HomeARC ML 1743
PROPHECY LESSONS!--The New Spirit Revolution! DO 1743 2/84--Staff sharing at Sunday Fellowship after 1984 Birthday Prophecies!
1. (SARA: IT WAS SO WONDERFUL THAT THE PROPHET WAS THERE TO DIRECT THE PROPHECIES because it was so encouraging to see that Dad would encourage it, & he directed & praised & prayed & he commanded & he rebuked the Devil, & this really freed everyone to stir themselves as opposed to some situations. Maybe it's a rare occasion. Elsewhere people may spend so much time judging situations that it also stifles people, & maybe there's a difference. Maybe the Lord was just really pouring out so there was nothing necessarily to judge. But you didn't feel so much like it was what you gave or if it even related to the last thing necessarily, but that whatever you said was of the Lord.
2. (SO THAT WAS A REAL LESSON TO ME, HOW DAD WAS SO CAREFULLY DIRECTING THE SITUATION & ENCOURAGED IT SO MUCH & it made it so easy, & also how he rebuked the Devil when the prophecy seemed to slow down a bit, & it was a real freedom to see the power of prayer, & commanding the Lord to speak was a real powerful example! Perhaps in some places, especially maybe since the RNR, people in a way tend to somewhat resent leadership or not know who would rise up as the prophet. Could that be true, Keda, that in some meetings maybe, or in a Home or a DAF or some meeting perhaps they might feel there are many prophets, & they wouldn't know who to choose as the prophet to lead & guide the meeting?) (Keda: Usually the Area Shepherd would do it automatically whether he's got the gift or not.)
3. (SARA: BUT IT WAS SUCH A GOOD EXAMPLE OF REALLY LEADING & GUIDING & ENCOURAGING PROPHECY! TYL!) (Keda: One thing that really impressed me too was that sometimes in a normal meeting maybe there'd be two or three prophecies & that would be probably about it, & once in a while we'd have a desperate prayer session wherein the Lord would really move & it would be quite a bit longer & quite a few people would speak, but we'd always have that on our minds that there's a real fear of the Lord about runaway prophecy.
4. (KEDA: BUT THE THING THAT WAS SO SPECIAL HERE IS THAT WITHOUT EXCEPTION EVERYBODY IS REALLY YIELDED, TOTALLY HERE FOR JESUS & they haven't got any major problems & they're not likely to lift up themselves or run off with any strange prophecies or yield to weird spirits. So it made it a really special time! I've never experienced anything like it, that fullness, total trust that what everyone said was totally the Lord. TYL!)
5. (FAM: TYL! YES, IT WAS A REAL LIBERATION FOR ME YESTERDAY because for years & years I've only given verses, & Lord forgive me, which is a bad sample, but I held back things that the Lord gave me & I'd pray desperately that somebody else would get the message, or I'd write it down & share the lesson afterwards or whatever, but I was really afraid of giving what the Lord had given me. Someone had really squelched my freedom by making me think it was too emotional to prophesy & give more than verses.
6. (SO YESTERDAY IT WAS A VERY HEAVY EXPERIENCE because in the beginning I thought, "Okay, I'll just listen." I guess I had gotten lazy spiritually in prophesying, I just didn't consider it, & so when Dad started encouraging us to speak it was like he spoke straight to my heart in rebuking the Enemy, & I knew it was like a spirit of fear in my heart. I asked the Lord to really set me free & liberate me & give me what He wanted me to give, no matter if it was nothing spectacular. I just needed to step out, & the longer I waited the heavier my heart got. I knew I had to give it or it was not giving myself to Jesus.
7. (SO WHEN I FINALLY DID IT WAS SUCH A LIBERATION & it was like a new start in my life to let the Lord pour through me, & to do it by faith & look to Jesus & not to my own weaknesses, so that was really a blessing, TTL!)
