Stephen E. Smith, former General Overseer at the 107th Annual Address, 2012
Some said they would never leave her. They embraced her doctrine and rejoiced in the theocratic government. They felt that special safety that exists only in the fold, and labored with us to win souls and teach them the important Bible truths. They enjoyed sweet fellowship with us in our General Assemblies. They sang the songs of Zion and testified that they were glad to be saved, sanctified, baptized with the Holy Ghost and a member of the great Church of God. But today they are gone. Some are honest and admit they are simply backslid. Some say the Church failed them and this justifies their departure. Some felt the sting of persecution or tribulation because of the Word of God, and as Jesus forecast, they became offended. Amazingly, many of these say they have found a better way, and that they are actually more spiritual than when they were with The Church of God.
My belief is that the Holy Ghost has never led any of His sheep out of The Church of God. To do so would put the Holy Ghost at war with Jesus Christ who said that the sheep outside the fold must be brought into the fold. If Jesus is bringing them in and the Holy Ghost is leading them out, then there is a problem with the Godhead. God leads people into, not out of, His Church. And how can one be more spiritual outside the Church when the Bible says the manifold wisdom of God has been made known inside the Church? God’s Church is established in the top of the mountains, exalted above the hills. You can’t get any higher than Zion. To leave the top of the mountain is to head downward.
We have seen some leave the Church and become so spiritual that they put on finger rings, earrings and other jewelry. Some have put on lipstick and painted their eyelids. Others have become so spiritual they can now dress immodestly, frequent the movie theaters, drink a “little wine’” and even smoke tobacco, all the while proclaiming their greater spirituality. It seems strange that those who supposedly become more spiritual upon leaving the Church would also become more worldly and ungodly. The truth is that they have allowed the enemy of their soul to deceive them. One may have let lust for worldly things lead him astray, while another’s vision became blurred due to lack of prayer and study of the Word, and yet another allowed some offence to separate him from the fellowship of the saints. Whatever the reason may have been, their departure is not of God, and it endangers their eternal soul. The Holy Ghost leads people out of the world and into holiness, never out of holiness and into the world. Our prayer and desire is for all who have once been in the Church to realize it is the enemy of their soul who led them out. We want them to know that The Church of God still loves them and desires to have them back in the fold. Climb back up the mountain. Get your perspective again. See things from God’s view. And rejoice in the house of the Lord again…
Saints, I want to admonish you to examine your revelation of The Church of God. Don’t fool yourself into believing you can get along without it, or into thinking you have it when all you really have is a head-knowledge and the message has never truly made its way into your heart. This revelation must be of divine origin, it must come from God, it must be settled by the Word of God, and it must be confirmed by the Holy Ghost in our hearts.
Have you seen the prophecies of old which pointed her out? Psalm 72:16, “There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.” Isaiah 2:2 says, “And it shall come to pass in last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.” Do you see the spirit of prophecy leading Jesus, not to the plains, not into the city, but up the mountain to organize His Church because the Scriptures need be fulfilled? Mark 3:13, 14 says, “And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach.”
Have you seen the prophecy of her temporary apostasy? Isaiah 54:7 says, “For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.” Micah 3:12 says, “Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.” Acts 20:29, 30 says, “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” 2 Thessalonians 2:3 says, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.”
Have you seen the “Arise, Shine” of the Church and where and when it was to occur? It would not arise in Israel, for the prophet said, “For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away” (Isa. 49:19). Have you seen it with your heart? Have you seen that Arise, Shine in your heart? God knew that Israel would become too narrow and that He would not be able to bring His Church back out of apostasy there but in the land of traffic—America. The Psalmist saw it and declared: Psalm 132:6, “Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah: we found it in the fields of the wood.” It was a prophecy of bringing the Word of God back up, to bring it to this present day to The Church of God. It was found right there in Fields of the Wood. It was to come up with the airplane: Isaiah 60:8, “Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?” Ecclesiastes 10:20, ‘“…for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.” During the same time period that the Church came forth and the airplane was invented, Henry Ford began to mass produce the automobile. Nahum 2:4, “The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall justle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings.” If that’s not a description of an automobile, I don’t know what it is…
Have you a revelation that there is only one body? Song of Solomon 6:8, 9 says, “There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number. My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her…” Ephesians 4:4, “There is one body…” Ephesians 2:22, “In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” There is one city of truth, one holy nation, one temple of God, one bride, one fold, one holy mountain, one pillar and ground of the truth—has all this made its way past your ears and sunk down into your heart? When God gives it to you, you know it! If you find it that way, you’ll love it, you won’t leave it. If you find it that way, you’ll stay with it through thick or thin.
