On the first day of the month I realized that there is no fire in old sermons. There was no spark at all when I preached this morning, so I had to rewrite it when I went home. Even my buddy last week did better than me. Maybe my Cantonese failed me. Some words could not come out, but mostly freshness is missing. It is different when you spent a month preparing it. It goes deeper into the heart. There is no passion whatsoever with a sermon several years old when it is a mere product with no process involved. God has taught me to rely on Him and pray for others.
I am getting ready to leave for a one-week mission trip. Local pastoral ministry is great but I do not want to lose my involvement and impact on global missions. I just cannot forget my fellow coworkers in the mission field, nor would I suffer them to labor alone. My only regret is that I did not have the vision to come initially, but God has changed me since. I will be teaching Bible study and preaching, my two favorite subjects. It is also good to withdraw to reflect on God and not to be overworked.
It's been a long time since my last missions trip in April and this second week I've been sent to the City to teach at Hope College, a new accredited program with 33 students in the MACS program. What surprised me was five graudates from Gentleland's Bachelor program have enrolled there waiting for my arrival. So I was a little touched by the gesture and the youngsters who could not get enough of expository preaching. In the future our team will spend less time in Gentleland and with farmers and more time in major cities.
There was a commotion the second day in class even though we were aware of an expected spot check. The locals hid me in the childrens' nursery class more than an hour until the men were gone. The down side was I had to make up an hour of class for them. The class is learning as fast as possible. The students are delighted and defeated at the same time learning expository preaching.Usualy the students' breaktrhough happens the third day in class. I had to drink four cups of coffee to stay alert whole day.
On day 3 I learned that next week's class will be canceled due the political climate. The students were disappointed because they were waiting for our famous new professor from Taiwan to teach them. The students were good into the second point until I introduced structural diagramming and there was disbelief and distress again and the class ended at verse 7 of Philemon. For the last four years I have taught close to 400 students, intorducing 100 of them the last two years to structural diagramming. They are excited and grateful for the skill of first-hand work into the text.
Day 4: The class ended on a high note when they diagrammed the whole book od Philemon with high anxiety. Tomorrow all 33 students will take the floor even though three students have to share a sermon! It is a joy to hear their feedback, which reminds me of the value of missions and the need to do my part. I am happy to report that the hardest nut to crack in the class finally made a breakthrough on day 4. It's been a short trip. Overall the trip has been good to me reminding me of the need to be on fire for missions. I have been blessed.During the trip, I also worked on my new Chinese book. It is almost done, with one chapter to go, but I won't get to speak on the last chapter until the end of the year.
I have to get back to reality soon. Sunday (16th) was my first day teaching Sunday school this quarter. Thankfully I am partnered with a coworker who did all the terrific legwork and kicked off the class last week. The disorientation lasted till this morning when I translated the last of my English materials into Chinese. With that accomplished the class went by smoothly. Last night also was a bonus. I attended a revival meeting at church and the meeting was packed. The speaker was at his best and next week's speaker could be a bigger draw.
It has been an emotional roller ride lately. First the morning worship with overseas students on my mission trip brought tears to my eyes, so much that the nearest student handed me tissues. Today (18th) we said farewell to a coworker who is returning to the States after 19 months. We have been good friends for sure. I also had to comfort his staff. Then the Lord impressed upon my heart to care for another coworker to see if a certain ministry is right for him, which was exactly what he had in mind this week, I later discovered. To be ont he same oage made me teary.
Someone sent me a promotional poster (see image below) I did not know even existed. It seems our publisher has put our two books together for promoitonal display. We are glad but the thrill is gone. I visited Robert Morrison's grave today (21) for a special reason, but it was not emotional at all. So I gather my emptional ride was over yesterday.
A coworker I have been helping with using the traditional OIA Bible study method have a breakout day leading his prestudy group on Saturday (22) on his eight session. No disrespect to me, but some of his observations were so shockingly good that he had even eclipsed me, to his credit and God's praise. Previously there were still rumblings of discontent from study leaders who were used to the lecture method. This serves to strengthen my belief that a person's breakthrough occurs seven times after practicing the method, especially in Bible study and preaching.
Spurgeon's devotional book on Sep 25, 2012 reminds me of the simplicity of Christ and the shallowness of philosophy:
"Who of God is made unto us wisdom." 1 Cor 1:30
Man's intellect seeks after rest, and by nature seeks it apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. Men of education are apt, even when converted, to look upon the simplicities of the cross of Christ with an eye too little reverent and loving. They are snared in the old net in which the Grecians were taken, and have a hankering to mix philosophy with revelation. The temptation with a man of refined thought and high education is to depart from the simple truth of Christ crucified, and to invent, as the term is, a more intellectual doctrine. This led the early Christian churches into Gnosticism, and bewitched them with all sorts of heresies. This is the root of Neology, and the other fine things which in days gone by were so fashionable in Germany, and are now so ensnaring to certain classes of divines. Whoever you are, good reader, and whatever your education may be, if you be the Lord's, be assured you will find no rest in philosophizing divinity. You may receive this dogma of one great thinker, or that dream of another profound reasoner, but what the chaff is to the wheat, that will these be to the pure word of God. All that reason, when best guided, can find out is but the A B C of truth, and even that lacks certainty, while in Christ Jesus there is treasured up all the fulness of wisdom and knowledge. All attempts on the part of Christians to be content with systems such as Unitarian and Broad-church thinkers would approve of, must fail; true heirs of heaven must come back to the grandly simple reality which makes the ploughboy's eye flash with joy, and glads the pious pauper's heart--"Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners." Jesus satisfies the most elevated intellect when He is believingly received, but apart from Him the mind of the regenerate discovers no rest. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." "A good understanding have all they that do His commandments."
A friend gave his resolve with one of the most joyous lines I have heard (28th): "My word is my bond." Hope his commitment holds up.
