HOW TO TAKE THE WAVE!
DO 2900 5/93
(The following Letter was written before the police raids in France and Argentina and the resulting wave of persecution and publicity.)
1. Did you know that those big surfing waves don't grow so high until they get close to shore? Then they start dragging their bottoms on the bottom and that's what causes them to fall over like that.
2. So it's not even a wave until it's beginning to drag its bottom. Do you think we're beginning to drag our bottoms anywhere? Let me tell you, when you're dragging your bottom, it hurts! I used to do what they call body surfing. You can get out there and catch the wave right with your body. You're stretched out horizontally and you're the surfboard! It'll carry you all the way from 100 yards or more out, clear in to the shore. Of course, in the last few yards it breaks and tumbles and sometimes you go rolling on the sand on the bottom. And that's when you've got to be careful, because sometimes you can get skinned up by the sand.
3. In Huntington Beach they were great surfers. Nearly all our kids were surfers, so they understood surfing and waves, etc. One of our folks got a prophecy that we were going to get a big wave and we'd have to learn how to ride it and not get sunk by it. And soon we began to get lots of publicity. Newspaper men began coming down to see what was going on, priests were coming by to see, critics came over to see!
4. The Lord gave one of the kids that prophecy, and they didn't really know what it meant, so the Lord gave me the interpretation. It was that you need to get up on top of this wave of publicity and ride it, get the benefit of it, and it'll really carry you along. You can't even swim that fast; it goes faster than you can swim. In body surfing you have to paddle as fast as you can at first to try to catch the wave until it catches you, and then you go sailing in to shore from way out. We'd start out on a sandbar where the wave would first start dragging its bottom and building up and building up, and we'd catch it right there at its peak and go sailing toward the shore!--Until it dragged its bottom so bad it crashed, and sometimes we'd go tumbling head over heels and land on the beach, thankful if we didn't get our own bottom pretty well sanded!
5. The wave really picks up speed as you get close to the beach where it's going to crash. And if you don't ride it right, it will crash right on you. That wave of water is more powerful than you are. You couldn't swim or get out of it. You couldn't even stand up in it; it would just knock you flat! Well, not flat, but you'd roll, roll, roll just like a ball underwater until you'd hopefully hit on the beach not too hard.
6. So it was a good illustration for those surfers, one they understood. They knew all about surfing, that you had to ride the wave when it was just at the right peak, and that it would really take you fast to the beach, and that you had to be careful how you finished the ride. If you've ever watched surfers, you'll notice that they usually try to ride the wave as long as they can, then when they get real close to the shore they kick back over the top of the wave so they can paddle out to catch the next one. Sometimes they don't make it, the wave's too big or they ride it wrong, and when they do they need to get off their board before the wave begins to tumble right on them. That tunnel closes in on them, and if they wait too long they tumble and their surfboard tumbles with them, and they can get hurt by that board ramming them.
7. If you think the wave is going to engulf you, you've got to dive off the board and sink out of sight quickly before it gets to the tumbling stage and really rumbles and roars. It's best for you to get off of the wave and sink out of sight. The only way you can keep from getting wiped out is to dive off the board and to swim underneath the wave.
8. Maybe this illustration will help us to understand our wave of persecution and publicity better. When the Lord gives you some kind of vision or direction or warns you about something, maybe sometimes He means for you to wait for the peak and ride the wave, but then get off of it before it crashes on you! Sink! Get down out of sight and out of the part of the wave that is going to destroy you if you don't watch out.
9. With some waves it's possible to ride them until they pretty much run out of steam, and when they get close to the shore you're able to kick back over the top of them and you paddle out to catch the next one. They give you a thrilling ride and they don't do you any harm. Some of the recent persecution and publicity has done just that; it's publicized the message and we've come out in the open and proclaimed the truth like never before! Look at the media wave in Japan--we were on TV, radio, in newspapers and magazines. With the Lord's help we rode that wave for all it was worth, and it was an exciting ride, thrilling! We fought back and won!--At least for now. Instead of it crashing on us, we rode that wave and it did us a lot of good.
10. Of course, not all waves are the same; some of them are bigger and more powerful. Not all surfing spots are the same either; some are more dangerous and rocky. So the surfer has to judge the wave to decide if he can safely ride it or if it's going to crush him. If the wave's too big or too steep, or you're riding it wrong, then there comes a point where you've got to get off the wave or it'll get you and roll you and your surfboard head over heels, and it's dangerous. What does a surfer do when he gets to where it's going to be dangerous? Sometimes you can ride through that tunnel and get out of the wave. That's the nicest, easiest way to go. But when you see it's got you and you can't make it, what do you do? (Family: You duck.) You dive off the surfboard and go under water where you're safe, and get out of the way of your surfboard and hope it doesn't hit someone else.
