HomeARC ML 2815
PRAYER FOR THE MARTYRS! DFO 2815 7/92
--After Watching Video Clips of Media Persecution!
1. Lord, You said that "all things work together for good to them that love You!" We know that You don't let anything happen unless it's Your Will & for some purpose. These terrible attacks on us have certainly resulted in a very great victory out of a seeming defeat, by the publishing of the Truth & Thy News & Thy Message, & by showing how our happy children & grown teenagers have turned out to be the proof of the Message & the method! Thank You Lord!
2. Thank You for these precious Family Members who have been made stronger by standing up & fighting the Enemy! Thank You, Lord, that our young people are so strong & have shown their happiness & their joy! While System teenagers are committing horrible crimes & are on drugs & are just a mess, ours are beautiful, happy & content & are real fighters for the Truth & preachers of the Gospel! TYJ! TYL!
3. Thank You for this tremendous testimony! It's been a terrible test, Lord, but it has resulted in great testimony! It's been a real rough trial, but it's resulted in genuine triumph in the end! Thank You Lord! We don't win victories without battles, so we thank You Lord for even the battles that have resulted in such a victory & such a testimony, such a triumph over all the forces of the Enemy & all the fiery darts of the Devil that he's tried to let loose against us! We know we're right, Lord! We know it's Thy Word, & we're trying to do our best to follow Thee, & to teach all these people--Thy children, & their children, & even their grandchildren now--what is right.
4. Lord, I know I haven't always done the wisest thing & sometimes I've made mistakes, but You know that like David of old, my heart was in the right place & I was trying to do the right thing. I have tried to teach them the right things, Lord, to help them to follow Thee & Thy Word & Thy Truth, & it has resulted in a wonderful Family worldwide who have led millions of souls to Thee!--Souls that are now saved & in Thy Kingdom & whom we'll meet in Heaven! Thank You Jesus! Praise You Lord! Help me to have the strength to endure these trials & tests & the things that we're going through. I know that You've let me live this long, Lord, & You could've let me go or wiped the Family out long ago if it hadn't been of Thee.
5. I know that this Work is of Thee, Lord, & Thy doing, not just mine, or it would have been long gone. But instead You've let me live to a ripe old age & kept my precious children around the World faithful & loyal & have increased them in numbers & in goods & in blessing & in prosperity & the supplying of every need & protection, & rewarded them with millions & millions of souls! We've passed out billions of pages of Gospel literature, Thy Message that has been a blessing to the lost! We have millions of recorded Salvations, Lord, but You know that our effect & our Message & influence have gone far beyond what we know about, & we'll meet countless thousands in Heaven one of these days because of the good work Thy children are doing, in spite of everything that the Enemy accuses us of.
6. We thank Thee, Lord, for the Truth, that it's shining through, & the people are getting the Message & seeing the proof of the genuine tasting of the pudding by meeting our young people & their parents & seeing that they're not like our enemies have said in their lies about us. Thank You Jesus!
7. Lord, You know I'm certainly not perfect & I have undoubtedly made lots of mistakes, but You know that my heart is in the right place. Even after King David's serious mistakes, You said he was a man after Your Own heart (Acts 13:22) & You blessed him & allowed him to live to a ripe old age & to be the leader of Thy people for many years, as You have me. Thank You Lord! It's a miracle I'm still alive, Lord! If I were evil, my tree would have had evil fruit. (Mat.7:18.) But obviously it's had very good fruit & there are many thousands of Thy children, Thy Family, serving Thee fulltime around the World in many countries, winning millions more souls, whom we'll see in Heaven before long!
