Christian Churches of God

Sabbath Message by Wade Cox

Dear Friends,

This Sabbath it is appropriate to raise the issue of how ready we are to follow Jesus Christ and to do his work. I have noticed that a number of us take the faith as a Sabbath activity. The work is worldwide and requires our diligent activity on a continual basis. If we are called to a task are we ready to do it or have we an excuse to bury our relatives or do something that we find convenient. Do we think there is some discretion in the tasks given to us to do? I suggest as a preliminary paper we study the paper Let the Dead Bury Their Dead (No. 16). That paper was written to deal with a specific mentality that was prevalent in the churches of God and which resulted in a cumulative indolence and indifference to the work of God in the last days, which unfortunately is still prevalent.

Each one of the apostles sent to perform the work of the church with the exception of John paid for it with his life. It has been that way for centuries. Greater love hath no man than he lay down his life for his friends. I call you friends as Christ called us friends because we do the work of God. Just read what Paul says about his trials in the faith. He was flogged and shipwrecked and chased out of cities, fleeing for his life, imprisoned many times and finally put to death. He was not dressed in a sleek business suit driving a slick car and backslapping the "good ole boys" that kept him in good wine.

We are the church of God because we do the will of God and are called according to His purpose. This week we have received a number of requests for assistance. I can only be in one place at any given time. Thus I need assistants to go where I cannot go and workers to undertake tasks I give without me waiting to find out if my directions are followed. One request we received was from a church group that has left the Roman Catholic system in East Africa and has asked us to send a missionary to help them understand the faith. When I was last in East Africa I spoke with the members of the church of God there and told them that God was about to raise up a work there and that they had the opportunity to be part of that work or not do so and it depended entirely on their vision and dedication to the faith. They had a thousand reasons why they did not need to do any organized work. More importantly a number of self serving ministry from the independents in the USA came there and told them they did not need to do anything other than what they were doing. The sole aim seems to have been to prevent the work being done by us in East Africa. As a result the Holy Spirit has had to raise people from outside the churches of God to do the work there in the last days.

In order to deal with the requests and establish the churches there, when we have satisfied the usual preliminaries, we are to send a minister there to do the work now to establish the churches in the various countries contacting us. He will be funded from World Conference. The work of the church is not easy and much of it is in harms way. How many of us are prepared to do what is asked of us? We should all do what we have to do without murmur. Usually I will not send a minister to do what I am not prepared to do myself. If it is dangerous I usually go myself but I cannot do it all. If you cannot do the cushy jobs what will happen when it is tough. If you cannot walk with men in peace how will you run with horses when the Jordan is in flood? That means how will you perform in the hardships of war. We will soon find out. The media is protecting many of the western world from the realities of what is happening.

I am waiting at present to see what will eventuate in Asia and to see whether I can go to India in this troubled time. Our governments in Australia and the USA and elsewhere are advising people to leave and so I am waiting to see what can be done. Please pray for the brethren there and for God to give us all safe travel.
I was interested to hear that some people new to the faith are finding difficulty with the concepts of the wars of the end and the fact that we are looking at the final phases of the coming of the Messiah. Sometimes the sequences as explained cause people concern. As one of our people explained to a congregation recently where these matters were raised: God does nothing except that he warns the people through His servants the prophets. Friends, the spirit of Christ is the spirit of prophecy. A church that has not the gift of prophecy is not the church of God holding the lamp stand of its era.

I am often amused at the attitudes of some nations in dealing with information. One aspect of the process of the last days will involve the cashless society. Because a matter had not yet occurred in the USA it was assumed that we had a sequence wrong. The fact of the matter was that it has been on trial and used outside the USA long before it was even raised there. Friends, if it has not happened in your neighbourhood do not assume that it has not happened at all. You are probably simply not up to date.

Many people find excuses not to do the will of God. God says He wants obedience more than sacrifice. If you hear the word of God put it into practice. Obey and give your ways to the Lord and He will establish your thoughts. Some years ago a president of the USA said: "Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country." How much more does that statement apply to we of the Church of God. What can we do for God? Is God on our side or are we on God's side. Is our organisation truly carrying out the will of God? Are we doing all we can to support the work of God. Many can answer yes to that. Some will not be able to answer positively at all.

