Sermon: A Time for Everything? / Rev. Claudia Genung-Yamamoto - Lead Pastor / Dec. 27, 202012/26/2020 Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
3 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: 2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, 6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. 9 What do workers gain from their toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Did you have a good year? A bad year? A so-so year? Or did this COVID-19 pandemic ruin your year? How did you spend your time this past year? I choose this passage in the Bible on this last Sunday of the New Year so we could reflect a bit on time spent in 2020 as we move into a new year, 2021. Some people had a lot of time at home this past year. Some had time because they had lost their jobs. Others because they were in lockdown, especially if they lived in places like California where I am originally from and where Pastors Chuck and Kelly are now. In Kobe, we may not have suffered as much as other places but the time spent away from others and our regular church worship services and events have been hard. Those of us in ministries at Kobe Union Church have had to learn to be experts at doing ZOOM. We, the pastors, have had to learn to do online worship services. Thankfully through ZOOM and today’s technology of live streaming, we have stayed connected. But it has not been easy. Some may have felt lonely and depressed during this time of isolation. Maybe some folks enjoyed the chance to be home more. Everyone has their own experiences of how time this past year since last March (when the pandemic began) has been spent. How did we use our time? I never seem to have enough time but when I broke my left wrist on Sept. 11th falling down the last step of the outside stairs, I had to take time off to heal. I had to take time to learn to do things one -handed. I had to learn to take time in doing things I normally could do quickly like getting dressed, cooking, opening the lid off a bottle of water, opening milk cartons, squeezing a tube of toothpaste, and other tasks that I took for granted because I go use two hands and I could do rather quickly. Doing many things seemed to take me twice the amount of time to do! But the fall and surgery after forced me reflect on my use of time. Did we value time? Did we waste time? Did we spend enough time with God? How did we use our time to grow spiritually? These are questions to ponder. One we hope to grow spiritually n 2021 is to have a church fast in January for those who wish to participate and Pastor Chuck will share more about this in his sermon on January 10 as well as in our prayer groups. . I’d like to share two words pertaining to the Bible text this morning. Kairos and chronos. Fun words to learn in Biblical Greek. If you google these words, you can learn that Kairos is used 86 times in the New Testament and refers to an opportune time, a "moment" or a "season" such as "harvest time," whereas "chronos" (used 54 times) refers to a specific amount of time, such as a day or an hour or minutes or seconds or a due season. (e.g. Acts 13:18 and 27:9). We tend to think of our time in a chronos mindset. We think of having 24 hours in a day. We define our workweeks by the number of hours that we work. We have a list of things to do and only so much time to get everything done. Our time on earth is so brief, and we want to be good stewards of every second that we have to glorify God on this earth. Kairos is God's dimension—one not marked by the past, the present, or the future. Ephesians 5:16 (NLT) says; "Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days." It is kairos is the word used for time in Ephesians 5:16 and speaks more to God-ordained times throughout history, sometimes called the "right time" or "appointed season” which is used in Titus 1:3. The chronos mindset can make us miss what Paul is saying in Ephesians 5. Paul instructs us to redeem the kairos – to pay attention and take advantage of the opportune times and seasons. For example, we only have such a brief opportunity to shepherd our children when they’re still young children. When a friend is experiencing pain, we have a brief window of time in which to reach out to them. When a friend was going through a rough spot in their life, I went to lunch with her. Yes, it took up some of my chronos time. But I was able to share the gospel with this friend and, we prayed together, and this friend wanted to grow closer to Christ. It was a kairos opportunity. When Jesus came, it was a fulfillment of promises past. John the Baptist said in Mark 1:15 that "time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand." A preacher I heard said, “This godly kairos pierced its way into creation at just the right time, slicing through chronos with a cry of a baby in a manger.” That is a poetic way to put it. Kairos moments then—and now—allow us to get a glimpse of how God works. Do you know the song, “To everything, turn, turn, turn – there is a season, turn, turn, turn; and a time for every purpose under heaven.” I remember listening to singers like Judy Collins, the Byrds, and Joni Mitchell’s singing this song back in the late 60’s and 70’s and even into the early 80’s. It was a popular song! The lyrics, written by Pete Seeger, except for the title, are adapted word-for-word from the first eight verses of the third chapter of the Book of Ecclesiastes. (You can Google the song: “Turn, Turn, Turn” by Pete Seeger if you do not know it.) Or listen to the Byrds, who also recorded this song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKP4cfU28vM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fmjB5OWtkk I like humming this song since I cannot sing well. I like finding my way back to this text in Ecclesiastes, especially at different times in my life. They provide me with a wise reminder of the movement of the seasons of our lives and the time for everything. Many of you may identify with these words in this Ecclesiastes. They are words and verbs that speak to the many and complex seasons of our lives. They are words that perhaps frame much of the journey of human life. They are a reminder that we are each a part of