HomeARC ML 2907
PERSECUTION JEWELS!--No.10! DO 2907 Comp.12/93
--Given before the release of our brethren in Argentina.
The New Fight Songs Tape
!
(Dad's comments on an upcoming tape, due to be released soon, God willing:)
1. THE SALVATION ARMY used to play those fighting songs while marching from their little hall out to the main corner of the city, where they'd stand & sing more of them; then they'd preach the Gospel & collect offerings.
2. "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God!"--That song has got it all! That really fits us & our persecution. The men who wrote those songs knew about the battles that Christians face.--And our people can really sing those fighting songs now, because they know what fighting is!
3. These Fight Songs are terrific! Can't you just see our folks marching down the street singing these songs with their banners flying? We used to sing these songs in church, but the church people never really comprehended the meaning of them. The old mainline denominations have even taken some of these old songs out of the hymnbooks, saying they're too warlike & military. (Mama: Yes, & bloody.) They've taken the "blood of Jesus" songs out too, & now they've got a bloodless, fightless religion.
4. People even used to throw rocks & bottles at the Salvation Army, trying to pick fights with them. I can remember the Salvation Army marching with their bands right after the first World War when there were lots of parades with bands. It was a warlike era, so they sort of fit in with the times. I don't recall them having so many bands & parades during the second World War to "stir up the spirit" at home. In the old days of warfare & patriotism, that really inspired the spirit--how much more so for the church & the Christians?
5. "Soldiers of Jesus," that's a good one! I'll tell you, once you've got our kids started I don't think they're ever going to stop! Praise the Lord! Thank You Lord! Hallelujah! Won't our kids get a thrill marching down the street to these songs?
6. Just think what we could've been doing all those years I was in the church. We sang all these hymns. We could've taken the congregation out marching down the street waving banners & passing out tracts. Even then the churches considered the Salvation Army a little radical--marching down the street in uniforms with a band! They'd stand on a main corner downtown playing & singing until they got a crowd, & then they'd preach & take up an offering too.
7. Hallelujah! God bless you, Martin Luther! I couldn't hold a candle to him. (Maria: Oh yes you could! You've done the same kind of thing in your generation as he did in his. Every time we hear & read about him, we see so many similarities between the two of you.) (See ML #1671, "Dad & Luther--Two of a Kind," GN Book 18.) Praise the Lord! Thank You Lord!
8. Martin Luther sure had the message for Christians. He was so far ahead of his time--if only more people would've followed him. Well, many did then. They finally got so radical they went into the Catholic churches & cast down the idols & tore up the churches! They put into practice what he was preaching. So then he had to try to calm them down. They got too radical & were causing too much trouble. (Maria: They were probably trying to do it in the arm of the flesh, when he meant they had to do it in the Spirit.) That Fight Song tape was really inspiring! Thank You Lord!
James Dean & River Phoenix!
9. Our people have got verve & the Spirit & enthusiasm, they've got what it takes! Thank You Lord! They've got a cause! There was a famous movie with a famous youth idol, James Dean, called "Rebel Without a Cause." I guess he became too much of an idol & the Lord let him die in an auto accident. (Maria: We've heard that people have likened River Phoenix to James Dean. They said River Phoenix was the greatest youth actor of this generation.) No kidding! (Maria: We didn't even know that until he died, but then we heard all about him.
10. (River Phoenix had recently started acting in some pretty bad movies. He was making a movie on vampires at the time that he died, & before that he played a Gay hustler in a horrible mixed-up crazy confused movie. And he was into drugs. Apparently he'd just gone off the deep end & the Lord was quite angry with him.)
11. River Phoenix's parents led him astray. They stole him from the Lord & they lost him. They stole him from the Lord, so the Lord took him back. I'm sure they're thinking about it, especially if our folks contact them.
Good News!--The Message Is Getting Out!
12. There's been quite a bit of good news!--The main good news being the publication of the Message & the truth about our enemies! The Lord is winning us a lot of friends where people never heard of us before. Thank the Lord! Everything seems to be going our way, slowly but surely. Thank the Lord!
