March 22, 2005
(ML #3536, GN 1127)
FD/MM/FM October 2004
ML #35, DB 4
1. DID GOD MAKE A MISTAKE BY PUTTING ADAM & EVE IN THE GARDEN—and they wound up making their own choice, the wrong one! Did God have to confess failure by the Flood, in that He had to wipe out all Mankind for its wickedness? Was the Tower of Babel a total disaster‚ & was the confusion of tongues a catastrophe?—Or was it necessary to accomplish God's purpose to humble & scatter Man over the face of the Earth?
2. WAS IT A MISTAKE WHEN MOSES KILLED THE EGYPTIAN & had to flee for his life, & lived 40 years in the wilderness with the sheep & his father-in-law? Wasn't that a terrible setback to the cause & the deliverance of his people?—Or was it necessary that Moses had to go into exile to learn the lessons that God had to teach him, to make him the man he needed to be to deliver his people?—Totally dependent on GOD, not himself!
3. DID GOD MAKE A MISTAKE WHEN HE LET DAVID FALL FOR BATHSHEBA & FALL FROM GRACE in the eyes of the kingdom, fall from the throne at the hand of his own son, & depart in disgrace & scandal to another country with only a handful of friends? Did David really fall downward‚ or was this a fall upward? SOMETIMES GOD'S WAY UP IS DOWN.—Usually, in fact!—Just the opposite of what we think! God loves to do things contrary to natural expectation, because THAT takes a miracle & THAT shows it's GOD, & not Man! And David was humbled & the whole kingdom was humbled, & they were reminded that it was only the Lord that made them what they were! From that squeezing & twisting of David's life came forth the sweet honey of the Psalms & the fragrance of his praises to the Lord for His mercy! It was all GOD & all GRACE & none of himself or his own righteousness, a lesson that's been an encouragement to others & other great sinners like me & you ever since!
4. WAS ELIJAH'S MINISTRY DEFEATED WHEN HE RAN FROM JEZEBEL AFTER HIS GREAT VICTORY ON MT. CARMEL? Was his great bravery there completely scuttled by his cowardice in the wilderness? Here was the Prophet of God afraid of a woman!—Or was God trying to show him something that was going to make him a better Prophet, a humbler Prophet?
5. AFTER ELIJAH FOUND OUT THAT GOD WAS NOT JUST IN THE FIRE, THE THUNDER & THE EARTHQUAKE, this man of fire & thunder became a meek little man of the still small voice of God. He'd been great on doom & destruction & judgment, now he was learning the slow, patient process of feeding & leading the sheep! It's so much easier‚ so much more dramatic to be a Prophet of doom than a healer of wounds & a feeder of sheep, a grower of lambs & a teacher of babes!
6. BUT WHERE'S THE BIG NEWS OF THE TEACHER WHO TRUDGES ALONG DAY AFTER DAY, feeding the sheep as they gradually grow to be productive & fruitful in a lasting‚ permanent fruit that remains for the everlasting Kingdom of God? And what farmer makes news trudging along through the furrows, laboring with his hands—patiently, tenderly, diligently nurturing little blades of grain that they may grow up, even in a day that he may never see, & bear much fruit!
7. THIS IS ANOTHER WHOLE SUBJECT IN ITSELF—THE LITTLE PEOPLE, the nobodies, those behind the scenes who make it all possible, the ones who stay behind & keep the home fires burning & care for the babes & feed the children & wash the dishes & cook the food etc. It takes the little people to make the others great, & you have to be "little people" first before you can become great.—Because God only makes great people out of little people to show HIS greatness!
8. "GOD HATH CHOSEN THE FOOLISH THINGS OF THE WORLD TO CONFOUND THE WISE, & God hath chosen the WEAK things of the World to confound the things which are mighty; & BASE things of the World, & things which are DESPISED, hath God chosen, yea, & things which are not, to bring to nought things which are, that no flesh should glory in His presence."—1Cor.1:27-29.—That He might get all the glory, because then you KNOW it wasn't Man!
9. THE LIST IS ALMOST ENDLESS OF ALL THE PEOPLE GOD HAD TO HUMBLE BEFORE HE COULD USE THEM—of all the leaders God had to bring down to the depths before they could stand to be exalted—lest they would have taken credit to themselves & not given GOD the glory.—Because, by the time God's ready to make you really great‚ He makes absolutely nothing out of you, so there's nothing left of you at all‚ & it's only JESUS! When He can get YOU out of the way, then HE has a chance! When you become nothing but a TOOL & a CHANNEL—nothing but a little diamond of dust, THEN God can really use you! He has to BREAK you & HUMBLE you & MELT you in the fire, PURGE you, PURIFY you, SIFT you, beat out the chaff! He has to beat the hell out of you, till there's none of it left—crucify the flesh till it's dead as a doornail—mortify the mind till it's almost gone.—So that JESUS can live & think & move in you! Did God make a mistake?—Or is all this necessary to make us what we ought to be? Was it a mistake? Couldn't there have been a better, more proper way of doing it?
10. TO HELL WITH THE PROPER WAY! THE PROPER WAY IS OF MAN! The unexpected & the improper, the unconventional & the untraditional, the unorthodox & unceremonious, contrary to Man's natural expectation—this is the way God usually works! "For MY thoughts are NOT your thoughts‚ neither are your ways MY ways, saith the Lord. For as the Heavens are higher than the Earth‚ so are My ways higher than your ways & My thoughts than your thoughts!"—Isa.55:8,9. Who can know the mind of the Lord & who can show HIM anything?
11. WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, anyway, to tell God what to do & how to do it? God knows His business & it's none of your business how He does it!
12. SO QUIT TRYING TO TELL HIM HOW HE OUGHT TO DO IT! ... Just trust God that He knows what He's doing! "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart: & lean NOT unto thy OWN understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge HIM & HE shall direct thy paths."—Prov.3:5,6.
13. THE MINUTE YOU TRY TO FIGURE IT OUT IN THE FLESH, YOU MIGHT AS WELL QUIT, 'cause it will probably never work out that way anyhow! "Lest Israel say‚ 'Mine own arm hath saved me'!" God loves to do things contrary to the way we think He ought to do them! Is this a mistake? Is God wrong?
14. DO WE HAVE TO BE SO COMPLETELY DENOUNCED BY THE SYSTEM, in order to keep us separate & uncompromising & from drifting back into it? Do they have to reject us entirely to drive us to You? Must we utterly burn our bridges behind us so that it's impossible for us to go back?
15. ISN'T THIS ASKING A LITTLE TOO MUCH, LORD, to make us such an offscouring of society as Paul was, as he said the Apostles were—such dregs of humanity as Your early followers were, Lord!—Such misfits & queer characters & fanatics & peculiar people, Lord! If we go this far, we'll never be able to go back! The System will never accept us again. Some of our own people might even leave us because of it! It might bring division & betrayal by those who are not loyal—like Judas did to You! It might offend so many weaker brethren, we'd have very few left & would be able to persuade very few to follow such extremes of loyalty, dedication & doctrine!-Like happened to You after that "blood & flesh sermon"!
16. EVEN YOUR OWN DISCIPLES FORSOOK YOU OVER SOME OF YOUR HARD SAYINGS! What do you expect US to do over these extremes of OUR leaders? It's just too much, Lord, You'll never get a very big army THAT way! We'll never be very popular, practicing such extremes as this! We'll never be generally accepted if we preach & practice EVERYTHING in the Bible! You surely wouldn't expect that of US!
17. IT'S JUST TOO MUCH! IT MUST BE A MISTAKE! Please don't ask that of us! Do WE have to be so different? Aren't You making a mistake, Lord? Isn't there some other way?
18. "I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH & THE LIFE; & NO MAN COMETH UNTO THE FATHER, BUT BY ME." STRAIT is the gate & NARROW is the way, which leadeth unto life & FEW there be that find it." "Many are called, but few are chosen!" "Not many wise men after the flesh‚ not many mighty‚ not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the World to confound the wise; & the weak things to confound the things which are mighty." "And many of His disciples, when they had heard this, said, 'This is an hard saying: who can bear it?'" "And the disciples forsook Him & fled." "Let us go forth unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach." For He "made Himself of no reputation & took upon Him the form of a servant. " … "He is despised & rejected of men, a man of sorrows & acquainted with grief. He was taken from prison & from judgment...& He made His grave with the wicked & with the rich in His death." ... "And ye shall be hated of all nations for My Name's sake ... & then shall the end come." "Because ye are not of the World, but I have chosen you out of the World, therefore the World hateth you. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you." "He that receiveth you, receiveth Me & he that receiveth Me receiveth Him that sent Me." "The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord."
19. GOD DOESN'T MAKE MISTAKES & even the "foolishness of God is wiser than men; & the weakness of God is stronger than men." There is no better way than God's way: Hear ye Him! "And He saith unto them‚ Follow Me, & I will make you fishers of men. And they IMMEDIATELY left ALL & followed Him...even unto the death of the Cross." "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me & My Words in this adulterous & sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He cometh in the glory of His Father with the Holy Angels." "Beware when all men speak well of you!"—John 14:6; Mat.7:14; Mat.20:16; 1Cor.1:26,27; Jn.6:60‚66,67; Mat.26:56; Heb.13:13; Phil.2:7; Isa.53; Mat.24:9,14; Jn.15:19,20; 1Cor.1:25; Mat.4:19, Mk.8:38; Mat.10:40,24.
