SUPERNATURAL PORTUGAL! DFO 1415 Portugal, 3/7/77
(Discussing the Estoril Casino Bar Floorshow:)
1. PEOPLE WITH A PERVERTED MIND DON'T CARE FOR BEAUTY & GENTLENESS, LOVE & TENDERNESS! They hunger after violence & perversion, they have a bloodlust & they like to see masochism & people trying to hurt each other & all that sort of thing. All this stuff of playing around with vampire tusks & whips & knives, people have got to be perverted to enjoy that kind of thing! They love violence & I just don't like it!
2. I'M GOING TO WALK OUT IN PROTEST NEXT TIME THEY HAVE ANY OF THOSE SHOWS! I think maybe we should have walked out on that Vampire act, but we always have guests & I hate to walk out on them. I guess we could tell them we'll come back when the show's over. I was about to, I was going to start walking out on that thing but they told me it was going to be over tonight so I didn't. Maybe we should've staged a protest march!
3. IF YOU'D SEEN FRANCISCO'S "HOUSE OF HORRORS" YOU'D KNOW WHAT HE PREFERS! (See "Horror House!", No.1414.) That was one of the worst nightmares I've had since I don't know when! He was proudly introducing me to his church, & I came in the door & here were the rats all running around on the floor & the bats flying around up in the belfry & these horrible pictures on the walls, demonic things, & these black things flying around, & I looked around & was horrified! But he was acting like I should be pleased, very proud of it!
4. THEN ONE OF THESE HUGE BAT-THINGS STARTED COMING RIGHT AT ME & I just rebuked it in Jesus' name & turned around & ran out the door! Then suddenly this wire grabbed me around the head, just like I'd sprung a trap or something, & it squeezed my head till it really began to hurt! But I just prayed & slipped it off & ran! I don't know what the wire symbolises unless it means it was the Enemy trying to get control.
5. IT WAS ALL, OF COURSE, REALLY SYMBOLIC because he certainly doesn't literally run some kind of a church that way, so I tried to think, "Well, could it be the Club? Surely it isn't the Casino! Is that the way the Lord looks at that Casino?" I don't think so. There're a lot of nice people there & a lot of it is good clean wholesome entertainment & good music & all, so I don't think that's it.
6. BUT I THINK THE LORD WAS JUST TRYING TO WARN US, HONEY, THAT HE'S PRETTY DEEPLY INVOLVED IN THE BAD SIDE OF SPIRITISM!--The fact that he admired that business of walking on the hot coals without burning your feet & stabbing that boy with the knife without drawing blood & all that stuff! You've got to have some kind of a perverted idea of the occult or witchcraft to enjoy watching people torment themselves that way, even if they don't get hurt!
7. ALL OF THAT KIND OF MAGIC IS NOT CONSTRUCTIVE, IT IS DESTRUCTIVE! It's just like having snakes bite you, etc., trying to show that the Devil can protect his own from horrible things, from being hurt by these things. But why afflict yourself like that just to show the Devil's power to keep you from getting hurt?
8. THE LORD DOESN'T PUT HIS PEOPLE THROUGH TORMENT & TORTURE JUST TO SHOW THAT IT WON'T HURT THEM! Although they say a lot of people died at the stake & it didn't seem to be hurting them at all, they were singing & praising the Lord & didn't seem to even feel the fire, & I'm sure the time could come that that's true. But the kind of stuff he was bragging about, the volcano in Valle & weird stuff about that, it's all real weirdo! It's the real perverted side of spiritism. I don't see anything constructive about it, it's like worshipping the power of the Devil! That's literally what they're doing, they're worshipping the power of the Devil!
9. WHEN YOU BEGIN ADMIRING THE DEVIL'S WORK, THEN IT'S A FORM OF WORSHIP! We had a fellow that was our Assistant Pastor in Miami who got to studying demonology & Mrs. Penn-Lewis' book called The War of the Worlds or The War of the Spirits, something like that about the war between the good spirits & the bad spirits, the Lord & the Devil, etc., & going into all these details about how the Devil & his demons work & all this sort of thing.
10. HER HUSBAND OR HER BROTHER OR SOMEONE WROTE A BOOK CALLED THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS [EDITED: "C.S. Lewis (1898-1963)"], letters from this Uncle Devil to his little Nephew Devil on how to work. Well, it had its morals & it showed us the seamy side to show how the Devil does work & what to watch out for, because the Scripture says we're not to be unaware of his devices. (2Cor.2:11) In other words, we are to beware of his devices, but we're not to get so fascinated by studying how he works that it becomes a form of morbid curiosity, a fascination for evil to where you just get so fascinated by the Devil's work like this guy, that he was all the time talking about the Devil! "I see the Devil in Mrs. So-&-so! I see the Devil in Mr. So-&-so!" The Devil this & the Devil that!
11. I HATE TO HEAR CHRISTIANS TALKING ABOUT, "OH, THE DEVIL JUST CAUSED US ALL KINDS OF PROBLEMS! The Devil made us have that flat tire, it was just the Devil!" I just don't believe that! I don't believe in giving the Devil credit for anything, really! I don't think a thing happens to Christians but what God allows it--even if the Devil does bring it! So quit giving the Devil credit for it!
12. JUST LIKE THAT INTERVIU ARTICLE WAS OF GOD EVEN IF THE DEVIL BROUGHT IT! God knows the purpose for which He did it, to publicise & arouse public interest in us, & the only way He can get the interest & curiosity of the World is to have it be something controversial or sexy or shocking so that people would take the words & become interested!--And also to divide the sheep from the goats & show us who our friends were who came to our aid.
13. I JUST DON'T BELIEVE IN GIVING THE DEVIL CREDIT FOR SO MUCH! You don't find the Apostles or Jesus, either one, giving the Devil a lot of credit all the time for everything! It says "all things come of God" & "all things work together for good to them that love the Lord"--& I just don't believe in giving the Devil so much credit!--Especially a Christian who loves & knows the Lord. (2Co.5:18; Ro.8:28)
14. NOTHING HAPPENS TO A CHRISTIAN WITHOUT THE PERMISSION OF GOD, OR I MIGHT SAY YOUR PERMISSION! In other words, sometimes you get yourselves into these things, by allowing them yourself. God allows you to allow it to teach you a lesson! Sometimes we get ourselves into fixes that are our own fault. I used to tell students in our school that were always blaming everything on the Devil:
15. "WAIT A MINUTE, THAT WASN'T THE DEVIL'S FAULT, THAT WAS YOUR FAULT! You had a right to make the choice one way or the other, why didn't you make the right choice?" The Devil gets to be a regular scapegoat--which he was in the Old Testament worship--a regular scapegoat for a lot of people's sins. They don't want to blame it on themselves & their own mistakes, so they blame it on the Devil: "Oh, the Devil did this & the Devil did that, the Devil is in Mrs. So-&-So, the Devil so-&-so!" Well, I think we speak about the Devil too much & give him too much credit.
