To The church (assembly, gathering) of God,

To the ekklesia (assembly) of God scattered abroad (Mat. 26:31, Jas. 1:1),

The scattered brethren (Acts 8:1, 1Pet. 1:1),

The few, the elect, the chosen (Mat. 7:14, 20:16, Lk. 13:23-24, Mk. 13:20):

Greetings in the Name of Jesus Christ the Son of God, and in the name of our loving Father.

Since we are all “scattered” (Mk. 14:27, Jas. 1:1, 1Pet. 1:1), we each wonder about the rest: Who are you? Where are you?

Are you growing in grace and knowledge? Are you being fed?(Jn. 21:16-17). Or, do you sometimes feel like a student who is repeating the same grade level over and over, never advancing to the next level?

Perhaps you are attending with a group that does have some understanding of truth, but they are no longer “growing in knowledge, faith or understanding” (2Pet. 2:38, Lk. 24:45). Their learning has nearly or completely stopped (Rev. 3:15-16). They are, unlike the able scribes that Christ described, only repeating “old” things, and bringing forth nothing “new” from the scriptures (Mat. 13:52).

You spend the Sabbath day getting ready for “church”, traveling to “church”, talking to family and church members about anything that does not involve religion, talking about the last social or the next social, or about church business or each other’s personal affairs. You sit “in church” listening to entertainment, or sermon reruns, and sometimes nonsense presented as a spiritual message and you try to not be bored, or you spend the sermon time thinking about the last social or the next social, or the people next to you and their personal affairs, or anything that does not involve religion.

Or perhaps you attend one of the rare groups that allow open discussion but it becomes a Babylon of speculation ranging from plausible scenarios to wild-eyed lunacy.

Occasionally the rerun sermon is entertaining because of a new joke or a new analogy but the next day, or after a few hours, or sometimes even after only a few minutes, you cannot answer the question, “What was the sermon about?”. You can’t remember it but you say, “It was good.” You were entertained but you were not “fed” (Jn. 21:16-17). There was “milk” but no “meat” (1Cor. 3:2, Heb. 5:12).

You invite people over or go out to eat, where you talk about the last social or the next social or church business, or work, children, recreation, or anything else that does not involve religion.

If there is no church “social” activity, you travel home. You are tired and the Sabbath is mostly or completely over and you wonder about the command to “rest” and the Israelites who, under penalty of death, were commanded to observe the Sabbath by staying “in their camps” (Ex. 16:29-30, Nu. 15:32-36, Ex. 33:7-11).

You feel that you fulfilled the suggestion of “assemblying” (Heb. 10:25). You heard “a good sermon” even though you can’t remember it. Your presence was part of a “team” exercise that gives participants a feeling of belonging to something greater than themselves as individuals. Being in a group implies a unity of agreement and that is comforting because of the assumption that there is truth in numbers. Faith in a “church” can become a substitute for faith in God (Mat. 3:9).

Pick any other person present, even the pastor and try to review any one of the 66 books of the Bible without finding some point of disagreement. If both of you are honest, it will never happen. The more verses you discuss, the more likely it is that you will find that your disagreements may outnumber your agreements. This is why, that in all the fellowshipping and socializing “at church”, religious discussion is often or totally avoided. The unity is an illusion created by an unspoken agreement to avoid any religious discussion that reveals disagreement. For some, unity is more important than truth.

Are you fellowshipping because of unqualified agreement regarding God’s words or because of an unspoken agreement not to question what is being preached?

You may be meeting with other people but you are not fully comfortable with them. You enjoy their socializing but spiritually you feel something is lacking. You have questions that no one has answered to your satisfaction.

You are looking for other people who share your understanding and haven’t found anyone who does, or only some with a very limited understanding. In his time, the prophet Elijah couldn’t find anyone in all Israel, although there were a “few” (1K. 19:4-18).

You are not weird, or mental, or into false doctrines but you believe what the Bible says rather than corporate doctrines, denominational traditions and false teachings.

