Hello All
I haven't communicated in quite a while because -- well -- there just has not been much to say. We have all come together as a group because of the hope promised us through the mission. It takes a lot of patience doesn't it! I'm here to tell you the way I see things and to ask for your help.
First, to cut to the chase, Clayton appears to be in "his last days" and his wife needs money and the mission is put on hold temporarily. Let me expound on these items.
Clayton is home now, in Decatur Mississippi which is where family lives and is closer to the hospital he needs to go to. The doctor has given him 5 days to live and they have put him on hospice. His brain function, because of poor blood flow, is very poor. He sometimes appears to be "with it" and sometimes not. When he is awake he does understand what is spoken to him and does respond but with a very weak quiet voice.
Bear with me as I supply the following thoughts to set the stage.
There are times to say things and times to hold your tongue but I feel this important, so here goes. You need to know that I have had a few conversations with Clayton regarding the following. It has to do with the peculiar sabbath belief and how it affects us and Clayton.
It is my strong contention that the reason sites/churches like Living Church of God or Church of God International are called cults is because there is an erratic and marked departure from what the word of God teaches. To be fair the catholic church can also be called a cult and honestly so can MANY protestant churches. For those who really care, it is time to be true bereans and closely examine the scriptures ourselves and see if what a particular church is teaching really lines up with what the bible teaches. There will be those who will say -- gosh, the bible can be interpreted 20 different ways! Guess what! Those people never read the book for themselves. I do a daily reading plan using the on-lineeee bible
http://www.biblegateway.com/resource...an=1&version=9 and trust me, if you REALLY SEEK THE FACE OF GOD and spend time in the word and ask the spirit of God to help you understand, you WILL begin understand. Admittedly, the bible is not easy but as you become a student it becomes clearer and more powerful as you go.
I came out of a catholic background and as a young adult began going to (over the course of time), various protestant churches. Let me say again that the catholic religion is a problem. If you do your homework, you'll discover that things at the highest levels, the Vatican, are evil (yes, luciferian, and I can back that up) but at low levels, ie church level where you and I live, the members don't know or realize this. Some of the nicest, kindest people I know are catholics. Their problem is that they do not know their bible and are not encourages to get into it and do their homework, because if they did, they'd realize the huge departure from the word of God.
I see catholics on one end of the Christian belief spectrum and eternal security protestants on the other end. Let me explain.
Ask a catholic whether s/he is going to heaven and you'll get some sort of answer akin to "I've lived a good life" or some such thing. To them it is all about (even though they represent the cross and blood of Jesus) works. So if they keep the 10 commandments then they begin stacking up "good points" but if they should commit a mortal sin then the whole good works thing comes crashing down and they have to start all over again, kind of like the game, "chutes and ladders". NOW, DON'T GET ME WRONG, keeping the 10 commandments is a must! It doesn't get you to heaven by itself but it is the guide set by God to help us know how to live right and holy before him. So catholics in a sense have this part right, but they think that the "right living" is the ticket in -- it's not. The ticket in, when coupled with the good works is the faith of the person in the blood of Jesus Christ to wash away those sins that they have repented of.
So you see, it's a matter of living right according to the 10 commandments but when we fall/fail, we need to immediately repent (no help from any catholic priest needed for any of this) and then ask Jesus to wipe the slate clean, ie cleanse us of our sin.
I can hear the protestants now saying, "not by works lest any man should boast". To that I will say, take EVERY bible verse on the subject into account and then for added measure look at the visual picture of the exodus of the children of Israel out of Egypt and into the promised land and you'll find me to be correct.
Let me interject here -- all this church stuff! all these doctrines! -- all these denominations! -- what is the purpose of this whole church thing? Isn't it to figure out and teach how to get from here to there? From point A to point B? From here to Heaven and not Hell? If that is the case, the doctrinal differences pertaining to this various denominations are unbelievably different! Maybe we should ER, UHM, get into the word of God ourselves and study to show ourselves approved because many of the supposed experts can't even agree.
