Others

20 November 2016

Dear Phyllis,

This morning I enjoyed the best Sunday service I have attended this year. I spoke. But in very reality Jesus was there to speak to us. At least He certainly spoke to me. It was a little gathering in our house and we had an overflow crowd of four people (five including me - six with Jesus).

The Lord laid on my heart to speak on life. I asked them to define life. You can't. You can't define life, but you know where it is. Physically Adam was a complete person before God breathed into him the breath of life. The difference between that body lying on the ground and the one walking around was there was life in the latter.

Several years ago a lady in Japan, with an unsaved husband, was saved. There were three churches in her town and she asked me – for her husband's sake - what church she should go to. I told her, “Go to the one where there is life”. What is life? There are some churches where you get up in the morning feeling fine. You look forward to going to church, but when 12:00 o'clock comes you go home drained. In other churches, you get up in the morning with a headache, and you really don't want to go to church; but at 12:00 you feel so refreshed you don't want to go home. In the states I used to say the thermometer of a church is measured by the parking lot. If at a quarter to 1:00 there are still three or four cars in the parking lot with people standing there fellow-shipping, you know there is a lot of life in that church. But at other churches, by 12:15 the parking lot is empty, and the church door is locked; you know it is pretty chilly inside.

After the Fall Able and Cain gave their two offerings to the Lord. We all know that story. God accepted one and rejected the other. We know the difference was the blood. And we all know that the life is in the blood. Leviticus 17: 11 and 14 brings this out very clearly where it say three times, “the life is in the blood”. That is why the Bible says “without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin” (Heb. 9:22). The problem with sin is that it brings death (Rom. 6:23); and that death cannot be undone by anything until there is life poured out to cancel that death.

More than just paying for our sin, Jesus came to give us life. Jesus said, “I am come that ye might have life...” (Jn. 10:10). This is what happens at the new birth. When I got saved, I didn't know why at the time, but suddenly I enjoyed reading the Bible. I enjoyed prayer. I had a craving for Christian fellowship. Previously I thought that was most boring thing in the world. But suddenly there was something inside me that wasn't there before. I had life. The Spirit of Christ had come to live in my heart.

One of the key verses on the Holy Spirit is what Jesus cried at the Feast of the Tabernacles - “If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink...” (Jn. 7:37). This is the first requirement for salvation – thirst. If there is no thirst there is no salvation. But for those who will come and drink, they find a life beyond anything they ever imagined.

After we moved to Ikoma I used to occasionally preach at the local Megumi Kyokai (church). One Sunday I was preaching on Zech. 13:1 - “In that day a fountain shall be opened...for sin and uncleanness”. In my introduction I said, “In this world there are many different types of fountains”. There was an unusual lady there that morning where this was the 2^nd time she had ever been in a church. As she sat there listening to me preach she said in her heart, “I am thirsty. I would like to drink”. Two weeks later Niki was in our home and came to Jesus. She has been a wonderful Christian ever since.

In this scene in John 7 in verse 39 it is added, “This He spake of the Spirit which they that believe on Him should receive”. In Jesus' outcry here, what He is referring to is the prophesy of Isa. 44:3 - “For I will pour water on him that is thirst...I will pour My Spirit on thy seed...” In the Scripture water is frequently used as a type of the Holy Spirit.

But what is the salient characteristic of the Holy Spirit? Jesus explained all of that in John 37:8 - “For OUT of his inner most being shall FLOW rivers of living water”. The evidence of the Holy Spirit in a person's life is the direction of the FLOW.

At this point I took a battle of water, an empty picture, and a glass. I held up the bottle of water and said (symbolically) “This is Jesus”. Then I held up the empty water jar and said, “This is us”. Then I poured the water from the bottle into the jar, and from the jar into the glass. As I did it I asked the folks, “Which way is the flow?” The FLOW from the jar is OUT. There are many people - and you know who they are - where the flow is IN. Everything about them the flow is going in. They are possessive. They are hoggish. They must be dominant. They call attention to themselves. Another word is selfish. Everything is for me. And these people are filled with the Holy Spirit? Impossible. Anyone who is truly filled with the holy Spirit the main characteristic of their life is that the Flow is OUT.