8. (HEAVEN: WELL, AT FIRST IT WAS A REAL FIGHT! Besides, I had never prophesied before in my whole life, except for getting Bible verses & MO Quotes, & sometimes it's hard to believe what you're really saying, if it's just your own thoughts or if it's of the Lord, but usually in a meeting like that it has to be the Lord because you're all in the Spirit & you're all listening to Him.
9. (BUT AT FIRST THERE WAS A SPIRIT OF PRIDE & I WASN'T COMPLETELY SET FREE. So I'd start to say something & then suddenly it would all go blank! Then I really thought it was the Devil completely attacking, trying to make it not work, & it would go blank & then Dad would say, "Come on, there's more!" cause he knew. So finally when I did get it the whole way the next time, I really felt a spirit of freedom & liberation & I was shaking all over & it was super exciting! From then on, once we got free & after Dad had really just rebuked the Devil, then you could flow freely the whole time.
10. (I NOTICED THAT ALMOST EVERYBODY WHO WAS NOT USED TO PROPHESYING HAD TO LIFT UP THEIR ARMS when they were prophesying, like reaching up to Heaven for power, or for faith or for the Holy Spirit. Like Dad says, just reach out & She'll come land on your hands & bathe your hands in it.) (Sara: The hand of faith which reaches out & receives.) (Heaven: Yes, & so I noticed that you really had to lift up your hands a lot for power. Like it says, there's power in positive praise.)
11. (FAM: LAST NIGHT I KEPT THINKING ABOUT HOW WE HAD TO LIFT UP THE PROPHET'S HANDS & keep his arms lifted, & every time we'd praise we'd automatically put our hands up, & all of a sudden it was just so much lighter! A couple of times it was a long time to hold your hands up, but they never got tired.)
12. (SARA: DID THIS HAPPEN TO ANYONE ELSE?: I KNOW I WAS ABOUT TO SPEAK WHEN SOMEONE SAID THE EXACT SAME FIRST SENTENCE THAT I HAD, the exact same thing, & it just thrilled me because I knew it was the Lord, it just stunned me & it was thrilling!--More than one line even. It was really wonderful! Did it happen to anyone else?) (Fam: Yes!)
13. (FAM: YES! WHEN ALF GOT THE THING ABOUT THE NEW REVOLUTION FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY, that was just going through my mind the whole time, it's a new start for the Family, a New Revolution!)
14. (FAM: I HEARD ALL THESE BEAUTIFUL MESSAGES FROM ALL THESE DIFFERENT PEOPLE & IT WAS JUST SO ENCOURAGING to me & to everyone, it was so beautiful, & what I mainly learned is that if you want to get something from the Lord you have to really want it. Then I heard somebody get this beautiful prophecy & I thought, "Well, I never could get anything like that!" But then I just really wanted it, 'cause I saw how Dad was so much encouraged by it, & how it really edified everyone & everybody profited, how the Lord must've been so happy about it, & then it just started to happen, TYL!)
15. (DORA: YOU KNOW, SOMETHING ABOUT MARY DEAR, I WAS IN THE BACK & SHE WAS AWAKE & she was real wiggly, & I thought, "Oh well, I guess I'm not gonna be able to join in, unless she's going down to sleep," but I really wanted to, also for her sake because it's some-thing so rare. So once I kind of put away that feeling & decided to just let go & just praise & pray & do it anyhow, then she calmed down. I had her in my arms all the time. She even fell asleep a few times & she was calm all night long. It's really, really exciting & I wanted her to be there too! I didn't want her to go & be in the room, 'cause it does affect her too.)
16. (PEARL: I THOUGHT IT WAS VERY ENCOURAGING THAT SOME PEOPLE PROPHESIED FOR THE FIRST TIME, & especially when this goes out to the Family, it will really encourage them, because it was kind of like you were put on the spot & you knew that you had to get something from the Lord or you would disappoint Him last night, that you had to give something, & so when you do it the first time it gives you so much more faith to do it another time, & I think it will be really good for the Family when they read it because they'll know that they can do it too, especially if some of us did it for the first time! I think it will really encourage everybody in helping to overcome that fear, that everybody can hear from the Lord & give something, no matter how little or how big, it will really encourage them.)
