I've been in the ministry about 40 years. In fact Mr. Kubik sent me a congratulatory card and, as most pastors, we work hard to build up our congregations, to maintain them. And I remember in the early years of the ministerial conferences in Pasadena, ministers always asked, "Well how big is your congregation?"  And numbers were kind of overwhelming – smaller in Canada, but still relatively large compared to now. Now we don't do that as much anymore because the numbers are down. We've seen quite a bit of loss over the last years.  I saw the latest church statistics here in the United States, and from what my calculations are, the average size of the congregation is about 38, in Canada it's about 23.  That's one of the blessings of the Webcast – a lot of the small groups are able to tune in regularly on the Sabbath. I know, at times, when you're in a small group, it can be a source of discouragement – wishing you could be bigger.
 
But what I'd like to do is to try to show you this afternoon is that quality, I feel, in God's eyes, is more important than quantity.  God is not necessarily impressed by large numbers. What we need to do is strive to do things in a quality way with the numbers that we do have, and strive to be quality people – quality Christians. In many ways small can be beautiful.

When I was at Ambassador College they brought in the IBM 360 computers and they took up building area much larger than this. Now we have the same computer capacity in microchips, microprocessors. I remember when Steve Job introduced the iPod, he said, "I've got all my music on here" and what a revolution it made in the music industry. We got smart phones that do so much now. And you know, God at times has brought things down to small numbers.

We had a major flood in southern Alberta – the biggest ever – and I gave a sermon on Noah's flood. And I quoted from Genesis 6, where God told Noah – he said, "I will establish my covenant with you and you shall go into the ark, your sons, you wife, and your sons wives with you." That's Genesis 6:13-14.  And I quoted from the Genesis flood, not quite sure what the population of the world back then was but you can speculate, but they speculate that it even could have been up to even a billion people.  I don't know but God reduced that to 8 people.  He started over again with 8 people. 

God started Ambassador College with 4 students.  He was ready to start over again at the time of Moses and if you read  Deuteronomy 9:13-14, God got exasperated with Israel and He said at the last part of that quote, "I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they."  He was ready to wipe out all of Israel and start again with Moses and his family. 

We read about Gideon's army and their facing their enemies and in Judges 7 God kept saying, "There's too many."  Too many to go up to battle. 

Judges 7:2 He said, "The people who are with you are too many for me, lest they say that you did it by your own might." And then in v.4 again He said, "These people are too many, still too many", and then v.7 God said to Gideon, "By 300 men who lapped I will save you."…see He reduced a sizable army down to 300. Let's read Zechariah 4:10.

Zechariah 4:10  God says,….For who has despised the day of small things?...Do we at times mentally begin to despise the fact that maybe we're….we might be too small?  He said no, we shouldn't despise the day of small things… for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.

Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, was born in a small town.  Not Jerusalem, He was born in a small town of Bethlehem. He grew up…He didn't grow up in a prestigious area, He grew up in Nazareth.  In His teachings He said, you know let's go to a few of them.  Matthew 18:20 He said:

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

As long as there's two or three He said, He'll be there with them.  One of the parables of the Kingdom of God, Matthew 13:31 He said:

Matthew 13:31 … The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:....The Kingdom of God begins small, with small numbers and ultimately will grow and encompass the entire earth.

Luke 12:32 He says… Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.\

You know you look at the early New Testament church and we see the big numbers initially 3,000…5,000 but also you read about small congregations that met in private homes, and I suspect that there were a lot of them.  You know we work with what we have. It's up to God to add the numbers when He sees fit.  We do our best, but the hard part is up to God to bring in the numbers. But we work with what we have and we try to do it in a quality way – in a quality way.

I read about Dr. W. Edwards Deming. Maybe you heard about him. He was born in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1900, and he believed that to maintain….be competitive, a company's top executives had to make a firm commitment to quality production.  And he said they had to pass the message that quality was their primary goal to middle managers, supervisors and the rank and file workers.  He believed that the average worker wanted to do a good job and the workers would have the answers to a lot of production issues if they valued quality. After World War II he tried to sell his idea to American management with no success.  But the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers heard about him, invited him to their country, because they wanted to rebuild Japanese shattered industrial capacity and overcome the reputation of producing Japanese junk.  Remember back in the 50's?  Talk about Japanese junk. They decided that Dr. Deming's commitment to quality was a way to reach these goals and it was widely adopted by Japanese industry.  And the success of that effort shook the industrial world. To honor him, the group of engineers present an annual award to Japanese companies or individuals with the most outstanding achievement in quality control.  That started in 1950 and it goes on every year. It's broadcast on national television in Japan and is a very prestigious award.  Quality – producing quality.  I've changed my mind since the 50's about Japanese junk. I drive a Toyota now and I got rid of my Ford – happy to do, though.

