5/25/09

MEMORIAL DAY MESSAGE

THRU PENTECOST, 2009 :

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against
flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual
hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places….
Eph 6:11-18

I attended the Memorial Day ceremony at the National Cemetery in

Riverside, California on Monday, May 25, 2009 & was TOUCHED by
the evident patriotism for our country. One day earlier I had gone to my
own grandfather Kok’s grave in Cerritos and placed a few American
flags as well as flowers. He wasn’t a veteran soldier but he was a
Christian pastor.

“ Therefore take up the whole armor of

God, that you may be able to withstand
in the evil day,and having done all,
to stand.
And as I was reflecting on the sacrifice of our American soldiers in the
various wars our country has fought over the years (Civil War, World

1
War 1, World War 2, Korean, Vietnam as well as some of the current
“wars” & some of the lesser known skirmishes that are listed as “wars”
on the Medal of Honor Memorial Wall at the National Cemetery (i.e.
“Philippine Insurrection”, “Korean War of 1871”(?) , even
“Somalia” ) I kept coming back to my own Christian notion of
“SWORD of the SPIRIT”

“Stand therefore, having girded your waist

with truth, having put on the breastplate of
righteousness, and having shod your feet
with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
above all, taking the shield of faith with
which you will be able to quench all the fiery
darts of the wicked one.
But however you interpret the Bible one thing is CLEAR to me, even as much as I
appreciate our Armed Forces & the wars they have fought for us, & the sacrifices
they made, including their own lives, I still believe that our FIRST &
FOREMOST OBLIGATION should be NOT to deliver the actual sword
but the SWORD OF THE SPIRIT.

…And take the helmet of salvation, and the

SWORD of the SPIRIT which is the word of God;

We should be committed to delivering the GOOD NEWS of

JESUS CHRIST and trusting in the HOLY SPIRIT of the LORD for His
POWER & PRESENCE at all times, even in the MIDST OF A FIERY
FURNACE or in the LION’s DEN, just like Daniel.

…prayingalways with all prayer and

supplication in the Spirit, being watchful
to this end with all perseverance

2
 and supplication for all the saints

"Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,

servants of the Most High God, come out!
Come here! So Shadrach (Daniel), Meshach and
Abednego came out of the fire…, “
Dan 3:26

Daniel said:

“My God sent His angel and shut

the lions' mouths,
so that they have not hurt me…”,
Dan 6:22
For the past several weeks I’ve been concentrating on the book of
Daniel & am reading it MORE SLOWLY & CAREFULLY than ever
before & it really is COMING ALIVE to me. I was reading it & taking
notes on it while sitting in Dodger Stadium watching Dodgers versus
Angels & was still reading & taking notes (ON MY CELL PHONE,
FOLKS—yes I have a Bible, or internet connection to a Bible, on my
cell phone !) while at ANGEL STADIUM last night watching the
WHITE SOX humiliate the Angels with a 17-3 whomping (White Sox
had 24 hits ).

3
And so this MEMORIAL DAY (2009) I have been reminded, all the
more, of HOW FRAGILE, & sometimes, HOW SHORT, life is. The
NATIONAL CEMETERY in Riverside, they say, is the “BUSIEST”
national cemetery “with an average of 21 to 35 burials per day” .

Imagine being the ones in charge of burial at the cemetery---

an even more daily reminder of how short life can be,
especially while our country is at war, which seems to be
constantly nowadays. Our wars are not talked about as much
in the newspaper but Iraq goes on & Afghanistan goes on.

And apparently Gates has warned that the Taliban will get
stronger, & already is, if we pull out of Afghanistan. It makes
me wonder if America is destined to be AT WAR 24/7/365
FOREVERMORE ?! The radical Muslim mindset is so
DIFFERENT than ours that we don’t seem to realize that they
will NEVER SURRENDER…unless…

“UNLESS” is the KEY WORD. Our real HOPE for achieving

PEACE with the radical MUSLIMS ultimately may NOT be
armed warfare at all, at least not the conventional form of
warfare. I believe our BEST HOPE for peace, true peace, not
military peace, is by transforming the hearts, minds, & souls of
the MUSLMS—if not to believe in JESUS CHRIST , at least to
believe that America is NOT an evil empire.

