FD/MM/FM February 2006

[ ] "Prophecy Questions You May Have Always Wanted to Ask, Part 3," ML #3036:2-13, Vol.23

[ ] "Mama's Surprise!—Part 2," ML #3134:137-138, Vol.24

[ ] "Hearing from the Lord Step by Step," ML #3149:117-123, Vol.24

[ ] "Mama's Memos!—No.9," ML #3243:129,131-133,135,140-144,149-153, GN 845

[ ] "Understanding Prophecy‚ Part 1," ML #3275:76-83‚ GN 875

[ ] "Understanding Prophecy, Part 2," ML #3304:100-133, 137-161, GN 905

[ ] "Fast-day Follow-up," ML #3381:32-44, Post-it GN #1

[ ] "Issues, Part 16," ML #3450:160-171,173, GN 1040

CLEAR CHANNEL?

"Prophecy Questions You May Have Always Wanted to Ask, Part 3," ML #3036:2-13, Vol.23

2. Question: What conditions have to be present in order for someone to be a good channel and to receive the Lord's Message clearly and purely? What is required of the prophet in order for him or her to be a good channel?

3. Answer: Those who exercise the gift of prophecy should have a deep love for the Lord, be dedicated to His service, be humble, yielded, submitted, obedient and in tune with Him. They should be desperate to hear from Him, creating a vacuum in their heart to receive His Message. They need faith to believe they can hear from the Lord, and faith to give what He gives. They should keep their hearts from those things which distract them from the Lord and His service. In short, they need to be real disciples. But even when we fall short of these goals, the Lord sees our hearts, and in His mercy‚ will overlook our failings and will speak His Words to us.

4. (Peter: ) The primary requirement for being a good channel for the Lord's Words is to love the Lord. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."

5. Another requirement is humility. "I shall give My Words to the lowly, to the meek, to the humble and pure in heart, to the seemingly insignificant to the world. My Words are precious, and you are precious in My sight. Therefore I give you this responsibility, to be givers of My Words in all humility, in all submissiveness, which brings receptivity. Think not that you are great‚ for he that thinks that he is shall be humbled and abased‚ and My Words shall not be given unto him. But a humble and a contrite spirit I will not despise."

6. In order to have the needed humility, you must be willing to be made humble. "If you hold back and you try to stand upright, and try to look good, you will not be useful to Me. Like Bamboo, you have to be willing to be cut down, to be slit open, to be laid down for My waters to run through. ... The bottle with a tight neck has such a hard time pouring out, so let such be broken. ... Out of broken vessels shall flow the water that will refresh My people, for a broken and a contrite heart‚ I will not despise." (See Good Thots‚ pg.561, No. 432.)

7. Along with humility you need to be yielded and submitted to the Lord. "If you have yielded your hearts and minds, your lives and your bodies unto Me, I can use you to pour out My Words unto others. ... I require that you come before My presence in submission and yieldedness, desperately seeking My face. ... If you will just be yielded to Me and My Words, and listen and hearken to what I have to say and be willing to receive it, ... then I will speak through you."

8. Being obedient to the Lord and His Word is also very important. If you are used to recognizing and obeying what the Lord tells you, it will be easier for you to recognize His voice when He gives you a prophecy. "Be a sheep. Be a follower, and trust the Shepherd that He knows the way. ... Be obedient, and you will recognize My voice, because My sheep hear My voice and they will follow. So if you are obedient and obedience is in your heart, you will hear My voice." This, of course, doesn't mean that if someone is obedient they will automatically have the gift of prophecy, nor does it mean that if you don't have this gift that you are disobedient. It does mean that if you do have the gift, you need to be obedient if you wish to be a clear channel for His voice.

9. Proverbs 4:23 says‚ "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." It is important that you keep your heart pure and clean through the Word, and by trying to resist sin. You need to fight against anything that distracts you from the Lord and His service, anything that would clog up the channel of His voice. "When I choose to speak My Words, I do not look at the appearance of the one who is receiving My Words, but I look upon the heart. If their heart is right with Me, and if they desire to hear My Words‚ and they desire to receive these things, and most of all believe, ... then I will come to them and speak My Words. ... Therefore, each of you should look to yourselves, that you remain a clean vessel, fit for the Master's use; that you be not distracted nor hindered, so that you can be used of Me. Because you have given your life to Me, in service and dedication, I will pour through you."

10. Another very important requirement is that your heart be open to the Lord's will and to whatever He has to say to you. "Lift up a heart empty of your own inclinations. ... Create a vacuum, an empty mouth, an empty heart, one in which you don't care what the answer is, ... a heart that is yielded and pointed to Me. ... You must seek with no conditions, with no strings attached. ... You must open your heart to My point of view."

11. You must also be desperate and hungry to receive the Lord's answer, and then have faith to give out what He gives to you. "I look for desperation in the heart, for the desire to know My will and to know My truth, for the fervency, for those hearts that are longing for Me, that create a vacuum in their spirits that I may fill. For these are as the flowers that long for the dew. They are as the streams that long to be filled after a great drought. ... Therefore, seek this desperation‚ seek this desire. If you do not feel this desire, ask Me for it and I will give it to you. ... If you will search for Me with all your heart, you will find Me. You must believe that I am, and that I am a rewarder and a giver unto those who diligently seek. ... You must have the faith to believe that I am speaking through you, and the faith to give what I give you. If you desperately pray and fervently desire and ask for My Words, would I refuse you?"

12. Another key is to learn how to tune in to the Lord's voice without distraction, so that you can clearly receive His Message. "You must learn to turn the knob to My frequency, so that My voice can boom through loud and clear."

13. The Lord has given us a lot of counsel as to the qualities needed for those who are going to prophesy, which undoubtedly apply to being able to fully use the other gifts of the Spirit as well. However, the Lord does not require perfection. If He did, He wouldn't have anyone to speak through! "I am not looking at your sins or at your shortcomings. When I choose to speak through you‚ I choose to speak because the Words that I have to say must be given, and I will give them through any vessel who is yielded and willing to receive them at the time. I am not seeking for perfection. All you have to do is be open at the time."

"Mama's Surprise!—Part 2," ML #3134:137-138‚ Vol.24

137. (Jesus:) Certain things can hinder a person's connection with Me and their being a reliable channel: If someone comes before Me to hear My Words, but they are unyielded, and their life is full of unconfessed sins; if their motivation is not right; if they have for an ongoing period of time been entertaining doubts or criticizing the New Wine of My Spirit; or if they bear in their heart oughts or bitterness against their brethren. In such cases, when a person is not right with Me‚ then there is the possibility that they will lose the protection of My Spirit‚ and in such a case‚ they could receive phrases from the Enemy, as he would not only tempt them to doubt or to be confused, but he would actually tempt them to speak his words, which are critical, doubtful‚ unloving, condemning, and away from the truth. It is not impossible for someone to hear phrases from the Enemy, but it would be a rare exception‚ because in most cases, those who come to Me to hear My Words in prophecy are desperate and hungry and in a prayerful spirit. In most cases they come in faith—faith in My promises‚ faith in My New Wine, and faith in the direction that I am moving.

