Spiritual Subjective Guidance

24 June 2012

Dar Phyllis,

I know of no spiritual exercise more difficult, or dangerous, than subjective spiritual guidance. In my early years as I missionary, it was my great privilege to be closely associated with Joe Carrol. Joe was the finest preacher I ever heard, and appeared to be one of the most spiritual. He spoke much about the importance of a close intimate relationship with Jesus, and being Spirit led in all things. I intensely wanted this, and tired desperately to be spiritual. Then I ran into a swamp. I learned that spiritual guidance isn't as simple as it sounds in a good message. As I prayed over daily events, asking the Lord for His mind and show me what He would have me do, I discovered there are many voices on the subjective spiritual channel. It is highly possible to think you are listening to the Voice of God when the devil is impersonating the Holy Spirit, or you may be simply listening to your own carnal mind. I seriously doubt that anyone is exempt from this problem. I know of many unbelievable mistakes that Christians have made while firmly believing that God has told them to do stupid things.

Koji was the closest friend that I have ever had. For years I said he was one of the greatest Christian I ever met; and yet he got in the worse muddle I have ever heard of. He was married with three children, and yet lived in deep sin with another girl for a year, firmly believing that he was in the will of God. When the thing was exposed, he told me that he had more firm acceptable guidance that he was in the will of God than that he was saved. He had miracles, dreams, visions, Bible promises, the “inward witness of the Holy Spirit”, assurance, and consoling by mature Christians. There was only one little obscure verse in Exodus 20 that was against it – “Thou shalt not commit adultery”. Other than that everything else was intact. That, and several other experiences, have made me very leery of too much guidance by subjective spiritual impulses.

The best message I ever heard was by a Nazarene pastor . After his message, I grabbed my Bible and went up speak to him. I told him, “This is the most difficult thing that I have ever encountered in my walk with the Lord.” He gave me the best advice I ever had. He said, “Don't try to get guidance over your head.” There are some people who are highly spiritual that the Lord guides them unusually. George Mueller. But to try to be like George Mueller when you are not, can get a person into deep trouble. Over the years I have had more occasions than I can count where I was totally convinced that I knew the mind of the Lord. The subjective guidance and several other indicators were all in place; only to be later proved that I was dead wrong. This has been so bad that I have more or less given up on subjective guidance, and just trust the Lord, knowing that the Good Shepherd is responsible for His stupid sheep. He must keep them even when they are wandering all over the place. I took subjective guidance into almost zero consideration when I married Pammy last year. I had made too many mistakes in years past; and to get accurate guidance in that area was too difficult. I just trusted the Lord to keep me from straying from His will. On the other hand, I felt that His other guidance was too clear to refuse. But I learned a bad lesson about subjective spiritual guidance last week.

Visas are a major problem in Thailand. Staying here, is by no means, a simple matter. The best visas are only for one year, and then we must check in every 90 days. Last December I was totally convinced that I was perfectly legal, but lost the argument that I was six months overstay. That cost $700 penalty. I knew my 90 day was up in June, and have been very concerned that I not overstay again. I had the date of the 24^th firmly in mind, and was planning on checking in on Saturday. There is no point in going early as you only lose valuable time by doing that. All week the Holy Spirit kept prompting me to check my passport. Finally, last Thursday, I looked at my passport just to confirm that I was right about the 24th. I was stunned to see that the date was the 17^th and I was already four days over. Within minutes I was on my motor bike headed north to the Burma border at Mae Sai. That stupidity cost me $70 that we didn't have to waste. I later lamented, “If only I had listened to the Lord when He was prompting me to check my passport all that would have been unnecessary.” This has brought me back to the point where I was 50 years ago in trying to be more sensitives, and obedient, to what the Holy Spirit is saying to me.

Apart from having to pay the $70 penalty for overstay, it really was a very good day Thursday. Pammy had been pleading with me for several days to take the bus up to Mae Sai. She wanted to go along and take Annie with us. Her father and brother both were killed on motor bikes in Thailand and she has a natural fear of that transportation. Most of my friends think I am mad. I am the only one that I know that rides a motor bike that far. It is right at 500 km round trip, and it is impossible to ride anywhere in Thailand at this time of the year without going through rain. I have excellent Japanese rain gear, and took the jacket for protection. I did have to put it on four or five times for a few kilos, but then took it off again. I got a late start and didn't want to get home too much after dark. Therefore, apart from the 30 minutes that it took me to clear Thai Immigration, run over to Burma to get my passport stamped and back into Thailand, and four gas stops; I only had one rest stop for a piece of pie at a famous resort restaurant. That meant that I was on the bike for 9 ½ hours, almost continually all day. But I felt amazingly fresh when I got home that night. It really was one of the easiest trips I have made up there.

