WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME? DO 2232 21/4/86

       1. WHEN YOU TAKE THINGS AWAY FROM PEOPLE--like these false cults that enable them to have all kinds of spiritual powers & do miracles & things--& you give them Christianity, you've got to give them something that's just as good, & to their way of thinking, something that's powerful.
       2. CHRISTIANS & THE CHURCHES TAKE A NEGATIVE APPROACH TO FALSE RELIGIONS. They attack them negatively, trying to show everything that's wrong with them, but they don't really offer them something better! They don't really show them how much better the Lord is, at least a lot of them don't. They don't really show them how much greater power they can have through the Lord! (Maria: They can't, because they don't have that power themselves. Because they don't want to accept it.)
       3. MY MOTHER USED TO ILLUSTRATE IT BY THE FAMOUS PICTURE OF THE LITTLE GIRL THAT HAS DROPPED HER FANCY LITTLE DOLLY THAT SHE LOVED SO MUCH. You see the dolly falling to the ground out of one hand, & she's reaching up to a real live dove that's coming down to land on her other hand! In other words, the imitation was easily traded for the reality of something even better.
       4. MOTHER USED TO ILLUSTRATE IT THAT WAY TO SHOW THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO FIGHT THESE FALSE RELIGIONS, JUST SHOW'M SOMETHING BETTER, GIVE THEM SOMETHING BETTER! Show them that Christ is better, the Holy Spirit is more powerful & that God is the God!--That you can really have greater peace, greater power & the only Salvation through Jesus! Because nearly all of them are imitations & counterfeits of the reality. And who wants an imitation & a counterfeit when they can have the real thing?
       5. (MARIA: THE SAD THING IS THAT THE CHURCHES JUST DON'T MANIFEST THE FULL POTENTIAL OR POWER OF WHAT THE REALISM REALLY IS!) They don't offer reality! They don't offer genuine spiritual realities! Most of the churches fight spiritism, devilish demonic spiritism & spiritualistic churches etc., but they don't recognise or accept the good spirits & offer these better realities to the people.
       6. THESE PEOPLE FIND OUT THAT THE SPIRITUAL WORLD IS REAL & that there are genuine spirits in it who pretend to be their friends & pretend to be good to them & who give them insight & supernatural powers etc. (Maria: Spirits that protect them & help them.)--Yes, & help them see things & know things etc.
       7. BUT WHAT IN THE WORLD DOES THE CHURCH HAVE TO OFFER? It doesn't tell them that they can have even greater & better, safer spiritual power & spiritual helpers & genuine Salvation, genuine peace, genuine assurance of Heaven, genuine forgiveness of sins etc. Most churches just don't have the reality to offer them! They themselves are a substitute, they themselves are counterfeits, not true Christianity! They themselves are imitations, not real genuine faith in Salvation & spiritual power, supernatural, the miraculous, which can be had through the Lord.
       8. (MARIA: WELL, WHY DO YOU THINK EVEN WE WHO ARE TRUE CHRISTIANS DON'T HAVE FREQUENT MANIFESTATIONS OF SUCH SUPERNATURAL THINGS? Do you think we don't have them because it's still the Age of faith where you have to believe without seeing all these things?)
       9. HONEY, AS FAR AS I WAS CONCERNED, THE LORD ANSWERED THAT WHEN I WAS CONSIDERING URI GELLER & HIS SPOON-BENDING, FORK-BENDING, CLOCK-STOPPING ANTICS! I said to the Lord there in London, "Well, Lord, I'm Your Prophet, why don't I have such powers? Why can't I do things like that?" And it was just like the Lord nearly laughed in my face! It was really Abrahim talking to me, giving me God's message, in a way. He said, "These are child's play, these are children's impish little tricks! These are things for children. I've given you something much better, insight into the future, knowledge of the real Salvation of God & the power of Christ for Salvation, the Holy Spirit for wisdom & all the gifts of the Spirit, & most of all, the realisation that we must get out & witness & win souls while there's still time, which the churches aren't doing!"
       10. IN OTHER WORDS, THIS IS FOOLISHNESS! These little miracles of hopping around on cushions on the floor trying to get levitated! This is child's play! This is mischievous, impish, ridiculous juvenile antics!
