October 15, 2006

 

The Sunday Message

 

BEWARE,

BIG BROTHER YAHOO

IS WATCHING

10/15/06

 

First, let me say congratulations to the Detroit Tigers for winning the American League Pennant ! They deserve it after many years of suffering indignity and shame. I hope they can keep up the momentum and take the World Series championship rings home with them as well !

 

 

Let’s begin the service with some songs and a prayer:

 

Song: Almighty Spirit, Now Behold !

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/a/s/asbehold.htm

 

Song: Oh God of Light !

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/o/g/o/ogolight.htm

 

Song: All the World for Jesus !

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/a/l/allthew4.htm

 

 

Prayer: Dear God, I come to You with my heart open. I come to You seeking the Word for today. Give me the thoughts to think, the feelings to feel, the words to write. Let me be an inspiration to others—to instruct, edify, and inspire. Give me the TRUTH to say—let it be ACCORDING TO YOUR WILL, not mine. You are the LIGHT! Let this World become ONE IN YOUR NAME ! LET US ALL BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT ! And bless my E-Congregation—let them believe in my message being according to YOUR WILL. Let them have the confidence to support me not only through prayers and encouragement but financially as well. Let this ministry grow if it is according to YOUR WILL, God ! In the name of Jesus, Your Son, Amen !

 

Dear Friends, I am going to start talking and will incorporate the Scripture into the message:

 

First, let me tell you, I don’t try, in any way, to be secretive about how I transmit the Sunday Message. Anybody can figure it out. I compose the message at one site, and then I send that message to four or five other alternate e-mail addresses I have and use. And then I “forward” the message to you from these alternate e-mail addresses. Why do I do it this way? Because if you transmit the Sunday Message directly from the composing e-mail address it takes more time to transmit. As it is, going the “faster” way, it already takes a few hours to transmit to all my E-Congregation.

 

Last week, I used Yahoo’s new “Photo Mail” (new to me anyways)  which allows you to incorporate the photos right into the text message. There were a few glitches and for some reason two of the alternate e-mail addresses to which I transmitted received it in “error.” I could not forward the message from  my primary alternate e-mail addresses. So I used a secondary alternate e-mail address, This is an e-mail address that I  used to store addresses and also had a “news” folder, as well as some “messages from Jim” which I forwarded for storage to this address.

 

That was Sunday, October 8, 2006. Today is Sunday, October 15, 2006. On Monday, October 9, 2006 I noticed that I could not log in to the email I had set up. . I tried several times and thought maybe it was just something temporary. But I came back to it later and still couldn’t get on so I contacted yahoo.help –the customer service they provide by e-mail. They did not respond.

 

I’ve had other e-mail accounts temporarily and inadvertently go down but after contacting Yahoo Customer Service they are usually restored with an apology from Yahoo. This time I got no response from Yahoo. I tried getting a new password and I was told by a “pop-up”  that the account had been deactivated. Hmm?! I thought to myself—there must be a mistake. I didn’t think I had violated the TOS (Terms of Service). None of my other accounts had been deactivated—and I transmitted the same messages from these accounts.

 

This was one day after I transmitted the Mark Foley Message (my condemnation of his actions, and a condemnation of the homosexual agenda as well). In that message I talked about the dangers of sexual predators and segued to mention various other ways people “prey” on others. I mentioned a few specific names in so doing, but don’t believe the message crossed any boundaries into a violation of the TOS. But if  Yahoo thinks so, you would think they would let me know, specifically, how they believed I violated the TOS. But they didn’t. Yahoo won’t communicate about it. The “olba1234” account is simply gone…many  questions asked, but no questions answered.

 

It’s very disconcerting. It seems un-American. Sure, if I was transmitting inappropriate content—the kind which seems to be all over the internet—I would understand, but I am speaking for America—the true Americans—those who agree that the actions of Mark Foley are preposterous and harmful. I am speaking for those who agree that homosexuality undermines the fabric of our society. I am speaking for those who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and know that there are certain standards our society must abide by if we are going to remain a meaningful, purposeful, progressive, and “Christian” country.

 

I couldn’t believe I actually got a e-mail response shortly after the Mark Foley Sunday Message  in which somebody called me “self-righteous.” I was addressing an obvious problem—one which Foley has confessed to –and  he obviously understands why it was wrong. He resigned immediately. Are there actually some of you out there who believe that what Foley did was okay? If so, go away. I don’t want you in my E-Congregation.