Finances have been a major item this month. Our regular support is totally out of Japan. We have two ATM cards, but the one for the US bank has been inactive for well over a year, as there has been zero support from the states. I had inadvertently misread the bank statement from Japan early in the month and thought we had more funds to draw on than we did. Over a week ago I had a friend look at the statement, and he explained to me how I had misinterpreted it. On the 15^th it looked like we had zero funds in Japan to draw on, and had spent all our cash here in Chiang Mai. It honestly looked like we would have nothing to eat for two weeks. Then last week, I had an unexpected letter from my very dear friend, Harold Carman, saying that there had been a sunstantial deposite in our account in the states. What a blessiong that it came at such a critcal time! We are not quite at the point of praying, “Give us this day our dailhy bread.” Usually we can see a few weeks in advance, but it has truly been amazing what the Lord has done for us since we were married last August. If finances had been a consideration, I was so poor it was out of the question whether or not I could get married. But since then there has always been enough, and I wouldn't swap our home for any other one in Chiang Mai.

The reason I have made such an elaborate kitchen is that I feel strongly that the kitchen is the gate to heaven. The chance of inviting someone to church, and expect to see them on Sunday is one in a thousand. But it is very difficult to refuse an invitation for supper. It is by inviting people into our home that we can move them to come to church. I am not opposed to tract distribution, sound trucks, and mass meetings; but, statically, these have proven to be very inefficient means of evangelism . I was telling Paul the other day that the most effective way of winning souls that I have ever seen is the Elijah/ Elisha method in 1Kn. 17:17-24 and 2Kn. 4:29-36. Both men had similar experiences in raising a child from the dead. In both cases the prophets laid the dead child on his own bed. In both cases they prayed. In both cases they stretched themselves out on the child. The Bible says Elijah stretched himself upon the child three times. We read of Elisha that he laid himself on the child mouth to mouth, eye to eye, and hand to hand. He did all that and all he got was the the flesh of the child waxed warm. After that he walked in the house and stretched himself on th child again. The child sneezed seven times and then opened his eyes.

If anyone wants to win souls, I challenge them to do this. I have seen missionaries in Japan who have done this, and I have seen missionaries who don't. The ones who don't are invariably sterile. And the ones who do are fruitful. The first thing you have to do is have people in your home. With the prophets they put the dead child in their own bed. They don't have to sleep with us, but it does help to have people stay with us. But the main thing is that the prophets stretched themselves out on the dead. If we aren't really stretching ourselves out for people, we won't have an effective testimony with them. Serving the Lord conveniently, is an excellent path to barrenness. Serving the Lord when it is convenient is no sacrifice at all. It is only the burnt offering of sacrifice that is acceptable to the Lord. Gothold Beck, Allen Fadel, Bill Louts, Dick Dennis, Bill Reese, and several others were missionaries who stretched themselves to the limit, and past, for Japanese. And they all won souls. In all cases, the unsung heroes were the wives who had to put up with all the guest in the house, and fix the meals. Poor Millie Dennis, when she went to bed at night she never knew how many would be there for breakfast the next morning. Japanese would come in the middle of the night and sleep on the floor. Gothold Beck has done something in Japan that – to the best of my knowledge – no one else has ever come close to accomplishing in 150 years of missions in Japan. Kichijoji is absolutely unique. In 50 years he has gone from 10 or 15 believers to probably over 4,000. I wondered how he did it. Somehow he was able to infuse his spirit of aggressive, unrestrained, love into the hearts of hundreds of Kichijoji believers.

Elisha got mouth to mouth, eye to eye, hand to hand with the dead boy. That is a very good idea. It is important to sit down with people in our home, and speak to them mouth to mouth. And it is important to understand them to the degree that you can see what they are talking about eye to eye. There is nothing wrong with that, and it isn't a great spiritual achievement. It is just being a good friend. The boy with Elisha didn't come alive, but his flesh did warm. Being friendly with others may not get them saved, but it certainly will warm up their flesh. You are making progress when people warm up to you. Next Elisha walked in the house. This too is important. People staying with you will certainly be impressed by your walk in the house. It is one thing to go out and preach but when someone sees your walk in the home is the same as you talk about in public; that has got to be a message louder than anything you can say from the pulpit. I know Japanese who have come to missionaries and told them I want a family just like theirs. That is a strong incentive for salvation. In Elisha case the child sneezed seven times. A sneeze is a convulsive experience. I remember when Mitsuko was living with the Dick Dennises she got saved so many times I lost track. That's alright. It doesn't matter how many times a person has to get saved. Stay with it until Christ becomes a reality in their life.

The experience of these two prophets in raising the dead, is a manual for soul winning that is almost guaranteed to bring results. It wasn't an instant deal, but one that took a lot of exposure, prayer, stretching, and repeated experiences. But it paid off. Over the years I have never seen a missionary who did these things that didn't win souls for Jesus. And I have seen earnest missionaries who preached a good message but lived behind a closed door. They were as barren as stone.

