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Days 1-3 | Days 4-6 | Days 7-9 | Days 10-11
1 April 2008: Arriving in Beijing Day One in China I have arrived into Beijing for the Overture II course. I am very excited for the class and all that the Lord has for me in the coming ten days. My prayer is to be open to all that the Lord has for me, and for him to give me a supple and learning spirit. The flight into China was marked by certain graces from God. As I left Long Beach, the alarm was not set early enough and I almost missed the shuttle to LAX. When I checked my phone messages, I was glad to learn that I narrowly missed being left by the shuttle driver. I thank God that the man stayed around and I was able to get to the airport on time. Another grace was God putting me on the flight with five other Bakke students. I sensed a great deal of shared vision and values. The Lord is so kind to give us community. The Kingdom of God is about people and relationships! During the flight the Lord met me as I caught up on my daily Bible reading plan. As I am working through the English Standard Version this year, I thank God for the Crossway edition. It is a very solid translation, the literary aspects of the text flow nicely, and the reading plan at the back is motivational and easy to use. I worked my way Genesis through Leviticus. The Lord impressed upon me many insights and lessons that speak to my relationship with the Living God, and prepare me for all that he has for me. The Glory of Election One major theme is God’s choice in revelation. It is striking that he alone takes initiative to begin relationship with his people. He chose Abram, from among all of the men in the world, and even his own family. He did not choose to enter into covenant relationship with the brothers Nahor or Haran. But he selected Abram. And he put a special call on his life to bless him, and to accomplish his purposes in redemptive history. This theme of sovereign election is also seen in his setting aside the younger brothers (Joseph, Jacob, Moses), and not the older brothers. God love to take the weak things of the world and make them great. I am humbled and strengthened by God’s rich and redeeming grace. The second theme that jumped off of the page and into my heart was family. As I read Genesis, it was striking how all of the first families struggled with the issue of birthing children. The patriarchs and their wives learned great patience as they waited on God for children. They were faced with the great challenge to look around and see the blessing come easier for others. I am certain they struggled with comparison, jealousy, and wondering they were chosen to suffer. I wonder if the same motivation Yahweh had in wrestling all the night with Jacob, in order to bless him with a new name, was present as he chose not to open the wombs of Sarai, Rebecca, and Rachel. As we wrestle with God we learn patience, we learn to suffer well, and we are reminded that Yahweh alone is the source and ruler over life. We also see that God always came through for the first families. He did not forget them, but instead gave them the special blessing of faithful endurance. My own testimony is that Becky and are stronger as we wait for children of faith, and not children merely of the flesh. We know, experientially, that life comes from God in heaven! Relationships As I approach China, physically and spiritually, I am thankful for the community of the saints. I thank God for Becky, Joy, and our future children. And I bless God in heaven for my relationship with Jesus. I am in love with Jesus because he first loved me. The Kingdom of God is all about relationships. I look forward to seeing how that eternal truth will be revealed in China! Prayer Father, I thank you for breaking into my life as you did with Abram! I thank you for choosing for me Becky and for giving us Joy. And I thank you for the saints that you have given for the sake of joy and the mission. I pray that you bless me with your wisdom, encouragement, and faith for the upcoming days in China. I am listening. Please teach me all about your great work in China! 2 April 2008: The Great Wall of China Day Two in China As I begin the daily journal for the Overture II course, I am eager to learn well. I am reminded of how important it is to be an active learner. I do not want to just experience China. Experience is not the best teacher, but learning from experience is the best teacher. There are many who experience great things, but leave with unanswered parables. In this journal, I will get to the core of the lessons, and implement those lessons into becoming a more worshipful and trained disciple, eager to be used by God in America and China. The format of the journal will be threefold. I will take a daily idea, and then reflect on three aspects of that concept. I will observe, interpret, and then apply the idea to my personal life and corporate ministry with Fountain of Life Covenant Church. Daily Overview Here are some of the top insights and themes from the first day in Beijing: 1. The economic growth of Beijing, and the country of China 2. Cutting edge architecture 3. The Great Wall kept Barbarians out, and the Olympics invite them in 4. Feng Shui and the laws of heaven in architecture and daily life 5. Carol Lee, our tour guide, and her life in China 6. Christian community with Jeff from Mission Viejo 7. Singing worship songs on the cable car ride down the wall The central idea for today’s entry is what God taught me at the Great Wall of China. Observations The Great Wall of China is truly massive. They sure do things big in China. I now understand why it