The Wonderful Storm

2 Corinthians 12:10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

A few years ago, a dear older brother from Rice was visiting Houston for a friend's wedding, and we were sharing a little bit about our lives since he had graduated. I had been sharing about how the current season of my life left me sad and scared. He exclaimed "Man you're so lucky. When you get through this, your relationship with God will be so much stronger!" I literally (-_____-) 'd.

Obviously, he was right. And every surpassing frustration and fatiguing moment, God has met with overwhelming peace and grace. Many times we ask for our hearts to be dependent on God, but usually that means we feel weak or helpless. Lately, I have had that feeling more often than not. And for a prideful guy like me, it's sometimes hard to bear.

Galatians 6:9 - Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

This verse has a special place in my heart, as I have wrestled sometimes with whether or not some of the things I care about or work hard on are even worth the effort. Sometimes, it seems like my care and work go unnoticed.

My name is Sam Sok. If you don't know me, I’ve been serving as a youth group leader for the past 6ish years. The below is a sermon turned blog post I gave to them.

I remember what it was like to be in your shoes. Trying to balance all of the things that I was involved in. When I was in high school, I was super involved in a ton of extracurricular's. I think it is what allowed me to get into Rice- Lord knows it wasn't my great grades or test scores.

Some of you may have heard me say this before, but the dorky guy speaking to you now was actually pretty popular in high school.

I was on the football team, student council, NHS, debate team, led Special Olympics outreach, was a part of the mentor group. I was a T-Bird in our school's rendition of 'Grease', I won homecoming king both as a Junior and Senior, all of this in a class of about 1000 people.

Why did I involve myself in so many things? Obviously I enjoyed doing most of them, but in many ways, I wanted to be cool or popular- and knew that doing those things would help with that.

Many of us, adults included, are obsessed with being cool.

But what is cool? Is it really which phone you have? Or what movies you’ve seen? Or how strong or fast or handsome you are? Or the way your hair falls and your figure is shaped? Or how many followers/likes on instagram you have?

Next time you start bragging about how many followers you have, remember that Hitler had 4 Million. Jesus had 12.

Imagine the best/coolest version of yourself- this is your god of cool

I spent most of my high school life chasing my god of cool. Many of you guys are doing the same.

The god of cool is an elusive god. It doesn’t have its own shape. It takes the form of someone else’s approval — someone whose approval we desire. This makes Cool a tyrannical god, because it demands that we craft and maintain an image (we are tricked into thinking it’s a self-image) that is made up mainly of other people’s opinions.

1 Timothy 4:7-8 - Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

The "physical training" is not just working out, but it’s a warning for too much focus on anything that feeds our ego. Whether that be our physical bodies, or trying to make other people like us.

The god of cool pretends to be self-assured and independent, but in reality it is a needy god, requiring the frequent affirmation and admiration of others. And cool is a manipulative, deceptive god, because we all know that trying to be cool isn’t cool.

Think about how you ask someone out these days. You don't go and tell someone “Hey, I like you.” You have to pretend like you don’t really like them that much. You pretend like you don’t see their text right away, or that you didn’t like their instagram post from a long time ago. For some reason, our society has decided that the coolest people are the ones who don’t try very hard or don’t care very much.

At its core, trying to be cool is all about you. 

It’s about how I can set myself apart, how I can advance my standing in the world, turn heads toward me, be noticed, be envied, etc. Trying to be cool is about how you can show off, and how you can seem smarter, prettier, funnier, etc. 

If you claim to be a Christian, as many of us do, this is a problem. Today, modern Christianity looks a lot like a more Buzzfeed “spirituality” that uses phrases like “do-it-yourself,” “self-help” and “your best life now!” My sermon would probably more effective if I said the "Top 10 ways you can pray more!" or "What God has in store for you if you do these 3 things"

Last year I taught a class of 6th graders- and inevitably everyday the argument would turn into boys vs. girls. Boys would tattle that the girls were being mean or annoying- the girls would ask me to control the loud boys. They weren’t focusing on bettering each other- they were focused on themselves.

Look at 1 Timothy v 6- If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.

We're not meant to live alone. We truly are better together. When we're trying to be cool, how can we reach out to others? That's what verse 6 is talking about.

In John 4, Jesus is talking to the woman at the well. In this, Jesus is breaking all kinds of social norms as to what is acceptable for someone of His nationality, gender and social status. He is taking a risk in how others will perceive His “coolness.” And in the conversation, Jesus shows how much he thinks about being “cool”.

It's temporary

What's cool is nice in the short term, but what's cool changes. How many of you remember what the biggest songs of last year were? Or when the last dance trend started being lame? In the end, these things start to blur together and not matter. 

1 Timothy 4:1-6  - The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

We are in the later times guys. It's easy to be led astray by things that sound like Christian, but are deceiving. I know if you go on buzzfeed you'll read about all the latest diet fads or if you do this one thing every day, you'll be more spiritual.

Guys- the things that keep you grounded are in the bible, and they have been since it was written. I used to wonder why we sang songs about how God never changes. The point is that in an ever-changing world, things in the Bible are as true when they are written as they are true today.

We spend a lot of time chasing the next big thing after big thing. But lets remember- all of these things end.

And let’s remember here that the Church is meant to stand forever.

There’s nothing wrong with liking things. We’re meant to like life. But there’s no doubt that the things we think are “cool” will one day be “uncool,” or there will be days when we don’t “like” something or when we won’t “agree” with the people around us. There has to be something deeper—something that reflects the depth of what it truly means to be connected.

I've been involved in youth ministry for awhile. I've heard a lot of suggestions about how we can change youth to be cooler or be more attractive. But should the church try to be this way?

You have to ask yourself am I willing to stay committed to this when I do not like it?

That’s the question we have to begin asking ourselves if the Church is going to be what it is intended to be: a collection of people encouraging, challenging and equipping one another to recognize and continually live in God’s presence.

The Church has the one thing that can truly allow people to be themselves before God in their worship and in life: Jesus. And when we free ourselves from the god of cool, we will be able to step into that authentic life: people who are so free that they can be more open about their weaknesses than ever and simultaneously be completely free from shame and guilt.

1 Timothy 4:11-14 -  Command and teach these things. 12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. 

The dreams that He fulfills – they are amazing and wonderful and you learn so much about God and His goodness as you see Him sovereignly paint those stories across your life.

But, the ones that He calls you to put to death – there is something beautiful about those as well …

When God has called you to something (a job, singleness, marriage, children, no children, moving overseas, staying here) and it does not align with a dream and you have to put that dream to death, you learn some things:

1. You understand what it is like to give up something precious, something costly for the Lord. You glimpse, just a little, about what it was like for Him to give up something precious, something costly to purchase you for Himself. You see, with dim eyes, what it what like for His Son to give up something precious, something costly to come and get us.

2. You get an opportunity to evaluate your heart. Do I really love God? How do I know? One way is finding out – am I willing to surrender everything to submit to His callings on my life? If He says, “Yes, I put this dream in your heart, but now I am asking you to lay it down” – will you say, “Yes, Lord, it is difficult, but I am Yours…” and in doing so join a host of others who have said the same: Abraham taking his son, Isaac, up the mountain. Moses leading Israel up to the border of the Promised Land, but not entering it. Mary, giving up her reputation and possibly her fiance to be an unwed pregnant teen. Paul giving up his status among the Jews. Most of the apostles – their lives.

'Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD' ... So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever" (Jos. 4:6-7). 

He did not want them to wait. He wanted them to build the altar NOW because He knew that humans tend to get busy and forget.