GN618

Maria #253 DO 2970 1/95

Introduction from Mama:

1. Dear Family, all of you, I'm sure, have been watching on TV the aftermath of the Kobe earthquake in Japan. The best commentary on events like these can be found in Dad's Letter, "Why Disasters?" (ML #959.) (Note: See also ML #2318:8-20 on "Unnatural Disasters," and the Cat Book section on "Catastrophes and Disasters," which contains many good quotes from other Letters.)

2. In addition, when the Japan Family prayed about what their response to this disaster should be, the Lord gave them many beautiful answers in direct prophecy which we would like to share with you below.

3. These prophecies bring out the principles that the Lord wants us to follow in ministering to folks who have been devastated by disasters, so these not only apply to the Japanese earthquake, but will apply to other crisis situations as well.—Of course, some apply more than others, as in others there may be more physical help available from other relief workers‚ therefore more opportunity for our folks to minister more spiritually and more freely and more openly. But for the most part we have to win their hearts through their bodies, and these prophecies bring this out very very well.

4. The most striking point in these prophecies—at least to me—was how the Lord views these precious people and how His heart is so broken for them, how He is weeping for them in the halls of Heaven because they have no hope and no answers. They have nothing left—their loved ones are gone and their dreams are shattered—and the Lord in His great love reaches out to these dear folks who are so precious to Him.

5. He says, "They mean the world to Me—every one of them. They are the reason that I died, the reason that I came and gave My life. I cannot bear to see one of them lost‚ to see one of them miss the eternal reward." He is pleading with us to be His hands and His feet, to "walk in love," and by our love help them to see that we are His disciples. "By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:35). Love is the key to their hearts, love is the key to our fruitfulness. Our love is what He is pleading for. He has given us everything!—Can we not share a little of it with others who have nothing?

Prophecies:

6. Weep with those that weep. I was hungry and you came unto Me with food. I was thirsty and you came unto Me with drink. I was naked and you clothed Me. I was sick and wounded and you visited Me. This is the love that I have bestowed upon My children through My Word. Your mission is to comfort and to bring salvation and to bring the love of God in living form to these that have no hope.

7. For there is a great need and you must follow Me into this catastrophe to find the souls that I have waiting and have prepared for salvation. But you must go with great compassion and you must have a great empathy for these who are suffering, and know that they have no other hope but Me. And I have prepared them‚ so be not afraid‚ but walk in love and ye shall save many.

8. If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, "Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled," notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body, what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Withhold not good from them to whom it is due‚ when it is in the power of thine hand to give it. Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down‚ shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

9. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me. For many shall come in that day and say unto Me, "Lord, when saw we Thee naked and clothed Thee? When saw we Thee hungry and fed Thee? When wast Thou sick or imprisoned or lonely and we did bring Thee comfort?" And I shall say unto them, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me."

10. For it may well be that those who seem the least in your sight may be the very greatest in My eyes. It may be that these whom ye think not much of‚ are very highly esteemed in My regard. It may be that these are the ones that I dearly love. It may be that at this very moment I weep for their souls, that I cry tears for them in the halls of Heaven, for their lonely broken hearts which ache without Me‚ for those who cry in their despair, who see their loved ones perish before their eyes and know not what to do. They have no answers, they have no hope, they have nothing to look forward to, they have no future. Everything that they dreamed of, that they planned and that they built their lives on is lost. They have seen it all fall before their eyes in great destruction. They are desperate, and they are broken for Me.

11. Can you not see that My heart breaks for them? How can your heart remain intact when My heart is broken? How can you not cry tears for them? How can you not give your all to help them? Even if you cannot go in body, your prayers can go. Your thoughts and your hearts and your spirits can help these precious ones who are so very special in My sight. They mean the world to Me—every one of them. They are the reason that I died, the reason that I came and gave My life. I cannot bear to see one of them lost‚ to see one of them miss the eternal reward.

12. And this is why I have chosen you as My ambassadors to go and search for My sheep and seek them out‚ to bring them into the folds of David. It may be that there are some who will follow you from this experience. It may be that your crowns of righteousness shall be doubled with the souls that ye shall win through this experience. It may be that this shall be a joyful and a fulfilling and a challenging time for each of you, as you give your own life for those that are in need; for as you give of yourselves, ye shall find much joy and happiness and fulfillment.

