FUTURE FORAMERICAVolume 3, No.3 March 1999

Future for AmericaThis Newsletter is published monthly by:

Future For America, Inc.P. O. Box 10Wildersville. TN 38388Toll Free Telephone

Spanish(888) 278-7744(888) 698-7744

Future for America

Future for America has come into existence so that meat in

due season may reach the flock at this time. . . . It ispresent truth that the flock needs now. We look to add ourflavorto the many ministries available today.

Future For America is a self-supporting 501-C3 nonprofitcorporation, and is funded by readers like you. We existto assist those who are striving to be among the 144,000-through the Prophetic Word and the Health Message-bythe power of the Holy Spirit. We hope to help God's peopleteach our Health Message by using the effective teachingand learning tools which we will provide. We also hope toinspire lay persons to do this by arousing them to thelateness of the hour through the Prophetic messages foundin this publication, in seminars, and available in books andon both audioandvideo tapes.

*EY:I. . . .Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God,

I will exalt thee. 0 give thanks unto the Lord; for he is

good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Psalm 118:28-29.

Brothers and Sisters,let us never cease to givethanks to our blessed Lord and Saviour JesusChrist for all the blessings which He hasbestowed upon us. Especially for the plan ofsalvation, and for having a part to play inbringing others to a knowledge of the truth.

Steven Spencer has given us a briefaccount of the work done in St. Louis,Missouriduring the Pope's recent visit.There were somany interesting stories I wish we had the roomto give you.

There was one man who had just gottenout of jail (non-payment of child support), andwas looking for a job. He was tired of hiswayof life,and asked God to come into his life andtake over. When he came to the place wherethe headquarters for the literature distributionwas to be set up, according to hiswords, hisfeet wouldn't go any further. He looked in andsaw people moving around, so stuck his headin the door and asked if they needed any help.The Catholic owner asked him to help cleanthe place because some people were goingto be using it. So this man was at theheadquarters, and our people had much timeto spend with him, showing him the truth. Helearned about the Sabbath, about the mark ofthe beast, and about the 8 laws of health, tomention just a few. He was excited as he sawGod answering his prayer, and determined tocommit his life to God. Hisenthusiasm wasgreat, and soon he was out passing out theliterature with the others.

Thisisjust one instance of the working ofGod in St. Louis.Butfriends, it isso hard tomaintain that commitment when we have togo out into the world as a new babe in theWord. Please pray that all those who weretouched by the Spiritof Truthwillgrow in theknowledge of God and in Hisgrace.

The theme for this month is threefold: Lookat the Cross,and understand the love thatJesus has for us, and the sacrifice He waswillingto make-for you, and for me; as youreflect on the Love of God, repent and do thefirstworks because we have been Losing the

FirstLove; invite Christ into our hearts, so that asHe abides in us we may understand to the fullestwhat it means in Romans 6:14-16, 18when it says:

Forsin shall not have dominion over you: for ye an not

under the law, but under~ce. What then? Shall we sin,because we an not under the law, but under~ce? Godforbid Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselvesservants to obey, his servants ye an to who ye obey; whether

of sin unto death, or of obedienceunto righteousness. . . .Being then made fire from sin, ye became the servants ofrighteousness.

Friends, this is a precious, precious promise.We have heard these verses many times, andyet itwas not until a friend brought me the littlebooklet called SinShall Not Have Dominion OverYou that I began to have some real idea of howthis could be. The booklet contains two letterswritten by Charles Fitch-a Presbyterianminister-in 1840,when the Presbytery called hisbeliefs and teachings to account. These twoletters make it very plain that it is both ourprivilege and our duty to live a sanctified life,today. I have divided the second letter intothree parts, and we are printing the firstpart inthis issue, with the other parts to follow. Butfriend, if you do not have this little work, Isincerely plead with you to get it and prayerfullyread it. I believe your lifewillbe changed by it!

Another way that our God is very to us, is byallowing the plans of the enemy of mankind tocome to our attention. So there are many thingsin both Timelinesand Y2KAlert!!to show us thattime is very, very short. How I wish I could shareall the news items with you which I havereceived, but it is impossible. I had to condense110 pages of news items to fit into two pages!!There are some extremely important thingshappening in the next two months.

Friends,we need to draw closer to the Lord,and learn more of Him.We need to submit ourlives totally and completely to Hiscare, andlearn to live only for Himwho loved us, and diedfor us, so that we-who are so unworthy-mighthave life eternal with Him.

And that brings us back to Psalm 118:28-29:Thou art my God, and I will pmise thee: thou art my God, I

will exalt thee. 0 give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good:

for his mercy endunth for ever.Yoursister in Hisservice, and in the Blessed

Hope of Hissoon coming!!

r;])enide ?rIatfean~For Your Information

Future for America March1999 3

ST~ LOUIS REPORTSunday, January 24,1999

We departed Sunday afternoonfrom WesternTennessee to be part ofa massive literature campaign during thePope's historic visitto the U.S. We had8 people loaded in the "Hotel Dodge"(Stephen Spence's '77 Dodge ex-tended window van) including my twoolder children, Joshua 10, and Kelsie9. I had been told that it would be fool-

ish and dangerous to bring my childreninto a city that was expecting between500,000 and 700,000 people to see thePope. We prayed over the situation anddecided that the best education theycould receive would be that which

would give them a burden for winningsouls-and I am very glad they went.Not only did they participate in the ac-tivities, but their hearts were woven withthe rest of the workers in a sincere de-sire to share the truth with our Catholic

friends and the mixture of people whomade up the curious crowd.

We arrived safely Sunday evening,and anxiously looked forward to the up-coming events.

Monday, January 25, 1999We arrived at the headquarters,

located in downtown St. Louis-rightin the middle of all the papal festivities.Brother Ron Goss gave a stirring talkon Gideon's army. Ron had hoped for150-200 S.W.A.T. team workers

(Swift Witness Action Team) to distrib-ute over 200,000 magazines. It lookedlike the army would have to depend onthe Lord more than ever, because only50 people responded to the battle cry.

Our commission was simple:"We should improve

every such opportunity asthat presented by the St.Louis Fair. At all similargatherings there should be

4 March 1999 Future for America

by Steven S. Spencer

present menwhomGodcanuse.. Leaflets containingthe light of present truthshould be scattered amongthe people like the leavesof autumn. To many whoattend these gatheringsthese leaflets wouldbe asthe leaves of the tree oflife, which are for thehealing of the nations."-PublishingMinistry, 347.As Brother Stephen Dickie shared

with us the plan, I realized for the firsttime that we were involved in a militarycampaign-not one for land or aggres-sion-but one which was a spiritualbattle for souls. Revelation 13 was un-

folding before our eyes, and we had theprivilege of being on the front lines in aneffort to give the message of Revel a-tion 14 to thousands of people. What aday it is in which we live-the hour ofearth's history about which the proph-ets spoke.

Brother Dickie laid out the plans,and we were instructed to walk the

streets and to "learn the turf." Duringthe parade, when the crowds had gath-ered, would not be a time to have thesoldiers get lost. We needed to preparefor this battle, just as we need to pre-pare spiritually for the events which weknow are coming.

We walked downtown and famil-iarized ourselves with the streets and the

MetroLink rail system. We studied theparade routes and where the peoplewould be gathered. The adrenaline rosein anticipation of what the following dayhad in store.

We decided to begin witnessingearly, so we took some boxes andheaded to East St. Louis toward a shop-ping area. On the way we stopped at a

Shrine of Mary (Our Lady of the Snow)and handed out some literature. We

were surprised at the scarcity of people.We went on to mall which had a Wal-

Mart, Sam's Club, and K-Mart andhanded out hundreds of magazines be-fore the managers asked us kindly toleave.

One of the advantages of distrib-uting literature at large religious gather-ings is the freedom which we still enjoyto do so. We may only have a shorttime to continue this type of witnessing,and then we know that our freedomswill be restricted. We will have to finish

the work under difficult conditions, be-

cause we have grown to be at ease inthis world.

Tuesday Morning, January 26Our day began at 4:00 a.m. as we

wanted to catch the MetroLink beforethe crowds would arrive. It was around

30 degrees and windy. We gathered forworship and prayed in groups of3 and4 to gather courage and strength fromabove.

The "Youth Parade" was to start

at 9:30 a.m., and we had to begin ourmission. The crowds were smaller than

anticipated, but the literature started tostream out. The parade was precededby the Vatican flag and then the U.S.flag followed by flags representing therest of the nations in succession. The

symbolism involved was hard to ignore.Some of the Youth groups would will-ingly take the magazines; others wereinstructed by the Priests and leaders thatthey were not to accept this anti-Catholicmaterial. It is sad to think that a maga-zine which upholds "The Lord's Day"would be categorized as anti-Catholic.Rome still exerts the same pressure overthe people as in the past. Some werediscouraged when they saw the youth

throwing the magazines away under du-ress, but persecutionand force'hasnever stopped the cause of God .

