Magnify the Apostle – Gerald Waterhouse

March 14th, 1981            

Well you heard the opening prayer, Mr. Armstrong is on his way to I guess, he would be on his way, maybe already in Denver at the present time up there preaching this Sabbath.  I hope most of you at least a good percentage of you were able to go over and see him in Big Sandy two Sabbaths ago now and realize he's not old and senile and dead and someone else is running the work.  I spent quite a number of days with him, several hours a day.  I'll assure you that those of us who are close to him and whom he's using to assist him.  We have no doubt about who is behind him and we stand in awe and fear of that Great God that has raised him up first of all and then us through him for a great purpose.  I feel it a great privilege to have the opportunity of going around and sort of amplifying on the position, God has placed him in. 

Down in Australia, we had quite a bit of flack from the dissidents who had stirred up a number of the people there.  I spent 3 months going all over the country.  I preached as many as seven times to some of those large congregations like in Melbourne or Sidney or Brisbane.  Of course, they would come onto some of these comments you know that to a carnal mind might sound somewhat plausible, 'O you worship a man.'  Mr. Fahey and I said we had never bowed our knees before Mr. Armstrong.  We pray to the living God, but we know through whom he works and the degree of respect toward God is only that degree that we show to his servant.  You can't respect God unless you respect the one He's working through.  There's no way.  Christ said if they won't hear you, they won't hear me.  They won't hear my father.  So if anyone says well I'll just bypass Mr. Armstrong and Christ and I'll go right to the Father.  The Father says I won't hear you.  You've got to hear my son and Christ says I won't hear you unless you hear my servant.  So you don't respect God unless you respect where He is working.

HOLY APOSTLES

So I was telling some of them down there, now that's an excuse to take the opposite reaction and to wipe your feel all over him, you see.  Those who want to wipe their feet on him and of course use those kind of arguments.  'Oh, you don't want to worship a man.'  Certainly not!  But you better worship the God and you better highly respect the one through whom He works.  So I turned to some of those scriptures like in Romans 11 verse 13 where Paul said I magnify my office.  Now that should be self-explanatory.  Even Paul had to magnify the office because the office was of God and Paul says I magnify my office.  So one of my jobs I guess the main aspect of my job is to magnify the office because the office is of God. 

I turned back to Ephesians 5 (chapter 3 verse 5) on them.  I showed where God called them his Holy Apostles.  He didn't call them His unholy apostles, His dirty apostles, His sinful apostles.  He said my Holy Apostles because God works by way of his Holy Spirit and wherever God's Holy Spirit is that's Holy.  Do you know that?  Do you know one time Moses was walking out by this bush and Christ was of course in that Bush and Moses stopped to look and Christ said Get your feet off, your shoes off.  Well not his feet, that'd be kind of hard to do.  Get your shoes off Moses because this is Holy ground.  Now that ground wasn't Holy of itself, it was Holy because God's presence was there.  Get the point.

Now when God moved out, that ground was no longer Holy.  Moses didn't say I'm going back to the Holy ground and to the Holy bush.  It was only Holy as long as God's presence was there.  So whenever God's presence comes into a man then that creates the holiness.  Now God's Sabbath is not Holy because it just happened to be Holy.  It's Holy because God puts His Holiness into it every Sabbath.  It's not just automatic.  That's where God puts his Holiness and that's why it's the Holy Sabbath.  It wouldn't be Holy except God puts His Holiness into that time as it goes around the earth.  Then those who are involved in his way law partake of that direction by way of his Holy Spirit.  As a collective group of people around the world that are involved in where God is working through that Holy Spirit.  The rest of the world doesn't recognize its Holy so they don't get any blessing from it.  They think it's just another day.  It's a day for extra shopping, to get ready for sports.  Get ready to go out and play golf.  Get geared up for the Lord's Day and that's when you go out and play golf or something else you know.  Or you go down to a brief meeting to pacify God.  You put in your time.  Sort of like a convict.  Once you get that time in Sunday, then you can feel relief and free for the rest of the week because you paid God his due, you know.  I hope that we don't have that kind of an attitude toward God.