something far bigger than the seasonal moment of time in which we existentially find ourselves. Ecclesiastes 2:3 says there is a time to be born and a time to die. We don’t have control over the time of birth or death. My mother struggled with Alzheimer’s from 1992 until her death in 1999 and it was a time us siblings had to think of how to best care for her. The time we spent with her was slipping away as was her memory. For her, every five minutes was new and time had no real meaning for her any more. For me, who had grown up with an intelligent and loving mother who was very organized and made lists for everything, it was a sad time and a time of mourning. I felt I had lost my mother years before she had even died so was not when her death came, I was not sad. I realized she was now in heaven and whole once again in God’s everlasting arms. We remember the love our mom had for us and later when my father passed away, was another time to mourn. I also have lost two of my brothers and mourned their deaths as well. Only my sister and I remain. I remember God’s love especially through the difficult seasons. Time is a key element of life that grounds us. “Everything”, in Ecclesiastes, “every occupation under heaven”, has a time (Eccl. 3:1). Everything takes place in chronological time as the word chronos in Eccl. 3:1a indicates. But when particular “moments” are highlighted, as repeatedly they are beyond Eccl 3:1a, the term Kairos is used which has the sense of “season” or “opportunity” as well as crisis. Another song relating to this passage is the one from the 1996 Broadway musical called “Rent” and the song’s name is “Seasons of Love.” Later, “Rent” it was made into a movie in 2005. Some of you may have seen it. If not, go to Google. ☺ The song is what I want to highlight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrAMA26oqHk Here is a small part of the lyrics: 525,600 minutes 525,000 journeys to plan 525,600 minutes How do you measure? Measure a year? The songs goes on,” How do you measure the life of a woman or man? How about love? Measure in love… seasons of love…remember the love….” The song talks about the chronological time but there’s also the time our lives are interrupted by the Holy Spirit interrupts our lives and surprises us and we cannot plan for it. There is a time for everything. The words in Ecclesiastes shows us that even in the trials of life, tribulations, highs, and lows, God is using those times to show us ways we can grow. In our Christian walk, we experience seasons that are wonderful and those that are difficult. God acknowledges that we may experience seasons of great joy or great pain. But the thing of all is this: None of these seasons or experiences is wasted; God can use everything we experience. (Ecclesiastes 3:11) Here are a few wonderful promises to remember in our hard times or what we may call hard seasons: And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. (1 Peter 5:10) I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33) The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. -John 5:1 Some seasons in our lives may have been dark but the light could not shine or be seen without the darkness. It is hard to remember in the midst of the darkness but the light is there. Ralph Waldo Emerson around 1820s wrote, "From within or from behind, a light shines through us upon things, and makes us aware that we are nothing, but the light is all." Henri Nouwen, who was a Roman Catholic priest and a man of deep devotion to Christ said this:I often think: "A life is like a day; it goes by so fast. If I am so careless with my days, how can I be careful with my life?" No matter what season you’re in, let the light of Christ shine through as you remember that God is with you. God loves you and everything you experience can help you grow you closer to God. Honor the time you have left on this earth and take time with God. As much as you can, take time with God. As we say good-bye to another year, we can reflect on what the past year has meant to us. Where were the God-moments? Where was the growth? There may have been wonderful kairos moments for you and glimpses of God's grace that you are thankful to remember. There might be times you remember in chronos moments where you felt depressed, abused, exhausted, frustrated, and angry. Give God the pieces of our broken lives and God’s love can help mend them. God’s love never fails. God’s love is there forever. As it says in Ecclesiastes 3:14a “I perceived that whatever God does endures forever..." Reflect on what we supposed to do with the time God has given us. The time left to us. There will be a time for everything if you use it to walk with God into this New Year. Let us pray, God of the seasons, In our fastness and our slowness, help us to keep pace with you, O God Free us to live in your time, a new time, in which there is a time for everything under heaven, and slow is not too slow, and fast is not too fast. Transform us into people who see time as a gift and a friend, who live as if we have time, because we know that your time will never cease. Through Jesus we pray, Amen.
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Worship Service Sermon: “Let It Be” - Luke 1:26-38 - Pastor Akiko Van Antwerpen - 12/20/202012/19/2020 Lord, your word is a lamp to our feet and light to our path. As we listen to you this morning, may the words of my mouth and meditations of all our hearts together be pleasing in your sight O Lord. Your are our rock and redeemer. Amen.
