HomeARC ML 1315
SUNDAY COMMUNION & PRAYER FOR JOSEPH'S HERPES! DFO 1315 10/1/82
1. ([EDITED: "Fam:"] LORD BLESS THIS BREAD & THANK YOU FOR IT! Thank You that it represents Your body & bless it, Lord, in Jesus' name.) I always like to see you hold the bread while you're blessing it. I have an idea the Lord held it because it says He took bread & blessed it. OK, [DELETED] so go ahead & do it. It's easier to tear it, sort of like the phone book. There's quite a trick to tearing a phone book if you know how to do it! What you do is you shuffle the pages sort of like a deck of cards & then you actually are only tearing one page at a time. Break the bread & then pass half of it each way & let them take off their own pieces. Good boy! Take your piece off & pass it to them. Now what shall we sing? (Sings: "Break Thou the Bread of Life!")
2. IT SEEMS LIKE THAT'S ABOUT THE ONLY HYMN ABOUT THE BREAD! Can we think of any other hymns about the bread? (Sara: "Feeding on the Living Bread"?) OK, you lead us! (Sings:)
"I am feeding on the Living Bread,
I am drinking at the Fountainhead.
And whoso drinketh, Jesus said,
Shall never never thirst again!
Shall never thirst again,
No, never thirst again,
Shall never thirst again,
No, never thirst again!
And whoso drinketh, Jesus said,
Shall never never thirst again!"
PTL! Hallelujah! TYL!
3. AND AS YOU TAKE THIS BREAD WE WANT TO REMEMBER PARTICULARLY YOUR SICKNESSES OR ANY HEALING THAT YOU NEED. We want to remember especially in prayer Brother Joseph who contracted Herpes because he wasn't as careful as he should have been when he was sexually with someone who had it. Did she warn you that she had Herpes? And you knew it? Because it would be a terrible thing & very selfish for you to not even tell someone you have it. We want to make sure that it doesn't infect this Home, because we're free of it, TTL! But we have several WS Units who are not free of it, who are already infected, as well as many Family Homes around the World. We want to make sure that the Lord heals our Brother Joseph & I think as soon as we have taken Communion we can gather round & lay hands on him & ask the Lord to definitely heal him & deliver him & make this a testimony to not only us here but to the entire Family.
4. WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE THIS THING, THE LORD IS ABLE, & WE NEED TO DEFINITELY COMMIT IT TO THE LORD & PRAY FOR HEALING.--PTL? So as you partake of this, it's a symbol of our faith that His body was broken for us & it is for our healing & we can claim it through the sacrifice of Christ. It's a part of His atonement, the whole salvation for the whole man--body, soul & spirit. So let's remember Brother Joseph especially in prayer as we partake, in Jesus' name! Heal him, Lord! PTL! TYL! Maybe this would be a good time to pray for him right now, as good as any, & we could take the wine afterwards. Let's lay hands on him, amen? Lay hands on the very spot, the offending member. Amen.
5. THERE'S POWER IN PRAYER, POWER IN THE LAYING ON OF HANDS! He says, "These signs shall follow them which believe, they shall lay hands on the sick & they shall recover. Is any sick among you, let him call for the elders of the church to pray over him"--& also anoint him with oil sometimes, but the laying on of hands is sufficient. It's "the prayer of faith that saves the sick & the Lord shall raise him up. And if he has committed sins they shall be forgiven." (Mk.16:18; Ja.5:14,15) ([EDITED: "Fam:"]: Up, up, the Lord shall raise him up!) Amen, there's a promise for you, PTL? A little prophecy, PTL!
6. HE SAYS, "I AM THE LORD THAT HEALETH THEE & who delivereth thee out of all things. Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. He forgiveth all thy sins & healeth all thy diseases." We have a whole God for the whole man & able to do anything. With man it's impossible but with God nothing shall be impossible. All things are possible to him that believeth. (Ex.15:26; Ps.34:19, 103:3; Mk.9:23; Lk.1:37.)
7. LORD, WE'RE JUST FULFILLING THY WORD & we're doing what you told us to do. We're obeying, we're believing, we're laying on hands, we're praying prayers of faith, Lord, fulfilling Thy Word! We're claiming Thy promises that You have promised that we have quoted, & now the rest is up to You, Lord, You have to fulfil them & do the job.