See, much of the protestant world lets the pendulum swing too far in the other direction and do not want to focus on works (right living) but only on Jesus. That is not correct! Let me take you to what a good portion of the protestant church believes. This is couched in the baptist church but includes other churches as well. It is the doctrine of eternal security, also called preservation of the saints, also called Once Saved, Always saved. This doctrine, unlike the catholic one which focuses on works, says -- go to the altar, repent of your sins, and give your heart to Jesus. From that point on you are saved and free and cleansed from all past, present and future sins. That is hogwash, that is scandalous, that is the devil's work. If satan can get you to believe that after your "conversion", you can live like hell and still be saved ---- well, he will have another one in his camp when it is all over. Though these people in these churches are special kindly people as well, just like the catholics, they also are misinformed.
See, God is a holy God and he requires "his" to be holy, to live holy, to be right, to have a right heart. {please do not think that I've been a goody good bar all my life, contrarily, I've done enough to really take this stuff seriously and "get it right"} When a person has such a mindset and s/he still falls (and they will), the blood of Jesus is there to cleanse them when they ask in faith. People say that the 10 commandments were nailed to the cross --- no they were not. God still requires holiness and right living. What HAS changed in the new testament is that instead of you and I having to sacrifice a lamb on the altar, slitting it's throat and letting it's blood (it's life to pay for our life), -- Jesus now shed HIS blood for our every "repented of" sin.
There is another rabbit hole we can take in protestantism and that is legalism. Those churches that are very legalistic. For instance, they teach that women and men must dress differently, so all the women only wear skirts. How about, you must attend every Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night service. How about, don't go to movies, don't play cards, don't drink alcohol --- If you do any of these things, you're on the bad list.
ALRIGHT GUYS, I've said all that to set the stage for keeping the sabbath. Sabbatarianism takes the concept of legalism to the maximum. It is very enslaving. For those of you who really are followers of Jesus, you know that the spirit of God lives in you, he helps you to discern the spirits. -------------------------------- the mission started out focusing on red and blue states, republican and democrat. Then it turned into a "God thing" and I thought - Wow, great, right up my alley! However, when I started to hear the doctrine ofSabbatarianism, which honestly, I was not that familiar with, I became very uncomfortable for this reason. --- It would be one thing for me to just go along with this as a member though I did not agree with it, but it was quite another issue to begin to market this to thousands around the globe, maybe folks that had never heard about the bible, Jesus etc. It is a big issue, a massive issue because keeping the sabbath to get into heaven is a LIE -- and as a member I would become an accomplice to a lie that would actually send people to hell because they had believed a lie, been told a lie, been deceived etc. -------------------- So I have been uncomfortable about this for a long time and spent a TON of time doing my homework on this. I knew I was right, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Can't really argue if you don't have a good basis can you? Just saying "that's what I believe is not good enough is it?
So, I spent a lot of time searching websites on the subject, praying, asking God to give me wisdom in this uncomfortable situation. I'd be willing to face the world by myself and be booted out of the mission if it came to that! IF I KNEW I WAS RIGHT! I thought I was right - but again, couldn't prove it to myself. God did help me --------
The web is full of articles on why a person ought to keep the sabbath, why the catholic church switched it, why we shouldn't even do dishes on the sabbath, the idea that the sabbath is the seal on our lives that God will look for to let us into heaven, everyone who keeps Sunday is sinful ----- and on and on and on! Truthfully, the whole thing is distasteful, YUK ----- truth is, this is one of Satan's devices. ------------ We are to live right and then trust in the saving cleansing blood of Jesus Christ as our ticket --- NOT keeping the sabbath as an --- add on! AHHHHHHHHH, HOLD ON THERE TIGER, you say, ------- you just said that we must keep the ten commandments but that when we fall Jesus blood cleanses us ---- Doesn't the forth commandment say to keep the Sabbath?? ---- well, ER, UH, ULP --- yes it does. But I just go on Sunday instead of Saturday and if you want we can call that sabbath, we don't call it sabbath in our church, but close enough. God knows my heart and that's good enough.
