HomeARC ML 0683
"EXCOMMUNICATION!"--By Father David March 13, 1978 MO DO No.683
Copyright © by The Family of Love, April 1978, CP 748, 001000 Roma, Italia
1. GOD WILL NOT ALLOW HIMSELF TO BE ROBBED! "Will a man rob God ... ye have robbed Me in tithes and offerings." (Mal.3:8.) The minute you start borrowing God's share, His 10%, when He's already let you keep 90%, he will not tolerate it! That is probably one reason some areas are sinking. I've heard of that happening so many times.
2. PEOPLE BORROW GOD'S MONEY, THEN BAM, GOD TAKES A COLLECTION! All kinds of things go wrong that God could have kept from happening if they'd been faithful, but they literally stole God's little 10%, His share, and God just didn't bless it!
3. I DON'T AGREE WITH ALLOWING THEM TO KEEP A PART OF THAT 10%, THAT IS GOD'S! That is inviolable. It was absolutely forbidden under the Old Testament system and they still had it even into the New Testament, if you'll notice what Paul says about tithes and offerings. (1Cor.16:2)
4. GOD WILL NOT TOLERATE YOU TOUCHING HIS SHARE. He's giving you 90%, why should you rob Him of His 10%? He just will not bless it. People will tell you,
5. "WE JUST CAN'T AFFORD TO GIVE 10% THIS MONTH because we're so low financially." You tell them, "You can't afford not to pay the 10%! God won't bless your work and he won't bless you financially."--That's probably what's wrong.
6. IF YOU'VE BEEN LETTING THEM GET BY WITHOUT PAYING THEIR 10% that's probably what happened. God just isn't blessing it. He won't tolerate it. I've seen that happen time and again.
7. I'LL NEVER FORGET WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE AND LIVING ON $25 A WEEK in a borrowed trailer. We were down to our last few pennies and Eve said we had to give our tithe to the church. I said,
8. "WE CAN'T GIVE THAT THIS WEEK, THAT'S OUR LIVING!" Eve said, "Well let's ask the Lord about it, let's get a Scripture." And we cracked the Bible right to the place where it says,
9. "THERE CAME A CERTAIN POOR WIDOW, AND SHE THREW IN TWO MITES, she did cast in all that she had, even all her living." (Mk.12:41-44.) Well, there was the answer, how could I argue? So we did.
10. WE PUT OUR LITTLE $2.50 INTO THE OFFERING PLATE at the church we went to, since it was the only thing we knew to do with it then. The very next day my theology professor walked up and said, "Here Dave, the Lord laid it on my heart to give this $25 to you." You can't outgive God!--I got back 10 times as much!
11. UNDER THE NEW TESTAMENT SYSTEM GOD NO LONGER REQUIRES JUST 10% as He did in the Old Testament. You know what He requires now?--100%!
12. HE EXPECTS YOU TO GIVE YOUR WHOLE LIFE AND EVERYTHING YOU OWN for the Lord, in fulltime service, as much as you can. But He certainly does not expect you to give less than 10%!
13. THESE PEOPLE COULD SAY, "WE ARE GIVING OUR FULL TIME FOR THE LORD and God's service! It's all going into the Lord's work." Well, the priests and the Levites of the temple could have said the same thing, but the 10% was required of all of them just to teach them to give.
14. THAT'S GOD'S SHARE AND YOU'RE NOT TO TOUCH IT.--That's for Him. It actually went into the temple, and you know what it was mainly used for?--To feed the poor!
15. DID YOU KNOW THAT THEY HAD A PERPETUAL, ALL-DAY BARBECUE going on in front of the temple on the temple altar? The priests and the Levites of the temple had first divvies on the choice cuts of meat. Then they shared whatever was left, which was most of it, with the people who had donated it, and then the rest was given to the poor!
16. THE SACRIFICE WAS LIKE THEIR 10% TO GIVE TO THE LORD FOR THE OPERATION OF THE TEMPLE, its personnel, the priests and the Levites. The priests were the spiritual administrators, having to do all the ceremonies. And the Levites were the deacons who took care of all of the business of the temple and took turns at the altar and helped with the slaughter and sacrifices.
