Käthe Pfirrmann
From the book `In Jesu Gegenwart´
Virgins with lamps that have no oil, whose lamps do not burn, do indeed show and identify themselves as Christians by name and outward form, by the letter and by membership; but essence and spiritual life, the power of the resurrection and the power from on high are lacking in them and are not demonstrated in radiance and in the power of the overcomer.
“O Jesus, may Your name remain in the depths; press it deep within! May Your sweet love of Jesus be imprinted upon heart and mind! In word and deed, in all our being, may Jesus and nothing else be read!”
We often sing these verses so casually, when He ought to be our deepest longing, our prayer, our highest expectation and fulfillment of life. Even in congregations that emphasize Pentecostal life, one notices that in many cases it has remained with the lamps, with the outward form alone.
Holy Scripture says it quite plainly, and experience confirms it, that beneath one and the same sun of grace, under the same clear and powerful Gospel, under the example of grace-filled witnesses, people are both lost and saved. Some do not want to; they prefer the world and harden themselves. Others open their hearts, overcome, and prepare themselves. Some retain their old man and give him an outwardly pious garment; others put off the old man and put on the new man created in Jesus Christ. Some are content to stimulate the bodily nerve-spirit and have their ears tickled; others do not rest until the Spirit of Jesus Christ fills their hearts. Some honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me; others honor Me in selfless giving, and their hearts sing the song of My eternal love. The one group is called the foolish virgins, the other the wise virgins.
Samuel adds:
Dear brothers and sisters, the separation of spirits is in full swing, even among the children of God, that is, among us. Many are not yet firm in faith, do not stand upon a secure spiritual foundation, do not have enough oil in their lamps, do not have the right, strong, and above all living love for Jesus Christ in their hearts. Therefore every self-deception must end, every hypocrisy must come to an end. Now it is a matter of stepping out of powerful habits and addictions, of putting off the old man in the power of love for and in Jesus Christ. Now it is a matter of moving from lip-service to acts of love. Yes, this is how our dead love becomes alive: through acting in love for, through, and with Jesus Christ.
Yet how often must He sadly say: “My beloved, I knocked, but you did not open to Me; I met you in needy neighbors, but you did not recognize Me; I wanted to prepare you, but you were not ready for it.
But now I knock with power and speak with a loud voice; now I become insistent. I become insistent toward the world by permitting need and misery to the utmost degree; I press upon you by letting My voice become louder, on the one hand through My proclaimers of the word, on the other by making the call resound in your hearts: The time of decision is approaching, My children—Me or the world. You have it in your hearts to choose freely. Examine your longing and follow it in earnest. There is only an either-or: either I am your Lord and God, or you serve the world. Love Me in deed, then My deed for you will be the giving of My Spirit.
Know that you do not yet know true vitality; what you have known and called life until now is only a little stream of My grace. But I want to lead you to the source of life, to My heart, from which divine life flows in streams and love eternally. Therefore allow yourselves to be prepared for the wedding of the Lamb, for the wedding with Me. Know this: I am coming soon; know this: I am here! Amen.”
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Jesus speaks through Sister Käthe then and now:
“My children, a time will come when, just as the earth was once flooded with water, a flood will arise, a deluge will pass over the earth full of fornication and adultery. And marriage, instituted by Me as a holy order, will no longer be able to set a dam against this flood.
But I must allow it in order to convince people anew where one ends up and what consequences arise when My commandments are despised and one falls out of the holy order of God. Woe when this seed that is now being sown sprouts; it will be a terrible harvest.
Therefore, My children, remain firm in My word and allow yourselves to be helped. For the time is coming when all those who do not become serious now will lack the steadfastness they need in order to endure in that time. On the one hand it will become and be an evil, grievous time; on the other hand it is a high and holy time of times in which My children can attain a maturity and a degree of overcoming such as has never before been possible and never afterward will be possible again.
For those who are not firmly established it will be a disastrous time. They will fall away like dry leaves from the trees! The time that is now coming tolerates no half-heartedness and lukewarmness, but demands a full decision: either belong wholly to the world or to Me! The time of word-makers is over; now strength is required, the equipping with My Holy Spirit.”
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