Karen Zerby
DO 2343 8/87—Sunday Fellowship Prayer for Mama & Paul Papers! Maria #88
1. LET'S SING SOME SONGS TO JESUS, LET'S LOVE UP JESUS!—"Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Sweetest Name I Know!" And when we do this, why don't we close our eyes & really sing to Jesus instead of just to each other. It's good on some inspirational songs & songs about how wonderful Jesus is to look around & smile at each other & testify to each other of our joy in the Lord, but on devotional songs where we really sing to the Lord, why don't we make it a prayer & really mean it & sing it to Him! TYJ! (Mama leads the singing:)
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus‚
Sweetest Name I know!
You fill my every longing,
You keep me singing as I go!
My Jesus I love Thee,
I know Thou art mine!
For Thee all the follies
Of sin I resign!
My blessed Redeemer,
My Saviour art Thou!
If ever I loved Thee,
My Jesus, 'tis now!
(Mama sings a solo with arms lifted to Heaven: )
Spirit of the Living God,
Fall fresh on me! (Repeat)
Break me, melt me,
Mold me, use me,
Spirit of the Loving God,
Fall fresh on me!
(—And then Family joins in, followed by:)
Your Name is wonderful,
Your Name is wonderful,
Your Name is wonderful,
Jesus my Lord!
I bow down before Thee‚
I love & adore Thee,
Your Name is wonderful,
Jesus my Lord!
You're the Great Shepherd‚
The Rock of all ages,
Almighty God art Thou!
I bow down before Thee,
I love & adore Thee,
Your Name is wonderful,
Jesus my Lord!
You, Lord, paid it all,
All to You I owe,
Sin had left a crimson stain,
You washed it white as snow!
2. AMEN! TYL! TYJ! WE GIVE YOU GLORY, LORD! You dwell in the praises of Your people, Lord, You inhabit the praises of Your people‚ Jesus! We give You glory, Lord! We love You, Jesus! Lord, You lifted us out of the miry clay & out of the great pit, Lord, & put our feet on the Rock‚ Jesus!—Psa.40:2. You've done so much for us, Lord, we exalt Your Name‚ Jesus! We love You‚ Lord! TYJ! Thank You for Your Love! Thank You for Your care! Hallelujah! TYL!
3. JESUS, HELP US TO PRAISE YOU MORE, TO GIVE YOU THE GLORY THAT YOU DESERVE, THE GLORY THAT'S DUE YOUR NAME. Help us to honour You before the people‚ before each other, Lord!—In Jesus' name! TYL! It's all You, Jesus‚ it's all You, Lord! Everything that we get accomplished, everything that we do is You, Jesus! We're nothing, Lord, & You're everything! TYL! PYJ! Hallelujah! (Sings:)
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face!
And the things of Earth
Will grow strangely dim
In the light of His Glory & Grace!
All to Jesus I surrender
All to Him I freely give!
I will ever love & trust Him,
In His presence daily live!
I surrender all! I surrender all!
All to Thee, my Precious Saviour,
I surrender all!
4. TYJ! PYL! JESUS HELP US TO MEAN IT, LORD! HELP US TO DO IT, LORD!—IN JESUS' NAME! TYL! Hallelujah! Help us to surrender our all to You, Lord, to yield every single place in our hearts to You‚ Lord‚ everything that You require, out of love for You, because we love You, Lord! It's not hard when we love You to give our all to You! Give us more love for You, Lord! In Jesus' name, help us to be obedient & to give You the love & honour that You deserve, Lord, the honour & obedience that You require, because You've given Your all for us, & how can we do any less for You?
5. THANK YOU JESUS FOR OUR PRECIOUS FAMILY WHO LOVE YOU SO MUCH, WHO HAVE SACRIFICED SO MUCH FOR YOU, LORD.—But it's not a sacrifice, Lord, because all these things that they've gone through & sacrificed are nothing compared to what You have done for us! Thank You Lord for them. Thank You for their love & their loyalty & their obedience to You, Lord, their dedication to You! Thank You Jesus for each one & what a wonderful blessing it is to have them with us & to have their help & their love & their obedience to You as co–workers in Your Kingdom & labourers in Your Vineyard.
6. THANK YOU LORD FOR EACH ONE OF THEM & ALL THE THINGS THAT THEY MAY BE GOING THROUGH‚ THE TRIALS & THE BATTLES. We know it's just another step in their growth‚ Lord‚ in maturing, in gaining more knowledge & wisdom & the ability to "comfort others with the comfort wherewith they are comforted".—2Cor.1:4. TYJ! Thank You for each one, & help them to hold on, Lord, & to really persevere, to look to You for the answers, knowing that You'll not fail & You'll give the answer, Lord. But You want them to trust You & to look to You & to have faith & to learn things along the way that they couldn't learn if You gave them an immediate answer, if You let up too early, Lord, if You rescued them prematurely.
7. SO HELP THEM TO HOLD ON, HELP THEM TO EVEN DELIGHT IN THESE AFFLICTIONS, THESE ADVERSITIES, these tests that they have, to know that they're for their good, & that You won't let anything happen to them that You're not going to bring something very special out of it & something good that will be good for them & good for Your Work, good for Your Kingdom, Lord, & good for others as well.
8. THANK YOU JESUS FOR EACH ONE, FOR THEIR PRECIOUS HELP, THEIR PRECIOUS LOVE! We know that You've blessed them & You'll continue to bless them as they hold on & they persevere & they give You their all, Lord! Thank You for the wonderful victories that have been won in their lives already, Jesus, that may not seem like big things‚ but to each one it's been some major step in their life, some major victory that was important to them‚ Lord.
9. WE KNOW IF YOU'VE GIVEN THEM THE VICTORY IN ONE THING, YOU CAN DO IT AGAIN, & WE KNOW YOU'RE GOING TO, Lord, as we look to You & hang on to You & see that the victory is in sight, Lord, by faith! Even if we can't always see it with our eyes, we can see it with eyes of faith because You've promised it. And we know by experience, Lord, so many many times, over & over, how You've never failed us, You always answer, Lord, so we know You're going to do it again!
10. BLESS EACH ONE & HELP THEM & DRAW THEM CLOSER TO YOU! Help them not to get so wrapped up in their work that they don't realise that they need to be close to You, be intimate with You‚ be lovers with You‚ & that that is very very important, Lord! All this other is good & necessary, but we should not leave the other undone, our relationship with You. We need to maintain that close communication with You & that intimacy, that love relationship with You that we can't go wrong in, Lord. We can be assured that everything else will fall into the proper place as long as we keep close to You.
11. HELP US TO KEEP THAT EVER MINDFUL & TO PERSEVERE IN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU! Just as in human relationships, Lord, it takes awhile to build a good relationship, & we need to get to know You, we need to learn to have communication with You‚ we need to iron out the problems on our end to have a clear channel with You, Lord, by yieldedness & by obedience & submission. But Lord, the thrills & the joys & the results will be better than our wildest imaginations! So help us, Lord!
12. GIVE US THAT CONTACT & THE DESIRE FOR THAT CONTACT‚ THAT DESIRE TO PUT YOU FIRST & TO REALLY PURSUE YOU, LORD, & OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU! TYJ! Thank You that You love us & that You want to be in the bed of love with us & You want to hear us whisper sweet things to You too, Lord, just as You do to us. So help us to learn that & to mature into that & to give You what You desire & what You want from us, as well as expecting You to give us what we desire from You!
13. GIVE US LOVE FOR YOU THAT CAN'T BE STOPPED, CAN'T BE BROKEN, CAN'T BE DISRUPTED, BUT THAT WILL BE STEADY! No matter what, Lord‚ whatever happens, that our love for You will be maintained, Lord, & that it will result in love for others & love for Your sheep & for Your Kingdom. Help us‚ Jesus!
14. GIVE US A GOOD MEETING NOW! Thank You that we can put You first & love You, Lord, & we know that You're going to bless, & You have already blessed, Lord. We just thank You for You, Jesus!—In Jesus' name! Amen! TYJ!
MAMA'S CONFESSION & DAD'S PROPHECY!
15. WELL, IT'S GOOD TO HAVE SOME TIME WITH THE LORD! I figure the Lord can get through to you a lot better than I could anyway! That's one nice thing about feeling weak & incapable & like you don't know what to do, then the Lord has to do it! Our fellowship with Him & reaching out to Him can certainly do more for you than me sitting up here lecturing you & talking to you & telling you what you're supposed to do. At least the Lord really prepares our hearts & He knows how to get through to us. Amen?
16. YOU LOOK NICE! IT'S NOT SO BAD WHEN I GET STARTED! I really do like to talk to you, it's just taking the plunge, just getting me to start that's hard! PTL! Well, I had to come here tonight to apologise & make amends for my Happy Birthday morning when I'm afraid I was a little rebellious when I came & sat here before you & hardly said a thing, despite Dad's questions, prompting & encouragement. I just didn't want to talk, & that's no excuse, so I'm sorry.
17. LIKE DAD SAYS, WHEN YOU DON'T DO THE RIGHT THING, YOU USUALLY HAVE TO GO BACK TO WHERE YOU GOT OFF & GET BACK ON THE RIGHT TRACK, & do the thing you didn't want to do in the first place!—Or if you don't do it right‚ you have to start over & do it right. I guess all of you have gone through that before & have had to do things over, not only in your work‚ but in some of the mistakes you've made, you had to go back & take that grade over again, so you probably all know what I'm talking about!
18. (HEARS THUNDER OUTSIDE:) THIS IS A WONDERFUL TIME TO PRAISE THE LORD, when you can actually hear the Lord thundering & getting through in His Creation! PTL! You know He's really there & He's really doing something! If you need any natural signs, you can really feel it & hear it!
19. THE LORD HAS PRETTY MUCH MADE IT CLEAR THAT HE'S ALREADY HEALED MY EYES, HE'S DONE THE WORK, SO WE DON'T HAVE TO KEEP BEGGING HIM TO HEAL ME! His work is done, now He's waiting for me to do something, & I've just got to find out what it is! I have a few ideas from what Dad's been telling me & the Lord's been trying to get through to me about. Sometimes when you have a problem like this & you're not quite sure what you need to do to get the victory or get your healing, you have to try a few things out!
20. WHEN THE LORD PUTS THE PRESSURE ON, WE USUALLY START BECOMING REAL GOOD & TRYING TO DO ALL THE THINGS WE THINK MIGHT BE THE ANSWER! Anything we're a little behind on or not really right with the Lord in, we suddenly try to get right with the Lord real quick! Maybe that's why He doesn't always tell us specifically or exactly what the solution is, because He wants us to work on everything, every aspect & every area in our lives that we maybe need to work on! So the Lord's pretty smart, & like Dad has said many times before, He gets the most for His money! He's real efficient & likes to get the most out of us too! So now that I know I have the healing & the Lord's promised time after time that He's done the work & it's finished, the only thing left is to assume that it's up to me‚ & I've got to do something.—And as usual, Dad has helped me to realise more what it is!
