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100.A great majority of the young people in our area teach English,
and most of them are left with very little time for witnessing, let alone
being able to build a work and do some solid follow-up. The side effects of
English teaching or leaning on other sources of income that are not witnessing,
tool distribution or follow-up are very debilitating and the same as
always--people become weaker in faith.
101.The Lord has been promising amazing things. I truly believe that
we've entered the best time of our lives and that with it will come more
financial stability. I'm excited about it! I have faith in the vision and
I've been preaching away about it. It's just that sometimes I've looked at the
number of people who depend on some fundraising methods other than tool
distribution or follow-up and it gets a little scary. I also battle in my heart
and mind with the System jobs allowance in the Charter, wondering if it's
entered in too strongly and has debilitated the faith of many, and generally
gotten many Family members pretty tripped
off.
102.I don't know how I
would handle it if I was in the position of having to go through a transition
from pure tool distribution or English teaching for income, to get into
follow-up, pushing Activated, etc., so I don't mean to be critical.
However, I still am very concerned when I see how many people have become more
dependent on some source of income involving the System, other than tool
distribution or witnessing.
103.One problem I see with System jobs is that it doesn't send good signals to
other young people. It tends to spread like wildfire to where a good
percentage of them are doing it, and in my opinion it's eating at them
spiritually. So where do you draw the line? Now these particular people have
lost a lot of faith and are becoming more and more, in my opinion, like “yuppie
style missionaries.” It's kind of ironic when you compare them to our Active
members who are pretty fed up with that System lifestyle. Admittedly many Active
members do enjoy their independence, but they're very dedicated to the cause and
are pulling OUT of the System as much as possible, so the System job question
even raises questions in their minds as to what our standard of discipleship
really is.
* * *
104.The Homes that have involved their young people with
Activated and encourage them with the follow-up vision are the ones that
are doing very well and are prosperous. Others who are not obedient
to the Activated vision are struggling.
* * *
105.If you do not have steady or sufficient home support on this
field, you have got to raise it here, which can be challenging and at times
difficult. Nevertheless, it's not impossible if you're basically trying to
follow and obey, particularly in the witnessing arena and following the latest
counsel on Activated and follow-up. However, this is a very difficult
thing to try to monitor in Homes these days, because under the guise of
“Activating” or “witnessing,” people get involved in modeling or going for photo
shoots for advertising or films, while supposedly trying to witness and win the
folks that they are involved with. Those who have genuinely tried that, who have
been honest with themselves and have assessed their fruit, know that trying to
witness in that kind of environment takes a lot of shepherding and conviction.
If you are weak in either of those arenas, you will compromise, and basically
what you're there for is a System job.
106.From there, because of not really putting witnessing first or
trying to obey on Activated, they compromise with going out for a drink
or going out to the discos to meet some of their friends. Again this is all
in the guise of going “witnessing,” but in reality there's not much fruit. There
is more weakening of their spiritual walk as they get into drinking, smoking,
etc., but all very secretively.
* * *
107.I've been concerned about the number of young people taking
English-teaching jobs. Most of the young people's Homes we have support
themselves with either some or the majority of the members teaching
English.
108.I think some are
weary of what they consider the “struggle” of living by faith, the insecurity or
pressure of where the money will come from to pay the bills. Some look with
distaste on the idea of being a tools “salesman” and they say they are “burned
out” with it. It's not always viewed as a positive profession, whereas a System
job has a greater element of glamour and in some ways it's easier. I think some
enjoy the challenge of a System job, having to adhere to schedules and learn how
to teach. For some reason they are ready to make sacrifices for a System job
that they wouldn't be willing to make for the Family. (I also see this when
young people go FM or leave the Family; then they buckle down to what the System
demands, just because those are the rules of the
game.)
109. In the case of young
people's Homes, they often start out claiming that two out of four members will
work so that the others can witness without being pressured for finances,
but it often ends up with more and more time being invested in System jobs than
witnessing. Or it's the men that work, while the women stay back with small
kids. Although some of these Homes do a little witnessing or hold Bible studies,
on the whole they begin to walk down the road of compromise in their lifestyle.
And the example spreads to other Homes. (I'm also hearing of more older adults
getting jobs, with some of the same
results.)
110.Related to
System jobs, a tendency I'm noticing more and more is people getting jobs in
order to buy cars, computers, or other gadgets they feel are important to
have. In order to buy these things, they work out an agreement with the
Home, but many times the fruits in their personal lives aren't so positive--such
as becoming more independent or selfish, or working on the periphery of the
Family, or losing the vision to live by faith, and continuing to work even after
they have acquired what they wanted, etc. It also foments a spirit of comparison
and creates distinctions between the haves and have-nots, those who have their
own cars, etc., and those who are simple missionaries, content with such things
as they have.
111.In the
Charter member contract, point O says: “I hereby agree to commit my resources,
time, energy, knowledge, gifts and talents towards reaching the agreed-upon
goals of the Home in which I reside and the goals of the Family at large.”
If the majority of the members of a Home are committing most of their time and
energy to System jobs, with some witnessing on the side, it seems this fits in
more with an FM level of commitment and not a CM one.
* * *
112.The fundraising methods vary in the amount of time they take and
in the possibility of also using them for preaching the Gospel. I think the
ballooning, face-painting, clowning, birthday party entertaining, etc.,
could all be fruitful forms of fundraising as far as being able to use them
as part of a Home's witness and ministry for the Lord. But often they are not
used as such, but solely as a form of raising funds, and there is no real
message or witness included.
113.Also, I think that quite a bit of the fundraising, especially with our
young people, is for their own goals--such as for their own vehicle or their
own travel-and-visit-their-friends plans, or the different material things that
they want.
114.The Homes
don't seem to be basing their decisions on the old basic sound principles of the
Word and the Lord's promises that “they that preach the Gospel shall live of the
Gospel,” and “if we give unto you spiritual things, is it any great thing
that we reap your carnal things,” etc. Therefore, the preaching of the Gospel
and thus the Lord's plan for us don't come to pass, and people and the Family in
general get weakened.
115.The
tendency is to look at “fundraising” as something separate in
order to meet the Home's financial needs--like quick and easy--rather than
trusting the Lord to provide because they are faithful in their
witnessing and follow-up.
116.Some of our new disciples join very gung-ho as they have the
classes and learn the verses regarding forsaking all, trusting the Lord to
supply as they give their lives to Him and preach the Gospel. But then as
they get married and have children, the reality often becomes something
different, as the need for funds is met by frequent trips to the West, System
jobs or whatever, and is a constant burden--yet it often isn't met by just
simply obeying the Scriptural admonition to do our job and then trust that the
Lord will supply.
* * *
117. It seems we have a fair number of very smart young people, mainly men,
who have taught themselves quite a bit about computers and programming or Web
work. Some of them have left the Family, but I've seen that some who remain
in the Family are often still very money- and System-oriented, with a lot of
talk and communications going on regarding how to get money by different
computer-related jobs, or working on Web sites, or programming for different
System companies. This sort of work is often accompanied by some anti-Family
policy attitudes.
118. I received a
note from one Home regarding some young men in such a situation there. The Home
reported: “You often hear them together talking about their bank accounts,
buying this or buying that, and it doesn't lend to the unity of spirit in the
Home.--Especially when you seldom see those same people making an effort to come
to devotions, but when it comes time to get up and head into town for business,
they can be up and out as early as they wish.” (End of excerpt from
Home.)
119. It seems these young
men are potential “supers,” with the knowledge and money-making ability that
others look up to, but often lack the “super-duper” convictions and
attitudes of the spirit which really count and which our other young
people should be looking up to.
* * *
120.A Family member told me that the Family has become a dog-eat-dog
society. Here's one example this person gave me: If you have a good
fundraising spot, you will keep it a secret and not tell any other Family
member, because it's your own bread and butter, and once it's burned out, it's
gone. It doesn't matter anymore that the Family at large gets that same income.
It's a different Home! Or even within the same Home, it's a different person!
You have to raise your own share of the budget, and how the other one does it is
his problem.
121.I think
everybody feels like if they work hard to bring in the funds, why shouldn't the
other guy? They conclude it needs to be justly divided, fair and
square.
122.It seems like
everybody is struggling for finances so desperately, but again the individual
Family member may be richer than 10 years ago. A while back it was enough if
a Home had two vehicles; now if there are four families in a Home, they all need
their own car. And they have to work for it themselves. Now there is less and
less Home property and more and more personal property. “I own my double bed,
the kids' beds, my cupboards, my desk with the desktop, some kitchen
equipment, my car, etc. And if I move I take them all, because I worked so hard
for them, and who knows what I'll have in the next Home. I have to secure myself
somehow, right?” This is the way of thinking that goes
around.
