else's path or purposes, I do recognize words of wisdom on the topic. These two views resonate with me. I don't expect it to resonate with many because many find fear of death or "what's going to happen to me" is much stronger than just accepting this present moment and experience leaving the rest up to reality and what actually is.

So for those so inclined at this stage in all our lives and with having had all our own experiences with the WCG experience, both as members and ministers...

Gotta go climb Larch Mountain in the Columbia Gorge. Ride here. Sorry is you find typos :) My heart was right!

THE MOST ASTOUNDING FACT

STOP LOOKING FOR PURPOSE

LCG, the only COG not motivated by individuals seeking power and to desire be seen

 

Doug Winnail had this up for the LCG member update for August 8. It is about what motivates you, particularly for those seeking a position and to be noticed. This is pretty rich coming from LCG when far too many of the leaders were motivated by position, recognition, and power.

Rest assured brethren, NO ONE and I mean NO ONE in the power structure of the Living Church of God, past and present was EVER motivated by selfish motivations! Never! Oh, and they have all served with genuine humility! 

What Motivates You? In today’s world, many are motivated by a desire for a position, power, prestige—and a bigger paycheck. Even in the Church, these same desires can motivate individuals to seek a position and be noticed. While Jesus saw these attitudes in religious leaders of His day (Matthew 23:1–11), He told His disciples, “whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant” (Matthew 20:20–28). Jesus also set us an example in that He “did not come to be served, but to serve.” The Apostles Peter and Paul urged Christians to avoid selfish motivations and be examples to others by serving with genuine humility (1 Timothy 6:3–5; 1 Peter 5:1–6). As we strive to come out of this self-centered world, let’s look for ways that we can serve others—so God can use us more effectively as instruments in His hands (Philippians 2:3–12).

Have a profitable Sabbath,

Douglas S. Winnail

New Video Series: "Getting Free" of the WWCOG Hooks (That Keep Us Stuck/Bound) Part 1 of 7 (series) UNCLEAN Meats!

 

David C. Pack is Elijah the Prophet...because he says so

 

Prophet David C. Pack

David C. Pack declared himself a prophet, and all members of The Restored Church of God are also prophets. During "The Greatest Untold Story! (Part 526)" on July 27, 2024, the Pastor General spent one hour circumventing clear Bible passages by inserting his own presumptuous biases by denying what they really say.

Proving he cannot rightfully divide anything, he rejected doctrines in his literature and The World to Come programs, contradicted his own words, and recreated biblical understanding into his own image.

David C. Pack is Elijah the Prophet
because he says so.

David C. Pack had declared this before and then walked it back. The Bible does not leave room for that. He said he was not Elijah while winking to those paying attention because he never stopped believing he really was.

David C. Pack’s mouth and mind do not often align. Well-documented in the public record, he exposes his obvious lies and hypocrisy that leaves his worshippers without excuse.

Accurately quoting David C. Pack is labeled as an attack by enemies. Faithful men of God have nothing to fear when others remind them of what they said. We shall all be judged for every word that comes out of our mouths. Some should fear more than others.

Flashback Part 520 – June 22, 2024
@ 1:36:50 I won’t I I I won’t claim to be a prophet. “Well, you should, Mr. Pack!” Well, maybe I should. Then, pray for me because I’m not gonna do it.

Flashback Part 512 – May 11, 2024
@ 1:14:32 I’m not prophesying now. Nobody’ll ever get me to say that.

Flashback Part 190 – June 29, 2019
@ 04:00 I’m not a prophet. If I were, I’d be a false one because I’ve prophesied the end of this Series a number of times, and they were all failed prophecies, and you'd have to stone me. But I was smart enough to come into it as an apostle and stay there. I’m not a I’m not a prophet. But I know there were false apostles, too, but I’m teaching you the truth, so I’m not a false apostle.

Flashback Part 8 – December 26, 2015
@ 32:31 “When a prophet speaks in the name the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that’s the thing which the Lord has not spoken, but the prophet has spoken it presumptuously: you shall not be afraid of him.” And other places say he dies. That doesn't seem to make some people afraid. Some people still go out and prophesy. They'll say things that don't come to pass. They're false, and they get the death penalty because any true prophet knows he never speaks on his own.

