By Maria 3571 [1] 10/05

GN 1157 FD/MM/FM / FEAST 2006

1. Hi, everyone. I'm so happy to have the opportunity to talk to you like this! I imagine that you think it's especially personal‚ but you know something? Every time I do a GN—which is quite often, by the way, in case you haven't noticed—I consider that very personal, because I'm imagining each of your Homes and I really am talking to each one of you personally.

2. But I know that this is a different kind of personal this time, where you get to hear my voice. So probably to you, because of that, it does sound more personal. So for your sakes, I'm really happy that we can be personal in this way.

3. Actually, I wish I could be even more personal, and what I'd like to do is to be sitting there with each of you in your Homes‚ talking to you, with our arms around each other, holding hands. That would be very, very sweet, wouldn't it? But we'll probably have to wait until we get to Heaven for that. And that's one of the wonderful things we have to look forward to!

4. But right now, maybe you can do something for me. Since I can't be there sitting right there with you, touching you and cuddling with you, maybe you all can sit a little closer together. Just cuddle up and sit close enough where you can hold hands and you can put your arms around each other‚ or you can put your hand on the other's knee, or stroke their hair, and just make it real sweet, and make it a cozy time of fellowship together while you listen to this talk from me.

5. Now, I think this is going to be a fairly long talk, so please get comfortable. Get comfortable enough to enjoy it. If it weren't long, I don't think it would be me, it wouldn't be Mama. So it's gotta be long. I can't do anything short. You probably realize that by now; and maybe a lot of you groan when you get the GNs, and I don't blame you for that. But I do thank you for going through them anyway and reading and studying them and taking all the Lord's words and ingesting them and implementing them.

6. Now, I take after Dad in that I am quite long-winded. In other respects, I don't take after Dad, and as you can probably even just tell from how I'm talking to you now, I'm not exactly fluent. Dad would just open his mouth and pour out such a beautiful flow of amazingly strung-together words of inspiration and encouragement that you just knew that they came straight from Heaven. That's a little different. I'm sure you can feel the spirit‚ but you have to look beyond the outward when I talk to you.

7. So, Dad was bombastic many times, and he certainly wasn't slow in his words at all, and that's a lot different from the way I am. I'm very slow of thought and slow of speech and I many times fumble my words and I sort of freeze up, or I forget what I'm going to say. So that might be one reason why we're going to have to take such a long time with this, because I can't get through what I want to get through as quickly as Dad could have if he had been doing it.

8. But you've heard a lot from Dad, you've had him on video and on tapes, so maybe you won't mind hearing from me this time. Even if it goes a little slow, and even if it's not quite as bombastic or quite as dramatic, if you just stay still and listen and try to concentrate, I think you'll get some things from the Lord that you'll be happy with.

9. And I hope it's not going to be boring. I'll try to not let it be boring, but I think a lot of that is up to you and how much you want the Lord's words, and how much you want the spirit. Because I'm not going to get up and jump up on the desk or the table and start hollering to wake you up, like Dad might have. I think you'll just have to try to keep each other awake if you start to fall asleep.

10. And, again, I won't blame you for falling asleep, because everyone has been working very‚ very hard, and I'm sure you're all very tired, and to not have a visual means to help you stay awake, but just the audio, is more difficult, I understand. But anyway‚ try to see if you can focus, and concentrate, and ask the Lord to help you stay alert.

11. Okay, another thing I want to tell you about this talk is that, unlike Dad, when I give talks, I usually have to prepare quite a bit. At least I think I do. There may come a time when I won't be able to, so therefore I won't‚ and I'm sure the Lord will come through. But normally I prepare in order to not forget what I want to tell you. I make notes, and in this case I dictated the talk and put in what I wanted to say to you‚ basically, at least. I'll probably think of some other things as we go along, and I'll probably ad-lib some. But the main talk and the main things that I want to tell you, I had typed out. I don't mean I typed it‚ but my dear secretaries did, and so I'll probably use my notes in this talk and I'm going to try to read it to you.

12. Now, that's one reason I wanted to tell you that I'm going to be reading it, or at least parts of it, because I don't want you to be distracted during the talk, wondering, "Is she reading it or isn't she reading it?" Because I want you to tune in to what I'm saying, and listen to it, and not get distracted by anything, if possible. So that's why I wanted to explain to you, because you can't see me, so I wanted to explain to you that I'm going to be reading most of this to you, but that I'll ad-lib some. I think for me it's just better to do it this way, at least this time. This is the way the Lord has led me, to have pretty much prepared in advance the things I want to tell you.

13. So, what I want to say is if you're tempted to think, "Well, Mama, why don't you just open your mouth, and the Lord says He'll fill it! And you could just ad-lib and that would be a lot more informal‚ and a lot more casual, and really a lot more interesting!" Well‚ instead of thinking that, what I want you to think is, "Wow, what a miracle! Mama is actually being able to use her eyes to read this to us! This is the answer to so many of the prayers we've prayed for so long, that she can actually read it."

14. It is a very big miracle when I can read anything. Now normally, I don't read, and my eyes are still very sore on a regular basis, and whenever I do read, it's a very big miracle that I can do it without getting bad headaches, or without being almost blind afterwards to where I can't open my eyes. So I'm trusting the Lord that He's going to keep me going because I'm obeying Him, and I'm doing what He's asked me to do, and I'm going to go ahead and use my eyes anyway. And I'm trusting the Lord for that miracle.

15. Now, when the Lord asks you to do something and it's very difficult for you‚ and you think, "That's too hard, Lord‚ I'm not capable of that," or "I don't have the physical or mental or emotional or spiritual talents and capabilities"—well, if the Lord asks you to do it, then He's going to make it possible. So you have to go ahead by faith and just do it. And you put yourself out on a limb, and saw it off, and see Him catch you. So that's what I'm going to be doing in reading all this to you. I already read another script earlier on, that will be given to you soon, so the Lord did it through that, and I'm sure He can do it again.

