By MariaMaria #565 CM 3344 3/01

Dear Family,

1. I love you! In June 2000 a few of the CROs visited our Home for a few weeks in order to discuss ways in which the Family needs to change and adapt in order to be all that we can be in this new era of action. (See ML #3303:1, GN 902.) It was in these meetings that we laid many details of the groundwork for the board vision.

2. During these meetings the Lord pointed out some areas in the life of one of our precious co-workers that He wanted him to change and grow in. As the Lord has told us many times recently, He's asking more of each of us. There are ways in which each of us needs to change in order to be what He wants and needs us to be in light of this new era and all He's planning to do. The Lord took advantage of this time that dear Juan was with us during this visit to point out some things to him and give him the opportunity to receive shepherding from Peter and me. Near the end of the time that the CROs were with us, Juan shared his prayer request and asked for prayer from several of us.

3. Juan also agreed to share his prayer request with the CROs at the summit and with all of you, our worldwide Family, because he is a good shepherd and is willing to humble himself so that you might benefit from his lessons and even his mistakes. (This is the first of three GNs containing personal lessons from some of your CROs.) At this point I want you to stop thinking about Juan and begin applying what is said to yourself. Juan has made some mistakes, but so has everyone else. This GN is not to high­light him or his mistakes. The reason we're publishing this is because it's an excellent example of humility in asking for prayer, of being willing to change in any area the Lord brings up, of being humble enough to admit you're wrong and to go on to do better.

4. So please, as you read this, focus on your own need for change and individual renewal‚ not on Juan as an individual. We're not going into great detail on Juan's mistakes because they're very apparent to him and he's already taken action to correct them and become the man the Lord wants him to be. Now the Lord asks that we examine our own hearts to see whether these things are present in our lives and if we're striving to be the men and women He wants us to be.

5. Juan's prayer requests and the messages the Lord gave for him paint a clear picture of the humility, the willing­ness, the desperation and preparation that the Lord is asking of each of us personally as we enter this new era. The Lord is moving us toward the vision of expanding our membership, a scenario in which each of you will be called upon to be a shepherd to those the Lord will bring to our fold. Becoming a shepherd capable of ministering to those the Lord will entrust to your care is something that won't happen overnight.

6. If you want to partake of what's coming, then it's time to start preparing now. It's time to come before the Lord and ask Him what He wants to change in your life in order to make you the shepherd you're going to need to be. It's time to leave your personal problems behind and go on to win the victories the Lord has for you. It's time to ask for united prayer in any areas in which you need it. It's time to get over any bitterness that you've been harboring in your heart. It's time to mend any rifts of disunity you have with others. It's time to grow spiritually.

7. If you want the era of action and all the wonderful promises the Lord has given us to become reality‚ then the onus is on each of you to prepare accordingly. Part of that preparation means laying aside the weights and extra baggage in your own personal lives and sample and becoming the bellwether the Lord needs you to be. The Family will only be as strong as each one of us commits to being.

8. Dear Juan is a wonderful example of this. He's not perfect, but he loves the Lord and the sheep so much that he's willing to do anything in order to be the shepherd the Lord has asked him to be, and to be the right sample—the sample of someone wholly dependent on the Lord. ­Peter and I pray that this speaks to each of you and motivates you to do the same.

Love in our wonderful Husband,

Mama

9. (Mama:) When we prayed about pub­­lishing this material for you, the Lord showed us to leave it in the same format as the little meeting we held to pray for Juan. He said:

10. (Jesus speaking:) I would that this be a peek into the way the king and queen shepherd with such love and tenderness. I wish it to be an example of the humility of one of My dear officers who loves Me and My sheep. I wish it to be an example of the strength of weakness, and the way I grant deliverance and strength so freely to My children who ask. I wish it to show how easy it is to enter in and partake of the new day; all it takes is a forsaking of your pride. While that's not easy in itself, once you determine to do so and get past that step, I welcome you with open arms, I make it easy for you, and I grant you the miracles that you need and seek. (End of excerpt from Jesus.)

United Prayer Meeting Begins

11. (Mama prays:) Thank You Jesus! Thank You for this wonderful day, a very memor­able day. Whenever anyone humbles himself and comes to You before the body asking for Your help, we know it's a red-letter day‚ a wonderful day! Even though the Enemy has attacked the one who is asking very‚ very seriously and told him all kinds of lies and everything under the sun that he can think of that will discourage him from going through with it and asking for prayer, we know that those are just lying vanities, and it's not true.

12. Lord, we know that You're going to do the work and bless the obedience and yielded­ness. We love You, Lord. We thank You for this avenue of change, the blessing of united prayer, the way that You've set it up so we can all help each other and support each other and love each other in this way, and beseech You to release Your power to do the work in our loved one's life. Thank You so much, Jesus.

13. Speak to us now‚ our precious Husband, about the benefit that this is going to be, about dear Juan and how You see him and his humility to come before us and before You.

14. (Jesus speaking: ) My dear, wonderful Juan—this truly is a red-letter day, as your queen has just prayed, for it is a very memor­able day Here in the Heavenlies. Many are gathered to watch, for this is going to be a wonderful event. One more general of David is going to be freed to do even greater exploits in the days to come. This is a promotion, because I'm promoting you to a higher level of service to Me—greater dedication, great yieldedness. Because of your sincere desire to obey and to follow My slightest whisper, I'm going to bestow upon you this great honor of a promotion this very day.

15. For your obedience‚ for your love, for your humility‚ for your desire to do the right thing, I will greatly reward you, because you've chosen the path of faith. You've gone against all natural, carnal reasoning, and you've reached forth boldly to grab hold of My hand by faith, to take hold of the words of prophecy by faith, to take hold of the direction that has been laid before you by faith.

16. I greatly love your faith, dear Juan. This has endeared you to My heart more than anything else—your faith and your trust and your explicit belief in Me. Time and again over the years I've seen you turn aside your own thoughts, wants and desires in order to reach out and grab ahold of My hand by faith. For this reason I have brought you to this crossroads, knowing that you would make the right decision, however difficult, by faith.

17. This day My blessings and anointing shall fall upon you as you take this step of humility by faith. I love you, My dear Juan. (End of message from Jesus.)

18. (Mama: ) I think we all need some Kleen­ex after that! So beautiful! Thank You, Lord.

19. Well‚ most all of us have had united prayer at some time or another, haven't we? (Fam: Several times!) Did you see great benefits afterwards? Thank You, Jesus! But did you feel rotten before your prayer? Everybody admits that it's one of the worst times. The Enemy comes out with everything in a full-scale attack to try to persuade you to not ask for prayer, and that just shows how important it is.