ML #703‚ DB 1
1. THE GREATEST MEN IN THE WORLD WHO'VE ACCOMPLISHED ANYTHING AT ALL THAT THE WORLD HAS HEARD ABOUT WERE THE MEN WHO STUCK to their jobs through thick and thin‚ even when they hated it. If you don't know how to stick‚ you're "double–minded and unstable in all your ways, wavering like the waves of the sea. Think not that that man shall receive anything from the Lord!" (Ja.1:6-8)
2. Jesus said, "He that having put his hand to the plough and even looking back is not worthy of Me." (Lk.9:62)
3. EVERYBODY GETS FED UP WITH A JOB AND BORED WITH IT sometimes, and even sick of it. But if you don't stick to it, you'll never pull out and pull through and accomplish anything for the Lord.
4. THE DEVIL MAKES US SICK AND FED UP AND BORED and resent this or resent that, and don't like this and don't approve of that. But if you stick with it, God is going to bless you mightily, because we're not finished by any means yet.
5. BUT IF YOU QUIT, YOU COULD MISS THE BLESSING‚ cause a tremendous collapse in God's work or diminishment or something and untold damage to His Kingdom. But if you're faithful, the Lord will bless you.
7. TURNING YOU BACK ON THE JOB GOD HAS GIVEN YOU is just as bad in God's sight as turning your back on HIM! Because that's exactly what you're doing. If you turn your back on God's JOB‚ you're turning your back on GOD!
8. "ENDURE HARDNESS AS A GOOD SOLDIER OF JESUS CHRIST, that you may please Him Who hath called you to be a soldier!" (2Tim.2:3-4) If it's a job that you know God has put you in where you've got a good ministry and you're helping souls or being a blessing and you know it's the Lord, you should be afraid to quit!
9. SO YOU'D BETTER STICK IT OUT UNTIL YOU KNOW GOD WANTS YOU TO LEAVE A JOB and you KNOW He's finished with you there and He's got something else He wants you to do.
10. MY MOTHER ONCE ASKED DR. WISEMAN, THE LITTLE JEW that ran a mission in San Francisco and hardly ever had many people there, "How could you stay here so many years when you seem to be accomplishing so little?" He said,
11. "SHISTER, IT ISS VON TING YUST TO SHTICK!" Apparently he felt called there to stick it out and he just stuck. Now if God makes it plain to you that you should move or you should change or this is not the place for you, He better make it awful plain and you better make sure it's God!
12. IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR MY STICKING to a good many unsavory and unfavorable jobs that I didn't like, and some of them for years, we wouldn't have our Family of Love today!
13. SO "IT'S VON TING YUST TO SHTICK!" And you'd better learn a lesson on faithfulness and how to "shtick" to a job, no matter how boring or how tiresome or how fed up you get, or offended sometimes, or feel like you're unappreciated and all the rest.
14. "IT ISS VON TING YUST TO SHTICK"—at least until God tells you it's time to go. I was so afraid that I would jump the gun and leave before time‚ that I usually waited until I got kicked out or I got fired or forced out‚ to make sure it was God's will and time for me to go.
15. IT'S ONE THING JUST TO STICK in the job that God has given you, no matter what happens, if it's of the Lord and you know it's of God. Sometimes you may even doubt that.
16. BUT YOU HAD BETTER MAKE SURE THAT IT'S NOT OF GOD AND LET HIM THROW YOU OUT first, before you take it upon yourself to make that decision and run away. Because you can be sadly mistaken.
17. So you had better be sure that when it's God's time, He will let you know.—Or if you're not sure just wait till He throws you out or you get fired or something, then you'll know for sure. So,
18. "IT'S VON TING YUST TO SHTICK!"—God help us to be faithful and just to stick! Praise you Lord! Hallelujah! Help us to have some stick-to-itiveness, Lord, some determination to go through. Lord, there're so many stories in Thy Word of men who went through many trials‚ but they stuck to the job.
19. SO LORD, IN JESUS' NAME, WE ASK YOU TO HELP US ALL TO REMEMBER THAT IT'S ONE THING JUST TO STICK AND BE FAITHFUL. "It is required of a servant that he be found faithful." (1Cor.4:2) And the one thing that You said as they entered Heaven, Lord, was "Well done thou good and faithful servant‚ enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." (Mat.25:21)
20. HELP US TO REMEMBER that the most important thing in our service for Thee‚ the most important thing in the world for us‚ the most important thing to Thee, Lord, is our faithfulness.
21. EVEN IF WE'RE STUMBLEBUMS LIKE PETER and we make a hell of a lot of mistakes and we do crazy things like I do, still Lord, help us to be faithful.
22. Please don't be unfaithful! "It's von ting yust to SHTICK!"
ML #974, DB 1
1. WHEN THE DAY OF REWARDS COMES AROUND, the Great Judgment Seat of Christ in Heaven, & we get our crowns & our stars, we're going to see some of the littlest people come up that we never even realized existed, to get some of the greatest crowns‚ because they were little folks who were behind the scenes, almost unseen & unknown, who did the humblest jobs, the humblest administrations, to make the ministry of the others possible.
2. So don't forget that, you stars & performers, musicians & singers & all the rest!—Without those little nobodies, you'd be nobody‚ absolutely nobody, because you cannot carry on without them.—It's the little people who keep the Kingdom going.
3. So don't minimize or belittle or neglect the credit that they deserve for making your highly exalted visible ministry possible, because they're going to get just as much credit as you—& maybe even more—because you have your reward. You, in a way, get your reward from the response that you receive from your audience & their words of appreciation for you.—We don't do it for that motive, but nevertheless you do get a lot of it right here & now.
4. But a lot of those nobodies who are slaving away behind the scenes, scrubbing floors & doing dishes & cooking & having babies & teaching the children & helping financially‚ litnessing & provisioning & all the rest, the mechanics who take care of the cars & the technicians who run the machines—a lot of them are not getting much reward now‚ & sometimes they don't even get much thanks from you!
5. BUT GOD KNOWS, GOD SEES, & "thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly"! (Mt.6:4,18) One of these days the whole World & all Heaven & all Earth & all Hell are going to know who the little people are & what you did & how much you sacrificed & how hard you worked & how little thanks & appreciation you got!
6. If you don't give'm some reward here & now, God's going to give it to'm then & there.—And it may put you to shame‚ because God had to reward them extra heavily & give'm an extra crown with more stars because you failed to do so here!
7. So don't forget it! Love them & be good to them & give them credit where credit is due & help them & show them appreciation‚ gratitude & thanks—thank them for every little thing they do. Encourage them & help them & strengthen them & nourish them & feed them & make their job as easy as you can.
8. DO YOU MAKE IT EASY FOR THEM TO BE GOOD? Remember that little story I told you about the sweet little Christian girl?—She was such a blessing to the neighborhood children, always doing good things for them & the people around‚ & then, for some reason‚ the Lord took her away, she died. So they came to her parents with a little scribble written on a piece of paper & asked if this could be put on her tombstone. And guess what it was?: "She made it easy for us to be good!"
9. Do you make it easy for others to be good? Do you try to show your thanks many times over, day after day? You can never say "I love you" too often! Be good to them & love them & thank'm & kiss'm & tell'm you love'm a hundred times a day & try to make it easy for them to be good.
12. You can't ever outgive God, & one of the ways of giving to God is being good to His little ones, the little people, the nobodies, the ones who minister to you. So don't forget that. Without the nobodies, you'd be nobody!
13. MAY GOD HELP US TO BE GOOD TO THE LITTLE PEOPLE, THE LITTLE FOLKS. Don't neglect them, don't forget them, don't forget to praise them, thank them, love them & take good care of them, amen? So God bless'm!—& you bless'm!
ML #1372, DB 1
1. PERHAPS THE TENDENCY OF SOME OF US IS TO SO GREATLY DESIRE TO BE GREAT SPIRITUAL LEADERS that this not only becomes our desire‚ it becomes our temptation! But "he that would be greatest among you, let him be servant of all!" (Mt.20:27) A leader must always be willing to do whatever needs to be done. If there is nobody else to do it or nobody else wants to do it or is willing to do it or can do it‚ he must always be willing to do anything he is asked to do or that he sees needs to be done that nobody else is doing! To me, that is the greatest sign of really great leadership.
2. NOW THERE IS NOBODY WHO CAN SAY THAT YOU HAVE NOT GONE THE 110TH MILE IN DOING THE LOWLIEST TASK—dishes, washing floors, sweating it out over a hot stove when it wasn't even your calling or talent, taking care of the baby, doing little tiny things! God was putting you through a test & you came through—while I was still there—with shining colors! And I was convinced that you could be trusted with lofty leadership because you had proved your total utter lowly humility, which is the only kind of leader that can be trusted.