Have you seen the gathering of God’s children into the one body of Christ? Isaiah 49:18 says, “Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.” Isaiah 60:5 says, “…the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.” Isaiah 51:11 says, “Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.” …In speaking of Himself…Jesus said the Good Shepherd “putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice” (John 10:4). John 10:5 says, “And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.” John 10:16, “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” The Good Shepherd knows His sheep and calls them by name. And they hear His voice and they follow Him, and will not follow the voice of a stranger. His voice will lead them to His fold! He sees the urgency and says He MUST bring them to the fold. He knows the danger of His sheep being out of the Church. In Mt. Zion, this is the place of safety. This is the place of refuge. Somehow we must bring them in. Let the “light of the world” (Matt. 5:14) shine. There is a level of glory like nowhere else.
Have you seen the banner of truth that helps identify God’s Holy Nation? Psalm 60:4 says, “Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.” Song of Solomon 6:10 asks, “Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?” The gates of hell are trembling today. Satan knows his time is short and he battles The Church of God, but to no avail. His kingdom is coming down and the flag we understand, means the Church in every land, may we praise the Christ it honors as we sing!
Have you seen the two parts fall away and the one part continuing that will come through the fire and be refined as silver and gold as told in Zechariah? Zechariah 13:8, 9 says, “And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.” On July 24, 1923, and again on July 24, 1993, exactly 70 years to the day, God led the faithful remnant to come forth from those parts that were abandoning the revelation of the Church and its beautiful doctrine and theocracy. This remnant is to go through the fire, not for destruction, but to be refined. Fire does not destroy gold. Rather, it separates earthly, inferior minerals from the gold so the gold can be brought forth in its purity. Whatever trials lay ahead for the Church will never destroy it, for it belongs to Christ Himself and He will use the trials and tribulations to purify it from all sin, carnality and earthlymindedness and present it to Himself a glorious Church without spot or wrinkle.
Have you see the perfection of the Church? Colossians 1:28 says, “Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 5:25-27 says, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 4:11-13 says, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”
Have you seen the rapture of the Church? Revelation 19:7-9, “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.” When you get a divine revelation from Him it brings you into unity with the bride. We can walk as one man. We can work as one man. We can make our way to the coming of the Lord.
No wonder A. J. Tomlinson saw nothing but victory on top of victory for The Church of God! He had a revelation that looked past present difficulties, that saw beyond Satan’s attempts to destroy, that carried him beyond our human weaknesses. He had a revelation of the multitudes that will flow into the Church. He had a vision of the bride in her wedding robe, perfected and presented to Christ at His coming!
Do you have a revelation of the Church in your heart? Has God’s Spirit communicated with your spirit to the extent you can now say, “I see it! I see it! I see it!”? And is that revelation strong enough that you will not be shaken out by any work of Satan from within or without? Is your revelation strong enough that it can endure the refining fires so you can be brought forth as pure gold? …We have something worth far more than all the oil in Texas—The Church of God which belongs to Jesus Christ Himself, which He is refining every day, which He shall soon present to Himself at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and which He will bring back with Him to rule and reign on earth for 1,000 years; and then, “so shall we ever be with the Lord!”
If you don’t have a revelation, get one! This revelation is going to be worth your eternal soul. Drill deep in your prayer life, go deep in the Word of God until the Holy Ghost makes everything clear and you can say from deep within your soul, “I see The Church of God.” And then get settled in for the long haul. There will be problems along the way, but stay faithful! A. J. Tomlinson said there will come mighty shakings like earthquakes that will shake out every one who can be shaken out! Don’t let the enemy discourage you, don’t let some offence cause you to backslide and leave or get in a bad spirit and get yourself removed from the body, or get hung up on some problem you think God can’t correct without your aid.