You see, from what I hear, America, in the minds of many

Muslims, especially radical Muslims represents a society
WITHOUT MORALS. We scoff and say “WITHOUT
MORALS ? Us ? ’--= what do they call slamming a few
airplanes into NEW YORK CITY and killing 1000’s ? TRUE,
they are much more immoral than us in that regard.
MURDER is VERY IMMORAL. But they don’t think they are
committing murder against “innocent” people. They think they
are killing the SCUM of the world. They think, wrongly, that
America has NO RELIGION nor a sense of morality.

4
(FOR one skewed opinion, not necessarily Muslim, about
America being evil see:
http://www.rense.com/general49/evil.htm ; )

Setting aside all of our objections to their IMMORALITY and

their willingness to murder LET US ASK WHY they see
America the way they do ? Is there something we do that sends
the WRONG MESSAGE to some parts of the world that tells
them we don’t care about GOD or a god ?

Well, that requires a more thorough analysis than I have time

to do right now, but LET ME SIMPLY SUGGEST off-the-cuff
that there are a few things including ABORTION (freedom of
choice) as well as GAY MARRIAGE (California just upheld
the ban of gay marriage by the way—maybe there’s hope
afterall) as well as the proliferation of pornography and
magazines that display the female body in ways that shock &
offend some parts of the Muslim world.

SO YOU SAY—why should we eliminate all our freedom for

the sake of the repressed & oppressed Muslim world ? Well,
even some Americans, maybe many, believe that abortion is
wrong. Even some Americans, maybe many, believe that
pornography is bad for society. Even some Americans, maybe
many, believe that suggestive periodicals are WAY TOO
MANY at the local public library. And obviously, many
Americans, including myself, believe that gays should not
“marry” –or at least the word “marriage” should be reserved
solely for the male-female partnership.

NONETHELESS, it’s an arguable matter---but let me suggest

a less arguable solution—simply that if we are going to keep
these ‘FREEDOMS’ alive that at least we DON’T FLAUNT
it. Muslims in other countries, including radical Muslims, DO
SEE the NEWS & read newspapers & when they see some of

5
the offensive things on TV or in the press it shocks them &
FUELS THEIR FIRE.

Perhaps the MEDIA has a responsibility too—but can you

imagine our journalists ever agreeing to back away from
reporting the news exactly as the way it happens & displaying
a provocative picture with it on the front page or on TV at 8
am, 5pm or 10 pm ?

When I did my first short-term Christian mission to the

Philippines in 1992 we had “orientation” for a few days prior
to departure at a church camp in Georgia along with 100’s of
Presbyterians. They reminded us of our NEED to NOT
NEEDLESSLY OFFEND the foreign culture to whom we were
being sent. If there were foods we didn’t like, it BEHOOVED
us NOT to make funny faces or laugh at it, or in some cases to
EAT IT whether or not we liked it. If there were CUSTOMS of
the local culture that were NOT the same as American customs
we were NOT to laugh at it or say it was bad or wrong (unless,
of course, it was against all forms of acceptable civil society,
including their own, obviously).

They had a saying they repeated throughout the orientation:

“IT’s NOT WRONG, IT’S JUST DIFFERENT.” They kept
reminding us of this fact with the serious concern that if we
offend the people to whom we were being sent it SETS BACK
the mission of the church and the long-term missionaries in
that location, but they did acknowledge at the end that
sometimes “IT’s not just DIFFERENT, IT’s also WRONG.”

I didn’t see that many examples of cultural differences in the

PHILIPPINES that shocked or offended me, but
COCKFIGHTING was one of the BIG CULTURAL
DIFFERENCES . Cockfighting is a popular “sport” in the
Philippines which is illegal in the USA as far as I know—or at
least most parts (albeit I know the Mexicans in Southern

6
California have had cockfighting events, despite their being
unlawful). Just riding around on the island of Borocay in the
Philippines on motorcycles we ran into a cockfighting circle—
gathered informally—with locals wagering on one cock or the
other. What were we to do ? Break it up ? ! It is definitely
CRUEL to the animals, but we just watched.

