"You Are Like a Veggie Tale"

I preached in Singapore recently for a Church for a special week-end as they embark on their 49th year in ministry.  A "Sabbath's Sabath."  That's 7 times 7 and a very significant time leading into the Jubilee that the Bible speaks of where debts are canceled, slaves are freed, etc.  Exciting!

We had a wonderful and impactful time.  A few days later, I was still in Singapore, preparing to go to Jakarta for the next week-end of ministry.  One of the Church families invited me to an amazing dinner.

During the dinner, the daughter in the family asked me, "do you know Veggie Tales?"  I responded that I know Veggie Tales very well as my youngest son Ethan watched them for years, often in the car as I drove and so I know the sound of Veggie Tales more since I wasn't watching, but listening.

Then she said, "Did you know that you are like a Veggie Tale?"  Before I could answer, and because something got stuck in my throat at that very moment due to being startled, she further explained, "I'm not the only one who thinks so."

I was imagining the characters by this point... the tomato, the cucumber, and for some reason, even the annoying orange who is not even a veggie tale!  I said, "Which one do I remind you of?"  She told me that I don't remind her of one in particular...  she said, "all of them."

What I surmised is that after a service, after one of my times preaching, that she and at least one other person if not a small group, talked and decided that I'm not like Billy Graham or Francis Chan or Jentezen Franklin or Steven Furtick or like any of the other preachers that I wouldn't mind being thought of as similar to, but that I am like a Veggie Tale.  Hmmmmm!

That would be like telling a boxer that instead of them reminding them of Ali or Frazier or another one of the greats, you my friend are like a cartoon vegetable!  Wow!  Impressive!

As she continued to talk, I found out that this young lady (in her 20's) meant this statement as a high compliment.  She had only recently discovered Veggie Tales and now had become an avid fan of the series and was in the process of collecting everything she could get her hands on.

And so I started to feel better. Much better..  It was a compliment!

What she went on to say is that the way that I speak with enthusiasm and emphasis in a way that is understandable and interesting.  OK, that's pretty good.

After some introspection and discussion with the Lord about this, I have concluded that if God made me to shine for Him in such a way that I could be compared to a Veggie Tale, then so be it!

I thank God for His ways of helping us to keep perspective.  If all of us try to copy one person and one person alone, Jesus Christ, we will maintain our individuality of how we have been created and become the same in the ways that we are similar to Jesus.

The moral of the story is this.  I was exposed and wrong to have wanted, even in the back of my mind, to be compared to any other minister of the gospel.  I should only want to be compared to one person, Jesus Christ Himself!

Now if someone does seem to think that I remind them of some-one or some-thing along the way, as long as I'm trying to be like Jesus, well then, I suppose that is OK...

Ephesians 5:1-2(NLT)
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

The Risk of Caring for Hurting People

Ministry, at least for some including me, is kind of like being a warden on a wildlife preserve.  You are there serving because of a deep love for beasts that in an instant can rip you to shreds with one claw, let alone two paws full.  With compassion, you do your best to protect them from poachers and help them to have the best lives possible while at the same time are careful not to be devoured by them.  Tranquilizer guns are often used against an attacking animal so as not to kill it while defending yourself from sure death.

I like the often told fable of the Lion with the thorn in his paw that he couldn't get out on his own.  A human comes along and risks his life to get it out.  Can you imagine the increase in the pace of your heart beat if you were to take on such a task?  To remove a thorn from a Lion's paw, a paw that is almost the size of your head?  You would have to be wondering as you are getting that thorn out, if the Lion will respond with thanks or will he turn on you and snuff your life out?!

I suppose that the answer is that the reaction will depend on which Lion you happened upon!  It could go either way and it is a risk!

I've had all reactions.  There have been people who I have helped to deal with the situations in their life respond with gratitude, others have responded with indifference and some have turned on me to try and kill me. Some have done two or even all three over a period of time!