17. (FAM: I LEARNED FROM SEEING SO MUCH OF THE LIVING WORD COMING OUT LAST NIGHT HOW GOD IS NOT JUST RESTRICTED TO VERSES, which has always been most of the prophesying sessions that I've been in before, & it's really the first time in my life in the Family that I saw something like that, or even got a prophecy myself which is not exclusively a verse but something new & fresh & the living Word! So that's really something you have to exercise & take it by faith. It's something that came from the Lord because it's right there & I feel like it's a gift I haven't exercised enough before maybe for the fear of being misinterpreted or something. I thought, "Well, if I use the Word I'll be safe all the time!" & the living Word prophecy like that was reserved for, I thought, "Well, Dad is the Prophet", but I didn't have the faith I could get something like that myself. So that's what really encouraged me & what I learned last night too, to not always be limited to the written Word but also let the living Word flow freely.)
18. (PEARL: EACH TIME, YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO OVERCOME YOUR FEAR AGAIN till you get a little bit more used to it, so the next time you have to exercise your gift again & give something again, it's easier. So next time there's a real desperate prayer meeting you'll have to continue to exercise your gifts again. A few times last night or sometimes when I'd get something, I'd give so much & then I'd abruptly stop, 'cause then all of a sudden you start to fear & you think, "Oh my! What if I don't get any more! What if I stop, everybody's gonna think I'm a fool!" But the moment you fear you won't get more, then your fear comes upon you, & that's when you lose it. If you continue to practise, even though it's real hard, you'll get better at it.--Just like memorizing or quoting or whatever. It'll get a little bit easier each time you exercise the gift.) ("Stir up the gift!"--2Tim.1:6)
19. (FAM: I'VE ALWAYS WONDERED WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE TO BE AT THE LIGHT CLUB IN HUNTINGTON BEACH & in "Stop, Look & Listen" where it says about 50 people all joined hands & then the Lord spoke, & I've always wondered what that would've been like, so I'm really thankful for last night, TTL!) (Techi: It does look like a Night Club in there with all the lights & everything!)
20. (FAM: SOMETHING I THOUGHT WAS REALLY BEAUTIFUL & SPIRITUAL & SUPERNATURAL IS HOW ALL THESE PROPHECIES CAN AFFECT YOU PHYSICALLY. As all these prophecies would come out, the Lord would give them & each & every one would move me so much you're just showered with something, it's almost like an orgasm & you start to cry! It's amazing! It really shows that it's from the Lord by the way it can affect you. I thought it was real beautiful!)
21. (MARIANNE: EVER SINCE I JOINED I'VE BEEN IN MANY HEAVY SESSIONS. I'VE ALWAYS DREAMT TO SEE ONE OF THESE MEETINGS like Dad described, with a real outpouring of the Spirit, with babes prophesying & speaking in tongues. In all my years in the Family, I never thought I had the gift of prophecy, though I was getting quotes & verses & even short sentences in prayer meetings, but because I didn't have a complete thought or didn't know what I'd say next, I often never said it, & consequently quenched whatever the Lord was trying to say. Last year I really prayed desperately for the gift of prophecy, yet I never had the faith that I had received it & it was somewhat burdening me, as I felt that as a leader I should be able to have more faith, if babes in Huntington Beach & so many others could prophesy.
22. (WELL HERE, OF ALL PLACES WAS THE LAST PLACE I EXPECTED TO GET THIS GIFT!--IN FRONT OF GOD'S ENDTIME PROPHET! Yet Dad was the one who gave me the faith to step out & dare to say what I was receiving, & it was such a thrilling & liberating experience. I knew the Lord wanted me to speak up, & then it was Dad's faith & encouragement & praising the Lord when I started to speak that gave me the faith to believe that what I was receiving was actually from the Lord.
