As I expressed in the August member and co-worker letter, I have never been more thrilled about the state of the church! Our Lord and Savior has opened the doors of heaven to us, blessing us with untold spiritual blessings and bringing us closer to him as he prepares us for fruitful work in his gospel in ways we had never imagined.
The theme for the Feast of Tabernacles this year is a festival of faith--celebrating salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Nothing is more important, more timely, more relevant, more exciting or more motivating than that simple, yet profound truth. What God has so graciously given to us, he also stirs our hearts to share with others.
John wrote: "On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, 'If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.' By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive" (John 7:37-39).
This is the New Testament "theme" for the Feast of Tabernacles. All who have spiritual need can come to Jesus Christ. All who have faith in him will, through the Holy Spirit, become sources of spiritual refreshment for others. The Holy Spirit will not only take care of the believers spiritual thirst, the Spirit will also produce results in their lives like rivers of living waters pouring out to benefit others.
Jesus spoke these words at the climax of the Feast of Tabernacles. His theme was spiritual need, faith and spiritual filling. It was a message about salvation.
Traditionally, we looked at the Feast as symbolizing something in the future. But important aspects of the future are already realities in the life of Christians. Let me give three examples:
1) Although the fullness of the kingdom is yet future, the kingdom exists even now for all who submit to the reign of the King. We have been brought into the kingdom (Colossians 1:13).
2) Although immortality is a future gift, we have already been given eternal life (John 3:36; 5:24).
3) Although we will be saved when Christ returns, we have already been saved now (Romans 8:24; Ephesians 2:8; 2 Timothy 2:9) and we are being saved (1 Corinthians 1:18; 2 Corinthians 2:15).
Jesus brought good news about the kingdom of God. He did not merely announce a future age of blessings--the Jews were already aware of the Old Testament prophecies. What Jesus announced was that people could enter that kingdom even in this age. They could begin to experience some of those supernatural blessings even now.
The best news about the kingdom is that it is at hand. It is accessible, available. If we have spiritual thirst, we can come to Jesus Christ and drink. If we believe, not only will we receive living waters, we will be given so much that the waters will flow out from us. This was Jesus' message at the Feast of Tabernacles.
If we want to picture the kingdom of God, we need to start right now. We need to drink deeply of the living waters. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to fill us so that all our actions and words are results of the new life in us.
Our festival celebrations should be models of Spirit-led Christianity--in attitudes of joy and thankfulness, of helpfulness and faith, of optimism and concern for others. The streams of living waters should be flowing from our hearts, replenished always by an ever-growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
I m definitely looking forward to our best Feast ever a celebration in which we remember our spiritual need, in which we humbly acknowledge the abundant way in which our need is filled through faith in Christ and in which we let the Holy Spirit work in our hearts to produce streams of living waters. Let us rejoice and be glad, giving glory to our Lord and Savior!
Dear friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, I must also let you know that recent medical tests have shown that my cancer is worse than we had previously known. A bone scan done with a radioactive isotope revealed some 50 spots on my bones. This is a different kind of cancer from the colon cancer and requires a different kind of treatment.
I am receiving chemotherapy for the colon cancer, but these spots on the bones will require radiation, and I will need to make a decision about the radiation in the next few days. This treatment can greatly reduce my pain, but it would also make me very weak. There is also the possibility that the radiation treatment can stop the cancer.
On the positive side, I have responded well to the chemotherapy for the colon cancer. The doctors tell me that my blood is in very good condition and that my liver is still cancer-free. But I want you to know the facts about my overall condition, and the news about the bones is indeed a setback.
Of course, we know that with God all things are possible. I belong to him, and if it is his will to heal me now, I praise his name. On the other hand, if it is his will to wait until the resurrection, I praise him for that, too. God has given me a rich and exciting life in his service, and whatever happens, I am at peace, knowing I am safe and secure in his hands.
God has blessed me to see the beginning of the golden age of the Worldwide Church of God. He has given me the overwhelming joy to witness his Holy Spirit at work in a miraculous way to lead us out of entrenched doctrinal errors into the pure light of his glorious gospel!
At this time, I also believe it is prudent for the stability and continuity of the church that I officially appoint my son, Joseph Tkach Jr., as deputy pastor general, to become pastor general upon my death or inability to continue in my duties. I know that God would have me make appropriate provision for the future in this way. I ask you to give him the same prayerful support and encouragement you have always given me.
Thank you, brethren, for your dedication in times of great stress in the church. I know that Jesus Christ lives and works within you. He is the anchor for our souls, the Rock of our salvation, the source of stability we need.
Psalm 46 reassures us: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging....
"There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress" (verses 1-7).
Again, thank you for your prayers for me, for our office employees and for your brethren around the world.
P.S. I held a meeting on Sept. 5 with Gregory Albrecht, Dean Blackwell, Michael Feazell, Ralph Helge, Herman Hoeh, Ronald Kelly, Joseph Locke, Richard Rice, Bernard Schnippert, K.J. Stavrinides, Joseph W. Tkach Jr. and Richard van Pelt and read the above letter to them.
I then laid hands on Joseph W. Tkach Jr. and asked God to set him apart for the office of deputy pastor general of the Worldwide Church of God and bless him in that office and the office of pastor general after my death.
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