—1Peter 2:17—"Honour To Whom Honour Is Due!"—Rom.13:7DO 238311/87

1. Lord, we're reminded of the Scripture that You Yourself told us, "Without Me, ye can do nothing!"—Jn.15:5. In this situation it is virtually an impossible situation, but with Thee, nothing is impossible, & all things are possible to him that believeth!—Luk.1:37; Mk.9:23. But without Thee, Lord, we can do nothing, absolutely nothing but beat the air!—1Cor.9:26. So we look to You, Jesus, to lead & guide us & give us wisdom & strength, in Jesus' name! TYL! Have Thy way, Lord.

2. Speak to us tonight, Lord, & give us what You want us to know & have, to encourage our hearts & to guide us aright. And Lord, we know we will know what direction to go as long as we follow Thee! Help us to keep our eyes on Thee, Lord, not on Man but solely on Thee. Because only You can do it, whatever it is You want us to do, Lord, in Jesus' name‚ amen. PTL! TYL!

3. When you're in a unique situation, something you haven't been into much before, you really need to pray that you can really stay close to the Lord & follow the Lord about what you're doing, & make sure you're doing His Will & not your will or somebody else's will. For without Him we can do nothing. PTL!

4. Well, I guess once a salesman, always a salesman‚ & I've really tried to sell some of our people to try to get them to sell their kings on some different projects the Lord has laid on our hearts. A salesman's principal job is to tell you all the advantages & get you to look on the bright side‚ not to tell you about all the things the machine can't do & won't do & problems you may have etc. He tells you all the nice positive things about it.

5. So I've tried to present some of these things in the best possible light, the positive. But to every bright picture there is almost always a counterbalancing dark side & a sobering side, to keep you serious & sober about the situation, to keep you praying. So I felt led to talk to Mama & Peter this afternoon about that side of the situation. It wasn't all dark, it wasn't all sad or discouraging. In fact, I even tried to make some of it a little bit funny.—And we decided to title it, "The Way of Kings!"

6. I hope you all have read the Letters we've written about kings‚ "Rags to Riches" & "Kings", as well as "Problem Kings", "Rules for Rulers"‚ "The Tree" etc. It would certainly do you well to read them again, because the truths in those Letters are just the same today as they were when they were written. Kings haven't changed any, they're very much the same as ever.—Of course, except me! Ha!

7. Well, there is a little difference—King David was rather an exception to the rule: He was not only a king, but he was Prophet, Priest & King, & in that case you've got a pretty good combination! But the reputation of most kings with Prophets, if you go back through the Bible, is not very encouraging! The dealings of the Prophets with the kings is even less encouraging! But nevertheless, they had to try, & kings were just as necessary to Prophets as Prophets were to kings. Even Martin Luther had to have his kings, princes, sponsors, protectors etc., & he had his problems with them too. All you have to do is read the Bible, especially Old Testament history‚ to find out the problems there can be with kings.

8. It is only the Prophet's job to give the Words of the Lord‚ what the Lord has to say about things, the Lord's advice & counsel or orders to the king, but he can't make the king do God's Will. The king has to do that himself. Prophets are usually successful in giving the witness & the orders & the message & making the suggestions‚ & that's as successful as any Prophet can be. From there on it's up to the person receiving the witness—the king or whoever it is.—It's their business how they react & how they respond! That's not your business, it is not your responsibility, you cannot make them, you cannot force them.—And of all things, for God's sake, don't try to push them!

DON'T BE LATE!

9. (A Family member's watch beeper goes off:) You're about five minutes fast. I always set my clocks five minutes fast, mostly for the sake of other people in the Family!—Also for the sake of when I want to do something. There's really no such thing as being too early for most things, but you can really lose if you're too late!

10. When I was in business, interviewing television officials at different stations, anything from program directors to the managers or whoever they were, they're important men, very busy men, so I made it a point to always get there one-half–hour early! Nobody's going to be offended if you get there early.—Unless it's a housewife & she doesn't have the house cleaned yet or something.

11. The TV station managers usually have very comfortable waiting rooms, so I brought along the newspaper, & if he wasn't available yet I just sat down & read the paper. I got all relaxed & rested before it was my time to meet with him. And I would always report immediately to the receptionist & say to her, "I know I'm early, so you don't need to bother him, but if you want to let him know I'm here—just in case it might be more convenient for him to see me earlier—you could let him know I'm here, at least." And very often it just happened to be convenient for him to see me right then.

12. She'd call & ask & he'd often say‚ "Oh, come on in right now"‚ & I'd walk in, & sometimes he then had more time & was more relaxed & could chat. Whereas I never ever—& I still don't—plan on being at an important appointment just in time! You're really taking a big risk, a big chance, because if any little thing happens, you're going to be late!

13. The Chain made it a general policy to always be late, always be half-an-hour to an hour late! Even when Mama & I were flying into Rome to go to Emanuele's place in Zoagli for the first time, ... we wound up waiting for the dear Duke & Duchess for one solid hour! I finally told Mama, "That's as long as I'm going to wait‚ I'm not going to miss that plane from the domestic airport to Genova, we'll catch the plane anyhow!" We had almost a whole truckload of baggage on that trip, & I said, "Come on‚ we'll go catch a taxi!" —And I pushed the luggage trolley out to the taxis myself, & the taxi man & I loaded it all up, & Mama & I climbed in & I told him in my very poor Italian to take us to the domestic airport! We only had about an hour left to catch the flight to Genova.

14. We got there around half-an-hour later & we unloaded our own baggage with the help of the taxi driver, God bless him, & then we loaded it up on a trolley & we checked in. I had phoned for a reservation but I hadn't paid for it yet, so I got my money changed, bought tickets, checked in, got the baggage in‚ all the hard work done, & we were finally sitting there exhausted in the waiting room at the terminal just 15 minutes before it was time to board the plane. In fact, they were just calling us to board the plane when Emanuele & Rachel came walking into the airport!

