"REWARDS!"--By Father David DO962 1 December 1980
(From a tape to Faith & Juan at MWM:)
1. MARIA'S JUST BEEN READING A LETTER TO ME REGARDING PATIENCE & AHIMILECH & that couple who just left gave their nice little caravan to someone else when Patience wanted it very badly & Patience & Ahimilech really needed it & certainly out-ranked more than anyone else but Jeremy in both seniority & priority!
2. I CONSIDER THAT A. IS NEXT IN COMMAND TO JEREMY HIMSELF AS FAR AS THE MUSIC IS CONCERNED, & is the most outstanding musician there aside from Jeremy!--The most talented, the most versatile, playing the most instruments & singing & composing as well. He probably knows as much about music as Jeremy but was not as famous. Nevertheless I felt led to appoint Jeremy as Musical Director & I would certainly consider A. as his Assistant Musical Director.
3. I UNDERSTAND A. & P. WERE THE FIRST TO PIONEER THE CAMP, had been there the longest & were only living in a tent. Whatever inspired the couple that left to give someone else their caravan instead of someone who was far more important to the work & should have had priority & seniority & first choice on it, & certainly must have needed it!
4. I DON'T KNOW THE WHOLE STORY, & you are there & I'm sure you do, but I'm just wondering if you shouldn't have counselled them on that, to have given priority to the work & not to just some particular personalities that they preferred or whatever their reason was for giving the caravan to someone else instead of to A. & P.
5. I WOULD CERTAINLY CONSIDER A.& P. FAR MORE IMPORTANT TO THE WORK & outranking most others in seniority & priority. I certainly wouldn't want to hurt their feelings, but the facts remain that I consider A.& P. were the most important to the work there & should have been given prime consideration for that better housing in the days when it was needed.
6. PERHAPS P. HAS GOOD REASON FOR FEELING A LITTLE LEFT OUT & NOT GIVEN DUE CONSIDERATION. Her husband is, after all, the most outstanding musician there outside of Jeremy, has given up a great deal to be there & has contributed a great deal to the work. Would you please let us know why you & Juan did not counsel C & R to give their trailer to A.& P. under the circumstances, or how did this happen?
7. I UNDERSTAND THEY'RE BETTER HOUSED NOW, IN ACTUALLY A HOUSE, so they should not have any complaints now, but "a stitch in time saves nine" & it's too bad that it was not done in time to save this dissension which has arisen as a result, & that they are now removed from the camp where they're sort of out of fellowship which they need. It's shame that that wasn't worked a little bit more wisely & satisfactorily to keep A.& P. happy.
8. I UNDERSTAND A. IS STANDING STRONG, BUT IT'S HARD TO STAND STRONG UNDER A NAGGING WIFE who's henpecking continually, wearing you down with her complaints. It certainly would have been better to have tried to have pleased her & kept her happy, very important to keep her happy to try to preserve his contentment so that he'll be able to give his best to the work. We're a little concerned why a wiser choice was not made regarding this, that when P. really wanted that trailer & was expecting it, why she didn't get it. Can you please tell us why?
9. OUR VICTORY OVER RACHEL & HER CROWD BY STEALING A. AWAY FROM THEM WAS QUITE AN OUTSTANDING VICTORY & still stands as a testimony against her & her crowd to this day, & I would hate to see us lose that victory & suffer a defeat in that respect by losing them due to P.'s discontent & feeling that she's sort of left out or that she's not considered & that you folks have any kind of prejudice against her or whatever it may be that caused you to allow the departing couple to make such a choice. They should have been strongly counselled to put the work & its top-ranking workers first above all personal or other considerations.
10. YOU ALL HAD BETTER GET WISE TO WHO THE GEESE ARE THAT ARE LAYING THE GOLDEN EGGS & who are the most important to the work there--such as Simon, Jeremy, A. etc.--& give them due consideration, "honour to whom honour is due" (Ro.13:7), & proper respect & consideration & deference & consideration in housing & all other amenities, to keep them satisfied & happy & contented & knowing that you are considerate of them & concerned about them. Those top musicians & top talent on the Show should receive the greater deference & the greater reward.
11. THE SAYING THAT JESUS SAID, "TO WHOM MUCH HAS BEEN GIVEN OF THE SAME SHALL MUCH REQUIRED" IS AN EQUATION WHICH WORKS BOTH WAYS, that "those from whom much is required, unto them much should be given"! (Lk.12:48.) And "those that are faithful over many things should be made rulers over many things". (Mt.25:21.) There's much Scripture on the side of the equation of rewards, paralleling or equalling or counterbalancing the amount of good works that are involved.
12. GOD WORKS DEFINITELY ON A REWARD & MERIT BASIS WHEN IT COMES TO WORKS. Not salvation, but works. Definitely He rewards every man according to his works & we'll be judged every one according to our works. (Ps.62:12; Jer.17:10; Mt.16:27; 2Cor.5:10; Rev.20:12; 22:12.)
