FIND FERTILE FIELDS!--The Wave Continues!        Maria #256       DO 2973  1/95
--By Maria

         1. Dad and the Lord have taught us that there come times in our lives and ministries when it's necessary to assess the effectiveness of our methods and to take stock of how fruitful our service and lives for the Lord really are. Dad has even said that it's good to take time to do this daily, to reflect at the end of the day on what we've accomplished for the Lord and to make it a daily goal to do something that we won't have to do again tomorrow, something which will bear lasting fruit for the Lord in some way.
         2. It would be a wonderful habit for each of us, just before going to sleep at night, to bring before the Lord the activities of our busy day for His commentary and assessment, and then look to Him for His instructions for an even more fruitful and more loving day tomorrow. If you miss it the night before because you're so tired and you fall asleep on your prayer time, if you've also made a habit of morning prayer time, then you'll have another chance at reassessing the previous day and praying for guidance for the day ahead.
         3. There are times in our ministry and service for the Lord as His anointed and called and chosen witnesses, when He asks us to gauge the fruitfulness of the fields in which we're laboring. Considering the commission that the Lord has given us to "preach the Gospel in all the world for a witness to all nations," and considering the very few laborers we actually have in comparison to the very big job which is still ahead of us, time is just too short to spend years and years in any fields which "don't want the books."
         4. What I'm saying about assessing the fruitfulness of our fields is nothing new. Messages to this effect are scattered all through the Letters as the Lord, through Dad, directed the movement of our troops from one country to another, one continent to another, and even one hemisphere to another, as the Lord's Spirit moved according to the receptivity and heartcry of different peoples and nations.
         5. The Lord never lets us get too settled down, thank the Lord, or we probably wouldn't be where we are today! When Dad saw that our job was finished in one place and that a harvest was waiting in another, he was quick to point the way and send out the call. In fact, Dad told us that our "wave" of movement from one land to another will continue until there will be no more lands to go to and the Lord has to rescue us and take us up to be with Him! Listen to what Dad said just over a year ago:
         6. "I saw a wave of Family refugees sweeping across the world, from one side of the world to the other! At first it looked like a wave of water, except that the wave was made up of people. What would we call what was happening? It wasn't so much a retreat as a withdrawal, or maybe a recall wave. In other words, it was like the Lord was recalling us from the fields where we had finished our jobs. It was not a retreat, it was a recall! It was not a defeat, it meant that people didn't want us any more and we had finished the job. We had reaped as much as we could reap, so the Lord was allowing persecution in difficult areas to the point where it was impossible to stay in those places" ("The Wave," ML #2881:1, Lifelines 21).
         7. Now on to some specifics: The Lord has laid the work in Europe--Western Europe in particular--on my heart for quite a while now. I've become increasingly concerned over the frequent reports you've shared of rejection from the people you've been witnessing to in many of the Western European countries.
         8. Assessing Western Europe, in general terms, field after field has either persecuted the Family, hindered our activities, or attempted to keep us out through laws seemingly aimed right at us. And on top of this, there has been a lack of spiritual and financial response from the people. We've had major persecution and raids on our Homes in Spain and France. And the possibility of being able to home school our precious children remains a question in Spain, as it does in countries like Germany, Holland and Greece, where there is no legal allowance whatsoever for it.
         9. Active, vocal and militant anti-cult groups are rampant throughout Europe, as the Antichrist "is even now marshaling his forces for the Great Confusion." The anti-cult movement (ACM) is spreading its message and doctrine so thoroughly that our missionaries are having a very difficult time overcoming the demonic inoculation which a great majority of the population has received.
         10. The AC media has also done its job well of spreading the most damaging lies possible about us, with England being a prime source of much of the muck and dirt that has been spread about us throughout the rest of Europe, and even the world, through the different media outlets. This has resulted in many of our European media teams needing to battle almost day and night to stand up for the truth against this flood of lies, in order to do what they can to preserve our rights of freedom of religious belief in those countries.
         11. And as if these thrusts of the Enemy to nullify our witness weren't enough, Western Europe's mounting acceptance of sodomy, abortion, and self-satisfaction with the comforts and "away-from-thinking" entertainment have apparently dulled people's senses so thoroughly that it takes a lot of knocking and asking and singing and witnessing to break through the hardness of people's hearts, or to find those few who are still seeking for something more in their empty lives. And the results of these various influences on us in Western Europe, from what we've heard, have been very discouraged Family members, very disheartened witnessers and very disillusioned young people, and this is what concerns me the most.