21. DAD GOT A LITTLE PROPHECY FOR ME‚ WOULD YOU LIKE TO HEAR IT? (Fam: Yes!) "The Lord has permitted you to contract this disease in order to draw you closer to Him, to humble you to ask for prayer & to know that you cannot do it without Him. Before you were afflicted you went astray & you trusted in the arm of flesh, but in your affliction you have cried to the Lord, & therefore you have been drawn closer to Him to seek His face & lean upon Him rather than on the arm of flesh. Therefore, in this humbled, weakened condition you've cried unto Him for strength, & He will save you & many, many others with you!" And then he added, "See? It's for a blessing! TYJ!" (See "Prayer & Answer for Mama's Eyes", #2332) Techi was there when Grandpa got that, & she helped to pray for me too.
22. I HAVEN'T COMPLETELY GOTTEN THE ANSWER TO EXACTLY WHAT THAT MEANS, BUT THE NEXT DAY OR SO WE ASKED THE LORD AGAIN & HE SAID‚ "YOU NEED TO TALK MORE!" I guess that's pretty obvious, none of you are going to be surprised about that! I need to talk more, dictate more, & as a result, publish more. I do do a lot of talking, but I think the Lord wants me to maybe do even more, & then make sure it gets published.
23. SOMETIMES WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE MEANING IS OF WHAT THE LORD SAYS TO US, BUT HE EXPECTS US TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO FIND OUT! Maybe we're failing in different areas & the Lord wants us to try to shape up in anything that we're lacking in. So He really uses sickness & illness to accomplish a great deal for Him.
24. MY QUESTION WAS, "WELL, HOW HAVE I BEEN LEANING ON THE ARM OF FLESH?" Of course, we all sometimes lean on the arm of flesh to some extent, & it's a big part of our Christian life to learn to draw closer to the Lord & to not do things in our own strength or depending on others' strength. So that was my question: "In what major way am I leaning on the arm of flesh?" I had a few ideas‚ but Dad said‚ "Your reading. You're using your eyes too much, leaning on the arm of flesh. You're reading so much, report after report after report!—Letter after letter‚ all other people's writing!"—In other words, I'm taking in a lot but not giving out enough!
25. IT'S EASY FOR ME TO READ, & I GET A LOT IN, BUT WHERE I HAVE TO REALLY TRUST THE LORD IS TO GIVE OUT, to really pour out more than I have been! Other people's information is important, I have to know it, but to give out the Word of the Lord in answer to that is much more important than just finding out what's going on in the Family. I need to make sure I'm being faithful to give the Lord's answers to it all.—Which, of course, I can't lean on the arm of flesh to do.—The Lord has to do that!
26. I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING, I HAVEN'T HAD EXPERIENCE IN HARDLY ANYTHING, SO WHEN QUESTIONS COME, I HAVE TO REALLY GET DESPERATE & ASK THE LORD! I know that anything I ever get in answer to anything is from the Lord, because I'm certain that I don't know anything myself! When people ask me a question or have a problem‚ most of the answers I get are things I've never even thought about before. And when we get answers from the Lord & give counsel from the Lord, we need to make it clear to others that we are getting it from the Lord, & not just assume that everybody knows that!
27. I THINK THE LORD'S GIVEN ME A SPIRIT HELPER TO ANSWER QUESTIONS & PROBLEMS! I'm very conscious of the fact that when somebody asks me a question, that it's the Lord Who gives me the answer. I've been more & more aware of this lately, that the Lord really does give me answers!—And I really do know it's the Lord, because I never even thought of most of the things until the question came up‚ but then I get an answer to it! TTL!
28. SO YOU CAN ALL ASK ME QUESTIONS, & THE LORD WILL PROBABLY ANSWER YOU! It's like a vacuum! The same with Dad: When I ask him things, even though he's never thought of it before, the Lord will give the answer! So that's another reason why I thought the Lord was putting the pressure on for me to come & talk to you, besides me making amends for my badness & my rebelliousness in not wanting to talk on my birthday.
YOU CAN ALWAYS DO WHAT THE LORD ASKS!
29. SAYING YOU CAN'T DO IT IS JUST AN EXCUSE, USUALLY DUE TO PRIDE, BECAUSE YOU CAN ALWAYS DO WHAT THE LORD ASKS YOU TO! Of course, I do have a poor memory, so if somebody wants me to remember things, maybe I can't do that.—But I can talk! There's always something I can say, even if I have to sit here & read you Scriptures! In other words, even if you can't exactly do every detail of what you think you're asked to do, you can always do something! You can't really use the excuse that you can't do it‚ because even if you can't talk, you can read Scriptures!—And that's probably even better! If you can't sing, again‚ you can read Scriptures! Within what you're asked to do, there's always some way you can obey!
30. MAYBE YOU CAN'T SIT UP HERE & CARRY A TUNE & SING, BUT YOU COULD ASK SOMEBODY ELSE TO PLAY & SING! I think you're finding that out in your Sunday Fellowships, that you don't have to be Mr. or Mrs. Superstar, but you can just get up here & plan for other people to do things, & you can do something at least! So we shouldn't ever say we can't do something when the Lord asks us to.—That's just an excuse! We can do something, & maybe it will turn out to be better than what we thought we needed to do, or even what we were asked to do, especially if we let the Lord lead & guide us.
31. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SOME PEOPLE WHO ARE ACTUALLY UNDER THE CONTROL OF EVIL SPIRITS, MOST OF US REALLY DON'T HAVE ANY EXCUSE FOR NOT DOING WHAT WE SHOULD DO! With prayer & a certain amount of will power & just plain obedience‚ we usually can do whatever we're supposed to. It's usually just an excuse to say you can't, or you're not going to because you've got this or that weakness or problem.—Like me, I'm shy‚ I'm self-conscious—but that's just an excuse too.
32. YOU CAN OVERCOME YOUR PRIDE WITH PRAYER! In all aspects of our life, if we will just pray & ask the Lord to help us, He will! The problem is, when we don't want to do something‚ we don't want God's help that badly! So we usually don't ask for it & we just resort to excusing ourselves that, "Well‚ I can't do it" or "I'm too shy!" But I know that's just an excuse.
33. MOST OF US KNOW THAT WHEN WE DECIDE WE DON'T WANT TO DO SOMETHING & WE SAY WE CAN'T DO IT, WE'RE USUALLY JUST MAKING EXCUSES, because we know the Lord well enough to know that all things are possible with Him, & that we can do anything that He wants us to do! "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me!"—Phil.4:13. Sometimes we may need some extra prayer, united prayer or others praying with or for us, but that's always available too. So there's really no excuse for us not doing what the Lord wants us to do!
COMMITMENT & LOVE FOR THE LORD!
34. HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE READ THE "COMMITMENT" SECTION IN "GOOD THOTS"? I'm sure you were really thrilled with that section, & I think we'd all do well to review it frequently. Commitment is the same as consecration & dedication. I had a little hesitation about what to call that section, because it's pretty much the same as Yieldedness‚ Will of God & Forsaking All. What it really boils down to is, "How much love do we have for the Lord?" Our consecration sort of depends on how much love we have.
35. IF WE LOVE THE LORD‚ WE'RE GOING TO BE WILLING TO DO ANYTHING, NO MATTER WHAT! Sometimes when Dad has needed help or in times past when we were out in a restaurant or somewhere & he wanted me to get someone or do something that might maybe seem a little crazy, my love for him overcame my self-consciousness. If you really love someone you're willing to forget everything else! If members of your family are in a burning building, you run in to rescue them! If you really love them you'll do that without even thinking. And that's the way it is with the Lord: If we love Him enough we won't even have to hesitate, we won't have to think twice about ourselves or what people are going to say or what the repercussions are going to be, we'll just go ahead & do what He asks immediately!
36. I THINK ALL OF US HAVE TIMES IN OUR LIVES WHEN WE HESITATE & WE HAVE RESERVATIONS, WHICH SHOWS THAT WE NEED TO LOVE THE LORD MORE. If your children are in danger you'll forget everything else & run to rescue them, no matter what's going to happen to you, & that's how it should be in our relationship with the Lord! We can gauge our love for the Lord by how many reservations we have in doing what we're asked to do, or how many ways we try to get out of it, thinking, "Well‚ what's so-&-so going to say?"‚ or what all the results are going to be.
37. IT'S GOOD TO HAVE A LITTLE REMINDER ONCE IN AWHILE & READ FROM THAT "COMMITMENT" SECTION OF "GOOD THOTS", LIKE I DID TODAY. A lot of the other "Thots" sections are for outreach & are good to use when writing people on our mailing list, friends & contacts etc., but "Commitment" is one of the most important sections for us who are supposed to be 100% dedicated to the Lord & His Work. I'd say it's one that we ought to read & review a lot, as the more familiar you are with it, the more the Lord can bring those things back to your mind when you need them.
38. I THANK THE LORD FOR THAT "THOTS" BOOK, IT REALLY IS A MIRACLE! God bless Isaac, we should give him a lot of credit‚ because he waded through all those huge volumes of anecdotes & famous quotes‚ something I could never have had time to do! He went through book after book after book, & picked out the stories & quotes that he thought we would at least consider‚ & then I went through all those that he chose. But my goodness‚ for me to even go through all those took months, it was a big job!
39. SO ISAAC DID A TREMENDOUS JOB & HAD A BIG BIG PART IN THAT, SO THANK THE LORD FOR HIM, he should get a lot of credit for it too.—As well as everybody else who worked so hard on it, & all of you that read it & added your suggestions & corrections before it reached the final stage. I guess I haven't told you this before, but I really appreciate it, because the "Thots" Book is like a dream come true as a companion for the MOP, & the two together are going to be a real blessing to not only our Family, but many others as well, along with our little "Treasures" Book!
MAJOR PUBS PUSH FINISHED!
40. WE REALLY FINISHED A MAJOR PUBS PUSH THIS YEAR! Every year we've kept saying, "Lord, give us another year, we've got to get all these books out!" I'd like to say the same thing now, "Lord, we need another year‚ we've gotta get more books out!", but I can't honestly say that, since we don't really have to get more out. We are working on a few more, of course, like the GP DMs that we can put out on the streets or give to friends, & we've got a few more Condo Books in the works, the FC Komix are going to be reprinted, & the Mini-Concordance, which we thought was going to be a real short little project, but is turning out to be the longest!
41. SO WE NEVER FINISH‚ WE'RE STILL MOPPING UP, WORKING ON A FEW LITTLE THINGS HERE & THERE! We have more Posters & more illustrated Anecdotes to do & a lot of other little things, more tapes, all important projects, but not as lengthy as the books that we really made our major goal to accomplish this year. So I still want the Lord to maybe give us a little more time, but I can't really be too adamant & tell the Lord to "Stop the World, we've got to get these other things done!", because they aren't as important. We've gotten the major books out, & it's been a wonderful accomplishment! TYJ!
42. GOD BLESS MORDY, YOU NEED TO PRAY FOR HIM BECAUSE HE'S STILL DOING HIS PART IN GETTING THESE BOOKS OUT. He usually works pretty much alone & doesn't have too much fellowship with other leadership, so you really need to pray for him. That's the last step in getting the Words out to the World, & if the Devil hasn't been able to stop it so far, he'd like to get at Mordy & his operation!
