DO 2547 7/89

(Introductory Letter from Peter Amsterdam to a Family Leader:)

Dearest Leah,

GBY! We sure love & appreciate you & are just so thankful for the great help that you've been there & for all that you've done to help make your area as strong as it is today. You've been a big help & blessing & we're just so thankful for you. Juan has certainly spoken quite highly of you in all of his reports & expressed time & time again how thankful he has been for your help. He's said over & over again how he couldn't have done without you, that you've been such a tremendous blessing & help & support to him‚ which was really very sweet. Thanks for doing all that you've done.

We recently were discussing the tremendous progress that you've made in your personal life & walk with the Lord. We were recalling how some years ago you were plagued with various fears & Dad received the Letter "Spiritual Pests" (ML#1924) for you, & how we were able to have prayer over you then, & how much progress you've made since that time. It was like a real night-&-day difference!

Then we recalled the second prayer that we had for you, & realised how much progress you've made from that point, & how your fears & battles with depression have diminished so much compared to what they were previously. You've really made some tremendous progress in those areas, TTL! Isn't that wonderful? It's such a victory to be able to look back & see the victories that we've won over such sometimes longstanding weaknesses or besetting sins.

From reports we've received‚ it appears that at times you still fight depression & discouragement. While praying about & discussing this, we recalled that you were taking some sort of pills & medication for your thyroid condition. Mama wanted to get some counsel from Dad about that, as she thought it might be a help to find out if this medication could possibly be what brings on some of this depression. She was able to get an answer from Dad which I'm going to share with you & which we believe will be a real help & blessing to you!

The encouraging thing is that it seems that the Lord knows that you can have a real victory over these depressions. Take it from me—someone who has suffered real discouragement & depression myself—that getting delivered from it & not having it, or at least not having it anywhere near the extent of what I experienced in the past, is really a super blessing!

I've already shared a little of my testimony along those lines with you, & how I, like you, would get discouraged & depressed to such a degree that I felt I could do absolutely nothing, & it would sometimes last for three or four days! Thank the Lord, He usually helped me to continue doing my work, but I just felt as if I were under a totally dark cloud‚ as if a huge weight had been laid on me & was literally pressing me down. I would get so down & discouraged that I felt as if I had no spirit, no life, & I battled periods like that for years & years!

But thank God, after having prayer a number of times, I eventually got what I consider wonderfully delivered, to the point that it's very rare that I even get attacked with that kind of depression, & when I do, it's now quite a bit easier to snap out of it, & doesn't take days & days like it used to.—In fact, sometimes it just takes minutes‚ or in the worst cases, a few hours.

But overall, I don't have the problem anywhere near the extent that I used to, & it's like a complete liberation! I used to hate having that constant battle & it's been such a wonderful thing to be delivered from it! Of course, it takes a lot of umph, fight‚ desire, & above all, a real stand of faith & deliverance from the Lord! But it's worth whatever it costs, because having now been delivered from it, I certainly would never want to be in that state again, nor wish it on anyone else!

So I want to encourage you that whatever it takes to get completely delivered from it is well worth the fight, because the victory is so wonderful! The victory over that kind of depression & discouragement is well worth any price that you have to pay. So perhaps I can share with you now what Dad had to say, with the hope that it will instil in you the desire to continue to fight & come forth with real solid victory!

Lord, do bless the reading of Thy Word & make it a blessing & a help & a strength to her. Thank You, Lord, how You gave this answer to Dad & You inspired him to personally say a word about it. Apparently You know that it's time now for her to hear what You have to say, because You feel that she is strong enough & has made enough progress to be able to continue to make even further progress. So please bless & anoint Thy Word, in Jesus' name.

Mama gave a little synopsis of the situation to Dad of how you've been taking thyroid pills for quite a number of years, & how when you don't take them you tend to gain weight & become sluggish & don't have much drive. On the other hand, she also shared that you have had problems with depression over the years & how you had a big deliverance from this, but it still seems to be somewhat of a besetting weakness.