13. THOSE THAT WORK THE HARDEST & DO THE MOST & are the most important to the work & are contributing the most & sacrificing the most should by all means be given top priority & top seniority when it comes to any kind of consideration such as housing or food or time off or clothing or things they want to do, to make them happy or whatever it may be.
14. NOW YOU HAD BETTER LEARN THIS IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE LEADERS THERE IN THE CAMP TO SOLVE THESE PERSONNEL PROBLEMS & not cause discontent through unwise choices, even if not your own choice but someone else's choice that you should have counselled to do otherwise, & thereby cause little roots of bitterness to take hold & grow to the point that they cause actual trouble & dissension & perhaps even lose us some very valuable much-needed personnel there.
15. NOW I ONLY KNOW THE LEAST POSSIBLE ABOUT THE SITUATION, you know the whole background of the whole story, but we would like to know why the couple that left were permitted to give their caravan to others instead of to A. & P. who should have certainly had priority & top seniority above them. I'm sorry to say, but that's the facts. There is a respecter of persons when it comes to differences of talent & necessity & due & merited rewards.
16. GOD IS NO RESPECTER OF PERSONS REGARDING SALVATION. He's no respecter of persons regarding people's wealth or power or Worldly possession & things like that. But when it comes to their works, their talents, their abilities & their necessities & their contribution to His works & His work, then He definitely is a respecter of person, & He brings that out in many Scriptures.
17. THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN GIVEN MUCH IN THE WAY OF TALENT, ETC., OF THEM SHALL MUCH BE REQUIRED. "He that is faithful in many things shall be made ruler over many things, he that is faithful in only a few things shall be ruler over a few things." "Every man shall be rewarded according to his works". (Lk.12:48; Mt.25:21; 16:27.)
18. THOSE WHOSE WORKS ARE MORE IMPORTANT, MORE VITALLY ESSENTIAL TO HIS WORK & CONTRIBUTE MORE TO HIS OVERALL ENDEAVOUR, they should be given due consideration, top consideration. They should be considered more, they should be rewarded more & given priority & seniority over others who are not as vital & essential to the work & who outrank them. Now the people to whom they gave the caravan are very precious & they're a great asset to the work there, don't misunderstand me, & we love them dearly & are very deserving, but
19. THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT ITEM & A VERY IMPORTANT THING THAT YOU MUST KEEP IN MIND IN YOUR VARIOUS CHOICES & DECISIONS & counselling & considerations there, & that is, you do have ranks! God's order is not a classless society! God's Kingdom is anything but a classless system! "Some shall shine as the stars for having turned many to righteousness, others will be raised to everlasting shame & contempt!" (Dan.12:3,4.) There is a difference! (Rev.2:10.)
20. THERE'S GOING TO BE A GREAT DIFFERENCE! Some shall have many stars in their crown, but it looks like some may not even get a crown at all even though saved! They have lost their crown because they have failed to serve Him as they should have, & they failed in some work that God gave them to do. So there is definitely a difference in the Kingdom of God now as well as hereafter, & definitely we are rewarded today even, according to our works.
21. I CAN SAY THAT AS MY OWN PERSONAL TESTIMONY, that's for sure! We probably sacrificed more, gave up more & suffered longer for 50 years before we ever really found our calling, & worked harder all those years, studied & prepared. Although we didn't know what we were preparing for, God as preparing us.
22. GOD INVESTED AN AWFUL LOT IN US IN TIME & TALENT & education & knowledge of His Word & experience, & we were undoubtedly 50 years ahead of the rest of you when it came to preparation for the job! So that when the time came, much was required to me, & I have put it all back into the Lord's work as best I can.
23. BUT GOD HAS ALSO REWARDED US ABUNDANTLY IN TREMENDOUS ACCOMPLISHMENT, souls for His Kingdom & a great Kingdom amongst men of young people & children saved for His glory & useful in His work & serving him as missionaries in scores of countries throughout the World, abundantly fruitful, winning literally millions of souls!
24. I WOULD SAY THAT'S TREMENDOUS REWARD FOR MY FAITHFULNESS! "Because of one man's obedience, many were made righteous" (Ro.5:19), as well as the fact that God has also supplied us abundantly financially & been very good to us materially to make it all possible.
25. SO I FOR ONE CAN CERTAINLY TESTIFY THAT GOD ABUNDANTLY REWARDS & is extra good to & makes unusually fruitful those who really give their all for His Kingdom & sacrifice everything & invest the most in it. Of all of you in the entire Family, I probably have had more to invest & also perhaps more to sacrifice & more to give up, & yet more to put into God's Kingdom, but which really I count as no sacrifice.
26. I HAD MORE TALENTS TO INVEST & GOD EXPECTED MORE TALENTS IN RETURN--& HE GOT'M! I wasn't like the man with the one talent, I had the five or ten & I put'm all back in & I got back multitudes more! (Mt.25:4-30.) I'm sure God has been very happy with it, that having given me so much in the way of experience & time & talent & knowledge & Spirit & gifts & all the rest, that I invested every single bit of it back into His work.