16. SO THIS GUY WENT AROUND SEEING THE DEVIL IN EVERYBODY & EVERYTHING & pretty soon he wound up a kleptomaniac & landed in an insane asylum! My own Mother warned him time & again to quit talking about the Devil, quit giving him so much credit for everything, but he kept reading these books on demonology & the Devil & the way he works & blah blah. The trouble is, people who are interested in the Spiritual World & spirits & spiritism & the supernatural & spiritual realities, what else is there for them to read? Where can they read about the good spirits? Well, in the Bible, of course! But even the Bible doesn't always go into that much detail, really.
17. AS FAR AS GOING INTO MORE OF THE DETAILS OF SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES, I'VE PROBABLY TOLD YOU MORE THAN YOU'D FIND IN THE BIBLE, just out of personal experience. That's no reflection on the Bible or reflection on the Lord, people don't always have to know all those things, but I think this generation does, so God's letting you know more because you're going to encounter more & more of this kind of thing.
18. WHAT FASCINATES THESE PEOPLE ABOUT IT? Well, they don't find anything real in the church, they don't find anything miraculous or supernatural in the church. The church has abandoned the supernatural, & about the only ones left are the Catholics & Pentecostals that still believe in miracles & the supernatural, & even a lot of them don't, right?
19. SO PEOPLE ARE SEEKING REALITY, SPIRITUAL REALITY IN THE SUPERNATURAL. They're interested in it, & where can they find it but in occultism & black magic & witchcraft! And these spiritualistic mediums, etc., can offer you the real thing, I mean real contact with the dead, real levitation, table floating, real spirit writing, all this kind of stuff, the supernatural, & people get a kick & a thrill out of being in touch with the supernatural reality.
20. I TOLD YOU ABOUT MR. MACHOWSKI WHO HAD A SPIRIT NAMED TOM. They used to have a palmist in their side show in this carnival that he ran who had real gifts--this crystal ball palmist & mystic woman--& he thought it was something good. Sometimes it is good & sometimes it's bad, it all depends.
21. BUT EVEN THE FAMILIAR SPIRITS FREQUENTLY WOULD CONFESS CHRIST: "Thou art Jesus, the Son of God! Art Thou come to torment us before our time?"! (Mt.8:29) The spirits confessed the disciples, the girl followed them around saying: "These are the servants of the Most High God which show unto us the way of salvation!" (Ac.16:16-18) In this case the spirit was confessing the truth & was almost good advertising for the Apostles! Everybody in town was familiar with this girl already, & her keepers, & that she was a fortune teller or medium, she would tell them things, & she was saying good, she was telling the truth.
22. I THINK SHE JUST GOT TO BE A NUISANCE! Paul just got annoyed at having somebody following him around all the time saying, "These are the servants of the Most High God, which show unto us the way of salvation," etc. They got a little weary of it & he cast it out of her. Then her keepers got mad because their source of gain was gone!
23. SO I WOULDN'T SAY THEY'RE ALL BAD BY ANY MEANS! I had a very very good feeling about Madame M, that it was a good spirit who was helping her! (See No.268.) She was a Gypsy! I think a lot of the spirits that help the Gypsies are probably good. That's why He said, "Beloved, try the spirits to see whether they be of God" or not, because there are spirits which are of God who are ministering spirits to help us, & then others who are just to annoy & trouble us, & we need to know the difference! (1Jn.4:1) All this is very real, very realistic!
24. MR. MACHOWSKI BELIEVED IN GOD & HE FIGURED THIS WAS A GIFT OF GOD! This medium had travelled in their sideshow & he said, "I'd like to have that kind of a gift!" So he got this spirit named Tom who talked to him, & he talked to it, & he even told him how to play the races!
25. HE LIKED TO GAMBLE IN THE HORSE RACES, so the spirit Tom would pick up the pencil & write down the name of the horse that was going to win such & such a race tomorrow, & he made a mint betting on the races! Then I guess Tom wanted to teach him a lesson--or the Lord wanted to teach him a lesson that God is in control of the spirits too! He figured that he was just going to really make it now & all of a sudden Tom began giving him bad steers & he just lost his shirt, lost everything! Tom just laughed & thought it was a big joke! So he got very upset about it with Tom, & that's when he got saved!
26. HE'D GO INTO A ROOM, TURN OUT ALL THE LIGHTS IN THE DARK & TALK TO TOM, & TOM WOULD TALK TO HIM! Tom would pick up a pencil & write down things, race tips, etc. I never had any experience with spirit-writing except that one time when I wrote that whole message in the dark! I didn't even know what I was writing or anything, & I got some word in there I didn't know what it was. I wasn't controlling my hand at all. It was just like when you speak in tongues, I just let go & my fingers wrote away! (See No.162:48.)
27. HE THOUGHT TOM WAS A GOOD SPIRIT, A "WHITE ANGEL" AS SOME SPIRITISTS CALL THEM--the white angels & the black angels, the black forces & the white forces. (Sara: Fernando said he's got a white angel.) Well, I'm inclined to think maybe he's got a good one because he listens, he's receptive, responsive & he appreciates you girls & he recognises you. Maybe it's a good one--sounds pretty good!
28. SO ANYWAY, THE PEOPLE ARE LOOKING, THEY SEEK FOR SOMETHING THAT'S REAL & most religion hasn't got anything to offer them. Well, where are they going to find it? They hear about the spiritual reality on the other side of the fence & they have a curiosity & they want to see & hear & whatnot, so that's where they find it. But when they go in for such perverted things, then there must be something perverted about them!
29. THE OTHER DAY I GOT THAT FRANCISCO IS LIKE SIMON IN THE BIBLE, he sees that we have a power that's greater than his. (Ac.8:9-24) At first he was afraid of it, at first he avoided us completely & tried to ignore us, tried not to even look at us, until by-&-by Luigi finally brought us to a face-to-face confrontation. Apparently God in His mercy is giving him a chance.
30. I'M SURE GOD WOULDN'T HAVE LET US WORK ON HIM THIS LONG UNLESS HE STILL HAS HIS FINAL DECISION TO MAKE ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. See, a lot of people are not neutral, they simply haven't yet made a final decision because they haven't had the full benefit of all the Truth. They haven't had a real chance to know the Truth & to see the real thing & the right thing, the good thing, so therefore they can't yet be held responsible by God. So God gives them a chance to hear the good thing, the right thing, the real thing, & from then on they have a choice & are then compelled to make a decision.
31. AFTER OUR VISIT HERE FRANCISCO WILL NEVER BE THE SAME! He is going to go one way or the other. I think God in His mercy sent us here, because he is overworking, overplaying & is going to run his body down to where maybe his mind will crack under that awful influence of those evil spirits & he'll really go haywire if he doesn't make the right decision!