15. They were supposed to have met us at the international airport when we landed, to help us & to drive us to the domestic airport! But unfortunately‚ their car had just been stolen! He'd parked it out on some unfamiliar street overnight, if you can imagine doing such a crazy thing in Italy!

16. Dear Emanuele was having to eat his own words, because the first time he ever really got offended at me was when I said in some Letter that Italy is a nation of thieves! That didn't quite rub him the right way. Well, now he knows! He lost his brand new Mercedes–Benz. He thought he'd parked it on a nice street, nice people, rich section, surely there wouldn't be any robbers there. Well, that's where the robbers go. They don't go to the poor sections to steal cars, they steal them from the rich!

17. I had given them advance notice that, "We will be there at the Rome International Airport at such-&-such time, & even if we're late, you be there ahead of time!—I've heard about your reputation!" We had specifically told them that on the phone, "You be there ahead of time! I'm not going to wait around for you!" Well‚ I was lenient, I gave them a whole hour before we left. And the domestic airline was just announcing our departure & we were getting up to board when the two of them walked in!

18. I was so angry with them I wouldn't even speak to them! I said to Mama, "I'm going to get up & board our flight!—If you want to talk to them, all right, but I'm not even going to speak to them! I'm going to teach them a lesson they'll never forget!" I wouldn't even talk to them. I don't know what Mama said to them, but she more or less related what had happened, how we had waited & then had to handle all of our own baggage & our own transportation & our own money-changing & ticket-buying & checking in, everything! All the work was done, which I had expected to have a native to take care of in the native language like them.

19. They were at least two hours late! Finally all I said to them was, "What the Hell is wrong with you guys, anyhow?! I thought you came here & took a motel room near the airport like I told you so you'd be sure & be there in the morning & wouldn't have to worry about driving from some far-away place!" He said, "Well, we did, only we slept in!—It was the first time we'd been alone for some time." I think what they were probably doing was making love or something, which I don't blame them for, but not when they're supposed to be meeting me!—Two hours late!

20. They finally were smart enough to figure that we had probably already transferred & gone to the domestic airport. So they rushed in just as our plane was loading. That's all I said to them. I just walked off into the boarding line & told Mama, "Come on, let's go!" She stayed a few moments or so & explained to them what happened & why I was so angry.—And I don't think Rachel & Emanuele ever were late to any appointment with me again! So some people just have to be taught a lesson the hard way.

21. So if you ever need to learn a leadership lesson, it's this: Don't ever be late! You're a dandy bad example when you're late‚ & your people will do just as you do, as all their people did!—Always late, never on time, & always rushing around at the last minute, driving like mad & risking their lives to try to get there—late! They couldn't be on time‚ they were never early, just always late! That's a terrible way to manage your time.

22. Another similar incident happened to us in Madrid one time, with dear Emanuele again. He'd bought & given us the use of a brand new car, a Volvo. I had told them and made it a rule, & I think you've seen it in the Letters somewhere, that you should never drive a car with less than half a tank of gas. Time & again I've said it's just as easy to keep a full tank as an empty tank! You just have to have a little foresight & a little fore–action‚ as well as certainly a few Dollars to keep the tank full instead of empty.—But that was not the policy of the Chain! Their policy was to run the thing empty so that the next guy that had to use it had to pay for the gas!—And that's what happened to us.

23. Emanuele had used the car the night before, & brought it back almost empty. It's a wonder he made it home that night because we didn't even get five miles on what he left in the tank, it ran out of gas on our way into town! Thank God it was out on the highway & not in the downtown area in a no parking zone! The car started coughing & sputtering & I figured right away, "Aha!—Out of gas!"

24. It was my fault, I should have looked at the fuel gauge! I almost always do, but I made the mistake of just asking Emanuele, "Is everything okay? Is everything checked out?" etc., "Oh yes, yes‚ yes!" We got in & drove halfway to town & the thing coughed & spit‚ sputtered & stopped! But I managed to at least coast off the pavement onto the shoulder & not get stuck out on the high-speed highway.

25. I'll tell you‚ I was madder than a wet hen! I was really angry! We got to a telephone somehow, somewhere nearby, & I sent word, "You tell Emanuele to get in his car & go get us some gasoline & bring it here, & I am going to have him pour it in himself!"

26. He finally showed up & I was so angry I felt like not even speaking to him again! I said, "Emanuele, if you ever do that trick again & bring a car home with less than a half a tank of gas, I am going to do something you're going to be very sorry for!" I've forgotten just what. But he knew I meant it, & he never brought it home out of gas again, thank the Lord! But that delay cost us at least an hour of time, so that by the time we got to town we were too late for whatever we were going to do. I think we even had an appointment to see some apartment or something.

27. So the moral of the story is don't be late! When I was going to those TV stations, I figured that these guys are important men‚ they're very busy men, & if they give me any time at all I can be thankful for it!—So I'd better not muff it, I'd better not take a chance on losing it.—What if the taxi had a flat on the way or ran out of gas or something? So I'd always try to have at least a half-an-hour cushion so I could thumb a ride or catch some other taxi or do something, or the driver would have time to change the tire so I could get there on time!

28. So don't ever be late! You don't have to be late! It's not necessary to be late.—Provided you always plan to get there early! I've found sometimes those men appreciated the fact that I was sitting there waiting for them when they came in. Sometimes they came in from lunch or outdoors or something.

DAD THE TRAVELLING SALESMAN!

29. I remember one man I was really early for one time!—We were travelling together, all six of us, in a station wagon which we had converted into a camper by buying what was known as a station wagon porch, a kind of a tent whereby with the tailgate down & the other thing up, you put this tent around the rear end, so we were able to sleep in the back end while we put the four kids in the front, on the seats etc. So we would camp out in campgrounds for the night. Although I had to go to appointments for television, I wanted to take the Family along for the summer.