27. HE HAS TREMENDOUSLY ABUNDANTLY REWARDED ME IN EVERY WAY: In souls & accomplishment for His Kingdom, the whole Family & our children & millions of souls & happiness & joy & satisfaction & contentment & lovers galore & material blessings abundant! So I for one can certainly testify that God is very good to His most faithful servants, & those who do the best job He rewards the best.
28. GOD IS DEFINITELY A RESPECTER OF PERSONS WHEN IT COMES TO WORKS FOR HIM--NOT TO SALVATION. We're all sinners & equal under the law, just as guilty, & all saved just as easily & forgiven just as much under grace as any--there's no difference. "There's none righteous, no, not one"! (Ps.14:3, Rom.3:10.) God is no respecter of persons when it comes to salvation.
29. BUT WHEN IT COMES TO WORKS & ACCOMPLISHING SOMETHING FOR HIM IN HIS KINGDOM HERE ON EARTH, here & now as well as in the future, He is a great respecter of persons! He tells us even now "honour to whom honour is due"! (Rom.13:7.) In other words, honour, great honour, is not due to some people, they don't deserve it. But honour is due to others & they do deserve it.
30. SO YOU HAD BETTER GIVE IT TO THEM, & be sure that you give the greater honour to those who work the hardest & deserve it the most & have invested the most in their time & talent & have given up the most to serve the Lord--& even given a well-known name such as Jeremy's to the work, which has been an asset--as well as multitudes of talents & instrumentals etc. to A. & on down the line.
31. SO YOU FOLKS HAD BETTER WAKE UP & WISE UP TO WHO'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO THE WORK THERE, including of course dear Simon first of all, as being the most essential & the most talented in many ways in his exceedingly good talents as Master of Ceremonies, disc jockey, & as having had the original vision & faith & courage to pioneer that Show & make it work.
32. HE'S STILL A GOOD PROMOTER, HE'S STILL AN EXCELLENT SHOWMAN, an excellent MC, & I still consider the Show revolves around him & his faith in Jesus & his devotion to the Lord. So you had better wake up as to who should get top priority when there is any consideration concerned regarding housing & food & comfort & beds & transportation or whatever it may be! Those who have given the most should receive the most.
33. SO I'M VERY SORRY & A BIT UPSET BY THE FACT THAT P. IS UPSET when she knew that she & her husband certainly deserved that trailer more than anyone else there, had the most to invest & had priority & seniority over anybody else outside Jeremy & his family, who are already well-supplied. You'd better give me a mighty good explanation of why you let that happen, & you're suffering for it now by P's own discontent & dissatisfaction & causing poor A. problems.
34. WELL, THAT'S A LITTLE LECTURE TO YOU, FAITHY & JUAN, to wake you up to get wise to what you need to remember if you're going to be faithful leaders in God's work & handling His personnel, that you do have to give extra special consideration to some people because they deserve it! "Honour to whom honour is due", means some people deserve some things more than others.
35. WELL, THERE'S THE WORD WITH A BIT OF BARK ON IT! I'm sorry to have to sock it to you on this subject, but I believe that was a mistake from what I hear, that the caravan was given to someone else & not to the ones who were most essential & most deserving & really had seniority & priority for it--& needed it & wanted it!
36. WHEN IT COMES TO SUCH MAJOR DECISIONS AS THAT--when someone is leaving, as to whom their caravan should be given to--the person who owns the caravan is not to be the major factor in the decision. They may have legal right & they may in the long run insist on their own way, & if they do that over your counsel & advice & contrary to it, then that's not your fault, you can't help it. But you should learn to counsel people & lead & show them the right way, take it or leave it!
37. YOU MUST LEARN TO HELP PEOPLE MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION WHO LACK THE WISDOM & the leadership & the authority even to make such decisions. The couple who left, no matter whether they owned the trailer or not, had neither the authority nor the right to make a decision on their own regarding to whom that caravan should go!
38. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A JOINT DECISION OF THE FAMILY THERE which should have been discussed & counselled & advised & led by your wisdom & counsel & leadership & authority in advising them to do what was best with that caravan & give it to the ones who deserved it & needed it & wanted it the most. Therefore I consider that you are now suffering for your own mistake, at least that's the way it looks from here.
39. IF I'M WRONG, FORGIVE ME. IF YOU DID TRY TO GET THEM TO GIVE IT TO THEM, FINE! If they overrode you & went ahead & gave it to the others in spite of your advice & counsel, well, then that's not your fault. But this is nevertheless a little sermon that you'll need in the future, if not the past, & that is that you must give due respect & due consideration to the people who are the most vital to the work & are contributing the most to the cause & whose talents are the most valuable & who are the most essential in the Kingdom.
40. WE'VE HAD TO PUT UP WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE FOR A GOOD MANY YEARS in order to get the benefit of their talents because they had seniority & priority & we needed them desperately, even such as Jethro & Deborah & Rachel & her crowd, & we're still putting up with some of them.