32. SO HE SAW IN US A POWER GREATER THAN HIS, & when we finally had to face him face-to-face, he saw that it wasn't unmerciful & unloving & we weren't challenging his authority there or anything, & he kind of got fascinated by it! He was like the snake being charmed by the snake charmer! (See No.557.) He was fascinated by the power! He's even asked Sue, "What is this power? What makes you so powerful, so strong?" Because you haven't succumbed to his power!
33. WHATEVER YOU'VE GIVEN, YOU'VE GIVEN FREELY & OUT OF LOVE, not because he has forced you or he has conquered you or he has controlled you, & he knows that! He's probably really gotten spiritual power over some of these other women, hypnotised them & whatnot, but with you it's totally different. You do it of a free will & he can't force you & he can't control you, & he's found that out. And he's found that out about us too. We've talked to him frankly.
34. I'VE LOOKED HIM STRAIGHT IN HIS GLARING EYE & ALL THE REST & IT HASN'T PHASED ME, or you, & he's found out it just doesn't work on us, we're impervious to it! So it has fascinated him, & like Simon of old in the days of the Apostles, he has wondered, "Well, what is it? I've got to find out what it is! What is this power they have that's so strong & that makes them so impervious to my power & I can't overpower them?" He's used to overpowering people. But it didn't even phase us, it bounced off of us like a rubber ball off of a tank!
35. I MEAN, I ALMOST LAUGHED IN HIS FACE SEVERAL TIMES trying to keep my face straight to keep from laughing at him when I knew he was trying to pull some of these tricks! Well, finally when he saw our power was that strong, he was curious enough to want to have fellowship with us to find out what it was & maybe how he could get it! The last time was when he invited us to dinner in that kind of dark place & he tried to pull that evil eye again! It must be something about the atmosphere of that place, it was kind of weird. There are very few people there except the waiters & they're all kind of like zombies! But he found out that nothing worked on us & it bounced off!
36. SO THEN I GAVE HIM THE LITTLE BOOK--THE WORD IS ALWAYS THE KNIFE, THE SWORD THAT DIVIDES ASUNDER!--And I knew good & well he wasn't going to like some of that book. That rascal, he came & said, "Oh, I liked it, I liked it all!"--I don't believe a word of it. I think he didn't like that very first chapter. Because there in the very first chapter it talks about resisting the Devil! I doubt if he liked that at all.
37. WHEN HE ASKED ME WHAT HIS AURA WAS I SAID I DIDN'T KNOW, BUT THEN I ASKED THE LORD ABOUT IT. I thought, "Well, Lord, if You want to show me, I'll be glad to see! If he wants to know, I'll tell him!" And then when the Lord showed me what it was, I didn't want to tell him, because it was a kind of a purple-black! It was that night right after he asked me that the Lord showed me, & I didn't want to tell him because it didn't sound very complimentary to say your aura is all deep dark black purple! That didn't sound good to me--would it sound good to you?
38. WELL, THAT COULD BE THE BEGINNING OF THE PARTING OF THE WAYS, & God's given him plenty of chances. He's had plenty of samples of love & plenty of the Message, & that little book is all the message he needs & he has shied away from us ever since! Ever since that dinner & the book & your last love sessions, he has been afraid of us!
39. YOU KNOW, I WOULDN'T TOTALLY HAVE BLAMED HIM FOR THE WAY HE ACTED EVEN LAST NIGHT, IF HE'S SO UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE ENEMY. You see, the more he makes his decision against the Truth & against us & against God, then he is putting himself totally under Enemy control! God will withdraw any mercy, any protection, & it is said of some that they were given over to the Devil. In fact, it said of one man that God in His mercy gave his body over to the Devil that his soul might be saved. (1Co.5:5) In other words, probably the Devil killed him or something. The Devil is the executioner & he's the prosecuting attorney, he's the one who carries out the sentence of death, or his angels.
40. SO I THINK THAT HE'S SORT OF HAVING HIS LAST CHANCE! Here's a man in his 40s, probably late 40s. He may even be 50 for all you know, not wanting to admit it. I've studied & looked at his face & he looks more 50 to me than he looks 45! Of course, when you're up against spiritual forces like that, that's a drain! And they're going to be more of a drain on him now because God in His mercy may have been sustaining him until we got here, as long as he didn't really know what he was fighting with & what he was dealing with.
41. MACHOWSKI DIDN'T REALISE THIS GUY TOM WAS AN EVIL SPIRIT UNTIL AFTER HE HEARD A RADIO SERMON ABOUT EVIL SPIRITS THAT SAID, "Beloved, discern the spirits & try the spirits to see if they be of God, every spirit that confesseth that Christ is come in the flesh is of God." (1Jn.4:1,2.) So he got saved on a radio sermon, first of all, then he went to Moody Church & heard a sermon about spirits.
42. THE FIRST THING HE DID, HE BORROWED A BIBLE FROM A FRIEND OF HIS that he'd seen on their table. He never saw them read it, but he saw it on their parlour table for a decoration. He brought it home & pulled all the blinds to go to work to talk to Tom as usual. He said, "Now Tom, I just learned today that there are evil spirits, & I'm going to find out which you are!" And Tom just got furious! He didn't want to talk about it, he argued, he didn't even want him to open the Bible, he really got angry. Mr. Machowski was stubborn & insisted, he opened the Bible & began to read this.
43. HE SAID, "NOW LISTEN, IF YOU'RE A GOOD SPIRIT I WANT YOU TO CONFESS THAT JESUS CHRIST IS COME IN THE FLESH, & if you don't, I'll know you're an evil spirit!" And Tom just practically blew a fuse! He cussed & he swore & everything! He couldn't get around it so he said things like, "Oh, I believe in Jesus! Of course I believe in Jesus! I believe Jesus existed, blah blah blah!" Well, "even the devils believe & tremble" (Jam.2:19) & they confessed Christ right to His face! Well, that's one thing, but it's another thing to receive Christ & to confess that He has come, particularly in this case, into your flesh!
44. 1JOHN 4:2 IS A RATHER WEIRD VERSE, BECAUSE IT'S HARD TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO CONFESS THAT CHRIST HAS COME IN THE FLESH. I've heard more preachers preach on that, & they usually preach it means that you must confess the historical Jesus Christ who came to Earth, that He did come to Earth, that He was the Son of God & He came in the flesh. But I do not believe that is all there is to it, because that's not enough!--And it was not enough to convince Mr. Machowski!
45. YOU HAVE TO NOT ONLY BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST CAME IN THE FLESH THEN AS THE SON OF GOD, BUT THAT HE ALSO HAS NOW ENTERED YOUR FLESH! In other words, you have to confess that you have received Jesus Christ! And this is where he pinned Tom down! He said, "Do you believe that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh? Have you received Jesus Christ in your flesh? Have you received Jesus Christ as your Saviour?"--And Tom just ranted & raved & refused to, just got furious! And he finally literally slammed Mr. Machowski's Bible shut! Imagine that! He never saw the spirit, he just manifested himself, picked up pencils & did all kinds of things, invisibly!
