Dear Saints
Happy New Year
It is hard to believe, but we
have entered into a brand New Year.
Though we may be uncertain of what the New Year holds for us, one thing
we can know for sure, and that is “We are one year closer to the Coming of the
Lord! We don’t have to rely on man’s
wisdom or man’s prophecies (e.g. the Mayan Calendar) to know that our Lord will
come one day as a “thief in the night.”
Therefore, we are instructed to watch and always be ready, “for in such
an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh.” (Matthew 24:44). What will the New Year hold
for you? Possibly you have some
uncertainty about your job, where you will live, or what your financial picture
will look like. It is true, none of us
know what tomorrow will bring. What I do
know for sure is that my hope and my future is in Him. Our Lord has promised us that HE would never
leave us or forsake us. We can totally
rely on Him for everything. If you have
some doubts or apprehensions about what the New Year holds for you, I would
encourage you to remember Jesus’ promise to us in John, chapter 14, “Let not
your heart be troubled: ye believe in
God, believe also in Me.” Yes, He
specializes in caring for hurting and troubled hearts. So, why not begin today by believing and
trusting in Him fully as we enter into the New Year?!
Teen Retreat
January 18-20 are our dates
for Teen Retreat. This year will be our
very first Retreat in our New Campground, Camp Roganunda! Please encourage all youth to attend. I am a firm believer that Camps and Retreats
change lives. For more information about
Teen Retreat, contact Bob and Donella Gaines at 509-658-1013 or e-mail them at
camproganunda@gmail.com.
Adult Retreat
Our Adult Retreat Theme is:
“Anointed For Service.” We are expecting
an awesome time (February 1-3, 2013) in the Lord! Western Canada National Overseer, Bishop
Walter Doroshuk and his lovely wife, Sister Claudia will be our special guest
speakers at this year’s Retreat! They are both so excited to be with us and we are excited to have our
neighbors to the North of us with us.
Applications have been sent out individually and will soon be sent to
the pastors. You can also download an
application by going to the State Website at: wacogop.org
Applications should have been
sent in no later than November 30th, 2012. This is going
to be a Great Retreat!!! Please don’t
miss it!!! Pass the word on to
others. We look forward to seeing you
there!!!
Prayer and Fasting
The New Year begins our 21
Days of Prayer and Fasting in the Church of God of Prophecy. Bishop Randy Howard states that this is year
number 7 where our churches from all over the world will take part in joining
together in starting the New Year with prayer and fasting. Please pass the word on to your family and
friends in the faith that they will join us in this special time of
Seeking. We must have Him in all that we
do to build the Kingdom of God.
Stewardship Month
January in the Church of God
of Prophecy is “Stewardship Month.” The
Lord desires for all of us to be good stewards.
He wants us to be faithful with our tithes and offerings, and He wants
us to be good stewards of all that He has given us. Though our economy may be down, this is the
time to be faithful and prove Him that “He will not open the windows of heaven
and pour you out a blessing.” Faithful stewardship is how we trust the Lord for
His Divine Providence and care over our families and our churches.
Lay Ministers
All lay ministers are asked
to send in their lay minister’s certificates to my office, 7319 199th
St. Ct. E., Spanaway, WA 98387 by the first of the year, so they can be issued
a new one for 2013. Their current
certificate is only valid for 2012.
Events Calendar for 2013
January Stewardship Month and 21 Days of Prayer/Fasting
January 18-20 Winter Teen Retreat - White Pass (Shelly Symonds, Director)
January 18-20 Winter Teen Retreat - White Pass (Shelly Symonds, Director)
January 24-27 Gordon-Conwell
Theological Seminary - Salem, OR
(History of the Church of God of
Prophecy - Dr. Ortiz)
February 1-3 Adult Retreat - Pacific Beach (Don & Mary Knoblich, Directors)
February 15 District Convention - Tacoma (Rick Bear, District Overseer)
February 16 District Convention - Brush Prairie (Franklin Smith, District Overseer)
February 1-3 Adult Retreat - Pacific Beach (Don & Mary Knoblich, Directors)
February 15 District Convention - Tacoma (Rick Bear, District Overseer)
February 16 District Convention - Brush Prairie (Franklin Smith, District Overseer)
March 16 District Convention - Tri-Cities (Leonard Lord, District Overseer)
March 23 District Convention -
Kirkland (Roger Jones, District Overseer)
August 23-25 Washington
State Convention - Kennewick (Red Lion Hotel)
“Designed For God’s
Greatness”
Bishop/Dr. Don Knoblich
In last month’s Lamplighter,
I presented the Introductory section for my annual address, “Designed For God’s
Greatness.” For this section, I will
begin with the various ways in which He has Designed Us For His Greatness,
namely, we were “Designed To Work In The Harvest.”
I. God Designed us to Work in His Harvest
A. Believe it or not, God Designed us to be
Laborers in His Great Harvest Field.