When I was in South Africa I drove around the entire country

and ran into a few people here & there & even got a ride from
a South African for a day who was very nice---and when I
mentioned Apartheid some of them mentioned Slavery in
America as if to say, “Who are you to point fingers ?”

A white south African family who graciously offered me their

home for the night also responded likewise to my questions,
mere questions, about apartheid. I was not necessarily
“pointing fingers” or “placing blame”—just “researching” my
ancestors history in South Africa—but even questions or
research seemed to offend them.

Well, that’s the same old argument some people use to say,
“Don’t preach to me unless you are perfect yourself & always
have been.” The clincher is “…& always have been.” There are
those who say we can’t preach unless we ourselves have been
perfect all our lives. HOGWASH ! As I mentioned in one of my
video messages (“Open your Spirit Chute”) —‘SIN’ is
‘FALLING SHORT of the MARK”—MEANING not living up
to God’s intentions for our life. That’s REAL SIN—the
ultimate meaning of sin. The SINS we hear about so often (i.e.
sins of commission) are sometimes SYMPTOMS of REAL
SIN.

When we steal we are sometimes preventing others or

ourselves from “being complete”. When we commit adultery
we may prevent ourselves or others from being “complete” or
“perfect” (teleo). And the list goes on—obviously when we

7
“murder” we prevent a person as well as ourselves from
“making the mark.” When we cut a person’s life short they
have NO CHANCE to live out their intended life for God (you
say, “What if they are not Christians?” Can’t GOD use non-
Christians for His purpose as well ?) .

But more than the SINS of COMMISSION preventing

“completion” of the race are the SINS of OMMISSION—less
often discussed & even heard about sometimes: When we FAIL
to help a person who is having difficulty we prevent them from
“being complete” & thereby, believe it or not, we prevent
ourselves from “being complete.”

Classical competition (whereby the ultimate goal is to

“DEFEAT” the other person is NOT a model for Christian
competition—except in ideal situations—where good
sportsmanship and doing one’s own very best is the goal—and
thereby one attains the gold medal, more like our modern day
Olympics, minus some of the unsportsmanlike conduct).

If we remember to do OUR VERY BEST in the process of

helping others do their very best we are most likely to realize
“perfection” & become “complete” according to God’s will.

Sins of Omission include failing to TITHE, failing to

participate in the Eucharist, failing to participate in Christian
fellowship & build up the body, failing to EVANGELIZE (tell
the Good NEWS): NAMELY, in general, failing to “DO
UNTO OTHERS as we would have them DO UNTO US” .
And also FAILING to be OPEN to GOD’s will for our lives—
which means we MUST LIVE BY FAITH, not by law. We must
TRUST fully that GOD is in control. I mentioned I’ve been
reading Daniel lately and it is amazing how many chances and
warnings GOD gives the people & rulers, both Israel & the
secular people, before he takes action. God warned

8
Nebuchadnezzar significantly, & provided “signs & wonders”
as well, before HE turned Nebuchadnezzar INTO A BEAST. It
was not until Nebuchadnezzar was a BEAST EATING GRASS
that he finally realized that GOD WAS IN CONTROL & not
himself.

Had some of the prophets Failed to give DUE WARNING

prior to GOD taking action the sins would be on the prophet,
but since the prophets gave due warning the SIN is on the
person who failed to heed the warning. Likewise, sometimes we
say, “That person should have known better…” but ask
yourself, “Did you do anything to help them

know better ?”
That’s one question I ask myself when I think about “retiring”
from being a guest teacher for the public schools where I
reside. It’s a demanding job & sometimes I feel disrespected &
unappreciated but every now and then I realize “I did make a
difference today” and also that I can’t take some of the “kid
stuff” personally. So I keep trying.

