Scripture Passage

Genesis 11:31-12:3

Sermon Text

Thank you very much, Eugene for that wonderful, special music. And thank you also so much for blessing us with the praise, Hi-C praise team. And what great support they got from Hi-C. I actually heard so much singing. They got the post retreat glow. It’s great to hear and see, let us turn to a scripture passage for today. It’s taken from Genesis 11:31-12:3.

“Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran, they settled there. The days of Terah were two hundred five years; and Terah died in Haran. Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'” This is the word of the Lord.

Abraham and Terah

Growing up in church, I think we’ve all heard about Abraham as this big pivotal pioneer of faith. And I know for the Hi-C, this is going to be somewhat of a review, so let’s see how much you retain. So we know a lot about them, this great figure of faith, but we know very little about his pops, his father, Terah. It was actually Terah, who was the one who first set out from the home country of his kindred and the home land to venture out into the land of Canaan. But along the way, so Terah gathered his family, his children, his in laws, and then said, let’s go. But along the way, they came to a place called Heron and they settled there. And that’s where Terah died. So we don’t know much about him. He’s a blip in this history of this, the Genesis account, and he’s a footnote.

So he lived and died a pretty inconsequential life. But a question I asked was why, why did he settled in Heron? If he was destined to go to Canaan, why did he settle there? So as I reflected on it, I dunno, I came up with several possibilities. I imagined that the journey from the Homeland and once they left, it was probably a difficult journey, right? Lot of difficulties, a harsh life, you know, traveling with family and whatever possessions you can have. It was probably a hard life there, probably a lot of dangers around people attacking them, or, you know, it’s probably desert too, right? Food, water. So it was hard. So when they came to Heron, decided to find some shelter and you know, what, it probably became quite comfortable. And it turns out that Terah became quite rich. They gathered a lot of possessions. And so by the time he died, his life was pretty comfortable and safe, inherent. So in other words, life actually became somewhat predictable and controllable.

When Terah died, I think Abraham was probably on a similar trajectory. Yeah. I got all of these riches handed down from my dad. Let’s just live a good life and be comfortable, but God had a different plan. Didn’t he? God called on Abraham to leave. Leave what was familiar, leave, what was comfortable and go to the land that I will show you. So in other words, go to a place in which you don’t know what the outcome or result is going to be. Go to a place in which you don’t have control of what’s going to happen, but just go.

But then it wasn’t just a calling to blind faith. Was it? God made a promise to Abraham. Go, and then what I will bless you, right? I will bless you and take care of you. So God promised to bless and take care of Abraham, even though maybe the final form of that blessing might not have been something that Abraham knew or could predict, God promised to bless him and take care of him. But it was also promised with a purpose, not just blessing for its own sake. I will bless you so that others will be blessed through you, that all the nations and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you. So God gave a calling with a promise that had a purpose.

Longing For Connection

So as you all know, we went to the Hi- C retreat. We came back and, to me, I think the whole overall retreat, the process and the retreat itself was really big lesson in the messages of this passage. Unbeknownst to me at the beginning. I mean the whole process leading up to the retreat I shared with the Hi-C I don’t know why it was a big struggle. I spent more time preparing for this than I have anything else, like a whole month preparing. I read, I think, write down copious notes, but I don’t know. It just didn’t feel like it was coming together. And even by the time the retreat came, I was a little anxious cause I was like, I’m not feeling this.

So I dunno, I just ask God: Okay, God, I mean, here I am, I’ve tried preparing my best, but okay. Guide us and lead us how you may. So the first day came and went, you know, we had, we had some fun and, and whatnot, but anyway, and then I kind of plowed through with the first kind of message and the session I’d prepared, but by the end of it, I still wasn’t feeling it. You know, you could tell by looking at people’s eyes and faces, right. Whether they’re like with it or not. And I was like, okay, something’s a little missing here. So that night we had a meeting between with the executives, the group leaders and the counselors. I asked everyone to go around and share their thoughts and what they’re thinking and it became like a unanimous sense of thinking, that their desire for people to just kind of break down their walls, connect us one another, but that, people still seem to be holding back.

So that’s kind of where it left off and we kind of prayed together and then we all went to bed. So I went to bed, but I don’t know with, with somewhat of a uneasy feeling in my heart. So I went to sleep and then, at 3:15 AM my eyes just kind of came open and I just had all these thoughts flooding in my head. I was like, yo, I need to sleep. We have a long day ahead of us. But as my thoughts kept coming, it started to really dawn on me. You know, that meeting we had where all everyone’s kind of sharing the same thing. Uh, hello. That’s God’s way of telling me, okay, that’s what you need to focus on. That’s what you need to think about. Right. So I did.