 

There can be no allowance for Foley’s actions or for persons like him who “prey” on others in less obvious ways. I mentioned names last week about people who violate others in more subtle ways than Foley. I stand by what I said. and  if you go back to last week’s message, you’ll find it.

 

And I am concerned about Yahoo’s ability to be “judge, jury, and executioner” in terms of their right to judge what is a violation of the TOS and what is not. Sure, if I was spamming people with obvious inappropriate content—that would be one thing, but I am speaking against that which should be automatically abhorrent for any godly nation, and for any thinking and conscientious person.

 

Yahoo was founded by two Stanford graduates, Jerry Yang and David Filo, in 1994-95. According to Wikipedia it has over 412 million “unique users”. Their headquarters is in Sunnyvalle, California

 

Also according to Wikipedia,

 

“In February 2006, Yahoo! also announced their decision (along with AOL) to give some organizations the option to "certify" mail, by paying up to one cent for each outgoing message, allowing the mail in question to bypass Yahoo's and AOL's inbound spam filters.[7] This decision is opposed by many who see it as a "tax on speech", which would eventually restrict freedom of speech as companies implementing similar decision would be tempted to increase the amount of mail classified as spam in order to encourage users to pay, thus among other things preventing non-profit organizations from freely communicating with their members. Yahoo claims that a number of non-profit organisations, such as the Red Cross had signed up for this program.^{[citation needed] “}

 

 

 Is the long-term danger of these giant e-mail service providers the loss of free speech and communication? I am concerned. And I know there are some of you in my E-Congregation who are not so much supporting me as much as you are watching me. Respond with vigor. Feel free to take a position and defend it. But remember, I am a Christian and speak freely IN CHRIST and via the power of the HOLY SPIRIT ! I am not making a political argument for or against something. I am PRONOUNCING THE WILL OF GOD FOR ALL MANKIND. And that is GOOD! It is UNARGUABLE. I do not apologize for being right.

 

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,

Because He has anointed Me

To preach the gospel to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."

Luke 4:18-19

 

Some of you have been so indoctrinated by secular humanism and a form of “democracy” that you believe that everything is arguable and debatable and always room for compromise. That’s the devil talking. There are some truths that are not negotiable and can be stated without equivocation.

 

But not everybody wants what is right or good. Not everybody, even some pastors, agrees with GOODNESS. In fact the church and seminary can be a very attractive destination for those who are intent on teaching UNTRUTH. To get in a position at a seminary or large church where you can propagate your own personal agenda is very tempting. And  seminary  positions are often LIFETIME positions. Once a person/professor gets in and get tenure, it is virtually impossible to get them out, minus commission of a felony or something very obvious.

 

But as I was saying last week, there are a lot of “predators” who prey on people in less obvious ways than the Mark Foley way. I mentioned several. And I stand by that. We are in a time where positive change must happen !  There’s no alternative. If it does not happen, America becomes another “wasteland “ (no allusion to T.S. Elliot’s “Wasteland” intended).

 

A wasteland is a land of the “living dead” where there is no true life—no true spirit, no true happiness, joy, peace, love. A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to see a film, with a classroom of high school kids, entitled “Harrison Bergeron.”

 

I recommend that you watch it. It is the hypothetical world of the future in which our brains are controlled by the “superior” intelligences (other human beings who deem themselves superior) via “bands” that they fit on every person’s head from birth to death. These bands control the brains so that nobody becomes too intelligent. Nobody thinks too much and excellence is frowned upon.

 

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us

. 2 Cor 4:7

 

In this world a young man by the name of Harrison Bergeron –almost happily average, suddenly wakes up and becomes aware of what is happening. He is invited to become part of the “superior intelligence” community and does so but subsequently rebels against the “machine.” He locks himself up in a video transmission booth  (TV is called the “fabric of society” by one of the superiors and every average person watches it incessantly) and begins transmitting classic music and  classic film  that the average people never get to see or hear, because the superiors fear that if they were to be exposed to excellence and comedy and the notion of freedom of expression that they might become uncontrollable or we would return to a time of war and violence.