Love has to be the motivation.  Love so strong that a person is willing to lay down his life for that one who is in need even if the one to attack you is the very one you are helping.  This kind of love is only possible when our love is made complete by having a true love relationship with Jesus Christ.  A love with Jesus that is so strong that it comes from our marriage to Him and our shared love for others with Him.  Many are called to care, but few are chosen.  There are several reasons why and this is one of them.

Sometimes when I have been beaten, bruised, dishonored and attacked, I want to play it safe... withdraw... put up a wall.  But then I find that I become ineffective in ministry.  Thorns stay in paws, people remain harassed and the enemy is not deflected.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't be careful.  Of course, a tranquilizer gun is a necessary accessory and if a person has been identified as one who is definitely going to try to destroy you, then you should not place yourself in their line of fire.  But we do need to be willing to get as close as possible to those in need, to spend time when it's not convenient or fun.

We do have to be willing to take calculated and loving risks.

In our Church in Manila, our theme song for the year is "Spirit Touch Your Church."  One of the lines says "I want to care for others, like Jesus cares for me."


John 15:13 (NLT)  "There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."

Jesus laid down His life for His friends.  That means those who would obey His Word.  That means those who would have a personal relationship with Him and spend eternity with Him.  But He did it for everyone even before they were His friends.  We need to be the same way.  Lay our lives down for those who will become friends of Jesus.

Is Our Worship "Just Singing?"

Songs of worship have a distinct sound. And it’s not always about the words, though definitely a worship song should be exalting God. But sometimes even when the words are right, it doesn’t really sound like there truly is worship going on. It’s also not always about the style of the music. It has little to do with whether there are drums or if it is fast or slow or if there is a pipe organ playing. It’s more about what is there or what is missing in the hearts of the worshipers.

When Moses and Joshua were up on the mountain having an experience with God which included getting the original set of the 10 commandments, God told them they had better get back down the mountain to the camp because the people had lost control of themselves and had made a golden calf and were indulging in revelry.

As they approached the camp, Joshua and Moses had a conversation.

Exodus 32:17-18 (NIV)
When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.” Moses replied: “It is not the sound of victory, it is not the sound of defeat: it is the sound of singing that I hear.”

Interesting. What Moses heard was JUST SINGING. It wasn’t worship, it wasn’t the blues, it wasn’t like one of the old spirituals like “Swing Low” which cries out for Gods help… it was literally NOTHING. No substance. It sounded powerful and war-like which our worship sometimes needs to be, but there was no power. EMPTY.

These people were so energetic that it sounded like warfare. They weren’t just singing… they were shouting. Remember the context. They had just bowed down to a golden calf and had even made sacrifices to it followed by revelry which probably included drinking and dancing. But it was all done in a seemingly proper way in the context of how other nations worshiped their gods which was what the Israelite s wanted to emulate. Aaron had told them that the golden calf represented God. The calf was supposedly symbolic of God. The problem is that this completely opposed the way God wanted to be known and worshiped. He had told them that He was to always remain the “unseen” God. He said to never make “graven images” about anything to worship including Him. This is why committed followers of Jesus who follow His word don’t worship paintings of Him, statues of Him or of any other disciples, patriarchs, saints or anyone else. Because when we do, we commit the same sin of worshiping a golden calf. We aren’t even supposed to worship the cross. Is it ok to have a cross around your neck or at the front of the church? Sure! Just don’t worship it or think there is any power in that emblem. Your power only comes through a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ!

This is why Paul encourages us in 2 Corinthians 4:18 to only focus our eyes on things that are unseen, since what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal.

I have been in worship services that are marked by the presence of God and I have been in services that were empty. Sometimes the best services had terrible music because the sound system wasn’t great and the talent of the leaders wasn’t up to the level of others. But it was really from a heart that is committed to Jesus. I’ve been in some services that were awesome with incredible sounds, lights, talent that could be on an album and there was just an emptiness.

On a side note, I’m not saying that it is ok to have inferior worship. The Bible also instructs us to develop our skills and to sing and play instruments with excellence, but the condition of the heart is the most important thing.