17. GOD'S SHARE CAME FIRST AND NOBODY DARED TOUCH IT. That was number one and was given to the priests for their services, like World Services so to speak, which they also shared with the Levites or the deacons who carried out the business of the temple, which was a pretty big operation, and then finally thousands of the poor.
18. THEY WERE NEVER ALLOWED TO TOUCH GOD'S 10%. If they did, God judged them for it and they lost a lot more than the 10%! There's case after case in the Bible, and I've heard of case after case all my life, about how you are going to lose if you steal God's share.
19. SO GOD WILL JUST NOT TOLERATE YOU TAKING HIS SHARE. You've got to give Him His share, and allowing you to keep that is teaching you bad habits. God won't bless it.
20. BEFORE THE RNR YOU WERE DOING VERY WELL financially and God was blessing. So what's happened?
21. YOU MUST NOT BE WORKING LIKE YOU SHOULD or you're living too high or you're stealing God's share, or maybe all three! I'll tell you what I have a notion to do to some of these areas:
22. IF WE CAN PIN IT DOWN THAT THEY'RE MISMANAGING, NOT WORKING AND LIVING TOO HIGH on too little income, that would be the kind of an area where you should send some of your tyrants and slave drivers! When the people don't do it voluntarily, God usually takes a collection!
23. DICTATORSHIP HAS ITS GOOD POINTS and we're going to learn some lessons from this new form of government like we learned from the last one. We're going from one extreme to the other.
24. WE HAD TOO MANY TYRANTS--MAYBE NOW WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH! But the people have to learn. (Timothy: They were thinking of declaring a certain Home as a bad testimony to the whole work.)
25. IT SAYS CLEARLY ON THE CHECKLIST THAT WE ARE GOING TO RECLASSIFY HOMES who after two admonitions are not under 60 no's. Their first warning will be a letter advising them of the immediate necessity of raising their standard to at least under 60 no's before the VS's next visit. If they haven't, then he is supposed to give them their last warning.
26. IF THEY HAVEN'T DONE IT BY HIS THIRD VISIT, NO MORE WARNINGS!--EXCOMMUNICATION! We degrade them and we start cutting off their DO Letters. Now if the Home is in drastic shape and a terrible testimony, we can't let that ride on month after month.
27. YOUR VISITING SERVANTS CAN ORDER THE DECLASSIFICATION ALMOST IMMEDIATELY. All he has to do, having been to that house once already and warned them about their deplorable conditions, is go back today or tomorrow and give them the second warning. If it's important enough and he knows they can do it right away, all he has to do is go back the third day and declassify them!
28. HE DOESN'T HAVE TO STRETCH IT OUT OVER THREE MONTHS--HE CAN DO IT IN THREE DAYS! First visit, second visit, third visit.--That's all! Two warnings, and if he finds them still in the same shape the third time, just cut off their DO Letters. That's the one whip we've got, excommunication!
29. WE'VE TRIED TO GIVE THESE HOMES AS MUCH LIBERTY AND FREEDOM AS WE CAN and I've been fighting for the little fellow. But if the little fellow's going to lie down on the job and loaf and think he doesn't have to work, now he's going to find out something different. If he wants to continue to get the Letters he's got to get out and work.
30. THE HOME CHECKLIST IS ONE MORE DECLASSIFICATION AREA THAT HAS THE TEETH IN IT. If they don't bring up their standard to under 60 no's they first lose the DO letters until the next visit. But you can come back the next day and say, "Well okay, now you're going to lose your DFOs," and then you can also come back the third day and say, "Now you're going to lose everything. You're going to have to buy your Letters on the street!"
31. I KNOW GOD AND I KNOW HIS FINANCIAL POLICIES and there are two things definitely that will cut down your financial blessings:
(1) If you don't work. You've got to get out and hump and do your share, whatever it is, litnessing, FFing, provisioning, writing letters, or whatever.
(2) If you don't obey.
32. BUT SOME'VE CERTAINLY MISFIRED SOMEWHERE! Either you're not working enough or you're living too high or you're mismanaging your funds, or you're robbing God! He will not tolerate you keeping His share.
