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—By MariaMaria #156 DO 2770

1. From all that we've heard & read & even seen in the news, there is a lot of activity going on right now with different churches & Christian groups all over the World. At first glance, it could sort of look like System Christianity is really something‚ it appears to be alive & well & thriving! Big revivals & renewed interest in religion are taking place in the U.S.‚ Britain, Eastern Europe, Brazil, Africa, China & all over the place!

2. There are apparently so many religious broadcasts in the U.S. now‚ that our people there can turn on their TVs & find no end of sermons & programs on Endtime Prophecy‚ Revelation, Salvation—one thing right after the other! And they can walk down the street & find dozens of churches within walking distance, many of which are having all sorts of special programs, crusades & ministries etc.

3. Family Members who see all of this sort of thing may wonder about it, since Dad has blasted the churches so much for their do-nothing churchianity. Well, for one thing, this big revival of renewed activity among so many churches has happened just recently, it's only in the last few years that a lot of these church people have awakened out of their lethargy. I believe that part of the reason for it is because where "sin doth abound, grace doth much more abound."—Rom.5:20. The World has become so wicked, is getting so bad, the Devil has been having such a heyday, it has awakened a lot of the Christians from their lethargy & gotten them stirred up to at least do something for the Lord.

4. But despite all this renewed activity, all of the churches in the U.S. put together only have about 40‚000 fulltime foreign missionaries worldwide, & it seems the vast majority of these 40,000 do social work rather than evangelise! So few have chosen to make preaching the Gospel in all the World their career! So in proportion, we have many many more! For the entire U.S.‚ a country of 250 million people, to only have 40,000 fulltime foreign missionaries is quite shameful!—Especially when you consider that they're one of the richest countries on Earth, & are supposed to be the most Christian & missionary-minded.

5. But we have to be honest & admit that some of them are doing something now. It's a fact that there's renewed church activity all over the World now. One reason for that is because time is very short & the Lord has got to use everything & everyone that He can. Even if people are pretty much of a mess & they're not willing to really obey Him & do very much for Him, He will use whatever He can get. If those are the only kind of Christians He can get ahold of, He'll use them where they're at!

6. This is the End‚ & our little Family simply isn't enough to reach the whole World, He's got to use everybody, every Christian of whatever capacity or capability or persuasion or denomination or label He can get!—Anybody that will profess the Name of Jesus & do something in His Name.

7. These are rough, tough days of ever-increasing darkness we're living in & people are "waxing worse & worse, deceiving & being deceived."—2Tim.3:13. At least these churchy Christians have some Light! And as much as they're willing to let their Light shine, as much as they're willing to use whatever they have, then He's got to use that.—And so He is using that. But it's not enough! It's just a pittance, it's just such a small percentage of what they could & should be giving. But He's using it nevertheless.

8. So I think we need to be honest & say, "Yes, some of the Christians are doing something now, thank God!"—But we also need to point out how little it is & how lacking they are & also how most of them absolutely fail to relate to the rest of the World. The more we watch these religious videos that have been sent in for our approval, the more thankful we are for the Family, the more thankful we are for Dad, & the more we see how far from reality the church people are!

9. Of course, there are a few of them like tele–evangelist & former presidential candidate Pat Robertson who seem to know what's going on & manage to relate to the World's needs pretty well. But the majority of them just don't relate at all! Even Pat Robertson, as much as he personally preaches the Gospel & seems to know the Word, is very off track on some things. For example, he encourages people to invest in U.S. government stocks & bonds, of all things! And he promotes higher System education instead of making missionaries of his followers. At least he really does preach the Gospel of real Salvation, the Holy Spirit, healing & the Word, so the Lord blesses him for that.

Showing Our Kids the Difference

between the Churches & Us!

10. (Fam: From the few things I've seen, my feeling is that the church at its best is still much much worse off than the Family at its worst! A church systemite is a church systemite. "They draw nigh to Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And by their traditions they make the Word of God of none effect."—Mat. 15:6-9. Even when what they say sounds good, they never seem to have any lasting fruit to back it up. And I think our adults understand that‚ but I think maybe our kids might need more of an explanation.)

11. I wouldn't say that none of the church people are bearing any fruit now. For example, I think Pat Robertson has had a very good ministry & a lot of genuine Salvations. From what we've gathered, quite a few Christians are now trying to do something, whether its protesting & blockading the abortion clinics or helping the homeless or starting to witness. True‚ it's a very small percentage who are actually active, but they're making themselves seen & known.

12. But I agree with you that it's our young people who need to understand this the most. When they hear about people like Larry Lea who's really on fire, preaching on prayer & witnessing & winning people like Eric Pryor to the Lord (See Outlook #3), they may think that the churches' ministry is pretty wonderful.

