LET MY PEOPLE GROW!

February 23, 2008

Compilation of notes from lectures given by Jules Dervaes

To understand what God’s people must be doing today, we need to go back to the First Coming of Christ. When Christ was here on earth His people were looking forward to an earthly kingdom. There was no doubt in their minds what it was; they had been anticipating this event for so long and yearned to have a kingdom set up once again. Their physical roots and hearts’ desire for a kingdom were deeply entrenched in their culture, beginning when the kingdom under David had been established. Although it had been dissolved, having been taken from Jerusalem because of their disobedience, they still looked forward to the time it would exist once again in their homeland.

Thus, they understood about the Kingdom; they believed the Messiah to be a General on a horse that would fight the Romans under which they now lived. And together with Him, they had hoped to form a resistance group which would force the Romans out of their country. When Judas realized that Christ was not going to initiate an uprising and was not taking charge, it angered him. As a result, Judas had tried to force Christ’s hand to make Him announce His leadership. When Christ didn’t, because it wasn’t time, Judas turned Him over to the Romans as a last ditch effort to get Christ to act. The Jews were fiery fighters and ACTED like the Kingdom of God was to be here on the earth and were willing to take steps to bring it about. That was their desire on which they based their beliefs and actions on. Still, to this day, 2000 years later, this holds true. Unfortunately for them, what they didn’t understand was that a man on the cross had to come first as one of the necessary stages in God’s complete plan. In ignorance, they were running ahead of God’s plan.

But the cross was necessary for several reasons, as we all know. And one reason we need to consider is this: Christ HAD to go away because His people had much growing up to do. Also, to complete His plan there were still to be seven developmental stages to come. Each New Testament church era was only responsible for its development to its particular level. God’s purpose, as it has always been, is to bring His child-fiancée to her fullness, her maturity, so she could become His grown-up wife. It was we, His people, who needed this maturing process so that there could be a Kingdom.

We must remember that God had worked for the first 4000 years to have man live the correct physical life that He had ordained. The Jews knew the promises of the Old Testament, had the correct doctrines, and lived the Old Testament lifestyle. But they didn’t understand the developmental stages that God had designed for His plan to be completed. Because most of the Jews didn’t accept the man Jesus, there was a parting of the ways as the physical Jews went one way and “Christian” (false) churches went the other way. The false Christians, while “accepting” the man Jesus, ended up taking only the New Testament ideas and turned the Gospel into a blissfully vague spiritual message about an ethereal Kingdom.

Now fast forward 1900 years to the Philadelphian Era under Herbert W. Armstrong. We, too, have failed to recognize these stages, that the 6th era was only a stage to go through. And like the Jews did 2000 years ago, rejecting their opportunity, when the next stage (in this case the 7th era) was offered to us as a means to grow up, we also rejected it. We were so enamored (and comfortable) with the restoration of the doctrines and the lost knowledge that we made a “religion” out of our baby obedience to the Law. Satisfied and proud that we had done so much more than the Jews and false Christians, we were smugly content to stay in our crib of conformity (outer only) to God’s laws. What made it particularly difficult to see the WHOLE picture of what was required for us was the PRAISE that a member received for being so obedient. Both ministers and lay person relished this mutual delusion because it was so comforting. Scared to grow up and fearful of progressing further into God’s plan, and not wanting to become responsible adults, we tried so hard to convince ourselves that what were were doing was what God also wanted. At best we had only developed ourselves to a teenage level. The 7th era was the means to show God that we really accept the Kingdom of God; but we were satisfied to stay at the teenage/child stage and not leave our mother.