Then I went to John 14 where Christ said (verse 12) …and greater things than these shall you do because I go to my Father in Heaven.  Why Christ through Mr. Armstrong today, is accomplishing so much more than He Himself did by reaching people, He reached only a maybe a few hundred thousand.  He could only be heard in the audience, you know, the hearing of his voice.  He didn't have Radio, Television.  He didn't have a G-2.  He had a jackass, a democrat.  He didn't have a way to print and publish what he had stated to a worldwide audience.  Christ had 12 Apostles and they could only reach a very small number of people because it was by you know word of mouth.  They didn't have amplification.  Christ knew in this end time generation he would have television, radio, printing press, rapid transportation, worldwide communication.  He could work through one man and build one worldwide work. 

You couldn't do it through 12 men unless they are all absolutely subject to one and they're carrying out what Christ reveals to him because everyone, no two people think alike.  You husbands and wives know that better than anyone.  That's why there has to be government, so you can walk together and speak the same thing.  So that the only way we can have a worldwide work, is to recognize where Christ works and then submit to it.  The degree we do that is the degree by which we speak the same thing.  Of course, those that disagree with that, God is fleshing out.  He's got to get rid of them.  He can't stop.  He's not going to quit his plan.  He says I'm going to stop and Christ says why, Father.  He says some of those people won't agree with me down there.  So I'm not going to build my family after all.  I'm just going to give up.  It's a lost cause.  God isn't going to stop for anyone.  What he does is just leave the ones behind that don't want to follow Him.  Get the point.

A FAMILY OF EDUCATORS

Then he ends up with a family who wants to follow him forever.  He doesn't have a lot of sour pusses in there who are walking on their lower lip.  Can you imagine how far you could stretch your lower lip down into eternity?  I remember when I was a little boy.  I went to carnivals you know and they had these Africans you know, that could put a wooden plate in their mouth.  They could stretch their lips out like that and that's only in a few years.  Can you imagine if you were walking on your lower lip, how long?  God would have to create lip rollers to come behind these sour ones in his family to roll the lips up.  Pretty soon, you'd have to have galaxies just for lips, the lip galaxy.  God doesn't want a lot, you know.  Can you imagine how the face would be distorted walking on your lower lip here dragging and the longer it gets the more you have to drag.  You'd finally, you know, you'd look like you were going to turn a somersault. 

God doesn't want those in this family so its up to us to smile and look up above and as Christ said when you see these things come to pass don't look down walking on your lower lip, but rejoice for you know that the Kingdom of God is nigh.  We're the only ones that can face the world with confidence.  Others if they have any smiling, it's because it's the thrill of the moment but they're blind in their eyes to what's going on around the world.  They have to kid themselves but we know, we should and we should know that we know what's going on is all going to turn out good. 

I haven't heard Mr. Armstrong very often on broadcast because I'm usually speaking every night and I've been over seas.  I was over seas 6 months and 3 days but the past 3 or 4 days, I've heard him out of Tulsa at 11:30 at night the programs are those that were recorded in his campaign over in Manila.  Talk about strong.  They are powerful.  Boy, he was calling those Philipinos to repentance.  He said I don't want you to walk down the sawdust trail but you had better repent of going the wrong way because time is short.  So God's stirring him up to begin to tell people you'd better repent because the time is coming when you're going to really be punished if you don't because there's a Great Tribulation right down the road and it's not many years off.  There's going to be a lot of sad people.  Some that have been in God's church that are going to wish they had not put off and neglected salvation and those that do are going to rejoice. 

