—MO March 12, 1971 NO.56

THE MIRACLE OF GOD'S PROTECTION AND DIVINE PLANNING!

1. My precious Children: Greetings in Jesus Dear Name! I trust you are all well, and trusting Him, and busy in His Service, and preparing for things to come! We are so sorry to hear about Gracie's arm, and the various illnesses of some of the rest of you, but we know that all things work together for good to them that love the Lord‚ so that something good is bound to come of it. (Ro.8:28) THE MIRACLE IS THAT WITH NEARLY 600 CHILDREN, WE HAVE FEWER "ACCIDENTS" AND FEWER ILLNESSES THAN THE AVERAGE FAMILY OF ONLY SIX; and since we have the greatest Doctor in the universe, our doctor and hospital bills and medical expenses are almost insignificant compared to our numbers!

2. THIS IS, OF COURSE, NOTHING SHORT OF MIRACULOUS, AND CERTAINLY MANIFESTS THE BLESSING AND PROTECTION OF THE LORD! Somebody up there likes us, Praise the Lord. We usually naturally wonder why these things happen, sometimes, but God always has a reason; and I BELIEVE NOTHING HAPPENS BY ACCIDENT TO ONE OF HIS CHILDREN! I have found in my own life, and that of many others, that He always has a purpose for them, although it is not always revealed immediately! He gets some of His greatest victories out of seeming defeats, "that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us!" "When we are weak, we are strong, for then His strength has a chance to be made perfect in our weakness" (2Co.4:7; 12:10) to show it's God, and not us, that He may be glorified! Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all because this is one thing that helps keep us so righteous, our many afflictions; and if ye are without chastisement‚ then are ye bastards and not sons." "For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth," Praise the Lord! Thank God for the rod! It's always good for us‚ and "works in us His peaceable fruit of righteousness to them which are exercised thereby" (He.12:5-13), if we get the point‚ which sometimes takes a little time, and isn't always immediately apparent—which is also good for us, in that this waiting period requires patience‚ and is a good test to see how much faith we have‚ "knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience, and tribulation worketh patience" (Ro.5:3-5)—so it's all a part of our training! Amen?

3. HOWEVER‚ SOMETIMES‚ THESE THINGS HAPPEN FOR EVEN MORE MYSTERIOUS AND REMARKABLE REASONS, LIKE THE BLIND MAN IN THE BIBLE, who was blind from birth, whom Jesus said was blind, not because of his own sins, nor even the sins of his parents‚ but that God might be glorified, whereupon He promptly healed him, to prove the point! This poor man had had to be blind all his life, so that everybody would know it, and so that Jesus could come along some day, and marvelously heal him, that God might be glorified—and this man, this simple man, became a tremendous witness against the religious leaders of his day. This is one of the most thrilling stories in the Bible to me! Read it! (Jn.9) He really put 'em down, and made fools out of 'em all, so that they got so mad they threw him out, because the learned doctors of the law had not answers for him! But Jesus came and comforted him personally, again, after all this persecution, and he has gone down in history as one of the Lord's immortal examples to us! PTL!

4. "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous" (He.12:11)—and IT'S NOT ALWAYS FUN FOR GOD TO BE MAKING A PUBLIC EXAMPLE OUT OF YOU, FOR THE BENEFIT OF OTHERS; and it wasn't easy for this man to be blind all his life, so Jesus could heal him, and make a public example of him, and a strong witness for the Lord—but that's the way it had to be in order to get the job done! God knows best! It may take years, before you know why, but the time will come, and you'll know God was right, and did the right thing, Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

5. When my dear friend, that little giant of faith, Raymond T. Richey's evangelistic temple in Houston, Texas, burned to the ground with his best prayer warrior burned alive in the prayer tower, it sounded like a great defeat! But when he heard about it on the telephone at our home in Miami, he just kept saying, "Praise the Lord; Praise God; Hallelujah; GET YOU BEHIND ME, SATAN; I WON'T ASK GOD WHY!". But it soon turned out why. THE BURNING OF THAT TEMPLE AND HIS PRAYER WARRIOR BECAME A GREATER TESTIMONY TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON—THAT SAMPLE—THAN ALL OF HIS SERMONS! Because, at the public inquest, the fire chief and many others testified that although they found only the charred remains of one body in the smoking ruins‚ that there was someone else in a long white robe standing right behind the prayer warrior. (O ye of little faith wherefore dost thou doubt? For if I am able to do this, dost thou not think I am able to protect thee also in whatever fate I design for thee?)(Came with crying and tears, tongues and interpretation‚ spontaneous prophecy.) They all testified that this tall man with long hair in this white robe‚ stood behind her, with His arms outstretched over her, as though protecting her from the flames, though they never found so much as another bone of evidence that any other human being burned with her. So everyone knew it was either the Lord or an angel—that is, everyone except the unbelievers‚ who will never believe even though one should come back from the dead! Personally, I believe she never even felt the flames! What a way to go! What a testimony! What a witness! Are you willing?