 

A complete PDF transcript of Part 526 with timestamps and highlighted moments of interest is available for download HERE.

   

Part 526 – July 27, 2024
@ 44:46 The Bible the Bible has is coming clearer than it ever has before. You know, I've reached that stage in my life. I just read things for exactly what they are. I know my office and and I'm I'm authorized to teach these things.

The Greatest Untold Story! runs on the fuel of NOT reading things for exactly what they are. David C. Pack is legendary for adding to and taking away from the words in the Bible. He authorized himself and carries no divine authority.

The desperate presumptions of David C. Pack’s logic cannot endure mild scrutiny.

@ 1:03:24 “As is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.” So, Paul was guided by God's spirit. There's nowhere that I see in the Scriptures. Maybe he did, but it's certainly not in the Scriptures, where it says God talked to him directly. For instance, in the same way that He did with with John the Baptist. However, He spoke to John when it said he heard an utterance, and He said, it's tie–it's go time. And and and off he went to to to to speak.

The account of Paul on the road to Damascus in Acts 9:3-6 and while he was held inside the castle in Acts 23:11 must not count. After all, the Bible is a big book, and it is challenging to keep all the relevant verses in your head simultaneously.

For a man who claims he reads things for exactly what they are, Dave performs some pretty incredible logistical gymnastics slathered with verbal sophistry to make his points appear plausible. Reading a verse as is and accepting what the book says is out of the question.

@ 1:07:36 But so far, so far, we paved the way to understand that you can have prophets in this age. Certainly, a man can be a prophet without getting an utterance from God. I mean, in a direct way where I'm gonna I'm gonna open your mouth. Put my words in there. 

David C. Pack knows he is Elijah but will not say it plainly in 3…2…1…

@ 1:08:44 I don't think any of you believe for a minute that I'm gonna have to actually or Elijah would have to actually physically eat the book of Revelation.

 

One way to keep a dwindling membership from bailing out is to spread the wealth around.

@ 1:09:44 God cannot bring this Kingdom unless there's at least one prophet on earth. But it says prophets. So, I mean, I have no idea. If you're gonna go first, every one of you may be considered a prophet.

@ 1:10:10 What if, right now, one prophet is telling another large number of prophets? What, what if he's doing that?

@ 1:11:23 And that may may be, by the way, encouraging to the degree that if if a prophet if the one who's gonna be Elijah, gives you a final date, once he's sorted through everything, it might mean it carries a little extra weight beyond anything we ever talked about before. But not if you don't absolutely know that he's a prophet, but also maybe you are. Or prophetess.

A certified doctor with a mental health degree would be able to accurately identify the array of psychosis expressed in the Main Hall at Headquarters. Deep down, Dave must know what he is doing but cannot stop himself. His pathology leaks out in the most bizarre ways.

@ 1:18:29 Why were they [disciples] doing that? No man can know the day or the hour. Well, they didn't have the New Testament, so they tried to find it out. I hope I could be forgiven if if I am Elijah and you, if you're prophets, too, in a sense, some of you. All of you. Most of whatever it is, however God will use us in that way. You could be forgiven for wanting to know the date.

Nobody needs to “be forgiven” for wanting to know when the Kingdom of God will arrive.

@ 1:50:05 The Mystery of God should be finished as He has declared to His servants, the prophets who are alive. I'm not talking to any dead prophets. Who are the prophets that I'm talking to? But God works through one man, this messenger. And he declares to others. So when we were looking for who Elijah is, we were looking for when you would be and who else could be prophets.

@ 1:50:30 I and I thought. Apologize for that. Mr. Armstrong thought he was Elijah. Nobody thought, well, how how? What do you mean? And I thought I was in 2015. Then then, I pulled back from that. I wasn't surebecause I knew that we didn't have it wasn't a church figure in the way we thought, but it turns out he was. And we'll come in a moment to when it may have happened.