Just think about you know this deacon back here at the door and I said if we exercise vision, can you see what that's going to do when we get down to the place of final training.  We're going to have a lot of key men that have already proved themselves to help direct the traffic, direct activities.  Because when God collects His people from all around the world maybe 2 or 3 hundred thousand, God may give tremendous growth in the very last six months to a year to his Church and I think He will.  When you count all of these people from around the world and I've just gone around for my eleventh time.  It's a pretty big old world and it's getting shorter all of the time, you know, smaller all of the time because plane travel faster.  This was my 6^th world tour in all those, some of those were connected with being in England or Australia or the Philippines or South Africa. 

Then since January of 1966, I've been taking world tours, showing slides, speaking, conducting studies, spokesman club activities and so forth.  Of course, as the number of churches increased I had to drop various activities.  First, I dropped the slide activity and then I dropped the bible study activity.  As far as you know, for one church.  You used to go to a church and conduct a slide activity, a bible study, a spokesman club activity and a sermon.  But we only had you know, 100 and something churches then.  As the churches increased, I couldn't reach and do that with every church and reach two churches a week it would take forever to get around the world.  Two churches a week would take a year to get around the world if you reached one, you know, two every.  Well, it would take a lot longer than that, 52 weeks in the year.  It would take about, whew, how many years would that take?  It would take about 12 years wouldn't it to reach the world.  Well give or take if I'm off a thousand or so, forget it.  It's not that important.  You don't have to know that to get into the kingdom. 

I'm glad we don't because I've forgotten.  I don't want to try figure it out up here but.  So as the number of churches increased, I dropped off the slide activity then the spokesman club activity, the bible study.  Of course for each church in that sense and now through the week I conduct bible studies but for different churches.  It's not a doubling up on activities for a particular church.  So I've just completed this last world tour.  I was here almost 2 years ago.  Maybe some of you were here.  I went through some of the same things that I'm going to cover today 'because it don't change.  It's too bad.  Now there were some people who heard me two years who are not here.  They've got caught in a terrible awakening in the near future. 

So we need to have open ears and we need to hear with understanding and realize we're not dealing with a man.  We are dealing with a most High God.  That God is demanding respect.  He will bring no one into his family who's going to try to wipe his feet on Him and His way of life and his great heritage or his great possessions.  We've got to respect them, so I've been able on this last tour to try to stir up the people in that regard.  In the past two years, I've reached 550 Churches since I've visited you.  That's been two years.  So I've not just retired.  I haven't gone to sleep.  I do occasionally, usually every night, but I mean I haven't just gone to sleep. 

You don't reach 550 Churches.  I've reached 333 in the US, 67 in Canada.  I started to say Canadia, Canada, and then 150 overseas, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Kualalampore, Bombay, Sri Lanka.  Do you know where that is?  That's down in old Ceylon near Colombo, and then South Africa, and Zimbabwe, and Kenya, way up in Maaroo Kenya.  Way about 150 miles, well not quite that far, but over 100 miles, kind of north and east of Nairobi, and got Brethren there God's training us to help us clean up the rest of those people in that area of the World in the World Tomorrow.  They have to understand them, because I don't.  I didn't grow up in that area.  But God's got people there who do represent them that He's grooming to help reeducate the World.  So when I go there, I don't look and say well these people couldn't do anything, certainly not.  I can't either, nor can you, but God through us can. 

He's going to make us all educators, if we hang on to the end.  Then He's going to have quite a witness to the World and the World is going to say, 'Boy, God must be great, if He made them Educators.'  Then we won't go in to say, 'It's a good thing, you discovered our talents, God.'  'It's a good thing you came around to seeing how much you needed us.'  No, He is going to say, 'You're just Clay, shut up.  But look what I've done with you, I have molded, formed, and fashioned into something worthwhile and then through you, I'm going to change the rest of the World, and I'll humble them so they don't think it's by human talent, and human ability this is done.  It's by My Spirit.  That should be quite in evidence through Mr. Armstrong.  It's not by power, nor might, but by God's Spirit. 

