Stephen Flurry: "Give Beyond Our Means and SACRIFICE!"

Stephen Flurry, ever so struggling to be important in Daddy's shadow, is back with a pre-feast message to the gullible followers.

He starts his article off about how important co-workers and volunteers are to the PCG.  Apparently the regular PCGers are such bumbling idiots that if they were not policed by "loyal" volunteers then the PCG feast sites would be total "disasters."

In fact, the Feast undoubtedly would be a disaster were it not for the innumerable men and women in God’s Church who voluntarily serve to make God’s Feast of Tabernacles the best possible every year.

Then Flurry makes an admission about how they u
sed the mailing addresses from WCG when Big Daddy apostatized.  It is well known that Furry and some others stole these addresses.

In the PCG’s early days, we were only able to reach a select few—mostly those in the wcg for whom we had addresses. But look at the power and scope of the PCG’s work today! This Work needs co-workers! On a worldwide scale and at the local level. Each local congregation and each Feast site needs co-workers, or volunteers, as well.

Then Flurry makes this announcement that the PCG wants members to send in all the money they can regardless of whether they need it for other important things. Members are not supposed to live beyond their means, but certainly are encourage to GIVE beyond their means!

“We want you to know brethren, about the grace of God which has been shown in the churches of Macedonia, for in severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of liberality on their part” (2 Corinthians 8:1-2; Revised Standard Version).

Why such an abundance of joy while yet under “severe test of affliction”? Verses 3-4: “For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own free will, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints” (rsv).

These brethren in Macedonia really wanted to help. They were giving to the brethren at Jerusalem who were suffering through a drought.

Notice, the Macedonians gave according to their means, and, when the urgent need arose, many gave beyond their means.

Apparently the PCG members have a rich tradition of saying they will do something and then not following through. Stevie does not like that.

Have you ever done that? Volunteered for something and then, as that day grew closer, hoped people would forget about it? “And this, not as we expected, but first they gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God” (verse 5; rsv). Paul was concerned about more than just the material offerings he thought the Corinthians would give. He was concerned that they hadn’t fully given themselves to God!

Stevie then goes on to tell his dwindling members that they will once more be sorely tested to see if they are sincere.  For some reason the god of Armstrongism is constantly pissed at the members and has to continually "test" them to see who has been qualifying.

In the coming months and years, perhaps even at this year’s Feast of Tabernacles, you can be sure that God will test us to see whether our love is genuine—whether our heart is really into serving.

Of course it also matters how you serve:

Ask yourself, does the performance of your service match your desire to serve? Do you give with the attitude of the Macedonians or the attitude of the Corinthians?

“For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not” (verse 12). If your heart is in it, then the service will be acceptable to God, no matter how small. But no service is acceptable if you do not follow through with what you have committed to. 

Its no wonder COG members are burned out.  The main tactic of cults is to keep members soooooooooo busy they they have no time to question or research into the darker side of the group.

Then to further lay a guilt trip on his acolytes he has time to invoke Ananias and Sapphira.

An example in Acts illustrates this principle of godly service. “But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet” (Acts 5:1-2).

Here is a case where Ananias and Sapphira were giving a lot to the apostles. But they kept back part of what they made while professing that they brought the whole amount.

“But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to [margin: to deceive] the Holy [Spirit], and to keep back part of the price of the land?” (verse 3). Sometimes we can deceive ourselves into thinking we are really giving all we have.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1). What is our reasonable service? To sacrifice!

To sacrifice means the “surrender of something for the sake of something else.” In this case, surrendering yourself to better help someone else.

God is training us for leadership positions, and this is how we train!

Real love for the brethren requires sacrifice:

“Let your love be a real thing” (Romans 12:9; Moffatt). What can we give most of all to this year’s Feast of Tabernacles? How can we best serve? By giving love and compassion.

And what was the greatest example of "outgoing love and concern for others?"  HWA's book on sex!
Like any good Armstrongite, sex has to be brought into the equation.  The only problem with his quote below is that HWA did not write that book out of "love" for the brethren.,  It was written because it was a rebuke to Loma because he considered her frigid.  He even told this to AC seniors who attended Senior Diners at his house.

