THE LAWS OF MOSES!
DO 155
2/72
VICTORY OVER OUR ENEMIES THROUGH OBEDIENCE TO THE WORD!
1. "YE ARE OF GOD, LITTLE CHILDREN, & HAVE OVERCOME THEM: because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the World. They are of the World: therefore speak they of the World and the World heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth & the spirit of error!"--1John 4. Amen! Isn't it wonderful to have God's Word for our encouragement! I hope you are brainwashing yourselves with it constantly & absorbing it into the very fibre of your being, for it is His Word by His Spirit in His Love that makes you strong! Please do not neglect it, for it is food for your soul & gives you strength for the battle! Read, study, memorise & enjoy it, & ye shall have strength for your souls!
2. THIS IS WHY THE CHILDREN OF GOD ARE SO MUCH STRONGER THAN THE CHILDREN OF THIS WORLD: You know the Word & none can stand against it! You stand strong in the power of His Spirit wielding accurately the Sword of His Spirit, which is the Word of God, mighty to the tearing down of strongholds--not the pitiful little carnal weapons that our enemies use, who try to wrestle against flesh & blood with their puny carnal weapons, only to find that they have come face to face with Almighty God & His Children!
3. WE MUST REALLY BE ACCOMPLISHING A LOT FOR THE LORD OR THE ENEMY WOULDN'T BE FIGHTING US SO HARD! We must really be doing God's Will or the Enemy wouldn't be so mad! Hallelujah! Let's keep him trembling! Keep on praying & obeying & you'll shake him clear out of his boots one of these days! PG! All you have to do is serve Him-Jesus! And that's exactly what you're doing! Hallelujah! We have more fulltime labourers winning more souls to Christ & making more news doing it than any other Christian group in the World today that I know of! Indeed, ye are the Children of God! Praise God!
4. BUT AS IN EVERY WAR, THERE ARE MANY HAZARDS & PITFALLS & TRAPS OF THE ENEMY! We may not win all the battles, but we're going to win the War! And it's of these individual losses that I want to warn you, which could hurt the whole cause & slow us down in some areas, as well as bring you shame! But I also want to commend you for your victories, to inspire you to even greater achievements by His Grace. Amen! Don't let anything stop you!
POLICIES ON GOOD STEWARDSHIP OF MATERIAL GOODS, FUNDS & TELEPHONES
5. SOME OF YOU SEEM TO HAVE A CONTEMPT FOR MATERIAL THINGS which God has given you & of which you are supposed to be a good steward, such as vehicles, houses, equipment & even money! Remember, it's not the money that's the root of all evil, but the LOVE of it! You're supposed to take care of it & those things God has given you to use for His Glory & be good stewards of them, as they belong to the Lord! I was always more careful of the other guy's stuff than I was of my own, because I knew if anything happened to the thing I'd borrowed, I'd have to repair it or replace it!--Whereas if it were mine, I could just forget it! So remember, like your body, these things are not your own, but are bought with a price & you're supposed to take good care of them, so they can be used as long as possible for the Lord's Glory! Don't knock it!--But use it!--And CERTAINLY don't ABUSE it!
6. YOUR FUNDS SHOULD BE USED, FIRST OF ALL, FOR ABSOLUTE NECESSITIES, such as food, housing, heat and utilities, transportation & other bills last! Never pay cash for anything you can buy on time! You'll get better service out of the company you bought it from if you still owe them money, but be sure you keep up your payments faithfully and on time! Good credit is a good recommendation and of good report and a good testimony!--It's better than money! It's your reputation for being honest & trustworthy as a Child of God--someone who can be depended on to keep his word--not a liar, a cheat or a thief!
7. IF YOU HAVE A SURPLUS, IT MAY BE FOR SOMETHING YOU DON'T KNOW YOU NEED, or it may be for some other Home that is in need, so call your Area Shepherd, or better yet, write him & ask for his advice on what to do with it. Try not to use the telephone if you can help it! Long distance telephone calls are getting to be one of the biggest extravagances in the Revolution! We cannot afford these misuses! Never use the phone when a letter will do! Never call long distance unless it's a life & death emergency that can't wait.--Or unless you want to lose your phone because you can't pay the bill--& you'll STILL have to pay it & find it very hard to get your phone back without a big deposit! Cut those calls or they'll cut your line & service!
POLICY ON FINANCES & RECORD KEEPING
8. ON FINANCES: WE HAVE ADVISED YOU TO KEEP VERY ACCURATE FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS, books & records of all financial transactions, including income & expenditures with receipts for everything, all checks plainly I.D.'d for that purpose & all your check records showing what they were spent for. All these records should be kept accurately & diligently, being diligent in business & everything being done in decency & in order or you may be sorry in the event of some future financial investigation. You may have to prove where the money went, that you didn't spend it on yourself or put it in your own bank account for your personal use, or you may have to explain to the IRS why you shouldn't pay taxes on it as personal income--if you don't keep those records! Keep books! Keep records! God does & He expects you to! We have not asked you to send us these records, as each Home is completely independent financially & responsible for its own things.