Message to Any of Our Young People

Who Might Be Attracted to Church!

13. If any of our young people are overly impressed with what all of these other Christians are doing, my message to them would be, "Look, there is quite a bit of church activity nowadays, & there are a lot of different church ministries, & if you'd rather work with the churches who are fighting & demonstrating against abortion‚ or you'd rather work with the refugees, or you'd rather work with the migrant workers or who knows what, if you want to join those churchy groups, you can. But the thing is, you were born into this Family, & this is what God has called you to. Just the fact that you were born into the Family couldn't be any better proof that God wants you where you are.

14. "And though we may be small‚ we're a special, elite, highly honoured, privileged group who may not have much of the World's recognition or credit, but God has said wonderful things about us! And if you'll just hang on, if you'll stick to it, if you'll stay where you are & labour for the Lord where He has placed you, then He is going to do great things with you & for you, & He will reward you wonderfully!

15. "But if you forsake the `high calling of God in Christ Jesus' which He has given you by placing you in this Family (Phil.3:14), & you choose to go the route of the compromising churchy Christians, you'll probably have to get a System job, which will take up almost all of your time & energy, as is the case with almost all church Christians. They have to spend much more of their time slaving away at their System jobs than the little bit of time that they're able to spend doing anything for the Lord."

16. In some places, that's what you kids are going to encounter—a lot of church Christians & groups & programs, many of which will appear on the surface to be very active & on the attack! So I really think that this is something that we need to face‚ just like we've faced a lot of other things with you. We don't need to try to hide the facts from you, we'd much rather try to get any questions you may have & answer them. I think it's best to address this sort of thing with you.

17. You're probably going to be out witnessing DTD, for example, & you're going to be meeting lots of Christians who are going to be extolling all the virtues of their particular church or denomination, "Oh, I go to so-&–so church, & we're doing this & we're accomplishing that, & we just had a huge healing service & there were all kinds of miracles etc." Or you're going to open the newspaper & see big ads for church rallies & things like that.

More Examples of Recent Christian Activity!

18. We recently saw an article from Newsweek magazine all about prayer.—A lengthy story all about how people in the U.S. are turning to prayer now, & how 60% of the U.S. population supposedly prays once a day‚ something like that. It's an incredible number now! I wouldn't be so very sure that all that praying is to the right God, but nevertheless the Evangelicals & the Christians are really praying too, & it's a very big deal in the U.S. right now. It just seems to be rampant, people are turning back to the Lord.

19. Considering what horror stories we've heard & read about the U.S. in recent years, it's pretty hard to believe that article that 60% of Americans pray every day, but obviously there is quite a big serious awakening occurring. But in spite of this revival of faith in the U.S., the younger generation there still needs to be reached. As evidenced by different documentaries we've seen or reports we've read, the American youth are still lost in a world of drugs, alcohol‚ gangs etc., & even though many Americans are beginning to pray & turn back to the Lord, those kids probably don't find the revival of the church system too appealing.

20. (Fam: We recently saw a documentary that showed how there are now more Protestants in Brazil than Catholics, because the Protestants have been so aggressively witnessing in the jungles & the slums. So it's true, there is a lot more Christian Protestant activity everywhere. But I'm just wondering how much appeal that would have on any of our people. Maybe some of the kids, because they've only been told that churchianity is bad, might be tempted to try it, since they've never personally tasted it. But I think that as soon as they get just a bit of a taste of it, they'd be convinced that it's pretty sour & pretty dry-as-cracker-dust religion-wise!)

21. I don't think the churches & their ministries hold much appeal for our adults at all. And for our kids it probably won't have much appeal either‚ but it's one of those things that I think we should address, then it doesn't allow the Enemy to get any of his doubts in.

22. I just feel that after all that Dad has said against the church system for many years now, all that he has said about what they aren't doing, now that some of them are doing something‚ now that a few of them are active & showing themselves to be alive, we need to address it. We don't want our kids to doubt Dad & think, "How could Dad be saying this?—These Christians are doing something & a lot of it is good!" By addressing it, it will make them even more convinced that they're in the right place & that they're doing the right thing & that the church system just isn't where it's at!—In spite of how great some of it may be looking now.

23. (Fam: I think we could have our kids read, "Jesus People?—Or Revolution!" [ML #148] That would be a good pow-wow that could be pretty easily adapted, putting the modern Evangelical Movement of today in place of the Jesus People of yesterday. "But what is behind all that guise & long hair?"—Or in this case, the churches' somewhat radical stances against some things. It's still the same old lukewarm church!)

The Churches Still Refuse to Give All!

24. Yes, because let's face it, they're still not giving their whole lives, they're just giving a little. Well, the Lord will take what you give Him & He'll use whatever you give in whatever way you want to give it. But what the churches are giving is still too little & too late, & it's so sickening, really, because most of them are so wishy-washy & they're so selfish!