123.Somehow
everything is breaking down to the individual Family person. Everybody wants
to do their own thing. Everybody has their own vision, their own standard. I
have lived in a Home where all I had to do was bring in my share of the money,
and I was told I could do whatever I wanted. Also, some of these “Home budgets”
just cover the rent and bills and food, and everything else is your own
concern. I have heard of a Home where someone was watching how many slices of
cheese the other one was eating, since everything had to be “equal.” (End of
comments from COs and VSs.)
124.(Mama:) What's happening to the Family? Don't you
wonder about that? What about communal living, having all things in common, from
each according to his ability unto each according to his need, bearing one
another's burdens?
125.Many
of you have become almost totally focused on money. That's your main
concern. Of course, I understand that you need money, and a lot of it! But a
terrible worldly selfishness has snuck into our ranks, and it stinks!
That's not the Family!
Are You Building
A Lasting
Work?
126.Besides the
horrible testimony of selfishness and lack of love, your money-hungry
attitudes and materialistic spirits manifested in your lack of sharing and
your dependence on System jobs--or Family-created jobs where you're
self-employed but do little or no witnessing on the job--give rise to two other
serious drawbacks: 1) Either you don't have any time to witness after you've
slaved away all day or night to raise money, or 2) once you have the money you
need, you don't have the motivation or drive to do any serious
witnessing.
127.Both of these
drawbacks are having the same effect in the end. They're taking you out of
the mission field; they're keeping you from building a lasting
work.
128.Notice I use the
term “build a work.” That is an important differentiation, because you might
do some night singing, clowning/ballooning, etc., and justify your actions with
the excuse that you're giving out tracts. You know I love to give out tracts. I
do so as often as I can. But giving out tracts is certainly a far cry from
building a strong, lasting work with new members, regular Bible studies,
Active members, young catacomb disciples, tithers, supporters,
“consider the poor” ministries, etc.
129.Judge for yourself. Is your System job making it possible for you
to build a strong, lasting work as described above? If you decide to keep
your System job or keep up your Family-created System job (clowning, ballooning,
etc.), a year from now, what would you have to show for it? If you had to go
underground, would you have solid, trained disciples to help support you? If you
had to leave the country, would you have a “church” of trained followers to
carry on? If younger Family members were to follow your sample, what kind of
disciples would they be? If you went to be with the Lord, how would you
feel as you look into His eyes?
How to Judge
Family Fundraising
Methods
130.Let's talk
more about the Family-created fundraising methods that many feel are on a par
with System jobs, such as ballooning, clowning, face painting, car washes,
night singing of System songs, etc. It's true that in many cases these methods
are just like System jobs, if there is no or little witness. And even if there
is some witness, like tract passing, these methods are more about raising
funds than witnessing and bearing fruit that
remains.
131.We've heard
serious concerns from some continents that the Homes in their area aren't
ordering many tools anymore, because they're so busy with teaching English or
clowning/ballooning. So it's obvious that those fundraising methods are
definitely affecting our overall witness in a big way. And as I said, even if
you give out a few tracts here and there while involved in that kind of
fundraising, that's not the kind of quality witnessing that will build a
lasting work through follow-up and Active members. That's not the kind of
witnessing that will help you garner regular support for the future. Here
is some counsel from the Lord on
this:
132.(Jesus
speaking:) There are various factors to consider when judging these
Family-created fundraising methods. They can be a blessing or a curse,
depending on how they're used and how much witness you are able to incorporate
into these methods. Judge by the
following:
133.
• These non-witnessing methods
should be used only as a means to an end. They are not the end in
themselves. If the funds that are raised support a thriving witnessing and
follow-up ministry, then these methods are a blessing. But if they are
considered the main witness of a person, family or Home, then they're terribly
and sadly lacking, as the witness is shallow and will not grow into a
long-lasting work.
134.
• If there is no witnessing
whatsoever allowed during these fundraising activities, if those involved
cannot even give out tracts or witness in the name of the Family, these
fundraising methods are a distraction and a compromise. Those involved should
look for better open doors and for a more meaningful way to raise finances,
where they can get out more message and distribute
tools.
135.
• If those who do such
fundraising still have a desire and the time to go witnessing, to follow up, and
have a fruitful work, then they have a good balance. But the danger is that
when the need for finances is satisfied, many of My would-be missionaries settle
down and live selfishly. They don't use the rest of their time to reach
the world and win a following; they become complacent and satisfied when their
financial needs are met through these other
avenues.
136.
• There truly is no future for
long-term regular support in these fundraising methods. These methods do not
give rise to in-depth witnessing, follow-up, and the cultivation of a following
or congregation that will, with time, provide regular support. So these
types of fundraising perpetuate the “hand-to-mouth”
cycle.
137.
• In some of these fundraising
methods, the faster the person is, the more profitable it is. This need for
speed makes the witness even shallower, if there is any witness at all. At least
with some non-witnessing methods, such as car washes in which there is a
witnessing team on the side talking to the car owners, or night singing that
specializes in System songs but where the music is used as “bait” to gradually
incorporate Family-type songs into the repertoire and where there is a team
selling tools and getting addresses on the side, there is the option to talk in
depth to those on the receiving end of the service given. Or if you are clowning
and have a show that delivers a message, if you have a team on the side passing
out the Word, selling the tools to parents and collecting names and addresses to
follow up on,that opens the door for the possibility of more
witnessing and long-lasting fruit. But when things move so fast that you hardly
have a chance to talk to anyone and there's no witness involved, the
Family-created fundraising methods rank right up there with a System job; the
only difference is that you're
self-employed.
138.
• You can judge the overall
fruitfulness of the fundraising method by looking at the fruit of the Home.
If they have no Active members or disciples, if they have no Church of Love,
no Bible studies, no regular monthly supporters, no provisioning contacts, no
potential disciples on the line, and no Activated subscriptions are being
sold, then their witnessing is shallow and unfruitful. No matter how much
money a method brings in, if the overall fruit of the Home does not
include the above-mentioned fruit, the overall witness of the Home is
shallow.
139.A regular
“consider the poor” ministry alone isn't necessarily enough to determine that
the Home has a fruitful, well-balanced outreach ministry, because a
“consider the poor” ministry will not usually provide the Home with supporters,
new disciples or protection. The same can be said for a regular provisioning
ministry, unless you're faithfully ministering to your contacts with Family
materials and they're growing in their knowledge and understanding of the
Family, what you believe and what you do. There must be in-depth
witnessing, follow-up, and reaching the middle and upper class as wellif a Home is to fulfill the vision of making disciples of all nations. That
is the only kind of witnessing that will relieve the Home of the “hand-to-mouth”
syndrome and provide a solid, dependable base of support. (End of
message from Jesus.)
System Security
Is Only
Temporary
140.(Mama:) I know many of you are tired of what you call “beating the
pavements” to raise support. You want “security.” But do you think the
System is going to last forever? The time you spend away from building a lasting
work for the Lord might give you temporary security today, but there will come a
time when it will all vanish, just like that! Then you'll be left high and dry,
with no support, no national church of disciples, no one to take you in. That's
partly what the Lord meant when He said earlier that “you'll be found
wanting.”
141.Sure, you might
think you'll just have a System job for a while, and then you'll get back into
full-time missionary work. But that's a pipe dream. By the time you realize
the danger you're in, it will be too late, and your opportunities for open
witnessing and really making fast progress will be lost! Then how will you
support your family? Then how will you supply for your
children?
142.Many of you
have become so dull in spirit, lethargic, and compromising that you look at the
System as your friend, thinking it will kindly support you as long as you
want. But it doesn't work that way, and eventually you'll look back with
remorse that you didn't obey when it was
easy.
143.You think so-called
“pounding the pavement” is hard, but you have no idea what hard is until you
have felt the cruel wrath of the System! Believe me, things will not
continue as they are. In time, there will be a shocking change and all that
“comfort” and security in the System will vanish and you'll be left with
nothing! Then you'll not only have to give account to the Lord, but also to your
loved ones. What will you say?
The “God
Factor!”
144.I know the
big drawing card for System jobs is that you want security. I also
understand that the need for immediate finances is probably the biggest thing
standing in the way of most people being more involved with Activated. If
Activated was an immediate money-maker like ballooning/clowning, it would
probably have caught on much more quickly. I know it takes faith to
dedicate your time to Activated. I know money is a big deal and it's
difficult to raise it!
145.There's nothing I can say that will make the transition from other
fundraising methods or System jobs to Activated and follow-up easier.
There is no presto-change-o solution. But you have to decide if you're
willing to work, sacrifice and do whatever it takes to develop a lasting work
and make the future success of the Family a reality, or whether you'll stay in
your present System-dependent ruts.