I personally witnessed youngpeople tuckingthe magazine intotheirBibles or carry bags out of sight. Oneyoung lady asked me ifl was a Sev-enth-dayAdventist?WhenIrespondedwith a simple yes, she took the maga-zines and said, "Good. I have a friendback home who is a Seventh-dayAdventistand I want to read this mate-rial,"Godhasmanysheepinotherfoldsthat hearHis voice!

Welaterhad a city bus driver stopthe bus and ask what we were handingout. He wanted his own copy, andasked forextra copiesto giveto peoplegettingon the bus! (PraiseGod!)

Tuesday Afternoon, January 26The Pope was scheduledto arrive

and the parade route began to fill withpeople. Brother Dean Ferrell, fromFlorida, and I headed out on theMetroLink to distribute literature at the

beginning of the procession. We arrivedin time to witness the Pope-mobile

hurry by in a blur. As the crowds turnedto leave, we each got on opposite cor-ners of the street and handed out hun-

dreds of magazines in just a few min-utes. It was a thrill to see people leav-ing the scene with "America, Super-power of Prophecy" and "A Time forJoy" magazines in their pockets andclasped in their hands with camera, etc.We fought the crowd back to headquar-ters for a fresh supply of ammunitionfor the spiritual warfare.

During the day the youth had beenworked into a rock-concert type &enzyby bands that were billed as "alterna-tive Christian Rock." The streets were

closed off and thousands of peoplegathered to catch just a glimpse of theman, Pope John Paul 11.In the PapalPlaza, the youth chanted, "We love you,John Paul II," and the crowds contin-ued to build. As the Pope's appearanceneared, the lead singer worked the

crowd with up-to date reports of thePope's location-continually usingtheterm "Holy Father." He then led thecrowd in an un-nerving rendition of"Hail Mary, full of grace," and thou-sandsofyoungpeoplechant-prayedtheRosary. It was a sobering site to wit-ness.

Earlier inthe day the Pope had anaudience with President Clinton. As theyare the two primaryplayersof ReveIa-tion 13,the thought flashed before methat the wound is nearly-if not com-pletely-healed.

We know that the next step is thecombination of churchcraft and state-

craft-the SundayLaw.

Wednesday, January 27The Pope is scheduled for mass

at the TWA building at 9:30 a.m. Wefeltthatwhenthismasswould letout, itwould probably be our best opportu-nity to distribute the literature. Thetroops were in place, and the boxes ofmagazineswerestrategicallyplaced.Itwas encouraging to see other groupsdistributingliteratureas well.

The weather had warmed consid-

erably. Some people were giving thecredit to the Pope, saying that theweather was "divine." As the crowds

dispersed, we gave nearly every indi-vidual the opportunity to receive thistruth-filled literature. Watching thepriests, bishops, cardinals, nuns andCatholic faithful heading home withthese materials was a sight to behold.Wedo not know the outcome of these"seeds" whichwere planted,but itwasa thrillto be evena smallpart of God'splan to seek and save those who arelost.

On one special occasion, therewas a securityguardwho receivedthemagazine.After glancingat the litera-ture, he ran out the door to catch theindividualthathad givenhimthemaga-zine. He shared that he used to be apastor, but that he had read the 58thchapter oflsaiah, and was convicted

on keeping the seventh day holy. Hewas thrilled to find othersthat believed

in the Bible Sabbath, and requestedboxes of magazines to distributeto hischurch mends. He gavehis heart to theLord, and is desirous of keeping all ofthe commandments!

What a thrill it was to see these 11th

hour workers being called out of dark-ness. God is still in the miracle busi-ness!

My daughter had' a lady requestBible studies, and she was directed tothe free offer on the back of the maga-zine. We rea1lyneed to pray that the HolySpirit will be poured out upon thepeople which have received these ma-terials.

Conclusion

Weareall extremelybusywiththecares of this life. I had several mattersarise that could have discouraged mefrom attending1his campaign. But mend,

there is no better remedy for spiritualtiredness-the disease ofLaodicea-than to shareour faithwith others. I did

not hear one complaint or murmuringamong the workers at St. Louis. Notthat we were saints, but we were toobusysharingwithothersto considerthefaultsof one another.

I want to encourage you to par-ticipateinfutureeventssuchasthis.Fu-ture For AmericQwilllet you knowof the next large gathering;and if at allpossible, I encourageyou to get in-volved. Between 120,000 and 150,000seeds were planted in St. Louis. Theharvest won't be known until the Lord'sreturn.

Won't you join us for the next cam-paign. We are living in exciting times,let us be faithful to our commission.

And this gospel of thekingdom shall bepreached in all theworldfor a witness untoall nations; and thenshall the end come.-Matthew 24: 14.

Future for America March1999 5

LOSING OUR FIRST LOVE

NEVERTHELESSI have somewhatagainst thee, because thou hast

left thy firstlove. Remember there-fore from whence thou art fallen,and repent, and do the firstworks;or else Iwillcome unto thee quickly,and willremove thy candlestick outof hisplace, except thou repent. Butthis thou hast, that thou hatest thedeeds of the Nicolaitans,which Ialsohate. He that hath an ear, let himhear what the Spiritsaith unto thechurches; To him that overcomethwill I give to eat of the tree of life,which is in the midst of the paradiseof God." Revelation 2:4-7.

"Nevertheless Ihave somewhatagainst thee, because thou hast leftthy firstlove." Thineisa decay, a de-clension in holy zeal-not forsaken isthe object of "it,but lost is the fervor.The firstaffection of the convert toChrist is deep, full,and ardent. It isnot necessary that this love shouldbecome less as knowledge in-creases, as the more and increasedlight shines upon him. That loveshould become more fervent as hebecomes better acquainted with hisLord.God sees that there isnot heartservice, .a love for Jesus, an earnestzeal in Hiswork.

"Remember therefore fromwhence thou art fallen, and repent,and do the firstworks; or else I willcome unto thee quickly,and willre-move thy candlestick out of hisplace, except thou repent." Howmuch need there isfor the people ofGod at this time to consider thewords of the Majestyof heaven, andcarefully review the ground overwhich they have traveled, and seeand understand where the very firststep was taken in the wrong path!Absence of zeal and devotion, ofearnest willingservice in the causeof God, shows how indolent manyprofessed followersof Christare, howdestitute of earnest, heart felt effort.Theymighthave been going on fromstrength to strength, from light to stillgreater light. They might have be-

6 March1999 Future for America

by Ellen G. White

come strong in faith had theywalked on from step to step, think-ing mor of Christthan of themselves.

The ord has a right to expectmore of 's believing children thanthey give' . EveryindividualChris-tian is indee the light of the world.Christians co ect with Christ.Theyreflect the ch acter of Christ.Theyhave been intr ted with great trea-sures of light; t e oracles of Godhave been giv to them, and inthese they have en thoroughlyfur-

. nished unto all g od works. Everyprovision has been ade, and whyhave the individual embers of thechurch wearied of tir Lord? Whydoes he who professe to love Godrefuse to obtain from t Source oflightand power the oil0 race thathe may be a brightand sing light?The church has had grea opportu-nities,great privileges,and hy isthelight growing dim? Why do s it notshine to the world? Hischurch hoseindividual members are adva ing,growing in grace and in the kn wl-edge of Jesus Christ, is the elect dmeans of the Redeemer's system foenlightening and saving the world.Christlived and suffered and died toestablish a church capable of doingthis noble work. He bought her, Hecleansed her with Hisown blood,and clothed her with the garmentsof Hissalvation. He laid the corner-stone upon the blood-stained rockof Calvary. He made Hischurch thedepositary of Hisprecious law, andtransferred into her hands in a highand holy sense the work of carryingout Hisholy designs; that the churchshould take the work when He leftit, and carry it forward to itsconsum-mation.

The Lordof righteousness iswalk-ing amid the golden candlesticks.And He watches every dim burninglamp of Hisindividual believers, andsays, "Remember therefore fromwhence thou art fallen, and repent,and do the firstworks; or else I willcome unto thee quickly,and willre-

move thy candlestick out of hisplace, except thou repent. . . . Hethat hath an ear, let him hear whatthe Spiritsaith unto the churches; Tohim that overcometh will I give toeat of the tree of life,which is in themidstof the paradise of God." Couldmortals find language more impres-sive, more to the point, than thesewords of Christ-words of Himwhosays, "Iknow thy works"? Revelation2:2. He presents the necessity of ob-taining all the zeal and earnestnessand energy that has ever glowed inthe soul. And those who have castoff responsibility,and are content tohave their light flickering and dim,Jesus would arouse to a sense of theirobligation to let their light shine. Hetells them that if they do not repentof their falling away from their firstlove, He willcome suddenly, andremove their candlestick out of itsplace. Asin the case of the unfruitfultree, the command will be given,"Cut it down; why cumbereth it theground." Luke 13:7.