NECESSITY OF KEEPING APPOINTMENTS & YOUR WORD WITH KINGS, MEDIA ETC.
9. ON BEING DILIGENT STEWARDS: THIS INCLUDES KEEPING YOUR WORD ABOUT APPOINTMENTS! Don't DISappoint people! Keep calendar reminders! Be there! Be particularly scrupulous about keeping dates with the news media, for these are very busy men & their time is valuable, & when they're interested enough to grant you some of their precious time, it's an insult for you to ignore it or carelessly forget it or even be late! Worst of all, it is a terrible lack of consideration, which is a manifest evidence of a lack of love, which is supposed to be our greatest attribute & which is one of the main reasons they come to see us, because of our love. But if we do not show enough love toward them to even be concerned about keeping a date with them on time, it will certainly greatly disappoint them & disillusion them in the good things they hope to hear about us & prove about us, if they're favourable; & will only confirm the doubts of those who are unfavourable & is more than likely to make the average newsman furious at you for having wasted his time, & mad enough to write a critical story about you! At the very least, as has happened in some cases, they will report the other side's version & then say at the close of their article that you could not be contacted or failed to show up for an arranged interview! This looks & sounds like you are afraid to show, that you're ashamed to show & that you are therefore obviously guilty of the enemy's charges, which the reporter has recounted in his article.
10. DON'T YOU DARE TO MISS AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE NEWS MEDIA, OFFICIALS, KINGS OR SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS, OR YOU HAVE FAILED GOD & missed an appointment with Him! In the fifteen years that I dealt with business executives such as station managers & programme directors in the radio & television field, I was never late nor missed an appointment for an interview more than two or three times in all those years, & even in those cases it was only because of some dire & unavoidable impossibility, in which cases, as soon as I knew I was not going to be able to make it on time, I immediately phoned the man to apologise & explain, so he could save his time & I could keep his good will & obtain a later appointment, if possible. Otherwise, you have defeated God's whole purpose in making you a witness & undoubtedly prejudiced someone against you & turned them from a definite or potential friend into a very likely enemy.
11. BE THERE, & ON TIME!--OR PHONE THEM IMMEDIATELY AS SOON AS YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T MAKE IT & apologise with a very good reason & try to postpone the appointment to some other time! And remember, a vehicle breakdown is not a good reason--you can walk, hitchhike or catch a cab if you have to, as I have had to do many times in order to make it! Neither is forgetting a good excuse!--That is the worst of all reasons! It shows you didn't think it was important enough to remember or jot it down somewhere so you couldn't possibly forget. Neither is some other business which you think is more important a good excuse to a man who has laid aside all of HIS other important business to talk to YOU! It's as good as slapping him in the face & saying, "My business is more important than your business!" I'm sure, of course, that YOU think so, but I'm not at all sure he will agree with you & forgive you for wasting his precious time, & he will certainly no longer have faith in your word nor your witness!
12. WHEN YOU HAVE PROMISED TO MEET SOMEONE AT A CERTAIN TIME, YOU HAVE IN EFFECT VOWED A VOW, WHICH GOD'S WORD SAYS YOU MUST KEEP or suffer the consequences. As a Child of God, there could scarcely be anything more important than keeping your word to others, or else you're a liar, a cheat, a thief & a false witness! You have stolen the most precious thing any man can have outside of his soul--his time!--And worst of all, you have destroyed his confidence in us & our Message! Some of you seem to think it's System to be bound by time, schedules, appointments etc. Let me tell you, Brother, the day that time shall be no more is not yet with us!--And yes, you are still under its bondage when it comes to dealing with the System & outsiders who live by it! Don't waste their time or yours!
READ THE MO LETTERS DAILY!
13. AND THIS REMINDS ME THAT YOU, MY DEAR CHILDREN, HAVE AN APPOINTMENT WITH ME EVERY DAY, & you'd better not miss it or you're going to be sorry! To ignore the Word of the Lord through His Prophet is to ignore the Voice of God Himself, & if you're not going to be willing to spend time listening to God's directions, you're not going to get far!
14. GOD MADE ME YOUR SHEPHERD!--AND YOU HAD BETTER FOLLOW, or you're going to miss God & His Will! It was not my idea!--It was GOD'S! If you think you can be a part of God's mighty Movement without following its leadership--His chosen leadership--you are mistaken! If you think you can be a Revolutionary for Jesus & not follow the one God chose to start that Revolution, you're going to be sadly disappointed!