33. (MARIA: SOME OF THEM WON'T EVEN PAY THEIR NEW OR OLD LIT BILLS either. The ultimatum has been sent out, "Until you pay your lit bills, no more lit"--but they still refuse. They must be low on lit by now, so they're probably not litnessing much.)
34. IN A CASE LIKE THAT, IF THEY JUST CONTINUE TO REFUSE, I WOULD ABSOLUTELY EXCOMMUNICATE THEM! Any Home that refuses to pay its bills ought to be reported and excommunicated!
35. ANY SC OR PUBS OFFICER WHO DISCOVERS THIS CONDITION OUGHT TO IMMEDIATELY NOTIFY HIS KQS. The KQS should immediately notify WS Sprintshop that certain Homes are refusing to pay their lit bills and to immediately cut off their Letters!
36. THAT SHOULD NOT REQUIRE GRADUAL DECLASSIFICATION; IT SHOULD BE A TOTAL SUDDEN EXCOMMUNICATION resulting in not receiving any mailings from WS until they pay their bills! That's the only rod we've got and we're going to have to use it. People are not working and not getting the job done.
37. THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH ANY HOME THAT GOD'S NOT BLESSING with at least their needs. You know it's not God. You know it's not us, we're doing our part. There is something wrong with you.
38. IT'S GOT BE ONE OF THOSE FEW THINGS: They're not working enough, they're living too high or they're robbing God and maybe all three!
39. ANY HOME WHICH HAS GOTTEN TO THAT STATE OF AFFAIRS IS A BAD TESTIMONY and we might as well close it down and ship the people out. The first step would be excommunication.
40. ANY HOME THAT REFUSES TO PAY ITS LIT BILLS OUGHT TO BE IMMEDIATELY AND TOTALLY EXCOMMUNICATED!--Not a Letter of any kind! Give them a warning or two that they come across, or immediate excommunication, which is going to mean that they are going to have to close down unless they get out and figure out some other way to survive besides litnessing.
41. IF IT'S SOME ACTUAL EMERGENCY THAT WASN'T THEIR FAULT, or somebody else left the bills behind, then you can make some arrangements to help them out or over the hump.
42. BUT IF IT WAS THEIR FAULT BECAUSE THEY'RE LOAFING AND LAZY and not working and they refuse to pay their bills, then two warnings, and they don't have to be far apart, and I would cut them off. That's what Paul said:
43. "AN HERETIC AFTER THE FIRST AND SECOND ADMONITION REJECT." (Tit.3:10.) If you're not receiving the Word and you're not obeying, then you're heretics!
44. YOU CAN SAY, "OKAY, WE DON'T HAVE IT ALL BUT WE AGREE TO MAKE MONTHLY PAYMENTS on it." I'm sure you could do that. Otherwise, you should close down. If it's an outfit that's not doing the job, won't bring up its standards and won't pay its bills, it's a poor testimony. I'd cut em off completely!
45. JUST BECAUSE I SHIPPED AWAY THEIR TYRANTS DOESN'T MEAN THAT THERE ARE NO RULES and they can lie down on the job and do nothing. Apparently, delivering them from their tyrants is giving some of them the idea that they don't have to do anything now.
46. A HOME THAT DOESN'T PAY ITS BILLS ALSO MAY NOT PAY ITS RENT. We won't have to close them down, the landlord will, and that's a terrible reflection upon the cause of Christ!
47. IN A CASE LIKE THAT THE VS's OUGHT TO FIND OUT WHEN THEIR RENT IS UP and give notice to get out, they're closed down. If they refuse to do anything, to up the standard, refuse to get out and earn it to pay their bills, they're finished.
48. IT MIGHT BE WELL IN A CASE LIKE THAT FOR THE VS TO GO HAVE A LITTLE CHAT WITH THE LANDLORD. Tell him as far as we're concerned these people are disobeying our rules, they're not willing to get out and work, so they're no longer a part of our organisation.
49. THE WHOLE IDEA OF VISITING SERVANTS IS TO GO AROUND AND INSPECT and jerk these people up on the things they need to do.