God will accept nothing Jessthan the whole heart. Happy arethey who from the commencement

f their religious life have been truet~ their firstlove, growing in gracea~d the knowledge of our LordJesusChNst.The sure result of their inter-cou}se and fellowshipwith their be-loved Lord,willbe to increase theirpiety, theirpurity,theirfervor.Theyarereceiving a divine education, andthis is illustrated in a life of fervor, ofdiligence and zeal. They have thatfaith constantly becoming strongerwhich worksby love and purifiesthesoul. Theirsis a child-like devotion,developing itself into activities ofholiness, giving proof by the mostexpressive outward act of their in-ward gratitude, the heart-felt joyanddevoted attachment to Jesus theirRedeemer, the divine Restorer.

Those who have been growingin harmony with the world incustom,in practice, in thoughts, are notgrowing in grace. Theirprayers be-

comelessand lessfervent and intelli-gent. Theyseem lifeless,and cold, anddead. They must repent. They arecalled upon to be inwardly grievedand ashamed and confused beforethe Lordfor their want of love. Theyshould blame themselves, and hum-bly confess before God, and con-demn themselves. They must comeback, retrace their steps, and do thefirstworks; take hold again firmlyinfaith where they I t go, recover theirfirstzeal, their con cientious, tenderlove for God and is precious truth.They must pray as arnestly, andwatch as diligently,a hen the lightof Christ's forgiving, pa oning lovefirst fell upon their soul A severethreatening from God fol ws if thiswork is not done. "I willco e untothee quickly, and will rem ve thycandlestick out of his place."

If we, like Chorazin

~nd

Bethsaida, are exalted to heave inpoint of privilege (see Matthew 1:21-24), and, notwithstanding thabundant mercy and loving, tende'1compassion of God, indifferentlyre-gard Hisgreat privilegesand are notresponding to the light and opportu-nitiesbestowed, Hewillcome injudg-ments for impenitence of Hischurches, and remove the light,andlet darkness take itsplace. Thosewhoare connected with Christ, bearingthe yoke of Christ,and liftingHisbur-dens, willbe constantly self-denyingpartakers with Christof Hissufferings.They willbe one with Christ,in deepsympathy with Himwho loved usandgave Himselffor us, that He mightbring us to Hisside in heaven. Thisisthe religionthat isearnest, deep, firm,and far-reaching, and insures rest,and peace, and fullnessof joy.

The onlyway to grow in grace isto be interestedly doing the veryworkChristhas enjoined upon us to do-interestedly engaged to the very ex-tent of our ability to be helping andblessing those who need the help wecan give them. Thisis the only waywe can grow in grace and in theknowledge of Jesus Christ.Christianswho are constantly growing in ear-nestness, in zeal, in fervor, in love-such Christiansnever backslide. Theyare becoming more closelyidentifiedwith the Saviour in all Hisplans. They

are "partakers of the divine nature,having escaped the corruption thatis in the world through lust."2 Peter1:4.Theirwisdom is increasing, theirability how to work. They seem tocomprehend the largest plans. Theyare ready to engage inthe most stir-ring enterprises, and they have noroom for slothfulness; they cannotfind a place for stagnation.

Those who are ever pressing alittle closer to the world, and be-coming more like them in feelings,in plans, in ideas, have left a spacebetween them and the Saviour,andSatan has pressed his way into thisspace, and low,wortdly-tainted,self-ish plans become interwoven withtheir experience. God's voice isad-dressingthisclass,which are not few:"He that hath an ear, let him hearwhat the Spirit saith unto thechurches." Itisof consequence thatyou hear attentively and obey.Come into close relationship withChrist. Keep your souls in constantcontact with the world, and itscus-toms willbecome your customs, its

" ractices willbecome your prac-t~es, ifyou place yourselves wherey willsee and hear and feel andac s they do.

in prayer. And all those who aredeeply and interestedly engaged inthe salvation of others, are the moresurely working out their own souls'salvation with fear and trembling.The piety that does not reveal itselfinworking interestedly forothers, willbecome a form, strengthened, big-oted, self-conceited. Coming incon-tact with souls for whom Christ hasdied, seeking to bring them to re-pentance, and evidencing a love fortheir souls, will call them out ofthemselves, so that they willnot beexclusively engaged for their ownselfish interests, either in temporalpursuitsor inspiritualthings. God hasshown it to be our duty not to liveforourselves.Christpleased not Him-self.

The times of ignorance Godwinked at, but now, with the blaz-ing light of truth shining all aroundus, with warnings, with reproofs, withincreasing light if we willbut openour eyes to see it, there isno excusefor any, even the weakest child ofGod, that they should not disperselight to the world. The four angelsare holding the four winds that aspecial work may be accomplished:the saintsof God are to be sealed in

Cfeyate your soul's aspirations to higher spheresofLac6{on in Christian activities. Those who do this. . .

will spe}~ilyattain the highest moral effldency and theckarest spIritual perceptions.

"Come out'f(om among them, their foreheads. See Revelation 7:1-and be ye separo\6' saith the Lord, 3. Brethren, how long before you willand touch not tHe unclean." 2 be ready for the seal of God? EveryCorinthians 6:17.Turnaside quickly step you advance upon the pathto Jesus Christ.Yieldyour pride, your which God forbids,toward your ownselflove, yourselfishaspirations, your pleasure and in sin, isa step nearerlove of the world, which are death your destruction. Everyact of disobe-to spirituality.Repent quickly. Delay dience to the word of the Lord isnot in deciding, lestyou be too late. exposing you to irreparable loss.Ev-Elevate your soul's aspirations to ery moment of ease, of self-indul-higher spheres of action in Christian gence, secured by you inneglectingactivities. Those who do this are the the divine admonitions and call toonly class in our churches that will duty in earnest work for the. Master,grow. They willspeedily attain the isplacing you under the power andhighest moral efficiency and the control of the prince of darkness.clearest spiritual perceptions. They Your candlestick may at any mo-willhave unusual vigor and steadi- ment be moved out of its place.ness of faith. They willknow how to Fourmighty angels are stillhold-pray and be persevering and earnest ing the four winds of the earth. Ter-

Future for America March1999 7

rible destruction is forbidden tocome in full.The accidents by landand by sea; the loss of life, steadilyincreasing, by storm, by tempest, byrailroad disaster, by conflagration;the terrible floods, the earthquakes,and the winds willbe the stirringupof the nations to one deadly com-bat, while the angels hold the fourwinds, forbidding the terrible powerof Satan to be exercised in its furyuntilthe servants of God are sealedin their foreheads. Get ready, getready, Ibeseech you, get ready be-fore it shall be forever too late! Theministersof vengeance willpour allthe terrible judgments upon a God-forsaken people. Theway of obedi-ence isthe only path of life.May theLordhelp you to see ijintime to openyour ears, that you' may hear whatthe Spiritsaith unto the churches.

What ismy duty? What shallIdoto save my children and to savemany souls from the coming tem-pest of wrath unmixed with mercy?God claims every power, every ca-pability of action to be invested inthe doing of Hiswork. Talents, pos-sessions,everything that isgreat andnoble inman Hecallsto be exercisedin His work. Duty admits no rival,enters into no compromise with anyopposing powers. Themost preciousfriends and relatives must not stepin between your duty and your God.Thevoice of duty isthe voice of Godin our souls.Obedience to itsclaimsbrings us into livingpersonal agree-ment with the highest law in theuniverse-brings man into alliancewith God.

Let the churches be aroused."He that hath an ear, let him hearwhat the Spirit saith unto thechurches." Thismessage concerns allour churches. Youcan never employyour faculty of hearing better thaninhearkening to hear what the voiceof God speaks to you in Hisword.There isa rich and abundant prom-ise to those who overcome. It isnotenough to enter upon this warfare,we must pursue it to the end. Wemust know nothing of yielding. Wemust fight the good fight of faith tothe very end. To the overcomer is

8 March 1999 Future for America

promised the triumphal victory. "Tohim that overcometh will I give toeat of the tree of life,which is in themidstof the paradise of God." What-ever was lost in the fall of Adam ismore than restored in redemption.He that sitteth on the throne saith,"Behold, I make all things new." Letus look closely and critically to our-selves. Are not the vows we enteredinto at our baptism violated? Arewedead to the world and alive untoChrist? Are we seeking those thingswhich are above, where Christsitteth at the right hand of God? Isthe cable cut which anchored us tothe eternal Rock?Arewe driftingwiththe current to perdition? Shall wemake no effort to press and urge ourpassage up stream? Let us not hesi-tate longer, but vigorouslyapply theoars; and let us do our firstworkserewe make hopeless shipwreck.

