Believing Prophecy! Maria #390 4/97 DO/TS 3130
By Maria
Table of Contents
Believing Prophecy 1
Mama's Letter to Someone Struggling with Doubts About Prophecy 3
Believe and Trust--Even If You Don't Understand! 4
Why the Enemy Attacks Our Faith in Prophecy 6
Continue to Choose to Accept and Believe! 8
Why the Lord Pours Out Through Prophecy 8
The Dangers of Doubting Prophecy 10
It Comes Down to a Matter of Faith! 13
The Difference Between Applying Prophecy and Rejecting Prophecy 16
More Counsel from Dad on Overcoming Doubts! 18
It's the Same Message, the Same Source, but a Different Method! 21
The Lord's Word Hasn't Failed! 24
Faith Is the Key! 25
Strange Truths! 26
Too Much "Control" Through Prophecy? 27
The Choice Is Yours! 31
Seekman and the Treasures! 32
Dear Family,
1. I love you and am so proud of you and your love and dedication to the Lord! I greatly admire each of you for following the Lord wherever He leads. We may not always be able to see the pathway that lies ahead, but He does. And while there are some difficulties along the way, He is continually bringing us into green pastures and leading us beside the still waters.
2. It's been very encouraging to hear from many of you through your personal letters to me, or via your TRFs, in reaction to the New Wine that the Lord has been pouring forth recently. Many of you have commented how drinking in the New Wine has brought about big changes in your life and walk with the Lord, and has encouraged and strengthened you at times when you needed it very much. Praise the Lord! I'm so thankful that I can rejoice with you in receiving these life-giving Words from our loving Husband and Lover. Isn't He wonderful to speak to us so abundantly, even above and beyond what we ask or think? He never fails to give us what we need, and like the Good Shepherd, His hand is always outstretched with more nourishing food for His little sheep--you and me!
3. While many of you have been thoroughly enjoying yourselves as you feast on the Lord's Words, there are some of you who continue to struggle and battle with them. You've been hit with doubts and disbelief, and the Enemy is fighting you hard and trying to get you to stop believing, stop receiving, and stop drinking in the Word.
4. Some prophecies published in the GNs you've been okay with, since they went along with what you already thought or what seemed like "common sense" to you. But you have had a harder time with other prophecies which ran contrary to your natural reasoning, and you find yourself resisting them or wondering whether they're really the Lord's Words, or maybe someone got it wrong, or worse yet, even made it up or just put their own thoughts into words.
5. As a result, some folks have even wondered whether there is something wrong with the direction the Lord is leading the Family, or have thought that maybe it's not really the Lord Who's in control, but "Mama and Peter directing things" and just saying that it's the Lord. When you get that far afield and the doubts grow that deep, you start wondering what really is the truth. You find it harder to accept and believe what the Lord gives, especially when it's a "strange truth" that doesn't quite fit with what you think the Lord ought to be saying or the way He ought to be saying it.
6. In the "Crisis of Faith" series, I wrote at length on the subject of doubts, and included a number of messages from the Lord and Dad, including Jesus' personal testimony. In this GN I'd like to share some more of what the Lord and Dad have had to say on this subject in recent months, more specifically in regards to doubting the prophecies that are published in the GNs. The Lord and Dad explain the dangers of doubting the Words that they give from the spirit world, and outline the dangers this can lead to step by step, how it's a tool of the Enemy to derail you and seriously hinder or even destroy your service for the Lord.
7. The Enemy knows how important our connection with the Lord is, and how vital it is if we are to complete the mission the Lord has given us of winning the world for Him and preaching His Endtime message, as well as being leaders and bellwethers in the very Last Days when so many people will be looking for the truth and a way to escape the Antichrist's control. He knows that without good, strong communication with Headquarters and our Commander in Chief, we won't be able to fight the battles that are ahead of us very effectively, and we will thus become easy prey for him.
8. The Devil knows that if he can cut us off from receiving the instructions of our Heavenly Guide, we'll be much more likely to stumble and fall, instead of fulfilling our commission to "be strong and do exploits." The Enemy also knows that if he can get us to doubt the Lord's Words and instructions now, and keep us from receiving the New Wine, not only will it hinder us greatly in the future dark days, but it will also prevent us from accomplishing the Lord's will now in our individual lives, in our Homes, and in our ministry to the lost.
9. So that is why the Devil is launching his forces to attack each of you in one of your most vital spots--your faith in the Word. Maybe you don't see it as an attack on your faith in the Word, because you feel like you still have faith in the Word; it's just some of this New Wine in prophecy that you're a little unsure of. But as the Lord and Dad explain in this GN, doubting the New Wine given through prophecy is just the first step toward doubting all of God's Word.
10. When you doubt the messages that the Lord gives now through prophecy, you are doubting the Word, because they are His Words. They are Him. He is the Word. So doubt and disbelief in the New Wine is a very serious inroad of the Enemy that can strike a deadly blow to your foundation of faith and your service for the Lord unless you stand up and actively resist it.
11. As the Lord explained in the messages included in the "Crisis of Faith" series, He has promised that if we put our will on His side when we're battling with doubts and take the first step of calling out to Him for deliverance, He will raise a standard against the Enemy. In this GN, the Lord has further encouragement for you who are battling such attacks. He tells you not to be discouraged, and promises that as you call out to Him in prayer, soak yourselves in His Word, and avail yourselves of the prayers of others, the Enemy will be defeated and you will be strengthened and delivered!
12. So if you're struggling, please don't be condemned or discouraged. Simply reach out and take the Lord's outstretched hand and let Him pull you up out of the pit into which the Enemy is trying to cast you through his subtle attacks of doubt and disbelief!
13. I'd like to start off this GN with a letter I recently wrote someone who was battling heavily with doubts about some of the prophecies in the GNs, as well as prophecies she or others had received personally. Her struggles were probably similar to those others of you have faced. She was also quite discouraged and disheartened, to the point that she had even thought of giving up and leaving the Family. She wrote me a precious letter in which she poured out her heart about these battles, sharing her doubts and fears with me.
14. I was very proud of her for writing me, as I know that sharing such intimate doubts and fears is very difficult for anyone to do. Not only do you feel embarrassed and ashamed that you're going through such battles in the first place, but you're also worried about what your shepherds' reaction is going to be, and whether they're going to think you're a "doubter" and administer some heavy correction or rebuke.
15. The Enemy plays on that because he wants to prevent you from communicating and opening up. He knows that if you share your heart with your shepherds or other brethren who are strong in the faith, you'll be able to get prayer and counsel, which could defeat his plans. So he tries very hard to tell you that if you confess your doubts and battles, especially when it's something as serious as doubting the Word in the GNs, that your shepherds won't understand and you'll be labeled a "doubter" or a "weak brother or sister," and be harshly judged or looked down on.
16. Well, I certainly hope that no shepherd --or anyone in the Family, for that matter--would have that type of reaction toward someone who is trying to honestly share their heart and seek help. I know some folks have been the brunt of such immature and unloving reactions in the past, but I hope that we've all turned over a new leaf in this respect and learned to handle people's hearts with a much greater measure of love and understanding. When someone shares their heart with you, your reaction as their shepherd or Godly counselor could have a great deal to do with whether or not they win the victory. You can either lift them up through your prayers, encouragement, and willingness to lay down your life to help them through, or you can knock them further down by your insensitivity, self-righteousness, and lack of understanding and patience.
17. Following is my response to this dear one, followed by a message the Lord gave when we prayed for her. I pray that it will be a blessing to any of you who are likewise struggling to some degree or another with questions and doubts about the prophecies in the GNs or the new revelations and directions the Lord has been pouring out.
Mama's Letter to Someone Struggling with Doubts About Prophecy
18. Dear one, I love you! Thank you so much for writing to Peter and me to share your heart. It's a beautiful heart, and we love you even more for sharing it with us. It makes us feel even closer to you.
19. I admire your forthrightness in opening up and being so honest with us about your trials and battles. It gives me faith that you will make it through these struggles, and in turn be a strength to others from what you've learned. You see, being honest about your weaknesses, fears, doubts, and outright attacks of the Devil is so important. It means you are being honest with yourself about your need for help, guidance, and encouragement. It means you can also then get the help and prayer you so desperately need to ward off these vicious attacks of the Enemy. You just have to be sure you share these things with the right people--your shepherds--which you have done faithfully over these past years, God bless you.
20. Dad said, "Battles never cease, and we will have to fight them till the day we die." I'm so glad you shared yours with us, as I was able to pray for you and ask the Lord if He could give you answers and comfort in your time of need. He gave a beautiful message, which I know will be of great help and comfort to you.
21. As you'll see in this prophecy, the Lord made it evident that the Devil is outright attacking you. He's trying to dissuade and discourage you so your testimony will not have the powerful effect it has had and is continuing to have on many who know of your fight and your convictions to follow the Lord no matter how rough the going may be.
22. I'm sorry that you're having some battles and doubts about prophecy. You're not alone. Others are being attacked on this front as well. We're all learning so much about prophecy. We're finding that it can be mysterious at times, and it takes faith on our part to believe and receive. But when we don't understand something that He reveals in prophecy, or something seems contradictory, the Lord continues to tell us to just ask Him again. I do this often when I'm not exactly sure what the Lord is saying or indicating that we should do. "For now we see through a glass darkly," and we just cannot understand all of God's mysteries with our finite minds. The answers and clarifications that the Lord then gives often amaze me and are so faith-building. Praise the Lord!
23. But in spite of the mystery surrounding prophecy, we are finding it to be one of the most beautiful and powerful gifts the Lord has put at our disposal to hear from Him and find His will. "Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. He that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort" (1Cor.14:1,3). Peter and I feel we would be greatly hindered in our spiritual oversight of this big Family without it.
24. We love you as a dear daughter, and pray for you often. Don't give up prematurely, Honey. You fought through to victory in the face of other fierce onslaughts of the Enemy, so don't let a few doubts and battles knock you off your course now. There is so much you do understand and fully comprehend that continues to draw you closer to the Lord and make you a strong missionary for His Kingdom. So ask the Lord to help you wrap in a bundle of faith the few things you don't yet understand, and keep forging ahead to win the world for Jesus.
25. The Lord, the Family and we need you! "The harvest is plenteous but the laborers so few." I believe you've got what it takes, as you have proven over and over again.
26. Peter and I and our Home will be continuing to pray for you. See how it helps to open up and share your need? You've now got our whole team on your side fighting with you. Thanks again for having the faith and humility to write and open your heart to reveal your battles and needs. We love you!
Love and prayers, Mama
Believe and Trust--Even If You Don't Understand!
27. {\b \i (Jesus speaking:)} Not one thing that I have spoken will fail. All will be fulfilled and all will be answered according to My will, and according to My purpose. That which you do not understand today may be because it is not My time to fully reveal to you My complete plan and purpose. Only believe and trust, even though you do not understand. For My ways are not your ways, and you can never know the mind of God by trying to understand and analyze with your own fleshly mind. But I will reveal My thoughts and My ways by the power of My Spirit to those whom I choose, to those who are receptive and yielded and believing, who will receive My voice with faith and love and appreciation.
28. My Words are precious, they are priceless, they are eternal, and they are true! I give them freely to My children, to the children of David and to My Family who are willing to receive the treasures of Heaven with mouths and hearts wide open. There are few in the world today who are like unto the children of David, who have inherited the spirit of faith of their Father David, and the desire to do whatsoever pleases Me. They are truly pilgrims and strangers in this land, knowing that they are not accepted by the status quo and by the organized religious system. They remain strangers to the world, but followers of Me.
29. The children of David are true believers and they remain followers of My voice, which beckons and calls them supernaturally. They desire to follow My voice and My leading no matter what the cost, no matter where I lead, rather than adhere to the restrictions of the System. They yearn for My Spirit and long for My Words! They always look upward and tune in to My Spirit and My voice, which feeds and strengthens them.
30. They shun the ways of the world and worldly knowledge. They walk not with those who are puffed up with their own intellect, and those who spout off their own carnal reasoning. They eschew it, for they know where it leads--that it is the way of death, the way of bondage to System ideas. The children of David have rebelled against the hypocrisy of the System and its organized religion, and have chosen to follow their shepherd and to follow My voice. And so must each one continue to choose.
