The Lord Spoke

13 October 2019

Dear Phyllis,

1993 was a dark year for me. It had been three years since the disintegration of my family. I was a homeless carpenter building a house for my friend Rody. Rody didn't really have a place for me to say but he did have a storage shed where he kept boxes and blankets that he didn't regularly use. It had one incandescent light bulb, no heat, no toilet, no water, There was just space enough where I could make a rats hole to sleep on the floor. One night in January I was licking my wounds, feeling sorry for myself. It was freezing cold, and my little rats nest home was about as cheerless an atmosphere as you could imagine.

Suddenly the Holy Spirit spoke to me in as clear a voice as I ever heard. He said, “Son thou art always with Me and all that I have is thine.” That was such a clear out-of-the-blue remark that I instantly knew Who it was. The message is perhaps the most precious promise in the Bible. But the scene where this remark was spoken was a curious one. This was what the Father said to the Elder Brother who refused to come in for the party the night the Prodigal came home (Lk. 15:31). In this parable the Elder Brother is held up as one of the bad characters in the Bible. I thought, “Thank God I am not as bad off as him.”. But then I thought about this word's direct application to me. The Elder Brother was standing outside in the cold and dark. The Father came out to invite him in the the feast, music, and dancing. And the Father reminded him, “Son thou art always with me”. If that is true of me, it can't get much better than that. Oh the privilege to live in the presence of the Lord.

First there is the title, “Son”, and all that implies. To have God say to me “son”. If that is true, and God uses that word to speak to me, is there anything else I could wish for? That puts me in the family and I can look up to God and say, “Father”.

And then the assurance, “Thou art always with Me”. That's it folks. That is about as high as it gets. When I was first in Korea I learned a song in Korean and later in English - “Where Jesus is 'tis heaven there”. Amen! I certainly leaned that in Korea. I used to love to go off base to fellowship with Korean believers in chicken coup churches because there was such an intense sense of the presence of the Lord. Rutherford said, “I would decline to go to heaven unless I was persuaded that Jesus was there”. Where Jesus is 'tis heaven there, and where He is not is just an empty room.

But then the third part of the Word of the Lord to me that night was, “All that I have is thine”. What in the world is that??!!! That God would say to me? “All that I have is thine”.? Is that possible?? But then I thought, “God has taken the entire sum of heaven and placed it in His Son.”. The Bible correctly declares, “All things were created By HIM and FOR HIM.” (Col. 1:16). All creation is God's gift to His Son. It is all FOR HIM. God has taken everything and placed it in His Son. And then God went one step further and gave us His Son (Jn. 3:16). What more can He give? God emptied heaven and placed it all in His Son – then He gave us His Son. Oh my goodness!!!

There is a difficult verse in Hebrews 9 that makes no sense in English; that can only be understood in the context of Greek in which it was written. The Covenant is covered more in Hebrews than any other portion of Scripture. In English we have two different words for two totally different documents. A marriage contract or any other type of a signed agreement is only applicable to two living partners. But a last will and testament is a document that is only applicable after the death of the bequeather. We have two different words for these two documents. But in Greek there is only one word for both a living contract and a last will of inheritance. In explaining the depth of the New Covenant the writer refers to the second application that the testament is only applicable after the death of the testator (Heb. 9:16). This is certainly true for us. Our salvation was only a promise until Jesus died. And with His death we are the benefactors of His wealth. By His death what was His becomes ours. We are the recipients of the fruit of His death.. That truth blew my mind.

In the days of Bloody Mary of England there was terrible persecution of believers in Scotland. One Sunday morning a young Scottish lassie was on her way to church when she was confronted by a soldier. He demanded, “Where are you going?” She didn't want to be dishonest but to truthful could be cost her life. She carefully responded, “I am going to my Fathers house. Our Elder Brother died and today we are reading is testament.” Brilliant! That is exactly what a church service should be. Our Elder Brother died, and week by week we read His Testament and learn more about our inheritance.

When the Holy Spirit spoke those pregnant words to me, “Son, thou art always with Me, and all that I have is thine”; suddenly that cold shack became a palace. That is the sum of the Gospel like I had never heard it. “What more can He say, than to you He has said; to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled”.

In expounding the New Covenant, Andrew Murray points out the fact that this Covenant was ratified by an oath. In settling disputes or agreement between two different partners, there are three levels of commitment that are used among men. The first is word of mouth or a hand shake. If someone makes a promise to you and you want to make sure the other person is going to keep his word; you might suggest, “Do you really mean that? Lets shake hands.” That's it. That's a deal. But in the land of liars, words of promise and hand shakes don't mean much. In those cases we like a written agreement. When two people sign that, that makes the deal. In God's case He has promised wonderful things to His chosen people. He made a wonderful promise to Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses. More than that He put the Testament into writing and it was to be kept in the Ark of the Covenant. But if that isn't enough God went one step further; it is if he said, “In case you don't believe My Word of promise is inadequate, and if you think what I have put in writing and signed My Name to it won't stand, I will go one step further and take an Oath that I will fulfill My promise”. So that by two immutable things we might have strong hope of what our Father has promised us (Heb. 6:17,18). On my goodness, God has exhausted three levels to try to get us to believe Him

Years ago it was traditional for a man to buy or build a house for his bride before they were married, and then after the marriage he would take her to show her her new home. This is exactly what Jesus is doing for us. He told the disciples, “I go away to prepare a place for you” (Jn. 14:2). Jesus has been in heaven for 2,000 years preparing that home for His Bride. The Marriage Supper is almost on the table. When that day comes, Jesus and His Bride will be one. Then the great moment will come. Jesus will show His Bride their home and say, “This is what I have prepared for you. It is all yours.”

Oh what can I say? God has created all things by and for His Son. Heaven and earth belong to Jesus. And when we are joined to Jesus all that is His is ours also. What the Lord said to me that freezing night in Rody's cabin was not imagination. It was (is) a unalterable fact, “Son, thou art always with Me and all that I have is thine”. Is it possible? Can it be true? What more can He say to convince us of the enormity of His heart. This gives John 3:16 new meaning. Oh what a Father we have! Undeserving, half-hearted, preoccupied, disinterested sinners that we are; sitting in the darkness shivering from the cold, feeling sorry for ourselves, and in that setting the Lord speaks to us reminding us that we are always with Him, and He has given us all He possess when He gave us His Son.

Lord, I can't say it. Those words do not exist. Lord Jesus haste the day when we can adequately say, “Thank You” and appreciate all You have prepared for us. Until then, a very feeble, domo arigato gozaimasu – from my heart.

bill