It is our work to know our spe-cial failings and sins, which causedarkness and spiritual feebleness,and quenched our first love. Is itworldliness? Is it selfishness? Is it thelove of self-esteem? Is it striving tobe first?Isit the sin of sensuality thatis intensely active? Isit the sin of theNicolaitans, turning the grace ofGod into lasciviousness? Isit the mis-use and abuse of great light andopportunities and privileges,makingboasted claims to wisdom and reli-gious knowledge, while the lifeandcharacter are inconsistent and im-moral? Whatever it isthat has beenpetted and cultivated until it hasbecome strong and overmastering,make determined efforts to over-come, else you willbe lost.Itisthesecherished sins,abhorrent to God, thatmake enfeebled moral courage,and leave you to chose to walkapart from God, while you retain amiserable, heartless, outward form.Once the soul was all aglow withlove forJesus; but all thisischanged.The great Head who moves in themidst of Hiscandlesticks willneverbe without a church. There willbefaithless ones who willgo out fromusbecause they were not of us.Therewillbe apostasies. But"neverthelessthe foundation of God standeth sure,

having this seal, The Lord knoweththem that are his." 2 Timothy 2:19.There willbe those who are evil, whohold the truth in unrighteousness,who are sensual, who are controlledby the master-worker in all evil, whowill have to be separated from thechurch.

"I know thy works, and thylabour, and thy patience, and howthou canst not bear them which areevil: and thou hast tried them whichsay they are apostles, and are not,and hast found them liars." This la-bor of purifying the church is a pain-ful work, but one that must not beneglected, ifthe church would havethe commendation of God. But re-pent, because thou hast left thy firstlove. Here isplainly presented beforeus our work as members of thechurch of Christ. If we are faithless,we shall lose the crown of life andanother will take it; for in the drop-ping out of the faithless the placesare supplied by the faithful. If werefuse to let our light shine for theMaster, if we do not do the works ofGod, others will do that very workwhich we might have done andcould have done, but refused to do.When we cease to fulfillour mission,when the candlestick refuses to re-flect light, and the great truths com-mitted to us individually in trust forthe world, are not given to them,then the candlestick willbe removed."I will come unto thee quickly, andwillremove thy candlestick out of hisplace." Another will be placed in hisstead and will shine. Let prayer beascending now without delay to Himwho walketh in the midst of thegolden candlesticks. Take not ThyHoly Spirit from us. "Purge me withhyssop, and I shall be clean: washme, and Ishall be whiter than snow.. . . Create in me a clean heart, 0God; and renew a right spirit withinme. Cast me not away from thy pres-ence; and take not thy Holy Spiritfrom me. Restore unto me the joy ofthy salvation; and uphold me withthy free spirit. Then willi teach trans-gressors thy ways; and sinners shall beconverted unto thee." Psalm 51:7, 10-13.-Advent Review and SabbathHerald June 7,1887.

LettersThank you so much for your

newsletter and cassette. My wifehas just divorced me. But wehave been SDAfor more than 20years. I love her so much. She isslowly lowering her SDAvalues.But I have sent her your newslet-ters and she never said to stopyour newsletters.

More than ever she hastalked about the last days intime events. She has been read-ing about the Y2Kthing, and shetold me last night that she wouldlikeyour newsletter sent to herand my son.

Satan isworking so hard tobreak up all families. Can youpray for my wife and son, and forall SDAfamilies. Pray for me to dowhat the Lord want me to do. . .

We don't have much time todo Hiswork.

Thank you so much, ES-CA

Happy New Year!. . . Please continue to send

me your newsletter and tapes asavailable. I enjoyed the last 2you sent. Thank you very much.

May God bless you in allthings as you continue yourministry.

Please send your newsletterto

Your sister in Christ, SM-CA

I think these are timelymessages to prepare the peopleto get ready for Christ's soonreturn. Please continue to warnthe people, and God bless you.

Please put two names onyour mailing list and send themyour magazines. Ifyou can sendeach your November '98 issuetoo.

I praise the Lord for you.In Christ, MS-OH

c1Jc1Jc1Jc1J. . . .

NOTE: These names are alladded to our mailing list, andthey will receive the free news-letters and tapes. Thank you.

Thank you for the newslettersand tapes that you have sent.Enclosed is a gift to help coverthe cost.

I look forward to hearing theremaining 3 tapes of "ThoseThings Which Have Been, WillB~Repeated. "God bless yourefforts to "shape us up" for thefuture. SB-NC

We praise and thank theLord for your ministry!It was ablessed experience to be associ-ated with your group thru ourprayers and financial support. . .

We plan to go back to thePhilippines to answer God's callthere. We do not have the exactaddress yet where we plan tostay, but we willkeep in touch asthe Lord blesses. . . .

Please pray for us as wecontinue to work for Himin ourown country.

Very Sincerely Yours, RR-CA

I thank you very much forthe past two newsletters with theaudio cassette tapes.

Please keep me on yourmailing list. . . . I pray God willcontinue to abundantly blessyou and your ministry.

Sincerely, JH-NC

So glad you got moved.Wishyou were closer to us. . . .

Sixteen years ago when Iwas 60 I got 2 compressionfractures of the spine lifting apatient. But I keep going 12-14-16 hours a day. In summer it israising strawberries, raspberries,grapes, black berries; and in

winter baking a years supply ofbread to put in the freezer. . . .

Loveand Prayer EIRE-TN

Iam eating up the tapes'Prophetic Pattern. ' They are

wonderfully helpful. . . . Theyabsolutely are as always crystalclear and easy to understand.

Enclosing money for anotherKing of the North. I talk about itand people want their own. . . .Also including a couple ad-dresses for your paper. Theystudy.

Yoursin Christ, ND-NC

We recently received two ofyour recent newsletters. . . forNov. and Dec. We really appre-ciate their up-to-date messagesand are so thankful for whoeverturned our names in. We alsoappreciated the two tapes No.one and Two of five tapes in all.God has dedicated people He isusing to prepare the laity forfuture events and to be ready forJesus' soon coming. We arelooking forword to the JanuaryNewsletter and tapes. Wouldyou please put the followingnames on your mailing list? . . . Iam sure these individuals willappreciate hearing from you.

I notice in one of the "let-ters" there is mention of yourbook The Final Rise and Fallofthe King of the North, and yourmagazine The Time of the End.Are these available? . . .

Would appreciate yourmailing the last two issues forNov. and Dec. God bless yourministry. We pray for you.

Sincerely, J/RO-NCNOTE: The books and tapes men-tioned are listed on the ORDERBLANK,and should be enclosed witheach newsletter.

Future for America March1999 9

~

TIMELINESrv~

10

In the stream of time. . . near the end of the line.

COLOMBIANEARTHQUAKE a wave of violence that spreadArmenia, Colombia (AP)-The through Gujurat State, India, afterdeath tollsurpassed 1,000today from anti-Christian speeches during aa powerful eart quake that de- Hindugroup rallyon December 25.stroyed nearly two hirds of all the The Adventist church inbuildings in this wes rn Colombian Umbayat, Surat City,was attackedcity. Itwas the mostd aging earth- and church members locked them-quake to strike the co ntry in more selves inside during worship ser-than a century. But to ay, citizens vices on Saturday, December 25.cheered in the streets of owntown Theattackers then resorted to de-when the Red Cross resc ed three stroying vehicles and other prop-men trapped in the rub Ie of a ertyon the church property. . . .Onewrecked four-story buildin . The Adventist suffered injuries when anmagnitude 6 quake flattened ities attacker swung a critket bat atand towns across western Colo ia. him. . . .Red Cross officials said some 00 "Many of our church membersbuildings were destroyed a d were being called to the policesta-180,000people left homeless in r- tions to give evidence against at-menia alone.-Associated Pre, tackers, and were subjected toJanuary 26, 1999. rough treatment," says Jeremiah.

Bogota, Cplumbia- Theearthquake \"Th~ commissioner of police has. . . flatten~d 20towns and villages in advised that none of ?ur membersfive provinces in western Colombia. oul.drespond to P?hc~ der:nands. . .Theearthquake, measuring 6.0on a his stage. The situation ISnowthe Richter scale, is reportedly the mor or less und~r con.trol,largelyworst natural disaster to hit Colom- due. the na~lon-wld~, out.crybia since 1985,when an avalanche agalns ~

the violence. -Dlttu

and mudslide buried approximately Abrahar:' nd Jonathan Gallagher,25,000 people.-SDANews. January Advenflst ,ews Network. January28, 1999. 5, 1999.