Free Publicity!
13. After all this, what more can we do? We're getting all the free publicity we can possibly get. We couldn't get this much publicity for millions of Dollars, it's priceless!
A Testimony to Sex!
14. Thank You Lord for what a witness & testimony You've made the Family, even a testimony to the goodness of sex!
Some Ex-Members Seeking Love & Fellowship!
15. Our ex-members see how bad the World is getting, they don't see any other answers anywhere & they don't like the churches. It's like I used to tell my classes, "Once I've finished with you here, you'll never be able to enjoy church any more." So now they've got no place to go unless they're bitterly antagonistic & join our enemies, & a lot of them don't want to do that. They certainly don't want to join the System, the World, so they've got no place to go. "To whom shall we go? Thou alone hast the Words of eternal life."--John 6:68. They know we've got the right Message.
16. (Maria: Unfortunately, a lot of them were hurt by unwise, immature leadership who failed them. Sometimes they didn't treat them lovingly, & sometimes they applied the pubs too legalistically, & there were a lot of weaker people who just couldn't take it, & in some ways you don't blame them. Some of them left because of their own problems, but others left because of the problems of unwise leadership, which is sad, & which is something we regret. But thank God for those who endured hardness as good soldiers. I'm sure that they had to go through a lot too, as we were maturing & growing & changing as a Family, but God will greatly reward them for the way they stayed faithful through thick & thin, through the tough times & the difficult days.
17. (We need to show our ex-members love & concern & not look down on them self-righteously because they couldn't make it--or thought they couldn't. Many of them still remember happy times they had in the Family, & although most of them aren't looking to rejoin the Family, they would like to be friends so they can get a little bit of the Word. Maybe they can be supporters & help put in a good word for us. Most of them don't really want to fight us. A lot of them have seen where their bitterness has gotten them & they don't want to be that way any more.) Yes, a lot of them just want to have fellowship & get the latest news.
18. (Maria: Yes, they always ask about what you have to say! All the ex-members we've been in contact with ask about you. They don't seem to have too much against you & they want to find out what you're up to & what you're preaching & what the latest news is, how you are & things like that. They may not agree with FFing or our sexual doctrines, but on everything else in general they realise we've got the right Message.) Yes, especially those who are not actively fighting us, but just don't want to be one of us. But they would like to get the latest news & have a little fellowship.
19. Lots of people prefer to be their own bosses & do as they please. Of course, they're not as happy out in the System, but they can do whatever they feel like doing.--Whereas in the Family they generally did what they felt the Lord wanted them to do. (Maria: It's pretty rough in the Family for people who want to be independent.) It's not a good place for independence. (Maria: It's not a good place for anybody who doesn't like to be in the army.) Yes, & part of the team. They know that in the Family you have to be whole-hearted. It's all the way or not at all! (Maria: And most of the people in the World don't choose to make the army their career. There are just a very small fraction of people who do that.)
20. Yes, if you're in the army you've got to be all-out army! The same is true with any branch of the military--land, air or sea. (Maria: Yes, they tell you how to live & where to go & what to do & how long to stay & dictate your whole life.) Your whole life is completely regimented, & if you don't like regimentation, you won't like the army! But if you're sold out on the Cause & what the army's all about, you will make good loyal soldiers who will obey & get the job done, which is what our soldiers are doing right now! And they're all volunteer soldiers, God bless'm--in our army because they love the Cause & want to save lost souls. There's no draft involved, & people can leave whenever they want to, but we've got thousands of people who have stuck it out for years & years now, thank the Lord!
Constant Change & Improvement!
21. We're not a revolution if we can't change things that need to be changed! That's what happened to the churches, they got stuck in a rut. If there's anything we need to learn how to do, it is to improve! Whenever we see something that needs to be improved, we need to improve it. If it needs to be changed, we need to change it! That is what we are all about!
Battlefront of the Word!