138. Of course, all of My children of David have their weaknesses‚ their shortcomings, their besetting sins. No one is perfect, and I do not expect perfection. But I do expect and require—if you wish to be a reliable, full-of-faith channel—that you be yielded, trusting, loving‚ free of unconfessed sin, and following the queen and king as closely as possible. (End of message.)

"Hearing from the Lord Step by Step," ML #3149:117-123, Vol.24

117. (Peter:) Hearing from [the Lord] is not a complicated "works trip" that we're supposed to get into. He doesn't require a big "song and dance" from us. He just wants us to come to Him open and eager to receive, and He will gladly answer our prayer and fill us with His precious Words.

118. All we have to do is be open and desperate with Him. I'm reminded of the points brought out in the FSM ("Tips on Prophecy Meetings—Part 1") on the spiritual prerequisites that are needed if we want to hear clearly from the Lord. I'll repeat those here:

119. The most important requirements for hearing from the Lord are simply as follows: receiving the Word with praise and thanksgiving and putting it into practice, both the New Wine and the older vintages; asking the Lord to erase your own thoughts; being desperate with the Lord for His will; being yielded; believing that what you receive is from Him; and having the faith to give it! So if all you can remember are those main points, you'll do fine!

120. —If you are yielded and desperate to hear His Word‚ and call out sincerely and ask Him to not let any of your own thoughts get in the way, the Lord will do it. Faith, yieldedness and humility are the keys.

121. —When discussing the matter before prayer to decide exactly what issue you need to hear from Him on, or when formulating the question to ask the Lord, it's important to keep an open mind and heart. Like Dad has said, "The first requirement for finding God's will is having no will of your own" (MOP 114:12). One of the most important prerequisites to being a clear channel of the Lord's Words is to be yielded to whatever He may have to say. He may confirm the burden that He has put in your heart or what He has shown you previously through the other ways to know God's will. On the other hand, He may show you something completely different than what you previously thought or felt. But either way‚ you have to be open and yielded in order to get what He has to say (FSM 317, pg.2, 15,16).

122. Even if you have a strong opinion on the subject, if you'll be desperate to hear the Lord's answer and opinion, resolving to put your own aside, then I'm convinced that you can get a pure prophecy. We often have opinions or thoughts on subjects, and you might fear this will color your prophecy. But the Lord has made it so that we can always hear clearly from Him if we're simply willing to put our own thoughts and opinions aside and only want His will and His opinion. (For more on this point, you might want to read question #11 in "Tips on Prophecy Meetings—Part 1" [FSM 317, pg.15], which covers very good points on how to clear your mind of your own thoughts or opinions.)

123. Another place where the Lord clearly brought out these spiritual prerequisites for hearing from Him can be found in "Mama's Surprise, Part 2‚" where He said, "For one to be able to hear My Words clearly and purely, one must be yielded, desperate, and hungry. One must be willing to give what they receive without fear of the consequences. One must have faith to trust Me when they hear My still, small voice speaking in their heart and mind. One must be following close after Me, eagerly taking in the hot New Wine of My Spirit. One must be doing his best to leave the old behind and to become a new creature in My hand" (ML #3134:106, GN 743).

"Mama's Memos!—No.9," ML #3243:129,131-133,135,140-144,149-153, GN 845

129. (Dad: ) You need to realize that it's not whether you're emotionally involved in a situation that makes the most difference in hearing from the Lord on a matter; it's whether your heart is right with the Lord and whether you're meeting all the conditions that He requires a good channel to have. For goodness sake‚ if your ability to hear clearly from the Lord on a matter was conditional on your not being emotionally involved in the matter, you'd all be sunk! I see that the Devil's trying to scare many of our good‚ reliable folks on this one, and I'd like to hit him head-on about this.

131. The requisite for being able to hear from the Lord clearly on a matter has nothing to do with your emotions! I know the temptation is to fear that your own ideas and thoughts will get in the way, but if you're praying and committing your thoughts to the Lord, if you're sincerely and wholeheartedly asking Jesus to lead you and to have His way, and if your heart is in the right position, He's gonna answer!

132. It's important that you pray and ask the Lord to override your own thoughts on a matter and clear your mind of any distractions. It's important that you're desperate with the Lord for His will and His thoughts, and that you stay humble. But when you've met these requirements, then it's time to believe that what He's promised, He will perform.

133. Where's your faith, folks? Don't you think the Lord's more in control and on top of the situation than that? Do you think He's gonna let you—His child whom He loves and cares for and whom He knows is trying to serve Him with all of his or her heart—go astray so easily if you're yielded to Him? Don't you think the Lord Himself is interested in seeing you get it right? Don't you think that He'll take care of that part, and point you in the right direction if you start to falter or slip up?

135. If you are sincerely seeking and wanting His answers and are yielded to Him, even if you are emotionally involved‚ He's gonna answer and He's gonna see you get it right! He won't give you a stone if you ask for bread!

140. Emotions are not necessarily bad; it's when you let your emotions run wild, when they're not yielded to the Lord, that they cause you trouble. But you who sincerely want to please the Lord can yield your emotions to Him and let Him guide your emotions and have control in your life.

141. The sooner you get over this fear that just because you're emotionally involved in a matter this renders you useless in hearing from the Lord on that same matter, the better! Now granted, it is possible to receive a colored or incomplete message if you are emotionally involved, if you're not yielding your emotions and thoughts and desires to the Lord, and if you're not desperate with the Lord. The key is in the yielding. The key is in how yielded, desperate, humble and hungry you are to know the truth and sincerely want the Lord's answers regardless of the consequences.

142. When your emotions are strong, this is the time when you need to hear from the Lord and get His direction, simply due to the fact that as humans we can't always trust in our emotions. That's precisely why you need to go to the Lord and get direction from Him! How are you gonna know how to handle your emotions if you don't hear from the Lord on personal matters? That's the time you're gonna need that extra umph from the Lord, and His leading, direction, and guidance. Otherwise, you just might be led away by those same emotions that you fear might block your channel to the Lord‚ if you don't pray and yield them to the Lord.

143. What you need to ask yourselves is not whether you are emotionally involved in a situation, but whether all the other conditions are right for hearing from the Lord. If you're trying your best to serve the Lord and you want to do His will and to follow Him, He's not gonna fail you! As long as you're meeting all the requirements for being a reliable channel, the Lord's gonna come through loud and clear.

144. Moses had a lot to learn before He met the Lord's requirements of being a yielded channel. He had to be humbled, he had to be yielded, he had to start with a clean heart, he had to be desperate. All that time he spent in the desert helped him and prepared him to meet the conditions that God requires of a good channel. That doesn't mean, however, that he was any less emotionally involved by the time God called him to go before Pharaoh and deliver the Words of the Lord! Moses was plenty emotionally involved with his people; his heart was with them, he was burdened for them, he wept for them, and God spoke to him and poured out His direction, step by step, and gave clear guidance and counsel from Heaven!

