LONDON            DO 58             3/71

WOE TO THOSE WHO DON'T REPORT & COMMUNICATE!

         1. IF YOU'RE TOO BUSY TO COMMUNICATE WITH US, YOU'RE TOO BUSY. Because, unless we can work together & coordinate our efforts with considerable unity, we may find we're not operating in harmony, or according to God's perfect Will & His chosen leadership. If we're going to continue to work together as a team, we must keep in touch with each other as well as the Lord!
         2. I'VE SELDOM FOUND THAT SILENCE BREEDS CONSENT: IT MORE OFTEN BREEDS A SMOLDERING, HIDDEN RESENTMENT, which is fearful of being voiced & therefore says nothing. Otherwise, you would be responding enthusiastically in agreement; for "out of the fullness of the heart the mouth speaketh," & "let the redeemed of the Lord say so"; "for how can two walk together except they be agreed."--Luke 6:45; Psalm 107:2; Amos 3:3.
         3. IT'S DANGEROUS WHEN PEOPLE STOP TALKING TO EACH OTHER! When a leader gets out of touch with his commanding officers, he doesn't know whether they're lagging behind or forging ahead, because he's lost contact--& this can be very serious, as you know, in any battle! An army whose communications are poor, with some sectors out of touch, is either not ready, or sorely weakened, for a new invasion. Let this be a lesson to all of us: Neglect not to communicate! God bless you!

TOP LEADERS TRAIN BABES IN SECLUSION--HOW & WHY

         4. A TEAM DOES NOT HAVE TO BE ALL LEADERS, NOT EVEN ALL ELDER BROTHERS & SISTERS! It can even be all babes, as Jesus had, as long as it has at least one good experienced leader, a real man of God, in touch with the Holy Spirit, & preferably with a good wife leader as well, a couple who know what they're doing & can lead & teach the babes as they go. This will prevent you from robbing home base of too much leadership. Also, I would suggest, although it is not perfect security, but to save leadership, use & share it, top leaders going into seclusion of farms etc., might teach babes there, also!
         5. SINCE BOTH LEADERSHIP & THE BABES NEED SECLUSION, QUIET & PRIVACY, AS WELL AS SECURITY & removal from the scene of action, it might be wise to take them with you to your hideaway or retreat, such as a farm, & teach them there. This would help divide the load of both personnel, teaching & witnessing, so that the battlefront Home & witnessing centre would be left free for a minimum of classes & a maximum of witnessing.
         6. THE OLD VETERANS COULD TAKE THE RAW RECRUITS TO THE REAR & GIVE THEM THEIR BASIC TRAINING THERE, away from the scene of battle, until they are ready for it! This would at the same time give you leaders a satisfying ministry of indoctrination of the babes by top talent & keep them closer to the source. You could divide your time between the babes & your writing ministry & study when they're studying. This would assure them being given a little more study time, too, as well as a little more free time for relaxation & recreation, as well as rest, which seems to be woefully lacking in some of your Homes.
         7. ALL WORK & NO PLAY MAKES A VERY DULL STUDENT & AN EVEN WORSE WITNESS, & lack of consideration for our human weaknesses & the needs of the body does not encourage loyalty or faithfulness. Jesus taught shepherdly leading, or sheep leading, not slave driving! How about you? Are you pushing them too hard & expecting too much of these little ones at the beginning? Temper the wind to the shorn lambs & baby the babes--& if you show that you really love them by thus being concerned about them & aware of their weaknesses & considerate of their needs, they will love you more too, & show greater loyalty & faithfulness to you, as you are faithful to them, & you may not have to give them so many lectures on loyalty to leaders!
         8. YOU CAN'T LEGISLATE RIGHTEOUSNESS, OR FORCE PEOPLE TO BE GOOD! It has to be voluntarily & inspired by love, or you'll never have it! You don't love the Lord because He forced you to; you didn't get saved because He made you, but you love Him because He first loved you; & love begets love, & you merely reflect His Love.
         9. IN THE SAME WAY YOU WILL REAP WHAT YOU SOW, IN YOUR FOLLOWERS: If you love them, they will love you; if you are faithful to them, willing to suffer & die for them, they'll do the same for you; but if you are harsh & cruel, inconsiderate & unloving, unforgiving & compulsory, you'll get the same in return! Think it over! Read your Bible & see if this isn't true! "To whom much hath been forgiven, the same loveth much"--Luke 7:47.

SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS

         10. SELF-RIGHTEOUS PERFECTIONISTS ARE THE HARDEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD TO LIVE WITH: They're usually merciless, intolerant & unforgiving! I'd rather live with the sinners who KNOW they're sinners, like ME, for I am one! The most encouraging thing about King David's example, believe it or not, was not his perfectionism, but his human failures, sins & shortcomings, which gave God a chance to get all the glory & show there's hope for me--& you! How about that?
         11. I NEVER GOT TOO MUCH ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE PERFECTIONISM OF A MAN LIKE ENOCH, who walked so close to God that he got completely out of touch with humanity, so God had to take him out of this World, because he was no longer any use to Man. I take a lot more heart from the pathetic stories of the drunks & the harlots & the publicans & the sinners who came to Jesus for love & mercy, & Who treated them tenderly, kindly & forgivingly & gave them hope & love & strength! They didn't go to the harsh, rigid, self-righteous, unyielding, unforgiving, critical & condemning church leaders, who told them to be perfect or go to Hell, & laid on them religious burdens that were more than they were able to bear--but they came to Jesus for His Love & Mercy, Forgiveness, Encourage ment & Patience! Which are you like?
         12. ARE YOU CONDEMNING THE PHARISEES ON THE ONE HAND, WHILE ACTING EVEN MORE SELF-RIGHTEOUS THAN THEY? Are you being unmerciful while preaching forsake all? If there's gonna be any choice between the two, I'll say unto you, as Jesus did to them: "I would have mercy & not sacrifice!--See what that meaneth"!--Mat.9:13. I'd rather you'd have love & mercy for the sheep, than to forsake all in your pride & self-righteous service! "But this ye ought to have done, & not to have left the other undone"!--Mat.23:23. Amen?

INSPIRED TEACHERS!

         13. SOMETIMES JESUS TOOK HIS DISCIPLES UP TO A MOUNTAIN AWAY FROM THE FLATLANDERS & taught them there, sometimes to a desert place, sometimes to the wilderness, sometimes to Mary & Martha's house, or some other friends, or alone in an upper room, or in the middle of the sea in a boat. They frequently had to get away from the crowd for these babes to get their classes in & be strengthened for the witnessing to come. Then they would return with Him to the multitudes & the public scene as He taught them how to witness, how to minister, how to answer, how to evade the Enemy, how to lead the sheep & feed the sheep! He taught them, led them & showed them how, & gave them a variety of experience, so they would be well-prepared for the battles ahead!
         14. YOU NEED TO STUDY THE GOSPELS TO SEE HOW JESUS DID IT. Study the Master Teacher, with His little dirty dozen--dirty & unclean in the eyes of the World, because of their uncouthness, ignorance & lack of formal learning--but after Jesus was gone from them PHYSICALLY, when these well-trained disciples started going into action, the World could not deny their power & knew that they had been with Jesus! Have you?
         15. I'M LIKE THE MAN WHO TAUGHT ME, FRED, & MY MOTHER & FATHER, WHO SHOWED ME THE WAYS OF THE LORD. And our enemies, in derision, have accused YOU of being like ME, saying you're a lot of little so-&-so's running around, just like ME. As Paul himself said, "be ye followers of me, even as also I am of Christ"; & "though ye have many teachers, you usually only have one father in the Lord" (1 Cor.4:15,16; 11:1), who will always be especially dear to you, which is why some of you write me such sweet love letters, because I am your Father in the Lord.
         16. SO DON'T BE SURPRISED IF YOU'RE LIKE YOUR FATHERS & TEACHERS IN THE LORD--& MOST OF ALL, BE LIKE JESUS! And if you want to know how He fathered His little flock & taught His little disciples, His little babbling babes, just read the Gospels! It's beautiful! They were awful stupid stumblebums sometimes & they made a horrible lot of mistakes, but He didn't throw them out because of it--not even Judas; he left of his own accord!
         17. JESUS WAS PATIENT, LOVING, KIND, SYMPATHETIC & FORGIVING, OFTEN TEACHING THEM THE SAME THING OVER & OVER AGAIN TILL THEY GOT THE POINT; sometimes a little aggravated with them & bawling them out for their foolishness, pointing out their failures, but nevertheless, always giving them another chance, always loving them, always leading them & not pushing them or driving them, & always feeding & encouraging them & strengthening them, as His little lambs, so they would grow & learn & follow & be strong, to carry on when He was gone! And we are doing the same for you & yours, praise the Lord! Hallelujah!
         18. SO TAKE YOUR LITTLE BABES, THE CHILDREN YOU HAVE BEGOTTEN IN THE LORD, TO SOME QUIET LITTLE NEST, away from the hubbub of the pit & the babble of the crowd--if & when you can, to some mountaintop, some wilderness, some quiet place, close to God's glorious Creation, where they can marvel at His Handiwork, understood by the things that are made, so that they may know God & glorify Him as God & be thankful, & have their simple hearts enlightened, & though professing to be fools, they will become wise! Hallelujah!
         19. IT MIGHT BE WISE FOR YOU TOP LEADERS TO TAKE THE BOTTOM BABES INTO SECLUSION WITH YOU & to come aside & rest awhile, as you both sit at Jesus' feet & learn of Him, for the security & safety of both of you & the preservation of His Kingdom, while the in-between, your under-shepherds, with their experienced soldiers & older veterans fight the battles at the front for awhile, until it is their turn, too, to do the same, with their new babes, in a new team and time and place.
         20. ADAPTING IT ACCORDING TO THE SITUATION IN EACH CASE, THIS WILL REMOVE YOU BOTH TEMPORARILY FROM THE SCENE OF DANGEROUS ACTION, confrontation, conflict, the majority of enemies, 10:36ers, former friends & associations, & the awful atmosphere of the Pit; & this will get you, the leader, into a safer place than the battlefront, as well as a safer, quieter place to nurture your babes! You will also be able to temper the wind of your schedule to a warm gentle breeze, to these dear little newly-shorn lambs, bare babes, who have only recently forsaken all their wool & are born naked to the blast of the wolves without, from which you must shelter them in these early stages!
         21. EVEN IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE SOUL CLINIC, WE KEPT'M IN FOR AT LEAST TWO WEEKS OF DISCIPLESHIP TRAINING & nursing in the Word, to give them time to grow at least a little fuzz to protect them from the System, in their first witnessing expeditions, to give them time to grow a little, love a little, know a little & be strengthened a great deal, before sending them forth as sheep in the midst of wolves, PTL!