46. AND HE SAID HE KNEW RIGHT THEN & THERE THAT TOM WAS AN EVIL SPIRIT! He said, "Well, you get out of here, I don't want to have anything more to do with you!" Well, I'm sorry to say Tom didn't leave him alone. But at least Mr. Machowski was no longer under the control of this evil spirit anyway. Thank God he wasn't ever possessed of this demon apparently, but he was in communication with him & talked with him & they talked back & forth.
47. AFTER THIS TOM DID EVERYTHING HE COULD TO DISSUADE HIM! He'd even go to church with him & sit beside him in church & talk in his ear, believe it or not, & make fun of what the preacher was saying. "Ah, that's not so, you know that the Bible says something else!"--Just like the Devil! The Devil quotes Scripture, he quoted Scripture to Jesus when he was tempting Him, twisting the Scriptures & taking them out of context. But the Lord just fired the Scripture back at him the way it should have been. (Luke 4:1-13.)
48. SO FINALLY MR. MACHOWSKI GOT SICK OF TOM PESTERING HIM ALL THE TIME! He'd become a member of the Christian Businessmen & was beginning to preach on the street corner & witnessing about his salvation & all, & Tom was really bothering him when he was trying to preach, talking in his ear & everything. So he finally just resisted him in the Name of Jesus & said, "I want you to get out of here & depart from me & never come back again, in the Name of Jesus!" Apparently he'd learned enough by that time to try to fight him off, & apparently Tom gave up! "Resist the Enemy & he will flee from you!" (Jam.4:7.)
49. AND HE SAID, "WELL, I SAW TOM THEN!" Now whether he means he actually saw him or what, I don't know, but he said, "This drunk that had been cursing me from the crowd suddenly fell down in a fit foaming at the mouth, & Tom was gone, never bothered me again!" In other words, he went & possessed the drunk instead!
50. SO THE LORD HAS USED YOU GIRLS--& IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE HE'S USED SUE--IN WHAT I CONSIDER A VERY BRAVE MISSION, a very dangerous mission, to be in that close a relationship with a man who's on the borderline, so to speak. I'm sure God let you do it & let us do it, let us even sit at the same table with devils, you might say! (1Co.10:20,21) Paul warned against it & it's not wise, but sometimes even Jesus had to do it! Jesus sat at the table with the Scribes & Pharisees because of their challenge. He apparently for some reason or other felt He couldn't turn down the invitation, but then He finally told the guy off! (Lk.7:36-50.)
51. SO HE'S HAD HIS CHANCE & HE'S HEARD THE GOSPEL & HE'S HEARD THAT WE BELIEVE IN THE BIBLE. I'll never forget the first time we mentioned the Bible & he said, "Oh, you can't make it that simple, it's not that simple!" Most people think the Bible is very complicated. He said, "Oh, you can't make it as simple as that!"--Making light of the Bible! I think that was one of the first nights we talked to him, really talked to him. You were sitting between me & him. So I really feel like he's sort of had his chance.
52. WELL, THEY SAY IT CAN'T BE THAT SIMPLE BECAUSE THE DEVIL IS THE AUTHOR OF CONFUSION & he makes them think it's got to be more complicated, more confused than that, it just couldn't be that simple! The Devil himself, if he can't deny there's such a thing as Salvation or he can't deny that there's such a thing as the Truth, he tries to claim it's so complicated you can't understand it, or it's so difficult you can't make it that easy!
53. WELL, THE LORD HAS CERTAINLY GONE THE 110th MILE WITH HIM, even gone to bed with him to try to have mercy on him & save him & show him real love, & I'm sure he's met real love probably for the first time in his whole life. Sue's had unselfish compassionate love on him--& he knows it! She was not just loving him selfishly, for her own sake, but for his sake.
54. I THINK HE WAS JUST NEARLY SWEPT OFF HIS FEET BY IT AT FIRST & I THINK HE WAS REALLY FALLING IN LOVE WITH YOU! He got a little worried when he heard you were actually married & had a husband, that really upset him, because I think he was really beginning to think seriously about some of the things you said. I gathered he was really seriously beginning to consider, "Well, maybe I've at last found the right girl, somebody who really loves me!"
55. I'LL TELL YOU, THE WAY HE SAILED BY US LAST NIGHT, LET ME TELL YOU, HONEY, HE IS NOT THAT NEARSIGHTED! I have seen him spot us clear across the foyer & wave at us! He passed by me so close, if I had reached out just like this he would have hit my hand! And I'll tell you how he went by, it was almost like a gesture, like he was under the power of evil spirits. I thought to myself, "I'm going to kid him next time about his occult powers & how come he didn't know we were sitting there even with his back to us? His occult powers must be slipping, because he didn't even sense my presence!"
56. I KEPT LOOKING AT THE BACK OF HIS HEAD, & most people if you look long enough at the back of their head they'll turn around, believe it or not, they feel it!--Especially if they're spiritually sensitive. But instead of that he ignored us, he never turned around once that I ever saw, & one or the other of us were looking at him nearly all the time.
57. HE HITCHED UP HIS PANTS LIKE THIS!--A NATURAL GESTURE WITH SOME MEN WHEN THEY'RE GETTING UP & pulling up their trousers like this, almost like a haughty gesture, like he was pulling aside his skirts from us as he passed by. Didn't you think that was rather strange? Didn't you notice that? I don't know why some men do that, they'll take their pants & kind of pull themselves up to full height. It's almost an arrogant, proud gesture. He went by just like that, not looking up at all, looking straight ahead, just like he was pulling his skirts away from me. And I turned to Maria & said, "Did you see that? He sailed by us without a word, without a look, without a smile, nothing!"
58. EVEN AS A GOOD PR MAN, HONEY, HE COULDN'T POSSIBLY NOT HAVE SEEN US UNLESS THE LORD ENCLOSED US IN A CLOUD & ABSOLUTELY BLINDED HIS EYES! And there was no reason why, that I know, that the Lord would have blinded his eyes to us. Unless the Devil himself blinded his eyes to us, which is another possibility! But I had the definite feeling the way he did it that he was really trying to give us the brush-off! Because in simple courtesy, the least he could have done as he passed by would have been to nod & smile as he went, even without a word. But instead of that he just sailed right by without a word or a smile, nothing! Maybe he was blinded, & when I see him the next time I'll tell him about it!
59. SO ONCE YOU HAVE GIVEN THEM EVERYTHING & REALLY DONE EVERYTHING FOR THEM & THEY STILL TURN AGAINST IT, THEN WHAT DO THEY USUALLY DO? I mean, if they really really turn & become totally reprobate where there's no more hope for them, what do they do then? They always try to justify & vindicate themselves, like a backslider. Look what those people did in Spain--they went straight to the press & to the enemy! I've hardly ever seen it to fail that a backslider eventually goes straight to the enemy & tries to cause you trouble.