149. The key is not how emotionally involved you are; the key is whether you have yielded your emotions to the Lord! Hearing from the Lord is not something you work up. It has nothing to do with how good you feel or how talented you are. It's simply a matter of obedience, desperation, and yielding your all to Jesus. He will not fail as long as you're yielded, trusting‚ free of sin, and loving and following Him as closely as possible!

150. The Lord's answers are contingent on your openness, yieldedness, and desperation; on your obedience and humility; on your willingness to create a vacuum and let Him fill it; on your willingness, obedience, and faith to receive what He gives with no conditions attached; and on your obedience to believe it and put it into action.

151. If you love the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind, and you're desperate to hear His Words, He's not gonna fail to speak to you. If you're closely following the New Wine of His Spirit and doing your best to leave the past behind and all your own preconceived ideas and be what He wants you to be today, He'll not fail you! If you're willing to believe and receive and give what He says without fear of the outcome, He's not gonna let you down! If you're desperate with the Lord and sincerely calling out to Him, asking Him to clear your mind of any distractions and to not let any of your own thoughts or desires get in the way, the Lord will do it! If you're not holding back any unconfessed sins‚ the Lord will speak to you—even if you are emotionally involved in a situation!

152. His Word holds true—ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you! So don't let the Devil trick you! Get desperate! Get down to business with the Lord. Be humble, yielded, and open to what He wants to tell you. Cry out to Him, expect an answer in Jesus' name, and in His name you'll get it! Don't be afraid that just because you're emotionally involved in a situation you can't hear from the Lord, but keep yielding everything you've got to Him—emotions and all. That's the time to take it to Jesus, to be sure you're yielding all your emotions to Him and letting Him direct and guide you! Just be sure you're meeting all His requirements to be a reliable channel, then ask! And He'll never let you down! (End of message.)

153. (Mama:) In closing, I'm including a list of the points that Dad outlined in the above message. If you want to be a good, reliable channel—despite the fact that you may feel emotionally involved with the matter that you're bringing before the Lord—then these are the qualifications you need. Some of these overlap somewhat, or are different facets of the same basic principles, but I thought it would be clearer and easier to apply if I spelled out each little detail and aspect. Lord help us all to do our part to be good‚ clean, receptive channels for His wonderful Words!

"Understanding Prophecy, Part 1," ML #3275:76-83, GN 875

76. (Question: ) I'm afraid I'm giving my own thoughts when I prophesy. That holds me back from asking important questions, as I'm afraid I'll be led astray by a false prophecy. What can I do to get over this? How do I know I'm receiving prophecy and not my own thoughts?

77. (Jesus:) To receive prophecy is an act of faith. There's no way in the natural to prove you are receiving My Words, but you can know by the fruit. You can see that the fruit of My Words given through your channel or others' channels is good, is according to My printed Word, and is loving. You can also know that I've promised to give you My answers through prophecy if you fulfill the requirements for being a reliable channel. That is My promise, which you can claim.

78. The requirements for being a good channel are: yieldedness, knowing that you do not have the answers, being right with Me and obedient to the printed Word and willing to do all you can to apply it to your life‚ keeping your heart clean from unconfessed sin, asking Me to override your own thoughts and opinions, having faith, being willing to accept My answers, giving what you receive without question or analyzing; being willing to bring any questions about the messages you receive in prophecy back to Me in order to receive well-rounded messages, and for further confirmation and explanation of any seeming contradictions; building your faith by regularly spending time with Me in the bed of love—reading and meditating on My Word and applying it to your life, resting in Me and casting your cares on Me, and loving Me intimately as My bride, speaking words of love to Me and receiving My seeds. It also helps you receive clear, complete messages if you do your best to avoid distractions or interruptions and concentrate as much as possible, as you need to come out of the wings and enter into My temple. You'll also find it easier to receive My messages if you fill your heart, mouth, and life with praise.

79. If you've asked in prayer, praying in faith, believing that you shall receive, then you must trust Me that if you've asked for bread, I will not give you a stone. If you don't receive something the first time, or if you fear that what you've received was only your own thoughts or ideas‚ you can come to Me again for confirmation, clarification, or further explanation.

80. If you have not prayed in faith, believing, and therefore have doubts about whether what you received was of Me or not, then come to Me again in full faith, claiming My promises and standing on them‚ believing that I can and will and do speak to you—and so I will! This I promise.

81. You can also ask others to help you, to pray for you or pray about your requests, to receive a confirmation. This will strengthen your faith as you see that I am able to lead and guide you even through others, and that the more you seek Me, the more I will confirm My will, often adding more details or specifics‚ and encouraging you that you have heard My will. (End of message.)

82. (Summary of answer:) When you ask the Lord for answers in prophecy, you have to take it by faith that you receive His Words. To have the faith necessary, you need to fulfill the requirements for being a reliable channel, which are: yieldedness, knowing you do not know the answers, being right with the Lord and obedient to the printed Word, having a clean heart free from unconfessed sin, asking the Lord to override your own thoughts, having faith, being willing to accept His answers, giving what you receive by faith without analyzing, being willing to take any questions about the prophecies you receive back to the Lord, building your faith by spending time with the Lord in the Word, meditation and loving Him intimately as His Bride‚ avoiding distractions or interruptions, and being full of praise.

83. If you're having trouble believing that a prophecy you received was of the Lord, you can go back to Him for more information‚ explanation or a confirmation, or you can ask someone else to pray about the same question, as a confirmation.

"Understanding Prophecy, Part 2," ML #3304:100-133, 137-161, GN 905

Can System Input Clog Your Channel?

100. (Question:) What effect, if any, does it have on a person's channel if they're not minimizing unedifying and ungodly influences in their life, or they just started to seriously minimize, but before that had perverted appetites for the things of the world? Does contact with System music, bad computer games, reading System books‚ watching violent, senseless or time-wasting movies; surfing the Internet (including not just really bad stuff‚ but unnecessary general browsing) affect a person's ability to be a clear channel?

101. (Jesus:) Everything that you take into your mind and spirit affects you. There is no one who is not affected negatively in some way when they partake of System influence via movies, music, novels, worldly attitudes put forth in newspapers, magazines, or the Internet. All of that propaganda of the Enemy goes into your being and becomes part of you.

102. If you have a strong foundation of faith, you're less affected, and the propaganda doesn't gain a firm hold in your heart and mind, as long as you take the time to wash yourself regularly with the Word and My Spirit. But if you're weak in faith and you have bad Word and prayer habits‚ then the propaganda from the System has more effect. And it's a cumulative effect, growing more and more harmful with time. The more you take it in and the longer you allow it to remain in your heart and mind, the stronger the influence, especially if you don't wash it away with the Word. Don't just take things in and let them remain in your mind‚ but check out your input with Me. Ask Me about the information you are exposed to and hear from Me in prophecy about what My perspective is on the matter. I'll tell you what is true and what is false and what you should reject. Getting My viewpoint and My mind on the matter will help keep you cleansed of false information and wrong attitudes.