 

You see, the superiors believe that by keeping people average  (i.e. “dumbing” them down) they also prevent violence, wars, hatred, killing, etc. And there may be some truth to that. If we were all mentally retarded we would just sit around and twiddle our thumbs with  a false sense of peace and happiness. Unfortunately, or fortunately as it may be, we do have brains and we do have thinking abilities and we can strive for excellence and we are free ! We have the freedom to do good!

 

Free Will is the FABRIC OF OUR SOCIETY,  not television, —when the Holy Spirit is governing the hearts and minds and souls of our people. The answer is not dumbing people down—it is inspiring them to live IN CHRIST, FOR CHRIST! That’s where the CHURCH COMES IN TO THE EQUATION !  In the movie—religion and church was never mentioned, although  God was mentioned. The Bible was quoted.

 

There was the belief that “coveting” was one of the problems with society and one of the roots of violence and war (which may be true). But the superiors believed that by dumbing people down they would make the people  content and artificially satisfied  and they  would not, subsequently,  covet, thereby eliminating a lot of conflict. They would not “want”—i.e. new cars, better houses, thy neighbors wife, etc.

 

And this may be true—by eliminating FREE WILL you can eliminate potential or actual sins, but for SOME REASON GOD GAVE US FREE WILL. The answer is not to eliminate that which God gave us but to evoke the GOOD WILL in all of us! And that will come only from Jesus Christ and the Power of the Holy Spirit !

 

“ Therefore if the Son makes you free, you

shall be free indeed.”

John 8:36

 

The film, “Harrison Bergeron”, tends to move in the direction of humanism more than eternal life and purpose in Christ but it still does a good job of exposing the need for freedom and FREE WILL. Harrison plays great music, lets the average people hear amazing composers of old (i.e. Beethoven et al) and plays funny films such as the “Three Stooges” for the people—that which they never saw before. And he invites them to take of  their “bands”—to think freely and not be afraid. Some of them begin to do so.

 

Meanwhile, he is locked in this TV broadcasting booth and the Superiors have ordered security to cut through the steel doors—which requires laser power. It takes them several hours to get through the doors but finally they do. Bergeron is taken into custody and the band is put back on his head. But he resists. The one who recruited him, however,  convinces him to go on TV and tell everybody that the whole thing was a hoax. He agrees.

 

But when he gets on the show he surprises everybody once again. Watch the movie and find out what happens. Once you have experienced  FREE WILL and TRUE FREEDOM, you will never go back to mundane, average, living. The Power of TRUTH and JOY is intoxicating.The power of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit within the heart, mind, and soul, is the strongest, most powerful, and most purposeful “drug” in the world.

 

It cannot be quenched. Even death will not take away the “high” of the Christ-Filled life. In fact, death is the beginning of an even greater, higher purposeful life—life in eternity with the Master—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit !

 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Gal 5:22-23

 

Yahoo gave me a taste of “Big Brother” watching (and for those of you who don't understand what I mean when I say "big brother" I am referring to the George Orwell book, 1984, which predicted there would come a time when government or other large institutions would become so prevalent that it would monitor our every move.

 

 Maybe they think they are doing what they do for good purposes. Censors often think they are. And sometimes they are, in fact, doing something good by quashing certain types of speech which is harmful to society or to others. But too often it becomes oppressive and knows no end. Those who think they are doing good end up quashing people, never allowing them to experience GROWTH, and to live up to their potential of being in the Imago Deo (Image of God).

 

Wikipedia mentions that for a while Yahoo would not allow usernames that had contained “Allah” or “Osama”—because they had potential terrorist potential. This meant that even a name such as  “Linda Callahan” was forbidden—because “allah” was contained within the name Callahan. The ban only lasted three days because of the uproar and media exposure. And Yahoo may have had good intentions—the only problem is that we cannot “legislate the spirit.” No matter how many laws and regulations and rules and walls we make and build—the Spirit cannot normally be quashed. Our aim should be to direct the spirit of man to be “IN THE SPIRIT” –that is the Holy Spirit and to do that which is good and positive !

 

There is “spirit” or “soul”  in each human that is born. If there were not, we would have a society of robots. That spirit has free will. That spirit can become good or evil. It can go in a positive direction or negative. What we should be striving to do is to instill a Higher Purpose in to young hearts, minds, and souls—when they are most impressionable—and that is the presence of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ—the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. That can be impressed on persons directly or indirectly.