15. I DID NOT CHOOSE TO BE YOUR LEADER, GOD CHOSE ME!--I MERELY OBEYED! And, as God told me, by one man's obedience, many would be made righteous! I am merely following God, & as the Apostle Paul said, "Be ye therefore followers of me, even as I am also of the Lord Jesus Christ"!--1Cor.11:1. As throughout all time, God has always required His People to follow & obey His chosen Mouthpiece, His Prophet, His man of God, His chosen Leader, Shepherd or King! Those who rejected God's leadership through His anointed ones fell by the wayside or were destroyed! But those who believed, followed & obeyed were blessed of the Lord, prospered, were protected & provided for & reached their goal--God's Goal! Those who doubted, followed not & disobeyed, ended only in confusion, frustration & despair!
16. BUT THE REAL REVOLUTION ROLLS ON UNDER GOD'S CHOSEN & ORIGINAL LEADERSHIP & YOU HAD BETTER FOLLOW IT or you're going to miss the boat like the rest of them! So what's all that got to do with Mo Letters? It means you'd better read & study them & share them with your flock, or you, too, are going to miss the original pattern that God has given from the very beginning & fall by the way like the rest of them! You'll make mistakes, pull boners, blunders & really blow it, if you don't stick to the plan God has given & follow the leadership He has anointed & appointed! You'll miss the mark!
17. SO MO LETTERS ARE MY DAILY CLASS WITH YOU, & should occupy a specific hour-&-a-half to two hours of your daily schedule every day without fail, for leaders, LT's & all, "treasures both new & old", the voice of your Shepherd!--Or you're going to be sorry & go astray, get caught in the brambles, lost or devoured by the Wolves. Please try not to read them so late that everyone is too weary to even hear them, much less absorb them! And please, for God's sake & His sheep's sake, try to get someone to read them who loves them, studies them, knows the spirit of them & can really read them with all his heart, expression & understanding, so the kids will catch the spirit & meaning of every Letter! Thanks for listening! GBY!
LEADERSHIP DUTIES--NOT TO NEGLECT THE PHYSICAL OR SPIRITUAL SIDE
18. CONCERNING DUTIES OF LEADERSHIP: THOUGH YOU MAY NOT YOURSELF HAVE TIME TO TEND TABLES, it is your responsibility to see to it that they ARE tended & to check on everyone to see to it they're doing their job, & everything to see to it that things are in proper condition, including the cleanliness, orderliness & attractiveness of your house or camp! Many nights when you were either in meetings or asleep, we used to patrol the camp & see that everything & everyone was OK, making sure that everyone was in class or meetings & that the grounds or premises were clean & in order, & were often able to call to the attention of your leaders things that needed to be done or people who needed help.
19. YES, LEADERS, IT IS YOUR DUTY TO FREQUENTLY RUN AROUND THE CAMP & SEE THAT EVERYTHING IS KEPT GOING! It's also your duty to see that none of the babes are neglected or mistreated & are in good health both physically & spiritually, if you're a good shepherd--& not do as some have done in thinking that other things were more important than caring for their sheep!--Or you won't be a leader for long!
PROPER DISPOSAL OF TRASH & CLEANLINESS IN THE HOUSE & YARD!
20. IT'S EVEN VERY IMPORTANT TO SEE THAT THE TRASH IS DISPOSED OF PROPERLY, or it can be a terrible testimony to the neighbours & an offense to officials or a hazard to health & safety. See that garbage is in tight covered containers or buried so that it doesn't breed flies, stink up the neighbourhood or get scattered all over by the dogs. If you have to burn your own trash, be sure that it's burned safely in small amounts, either in your fireplace in the Winter or your incinerator in the Summer or an old oil drum covered with a screen to prevent the spreading of sparks to dry grass or other nearby combustible materials or buildings. Therefore see that it's burned in a safe container at a considerable distance from any buildings, brush or rubbish which could catch fire from a stray spark or ash, & always have someone watching it with water nearby just in case until it has died completely down or been put out.
21. ALSO BE VERY SURE THAT NO CONFIDENTIAL MATERIALS OR PAPERS OR IDENTIFYING ENVELOPES etc., bearing names, addresses or other selah information are ever placed in trash containers which are emptied by the System! Burn or destroy these separately in your own wood stove or fireplace or bury or burn somewhere, or tear in such tiny pieces they could not possibly be put together and deciphered, or you may be surprised someday what the System can learn about you from your trash! I remember a gang leader once who was caught just by sifting his trash!--And too many wine bottles don't make a very good testimony either!--Neither does throwing away good clothing or materials which others might think you should have salvaged when so poor!
22. SPEAKING OF CLEANLINESS: IT'S NOT NEXT TO GODLINESS, BUT PART OF IT! Trash, garbage & dirt not only breed flies & disease, but look bad, are depressing & a very poor testimony, & hereby have many been contaminated, sickened & even made offensive & dangerous to others! Douse that dirt with soap & water; sweep & clean, but don't spit & polish: It's insanitary! Painting also not only cheers & brightens, but sterilises & preserves, believe it or not--& makes your neighbours love you! A neatly trimmed lawn with pretty, well-kept flowerbeds & not littered with junk & old jalopies; as well as a tidy porch not strewn with clothes & more odds & ends, & a backyard kept neat & clean & free from hazardous piles of trash, garbage, dog dung & other junk, will help your neighbours to love you in spite of your noise & religion!