23. (BECAUSE OF DAD'S FAITH, HE GAVE US THE MOST WONDERFUL BIRTHDAY GIFT, THE WORD OF THE LORD on one hand, but, which made it even more exciting, the faith to receive it ourselves! Oh, "how David gives & gives & gives!" And what wonderful things the Lord said while praying over little Techi, & Maria at the end speaking in beautiful tongues which opened the door of another outpouring of such beautiful prophecies about her! I guess it was one of the fulfilments of "You Can Too!") (No.1665.)
24. (FAM: I JUST WANTED TO SAY SOMETHING, ADD A LITTLE MORE ABOUT WHAT SOMEONE ALREADY SAID, BUT HOW THANKFUL I AM & WHAT EFFECT I THINK IT'LL REALLY HAVE ON THE FAMILY. When I first joined the Family for so many years we never had a Communion & I didn't know if we should have it or not, until finally Dad came out with the Letter on Communion & we started having it. It was always a question in my mind whether we should have Communion or not. But now I can't imagine not having Communion. Well, the same thing with the meeting last night--I think it'll really inspire the Family to have the faith to stir up their gifts to receive things from the Lord, whereas when I was on the field I've never experienced anything like last night. I know it's a very special thing, but it'll also inspire the Family to get things from the Lord & to expect from Him. So that's why I'm thankful too, for the effect it's going to have on the Family to really hear from the Lord.)
25. (FAM: I WAS THINKING TOO HOW WE ALL FEEL LIKE IT WAS A VERY SPECIAL NEW BEGINNING, & that ever since the Letters about Heaven Girl came out Dad is talking about all these wonderful things we will do & then you think, "Well, in how many years will that be?" Ever since I have really been thinking--I have trouble about having faith for things.--"Well, how am I ever going to have the faith for anything like that?" But last night it really increased my faith that the Lord can use all of us & will use prophecy to give us real direction, & what to do.
26. (ANOTHER EXPERIENCE LAST NIGHT FOR ME WAS A FEELING OF REAL UNITY WITH EVERYBODY, like never before in my whole life, I think, that I really felt like one with everyone & there were no separations or personal difficulties with others or such. It was a really wonderful experience!)
27. (FAM: IT WAS REALLY HEAVY WHEN DAD ALL OF A SUDDEN SAID, "IT'S A NEW REVOLUTION!" & I was thinking, & then it came to me about the timing, not only being on Dad's Birthday but also what's happening in the Family with "Tightening the Family" & everything. (No.1730) I thought that was really especially poignant because I think now we're kind of weeding out a lot of the people that aren't really 100% there & it's sort of like the same spirit, like the people that really want the Words & really want to do something for Jesus, the ones that are really desperate are the ones who are going to be left. So I thought, when he said that last night I was thinking how it affects the over-all Family, like what the Family is going through now, & how it is going to trickle on down, apart from of course the example that it would be to everybody, so I thought that was really heavy.)
28. (MARIANNE: I WAS REALLY THANKFUL THAT DAD WAS ENCOURAGING US, as this was the last place I'd ever thought I'd be able to prophesy! Ha! But that's the only place I think I could have learned, because when I started to speak he was confirming & he was saying "Hallelujah!", & then he gave me the faith, because you overcome a lot of pride to start talking, but afterwards it was also an attack of your pride & your faith at the same time, but he encouraged my faith & he kind of coaxed me & then gave me the faith to get something, which I thought was even more important for me. I got later on that it was "a time of preparation, because we're going to be sent forth to battle". I don't know, maybe it was just for me or for a few people, so I was really really thankful that he was there to teach us, really!) (Sara: That's so important! That's such a standard for the Family how he went about that!)