 

That is why I can teach in the public schools and transfer my knowledge of Jesus Christ to kids without directly proselytizing. Proselytizing is formal indoctrination of young hearts and minds to believe in a specific doctrine and usually a denominational or institutional mission statement. It is what I got when I went to Catechism as a youngster at 1^st CRC. We read the Heidelberg Catechism and memorized certain parts of it, and recited it in front of our pastor (who later was excommunicated because of an extra-marital affair). That is an obvious form or proselytizing. And it had its effect.

 

But what had a much greater effect on me was places where I felt the SPIRIT---a  certain sense of freedom and liberty-where I could express myself, positively.  That is much more inviting to me than any sort of formal proselytizing experience. I did not feel that freedom at Fuller Seminary (where I attended from August 1997 to 2001 or thereabouts). I did not feel that freedom at a church I observed for several years when I first returned to Southern California. I did not feel that freedom all the time around Calvin College (from which I graduated in 1989 and got a second BA in 1994). I did not always feel that freedom around Calvin Seminary (where I attended for a year 1996-97).

 

I felt that freedom when I was young—in a few different places. Sometimes I felt it around our home on Griswold Street as I was learning to play music, and was taking piano lessons, and playing the cornet and going to Millbrook Christian Junior High. I felt the Spirit sometimes during that period of life. And I felt it when I was a little bit younger. I remember walking through Alger Park one day and feeling a direct communication from God—He told me I was one of His children. I felt that Spirit sometimes when I was doing my paper route on Merrifield and Hazen Street.

 

And I am starting to feel some of that Spirit  and Freedom again around Southern California. I am finding small pockets of it, here and there. And that is good ! Our formal church and Seminary too often becomes “institutionalized”—with salaries and benefits and rules and regulations too often the governing force.

 

 The seminary president fears any sort of scandal and becomes very inhibited. Seminary administrators fear scandal and retreat. Large mega-churches become afraid of a Jimmy Swaggert  (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Swaggart ) or Jim Bakker (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Bakker ) type scandal. Their size and scale gives them awesome potential FOR GOOD but with it sometimes comes TENTATIVITY  for fear of scandal.

 

I am inclined to believe that many small pockets of Christians all over the world can be just as strong or stronger than some of the mega-churches and worldwide televangelism efforts. Small churches  and ministries have more community. The media and judicial system is less interested in them as well. In fact, sometimes the media and judicial system becomes jealous of success in the world and large churches and ministries attract their microscopic attention, unless they submit to them (the media and judicial system).

 

And that’s exactly what we do not want to happen—acquiescence to  being “average”—even in the form of a mega church. Mega churches can acquiesce too. And then they become nothing more than a large, civil institution, repeating a  humanistic chorus that encourages good but it lacks that extra spark that comes from independence in the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of Christ in the HEART, MIND, and SOUL !

 

I’ve resisted coming on board at a church because of my fear of routinization—or whereby the Spirit is transformed into “spirit” (lower case). There’s a qualitative difference in the two. The Holy Spirit has a spark that is different than good spirit. Good spirit can be found in a lot of institutions—cheerleaders at a football game have good spirit. They are inspirational and usually happy. And that’s good spirit. But it is not the TRUE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ! You will know the presence of the Holy Spirit when you see it—if you are not in denial and if you are not a counter-reformer.

 

And that is a problem—where the counter-reformers dress, act, talk, and look like reformers but are “wolves in sheep’s clothing” (and they might not even know they are) .

 

They are owned by their real estate and their fear of failure. They are not truly progressive but are  tied to defending the status quo. That’s counter-reformation. That’s a church or seminary that is saying all the right things, appearing to do the right things, and appearing to have the Spirit but what they have is “good spirit” not the HOLY SPIRIT ! Maybe that’s the “appearance of wisdom.”

 

 

 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. Col 2:23

 

I was hoping to enlist my “brothers” and “sisters” from the Christian Reformed Church into helping build up Mustard Seed Ministries—and have gotten responses from CRC pastors by e-mail and even a U.S. Mail  letter recently from a Paul Bakker in Sioux City, Iowa.