When I was young, my mother often played music from countries around the world. One of her favorite bands, which eventually became one of mine as well, was the Beatles. One of their songs, which I’m sure many of you know, is called “Let it Be.” It goes like this: (Singing) When I find myself in time of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom let it be. And in my hour of darkness, she is standing right in front of me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be. Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be, speaking words of wisdom, let it be. When I was a teenager, I thought that this was such a cool song, and I would find myself singing it often. “Let it Be” sounded so...carefree. Let it Be. Que cera, cera. Whatever will be will be. At the time, this song seemed to me to be a very relaxed, laid-back, non committed message. But if we think through today’s scripture passage, (which is about the angel visiting Mary to foretell the birth of Jesus,) I think we might start to find a deeper understanding of what Mary meant when she said “let it be” in Luke 1:38 Mary might well be the least extraordinary figure, the most average, or even less-than-average, figure in the Christmas story. The Christmas story starts with the news of the coming birth of John the Baptist, who would be called to prepare the way of the Lord. This news was first brought to his father Zechariah, then his mother Elisabeth. Zechariah and Elisabeth were both from important, historical, priestly families. Luke 1:6 says that they were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. Around this same time, there was a young, recently engaged couple; Joseph and Mary. Joseph is also referred to as a righteous man (in Matthew 1:19), and comes from the house of King David (Luke 1:27). As you know, this is another important, historic family; the line of kingship for the people of Israel. But belonging to this family doesn’t seem to have guaranteed any sort of financial or social success, because the Scripture suggests that Joseph and Mary were poor (Luke 2:22-24) In today’s Scripture, all we hear about Mary is that she is a virgin, a young girl engaged to a man named Joseph (Luke 1:27). We hear that Joseph is from David’s house, but we’re given no reference to Mary’s family. She’s not even mentioned as being a particularly religious or righteous person either, unlike the other three figures, Zechariah, Elisabeth and Joseph, who are mentioned in our Christmas story. On top of that, Mary lived in Nazareth, which was a place often mocked by the Jews, and wasn’t an important hub for anything. It was a place where Roman soldiers stayed, which made the Jews hate this town all the more, since the Jews lived under Roman occupation. So Mary was someone with no great name, no great lineage, who came from nowhere special. She was the least and last person you would expect to be asked to bear the son of God, the child who would become the savior of all. She was someone of no importance, who came from a less-than-mediocre city, with no fancy religious background or history. [She was nobody] And this is the person to which the Angel of the Lord appeared. This is the person through whom God decided to bring our savior to the world. The angel greeted Mary, saying "Greetings, the favored one. The Lord is with you." (Luke 1:28). And the angel repeats this one more time too, reminding her that it is important for Mary to realize that she has found favor with God. (Luke 1:30). Despite how society saw her, in God’s eyes Mary was so favored, so highly favored that God had a specific purpose and plan for her. So, how did Mary respond to all this special recognition that she is getting? The Scripture says that Mary was much perplexed. (Luke 1:29) Mary wasn’t perplexed by her situation of her pregnancy; that part has not come yet. Mary was perplexed that God was calling her the favored one despite what society seemed to tell her who she was.. Then we get to the part that is so well known to us. The important announcement from the angel. The angel says Mary would conceive and bear a son named Jesus, who would be great, who would be called the Son of the Most High, to whom the Lord God would give the throne of his ancestor, David. Her child was to reign over the house of Jacob forever, head of a kingdom that would have no end. No one in the history of Israel has been able to accomplish this! And the people of Israel, from generation to generation, have long been waiting for such a king; such a messiah. And the angel is saying that this woman, a nobody from nowhere in the society, will conceive the child who will do all that for Israel. Wow! Just Wow! Just put yourself in Mary’s shoes. Don’t you feel overwhelmed and confused to think you are now suddenly this big a part of God’s plan! And this had to be more than a little overwhelming and confusing, but terrifying too. Because having a child during the engagement, indeed having a child before marriage at all, meant immediate divorce in this time and place. And divorce, including the breaking of an engagement, was basically a death sentence for a woman. So having this child could literally mean death for Mary. When we’re presented with all these overwhelming, grandiose-yet-confusing, and terrifying news, far beyond what we could possibly have imagined...I think we all start by trying to understand the situation in a practical way; by looking at it through something we can understand. So, Mary did exactly that...while the angel was telling of this seemingly impossible vision to Mary, the first question she asked was...how she could possibly be pregnant if she was still a virgin. A very real question, right? This is the kind of question that we as Christians, or even just as seekers, often ask about the Christmas story--how Mary can be pregnant if she is a virgin. Even though she was a young girl, Mary was just like us. Mary wondered the same things about this story that we also do more than 2000 years later. But the answer the angel gives, you might notice, isn’t what you could call a straight answer. The angel says, “The Holy Spirit will come upon Mary, the power of the Most High overshadow her therefore the child to be born.” (Luke 1:35) The Angel’s response is a little surprising in its vagueness, but Mary’s response to that might be even more surprising and unexpected. Instead of asking more questions of the angel, or doing what other people in the scripture often do which is asking for a sign or proof of some sort for affirmation from the angel, this is what Mary says; She says "Here am I , the servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to your word." (Luke 1:38) Mary isn’t afraid to ask questions, but she is also very much aware of who she is when she is standing in front of the divine. In that space, she is a follower. She is first and foremost a servant