3. DOING THE COOKING WAS NOT SOMETHING YOU WERE GOING TO HAVE TO DO FOREVER. The Lord might have wanted you to think you might have to do it forever just as a part of the test, just like He wanted Abraham to think he was really going to have to kill Isaac. If Abraham hadn't really thought that, it wouldn't have been a test at all! A lot of people are willing to change an occasional diaper or cook an occasional meal just to show how humble they are, but if it goes on & on & on, after a while it turns out they're not so humble anymore!
4. AS LONG AS I WAS AROUND TO WATCH & SEE HOW HUMBLE & HOW WILLING YOU WERE to do all these things & gave you a little glory, you were willing to do them. But as soon as I was gone, what happened? How come you suddenly quit having the inspiration to do any of the humble tasks or take care of the baby? (L: My pride.) And why? What was it? (L: Thinking I was too good & had such a spiritual ministry now.) Yes, but what put that idea in your head? (L: A title, thinking I had so much more to do now.)
5. I CAN SEE HOW YOU PROBABLY FELT: That you're really somebody now & your ministry is strictly spiritual, you haven't got time to take care of babies & inconsequential things that servants should do, those who are only servants & have no spiritual responsibilities.
6. I'VE FOUND THAT GREAT LEADERS ARE USUALLY THE HUMBLEST OF ALL PEOPLE, WILLING TO DO ANYTHING, & really don't even feel worthy of their great responsibilities at all. They feel much more worthy of cleaning toilets & things like that than the big job that God has trusted them with because they were faithful cleaning toilets.
7. BUT THE MINUTE THEY GET TO THE POINT WHERE THEY'RE NO LONGER LOWLY ENOUGH TO CLEAN TOILETS, when they get so big they're now too big to do the lowly jobs, it's been our experience that they have gotten too big to do any job & they almost totally lose their usefulness.
8. AND ONE OF THE WORST THINGS IN THE WORLD ABOUT IT IS THE EXAMPLE THAT THEY SHOW TO LITTLE FOLKS AROUND THEM. What kind of an example is that to the sheep?—A shepherd or a shepherdess who is no longer willing to do little things that need to be done, no longer willing to step in & stand in the gap & do their share of the work.
9. "HE THAT IS FAITHFUL IN THAT WHICH IS LEAST‚ IS FAITHFUL ALSO IN THAT WHICH IS MUCH", & the inference is, he that is unfaithful in that which is least‚ will also be unfaithful in that which is much. (Lk.16:10.) If you can't trust somebody to take care of the baby or to do the cooking or clean the toilet when it needs to be done & there's nobody else to do it, then you can't trust them to be World leaders either!
10. JESUS SAID TO THE HYPOCRITES, THE SCRIBES & THE PHARISEES WHO WERE TOO GOOD TO DO THE LITTLE THINGS because they were such lofty religious persons in lofty church positions: "This ye ought to have done & not to have left the other undone!" (Mt.23:23.) When you get too good to do the little things, then you are too good for the big things! And if you are too good to take care of the baby & to wash the dishes & do little things around here or anywhere, for the people in whose Home you are living where you are sharing the benefits of their labors but not willing to contribute your own, then you are too big for us! Understand?
11. You're too busy for me, because these people are me! "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me!" And inasmuch as ye have not done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have not done it unto me! (Mt.25:40.)
12. WHAT DOES THE BIBLE CALL IT? THEY HAD A PRETENDED HUMILITY, VOLUNTARY HUMILITY (Col.2:18), a show of humility‚ which is nothing but a form of pride if you just do it with eyeservice‚ man-pleasing because you know you're going to get the credit for being humble. But as somebody has said‚ "He that is humble knoweth not that he is humble!"
13. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I WAS WATCHING YOU TO SEE HOW FAITHFUL YOU WOULD BE IN THAT LITTLE TASK WITH MY OWN SON, because I knew that if you were really faithful in that, you would be that diligent with all of my children & all of my sheep‚ even on the other side of the World.
14. SOME PEOPLE SAY, "WELL, YOU SHOULDN'T JUDGE ME ON JUST THESE LITTLE THINGS!" But that's the way God judges! He judges on how faithful you are in a few things, in the least, the little things, because if you're not faithful in those, then He knows you're not going to be faithful in that which is most.—Even though you think you're going to be, somehow you won't.
15. THE SECRET IS: IN GOD'S EYES, THAT WHICH IS MOST IS THAT WHICH IS LEAST! These Colony Shepherds who are too busy writing reports to take care of their sheep are not worthy of the job! Their job is to be taking care of the sheep & the lambs & their report & their letters & their big responsibilities.
16. IF THEY CAN'T DO BOTH, THEN THEY'RE NOT WORTHY & ABLE TO BE A COLONY SHEPHERD! If they cannot take care of both that which is least & that which is most, even at the same time in an emergency, then they can't be a leader‚ because a leader has to be servant of all & do everything & all these things.
17. IT SEEMS A VERY SMALL THING & A VERY SMALL BOY‚ BUT GOD RUNS THE WORLD ON SMALL THINGS & HE JUDGES US BY SMALL THINGS. He says, "Despise not the day of small things" (Ze.4:10), because the whole World & all the Universe & God's Kingdom is made up of small things, very small things. And without the small things it wouldn't be here & neither would we & neither would His Kingdom! (Prays:)
18. SO, LORD, HELP HER NOW IN JESUS' NAME! Help her to eat humble pie now, to take the lowly place & be an example to the believers, of humility, lowliness, willing-spiritedness, willingness to help, willingness to work, willingness to share the burdens, not too good for anything, Lord. If she's too good for the least of these, Lord‚ she's too good for Thee!
19. HELP HER NOW, LORD, TO BE MELTED & MOLDABLE & USABLE as she has been in times past, that she might be able to teach others what real service is & what real love is.—That nothing is too small, nothing is too little, nothing is too unimportant for Thee nor for her.
20. YOU JUDGE US BY HOW WE HANDLE THESE LITTLE THINGS‚ how we handle this little child, Lord. We cannot even be too busy for this one just because we have thousands of children around the World. Otherwise it's all in vain, Lord, if we neglect even one lost sheep! You had to leave the 99 & go out & rescue just one last one‚ Lord, & this story has proven through the ages how much love You had for every single one!—Even the little one out there who needed more help. (Mt.18:12.)
21. HELP HER, LORD‚ TO HAVE SUCH A GREAT REPENTANCE THAT SHE HERSELF WILL BE SUCH A SAMPLE OF LOWLINESS‚ MEEKNESS, HUMILITY, FAITHFULNESS & LOYALTY that she will not even have to merely teach with her words & her letters & her lectures & meetings, but people will just simply watch her & they'll see what humility is & real service is in her. Even if she never says a word, she'll be a living example of faithful service to all, even the least.—A real leader, Lord! In Jesus' name we ask for Thy glory.
22. BLESS & STRENGTHEN HER & HELP HER TO TAKE IT NOW, LORD, & SURVIVE‚ IN JESUS' NAME! Give her the physical & spiritual strength & stamina to take it & help her to go through this trial & make it! Help it to both, break her & make her, Lord. Amen. You're going to be better for it, Honey, because you're going to be more lowly, which is going to make you greater, really.
23. THE LOWLIER YOU ARE, THE GREATER YOU ARE IN GOD'S KINGDOM! Amen? I guess that's why I have to be such a horrible character—to keep me humble! I'm probably the worst villain of the age—as far as the World's concerned. So PTL! ILY, Honey, GBY! See this big big door? It only takes one little tiny key to open it‚ but you'll never make it through the big doors without the tiny keys! Little things are big in God's eyes!—are you faithful in the little things?
ML #1373, DB 1
1. Never belittle your task or your position, no matter what it entails!—Whether it's changing diapers, cleaning the pool, doing the shopping, washing the dishes, cooking the meals, cleaning the house or doing the laundry.
2. When I was working for my Mother‚ [the Enemy used to] say, "Ah, look, you're nothing but a lackey & a bellboy & a busboy & a driver, a chauffeur! You're nothing but a flunky! You'll never be anything! You'll just help make your Mother great!"
3. WELL, I'LL NEVER FORGET THE TIME I WAS SITTING IN THE CAR, HER DRIVER‚ WAITING FOR HER TO COME BACK FROM SHOPPING. I was really down & the Devil was tempting me with that thought: "I'll never accomplish anything or be anybody myself until I get away from her!" And I opened my New Testament to read & the first thing I saw was,
4. "ART THOU CALLED BEING A SERVANT? SEEK NOT TO BE LOOSED!" (1Co.7:21) If the Devil tries to tell you, "Oh‚ you're nothing but servants!"—Of course you're servants! We're all servants! That's the way Joseph got started & that's the way a lot of important men of God got started, by being servants. (Ge.39:1-6)
5. IN FACT, THAT'S THE WAY ALL OF THEM GOT STARTED—BY BEING SERVANTS!—Every one of the great kings & men & women of God! That's where they learned how to rule, because you can't teach others how to serve until you've served yourself. And that's what happened to me! Those years of service to my Mother were the greatest years of my training! "And whosoever will be a chief among you, let him be your servant." (Mat.20:27)
6. WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOUT YOU? How could we live without you? I'd be busy all day doing things you do!—You make my work possible! This is what the Lord had to show me about my Mother, that I was the one who was really making her ministry possible & I was going to get a great share of the reward for what she accomplished.
