Trinity Bible Class Talk
This is a talk I did at the Sunday Bible School class Suzy and I attend. As we are moving soon I was “moved” to offer up my spiritual journey in advance of my physical journey. Dean Brown the outstanding teacher of the class obliged and what follows is what I said that day. Most of the writing has appeared in parts in the Rocky Mountain Climbing Diary in prior versions and compiled and edited for the Trinity audience of friends and Disciples.
I want to apologize for not being able to attend class for the last 5-6 months. Many of you know that Suzy and I are moving to Colorado soon after my daughter graduates from high school. Over the last 18 months we bought, fixed up and moved in renters into a condo in Avon, Colorado. Started building a house in Eagle, Colorado. Went on numerous business trips from Atlanta to Santa Barbara. Had a couple of school visits. First my daughter Sarah was going to be a Missouri Tiger. She ended up an Aggie. Moved tenants out of the condo, fixed it up again, moved furniture into the condo to make it more saleable, sold it, moved furniture out, closed the sale. Put our house in Dallas on the market… and on and on. Oh yeah, Suzy just got a great job with a company based in New York.
You get the picture.
Today I want to talk about my spiritual journey. I have been a member of this church for 14 years. Over 9 years ago I went to a personal growth seminar called Choices, it was there that I answered the call to Christ. I started taking Disciple Bible classes 7 years ago. I went on the Walk to Emmaus 6 years ago and joined the Trinity Class shortly thereafter.
This church has been great to me and my family. My children were baptized here as was I. Suzy and I were married here. We began taking Disciple Bible classes 7 years ago. IN Disciple II Class was Steve Alexander, Kim Brown-Cain and Carole Brown. We started hearing a little about the Trinity Bible class.
6 years ago Steve Alexander asked us to visit the class following a Trinity golf tournament. I guess you could say it was from “Golf to Glory”.
This class has been very important to us since the very first visit. We have felt the Holy Spirit in this class many, many times.
Dean’s teachings and the use of William Barclay’s commentaries inspired me to begin seriously studying the Bible. Suzy and I have been facilitating a Disciple class the last 4 years. I use Barclay’s extensively in the class.
This class, this church, this church community has been really wonderful to Suzy and me.
So, I want to share some of what I have learned while being a member of this great church. Some of what I will present here were part of a talk I gave recently at a Walk to Emmaus. Some are part of some writings I have been doing, I’ll talk more about that later.
…Just like Clayton…
I’ve got 3 things I would like to talk about.
1. I know God’s Plan for You
2. I know the best way to pray to God
3. I know how to insure you getting into Heaven, by converting someone to Christ.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a joke for you.
1. I Know God’s Plan for You
Most of us have heard Handel’s Messiah, if not the whole oratorio, at least maybe you have listened to the short version or at least you have heard the most famous passage in the work: the Hallelujah Chorus. Besides singing the Hallelujah Chorus Easter Sunday this year, 4 years ago FUMCR church offered the short version of the Messiah just before Christmas. Suzy and I sat in the balcony because from there we could see the orchestra and all of the singers. We were provided the words along with the Bible source of the songs being sung and played, so for the first time in my hearing the Messiah, I was able to follow along with the words and the verses from the bible.
As a fast reader I was able to get through the words and sources while the introductions and short sermon were being offered.
The words were beautiful, the meanings deep and true.
And, when the music and singing began, I felt I was being lifted away.
The version of the Messiah they were playing was to last about an hour culminating in the Hallelujah Chorus:
“And He shall reign forever and ever”
“And He shall reign forever and ever”
Wow, that just gives me the chills…
As I listened I could feel the Holy Spirit moving in the building, in the congregation and in the music.
And, as I was listening, a vision of a “story” popped into my mind about how to use this great work and bring it to people who may not know anything about it.
It was a modern day story and it was delivered to me fully formed with characters, scenes, actions, drama, and a finale. The story was beautiful. I was moved beyond words.
I sat in the balcony and cried for about 30 minutes of the performance. I couldn’t believe I was being given such a gift. Suzy looked at me, saw my tears and asked me what was wrong, I said nothing, but later I told her of this vision I had received while listening to the music of the Messiah. She didn’t laugh. She saw how serious I was and how moved I was by the experience. I even told her the entire story and she was just as astounded as I was as to the completeness of the story. She encouraged me to write it out.