29. (MARIANNE: I KNOW PERSONALLY LEADING MEETINGS, A LOT OF TIMES I SPENT MORE TIME WONDERING IF IT WAS REALLY THE LORD what people were saying or why they were saying it, & actually not getting things from the Lord myself but analysing people's prophecies. But he was just receiving it all & priming & wanting it & encouraging us that he was expecting it & not trying to judge, & that was just a real lesson!) (Faithy: Techi has something to say.)
30. (TECHI: WELL, I WANTED TO SAY THAT I WAS CLOSING MY EYES & I FELT THAT THE SKY WAS LIT UP!)
31. (FAM: ON THE PERSONAL LESSON SIDE, I LEARNED ABOUT PROPHECY & HOW IT WORKS, because before I had always thought, "Well, it's not my gift." Or sometimes I'd get verses or visions & I had the faith for that, but to actually prophesy, that had been one of my questions, if I could do it or not or how it works. I didn't realise that when you're getting just a phrase that that's the Lord speaking to you & that you don't have to get more than one phrase, but I always thought, "Oh my! Well, that's only just a little bit, should I give that?" or "Is this the right time?" Or "If I give that, is it right?" So I didn't know.
32. (SO I LEARNED LAST NIGHT, ESPECIALLY WHEN DAD WAS COMMANDING THE LORD TO SPEAK, & US TOO, THAT IT WAS THE LORD PUTTING THAT IN MY HEAD & I didn't have to think about it or try to reason it out, but that He'd give more. So I did it, but then I thought, "Well, is that it?", & I squelched the Spirit myself, when I could've given more. Then what I was going to give but didn't give it all, somebody else just about one or two prophecies later gave the exact words! So that was a real good lesson to me about prophecy, as far as understanding it & how it works--that that phrase that the Lord's given you is the Lord & He wants you to give it, & then He'll give you the rest. "Give & it shall be given unto you." So that was a personal lesson, that was exciting, TYL!)
33. (PETER: FOR ME IT WAS A TREMENDOUS VICTORY, I'VE NEVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE IT BEFORE! To see & hear the Word of God flowing so richly through everyone was the most wonderful thing I've ever experienced, & to see His power manifest in such a way is so wonderful & beautiful! I am so thankful that I was here, what a blessing & privilege!
34. (IT WAS ALSO A PERSONAL VICTORY FOR ME, AS FOR MANY YEARS I'VE PRETTY MUCH SQUELCHED THE GIFT OF PROPHECY. When I first joined the Family I used to prophesy often, but I eventually went a bit overboard & got a little tripped off, & since then I've always been very careful, actually too careful. I would still prophesy, but very rarely. But Dad's coaxing, commanding & rebuking the Enemy really set me free & gave me the faith once again. As always it took his Words to liberate me, to loose the bands of pride & fear.
35. (I REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME I PROPHESIED WHEN I WAS AT BABES RANCH, IT WAS AFTER THE LETTER "FAITH". The words of that Letter spoke to my heart & above all, gave me faith to give out what the Lord was giving. That's how it was last night as well. Dad's words & prayers renewed that in me & gave me faith to speak out. God bless him for not giving up! His faith & persistence set me free & helped me overcome these fears. God bless him!
36. (IT SEEMS LIKE DAD'S BIRTHDAY NIGHT WAS A NEW AWAKENING IN THE SPIRIT, & I'M SURE THE FAMILY WILL BENEFIT not only from the beautiful prophecies, but from the sample of his shepherding us through it all. I believe it will help the Family to get set even more free in the Spirit & have more faith to hear from the Lord. PTL! I thank the Lord again & again for Dad, his love, faith, sample, obedience, patience & all he's done to make us all useful vessels in the Lord's hands.