7. OF COURSE IF YOU FAIL YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES, GOD WILL ALWAYS RAISE UP SOMEONE TO TAKE YOUR BIRTHRIGHT & STEAL YOUR CROWN, (2Ti.4:8; Rev.3:11) because He'll always get the job done somehow. Your crown is not your salvation, it symbolizes your reward. How can somebody steal your crown?—Only if you despise it & leave it to somebody else! If you're unfaithful in your task, God has to replace you.
8. SO DON'T BELITTLE OR MINIMIZE WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU TO DO, AMEN? We need you & you need us, too! We all need the Lord, & we all need to do the jobs He's given us to do! And one of the greatest things in the World is when you have learned to be content in whatsoever state you're in, whether it be to abound or to be in want. (Ph.4:11‚12) Amen?
9. WHAT ARE YOUR HEART'S DESIRES? If you delight yourself in His service‚ He's going to give you the desires of your heart! But a lot of people don't see that & they complain & minimize the job, like Esau: "What good is my birthright to me? I'm dying of starvation!" He despised it & lost it. (Ge.25:29–34; He.12:16‚17) But if you delight yourself in Him, you can have anything you want!
10. YOU'VE GOT JESUS—WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT? And you have His service to His children—what more could you want? You're making it possible for us to help the whole World, that's a pretty important job! PTL!
11. WHAT AN IMPORTANT JOB A MOTHER HAS! It doesn't seem very important, does it?—Taking care of nothing but a baby, changing diapers. But who knows what that baby will be someday? One human immortal soul is worth more than all the World!—One little babe is worth more & going to last longer! So that's a pretty important job too, amen? Don't ever despise it or minimize it!
12. IF THE DEVIL CAN'T DISCOURAGE YOU ANY OTHER WAY, HE TRIES TO BELITTLE YOU & BELITTLE WHAT YOU'RE DOING & sneer & ridicule & make fun of you & your task & try to convince you that you're nobody & you're doing nothing. I know, because he's worked that one on me plenty of times! Well, now I know he's a liar, praise God!
13. LORD, HELP US TO REMEMBER THAT "HE THAT WOULD BE GREATEST AMONG YOU MUST BE SERVANT OF ALL." (Mk.10:44) These are called being servants, Lord, to Thee & to me.—Let the Devil not tempt them to seek to be loosed from such an important task, Lord.
14. HELP THEM TO TREASURE EVERY MOMENT OF IT, EVERY BIT OF THE TASK, LORD, the meanest, lowest, most menial, humblest tasks, whatever they may be! Thank You for all these tasks & thank You for these precious helpers You've given us to do them, Lord. Help them, Lord, to prize rather than despise their birthright‚ & let no man steal their crown! Help them to be willing to be humbled in Thy service‚ that You may exalt them as You have. "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time." (1Pet.5:6)
15. HELP US, LORD, TO BE FAITHFUL! Thy Word says, "It is enough that a servant be found faithful!" (1Co.4:2)—Full of faith & faithful at their tasks.—Not delinquent, not disloyal, not lazy, but faithful! So that when the task is done, You will say to us, "Well done Thou good & faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord!" (Mt.25:21)
16. HELP US TO BE FAITHFUL SERVANTS!—In Jesus' name. Amen! GBYA!
ML #1965:43–45, DB 8
43. A DISCIPLE IS ONE WHO FOLLOWS THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS CHRIST!—Who said, "Forsake all, come follow Me & I will make you fishers of men!" So if you're not forsaking all & following Him & fishing for men, how could you be called a disciple? If you want to follow Jesus one hundred percent, you've got to forsake all & preach the Gospel!—Or you can't be His disciple!
44. GOD COULD HAVE YOU GEARED & EARMARKED FOR A MUCH GREATER JOB & MINISTRY THAN YOU COULD EVER POSSIBLY EVEN IMAGINE! But if you're going to settle for some stinking job at some dead-end place working for Mammon, if you choose that instead of God & His highest & best in His service, let me warn you, you're liable to get stuck & suckered & hooked into the worst mess, & God's curse will rest upon it & He won't bless it & everything you put your hand to will crumble & turn not to gold, but to dust!
45. EVEN SO-CALLED "SUCCESS" IS A GREAT DEFEAT WHEN IT'S A SUCCESS IN THIS WORLD & takes you away from God's Work!—The Devil's success is a defeat for the Lord! So "seek ye first the Kingdom of God‚ & all these (other) things shall be added unto you!" (Mat.6:33) If you put God's Kingdom first, He'll take care of you, no matter what!
ML #2140:59-71, DB 8
59. It's all gotta be the LORD, & HE wants to do it & He wants to get the credit for it & the glory . And if in any way, shape or form you think YOU'RE going to get a little credit for it & be able to brag about how you did it & made it & had the faith & all the rest, He's apt to slap you down a little to show you Who's Boss & to make you look to HIM ALONE!
60. He knows how to keep you in line‚ keep you in check so you don't get the big head & don't get too puffed up & too self–confident, have too great a sense of false security! The Lord really knows how to keep you in line, keep you in shape, toeing the mark so you won't MISS the mark! And often‚ if we're quite proud‚ quite self-righteous & quite overly-religious, He gives us just what we need to bring us out of it, a real BREAKING, a real HUMBLING!
61. God sometimes has to destroy what we THINK we are or what we think we're SUPPOSED to be or what we think we SHOULD be or do, in order to get us to do what HE wants us to do & make us what HE wants us to be. Hallelujah! (Tongues & prophecy:) "That vessel which was destroyed & broken in the hands of the Potter, behold‚ He hath softened & mellowed it & worked it again & its Creator hath made of it an even BETTER vessel!" Thank You Jesus! Praise You Lord! Hallelujah!
62. Did you know that the potters often do that?—When they're working the clay‚ when they have finished a vessel or are even halfway through, & they find an imperfection or something where there's a mistake or there's a lump or there's a mar, they will take that same clay & CRUSH it & add more water to it again, make it soft again & knead it again & work it again.—Mash it, crush it, squeeze it, till they make it nice soft clay again.—Then they REMAKE it into a NEW vessel & a BETTER vessel if the first one didn't come out quite right. (Jer.18:4)
63. God gets some of His greatest victories out of seeming defeats.—Victories of brokenness, humility, & more utter dependence on Him, which you must have if you're going to lead & inspire others! My Mother once asked the great evangelist, Paul Rader, "Why are the laborers always so few?" & he answered wisely, "I guess God can't BREAK them fast enough!" How true!
64. God only uses BROKEN men & women—no others will do! Others are too self-confident in their own flesh! God has to break them, melt them, mold them in the hands of the Potter, to make them a better vessel. But He won't FORCE it! The breaking depends upon YOU & your YIELDEDNESS, & WILLINGNESS to be made willing, total HUMILITY, which is synonymous with total LOVE!—So that you're willing to go anywhere‚ anytime‚ & do anything, for anybody, & be nobody, to please Him, & help others!
65. Apparently the Lord can't trust you with a high & mighty job or a high & mighty testimony, or a high & mighty responsibility, something that might really lift you up in pride, until He has really HUMBLED you & BROKEN you so that you know it's the LORD & you give HIM all the glory & all the credit & it doesn't go to your head & make you proud!—Which is why the New Testament says you're not to give a novice any position of great responsibility or leadership lest he be lifted up in pride & then fall under the condemnation (judgment or sentence) of the Devil by the Lord. (1Tim.3:6)—In other words, if you get all lifted up in that horrible sin of pride that caused the Devil to fall—watch out! You'll get the same judgment that he got‚ & you'll fall, too. The Lord will let you make a fool of yourself & a mess of things & you'll fall flat on your face & be humbled & humiliated!
66. Unless God is able to break your spirit‚ you can never be truly USEFUL to the Lord! If you have a proud & a haughty spirit‚ a selfish spirit, a spirit which is unyielding & unbending & unsurrendered, you can never be greatly used by the Lord! And I don't think that you can even really be a good leader, a wise humble leader, until you've pulled some awful boners & made some terrible mistakes & committed a few sins & really blown it a few times yourself! For one thing, you'll never be humble enough!
67. So it's GOOD for you to make mistakes‚ it keeps you humble! I make LOTS of'm! If I didn't make some mistakes I'd probably get really proud & think I was very wholly sanctified & couldn't sin! I'd probably get really proud of my sanctimonious holiness! But it seems like the Lord makes me one of the biggest mistake-makers in the World to keep me humble!
68. The Lord probably WANTS you to fail sometimes so you won't get to thinking too highly of YOURSELF & think that YOU know everything. Blowing it now & then really humbles you & keeps you more dependent on Him. Sometimes He has to LET you fail & make mistakes to keep you in a HUMBLE spirit! Amen?
69. So you can even look on your FAILURES as a positive thing, from a positive viewpoint.—Not taking it as the Lord trying to crush you to the ground & letting the Enemy walk all over you, but that He's actually HONORING you by teaching you these important lessons by letting such things happen. You ought to be really THANKING Him for it! YOU may FEEL bad, but you should thank the LORD, because it's wonderful that you can learn these lessons which help you to GROW! It's even a blessing that we can fall sometimes, because often we get our greatest victories out of seeming defeats!