41. IN FACT, WE'RE FINALLY MANAGING TO REHABILITATE A FEW OF THEM & recover some of them from her bad influence, & they are extremely essential & valuable to the work, & we have given them extra honour & extra care. Having been our most uncomely parts, we have had to bestow upon them the greater care (I Cor.12:23), because we needed them more & they were more vitally essential than some others.
42. THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE WE WOULDN'T HAVE PUT IT UP WITH SO MUCH FROM AS WE HAVE FROM SOME OF THEM, because they are extremely vital & extremely useful & extremely talented. I could name some of them right there in your camp at this moment, as well as some in our place, as well as some that have clung & we've held on to & managed to help them make it in spite of everything, because they were so valuable, essential, important & needed.
43. SO YOU MUST LEARN THAT LESSON TOO, THAT THERE IS A DIFFERENCE! Whatever you think about God, if you think He's no respecter of persons, you'd better be a respecter of persons when it comes to talent, necessity, priority, seniority & all the rest! And just remember that God is a respecter of persons when it comes to those things & in rewarding the amount of investment in His Kingdom, & the amount of sacrifice & the amount of labour & its quality & its importance in His Kingdom.
44. SO YOU HAD BETTER GET THAT THROUGH YOURS HEADS to be very respectful & extremely careful & prayerful with people you need the most, & give them extra good consideration, & go to the second or second-hundredth mile with them to try to hang on to them if you can. You need them & God needs them & they deserve it because they have more to invest & have invested more & are greater talent & more needed than some others.
45. SO REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE WHOLE STORY IS OR NOT, YOU NEED TO REMEMBER THIS LITTLE LESSON when you're dealing with any personnel, whether it's top personnel or bottom personnel, there is such a thing. There is top personnel & there is bottom personnel! There are those who are absolutely vitally essential to the work & there are those who are expendable, even though they be offended. So you must get that through your heads & keep that in mind when you're making decisions & helping others to make decisions.
46. YOU HAD BETTER PUT UP WITH A LITTLE MORE FROM THOSE WHO HAVE MORE TO CONTRIBUTE! You'd better learn to give them a little more consideration & be a little more patient with them & a little more understanding & a little more considerate & reward them more & take better care of them & be better to them than even those who are not so essential & so important to the work.
47. REWARD EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS WORKS, JUST LIKE GOD DOES! Give them what they deserve, like God does. If they deserve a crown, give it to them. If they deserve a crown with many stars, give it to them. If they deserve many cities in return for their talents, give them to them.
48. IF THEY HAVE INVESTED A GREAT DEAL IN THE LORD'S WORK & THEY HAVE THAT TOP PRIORITY for His Kingdom & that seniority--they've served the longest & most faithfully & are most needed--then give them that due consideration. If they should have greater honour than others because they deserve greater honour, give it to them! And you'd better get that through your heads if you're going to be wise leaders in His Kingdom there & give due deference to the ones who truly deserve it. Amen? OK! Don't forget it! God bless you! We love you!
49. SORRY TO HAVE TO GIVE YOU THIS LITTLE LECTURE, but we're also sorry to hear that apparently an unwise decision was made, whoever by, obviously by the couple that left. We don't know whether you had any hand in it or not, whether you advised & counselled them on it or not, but obviously since P. wanted that caravan & A. would I'm sure have appreciated it & they were far more important to the work, they should have been given priority, seniority, first consideration, first dibs on it, & you should have counselled the couple accordingly.
50. AS IT IS, NOW YOU'VE GOT A THORN IN YOUR SIDE over someone who is discontented & feels that they were not given due appreciation for their topnotch work, & you're going to have to deal with it. And maybe you're going to have to make up for it by giving them extra consideration & showing them that you do love them & do appreciate them by showing them greater gratitude than before & greater reward in things as well as in honour. Well, PTL! There it is, that's the word with a little bark in it too, GBY! We love you!
51. (MARIA: IN SOME WAYS WE ALSO THINK THAT, LIKE FIONA, P. DESERVES A LITTLE FOR HER PAST SERVICES TOO. Because like Fiona & Tim's Deb & some of those girls that worked under Rachel & Deborah, they were pretty much shunned & even persecuted in some ways & made to be isolated & kept on the outside while their husbands were taken in & were on the "in crowd", so to speak.
52. (THE WIVES THEMSELVES REALLY WENT THROUGH A LOT & WERE FAITHFUL THROUGH REALLY HARD TIMES, & in spite of the things they had to go through they stuck with their husbands & they stuck with the Lord & the Family. So now you can't really blame them in some ways for feeling that they deserve a little, or at least what they can get.) I heartily agree!
53. SOME OF THOSE WIVES WHO WERE PERSECUTED & PUT DOWN & VILLIFIED & CRITICISED & TERRIBLY MISTREATED UNDER RACHEL--whereas their husbands were the Queen's favourites--I consider they certainly deserve a little extra consideration now. And we should certainly, if nothing else, show & set a better example than Rachel did, by giving them more consideration & more credit for what they're doing in giving their husbands to the Lord's work & unselfishly giving up a great deal in order to let their husbands serve the Lord.