146.It boils down to a choice. Are you going to believe God or
not? Are you going to obey the vision or not? Are you going to put God on
the spot or not? Are you going to make the sacrifices necessary or
not?
147.One CO commented:
Finances is a major issue. We bump into it when we talk about the
Activated vision and how it's going to take a change in the Family's
modus operandi, mindset, etc. People have told me thatwe can't expect
the Homes to get more into follow-up because of their financial difficulties.
The main argument is that pushing Activated doesn't bring in funds, not
right away anyway, which is pretty factual. But we remind each other of the “God
factor” when we feel a bit overburdened and want to remind ourselves that it's
all by faith. (End of CO
comment.)
148.(Mama:) Okay, so Activated doesn't bring in the same abundance
of funds immediately as other fundraising methods. You don't get the same
financial returns when you invest time selling subscriptions as when you do
ballooning. That's true. What can we do about that? What is the “God
factor” the CO mentioned above? And how reliable is
it?
149.I know some of you
are tired of spiritual counsel regarding practical matters. But that's the
problem: You don't see the Lord's promises of supply as being very real, very
practical. Ask God to change your outlook, because those promises are
dependable and true. It's this very “God factor” that has provided for the
Family for decades! If you can't see that, then of course this counsel won't
help you. It's been said before, hundreds of times in the
Letters.
150.I won't be
intimidated by your complaints that I'm over-spiritualizing, that I don't
understand, that I can't possibly relate because WS is supported by your
tithes. God's promises are real! They work! I'll never stop pleading
with you to take God at His Word. I'll never stop begging you to obey the Lord
so He can supply abundantly for you, as He wants to. I'll never put my trust in
the System rather than our Husband and Lover, who is the God of the
universe.
151.Think about
this “God factor” and see how much it's been a part of your life
lately.
152.(Jesus
speaking:) The God factor means standing on My promises. It means
trusting in Me, believing that nothing is impossible with Me. It means that I am
able to supply all your needs. It means that faith in Me overrides all
impossibilities.
153.The God
factor means that I have opened to you the riches of the universe, I have
put before you a great reservoir of supply, and it's yours for the asking, yours
for the taking. The God factor means that if you will put your trust fully in
Me, you will lack nothing. It means that if you preach the Gospel, you will live
of the Gospel. It means that all things are possible to you. It means if you are
trusting Me and doing what I tell you to do, I will never fail to support you,
even if I have to drop the support out of the sky. It means good witnessing
always pays. It means if you are obeying Me, I will take care of your needs. It
means if I promise bread, I will not give you a
stone.
154.Practically
speaking, it means if the Family will put their trust in Me, if they will
claim My promises, if they will obey what I tell them to do, I will
supply all their needs according to My riches in glory. It means if they will
get out and do the “wenting,” I will
supply.
155.The God factor
means trusting Me more than trusting in the arm of the flesh, more than
trusting in the worldly system of man. The God factor is standing on My Word and
My promises.
156.My ways are
not your ways. I do things contrary to man. I can and will supply for My
Family in the interim period [when pioneering Activated and follow-up]. I
am only limited by lack of faith. My supply is only blocked by disobedience, by
lack of faith, by lack of appropriating the promises I give
you.
157.It is a gross
misunderstanding to think that I cannot supply for My children while they are
doing My will. To think that pushing Activated is not going to bring
in the funds initially is not true. Do you think that I am not able to supply
each step of the way for My Family? I have told you there are no
impossibilities. It is not true that I cannot or will not supply for My
children in the interim. Am I not able?
158.I promise to supply for My Own. Do you not think I am able to
supply every need while My brides are working for Me? To think that I cannot
supply in the interim is absurd! Am I God or not? Do not the winds and the waves
obey My command? Do I not give the command and whole kingdoms are subdued in My
Name?
159.O children of
little faith, how long will you doubt? How long will you fail to take the
leap? Who will try? Who will go? Who is willing to take the plunge? Who is
willing to launch out into the deep of where I am leading you? Who is willing to
put their hand in Mine, trusting that I will be more than a light and better
than a known way? Who is willing to command Me? Who is willing to prove Me? Who
is willing to receive My promise? Who is willing to call on the keys of the
Kingdom to open the Heavenly windows of miracles of
supply?
160.It takes faith,
yes. It takes courage; it takes daring to trust Me. It takes the “God
factor”--putting your trust wholly and completely in Me, claiming My Word, and
expecting Me to do miracles, to do what you cannot do. It takes ignoring
possible consequences when the doubters say, “No, no, no, it can't be done.” It
takes taking a stand.
161.Am
I not able to supply all along the way? Are My Own to be wanting and begging
for bread? Do I forsake My Own?
162.If it couldn't be done, I would not have asked it of you. I
am not limited. Do you think I cannot supply in the interim? That is as
ridiculous as saying I cannot stop the rain. Why, why, why, O brides, do you
limit Me? How long will you doubt? How long will you delay in putting Me on the
spot, in claiming My promises, in reaping the harvest that lies waiting before
you?
163.It takes faith, I
know, yet I have likewise given you this faith. It takes keeping your eyes
focused on Me and Me alone. It takes coming out from among them and touching not
the unclean thing. And it takes doing what I have told you to do. It takes
following where I am leading. It takes childlike faith. It takes quiet trust. It
takes the simple assurance of knowing that what I have promised, I will do. It
takes trusting Me to see you through, because you know you are obeying and doing
My will, and because of your obedience, I will not let you
down.
164.The “God factor”
will make all the difference in the world. It means the difference
between your success or your failure, your premature end or your hope of
survival. It means the difference between life and death for the souls waiting
to hear My message. It means the difference between you receiving the blessings
and promises I have reserved for you, or going through life as beggars,
destitute of your needs. (End of message from
Jesus.)
165.(Mama:) That message is packed with promises, butthey are
conditional. To receive that supply and blessing, you must obey! Are
you obeying?
It's a New Day--
A Time to Witness and
Win!
166. Some of you might feel
your need to get a job was confirmed by old Letters in which Dad talks about
times when it can be advantageous or necessary to have a System job. If you
went to the Arc to search System jobs you could possibly make quite a case in
favor of them. There is counsel in past GNs for specific fields that
could seem to be a clear leading from Dad to pursue System jobs. I asked the
Lord about this older counsel, and here is His
response:
167. (Jesus
speaking:) I do a new thing, for this is a new day. Time is short; only
what is done for Me will bear fruit and sustain My children in this time of the
End. All of My children must decide whether they will live by faith and depend
on the “God factor” alone, or whether they will serve Mammon. They cannot serve
two masters--they must now choose. I am a moving God, a changing God, and an
Activated God! The counsel I have given in the past, that which was
published in years gone by regarding System jobs, is not to glean excuses on how
to live today. This is the era of action! You have entered the Last Days, and
your mode of operation must change
accordingly!
168. I wish to free My
people to serve Me. I am calling My children out of the clutches of
this world's System and into My arms where they can live by faith and faith
alone. I am calling them out of the clutches of the System, where they will be
able to survive in the troublous times ahead! I am calling them out of the
anti-God, anti-Christ System of today, to be My mouthpieces, My miracle workers
of the End.
169. There will be few
exceptions to this matter of System jobs. The criteria for System jobs
depends on the fruit borne, on how much witness can be given, on how much Word
can be handed out, on how much training of new disciples, friends, supporters,
and Active members can be had, on how many tools can be
distributed.
170. I call everyone to
witness and to win. If and when there is a job that will permit this, where
their convictions will not be compromised and where they can get out the tools,
get out the message, and teach others the doctrine, I will consider and bless
their efforts in such a ministry. Yet this will be the exception, not the rule.
(End of message from Jesus.)
Are You Still Living Acts
2:44-45?
171.(Mama:)
Some of the financial difficulties you face could be due to not living
communally. Take, for example, the following CO's
observations:
172.I
totally believe that living by faith is not a thing of the past. It
has to be possible. So then, what's happening in the Family today? Are we
seeing things from the wrong perspective? Are our Homes off track and therefore
the Lord can't supply for them?
173.Something that I believe the Lord was speaking to my heart about,
as part of the answer to this dilemma, is the fact that we have a great number
of small Homes as compared to average-size communities. When I say
“communities” I'm not talking about blobs, but Homes of two or three couples and
some singles living communally, sharing all things, etc. As we all know from the
Scriptures, that is God's financial
plan.
174.Could it be that we
have deviated from that principle in spirit and in practice? Are we limiting
God's ability to bless us by our recent more selfish and independent living?
God's financial plan in Acts 2:44,45 worked in the past and I believe it still
works today. (End of CO
comments.)