20. Okay, now we want to read excerpts from two little messages the Lord gave for Juan the other day.

21. (Jesus speaking:) Juan is worthy of great honor. He has served Me and the king and queen and Family well and valiantly. He is a general to be proud of, for he loves with totality and conviction. He's going through a time of lesson learning and humbling‚ but that doesn't lessen his value in My eyes, nor in yours, My king and queen. He's still a very precious and needed general who will go on to great works for My glory. Just because I shine the light of My conviction and direction on his life at this time does not take away from the trust that I place in him, nor the value of his leadership or opinions. He still carries My anointing. I'm placing him on the fire in order to burn away the dross that threatens to weaken and undo him‚ but he will carry on to even greater heights of service and victory. (End of message from Jesus.)

22. (Mama:) We all believe that, don't we? (Fam: Amen!) We thank the Lord for Juan! Here's an excerpt from another little message the Lord gave for him.

23. (Jesus speaking: ) During your time here, I want to give you a gift, My darling. I have heard your secret cries of desperation, and now is the time when I will come through for you. You have fought the good fight, and now I want to reward you with the counsel, encouragement, instruction, answers to your questions‚ and changes in your life that I know you want with all your heart.

24. I have a precious gift to give you—a gift of change. I speak not of such things as a change of field‚ nor a change in your location or teamworkers. I speak of a change in your heart.

25. You have changed very much over recent years. You have sincerely been trying, and you have been progressing wonderfully in many ways. But if you will allow Me to have full sway, I will make you a new man, a man fully after My Own heart and ways. Though you will be weaker in yourself, you will be stronger in Me and My power. Then as you go into the era of action and greater works, the action and works will be Mine, not yours.

26. I can do this, My love, and I will. I will make you anew‚ as part of My greater works in this new era. You will see your heart transformed before your very eyes as you seek Me desperately in united prayer. As you call on Me and hear My voice of prophecy, you will receive all the detailed instruction you need. As you see the need more and more clearly, I will bring about the changes I desire in your life. You will go from strength to strength, and you will be more fruitful and happier than ever before. (End of message from Jesus.)

27. (Mama:) The Lord said He's giving Juan the gift of change! And boy, I'll tell you, that's a wonderful one, isn't it? Matthew, you know for almost all of your life you thought you couldn't change in some things, and you know how it held you back just because you thought that was your personality and your nature. A lot of people feel the same way, that, "Boy, I've been this way for so long, I've done this for so long, how can I ever change?" But the Lord says He can change your very nature!

28. A couple of years ago when I was having those big jealousy battles, the Lord told me that naturally I was a selfish personality, but that He could change it—even my very nature. So when the Lord tells you that, then you can certainly believe it, especially when you see the results later. So the gift of change is a very, very beautiful thing, and that's what the Lord is promising Juan. Thank You Jesus!

29. Juan has written a letter to his team­workers, and I asked him if we could read this as his prayer request, along with his prayer, because it shows that he's not just coming before us and saying it, but he's putting it into practice now with his teamworkers. That makes me admire him all the more.

Letter from Juan

To His Teamworkers

30. I love each of you very much and thank our precious Jesus for the blessing that it is for me to have such loving friends and co-workers as you all. If I could rewind the time, I think I would be tempted to do so. But I thank our Lover that I can't, as this allows me the blessing of being able to come before each of you and say‚ "I was wrong. I'm sorry for my wrongdoing and my proud attitude that has hurt and offended you through my actions and words. I ask for your forgiveness and mercy."

31. I thank the Lord that in His mercy I have been rescued, and by His grace have now begun my journey to recovery. I know it won't be an easy road, as through allowing pride and sensitivity to come into my life, I've been weakened in the spirit. However, I count it a blessing and privilege to have such precious Family who I know stand by me in prayer and in love. Truly I can say that I belong to the most beautiful and wonderful Family on the face of the Earth—His Family‚ His Bride!

32. During this time of breaking and remolding, I've experienced His love and mercy in ways that I had forgotten. By His grace I've come to see how I've allowed pride to deprive me of the greatest of all gifts—His gift of love that He's given to us, His Bride, of being able to spend time in His bed of love. My lack of desperation in fervently seeking the time to spend in His Words and in conference with Him led me to believe that I could do it without His help and strength. As I strived in my own strength, it only led me to further distance myself from the use of the new weapons that He has ordained and so freely given to us to use against the Enemy.

33. (Mama:) Can I interrupt? Isn't that beautiful? As we read it, let's apply it to ourselves and see what the Lord can say to us about it. Juan's already prepared this prayer request; he's already gotten these lessons. He's coming before us to ask for prayer‚ but we should all be praying about how this applies to us, because we all need it to some extent or another.

34. (Letter from Juan continues: ) This only helped to weaken me, thus separating me more from each of you in that I started to think that I could do it without your help. I'm sure this proud attitude has caused you to shy away from giving me any words of correction and counsel that you might have wanted to give me. While I was praying, the Lord gave me:

35. "Due to your disobediences of not following the counsel that I was giving to My officers through My queen and king of the need for you to have more time in My arms, hearing from Me through My written Word, as well as through My sure word of prophecy, you leaned to your own arm of flesh. You started walking in your own strength, using your past experiences and God-given natural abilities to make decisions. Little by little our ways went apart. I wept to see you going on that road and tried warning you, not only through My still, small voice and the checks that I was sending your way, but also through your wife and co-workers, as well as through the warnings that were coming your way from the queen and the king. But, oh, you were so busy serving the King that you forgot to love Me. Your Father David used to warn all of you, his children‚ that 'Probably the greatest mistake of sincere Christians is to make a god of God's service.'"

36. The Lord continued, saying, "As you departed from My ways and didn't follow the counsel given to you on how you needed to fight the new battles that are being fought in the spirit, as the Enemy releases his spiritual forces upon the Earth in these Last Days‚ you weakened yourself to his attacks. Although you had prayed against pride, by not following closely you opened yourself to this besetting sin and allowed it to hinder you and disrupt. Pride got ahold of you and caused you to say things and do things that‚ had you stayed close to Me‚ you would not have said or done.

37. "You had prayed against pride and I had put a shield of protection around you, but dis­obedi­ence weakened that shield of protection and thus the Enemy was able to penetrate it. Once pride took ahold of you, you started to lean more to your own understanding, thinking you knew better and had no need of coming to Me for every decision. You minimized the counsel given in the 'Ask Me Every­thing' series (ML #3270-3272). By doing so, your sample to ­others sent mixed signals, and thus has created confusion in their hearts and minds as to how an officer in My army needs to operate and use the new weapons to fight the battles that are now being fought.

