How much does Christ have of me?

19 October 2014

Dear Phyllis,

For several days, Pammy was telling me that Wednesday night we had to go to a meeting. There was a very outstanding doctor who was speaking here in town and Pammy's sister was coming up from Lampaun in a bus load of Christians to be at this meeting. Pammy told me that the speakers main message was the need of Christians to be baptized with fire. Amen! I couldn't agree more. In a terrible age of lethargy the one great need to cure that is fire. But as I thought about this I wondered how many Christians have I ever known who were truly baptized with fire.

The only one that I knew where I had any contact was a strange event in Waijima on the west coast of Japan in 1966. I had been invited to go over there a couple of times for special meetings. At one meeting I felt distinctly led of the Lord to preach a message on “If your hand offend you, cut it off” (Mk. 9:43). I had a good time preaching, but absolutely no response from the crowd. Three weeks later I got a letter from Cliff Lenard, the missionary there, to hurry back – they were having revival. An act of God exclusively by the Holy Spirit. The interpretor for the meeting was a very fine young man, who did what I thought was a good job interpreting. I would have given him high points as a Christian worker. But after that meeting, Yokohama san went to his room, and the Holy Spirit spoke to him about a number of things in his life. The result of that encounter with Christ was that Yokoyama san came out so much on fire for God, that we was leading people to Christ at an unprecedented rate. He begged me to come to Waijima that we might work together, but the Lord never led me in that direction.

Twenty five years later I was attending the summer missionary conference in Karuizawa when, after one evening meeting, I was leaving the church building, I heard a young missionary calling his wife, “Quick, quick; over here! He is over here.” ; and he came running up to me. This young couple had been at a Japanese conference, and heard the speaker give his testimony how, as a young man, he had been the interpretor for Bill Cook and heard the message, “If your right hand offend you – cut it off”. That changed his life. Some time later I was working with another Japanese pastor and asked him if he had ever heard of a Yokoyama sensei. To my amazement, Kawasaki san answered, “Is there anyone in Japan who doesn't know Yokoyama sensei?” He had written a number of books, and was one of the top pastors in Japan. I had completely lost contact with Yokoyama san, and was stunned to hear that that was the pivotal moment of his life, and he had gone on to be famous. That is the kind of baptism of fire that I am all for.

I was curious about the meeting Wednesday night, but Pammy knew nothing about who was sponsoring it. When we got to the hotel where the meeting was, I suspected it was probably somewhat charismatic. We were early and the music team was still practicing. As I watched the American who had come to be in charge of the music, I thought, by his spirit, that I knew what was going to happen. Also on the screen up front was the title REVIVAL. Pammy told me that the speaker was a brain surgeon from Seattle, but when I saw him I protested that he was no American. He obviously was Thai but was practicing in Seattle. I got the impression that he was the Thai equivalent of Dr. Ben Carson. Being a brain surgeon speaker immediately gave him a lot of points in my mind.

Perhaps the thing that impressed me the most all that evening was not the meeting but the people who were there. I asked Pammy to give me her guess of the number, and she suggested 700. She probably was pretty close. There were certainly well over 500. The place was packed. The singing, praise, time was really good. I wondered if I had ever been in a meeting like it, where it seemed everyone there was totally on the same page in worshiping Jesus. I mean to tell you it was one good meeting. The fact that this was not a Thai evangelist, but a world-class brain surgeon gave Dr. Warun top points even before he started. Predictably, his message was very good. Pammy usually doesn't even tell me the name of people who come to have dinner with us, but that night she out-did herself in giving me a pretty good gist of the message. He was also using the power points of projecting his scripture on the screen up front. I could follow the scripture, and it was good. Had I been Thai, I probably would have thought it to be an outstanding message. There were a couple of challenges of showing hands. The response was nearly 100%. The only reason I didn't raise my hand was because I didn't know what the question was. Towards the end, he gave another invitation that was the kind of thing you would have to be pretty back-slid not to respond. We had taken Pammy's recent convert, Nok and her daughter. Nok was one of the first ones on her feet, and grabbed me to go forward. Again, the only reason I didn't go was because I didn't know what the invitation was, and I didn't feel I could get more committed to Jesus by going forward than I was that morning in my daily devotions. For an invitation song, the American song leader was on the stage singing, “I have decided to follow Jesus”. Amen! I like that. The response to the invitation was overwhelming. It looked like half the auditorium was standing up front.

I don't know why, but somewhere in the middle of the message Pammy and her sister had gone out of the auditorium. They missed the last 15 minutes, and when the meeting was over, they still hadn't comeback. Both of them had left their hand bags on their chairs. Nok and I had to take their bags with us when we left. The large crowds was milling around, but generally making their way out of the auditorium. Nok and her daughter and I went out into the large hall in front of the auditorium, and looked in vain for Pammy and her sister. They were gone so long I wondered if they had gone out to get some pizza or perhaps went to a movie. At last Nok said she would go look for them in the huge crowd still milling around. But then she didn't come back. I noticed that about 30 meters to the left an enormous single file line had formed going back into the auditorium.

