Content In All Circumstances

September 5, 2014

Nine months ago my last message to you was about the straight jacket of poverty. Since that time we had a chance to really live the message. The Lord has told us this experience in part, is to help us be able to share with you how we handle continuingly narrowing budget. How we live through that in joy and in strength. Citing the Scripture that Paul gave us in Philippians 4:12-13 I know how to get along with humble needs. I know how to live in prosperity in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry. Both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

So, I want to share with you some of the things we went through as we lived in this fashion. We went from a barely sufficient income, that was cut by two thirds, so we were living on a third of the resource. Three people: the homeless elderly woman that lives with us, my husband, and myself. We lived on one third of that income and we still are living on one third of that income with a few increases. We've had a few more donors come alongside us. So, I want to share with you the things we went through and how the Lord resolved these things in our heart.

For one, He was reading our mail. He was right there. When things would come up that we needed, He would supply for them. Things came up that we needed He didn't supply - He gave us the grace to suffer graciously, not to complain. I can't tell you that I didn't complain. That would be a lie. He gave us the grace to get through it and be thankful for what we did have and what we do have. To be thankful for what He's given us and to be thankful for what was allowed to be taking away because it opened the door to a new lifestyle in a sense where total dependence was on Him.

Mind you, we've been living this way for thirty years as missionaries and we never used government help. We've always relied on the Lord for housing, heat, water and electricity and everything. We got fairly stable and comfortable in that period of time when we had a full three-thirds the income to work with. He keeps telling me He's going to continue to humble America and humble our society in the direction of money and money continuing to dwindle, the ability to go out and buy things. This isn't a very popular message. He didn't call me to be popular just to be honest and truthful.

What's coming for the United States is a cut in the economy, a continued downward cycle of the economy. It's really easy to lose your perspective in that situation. We tend to get very comfortable with things that are not absolutely necessary and when those are taking away from us we can do a lot of kicking and screaming. I have a few little goodies that I had to give up at different times and He made it hard for me, but we were still able to make our basic needs. It was very difficult having to call the electric company and negotiate with the lovely lady at the electric company. She was just as sweet as she can be while we were way far behind. I have no idea what her superiors thought when they saw how far behind we were. The point is that it's very humbling to have to negotiate with the utility company to keep your utilities on.

Humbling is good. Humility is wonderful. It's definitely a necessity and it's definitely an agenda of the Lord's to prepare His Bride for His coming. In all honesty - we're not ready. The Rapture is at the door. It can happen any moment.

Just a note on why we believe in the Rapture...

We've got some Catholic background, they didn't believe in the Rapture. We've got evangelical background, Spirit-filled background... all kinds of different background from places we have shared ministries in the early days, where we were taught when we were first Christians. Upon doing some research, we found that the first apostles believed in a pre-tribulation rapture and that was considered a sign of authenticity in the community. So, if you believed in a pre-tribulation rapture, then you were considered "okay" as a Christian to be in that community. At that time they had to be guarded, because of the Scribes and Pharisees were constantly finding ways to discover who Christians were and to destroy them. That was considered a sign and mark of authenticity as a Christian. All of that changed with Augustine in 300 A.D. over political issues. It wasn't convenient anymore to believe in that, so another scenario had to be invented to fulfill the requirements of Revelation.

I'm sorry to say that's where it's been, but the Lord through dreams, visions, Scriptures and some good teachers has revealed again and again and again He is coming for His Bride. And in prayer, He's revealed again and again His Bride is not ready. So the tightening of the belt in this country and in Christian community is a deliberate and allowed a shift of thinking, off the busy work and the things of the world, on to what is truly important... our relationship with the Lord. We learn to live with abundance and we learn to live with the lack.

Sometimes we didn't have the necessities, like medication and we learned to be patient in trials. To be patient and lay down with it and to continue on in the things He's given us to do. The beautiful part is, we've always had what we needed to continue in our ministry. We always had that. We may not have had the frills or what we needed for an illness, but we still had the means by which to work with our ministry to add Youtube and to work on music and that kind of thing. Now, I have resolved in my heart and mind in the beginning, that if the Lord chose to discontinue the electricity for a length of time, we do have a generator. My husband and I decided in our hearts, if the Lord chose candlelight, then we'll be in prayer a great deal of time. Perhaps we won't be writing music or using our electronic means of communication, but we'll be in prayer and fasting and that's what important. We have what we need for the day and for the tasks that He's given us to do. So far He's kept our electricity on. Praise be to God! We haven't had to deal with that issue.