11. Can't you see lots of parallels to that in the matter of persecution? The Scripture says, "The wise man foreseeth the evil and hideth himself" (Pro.27:12). He dives, gets underneath it and sinks out of sight. He flees, in other words.
12. Why do you suppose the Lord showed us that wave? Are we supposed to wait there and ride it till it crashes and crushes? Are we supposed to just keep on riding it to the bitter end, which is a disaster, and could hurt us and others?--Or are we supposed to ride it while it's still safe to ride, try and kick back, or duck out of the way if it gets too dangerous, duck underwater where no one can see us, and the wave just goes on and crashes on the beach?
13. For a while the wave is your friend, but then it can become your enemy. For a while publicity can be our friend and publicize us and give us a chance to really sock it to people and witness. In these court cases we stand up and fight, and we've won every one so far, thank the Lord. It's been a great way of publicizing the Lord's message, and He knows what He's doing by all of this persecution.
14. Now think like the Lord thinks. Put yourself in His shoes for a minute. Why do you think the Lord sends persecution? First of all, He sends the persecution to publicize us and our message, and this latest round has certainly done that; our message is sure getting out! But after the message has been spread far and wide and they begin to severely persecute you, then what is the Lord trying to get you to do? (Fam: You have to go to new fields.) You've ridden the wave long enough safely and it's better to get off while you can.
15. God sends that wave, and He is the One responsible. He is the One that even stirred up the Devil to cause all of the publicity, sometimes publicity started by some initial persecution. But I think we sometimes misinterpret publicity as being serious persecution.
16. You've got to differentiate between bad publicity and perhaps a little initial actual persecution, which helps you to spread the message, and the kind of persecution which stops you and the message, puts all of you in jail or out of the country. To me, that is the difference between riding the wave and succumbing to the wave. Of course in some cases, like in Australia, they did come and take the children, I'd say that was persecution, but they were released after a week and that resulted in a lot of publicity, which eventually turned fairly favorable--especially when we were vindicated. So sometimes, some persecution may even come before the publicity, and when it does you have to decide whether the Lord wants you to leave, or if He's just bringing along a wave that He wants you to ride in order to get out the message.
17. When it's persecution which does not stop you from witnessing and preaching the Word but instead provides a vehicle for you to get the message out in an even greater way, you're riding the wave, you're sailing, you're moving fast! You're up on the crest--up on top where everybody can see you.
18. While we're riding the crest of the wave, everybody is looking and we're the stars!--Like we're doing in these court cases and bad publicity and media coverage. Is that the time to get out? No, it's not the time to get out! That's when you're getting out the message! You're up on top of the wave and everybody is looking and applauding, and some are hissing, of course. But you're really the star of the show and you're showing your prowess and your courage and your fight, and that you're willing to challenge the wave!--And willing, in a sense, to fight back and ride it!
19. As you watch the surfer, you can even see what the surfer can't see. But he can sort of feel it. He can tell by the angle of his surfboard if the wave is beginning to overtake him. He is actually being carried along at a certain angle on a certain level, but he hasn't really started going downhill yet. He is riding high. But then the wave starts overtaking him and his surfboard starts going at an angle, steeper and steeper. And when it gets to a certain point, depending on how far he wants to ride, he knows it's time to kick back, or possibly get off. He's gone far enough and he needs to get off that wave.
How Long Do We Wait?
20. You can feel the wave beginning to tilt a little further than you can hold your balance when the police, stirred up by our enemies, start knocking at your door! You're getting the warning that it might not be safe much longer and that the wave is getting dangerous and might soon crash over you. Of course, in most cases, the police almost immediately recognize that we're not a "destructive cult," but sincere Christians who love our children and are trying to help others. So sometimes you can still ride that wave. But it's dangerous, and it may crash on you! It might be time to decide if you should duck under the water and let the wave pass over, and come up in quieter waters somewhere.
21. It's better to duck before you get hurt, or before you get hurt too much. Sometimes dear Apostle Paul waited a little too long! In one case they beat him up until they thought he was dead, and they dragged him out of the city (Acts 14:19,20). But the Lord resurrected him and he got the message, "They don't want the books!" Like that old story about the Jew who kept going to an office several times to try to persuade them to buy his books. Finally, since he wouldn't listen, they threw him out and down the stairs. Pretty soon, after he'd tumbled down the stairs and was all beat up, he climbed up once more and opened the door just a crack and whispered through the door, "Vell, do ya vant the books or don't you?" (Everybody laughing.) Do we have to wait until then?--Till they beat us all up and jail us all, and then we say, "Vell, do you vant the books or don't you?" I think that kind of persecution is a pretty good answer; you don't have to ask them.