50. (TIMOTHY: IT SOUNDS FROM THE REPORT LIKE THEY WERE PUSSY FOOTING AROUND AND AFRAID TO LAY DOWN THE LAW on some of these cases. One place disregarded the suggestion of a good Servant and put in this couple that everyone knew was weak.)
51. THEY BROUGHT IN SOMEBODY TO PREACH JUST WHAT THEY WANTED TO HEAR, NOT WHAT THEY NEEDED. They probably took a look at this one couple who they were afraid were going to make them work, and instead voted in the easy-going couple who let them off easy and now the place is just falling apart!
52. IF THEY DON'T FOLLOW ADVICE, THEY'RE GOING TO REAP THE RESULTS. It's the VS's duty to at least tell them. They're like the prophets of God:
53. THE VS CAN TELL THEM BUT HE CAN'T MAKE THEM DO IT. But if they won't listen, then they don't get the Word anymore.
54. NON-PAYMENT OF BILLS MERITS IMMEDIATE, COMPLETE EXCOMMUNICATION until they can prove to their VSs that they have paid their bills, or are trying to.
55. POOR LIVING STANDARDS MERIT A FEW WARNINGS, THEN GRADUAL DECLASSIFICATION. We can wait for them to bring up their living standard, but we can't wait for them to pay their bills!
56. NON-PAYMENT OF THE 10% ALSO MERITS IMMEDIATE EXCOMMUNICATION, that's their primary bill. If you don't pay God, He takes a collection!
57. WE'RE JUST GOING TO HAVE TO LET THEM KNOW THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO PUT UP WITH ANY MONKEY BUSINESS, any foolishness. Either they work and provision and do all the things they need to do and pay their bills, or it's excommunication! We're giving a warning and if they don't obey it then God's responsibility is finished.--No more lit or letters!
58. THE FIRST THING THAT YOU OUGHT TO ASK IS HOW MUCH PROVISIONING HAVE THEY DONE? How much mail provisioning are they doing? Have they let down on their litnessing? Are they winning souls and getting people to forsake-all?
59. HOW MUCH FFing ARE THEY DOING? They don't have to pay for it, just make the fisherman stay home! Use Fisherwomen!
60. IN SOME COUNTRIES THEY CAN'T LITNESS, SO THEY'RE FURNISHING MUSIC IN THE CLUBS and getting paid for it. Some of them are going to work at jobs.
61. GOD'S WORD SAYS, "PROVIDE ALL THINGS HONESTLY FOR THEM THAT ARE WITHOUT." In other words, pay your bills on time in order that there be no reproach on the cause of Christ. If any Homes close down and leave bills behind, it's a very poor testimony. (1Ti.3:7.)
62. ANY FAMILY THAT CLOSES DOWN LEAVING BILLS BEHIND OUGHT TO BE NAMED PUBLICLY and they should not be able to join any other Homes!--Excommunicated until paid! Of course, it might not be everybody's fault in the Home.
63. FIND OUT WHOSE FAULT IT WAS AND DON'T ALLOW THEM BACK IN THE FAMILY any place else until they pay their bills. Go out and get a job and work for it to pay it off if you have to! It's been a rule of the Family for years,
64. PEOPLE WHO HAVE UNPAID BILLS ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO JOIN THE FAMILY. If they incur bills while in the Family then they need to either pay up or get out and pay 'em! People like that are not good testimonies, they're not honest, don't keep their word.
65. IT'S JUST LIKE STEALING MONEY WHEN YOU DON'T PAY YOUR DEBTORS! If any Home closes and leaves unpaid bills behind, find out who was responsible and excommunicate them and make sure they don't get their Letters until they've paid those bills! They'll have to get themselves a job and pay them off if needed.
66. ALL MY LIFE I HAVE NEVER BEEN LATE PAYING BILLS. As poor as I was, living hand to mouth on little tiny donations and the mail, I don't think I was ever late paying a bill. I always figured it was a bad testimony.
67. IT'S LIKE WITHHOLDING THE HIRE OF THE LABOURER. The Mosaic law was even against withholding the hire of the labourer overnight!
68. I TRIED TO EVEN PAY THEM AHEAD OF TIME. I figured that was a good testimony, especially if they knew who we were and that we were Christians. So there's just no excuse for it!
