More on Violent People

29 May 2016

Dear Phyllis,

I was very surprised that the response for last weeks letter was overwhelmingly negative. Admittedly to say that “God loves violent people” is a bit of an extreme statement. But I couldn't imagine how anyone could misconstrue that remark. Paul was over the other day and we had a reasonably warm exchange about that subject. Paul said, “Hitler was a violent man. “Do you mean God loved him?” To come up with such an absurd interpretation exceeded my ability to imagine. But I was wrong. Many people completely misread my theses. In spit of. a cautionary note I add – “and I am not talking about red necks with shot guns”. But that didn't do it.

In spite of our hot exchange Paul and I are on the same page. He knows exactly what I am talking about and agrees with me. But he added, “violent is an extremely negative word. You should have used a different word”. Okay, I'll buy that. Tell me the right word to use. Righteous. That word is so far off the mark it isn't in the ball park Zealous. Closer but still a long ways off. You tell me. I don't l know. I can't come up with one different word that expresses what I am trying to say. The illustration that I used was Phinehas spearing the couple through the stomach pinning them to the ground. That certain;y was a very impolite act. If you don't call it violent what word are you going to use? The significant thing was, God was so pleased by what he did that He made a unique covenant with him, and we see 1000 years later God still blessing the descendants of Phinehas, and Jeremiah and Ezra are illustrations.

To me the bewildering thing is where was Moses, Aaron, and Eleazar? When that man of Simeon did such a defiant blatant thing of having sex in public, it is hard to imagine Moses or the other two not stepping forward and taking extreme measure. But when they stood by and didn't move something inside Phinehas blew and he violated all the protocol by going past his elders and taking matters into his own hands. And God blessed him an a way that is seen no where else in the Bible.

I tried to write a defense of my thesis but it was in such a cynical spirit a gave up on it. I will drop he subject and say no more.

This past week has been a weird one. I have been battling death all week. That is an extreme statement and not accurate. Rather than battling death I have been courting death. I feel the devil is trying to kill me through lethargy. I have never been so lethargic in my life.

Seven years ago I was riding a Chinese train from Urumqi to Xian. The only ticket I could get was third class seat sitting straight up for 34 hours where I couldn't lean back and rest. I got on the train at midnight and sat up right for two nights straight and an honest day and a half. The battle was fatigue. For 34 hours my body craved to just lye down flat, but I couldn't. Last week was exactly like that trip from Urumqi except, unlike the train, I could lay down. And I did – all week. There was just something in me that demanded I lay down flat in bed all day everyday. Physically I am not sick. I am just dead. I have no apatite and have eaten very little food. Sleeping all day is not good for a good nights rest at night. And there has been a battle of lying there for hours awake at night. From lack of exercise my body is starting to shut down. My legs are terribly weak. It is a challenge to walk up stairs.

For years I have boasted that I had endless energy never had a problem working 12-14 hour days. I have been on bone crushing trips to Laos, Cambodia, and other places where young folks have flamed out. But now my tank is bone dry. I have absolutely no genki (energy) whatsoever.

I don't know what the problem is but Jesus has promised to quicken my mortal body (Rom. 8:11). That is exactly the problem. I need to have Him quicken (make alive) my body. If He doesn't, (what an awful thing to say) I don't know what will happen

Hopefully I will see you next week, bill

Righteous Anger

22 May 2016

Dear Phyllis,

God loves violent people. I know that needs to be explained, but the evidence that it is true is overwhelming. I'm not talking about red necks with shot guns. My friend Paul, is the most violent man I have ever met. He is the product of being raised in gang warfare in New York and is as tough a man as they come. His stories of violence are endless, and personally, I find them very refreshing. He told of one time a school bully harassed his daughter. The next day he went to school and beat that kid senseless. That was the end of that problem. He had a very close friend that he had known since school days. The man came to see Paul some time after Paul was saved. Of course, he wanted Paul to go with him for their usual lark of sin. Paul explained to him that he is living for Jesus now and doesn't do that any more. The man continued use be very profane. Paul told him in measured terms, “You better get out of here before I kill you.” The man wisely left. But Paul has more of the Holy Spirit than any man I know at the moment. Every day he tells the most amazing stories of miracles, ranging from miraculous healing, finances, bad kids lives being transformed and prayer meetings like I haven't heard of in years. I see only one explanation – he has the spirit of Phinehas.