31. There will be tests and hurdles to overcome--not only for you, My dear one, but for each one in the Family. The tests and trials and difficulties do not come to you alone, but they come to each person. Each one faces times of great testing, difficult decisions, and strong trials. You are not alone, My love; this is simply one of your testing times. I know it's difficult, and the tests and trials run deep. You feel your faith shaken and that you may not be able to stand. But you are not alone, My love. The others around you, whom you feel are doing so much better than you, will also face tests and difficulties. For I love each of My children, and I care for each one, and train each one, and teach each one the lessons that are needed.
32. So worry not about the lessons that you are learning, and look not upon your brother or sister. Fear not, for I promise that if you hold on by faith--not even knowing if you have the strength to hold on--you shall not fail and you shall not fall, but you shall come out finer gold! For those who pass through the fire and through the Jordan and continue to keep their eye on the shore, those who have been through the deep waters and the hot flames of testing, are those who come out on the other side as finer gold. I test you now, My love, that all the dross and impurities may be melted away. Fear not the testing, for I purify you out of love, and I cleanse you in answer to your prayers.
33. You are not alone in your battle with doubts, for many face the same battle. The Enemy goes about seeking whom he may devour and defile and destroy, for his ultimate goal is to get you away from Me. His goal is to destroy your faith in Me and your love for Me, and to harm your childlike faith in any way he can. Thus he abuses you with his lies and doubts. He feeds you with his worries and fears in an attempt to make you run from Me and into the arms of the System. He torments you and causes confusion and pain! He tries to upset you in any way he can, for he is the Destroyer, the Tormentor, the Evil One. He is the source of all fear, worry, doubt, confusion, strife, and anguish of heart, mind and spirit.
34. He goes about amongst My children, seeking those whom he may devour and pollute, seeking to destroy their link with Me and to destroy My gift of prophecy unto My children. He seeks to destroy our connection one with another, for he knows that in the days to come, in the darker days ahead, My gift of prophecy will provide the strength, encouragement, and direction that My children need. For now I am teaching and training My children to hear My voice and to listen for My whispers, to practice in these days of peace and quiet, that they may learn to hear My voice and My guidance, and to discern My voice. Thus the Enemy attacks with great force to pull you away from Me, and to sow doubt and confusion!
35. But you must only believe, have faith, and do not look at the waves. You must only believe with simple, childlike faith, and continue to trust. Listen not to the voice of the Enemy! Reject his doubts and refuse to hear his lies! You must simply believe that what you hear is My voice--a supernatural working of My hand--and that it is My Spirit which speaks unto you. It is a gift of My Spirit, and I am teaching and training My Family in the use of this gift.
36. Do not fear if you do not understand it all, and if some of My Words are not clear to you. Do not doubt if things do not work out the way you thought they would. Do not doubt or worry if you feel you do not understand My full meaning, or if you wonder why I said something, or you feel you did not hear My voice but that it was your own. The things that are not clear to you, you can bring to Me again. Petition Me in prayer again, that I may speak to you and help you to understand. For not all situations can be made clear or be fully answered in one message, but in My love and wisdom I give unto you that which you need and that which you can receive.
37. I told Jonah to warn the people of Nineveh, but I repented of destroying them because of their repentance and Jonah's obedience. Jonah learned the value of obeying My voice through a difficult time of testing, and was closer to Me because of it.
38. You must saturate yourself with My Word, that it may fight for you and wash away the seeds of doubt that the Enemy has planted. You must soak in My Word and absorb it and live in it. The Enemy seeks to hold you down, but you can be free of all confusion, all darkness, and all doubt, for I have promised that the entrance of My Word gives light and understanding.
39. So prove Me now herewith! Take My Word into your bosom--absorb it, live on it, drink it in. Let it cleanse you and wash you and free you from the pain of the Enemy. Turn not into his hands and go not his way, but keep your face toward your shepherds, and toward Me. Set My Words before you. Post them on your walls. Set them by your bed. Carry them in your pocket. My Words are life and truth. Absorb them, listen to them, talk of them, think of them.
40. Have those in your Home pray for you and uphold you with their prayers, and fight for your healing. Fight to be freed from the pollution of the Enemy! It is not something that you have to do in your own strength; you simply must look to My Word. Read it prayerfully and carefully. Continue to ask Me for the strength and the help that you need, and I will not fail you.
41. My Word is powerful and is able! I am able to do that which none other can do. I am able to restore you and to give you peace of mind. I am more than able. You must just continue to trust and hold on to Me. Do not analyze; do not worry or fear. Just hold My hand, rest in My bosom, and I will sustain you. Rest on My Word and it will keep you. Think on My Words and they will cleanse you from all fears and doubts and afflictions of the Enemy.
42. Dig into My Word, old and new. Dig into the treasures and do not let the Enemy rob you of the truth. Do not let him steal your place in My Family, and do not let him steal you from My arms. Let not the Enemy take away your connection with Me and rob you of the blessings and strength and faith that only I can give. I am able to give you the peace, comfort and strength that you need, and freedom from fear, worry and doubt. Only I am the source of peace, for I am Peace, and I am Love.
43. You must simply come to Me and rest completely upon My Spirit and upon My Words. I simply ask that you come; that you call upon Me and let Me work within you. Let My Words work within you, and let My Words give you strength and faith. For no one else and none other can give faith--it is in My Word and My Word only. In My Word lies everything! My Word is the source and supply of all your needs. (End of message from Jesus.)
Why the Enemy Attacks Our Faith in Prophecy
44. {\b \i (Mama:) }The Lord clearly exposes the real reason and ultimate goal behind the Enemy's attacks of doubts regarding the prophecies in the GNs: It is to destroy your faith in the Lord! And once your faith in the Lord is gone, there's not that much that you can do for Him, since it all takes faith. Our whole life is a life of faith, and when the Enemy gets you to doubt, he is striking at the foundation of your life as a Christian. So it's serious business, and not something to be taken lightly!
45. But the Lord also has a lot of encouraging words for you who are battling with doubts. He tells you that you shouldn't be discouraged, but that He often allows these attacks to test you and to try your faith, and that as you continue fighting and praying and yielding to Him, He will bring you through to victory. We have to learn to ward off these attacks of the Enemy now, because he's going to be fighting us even harder in the darker days ahead, so the Lord uses these battles to strengthen our faith and conviction.
46. So don't despair! Don't feel like you're a failure and washed up because you're battling with doubts, but cry out to the Lord and ask Him and others for help--and He will! He promises, "My Word is powerful and is able! I am able to do that which none other can do. I am able to restore you and to give you peace of mind."
47. The Lord does, however, give a few conditions to victory: One of these is soaking in His Word, both new and old. Faith is the antidote to doubt, and faith comes by hearing the Word. So let the Word wash away the doubts and replace them with faith and trust. Think on the Word continually. The Lord says, "Set My Words before you. Post them on your walls. Set them by your bed. Carry them in your pocket." As I mentioned in "Crisis of Faith," when you're battling with doubts, you need to take extra time in the Word and use every available moment to read, think and ponder on it.
48. Of course, reading the Word won't do you any good if you don't receive it. In the above prophecy, the Lord says, "I simply ask that you come; that you call upon Me and let Me work within you. Let My Words work within you, and let My Words give you strength and faith." But for them to work in you, you have to have an open heart. Just tell yourself that you're going to believe His Words no matter what, and tell the Lord, just like the man in the Bible, "I believe; help Thou mine unbelief!" (Mk.9:24). If you take that one step, the Lord can blow upon the embers of your faith that have almost gone out, and bring them back to life again as a fire that the Enemy cannot quench!
49. The Lord also says that you need the prayers of others. So confess your need and battles to others, and ask them to pray for you. During the times when you're really battling, ask those in the Home to pray for you daily during their prayer vigils or private prayer times. Don't be afraid to ask for prayer, thinking that you'll be looked down on by the others in your Home for having such problems. "There has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man," and as the Lord indicated in the above message, there are many others who have faced or are facing similar battles, or will yet. So you're not the only one, and you don't need to feel like you're worse off or more unspiritual than others. The Enemy will fight you asking for prayer, because the prayers of those in your Home will be very effective in breaking the hold that doubts have on you, so that your heart can open and the Word that you're drinking in can take root in your life and bear fruit--faith!
50. In saying that you should believe and receive the New Wine, I don't mean that you have to understand everything that the Lord gives. If you don't understand something, maybe you don't need to understand it right then. Dad didn't understand some of the things that the Lord gave him, and I don't always understand everything the Lord gives me. But what I don't understand, I either ask the Lord for further clarification on, if necessary, or I wrap it up in a bundle of faith and put it on the shelf, trusting that He'll make it clear in His time.
51. So if you have a hard time accepting something and it just seems to go down sideways, or you just don't understand what the Lord is saying or why He's saying it, then ask Him to speak to you and make it clear. Or, if you don't need to know now, then just wrap it up in a bundle of faith and trust that the Lord will reveal it to you in His time, when you'll need it.
52. There's a difference between setting something aside in faith, trusting that the Lord will make it clear to you in His time, at which time you can fully embrace and accept it, and outright rejecting it and refusing to believe it, or doubting that what is being given is of the Lord. The Lord doesn't condemn us if we have difficulties understanding or receiving something, as long as we're not rejecting it, but we want to believe and receive. When we have a hard time understanding something, He encourages us to come to Him for clarification or answers that will make it easier for us to receive and accept what He is saying.
53. In the above prophecy, the Lord says, "The things that are not clear to you, you can bring to Me again, and petition Me in prayer again, that I may speak to you and help you to understand." Sometimes the Lord purposely doesn't give us the full picture the first time around, so that we'll continue to seek Him for more answers. If He gave us everything in one shot, we might not stop to pray and hear from Him further. But if He just gives us a little bit, only enough for the next step, then we have to keep going back to Him for more answers, and this keeps us close to Him and less likely to go astray or to lean to our own understanding.
Continue to Choose to Accept and Believe!
54. One other point in the above message from Jesus which I would like to highlight is where He says, "The children of David have rebelled against the hypocrisy of the System and its organized religion, and have chosen to follow their shepherd and to follow My voice. And so must each one continue to choose."
55. You can't just choose to believe once and for all and that's it. You have to continue choosing to believe and receive each new prophecy, each new Letter, each new revelation, each new direction the Lord leads. The Lord keeps testing our faith to see if we'll keep choosing Him no matter what. He loves it when we make the right choice and keep following Him, even when it's a little tough or we don't exactly understand it all with our minds.
56. You can't get lethargic in the Spirit and think, "I've chosen once to believe the Lord's Words as given through Dad and Mama and the Letters, so I can just relax now." With each new Letter, each new message from the Lord, you've got to again make a conscious decision that you're going to receive what the Lord has to say, and open your heart to it so that it can take root in your life. The Lord loves it when you continue to choose to believe Him and His Words, as it's a demonstration of your faith in Him.
57. As long as we continue choosing to believe and receive, He'll keep pouring it out. He says, "I give them [EDITED: "My Words"] freely to My children, to the children of David and to My Family who are willing to receive the treasures of Heaven with mouths and hearts wide open. There are few in the world today who are like unto the children of David, who have inherited the spirit of faith of their Father David, and the desire to do whatsoever pleases Me." What a beautiful statement here, that the Lord says we have inherited the spirit of faith of our Father David! Isn't that encouraging? Dad sure had a lot of faith, so if the Lord says that you've inherited that spirit of faith, that means you have a lot of faith, too--you just need to keep exercising it by continuing to choose to accept and believe what the Lord pours out, especially what He or Dad give us directly through prophecy!
Why the Lord Pours Out Through Prophecy
58. I recently asked the Lord to shed more light on the subject of doubting the messages that He gives through prophecy which are published in the GNs. I knew that such doubts have dire consequences for one's spiritual life and connection with the Lord, as He had already indicated in the "Crisis of Faith" GNs. However, I asked if He could explain specifically the process by which someone who begins to doubt prophecy eventually loses faith entirely. Both the Lord and Dad spoke, and besides reaffirming that what is being given in prophecy in the GNs is of the Lord and not of ourselves, they also clearly spelled out the dangers of doubting the Words that the Lord pours out from the spirit world, and how much it hurts Him when we don't believe that what He has to tell us is from Him.
59. {\b \i (Jesus speaking:)} I am the God of the Universe, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End! I am Truth and Life! I have in My power to give My Words to whom I will. I have chosen and anointed My servants, Maria and Peter, to be My mouthpieces and My voices of the Endtime. They are My Servant King and Queen, the King and Queen of Prophecy who hunger and suck and receive as none have before!