175.(Mama:) The Lord's financial plan for the Family has always been Acts
2:44 and 45. If you're not living that, I strongly suggest you pray about
what changes you need in your lives and Home. And certainly if you're a
single-family Home you can't possibly be living Acts 2:44 and 45, and you will
undoubtedly run into more financial pressure. It's only logical that if you live
communally and share your expenses and possessions such as your cars,
appliances, computers, etc., not only is it more economical but it's obedience
to the Lord's plan, so He can bless you more. But it all boils down to how much
you want to share, how much you want to live
unselfishly.
How Hard Are You Willing to
Work for
Your Support?
176.And
that brings us to another point that hasn't been talked about much in the
Letters, at least not in recent times, and that is: What can you expect the
Lord to supply, and how much are you willing to work for the support you
need?
177.One of the pioneers
of the Active member ministry in Brazil related from personal experience that
beginning a follow-up ministry is like having two jobs. You have to
keep up your daily fundraising while at the same time investing all the time
needed for follow-up. You can't just ignore your daily expenses or you'll go
broke, but neither can you keep postponing your Bible classes or your follow-up
ministry will never get off the ground! He explained that to make it work, you
have to work pretty much day and night initially. You have to put in double
time for a while. It's very much the same as what people do in the System
when they are starting a new business. Do you think some young entrepreneur
who's opening a new business just puts in a few hours a day and then takes it
easy the rest of the time? Of course not! Most of the time, during the first few
years of a new business the founder/owner is working long hours. There's a lot
of sacrifice involved. And sometimes they make sacrifices financially
too.
178.What are you
willing to do to have the Lord supply for you through full-time witnessing and
follow-up? How much are you willing to sacrifice to prove it can be
done? Are you willing to work hard to pioneer an Activated and
follow-up ministry? To what lengths are you willing to go? Are you
willing to give up some of your free time? Are you willing to go without some
recreational activities if you don't have the time or money? Are you willing to
cut back on expenses to save money? What is it worth to
you?
179.The Charter says
that the minimum witnessing requirement for all voting members is two hours a
week. That is the minimum. But it's obvious that if you're going to
pioneer an Activated ministry and follow-up program, as well as keep up
with your daily witnessing activities that bring in immediate cash, you're going
to have to work a lot harder than two hours a week at witnessing! Those who are
making it pay in witnessing and follow-up are doing it full-time. That
means all their work hours they're working hard at making it
work!
180.Most people in the
System work eight hours a day, some much more--and that does not include
the time they spend driving to and from their jobs! I can't help but believe
that some of you aren't making ends meet financially because you're just not
working at it. You're not investing the time needed. Like one of the COs said
earlier, people are willing to put in long hours and make sacrifices for their
System jobs that they're not willing to make for witnessing. Well,
you can't expect God to pay your bills if you're not working, and working
hard for Him!
181.I think many of you have unrealistic expectations of what God should supply
for you and what you're willing to do to “earn” that supply. Do you think
you can get away with only a few hours of witnessing a week and then expect that
God's going to supply your needs abundantly? How are you spending your time? Is
God, as your Employer, pleased with your performance? Or are you a
lazy slacker who's trying to take the “company” for a ride? (Read “More on
Faith,” ML #T.)
182.“He that
tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread; but he that followeth after vain
persons shall have poverty enough” (Pro. 28:19). “He becometh poor that
dealeth with a slack hand; but the hand of the diligent maketh rich”
(Pro.10:4).
183.Dad taught
us: “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.
184.“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” (ML #683:70-71).
BUILDING
A FINANCIAL FOUNDATION
185.(Mama:) Now let's move on to another aspect of compromise
for gain related to support and System jobs. Two of our COs
commented:
186.I very
much agree that there is a very strong move away from some of the Family's
bedrock/fundamental beliefs. I think one of the things that has kind of
affected everyone's decisions in the way of their leaning toward wanting to get
“set up” and possibly get a “steady job” and “financially stable” has been that
our Endtime vision is a little more “open-ended” as far as how soon things will
happen. This kind of put a whole new spin on people's concept of the Endtime,
which now very much affects their personal goals and
plans.
187.This has not only
affected the young people, but I've seen it have as much, if not more, of an
effect on the FGAs who felt they would never have to worry about things like
Social Security, retirement, etc., as those words were unheard of and totally
unrevolutionary. But now, many are getting older and are thinking, “Wow, I never
thought I'd reach this point on Earth,” and they wonder how they're going to
keep up, as they don't have the same drive, and some are not super charismatic
types, which makes them worry about how much they're going to be able to do and
for how long.
188.Then, the
way the SGAs interpret the whole scenario that they see their parents facing is
that they don't want to be in their parents' shoes if and when they get to be
their age. If you talk honestly with most SGAs, they all feel bad for their
folks and worry about them and how they are going to keep up and support
themselves. Or in other cases they even think their parents should have done
better for themselves by being more prepared. I'm not talking about the FGAs
that are doing well, as there are many of these, too, but there is a large
enough population of those who are starting to struggle that it really does
affect the younger generation. The SGAs conclude that if they give their time
and lives to the Lord without building a financial foundation as well and really
planning and preparing for the worst-case scenario, then they may be in their
parents' shoes some day.
189.
[The CO went on to explain an example of an SGA couple that feels led to
spend five years getting set up financially. Their idea is to devote the next
years to making money, possibly buying a property that they could then rent out
and use as a support base for when they go back to a field, and thus they
wouldn't always have to depend on people. Even though it might take five years,
this couple feels they'd still have a number of good years left to do missionary
work. The CO went on to say:]
190.I think this typifies what so many of our young people are
presently facing. I think they want to plan it out right and “learn from the
experiences of others” so that they have what they need to do the job further
down the road.
191.Then there
are countless examples of FGAs who feel like maybe if they had done things
slightly differently, they could possibly be a little better off now. As far
as our young people are concerned, I think many of them are preparing for an
extended time till Jesus returns, and feel that even if it takes an initial
investment of time, in the long run they feel they'll not only be better off,
but also will be able to do more for the Lord if they have a financial base to
work from and do missionary work from.
* * *
192.It's not uncommon for some young people to feel sorry for their
parents, feeling that they should have it easier now going into their later
years, and feeling that they must have done something wrong to not have some
sort of retirement plan. This is a sad outlook, because it strikes at some
of the very foundations of basic discipleship. The underlying conclusion
of this thought process is that forsaking all to follow Jesus must be a lie,
that it doesn't work. It seems to strike at some very basic precepts of what
being a real Christian is all about. It seems like a direct assault on the
Word.
193.I don't think our
first generation got it wrong! Through Dad's leading and encouragement, we
got it exactly right! We went into all the world, preached the Gospel, won
disciples, and many are still going strong. Of course, there are those older
members with health problems, but if they had to do it again, how many would
trade their life of service for a better financial situation now? I think there
is probably a higher number of older Family members in the States right now that
might say they wish they had a better financial setup, but I'm guessing that
it's not the predominant view of those who are still active missionaries on the
field. (End of comments from COs.)
Living for the Lord
and
Doing His Work Is a Sure
Thing!
194.(Mama:)
Here are Dad's comments on this predicament, which I pray is a help to you
who are wondering about this same
thing.
195.(Dad
speaking:) It can be hard being a missionary sometimes--in fact, a
lot of the time! The Lord supplies as you do His work, but often in
the life of faith you're not sure what the next meal will be and who the Lord
will use to provide it. You know it'll come, but you're just not sure how it'll
arrive! That's one of the things that keeps you desperate with the Lord, fervent
in prayer, and active in His work, because it's as you're obedient and reach out
to others with His message that He
supplies.
196. So I know how you
feel, because I felt the same way sometimes when I was younger. You face a
constant struggle for support, and your faith is tested to see whether you'll
keep going for God and looking to Him or whether you'll turn to man and Mammon
instead. That's a battle I often faced in my younger years, especially when I
was first married and had four little children to support. Oh, I served the
Lord; don't get me wrong. My mother and father had given me a great heritage of
faith, and my greatest desire was to witness and win souls, but it took me a
while to find my calling, before the birth of the
Family.
197. In those years when I
and my family were searching for the best way to serve the Lord, there were
times of both abasing and abounding. Sometimes we lived in old mansions;
other times we lived in old houses that we had to fix up a bit. Sometimes we
lived on the road in a station wagon and tent or in little trailers; other times
we lived in the Ark, our 26-foot-long Dodge motor home. My aunt used to call us
“Gospel gypsies,” although when she was feeling less charitable she'd call us
“Gospel bums,” ha! So I know what it's like to live by faith and I know it can
be a tough life sometimes. Don't forget, I didn't start the Family till I was
nearly 50 years old!