 

But so far they have resisted truly engaging with me and my  ministry by offering gifts and financial support. And that may be  because there are a lot of churches, including churches in the CRC, that have good spirit but lack the Holy Spirit. Some of you pastors can afford to give but you will not do so. I get more from a homeless person than I get from some of you.

 

 

"Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all;  for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had."  Luke 21:3-4

 

 

There are shrewd pastors who are part of the CRC hierarchy which is sometimes more about climbing a ladder to personal success than spreading the Word of God –and discovering the power of the Holy Spirit !The lack of financial offerings tells me more than anything else—it’s an intention to control. There are those in ministry and seminary positions who are more into controlling for personal, self-serving reasons than they are into liberating people for CHRIST ! That’s an entire different task.

 

Likewise, people in different institutions: Educational, Military, Medical, Judicial, etc. –there are people working for good in these institutions and then there are people working for

GOOD !

 

At Fuller Seminary—when I recently announced my candidacy for LAUSD superintendent I got an e-mail from Glenn Stassen saying “Please Unsubscribe”. It was an obvious chosen moment to try to belittle me. He could have asked to unsubscribe long before this announcement, or later on, but he chose that specific moment in the middle of the week.

 

Stassen showed his true colors—a controlling color. I would have liked and hoped for encouragement from my Alma Mater, and from professors whom I obediently sat under their tutorial for a quarter or more at the seminary. But they are a institution as much intent on controlling the spirit as they are an institution intent on helping people discover the Holy Spirit. And I’ve mentioned other names at Fuller Seminary as well in previous messages. Not all is well at the seminaries.

 

And that is because of FEAR. FEAR is the biggest obstacle to FAITH ! It will always get in the way. And too often fear is due to the fact that people put God second. First they secure their way of life—they think about a house, clothing, cars, having children—getting established. Then they think about God. Oh yeah, they say, after realizing their fears of failure were overblown—now we must think about serving God.

 

 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matt 6:33-34

 

 

Unfortunately, their first allegiance was FEAR—and FEAR IS of the  DEVIL ! And whatever your first allegiance is—that will become your ruler. And I’m not talking about FEAR OF GOD—that’s a good fear—but even that is detrimental if you do not progress to FAITH IN GOD, and LOVE OF GOD. God wants you to be more guided by LOVE OF HIM than FEAR OF HIM ! There are plenty of exhortations to fear God in the Bible

 

 

 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.

                                                         Luke 12:5-6

 

 

But that is  more often directed to unbelievers than believers! For believers—the exhortation is to LOVE GOD, more and more !

 

 

But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul."

                                              Josh 22:5

 

Yet some of these people whose fear is their first allegiance are trying to play catch up and get some good marks with God—suddenly realizing how short this life is—but their only TRUE HOPE at this point is to ABANDON their WAY OF LIFE—to GIVE IT ALL AWAY! THEY cannot keep one foot in the door of FEAR and the other foot in the door of FAITH ! It’s all or nothing ! You cannot have DUAL ALLEGIANCES !

 

God does not want “lukewarm” believers !

 

'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:  "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.  So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Rev 3:14-17

 

 

Seminary professors or presidents  who have never truly been pastors or tried to be pastors are going to be more critical of the church and Christian pastors because that is the only way they know how to control. They are controlled more by fear than faith. They are impressed more with the “form” of things than the actuality of life, liberty, and the Power of the Holy Spirit (not the pursuit of material happiness).

 

Seminary is alluring just as the judicial system is alluring—there’s an allusion of control, of law and order. The seminary which is too much aligned with the judicial system in terms of thinking they have a responsibility to maintain law and order may be living an allusion like that of the “superiors” in Harrison Bergeron; thinking they have to dumb people down to maintain order.

 

We do not need to be dumbed down by the Superior Court or the Police Department or the Seminary ! We need to be given freedom –that freedom which is given to all those who are in the Imago Deo and have the ability to actualize via the power of the Holy Spirit in Christ.

 

Yet the seminary, police department, and judicial system will say that they are governing those who have no special revelation—those who do not know the Spirit whatsoever. And there are those certified crazy people out there—we hear stories about them in the news too often.  But again, I’m not sure law –and –order or the allusion of law-and-order is the answer as much as positive reinforcement for GOOD !

