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NO LOSS, NO GAIN!

What I have noticed over the years is that very often we

don't know that the Holy Ghost has been in our midst until
after He has left the scene. For example, this week a
thought came into my head that I assumed was my own.
The thought was, "how is it that you spiritually survive when
you have lost so much that you depended on?"
Immediately, I was reminded of the fact that for at least 25
years, my spiritual life was dependent upon people, places
and things. By things, I mean "works" and "practices."
Among the people were those I pastored and the many
ministers and members that I fellowshipped with, as well
as two different husbands who I was compelled to divorce
as well as family, friends and associates that I had to "cut
loose".

For me there was only one place: the church. I was in

church constantly as a pastor, a member and a visitor. At
times, I was in church as many as 6 days a week, hours at
a time. Furthermore, I frequently visited other
churches, several times a month. I also preached and
taught in prison for almost 10 years. Among the things or
"works" that I no longer do was my first love,--- developing
sermons and preaching. I practiced healing, deliverance
ministry, weeping and wailing in intercession, aka,
travailing, and speaking in tongues. I also moved in the
"slain in the spirit" ministry, where people fell at the touch of
my hand or at times, I waved my hand and some fell. I saw
into the future regularly, experiencing supernatural
. experiences that I believed at the time were manifestations
of each of the 9 gifts of the Holy Ghost.

I lost it ALL!

Welcome to Pam's At the beginning of the century, with 9/11/01 as my target

Place! date of change, I had no idea that when I prayed "Lord, if
there is any darkness around me, please expose it," that
practically EVERYTHING---people, places and things---
would be exposed as filled with darkness and deception.
ARTICLES
So when the thought came into my mind, "Pam, how do
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No Loss, No Gain! you live and survive today without all of that?" I had
not yet come up with an answer, until my first client of the
day asked me the very same question. So when she asked
What is Fruit? the very question that had just hit my own thoughts,
I immediately realized that the Holy Ghost was using her to
speak to me. Interestingly enough, as I counsel others, the
Holy Ghost frequently uses contents of the session to
have a ONE on one session with me!

I can't recall in detail how I answered the question for it took

practically the entire session to do so. However, what I
recall is what the client said to me. She sounded, awed, or
speechless when she replied, "Wow. Pam, you are really
living for Christ because you have given up ALL for His
sake."

I was shocked by her words because since my losses

are predominately religious in nature, I had not looked at
them from that particular perspective. The conclusion that
I had come to is that "every religious person or thing could
be and was removed from me but I held on to ONE thing
that could not be removed.

That ONE thing is my faith and assurance that I am saved,

born again, and when all is said and done, my salvation is
"enough." Jesus Christ of Nazareth is enough for me. I
have ceased from my own works and I rest in the Lord.

However, how does one arrive at such a place within his or

her spiritual walk?

It is not easy---at first. As the writer of Hebrews declares,

"one must LABOR or struggle to enter into the Lord's rest"
(Hebrews: 4) The familiar expression: no pain, no gain
does not really ring true in the spirit.. The remarkable thing
is that like giving birth in the natural, once the labor and
struggle of delivery has been achieved, you simply can't
remember the pain.For example, I do not recall the pain of
walking away from not one husband, but two. Once I
realized that they were both sent from the devil to destroy
me and hinder my walk in the spirit with the Lord, the pain
was minimized, to say the least!

Once God revealed to me that sermonizing was not from

Him but that it is merely a man made art, I can no
longer recall the pain of not doing something that I had
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grown to love. Once one has actually ENTERED the Lord's

rest, than obedience is in no way painful. Loss is not
painful either. You simply "move on" and live once you
have "entered in.".Tthat is why I didn't use the title, no PAIN
no gain. I simply cannot recall the pain of losing so much.
However,with each loss, I experience the gain of a new
revelation. Fruit just grows without much effort.

Consider Job. One thing sustained him through it all. Job

KNEW by faith that His Redeemer lives and that as His
Redeemer was raised from the dead, Job too would be
raised. In her book called "The Story of Job," Jessie Penn
Lewis says it all:

"Every advancing soul must come sooner or later to the

place where it can trust God, the bare God, if I may be
allowed the expression, simply because of what He is in
Himself, and not because of His promises or His gifts.
It must learn to have its joy in Him alone, and to rejoice in
Him when all else in Heaven and earth shall seem to fail.

The only way in which this place can be reached, I believe,

is by the soul being compelled to face in its own experience
the loss of all things, both inward and outward. I do not
mean necessarily that all one's friends must die, or all
one's money be lost; but I DO mean that the soul must find
itself, from either inward or outward causes, desolate, and
bereft, and empty of all consolation. It must come to the
end of everything that is NOT God; and must have
nothing else left to rest on within or without. It must
wade through the slough, and fall off the precipice, and be
swamped by the ocean, and at last find in the midst of
them, and at the bottom of them, and behind them, the
present, living, loving, omnipotent God!"

Soon I will have lived longer saved, then unsaved. Thirty

four years in Christ has set me on three spiritual pathways,
each one different from the other: The first path is travelled
by beginners---a path filled with sensual experiences that
are exciting and emotional, with several secret
manifestations of God.. The second path is a wilderness,
characterized by trials, tribulations, troubles, and conflict.
The sensual manifestations, though fewer, are stronger and
deeper, as they seem to be what carries you through the
dryness, the darkness and the distress. So the sensual,
supernatural experiences, the dreams, hopes and
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aspirations are the rock of your survival.