60. Because of their great vacuum, I am able to pour forth in enormous abundance unto the children of David. That which they pour forth is not of themselves, but it is of Me. I know the needs of My children and the grave circumstances and enormous challenges that they will face in the future as My Endtime army and My voice for the truth, so I have chosen to speak to My children directly, personally, and in great abundance.
61. As rushing waters I pour forth My Words--My heart and mind and soul--unto My children, the children of David. I have anointed Queen Maria and King Peter to channel these Words, to direct these Words, to manage the flow of these Words. And so they pour out and pour out and pour out in great abundance as I pour forth unto them.
62. These are My Words. The king and queen speak not of themselves, but they speak as they hear My voice. They are faithful deliverers of My Word. They have cast themselves upon Me in great desperation and they lean wholly upon Me. They do not look to their own understanding. They do not look to the ways of man, nor do they seek the approval of man, nor care for his opinions, but they seek only to please Me and obey Me. Therefore are they true, pure vessels to pour forth and manage the flow of My Words.
63. They are the anointed caretakers of My Words. They speak as I speak unto them, and they pour forth that which I give unto them to pour forth. I will keep them from mistakes, from their own thoughts, from wrong decisions. I will keep them from misleading My children, because I keep their hearts and minds in My hand. I know the desire of their hearts is to please Me. Their yieldedness and their desperation is their protection against mistakes and wrong decisions. Their wholehearted dedication to Me, their being married to Me and devoted to Me above all others, is their guarantee that I will lead them in the right paths.
64. They are merely human, merely a man and a woman, and they are not without faults. They are not perfect; they have their shortcomings and their weaknesses. But when I put My Words in their mouths and in their hands for My children, they become My vessels, My mouthpieces, and their hands become My hands. Their mouths and tongues become Mine, and their thoughts are as My thoughts. They are mere puppets in My hands, tools that I use to speak forth My Words.
65. Think not that their giving forth of much direct prophecy is a thought and idea that has come from themselves. Think not that this is merely for convenience or only so that they might more easily or more quickly pour forth the Words. These Words are My Words. They are My voice. They are Me speaking to you, just as I spoke to My early disciples.
66. I have chosen to speak to you directly because I know what you need. I know what you will face in the days that are to come. And so in great mercy and patience and understanding I have chosen to put My lips to yours, My mouth to yours, My tongue to yours, and to feed you directly and personally.
67. {\b \i (Mama:)} The prophecies that we publish for the Family are not Peter's and my own words, thoughts or ideas! Sometimes we're just as surprised as you are at what the Lord gives, but we just pour it out anyway, because we know it's from Him! He's confirmed time and again that these Words are He Himself speaking to us; or when Dad speaks, it is Dad himself speaking to us--just like he said he would while he was still with us in the flesh!
68. The Lord has encouraged Peter and me and those in our Home whom the Lord speaks through that there are "no leaks," that our channels are clean and are pouring forth His Words unobstructed. Why? Is it because Peter or the others that I have asked or appointed to receive the Lord's Words in prophecy are better than anybody else? No, it's because we're desperate and yielded. The Lord explained it above when He said, "They have cast themselves upon Me in great desperation and they lean wholly upon Me. They do not look to their own understanding. They do not look to the ways of man, nor do they seek the approval of man, nor care for his opinions, but they seek only to please Me and obey Me. Therefore are they true, pure vessels to pour forth and manage the flow of My Words."
69. You can receive the Lord's direct Words just as easily and purely when you're desperate and yielded--and many of you have been receiving them! I've been thrilled to hear how many of you are exercising your personal gift of prophecy and getting your instructions from the Lord that way, and what a difference it's made in your lives. Praise the Lord!
70. Of course, Peter and I aren't perfect--the Lord even says so Himself--and neither are our staff members whom the Lord also speaks through. Nevertheless, when it comes to delivering the Lord's Words to the Family, the Lord says that He keeps us from making any major mistakes and wrong decisions because of our yieldedness and desperation. And let me tell you, Peter and I are desperate! We want to make sure that what we are feeding you is what you need and what the Lord wants to tell you, and the way He wants it to be delivered. We seek Him over and over for more instructions and confirmations and explanations to make sure that we're doing it just the way He wants us to. We know that it's imperative that we, as your shepherds, stay right behind our Good Shepherd, so that the rest of you can follow where He leads and be fed and strengthened at His hand.
The Dangers of Doubting Prophecy
71. {\b \i (Message from Jesus continues:)} Take it not lightly when you mock My Words, when you are skeptical and bored, when you think that they are mere figments of somebody's imagination, and you broadcast to others your opinion that they are only the thoughts of man, and that they are not necessary or crucial to the running of the Kingdom or to your own well-being.
72. Take heed and beware if you think such thoughts, for it is as if I were knocking at the door of your bedroom asking to come in, to love you and speak with you and answer your questions and provide your every need and give you the love, joy and satisfaction that you so desperately desire, and yet you shut the door in My face. You laugh and mock and say, "Oh, it's not really Jesus. He's not really here. He has not come to love us and speak to us and help us. It is merely an impostor. Let us shut and lock the door."
73. My heart breaks when I have so much to give and you are in need of so much, yet you cannot receive it because you doubt the channel, the presentation. You resist and refuse to accept anything new. You prefer the old, and therefore I am not able to get through to you. You shut the door in My face when My mouth is watering to kiss you, and I am overcome with desire to be intimate with you, to speak to your heart one on one as your Lover, your most intimate Friend and Companion, your eternal Soul-mate and Husband. And yet you will not receive Me. You cannot see that it is I.
74. When you refuse to hear this or that or the other because you doubt it for some reason, you are only hurting yourself. I will continue to pour out My truth in the manner which I have chosen. I will speak through My chosen channels. I will give My Words through your Father David and through your spirit helpers. Nothing will stop the flow of My Words. If you doubt the channel, or the message, or the delivery, or the presentation, or the abundance of the Words that I pour forth, you will only hurt yourself. For each time you doubt and resist, you close off your own personal channel to receiving My Words and hearing from Me. Each time you doubt and resist, your own receptivity is lessened and you become more and more limited in hearing My Words, either through My chosen channel, the king and queen, or through My Own still, small voice speaking to your heart.
75. If you doubt in one area, if you doubt that I can speak through the faucet or through the king and queen's chosen channels, if you doubt that Queen Maria is the winetaster and anointed of Me to judge the Words that are given unto her, or if you doubt that your Father David is able to speak from beyond the veil, or if you doubt that there is a host of Heavenly helpers ready and willing and able to speak and instruct and give messages from the other side, any of these doubts will weaken your receptivity.
76. These doubts will start off as tiny seeds, but they will grow and grow until the roots thereof will hinder your hearing from Me. They will bring confusion, and where once you doubted just one little thing, you will soon find that then you also doubt this, that, and the other. You will find that there is no place to draw the line. Once you have resigned yourself to doubting in one thing, you will soon begin to doubt in another, and yet another, and another. Then you will tell yourself, "If this thing be wrong, then why isn't this thing and that thing and the other also wrong?"
77. You think you are doubting one point of information, one angle of revelation, one tiny part of the whole, but you must understand that the message that the queen, My chosen winetaster, and her appointed prophets, give, is not separate from Me Who gives the message. This is one and the same. So if you feel that the message given is wrong, that it is a lie, then you are also saying the queen, My chosen winetaster, and I, the One Who gives the message, are wrong.
78. The Enemy of your soul seeks to weaken and ultimately destroy you. His greatest weapon, his secret weapon, his most hidden weapon of today is his outright attack on prophecy. He has at last found a way that he can subtly attack My Word and get you to doubt it and even doubt Me, without your even realizing it.
79. There are those who have put My Word in categories. There are those Words that they would never think to criticize or doubt or scrutinize, but they accept them readily and quickly by faith, such as My Words in the Bible and the Words that I gave unto Father David. My people also respect and receive and honor the Words of Queen Maria, those that come from her heart and her understanding. But these same people put My Words of prophecy in a category by itself, and they feel that such Words of prophecy can afford to be criticized and scrutinized and weighed in the balances. They feel that they can choose to believe and receive them or not, and that disbelief and rejection are not such big offenses because they are "merely the words of prophecy." But to doubt them is to doubt Me and My heart and My voice and My way.
80. It is the Enemy who seeks to sow these seeds of doubt, for he knows that if he can do so, he can succeed in robbing you of great treasures--the instruction, guidance and Word from My mouth that you need for these Last Days. Therefore, take heed to the Enemy's attacks and be not ignorant of his devices.
81. {\b \i (Mama:)} Wow, this is a heavy message, isn't it? Into what mighty oaks do tiny acorns grow, as the saying goes, and so it is with these so-called tiny seeds of doubt about prophecy. It's dangerous business and can end up destroying your faith in the Lord and all of His Word. If you don't believe that the prophecies which I put in the GNs are from the Lord, then pretty soon you won't believe that the words I tell you in the GNs are from the Lord either, since I believe in the prophecies. After all, how could I be so wrong about the prophecies and yet right about other things?
82. Then if you don't believe in what I say, you'll end up not believing in what Dad said, because he said that I would have his mantle and anointing, and would carry on as the Lord's anointed prophetess. So if you believe he was wrong about that, then how could he be right about everything else he said? Then if you don't believe what Dad wrote, how can you believe what the Bible says, since Dad's writings and life were all based on the Bible? So it's a chain reaction that is at first subtle and slow, but can eventually destroy your faith and convictions, or water them down so much that you no longer pose a threat of any kind to the Enemy.
83. When you doubt the Lord's Words in prophecy, the Lord says it's as if you're shutting the door in His face when He's trying to come in and talk to you and spend time with you and make love to you. What a convicting word picture! Imagine if Jesus came to your Home and said that He wanted to spend some intimate talk time with you, and that He had some very special and precious things to tell you personally. But then when the time came, you shut the door in His face, saying that it wasn't really Him, but just an impostor who looked like Him! Imagine how sad that would make the Lord--and how sad you would be in the long run, because you'd have missed out on the beautiful Words of love and instruction the Lord wanted to give you!
84. Beloved, these messages the Lord gives that are published in the Letters are not just general messages for the world or even the whole Family--they are for you personally, individually. It's as if the Lord were sitting there with you speaking to you personally, looking into your eyes and giving you these messages Himself, one on one. It's a personal message from Him to you! And if you feel the messages from Jesus and Dad in the Letters aren't personal enough for you and your situation, then you can hear from the Lord or from Dad directly. How much more personal can you get than that?
85. I'm reminded of the humorous comment Dad made in one of the early Letters when some people complained that he wasn't answering them personally, but just through the Letters. He wrote: "How personal is personal? And how personal can I get? I love you! Is that personal enough? What do you want me to do?--Climb in the envelope with it, and come home and read it to you personally, before you'll believe it is personal? Now I hope you don't get offended at this, or take it too personally, but I want to assure you that this is not an impersonation, but that I am the person who is personally personalizing and personifying the personification of the personality of these personals to you--in person! 'Be not afraid; it is I'" (ML #24:26,27). Maybe that's how the Lord feels when you doubt the Words that He gives through the prophecies published in the GNs. What do you want Him to do--appear in the flesh and read it to you Himself before you'll believe it's Him?
86. Of course, you can hear from the Lord and Dad personally yourself, in addition to the messages that they give for the entire Family in the Letters. But if you're doubting the messages that the Lord gives in prophecy for the Family as published in the Letters, then you'll eventually lose faith in the messages that the Lord gives you personally, and you'll lose your individual connection with Him.
87. The Lord warns that each time you doubt and resist, you close off your own personal channel to the Lord's Words, and your own receptivity and ability to hear clearly from Him in prophecy is lessened. You become more and more limited in hearing the Lord's Words--both those in the Letters and those He speaks to you personally, either in prophecy or His still, small voice in your heart. And that, folks, is serious, because you're cutting yourself off from Him!
88. The Lord says that you can't separate the message from the messenger. You can't say that you believe in the messenger, but then reject and doubt His message. So in getting you to doubt prophecy and reject the way in which the Lord is pouring out the New Wine, the Enemy is trying to ultimately destroy your faith in the Lord's voice, and cut off contact with Him altogether.