Years ago, my wife and I were in the ministry, and we were expected to entertain a lot. We didn't have a lot of nice furniture, but we kind of went into debt, and we bought some living room furniture, some dining room furniture. And it hit the pocketbook, but there was a little sign attached to the furniture.  I still have that, actually. I clipped it out and kept it with my notes and it said, "Don't forget the bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten."  And we still have that furniture today – 36 years later. A lot of people have sat on it, have enjoyed it, and I think it's been cheaper in the long run, even after a number of moves. 

Herbert N. Cason said, "When a customer buys a low grade article he feels pleased when he pays for it and displeased every time he uses it.  When he buys a well-made article he feels extravagant when he pays for it and well pleased every time he uses it." 

I remember – maybe Janice was probably there – in Toronto 1972, we had a minister come through.  He and I had graduated together from Ambassador College and he spoke about quality.  Now I'll always remember this. He said, "You know I was sent into the ministry. I didn't have a lot of money but were expected to have nice clothes, so I spent a fair amount of money for this beautiful white shirt – cost me a lot of money – more than I could afford."  And back in those days, we all had Day-Timers. We didn't have all the electronics. And I still have a Day-Timer today for some things. And we also carried pens.  Remember college, when you had all these pens in your pocket?  So, he needed a pen and he hemmed and hawed a bit, and he said, "I picked out this Bic pen."  He carries it in there, you know, to take notes. And one day he was taking his suit off and a great big blue spot – unwashable ink – because he compromised on quality – got a cheap pen.  So, I always remember that and ever since that time…costs a bit more, this is a gold Cross pen, and it's like the pearl of great price. I lost this about 8 years ago – don't know what happened to it.  My wife was cleaning the car and she found it a couple of weeks ago embedded between the seats.  So here it is.

Mr. Herbert Armstrong – a quote – he said, "Now I have always believed in quality first and quantity second. Of course quantity is good too, provided you have the quality first.  I've always believed in quality. God believes in quality. Jesus Christ believes in quality. I have believed in quality. And Christ built, through me and with me, a quality institution here."  Many of us were blessed to walk those grounds, and year after year, it won the award for the best maintained, the best landscaped campus in the United States.  And what a pleasure to have spent 3 years there!

I believe quality reflects God's character. I believe it is economical in the long run to buy quality. I believe that quality inspires confidence, it opens doors.  How many doors did the 1969 envoy open?  It opens doors.  Quality gives pleasure.  Quality takes more workmanship and I believe that quality and character are inter-related in many ways.  God is quality oriented.  Remember in Genesis 1:31 the creation account where God saw everything that He had made and indeed it was very good, beautiful. Genesis 47:5-6 The nation of Israel were slaves in Egypt but God saw to it that they didn't live in the ghettos, He saw to it that they lived in the best part of Egypt. 

Genesis 47:6 The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen….

When they spied out the Promised Land that God gave to Israel, they reported back in Numbers 14:7-8 …."The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land….No oil, but it's a good land and verse 8…. 8If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey."….He gave them a quality inheritance.

I've given one sermon one time likening Solomon's reign to a type of the World Tomorrow as far as prosperity.  And when the Queen of Sheba came to visit Solomon in 1 Kings 10 she saw his wisdom, heard his wisdom, the house that he had built, saw the temple that was constructed, the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters, their apparel, their cupbearers, the entryway by which they went in.  They said there was no spirit in her; this was a famous queen. It took her breath away.  When God blessed Solomon and Israel in a quality way and she said in v.8 "Happy are your men and happy are these your servants who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom."

I…looking Scriptures for the sermon I won't go there but God wanted a quality high priesthood, even physically in appearance.  Leviticus 21 you can read that but there are certain criteria of what…who could not be and who could be a priest and as kind of a quality control. Obviously the New Testament analogy it's a spiritual quality control, not just anybody.  There are criteria, criteria of quality and the sacrificial system, I'd like to read that, Leviticus 22 beginning in v. 21:

Leviticus 22:21-22 And whoever offers a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, to fulfill his vow, or a freewill offering from the cattle or the sheep, it must be perfect to be accepted;…notice… there shall be no defect in it. 22Those that are blind or broken or maimed, or have an ulcer or eczema or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor make an offering by fire of them on the altar to the Lord….And it continues, quality control. He didn't want junk, He wanted the best.