RI6HTS VIOLATIONS IN SRI LANKA .F~ALE. P A$TORS IN FINLAND.

Columbo, Sri Lanka [ANN]-The Helsl.nkl, FIn!cltld [ANN]-An In-arrest of Seventh-day Adventist ~uc~lon .ser:'lc~ was held for theChurch member ElkinsThurairajah of firsttlme.ln FlnlanC'ilforSeventh-d?yJaffna, SriLanka, on October 27,ac- Adven!ls.t fema'~ postors withcused of terrorist involvement has <?ommlsslon_edMI~lster Crede~-highlighted on-going concerns tlals: t:-nna L~e~a\la~kkola. ~nabout human rightsviolations in the Helsinkiand SI~nna Kalh<;>kosklIncountry. Manickam Anthony Tc::'mper~wer~ Included In a s~r-Alexander, a Seventh-day Adventist vice of. I~duchon ~o!pastors withpastor and principal of the Adventist <?ommlssloned Minister Creden-. . . tlals on Sabbath, December 13. InInternational School InVavunlyawas HI' k' th .d t f th 0::' -arrested in March thisyear. He con- . e sin I e presl en. 0 e '-",nntinues to be held in detention ac- Ish Conference, Erk~1Ha<;1pasalo,cused of aiding terroristsbut stillhas conducted t~e service with I~calnot been charged or tried. pastors, and In Tampere ser:'lces

Thurairajah,25,and the son of a were c~nducted .bythe presidentpastor, was arrested during a dawn of the Flnla~d Union.Conferenc~,raid at his parents' home. . . . Both P~kka pOhJolc::"with Dr. Bertllarrested Adventists come from the Wlklander, pr~s.l~ent of the Tran~-. .t T .1grou

European Dlvlslon.- AdventIstmlnon y ami p.

D J h G.t. to the Pr ' News Network, January 5, 1999.

r. 0 n raz,wn Ing eSI-dent of Sri Lanka on behalf of the Reu6IOUSLIBERTYDIALO6UEINISRAaInternational Religious Liberty Asso- Jerusalem, Israel [ANN]-Sev-ciation, also expressed concern, enth-day Adventist leaders co-particularly at the detention without sponsored a meeting on Decem-charge or trial.-Jonathan ber 16, of various faith communi-Gallagher, Adventist News Network ties in Israelas part of the Church'sBulletin.November 24, 1998. recognition of the importance of

A A I I the 50th anniversary of the Univer-DVENTISTS TTACKEDIN NDA . .Gujarat State, India [ANN]- sal Declaration of Human Rights.S v th-da Adventists were .T~gether.wlth the Intern<;1tlo.nal

e en y. . . Religious Liberty AssociatIOnamong other Chnstlans attacked In (IRLA),Richard Elofer,leader of the

March1999 Future for America

Adventist Church in Israel, invitedrepresentatives of the three majorreligions in the country to speak onreligious liberty and human rightsfrom the perspective of their respec-tive faith communities.

Professor Nahum Rakover,Israel's deputy attorney general.spoke on behalf of the Jewish com-munity; ProfessorMustafa Abu Sway,lecturer in philosophy at Jerusalem'sAI-Quds University spoke for the Is-lamic community, and ReverendCharles Kopp, chairman of Israel'sUnited ChristianCouncil spoke for theChristian community.

"The remarks of the three repre-sentatives highlighted the concep-tual gulf between the major religionsregarding religious liberty," com-mented Elofer.

Speaking on behalf of IRLA.Dr.John Graz, secretary general. re-ported on the organization's workaround the world.

"IRLAis the leading non-govern-mental agency in the world today inthe area of providing expert adviceto legislators drafting religious libertylegislation," said Graz. "During this pe-riod of rapid legislative change inmany countries in accordance withthe shifting political climate, the in-ternational instruments-such as theUN Declaration-must be the con-stant point of reference."-RichardElofer, Adventist News Radio,Jonathan Gallagher, SDANEWS:ANNBulletin. January 12, 1999.

INCREASE IN HIV INFECTIONS

According to a recent reportfrom the Joint United NationsProgramme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)and the World Health Organization(WHO). during the past year, a fur-ther 5.8 million people were infectedwith HIV-approximately 11 men,women and children every minute-and the total number of people liv-ing with the virus rose by one-tenth,to 33.4 million worldwide. Overall,the report found that half of all newinfections are now in 15-25year-olds;development gains are being wipedout; and sub-Saharan African coun-tries are the hardest-hit. There arefewer deaths in North America, West-ern Europe, but no progress in pre-vention. HIV infection rates have re-mained unchanged for a decade.

The global epicenter of AIDScontinues to be sub-Saharan Africa.Since the epidemic began, 34 mil-lion Africans have been infected,

and almost 12millionhave already died.In 1998.the region experienced fourmil-lionnew infections and risingAIDSdeathtolls.seen in an estimated 5.500 funer-als per day. In the southernmost coun-tries of the continent. where HIVtookon epidemic proportions only recently.infection rates continued to rise dra-matically during the past year. Fourcountries now estimate that 20-26per-cent of adults are livingwith HIV.andSouth Africaalone accounts forone outof every ven new infections on thecontinent. contrast. a number of coun-tries in West trica remain relatively lessaffected. in art as a result of early andsustained revention efforts.-SDANEWS:Ja ary 14. 1999.

LIs A DEATH TOLL

Atlanta. GA (Reu rs)-The death tollfromcontaminated t dogs and meatproducts included ina luntary nation-wide recall has risento 1 . ederal healthexperts said Thursday. . . .

At least 60 cases of iIIn

~s caused

by a rare strain of listeria.a cterium.have been reported from 12

~tes to

the Centers for Disease Control a d Pre-

vention since August 1998.the a ,ncysaid.The 12 deaths linked to hot do~s

and possibly delicatessen meats prO\duced by one manufacturer includethose of three unborn children whosemothers miscarried. the centers said.Nine adults also died. it said. Thedeathtoll was up from the eight announcedby the agency January 7.-SDANews.January 15. 1999

SIERRAleoNE FI6HTIN&

Freetown. Sierra Leone-After ap-proximately four weeks of fighting. bru-tality and prolonged insecurity in SierraLeone. ADRAcontinues to assistinemer-gency relief efforts aiding thousands ofinnocent victims caught in the crossfire.

Despite random attacks. ADRAcontinues to offer food and medicalassistance at several temporary sheltersthroughout eastern and westernFreetown. the capital. . . .

Some of the medicine forthese clin-ics is being provided by the United Na-tions Children's Fund (UNICEF)or weretransferred from ADRA'sinternally dis-placed people (IDP)camp in Waterloo.ADRA'sWaterloo camp was attackedthree times in the last month-and-a-halfand its residents were forced to aban-don it.-SDANews. February 5. 1999.

ADRA SouTH SuOAN

Nairobi. Kenya-The ADRAcompoundIn Chukudum. south Sudan. was report-edly bumt and looted at the end of lastweek while two local military factions

spent three days fighting nearby.The United Nations helped evacu-

ate 14 ex-patriot ADRA staff toLokichoggio.Kenya. the UnitedNations/Operation Lifeline Sudan (UN/OLS)headquarters in northern Kenya. afterthe staff spent three days hiding.

ADRAis a member of the UN/OLSconsortium of 40 nongovernmental or-ganizations (NGOs).

"Whilebullets from the warring fac-tions flew through Chukudum and thesurrounding hills. ADRAstaff hid in aroofed bomb shelter. bullets continuingto whizover their heads." reports RobinWillison.ADRASouth Sudan project di-rector and acting country director."There was no food or water exceptwhen someone was brave enough toventure out for a few minutes. at perilto their lives."

. . . several of ADRA'ssix vehiclesmay have been removed. . . .SaysWillison.". . . I expect it will be a fewmore weeks before the UN goes in tocheck on the situation and give our em-ployees the approval to go back towork. Thisemergency occurred in a lo-cation where there was previouslylittleinsecurity."-SDANews. January 21.1999.

AOVENTIST HEBREW leADERSHIP TIWNIN&

Jerusalem. Israel-The "First Leader-ip TrainingSeminar for Adventist He-

b~~ Congregations" [was] held 19-24Jan!)((ry. 1999in Sao Paolo, Brazil.Thesemin~ was organized by the WorldJewish ~Iowship Center. . . part of theGlobal Ml\\iionDepartment of the Gen-eral Cont~rence of Seventh-dayAdventists. . .,.

