PERSECUTION JEWELS!--No.8!       DO 2903  11/93

Prayers for Deliverance!
(The following prayers, separated by asterisks, were each prayed at different times:)
         1. (10/93) We do ask Thee, Lord, to give our Family in prison some surcease now, and deliver them! The message has gotten out; they have declared it and been examples of it and witnesses and testified against their persecutors, so let them go now. They've suffered enough for a while. Now encourage them that You still live and love them and are able to deliver them!
         2. You said, "Resist Satan and he shall flee from thee!" So we resist and fight him and are waiting for him to flee! Thank You for our folks who are so courageous and willing to spend time in prison for Thee, for Thy Gospel, for Thy Word, for Thy truth! Rebuke our evil enemies, Lord! Destroy them, even as David prayed in these chapters from Psalms that we've been reading each morning. David had so many enemies and so much trouble, but You delivered him, Lord, and he lived to be an old king still writing beautiful Psalms to encourage Thy people.
         3. Even so let it be with us, Lord. We ask Thee to deliver Thy children that they may continue to go on living for Thee!--Perhaps not in these countries which no longer want them and only persecute them, but elsewhere, Lord, where there is still some freedom and liberty and rights.--Perhaps even back in their own countries where they can be a testimony and witness to others, and even a witness against those who persecuted them and drove them out.
         4. Have Thy way, Lord. It's all in Thy hands. You said, "All things work together for good to them that love You." You allowed it, Lord, and now You have to get them out of it when You're through with what You're trying to do. We're sure You're going to be successful, and so will we, and it will accomplish Thy purpose, the one whereto it was sent (Isa.55:11). Thank You Lord!
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         5. (10/93) Bless our Family around the world, especially those being persecuted. Deliver them as soon as it's Thy will. Let them rejoice and be exceeding glad, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before them.--And great is their reward in Heaven! (Mat.5:11,12). Thank You Lord! Bless and keep them and strengthen them! Give them courage and make them a blessing. Curse our enemies, Lord! Or let them get saved, one or the other. And if they refuse to be saved, then damn them! "Let all my enemies be ashamed and sore vexed, let them return and be ashamed suddenly" (Psalm 6:10).
         6. Thank You for another day to serve You and be a blessing. Help us to guide Thy children aright. Thank You for all the victories.
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         7. (10/93) Bless our loved ones in prison and deliver them soon, Jesus! Make them strong and a good testimony. Bless them and strengthen them. Help them to accomplish Thy purpose and then release them!
         8. Lord, do have it turn out Your way, whatever it is, for Thy glory and the salvation and witness of Thy children. Bless those who are sticking up for us and fighting for us and sympathizing with us. I'm sorry there isn't much reward in it for them, except from You, but that will be the greatest reward. Thank You Lord! The time will come when they'll be glad they did.

Everybody Is Undergoing Persecution!

         9. How could I ever complain? I feel guilty that we are being so well treated, when others in the Family are being so mistreated and persecuted. (Maria: I have a theory that everybody's undergoing some type of persecution. If it's not physical, then it's in the Spirit. Look at how discouraged and almost depressed and guilty you feel sometimes when the Devil tempts you with thoughts that you're to blame for the persecutions the Family is experiencing, just because you have been faithful to give us the Lord's message. It's just the Devil making you feel that way. It's mental and spiritual torture--that's certainly persecution. And look at the pressure our people are under here and everywhere, and the increased battles they are having to fight.) Yes, everybody's suffering in their own way, it's just a sign of the times. But I'm not suffering myself--I'm just suffering for them.

Those Who Kill the Prophets!

         10. I don't think God's going to let the U.S. off the hook for what they did to David Koresh and his people. They are going to get it if He has to revive communism and the atom bombs to do it! Meanwhile, we're doing all we can to get the message out and be a witness against them. Praise God! We're standing up and fighting and witnessing and warning them and telling the truth, and they're going to be without excuse. We've been warning the United States of its sins and impending judgment for 30 years--at least I have--and the Family has for the last 25. And we've been warning the world for at least the last 15 or 20 years, so they're without excuse! The Lord is fair. God is giving them their chance to make the right choices, and instead they're persecuting us.
         11. That's what the Lord said they'd do to the prophets: They'd stone some, beat some, kill others. He said to the Jews, "Thou that killest the prophets!" (Mat.23:29-37). Think of it!--The Jews, of all people, who should have honored the prophets.

Our Lit in the Hands of Our Enemies!