8. CLEANSE THIS THY SON, LORD, FROM EVERY DISEASE & any foul thing the Enemy has tried to lay upon him! Rebuke this infection in Jesus' name & deliver him & drive it out & away! We command you, Satan, to take your hands off of this body of this son of God & deliver him completely in the Name of Jesus! We claim it, Lord! Fulfil Thy Word, keep Thy promise, in Jesus' name we ask that he gets over it completely, in Jesus' name!
9. HE'S THY CHILD, BUSY FOR THEE, he needs his strength, he needs his health, Lord, he needs his fellowship with others, so we do ask Thee to give him faith for complete deliverance in Jesus' name. Purify & cleanse like You cleansed the lepers, Lord. If You can do that, You can cleanse this, in Jesus' name. PTL! We know You can give complete deliverance, Lord, & protect also Thy Family, Lord. (Sings:)
10. "GOD CAN DO ANYTHING, ANYTHING, ANYTHING!
God can do anything but fail!
He can save, He can cleanse, He can heal, & He will!
God can do anything but fail!
Always shout, never doubt, though your victories may seem few!
God can heal, He can do, anything but fail!"
PTL! Hallelujah! TYJ! (Sings:)
11. "GOT ANY RIVERS YOU THINK ARE UNCROSSABLE?
Got any mountains you can't tunnel through?
God specialises in things thought impossible
And He can do what no other one can do!
Trust & obey, for there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus but to trust & obey!"
Hallelujah! TYL!
"I know the Lord will make a way for you!
I know the Lord will make a way for you!
If we trust & never doubt He will surely bring us out,
I know the Lord will make a way for you!"
PTL! Hallelujah! TYJ!
12. AMEN, IT'S DONE IN THE LORD'S SIGHT, PRAISE THE LORD, BY FAITH! TYJ! Hallelujah! In the meantime we first trust & believe by faith. The World says seeing is believing, but we believe believing is seeing & that we now believe, so we're going to see it! PTL! Temporarily, meanwhile, to play safe & protect the rest of you, we have suggested that Brother Joseph & Pearl, who's already been with him, room together. Maybe the Lord did that for his benefit so he wouldn't be lonesome, otherwise we were about to isolate him. Now they can get isolated together.
13. WE HAVE SORT OF LAID OUT A FLEECE TO THE LORD that the Lord is going to do it & we'll even see the evidence of it--or we'll see no further evidence of it--during the couple weeks he is here with us, to make sure that he is completely cleansed. PTL! They can stick together but we want to make sure, so we have suggested to the rest of the Family that no one else have any sexual contact with him during this test time.
14. I THINK WE SHOULD ALWAYS AVOID KISSING ON THE MOUTH IN ANY CASE, everybody, really, except when you're real lovers & you know it's OK. But too much kissing on the mouth really shares an awful lot of germs. That herpes can be spread by kissing on the mouth even as evidenced by little sores or blisters, etc., when it's active. Thank God it seems to go into retirement & inactive, dormant, for periods of time, but it's still there. However it seems to be most contagious when it appears in the form of the little blisters & sores.
15. BUT JUST TO PLAY SAFE we felt like it was better to have Joseph & Pearl, who's already been with him, have both of them isolated not from fellowship, not from the Family, but just from any sexual contact--which includes kissing or fucking or sucking or how explicit do I have to be?--Licking, whatever you do!--And that includes kissing! It's so infectious, that if you happen to get some on your fingers or anything else & wipe your eyes you can get it in your eyes, or [EDITED: "you can spread it to others"] if you don't be careful!
16. SO PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL! Be extremely sanitary, always wash thoroughly, keep clean. If we give the Lord all the cooperation that we can, I'm sure the Lord will do the rest which we can't, & that's complete the healing. PTL? We have to isolate Pearl too, because once one is with the other, there's a possibility they've been infected & can pass it on to others.
17. WE HAVE A FEW HOMES THAT ARE PRETTY WELL INFECTED WITH IT & this is one Home that's not, TTL, & we want to keep it that way! So we sent for Joseph by faith that the Lord would take care of the situation & I believe He will, amen? (Family: Amen!) But in the meantime I want you to be cautious & use every precaution & play safe.