The purpo'se . . . was to train bothordained pastorkmd lay people aroundthe world for mi~~try in Adventist He-brew Congregations. Approximatelyfiftypersons took part. frqn countries as di-verse as Brazil. Ecud~or. Argentina,Chile. the UnitedStates aQd Israel.Therewere also representatives k..omNew Yorkand Andrews University. \

. . . Reports Pastor Rich'ard Elofer.president of the Israel Field of\~venth-day Adventists. ". . . for the first ime inmy lifeIwas able to worship God ithinmy Jewish identity. . . . I was thrill~ tolearn of groups of Adventist Jews in Bra-zil. Argentina, Australia. Russia. SouthAfrica.Chile. USA.Israeland many othercountries who are prepared to livetheirfaith within their Jewish identity by or-ganizing their own synagogues."

The seminar was divided in threeprinciple parts: 1) an introduction toJudaism; 2) the historyof Israel and theChurch: the biblical view of God'speople. the rupture between Israeland

the church emphasizing the role playedby Christian anti-Semitism; 3) Adventistmissionamong Jewish people; the im-portance of this missioninScripture andthe Spirit of Prophecy. aiding Jewishpeople to return to biblical Judaism asit was practiced by Jesus of Nazareth.

At the end of the session a smallcommittee. . . formed a number of pro-posals for the Global Mission Depart-ment at the General Conference.

One important proposal is to unifythe liturgy of Adventist Synagoguesaround the world. Another importantproposal is to create a .new academicprogramme, a "yeshivah". forpreparingleaders, "rabbis" of Adventist syna-gogues. . . .Studieswould take place atAndrews Universityand in Jerusalem.-Pony ExpressE-mailMinistryIntemational.February 10, 1999.

PRAYERIN AFGHANISTAN

Male residents of Kabul. Afghanistan.have been ordered to attend five dailyprayers or be subject to punishment.Religious pOlice who are part ofAfghanistan's IslamicTalibanmovementannounced the order over loudspeak-ers at Kabul'smosques thisweek, Reuterssaid. [They] reportedly threatened topunish those who failed to comply. andsaid neighbors should informthem of anyman not attending prayers. TheTalibanhas forced businesses to close duringprayers or face a fine or closure for sev-eral days. Women are barred fromwork-ing outside the home. except in themedical profession. and are required tocover their bodies from head to toewhen they leave their homes. Girlscan-not receive an education. Men havebeen ordered to grow beards and notwear Western clothes. The group con-trols 90%of the country.

Chechnya President AsianMaskhadov instituted Islamic Sharialaw. The formerlymoderate Muslimhasbeen under pressure from more radicalgroups to step down. The Los Angeleslimessaid. Thebreakaway Russianrepub-lic ismostly Muslim.Thenew laws willbeapplied to all spheres of society, includ-ing government, education. and themilitary.

Hindu activists beat two Christianpastors in Kerala state. . . . The mob ac-cused the men of making illegal con-verts and then stoned them and beatthem with metal rods. . . . The pastorswere seriouslyinjured and are recover-ing at a hospital in Pathanamthitta.Christians have suffered increased per-secution fromradical Hindusin the pastyear.-ReligionToday.com. February4,1999.

Future for America March1999 11

Sin Shall Not Have Dominion.

NOTE: This is the first part of thesecond letter written by Charles Fitchin 1840, when asked by the Presbyteryof Newark to tell them "what this newdoctrine is." Brother Fitch begins thisletter with a reference to the responsethey made to the first letter. This ar-ticle contains port one of the first rea-son he gives for his faith; part two ofreason one, as well as the other threereasons willbe given in parts 2 & 3.

Dear Brethren:Afterbeing made acquainted with

my views and feelings on the subject ofsanctification, you have passed a reso-lution declaring them to be importantand indangerous error,admonishing meto preach them no more. I must there-fore say, brethren, and I hope to do itwithallmeekness and humilityand inlow-linessof heart, that Icannot regard youradmonition for the following reasons:

REASON ONE

It is now several years since after aseason of spiritualgloom and sadness, Icame fullyto the conclusion that therewas something in the religion of JesusChrist to which I had been a stranger. Ihad seen myself to be a sinner beforeGod, richlydeserving Hiseverlasting in-dignation. I had seen that God wouldbe holy, just and good, and worthy ofuniversal and eternal adoration, whilepunishing me with everlasting destruc-tion fromHispresence and fromthe gloryof Hispower. Ihad also seen in Christ,aSavior who, after atoning for all man-kind on the cross,was able on the meritsof that atonement to save to the utter-most all that come to God by Him,andon that Savior I had cast myself as myonly hope, and trusted in Him,and Himonly, as my Deliverer from the wrath ofGod.

Trusting thus in Him-my crucifiedSavior-for my salvation, Iwas fora timefilled with great joy and peace in be-lieving,and went on my way rejoicing.However, years passed away, and tothese livelyemotions of joy in the LordIhad been almost an entire stranger. ex-cept fora short season immediately suc-ceeding my firstconversion to Christ-when I did taste in a good degree thepeace which those are sure to findwhocome with a heart penitent for sin, andtrust in the merits of a crucified Saviorfor pardon and everlasting life. How-

12 March1999 Futurefor America

Part 1 of 3ByCharles Fitch

ever, Ihad come now to the fullconvic-tion th t my religious state was very farfromw t itought to be. Thisarose partlyfrom w t Ihad learned in the Biblere-specting "the riches of the glory of thismystery.. which isChristinyou, the hopeof glory," the peace of God, whichpasseth all nderstanding, shall keepyour hearts d minds through ChristJesus," "whom ving not seen, ye love;in whom, though ow ye see him not,yet believing, ye joice with joy un-speakable and full f glory" and partlyfrom what I learned bout that time ofthe experience of so e Christians towhich experience Ikne myselfto be astranger. Colossians 1:27; hilippians4:7;1 Peter 1:8.

I came then to a sett

~d determi-

nation to know, with the he of God,more of spiritualthings. Since t at time,which isnow some years, Ihave neverbefore, "criest after knowledge andliftestup thy voice for understandi ; ifthou seekest her as silver,and searc stfor her as for hid treasures; then sh Itthou understand the fear of the LORD,a~find the knowledge of God." Proverb2:3-5. I have sought for spiritual breadand forthe water of lifewith an earnest-ness which I know I have never felt forany of the possessionsof thisworld. Ihavesought these in the Bible,in the experi-ence of eminent Christians who havegone to,their reward, and inthe writingsof livingChristianswho seemed to knowmost of spiritual things. I have soughtthem in personal conversation withthose who seemed to know most of thedeep things of God, and Ihave soughtthem on my knees with many tears, andwith earnest wrestlings in the name ofChrist for the teachings of the HolyGhost. Fora long time there was no defi-nite blessing that Ihad inmy mind as theobject of pursuit, except that I mighthave more of the HolyGhost, and be farbetter prepared than I had ever beento live to the glory of God. However, Iwas made acquainted in the provi-dence of God with some of those Chris-tians who believe that it is the privilegeof all disciples of Christ to be, throughthe "great God and our Saviour JesusChrist;who gave himself for us, that hemight redeem us from all iniquity,andpurify unto himself a peculiar people,zealous of good works,"and we "throughthe blood of the everlasting covenant,make you perfect in every good work

. .

to do hiswill,workinginyou that which iswell-pleasing in his sight. through JesusChrist"-"sanctify you wholly;and IprayGod yourwhole spiritand souland bOdybe preserved blameless unto the com-ing of our LordJesus Christ.Faithfulishethat calleth you, who also willdo it"-tobe cleansed "from all filthinessof thefleshand spirit,perfecting holinessinthefear of God." "Forallthe promisesof Godin him are yea, and in him Amen, untothe gloryof God by us" and thus throughthe "exceeding great and preciouspromises: that by these ye might be par-takers of the divine nature, having es-caped the corruption that isinthe worldthrough lust." Titus 2:13-14; Hebrews13:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2Corinthians 7:1; 1:20;2 Peter 1:4.

When Ifirstknew this class of Chris-tians, and firstread their writings, I wasgreatly opposed to their views of truth,and fromwhat Ihad learned of the mis-takes and excesses of some who hadprofessed to hold this truth, and to en-joy the experience of it, Iwas led to re-gard the whole subject with very greataversion. Yet, I have learned that truthis not (to) be held accountable for the

xcesses intowhich these mistakes mayI~them, nor for the sins of those "whoho the truth in unrighteousness." Ro-man 1:18. '

ile Iwas thus crying after knowl-edge, d liftingup my voice for under-standing, the Lordbegan to teach memore and ore of the love of Christ,sothat I was ot only restored to my firstlove, but made to know in my own ex-perience that "the path of the just is asthe shining light, that shineth more andmore unto the perfect day," and that"he that followeth me shall not walk indarkness, but shall have the lightof life."The "peace of God, which passeth allunderstanding, shall keep your heartsand mindsthrough ChristJesus" "withjoyunspeakable and fullof glory,"of whichthe Biblespeaks, became realitiesto mymind; and I had learned the blessedtruth that "all the promises of God in himare yea, and inhimAmen, unto the gloryof God by us" that it is the Christian'sprivilege by trusting in Christ for the ful-fillmentof the promises to enjoy the ful-fillmentof every one of them, just as theawakened sinnerhas fulfilledto him thepromiseof pardon, when, and onlywhen,he believes for this on Christ. Proverbs4:18;John 8:12;Philippians4:7.