LAWS ON HEALTH--PHYSICAL & SPIRITUAL!
23. AS FOR KEEPING CLEAN & HEALTHY, THE TWO ARE INSEPARABLE! I think this is one reason why so many of you have stayed healthy! But failure to heed those admonitions is probably one reason, along with sin in the camp or the heart, why some of you have caught colds & other diseases! I think as long as these things are going around we should forego the pleasure of kissing anyone on the mouth but your own mate or someone else you're willing to share diseases with! And the same goes for intercourse!--The World is in the throes of a VD epidemic & you could be the Devil's target! Don't let the System's diseases get you down! God has promised as far back as Exodus that "if thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, & wilt do that which is right in His sight, & wilt give ear to His commandments, & keep all His statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee!"--Exo.15:26. Which you can claim if you're obedient!
24. YOU NEED TO STUDY GOD'S HEALTH LAWS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, which are still in effect as far as I'm concerned, except for an occasional unavoidable variation permitted & forgiven by His Grace through Jesus. They are just common sense rules for good health by taking care of His creation & giving it the proper maintenance its Creator knows that it needs with specific instructions covering every necessary detail, including cleanliness, righteousness, food, sex etc. And you'd better get busy & study & follow them if you want to live & be healthy to serve the Lord.
25. YOU CAN BEGIN BY SIMPLY READING THE BIBLE FROM THE LAWS OF MOSES, PARTICULARLY IN LEVITICUS where you'll find specific food laws in such passages as Chapter 11, & sex rules in Chapters 12 & such Chapters as 15, 18, 20 etc. We are no longer completely bound by these laws because of the Grace of God & are no longer necessarily subject to their severe penalties because of His forgiveness through Jesus! But most of them are still good for you because of the simple scientific rules of sanitation! Read, study & observe them as best you can & they will help you be healthier & happier! Try it! God's Word always works & has it all!
26. DESPERATE PRAYER IS NEEDED FOR STUBBORN CASES OF ILLNESS, & sometimes "this kind goeth not out save by fasting & prayer". Correct the spiritual problems first as well as the food, sex, cleanliness & other living conditions, then trust God utterly in prayer & obedience & you're bound to get results!
27. REMEMBER: AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS WORTH A POUND OF CURE, & a stitch in time saves nine! It's better to stay healthy than to have to be healed, so do your best to prevent illness by some of the measures described above. Proper diet, proper exercise, proper rest & proper living will keep almost anyone healthy.
28. PERHAPS WE SHOULD HAVE SOME KIND OF PHYSICAL EXAMINATION FOR NEW DISCIPLES. We examine them spiritually before we take them in, why not physically? This would not be with the idea of refusing them, but to have immediate & definite prayer about any physical problems they have & ask the Lord to deliver them before they spread anything contagious to the rest of the camp, particularly those which can be spread by mouth, sex, vermin, dirty dishes, dirty linens etc. You should certainly have someone who knows how to examine them for the various forms of vermin whose bites can sometimes spread disease, such as lice, cooties, crabs, bedbugs etc. All of these are a result of lack of cleanliness in the first place, so the first thing you should have a new disciple do is take a good, soapy bath, & if he's found to have any of the vermin mentioned, special strong chemicals are necessary for this in some cases. So a physical examination & immediate action on a contaminated disciple could prevent further infection of the Home & a lot of later grief. Stop it before it gets started!
29. IN SOME CASES, PEOPLE ARE SICK BECAUSE THEY HAVE SERIOUS SPIRITUAL PROBLEMS, even demonic, & they need to be delivered immediately by urgent prayer, before the Devil gets them down any further. Study our lesson on "Casting Out Demons!" & practice it. Demons are very common today, as in all Ages, & many people are plagued by them, if not actually possessed, & whether possessed, obsessed or merely oppressed by them, your disciples need complete deliverance, & they can have it, because demons are totally subject unto us & must do what we say in the Name of Jesus!
30. TAKE SPECIFIC & IMMEDIATE ACTION & DEFINITELY COMMAND THE DEMON TO LEAVE, not only the person, but your property as well in the Name of Jesus, because they can also haunt houses & cause trouble; but you don't have to worry as long as you have Jesus. In either case, whether it's a person or property that's being troubled by evil spirits, just command them to depart in the Name of Jesus & they have to go. You have absolute authority over them. But just remember that unyielded sin in the heart or life or a soul that's not filled with the Spirit is an open door & invitation for evil spirits to return, like the man in Matthew 12:43-45! Pray!