The only reason I know why the Lord leaves us here is to be a witness and bring souls into the Kingdom of God. For 21 years I couldn't have that kind of a ministry. But since last August, the Lord has given me a partner who speaks Thai, and is an aggressive witness for Jesus. I told her that her days as a lady pastor are over, but she has a new pulpit and a greater platform to win souls by having them in for a meal. That is why I made that kitchen. Lord, help us to make good use of it now. Thank you for your prayers and participation with us. May the Lord give the increase.

bill

Goforth's Little Wood Pecker

17 June 2012

Dear Phyllis,

Johnathan Goforth had a favorite story about a little wood pecker that was flying through the forest. The bird landed on a huge pine tree and took a couple of pecks. Suddenly, a bolt of lightening shot out of heaven and struck the tree, shattering it in a million bits. The poor little wood pecker went hurtling end over end, landing on a near by tree, scared to death. As nothing further happened; the little bird squared himself up to survey the devastation of the splintered tree laying at his feet, and said, “Who would believe that two pecks could do all of that?”

Night after night Goforth would come home after a meeting, and say to his wife, “Well, the Lord had to remind me of the wood pecker tonight.” He would preach a simple gospel message, and the power of God would come down on the meeting. Hundreds would agonize under the terrible conviction of sin, and call upon th Lord for salvation.

I am no Johnathan Goforth, and we are not seeing revival at Gichikun's church, but good things are happening. I told you that I thought we had an unusually good service last week. I left immediately after the service and heard nothing after that. The other day I saw Pastor Gichikun and asked him what happened. I was overwhelmed to hear that five people were saved. That is the highest number I have heard of being saved in a small church in a Sunday morning service in many years.

What happened was that we had an excellent combination. The Lord has raised up a young man who usually leads the service. Fa is only 19, but he acts like he has been in the ministry for 15 years, and does an outstanding job up front. The singing was wonderful. And his prayers we something like I had never heard from him. It wold be hard to improve on what he is doing. Destiny Rescue NGO has recently been coming to church, bringing a large group of girls – most of whom were not saved. I said last week that, it is unusual to have unsaved people in a church in Thailand. That gave me a rare opportunity to preach an evangelistic message for a Sunday morning service. The Lord heavily laid on my heart a message He wanted to bring, and attended His Word with an unusual anointing. The reality that God would invite me to attend the wedding of His Son was so powerful that I was reduced to silence and tears. I didn't understand what Gichikun was saying at the end of the service, but I knew he spoke for an unusually long time. He later told me that it was an invitation, and five girls responded. He said that three were in tears. Then he asked the two pastors with Destiny Rescue to help out in handling the personal work in leading these girls to Christ. I was thrilled.

Destiny Rescue NGO recently moved into this muban (housing area) and they were very tentative about where they were going to go to church. They told me that they were coming to our church more or less as a social visit, but they had their main church in Chiang Mai. Then they told Gichikun that they were proceeding with their relationship with us gradually. It was doubtful that they would throw in with us full time. Now it looks like our relationship is firmer and they probably will make us their main church. This is extremely good news. The combination we have is quite unusual and extremely healthy.

This past week has been an unusually good one for us as a family. When I look at Annie, I am almost in tears of gratitude to the Lord. I can't imagine a more blessed, happy, little girl. This is almost heaven. The atmosphere in our home has almost been like heaven. Pammy said to me the other day, “We are the happy family.” We sure are.

It isn't always that way. The sun doesn't shine every day. We have had some horrible storm clouds. But the Lord has always brought out the rainbow. I have had my problem in being a contributer to strife. Being married has proved to be a serious challenge for Pammy. For 45 years she steered her own ship and never answered to anyone. To suddenly have someone else in charge, and having to adjust as a obedient wife, was no easy task. She also has a choleric streak that can make her as winsome and loving as a junkyard police dog. One night Annie was crying, and Pammy couldn't calm her down. I told her, “The problem is your spirit. What you are saying is right, but your spirit is more like a prison warden than a tender mother.” But the Lord is helping all of us. Annie had some security problems when she first came to us, but she is as cheerful and happy a little girl as you will find anywhere. A couple of weeks ago, I had to apply the board of education to her seat, and that has proved to be marvelously therapeutic. She has a respectful fear of me. When I speak sternly to her, I like the look on her face. She knows that disobedience can be grim business. And yet the bond between is is getting stronger every day. The other night I was hanging some cabinet doors. She was all over me like a jungle gym. That is the kind of distraction that I like.

