HomeARC ML 1239
WEE WORDS OF WISDOM!--By Father David DFO 1239 Compiled in France, 7/80
--Odds 'n' Ends from Table Talks!
1. THERE'S A TIME FOR EVERYTHING! The Lord probably even has the day of your death picked out, which to Him would be the best time for you to die. Of course you might influence it by shortening your life if you don't take care of yourself! I got a message once from the Lord that He'll never suffer me to be cut off before my time, & that's been a very great encouragement to me! Well, sometimes I thought it was just about my time! But there were times when I knew it wasn't my time & I was in dangerous circumstances & I said,
2. "WELL LORD, YOU KNOW, YOU PROMISED NOT TO LET ME BE CUT OFF BEFORE MY TIME!" That was also a Scripture that encouraged Mother a whole lot when I was sick sometimes with heart attacks & nearly died. I think there were many more times when I was sick & nearly died before the Revolution than since, thank God! There have been a few times lately though, usually because of my own foolishness & overdoing in some way.
3. THANK YOU JESUS THAT EVERYTHING IS UNDER YOUR CONTROL--& our control within Your control. We can pretty much choose what time we go to bed, Lord, within certain limitations. Sooner or later we are going to go to bed because we're going to get tired enough we have to go to bed! You put Your limitations on how much choice we have. We can delay our time of eating, Lord, & choose what time to eat, but if we don't choose pretty soon we can get awful hungry where we're driven to eat & have to eat. You've put certain limitations on us, given us certain freedoms of choice & of will within certain limitations of Thy pattern. So help us to get a good night's rest & keep us safely, Lord, Thy will be done, in Jesus' name!
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4. DON'T MASSAGE IT, PRAY FOR IT! Put your finger on it, concentrate! Put your hand on it & concentrate your prayer through your hand. Did you know it's just like waves & vibrations & auras? Did you know that's why the Lord says to lay hands on them? Did you know that they say if you get only four people to lay their hands on top of somebody's head alternately in pyramid form, then wait for about 5 or 10 minutes like you're praying, they can each put one finger under each armpit & under each knee of the person & can lift them easily with just their fingers & the person will float up to the ceiling! They say it's true but I never tried!
5. IT'S PYRAMID POWER! You may lift her & she'd be so light you could throw her up in the air! Your hand is like a pyramid. This is why the Bible says to lay hands on them, because it concentrates your spiritual power. When you have all those pyramids on top of their head it concentrates great spiritual power! And that's why healing is so important, why it's so important to pray for people & lay your hands on them. There are so many who are so sick & so sad, & you could help them! All you have to do is lay your hands on them & concentrate your pyramid power like this!
6. IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO THE WHOLE WORLD TO KNOW ABOUT PYRAMID POWER!--The power of your hands. If you're a Christian & you love Jesus, it's the power of God! It's like the Elixir, see? She's even thinking better just because I have my hand in a pyramid over her head now. Every hand is another pyramid & it concentrates the power when you connect your hands like this. Now we have a pyramid of power! You have to put your hand in the shape of a pyramid, with power, & concentrate the power. Did you know that so much power is packed in the hands? That's why the Scripture talks about the laying on of hands. (See Mk.16:18; Ac.8:17; 1Ti.4:14; Heb.6:2 & more!) (3-5-78.)
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7. IN ABRAHIM'S LANGUAGE the word "kiss" is the same as the word "word."
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8. GOD DOESN'T FAIL, BUT WHEN YOU FAIL, YOU FAIL TO REAP THE BENEFITS of the blessings that God would have given you if you'd obeyed. God doesn't have to bless you, especially if you're disobedient. His blessings are sort of a special reward for obedience. Just like a little child, you give him a toy or special reward for being good. But when he's naughty & disobedient you give him a spanking!
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9. I LIKE TO PRAY THE LORD'S PRAYER, IT HAS ALL THE RIGHT THINGS: "Thy will be done, Thy Kingdom come on Earth as it is in Heaven," amen? I could preach a whole sermon on the Lord's Prayer. You ought to study it some time & see what it says! We couldn't pray a better prayer, that's why I like it!
