Chapter 36: The Wind Blows as He Wishes

The priest who unexpectedly met a suspected distant ancestor made an appointment with Mai Ke and left. He didn't pay much attention to Mai Ke's telling him that he was also Mai Ke, probably thinking that it was just another coincidence with the same name.

Mai Keke couldn't be calm. The love kiss with Jingrui not long ago confirmed that he could no longer marry Hong Xuanjiao, and since he couldn't marry her, he couldn't cross over and become his distant ancestor.

Of course, it turned out that he felt that he really wanted to pass through his distant ancestor, which was too ridiculous, and he also asked the messenger who had never heard of it. As a result, the answer he got was that he didn't have to worry about it, and there must be a road before the car reached the mountain.

Therefore, he couldn't concentrate on this couple's meal, and the relationship that he wanted to further deepen was still in place. Jingrui noticed that Mai Ke was absent-minded, so she ate quietly and obediently without disturbing him.

After the meal, the owner of the restaurant came over and told the two to go with him. Mai Ke left two taels of silver and followed. At this time, the silver taels were very valuable, and ten taels of silver could buy one acre of Shangtian, so although the price of Western food was not cheap, two taels of silver was not only more than enough, but also a very generous tip.

The three of them came to the back of the hotel and entered a room by a window that looked out over the street to a church. The priest was already seated behind a round table, and there were two empty chairs, apparently prepared for Mai Ke and Jing Rui. Mai Ke glanced at the room and felt that it was very similar to the prayer room of the later generations.

Sure enough, the pastor said that the church and the owner of the hotel were old friends, so he opened a prayer room where Christian employees could study the Bible and pray. Priority can be given to the church if it needs it.

After sitting down, Mai Ke first asked where the pastor was from. Because he could hear that his accent had the English pronunciation characteristics of the Southern states of the United States.

It was a coincidence that the pastor was from Tower City, the capital of Florida!

"I haven't been back for about ten years, and I don't know if it's changed much. The state government building is the tallest building in Tacheng, and I've even gone up to the top to look out over the city. ”

It's not like that anymore. Next to the old state government building is a tall new building, at least twice as tall as the old building. Mai Ke had been to the top floor of the new building. It is not only open to the public, but also a hall for art exhibitions.

After further confirming that his name was Mai Ke, Mai Ke asked him what his surname was. Maybe it's just the same name, but the last name doesn't matter at all.

However, this illusion was immediately shattered. The pastor said that his surname was Li, and his full English name was MikeLee, which was slightly different from the Chinese pinyin of Mai Ke's name, MikeLi. Mai Ke has studied that when many Chinese names with the surname Li are expressed in English, Lee is used to represent his surname.

"So how do you write your Chinese name?" Mai Ke asked again, hoping not to crash.

When the opposite person wrote the word "Mai Ke" crookedly, Mai Ke was really speechless. It seems that it is inevitable to cross your great-ancestors, and the name or everything is ready.

That's all there is to it for now. However, Mai Ke didn't bother too much, Mai Ke was just a translation, and it was one of several choices. Another translation was more popular in the era before I crossed over. Wouldn't I just call you "Mike" before I crossed you? That's it!

Mai Ke's original intention was to make a temporary distinction, and at some point he would become one like Peter, and this distinction would be useless. What I didn't expect was that this was really quite long for the time being.

After talking about so many things that didn't matter much, Mike was in a hurry to evangelize the two of them. After all, this meeting was supposed to be the purpose. Mai Ke herself is not necessary, Jingrui has almost mastered the basic content of the gospel, and Mai Ke has specially preached it to her.

Since I'm here, I can't retreat when it's time to get down to business, so I'd better listen patiently. When Mai Ke heard this, he felt that he was famous, but fortunately, he listened to it, and he could take certain precautions, otherwise if he told Hong Xiuquan about it in the future, it might really cause chaos.

It turns out that the basic message of his gospel is okay, and it is also for people to repent, believe in Jesus, and recognize Jesus as the Savior and the Master of life. The thing is, he's added a few more things.

He made it clear that his idea was to establish a kingdom of God on the present earth like that of Old Testament Israel. The people of this kingdom are born-again Christians, and the general law of this kingdom is the Ten Commandments, and then all kinds of criminal, civil, and ceremonial laws are elaborated according to the requirements of the Bible.

Not to mention, Mai Ke is really familiar with this point of view. Historically, some countries in Europe and some states in the United States legislated and operated according to this idea in the early days. In the Netherlands, for example, it was only in previous years that the tithes for the church were separated from the taxes paid to the state. Before separation, the two were combined and collected by the state in a unified manner.

Mai Ke is familiar with it, but he doesn't agree with this proposition. In fact, there is nothing in the New Testament that supports this earthly claim to the establishment of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of heaven is heavenly and cannot be established on earth.

Israel is all falling apart, and trying to follow the cat and the tiger is just a pipe dream.

The center of the New Testament is to save people, not to establish a reasonable system and kingdom as they themselves imagine.

It is no wonder that the policies, regulations, and actions of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom are all aimed at establishing a heavenly kingdom on earth, and even the name reflects this dream, which should have a lot to do with the ideas of my distant ancestor. Looking at the trajectory of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in history, from development to failure, there is a shadow of this idea.