18. I THINK NOW THAT THE LORD'S GIVEN YOU A NICE LITTLE MATE SO YOU WON'T HAVE TO BE ALONE, it shouldn't be too hard. Both of you will just have to avoid any sexual contact or kissing with other people. Kissing on the mouth can be just as infectious, as manifested by cold sores & lip sores & blisters & that sort of thing.
19. WE NEED TO PRAY FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY, & as Maria was mentioning this morning, perhaps the Lord has brought a case here to us to get desperate in prayer & pray for victory & get the victory instead of resigning ourselves to the philosophy of the World who are saying it's incurable, there's no cure! Well, I don't believe that, do you?
20. WE KNOW THE LORD CAN DO IT & WE KNOW THE LORD WILL DO IT if we'll believe Him & trust Him. And perhaps that's why the Lord's brought Joseph here, to show that you don't have to resign yourself that it's incurable & just put up with it, tolerate it like the Devil, but we can get the victory! "Resist the Enemy & he'll flee from us!" (Ja.4:7)
21. IF WE CAN CLAIM THE VICTORY & claim the promises of God & get a victory here, it would be an encouragement to the whole Family Worldwide that they don't have to put up with it, they don't have to tolerate it & just squeak by & hope, but they can know that God can answer prayer & deliver! Praise God?
22. SO LET'S BE DESPERATE IN PRAYER ABOUT IT & BELIEVE THAT SO THAT THEY WILL BE COMPLETELY DELIVERED! Joseph is a good man, he's done a good job in all of his capacities & he's been faithful, loyal, endured a lot, forsaken a lot, wife & children & all for the Lord's service. He is very useful to the Lord & very much needed & I'm sure it was just a trick of the Devil to try to destroy his usefulness & effectiveness, because of all places we need him, we need him with us right now! So please pray the Lord will complete the work & finish the deliverance completely & deliver him so he can be free of this & have complete freedom in the Home for the fellowship he needs. PTL! Amen. TYL! PTL! TYJ!
23. YOU CAN DO IT, LORD, & BY FAITH YOU HAVE ALREADY DONE IT! We just ask Thee to complete the work so we will know that it's done, in Jesus' name. TYL! And that we will be free, Lord, & protected. TYJ! This is Thy most important Home in the whole World, Lord, because of our position & our ministry, so we do ask Thee to protect & keep & deliver, Lord, in Jesus' name! PTL! Amen, [DELETED] the wine! PTL?
24. ([EDITED: "Fam:"] "AFTER THE SAME MANNER ALSO HE TOOK THE CUP, when He had supped, saying, This cup is the New Testament in My blood: this do ye as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me.") PTL! And when we do this, we do what? ([EDITED: "Fam:"] In remembrance of Jesus.) Amen. How long? ([EDITED: "Fam:"] "Ye do show the Lord's death till He come.") We're going to keep right on doing this till Jesus comes, isn't that wonderful?
25. THIS IS NOT ONE OF THE OLD JEWISH CUSTOMS & LAWS THAT WERE ABANDONED, this is an observance & a commemoration & a little ceremony of ours & the Lord's that we will keep on doing till He comes, to constantly remind us of His healing power & His saving power, PTL! OK, [DELETED], so what did He do with the wine? I have an idea He took it in His hands.
26. ([EDITED: "Fam:"] THANK YOU FOR THIS WINE, LORD, & thank You that every time we take it we remember You, how You died on the cross, Lord. Bless it & sanctify it, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen.) (Sings: "There is a Fountain", "Nothing But the Blood!", "Power in the Blood!") I believe one of [EDITED: "you"] is going to learn harmony! [DELETED] But part of it is learning to hear it, so forgive me if I depart from the melody once in awhile to try to give her a little idea of what harmony sounds like, PTL! Amen! Hallelujah!
27. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT WE MEAN BY HARMONY, MARIA & I SING A LITTLE DUET TOGETHER, our favourite duet, Honey! Would you like to have us close with that today? PTL! Hallelujah! In Jesus' name, amen. Help us, Lord. Can we do it? Come over closer, Honey, you're so far away! We've got be close! Come, come, come, come, come! XXX! And which is our favourite duet? (Family: "In the Garden!") That's right! (Maria: About our only one!) Oh, I think we've sung another one or two! (Sing: "In the Garden.")
