Teaching

I did my first teaching this Saturday. It went very well. I also ran worship solo...it was difficult, but not impossible because the Lord was with me. There was one part when I was reading Phillipians when the microphone started making obnoxious static noises, so I ripped the plug out of the mike and went un-amplified for the rest of the teaching. It was a small crowd, so it wasn't a big deal to speak on my own vocal power. The Lord really blessed me with an ability to speak publicly that was not there before. Praise God!

Here is something of a transcript of what I said, though it is polished a little more than what I actually spoke.

"In The Valley of the Shadow of Death"

Or

"When Bad Things Happen After We Step Out of The Boat"

Psalm 23 is a very familiar psalm, and one which this teaching takes its title from. Last week, Josh addressed our need to listen for the Lord's call, and step out of the boat in faith. This week, I will teach about what happens when either we step out of the boat and things start going bad, or when we stay on the boat and we are thrown for a loop with hard times.

*Begin by reading Psalm 23*

This Psalm is a comforting one. It is easy, perhaps, to look at it and see that it is good and true. Yet, there are also times in our life when the claims of David in this Psalm, the promises of shelter, of sustenance, of love, seem like a bitter lie.

Let's say you have just come back from a time of spiritual clarity where God has revealed things to you, about his love for you, or about his plans for you. You have been blessed by a time where the Lord felt close to you, and your purpose became clear as an autumn sky. Then, as you begin to descend from this pinnacle to go to that other high place of blessing you have been called to, things fall apart in short order, and your life descends into a morass of mistakes, and overwhelming difficulties. It seems as though you are wandering through a wooded valley, with the sun setting so that it barely shines through at all, and there is a thick fog blocking everything from sight, making you lost, disoriented, and feeling alone. Not only do you feel separated from God; but your life is beset by all kinds of calamities.

It is easy to believe in God when you are close to Him, and when everything in your life is beautiful. In times of difficulty, it is not so easy, and our faith is challenged. There are three ways in which we are challenged that I will cover. The first test of our faith in these times is KNOWING THE LORD IS WITH YOU. The second is SEEING WHERE HE WANTS US TO GO. The third way is TRUSTING CHRIST AS A GUIDE. All of these tests have their unique difficulties, and our scripture has many examples of this.

KNOWING THE LORD IS WITH YOU

Needless to say, when you have a God who claims to protect you as Christ did, there is a challenge to our faith in that when it appears that we have been abandoned and are no longer cared for. What shepherd can call himself good while his sheep are surrounded by wolves? Yet, there are some things that we must remember, as Christ's sheep, that are very important. The first is that as Christians, the things of this world, our grades, our cars, our clothes, our food, even how many friends we have or who they are is not of any importance compared to our relationship with God and our relationship with others. What is ailing you? What do you value? In Phillipians, Paul says *read Phillipians 3:4-11* If what is causing you distress is the loss of things which don't matter, then reconsider what is valuable to you and you may not be in as much trouble as you thought.

In the Scripture, there are many instances of people having terrible times in their life. In fact, there is likely not a single man or woman who God used that did not wrestle with the difficulties of living in this world. David struggled with it; Elijah struggled with it; Paul struggled with it; and even Christ struggled with it, because he came to this Earth as one of us to suffer with us. David cried out to the Lord countless times in the Psalms; Paul said in 2 Corinthians "To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times, I pleaded with the Lord to take it from me. But he said to me 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in your weakness."

All of these people who had difficulty did not run from the Lord in hardships, as the temptation is to do (why run towards the one who abandoned you, right?), but ran to him instead. They received the blessing when they came to the Lord in prayer. Prayer is key; it is our proof that we love God. If you love someone, would not talk to them? If you are having a hard time in your life, would you tell someone else about your difficulties? Then how much more should we tell God of our problems, the one who we must love above everyone and everything, and who loved us above everything as well!

