—Dropouts III—MODecember 15‚ 1970NO.27

"As using this world (System)‚ but not abusing it."

1. NEARLY EVERY GREAT reformer or revolutionist, or musician, or artist‚ or writer—nearly all the inspirationalists—HAD TO HAVE SOME POWERFUL PATRON—A KING, OR A POLITICIAN, OR A RICH MAN OR WOMAN, TO PROTECT THEM AND SPONSOR THEM AND FIGHT FOR THEM, and deal with the government for them, so they could be free to do their inspirational work! Almost every one of them had somebody to patronise them, from politicians to businessmen—somebody to handle their material affairs so they could stick to the spiritual!—The Lord always raised up someone to help His spiritual leaders handle their material affairs so they could be free to do His work! Sometimes even their enemies were used to provide for them, even while they were in prison, so they could write or get revelations or have time to talk to God!

2. SOMEBODY MUST HAVE BEEN PROVIDING NOAH with all that wood and tar and food, so that he and his three sons could have time to build the Ark and preach the Warning Message.

3. ABRAHAM HAD HIS FATHER, TERAH, TO GET HIM STARTED, who was apparently already a rich man; and later, the Lord even used the kings of Philistia and Egypt to provide for him and protect him, by letting them fall in love with his wife! How's that, huh? They were good to him because his so–called "sister" was so beautiful, and the Lord used Sara's beauty as a tool to get their support‚ when Abraham needed it, as a stranger in strange lands!

4. GOD USES THE SYSTEM IN STRANGE WAYS TO HIS CHILDREN'S ADVANTAGE! Don't be afraid to spoil the System!

5. Sometimes HE WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS THESE WONDERS TO PERFORM. FIRST OF ALL, FOR EXAMPLE, He let Joseph get his management training as a slave under Pharaoh's top executive, Potiphar; then his humility training under the jailer, for several years. Finally—he didn't become Pharaoh's top man‚ but what really happened was God made Pharaoh Joseph's top man, to sponsor a national welfare programme, which was eventually to include and save his own family, and to carry out a tremendous population relocation project, which was eventually to give them the entire rich, fertile, Nile Delta in Egypt for their home away from home. Here He used the Pharaohs of Egypt to protect and provide for them for over four hundred years,—to give them time to grow in numbers from some seventy souls to nearly seven million‚ and to learn all the wisdom and skills of Egypt, and to eventually carry away most of its wealth with them when they left!

6. In other words, He let Egypt foster them until they were big enough to claim their own land!

7. EVEN MOSES HAD HIS AARON TO HELP HIM WITH ADMINISTRATION; his Jethro, with the business; and Joshua, with the battles.

8. FOR YEARS, DAVID HAD KING SAUL TO PROVIDE HIM with the training he needed for future kingship himself—first, a position in the palace, then an army, a wife, and the opportunity to gain recognition; eventually, even the Cave in the wilderness, and time to raise his own army. Then God used another king, Achish of Gath‚ of Israel's enemies, the Philistines, to harbour David and his band of outlaws, while they fled like criminals from their own country!—So God could remove Saul, and give David the land on his return!

9. DURING THE PERIOD OF THE KINGS, GOD USED KING AFTER KING TO PATRONISE THE PROPHETS—provide for and protect them‚ and give them a chance to hear from the Lord and expound His Words and Revelations—even to warn them of their sins and mistakes! Although they frequently disagreed in their controversies, rivalries‚ and contentions‚ the kings were, nevertheless, compelled to respect and fear the power of His prophets—even when they didn't like it—and didn't appreciate their Message! They were forced to acknowledge they were of God, and to handle them with care—as King Ahab with Elijah! Isaiah, of royal blood, dwelt in the king's palace while he dreamed of Kingdom Come and the King of Kings! Sometimes they were even put in prison for their own protection—like Jeremiah, who was then released again and given take–home pay and a license to operate, by another king of the enemies of Israel.

