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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, JUNE 7, 1985
Overall, our financial condition is good, and in 1984 we were able to in
crease our reserves slightly. At the same time, many areas of the Work
increased considerably, as reported in THE WORLDWIDE NE WS during the year
of 1984.
--Leroy Neff, Treasurer
FROM MINISTERIAL SERVICES
Audio tape cassettes of Mr. Herbert Armstrong's Pentecost sermon have been
mailed out to be played in all churches. As mentioned in last week's PASTOR
GENERAL'S REPORT, Mr. Armstrong powerfully details the "what and why" of
God's Church--the reason and purpose God has established His Church and
called each of us to be a part of it.
we are Christ's disciples--"learners." We are being trained to help teach
and rule the people of the new civilization Christ will build when He sets
up the Kingdom of God on earth. This, along with supporting God's Apostle
in proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to the world, is the whole
purpose of the Church--the Firstfruits of God's Family.
One valuable tool in helping to prepare for this responsibility that I feel
many have been overlooking is the Ambassador College Bible Correspondence
Course.
All the foundational truths of the Bible are expounded in the
course. It is a carefully planned, structured course in the study of God's
Word that every member can benefit from.
Many of the �embers may have assumed the correspondence course is too basic
for them--that they already understand all of God's truth. Some have gone
through the old 58-lesson course or the shorter (but not weakened or
watered down in any way) 12-lesson version, and therefore think that they
do not need to enroll in the current updated and expanded course. But there
never comes a time when we "know it all." If we are not continually study
ing, refreshing our minds, and reviewing the precious truths God has opened
our minds to understand through His Spirit, they will fade and eventually
we will lose them!
�� �� �
We all need to remember Peter's statement in II Peter 1:12-13: "I will not
be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know them, and
are established in the present truth. Yes, I think it rs---right...to stir
you up by reminding you" (RAV throughout). We need to
be
continually re
minded of the basics. We must never stop learning!
We must never stop
studying! We must never stop reviewing! Notice Paul's instruction in He
brews 2:1: "Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we
have heard, lest we drift away." God's people must take this warning seri
ously!
Jesus Christ told His disciples, "Elijah truly is coming first and will
restore all things" (Matt. 17:11). The many truths of God's plan and su
preme purpose for His Church and eventually all mankind have been restored
in God's Church through His end-time Apostle. Yet, as Paul wa"rris, we can,
through neglect, let these things slip away from us!
Mr. Armstrong has
brought into sharp focus these "mysteries," now restored to God's Church,
in his book MYST ERY OF THE AGES.
As he has mentioned in the Refreshing
Program, this is a book that should be reread as soon as we finish it the
first time, in order to really soak up what God is teaching us. Learning is
indeed a lifelong process. We must continue to study and review God's Word
all our
11
ves.