16. Remember that video some of you saw, the Brazil video, the "Woe" video, when I read all of those prophecies? I think it took me several hours. And I always use that video and that experience as my touchstone, because I had to prepare it by reading parts of it, and I had to use my eyes a lot even for the preparation. So the days before, my eyes were very sore and painful, and then I had to go into the reading of this, on video, with the lights, and the strain on my eyes, and the fixed focus on the screen, and it was quite a test for me.

17. But I did it, and the next day, I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know if I was going to wake up and not be able to open my eyes at all, and not be able to use them at all again‚ or that I'd be blind‚ or what! But the next day, to my amazement, my eyes weren't any sorer than they had been the day before—before I had even started the recording. I guess I'm the one who would know best what a monumental miracle that was.

18. And I know that so much of this is because of your faithful, fervent prayers for me over such a long period. You haven't stopped praying for me, you've continued, and the Lord has been continuing to strengthen my eyes. I use them much, much more than I used to. They're still quite sore much of the time, but there are certain times when the Lord needs me to do something that He'll give me the strength for it. And sometimes they hardly feel sore at all at certain times when there's a special time when I have to go out, or I have to visit, or something. But the Lord has wonderfully, wonderfully healed me at various times. So praise His wonderful Name! It's worth your prayers, and it's worth your continuing to pray, and I'm so very, very thankful, so grateful to you, and to our wonderful Jesus.

19. Now, I want to tell you what the theme of this talk is going to be. The theme is going to be encouragement, because that's what I like to do the most, is to encourage you. I'm not going to be giving you any kind of reproof or correction, because you've just been so wonderful and you all have done so very well, and so all I have is commendation for you and encouragement.

20. This Feast time in general is a time for encouragement, [and] you'll be getting a lot more of it from the Lord. But in this talk‚ I want to add to that encouragement and give you extra encouragement. And in order to do that, I thought that maybe I could enumerate some of the battles and different difficulties that you've been through in the past months, and I could say a little word to each of you of encouragement about those battles.

21. Now‚ each of us have been through some very big battles over these past months, and the year of strengthening has been different for each of us. But the Lord has seen to it that each one of us has had our special tests, and as a result, had special opportunities to be strengthened. Well, maybe you're still in the midst of battle and you're feeling weary and wondering what good all of this testing is doing. You've been tested and tested and you're still being tested, and when is this all going to stop?

22. But no matter what is going on in your life, dear loves, the Lord wants you to know that He loves you, He cares, everything is in His hands, and He's not going to do anything to deliberately hurt you. Whatever He does is for your good. And though you can't see it now, you will be able to see it in the future. Can you believe this?

23. Peter and I have heard your heartcries as you pour out your hearts to us in your letters. We cry with you and intercede before Jesus' throne for you. We send legions of reinforcement angels and spirit warriors to the side of those of you who are in the midst of battle. We turn the keys and we call for our Love's immediate intervention. He has told us that the keys of the Kingdom were created to assist His brides as they do His will, so we can call on them for any need or problem our loved ones face and know without a shadow of a doubt that He will answer.

24. Maybe you've suffered a heartbreak in a relationship recently, and you feel broken, crushed, alone, insecure, and unlovable. The unfailing love of Jesus is there for you even through your darkest and loneliest nights, and He can help you find true love and have faith in love once again. He won't leave your heart and life broken; even if it's shattered in a million pieces, He's able to find and gather each piece, to make you complete, and make something beautiful of your life.

25. Our Husband understands it all. Even if no one else understands how your heart is aching—He truly understands. It may take time for the hurt you are experiencing to heal, but it will heal because He has promised, "I will mend your broken heart as you give it to Me and call on the keys."

26. If your heart is breaking because someone you love has moved away, or perhaps they are leaving the Family, or maybe they have gone to Heaven and you miss them; or one of your children or a close friend is going through intense battles and you're concerned about them, remember that our Lover wants to comfort us through everything that we on Earth experience. He's touched with the feeling of our infirmities‚ and He understands. He will ease your burdens. He will soothe the pain. He will answer your prayers. You will see the sunshine again one day soon, so don't give up in despair, but talk to your Best Friend and let Him give you the comfort that you need.

27. Many of you feel overworked or overloaded right now; you feel that you just can't keep up with the pressure of all there is to do. If you're feeling worn out spiritually, physically, mentally, or all three, remember Jesus' promise, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

28. The Lord knows that everyone is carrying a very big workload in order to fulfill His will. He understands that He has asked a lot of us, and Peter and I understand that too. We know that almost everyone is feeling the weight of the responsibility. We've heard personally from some of you that you just don't know how you're going to make it. And this isn't an isolated feeling with just a few people experiencing the stress of battle, but so many are truly wondering if it's possible to do His will and meet all of the requirements that He is asking of the Family.

29. Peter and I want to say that we not only believe what the Lord has said and that He will fulfill His promises to us, but that in many ways, we have experienced the same feelings of, "Wow‚ this is a lot to do! How is the Family going to do this when we're not even sure that we can do it! How can we expect the Family to form their winning team, meet each board's criteria, feed their sheep, school their children, train their JETTs and teens‚ prepare for persecution, build a local work‚ learn a brand-new way of shepherding their Homes, and so much more?"

30. Peter and I have spent many, many occasions in discussion and prayer and seeking the Lord about these new moves of our Husband, because we know it is asking an awful lot. We know that so many of you feel stretched to the limit and we don't want to ask one thing more of you than is the Lord's will.