Perhaps the Bible verse that has had the greatest, life determining , impact on my life has been the Lord's Prayer in Luke 11:2. I have mentioned this to you several times, but it cannot be over emphasized. Years ago I was challenged to do an in-depth study of the Lord's Prayer. I saw that there were seven points, and it was divided into three sections. The first two sections are the three Thys and the three uses. Thy Name, Thy Kingdom, and Thy Will. I probably am wrong, but I have a total obsession on these first three points. I almost most never get past them. At the moment these three Thys are the sum and substance of life. I see almost nothing in life beyond them.

Certainly the purpose and goal in life is “Hallowed be Thy Name”. I can't imagined any other reason to live except for the glory and honor of God. If that isn't the purpose of life, what pray tell, is? To make me happy?! This humanistic message of the promotion, prosperity, and pleasure of man is nonsense to the point of being close to insanity. If we take man off center stage, and put Jesus up front, that makes sense.

But the next two points are the thing that has me captivated at the moment. The second point is THY KINGDOM COME! Amen! I can't imagine anything more wonderful. His Kingdom and government are one and the same thing. And may I throw in a third noun – administration. I don't care what you call it as long as Jesus is in charge. You don't want someone incompetent running the show.

In the Air Force, pilots get special flight pay, but they must fly a minimum of 4 hours a month to qualify. Unfortunately there were a number of former pilots who have long since lost their ability to fly, but still come in four hours a month to draw flight pay. One night, one of these chair-borne old men, who had done little else except elbow bends at the O Club bar, came in to get his flight time. I had flown all day, but they asked me if I would go up with him. He couldn't start the airplane, and I had to start it for him. He could scarcely taxi, but, miraculously, he did get the bird airborne. As soon as we got in the air he said,“Cook, do you want to fly it?” For the next hour and a half we just bore holes in the sky with me at the controls in the back seat. But he had to land the bird. His landing pattern was terrible, and we lost a lot of altitude. I knew we were very low when he rounded out on final approach. There was a little country rail line that went right past the north end of Yokota runway. They had built a tunnel over the tracks to keep smoke from steam engines out of the way of landing aircraft. The tunnel was about 30 feet high. The visibility from the back seat of the T-33 is poor, but I was taking an intense interest in his flying. Suddenly the runway lights and everything in front of us went black. I knew that we had fallen below the level of the tunnel. There is a hard rule among pilots that one pilot never takes over the controls when another man is flying. But this was no time for protocol. I jammed the throttle forward to come in on power, grabbed the stick, and hauled back. Suddenly the runway lights and everything in front of us came on again. I landed the bird from the back seat. He never said a word as we shut down and went home. An incompetent man at the controls nearly cost my life that night

After 55 years of failure, I have learned that the only one qualified to run my life is Jesus. I don't want to be in control. This business about surrender is ridiculous. It isn't a matter of surrender with me, but pleading with Jesus to take control of my life. If only His Kingdom is operative in me, that is the best possible situation. Oh how earnestly I plead – “Thy Kingdom come! PLEASE!!!”

And when this is true in a family, it makes the home like heaven. I don't want it to be my kingdom; I want it to be His Kingdom. If this is true, then everyone is blessed. The determining factor that distinguishes His Kingdom from somewhere else is that His Will is done. If the will of God is not being accomplished, it certainly isn't the Kingdom of God. The thing that make heaven heaven is that everyone is on the same page, and the will of God is being perfectly accomplished all the time. Oh the unity of it! There are no tug of wars or political maneuvering in heaven. Oh the harmony of it is wonderful! There are no discordant or sour notes in the choir of heaven. Everyone is on key. There are many different parts but everyone is singing the same thing and in the same key. It was reported that one of the great composures of years past had a pre-death peek of heaven. When he revived he exclaimed, “I heard them! I heard them1 I heard the choir singing. I counted 16 different parts. There were more but that was all I could count.”I'm sure that is true. There are many different parts to sing in a family, but when everyone is doing what they should, and in the same key, that makes the heart sing for joy. Who could want more?How could you improve on that? Everyone is doing the will of God. And the central theme is the Song of the Lamb (Rev. 15:3). Hang counseling! Hang seminars! Hang all these books on family relationship! All you need is the operative Kingdom of God where everyone is doing the will of God.

But why in the world is this so unusual? Surely the answer must be that vertical line “I”. This is what made the Son of the Morning into the devil. When Lucifer said in his heart “I will”, he was all done (Isa. 14:12-15). That was the first time that voice was heard, but it has been repeated untold billions of times in the hearts of unregenerate humanity ever since. And this is what can turn a heavenly home into hell, When that clash of “I will” takes over, then the Spirit of God is grieved and the devil takes over.