89. Dad said in "Old Bottles" that if you lose your personal connection with the Lord, at least you still have the prophet and the messages he's passing on. Your individual receiver may be turned off, but the Lord is still broadcasting and pouring out His messages through His prophet. But if you lose contact with both the prophet (through doubt and rejection) and with the Lord (through your own personal channel being clogged because of your rejection of the Word of prophecy from the prophet), then there's nothing left! You're not getting anything from the Lord's channels, so all you have is the Enemy's messages, and your own carnal understanding--which isn't any better! The Bible tells us that we should not lean to our own understanding, and that "to be carnally minded is death" (Rom.8:6). So what started out as a little doubt and feeling like, "I don't have to believe this; it's just a prophecy someone got, and it's not really the Lord," can eventually cost you your spiritual life!
90. Some people feel that it's okay to just doubt a little; to just disbelieve this particular prophecy in this particular GN that they're having a hard time with; to just reject this particular bottle of New Wine, while still believing the rest of what the Lord has to say. In answer to that, I'm reminded of something Dad had to say regarding negative thinking. I hope you don't mind, but I'll paraphrase the first part a bit to apply to doubts instead, as the principle is the same:
91. "That's what the Devil will try to tell you: It doesn't hurt to just doubt a little, to just disregard that particular Letter or prophecy! After all, you deserve to be able to reason it out in your carnal mind just a little rather than just having to follow completely by faith! Why not? ... Listen, brother, the minute you start listening to the Devil, you're done for, because there's no end to it, no stopping place! He'll never quit! He'll never quit until he's got you completely down at the bottom, totally and utterly out of the victory, a terrible reproach to the cause and a curse to others and everybody else around you!" (ML #33:12,13).
92. You may think that doubting one prophecy isn't that big a deal, but it's an open door for the Enemy to get in and sow his seeds. Once you've opened it just a crack, it's much more difficult to get him out than if you had never opened it in the first place. It's like having a thief or robber outside the door of your apartment who's trying to get in. If you keep the door closed, there's not much he can do but break it down. But if you open it just a crack, he can get his hand or foot in, and then it's a real struggle to get it shut again. If you're not careful, he can overpower you, push the door wide open and come right in.
93. Little doubts lead to bigger doubts, so attack them when they're still small! Call out to the Lord, ask for prayer, soak in the Word and stand your ground! Don't let the Enemy rob you of your connection with the Lord. That's his ultimate goal! In closing yourself off to the Lord's voice in the Letters, you'll also be closing yourself off little by little to the Lord's voice in your own heart and hearing from Him yourself in prophecy or by the checks of His Spirit, until pretty soon you've lost the connection entirely and become a brittle old bottle!
94. When we received the above message from the Lord about the dangers of doubting prophecy, Dad also gave a talk on the subject, which I'll include below. It's wonderful to have Dad still speaking to us and leading us from up There, and in fact, pouring out even more now than he did in his last years with us on Earth!
It Comes Down to a Matter of Faith!
95. {\b \i (Dad speaking:)} Honey, I think the way the Lord is working through you and Peter and your channels is absolutely marvelous! My, if you didn't have prophecy, if you didn't stop to get quiet and hear from the Lord, how would I ever be able to punch through and continue to lead and guide you and give the messages that I need to give to the Family? It's sad that some people don't believe it's really me speaking when you receive prophecies and messages from me from beyond. Maybe they think people are just making it up. Maybe they just think it's people's thoughts or what they think I'd say.
96. I'm sad for the people who feel that way, because they miss out on everything I'd like to tell them. They miss out on all these exciting MO Letters, these exciting talks that I get to give from the Heavenly realm. And they miss out on how you and I are still working together, Honey! --How I'm still leading and guiding the Revolution from over Here.
97. I promised that I would do that, didn't I?--That I would still be speaking to your heart. Didn't I say time and time again in the Letters when I was with you there on Earth that I wouldn't leave you, Honey, but that I would continue to speak to you and to lead and guide you? Well, of course at that time you didn't realize that the way this would be accomplished would be through prophecy and through my being able to speak directly through open channels.
98. When I was still with you, we probably felt that I would be speaking to your heart and you would be speaking my words, and that's probably what the Family imagined would happen also. But it's just one of those situations where we saw through a glass darkly, but now we know! And isn't this so much better, so much more effective? I can give exactly the message I want to give, and I can give it abundantly and frequently. I can speak not only to you, but I can speak to many Family members and Homes. As they sit still before the Lord and come before Him for instruction, not only do they hear from Him and from their spirit helpers, but I get a chance to instruct them as well.
99. It's obvious how much better it is that I can speak to you and to the Family directly through open channels, through prophecy. And for those who don't believe it's me, well, I'm sorry. That's their loss. But I'm going to keep speaking and I'm going to keep writing MO Letters from this side, and I'm going to keep leading the Family through prophecy. So they'd better get used to it, because I'm here to stay! And I'm happy about that! And I know you and Peter are too, Honey!
100. It's a sad thing, but some people just aren't walking much in the fear of the Lord when it comes to prophecy. They're not respecting it and reverencing it like they should. They're not looking at it as the pure Word of God like they should. I know in the early days of the Family, a lot of the Letters we published were prophecy from the Lord and messages from Abrahim, and people looked upon those Words very respectfully. They were in awe, and they honored the Words. They saw them as something miraculous, something great, something supernatural.
101. Well, I don't know what happened to people and why they started looking at it so in the flesh, and why they started doubting. Maybe it's just because they're old bottles and they're resistant to change and they like it the way it was. They don't like the new way the Lord is moving and speaking. But that's just too bad, because that's the way the Lord is doing it, and that's the way the Lord is going to continue to do it--at least for now, and probably for a long while. Because look how effective it is, how efficient, how much you're able to publish and how much you're able to get from the Lord.
102. No wonder He has chosen to speak to His children this way! And instead of it being more difficult for them to receive the message, it should be easier for them to receive the message, because it's the clear, pure waters from God. But I guess some people just have a mental block. They have their minds made up that they're not going to like it, that they're not going to believe it, that they want things the way they were, so they just can't receive it. They're closed. They're like hard, dry ground that won't receive the water. They're like corked bottles that won't receive the New Wine.
103. So what can I say, Honey?--Except that I'm thankful the Lord is pouring forth through prophecy, because I know how much He has to say. I know how much needs to be said, not only to the Family but to the lost. That's why the Lord Himself is speaking through open channels, and He is allowing me to speak, as well as multitudes of Heavenly helpers. He's even allowing the departed spirits to speak for the Celestial Interviews, because there's so much to be said! There is so much that people need to hear! He's pouring forth through as many channels as He can find, those who are available and willing and worthy to pour forth His message.
104. Of course, those who speak for the {\b \i Celestial Interviews} are not your Heavenly helpers. They're not the ones who are called and chosen and trained to help you, Honey, and our Family in their spiritual warfare for the Lord. Those who speak in the Celestial Interviews are only allowed a special dispensation of grace in order to get a message across, a unique, specific message that they have to give to the lost. So they have their unique place in communicating messages from this side. They have a special calling, and limited influence and access to the channels. They are mostly witnessing to the lost and giving their personal testimonies to the lost; that's their ministry. They're on a different level from me and the Heavenly helpers who speak to you and lead and guide you in spiritual matters and the affairs of the Kingdom.
105. All of this massive outpouring of the message is part of the Lord's plan. He is the One Who controls the flow. He is the One Who gives permission to different ones to speak. He is the One Who is in control. He is the One Who orchestrates the great symphony, Who manages the troops, Who organizes and approves the pouring forth of the message. It's all in His hands; it's under His direction and control.
106. It just comes down to a matter of faith, Honey! The kids have got to have faith. They've got to have faith that I prepared you and Peter, and trained you to run the Family after I was gone. They have to have faith that you are wearing my mantle. They have to have faith that you and Peter are His anointed shepherds and leaders of the Family. They have to have faith that you are the Endtime Prophetess, that Peter is the Lord's faucet, and that you are the winetaster. They have to have faith that since you, Mama, have faith in your channels and you believe that they hear from the Lord and that they're good, reliable, clear, pure channels, then they are just that.
107. They have to have faith if the Lord leads you to hear from departed spirits, to get messages from beyond, either counsel for the Family from Heavenly helpers, or a message for outsiders from the departed spirits. It's all a matter of faith. How can they believe in you on one side and doubt you on the other?
108. The Lord has promised to lead and guide and anoint you. He has promised to direct your decisions and establish your thoughts. He has promised that He would not lie to you, but that He would lead you in the path that you should go, as a faithful true shepherdess and prophetess.
109. So if the Family is going to believe in these promises concerning you, Honey, they're going to have to believe across the board. Because once you start doubting one point, it's just the beginning, and pretty soon you'll be doubting another and another and another. And when they doubt your words, Honey, or the words of Peter or your channels, they're doubting you. And when they doubt you, they're doubting me and the promises I made and that I'm still making concerning the Lord's anointing on you. And when they doubt me, they're also doubting the promises that the Lord gave to me when He called me to lead the Family as your prophet, king, and father.
110. And in all of these doubts, Honey, they're ultimately doubting the Lord, because He's the One Who ordained this whole plan and set it in motion. So while they think they're just doubting a little prophecy here and there, and it's not very important and it won't amount to much, what the Enemy is trying to get them to do in the end is to doubt you and me and the Lord. Because when they doubt the Lord's Words in one area, it won't be long until they're doubting in another and another. It's a chain reaction, because where do they draw the line?
111. They're just as good as saying that God is a liar, that His promises are not true, and that His plan has failed. If that's the way they feel, then they might as well just quit, because they've got to have faith. Without faith, they're lost! Without faith, the Words are empty and meaningless--whether they be the Words of the Bible, my Words in the MO Letters, your Words, Honey, or the Words of the prophecies. Without faith they're all meaningless.
112. This attack of the Enemy on prophecy is a vicious, serious attack. He is trying to weaken the Family by shaking the very foundations of their faith, and he is going about it very subtly, very slyly. So it's good and needful and urgent that you expose this attack of the Enemy. Those who are sincere and who have great love for me and you and the Lord will see and receive these Words, and it will set them free and set them on the path to be strengthened. So expose these attacks of the Enemy, Honey, while there's still time.
113. {\b \i (Mama:)} Praise the Lord! That's what I'm trying to do with this Letter--expose this attack of the Enemy for what it is, and sound the alarm as to what dangerous depths doubting the messages the Lord and Dad give through prophecy can lead to! Don't let the Enemy shake the foundation of your faith! Resist him, cling to the Lord and His Word, and call out to Him for the faith you need! And again, the way to get that faith is by soaking in the Word. As Dad said in one of his very first Letters, "Faith is something that is built by faithful study of God's Word. Faith comes--it grows by hearing the Word of God. It's not a sudden boom" (ML #M:9).
The Difference Between Applying Prophecy and Rejecting Prophecy
114. {\b \i (Message from Dad continues:)} Of course, they need to understand that there are different types of prophecy, Honey. Some prophecy is divine revelation concerning spiritual matters or direction [EDITED: "for the Family"] or Endtime events. Those messages the Lord expects His children to receive by faith, wholeheartedly, whether they understand them or not, trusting that with time they will become clearer.
115. But there are other kinds of prophecy, for encouragement and instruction in practical matters and in personal matters, where the Lord gives people a little leeway, and they can apply or not apply the prophecies as they fit their situation. But there is a big difference between not applying a prophecy and not believing a prophecy. There is a big difference between trying to see how the Words from the Lord fit your situation and how you can live them and use them and put them into practice, and downright rejecting, denying and doubting the Words from the Lord.
116. When it comes to such prophecies, people do need and should be given flexibility. They don't need to get bound by the letter of the law and restricted, thinking they have to apply every single prophecy in the GN directly and rigidly to their situation. There must be some flexibility, some openness for them to be led of the Spirit according to their faith.
117. There is nothing wrong with this; this is being Spirit-led. This is applying prophecy. This is not doubting or being skeptical or mocking or criticizing prophecy. There's a big difference, and the Family needs to understand and know that difference so they can learn to rightly divide the Word and apply it and make it work in their situation without being bound and locked into the letter of the law, trying to apply God's Word in a black-and-white, inflexible, unloving manner.
118. That's where there's room for personal preference, personal choice, and being led of the Spirit according to your situation and circumstances. And there is nothing wrong with that. But when you reject prophecy, doubt it, speak against it, mock it, and doubt the channels, and spread your doubts and thoughts to others, trying to get them to think the same way, this is wrong and this is dangerous.
119. So, Honey, you need to help people and teach people and show them the difference, and do all you can to defeat this attack of the Enemy. Don't worry, Honey. Many of our children believe the prophecies and love them, and they're starting to get used to reading prophecy and getting fed from it. But there are also quite a few who are still confused and who are being attacked by the Enemy, and they need to be strengthened. (End of message from Dad.)