103. Those who have taken in much System influence over time subconsciously develop perverted reactions and thought patterns. That System influence can be in the form of such things as excessive movie watching, or the watching of bad movies‚ or listening to evil music, or playing violent computer games, or receiving the vain philosophies of man. Because of the System influence and their entertaining the wrong attitudes or ways of looking at things, even without their realizing it, they develop a mentality that is ungodly. That ungodly mentality wars against the spirit. It's in sharp contrast to the ways of My Kingdom, but the unsuspecting victim often doesn't realize that their first reactions and many of the conclusions they draw are not Word-based.

104. Because of this, the person is at a disadvantage when it comes to hearing from Me, because they're not in a position where they can easily discern the spirits and judge what voice is of Me and what is not. Their senses have become dulled because they've heard the voices of the Enemy's world for so long, so they don't recognize that it's wrong, and that those voices and attitudes and reactions have become a part of them.

105. When a person is in this state spiritually, their prophecies will likely be less pure. Therefore, until such a person gets cleaned up spiritually by taking in massive doses of My Word, having united prayer, and having his thought processes brought in line with My way of seeing things, then he will need to be very careful with his prophecies—careful to seek confirmations and counsel from those who are spiritually stronger.

106. As a person who has been contaminated by the world for a period of time seeks the cleansing power of My Word, prayer, and the spirit, they will become a more reliable channel, a clearer one. But it stands to reason that someone who has taken in from the System without limit‚ who has drunk deeply of the evil wells of the wisdom of man and his perversions, and who has built up a large "database" of stored System values and attitudes in their mind, will have to flush that out and be cleansed and strengthened in spirit.

107. I'm still able to speak to those who are contaminated by a long-term deep feeding of the System, but they must realize their handicap and be very desperate. They must also be aware that there could be some impurities from the Enemy and from their perverted mindsets that can slip into the prophecies because of their weak spiritual state. This can happen because they're not finely attuned to My voice and ways, so when they hear the voice of the Enemy, they don't recognize that it goes contrary to My Word and Spirit‚ and therefore they're not able to raise a standard against the Enemy's voice on the spot.

108. This is another type of serious tainting of My messages that comes about as a result of the channel being dirtied through System influence‚ especially System influence that has been taken in over a long period of time. This type of tainted prophecy is often characterized by compromise and a general permissiveness that pushes the boundaries and guidelines of the Word and the Charter to the limit.

109. If someone wants to be a reliable channel, one who receives complete prophecies that are the result of great faith and yieldedness, then that person must seek to cleanse their mind and spirit of the ways of the world. If the influence of the world has been great, it will take more time and a conscientious effort to reprogram the channel's mind so that their first reactions and mindset are in line with My Word and the truth, rather than the perversions of the world, and so that they can recognize My voice and discern when the Enemy's voice tries to butt in. If someone has been contaminated by much input from the world, he should take more time in the Word and prayer, and even have a prayer of deliverance.

110. Even if people have good habits in the Word, if they have regular contact with the world through movies, the Internet, novels, etc., they must raise a standard against the influence of that contact through prayer and a plea to Me that I will wash them clean as they drink deeply of the things of the spirit. (End of message.)

111. (Summary of answer:) Any ungodly input from the System will have a negative effect on you; the question is how much of a negative effect and how lasting it will be. If you're strong spiritually and you have good habits in the Word and prayer, and you're desperate to be right with the Lord‚ you can regularly cleanse your spirit of the perversions of the world and the ways of man, in which case those ungodly attitudes and mindsets won't gain a foothold in your life.

112. But if you regularly take in System influence, especially if you've done so for a long time, and you don't go on the attack to be cleansed, then it will cause you problems. That System influence will have a greater effect on you and it will be cumulative, meaning it all adds up. Eventually, many of your reactions, attitudes and mindsets will likely not be Word-based. The longer you entertain these wrong reactions‚ attitudes, and mindsets, the more they become a part of you‚ especially if you keep reinforcing them with more System input and you don't make an effort to be cleansed with the Word and prayer. You might not even realize this is happening to you.

113. If that is the case, then your prophecies can be tainted, because you aren't able to recognize when the Enemy's voice tries to come in. You won't immediately sense that there's something wrong when he tries to slip in his words, because you're accustomed to listening to the Enemy's propaganda. If you aren't sensitive enough in the spirit to immediately raise a standard against the wrong voices, then your messages can be contaminated with aspects that are not of the Lord. This type of tainted prophecy often compromises the truth and is overly permissive regarding the guidelines or boundaries that are established in the Word and Charter.

114. If you've had a lot of System input in your life, you'd be wise to admit it and fight to be cleansed of it. You have to realize that this is a handicap, which should make you very desperate. If you're serious about wanting to be a clear channel, you should ask for prayer for deliverance, as well as draw up a good Word study plan and stick to it—and cut way back on System influences! As you're getting cleaned up spiritually, you should be sure to check your prophecies with your shepherds, or someone who is strong spiritually, and get confirmations whenever there is any question whatsoever. You should be very open to shepherding and counsel regarding your prophecies so you can get any additional information or clarifications that are needed and thereby stay right in the center of God's will.

115. (More from Mama:) I can see how the above information and warning from the Lord could make you feel quite insecure about your channels, because all of you have suffered a certain degree of contamination from the System. Some System influence is unavoidable, as you must go out in the System when witnessing and doing business, and many have necessary Internet research to do, etc. Plus nearly everyone watches a movie or two each week, and possibly takes in other TV, magazine, or novel input to varying degrees. Then there are those of you who are still fighting to overcome your serious bad habits and addictions of pre-Shakeup days.

116. A natural reaction when you feel wobbly about your channel, especially after hearing a message like this, is to quit prophesying. That's a logical conclusion, which might seem much safer to you. You want to save yourself the trouble of any possible impurities in your prophecies as a result of System input, so you figure you'll just stop asking the Lord about anything. But that is not the right reaction. You might think you're saving yourself a lot of hassle, but you'll be losing a lot more in the long run because you'll be forgoing the opportunity to get the Lord's counsel for you personally on a regular basis.

117. You might decide to stop hearing from the Lord because you're afraid of mistakes or getting it wrong. Or maybe you're just lazy and don't want to put forth the effort needed to cleanse and maintain your channel. Maybe you're embarrassed or confused. I can understand all that. But another more hidden reason is that the Enemy is fighting you and trying to seal up your channel.

118. The choice is yours. No one can make you hear from the Lord, just as no one can make you cleanse your heart and mind from all the junky attitudes that you've got stored up from months or even years of System input. That's something that only you can do‚ with the Lord's help.

119. It might look like quite a sacrifice‚ a real costly venture, to have to minimize ungodly influences, especially when they involve your favorite pastimes. You might be quite dependent on your regular "fixes" of violent movies‚ since you think all other movies are boring; or surfing the Net to stay abreast of the latest opinions on whatever you're interested in; or peeking in on perverted sex sites, just to "see what's out there." There are plenty of ways that people in the Family are addicted to System input and have a hard time minimizing. To overcome those addictions is tough!