28. I ALWAYS LIKED THE LAST VERSE BECAUSE IT'S ABOUT WITNESSING! It's about going out & being missionaries, showing that we just don't stay in the Garden with Jesus all the time, but we have to go out where there's the need! PTL. (Sings:)
"I'd stay in the Garden with Him,
But the night around me is falling."
(Dad weeps.)
"And He bids me go with His voice of woe,
His voice to me is calling!"
--Sing it with us!--
"And He walks with me & He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His Own!
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known."
See, that last verse & chorus is about going out. That He's not only with us in the Garden, but He's with us wherever we go. PTL? (Sings:)
29. "AND I'LL GO WHERE YOU WANT ME TO GO, DEAR LORD,
O'er mountain or plain or sea!
I'll say what You want me to say, dear Lord,
I'll be what You want me to be!
It may not be on the mountains high or over the stormy sea.
It may not be on the battle's front, my Lord will have need of me.
But if by a still small voice He calls to paths that I have not known,
I'll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in Thine,
I'll go where You want me to go!"
(Sings: "Everyday with Jesus" "Be a Blessing Today!" "If Jesus Goes with Me I'll Go Anywhere!" "I Am a Stranger Here.") Hallelujah! TYJ! GBY! (Tongues:) Hallelujah! TYJ! "This is the power which I have given unto thy children that they should receive power from on high & be witnesses unto Me!" TYJ! TYL! Amen! TYJ! "Through the words that I have given thy father!" Hallelujah! TYJ! PTL! Amen.
30. "A MESSAGE THAT ANGELS FEIGN WOULD SING!" Why can't the angels really sing the same song? My Grandmother had a favourite old song she loved to sing, it was singing about our salvation, etc., an old song, I don't know whether we've ever found it or not. The end of it, I always remembered as a boy, it goes like this, how there's going to be all this singing in Heaven with us & the angels:
"But when we sing Salvation's story, angels fold their wings!
For angels never knew the joy that our Salvation brings!"
Hallelujah! TYJ! PTL! (Weeps.)
31. CAN'T YOU PRAISE THE LORD? PTL! PTL! BE FREE! He says, "Lift up holy hands unto the Lord! Lift up your hands & praise the Lord!" (Ps.28:2; 134:2) PYJ! Hallelujah! (Tongues & kisses & praises!) You don't have to interpret all the tongues, some tongues are messages, some tongues are just prayers, some tongues are praise but can't be interpreted, just all about praising the Lord for the Love & the Salvation & the Truth & the Words He's given us, the seven kisses!
32. HE'S ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT SEVEN KISSES, ISN'T THAT BEAUTIFUL? PTL! One of these days maybe when we get to Heaven we're going to find out what they were. He's always talking about "the seven kisses of thy father." And the word used is the same as "words," kisses are words. So His Words, they're kisses, amen? His Words are His kisses to us, PTL! TYJ! Amen, amen, amen.
33. IF YOU FOLKS GET ANYTHING FROM THE LORD, I WISH YOU'D SPEAK OUT & GIVE IT. We're not the only ones that the Lord speaks through. Back in the good old days of the Club & the Great Trek & TSC & all, the Lord spoke through many & gave wonderful dreams, visions, prophecies & interpretations! So everyone can contribute, PTL? Amen, PTL! TYJ! (Sings: "I Will Praise Him!")
34. IT'S A LIBERATION TO BE ABLE TO RAISE YOUR HANDS & PRAISE THE LORD! IT'S A FREEDOM! I went years before I really had the freedom to really lift my hands & praise the Lord. I remember dear old Raymond Richie used to say, "Lift your lightning rods! Get a stroke from Jesus!" Hallelujah! Can you lift your lightning rods? (Sings: "I Will Praise Him!") (Praises!) (Sings: "We Praise Thee O God!") TYJ!L
35. [DELETED] [EDITED: "P"]art of the difficulty is singing in a different key every time. They probably learn it one way & your tendency is just like your memory, just like you remember the words or anything else, your mind just automatically remembers the key that you're used to singing it in. So apparently they're not quite used to singing it always in that key. [DELETED]
36. THIS [DELETED] GIRL REALLY AGONISES IN PRAYER! I'll tell you, when she prays for you, you're going to be healed! That was like a little prophecy she got, wasn't that beautiful? How did that go about "the Lord will raise him up"? ([EDITED: "Fam:"] Up, up, up, the Lord shall raise him up!) How does the song go, can you all sing it? (Everyone sings:)
"The prayer of faith shall save the sick & the Lord shall raise him up!