31. Sometimes—in fact, often—Peter and I are amazed at what you, our precious Family, do for Jesus. Not only at what you're willing to do, but at what you actually do for Him. You don't just talk about it‚ but you step out by faith to do His will in spite of the obstacles and in spite of your feelings of inadequacy. It's no wonder that our loving Husband has such faith in you, because He knows that your love for Him is so great that you are willing to go the distance to fulfill His will. We are so proud of you, dear Family, and so indebted to you‚ because we couldn't do this job without you, our comrades in arms.

32. We want you to know that even though we don't have exactly the same jobs as you do, that we are giving our all every single day in order to make your jobs as easy as possible. Because you are giving your all to Him, we are more than happy, and consider it an honor to lay down our lives in His service and your service.

33. If there is anything that you feel we could do to help you, please write and let us know. If you have any ideas or the Lord shows you something that you feel would improve the way we are doing things, please tell us, or tell your shepherds, so they can let us know. We will do whatever we can for you, our dear mates and friends, to help you to be fruitful and happy and successful.

34. We are praying for you that your physical and spiritual strength will not fail, and we know that it won't as you look to Him for the best way to do things. And even though Jesus is asking a lot of everyone, please don't fail to take care of your physical needs‚ which include time for rest and relaxation. It might seem impossible to do everything, and it is, and that's why you just have to ask our Husband what to do and what to leave undone.

35. If the burden becomes too much for you to bear, talk to Jesus about it and ask Him for the solution. He will show you how to pace yourself. He'll tell you when you need to stop for a while and just pray‚ or read His Word, or meditate‚ or take some downtime away from work when you just enjoy life and your family and loved ones.

36. We want the Family to be the best place that it can be, and part of making the Family that way involves a lot of work, but we also don't want the important work He's asked us to do to cause anyone to have a nervous breakdown. So please, dear Family‚ ask Him to show you the balance.

37. Peter and I have to continually ask the Lord to show us the right balance in our work, because we, too, always have a lot to do, and then we have to obey what He tells us to do. Sometimes He tells us to stick to our work, even though we're tired and wonder how we're going to make it. He promises the strength and anointing to finish the task, and that after it's done we can have some time to rest. Other times our Love will tell us that we need to stop and rest now, and put the work on hold for a while, because our physical strength is more important, so that we can later return to the work more refreshed and do an even better job.

38. We are praying that the Lord will give you the faith to ask Him how to handle your workload, and the faith to obey what He shows you. He said, "I want to make things simple. I want to give practical solutions. I will do this through the keys of enlightenment." You can hold our Husband to His word and ask Him to give you those simple and practical solutions that will make His work doable and that will give you peace and joy while you're serving Him. And remember, what the Lord is asking of us is only for a time. The restructuring and strengthening work that you now face will come to an end, and you will reap the rewards of your labors.

39. Maybe you're discouraged either about your efforts in your service for the Lord and the apparent lack of fruit‚ or discouraged about your personal spiritual progress, feeling that you aren't doing enough or moving forward fast enough. In times like this, you can know that the Lord is helping you build endurance, and that if you patiently persevere and do the will of God, you will receive the promise.

40. Perhaps you're struggling with your interpersonal relationships with others in your Home, or your Home is having difficulties with being in unity. If you don't seem to be getting in the gear of working together as a winning team, if you're constantly faced with differences of opinion, differences in standard, in defining your goals‚ don't give up seeking unity—remember, winning teams are made, not born.

41. Maybe your Home has moved or disbanded or changed status, and as a result of that or some other situation you've found yourself "homeless" and unsure of what winning team you should be part of. Maybe you've landed in a temporary situation where you seem to be getting stuck for a long time, or you simply can't find a Home that seems right for you. Don't despair, my loves, because Jesus is preparing a place for you—not only a mansion in Heaven, but a fruitful place of service here and now.

42. Remember too that God doesn't make mistakes, and if He has seen fit to put you in that Home or with those people, He expects you to do your best. Our Husband always does what's best for us‚ and if you will do your part and the best that you can do to be a good winning team member, to work in unity with those He has put you together with, even if you don't personally like the situation, you might discover you are home; that where you are right now is the best place for you to be, where you can be the most useful and inspired and fulfilled. I'm not saying that this will always be the case, but don't be too quick to run from a situation just because there are some things you don't like about it. You might end up missing the Lord's will.

43. God's great men and women didn't look for the places of service that suited them, but rather for what they could do for others. They looked for the need and they were honored to be chosen to fill that need. They were visionaries who believed that they could make a difference in the world, and they set out to make that difference, and many of them achieved their goal because they didn't give up.

44. I want to read you something that describes the character of the visionary. You can be the same way if you want to and if you fight to be that way. Okay?

45. Maybe you have a large family, and while you know that your children are God's blessing and reward, you feel that others don't quite see it that way; you don't have as good a Home situation as you would like, or you don't have the help and support that you need in caring for your children. Jesus sees the full value of each of your precious little ones, and He also highly esteems your faith in bringing each of them into the world. He will care for His Own, and He will not abandon you or yours.

46. The Lord considers our children and the mothers who bear them very important. You dear pregnant women are doing one of the most important jobs in the world, that of being a vessel for our Husband to create new life. Children are an heritage of the Lord; and the fruit of the womb is His reward. But, as we know, the Enemy is always fighting against the Lord's will, and when you're pregnant—whether it's a difficult or a fairly easy pregnancy, you're usually under some kind of attack of the Enemy. He uses all kinds of fears and worries and physical stress to try to hinder the important work you're doing.

47. You're more tired than usual. You have to take better care of your body. You have to eat more often. You have to sleep more. You have to spend time getting ready for your new little one. You might have nagging physical afflictions that make everyday life more difficult. You might feel more emotional than usual. You may feel like a burden to your Home, especially if you have complications that cause you to have to stay in bed or go slower.

48. Then there are all the concerns which are very easy to worry about. Like‚ whether or not you will have all of your needs, including the nutrition that you and your baby need, a good hospital or midwife; or maybe you're in the middle of moving close to the time of your delivery and you're concerned about finding a new doctor. You have concerns about whether the baby is healthy and growing well; that maybe your child will have problems.

