Keep Your Hands Off The Line

15 July 2012

Dear Phyllis,

Several years ago I was with Ron Blough and a bunch of GIs up to Nikko. We stopped at a trout pond to get some fish. The trout were biting like crazy, and several fellows had fish on the end of their lines. I grabbed the line to pull them in. Without exception, I lost every fish. About four or five large trout got away. The lady at the fish pond came over to explain to me what was going wrong. She told me that, as long as the trout is fighting the bamboo pole they can't get away. But as soon as I touched the string, my firm hand was on the other end of that line, and they could easily jerk the hook out of their mouth. I learned a big lesson that day.

In the work of the Lord it is important that we keep our cotton picken hands off the line. When the Holy Spirit is dealing with someone, the issue is between them and God. If we insert ourselves in the equation, it is easy to argue with us, and the work of the Lord slows down. The trick is, how do we serve God and still keep our hands off the line?

I have mentioned my friend Paul several times. He is a rare phenomenon. He is distinctly a work of God such as I have seldom seen. The only reason I know why the Lord is using him so much is because he is the most unlikely, unqualified, person the Lord can find in town. He didn't get saved the traditional way, and he isn't being trained the traditional way. But I see more of the Holy Spirit in that family than I have seen in many years. He gives me credit for much of his success, but I see where I have contributed very little. The other day he said, “The best advice you ever gave me was “Don't get things organized. Don't start an organization. Just keep following Jesus.” He said, had it not been for that advice, he probably would have started an organization. But as it is, he is influencing hundreds of people all over the world by Internet. He says he has more people writing him from Africa than from Thailand. He is reaching the most unusual spectrum of society in America. One lady from Argentina is writing him from Romania in Spanish .And what is going on here in Thailand is amazing.

My friend, Scott, teaches at the same school where Paul's girls go to school. The other day, at noon, Scott saw a large group of kids gathered around singing Christian songs. He had never seen anything like that in a public school. He went over to see what was going on and saw Paul's girls in the middle leading things. He asked the girls what they were doing, and they replied,“Oh nothing. This is just our thing that we do every Tuesday.” It might be just their thing, but what they were doing was highly effective. They are terrifically infectious, and their group is growing larger every week.

The other day a Buddhist monk was giving a talk in their school. Then he made all the kids worship his idol. One of Paul's girls refused to budge. He was furious and came to her seat demanding that she bow her head to that thing. She refused. Finally he got a stick and said, “Bow or I will beat you!”She looked up at him and replied, “If you beat me I will pray for you, but I will not worship that idol.” You don't say things like that to a ranking Buddhist monk. The king bows to him. Finally he threw his stick down and walked away. The entire class was a buzz. They had never seen a weak 13 year old girl back off a Buddhist monk. That got noised around the entire school. Kids were asking, “Where does she get that kind of power?”

I was telling a brother about the terrific meeting that the girls have going at school. He said, “We must get those girls and teach them how to witness.” I said, “I would rather not. If we teach them how to witness that might kill their effectiveness.” The only thing the girls know is that they are up every morning at 5:00 AM praying. They are just flat head over heels in love with Jesus. That is all they do all day long. They are filled with joy such as you seldom see. That joy is drawing a large crowd of young people at school, and the fire is spreading.

Paul has seven girls. There are two of his own, and four Karen and one Lahu hill tribe girl. They live with them because they couldn't go to school in their remote village. The other day they visited a home where there was domestic problems to pray for that family. They sang and poured their heart out in prayer. The atmosphere in that house was radically changed. I told Paul, “You could take those girls to the States and they would empty prisons. Their testimony is so powerful, Jack the ripper would become a saint.

On the other hand, Pammy has some friends whose son is a member of a large American organization. He wanted to teach Pammy strategy for Christian work. The other day mom, dad, and their son came over to have a teaching session for Pammy. I didn't sit in on the session but later saw the things that the die sensei (great teacher) had written on the black board. I later told Pammy, “I disagree with what Bee taught for two reasons. First of all it doesn't work.” Point number one of Bee's teaching was Vision. You must have a vision. I said, “That is great, but Bee's vision is nonsense.” He has a vision to get 300 Christian witness to reach Thailand with the Gospel. So far he doesn't have three; and it isn't likely that he will get any. It is nice to have a vision, but I doubt seriously that that is God's vision, and it won't work.

Several years ago Bill Reese was having a mabaroshi kai (vision meeting) with his Japanese pastor and a group of young folks from their church. Hayatsu sensei (pastor) told the young people that his vision was to have a church of 500 in the next five years. Bill was highly impressed. The church at that time was about 25, and the pastor had led none of them to the Lord. Bill was the main soul winner. Bill was leaving the next year. Apparently Hayatsu sensei felt as soon as Bill was gone hundreds would be saved. It didn't happen. And 90% of these “visions” are not of God, and they won't work.