25. (Fam: I would venture to say that the appeal that such church groups might have to some of our kids would not so much be that those churches are doing more for the Lord than the Family is, but that these System Christians are supposedly serving the Lord & driving around in their own fancy cars at the same time.) Yes, our kids could get the idea from them that‚ "You can serve the Lord without having to give up everything & forsake all. Look, we're serving the Lord, & we don't have to work at it nearly as hard as you do! You don't have to go out witnessing all the time! And you don't have to live under all those rules. You can have your own little house & your own little private family & you can do your own little thing.—Just like we do! And you can still accomplish something for the Lord!" Of course, they don't tell you how difficult it is to be a slave to a fulltime System job or education. And even if they wanted to, they wouldn't have time to serve the Lord fulltime.

26. Even though some of these churchy Christians are finally starting to wake up & do something for the Lord‚ when you consider how many of them there are, the millions upon millions of church members there are, then you begin to realise that the vast majority of them are still doing nothing!—And that everything Dad has said about the churchianity system is as true today as it ever was!

27. But as the World continues to wax worse & worse, & the days continue to become more & more evil, & the Enemy's activities continue to increase ever more openly & blatantly, as "sin doth abound‚ grace doth much more abound‚" & more & more Christians are waking up & starting to actively do something for the Lord.—And thank the Lord for that!

28. Of course, most of them certainly aren't forsaking all or giving their lives to preach the Gospel & reach others fulltime. But at least some of them are now starting to do something, which is a lot better than what most of them have been doing, which is nothing! And because of their sheer numbers, their activities—whether protesting & fighting the abortion clinics, helping the homeless, passing out tracts, tele-evangelism, holding prayer rallies, or whatever—are starting to have some impact & effect on the World.—And you're probably going to either see or hear about them.

The Churches' Collective Results‚

& Our Per Capita Results!

29. We've been trying to keep somewhat in touch with any major Christian news from the U.S. because America is the pace-setter for the rest of the World, not only in political matters, but in religious matters as well. In fact, in varying degrees, the U.S. still leads the way in many areas of life: Political, religious, economic, social etc.

30. We've been able to have the Family in different countries send us various magazines & newsletters etc. to help us better gauge what is happening in the Christian world right now. We've also been able to get ahold of a couple of fairly comprehensive reference books of religious activities in the World in general.—Of course‚ we're not recommending that anyone else get books like that, it's just that we felt a specific need to try to keep somewhat in touch with what's going on in the religious world, & these books provide a lot of interesting information on evangelical Christian activity today.

31. And according to all these sources, there's been a big increase in conversions & in television evangelism & in outright service for the Lord. Of course, just one television evangelist can reach millions worldwide, & win thousands upon thousands of souls! Just one television evangelist can reach an incredible amount of people, & there are a lot of them!—And as far as those we're familiar with, they seem to be pretty good fundamentalist, evangelical preachers who really do preach the Gospel.

32. Dad has often said that our Family is accomplishing more than any other religious group in the whole World, & that's absolutely true! Dad has also made it clear that the way we're accomplishing more than anyone else in the whole World is per capita. Per person we're accomplishing more than other Christians. And as an organisation, we're certainly doing more than any other organisation in the World of our size.

33. But if you would take all the rest of the Christians in the World, all of the millions upon millions of them together, of course they can't help but be doing more collectively than we, as a very small organisation, are doing. We are just a tiny little group in comparison to all of them, almost like the "voice of one crying in the wilderness." (Mat.3:3)—But thank the Lord, the World has heard our voice‚ & the voice of the Lord through our Message! And they will continue to hear it even more loudly as time goes on.—If we are faithful to fulfil the commission the Lord has given us! Praise the Lord! But when you consider that just one popular TV evangelist can reach millions & millions of people throughout the World with their broadcasts, when it comes to reaching & winning souls, I would say that we can't even question or quibble over the fact that collectively the rest of the Christians today are winning more people to the Lord & accomplishing more than we‚ as a very small organisation, could possibly do!

Big Differences Between

Our Ministry & the Church's!

34. However, our ministry is much different than the ministry of the rest of the Christians. No matter how much some of them may be doing, the Lord has given us a very special ministry of preaching the Endtime Message & of showing the World the wonders of the World to come in the Lord's Heavenly Kingdom on Earth! In fact, the Lord specifically told Dad that He had reserved that ministry for us! (ML #1578:13,14.)

35. Of course, we have a great advantage over all of the other Christians because God has blessed us with a Prophet, His man who gets fresh messages & leadings & revelations from the Lord for us today! We've got the Words of David to feed on & be strengthened by, & to pass on to the World, giving them God's views on all kinds of subjects, & warning them of the coming judgments of God, as well as to prepare them for & inspire them with the wonders & beauties of Heaven!

