PROBLEM KINGS!            DO 217            3/73

KINGS
        
         1. These kings who want to be prophets are always a problem. This is such a frequent problem with kings who want to be recognised as one of us & who yet have not really fully become one of us the hard way as you have. They usually WANT TO BE PROPHETS, TOO, and as soon as you try to give them the slightest bit of RECOGNITION OR AUTHORITY to keep them happy, they try to start RUNNING THE WHOLE SHOW & then we have to slap them down & lose them.
         2. AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE BIBLE & HISTORY, KINGS AND QUEENS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A PROBLEM FOR THE POOR PROPHETS & even for God Himself! They ALWAYS WANT TO BE THE FLAME INSTEAD OF THE CANDLESTICK, the LIGHT INSTEAD OF THE LIGHT BEARER. It was one of God's Own problems with Lucifer.
         3. You kids are still your own local rulers & officers, both operationally & spiritually, & KINGS MUST NEVER BE ALLOWED TO TELL YOU WHAT TO DO EXCEPT PERHAPS MATERIALLY. ACCEPT THEIR PROVISION & PROTECTION & CONSIDER THEIR MATERIAL ADVICE & try to show them you appreciate it, BUT WATCH OUT WHEN THEY TRY TO START TAKING OVER SPIRITUAL &/OR OPERATIONAL LEADERSHIP! So far we have BUT ONE PRINCIPAL PROPHET & ONE MAJOR KING IN THIS OUTFIT, the one that God Himself has appointed, & any others who attempt to be the same are possible would-be usurpers & could turn out to be false shepherds sent in by the Enemy to lead you astray.
         4. There comes a time when we have to draw the line as to how much say we can give them in their influence on us, even if it means losing them & a great deal more, as happened with Fred, our first King Saul. So KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN & ONE EAR ON THE GROUND & ONE TURNED HEAVENWARD SO YOU'LL KNOW THE DIFFERENCE between which way things are GOING & which way God is REALLY LEADING!
         5. As we've already discovered, IT TAKES A GREAT DEAL OF TACT, wisdom, grace & humility to handle these obstreperous, temperamental & sensitive kings & queens, BUT WE DO NEED THEM & THEY DO NEED US. So please USE LOVE & PATIENCE & TRY TO COUNSEL & GUIDE THEM in the WAYS OF THE WORD & THE LORD, WHICH MAY OFTEN BE CONTRARY TO THEIR OWN IDEAS!
         6. So it's up to you & the Lord! If he's not causing you any more trouble right now, sometimes it's better to LET A SLEEPING DOG LIE than to get him barking again or he might even bite! It's good to have a watchdog for public relations, but not if he bites the hand that feeds him! So TRY TO KEEP YOUR KINGS UNDER CONTROL if you can & don't let them get out of hand if you can help it, for, as we've said before, EX-FRIENDS CAN SOMETIMES MAKE THE WORST ENEMIES!

ADVICE ON PUBLICATIONS & SUBSCRIPTIONS
        
         7. FOR GOD'S SAKE & THE WORK'S SAKE, LET'S NOT BIND OURSELVES WITH THE LEGAL OBLIGATION OF A SUBSCRIPTION CONTRACT, nor even call our offerings of periodicals subscriptions at all! But please let's rather encourage their simple donations to our Work & merely offer them these FREE GIFTS OF LITERATURE of various kinds in return for certain SUGGESTED MINIMUM DONATIONS.
         8. In other words, "In ACKNOWLEDGEMENT & APPRECIATION FOR YOUR GIFTS OF SO MUCH, WE ARE SENDING YOU FREE SUCH-&-SUCH A BOOK OR PAMPHLET, or such-&-such a periodical for so many weeks or months or a year." DO NOT EVEN MENTION THE WORD SUBSCRIPTION, FOR A SUBSCRIPTION IS A LEGALLY BINDING CONTRACT THAT YOU MUST FULFIL FOR A STIPULATED SUM THAT IS PAID for the literature, & if they don't get it when you have thus promised it & they have sent you the money, you are technically illegally using the mails to defraud, a very serious offence, which comes under the Post Office rules. So let's never be guilty of such foolishness!
         9. Otherwise, you may also get caught up in legal tangles of business license fees, profits, taxes, sales taxes etc. Let's remain a NON-PROFIT religious & CHARITABLE organisation, merely GIVING AWAY OUR LITERATURE AS AN EXPRESSION OF THANKS FOR THEIR DONATIONS. DON'T PRICE, DON'T SELL & DON'T OFFER SUBSCRIPTIONS! Only suggest certain MINIMUM DONATIONS if they would like to receive certain free gifts of literature from us, and STAY FREE FROM BUSINESS, LEGAL AND TAX HASSLES!

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