198. During all
that time many people in the U.S., at least, wouldn't have considered us rich,
but we always had sufficient because we were doing what the Lord wanted us
to and being faithful witnesses for Him, the best we knew how. So He kept us and
provided for us and we won multitudes of souls while we were at it, one by one.
I didn't know what the future held, but I was determined to do my best for the
Lord every day, to be faithful to the Lord and to lost souls every day, and He
never let me down. He always provided our needs and took care of us, and as He
saw I was faithful to witness and win others, He gave me more of a ministry,
more support and provision, and more friends and supporters, and finally He gave
me you, the Family!
199.It's only when I tried to take matters into my own hands and provide
for my own needs instead of trusting the Lord and letting
Him supply that I had trouble. I've told you some of these stories
before, I know, but bear with me for a minute, okay? I want to remind you of
some of my experiences raising my own support and trying to get set up with a
steady income to take care of my family. I want you to realize that I went
through the same things and to know that I can understand and
sympathize.
200.I once
thought the Lord wanted me to be a preacher, but after I got kicked out of
Valley Farms, Arizona, and the church I built there, I'd had my fill of
churchianity for a while! I was in my 30s then, and Eve and I and the kids moved
to Los Angeles, where I got a job as a teacher at a Christian school, and I
wound up doing that off and on for
years.
201.Every morning I
drove a school bus and picked up rowdy kids, taught them all day long, and then
drove them home afterwards. The job paid good money for those days, and we
were able to get set up in a house and even get another house nearby that I
finished building. I filled both houses with furniture, bought a trailer, and we
were doing better than we'd done for a long
time.
202.But it was hard
work and there were many times I felt I just couldn't go on. If you think
living for the Lord is tough, try living just to make a living,
even if you are doing something for the Lord in the meantime! It was during this
time that I looked in the mirror one morning and told the Lord I just couldn't
take it another day, that it was too hard. But He told me that I needed to
“endure hardness as a good soldier,” so I kept at it. He wasn't through with me
there yet, and He wanted to make sure I learned my
lesson.
203.But one day He
was through with me there, and He told me to quit my job, to forsake all,
and to hit the road and go witnessing and He'd take care of me! Here I was
making more money than I'd ever had before, had a respectable job, two houses
full of furniture and belongings, a wife and a bunch of little kids dependent on
me, and the Lord told me to give it all up! He told me, “Go, sell all
that thou hast and give to the poor, and come follow Me!” It came as quite a
shock--especially to Mother Eve--but we did it, and the Lord kept us and
provided for us. We no longer had any “visible means of support,” as they
used to say back then, but we had a great big invisible means of
support--the Lord! So we went out and witnessed and the Lord did
take care of us, thank the Lord!
204.But then a few years later we hit kind of a low spot in Miami and
I got a job again, this time with the District Attorney's office. I worked
there and did well, got along well with the office people and even the DA, and I
could have probably wound up running the office in a few years. I was making a
steady income again and we could have saved up a lot of money for evangelistic
work, which I still wanted to do. But one day as I was looking out over
beautiful sunny Miami from the window of this big building where the DA had his
office, the Lord as good as told me to forsake all again. Even though
Miami was sunny, He told me that the whole world was lost in darkness
while I was just shuffling papers to feed my family! So I gave the DA notice and
I was soon living and working full-time for the Lord
again.
205.The Lord provided
our needs, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after
year, but it was still a struggle. It was the life of faith, and
that's what we lived for 10 or 15 more years till we moved out to California and
started the Family. But I had finally gotten the point that the Lord was more
interested in me living and working full-time for Him right then, every
day, than He was in me having a steady income and maybe saving up to work for
Him later.
206.If I'd
said “later” to the Lord, telling Him that I'd serve Him more and better once I
had a steady income of some sort and a little money saved up, there wouldn't be
a Family today. The SGAs wouldn't even be asking this question because their
parents wouldn't have joined, gotten married and had their kids, and gone into
all the world to preach the Gospel to every creature by faith, trusting the Lord
to supply as they traveled from place to place and had child after
child.
207.Was all that a
mistake? When the Family began, should I have told all those hippies and
dropouts to drop back in to the System and raise money so they could support
themselves better? No! We just trusted the Lord and He provided, and He's
done so for more than 30 years now! You can read the story in “God's Guarantees”
and other Letters if you want the history of His supply as we've changed
ministries, methods, countries and
cultures!
208.Now I know the
life of faith isn't easy, but it works! Forsaking all and trusting
the Lord to supply your every need isn't always easy street. You abase and you
abound. But through it all, the Lord keeps you and He provides for
you. You're His servant working for Him, so He takes care of you. And if He's
cared for you in the past, do you think He's going to forsake you in the
future? Do you think the Lord would toss you out as an unprofitable
servant just because you grow old or get sick or can't keep up the same pace you
used to? Let me tell you, He won't! That's not the kind of God He
is!
209.Having lived by faith
for so many years, should we now go back to the beggarly elements of the
System for our support to have some sort of cushion for our old age or
whatever? To put it simply, no. We've always put the Lord first and He's
always supplied what we've needed for the future, and He will
continue to do so. You may not know exactly how He'll do it and you may
have all kinds of questions about it, but the Lord just expects you to trust
Him.
210.He didn't say we'd
walk by sight; He said we'd walk by faith. He didn't say we'd
understand with our carnal minds; He said that His thoughts are not our
thoughts, and that His ways are as high above ours as the heavens are above the
Earth. In fact, He instructed us to trust in Him with all our heart and
not to lean to our own understanding. That's not me speaking--that's
God's Word, and it's as true now as it ever was! And you can trust it now just
as much as you ever did.
211.There's no need to take matters into your own hands and to fret and worry so
much about your own support, much less your old age. I can understand your
concerns. Like I said, I've had many of them myself. But what you need to
understand is that it's not gain but loss to give up the Lord's
work to raise money for later years, even if it's for a good cause, the Lord's
cause. During that time, you could have helped countless people, won thousands
of souls, and had a tremendous impact on the world, because each of the people
you minister to and help touches the lives of many
others.
212.If you choose to
instead desert your plow and come back to it a few years down the line when you
have more income and figure you can plow better, I guarantee you it won't be
easy. For one thing, how much income is enough? How much money are you going
to raise, and when are you going to stop? And when you do, will you still have
the burden and initiative to go back to plowing again, the love for lost souls
that you once had? Or will you feel that you're better off just as a
supporter--if you even have enough vision left for that? You'll start
cooling off and you won't see things the way you used to because you're not
living the life you used to, and you may not want to go back to it, or even to
support it. Even if you go into making money with the best of intentions, it may
not work out like you think it will.
213.Besides all that, what are you going to do if there's a disaster
or recession and your business or investment is wiped out? Or what if hard
times hit and, instead of making money as you expected, you wind up in
debt? Millions of people around the world do, you know, even those who
are a lot more knowledgeable about their jobs than you will be! And what will
you do if the Crash hits, as it inevitably will, and all your income goes down
the drain, and you really have nothing to fall back on; you're not used
to living and working for the Lord anymore and have no friends, supporters and
contacts to turn to for help?
214.Working for the System and raising money is not a “sure thing,”
even if it may seem to be, whereas living for the Lord and doing His work
is a sure thing, even if it may not seem to be! If you have
faith and obedience and trust Him, He will take care of you. Read Hebrews 11.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the title deed. You must
believe that the Lord is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, a
provider of their needs, because He
is!
215.Well, you can
read all this in your Bible and in the Letters, and you should. I
think if some of you really studied our past Letters and the plan we've
always followed, and the plan that the Lord laid down in His Word for His Church
thousands of years ago, you'd have fewer questions along this line. I know
you've read these past Letters, not to mention the Bible, but maybe you've
gotten familiar with them and lost track of how applicable they still are today.
Just like the Lord is still the same yesterday, today and forever, so is His
Word, His promises to provide your every need, and His plan to keep you even in
your old age. As dear King David said, “I have been young and now am old, yet
have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging
bread.”
216.So SGAs, don't
worry about your parents, or yourselves. And FGAs, don't worry about your
children, or yourselves. The Lord is fully able to keep and to provide and
to make you fruitful well into your old age. Goodness, my mother traveled all
over the U.S. with us in the Ark, our motor home, when she was nearly 80 years
old, witnessing and winning souls in that “7,000 miles of miracles” I told you
about! And she was instrumental in getting the Family started even after that,
when she was well into her 80s, because of her love for souls. She'd make peanut
butter and jelly sandwiches and take them down to the hippies at Huntington
Beach and feed them, and she convinced me to come out to California and feed
them spiritually--and we did, and the Family was
born!