Furthermore, because the church-wife saw her desires as being met, she played to Mr. Armstrong’s weakness as he carried out his plans for Ambassador College, YOU, SEP, and the AICF. Courted through these grand measures the church was never able to measure up to her true role. Her subservient relationship was characterized by expediency, pragmatism, and self-gratification and was in no way intended to achieve intimacy with God. Her conformity, her self-serving obedience was the very impediment to union because all she could do was obey her physical organizational husband in a way that fooled everyone. She fully supported him in his busy schedule of advancing the work to the world and stayed loyal as he continued to bring home material successes in view of the ABUNDANT LIFE. Only she was aware of how much she relished the fine trappings which his work provided. The Worldwide Church of God found her life under Mr. Armstrong’s physical blessings. And what she was doing was basking in his weakness. In tune with him on his ambition she was never capable of confronting him and opposing him in those areas where he needed it and how he needed it. And he ALWAYS, as a human being, needed it.

God had a plan to raise up the Philadelphian Era, one developmental stage in His plan, leading His Church with a loose leash; and what transpired coincided with what the people wanted. During the transitional period where He allowed the Church to do different things, the Church believed that they were in control. For, when God does something that agrees with what the people want (yet God is doing it for a different purpose and reason), then the people think that they are running the show. This is a universal problem for anyone under authority. It is very dangerous when the Church’s plan and God’s plan coincide, especially when the purposes for each are different. We then try to pigeonhole God. But His thoughts are not our thoughts, nor His ways, ours.

We said that it was enough to obey, and truly believed it, especially when all the material blessings came rolling in. But what appeared to be a blessing was really a problem, even a curse, because, in the process, we ceased to be a person, and were just waiting to be obedient. A parent-child relationship was all that was ever formed and child-wife is all that we ever aspired to. We enjoyed our being spoon-fed by the ministry and being given the answers without any effort or struggle on our part. It was too comfortable, letting the ministry and HWA think for us. Safe in our cocoon of conformity and obedience, we really thought (hoped!) that we were doing was acceptable to God, too.

But, we were not doing the work of a wife nor were we getting involved as an adult, working as if God’s plan were our own and taking on adult responsibility for it. At the beginning of a relationship we are all “go-fers.” And we do go through stages. But the ultimate GOAL for a wife is to become like her husband, sharing his interest and his life, making his goals a realization. To achieve this intimacy, it is up to the wife to close the gap between her and her husband. The wife, as the helpmeet to her husband, is also to bear his children. 1 Timothy 2:15 says that a woman will be saved through childbearing. And this means not only bearing his physical children, but also nurturing his mental, emotional, and spiritual seeds from birth to maturity.

Because the WCG, and now, her daughter-churches, have been waiting for Christ to do it all and close the gap, they have remained as babies. We understand the Kingdom idea in our heads but not in our hearts, so we wait and watch. Just look at the parallels. The Jews missed the reason for Christ’s First Coming. The purpose was to show them how to grow up into the fuller, deeper meaning of God’s plan as a way to usher in the New Testament and ultimately the Kingdom of God. But they were content to remain under God the Father in “obedience” to Him, and fearful to grow up and become His wife. They REJECTED this growth opportunity even though they had been prepared by God to accept His Son. The maturing process was to be done in stages, but they didn’t understand that. And neither do we today.

The purpose for God’s calling us today is not only to follow doctrines or to learn obedience. That is merely the foundation for the child to grow up on and, then, grow up beyond into the deeper requirements of God’s plan. To stay at that immature level will not qualify us for the Kingdom of God; for we will not have progressed beyond the infant stage to full adulthood. There is a very special work for the Laodicean Era to do in order to qualify for the Kingdom. The 7th era offers a very unique opportunity and challenge that is not being recognized! It is we who will be judged for not developing to that next stage even though we have been prepared for it! To be in the Kingdom of God will require us to mature and become a wife to Christ and we must prove it BEFORE He returns. The Kingdom of God will be in our heads first, yes, but that should lead us to live the life we should be living. It will be a work of the heart and of faith based on the Gospels and the 2000 year history of the Church.

Notes 1991

Written by Jules Dervaes | Filed Under Commentaries, Seizing the Present