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10. THERE'S NO POINT IN US NOT BEING HONEST WITH EACH OTHER! We've got to recognise each other's strong points & each other's weak points, & we've got to take things as they are & try to do the best we can with them. There's no point in trying to hide these things & kid ourselves & fool ourselves. The best thing we need to do with faults & failures & mistakes & weak points is to see them, recognise them, be honest about them & then try to somehow overcome them or improve them or do something better if we can!
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11. I GET A FEELING ABOUT CERTAIN TV PROGRAMS OR MOVIES, I just sense when there is something significant! I saw a movie on TV called "The Questor" about a robot who was searching for his creator! He was a seeker.
12. THE WORLD IS PREPARING FOR THE ANTICHRIST EVEN NOW. People will accept miracles in science. The word science means "Knowledge" in Latin--it all began at the Tree of Knowledge! The AC will perform miracles & will also die & be resurrected! I heard a very prophetic song at a disco called "Looking for Superman"!
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13. ONE TIME ON ONE OF MY RARE VISITS TO SEE FRED when Willy wasn't there, I had a prayer meeting with him--one of the few times he ever wanted to have prayer together. We got down on our knees & prayed a pretty formal little prayer. He knelt at one chair & I at the other & he prayed first. Then I prayed & I was pretty moved as I prayed for him & the work. And when we got up he threw his arms around me & he actually wept a little & burst into a big explosion of tongues, a real explosion, & I figured he was just praising the Lord in the Spirit.--But,
14. IT WAS LIKE THE SPIRIT WAS LEAVING SAUL & COMING UPON DAVID! He just shook & vibrated & yelled in tongues, it almost scared me to death! I thought, good night, Lord! But I did feel at the time a real anointing of the Spirit & it was kind of a blessing & the Lord was confirming our relationship. He was sort of praising the Lord & praying for me in tongues & setting his seal upon it. But it could have been something a whole lot more than that! I bet he was prophesying about the future, how much I have really inherited Saul's kingdom & expanded it really beyond anything he ever had.
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15. YOU CAN'T SAY TO SOMEBODY "I LOVE YOU--BUT I DON'T TRUST YOU," not really love in its fullest. Real love has an element of respect & admiration for good qualities, respect for character, & trust in someone. It's faith. You can't love God without having faith in Him, & you certainly can't have faith in Him without loving Him. We can't tell someone we love you but we don't trust you, especially right here in our own house.
16. I THINK WE SHOULD GIVE HIM A CHANCE & TRUST HIM MORE, but just keep a sharp eye & a close watch on him. I'm sure you know him better than I do & you know more about him than I do. Maybe it's just as well I don't know too much about him, maybe that'll help me if I don't know all the evil.
17. WHEN MY MOTHER TOOK A NEW PASTORATE ONCE, one of these old long-tongued gossips came up to her & started telling her all these stories about the former pastor. She said, "Sister, now I think there are some things that you should know about Brother So-&-so & I should tell you about him!" You've got to watch out for that sort of thing, especially if the dear brother is still in the same group or organisation at least. The long-tongued gossips & sisters often like to cut people down & criticise people.
18. MY MOTHER JUST SAID, "NOW LISTEN SISTER, I'M ON VERY GOOD TERMS WITH THE LORD, & if He wants to tell me anything about this brother, He'll tell me! You don't have to tell me, I don't care to listen to your gossip!"
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19. I'M SOMETIMES PRETTY HARD ON PEOPLE, but when I am it's because I have been merciful for a long time. Just like God will put up with it for a long time, but then when finally He gets fed up He gets furious & He really clobbers them with judgement, & that's about the way I feel sometimes!
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20. THE LORD USUALLY MAKES YOU LIKE HIS WILL. Sometimes He tests you & makes it a little hard to see if you still love Him, but "His yoke is easy & His burden is light & you'll have rest to your souls! Come unto Me all ye that are weary & heavy laden!" (Mt.11:28-30.) I believe in that! I don't believe in this Catholic religionist Oriental asceticism that you should try to suffer & be cruel to yourself in order to make yourself more religious, that the sadder you are the more religious you are! Don't worry, there's enough in life that will do that without overdoing it!