Some people are embittered by their experiences with religion. Many people are rightly cynical. If that world out there were the product of the rule of Jesus Christ then a sane person would want no part of it at all. If the churches of this world are representative of the Government of God through Jesus Christ then I personally would curse God and die. The fact of the matter is that it is not the government of God and Jesus Christ has not returned and the God of this world is still Satan who is the current Morning Star (Look at the paper The Government of God (No. 174)). The hand over will be in 2027 in the 120th Jubilee at Atonement but we know that Christ has to return early to take over to prevent the entire human species from being destroyed. Satan was given six thousand years or 120 jubilees to rule the planet. Over the last forty jubilees, or 2000 years Christ has been raising and training an army to take over and rule the earth for the next 1000 years from 2027 to 3027 which is the 140th jubilee. This is the Sabbath rest of Jesus Christ and the Day of the Lord. Look at the paper The Day of the Lord and the Last Days (No. 192).

Before Christ comes we have a job to do. That job is to publish the gospel throughout the world to all nations. Once we have done that then the end shall come. However, until we have done that the end will not come and we had better get off our fat complacent backsides and perform. The danger is that if we do not perform a number of our brethren who had the right of expectation of the calling may require the raising and training of another organisation to replace us due to our indolence. Every one of us is here because someone throughout the history of the church paid the price and many with their lives to enable our calling.

There are many people who seem to think that they have discretion in what they do in the work and faith. The only choice we have is to work or not to work. Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do with all your might. If we are not part of a team we are not part of the church of God. If we cannot follow instructions we are not pulling our weight as part of the team. If you are given an instruction then carry it out to the best of your ability. If you think there is a better way, do not ignore what you are told. Do what you are told to do if you cannot place your suggestions to the coordinators. Remember there is always a sound reason for what we are all to do. If there is not a sound reason then we will deal with it later, provided it is not contrary to law and the testimony. If it is contrary then you must raise it immediately.

Our task at present is to get the translations done as efficiently as possible. If you can help, then do so. Make your environment a joy and not a burden. Look at how you can help others and be organised and efficient in your activities. No one has given anyone permission to go home. If you are in the church then you run the race to the finish. I have often heard people complain and when we look at what is said it is often they that are at fault.

Friends, The world is now being brought to its end under Satan and we will have to rebuild it under Jesus Christ. The Trinitarian religious system that says it is Christian and lies. It tells us that the world will end and we will all go to heaven and the bad guys will all be in hell and thus the world, will be desolate and have no use anyway.

Nothing could be further from the truth. This is the lie of Satan. It is the aim of the demons to destroy the world and have all mankind march against Christ at his return. They invented the godless and blasphemous doctrine of the immortal soul and heaven and hell. This was the doctrine of Gnosticism and the way you told true Christians from these false Christians from the beginning. Anyone who says that when they die they go to heaven shows thereby they are not true Christians. That has always been the test of the faith in the entire church. It was the test of the faith when Justin Martyr wrote it in the middle of the second century from the church in Rome and has remained a test of the true faith. We will build this planet again under Christ after these blasphemous pseudo religious have destroyed it.

Each one of us is to work and has to perform their allotted tasks. It has been so from the beginning.

Adam failed and we all died. However, he had to replenish or fill the earth.
Noah had to build his own ark and Christ shut him in. If he were disobedient none of us would be here.
Abraham had to become a pilgrim and migrate to where God sent him. If he had not we would have no covenant with God.
Sarah gave birth to the son of promise.
Joseph had to organise Egypt, as he was sent, or Israel would have starved.
Moses (& Aaron) had to take Israel out of Egypt to the Promised Land. Through them we were given the word of God through Jesus Christ who was the rock with Israel in the wilderness.
The prophets had to deliver their messages. Jonah ran away and was eaten by a giant fish that had been prepared beforehand for that very purpose.
David had to establish his family to rule over Israel and establish Israel as a nation and in his line prepare for the Messiah.
Mariam had to give birth to the Messiah. Through obedience the Messenger of God took human form and became a man and was obedient to death on the stake so that we might all have life. In him the entire host might be redeemed.
The angels were given nations to look after from Deuteronomy 32:8. The. Angel of YHVH was given Israel as his possession and died for it. In dying he redeemed the others who disobeyed.
The Apostles went out baptising and through their preaching and sacrifice and death began the church. By work and obedience and sacrifice our predecessors made it possible for us to have life and the calling through the Holy Spirit.
The last task lies before us. The gospel has to be preached to all nations and the Law has to be read and published. Affliction is to be published and the nations warned that Christ is coming and besiegers come from distant lands.

As they say in the commercial world to the unemployed: "How job ready are you? "

You have taken up the plough. Don't look back. Get on with the task. You owe it to those who went before you and to your Father who predestined you to be His sons and your brother Christ who died so that you could become co-heirs with him in the faith. Stand steady, look to the faith and do your duty.

Wade Cox

Coordinator General