30. So this particular morning—I guess this isn't really a necessary story, but speaking about being early, campers‚ of course‚ get up early! When we got up in the morning, I'd be in my old rough & rugged camping clothes to fix the open fire so we could cook breakfast etc. This nice little camping ground we were in this time had a small playground for kids, so I thought that would be a good place to park the kids. The children were still small, some of them were anyhow, Faithy was about six then.

31. So here we were all tousled & a mess, getting out of that camper bright & early in the morning. You had to stand behind the car doors to get dressed & try not to be seen, because you couldn't stand up inside the station wagon. After breakfast, when all the dirty work was over, I would change into my nice suit & tie, everything neat & businesslike, ready to meet with important TV executives & officials. So while I was getting redressed & having to change clothes right there, virtually in public, trying to stay behind the door‚ there was this man & his little girl who apparently came to the park there early that morning.

32. It was about 7 o'clock in the morning. We had just finished breakfast & I was changing into my good suit, & little Faithy & Ho went over to swing & play in the playground & there was this man & his little girl, they were swinging there. Faithy came back & said, "Oh‚ Daddy, I met the nicest man, he has the cutest little girl & we were swinging together!" They were having fun over there. The man was naturally looking around to see where these little kids came from in this rather lonesome park so early in the morning, & he saw us over at the station wagon getting dressed etc.

33. So I finished getting all well-dressed, kissed the family goodbye & said, "You guys can stay here now & play"—they had a picnic table & everything they needed there—"and I'll be back after my appointment this morning." So I drove off to my appointment at the TV station, got out & adjusted my tie, combed my hair & made sure I looked like an important executive myself. Salesmen should really be up to snuff, representing an important corporation etc., & I was representing Fred's Gospel TV show. So I went in & reported to the receptionist & went over & sat down to read the paper.

34. Pretty soon this man walked in & he sort of looked at me & then he went to the receptionist & she told him that I was the man who had the appointment with him. So he walked over & shook my hand, smiled & said, "Haven't we met before?" I said, "No, no, I don't think so, I've never been here before!" Well, he said, "Somehow you look rather familiar." Ha! Remember now, I'd only seen him at a distance earlier. I think he was trying to be kind, hoping that maybe I would get the point. But finally he got right down to it & said, "Weren't you camping over in such-&-such a park this morning?"—Here I was "putting on the dog"‚ trying to look important, yet he'd seen my family of six camping out in a station wagon! Ha!—I was caught in the act!

35. So that was the earliest I ever met one of those executives! I was really on time that time! So watch out, "be sure your sins will find you out"!—Num.32:23. You might get caught if you try to get away with something too much! —Of course, I wasn't sinning, I was just trying to be saving & take my little family on the road for the summer! Maybe I was a little too saving, I don't know, but it was a pretty risky thing to do to try to meet those important executives as a camper who had to try to spruce up before meeting them.—But at least I wasn't late! So don't be late!

36. I don't know why the Lord let me talk about being late‚ but now you know how I feel about that. I just can hardly forgive people who are late! All the years you've known me, I think I've lived up to that. I always want to start early.

A SUMMARY OF "THE WAY OF KINGS!"

37. As I said in "The Way of Kings", if your kings start talking about how they want to be disciples, they start saying that they are disciples, don't ever laugh right in their faces! They're just saying that because they don't want to think that anybody could do anything better than they can or would go further with the Lord than they would. But I've never seen a king yet who could be a disciple, they just aren't built that way!

38. They often put themselves on the same level as the Prophet, & they figure if you work for Dad, you can work for them as well! So they'll try to dictate to you the way they think things ought to be.—And you might just have to take it! You can't complain about it or try to lord it over them, thinking or saying, "After all‚ I'm the Prophet, I'm the spiritual leader, & you should follow my counsel & advice!"

39. Just read the Bible & see all the problems Prophets had with kings & you'll know exactly what the situation is. All the Prophet can do is tell them the Word of the Lord & give them God's plan & advise‚ but he can't make them do it! You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink!

40. One criterion to remember: You can never depend on kings! Never be disappointed when they fail. If you start out expecting them to eventually fail, then you won't be too disappointed or surprised when they do! Depend on the Lord! Keep your eyes on the Lord, because kings are some of the most uncertain & difficult people to handle in the whole World!

41. I haven't found too many kings that you can work with for very long. Sooner or later they vary from the course & you just have to keep on going with the Lord & leave them behind, just like I left Fred behind & David left Saul behind & quite a few others!

42. We're warning you about what I've found out about kings. Don't misunderstand me, we're thankful for the opportunities & the open doors that some of our kings have provided, & we know God is going to use it or He wouldn't have done it. But don't expect too much of your kings, don't depend on them too much. Don't look to them for leadership, don't expect them to do it all. Only God can do it! And He just wants to use you & He will use them as long as they are willing & yielded.

43. But sooner or later, kings almost always get stubborn or there's some sacrifice God wants them to make that they're not quite willing to make. Or maybe a serious difference of opinion arises. They want to do things their way, they're used to being bosses & telling you what to do‚ not you telling them what to do‚ & frequently they don't like the Prophets telling them what to do. Most of them don't even like God telling them what to do! In almost every case I've ever known, including in the Bible, they eventually had to part company.

44. So just don't be expecting too much from your kings. It's bound to come, just hope & pray that it doesn't come too soon! But don't be too disappointed or too sad, & also don't give up too soon or too easy. Keep trying!

45. In the end, no matter how they act or what they do or how much they claim to love the Lord or love you, they're not going to let the Prophet be the boss. When it comes to really sacrificing anything that's going to cost them power or leadership or even money sometimes, that's where they usually put on the brakes. But as long as something is going to benefit them, they're going to all be gung-ho for it.