36. Although most of these other Christians believe that Jesus is coming soon‚ their idea of "soon" is subject to quite a bit of interpretation! Some of them think 20 years, some 30 years, some think much later than that. They don't seem to put it anywhere near as close as we do, neither do they act like it's anywhere near as close as we act, neither do they push it like we do! Some of them believe it‚ but that's not their main message by any means. And most of them certainly don't live as if they expect the Lord to come back soon!

37. Our Message is not only about the Endtime, that Jesus is coming back soon, but our Message is also one of practice & of sample. Our sample is our Message in some ways. There are very few other Christians in the World who are living together communally & trying to obey & forsake all, have "all things in common."—Very very few people. I don't know of any who do it the way we do! I know that there are isolated people here & there who try it, but I don't know of any other entire group or organisation that does that.

38. The Hutterites are a religious group who live together in their own communities, & they have a modified form of "all things common," but they still have their own individual homes, although they eat together in a communal dining room, etc. But they don't use their communal living as a means to the end of preaching the Gospel like we do. In fact‚ they don't really do any preaching of the Gospel to outsiders, they hardly ever leave their farms, much less go into all the World like we do!

39. There are also a few missionary organisations such as New Tribes Mission who try to live by faith & live communally in some ways, but they don't really live communally in every way. We saw a documentary about them once, & it showed that they lived together, but they didn't really share & have all things in common. They just couldn't!

40. Their message is, "We want to reach the tribes of the Earth." So because of that motivation, they get together & try to do the job living together. But because living together communally & sharing all things in common is not one of their foundations, they flub! They just can't make it because it takes too much unselfishness & giving up their independence. After so many long years of doing their own thing‚ being independent & going their own way, to bring all these people together & expect them to share & to live together like we do is almost impossible, they just can't! It's very difficult for them.

41. Even in years past, when different missionaries tried to band together & live communally on the mission field for the sake of winning the lost, there was usually such serious dissension & disunity among them that their efforts were thwarted. (See "Great Men & Women of God," Part One, page 17-19 about William Carey & the Serampore mission station.—Coming soon!)

42. Some missionary organisations have tried communal living in their small way, but it's not one of their main foundations & they don't emphasise it very much, & therefore it's too difficult for them to put it into practice.—And as a result, even their missionary work itself often crumbles & fails.

43. New Tribes Mission for years has been known to be a real faith mission, & they've gone into all the World—to the boonies, of course. A lot of them are translators & they've gone to the very primitive tribes—as their name implies—& they have reached a lot of people. So praise the Lord, there are small organisations that are trying to do it.—But not as a sample, not living together & raising their children together to be a sample & to live like the Disciples lived & to follow the Book of Acts. They do it merely for convenience, because they're forced to live together in their work to reach the tribes. But they don't really like it & they don't really live together as one family, even when several of their families have to occupy the same house or building.

44. Another major difference between us & almost all the other Christian groups & missionaries is the way we train our children. Churchy missionaries frequently use the need to teach‚ train & care for their children as an excuse to neglect or abandon their mission fields & the calling the Lord has given them to witness to & win others. Whereas we don't look on our children as a liability to our ministering to others, but as a tremendous asset! Our children play a very important part in our ministry & in our witnessing, probably more than the children of any other religion, any other group in the World!

45. So I would say those are a few of the main differences in our ministry: Our emphasis on the Endtime Message, our preaching & showing the World about Heaven, & our sample of fulltime forsake-all service & Acts 2:44 & 45 communal living, which is something that hardly any other Christians do. I think those are some of the main things that make us different from the majority of other Christians.

46. Of course, another very major difference between us & almost all of the other Christians is that we operate & flourish completely outside of the Church System.—And this is undoubtedly one of the main reasons that the Lord raised us up in the first place. Our very existence is a strong witness to the World that the Church System just isn't necessary! We have proven that loving Jesus & living for the Lord does not have to be equated with being churchy & bound to the church system & all of its traditions & so much that is shallow & hypocritical. We show the World that people can live for Jesus outside of the church system.

47. Another notable difference between us & the churches is our simplicity. Dad has always taught us to put the "doorknob" down low enough that the simplest babe in Christ can understand the Message of God's Love & Salvation. This simplicity is reflected in our Posters & Letters, our personal witnessing, our songs, & in just about everything we do!

48. And speaking of our songs, we are probably the most musical bunch of missionaries there ever was! As a group, I'm sure we actively use more music outside of Homes & churches on the streets & in the parks & wherever we can witness than any other church or denomination! And we probably have a higher percentage of people who play guitar & sing & use music in their ministry than any religious organisation in the World! PTL!

