Herbert W Armstrong

This past Sabbath, Mr. Mark McCulley gave a sermonette in the Auditorium PM congregation on the subject of festival sign-up and preparation. He discussed an interesting and vital point I want to mention to all the ministry. Mr. McCulley pointed out that preparation for the Feast of Tabernacles is a lesson in following the government of God.

Festival preparation requires following directions. It requires paying attention to details of instruction, and following through on those instructions. We know the Feast of Tabernacles is a foreshadow picturing the wonderful World Tomorrow, to be ruled by the government of God as administered by the Kingdom of God. Our preparation for observing the Feast each year is an opportunity to experience and grow in the cooperation and unity that result from following the government of God.

Each year at festival sites around the world, God's people set a shining example of cooperation, peace and carefully coordinated organization — made possible by God's Holy Spirit working in us, inspiring us to be responsive to His government. People in the local communities often have a hard time understanding how it is possible for several thousand people to come together in one place and have so few problems. That is because they simply have no comprehension yet of the real solution to all the world's problems, which will be the restoration of God's government to all the earth when Christ returns.

Each of us is a bond servant of God, bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ. At baptism, we made an unconditional surrender to God and His authority in our lives. If we are faithful to that commitment, we grow year by year in the unity, cooperation and peace that come as a direct result of yielding ourselves to the government of God in every aspect of our lives.

This yieldedness should be reflected in our preparation for the Feast of Tabernacles. Each of us must faithfully do his part, including administrators, festival coordinators, pastors, associates, assistants, elders, deacons, festival advisors and lay members. We all must know the instructions and follow them. Of course, it is not natural for humans to follow instructions. But with God's Spirit, we not only learn how to follow instructions, we also learn why we are to follow them. As we make a habit of it, we come to deeply appreciate and even love the results — the end product — of the way of God, of cooperation, of submission to His government. God's way produces peace. It produces unity. It produces all the positive results the world sees exhibited by God's people at the Feast of Tabernacles.

Our careful and yielded preparation for the Feast of Tabernacles is an important part of the spiritual momentum and growth necessary to prepare us to fulfill our calling as a part of the soon-coming government headed by our Master, Savior and elder brother, Jesus Christ. So let's all keep in mind the need to be diligent in following all instructions regarding the upcoming Feast. And be sure to help God's people understand the need to do so also.

As each of us does his part in following instructions, yielding ourselves to the government of God in His Church, the Feast becomes more of the true foretaste of the World Tomorrow that God intends.

On another subject, the decisions regarding transfers of U.S. ministers have now been made. I had an opportunity to discuss these transfers with Mr. Armstrong last Friday, April 26. Each of the men involved was then contacted on Monday, and preparations for the moves are now under way. Most moves will take place in early summer, just after most schools begin their summer vacations, while a few others will take place later in the summer. I really appreciate the fine attitudes of all the men being transferred, and the enthusiasm with which they are looking forward to their new assignments. We will publish the list of transfers in next week's PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT.

Recent Ordinations

On the first day of Unleavened Bread, April 6, Mr. Earl St. Denis, of the Wetaskiwin, Alberta, church, was ordained a local church elder by church pastor Mr. Will Wooster. And on the last day of Unleavened Bread, April 12, Mr. Charles Lowe was ordained a local church elder in Bridgetown, Barbados. Hands were laid on him by evangelist Mr. Leroy Neff, regional director Mr. Stan Bass and church pastor Mr. Arnold Hampton.