13. Though ye may not have the things that you need for your body, yet your soul shall be full to overflowing as you see these ones begin to respond, as you see the light slowly come back into their eyes, as you wipe away their tears and slowly they begin to smile as the hope of Heaven is born in their hearts. So shall My joy be born again in you, and My love will fill your hearts so that ye shall overflow plentifully onto them.

14. I will supply all your needs according to My riches in glory. You have but to ask and I will give it to you. This is My special commission, My special calling‚ and I will give you whatever you need to do the job. Only ask and ye shall more than receive. I have ready at My command to give you whatever you desire, whatever you request. Ye are My royal ambassadors whom I send to this mission, and I will treat you royally. Only give your lives and I will give you everything you need.

15. And I sought for a man among them who should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before Me. Who shall go for Me and who shall I send? Say not that I am a child. I shall be with thy mouth and thou shalt go unto all that I send thee unto.

16. By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another. For how can you say that you love God whom ye have not seen‚ if ye love not your brothers, whom you have seen? Ye have seen them daily on the television, ye have seen the pictures over and over in your minds.—The pictures of destruction, the pictures of those who are in distress. Can ye not weep with them? Can ye not feel their cold, taste their hunger, feel the brokenness of life that they have felt?

17. This nation that was once strong and boasted of itself has been brought low. And now in their time of distress, if ye will but open your arms, they will come running. All you have to do is open your arms and shout, "Here is the Lord!" and they will come unto you.

18. Let not your light be hid under a bushel, let it shine forth, let it be put on a candlestick. And this whole nation shall see that "These are the ones that they persecuted, these are the ones that they slandered, and these are the ones that we need. These are the ones who have the answers to our problems‚ these are the ones with true love. For they had it beside them and they gave it freely‚ to their own hurt."

19. As ye give, I will give, and there shall be a great pouring forth, both of the physical and of the abundant spiritual life that ye partake of daily within your camps. Ye feed and are fed, and now is the time to give it‚ to scatter it forth, and behold, ye shall watch it increase. Your spirit shall come back to you in the lives and in the smiles and in the happy, joyful, singing hearts of those whom ye have touched with one simple smile, one word of encouragement, one ray of hope that perhaps there may be something to this life, there may be something worth living for, something that shall not be destroyed by the next aftershock‚ something that will live on past the next earthquake, the next disaster.

20. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth. And the world is afire! The nation of Japan is on fire! Ye have the water of My Word that can both quench and slake their thirst and put out the fire of wickedness, and ye shall pour it forth.

21. Behold, did I not say in the last days perilous times shall come, and that I would be with you to deliver you? Now are those perilous times come, and not only shall ye be delivered, but ye shall deliver, ye shall be the deliverers of many into My spiritual kingdom.

22. Are there any of you who, having a hundred sheep and finding that one is lost, will not leave the ninety and nine and go after that one which is lost, and hurt yourselves that the other may live? Ye shall carry him home in your bosom and suckle him and comfort him. Before you scold him you will comfort him, for ye go to rescue, not to preach.

23. My love shall be upon you and all men shall see it, for ye shall go where there is no hope‚ in a place where despair covers the land. And ye shall be a tiny light in the midst of darkness. My Spirit shall go with you and shall overflow out of your mouths. And though you be not great with words, I will be with you as I was with Moses. For love is the most important thing. If they feel that you care, no matter whether they be rich or poor, this is a true accomplishment. As My children, ye are to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

Verses and Visions:

24. I got the verse, "For the son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).

25. Also, I was reminded of Grandpa's Letter about reaching the Japanese—how we should not be trying to change their religion‚ but just introducing them to Jesus as their best friend, the One who can help them during this time of need. (See "Give'm Jesus," ML #2401.) I felt the important message would be to tell them about Jesus and that He can comfort them in their sorrow, He can help them rebuild their city, He can give them strength to go through this incredible trial, and His Spirit in them will encourage and lift their hearts‚ enlighten their paths and show them how to do it.