70. It's so wonderful how God takes a hand & humbles people, including me, because I am nobody & Jesus knows it. You will never make it unless God breaks you & humbles you & you realize that YOU are NOTHING!
71. God breaks us in MERCY.—And has mercy in our breaking. Amen, praise the Lord! Help us all, Lord!—That's the story of EVERY ONE of us who is any good at all for Thy work. You've put us through many a humbling, melting, abasing‚ remolding, reshaping & remaking to form BETTER vessels, BETTER than we were‚ BETTER than we thought we were & much more useful for Thy Kingdom! Thank You Jesus, in Jesus' name. Amen.
ML #3135:89-110, 118-122, Lifelines 24
89. (Jesus:) Missionaries are at the top of My list! Missionaries are apostles, just like the apostles of old—ones called with a mission. My first disciples were just normal men and women like you. What set them apart from the rest of the world was the fact that they answered My call. They heard My call in their heart and in their spirit, and they followed Me. And as they followed Me, they learned of Me. I was teaching them and training them, instructing them in the ways of Heaven, in the ways of faith, and even in practical ways of how to live their lives to the fullest, to gain the greatest pleasure, joy and happiness.
90. Then after I came to Heaven, I sent My Holy Spirit to lead them and guide them—just as I had done when I was there with them—and I commissioned them to go out as missionaries to win the world. They were continuing to follow Me, to learn of Me, to grow. It's not as if they learned everything there was to know. Their learning continued, but at the same time they fulfilled My commission to be missionaries.
91. Today I have many missionaries in many lands, of many cultures, of many nationalities‚ of many callings and many different ministries. They have left their homes, they have left all behind and have gone out to follow Me and to live according to their faith. You‚ My Family missionaries, have great faith because of the abundance of Word that has been poured out upon you. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God, and you have been mightily blessed with an ocean of the Word of God!
92. You have the Word spoken in olden times—the Bible. You have the Word spoken in modern times through the voice of your Father David. And you have the voice of prophecy through which My wonderful Words are being poured forth for today, and for the days to come. As you drink in this Word from all sources, it strengthens you and strengthens your faith. You, of all My children upon the Earth, drink in more of My Word than anyone else, and that is why you have such great faith. The faith that you have from reading My Word is magnified because you are yielded and believing and accepting the new Word, the New Wine from Heaven. This gives you new faith, strong faith, faith for modern times, faith for today, and faith for the things to come.
93. My missionaries have the best of all lives‚ for they have the best of all I have to offer. Those who yield themselves utterly to Me, who seek My perfect will in their lives‚ who answer My call to go and save the lost, those who are willing to forsake all and follow Me daily, taking up their cross—they are the ones who will benefit the most from a life lived for Me‚ for they are the ones upon whom I may pour My blessings with great abundance for their yieldedness and obedience.
94. My missionaries are pilgrims and strangers upon the Earth. And though they have no nation to call their own‚ and no certain dwelling place, yet this is their strength and this is their training for the world to come. For My missionaries will be leaders of the world one day. In their daily witnessing and ministering to others, they are learning to understand the hurts and the pain that the world suffers. They are learning of the troubles and the difficulties that the people of this world face. They see their hopelessness, their need for love, their struggles to survive, their battles within their families‚ the trials they face in their form of livelihood.
95. They walk among people of all strata of society and they learn about them so they will understand them and their needs. This helps My missionaries now, and will help them when one day they come into the position of being rulers of this world. This is something they could never learn by just living a normal life, as their experience would be limited to the small circumference of their life and their level of society.
96. My missionaries can transcend the strata of society. They can go from the bottom to the top, and from the top to the bottom. They can relate to all people, and they can learn and partake of the lives of people on all levels of society. This is a unique opportunity, a unique experience. My missionaries are not a part of society, and this gives them an advantage to peek in‚ to observe, to learn and to mingle with those of all walks of life. My missionaries have learned to set aside their own personal wants and wishes so that they may become one to all men, that they may learn to relate to them, to understand them.
97. This is cultural training. This is sociological training. This is training that they could never receive in a classroom, because this is interacting with the real thing, with real people. It's not theory; it's practice. They are meeting people from every level of society. They are speaking with them. They are being accepted into their homes and into their lives, and they are learning about their hopes, their wishes, their desires, their heartbreaks and their failures.
98. This is such wonderful preparation for being world rulers! So few of the rulers of this world know and understand the people they govern as well as you will understand your people. My missionaries learn to be broad-minded; they learn to understand and accept the culture‚ traditions and habits of other societies.
99. This teaches them an openness that few people in the world have—to meet people of other nations, of other cultures, of other tongues, without prejudice‚ without preconceived ideas, without judging them by outward appearance. This is something that nations are striving for, but they fall miserably short of. How can they ever have racial equality when they are already so boxed in by their own prejudices, thoughts and ideas?
100. But you, My missionaries, are there with the purpose of learning to bridge the gaps between the peoples of the world. You have open hearts and open minds. You look only at the creation of God, at the human being and his or her eternal soul. That is what you are most interested in, and that is the same in all of the people of the Earth. You see them in the purest way‚ as My creations, as My children‚ and you look beyond their race, their color‚ their traditions, their habits and modes of living.
101. My missionaries are some of the most educated people on Earth—not educated in the ways of man‚ but educated in My ways. They learn the deep things of the Spirit. They learn to hear the voice of God. They learn to understand the Word of God.
102. Because they give themselves wholly to Me and are seeking to do My will, I have more control in their lives. I can teach them yieldedness and bring them closer to Me through their desperation. It is these who are empty of themselves, empty of their own knowledge, empty of their own wisdom and empty of their own will that can avail themselves the most of My wisdom, My power and My anointing. In becoming seemingly weak and insignificant to the world, they have become strong, powerful and important in My Kingdom.
103. Their wisdom and knowledge is the opposite of that of the world. Their wisdom and knowledge comes from God; the wisdom and knowledge of the world comes from man. But My missionaries are educated and wise in the ways of the world, too, for I teach them these things as well. They learn the languages of many lands. They learn the geography and history of many countries firsthand, by living there, by visiting these places and experiencing life in those countries. They're not just tourists, but they live in every country they go to, whether their time there is long or short. They are pilgrims and strangers. Wherever they are is where they live, and they learn and they grow from these experiences.
104. Very few people in the world have the advantage of living in this way—forsaking their own country, upbringing, culture and personal traditions, to take on those of another land, another nation‚ another people. This is training and experience that can never be gained from a classroom in the same way as it can by living it.
105. My missionaries learn to live by faith. They learn to lean upon Me and to expect Me to supply their every need‚ and I do. This tests their faith. This causes them to use their muscles of faith, which strengthens them. Living by faith strengthens their faith and causes them to grow. Living by faith keeps them uncompromising and pure. In living by faith they stay true to My precepts and true to their convictions, for they know this will bring down My blessings. Living by faith keeps My missionaries unspotted from the world, for they are dependent upon Me and My supply, and not upon the world.
106. Through living by faith‚ My missionaries learn to be thankful‚ to be appreciative of the little things, and to give Me thanks and praise for all that I do in their lives. They learn the value of little things, of diligence and carefulness. They develop the gift of praise and thankfulness which helps them to shun murmuring and complaining, which would darken their soul and countenance. They learn to love Me and to praise Me and to thank Me for the smallest answers to prayer, for the smallest provision and gifts at My hand. And so they shine with such beautiful and radiant spirits of love and thankfulness. They learn to praise Me when things are good, and praise Me when things are not so good. This gives stamina to their spirits and endurance to their faith as they learn to praise Me through all seasons.
107. Living by faith polishes My missionaries and makes them shine! It gives them a special depth, a special worth that can only be found through prayer and praise and thanksgiving, through living a life of thankfulness. Through their hardships and difficulties I stretch out their spirits. I broaden them and deepen them so their spirituality grows and they are not shallow. How can this be learned within the safety and security of the System?
108. My missionaries learn to love like no others on Earth, for they see the power of God working in their lives and in other people's lives. Their hearts are broken for the poor and the destitute and the hungry in spirit of this world, and through their brokenness, through the tenderness of their heart, I pour forth My love. Their tenderness opens the channels of My love, and they receive My love in greater measure than those of the world. My love flows through in mighty waves, through mighty channels to fill them and to overflow onto others.
109. My missionaries are the salt of the Earth, and I sprinkle them freely across the nations that they may bring out the flavor of My love in all places where they go. I love My missionaries, for they are most blessed upon the face of the Earth. They are My children‚ and I love them for their obedience and yieldedness. They are learning to forsake the ways of the world. They are learning to lay aside the traditions of man and his wisdom‚ his values and his goals, that they may embrace the true riches, the true values, the values of Heaven and the richness of My Spirit.
110. This life is but a preparation for the world to come. It is but a school where the entrance exams are given to see who will make it into the next grade. This time on Earth is but a test to see who will choose the ways of the world and who will choose My ways. And these, My missionaries, who choose My ways, will find great reward in the next world and for all eternity to come! (End of message.)
