Sarah Jepson

5 September 2010

Dear Phyllis,

 The other day I was talking with a brother and remarked, “The main point is, we must get people to Jesus.” Surly there is nothing more important than this. I am not interested in making folks Christian. There are a lot of Christians who have never met Jesus. They have become a member of a religion. They have changed their religious philosophy. If they study the Bible enough, they might have proper doctrine; but have they had a real encounter with Christ? I fear there are a number of Christians with correct doctrine who do not have a genuine relationship with the Lord.

My goodness, Jesus Himself told us that in the final day there would be MANY who will say unto Him, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy Name? and in Thy Name cast out demons, and in thy Name done many wonderful works?” And He will reply, “I never knew you. Depart from Me ye that work iniquity.” (Mt. 7:22,23). Spiritual power and miracles are no indication that a person is saved. Here in SEA we have an abundance of spiritual power and miracles that is openly demonic. You have the same thing in America – only it is done in the Name of the Lord. I have no problem with spiritual gifts or anything taught in scripture. But I believe that the devil duplicates all spiritual gifts. The exercise of spiritual gifts is no proof of the Holy Spirit. I have seen the devil speaking tongues and prophesy.

In any country where Christianity has gone, you will find Christian advocates of odorous doctrine. We have one of the major universities of Thailand here in Chiang Mai – Payap University. Payap was founded by missionaries many years ago to be a strong Christian school. But like so many other universities – Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Oberlin, etc., which were founded by men of God, they have lost their moorings and become citadels of satan. While Payap University is nationally known as a Christian school, I consider it one of the most evil places in Chiang Mai. The bars and brothels of Chiang Mai are not as evil as Payap. No one has ever lost their faith in a bar or brothel, but many earnest young Christian have gone to Payap University for an education and come away four years later as scoffers. They have been taught that the Bible is not true, and Jesus was just the founder of another religion. One of the top professors at Payap, John Budd, teaches that Jesus and Buddha are equal. The Bible is crystal clear that there are such things as false prophets, but very pastors and evangelists are willing to point them out. What has happened is, that men have come along with the proper academic credentials to fill positions of leadership, but have steered these institutions into the devils camp. This is by far the rule rather than the exception.

 But leaving all that aside, the question is, are people truly coming to Jesus? Are they solidly tied to Christ? Many years ago I had a little pamphlet that I used for a Gospel tract that was taken from a chapter of Watchman Nee’s book, Twelve Baskets Full. In it, Watchman Nee told about a time he was talking to a young girl who loved sin. He tried to share the Gospel with her, but she refused saying she loved the world, she loved sin, and had no desire to change. After she had raved on for half an hour about the pleasures of sin, Watchman Nee concluded by suggesting, “Let’s pray.” She was startled. “Who? Me? Pray? Who should I pray to?”

“Just talk to Jesus.”

“What should I say?”

“Just tell Him what you have just told me. He is a friend of sinners.”

Watchman Nee said, “Pray she did; a very unorthodox prayer indeed.” But then after she had told the Lord all about how she loved sin and had no desire for salvation, she burst out, “But please, Lord Jesus, give me that which I don’t want.” And she was saved. In her prayer she met Jesus.

I shared this story with a good friend. Some time later, Sam told me of an incident when he was talking to a Japanese man who was a strong atheist. After a long theological argument Sam suggested they pray. The man was genuinely surprised and asked, “How do you talk to God?” Sam asked, “If there was a God, and you had a chanced to speak to Him; is there anything you would like to ask Him?”

“Well, yes. If there was a God there are several things I would like to ask Him. But how do you talk to God?”

“You just talk to Him liked you talk to me. Let’s practice.”

The man proceeds to verbalize several things that were on his heart. Sam replied, “That’s good. Let’s try that again.”

The man repeated the things he had just said. Then, suddenly, he stopped and bust out, “It’s real! It’s real! There is a God!” Sam was startled. “How do you know God is real?”