10. SOMETIMES THEY WERE EVEN CARRIED AWAY CAPTIVE‚ like Daniel, and Ezekiel, and Nehemiah, so they could dwell in the king's palace, eat at his table, and enjoy his protection and promotion while they carried on the Lord's Work, received their revelations, preached their Message, and carried out their jobs! It wasn't always easy—this ticklish and precarious position of living in the house of your enemy, whom God had raised up to protect and provide for you while you did the Lord's work, and there were plenty of other enemies who were always ready to make things hot for you. But somehow the Lord always brought you through, in spite of everything and everybody,—even causing the wrath of man to praise Him—as with the three Hebrew Children in the fiery furnace, or Daniel in the Lion's Den or Nehemiah on the Wall!—In spite of everything the enemy could do, God always brought you through, and simply used your enemies to glorify Him.

11. EVEN ENEMIES ARE NEEDED TO KEEP US ON THE BALL—or, should I say, on the wall, so that we don't come down from doing a great work. Because if you feel too secure‚ you're apt to relax and let down your guard, and give the Enemy a chance to slip in and deal you a blow below the belt that will really teach you a lesson, never to be caught with your spiritual pants down again.

12. ESTHER EVEN HAD TO MARRY XERXES, the heathen king of Medo-Persia, TO GET THE JOB DONE AND DELIVER GOD'S PEOPLE! So God can make exceptions to His own rules—if He wants to, in order to accomplish His purpose—in that case‚ even being unequally yoked with that horrible System—a terrible price for one of His girls to have pay in order to free His people. She had to be willing to become a queen of the System in order to protect the Children of God! What an assignment! Would you be willing to go that far for the Lord and His Children?—To marry someone you didn't love, or even like, in order to further the Work of God?—Even contrary to the usual rules?—Like Hosea marrying a prostitute and being a faithful husband to his errant wife in order to demonstrate the Love, Mercy, Forgiveness, and Faithfulness of God? How's that for using the worst of the System to do God's Work!

13. FIRST OF ALL, RUTH HAD TO LIVE WITH HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; then lie with a rich, old man before they were married in order to persuade him to accomplish the Will of God by making him the father of her children—Obed, Jesse, King David, and finally Jesus!

14. TAMAR EVEN HAD TO PRETEND TO BE A HARLOT to get Judah to marry her, so that, she‚ too, might become one of Jesus' ancestors!

15. If we were to start describing all of the UNORTHODOX‚ UNLAWFUL, AND UNSEEMLY THINGS GOD LET HIS CHILDREN DO in order to accomplish his purpose space would fail us to enumerate the multitude of ways God let His Children use, or abuse, the System in order to carry out His Plan.—And that's another whole subject in itself that can be dealt with later!

16. Right now, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT GOD USING SPONSORS AND PATRONS FROM THE SYSTEM TO SUPPLY OUR NEEDS AND PROTECTION.

17. But how about King Solomon and that black gal, the Queen of Sheba?—And Moses and that other black girl‚ the Ethiopian—just for a few passing examples of God's lack of discrimination in matters the System frowns on!

18. But to get back to System sponsors and patrons for the Children of God— time would fail us to give all but a few of these prime examples, which are almost innumerable, as it seems GOD'S CHILDREN ARE ALWAYS NEEDING THE SYSTEM FOR SOMETHING—even though neither He nor they like it.

19. And why not? Why should we fiddle around with slaving for material when the System's got plenty of it‚ and to spare! Let them be our slaves—not us theirs! Why should we let the seed be choked out by the cares of earning a living, when we can let the System do it for us?

20. GOD ALWAYS MAKES THE SYSTEM SERVE HIS SERVANTS, whenever it suits His purpose—if they have what He needs. "As using this world (or System) but not abusing it." (1Co.7:31)

21. Sometimes it looks to me like He's even allowed us to abuse this privilege once in a while—we're such pets of His—He spoils us! OWN IT AND USE IT—BUT WATCH OUT—DON'T LET IT OWN AND USE YOU!

22. PHARAOH THOUGHT HE WAS USING JOSEPH, but Joseph was really using him! NEBUCHADNEZZAR THOUGHT HE WAS USING DANIEL, but God was letting Daniel use the king.—So you'd have a chance to really "freak out" on all that Bible Prophecy! In fact, God had Daniel using three different kings of two different empires to carry on God's business. How's that for using the System and making it serve your purpose?

23. HOW ABOUT GOD USING KING HEROD the Horrible and leaders of the religious whore to supply the wise men with the information they needed to find Jesus—even though the System king only did it to try to find Jesus himself so he could kill Him!