118. (Dad: ) Being a missionary is where it's at! As you all say today, it's the cool thing to do! Do you want to be not only cool‚ but in God's elite, God's top unit? Or do you want to be one of the masses, just another one of the crowd, enjoying the pleasures of the world for a season, sort of going the general direction, but kind of hanging out in the wings? Do you want to be right on-beam, right on target, right in with the in crowd on that straight and narrow road that not only leads to salvation, but also leads to happiness, contentment, and true enjoyment in life? Well, that's the road that I know you missionaries have taken, and I'm so very proud of you!
119. I know it's not easy to leave some of the pleasures of this life behind to dwell in this rather barren land. I know what a sacrifice it is for you physically. I know that it's also a sacrifice spiritually to be in this land, continually surrounded by such darkness and hopelessness. But God is going to bless you for it, and you can take pride in the fact that you're in His elite corps, His top-flight unit‚ His missionaries!
120. You're different! You're different from everybody else. You have different values. You have a different lifestyle. You have different faith. And believe me, you've got something that everybody wants—real love. You know where you're going, and you've got hope. That really sets you apart in that land where there's such a famine for the Word of God, such a famine for real spiritual input.
121. I am so very proud of each and every one of you who are on that field giving and sacrificing. Oh, I know some of you feel like you're not accomplishing much and you're just barely hanging in there‚ but you are doing the job! You are being a witness and a testimony! And if you'll keep at it, the Lord will bless you! You're going to be so satisfied and thankful that you didn't give up, but that you continued to follow Him and preach the Gospel to that love-starved, hope-starved nation.
122. What could be better than giving your life in service to God and others? What higher calling could you have? How much more cool could you possibly be than to be a member of God's Endtime army?—His apostles, taking His message of hope and salvation to a dying world in these last troublous days of this Earth as we know it! (End of message.)
ML #3478:1-19, 66-73, 80-85, 152-174, GN 1065
Dear wonderful parents and teachers,
1. This GN is dedicated to you! You have one of the most important jobs in the Family—caring for our wonderful children—and you're worthy of as much appreciation, honor, and commendation as we can possibly heap on you.
2. Sometimes you may feel forgotten or as if your ministry doesn't mean much to others. You may be tempted to feel that others' jobs or responsibilities are more important, and that you're just a "lowly" childcare worker, teacher‚ or parent caring for a child—or your many children. But I want to remind you that you're tops! You're highly esteemed and honored in Heaven for your many sacrifices and labors of love for our precious children‚ and Peter and I also admire you and consider you the "greats" of the Family.
3. You may feel most of the time just like a little person with a lowly job, but the way Jesus sees it is completely opposite. "The first shall be last and the last shall be first" (Mat.19:30), and "the lowly shall be exalted" (Luk.1:52). Everything you pour into the children—whether they're your flesh children or your children in spirit—is going to bear fruit. You'll be rewarded for every sacrifice, too, and every act of love is being recorded in Heaven.
4. Even if others don't always see the love you give, the time you invest, the heartaches you experience, the challenges you face, the battles you fight, and the persevering spirits you possess to overcome so many obstacles, Jesus does, and He's going to reward you accordingly. As Dad said in "Little People" (ML #974, Vol.8), those who do what seem like the lowliest jobs here on Earth are going to receive some of the biggest rewards and the greatest crowns in Heaven—for your faithfulness, stick-to–itiveness, humility and love.
5. I wish I could take each of you in my arms and give you a big hug. I'd tell you how much I appreciate you—you personally—and the wonderful job you're doing for Jesus in raising and teaching His children. But when we get to Heaven, I will. I'll want to meet each of you personally and tell you how much I admire you‚ and give you a whole heap of encouragement. I'm sure Jesus will do the same—and much more—and shower you with unprecedented rewards and blessings that will make every sacrifice worth it all. Every difficulty will pale when compared with the glory and honor He'll rain upon you.
6. This GN is something I've had the burden to work on for a long time now‚ and when I was praying about the timing of it, Dad suggested we do it as soon as possible‚ and said it was extremely important. In one of the messages, in which he said a lot of wonderful and encouraging things to you dear teachers and parents, he said: "I always considered our parents, teachers, and caretakers of the rulers of the future to be heroes in the Family. They're the little people who will make history through their sacrifices, their dedication, and their willingness to pour into the lives in their care day after day, week after week, year after year."
7. Peter and I wholeheartedly agree; we're so proud of you! We appreciate each one of you more than mere words could express, and we highly regard your great love for our precious children, and your dedication to teaching and training them to be the rulers of tomorrow and the hope of the future that they are destined to be.
8. When you read these beautiful messages of encouragement that Jesus has given for you, imagine that He's sitting beside you, telling you very personally how much He loves and appreciates you, and how very much your sacrifices mean to Him—because that's what He's doing in the spirit. He gives some beautiful encouragement to all of you parents and teachers, which I pray will spark a rekindled fire, joy‚ and inspiration in each of your hearts, with the renewed knowledge of how important your job is.
9. Our loving Husband also talks about the unseen rewards on Earth for those of you who have chosen the often thankless job of childcare and childrearing, which is then followed by some awesome insight into your rewards in Heaven, which you won't want to miss!
10. Relax now, dear parents and teachers, as you read these messages given especially for you! Enjoy these delicacies and tokens of love from Heaven, because you're deserving of all of this commendation and encouragement—and much, much more! You'll just have to wait a little longer for the "cherry on the top"—the heavenly rewards, honor, medals, and blessings—which will be yours real soon, in thanks and gratitude from our wonderful Husband to you who often feel insignificant and unworthy‚ but who are truly some of the greatest in God's Kingdom!
FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS
11. (Jesus:) I have chosen you as vessels of humility, vessels of devotion, and vessels of dedication—you who humble yourselves to be Me for My children, you who forsake your lives, all that you have, all that you are, and walk as I walked on Earth, seeking first the Kingdom.
12. You feed My sheep who will feed the world for Me. You teach My sheep who will teach others for Me. You train My sheep who will train others for Me. You love My sheep who will love others for Me. You lay down your lives so that My diamonds of dust, the hope of My future, can sparkle and shine. You hold My future in your hands. I have bestowed a great honor upon you.
13. At times it may not seem like an honor but like the opposite—a drudgery, a drain, full of heartaches and heartbreaks, thankless‚ difficult‚ and demanding. I know it can sometimes be all these things. But these times, which the Enemy blows out of proportion and paints as the whole picture, do not portray the real picture, the masterpieces that I am working on through your hands, your eyes, your mouth, your ears‚ your very souls and bodies.
14. In teaching and educating and raising and caring for My children, you are creating masterpieces greater than the finest artwork on Earth—greater than the works of Michelangelo and all his tedious and detailed work on the Sistine Chapel; greater than all the works of Rembrandt; greater than all the works of any artist that ever lived. Your works are masterpieces of living art—not that which will be admired on pieces of canvas, or sculptures carved from stone, or on the walls of a great church. No, those works of art will pass away, but the work of teaching and raising and caring for My children will live on in their lives. For they are creations of My hand, made in My image, and you are the ones I have chosen to raise them in My nurture and admonition.
15. My nurture: You care for them for Me. You protect them for Me. You educate them for Me, teaching them My ways. Thank you, My nurturing brides, for loving Me so intimately as to allow yourselves to be used in such a fashion by My hand.
16. My admonition: You warn My children when they stray from My ways‚ advising and disciplining them in the spirit of My love. You are My brides who do not compromise‚ but stand up for the Words of truth and are true to your convictions, which you have learned of Me. Thank you, My brides of admonition, for staying true to Me and upholding My standard in the midst of a world that has forsaken it. When all is said and done and you come Home to Me to receive your heavenly reward, every minute of forsaking that you did on My behalf for My children will be compensated an hundredfold, and all the world will know of your love and service for Me.
17. Your job ahead is a mountain that for some of you may seem like Mount Everest, so high and seemingly impossible to reach the peak. The stories you have heard of those who have climbed this earthly mountain most likely are relatable to you. There are many parallels you can draw from what those who climb such mountains have experienced. In short, it's a work of their life. The true mountaineers train all their lives for their trek to the top. They plan every step carefully—the amount of equipment they'll need‚ the team they will travel with, the time of year they will travel, the food supply, etc., and they plot their course. Then they begin their journey. But no matter how well they have planned, unexpected conditions and circumstances that arise can add to the challenge, and they must rely on what they have learned for their decisions. Sometimes they find themselves in impossible situations and they risk their lives for the climb.
18. The physical and spiritual challenges you teachers and caregivers and parents of My children face on your journey are comparable to those of your worldly counterparts who scale the highest mountain peaks. But you have a definite advantage, the ultimate advantage, the advantage that ensures that you will reach your goal. You have Me as your Guide. You have the power of the keys of the Kingdom for any impossible situation you find yourself in. You have heavenly thought power for every aspect of your planning needs. You have full possession—Me in you. There truly are no alps to you, My loves. You are My extreme mountaineers!