One hour after the meeting was over Pammy finally showed up, and asked if I had got the fire. I said, “Yes, I have quite a bit of fire. I am doing my best to keep as cool as possible, but the longer I wait the hotter the fire gets”. Another hour later Nok and Pammy's sister finally came out. By that time I had figured out what was going on. But I was mystified at the way they were handling it. Obviously, the single file line was for people who wanted to get the fire. I had never seen anything like it. I never saw such a responsive, seeking, crowd. The line must have been several hundred long, and they obviously were dealing with them one at a time. I thought, “This will take all night”. When Nok finally showed up I asked, “Well, did you get slain in the spirit?”

It wasn't until the next morning that Pammy debriefed me and explained what had happened the night before. As I suspected, the line was a knockout line. Everyone was getting slain in the spirit. I asked, “How long was Nok out?” Thirty minutes. And Pammy sister was on the floor even longer. I asked Pammy, “Did you get slain in the spirit?” She said when the speaker laid his hand on her head she acted like everyone else and laid down, But she didn't like it and got up pretty soon to come out.

Pammy was a wako Pentecostal when we were married, but I am amazed how closely we are coming together now. I am stunned at what she doesn't know about charismatic. I know vastly more about the Pentecostal movement for the past 60 years than she does. She knew next to nothing about slain-in-the-spirit and said her Pentecostal church did not encourage tongues. I was deeply impressed when she told me that the main thing is not to get a jolt at a meeting but by daily feeding on Jesus, asking Him to fill you every morning. AMEN!!!

In retrospect I don't know how to assess the meeting. It would be hard to say that Dr. Warun, and everyone there were not very earnest Christians. But, if this was in the secular world, I would charge them with false marketing. In their hearts I don't know what they think they are marketing, but I all honesty, I don't see how they could say that these people on the floor were baptized with fire. The phenomenon of slain-in-the-spirit is a mystery to me. The most significant thing I have ever seen is a You Tube by Andrew Strom on “Warning Kundalini demon spirit”.This is the most authentic documentary tracing this phenomenon back to Hinduism in India. Some friends have testified that they received some benefit from being knocked out, but I believe it is safe to say that they overwhelming majority of those on the floor were not significantly different the next morning. Nok called Pammy the next day, and Pammy complained that she is selfish trying to use her. Thirty minutes on the floor didn't alter her selfishness. I seriously doubt that the spiritual temperature of those on the floor was one degree higher the next morning. I would be surprised if they went out on fire for God and won souls like Yokoyaman san.

I have seen the Pentecostal movement go through significant changes in the past 60 years. If we talk about the necessity of being filled with the Holy Spirit I could not agree more. This is the duty of every believer in Christ. But the evidence of being filled is a point of major divergence. One thing it certainly is not, is the exercise of the least of the spiritual gifts. Anyone who insists that this is the infallible proof of being filled with the Holy Spirit is scripturally off and and in a spiritual ditch. Fifty years ago the name-of-the-game was the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This was to be sought after salvation. To experience that, someone had to have an ecstatic experience with the Holy Spirit and suddenly speak in tongues. I think it is interesting that what they are talking about today is not the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The name-of-the-game now seems to be entirely being knocked out (slain-in-the-spirit). Incontestably, their message today is the “anointing”. And they are not preaching Jesus. This seems to be something as if it was an object apart from the Holy Spirit. No thank you. I am not interested.

One of the main selling points of the anointing is POWER, Who doesn't want power? Who is satisfied with their spiritual power to see healing and miracles? For many years I earnestly asked the Lord for more power, but now that is far from my mind. Perhaps I am wrong but I am not interested in more spiritual power. The main driving force in my heart today is not what I have of Christ, but how much does He have of me.This is what I beg God for everyday – for Him to possess more of me. I cannot express my spiritual convictions more accurately than what AB Simpson did for us when he wrote that classic hymn,“One It Was The Blessing”

	Once it was the blessing,   Now it is the Lord; Once it was the feeling,   Now it is His Word; Once His gift I wanted,   Now, the Giver own; Once I sought for healing,   Now Himself alone.
	All in all forever,    Only Christ I’ll sing; Everything is in Jesus,      And Jesus is everything
2	Once ’twas painful trying,   Now ’tis perfect trust; Once a half salvation,   Now the uttermost; Once ’twas ceaseless holding,   Now He holds me fast; Once ’twas constant drifting,   Now my anchor’s cast.
3	Once ’twas busy planning,   Now ’tis trustful prayer; Once ’twas anxious caring,   Now He has the care; Once ’twas what I wanted,   Now what Jesus says; Once ’twas constant asking,   Now ’tis ceaseless praise.
4	Once it was my working,   His it hence shall be; Once I tried to use Him,   Now He uses me; Once the pow’r I wanted,   Now the Mighty One; Once for self I labored,   Now for Him alone.
	Once I hoped in Jesus,   Now I know He’s mine; Once my lamps were dying,   Now they brightly shine;

Amen??? I can't express it better. That is where I stand. Lord have Your way in me.

                                                                               bill