I see this as the most desirous thing possible. But how do you produce it? I don't know. The only thing I do know is that Jesus taught us that this is the first thing we should pray about and earnestly seek. I have trouble enough trying to keep Jesus firmly seated on the Throne of my own heart. How do you get Him enthroned in the hearts of others? Oh how I wish I knew that secret! The only answer I know is that perhaps it is by the Holy Spirit. But why isn't He more active? This thing is making me desperate to plead, “O Father, Hallowed be Thy Name. Lord, please let Your Kingdom come here. And, at all cost, may Your will be done in me and others.” There seems to be some evidence that the Lord is doing this, and our family is getting to be more like heaven.

One of the brothers from Destiny Rescue said that he is teaching the five girls who responded to the Gospel last week and getting them ready for baptism Oh, praise God if Jesus has truly come to the hearts of five needy girls. Perhaps if the Kingdom gets operative and the will of God is being done in their lives, that might bring the others also. Jesus started His ministry by saying that the Kingdom of God was at hand (Mt. 4:17). Praise God! That is wonderful news!

bill

The Father and The Son

10 June 2012

Dear Phyllis,

Today was my turn to speak at Gichikun's church. Recently a new NGO with 20 girls has moved into our muban (housing area) and they have been coming to our church. Seventeen out of twenty of these girls are not saved. This has given me a unique opportunity to preach an evangelistic message. Very few nonbelievers come to church in Thailand. Knowing that I had this shot today, it has been very heavy on my heart that the Lord would give me a message that might bring them to Christ. Around Wednesday, I felt the Lord had heard my prayer and laid a message very clearly on my heart.

Mathew 22:1 says that Jesus taught in parables, but what follows in the next 14 verses is the most direct expression of prophecy of any parable Jesus taught. He said the Kingdom of God was like a wedding a King made for His Son. What an event!

There is no subject that I find more satisfying, and more exhilarating than to consider the relationship between the Father and the Son. We know so little, and hear so little preaching, about this subject; but there is no question that this is the most pinnacle relationships anywhere. To say that the Father is pleased with His Son is a gross understatement. Jesus was with the Father before there was anything that resembled time. It was through His Son that all things were created, and we know that all things were created for Him (Col. 1:16). The supreme gift that God has chosen to give to His Son is a wife. The next to the last chapter in the Bible talks abut the Wedding of the Lamb. Without question this will be the second greatest event since the first moment of creation. The magnitude of this event totally eclipses our imagination. As close as we can come is to consider an earthly royal weddings. Recently, the world was awed by the wedding of Prince William and Kate in England. Needless to say, there was a great deal of thought invested in the guest list. That would be the honor of a life time to be included on that guest list to attend the wedding banquet. But what can we say of someone who is invited to attend the Wedding Supper of God's Son?

In narrating that subject, Jesus tell us that there were seven different responses. The first one was astonishing. They ignored it. “They would not come “(vrs. 3). Can you imagine anything like that; to be invited to attend the wedding of the King's Son and simply not show up?

We might assume that the wedding invitation said RSVP – reply in writing – and the king thought maybe they just didn't get the invitation; or maybe they didn't understand. So he sent a second servant and made it a little more detailed. He explained that a tremendous banquet had been prepared and “all things were made ready: come to the marriage.” The response to this invitation was even more astonishing. They made a joke about it – “they made light of it” (vrs. 5).

Several years ago I was working for a construction company in Karuizawa. Five if us were commuting 45 minutes to and from work. One night the Lord opened up an opportunity to give an excellent witness for Christ. Everyone sat in rapped interest as I explained to them for 40 minutes about salvation. I was thrilled to be able to give such a powerful testimony. The next morning, as we gathered in the office, the job foreman thanked me for the things I had shared with them the previous evening. Then he burst out laughing; “Ha,ha, ha! Man, that was a good one! That was really funny.” I was highly incensed. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is no joke. It isn't funny.

The 3^rd response to the wedding invitation was to make excuses. “Oh yes, Thank you very much. I would like to come, but it is rice planting time, and I am very busy on the farm.” Or; “Yes, I would like to come, but I am tied up at the store lately and just can't get away.” (vrs. 5).

In Japan the #1 response to the Gospel is “Mo sukoshi, benkyo ni shimasho” (I need to study a little more). No, you don't need to study a wedding invitation. That is not an intellectual problem. That is a moral problem that simply requires a yes or no answer. This business about needing to study it a little more is simply an excuse that has put millions in hell.

I once was interested in marrying a Christian sister. She was a very fine gal and we discussed marriage seriously. It looked like it might go through, but the bottom line was when she came to me one day and honestly said, “I would like to marry you, but I have a lot of plans for my life. And if I married you, that would be the end of all my plans.” That is true, and may be one of the most major reasons for folks not getting saved. “Yes, I would like to attend the Wedding of God's Son, but I have a lot of plans for my life, and if Jesus came in, that would mess everything up.”