49. If you're single, you could be concerned that you won't have a father for your child and someone to help you in rearing them. Or that maybe this will affect your chances of finding a mate in the future‚ that others might find you less attractive or sexy or fun. Maybe you don't have a childcare helper and you worry about how you will manage to juggle your work as well as take care of a child. Then there are the worries about the future and whether or not you'll be able to keep up with your workload. You worry that maybe it will mean a change of jobs since you'll be more involved with your child for a while.

50. The Enemy tempts you to worry about afflictions, finances, needed legal paperwork, traveling with children, housing, schooling, and so many other worries of the Enemy which are very real to you, our dear pregnant women.

51. Peter and I want to tell you we are extremely proud of you for having children because, as the Lord and Dad have so often expressed, they are the hope of the future and one of the most precious things in our lives. They are a part of our testimony that we can live as a big happy family and that our loving Husband will always take care of us.

52. He won't fail to take care of you and your children. He loves your children even more than you do and He'll meet all their needs and all of your needs. His Word says‚ "Call on the keys daily as you pour into your children, and I will supply every need." You can count on His promises.

53. We pray that the Lord is supplying for you, and we know that He will as you keep trusting Him and claiming His promises! You're His beautiful bride‚ and you're bearing His babies‚ and He is going to take care of you, no matter what! And one day you're going to be so thankful that you went through these minor inconveniences in order to bear more children for Jesus. That's right—they're going to seem like minor inconveniences in comparison with the great rewards and payback!

54. Some of you are desperately and actively struggling to find enough personnel to fill out your winning team, to enable you to fulfill your vision and goals and effectively carry out the ministries you're called to. The harvest is always plenteous and the laborers always few, but the Lord of the harvest knows the need, and as you pray, He will in His time send the laborers that He knows can fulfill the need.

55. To those of you who are on isolated mission fields, such as Russia, China, Africa, and other difficult fields where few people want to go and make the sacrifices needed to reach the lost, Peter and I want to tell you that we are so proud of you. You are some of the greats in God's book‚ and in our book. You keep on going year after year, depending on God to supply, to protect you, to continue to give you the vision and the anointing you need.

56. These difficult mission fields are some of the most fruitful because there are so many sheep and so few willing to make the sacrifice to reach them. You are prophets of the End and you might be the only voice in the wilderness leading His sheep into the fold. Thank you for being faithful to the calling our Husband has given you in spite of the difficulties. He will not fail to give you everything you need to fulfill His will.

57. If you've recently had a change of status, you might be tempted to feel insecure or awkward in your new situation or position, and doubting whether you're as needed, useful‚ loved‚ and appreciated as you were before. Be assured, dear ones, that the Lord, as well as Peter and I, love you and need you and value each of you and your love. We admire you for your service to Jesus, whatever your membership category might be.

58. Sometimes I wonder if some of you think these are just empty words, and that when we say we love and admire each of you no matter what your status, you don't take us as seriously as we want you to. I understand that it may be very difficult for some of you to believe that we do love you just as much as ever, and just as much as we love those in the FD Family. I wish there were some way that I could make you understand this. The only thing I can think of to try to help you with this is to tell you about something that happened to one of our young FM couples and how we responded to it.

59. One day we got an e-mail from this young mother with the heartbreaking news that their baby had just, through an accident, gone to be with Jesus. As you can imagine, and as some of you know by experience, losing a child is one of the most difficult experiences that one can go through. It's heartbreaking; it's devastating; it's traumatic, and it leaves you in a state of great shock and destabilization and hopelessness. And almost always, at least initially, great condemnation‚ thinking that you could have done more or should have done more while the child was alive to love them and to care for them. You feel like dying yourself. You feel like you can't go on and life isn't worth living anymore. So many, many emotions, and most of them so very negative. The Enemy brings all his weight to bear on you when something like this happens.

60. One of the first things this young mother did just hours after her dear little one had gone to be with the Lord was to sit down and pour out her heart to us, her mother and father in the Lord, her king and queen. The thing that was foremost in her mind and top priority was to write us the news and pour out her heart to us‚ the ones she felt could understand and could help her.

61. And that day, when we got her letter, she and her husband were our top priority. We, and our dear folks in WS, prayed for them‚ and some of our channels received Jesus' words for them. They weren't the only ones weeping. We were doing a lot of it too as we felt their pain. It didn't matter what membership category this young couple belonged to. We couldn't have felt closer to them or loved them more or prayed more for them if they had been FD—or even if they had been in our own Home or our own flesh children.

62. And I want to tell you about the faith that this young woman in the FM Family had. She closed her letter to us by saying, through almost uncontrollable weeping, "I know that one day I will be able to sincerely thank Him for not only bringing this little life to me, but for taking him Home again."

63. As I reflected on that statement, I thought, "How much more faith could one have than that?" This is one of those monumental statements that will go down in the records of Heaven, along with those of that great man of faith, Job, who said, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him‚" and who also said, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

64. I know that she didn't feel that she had that much faith. She probably thought she had the least faith of anyone. But you see, the Lord doesn't look on things the way we do. He sees things so differently. If, when all your emotions and all your feelings are crying out in confusion and agony, you can still say, "I know that You know best, dear Jesus," because you know deep down in your heart the truth that God does all things well, that is great faith. God always whispers His truth deep down in your heart, that He does all things well, and this is the fact that you can stand on even though circumstances tell you differently.

65. I want to say that the Lord repeatedly told this young couple, through many channels, that it was not their fault. It was no one's fault; it was the prearranged time for this child to go back to the Father's house. That had been the plan before he had been born. That had been the arrangement that he and his heavenly Father had made together, and thus, it was fulfilled.