21. GOD CASTS OUR LINES IN PLEASANT PLACES & WE'RE TO BE HAPPY & JOYOUS! Ours is a happy religion full of love & joy & happiness! I think we're just about the happiest people on the face of the Earth! I know I am! I'm a happy fellow most of the time. Once in a while I get a little sad like I've been about this leadership situation, but the Lord usually shows me the answer & the solution & pulls us out of it somehow & we profit from the lessons we learn & the mistakes we've made.
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22. EVERYTIME I LOOK AT THE PICTURES OF OUR FOLKS ALL OVER THE WORLD THEY ALL LOOK LIKE A BUNCH OF JEWS!--Just like me! Thank You Lord for the Jews--the converted Jews. [DELETED]
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23. IT'S BETTER TO WASTE MONEY than it is to waste time & lose souls.
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24. MOST OF THE ORGANISED GROUPS AGAINST US ARE WOMEN!--They make either your best friends or your worst enemies!
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25. DON'T LET MONEY & RICHES DECEIVE YOU!--Many pastors have sold out to money. The rich are usually the most selfish. When the rich give, that is a miracle!
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26. YOU CAN'T JUST THROW PEOPLE OUT THE FRONT DOOR & say, "Here, we don't need you!" or you just might lose them! They get discouraged, offended, & there's nothing worse in the world than for somebody to feel like they're not needed. We've tried to help all the kids feel like they're needed, that there's something they can do & that God has a place for them, a new world for little people!
27. THEIR PARENTS HATED THEM & THE SYSTEM HATED THEM, so they've hated them in return & figured there was no place for them. A lot of [EDITED: "this generation"] figured there was no place for them in this World & took their lives. We don't want to discourage [EDITED: "those of this generation who've joined the Family"], we want to try to give them some place to go & some alternative & explain to them how much more they're needed somewhere else. But you're not going to do that by throwing them out the front door!
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28. WHEN I ASKED THE LORD WHY HE TOOK ALL THREE BOYS AWAY IN THAT PLANE CRASH--Hazor & rich king Alford's son & friend--I got an answer as clear as anything: "Because the boy would be lonely!" Apparently, because the boy was newly saved he didn't have anyone to greet him in Heaven, so the Lord had to take the other boys too to go with him to Heaven!
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29. NO WONDER GOD HAS TO BURN UP THE ATMOSPHERE with all the junk there is flying overhead! Airplanes fly about five miles high & satellites fly 300 miles high. Space City is 1500 miles high with a base area more than half the size of the U.S.A.! (Re.21:1,16.)
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30. FLYING SAUCERS COULDN'T BE RUN BY HUMANS or animal life. They fly at about 1200 miles an hour & then stop dead in their tracks & scoot off in 90-degree angles!--They've gotta be angels!
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(Dad & Maria's message to our staff, Christmas 1977--posted on bulletin board!:)
31. DEAR KIDS: IF YOU HAVE ANY GIFTS TO GIVE FOR CHRISTMAS to any of the adults in the Family in this Home, please give them to the person individually in private. "Give your alms in secret & your Heavenly Father who seeth in secret will reward you openly." (Mt.6:4.)
32. LET'S EMPHASISE THE REAL MEANING OF CHRISTMAS, & try to avoid any embarrassing situations & competitive spirit. Read "Spirit Tree" again, & make sure Davidito understands what Christmas is all about! If you already have things wrapped & under the tree for the children, well, we'll let them go ahead & open them this evening, but do they really need these things & what ideas are going to be ingrained in them about Christmas by what they see us do to celebrate it?
33. SORRY, BUT WE THINK THIS WILL PLEASE THE LORD MORE. We know you all have gotten any gifts you've bought in love & good intentions, but it's the old habits, those traditions, that sometimes make God's law of Love of none effect by hurting or embarrassing others, although unintentionally. So Happy Christmas! May it be an even happier one this way!