217.I was middle-aged
then, and the Lord kept me and helped me for another 25 years, despite my
many afflictions, and I kept bringing forth fruit in old age. So don't worry
about old age, much less about getting reclassified because you can't keep up or
something. Goodness, some of our young folks couldn't keep up with
me, and I was more than 30 years older than them! Just keep loving the
Lord and others every day, doing your best for Him and for the lost and the
needy, and then trust Him for the rest. He loves you and He cares for
you--I know!
218.Following Jesus works, and there are great rewards! Though you may
be poor on Earth at times, you're making many rich, and you're laying up great
rewards here in Heaven! You have no idea what the Lord has in store for you, and
it'll last for eternity! So as you take up your cross and follow Him, take
heart, and keep your eyes on Heaven, where you'll shine as the brightness of the
firmament, and as the stars for ever and ever! Hallelujah! You may not be
rollin' in the dough now, but you'll be wealthy forever! Love, Dad.
(End of message from Dad.)
219.(Mama:) What Dad is saying is not new. You who know
the Letters well know Dad's history, as well as the history of the Family. But
many of you have somehow fallen into the mentality that the circumstances
have changed, that what we have believed and how we have lived for years, since
the beginning, isn't for you or isn't good enough
anymore.
220. The Lord can supply
today, just as abundantly as in the past, if not more so. Granted, every
missionary who lives by faith has difficult times every now and then; that's how
the Lord strengthens our faith and puts us in situations where He can do
miracles. It's thrilling to see Him come through with our needs and supply in
miraculous ways, and if we never got into tight spots, you can be sure we'd see
fewer obvious miracles, because we wouldn't need them, we wouldn't pray for
them, or expect them.
221. I do,
however, want to clearly bring out “the other side” too. While you can
expect to have some tight times financially, and while Dad talked about the
times they struggled, that certainly does not mean that you should be satisfied
with living in squalor and poverty! That is not the point, nor is that
what Dad is saying!
222. While Dad
was never extravagant and he didn't expect a lot of fancy things, he always had
the faith for the Lord to supply so we could effectively do our work for the
Lord and have what we needed for our children, pregnant mommies, travels,
nutrition, medical needs, etc. Dad never advocated living in poverty, in dirty,
run-down, junky homes that were a bad
testimony!
223. If we are to promote
Activated, build a greater church, win Active members, reach the middle
and upper class where the most potential labor leaders are found, and become a
financial power, then we certainly can't be living in awful, filthy, crowded,
miserable conditions, as has recently been reported in some areas. We can
expect the Lord to provide what we need and even many wants! If we
are obedient to Him, working hard, doing His will and reaching the lost, He will
supply! Read “Rags to Riches!”
224.
To struggle financially from time to time so that you have to pray desperately
and ask your supporters for the finances you need is completely different than
living in poverty where your children don't have what they need, you're
driving unsafe cars, you are a bad testimony to the people you're witnessing to,
etc. That is not right, and if that's the situation in your Home, there's
something wrong and you need to find out what it is and correct it!
A
“Retirement Plan” for FGAs
225.Peter and I firmly believe that you FGAs who are worried about
your future and how you'll make ends meet as you get older haven't yet
discovered the “retirement plan” the Lord is offering you. It's not exactly
that you'll retire, ever, as there's no discharge in this war, and the Lord
expects each of us to keep fighting to the end, no matter what difficulties we
encounter. It is true that you will slow down somewhat physically, and you
probably won't be able to take the strain of being out on the streets like you
can today. But instead of turning to the System for some kind of security or
just complaining and accepting the Enemy's lies that we've failed, open your
eyes to the financial plan that we and the Lord have made available to you; it's
there for the taking.
226.If
you're sincerely concerned about your future and how you're going to support
yourself or your mate and kids, think about what Activated has to
offer. Most preachers of the world are supported by their congregations.
They hustle their support every week as they feed their flocks from the pulpit.
They win those congregations; those people depend on their pastors to minister
to them spiritually, and they're willing to support and tithe as a result. It's
a Scriptural principle, and many of the congregation feel it's their
duty.
227.You can do the
same! If you start today, it might take a few years, but eventually you can
have your own “congregation” of faithful converts and Active members who are
supporting you and your Home through their tithes! And not only supporting you,
but doing a lot of the hard work for you--running the CTP ministries, teaching
Bible studies, picking up provisioning, organizing meetings and
seminars, etc.
228.It will
take a considerable amount of time to cultivate this following, and you'll have
to make a commitment to stay in the same area and really minister to your flock,
for years! You can't be gallivanting all around and changing fields every
few years. You need to find where the Lord wants you to be and stick to it! (See
ML #3308:45-46, GN 908.) But if you want some “security” for the future, if you
want some income you can count on, if you want to know you won't be having to
hoof it out on the streets when you're much older, then get with
Activated and follow-up now and win yourself a flock! Do it now
while you have the strength and stamina to devote the time to it that it will
require!
229.Quit complaining
about things and get busy! You have everything you need to make your own
“retirement plan” while serving the Lord full-time. We in WS have literally
spent years to provide you with everything you need to do the job. You
can't possibly complain that you don't have the materials. All you have to do is
use them. Just do it! You are without
excuse!
230.You don't have to
compromise your convictions. You don't have to be a burden on others or your
kids as you grow older. Use the strength and time you have now to build a
following, win converts and Active members, teach and train them, and then their
tithes will support you! That will be your “retirement plan,” your “social
security.”
231. You can become a
teacher, a shepherd, a counselor, a prayer warrior, a presenter of the Words
that you have been so blessed to receive, a channel for the Lord's messages for
those who need them. These ministries don't take as much physical strength
and energy, but they take faith and love and conviction to step into the role
that the Lord's trained you for all along. Hold on to your calling and crown
till the end of your days by continuing to use the strength you have to do the
Lord's work! The ministries of prayer and counseling, of healing, of hearing
from Heaven for others, of teaching and grounding others in the Word, aren't
limited to youth. In fact, they're ideal callings for you who are older, for you
who have given the majority of your lives in the Lord's service, as you have so
very much to give and are so experienced in giving it! If you find your energy
and strength diminishing, then do what you can do, and invest your
spiritual riches where they'll really
count!
232.Quit listening to
the damn Devil when he tells you you've failed, or that somehow you're going to
suffer because you've given your life to the Lord instead of selfishly saving up
money to live on when you're old! Open your eyes to the insecurity of the
System! You don't honestly think all those poor people in the System have
security and everything will be fine for them, do you? You have the only
security that truly exists on Earth--trusting the Lord and having faith in His
promises. But He does expect you to do something with that trust and
faith. He expects you to work. So get out there and build your church, find your
congregation; invest the time in winning those who have the money or means to
support you. You're still young enough, and if you start now and really work at
it, you'll have what you need, without your kids having to feel they have to
leave the field to raise money for you! It doesn't have to be that way. “I have
been young, and now am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his
seed begging bread” (Psalm 37:25).
233. While on this subject, I want to remind you that Charter membership is
not guaranteed just because “you've always been in the Family.” Abner, one
the COs of North America, had the following observations, which I think you'll
find interesting and helpful:
234. There are Family members who feel that they are or should be CM because
they've been in the Family so long, they've “always been in the Family.” It
seems in nearly every case those who tend to express themselves in this way
don't evaluate their present level of discipleship and check it with the
standard of the Charter, our yardstick of minimal requirements defining a
Charter Family member disciple. Some people need to step back and more
objectively evaluate their level of service. Someone can love the Lord and love
the Family and have made great sacrifices in the past in their service for the
Lord, but if they're not willing to live the life of a disciple, then they're a
former disciple or a retired disciple, but not a present-day
one.
235. I know that there are a
number of older FGAs in the Family who feel that as they get older that just by
reason of their age they aren't able to keep the CM standard. And
there are a number of SGAs who also feel that just because their parents or some
older ones they know of who aren't CM anymore got older, they couldn't keep up
with the CM pace. Some feel that it's not fair if, because of sickness or some
affliction that might come with older age, someone isn't able to stay in the CM
Family. In my opinion there isn't one Charter requirement that someone just
about on their deathbed couldn't keep, and from what I've seen it's almost
invariably because someone just doesn't want to make the sacrifices that come
with serving the Lord as a disciple that they fall away from the CM
standard.
236. Even in those cases
where someone has had a serious illness or affliction, we have worked with them
all we could to try to help them keep their CM status, if we knew that they
were doing what they could and not compromising unnecessarily. But there are
many people who feel that for one reason or another they can't keep the Charter
requirements and that it shouldn't be held against them, and they feel justified
in their reasons. In every case that I can think of, there were other
compromises that were entering in that were really the reasons why the CM
requirements couldn't be met. (End of Abner's
comments.)
237.