of the Lord. When she recognizes the divinity in the angel, when everything she is seeing and hearing is beyond her and her own personal understanding, when she is placed into the middle of this grand plan for the whole of Israel and its kingdom, what she sees first is how completely human she is. Knowing that she can’t fully grasp the gravity of this great plan, she comes instead to a place of obedience. So she tells the angel, “let it be with me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) Can you see the difference here, between how lightly the Beatles seem to sing “Let it Be,” and the weight with which Mary said “let it be” with me according to your word?” The Beatles go on to say that Mary was speaking words of wisdom, but to me, her words sound more like obedience than wisdom. “Let it be” is not something that she left to random chance; thinking whatever will be will be.” No, she was an active participant in God’s work. What Mary meant by “let it be” was that she was willing to surrender herself to God, to let herself be guided by God. Have you ever wondered, or in this case pondered, what Mary’s life must have been like as the mother of Jesus, as parent of a son who was both fully God and fully human? Have you ever imagined how complex that situation must have been for Mary? As any mother would have, she must have wanted to teach Jesus all those things that a mother would teach her child, but would have had to balance that with knowing that Jesus, being fully God, knew everything already. How could Mary really bond with Jesus? How could she develop that parent-child relationship? As any mother would have, she would have had a hard time standing by as her child gets bullied or mistreated, but what she had to stand by and endure was so much more. She had to watch him be rejected by many, be killed on the cross even though he was an innocent and sinless man. His son had to die in the most shameful, criminal way for someone in those days to die. As any mother would in that sort of place, I have to wonder if she ever wished she could just be his mother, instead of raising the Son of God come to reshape our understanding of what family even means. Jesus would call Mary often woman instead of mother. How it must have broken her heart every time he called her “woman” instead of “mother.” (e.g. John 2:4) Mary was the only person who was with Jesus Christ from the moment he took his first breath as a baby, until his last breath hanging on the cross as a sacrifice for us all. If the only thing guiding Mary through her life was her own will, her own desires, her own plan, there would be no way for her to possibly bear the pain of watching her son go through all the mockery, torture, rejection, persecution, betrayal and death. I don’t think she could let her son go through all that if she did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God who "will reign over the house of Jacob forever and his kingdom there will be no end." (Luke 1:33) In today’s story, the Mary we see is first portrayed as an average girl, maybe even a bit below average in terms of where she was from, and where she grew up. But by the end of today’s scripture passage, when she opens her mouth to speak to the angel of the Lord, she is no average girl. In saying "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." she rises up as a faithful servant of the Lord. God doesn’t choose to work through those of high social position, privilege, and power. God works through the ordinary, the lowly, the average people, in order to accomplish the incredible. And the only thing that is asked for, in order for us ordinary folks to be a part of God’s divine plan, is to be obedient. Of course, obedience to God isn’t the sort of rigid, militaristic thinking, where you blindly follow everything God says without freedom, and without question. The Pharisees obeyed God in this way, and we all know that Jesus condemned that! Obedience to God is also not like what we parents do sometimes, when we offer our children incentives or rewards, in order to convince them to do the right thing. “If you do this, I will give you that.” That [this transactional obedience] isn’t the kind of obedience God asks of us either. In Mary’s conversation with the angel, we don’t see anything like that. Mary has the freedom to question, has the space to be perplexed and to ponder. Obedience for her comes from her free will, not anything forced or motivated based on some future reward. She chooses obedience, acknowledging who she is and who God is, and yields to God’s plan. She recognizes her limits, knows that she can’t comprehend the fullness of God’s work, and chooses to trust, to rely on God rather than her own strength. We often try so hard to make our way in the world with our own strength, to make sense of the world with the power of our own rational, reasonable thinking; to solve problems on our own, or bend situations to our will and, in doing so, we choose not to yield to any higher power. Sure, we have within us the ability to say “let it be with me according to your word,” or we can say as the Lord’s prayer teaches us, “your will will be done,” but all too often, at least for me, this kind of submission can come only as a last resort; only when I have exhausted every other human effort I can think of. How about you? I think this is what is extraordinary for “ordinary” Mary; without a direct answer to her question, without understanding and knowing everything about God’s plan, without spending time debating, reasoning, or rationalizing, she decides to trust first; she starts from a place of obedience and faith in what the angel told her. What humility Mary has! She is ready to acknowledge her own limits, and knows when to yield to God. Last week, Pastor Chuck talked about Mary, as she pondered and treasured her encounters with the angels, rather than just wondering about them. If you follow Mary’s life through the Scripture, you will see how her wondering and questioning leads her to pondering. And you’ll see how that leads to obedience. [If you like,] You can go to blueletterbible.com and type “Mary” into the search box. That will bring up a list of scripture passages