22. We're busy at the battlefront! Even though it's not the front lines, it's the battlefront of the Word.--Getting out the Word & the pubs!
The Devil & His System Are the Real Child Abusers!
23. Our enemies don't give a damn about sex or abuse of children. They know that we don't abuse our children, but they certainly do--whenever they can possibly get their hands on them in their evil institutions. The Devil accuses us of what he's the most guilty of. They're just using these charges against us, that's all, to cover up their true motives.
24. They've got the whole World freaked out about child abuse. But instead of doing much for their millions upon millions of terribly abused children, they devote their time & energy into ripping off our non-abused children & cruelly abusing them in the worst possible ways, filling them with fear & unbelief, trying to take away their faith & their hope & their security, their parents & their God. They claim to be so concerned about abused children, yet they ignore & neglect the millions of abused children that their system has created, & try to get their hands on ours & abuse ours also. What hypocrisy! What deviltry!
25. And when it comes to the subject of our adults' sexual sharing, most of the World couldn't care less, except they think it's interesting. (Fam: Yes, absolutely. The U.S. elected a President who was involved in a 12-year extramarital relationship, & it doesn't matter to them.)--And now they've found that he was involved in a few more!
Getting Out of France!
26. I'm suggesting that in places where we've done about all that we can do, like France, that we ought to get out. I understand we only have one or two Homes left in France. Why stay there & suffer needlessly once we've had our say & voiced our complaints & taken advantage of the opportunities--the publicity--& told the World what they're doing? They're obviously still against us.
27. The Bible gives a lot of advice on both sides. In some cases it tells you to stand up & fight. In some places Jesus says to flee; in other places He seems to indicate you're to stand up & fight & lay down your life for the brethren. So you have to find out what the Lord wants you personally to do.
28. That French government is absolutely wicked!--Horrible! I don't want our Family to be in a country like that any more! I think we should put up a fight, expose them & then get out! They've had more than their chance & opportunity ever since the early "Les Enfants de Dieu" days. We got on very popular TV shows & had all kinds of good publicity. Some of the songs we recorded became very popular. We also witnessed to Jeanne Manson & were known as being affiliated with her. She was a popular recording & performing artist at the time, & our band provided the back-up music & vocals at a lot of her concerts. And now this is what they let the authorities do to us! Of course, the public is so fickle, they soon forget. But I'm sure when our name is brought up, they will remember us. The French media has tried to keep it quiet & refused to publish the things we've given them, so the public didn't hear as much as they should have; but the Message did manage to get out.
29. God is apparently holding all of France guilty for what they did to us. We heard that they're having all kinds of troubles. There was a big drop in the Franc, floods in Aix, & a bunch of shoot-ups, bombings, strikes & demonstrations that scared tourists away during the Summer. (LNF: After Christmas rains, scores of riverside towns & cities suffered the worst floods since the 1920s, & several people died. Towns were evacuated or left without power after electricity was cut off. Rail traffic between France & Belgium was cut, & many highways were also flooded. France is also suffering economically. The economy has already been in recession, & recently the French automobile market fell to its worst level since 1975. And Air France lost millions after a violent two-week strike by workers that virtually crippled the airline.)
U.S. State Department Siding with Argentina!
30. Our people in Argentina are the largest number of Americans imprisoned as a group in any foreign country, yet the U.S. State Department is siding with Argentina! They're not complaining or protesting on our behalf, but have even used some of their agents to encourage the Argentine government in their persecution of us! Can you imagine? It shows you where the U.S. is at! Imagine such a thing as this happening & Clinton never even mentioning it. They want to cover up these things, like they're trying to cover up what happened at Waco. The ATF has really gotten socked in the reports on Waco, & a bunch of top officials have been fired. Of course, the FBI are saying, "We did nothing wrong. It's all their fault!"
31. After the Waco tragedy, Clinton came out the maddest I ever saw him, saying, "It's all Koresh's fault. He did it! He destroyed himself & murdered the children! They were a bunch of religious fanatics who murdered themselves!" Boy, it shows you where Clinton's at. Well, the Lord's giving him plenty of trouble now. He's got it everywhere.