PRINCIPLES OF HEALING, EXORCISM & DEMONS
31. THE SAME PRINCIPLE IS TRUE OF THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN HEALED OF PHYSICAL ILLNESSES: If they do not obey & stay in God's Will & continually give Him the glory for their healing & continue to trust Him for it, He may let it come back, because of their ingratitude & disobedience. Of course, if they repent, He can forgive & heal them again, but if instead of repenting & asking for healing, they turn again to the beggarly elements of this World--the doctors, hospitals & medicines from which they were once delivered--I have known the Lord to actually prevent these natural means from giving them any further help, so that they even died for their rebelliousness, as mentioned before in 2Chron.16:12.
32. YOU CAN'T FOOL AROUND WITH GOD! ONCE HE'S GIVEN YOU FAITH FOR HEALING, HE EXPECTS YOU TO USE IT, & with those who know His healing, He usually holds them responsible for it, expects them to trust Him & will not tolerate any other means. I told you before of my Mother-in-law, who was miraculously healed of cancer through our prayers, but then when we suggested she needed to change her fellowship to those of faith for healing, she said, "Oh, I could never do that!--I was born a Baptist & I'll die a Baptist!"--And that's exactly what she did a few weeks later, of the same dread disease, which came back on her for her stubbornness & disobedience! "Be not deceived! God is not mocked!"--Gal.6:7.
33. ONCE YOU'VE LEARNED TO TRUST HIM, HE EXPECTS YOU TO CONTINUE TO DO SO, & nothing else will usually help you! Once He has healed you, He seems to consider that going back to the remedies of this World is like backsliding & turning your back on Him! It's like an insult, like having once been married to Him, you've turned back to some other old lover instead, & He doesn't like it! In fact, He's insulted! So, since you've spurned His help, He lets you go your way without it, which usually leads to disaster & defeat. He says, "I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, & I will have no other gods before Me!"--Exo.20:3,5. He doesn't want your faith in anything but Him & He is like a jealous lover whose wrath can be dangerous if you turn away from Him.
34. HIS HEALING IS A SPECIAL BLESSING, A PRICELESS PRIVILEGE, WHICH, UNLIKE SALVATION, HE CAN TAKE AWAY if you don't keep trusting Him for it & giving Him all the glory. In other words, if having once been healed by the Lord, you later have a little test of faith & run for the doctor or the medicine instead of turning to the Lord, He doesn't like it, considers you ungrateful, unfaithful & a poor testimony, & in most cases I have known along this line, He has delivered their bodies to death! Once healed, stick to your story, & be like Job: "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him!"--Job 13:15.
35. AS FOR HAUNTED HOUSES: IT'S USUALLY A GOOD IDEA, IF YOU'RE MOVING INTO A PLACE YOU SUSPECT OF BEING PREVIOUSLY OCCUPIED BY EVIL PEOPLE WITH EVIL SPIRITS, to go from room to room & cleanse each room with special prayer, pleading the Blood of Jesus & casting out any possible demons. Finally, have a Jericho March completely around the property & command all evil spirits in Jesus' Name to leave it entirely immediately!--And they will, because they have to! That's the authority God has given you in the Name of Jesus! They have to obey you. Then try to be sure that no new disciple or visitor brings any demons back in with him! Pray over each person who enters, even if you have to do it silently so as not to offend visitors, or publicly in general terms so as not to embarrass any individuals, & command the demons to leave in the Name of Jesus, for they are subject unto you! Hallelujah! Just be sure you watch out where you send him, because that's where he'll have to go if you tell him to, & it could cause you a lot of trouble, as it did Jesus, in this case, because the 2000 swine went berserk & jumped in the lake & drowned, so that the people ran Jesus out of town!
SKITS SHOULD ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE, NOT THE SCARY NEGATIVE!
36. JESUS HAS PROMISED TO GIVE US POWER FOR THE HOUR & GRACE FOR THE GREAT EVENT WHEN IT COMES, BUT NOT BEFORE IT COMES! When it really happens, God's Spirit will give them the strength, but He hasn't necessarily promised it for a phoney scare drill & you might really hurt somebody or even get hurt, so let's please stop these extreme tactics! We're going to suffer enough in the future without dwelling on it now! The Lord says, "Whatsoever things are good...think on THESE things".--Phil.4:8. Quit dwelling on the morbid monstrous horrors of future Tribulation! Why should you torment the kids before their time? As you recall, when Dr. Moody was asked if he had dying grace, he said, "No, I'm not dying yet!" So don't expect more of them than it's time for God to give them! Let's stop these scare tactics!
37. LET'S ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE, NOT THE NEGATIVE! DWELL ON THE GOOD THINGS! KEEP YOUR EYES ON JESUS! Rejoice always! In everything give thanks! I think some of you must have a masochistic tendency toward sadism! Stop torturing the kids before their time! Let's be happy, not scared to death! We're supposed to be serving the Lord out of LOVE, not FRIGHT! "Thou shalt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee!"--Isa.26:3. Amen? This includes some of these exaggerated scare statements that people walk in with & announce like a thunderbolt out of a clear blue sky, when it's really not all that bad! It's the DEVIL'S business to go around frightening people, not YOURS! "Perfect love casts out all fear" & "God hath not given us a spirit of fear".--1 Jn.4:18, 2 Tim.1:7.