But then the next two responses get a little more serious. Open hostility. The first level is that the messengers get treated spitefully. It is a very strange phenomenon, but anyone who walks with the Lord very far, and shares Christ with others, will encounter open hostility. Many years ago we were having a street meeting in the bar district at Yokota. The response that night was unusually ugly, and we were taking a lot of guff. Bob Black had only been saved about a month, but he got up on the wall to preach. At the top of his lungs, he shouted out quoting John 3:16.“For God so loved the world...” Then he stood there glaring at the hostile crowd and demanded, “What is wrong with that?” That was the question. What is wrong with that? Nothing. But men hate light, and the response to God's gracious invitation to attend the Wedding of His Son will produce anger. I knew an old Japanese pastor who had been saved around the turn of the last century on the west coast of Japan. He said he used to preach standing behind a tatami mat to protect himself from flying stones, eggs and tomatoes.

The 5^th and the worst level of evangelism is murder. I personally know three pastors in Laos who have been killed for preaching the Gospel. And church history is a bloody trail of martyrs for the past 2,000 years sharing the love of God. The only possible explanation for this is that the devil hates the Lord Jesus, and the Gospel that was his undoing. He expresses his hatred through the hearts of unregenerate humanity that' are under his control.

When Jesus came to this 5^thresponse to the invitation He inserted, “The king was wroth and sent forth His armies to destroy those murders and burn their city.”(vrs. 7).

If anyone thinks it is safe to snub their nose against God's grace, they have only to look at history. That is exactly what God did to Israel. God sent His Son to His people. The response was that they murdered Him. Forty years later God sent the Roman army and completely burned Jerusalem. They killed tens of thousand of Jews, and Israel was scattered all over the world for the next 1900 years

Then God did another amazing thing in that He opened up the invitation to the Wedding of His Son to“whosoever will”. Everyone is invited today.Unbelievable!!!

The 6^th response to the Gospel is a good one. “Say, that is a good message. I like that. Will I go to the wedding of God's Son? Of course, I would be delighted to attend.” There is only one problem with this invitation; a wedding garment is required. This is passed out free, but it is required that all who attend must be clothed in this garment. The garment, very clearly, is the Lord Jesus Christ. Rom. 13:14 admonishes us to “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh.” For those who are Christ, they know what this is. They know what it is to be clothed in Christ. This is nothing more than Jesus living in me.

The fellow without the wedding garment is simply that man who is positive towards Christianity. He calls himself a Christian. He supports the Christian cause and attends church. But he flat isn't saved. I know several. My very dear friend Wirt Edmans is one. Wirt's parents were Pentecostal evangelists. He went to Bible school, married a Christian woman, and has attended church all his life. He is 100% on the side of the Gospel, and has done a great deal for the Lord. But I have always been greatly perplexed in talking with Wirt about spiritual matters, that there simply is no one home. There is zero echo in his soul. I have never seen the first indication that Wirt knows the Lord. I love him dearly. He is a very outstanding man. He is a very honest and fairly moral man. But there is no evidence of Christ living in him.

Tragically there are millions like him. We see them every Sunday in church. They give money to missions and vote Republican. But when you say, “What has the Lord been saying to you lately?”; you get a blank look on their face. Theirs is the dusty unread Bible on the shelf. Prayer is an unknown language to them. Because they call themselves Christian, and try to live a reasonably decent life, they think that should qualify them to at least gain admission in heaven. But the bottom line for the man without the wedding garment is that he was bound hand and foot and cast into outer darkness (vrs. 13).

Obviously the 7^th response to the invitation is the ones who will be seated at the Table at the Wedding Super of the Lamb. In thinking about this message this past week, I have been utterly overwhelmed at the mystery that I have a place at that Table. This morning, in trying to express to the folks in church the inexpressible honor it is to be invited to attend the Wedding of God's Son, I was reduced to silence and tears. The honor of this – the grace of this – is so astounding that it almost seems insulting to talk about it. It simply is totally beyond human words.

Inasmuch as this is an invitation to attend this royal wedding, I was determined to make it an invitation. I was going to ask for a show of hands how many wanted to accept God's invitation to attend His wedding, but I feared the soulish intrusion of social pressure. Who could say no to a message like that? Instead, I gave an inverted invitation. I asked for a show of hands of everyone who knew that their name was someplace at that Table. Surprisingly about 2/3 of the hands went up. I thought there were more unsaved than that. I had Pastor Gichikun and two other pastors who attend our church stand up. Then I pleaded with the unsaved, “If you want to respond positively to God's gracious invitation, please speak to one of these three men this afternoon”If they are serious enough to say yes to Jesus by stepping forward to speak to one of the pastors, that will make their decision more real. You can move people with soul-force and social pressure, but there is little reality of the Holy Spirit in that decision. I did warn, “If you walk out of that door this morning the same way that you came in, I failed.”