Love, Dad & Maria.
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34. MARIA SAID SHE'S THANKFUL THE LORD KEPT US 7 MONTHS IN PORTUGAL because otherwise we would have left that place hating it & hating the people & never want to see it again! They're a hard people to love & it's a hard place to like, but after you've stayed there long enough you being to finally warm up to them a little bit. That's what that woman said in her book, Sarah Bradford. She said it took her six years to like Portugal & the Portuguese, but then she just became crazy about it!
35. YOU HAVE TO LEARN TO LOVE THEM INDIVIDUALLY! As a people the Portuguese are not very lovable or likeable, at least most of them that we saw, but the individuals that we ministered to we got to really like & love & we me some really very fine people, some of the finest, some of the best! The Lord really led us to the top! (6-9-77.)
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36. I THINK WE SHOULD GET AWAY FROM CALLING THIS A REVOLUTION! Revolution sounded great in the U.S. in 1968 & '69 during the youth revolution & it appealed to the kids & the hippies, fine, "Let's have a spiritual revolution!"--& it was & it still is! But in some quarters that word doesn't set too well, especially with the kind of friends we're getting now. We're getting friends on the other end of the stick who just as soon they wouldn't have a revolution!
37. SO I THINK THE LORD IS LEADING US MORE INTO THE IDEA OF THE FAMILY. The Family of Love sounds a little bit more pacifistic & a little more loving. When I went through the Quotebook in Tenerife I changed that word throughout the entire Quotebook when we were going to make a revision for outsiders. I totally eliminated the word revolution & used nothing but the word Family.
38. WE'RE NOT A BUNCH OF SCREAMING HYENAS ANYMORE SHOUTING REVOLUTION, but we're settling down into Families of Love & Churches of Love. Give the people a little idea that we're not quite so fanatical, radical & extreme & something to be afraid of. Family sounds a little bit more logical, a little more reasonable at least, & sounds a little bit more like the things they understand such as families, love & children. We have already had our revolution, although we are always revoluting in the Spirit!
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39. WHAT IS NORMAL? The psychologists & psychiatrists have set up a set of standards of what's normal. They consider human behaviour & see what's the average & call that the norm.--When actually that is insanity! Then they say people are eccentric if they don't behave according to that norm. That's supposed to be the center, that's supposed to be what's right & normal behaviour. But if they don't even know who the Center is, Jesus Christ, how can they know what's eccentric? The center they have established is based on man & his behaviour, which is awful!
40. WHEREAS OUR CENTER IS JESUS CHRIST, HE IS THE CENTER! He is what should be normal & right, & anything that's outside of that charmed circle of the Spirit of God, that's what's eccentric! We're the ones who are sane! All those people out there are the ones who are crazy. That was the whole theme of the little poem the Lord gave me about "Don Quixote." (See No.198.) If this is insanity I'd rather have it! If that is sanity, God deliver us from it!
41. SO WHAT IS NORMAL? Well, again I say, what is the only law we have left?--Love! If it's real love, genuine love, self-sacrificial love. But love can sometimes be a little bit selfish too, it's a two-way street. But it's normal!
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42. HOW FAR WOULD THE DISCIPLES HAVE GONE & HOW MUCH WOULD THEY HAVE ACCOMPLISHED IF JESUS HAD STUCK WITH THEM? Those poor ignorant, stupid, dumb, blundering, befuddled fishermen & nobodies, who could have ever seen any leadership potential in them anyway? If Jesus had stuck with them they'd have been dependent on Him till the day they died & they would have never gotten any further, right?
43. BUT WHEN THE PIONEER HAD TO GO OFF & LEAVE THEM BEHIND there was nothing else they could do. It was live or die, sink or swim, they just had to keep going! They didn't have Him to lean on anymore, at least not in the flesh, & they had to depend on the Lord & the Holy Spirit. They evangelised all the known civilised World of their day within 100 years, because He left them. They trusted God & His Spirit that He was going to be able to at least help them from the Spirit World to carry on!--And He never failed!
