May 7, 2003
—2002 Study Month
CM/FM 3427 Compiled 8/02
Our commission to witness
1. "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature" (Mk.16:15) is not an option! It's a commandment! The message is clear! There's no denying it, or excusing ourselves!
2. Jesus made it quite clear that all Christians are ordained to preach the Gospel when He said in John 15:16: "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you that ye should go and bring forth fruit."
3. Therefore, witnessing and telling others about Jesus is not just a nice thing to do when we feel like it or can find the time‚ but it is the God-given job and responsibility of all His true children. Paul said, "For though I preach the Gospel, I have nothing to glory of, for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the Gospel!" (1Cor.9:16). (See also Eze.3:17-19.)
4. This is why we have banded together and spread around the world in the first place: To devote our full time and energies to preaching the Gospel to every creature and winning their souls to Jesus Christ and their bodies to His service for others! That's what we're here for: To win others for Christ! "Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples!" (John 15:8). PTL! ("Witnessing," ML #344:1-4, DB8.)
5. What is a Christian's excuse for living? What are we here for? Just to get saved?—To become a self–satisfied churchgoer?—No! If the whole purpose of your existence was to simply get saved, then why didn't the Lord just take you home to Heaven the minute you received Jesus? Why did the Lord let you live on?—To save others!
6. The first and primary ministry of each one of us is to reach the lost, the people who need God's message! Jesus said, "As My Father hath sent Me, so send I you" (John 20:21). And He still says this to His disciples, His followers of today, calling them to give their lives daily in loving concern and care for others, to share His heart and love with those who are seeking for "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). He came to love the world and He calls us to do likewise in every facet of life‚ to give His love and salvation to others.
7. The last question that Jesus asked His disciples was, "Lovest thou Me?" They said, "Well‚ of course, Lord. You know we love You!" He said‚ "Then feed My sheep!" (John 21:15-17). The greatest job we have to do if we truly love Him is to feed His sheep, to "go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature!" (Mark 16:15).
8. Jesus intended and called for all of His children to obey this command!—Every one!—All of you! He said, "I have chosen you and ordained you to go and bring forth fruit! Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit" (John 15:16,8). This is the main duty of every Christian: To witness, to be a testimony, to preach the Gospel of Jesus' love!
9. And that's what we in our particular Family are in this business for: To preach the truth of His Word and reach the world with the Gospel of God's love! This is our job!—The greatest work in the world!—To witness the Words of God, to preach the Gospel, to tell folks about God's love, to show them the love of Jesus!
10. Unlike the churches, we believe that all we need to do is to heed Jesus' call to "Go out into the highways and the byways and the hedges and compel them to come in!" (Luke 14:23).—To witness to them where they are!—To go out where the lost are to be found and give them His love and His Good News of the Gospel of salvation in Jesus!—Without the hindrance of buildings or great denominations or any of the trappings of the modern churchianity system.—But with simple faith, simple salvation, and a simple Gospel for simple people to simply believe and receive and be saved. Then they too can simply serve Him to the best of their ability, witnessing throughout all the world!
11. As a result of our obedience to His Word, God has "given us the heathen for our inheritance" (Psa.2:8) in over 100 countries as we preach the Gospel in [dozens of] languages throughout the world! We have mass-witnessed the Gospel to billions, and litnessed the Gospel through literature to hundreds of millions, and personally won over [25] million to Jesus Christ in the [33] years since we first began giving God's love to the hippies in that tiny little storefront mission on the main street of Huntington Beach, California!
12. God has prospered and blessed us and I believe we now have the greatest witness and are winning more souls than any other group our size in the whole world, with more publications and all the rest!
13. It's not that our numbers are so great; in fact, we're one of the smallest religious groups in the world! But we are militant, active, and on the attack for the Lord! We get around a lot more than most church members‚ we preach more than most church members, we distribute tons more Gospel than most church members, we win multitudes more souls than most church members, and we get much more publicity than most church members or other groups!
14. We are like God's elite troops, fewer in number than the regular army, but stronger in Spirit! We are required to give more, to love more, to share more, but our lives overflow with joy and our satisfaction knows no bounds and our happiness knows no equal.