WHEN TO COMPROMISE,AND WHEN NOT TO COMPROMISE!

46. There are times when you have to sort of compromise with them.—And that's fine, as long as you're not compromising your convictions or witnessing or getting the Message out or compromising the spiritual things. Sometimes they may want you to do something, & if it's not so bad, even though you wouldn't normally do it‚ if it's not going to hurt anything you might just have to do it to keep them happy.

47. A good example of this is the time that Fred was going to put on this big patriotic show on television.—And he wanted to show that our kids were patriotic because some of his viewers were accusing him of being a leftist & a Communist, supporting all these hippies & draft-dodgers! So he was going to have them all get on his show & sing the national anthem & salute the flag! But Faith & Josh flatly refused‚ & they all refused to salute the flag on his show!—Can you imagine? The hippies in America weren't saluting flags then, they were burning them! And there were countless draft-dodgers that hated the government, were protesting against the war in Vietnam & everything else!—And here was Fred wanting to get our kids on TV to salute the flag to show how patriotic they were!

48. So Fred phoned me & said, "What's the big idea, Dave? All I asked these people to do is salute the flag‚ & they refused to do it on television!" He said, "Faith & Josh are leading these people & they say that they won't do it unless you tell them to!—Who are they working for anyhow, you or me?"—That's the way of kings!

49. I said‚ "Well, I don't think that's asking too much. Why don't you let me speak to Faithy." So Faithy got back to me on the phone eventually & she said, "Dad, we don't like this awful System & we don't worship the flag! We don't believe in the war & we hate the System & we just don't want to salute the flag! That's making a god out of the flag!" She sounded almost as bad as the Jehovah's Witnesses about that!

50. I said, "Come on, Honey, he's giving you room & board & an opportunity to be great witnesses on television!—And letting you have all this free time besides‚ to get out & witness & win souls & disciples & whatnot! Look at what you're getting! What's a little business about saluting a little rag on a pole? Man oh man, I'd salute any kind of a rag on a pole to get out of it what you're getting! So what's the big beef? Go ahead & salute the rag! So what? You can be saying something else in your heart or with your mind or whatever while you're doing it, just please the king!"

51. So a lot of times you might have to somewhat compromise some of your minor convictions & some of your personal doctrines.—Particularly some of our peculiar ones on which they may not agree, in order to take advantage of something much more important, an opportunity, an opening, a ministry that could be much more fruitful if you'll just go along with them on whatever it is they're asking you, providing it's nothing too major or serious.

52. That's one thing you have to learn when you're working with kings, you just have to compromise some of your own personal convictions sometimes, as long as you're not literally violating your love of the Lord.—As long as you're not denying the Lord, you're not denying His witness, your own calling, the work you're doing! If they let you continue to do God's Work & what you're there for & what you want to do & what the Lord wants you to do, sometimes you can kind of cut the corners a little bit & just say, well, okay, it's not that important to be so dogmatic about some of these things!

53. So that's the way of kings & you have to know how to get along with them & follow them. You literally have to follow them sometimes! Even though God is trying to make you the leader & they should be following you, like the kings of old should have followed the Prophets, a lot of times you have to go along with them anyhow.

HONOURING THE KING!

54. As Saul said to Samuel, "At least honour me before the people!"—1Sam.15:30. Samuel had already blasted him & almost blown him away, & told him he was going to lose the kingdom & everything else because of his disobediences! But Saul said, "Oh come on, at least honour me now before the people!" Well, why did Samuel do that? Why do you think he went ahead & went out & honoured Saul before the people, in spite of all Saul's stubbornness & disobedience?

55. Saul begged Samuel to act like he still believed in him. Why do you think Samuel did that? Wasn't he compromising? Here the Lord had already told Samuel, & he'd even already told the king, that he was losing the kingdom, that it was rent from him!—1Sam.15:26-29. Why do you think Samuel went ahead then & went back before the public & honoured the king? That, by the way, is a commandment even in the New Testament: "Honour the King!"—1Pet.2:17. What if Samuel would have gone out before the people & denounced Saul publicly & exposed him & destroyed their confidence in their king, destroyed their obedience & desire to follow a leader?

56. They had desired the king, they'd asked for a king. They didn't just want to follow God or the Prophet. (See 1Sam.8.) What if he had destroyed this symbol of authority? It could have literally wrecked the kingdom! If Samuel had destroyed the symbol of authority & the leader, it could have destroyed the entire kingdom! Who would they have followed then? David was just a lad, he wasn't ready. He needed to undergo years of training under Saul.

57. You can't destroy others' confidence in such people. You can't belittle them before others, you can't laugh at them before others‚ you can't challenge them before others, you hardly dare even differ with them before others! You may make a general suggestion, "Well maybe so-&-so, what do you think about this?" Let it come from them as though it's their idea. You ask the questions & let them give the answers!

58. David wasn't ready, he had to wait 16 years before the Lord seemed to think he was ready, 16 years of training under Saul. I had to take about 15 years of training under my Saul, & I wasn't even ready then! I had a lot to learn & a lot to learn from him about the ways of a king!—And as I said earlier, mostly what kind of a king not to be!

59. In a way‚ you hardly even dare correct a king privately! If you see they're making a wrong choice, going the wrong way, just ask a question, & try to be gentle about it, face–saving about it. One of the smartest things you can do is to say, "Let's pray about it.—Let's pray about it & see what the Lord has to say about it & get our answers from the Lord." And hopefully, if they're in tune at all, perhaps they'll get an answer from the Lord. So it pays to pray!

60. But you don't dare—& they're very sensitive about this—undermine others' confidence in their leadership. This is one of the worst things I ever saw Rachel do, the way she used to belittle Emanuele, when he was the king! She was supposed to be a disciple, she was supposed to be his spiritual queen. But she would make fun of him before others, & then‚ even worse‚ criticise him & make fun of him behind his back! She would even make fun of him before me, before him, right in front of him! She'd laugh & criticise & make fun of him & tell jokes about him & the crazy things he did, how he picked his nose in public etc. She did this once right at the dinner table when we were eating out, laughing in her loud voice & saying, "Look at him picking his nose in public!"