Christian Persecutions!
32. Christians have always been persecuted throughout time. The Church went through major persecutions during the early days. The first ones were under the Jews & then there were ten major Roman persecutions. Then there was the persecution by the Catholic Church. So persecution is nothing new. And when you think of how some of those missionaries suffered, Adoniram Judson, etc., we don't know what real suffering is! Thank the Lord! Even our people that have been thrown in jail have not suffered as much as Christians of the past. Judson was tortured & everything. I've always thought I'd rather die or be killed than to have to go to jail & be tortured, but the Lord gives you grace for whatever He lets them give you.
History of Family Persecution!
33. I was interested in analysing all of our different persecutions worldwide, past & present, so I asked Peter to please draw me up a list of all the persecutions we've suffered, & I never dreamed there were so many! Ever since back in 1973 we've had persecutions almost every single year somewhere, & they've gotten worse & worse & more numerous!
34. And guess what country we've had most of them in?--Argentina!--Almost every year for the last 10 years! I told Maria, "What's the matter with our folks? Can't they learn that those people don't want the books? They've got to get kicked down the stairs & kicked out before they learn that they just don't want the books in that country!" She said, "Well, the trouble usually clears up & they declare us innocent, so then we figure we can continue there." But I think this latest persecution is going to settle it once & for all!
35. I'm sure the Lord will be good to us & let us off somehow, & I hope nobody has to stay in jail much longer. In some places our people have had to stay in jail for months. I counted the number of years & it's been 22 years of persecution in 25 different countries, including about a dozen now that we've had in Argentina alone. They even threw Faithy in jail one time.
36. The Family's been persecuted in almost every country in South America--which are mostly Catholic strongholds, of course. And also in Southern Europe, again Catholic countries.--But we've had some persecution in Northern Europe too, in the Protestant countries.
37. [DELETED] I think the Pope is a Jew.--Who else could be so smart & the best Pope they've ever had?--Really a wonderful man & I admire him greatly, although I don't agree with everything he does. Let's face it, "all things work together for good," & God has designed the Jews that way. As the old poem goes,
"'Tis odd
That God
Should choose
The Jews.
But God chose,
Which shows
He knew His Jew!"
They're the smartest people on Earth.
38. Anyhow, we have had a lot of persecutions, & I am amazed! And frankly, I think quite a few of them were due to a lack of wisdom. Right after serious persecution, this one Family Member was peddling lit right in front of Immigrations, so they came right out & arrested him & threw him in jail! You have to have a little common sense. I think the Family's been in Argentina too long, & I think that's why Argentina is now determined to fix us once & for all so we'll never come back!
Marquevich Could Repent!
39. The Lord could change Marquevich. He could be like Saul, who turned into Paul. I'd been cursing Marquevich, & then it came to me, "Well, maybe he could feel sorry & repent & get saved." I was trying to think of the worst thing that could possibly happen to him, & then that came to me. Isn't that funny? He's getting so much witness now from our kids that he must be under conviction. Some of our girls were witnessing to him & he just actually screamed! He was furious! He couldn't be acting that way unless he's under conviction. It makes him angry.
40. So maybe he could repent! "All things are possible to him that believeth."--Mark 9:23. So I told the Lord that I'd rather have him get saved than get killed. That would do a lot more good. If he got killed he'd just go straight to Hell & that wouldn't do us any good. But if he could get under conviction from all our testimonies & get saved, that could do us a lot of good!--Like Saint Paul. It's possible. "With God nothing shall be impossible, & all things are possible to him that believeth."