that are related to Mary. If you do this, you can see a glimpse of Mary’s life; her journey as the mother of God’s son. From the moment she first learns of her pregnancy, through the affirmation she receives as her cousin Elisabeth recognizes her child’s divinity, to the birth of baby Jesus in that Bethlehem manger, taking Jesus to his purification ceremony, losing him in Jerusalem when he was 12, the start of his ministry in Galilee, miracle after miracle starting from the wedding at Cana and going on, watching as his enemies increased until, eventually, she had to watch her son hung on that cross...only to see him resurrected, and find herself sitting with the disciples, waiting for the HolySpirit to come down just as Jesus promised, before he went up into heaven to be with God. That whole time, Mary lived her life as Jesus’ mother, and as a servant of the Lord. And she knew which one was more important. She served her Lord first. We all have our titles, those pieces of our identities that we hold dear, roles that are important to us in our lives; mother, father, wife, husband, son, daughter, student, teacher, company head, supervisor, director, church leader, Japanese, American, French, Ghanian, Phillipina, Jamaican; all these and more. But before we insist on the power, rights, privileges, authority; the specialness that comes to us through these titles and identities, perhaps we can approach these relationships as Mary did, from a place of obedience to the Lord. When we think about our work, family, friends, and church relationships, do we approach them in the way Mary did? Do we speak and act having first said, “I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to your word.” ? Do we have it in ourselves to exercise Mary’s humility, to set aside our human desire to plot our own course, and submit obediently to God’s plan that is beyond our own expectation, imagination or even careful planning? Can we truly, let it be with me, let it be with us according to God’s word? Let us pray, when we think of the Christmas story, we might be reminded that the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ came through the obedience of God’s people. Joseph, choosing to continue his engagement to Mary despite all the risks; Mary, accepting her role as the mother of the Son of God; the shepherds, coming in from the fields to witness the baby’s birth that the angels told them of. Lord God, in our life, give us the strength and faith to say, “let it be with me, according to your word.” Amen. Luke 2:8-19 Amplified
…, 18 and all who heard it were astounded and wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured all these things, giving careful thought to them and pondering them in her heart. Good morning Church- this is pastor Chuck in Long Beach and its starting to look a lot like Christmas! This week its around 20-25 degrees Celsius though- funny, we miss the real seasons. AND I need to point out – today is the 3rd Sunday in Advent- traditionally the theme is joy, and we will feel that I think as I look at Mary- Jesus’s mom- a kind of December Christmas message and I hope a new inspiration. Today's passage which Raymond read so nicely for us- is a snapshot of a story so familiar we are at risk of missing a lot of what is there- like much we know too well in the Bible. Today I want to focus on these 2 passages in particular: Luke 2:18 and 19 - from the amplified: 18 and all who heard it were astounded and wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured all these things, giving careful thought to them and pondering them in her heart. Many stories in the Bible can feel or seem very cool but almost foreign- like many of the stories we love but - the idea of applying them to our own lives can feel awkward or even sacrilegious- I mean who am I?! I'm no Mary or Joseph and certainly no Jesus! But here's a truth- Jesus is literally our model and the men and women of the Bible are there for us, to learn from for our today- as it says in Romans 15:4: 4For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope. So, I personally feel convicted - not condemned- condemned -that’s of the devil and a great next message- conviction is what the HS does, and condemnation is from the enemy- so what this means is- I need to stop and reflect and repent - meaning change direction- but it’s the Holy spirit helping me. I would like this to convict us all if you're willing. So, let's look at this story more closely and try to think afresh about it all. Mary was a human and we can guess that based on the Bible and all the Bible greats- all had their humanity and it's a wonder to me and a great encouragement that we get that shown to us as much as all the cool stuff we read. So here is this young woman about to get married and wow- what a story! And then we have the shepherds. We can imagine blue collar guys and then the so- called wise men- educated, rich kids or such- and God is sending angels and it must have been amazing. I mean the shepherds retell their stories there in Luke 18 and we can easily imagine why and how people wondered- "Say what??! Wow- that's amazing!" Here is the key contrast I see in this passage- it says: BUT MARY, but Mary, "But Mary treasured all these things, giving careful thought to them and pondering them in her heart. I would like to make the case for treasuring and pondering and not just wondering. Are we doing enough pondering? - giving careful thought to, as some translations word this passage: meditating on them (Holman Christian standard) thinking deeply about them (Good news) pondering in her heart (Young's literal) and plug here for BibleHub and Bible Gateway again- free, easy, can go super deep - like one passage and 29 translations and then the original! Nice) Years ago, Kelly and I had what I would call an extreme experience even for us with God. There was a small women's bible study on Rokko island and Kelly had gone with one of our friends to ask for prayer and it also sounded fun- one of our neighbors from China, a woman named “Min”, who was new to Japan attended- her husband was with Motorola so they had just come from Texas but were raised in Shanghai and spoke pretty broken English. So, this