I thought we had an unusually good service. The singing was wonderful. The Lord seemed to attend His Word with gripping power. But I fear my thundering diluted the power of the Holy Spirit. I gave it my best shot, but sat down embarrassed that I had done so poorly in discussing such a profound text.

Looking forward to seeing you the Table,

bill

The End is Near

June 2012

Dear Phyllis,

This past week has been a pretty bland. After the major upheavals we have been through in the past month, this has been a very quiet moment. I really have nothing significant to write about.

Perhaps the most arresting topic is the international scene. Incontestably the most used word in the news media today is economy. That is going to be the central point of the political battle just about to erupt before the November elections. But it is not just the economic conditions in the states that is critical; Europe is about to explode. It is hard to imagine any country caught in a more irresolvable dilemma than Greece. What they have done is to develop an entitlement society that is free-loading off the government. The government has financed that by operating on borrowed money until they simply can't borrow any more. Who in the world is going to loan money to someone who has no possible means of paying back? What do you do when you have a nation living off from a well that has just run dry, and no possible way of getting any more water? In a responsible society, necessity would demand that they come up with some other means of livelihood. Unfortunately, France and other places have demonstrated that it is possible to produce an entitlement society where a significant portion of the populations is void of rational thought. They demand by mass demonstrations that the government continue to support them, even though the government has no possible means of doing so. Then what? I hope I am wrong, but it seems to me that the ultimate result will be close to anarchy, where mobs of violent young people turn to any means of getting what they want. The black Muslim from Kenya, who is in charge of the candy store in America, has repeatedly declared his intention to redistribute the wealth. At the moment he is trying to accomplish that by political means. But if you get to a situation like Greece, where there simply is no more candy in the store, that redistribution might be done by guns. Hopefully the states is not at that point yet, but the economic and political drift is certainly headed in that direction

I have zero interest in economics, but as one who is very interested in prophecy, the clouds brewing on the horizon look frighteningly ominous. Looking at the total international scene, it is hard not to come up with some speculation that the world is in a major shift. There is little question but what the sun has set on Europe. England is rapidly becoming a third world nation. And it is undeniable that the sun is very low in the horizon on America.

I have been astounded by what I have seen in my travel in China, The infrastructure in that country is mind-boggling. Their transportation system system is staggering. Chinese engineers have got to be some of the best in the world. Mountains and valleys seemingly mean nothing to them. They just go straight. Traveling through Gansu, which is very mountainous, it seemed that the train is going through tunnels 50% of the time. And if it wasn't a tunnel, it was going across a tremendous bridge. In order to neutralize Tibet, the Chinese government realized that they must have a strong transportation link to Lhasa. The early attempts to build a rail line there proved challenging. In the Himalayas they hit permafrost. It has been reported that they asked Swiss engineers to come help them build that railway. The bottom line was that the Swiss engineers concluded that the task was impossible and went home. Undeterred, the Chinese put freon in pipes in the tunnels to keep the ground frozen and finished the railway. Perhaps the thing that impressed me the most about China was their infrastructure. I don't know of anyplace in the world that can match it. Their cities look very much like Japan. This is a country that is surging forward at an unprecedented velocity. It is hard for me to imagine that China will not overtake America very soon and be the woulds next sole super power.

It is undeniable that the progression of civilization and world dominant kingdoms has moved steadily westward from the Middle East, across Europe, to England and then to America. But the center of world power has crossed the Pacific to Asia today.

It will be interesting to see what will happen in November. Hopefully it looks like the guys in the black hats might get run off. But I doubt that anything can stop the judgment of God coming on America and the dark future she faces.

In the Old Testament, God's four rods of judgmental were the Sword, Famine. Pestilence, andBeasts (Ezek. 14:21). this is not just one reference but repeatedly this was God's rod of judgment. In the book of Revelation I see the same thing in the four horses in Rev. 6 – the White horse, the Red horse, the Black horse, and the Pale horse. The White horse is obviously bloodless conquest, which I believe is basically political control. In recent years, the past century, the world has seen Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot come to power, and be responsible for the death of tens of millions of their countrymen. These men were beasts. They say this could not happen in America, but we are moving rapidly in that direction. I see nothing to stop it. The black man from Kenya has reconfigured the America government more in three years than all the presidents before him in 200 years. Neither the executive branch, the legislative branch, nor the judicial branch have shown much regard for the constitution. And there are extremely strong forces pushing forward their destructive agendas today. The anti-Christ is known as the beast and today's politicians are simply minor predecessors (Rev. 17:; 19:20; 20:10). The evil men in government today are certainly beasts sent from God for America's judgment. The Red horse is clearly war. The Black horse is clearly economical disaster, and the Pale horse is pestilence (AIDS. etc).