Secondly, Bee had five points to his strategy teaching. Why he wanted to teach that to Pammy was a mystery to me. I asked Pammy, “What was your vision?” To get married.“Okay, you got married. Now what is your strategy?” To be a good wife and mother. You don't need a great deal of strategy teaching to do that. All you need to do is to do what you are supposed to. Do that, and everything else will fall in place.

If someone asked me to have a seminar on mission strategy, I would have five points. Point #1 would be“Abide in Christ”. Point #2 would be to repeat point #1. Point #3 would be to repeat point #2. Etc. There may be some room for all these seminars and strategy sessions but I suspect most of it is a waste of time.

Years ago a very fine sister from Kichijoji came to Ikoma to live with us. I took her with us to the local Japanese church where we were attending and wanted her to get involved. Nakaya sensei was very anxious for everyone in his church to be a soul winner and was having session on soul winning every Sunday after the morning service. He had very good material. It was exactly what I had taught in the Karuizawa Bible School. But Tomoko got up and walked out. I went after her and asked, “What is wrong?”

“That stuff won't do any good.”

I didn't know why, but in my heart I knew she was right. I doubt that there was one soul brought to Christ through all that teaching. If the believers had been fired up, and in love with Jesus, no doubt, others would have been saved. This is what is happening with Paul's girls in school.

Perhaps the greatest word on mission strategy was what the Lord told Hudson Taylor.”Walk with Me, and I will evangelize China through you.” Basically Hudson Taylor did that, and he probably had the greatest impact on China of any gaijin (foreigner) that ever set foot in that country. Hudson Taylor was one of the truly great missionaries and Christian statesmen in NT history, but the only writing he ever left with us was a little devotional booklet on the Song of Solomon. He left no manuals on mission strategy, but he left a great mission of the CIM.

The other day Mike called me warning,“The Jehovah Witnesses are in the area. They were just here and are headed for your house.” I appreciated the heads-up, and a few minutes later two very attractive falang (foreigner) girls were at our door. This was a first time experience for me, but I couldn't have enjoyed it more. Wilber Lingal is one of the top authorities on Mormon and Jehovah Witness. He said, most of the books you read about how to witness to them are nonsense. He said, “Don't argue doctrine. They love it and are extremely well schooled in Christian debate. They know all the verses.” I didn't treat these girls like JWs, but like friends. I asked them their testimonies on how they got involved with the JW. Their testimonies are odd, but they were very sincere. I knew they were anxious to take control and share their line what they had been taught, but I kept things going about dealing with basic issues of life.

For the next hour and a half the Holy Spirit was absolutely in control. I enjoyed it immensely, and I believe they enjoyed too, as this was something they had never seen before. The JW s are very biblical. They are always pushing “The Bible says”. I agreed with every verse they read to me. I asked,“Do you have eternal life?”

“No”

“You should. The Bible says God has given us eternal life right now.” I had them read 1 Jn. 5:11,12 in their Bible – “And this is the record that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hat life and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” Then I told them about my experience talking with a Bible teacher in a school in Russia. I held up my passport and suggested, “This is eternal life.” Then I held up my Bible and suggested, “This is Jesus Christ.” I placed my passport in my Bible and asked, “Where is eternal life?” (my passport). In Christ (my Bible). “How do you get eternal life?” By taking Jesus Christ (my Bible).

Then one girl protested, but James says“Without works faith is dead” (Jm 2:17). Again I replied, “That is certainly true.” Then I told them that in Japan they have plastic policemen (manikins). When they first came out, a friend stopped to ask one directions. If you see a cop and you can't tell if it is real or a manikin, stick it with a pin and you will find out. If someone says they have faith but there is no works I doubt seriously that they have faith. If their faith has no works that faith is dead. Works is the expression of faith – not the means to get it. No reply.

They knew very little about the new-birth. I gave these girls an extended testimony on how I got saved and what Christ had done for me. There is no way anyone can argue with a personal testimony. They were very impressed. One girl sat there for 30 minutes bug-eyed with her mouth open. Another girl read two or three passages from the Bible. I said, “I totally agree with that. That is absolutely true.” Then I quoted the verses before and after the passage she had just read. They were blown away. They said they never met a man who knew the Bible so well. I stomped them at their own game without a word of argument. There was no contest. I was just sharing Christ.

Oh how my heart went out to them! I was perfectly sincere when I begged them to come back. I would love to be friends with them and have them in the home often. But it is the Holy Spirit that does it. Thank God He is doing that for Paul and his girls. And He can do it for anyone.

bill