A psalm of Asaph, Psalm 77, is fitting for this challenge, and an example of a right response. *read Psalm 77*. We must not forget the things that God has done for us in the past, and the examples of his might. In this Psalm, Asaph refers to the pillar of fire leading Israel through the wilderness and the Red Sea.

SEEING WHERE HE WANTS US TO GO

If there is one thing I know about these trough periods, it's that I want to get the heck out of Dodge. They are the LAST place I want to be and, I think that it is pretty safe to assume that most people do not like their lives to be difficult in a negative way, or stressful. We want peace and completeness in our lives. As David put it, "Of that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest- I would hurry to my place and shelter, far from the tempest and storm." Sometimes, God does not pluck me out of my situation as soon as my patience runs out, so out of my impatience for this situation to end, I try to get out of this murky forest by myself. I try to find the best way I can to get out, or try to find my own way towards the goal which the Lord told me to strive for in my moment of clarity prior to this trough period.

An example of my own desire to find my own way was when I was working in a worship team (not SNA), simply as a roadie who moves heavy things around. I had been waiting for some time to play with the team, but through a prior struggle of faith I had learned to be patient and wait for the opportunity to play with these people. One day, I was offered one of those green egg shaker things. I kind of looked at it, in a blank sort of way after the worship leader had given it to me. You see, the Lord had shown me earlier that he would use me for the worship team, that I would serve with them. Since I had been building up my skill with my instrument, the guitar, I naturally assumed that when the opportunity to play would arise, it would be a request to play my guitar. So I, in my false humility, turned down the opportunity to shake a rhythm egg in front of people and went off to piously read my Bible. A few minutes later, I had realized that I had been given an opportunity in an unexpected form, and that I should take it. So I spent my night playing bongos instead of playing guitar, and it was blessed to be a part of it and humble myself.

My error was that I kept my eyes open. Since I could not see into the future and tell exactly how I was to be used, I made my best guess and was looking for it to appear. Surely I would be used in the way in which I was trained. But the Lord often has a surprise planned for us. In my case, it came in the form of a green egg.

As another example, let's say that the lights are out in this room, and I have to leave it, but all I can see is the light from the open door over there. The most direct way is for me to walk straight for the door; the problem is that there are all these pews in the way, and I'm not going to get anything except a sore shin for my trouble. But if someone who knows the church inside and out were to take my hand, that person would be able to guide me outside, by first walking down the aisle (which is away from the door) and then towards it. We are like that. We cannot see the obstacles on the most direct way because we cannot see into the future and do no know what it holds. In the same way, God knows everything, and is capable of bringing you to where you need to be. He can see what you can't, and knows the best way for you to take based on who you are as a person.

The idea of allowing our Lord Christ to guide us has never been so succinctly summarized as it is in the Proverbs, which say "In his heart, a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps," and "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death."

TRUSTING CHRIST AS A GUIDE

So now God, after we have closed our eyes to the world and opened our heart up to him, has shown us the way in which he wants us to go. And in some cases, it seems ridiculous, in the wrong direction. But we must trust Christ as our guide.

Please turn with me to the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verses 1-18. In this chapter, Jesus is again reaching out to the Jewish people and speaking in parables to them.

Jesus here gives us a promise: That when he has taken us into his flock, he will not let us fall away. And he has promised that we will be saved from destruction through him. Having faith in this requires us to believe several things; that God knows what is best for us, and that God is powerful enough to accomplish it in our lives. Part of the purpose of the Word of God is to explain to us who God is, and what God is like. There are many accounts of his power here, so that we might be convinced he is trustworthy.

In the story of Joshua and the fall of Jericho, the Lord told Joshua to have his people march around Jericho, one of the mightiest strongholds in the land, and lay siege to it with music and shouting. I don't know about you guys, but if I was a military commander, I wouldn't plan a siege by ordering up a brass marching band and a parade float with a screaming metal band on it unless maybe I was laying siege to a nursing home. Yet, as wacky as the plan was, the walls were destroyed and the Jewish people were given the victory. Later, when Gideon was leading an uprising against the evil people who had taken over Israel, the Lord had him pare down his forces from 32,000 men to 300 men, less than 1% of their original number against an army which could not be counted. With every one of the 300 men blowing a trumpet, the armies of Midian turned on each other and the people were again delivered. These are both great stories of triumph throughout obeying commandments from God which seem to make no sense, yet still fulfill the promise of delivering the oppressed people.