38. "Day by day, week by week, our ways grew farther apart as you failed to listen and continued on your way. Yes‚ we would spend time together and you would come to Me seeking My strength‚ My guidance, and My direction, and thus to some degree I could still use you, and many victories were won. But, My love, can't you see how much more we could have done had you stayed close to Me, learning to rest in My arms and allowing Me to fight the battles being fought? It is not that much good has not been done; however‚ are you satisfied with second best, or do you want My best? Had you been more obedient and followed My advice to spend more time in My Words, resting in Me and hearing My counsel‚ so much more would have gotten accomplished. Your sample would have helped others to do the same, thus My power would have been multiplied and much greater would have been the fruits of your labors. But because you chose not to listen or to heed those words of counsel due to your pride—your pride manifested in your desire to serve and show your works—you not only hurt yourself, but you caused others to stumble too."

39. When seeking the Lord for His help in working more closely together with you, my friends and co-workers, He said, "Since you did not appear to be weak, this caused your team­workers to shy away from confessing their own faults and seeking My help through prayer. One way that you can help remedy that problem is by not being so proud and giving the ­impression that you can take it‚ but by humbling yourself and asking for prayer—acknowledging that without Me you can do nothing, and that although you do stand on the Rock, your knees are shaking and you're in need of their prayers to help you stand. Open yourself to them by honestly sharing your battles and trials. It's the Enemy who tells you that if you do that you will stumble them. That is not true. By acknowledging your weakness and dependence on Me, you will not stumble people‚ but will help to strengthen them. By opening your heart with more honest communication with your team­workers‚ you'll help them to be more honest and open with you.

40. "By confessing your faults and asking for their forgiveness, you will help to remedy some of the damage that's been done. You need to ask them for their forgiveness. You need to expose your sins before them and ask them to please help you‚ so you won't fall back into your old ways of operating. You must understand that all of you have been called to serve Me in the same capacity, and that you all need each other; that you are not above any of them, and that together you will help to bring My Latin children to victory."

41. To end, I would like to share with you part of my prayer that I'll be praying when I come before Mama and Peter as well as several other loved ones to ask for united prayer:

42. (Prays:) Lord, I gladly accept this beautiful gift of change that You're sending my way. Thank You, Jesus. I love You and need You.

43. Whatever it takes, my Love, I want to go through it, as it is my heart's desire to please You. You've shown me so much love‚ mercy, and patience. Your love has never failed me. You've brought me from darkness into Your beautiful light. You've brought me into Your chambers where I can now lie in Your arms and feel Your warm embrace, Your caresses‚ and Your kisses. I want to be Yours. I want to strip myself naked before You as I present myself as the nothing that I am.

44. Thank You for this opportunity that You've given me to come before You and my loved ones to acknowledge my need for You. I want to open my heart to You, and I want You to remold it and make it into what You would like it to be. Take away from me the heart of stone and make it into a heart of flesh—a heart that is not embarrassed to openly confess its faults before others and show myself weak. Please, my dear Love, help me to go through the changes that You would like me to go through. Help me to embrace the new weapons as never before.

45. Thank You for how You've now exposed my sins and wrongdoings. Thank You for how You've now brought to the light those wrongdoings so that I can clearly see how I have hurt and offended others through my words and actions. I want even my secret faults to be brought to the light so that I can be fully cleansed and walk in Your ways. Thank You that through all of what has been happening I have the opportunity to grow closer to Your heart and learn to be more dependent upon Your strength. My sweet Jesus, whatever it takes, I want it, I desire it!

46. Even now, as I pray to You, I acknowledge that I am weak and lack the strength to go through all of this. I need You to help me. I need, as I read in the "Action Series," for You to give me the vision, the initiative, the faith and the desire to do things the new way. Please help me to rid myself of the old way of doing things, my old ruts and mindsets. Cleanse my mind and give me Your thoughts.

47. Give me faith to believe and not justify in my mind, to stand solely on Your Word and not try to understand. My sweet, precious Love, You've brought me thus far by faith, helped me to walk by faith and not by sight, so I ask You now that as these lessons are being brought before me, that You will give me the strength and faith to continue on this path. Strengthen my faith to also accept Your forgiveness, and to believe that if I allow You to work in my life and follow the counsel You give, I will change. That's what You promised me—the gift of change—so help me to hold on to it for dear life, believing that You can change me.

48. Please help me to humble myself before You and my loved ones here by acknowledging that I have sinned against You‚ my precious Lord, because I've allowed pride to take hold of me by thinking so highly of myself, and how through my proud actions I have come to hurt many of Your children; how by exalting myself, I have caused others to wonder about my sample as a shepherd and officer in the Kingdom.

49. My dear Jesus, please deliver me from the grip that pride has in my life—pride that has been manifested in my actions and hurtful words and my thinking that I could do a better job than my team­workers; pride manifested in my lack of faith that others could do the job as well or even better than I; pride that has caused my self–righteousness to come to the fore in my criticism of others—criticism that not only went through my thoughts, but that at times I allowed to come through my lips, that others have heard; pride that has manifested itself by me closing off my feelings and not being honest and open with others for fear they would see my weaknesses.

50. Forgive me for how I have fought against You in not wanting to show myself weak and being the nothing that You want me to be so that I can become more dependent upon Your strength. Please help me not to fight whatever You're doing in my life to bring about those desired changes. Please help me to be stripped of whatever is necessary for the changes to take effect in my life. Help me to be humbled before You and others so that I will have nothing to hold on to but You.

51. Deliver me from my sensitivity that stops me from opening myself to others and hearing what they have to say. Please help me not to think so highly of myself, which causes me to think that my ideas are better than those of others. Not only do I ask that You deliver me from the sensitivity, but that through Your grace You will give me a desire to receive the counsel and correction of others; that You will help me to be more open to my teamworkers and seek for their counsel and advice. Forgive me for how I have sinned by closing myself up to them. Please forgive me for how I must have offended them by my thinking so highly of myself and not esteeming them as equals.

52. Give me a greater desire than ever before to spend time in Your arms, hearing Your whispers, and allowing You to fuck me through Your Words as You fill me with Your seeds. Help me to show myself weak and totally dependent upon You, as someone that cannot go on another day without You carrying me throughout the day. I need You and want You. Make me of no reputation of my own, other than that of someone who is in love with You and wants to please You by obeying Your Words and yielding to what You would want me to do.