DAD'S MESSAGE ABOUT DELIVERANCE FROM DRUGS & DEPRESSION!

1. I don't believe it's worth going into deep depression & leaving yourself open to the Enemy by taking drugs that cause real psychological problems! Those pills are supposed to speed up your catabolism, in other words, your destructive metabolism. Your metabolism is the working of your body‚ the balance between what builds it up‚ which is called anabolism, & that which tears it down‚ which is called catabolism.

2. Nearly all of those drugs that are supposed to help you reduce are catabolics, whether it's "speed" or whatever it might be, & they deliberately try to speed up your catabolism, which is the force within you which tears down your body & wears it down. It's very dangerous, because anything that tears down your body can also sometimes tear down your mind!

3. (Maria: Leah insists that she's going to be overweight if she stops taking the thyroid pills, & that besides being overweight, she is going to be sluggish & not have any energy. I almost think that if she stopped taking the pills that all of those things would happen‚ because she's so convinced of it & clinging to that belief so much & is so insistent that she has to have them. Even if she would stop them, she would feel she had to have them‚ because in her own mind she is so desperate to have them. I think she might even be addicted to them.)

4. Of course she's addicted to them! They're in a sense like pep pills or like speed. They're called "uppers" & they make you real nervous & excited & peppy & supposedly energetic. But of course when the effect wears off, just like when coffee wears off, you have a real downer. Those pills give you sort of a high like coffee, but if you drink too much coffee, or stay too much like she is, taking those pills all the time, then they can give you a nervous breakdown! It speeds up your metabolism, & when the effect wears off you're really down & depressed.

5. (Maria: She did have a very big spiritual deliverance a while back, but she kept on taking the pills.) If she never got off the pills, then the Lord won't completely deliver her. The Lord delivers her, but He expects her to do something about it! What if someone has got the coffee habit to where they drink four or five cups a day & they've "just got to have that coffee" or they get nervous or depressed or down!—And suddenly they ask the Lord to deliver them from the effects of the coffee, but they don't give up the coffee. That's expecting a lot for the Lord to do that!

6. It's like my Mother used to say about those Pennsylvania farmers: "Why should we have to go back there every year & pray for them to be healed of diabetes & overweight & all the things that are wrong with them which are caused by their bad diet? We'll just have to go back there & ask for their deliverance from all those diseases again, because they refuse to give up that high-fat, high–starch, high-sugar diet!"

7. She's got to make some sacrifice! If I had known that, I would have certainly taken her off the pills just like that—Boom!—And rebuked the Devil that causes her to crave those pills! She's hooked, she's on drugs, & she doesn't want to give them up! She wants the Lord to deliver her from the depression, but she doesn't want to give up what causes it!

8. (Maria: How do you explain that the Lord really did a big miracle in her life even though she refused to give up the pills? He really did deliver her from the worst of her depressions & she doesn't have the big ones as she used to when she could hardly pull out of them, but she does still frequently experience rather serious depression.)

9. She was probably getting into something really spiritual with the big deep depressions.—And she'd better watch out! If she doesn't give the Lord a little cooperation & kick the habit & give up the pills, she's apt to get back into having the big depressions again! Like Jesus said, "Go & sin no more, lest a worse thing befall thee!"—Jn.5:14. I'm shocked to hear that she's living on those pills! She's hooked! A lot of people get hooked on diet pills. She'd better ask the Lord to deliver her from the pills or she's apt to get her big depressions back again.

10. You have to give the Lord a little cooperation! You can't ask the Lord to deliver you from the effects of your bad habits unless you're willing to give up your bad habits, or you're going to be back in the same situation as before! Why ask the Lord to relieve you of the effect of something, a certain cause, unless you're willing to give up the cause? People want to be delivered from the effects but not the cause!