Mr. Armstrong wrote in The Missing Dimension in Sex, “Love is an unselfish outgoing concern for the good and welfare of the one loved. Love is primarily on the giving, serving, sharing side of the fence—not on the getting, taking, factional, striving side. It is not selfish …. Love is unselfish. It is not an emotion, though it may be expressed with an emotional content. True love combines the rational aspect of outgoing concern—desire to help, serve, give or share—along with sincere concerned affectionate feeling” (emphasis added).

That kind of love is a sacrifice. Ask yourself, How much have I really served other people in my Church area and at the feasts? Not just served in a project, but actually served other people.

 In Armstrongism, as with other legalistic groups, the amount of God's blessings are proportional to your giving.  The more you give, the more you will be blessed.

Would You Send In A Tithe Check To A Guy That Wants The "Pay To" Area Left Blank?

The Journal has an ad up for a Church of God splinter cult that has the following information.  Would you send a check to this guy with the "Pay To" area blank? Are people this stupid?

Not only that, but he refers to Illinois as Illinois Republic and refuses to use a Zip Code.

Church of God,

The MOST HIGH GOD

Declaring the Everlasting Gospel of the Kingdom of God

(According to the Holy Scriptures, Genesis, Chapter 14, Verses 18-22;  Founded Monday, June 18, 31 AD; Book of Acts Chapter 2. Book of Revelation Chapter 11 and 14.) Entire Contents Copyrighted at Common Law by, Vince(nt) Michael Ogorek, Sui Juris-Sovereign Capacity. Common Law Venue and Jurisdiction, 7th Amendment, Constitution for the United  States of America, Without Prejudice to Rights, For Any and All Unforeseen Reasons, all countries. All transactions and communications will be conducted strictly At Arm’s Length. Write in to request: Sermon Tapes, Monthly Newsletter Publication, Anointed Cloths, Counseling, and Prayer Requests. Voluntary donations will be accepted without prejudice, exclusively in the following forms: Cash, United States Postal Money Orders (with the “Pay to” section left blank) and are not refundable or  transferable, and are not deductible as charitable contributions for Federal Income Tax Purposes.

Mail your requests to:

Church of God, The MOST HIGH GOD©, c/o

Ogorek Publishing, P.O. Box 91794, Elk Grove, Illinois Republic, Zip Code

Exempt, Domestic Mail Service Reg. sec. 122.32; Public Law 91-375, Sec. 403.

(Mark all correspondence personal and confidential.)

After reading the above, does it really make any sense?  He sounds like another conspiracy nut.

Then I thought I would look him up.  I had never heard of this splinter group.  Of course there is no web site.  Just a PO Box to take in free money from gullible people.   But there was this:

Publication Northwest Herald
Date November 16, 2005
Section(s) Local News
Page



By HYACYNTH FILIPPI-WORTH

hfilippi_worth@nwherald.com

LAKE IN THE HILLS - A Lake in the Hills man was charged with four counts of unlawful possession of a firearm after police responded to a 911 call at the man's house, police said Tuesday.

Vincent M. Ogorek, 38, of 5513 Chantilly Circle, fell from a second-story bedroom window Saturday night while police talked with his wife, said Al Bokowski, Lake in the Hills chief of patrol services.

Police went to the house because someone from the residence called about a suspicious incident at a neighbor's house, Bokowski said.

As police stood at the front door, Ogorek was on the second floor, holding a gun, he said. Ogorek was ordered to put down the weapon, but he went into the bedroom and fell to the driveway, Bokowski said.

Ogorek's wife and another person were questioned at the police department about the incident, Bokowski said. In a statement to police, Ogorek said he lost his balance and fell from the window while "relaxing," he said.

Ogorek was taken to Memorial Medical Center in Woodstock, where he was treated and released. Bokowski said police waited to charge Ogorek until he left the hospital.

He was released from custody on $100 bail.

Officers removed four firearms and ammunition from the house. Ogorek was charged because his firearm owner's ID card had expired, Bokowski said.

He also was charged with possession of ammunition without having a firearm owner's identification card.

His court date is pending.

Bob Thiel: COG Members May Have To Wander To Different Countries Before Being Allowed Into Petra

Petra

I had to laugh tonight when I checked Bob Theil's blog.  The non-ordained self-appointed leader of the Continuing ED Church of God has an entry up tonight about how COG members might have to wander from country to country before Jordan feels sorry for them and allows them into Petra.