One hundred fifty years ago there was a mighty man of God in England, William Booth. Booth was the founder of the Salvation Army. They are best known today for standing in their uniforms on streets at Christmas time ringing bells to collect money for the poor. Off season the Salvation Army is known as a collection point for old clothes for sale to support charity projects. But in General Booth's day they were a militant army of soldiers for Jesus Christ waging war against sin to win souls for Christ. In the early days, the warriors of the Salvation Army used to carry the flag of Blood and thunder through the streets of London while hecklers would throw the night pail out the window on them. (A night pail is the receptacle used at night for one to relieve themselves in the days before they had inside toilets) These were tough soldiers, fearful of nothing, to win the battle for Jesus. Booth transformed England. It was reported that at his funeral Queen Victoria of England sat beside a prostitute who had been saved through Booth's ministry. As they carried his body out of the church the prostitute placed a flower on his casket with tears streaming down her face.

By the time of his death in 1912 the Salvation Army had become a large international organization in countries all over the world. Shortly before he died the Salvation Army was holding their annual conference with representatives from all over the world gathered in London. The General had grown too old to stand and preach, but they asked him to write out a message for the annual conference. Today they would have him record a message. He wrote out his message and placed it in a sealed envelope. The big moment came. His son Bramwell was leading the meeting and stood before the assembled workers. He opened the sealed envelope and took out the paper on which the message was written. There was one word - O T H E R S. That was the theme of William Booth's life – living for others. This is the Spirit filled life. This is the infallible evidence of the Holy Spirit. It is a life where the flow is outward - “OUT of your innermost being shall flow rivers of living water”. This is life. This is why Jesus came – to correct the flow of life in us.

This is the reason God accepted Abel's sacrifice and didn't accept Cain's. From Abel's sacrifice the blood with the life flowed out. And if our sacrifice is to be accepted of God it must be that the flow of our life is outward.

If no one else got anything out of the message today, I certainly did. Things I couldn't think of kept coming to my heart. Seldom has the Word been more real and living in me. But the main point is not the flow of words, but may the flow of my life be somewhat in the same direction that it was in William Booth.

Lord Jesus, please make it real.

                                              bill

Election Lessons

13 November 2016

Dear Phyllis,

It was much on my heart to write to you about a totally different subject, but after the events on Tuesday, to comment on anything other than the election would be like preaching on the resurrection on Christmas. You Tube was filled with kooks prophesying that Trump would win the election, but I was so dubious that it was with reluctance that I turned on my computer to look at Fox News to see what was the result of the election. It was 11:00 o'clock Wednesday morning in Thailand but about midnight Tuesday evening in the states. The returns were over half in when I turned on my computer, and I was surprised to see there was considerable optimism in the Trump camp and a somber spirit had settled over the victory celebration across town. When Trump hit 250 of the needed 270 nearly everyone conceded it was all over. Gloom had prevailed in the H. camp where hours before they were ready to start dancing in the streets. Finally Hillary's campaign manager, John Podesta, came to the rostrum and told the grief stricken crowd that it had been a long night and go home. Forty minutes later Hillary called Trump to concede.

The Bible warns us not to gloat over our enemies or rejoice when our enemy falls (Prov. 24:17), but in the Psalms there is a tremendous amount about the Psalmist pleading with God to avenge him of his enemies. One answer to this is what the scripture teaches us that we are not to avenge ourselves as vengeance belongeth to the Lord (Rom. 12:19; Heb. 10:30). If we are honest there is a great deal in scripture concerning vengeance, and we even see the souls under the altar in heaven impatiently pleading, “How long...dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on earth?” (Rev. 6:10). If even those holy souls have grounds to be impatient and plead for vengeance, can we not also desire the judgment of God on the wicked? But then there is great joy when the angel tells the persecuted to rejoice because “God has avenged you” (Rev. 18:20). That is a clear answer to the cry of the souls under the altar. While watching the election I was on my knees reading Revelation 17, 18, and 19. Chapter 17 is Babylon. Chapter 18 is the tremendous grief on earth when Babylon falls. And chapter 19 is the tremendous jubilation in heaven for the same event.

In talking with Rudy Giuliani about Trumps plans for reconciliation, Sean Hannity asked, “Does that mean that Trump will not prosecute the Clintons?” Rudy shock his finger and replied “Reconciliation does not mean that criminal action will be excused.” When justice is served there is great cause to rejoice. It is spiritual to rejoice when vengeance is paid by God. I must admit that I derived more perverse pleasure in watching tears pour down the faces of those in the Hillary camp than I did at the jubilation over winning for Trump supporters.