61. Well, he was picking his nose in public‚ & it's not exactly the polite thing to do or according to Emily Post's etiquette rules, but you know what I did? I said, "So what?—I pick my nose in public too! There's just something about it, when you get one of those boogers there in the way, you've just got to get rid of it or it itches!—I don't blame him! So what's wrong with that? Maybe it really offends you & it may offend some of the other customers‚ but I'm not going to let that stop me from being comfortable!" I even said, "I really admire Emanuele for his guts & not caring what other people think!—If he needs to pick his nose in public‚ he picks his nose, damn the public!" You see what I was trying to do for him?—Help him save face.

62. Boy, I really let Rachel have it several times about it when we had a chance to be alone! I just socked it to her & said, "You are absolutely crucifying that man! You are humiliating him before others! You're not honouring the king! Even if he is wrong, even if he does things that he shouldn't do, you should never ever embarrass him before others when he's supposed to be a leader! You shouldn't be destroying the confidence of the people in their king!"—And he was their king while we were working with him. He had the houses, he had the property, he had the money! What did Rachel have?—Nothing but a damn hell of a sense of not knowing how to get along with a king that God put in her hands! She did everything the wrong way with him, & of course, as a result‚ she finally lost him, & lost him to the Family too. It's pitiful!

63. So for God's sake, help them save face, don't contradict them in public, don't destroy the people's confidence in them even by talking about them behind their backs! Honour the king before the people! They have to live with him, they have to have some kind of respect for him, & therefore you must show your respect. Otherwise they'll do just like you do, they'll criticise him behind his back, they'll pick out all of his flaws, they'll have contempt for him & sooner or later it's bound to show, even if they try to do it mostly behind his back. If you leaders don't show respect for him & honour the king, neither will your people!

64. So to keep the whole thing from falling apart, Samuel went out before the people & he honoured the king. If he hadn't, what do you think would have happened, besides destroying the respect & the confidence of the people in their leadership? What do you think Saul might have done if Samuel had come out there in public & denounced him before the people? He probably would've felt like, "Hmmm, you're going to get rid of me, Samuel? Well, I'm going to get rid of you first!"

65. So don't get to the point that you disgrace or embarrass or dishonour them or show disrespect in any way or cause them to lose face! "Honour the King!" Show them respect. And remember, they wouldn't have been king if God hadn't appointed them, & if the Prophet hadn't anointed them! So they were God's choice! If you need a king & God gives you one, then honour that king & use him as long as he honours the Lord and gives you some amount of credence & respect‚ or at least allows you to work with him and work for him. But don't ever cause them to lose face before the people and lose the confidence of the people. Don't even criticise them behind their backs.

66. Watch out about what you even say between yourselves about them. Watch out about getting in the habit of having belittling sessions amongst yourselves like Jeth & Deb‚ Rachel & Emanuele used to! They'd get back to their house & laugh & mimic people, even the people who worked close to them & on whom they were dependent, made fun of them behind their backs! It was one of their favourite occupations! Imagine!—Being critical of others‚ even their fellow leaders & some of the top people that they depended on.—Laughing at them, making fun of them, criticising them, belittling them & running them down!—And they weren't even careful about doing it before others!—Right before others!

67. It's not good for you & it's certainly not good for your relationship with others! So try your best to honour & respect them. Keep reminding yourself, "Now Lord, You appointed this king to help us, & we need him, & we need what he's got.—Not just his money or his property, but his influence. We need him! Lord‚ he can be a great influence for making contacts with people of influence. So we not only need this king, but we need him to help us reach other kings! So help me to be thankful for this guy, even though I don't like some of the things he does & I'm convinced that some of the things he does are not right! Help me to be able to take those things!"—Especially if it's not something fundamental, something that is absolutely against you & what God wants you to do, as long as he's not preventing you from doing your job as a witness!

HOW NOT TO HANDLE YOUR KINGS!

68. If you want to keep your kings & the places & opportunities of service they have made available to you, then it's not very wise to break loose & really let'm have it! You often have to make a choice, & it's a very delicate decision whether you want to handle them gently & wisely or whether you want to come on like I do most of the time!—I blew apart every church I went into! I blew our happy homes I don't know how many times! I blew it at the Montreal World's Fair, I blew it in Tucson!

69. I would warn the kids & I'd warn Eve! I'd say, "I don't want to go into that church, you know what's going to happen if I do!" "Oh, just come in & watch the kids perform, come in & meet the preacher, blah blah!" I'd say no, & usually I flatly refused. And the few times I yielded & went, I caused an explosion every single time! The preacher would say something I didn't like‚ something unscriptural, & I would just have to get up! I was very polite about it, I'd say‚ "Excuse me, but aren't you forgetting what the Bible says in chapter so-&-so, verse such-&-such‚ are you sure that you have read this? Don't you know what it says?—You don't remember?—OK, I'll read it to you."

70. In a congregation of five, six or seven hundred people, the evangelists, preachers & pastors don't usually like to be questioned! It wasn't very smart of me. All I ever did was get myself thrown out! They didn't receive it, the people didn't like it, I questioned their preacher & their watchdogs of the faith would pick me up & carry me out!—And sometimes I even got in trouble with the cops for it! Disturbing a religious service is a crime in the United States.

71. I lost the opportunities we had. But I would warn Eve, "I just can't go in there‚ you know I can't keep my mouth shut, you know I'm going to hear something I don't like & I'm going to challenge the preacher or get in an argument afterward in front of the people or whatever! If you want to keep going like this & you want the kids to have another chance here or get invited to other churches, don't drag me in there!" But she always wanted me to become a nice church guy.