       11. (MARIA: BUT EVEN MANIFESTATIONS OF SOME OF THE MORE MIRACULOUS, MORE HELPFUL, PROTECTIVE THINGS SEEM TO OCCUR FOR THESE FALSE CULTS IN A MORE SPECTACULAR WAY THAN IN THE CHRISTIAN'S LIFE. We as Christians have many many miraculous answers to prayer, none the less miraculous just because we can't see them take place before our very eyes! But the Lord more often than not lets our miracles be done through natural channels in accordance with His natural laws, not bypassing them in a spectacular show that calls public attention to them. Do you think that's because the Lord wants us to believe by faith & just know that He's doing it & taking care of it without us having to see what He's doing?)--Yes, of course.
       12. OUR MAIN MIRACLE THAT WE WANT PEOPLE TO SEE IS SALVATION & ITS POWER TO CHANGE HEARTS & LIVES! These false cults emphasise & spend their time on signs & wonders with no real power to change people! My Grandfather told me about the Yogis that would throw a rope in the air & it would stand straight up & stiff & the little boy would climb up it! Alliance Missionaries would tell stories about the Yogis who came in & sat cross-legged on the floor before them & laughed at them if the missionaries said they thought they were going to win the Indians to Christianity. One Yogi just shook his head & said, "That's going to be very very difficult!" He kept saying that as he floated clear up until his head touched the ceiling, then he floated back down & walked out! I mean, they have powers & miracles, but I really don't think you'll see nearly as much manifestation as they claim.
       13. BUT AS FAR AS WE'RE CONCERNED, LOOK HOW MANY YEARS I SOUGHT THE GIFT OF TONGUES! I knew I wasn't seeking the baptism of the Holy Spirit because I knew I had it, I knew I had the Lord, I knew I had His Spirit & power. I knew it by other gifts & leadings etc. But here I was seeking this childish toy, so to speak--even Paul in a sense calls it that--wanting to have this manifestation, this demonstration of speaking in tongues, something physical & miraculously supernatural. (1 Cor.14)
       14. WELL, I NEVER GOT IT UNTIL THE FAMILY WAS WELL ON THE WAY & I WAS DOING WHAT GOD WANTED ME TO DO, to win the hearts of the young people & the hippies to Jesus & give them knowledge of the future, & to burden them with the responsibility to tell others, to win them to Christ, to win souls & save them for Heaven!--When I already had virtually every other gift of the Spirit except the most manifest, demonstrative, supernatural showy ones, like speaking in tongues & working obvious miracles & healing gifts etc.
       15. OF ALL THE NINE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT, ONLY THREE REALLY ARE OBVIOUSLY OBSERVABLY SUPERNATURAL, such as tongues, miracles & healings.--Miraculous types of healings, instant healings etc. We have plenty of healings, we have plenty of tongues & we've had miracles. But they've not been the main nor most spectacular part of our ministry & they've not had to be!
       16. WE'RE TRYING TO WIN PEOPLE TO CHRIST & THE LOVE OF GOD, & not just going around showing off our super-duper spirituality, that we're some kind of mystical gurus that can perform miracles & healings & speak in tongues & do showy spiritual manifestations! (Maria: It would make us too proud, wouldn't it? And it would gain us a following who were coming along just for the miracles.)--Just for the loaves & the fishes, just for that sort of thing, just like the Pentecostals have.
       17. EVERYBODY DASHED AFTER THE PENTECOSTALS FROM THE FIRST OF THE PENTECOSTAL OUTPOURINGS IN THE U.S. & ELSEWHERE, because of these miraculous, supernatural manifestations, especially speaking in tongues. So the whole Pentecostal church became filled up with people who wanted speaking in tongues more than anything else, & wouldn't even believe they had the baptism of the Spirit till they spoke in tongues! They got to where they'd rather speak in tongues than anything else, so they got tongues, some without the Holy Spirit, with unholy spirits & all kinds of unholy manifestations!--Because they were after the wrong things, they were after the signs & the wonders rather than the Lord & rather than His Love & rather than a real burden for souls & desire to witness & win souls & save people for Heaven!
       18. (MARIA: I GUESS THE LORD WANTS US TO HAVE FAITH TOO, JUST FAITH IN HIM, IN THE UNSEEN.)--Yes, most of the gifts of the Spirit are not showy gifts, they are the gifts of wisdom & knowledge & faith & discernment & things which are not so showy, not so obviously supernatural, but things which are the most needed & the best of all the gifts if you're going to work for the Lord! If you're really going to do things for God & be led of His Spirit, they are the things that you have to have in order to be a real leader for the Lord!