43. SO WE REALLY NEED TO PRAY FOR HIM because he's gone through a lot of big battles lately, in different areas‚ not only his own personal life, but even in trying to find a place to live. So we need to really desperately pray for him because he's got quite a few months of printing business yet to do. The work's not really done until he gets his job done & it gets out, so please do pray for him. But it's a real satisfaction to have gotten all of these pubs out to the Family so far, & I really appreciate all of you who have helped & had a part in it, including you children & our other Pubs Units‚ as well as the entire Family who has supported us in prayer & with their tithes & offerings. You've all helped to make it possible!
BEING HUMBLE IS BEING YIELDED & WILLING!
44. GOING BACK TO MY EYES: I don't mind talking about my aches & pains, so I guess all of you will have to bear with me! It's not the greatest thing in the World to talk about, but maybe we can get some lessons out of it. I figure the more I talk about it, the more sympathy & the more prayer I'll get!—Ha!
45. REALLY, IT IS AN IMPORTANT FAMILY MATTER‚ not that I do even as much on the pubs as others do, but if I don't do my part, the pubs are backlogged & they don't get done! In other words, I'm probably the only person who can give the final approval on many of these projects, & if I don't do that‚ most things come to a standstill. Our Creations teams do a lot more of the actual pick & shovel work & put more time into it‚ but I do have to give the final approval, & that's why my eyes are so important. I hate to be the bottleneck or the problem, & that's why we all have to pray that I get the point & learn what I have to learn in a hurry!
46. NOW I THINK YOU CAN STOP PRAYING FOR MY HEALING SPECIFICALLY, because the Lord said He was going to answer—He said He'd already done it, in fact—& now you should pray that I learn the lessons that I'm supposed to learn quick so that I don't unnecessarily hold up the Lord's Work!
47. DAD SAID I NEED TO TALK MORE‚ & THAT IT'S JUST MY DAMNED PRIDE THAT I DON'T! Well, Peter & Sara are good at it, so I usually pass things on to them to tell you. But the point is, I need to be yielded to talk whenever it's necessary.—Not that I necessarily have to come every week to give you a big talk to make sure I'm staying humble, but a lot of being humble has to do with simply being yielded & willing to do whatever you're supposed to do.
48. SO I KNOW THAT A LOT OF THE PROBLEM IS MY PRIDE & SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS & SHYNESS WHICH I'VE HAD ALL MY LIFE, but it seems like after this long I should have gotten over it with the Lord's help! In other words, there's no excuse. So if I obey & start to do it, I know the Lord won't fail, & I know that He is very capable of doing whatever He wants to do & needs to do through us! I sort of hide behind my self-consciousness & shyness as an excuse, but I'm hiding behind it & I know it!—And I know it's not a legitimate excuse! All of us have had that problem at some time or another, of drawing back for fear of what people are going to say or because we're worried about ourselves or we feel incapable, blah, blah.—But such worries are no excuse for not obeying the Lord!
PAUL'S BIG JOB & UPHOLDING HIM IN PRAYER!
49. I WAS LOOKING AT PAUL WHEN I GOT TO THAT LAST POINT, BECAUSE PAUL FEELS VERY INCAPABLE TO GO OUT THERE & BE OUR AMBASSADOR, BUT HE OBEYS & DOES THE JOB, & HE'S A WONDERFUL EXAMPLE OF THAT! I was planning on separating these two talks, & tell you about my problems first‚ & then tell you how well Paul's done & how great he is.—I figured if I separated the two, I wouldn't look quite so bad in comparison!—Ha! Maybe he should be sitting up here instead of me! Now he's all embarrassed! But he's a wonderful example to me of dedication & commitment, being willing & obedient to go out & do what he knows needs to be done & what he's asked to do.—Which have been some very very difficult assignments‚ God bless him!
50. WHEN HE & THE OTHER SEARCHERS WERE RUNNING THAT MONSTROUS WHOPPER OF A TTC IN MEXICO FOR TWO MONTHS, I THOUGHT, "HOW IN THE WORLD DID I GET THESE POOR PEOPLE INTO THAT?—Here I am enjoying myself & comfortable & getting a good sleep every night, & I'm expecting these poor people to run that TTC & get along on only 4 or 5 or 6 hours sleep a night for two months straight!—As well as be responsible for all the problems, to bring back all the people who had been somewhat backslidden, to try to train the kids & teens & the staff at the same time, trying to pack a whole lifetime of training into two months! I mean, they almost had a nervous breakdown! Except for the Lord they couldn't have stood it, & that was the only thing that comforted me, that I knew the supernatural, miraculous power of the Lord‚ & I knew He'd have to do it! But it was still plenty tough!
51. SO THAT MAKES ME ASHAMED OF MY COMPARATIVE LACK OF DEDICATION. I don't know if I could so easily take on an assignment like that! (Paul: But you told us everything to do!) Yes, but the Bible tells you everything to do too! Just telling you what to do‚ that's just the beginning of business. So a lot of things that Paul has had to do, I don't know if the rest of us could have done it. That embarrasses you, Paul, but we know it was the Lord & we know you weren't capable, but you were the only one we had for that job, along with Damaris & Lois & Juan & Faithy.
52. NOW OUR LEADERSHIP IS SO SCARCE WE'VE HAD TO PUT MOST OF THEM INTO DIFFERENT STATIONARY POSITIONS OF RESPONSIBILITY, & IT LOOKS LIKE PAUL ALONE IS LEFT TO BE OUR WORLD AMBASSADOR, our top representative who is representing us wherever he goes, sharing with people our policies & our thoughts & our heart, & also helping to advise & counsel them & administrate. So you'd better pray for him, because that's a very awesome responsibility, & he feels very incapable. I said, "I sure wouldn't want to be out there doing Paul's job! Thank the Lord for Paul! Here am I, Lord, send my brother!" Ha!—And Peter said the same thing!
53. BUT IF WE PUT ALL THIS RESPONSIBILITY ON PAUL, IT'S OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO REALLY UPHOLD HIM IN PRAYER, PRAYING THAT THE LORD WILL REALLY HELP HIM & DO IT AS HE'S DONE BEFORE! One thing that encourages Paul is that the Lord has done it so far. In every mission that he's had, in every job he's had, the Lord has come through victoriously & better than he had even imagined, & also given him good people to work with. But each job has been very straining in every way—spiritually, physically, mentally & emotionally.
54. WE HAVE IT PRETTY EASY SITTING HERE DOING OUR LITTLE OFFICE & HOUSEHOLD JOBS! It may be hard work‚ but we have a pretty regular routine & we're usually not under the same kind of tremendous pressure of planning & preparing & holding big countrywide meetings & reorganising whole countrywide leadership structures. But people in Paul's position on the field have a constant strain & constant heavy burdens‚ which if they don't take it all to the Lord, they're not going to make it! So it makes you really desperate. That's why at this moment Paul is real close to the Lord, because he's desperate about it, he doesn't know what to do! If you want to get real spiritual real fast, we'll give you a job like Paul's! I'm sure Paul would like to have some help‚ but the trouble is‚ we need you all here in your particular jobs. But it certainly does make him get close to the Lord & keeps him really really desperate!
55. SO PLEASE EARNESTLY PRAY FOR HIM & HIS BIG JOB! OF COURSE THE CROs & NOs HAVE A BIG RESPONSIBILITY AS WELL. Being the final authorities on their fields, like Paul is whenever he's in a country, that's a very awesome responsibility. I can relate to having the final word, but I can't quite relate to the same conditions. It's a terrible responsibility, a big, big job. Not only is it something that is spiritual—physically it's fairly easy to sit here & hear from the Lord—but to be out there & have all the pressures of the everyday problems, administration & "the burden & the press of the people", something even Jesus had to get away from at times, it's a very, very stressful job! To make it, you have to stay very close to the Lord & keep your mind on Him more than on the problems or the burdens, otherwise you'll go down with the problems & with the people, who in many cases are doubting & defeated.
56. THAT'S WHY SOME OF OUR FIELDS ARE IN THE POOR CONDITION THEY'RE IN: THEY JUST SORT OF GAVE UP! They didn't have the faith to keep progressing & forging ahead, they didn't have somebody to stand up & inspire them to make it no matter what. So they just got defeated & started looking too much at all their problems & the waves‚ & they started sinking! They need somebody to get in there & really inspire them‚ someone who can look to the Lord more than to them & their problems. Because if the Lord says He can do it & you can do it, then you can! So we've got to have somebody who is going to be able to get in there & personally inspire them. Some of our NOs are doing pretty well & being a blessing, but we even need to send somebody to go inspire them. So we've got Paul here now to try to inspire him, & then he can go out & inspire them! PTL!
THE BENEFITS OF PERSONAL CONTACT!
57. MAYBE SOME OF YOU HAVE WONDERED WHY I WAS SPENDING SO MUCH TIME WITH PAUL THIS WEEK. I didn't spend so much time with him last time he visited, but there were other people here & Peter was spending time with them all in pow-wows. But it was a miracle that Paul could even come, & who knows where we'll be next time he's ready to come around! I wasn't planning to spend much time with him. We gave him reading & dictation assignments & then we were going to leave him alone. Well, about two or three days into the week, it suddenly dawned on me that this could be the last time Paul is ever going to be with us like this, & maybe I should try to spend some personal time with him letting him ask any questions he might have.
58. SOMETIMES THERE IS A DEFINITE ADVANTAGE IN HAVING PERSONAL CONTACT! He & the NOs can write us, & they can ask us questions, & we do attempt to answer them sooner or later‚ whenever we can. But one question asked in person could result in a long response, equivalent to pages & pages of material, which normally in our letters we have to try to make very brief & just summarise the answer. We'll give you a few paragraphs or even one or two pages of answer to the question & that's fine. But in a personal conversation, when you really get together in meetings—delegates' meetings, NO meetings, Shepherds' meetings, leadership pow–wows & things like that—that one answer to the first question can initiate or result in another question, & that results in another answer!—And that answer brings up another question & on & on, & you can cover much more territory because you have immediate two-way communication.
59. I CAN'T INITIATE THE QUESTIONS. Paul knows what's been going on on the field, & he can initiate the questions, which in turn gives rise to all kinds of answers. All over the World we've found that it pays to have personal meetings sometimes, because you just can't do everything via paper power! Paper power is very important & we do most of our work that way, but as far as practically administrating on a field & really supervising & helping people personally, you need some personal contact. It's too difficult to try to cover everything on paper!
60. WE NEED A LINK WITH THE FIELD, TOO! Dad's given most of the answers & almost every problem that arises is already covered in the Letters somewhere, at least the basic principles & policies‚ but you have to get down to details when you're on the field. We can give the general policies & the basic principles from here, that's our job‚ but when you get on the field, the problem is how to apply those basic policies & principles to the problems at hand.
61. PAUL IS LIKE OUR LIAISON, HE KNOWS THE POLICIES & THE PRINCIPLES‚ BUT HE'S GOT TO GO & APPLY THEM & HELP THEM TO PUT THEM INTO EFFECT! So the personal meetings & the face-to-face discussions are very important in some cases, when the Lord makes it possible. If the Lord had thought it wasn't necessary, He probably wouldn't have let Paul come for this visit!