22. When you're on the crest of the wave you're riding high as a star with a lot of publicity, and even if it's bad, you're getting out the message and you're on TV and in the newspapers. Even if there has been some initial persecution which brought on the publicity, it has been persecution that has opened the doors for you to preach the message. It has not been the kind that gets all of you thrown in jail and your mouths shut where you can't do any further good. When the children in Australia were taken from their parents, the Lord allowed this in order to give them their greatest chance ever to witness in Australia, and brought great victories out of the seeming defeat.
23. When the surfboard starts slanting a little, a little different slope or pitch, what do you do? That's when you have to make the decision as to whether you feel the Lord wants you to keep on riding the surfboard and that He will miraculously keep you from falling off, or if you should dive off while it is still safe to dive off, and get underwater where there is peace and quiet, and come up in quieter waters.
24. Even when a wave doesn't crash, you can slide off your board if it gets on too big a slant. If you're smart, you don't wait until the board and the wave throw you; you dive in while you can and get underwater where it's calmer and the water doesn't have so much power over you. You take a dive and you swim away where it's as deep as possible, staying underwater as long as you can hold your breath.
25. You dive under, off of your surfboard! There are always more surfboards, and there are always more little islands and sandbars, but there aren't any more of you! You're the most precious thing there is to the Lord. (Tongues:) "I love thee as My Own children. And as you would your children, I wish to hide thee and save thee and keep thee, if thou wilt listen!" Hallelujah! Thank You Jesus!
26. The Lord doesn't want the wave to destroy us! He wants us to take advantage of the wave while it is an advantage, but when it becomes a disadvantage, then it's time to get off it.
27. The ACs have captured the instruments of propaganda, the media. Like they did in Jesus' day, they stir up the public to stir up the Romans to do something about it! Otherwise, the Romans have enough problems and trouble trying to cut down crime and arrest the real criminals. They don't want to be bothered with some little sect.
Our Final Flight!
28. We know that as we get near to the end we will have to retreat. Make sure that you're keeping your eyes open so that before the wave crushes you, you can get off of it and then regroup--if the Lord wants you to--someplace else where you can fight the battle with more chance of winning.
29. But what happens when the days of battle are almost over and you can't win the war?--You have retreated as far as you can to the safest shores left. If you get that bottled up, if the ship is drifting on the rocks, it's time for some kind of aerial rescue, and hallelujah, that's coming! When we have gone as far as we can and there is no more escape, He has an escape all planned!--An aerial rescue!--Not with clumsy helicopters or gunships; it's going to be the nicest, smoothest, most wonderful aerial rescue that ever occurred! And it's not going to be quiet. It says there will be thunder, lightning, trumpets and lights in the sky, that every eye shall see Him! (Mat.24:29-31; 1Th.4:16-17; Rev.1:7).
The Choice Is Up to You!
30. Right now our Family is riding the wave! Right now they're the stars of the show, but they'd better watch the signs of the times! Why did the Lord show me this picture of the wave cresting?--And then everything fell, and it rolled, and it swept! It was still a wave, but it was falling and it was sweeping across the world, from one side to the other. What would you tell them? (Fam: To be ready! Be prepared.) Be ready, be prepared. And don't stay on it too long.
31. I have to give you the warning that things are going to come soon and that you should be ready, but that you don't necessarily have to go now when you're being very fruitful and things are going very well. You have to make the choice as to how far you want to ride the wave and when you feel you should jump off or kick back. You don't want to jump off too soon, or you'll miss the thrilling ride, and your country will miss the message, but neither do you want to stay on it when it's no longer safe to do so.
32. The thing that came to me was, as long as things are going great, stay on the wave, stay on the board. Ride the crest. Be a star. Put on a good show, but don't forget that stars do take nosedives and they're often falling stars, shooting stars.
33. Having had the picture and given the warning, and the Lord having shown us which way things are going to go, and that as time goes on we're going to be in retreat mode, I think it's up to the local commanders and the individual soldier or his unit to decide when it's time for them to go, in counsel with their officers; or whether they want to stay and be a rearguard and fight it out until they're killed, captured or thrown out.
34. The Lord gives the prophet the Word and the warning and it's the prophet's job to give it. And I have. But you are there on your field, and now having heard this message it's up to you to be sensitive to the Lord as to when He wants you to retreat, to dive off the board and come up in safer waters. The decision when to leave is up to you.
35. Now it's up to you to pray about it and make your decisions as to what you want to do. The Lord gives certain limitations in the tunnel of His will. It's sort of like a train track. Where do you want to get off? He limits you to the train's route, its line, but you have a whole lot of options about stops and where you want to get off. Only one of these days it's going to be, "Stop the world! I want to get off!"
36. Have Thy way, Lord. You know what's best. Thy will be done. As we thank You together: "Thank You Jesus for this day and for this Home so fair. You've helped us, Lord, to do some good and kept us in Thy care. And blessed our loved ones everywhere." Amen! Praise the Lord!
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family