Perhaps you have rejected organized religions because you have not found one that corresponds to what Christ taught.

You pray but you don’t feel as though God is always listening. Sometimes your prayers are answered and sometimes they’re not. Miracles do happen. People are healed, sometimes slowly and sometimes immediately. Accidents and injuries are avoided or prevented by unexplained phenomena. Dangerous situations are avoided by warnings from “ordinary looking people” who were there and now aren’t. Sometimes these stories are shared but even among believers, they are soon forgotten.

You read the words of Christ and you want to believe everything he said such as “doing greater works” than he did (Jn. 14:12), but others tell you he did not always mean what he said, that he sometimes meant something less than that. You are told that he only meant “works” that can be explained within normal human experience.

You talk to God and he answers you from the pages of your Bible. Or he speaks to your mind, perhaps by choosing a particular sequence of synapses to align causing the thought to form in your mind. Or perhaps you actually hear a voice in your head, or outside your head, and you hope that you are not “crazy” and that it is not a demon or Satan speaking to you (1Jn. 4:1). Perhaps you wonder if it is just your imagination being overactive because you really would like to converse with God and get some straight and simple answers for a change.

Perhaps God has spoken to you in your dreams or given you dreams that may or may not have obvious meaning or purpose. You would like to believe that God is communicating with you, but you wonder if the dream was just due to something you ate or something you saw on television.

You have questions that others do not understand and they ridicule you and question your mental stability. You have had experiences that may have involved divine intervention but you cannot discuss them for fear of ridicule or persecution.

You know you are expected to be a “light on a hill” (Mat. 5:14), but you are reluctant to be considered a sideshow freak or become a headline on a supermarket tabloid, or to become a joke among your “friends”.

The fact that God has not yet destroyed what he calls “this present evil world” (Gal. 1:4) is proof that the “few”, the “chosen”, the “elect” exist somewhere (Mat. 22:24).

When the disciples were alive, there were public healings and resurrections and great and small miracles. Peter explained that it was the beginning of the fulfillment of the prophecies of Joel, “But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;”, . . . “in the last days . . . your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:” (Acts 2:17). It began on the Day of Pentecost in the year that Christ died and was resurrected (Acts. 2:1). It was to continue until the “day of the Lord” (Acts 2:19-20) although some think that it also ended with the events of Acts. So what happened since then?

As long as Christ was providing free food and healing people, there were large crowds of thousands (Mat. 14:13-21, Mk. 8:19-20). When he was condemned by the mainstream religious leaders and executed on their behalf by the government of Rome, he was alone (Jn. 6:66, 16:32, Mat. 26:56). He had explained the power of even the smallest amount of faith (Mat. 17:20, Lk. 1;5-6). And he questioned whether he would find any faith when he returns (Lk. 18:8).

What happened can be summarized as “out of sight, out of faith”. The “thousands” became the “few” (Mat. 26:31). The faith, with a few exceptions, has been almost too small to see.

Over the years we have heard of real miracles (not the religious hucksters who combine “fake” healings with pleas for money [Acts 8:9-23]). We have spoken to some who had first hand experiences of prayers being answered instantly and dramatically, of angels appearing (none with wings), of demons being exorcised (but no pea soup or spinning heads), of people surviving molten fire, of vehicles passing through one another, and of people being healed instantly in front of doctors who had no explanation or even in front of “ministers” who are surprised at the result. These miracles were for the benefit of those involved and not necessarily for the benefit of non-believers since, in none of these accounts did the witnesses express repentance or seek baptism.

Some of you are among the “churches of God” known by various names. Some are alone. Some are in the churches and are still “alone”. The “churches of God” will usually welcome you, but beware. The problems of the churches of God at Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colosse, Thessalonica and Rome (ref: Paul’s letters) are still present in the churches of God today. And the warnings of Christ to the churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea all have significance for all of us today (Rev. 1-3).