Phinehas is one of my heroes. At a critical time in Jewish history; Balaam had taught Balac that Israel was impervious to spiritual enchantment but if he could get them gunked up with idolatry and sexual immorality they would be dead meat (Num. 23:23; Rev. 2:14). The scheme was highly successful and the wrath of God came down on Israel (Num. 25). It was a time of national confusion. Israel was having a big idolatrous party with Midian and at a critical moment the son of the top man of Simeon took the daughter of the head man of Median and had sex with her in public as an open act of defiance. Bewilderingly Moses did nothing, Aaron did nothing. Eleazar stood there in silence. Then something came unglued inside the grandson of Aaron. Phinehas grabbed a spear and pinned the couple to the ground, spearing them right through the stomach. That act brought one of the rarest acts of God in the OT. God said, “Because Phinehas has turned away my wrath from Israel I will make a covenant of an everlasting priesthood with him and his seed (Num. 25:11-13). Later when Moses sent the men of war to war against Midian he sent “Phinehas the priest, to the war with the holy instrument and the trumpets to blow in his hand” (Num. 31:6). He needed a warrior priest and he had one in Phinehas.

Not surprisingly, we see his name mentioned six times in Joshuah in the conquest of the land, and, encouragingly, we see him mentioned again in 1 Chron. 9:20 where we read, “And Phinehas was the ruler over them, and the Lord was with him”. Very good testimony.

But the astounding thing was 400 years later we read about a relatively unknown priest who was perhaps the main instrument in the great Josian revival. It was Hilkiah who found the Book of the Law in the temple. Hilkiah was the high priest at the time of Josiah and his name is mentioned 29 times in 2 Kn. 22 and 2 Ch. 34. He certainly was very instrumental in that historic revival under Josiah, and he is best remembered as the man who found the Book of the Law.

But very few people know his greatest contribution. Hilkiah had a son who was very devoted to the Lord from an early age. For that matter Hilkiah's son went on to be one of Israels greatest prophets – Jeremiah (Jer. 1:1). There is little doubt but what Jeremiah was the son of Hilkiah.

But there is one more astounding fact; another 100 years later there was another mighty man of God who led Israel back to the land from Babylon – Ezra. We all know about Jeremiah and Ezra. Very few have noticed that they were sons of Hilkiah. But the truly shocking things is that if we trace their linage all the way back we see that all these men were sons of Phinehas (Ez. 7:1-5).

There you have it. In the days of Moses when Israel hit a new low and even Moses, Aaron, and Eleazar didn't move there was one young man who came uncorked when he saw the vile act of defiance, picked up a spear and pinned the offending couple to the ground. Because of that act God made an everlasting covenant with him and we see hundreds of years later his descendants were Hilkiah, Jeremiah, and Ezra.

How does that apply today? We are watching a scene of national and international depravity never before seen on such a high level. In the face of this hundreds of pastors and theologians tell us that God loves everyone and we shouldn't be critical of others. Or some bold pastors tell us on the basis of the original Hebrew and Greek text we see that God frowns on immorality. But where are the men like Jim Dobson, wo says he will go to prison before he is silent about murder of infants and immoral depravity. And where are the men like CT Studd, William Booth? Those two men were as violent as they come, but Studd left a mark on

Africa and Booth saved London. We need men like Hudson Taylor, William Carey, Adoniram Judson, etc.; who couldn't stay home. Whose spirit stirred them up to the point of violence to give up all to go win souls for Jesus. This is what we need today. Jesus told us that the Kingdom is won by the violent (Mt. 11:12). That should tell us something. We need men of the spirit of Phinehas who can't stand idly by and do nothing. At any cost they must abandon all to see that the Name of Christ is held high and honored. God loves such men.

Lord Jesus help us to be such.

                                                                                 bill

Gomen for a long letter but there is another story that I must tell.

During the 1^st WW there was an American soldier, Sergeant Alvin C. York. He was a hard drinking, frightened  hillbilly from Tennessee and was noted as one of the finest turkey shooters in Tennessee. But before being inducted in the army he had a dramatic encounter with Jesus and became a dedicated follower of Christ. He was a good soldier but had very strong pacifistic convictions and refused to fight. But during the Battle of Argonne when a number of his buddies were killed something inside him snapped. The old instinct of the turkey shooter came rushing forward. He laid down a hail of deadly fire. He became so violent that he rushed the German position. The Germans were terrified. He single handedly took out 32 German machine guns, killed 20 Germans, and took another 132 German soldiers prisoners. Then the killing stopped. He said he did it to save lives. In all probability he saved hundreds of lives. Thank God for such godly violent men.