15. Most Christians today are like the regular army‚ who don't really work very hard or serve very much. They don't leave their families or give up much or share. In fact, most of them live pretty selfishly! But they're still Christians, they still believe in Jesus and they do love Him a little bit.
16. But for us, that is not enough! We want to forsake everything, we want to give everything, we want to give our whole lives to the Lord! Jesus didn't say you have to forsake all and preach the Gospel. He only said that if you do forsake all for Him, you could be His disciple and He would bless you very very much and you'd receive a great special reward for such special service!
17. A disciple is better than a mere believer. A believer is just in the regular army, but a disciple is in the special troops! He forsakes everything and walks with Jesus‚ follows Jesus and lives with Jesus! This is the difference! But you don't have to be in the special troops, you can just be in the regular army if that's what you want. You can be a 5% Christian or a 10% Christian like most of the army, the church people.—Or you can be a 100% Christian and belong completely to Jesus Christ!
18. Our Family is a special, dedicated branch of the Lord's army, and to be a part of it you have to sacrifice and give up everything—100%—your life and everything for the Lord! People don't join us unless they really mean it and want to! From the very beginning we've insisted on complete forsaking, 100% dedication, absolute loyalty and full-time service‚ and that's why we've got the dedicated disciples that we have today—100%, all the way, forsake-all, dyed-in-the-wool soldiers who will give everything for Jesus Christ and will witness and win souls for the rest of their lives!
19. God's Word says, "By their fruits shall ye know them" (Mat.7:20). Our fruits are not only all the souls that have been won to Jesus and all those who have been reached with the Gospel, but also all those who have been changed, radically and definitely changed, their whole lifestyle changed, their whole lives completely different than they were before, 100% "new creatures in Christ Jesus" (2Cor.5:17) who have not just stopped smoking and drinking and have begun going to church once a week, but have forsaken everything for Jesus—just like He said to do! ("To Whom Will You Go?" ML #1966:10-14, 17-22, 25–28, DB8.)
Following up on "the flock of God"
20. (Peter:) When we compare our statistics to the major Christian denominations on a person-to-person basis, we see that there's virtually no other Christian movement which wins souls at the same rate that we do. Other churches have more members, more money, more pastors‚ teachers and leaders than we in the Family do. But when it comes down to one-on-one personal witnessing and soul-winning, we far surpass all others! We're able to do this because we have dedicated our lives to this task. We give it our full time and attention, and, as an organization and personally, we have the burning missionary drive within our hearts. As the Apostle Paul said, "the love of Christ constraineth us" (2Cor.5:14).
21. While we in the Family are experts at witnessing and winning souls for the Lord and we certainly have dedication and conviction, there is one area that we still fall very short of hitting the mark in: following up and turning our newly saved converts into solid believers, disciples, supporters and useful Christians for the Lord's service.
22. Why is it that such a wonderful soul-winning, missionary-minded, outreach-oriented group, which has won 22 million souls over the past 30 years‚ only has 29,000 outside members? The main reason is that for the most part we have failed in properly following up on those we lead to the Lord. [Note: In the 3 years since this Letter was published, our outside membership has risen to more than 72,000!]
23. If we had followed up on and made outside members of 10% of those that we have led to the Lord over the past 30 years, it would mean we would now have an outside membership of 2.2 million members. Imagine how many more souls we would be winning if we had another 2.2 million people witnessing to some degree or another or supporting the missionaries that do! Even if each outside member would only lead one person to the Lord per year, that would almost triple our present rate of salvations. And if each of those members would give only one dollar per month to a Home‚ it would cause a tremendous increase in the Family's finances and greatly lighten the financial burden you Homes carry.
24. Of course, to feed, teach, train and help these converts grow to become witnessers, helpers and supporters, takes time; it takes consistent spiritual feeding and answering their questions. It takes being there for them when they need help and answers and prayer. Above all, it takes the Lord's love, which will be manifested by our faith, patience and faithfulness with each one.
25. The solution the Lord has shown us is to set up the Activated program. It is our hope and prayer that as you send in the addresses of those that you lead to the Lord—or those to whom you sell a subscription to the magazine—and as the Activated desks begin sending the free magazines and advertisements for other booklets and books available for purchase, that these readers will respond by subscribing (or renewing their subscription) and purchasing the Word. This Word will feed them‚ strengthen them, and cause them to grow in spirit and to become a body of Christian believers who look to the Family and the new wine of God's Word to feed, strengthen, guide and help them in their everyday lives.