The prayer of faith shall save the sick & the Lord shall raise him up!
Up, up, up, the Lord shall raise him up!
Up, up, up, the Lord shall raise him up!"
Hallelujah! TYJ!
37. IT'S WONDERFUL THE FREEDOM THE SPIRIT GIVES, AMEN? [DELETED] TYL! Well, has anybody got a favourite song we haven't sung? (Sara: "Jesus Is My Loving Saviour!") (Dad & Maria sing it together.) You all ought to learn that! That was my Mother's favourite song!:
38. "JESUS IS MY LOVING SAVIOUR,
HE IS SO PRECIOUS TO ME!
Oh how I love & adore Him,
For all His mercy so free!
When I was lost on the mountain,
Barren & dark & cold,
He sought the sheep that was straying,
He brought me back to the fold!
Jesus, Jesus, dearer than all to me!
Jesus, Jesus, Thine only Thine I'll be!
Where Thou dost lead I will follow,
Where e'er the path may be.
Then when life's journey is ended,
Thy face in glory I'll see!"
39. MY MOTHER LOVED SONGS ABOUT JESUS! She loved choruses, anything that had the name of Jesus! How many songs can you think of with the Name of Jesus? Who's the first to think of a song with the Name of Jesus? (James: "In the Name of Jesus!") (Sings:) "In the Name of Jesus, in the Name of Jesus, we have the victory!" (Then:)
"Oh, we'll give all the glory to Jesus
And tell of His Love, His wonderful Love!
We'll give all the glory to Jesus
And tell of His wonderful Love!"
(John: How about, "Everybody ought to know!") (Sings it!) PTL! That's a good one! (Sings: "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Sweetest Name I Know!")
40. [DELETED] When Faithy was [EDITED: "a child"] we were singing & she'd start crying. The songs & the Spirit moved on her & she'd start to cry because Jesus' Spirit was just moving in her heart! She'd just sit there & weep, just from singing & hearing the songs. "The Spirit groaning through us with groanings which cannot be uttered." (Rom.8:26) PTL! TYJ! Hallelujah!
41. AMEN, AMEN, ONE MORE ABOUT JESUS! (Sings:)
"More, more about Jesus!
More, more about Jesus!
More His saving fullness see,
More of His Love Who died for me!"
PTL! Hallelujah! TYJ! We prayed His prayer & we prayed His blessing, I think about the only thing we haven't prayed is "May the words," so let's pray that one together as we dismiss: "May the words of my mouth & the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength & my redeemer!" (Ps.19:14) In Jesus' name, amen.
42. BLESS & KEEP NOW THE CHILDREN & THE OTHERS AS THEY REST OR READ & PRAY & MEDITATE & PRAISE THEE, LORD, in this day of rest & meditation & inspiration & prayer. Make it a blessing to everyone. And thank You for the blessing we received during this little time of Fellowship & Inspiration & the beautiful songs that You've given with which we can praise Thee, Lord, & [DELETED] learn to sing Thy praises. [DELETED] TYJ! (Ps.8:2; Mt.21:16; Is.11:6)
[DELETED]
44. THANK YOU FOR THIS GOOD TIME TOGETHER & a good place to have it, Lord, & good folks to have it with! Hallelujah! A good Lord! Hallelujah! TYL! The best! TYJ! PYL! Amen. Well, we had a good time today, amen? PTL? Now the day is yours & the Lord's, "This is the day which the Lord hath made, let us be glad & rejoice in it!"--& also rest in it. (Ps.118:24) So don't be afraid to take a nap if you feel like it. This is one afternoon when you're free to do so. Amen, I mean it. This is your day of rest, now take it! The Lord ordained from the very beginning a day of rest, so this is as good a day as any.