6. Already I believe we're beginning to se why Gracie is in the hospital—to feed one of our dear little lost sheep‚ 16-year–old Nancy, whose parents put her in the psycho-ward there for her witnessing! Hallelujah! What a way to witness! Will you?

THE GODLY ORGANISATION OF THE SPIRIT!

7. How's that for organisation? OUR DISORGANISATION IS SOMETIMES GOD'S ORGANISATION! IT SEEMS LIKE SOMETIMES WHEN I TRY TO GET ORGANISED IN THE FLESH I JUST GET DISCOURAGED, WHEREAS IF I JUST LET GOD DO IT, HE BRINGS ORDER OUT OF CHAOS HIS WAY! GOD'S WAY UP IS OFTEN DOWN, AND HE FREQUENTLY WORKS CONTRARY TO NATURAL EXPECTATION, just to show He's God‚ and the Boss, and can do anything even the impossible, regardless of the conditions! His ways are not our ways, neither are His thoughts our thoughts‚ but as high as the Heavens are above the earth, so high are His ways above our ways, and His thoughts above our thoughts! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Go God's Way, no matter how crazy it may seem sometimes!(Lu.1:37; Is.55:8)

8. Many times in the Bible, the men of God even argued with the Lord, that that just wasn't the way to do it; but when they finally let God have His Way, as He will anyhow, they found out God was right—that God's way is the best way! Praise the Lord!

9. So here in my little leadership class on organisation, I'M NOT WRITING WHAT I'VE PLANNED TO AT ALL, BUT JUST OPENING MY MOUTH AND LETTING THE LORD FILL IT with things He wants you to know, and a few little lessons on His way of getting organised! PTL! The Lord is really funny sometimes, and He sure makes us look awful silly; SO IT'S A GOOD THING TO BE ABLE TO LAUGH AT YOURSELF, AND YOUR RIDICULOUS PLANS, WHEN GOD SHOWS YOU A BETTER WAY, IN ONE FLASH OF REVELATION, WORTH MORE THAN A POUND OF PLANS! PTL! God's Will be done! Let God have His Way! Let go and let God! God's way is best!

10. Well‚ I was just about to say‚ when all this happened, that it seemed our ministry was again becoming more leadership teaching, than revelation, as that seems to be the greatest need of the moment, when GOD GAVE US THIS LITTLE FLASH‚ like a flash of lightning on a dark night, THAT IN ONE FLASH LIGHTS UP THE WHOLE LANDSCAPE AND CLEARLY SHOWS US THE WAY, WHEN WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO GROPE AROUND IN THE DARK WITH OUR LITTLE FLESHLY FLAME! Praise God, Hallelujah! Put your hand into the hand of God which shall be more unto thee than a light‚ and better than a known way‚ Praise the Lord! God bless you! I love you! And we love you Gracie‚ and are praying for you in your ministry there in the hospital! After all, we've gotta have hospital witnesses, and jail witnesses, too; even some school witnesses‚ etc.! And sometimes there's no other way to get in, but be one of them; then it's hard to get rid of you! They can't just throw you out of the hospital bed, or through the jail door, or out the school window!—Or can they? God bless you, Dorcas, and Nancy, and others of you who are inside witnesses! Keep up the good work! Be not weary in welldoing, for in due season ye shall reap if ye faint not, neither be weary nor faint in your minds; for the Spirit of a man sustaineth him, but a wounded spirit who can bear? (Ga.6:9;He.12:3;Pro.18:14) Doubt, fear, discouragement, and murmuring kill! Look at all that murmuring older generation of Israel that died in the Wilderness, for their lack of faith! But faith, trust, courage, and praising the Lord, maketh alive! IF YOU WANNA KNOCK THE DEVIL FOR A LOOP, JUST START PRAISING THE LORD NO MATTER WHAT'S HAPPENING! He just can't stand it! He turns tail and runs! Resist the Enemy and he shall flee from thee, for perfect love casteth out fear; for God hath not given us a spirit of fear‚ but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind! Therefore, thou shalt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in Thee! (Ja.4:7; Ijn.4:18; IITim.1:7; Is.26:3) Hallelujah! Amen?