         12. After hearing some of your reports, I have almost felt like telling you all to get out of a place that is so hard and unreceptive, and where your teams have to labor so long on people and things that bear so little fruit! I tended to agree with some of the reports and suggestions from the European shepherds that you should go further afield--that almost anywhere would be better than where you are!
         13. If the Family is not being received, then we need to shake off the dust of our feet and go to some place where we will be. We have such a valuable message that some people are desperate to hear, but we are not giving it to them; instead we are wasting time in these hardened fields that have turned completely against the Lord and are in almost every way AC-signed, sealed and delivered, and already controlled by his henchmen.
         14. Our Homes in Europe have also been struggling quite a bit financially, as have many of our Homes worldwide. We've now addressed this financial crisis and gotten many directions and guidelines for it, as well as many beautiful promises from the Lord that He has the solution to all these needs. Nevertheless, because Europe is so hard and unreceptive and the Lord is trying to get you out of there, He may continue to withhold His financial blessings until you go.

Confirmation from the Lord!
         15. Of course there is another side to the work in Western Europe, because if we witness we always win. And you dear Family members in Europe have brought forth fruit both through your personal witnessing as well as your witness to the public at large. So there have been many victories, thank the Lord, and much to rejoice and be thankful for, and we can't completely paint black every little corner of this big picture that we're looking at.
         16. However, I have felt quite heartbroken because of the very discouraging and disheartening effect that Western Europe in general has had on our dear Family members, adults and young people alike. This has been the main reason why I got so desperate to find the answer. I was already thinking, along with the European shepherds, that we had to do something and that the Lord must have some kind of solution, and we were considering the possibility of pulling out of these hardened fields. Circumstance after circumstance seemed to indicate this, but we wanted to be sure we were right.
         17. So when the CROs were gathered together at the Summit '95 meetings, I asked them to pray and ask the Lord to speak in prophecy on this matter, as I wanted a confirmation from the Lord that the burden in my heart was really from Him. As you'll read in the following prophecies and visions, the Lord was very clear in His directions regarding the overall battlefield of Western Europe, and the urgency to move much of our Family out of Western Europe!
         18. The Lord was nevertheless very balanced in presenting His view, and in being understanding of each aspect of the work. The Lord covered it all: teens, parents and children who He will give the burden to leave Europe; those who will remain in Western Europe for one reason or another; our support and supply; and the warnings of the Lord's judgments.--And it's a wonderful confirmation of all that He'd already placed on our hearts regarding His will for our European laborers.
         19. So, dear Family in Europe, after you read the following prophecies, you will each need to seek the Lord as to where you fit in. What is to be your role in the tremendous Endtime battles which the Lord is preparing us for? The Lord has a very special place for each of you, and just as clearly as He spoke to my heart and the hearts of the CROs regarding the work there, He can speak to your heart regarding the field and ministry in which you'll be happiest and most fruitful in the time to come.
         20. When considering your options, you will need to ask the Lord for His confirmations and His living Word to speak to your heart, as we did, and He'll use that, along with the other ways to know His will--such as His written Word, Godly counsel, burdens, etc.--to make His path clear for you.
         21. Pray desperately, individually, and with your mate or children or parents, and with your fellow Home members, for the Lord's will and direction for you in accordance with His call to "go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature." It was very significant in the prophecies that the Lord Himself would put His will and burden within each of your hearts, and we believe that if He hasn't already done so, He will, as you open yourself to His loving and still small voice in prayer and desperation.
         Following is what the Lord said:

Prophecies:
         22. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever. My plan, the same yesterday, today and forever. My Word, the same yesterday, today and forever. I have already instructed you in the ways of the battle through My servant David and the pattern he set before you.
         23. Said I not unto you long ago in the Letter "Arrivederci Roma" that God's will is like a river that seeks the lowly and broken hearts? There would be some that would cling to the rocks and cling to the sides and cling to their own pet doctrines, but the river would flow around the obstacles and around the hardnesses and seek the lowest places. This pattern has not changed.
         24. I have created the seasons and the times, and I have even created the hardness of people's hearts. They have had their chance over and over again. Would you stand between them and My rod of judgment?--Or would you be willing to launch out into the deep where ye know not and where it is not comfortable, but where you could be safe?
         25. I have not called you to win every field, only to witness to every field. The decision remains in the hearts of those who have heard My message.
