LOOKING UNTO JESUS!      LTA 126          12/11/71
--A GENERAL CALL TO REPENTANCE!

(READ NOW Hebrews 12:1-13.)
         1. WE HAVE DISCOVERED SEVERAL HOMES LATELY WHO SEEM TO THINK THEY CAN GET ALONG WITHOUT GOD! The seem to think that all they need are the Provisioners, Prayer Letters & new disciples!! They don't need leadership meetings, daily prayer meetings or even MO Letters! They don't need to counsel together, pray together or seek the Will of God together!
         2. IN A FEW SHORT WEEKS, under changing & weak leadership, they had gotten into the same condition that it took the Early Church about two hundred years to get into!--Each going his own way most of the time, not desperately seeking the Lord or His Will, & depending on the arm of flesh to save them & keep them going instead of the power of God! The family that PRAYS together STAYS together! This one didn't!
         3. WHEN THE CATS ARE AWAY, THE MICE WILL PLAY! That's one way you can tell the difference between cats & mice, who the real cool cats are, the genuine leaders with a serious concern for the sheep & God's work, or the mere mice who goof off as soon as nobody's looking!--Who either don't attend the meetings that are held or don't care if the meetings aren't called, who couldn't care less when the last MO Letter was read or the last united prayer meeting was held, or the last serious discussion of needs & problems! They've just gone to sleep & left the engine running!
         4. THIS FORMER MOTHER HOME WAS A MESS! One of its houses was so dirty, unsanitary, & inadequate that even one of our own people was shocked at its condition & the conditions in which its inhabitants were trying to survive! Sometimes you can't even afford something that's free! We certainly can't afford to be caught living under such conditions & be a reproach upon the cause of Christ! If the Lord doesn't provide a fairly decent place for you to live, it must not be His Will for you to be there!
         5. IT'S ONE THING TO TAKE WHAT THE LORD GIVES, but it's another thing to have enough faith to ASK Him to give you something GOOD enough to operate in! You get what you ask for, & what you have faith for! God takes you exactly at your word!
         6. THIS SAME HOME COULDN'T EVEN REMEMBER WHEN IT HAD READ ITS LAST MO LETTER together or had had a prayer meeting together or even a leadership meeting of any kind, it had been so many weeks! Somebody could have stood up & tried to jolt the conscience of the community, but nobody did--not one--not even a little one--because nobody really CARED!
         7. "THE GOOD SHEPHERD CARETH FOR THE SHEEP, BUT THE HIRELING FLEETH" (Jn.10:11,12), caring only for himself! He's not concerned about the condition of the sheep or the threat of the wolves or the lack of pastorage, or the shortage of water! He's content as long as he has his own!
         8. IT'S LIKE YOU'D TAKE 2,000 UNSKILLED LABOURERS & throw them all into an automobile factory suddenly & say: "Make cars!"--Without training & experience this would be impossible, of course, especially without guidance or instructions! It would be nothing but CHAOS, like the Home mentioned.
         9. BUT IF YOU WOULD TELL THESE WORKERS: "If you'll just listen to the instructions of our Central Computer on your little radio sets through your earphones, each one of you will know exactly what to do & when & how to do it! Just LISTEN & OBEY instructions!"--they might actually be able to make a car with a little time, patience & experience!--For the COMPUTER knows how!
         10. BUT IF THE WORKERS DECIDED THEY DIDN'T NEED THE COMPUTER, so they turned off their radios & laid aside their headsets because they were so busy & didn't want to be bothered with having to listen, they would soon have nothing but confusion, frustration & failure--like this Home! So beware!
         11. ONLY GOD CAN SYNCHRONISE US INTO ANYTHING AT ALL EFFECTIVE, & unless the leadership meets together EVERY DAY for desperate prayer, they'll fall flat on their faces, because they're not getting God's instructions!
         12. THESE PEOPLE WHO LOOK ONLY TO NEW DISCIPLES, BETTER PRAYER LETTERS OR MORE PROVISIONING to meet their needs, instead of looking to the LORD, are going to fall flat on their faces! If you think you can get by leaning entirely on the arm of flesh instead of the Lord, you're going to fail! But Jesus NEVER fails! Look to JESUS!
         13. TRUE, GOD USUALLY USES PEOPLE TO HELP US, but if you start getting your eyes on man, the gift & the giver, instead of the One Who inspires him to give, the Lord, your givers may soon lose their inspiration & you'll be doomed to disappointment! God wants you to look to HIM & ask Him & follow Him & obey Him! THEN He'll bless your means of supply!
         14. BUT TO DO THIS, YOU HAVE TO KEEP IN TOUCH WITH HIM, KEEP YOUR SPIRITUAL RADIO ON, & follow His directions! He can make something out of nothing--even YOU--if you'll LISTEN, TRUST & OBEY, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust & obey! Are you doing both? The one cannot go without the other! You can't obey without trusting, & you can't trust without obeying! And you've got to LISTEN to do both!
         15. AND AS FAR AS MO LETTERS ARE CONCERNED, YOU DON'T HAVE TO READ THEM or listen to them if you're not interested in the score or winning! You can let them stack up on your desk & put them aside until you have time, & you'll NEVER have time! You have to MAKE time!--To both pray & to read MO Letters! You've got to MAKE time to listen!
         16. IF YOU DON'T READ THOSE MO LETTERS TOGETHER with the people to whom they're addressed, on the day they arrive, you're going to be sorry! The Lord inspires me to write you, much of the time, what you need at the moment--& if you don't use it TODAY, like God's manna, it may be no good for tomorrow!
         17. HERE AGAIN THE SMALL HOMES ALWAYS DO BEST, appreciate the Letters the most & are so thankful for them, because the small Homes KNOW they don't know anything & KNOW they need leadership, guidance, counsel, help & advice! So they listen & try to obey, & God BLESSES them! But when they get big & powerful, they think they know everything & don't have to be told anything & can get along without me OR the Lord! They know it all!--And fall flat on their faces & disappear!--How about YOU?

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