WHY DAD RETIRED FROM PUBLIC LIFE!

         22. WHEN I WAS ASKING THE LORD WHY HE WOULD NOT LET ME RETURN TO HELP PIONEER ENGLAND, the Scripture came to me that He gave me a couple of years ago, during that wonderful time of revelation in Laurentide, as He revealed His plans for the future, which have since been nearly all fulfilled, PTL!--2 Samuel 21:17! David had grown old & faint in battle & the enemy thought to slay him, when his men rescued him & "sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt no more go out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel!" PTL, God knows best!
         23. I'M NOT TO GO OUT IN THE PUBLIC EYE ANY MORE, in the thick of fighting, if possible--but rather, I'm to be a light unto you, to help to lighten your way, to lead & guide you, even as a light from afar that shines upon the pathway, from a distant source! Hallelujah! This is my ministry now & apparently I'm not going to be permitted to leave it to tend tables, as much as I would like to! From the first time I started licking my chops for the juicy battle of Britain & told you we'd be leaving for there in two weeks, many moons ago, God has blocked the way & delayed our departure, even when we were on the point of leaving! Then, as we began to understand the new ministry of the mail that God has given us, I was still determined to go as soon as possible to London, when the mail strike occurred! I surely hope He didn't have to do that to poor Britain just to keep me out of it, but it was certainly an effective show-stopper! I couldn't possibly go where there were no mail windows for people to pass under, & we couldn't send our missives to you; so while on our way there, we had to stop here & wait for the strike to end!
         24. BUT WE ARE READY TO BACK YOU UP FROM BEHIND-THE-LINES, WHEN YOU NEED US, & we will continue this present teaching ministry of these epistles to you all, while we advise & counsel & help you in the background, if you need us, as we have before! This is the way this ministry really began: You kids have done it all! I've just been an old battle-scarred war veteran in your background training bases, giving you a few pointers on how to handle your swords & clobber the enemy & win the victories & help you plan your strategy by His direction!
         25. AS MY LITTLE FAITHFUL CUSTODIAN OF THESE WORDS HAS JUST REMINDED ME OF A FORGOTTEN VISION WE HAD SOME TIME AGO-sometimes I have come to you after the battle, as the black knight, black to the World, dark & unknown to them--after you were nearly slain & scattered & sorely wounded in some seeming defeat--but we have raised His Standard high in one hand--His Banner over me is love, & His gleaming sword in the other, which is the Word of God, to inspire you, to rally you to leap again to your feet & press forward to victory, with our women, you girls, our camp followers, surrounding us & cheering us on! Hallelujah! PTL!
         26. SO I'LL BE THERE, GOD WILLING--THE OLD UNDERCOVER KNIGHT--to help you if you need me; but evidently you're going to have to fight the battle out in front in the public eye--& you can have all the glory, as far as I'm concerned! How about that? Isn't the Lord amazing! He works in a mysterious way His wonders to perform--& so often contrary to our natural expectations & desires! But PTL anyhow!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family