66. So even if the Lord had not used this particular accident to bring this little one back to Him‚ there would have been something else, since it was time for this dear little one to return to Heaven. And now, his mission on Earth completed, he stands with his hand in Jesus' hand and even closer to the heart of his dear mother and father‚ creating for them a stronger connection between the heavenly and the earthly realm.

67. I got off the main subject a little bit, but I just wanted you to know that this couple are very, very close to our hearts and we love them very much. They're our children, our family, and we would have treated them the same had they even been out of the Family. Does that shock you? If it does, you should get ahold of the Lord and ask Him to change your mind and your attitudes.

68. Well, I'd better keep going and speaking to the rest of you who have also gone through very difficult battles. Your battles are probably totally different from those that this dear young couple experienced‚ because we would all agree that losing a child is something very unusual and doesn't happen real often. Thank the Lord, this couple looked to Him and kept going for Him through their tears.

69. But your battles can be just as major in your life if, through them, the Enemy is trying to cause you to put down your crown or give up your place of service or your faith and sink into the depths of despair. Remember, the Lord knows what to do in each of our lives to draw us closer to Him‚ to strengthen us spiritually, and to teach us the things that we need to learn that help us to be better disciples.

70. No matter how intense the battle, each one is for a purpose. Most of us have been through major battles and less major battles at some point in our lives. They can't all be major tests, otherwise it would be too difficult for us. The Lord helps us to grow and learn exactly what we need to through the less major battles as well, which, at the time we experience them, can be all-encompassing.

71. Even battles which seem smaller compared to those of others are designed by the Lord to bring about the good fruit that they need to in your life. Even the "smaller" battles can mean that you have to fight for your spiritual and perhaps your physical life with everything in you. What you experience as deep, soul-searching battles that cause you to grow in the spirit, are the result of something the Lord allows in your life, while at the same time He allows something completely different in another person's life that causes them to grow.

72. Maybe you've experienced a change of ministry, and maybe what you're doing now is a lot more difficult or challenging than what you had been doing before, and maybe you don't even like it much and greatly miss what you were doing previously. Remember what Dad said about "shticking," and how the Lord blesses and rewards faithfulness in due time? Also remember how Dad used to say that if you don't like the way things are‚ don't worry—stick around a while and they'll change!

73. If you've been a victim of gossip—either due to misunderstandings and misinformation, or due to actual mistakes or blow-its you've made—remember that Jesus knows your heart and He knows the truth. He knows how it feels to be maligned and criticized, and He also knows how to make all wrongs right in the end.

74. And Family, please, please‚ please, for the sake of your loved ones, and for the Lord's sake, and for my sake and Peter's sake, so that we don't have to hear such sad stories from people who have been deeply hurt, can you please ask the Lord to help you not to gossip? I know that there are lots of juicy details about people and their lives that are very interesting and that can be very tempting to discuss, but you really, really don't want to hurt someone and discourage them to the point of giving up, or even leaving the Lord's service, do you? You wouldn't want to have that on your heart and conscience, would you? It's just that serious.

75. Maybe you're stuck with a label that you can't seem to get rid of. Maybe it's deserved because of what you've done in the past, or maybe it's based on entirely unfair judgment. Whatever the case, there is always a chance for a new start. Maybe others are having a hard time having faith for you to change, but Peter and I have faith that you can, because we know that Jesus can change anyone. And if the problem is in the way other people see you, well, Jesus can change that too‚ because He can change anything.

76. And folks, think about the people you know and see if you can think of even one person amongst your friends or members of the Family that you've met or you're acquainted with, that has changed in a remarkable way. And then please realize that if even one person has changed so dramatically, there must be others that can change drastically too.

77. The Lord is doing a lot of changing of people. I know personally many right in WS who have made monumental changes for the better in the last few years or even months. So if we can agree that big change in a person is possible, then don't you think that you could ask the Lord to help you to be open-minded about everyone, no matter how unlikely you think it might be for them to change? Could you ask the Lord to help you to be open to the fact that a person may have changed and not look at him as he was before, but try to see him with new eyes? Look at him as though he may definitely have changed and try to see him that way. Or if he hasn't changed yet, have faith that the Lord can do it. Maybe the Lord is just waiting for your prayers.

78. If you're sincerely praying for people and their spiritual walk with the Lord, you not only open the door for the Lord to do miracles in their lives, but it will help you to be less critical and have more of a positive attitude. Prayer is your gift of love to others, and you should always pray for those in need. We are all men and women of like passions; we all have weaknesses‚ and it behooves us to pray for one another that we can be strengthened. Please don't fail the Lord or your mates, but pray for the progress and miracles needed, and He'll do it.

79. If you feel that you've failed in something‚ whether a project or ministry, or in your personal life or goals—or maybe you don't just "feel" that way, but maybe you really have failed and messed up—remember that the Lord delights in using the weak and the broken. He only sees your failures as lessons, as steppingstones toward growth and progress. He sees things so differently than we do in the flesh, but we can also learn to see our weaknesses and even our failures from His perspective and rejoice and be grateful even for our lacks and failures.

80. Through these failures, the Enemy is trying to get you thoroughly discouraged and trying to get you to give up, but the Lord is trying to make you a better‚ more humble and more wise person.—One who will learn from those failures and mistakes and fight to get up and try again. So here you are: You are the determining factor in who wins. Do you want it to be the Devil or the Lord? They're waiting for you to decide. It's up to you, and only you can make the decision.

81. Maybe you feel you're getting "too old" for the life of a disciple or missionary, and you feel that you're getting left behind because now the young people are "taking over" and doing the things you used to do. Maybe you're feeling there's not much use or need for what you have to give. Or maybe it's difficult for you to do as much as you used to because you're weaker physically, or even your mental abilities or talents don't seem to be what they used to be.