However, the third path is a the place of rest in Him. It is a

rather strange place. It is a region of mountaintop solitude,
where you rarely come down. With uninterrupted
communion with God, setting a time aside for prayer is
unnecessary because His presence is felt practically 24-7.
You ask for nothing, need nothing, because you experience
a strange detachment from everything of the world. You
feel complete satisfaction with your lot in life and you are in
"no hurry" to do anything or be anything because you are
content with the Lord's will, whatever it may be. I believe
that only in such a place can we actually be transformed
into the image of Christ.

Ending with Jessie's words, "The soul's pathway is always

through death to life. The caterpillar cannot in the nature of
things become the butterfly in any other way than by dying
to the one life in order to live in the other. And neither can
we. Therefore, it may well be that this region of death and
desolation must needs be passed through, if we would
reach the calm mountain heights beyond. And when we
know this, we can walk triumphantly through the darkest
experience, sure that all is well, SINCE GOD IS GOD!!!!

I recommend to all that you obtain "The Story of Job,"

by Jessie Penn Lewis. Written about 100 years ago, it
will bless you now. Click the book's cover in the left
hand column to buy it from amazon.com
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Pams Book Corner

I have written 6 books, actually 7, as I combined two books so as to save money. In this
section of the newsletter, I will include short excerpts from one of my softcovers that
seems to relate to the subject at hand.

I no longer market my second book, "The Making of a Prophet," primarily because in 2004
when it was written, I misunderstood several supernatural experiences. So I rewrote the
book and replaced it with "Come Out of Her, God's People." However, there are some
excerpts within the book that I still concur with today that are salvageable.
`
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"What then, is fruit?

I believe that fruit is the manifestation of the power of the resurrection in a person's life.
Simply put, does an individual demonstrate in his or her life that Jesus Christ is alive? As
Jesus taught, "if we abide in Him, then we will bare fruit." So in order to manifest fruit, we
must abide in Him. To abide is "to live in" or "to dwell." Jesus also revealed that He came
that we might have life and have it more abundantly. So abundant life is a synonym for
"fruit."

Since the just shall live by faith, if we walk in faith, then our lives should be fruitful. Our
faith is our evidence of the power of the resurrection. When we believe on the
resurrection, we believe that Jesus is alive. Therefore, to bare fruit, is to consistently live
by faith, in a manner that demonstrates that Jesus Christ is no longer in the tomb. It is a
power that is demonstrated without even the necessity of quoting a scripture.
Demonstrations of power will be apparent in those who have the Holy Ghost in them.

Demonstrations of power are obtained by building one's foundation upon the Rock.
Jesus declared that if we built our house upon the rock, and not upon sand, when the
storms of life attack us, we will remain standing. In this context, then once again, the 9
fruit of the Spirit represent "the rock." From an architectural, natural standpoint, when we
build a house, we would like to have confidence in its foundation. Therefore, when we
look for fruit that will demonstrate the resurrection power of the Lord Jesus Christ, we
should examine where we have placed our confidence.

There is such a thing as "fake fruit." I am sure that you have at one time been fooled by
plastic or rubber fruit sitting in a bowl as the center piece on a dining room table.
Sometimes these plastic replicas look even better than the real thing from a distance.
However, up close, you can see that there is no life in fake fruit. This is also true of fake
spiritual fruit.

Take for example the fruit of meekness or humility. Those who manifest "fake" meekness
may seem to lack self confidence. However, at the root of their apparent meekness may
be compulsive modesty. In such instances, the captive's pattern is to overlook his own
viewpoint, suggesting to himself that the thoughts of others are more reliable than his
own. False humility of this kind will lead the captive to not feel safe unless a significant
other in his life will protest, defend, advise or nurture him. In such cases, the captive
loses the capability to take responsibility for his own life. With women, the Adam's Rib
Syndrome develops, where she does not view herself as a whole person without a mate to
help her feel complete.

False meekness also manifests itself when professing Christians who have low self
concept develop techniques and processes whereby the self is placed in the background
by losing self regard. In an attempt to avoid anger at all costs, the captive will repress
hostility and will become self effacing. Some captives will merely adjust their behavior to
adapt to the stronger personality, while others will allow their personalities to be changed
by stronger people. People like this are often wrongfully perceived as having the fruit of
meekness.
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THE NEW IDOLATRY is almost ready to be released. If you would like to be notified
when the book is for sale, then I will put you on a mailing list to receive the
announcement at your email address. Just drop me a line at contact@pamsheppard.com
that states, "put me on the announcement list for the New Idolatry."

Contact Me:

I divide my day by my mission: deliverance counseling, writing, training and mentoring.

Soon all of my counseling hours will be filled. Therefore, I need to train more believers to
DO WHAT I DO SO THAT I CAN MAKE REFERRALS TO THEM. I am also a planner.
Training is going to take at least a year for each trainee. So it is time to sign up
now. Customized/Specialized Training is month to month, with no obligation to continue,
$75 a month. For an additional $50, each trainee receives two hours a month of telephone
consultation.

So the time is at hand for training. Let me know if you are interested. Send an email to
contact@pamsheppard.com

Sheppard's Counseling and Publishing Center, PO Box 356, East Greenbush NY, NY 12061 518-477-5759

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