new GN 142-164

Don't Let the Little Things Slide
142. I'm going to share with you some excerpts of a message that someone in WS got about Joe's situation before we received the reports from those involved that made the details clear. We later received many pages of reports that confirmed what the Lord had already told us in this initial message. This message is very sobering‚ but it's also very encouraging. If we are doing our best to stay close to the Lord and the Word in obedience, openness, and humility, then we're under the Lord's shelter of protection. It's only if we allow our weaknesses to get out of check and we start yielding to our pride more than to the Lord‚ especially on the long term, that we become very vulnerable and open to the Enemy's attacks.

143. (Jesus:) Serious attacks of the Enemy are rarely allowed to come out of the blue. I always give you warning. My Spirit is faithful to whisper to your heart and check you concerning any areas of your life that are vulnerable to attack. If you've been faithful to stay close to Me with your quality Word time and hearing from Me in prophecy, if you've been obedient to the things I've told you‚ if you're working to minimize your pride and stay open to the godly counsel and checks of My Spirit and of others, then I have an open channel to speak to you and counsel you about any weak areas that you need to strengthen. Every one of My brides has weak areas, and if you know you're weak in a certain area, then it behooves you to stay close to Me and take the steps you must in order to never allow that weak area to be used by the Enemy.
144. The Enemy knows your weak areas too and is able to use them against you if you don't keep your spiritual guard up. The Enemy can attack‚ but he can't win or make any progress in your life if you have your spiritual shield up. If you have a tendency to be jealous, for example, then you also know you have to fight against those seeds of the Enemy and keep your guard up.
145. If you let things slide and you don't stay obedient and very close to My Word, and continually cleanse your mind and heart from the attacks of the Enemy, you could set yourself up for a major attack of the Enemy. You can't take it for granted that when the big battles come you'll have the strength and anointing to fight them if you haven't been fighting the little battles along the way. You fight those little battles with My Word and claiming the keys and staying close to Me in the spirit.
146. Joe is young and still has much to learn, but he knew enough to realize that he needed to fight the mind battles, the spirit of pride, and the attacks of lethargy and compromise long before the major battles hit. He knew when the little battles kept coming his way that he should have been counseling with Me and his shepherds, that he should have been honest about how the Enemy was attacking him, and he should have humbled himself‚ confessed his battles, and asked for prayer, repeatedly if necessary. The more he tried to work things out on his own, the less he was able to cope.
147. He wasn't humble or honest about his need for help. He was embarrassed by his weakness and kept it hidden. He never thought it would come to this. He thought it would somehow work itself out. The more he let it slide and tried to mend things his own way, the worse the battles got–-until he couldn't even understand what was happening to him. Joe let one little battle slide, then others, until the Enemy was soon able to come in with everything he had and knock Joe for a major loop.
148. Joe's pride kept him from confessing and being honest and asking for help. His pride kept him from staying close to Me in the first place. If he had fought to be humble and yielded to My Spirit, and honest and open about his weaknesses, his spirit would have been much stronger to fight this attack of the Enemy. He might have gotten hit and knocked for a loop, but it would not have been anywhere near as drastic as it is right now. If you're not being obedient to My Word in your life on a daily basis, and if you're not fighting against whatever natural weakness you may have, I can't strengthen your spirit, and if your spirit is weak you're open to attack.
149. Matters of the heart are very humbling for some people, which is exactly what I intend. It's one of My ways of giving you the valuable training in the spirit that will make you a better disciple, more dependent on Me, with less of yourself and less pride. My dear Joe is in the middle of a spiritual battle which could have been much less severe and much easier to handle if he would have taken the precautions he should have to protect himself and guard his weakness.
150. If you have a weakness, whatever it is--strong pride, jealousy, even emotional or mental weaknesses--don't be embarrassed by it. It's My way of working in your life, and I will use it for My glory if you let Me. But you must safeguard yourself by always staying strong in My Word and obedience and humility. You can't let down your guard and just hope everything will work itself out. Realize that the Enemy knows about your weakness too, and he will use it if he can.

151. (Mama:) Following is a beautiful promise from the Lord for Joe and all of us, that we're hanging on to and claiming in prayer.