8. So Lord, the good that we have done certainly far outweighs any mistakes that we have made. Anything which we have been unwise or foolish in, Lord, forgive us. If my resignation or my death would do the situation any good, You could just wipe me out at a moment's notice. I was almost gone a few times already, but You saved me & healed me & You've miraculously helped me to live on in spite of my afflictions, & I'm still here long after I expected to be. So if I were as evil as they say & have done so much evil, Lord, then surely I wouldn't have had such good fruit. Our Message may be considered peculiar, radical & revolutionary, but it has done so much good & has helped millions of people! It's the Truth & it's borne wonderful fruit in the lives of those who have received it! If You didn't want me to live, Lord, if I was a bad influence & I'm in the way or causing Thy children problems, You could easily take me, & it would be easy for me to go.
9. It's a real ordeal for me to have to go through these sufferings that Thy children are going through, it hurts me & I suffer with them. It was hard for me to see this video tonight & to see what they're having to suffer & what they're having to go through because of the lies of Thy enemies!--And because of some of our literature that was only written to our Family Members to teach them about Your Love & the freedom of Your Spirit. It was never intended for distribution to the general public, but was just advice to the Family. But the Devil has taken it & twisted it & misused it. Our enemies have put their lies to it & their perverted interpretations, contorting & twisting the Truth.
10. It's difficult to see this, Lord, & how Thy children are having to suffer, perhaps because of our being so open & so frank & so honest in our writings, which the World has taken & contorted & twisted & misinterpreted & lied about. But in spite of it all, Lord, You're getting tremendous victories!
11. If we hadn't been controversial, if we hadn't been a sexy group, we wouldn't have made news!--And we admit to that, Lord, that we are sexy, & we're not ashamed to be sexy because You're sexy or You wouldn't have made sex! We're open & frank about it & thankful for it, & we enjoy it because You made it for us to enjoy. But, Lord, You know we're not guilty of any kind of abuse or any of the other ridiculous lies our enemies accuse us of! We're not ashamed of being called a sexy cult, & we know You have apparently allowed that, Lord, to give us notoriety & publicity that would bring out the real Message. You've allowed us to be very controversial, otherwise the news would never have taken any notice of us. Other churches don't make news & they haven't been in the news & on the television programs & raised such a stir & tremendous interest & curiosity, because they're not controversial & they're not out fighting a battle like we are.
12. So, Lord, You've allowed us to be the way we are so the World would take an interest, even in the things about us that are controversial & which our enemies claim are evil, & which the churches even fight us for. But we thank You, Lord, that You've protected us & kept us all these years in spite of it all. You've kept me going, Lord, in spite of our enemies. Thank You Jesus!
13. Give me strength now for this night & help me to regain my strength in spite of the trials that I've had to go through today. It was hard to have to go through this with them, Lord, because as I see them having to suffer, I suffer. But, Lord, You've kept me alive this long & You can keep me alive as long as You need me or want me, or they need me & want me. If it would do the Family any good, I'd be happy to get out of the way, but it doesn't seem that is Thy Will or plan. Some seem to think they still need me & they still love me & follow the teachings that You've given in Thy Word for all these many years. The Family's grown & lived & prospered & multiplied, & they've done tremendous mighty miracles in Thy Name, resulting in the Salvation of multitudes of souls & all the rest!
14. Lord, it's all in Your hands & it's up to You. It's Your business, so You take care of it, & we know You are. Bless & strengthen all those people who are having to go through these trials & suffer these persecutions. Give them Thy supernatural strength, protection & inspiration, the real joy that we've seen in these pictures tonight! In spite of all of the terrible trial & ordeal & persecution they've had to go through, it's so wonderful how they've stood up to it & have come out shining & victorious!
15. This persecution is Your doing, Lord. You allowed it, so that we could be more publicised & our Homes & children could be examined & the World could see that we live in happy Homes & have happy children, & that our teenagers are not criminals & drug addicts like so many in the System are, but that they are shining lights & happy to be Thy children, preaching Thy Love & Thy Gospel! Thank You Lord that You've made all this such a wonderful testimony, in Jesus' name!