53. Now, my Lord and Deliverer, I come before those present and ask for their prayers so that Your mighty hand can be upon me to free me from the grip of pride and sensitivity so that I can go on to the new day. I believe, my Lord; help Thou my unbelief. I love You and need You. (End of prayer.)

54. Thank you, my dear friends, co-workers‚ and mates for your love, prayers, and support. Please know that my heart feels a deep gratitude for your help‚ and I would consider it an honor if you would take me into your teamwork to continue to fight by your side for the conquest of the South American field to His Kingdom of Love.

Love always in Jesus‚ Juan

(End of Juan's letter to his teamworkers.)

Prayer for Juan—and All of Us!

55. (Mama: ) Beautiful! Thank You, precious Jesus! With a beautiful prayer like that and opening his heart to You so specifically, we know that You're going to answer every petition of his heart—such a beautiful heart that can in such humility bare himself before us and his teamworkers in sincerity, honesty and open­ness, asking You all these things that he wants to change.

56. You've already promised him that You're going to give him these gifts. We thank You, Lord‚ because it's a wonderful, wonderful thing when we know beforehand that the victory is won and that these promises are being fulfilled already in his heart. Thank You Jesus! So wonderful! As we pray now for him, sweet Love, release Your power to come in in great force and do the work!

57. (Peter prays: ) Lord, we really love You, each one of us. We're praying for Juan today, but at the same time we're praying for each other and ourselves, because we're all basically guilty of the same things. To some degree or another at times we've all manifested our pride, been critical and hurt others. We certainly don't want to, but we do.

58. We've at times failed to show ourselves weak or to confess our faults. We've allowed pride to have a grip in our lives. There is none righteous, no‚ not one. All of us have our besetting sins. It just so happens that Juan's are the ones that You're focusing on now, and we're getting the residual benefit from it by being able to participate and to hear his beautiful prayer to You, which is very convicting. Just by sitting here in this meeting and hearing these things and praying over these things, we each take it to heart. So help each of us as we pray for Juan, to also ask You for deliverance ourselves, for help to overcome these areas in our lives as well. Lord‚ we desperately need You!

59. We come before You. You're our Husband, our Lover, and our Shepherd. You're also our Protector and our Warrior, the One that we can come before when we need Your help to deliver us from any grips that the Enemy has on us—grips of pride or self-righteousness or anything. He's always looking for a weak link, and any area that we will yield to him he'll be willing to take, even if it's a little Huddersfield here and there. Then he'll try to use it, and the more we yield to it, the greater the grip—whether it's bad habits or spiritual matters.

60. When this occurs, we need Your help; we can't do it ourselves. You said it's not by might nor by power‚ but by Your Spirit. We can't overcome these things on our own. We need You, Jesus. We need You to raise up a standard, for the Enemy comes in like a flood. He tries to defeat. Sometimes he tries to come in sneakily and it's a slow building up to where we don't even see where pride is manifested‚ or where these other things are manifested‚ because if we saw them clearly we wouldn't accept them. So help all of us, Jesus.

61. If there are any secret areas in our lives that we don't see, then we do ask that You will expose them and bring them up. Lord, we don't want these secret sins, these secret things‚ to have dominion in our lives. We don't want pride to have dominion in our lives, and Juan has prayed and asked You to deliver him from this.

62. Pride seems to be almost the first sin, or the paramount sin, of which so many other things are offshoots:

63. Self-righteousness and criticism, when we think we're right or we feel that we're better than others, so we criticize or speak against them or look down on them. Well, that's because we think we're great, and that's pride.

64. Sensitivity—not being able to accept it when people try to point things out to us; that too is pride.

65. Not being able to show ourselves weak or to confess our faults, to let others see that even in rough times we're standing by faith. But, Lord, sometimes we have to allow others to see‚ as Juan said, that even though we're standing on the Rock, our knees are shaking, and that it's not that we're so strong, but actually we're weak and we're just trusting. Lord, it's important that we confess things to one another; for You said that if we confess our sins, that You are faithful and just to forgive us our sins. So we need to open up and to confess.

66. Pride also causes us to not follow through on what You've told us to do in Your Word about resting, about loving You‚ about lying in the bed of love with You, about letting You do the job. There's so much work to do, but You said that Your strength is made perfect in our weakness; that if we will just be weak, that You'll come through; that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God; that all the fighting has to be through You, Lord.

67. Not striving enough for unity, not being willing to forsake our own ideas and plans in order to work together lovingly and in close teamwork with others‚ is also a sign of pride.

68. When we don't place enough emphasis on living the New Wine that You've given, or we kind of brush over it or think of how it applies to others rather than asking You how it applies to ourselves, that's also pride, and very ­dangerous‚ because then You can't help us to keep grow­ing and moving and changing with Your Spirit.

69. When we're having a hard time getting along with others, it's usually pride.

70. When we don't stop and ask You about something, it's usually a sign of pride, which is causing us to go too fast or walk too confidently, thinking we can do it without You.

71. Not giving enough priority to the things that are important—of course, our time with You being the most important, and the other things that often get pushed out of our schedules—the time to love others‚ the time spent with our kids, or simply pouring into the sheep You bring across our path.

72. Insensitivity to Your checks is also born of pride, because we're not seeking Your help as we should be‚ often because we assume we can handle it ourselves.

73. The list just goes on and on! All of these things, when we don't do them‚ when we don't take the time‚ when we think we can do it in our own strength, or we feel we're too busy, are manifest­ations of pride—thinking we can do it ourselves, thinking we know what to do, thinking that we're better than others, thinking that we don't need to be weak.

74. Juan has come before You and asked to be delivered from any pride, any spirit of pride, any grip that pride has on his heart. Lord, You said that we must resist the Enemy and that he would flee from us. You said that at Your Name, the Name of Jesus Christ, every knee shall bow. You said to put on, therefore, as the elect of God, tender mercies, kindness, humility‚ meekness, longsuffering.

75. Lord, You said that if we humble ourselves in Your sight‚ You will lift us up. As John said of You, that he must decrease and that You must increase, we come before You right now and ask that for Juan. We lay our hands upon him and we ask that You will deliver him, in the Name of Jesus, from any grip that pride has in his life, or any of these other things, the manifestations. We rebuke the Enemy! We rebuke Satan and any grip that Satan has in this area of Juan's life, or any area. He doesn't want anything that is not of You. He rejects anything that's not of You, Lord. We rebuke and bind the power of the Enemy!