WHERE CHRIST WORKS

He spoke two hours, and 50 minutes over in Big Sandy, including the announcements, and the ordinations.  Well, about two hours and 55 or so, I guess.  I kept praying He'd go about 3 hours.  Mr. Blackwell passed a note.  He had a note and he came over to me, and he said, you see Mr. Armstrong had thought he was on Texas time, and he was on Arizona time.  He said, 'Oh, I've spoken almost an hour,' and he had spoke over two.  Mr. Blackwell came over and said, had a note, 'It is 5 O'clock Texas time.  He said, 'Do you think I ought to tell him?' and I said, 'No.'  He went to Mr. Tkach, and Mr. Tkach said, 'No!  We don't tell God's Apostle to quit.'  I was praying he wouldn't quit until he went at least 3 hours, and he went 3 hours and 4 minutes.  That's the same length of time I went in Pasadena the previous Sabbath.  It takes the pressure off a little. 

So sometimes, you've got to pray, right on the spot.  Then you see God answer the prayer.  Course, He knew that Big Sandy here needed the extra impact, you know, because of the damage that had been done, and the people believing rumors.  You know, that Mr. Armstrong was old and senile, and God's not using him, and someone else is running the Work.  So I was with Him.  We caught the plane.  Of course, we went out to the airport in Burbank and left there about 7:45, California time flew to Tucson and picked up Mr. Armstrong and he talked almost all the way over to Big Sandy. 

Now, you'd think that's enough to exhaust an old man.  Especially if he's senile, he couldn't even get into the plane.  Then he talks to the people at the airport, talks in the car, because I was in the car with him coming in, talking about this, that and the other, and showing a nurse with him.  She's not in the Church.  She's a very fine young lady.  Showing her, you know various landmarks of the whole east Texas area there.  Then he gets in, he's met, and he's talking you know from the time he reaches the building until the service starts, then we had a couple of songs and Mr. Don Ward made one announcement.  I think it was, and then introduced Mr. Armstrong.

He explained about the College, about the Imperial Schools, and then he announced the ordinations, had some of us come up and join.  He ordained three men, and then he went into his sermon, and he spoke for almost two hours, and forty minutes, and that's pretty good when you're old and senile and not in charge of the Work, isn't it?  And all on your own, this is a Work not done by Human power, nor Human might, but by the Spirit of the Most High God.  That's what he wants all of us to recognize, and trust Him to manage His own affairs, and not feel we are called to be detectives.  Too many people have gone out of the Church because they felt God called them to be God's Detectives, down here to check up on his Apostle. 

As I used to say on my tours, you know these people come with these caught up attitudes.  I try to get real sober you know and serious like, and I'd say, 'Why don't you go pray about this, and let God know what's going on.  There's no telling what He might do when He finds out.'  You see because most people don't think above their eyebrows, and they don't use much of that which is above them.  They fail to realize, God knows everything.  He's the one responsible to handle it.  The big test is, who will, and who will not, trust God to manage His own affairs.  And those who can't be faithful in little things will not be faithful in the big things, so they won't make the Kingdom.  So we've got to trust God to manage His own affairs. 

The most important thing next to knowing God and Christ is to know exactly WHERE THEY WORK and to know THEY WILL NOT deviate from that particular way They work one billionth of a degree.  Now I'm going to make a statement, and then I'm going to reinforce it through the Sermon.  GOD HAS NOT AND WILL NOT WORK THROUGH ANY OTHER MAN THAN MR. ARMSTRONG,  since He started, since Christ started preparing for his second coming through that man back in 1927.  That's when he stopped working through any other leadership and He's only helped those who were in line and supporting His Apostle.  Once anyone has stepped out of that orientation, God has quit working with him. 

GOD HAS NOT WORKED WITH ONE OF THOSE ME WHO HAS REBELLED AGAINST GOD'S GOVERNMENT.  You'd better believe that, because if you don't, you're still subject to Satan's deception.  He will take you off one way or the other, somewhere down the road, if you don't know that.  He is so subtle, so crafty, so wily, so shrewd, and so powerful.  He can make you think up is down, black is white, bitter is sweet, spiritually speaking.  YOU'VE GOT TO KNOW AND YOU'VE GOT TO KNOW THAT YOU KNOW, WHERE CHRIST WORKS AND THAT HE WILL WORK THROUGH NO OTHER or Satan will catch you up. 