Dennis and I were laughing about this last Sunday in a phone conversation.  I told him how we had been told over and over that when everyone is supposed to be safely in Petra that God was going to place a cloud cover over it so that the enemy bombers could not find the location and bomb the COG members.  Given the modern technology that can see through cloud cover,  this is an absurd belief.  Plus, can you imagine an Arab nation allow a bunch of crazy "Christian's into their midst for protection? Of course, Armstrongism has swallowed a lot of completely stupid teachings about Petra and the Place of Safety.

Gerald Waterhouse, Rod Meredith, Dean Blackwell, and others were some of those who came up with some of these incredibly stupid ideas.

Thiel writes:

Jesus taught, “And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath” (Matthew 24:20) which is consistent with Revelation 12:14 which clearly states that it is a place to go to, it is in the wilderness, and it is away from the presence of the serpent. The word translated as wilderness, is translated as desert in the NIV. This word is eremos, which Strong’s defines as lonesome, waste, desert, desolate, solitary, wilderness. Thus, it is not protection in our own houses (as some have erroneously suggested), nor is it protection in a large city. It is somewhere in the wilderness.
Let’s fully quote Isaiah 16:1-4,

1 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land,
From Sela to the wilderness,
To the mount of the daughter of Zion.
2 For it shall be as a wandering bird thrown out of the nest;
So shall be the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon.
3 “Take counsel, execute judgment;
Make your shadow like the night in the middle of the day;
Hide the outcasts,
Do not betray him who escapes.
4 Let My outcasts dwell with you, O Moab;
Be a shelter to them from the face of the spoiler.
For the extortioner is at an end,
Devastation ceases,
The oppressors are consumed out of the land..

From these verses, we learn that Moab hides the outcasts, those who escape and then wander–this could be God’s people as Jesus told them “pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape” (Luke 21:36). The fact that they are called wanderers suggests that perhaps they do not start in Petra. It could refer to the fact that they are from many lands and/or that they have wandered to different places before coming to ‘Moab.’

We have seen that this place has something to do with Moab, Sela, and the wilderness. We know that some of the area that once was Moab is modern Jordan (while there also used to be Edomites there, we in the COGs tend to feel they moved much further north). We also know that Sela means rock. It is called Petra in Greek, which also means rock. There is a deserted town in Jordan named Petra, which is the place called Sela in Isaiah. Petra is not a city itself, and is in a lonesome, rocky, desert wilderness that contains caves. It is possible that some other place on Earth also meets these criteria, but thus far Petra appears to be the leading candidate.

Is Your COG Singing From An Unclean and Impure "Bible Hymnal?"

Did you know that there is a pure, unadulterated version of the WCG's Bible Hymnal that existed before disgusting unbelievers started changing words and adding Protestant hymns to it?

Apparently the hymns that Dwight Armstrong wrote are the pure version and available in the COG hymnal prior to 1974.  Hymnal's after that are filled with disgusting pagan hymns that glorify Jesus Christ.  We all know we cant have any of that!

Our dear friend Velvet, who was the authority on everything here, has been working hard to make sure a new hymnal is available that is "pure" in content.

The Journal article says:

For those who prefer to sing only scripturally accurate hymns, this article includes a list of the only hymns that were transferred from the Worldwide Church of God’s 1974 purple hymnal to the 1993 hymnal.

The WCG was renamed Grace Communion International in 2009. 

 

A future article may include all the changes made that rendered Dwight Armstrong’s original hymn  undoctrinal or both. It would also note which hymns were edited and which worldly denominations GCI’s denominational leadership cherry-picked from for the rest of the hymns in the new hymnal.

 How dare anyone sing about Jesus Christ or sing a impure hymn.

Eric King: We Are All Called To Be Josiah's Who Follow The Law

Click to enlarge

Above is a screen capture of Eric King's blog.  Notice how Eric now sports a fashionable prayer shawl for the new COG legalistic Jewish wanna-be's.  Eric's has some green in it instead of the traditional Jewish blue.  Notice also that Prophet, apostle, and revelator of the New and Improved WCG is also unrolling a scroll.  He recently had new knowledge" revealed to him  week or so ago.  Is he trying to set himself up as the COG's latest prophet?  What's Dave Pack going to say about that?

As usual, King is like most other COG's - Jesus Christ is an embarrassment and not worthy of being followed.  It is much more important to be a pretend Jew pretending to be a follower of the law.  The law trumps in Armstrongism.  Jesus Christ gets relegated to one day out of the year when they crucify the dude on Passover night.