120. {\b \i (Mama:)} Sometimes the Lord gives general counsel or guidelines on a subject, and expects us to seek Him personally for the details on how to implement and apply it to our own individual situations. This is the way Dad worked, too. He would pass on the general counsel from the Lord, and expected us to "rightly divide the Word of truth" and seek the Lord on how He wanted us to apply it. But as Dad points out, there's a difference between questioning the Lord about how to apply what He's given in the Letters for you personally, and rejecting it altogether.
121. Consider the following example: A few months ago we published some prophecies in a GN where the Lord said that many Family members in the U.S. should leave and go to other fields (GN 708). If you pray about whether you should go and the Lord tells you to stay because He has an important mission for you in the U.S., that doesn't mean that you're doubting and disobeying the Lord's counsel; rather you're applying it to what the Lord wants you to do personally by seeking Him about how to follow the counsel in the Letter, and following what He shows you.
122. However, if you were to just disregard the counsel in the prophecy altogether and not even consider or pray about leaving the U.S. because you figure "it's just a prophecy," then you would be doubting and disobeying the Lord. Worse yet, if you were to discourage others from leaving the U.S. by telling them that you don't think the prophecies in the GN are really from the Lord, then you would not only be yielding to the Enemy yourself, but would be causing others to stumble as well!
123. So don't be too rigid about following the prophecies in the GNs in a legalistic, letter-of-the-law manner. But if you do feel that the Lord wants you to apply something He says in the GNs somewhat differently in your situation, you'd better first check with Him and make sure that that's really what He wants you to do! It may be, but you won't know for sure unless you ask Him. Get a confirmation through prophecy from others, too, if you can!
124. Another situation where the Lord would expect you to prayerfully apply the prophecies in the GNs would be in cases where He presents various options for you to choose from. Such prophecies often affect the practical matters of our lives, such as "Our Children's Education" (GN 694) and "Man Looketh on the Outward Appearance," parts 1 and 2 (GNs 735 and 736). Many times Peter and I ask the Lord to cover many different situations or scenarios in the GNs in order to give you the most well-rounded counsel possible. But after reading that counsel, it's up to you to go to the Lord and ask Him how it applies to your lives.
125. There's also a difference between outright doubting and rejecting what the Lord has to say, or demeaning it by thinking or saying that, "It's not really the Lord, it's just a prophecy someone got," and having a battle implementing what the Lord tells you to do. Dad sometimes had a hard time doing what the Lord told him to do. I have sometimes battled with doing what the Lord has asked Peter and me to do, but we've gone ahead and tried to do it anyway.
126. Just because we battled doesn't mean that we were doubting that it was the Lord speaking. When Moses had a trial about going to Egypt and facing Pharaoh, it wasn't because he didn't believe that the voice speaking to him from the burning bush was the Lord, but because he knew how difficult it would be and he felt very incapable of performing the task.
127. So if you're having a battle about believing or doing what the Lord is saying, don't let the Enemy condemn you and tell you that you're just full of doubts and you might as well quit because you'll never make it! If you have your will on the Lord's side and you want to believe and obey, then the Lord will give you the strength to do so. The important thing is to surrender your will to the Lord and yield to Him.
128. I'm not saying that it will be easy for you to accept every single message that the Lord or Dad gives through prophecy, because sometimes the wine is pretty strong and pretty new! Have you ever tasted new wine before? The taste is pretty strong and even a bit bitter compared to the aged wine. Sometimes the Lord's New Wine is a bit strong and difficult to swallow. The important thing is that you want to believe it and get it down, and you keep trying to drink it, until you finally get used to the taste, and pretty soon you start enjoying it! You don't just spit it out and throw away the bottle and swallow the Enemy's lie when he tells you, "This isn't really wine, it's just vinegar with a wine label on it."
129. The Lord doesn't condemn us if we have an initial battle receiving or obeying what He has to say, as long as we're trying and facing the right direction. He's very patient with us, and if He sees that we want to follow, He'll keep gentling us along. It's the rejection and doubting the source or the veracity of His Word that He despises.
130. When you doubt and reject, then you are in a sense tying the Lord's hands, and He can no longer help you. You're turning your back on Him by doubting that His Words are truly from Him, and since you won't listen to what He has already said, how can He give you any further counsel or instructions? Thus begins a downward spiral of more and more doubt, leading you further and further away from the Lord. It can only be reversed if you call out to the Lord and ask Him to deliver you, and put your will on His side so that He can help pull you back up!
131. While reading over an advance copy of this GN, one of our proofreaders had a question about Dad's comments in the preceding prophecy that the Family should wholeheartedly believe the prophecies that the Lord pours forth in the GNs, whether they understand them completely or not. They wondered how this would apply to prophecies that are not fundamental Family beliefs. For example, if someone doesn't personally accept or practice the "Loving Jesus" revelation, which is not a fundamental Family belief or a requirement for DO status under the Charter, are they then doubting the Word?
132. I touched on this in the above paragraphs, but I thought that you might appreciate a fuller explanation from Dad himself. So I asked Dad to clarify this point and explain whether not implementing certain prophecies in the GNs constitutes doubting the Word. Here's what he said:
133. {\b \i (Dad speaking:) }In the case of prophecies like the "Loving Jesus" revelation, or other direction that the Lord gives which is not a fundamental Family belief that He requires all those in the Family to believe and follow, if you don't have the faith to follow and implement it in your own life, you're not necessarily doubting the Lord's Words.
134. What determines whether it is a doubt or not is whether you believe it's really the Lord that is speaking. If you don't believe that it was the Lord speaking in those prophecies, and you go around telling others that you don't think that that particular revelation is from the Lord, then you're saying that Mama and Peter must have gotten it from a source other than the Lord, and that would be doubting. But if you acknowledge that, yes, they are the Lord's Words, and that direction or revelation is from the Lord, but yet you don't have the faith to personally accept it and implement it in your own life, then the Lord gives some leeway for this. He knows some of these things are difficult to take, and He wants to leave it up to your own individual faith. He's a God of love, and He wants to make it as easy as possible for you. He's very patient and He doesn't condemn you. He just waits until you're strong enough to be able to fully receive, accept and follow what He says.
135. But if you're doubting that these things are really from the Lord, that leaves you no other alternative than to believe that Mama and Peter are either being inspired by the Enemy, or that they're just making up these things. Either way, that's a pretty serious doubt and a dangerous position to be in. It's a road that will lead you downwards until you completely reject and forsake everything that the Lord is pouring through Mama and Peter in the Letters.
136. So yes, people do need to accept and believe these things by faith, whether they understand them or not. But the Lord gives allowance for them not to have to implement them personally if they don't have the faith for it, or if they're not yet ready or they're not strong enough.
137. The Lord will reward you according to how closely you follow, how much you receive and implement or act upon what He gives--not only believing it and accepting it as the Lord's Words, but actually receiving it into your heart and your life and letting it change you, and doing something about it. There's a big difference between a mental acceptance that something is of the Lord, and really receiving it into your life. It's similar to the way some people believe that Jesus existed, but they don't receive Him as their personal Savior and invite Him to become a part of their lives. It's like that with prophecy, too. You can believe that a prophecy is the Lord's Words, but still not be receiving it into your heart and life and living it. So that's the difference.
138. There are certain things which the Lord requires you to fully accept and embrace and follow and implement, and those are outlined in the Love Charter. But there are other areas in which the Lord gives much more leeway according to the individual's spiritual strength and faith, in which He doesn't condemn you if you have a bit of a hard time catching on, or if it takes you a while to come around to it. (End of message from Dad.)
More Counsel from Dad on Overcoming Doubts!
139. Recently Dad gave a very helpful message for a dear Family member who has been struggling with a lot of doubts. This brother was having a hard time receiving the New Wine, which was causing him to doubt and question Peter's and my anointing and the "source" of the prophecies in the Letters. He said that he had faith in Dad and his Letters, which is what was keeping him going, but he just couldn't accept some of the New Wine.
140. He also had a hard time reconciling the fact that today Peter and other channels hear from the Lord so much in prophecy, whereas Dad didn't seem to as much. If Dad was the Endtime Prophet, then why do we seem to be getting so much more through prophecy today than he did? Dad also heard a lot from the Lord via Abrahim, his spirit helper, whereas now we seem to be able to get it straight from the Lord Himself. Of course, Dad did get many prophecies straight from the Lord, such as those published in Letters like "Old Church, New Church," "Birthday Warning," "They Can't Stop Our Rain," etc., but not in the volume in which the Lord is pouring them out today. So it made him wonder if we shouldn't stick with the way Dad did things rather than being led so much through direct prophecy.
141. This brother was also discouraged, wondering why the promises that the Lord had made through Dad over the last 25 years about the "great and mighty works" that the Family would do--for him at least--had not been fulfilled. He was quite disheartened that after being in the Family for so many years, he still didn't feel he had accomplished much for the Lord. He had been a faithful pioneer and witness in the past, but now felt like he was just supporting his family and trying to survive while getting a little witnessing in here and there. This caused him to have doubts about the Word, particularly the Lord's promises in the New Wine about the great things that He wants to do through each of us during the Endtime.
142. Probably some of you have had some of the same questions or been hit with the same or similar doubts, so I thought that it would be helpful to share with you the wonderful answers that Dad gave, so that you could benefit from his counsel, too. Following is what Dad had to say. (Some more specific personal words for this brother for whom the prophecy was given are not included in this GN.)
143. {\b \i (Dad speaking:) }God bless you, Son! I love you! I really do. I love you like one of my children, because you are. You've been one of mine for more than half your life now, and I'm so thankful for you and for your faithfulness to the Lord and to me. I know it hasn't been easy and there have been a lot of rough spots, especially lately. But you've stayed faithful and true, and that says a lot!
144. The Lord has really done a lot through you over the years. You may not feel like it; you may feel like a nothing and nobody and that you wound up a failure, accomplishing nothing except trying to support your family and get in a little witness here or there, but the Lord has worked through you all through the years--to help people, to encourage them, to strengthen them. He's worked through you and your wife and your precious kids.
145. Isn't your wife lovely? What a sweetheart! I really love her, too! The Lord has really blessed you with her, and with wonderful children. They're a real special blessing from the Lord in your life. If you don't feel blessed from the Lord in any other way, if you feel like everything else has gone wrong and you've wound up with nothing, at least you can know that the Lord has blessed you with a wonderful wife and some beautiful children! So there's a blessing from the Lord right there--one that most people in the world don't have!
146. I'm sorry, Son, that times have been so rough and that you've been hit with so much frustration, and doubts and questions. They seem to be tearing you apart. God bless you for sharing your heart and for taking the time to write it all down--sending it on to your shepherds, who passed it on to Mama, who then asked me if I could help and speak to you, and maybe give you a few words of encouragement or advice, something that might help you.
147. Well, first I'd like to say that I'm real proud of you for being honest and sharing your heart. I'm sorry that you were so afraid to do so before. I know you've had experiences, or seen others who've had experiences in sharing their heart with some of their shepherds, and then they got the ax as a result. I know that's happened a few times with different people, and I'm really sorry about that! Sometimes leaders don't always handle things the right way, and they react too suddenly.
148. One thing I know about Mama is that she's got a lot of love and a lot of patience. She doesn't just cut people off because they share their heart about the difficulties they're going through, or even really serious doubts or problems. So you don't need to fear, Son. You don't need to worry about it. Mama's happy that you shared your heart, and I am, too. It really helps just to be able to get those things off your chest, if for no other reason than that at least you got it out.
149. I'd like to share a few things with you that I hope are going to help you, but a lot of it is contingent on your being open and receptive and having an open mind to what I'm going to share. I'm glad that you've had faith in my Words, Son, that you've believed in them and that you've followed them. The Lord is really going to reward you for that.
150. You may feel like a failure and like you're doing nothing now, but I'll tell you, the Lord has a big reward for you up in Heaven for all that you have done--for all the years that you have been faithful, for all the times that you got out and did His will, for all the souls that you won, and those that you witnessed to, for all the people that you helped. Sure, you've had your problems, but for goodness' sake, who hasn't? I had my problems too, but the Lord still used me, as much as I would let Him.