11. Well, praise the Lord! I see He's still gettin' us organised! Aren't we a laugh? As that Russian Ambassador said to Napoleon, as the conqueror of all Europe planned to invade Russia, "Man proposes, but God disposes", and the Little Emperor lost nearly 100,000 men in one of the most colossal military failures of all time, though his plans looked so good, God put a pin in his little balloon, and the whole thing fell flat. WATCH OUT THAT YOU'RE FOLLOWING GOD, AND NOT TRYING TO RUSH AHEAD OF HIM TO SHOW HIM THE WAY YOU WANT HIM TO GO! Amen? Praise the Lord! Keep going God's Way! You can't lose—'cause He can only win! AS LONG AS WE LET GOD RUN THIS OUTFIT, WE'RE BOUND TO WIN, EVEN WHEN WE LOOK LIKE WE'RE LOSING! BUT IF YOU OR I TRY TO RUN IT, WE'RE BOUND TO LOSE, EVEN WHEN WE LOOK LIKE WE'RE WINNING! What looks like success to the world may look like defeat to God, and what even looks like defeat to us sometimes is an actual victory for the Lord, for HE GETS HIS GREATEST VICTORIES OUT OF SEEMING DEFEATS, THOSE IMPOSSIBLE SITUATIONS WHICH IT TAKES TO MAKE A MIRACLE! We know nothing at all! Sometimes we need to keep our big mouth shut, so God can do the talking, and we can hear Him, and just follow! Praise the Lord!

12. Well, here goes another page, and I still haven't gotten to the subject, but I guess God has! It reminds me of the story, and here I go again‚ of Martin Luther and Melancthon, his right-hand man, who had so much to do one day‚ Melancthon suggested that they cut their prayer time in half, so they could get their work done; but instead LUTHER SAID THEY'D HAVE TO PRAY TWICE AS LONG, IN ORDER TO GET THEIR WORK DONE—AND HE HAD THE RIGHT IDEA. No wonder he was such a great man of God! No wonder he accomplished so much! HE LET GOD DO IT, INSTEAD OF TRYIN' TO DO IT ALL HIMSELF! Amen? Praise the Lord! Sometimes I feel like maybe if I'd just shut up, you guys could hear the Lord better—but on the other hand, sometimes He even speaks through me, so I'd better obey, and tell you, and let God have His way, like with this letter today! So IF YOU REALLY WANNA KNOW HOW TO GET ORGANISED, THIS IS THE WAY: PRAY AND LET GOD LEAD FIRST.

13. Well, that just goes to show you how much I know about it!—I started off this lesson‚ saying you couldn't read it to babes‚ because of what I planned to say‚ but I don't see anything in these first two pages of what the Lord had to say instead, that wouldn't be good for the babes‚ too: It might even feed the little lambs! Amen?