54. IT COULD BE VERY WELL THAT P. HAS FELT A LITTLE LEFT OUT & a little mistreated & a little unappreciated because of such things as this trailer being given to someone else when A & P really deserved it & needed it the most. Perhaps it seems a small matter to you, but these small matters can grow to be great fires that cause a lot of damage if you don't catch them in time, snuff'm out in time & quench the wrong spirit in time & solve the problem & get'm on the right track.
55. SO I SUGGEST YOU DO YOUR BEST TO TRY TO IRON THAT OUT AS FAST AS YOU CAN BEFORE IT GROWS ANY WORSE, because we certainly need A. & his talent there, & he's been a great blessing. So get to it & hop to it quick & see what you can do to try to give her more consideration.
56. WE'VE HAD QUITE A FEW PEOPLE IN THE PAST--JETH & DEB ARE SOME PRIME EXAMPLES--that we've been forced to work with in spite of some pretty serious problems they had. But we needed them & their help & their talents, so we put up with them as long as we could. And when we finally got to where we just couldn't handle it & they were just more of a drag than a help, why, then we of course had to get rid of them, as well as some other people, including Rachel.
57. BUT IN HE MEANTIME WE HAD TO PUT UP WITH THEM, JUST LIKE GOD PUT UP WITH SAUL for many years until David was ready to take his place. So you had better learn to put up with people that sometimes you're stuck with because you've got nobody else. You're going to have to make'm happy & appease'm & take good care of them & be extra nice to them & especially good to them in order to keep them for God's service & keep them in His will & useful to Him until such time as either they get the victory or you find somebody to replace them.
58. SO YOU FOLKS HAVE GOT A VERY VERY BIG JOB THERE IN HANDLING THIS PERSONNEL & evaluating the situations & treasuring the tremendous priceless treasure that God has given you there in talent such as Simon's, Jeremy's, A.'s & all of them, to keep them in the right spirit, to keep them in the victory, to keep them happy & to keep their needs all well-supplied.
59. WE'RE DOING THE BEST WE CAN FROM HERE TO TRY TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO SUPPLY THOSE NEEDS & their necessities & keep them happy, & do all that we can to keep them in God's work, & you'd better do the same there in your personal dealings & choices & decisions regarding whatever it may be--including housing, food, clothing, transportation, shelter or whatever it is.
60. THOSE WHO ARE GIVING THE MOST & THE MOST NEEDED SHOULD HAVE TOP PRIORITY, seniority & top consideration & be shown the greatest appreciation & gratitude. Amen? So get with it! If you've been making mistakes along this line, you'd better rectify them & do it quick before you lose somebody as important as A. & lose his talents.
61. AND YOU'D BETTER TAKE MIGHTY GOOD CARE OF SIMON TOO & show him how much you appreciate him & keep him happy, because he's the heart & soul of that work there aside from Jesus Himself! PTL? OK! GBY all! We love you, but that's little lecture you need, from what we gather from what happened. No matter whose fault it was or whose decision or whose mistake, it looks like it was a mistake in some way because it has not borne good fruit. So think it over, pray about it, & let us know what you think on the subject. GBY!
62. PERHAPS YOU MAY HAVE TO SHARE THIS LITTLE TALK WITH OTHERS WHERE WHO ARE IN POSITIONS OF RESPONSIBILITY & LEADERSHIP. I certainly wouldn't hesitate to share it with Simon. I don't know whether Jeremy & A., Fiona & P. etc. could take it or not, but they may appreciate it & thank the Lord for it. It would show that they are appreciated, if you let them in on it too & let them know we consider them the top dogs & the most important personnel that we have there & with the greatest talent & the most needed & who deserve the greatest honour.
63. SO IF YOU THINK IT'LL BE GOOD FOR THEM & it'll show that they're appreciated & that I appreciate them & that I do feel that a mistake was made by someone in that choice about the caravan, perhaps if P. would hear this tape, God bless her, she would know that I love her & I'm sorry about what happened happened, & that I hope that you'll do everything you can to make & A. happy now, & show them your due appreciation & a greater gratitude than you have before. PTL?
64. OUR FAMILY HAS HAD A BAD HABIT IN THE PAST OF BEING PRETTY BLUNT & RUNNING ROUGHSHOD OVER A LOT OF PEOPLE & not considering their feelings & just being awfully bossy in the Chain attitude, the Rachel-Deborah-Jethro attitude of absolute totalitarian dictatorship & not giving people due consideration for their feelings or their comfort or their needs, & just absolutely treating them with great disrespect & lack of consideration & not showing them the proper love & thoughtfulness etc.
65. SO FOR GOD'S SAKE, LET'S NOT BE LIKE THAT AWFUL CHAIN WAS! We've had to get rid of a good many of them, & we're trying to retrain some of them, & some of them are making it--Like dear Peter & Silas & quite a few others, TTL! They repented & they have seen the difference & seen the light, & they're now following us instead of Rachel's example.