151. You see, so much of how the Lord uses us depends on how much we let Him use us. And sometimes when we feel like we're not being used of the Lord, it's because we're not letting Him. He wants to! He's more eager to use us than we are to be used of Him! But sometimes we get in the way because we're not yielded, or not ready, or not listening to His still, small voice in our hearts telling us what to do and where to go and how to do it. We want to do things our way. Or maybe we're just so busy looking at the waves and the circumstances, the problems and the difficulties, that we can't even see the Lord's call.
152. Other times the Lord just has to put us through some difficulties and trials and tests in order to strengthen us and mature us. When you're going through the fire, it seems like everything's so hot that you're going to get burned up for sure! You do get burned, but as the Bible says, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those that are exercised thereby. Of course, you have to be exercised by it--you have to yield to it. You have to yield to what the Lord is doing, and you have to let Him work.
153. I had my times in the desert too--years when I felt like I wasn't doing much for the Lord, when I was trying my best, trying to follow, but I didn't seem to be getting anywhere. But I held on, and the Lord did it! The Lord pulled me through, and the Lord worked through me--doing things that I never imagined were possible. I know the Lord can do the same through you, Son. He's used you before and He can use you again! You've just got to let Him; you've just got to let go. You have to let go of the weights that are pulling you down.
154. Go back and read some of my old Letters that talk about just letting go and letting God, following God where He leads, and listening to His still, small voice. If you have a hard time with the New Wine, just go back and read some of the Old Wine! It's the same message. The message hasn't changed, the Lord hasn't changed, I haven't changed. It's still the same thing today as it was 25 years ago! Of course, today the Lord is giving a fuller picture on some issues and expounding on the things that He showed me back then.--Just like when I was on Earth and the Lord expanded and expounded on what was written in the Bible through what He gave me. The message was the same; He just made it clearer and broadened the application.
155. Way back in "For God's Sake, Follow God" I was talking about getting in touch with the Lord, hearing from Him fresh every day, and following His direction. That's what I'm saying today through Peter and the other channels, and through Mama. That's what the Lord is saying. So the message is really no different; it's just a different way of getting it, that's all.
156. If you're having a hard time with the taste of the New Wine, then soak yourself in the Old Wine. Drink it in, let it fill you up! Immerse yourself in it! Then go back and read the New Wine, and maybe you'll see it in a different light. I think you will! Because, after all, it's all the same, from the same Source, from the same Bottler! Praise the Lord!
157. The Lord's the Bottler, and He's got great big wine vats, pouring out the wine! Some of it has different tastes and comes in different bottles of different shapes, but thank God, it's all from the same grapes, all from the same Man, all from the same Source! It's all from Jesus, praise the Lord!
158. The Lord really loves you, and I love you, too, and I'd really like to be able to help you. The Lord's got spirit helpers who are trying to help you, too, who are trying to whisper in your ear, point you in the right direction, and encourage you when you get angry or frustrated. They're trying hard because the Lord loves you and you're very special to Him.
159. I love you, too, and it hurts me to see you discouraged, confused, doubting, unhappy and frustrated. I wish that I could just pull you up, pull you out, supernaturally, miraculously. But it's not quite that easy, Son. See, I can point you in the right direction, I can get you going, I can show you the way to go, but you've gotta take the steps. You've gotta do the "wenting."
160. The secret is really the Word--both new and old! Like I said, soak yourself in the old Letters! Immerse yourself in the Word! Revel in it! Drink it in! As you read it, ask the Lord to show you His truth. Ask the Lord to speak to you, to confirm what He's giving in the New Wine. I know He will, because He always answers when we call out to Him with a hungry heart. When you call out to the Lord and you say, "I believe; help Thou my unbelief," the Lord answers! His hand is moved by your faith in asking Him for help.
161. I know you've done that before, and you feel like, "What's the point? I've already asked the Lord so many times, and it's just not happening. I don't feel different. I'm not getting the victory. I'm not feeling more inspired." Well, again, it's the Word! Faith comes by hearing the Word. If you seek the Lord, He'll help you, He'll speak to you, and He will answer--but He's going to use the Word to do it, because that's just the way He works. So you've just got to get it in, okay?
It's the Same Message, the Same Source, but a Different Method!
162. {\b \i (Message from Dad continues:)} Okay, now let's go on to answer some of the specific questions that you asked. That was a little sideline, but a very important point about the Word. I know you read it and you feel like you're not getting anything from it. But as you continue doing so in faith, asking the Lord to open your eyes so that you can behold wondrous things out of His law, He won't fail you. He won't let you down! He's so full of treasures, both new and old!
163. The Lord wants to give you these treasures that can help wash away your fears, and wash away the hurt, the anger, and the frustration that you feel. Go back and read "Morning Prayer," "Stop, Look, Listen," "Faith," "Dumps," and some of these other Letters that I wrote. And don't just read them once, but read them over and over and over again! Feed on them! Feast on them! I know the Lord will use them to help you to look at the New Wine in a new light. Like I said, it's all from the same Source. Praise the Lord!
164. You were wondering how come when I was on Earth, I said that it wasn't so easy to hear from the spirit world, that the Enemy fights it and there's static, and it takes a lot of faith and a real clear channel to be able to get the Lord's Words. I gave the example of how it was even rare that I heard directly from such Heavenly beings as the Archangel Michael. That was like a special occasion, a real big deal, whereas mostly I just heard from Abrahim, God bless him. He and I have a lot of fun nowadays! We get to talk together and communicate more than we did before while I was on Earth. It's been really fun getting to know him better. He often pops by to see how things are going. He doesn't have to take care of me so much now--he's got other assignments--but he's a real good friend, God bless him.
165. I also said in some other Letters that you may have read that the Enemy fights our communication with the spirit world. Even Daniel was delayed in receiving the message of the Lord through the hand of the Archangel; it was such an important message that the Enemy hindered it. So you may wonder how come I said all this, yet nowadays prophecy seems to be pouring out almost effortlessly--no obstacles, no problems, people just getting tons of fluent prophecies! Peter and others are getting all these prophecies that are going out in the GNs! Doesn't that conflict a little bit? You thought I was the Endtime prophet, but now it looks like Peter's getting more prophecies than I did!--And hearing them directly from Jesus, not just from a spirit helper! Does that mean that Peter has a closer personal relationship with the Lord than I did?
166. I can understand why you would have those questions, Son. When you look at it in the logical sense and analyze it, it does seem kind of funny and strange that now that I'm gone, there's so much more coming out in prophecy to the Family than when I was there! If I was the Endtime prophet, then why wasn't I getting it? I can see why you would ask that kind of question, and there are probably other people who wonder the same thing!
167. Well, it's true that there are different strokes for different folks. The Lord works in different ways with each of us. I've said in the Letters that my main job and calling and anointing was as a teacher--to teach you the ways of the Lord and to instruct you in how to serve Him. I was the Endtime prophet, and I still am the Endtime prophet--even from up Here! I was the one chosen to help lead the Family, to get us started, to lead you on, to give you the faith to obey and believe the Lord, and to go into all the world and preach the Gospel!--And that hasn't changed one bit!
168. Peter hasn't taken the place that I had. Peter has his place and Mama has hers. They're the leaders now; I've passed the torch on to them. They're the ones who are carrying the baton. But it doesn't mean that I'm no longer the Endtime prophet and a prophet of God, or that they're greater prophets than I was. We're all in this together!
169. Who's to say who is greater or not greater, or who is closer to the Lord or not closer to the Lord? You might recall what Jesus said when the disciples started arguing about the same thing. They wanted to know who was closest to the Lord, and who would be the greatest. The Lord told them that he that was greatest was he that was servant of all. So that's what really counts in the Lord's eyes!
170. But don't worry, I haven't lost my anointing as the Endtime prophet, and I'm still speaking plenty! Except now, instead of speaking into a tape recorder, I just speak it in the spirit into somebody's ear, and they speak it into a tape recorder! What difference does it make? They're just a channel. When the Lord speaks, instead of Him turning into a man and writing it down on a piece of paper, or typing it on a computer or dictating it, He just speaks through somebody's ear and they write it down. What difference does it make? They're just the channel.
171. Well, back to the question: If I'm the Endtime prophet, then how come I didn't give as many prophecies as Peter does, or as other people in Mama's Home do? Well, like I was explaining, the Lord called me to be a teacher. If you'll go back and read my Letters, that's what I said was my greatest calling, my greatest anointing, my greatest talent. The Lord spoke to me just as much as He speaks to Mama and Peter. But the difference was that rather than me giving it in direct prophecy, He would just speak to my heart and I would give it in my own words.
172. I don't think you folks were ready to be led primarily through direct prophecy. You had to be broken into it. It would have been too much; you wouldn't have had the faith for it. So the Lord instead spoke through me, because you could relate to my words more easily. You could relate to them coming from a man who you knew, who you understood--sort of a mediator between you and the Lord. But it was all the Lord--it certainly wasn't me! Well, I'm sure there were times when I spoke when it was just me. But when I got the anointing, when the Lord's Spirit fell on me, it was the Lord! It was His Words and His message, and that's what turned you on--not me!
173. I was just the channel. It was kind of like giving a prophecy, except in a little bit of a different way in that it wasn't direct, word for word, but I was just assimilating all that the Lord was showing me and then giving it to you. Do you think I made up all those things myself, all those different ideas? No, the Lord was the One Who put them there! The Lord was the One Who filled up my heart, then I opened my mouth and out it came!
174. With Mama and Peter, it's a little bit different. It's the same message, but the method is different. They don't have the same calling, the same anointing as teachers as I had. Plus, there's so much more to pour out nowadays. If they were to try to write it down and formulate it and put it into their own words like I did, it would take them forever, just because they work in a different style. I would just open my mouth and let it rip! But everyone's different, and the Lord takes those differences into account; and therefore He works differently.
175. For goodness sake, we'd never be able to get out as much as we do if Mama had to write it all herself! So the Lord in His mercy and foresight began pouring it out through direct prophecy--using Peter as His channel, and using others close to Mama as His channels as well. But can't you see? It's still the same Source! It's still the same message. It's just a different method. It doesn't have anything to do with being closer to the Lord than someone else, or being more or less of a prophet than someone else.
176. It's just the method that the Lord has chosen for today, for several reasons. Number one, so that He could get out His Words in the abundance that He needs to. Number two, in order to make it easier for Mama to be able to lead the Family by the Lord giving so much of it direct from Him or from me, rather than just speaking to her heart and her formulating it all in her own words. And number three, because the Lord knows that now is the time for you to be led more by prophecy, because you can receive it better. You've had the training under me and my Words for so many years, and I've spoken so much about hearing from the Lord and getting things from the Lord, that now you're ready to go to stage two, in a sense--that of hearing directly from the Lord yourselves, in your own lives, in your own day-to-day affairs that come up.
177. You need to hear from God! You need to get ahold of the Lord! Each Family member needs to hear from the Lord as to what He wants him or her to do when problems and situations come up. The fact that I'm pouring out so much through prophecy, and that the Lord is pouring out so much through prophecy, encourages the Family to do the same, to hear from the Lord in prophecy, and even from me! If they weren't seeing that sample in the GNs, they wouldn't be doing it themselves. And God knows how important it is, especially in these Last Days!
178. If you'll go back over my Letters, you'll see that I've always said that as the times get worse and worse, we're going to need to have a stronger connection with the Lord and be more in tune with the Lord, and be getting His instructions. That's what this time is--the time of preparing people for that, getting them more used to it and in the habit of hearing from the Lord. Seeing their shepherds, Mama and Peter, hearing from the Lord and getting His messages, the sheep will follow the sample of the shepherd. And they're setting the sample.
179. I know it's a big change, and it isn't easy. It isn't easy for you to receive these things. It wasn't easy for a lot of people, because they were used to just hearing it from me. But I know the Lord can give you the faith. As you cry out to Him and say, "I believe; help Thou my unbelief," He'll help your unbelief, and He'll strengthen you. He'll show you that it's the same message, the same Source. Just the method is different. Just the channel is different. But the channel is not what is important. And the method is not the most important. What's most important is the message!
180. Is the message true? Is the message confirmed by everything else that's in the Word? Is it confirmed by the Scriptures? If so, then who cares about the method? Who cares what channel it came from? Whether it came direct from the sky, or through prophecy, or through someone teaching it, or writing it down in a Letter, what counts is the message, not the method! Of course, the method is also important, in that the Lord is trying to get you to hear more from Him in direct prophecy. But what I'm trying to say is that it doesn't matter whether it came through someone teaching it, or someone's own words that the Lord inspired them to speak, or whether it came directly from the Lord Himself. Either way is fine, because what counts is what the Lord is saying.