37. (ALSO IT WAS SUCH A VICTORY! I can even see now in looking back, not so much here but in other places, heading up meetings & things like that, & because as the leader of the meeting, I was squelching that in myself, therefore it sort of tends to squelch everybody else. Because if everybody gets quiet & starts to pray & gets soft & quiet the Lord can speak & it's so convicting. I know in my case I wasn't willing so much to do it myself, therefore you just sort of don't make room for it. You think back now about all the times that were missed, but I was so thankful for Dad! He just didn't give up. I mean, he just didn't give up, & because he didn't give up & because he persisted & he knew the Lord had it, it really helped me, that's for sure!)
38. (FAITHY: WELL, I WAS REALLY LIBERATED LAST NIGHT! It was just so wonderful, like in the early days when we really used to feel that spirit of prophecy! But it hadn't happened really quite like that since, & last night it was so beautiful to be liberated again, to really be able to exercise it & not feel any fear. Because it's true that for a long time we really feared to give anything but just verses, or I really was afraid to receive something from the Lord & give it that wasn't a verse or something.
39. (BUT IT WAS A REAL BEAUTIFUL EXPERIENCE BECAUSE AS THE EVENING WENT ON, IT GOT MORE LIBERATING! It started with a verse, just having the faith to give a verse, & then the next time it was a little something more, & then by the end it was really full power! I mean, the power was really on all the way & I could really feel that I had lost the fear & that faith had taken its place & I was really on the attack in the Spirit, & I'm really thankful for the fact that it went as long as it did too, because it was like we finally really got, by the end, what I really needed, the full thing, to really be completely liberated from what I had held back for years. I mean, I knew there were times in my life when the Lord had been able to get through, but it was like they were few & far between & this was just like a real refreshing!)
40. (PEARL: THE THING THAT MARIANNE GOT ABOUT "THE DAY OF PREPARATION", I got something like that too, like it's a new day! The Lord doesn't want to give the whole Family just prophecies but He wants to give all the gifts & He wants to give faith & He wants to give wisdom & wants to give discernment, but He wants to pour it out like never ever before, He gives power for the hour! But in the days to come, like Dad said, for Heaven Girls & Heaven Boys for the Tribulation we're going to need those powers & be able to have faith & prophecy & healing, but we're not just gonna get it instantly. It's something that we have to grow into. You don't become an adult overnight, & the Lord really wants us to have the faith for healing & have the gift of faith & the gift of helps & all these, & boldness & power & exercise it every day in our walk with the Lord like never before! So that when we're called on to do whatever God wants us to do in that time that's coming we'll be able to do it.)
41. (FAITHY: ONE OTHER THING THAT I GOT WHILE I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON 'cause I couldn't see & I didn't have my glasses on, & I told Sara about it later, I got the verse really strong, "A little child shall lead them" (Isa.11:6), & I think it was during the time they were praying for Techi that it was really strong, "They shall lead them", they're going to lead multitudes!)
42. (FAM: LAST NIGHT WAS SO INSPIRING & SUCH A GREAT VICTORY IN SO MANY WAYS! WHAT A MARVELLOUS OUTPOURING OF THE SPIRIT! I FEEL LIKE A NEW CREATURE, like I've had a spiritual bath & that "old things have passed away; behold, all things are become new"! It had been years since I exercised the gift of prophecy that the Lord has given me.--Since I was a babe! And though at times during prayer I would receive verses, it's been a long time since I'd received an actual message from the Lord, & it was so encouraging to me personally, as I feel it was another victory in "letting go & letting God" & not stopping up the Spirit, but letting it flow! Dad's prayers & encouragement were a tremendous help as well, GBH for literally commanding us to prophesy & not letting go until each one of us had gotten something from the Lord.)
43. (FAM: IT WAS REALLY THRILLING TO HEAR FROM THE LORD UNITEDLY & TO HEAR THE LORD SPEAK THROUGH EVERYONE! It was truly a special night in history & you could really feel the presence of a great cloud of witnesses present in the room with us! The place was really full of His Spirit & spirits! It was such an encouragement too to hear what the Lord gave concerning Maria & our future with her--so beautifully inspiring, strengthening & comforting!--It really made the night complete!
