STRANGERS & PILGRIMS!             DO 1766           8/78
--The Advantages of Change!--Heb.11

         1. THERE'S ONE THING ABOUT THIS CHAPTER THAT IS VERY DEAR TO ME & THAT TOUCHES MY HEART more than anything in this whole Chapter, because ever since I was a little kid I knew what they were talking about when they talked about this. I was telling Maria the other day, we have moved around so much with Little David, from place to place, a few months here & a few months there, maybe longer in some places, but that's been the exception.
         2. THESE CHILD PSYCHOLOGISTS TELL YOU, "OH, WHEN A CHILD IS YOUNG, HE MUST HAVE A PERMANENT HOME! He must grow up in the same surroundings or he'll get feelings of insecurity & it might cause psychological damage, blah blah!" Well, if that's the case, then I'm damaged irreparably psychologically & forever, & maybe that's what's wrong with me!--Ha!--Because if anybody ever moved a lot when I was little, it was my family!
         3. WE MOVED AROUND A LOT & I DON'T THINK IT HURT ME ANY! I think I've often said, & maybe I've told you in the Letters, that I know one thing it did for me, it taught me that everything in this World is transitory, changeable. We used to say on the "Revolutionary Sheet" when we were first getting new disciples in Texas: "There's one thing you can be sure of in the Revolution--change!" (See No.S.)
         4. SO THERE WAS ONE THING IN MY LITTLE LIFE WHEN I WAS A KID THAT I KNEW ALWAYS HAPPENED, & I WAS ACCUSTOMED TO CHANGE. I think maybe that was good for me because I got used to it & accustomed to it & I adjusted readily to new situations. Maybe that's one reason I'm not afraid to try to change things, & if you're going to have a revolution you've got to be willing to change things! I think that's the trouble with the System, they've been so stuck in the same old rut so long that they're afraid to change.
         5. BUT PEOPLE WHO ARE ACCUSTOMED TO CHANGING & ADAPTING TO NEW SITUATIONS & NEW PLACES ETC. ARE NOT AFRAID TO CHANGE! They're not afraid to try to change the World if they can, which we're trying to do! PTL? We started out changing from place to place & now we're trying to change the World!
         6. BUT THERE WAS ONE THING WHICH THAT CONSTANT CHANGE DID FOR ME, IT TAUGHT ME THAT NO PLACE WAS EVER PERMANENT! I would never be in the same house always, I would never be with the same people always, I would never even be able to keep the same toys always, I was always having to leave things behind, & I would always be going someplace new, meeting new people, staying new places & maybe finding new toys.
         7. AND THERE WAS ONE THING BESIDES THAT WHICH IT TAUGHT ME TO BE SURE OF: There was only one thing I could ALWAYS take with me that NEVER changed. You know what that was?--The LORD! It taught me that the Lord was always the same & He always went with me wherever I went. I really believed that the only thing in our lives that DIDN'T change was the LORD!
         8. SO I'LL TELL YOU, IT REALLY HELPS YOU STAY CLOSE TO THE LORD WHEN YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS!--And who does? You don't, I don't, only the Lord knows. Sometimes He tells us, sometimes He doesn't. I used to sing a song about the future, that sometimes maybe the Lord throws a veil over the future & it's best for us not to know. The things we NEED to know He tells us, sometimes the things we WANT to know He tells us, but most of the time He leaves the future known only to Him.
         9. BUT I BELIEVE IT REALLY HELPED ME TO LEARN TO LOVE THE LORD MORE, TRUST HIM MORE, THINK OF HIM MORE & STAY CLOSER TO HIM, BECAUSE HE WAS THE ONLY THING THAT DIDN'T CHANGE. I was always with different ones, but the Lord never changed. So He was very close & dear & I think it really helped me learn to love Him more & trust Him more & appreciate Him more, because He was all in my life that didn't really change.
         10. SO PRAISE THE LORD, YOU HAVE THE MOST PRECIOUS POSSESSION THAT YOU COULD POSSIBLY HAVE, & THAT'S THE LORD, THAT'S JESUS, & that's one possession you'll never have to give up, never have to forsake, never have to leave behind, never have to give away & lose. You can give Him away as much as you want but never get rid of Him. You'll always have Him, thank the Lord, & He'll always be near, He'll never leave nor forsake you even to the end of the World!--Mat.28:20. PTL?
         11. AND THERE'S SOMETHING IN HERE THAT IS AMAZING, & that's all I'm going to read to you right now, because this to me is the most important part of this whole passage, maybe because it applies to ME more, I experienced it more & therefore I understand it more. Verse 8:
         12. "BY FAITH ABRAHAM, WHEN HE WAS CALLED TO GO OUT INTO A PLACE WHICH HE SHOULD AFTER RECEIVE FOR AN INHERITANCE, OBEYED." He was being given the TITLE DEED to it, God was promising it to him, right? But he'd never even seen it, never been there, maybe he'd hardly even heard about it for all we know. "And he went out, not knowing whither he went." How many times in the Family have you been sent out, sometimes not knowing where you were going? Well, you'll learn that fast in our Family.
