Volume 10 Number 2 - September 2002
Things We Don't Seem to Take Seriously
Part
IV
IT MEANS WHAT?!
There are a number of seemingly impossible things that the Scriptures instruct us to do. God is infinite and we are finite. We are instructed to “seek His face,” when it is impossible because He is a spirit and has no physical face. The Bible tells me to do that, but does not tell me how to do it. This is the message God gave through the Biblical writer.
And My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and heal their land. II Chronicles 7:14
Seeking God’s face is a description of intense prayer. It does not mean that we should search for a huge physical face. It does mean that we should pray with great intensity.
But, think about the instruction. Though God was talking about Israel, the description fits our situation perfectly. God did not say that if the whole country would seek His face. He said that if His people would humble themselves and pray. Now, Israel was considered as the people of God. It would be a stretch, however, to think of them all as “His people.”
As Hanani the prophet spoke to Asa, king of Judah, he said,
For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His…. II Chronicles 16:9a
The prophet spoke of the eyes of the Lord looking throughout all creation to guide and protect His people. Again, God is a spirit and has no physical form. This description of God as having human qualities and capabilities like ours is called an “anthropomorphism.” This is a fifty-cent word that means a description of God in terms applicable and understandable to human beings. We must understand the great difficulty all human beings have in describing our intimate relationship with God. To speak of the “eyes of God” is an attempt to describe His great omniscience. It says God knows all things. It is an attempt to describe the divine qualities in human terms. It describes the fact that God is keenly aware of every detail of our lives. This is what the Apostle John dealt with when he said,
And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: “The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this.” Rev. 2:18
Jesus, in heaven, is a spirit and has no visible eyes. To speak of His “eyes like a fire,” is to identify His penetrating awareness of every detail of one’s life. Jesus has no feet, but John spoke of His feet like burnished bronze. Bronze was their strongest metal. It is a picture of power that is beyond description or understanding. Repeatedly, the Scriptures speak of the hands or arms of God. God has no hands as such. The use of this image is an attempt to help limited human beings grasp what is otherwise indescribable. In several places where the Scriptures speak of the ”hand of God,” it is used as a description of immense, irresistible power of God. The famous artist, Reuben, painted a picture of God with His arm behind His back. It was an attempt to portray something God wanted to do, but the rebellion of His people made it impossible. In the same vain, the Biblical authors speak of the arm of God. It is that power before whom all powers pale into insignificance.
Just as God has no eyes or ears, He also has no mouth. The Scriptures, however, speak of the mouth of God. Jesus said,
But He answered and said, ”It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4
This is a quotation from Deuteronomy 8:3. In this passage, Moses described for Israel how the great power of God dealt with them. If you read Deuteronomy 8:3 very carefully, you will note that Moses used this figure of speech to describe God’s burning desire to communicate with His people, even in their disobedience.
Because our God is absolutely infinite and we are really finite, it is most difficult to understand many of the wonderful features of His nature and character. Think about our lives for a moment. How many things do we fail to ask God to do because we do not expect it to happen? How many times are we surprised when God does what would otherwise be considered beyond the realm of possibility? The eyes of the Lord are always upon His people and His hand is not powerless to do that which is necessary for their life and ministry.
Bill Cooper
FINALLY!!!
When we first took over the direction of Emmaus Biblical Seminary, it was immediately clear that we would need to tear down the girl’s dormitory and rebuild it. This is because the cement blocks, with which the building was built, were crumbling. On October 1, a work crew from Faith Evangelical Free Church, Fort Collins, Colorado, will arrive in Cap Haitian to rebuild the dormitory. The building will be torn down before they arrive and will be ready for reconstruction. The work crew will be working on campus for two weeks. This crew will not be able to finish the reconstruction. They hope to get the walls up and the interior walls in place. When they leave for home, everything should be ready for another crew to come in and do the finish electrical work, plumbing, tile and the ceiling of the dormitory. Where once there was a single outhouse for the entire girl’s dormitory, now there will be a complete bath for the four girls in each room. We give God thanks that this project can get underway.
NEW SEMINARY CURRICULUM
All during this past year, we have been working on the curriculum to make some serious changes. We have more than doubled the number of Bible courses a student will be able to take before his graduation. Again, in the past, most of the Bible courses have been survey courses. Starting this fall, all but two of the Bible courses will be intensive studies of an individual book rather than surveys.
Years ago, there was a two year course in Christian Education. Some time ago, this program was dropped from the curriculum. Now, we are ready to reinstate that two-year program and eventually we would like to see it extended to a three-year program.
Again, at one time the theological course was a four-year program. In more recent years, it was changed to a three-year program. This year we have found a Haitian professor who will teach Greek. We still need to find a Hebrew professor before reinstating the four-year program. We then will be in a position to apply for permission to grant degrees. This has been a long process and has required that we find many more professors from other countries to come and teach individual courses in a three-week span of time. We are really excited to see these changes take place as we are about to begin our new school year. We give God thanks.
BILL’S SCHEDULE
On September 9, Bill left to return to Haiti. He will hold a retreat for the faculty and student body prior to the start of the new school year. As he opens the school year, he will be teaching a course in Bible for three weeks. On October 1, the work crew will arrive and when his teaching course has been completed, Bill will work with the men on the reconstruction project. He will return home on October 16. This will be the longest period of time that Bill has been in a high humidity situation since he started teaching abroad. He would appreciate your prayers.
The four Sundays after his return, Bill will teach a third and fourth chapter from his new book on Intimacy with God. He has just finished teaching chapters on “The Bride of Christ” and “The Body of Christ.” During these four weeks, he will teach from the chapters “Abiding in Christ” and “Being In Christ.”
On November 13, Bill will return to Haiti to teach a course in the Gospel of Mark as well as a course in Inductive Bible Study. The texts for these two courses will be two of the books that Bill has written – “The Suffering Servant – an Inductive study of the Gospel of Mark” and “Discovering the Message of Scripture,” a text on learning to do Inductive Bible Study. He will return home on December 11. His next trip will be to Kazakhstan on the first of February where he will teach another three-week course in Bible. On April 23, he will return to Haiti to teach a course in the book of Genesis three hours a day for two weeks. On May 9 he will return home.
NEW PRODUCTS
Just in time to go to teach at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary, on July 24, Bill’s most recent book study was published. This is a study of Colossians and Philemon. The title of this book is When Faith Confronts Culture.
Just two days before Bill left for Evanston, Peter Stone presented Bill with copies of a CD on which all 15 of Bill’s books are recorded. These are now available and you will find them on the accompanying order blank.
WRITING SCHEDULE
For several years, people have been asking Bill to write a sequel to his book on Customs – Did You Know This?! He has been writing on this project. About 140 pages of the new book have been written. When not traveling, Bill will be working to complete this project.
Here is a picture of Bill’s class at Course of Study School. All of the major denominations are receiving fewer seminary graduates and more second career people who feel called to ministry are applying. This has resulted in an increase in the enrollment in Bill’s class.