26. One of the biggest hopes that we have for this program‚ and potentially the greatest benefit to your Home, is that as these converts subscribe to the Activated magazine and receive the follow-up booklets‚ books, etc., they will become acquainted with our doctrines and beliefs and grow spiritually. Hopefully some will learn to witness and lead others to the Lord. It is our hope that once these converts have been in the program for a certain amount of time, their addresses can be given back to Family Homes in their area who choose to participate in the Activated follow-up program.
27. There could come a time when your Home would receive addresses of 10 or 20 or more people (in your local area) who are actively subscribing to or purchasing Family materials from the Activated program for further personal contact and follow-up, if you've been faithfully sending in the addresses of those you win to the Lord. These would be people who have read our materials, have grown in spirit and are already beginning to witness, and most likely would very much like to be ministered to on a personal basis by your Home. Hopefully they would eventually tithe to your Home or help you financially in some way.
28. Once you Homes who choose to participate in the Activated follow-up program start receiving addresses from your desks, you can invite these new converts to your Home's "Church of Love" or Bible study on a weekly basis, and this will eventually turn into your local "Family Chapter" or "Family Church."
29. Your Home would be able to go out witnessing with these new outside members, enabling you to win more souls and get more done for the Lord! They could also help with tool distribution, purchasing their distribution tools from you, which will also help the support of your Home. The souls that they win could be fed by the Activated program, or you could purchase the Activated course material and take on their feeding yourselves if you prefer. The new converts could be invited to your weekly meetings, and thus‚ if you'll be faithful and diligent, you could gradually build up a broader base of support for your local work.
30. We also see this potential ministry as being a tremendous opportunity for some of our older Family members who have a more difficult time keeping up with the strenuous job of day-to-day outreach. Any Home interested in feeding and following up on these very potential sheep will need pastors for their new congregation—those who are dedicated and committed to feeding and shepherding them, prayerfully selecting Word classes, planning weekly meetings, witnessing outings, Bible studies, etc. Through this program you could help to cultivate others to help you in your witness, in your CTP work, in your ministering. They could help physically by getting in there and doing the job with you. These folks would most likely be willing to help you financially, and in the dark days ahead they would be a source of invaluable help, protection and support.
31. If we don't build a broader base of believers and fellow laborers, our ability to be and do all the Lord has for us in the future will be greatly hindered. If we don't begin to place more of an emphasis on following up on others, teaching‚ training and feeding those we win to the Lord and helping them to learn and grow in the truths the Lord's given us, then our effectiveness in the days, months and years ahead will be limited. There is only so much that we can do without more help. We are dedicated, sold–out, 100% disciples who have the vision and the burden to reach the world with the Gospel. We are giving our lives, doing all we can, burning the candle at both ends to get the job done. If we are going to accomplish more, then we need help in the form of manpower, money and materials, which the Activated program can potentially supply.
32. Mama and I and our WS team are committed to doing our part. The COs and those who will be manning the Activated desks are committed to doing their part. Will you commit to do your part? A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and if any link doesn't do its part, this whole program will fail. No matter how good the new magazines are, no matter how feeding the books are, no matter how faithful the Activated desks are‚ if you don't send in the addresses or get people to subscribe, then it won't work.
33. Jesus said‚ "If you love Me, feed My sheep," and that's what the Activated program is all about—feeding His sheep. Will you work together with us? Can we start today? Will you help? We pray you will. ("The Activated Program," ML #3238:3, 6, 11, 19‚ 21, 34, 55, 87-89, 92-93, 96‚ 103, 106, GN 849.)
Getting out the meat of the Word
34. (Jesus speaking:) Said I not in these Last Days that they that understand among the people shall instruct many? Behold, who has more understanding than thee? Upon whom have the Words of David been poured in such abundance but upon thee? Who but thee hast the Words of eternal life for this generation? Hast thou declared the full counsel of God? Yea, but thou sayest, if we do so, we shall be persecuted. Thou lookest on persecution as if it is a vile thing. Rememberest not that it is My compliment, it is the high calling of My prophets?