66. SO LET'S TRY TO RECOVER & RECOUP & REHABILITATE AS MANY AS WE CAN, including A. & P., PTL? OK! GBY! You can use your own wisdom on who you think should hear this particular part of these tapes regarding this particular problem of consideration of leadership & consideration of priority & seniority which we do have in God's Kingdom, & it's very Scriptural.
67. SO GOD BLESS YOU! THANKS FOR LISTENING & RECEIVING MY COUNSEL, EVEN IF SOMETIMES IT HURTS! PTL! ILY! You're doing a great job, terrific! I don't think we could have ever done it & it wouldn't have been possible if you hadn't been able to be there to lead them spiritually & knock their heads together in the Spirit & the Lord & keep them united in heart & mind & faith & purpose, so you're doing tremendously! "But this you ought to have done & not to have left the other undone" (Mt.23:23), so we're just trying to advise & counsel you on possible mistakes.
68. IF YOU ARE NOT THE ONES WHO MADE THE MISTAKE & THE COUPLE WHO LEFT RAN ROUGHSHOD OVER YOU IN THE DECISION, or didn't counsel with you at all & made it without your knowledge or counsel ahead of time so it was too late or there was no way you could change it, then that's not your fault, this little lecture is for the future. However, regardless of their decision, unless they actually let the people to whom they gave it move into it immediately as they were moving out before they left, you could have changed the situation after they were gone.
69. YOU COULD HAVE CHANGED THE DECISION NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAID, but of course that does have its problems. But anyway, you just think it over & pray about it & let us know your feelings in this respect. And definitely I'm quite sure I'm right regarding the general policy that I'm outlining for you in the making of decisions regarding personnel.
70. YOU BY ALL MEANS SHOULD GIVE HONOUR TO WHOM HONOUR & RESPECT TO WHOM RESPECT IS DESERVING & DESERVED, & give the proper consideration & appreciation & gratitude & even material rewards to those who deserve it most, & not forget the seniority of those who have been there longest & worked hardest, & priority to those who deserve it the most.
71. I REALISE WE HAVEN'T PROMISED ANYBODY ANY MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE, & the Lord also has a lesson in His Word about this: Those who worked long & hard & late & those who came late still got the same reward. (Mt.20:1-16.) This is a lesson which He's trying to teach people regarding particularly salvation, however, that regardless of the length of time of service etc., all receive the same reward regarding salvation.
72. BUT WHEN IT COMES TO LENGTH & QUALITY OF SERVICE & FAITHFULNESS etc., God definitely makes a difference in the quality & the amount of reward. He says, "Well done thou good & faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord!" (Mt.25:21,23.) There are some who will receive crowns & some who won't, some who'll shine as the stars & some who won't, some who'll receive great rewards & some who won't, some who'll be made rulers over many cities & some who won't--even though saved & a part of His Kingdom!--Is that surprising to you?
73. BECAUSE SOME FAILED & SOME WERE NOT AS USEFUL & SOME WERE NOT AS TALENTED BY GOD HIMSELF, & some were not as important & some were not as faithful. Some were not as diligent, some were not as hardworking, & some just were not, that's all!--But some were!
74. SO THERE WILL DEFINITELY BE A DIFFERENCE IN REWARDS IN HIS KINGDOM, & should be both here & now as well. So I suggest that you keep that in mind in your decisions regarding material things & housing, etc., that there is a difference & nobody's equal. We're only equal before the law & under grace, that's all. Otherwise there's a difference in a thousand different ways!
75. THERE ARE SOME WHO ARE TOPS & THERE ARE SOME WHO ARE BOTTOMS!--AND SOME SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN! And the ones who are tops in God's eyes & most needed, most faithful, most talented, most hard-working, most important, should be given the most consideration, the most material blessings, the most thoughtfulness, the most kindness, the most love, the most everything--just like God gives to us.
76. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT ANYONE HAS ANY PARTICULAR RIGHT TO MURMUR & is therefore condoned in murmuring & complaining & bellyaching & causing dissent & dissension & division. It doesn't mean that people have a right to complain if you don't give them due consideration. They should take it to the Lord, take it to you, take it to the family.
77. YOU LEADERSHIP SHOULD DISCUSS IT TOGETHER FIRST OF ALL, & if you can't come to an agreement, perhaps discuss it with the whole Family there & let it be a united decision, & then no one has a right to complain. That's when a little democracy helps sometimes, if you get unity & a united action in which all or as many as possible agree, or at least the majority.
78. SO THIS DOES NOT GIVE ANYBODY A LICENSE TO MURMUR IF THEY HAVEN'T BEEN GIVEN A SQUARE DEAL, but it certainly gives them some right to bring it to your attention & to perhaps disagree with a decision that is being made. It gives them a right certainly to have some say-so & at least state their case if nothing else.