Family Members Faced with

So Much Christian Activity!

49. Dad's absolutely right when he said we've done more than any other religious organisation.—We have, per person. And even as a small organisation, number for number‚ we've done more than any other organisation of our size in the World. So I think it's good to make this clear, because I have a feeling that a lot of our TRF Supporters—& even our DO Members in the U.S.—are going to be faced with this.

50. They may see Christian preachers on TV, & some of them are impressive! Several years ago we had frequent opportunity to watch various TV evangelists from the U.S. such as Pat Robertson & his "700 Club," Jimmy Bakker's "PTL Club" & others. God bless them, some of them are real men of God & they're preaching the Gospel. They're trying to get people saved. So God bless the good & sincere preachers who are really doing something to win others to Jesus.

51. The problem is that most of their followers & congregations could certainly be doing a whole lot more for the Lord. The majority of them are only too happy to pay the preachers to do all the preaching for them, so they don't have to personally witness or try to win others themselves. And the preachers promote this. Like Dad has often said, most church pastors don't believe in "Go ye," but "Pay me!"—Pay the preacher to do the witnessing for the whole congregation!

52. Also, it's too bad most of these preachers & evangelists concentrate so much on their own country. Think of all the evangelists that are reaching the same people over & over & over, when there are all the unreached in the rest of the World that they could be concentrating on!

53. The U.S. is Gospel-glutted, that's for sure, & that's where their main ministry is. It's too bad they don't work more elsewhere!

54. In the last 20 years since we left the U.S.‚ it seems like the Gospel ministries & the Christians have just grown by leaps & bounds! I'm sure it's because "where sin doth abound, grace doth much more abound!" It's the Endtime & the Lord has finally been able to wake some of those people up & they're trying to do something for the Lord. Even though they aren't going into all the World, they are at least trying to do something.—On the abortion issue‚ the homosexual issue, promoting home schooling, helping the homeless, even sticking up for the illegal refugees, all kinds of causes that they're getting active in & really trying to do something about, much more than they did before. There's almost no comparison!

55. But I think that when our people in the U.S. see all of that‚ they could be completely flabbergasted! In the years they were on the field, some of them never saw other active Christians, they've never even seen somebody outside the Family pray for someone to be saved!—And then they go back to the U.S. or England & it might seem like it's all over the place, on TV & radio & in seminars & evangelistic crusades & healing ministries, all over! So they could think, "Boy, look at this! Dad's been telling us all this time how we're doing the greatest work in the World & nobody else is doing anything, but look at all these people!"

56. So I can see how that question could come up. Apparently there are scores of television evangelists, & some Family Members could just be flabbergasted by all of that religion!—And apparently good religion, good evangelical preaching & instruction & healing ministries & casting out demons!

The Key to "Fruit that Remains"

& Winning Disciples: Forsaking All!

57. I've even been impressed with some of the Christian authors & writers & articles & books that we've been researching. A lot of them really have the right message & it's sometimes sort of made me feel like, "Wow, the Lord's speaking to them too!" I'm impressed by Pat Robertson, I'm impressed by Billy Graham. But the problem with them is that even though the Lord speaks to them & tells them the right things & they may preach it, they haven't really persuaded very many other people to follow them to do the same things & to really commit their lives to fulltime service for the Lord.

58. I think one of their problems is that they just don't think it's anybody else's job to win souls. They seem to have somehow gotten the idea that only the big preachers like themselves have that commission, & no one else does. They don't at all seem to promote or preach that others should be active fulltime soul-winners. They might promote a little soul-winning on the side, if you can manage to fit it into or around your normal System job, but they sure don't encourage others to make soul-winning & witnessing their fulltime job! Many of them even have universities where they promote "higher education" & years & years of secular study & learning, with the Bible & witnessing only included in their curriculum as a sideline.

59. So even though a lot of their teachings are good & right, many of them preach the right thing‚ teach the right thing, but they're just one voice & they haven't borne fruit, "fruit that remains" (Jn.15:16), probably because they haven't really been willing to forsake all & fully live it themselves, or put the right emphasis on winning souls, & challenging & teaching others to win souls & to give up all else to lead others to salvation.

60. So that's certainly another major difference between us & the majority of other Christians; most of them have System jobs & believe it's perfectly all right to spend most of their time & strength toiling away for Mammon, whereas we feel that "No man can serve two masters; ye cannot serve God & Mammon!"—Mat.6:24. We believe that, for the most part, we can be more effective in our work for the Lord if we don't get tied down with System jobs; although in very rare cases, a System job could be our work for the Lord, if we were able to witness fully & freely‚ winning souls & disciples.