41. So we could start praying for his salvation instead! Maybe if he gets kicked & questioned & embarrassed & humiliated enough, he'll start looking up. He must also be suffering from our persecution because he's getting so much blame. The Bar Association & the appeals court are trying to not only disqualify him, but get him completely kicked out--impeached! He's no peach, he's getting impeached. They say he's done several other things besides this that were totally illegal & misconduct for a judge, & his treatment of us was about the last straw. Give the Devil enough rope & he'll hang himself. Praise the Lord! ({\ul \i LNF: While interviewing one of our women}, to her utter amazement, Marquevich suddenly grabbed her hand & said, "I believe in God too, please pray for me." But the moment was short-lived, as a secretary entered the room at that moment, whereupon Marquevich loudly demanded, "Take this woman out, she's a hopeless case!"--But it shows God is trying to get through to him.)
Dad Doing All He Can!
42. I'm sorry I can't do more for our poor folks who are suffering persecution. I hope that they know that I am concerned about them & pray for them & I'm doing all I can for them; & the Family is also doing all they can.
43. Jesus help them & make them a testimony & a blessing. Defeat & frustrate our enemies! Deliver Thy children out of the mouths of the lions against all expectations, out of the fiery furnace! You're with them now, Lord. You do the miracle. You have to do the miracles, Lord. The Enemy is powerful & very great, armed with cruel hate, but You can outdo Him.--And undo him. Thank You Lord!
Prayers for Our Brethren in Bonds!
44. You allowed this persecution, Lord, & You have Your purpose & You're going to have to work this whole thing out in Argentina. We don't know why You're allowing so much persecution, but it must be good for us. "All things work together for good to them that love Thee." We love You, Lord, so there must be some good coming out of it. It must be good for us in some way, & has already been in some cases.
- * *
45. (Another day:) Keep us all safely & make us a blessing, as well as all our other Homes around the World. Especially comfort those that are in bonds & release them when it's Thy time. We know You're letting them stay there for a reason, so we can get the victory over the Enemy. Comfort their hearts, Lord, encourage them & keep them, in Jesus' name.
The Spirit of Prayer!
46. (Maria's note to a WS Shepherdess:) I was so happy to hear from you. Well, I wasn't really happy about your feeling sad, but I was glad that you felt you could tell me about your battles with our daddies & mommies & children being so persecuted, & how it causes you to cry & pray frequently for them, & as a result causes you to wonder if you're a very weak person because these things so easily move you & cause you such anguish of heart. I was especially glad that you said you were taking an hour of prayer vigil every day for the court situations, & that you were going to have your Home do so as well.
47. After I listened to your message I was praying in the night about what to tell you about it, & I was praying that the Lord would strengthen you.--But I wasn't so sure that your feelings were wrong, or that there was anything out of line with them. I'm not so sure that your tummy being tied in knots when you think of our Family in prison, cold & hungry, is a sign of being "weak." I have to say that I wish more of our people would feel the same way. I think that feeling this way is a fulfillment of Biblical counsel to "weep with them that weep."--Rom. 12:15. If you didn't feel so sad & burdened, would you even remember to pray for them? Would you be so desperate for the Lord to do something if you couldn't feel their sufferings? Would your prayers be so intense & demanding for God to show His power?
48. I got the verse last night, "Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; & them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body."--Heb.13:3.--And it seems to me that this is exactly what you're going through. Maybe this is what the Lord calls "the spirit of prayer" & what Dad was asking the Lord to give our Family & what he was telling them they should ask for. It's when you feel so burdened & so pained & troubled & sick with the suffering of others that you make your most fervent prayers to God for His intervention. This is what Dad goes through when our dear Family is suffering & why he can hardly stand it. It's obvious that the Lord puts this heavy burden on his heart so that he can fulfil the ministry of intercession that the Lord has given him.
49. I prayed for you, but I couldn't ask the Lord to take that from you. It seemed to me a very good thing to have, & something that more of us need to have. Of course, we don't want to fear, & we certainly have to ask the Lord for His faith, no matter how black the situation seems. As far as your feeling sad & weeping & clothed in "sackcloth & ashes" because of our Family being persecuted, this does not have to include fear, but sorrow for our suffering loved ones, & anger at the Devil & the evil people he is using to try to destroy God's Work!