82. There is a place for you, and a need for what you have to give to this Family and to the Lord's service. Maybe the Lord's job for you now is different than it was before, but different doesn't mean inferior. Let the Lord help you see the good and possibilities and potential in the opportunities you have. Let Him help you see how much you have to give to others!

83. Look‚ folks‚ it's really a matter of having faith in our Husband! You don't think that He would have had you in the Family for so many years just to now toss you out broken and weary and useless, do you? Where's your faith in all the promises He's been making to us for so many years? And by "your" faith, I mean both younger and older generations—we all need to have more faith in what the Lord is doing in our lives as well as in the lives of others. He's in control and He's not going to let anyone down, no matter what your age. He knew you were going to be this age and He isn't expecting that you're going to fold now, nor is He planning for you to just do nothing. Got it?

84. He has very, very important jobs for us all to do‚ and don't let me hear you say, or even think‚ "Well‚ Mama‚ you're the queen and of course you have an important role, and you don't have to feel useless in the least." I'll tell you, folks‚ maybe I have this job partly because I do have faith, and you'd better get some faith too so you can handle the important job that the Lord has for you. It may not be what you expect it to be; it may not look important to you; it may not even be what you think you want, but the Lord does have a very important job for you, a very important role for you to play, and you need to start getting in the Word and increasing your faith by hearing what the Lord has said.

85. Nobody has any excuse for not having faith, because, as you all know so well, faith comes by hearing the Word. So if you'll fill your heart and mind with the Word, and even hear the Word from the Lord personally, you'll have the faith you need. And your faith will rub off on those around you, so that no matter what the circumstances may look like and no matter what the young people are doing and learning, you, their parents, will realize that you are greatly needed—that you have an important job, and Jesus is going to use you in greater ways than He ever has. Be ready for how He will use you in the future by making sure that you strengthen your faith now.

86. If you've been caring for a loved one who is afflicted, especially if their affliction is long-term or very painful or debilitating, you might be discouraged and at times possibly frustrated or condemned as well. Sometimes it's harder to watch someone you love suffer than it is to suffer yourself, and you wish you could take their pain for them. You can't, but Jesus can—that was part of His purpose in living and dying for us, and His supernatural grace is sufficient for any need.

87. If you are one of the ones we're talking about who is struggling with the painful or long-term illness, maybe you're tempted to feel that it will never end, or that you just can't take it much longer or you'll crack. Some of you even struggle with permanent afflictions or handicaps, and the Enemy probably tries to tell you from time to time that this makes you less needed or loved by the Lord or others—which just isn't true. The Lord has a place for everyone—in His heart and in His service—and so do we.

88. When I was thinking about giving this little talk to you‚ and I was thinking about this subject, and you who are suffering permanent afflictions or handicaps‚ the Lord brought to mind the story of Tommy. And I thought, "Oh‚ yes, Lord, we can hear from Tommy‚ and he can explain himself about how it was for him."

89. I think you all know who Tommy is, he's famous in the Family. But he was the little crippled boy who wrote out his verses laboriously before dropping them out of his window to the passers-by. That little boy has gone down in history for his faithfulness and his perseverance, his refusal to give up, and his willingness to do what he could even though he didn't consider it much. However, the Lord saw things differently.

90. Maybe you've always thought this is just a story, even though the principles in it are so good, but let me now present Tommy to you to tell you himself that the place that he thought was so small, so insignificant, he later found was very great and very important in the eyes of our Lord and Husband:

91. (Tommy:) Hi, everybody! I'm Tommy! Maybe you thought I was just a story or a picture in a book, like Mama said. Well, I don't mind if you did think that, because I know that anytime you thought about me you thought about how I encouraged people, and that's the most important thing.

92. I was always sickly‚ so it wasn't such a shock to me when I finally couldn't walk anymore. I felt so sorry though for my mother and father because I knew that they were worried about me and were sad for me. I tried to cheer them up and help them not to worry so much, so one day I drew a picture on a piece of paper and wrote a Bible scripture under the picture and gave it to my mother. When I saw how happy it made her‚ I realized that I could do something for people in spite of being crippled, that I could make a difference in people's lives. I did the same thing with my aunt, who I sometimes lived with, and she liked it too.

93. That's when my ministry of encouragement began in earnest. I had a Bible; I had paper and pencil and I could write, which is exactly what I did for hours and hours. Then I would drop my little messages of encouragement to whoever passed by under my window. I prayed over every piece of paper with God's Word, that it would help the person who found it. Many people were encouraged and blessed by God's Words.

94. God gave me a ministry‚ as frail as I was, and because I believed and obeyed, people were saved and encouraged‚ and lives were changed. God will do the same for anyone who truly wants to serve Him and who is willing to fight for the ministry that God wants to bless them with. Like my friend‚ Tyler, a fellow departed saint in Heaven, but who also used to live on Earth. Do you have anything to say to the Family, Tyler?

95. Hi, I'm Tyler. I was bedridden for the better part of my earthly life and I had to be cared for by my family. Oh, I had my times of despair and times when I felt that my life wasn't worth living, that I was useless and nothing but a burden. But let me tell you, the day that my life really became worth living was the day that I gave up on myself and my puny body and started to look at the life God had given me and the people in it as the most important thing.

96. I started a prayer ministry and I prayed for every single person who came into my life—even if it was someone I saw across the street, or someone who my mother talked to on the phone, or someone I read about in the newspaper, or the nurses and doctors who cared for me, or people I met in the hospital‚ or my relatives and friends and church members who came to visit me. People were everywhere. I was surrounded by people, and all I had to do was pray for them.

97. My prayer ministry gave me a new lease on life. I felt truly useful, because I knew that prayer was one of the most important things I could do for others. Many people told me how thankful they were for my prayers, that they depended upon them. They would come to visit me so that they could tell me what they wanted me to pray for. Isn't that amazing?