 

 

And there’s too much potential for corruption and abuse within these systems that purport to be there just in case things get really crazy and just for those persons who are obviously dangerous. There are times when we do need them for such purposes. But anytime you legislate power and  control you run the risk of  abuse and corruption. The Holy Spirit works in surprising ways—not subject to the law. It is the POWER OF GOOD—LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, GENTLENESS, AND SELF-CONTROL. AGAINST SUCH THINGS THERE IS NO LAW!

 

 I’ve been outspoken in recent weeks—naming actual names –and that’s been purposeful—it was the only way I knew how to go back and address injustices from the past that happened before I knew how to be assertive. Those who abused and oppressed people by virtue of being “blonde” and self-proclaimed beauties. I mentioned L.K. last week.

 

I also mentioned those who led others astray and may still be in position to do so—wolves in sheep’s clothing. Beware! They are dangerous. They will allure you with their baby face and appearance of innocence. The devil is not dumb.. He’s not going to attract you by wearing little devil horns on his head.

 

Be careful, but do not fear. Fear is the enemy of FAITH. WE need to keep progressing in the right direction. I sometimes have to keep urging my own parents to “come on up here” to my side of town. They live in Bellflower. I live by the foothills. I keep telling them this is my “mission” up here. This is my “home” so to speak up here. They keep telling me to come there.

 

 I finally got them to make the trip up here yesterday (Saturday) but we failed to connect. I couldn’t keep track of where they were or when they were coming or if they were actually coming but at least they apparently made an attempt. It’s only a 30 minute drive but they think of the short drive as much more tedious than flying across the country to visit their two oldest children in Michigan, or driving an hour or so to Redlands to visit their youngest son.

 

And part of that is due to me not having lived up to the FAITH FORMULA—that is a formula that is part of the Christian Reformed Church tradition. You go to Calvin College. You marry a Dutch-American (white) girl. You go into a profession—teaching, law, medicine, seminary. You establish yourself. I’ve taken a circuitous route—wary of the routinization of the Holy Spirit, whereby “good spirit” is present but not so much the Holy Spirit. In fact, I’m not even included in the family picture that is in my dad’s office at the Crystal Cathedral—an office the size of a football field. 

 

I keep telling my dad that he  has to come “up here”, that he has to get involved, that he must observe and experience in actuality what I am doing—and takes a little time and effort. He will spend weekends and weeks and holidays with his other children and the grandchildren but not with me. That’s a fear that must be overcome by the Holy Spirit and I am working on it and ask for your prayers about it. Pastors have fears and phobias tooand the congregation can help them become greater persons of faith through prayer and encouragement.

 

And part of the problem is due to a long-standing notion of “turf” that many communities learned while growing up. IN the case of my dad, Jim Kok, his notion of “turf” is Bellflower and Orange County . He grew up , in part, in Bellflower, and has worked in Orange County since 1984. He consciously or unconsciously thinks of the Orange County side (or southern Los Angeles county side)  of southern California as more of his “turf” than the Los Angeles County (or northern Los Angeles County). I keep saying ‘FORGET TURF”—that’s not of the HOLY SPIRIT .

 

I remember one time when I was going to Calvin College for the second time (1992-94) and one of my roommates worked as a medical intern at Blodgett Hospital (now Spectrum Health) in Grand Rapids. He gave us a few meal tickets—so we could get free meals (one’s he had left over after he left the internship). So one day I went over there—a poor student—eager for a free meal and there was my Aunt Ani Peters (actually my half-aunt—my mom’s sister from her dad’s second marriage).

 

Her husband, Adam Blickley, was a medical intern, on his way to becoming an OB/GYN. And their house  at 750 Plymouth was only a block away from Blodgett . So they felt it was “their “hospital growing up. She was nice enough but kept asking me “What are you doing here? “ And I kept telling her that I was eating lunch, as if only patients, doctors, and hospital staff can enjoy a meal at the hospital. I was on what she perceived to be her “turf.” There’s no turf, IN CHRIST !

 

Anyways, my mission is to keep expanding outward from the seminary–--where I spent so many years studying and working on my Masters-in-Divinity. There are some good things about the seminary, minus some of the bad experiences I’ve had. The seminary is a little bit of a safe haven (although it didn’t feel very safe for me the first few years I was there). And that’s because of the mistaken impressions or false impressions that abounded—and the recommendation system that is flawed because human nature is flawed. It will take me years to get known by others according to who I truly am rather than according to the self-serving gossip and recommendation system  of academia.