So being a good soldier I prepared myself by running out the and buying a copy of the entire version of the Messiah. I listened to it over and over. I marked the passages in my personal Bible that matched the music. I researched the Internet and learned more about the music and the writer, most especially, George Frederic Handel. I learned that Handle wrote the Messiah in 21 days. He locked himself in a room and when his servants came to feed him, they heard: “much weeping and crying”.
I understood.
And so I sat down to write this gift out.
And, no matter how much I studied, how much I tried to allocate time, no matter how many cue cards I wrote, I couldn’t get a fully formed script of writing started in even the simplest sense. No matter what I did.
I failed.
And I was miserable for not being able to do this thing that had been asked of me.
What kind of crummy disciple for Jesus Christ was I?
As I said previously, I have been blessed the last 4 years to be facilitating a Disciple Bible class, with some of the participants returning each year. This year most of the teaching has focused on people being radical disciples. But our class didn’t understand. One evening while going over the work assignment, I asked each one what made them radical disciples?
None of them answered. It was beyond their thinking that they could be compared to the Disciples from the Bible.
So I started out as follows:
Jan, you have been caring for your 94 year old father for the entire time you have been taking the classes with us the last 4 years. He has had strokes, pneumonia, fallen and each time not only have you been there to help him, but you have invariably been to this class without fail and with a smile on your face. Everyone in this class knows that you are a radical disciple for Jesus Christ.
Julie, you could be in seminary, but instead you have stayed home with your 2 young children and started them on their way to being Christians. You help with various programs around the church and you are always there with a smile and a helping hand. Everyone in this class knows that you are a radical disciple for Jesus Christ.
And so I went around the room helping them claim for themselves their own particular discipleship for Jesus Christ.
As I taught the course this year and then as I wrote this talk I realized that:
Discipleship isn’t always the big things that are done for Christ in his name, but the little everyday things that over centuries add up until the time of His return is heralded by all of his disciples.
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C.S. Lewis says in his book Mere Christianity in the chapter on Faith:
“Thus if you have already handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey him. But trying in a new way, a less worried way. Not doing those things because He has begun to save you already. Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you”
About 6 months ago Suzy and I were returning from a trip to Colorado. We were driving in southern Colorado and saw a beautiful rainbow. It seemed to follow us for about 30 minutes. It was so beautiful. As I watched and thought about what that rainbow meant to me, I had nearly the same experience of a gift being given to me that I had received in the balcony a few years before. Upon returning home I began to write about my spiritual journey. I began to share some of these writings with my friends. The personal comments and thoughts my friends retuned to me from my writings staggered me. In telling my story, many were touched. Many were moved to write to me the most beautiful words of affirmation and love. I would send out an email post and receive almost immediate emails from friends telling me how much they needed my words at just that moment in their lives. I didn’t know, I couldn’t know this would happen or that it would be the purpose of what I wrote.
The best stuff I wrote didn’t have “me” in it. The best writing was done when I didn’t even realize what I was writing.
Or, to say it more correctly, the best writing is when I am letting the writing write itself.
The words seemed to just be there, naturally.
I discovered that, now, in this new effort that I was writing for Him and to His glory. And, that when I acknowledged His gift that is inside of me, what comes out is good.
The writing now seems to have a “gleam of Heaven” in them.
I then came to realize I hadn’t failed in my writing of my Messiah story, I was just being prepared.
And I discovered that when I write for Him, the plan He has for what I write is far greater than any plan I could have for myself.
So always remember, that God’s plan for you is always greater than the plans you have for yourself, if you but have faith.
I had numerous friends ask me to put my email posts into a book. I already have one order for 100 copies. So that is my goal, to write this book. I am calling it Rocky Mountain Climbing, A Dairy. Being an Internet guy, I have the writings posted on a blog. I took the inspiration for the title from Tim McGraw’s song: “Live Like You Were Dying!”
“I went skydiving,
I went Rocky Mountain Climbing,
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fu Manchu;
And I loved deeper, and I spoke sweeter,
and I gave forgiveness I had been denying;
Some day I hope you get the chance,
to live like you were dying.”
2. I know the best way to pray to God
On my way to my Tuesday morning Emmaus Reunion Group meeting I was empressed with this thought:
“Each Heartbeat Is a Prayer”
I thought about this and mulled it around in my mind trying to decide what to do with it and how it worked.
I thought of the Bible and how God knows the count of each hair on your head, it would stand to reason that He would know each heartbeat. And if you are living your life in God’s grace, then:
Each Heartbeat Is a Prayer.