69. SOMETHING'S WRONG SOMEWHERE IF THE HOME HASN'T GOT THE MONEY. They've stopped working or they've been living beyond their means. They can't sit around in these nice beautiful homes and expect it to drop out of the sky! They've got to get out and earn it!
70. A LOT OF WOULD-BE MISSIONARIES HAVE THE IDEA THAT LIVING BY FAITH MEANS NOT WORKING! You just quit your job and sit around expecting God to support you instead of going out and putting feet to your prayers and helping to earn it.
71. YOU HAVE TO REALLY WORK AT IT AND DO GOD'S WORK and then God will drop it out of the sky, if He has to! But He's not going to drop it out of the sky with you sitting around doing nothing. I know if you do your part in the will of God in the place God wants you, God will never fail to do His part, whatever you can't do.
72. SO IF SOME OF THESE PEOPLE CAN'T BE TRUSTED AND HAVE TO HAVE TYRANTS, THEN WE'RE GOING TO BE THEIR TYRANTS NOW!--Either they get out and work or we're going to close them up. When people are lazy and loafing and not working, I wouldn't hesitate to bring the whip in and drive them out like Jesus did the moneychangers! That's what they were doing, loafing and robbing the poor by not paying what it was worth!
73. YOU JUST CANNOT LIVE BEYOND YOUR INCOME. Any Home that is not able to pay its bills is just going to have to cut down on all of the frills, and even a few necessities until they can make themselves solvent. Either you have to increase your income or decrease your outgo, one or the other, to pay the bills.
74. THE VS's JOB IS TO GO FIND OUT WHY THEY'RE IN SUCH A MESS. Why don't they have enough money? What's the problem? Why aren't they writing the home folks?
75. WHEN YOU CAN'T PAY YOUR BILLS WE ARE GOING TO WANT TO KNOW WHY? Are you provisioning? Are you mail provisioning? Are you making FFing pay? Are you keeping up your litnessing?
76. THERE'S JUST NO EXCUSE FOR ANY SERVANT OF GOD NOT TO HAVE ENOUGH SUPPORT. If he's pleasing God and doing the right thing, God will drop it out of the sky if He has to. But you've still got to do your part and get out and work!--That's pleasing God and doing the right thing!
77. SO REMEMBER!: WE'RE GOING TO EXCOMMUNICATE HOMES who don't pay their bills, tithes or bring up their living standards according to the Checklist.
78. YOU CAN ALSO BE EXCOMMUNICATED FOR BREAKING ANY OTHER NR OR RNR RULES involving blobs, nationalisation, new disciple and lit quotas, [DELETED] Lit-Law violations, etc.
79. SORRY, BUT WE MUST OBEY GOD AND HIS WORD! We cannot tolerate Homes who are a bad testimony, not getting results, not taking care of their Family, not paying bills nor tithes nor nationalising, not splitting into all the world, [DELETED] violating Lit Laws and not litnessing nor winning souls!
80. YOU'RE JUST NOT A PART OF THIS ARMY-LIKE FAMILY IF YOU DON'T KEEP THE RULES!--So why should you be blessed with the Letters and FN?--You don't deserve them!
81. SO COME ON FAMILY, LET'S GET BACK TO WORK! The party's over! It's time to do your part instead of parties!
82. DO IT NOW OR YOU'LL BE EXCOMMUNICATED!--No more Letters or Family News! We believe you can do better--or you'll wish you had! This is your last warning!
83. P.S. I'M SURE YOU'LL BE ENCOURAGED TO KNOW that the specific area which was the subject of this particular Letter and was almost totally bankrupt with unpaid lit bills, rents, utilities etc. and even low on food.
84. THIS AREA HEEDED THESE WARNINGS, OBEYED AND WENT BACK TO WORK in all fields and God immediately blessed them with over $8,000 through provisioning, litnessing and FFing etc.! [DELETED]
85. --AND IT LOOKS LIKE ALL RENTS AND BILLS WILL BE PAID THIS MONTH! [DELETED]Praise God! No excommunication there! GB'M!--How's yours doin'?
Copyright (c) 1997 by The Family