I have seen many top men, and many other Ministers, and many brethren, who have all fallen victim to Satan's deception, because they all begin to criticize Mr. Armstrong in one way or the other.  Then they begin to say, 'Well, God's not working through just one man.'  Then they are subject to Satan's influence very quickly, and the more he can get them to criticize where Christ is working, the more susceptible they are to thinking God works through this one, that one, and someone else, or some other group.  Then He leads them right off.  He is so subtle; He takes you off by degrees.  Each little step you take, he convinces you, you're right.  Then you take the next one.  You are convinced you are right.  Pretty soon, you are way off in left or right field and you feel you are right, because you have justified every step in that direction.  Satan has deceived the whole World! 

Anyone that thinks he is so great, that Satan can deceive the whole World, but not me.  Boy, he is inflated.  He's scratching out here.  He's got such a big head in his own estimation.  THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY to be sure Satan cannot catch you up, and that's to know WHERE Christ works, and that He will work through NO OTHER.  Brethren I can't stress that emphatically enough!  I know there will be some of you, I hope very few.  I wish none, but there will be some of you who, when we go to a place of final training, are going to realize that, and then when you burn in the Lake of Fire, you're going to know it.  I tell you Brethren, it's serious, because you're future, and my future is at stake.  WE CAN'T AFFORD TO ARGUE WITH GOD ALMIGHTY, AND THAT'S WHAT SOME HAVE DONE.  They're gone.  It's too bad.  Good, that's still Texas time, hopefully.  It's only 12:10.  Good, we're just getting started. 

So we need to understand and comprehend and believe deeply the fact.  I didn't say, the perhaps, but the FACT, that God has put Mr. Armstrong into a position that is prophesied throughout the Bible.  That position is absolute.  Christ is preparing the way for his second coming through that messenger.  Once He started, that's it all of the way into his second coming.  That's one of the hardest things in the World to believe, because no one wants to be locked into absolute authority.  You see, you want to always have these exits.  Just in case things get a little tough, you can say, 'Well, I can always go out here.'  It's so difficult to be totally and completely converted where you know that there is only one way, and you're committed to it, and you're burning all the bridges behind you, and you don't want any exits, because you intend to go all the way.  If you're conditioning God, and say, 'Well, I'll kind of watch your Apostle, I'm not sure.'  You are on your way out. 

People have been watching now for a couple of years, He's stronger than ever, and their eyes have gotten dimmer and dimmer, and they're farther away.  Notice God didn't work through Ted.  Ted's gone bankrupt just about.  He didn't work through Raymond Cole, Wayne Cole.  Wayne Cole's quit Ted, and quit his own Church.  Isn't that something?  Boy it's getting bad, when you can't even stand your own Church.  He hasn't worked through any of those people who have left.  They've all had their various arguments.  Church of God International, Associated Churches of God.  They had Church of God Fruita, yeah even one named Fruita.  I don't know whether it was Nuta, but it was Fruita.  A fellow rebelled against Ted, and Ron Dart went up to snatch the Churches back, and he was living in Fruita, Colorado.  So he had to incorporate real fast.  So he had to incorporate Church of God Fruita.  I think I would have moved real quick, and then incorporated. 

We've had Family Church of God.  The Eye, Ear, and Nose Church of God because one Minister went off and he said he could look into your eyes and predict the future.  He said he went over to Tucson and he looked into Mr. Armstrong's eyes, and he saw 'evil.'  So he started his own Church.  What he does is look into the eyes of his parishioners, and then his wife has this unique gift of feeling the knots on your head, and so in combination, as he looks into your eyes and she feels knots on your head, they predict the future.  So the best thing if you had that Church is to have a deacon feeling heads as they come in, and have the most prophetic heads on the front row.  So you can kinda, you know up here where you can feel heads, you can predict the future.