       19. SO THESE OTHER PEOPLE ARE LIKE CHILDREN, THEY WANT TOYS TO PLAY WITH! My Mother often described Pentecostals that way. She said they're like children. And Paul says the same thing, that they were childish. He said of the Corinthians themselves that they were seeking after things like children, like playtoys to play with, speaking in tongues & miracles & healings etc., showy things which were demonstrative of their spiritual power, to show off their spiritual power, which ministers to spiritual pride, like so many Pentecostals! (1Cor.14:20)
       20. HOW MANY CHURCH PEOPLE REALLY WANT GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT WHICH WILL HELP THEM WITNESS & WIN SOULS & have the faith to go to the mission field & faith for support & to self-sacrifice to give their all & suffer for Jesus & for others that they can save souls for Heaven! (Maria: Not very many.)--Not many!
       21. MOST CHRISTIANS ARE AFTER GOD WITH THE ATTITUDE, "WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME? WHAT CAN GOD DO FOR ME?" What J. F. Kennedy said to the nation: "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what can you do for your country?", could be paraphrased for Christians: Ask not what your God can do for you; but what can you do for your God! My message for the average church person is quit asking God, "What can You do for me, God? What's in it for me?"
       22. THAT'S THE ATTITUDE OF MOST RELIGIONS, OF ALL KINDS OF RELIGIONS, "WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME? WHAT DO I GET OUT OF IT?"--Not, "What can I do for the Lord? What can I do for others? How can I truly serve God & serve others sacrificially by faith with suffering & all the rest? What's in it for You, Lord, what can I do for You?" That's a religion almost alien & unknown to the average church person! Most of them want to know, "What's in it for me?--Miracles of healing, financial blessings, salvation, fire escape! What's in it for me?"--Not, what can I do for others!
       23. WE LITERALLY HAVE A HIGHER & FAR MORE SACRIFICIAL CALLING which requires far more faith & wisdom & knowledge & other gifts of the Spirit in order to sacrificially witness & preach the Gospel & win souls, save people for Heaven!--And not just, "What can I get out of this religion? What can I do to still live comfortably & sacrifice little or nothing & give up almost nothing to go to church on Sunday & get out of it whatever I can for me selfishly?" That's what most church people are after with their selfish motives of self-aggrandisement, self-interest & self-acquisition.
       24. THEY'RE NOT IN IT AS CHRISTIANS WITH THE BURDEN OF "WHAT CAN I DO FOR THE LORD? What can I do for others? How can I serve God & serve others?" But their whole attitude is, "What's in it for me? What can I get out of it?"--Instead of having received Salvation & being very thankful for what's in it for them--Salvation & healing & spiritual inspiration & Heaven & all the rest! There's plenty in it for them!--Which should make them say, "You've done so much for me, Lord, what can I do for You now? What can I by faith sacrificially & sufferingly do for You & others to show my thanks for all that is in it for me & all You've given me!"
       25. IN OTHER WORDS, MOST CHRISTIANS HAVE A SELFISH APPROACH TO FAITH & CHRISTIANITY & CHURCHIANITY: "Is it doing any good for me? What do I get out of it? What's in it for me?" I mean, everything's in it for us, of course! By forsaking all & serving the Lord & pleasing God, He'll give us almost anything, the desires of our hearts abundantly above all that we can ask or think!--Not only our needs, but our wants!--The desires of our hearts! Everything's in it for us!-- If we will delight ourselves in Him & His will & His service & obedience to lay down our lives in love for others & for Him! If we'll obey Him & do His will & follow Him & serve Him & others & win souls, everything's in it for us!
       26. THERE ARE TWO SIDES TO THE DEAL! It's not only, "God, what can I get out of You?" But also God wants to know, "Christian, what can I get out of you?" And if He can get enough out of you, He'll give you anything, like He has us! PTL!
       27. SO THIS BUSINESS OF WANTING SPIRITUAL MANIFESTATIONS & MIRACLES & POWERS & supernatural demonstrations just to show off your power & that you're some kind of a god & you're some kind of a supernatural superman human being, this is what most people are looking for. They're looking for the spiritual, even church people. They're not really looking for what they can do for God or others, they're looking for what they can get out of it for themselves & show off to others!