And here is another: In order to save mankind, God came to the Earth in the flesh of a human, born into poverty, of a race which was under the control of a militant regime and had no power left, and was killed by the people of his own race. I have to tell you, if I have a mind to save someone, getting myself killed is usually not going to be beneficial for that plan or in any part of it. And yet, as strange as the method was, it worked. Christ was victorious over death, and through our faith in him, we are saved from ourselves. When we realize who God is and how powerful he is, it is then that we will humble ourselves and consent him to be our guide.

CONCLUSION

I would like to conclude this teaching by saying that if you have felt like your life has seen only times of difficulty, and you don't even know what it is like to have guidance and supreme love in these times, pray in your heart and ask Christ to enter into you and be the guide of your life. In his hands, we are secure beyond all measure. He is the good shepherd, and he will NEVER lose you. If you have run from him before, he will give you grace and receive you again, for his grace is without bounds.

A Teaching

So...the week I have 2 mid terms and 2 labs due is the week I offer to lead worship by myself and do a teaching at SNA. I'm really a glutton for punishment. If you're reading this and are the praying sort, please pray that I will be able to accomplish all of my academic demands while still completing preparation for the message I will deliver.

The Geology Structure mid-term is down, and thank God, I think I did well, which I desperately needed to get my grade up...now all I have is this annoying field trip report, lab, and Chinese exam tomorrow, along with a small bit of Chinese homework...

The Green Egg

For a while, I had been wanting to play with the worship team but couldn't, and it frustrated me. I then realized that God had made it so I couldn't play at IV to humble me, and that I should be patient and wait for God to offer me the privilege of going up there and serving others. Tonight, he offered it to me in the form of a green rhythm egg, and I in my false humility rejected it. *pious voice* "Surely when God called me he would have me play the instrument that he has been training me in." And so I said, to my shame and regret "When I go up and play, I'll do it with my guitar." It hurts even to type it now.

I picked up the Psalms, which say to worship the Lord with all my soul. I didn't need to even see the ones talking about worship to remember them- I knew they were there, in my heart, calling out to me to stop being a fool. I had the feeling I was missing something huge. And I realized God had offered me what I had been asking for...but not in the way I had envisioned it.

The problem is, we are supposed to live by faith, not by sight. But I practically have a pair of night-vision binoculars strapped duct-taped to my forehead. God tells me he is going to do something with my life. Then comes the delusions of grandeur, and they are easy enough to identify and knock down. But then there are these small ones that slip through...and before I know it, I wind up believing them, convinced that this is the way God is going to use me.

God really is so good. I was so convinced that when I was to be called to go up there (when I was skilled enough, of course- because we all know that God demands perfection! *sarcasm*), I would do so with my electric guitar, my cool effects pedals and my ridiculous hair...and I get handed a green rhythm egg...looking back on it, it's actually hilarious, and I'm laughing about it now. God certainly has a sense of humor. The problem is, I don't always catch the joke.

The Proverbs say, "In his heart a man determines his course, but the Lord determines his steps."

The Proverbs say again "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." I praise the Lord that he is not content to let me go running into places I do not belong. Amen. Guide me Lord Jesus.



Writer's Note: I spent the my first IV worship service playing an un-amplified bongo and tapping a tambourine with a stick. And it was awesome.

I can make it on my own!