The following quote is lengthy, but this would be worthwhile for those interested in observing the decay of a man's speaking abilities. David C. Pack’s stammering is nestled between moments of clarity.

@ 1:54:03 A twig went forth. I'll send my messenger. You know, so he I've been I'm, you know, been around a few years. Zechariah 3:1. When Elijah when when when Juh–Joshua the High Priest is standing in front of Christ, how is he already Joshua the High Priest with filthy garments on? How did he get to be Joshua the High Priest, called a messenger and a prophet in Haggai? How did he get to be a a a a a a the high priest before he walked in white and got a clean martyr mire, and was handed control over the temple in the house? Is it for the same reason he was Elijah? Before he comes to that same moment? He's called a messenger in the book of Haggai. And he goes to people in big houses, which I did starting 11 years ago. And in some ways, 25-plus years ago. I've been going to them. Any I–der I learned I was Joshua 15 years ago. I started going almost 12 years ago. 11 years ago, to Laodicea and trying to apply these verses to them. Some few listened. Not many. Those that feared and obeyed God came, and the rest didn't.

There is something seriously wrong with him, and it is only getting worse.

 

The brethren of The Restored Church of God must reject their Bibles to continue attending. The hirelings at Headquarters must sear their conscience with a hot iron to continue to support that spiritually corrupt organization. Paying David C. Pack to lie to them is a betrayal of all they claim to love.

@ 2:00:59 The big reason I looked for a Third Kingdom for so long is I could not see where I had first prophesied. Now I do. So if you reject that I'm a prophet, you better look in the mirror and ask, what are you?

@ 2:01:29 So, like Elijah was over the school of the prophets, I'm doing the same. You know, one of the proofs that I'm a prophet, and I'll come to the end, and you and this this this applicable to you, too. So, get in the saddle with me, or get in your own saddle.

@ 2:01:58 A prophet is not without honor, and the word should be travel–despised. But in his own country, kin and house. I am despised in my house and my kin and my country. It's actually proof of being a prophet.

That is not a proof. It is a condition. But Dave cannot tell the difference. Proof of being a prophet is when you say something will come to pass, and it does. Being despised for being a jerk is not biblical evidence.

God backs up His prophets. God does not back up David C. Pack.

@ 2:03:09 The ancient Elijah was res–despised. He was not accepted. That's what it says. I've been despised at a level you cannot imagine. Don't try. I brought the most wonderful message one could bring, and I've been hated for it. It's almost a proof in itself.

The perceived "hate" focused on David C. Pack does not originate from him bringing "the most wonderful message." Those who despise him have a good reason: He is a false apostle, false teacher, and false prophet. He is an arrogant, narcissistic, blaspheming, hypocritical liar teaching antichrist theology, keeping his members trapped with fear.

Another aspect that does not help his likeability factor is that David C. Pack is an awful human being. The line of people who would testify to that in a court of law goes out the door and down the street. The enablers at Headquarters know that is true and cannot call Marc Cebrian a liar.

The men who have worked closely with him have their personal horror stories.

@ 2:05:31 But, I do not tout myself now any more than you should go out here and start telling people you're a prophet. It might not work. Reconsider.

Being despised for being a jerk is not biblical evidence of being a prophet, Dave.

 

The man does not hear what comes out of his mouth sometimes. God has a sense of humor and is a fan of irony in 3…2…1…

@ 1:18:58 Matter of fact, I'm gonna tell you, I'm gonna show you that one of the things the false prophets will do is they say they know the Day of the Lord. I'll show you that in a minute. So I finally, finally know. But these verses also help for our purpose here per when Elijah rises because he has to have finished a Series before the first season arrives.

False prophets know when the Day of the Lord is. So does David C. Pack. Ponder that.

For those who wonder if David C. Pack is aware of what he is doing, let his own lips bear witness to what his mind knows in 3…2…1…

@ 2:06:02 It’s just, I'm gonna give this message and and the enemies will attack me. And they'll say, you know what he said? 'cause there are people listening to this, “You know what he said? He he flattered him and told them they were all prophets. What a wicked man.”

Thou hast said.

Marc Cebrian

See: Prophet David C. Pack