72. She just saw no future outside the churches, absolutely no future. Her vision for me was to become a flaming evangelist in the churches, to become famous in the churches, to become a leader in the churches, or even a leader of churches. She never did get over that! I don't think she could ever forgive me for fluking out of the churches & not becoming a success in church!

73. Even Mother found out that by coming on so strong about the Holy Spirit & healing & telling the people off, what was really wrong with them‚ it didn't make her too popular! She'd tell'm, "Why should I come back here next year? Why should I pray for you people to be healed & pray for all you sick ones when the way you eat guarantees that by the time I get back here next year you'll all be sick again!" She had a little penchant for telling people off too, & it didn't make her too popular! She eventually began to go lower & lower in her popularity with the churches‚ until finally she got to the really little guys.—Like she said to one preacher, "If you didn't want me to preach about that, why did you invite me?" And he answered, "Well, I figured that my church is so bad off, nothing could hurt it!"

74. You can't possibly be in the church business without being a politician! I remember as a young pastor, this dear fellow who had TB was the superintendent of the particular area that we were in. He was the leading pastor, the pioneer in Arizona. He was a really spiritual man‚ a wonderful man, I loved him & he loved me & we agreed on a lot of things. My mother really respected him too.

75. He'd come down there to the desert for his health. Like the lepers in the Bible, he had to live in a separate place, kind of a screened porch apart from the house‚ away from the rest of the people so he didn't get too close to his audience or anything like that. He'd been there a long time & he knew how church organisations worked, he knew how their elections worked, how the nominations were made by the nominating committee, and he knew that you just didn't challenge the denominational bigwigs!

76. But I was a young Turk, & I decided I was going to change the system! They held this big district meeting where they were having elections of the denomination's sub-superintendents etc. They'd called together all the officials & all the pastors & their wives to nominate & elect a new district supervisor. I sat there & heard all the nominations & I thought, "What in the World?—How come they're not nominating this dear man who has done more than anyone else to help us young pastors & to supervise us & give us wise counsel! We run to him for help when we've got a problem, & he's been more of a pastor & supervisor to us than anybody! Who's this guy the denomination has come up with?—Some new guy from way out East, we didn't even know who the guy was! What is he doing getting nominated to be the District Superintendent?!"

77. So I didn't know any better than to get up while they were having nominations, & I got up & nominated this dear pastor. I said, "I think he would be a very good supervisor, he's been here for years‚ he knows us & the district. Maybe you've got a good man too, but he's only been here a few months & he's from an entirely different district with different problems. So I think this man ought to be our District Supervisor, I nominate him!"

78. They were supposed to be open to nominations open from the floor. They'd say‚ "The committee has nominated So-&-so, if there are no other nominations, the nominations are closed!" But before he could say that, I jumped up & nominated this other guy! The District Superintendent was actually shocked that anybody should challenge their selection! He looked literally stunned & practically flabbergasted for a minute because it just wasn't done that way! You talk about the Communist Party & dictatorships where there's only one party & nobody else runs in the election, that's the way that denomination was run!—Everything came from the top, nothing from the bottom!

79. The Superintendent looked at me in silence for a moment, and finally, because he now had to‚ he said, "Does anyone second this nomination?" Boy, those guys are well-trained, they'd been there longer than I had! Not a soul seconded it! Although they all knew I was right, & they loved this guy & would have much rather had him than some newcomer from the East, not a soul had the guts to stand up & second the nomination!

80. So I was really crushed, I really felt like, "What a bunch of stooges, what a bunch of zombies, what a bunch of robots! They're just doing whatever they're told to do & they don't dare question it!" I sat back down by this dear pastor, & he leaned over & patted my shoulder, trying to comfort me. He whispered, "Don't worry, Son, you'll learn sooner or later that that's just the way the system is run, & you don't dare challenge it, you don't dare even question it! You just have to bide your time & keep your peace‚ sit still & learn the way it's done, & then you can go back to your church & still have your own pastorate & still have your opportunity to be a pastor & a preacher & not lose your job! You just have to put up with it!"

81. So you've got to balance & weigh out the advantages against the disadvantages. Is your little objection or your little complaint worth costing you the use of their kingdom or the protection of your king? Is it worth it? Unless there's really a basic fundamental completely contradictory thing that he asks you to do, or thing that he won't do, you've just got to ask yourself, "Well, is this the time when we part ways?—Is it worth my sticking to my guns at the risk of losing the kingdom & its use & the protection of the king, just for this one little shibboleth or this one little piece of gravel that's caught in my craw?—Is it really worth it?" You've really got to ask yourself, is it worth taking the chance that they'll be offended & grow cold & get rid of you!

THE R.G. LeTOURNEAU STORY

82. I always remember the story about R.G. LeTourneau‚ the famous Christian millionaire who made LeTourneau earth-moving machinery & gave 90% of his income to the Lord. He started out giving 10%‚ & worked up to 90% when he was making millions. When he was broke & bankrupt, he promised the Lord 10% of whatever he had if the Lord would help him & pull him out of the hole, & the Lord gave him this tremendous idea! He was the first man that ever put rubber tires on earthmoving equipment! Up until that time, they'd always used steel wheels that frequently got bogged down in the sand out in the desert.

83. This big construction company told him, "Our machines just won't work out here in the sand, they sink and bog down and burrow into the sand rather than staying on the surface! If you could design a wheel of some kind that would work in this sand, we will give you this multi-million–dollar contract!" So he went back and prayed and the Lord showed him just as clear as anything these huge giant rubber wheels, some of them 10 feet high, gigantic things, that would work out there in the sand.