         26. There are many lands where you will be received with open arms as conquerors and kings and rulers. Seek out these lands. I would not waste My leadership on those who would spit upon My kings and queens and priests and priestesses, or upon My young princes and princesses; but I send them where they can be received with open arms, to see that the words that I have given them all these years are true and are powerful, that there are people who will receive them with open arms, that My Word will not return void, but that it will prosper in the place whereunto I send it. But ye must be where I have sent you.
         27. The vacuum is there waiting for you. Why would you beat your hoe against the hard rock when there is fertile soil already turned, and broken hearts to sow My seeds into? There are millions, tens of millions, hundreds of millions who have not yet heard My words of David of this day, nor seen your youth!
         28. Therefore be not downcast or discouraged, but be excited and rejoice, for I would not take something from you unless I were to give you a much greater reward! So seek out the river of My will and where it is flowing, and ye shall find yet another harvest. The harvest is plenteous, but ye must find it.
         29. (I had a vision during this prophecy of this very ugly, dry, horribly scorched earth, and people were trying to hoe it and harvest it. Later the Lord said, "Why are you beating your hoe against this hard ground?" The people were very frustrated, but worst of all, underground was this horrible network of ugly worms and this very ugly devilish spirit eating away. Everything the people in the vision tried to do was just eaten away by the Enemy.
         30. (At the edge of the field, you could see a beautiful green, plush area. Then there was a call from some of the European shepherds, who were calling the laborers to come out of that dry, barren field, and it seemed like an urgent sort of measure, sort of like an emergency measure where it was a wake-up call and a call to arms. Some people just dropped their hoes and ran to them, and they loaded up into big covered wagons pulled by big strong horses. The youth, many of them, ran for it with all their might! They piled into the wagons, they didn't take any suitcases or look behind, and they were changed as they ran!
         31. (Everyone leaving had to be pioneers and forsake all as they did so, and everybody was rejoicing and taking off in their wagons, loads of wagons, and some were left behind who didn't choose to go. There was such a liberation of beautiful, glorious sailing away, just getting away from it all and going on to greener fields. Along with that I got the verse, as the wagonloads were driving off, "He openeth His hand and satisfieth the desire of every living thing" [Psa.145:16].)
* * *
         32. The gentle Holy Spirit of My love does not land where She is not wanted, but She flees, as She must have a place of receptivity. The conviction, power and might of My message must be delivered, but it does not bear fruit where it is not wanted. Ye shall look for these signs. Ye shall look for this fruit. You must expect it. For have I not said in My Word that My Word does not return void unto Me?
         33. Lift up your eyes and look on the fields that are white already to harvest, for there are many indeed where the gentle love of My Spirit can land and have an effect, and where the powerful conviction of My message might bear fruit that should remain, that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name, He will give it to you and do it for you.
* * *
         34. Behold, the people shall see a great light, for even now My Holy Spirit doth hover over other countries and fields that are so hungry and waiting for My Words! She weeps for these nations that have not seen the light of My Words.
         35. You reap and toil and sow in fields that are so hardened to the Gospel and hardened to Her message and to Her Spirit. She weeps, for there are so many that are waiting for the Words. She waits to pour down the blessing of Her Spirit upon these hungry people. Yet there is no one there to do it for Her. She is waiting for you to join Her. She is waiting for messengers to come who can give Her message, Her Spirit, Her love, Her words to these hungry people.
         36. You must move now with the Spirit of God. You must move to where the people are receptive and hungry. For even now it is the time to set our soldiers in place for the great Endtime battle that is ahead. It is time for our children to pour forth as never before and reach every nation, for when this Gospel of the Kingdom is preached in every nation and every country, then shall the End come. And yet there are some who have not heard, while you give the Gospel over and over again to those who have heard many, many times and do not wish to hear it any more.
         37. (I saw a vision of the Holy Spirit like a mist, moving over different fields. She was over one country for a while, and then She moved to another and another, and then She was moving toward different fields--over the Arab countries and then toward Africa and moving in different directions. She was at first over Europe, but then She was separating and moving in different directions. She wasn't just heading to one country, but in several different directions.)
* * *
         38. Behold, your young people are rich, full to overflowing with the truth! They are blessed beyond measure, and they have heard all their lives that to be a missionary and to preach the Gospel is the most blessed vocation there is upon Earth. Yet they look around and they say, "If it's so blessed and so wonderful, then why does it seem everybody hates us? Why does everybody slam the door in our face? Why is there no receptivity and no respect? Why are there no open arms and open hearts? If this is so wonderful, then why does nobody see it as wonderful?"