The application for us, Ephesians 5:27, this is even more important than the physical quality.

Ephesians 5:27 …that He might present her to Himself …to Jesus Christ, notice…a glorious church,…a glorious church, notice… not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish….Obviously we're talking about spiritual blemishment. 

You look at the World Tomorrow and that's another sermon in itself, but everything will be elevated, standards will be raised, quality control will be much higher.  It frustrates me – they come along and pave a road, two months later they're digging it up, putting in something they forgot and then the potholes and everything else. But note just a couple of Scriptures, we're about a month from the Feast.  Isaiah 55:13 – elevation of quality control.

Isaiah 55:13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; And it shall be to the Lord for a name, For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."…chapter 60, a couple of chapters over verses 17-18,

Isaiah 60:17-18 "Instead of bronze I will bring gold,…Maybe instead of asphalt maybe cement on some of the roads; bad in Canada, parts of Canada especially after a rough winter. One road, I don't want to digress, but one road about a year ago with our pickup truck ended up taking out the oil pan and to fix it cost me over $2,000, had to have the motor taken up. Just because the road…. Instead of iron I will bring silver, Instead of wood, bronze, And instead of stones, iron. I will also make your officers peace, And your magistrates righteousness. 18Violence shall no longer be heard in your land, Neither wasting nor destruction within your borders; But you shall call your walls Salvation, And your gates Praise.

We don't have to drive fancy cars, we don't have to drink expensive wine or live in mansions.  The gospel is not about health and wealth or physical prosperity. It's nice to enjoy those things that God blesses us but the emphasis is on spiritual matters, spiritual blessings.

Here are a few points I'd like to conclude with on reflecting quality in our own lives in the church of God.

One point – we need continue to do quality work. My Dad was a stickler for that.  He learned his lesson when he was a little kid.  His mother asked him to sweep off the kitchen floor with one of these brooms. His friends were calling him to play, so instead of using the dustpan he just put everything under the carpet and went out and played. And his step-mother was not too pleased and he learned a life lesson – don't take shortcuts like that.  Do quality work, not cheap, shoddy,  inferior, but do it to the best of our ability and seek for ways to continue to improve. 

True story – the owner of a hair salon in a small town enjoyed knowing the serenity that he had the only hair salon in town.  He was responsible for cutting and styling the hair of just about every resident in this small town.  His livelihood depended on it, he was sending his kids to college.  But progress came along and right across the street one of those new full service salon franchises came up.  Immediately they began advertising – newspapers, magazines, billboards advertising everything for $6.  $6 haircuts, $6 perms, $6 manicures, everything for $6.  He lost all of his customers, even his friends and family started going across the street. He was desperate.  He hired a consultant. He said, "I'm finished, I've got to sell this place, it's impossible for me to compete. " The consultant squinted his eyes at the salon across the street and said, "Not just yet."  He picked up the phone, dialed the town's only billboard company and said, "Yes, on top of our salon.  Big letters – We fix $6 haircuts."  He got customers coming back.

We're told in Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for in the grave where you are going there is neither working nor planting, nor knowledge or wisdom.

I quoted from Mr. Armstrong, his belief in quality.  For a few years at Ambassador College I worked on the janitor crew, and on Friday afternoon our responsibility was to set up the gymnasium for Friday night Bible study and Sabbath services.  And we had to lay down these runners along the bleachers, people walk on.  So I was laying down the runners and taping them all down but the bleachers weren't pulled all the way out and Mr. Armstrong walked in and saw the bleachers weren't pulled out and he got down…an old man there….he got down there and tried to pull the bleachers out because he saw something that was not right.  I had to explain it to him, "Well, I'm not ready to pull them out yet because the runners aren't laid down yet." Oh ok, ok.  I think that's a valuable lesson that was reinforced to me personally through Ambassador education.  Emphasize quality.