         12. There were times when I was hesitant about publishing some of our beliefs in the lit, because I knew if our enemies got ahold of them they would only twist them and deliberately misinterpret them and try to use them against us. But apparently the Lord wants the public to know for some reason. Many of them will agree and believe secretly in their hearts. And others will be condemned because they don't believe the truth. (Maria: We're getting to the point now where we're having to really fight for the Scriptural principles behind our beliefs and explain what they are and what we really mean--which will not only get the message out further, but also strengthen our own convictions.)

The World Is Held Accountable!

         13. It looks like the Lord holds the people responsible in a lot of these countries where we're persecuted, not just the authorities. When they hear about us, they all take some kind of a position, and I think God is judging them accordingly. They forced us out of our jobs in Barcelona, and now they're losing theirs, with thousands of layoffs from the biggest car manufacturer there. Some people would probably be surprised to know that God is judging their country for what they have done to us, even by their attitude toward us--even the attitude they took when they read about us in the paper.

Media Twists the News!

         14. That article about us in the New York Times really shows how the media can twist the news! They said about me, "He forsook his wife and four children to run away with a 23-year-old girl!" Of course, they didn't mention the fact that the children were all grown and married and had children of their own, that the wife forsook him, and that the 23-year-old girl was his secretary! They can phrase things to make them sound bad, when they're really not bad at all. It just shows you how the media can really twist the news to make it sound bad.

Sex Scandals!

         15. Jimmy Swaggart is the one that dug up all the dirt on Jimmy Bakker, but then Swaggart turned right around and did much worse and it has wrecked his ministry too. I'm sure, of course, it's the Devil trying to wreck them both. Now the Devil and his cohorts are out to try to wreck us, but I don't think the Lord's going to let them!
         16. I'd seen so many Gospel preachers destroyed by scandals and sex, do you know what I decided to do? I decided to be just as sexy as I could be and let it be known publicly! So how could revelations about sex scandalize me when I'd already scandalized myself? I figured my people were never going to leave me because of some sexy scandal, or if they heard that I'd run off with my secretary, because I'd already told them about it!
         17. I didn't desert Mother Eve--she ran off and left me! And in spite of that, I've supported her ever since. Think of that!
         18. So I was just determined to be open! I saw that it was the secrecy and the hypocrisy of these preachers that had destroyed them, so I just decided to come out with it all and tell the whole truth, everything, nothing but the truth.
         19. Let's put it this way: The Lord let sex become one of our chief doctrines, and let the whole world know about it! So how could our enemies scandalize me? Well, they chose to accuse us of the one thing that they figured would really turn the public against us and make them think we were terrible, vile, evil people, and that was child abuse.--And they prepared the public with 10 years of propaganda.

Our Special Prayer Warriors!

         20. (From Maria, to the brethren in bonds in Argentina:) Dearest Loved Ones, God bless you! Dad and I love you very much and are so proud of you, that the Lord would consider you worthy to suffer for His Name! Although you may be tempted to feel useless and as though you're not able to do anything to help His work while you are incarcerated, the greatest thing you could accomplish is if you could be our prayer warriors and fight in the Spirit for the many desperate needs of the Family. You would be doing a greater service for the Lord than almost anyone else, as there is no greater thing that you can do than to beseech the Lord for His Family and children worldwide.
         21. The Lord has said repeatedly that these battles are only going to be won through prayer, and you are some of the few who have sufficient time to spend at His Throne. So can we count on you? You men especially may be able to do the most on this since apparently you are all together in one group with no outsiders present. You women may have a more difficult time since you have others in the same small room with you. However, your ministry is just as important, as you can pray silently, and the Lord must know it is very important also to win the women with you. However, I will give this message mainly to the men because I don't want you women to feel bad if you can't do that much united praying.
         22. We can't thank you enough for being willing to be our special prayer warriors and for filling this great need for the Family at this time. Please be assured that we are also continuing to pray desperately for you and your situation, and for the Lord to strengthen, encourage, comfort, uplift and protect you, as well as completely deliver you from bonds as soon as possible. The Family worldwide is doing all they can and the Lord is raising up many folks to fight on your behalf. So hold on! The Lord and we love you dearly. Love, Mama.

The Lengths God Will Go to Win a Soul!