         13. "BY FAITH HE SOJOURNED IN THE LAND OF PROMISE, AS IN A STRANGE COUNTRY, dwelling in tabernacles"--TENTS--"with Isaac & Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise." Now mind you, by FAITH he went there, & when he got there in this strange land amongst strangers, how was he able to stand it? Well, one of the nice things about being a pilgrim & stranger, if you land someplace you don't like, you can always be sure that you're not going to have to stay there forever! So you just learn to put up with it at least for awhile, because you know you don't have to live there forever. That's one nice thing about change.
         14. "THESE ALL DIED IN FAITH, NOT HAVING RECEIVED THE PROMISES, BUT HAVING SEEN THEM AFAR OFF, & WERE PERSUADED OF THEM & EMBRACED THEM." (vs. 13)--And what were the promises? How come they all died & never GOT these promises? What were they really looking for?--A Heavenly City whose Builder & Maker is God, a permanent home! "This World is not my home, I'm just a-passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue!" PTL! This World is not our home, so we don't have to worry about whether it's good or bad. The BETTER it is, the HARDER it is to leave it. The BADDER it is, the EASIER it is to leave it!
         15. THAT'S ONE THING ABOUT OUR LIFE IN THE FAMILY, WE'RE ALWAYS PILGRIMS & STRANGERS, because the Lord said to "go into all the World & preach the Gospel to every creature!"--Mk.16:15. You can't do that & settle down & be permanent. If you're going to keep going, you've got to keep going until everybody's heard, or every country's heard. Verse 14:
         16. "FOR THEY THAT SAY SUCH THINGS DECLARE PLAINLY THAT THEY SEEK A COUNTRY."--WHAT country? I went looking for a long time for some country where I could settle down, where at least they'd let me stay, & I haven't been able to find one! But they weren't satisfied, they wanted something better! Why?: "They desire a better country, that is an heavenly!" What's their reward? They are not satisfied with this World, they're not satisfied just to always stay in one place, they are willing to keep on moving to obey God & serve the Lord, so what does God have to say about them?
         17. "WHEREFORE GOD IS NOT ASHAMED TO BE CALLED THEIR GOD!" You know what that means, don't you? What it really means is God was PROUD of them! If you're willing to forsake all--home, family, friends, your home country & go to strange lands with strange tongues, strange people, preach the Gospel, always be on the go, always on the move, God is PROUD of you! You've given up a lot for the Lord & He's not ashamed to be called your God. He's proud of you! PTL?
         18. THAT'S ALMOST THE BEST THING THE LORD COULD EVER SAY ABOUT YOU, because you're willing to travel & give up & go, forsake all & go on & on, never satisfied here! Well, we "learn to be content in whatever state we're in" (Phi.4:11), but on the other hand, we're always looking for a country whose Builder & Maker is God!
         19. "FOR HE HATH PREPARED FOR THEM A CITY!" Hallelujah? He's got a City for you & me where we're not going to have any passport nor visa problems, it's OUR town, our Hometown in Heaven, praise God? And they're all going to be our people! PTL? We're just going to be one nationality of one nation, which we already are here! We're already a nation, we're already one nationality, we're already one Family, we just haven't found the PLACE yet, we haven't gotten there yet! PTL! (Prays:)
         20. AMEN, LORD, HELP US ALL TO HAVE THAT PILGRIM ATTITUDE, & NOT BE AFRAID TO CHANGE! WHEN THE TIME COMES TO MOVE, TO MOVE! We've often said, Lord, that moving is like dying, you leave the old life behind, the old shell, the old house, old associations, you can't take much with you. We even take more with us when we move sometimes, more junk, Lord, than certainly we'll ever be able to take out of this life, but it's a type of dying. However, Lord, we can begin a NEW life!
         21. THANK YOU, LORD, FOR THE LIFE IN THE FAMILY THAT TEACHES US THIS LESSON CONSTANTLY! Though we have to leave one life behind, the things of that life, we do find a new life & new friends & new people & a new place to preach the Gospel that takes the place of what we've had to leave behind. So, Lord, we're never totally desolate or destitute, You always fill us up again with something, usually better than we left behind.
         22. IT'S BEEN MY EXPERIENCE THROUGHOUT MY LIFE THAT NEARLY EVERYTHING I GAVE UP, IF WE EVEN GAVE UP HOUSES & LANDS, LORD, YOU GAVE US IN THIS LIFE A HUNDRED-FOLD, A HUNDRED TIMES MORE! So, Lord, You're good to us, & even though we give up some things, You usually give us something even better in some way & we've never had to really suffer too much by it. Once in awhile it's been a little hard, once in awhile there's a little hardship, once in awhile it's a little trial, Lord, but usually when we come through, things are better than they were before. TYL! Although there are greater battles, there is also the enjoyment of greater victories in the end when the battle is over. So we thank You for it all!
         23. WHAT'S THE BEST THING AFTER A BATTLE IS OVER?--PEACE! AMEN? The best thing after a battle not only is a victory, but peace! Lord bless you all! Thanks so much!--ILY!--Don't be afraid of CHANGE!--It's GOOD FOR YOU! (Psa.55:19)

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