Yes, we are to Pray for Laborers in the Harvest. But, part of that Prayer, may be, “Lord, I
know the Laborers are few, so SEND ME!”
It is interesting to me
that one of the very last things that the Lord said before ascending into
Heaven is: “Go ye therefore and teach
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe
all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I with you always, even
unto the end of the world.”
Notice the strong emphasis
that Jesus places on the word, “Go.”
This word “Go” does not mean just “Go” as in “Go,” it literally means
“GO AND CONTINUE TO GO ON YOUR JOURNEY!”
In other words, “Go” is
not a one-time event. Jesus intended for
us to “Go” into the Harvest Field CONTINUALLY!!! (We don’t say, “Oh, I went last year, so I
have done my duty!”) Also notice, that if we
follow the “GO” of Jesus, we will receive the “LO” of Jesus. That is, if you “GO” you can expect the “LO!” “GO, and LO I am with you always, even unto
the end of the world.” Do you want to
experience the presence of God? Then do
the “GO” and the “LO” will come! However,
if there is “NO GO ----THERE IS NO LO!!!”
B. Let’s
look at some Bible Examples of “Going.”
1. The Samaritan Woman: John’s Gospel tells us that after Jesus had
the discourse with the Woman at the Well, that immediately she left her
waterpot. (Her Waterpot was not of
importance to her NOW! And remember
Water is really important, however that day she found the true living
water.) She went her way into the city
and said to the men, “Come see a Man, which
told me all things that ever I did: is
this not the Christ?! Then they went out
of the city, and came to Him. And many
of the Samaritans of that city believed on Him for the saying of the woman ,
which testified, He told me all things that I ever did.” - And I don’t believe the
Woman at the Well was silent from that day forward! SHE is an EXAMPLE of what it means TO GO!!!
And to CONITNUE TO GO!!!
2. The demoniac of Gadara:
You remember the story of
demoniac of Gadara. He had the legion of
devils that Jesus cast out into the swine.
After his remarkable healing, this man wanted to follow Jesus. But Listen to what Jesus told him:
Mar 5:19 Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith
unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath
done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.
Mar 5:20 And he departed, and began to publish in
Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.
Look what this man
did. Immediately, he followed the “GO”
Commandment of the Lord. He went to his
friends and told them what Great Things the Lord had done for him. Here, “Publish” means “To
Proclaim” or “To Herald”, “To Preach.”
Sometimes we want to GO where we want to go instead of GOING WHERE JESUS
WANTS US TO GO!!!
C. I believe God is giving us some Open Doors,
AND WE MUST GO THROUGH THEM.
1. Paul said, “I will tarry in Ephesus until
Pentecost. For a great and effective
door has opened to me.” (I Cor. 16:8-9). “Effective” = Powerful and Operative.
2. Paul involved others by asking for them to
pray for open doors so he could minister the Gospel of Christ. “Praying also for us, that God would open
unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ….” (Col. 4:3).
Will you join me in
praying for more souls?! Will you join
me in praying for more Open Doors?
Pray for More souls in our
Churches and for more Churches being established. Over the last three years, we have
established four churches. But there are
many more that we want to Organize with the Church of God of Prophecy. Others are out there that want to join with
this marvelous Body. We have new Spanish
Mission Works in Anchorage, Alaska and in Rainier Valley, Seattle. We have just started a new
Spanish Mission in Bremerton with Pastor Julio Ruiz and his wife, Sister Maura. We are starting new works in Spanish in
Sumner and Tumwater with Pastor Ruben Aguilar and in Spokane with Pastor Alvero
Gomez. We have the possibility of
reaching an Indian Church in Seattle, and a Korean Church in Tacoma.
D. Reaching Your Community
1. What are you doing to Reach your Community? I asked this Question last year. If your Church was to close its doors, would
the Community it is in even know it was closed?
If we are not reaching our
Communities, WHY NOT?!
Once a month Pastor Rob
and Rivers Fellowship have a unique Community Outreach. They call it “Worship ain Workclothes.” On One Sunday out of the Month, they go into
their Community and lend assistance. If
a lawn needs mowing, garbage needs taken out, yes even if toilets are needing
repair, they are there to help. If
people need prayer, they are there to pray. One Sunday they passed out batteries for smoke
detectors (The Church does not make a quid pro quo agreement with those they
help. They do not say, “Well, we have
mowed your lawn, we expect to see you in Church next Sunday!) No, they just demonstrate love and care, and
let God deal with the rest! Amazing,
huh?
2. Don’t strive to be the Best Church “In the
Community.” Rather, strive to be the
Best Church “For the Community!” (There
is actually a book on this very thing.)
SO, ARE YOU JUST SITTING,
WARMING A PEW, OR ARE YOU GOING AND REACHING SOULS FOR JESUS?!