What I want is worship that isn’t just singing. I want it for myself and I want it for the assembly that I pastor! I want worship that is marked with the presence and power of God! Worship that pleases God and transforms us!

So what do we need to do? We need to worship Jesus from a heart that burns for Him. We need to do what it takes to be in relationship with Him, communication with Him while we are worshipping. It takes repentance to do this. Asking God to forgive us of our sins, allowing the Holy Spirit to search us and to show us the changes that we need to make. This kind of worship requires us to reject the “just singing along” mentality. Because if we are just singing along, then it is probably JUST SINGING.

To Teach or Not to Teach the Tithe

This is a huge question that every ministry must answer for themselves.  I know Pastors who have chosen to never even mention the Tithe and stop taking offerings, only setting up boxes around the facilities to collect funds.  I know others who not only continue to pass the bags around via ushers, but they do a mini-teaching about giving literally every Sunday.  I think that neither of those approaches are biblically wrong but that it would depend on where the church is and on what type of environment they need to establish to reach their targeted audience.

I have been on a journey with this.  For many years now, I never mentioned the word “tithe” and only encouraged giving.  This, until recently when God literally spoke to me one afternoon when I was praying to Him about some financial concerns.  He said, “you are giving too much alms.”  Now alms is not a term that I would normally use, but it is a term that I am familiar with and I know exactly what it means.  It means money given to the needy or poor.

I had been giving quite a bit of money to people in need to the point that I had not been giving much in the actual collection at church.  I had in my mind, figured that as long as I’m giving, as long as I’m being led by the Spirit in it (assuming I really was being led), that all giving was lumped into one big category.  And I justified this with the argument that tithing isn’t even mentioned in the New Testament and more.  Now I was giving well over 30% of my income, but almost all of it in alms.

So why was I so loose in my interpretation of giving and why had I not been teaching tithing in the Church?  It is because I was intentionally being careful not to cause people to give reluctantly or under compulsion so that they would give what they have decided in their heart to give because God loves it when we give cheerfully.  That is New Testament.  Read about it in 2 Corinthians 9.

I also have this firm belief that if people are led by the Holy Spirit, that they don’t even need to worry  about details because the Holy Spirit will take care of those things for you.  I still believe that.  The letter of the law kills, but the Spirit brings life.  That’s scripture too!

However, I have come to realize that very few people including myself are nearly as Spirit led as often as we would like to think.  And so the law is there for us to check ourselves to see if we are actually being led by the Spirit.  Jesus said this:

Matthew 5:18 - "I can guarantee this truth: Until the earth and the heavens disappear; neither a period nor a comma will disappear from the Scriptures before everything has come true."

Jesus was saying, and I invite to you read the full scripture in Matthew 5, that He did not come to replace the Old Testament Law, but to fulfill it. He additionally said that we need to be even more righteous than the Pharisees. The Holy Spirit helps us, but that does not do away with the details of the law.

Here’s an example.  Last Sunday, the offering bag passed me before I had a chance to get my money out.  The Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, “Quick!  Go put 1k pesos in!”  So I ran up 2 rows and quickly threw 1k pesos in.  Later, I calculated and realized that 600 pesos of it had been tithe and the additional 400 pesos was seed offering.  The Holy Spirit led me to give the tithe and the offering.  When the Spirit leads you and then you check if it was according to the Word, then you know you were truly led by the Spirit and not by your own idea, agenda, or suggestion of some strange origin (like YouTube teachings).