My problem/predicament with the whole thing was that besides the 4th commandment, God told the Israelites (and remember we are grafted in) in numerous places that the sabbath was to be kept for ever. Gosh, how do you deal with that? ---- But then wait! the new testament does NOT condone keeping the sabbath (at least not from the standpoint of --- keep it or you'll go to hell). Furthermore, Jesus (who is God), seemed almost to "flirt" on purpose with the pharisees who insisted on sabbath law but doing what they considered work on the sabbath. Why would he even get close to that if it was wrong? Why didn't Jesus say --- you numb skulls -- if you don't keep my sabbath, you're going to hell! --- He never said or inferred anything close to that. So then, I ask you --- why do these churches of God do and preach and teach things that Jesus did not????????????????
Here is the reason why!
If you are a Christian, a follower of Jesus, born again, saved, regenerated etc and the holy spirit lives in you ---- you have become and are a priest of the most high God.
This is bigger and heavier and more weighty than you might first realize. Let me explain.
God revealed himself to Abraham and promised to make him into a great nation. Later after the exodus from Egypt, the law was given at Mt Sinai and the animal sacrifice was set up in the tabernacle. Now, remember that the tribe of Levi, the levites, represented the other 12 tribes before God. In other words, they were the "go between" between the children of Israel and God. Remember also that the Israelites during their sacrifice could go into the courtyard of the tabernacle but could not go into the Holy Place much less the Holy of Holies.
OK -- now, what did these priests do? They basically worked in a slaughterhouse! Blood, guts, manure, mooing of cows, bleeting of sheep. DID THEY HAVE TO KEEP THE SABBATH?? I ask you again, DID THEY HAVE TO KEEP THE SABBATH? ---- Herein lies the answer to the predicament. --- Look at Matthew 12:5 -
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/...:5&version=KJV ---- Jesus said that the priests didn't have to keep the sabbath because they were part of the temple involved with the work of intercession between the people and God
OK, if you followed me this far --- remember when Jesus died? The curtain in the temple which was about 6 inches thick split from top to bottom. This was heavy symbolism from God to show that in the new tabernacle his people, through what Jesus accomplished on the cross, did not have to stay in the courtyard but could come right into the Holy of Holies. Again, that is where the priests go.
What is Jesus doing in heaven? He is interceding between his followers and God.
What is the world doing? Sinning! We are all sinners ---- BUT the bible says that when we repent from that sin and ask Jesus to forgive us, we become priests of God. ---- So - if we become priests of God, what is OUR job? We are to intercede between God/Jesus and the sinner. We are to pray for the lost, feed the hungry, heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead, preach the gospel. Are we priests doing those things? NO. Should we be doing those things? YES. We are priests of the most high God.
What did Jesus say about the priests in Matthew 12:5 ?? He said that the priests in the temple profaned (did not keep) the sabbath but were blameless.
FOLKS, If you are not a Christian, you have bigger problems than not keeping the sabbath, you are on your way to hell! If you ARE a Christian, you are a priest and because you do the work of a priest as described in the paragraph above every day all week, (though most don't do all they should) --- you are exempt from keeping ANY day. (do consider however that the bible does admonish us not to forsake the gathering of ourselves together).
So now you can see why Jesus acted the way he did toward the pharisees.
Guys --- the explanation was long but it is the truth ---- type in the word sabbath in Google and you'll get 59,000,000 results but nothing I can find that will explain this.
Church of God folk believe (as Ellen White from their sister church the 7th day adventist do) that keeping the sabbath is the seal of God on you that gives you a chance at heaven. Truth is -- the holy spirit is the seal of God in a believer's life. The holy spirit will enter you and reside there provided that you repent and continue to repent of new sin and continue to go to Jesus for forgiveness of that repented sin. If you get rebellious and stubborn in your heart and continue to sin --- then yes, like the spirit of God left Saul, he will leave you. That is the real deal on the seal of God.
So, you ask yourself, Clayton is dying --- is a writing like this appropriate now? Well yes, for two reasons. First, this whole thing has been a big concern to me and I am being honest and passing my thoughts on to you. Secondly, Clayton has really believed what he has shared and I have rebutted him in a few conversations. Now Clayton is in the end of life stage. For him life is about over, the money is no longer important. There is only one thing that IS important. When he crosses that threshold, which way will he go? If you believe you can do anything, say anything, kid about everything without reservation but as long as you keep the sabbath you're OK???? As end of life looms real close, he best be sure he's made a few adjustments if need be. None of us are the judge, none of us know for sure but we can go by the things we've heard or seen and take a "flying guess". Weeks back, I had some REAL heart to heart talks with him about this very thing, about what's really important. He assured me he has repented of his sins. He assured me he has asked Jesus to cover those sins with his blood.