WITNESSING--HOW TO!
38. IT'S EVEN POSSIBLE FOR GOD TO USE ONE PERSON TO WITNESS TO A WHOLE CROWD, if necessary, or for a handful to pass out enough literature with your message & address so that the real hungry sheep will even seek you out without having to form another huge team, in order to take the place by storm & force of numbers. When are we ever going to get over the mass evangelism spirit, even in witnessing invasions?
39. SPEAKING OF WITNESSING: YOU WHO ARE ALREADY HAVING TROUBLES IN YOUR WITNESSING INCURSIONS into airports & schoolgrounds probably were not with us in the early days when we had a lot of the same troubles & found out we had to be extremely cautious & underground & as unobserved as possible, or we were usually hassled by the authorities. This includes stores, shopping centres, churches etc., any private or public property where the general public are not usually allowed or where an obvious witnessing invasion is bound to be naturally resented or even prohibited. They can call it trespassing, disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct or what have you. In any event, it stands a good chance of landing you in jail subject to a sizeable fine or time in the cooler for making a public nuisance of yourself, according to the System's way of thinking.
40. SO I ADVISE YOU TO USE EXTREME CAUTION & WISDOM IN SUCH PLACES. On occasions in such places, it's not usually wise to have any type of mass demonstration, march, song, dance or loud preaching, praying or praising etc. If the Lord leads you to such places, He will probably do it quietly, unobtrusively, with individuals witnessing to individuals scattered in different areas, & calling as little attention to yourselves as possible, so that if they do decide to clamp down on you, they won't stop all of you or be able to catch all of you & throw you in jail, as they have some of us in the past! Remember, most of these places are considered private property to do with as the owners see fit, & it's no place to claim your rights of freedom of speech & religion or the Press, when they consider it their private property & don't want you there. So if they tell you to stop or leave, that's their privilege! You'd better do it quietly & "agree with thine adversary whilst thou art in the way with him, lest he deliver thee to the officer, & the officer to the judge," & the judge to jail & a fine, as Jesus warned!--Mat.5:25,26. So use wisdom!
41. JUST NEVER VIOLATE OUR RULE OF GOING AT LEAST TWO-BY-TWO WHEREVER YOU GO, not only for strength & companionship, but also for the sake of safety & a legal witness & emergency messenger in case anything happens that needs help! The two-by-two rule applies also to all guard duty, provisioners, errands & even top leaders on trips etc. Please don't violate it! We love you!
NEW DISCIPLES--GOOD FRUIT TAKES TIME!
42. SOME OF YOU HAVE BEEN A LITTLE DISCOURAGED & EVEN CONDEMNED BY OTHERS FOR NOT SEEMING TO HAVE MUCH FRUIT IN YOUR AREA. But as I've said before, if everything else is going OK & the Lord is blessing you in nearly every other way with provisions, protection, prosperity, good health, sweet fellowship & true training, I wouldn't worry too much about it for the time being. The Lord may be trying to grow you up, give you more time to study, give your babes more preparation & get you all more grounded in the Word & the Apostles' Doctrine, fellowship & prayer, & breaking of bread until such time as you're ready to be used more fruitfully & effectively! As I've said before, one of our main purposes is not in just bearing babies alone, but in giving good training to the children we already have to make them more effective witnesses for the Lord.
43. SOME WANT A GET-RICH-QUICK POLICY, ALL FOR SHOW, INSTEAD OF A QUIET, SAFE, SOLID, LONG-TERM INVESTMENT which will reap much greater & more lasting dividends in the future. So don't condemn the poor little guy who doesn't seem to be getting much results right now. Maybe he doesn't seem to be as good an EVANGELIST as you are, but maybe he's a lot better PASTOR & will eventually bear fruit that will remain, instead of like the six new disciples you had this week who backslid next week! It takes time to do a good job!
BACKSLIDERS--SEEK OUT & LOVE THEM!
44. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE ABOUT THOSE SO-CALLED BACKSLIDERS WHO HAVEN'T YET RETURNED? Have you done like Jesus did, Who left the ninety-&-nine in the fold & went out to find just one lost one that had gone astray? Have you tried to call or write them to find out what happened to them or apologise if you offended them or didn't show enough love & tried to encourage them to return & let them know you still love them & would be glad to have them back? Or are you sitting around on your smug, self-satisfied, self-righteous, holier-than-thou complacency condemning them for straying away & getting lost, cursing them for getting caught in the brambles or by the wolves, & indifferently writing them off as a lost cause because you always knew they were only sour grapes anyhow?