45. IT'S THE CHRISTIAN DAY OF REST, OF CHRISTIAN OBSERVERS AROUND THE WORLD! Today they're observing it every hour of the day. TTL! We have a big Family, not only our little Family but all believers around the World that love the Lord! They may not know Him as well as we do, they may not know Bible Prophecy as well as we do & the Holy Spirit & other things, but if they know Jesus, that's wonderful! They'll be saved & they'll be there, PTL? TYL! Some of you are yawning already, so you'd better get to bed! It's a good time for everybody to go to bed & take a nap! PTL!
[DELETED]
47. [DELETED] It's good to get in the Spirit & let go & let God! Let loose & just let the Spirit speak through you, whatever. So PTL! GBYA!
48. THE LORD BLESS YOU & KEEP YOU, the Lord make His face to shine upon you & be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you & give you peace & keep you safely & give you a good day's rest, in Jesus' name. Amen. (Yawns.) Excuse me, I think I'm going to go to bed too! I get my best rest it seems like in the daytime. If I don't get a morning nap I have to have an afternoon nap. GBY all!--In Jesus' name, amen!
==========#==========#==========#==========
49. LETTER FROM JOSEPH ABOUT HIS HERPES 6 Aug. 82
Dearest Family,
GBY! ILY! "Bless the Lord, O my soul, & forget not all His benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, Who healeth all thy diseases!" (Ps.103:2-3) PTL! I wanted to share with you the testimony of how the Lord delivered me from herpes, the medically incurable affliction, thanks to united prayer & Dad & Maria's faith! TYJ! The day of miracles is certainly not past & I know the Lord performed one in my life, & can for you, too!
I'D HAD HERPES FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS & had prayed for healing before, usually by myself & occasionally with another person. Although I had a light case it was bothersome & would usually appear every month or two. If I allowed myself to get under too much stress, overworked, overdid, etc., it could even crop up every couple of weeks, & since it lasted about a week I'd sometimes just get over one outbreak just as the next one appeared!
IT KEPT ME DESPERATE IN PRAYER, BUT I NEVER GOT HEALED, & I WAS LATER TO FIND OUT WHY--I HADN'T COMPLETELY FULFILLED THE LORD'S CONDITIONS! When I first came to visit Dad & Maria's Home I had yet another outbreak of herpes, which disappeared soon after I arrived, TTL! But I needed a complete deliverance from this "disease of the Egyptians" (Ex.15:26) & one Sunday fellowship with Dad I got it. PTL!
DAD CALLED OUR LOCAL FAMILY TOGETHER FOR SUNDAY FELLOWSHIP & ASKED THAT EVERYONE LAY HANDS ON ME AS HE PRAYED FOR MY HEALING FROM HERPES. He prayed a beautiful prayer, definitely claiming the promises of God unitedly, rebuking the Enemy & believing the Lord for His healing. Afterwards the Lord even gave [EDITED: "one girl"] a prophecy, "Up, up, up! The Lord shall raise him up!" And the Lord did & I've been healed since that time, for over 8 months now! As Dad said later about [EDITED: "her"], "When she prays for you, you get healed! [DELETED]" God bless [EDITED: "her"] for her faith--and Dad & Maria, too!