And that’s went: Oh, okay. I think things started coming and I wrote my whole morning session from scratch right there, 3:15 till 6:30 AM writing away. So here’s what it was, the youth, the Hi-C, they all come from different places, right. Some were really looking forward to it, having spent a lot of time here. Others, a little bit newer, a little hesitant, shy, and some came very reluctantly. But regardless what I, as I reflected, what I sensed was, you know, you know, among adolescents, teenagers, the deepest thing is a yearning for a sense of connection and intimacy, and it’s not just something for teenagers.

As human beings, it’s something that’s so baked into our DNA. Isn’t it? Our longing for connection. You know, that’s why the worst, I shared this story too, the worst form of punishment, that you can have from my previous career, I realized when someone’s in jail, the worst punishment, it’s solitary confinement. We are just not meant to be an island or live alone. We need that connection. That’s how God created us. And so that is the yearning, but what happens right?

Fear Causes Us to Protect Ourselves

When people get together, fear kind of takes over. So for the Hi-C it’s, you know, fear of awkwardness, if you try to talk to someone. Fear of rejection, or if you’re not, the fear of being not accepted. And so what happens, what happens is you find a group of friends that you feel comfortable with, or that you’re familiar with, that you grew up with and you cling to them. And so you become comfortable and safe, right? Cause in that group of friends, I can’t be hurt. You know, I can’t, I’m not vulnerable. And then for those who are a little more shy or reserved, what happens is you put up walls, right? Well, if I’m, if I’m not responsive, I don’t say much. Then at least they can’t say anything mean to me or they can’t attack me. So that, that that’s what happens. We protect ourselves.

So I really felt that God was challenging us to go beyond what’s comfortable. That’s that was our Haran, right. Life was very comfortable, familiar, but God was calling us to go, go from our comfort zones where we feel safe and protected. Go and reach out. And God made a promise to bless us, you know, regardless of how the other respond, you will actually be blessed by making that effort. Right. You’ll be blessed. And in turn, without you even knowing it, you can be a blessing to that other person. So that was the challenge for the group.

And they went to discussions and, you know, I could, after that, I can slowly start to see, you know, people making a bit of an effort, right. I mean, it’s not immediate, but there was some effort going on. So then the evening session rolls along. And, so based on that, I got a little inspired. I was like, okay, all right, this is good. Right. We’re going to have a good evening session, but I realized, from two summer retreats now big mistake is having an evening session right after dinner. Cause I thought I had something pretty good prepared. I was like, okay, this is good. But then I’m like, yo, why is half the room falling asleep? So I was like, and I’m a realist. I’m not going to just drone on for the sake of it. So I put a stop to it.

I said, you know what, just go talk about your skits instead. And after that, boom, everyone’s awake. What are we going to do for skits? So I was like, Oh, okay. And I was like, all right, God, I guess I’m supposed to just trust this to you. How will you lead us? So that night again, we had another meeting and and it was some good sharing. And then the group leaders and the counselors left and it was actually just the executives and myself and pastor Dave and just a few of the counselors. So, I don’t know, I sensed like, some heavy heartedness. Sensed a bit of a burden. So I just asked them: Guys, okay, what’s going on, tell me, how are you guys feeling? I don’t know, that’s when, I think that’s when some people started to like break down a bit and, I think they were just feeling a lot of pressure, a lot of pressure and a burden, like of really desiring, it came from a good place.

Their desire was to see people just, by this point come together and really bond and be open with one another and share. But they could still sense people holding back. So it was really weighing heavily on them. And so that’s when, you know, we try to remind ourselves that: Okay. Whatever happens, it’s how God leads us at this retreat. Maybe nothing will happen, but that’s okay. Cause ultimately, it’s under God’s control and that’s what we have to really believe. And so we try to reassure ourselves with that kind of faith. We prayed, we went to sleep. I felt I did feel a little more peaceful. So I had no idea what I was going to talk about that morning, but I was like, I’m just going to sleep. I’m tired.

Life in Haran

Right. So we did that. But then on the Wednesday morning, that’s when, as I reflected, it starts to become more clear. You know what Haran is? I mean, I mentioned it a little bit, but Haran, the life in Haran, yes, it’s a comfortable, it’s a safe life, but underneath it all, what is it? It’s a life that we try to control. Right? That’s why we want safety. That’s why we want comfort. That’s why we want no predictability because I can control it. Whereas the land that God was calling Abraham to, it’s a place that I do not control. I have no idea what might happen. And that’s a scary thought, right? For us human beings, who wants to leave ourselves that exposed and vulnerable, but I revealed, but as I reflected on this, a big revelation dawned on me, wow. You know what, Simon, this control and Haran, that’s what I’ve been trying to do.