60. AND THIS IS WHY MARIA KEEPS SAYING SHE DOESN'T KNOW IF WE'RE GOING TO BE HERE MUCH LONGER! We're sort of reaping the ones God knows are reachable. Here we are, we are available. I believe in Faithy's little saying, the best ability is availability! We have been to that club night after night after night, & if God wanted people to meet us, we were there! Even this dear little taxi driver! You talk about miracles!
61. THE NIGHT BEFORE LAST AS WE CAME OUT OF THE CASINO THIS REAL NICE TAXI DRIVER DROVE UP, WE TOLD HIM WHERE WE WERE GOING & HE SAID, "YES, I KNOW!" Then he started driving along so nice & slow! I thought, "Well, I never told this guy to drive slow, most of them drive too fast & I have to tell them to slow down!" So I thought I'd compliment him about it, & I said, "We sure appreciate the way you drive slowly!" And he said, "Yes, I know"--like he knew all about it, that we liked it! And then finally when I told him where we lived he said, "Yes, I know" & he gave the number! I didn't even remember having him before!
62. BUT WHAT I WANTED TO TELL YOU WAS HOW GOD'S LITTLE MIRACLES REALLY ENCOURAGE YOU, & that He does them not only for you, but for other people's benefit sometimes. Here it was very late as we came out of Carlos' restaurant & he tried & tried to get us a taxi, but it was Saturday night & he couldn't get us a cab! So we said we'd go stand outside & maybe we could catch one, & we stood out there at least a half-an-hour. Well, then I saw in the natural it was almost impossible, so we prayed & I said, "Well Lord, You can send us a taxi!"--And almost just in a moment or so along came this taxi from way up in the hills, slowly cruising along!
63. HE WAS CRUISING REAL SLOWLY LIKE IN THE SPIRIT HE KNEW THIS WAS WHERE HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE, but we had to do what we could & we yelled at him & he stopped immediately & went to the side. And immediately Maria recognised him & said, "Oh, this is the man we had last night, the same fellow!" God sent him along to give him the benefit & the blessing, & of course I always tip them real well--the same fellow! And he was all smiles, he was so happy because he'd found us again!
64. HE WAS ALMOST LIKE AN ANGEL!--MAYBE HE IS AN ANGEL! He could be! He could be an angel. You know "by this many have entertained angels unawares!" (He.13:2.) This one boy in his testimony is convinced that the boy he hitchhiked with across the country, who then just suddenly for no good reason disappeared, was an angel! So maybe this taxi driver is an angel, he's so sweet, just lovely!
65. THE FUNNIEST THING IS, I THOUGHT THIS TAXI DRIVER SAID SOMETHING TO ME WHEN I WOKE UP THIS MORNING! Now that would be really significant if he were an angel, because either he said it to me, or I dreamed that he said it to me in my dream! He said, "Even the rocks have felt your presence here!" And remember what you said about Fernando & the beach? (Sara: What Fernando had said about the fortress on the rocks) Even through my sleep I heard this voice & I thought it was this taxi driver. And this morning I said, "Maria, did I tell you that, did he say that to me?" So apparently I had something in my sleep about the taxi driver.
66. NOW WOULDN'T THAT BE SOMETHING IF GOD'S GOT AN ANGEL DRIVING A TAXI AROUND HERE? I mean, that was the last taxi, & there was only one taxi out there waiting when we came out of the Casino too, just this one taxi! And he drove the opposite direction from what most of them do--most of them come right down from the taxi stand & drive in like this, but he drove around the island & came back like this. He knows I don't like to get in on the curbside of the taxi!
67. THAT WOULD REALLY MAKE IT CLICK IF HE'S AN ANGEL, because as sure as anything I thought he said that to me! I don't remember him saying it last night, so it must have been in my sleep that he said that. I said, "Did I tell you about that? Somebody said to me, 'Even the rocks have felt your presence here!'" Isn't that something?
68. I'LL TELL YOU, THE POWER WE CARRY WITH US, THE SPIRITUAL ATMOSPHERE WE CARRY WITH US, THEY FEEL IT! When just the three of you little girls walk into that club--boom! It's like an electric shock! A lot of people have testified to the spirit that you carry, that we all carry, & it's the Lord! So we have been a real influence already on this community, we have already affected some of the top people here & God knows who is worthy.
69. TYL! JESUS SAID, "THERE WERE MANY LEPERS IN ISRAEL, BUT ONLY NAAMAN THE SYRIAN WAS HEALED." (Lk.4:27) And there were many sick at the Pool of Siloam but only that one infirm man was healed. God has His special ones He knows that He sends you to! I mean, look, there are thousands & thousands of people on the Island of Tenerife, but how many of them ever came to us? How many did He ever really direct us to?
70. WE WERE TALKING ABOUT ATMOSPHERES--THIS COUNTRY HAS A DARK ATMOSPHERE & THE PEOPLE LOOK DARK & darkness is on their faces & darkness in their eyes! Even though they will look you straight in the eye, it's almost a challenging look, it's almost a kind of a defiant look! They are very sensitive in the Spirit here, & apparently they've got a lot of spirits here!
71. I THINK IT'S BECAUSE OF THEIR HUNDREDS & HUNDREDS OF YEARS RELATIONSHIP WITH AFRICA! Portugal is the oldest African colonial power. They had colonies in Africa before any other European power had colonies there, big ones! They have had a relationship with Africa--Black Africa, which is the most demonic part of Africa--for centuries!
72. NOW SPAIN WAS MUCH MORE REALLY TRULY CATHOLIC & TRULY CHRISTIAN. As they say, the Spanish Catholics are more Catholic than the Italians, the Catholics themselves! Their major relationship was with White Arabic North Africa & the Moors, who are Muslims & much closer to the Truth. But Black Africa has been involved almost totally in nothing but Devil-worship, deviltry, demonology, black magic, witchcraft & all the worst forms of demonism & deviltry--& Portugal has had this influence for hundreds of years!
73. YOU SEE A LOT OF BLACKS HERE IN PORTUGAL, EVEN IN THIS EXCLUSIVE AREA, WHEREAS YOU HARDLY EVER SEE A BLACK IN SPAIN. [DELETED]
74. AND LET ME TELL YOU, THESE BLACK GROUPS THAT HAVE BEEN LITERALLY DRIVING THE CHRISTIAN COLONIAL POWERS OUT OF AFRICA have been the most demonic kind of people & groups!--Either Communist or just real [DELETED] devils, you know what I mean?--Not the good Christian Blacks but mostly just the other. So the relationship of Portugal with [DELETED] Africa is probably why this country has that horrible spirit about it, that black dark spirit, & the people look dark & like they're in darkness. It has been that demonic influence, & probably why they're in such a mess!
75. THE LAST GOVERNMENT THAT WAS ABLE TO KEEP THEM UNDER CONTROL WAS A VERY VERY TOUGH STRONG CATHOLIC DICTATOR, SALAZAR, kingly like Franco. God knows when people need a dictator! Because the place has nearly fallen apart since then, it's just practically gone all to pieces! The country's just virtually collapsed! They almost went completely haywire & they haven't got it all back together yet.