76. Jesus, our Deliverer, we pray that You will help Juan manifest in his life all the fruits of getting rid of pride, all the fruits of humility by which he will be more open with others, be willing to confess his faults and his weaknesses, where he will listen to others, where he will take all the time that he needs in the bed of love with You, that he will not be sensitive‚ that he will be very open to the correction or help or guidance of others‚ that he'll share the load, that he'll manifest all the fruits of humility. He can't do this, but You can do it. He can't do it on his own, but You can do it. So we pray now that You'll deliver him, that You'll free him of any grip so that he's free to be able to make the right choices in all these areas of his life. Please do it, in Jesus' name.

77. (Mama prays: ) Lord, we know You've heard and have answered. What You've promised, You are able to perform, and we know that You will, Jesus. You've already started the work. Speak to us now and help us to hear from You about the things You're doing in Juan's life as You perform these miracles.

Beautiful Promises from the Lord!

78. (Jesus speaking: ) Rejoice, I say. Rejoice! For great is your reward not only in Heaven, but today in your life‚ in the lives of your loved ones‚ your teamwork, and all the precious ones that you have cared for for so long—those you've given your life for for years and years, who look up to you with great admiration and love. Rejoice, I say, for it is a day of celebration! It is a moment of victory! If you could only ­behold the angels rejoicing and singing and dancing—the fireworks, the trumpets! It's a fiesta, a party of celebration! For the hold and the chains of the Enemy have been broken and My power has and will continue to be manifested in your life.

79. In this moment, because of your obedience, humility, yieldedness, and desire to please Me‚ your Husband, I now place in your hand the gift that I promised you—this precious gift of change. This valuable gift is something so awesome, so precious‚ so tremendous, that with each passing day you will grow to value it more. For haven't you experienced in your own life that when you've received something from someone you love so very much, and as you have it in your possession and see how useful it is, how much joy it brings you, how much others are inspired by it or compliment you on it or notice it and see that it is something wonderful and rare, that that gift grows even more precious to you? You begin to understand its value and the need you had for it, and you become more and more indebted to the giver. The more you appreciate the gift, the more you see the value of it, and the closer it draws you to the giver's hand.

80. Precious one, all that you have asked and sought Me for, I have given. I have not held back, not in one single tiny request. This is My promise and pledge to you, that as you ­continue to go forth by faith, step by step in humility‚ putting feet to your prayers and doing the things that you should do‚ that I have instructed you to do, and that you want to do, great will be your joy, and you will go from strength to strength.

81. The news of your testimony and this change will be sounded throughout the whole continent. Not one of those whom you love and who admire you so much will miss the news of this miracle. For I will see to it that all will hear, that all will be instructed, and that all will be blessed and strengthened through this miracle that I have wrought in your life. You will see that I have used even this painful experience to bring about great good. I will wash away and cleanse from your flock the bad habits, the misunderstandings, the wrong attitudes, or anything negative that has come about due to your bad sample, or due to the ways that you didn't follow closely enough. There will be a cleansing, a renewal‚ and a restoration. For My work and My Word will not be defeated. My plan will come to pass, and this fall will be a fall upward. You will see great progress‚ great change—not only in your heart, but in the hearts of your loved ones, those closest to you, those you work with, and even those who know you somewhat from afar.

82. My Spirit and the truth of My Word will sweep the continent, and I will bring a renewal! With this renewal I will lift from your shoulders and your conscience and your hands the guilt‚ and I will put in its place a sense of freedom‚ victory, and peace. This is My promise to you. So I ask you now, Juan, to take the remorse, the discouragement, the feelings of deep hurt and regret, and lay them at My feet, for these things will only weigh you down. These things are only distractions. These are not of Me and I do not require you to carry this weight, for I have forgiven you and restored you. I have taken these things from you and I have borne them through My love and mercy.

83. I ask you to leave it behind, for that is the past. It's over. It's done. I relieve you of that weight, and I ask you now to move forward, to keep your eyes constantly forward. As you do this and as you continue in obedience to Me, you will participate personally in the era of greater works, the era of greater miracles. The works that you do will be even greater. The miracles that I perform in your life will be even greater. It will not be like anything you've seen before, and it will be a testimony of the power of united prayer, the power of humility, the power of the new weapons, the power of seeking Me and confessing your faults and admitting when you're wrong, the power of putting Me first.

84. All of this will bring about greater works and greater miracles in your life, personally, and these will be passed down step by step by step and will affect the entire field of South America. Rejoice‚ for I take what seems like a seeming defeat, what seems like great loss and hurt and disappointment, and through My miracle-working power I will cause the time that has been lost to be regained, the hearts that have been hurt to be healed, the mixed mess­ages that have been put forth to be clarified‚ and I will give you your heart's desire.

85. This is what I'm asking of you, My darling, My bride—that you continue to walk in newness of life; that you continue to leave behind the things of the past; that you continue to seek to break the long­standing habits and form new ones; that you daily, without fail, spend time with Me in the Word and prayer; that you hear from Me personally in prophecy each day; that you love Me in the bed of love each day; that you make an effort at every possible opportunity to do the humble thing; that you communicate openly and honestly, even though you will appear weak and sinful at times; that you continue to show yourself weak to Carmen, to your teamwork, and to those you're around; that you continue to remind yourself of, memorize‚ and dwell on the promises that I've given you; that you resist the Enemy when he comes in like a flood, trusting in My power and the work that I have promised to do and that I have done.

86. As you do these things, My precious one, these are My promises to you—this is what you stand to gain‚ the fruit you will see from this time forth:

87. —You will find great joy. My joy will be renewed in your life, the joy of your salvation will be reborn in your heart, and this joy will be a testimony to others in your countenance, in your life, and the inspiration that motivates you day by day.

88. —I will deepen the bonds of love and communication, trust, understanding‚ companionship, friendship‚ teamworking and joy that you find with Carmen. Your marriage will be stronger‚ happier, and more fruitful than ever before.

89. —I will continue to give you good health. I will deliver you from the physical afflictions that test and try you, that you might have the strength that you need to serve Me, your king and queen, and the ones who love you.

90. —I will make you a testimony of a weak man who is totally dependent on Me. You will be a testimony of the strength of weakness. You will be an example of the leadership of the new day‚ and you will train others to be and do the same.

91. —I will give you strength and consist­ency in asking Me about everything. I will make it a habit in your life, and I will make it easy.

92. —I will give you a renewed hunger for My Word and joy in reading it.

93. —I will give you power and strength to obey, for as you obey you will see the fruit, and this fruit will give you continued conviction and encouragement to continue to obey until obedi­ence and yieldedness will become your nature, and you will immediately say yes. Immediately upon reading the instruction in the Word or instruction from your king and queen, you will go forth to obey and to be a sample of obedience to others.