group had about 10 women: half Japanese and a hand full of others from places like Min from China. That week there was a friend of the house owners, named Yokota-san, and she was Japanese but had moved to Hawaii but spoke little English and no other languages. She had a reputation for powerful prayer and so they called me too- you should come get prayer! So, I shot over at lunch. Looking back many parts of this whole thing were funny. I came in and was trying to be Japanese and slow my pace a little and be reserved and she- this Japanese woman from Hawaii- sort of roughly said sit down and I will pray- no small talk or formalities! As soon as she started to pray it was unusual- I come from a church tradition where people speak in tongues and I am good with that- I don't love it- I mean it feels sort of personal but that’s just me- anyway, this was not like what I had seen or heard before- this totally sounded like Chinese. I need to say this the right way but...Chinese is one funky language! I mean it is so foreign and weird to me- so tonal and up and down and just different- and I feel like it’s easy to recognize- but I don't speak it, but she sure sounded like she was praying in fluent Chinese! After about 10 minutes of very aerobic- I mean intense prayer- she was sweating and really worked up- it was intense- even her hand on my head felt intense. I was like whew- well, wow, thanks! Now here's the trippy part and, of cours,e this could be a longer story, but let me try to limit this version for you today- she HAD spoken in Chinese and our neighbor had tried as hard as she could to write down what she had said- turns out she had spoken in our neighbor Min’s dialect - and what she had said were mostly phrases she had repeated - which...as it started to unfold turned out to be mostly FIVE scriptures- which we then looked up in Min's Chinese Bible and most were word for word character for character what Min wrote down from what Yokota-san had said. Wow. Ok, so that is something to make me wonder- wonder and say wow. BUT here is why I chose that story today- I mean it's cool and God is that big and does cool stuff today- lots of reasons to share that story but this is more of a confession I need to confess that I have had and have always had mixed feelings about these kinds of things. I always worry if they - the cool things- will distract or attract- pull us closer to God or make us just want more cool stories. I still feel that way! BUT how stupid would it be if someone told you this story and forgot what was said- I mean- what did God say to you...in Chinese...thru the Japanese woman, with help from the Chinese woman- what was the message!? And one might ask...what did it mean for you? Did you ponder these passages? Do you carry them with you perhaps? I mean you tell me you got a personal letter form the president of the United states- and that could be so cool we just stop there and forget to ask, by the way...what did he say and why did he write to you?!! Yes, this is a good approach and I confess- for the first few years- yes, years, I just felt touched thatGod saw us; that he cared and was reaching out; that we lived in a time where we saw this kind of thing often enough and it gave me great comfort to know- God is not distant but close. What I did not do till years later was ponder the verses. I now DO Carry them with me- (just like my $100 bill which is ready to find a home.) But I almost missed the depth and power of what I had received. Kelly and I are very happy to say and feel fortunate and blessed to have tons of stories similar to this one- this is extreme though even for us- but when tough times come- boring times- days when life feels hard and things are tough- man, those are times when we need to pull out our treasures! Our moments with God are our treasures thinking about Mary...the mother of Jesus Mary, and the angels who visited and all the people who came by and then - suddenly Joseph gets a new angelic visit and is told in Matthew 2:13 Now when they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt and remain there until I tell you; for Herod intends to search for the Child in order to destroy Him.” and he did! Right away- it says: v14 “So, Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night and left for Egypt.” Good man! I pray we all obey like that! So, God was close and sent angels and it was cool, but he fled- God told them too and life went on and Jesus disappeared for 3 days while still a kid (Luke2:41-49) - you remember that story right and Mary held onto the words she had been told and must have wondered as it had not all been spelled out at all- just the big picture but not the details! Ok, so about 3 weeks ago, on a Sunday morning Kelly and I went down to my car in the garage and I felt a sudden sense of faith and frustration some kind of mix- and I prayed for my car radio- with Kelly - just before we got in the car. My radio has been broken since I inherited the car from my Dad 8 years ago. I had prayed before for it to come on and it had - out of nowhere the day I had prayed but then it had stopped again. So today I prayed with Kelly- I pray my radio comes back on I said. We drove around, came home and I went back out and ...that day..within hours of praying. the radio suddenly came back on- yup no kidding. I brought Kelly down- it was like some part of me was just feeling fed up- stupid cancer and losing my hearing and the businesses ending and ...just fed up and I prayed for ...the radio..yea, well, hard to explain. Ok, so I was excited and told all the girls and a few brothers or sisters- prayer works! Get fed up! Don't just let life happen! Cool. And then 3 days later on the way to work it stopped again and I had a moment. It stopped and at that moment I felt like God said, This was just a sign not an answer. Don't stop at the sign. selah I pondered this one- what are you saying? what does this mean? I felt like God answered me more in my pondering. What do you really want? Do you even care if the radio works? Which I don't at all- I use my iPhone and its fine- I don't care about the radio but I prayed for it because it had reminded me of the power of prayer from a