WHAT TO DO WHEN PERSECUTED!      DO 953-1         13/12/80

         1. THIS IS A REPLY TO SOME OF YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT THE RECENT PERSECUTION IN A CERTAIN COUNTRY. There's nothing new about it, it's ages old & it's always the same old story: The established religion, inspired by the Devil, stirs up persecution against the true children of the Lord, because they have done such a good & thorough job that it has infuriated Satan!
         2. When it gets to the point that you have done such a good job that the Lord allows the Enemy to stir up such opposition & persecution against you, it's usually a sign that you have finished your work there, at least for the time being. When it becomes a general persecution, officially & governmentally throughout the whole country to the point that it is impossible for you to continue to witness or litness without unnecessarily severe persecution, then it's time to take Jesus' advice to [move on]. (Mt.10:23)
         3. If they push you so hard that it's no longer possible to freely preach the Gospel, litness or witness, & you can't do your job, then of course you have to stop & get out & go someplace where you can! We are pilgrims & strangers here, & we have to always be ready to move on when our job is done.
         4. When looking to the Lord for guidance, I got, "Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his trust, & respecteth not the proud nor such as turn aside to lies." (Ps.40:4)--We're to trust the Lord & not to believe the Enemy's lies nor worry about them, & we are not to give too much respect to our proud enemies who are trying to persecute us. They are anti-Christ & they certainly deserve no respect! The Lord is certainly going to take care of the situation because we make Him our trust.
         5. I BELIEVE THE LORD WOULD PREFER TO SAVE YOUR LIFE & your ministry & your safety & your liberty & your security as long as He can, for you to be able to preach the Gospel wherever you can as long as possible. I think the martyrs should be more or less rare.
         6. So I don't think you should unnecessarily risk your life, liberty & limb to stay in a nation which has rejected you, & although most of the people have been seemingly friendly & receptive & responsive, the powers that be control them & obviously still dominate them, as they did in Israel at the time of Jesus.
         7. But if you're a NATIONAL, it's YOUR COUNTRY & it seems that you have a RIGHT to do as you please, & you're supposed to have religious freedom. But what they do then is try to pin some type of criminal charge on you, just as they did with Jesus & His Disciples, accusing them of sedition.--If they can't actually stop you for litnessing or for your religion per se, then they try to charge you with criminal offences such as corruption of minors, public scandal, sex offences of some kind, blah blah!
         8. But I would suggest that you LOCALS & NATIONALS particularly should try to hang on to your OWN COUNTRY as long as you possibly can, because if they drive you out, then I think God is through with that country & He will certainly wreak His judgements on it & on your enemies & persecutors!
         9. GOD'S WORD, IN ROMANS 13, DEFINITELY SAYS THAT YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO OBEY THE OFFICER OF THE LAW, "for he carrieth not the sword in vain"! (Rom.13:4) Five times in that Chapter He calls the officer of the law a minister of God! So if things have gotten so bad that the ministers of God don't want you to pass out literature anymore, it must be an order from the Lord!
         10. There does come that point where you can preach to somebody so long & they just continue to harden their hearts more & more until it becomes useless to speak to them. In which case God says, "He that being often reproved & hardeneth his neck shall suddenly be destroyed, & that without remedy!" (Pr.29:1) Sometimes God has to get you out of the way so He can destroy them to whom you have been witnessing but who have hardened their hearts.
         11. We're not talking about an EXCEPTIONAL case where ONE cop's got it in for you & he stops you.--It may not represent the general governmental feeling or regulations & does not necessarily mean you have to stop it entirely! But if it proves to be governmental, nationwide, & many authorities start stopping all of you & persecuting all of you & hauling you in & questioning you, then I would say it's fairly general persecution.
         12. But don't let the Devil SCARE you by his "BOO'S!"--Keep on witnessing until you are sure they really mean business! If it's just one cop in one city, then go out of his precinct into another precinct. If it's the whole town, then go to another town. If it's the whole province, go to another province. But if it's the whole country, then you'd better go to another country!
         13. If it gets too heavy to take, & I mean by that not just vilification, bad publicity & a few warnings, but where they really make it impossible for you to carry on, then it's time to quit & go someplace else--unless you want to just [wait] until the storm blows over & the heat's off & they've got something else to worry about & they've forgotten about you, & you can then try it again.
         14. BUT YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE DECISION & you have to operate according to your own faith! It's up to you to get down to business & pray earnestly to find out which way God's going.--Which way is He leading?--Are we finished in this country? Can the nationals stay & carry on, or will they too have to go in order to save their lives, liberty & limbs?
         15. It depends on what YOU have FAITH for & what YOU feel LED to do & how GOD is guiding YOU.--Whatever you do, for God's sake, follow God! PTL? (Prays:) Lord, bless & keep them & encourage them & lead & guide them. Strengthen them & give them great faith instead of fear, & great love, Lord, even for their enemies, instead of hate, & the realisation that many of them are just deceived & they know not what they do, & we must forgive them because they are stirred up by others who do know what they're doing. So give them great wisdom & patience with officials, Lord.
         16. You said, "Be ye wise as serpents but yet as harmless as doves," because You sent us forth like sheep in the midst of wolves. (Mt.10:16) Give each one wisdom in what You want them to do: Whether they be nationals & feel led to stay & wait awhile, then try again, or whether they feel like the local situation is impossible & they must [go] to another place. Or whether they be foreigners who feel their position is particularly precarious & therefore if there is definitely nationwide national opposition to the Family, then it would be wise for them not to get caught openly litnessing & witnessing in areas where this is enforced, lest they be driven out of the country.
         17. But there is always SOME place, Lord, where we can work! You are a very great Employer. You have this whole World at our disposal, so if work runs out in one place, we can always go someplace else. Help us to lift up our eyes & behold the fields white unto harvest that are afar off, where we can go & get a better harvest & reap a better field & a more fertile field which has not been overworked & already harvested.
         18. AMEN! WHAT'S HIS WILL FOR YOU?


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