181. Someone who prophesies and hears from the Lord doesn't necessarily have a closer relationship with the Lord than someone who doesn't. It's just that the Lord uses different methods with different people. Mama doesn't get many prophecies herself yet, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't have a close relationship with the Lord, or that Peter is a lot closer to the Lord than she is because he gets prophecies and she doesn't. It doesn't mean that Peter is closer to the Lord than I was because he gets more prophecies than I did. The Lord just uses different methods with different folks.
182. Now is the time to hear more from Him directly, and He's trying to encourage you to do that. But the Lord speaks to other people in other ways, and they're just as close to Him. So it's not a gauge of closeness to the Lord. Although if the Lord wants to speak to you through prophecy, and you're not yielding, well, that can drive you away from Him--not because He wants to be away from you, but because your unyieldedness causes you to doubt, which then causes you to be separate from the Lord. But you can get back to Him real quick and real easy by just yielding and being willing to do what He says and follow where He leads.
183. I know it's going to take faith to believe all this, but you've just got to have the faith! There's nothing I can really do or say that's going to be able to convince you logically in your mind of all these things. You're going to have to believe them by faith and just take them because I said so--and because the Lord said so, and because Mama said so.
184. That's what faith is all about! If you could understand it all with your mind and you could reason it all out and understand it all perfectly logically, if you could test it like a scientific experiment, then you wouldn't need any faith to believe. But the Lord often requires us to believe by faith. He says that it pleases Him when we come to Him in faith, when we believe with faith--not seeing, but just believing.
The Lord's Word Hasn't Failed!
185. {\b \i (Message from Dad continues:)} That kind of ties in with the next thing that I was going to talk to you about. That is regarding your questions and doubts about how can you possibly believe the promises that the Lord is giving now, through Mama and the Letters, when you feel that so many of the promises that were made over the past 25 years haven't come true in your life. Well, I know you're going through a real tough time right now and you've pretty much hit bottom in your life, in your marriage, and in your accomplishments for the Lord, but that doesn't mean that the Lord's promises haven't been fulfilled.
186. If you look back through what the Lord has said over the years, you'll see that the Lord has fulfilled His promises! He has fulfilled those things through the Family all over the world.--And what He has not yet fulfilled, He will in the years to come! He's even accomplished a lot of it through you! You may not feel that way now, but the Lord has done a lot through you over the years. But you've just gotta keep being faithful; you've just gotta keep going.
187. The Lord has times when He tests us, when we go through the valley of Baca, and we just have to hold on. It can last a while sometimes, but that doesn't mean that we're not accomplishing anything for the Lord, because what He's accomplishing may be even more important than our physical accomplishments. What really matters to Him is our faithfulness.
188. You look at so many characters in the Bible and you see how they were faithful, even at those times when they didn't seem to be doing that much. When David was young he had all these great accomplishments. He went off and killed Goliath, became a great hero, and was doing all these great things for the Lord and for his people. But then just a few years later he had to flee the country and was not really accomplishing anything, so to speak--living with the Philistines in the land of the Systemites, just trying to get by, just trying to survive, hiding out in the cave of Adullam. So was he a failure? Had the Lord's promises not come true? Had they failed? No! He was just being faithful, following what the Lord showed him to do. And the Lord did change the situation and brought him back and fulfilled all that He had promised He would do.
189. Or Moses, look at all his great accomplishments--calling down plagues on Egypt, crossing the Red Sea, calling down manna from Heaven, calling out water from the rock, leading his people to the Promised Land, all these great accomplishments! And yet just before getting to the Promised Land, he wandered around with the Israelites for 40 years. Was Moses a failure? Had the Lord failed? Had His promises failed? No. He was just being faithful to do what the Lord showed him to do, even though it was a rough time--a real desert.
190. I'm sure Moses must have gone through a lot of trials and discouragement, feeling like he failed, and like the Lord hadn't come through. But like David, he encouraged himself in the Lord. The Lord brought him through, and he saw the Promised Land. Maybe Moses felt just like you do, that he gave all these years to the Lord in preparation, following His Word, and yet look where he ended up--in the Sinai Desert, wandering around with a bunch of murmuring Jews! He sometimes must have felt that the Lord had deserted him or that the Lord's promises hadn't worked, that the Word hadn't worked.
191. But it was all part of God's plan. Despite whatever doubts or discouragement Moses may have felt, he just kept going. So you see, you can't measure everything by your successes now. You have to look at all that the Lord has done through you over the years, and all that the Lord can do through you if you'll follow Him.
192. Follow where He leads! Follow His call! Ask Him where He wants you to go, what He wants you to do. If you feel like you're not accomplishing anything for Him and you're just getting along and barely surviving, ask Him what you can do to change the situation. Ask Him where you should go. Ask Him what ministry He wants you to do. The Lord can speak to you, I know, and He can give you the faith, the vision, the burden, and the inspiration.
193. You've got a beautiful family, God bless them, and you're a beautiful son! I'm thankful for you. I'm thankful that you've stuck it out through the rough times, and through the doubts and discouragement and questions. God bless you for sticking it out and for keeping on. That shows that you have a lot of faith, even if you don't feel like you have any.
Faith Is the Key!
194. {\b \i (Message from Dad continues:)} Faith is the key--the key to believing what the Lord has said about what He's going to do. It's the key to believing the New Wine. It's the key to believing the Word. It's the key to believing Mama and Peter, and that I speak from beyond, and that the Lord speaks through them. Faith is the key. Like I said earlier, faith comes by hearing the Word. As you drink it in, the Lord will give you faith! I know it, Son.
195. As you open your heart and you cry out for deliverance from carnal reasoning, from always having to figure everything out and analyze everything, if you ask the Lord to deliver you from that, He will, and He'll give you faith instead! Because you'll never be able to figure it all out. You'll never be able to make it all jibe and all be logical and fit just right. The Lord just doesn't work that way. He doesn't even allow us to, because He wants us to have to believe some things by faith.
196. He does things on purpose sometimes, just so that it won't be logical, so that we in our carnal minds can't understand it and can't figure it out. This is so that we'll just have to say, "Lord, I don't understand it, whatever it is. But I believe in You, and therefore I believe it!" The Lord wants us to get to that point, because it's our faith that pleases Him.
197. Well, God bless you, Son. I think I've said enough in this little talk. But if you need more, if you have more questions, things you don't understand that you think I could help you with, then ask me. I can speak to you. I'm glad that you wrote these things up so that Mama could read over them and she could ask me to give you some counsel and advice, and I hope this has been a help.
198. But you can also get it direct! You can get it from the Lord, or you can get it from me, or you can get it from your spirit helpers who are there trying to help you. Give them a chance! Give me a chance! When you feel like you don't understand, or you're confused, or you need some help, just call and we'll answer, okay?
199. God bless you! I love you, Mama loves you, and Peter loves you! They're real thankful for you, and for your faithfulness as a missionary for the Lord. Keep forsaking! Keep forsaking those doubts and fears, and just go into the light. Leave it all behind! Just make a conscious decision that you're going to leave it behind. It will work wonders in your life!
200. The Lord wants to bless you in so many ways, He loves you so much. You're one of His children, and He loves you very, very much. If you can't understand something, don't worry about it. Just put it on the shelf! You'll never be able to understand everything! Just keep going for God! Keep serving Him! Keep following Him.
201. Find out what He wants you to do today! Get together with your wife and pray. Hear from the Lord together, and ask Him what He wants you to do personally. I could just tell you right now, but I think it's important that you ask the Lord yourself--that you hear it directly from Him, so that you'll have more faith to believe it and follow it. The Lord wants to use you and your wife and your children, so let Him, okay? God bless you, Son! Keep going for God! I love you! Love, Dad. (End of message from Dad.)
202. {\b \i (Mama:)} Don't you just love the way Dad explains things? Each of these messages from Dad is really a new MO Letter, and it's just thrilling to be able to continue receiving his counsel and advice to us, his children in the Lord. I'm so thankful, because he can explain things much better than I can. Plus, I know that you like to hear from him, as well as from me, and from the Lord Himself.
203. I pray that this message from Dad helped to strengthen your faith and answer the questions some of you may have had about these things. Like Dad said, if you have further questions, ask him or the Lord to speak to you and help you understand--and they will! The Lord promises, "Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not!" (Jer.33:3).
Strange Truths!
204. In listening to what Dad had to say about how messages that come from the Lord and him in prophecy are from the same Source, Jesus--like the messages that he gave in the Letters when he was on Earth, or the Letters that the Lord inspires me to write--it reminded me of what Dad said years ago in the Letter "Strange Truths" (ML #360). The following paragraphs from that Letter seem to apply very much to what the Lord is doing now in the New Wine that He is pouring out through prophecy, and the new revelations that He is giving. I've added a few comments in brackets:
205. (Dad:) All of a sudden some of the kids came yelling excitedly from the streams and the spring and said, "There are all kinds of funny little creatures in the water!" They said, "Look! Look at all these funny little things in the water!" They showed me a cup of water and there were two tiny cute little seahorses in it.... There was a whole variety of interesting little new creatures in the water that we had never seen there before! Some of the kids were all excited about it and thought they were interesting and funny and really fascinating! But some of the kids seemed to be a little bit worried about them, thinking maybe they were contaminating our water. [EDITED: "Sounds like some people's reaction to the "Loving Jesus" revelation and other New Wine, doesn't it?"]
206. Some of the visitors [EDITED: "This could apply to Family members, too."] got real upset and began to leave, saying that the water was foul and wasn't good any more because it was full of these little animals. They sort of turned against us because of the change in the water. The water itself hadn't really changed, though. It was still crystal clear and pure and delicious, but it just had all these funny little strange things in it now that were new. [EDITED: "That's right! The Word hasn't changed. The message hasn't changed. The Lord is just showing us new things in a new way that we didn't see so clearly before!"]
207. So I got a little concerned about it myself and I said, "Where are they coming from?" And the kids said, "Well, we don't know. They just seem to be everywhere, in the streams and in the spring." But I said, "Where are they coming from?--They've got to be coming from somewhere! Are they getting into the water from the outside, or are they actually coming up in the Spring from within the Spring itself? I'm going to swim out into the Spring and see!"
208. So I dove in and swam out to the middle of the Spring where the water was bubbling up from deep down below, the Source of the water where it was actually gushing out of the Rock, and here were all these little living things tumbling right out with the water, right out of the Source, coming from the same place where the water was coming from!... For some reason that seemed to satisfy me that they were all right, that they were clean creatures because they came from the same Source as our water.
209. So I remember thinking, "Well, our water is from God. He gave us this water, so the little creatures must be from God, too, and good for us!" So I swam back and told the kids, "It's all right. They're all coming from the same Source from which we get our water, so they must be all right. They must be clean and good for us, so don't worry about them; they won't hurt you."
210. I said, "The new creatures are all right: Like the waters quench our thirst, the new creatures are for our nourishment and food. So don't worry about them.--They're good for us!"
211. But by this time most of the visitors had left, the crowd of Systemites, and only a few friends stayed. The Systemites [EDITED: "or even some of our own brothers and sisters"] seemed to think our water wasn't any good, and somehow that made us no good, too. So they didn't want to have anything more to do with us and they left (ML #360:23-32).
Too Much "Control" Through Prophecy?
212. {\b \i (Mama:)} On another topic, following is a message from Dad that answers a question or doubt that some of you may have had regarding the New Wine, and specifically the prophecies published in the GNs. Some of you have wondered whether in publishing so much prophecy in the Letters we're "controlling" the Family too much. Some folks have argued that by giving all these messages from the Lord, we make it difficult for people to disagree with what is in the Letters, because in doing so they would be disagreeing with the Lord Himself! We've heard from a few folks who have even said that we shouldn't publish so much in prophecy, but rather go back to doing the Letters the way that Dad used to.
213. So we brought this question before the Lord, and He sent Dad with a very interesting answer about who really has control. You might be surprised! I pray that this message from Dad will be a help and a blessing to you in clearing up any questions in your mind about this, and dispelling this doubt and attack of the Enemy on the Word!
214. {\b \i (Dad speaking):} God has always had His man, His voice, His mouthpiece, and His channel through which He gave His Words. God raised me up to be the man with a message for the Revolution for Jesus. I was His voice, His mouthpiece, His messenger. My job was simple: I just heard from the Lord and I passed it on. I gave His Words to His children. That was my job, my calling, my destiny.