I had then inquired, What has Godpromised, and what is He willingto dofor me, ifIbelieve forit in Christ? Iexam-ined the Biblewith this principle in view.and found that God has said, "Iwillin-struct thee and teach thee in the waywhich thou shalt go: Iwillguide thee withmine eye." Psalm32:8.ThispromiseIknewto be yea and amen in Christ unto theglory of God by me, and I thereforeprayed and trusted in Christ that Godwould instruct me, and teach me in theway that ISh

~ld go. and guide me with

Hiseye into a truth respecting the doc-trine of sancti ation. When I read thepromises on th subject. I found themfull and explici "God willcircumcisethine heart. and he heart of thy seed.to love the LORDy God with all thineheart, and with all y soul." (Allempha-sisadded unlessoth rwisenoted.) "Thenwillisprinkleclean w ter upon you, andye shall be clean: f m all your filthi-ness.and fromallyour i ols,willicleanseyou. . . .I willtake awa the stony heart

I.'t"I-ch L db 1- d I-c~ .I+ly hy h l . rt"!-l ke

out of your flesh, and I w..'lIgive you <?~ r; L.Je on e p~a~e IV come ~OJ&-J tv tJ ep, IJI Ie ma anh~a~ of flesh. . . . and I put my. Spirit end ot"tJhyconuptionsbyhelpmO' thee O'entJly tv sink tv unknownwithinyou. and cause you walk Inmy 'j . 0 o'

statutes, and ye shall kee my judg- depths of meekness;if He drown the indwellingman of sin byments, and do them. . . . I wi Isosaveb "

by l ' h ' 'huc fh l doyou fromallyour uncleannesse ""And I aptizmg, p ungmg 1mmtv an a rS 0 umi ity; . notw/7/makean everlastingcoven Qtwith II d {;, l ' h h ' l"

fH' h d h fa,

fthem, that Iwillnot turn av:ay from )~~. J In J'OUt WltJ tJ e sImp IClty 0 IS metJ 0 , tJ e p mness 0

to ~o them good;but Iwit/putmyfe rIn Hisan'PearinO'and the commonness ot"His Prescriptiontheir hearts. that they shallnot dep rt r, 0 'j j .from me." "Thisis the covenant tha

Nwillmake them after those days, saith cleanse me from all unrighteousness. makes Hisentry into the typical Jerusa-the Lord; I will put my laws into their However, I had yet no evidence on lem. meek and lowly, "riding upon anhearts, and in their minds willi write hich Icould rest a belief that Iwas thus ass," yea, "upon a colt, the foal of anthem; and their sins and iniquities willi c\eansed. I went on thus continuing to ass." Zechariah 9:9.remember no more." I also found that pr..y, endeavoring to trust in Christ for These remarks were particularlyChrist.our Redeemer. was called Jesus this leansing gift of the HolySpirit,and blessed to me. Itseemed to me. indeed,because "he shall save his people from desi g above all things to be cleansed a most delightful thing to sink into thetheir sins;"that "He was manifested to from IIunrighteousness. In this state of meek and lowlyspiritof the blessed Sav-take away our sins.Whosoever abideth mind, I ad one day taken myTestament. ior. I had before been laboring to risein him sinneth not." I also found many and a Iitie work on "Christian Perfec- above my sins, and thus leave them.other Scripturesequally fulland explicit. tion." By etcher. and given myself up However. now Ifelt willingto sinkbelowDeuteronomy 30:6; Ezekiel 36:25. 27; to readin meditation and prayer on them into a depth of humility,where theJeremiah 32:40; thissubject. ,opened Fletcher at the fol- proud, unhumbled spiritof sinwould not

However. after all this, unbelief tri- lowing passa~e: be willing to follow, and it seemed aumphed in mymind, and Icould not see "My hear trings groan with deep delightful thing to sinkin the arms of myhow it should ever be to me reality in complaint-My lesh lies.panting, Lord, Savior be/ow the reach of my spiritualthis life, that "the blood of Jesus Christ forThee,and eve limb.and every joint. foes, when I had long been seeking inhisSon cleanseth us fromall sin." 1 John stretches for perf ct purity. But if the vain to escape them by soaring above.1:7.Yet,as I prayed more and more for Lord be pleased to come softly to thy I felt then in my spirita most sweet andthe teachings of God's Spirit. and help; if He make an end of thy corrup- heavenly sinkinginto the arms of my Re-searched after the truth. Ifound that. "if tions by helping thee gently to sink to deemer. such as Ihad not before expe-we confess our sins,he isfaithfuland just unknown depths of meekness; if He rienced, and itwas followed by a calm,to forgive us our sins,and to cleanse us drown the indwellingman of sinby bap- unruffled. blissfulpeace in Christ-suchfromall unrighteousness." 1John 1:9.He tizing,by plunging him into an abyss of as I need not attempt to describe toisas faithfulto cleanse as He isto forgive. humility;do not find fault with the sim- those who have tasted it, and such as II found also that Christ was "raised up plicity of Hismethod. the plainness of cannot describe to the comprehensionan horn of salvation. . . to perform the Hisappearing and the commonness of of those whose hearts have never feltmercy promised to our fathers. and to Hisprescription. Nature, like Naaman, is it. Itwas attended with such a fullandremember his holy covenant; the oath fullof prejudices. She expects that Christ delightful submission in all things to the

which he sware to our father Abraham.that he would grant unto us, that webeing delivered out of the hand of ourenemies might serve him without fear.in holinessand righteousness before him,all the days of our life."Luke1:69,72-75.When Iinquired.why are not these prom-ises-so rich and full-made good toGod's people. I saw that as they wereyea and amen only in Christ,they wereto be fulfilledlikethe promises pledgingthe pardon of sin to those, and onlythose. who believe in Christ for their ful-fillment.Thisled me to see that if Iwouldbe cleansed fromall unrighteousness. aswell as have my sinsforgiven, Imust be-lieve for that cleansing in Himof whomit issaid. "ifwe confess oursins.he isfaith-fuland just to forgive us our sins,and tocleanse us fromallunrighteousness." OnHim. therefore, I now endeavoredoftentimes to cast myselfby trustingsim-ply in His faithfulness that He would

will come to make her clean. with asmuch ado and pomp and bustle, as theSyrian general looked for.when he waswroth, and said, 'Behold, I thought. Hewillsurely come out to me. and stand,and call on the name of the LORDhisGod,and strikehis hand over the place. andrecover the leper.' 2 Kings5:11. Christfrequently goes a much plainer way towork, and by this means disconcerts allour preconceived notions and schemesof deliverance. Learnof me to be meekand lowly in heart. and thou shalt findrest to thy soul (see Matthew 11:29).thesweet rest of Christian. perfection. ofperfect humility.resignation and meek-ness. If thou wilt absolutely come tomount Zion in a triumphal chariot. ormake thine entrance into the NewJerusalem upon a prancing horse, thouart likely never to come there. Leavethen all thy worldly misconceptions be-hind, and humbly follow thy King,who

Future for America March 1999 13

will of God; such a joy of heart in thethought of being for life,and for death,and forever, altogether at God's dis-posal; such a gladness ingiving up earthin all its possessions and pleasures forChrist's sake; such an overflow ofhumble, penitential, grateful love to myRedeemer; such a satisfaction in thethought of having Himas onlyever-lasting portion; such praise to Hisnamethat I might possess Himas th portionof my soul forever; such fullhea d andunshrinkingconfidence in all His rom-ises,and such a readiness to do an suf-fer all things, even to the laying dow oflife for Hisname's sake, that I felt co -strained to say, this is purity of heart.knew that nothing but the Holy Spiritcould ever fillsuch a heart as mine hadbeen with such feelings as these, and Itherefore believed it to be the work of

of the heavens, He seemed to fillthewhole firmament, and to shed Hismild,sweet, heavenly, life-giving, joy-inspir-ing radiance upon me fromevery point.Above and around me allwas lightandgladness, and praise to the name of myRedeemer seemed the language ofevery breath. I cannot but feel that inthat state of mind sin had no dominionover me. I feel that God at that timegave me the victory through our LordJesus Christ.