26. It came to me how in times of disaster the government has reserves, like survival food, and they pass it out, and that the Lord has prepared our Homes as spiritual relief reserves. We have so much‚ and when a disaster like this hits we can take from our spiritual reserves of comfort and love that has been poured into us, and we can go and give that out. I also got the impression that we shouldn't go into this thinking about improving our public relations or trying to vindicate our name, or thinking about how many disciples we're going to get out of it. We need to go because of the love in our hearts for the sheep, and then we will be able to speak sincerely and our true motives will come out in all of our actions.

27. I was wondering why this disaster happened in Kobe, since we'd heard Kobe is such a sheepy town. Then during the prayer the Lord gave me the feeling that it's because He really loves the Japanese there. A father really loves his children, but sometimes he has to give them chastisement, even though it's hard. The Lord wants their hearts, so we have to understand God's love for them and not judge them, but love them with the Lord's love. The Lord wants to show His love through this, and we need to cooperate with His plan so that the purpose of this disaster can be accomplished.

28. I got the quote, "The only Bible that most people can read is the one that's bound in shoe leather." The Japanese have heard a lot of negative publicity about the Family, but this is an opportunity for us to go and be a help and a comfort to the people, and the nation will have a chance through this to see the Lord's love through us and see who we really are, and that we're here to love them and to help their country.

29. I got the verse, "And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren‚ or sisters, or father, or mother‚ or wife, or children, or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life" (Mat. 19:29). If some of us were to go down there, it would almost be like risking our lives for those people, and there's a chance that you might not even come back. You would be forsaking your house, brethren, father‚ mother, etc. But in return you would receive an hundred-fold in souls and lives reached for the Kingdom.

30. Along with that, the Lord gave me a picture of my wife and my child, my ministry and my room, everything that I owned. Then I got another picture of somebody under a pile of rubble with their top half sticking out, asking for deliverance. The Lord said, "Would you give all of that up in a moment just to go and talk to that person and tell him about Jesus before he dies?—Or to help him to get out, or reach someone like that?" It was very moving in the spirit and the Lord was asking, "Would you give all of that up just for one person?" Jesus gave His life for a lot of "one persons."

31. I got the verses‚ "I will send an angel before thee to keep thee in the way" (Exo. 23:20), "I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it" (Rev.3:8), and "Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it‚ when ye turn to the right hand‚ and when ye turn to the left" (Isa.30:21).

32. I also got, "Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth" (Heb.12:6). I felt that the Lord loves the Japanese people with a very special love and He's allowed this disaster to befall them in order to create in them a desperation so they'll be driven to Him in their time of need.

33. They said on the news that "Kobe" in Japanese means "The door of God," and I got that this earthquake is a door that the Lord is opening for Him to be able to reach the Japanese people.

34. As far as ministering to the people, I got a picture of our handymen being a blessing, working in the physical, fixing things up and setting things right. Also, any of our girls with nursing experience might be worth considering for the team.

35. One day in the local neighborhood of a Home I was in‚ they had an earthquake drill and they were teaching people what to do if an earthquake struck. They were also teaching the basics of first aid, mouth-to–mouth resuscitation, how to bandage a broken arm, etc., and I was thinking how these would be very useful skills for our young people to learn. When a disaster occurs they could go in and be a practical help as well as a spiritual help.

36. I got the poem "A Sample Not a Sermon": "I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day‚ I'd rather one would walk with me than merely show the way." Also the verses, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these My brethren ye have done it unto Me" (Mat. 25:40), and "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die‚ it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit" (John 12:24).

37. I got Psalm 126:5 and 6: "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."

38. (As a confirmation of the above prophecies‚ the following from our Kobe teams shows that our physically ministering to these desperate and needy people has now led to many opening their hearts and lives to allow us to minister to them spiritually and emotionally:)

39. "During our first days here, most of our time and effort went towards helping people physically—distributing food, clothes and emergency items, helping with volunteer work in the shelters and one hospital, making hot soup kitchens, etc.—but this has now opened the door and led into us being able to minister to the people in a more spiritual way. The physical help we're giving the people hasn't diminished at all, but now that people know we are Christians and they've seen our love, concern and smiles, they are coming to us for emotional and spiritual help. More souls are being won and people are opening up their hearts to us. PTL!"

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family