couple of years ago when I had prayed- it was a sign- that was it- I almost stopped at the sign because it’s a great story but there's more- there was more for Mary- there is more for you and each of us. I would hope and guess most of you have had a God moment or sign or miracle of some type- maybe not as dramatic or funny as some I tell but...a verse you could feel God popped out at you or a word from someone which was weirdly the right word for that moment- think back- you have at least one and the challenge I have for you is this: What else is there? What does the sign point to? ...or to whom? Don't stop at the sign- wondering is natural but pondering is our stretch to touch God and get all He has for us- I could go a lot longer on this but that’s it- time is up so come join us for Sunday School at 1030 – Japanese or English- let’s talk about this some more. How well do we ponder God’s words and moments? It tells us Mary treasured the words she got- good example- God moments and God’s words ARE our treasure, and we should carry them with us. Let’s pray…. Have you ever had a God moment? A moment when you actually felt like God was sharing something with you …directly and personally? Well, I had one that I felt would be fun to share especially as we’ve been talking about the vision for church and how we want to be. A few years ago, some friends of ours faced a heart stopping and tragic challenge when their teen daughter was diagnosed with a case of terminal cancer. They had tried all medical methods and were desperate and asked us if we would go with them to a church we had attended for many years - which is famous for healings and miracles- Bethel church in Redding CA. Now I’ve always had very mixed feelings about this kind of thing. Seeking People and Places to “get to God” or “get more of or closer to God”. I get it and we sometimes have done some of that. I mean we did actually move to this ‘middle of nowhere’ city in N California to be part of this church my friends wanted us to take them to. And we had hosted dozens of people over the 6 years we lived there who had come to that church for healing or a touch from God- literally from all over the world. Many who got what they came for: and many who did not. BUT I ‘ve always felt the need to point out that God is everywhere and in all believers! Just saying! In fact, in contrast, we’d also seen literally hundreds of miracles and wonders during the 20 years we lived full time here in Japan- JAPAN- arguably one of the least Christian countries in the world! Less than 1%! And further, we’ve seen little kids do signs and bring miracles as well as people who just got saved and knew almost nothing about their new faith– so just saying…. God is everywhere and as believers, we’re all carriers of His presence. Amen? Ok. So, we went. It was a great way to bond with the family, it’s a nice place to visit and so we were there. There at this world-famous church where on a given Sunday literally hundreds of people have come from all over the world – every week - to go to this church. At one of these services while we were there I look over and see this guy with a shirt that says – Be the Church- and it was like everything else around me faded- I felt so strongly stirred and moved- this was literally one of those holy God Moments and what I was seeing felt so true, powerful, profound, my mind raced – what that little phrase implied, the power of US actually BEING the church. God was showing me a big truth in that moment and that a guy was wearing that T-shirt here, in a church that almost risks being too great, is genuinely almost a distraction from that core truth, and then… …he turned a little, and I realized… that his shirt had simply folded over, ever so slightly, and what it REALLY said was … Bethel Church – not Be the Church but Bethel Church!! Yea., The “L” had been hidden. But it was too late- I’d already had my moment and its stuck with me solidly ever since! So, I’m sharing this with you all now because I think this truly is a ‘God word’ – I use the phrase a ‘God Quote’- I heard HIM say and it and now am quoting HIM! So, I’m trying to work out the details of this cool and meaningful challenge and I’d like to share just 3 practical ways we might all lean into this big revealed truth: First- be the person who stops- my kids will all laugh and tell you that if I see someone in trouble or an accident or anything that looks wrong – I’ll probably stop and, if appropriate, call 911- my thinking is… what if everyone thinks someone else will be that one! Who’s going to be that person?! Like that passage in Isaiah 6:8 where God is looking for some help “Then I heard the voice of the LORD saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" - Be the one who stops. One time I was driving home fairly late at night and standing in the middle of an intersection was what looked like a crazy person ranting and screaming in the rain- it honestly looked really scary in the natural- I could see in a quick glance around the faces of other drivers trying to get away as quickly as they could but I felt that familiar nudge or whisper of the Holy spirit that I usually recognize- saying “its ok- stop and check on the guy”–so I pulled up and just asked him what was going on and if he needed help- he was sobbing and hard to understand and was clearly under the influence of something – so I told him to get in the car and tell me what was going on. (That too was ‘a moment’ actually!!) It makes me really smile now imagining others seeing me do that as they quickly drove past! Turns out the guy had been meeting with his estranged father who had left him as a boy- this was the first time for the Dad to reach out to him in like 15 years. The Dad had taken the kid out for drinks, although the kid told him that he didn’t drink. Well, after a couple of hours the Dad finally revealed the reason for the sudden appearance - he needed money. The kid was devastated and said he just didn’t have money to give. So, the dad left him at the bar- drunk, stranded, stuck with the check, with rain pouring down and, in that state, he sort of just broke down. I ended up driving the kid home, praying with him and sharing