94. —I will cause your field to be more fruitful than ever. I will perform that which I have promised, and you will see the church grow and finances be supplied, and My work will ­blossom.

95. These are My promises to you, My precious bride, and all of these will be fulfilled down to the last word as you continue in obedience, as you continue to do that which I have told you and instructed you to do. This time of united prayer is a great step, the first step. I have given a great deliverance and the hold of the Enemy has been broken. I have resisted him and rebuked him and you are free. I ask you to hold on to this deliverance by means of your daily obedience to Me, by putting into practice the things that you know you need to do, which will be your guarantee of My continued protection and strength in your life. (End of message from Jesus)

96. (Mama: ) Thank You, Jesus, for those beautiful, beautiful promises! We know Juan's going to keep his part of the contract, and we certainly know that You are, Lord, so we can look forward to wonderful, wonderful things. He has a great future, a glorious future. Thank You for his humility. He really did the humble thing, and that's the key, Lord. Help him to keep it up. Help us not to sin in ceasing to pray for him, to pray for our brother, to pray for his success, his obedience, and his yieldedness on a daily basis.

97. Help each of us, Jesus. These messages are for each of us as well. Help us to check our hearts in each aspect, everything You've been talking about. Help us to ask You for Your counsel in these things. "How am I doing? Lord‚ what do You want me to do? What more do You have for me to do?" Help us, Jesus. Juan's been a good sample and a bellwether to help us all to do whatever we need to do as well. We don't want to just go on with business as usual, but we want to make sure we're doing exactly what You want us to do and everything we can. Lord, after seeing such wonderful success, such wonderful victory‚ such promises, we want to have Your very best as well, as much as You can give us in the way of blessings because of our obedience and yieldedness.

98. Thank You Jesus! Thank You for what You've done for Juan, and thank You for what You're going to do for all of us as we continue to yield to You and to humble ourselves before You and before each other. Thank You so much. We really, really love You! Thank You for allowing us to be Your brides and for taking such good care of us in every way. Dear loving Husband, help us to be the kind of brides You want us to be.

We Have to Do Our Part!

99. Well, is that enough? Those were beauti­ful promises! It's like we're all clean and washed.

100. Thank you for your prayers‚ and for your continued prayers for Juan each day. It will be a fight, Juan‚ especially at first as the Enemy tries to get you to think it didn't work and brings along all kinds of fears and worries, trying to get you to not receive your victory. The Lord has done it, but as you keep going you have to take those steps that He requires of you.

101. I asked the Lord about some people who have had united prayer (not anybody here), and "Why weren't they changed?" Because the Lord says that when you have united prayer, not Heaven or Hell or anything can stop God's promises from being fulfilled. And the Lord said, "Well‚ they were delivered. I did the work, but the problem was they didn't do their part. They just didn't follow through." They were able to, because the chains were broken. They were ­capable of taking those daily steps, making those daily steps‚ but they didn't for one reason or another. They didn't have the motivation to do it, so they didn't claim the victory. The Lord was giving it to them, but they didn't take it.

102. We have to do our part, and we can do our part. There's no reason that we can't. Every­thing's "all systems go," and there's no way that we can be stopped. We have the Lord's power going for us, so we can do it, if we want to. If we do our part, then the victory's won because the Lord has fulfilled His part of the contract! Praise the Lord!

103. Here are excerpts of further prophecies that were received for Juan after he had asked for united prayer. The promises are for you, too‚ dear Family, if you follow his example of humility and yieldedness!

Seek Help and Support

From Co–workers and Friends

104. (Jesus speaking:) As I said of King David of old, so will I say of Juan—he is a man after My Own heart. When all is said and done, when the final trumpet has sounded, when this great play has come to a close, all that will matter is your love for Me and for others. These are lessons of love—learning to love Me and your neighbor as yourself. For true love and true humility are synonymous; you can't have one without the other.

105. Remember that the greatest event has taken place behind the scenes in the spirit. It was in­stantaneous. It happened as the prayers were prayed. Now the road of changing habits and mindsets stretches before you, and here is where you will need the help, love, and support of your co-workers, friends, and lovers. They will be there as guardrails to keep you on the road so you don't veer off. They will be there to uphold you at the times when you feel you can't go on or the road is too long. They will be there when you feel confused and wonder if you're even going the right direction on the road. It's at these times that you must reach out to them for their prayers and help.

106. Then the fog will lift, and you will see clearly; the burdens will be lightened and you will feel strength to carry on! Each time you seek their help and prayers, you're setting in motion the dynamics of change that will cause you to be a new creature in your habits and mindsets. (End of message from Jesus.)

United Prayer—

The Strength of the New Day!

107. (Jesus speaking:) This sample of asking for united prayer will be the strength of this new day. As you go into this new era of action‚ this will be your strength, leaning fully on Me and fully on each other. For no one of you will be able to do things on your own, even things that used to come naturally to you‚ or strengths you used to have. You'll find that your strength is now solely in leaning on Me, solely in asking for the help of your brothers, your mates. Those who would be strong in this new day will follow this example, and in doing so, will go on to win the wonderful victories that I have in store for you. (End of message from Jesus)

Keep Letting Go of the Old!

108. (Jesus speaking: ) For today's battles, you need today's anointing—and I have it for you here. It's one of the treasures that I'm giving you freely, now that you've shown Me you want it enough to get rid of the old. Many people say they want the new treasures‚ but they don't want them badly enough to clear out the old and the junk from their lives. And because they don't make room‚ I can't give them the new. But you've just done a clean sweep, My son. You've not only been willing to let go, but you've even helped Me carry it out to the curb with the garbage!

109. You'll never be sorry! These new treasures will make your life so much easier and happier. And you can continue to keep up to date with the latest by being always willing to let go of the old when it's time for the new! That's the key! Keep letting go of the old so that I can fill you with the new and keep you up to date! (End of message from Jesus.)

Step Into Your New Life!

110. (Jesus speaking:) Walk in newness of life. Receive this gift of change that I've given you, and turn around and step into your new life. I will give you opportunities at every turn in which to manifest a new creature. Before each opportunity will be a choice, Juan—whether you will choose to do the humble thing and to manifest a new creature, or whether you will choose to continue in an old way.

111. I love you and have faith in you. I know your desire to change. I know your desire to please Me, and I know that you will choose My will and My highest, that you will choose that which is humble, that which means death to yourself. Each time you do‚ it will grow a little easier, a little less difficult, as your pride will be chipped away. You'll find that your life will be happier, much more full of joy and full of all the victories and the blessings that I've promised you.