61. It seems that this is a fundamental step that people have to take before they can really be following Him as genuine disciples who are able to inspire & challenge others to be disciples too. But the Lord's willing to take people where they're at & use them as much as He can, & some of them get good things on prayer & on faith & on love & on healing & so many things—even the state of the World & the signs of the End‚ etc. They have good godly things to say, so God bless them for what they are doing. I don't think their route of service is as good as ours by any means, & it certainly isn't having the effect ours is having, & it isn't going as far as ours is going, & it usually isn't as simple as ours is, but thank the Lord that some of them are doing something!

Letter from Mama's Niece in the U.S.

62. My niece just wrote us from the U.S. & said, "I went to a Gospel seminar in the East, & some people let us stay in their house during the week we were there. They were so good to us & so kind & hospitable. In fact, all the people we met there were so wonderful. People who know the Lord here are so loving!

63. "I was so blessed at the seminar & learned so much. There were many different speakers, & boy, they were powerful & on fire! They told many stories about healing people through the power of Jesus & taking authority over devils & casting them out. There were stories about deaf ears getting healed‚ people getting healed of cancer, & one man even got healed of AIDS!

64. "It's amazing how they worship the Lord with all their hearts. We went to Teen Challenge a couple of months back & there they even dance before the Lord or run up & down the aisles! During this seminar when the people would get prayed for, they would fall down `slain in the Spirit!' It's an amazing thing to watch. It's wonderful to hear & see the power of God in action.

65. "Then about a month or two ago I went to visit a big Bible college. This school has mostly young people‚ but some older people & many foreign students, & they periodically send their students out on missionary trips. It was a very interesting experience visiting this place.—Being in an auditorium where a thousand or two thousand people are all worshipping & singing to the Lord at the same time, sometimes dancing & jumping up & down!—And to meet so many young people who love the Lord & are dedicated. I also visited another smaller Bible School‚ Norvel Hayes Bible School. They send out even more missionaries & have homes for unwed mothers or battered women or backslidden preachers etc. Norvel Hayes is doing a wonderful work‚ God bless him! I got to see him.

66. "Remember T. L. Osborn? Well, he's still going strong. He is such a man of faith. He has prayed for & the Lord has healed thousands of people through him.—Many blind people etc. He goes to Africa & different places around the World & makes such a testimony that Christ is real! When people have heard him preach they have seen big visions of Jesus in the sky by cloud formations or such things!"

67. I think maybe my niece's attitude could be representative of the way some of our Family's attitude could be if they come into the same kind of contact. They could be very impressed with all that religion. But the bottom line is, although there are thousands of kids in these Bible Colleges, & sure, they're sending out some missionaries, where are they? What are they doing? Why haven't we seen them in all the rest of the World? We've seen a few missionaries here & there, & most of them have been our enemies—like the Assemblies of God & the Alliance in Thailand—but what are they really accomplishing? We sure don't see much. Why don't we run into them more? Why don't we see their results more if they're so strong on going into all the World? Some of them seem to spend so much time fighting us that they couldn't possibly have much time left for winning souls!

68. Just as Dad has always said, not very many of these dear Bible College students ever make it to the mission field! They usually get married & they settle down into a nice comfortable church in the U.S. That's what happens to the vast majority of them.—Only a measly 2% of Bible College students ever make it to the mission field!—2%!

Uncommitted Part–Time Christians!

69. So all these signs & wonders really excite people like my dear niece, & thrill them & make them sit up & take notice & think‚ "Wow, they really are doing something for the Lord! They're really on fire! These church people all have so much love, they let us stay in their homes & they're all so sweet & so filled with the Spirit!" Well, as long as they can live in their own nice little homes & attend their church services & be thrilled with the ecstacies of the miracles & the tingling of the Holy Spirit & the vibrations as they praise the Lord, being fed with all these spiritual highs & even maybe doing a few miracles themselves, they're very loving.

70. But when their religion is put to the test of really serving Jesus, of really doing something for the Lord & leaving all that luxury & forsaking their fancy homes & their jobs & their selfish lives, going out on the street every day, even in the U.S., let alone foreign mission fields, & winning people to the Lord & just concentrating on getting people saved, I don't know, I think they might have a different reaction & you might not see quite so much love & peace & everybody being so wonderful!

71. What are they accomplishing by sitting in those meetings & getting their own souls fed? They're not really going out & doing the job that Jesus said to do, it still comes down to that. Because while there may be a lot of Christian activity going on in the U.S., most of it is being done by just a few individuals via television, or a few healing evangelists. If you would add up all the Christians in the U.S. by number, & then you would take from that the number of people who are really serving the Lord fulltime & really accomplishing something for the Lord, the number would be very infinitesimal, very very small compared to all the Christians who claim to be saved.

72. So actually, while they're getting a lot of people saved through these Christian ministries‚ there are very few people who are actually doing what Jesus said to do! Because of the miracles of TV & radio, it's all out of proportion & one person can win thousands, millions!—And that's what makes it look so big.