Earthen Vessels

8 May 2016

Dear Phyllis,

Perhaps there is no more profound explanation of the Gospel than Paul's simple statement. “We have this treasure in earthen vessels” (2 Cor. 4:7). Jesus said a similar truth when He told us “The Kingdom of God is like unto a treasure hid in a field” (Mt. 13:44). In both cases you have something very ordinary as the container for something of inestimable value. Paul was right when he said this is a mystery and then he explained what the mystery was – “Christ in you” (Col. 1:27). Man howdy, I'll say that is a mystery! That is enough to blow the mind of any angel.

But even that is not to be compared to the prototypes of all mysteries that the Person living inside the body of that carpenter with a hammer and chisel in His hand was the creator of all the universe. How do you take that in? The God of all creation who spoke creation into being was actually living in a human body with all its limitations. The body Jesus was living in was 100% ordinary. It was formed in a female womb just like any other human being. It came out the same way. It cried and nursed and had phooey diapers just like any other baby. He grew up just like any other kid and learned to obey His parents. And yet Christ was inside that earthly vessel. Historically and theologically we can take hold of that without too much intellectual gymnastics, but for those who had to deal with that Prophet during His life time, it was a mystery of staggering proportion.

True, we certainly aren't Christ, but it is nevertheless not untrue that Jesus does live in the hearts of all who are born-again of His Spirit. What a mystery! What a paradox!

One truth that should stand out to us is that it doesn't matter what kind of a vessel it is if it contains such a treasure. The earthen water pots that Jesus used in Cana to make the best wine were very ordinary earthen vessels. There must have been hundreds of them in that town, but only six contained the finest wine. And whatever glass or goblets the servants used to pour the wine in didn't make any difference; it was still the same wine. If they poured it in a tin can it would still be the same wine. Hang the vessel, it's the wine that counts.

With a treasure hid in a field treasure; we can buy the field, claim the treasure, and sell the land. With the wine, if it was a paper cup, you could drink the wine and throw the paper cup in the trash. But with Jesus living in a human body it is different. Rather than being two distinct spirits; with Christ in the heart, we are one. Paul also tells us, “He that is joined to the Lord is ONE SPIRIT” (1 Cor. 6:17). We don't have two spirits but ONE. Rosemary once asked me my definition of marriage. I was in the kitchen at the time making a cup of coffee. I said, “A minute ago I had two separate elements, hot water and powered coffee. I put the coffee in the hot water and now I have one new substance – coffee”. That is how two become one. And that is exactly what happens at the new-birth. You have two spirits and they become ONE. That is the treasure in an earthen vessel. I don't have two spirits living inside me – Jesus and me. I only have one heart. But my heart is in US.

I know this doesn't make sense. That's the point. I have said before, and I say again with capital letters, if you can't accept, that in the realm of the spirit, contradictions co-exist you cannot understand spiritual truth. I am greatly intrigued by quantum physics. When physicists delved into the world of sub-atomic particles they discovered a world where the laws were in violation to the accepted laws of classical physics. Many of the laws of quantum physics defy classical laws. One simple truth is that they have empirically proven, that in the quantum world, one particle can be in two different places at the same time. That doesn't work in classical world. You can't have one baseball in two different places at the same time. You can't have a car parked in the garage and the same car parked on the street at the same time. Either the car is in the garage or on the street but not in two different places at the same time. But in reality that is what is happening in the quantum world.

As never before I strongly believe the Bible is a spiritual book. If you read it with the natural mind it doesn't make sense. If you allow the Holy Spirit to explain things to you and read it with the eyes of the Spirit it begins to glow. Oh my goodness, the Bible is wonderful! But there are a number of out and out contradictions in the Bible that are impossible to explain. The simplest one is the very nature of the Trinity THREE cannot be ONE. It is one or the other. Either there is one or there are three. Both can't be true. This is such a fundamental doctrine conservative Christians simply dismiss it and accept that the THREE are ONE. But some denominations struggle with that and try to accommodate it with the natural mind and come up with some wacko doctrines. How can you explain that the very Name of God is Hebrew is plural? Perhaps the biggest dog fight in Christendom is over the impossible contradiction over the sovereignty of God and the free will of man. Christians have squared off in mortal combat over Calvinism for millenniums. And yet any honest observer must acknowledge that both arguments are equally present in scripture. In order to defend one position or the other the theologian must selectively argue, “ The Bible says 'xxxxx' , and 'xxxxx' cannot mean that because over here it says this”. Swallow it, brother! That is the only argument you can come up with. Who gave you authority to selectively throw out black and white scripture?