76. SO WE MAY WEAR OUT OUR WELCOME HERE VERY SHORTLY! Poor Eduardo has been struggling along with that book trying to read it in English. He said, "With me & my dictionary, but you know it's awfully hard. When are you going to have something for me in Spanish?" You girls should never be without a stock of this ammunition in your purses every time! Here's a hungry hungry sheep that wants to feed, & we should keep him fed!--And I mean it, he needs it! Who knows how soon you may have to suddenly disappear & not be able to do it! And all those people we danced in front of there the other night at the restaurant, good night, they looked like they were all Spanish & were all excited, looking at us & pointing at us & everything else! Sooner or later that word's going to get around & get back to Spain & somebody's going to get curious!
77. I HATE TO EVEN SAY THE THING THAT CAME TO ME WHEN I WAS TELLING MARIA ABOUT THE DREAM! It was like first of all Francisco was trying to voluntarily introduce me into his church & hoped I'd like it, see, but then when I turned around & ran, the steel coil that suddenly gripped my head was like he was trying to force me, trap me, capture me! Now where else have we heard about a steel coil? (Sara: "The Evil Horse!" [EDITED: "No.578"].) (Maria: The government!) I wouldn't put it past him to rat on us in order to get rid of us! All he'd have to do is show them the little book by the Family of Love, Father David!
78. BUT I JUST PRAYED REAL HARD & IT SLIPPED RIGHT OFF MY HEAD! At first it was tightening so tight it was making my head ache! I never have headaches, but it was just like I had a headache! I just prayed real hard & I pushed it up like that & ran! So who knows, he could do it in his very suave way & let the officials know. He may read about us in the paper or he may get tipped off or somebody tell him or ask him or all kinds of things, & in his nice way say, "Yes, he gave me one of his books," etc., & like Judas identify us. Then the government might try to give us a little headache with its steel wire & we may have to slip away again! (We soon did!)
79. IT IS ASTONISHING HOW MANY PEOPLE WE HAVE WITNESSED TO & INFLUENCED SINCE WE HAVE BEEN HERE! In just about two months, just think of all the people--performers, waiters, Mafia, managers, all kinds of people! We've had a real strong witness to some very outstanding people & some very influential people. Has anybody ever counted all of them up? Luigi first, because he's the one that got Tania to come, Eduardo came with her, Carlos, & eventually Francisco then. (Maria: Through Luigi too.) Yes, God bless Luigi, the Lord really used him as a tool!
80. AND THEN THE LITTLE MAGICIAN, we never got to give him any literature or anything, but he was really impressed by us! I'm sure the Lord used us, he probably asked who we were or something. I think we really made an impression on him! Lindsay, we gave him the witness, & we were an influence on the dancers. I'm even speaking of specific individuals now we can even name. Then the three "Jingles" makes ten! The Indian man, we've given him the book & the witness. Also the men you girls have met.
81. THERE'RE AT LEAST A DOZEN PEOPLE WE'VE GIVEN A REAL HEAVY WITNESS TO HERE, they've either gotten the witness or they've gotten the literature or they've even had the sample, & they're all very important influential people, really, people who either are in a position of influence or they're in show business, which is a position of influence because you meet a lot of people & go a lot of places.--In only two months! It took us two years in Tenerife to get this far & we have just almost exploded here! It's just the Spirit!
82. WE HAVE BEEN A STRONG WITNESS, A VERY STRONG WITNESS TO AN AMAZING NUMBER OF PEOPLE PERSONALLY HERE. I'd say we've gotten further in two months than you & I got in two years in Tenerife! Now that just shows you, Beloved, what a team can do! I told you the other day, one can chase a thousand, two can put ten thousand to flight! (Deut.32:30) Well, what do you think our ten or a dozen are doing? (Maria: It shows what one little Home can do!) The influence one small Home can be without litnessing, just through personal witness alone & FFing & with the right kind of a team who really are strong powerful witnesses who have the Spirit & the Word & the Will to want to! Praise God?
83. YOU GIRLS WOULD PROBABLY GO EVERY NIGHT IF WE LET YOU! We would let you but you've got to conserve your strength some & you need some time. We don't even know the language, imagine that! (Sara: Or the political situation or anything.) We didn't know anybody here, at all, nobody, nothing, we just started out from scratch, & look what the Lord has done in such a short time! (Maria: We started out just like the Letters say to do, go ask the guy to dance in the Club!) We found out, though, that that wasn't exactly the best method for here because these people are too conservative! The men hardly even come & ask the women to dance here, much less the women the men!
84. WELL, REALLY WHAT BROKE THE ICE TO BEGIN WITH WAS LUIGI & HE REALLY TOOK THE INITIATIVE! (Maria: But even if he hadn't, I know if we would have had Kristina go to ask him...) We might have! But he broke the ice by grabbing me by the arm & saying, "Father, father, do you speak English?" I said, "Yes!" And he said, "I hope I can be like you when I'm as old as you are." Isn't that amazing? I think he meant it & I think he's been very sincere--even though he is a little of a liar, poor fellow! But that kind, they get to where they really believe the lie, they really think it's true! They're so used to telling stories they convince themselves!
85. WELL LORD, IT'S ALL IN YOUR HANDS! It was Your doing & Your ministry, we never had intended for all this to happen. We were just going out looking around, Lord, & observing, & when we do, we just can't keep from witnessing, Lord. When we see the hungry hearts & the hungry souls, sad spirits, thirsty lives, Lord, we just have to do something to try to cheer them up! If we can't do anything but applaud & smile, they seem to even appreciate that, Lord, & see something different about us. They feel it!
86. PEOPLE CAN BE SO SENSITIVE THAT THEY FEEL THY PRESENCE, THEY SENSE THY SPIRIT IN US, LORD, & they really seem to feel something that is different about us, they know it's good. TYL! So whatever Thy will is, Thy will be done! We wouldn't want to stay here any longer than You know it would be fruitful & necessary, but we know You won't let the Devil interfere as long as we're bearing fruit & as long as it's worthwhile. And if the Enemy starts closing doors & interfering & causing us too much trouble, then we'll probably have to move on to wherever You want us to go next.
87. WE NEVER CAN LET THE ROOTS GROW DOWN, LORD, & get too attached to any one place, because we have to be free to go into all the World to every creature, wherever we can be the best influence! We are amazed, Lord, at already the influence You have given us here in high places & with important influential people & show people who will travel from place to place & spread the Word--like Claire is doing & Monica's doing even in a little place like Madeira! TYJ! PYL!