112. So don't hesitate or fear, and don't let the Enemy lie to you. Face him with My Word and My promises, for he is a liar and the father of it. All that he speaks to you are lies, but My Words are truth. So hold on to My Words as you take these steps of humility and honesty.

113. They will be difficult at first, but as you continue to take the steps I will continue to pour greater and greater blessings upon you. You'll see that it's worth it. So don't be scared at the beginning. Don't let the Enemy frighten you with his lies. Don't listen to him and his voice. Don't listen to your mind, but listen to Me and to My promises and take that initial step. The first few steps will be the most difficult, and you can expect that. The victories won are well worth it.

114. I love you, My precious general, My wonderful servant who gives his life to Me and to feed the flock. Words can't express how deep My love for you runs, and how great is My thankfulness for your service and for your love and for your willingness to do all that I would ask you. Great is your reward in Heaven. (End of message from Jesus.)

Let Me Into Your Life More‚

And I'll Do the Work!

115. (Jesus speaking:) Abundant blessings and great grace will I pour down upon you because of your great humility and willingness to be made weak. I know you hardly even believe that you want to be made weak, because it's a struggle in the spirit against your flesh. But I peer deep into your heart and I know that you desire this.

116. Because of this desire, I will grant you great blessings! I will make it easy for you. What now looms before you as such a great mountain to climb, you will find a pleasure, because you will find the joy and happiness that you've lost along the way while you're climbing this mountain. These treasures will more than make up for what you'll be sacrificing and shedding by the way of your pride, your own will and way, your own opinions, and pressing forward in your own strength and might.

117. So don't fear, but instead be encouraged! All things will come to pass as I have promised. Every word that I have spoken to you will be fulfilled, and not one of My promises will go unfulfilled. You don't have to work it up in the flesh; just pray it down in the spirit.

118. Just let Me into your life more, and I'll do the work. I'll be the greatest Teamworker and Helper to you, because I'm always there—all-knowing, all-seeing, and all-loving. Let Me love you, and in My loving, gently direct you in the right path and steer you off the wrong path when you begin to stumble.

119. Thank you for being willing to endure this breaking and humbling. Thank you for placing your all on the altar once more, and not letting your pride keep you back from the high calling of My will. You've done well and I have worked through you, but now I wish to do even more and greater things, and I have need of your vessel to work through. So let Me have you fully, entirely‚ once again‚ that in your broken state, I may give more love and encouragement to ­others than before. Let Me have you just as I would have you—humble, tender, and in need of Me, so that My needs may also be fulfilled. (End of message from Jesus.)

Leading the Way

In the Humility Revolution!

120. (Dad speaking: ) Thanks, Son, for your willingn­ess to be humbled, to lead the way in the humility revolu­tion. It's the mark of a true leader when you're even willing to lead the way through acknowledging your weaknesses and sins. But that's what leaders are—those who are willing to live their lives completely open. Not only the good they do and the accolades they receive, but their willingness to lead the way in broadcasting the censure they receive. It takes true love and humility to do that, and I admire you for it.

121. It was hard for me to tell the entire Family my sins and weaknesses and besetting sins, because I had pride too. It was like death! Although I must say that it got easier the more I did it—especially because I was able to see how much it resulted in others seeing the Lord in me and thus respecting the Lord in me even more.

122. I also saw how much it helped others to know that even their top leader was a weak man who could only do anything good with the Lord's and others' help. They knew that if I could be so bad and still be mightily used, that there was hope for them. It also caused the Family to desperately pray for me, which I so sorely wanted and needed, as the responsibility on my shoulders was so big and I knew I couldn't carry it without the Lord's help.

123. You'll get a lot of prayer out of this‚ as well as helping others to see the Lord more in you. Your humbling and exposing your sins and weaknesses will help your flock to be willing to do the same, and it will strengthen the field. You'll be able to get much mileage out of this time, and it will be a steppingstone to helping others to want more humility and dependence on the Lord in the days to come.

124. Thanks, Juan. It's leaders like you who help make the Family what it is today. You're a son to be proud of! God bless you! Love, Dad (End of message from Dad.)

The Cycle of Purging!

(To a staff member, regarding their personal appli­cation of Juan's prayer request:)

125. (Jesus speaking:) To everything there is a season. There is a season for growth‚ and a season for cutting back and purging. There is a season for bringing forth fruit, and a season for harvest, and then rest. There is a season for survival through the winter, and a season for flourishing.

126. I know each of My vines and plants and trees so well. I know what each one needs and when. And while it's a good thing to stop and check your heart, reevaluate your relationship with Me, and open yourself up to anything that I want to show you, there are some things that don't come out until it's your season of purging. That's not because I've been holding back from you, but simply because I know what you need and when you need it, and what will benefit you the most.

127. The cycle of purging can't be prevented—it's a necessary and vital season for the plant. So you shouldn't fear it. You can avoid the difficulty if you stay yielded and open to Me‚ but even when you do, I still allow the cycle of purging because it's so good for you and yields such good fruit.

128. Right now is Juan's season of purging. He's a faithful plant, a very fruitful plant, and I know that the purging will make him even stronger and even more fruitful. I highly honor him for his grace and yieldedness and trust in Me as he allows Me to clip and cut and reshape him. He is tender and open and accepts the purging well.

129. Some plants don't accept the purging well. They wither, because they don't take it as a compli­ment, as a sign that I want to continue caring for them, a sign that they will continue to be fruitful. They get their eyes on the leaves and branches that I cut, and vow never to grow back that way again. That's not the solution. I clip and cut where I know best, and the plants that can accept that and continue to grow are the ones that grow back more beautiful than ever before, and bear greater fruit than ever before. (End of message from Jesus)

Entrance Exam

To the Era of Greater Works!

130. (Jesus speaking: ) My precious love, how happy it makes Me to grant you this great victory today! It was something that you needed to do in order to enter in and fully partake of this new era of action—because in this new day, it will only be those who truly know that they are weak and nothing without Me that I can use. There are many who profess to believe it, but until they truly believe it in their hearts‚ and know without a shadow of a doubt that I am the only thing that's good, and that they need Me and need to obey fully in order to accomplish My will, I will not be able to use them.

131. I knew that you needed to make these changes. I knew that you needed to come through this testing and be born anew. I prayed for you so desperately‚ and you received it so well, My love. I'm so proud of you! I'm so happy now to open the door to the greater miracles that I've promised and invite you to walk in, having passed the test, completed the exam. This was your entrance exam to the era of greater works and greater miracles, and you passed!