152. (Jesus continues:) When you hear of someone, like My dear Joe, who temporarily lost his mind, don't be afraid that it will happen to you in a weak moment out of the blue. It won't if you've been faithful with your spiritual life--keeping your protection against the Enemy's attacks strong through humility, obedience, and faithfulness in My Word.
153. Joe can recover and be restored to a sound mind and go on with a sound mind as he yields to Me. He can live his life and be as mentally stable and sound as the next person, but he will always have to be careful to keep his mind close to Me. Some people see that as a terrible weakness, but I see it as a good thing, because through his desperation to stay connected to Me I will be able to use him even more. (End of message from Jesus.)

Updates from Johnny and Joe
154. (Mama:) Following are excerpts of a letter we received from Joe's dad, Johnny, after he read an advance copy of this GN:

155. (From Johnny‚ of Sunny, Taiwan:) "Children can be delivered of every evil work of the Devil through the keys. There is no habit, addiction, or hatred stronger than the power of the keys of the Kingdom."
156. Thank you so much for all of the time and effort you have put into Joe's (and Megan's) situation. Of course I know you need to for the sake of the larger Family, their need for explanations, getting all the mileage the Lord wants to get on these incidents to teach our Family's young people, etc. I know as well that you dearly love Joe personally, as I can feel it through the advance copy GN I read concerning Joe.
157. I was very impressed with the accuracy with which the details were expressed in Joe's case. All that was represented in the GN collaborated well with the experiences which I have been personally involved [with in Joe's situation]. I am very satisfied with the explanations the Lord has given, as far as how I saw things happening as well.
158. Joe is doing much better already. At the time of writing this letter, it's been about one month since he came out of the hospital and has returned to our Home in Taiwan to rehabilitate/recuperate. He has said that he is very willing to share his example with others so that they can learn from his mistakes.
159. His recovery has been pretty much an encouraging one so far. By the time he was living with us for over two weeks, we felt he was "there" enough to have another basic deliverance, which he was very willing to do. This time we felt his mind was strong enough to resist the Enemy and begin the fight of faith. The doctors told us that after time, as Joe has become like a little child in some ways, he has to relearn some of his traits, characteristics, etc. The Lord gave me a lot of encouragement that He was breaking Joe down, particularly his pride, in order to remake him, like the potter with the clay.
160. At this point, Joe is 100% coherent; he fully understands and absorbs what he reads. We are working through the latest GNs on discipleship right now, and he is totally there and knows the score. He personally really wants to learn his lessons concerning humility, as well as being open to shepherding, talking about discrepancies in his behavior willingly, and not grudgingly. He's working on memorizing many verses/quotes/keys on humility/pride, and is giving the Lord the credit for every little thing, etc. His memorizing is a bit difficult due to the breakdown, but he's working on that as well.
161. We've been introducing things to him a step at a time, such as fellowshipping with others, going out as a witnessing partner, etc.‚ with supervision, all of which so far he has done very well with. He's even been able to use his experience as a witness to some of our sheep, and it has opened amazing doors‚ as we find out that others have had similar experiences, or loved ones have, etc.
162. Clinically his condition is diagnosed as "manic depression." They say this mental sickness is hereditary, and incidentally one of my older sisters who isn't in the Family also suffered from it. What Joe experienced after he "cracked" and lost control is known as an "episode."
163. Anyway, I don't know how much we [should] get into the clinical side of these kinds of things, as we know that it was a definite spiritual attack. I do believe that everything in the GN explaining the avenues through which the Enemy got in was totally right on. A verse I got about Joe's episode, when he was not in control and the evil spirits were allowed to come and go, was: "He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down‚ and without walls" (Pro.25:28).
164. We sure love you lots and appreciate all you are and do. I remain committed to the Lord and the Family, and am so thankful for all the Lord has been doing in my life here, with His raising up Active members, the Activated vision, etc. I need to do better with the keys memorization, and keep working to apply the New Wine and weapons the Lord is pouring out! I'm proud of you both, proud to be in your service! Keep going for our Lover and King!
Love you lots, Johnny Servant