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44. "YE HAVE NOT CHOSEN ME, BUT I HAVE CHOSEN YOU & ORDAINED YOU THAT YE SHOULD GO & BRING FORTH FRUIT!" (Jn.15:16.) Praise God? That's all I ask, no matter how you do it, with whom you do it or where you do it, just bring forth fruit, praise God?--And I mean by that, souls into the Kingdom of God! Fruitful witnessing! I'm not talking about money like these past leaders. My God, don't ever make that the test of anything, whether it brings in money or not or whether it's profitable or not. God knows that has never been my way of operating! I'd sooner give it away than make it!
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45. ON BARTHOLOMEW'S EVE in 1572 the Queen of France, Catherine de Medici, ordered every Catholic to attack every Protestant everywhere, & some 200,000 men, women & children were murdered. Boy, she's really burning in Hell for that!
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46. I HAD A LITTLE TASTE OF HELL WHEN I WAS SICK! I became like a radio receiver to everyone's channel. I even heard voices from down in the town & I heard the music going even after you turned it off!
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47. IN HEAVEN WE'RE GOING TO BE THE SAME MAKE but a new model! Everyone will be judged according to their deeds in the flesh & we will be accountable for every idle word!
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48. I'VE BEEN PRAYING FOR GODAHFI! Do you know he didn't have a Chinaman's chance of surviving with the [EDITED: "so many"] against him? Did you know that he could never ever have gotten as far as he's gotten now except that [DELETED] we pray for him & God blesses him for that? Because even [EDITED: "some of"] his own people didn't like him [DELETED] because he was so strict & wouldn't let them have liquor & luxuries like that! They've had several attempted coups!
49. BUT THE LORD HAS KEPT HIM BECAUSE YOU & I ARE PRAYING FOR HIM & because he has a good heart & he does love God. [DELETED]
50. [DELETED] Did you know that it's a mortal sin for [EDITED: "Muslims"] to receive Jesus [DELETED], to change their religion? Did you know it's not only against the law to proselytise in those countries, but it is against the law for you to change your religion. They used to beat them to death & kill them, but now they just poison them. Even their own relatives will poison them because it's such a sin & they feel it's so bad for them to change their religion. [DELETED]
51. [DELETED] HE LOVES GOD & he's trying to do right, & that's why the Lord keeps him, because we pray for him! [DELETED] (Jn.13:20.) (3-5-78.)
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52. IS EVERYBODY HAPPY? (YES!) IS EVERYBODY TIRED? Come on, be honest, of course you're tired! "Green Shirt!"--That's getting to be a new expression in our Family. It's good because it reminds you of something that really helps get you convicted! It brings up a whole application that helps you remember how bad it is not to tell the truth & how good it is to tell it! I was telling Keda last night, "Oh, I like that blouse you've got on--but I like what's in it even better!"
53. SEE, I JUST SAY WHAT EVERYBODY ELSE THINKS! I think it helps keep you humble to say what you're thinking! "Green Shirt!" Tell the truth! I think that's the problem out in your area, Keda, too many people acting so damn self-righteous & covering up for themselves & putting down other people who got discovered. They're the ones to blame! They're the ones who should have got discovered--& they're getting discovered too! (The 1978 RNR!)
54. GIRLS OFTEN HAVE BEAUTIFUL HANDWRITING! I think it's because they're rather artistic. They write beautifully because they are beautiful!
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55. IN PLACES WHERE THEY KNOW WHO I AM I ALWAYS TAKE A BODYGUARD! Like Jesus said, "A strong man armed keepeth his goods in peace!" (Lk.11:21) As long as your enemies know that you're strong & armed they're not as apt to attack you. Maria said, "But you've got your seven angels with you, what do you need with a bodyguard?" I said, "Yes, but my enemies can't see the angels!" It's a deterrent! I'd rather them not try anything! Although I know the Lord will take care of me, I'd rather not have any incidents at all. God bless you bodyguards! That's what I like, pretty bodies to guard me, when I have two girls on each side!