35. But thou sayest, "We must save our little ones and we must save our lives." Rememberest the warning that I gave that he that saveth his life shall lose it? It is only in losing thy life that I shall save it. How many times must I deliver thee from the snare of the fowler before thou wouldst believe Me, that I shall deliver thee every time? Why treadest thou lightly as if thou dost peddle a despised thing?—When I have given thee the treasures and the secrets of this time which all the prophets and holy men have sought to see, but it was reserved for thee. Despiseth thou these riches that I have given unto thee?
36. Yea, I have given thee a message which has been reserved for this day, and it shall not fail. Art thou the Church of Philadelphia? Hast thou held to the Words of David? Hast thou honored these Words? These are more than gold; yea, they are more than fine gold! For these Words a man will give all that he hath, for they are the true riches. Thou alone hast the true riches which multitudes clamor for‚ millions in the Valley of Decision, wondering what will befall them. Thou hast the answer, thou hast the plan, thou hast been given the key to know the future which hath been reserved to My David. And he hath poured out his life to thee in double measure and thou shouldst know how to instruct those that would seek unto thee to know the way. This have I reserved for thee. Therefore, hold that fast which thou hast‚ lest another man take thy crown. For it is My will that My sheep receive My message.
37. I have ordained thee for this task. Therefore, doubt not that if thou art faithful to abide in the calling that I have given thee, that I shall supply thy every need and protect thy every step. For ye are they upon whom the ends of the world have come! ("Preach the Word!—Prophecies Given at Summit '92," GN 498, para.23-26.)
38. (Mama: ) I want to go back to the subject of faithfulness to the unique message the Lord has given us, the children of David. I'm referring to the meat of the Word—the radical‚ different, controversial Words of David. Even if these other weaknesses are strengthened that won't be enough if we're not willing to be true to the message the Lord has given us. Even successful communal living and trusting the Lord for supply‚ even building a greater church isn't the all in all, if that means you're discarding or burying the unique and important Words of David that the Family is blessed to have received.
39. There are those of you who write in, chiding Peter and me for what you consider our lack of wisdom regarding what we've printed. There are those who feel that your experience being out on the field makes you the experts on what's to be preached if we're to avoid "blowing people away" with what you call "unnecessary doctrines." The bottom line of your suggestions is: "Can't we just preach Jesus and the Bible?" The argument that's made is: "That's all you need to be a missionary, so why stumble the sheep with all this other stuff, these strange truths that no one else is preaching. And if no one else is preaching it, why do we need to? After all, couldn't we have a perfectly effective missionary movement and win new members without having to get all distracted with these new private doctrines?"
40. But that is clearly not what has made the Family what we are today. If you only want to witness the Bible, you should be in the churches! If you want things to be like they were in the early days when you only had to follow the "Revolutionary Rules" and you're willing to downplay or forget 30 years of Letters since then, then you're in the wrong place! God help us!
41. We have accepted into our outer circles those who don't or can't drop out, and we have lots of excellent literature to feed the GP and new converts that is similar to the productions of other Christian groups or churches. But I want to make it clear that the radical elements of the Family and the meat of the Word are not going to disappear, so you're doing yourself and your sheep a disservice if you try to lead a double life where you read the GNs in your Home and maybe even practice them privately‚ but in your witness you try to completely divorce yourself from the doctrines of the Family or even the Family name. That just isn't fruitful, and it won't work!
42. I want to remind you of what the Lord said in Part 1 of this [Conviction vs. Compromise] series:
43. Only if the Family members are strong in faith and willing to preach the truth as given in the Words of David will you fulfill your special place in the big Endtime picture. It's that uncompromising witness that will allow Me to continue to give My full blessing to the Family. This is one of those spiritual principles which is contrary to the mind of natural man. You would think that the Family would grow and prosper and become strong and financially powerful by recruiting sheer numbers, by tickling people's ears with what they want to hear, by making them feel good about themselves and not "blowing them away" with strong unconventional doctrine. But the opposite is true.