44. (I REGRET THAT I DIDN'T HAVE MORE FAITH TO RECEIVE MORE FROM THE LORD MYSELF & SPEAK IT. I really prayed this morning for the Lord to deliver me from my fear & lack of faith, that the Lord can also use me in this way. It is really thrilling to be able to yield to the Lord this way & let Him speak through me. It is something I have never done before & I have experienced little of this kind of united hearing from the Lord with prophecy in the Family. I have a little project for myself this week of going through the Volumes & reading through the parts of Letters on prayer & prophecy. I started this morning & went through two Volumes & it was very inspiring! I am picking out things to memorise on the subject as well to help me.)
45. (FAM: THROUGH DAD'S EXAMPLE I SAW THAT IT'S THE LEADER'S RESPONSIBILITY TO REALLY GET DESPERATE IN THE SPIRIT & JUST LET THE LORD TAKE OVER, & He will either prevent anything weird from happening or if something does happen, will certainly give the leader the anointing to handle the situation & perhaps have some lesson for all to learn. I believe that I could have gotten more if I hadn't waited as long as I did to give some things.)
46. (ALF: IT WAS SO INSPIRING & INCREASED MY FAITH SO MUCH BECAUSE I'D NEVER EXERCISED THE GIFT OF PROPHECY, but it was such an atmosphere of faith, it was easy to step out & believe the Lord & give it!)
47. (FAITHY: IT WAS THRILLING & PROBABLY THE GREATEST EVENT I'VE WITNESSED IN THE FAMILY IN MY 33 YEARS!--TYJ! It reminded me of the explosion of the Spirit when the "R" first began at the Lightclub, only this outpouring of prophecy & gifts of the Spirit was much greater! The Latter Rain is truly greater than the former rain! (Job 29:23) Hal! Never have I ever seen such a tremendous flow or rather flood of the Spirit! I knew that something very important was taking place before our very eyes! It was a whole new "R", & the Lord confirmed with many signs following! I understand that by His grace & mercy I had been allowed to be here & partake of it, although I felt completely unworthy & in utter amazement at what I was being allowed to be a part of! Hal!
48. (FOR MANY YEARS I'VE BEEN RATHER AFRAID TO PROPHESY, although I knew I did have that gift. When we saw the World Series Video #7 years ago, I had an experience where I prophesied, but it hadn't happened since! But this thrilling night of the New Birthday I could feel the Lord restoring that gift! PTL!)
49. (PETER: IT WAS REALLY A BLESSING TO HAVE PEOPLE GETTING IT ALL DOWN & had they not, boy, we really would've missed it, 'cause all those tape recorders never could've picked it all up! But it was really good because they really worked together in unison, 'cause one was on one side & he couldn't get over there fast enough, but another was getting it all down in shorthand. So I just thought that was really special that they did that.
50. (AND THE OTHER GOOD THING ABOUT IT WAS, THESE ARE ALL TECHNICAL POINTS, BUT WE USED TWO TAPE RECORDERS. Then one of them blew it, one of them didn't work. So it was just the Lord that he took two, & that was really being Spirit-led & really being faithful in recording, because otherwise we would've missed it. That would've been a real shame! The only other thing was, & I think Sara might want to share some on this too, but it was such a fight all day yesterday, just the whole day & it was such a miracle! I mean, the Enemy tried to stop that session in a lot of different ways. But I mean, it was a real miracle that it happened anyway! The Lord just punched through & did it anyway!)