98. The Lord let me see many answers to my prayers while I was still on Earth, and He showed me many others after I came to Heaven. Some are still being answered, and it's wonderful to know that people's lives were made better because I prayed for them.

99. If people like Tommy and I could be used by the Lord, so can you. Don't give up and don't take no for an answer. Fight for your ministry, whatever God wants you to do, and you'll never regret it. Some day you'll see the fruits of your work on Earth. (End of message.)

100. You know, folks, there have been many throughout history who some of you would have looked on as all washed up, and that they might as well give up because they weren't able to do anything for Jesus and they weren't going to get any reward. If you could see them now‚ those who were severely sick and afflicted and permanent invalids who couldn't get around, who couldn't walk, some who couldn't talk, some who were completely bedridden, and if you could talk to them now you would see how wrong you would have been. You would see how the jobs that look very small and insignificant and perhaps are the only ones you can do, are some of the greatest in God's eyes. So you'd better change your attitude, dear Family.

101. You might feel like you have less to offer than others, or that this is the way that others see you, and you might battle with comparing as a result. If you feel that you've been left out of the action, or passed over for what you see as a more prominent or influential position, be encouraged that it's the little people that make this kingdom stand, and each person is needed to make this Family complete and victorious.

102. A job or position isn't any indication of the Lord's love or care—it's simply a role, a job, a duty that needs doing, and the Lord knows who to call and when, and you can only be truly happy and fulfilled when doing what He has called you to.

103. Listen, sweet ones, I'm not minimizing the battles that come about when others are chosen rather than you for something that you desperately wanted‚ or that you felt that you would be better at, or even that you deserved. I know that such battles can be very, very difficult and very hard to overcome, but Jesus can do it. There's no question about that. Through the power of the keys and the spirit helpers that He's given you, through the power of praise and loving Him intimately, you can make it. You can be happy and you can be content.

104. This is just a little sideline that I'm going to go off on here‚ but, you know, sometimes the Lord gives jobs to people who can't do them as well as someone else. Actually, many times He does this. He gives them to someone that you don't think has the talent for it, that you don't think is capable, and you wonder why in the world didn't so–and-so, who had talents for that job, the gifts, and was even experienced in it, why didn't they get the job? Well‚ that's another instance where the Lord looks at things a lot differently than we do.

105. Sometimes, in the past‚ Peter and I have wondered the same thing about the Lord's wisdom in choosing us. We've said the same thing, "Lord, why didn't You give this big job to someone who was more capable?" Peter and I really don't have a lot of the natural gifts that we would naturally feel that we need and that you would expect leaders of the Family to have. At least, we certainly don't have so many of the gifts that Dad had. I guess we're always comparing ourselves to Dad, that comparing no–no that everybody does at sometime or another. And speaking for myself, I feel that I'm the least talented, the least gifted‚ and the least capable to hold this responsibility.

106. I was telling the Lord not so long ago, "Lord, I don't really have any gifts. I'm very weak. I'm very full of faults and failures. I'm just dumb." It's the truth. I don't know how to do anything. I don't understand a lot of things. I can even have somebody read me an editorial from the paper and I don't even get it sometimes. I have hardly any worldly wisdom. Even the things I learned in school long years ago, I've pretty much forgotten, except my typing, my shorthand, and good grammar, which helps when I go over the GNs. Praise the Lord!

107. I have to almost be treated like a little child and shown how to do everything or helped to do everything. And even the little things I try to do either on the computer, or maybe putting batteries into a flashlight, or opening or locking a door, you'd be amazed. There's hardly anything I can do by myself. It never works, even when I think I have the hang of it. The simplest little things never work for me; they work for everybody else, but they just won't work for me. And I can't blame it on my eyes, either. My eyesight is clear when I'm trying to do those things. My eyes are sore, but my eyesight is clear, thank the Lord for that. So I can't blame it on that.

108. So I was saying to the Lord, "Lord, I just don't have any kind of gifts or talents. Why do You have me in this position?" And then the Lord‚ without contesting my statement about my lack of gifts, said, "Your greatest gift is asking questions."

109. Well‚ praise God! We just make the most of our strengths, and so I pray even harder that the Lord will help me to formulate the right questions in order to get the right answers from Him, and not to worry about all the things that I don't have or that I can't do.

110. Even if you only have one little gift, if you use it for God's glory and use it to glorify Him and practice it and hone it and multiply it, then you're counted faithful by the Lord.

111. So if you feel the way I do, that there's not much that you have or that you can do in the natural, just concentrate on strengthening the spiritual gifts that He's given you. Even if you only have one gift, such as the gift for loving people, or for putting yourself in their place, or for showing compassion on them, then do that with all your heart. It's not what you don't have that matters, but what you do have, and what you do with it.

112. Well, I sort of got off the point there and onto another one, but maybe that other one was important for someone. But back to the point I was making about why the Lord sometimes chooses people for jobs who seem the least likely to succeed at them.

113. Well, if you think about it, you'll probably come up with the right answer because of all the spiritual wisdom that you have and the knowledge from the Word that you've been given. The reason is usually that the Lord knows that someone who feels incapable, who feels unqualified, who is unqualified in the natural, who doesn't have the talents for the job, will tend to be more desperate, more humble, more sure that the Lord has to come through and do it, and that it won't be anything of themselves. It's the opposite of the handicap of natural ability; it's the "advantage of a handicap."

114. I started out trying to comfort you who haven't gotten something—a job or recognition of some kind and you're comparing with others. I don't know if what I said has been much of a comfort to you, but please do know that the Lord does all things well, and if there is any spiritual principle we should always have in the forefront of our minds, it's Romans 8:28. If you don't sincerely believe this with all of your heart, you should get down to business with the Lord and get desperate with Him to help you to take this on board and truly believe that all things work together for good to you who love Him and are serving Him.