132. Because it's a wonderful era, each person will have to pass an entrance exam. It's not free—there's a price to be paid. Each person will have to decide if they're willing to pay the price, if they have what it takes to pass their personalized entrance exam. All those who do will go on to do great and mighty works for Me! This is the day that the prophets have dreamed of! (End of message from Jesus)

Proof That Change Is Possible!

133. (Mama:) The prayer request for Juan that you just read took place in June 2000. ­Peter and I recently had the pleasure of seeing Juan again at the summit. He was humble, open, and very positive about the way the Lord is moving with the board vision. Juan is committed to doing all he can to promote and bring to pass the changes needed in the Family‚ and he continues to remain full of faith and devotion to the Lord, Peter and me, and the Family.

134. I was impressed to see how Juan seemed to be much more open and free spirited when we saw him at the summit. He seemed to have grown considerably in humility and honesty. In order to know more specifically how Juan had changed, not only for his own encouragement but also to prove that people can change very dramatically if they really want to bad enough and are desperate with the Lord‚ I asked our dear Husband to describe exactly how Juan has changed. As you will see, he has changed a lot! I pray this will encourage you that you too can change. It is possible. All things are poss­ible, especially now that we have the keys of the Kingdom and the awesome and very real power to rise above.

135. Here is the Lord's analysis of how Juan has changed. I had the privilege of giving him this message personally when we were together at the summit.

136. God bless you, dear Juan! We are very very proud of you and thankful to have such a dear friend, co–worker and mate by our side.

137. (Jesus speaking to Juan:) You haven't just let Me change you, you've let Me re-create you. You're a new man, a new you. You walk in newness of life. You've embraced change. You've opened your heart and mind and let Me expose everything you had tried to hide or hold back for so long. You were willing to be made willing, and you quit struggling. You quit struggling against My Spirit that was trying to propel you forward to greater heights. You stopped trying to protect yourself and instead opened yourself up to much more input and counsel from others and from Me. You made yourself vulnerable, and yet at the same time able to be made so much stronger.

138. You were willing to give all. You handed Me your heart and life and said, "Do with it what You will," and you really meant it. Sometimes when someone needs to make a change, they get as far as praying, "Lord, help me to change in this area." They are willing to submit a portion of their life or heart to Me; they allow Me to work on a specific area and try to change it‚ according to their level of yieldedness and surrender. But you were willing to cry out to Me with complete openness and desperation, to leave no stone unturned, to let Me shine My light into every corner, every area‚ to start from scratch in some ways. You gave Me leave to do whatever was necessary to create a new heart and spirit within you, to make you a whole new man. This is the greatest way to embrace change. This is the true spirit of change.

139. You've gained a new perspective on life, on others, on your relationship with Me, and on your ministry and place of service. You've regained the joy of your salvation, and you've shed the weights of pressure, of trying so hard to do things in your own strength, of thinking that you have to "be the man" and be the one to do things and get them right.

140. You've learned to truly give Me all the glory. You've always spoken My praises freely and glorified Me in word and deed, but many times you were tempted in your mind or even with your words to take some of this credit to yourself, or to "your area," or to "your people," instead of sending it ALL to Me. Now you truly acknowledge Me in all your ways and give Me all the praise.

141. You've also learned to give others the credit and glory, as well as truly letting them share in the responsibility—not just in word or in title, but in spirit. It's the spirit and the attitude of heart that makes all the difference as to whether people feel comfortable with you and feel in unity with you and feel you truly love them. It's not something you can put on or "fake"—it's something that you have to get from Me, and you have.

142. You've been willing to burn the old cloak of pride and to take on the garment of humility. You've opened your heart to your wife and to your teamworkers and humbly asked for their help, their forgiveness, even their correction. You've stopped seeing yourself as a final authority and learned to trust Me by trusting others—not only trusting them with the work, but trusting them with spiritual responsibility, and even trusting them with yourself, your heart, your thoughts, your feelings. This oftentimes takes more humility than anything else.

143. You've learned to desire input, to desire contrary opinions, even to desire correction. This is so foreign to your original nature that at times I know it's almost unbelievable to you to hear yourself say the things you do, or to find yourself thinking the things you do. You have come to see the value of receiving instruction—and not just its value in keeping you in check or keeping you humble or showing that you can take it—but the value of really taking it to heart, really respecting My voice through ­others, respecting their hearts and desires, and really doing something with the input and ­advice that comes your way. It's easy to say "thanks," act sweet and humble‚ and just keep going your own way‚ but it takes guts and determination, as well as long-term humility, to be able to fight to put into practice the instruction I give, to really work on changing your habits, to learn to see people and situations in a different way, to be more open to new things and new ways.

144. You've really become a new bottle. You've let Me release you from the mindsets that were holding you back, to where now you're ready for anything. And it's a good thing, because if you think you've experienced a lot of change already in your personal life and in every­thing around you, you haven't seen anything yet. It's just going to keep changing, and changes are going to speed up. Not that you have to speed up though! Really, you should keep trying to slow down, so that you're just floating on My current, ready to catch My wave of change. You can't create the wave yourself. The best you can do is to be ready to catch it.

145. You've learned the secret of resting in Me. You've learned that it pays to obey. You've come to see the bad fruits of pushing ahead in your own strength and trying to do without Me, or with just the minimum. When it's time to rest, it's time to rest; when it's time to drink in My Word and wash yourself in it, it's time to get in the Word. You can't just keep up appearances on the surface. You have to fight, be desperate, suck, hunger, and you will be filled. If you keep fighting to make time with Me‚ and if you keep earnestly hungering for and desiring My seeds of life and truth, you will continue to grow and change and revolute with the times.

146. The spirit of change is not a one-time thing. It's something to carry with you throughout your life. It's something that you've gained, which you now hold in your hands that you don't ever have to give up. That is one of the major ways in which you've changed—gaining the perspective of continuing to change‚ continuing to go forward in every area; of desiring the new‚ of looking forward to what I might bring your way‚ rather than trying to keep things in order and maintain the status quo.

147. You've learned to desire the full flame of My Spirit, even the wildfire of it, rather than trying to keep the fire under control. Now the fire burns more brightly in you than ever, and its warmth is warming others. They see your open, humble, willing, cheerful, understanding spirit, and they feel My touch through this. Those that once felt fearful or inhibited or like they were held back now feel the freedom to grow, to change, to take more initiative themselves. Therefore your change is not just your own, but it is changing many lives. It is reaching far and wide.

148. Your example of humility and yielded­ness will touch and help change many hearts. Thus the spirit of change continues moving, going, flowing, multiplying‚ and will go further than you'd think or realize. (End of message from Jesus)