120. But just remember that while you might feel like you're losing an awful lot by kicking the habit, you have much more to gain. Having a clear, dependable channel will do you a lot more good not just in the future, but today, than those other pleasures and entertainments. It's a sacrifice, I know, but the Lord can give you really cool stuff in place of the earthly things you're presently enjoying. I'm talking about the secrets and mysteries and wonders of the spirit world—all kinds of far–out truths.

121. Once you decide you want to clean up your act‚ get rid of System mindsets and attitudes that aren't of the Lord, and protect your channel so you can get reliable messages, half the battle is won. Then the Lord can work with you, and He will bless your prophesying as you seriously and sincerely seek Him, and He will reward you for the initial battles you're willing to endure when you minimize or give up altogether the things that weaken you spiritually.

122. The whole point of giving you this message is not so you'll get scared and stop hearing from the Lord. You should know me well enough by now to know that's not the point! That's the exact opposite of what you should do. You need these cautions, and the Lord is trusting you with some deep truth; but the reason is so you'll see the dangers of the System input and do what you need to do to correct the problem. That means minimizing it, having united prayer of deliverance, getting into serious Word study, continuing to use your channel, asking the Lord questions about the input you receive and getting His viewpoint on the matter‚ and counseling with other strong people about the messages you receive, when necessary.

123. You might think, "United prayer of deliverance? No way! That's too embarrassing! I'll just stop prophesying." If that's your conclusion, you'll miss out. United prayer is a key to making fast progress. If you feel the need for united prayer, don't let anyone stop you or belittle your efforts. Do what you have to do! Be your own person! Follow the Lord as you feel led, without letting the opinions of your friends intimidate you! "What is that to thee? Follow thou Me!" Even if you're the only one doing it, who cares?! Be an individual!

124. If you're worried about the System influence that has already accumulated in your life, here is some insight from the Lord that should give you the resolve you need to not give up.

125. (Jesus:) Those of you who have clogged your channel or muddied the waters through prolonged System input can be even more desperate with Me through a realization of the dangers of such influence from the world. The knowledge that you need to tune in even more carefully and desperately, that you need to seek Me seriously and specifically for My protection, that you need to wash yourself with the truth, can be the best thing that ever happened to you.

126. A desire to hold on to your gift of prophecy, and not just to hold on to it but to hone it, cleanse it, purify it, and protect it, can be the impetus needed to cause you to resist the Enemy and his lies and filth and compromises in your life. If you will open your eyes and see as I do, you'll realize that as you let the trinkets and baubles of the System fall from your hands, I will put at your feet a massive‚ awesome treasure chest that you can dip into as you wish. You'll be giving up trash, garbage, fake junky stuff, and be receiving costly, expensive, priceless gifts in their place. Who wouldn't want to make such a trade?

127. The Enemy of your soul would try to entice you away from the treasure chest by luring you to other supposed riches. He's calling, tempting, offering with such enthusiasm and great packaging. But it's all a hoax. His promises are lies and his marketing is false. He's a shark, a mobster, and a racketeer. Whatever he offers looks good and seems like a great deal, but as soon as you're "in," then you realize you got ripped off!

128. So don't fall for his false advertising. Don't be a dope, getting sucked in by a con man! Chuck all that and take the real stuff, the treasures! As soon as you see their value, you'll be willing to do whatever you have to do to make sure you hold on to them. No one in his right mind leaves treasures unattended without protection and insurance. No! People pay out big bucks to make sure no one tampers with or steals or even scratches their valuables. How much more should you take care of something as precious as your direct link to Me!

129. When you look at it like that, what's the big deal if you have to lay off some of the movies you'd like to see, or cut down on reading man's stuff, and stay off the information highway? Is all of that really that important to you? Those are things millions and millions of people have access to. But your knowledge of how to hear from Me, your personal gift of prophecy, is something rare! So few people know what you know and have what you have!

130. So it's up to you to protect it like people do with their prized art collections, and keep it cleaned and polished like they would their new Mercedes. Worldly people who are sharp‚ educated and conscientious know the value of worldly things. Do you who are aware and educated in spiritual matters know the value of spiritual things?

131. If you're willing to admit that your gift of prophecy is worth keeping and protecting, then fight for it! Do what you've got to do! Get rid of all the grime and dirt of the System, clean up your life, be desperate‚ and ask for prayer! Who cares if it's embarrassing? It's worth it!

132. The good news is that it doesn't take as long to get cleansed as it did to get polluted. You could have taken in loads of man's wisdom and perversions for months and months, or even years, but when you cry out to Me with sincerity—because you want to be free, not because you're doing something that you think you have to—then My Spirit rushes through you and performs a spring cleaning of sorts. You get a special anointing and protection for your prophesying that is available to you as long as you stay very desperate and are open to counsel. It is a gift of My grace. I give you a special anointing and protection. You can rest assured that you will not be led astray by the messages you receive when you prophesy; I will keep you fruitful and in My will. (End of message.)

133. (Mama: ) What you do with this counsel and how much you want to progress with your gift of prophecy is up to you. No one is going to make you do anything. You decide what's important to you. If you value your channel and you want to hold onto it and even get better at hearing from the Lord, then the promises in this message you just read are for you, and you don't need to worry! Just do what the Lord said, and then keep going, keep asking, keep listening!

Pride opens the door to receiving tainted prophecies

137. (Question: ) Are there any other causes of tainted prophecies besides when your emotions affect the prophecy to the point that it's given in a wrong spirit‚ and your exposure to System influences, especially over a long period of time?

138. (Jesus: ) Pride is the main cause of tainted prophecies—pride manifested in many ways. Pride is the enemy of those who seek to hone their gift of prophecy. Humility is the key; pride is the main hinderer.

139. There are various causes of tainted prophecies, but most are primarily from not controlling your emotions or opinions, which amounts to being confident in your own mind, and not dependent on Me or humble before Me. The underlying cause of this is pride. When someone refuses to bring their emotions or opinions under My control by desperately asking Me to override them, it's a sign of pride. They're proud of their own thoughts, their own wisdom‚ their way of figuring things out. They want to hang on to that confidence in themselves, and it causes them not to be as open in the spirit as they need to be—and certainly not as desperate as they should be.

140. Pride restricts the flow of the Spirit and the flow of truth. The greater the pride, the greater the restriction. When a person is very proud, not only in their attitude when prophesying, but in their everyday life, that pride serves as a barrier and makes it harder for the pure Word of My mouth to pass through the veil. That pride is a stoppage, a blockage. If the channel doesn't actively fight to humble himself and get desperate with Me and acknowledge his utter dependence on Me, then pride can cause the message to be tainted, seriously influenced to the point that it's not reliable. Such a message may not be as damaging as an outright false prophecy, but it's damaging nonetheless, because it can cause people to be stumbled, delayed, sidetracked, confused or disenchanted with prophecy.