73. Of course, there are also quite a few little groups that are trying to witness a little & trying to do something nowadays, & there is a lot of Christian activity, but it's very partial‚ it's very part-time on the part of most of the people who are Christians. In fact‚ if they do any kind of soul-winning or Christian witness or service at all, it's usually very small compared to what they spend most of their time doing! They only give a very small part of their time to the Lord & His Work. Almost all of them have secular jobs & support their family, although a few of them do try to witness & do some active Christian work on the side.

74. In the meantime, their kids are in System school being absolutely polluted, perverted, corrupted & contaminated! So one of their main ministries, their children—which is why the Lord gave them kids—is being neglected & they're letting them go down the drain while they pursue their secular careers & do a little here & there!

75. Of course, a lot of the Christians have just recently waked up enough to see what absolute horrors are going on in the public schools, & are now trying to undo the damage that has been done, by putting their kids in Christian schools. But the problem is that in many cases the Christian schools are barely better than the public schools. And since the kids in many cases have already been absolutely polluted & contaminated by the public schools‚ to simply transfer them from one situation to another usually isn't enough to solve the problem. Besides, many Christian schools are often Christian in name only, or with only a small token Bible reading & prayer etc. So their kids still turn out to be a wreck!

Don't Get Discouraged or Jealous

about Other Christians' Ministries!

76. So I think some of our people could possibly be a little overwhelmed by all that talk of religion & all that religious activity. But we don't have to feel inferior or feel like, "Oh, we're not doing very much compared to all of this! Dad never told us about all this!" Like I said, most of these active Christians weren't doing what they're doing now until just a few years ago, to where it's really gotten big.

77. It's only natural to be somewhat impressed when you see or hear about a great healing campaign or you see someone getting a large group of Christians together & on fire‚ doing something for the Lord, especially if they're really fighting for the right, like those Christians who are fighting for the unborn babies etc. In a way, it's a good thing to be impressed like that‚ but on the other hand, it's not good to be so impressed that you let yourself get discouraged & think, "Oh, they must be doing more than we are, look at all the people who are getting healed or hearing the Gospel from their ministry!"

78. If you don't put it all in context, what some of the churches are doing now can look pretty impressive sometimes, & actually be impressive. I'm not just talking about the churchy Christians who do nothing but sit around in their fancy church buildings.—No one in the Family is going to be impressed by that.

79. But some of those church Christians are now going out of their buildings & they have enough conviction to risk going to prison by protesting in front of abortion clinics & standing up for their faith. In fact, some of them have gone to jail time after time. That's daring‚ that's exciting, that's really risking your life for the Lord‚ & I'd say most of those people must really be on fire, they've really got some gumption & some guts, they must really love the Lord to be willing to do that!

80. I think we should just thank the Lord that some of the churches are beginning to wake up! Remember, it's the Endtime, & where sin doth abound‚ grace is also abounding, which is why there are real revivals going on in a lot of different countries right now, & a lot of people are really coming to know the Lord. We shouldn't belittle or demean that, but neither should we be jealous of it or get discouraged about it.

Our Special Calling & Unique Ministry!

81. If you are ever tempted to feel down or discouraged because some of these System Christians' ministries seem more accepted or popular, & they seem to be accomplishing so much‚ then you need to remember that we've been called unto a very special ministry, & we're following the exceptional calling that the Lord has given us.—The "high calling of God in Christ Jesus" for you & me to be a part of this Family! We have a wonderful work for the Lord to do, & we should be happy & thankful for what He has given us. I'm sure it would encourage you to read over some of the wonderful things the Lord has said about us & how He regards us very highly, as a privileged & honoured army of Endtime soldiers for Him. We have a very special place, close to His heart. (See "We Are It!" #2222, DB8, & "Our Family" in the MOP.)

82. For example‚ our ministry with the Posters—especially our Endtime Posters & our Heaven Posters—has been a very special & unique one & has reached millions & millions of people & influenced the World in ways which we will never know in this life.—And I'm sure has influenced top officials & top World policy!—And I think we should continue the unique ministry the Lord has given us of presenting the Endtime Message to people!—As well as the wonderful Message He has given us about the World to come!

83. Our Acts 2:44 & 45 sample in our Homes is another very unique part of our work & ministry, & is something that we're way ahead of any of the other Christians in. It's difficult! But we're all learning to help one another & to love each other & live together unselfishly. Whereas most of those other poor Christians would never even think of living & cooperating with others like we do!

84. We're even learning to handle our kids on our own. In fact, we're becoming experts & specialists in childcare! Virtually all of our adults are involved in training our kids because most of our Homes pretty much revolve around our children!—From the tiny tots clear up to the Teens & young adults. We're all learning to teach & train & communicate & relate to our children, helping them to grow up in a loving, secure & Godly atmosphere.