LABOUR & MANAGEMENT!
62. IT SUDDENLY DAWNED ON ME: HERE IS THIS PRICELESS OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS THINGS & HEAR MORE FROM HIS EXPERIENCE & GIVE HIM MORE COUNSEL! Paul is supposed to be our representative, not necessarily the field representative. He's a liaison‚ but he's more in management than he is in labour! He doesn't solely represent the Homes.
63. WE IN OUR MANAGEMENT ARE NOT SET UP LIKE THE WORLDLY LABOUR-MANAGEMENT BODIES ARE. In the World, the management has their side & they have their own greed & their own goals that they want to accomplish, & labour has theirs, & they're usually in conflict with each other.—Not always, sometimes they get together on it, like in Japan. But the management wants to make the money, & the labourers want their rights & they want their share of the money too.
64. BUT IN OUR KIND OF ORGANISATION, OUR KINGDOM, THE MANAGEMENT, AT LEAST AT THIS LEVEL, ARE HEARING FROM THE LORD‚ & WE TRY TO DO ONLY WHAT IS RIGHT & BEST FOR THE LABOUR. We don't have a selfish motivation.—Ours is unselfish, only to help the labourers, help them win the World for Jesus, help them win others to the Kingdom of God! So when they have problems or gripes, the role of the negotiator in our Family should be to show them how they can conform to management policies & principles.
65. WHEN OUR LABOUR, OUR HOMES, HAVE GRIPES & COMPLAINTS‚ IT ISN'T BECAUSE WE HAVE SELFISHLY WITHHELD FROM THEM but it's usually because of a lack of faith on their part. They feel, "We can't do it because of such-&-such." So our representatives have to go out there & show them how they can do it, in other words, how they can have the faith to do what the Lord has told them to do!
66. OUR REPRESENTATIVES HAVE TO BE CAREFUL THEY DON'T GET SO SUCKED INTO THE LABOUR SIDE THAT THEY START SINKING WITH THEM & feeling, "Well, this is too hard & this is an impossibility & we can't do what the Lord said to do!" Even though our representatives are with them most of the time, they have to be more conscious that they're on our side. They're part of management, & they have to help them come up to our standards instead of letting them drag them down to theirs! When we were discussing this, we saw that there would be a temptation for people on the field—CROs, NOs, Visiting Servants, Representatives, Ambassadors—to sink with them‚ because you do feel for the people & their problems.
67. BUT YOU HAVE TO OVERCOME THAT & LOOK TO THE LORD! You can't get to looking so much at the people & looking at their problems & looking at the defeats that you feel‚ "Well, I guess the Lord can't do this after all." You have to keep your heart & eyes fixed above, on the Lord & on His Word, & know without a shadow of a doubt that He can do it, have the faith that He can do it, & keep that always in your heart!
68. WHEN YOU GET INTO THESE SITUATIONS YOU DO FEEL HEARTBROKEN FOR THE PEOPLE, BUT LET'S FACE IT, IT'S USUALLY THEIR OWN LACK OF FAITH THAT HAS CAUSED THE PROBLEM! If we're defeated & we have problems, it's not the Lord's fault. The NOs are supposed to be part of management too, but it's difficult for them, because they're dealing constantly with the problems of the Homes & problems of the people. They have to have strong faith in the Lord & His Word, & a real determination to do what the Lord says no matter what, even if it does look impossible! They have to have really strong faith because otherwise they'll just be dragged down & the whole field will be dragged down.
69. I UNDERSTAND THAT, BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES EVEN IN MY PERSONAL SITUATION I TEND TO DO THE SAME THING WHEN DAD ISSUES AN ORDER OR A RULE & I SAY, "OH, THOSE POOR PEOPLE, THEY CAN'T DO THAT! Please don't be so hard on them, don't make them do that!"—And I have to watch out‚ because that's the same sort of situation. I need to stick with Dad & what he says, & have the faith that it can be done! Of course, there's a balance to it. Just like on the field, sometimes we tell people something & say "Do it"‚ but there are some times when we can later modify & adapt some rules & policies if we see they're too difficult & not working‚ & we have. When we see some problems in applying certain things, we can relax things a little more. So there is often a place for dialogue & a little bit of compromise here or there to find the right balance. Maybe the Lord used it as a test to see how people would react, before relaxing the restriction or sending the needed help.
70. BUT MOSTLY, WHEN WE'RE WITH MANAGEMENT, WE NEED TO STICK WITH MANAGEMENT! We need to uphold those rules instead of feeling, "Oh, these poor people, they can't do it!" In that case‚ we're saying the Lord can't do it. We need to have the faith to at least first try to do it no matter what!
71. SO PAUL HAS THAT RATHER AWESOME POSITION OF TRYING TO BE IN THE MIDDLE! But he's got to remember—& I think he's done very well at that—that his heart is here, he's with us & with what the Lord says, & not let himself feel defeated along with those who are defeated. He has to try to help give them the faith & the courage, the enthusiasm & the zeal to do what the Lord says they can do!
72. AND LIKE I SAID, THERE ALWAYS IS ONCE IN AWHILE THAT WE RELAX OR MODIFY A RULE OR POLICY. In fact, we welcome hearing from the Homes & what their problems are, because there are some things we can do to make things easier for them. Sometimes they have legitimate problems that we can help alleviate & we can do something for them, & we do try to do that as much as we can, in practical ways & in counsel.
73. ALL THAT TO SAY THAT WE NEED TO ESPECIALLY PRAY FOR PAUL—AS WELL AS OUR CROs & NOs‚ who have a definite tendency sometimes to get dragged down with all the burdens of everything. And as far as personal meetings & personal communication, it really does help sometimes to have that. Paul & I were able to cover a lot more than we could have ever covered via letter, because as you talk you think of more questions & more things to bring out that we would never think of or initiate ourselves.
LEADERS HEARING FROM THE LORD!
74. SO THE LORD REALLY BURDENED MY HEART THAT I NEEDED TO TALK TO PAUL. I GUESS IT WAS PART OF WHAT DAD TOLD ME, "YOU NEED TO TALK MORE!" I need to talk more‚ to pour out more, & Paul needs to know how we feel about things. It's not that he can't hear from the Lord himself on the field, & he does when he doesn't have a chance to ask us questions in a letter. The Lord gives him the answers when we're not there to give them to him. It's just that there sometimes is a lack of time to pray & think about all the questions that come up when he's on the field, so if we can discuss some of it together now, we can get a lot of the answers right here & it's like a shortcut!
75. LIKE DAMARIS IN HER SITUATION: WHEN SHE HAS QUESTIONS, SHE WRITES US, BUT SHE GOES AHEAD HEARING FROM & OBEYING THE LORD, & THEN TELLING US ABOUT WHAT SHE'S DONE‚ & by the time she hears back from us it's an encouragement to her, because usually she's been getting the same answers! If you have a close link with the Lord‚ & you're desperately praying for an answer, He'll give it! She has the responsibility & she makes most of the decisions, not us. If it was like our Home that we're supposed to run, well, she could pray for an answer & maybe not get it, because we're supposed to get it! But Paul & Damaris & our leaders out on the field, when they need answers, they just pray & the Lord can show them what to do just as well as He can show us.—And maybe better, because we aren't even there!
76. BUT WHEN WE CONFIRM THINGS‚ THAT ENCOURAGES HER THAT SHE'S ABLE TO GO AHEAD ON HER OWN! It's a real help to all our other leaders out on the field as well, when we confirm their actions. Sometimes haven't you found in your personal situations that you're not sure what the Lord wants‚ you have an idea, a certain leading, but for somebody else to get the same answer, you feel it must be the Lord, & it's a real encouragement to you? So confirming things is a real help!
77. LIKE JUAN & LEAH FOR EXAMPLE IN LATIN AMERICA: Leah wrote & said, "It's such a relief to know that you said you agreed with what we did on this & you agreed with what we did on that!" She's so relieved when we just tell her, "Well‚ we were proud of you for doing that, & that was a good move." She said, "Oh, we were waiting with bated breath all this time‚ we wanted to know if we did the right thing!"
78. I'M SURE IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN SOMEWHERE WHERE YOU HAD RESPONSIBILITY, as the head of a Home or a LIM or a Visiting Servant, you were greatly relieved when someone came along & told you you'd made the right decision. We seem to need that, because our channels aren't always so clear. We pray & we ask the Lord for an answer, but it's really a relief when somebody comes along & says, "We think that was the right decision, you did the right thing!" It encourages our faith to go ahead & trust the Lord for more!
PRAY FOR THOSE YOU GIVE RESPONSIBILITY TO!
79. WHEN I ASK OTHERS TO DO THINGS, EVEN WITH THE PUBS, I'M STILL ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE. In other words, if I shove the job off on somebody else, I'm still responsible, & I feel the responsibility that I'd better at least pray & ask the Lord to help them in what they're doing, because it was my idea in the first place! Even though you as a leader can't do every job yourself, if you give jobs to others & you expect them to do them right, you're pretty responsible to pray for them & help them in whatever way you can. You're the one that gave them their responsibility or you put them in that position‚ so you're still ultimately responsible, & you can help them make it by praying for them.—Along with any other help you can give them.
80. WELL, AFTER HEARING ALL OF THAT, I GUESS NONE OF YOU WILL WANT PAUL'S JOB NOW‚ IN CASE YOU EVER DID! But praise the Lord, he's doing great & I really admire his dedication & commitment. Getting to talk to him more than I have before, I really see that his love for the Lord & for us has been what has motivated him & enabled him to go ahead & accomplish these very difficult big jobs & big missions.
81. SORRY THAT WE CAN'T MAKE IT EASIER FOR YOU, PAUL! When we have these TTC's & these YES's, it's a one-time thing, & we can't go back & have another one next month or in two months. We can't take half the kids now & expect that sometime later we can have the other half, so it's almost a matter of necessity that we have these huge meetings. We know that we may not get another chance, time is so short. So it's a big job, probably bigger than the System would ever tackle with so few leaders!
82. LOOKING AT IT FROM A SYSTEM VIEWPOINT‚ WE CERTAINLY DO CRAZY THINGS, & WE EXPECT MORE FROM OUR WORKERS THAN THE SYSTEM WOULD EVER EXPECT FROM THEIRS‚ & the only way we can do that is because we know the Lord will do it through them! So we're sorry we have to make it such a difficult job, but when it's a necessity & what the Lord wants, we know the Lord will come through & help supernaturally! But that's why we always pray especially hard every day for Paul & Juan & Leah & the others.—Especially when they're in these meetings. Praying for them is our responsibility.—It's mine, but I want all the help I can get in praying for them!
MAMA'S PRAYER REQUEST!