19. Sometimes the mountains you climb aren't such a treacherous challenge. I am faithful to never give you more than you are able to bear. But what I love and admire about you is your yieldedness to scale the mountain of caring for, teaching and raising My children that I have for you. This is a great form of love that I receive from you that is very dear to Me—priceless and beyond earthly description. You are My brides who live My Words of love in 1Corinthians 13, who hold up love as the greatest thing in giving your lives to Me to care for My children. I love you. Great is your reward in Heaven. (End of message.)
66. (Jesus: ) Teaching children is one of My highest callings in life, yet one that so often receives little thanks. I wish to give thanks and gratitude to those of you who give of yourself day in and day out, making these little ones into the vessels of love that will pour out My love to others.
67. You've poured out your lives that others may live a life of service to Me. You have not thought of your own needs, wants, and desires, but have put your children first. I say "your children" even though I know that not all are your physical children. But because you have accepted and taken up the challenge to teach, train, educate‚ and to love them, this makes them your children as well.
68. It is a difficult job to teach and to train My little ones. You may begin to feel lost or that you are losing your identity and becoming more like a child, but do not fear this, for this is a gift! It is a rare gift to be able to see into the heart and mind of a child, to understand them and to be able to relate to them. To those of you who have accepted this calling, I have and will give you the gift to be able to relate to and understand children, for this is something that you will need to truly "make it" as a teacher and caregiver.
69. There are those to whom I have tried to give this gift, but when they saw the sacrifice that was needed and the forsaking that they would have to make in order to accept this gift, they chose not to. It is a high calling—and, yes, it is also a difficult one, for you must make your life their life, and you must be thinking of their needs all the time. For this I highly reward you. Words cannot express the gratitude that I feel toward those of you who have taken up this challenge, who not only take care of the children, but lay down your lives for them. If it were not for those of you who give of yourselves, these young ones would not grow up to know Me and have all of the practical education they need to serve Me.
70. Even now there are those who are in need of shepherding and teaching, who long for someone to show them the way to go. These young ones look to you as their role models. They see you and do what you do. They take on your faith and see My Word as you portray it. This is very taxing, for I too felt this way—that My every move was watched, judged, and followed. I could hardly get away from the multitudes in order to commune with My Father‚ yet I knew I must in order to have the strength to face the multitudes.
71. I can give you the strength that you need‚ the grace, wisdom and love during the quiet time that you spend alone with Me. When the weights seem too hard to bear, or the problems are mounting up and you feel as if you will be swallowed up, take your burdens to Me upon the wings of prayer, and you will be lifted up and over the mountains that you face. My arms are ever there for you to help you and to give you the strength‚ love, and encouragement that you need.
72. Through the keys of the Kingdom you have all the power, wisdom and understanding of all the sages of all ages at your beck and call. Through the gift of heavenly thought power you can have My mind at any time you need it‚ for in these days of testing you will need it. All the latest weapons are at your disposal to be used in the care and teaching of My little ones, for they are precious in My sight, and so are you.
73. I love you all‚ My faithful shepherds and teachers of My little lambs. Thank you! Thank you for taking up the challenge to care for, love, educate, and feed these little ones! Great will be your reward for all eternity, and the ones who will sing your praises the loudest will be those whom you cared for and gave your lives for. (End of message.)
80. (Jesus: ) To you, My teachers, My sacrificial brides, I give the highest commendation! Great is your reward in Heaven, and great are your rewards on Earth! You are My master sculptors, creating masterpieces from these soft, moldable pieces of clay, these little ones that you hold in your hands and fashion into the beautiful works of art I have planned for them to be. I know it's hard work, and you must give and give and give of yourself without end, but truly it's worth it, and the end result will speak for itself.
81. Thank you, My loved ones, for laying down your lives for others. No greater love has any man than this! You are at the top of My charts! Your work is as important as the work of My missionaries on the front lines winning souls for Me, for you are winning the souls of the children of love. You are—physically, emotionally, educationally, and spiritually—teaching and training those who will serve Me and win many more for Me in the days to come.
82. It's hard work, and I know you often don't receive the thanks and appreciation you deserve. But be not discouraged, My loves‚ for you have My utmost thanks and appreciation and devotion! I wish there were more of you—more who were willing to lay down their own lives that others may live and be fed and strengthened and nurtured in My admonition.
83. I commend you, My teachers and caregivers and lovers of My little ones—you are tops in My books and your rewards are great! In this world it may not seem so sometimes‚ but wait'll you see what I'm preparing for you in Heaven! It will be worth it all—all you went through to raise these little ones on Earth.
84. Your day is coming! There will be a great toast in Heaven at the Marriage Supper to all of you teachers and childcare workers! Your work and labors of love will receive great recognition, and I will highly honor each of you in My Kingdom to come, even as I do now. Each little one that you so faithfully poured into will come and bow before your feet and thank you for all you did to help them, to love them, to educate them, to teach and train them in the way they should go. Even the ones who temporarily went astray to follow the ways of the world will come to you and thank you for all that you gave to them, and tell you how much it helped them and meant to them. Many will line up to give you their love and thanks in that day!
85. But even now these little ones look to you with love in their eyes, for they know that you're here for them, and that you're here for Me, and that you're being an example of My love. So take heart and be inspired and encouraged, My loves! Your work does not go unnoticed! This work of love that you perform day in and day out is what keeps this Family going and growing and moving and rolling and increasing and bearing fruit unto Me! I love you, and need you, and appreciate you more than these few words can tell.
Your Lover and Master Teacher‚ Jesus (End of message.)
152. (Jesus:) In Heaven, all the "fruit" that was passed from one heart to another heart, and then on to another, and another, and another—all the paths that one piece of "fruit" traversed from the original heart—will be laid out graphically for all to see.
153. For you, parents and teachers, there is a specific reward or gratification, and that is that pieces of your actual personal heart will be identifiable in all of the thousands—and in some cases millions—of hearts that your one heart affected. In other words‚ as you go about your lives in Heaven, you might come across somebody in the far reaches, and you will see your insignia inscribed in that person's heart! That person may be a king, or a queen, or a ruler, or it may just be an average person of Heaven, but as you look at the person's heart you will see your very own insignia or emblem inscribed upon it, giving you entrance into that person's heart and into that person's reward!
154. It will be unfathomable, the infinite rewards that are available and online for access to each parent and teacher. Oh, if you only knew! If you only knew the literal millions of rewards that are accessible to you for the pieces of your heart that you sowed in the children you ministered to. Literally every piece of "fruit," good work‚ or good deed that a child does in his life is marked with the insignia of his parents and teachers, and so the rewards brought in by those fruits‚ good works‚ or good deeds are all available for access by the parents and teachers.
155. You may say‚ "Well, that must be the same for anyone who ministers to anyone in any way—that their fruits carry on and are thus accessible for the originating persons." But the difference is centered around the phrase that "humility is love." And by humbly taking the seemingly lower seat of ministering to children, where there is usually not any occasion for pride to be a motivating factor in the ministration, consequently the parent and teacher are building up stronger reserves of love. That means they have more of Me.
156. I am the energy and life force that powers the Kingdom of Heaven, and those here who have ministered to children emanate My Spirit beautifully, because they are so full of love. In taking on the task of ministering to them, they were given My love force to fill the parts where pride may have inhabited them or others who did not have the humility to take on that ministration. So really, the bottom line is more of Me. And in Heaven, that is the reward of choice and what everyone wants. Those who have an abundant supply of My love force are looked upon with great honor and dignity.
157. They are able to go places that others cannot get into because they don't have the equivalent honors upon their shoulders. Doors open in Heaven for those that have the proper rank, and My parents and teachers in the Family all have high rank, simply because of their putting someone else first from the word go. High rank and honors are theirs, simply because they have chosen a high calling, and I reward those who have done so. It's like having a certain rank, as a military general would have upon his shoulders or hat. Or it's like having a name tag embedded with the highest of codes, so that when you come upon a special place in My Kingdom‚ the doors automatically recognize that entrance is approved and they open before you.
158. So by honoring My children on Earth and putting them first above yourself or your own aspirations‚ I honor you and put you first when you arrive here. It's as simple as that! (End of message.)
159. (Vision:) I see a big beautiful room in Heaven; it must be hundreds of feet long. There are beautiful columns along the side with flowers spiraling up them. I'm looking down toward the end of the room now and I see a throne, a magnificent throne that looks like nothing that you see here on Earth. Jesus is sitting on the throne, and there are people from all walks of life coming up to Him and receiving various rewards from Him. Then down the aisle walk a man and woman—they look so humble, so amazed to have even been called to come up and receive an award. But as they near the throne and the front of the room where Jesus is, He stands up from His throne as if the guests of honor have arrived.
160. (Jesus:) Behold My faithful ones, caretakers of My sheep, My little ones. Did I not say when I was on Earth that "if you love Me, feed My sheep"? I said that three times in a row, because it was something very important that I wanted to stress to all: That if you really and truly love Me‚ the best way you could show your love for Me was in caring for My sheep, in feeding My lambs. I wasn't just talking about the lost sheep in the world you witness to—and indeed, those who give their lives to reaching My lost sheep will be bountifully rewarded, for it is a high calling and an honor. I was also speaking of the children‚ the sheep of your own flocks, that I entrust into your care.