I have a habit of watching something online called "The Strong Bad Emails". Today, the Lord did the impossible by tying in the random/hilarious content of one episode into my life...observe the following (there is a point to this note, I swear!):

Sbemail109

....OK, so now that you've seen it, wipe the tears of laughter/pity from your eyes and dig this: I am Li'l Brudder. Not in a "lookit me, I'm a cute puppy who deserves attention" kind of way (though I am rather adorable [joking]), but a "I can make it on my own!" kind of way.

At first, that kind of an attitude in spite of such a debilitating handicap as having only one limb seems like a great one to have; one of independence and freedom, of pursuing dreams ("I'm gonna be a quarterback someday! I'm gonna throw for 2,000 yards!"). In many ways, it is the American attitude I was born into and have grown up with. It is my father's attitude which he raised me with, one in which I should not be an unnecessary burden on others, sucking the life out of them.

The problem is, as noble as it sounds, it's wrong. Utterly, irrevocably wrong. Why is that? Because it stiff-arms EVERYONE, including God. You can't help me. I need to make it on my own. I'm not going to ask God to help me; I shouldn't have to be bugging God about every damn thing. I should be able to make it on my own. Millions of other people do it all the time. If all the other people in my class can get through it on their own strength, so can I. Why is it I should be weak?

If other people are the standard, no wonder my existence has been in such a sad state with my academic life! How can other, broken people with no salvation be my standard for how I "make it" in life? That is a fatal flaw in my belief that has been revealed to me by the Lord. The point of me coming to Christ is out of admission that I cannot "make it on my own" no matter how strong I try to be, no matter how much of a "heart of a champion" I have. The reason why people are in such sad shape is that they try to make it on their own all of the time and are trying to do it with only one limb, figuratively speaking. It makes them miserable.

This ties into an even greater issue: My God is an intimate, loving God. Closer than any lover, more knowledgeable about me than any friend, more passionate for my success than my own flesh and blood relatives. I put my faith in Jesus Christ, not another, because I recognize the value of His perfect love and have a deep aching need for that perfect love. Recently, I felt that it was not there. I wanted to draw close to the Lord, but I could not, and did not, and I felt distant, like God was in another universe and I had no idea how to leap that gap. Why was that? Because I did not even come to Him to help me "make it" in life.

If I cannot come to the Lord as someone asking for a few bucks, or as someone asking for help in a homework assignment, how can I come to him as someone who wants deep, deep love? Who has deep, loving relationships with a person but can't ask them to spot them 5 bucks at the Burger King?

It all comes back to this thing of not wanting to be a burden. But the truth that my sinful nature obscures is that Christ has already bourne the greatest burdens of mine; he has carried the multitudes of my sin himself. My sins have caused his side to be pierced; and it is my sins that have driven the nails into his hands. If I had not created these burdens for him to bear, he would not have had to die for them. So what, then, are these infinitesimal things that I worry will become some kind of noisome burden to the Almighty God who levels nations, shapes the universe in his hands, and plays with time the way Justin Weber plays with a yo-yo?

If I cannot come to God with "small" things, then I cannot come to God for things like "love". Love is related to trust. I have to trust that God will provide.

And I have to trust that the Lord loves me so much that he wants all of my requests, big and small.

Lucky for us, he loves us very, very much.

Peace in Christ,

-David

The Big Game

So, I'll be hobnobbing with other IV leaders this Wednesday night. When other people ask me what I'm the leader of, I'll just tell them I'm the leader of these big beefy arms I use to move speakers with ;)

It should be interesting.

Body Parts

I was recently having a good conversation with a friend Brian about speaking in tongues and was going through Corinthians 12 about the Gifts when I was hit by these verses: 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 14-31. They talk about the needs of the body for specific parts. This is a very familiar verse among Christians, and many know it or know of it. I thought I would share how this impacted me with people who I share ministry duties with (and with anyone else who happens to read it).

One passage really struck me tonight, and that was verses 14-18:

Now the body is not made up of one part, but of many. If the foot should say "because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be a part of that body. And if an ear were to say "because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be a part of the body. If a whole body were an eye, where would its sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact, God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.