So, the most important thing that I want to talk with you about in this teaching is Philippians 4:12: How to get along with humble means and how to live in prosperity. .. How to live in every circumstance... The secret of being happy, fulfilled, and in the Lord. We can do all things in which He strengthens us. When it seems like we just can't take anymore...one disaster after another.

As I said, this message may not be very popular, but nonetheless some of you are dealing with these issues right now. To some of you, this is a real situation in your life. The Lord loves you. He's allowing this for deliberate reasons. He's not doing this to hurt you or punish you. He's doing this to form you into His spotless Bride. The sooner we get a hold of what He's trying to do and cooperate with it, the easier the process will be.

As I mentioned, He's been telling us we're not ready as a church to be His Bride. I'm going to be doing a series on the Bride of Christ: Who is she? That's going to be next.

He is very particular, like any man looking for a wife. He's looking for certain qualities. The main qualification is that she resembles Him. I have to say, the Church does not resemble the Lord Jesus. Not in any way, shape, or form except for perhaps the missionaries who are out in the field living and working and suffering and being martyred. But more and more in this country, we're going to be given an opportunity to prove that our love for the Lord is greater than the love for ourselves. When I say that, I mean the love for our life, for our comforts, for popularity, for friends, for nice things, or for things in general. Some of us are going to have to go without those things. It okay, because there's a reason for it. He has a plan. If you get a hold of the plan, you know, understand it's because He loves you. And because He loves us, He doesn't want to leave behind anyone in the Rapture...not one person does He want to leave behind.

There's a mighty work to do to bring the Church around to the position where she is ready to be His spouse. There's a mighty work to do and I believe He's going to allow some great intervention. Even as we speak, things are going on now in the world and in our country. There are things being instituted in our government that people don't know about that's going to result in serious problems with our economy. If our heart and mind is riveted on prosperity and our economy and what we can have: the latest Iphone, Ipad, the latest updates, the latest programs... (I get temped. I really do get tempted in those areas.) If we have our eyes on our things and keeping up with the Jones as far as who has the latest phones, the latest apps, (the Lord called it "cell phone madness", that's how He put it...) We're going to be having to let go some of these freedoms or excesses and to slim things down very much, very far down. As we do that, we tend to lose the sense of importance and it tends to affect our self esteems.

This is major and key, because the enemy will use losses in our life, financial losses and cutbacks to condemn us. "See, God isn't providing for you. He doesn't love you. You're not worthy of Him. You're supposed to be a prosperous Christian. What's the matter with you? Why are you having problems like this? See? You're bad."

He'll use every means that he can to condemn you. Every twisted thought and every twisted word to take what God meant for your good and turn it around so that it looks like He is punishing you or taking things away from you because He doesn't love you. Because you're not worthy. "Why are you wasting your time being a Christian? If you served Satan, I would supply you with everything you want." That's the kind of thing he pummels people with. I've even had Satan say that to me. (I don't think he liked my answer - that's alright, we got through it.)

Getting back to what's important here, is our self-esteem is not based on what we own, what we wear, what we drive, or where we live. It's based on Jesus Christ giving His life on the Cross. That is how you can weigh your life and the worth of your soul. It can be weighed in the balance with the crucifixion of Christ on the other side. You mean that much to Him. You are so precious to Him, that He was willing to die an excruciating death to have you in Heaven with Him for eternity. That's your net worth if you want to talk about your net worth. It's not in what you drive, or what you own, or where you live. It is in the blood of Christ shed on the cross for you. The blood of God's Son.

That's the perspective that we all need to hold on to as change comes into our life. Our worth has nothing to do with the economy or what we own. It has in the past. That's why He allowed some of those things to be taking away from us. In the future, as Christians come closer and closer to the point where we're gonna have to make a decision: "Am I going to fall into the world economy and deny Christ in order to be a part of the world economy? Or am I going to hold on to relationship with God and continue to confess Him and live without all the things that others are getting even medical care?" I believe the Lord will provide tremendous healings during that time for people who can't go to the doctor because they don't have the mark. Tremendous healings by faith. The point is: do we love our lives more than we love Him?