is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The wall was built and maintained from the 5th century BC through the 16th century. (And it is currently being renovated and repaired as Beijing prepares for the world to arrive in August). The wall was built to protect the northern borders and interests of the Chinese empire. The Great Wall stretches over 6400 kilometers. That is the distance from Los Angeles to New York. It was said that there are enough bricks in the wall to circle the entire earth. At the height of its use, the Ming Wall was home to over 1 million men. As I walked the wall, seeing the architectural design for warfare, my thoughts turned to war and how much blood of the Chinese and Mongolian was shed at the wall. Sadly, the wall, in all of its magnificence, testifies to the nature of isolation and violence, which to this day corrupts the human spirit. Interpretation and Lessons There are many lessons God impressed upon me from my experience at the Great Wall. The first is the communal effort that resulted in the wall. There was not a great idea, which arose from one person, to build the wall. Instead, many separate Chinese villages and territories, which struggled in their own daily battles against the Mongolians, each built their own sections. But the leader came in and brought all of the workers, and therefore, the wall, together. Leadership is not just giving grand vision in the massive task of building a wall, but making sure that each person is fighting their own battles. If they are fighting, they will be building a wall. It is much easier to connect ten walls that are simultaneously being built, than trying to motivate a hundred people to begin building. A second lesson is the price of fighting. It is estimated that over 2 to 3 million Chinese died building the Great Wall. It stands today because many gave their lives. Carol, our tour guide, stressed the importance of weather and the wall. The northern mountains, near Inner Mongolia, get very cold. We were there in April, and with the winds, my head and hands were freezing. Imagine building the wall in the dead of winter, fighting winds, snow, and short days of sun. Carol said that many who chose to defend the nation and build the wall knew very well that as they made the journey to the mountains, they would not return to their families. The men of China were willing to die for the wall. Is that true with Fountain of Life today? Are the people God has entrusted to me, willing to suffer for the wall in Long Beach? We do not face Barbarians from Mongolia. Our enemy is far worse, and the results are eternal. I must prepare our people to suffer well, and give their all to defeat sin and rebellion against the Kingdom of God! The last interpretive lesson is accomplishment. As the builders worked faithful and diligently for a thousand years, I doubt any had the notion that they were building what would become one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Little did they know the entire world would come to see their work in 2008. But they faithfully and diligently worked. I think of Jesus teaching that we must not look back, once we put our hand to the plow (Luke 9.62). Much can be done for God when we faithfully plow for generations. Application What does this mean for me, and for FOL? The big take away from spending the day at the Great Wall is to make sure that all of our congregants are fighting and building their section of the wall. It is not enough to merely be one who attends services at the local church. The men who built the wall, and died on the wall, were people who believed that their life would be better suffering and sacrificing, even to the point of death. They must have known their enemy well. The barbarians of Mongolia must have been especially vicious to drive the Chinese to such faithful obedience and amazing accomplishment. It is not enough to merely say one is a Christian. One must know the evil one, his ways of hardening hearts and ruining societies, and we must fight. And once our young church fights, after many years of faithful obedience, will be look back and see a wall. And may the fruits of our labor be not merely keeping out the Barbarians, but may our completed work, result in the gathering of fruit for eternal life (John 4.36). Prayer Father, thank you for the amazing gift of being at the Great Wall of China! I pray that you will make FOL people who fight for their faith, and for the faith of others. Will you please bless us with your spirit so that we might suffer, sacrifice, and win others to the Kingdom? And I pray, for your name’s sake, that we will look back, and be amazed at what we accomplish for the Kingdom of God! 3 April 2008: The Gospel in Chinese History and Language Day Three in China Today was the second day of classes for Overture II. We are still in Beijing, and will be here until the end of the week. It is an amazing time of learning, community, and experiencing the greatness of God, in this massive city. Daily Overview Here are some of the top insights, themes, and joys from the second day in Beijing: 1. The grace of community as Greg gave me a Beijing Dodgers hat 2. C. K. Tong’s lecture of God’s faithfulness to the Chinese 3. Materialism, the Chinese government, and current economic success 4. Inspirational evangelism growth in the urban and rural centers 5. The temple of heaven 6. Prayer around the temple of heaven with H. Spees 7. The grace of community as Greg helped us to buy pearls The central idea that I will focus on today is what God taught me as we toured, prayed, and learned of God’s faithful love to the Chinese at the Temple of