51. (KEDA: I'VE HAD THE GIFT OF PROPHECY, BUT I'VE NEVER EVER HAD THE GIFT OF INTERPRETATION, SO THAT WAS REALLY EXCITING! Actually that was one gift I thought I really wouldn't have, so I was real encouraged! I just had one observation of how the whole meeting seemed to just almost be rounded off, & then Maria had the faith to speak out, it was amazing!--And that brought on that whole vital part of what God wanted to say! But it almost ended without that, had she not had the faith & the spunk to speak out. It was to me a real testimony of real courage actually, because it looked like things were rounding off, & when it was like rounding off you usually don't dare say anything. But I was really impressed, it really meant a lot.)
* * * * * *
MARIA'S REACTION TO THE PROPHECY NIGHT--2/84
52. KEDA MENTIONED HOW I HAD SO MUCH FAITH AT THE END, to give something when things were almost over, but I almost didn't give anything because I thought, "Well, it looks like we certainly have received enough. Why do we need anything from me?" Besides, I knew I didn't have the interpretation. (Maybe I would have if I hadn't taken such an attitude?) But I thought, "Why should I just speak in tongues? Somebody else is going to have to interpret it anyway & everybody else has already given something. Why should I do it?"
53. REALLY, THE REASON I DECIDED TO WAS BECAUSE DAD OBVIOUSLY WANTED EVERYBODY TO PARTICIPATE, he was really making a major matter of it, so I thought, "Well, at least, Lord,I can do that much, to obey, even if it isn't much, at least I can do something." I knew Dad could get the interpretation & felt even if Dad didn't want to get it someone else could. So I wasn't overly worried that I had to get the interpretation. In other words, don't give me any credit. I didn't have some major battle to fight.
54. BUT I STILL GOT CONVICTED THERE AT THE END, I THOUGHT, "I'D BETTER GO AHEAD, I SHOULD GIVE WHAT I CAN GIVE. If I don't have anything else to give, at least I can give the message in tongues." So needless to say, I was very happy I obeyed! (Keda: It was the Lord that you waited though, it was classic timing!) Well, the timing was because Dad was about to close & I thought I'd better do it or I'd really feel bad afterwards if I didn't! (Marianne: Oh, but it started a whole new chapter, it was so beautiful!)
55. I THOUGHT, "MAYBE I'D BETTER, BECAUSE DAD REALLY WANTS EVERYBODY TO PARTICIPATE." I was surprised he didn't tell me to say something or do something. I knew I could give a message in tongues any time & that was the only thing I could give. It wasn't any big burst of emotion that I couldn't hold back. It was like I could give it or I could hold it back. ("The spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet"--1Cor.14:32.) But I got convicted at the end that I should give something, so as time got shorter & shorter & Dad was about to close, I thought, "Well, I'll really fail the Lord if I don't do it, so I should do it."
56. IT'S A GOOD LESSON, THAT EVEN THINGS THAT SEEM LITTLE ARE SO IMPORTANT! IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO OBEY! It wasn't that I just felt the message bursting forth, & I held it back all evening long, but it was just a little thing or a little urge or a little feeling that I should or it would be good or it would be a good sample. The Lord doesn't always bang you over the head to tell you, "Look, if you don't do it, something major is going to happen or not happen!" But He waits for you. Because otherwise if it was so obvious & you knew, you'd do it. But He just sort of waits for an extra step of willingness, & a step of cooperation & being willing to do it. And then He shows you what He's going to do as a result. Like Dad says, big things are hinged on very small things, & small keys open big doors.
57. SO IT'S A GOOD LESSON, HOW IMPORTANT OBEDIENCE IN THE SMALL THINGS IS. I THOUGHT AT THE END, "WELL, I REALLY SHOULD GIVE WHAT I'VE GOT. EVEN IF I DON'T HAVE AS MUCH AS ANYBODY ELSE"--that's exactly how I felt! But it shows that even if you don't feel this huge urge to give, maybe just a little thing that you know you ought to, nevertheless it may be very important & the Lord may be waiting on you to show you or to do something major. He doesn't always want to tell you it's so major because then you'd go right ahead & do it because you know you need to, then. He wants to see if you'll just obey that little check, that still small voice.
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family