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56. YOU'RE GOING TO FIND I'M ON THE SIDE OF THE LITTLE PEOPLE, Beloved, & that's the way it's going to be! I think the Lord was, & is! He always hears the cry of the poor & "the meek shall inherit the Earth!" The pure in heart shall see God & the poor in spirit shall be comforted, so I'm comforting them, praise God! (Matthew 5.)
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57. IT'S BETTER TO REPORT IT & BE WRONG THAN NOT TO REPORT & BE RIGHT! It is everybody's business, every soldier's business, every employee's business to report anything he sees that looks like it isn't right, even if he's wrong & he thinks he's out of line. Our people seem to have a difficult time learning to do that because it seems like down the line somewhere they have been trained not to report & to keep their mouths shut!
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58. DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY TURKEY HAS ALL THOSE EARTHQUAKES that demolish whole cities & their people?--Because when the Turks moved in they slaughtered nearly all the Christians Armenians years ago!
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59. THE LORD DOESN'T MIND RICH PEOPLE AS LONG AS THEY GIVE IT AWAY OR SHARE IT OR USE IT! He doesn't say that your money will be a testimony against you--what does He say in James?--The rust, in other words the corrosion of your money will be a witness against you! (Ja.5:3.) You didn't keep it nice & shiny by keeping it in circulation, by wear & use. Get it? You just stashed it away in the bank & let it rot with inflation!
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60. DOES ANYONE HAVE A LIST OF ALL THE CHARTER MEMBERS of the first Road Team? That would be real good to remember the names of all those people!
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61. I'M TRIED BUT HAPPY & I HOPE YOU'RE THE SAME!--Because if you're not tired you haven't been working hard enough today!--And if you're not happy you & Jesus!
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62. IMAGINE MY SURPRISE WHEN I FOUND OUT THE WORD SANCTIFY, SANCTIFIED & SANCTIFICATION was used about nine times out of ten in the Bible for guess what?--Not as the Holiness people teach, a second work of grace or the Baptism of the Holy Spirit as the Pentecostals call it.--But the Apostles in all the Epistles used that word talking about {\ul \i Salvation}!
63. JUST LIKE THE LORD SAID, "BEHOLD I HAVE MADE YOU CLEAN" when He was trying to wash the disciples' feet! But Peter wouldn't have it, he wouldn't let the Lord do that for him! So the Lord said, "Peter, if you don't let Me, then you've got no part in Me!" "OK then, Lord"--he was an extremist--"then wash me all over, give me a big bath!" (Jn.3:8-10.)
64. PETER OUGHT TO GIVE SO MANY PEOPLE A LOT OF HOPE! King David was always such an encouragement to me. I always figured if a guy could sin like that & still be forgiven, there's some hope for me! The Lord said, "No Peter, I've already cleansed you, now I only have to wash your feet."--And He was really illustrating something. (Jn.11.)
65. IN SALVATION THE LORD SANCTIFIES US, or as the original Greek means, He washes and cleanses us & then sets us aside for further use. He separates us as I explained in "Dirty Dishes" (No. 556.) What the Lord meant was that now Peter was washed all over. "I have given you one primary big cleansing, now you've just gotta watch your step & how you walk!" Although we are not of this World, we are in this World & we have to wade through it's filth & we're apt to get dirty. So you have to keep washing.
66. "SOME MEN'S SINS ARE OPEN BEFOREHAND, GOING BEFORE TO JUDGMENT!" (1Tim.5:24.)--They're obvious, they're exposed here & now & they receive their punishment here & now, they get theirs here. "And some men they follow after"--they kept them pretty well hidden, they were pretty deceitful. They could delude people & make people think they were pretty good like the Scribes & the Pharisees, the self-righteous hypocrites.