When Christ wanted to draw closer to God the Father, he did not go into the synagogues or to the Temple. He went somewhere alone to pray and to talk to God (Lk. 5:15-16, Mat. 14:23, 26:36). To prepare for his confrontation with Satan, he went alone into the wilderness to fast and pray (Mat. 4:1-2). The lesson in Christ’s example is that spiritual strength does not come from fellowship with others, but from fellowship with God alone.

The disciples learned the hard way that some demons cannot be exorcised by a committee but only by “much fasting and prayer” (Mk. 9:17-29). Christ said that prayer was to be done in private (Mat. 6:5-6).

We are never really alone as long as we are “instant in prayer” with God (Rom. 12:12).

Christ said we will be “gathered” when he returns (Mat. 24:31, 37-43, Mk. 13:27, Jn. 11:52).

Until then, know that you are not alone, that others are praying for you (Jas. 5:16) and that our Father knows who you are (1K. 19:18, Mat. 10:29-31).

Many people have questions about the purpose of life and about God’s plan for mankind. Not everyone is happy when they hear the answers (Mat. 19:16-22).

If you are seeking answers, write to us. We have helped others, perhaps we may also be of help to you.

We are expected to be growing in grace and knowledge (2Pet. 3:18), to increase learning (Pro. 1:5), to fervently seek wisdom, knowledge and understanding (Pro. 2:2-5) and to actually find it! (v.5).

After every church service or Bible study, ask yourself, “What did I learn that I did not already know? What do I understand now that I did not understand before today?”

Ask yourself, “Am I being fed spiritual “meat” or “milk”? Am I converting “meat” into spiritual growth? (1Cor. 3:2, Heb. 5:12).

God challenges us to continually learn more and to grow more which proves that the means is available. “Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which brings forth out of his treasure things new and old.” (Mat. 13:52).

Measure the growth in your understanding. Look at all the sermon notes you have taken in the past six months or a year, and list all the things you have learned that you did not understand previously.

If the list is short, perhaps the learning has stopped. Perhaps it is time to make changes.

Sunflowers move 120 degrees following the Sun across the sky. During the night the heads return toward the East to await the sunrise. When the stalk becomes stiff and woody, (“stiffnecked”) the flower stops following the Sun and only faces east. At this point the plant has stopped growing and only awaits harvest.

If we reach a point where we think we know it all, then it becomes impossible for us to learn any more.

If a teacher stops learning and the student doesn’t, there will come a point at which the student passes the teacher. No one wants to keep repeating classes in a kindergarten or an elementary school forever.

“[To] Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.” (Isaiah 28:9).

“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ . . . ” –Peter (2Pet. 3:18).

“Yes, if you cry after knowledge, and lift up your voice for understanding; If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hid treasures; Then shall you understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.” (Proverbs 2:3-5).

“. . . but to this man [or woman] will I look, even to him that is poor [humble, not vain or proud] and of a contrite [repentant] spirit, and trembles at [reverences, not in terror of] my word.” (Isa. 66:2).

“Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2Tim. 2:15).

God called Israel out of Egypt to be a nation of priests to the world. The primary job of a priest was to teach. For a nation of ex-slaves, that was a challenge but with the help of God all things are possible. Still, they did not live up to the opportunity that God offered and the next generation did better but still fell far short of what God had in mind. While some subsequent generations showed promise, there were never more than a few thousand approved by God, out of a nation of millions. Christ came in person and taught 12 men, who were to teach others, who would teach others.

Are your teachers teaching you to teach others? Or are they serving you milk, keeping you entertained and in general, babysitting you. There are those who are teaching or trying to teach who are sincere, wonderful individuals. But if the student is not prepared or being prepared to teach, then there is a problem with either the material, the teacher, or the student. Christ taught the disciples for three and a half years. If you have been taught for more than three years and you are not ready to teach others, where is the problem? How do you explain this situation to God, to whom we are individually accountable. Will we make excuses or blame others as Adam and Eve attempted to do? Or will we examine ourselves, identify the problems and seek the solutions?

We will discuss this further. In the meantime:

Study. Learn. Grow. God is offering us the world and everything beyond it.

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