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of the racial issue that God was admitting all freely into God's Church
in spiritual fellowship. Then Paul and Barnabas had a confrontation
and the contention was so sharp between them that they worked separately
for a while, and yet still cooperated, and wrote lovingly. Obviously
they were in the same Work. They didn't start different churches.
They didn't have a "Paul Church" and a "Barnabus Church."
And so people will make mistakes, but they must still teach God's laws
and do God's way. And that's exactly what Mr. Armstrong has continued
to do. And I think you all know that deeply. He has never wavered
from that. God has put him in office and he is responsible to guide
the Church.
In I Samuel 8 when Samuel was old, he made his sons judges over Israel.
But they walked not in His ways, as you know, taking bribes, and per
verting judgment. Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves
together and wanted t< change the government of God--which was involved
in this thing that came up recently, this court restraint that was
imposed on us temporarily. They were not just rejecting a white-haired
old patriarch here on earth, but they have rejected me," God said, "that
I should not reign over them."
And br;thren, I hope that we can understand that lesson. When we reject
the man that God has given all of us this knowledge through, the man
that God has used, we are in fact, rejecting God.
Back in I Samuel 24 is a very classic case. Saul went into the cave
to relieve himself, ·and David's men said: "Kill him now. Now you've
got him. Kill him." And David, of course, did cut off the corner
of Saul's robe quietly, just to have something to wave and say: "See
how close I got to killing you," but he did not kill him. And even
cutting off part of his garment made him feel guilty later and he
repented and said, "I should not have done it." And that's right.
He should not have done even that! He said to his men (verse 6),
"The Eternal forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the
Eternal's anointed, to stretch forth my hand against him, seeing he is
the anointed of the Eternal."
Likewise, Mr. Armstrong is the anointed of God.
In verse 7 .it says, "And they came right to where Abner and the people
were slee
Saul and Abner, his Captain, were sleeping and God
obviously
d a deep sleep to come on them so they didn't even wake
up. In v .
J3 Abishai, this young warrior, said to David, "God has
delivered
····· enemy into your hand this day. Now therefore, let me
smite him, I pray, with the spear even into the earth at once." He
said, "Let me get one spear into him. It won't take more than that.
I'll just nail him in one fell swoop." And David said, "Destroy him
not. For who can stretch forth his hand against the Eternal's anointed
and not be guiltless?"
Brethren, that is a lesson we need to learn really deeply. Those who
would rise up and try to fight, or go off and start a competing work,
or do anything like that are against God and against His anointed,
because we are
in
a s:eiritual warfare. You say, "Well, they haven't
killed Mr. Armstrong." No. But a lot of people have resisted him.