16. Now we put it all in Your hands, Lord! Take care of them & take care of us, as You've taken care of Thy Work & made us an influence on the World. We know that we're not of the World, as You've said, for if we were of the World, the World would love its own.--But because we are not of them, therefore they hate us, & some even think they are doing You a service by persecuting us! (Jn.15:19; 16:2-3.) You said the time would come when they would kill us thinking that they do You service, as they did to others in the Middle Ages & throughout history! Thy children have suffered horrible persecution & martyrdom throughout history, & here we're seeing it repeated again.
17. So far we haven't suffered that much physically, Lord, & we thank Thee for that, but the time may come when we will. But we do ask Thee that Thou wouldst give us the grace & strength for that time when it comes. We may not have it now, Lord, but we know that if it has to happen, You will give us the power for the hour. You've even shown us in dreams that we don't have to fear, but that You'll give us the victory & the grace to endure when the time comes. (See "Dying Grace!" ML #1775.)
18. So now give me the strength to endure this persecution & even to watch these pictures of our children suffering. (Tongues:) "Oh thank You Jesus for giving them such wonderful faith in Thy little father. Continue to give them confidence in the Words that David has spoken unto them." Thank You Jesus! Do encourage them, Lord, & strengthen them & help them to remain faithful & loyal. Thank You Jesus!
19. Help me to be able to endure it, Lord, in spite of the things I have suffered today. I know You're going to bring me through if it's Thy Will. If not, if it's time for me to go, Lord, well then it's Thy time & Thy Will be done. Have Thy way. But if I can still do the Family any good, Lord, I know You'll preserve me to do whatever You want me to do.--In spite of the fact they've suffered many of these things for my sake, Lord, because of the Enemy attacking me personally & the things that I have said & done.
20. Thank You, Lord, that most of the Family have remained faithful & loyal. There are only a few weak, horrible backsliders, who have slipped mentally & spiritually & gone so far back they were even able to be used of our enemies! Lord, have mercy on them as long as there's any hope for them to turn to You again. We ask that You'll yet have mercy on those who are really truly saved.--But, Lord, stop their lying mouths! You could take them Home to be with You & even kill them that their souls might be saved! (1Cor.5:5.)
21. We ask You to rebuke them, Lord, & curse them--this 10:36 enemy, Dr. Richard of ADFI, [DELETED] & all of these who have turned against us, Lord, & are now using the very tongues that used to glorify You & preach Thy Gospel & witness & win souls, to be a testimony against Thee & Thy children & Thy Work!
22. Lord, unless in this case You're letting them talk & letting them bring up controversy in order to stir up curiosity & interest & publicity for what is right & the people who are right & the right side, unless You still have more purpose in it, we ask Thee, if it be Thy Will, to relieve us of this hard trial that Thy children are going through. Curse those who are fighting us, especially the evil & the wicked that are the Devil's own people! Their time is always ready, unless You have some use for them, like You even use the Devil.
23. So we do ask Thee, Lord, to have mercy & relieve us of what You can. Yet if there are things we must go through in order to preach Thy Gospel & Thy Message & to learn to stand strong & to fight & to go on the attack with the Truth, then help us to be strong & to have the strength to do so.
24. In Jesus' name, we ask Thee to bless & help all of these we have seen suffering tonight, which has made me to suffer with them & to endure with them. TYL! Give me the strength, Lord, to go through this, & particularly give them the strength who are on the battlefront battling the Enemy as we have seen them do tonight in this video. You've been so merciful & so good to me by protecting me from having to confront the Enemy face-to-face any longer at my age, & also our loved ones here, Lord, who minister to me & who take care of me in my old age. Thank You, Lord, that You have made things easy for me in these Last Days. In spite of my afflictions, Lord, You have protected me & kept me & prospered me & given me the desires of my heart, because I delight myself in Thee.--Psa.37:4. Thank You Jesus! Praise You Lord!