Communal Living & Sharing: The Real Test!

85. Most of the churchy Christians are living selfishly, trying to perfect themselves! If they're typically "good" Christians, most of their supposed religious service is spent in trying to make themselves perfect, trying to become more "holy" & loving & to have more of the fruits of the Spirit. But I'll tell you what would really test their religion is if they had to move in with four or five or six other families & live together, share everything together‚ & then we'd see how many fruits of the Spirit they have! That is the real test when you're thrown in with people from different backgrounds & cultures with different likes & dislikes, with different habits, different languages, & all kinds of ages, shapes & sizes! Everything's different!

86. You have to all live together, you have to all conform to an army-type of lifestyle in order to cooperate to reach the lost & to be a living & loving sample that the Lord's Love works!—To show that He can really unify people & give them love & harmony & true peace & cooperation together. You also have to all yield to the Home's leadership. Talk about making your religion work, that is the thing that tests you the most: Letting other people discipline your kids, trying to straighten out misunderstandings that come up every day, trying to work together in every area, & counsel on every decision together! If you'd put those Christians together like that‚ they couldn't stand it! Not only are they not used to it‚ most wouldn't ever want to get used to it!

87. So ours is a unique ministry & preparation for what the Lord is trying to get us ready for. Maybe you'd consider it "perfecting ourselves" too, with all our emphasis on NWOs & all, & in a way, I suppose it is, but we're doing it for a real purpose—to be more effective in our witness! We're doing it to show the World that God's Plan of loving cooperation as outlined in the Book of Acts still works! And we're also doing it so we can be a more effective & economical team that can get out there & win souls & spend our full time on the job the Lord's given us.—Not just to tickle our spiritual pride. (Fam: Plus we're getting prepared for the Tribulation & living by faith when there won't be any alternatives & there won't be any church you can go to, like Dad talked about in the "Endtime Whispering Vision."—ML#334.) Right, & we're preparing for the Millennium too, for teaching others & helping them to live together in love.

88. It's hard for us, & we've been at it for years! Every day is a fight! But if you'd put those System Christians together in a communal home‚ they'd go nuts! They'd go crazy! They just couldn't do it! It takes a long time just to learn the basics of cooperation & getting along with others, & that's one reason it's been much easier for us, because we've learned it from our teen years. Some of us adults have learned it from the time we were 16‚ 17 & 18 years old! Not only did our older people start when they were teens, but our children have grown up with it in the Family. But if you'd try to put those adult Christians into something like this, they couldn't handle it!

89. (Fam: We've had a few older people join us for awhile, & as much as they're well-intentioned, most of them just couldn't keep up with it, especially if they joined in their 30's or older.) Oh yes, it's very difficult! I'm not saying nobody could do it‚ there's a real man or woman of faith here or there who does make it, but for the most part it would be unthinkable to people who have spent so much time on their own in the System. Just think of all the things that the System couldn't take about our communal living!—Like sharing the same bathrooms with each other or having to eat the same foods‚ foods they may not even like! There's hardly anything they can take!

90. They're very independent, & we are very much the opposite!—Very dependent on each other! We're regimented, like an army!—And hardly anybody likes the army, they always want to get out of it! There are a few career soldiers, of course, & I guess we're like the career soldiers in the army who don't mind the regimentation. But see, we've learned it, most of us have been molded that way since we were teens, since we were young.

91. But when you get as old as we are now, we would have a very hard time adapting to it if it was brand new to us! It was hard enough when we joined, but if you start taking in 40 & 50–year-olds, they're going to have a really tough time!—Having to live the rest of their lives without a bank account or insurance policy or credit card, or in many cases, even a driver's license! My oh my! God bless those who have joined us when they were older, who have "endured hardness" & stuck it out with us for years & years! Dad & I are really proud of them, & I'm sure the Lord is too! I think they deserve special credit, amen?

We Are Unique!—God's Special Endtime Army!

92. So we have a very unique job to do & a unique ministry, & we shouldn't feel like we're inferior after we find out about all the Christian activity going on in the U.S. & some of those other countries. We shouldn't feel like, "Boy, here we were under this illusion all the time that we were so great!" Well, we are so great, & we are doing something! We are God's special Endtime Army!

93. But there are simply not enough of us that He could possibly work just with us, He has to have lots of others! He has to raise up others too to win the World in this Last Time when things are getting so evil! He has millions of other people & He's gotta use them too to some extent, as much as He can, as much as they will allow themselves to be used. So we should just be thankful that they're doing the job that they're doing, & not be jealous of them.—And thank the Lord for the job we have & the ministry He's given us! PTL!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family