       28. THE LORD SHOWED US THAT THIS IS FOOLISHNESS AS FAR AS GOD'S CONCERNED! "O foolish Galatians! O foolish Corinthians!" All this foolishness of child's play, of playing with the gifts of the Spirit like they were toys! The Lord had to show us that we needed to grow up & be mature Christians with the responsibility of parents & the responsibility of souls & followers, babes in Christ, to teach others to teach others to teach others, that a Christian has most of all a responsibility to God in thanks & gratitude for what God has done for us already! We're not just to be looking for more & selfishly craving more, selfishly boasting of more, but we are to sacrificially want to serve Christ & serve others & witness & win souls forever for Heaven!
       29. SO ALL THIS LITTLE DEMONSTRATIVE, SHOWY DESIRE FOR THE SUPERNATURAL DEMONSTRATIONS & miracles & miraculous healings & powers that people go after in some of these devilish religions like meditation etc., it's all a selfish thing! They want to become spiritual!--Not to help others, not for the sake of others, but to show off their own spiritual power, & to enjoy the spiritual ecstasies & orgasms of demonic spirits, literal demonic spirits, until they become demon-possessed! They give their all to the Devil to serve him & to damn souls & lead people astray, & lose souls, not win souls, not save souls!--Because their motive is wrong & they're in it for themselves!
       30. HOW MANY CHRISTIANS WANT TO BE AT WAR FIGHTING A BATTLE WITH THE DEVIL & ALL THE FORCES OF EVIL? How many Christians join the church with that in mind, of joining an army in a desperate battle for survival & a battle to win souls, a battle to witness & a real fight for finances! How many Christians join the churches with that in mind, that they're joining an army of witnessers & soul winners?--Ha! About the only ones who know they're doing that when they join & have to & know it's required are the Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses & Mormons! The Mormons at least give 2 years of their life to the Lord & witnessing. With the Jehovah's Witnesses, it's their whole life, & the Seventh Day Adventists know that it's a great part of their lives, that they have to get out on the streets & door-to-door & witness & distribute literature etc. But how many other churches do?--We do!
       31. IN HOW MANY CHURCHES DO CHRISTIANS REALLY REALISE WHAT THEY'RE GETTING INTO IN THE WAY OF AN ARMY WHO ARE IN A BATTLE TO FIGHT & DIE FOR THE LORD & OTHERS? Most of them join the churches for status in the community & just to look nice & be pharisaical, hypocritical, self-righteous hypocrites, not even saved, & joining churches that don't even really preach Christ & the Gospel & Salvation or witnessing or soul-winning or missionary work or anything like that! The vast majority of the American Christian churches are just fancy social clubs preaching a social Gospel of simply saving the natural man & trying to help him physically.--Which of course is a good thing, but they're not saving his soul & saving what really counts, they're not preaching Christ & real genuine Salvation!
       32. SO THAT'S THE WHOLE CRUNCH OF THE WHOLE AFFAIR, & THAT IS, WHAT IS THE REAL MOTIVE? Why do people join our Family? Well, they join for Salvation most of all, to be saved from their sins & receive Christ & know that their future's assured & to even know the future, & for Heaven & all the rest, to get the peace, the satisfaction, the joy & the love that they've never found before! But when they join, they know that they're going to have to do something for the Lord in return, that they're going to have to carry the same Message sacrificially & by faith & suffering for others.
       33. THEY KNOW THEY'RE JOINING AN ARMY & GOING TO BE A SOLDIER THAT HAS TO FIGHT BATTLES & fight the Devil & sacrifice, forsake all, suffer & live by faith in order to be genuine Christians, what Christians are supposed to be & what Jesus intended for them to be, like His Own disciples who lived & fought & died for Christ & others & to bring us the Message, or we wouldn't be here today!
       34. BUT THE AVERAGE CHURCH CHRISTIAN TODAY HAS NO SUCH IDEA WHATSOEVER! He just figures he's joining a nice comfortable social club with beautiful music & soft seats & air conditioning & pretty little talks! He only has to sacrifice about an hour or two a week to attend their meetings & just a few Dollars to pay their dues. That's about all joining a church means to most Christians.
       35. THE LORD TELLS PEOPLE TO SIT DOWN & COUNT THE COST, because as far as we're concerned, when people join our Family they know what's in it for them--they're going to have to live like they see the Family living, & they're going to have to witness like they see the person witnessing who witnessed to them! They're going to have to win souls like they were won! They're going to have to live by faith like the Family lives! They're going to have to suffer persecution like the Family suffers! They know what's going to be in it for them! But because they know what priceless benefits they have already gotten out of it, they join anyhow because they love the Lord & they want to please Him, & they love souls & they want to save'm! That's what's in it for you & me!--Amen?

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family