I thought again and remembered that God even knew us in our mother’s womb, and He knew us from conception, the very first heartbeat, then you could say:
Each Heartbeat Is a Prayer.
Following my return home from the morning fellowship I sat down at the computer and began to delete the 100’s of junk emails I get every day, and ran across two emails from one of my heroes Katy Davis. Katy is epileptic. Katy’s sister is recovering from cancer, but Katy lost one of her closest friends to the disease recently.
Late last year her son Gavin had a tumor, had a biopsy, found out it was benign and had it operated on. That is the short version. The real version Katy played out over the weeks as she and Gavin went to see the doctors, went in the for biopsy, waited for the results and then had the successful surgery, and her writings kept all of us who read them in prayer for Gavin and for Katy and her family. What she wrote during this time was a true testament to faith.
The first one said:
“To My Favorite Spirit Coordinators!
Just had to give you the first installment of my marathon updates! I am excited to report that the miles are getting a little easier right now. Gone are the mornings of Grant (her husband) helping me out of bed, and starting my showers because I am so sore! I am now looking forward to my evening runs with my training partner Tammy, we are up to 3 miles each night although we have gone up to 5 miles an evening just cause we are chatting along! (imagine that?)
(You see after Gavin’s recovery Katy got committed to running for a cancer cure. She is going to run 500 miles for the cure. She goes on.)
We do our team trainings on Saturday and they are a blast, our new team has about 100 people! Each day when I was sore, I would think back to the times I took care of my sister after chemo. I would think about how she looked, and how difficult her mornings were. I would think about the times I had to peel her grapes because she was so sick…. I know that there are people experiencing that right at the moment you are reading this…. and I want it to change… in order for that to happen…. I will run each day, raising money for change! Raising money to help find a cure! Each day I feel doubt I think about the courage my sister has… and I too will approach this Marathon with the same vigor and tenacity she is beating cancer with! She is AWESOME and she is my hero!
Only 376 miles to go…. more info to follow!
God Bless you!
Katy
The following statement some of you will recognize some of you may not (Choices 2006) … it’s my personal statement and purpose for my life…
“I am a worthy and powerful woman, dancing (and running) in the light of Jesus, working to encourage others to be their very best!”
The second one said:
“Good Evening Durk,
I came back from my run tonight… I sent out my mass email update, I was feeling good, but not great…. and for some reason this folder with RMC (Rocky Mountain Climbing) popped open. I love LOVE your RMC… its something I look forward to… I was thinking that I am tired, a little overwhelmed with the 376 miles to go…. and I began reading one RMC after another…. you know; it reminded me to feel that wonderful power of Gods love, to continue to look for the value with each step I take…. I am wondering how many miles Jesus walked for me? How many hours did Jesus spend out in the desert FOR ME! FOR YOU? Here I am, in great running shoes, comfortable gear… Gu’s, special water, the goods……What was he wearing? Did he even worry about getting dehydrated? or passing out from fatigue? I have some questions….
Mainly, I just wanted to say thank you so much. Again I am replenished…. I am worthy of every mile he took for me… I am free!
Thank you!
I love you!
Katy
She trumped all I could ever write in such simple faithful terms. Thank you Katy for teaching me about faith and perseverance.
Then I knew why I had been given the words earlier in the day.
I sent this reply back to her:
Katy, I just received my next RMC topic. I thought I’d share something that I heard this morning:
“Each heartbeat is a prayer.”
So as you run and your heart rate increases, just think this: “Each heartbeat is a prayer.”
God so Loves you that he gives you the strength to run. Now you are running for a Purpose. Don’t you think he is listening to every heartbeat, making sure you can run the race that is laid out before you? Of course he is. And aren’t you praying as you run sometimes, when the rhythm of the run is so pure that you think about what is going on in your life, the good and the not so good comes to you. And you pray. I know you do. And as you pray the preciousness of each heartbeat is felt by God.
So believe that:
Love, Durk
God knows all about you and when you are in faith with him he knows every heartbeat you make…
Each heartbeat is a prayer.
3. The Key to Going to Heaven: Convert One Person into the Love of Jesus Christ
I have been doing a lot of reading the last few years. William Barclay’s Commentaries of the New Testament, C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity and now his sermons compiled under the title The Weight of Glory, John Eldredge’s Wild at Heart: and many more.
But I note The Weight of Glory and Wild at Heart in particular which will lead me through the rest of this talk.
I picked up The Weight of Glory at the last Walk to Emmaus where I was blessed to coach. Close beside it on the table was Wild at Heart which I had already read. These are two very different books but they collided in my head that day and caused this writing.