83. WELL‚ I WENT FROM TALKING ABOUT MY PROBLEMS TO PAUL'S PROBLEMS‚ & NOW WE WANT TO HAVE PRAYER FOR MY PROBLEMS & FOR PAUL'S SUCCESS IN HIS NEXT MISSION! So back to my problems: Dad said, "You need to talk more!" And we came to the conclusion, which wasn't very difficult‚ that the reason I wasn't talking more was just pride. So my problem is not that the Lord hasn't healed my eyes‚ the Lord said He's done it, but we need to pray that I'll obey & do whatever I'm supposed to do, which looks like talk more, & not be worried about myself!—Which is a pretty simple thing to do with the Lord's help, I don't have much excuse!
84. IT'S NOT SOME BIG DEMONIC THING THAT'S KEEPING ME BACK! With most of our problems, all we have to do is obey, then the Lord gives us the answer & the victory. There are a lot of good quotes on that but I don't remember them, maybe you can look them up & read them later if you like. My poor memory is one reason I've been so interested in reference material. The Lord could overcome that too, but so far He hasn't, & I don't know if He's going to. But it does have its advantages!
85. THE LORD MADE ME THE WAY HE WANTED ME TO BE, & MAYBE ONE OF THE ADVANTAGES OF MY HAVING A POOR MEMORY IS THAT I'VE ALWAYS HAD A STRONG MOTIVATION TO PUBLISH REFERENCE MATERIAL, LIKE THE MOP & "THOTS". I know that I can't remember these things myself, so I am very dependent on being able to look things up to find whatever I want. I want it all to be there at our fingertips when we need it! I guess most of us have somewhat the same problem along those lines, so to put it all in an easy–to-find form has been a real blessing‚ & even if I can't spend much time using it, all the rest of you will be using it all over the World! Just knowing that the material is there for you when you need to find it & use it, is a real blessing!
86. SO I JUST NEED TO HAVE A LITTLE PRAYER. Paul & I prayed together the other night, & I asked him to pray for my pride. But I prayed for it myself because I didn't know if he was going to get up the courage to pray for me like that!—Ha! I had a headache & was feeling nauseous as well, so I asked him to pray for my health & my pride too, & then immediately afterwards I threw up! I thought, "Well, that's a good way for the Lord to humble me!" Most people don't like to be talking to somebody & all of a sudden throw up! So that was a good humbler & maybe was a little sign that the Lord was answering my prayer, because it happened right after we prayed. But I think we can stop praying for my eyes, & instead pray for whatever else ails me, & maybe then we'll get the answer!
87. YOU DON'T HAVE TO MAKE IT A BIG DEAL, BECAUSE I KNOW THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WAS MY CONFESSION! And then we want to pray for Paul & his mission to Japan, which is much more important at this moment. The meetings he & the CRO & NOs will be having are very important & can be a real turning point. So we need to pray for them that they'll be anointed for the job, & also for dear Mary (Kezia) & Bec. They're really doing their best, so please keep them in mind as well.
88. SO I'VE MADE MY CONFESSION, & I'M ASKING PETER TO PRAY FOR ME. I didn't think I'd put any of the rest of you through having to come up & pray for me & my problems. —Not that you should mind, because we all have problems‚ I have as many problems as you do; the only difference with me is I have a different job, a certain position that the Lord's given me. As Dad's often brought out, you salute the rank, the position, the uniform, but that doesn't make me any different than you. We're all in different positions here, we have that distinction, but we're all basically pretty much the same.—We think pretty much the same, we come from fairly similar backgrounds, but our jobs are different.
89. THAT'S ONE OF THE BIG DISTINCTIONS IN OUR FAMILY, OUR JOBS ARE DIFFERENT. That's what makes the distinctions. Being a leader is a job! Somebody brought that out the other day, & I thought it was good: It's not that the leader is necessarily so much better than anybody else, in fact he may be worse, but he is the leader, so you salute the job & the position!
90. THAT'S WHY YOU LOVE ME, BECAUSE YOU LOVE THE POSITION I HAVE. Well, hopefully you love me as a person too, like I love you, but you have that special love because of the position the Lord's given me, & that's your love for the Lord being manifested. You can love me just as a person & I love you as Family members, but your special love for me is a love for the Lord‚ the position He's given me in His Kingdom. That doesn't mean that I'm any better than the rest of you, in fact I might be worse than some of you, & in some things I am!
91. SO I FIGURED IF YOU ALL CAN EXPERIENCE ASKING FOR PRAYER, WHY SHOULD I BE EXEMPT? It was probably pretty hard on some of you to get up the courage to ask for prayer at different times too. I don't think I've ever had prayer except for my physical ailments, & with those you can sort of get by with feeling, "Well, you're not so bad after all, it's just an attack of the Enemy!" But if you've got to get up & say, "I have a problem with pride or self-righteousness or jealousy or bad spirits or unfaithfulness", it's a little bit different! Peter told me, "You should try it & see what it feels like!"—Ha!
92. ANYWAY‚ PRAYER NEVER HURTS & ACTUALLY IT'S A REAL BLESSING FOR US! You all have done it, even Dad has done it‚ so why shouldn't I? I'm not any more perfect or any better than the rest of you—we're all in the same boat together, we're all in the Kingdom & we're all serving the Lord & we all need each other! So it's good for us all to be aware that all of us have problems & failings & faults‚ but we can get the victory with the Lord!
IT ENCOURAGES US WHEN OTHERS MAKE MISTAKES!
93. I THOUGHT MY CONFESSION WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU! After all, to hear anybody confess their sins always makes you feel better, doesn't it? In Russia, the two older boys that are more or less in charge there‚ have, sad to say, been in big disunity lately, which resulted in the problems that they had there with the Romans, because they just weren't doing the job & the Lord wanted to shake them up. But one of the girls there said, "Well, it really hurt me to see them fighting so, but even though it hurt me, it really encouraged me much more to see that the doorknob wasn't so high! I thought they were so perfect before, & I'd never make it because I was so weak‚ but it was a real big encouragement to me!" So even in that way‚ "all things work together for good", & the Lord certainly brought good out of their problems in more ways than one!
94. EVEN WHEN DAD MAKES MISTAKES I TELL HIM, "THAT REALLY ENCOURAGES ME!" I'm sure you feel the same way. I tell him, "Boy, I'm glad you're not perfect, it really encourages me!" Like Techi says, "Everybody makes mistakes, Grandpa!"—Which is a nice thing to say to people to encourage them. So I think it does encourage us when others make mistakes. That's what's so horrible about self-righteousness: Self-righteous people, on the surface at least, don't make very many mistakes. They're so good‚ that's why they're self-righteous‚ & I think that's why we feel a little uncomfortable with people like that. We're much more comfortable with people that are making mistakes like we are!
95. SO I MADE MY CONFESSION & I FEEL QUITE RELIEVED! Actually, I've been confessing all week to Paul & Peter & others of you! I appreciate your prayers & I know I ask for a lot of them, but I don't want to take up too much time when I know there are so many other more important problems. So you can all just hold out your hands for me, & Peter & Paul & you kids in the front row can come up & lay your hands on me, & let's pray, & then we'll pray for Paul afterwards. PTL! TYL!
PRAYER FOR MAMA!
96. (MAMA PRAYS:) THANK YOU JESUS! THANK YOU‚ LORD‚ FOR YOUR MERCY! THANK YOU, LORD‚ FOR FORGIVENESS! Thank You, Jesus, for all Your love for us! Thank You for Your love for me, Lord‚ & putting up with me & my holding back, my reservations, Lord. You've put up with a lot from me, Lord, & I know You've spoiled me, but at the same time I've seen Your Love, I've seen Your mercy to a wayward child, & I know You love me, Lord. I feel secure in it because I know You've been patient with me & You've gently led me & helped me to see little by little, & not made me feel fearful & insecure. Little by little You've shown me what You wanted to show me, Lord, but now You want me to repent & do what I need to do, Lord.
97. SO THANK YOU FOR SHOWING ME & THANK YOU FOR PUTTING THE PRESSURE ON TO MAKE ME DO WHAT I SHOULD DO, because I want to do it, Lord, & I want to be free of these excuses or whatever it is, these problems that cause me to be hesitant & have reservations about doing Your Will, Lord, doing whatever You want, or even whatever I think You might want‚ Lord.
98. SO FORGIVE ME & HELP ME, LORD, IN THESE RESPECTS, NOT TO BE SELF-CONSCIOUS‚ NOT TO BE WORRIED ABOUT HOW THINGS COME OUT, that they're not going to be perfect or they're not clear enough or all the things I worry & murmur about. Forgive me for that & help me to just go ahead & do it anyway, Lord, trusting You to work things out & give the right kind of results. Lord help me, in Jesus' name!
99. (PETER: THANK YOU FOR SWEET MAMA, JESUS, WHO'S BEEN A TREMENDOUS SAMPLE TO US ALL‚ LORD‚ OF TRUE LOVE & TRUE MERCY, OF THY LOVE & THY MERCY, JESUS! She has really been longsuffering with all of us, Lord. There are so many of us here who have seen a tremendous change in her life over the years, from someone who was so behind the scenes, Lord, & is now looking more to You‚ Jesus, & has been yielding more to You‚ & You've been manifesting Yourself more & more through her, Jesus. We know it's You‚ Lord!
100. (LORD‚ WE JUST THANK YOU FOR IT, & HOW YOU'VE SO MIGHTILY WORKED THROUGH HER, JESUS! And Lord, as Your Word says, she must decrease that You may increase!—John 3:30. Lord, she's come before You now & she's asked in faith, she's obeyed, & we know that with obedience will come Thy blessing, with obedience will come Thy anointing. We don't always have to understand, but if we obey, You will help us to understand later, Jesus!
101. (SO LORD, WE JUST THANK YOU FOR HOW SHE'S COME BEFORE YOU HERE, & ALL OF US, & SHE'S CONFESSED THIS, & You said that if we confess our faults, You're faithful & just to forgive us & to cleanse us from all unrighteousness!—1Jn.1:9. We believe that You'll cleanse her from this & that You will help her & You will strengthen her, because it's Your Word. She's asked forgiveness, Lord, & You've promised forgiveness. You said as far as the East is from the West, so far have You removed our transgressions from us, Jesus!—Psa.103:12.
102. (SO LORD, WE ASK THAT YOU CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN HER & GIVE HER GREAT FAITH THAT YOU DO SPEAK THROUGH HER, LORD, & that what she says is of Thee, & that as it comes out‚ it's the way You want it to be, Jesus! Help her to have great faith in this, to know, Lord, that if she just yields & obeys, that You will pour forth like never before! We claim Thy anointing, Thy power & the power of Thy Spirit to help her over these things‚ & to help her to set aside the childish ways & to take on the mantle that You have set before her, Lord. It's her choice, she wants to do it, & she's come forth in obedience & she's done it, Lord, & now we ask You to do Your part, Jesus.
103. (LORD, SHE'S OBEYED YOU AS MUCH AS SHE COULD HERE, & WE ASK THAT YOU THEREFORE DO TOUCH & HEAL HER EYES. She's taken this first step, & we know that if she takes one step, that You will match it & carry it beyond & heal her, Jesus! So we claim Thy promises, Lord, that if we ask we shall receive, & You've promised that if we obey, that we'll receive Thy blessings! So please do strengthen & help her & bless her, in Jesus' name!) Amen, Lord, You're going to do it! It's Your Word! TYJ! Hallelujah!