24. AND HOW ABOUT GOD USING THESE RICH KINGS ALL THE WAY FROM THE EAST to travel a couple thousand miles to bring Joseph and Mary some wealth they could live on while fleeing as fugitives into Egypt.

25. AND WHAT ABOUT JESUS, EVEN WORKING AS A CARPENTER until His spiritual ministry was to begin? Or Paul, making tents, while in hiding from his enemies?

26. THERE'S A TIME AND A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING—even holding a System job when you have nothing better to do—or if God wants to use it to help the Children of God! So don't be so damn dogmatic about everybody forsaking all! God's got to let a few Systemites stick with it, so they can give their pants to clothe us and their bottom dollar to feed us, or their power and influence to protect us!—And God will bless them for it—even if they don't get to enjoy the precious privilege of forsaking all, and the blessed ministry of being His prophets! Where would all these prophets have been if they hadn't had all these kings? Don't knock it!—You need `em! Hate the damn System, but use the Systemite to get God's work done!—But don't let the System get you! YOU'RE IN IT, BUT NOT OF IT! You're surrounded by it—but not part of it! You're drop-outs from it, but you can still use it! Just don't let it use you, like it was before you became God's Church, God's Ecclesia‚ the "called-out ones," His dropouts, like Jesus and His disciples! But that's another whole subject we'll get to later‚ God willing.

27. WHAT ABOUT THE WAY HE USED ALEXANDER THE GREAT to spread the beautiful Greek language, culture, love of art and beauty, and interest in philosophy and religion, to prepare the way for the coming and spread of Christianity? And what about the way HE USED THE ROMAN EMPIRE to bring about worldwide peace and easy international travel with that international language to help the Early Church spread the Gospel around the world?

28. EVEN THOUGH GOD'S CHILDREN HAD THEIR PROBLEMS WITH THE SYSTEM, and living in it, under it, and with it, it was there for their benefit, and MOST OF THE TIME, IT WAS MORE OF A HELP THAN A HINDRANCE. Even sometimes when it seemed like a curse, it turned out to be a blessing; for if God hadn't hardened Pharaoh's heart against His Children, they never would have left Egypt! Or Rome—against the Christians! They never would have scattered so fast, and would have gone "System" even sooner, as they did a couple hundred years later when they were finally recognised by the System.

29. SO ALL THINGS, INCLUDING THE SYSTEM, WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO THOSE THAT LOVE THE LORD! So don't knock it!—Just hate it—and use it—but don't let it use you‚ unless it's part of His Plan; and thank God for and love the dear Systemites He uses to help us! God might even turn one of the worst of them into an apostle, like Paul, if you're just patient, love and pray for them—even if they persecute you! The System even gave Paul a police escort, free transportation, room and board, a Mediterranean cruise, and a house to live in when he got there, for his final missionary journey to Rome, the capital, to witness to Caesar and all his house! Of course, it cost him a little thing like his head, in the long run‚ but that was only when his work was done, and he didn't need it any more and could trade it in for a newer model where they could never catch him again.

30. There are so many examples of God using the things of this System in order to carry on his cause, the list would be almost endless! Take MARTIN LUTHER, for example! He had to have kings and princes going to bat for him, supporting him, housing him, protecting him, and footing the bill for the whole Reformation—in order to throw the monkey wrench of Grace into the Papal works!—And he actually lived to a ripe old age, and died in peace, for a change!

31. DON'T TRY TO POUR GOD INTO A MOLD AND SAY HE ALWAYS HAS TO USE THE SAME METHODS. Not everybody has to be a martyr; just die daily, as you live for him! God won't let 'em kill you unless you've finished your job and can give a better witness that way for the grand finale! THEY COULDN'T EVEN KILL JOHN THE REVELATOR, because he wasn't through "revelating" yet; so God made 'em give him a free Mediterranean cruise to the Isle of Patmos, and free room and board in exile, so he'd have peace and quiet to take a heavenly cruise and come back with a ship's log of the future—the last book of the Bible!—and as far as we know, he died in peace at the ripe old age of 90, on that lovely Mediterranean isle!

32. If you were to go through the list of all the other reformers and revolutionists God used who used the System for protection for their benefit‚ we'd never get done!