84. So he got in touch with them right away & said‚ "If you will advance me the money to have this tire made & wheels to fit it etc., I'll prove to you I can do it!" They said, "All right, we'll pay for the prototype." And they did, & it cost thousands of dollars. He had to get Goodyear to make a new kind of tire they'd never made before! At first they tried to argue with him & said it couldn't be done! He said, "Listen, you can do it! I know you can do it, so do it!—And if you do it & it works, I'll give you the order for the tires!"

85. So they made the prototype, he shipped it down to the Mojave Desert & they got out there & the thing just ran circles around everything else & he clinched the order! Just before that he'd been so desperate, he couldn't even pay his workers. He tried to keep them on so they wouldn't have to be fired. He said, "I can only pay you so much, I'm just trying to keep you on until I can get some kind of a job." Then he just really prayed. He said‚ "Lord, I'm desperate! All these people are dependent on me! I'm bankrupt, I can't even pay my workers, but if You'll just somehow pull me out of this hole, I'll give You 10% of everything I make from now on!" And right away he got this big order.

86. But kings are kings, & even R.G. LeTourneau was a king! We visited his gigantic new plant once near Tekoa Falls in Georgia, where he'd bought hundreds & hundreds of acres for his biggest plant. It was near Tekoa Falls Bible Institute & Alliance School, he was a member of the Alliance. It was his anniversary when he opened the plant, & everybody was raving about it. He gave his thrilling, inspiring & moving testimony which he always gave about how he got started & how he started giving 10% & he was now giving 90% of his income to missions etc. But he was still a king. He would speak & give his testimony & all that, but he wasn't really a spiritual leader‚ he was a financial leader, he was a king! Everybody was raving about it.

87. But there was this one guy who said something that I thought wasn't a very good thing to be saying about LeTourneau, in fact, I think at first I sort of resented it. One young fellow said, "Yes, well, he's a great man all right, & he sure gives a lot of money to us, he's been a big help in this community too with a couple of thousand workers here & all that‚ but don't ever cross him!"

88. This fellow then explained how he was in a staff meeting with LeTourneau once & he was asking for suggestions & improvements, so this young man made a suggestion of a different way of doing certain things. And LeTourneau said, "Oh no, we can't do that, no no no no!" But just about a month or so later at the same kind of staff meeting, LeTourneau was speaking & he said, "You know, men, I've come up with a great new idea!—We should do so-&–so & so-&-so!", & it was almost word for word what this guy had suggested. So this fellow told us, "Don't ever cross him.—All ideas have to come from him!"

DAD'S GIVING TESTIMONY!

89. That's the way of kings! I've never found one yet that wasn't like that, only in varying degrees. Fred was like that. He was a king to me, he was not really that great of a spiritual leader. He had been‚ but later it seemed like he got more into the money than the mission, the job, sad to say.

90. That's one reason I like to keep giving money away‚ so I won't have enough to worry about. I won't have my dependence on the money, but on the Lord. PTL?

91. We try to give money away just about as fast as we can! And the Lord has blessed it, the faster we give it away, the faster He gives it back, & more!—From the time that I gave that waitress in London the One Pound note. (See "You Never Lose By Giving", No. 540:25-36.) At first I said, "But Lord, I can't afford it! If You'll make me a millionaire, then I could give like that!" He said, "You give it‚ & I'll more than repay you!" And that's how it began!

92. I began going down the street & giving One Pound notes to the poor little paper lady sitting out there freezing in the snow, a One Pound note for a newspaper & telling her to keep the change. I knew she needed it‚ for goodness sake! I believed the Lord, I took Him at His Word, that if I would give away what I had, He would more than repay! And now we have given it away by the thousands, hundreds of thousands! Praise the Lord! It pays to obey the Lord!

THE RIGHT WAY TO HANDLE KINGS!

93. So if you want the benefit of your kings, remind yourself to constantly thank the Lord for them. Say, "Well, thank You Lord that at least we're getting this benefit, at least we're having this advantage, at least he's giving this, at least he's doing that" etc. And try to always show your respect & your honour‚ that you recognise them for what they are, true kings & queens.

94. Honour the king! I guess that's the name of this one, "Honour the King!" God gave you that king to begin with, He appointed that king‚ He anointed that king or queen, & He expects you to appreciate it & thank him!—Not only thank God, but also thank the king! They love praise! They love appreciation. They love the honour & respect that they know is due them! "Honour to whom honour is due!"—Rom.13:7. Amen?

95. That is what kings live for even more than money: They live to receive the honour of the people! "Come, at least honour me before the people!"—1Sam.15:30. They love that honour, that adoration, that respect, that glory, they eat it up‚ they love it! No matter what they say, no matter what they pretend, they still love it!—So give it, & keep giving it, & they will love you for it!—Because you're giving them what God expects you to give them & has ordered you to give them, has commanded you to give them. "Honour to whom honour is due!—Honour the king!"

96. Salute!—If you're just going to salute your brethren only, the Lord says, what good is that?—Mat.5:47. I got that verse in the army when I saw what devils & what fiends some of those officers were, & how horrible! I mean you could hardly believe what some of those guys were like! And the Lord had to remind me of that Scripture.

97. There was one smart officer who said, "When you've got to salute some of these guys, you may not feel like it.—You may not feel that you owe them such respect, like, 'Why should I salute this heel that treats me like this?'" But this one officer put across a point that I never forgot: "You're not merely saluting the man‚ but you are saluting the uniform he wears & the position he occupies & the authority of your government!"

98. So when you're honouring the king, you're not just saluting the man or honouring the man, but the God Who appointed him, & you're thanking God for him, for using him to help you to do what you need to do! Amen? I'm not saying you should get down & grovel before your kings or worship them after this, but give the honour that God expects you to give them & which is due them as your king, the respect & even the obedience. If they ask you to do certain things that you wouldn't normally do‚ if it's not totally offending your conscience & offending the Lord, even if it's a little odd or embarrassing or whatever, just go ahead & do it!