25. So I ask Thee to turn it all to Thy glory! Cause the wrath of Man to praise Thee, Lord!--Psa.76:10. And help me to be able to stand strong & to survive, Lord, as long as You need me & want me to, in spite of these trials & testings & sufferings & ordeals. Bless all these whom we've seen fighting the battle right at the battlefront! I feel as if I've been there with them & am feeling it with them. I know what a stress & strain it is, as it used to be for me when I was at the battlefront & I was fighting personally. Thank You Lord that You have relieved me from that strain & stress & the terrible ordeals that I used to go through spiritually, physically & mentally when I was leading the warriors at the battlefront. Thank You, Lord, that they're now able to carry on without me. Even if You should take me, Lord, I'm sure they would carry on, because You're the One Who's leading.
26. This Work is of Thee, Lord! If it were of Man it would have come to nought long ago, but because it's of Thee, Lord, they must beware lest they be found to fight against Thee! And because it is of Thee, Lord, no man will be able to stand against it.--Acts 5:38,39. So bless & keep all Thy children. May I carry on as long as necessary through these battles, Lord, & try to help them to win them, in Jesus' name. Thank You Lord! Bless & continue to keep us all safely & strengthen us & give us a good night's rest. TYL! Amen. TYJ!
27. I hope you folks will pray for my heart, because I was already worn out & tired out before watching this. I went to the dentist, had a long walk & didn't have a nap, & I haven't eaten, so having to go through this tonight was quite an ordeal for me. In spite of the fact that I rejoice over how marvellously the Lord is working, it was like having to go through it with them. So it has been a test for me, but the Lord will see me through. If He wants me to live, I'm sure that I'll survive, as I have been. In fact, I've already survived much longer than I've expected to. But as you go to bed tonight, I would appreciate it if you'd pray for my heart & that the Lord will help & encourage me & strengthen me to be able to even witness these scenes of the battle.
28. In Jesus' name we ask Thee to help, Lord! Thy Will be done. (Maria: "Wait on the Lord & be of good courage & He shall strengthen Thy heart."--Psa.27:14. You do it, Lord!) Amen. But we do need a little cooperation, Lord. I need their prayers for my strength so that I can survive all of this. It's like I've been taken to the battlefront tonight, Lord, & had to fight the battle myself in them, & I suffered as they have suffered. Now bring me back & strengthen me & help me to recover & survive, if it be Thy Will, in Jesus' name.
29. I understand now, Lord, why King David's men had him removed from the battlefront in his old age. (2Sam.21:17) He just couldn't take it any more. I guess I'm getting a little too old & too weak to take this sort of thing, & it's even hard for me to witness it. So please help the Family here to try to spare me from getting too deeply involved. Give me strength & wisdom, & give them wisdom, Lord, in how to care for Thy Prophet in these, my last days, that I might continue as long as they need me & as long as You can use me, Lord. In spite of all my faults & failures & mistakes & everything, Lord, You're still using me, I trust, & still making me of service to the Family & to You & many souls. Praise You Lord!
30. Give these who live with me wisdom, Lord. Thank You for how they have tried to protect me from too much bad news, as I really suffer with these who suffer & weep with them who weep, & I agonise with those who are in the agony of these trials! Thank You for how the Family here has tried to protect me & keep me from having to be too deeply embroiled in all of this. Thank You Lord for making it so much easier on me in these Last Days in my weakened condition. Thank You Jesus!
31. Bless these, Lord, who have to bear the burdens & toils, like Mama, who have become so deeply involved in all of this. Help them to cast their burdens on You, Lord, & to just trust You & not worry. We thank You that Mama's been such a blessing & help to them & has given such wise counsel in all this. She & her helpers have been a real blessing & encouragement to these who are suffering real martyrdom! They have helped prepare the ammunition for salvos (rounds of artillery) at the Enemy! May they help prepare & inspire them & encourage them & guide them & lead them. Thank You Jesus!