However, I had yet one lesson tolearn, and there was probably but oneway by which Icould learn it-by drink-ing, like Peter, of the cup of sorrow,thatImight inthe future beware. Ihad beenaccustomed to say that if persons be-

~eved that they had reason to regard

t emselves as fullysanctified, there wasn necessity for making it known, and

-me burdenof my petitio '(1Sthat Imight beI made as much like Christ s it was possible

for a soul to become while in th ody, and Ifilt

that I couldbe satisfiedwith no ing short ofthis.

the HolySpirit,cleansing my heart fromthe defilement of sin. I know that somepersons are ready to say, Allthismay bethe delusion of Satan leading you tothink of yourself more highly than youought to think. Yet, I do not think thatthe devil ever attempted to fill theheart of any man with the love of God.Christsaid to Hisdisciples, "Iwillpray theFather, and he shall give you anotherComforter, that he may abide with youfor ever; even the Spiritof truth; whomthe world cannot receive, because itseeth him not, neither knoweth him: butye know him: for he dwelleth with you,and shall be in you." John 14:16-17.Thetrue disciple, therefore, will know theComforter.Iknowthat the feelings Ihavenow described were a blessed reality;that there was nothing left in my willoraffections in opposition to them, and Ido therefore believe that the Saviorgave me to know at that moment some-thing of the blessedness of being re-deemed from all iniquity, and purifiedunto Himself.Forsome length of time Icontinued inthat blessed state of mind.The glory of my Redeemer shone uponmy soulwithout a cloud. He had beforeseemed to shine upon me with a bright-ness like the noonday sun, but now, In-stead of shining from a particular part

14 March 1999 Future for America

the enemy of my s I doubtless knewenough of me to com ence hisattackwhere Iwas most likelyt be overcome.Iwas therefore led to sa within myself,Thisneed not be mentio d; it nevershallbe said of me that Igo a out boast-ing of my own goodness. Tob . st of myown goodness Icertainly felt no isposi-tion, for Iclearly saw that all whi hadbeen wrought within me was the orkof the HolySpirit,and that of my 0 Ihad nothing of which to boast. .

However, Icame to the conclusionnot to say, even to my dearest friends,that I had ever thought myself to becleansed from sin even for a moment. Iwould enjoy it alone with God and letmy life bear witness. The consequencewas that when brought where Ifearedanother might suspect me of thinkingofmyself, Iwas led for the purpose of giv-ing him a better opinion of my humilityto say that I entertained no such opin-ion.

HereinIfellinto sin.Bydenying whatIhad believed to have been wrought inme by the Spiritof God, Iwas now madeto feel what I had lost. I had been toldthat Icould not remain in the delightfulstate in which I had found myselfwith-out confessing to the honor 'of Christwhat Ibelieved He had done forme by

HisSpirit,but I believed it not. I accord-inglymade the attempt and fellinto the.snare of the wicked one. I now foundthe same sins besetting me as before,bringing me intobondage, and mystate[became] precisely what it was previ-ous to what I believed the Lord hadshown me of the blessedness of a pureheart. I know that by denying thatblessed work which the Lorddid in me,and by denying it that I might have areputation for humility with man, Ibrought leanness and darkness into myown soul.

In this state, however, I was led todesire most earnestly, and to pray mostfervently that I might be made likeChrist.Theburden of mypetitionwas thatImight be made as much likeChristas itwas possible for a soul to become whilein the body, and I felt that I could besatisfied with nothing short of this. Afterpraying thus fora time, Isaw most clearlythat there was nothing which God wasmore willingto do than to make me thuslike Christ,and I felt a sweetness of as-surance in Himthat it should be grantedme. Now it was that the Lord showedme what must be the consequence ofbeing like Christ, and that I could notpossiblyhave the likeness of Christwith-out meeting these consequences. Isawthat if Iwould livegodly in ChristJesus, Imust sufferpersecution, and that Icouldnot be like Christ without being willingto share in Hisreproach. The HolySpiritnow showed me the sinwhich Ihad com-mitted in denying what God had donefor my soul, and I now saw that while"with the heart man believeth unto righ-teousness; and with the mouth confes-sion is made unto salvation" (Romans10:10). frombeing again led into sin.ThisIhad not done. Withmy heart Ihad be-lieved unto righteousness, but insteadof making confession with my mouth of

e grace which God had shown me,a thereby being saved fromthe sinofden "ng it, I had refused to make theconfe ion, and by so doing fell againinto the ands of my spiritualfoes. Inowsaw that 0 continue in the enjoymentof that bles "ng,Imust confess the wholeand take t consequences. These Iknew would t be small. I knew thatalmost every friend Ihad on earth wouldregard me as almost utterly fallen themoment I should make such a confes-sion, and that my brethren in the minis-try, whose confidence I had valuedabove allearthly goods, would withdrawtheir confidence at once, and in allprobability cast me out from amongthem.-Sin ShollNot Hove DominionOverYou,35-42.

A close friend of mine was con-ducting a Y2kseminar inmid-Novem-ber with about 300 people in atten-dance. At the end of the session, alady introduced herself as a bankofficial at the largest bank in herstate. Myfriend asked her ifher bankwas ready forthe Year2000computercrisis.

Her reply was very interesting. Firstof all, she said that every bank em-ployee had been instructed to an-swer all public inquiries by saying "Yes,our bank is Y2K Compliant." Anyemployee who answered otherwisewould be fired. Then she informedhim candidly that their bank had al-ready conducted two Y2k tests ontheir computer systems. BOTH TESTSfailed completely-shut down! So inspite of the public assurances thatthis huge bank is ready for Y2k,theyare plainly LYINGto the public.

Secondly, she offered additionalinformation. She said, "We have alsobeen informed that in April, 1999, WEWILL NO LONGER ISSUE CASH!"

What?? Friend,can you tell mewhy the largest bank inthat state hasinformed it's officers that it will notissue cash in April? I suspect thatsomething big is about to happen,and it's going to happen a wholelot sooner than we think.

Ijustreceived a short email fromone of my readers with a one-linemessage; "My daughter works for- (one of the largest banks on theEast Coast), and they have advisedthem to set aside enough cash for3-6 months. They say the bank couldbe closed for days at a time."

Recently, Iwent to a bank (notmy own) to cash a check that wasdrawn on that bank. I properly en-dorsed the check (itwas written tome), and presented my driver's li-cense with photo ID. The tellerhanded me an INKPAD,and askedme to put my THUMBPRINTon theback of the check. Irefused to givemy thumb print to cash the check. Iinsistedthat she cash the check with-

Y2K AlertllBy KenRaggio

[editedfor length]

out my thumb print. She said shecould not. I asked to speak to hermanager. . . . I told him that I con-sidered the thumb printrequirementto be an invasion of my privacy. Hetold me that itwas bank policy, andhe could not cash the check with-out my thumb print.

I asked to speak to the BranchManager. . . .1told him that I hadgiven the teller adequate endorse-ment and identification, and I ex-pected them to cash the check wit/:1-out my thumb print.

He instantly grew belligerentand informed me that if I didn'twant to give my thumb print that Icould just go to another bank. Itoldhim that I didn't believe that it wasnecessary to have my thumb printto identify me. He explained that itwas company policy. I asked himwhat they were going to do with mythumb print. He said that they weregoing to put it on computer file.

I said that I didn't WANTmythumb print in their computer files.Hesuggested Itake mycheck some-where else. I left immediately.

Mypoint in tellingyou thisisthatwe are getting closer and closer toa banking system that increasinglyinvades the privacy and rightsof itscustomers.

Thisweek's headlines includedthe story of the FDICpushing Con-gress to pass new laws requiringbanks to report the banking activi-ties of all their customers. The publicisoutraged, but in the end, the FDICwill probably get what they want.Every time we make a transactionthat is a little different than our es-tablished "pattern," our bank willbereporting us to "BigBrother."It is aneconomic Gestapo. Economic sanc-tions isone of the New WorldOrder'smore ingenious control tactics.

Ultimately you will be so out-raged, you willwish you could getout of the system. Unfortunately,youwillnot be able to do business out-side the system.

The Gartner Group, a interna-tional consulting firm that has beenon the cutting edge of Y2Kresearch,recently found that no less than 50%of all businesses world-wide will ex-perience mission-critical computerfailures in the Year 2000. Can youimagine the impact on society ifHALF of all the world's businessescollapse in the firsthalf of 2000?

Friends, it's time to FAST,PRAY,and BELIEVEGODforcriticaldirectionfor our lives in the weeks and monthsahead.

Y2K WEATHERMAN COMMENTS

Future for America March1999 15

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