141. Also, there are varying degrees of unyieldedness. When someone is fighting in the spirit to overcome their weaknesses, even though they know they're not completely yielded in some particular area of their life, I give special grace and power to protect their channel. But when a person is unyielded, not just in one area that is particularly difficult for them at that time but generally unyielded to My will and the New Wine, then they open their lives up to attacks of the Enemy in the form of tainted prophecies. General unyieldedness to the flow of My Spirit is akin to pride; it's the fruit of pride, and if the unyieldedness goes to the extreme, then the pride can be extreme as well.

142. An inordinate desire for System influence is also a form of pride. It's saying, "I can take it, I won't be affected." It's saying My Word and ways are not enough‚ that I'm not good enough, not smart enough, not intriguing enough. Those who let their spirits become sick and contaminated through System influence are often very proud as well.

143. To harbor such pride is dangerous and can affect your channel and result in tainted prophecies. Such prophecies will not be as damaging and blatantly contrary as false prophecies, but they will often be so one-sided or incomplete or tainted in the presentation as to be confusing and misleading. They will not go absolutely contrary to the Word‚ but they will not be clearly 100% supportive either. Such prophecies are dangerous because they can cause people to become confused and their personal convictions to wane. They cause the truth of the printed Word to be watered down and become less effective. They blur the boundaries of right and wrong and distract My children. These prophecies are not "innocent" and fairly harmless like influenced prophecies; they're destructive, confusing and misleading.

144. You can recognize such tainted prophecies because they're in the wrong spirit—a harsh, demanding, condemning spirit; or they're subtly contradictory of the printed Word or the Charter. They don't necessarily oppose the Word directly and blatantly, but they're not obviously supportive either. (End of message.)

145. (Summary of answer:) Being very proud, not only when prophesying, but also in your day-to-day life and walk with the Lord, can open the door for you to receive tainted prophecies. Pride acts as a blockage in the spirit. Such pride is why people allow their emotions or opinions to influence a prophecy to the point that it's given in the wrong spirit, because they highly esteem their own thoughts and position, and that attitude comes through when they prophesy. Pride is also the root of general unyieldedness to the flow of the Spirit. Pride is also one reason why people allow their spirits and minds to become contaminated from excessive intake of ungodly and unedifying System influences.

146. All of these manifestations of pride can affect your channel and spirit to the point that it results in tainted prophecies, which are not reliable. A tainted prophecy is not as dangerous as a false prophecy, but it's still destructive, because it can cause others to be stumbled, delayed, sidetracked, confused or disillusioned with the use of prophecy.

147. Prophecy should be clearly supportive of the Word. If a prophecy causes people to be confused, or it causes their convictions to wane, or it results in confusion about what is right and wrong, or it waters down the message of the printed Word, then that prophecy should be prayed about further as to whether it's a tainted prophecy. The same is true of a prophecy that is in an extremely harsh, demanding, condemning spirit.

148. (More from Mama:) If, after prayer and counsel and getting a confirmation from the Lord, you shepherds are sure that someone is receiving or has received tainted prophecies, then you'll need to recognize the cause, which is probably extreme pride, and help them to overcome that pride through prayer, the Word, and counsel. Such pride is likely to be manifested in general unyieldedness, being very strong in the arm of the flesh‚ and not minimizing ungodly and unedifying influences.

149. For those of you who may have a serious problem with pride, if you're being desperate with the Lord and are coming to Him to help you overcome it, you shouldn't fear or worry. If you desperately want to be humble and want the Lord to deliver you from your pride, He will do so, and He will help you and give you pure prophecies. So even though your besetting sin may be pride‚ this doesn't mean you should just give up prophesying for fear you'll get tainted prophecies. The point is not to stop prophesying; the point is to get the victory over these things, or be getting continual victories over these things‚ since, of course, nobody's going to be able to get the victory over their pride immediately, instantaneously. It's an ongoing process.

150. It's important to see how serious it is to have extreme pride‚ and how that kind of pride can definitely affect your channel. Hopefully, realizing this will motivate you to be desperate with the Lord and to get the victories you need. But at the same time, the Enemy could easily condemn you to the point that you'd just say, "Oh well, I've got this bad problem and it's going to take a long time before I can get over it, so I'm not going to be able to hear from the Lord clearly in the meantime. Maybe I haven't been hearing clearly from the Lord because of that, and I haven't realized the effect that my pride was perhaps having on my prophecies‚ and so now I'd better not prophesy at all, or at least for anybody else or on any important subjects, because I have such a big problem with my pride and I must not be able to get good prophecies."

151. If you have a problem with pride‚ just be desperate with the Lord to work on it, and don't let it affect your getting things from the Lord. Be desperate to be yielded, humble and obedient, and then the Lord will give you the right things.

152. This is one of the reasons why the Lord has put such an emphasis on humility in many of the GNs that have been published over the last years. He's been trying to help us all. And if you've been taking the counsel to heart and have been working on your weak areas and on your pride, then the Lord's going to help you and you don't have to fear. You just need to be yielded and desperately ask the Lord to help you to be humble.

153. (Shepherds, please be very prayerful when judging a person's prophecies and the effect any pride in their life might be having on them. Everyone has pride to one degree or another, and for most people it is a pretty continual battle to keep their pride in subjection. I'm talking about extreme pride here, the kind of pride that causes the person to be consistently resistant to shepherding and unyielded to the changes the Lord is trying to make in their lives. Please do NOT jump to conclusions and risk wrongly accusing people of receiving tainted prophecies simply because you know they have problems with pride. You cannot just assume such things. You need to be very prayerful and get confirmations from the Lord in prophecy before drawing such conclusions and approaching the person about the problem.)

What effect does unyieldedness have?

154. (Question: ) Does unyieldedness have a different effect on your channel, depending on whether the unyieldedness is isolated to a particular battle and something you're working to overcome, or it's prolonged and widespread?

155. (Jesus: ) A large percentage of My children have something that they're battling with at all times, some kind of test of yieldedness, something that costs them and tries their faith. This narrow battle with unyieldedness, in which they're fighting and striving to overcome, will not affect their channel negatively as long as they cry out to Me to override that unyieldedness, and they try with whatever strength they have to be yielded and to accept My will. That is one type of unyieldedness, which is fairly common and relatively safe, because the people who battle in that way are usually still strong in their fear of Me, and they usually come to Me with desperation. They recognize that they are struggling to yield‚ and at times that makes them even more desperate and causes them to pray even more fervently.

156. There is another kind of unyieldedness‚ which is more dangerous and which will affect a person's channel more. That is prolonged, unchecked unyieldedness, which is allowed to go on and on in a person's life, and they either refuse to see it or don't get militant to try to progress in yieldedness, even a little. When someone is stubborn, rebellious, and holds on to their unyieldedness, then it grows. When the unyieldedness becomes widespread, affecting many areas of someone's life, especially regarding any of the Family's fundamental beliefs and practices, then it is more dangerous.