In my research, I discovered that there are four primary ways that we can give.  The Tithe, First Fruits, Alms and Seed Offerings.  Tithe is the one that is dealt with in Malachi and other places that shows us that if we will give God back the first 10% of what He has entrusted to us, which belongs to Him, that He will rebuke the devourer for us.  Since it is His to begin with, it is not seed.  First Fruits work the same way Tithe does but applies more to income that is not regular like a bonus or a deal or an inheritance.  Alms are given to the poor and the interesting thing about the Alms is that the Word of God shows us that there is a very low “rate of return” on it.  You will get back what you gave, dollar for dollar, peso for peso.  There is no increase or multiplication on alms to the poor.  (Proverbs 19:17)  Should you give alms?  Yes!  Of course!  And you will be repaid.  But should you give alms in place of Tithes?  Absolutely not!  That would be a huge mistake!  A mistake that I was making.  It would mean that the devourer has access to your finances!  The seed giving has to do with planting the Word of God.  (Matthew 13 shows us this principle)  When you give to the Work of the Lord…  things that actually bring about an evangelistic harvest  (giving to the Red Cross wouldn’t apply because they don’t share the Gospel), then there is a multiplication that happens.  This is why people who give in every way end up being so blessed!  They have multiplication!  The Tithe and the First Fruits protects, the Alms get re-paid and cause us to be more Christ-like and the Seed spreads the Gospel and multiplies!

So I had to change.  I had to realize that unless I was teaching this, that the people in the Church I pastor were not really being led by the Spirit in this and they were falling prey to the devourer.  In the past several weeks, I have been teaching the Tithe and the ways of giving.  I have encouraged people to become intentional in their giving.  Of course, I still make sure to teach in a way where they are not feeling pressured, only invited by the truth of what God’s Word teaches.

The results have been amazing!  People are experiencing blessing!

So for me, I have gone from a person who never even mentioned the Tithe, to a person who happily encourages it.   I have changed!  J

Just a caution for those Pastors who will read this.  Some people will not like it and they will leave.  Let them leave.  These are the ones that will find any way they can to make excuses not to follow God’s Word and this is just the tip of the ice berg of their problems.  If they will submit to God’s Word on this, then they will on other issues as well.  If they won’t on this, they will remain stubborn and un-changing in other areas of their lives too.  It’s a big deal.  Don’t be afraid to stand firm with God’s Word.

Distraction can actually be Conviction

Yesterday, we had a really powerful and beautiful service!  The move of the Holy Spirit was sweet and amazing!

After service, one of our members came to me and was disturbed because she had felt "distracted." While other people were having all these amazing experiences around her, she felt she wasn't able to enter in, almost as if she had missed what the Holy Spirit was doing.

Upon asking her a few questions, I realized that actually, what had happened to her was exactly what I had been hoping would happen in the service.  That it wouldn't just be about feelings and sensations, but that God would speak to people about the things that they are doing that they shouldn't be doing, and that He would speak to people about doing the things that He has been asking them to do but they have not been aware, lazy or resistant about.  it's called conviction and it doesn't feel nice.

So instead of feeling bad of the awareness of not praying enough, not reading the Bible, engaging in gossip and slander and whatever else the Holy Spirit is "distracting" you about, embrace it and realize that He is drawing you to Himself and to becoming a better you for Him!

We talked about it in the afternoon Pastoral Candidate Training class and discovered that this is common.  It happens to many people.  They confuse conviction with distraction.

I have now begun to understand that in order for the Holy Spirit to convict us, He will often begin by distracting us!  Getting our attention!

No Money, No Problem!

Amy and I were on a road trip to a meeting earlier today to a place called Binan, Laguna.  It took about 5 hours to go there, meet and come back.  On the way back to Manila, I said that I want to stop by and visit one of our fellowship members who is having a hard time with money.  The couple has been jobless now for months and is simply at the end of their resources.  

As we got closer, I almost bailed out because I was going empty handed.  I wanted to at least pick up some groceries or some baked goods for their kids... anything!  But we had nothing to give.  Literally nothing.  We couldn't even give 100 pesos.  ($2)

But I sensed the leading of the Lord and I heard the words of Peter speaking to the lame beggar in my mind.  "Silver and Gold I don't have, but what I do have, I give you.  In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!"  (Acts 3:6)

After we had been there awhile, the wife said, "we don't have anything to offer you."  Meaning they didn't have a snack for us which is the normal thing that people would give you in the Philippines when you stop by.  It meant they didn't even have money for their own food.