(Mama:) I'd like to ask you FGAs to please take some time to stop and
evaluate your present level of discipleship and service for the Lord. Some
good questions to ask yourself (as well as to ask the Lord) would be: “Am I
compromising unnecessarily? Am I allowing compromise to enter my life that holds
me back from meeting the CM standard?”
“Say Not Ye There Are
Yet
Four Months!”
238.As for
you young people who think you'll get some kind of financial stability by
working in the System first and then you'll serve the Lord, remember what
God said:
And He saith unto
them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left
their nets, and followed Him
(Mat.4:19-20).
And He said unto
another, Follow Me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead, but go thou and preach the
Kingdom of God (Luke 9:59-60).
Say
not ye there are yet four months … [much less four years!] (John
4:35).
BUYING HOUSES
239.(Mama:) This is slightly off the subject, but since it has
to do with both finances, future security, and single-family Homes, I want to
talk about it in this GN. It's on the trend of buying houses. Here are a
couple of comments from COs:
240.There is a trend here, and I have heard of it in other places
too, of buying houses. I think the main benefit people see of purchasing a
house is the long-term advantage of not having to pay monthly rent, and having a
place of their own, which some people look at as assurance of a roof over their
heads, not needing to be voted into someone else's Home,
etc.
241.Perhaps some of
these goals are good to begin with, and some people do say they are
embarking on such a project with the ultimate goal in mind that it will free
them from a certain amount of their monthly fundraising so that they can
concentrate more of their time and energies on outreach and follow-up and
building up the national church in the
area.
242.But we have seen in
many cases that that goal is lost somewhere along the way, especially when
months and months, sometimes stretching into a year or years, are needed in
order to fundraise to meet the initial payments and liabilities incurred,
fundraising or provisioning for materials to fix up the attic or basement of the
small place they bought in order to give them a bit more room, decorate and
furnish it, etc. This often takes quite a bit of time and is a burden and strain
on the couple, and because they have usually embarked on this endeavor
themselves (a couple with a few children), they don't have the backing or
teamworking of a whole Home, or even another couple or family, and so they are
“going it alone” spiritually and physically in order to see it
through.
243.And then while
they are going through this process of fundraising and provisioning and lots of
physical work to fix the place up, some get used to a certain lifestyle,
which is basically that of being able to live selfishly, without having to take
others into their concerns and counsels regarding their Home and financial
decisions. They begin to like it this way, and the end result is that they
basically return to the type of living that they came out of when leaving the
System to join the Family, and they're back to square one. Although having said
they embrace the Family's teaching and beliefs, having compromised for the
“security” of a place of their own, they compromise their living of our major
goals, and by a lack of living a communal and Law of Love lifestyle for a long
time, some have even lost their desire and conviction to try to get back to
it.
244.Now we have quite a
few of these one-family Homes in the same situation, each one having bought
their house and thus not being free to move in with each other, and there
not being enough single personnel answering their want ads in order to help
bring these single-family Homes up to the minimum of four voting members.
* * *
245.Buying houses is getting to be quite a trend, which is somewhat
related to the topic of compromise for worldly gain, though not always, of
course. Certainly there are situations where the Lord leads the Family to
buy their house instead of rent, but I'm concerned that the Family should be
aware that there are definite risks involved, that it's definitely not for
everyone, and to be able to keep in mind that there are great benefits to
renting too.
246.One
of the biggest drawbacks to buying is if those doing so are affected by the
experience to the point that they buy a house at the expense of their
discipleship. Bad deal, for sure. I think one way this can happen is
because they get locked into a house that they can't sell, and end up drifting
out of the Family because their numbers go down, their inspiration goes down,
etc. Others may just get affected by the experience of getting too focused on
the house purchase and off the purchase of the pearl of great price of their
relationship with the Lord. In other cases, there are just the basic risks
involved, not realizing all of the hidden costs of ownership, property taxes,
repairs, insurance, etc. Other risks are not getting a good deal initially so
that the resale price is a loss, or not realizing the amount of time you have to
stay in order to pay off enough of the principal in order to break even or turn
some profit.
247.And another
angle to the trend is the danger of some of our Family starting to think that if
so many are buying houses that as a Family we're drifting away from living the
faith life, that it's more important now to start laying up for ourselves some
sort of earthly retirement plan, etc. I hate for it to be at the cost of our
not keeping our eyes on our main goals of witnessing, reaching the lost, and
staying free from the affairs of this
world.
248.Those that are now
thinking of buying a house and renting it out later to give themselves support
on the field later, are almost sure to find that it's not just going to cost
them years of service, which they'll never be able to turn back the
clock on in order to regain, but they most likely won't ever feel they've got
“enough” support, or they'll get so into debt they can't get free, or they've
lost the vision by the time they could. (End of comments from
COs.)
249.(Mama:) Through the years there have been times when the Family has
lived on property owned by Family members, when the Lord led that way. This
option has always been open to us when it was the Lord's time and His will. One
of the big differences that we're seeing today, however, is that this
trend is more individuals or individual families that are doing so, and not in
the manner of Acts 2:44 and 45, but rather in search of future security. Today,
as our Husband is leading us to take our places for the Last Days, to be less
roamers and gypsies, and instead to establish a solid work, then there may be
room to consider, in some cases, putting your finances into paying off a
mortgage rather than rent--if it is the Lord's
will.
250. Some questions to ask
yourself regarding this are: “Is this a private personal endeavor or is the
vision to establish a communal effort? Are we proceeding with sufficient
counsel? Are we fully informed of all the possible complications? Is the house
big enough to house a good-sized Home? Will it take a lot of fixing up, which
will distract us from our main job of
witnessing?”
251. There are times
when it might be the Lord's will to buy a house, especially if it's a big enough
house that it can hold a significant “commune” for Jesus. But usually our
members don't have enough money for really big houses, and it's proven to be
ineffective to buy small houses. Things don't usually turn out the way you
expect in such cases, and before you know it, you're saddled with a huge debt
and a white elephant of a house. Just like … you guessed it, all the rest
of the poor people in the System! So lots of prayer and counsel, hearing from
the Lord and continuing to go back to Him for confirmations and leading is
absolutely necessary when considering such a venture.
His Call Is “Go
Ye,”
Not “Buy Ye!”
252.Here is some counsel from our Heavenly Real Estate Expert on how to judge the
matter of whether to buy or not.
253.(Jesus speaking:) Go ye into all the world and preach the
Gospel to every creature! This is My basic message to all who would follow
Me. And usually inherent in this very same message is the concept of “sell all
that thou hast, and give unto the poor, and come, follow
Me.”
254.When I asked the man
to sacrifice his plough and oxen, it was his very livelihood, his machinery, his
equipment that I was asking him to destroy in order to follow Me. At another
time I told a man to “let the dead bury the dead, and come follow
Me.”
255.The basic principle
is that in order to follow Me fully, in most cases it takes the sacrificing
of the plough and oxen, and the forsaking of absolutely everything,
in order to be sure that you have grabbed ahold of that pearl of great price,
discipleship.
256.Who knows
what I will do next month, next year, and what My call to you will be? So
the basic principle in being able to follow Me is to have no ties that
hold you back and that keep you from doing My will. This is not to say there are
not times when I do have someone purchase a property for a specific cause
and purpose, but these are few and far between, because the general call for My
Endtime Army is to reach out to feed the lost and build a work for Me, not to
focus on feeding and caring for themselves and buying or repairing a
house.
257.My call to find a
field where you can stay and reap and plant your roots a while in order to do a
good job does not necessarily mean becoming encumbered with property. It
might be useful and My will in some cases, but in the majority of cases being
encumbered with property can be a hindrance to My will, as many of you
have found out.
258.The prime
requisite is discipleship, and discipleship means following Me. Is
the purchase of property and a house going to add to your discipleship,
or is it going to detract from it? I dare say in most cases the
end result is going to detract from
it.
259.When I set the Family
free through the Charter, the door to purchasing property was swung open,
and many have experimented and tried this out, because there are many reasons
that it appears to be a viable solution to many of your problems. But though it
may solve some problems, in many cases it ends up being a greater
detriment spiritually than it is a help physically, because it ties you down and
keeps you from following Me.
260.This is why My original plan was to have My followers live communally,
for then they would not need the principle of ownership to be able to afford
their living. Instead, they all sold their lands and possessions, and laid
the remuneration at the apostles' feet, and distribution was made to every man
according as he had need. The fact is that an army needs fellowship, an army
needs each other, and the purchase and ownership of lands and
houses usually leads to division in the ranks, where the soldiers are no
longer living in the barracks or in communal housing but off on their own. They
say they still embrace the teachings of the army and its goals, but they are no
longer able to participate in the army's campaigns and go out to the field
on maneuvers, for their property requires their interest, time, and devotion in
order to secure its viability.