That’s the TASK of EVANGELISM and for which we will be

judged MORE SO than whether or not we committed murder,
adultery, lied, stealed, etc. believe it or not. For by TELLING
the GOOD NEWS we GIVE LIFE—and by failing to tell the
GOOD NEWS we FAIL to give life. If we FAIL to give life—
isn’t that murder ? or manslaughter ? If we fail to SAVE a
person FROM drowning—in a situation where we are able
are we not GUILTY of negligence, if not murder ?
How many SITUATIONS in one single day do you FAIL TO GIVE
LIFE by failing to tell people about JESUS CHRIST ? Sure, if you
are like me you might say , “it is so awkward” or “people don’t
care or listen.” But it was awkward for the prophets as well,

9
and they didn’t listen to the prophets either. But did GOD say,
“OH WELL, thanks anyways, Amos.” NO ! Did GOD allow
JONAH to escape even in the ocean ? NO ! All the more so
GOD will NOT allow us Christians from the obligation
(actually the privilege) of telling the GOOD NEWS. And you
MUST (i.e. imperative command) find a way to tell the GOOD
NEWS according to GOD’s plan for your life.

Actually, there is an “ESCAPE PLAN” if you must know: You

CAN escape FROM the privilege of telling the GOOD NEWS.
It’s called HELL. You can live however you wish here on
earth, but when this human life is over GOD will know if you
told others, or attempted to, about HIS SON JESUS, our
SAVIOR. And if you took the “escape plan” you will find
yourself in a place where there is NO JESUS, no salvation, no
grace, and NO FUN. What you INVEST in here on earth WILL
be your PAYOFF WHEN this life is over.

It took me a long time to discover a PATH to telling the GOOD

NEWS that fit my personality & lifestyle—and now it includes
my SUNDAY MESSAGE as well as street evangelism (or
“windshield wiper evangelism.” ) I don’t do a lot of face-to-face
conversational evangelism because it doesn’t work for me here
in Los Angeles. In some other places it might work better.
When I was in the Philippines I did OUTDOOR
EVANGELISM with a small group from the Christian
Reformed Church (CRC) & Youth With a Mission (YWAM)
and that worked for me (with them) there in the Philippines
but it would NOT, in general, work here in the USA.

So YOU have to find a way to be an EVANGEL –an

“ANGEL” of the GOOD NEWS, or a ‘TELLER’ of the GOOD
NEWS ! All you need to do is COMMIT with sincerity & then
let GOD use you. As they say, you CAN’T SAIL A BOAT if you
don’t put up the SAIL. ! You can’t control the WIND but at

10
least you’ve done your part if you put up the sail. God will
take care of the wind !

What is your SPHERE of INFLUENCE ? That’s also an

important consideration. Everybody has a “sphere of
influence” –some large, some small. Even kids have a sphere of
influence in the classroom. They can be an influence for good
or bad & they, just as we, must make decisions daily, hourly,
even minute-by-minute about what kind of influence we will
be. The more opportunity we take to be a good influence the
more it will become an “automatic” part of our personality.

This takes WORK initially depending on our habits, customs,

cultures—some have to work harder at BEING GOOD than
others. We have to ‘WEED OUR OWN GARDENS”
sometimes—meaning regularly pulling out the roots of bad
seeds & weeds that Satan has planted in our heart. The MORE
OFTEN we WEED these bad seeds & plant good ones—or give
water & sunshine to the good seeds already planted—we
make our heart, mind, & soul, a GOOD GARDEN for GOD. &
Good gardens beget other good gardens. Our good seeds beget
other good seeds & the weeds cannot survive among the good
seeds. The GOOD SEED is the WORD of GOD—THAT’s the
good news—and it powerfully effects all people around us,
much more so than we can imagine.

Sometimes we take the SUNSHINE for granted but imagine if

the sun stopped shining ! All plants would eventually die.
Likewise, the Word of God is SUNSHINE for the
soul, and without it, all people will die without hope of a
better life hereafter.

So NOW IS THE TIME to start MAKING A DIFFERENCE

for good, for GOD. Don’t hide your light. Shine, Shine,
Shine ! We are the LIGHT of the WORLD. We are the SALT

11
of the WORLD. That’s not my words, that’s JESUS
TALKING:

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the

salt loses its saltiness, how can it be
made salty again? It is no longer good
for anything, except to be thrown out
and trampled by men.
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill
cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a
lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put
it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in
the house. In the same way, let your light
shine before men, that they may see your
good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Matt 5:13-16

HAVE A NICE WEEK ! I’ll be BACK !

Van der KOK, evangelist for Christ

12