 

Academia, even the Christian academy, is not a full-fledged system of faith. It is partial, and that means you will find “lukewarm believers” in the system. And that’s an oxymoron. You cannot be a “lukewarm believer” .

 

 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Rev 3:16-17

 

The movie, Harrison Bergeron, highlights the problem of being lukewarm. It means the loss of excellence and perfection and goodness. It means the loss of soul. Sure there might be “good spirit” present but that’s not the same as the Holy Spirit. The movie makes me think of a society that is overly medicated. Imagine a society that just tries to numb itself---whether it be legal medication, alcohol, tobacco, or illegal drugs. That is not God’s society.

 

And some seminaries, unfortunately,  cater to the pharmaceutical industry. Some pharmaceutical companies such as Eli Lilly have made inroads with churches and seminaries by offering scholarships and grants to them, in exchange for the pastor or seminary president’s endorsement of them (informally of course). Money controls.  Some schools  or school districts also cater to the pharmaceutical industry---overly eager to label somebody ADHD (attention deficit hyperactive disorder).

 

They’ve chosen a new LAUSD Superintendent (and it’s not me). Will he be a good one? He does not have any personal educator experience although apparently everybody in his family has had some educator experience. That’s not the same. He’s had military experience (which is a controlled setting). Will he be good for the district? I guess we will find out.

 

I still believe that the schools will experience the greatest performance gains when they invite the Holy Spirit to be in control. That’s an informal activity—it cannot be legislated, and we don’t want a public school district allowing religious proselytizing (if so, the Muslims will have a potential stronghold). It has to be a matter of involvement and engagement by the Christian community on an informal basis—prayer, interaction and participation in the secular society. That’s the church in action.

 

The church is not so much a building as it is a community of believers—the believers are the building.  We are the BODY. When too much emphasis is placed on the building itself—problems arise. The focus on the need for a temple—a building of bricks and stone—in the Old Testament attests to that danger. The need for a brick and stone building was so alluring to the Jews they lost sight of the purpose of the temple, itself. They forgot about God.

 

Later in the New Testament we are told very clearly that we, the Body of Believers, (plural) are the “temple” of Christ.

 

 Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?  If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple. 1 Cor 3:16-17

 

 

The actual temple –the Jewish temple of the Old Testament days was destroyed not once but twice : “On the 10th of August, in A.D. 70 -- the 9th of Av -- in Jewish reckoning, the very day when the King of Babylon burned the Temple in 586 B.C., the Temple was burned again”. (see http://www.templemount.org/destruct2.html ).

 

I believe the destruction of the temple was a lesson for God’s people—to not place such an emphasis on a particular place or location or building—because that is perishable and will not last, whereas the Body of Christ is eternal, and will endure even after death.We are not wood and bricks, we are hearts, minds, and souls. And together we shall not fear—we shall move forward in FAITH, knowing that we have the POWER OF CHRIST with us, here and now, and FOREVER !

 

We must strive to become better. We must allow for excellence and reward it. We must pray to God—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for His abiding presence. We must worship Him and please Him, because we love Him, more so than  because we fear Him.

 

Song: Father, Make us Loving !

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/f/a/fathmake.htm

 

Song: How Shall we Answer Terror’s Cry?

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/h/s/hswatcry.htm

 

Prayer: Dear Lord, Hear my prayer—thank you for the Words this morning. Thank you for YOUR WORD to us—revealed in Your Living Son who died for us—to show us the way to live—to trust in You and to follow His Footsteps. You are our leader, God. In You We Trust. Let us never acquiesce to Fear, but let us become more and more courageous because of our LOVE OF YOU !  And let nobody censor that which is good and for Your HOLY PURPOSE, Lord. Let JESUS CHRIST BE MENTIONED EVERYWHERE WITHOUT FEAR ! Hear our prayer, God. Amen.

 

Thank you for your continued support, my friends. Your encouragement and prayers and gifts are tremendously helpful. I hope to keep hearing from you.

 

Sincerely

 

J.P. Kok

Pastor Kok III