One fellow had the Family Church of God, that was the cure all.  That was the panacea for the two Armstrong's.  So he took one hundred people out of the Garden Grove, California Church.  Shortly thereafter, his wife divorces him, and 75 people leave.  I don't think that was the solution, do you?  Family Church of God, first thing his wife divorces him.  Well that's enough of that nonsense.  But you need to realize that these men didn't deliberately say, 'I'm going to rebel and fight God.'  They were caught up by Satan and they were convinced by that crafty being, they were right.  Ted doesn't think he's wrong.  Raymond Cole doesn't think he's wrong and I could name dozens of them.  That's why you can't afford to flirt with Satan, because those men, some of them were pretty brilliant men, but compared to Satan, they're like; they have no sense at all.  He's a pretty wise being.  God call him the 'wise Serpent.'  So you can't afford to flirt with him.

THAT'S WHY THIS IS SO IMPORTANT THAT YOU UNDERSTAND WHERE GOD WORKS AND NEVER TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THAT.  Keep first of all, exercise vision, and see God always in the picture.  Never lower your eyes below God.  Then see with God, Christ at his right side, as the Head of the Church and that CHRIST THEN WORKS THROUGH MR. ARMSTRONG AND FEAR TO FIGHT GOD, OR TO RESIST GOD, OR SPEAK AGAINST GOD, AND THEN YOU CAN KEEP PERSPECTIVE.  Then you are not open to rumors, to slander, to books that corrupt.  That bend out of kilter and twist and warp minds.  It's worse than feeding on some dope, because that's Spiritual Drug and I'll tell you, it'll kill you. 

Why is Mr. Armstrong's name, Herbert Armstrong?  Why didn't he call Bolivar Shagnasty, or Willy Water-it-down Weak-arm?  Because the name is typical of the Commission, Herbert means Bright warrior.  Any one who saw him over at Big Sandy realized he is indeed a Bright Warrior.  He wasn't up there kinda sitting saying, 'Hello out there dear folks in God's dear Church.'  'He's worked with you dear people, with his dear Spirit, and I've come here to tell you that He loves you so much, and I love you so much, and I'm getting tired, and I think it's about time to stop the service.'  'We'll have one or two testimonials, and a closing Hymn by Sue, and I'll be on my way back to Tucson, Arizona.' 

HE'S A BRIGHT WARRIOR!  HE'S BEEN FIGHTING FOR GOD'S WAY OF BRIGHTNESS FOR 50 SOMETHING YEARS!  I remember in a conference in January of 1978, Mr. Armstrong had just coming back from his heart failure.  He was over in Tucson for the conference.  He comes in that morning almost one of the first things he mentioned to us Ministers.  He said, 'Although I'm approaching 86.'  No, I guess he was; I guess that was it 86.  He says, 'I have no intention of retiring.'  And some of us knew that we were on the list, the list of Pastor Emeritus, because we were approaching 50, you see.  Some of us had just passed it.  I don't think Mr. Armstrong had left and the dust settle so to speak, until Ted gets up, and says, 'I think it's about time we discuss a retirement program.'  And I thought that's the most inappropriate thing in the World to say after the Apostle at 85 has said, 'I don't think I'll ever retire.'  Kind of a slap in his face to come up and say, 'Well if you're 50, you better retire.'  In other words, that would be an indirect slap back in saying, 'The old man better retire.'  You noticed he hasn't retired?  That Bright Warrior is Brighter and a greater fighter now than he was back in '78.  And I mean he works. 

I was on my way to Tucson.  I had already made an appointment to call Mr. Armstrong on a Wednesday, or Thursday.  I think Wednesday, I was to arrive in Tucson and I went early.  I got in, I kept driving and I said, well I ought to stop here in Wilcox or somewhere Arizona and go in there tomorrow and I just kept you know, being urged.  Well, God knows how to urge you.  You don't even know it.  You just have an urge.  I kept driving.  Well I might as well go on into Tucson.  I said, 'Well, I ought to get a, maybe a Motel down here in the southeast part of Tucson and then I can move on over tomorrow.  It's still a long drive.  I know maybe I better go on over to the Roadway inn where I stayed before. 