44. By remaining true to your unique calling, by preaching the Word—even the uncomfortable, seemingly unpopular Word—and winning those who are willing to follow in your footsteps in spirit, will your new members be strong, powerful‚ and fruitful, and the result, with time‚ will be much, much more than had you tried to walk the more conventional route and not tested and tried your new members with the strong meat (ML #3361:57-58, GN 957).
("Be True to the Revolution," ML #3364:37-38, 53, 60‚ 73, GN 960)
Finding a proper balance in our ministries, and "Reaching the Rich": Labor Leaders!
45. I want to remind you of Dad's counsel to the Family in 1973‚ in "Rags to Riches." He said:
46. The most neglected class of all [is] the rich! My mother said, "I belonged not to the dregs of society, but to the cream, or really the scum of society, the froth of society, the upper crust, and nobody ever preached me the Gospel, nobody ever led me to Jesus! That was something you did in the missions for the poor! The rich are the most neglected class of people there are, spiritually!"
47. There isn't enough time from now till the Lord comes to go to every little village and reach every little poor peasant! The revolution first captures the upper crust, and they share with the poor! Do you know where revolution was most talked about before the French Revolution, before the American Revolution‚ before the Russian Revolution, and before every single revolution? It was talked about amongst the people who had time to talk about it—the leisure class! And that wasn't the poor little laboring man out there sweating away! All he had time to think about was getting his job done and getting enough to eat!
48. It is given to the poor to be rich in faith‚ but the poorest people in the world spiritually are the rich materially, and they are the hardest to reach because of our God-damned pride‚ the spiritual pride of the poor! We're ashamed to go to the rich for fear somebody will accuse us of wanting their money! Why shouldn't we want their money for God's work!
49. We are spiritually rich, but we are being spiritually selfish and proud not to share with those who are spiritually poor! It is given to the poor to be rich in faith. What is it given to the rich?—To be poor in faith! Why are the poor rich in faith?—Because that's all they've got—their faith and God! So to them God pours out abundant spiritual riches, and they are happier, healthier‚ or should be, and more spiritually rich, and more of them spiritually saved than most of the rich of the world!
50. We did not start the Revolution amongst the poor! It just looked like that to the churches, seeing that frowsy, motley bunch of hippies sitting there on the floor! But what they didn't know was that those they were pulling their skirts away from in horror and trying not to touch were the daughters of millionaires and sons of the rich, who were sick and fed up with the lives their parents were living, and had forsaken it to find peace and the truth and the answer somewhere else! They knew it wasn't in riches‚ so they were trying poverty!
51. God wants you to capture leaders—people who are already leaders! If they aren't showing any leadership ability where they are now‚ before you get to them, they'll probably never show any afterward! They've got to have something in them to begin with. We need many quality labor leaders, even college grads—people of intelligence and talent and skill.
52. We don't have much time to train the poor and uneducated from scratch to lead this Revolution! If we're going to win the world, we don't have time to fiddle around training people from scratch right now.
53. The places where we are making the most progress are where we have reached the leaders and the rich first (ML #211:20‚ 21,31-33,39-41).
54. (Mama:) Many Homes and Family members have veered from this vision. Many of you are not reaching the educated, well-to-do labor leaders like you should be. You're not making disciples of those who, like Dad said, have the intelligence, talent and skill to be leaders in this revolution! This is a drastic departure from the commission the Lord and Dad gave the Family, a commission that is just as valid and important today as it was when it was first given. We must win the labor leaders if we are to fulfill the Lord's plan of expanding the Family and reaching the world and making disciples of all nations.
55. One of the main reasons we're not winning disciples—both live-in and Active members—who are labor leaders who are sold out on the Words of David is because many brethren and Homes have become almost completely focused on helping and ministering to the very poor. While we as Christians and missionaries are to love the poor and do what we can to help them, that is not the primary calling of the children of David. An overemphasis on caring for the poor is especially detrimental to our future progress when such work is done with no association with the Family name and when such work causes you to not use Family literature, tools‚ and the Activated program, lest it be "discovered" that you're part of the Family.
56. If we continue to miss the mark in the focus of our witness and outreach, when we step back and see our accomplishments in the years to come, we will see that the entire "tapestry" that we have woven will be very different than what the Lord intended. The longer we continue down this path that is not fully in line with what Dad taught us, the more the end result of our accomplishments for the Lord and our preparation for the future will be lacking. Our entire missionary work—what the Lord has asked us, the Family, to accomplish—could fail due to this lack!