PROPHECIES & PROMISES FOR MAMA!
104. (JOHN: "OPEN YOUR MOUTH & I WILL FILL IT! For it is not ye that speak‚ but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. For it is God which worketh in you, both to will & to do of His good pleasure. Fear not, for it is My Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom!"—Psa.81:10, Mat.10:20, Phil.2:13, Luk.12:32.) (Peter: "The Lord will perfect that which concerneth thee!"—Psa.138:8.)
105. (SARA: "FAITHFUL IS HE THAT CALLETH YOU, WHO ALSO WILL DO IT! For we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God & not of us. For our speech & our preaching is not with enticing words of Man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit & of power, that our faith should not stand in the wisdom of Man, but in the power of God!"—1Thes.5:24, 2Cor.4:7‚ 1Cor.2:4-5)
106. (FAM: "MY STRENGTH IS MADE PERFECT IN WEAKNESS! Most gladly, therefore, glory in thy infirmities, that thy power may be the power of Christ. For this treasure is in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God & not of ourselves."—2Cor.12:9, 4:7.)—Amen, we're even to glory in our infirmities & our weaknesses! TYJ!
107. (PAUL: "BEHOLD AN ISRAELITE IN WHOM THERE IS NO GUILE! Yea, I have chosen the handmaiden of low degree. Yea, I have called the foolish, that I may bring to nought the wisdom of man. And yea, the strength that I shall put within her veins shall be of Me, & that strength shall flow out into others that they may go & enrich & strengthen those that are in need. Yea, & I have chosen that which I have chosen, & the vessel is of Me‚ the purging is of Me & the victory shall be of Me! For it is I Who strengtheneth, I who lift up one & put down another, & it is I who have lifted this one up before thee!") TYJ! Thank You for Your Words, Lord! Thank You for Your Love & mercy!
108. (FAM: "BEHOLD THE LIGHT OF ISRAEL & A GLORIOUS LIGHT‚ FOR IT IS MY LIGHT! Fear not nor be afraid, for I am with thee! A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid! Let your light so shine before men that they may see your glorious works, as you have."—Mat.5:14,16.)
109. (FAM: "FOR IT IS NECESSARY THAT THOU GO BEFORE THE PEOPLE! For thou art but a facet of David, & it is necessary for the people to see this facet of David for the vision to be complete, for the picture to be complete which I have shown unto My Servant David. For he has seen thee as a glorious light, as a Goddess before the people holding high My torch to light the way to the whole World! It is necessary for you to go before My people that this vision may be complete, that this vision may be fulfilled in thee, that I have given unto My Servant David. It is necessary for thee to fulfil the Word which I have given unto My Servant David! For I have ordained thee & have brought thee before the people for such a time as this, for thou art ordained to hold high this torch! It is necessary for thee to do that which I have shown unto thee!
110. ("FORSAKE THYSELF & COME UNTO ME & UNTO MY TORCH, THAT THE LIGHT WHICH THOU SHALT HOLD ALOFT UNTO THE PEOPLE MAY BE SEEN BY ALL! Therefore resist not & come unto Me, for in coming unto Me‚ thou shalt become that Goddess which My David has seen, which I have shown unto him, which I have given unto him & ordained in a vision unto him. It is necessary that I prepare thee now for what is to come, that I may rest My mantle upon thee for what shall come hereafter.
111. ("THEREFORE YIELD UNTO ME, FOR THOU ART A CHOSEN VESSEL WHICH I HAVE CHOSEN. I have laid My hands upon thy head & have ordained thee. For though thou art but a weak thing, My strength is made perfect in your weakness & I will lift up thy arms to hold high the torch which I have shown unto My Servant David! For thou hast lifted up David unto the people already, but thou must continue to lift him up unto the people, to complete the vision which I have ordained unto the End when I shall return!")
112. (PETER: "OPEN THE FLOODGATES, OPEN THE GATES WIDE! For have I not set forth behind thee a great reservoir of water? Have you not spent this time with David‚ years upon years upon years, to build this reserve of Water of My Spirit & of My Word & of the many lessons that thou hast learned, & of the things that thou hast heard & thou hast experienced that no other has experienced?
113. ("FOR ONLY THOU & THOU ALONE HAST KNOWN DAVID AS I HAVE KNOWN HIM! Only thou & thou alone hast these things to say & to pour forth! But thou must open the floodgates, thou must open the dams & break down the walls so that the Water of My Words & the Words that I want to give through you can pour forth unto the hungry & to the thirsty & to the dying in the valley! For My Water shall flood forth through you if you will just open the gates & open thy mouth, & I will pour forth as never before!")
114. (FAM: "BE INSTANT IN SEASON & OUT OF SEASON, REPROVE, REBUKE, EXHORT WITH ALL LONGSUFFERING & DOCTRINE! Lift up thine eyes upon the hills from whence cometh your strength. Lift up thine eyes upon the harvest which is white & ready to be reaped. Lift up thine eyes & I shall enlarge your vision, & open thy mouth that thou mayest speak wondrous things unto My people! And that which thou hast heard in thy closet in secret‚ preach thou now upon the housetops!") (Fam: "For the Lord has made the hearing ear & the seeing eyes, but the Words thou speaketh, they are Spirit & they are Life!")
115. (PAUL: "SAY THOU NO MORE THAT I AM A CHILD! For yea, I have called thee as a child, but thou hast been nourished & cherished & led of Me as Daniel was brought into captivity, that he might learn of Me & My ways, & he might see visions that would unlock the future for many to come. And yea, thou must put away childish things & thou must take up thy cross. For thou art no longer a child, but full in stature before Me. Yea‚ I have prepared thee for this day. Many more shall follow. And yea, the very Words that thou givest shall strengthen them. They shall cling to thee, & those that thou sendest forth shall strengthen nations! Say not thou, you are but a child, for they have need of thee. And, yea, My daughter, I have need of thee, that thou mayest lead & speak the Words that I have & will yet give you, if thou wilt but open thy mouth!")
116. THANK YOU LORD FOR YOUR WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL ENCOURAGEMENT! Thank You for Your forgiveness! Thank You for Your Love, Your mercy, Jesus! Jesus‚ help me to do it‚ Lord! Help me to surrender to You, Lord, & Your Will! Jesus, help me to love You so much that I won't even think about it, Lord, it won't be a difficult task, Lord, I'll just want to do it, I'll love to do Your Will, I'll rejoice in doing Your Will.—In Jesus' name. TYL! Amen! TYJ! PTL!
117. WELL, THAT WAS BETTER THAN I ASKED FOR! TYJ! PTL! Thank you for being yielded to the Lord. I know that takes a lot of yielding & getting rid of your own self, too‚ to give what the Lord gives you. PTL! That's beautiful! TYJ! Amen, I'm going to do it by God's grace!
118. (PETER: WHEN THE PROPHECY WAS BEING GIVEN ABOUT RAISING THE TORCH, I HAD A VISION OF A BIG MULTI-FACETED DIAMOND‚ & it was held up & all of a sudden it was like a beam of light hit it & it refracted all over! I just felt like that's what it's like if you'll just get out there where you're supposed to be‚ then the Lord will shine through & it'll go all over!
119. (ALSO, IT'S FUNNY THAT THIS WOULD COME, BECAUSE MAMA & I WERE TALKING ABOUT THIS EARLIER: SHE SAID, "IF PEOPLE GET ANY BAD VERSES THEY USUALLY DON'T GIVE THEM!" She said usually people get verses like, "The Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy that it cannot hear", & they never give the next verse that says‚ "But your iniquities have separated you from your God!"—Isa.59:1,2. Well, I didn't exactly get that, but I got it in such a way that it was like your sins, like not wanting to yield, would separate the Lord from His people!—It's like you're the conduit, the link, in a way. The Lord has all these things to say, & He's got the people that want to hear them, but the thing that keeps what the Lord wants said from getting to the people can be you if you don't yield because of pride. So it's like that verse about how sin could keep the Lord's Words from the people.)
120. (FAM: I GOT A VISION WHEN PETER WAS GIVING HIS PROPHECY: You were dressed in queenly robes & the Lord was above you pouring out His anointing & His blessing on you‚ & this light was shining down on you. Crowds of people were in front & you were opening your mouth & there were all these different things flowing out. It wasn't just one thing, but different counsel, like I could see a musical note & little books, all kinds of things! And I got the quote‚ "As you pour out, He'll pour in, & you can never outpour Him!") (Two other people say they also got the same quote.)
121. (FAM: I GOT THE LITTLE SONG: "MARIA SHALL SHINE TONIGHT, MARIA SHALL SHINE! Maria shall shine tonight, all down the line! Maria shall shine tonight, Maria shall shine! When the Sun goes down & the Moon comes up, Maria shall shine!") (Fam: I got that song too!) (Fam: We're going into the night, too, in "The Watch!"—When the Sun goes down & the Moon comes up!)
122. (FAM: I GOT ONE LITTLE QUOTE: "FAITH & OBEDIENCE COME FIRST, THEN GOD ANSWERS PRAYER."—Just step out by faith & God will give all the answers.) We need that so much, that's why it's such a popular quote!
123. (FAM: BEFORE PAUL GOT HIS LAST PROPHECY, I GOT THE VERSE: "OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES & SUCKLINGS GOD HAS ORDAINED STRENGTH."—Even if you feel unable & like a babe & a suckling.—Psa.8:2. But Paul kept getting, "Say not I am a child", & I was thinking, "But, Lord, I got that verse about 'out of the mouth of little babes & sucklings You give strength.'" So I looked up where the Lord told that to Jeremiah. Jeremiah said, "Ah, Lord God! I cannot speak: for I am a child! But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child; for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, & whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak! Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. Then the Lord put forth His hand‚ & touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put My Words in thy mouth."—Jer.1:6-9.)
124. THAT'S BEAUTIFUL! ISN'T THAT SOMETHING! TODAY WHEN I WAS THINKING ABOUT THE STORIES IN THE BIBLE ALONG THAT LINE‚ I thought there was a passage like that but I didn't know where it was. Isn't it wonderful of the Lord to give it! Before the meeting today, I got the story in Exodus 4 about Moses & how he didn't want to go & what he said, can someone read it? (Fam: Exodus 4:10-12: "And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent‚ neither heretofore‚ nor since Thou hast spoken unto Thy servant: but I am slow of speech, & of a slow tongue. And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made Man's mouth? Or Who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I the Lord? Now therefore go‚ & I will be with thy mouth, & teach thee what thou shalt say!"—Exodus 4:10-12.) That's beautiful, thank You Lord! Well, there are plenty of promises, I don't have any excuse! I didn't have an excuse before, & I have less now!
125. (DORA: WHEN PETER WAS GIVING HIS PROPHECY, I HAD A PICTURE OF THE COVER OF THE LETTER "THE SPIRIT WORLD" (#622) where it's dark & there's a light shining from God‚ to Jesus, to Michael, to Abrahim, to Dad. But in that sequence there was you after Dad too, & then there was the Family. And like someone said how it's night-time now, it was all dark around it, but the Light was coming from Jesus & it had to follow that way along down the line.)