32. We have trained Thy Family for years now, & these who are fighting the battles in Japan & Australia, in England & in Argentina & all these places have years of training & Thy Word, Lord, & now they are grown & have become strong warriors, mighty men & women of Thee, able to carry on, with us in the background!
33. Thank You, Lord, that You have made our children, the sheep of Thy pasture, able to pretty much take care of themselves. They wander about, but they seek wisely the best green grass & shade in the heat of the day, & water when they need it. We don't have to be out there caring for them in every move they make. We just provide what they need, Lord, & what they can't do for themselves, You do it.
34. Thank You, Lord, that we don't have to spoonfeed the sheep, we just provide green grass & space for them to graze & they feed themselves & take care of themselves, except for what we have to provide that they can't provide for themselves. We provide the shelter to some extent. We lead them in green pastures, beside the still waters, but we can't make them eat or drink, we can't force-feed them. We provide the pasture, but they have to eat for themselves. They pretty well protect themselves, Lord, except in very rare attacks where we have to help them defend themselves. I know that You will protect them & keep them & carry them through & help them to win great victories for Thee, even though I'm unable to be at the battlefront any longer as I once was. TYJ! PYL!
35. If it be Thy Will, strengthen me & my heart now so that I can last a little longer in order to do what I can. And help these also to remember that in their prayers, in Jesus' name, amen. Praise the Lord! Thank You Jesus!
36. I'm sure this video tonight was a tremendous inspiration to you! I'm sure you even suffered with them. You'll sure be able to pray more for them after seeing what they're going through. Some have even been through worse, in Australia & other places. I know that we went through worse in some ways in our early years when I was young & strong & was able to be their leader at the battlefront & march with them & suffer many of their trials. The Lord's been good to me & merciful to me now to take me to the rear of the battle, in a way, but to still be able to furnish them with the ammunition they need, amen? PTL! Hallelujah! I've lived through worse, so just trust the Lord & pray.
37. I don't think I've had to go through anything this stressful since Tenerife, when I had to go before that judge & we had to [EDITED: "leave"]! (Maria: For your encouragement, everybody's doing great! They feel honoured & privileged to stand up & fight!--In fact, they get a real thrill out of it!) Fighting that kind of battle takes a lot of strength, & it must be a terrible battle for Japanese Art, as he's been the main spokesman in Japan. I looked at him as he was fired at with those questions, & I thought how hard it was on him & I felt like I was right there & wished I could have helped him! He sure has been fighting the battles as a good soldier, but he looks like he's lost a lot of weight & he really looked tired. Please take good care of him!
38. (To Mama:) You're a real fighter, Honey, & you like to be in the thick of the battle! But just remember, you're half as old as I am & things affect me more. In some ways I'm stronger than you, but in other ways I'm sure not! The Lord has made you to be able to endure these things that I'm no longer able to endure. I'm glad I haven't had to go through all you've been going through. I appreciate your trying to shield me & shelter me.
News Watching!
39. That video really strikes home--I was there, I was going through it with them! Watching the news doesn't affect me nearly as much, in spite of the fact that nearly all the news is bad news, because I'm not involved, it's not part of me. We know where history's going & we know it's going to get worse, so we just have to make the best of it.--And besides, it doesn't personally involve me or the Family. Of course, it's not always very cheerful, & I think I suffer the most when watching the suffering of those poor people in East Europe & Yugoslavia, the Croatians & Bosnians & those poor little children!
40. I can hardly stand to watch the films of the little children suffering, blown up & dismembered by bombs hurled by the cruel Serbians!--Or people starving to death in Africa, I can hardly stand to watch that kind of thing, it really affects me! That sort of thing is the only part of the news that bothers me. That kind of stuff just makes me angry & disgusted, but I have to see it to know what's happening. It's not as bad as having to go through the sufferings of our own martyrs! God bless & keep you all!--We're with you all in Spirit & prayer! Keep going for Jesus!--In Jesus' name, amen!
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family