161. These have shown their deep love for Me by giving their all, their lives for My sheep, My little ones. It has been a job with many sacrifices. They haven't been out there blazing the trails, pioneering countries, or doing things the world hears of, but they have been faithful day after day, month after month, and year after year‚ pouring out to My little ones.
162. These faithful brides of Mine will not just receive one reward for their life on Earth for Me, but they will receive numerous rewards!
163. (Vision: ) Then Jesus places golden chains about their necks—not just one‚ He places many. They're sort of like the honors or badges given to someone in the army, where the entire front of their jacket is covered with medals for bravery‚ etc.
164. (Jesus continues:) These rewards are for the lives of those they not only brought to Me, but who they taught and spent years of their lives bringing to Me, for each child that they had in their care and who they poured into and gave their life for. For each of the works for Me that these children have done, I reward and bless those who have taught them.
165. Great blessings and rewards go to those who sacrificed their own desires, who put aside their own plans and programs and stuck to the job that I had given them of being Me to My little ones, who played Me for My children by giving them My love, My truth, and My Words. I will now use these in a way that they have never dreamed of. I will use the training and lessons that these have gone through and learned to help Me rule the world, to help Me to teach and train millions who need to hear about Me. I will use these as shepherds of My flocks. (End of message.)
166. (Jesus:) I honor you, My parents and teachers, and when you get to Heaven I'm going to celebrate your sacrifices‚ your deeds of love‚ your willingness to serve and care for My children.
167. When we are all together in Heaven, there will be a massive celebration, an elaborate feast in your honor, My Family teachers and parents. It is My plan to honor every parent, every teacher, and every caregiver in a very personal way. We will gather together in My grand auditorium, and I will give honor to whom honor is due. All of Heaven will know who is being honored and why. All of Heaven will pay you their respect. I will lavish My praise and love upon you!
168. There will be dishes served from My heavenly kitchen. The menu will be exquisite, the food delectable, and the wine unearthly. The service will be exemplary, and you will be waited on as kings and queens. Each person will be served dishes specifically cooked to their preference. The food that would satisfy you personally‚ your favorite choice, will be set before you. Each plate will be different, each guest served according to his choice. I know each one's heart, each one's likes and favorites, and what I serve will be more perfect to your taste buds and your soul than anything you might ever imagine.
169. Over the course of the feast‚ which will be quite extended, there will be entertainment and presentations of the finest kind. My heavenly musicians will play songs in your honor, singers will sing, and My poets will recite My appreciation praises to you. Dancers will perform in our midst‚ and flashbacks and real-life movie scenes from Earth will play before all—acts of love‚ acts of care‚ sacrificial deeds, all done for My children—in honor of you‚ My teachers, parents, and caregivers.
170. Then there will be speeches made by those whose lives you've touched. There will be representatives from those you helped to care for, those you poured into, those children you sacrificed for. They will stand before all and tell of their gratitude, of how you made an impact on their lives, and how thankful they are, and always will be, for your sacrifices on their behalf, for your love for them. There will be many tears of joy shed during this time, for it will be a feast of love and appreciation such as your mind could never fathom and your heart could never dream of. All those attending will be touched and honored in a very personal way.
171. And to close the evening, I Myself will give a message of gratitude, appreciation‚ honor and reward. This will be unlike anything you have ever heard before, unlike any commendation I give you on Earth. I cannot tell you the details, for it is reserved for Me to know, and as a surprise to share with you on that day. But know that I will be on bended knee, and it will be My time to give thanks and honor to you. When you hear My Words, you will know that everything you ever sacrificed in the care of My children was worth it all.
172. Then I will go around to each of you, placing a special gift in the right side of your chest‚ just beneath your collarbone. It will be like a tiny diamond, placed just beneath your skin, that will shine with the greatest brilliance. This will be a mark in you for all eternity, showing My gratitude, My honor. At any time you can choose to have this hidden from the eyes of others and only known to you, or you can allow it to shine and sparkle so that others will see and know that you were honored by Me.
173. It's a beautiful mark, like a special seal, that you'll bear for all eternity—a mark of honor for caring for My children on Earth, a jewel of great price that will be a part of you forever. It's a living jewel, connected to Me and joined with you. And after I place it in you, you will learn more of its purpose and the rewards I will give you through it. But I'll tell you this much now: It's a reward that you will benefit from. It's not just a symbol of My love and honor, but it will also bring you many blessings along the way.
174. I don't want to tell you too much more about this special gift, because I want to leave some details as a surprise. But I wanted to give you this little glimpse to help you to know that I see your sacrifices, I see all that you give and pour out, and it will not go unrewarded. You, My parents and teachers and caregivers, are some of the greatest in My Kingdom, and I'm looking forward to the day when I can honor you before all of Heaven. (End of message.)
#114, 304, 335
You see, My precious one, how well I know you? I know all your different roles. I know the thoughts and intents of your heart. I know your secret dreams and desires. I understand your hidden disappointments. I see your sacrifices and how you left off from following after your own desires, and ceased to pursue your own happiness. You have chosen to be a servant.
You have been faced with many choices in your lifetime—choices whether to serve yourself or to serve others; whether to seek your own happiness or to live to give happiness to others. At times you have wondered whether you made the right choices, or whether things could have been different had you traveled a different path, had you pursued your early goals and desires.
Yes, things would have been different, because your path, your experiences, your fulfillment in life is determined by your choices. Things would have been different had you chosen to follow your own desires and seek your own success, had you chosen to make a name for yourself, had you chosen to satisfy your desire for more education‚ or to follow your preferred profession.
Things would have been different, yes, but they would not have been better. In fact, had you chosen these paths instead of the path of humility and servitude, you would have missed many of the blessings in your life. You would not be the person that you are today, had you not chosen to live for others. To sacrifice for others and to seek the happiness of others is a great thing in My Kingdom.
I have blessed you for your humility, for your willingness to do the jobs that had to be done, for your humility to not seek the high place, but to seek the low place. I have brought you to the high place because you have sought the lowly place‚ because you have been diligent and faithful in the little tasks, in the smaller duties. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much. Now I give you duties in the house of your queen, that you may minister to her through your faithfulness, your willingness, and your humility.
I have given you a strong and powerful mind, and I am well pleased that with this gift you have yet been willing to do those things which are small in the sight of man, but which are great in the sight of God. Your humility has made you great. Your willingness and your yieldedness has caused you to reap great reward and a place of honor.
For many years you trudged along day by day doing your duties, through hardships‚ through toil, but always in faithfulness. Like the tortoise, as opposed to the hare, you faithfully plodded along—until you plodded right into the house of the king and queen! Though you have not done those things that are great in the sight of man‚ you have done those things that are great in the sight of God‚ for you have been faithful in the little things‚ faithful to My calling, faithful to My checks and My admonitions, faithful in your obedience and in your willingness. Your faith has made you strong. Your faith has made you whole. And your faithfulness has made you great (ML #3043).
Do not look at another man's position or another man's blessings, for you do not see as God sees. You do not even see blessings as God sees blessings. For the purgings and the testings, the desert times that seem to you to be a curse, that seem to be the time when I have lifted My hands from you, these are also blessings in My eyes. For they mold you and they strengthen you, and they make you into what I would have you to be.—Not what you think you should be, but what I would have you to be.
And why are these Here in My Heavenly realm contented and happy and praiseful and joyful?—Because they understand these things! They understand that not all can be called to this one task or to that one task. They understand that I love them for what they are. I love them for what they do, whether big or small in the eyes of man. I love them because they love Me, and they love Me because I love them.
So do not look at what another has. Look to Me, the Author and Finisher of your faith. Look to Me, for I see just you. I judge just you. I love just you. So be faithful in the calling in which I have placed you. Serve Me, trust Me‚ obey Me. Yield to Me in the position I have placed you‚ whether it be a high position or a lowly position, whether you be on top of the mountain or whether you be in the depths of the desert. For in all these places I love you, for you are Mine.
He of great position is Mine, and he of lowly position is Mine. He that seems to be mightily blessed is Mine. He that is in the midst of storms and trials and testing is Mine. For you are Mine, and I love you for who you are, and I love you for what you are doing, for being faithful with that which I have given you (ML #3052).
#167
Some of My young people stray from the simplicity which is in Me. They do not seek My face as they ought, but they look to themselves and their own arm, their talents, gifts and abilities. They look at their situation and their ministry and they look at what they have and what they don't have, and they look not to Me as they should. They seek fulfillment in these things, when they should be seeking fulfillment from Me, from My Words and from that peace that comes from knowing that they serve Me, they do My will, and they accomplish My plan of bringing My message of love to the world.
Of this you may be a sample of simplicity in Me and how I love the little people—those that are little in their own sight, those diamonds of dust through which I may shine to light this dark world. I wish that each of them would be diamonds of dust as well. But some do not lift into the light upon My breeze because they are heavy in themselves‚ because they forsake not themselves and they do not let Me lift them into the light. So be samples of specks of dust unto these, that they may learn from this sample and draw closer to Me. For if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto Me.
Copyright © 2005 by The Family International
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