I arrived and they said, 'Well we got a room for tonight, Sunday night, but we can't put you up Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday.  Got a Rodeo in town and everything is fully booked.'  So I said, 'OK, I'll check in tonight.'  Got up the next morning and I said, 'Maybe I ought to call Mr. Armstrong, and let him know I'm already in town.  It maybe he could work me in today, you know, easier than Wednesday, or Thursday.'  So I called him at 9:45, He said 'Well Gerald,' and I told him I wanted to call him early.  And He said, 'Yeah, I'll be leaving the house at 10:00 for Los Angeles.'  It was 9:45.  He said, 'Really I think this is the only day we can get together, because I've television on Tuesday, and Wednesday.  I've got to go to Big Sandy on Thursday.  So maybe you and I ought to talk going to the airport, going to Los Angeles and back.'  He said, 'Do you know where that airport is at?  And I realized there was no way, I could shower, pack my things, load the car, check out, and drive all the way to the airport.  I said, 'Mr. Armstrong do you feel that you could have Mel come by and pick me up on the way to the airport?  I'm right on the way.  He said, "Well, where are you staying?"  I explained it to him.  He said, "We'll come by and get you." 

Usually I shower slowly.  That was one of the first times I have been able to dodge soap, and water, and get through the shower, and pack my car, load it, because I had to get out of the Motel.  They had to let me know that everything was fully booked the next night, and I was up, and the Gal was just about to give me my credit card slip to sign, when the limousine drove up, that's how.  But God's never late.  he just puts you under pressure.  He'll get you there just on time sometimes.  So I was with Mr. Armstrong all the way to the airport, and we talked.  He was involved in some decision making, all the way to Los Angeles.  He had certain men come out and meet him, not Los Angeles, but Burbank.  It's in the general LA area.  He talked.  He had them come out to the plane.  He had several meetings, and He talked the rest of the day, the rest of the morning, most of the afternoon.  Then Mr. Neff and I were with Him.  We flew back to Tucson.  He and I talked all the way out to his home in the limousine and we spent about 2 ½, 3 hours in his home that evening, and he explained a lot of Revelation, and a lot of other scriptures.  That's just one of the days, plus a lot of others he had to do. 

Then on, let's see on two or three other days a group went over from Pasadena and spent all day with him and they were over there on the Sabbath.  They were there on Sunday, two long days.  He had a Bible study on the Sabbath.  Then they were there for all day meetings on Sunday.  Wednesday he flies over to Burbank, and has the Congress for leading Ministers from all around the World.  He spoke to them for about 2 hours 15 minutes then took two or three carloads of us to the airport.  We spent about 3 to 3 ½ hours with him, at the airport talking.  Eating, you know the only time he eats is when he's in a meeting and he eats a little while he's in the meeting.  I mean he eats at other, I mean when we're together.  He doesn't take time out to go and eat, just relax.  He just has a little something to eat while we just keep talking.  So we got away from him 8 O'clock, 7 O'clock that evening, and the following, let's see.  Then the Sabbath you know I've already explained about coming over to Big Sandy.  It's an all day affair talking on the way back as well. 

Sunday morning after that, he started meetings in Tucson with the whole group of us.  Some of us were in at different times.  But he was there all of the time, from 10:30 in the morning to 6 straight through.  He just had a small dish brought in during the meeting.  That was on Sunday after being over to Big Sandy, and speaking about 3 hours.  Does that sound like He's old and senile?  We ought to just try to stay up with Him.  I'll tell you. 