33. God even used Henry the Eighth, and his love of women, to help break up the Catholic Church and give Protestantism a chance, with the powerful patronage of the British Empire; and flung that empire around the world‚ so that the sun never set on the British flag! Then God used that empire to spread the Gospel around the world‚ so the Son of His Love would never cease to set on the souls of men! He raised that System empire to be the most powerful on earth since the Romans, so they could become the world's greatest missionary vehicle, carrying God's Ambassadors into the darkest corners of the earth!

34. GOD CREATED THE SYSTEM FOR HIS USE‚ so His Children wouldn't have to be bothered with the little things like government, transportation, education, business, and earning a living! He has made the System His slave to set you free! So don't knock it!—Use it!—And thank God for it—even if you hate it!

35. YOU NEED IT! Even as the worldly inspirationalists—artists, writers, musicians, philosophers, scientists, and revolutionists—have all had to have their patrons, sponsors, and somebody to foot the bill to leave them free to do their work, so we today are no better than either the prophets or inspirationalists of the past. We still need the System to do our dirty work for us! And GOD STILL USES THE SYSTEM TO SAVE US THE TROUBLE OF GETTING INVOLVED IN ALL THE AFFAIRS OF THIS WORLD AND ITS GOODS, and to help to protect and provide for His Kingdom.

36. So don't knock it, brother! Use it! Just don't let it use you!

37. "And the Kingdom and Dominion, and the greatness of the Kingdom under the whole heaven‚ shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High‚ Whose Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and all Dominions shall serve and obey Him." Even Jesus is going to use the System when He comes! "... The kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever." "And the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it." "And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it." "And His servants shall serve Him ... and they shall reign for ever and ever!"—(Dan.7:27; Rev.11:15; 21:24,26; 22:3,5)

38. Meanwhile, let others do the reigning, while you enjoy the benefits; Your day is coming! So for now—Use it!—Don't Knock it!—At least, don't knock it so hard you knock it out!

39. Some of these damn, fool, so-called Christians, are so crazy they won't even use a piano in some of their so-called churches, just because the Devil uses pianos in his nightclubs! Don't be a stupid idiot!—If you stopped using everything the Devil uses, there wouldn't be anything left!

40. Don't knock it!—Use it! My mother even used a slot machine once to get us enough money for our dinner!

41. I'll take anything the Devil's got, if I can get it away from him—including you—and use it for the glory of God! Don't knock it!—Use it!—Just don't let it use you! You need it!

42. And believe it or not, the System needs you‚ as God only lets it exist for your benefit! It belongs to you—just don't belong to it! "All things are yours in Christ Jesus!" Use it!—Don't abuse it! "As using this world (System), but not abusing it!" "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. For rulers are not a terror to good works but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good."

43. GOD USES THE SYSTEM FOR YOUR BENEFIT! IT IS YOUR SERVANT‚ because it is His servant and serves His Purpose. Let it serve yours! Use it!—Don't knock it! It was made for your service—let it serve you!

44. THEY SAY WE ARE PARASITES, sponges, loafers, leeches on the body of society‚ unproductive dependents on their System‚ enjoying its protection and provision free of charge without earning it! Of course we are! THEY ARE OUR HOSTS AND EXIST FOR OUR BENEFIT, AND WITHOUT US‚ GOD WOULD DESTROY THEM! Don't be ashamed of this! Be thankful for it!

45. God created them for our benefit. They owe us their very existence to serve us with their support and their protection, and they should be thankful for it! They're working for us!—And may God bless them for it!—And He will! THEY THEMSELVES ARE ENJOYING HIS PROTECTION AND PROVISION FREE OF CHARGE, FOR OUR SAKES—AND THEY'D BETTER NEVER FORGET IT!—Or God will forget them! Don't you forget it, either! Don't knock it!—Use it! It's God's gift to us‚ His provision for our needs, His protection for our defense, created to serve us, not us for it—except in spiritual things.

46. IN THESE, WE ARE SERVANTS OF ALL! LET THEM MINISTER TO US OF THEIR CARNAL THINGS, AS WE MINISTER TO THEM SPIRITUALLY! This is what they pay their preacher for—and they don't call him those names!—although—we're in the same boat with him in this regard, for we're indeed His preachers! Use it!—Don't knock it!—But don't let the System tell you what to do like they have the Whore who has become the servant of the Beast!

47. Use it!—Don't knock it! Just don't let it use you!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family