I realized that I had placed so much expectation on myself. And I think that expectation that I placed on myself kind of translated and influenced the execs and people like that too. Cause you know what, don’t you agree with me at guys? Hi-C like the past year we had it. Wasn’t that such a great and awesome year, like starting from last summer retreat. And then we had like all sorts of, Thanksgiving, dinner. We had Christmas party, we had amazing March retreat. Lock-ins, you know, and then a sick summer with an action packed schedule and whatnot. So, you know, the natural expectations. Yes. So we’re going to just cumulate, cumulate, and then this retreat is going to be, boom, it’s going to be so amazing. Right. But honestly, I realized in the back of mind, that’s the expectation I had placed upon myself.

And so that’s why we felt a lot of burden to like really make this happen and forcing it. But that’s when I realized, okay, that’s the life of Haran we’ve been trying to do that. So really became clear that the main message from this passage for us was that we try so hard to control the results, whether it’s out of fear, for whatever reasons. So socially we try to control who our friends are and in our life, we try to control what the outcome will be, but God will lead us in ways that we do not expect when we allow God to be in control. And so this lesson, that was the lesson, it became clear that morning, we shared it and it became real in real life, in a beautiful way. As if God was really saying in real life, here it is.

Our Honest and Vulnerable Selves

So on the last day of the retreat, for those of you who grew up in Hi-C too, what’s the highlight, right? What’s one of the highlights? It’s a skits, right? It’s a time where everyone comes together, they perform it’s, it’s a gift. It really is. Right. And so many memories are from skits. Oh, remember that when this guy did that or that girl did this. Right. It really is. So, and you have to understand right. Retreats. It’s a very compressed period of time, it is very intense. Emotions are very intense too. So all the groups were working so hard. They want to provide an entertaining skit for everyone else. Right. That’s their blessing and gift to others. But there was this one group in particular that really struggled. And even when I saw them in the discussions, yeah. They seem to be struggling a bit with connecting with one another.

It just, you can physically even tell that they’re kind of like hesitant or to really open up. And so, this after dinner, I was going to walk into the main building to prepare, finished my message, but then I get stopped. Right. “Pastor Simon.” And I turned around and they have a very distraught look on their face. I’m like, what’s wrong guys. And then, someone in the group was starting to shake a little bit and really emotionally distraught. “You know what, I’m sorry. Uh, uh, we’re not going to be able to have a skit”. And I was like, Oh, okay. I’m just trying to listen. And then I dunno, I just see like someone start to cry and then like I realized, Oh, okay. You know what? I think these, these people are, this is a moment an opportunity to minister.

And this is actually, I realized it’s dawned on me. This is a moment for blessing. So, I reassured them that it’s okay. You know what, God knows that you guys tried and God doesn’t think any less of you and neither do we. Right. I think that’s kind of a reassuring message that they needed to hear, because, as soon as we started talking, they rose up, they started hugging one another and that’s when all the emotions just came like coming down. And I don’t know, I’ve never really been so weepy myself, you know? And, Hi-C does that to me, it just brings out this inner child in me and just weepiness, you know? And I realized this is that lesson in real life, you know, the script, they wanted a certain outcome or result. They wanted a great skit and they just still want it to bless others with the great skit.

But often God has a very different result in mind. If we allow, God will turn what seems like a bad situation into the most beautiful one. So we gathered around in a circle to pray, you know, I don’t know, I could just feel their like brokenness their sadness, their disappointment in themselves. But this was really a moment of grace. You know, when the content and substance of our Christian faith was really alive right here, which is: God doesn’t desire, good performance from us. God doesn’t desire good results from us, but rather just in our brokenness, God calls us. God asks us for our most honest and vulnerable self. And that’s the person that God wants to reach. You know, the group started off inherent, trying so hard to control the result, but God led us to a place he want it to show us and to see that group embracing and comforting one another, such a blessing, so beautiful.

They became way closer than they would otherwise have by like putting on a great skit and whatnot. And through that, they blessed all of us. They blessed me by giving me the content for that final evening session. I was like, this is it right here. This is our Christian faith. That’s all it is. Right. That’s all it is. So at that final session, after I shared the message, I felt compelled to take a risk myself. So the past two retreats last summer and the March one, during our reflection and prayer time, I went around the room, to pray, to share, pray with the individuals or groups of people. And that was beautiful too. That was a blessing. But for this time I felt compelled to just stay at the front by myself and invite the Hi-C students to come one at a time where we can share and pray together. And it was a risk. But what if no one comes? I’m sure. All right then. I actually, I think I kind of tried that last summer, but then I can immediately see it wasn’t going to happen, so that’s why I went around. I’m very adaptable. You know, I shift gears very quickly for those who know me. Right.