126. (DAVIDA: I GOT THE VERSE‚ "COME UNTO ME, ALL YE THAT LABOUR & ARE HEAVY LADEN, & I WILL GIVE YOU REST. Take My yoke upon you‚ & learn of Me, for I am meek & lowly of heart, & ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, & My burden is light." —Matthew 11:28-30.)
127. (FAM: I GOT THE VERSES, "BEHOLD THE HANDMAIDEN OF THE LORD, BE IT UNTO THEE ACCORDING TO THY WORD!" And‚ "She openeth her mouth in wisdom, & in her heart is the law of kindness."—Luk.1:38, Pro.31:26.)
128. (FAM: I GOT THE VERSE, "FOR MY SPEECH & MY PREACHING WERE NOT WITH ENTICING WORDS OF MAN'S WISDOM, but in demonstration of the Spirit & of Power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of Man, but in the Power of God!"—1Cor.2:4‚5. "As you pour out, He'll pour in!" You don't have to know, all you have to do is open your mouth. And when the prophecy about the Torch was being given, I got a vision of you sitting on a throne with a scroll that says "The Word of God" & you're holding up a torch. Also I got the same thing Peter got about the jewel, but from the Letter "The Spider's Web" where it says that a jewel has no beauty until it's held aloft for all to see.—#227:2.) How much more encouragement do I need! TYJ!
129. (FAM: FOR THE HEALING OF YOUR EYES, I GOT THE VERSE, "CONFESS YOUR FAULTS ONE TO ANOTHER, THAT YE MAY BE HEALED!"—Jam.5:16.) Thank You Jesus! I had a feeling I needed to do this! The prophecy Dad got said, "The Lord has permitted you to contract this disease in order to draw you closer to Him to humble you to ask for prayer." I said, "But I have asked for prayer‚ everybody's been praying for me for months, & all around the World!" And at my birthday party Dad prayed for me again & asked for prayer. So I thought what it meant was that I needed to come in here & ask for prayer for myself. And of course, I knew what went along with asking for prayer, that I'd have to talk!
130. SO, PTL! I THINK THAT'S DEFINITELY WHAT THE LORD MEANT! And I thought, "Well, even if it isn't, at least I'd better do all I can to see if it is or not! If it isn't, it's not going to hurt me, & it certainly won't hurt anybody else! It certainly will help me, even if it doesn't help my eyes!" But I think that's one thing the Lord meant‚ that I needed to do it myself. Lots of times I've had everybody praying for me‚ but I didn't exactly come in here & say, "OK, please lay hands on me & pray for me", especially for my pride!—Ha!
131. (FAM: I ALSO HAD A VISION OF YOU HOLDING UP THE TORCH! It reminded me of the Statue of Liberty, with the sky behind you & the clouds, but you had the flame down lower & it was waving back & forth, left & right. And I was getting the verse, "The Word of God is like a candle, searching the heart of man!"—Pro.20:27.)—Amen, beautiful!
132. TYL! THAT'S WONDERFUL! HALLELUJAH! AMEN‚ I CAN'T FAIL YOU NOW, LORD, I'VE GOT TO DO IT! Shall we pray for Paul now? We're all prayed up, so we should be able to pray even better than ever!—And we're not going to stop with this prayer, we're going to keep praying for him every day! TYJ!
PRAYER & PROPHECIES FOR PAUL!
133. (MAMA LAYS HANDS ON PAUL:) AMEN, LORD‚ IN JESUS' NAME, HE'S THY SON, THY PRECIOUS VESSEL, CHOSEN OF YOU FOR THIS JOB, & LORD, WE KNOW YOU'RE GOING TO DO IT! You've chosen him‚ Lord, & You're going to fulfil Thy calling. He has been ordained for this job, You've ordained him, & we've ordained him in a way too, Lord, so we know that You're not going to fail!
134. HE FEELS INCAPABLE, LORD, HE FEELS NOTHING, BUT THAT'S THE BEST WAY TO FEEL! That's what You've been telling us, Lord, with all these beautiful Words here, & the same goes for him: When he's weak, then he's strong, for Your strength is made perfect in his weakness! You've chosen a weak vessel, Lord, to show Thy strength & Thy power to the World, to the Family, Lord, that they may be strengthened & they may rise from their defeat to fight Your battles again in a greater way than ever before, in renewed strength & renewed vigor!
135. SO JESUS, YOU HELP HIM, LORD‚ GIVE HIM THY MIND, THAT MIND WHICH IS IN YOU, JESUS! You've promised, Lord, that You'll give it to him, that he can go forth & be a great blessing & a great encouragement‚ & be full of wisdom & anointing & discernment & Thy Spirit to take Thy Words from us, Lord, from Thee, to Thy children, that they'll be encouraged & strengthened by them, Lord! We know that he'll be the sample that You want him to be as he stays close to You & desperate with You‚ Lord!
136. THANK YOU FOR HIS FAITHFULNESS, HIS DEDICATION & HIS LOVE FOR YOU! We thank You for his desire to go on with You no matter what it takes! Lord, as he's obeyed, You've given him all that he needed for each job, & as a result he's matured & he's grown & he's learned of You, & he's gotten close to You & gotten to know You in an intimate way, in a much clearer way than ever before because of his obedience. You've answered & You've blessed him by growing him up into the leader that You need, Lord‚ & that we need‚ & Thy children need!
137. SO BLESS HIM‚ LORD, AS HE GOES! Thank You for this time here that You've given him, that he's been able to rest awhile & step back from the situation to prepare for another great battle. We thank You, Jesus, for him! Help him to always feel Your Love, Lord, to feel our love, & know that he has people here who are going to support him, people who love him & that will support him with prayer & with Thy Word & with faith, Lord, & be behind him in upholding him to You, Lord, before Thy Throne! He doesn't have to be alone‚ Lord, he doesn't have to be lonely‚ because he will know that You & we are right there in Spirit with him, & we're fighting with him!—That the battle isn't his, it's Yours, Lord, & he doesn't have to fight himself, but You're fighting for him, You're going to do it, Lord, & You have done it, Jesus!
138. SO WE JUST ASK YOU TO ENCOURAGE HIS HEART & KEEP HIM ENCOURAGED, LORD‚ KEEP HIM INSPIRED, KEEP HIM FULL OF FAITH, LOOKING TO YOU FOR THE ANSWERS, Lord, which we know You'll give as he stays close to You, close to us, Lord, in close communication with You & with us, as Your Ambassador, Lord, Your representative of the greatest Kingdom in the World, the greatest Kingdom there ever was, Lord, Your Kingdom of Love! And as he represents that & is that representative of Love that You have ordained‚ we know that You'll bless him & thrill him & give him ecstacies of Your Spirit that he has never known before, & that You'll enable him to share these with others, Lord, that they'll catch the vision & catch the zeal, the enthusiasm, the fire of Thy Spirit, to fill hearts with Thy Love & with Thy Kingdom, Thy Faith & Thy Power, Lord! TYJ!
139. BLESS HIM IN EVERY WAY: PHYSICALLY, MENTALLY, & MOST OF ALL SPIRITUALLY, LORD, WITH YOU, & HELP HIM IN EVERY WAY, LORD! You promised to supply all his needs according to Your great riches‚ & give him exceeding abundantly above all that he can ask or think. We thank You, Jesus! We thank You‚ Lord! Praise You Jesus!
140. (FAM: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PAUL‚ JESUS! YOU SAID, LORD‚ "YE HAVE NOT CHOSEN ME, BUT I HAVE CHOSEN YOU, & ORDAINED YOU, THAT YE SHOULD GO FORTH & BRING FORTH FRUIT!" Thank You Jesus how he has, Lord, You've done it, Jesus, You have sent him forth on missions for Your Kingdom's sake, & You've done it, Jesus, You've brought forth fruit!—John 15:16.
141. (SO LORD, HERE WE HAVE THE BATTLE FOR JAPAN, A REALLY IMPORTANT BATTLE FOR YOUR KINGDOM'S SAKE, Jesus, where there are so many of our precious loved ones & Family who really need help, Jesus, in this hour! You've done so much to prepare the way already, & now, Lord, Paul going is like the breakshot in "Prayer Power" that's going to really set all the balls in motion! So we know it's of Thee, Jesus, this mission is of Thee. You said, "The preparations of the heart in Man & the answer of the tongue is of the Lord" (Pro.16:1)‚ so we thank Thee for preparing Paul's heart, Jesus, & we know You'll give him Thy answers & Thy wisdom!
142. (WE ASK YOU‚ LORD, TO REALLY GIVE HIM A SPECIAL ANOINTING FOR THIS SPECIAL MISSION, JESUS! We lay hands on him right now like an ordination, Lord. You've ordained him, Jesus, but we're obeying Your Word & laying hands & praying that You'll give him a special anointing for this special task. Just the fact that he knows he's nothing, he knows he can't do it, Jesus, we know You're going to do it, in Jesus' name!
143. (WE PRAY, LORD‚ THAT LIKE IN THE LETTER, "BAHAI TEMPLE PROPHECY", HE'LL BE ABLE TO GO FORTH & POUR THE OIL ON THEIR WOUNDS, TO GIVE BEAUTY FOR THEIR ASHES‚ & to bring the quenching waters of Your Word & Your Love & Your Spirit to those who are parched & those who feel desolate, & those who feel forsaken in some ways, Lord, that he'll give Thy wisdom instead of foolishness‚ & Thy Light to relieve their darkness, & Thy Love‚ Jesus, to be the healing balm, to really unite that Work. And just like that vision You showed Dad in that prophecy, if we'll know that it's not us & give You all the glory & just go as Your representative, You'll do that‚ Jesus!
144. (WE CLAIM A TREMENDOUS WONDERFUL VICTORY IN JAPAN, JESUS! —That Paul will just be Your little vessel, Your little tool, Your little instrument, & that You'll mightily use him, Jesus, & give him a special anointing & special closeness with Thee to accomplish Thy purpose & bring forth Thy fruit as he abides in Thee! We consecrate him & hold him up before Thee & ask Thee to bring forth Thy work, in Jesus' precious name! We know You're going to do it! TYJ!)
145. (FAM: "THE GIFTS & CALLING OF GOD ARE WITHOUT REPENTANCE! I have chosen you to stand in the gap before Me! Fear thou not‚ for I am with thee, be not dismayed, for I am thy God! I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness! So go forth in My strength & let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works & glorify My Father which is in Heaven. If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto Me."—Rom.11:29; Eze.22:30; Isa.41:10; Mat.5:16‚ Jn.12:32.)
146. (FAM: "GO THOU FORTH & FIGHT THE BATTLES OF THE LORD‚ FOR IT IS IMPOSSIBLE THAT THOU SHALT LOSE OR FAIL. Not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you."—Josh. 23:14b.)
147. (FAM: "THOU ART MINE ARROW IN THE HAND OF MY MIGHTY MAN, DAVID, SHOT FORTH TO DO MY WILL! Therefore go, & fear not, for I am with thee, I will help thee, yea, I will strengthen thee!")