57. A principle or standard that Dad taught us is that the best way to reach the world is to reach the rich and the educated, because through them you can reach the world a lot quicker and better. It's like the illustration he gave about Paul and Barnabas, and how they went across Cyprus right to the Roman governor's palace, got him saved, and through that were able to really reach Cyprus, turning it into one of the first Christian nations in the world. That lesson can be found in the Letter "Rags to Riches." Dad said:
58. I want you to look at where our missions have made the most progress. Many others never made as much progress in all the years they worked there as we have in the last few months, because we started with the rich, the intellectuals, the presidents and the governors and the police and the heads of the secret service—the men who have the power and authority to let us and help us work! When Paul landed on the Island of Cyprus, he would have been there yet if he'd just associated himself with the fishermen only. Of course he preached to the fishermen! He preached to the poor all the way across the island‚ but he was on his way to see the governor! He won him to the Lord, and as a result, Cyprus became the world's first Christian nation, because he won the one with the power and authority to permit it and finance his preaching to help the poor!
59. When Paul just went to the poor only, he got knocked out and the officials ran him out of town when they heard about the stir he was making and they didn't know what he was up to. But when he went to the powerful first‚ they got the point and got Jesus, and they had the power and wealth to permit him and finance him. They needed the knowledge of why and what he was preaching, and that it was something everybody needed, including them! (ML #211:36-37).
60. (Jesus speaking:) I called you to "preach the Gospel to every creature." I said of Myself that I was sent to bring good tidings to the poor—but not only to the poor. I want, and in fact expect you to be witnesses to all men everywhere. I don't want you to become so embroiled in one level of society that you cannot relate to or reach those of other levels. I want you to minister to the poor‚ for their need is great. Yet it is also essential that you minister to and reach the rich, the upper and middle class, because they have the resources—the finances, the education‚ the connections, and the drive—to help you reach others.
61. The poor have needs, and they need love, care, salvation, as well as material things like clothing and food, and many times I call you to help supply those needs. I certainly don't want you to neglect or despise the poor. But I want you to look further, higher, and broader. I want you to see the big picture, like I see it.
62. To really reach any country you must reach the top. I don't mean just the very top‚ as in the country's leaders and richest of the rich, although that sure couldn't hurt. But I mean the top layer‚ the higher sector of society, the upper and middle classes, the educated, the visionaries.
63. The Activated push has been the program of choice to change the world‚ which includes reaching the rich, winning new disciples, cultivating Active members, and appealing to the class of people who will not only help support you, but help you to stay in the country, help protect you, and carry on the work long after you're gone. Activated is it! That's how you'll reach the rich.—The educated, the movers and shakers, the labor leaders‚ the upper and middle classes. (End of message from Jesus.)
64. (Mama:) You must be obedient and on track in your overall approach to your outreach and in all aspects of your lifestyle. Otherwise, with time it's easy to get pretty off track, and the result is that years down the road your work will not even remotely resemble what the Lord would have hoped. You won't have won a network of supporters, Active members, co-workers, and influential people to stand by your side. You won't have gotten out the message as the Lord wanted you to‚ and you won't be prepared for persecution, which will come!
65. All of the following things must be present if you are to be successful. You must:
66. The Lord brought out in the CvsC series about how we as a Family need to be involved in serious, fruitful missionary work, rather than only superficial fundraising methods that don't bring forth lasting fruit. The potential labor leaders we need to reach won't be happy just hanging out in your Home, with little or no vision. The middle and upper class people who have education‚ drive, connections, and the money you need to further your work in a big way certainly are going to want to be involved in something that they consider to be worthwhile, fruitful missionary work! Eking out a living, barely surviving, having no vision or fruit while you get out a little bit of message is not going to inspire anyone to join you and become a part of the Family!
67. Think back! What did you join the Family for? Didn't you want to change the world for Jesus? If you met the Family today, would you give up your job, your education, your independence‚ your family, your girlfriend or boyfriend, your car and money, to do what your Home does now? ("Reach the Rich," ML #3400:5, 7-9, 36-38, 50-53, 56, 70-71, 108-109‚ GN 992.)