This convicted me strongly because I often play the part of the foot wishing I was a hand or the ear wishing I was an eye. The truth is that there is a reason I am a foot and not a hand, or an ear and not an eye, and that is because I am best at the job I have been made for. A person with hands for feet could walk, but because the hand lacks the arch of a foot, the hands used for walking would quickly break under the strain, leaving the body crippled (this is why monkeys cannot walk upright for long- they have no arch in their "feet").

Whatever I am in the Body of Christ, be it an armpit or an eyebrow, a nose or a knee, I have a purpose that God has given me because it is suitable for me, and I am "custom-made" for it. I often demand of myself that I must give God only my best. But I cannot even give the best I have to offer (which is often small compared my foolishness!) if I am not functioning in my own place as a part of the body.

Let the Lord remind you through this note, as he has reminded me through scripture, that there is Meaning in your Creation and Purpose in your Place.

In the Hole

I'm in the hole. And I've been in the hole this whole semester. This week, I'm climbing out, come hell or high water. I'm tired of being behind in everything.

Zhongwen (Chinese Language)

I literally get the shakes when I have to go up and speak in front of people (note: this does not happen when I play music; only when I speak, for some reason). But in spite of that, my group really delivered our Chinese skit well and the professor thought it was funny (which it was intended to be).

The idea is there is one girl who wants to buy a shirt. The first merchant proudly displays a shirt and says "I have an orange shirt!". The next one takes the shirt from him forcefully and says "I have a pretty orange shirt!" The next takes it from him and says "I have a medium sized, pretty orange shirt!" The last merchant snatches that from him and says "I have a pretty, medium sized cheap orange shirt!"

As the first merchant goes to the last merchant to try and get his orange shirt back, the girl says "I don't like orange." So the last merchant who has the orange shirt looks around and grabs the the first merchant's shirt that he is wearing and says "I have a blue shirt!" and then it goes down the line of merchants in reverse order with them grabbing the first merchant (that would be me) by his blue shirt and trying to sell it... then the first merchant shrugs and tries to sell the shirt he is wearing to her as well. T

hen the girls says she doesn't want shirts. Everybody asks "Well, then what do you want!?" and she says "I want a pair of (goes into intense detail) shoes." Then all of the merchants sigh and go "We don't sell shoes!"


Not laughing? I guess you had to be there. But people thought it was funny, and I brought one of my trusty orange shirts/myself as a prop. Steve knows all about the orange shirts ;). It was probably the shortest skit, but it was coherent and everybody spoke their lines well. I would rather have a short skit that I remember and lose points on length than have a long skit that I choke in the middle of and lose points AND embarrass myself and my partners.

The point is, things went well and I am happy. Now if I could understand how to make these geological cross-sections which are due next week, I would be very happy!

While I wouldn't say my academics are good, I would say they are a far stretch better than what they were since school started. This has been a better week. Let's hope the next one tops it.

Jesus Freak

Several months ago, I had my mom get me the album "Jesus Freak" by d.c. Talk....she had asked me if I wanted anything from Hawaii, so I asked her to buy me the album. She could have probably just sent me money and saved on shipping costs, but there is a novelty in getting stuff in the mail.

Anyway, after listening to "So Help Me God" and "Jesus Freak", I swore to learn them because they rocked. Well, my desire to learn them reached critical mass tonight and I looked up the chords on ze internets. I was surprised by how relatively simple it was to play- and is sounds effing metal through the Boss Distortion pedal I bought. I can't wait to master this song; the hardest part is that almost every line in the song except for a short interlude has a B Minor bar chord. This is good, however, because I need to know that chord for a lot of worship songs I do, so I'll also be practicing an important chord I need to know anyway while I'm rockin' out. It's delicious and nutritious, all in one.

Who said you can't rock for Jesus...




Another great picture of me playing my guitar...




Well, OK, that's actually Eddie Van Halen, but we have a lot in common, right? We both are white, have long hair, love rock and roll, and look! Our guitars are even the same color!