Heaven on Earth

But, you know, I mean, our whole message was about stepping outside of our comfort zone and trusting the result and outcome to God. Right. So I was like, okay, preacher, you gotta practice what you preach. So I decided to trust God. And honestly what happened was the most beautiful thing in my ministry so far. I don’t know, sitting with people one-on-one, it felt like nothing else was around us just as they shared what’s deepest in their hearts. You know, their fears, their joys, their struggles, and then being able to pray together, but wow. Wow. Hallelujah. What a blessing that was, I mean, I felt finally full, or I just felt fully the essence of what ministry is all about. And I was so blessed by their openness, their vulnerability, uh, being able to cry together and listen. And for me personally, I felt that for me personally, I felt that God had finally led me to, be in a place where I could bless others after so many years of walking in my own Haran and trying to control my life because I was scared, fearful, resentful, bitter, all of that, but wow, how can it be?

And that’s when I realized where that song comes from. Amazing grace, amazing, amazing grace, but you know what was even greater than that? What was even greater was? So I was so focused on my one-on-ones. I don’t even know how much time passed. Apparently, I think it was like an hour and a half or two hours. I just felt like two minutes. You know? So while that was going, I didn’t know what was going on in the room. Around me, what I heard had happened after what transpired, there was even more beautiful. People were going around the room, praying for one another sharing, crying, laughing together, embracing one another. All those walls that had existed at the beginning of the retreat, just coming down and they’re sharing life together. I’m like, this is what the body of Christ is all about. You know, the executives to whom I spent a whole year, week after week, we meet in discipleship sharing, in praying together, they were going around ministering to their fellow students. How beautiful is that. If that’s not the kingdom of heaven on earth, I don’t know what is. You know, we pray in the Lord’s prayer. “May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” This was God’s will being done on earth. This was heaven on earth.

Amen. You know, so the main message from the retreat: we struggled as we came in with our own expectations, our own vision of what we wanted, trying to control that outcome. But once we relaxed that pressure from ourselves and allowed God to really lead us, God revealed his power and blessed us so much, which led everyone to be such a blessing to one another. And that’s why when I walked down into the Hi-C room today, I sensed a complete difference, right. Complete, complete difference. And I know everyone’s on a endorphin and whatever high right now, but you know, I really have hope, for this coming year. So this is the lesson I believe that we all need to learn, you know, as adults growing up in this world, when did we become so fearful and comfortable?

You Settle, You Die

When did our grip of control become so tight? The journey that our families took immigrating here, coming here, it wasn’t an easy one. We witnessed so much struggle, hardship, sacrifice, pain, right? Circumstances out of control. And for a lot of us too, growing up with no mentors, being the first in our families to grow up here or, experiencing discriminations of many sorts. I understand our desire for control and safety and predictability, security, stability so that we can live our own lives. And that comfort, I think that became an overriding underlying current in our lives. Right?

I think it became in this cold and competitive world. We actually came to believe that, well, if I don’t take control of my life and myself, and if I don’t take care of myself, who will? So even if we came to church, I think what we developed was a functional atheism that sure, God may exist and stuff, but when it comes to my life, I’m the only one who can really control and shape it. You know what? Life may have become safe and comfortable for us, but what’s happened to our spirits. You know, there’s a slogan from the retreat, right. Hi- C, what was it? You settle? [You die] That’s right. You settle, you die. I’m glad the things remained by settling our hearts. I don’t know. I think they just become numb and they died in a way, in trying to preserve our life with our control.

We’ve lost it. We’ve hunkered down in our safe and comfortable world while we let the world and life, pass us by. We forgotten our calling, to be on a journey. Being led to a place that God leads us. We’re so scared. It’s supposed to be a journey led by God’s promise. God’s promised to bless us and take care of us so that we in turn can be a blessing to others. It is a scary thing to place that control in something else or someone else. But this is the essence of faith. Isn’t it? If we can truly believe in God’s promise that God is ultimately in control and will bless us and take care of me, then this is what gives us great confidence to face any challenge that comes our way in life, that we are under God’s protection.

Even though my temporary circumstances might be difficult, I believe and I trust that ultimately, God has a plan. And God will take care of me and bless me so that I will also be a blessing to others. My friends, let us be people of the promise. Let us respond to God’s call to go, to leave Haran and be led by God into a life of new possibilities. Amen. So the Hi-C had an opportunity on the last day to really reflect, and be honest about themselves and share and write down a prayer and commitment. And it’s symbolized by, I’m embarrassed that I think I’m the only one that didn’t wear it, but we all have, we made bracelets and put it on each other. Who has the bracelets on? That’s right. The blue bracelets. Okay. That’s what it symbolizes. So, I’m going to play for us, the prayers and commitments that they made. So let us be blessed through the honesty and vulnerability of our Hi-C as well. May they minister to us, and bring us back to the essence of trusting God.