79. ONCE A UNITED DECISION HAD BEEN MADE BY YOU LEADERSHIP OR THE FAMILY LEADERSHIP, Executive Council or Family as a whole, whatever it is, in prayer & open discussion etc., then when a majority united decision is made, preferably a unanimous decision, then they certainly should stick to it without complaint. So this is a little direction & lecture or hint or whatever you want to call it, on leadership & how to handle some of those problems, particularly problem cases which sometimes we create ourselves by our own lack of wisdom & proper consideration.
80. SO BE SURE THAT YOU REMEMBER FROM NOW ON THAT GOD DEFINITELY HAS A SYSTEM OF DEGREES--degrees of status, degrees of reward & even degrees of punishment! And you must make a difference between those who deserve a great deal, those who deserve very little & those who deserve something in between. This even includes punishment or chastisement. God beats some with few stripes & some with many stripes (Lk.12:47,48), just as you would one of your own children. There are degrees of punishment & there are also degrees of reward.
81. THE CHILD THAT OBEYS YOU GREATLY DESERVES GREATER REWARD, greater gifts, greater commendation; & a child who does not, doesn't get it, or shouldn't, because he doesn't deserve it. So you must remember that God does have degrees of reward & of punishment, & you must make a difference. There is a difference!
82. I THINK I HAVE LECTURED ON THIS SOMETIME BEFORE because some of the words & expressions have a familiar ring. But here it is again for what it's worth, & I think you'll find it worth a lot if you'll put it into practice & honour God's Word & honour His servants according to their deeds. Praise God!
83. ONE THING MARIA WANTED ME TO REMIND YOU OF WAS THAT WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATED THOSE GORGEOUS CHRISTMAS TAPES! They're absolutely beautiful with almost no slips! Considering they were done in such a hurry & under such pressure, it's amazing that you did so well & got them out in time so that the Family would receive them by Christmas, particularly to use as a tool for spreading the Word, spreading the Message, spreading the Music, spreading the Meaning & spreading His Love! PTL! God bless you for it!
84. YOU JUST DID A BEAUTIFUL JOB! Sorry you had to do it in such a short time under such pressure, but Maria got the real real burden for it as Christmas approached, & I guess she began to get the Christmas Spirit--which is Jesus--more & more feeling that we should be an even greater testimony to the World in our music at a very advantageous time when they're very hungry for Christmas music & very receptive to Christmas music & would be more apt to use Christmas music.
85. SO I HOPE WE HIT THE MARKET IN TIME & THAT WE DIDN'T MISS THE GOLDEN HARVEST & that we got them in there in time for the Family to get some real use out of them as well as to enjoy them personally. So PTL & God bless you for your sacrifice & hard work in pushing those through at this particular time under such pressure. God bless you for it, & I know He has & I know He will, because they're really beautiful & I'm sure will be greatly blessed & a great blessing for His work & His people & to others as well, in Jesus' name, amen.
86. I WAS JUST SITTING HERE PRAYING ABOUT YOUR SITUATION, FAITHY & JUAN & YOU FOLKS THERE, & thinking about how you've recaptured all those musicians & prodigal sons who have come home to what's really the Lord's work & really investing their time & talent for the Lord now instead of for man & Mammon, really now unhindered & unhandicapped by the shackles of man & his spirit & money-madness, & how you are recouping & regaining your brothers & reforming these guys & people who were once Rachel's & have taken over, in a sense, her kingdom.
87. IT JUST CAME TO ME AS I WAS SITTING HERE HOW THAT YOU CERAINLY, FAITHY, HAVE TAKEN RACHEL'S CROWN! She forsook it for this World & men of this World & the things of this World, & God has passed it on to you because of your faithfulness & your diligence & your obedience. He has turned her kingdom over to you, & now you have many of her men there working with & under you, & women too!
88. PARTICULARLY THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT WHICH WAS HER FAVOURITE DEPARTMENT & of which she was very found & for which she sacrificed almost everything & put'm up in clubs & contracts & all kinds of junk & albums & whatnot, really sacrificing God's work & God's Kingdom just for the music, & at that, the wrong kind of music, more tending toward the popular disco & hard rock than to the sweet music of God's Love.
89. CERTAINLY GOD HAS DELIVERED THE KINGDOM, & PARTICULARLY THE MUSIC KINGDOM, OUT OF RACHEL'S HANDS INTO YOURS, Faithy, & there is no doubt in my mind that you have inherited her crown & that you are now the true Brunheld who is really defending the faith there with the warriors of music! Praise God! Hallelujah!
90. SO CONGRATULATIONS, BRUNHELD! Certainly glad you got the crown, because you certainly deserve it, & Rachel has certainly lost it! She neglected it, she forsook it & you have inherited it, & rightly so, deservingly so, & I think this is just another point to prove my point in this whole lecture, & that is that some people deserve it more than others.
91. PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS TRYING TO SAY, "WELL, EVERYBODY'S SUPPOSED TO BE EQUAL IN GOD'S KINGDOM!"--THERE'S NO SUCH THING! But if you want to believe that, well OK, go ahead & believe it, but just remember that some people are more equal than others!--Ha! And you certainly are more than Rachel's equal & have done a better job & more faithfully & pioneered longer & been more diligent & more obedient & more in the Spirit, & you surely have inherited her crown & have become the queen of her kingdom in her place--particularly in the realm of music. So God bless you for it!
92. CONGRATULATIONS MUSICAL BRUNHELD! Praise God! And I wouldn't confine that just to music, because it looks to me like there's not much else left of her kingdom but some of her music & musicians & a few businessmen, & it looks to me like we've got'm all--all that were worth anything & deserving & who managed to make the right choice! So you got'm, kid! Now hang on to'm! Praise God? Don't let anybody take your crown! Don't lose'm! You've got the Kingdom, keep it! Praise the Lord?
93. AND GOD BLESS YOU, DEAR JUAN, & congratulations to you as her faithful consort, the Queen's Consort, PTL! TYJ! Dear Faithy's been a princess for a long long time. Her sister first stole her crown, then Rachel stole her crown, so she's been waiting a long time to get crowned!
94. SO I HEREBY DECLARE HER NOW CROWNED QUEEN BRUNHELD IN RACHEL'S PLACE! TYL! She certainly is a Brunheld, a real defender of the faith, a real Amazon warrior, a genuine Viking Valkyrie, & she fits the picture even better than Rachel. Rachel had the size, but you've got the stature & the Spirit! Praise God!
95. SO GOD BLESS YOU, QUEEN FAITHY!--OUR QUEEN BRUNHELD! You have taken the kingdom away from Rachel & conquered her men & inherited her crown! PTL! Hallelujah! And everybody said: AMEN!! Say it again: (Maria: Amen!) That's a hearty amen from Maria, Faithy! And when you get credit from her, let me tell you, you really deserve it, because you've got to earn it & work for it to get her commendation! She doesn't fiddle around! She calls a spade a spade, & if people don't deserve it, she doesn't give it!
96. SHE'S A TOUGH LITTLE MANAGER, GOD BLESS HER! Anybody that manages me has to be 'cause I'm a pretty tough guy to keep under control! But she keeps me under control for the Lord & makes me do my work & keeps me busy. I'll tell you, she knows what priority means & what's most needful & top on the list of my next work that I have to do & what you need the most, & the Lord really leads her by the Spirit in her managerial Queenly ability to help this end of the Kingdom.
97. SO GOD BLESS MARIA! And everybody said: Amen! TYJ! Hallelujah! PTL!--Amen. She says, well, I know how to handle her too! Oh, I love to handle her, PTL! TYJ! Well, she's a real Queen & she's got all the talents & abilities of a Queen--the managerial ability, the authority & the wisdom & the Spirit & the love & the concern for her people. She's a genuine real shepherdess!--A truly great Queen!
98. AND I'LL TELL YOU, IF THE LORD EVER HINTED IN THAT "SHEPHERDESS" LETTER THAT SHE WAS A BIT STINGY WITH THE WORDS, she sure has repented & changed! (See No.837.) She's been dishin' it out so fast & so much of it we can hardly hold it! The Magazine since then has leaped from 32 pages to sometimes over 300! So I certainly don't think she deserves any hint of a reproof any more for being stingy with the Words & not dishing it out.
99. SHE'S TRYING TO DISH IT OUT AS FAST AS IT COMES IN, but the only problem is that it comes in faster than she can possibly dish it out! Just like the Lord promised in "The Birthday Warning" (No.215), that He'd give more than there is room to hold, & He surely has! So praise God! She's a real Queen, let me tell you, in her area here with the publications, Magazine & me, & she's doing a tremendous job along that line!
100. YOU'RE A BRUNHELD FIGHTER OF THE FAITH OUT THERE ON THE FRONT LINES, a real Queen for the Lord in His frontline battle, Faithy, & so you surely deserve your crown! You had a crown of your own already & you can just stack Rachel's on top of it! Praise God! Hallelujah?
101. "CROWN HIM WITH MANY CROWNS!" (Rev.19:12.) Well, if that's true of Jesus, I guess it can be true of us too! If other people fail in their jobs, you can crown yourself with quite a few of their crowns if you take their job & do it for'm instead. So "crown Him with many crowns", give them just reward, what they deserve. And if they deserve a lot of crowns as well as a lot of stars in'm, give'm to'm! Praise God! And if they don't, don't! And certainly don't reward some people above what they deserve when others deserve it & need it. So may that be a lesson to all of you! GBY! We love you!
102. REWARDS ARE LIKE WAGES, THEY'RE LIKE OUR PAY FOR DOING GOOD WORK, & we get rewarded according to our work. You get paid according to the work you do, & the Lord pays us rewards according to our work just like the System pays, only much better! PTL! He doesn't necessarily always pay in money, but in lots of different ways. TTL!--What's your reward?
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family