Needless to say I am tremendously grateful to God for what He has done for America, but I do not see this, in anyway, as America's salvation. We have already crossed that line and nothing can stop the ax of judgment from falling on America. The Josian revival in 2 Kng. 22, 23 was the greatest revival in Israeli history, but the Lord warned that it could not prevent the judgment of God on Judah, because of the sins of Manasseh (2 Kng. 23:26; Jer. 15:4). Manasseh had crossed a line with God 30–40 years before then. God had put up with 13 kings of Israel (Judah) for 500 years, but when Manasseh came along he crossed a line from which there was no deliverance. The Word tells us that there had never been a Passover like the one Josiah produced since the days of Samuel (2 Ch. 35:15). After David, for a few years, Josiah was probably the finest king Israel (Judah) ever had; but for all his repenting and unprecedented eradication of idolatry, that could not prevent the judgment of God from coming down on Judah; that ultimately resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem, the temple, and 70 years of the Babylonian captivity

When did America cross the line? Was it when nine black robed judges illegally legislated that prayer and the Word of God would no longer be permitted in America's public schools? Was it when these same liberal judges legalized the slaughter of untold millions of infants? Was it when the Supreme Court legalized the most vile form of sexual perversion? Where was it that America stepped out from under the hand of blessing of God and sealed the judgment of God; from which there will be no salvation? I thought the Reagan years were Josian revival to give America a brief reprieve from the depressing plunge of Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Carter. I thought America had hits is lowest point under Carter, but then, when Reagan came along, for the first time in 20 years I was proud to be an American again. Since then we have hit new lows of unimaginable depravity, and this is clearly the judgment of God on a nation that has been the main source world wide filth.

Now with the election of a man who is intensely despised by the most depraved elements in America, does that mean national salvation? I don't think so. Trump will not be able to check the flood of filth pouring out of the entertainment industry and Internet. Trump will not be able to halt the genocide of millions of unborn young. Trump will not be able to stop the unrelenting assault on every thing in America that is Christian by the ACLU.

As grateful as we are to God for saving us from four years of Jezebel - I can't imagine what the country would be like if she was in charge - but I firmly believe America has crossed the line for national salvation; and a genuine return to her original Christian roots is impossible. But it will be a time of great joy if justice is served after having eight years of criminals being in charge of the US judicial system.

Many are holding their breath that as a final act of depravity Obama might pardon the Clintons enabling them to dodge the bullet one more time and thwart justice. But if he doesn't - and Trump does what he pledged he would do - bells will be ringing on Fox News, and CNN will be shrouded with black wreaths in mourning. It is almost a given that Rudy Giuliani will be the Attorney General. I cannot think of anyone more desirable to head up the FBI than Judge Jeanine Pirro. If six months from now, Giuliani and Pirro are the head the judicial branch of the government; and the Clintons have not been given a free pass from jail, Bill and Hillary would certainly be justified to take money from their trust fund to buy a large quantity of Melatonin, Valium, and stronger prescription drugs to help them sleep. It would certainly would be a major humanitarian crisis for that couple due to sleep deprivation. In the days when prisoners in the US penal system were used for public works projects, one common task was for prisoners was to crack rocks with sledge hammers. I think this would be a wonderful occupation and great therapy for Bill, if he could be assigned to a large pile of rocks with a rubber hammer. He certainly will need a great deal of exercise to help him deal with the problem of being deprived of female companionship.

And for Hillary I pray much that she too will have free government housing. I am sure she would be stunning in orange. I pray much for her that she would be able to get a well fitting orange suit. I'm sure they will not all reside in the same cell but it would be kind of the Lord if she could have access to all her staff in the same prison.

Is this dishonoring to the Lord to pray this way? Maybe, but I don't think so. I have greatly enjoyed the events last week. Oh how wonderful it would be if justice prevails for a few years, and the righteous take center stage. But I don't see this as a lasting salvation. I believe America has a very grim future. Apart from Israel, it is doubtful that there has ever been a nation that was more blessed of God with greater advantages, but plunged lower in turning from God. Judgment is inevitable, but there certainly is a tremendous opportunity for the followers of Jesus to stand up and shine like the stars of the night in a black sky.

Thank you Jesus for a really great week.

                                                               bill.