157. When unyieldedness is allowed to flourish in a person's life, especially after they have been made aware of the problem and understand it and have been warned or corrected, then their channel in general can be clouded and can result in influenced prophecies, or in tainted prophecies if the unyieldedness is extreme.

158. There is a difference between a specific battle with unyieldedness where the person is on the attack, and general or prolonged, unchecked unyieldedness, which the person allows to go on and on without making any effort to overcome. The latter is much more dangerous and can have a seriously negative effect on the person's channel; it can become stubbornness or bitterness, which results in long-term sin in their life. This does not provide the foundation for a clear, reliable channel.

159. My dear brides, there is no need to worry about your channel, even if you are battling‚ as long as you are fighting and wanting to yield. But if you are not fighting, if you're not even trying and are not serious about making progress in the area in which you're unyielded, and if you allow the sin in your life to continue and even grow, then there are grounds for concern! If you're in that state‚ then you need to get in the fear of Me about your problems, for though you can continue to seek Me and hear from Me in prophecy, and though I will try to speak to you as much as I can, there is the chance of influenced prophecies—to varying degrees—because of your unchecked, general or prolonged unyieldedness. A channel's prophecies can eventually become so influenced by their lack of yieldedness that they become tainted. (End of message.)

160. (Summary of answer: ) Most people fight battles with unyieldedness a lot of the time. Those tests are how the Lord keeps us close to Him. If you're fighting to overcome and progress in whatever area you feel unyielded in, and you come to the Lord with desperation, you can continue to have a peace about your channel. The Lord will have mercy and give you reliable prophecies, because He knows you're working on being yielded, you're crying out to Him and you want to be yielded.

161. If you have unyieldedness that you're not fighting to overcome, especially after you understand the problem and have been counseled‚ taught and warned about the dangers, or if the unyieldedness is in many areas of your life or has to do with the fundamental beliefs and practices of the Family, then it's more dangerous. That kind of unyieldedness can result in influenced, or in extreme cases, even tainted prophecies. This is especially true if the unyieldedness becomes stubbornness and bitterness.

"Fast-day Follow-up," ML #3381:32-44, Post-it GN #1

Don't Be Satisfied with Less Than the Best!

32. (Question:) Have the blessings and privileges that You've given me in the Family resulted in my compromising in spirit in any area[s] of my life, such as staying true to the standard of the Word that I've been given; reaching out to others in love and endeavoring to obey the Law of Love in every area of my life; being diligent to keep my connection and relationship with You in first place; maintaining the vision of what I'm here for and keeping the missionary spirit in my life and in the work that I do, striving to do my part to help the Family to reach the world with the Words of David and Maria; fighting to keep my thoughts and spirit pure and to reject carnal and worldly mindsets, meeting the requirements for being a dependable and clear channel, and meeting up to the standard of being a strong, sold-out disciple for You?

33. (Jesus:) There are ways you could make so much more of an effort to live in unity with your Home, to live the Law of Love, to love Me intimately, to call on the keys, to intercede in prayer, to live in full and total discipleship, but you don't. You don't make a conscious decision to disobey; you merely make a laid-back‚ lethargic decision to settle for less than the best. Why should you accept less? Why should you be okay with not living up to the standards in all areas that I've put forth? You should hate living that way and desire with all your heart to change it.

34. That is a prayer that you should pray—a prayer request that you can use daily—that I will make you unsatisfied with settling for anything less than My best in your life. Pray that I will make you hunger and thirst after living the fullest extent of the standard and to be disgusted with halfway measures and compromises.

35. Compromise is give and take: You take a little of My standard‚ and you give a little place to the Devil. Compromise is where each side must submit a little to the other and recognize each other's wishes. Do you really want to be the peace broker in such a compromise between Me and the Devil? Do you really want to be saying, "Okay‚ Jesus, You have a good point there, so You can control these aspects of my life, and I'll put into practice that suggestion You made; but the Devil has some valid opinions too, and I'm gonna have to go with some of his ideas‚ just to make it all fair and square." Do you really want Me to submit to the Enemy's will and allow him some sway in your life? That's what you do when you compromise, when you settle for less than the best.

36. Consider an empty glass as being like your life. My highest will for your life, the empty glass, is to be filled to the top with New Wine, the water of My Spirit, or the elixir of My love. But when you compromise‚ even if you don't consciously ask to be filled with something other than what I have for you, you leave yourself open by not filling yourself to the brim with My liquid. My best would be the top of the cup; but if you limit Me by laziness, compromise, not stirring yourself up or whatever reason, you only allow yourself to be half full or three quarters full, but not to the brim. You've essentially told Me, "This far and no further," and thus I do not have the license to fill the rest. So you are an incomplete life, and the rest that I have no permission to touch must be forfeited to the Enemy. You give him place when you don't allow Me to fill every corner and every cup to the brim.

37. Neither give place to the Devil. Despise him, war against him, and cast him out! Don't be so worried about how to drive him out‚ how to get his liquid out of your cup. Instead, just give Me full license to top you off‚ to fill you up, to take up all the space, and I will push out the Enemy as the natural course of events.

38. I have first rights to your heart and life as a child of God; the Enemy can only take what you do not allow Me to fill. So instead of being so worried about what not to do and how to prevent the Enemy from coming in, you should focus instead more on Me and what to do. If you keep busy filling yourself with My love, My Water of the Word, My Wine of the Spirit, I will fill you to the brim, and there will be no room for the Enemy's compromises or halfway splits. They will find no entrance. This is My plan for you.

39. Get busy for Me, full of My Word, full of My ideas—and stop holding your damnable peace talks between My side and the Devil's side, trying to balance it out and justifying one against the other! I have said very clearly in My Word, "Neither give place to the Devil." Yet you give him place when you justify things in your mind. You justify the compromises you make by pointing at the areas that I control, and you give the Enemy license to fill the rest because you don't allow Me to use it. I'm sick of sharing a table with him and his input!

40. I'm not saying you're possessed by Satan or that he controls your heart; I just don't want to see you compromising and giving him place and the room to work. I do have enough stake in your life and heart that most seeds he plants don't take root because you're faithful to root them out, but I would far prefer it if he was not allowed access to our garden at all. Rather than pulling his weeds, I would rather shut the gate against him and then worry about keeping him out rather than undoing his inside damage.

41. So please, no more compromise! No more give and take! I want it all! I'm a jealous God. You know what I'm talking about. You know the times when you feel that conviction of My Spirit telling you that such a thing is not My highest will, and it's not even My second best, that it's pretty far down there and detrimental to your spirit, but you do it anyway. It's in the things you read, some of the movies you watch, some of the music you've listened to, some of the opinions you've held. It's also in all the things that you don't do. It's in the times you put off loving Me, you skip your Word time, you skip prayer vigil, choosing your own entertainment instead.

42. I've said this already; don't make Me have to continue to chide. Go all-out, go all the way, go 110%! When you pray about things, which you are faithful to do, put My answers into practice; that's the only way.