148. (FAM: "HE THAT GOETH FORTH & WEEPETH, BEARING PRECIOUS SEED, SHALL DOUBTLESS RETURN AGAIN WITH REJOICING, BRINGING HIS SHEAVES WITH HIM. For ye shall hear a voice behind you saying, 'Here is the way‚ walk ye in it'‚ when ye turn to the right hand & when ye turn to the left. For take no thought for what ye shall say, for the Spirit of your Father shall give you the words that ye shall speak, & My Spirit in you shall pour forth from your belly like rivers of living water!"—Psa.126:6, Isa.30:21, Mat.10:19,20, John 7:38.)
149. (FAM: "THE GOOD SHEPHERD GIVETH HIS LIFE FOR THE SHEEP. Greater love hath no man than this‚ that a man lay down his life for his friends. Behold, He hath given us an example that we should follow in His steps."—Jn.10:11, 15:13‚ 13:15.)
150. (FAM: "THE THINGS WHICH THOU HAST HEARD OF ME, COMMIT THOU UNTO FAITHFUL MEN WHO SHALL BE ABLE TO TEACH OTHERS ALSO. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me!"—2Tim2:2, Ph.4:19.) (Fam: "The battle is not yours, but Mine, saith the Lord! Just open Thy mouth wide, & I will fill it!"—2Chr.20:15b, Psa.81:10.)
151. (FAM: "AND BEING CONFIDENT OF THIS VERY THING, THAT HE WHICH HATH BEGUN A GOOD WORK IN YOU, WILL PERFORM IT UNTO THE DAY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST! I am the Author & the Finisher of your faith. And thou hast but little strength, that the excellency of the power may be of Me & not of thyself. Therefore let thy light so shine before men, that they may see your good works & glorify Me‚ that I may be glorified in all things‚ & I will not fail thee."—Ph.1:16, Heb.12:2, 2Cor.4:7, Mat.5:16.)
152. (SARA: "AND THOSE THINGS WHICH YOU HAVE BOTH HEARD & SEEN & RECEIVED OF ME, DO, & THE GOD OF PEACE SHALL BE WITH YOU! And trust in the Lord with all thine heart, & lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, & He shall direct thy path. Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in Him & He shall bring it to pass. Delight thyself in the Lord, & He shall give thee the desires of Thy heart."—Ph.4:9, Pro.3:5,6, Psa.37:4,5.)
153. (FAM: "YE HAVE NOT CHOSEN ME, BUT I HAVE CHOSEN YOU, & ORDAINED YOU, THAT YE SHOULD GO & BRING FORTH FRUIT. Ye have come to the Kingdom for such a time as this. Lovest thou Me?—Feed My sheep. Lovest thou Me?—Feed My lambs. For My Word is a lamp unto their feet & a light unto their path. Ye shall hear a voice behind you saying, 'This is the way‚ walk ye in it.’ Hearken therefore unto the voice of David & the things thou hast heard."—Jn.15:16, Est.4: 14, Jn.21:15-17, Psa.119:105, Isa.30:21.)
154. (FAM: "BEHOLD, I SEND YOU FORTH AS A SHEPHERD, AS A CAPTAIN, THAT THOU MIGHTEST TEACH THEM THAT THIRST, that come unto the waters, & them that have no money to buy & sell‚ to have meat for their strength & for their encouragement. For men ought always to pray & not to faint, & when thou art weary come unto Me‚ & I will strengthen thee, & learn of Me, for I am meek & lowly of heart. And lo, I will be with thee alway, even unto the end of the World!"—Isa.55:1, Luk.18:1, Mat.11:28, 28:20.)
155. (PETER: "I HAVE FILLED THY CUP WITH MY OIL, & SO SHALT THOU GO FORTH & FILL THE CUPS OF OTHERS. And as the widow's vase was never empty because she kept pouring forth, neither shall thine be empty‚ if thou wilt put Me first & seek My face daily, & pour forth the Words that I have given thee unto them. If thou wilt but sop their wounds, if thou wilt but pour forth My oil upon their head, I will bless thee & I will strengthen thee‚ & I will give thee power that ye know not of.")
156. (FAM: "I HAVE CHOSEN YOU & ORDAINED YOU THAT YOU SHOULD GO & STRENGTHEN THE FEEBLE KNEES & LIFT UP THE HANDS WHICH HANG DOWN, for it is not My Will that any of them should perish!"—Heb.12:12‚ 2Pet.3:9.) (Fam: "Abide in Me & I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit, so shall ye be My disciples!"—John 15:4,8.)
157. (FAM: I HAD A VISION WHEN WE WERE PRAYING, IT WAS IN THE BACK OF THIS CAVE, ALL KIND OF COBWEBBY & DUSTY, & there was this real bright light, & then there was Paul between myself & the light, & the light was coming from behind him. Then I saw it from his perspective, & it was this cave with all these beautiful jewels, some of them were stuck in the rocks, & he was going along & prying them out & putting them in these jewel chests. Everywhere he'd turn, it would be dark & then it would just be ablaze with all these jewels stuck in all the rocks, & I got that it was like his mission.
158. (IN THE SECOND PART‚ HE WAS GOING DOWN A LONG DARK CORRIDOR & HE DIDN'T REALLY KNOW WHICH WAY TO GO. But I could just see his face, there was light on his face, & he was in real calm & real peace. He didn't know where to go, but he just acknowledged the Lord & the Lord showed him which way to go down this hallway. He just had enough light to see right where he was going, that's all he needed to know right then.
159. (AND I GOT SOMETHING ELSE THAT WAS REALLY ENCOURAGING! I got what Dad said in "Difficulty in Spiritual Communications", how in the old days when they sent an ambassador, they sent this big entourage with him, like a small army. And right then I saw Paul & all the spirit helpers around him & the army that the Lord is preparing even right now this minute to go with you. He's preparing that army to go on that embassage.)
160. (SARA: TYL! I GOT THE VERY SAME THING AS MAMA WAS PRAYING! With my eyes closed I could see all of the people there on that side of the room turning into spirit helpers just to be lined up & ready for battle right behind him! And I got the verse, "Seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses", almost like each of us were being embodied as spirit helpers‚ I could see them lining up.—Heb.12:1.)
161. (PAUL: IT'S JUST LIKE YOUR DAILY PRAYERS, like they really make our spirit helpers! Every verse, everything tonight‚ I feel like the Lord took away every doubt & worry I had & just answered it, every one real specifically.) (Sara: "Not one thing hath failed of all of His promises!")
162. (FAM: I GOT SOME VERSES FROM ISAIAH 61, it says: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, & the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord & the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord‚ that He might be glorified! And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, & they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: Men shall call you the Ministers of our God.") (Isaiah 61:1-6) (Fam: I was getting that too.)
163. (FAM: I GOT ALMOST THE SAME VERSES FROM ISAIAH 58: "If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, & satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, & thy darkness be as the noonday! And the Lord shall guide thee continually, & satisfy thy soul in drought, & make fat thy bones: And thou shalt be like a watered garden, & like a spring of water‚ whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: Thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in."—Isa.58:10-12. When I got those verses before about "stand in the gap before Me", I saw Paul in the breach in the wall. And the funniest thing, outside the castle were all these Samurai soldiers!) (Sara: Don't forget the spirit helpers!)
164. (FAM: I GOT THE VERSE, "FOR THE WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE ARE NOT CARNAL, BUT MIGHTY THROUGH GOD to the pulling down of strong holds & every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God."—2Cor.10:4,5. And I got it about Japan‚ how there are a lot of strongholds like that to be pulled down.) But our God is greater!
165. (FAM: I KEPT GETTING THE VERSE‚ "THOU HAST BEEN TRIED IN THE FURNACE OF AFFLICTION & HAST COME FORTH AS PURE GOLD."—Isa.48:10. And then I also got the verse about "the gifts & the calling of God are without repentance" (Rom.11:29), like He's chosen you to do this job & you can't repent about it. I also got Genesis 28:15: "And‚ behold, I am with thee, & will keep thee in all places whither thou goest‚ & will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of!")—That sounds like maybe you can come back & see us sometime! TYL!
166. (FAM: I GOT THE VERSE, "WHO PASSING THROUGH THE VALLEY OF BACA MAKE IT A WELL."—Psalm 84:6. And "There is no discharge in this war!") You don't want to be discharged anyway, do you?—Not after all this!
167. (JOHN: I GOT A COUPLE OF QUOTES OUT OF "THEY CAN'T STOP OUR RAIN", LIKE THERE'S A REAL NEED, THERE'S A REAL VACUUM IN JAPAN. It says, "Haste, therefore, to perform the will of thy King! Haste, therefore, to perform the will of My King David‚ that thou shalt not be slothful but diligent in business & depart & carry abroad the wisdom of his people. Therefore thou shalt haste to be the Ambassadors of David thy King!"—Just like it's a real need & the time is now!)
168. (PETER: I GOT THE VERSE‚ "AND HE SENT THEM TO PREACH THE KINGDOM OF GOD & TO HEAL THE SICK" (Lk.9:2), sort of like to go & share more about the Family & to heal their spiritual wounds & sickness.) (Davida: I got a vision of dark sky, & Uncle Paul was walking through it, & at the end there was this beautiful sun-lit field with a beautiful rainbow, like God's blessing, to show He was blessing it.)
169. (DAVID: I GOT THE VERSE, "GO YE THEREFORE, & TEACH ALL NATIONS, baptising them in the Name of the Father, & of the Son, & of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: And lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the World."—Mat.28:19,20.) Amen! Well‚ Paul's got a good start, he's already been to quite a few nations! So part of your work is even done. TYL!
170. (FAM: I GOT A VISION: IT LOOKED LIKE THE PIECES WERE IN PLACE FOR A BIG BONFIRE, it was all set up & ready‚ & it just needed a spark to set it aflame, & Paul was like the spark that was shot out into the dry tinder that started the whole bonfire going, that would set the whole of Japan on fire like a flame for the Lord!) (Fam: I got the last part of the Searcher verse, "And that your fruit should remain".) It'll be permanent, it will stick, it will grow up & mature & not wither! Hallelujah!
171. THAT'S WONDERFUL, ISN'T IT? THANK YOU, JESUS! Did you all give what you got? If you didn't, you can write it later! I know you guys! They come in, straggle in a few at a time, somebody got something & they didn't want to give it in the meeting!—Ha! Anyway‚ I think you're all doing real good this time, thank the Lord! (Sings: )
I am a stranger here‚
Within a foreign land‚
My Home is far away,
Upon that golden strand!
Ambassador to be
Of realms beyond the sea,
I'm here on business for My King!
This is the message that I bring
A message Angels fain would sing.
O be ye reconciled,
Thus saith my Lord & King!
O be ye reconciled to God!
172. GOD BLESS YOU! THANK YOU FOR HEARING FROM THE LORD! Thank you for not being too bound to trust the Lord to give what He gave through you! Aren't you glad? I sure am, & Paul sure is! TYL! (Family: Thank you for coming!) I'm glad I came! I got more than you got! TYJ! Okay, go have a good dinner now, thank the Lord, it's time for your physical food. We sure had a good spiritual feast! PTL! TYJ! ILY all!