Heaven. Observations The translation of the Temple of Heaven means literally the altar of heaven. The property is in the southeast district of Beijing, and is a complex cadre of buildings, that together create a wonderful testimony of God’s work in the ancient Chinese. The temple was constructed from 1406 to 1420, under the reign of the Yongle Emperor. The grounds host three main sets of buildings, all symbolic and reflective of a groping and yearning for God’s love, mercy, and blessing. The first building is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, followed by the Imperial Vault of Heaven, and that leads the worshipper to the altar proper, where once a year the Emperor would perform sacrifice, the Earthly Mount. Interpretations and Lessons Our experience today was framed by the insightful and inspirational work of research and authorship from C.K. Tong. His groundbreaking book, “Faithful to our Fathers”, uncovers the general revelation of God to the ancient Chinese. Among the many symbols for the gospel, found in the Chinese characters, especially relating to the Genesis accounts, Tong focused on the unique relationship the ancient Chinese emperors had with Shangdi. This God, which was given the title Name Above All Names, and was looked to for forgiveness and righteousness, was worshipped in the Temple. My heart was stirred as H. Spees and I walked around the first building, praying for Beijing. It arrested my spirit that I am in relationship with the Living God. The community of FOL does not worship a dead god, but instead the One who gives life to every person, every city, every country, and every continent. During the lecture today, my evangelism gift fired off countless times as the litany of false gods, who only oppress, was compared to the Chinese understanding of Christ, made manifest in Shangdi. It is good news that we do not worship false idols, but instead a God who is alive, and who is madly in love with us, not only because he made us, but because of the sake of his name. That is worth suffering for! The Temple of Heaven serves the Chinese as a point of historical worship and Biblical leadership. Dr. Tong stressed about the role of the emperor during an especially hard season. The rains had not come and many suffered from famine. He took it upon himself to serve the nation, by going to God on behalf of the people, much to his own peril. The legend speaks of him praying, without shoes, in the snowy weather of December, moving to the Earthly Mount. He prayed that God would take away the sin of the people, with his own sacrifice. He also prayed that the sin of the people would not be held against them, but would be put onto his account, and he was prepared to pay for the crimes of his people. As he asked the Lord of Heaven to accept his sacrifice, and give the nation rain, he climbed the Earthly Mount, binding himself, and preparing to die. As the Emperor began to sacrifice himself, it began to rain. The Lord of Heaven had received his offering. And a clear and compelling picture of pastoral leadership has been preserved, to this day, for the nation of China. The Emperor’s service as high priest for the nation, modeled Christ’s own devotion and care for the church. Application The Lord is stressing two points of application from this experience today. The first is a paradigmatic shift regarding benefits of form and structure to our worship. The Temple of Heaven is the closest I have ever experienced to the Tent of Meeting, and Herod’s Temple. The architecture moves you deeper and deeper in your devotion, as you continue further and further into worship. While I know theologically that Jesus has replaced the temple (John 2.19) and we can worship him in spirit and truth, not bound to any mountain (John 4.21), I found the structure compelling. A young church like Fountain of Life must be taught how to worship the Living God. We must learn how to move from praise and worship, to sacrifice, and to eventually sacrificing our lives on the altar. I have made a mental shift of helping create form and structure to our corporate life of devotion. The second action item is to create a document, and or experience, that will help FOL personally experience the Living God. My people need help in going from the busy streets of Beijing, to the quiet and holy place of the altar of sacrifice. They must be challenge, and assisted, to hear God’s voice for themselves. Then, and only then, will they realize the enormity of blessing and forgiveness in Christ, and joyfully lay their lives for the world. I envision a document, and training experience, which can be modeled after the Tent of Meeting, moving the worshipper closer and closer to the altar of God. The major thrust of this vision is to help people be like the Emperor, and have a fresh, one-to-one relationship with the Living God. Then the people of FOL will truly prove to be the sheep of the Eternal Shepherd, because they obey his voice and follow him (John 10.3). Prayer Father, thank you for the Temple of Heaven! I bless you and praise you that you are alive, and at work, right in the middle of every city in the world. May your people, especially FOL, live in the present reality that you are alive, and you are calling our names! Help us to listen, experience your eternal life, and because of that life, lay down our lives, joyfully, for those we lead. Please raise up an army of worshipers, and servant leaders, in FOL! And thank you today for Greg! He is a great blessing, serving me with the Dodgers hat and with the beautiful pearls. Please grant him the desires of his heart. |
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