Obviously, there is a huge gap between my thoughts and that of this distant ancestor. Will I change him after I pass through him, or will God change him first, and then I will pass through again? Or will I let me pass through him first, regardless of thirty-seven twenty-one?

"So, do you think you should focus on saving souls, or do everything you can to build a kingdom of God, Reverend Mike?"

"I advocate saving people first, but saving people should be used to build the kingdom of God later. The two are inseparable. Pastor Mike said with extreme seriousness. I know it's hard to succeed, but I firmly believe that God wants me to do it. So whenever I have the opportunity, I will do my best, at the cost of my life. ”

We are consistent in insisting on saving people first. Building the kingdom of God on earth will certainly not work. However, in order for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to gain a firm foothold, it must also have systems and regimes that conform to God's will, and some practices are at least compatible with some of the measures of the Kingdom of God. This can be slowly coordinated and a consensus can be reached.

"There's one more thing I want to ask the pastor. Is this idea of the kingdom of God the unanimous idea of the church that sent you, the brothers who came with you, or your own opinion?"

Mike hesitated, pondered, and said, "That's not our church's position. The Southern Baptist Convention adheres to the general Reformed understanding that the kingdom of God is impossible to build on earth today. However, I have some brothers and co-workers who come here who are on the same page as me. ”

I said that I had never heard of the largest church in the United States taking such a position, but it was just a personal insistence. Presumably this issue has been pondered within this sect and a decision has been made against this proposition.

It seems that Pastor Mike is a stubborn diehard, like Confucius, he can't do it, he floats in the sea and goes to China to find an opportunity.

Now Mai Ke didn't feel very comfortable, because while discussing this with him, he also had to pay attention to whether he was suddenly one if he was like Peter. But that fear didn't happen until they were almost over.

At this time, Mai Ke suddenly remembered the teaching of the Bible, the Gospel of John said that the wind blows according to its will, and no one can know which direction the wind is coming from and where it is blowing.

He opened the English version of the Bible and determined that this teaching was in the third chapter of John's gospel. It says that a man can hear the sound of the wind, but he does not know where it comes from. At the same time, it is further emphasized that this is the work of the Holy Spirit.

I was able to come here from the United States, from modern times back to 160 years ago, it was all the work of God, and where I would know when and how to cross, no matter how much I paid attention to it, it didn't help. Can I decide or determine where the wind is coming from?

At this time, Pastor Mike couldn't help but be stunned when he saw the Bible in Mai Ke's hand. It seems like it's a Bible, and it's much higher quality than the one I use. He stopped, and came closer to observe the Bible in Mai Ke's hand.

Mai Ke smiled bitterly, "Pastor Mike, I'm sorry I didn't tell you beforehand. I'm actually a pastor too. I was also sent to China by my church. My sending church is a Presbyterian church in New York. ”

He handed the Bible to Mike and said that this version had been translated and printed in-house by our Presbyterian Church itself. I'm familiar with it.

This time, none of the things they had brought with them, including the Bible, had been published or manufactured. So Mai Ke is not worried about being questioned.

Mike took it, took out his own one, and compared it with Mai Ke for a while, making sure that it was really the Bible. Regardless of the quality of the paper, the translation of the scriptures is obviously a step ahead of the art, and it is particularly easy to read.

Looking at his own book again, he couldn't help but ask Mai Ke if there was any extra one, he wanted one.

This Mai Ke can't be given away, so I promised him that I would keep a copy for him after the new edition was printed.

At this time, Pastor Mike seemed to have just wondered, and complained to Mai Ke, "You are a pastor, why are you still wasting my time preaching the basic gospel?"

Mai Ke apologized again. Of course, he knew that Mike was also half-truths. When a pastor preaches the gospel and is heard, it is the most pleasing thing for a pastor, and he will not be really angry. However, Mai Ke still gave him a good reason, "It's true that I'm a pastor, but my fiancée is still a seeker, and you still have a real audience for preaching the gospel." ”

This fiancée, who had been listening to the excellent listener next to her, had a hot face and a sweet heart, and twisted her head to the side, not daring to look at either of them.

"What? She's not a Christian yet, so why are you making a relationship with her? Don't you know that believers and unbelievers can't be yoked together?"

This old ancestor is really stubborn! He also has to take care of this? But he is not wrong, although not so absolutely. Mai Ke hurriedly lowered his posture and corrected his attitude, saying that the relationship between the two is just that both of them have this will, and it has not been officially determined. There was still a long time for her to be a sister in Christ.

Then Peter told him that he had the opportunity to go to the interior of Guangxi and asked him if he would like to go with him.

"And what?" Mike's eyes lit up. He's suffocated here! Because the Gwangju government confined them to a very narrow area, and they were not allowed to go beyond the thunder pool. Being able to preach the gospel on a larger scale was what he dreamed of. He couldn't help but look at the young man in front of him.

This, of course, disturbed his attention to Mai Ke's fiancée, and instead asked about Mai Ke's itinerary and details. But Mai Ke has his own thoughts in his heart, and I don't dare to let my crossing object go unchecked. Even though everything is in God's control, I must be careful and do my best in what I can do.

Pastor Mike, my ancestors, come with me!