“I’m talking to Him!” He had an encounter with Jesus.

Perhaps I told you this story before but it is so good I love to repeat it. Several years ago I had the privilege of hearing Sarah Jepson up in PBI, in Three Hills, Canada. She told the amazing story of a friend of hers who had been a missionary in Africa for many years. Then she got retired and sent back to the states. She had a passion for reaching Jews, and went to New York City. She got out the yellow pages of the NYC telephone book and made a list of all the Jewish heart specialists in New York. She would make an appointment to see the doctor. When she sat down, the doctor would say to her, “What is the problem with your heart, maam” She would reply, “Doctor, I didn’t come to talk about my heart but about yours.” At that, he would explode and roar, “You stupid woman! Get out!!!”

“Now doctor calm down. I have 15 minutes of your time. I will pay for this.” He would sit there with his arms folded, his eyes closed, and smoke coming out his ears for 14 minutes while she shared with him the good news of Jesus. Then she would ask, “Doctor, are you an honest man?”

“Yes, of course I am.”

“Do you keep your word?”

“Yes, of course I do.”

“Doctor, I have a request. Please don’t do it now, but sometime in the near future, when you are alone in a room, I have two prayers I would like you to say. The first one is, ‘God, if You are God, did You have a Son?’ And secondly ask, ‘Was His Name Jesus?’.”

She would leave a name card, pay her $25 (this was 40 years ago), and go to the next one to do it all over again. She said it was amazing the number of Jewish doctors that would call her a few days later saying, “I did what you asked. The answer is ‘Yes’. Now what do I do?”

 These people are having spiritual encounters with the Lord. There is a vast difference between reaching a person intellectually and spiritual encounters. The intellectual might touch their mind, but the spiritual will change their heart.

In my reading of the Holiest of All I have been deeply impressed by the major difference between the Old Covenant and the New. The Old Covenant was fundamentally external, but the OT Tabernacle illustrated spiritual experience that would be enjoyed in the New dispensation. The Tabernacle was composed of three perimeters that depict three levels of Christian experience. In the otter court yard there was the brazen altar where the blood was shed for the forgiveness of sin. This speaks to us of Calvary. In the Tabernacle proper there was the service of the priests. This speaks of those who go on to a higher level of serving God. But the veil was still there separating man from God. The Day of Atonement, when the high priest alone was able to enter into the holy of holies, was a faint prophecy of the day when the veil would be taken away, and man  would have access to the very presence of God. When the flesh of Jesus was torn, the veil was ripped asunder (Mt. 27:50,51: 2Cor. 3:14). But, tragically, very few Christians actually enter in this higher level of fellowship with God.

 Drawing near to God is not a matter of geological movement. Physically you can’t draw nearer. And coming into His presence is not something that can be scheduled for Sunday mornings or Wednesday evenings. Very often in our prayer meetings we say, “Lord, we come into Your presence now…” My foot! That is pure imagination. Drawing near to God is a matter of the heart. It is when our heart becomes like His that we get closer. Having a close friend is not living next door, but when our hearts are one. It is the same way with God. The only way we can draw near to God is by the working of the Holy Spirit, bringing us into conformity, where our heart is truly on the same page with His. But when this happens, we begin to experience the presence of God in a way that totally unknown to the natural man. It is in His presence that we find the fullness of joy (Ps. 16:11). Why is it that so many Christians are joyless? I suspect one major reason is because they know so little of the presence of the Lord.

 Dear Phyllis, this is a subject that simply blows me away. I am stunned beyond words that Jesus has opened a way for us to have access to God that was impossible for Aaron. What kind of a salvation is this!? What kind of a life He is offering us?! I am utterly speechless when I think that by the Holy Spirit I have access to God.

Gomen nasai, this may not make much sense to you, and perhaps sounds a wee bit trite, but there is nothing trite about this to me.  Oh that Jesus would take us more into Himself. Lord grant it – for Jesus sake.  Amen!

                                                     bill