215. And now, Honey, you're His voice, His mouthpiece, His woman with a message. You were created by God to give His message to His children and to the world. All your years of training were to prepare you for this time, to be His prophetess of the End, the one with a message--the message of love, of revolution, of warning, of repentance, of mercy, of Heaven, of the wonders of the spirit world.
216. Honey, the message the Lord gives you will be more varied and even more radical than the message He gave me to give to His children and to the world. There is much, much more to be discovered and to be revealed, and you will be called upon by the Lord to carry a message to the people that will not always be popular and well received, but it is a message that must be given nonetheless. For you are a prophetess, and your job is not to please the people but to please the Lord. God will put His Words in your mouth and in your hand, and it is your obligation, your duty, your responsibility to give those Words, come what may, no matter what the cost.
217. You must give His message and be a faithful messenger, a faithful voice, and let the chips fall where they may. Spare not the message due to the cries of the children and their doubts and their balking and their wonderment, but just give what the Lord gives you. Be faithful to give whatever He gives you, because only in your giving and your pouring forth will He be able to continue to give to you and to Peter, the faucet, and to your channels, the many Words that He has yet to give. You are His mouthpiece, His voice, His messenger, and whether He puts His Words in your mouth and you speak them yourself, or whether He puts His Words in your hands through your channels, it is the same; it is still His message, His Words, and it is still your responsibility to pass them on.
218. Each Family member has a choice as to whether they will believe not only the Words that the Lord puts in your mouth, but also the Words that the Lord puts in your hands through your channels. They have a choice to believe the counsel that you give directly and the counsel that you pass on that the Lord gives directly through prophecy, through His living Word, the messages that He has for the Family for today. Each person must make a choice and a decision to believe and receive, and the Lord will bless each one individually according to their faith.
219. Some see it as control, too much power in the hands of the top, WS, or Mama and Peter. But what they don't understand, Honey, is that really you have very little "control," because each person makes their own choices and their own decisions. You can't really exercise any power over the individual. Even God Himself has limited His control over His children, because He has given each one the majesty of choice. Even He cannot make them do His will or force them. All He can do is make His will known and put before His children a choice. But then each one must determine in his own heart and mind what he will do, how much he will yield, how much he will accept and surrender to the will of God.
220. And so it is with you, Honey. All you can do is give the Lord's message. Show the Family how to live, how to love, how to hear from Him, how to be fruitful in their service for Him. Show them the narrow path of God's perfect will. Explain to them the options, the possibilities, and the benefits of following the Lord closely. Show them how to be faithful and happy and loving. Having done all that, Honey, then you can rest assured, knowing that you have done your part. You have passed on the message, you have given them the Word, you have been God's voice and His channel. Then it's up to each one to choose, to make their own decision as to whether they will believe and receive and accept the message.
221. A lot of what you give, Honey, is principle, general counsel, and it's up to the individual to pray and hear from the Lord and see how to apply that counsel and those principles to their specific situation. The Family is learning to be Spirit-led, and that means learning to apply the Word wisely and lovingly to their specific situation. So really, Honey, they are the ones who have control, because they make their own choices and they decide how to apply the Word to their specific situation.
222. Our children have been given freedom to follow the Lord according to their own faith. They need this freedom so that they can mature and learn responsibility and learn to make wise decisions and learn to hear from the Lord personally on a day-by-day basis. Our children are learning and growing and progressing. They're making some mistakes, but they're also doing a lot of things right. As they continue to learn to follow the Lord and seek Him and wisely apply the Word, they will make fewer and fewer mistakes, and more and more good, solid, Spirit-led decisions.
223. As the Family becomes wiser and they learn to make the Word work for them, applying the counsel and the principles that are given to them in the GNs, then they'll realize how much responsibility they must take for their actions and their decisions, and they will learn to be more in the fear of the Lord. They'll begin to see how responsible they are for their own situation and circumstances and happiness. And the more they learn all these lessons, the more it will dawn on them that the control is really not in your hands, but in theirs.
224. And to those people who think that because you put prophecy in the GNs, that it weights the Words and gives them too much power and people don't have a choice, and therefore it gives you too much control, I say this: What difference does it make whether the Words are from the prophetess or whether they are direct messages from the Lord? They are still the Lord's Words. You, Honey, are the Lord's earthly representative, and whether He chooses to give His message through you, as you explain and exhort and share the thoughts and ideas that He puts on your heart and mind, or whether you are the winetaster, the one who produces and bottles His direct messages, they're still the Lord's Words one way or the other.
225. The Lord is giving His message through you, Honey, by means of the GNs. That is the vehicle by which you pass on the Lord's Words, His message, and His counsel to the Family. And whether you do that through your own voice or through the voice of your channels, it is the same; you are passing on the Lord's message and His Words. The Family should respect and reverence the message and see it as the voice of the Lord, regardless of the means by which it is passed on.
226. Of course, Honey, some of the things that you share in the GNs are your personal feelings or experiences, how you do things or how things are done in your Home. Not everything in the GNs is counsel that would apply across the board to every situation or every other Home. Some things you share just because people want to know you; they want to see the personal side, the human side. So some of what you share are your personal feelings, personal opinions, or personal experiences.
227. I shared a lot of that too in the MO Letters, and the Family was never obligated to accept or practice or even agree with my personal opinions and preferences and the way I did things. But when it came to counsel about the Lord's work and His will and the direction He's moving, that was a completely different subject! In that case, I spoke as the voice of the Lord--my words were His Words--and if the Family wanted to follow me as God's voice, then they needed to follow those Words. And it's the same with you, Honey. You are His voice and His anointed mouthpiece. When He speaks to you concerning the state of the flock and His will and His direction, His revelation, then it is up to each individual in the Family to believe and receive and act upon that counsel.
228. That is a fundamental belief of the Family, Honey: that I am David of the End, God's Endtime prophet, and you are my successor, Maria of the End, His Endtime prophetess, and you now wear my mantle. You have a double-anointing--the anointing of Maria and the anointing of David. And just as I spoke His Words, now you speak His Words. We're different channels and God speaks to us in different ways. Nevertheless, Honey, you follow in my footsteps and you are His prophetess and His voice and mouthpiece. That is the foundation of the Family, and those who cannot believe that shouldn't be in the Family. People are going to believe in you, Honey, like they believed in me, and they're going to have to be willing to take strong meat, strange truths from your mouth, just as they did from mine.
229. There's only so much you can explain. There's only so much reasoning you can do with people, and eventually it comes down to their faith. Do they believe that you speak the Words of God? Do they believe that you're the winetaster? Do they believe that it's God's plan, in order to get out the message more quickly, that He speaks to you in prophecy through your channels? Do they believe that just as the Lord said He wouldn't lie to me, He also won't lie to you and lead you astray?
230. These are all questions each of our people will have to ask themselves, because they are the ones who control their lives through the choices and the decisions they make. They choose to believe. They choose to follow. They choose to yield. They choose to serve the Lord in the Family or they choose to leave. So much power is given into the hands of each individual Family member because of the choices he or she makes. So, Honey, you don't have to worry about having too much "control" in your hands. And you don't have to worry about all those who scream about, "Where's the democratic process?" "Where's the voice of the people?" Because I'll tell you, they have plenty of voice because they have plenty of choice!
231. Those who are completely yielded to the Lord will want to be under His control. They will want to be His love slaves, led by His voice. They will want His desires to be their desires, His plan to be their plan, His will to be their will. For aren't we all controlled by the Lord? Aren't we all His little robots, His puppets, created to please Him and to obey Him and to yield to His slightest bidding? But He won't force that yieldedness and that obedience and that submission; He won't take it against our will. He wants it to be given willingly and lovingly by our own choice.
232. So, Honey, when people say they don't want so much "control" in your hands, or the hands of WS, or through the GNs because of the prophecies, maybe the real problem is they don't want to be controlled by God! They don't want to be in submission to Him. They don't even want Him telling them what to do!
233. I saw that a lot in the churches. People were okay being Christians and serving the Lord up to a point, but they didn't want the Lord meddling in their personal affairs or their private life. They didn't want Him getting too much into the nitty-gritty of what they did or didn't do. It was okay to know the Lord and love the Lord and serve Him, but from a distance. They didn't want Him getting too close or getting too involved, because they knew in that case they might have to give up some of their bad habits and their time-wasting pastimes. They'd get nervous because they knew if the Lord got too close and His Word got too real, they'd be confronted about some of their sins and they'd have to forsake their backbiting and their jealousy and their materialism and their independence.
234. I know this well. I saw it in every church I visited or was involved with--people being willing to call themselves Christians, to be church members, to give their tithe and even listen to the sermons, as long as those sermons didn't get too personal, and as long as the preacher didn't go to meddling. It's too bad, Honey, that some people feel that way in the Family. But don't let that stop you, because we're not a church--we're a revolution!
235. The Letters have always not only preached a good sermon, but gone to meddling! The Letters have always made people feel uncomfortable and made them squirm, because they exposed their shortcomings and they challenged them to do more for the Lord and be more for the Lord. The Letters put forth the goal, the ideal, and gave people something to fight for! They gave the vision. And that's your job, too, Honey --to give the vision, to sock it to them with the truth, to give the message and let the chips fall where they may. What the Family does with that message is up to them. It's their choice. Once you have given the message, Honey, then you have discharged your responsibility and the rest is up to them. (End of message from Dad.)
The Choice Is Yours!
236. {\b \i (Mama:)} Besides answering the question about whether the prophecies in the GNs exercise too much control over the Family, Dad also makes a very good point regarding the overall topic of this GN--doubts about the prophecies that are published in the GNs. Maybe you feel like you would rather hear from me, the way Dad wrote the MO Letters, instead of reading prophecies, as you feel you would have more faith in that. But consider what Dad says:
237. "What difference does it make whether the Words are from the prophetess or whether they are direct messages from the Lord? They are still the Lord's Words. You, Honey, are the Lord's earthly representative, and whether He chooses to give His message through you, as you explain and exhort and share the thoughts and ideas that He puts on your heart and mind, or whether you are the winetaster, the one who produces and bottles His direct messages, they're still the Lord's Words one way or the other."
238. If you can believe that the words that I speak to you are from the Lord and inspired by Him, then why can't you believe that the words that He gives through prophecy, which I taste and bottle for you, are also from the Lord? They're both from the same Source--the Lord--and you can't have one without the other. Both are needed, and they complement each other; you can't have faith in one and not have faith in the other. If you doubt one, you'll soon doubt the other; and then you'll soon doubt Dad's words, and pretty soon you'll doubt the Lord!
239. I'm sorry if some of you have a hard time with so much prophecy in the GNs, or don't like it or believe it. But it's here to stay, and as long as the Lord keeps giving it, I'm going to stay true to Him and keep pouring it out to you! That's my job, that's my responsibility, and if I don't live up to that responsibility which the Lord and Dad have placed on me, I'll be accountable before the Lord for withholding His message from you--and that's serious!
240. I'm thankful that the majority of you are very thankful and appreciative of the prophecies in the GNs, and are getting fed and inspired from them, because you have the faith to believe that they are from the Lord--His direct and personal Words for you! As a result of your faith and obedience, you're reaping the Lord's blessings in your lives and in your Homes.
241. For those of you who are lacking in faith, I pray that you will make the decision to yield to Him. Even if you feel very weak and incapable of fighting the doubts yourself, just yield to Him and He will strengthen you. Make a firm decision that you're going to believe that it is the Lord speaking to you through those prophecies in the GNs, no matter what the Devil tries to tell you otherwise, or whether your carnal mind can figure it out or not! After all, if you could figure it out, you wouldn't need faith, right? Use the weapons of the Word, prayer, praise and hearing from the Lord to fight off the Enemy's attacks of doubts! As you do, the Lord will give the victory, as He has promised!
242. As for me, I'm going to keep pouring it out and letting the chips fall where they may, just like Dad did! The choice is yours whether you want to believe and follow, but I know that if you make the right choice, the Lord will honor your faith and bless you as a result. Once He has you on His side and listening to Him, receptive to His voice, as manifested both through the messages He gives for the Family as well as those He gives to you personally, then He can answer your questions, erase your doubts, calm your fears, ease your mind, and show you more truth! "His Spirit will lead you into all truth" (John 16:13). But first you have to stop, look, listen, believe and have faith! Believe and follow God today! I love you!
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family