43. When you bring things before Me such as your movie standard‚ your Internet use, your work time, your schedule, your dates, your get-outs, your interaction with others in the Home, don't just pray a simple prayer that I will tell you if there is anything that is really wrong with these that I want you to fix‚ or just a prayer that only asks to root out the very worst in these things. Instead, pray that I will hold you to the highest standard. Don't tell Me to let you off easy—ask for the full standard to be applied in My answers. Don't settle for anything that is just "okay‚ but not really the best." That's all right to an extent‚ but it's not the full CM standard. It's not the full discipleship standard.

44. You should want My ultimate. So when you pray about all those various areas, ask Me for My ultimate will. Ask for the CM standard, the full-fledged, hardcore, no compromise, no regrets, disciple version of My counsel. Milk is for babes, small allowances and compromises are for the weak, but meat belongs to them that are of full age—to the chosen, the ecclesia‚ the doers of the Word and the followers of the teaching. (End of message.)

"Issues, Part 16," ML #3450:160-171,173, GN 1040

Examining your life and attitudes …

160. (Mama:) At one point I asked all those in our various WS units to ask the Lord the following question: "Is there any unyieldedness in my life that would lead to serious problems, or that has already led to problems?"

161. Here's what one of them received from the Lord. Many of you will probably relate to it. This is a good question to ask the Lord from time to time, to help keep your spiritual life clean and on the right track.

162. (Jesus:) You already know that to yield easily is not in your nature. You want to do what's right, yet in many or most cases there is that natural instinct to rebel, argue, question, pull away or hesitate. It is unyieldedness born of pride, in that you want to do what is right, but you don't want someone else to tell you what is right for you. It's human nature‚ but it's human nature that has to learn to submit to Me and My Spirit. This is something we've been through before, something you're aware of, but something that it's good to be reminded of from time to time, so that you can continue to make progress.

163. While you may have learned to yield about things in the past, as new things come up—new rules or policies or situations or things I ask of you, or new worldly attitudes that find their way into your mind—you again have to learn to yield in each case. Sometimes you can deceive yourself into thinking that because you have yielded about a certain thing, you're "yielded"; when really you're being quite stubborn or willful about something else without even realizing it. Yieldedness in one or two areas is not complete yieldedness.

164. I've given you a mind and a will, and they can be useful to Me when you use them to think about things, ask Me about them‚ and use your initiative or curiosity for the good of your own spirit and others. Yet your own mindset and desires can also work against Me and the things I'm trying to do in your life. The natural instinct you have to want to "be convinced" about something before you're willing to follow through with it has its good side and its bad side. The good side is that when you don't just take things at face value but you analyze and question, it can cause you to pray about things, to counsel about things, and through this to come to a deeper understanding. This is the right course of action for you to follow. However, sometimes you take the wrong course—the course of choosing to make up your mind without My input or that of your shepherds, as to whether you think something is right or wrong, necessary or unnecessary.

165. For all your talk of being open-minded, sometimes you can be pretty closed-minded. When you hear about something or are asked to do something and you conclude in your own mind that you disagree or that you won't do it, what does that say for a sense of fairness and justice and giving all sides a chance? Not much! Sometimes your supposed "principles" are only things you put to use when they suit you. Sometimes your supposed open–mindedness is just liberalism, or more akin to anarchism—just wanting to do something or allow something because it keeps you from feeling closed in‚ not because you believe it's really the right thing. I don't want you to feel closed in‚ and I don't close you in. I allow you a lot of freedom in your actions and even in your attitudes—but if you misuse that freedom‚ you will be the one to suffer for it. That is the danger of unyieldedness.

166. I'm not going to come around beating you up about your wrong attitudes or areas where you're not completely yielded. I'll use whatever you give Me, and I take you where you're at. But if you hold back and pull back and keep parts of your heart and mind to yourself and refuse to let Me be involved in them, then eventually spiritual decay will set in and you will be the one to suffer. Your spiritual health will suffer. I'm the Great Physician of both your body and your spirit, but if you keep things back from Me and don't want to discuss them or address them or work on them, and if you don't want to take the "medicine" I prescribe, then I can't really help you much.

167. You don't want to judge anyone. You don't want to be judgmental or self-righteous. Yet at the same time you are, because you are quick to judge people who do pass judgment on others‚ and you criticize them and label them as being dogmatic, overly strict, and narrow–minded. It's a sense of confused priority. It is true that I have said in My Word, "Judge not, that you be not judged," but I have also set standards in the Word which are meant for you to follow—and not just follow for yourselves and let the rest of the world go to Hell, but to do your part to spread My thinking, My way‚ and My plan.

168. It's easy to let yourself slip into wrong attitudes that go against My Spirit and not even really notice it, especially if it's not something you're confronted with except in reading or watching or hearing or theorizing about it. Sometimes you and other young folk tend to think you are well versed in something, but really all you have is book knowledge. Until you've actually been involved with people with a certain need or problem, while you can have some idea of how they feel, or what they're like, or what they need, or how to help them, you can't really claim to be any kind of expert. Of course, you can pray and seek Me and hear from Me and know just what to do that way, but the problem is that if your mind is full of its own theories and ideas and attitudes, then you're less likely to look to Me, or to be an open and clear channel.

169. Yieldedness or unyieldedness isn't something so easy to put your finger on, and you can't just be yielded in one area or even two or three or ten and consider that's enough. To be really yielded to Me you have to be willing to examine every thought, every attitude, every area of your life, and be willing to seek Me about it and adopt My attitude and mindset on it, and forsake your own.

170. Beware of the liberalist mindset that is a part of the spirit of the world that constantly tells you that you don't need someone telling you what to do or what's right or wrong, that you are your own master and have the right to think and act and believe as you choose. While I have chosen to give you, My children, a substantial amount of personal freedom‚ the essence of your Christian life comes back down to the fact that "you are not your own, but you are bought with a price." You are Mine‚ in My service, under My command, and should be willing to do whatever I ask of you, or to not do what I ask you not to do. Is it really that big a price to pay for the privilege of being one of My most intimate brides and lovers? One that I will endue with spiritual power never yet seen by man? One to whom I have promised eternal rewards and pleasures of paradise for evermore? No, My love, it's not too high a price to pay!

171. I know it can be difficult‚ of course, for I endured the same thing for your sakes. In the Garden I besought My Father to let the cup of My suffering pass from Me, if it were possible. But in the end I yielded, for I knew what His will was. So I said, "Not My will but Thine be done‚" and went on to do all that was asked of Me. I was obedient, even to the death of the cross, that I might gain you, My dear loves! It was worth it; it was not too high a price to pay, and I would pay it again for you!

173. You need to seek Me further about your attitudes and principles and see which are in line with My plan and My ways, and which ones you need some "attitude adjustment" on. Start now by accepting and yielding to the fact that parts of your mindset are off, and some of the things that you think you're so open minded or nonjudgmental about are really ways in which you've closed yourself off to the truth or lowered your convictions or standards. (End of message.)

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