         39. For this reason your young people are very discouraged and downcast. Their hearts are broken, and their faith is wavering. For they long to pour out the words of David, but there is nowhere to pour them. They long to pour out the love of My Spirit, and there are no receptive vessels to receive it. Therefore they stagnate and grow discouraged, and for this reason I say run, yea, run to these open arms and open fields, that your young people may pour forth the love and the truth that is within them, which ye have so faithfully poured into them all these years. Why did you pour into them except that they might in turn pour out?
         40. Reject these who have rejected you! Turn once again and shake the dust from your feet, for they are not worthy of you. They are not worthy of your message and your presence. Flee these lands, that My judgments may fall upon them. For yea, I am weary with their hardness of heart. I am weary with their rejection of Me, and I long to judge them and deal with them, that they may turn back once again unto Me.
         41. Therefore, take these precious ones and any that will follow and go! Run into these open arms and open fields, and there you will be well received and blessed, and I will supply your needs abundantly! I shall pour down My blessing upon you, and ye shall know that I am with you. Ye shall feel in your hearts that you are in My perfect will. Ye shall have no doubt, for ye shall see about you abundant blessing, abundant fruitfulness, great satisfaction, and great fulfillment, for there is much to be done, and all will be greatly challenged.
* * *
         42. Take heed unto these things which I have said and take them not lightly. For a plague shall come upon these lands [Europe], much darker and more evil and more complete than the great plagues of old. As I chastened Europe before with a great plague in the time of her filth and wickedness, there is yet coming a greater plague than ever before.
         43. Flee from this wave which shall come upon this land! Already there have been floods and storms, but these are but precursors of a great plague, a spiritual plague of darkness and blackness which shall come upon these lands. Therefore come ye out from among them, that ye be not partakers of her plagues, and I will receive you, saith the Lord. (Feb. 1995: We recently saw some of these first judgments on the television news--massive floods throughout Western Europe, while Spain and Bulgaria--two countries the Family pulled out of after strong persecution--are experiencing some of the worst droughts in their history!--Mama.)
* * *
         44. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, nor against kings and princes of this earth, but against principalities, against the rulers of the darkness of this world. Great principalities have fought a great battle to destroy and hinder and harm and hurt. But out of these ashes of seeming defeat shall grow the beautiful lilies of victory and overcoming. For there shall be a great rejoicing in the land, and many shall run forth to conquer, and many shall grow from the ashes of defeat!

More Visions and Verses:
         45. During one of the prophecies I started getting a strong pain in my heart. Then I saw these different Family members in Europe who have been there for a long time. Some of them had gone back to Europe from other mission fields and kind of given up, or some had gone back because they had rejected something or had been disciplined, and their lives had sort of come to an end, it seems.
         46. I felt their pain and their desire to be real missionaries again, and that the Lord was giving them the desire of their heart. They had been purged, and they had seen the error of their ways. Then I saw them going off to all kinds of mission fields, not just to Eastern Europe, but going all over the place and carrying their broken hearts with them.
         47. I got the words, "He that goeth forth weeping, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come before the Lord rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him!"
* * *
         48. I saw a sea of water, very still, and then a strong flow of water. I was asking, "What is this body of water?" And then the prophecy was given about how the water would seek the lowest level.
         49. Then the picture changed to an aquarium with goldfish in it. The analogy was that this type of fish would only grow according to the size of their aquarium. I remember one time some people were showing me some large fish and they said they were goldfish. But I said, "They can't be, they're so big! They're so beautiful, they're so strong!" They said, "If you put them in a big place, they grow bigger." I got this as representing our young people--that it was our responsibility to put them in a place where they can grow.
         50. Then the vision went back to the scene of the water, and as the water poured forth, I saw scenes of "consider the poor" ministries in Asia, with receptive audiences clapping for our young people's singing, and admiring how free and pure and simple they were. It seemed like those are the ones we are searching for. They're hungry and they're thirsty. In going, our people in Western countries would get back to that simplicity, that freedom of the Spirit that many are so lacking right now.
* * *
         51. I got Mark 16:15, and also the verse, "And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet" (Mat.10:14).
         52. Also, I had the feeling that witnessing is the key for our young people's growth, and that the teens in Western Europe going to a different mission field and starting to witness and reach the hungry souls would really strengthen their relationship with the Lord.
* * *
         53. In the prophecy about other lands waiting for us, and being very ripe, I saw this very dark, rich color, like coffee color, very dark brown and almost black. We probably think first of all of Eastern Europe being ripe fields, and Eastern Europe is of course near Western Europe. But I'm also wondering if there is a literal interpretation of these dark brown and black lands--Africa?