ONE OF THE REAL KEYS TO MY HEALING WAS THE UNITED PRAYER SESSION. I had never asked for united prayer before & made such a definite stand of faith before all, but when I did, the Lord didn't fail me! As it says in "Get the Victory or Get Out," "The Lord loves united prayer! Call the Family or the Church together & have prayer--pray, pray, pray! It also finally puts God on the spot where He has got to honour your faith & your prayer or else!--And you know He won't fail. You've gotta pray for him desperately & get him down on his knees in front of'm on the floor in desperate prayer & everybody lay hands on him. It's a testimony, it's a witness when you show that you have faith in prayer & exercise that faith by having everybody get together & pray. The Devil really tries to scare people out of taking a definite step of faith & putting God on the spot & themselves on the spot! When you have public prayer for somebody, like for healing, like my mother as an evangelist, it put her on the spot. But it put the person on the spot too, & it put God on the spot, & He likes it! Because He likes that recognition, He likes that public testimony to His Word & your faith & His faithfulness, & it never fails." (1090:3,7,13)
IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO REBUKE & RESIST THE ENEMY, "the hinderer of the Saints," & he will flee from you! (Ja.4:7) In the past I'd often come before the Lord with definite promises to claim & tried to obey the Lord & take a stand for Him, but I hadn't ever taken a definite stand against the Enemy, a very important step! As Dad put so well in "Pill or Pilgrimage," "Take the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God & instead of surrendering, Lord, we should attack & conduct an aggressive warfare, Lord, instead of a defensive warfare. Help us to fight, Lord, some of us don't have much fight in us, we give up awful easy, we surrender too quickly to the lies of the Devil." (ML #599:94)
I'VE ALSO FOUND THAT YOU HAVE TO KEEP BELIEVING THE LORD FOR HEALING & TESTIFY OF IT. The Lord may sometimes let your faith be tested that it might come through as purer faith. (1Pe.1:7) One passage from the Letter "Pill or Pilgrimage" that always encouraged me was when Dad talks about Grandmother's test of faith after her miraculous healing, "When my mother first sat up in bed after her marvellous healing she suddenly had a lung hemorrhage & the blood spurted out of her mouth all over the bed! She could have quit right then & died, but she refused to believe the Devil & kept on trusting the Lord. It was just a test of the Enemy. Twice in later life the Lord let her be tested with two more attacks of paralysis, & she said 'If I'd accepted them, I'd have been paralysed to this day!' But she rebuked the Devil & said, 'It's a lie!' The Scripture she got was 'lying vanities' (Ps.31:6) & got up & walked & was healed! The kind of faith that gets results is 'though He slay me, yet will I trust Him!" (599:46,47,141)PTL!
THESE ARE LESSONS THAT I LEARNED FROM MY HEALING & I hope they'll be a blessing, inspiration & encouragement to you too! PTL! ILY! Much, much love--Joseph Reader.
P.S.: Dear Dad, here's "Prayer for Joseph's Herpes" back--a Letter that really made a big change in my life (& body)! I was thinking about how I'd gotten herpes last night. Several people at the WIM had it, & when I shared with the girl I got it from I knew that she had had it, but it was dormant at the time. So we were both surprised when I got it! I'd always tried to keep very clean & I'd never had a sexual affliction before. Well, as I was praying about it last night, the thought came to me that maybe the Lord let it happen so that it could be healed as a testimony to all! I hope it'll encourage others to take the stand of faith! Thanks for your faith that helped make it possible! ILY!--Joseph.
==========#==========#==========#==========
50. LETTER FROM APOLLOS ABOUT HERPES
Dear Maria,
GBY! WLYASM! This is something we've thought about writing you about for some time now, but have been a little reluctant to, as it's a little difficult & embarrassing sometimes as some people tend to cringe & shudder, & you hate to regarded by others as "diseased," or leprous.--Hope you understand.
HO MENTIONED THAT THEY HAD WRITTEN TO YOU ALL WITH SOME QUESTIONS REGARDING HERPES (GENITAL). Though not a very pleasant subject, I thought that it might be good to send to you the enclosed material. It's from a special branch of the American Social Health Program.--I originally wrote them & obtained this material through an article about herpes that I read in Playboy some time ago.--I mentioned in my letter to you all which accompanied the changes we made regarding Fish & condoms in the "FF Tips" Letter, that Lois & myself got an affliction years ago from a fish she was with--well, herpes is what we got.
AT THE TIME WE REALLY WENT THROUGH IT--mainly because the doctors we went to weren't able to tell us what we had!--After a week or so we both healed up, but several weeks later, Uh-Oh! I got it again! And since we hadn't had any outside contact during that period, we realized that it must be some kind of recurrent affliction. Then after going to another doctor & poring over medical books we bought for this purpose, we discovered what it was. But in the almost 4 years since then, Lois has only had it recur once, but I've had it recur quite a few times.
I'M TELLING YOU ALL THESE GORY DETAILS BECAUSE I'VE SINCE DISCOVERED THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE FAMILY HAVE HAD A LOT OF PROBLEMS WITH THIS AFFLICTION. I've heard of entire Homes that were hit with it all at once! So I thought that this material might be of some help.