I began reading the Lewis sermon book upon returning from the Walk. As usual Lewis took a little time to warm up to his task, but when he got going what I read had to be one of the most beautiful statements about God ever produced outside of the Bible.
Lewis talks about our going to heaven and receiving:
“…the parable of the divine accolade, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
That is God thanking us for our belief in Him.
And then Lewis makes this unbelievable assertion:
“… It is written that we shall “stand before” Him, shall appear, shall be inspected. The promise of glory is the promise, almost incredible and only possible by the work of Christ, that some of us, that any of us who really chooses, shall actually survive that examination, shall find approval, shall please God. To please God… to be a real ingredient in the divine happiness… to be loved by God, not merely pitied, but delighted in as an artist delights in his work or a father in a son- it seems impossible, a weight or burden of glory which can hardly sustain. But so it is.”
I have read and re-read this 4-5 times over. I read it out loud to Suzy.
I now really believe that God loves me.
Because I chose to have faith in Him and to believe in Him.
I went peacefully to sleep that night.
The next morning I began one of my daily devotions. It is to stand in my personal Waterfall of Forgiveness each day. This is a process that I learned going through Choices training over 9 years ago, and I have held true to this for all but a few hurried days over these last 9 years. The sound of the shower blocks out the rest of the world leaving a period of quiet. I pray for my family and friends and everyone in need of prayer. Many times the prayers lead to a new path of discovery as the prayer takes on a life of its own.
This day this thought came to me:
God wants me to convert one person into belief in Jesus Christ.
I thought about all of the people I had come into contact with and wondered if I had I any effect on any of them coming to Christ. I wasn’t sure I could say that. I’m not sure I even knew how to convert someone to Christ or if could even do it if given the opportunity.
Then I thought about the Prodigal Son. There he was wallowing in sin and degradation, coming to his senses, coming home to His father with a new heart and being immediately forgiven and brought back into covenant love of his family.
Then I thought about the robber up on the cross next to Jesus. He was lifted to Heaven, because the robber believed in Jesus and Jesus was going to be able to use him so everyone everywhere would understand His Grace.
In each case the conversion happened within each man, each individual.
Then I understood, Jesus just wants me.
And then I heard for the first time, just as John Eldredge did in “Wild at Heart”, God saying to me:
“I am your friend.”
Somehow my knees didn’t buckle. I somehow threw out my arms to keep from falling. I cried, deep racking sobs. Even in the shower my tears were so heavy that I could taste the salt in the tears and had to spit it out.
I have no idea how long I stood there crying, trembling. But sometime, somehow… “the peace that passes all understanding” came over me.
I spent the rest of the day in a heightened awareness of God’s presence in all of our lives. That day, I asked Dean if I could take over a Sunday with the Trinity Class. I had heard this call before, but wasn’t yet prepared by God to answer it until now.
And, now I can say with some degree of certainty that all God wants from each of us is a personal relationship, so that He can be our friend and hold our hand and tell you and me:
”Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
God knows each beat of your heart and H`e has the most wonderful plans for you and me.
So my friends, my fellow Disciples, my good and faithful servants, I will carry you in my heart always.
You are always welcome in our home. It’s just a short, starry, rainbow filled drive west of here. I hope you will come and visit us.
April 30th, 2007 at 9:48 am
Durk,
You are a fully gifted man of Christ. You have a wonderful gift in the ability to share his word and the words of Christians, mixed with earthly life and tell his story all over again. You dont need jokes for it to sink it, or to have more meaning….You have forever changed me. I feel directed in purpose. FREE! I just love you so much! I experience you as one of the most fantastic and dynamic men in my life… full of love and compassion. Showing Gods love in words and actions to the world!
Have a wonderful day! Oh, by the way…. God and I had the most fantastic run on Saturday, we ran over 18 miles. It was AMAZING…it was just he and I as my training partner was on vacation. The sun was shining, it was a beautiful day… and he and I just had a great time! When I saw the finish line, I danced…. I did the dance in the street, with people looking at me, thinking I was all crazy….but literally, I danced in the light of Jesus! That was also an amazing experience! Here is the other ‘kicker’ for me… I woke up Sunday morning and felt fine. Hardly any soreness… God is the great healer! I am feeling good, I am almost ready to race the race… I am running 40 miles a week now! THAT IS A MIRACLE!
I love ya brother! Thank you for your encouragement in my life….
Katy