88. IT THRILLS OUR HEARTS TO HEAR THE SUCCESS THE GIRLS HAVE HAD EVEN WHEN THEY'VE GONE ALONE, to prove that it's not I, Lord, but it's You & Your Spirit & Thy power, even with these little angels of mercy!--Angels of mercy to some & avenging angels to others, Lord! So we thank You for demonstrating Thy Spirit & Thy power to them that they don't always need me around, they can do it on their own, Lord, & by the power of Thy Spirit, & even be more successful & more powerful when they're not being intimidated by me, Lord. So we thank Thee for the people You've helped us to personally influence, Lord, & maybe people they couldn't have reached, like Tania, Lord. So Thy will be done!
89. THANK YOU LORD FOR THIS NIGHT! We didn't expect to stay here & visit together so long, but we feel it was important to discuss our progress & even our seeming defeats. We felt that as Francisco passed by us without even looking, it was almost a gesture of defiance, that he wasn't going to be influenced by us anymore. We could feel that he's hardening his heart even toward the one that has loved him the most, dear little Sue, Lord.
90. ENRIQUE IN TENERIFE REALLY IN A WAY RECEIVED US & continued to welcome us & show a good sweet spirit, & You said, "If they receive you, they receive Me!" (Mt.10:40) So he must have been receiving Thee & Thy Spirit at the same time, & You blessed him for it, Lord. But if this man turns on us, turns against us & tries to influence others against us, or to close doors against us, or speak against us or resist us, Lord, we know that if You want us to stay on, You'll remove him or get him out of the way or incapacitate him or in some way nullify him so that he can't resist us & he can't stop us. Or if You want us to move on, Lord, then You might, like Pharaoh, stir him up against us in order to drive us out so we can go on to whatever new field You want us to go to. Thy will be done, Lord! TYJ!
91. AT LEAST WE'VE SEEN THIS COUNTRY & LIVED HERE WITH THE PEOPLE, GOTTEN THE BURDEN FOR THEM, LORD, THAT THEY REALLY NEED HELP, & we're encouraging the leadership to raise up a much stronger campaign of pioneering, witnessing & really invading this country. They really haven't had the invasion that they should have had. As free as they are & letting us litness & hindering us in no way, we should have done much more here already. But we have had Spain at heart & we have been very involved there, Lord. So I believe it's time now for You to show the leadership maybe to put more into this country, to try to do all we can while the door is open. (And we did!)
92. YOU HAVE OPENED THE DOOR WIDE, LORD, & NOW'S OUR CHANCE! You've even sent us here, Lord, when we never even intended to come here! We never even knew anything about Portugal, or hardly anything, & neither did we care that much about it from what little we had heard. Having come here, we don't even like the climate that much, although it's getting better now, Lord. We thank You! We did pray it would be better & it is better, but it's got a pretty miserable cold windy climate most of the time, even like its people are kind of cold & windy. (But they finally warmed up to us!)
93. WE DON'T FEEL THE WARM FRIENDLINESS HERE THAT WE FELT IN SPAIN, or Tenerife particularly, not the happy hearts here that we found there. People do look at us, but they look with fear, almost with defiance in the Spirit! We feel an awful spirit sometimes, Lord, when we go down at night in the dark of that train station with those very weird spirits standing around, it's almost fearful! We never felt anything like that in Spain or Tenerife or hardly even in any other countries, not even England & places like that.
94. IT SEEMS LIKE THE DARKNESS HERE IS NOT ONLY PHYSICAL BUT SPIRITUAL & TANGIBLE! We can feel such darkness of spirits & such antagonism of the spirits of the people toward us as we just walk by! In Tenerife, Lord, they looked on us with real awe & respect & seemed to sense & know who we were & honoured it & honoured us, but here some of these creatures look like they'd like to pounce on us & kill us when they see us! They look almost like devils when we look in their eyes, like they hate us on sight, Lord, & resent us! So we've had a terrible feeling about some of these people here.
95. SOME HAVE BEEN SWEET, Lord, a few, but most of the people we have run into, both in Madeira & here, Lord, we have had a terrible feeling about them that they had a terrible feeling against us, they didn't like us. They either resented us because we look like foreigners or like we're richer than they are, or maybe there's some other reason, Lord, but we feel a resentment, a strong feeling & spirit of defiance & resentment with many of them.
96. SO WE DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH WE CAN DO HERE OR HOW LONG WE'LL LAST, BUT WE'LL LEAVE IT UP TO YOU, LORD, THY WILL BE DONE! Have Thy way! You've opened up doors, You've done miracles, You have catapulted us suddenly--boom--already into actual popularity & notoriety, to say the least, & to where people seem to already respect us & honour us & at least take note of us, to where even the sight of us makes some kind of an impression! So we know You're using us, Lord, besides all of our personal definite witness to important people who are important to You, Lord, we're sure.
97. SO HELP US TO DO OUR BEST WITH THEM & NOT FAIL THEM IN ANY WAY so that we have delivered our souls & their blood will not be on our hands & we will not have failed Thee, Lord, or them. And when the time comes for us to leave we will feel like we have done our best, Lord, even as we did in Tenerife. We really felt like we had really done the best we could do, really given our all there & even risked our own life & had to forsake all to flee & escape the persecution that was going on.
98. WE DON'T YET DEFINITELY KNOW, LORD, WHETHER WE WILL EVER GET BACK, BUT WE HOPE SO! We just have that feeling, Lord, that You're not quite finished with us there. There are some things which have not yet been fulfilled, at least if they were to be literal, that we have not yet seen & experienced or witnessed or done. So at this moment, Lord, we feel that probably we're going to go back in Thy time, Thy will be done. But we leave it all in Thy hands, Lord, we know you'll show us when the time comes. You led us here, we're sure. We had to come, Lord, & You're using us here mightily, considering, Lord, we're just suddenly here & so new. Help us to do our best to be faithful & to do a good job, to have no regrets whenever we have to leave.
99. BLESS THESE THY CHILDREN WHO WORK SO HARD & ARE SO FAITHFUL, working both physically & spiritually for Thee, we know You have blessed them, Lord. Encourage them, strengthen them! Give all of us a good night's rest so that we'll be able to do our tasks tomorrow. Keep us safely in Thy care, in Jesus' name! TYL! Have Thy way, Thy will be done. In all of these cases that we've mentioned tonight by name, Lord, & otherwise, Thy will be done!
100. WE HAVE SOWED THE SEED & IT MAY BE THAT OTHERS WILL STILL YET WATER IT, maybe there will be others who will yet harvest it. We may not see the harvest ourselves personally, but as long as we have faithfully done our part, Lord, we can leave the rest up to You & to others. We just want to feel we have delivered our souls & done all we can & have left no stone unturned, have not failed in one of these things, that we have delivered our souls, so that You can say, "Well done thou good & faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord!" Thank You for the joy You've given us every day, Lord, we've already entered in in many ways & been rewarded! Even the witnessing in itself, Lord, is a form of reward & a blessing & encouragement & it inspires our own hearts as we see You work.