45. ARE YOU LIKE THE GOOD SHEPHERD WHO LOVINGLY SEEKS TO SAVE THE LOST SHEEP, or the hireling that's glad to get rid of him?--As good riddance to bad rubbish & one less to have to take care of? Which are you--Shepherd or hireling? And if they DO come back, do you treat them royally, like the father did the Prodigal Son, or do you resent them like the Older Brother? Of course, remember that although the Prodigal regained his place at the table & in the fellowship of the family, he had already lost his inheritance, responsibility & reward, so keep an eye on him & remember he's on probation! Just don't rub it in! Love & try to restore him! What you trust him with hereafter will be up to you and his progress!
BABES' TRAINING--BEST IN SMALL HOME!
46. SPEAKING OF TRAINING BABES: I STILL THINK THE SMALL HOME'S THE BEST PLACE TO DO IT! Babes' Ranches are for the birds, whom you just don't have any other place to put to roost temporarily, & should be more of an emergency situation than permanent, a temporary patch to the problem until you can get them to a small Home. Of course, some Babes' Ranches ARE small Homes, primarily for the purpose of training babes, which is good, but the danger is that they have a tendency to grow into bigger & bigger Homes until we have a new retarded monster on our hands. Don't let it happen to yours! Keep shipping'm out as fast as they're ready & as soon as you can find somewhere to send them, to a smaller Home! Amen?
FOLLOW THE CHAIN OF COOPERATION!
47. PLEASE REMEMBER TO CONSULT YOUR LOCAL HOME SHEPHERD FIRST if you need help. If he can't handle it, he'll refer it to his Area Shepherd, who in turn, if it's too heavy for him, will forward the matter to his District Shepherds. Please do not go over the head of any of these officers to some higher authority unless you have appealed to your local & Area leaders first without avail, else you may be embarrassingly referred back to those you should have gone to in the first place. Thank you.
WOMEN--THEIR AUTHORITY & PLACE IN THE REVOLUTION!
48. AS FOR THE AUTHORITY OF WOMEN IN THE REVOLUTION: THERE IS NO MALE NOR FEMALE IN CHRIST JESUS!--Gal.3:28. There is no difference in their responsibilities, except when it comes to their being under the authority of their own husbands in the affairs of domestic life in their own home--or room--or bed. Otherwise, in the ministry of the Body of the Church, they are spiritual & administrative equals, liberated from the bondage of masculine domination by the Grace of God.
49. IF THE LORD & WE PLACE A WOMAN IN SUCH A PLACE OF POSITION OF AUTHORITY OVER MEN, SHE IS NOT USURPING IT, BUT COMING BY IT RIGHTLY, by Divine appointment & His ordination! So don't knock it or we may have to knock YOUR heads together. There were women all through the Bible in positions of responsibility & authority, as well as all through history: Queens, Prophetesses etc. So if you can't accept the God-given authority of a woman, Brother, you are not only defying the Lord Himself, but also the authority of your leaders whom she represents & acts as their voice. There were many mothers in Israel, Queens & Prophetesses, to whom the men of God submitted themselves & followed their leadership, especially if they represented the King, or the Lord Himself! So who are you to defy it?
WITNESSING--& GIVING TO BEGGARS!
50. ON BEGGARS: JESUS SAID, "GIVE TO HIM THAT ASKETH OF THEE"--MAT.5:42. Even if you can only afford to give him a penny, give him something, at least your love, & witness or a tract, or all of these! I've always made it a point to give them a little something along with a word about the Lord! It's Scriptural! We give the people what they need PHYSICALLY in order to show them God's Love SPIRITUALLY.
51. WHENEVER A BUM OR PANHANDLER HITS ME FOR A HANDOUT, I USUALLY STAND THERE A FEW SECONDS LISTENING TO HIS TALE OF WOE--& they've got some doozies!--While praying about what I should say to him, which is usually David's famous comment & wonderful testimony on the subject: "Once I was young, but now I'm old, yet have I never seen the righteous forsaken, nor His seed begging bread!"--Psa.37:25.--Especially when they try to tell me how good & righteous they are & how they love God, this verse shows them immediately that they're not a Child of God, & it's usually true, because I've found very few beggars who were saved. In fact, quite a few will curse you for not giving them enough.
52. NEVERTHELESS, I IMMEDIATELY REACH FOR MY CHANGE PURSE AS I START TO TALK TO THEM, & I fumble around prolonging his anticipation while I am ostensibly searching for a coin. And as long as you look like you're going to give them something, they'll listen.--So I don't find the coin too soon, & even after finding it, I palm it so he can't see its size, & keep preaching to him while he's dying of curiosity. Then I fumble around also in another pocket for a tract & sort of fold it up & palm it too, & he thinks now maybe he's even going to get a bill. Then I slip it into the other hand with the coin while he's still wondering what's going on & listening to the sermon, & finally, of course, I tell him if he really loved the Lord he wouldn't have to be out here begging for a living. Then I tell him this is what he really needs, & take his hand in mine, putting the tract & coin in his palm & closing his hand over them.