         23. (From Mama to the women in prison in Argentina:) Dear precious Claire, Charity, Consuelo, Paloma and Flor: We love you very much and pray fervently for you during this very difficult time. We know that you have no strength of your own, but we marvel at how the Lord's strength has been so evident in you and has made you so powerful in the Spirit--giants of faith! How much we admire you, and how proud we are of you for standing your ground and staying true to your convictions and holding on with your last ounce of strength. And each time the Lord gives you more, just enough to keep going a little longer!
         24. More and more we're seeing why the Lord has allowed you to be in that particular situation--to win some of those girls to the Lord, and perhaps in winning them, to win the entire prison eventually.
         25. To what lengths will God go to win a soul?--As far as He has to go. Look how far He went when He died on the cross to save all of us. Wasn't that enough? Maybe it was for some, but not for all. Look how much further He went for the first Burmese disciples when He sent Adoniram Judson to rescue them. Look how far He has gone for those poor girls in the prison where you women are suffering and being tortured mentally and emotionally and spiritually, and enduring all kinds of difficulties physically.
         26. Apparently Jesus' death on the cross for some people--like those poor unloved and embittered girls--wasn't enough, and in a sense now His children (you!) have to be offered on the cross of sacrifice to win them. That's how far He is willing to go!--To not only give His Own life, but also to give the lives of you, His precious children, that they might be saved and that they might know His love and peace, which can conquer all the darkness and cruelty and hate and bitterness and turmoil of the hell they live in.
         27. The other night I was praying for you women, and also for our men in prison. I had just recently heard of you girls' harrowing experiences with the two hardened AIDS-infected criminals being put into your cell. I was crying out to the Lord for you, talking to the Lord out loud, and I was just about to say, "Lord, please release them now!" But instead what came out of my mouth was, "Lord, please turn that whole prison to You and reach those poor women!"
         28. It was like the Lord was saying, "Why do you think I put them there? Why do you want Me to release them before they've accomplished their mission? Which would be the greater victory?--To have them released?--Or to have My love and light shone abroad in all the dark corners of that awful hell? How are they going to hear and see and feel My love unless those who know Me best follow My sample and lay down their lives for these despised, forgotten, unlovely outcasts of society? How else could they reach them so deeply and give them hope?"
         29. So, dear girls, what honor and great reward is going to be yours when we all stand before the Lord together! You'll never know what a great impact and influence your sacrifices and your willingness to suffer for Jesus have had on those women, who have never seen such love. Now they can understand Jesus' love for the first time in their lives. Keep going, dear ones, and He will certainly bring you through. All over the world there are more folks speaking up in your defense, many who have finally been awakened to the great battle that is being waged between good and evil. Your witness is being heard far and wide, and your faith has made us all stronger. We love you dearly and pray daily for you.--Yours, Mama for Dad and Mama.

Troubled on Every Side, Yet Not Distressed!--2Cor.4

         30. (Dad gets the verses 2Cor.4:7-18 for the persecution and court cases and shares them with the Family:) (Verse 7:) "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." You've got to do it, Lord. We can't do it. We can just convey Thy Word. (Verse 8:) "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair." That's sure the case!
         31. (Verse 9:) "Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed." It may look like we're defeated but we're not, thank the Lord! It's all a part of our testing. We're tested so we'll come through the fire as pure gold. Thank You Lord! He wants to see how we'll stand it and He likes to watch us be good soldiers, just as we're proud of a little child when he does well. Christians down through history have had worse troubles than we have. I was reading Adoniram Judson's life story yesterday, and boy, we haven't even begun to suffer yet!
         32. (Verse 10:) "Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body." Paul said he died daily (1Cor.15:31). In a sense we die daily to self and to these things, but it is the Lord that lives in us.
         33. (Verse 11:) "For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh." That's a strange verse, "We which live are always delivered unto death." In other words, the more we die to self and personal desires and things like that, the more we live for the Lord. And sometimes we're delivered even to a physical death, and that's the best deliverance of all, because then we're out of it all!
         34. (Verses 12-15:) "So then death worketh in us, but life in you. We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak. Knowing that He which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
         35. (Verse 16:) For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day." We're dying on the outside, but we're going to be stronger on the inside!
         36. (Verse 17:) "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." It may not look very light sometimes. And I don't see how Adoniram Judson could've said that, because his affliction was pretty heavy. But compared to his glorious reward, his afflictions were light! Anyhow, whatever it is, it "worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory," a weight of glory! It's heavy, man! We will receive a weight of glory. (Verse 18:) "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."
         37. Amen, praise the Lord! Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory! Whatever happens, You can do it, and You know what You want to do. Thy will be done. Have Thy way. You know best! Give them the strength and protection and skill, and most of all, Thy Word.


Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family