When God gave His end-time prophecy to Daniel, He told him to seal it up for the time was in the distant future (Dan. 12:9). But when God showed John the things that must come to pass, He told him not to seal it, for the time was at hand (Rev. 22:10). If God said the time was at hand, I rather suspect that it was (is). Certainly much of Revelation has not been fulfilled. But the Lord has been working for 2,000 years, and we are at the very threshold of seeing the rest of the wrath of God poured out very soon.

But with that I also see a tremendous acceleration in world evangelism. I see the progress of the Gospel has gone hand in glove with the dominant world powers. There is no doubt in my mind that what we have seen – and are presently seeing– in the unprecedented

revival in China, is God raising up a church that is capable of taking the Gospel westward, to the Islamic nations and cleaning out the 10-40 window – back to Jerusalem. The Chinese believers are some of the toughest missionaries and evangelists that the world has ever seen.

For sometime I have been much challenged by Ezek. 40-48. There is great emphasis in the scripture given to the dimensions of God's Temples. This is consistent in Exodus, II Chronicles, Ezekiel, and Revelation. As a construction man, I was determinedly to digest the dimensions given in Ezek. 40 and 41. I hadn't been at that long before I realized that was impossible. After spending years trying to decipher these figures I have come to two conclusions. First of all, I see God's Temple is basically spiritual. The best word on that is Eph. 2:20-22, which says that we are a “temple built for a habitation of God through the Spirit”. God's Temple today is a spiritual one of Christ living the hearts of Christians by His Spirit.

The second thing I have come up with is that, basically, one must revert to numerology to understand much of these measurements. By using numerology much of the scripture has become very meaningful to me. Right at the beginning in Ezek. 40:3,5 we see that there was a measuring reed given. The length was six cubits. But everything mentioned in verses 5, 6, 7, and 8 were all the same measurement – ONE REED. The breadth and height of the building, the gate, the stairs, the threshold, the little chambers, the broad chambers, and the porch; they are all ONE REED. Try to draw that on a piece of paper. But we know that 6 is the number of man (Rev. 13:18, Man was created on thew 6^th day). We might suggest that Jesus is the measuring stick of everything. And because it is 6 cubits that means it is the humanity of Christ that is the measure of everything in His Temple. That is why everything is the same – ONE REED.

Another key that has helped me understand a great deal of scripture is by attaching the verb (or noun) that goes with the noun. That is: feet – walk, hands –help, legs – stand. eyes – see, ears – hear, mouth – speak, arm – strength, etc. In Ezekiel's Temple there are only a few things that are mentioned – wall, gate, stairs, pillars, arches, windows, chambers. The wall obviously speaks of separation. It is significant that this is the first thing that is mentioned in Ezek. 40:5 and Rev. 21:12. There must be separation between God's holy Temple and the world. There must be wall. And there must be a gate. That is, the way to get in. In John 10:7, 9 “Jesus said. I am the door: by Me, if any man shall enter in, he shall be saved.” Jesus clearly is the gate. Ezekiel speaks much about the posts (pillars). In Rev. 3:12 Jesus promised the over comers in Philadelphia that He would make them pillars (posts) in His temple. Obviously the posts (pillars) in God temple are the men of God that hold up the structure. We frequently say a man is a pillar of strength or a pillar in the church.

It is significant that God speaks to the evil kings (rulers) in Ezek. 43:8 saying that “they had placed their threshold by My thresholds and their posts beside My posts; and had made a wall between Me and them (God and people).” The threshold is the requirement for getting in. God's threshold – requirement for admission –is by repentance and faith in Jesus. But in many major Christian denominations today – man's threshold – church membership is held up as the requirement for admission. God's posts are His men of God; and man's post are the big men in religious organizations. These posts are not the same. Man's threshold and posts are not always the same as God's, and that has placed a wall between God and people.

But what does all of this have to do with the political and economic condition in the world today? If I read the Bible correctly it is hard to believe that we are not on the brink of the final moments of this dispensation. I believe God is setting the stage for the end time political configuration and world powers that will soon be headed by the anti-Christ. If things in Europe, and soon in America, continue in the present direction, it is hard not to imagine violent protests demanding more handouts from governments that simply have no more funds to pass out. If we get to that stage, the only possible solution will be a political superman who will step forward to pull the western nations out of chaos. That will have to be the man of sin (2Thes. 2:3-9).

But in the mean time God is building His Temple. The Word has never been more fresh and understandable to me than it is now. By reading the Word by the Spirit, the Lord is explaining things to me that didn't make sense before. Numerology has become very enlightening and cast light on obscure passages. And by attaching the verb – or noun – that goes with many biblical objects, these truths are becoming more clear. I have learned to dismiss my own logic and simply accept the Bible for what it says rather than insisting it fit in the box of my own understanding. These things have been very helpful in assimilating spiritual truth.

Truly these are exciting days. Let's gambarimasho for Jesus (give it our best shot).

bill