PERSECUTION JEWELS--No.1!
6/92
--Excerpts of Counsel Given Regarding Recent Persecution.--By Maria
Maria #170 DO 2812
Miracles in Court!
1. In some of these court cases, because of the wrath and strength of the System, it may get to the point where everything goes against us so much that right in the courtroom the Lord will have to step in and supernaturally turn things in our favor. In fact, a lot of the visions that our people had worldwide seemed to indicate that there were going to be some supernatural things taking place in the courtroom, that people would say things they never intended, that our persecutors would even go insane on the stand, and that our people would be given supernatural wisdom and anointing, etc. (Ed., 8/92: This has actually happened now, with one of our chief accusers literally "losing it" while being cross-examined in court, resulting in her having to go to the hospital and get a doctor's certificate verifying she was too unsettled to resume cross-examination!)
2. So, even if things seem to be very bad and discouraging on every side, we're not to fear, "for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us!" He's not only willed it but He's promised it over and over again, and we know that He will win the victory!--Hallelujah!--Even if He has to do supernatural, shocking miracles right there in the courtroom, things that the whole world will know are miracles!
Teaching Our Kids to Love Their Enemies
(After the children had been taken by Social Services and kept in captivity for one week.)
3. The Australian Family mentioned that when the Social Services people come for their regular visits, our children are cold to them.--And considering what those people did to them, you can certainly understand why. Maybe it's a good thing they have been cold to them, so the Social Services can get a reconfirmation that the kids love their parents and want to be with them, and don't want to be with the Social Services people! However, I do feel that not only can our adults not afford to get bitter, but we have to teach our children not to be bitter, and to even love their enemies. It would be good to teach them verses on loving your enemies. (See Pro.25:21, 22; Mat.5:43-47; Luk.6:32-35.)
4. Of course, they are our enemies and they are trying to stop us from witnessing and stop us from doing the Lord's work, but maybe we can win them to Jesus if we talk to them about the Lord and quote our verses and sing for them, etc. These people are sinners, but maybe we can win them if we're kind to them and show them God's love.
5. Of course, if they don't respond to our witness, then we don't have to keep on loving and trying to help them forever, but if they do respond to it, then we will have won them with the Lord's love. Our parents there need to continually emphasize to their children the Romans 8:28 in it all, finding as many good things as possible in this whole situation and pow-wowing it with the children so they can make it into a good experience and a good memory because of what they learned from it, and not just a bad experience that gives them nightmares. They need to explain to the children that they were suffering for Jesus, so they should be happy and rejoice as it's a glory to them, the Lord is proud of them! (See Acts 5:41; Heb.11:16.) They should try to cover all the good things they can think of that have come out of it.
Answers to Those Who Criticize Our
Provisioning and Asking for Donations!
6. It's ridiculous for people to criticize us for asking for provisions or donations! Most institutions and organizations who raise funds or solicit donations don't give the public anything in exchange, like we do with our posters, tapes and videos. Even in the case of our provisioning, we give them something that is priceless--spiritual encouragement and inspiration and comfort from the Word in the form of personal ministering to them, and very often give them tapes, videos and posters as well.
7. Almost all organizations, institutions, religious groups, political groups, social groups, etc., raise funds for one purpose or another, and they give the public a lot less for their money than we do! But even if we didn't give people these invaluable posters, tapes and videos in exchange for the provisions that they give us, we are providing a valuable service to the public just by our being in their community and being a sample of God's ideal way of life, and also by our ministering to the public with our literature and spiritual help, etc.
8. In the case of our audio and video tapes, not only are people getting something very worthwhile materially--certainly much more worthwhile than anything else they could get in exchange for their money--but at the same time they're getting spiritually fed through those tools. So in comparison with every other organization or group that raises funds, I'd say we give much more than almost anybody! Not only do we offer the public a service by just being in the community, but we actually bring with us the blessing of God on that community, if they receive us. And to each individual we meet, we offer the priceless wisdom of God's Word through personal ministering and through our beautiful tapes, videos and posters.
9. Other organizations raise funds and it's supposed to be enough reward for the donor just to know that the institution or organization is providing some sort of service to the public--spiritual or material. And the donor doesn't usually get much out of it personally, other than the satisfaction of knowing he's helped others. But with us, not only do we provide an invaluable service to the community by being a witness and a testimony to them, but we also give the individual people who contribute to us a lot of spiritual input.
10. The Scriptural principle is, "They that preach the Gospel shall live of the Gospel" (1Cor.9:14). We work at the job we're doing just as hard, or harder, than people in the System, but we're working for the Lord at the most important job of all. We're working at helping others in a spiritual way, and considering the few people the Lord has available to work for Him, it's important that we continue to concentrate on our spiritual ministry, and that we don't stop it in order to obtain our needs in the physical. Therefore, we need the help of others to carry on our work (1Cor.9:11). The Lord said in His Word that if we do His will, He will provide for us, and of course, He usually uses people to do that. And when they give to us, they in turn receive a great spiritual blessing for helping us. "It's more blessed to give than to receive, and whoever gives one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, he shall by no means lose his reward" (Acts 20:35; Mat.10:42).
11. When people give to God's work, and especially to as important a work as ours, God does richly bless them for it. He always blesses them spiritually, and often even materially. To many of these people we are like their church. In a church, the preacher usually gets paid by the parishioners, so why shouldn't we, who really minister the Word and daily preach the Gospel, also receive support in that way?
Police Intimidation--The Devil Is Always Trying to Scare You into Making "Peace"
12. This business of the police and authorities intimidating some of our people and trying to mentally and emotionally coerce them into surrendering their computer password so the authorities can open their computer files of friends' and contacts' addresses and put them under the scrutiny of their evil eyes is outrageous!--Unless they get a court order forcing them to do it! (Which still wouldn't make it right, of course.) But demanding that they open their personal records to anybody who wants to see them, without their even being charged with any wrongdoing is an invasion of privacy, and an infringement of their basic human rights.
13. They ought to fight it, just on the principle that it's wrong! Even though they don't have anything to hide, I certainly wouldn't give them that password without a good fight! Even if nothing in those files is out of the ordinary, the Devil can always find something to twist and accuse you of.
14. The police are just trying to intimidate them into voluntarily giving it up, like the Social Services tried to intimidate the parents into agreeing to all of those restrictions on their children. The police are trying to get them to think that if they don't agree with them and their coercive tactics, then it's going to really get bad for them, and they'll be in big trouble. This is just like the Devil, who is always trying to scare you into surrendering to him, threatening that if you don't, he'll do something even worse to you. Whereas the fact of the matter is, if you stand up and face him down and don't give in to him, then he probably can't do anything worse to you. "Resist the Devil and he will flee from you!" (Jam.4:7).
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family