WITH ME IT'S REALLY BEEN A LITERAL "THORN IN THE FLESH," for which I've besought the Lord at least 3 times, like the dear Apostle Paul did. And TTL, it has departed from me. But up until now it has also recurred from time to time. But the Lord in His Mercy, has definitely strengthened my resistance to it, so that the recurrences are much less frequent then previously--& also much more mild when they do occur. I know some brethren for whom it occurs every month or 2--& some like Lois who have had 1 recurrence in 4 years. I know of one dear brother who had a very bad case of it & fasted & prayed for 3 days--got a revelation & a healing & has never had it again!--To show that the Lord can heal "all thy diseases."
BUT I THINK ONE OF THE WORST THINGS ABOUT HAVING A DISEASE LIKE THIS IS IGNORANCE--which leads to all kinds of exaggerated fears & phobias & even to total abstinence from sex, or dangerous indulgence in sex at the wrong time & thus the spreading of the affliction--both of which are unnecessary!
AT FIRST I FELT CONDEMNED TO TOTAL ABSTINENCE, except with dear Lois, as I knew she already had it. But through lots of research on the subject, I found that you can safely sexually share with others without risking their health, providing you diligently & carefully check your "equipment," before using it!
AS WITH A COLD SORE OR "FEVER BLISTER," as they're called, I've found that you can actually feel it coming before the actual sore actually erupts. Herpes virus can only be transmitted from an "active" sore.--So, to be "safe" & not "sorry," I've made it a habit to always inspect my pole before going fishing--& if there's any irritation, redness or anything that could possibly be the beginning of an outbreak, I cancel my fishing trip & put the gear back in temporary storage.--And have thus been able to share sexually with many different sisters & lovers through these past years & none of them have ever caught any affliction from me, TTL!
IT'S BEEN SAID, "A STANDING COCK HAS NO CONSCIENCE" & although sometimes, I'll admit, it's extremely hard, "when in doubt, don't!" is the rule if you've ever had Herpes.--So by making sure an outbreak isn't beginning & by making sure that a current outbreak is completely healed & everything is completely normal & natural in appearance & feeling before having sex with someone, you & your partner can rest assured of safe & happy sailing--with no lamentable aftermath. So those who have had Herpes need not feel condemned to a leper-like sexual exile & isolation, but they do need to feel responsible to make sure "all signals are go" before sharing with others.
IF ANYONE HAS HAD OR SUSPECTS THEY'VE HAD OR HAVE A HERPES INFECTION, they should find out for sure from a reliable source & then bear in mind these simple precautions to avoid passing it on to others. In our personal little family, we try to always make it a habit of asking & checking. "Is everything all right down there?" before sharing--especially when other Home members or Fish, etc., have recently shared with one of us. It's not always the most romantic prelude to lovemaking, but a very valuable "ounce of prevention" which has more than once saved us the expense of a very costly "pound of cure."--PTL!
ILY YOU SO MUCH & hope this little testimony & information can be of some use.--Love, Apollos.
P.S. PERHAPS ALL THIS INFO IS OLD-HAT TO YOU & you already know about it--but just in case it's not, I thought I'd best pass it on. Ho, Ruthie & quite a few others have asked me questions regarding this & many have been completely unaware & in-the-dark about it. PTL!
THE MAIN AVENUE BY WHICH THIS AFFLICTION HAS ENTERED THE FAMILY has been outsiders & fish who are not always as cautious & considerate of others as they should be. Perhaps often they're just ignorant. So I even advise the girls in my Home to always try to see how their Fish's pole is before they go fishin' too!--GBAKY, ILY!
PPS.: IN ADDITION TO WHAT I TOLD YOU IN THE ABOVE REPORT, I personally know several couples who have been together for years, where one mate has contracted Herpes along the line somewhere & yet the other mate has never caught it from them, which proves that a "carrier" of the virus, if he or she is very careful & diligent not to make love when an outbreak of open sores recurs--or immediately before or after--their partner, or partners are safe. PTL!
51. WARNING! One girl caught herpes after oral sex with her mate, since he had a herpes sore on his mouth when he was sucking her! So when in doubt, don't! The sores are extremely contagious! "Love thy neighbour as thyself!" (Mt.22:38-39)
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family