* * *
         54. I had also been thinking and praying, "Lord, is there anything You have for us about this possibility of going to Africa, at least pioneering?" Then I saw a map of Europe, and I saw people going to Africa from Europe.
* * *
         55. I saw the cover of the Letter "The Conakry Ripoff," where Dad ripped off the corner of the map of the west coast of Africa (ML #392). When he pulled this strip off the map, all these road teams went out everywhere!
* * *
         56. When an army redeploys or retreats in a certain battle, usually there are some that stay as a rearguard to protect the rear and flanks of the army that's leaving so that the army can make their exit safely without losing forces. I wonder if that would be our TRF Supporters and any DO members who would choose to remain back in Europe, that they would take up that role of being the rearguard that would allow the other forces to go and move safely (and who could continue to witness and minister to our friends and contacts in Western Europe).
* * *
         57. I was marveling and thinking how wonderful it is how the Lord takes everyone in every situation into account and answers their heartcries--not only the hearts of our youth, but the parents too. So I was praying, "Lord, is there anything else You want to say to anyone?" Then I got a flash of TRF Supporters and some DO members who couldn't go for one reason or another, and I was reminded of the Lord's promise to Rahab on the wall, that the Lord would protect His Own! (Josh.6:17).
* * *
         58. I was getting the message of, "If you can't be a missionary, support one." I guess that was one of the roles of Rahab; she helped take care of others. So maybe that will be another ministry of those who stay back in Western Europe, to help support those who are able to be missionaries elsewhere.
* * *
         59. During one of the prophecies, I was reminded of the time years ago when we adults were YAs in the U.S. We all just decided where we wanted to go into all the world. Some stayed in the U.S., some went to Europe, some went to Australia, and so forth.
         60. Our young people are at the same point where they need us to say, "Okay, the world is yours. Where do you want to go?" Some might say, "I'm happy here teaching a JETT group," but others might say, "Since you mentioned it, I always did want to go to New Zealand."--Or, "If the whole world is open, I really would like to go to Zimbabwe and check it out." Maybe it's time for them to go into all the world too!
* * *
         61. We saw a video of Thailand's "consider the poor" ministry, and there was one YA girl singing a song to some former prostitutes. She was crying because she was so touched by all these girls loving her so much for giving them the Lord! That picture stuck in my mind, how the Lord wants all our young people to find that joy and fulfillment in being able to have real contact with hungry people like that.
* * *
         62. In Europe, it's often people like the Pakistanis or Indians who have been receptive and have been supporting the Family--people from different Third World nationalities or communities--and maybe some of these people would like to support our folks as missionaries to go to their home countries. Maybe the Lord has already had our Family meet people who would be willing to support them as missionaries! (End of prophecies.)

God's Guarantees!
         63. (More from Mama:) Aren't those beautiful and very specific prophecies, Family?--And even some good ideas on raising fares and support! Praise the Lord! We've heard that Family members have found it easier to raise support when they explain that they are raising support to go to a foreign field--rather than simply trying to raise funds for their local Home or work. And on the subject of home support, in addition to keeping contacts fed through the mail, some have found it very fruitful to return for occasional visits with their contacts and supporters on the home field, while also using it as an opportunity to gain new friends and support. In any case, we know that the Lord provides where He guides, and that seems to be out of Europe for many of our folks.
         64. Although we can't go solely by the circumstances that these various reports from Europe highlight, they were nevertheless the catalyst that the Lord used to get us thinking and praying about all this, and the Lord seems to have confirmed the feelings I had through these prophecies, that it's indeed time to go.
         65. While we don't necessarily need to go out of our way to publicly shake off the dust of our feet in pulling out of Western Europe, when God's judgments do start falling in those countries we need to faithfully point out that God is dealing with them because they've fallen away from Him. However, at this time, the Family probably doesn't need to announce our evacuation of Europe to the media or government in a high-profile manner, lest it be misinterpreted that the ACM succeeded in driving the Family out. We've done our job and have given people a chance to hear the Word, which many have rejected. So the Lord is using their persecution and harassment to prod the Family to move on to more receptive fields. You could just go about your business of raising your fares for the mission field, and leave Europe to its fate.
         66. We'll be praying for you, dear European Family, as you seek the Lord for His will in your lives. (For a faith-inspiring passage on pioneering from Dad, see also "God's Guarantees," ML #1027, written 7/81.)


Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family