53. I HANG ON TO HIS HAND WITH BOTH OF MINE FOR A WORD OF PRAYER, OR TO TRY TO GET HIM TO MAKE A DECISION! Sometimes it works! It always gets an audience & I have delivered my soul. Often they really break & accept the Lord. Then, as I bid him goodbye, I really throw the fear of God into him & tell him, "You'd better not spend that for a drink, 'cause that's the Lord's money!" So even if he does, which he probably will, because that's what they're usually after, nevertheless he'll sit there trembling, thinking about the Lord & wondering if God's going to strike him dead, which just might help him to repent!
54. I NEVER PASS UP A BEGGAR, EVEN IF I'M IN A HURRY! I usually try to toss a coin & a tract into his cup & say, "Jesus loves you!" & it always gets a smile & a thank you & helps brighten his day, because I'm sure that there aren't many who tell him that! Besides, it's a testimony to others passing by of the love they should be showing to those in need, & sometimes others will take note & follow your example, for which the beggar is doubly thankful.
55. BUT IF YOU'RE TOO BUSY TO HEED THE CRY OF THOSE IN NEED, YOU'RE BUSIER THAN GOD HIMSELF! Jesus went out of His way to minister to beggars & heal the lame, the blind, the palsied & the lepers. If you can, say a little prayer for them! Who knows, maybe you'll get a miracle & God will heal them on the spot, or later! We've actually had this happen, PTL! But never pass them by! But maybe you only love young people & not the old, the handicapped or the beggar! If so, you don't love like the LORD does, because HE loves them ALL! They may not be able to join us or be suitable for His Service, but at least you can show them that God loves them, & show others that they too should show His Love.
56. YOU CAN ALWAYS DROP A LITTLE LOVE INTO THE HEARTS OF THOSE YOU PASS BY, even if only with a word, a smile or a look of sympathy, & they will know that God has loved them that day! His Spirit will tell them so! One of our Homes lost a very sweet & compassionate disciple because the member he was with wasn't concerned about witnessing to a beggar. This boy had thought he had found love in us, but when he saw we didn't have enough love to love beggars, he apparently decided it wasn't true love after all & went his way, still seeking! That's a very sad story & a lesson for all of us to learn! Please don't let it happen to you! As the Children of God, you should have love & compassion for everyone, not just your own!--Young or old, rich or poor, strong or weak, hippie or Systemite, even if you don't like'm!
WITNESSING TO MINORS--FRUITFUL BUT RISKY!
57. WITNESSING TO CHILDREN: THIS CAN BE VERY FRUITFUL & REWARDING, BUT ALSO VERY DANGEROUS, especially if you touch or handle them in any way, the parents could accuse you of MOLESTING them. We even had one boy put in jail just for talking to two young girls on the street in California. An officer walked up & said, "Is this boy ANNOYING you?", & the girls said, "Of course not! He's just talking to us about God!" But the antagonistic minion of the law said, "Well, I think he's annoying you", & booked him! So witnessing to minors can sometimes be hazardous! Just pray & do as the Lord leads & use wisdom!
CHILDREN--MEETINGS & NIGHTMARES!
58. SPEAKING OF CHILDREN: I THINK THAT OUR SMALLER CHILDREN--ALL THE CHILDREN, IN FACT--SHOULD ATTEND OUR INSPIRATIONAL SESSIONS & enjoy the music, singing, dancing, testimonies etc. But I do not think that the class sessions designed for older people are always good for children, especially some of the gruesome, gory ones that some of you seem to delight in having about the horrors & monsters of the Tribulation & the tortures & atrocities of the future. I don't even think it's good for YOU to dwell on these things, much less little children! It could frighten them, cause them to have nightmares & live in fear, so I don't think they should attend such classes.
59. THEY SHOULD BE HAVING CLASSES OF THEIR OWN! Of course, some children who are perpetually having nightmares & like to describe them, may be trying to get attention or have a big imagination, or perhaps are even being attacked by the Enemy in their sleep. This takes prayer, rebuking the Devil, teaching the child to resist the Enemy in Jesus' name & to call on the Lord & plead the Blood! God protects children, but if there's something in your life or the heart of even your child which is not right with the Lord, it could open the way to the Enemy! So teach the child to love the Lord & obey Him & do what's right, so he'll have faith to claim the Lord's protection.
REMARRIAGE--WAITING PERIOD
60. SOME OF YOU WHOSE MATES HAVE LEFT YOU & GONE BACK, BY THE WAY, NEED TO SHOW A LITTLE PATIENCE in giving them a chance to repent & return, as a number have, instead of up & marrying the next one that comes along, as soon as your mate's out of sight! It makes it look like you're almost glad they left & maybe that shows what your problem was all along! You just didn't show them the love you should have! We've had a very good percentage of backsliders return. PTL! ILY!