11. Don't expect to take her off of a lifelong abuse of drugs without a certain amount of withdrawal that she's going to have to fight, but the sooner she's delivered from those drugs the better! (Maria: So maybe instead of praying against her depression‚ they should pray against her drug addiction!—Although she'll probably say she's not addicted to them.) Very few drug addicts & alcoholics will admit that they're addicted. Only in the last worst stages, where they are so desperate & they know it's the drugs or the alcohol, do they admit it!

12. (Maria: She's also very fearful about her health. Evidently sometime back she had a severe cough & was convinced that her lungs were actually punctured or ruptured. So they went to the doctor & after the tests the doctor told her‚ "Your only problem is fear, there's nothing wrong with you!")

13. Fear is about the worst thing that could happen to you! Fear is the worship of the Devil! Fear is not faith! The Devil has tried to scare me with a lot of sickness & pains over the years, but thank God He pulled me through!

14. (Maria: What can be the result of depression? I guess in a bad case it can even make you lose your mind & get possessed by the Devil & all kinds of things!) Of course! Psychiatric hospitals & insane asylums are full of people who have chronic depression or manic depression. It drives you insane! Manic depression is demonic, it's horrible!

15. Her co-workers need to get tough with her & lay down the law! We don't want anybody in the Family who is addicted to any kind of drugs, pills or whatever! Where's the Lord? They need to get delivered! Let me tell you, those pills aren't free either!—They're expensive & it's wasting God's money! You know what I think about pills, I've talked about this before. (See "Pill?—Or Pilgrimage!"—No.599.) People become not only physically dependent‚ but psychologically dependent on pills & other medications. Personally, I'd rather see her with a little extra weight than a lot of pills!

16. They need to do something about it right away! I'm just amazed that our leaders have put up with it & haven't done something about it! She needs somebody to really sock it to her! She needs somebody with a little power of exorcism & prayer to absolutely rebuke it! It's just as demonic as alcoholism or gambling or any other horrible destructive bad habit! Just remind her that Mrs. Dukakis finally confessed that she was addicted to diet pills & that she was a drug addict! She publicly admitted it!

(Continuation of Peter's Letter:)

So that's what Dad had to say about the pills that you've been taking & your situation, & we certainly do agree with him that something needs to be done, & that that something needs to be a real stand on your part, a prayer of deliverance & a real fighting attitude for you to overcome these things!

The Lord did not ask you to overcome the pills way back when you had your original prayer of deliverance, nor did He ask you to overcome them in your second deliverance. It's like He raised you from the bed of affliction & you were able to rise up & function & you continued in that victory for quite some time. When you last were prayed for, it was like He got you up & walking, but still you walked with a cane (the drugs) to sort of help prop you up & keep you going.

Now He's asking you to throw the cane away & to really stand on His Word & look to Him, knowing that He's brought you along step by step. He's "begun the good work in you" & now He wants to continue it!—Phi.1:6. It's like the verse, "He Who hath delivered, Who doth deliver & Who will yet deliver!"—2Cor.1:10. He didn't ask you to have total victory from day one. He sees that you've been growing into this victory & you've taken it step by step. But now apparently the Lord feels you're strong enough & capable enough to take the stand of faith & fight in real faith against not only the depressions but this addiction to these pills.

That's not to say that it won't be a fight, it's not to say that you won't gain weight—you may. But as Dad said, he'd rather have you with some extra weight than with all those pills! Anyway, if you're faithful to eat the proper foods‚ exercise vigorously & do all you can, we know the Lord will do His part. But how do you know if He's going to do it unless you at least try?—And not only try just because we said so‚ but to try in real faith, believing & knowing that the Lord will deliver you of this!

It's a day of victory, & we believe you want the victory & we know the Lord wants to give you the victory if you'll just take the stand of faith & fight, to really fight for the victory! You do your part & don't give up, & the Lord will pull you through! There are many others around you & others worldwide who have had major afflictions & real spiritual problems, but have fought & gotten the victory & have forged ahead! They've been able to do it‚ & we know you can too!