In conclusion
68. If the Revolution is anything at all, it is a soul-winning, disciple-making revolution or it is nothing at all and no better than the rest of the churches! The Revolution was born in the white-hot fires of a soul-winning explosion amongst the spiritually starving youth of this generation‚ and a disciple-gaining movement of a salvation army on fire for God to win youth of the world from pitiful, hopeless lives of drugs, vice, crime, nothingness and uselessness to the thrilling, exciting, inspiring, glorious life of love and usefulness to others in the Kingdom of God on Earth!
69. If we have ceased to be such soul–winning disciple-makers and lovers of the lost, desiring to save them and train them to serve God and others, then we have lost our reason for living and no longer have any excuse for existence and might as well cease our operations as just another dead church that has gone to sleep and left its engine running! We might as well cut it off and save fuel and quit pretending to be a Revolution when we've stopped revoluting!
70. If we don't want to be another has-been we'd better get it back in gear fast and step on the gas and start driving like mad again and start getting someplace, or we're finished! We're already dead if we've stagnated and stopped growing and going and gaining new disciples for His cause! We might as well close up shop if we're not going to do anything but scatter seed and never reap the harvest!
71. If this is not a life worth winning disciples to‚ then let's save our breath and our paper and our leg work and go back to the Pit from which we came, if we've become nothing but another money-making, just-make-a-living and merely-exist system like they are! Which are you? ("The Disciple Revolution," ML #328B:36-39, DB6.)
OPTIONAL READING:
More Letters on witnessing:
"Why Witness," ML #3132, Lifelines 24
"Be a Missionary," ML #3135, Lifelines 24
"Instant Witnessing," ML #3137, Lifelines 24
More Letters on follow-up:
"The Action Series, Part 1: Our Activated Future," ML #3298:94–128, GN 895
"The Action Series, Part 3: The Family's Future and Expansion Program‚" ML #3308:20-151, GN 908
More Letters on the
meat of the Word:
"Be True to the Revolution," ML #3364:84-104, 162-177, GN 960
The main requirement
for a missionary: love
72. Let me emphasize here the pre–eminent requisite for anyone in the Revolution must be the same driving passion which motivated the Apostle Paul and all the apostles and all the martyrs and every great man or woman of God—in fact‚ that irresistible compassion which should motivate every child of God in everything you do, everything you say, everywhere you go, with everybody, and which that great fanatical apostle summed up in these few famous and ringing words which have cried out from the heart of every true Christian in every true good deed he has ever done, and for which indeed he is willing to die: "The love of Christ constraineth us!" (2Cor.5:14).
73. "Hereby perceive we the love of God: because He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (1Jn.3:16; Jn. 15:13).
74. You're not going to make a missionary unless you love them enough to die for them. "Ah, sweet mystery of life, at last I have found thee! Ah‚ at last I've found the reason for it all! Ah, 'tis love and love alone the whole world yearns for! And 'tis love that bids them heed Thy call!" Hallelujah! Love conquers all‚ and to win some you must be winsome and willing to become all things to all men that ye might win some.
75. Only God's love will make you strong enough to make it—Christ in you, the hope of glory! Then you can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth you! But if you have any other motive, you'll fail! You'll fail your leaders, you'll fail your followers‚ and you'll fail the Lord! But love never fails! Do you want to be successful for the Lord and with others? Love, and you can't lose—for love never fails! Do you want the key to every heart! Try love!—It never fails, because God is love, and it's impossible for Him to fail! (Col.1:27; Phil.4:13).
76. If you go in God's love, you cannot help but win them, as so many of you already have. You have already found out that God's love is the answer to everything: It saves souls, forgives sin, satisfies hearts‚ purifies minds, redeems bodies, wins friends and makes life worth living. It's the only truth, the only way and the only peace!
77. So the only way to win the world is with the love of Jesus!—Which we're doing and showing as we're going, and we'll keep on winning if we keep on loving them with His love! Long live love! ("Reading, Pinups, Mistakes and World Conquest!—Through Love," ML #151:7-8, 10, 12-14, DB5.)
Copyright © 2002 by the Family
End of File