When we got to the prayer time, I prayed Acts 3 and the Spirit started stirring and out of my mouth came the declaration that the phone will ring or an Email will come and God is going to do a miracle.

About an hour after we left, without having given them a thing in a physical sense, I got a text from him that one of his old employers had just called and offered him a job to start on Monday.

Praise God!  Now this brother is still gonna need a few miracles to sustain his family until the first paycheck comes in but I know that my God is able to supply all his needs!  We keep praying!

People look at me, a white man living in an Asian country and they think I'm well funded.  Sent by a generous American church.  They don't realize how things have changed.  I used to easily get thousands of dollars a month from America.  That was 15 years ago.  Now, I have one supporting church in Tacoma, Washington which gives $230 a month.  Everything else comes in miraculously. Being a missionary requires just as much faith now as in the early days of missions!  I know exactly what Paul meant when he said he knows what it's like to have plenty and he knows what it's like to have little.  (Philippians 4:12)

Faith is not based on what we can see or what we know for sure is coming!  It is based on the fact that we serve a God who not only can give big miracles, but He can and does give us daily miracles! I praise Him!

So let us keep giving even when we don't have silver or gold to give!  And let us keep pressing on even when we don't know how we're going to get our needs met next month!  Jesus never fails!

God's Voice Comes from Behind You

One of the biggest sad issues that I am constantly reminded of as I navigate through life and ministry is that even though the Holy Spirit is constantly moving, speaking and prompting, the vast majority of Jesus followers are not in tune with Him. Either they aren't listening or their spiritual ears are clogged or both. But the amazing thing is that many of them are true believers, dedicated, faithful, committed, worshipful. The amount of hurt, waste and opportunities missed is staggering to consider. If we would only be in step with the Holy Spirit, (Galatians 5:25) the state of the Church, the world and of the lives of believers would be much better! We would be on course with God's destiny for us!

So what is the solution?!? Actually, we could write books of solutions, but today I want to emphasize just one truth that I believe, if it is embraced, will help each one of us.

Isaiah 30:21 -- Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

This is an amazing revelation from scripture. It means that we literally cannot outrun the voice of God in our lives. No matter how far off course we get or how far ahead or how far behind, the voice of God will speak to us. And of course we know this is true because nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39). And because we are His sheep and we do hear His voice (John 2:3).

Oh, and please don't get me started about all the false teachings that use Romans 8 in a wrong way, implying that you don't need to respond to God's love in obedience. Just because you are not separated from His love does not mean you don't need to walk in His love. Jesus says, you love me if you obey my word. (John 14:24) To not obey His word is to not be in His love. It is available, you are not separated from it, but you are not benefiting from it without obedience.

So how can we hear? Listen for God's voice. You have to actually listen for it. God's voice is not normally going to break in on you. (interrupt) If you are busy, distracted, absorbed, consumed, uninterested, deceived (wrong doctrine), etc, than you will not be listening for His voice. Note that the scripture says His voice calls to you from behind you. He does not block your path and say Stop! Go this way! Instead, He leads you from a place of gentleness and gives you choice. If you are to be led, you must listen for the voice of your Leader.

We all know the Christian catch phrase that "the Holy Spirit is a Gentleman." That, by the way is not a scripture but it is a generally accepted statement backed up by scriptures. It means that He does not force Himself on anyone. He usually waits to move, to be asked. In the application of our main text today, it means that He seldom raises His voice.

Which leads me to my final thought. In 1 Kings 19:12, when Elijah was waiting to hear from God, God was not in the strong wind, He wasn't in the earthquake and He wasn't in the fire. God wasn't forceful or loud. God was in the "Gentle Whisper!" Some of you may know the term "still, small voice" used in some translations.

My advice? Quiet down. Settle down. Listen for the Gentle Whisper. Listen for that loving voice that comes from behind you. He is willing to help you to get back on track! He wants you to walk His path and fulfill your purposes!