In Joshua 11:15,23 the Bible says, “Joshua took ALL that land”. In Joshua 21:43,44 we read, “The Lord gave unto Israel ALL the land... and they possessed it and dwelt there in. … “there stood not a man of ALL their enemies before them; the Lord delivered ALL their enemies into their hand”. Then in Joshua 13:1;18:3 Joshua laments, “There remaineth very much land to be possessed.” And, “Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities” (Jos. 17:12): “Judah, could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley because they had chariots of iron” (Jud. 1:19). Which is it? Did they possess all the land and not a man stood before them; or there was a lot of land they didn't take, and they ran up against things they couldn't move? You can't have it both ways. But both statements are true.

There is no honest child of God that can read that and not say, “Amen, I understand it” The Lord has given to us a perfect salvation. He has dealt with our old man and nailed him to the Tree (Rom. 6:1-7). Jesus lives in my heart. I am free from sin. And yet there is no man who can honestly say that sin is not a problem. Our salvation is exactly the way it is described in Joshua and Judges. We must accept that both are true.

The reason I write this letter is because the Lord spoke to me last week about the treasure being in earthen vessels. There is no question that the treasure is there. Oh how can it be? Jesus lives in my heart. Oh praise God it's true! He does! And Jesus lives in my wife's heart. It is amazing. There is so much of Christ in her. There are very few things that occupy her mind beyond winning souls and advancing the Kingdom of God. I don't believe I have ever met a person who is so consistent in having a word for the Lord to everyone she meets. Her Face Book and everything she write is Bible, Bible, Bible. She can wear out your ear drums praying. You can have a hot cup of coffee when she starts to pray, and the coffee will be cold when she finishes. There is no question but what the treasure is there. But the treasure is still in an earthen vessel. All the attributes of human nature are there. Things have been much better between us since I have gotten back, but the earthly side of us is still very present.

I believe one of the reasons I believe the Lord gave me Pammy is for a mirror. When I look at her I see myself. She is tremendously aggressive and always running way ahead of me. By nature it is extremely difficult for her to follow. I suspect that a great deal of our activity is the same. Rather than following Jesus we have a tendency to run well ahead of Him. And then we wonder why the Lord doesn't catch up with us. This is church life. This is what the Lord has to put up with. This is what the Lord has told us about the Seven Golden Candle Sticks in Revelation 2,3. Those churches are very real earthen vessels but Jesus is still standing in the middle of them. And maybe we should too.

Thank you for your prayers,

                                                                 bill

Back to America and Jerusalem

PB letter

Bill Cook

 

 

3:51 AM

 

 

To: Pam Gill

1 May 2016

Dear Phyllis,

The weather cock is swinging wildly. A month ago I was on my way one way for an extended time in the states. Now I am on my way back to Thailand. It is difficult to assess this trip. In one sense it looks like a fools errand and a big waste of money. It had been nearly seven years since the last time I was in the US and I had been looking forward to getting back. This has been anything but fulfilling my desire to see old friends. Virtually, I accomplished next to nothing of what I intended.

My reason for leaving Thailand was because Pammy had given every indication she had pulled out of Chiang Mai and was moving back to her previous home in Lampan. She talked about having a large plot of land, a building, and a small group of believers to minister to there. She talked hopefully that I would go with her and help in the ministry. I thought if this is what she feels the Lord would have her do, God bless her, but the Lord had said nothing to me about Lampan. I might as well return to the states.

Since then several things changed in the scenario. One major factor was the wind changed direction in Lampan. Pammy felt that the Lord was not directing in that direction after all, and came back to Chiang Mai. More than that she took in a 5 year old girl to be our daughter and wrote, “Please come home and help me take care of our daughter.” As I have said many times, I believe fanatically in the permanence of marriage. I took a vow five years ago to be a faithful husband, to love, provide, and protect my wife. That has never changed. If she wants to hang in there I have no option other than to fulfill what I promised to her and God.

But beyond that I was surprised at the reception I had in America, After spending a few days with my niece and her family in LA I was planning on going directly to see John Cathcart in Montana. I actually had a ticket to fly there when John wrote me that he would be out of town until the middle of May. That was the first and largest road block. I really wasn't planning on seeing my dear friend Russ O'Quinn but when they learned that I was in LA (Granada Hills) they said they were making arrangements to take me up to their place in Tehachapi, about two hours north. With no other place to go I gratefully accepted their invitation and spent two weeks with them. They are a wonderful couple and very hospitable. They offered to let me stay as long as I wanted. But living indefinitely in someone else's house doing nothing is not a good expense for a servant of God. With Montana out I was frozen for any further travel in America. Had that been open I certainly would have been on the road. That left little option but to return back to Granada Hills. But there were a few basic reasons for getting back there.