He's very kind and gentle with us. He's not dropping this on us overnight. He's allowing this to take place slowly. We find ourselves dealing with more things every day. Such as business closing, more schools closings, preschools and that kind of thing. We're seeing this all around us, but it's happening very slowly. Of course, when those things are cut back, donations to the missions, missionaries, or donations that go to the ministers in the town are also cut back. The whole church suffers, because we live basically off (some would say), "the fat of the economy" in the sense that we do our job full-time and other people help to support us. We're all going to go through a time of straightening and circumcision. The things that are frivolous and not important to us are going to be taken away.

The sooner we realize how great the Lord's love is for us, and that He's allowing this because we're not ready to be raptured and not yet able to be His bride...When we realize that, we can cooperate with it so much more easily. When you realize your self worth is not tied up in the latest Android or Iphone, but that it's tied up in the blood of Christ on the Cross, then you can let go of those things and it won't damage you and won't damage your self-image, because your self-image is in Christ not in what you own.

It's been nine months since my last taping and I said I was going to be working on music and I did. I finished a song and I hope you get a chance to listen to it. It's called Left Behind A Nuclear War. It's a composite of dreams that I had of Miami being hit and things the Lord told me in prayer - kind of blended together in song. The song is very dramatic and there are sound effects. There's a section towards the end where a woman is in the park with other mothers and has her one year old with her - and all of a sudden, her child is gone out of her arms. It's very heart wrenching.

The Lord asked me to write this song to give encouragement for those who are left behind, for them to know that they are still loved and loved even more. That everything that happens to them, God is aware of it and He is working to bringing them to Heaven. Those who are left behind... some of those will be the most fiery and incredible Christians that ever walked the face of the Earth, because of their mistake and error. They're going to be totally in love with the Lord to the point where they won't care if they are martyred or not. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).

There's gonna be many souls like that, so He is preparing a mighty, mighty army for the future when Rapture occurs and if we are left behind for some reason, it will be to the glory of God and we cooperate with the graces. I say "we left behind" because I have to examine my heart every single day to see if I've grieved the Holy Spirit and grieved the Lord. Am I doing something that isn't pleasing to Him?

Now, I'm not saying you have to be perfect in order to be Raptured, because that's impossible. That can't be done. But I believe that you have to desire to be perfect, to be free of sin. The Lord is working on us, but we're not there yet...we have not arrived. He's still working on us. I believe we need to have a heart for the Lord and for what He wants. If we're bent in any other direction: in self-will, doing our own thing, ignoring Him - then we're very likely to be left behind. In fact, it's almost assured you're going to be left behind if you're in the flesh doing your own thing and the Lord has tapped you on the shoulder time and time again saying, "pay attention - the time is close."

I, myself, have gone through this. I was not paying attention and He kept telling me "pay attention. the time is close" and finally He gave me the Scriptures about the wise and the foolish virgins and that turned my head around 180 degrees. I saw how self-will had control of my life and from that point on I cooperated with Him to turn it around. Your heart must be bent on Him, on pleasing Him and serving Him. You're not perfect. In fact, you still have a lot of mistakes that need to be worked on - that's not an issue. He already sees you as perfect. I believe in my heart, and according to Scripture, that you're going to be Raptured. That's if you're in that place. But if you've been ignoring the nudging of the Holy Spirit, the readings that you get, the teachings that you hear and just going your own way, then there's very good reason to fear that you will be left behind.

In conclusion, with this message I'd like to say cooperate with grace and understand that if things in your economy are narrowing down, the Lord is allowing this deliberately to get you ready as His Bride and to get you detached from this world and the things of this world; to get your mind wrapped around Him.

Not about a business deal or a new this or new that, but about Him and His agenda.

So, I'm going to move on with the next message. I'm starting, as I said before, a new series on Who is the Bride of Christ and I heartily encourage you to follow that because it's about repentance. I have a message from the Lord that I will be reading and another message about what He's expecting from His Bride.

Until then, God bless you and thanks so much for tuning in and the grace of the Lord be with you and help you to overcome every obstacle in your life. God bless you.