We've had prayer for you here, & we continue to pray that the Lord will increase your faith in this area, knowing that He's done it for so many others & that He can do it for you. We're trusting that you will have the faith inspired in you through this Word from Dad & this Message from the Lord, to take the stand & to really fight! OK? You've got to stir yourself up, you've gotta fight it, & we know the Lord will deliver you! He never fails! PTL!

We know that this is going to be a big step, but we know that you've taken big steps before & each time the Lord has done it & brought you farther & farther along. We believe that you're ready for this now, & we've asked the other leaders there to share this with you, perhaps to discuss it with you more & suggest some reading lists. Then when you're together with your leadership, perhaps you could have a real laying-on of hands & a desperate prayer for your deliverance so that you can really win the victory! TTL! (Memorise & review & continually quote the Healing Verses!)

So although I know this might have been a little rough‚ as it often is, to hear the truth & to have to face our situations, nevertheless we hope you're encouraged by it. Like the MOP quote says: "Sometimes that which looks like a stone, we often find later was actually the bread we'd been praying for!" Although this may seem a little bit "stony" at the moment, we believe you'll see that it is real bread, real victory later on, & we're hoping that you'll take up this challenge & see it for what it is—the step of faith & the step of victory that the Lord wants you to take!

We really really love you, & I think this should prove to you how much the Folks love you, that they want to really help you & see you through to victory!—And especially how much the Lord loves you, that He is giving you this personal message now when He knows you can win a total victory!—Amen? We really love you & have you in our prayers.

Juan has mentioned in his reports what a blessing you've been to him & to the Work. We're counting on you to not only fight & win, but to also continue to be a real blessing & an asset to your area there. We're praying for you & love you so much, & look forward to hearing great testimonies of the things that are happening there. We also look forward to hearing your reaction to all of this, as well as about your victory! PTL! May God bless & keep you‚ we love you so much!

—Love, Peter.

Reaction to Peter's Letter & Dad's Message:

Dearest Dad‚

GBY! ILY dearly & am very thankful for you & all you do for us to keep us well-cared–for & fed & therefore going for Him! I certainly need you & am very thankful for you! I pray this note finds you happy, inspired, strong & healthy! (—Tx!)

I wanted to thank you for passing on to me the Lord's & your view on the thyroid medication I had been taking. You were 100% right—I was addicted physically, as well as mentally, because of my lack of faith. LHM‚ as I had even gotten to the point of closing myself off to the possibility of giving the Lord a chance to heal me, because it seemed to be one area that my faith always failed in. But I see now that it was just a wedge to get in. As soon as I read your message about it, I knew right away that I wanted to take the stand of faith & I threw away the pills. I certainly in no way am interested in trading my place in this Family for pills! (Amen!)

TTL that we were able to have a beautiful & strong prayer of deliverance & prayer of healing for me & I know the Lord has done it! He spoke very beautifully to confirm it, saying‚ "Ye have served Me faithfully all these years,...shall I fail thee? Thou shalt call upon Me & ask of Me for help & surely I shall reach down with My hands & shall deliver thee. I shall touch thy body & heal thee & thou wilt look unto Me!" TYJ! It is done‚ PTL! All Glory to Jesus!

Thank you for helping me to take the step to cross this important bridge in my life—it is actually a real relief to be across it now & I know the Lord is going to fulfil His Word! Thank you for your love to discipline me when I really needed it! A real true father's love. (TTL!)

I'm sorry for failing you & that is really the thing that has been hardest of all for me, feeling that I've failed you & disappointed you & that I've lost favour in your sight, wondering if I would ever again regain your love, favour & trust. Hearing how you & the Lord looked upon the whole situation was quite humbling for me & I feel like the worst sinner of all‚ which is good for me. At the same time I pray that I can bring forth fruits meet for repentance & again be blessed before my beloved King!

—With love & gratitude always,

Your prodigal daughter, Leah

(GBY! ILY!—D.)

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