50. I'll bet our sweet brothers & sisters in Argentina would love to hear how you feel about them.--And far from thinking you're weak, I think they would be so thankful that you're so strong in prayer & in your thoughts of them.
Little David Against Giant Goliath!
51. (From Maria:) In all of our court cases worldwide, it seems like things are almost out of our hands now. We've done pretty much all we can do, except to contribute a few little minor thoughts & ideas & papers & affidavits here & there. But these things are just little drops in a bucket, very small efforts compared to the millions of Dollars & large teams of professionals who have been working against us for months & months now to ensure that their case is strong & there's no possibility of us getting the upper hand.
52. They've got the experts & they're mounting a vicious concerted attack on us. It's like a group of little toddlers running up to stop a great giant & pounding with their little baby fists on his legs, trying to knock him over. It's like our efforts against this monster are just pricking him with little pins here & there that he can hardly feel, & he can pretty much disregard us as annoyances. He's so sure he's going to get his prey, that he just laughs at our little affidavits & Statements & feeble attempts to stop him.
53. All of our little efforts now are nice, but these are just minute grains of sand on the vast stretches of beach--our little loaves & fishes. But "what is that among so many?"--So many thousands of pages of evidence, hundreds of so-called expert witnesses, scores of backsliders' testimonies?
54. It's just like Goliath laughed when he saw this little lad David coming out to try to defeat him. (1Sam.17.) The Lord has seen to it that we don't even have the heavy armour of the System to wear. We stand pretty much small and defenceless-looking against such a great foe, & we haven't even picked up our little stones yet. We don't even know where those stones are, but we have to trust that just as the Lord led David to that little brook to pull out those five smooth stones, so He will lead us. And as we turn & make an effort to throw them, He's going to make them go straight & hit their mark & bring that huge monster of a giant tumbling down!
The Lord Is Using the Court Cases as His Platform to Get Out His Message!
55. (From Maria:) One of our lawyers made a statement that shows that he does not understand that we, unlike most people & organisations, are not just trying to get rid of these cases as fast as we can. He does not understand that we do not regard them as "all bad," & he thinks that we would certainly be willing to do anything at all costs to get rid of the problem, to get it over & done with.
56. Of course, in some ways that's what we do want to do in our weak moments; we wish that they could be all over & done with. But what the Lord has in mind is something much more than just "getting this terrible case dismissed & getting it out of our hair." Through these cases, He is trying to get us to preach His messages & to come out more & more strongly with the Truth & our sample. It's been His platform for some great victories in the last few months. So rather than something we're just trying to get over & done with, it's something that we want to use to our advantage, or rather the Lord's advantage.
57. We're far from looking at Pearl & Sammy as a detriment & sore spot that should be cut off so the problem can be resolved. We look at Pearl as our defender of the faith & one of the fighters in the forefront of the battle, who is valiantly defending the Family! Far from dragging us down & causing us problems, she is the Lord's catalyst to make us stand up & fight & use this supposedly "bad thing" for our good & for the Lord's glory.
58. God bless this lawyer, at least he has conceded that there may be things that he doesn't understand & that he just hasn't realised about our beliefs & our convictions. I was glad to hear that. Perhaps some of our own people do not fully understand this themselves & were thus not able to explain this to him, which is why it would be very good if someone could explain the big picture to him. I think he's very receptive & open & would respect our way of looking at things.
59. Of course we do want to get these things over with, & sometimes we get in a great hurry & the Lord has to keep patiently reminding us not to get in such a hurry that we prevent His plan from being accomplished. He feels our heartache, & especially the heartache of our poor folks who are incarcerated, but He's not going to let them suffer one moment more than is necessary for His plan to be fulfilled.
The War Is Escalating!
60. Help us, Lord, to realise how close we're getting to the End. We're in a battle, a war that's escalating, getting hotter all the time, in which we're going to have to be leaders & stick our necks out! Do you still want to be a part of this outfit all the way? I'm ready to fight! I am fighting! They're out to get us, but the Lord will keep us as long as He can use us & needs us before He takes us Home.
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family