Number two – Learn to appreciate quality things: art, music, literature, workmanship, other people's accomplishments, architecture.  The way I practice that personally, sometimes I go….I've been to Europe a number of times and usually you're downtown, that's where the train stops are.  And sometimes nature calls and you have to go, there's McDonalds there, I say what else is here?  There's a Ritz Carlton, I'll go there.  They're both free.  And I also got to enjoy the architecture of the Ritz Carlton, some of the marble floors of the downtown hotels, marble bathrooms, no paper towels, but cloth towels and everything for free.  And I believe that United does try to do things in a quality way as their budget allows.  We need to continue to do that.  And I really admire what all of you are doing with, especially the young guys here with the internet and making our website one of the premier websites.  Last I heard Peter said we're #13 or something for religious websites in the world.  That's quite an accomplishment and I'm sure there's lots more to go.

Third point – emphasize quality in family life – quality marriages, quality children. We are fortunate to just a week ago, my wife and I spent a week camping with our kids in British Columbia.  And what a joy to take a week off in summer and veg out, spend time with the grandkids, do some water skiing, hiking, enjoying the outdoors, and continue to just build bonds, build relationships, go to family outings, special celebrations, and never neglect that.  Never neglect that.  I did a baptism just before I came here, and God has a way of bringing people back. This fellow grew up in the church, had a detoured path, started coming back because of his wife, to United a year later, baptized him.  He brought along his father who used to be a minister in our former affiliation and twenty other people.  And we entertained them.  We had the baptism at a lake close to us and they were saying they like to get together as families, give family support and he wanted…he felt important to have his family there for the baptism.  I thought that was kind of cool.

Number four – buy the best quality that you can afford. Again, afford is the operative word.  Cheap is not always the best.  Quality, I believe, is cheaper in the long run. One example, personal example – When I was at Ambassador College I wanted to take pictures.  I saw Vic Kubik going around with all his fancy cameras and I had nothing, worked on a janitor crew and had a friend that worked on the grounds and I said, "Sure would be nice if I could get a camera." I used to borrow cameras sometime.  And then he had a part time job at a camera shop, so one day I was sweeping floors and he came up to me with a leather case and he said, "The owner is selling this.  Do you want to buy it? $40"  I knew nothing about cameras, he said, "Yeah it's a good deal."  And I opened it up and it was a Leica 1968, I paid $40 for it.  Price Leica's now.  I've been using it ever since. I still have it.  It's kind of in a drawer now because of digital but probably I'll recruit my $40 back if I sold it on Ebay.  So, it's quality but it was affordable; it was used. 

Number five – emphasize quality of character – most important.  You know in the world today you have low end and high end in almost everything.  You can be a Kmart christian, you can be a Walmart warrior, you can be a Harrods helper, you might be a Sears soldier.  There's low end – high end and it depends on what you can afford but in character the low end, if you draw low end – high end, Satan the devil.  Extreme low end character.  Extreme high end – Jesus Christ.  In our daily lives we try to edge as close as we can to the high end in our character, away from the low end.  Is that what it talks about in 1 Corinthians 3:11-13, quality of character?

1 Corinthians 3:11-13 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ….and I really appreciate the emphasis of Jesus Christ in the church.  I think Mr. Luker did an excellent job on that and Robin Webber continues to and I think the ministry overall do. … 12Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, …. we're talking about building our spiritual lives in a quality way. That's the high end.  You can still build but there's other material like..… wood, hay, straw, 13each one's work will become clear;…because there's always testing along the way.  The way God tests his building sometimes is He burns it down and see what's left.  He's pretty extreme as far as testing at times.  He said…. for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is….see what's left.

Number six – give quality service to God.  Make sure we never neglect quality service to God in our prayer, in our own personal study, in our personal fasting, meditation.  Don't skimp on these things. 

Malachi 1:6-8 "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, where is My honor? and if I am a Master, where is My reverence? says the Lord of hosts to you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?'….answer v.7…."You offer defiled food on My altar, But say, ‘In what way have we defiled You?'  By saying, ‘The table of the Lord is contemptible.' 8And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, Is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, Is it not evil? ….that's giving God lip service, not what He is due.  He said….Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?" Says the Lord of hosts....He's looking for a quality relationship between you and I, between Him and us.  Final Scripture Romans 12:1.

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

We all do that, we will be a church without spot, without wrinkle, without blemish, acceptable to God.  Church and individuals that God is well pleased with.  So as I said before, I believe in quality personally, I believe it reflects God's character and quality is what helped make Japan the way it was an industrial…..after the World War II to revive their economy.  A lack of it will impact any society.
So let's learn to continue to do quality work, appreciate quality things, have quality family lives, buy affordable quality, emphasis quality of character and serve God with quality.