261.Therefore, in the great majority of cases I would say that the
purchase of a house and property will end up being more of a distraction
and a hindrance to accomplishing My highest will; it will sap your
discipleship, strength and conviction from you, and will end up owning a greater
part of you than My will does. This is why any such purchases should be done in
counsel, and the more counsel the better, for if you can bring your shepherds
into the counsel, then chances are you will have a more well-rounded view as to
which way I am really leading you in this
endeavor.
262.Remember, if
you insist, I often let you have your way, because I see you are
determined to do a certain thing and it would really do no good to “force”
you. But by placing your heart in My hands and desiring My will more than
your own, you will be open to following Me whithersoever I
go.
263.Remember, I am with
you always, even unto the end of the world; therefore if you choose your own
way, I will be with you there too. But how much happier you will be if you
forsake your own way and grab onto My will and make
that the pearl of great price that you would not forsake for
anything--not for security, not for safety, not for comfort, not for an easier
life!
264.If this is your
pearl, then grab it with all your heart and never let it go, for I have
promised to keep you even unto your gray hairs. As My King David of old
said, “I have been young, and now am old, yet have I not seen the righteous
forsaken nor his seed begging bread” (Psa.37:25). “He that forsakes houses or
lands or mother or father or brother or sister or wife or children for My sake,
shall receive a hundredfold in this life, and in the world to come, eternal
life” (Mark 10:29-30). This is still true today. It is My call in order to
secure full discipleship.
265.With Active members, general membership, etc., this may
not be the case. But for you, My Endtime army who have been called to be
ready to follow Me at a moment's notice, the price is often to not be entangled
with the affairs of this life, that you may serve Him who has called you to be a
soldier.
266.The basic
principle to judge by is how it affects your commitment to
discipleship. If your ownership of a house and property
adds to your discipleship and does not detract from it in any way, then
it's a blessing; it keeps you going forward for Me. But if it keeps you
from discipleship, then it is a hindrance. It is a weight that besets you and
hinders your taking up your cross to follow Me. It is a yoke that is weighty and
a burden that is heavy because it is not My yoke or My burden. Judge ye which is
best. (End of message from
Jesus.)
267.(Mama:) Of course, it's a different situation if the Lord
miraculously supplies a house for you. Say someone offers to buy you a house, or
you inherit one, etc. There is the possibility that such a situation
could be the Lord's way of providing your needs or some means of income. But
there's a very big difference in the Lord just “dropping a house in your lap” as
opposed to your leaving your full-time missionary work to raise money to
buy a house for your own security and comfort. Please be very prayerful when
entering into any long-term purchases of property and don't move forward with it
until you're absolutely sure it's the Lord's highest
will.
268.I know this is a
long GN and it's difficult to grasp all the counsel. I pray you will have
enough concern about your future and staying in God's will that you'll take the
time to read it more than once, even to study
it.
269.Remember, all these
things tie in together. These many compromises for gain are hurting your
personal fruitfulness and the effectiveness and future of the Family as a whole.
If you're serious about being a disciple, pray about the matters discussed in
this GN. Pray about how you're doing in the following points: Living communally,
sharing all things as per Acts 2:44 and 45, working hard for the Lord, doing
“double time” if necessary to pioneer and establish a follow-up ministry with
lasting fruit and support, making whatever sacrifices are necessary to be
dropped out, and not being encumbered with the cares of this life.
A
Checklist to Assess
Your Personal
Obedience
270.To close
this GN, I want to share with you the Lord's checklist regarding how you're
living and supporting yourself. If you honestly assess your personal
obedience, I believe a lot of change will come about as a result. There are very
important questions here that you need to seriously think about and ask the Lord
about. Please take the time to hear from the Lord in prophecy, desperately
praying that you'll have a clear channel through humility, desperation and
yieldedness.
271.(Jesus speaking:) They that preach the Gospel shall live of the
Gospel. If you seek first My Kingdom, all will be added unto you. This is
the crux of the matter. The lack of fulfillment of My Word is due to
disobedience.
272.I have
given promise after promise; I have laid out in explicit detail where I am
leading and what I want the Family to do. I have not failed in one of all My
promises. Ask yourself these questions. Also, ask Me to speak to you in prophecy
about the following questions:
1)
Lord, am I doing all I can to obey Your Word to the best of my ability? Am I
an obedient and diligent follower in every way? (The Lord supplies for His
children in direct proportion to our obedience to His will in every area of our
lives. He has heaped abundant spiritual riches on the children of David. He has
given detailed instruction, covering how He wants me to live in every area of my
life, what He wants me to do. Disobedience in any area of my life will limit the
Lord's resources.)
2) What kind
of sample of a Christian am I on a daily basis? How much compromise of my
convictions have I allowed in my life? If someone were to spend a day observing
me as an individual, what would they conclude is my profession? Lord, am I hot,
cold, or lukewarm?
3) Am I staying in
close communication with You, Lord? Am I fellowshipping with You? Am I
checking in with You before I make a
move?
4) Dear Husband, am I
neglecting Your Word, either in feeding from it myself or in giving it out
to others? Am I drinking in Your Word daily, receiving the nourishment and
strength, the guidance and counsel You have for
me?
5) Am I following where You are
leading? Am I pushing Activated, giving Your Word to the lost, making
disciples of all nations? Am I loving others, giving my utmost to reach them and
help them,broadening the borders of my tents, opening my doors to gather
in Your last great harvest, going out into the highways and byways to gather
them in? (Where the Lord guides, He provides. This is where He is
guiding.)
6) How can I improve
the witness in the fundraising methods I use, Lord? How can I
incorporate more follow-up and in-depth
witnessing?
7) How do I spend my
time? How much of my time is spent preaching the Gospel in comparison to all the
other things I do? What are my first thoughts of the day? Do I wonder
how I'm going to put bread on the table, or how I'm going to spread the
Word?
8) Am I living Acts 2:44 and
45? Am I living together with others? Am I sharing all things? Am I
following Your plan, Lord, for good
economics?
9) How do I spend the
finances You supply? (Waste not, want not. The Lord does not support what
He has not ordained.)
10) Am I
working for You, Lord, or for Mammon? Am I working hard for You? Am I
putting my hours in, doing all I can to the best of my ability to preach the
Gospel to the lost?
11) Is it Your
will for me to quit my System job,
Lord?
12) (For FGAs:) How
can I personally tap in to the “retirement plan” You have provided through
Activated? What steps do I need to take today to begin cultivating my
“congregation”?
13) (If you're
contemplating buying a house:) Lord, how do You see this? Is this a private
personal endeavor, or is the vision to establish a communal effort? Are we
proceeding with sufficient counsel--both from others and from You, Lord? Are we
fully informed of all the possible complications? Is the house big enough to
house a good-sized Home? Will it take a lot of fixing up, which will distract us
from our main job of witnessing?
14)
Am I putting You to the test, Lord? Am I proving You? Am I standing on Your
promises and Your promises alone? (The Lord is not limited by many or by few.
He has promised to open the windows of Heaven, but I must do my
part.)
15) Am I really depending
on You, Lord?Am I desperate with You? Am I claiming Your promises?
(If my faith is in anything other than the Lord and His Word, I limit His
source of supply.)
16) Am I
calling on the power of the keys of the Kingdom to open the windows of Heaven of
supply? Am I using all the new weapons of the spirit that will activate and
enhance my spiritual power?
273.If you do your best for Me, I will do My
best for you. The crux of the matter is simple: My supply is
dependent on your obedience to what I tell you to do. (End of message from
Jesus.)
274.(Mama:) We are praying for you desperately that you will obey and find
the Lord's will for your lives, and rid yourselves of any compromise for
gain. If not, you will not find the success you hope for, but will, instead,
only find disappointment. You are accountable for the truth the Lord has given
you, and His blessing in your life will depend on your
obedience.
275.If you feel
lacking in power or inspiration, if you're too tired to even stir yourself
up to try to do better, if you feel you're too deeply entrenched in the System
or too weak in faith from compromise to get back to full discipleship, cry out
to the Lord for help! Don't wait. Don't say you'll do it later or tomorrow. Do
it now! Call on your Husband and ask Him to give you faith. Call on His strength
to help you change and get back on the track of uncompromising discipleship, and
then ask Him to help you learn how to use the power of the keys of the Kingdom.
If you'll use the keys, you can call on their power and receive whatever help
you need. All you have to do is yield and obey. It's there for the asking, so
just ask!
276.The keys
rule! Remember, the Lord promised: “Command Me, the Keeper of the Keys,
to work on your behalf through the power that I readily and freely give you. I
will overcome all impossibilities for you, My Brides, because you turn the keys
of the Kingdom.”
With desperate prayer
for you, dear loves,
Mama