101. WE COUNT IT A PRIVILEGE, LORD, THAT YOU'VE CALLED US TO BE AMBASSADORS FOR THEE, IT'S A HIGH HONOUR, LORD! We're amazed when people give us honour as though they know it & feel it. We know it's respect for Thee, Lord, because we're only Thy representatives, & when they honour us, they honour You, Lord. So bless them who honour us--honour them! Bless them who bless us, Lord. And You said that You would curse them who curse us, so we leave it all in Your hands. Bless the Family everywhere, in Jesus' name, amen. (To Family:)
102. NOW DON'T JUST GO TURN THE OTHER DIRECTION WITH FRANCISCO so that he notices some drastic change in our attitude & thinks something's wrong. I mean, still keep sweet, keep loving, be the mercy of God. Remember "The Women with More Mercy than God!" (No.583) I think a change is occurring, but let it be his fault & not ours! I would have spoken to him courteously & I would have greeted him friendly. (Maria: See, he can accuse us of not wanting to see him, that's a logical defense, "Well, you weren't looking at me!") I never even thought about that!
103. THE DEVIL LIES TO PEOPLE LIKE THAT & might have lied to him & said, "Well see, they're not even looking! They saw you get up & come this way so they're not looking so they won't have to speak to you!" I looked up & I saw him just as he went by, just the side of his face. And I was so startled that he didn't stop to speak, I never even thought about calling out, maybe he expected us to call out his name or something!
104. SO WHAT HAPPENED WITH FRANCISCO LAST NIGHT WAS ALMOST LIKE A SLAP IN THE FACE, & I THINK HE INTENDED IT TO BE THAT! And I wouldn't be a bit surprised that he wants to show now, like so many of those guys in Tenerife, once they rejected me they thought they could rip the girl off & leave me behind to show that, "Well, who needs you? I can get her anyhow! She's flipped out over me & loves me, so I'm going to have my cake & eat it too!" So maybe if you hear from him again you might tell him that your father was a little surprised that you passed by their table the other night at Carlos' & never even spoke to them, never even nodded & smiled, much less spoke. (This Carlos did betray us later!)
105. WELL, HONEY, I'VE FOUND THESE OLD BACHELORS HAVE LIVED SO LONG SO SELFISHLY & have grown so hard & insensitive, even when the real thing comes along they either can't believe it or can't appreciate it or they're still too selfish to accept it! Even when real love comes along & somebody comes along who really loves them & shows it, well, it would cost too much. I mean, love is going to cost something no matter what, it costs something!
106. I TOLD MARIA THIS MORNING, "I THINK WE'VE GOT THE MOST PERFECT LOVE AFFAIR IN THE WHOLE WORLD & I think we must be the two people most in love!" I love you all, you know that, & I know you love me, but I said, "I just think the Lord made us for each other! I need you!" And she said, "Well, I need you!" And I said, "I know, we both need each other!" We make a great team. We work together great, very much in love, more & more every day. (Maria: Mutual admiration society!) She gives me all the credit, I give her all the credit, & it's probably all the Lord!
107. BUT YOU'VE GOT TO ADMIT, IF YOU WANT TO REALLY FALL IN LOVE & ACCEPT REAL LOVE, YOU HAVE TO BE HUMBLE ENOUGH TO FORSAKE YOUR PRIDE & RECEIVE IT! Because humility & love are synonymous, they're practically one & the same thing. You cannot have love & not be humble, real love. Real love has to be very humble. Look how you girls have humbled yourselves to these men to show them real love! How much more could you humble yourself? You practically get down on your knees to them!
108. REAL LOVE IS HUMILITY & THEY CANNOT EITHER ACCEPT IT OR GIVE IT WITHOUT HUMILITY! And if they are so selfish they will not forsake their pride, they won't humble themselves, then they go the other way, they harden themselves against it. They can't stand to let that tenderness affect them & make them tender or break their hearts or break them. They don't want to be melted, much less broken, so they just resist it. It's just exactly like people harden themselves against the Lord, it's the same way.
109. ONCE PEOPLE HAVE LEARNED THAT GOD REALLY LOVES THEM & JESUS REALLY DIED FOR THEM & THAT HE CARES FOR THEM, they have to believe it & really receive & accept it & bow to it, in a sense, yield to it, humble themselves to it, to receive it, the love of the Lord. It's a humbling thing. The reason most people say they don't believe in God is not because they don't believe in God, it's because they do not want to recognise Him, because then they'd have to recognise His superiority & His authority over their lives. It means then they'd have to obey Him, but they don't want to do that.
110. SO THESE GUYS THEN HARDEN THEIR HEARTS AGAINST YOU, & as they harden their hearts against you, they harden them against the Lord & His message. Jesus said, "He that receiveth you, receiveth Me also." But He said, "If they don't receive Me"--which is like receiving you--"neither do they receive Him that sent Me!"--God! In other words, when they begin to resist you & no longer receive you, they are resisting God & no longer receiving Him.
111. BUT EVEN IF YOU NEVER WIN THEM, YOU DID YOUR JOB! You've got to remember that. Love never fails, you did your job. Winning them is not your job, believe it or not, that's up to God & His Holy Spirit. You try, but you cannot make the decision for them, I've said this time & time again. Honestly, if you want to really face it, we cannot really win them ourselves, it's God's Holy Spirit & His Love that wins them, & if they reject that, nobody can win them! Your job is witnessing! Your job is to give them the message, give them the sermon, give them the sample & show them His love.
112. ONCE THEY REJECT YOU THEY CAN'T EVEN STAND TO HAVE YOU AROUND ANYMORE SEXUALLY! Don't tell me that sex is all that powerful, because we have seen too many men down in Tenerife who wouldn't touch us with a ten-foot pole no matter how much they wanted sex! They didn't want anybody around who was as strong in the Holy Spirit as you are & kept talking about God & the Bible & God's Love & Jesus! They just didn't want sex that bad or need it that bad to pay that kind of a price for it! Because they knew that's the price they had to pay.
113. SO THE GUYS WHO WERE REALLY PRETTY RECEPTIVE & PRETTY WILLING TO HUMBLE THEMSELVES & hear the message & listen to the sermon were worthy of being rewarded with the sample, right? Even if afterward they seemed to resist it & went away, at least they listened & felt it. But our dear friend Francisco, I think, is turning. (We're happy to report, though tempted, he didn't turn, but has remained friendly to this day, & when we needed him, he defended us. So he stood the test, TTL!--And I'm sure the Lord will reward him for it! GBH!--And GBY! WLY!)
114. P.S. COME TO THINK OF IT NOW, this event of his snubbing us was in the presence of some of his influential friends in the restaurant of our mutual friend, Carlos Baluarte, who later betrayed us to the Stern photographers, which caused us to leave town! It was just about this time Carlos had also shown Francisco an article about us & revealed our identity to him! This could have been what temporarily frightened Francisco & caused him to avoid us! But later he came out in full support of us, GBH!--And is still our friend to this day, GBH! TTL! But it was a good test for us all, & resulted in some good lessons learned for all of us! TYJ!--Don't give up too soon! Francisco pulled through!
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family