HEAVENLY EXPERIENCES WITH ANGELS

14. Well, Praise the Lord! I do hope He lets me say a few things about some of your specific problems I've noticed, but if He doesn't want me to, O.K. Maybe they're already solved‚ and He already solved them, and He doesn't want me buttin' in—or you might look to me, instead of Him! Maybe He's trying to get you used to doing without me! I had an interesting experience the other day, when I was reading about your moving into Zion, I felt so burdened for you, like you were needing my advice, and I wished I could be there to help you, and all of a sudden I was there, hanging‚ in the Spirit, just over Hosea and Eve's heads, in a great big room about the second floor of that big house, as they were discussing the problem; and Hosea was saying like, "I wish we could ask Dad about it!"—And I was right there—right over their heads, suspended in midair; but the only way I could speak to them was in their mind, to influence their thoughts—I wasn't allowed to talk out loud (tears and tongues) or appear to them, or to the rest of you who were running all around praising the Lord, and exploring every nook and cranny of the old place, like little kids will do, while the parents are soberly conferring!—And it's the funniest thing: I could see all of you, whether you were upstairs, or downstairs, or out in the yard, because both you and the house were kinda transparent, like you were the spooks, and I was in the real world! I could see the house, and all the walls around me, right through the walls—I could see all the rooms and everybody running around, and even the yard and trees outside—it was so beautiful! I'm dyin' to see if it really looks like that! What was that I said—I'm dyin' to see it? Well, that's exactly what the Lord said it would cost! I could die to see it if I wanted to, because facing me, and beautifully floating over your heads also, was this fine-looking angel, that I've seen several times before! When you see all of him, he's tall and handsome‚ and even blonde, with a real fine face‚ that looks a little bit like that Dr. Kildare character on TV‚ only his face is more narrow, and his nose a little longer, and shines with a light that never shone on land or sea! Praise You‚ Jesus. Thank You, Lord! It's always such a perfectly peaceful expression, beautifully calm, and serene, and confident‚ usually pleasant and smiling‚ never worried—and only one time did I ever see him looking fierce, and THAT WAS THAT FIRST TIME I TOLD YOU ABOUT, A LONG TIME ago when I was a teenager, headed across the street for some dive in San Francisco, when suddenly, he was right there on the curb in front of me‚ challengingly confronting me, dressed in an old bum's clothes, and a slouch hat, but not budging an inch out of my way, and looking fiercely into my eyes, with eyes that glowed like fire, and he spoke in my mind, not with his mouth, but somehow with his eyes or his thoughts; but I heard him loud and clear, inside of my head, looking at me with great disgust, and saying, "And now‚ where are you going?"—Because he knew where I was headed, and was there to stop me, thank God, and stop me he did, because I wasn't three feet from him, face to face, and he nearly scared me out of my wits; so much so, that I nearly did a flip over backwards, and ran the other way across that busy street, dodging the cars; it's a wonder I didn't get killed; and I grabbed the first Key Train home—I couldn't get there fast enough; I was so scared of him, I was afraid he was following me, and I kept looking back, because somehow I knew exactly what he was—an angel of God in disguise, and sent by the Lord, to turn me back from my evil way, Thank God! It worked! It sure did the trick, and I never forgot it! THANK GOD FOR HIS ANGELS, WHO ARE WATCHING OVER US CONTINUALLY, EVEN YOUR PERSONAL ANGEL, WHOSE JOB IS YOU! Hallelujah!

15. THE NEXT TIME I SAW HIM, you remember, was much more pleasant, thank the Lord, because I was trying hard to serve the Lord in evangelistic work, when you children were small, and I was driving this big 10-ton rig, truck and house trailer, creeping along a strange street, in a strange city, trying to find my way‚ after midnight on a dark and lonely night. I was lost‚ and trying to find a bridge that I knew was the highway, according to the map, but it wasn't a very big city‚ and nobody seemed to be on the streets that I could ask! Suddenly out of the shadows of an office building on my left, a fine-looking business man with an attaché case stepped toward the curb. I quickly rolled down my window and stopped, and he smiled pleasantly‚ and stretched out his left arm to the left and, pointing, said, "Yes, it's that way—the way you're going", waved, and I yelled thanks and he disappeared, and I drove on toward the bridge‚ which was, sure enough‚ just ahead of me! When suddenly, I was half frightened and half thrilled‚ when it dawned on me that I hadn't even asked him anything! Hallelujah! Thank you, Jesus! Isn't the Lord wonderful? And as I drove excitedly along, I began to realise there was something vaguely familiar about him—he was the same angel!

16. Anyhow, as he hung in the air over your heads this time at Zion‚ he was all in white, and said, "YOU SEE, YOU CAN BE HERE IF YOU WANT TO, BUT YOU'LL HAVE TO FORSAKE YOUR BODY, AND YOU CAN ONLY INFLUENCE THEIR THOUGHTS!" And suddenly, the whole scene vanished, and I was back here again! IT WAS SO EASY, BUT I WOULD HAVE TO DIE TO DO IT, and I couldn't write any more Letters, just travel! How's that for organisation! What a way to travel and visit all. I HAVE A CHOICE, BUT I GOT PHIL.1:19-26.

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family