One was an auto harp. I have played an auto harp for 50 years and it had been a major part of my life. But my auto harp had gone south several years ago as the felts were worn out and the key bars stuck. I hoped to get my auto harp fixed in the states and the Lord worked it out to give me a beautiful new one. This is one major reason for coming back to the states.

But the most significant one is a major burden I have had for many years to see about a Chinese/Arabic New Testament for the Back to Jerusalem workers. When I first went to Japan in 1958 an English/Japanese NT was the most basic tool missionaries had. Everybody had one and with that a missionary could win souls the day they got off the plane. Just look up the verse in English you wanted to show to a seeker, point to the Japanese, and say “Yonde kudasai' (read this). I have felt for years that something like that would be tremendously helpful for Chinese workers in Islamic countries. I had asked around is various places and found no evidence that this bilingual NT had ever been done.

After getting in Granada Hills I was able to contact Peter Xu's office. Peter Xu had been the leader of the largest house church group in China, and is the #1 man in the Back to Jerusalem movement. He was mentioned prominently in Paul Hattaway's classic book the Heavenly Man; the story of Brother Yun. It had a great desire for many years to meet Peter Xu. I learned that he was out of China and living in LA. When I contacted his office, his son, Ryan Xu, answered my email saying his dad was in Colorado Springs. For a week while I was in Tahachapi I tried unsuccessfully to get in touch with Brother Xu. Finally I decided, “Hang it, maybe it would be better to talk with Ryan. Shortly after getting back to Granada Hills I was able to get in contact with Ryan and spent an epic two hours with him last Wednesday.

That might have been the most significant moment of my life. My time with Ryan was totally beyond anything that I had prayed for or expected.. We had a fabulous time together. Seldom have I met an man with whom I was more one heart. He was very excited about my suggestion to print a bilingual Chinese/Arabic New Testament. For the life of me I can't imagine why someone hasn't done it before now. Ryan said they had a man in Egypt who could do the lay out. This is perhaps the biggest problem. Peter Xu is easily the top man in the Back to Jerusalem movement. To be able to get in with them is the most privileged position I have ever had in my life.

As it turned out it was much better talking with Ryan than with his dad. Peter Xu is very limited in his English and any discussion would have to be through an interpreter. Ryan's English is superb. In talking with him I felt I had a relationship with a close friend. And he is the man who runs the nuts and bolts of the BTJ movement. His dad does the speaking but Ryan handles the details. When we parted Ryan said he wanted to help me with some money and asked how he could do it. Going through my niece Pam was the easiest. The next day I was utterly dissolved when Pam handed me a check from Ryan for $777.77. When I saw that check I let out horrendous groan and burst into tears. There is no way I can describe what that check did to me. Had he given me $50 I would have been very humbled and grateful. But $777 was something totally beyond anything reasonable. Not only was the amount staggering but that he choose to write 777.77...! Seven is of course the number of perfection. It is perhaps the most significant number in the Bible, and to receive a check made out to $777.77 carries a message that goes beyond words in any known language. My first response was to send it back. But that is like rejecting the grace of God. This is one of the most humbling experiences of my life.

I am glad that the Lord has promised to change us. If that is not true, I will have to ask the Lord to be excused from going to heaven. There is no way I could go to heaven as I am right now. Just receiving this check from Ryan Xu has humbled me so deeply I can hardly say on my feet. Fortunately, we see through a glass darkly and then only faint glimpses of Jesus. But at this level, what I see of Jesus is almost more than I can handle. There is no way I could see Jesus as He is and stay alive. It is not surprising that we see angels worship God with veiled faces. Small wonder. No angle could look at the Father full faced. And for a sinful man to look upon the Lamb of God who shed His Blood for us – how in the world could such a thing be possible?!!! The realization of what Jesus has done for us is almost more than I can handle now. And to look upon the Lord...? Oh my goodness, these spiritual realities are more than overwhelming.

My experience here is just a small taste of heaven. What the Lord has accomplished in these past few days more than justifies traveling across the Pacific. I know of no other way the Lord could have done this if I hadn't come. America looks even more like a strange country to me and I am anxious to get back home in a few days and see Singha and my favorite little friends, the kindergarten children. And it will be good to be back with my wife and new little daughter.

Thank You Jesus,

                               bill