what our heavenly Father, heavenly Dad, might have wanted to say to him- it was truly an awesome experience! I was so glad I had stopped. So here is my second challenge -after stopping – LISTEN So First is STOP and second is LISTEN- to the person of course and that’s key- don’t stop to talk or pray or do something you did last time- I mean – be ready to do whatever – but first LISTEN- and listening to the HS is the most important- so The first and most important 911 call needs to be to the Holy Spirit – we need to practice listening to what God might be saying -especially at times like these - to see what He would have us do – One of the most memorable and powerful moments of listening came a few years ago while on the way to Walmart with my kids. Some of you may remember sharing the story because it too was a powerful God Moment which left me forever changed. The girls and I were walking up to Walmart and – as is common- just outside was a street person- so it seemed- and as was and is common for me- I will usually stop and chat and oblige them with a few dollars--- but this guy was different- He didn’t start out the usual way asking for spare change but instead asked, “Would you like to buy a poem?” What? I laughed- wow, I said that’s pretty cool- you are actually selling poems. Yea, he says, he wrote them, copied them and then asks for a donation. So, I say, ok, this is good- so I say, what’s your story, what you are you doing here? Even as I said the words, I felt something shift, something happened to me and him- the words were suddenly not just mine but as though the HS had just touched us both as I spoke- I felt my breathing slow, my heart literally slowed down and as I looked at this guy- I felt the presence of God come over us both. He told me his story and I listened- I mean- I really, really listened – with my heart- it sort of freaked me out! I loved it – but it just felt so---- almost unnatural- but awesome. After a few minutes- I don’t even know how much time actually passed- I said- well, brother- I am really sorry to hear all that and good on you for trying to do what you can and sure- I’ve got a few dollars for a poem. But then, he stopped me- No, no, man- I don’t want your money now. He said – what you just did- what you just did – you see me- you see me –- nobody sees me. And then he hugged me – I mean he got hold of me and we just stood there holding each other- outside the Walmart- this big tall skinny homeless black guy with dirty clothes and poems. God blessed us both with what it can mean to listen- to someone and the HS- selah. So # is stop and #2 is listen- be the person who listens more than talks, listens more than rushing to do your whatever thing- listens to the Holy spirit. Amen? Okay, so I know that story might be a stretch for many - I totally get it- but I could also tell you dozens of stories where all I felt was like a tickle in my spirit - like a whisper …and prompted by, that I texted or emailed or called a person – not sure what would happen – I wish I had time because I have some amazing stories of people at crisis points in their lives who needed God but they also needed someone to help them make that connection and God waswhispering…be that person? …So, be the person who listens- listens to people and listens for the whisper. My third and final point is be the person who PRAYS for people- it’s great to offer help but don’t miss that our most powerful asset by far is prayer. Simple, short, eyes open, it’s okay, I mostly pray for people like this. Sometimes, to make it easier and less awkward, I’ll even say, “well, if I were to pray for you… I’d probably ask God to… whatever” and I’ve prayed! One day after church here in Long Beach we went out to lunch with a guy we had just met that morning. Near the end of the meal, he asked if he could extend his leg, under the table. He explained it was football and soccer related injuries– 30 years of pain- 3 surgeries – no change- in fact he told us he was an x-ray technician, so he had seen clearly what he felt every day- bone on bone- pain 24/7 – well, that was sort of a suspiciously lot of information to us and we felt like it was a God set up of sorts- we felt the HS tickle. So, Kelly and I asked if we could pray for it- we just touched his knee under the table and prayed a short 5-10 second prayer- then we just kept talking– he said thanks – then about 3 minutes later I said – “you know, sometimes we find we need to pray again for stuff- would that be ok?” Jesus did that you know- one time in the Bible he prayed twice for a blind guy- just saying there is precedence! “yea, sure, of course” Again – a 5 second prayer- like “knee be healed in the name of Jesus”- and then…he looked a little funny, he seemed confused, I actually thought maybe I had talked too much, or we’d missed the social cues that it was time to go! I can do that…. Then he started to tear up, he got a little excited – and said, “there’s no pain, there’s no pain!”- We were all stunned. Wow, wow, just like that. – that easy- that simple- now a couple of years later I got back in touch with him - it has literally changed his life- he works out again, plays golf, and more- he says he will never be the same- spiritually- he went back to church but with a new perspective and knowing God had seen Him and Touched Him. Be the one who prays- short, simple, no big deal but what might be a big deal with what happens! Amen? And IF this message feels like a ‘God word’ for you- do me a favor- don’t tell anyone about it or share it- NOT until you have at least one story of your own – don’t just be hearers of the word like James 1:22 says- be doers! This works- Be the person who STOPS, Be the person who LISTENS- to people and the Holy Spirit, Be the person who PRAYS! Ok, so I hope you’ll stick around after church and join me for Sunday School at 1030 - we have a couple of classes – one in English and one all in Japanese so you can zoom in and share your thoughts ask some questions- meet some new friends. The links are on the front page of the website. Ok- let me pray for us… |
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May 2024
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