115. And the comparing! Ah, in our Family Homes where you all live so close together with so many, comparing is one of the Enemy's greatest temptations and perhaps one that we fall for the most. I don't have time here to talk about the subject again‚ but there is so much wonderful material in the GNs that will be very helpful if you'll study it prayerfully and ask the Lord to help you to make it a part of your life.

116. I know some people who have gotten very monumental victories in this area. They used to be some of the worst comparers, and they've gotten tremendous victories. So I know without a shadow of a doubt that the Lord can do it for you.

117. Well, if I get into a little preachment or sermonette on every point, you're never going to get through this, or if you do, you may end up sleeping through half of it. And I want to make sure that the folks that I'm particularly going to talk to at the end of the line are awake when I talk to them.

118. Maybe, conversely, you have been called to a position of responsibility or influence that you feel you'd rather not have. If you've recently become a coach or have been appointed to a board‚ or been voted in as a member of the Home's Steering Council, or maybe you've become a new RS, you might feel overwhelmed because of the load and responsibility; you might struggle with feeling incapable, or maybe even feeling ostracized by those you were close to before‚ as they adjust to your new role.

119. Leadership is a difficult cross to bear‚ there's no doubt about that‚ and can be a lonely ministry, but if it's the Lord's will for you—and it is if He's called you to it—then He can and will anoint you for it, no matter how incapable you feel; and through the power of the keys He can help you accomplish what comes with the job, even if it's overwhelming and seemingly beyond you.

120. You dear women who are going through menopause face a variety of challenges and tests; to some degree or another you probably feel frustrated, discouraged, weak‚ or insecure at this delicate time of life. I feel for you, because I know what it's like to feel that you don't have the physical or mental or spiritual strength to do what you feel you should do‚ and to feel discouraged because of that. I too have felt that way at times.

121. Trust in the Lord's love. Believe that He loves and needs you and that He will happily accept what you have to give, and will help you accomplish what is genuinely necessary. He can give you the grace to take the heat of the furnace and come through as finer gold.

122. Maybe you're a single mom or dad, struggling with trying to do and be everything that your precious child or children need. If you long for nothing more than to have someone with whom to share your life and heart, as well as to share the load of shepherding and nurturing these love gifts from Jesus, keep holding on in faith and the Lord will give you what you need, through whatever means He knows is best. He loves and He cares, and He won't give you more than you're able to bear. He will make a way of escape.

123. If you're single and not getting enough sex, that can be a trying battle also. Whether it's because there's no one your age around, or no one willing to provide you the level or quantity of sexual companionship you desire, it's easy to feel frustrated, and to either be discouraged about yourself, or to criticize others and what you feel is their lack of love and giving, or even to question the Lord's love for you.

124. Jesus knows your need, dear one, and though you may not be able to have everything you desire in the flesh right here and now, He will make each sacrifice up to you in the end. And if you let Him love you in the way He wants to, as an intimate Lover, then you can trust that He will fill your need in His way and His time, even if through unusual or unexpected or supernatural means.

125. Perhaps you're struggling with that classic test of the faith life—difficulty making ends meet financially. Whether it's been difficult to get a new work started, whether you've been trying to broaden your means of support and you've run into obstacles, whether things have just "dried up" and your friends and supporters aren't giving like they used to, or whatever the cause of your need and struggle, the Lord's promise remains that He will supply your needs.

126. You know from experience that He has not left the righteous forsaken nor His seed begging bread, and you can know that, even though you can't see how, He will take care of you one way or another. He will pull you out of the financial hole, if you will do the things He shows you to do in order to receive His financial blessing. He always rewards obedience.

127. Have you been hit with doubts about the Word, the Lord's love‚ the spirit world, some aspect of the Family's history or operations, or other issues? Don't let the Enemy condemn you or persuade you that you're not a disciple or not a believer because of it. Many of God's greatest men and women of faith throughout history, and certainly many of your fellow disciples in the Family, have been tested with doubts.

128. It's a test, dear loves, and the Lord always allows us tests. So don't be discouraged about it. Doubts don't mean the end of faith. They can in fact be an opportunity to open up to the Lord's love and faith like never before, if you will cry out to Him for help and if you'll humble yourself under His hand of loving shepherding.

129. Have loved ones who once served the Lord by your side turned and walked down another path?—Going their own way, with some even traveling the path of unbelief, or most painfully, the path of the apostate?

130. I know how you feel‚ my dear mates. It is one of the greatest possible tests as a disciple, for we love those of our flesh and blood, and our friends, so dearly‚ and losing the closeness and deep understanding we once had is painful in itself; not to mention the heartsick feeling that comes when they start to fight against what they once loved and held dear—and maybe they even malign and attack you personally.

131. Only God's supernatural grace and the power of the keys can keep your heart and mind through tests like these—but the peace that passes all understanding is real and is there for us to take refuge in (and I can testify to this from personal experience).

132. If you're a young person who doesn't have many—or any—people your age nearby to fellowship and have fun with, you probably feel pretty lonely and discouraged about that. The Lord wants you to have fun and be happy, but something that He needs to teach us in our lives for Him is how to not only "abound" but how to "abase" as well.

133. There is a time and place for everything, but at least you can know that even if you're "abasing" now, it won't be that way forever. The Lord knows your need, and that includes your need for fun‚ and also your need for learning by passing through the tests He sends your way. He will fulfill each need in good time, I promise you, if you hold on and stay true to Him.

134. Oh, and the Lord just reminded me of something more to tell you on this subject, which I think applies to every battle that you or others might go through or difficulties you face, and that is to try really praising sincerely for all the blessings you do have and all the things the Lord has done for you, as well as praising Him for the difficulties that you don't have. That will bring miraculous results. It may not change your circumstances, but it certainly will make everything more easy to bear.

Continued in GN 1158