99. It may take a lot of humility‚ it may take a lot of patience, it may mean that you're embarrassed, especially if you have to do it amongst your own people that know you & know what you think & know what your convictions are. But still, you're having to salute, you're having to kneel, you're having to obey, as long as it is not absolutely contrary to the Will of God! You can know if you're obeying the Lord if you do what He has already told you to do in His Word: "Honour the king!"—"Honour to whom honour is due!"

100. And though you must honour them & go along with them on things you don't always fully agree with sometimes, you can always pray & expect the Lord to do miracles with your kings, expect Him to change their minds about some things when necessary! You don't have to take no for an answer.—Pray! If the Lord wants something done, He can change their minds! That's one verse you can really count on & expect the Lord to fulfil: "The heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord‚ & He turneth it whithersoever He wants it to go!"—Pro.21:1. So don't worry about it!

101. The king is God's material representative, so to speak. He's God's anointed for your protection‚ to help you with material things etc. God has chosen him to be your king because God knows He's got the heart of that king in His hand!—Even though he may be stubborn & unwilling sometimes. When the Lord turns His hand, the king's heart is going to turn too, if he's the Lord's at all.

102. So don't worry about them more than you should!—Trust the Lord & do your job, & let them do their job. You don't have to try to tell your kings & queens how to do their business. You just do your part. You tell them how to do God's business, God's Work, because you have a hot line with the Lord & you really know God's Will. You've been serving the Lord fulltime and in His work for years, & you're far more mature than they are in spiritual things, & even in leadership in some ways.—Although you could probably learn a lot from some of your kings about leadership & how they treat their employees & how they manage to get along.

103. Just go along with them as much as you can & trust God to use them to do things that you can't do. There are many things that they can do for you that you cannot do for yourselves, especially in dealing with the System. They can do things for you that God has appointed them to do for you, that you cannot do for yourselves, & wherein they are far smarter & more clever in things we don't really even know anything about! So leave such matters up to them!

104. That's what God's anointed them & appointed them for! In the Old Testament days, not everybody was anointed with the Holy Spirit, but the kings were. They didn't always obey the Holy Spirit, but they were anointed with the Spirit of God.—Usually only the kings & Prophets & a few special people. But praise God, today His Spirit is available to all who receive it!—Acts 2:17,18.

105. So let them do what God has given them the anointing & the appointing & the wisdom for, things which you wouldn't even do that way yourself! You wouldn't even think of doing some things the way they would! Let'm do it their way, which is usually, thank God‚ the way that God has led them to do it.

106. Now if you don't feel that what they're doing is the Lord's Will in some cases, then you may have to question it. But do it very tactfully: "Well‚ what do you think?—Do you think maybe such-&-such?" They come back with the answer, therefore then it becomes their idea. You just put the question in their mind & they give you the answer.

107. So may the Lord bless & help our Family in their dealings with kings! Poor Mama & Peter have had to deal with a king for a long time!—And it's not always been easy for them to persuade me that something is God's Will!

108. Peter will have to confess that I have said sometimes, "Well, I don't have the faith for it, I really don't even have the burden for it, but if you have, praise the Lord‚ you go ahead & do it, whatever you've got the faith & the burden for!"—And it's turned out beautifully! Because they were the ones that God gave the idea & the burden to, & they had the faith for it! And He turned this king's heart in their direction, to go their way, to agree to it, & they did it & it turned out beautifully! TTL!

109. I don't have to have the faith or the burden for the things God gives them the faith & the burden for! They only have to persuade me & convince me that they've got the faith & the burden for it! You get it? You may not even have the faith or the burden to do some of the things these kings & queens do, but you don't have to! That's not your job. It's their job to be the king & to have the burden for it & the faith for it & do it their way. Just pray that it's God's way! Trust the Lord!—Just "trust the Lord & do good, & your days will be long in the land & verily thou shalt be fed!"—Psa.37:3.

KINGS—LIKE LITTLE CHILDREN!

110. I just had a vision‚ a picture of a little child, & it reminds me of an incident that happened with David when he was about a year-&-a-half old, just before we left Tenerife: We were walking down the promenade one day, along the ocean front there. He hadn't learned to walk for very long, & there was this nice big sidewalk that looked so inviting. He hadn't seen so much space for quite awhile. It always seems to inspire little kids to want to run if they see a big place where they can really go!

111. So he took off & tripped & fell flat on his face! But you know what he did? He didn't cry. There were hundreds of people all around, he was out in public. So he laughed & he pretended he'd done it on purpose, & to prove it, he did it again, because every time he did it, we'd laugh! But we knew he was covering up. We knew good & well he hadn't intended on doing it that first time‚ he really fell! But he covered up, he saved face by literally pretending that he'd fallen on it on purpose.

112. Did we make fun of him? Did we try to really immediately expose him & say, "Oh now‚ David, you didn't do that on purpose‚ you accidentally fell!" No‚ of course we didn't. We helped him save face. We acted like we believed it. He acted like he'd done it on purpose, & we acted like we believed it. And it saved his pride & it made it easier on him & helped him save face & not to cry.

113. Some of these kings can be such babes, such little children in some ways, in some things, that you could almost laugh at some of the things they do!—But you don't. You might laugh as though‚ well, they did it on purpose. You need to help them save face & cover up for them & let them think that you think they did it on purpose.

114. Sometimes you just have to help cover up for them & help them save face‚ lest they lose too much face & be too embarrassed & really be humiliated, which is one thing that they usually cannot stand. You could even lose them, you could have them turn against you if you expose them & if you let them know that you know. That is just almost more than they can stand. So the picture is like a little child, even when they fall. You've got to laugh & pretend that you think they did it on purpose. Do you get the point?

115. So love, honour, thank God for & pray for your kings!—Amen? GBAKY! ILY!—D.

—DO YOU HONOR THE KING?

Copyright (c) 1997 by The Family