Clayton, like many of us, has had a hard and humbling life. He will probably not get to do or enjoy the way he wanted to. BUT, should he pull this one off - who cares - why should he care? I would encourage each of you to pray for him, that God would not pull his spirit from him until his heart is right. His wife however seems convinced that he is ready to go.
OK guys, enough of that, now to the next item. The principle (Clayton's wife), has too much on her plate and is putting the mission on hold for now. What does that mean? How can you put something on hold that has in reality been on hold anyway. Well, she just wants the pressure off of thinking about it for a bit. Please do not be alarmed, she is a sharp woman and is very much in tune with what is going on. Honestly, from my perspective, I have held off communicating much because the whole thing gets embarrassing. You can only say pay out is next week so many times before ------ well, you get the point! So what IS the hold up? Have Clayton and the principle been stringing you along? I am highly confident that the answer is no. They are good folk who need it just as bad or worse than we do. When I inquire of the principle as to exactly what or why the trouble, she really is not sure but is very confident that she will get it figured out/worked out. The money is there, she says, and once payout comes, everybody will be VERY happy --- she told me today. What has been frustrating to all of us is that we all live in the same country (well most of us), the USA, and we do not have these weird long term problems of endless hold ups under martial law in isolated areas under the auspices of FEMA and the National Guard etc. So HOW? WHY, Whats going on. It has occurred to me, and I'm sure to many of you, that maybe a smooth concerted con artist game is going on here by this couple. They do not have any money and this is a great way to milk a bit of money out of folks around the country. I am personally certain that this is not the case. I have talked to both of them too often during up times and down times, regarding different issues to believe that we are in a hoax situation. But - that is just my opinion. I asked her whether the people we are waiting on are dishonest. She is not sure, but once she has time and is free to think clearly again she is confident that she will get to the bottom of things and expedite what we all have been waiting so long for. That is the best that I can tell you.
Alright - another issue - I have related to you that these folks have NO money. If Clayton was buried in a pauper's grave, it would be free but that is not his wish nor hers and he does have a cemetery plot, so he needs to be buried there. The funeral home is charging $6000.00 but will do a payment plan if she can come up with $1500.00 --- I suggested to her that if even just 30 people sent $50.00 -- she would have the $1500 she needed. If she received more than that, she could certainly use it. Now, here is the deal. Send any amount that you feel to send to her and at payout time, you will receive at the rate of 1000 to 1. So $50.00 will net you $50,000.00 --- whether you want to send more or less, that is up to you but every bit will help her at this point. Please send cash only and address the envelope to: Buffy Sullivan, (deleted for privacy), Decatur, MS 39327
Make sure to include your ID # in the envelope. If you want to include more information that is fine and helpful.
Buffy is the principle's daughter and this address is where the principle and Clayton are staying. When the principle receives an envelope, she will let me know who sent it and what amount was sent and I will record it. Once you have sent something out, PM me at user name "tim" on this board and let me know what you have sent and I will verify it with her once it is received. Again, do not reply to this message but send any messages to/under "tim"
You all have a page on Clayton's site (which I have access to) which enumerates the amount due you at payout. Do me a favor (even those who choose not to send something out to the principle) and give me the amounts due on your account page. It will be a quicker way to accumulate all your info into another file should the website become inaccessible for some reason because it is in Clayton's name. As I get time, I will verify your info against your account page.
One other crucial point. One habit that has been bothersome and irritating to Clayton and it will be to myself and Priority as well is that there have always been some "loose lips" on this board. Guys, what happens here needs to stay here. Don't copy and paste this message to Talk Gold or elsewhere on the net but have the respect and decency to keep our communication right here.
Hopefully you can sense that I've spoken from the heart. I am guaranteeing nothing but am just helping to administrate and in good faith believe that this will happen. The principle was very adamant with me today and said- "oh believe me, it will happen"
Please be aware that though the principle is not a computer person, she will get a copy of this along with what I send to her.
Tim
Re: UncleClayton/Mistycal thread
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