67. THEY NEVER GOT CAUGHT OR EXPOSED HERE. They never got theirs here, but they'll sure get it hereafter! Now don't misunderstand me, that doesn't always mean that you're going to go to Hell.--That's the trouble with church doctrine:
68. ACCORDING TO CHURCH DOCTRINE YOU'VE EITHER GOT TO BE BLACK OR WHITE & there's no grey in between. When the fact of the matter is there's no such thing as black or white, we're just about all grey! Nobody is perfectly clean & white except by the blood of Christ & by faith. Nobody's all bad, totally black so to speak. Everybody's a little bit good & a whole lot bad! You say, "But I'm saved, sanctified, filled with the Spirit!" Well, everybody's got a good side & a bad side in the natural.
69. THE BAPTISTS BELIEVE THAT THERE'S A CONSTANT WAR BETWEEN YOUR GOOD & BAD SELF. You can never get rid of the evil, you just have to conquer it & sit on it & hold it down, a constant battle. A lot of people have that battle all the time & they're always trying to sit on it & hold it down, but in their own strength. The Holiness people believe in the Doctrine of Eradication, sinless perfection, including some Methodists, Pentecostals, Wesleyan Methodists, etc. We believe in Co-Habitation with Jesus!
70. I'D ALWAYS BEEN TAUGHT BY THE HOLINESS PEOPLE THAT SANCTIFICATION WAS WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT CAME IN & cleansed you, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But as a young pastor I started to really dig in the Word & study out of the Greek as well as the English to make sure of the meaning, & imagine my surprise when I found out!--It's Salvation! (15-2-78)
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71. WHEN IT COMES TO DIRECT REVELATIONS I'M NOT GOING TO CUT OUT A SINGLE WORD, I don't care who it offends! I put it out just like it is. If it's direct prophecy, interpretation, direct revelation, that's it! God said it & I'm not going to begin to whittle it off! Now if it's just my teaching or preaching, it might be inspired, but that I can maybe whittle a little bit off & just give you the main thing. But we keep those & they've got a whole stack of little gems, & every now & then they make up a whole Letter full of those little vignettes, many of which are interesting little comments! (Like this!)
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72. LATTER DAY ISRAEL HAD OODLES OF PROPHETS, but most of them were false prophets & peace prophets who prophesied nothing but peace for Israel when she was about to totally collapse & be slaughtered! They gave the one true prophet Jeremiah a real hard time because he was exposing them. He was giving them the whole counsel of God & the whole Word & the Word with the bark on it, so they tried to shut him up by trying to kill him!
73. IF THEY LIVED IN OUR DAY THEY WOULD BE JUST LIKE THESE PEOPLE WITH THE MINIS, shutting him up by making it impossible for him to get the Word to the people, which is what these people have tried to do! They're shutting up the Words in these little dinky leaflets, the Words are not even there! They're shutting up the Words & the books & the original Letter which are long-gone & forgotten, & probably collecting dust, & giving the people a few crumbs of their own concoction instead! (Before the 1978 RNR!)
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74. THE MORE POPULAR JESUS BECAME & THE MORE PEOPLE BEGAN TO FOLLOW HIM & listen to Him & the more His popularity & His message mushroomed, the more bitter & desperate His enemies because until they were willing to do almost anything to get rid of Him, including resort to violence, which they did. The more frustrated they become the more hopeless the situation begins to look to them, like "This new religion's going to just sweep the place, we've got to do something!" "It's necessary that one man should die for the people!"--So they plot to kill!
75. THE MORE AGGRAVATED, FURIOUS & FRUSTRATED THEY BECOME, THE MORE DESPERATE THEY BECOME, & therefore the more they're likely to resort to almost anything to get rid of us, including violence to leadership. They figure the little girls are nothing & nobody & they wouldn't be able to do anything without us, but they don't know how powerful those little girls are & how much they do!
76. THEY DIDN'T ATTACK JESUS' DISCIPLES FIRST, THEY ATTACKED JESUS! Then after that, then they attacked the disciples. When they found out that killing Jesus off didn't stop it & that it raged on even more so, then they tried to get the other too.
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77. IS EVERYBODY STILL WARM ENOUGH? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! Maria is always saying "I finally got chilled" & I'll say, "Why didn't you put your coat or your robe on when you first began to feel even cool?" Don't wait until you're cold, that's too late! Then you're apt to catch a cold.
78. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I'M NOT TOO MUCH ON THIS "CATCHING" COLDS, except I always seem to catch everything Rachel has, she always brings it to me generously with those huge massive kisses, God bless her! Those germs are always in your body, believe it or not! They're always right there ready to attack any time your resistance gets down. You get weak & you get chilled, you get cold or you sit in a draft, or you miss too many meals or you don't enough sleep--they're always there ready to attack, just like the Devil, when you're down!
79. I HEARD ONE PREACHER PREACH THAT HE BELIEVED EVERY LITTLE GERM WAS A DEMON! Well, don't laugh, it might be true! How do you know? Maybe those white corpuscles are white angels of God, or inspired by them, some very strange things go on in your body!
80. THERE'S A FIGHT BETWEEN GOOD & EVIL FORCES GOING ON IN YOUR FLESH ALL THE TIME! In the process of metabolism, the catabolism or "casting down" is always fighting anabolism, which is "building up," according to the Greek. You're dying from the day you're born, only it takes about 70 years for the catabolism to win the victory & kill you!
81. BUT WITH US, "O GRAVE, WHERE IS THY VICTORY?" We have finally been delivered, the body's been delivered to death, to the hands of the executioner according to the prosecuting attorney, the Devil, the Death Angel, & the Devil get his due because of the sins of man, & gets the body. Remember how the Lord & the Devil had a big argument over the body of Moses? (Jude 9.) You don't remember that?
82. YOU OUGHT TO READ THE BIBLE SOMEDAY, IT'S FULL OF INTERESTING STORIES! I hate to think that I have spawned a generation of people who don't even know the Bible anymore because they're keeping too busy reading MO Letters! I put that in something the other day that you ought to have Bible & MO every day. If you don't have time for both at your devotional, then have one after lunch & one after supper, because you need some of both.
83. I LIKE TO TELL THE OLD TESTAMENT STORIES TO MY KIDS or little children, those are great & you ought to read them for yourself in your spare time. But for United Devotions I think you should read something devotional. Well, you've usually got to read whatever MO Letter comes out, devotional or not, because you need to read it & unite on it & get your united reaction & discuss it & see what you think of it, you need to get the message!
84. THERE'S JUST SOMETHNG ABOUT DOING IT TOGETHER, the Lord can sometimes speak to you & you need to kind of share your reactions. But I'd say for your Bible devotions you should read things like Psalms, that was my favourite! (Someone sneezes.) You're getting cold too! Don't wait till you get cold, get a wrap!
85. IT'S PRIDE WHICH MAKES US NOT WANT TO PUT ON A WRAP, or because you don't want to disturb the meeting or something. And if you need to go to the toilet, don't sit there until your bladder bursts! I knew a guy once who sat in church, & he was too ashamed to get up & walk out to the toilet, so he ruptured his bladder! So if you've got to go, you've got to go, so get up & go!--It's normal! Don't be proud!
86. DON'T FORGET THE RULES OF MY CLASSES: If you get hungry, go fix yourself a sandwich & if you're sleepy, stretch out, lean your head on the next guys shoulder & take a nap, amen? Then you'll be refreshed & wake up again! As Fred used to say on his TV shows, " I don't mind if you choir members go to sleep while I'm preaching, just please keep your eyes open!--Don't let the TV audience know you're asleep!" If you get sleepy sometimes it means you need oxygen, so we need lots of air! (14-2-78.)
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87. EVER SINCE I WAS A KID I ENJOYED WALKING INTO THOSE BIG CATHOLIC CHURCH BUILDINGS, with all those beautiful statues & the gorgeous windows & the quiet atmosphere & the beautiful candles! I always said, "My what a nice place!" In London we used to walk into that Catholic Chapel & I'd say, "Thank God, this is one place you can get off the street away from the horrible noise & get away from it all!" I said to Maria, "It's nice for these busy people downtown to be able to step off the horrible street & get out of the hell of the System for a few moments into this quiet atmosphere to meditate & pray!" Amen?
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family