GETTING BACK ON THE TRACK

I know where the power comes.  I don't have to, you know wonder, "Well I wonder what he eats?  I wonder where he gets his vitamins.  Boy, maybe I better drink some of that.  I know where the power comes from.  It comes from God.  He's the Bright warrior!  When God raised him up from the dead and he actually died and if God had not raised him, he would have still been in the Grave.  He would have been put in the Grave, under a name there.  When God raised Him, he had two pet ferrets with him.  You know what a ferret is?  We have the statement "you ferret it out," because when a ferret get's a hold of you, he's got you.  So God had those to be typical, that He was going to ferret out the problems through His Apostle, to get rid of all those who are not really with it, to clean up the Church, the College, the Foundation, everything else. 

Now, they didn't like it in the quest magazine when Mr. Armstrong began to take control and 6 of them resigned the Editor and 5 others.  Well good!  They wanted us to pay the bills, and they can do their thing.  That's the way the World is basically.  Everyone wants a handout to do his own thing, swing, smoke pot.  In the World tomorrow we'll have them sit on it.  There won't be any smoke in the pot.  Just another proof that the young generation is upside down and doesn't realize it, because when I grew up; I knew what the pot was for. 

You know the statements Mr. Armstrong made as soon as God raised him up, and he began to address the Church, after that heart attack, or heart failure, in August of 1977.  He made statements.  First, He said, "God raised me for a purpose.  God raised me to put this Church, College, and Foundation, back on the right track.  God raised me to lead you people into the Kingdom of God, and present you without spot, blemish, or wrinkle.  God showed me I was not to be looking down to Jerusalem to some physical Temple, but to realize the Church is the Temple to which Christ is coming and that is what He's concerned about, getting ready; building that Temple."  He has been dedicated to that from that day forward and he has not looked right or left, but straight ahead, in putting everything back on the right track.  Then cleaning up God's Church, cleaning up this college, cleaning up the Imperial program, cleaning up all facets of God's work and getting this Temple ready for the return of Christ. 

Now where are we now?  Well God has a lot of things, that's not the proof, but it's just kind of typical of what he dangles around.  There's a restaurant you see just across the tracks, on Delmar Street, just east of the campus and when Mr. Armstrong was raised from the dead, while Ted was still in control.  It was called "The Loose Caboose."  Pretty typical wasn't it?  The Caboose trying to lead the train that was loose, it was loose off the tracks.  Then after Mr. Armstrong had taken over once again and had the controls, the ownership changed and the new owner did not like the name Loose Caboose because God was stirring up his mind.  Do you know what he changed the name to?  The Right Track, to be typical of what was going on in God's campus because God dangles these signs around.  You know, He knows a lot of people, you know have to be kind of further encouraged.  So he thought I'll just dangle some proof over if it.  Not the proof but I supported the proof as to what He was doing. 

Now Mr. Armstrong has been used to get things back on the right track and in January he, late December and January he began to write articles saying 'Now this is a year for growth.'  So ownership changed in this restaurant and it's closed to be reopened very shortly.  Do you know that their going to name it?  The Pony Express.  Could anything be more typical of what's gone on?  When Ted was in his rebellion, it was like the loose caboose trying to lead the train off the track.  Then he raised His Apostle up and put things back on the right track.  Now once you're on the right track it's time to accelerate so the name will now be Pony Express.  Every one ought to realize the pony express was the fastest mode of communication back in its day.  So that's typical of forward motion, forward progress. 

Do you think all three names just happened?  If they had happened in Shanghais China, I may not have connected it to God.  But when it's right next to the campus and the owner's change and they change the name to fit what is going on in the work, to be typical of it.  Don't discount that God does these things.  He said there would be signs following.  That's one of the signs.  He made sure Mr. Armstrong had pet ferrets with him when he was raised.  To typify what He was going to do through His Apostle, ferret out the problems ferret out the disloyal.  So he had to change the direction from the LOOSE CABOOSE to THE RIGHT TRACK and now that He has it on the right track, it's a matter of generating speed, Pony Express.  Christ has us in direction now for growth and we must all be grounded in the basics so that there is no way Satan can get us, any of us again to look right or left.