MARCH 14, 2008

LIVING BY FAITH
IS NOT
LIVING BY LUCK:
NO

YES
!
Don’t say ‘GOOD LUCK’
to me, say ‘GOOD FAITH’ ;
My ‘LUCKY CHARM’
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is the CROSS
but there’s NOTHING
LUCKY about it
BY vanderKOK
“Now faith is the
substance of things
hoped for,
the evidence
of things not seen .”
Heb 11:1

“Now faith is
being sure of
what we hope for
and certain of
what we do not see.”
Heb 11:1 NIV

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 “Now faith is
assurance of (things)
hoped for,
a conviction of
things not seen.”
Heb 11:1 ASV

“Faith is the confidence

that what we hope for
will actually happen;
it gives us assurance
about things we cannot see”
Heb 11:1
Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®,

“Es, pues, la fe la certeza

de lo que se espera,
la convicción de lo que no se ve.”
Heb 11:1
(from RVR 1960 © 1960 Sociedades Biblicas en América Latina.)

DEAR FRIENDS,
HAPPY PALM SUNDAY ! It is March 14, 2008 and I am in, of all
places, PALM DESERT, this morning. I came here to attend the
LIVING LORD’s SUPPER worship service at the ROCK CV
CHURCH. I’ve never been here before but they advertised this worship

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service on a BIG BILLBOARD along the 10 FREEWAY which cuts
through COACHELLA VALLEY—which I noticed a few weeks ago
when I was coming out here for the annual DATE FESTIVAL in
Coachella.

So here I am, starting out at a STARBUCKS around 7 a.m. before the 9

a.m. worship service. And I’ve been thinking about this message for
some time now; given the fact that some people CONFUSE “FAITH”
with “LUCK.” The two are NOT THE SAME.

In fact, even some of my professors at FULLER SEMINARY may be

confused about the difference between FAITH versus LUCK. I was
looking back at some of my old papers and one of the professors ( I
think it was the wife of MIROSLAV VOLF (who is now at YALE
DIVINITY SCHOOL) ) wrote “NICE TRY” on one of the answers that
I got wrong; and on a few others something similar—as if it were all just
a FANCY CROSS-YOUR-FINGERS GUESSING GAME, as if I was
simply hoping to get ‘lucky” albeit given I got “A’s” on MOST OF THE
GREEK EXEGESIS PAPERS she should have known better.

BUT that is a noticeable DEFICIT sometimes in the ACADEMIC-

FAITH community. FIRST, some say ‘ACADEMIC FAITH”
community is an oxymoron; and that the emphasis on
INTELLECTUAL or ACADEMIC faith is CONTRARY to DEEP,
PASSIONATE HEART FAITH.

Some of the professors in the ACADEMIC COMMUNITY (and really

that’s what it comes down to—an “academic community” trying to
teach “FAITH” almost solely at an intellectual level, which, perhaps, is
why FULLER is sometimes known as “THE LOGICAL”
SEMINARY”—a play on “theological”; THEO of course is GREEK for
GOD—has FULLER SEMINARY taken GOD out of the picture ? I
can’t help but wondering sometimes, and couldn’t help but wonder
when I was a student there; especially after sitting through NANCEY
MURPHY’s class in apologetics (I recently noticed as well that she
apparently embraces EVOLUTION as opposed to CREATIONISM);

And so it was somewhat DISCONCERTING , to say the least, to arrive

at an alleged ‘THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY” and be exposed to alleged
“CHRISTIAN PROFESSORS” who seemed to almost DELIGHT in

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mocking faith and mocking CHRISTIAN PASTORS-TO-BE. In fact,
RICH MOUW (the president of the seminary who also still teaches an
occasional class and was once a philosophy professor at CALVIN
COLLEGE) seemed to enjoy saying the word “pastor” in a SNEERING
or JEERING voice.

Of course, TO BE FAIR, I can’t say CALVIN SEMINARY was much

better, if at all. This is NOT TO SAY that we should DUMB DOWN the
seminary; but it is to say that we should not OVERLY EXALT so-called
‘ACADEMIC” LEARNING at the expense of a DEEP ABIDING
FAITH IN THE ONE LIVING GOD.

I would say that FAITH ALONE can take us much further in life and
TRANSFORM communities MUCH MORE than ACADEMICS
ALONE. Together, when it is a HEALTHY MARRIAGE faith &
academics can do even greater miracles; but if I had to choose one over
the other, the FAITH ALONE community would be my instant choice.

In fact, some PROFESSORS in the academic community—at the

seminary, are simply living PARASITICALLY off of those with TRUE
FAITH. And because they are VIRTUALLY GUARANTEED A JOB
FOR LIFE once they get tenure (which is another TRAVESTY) it means
that several generations of theological students will be taught by some of
the same people. The SEMINARY PROFESSOR becomes an “OLD
TESTAMENT KING’ of sorts, for BETTER or for WORSE.

You ever read the OLD TESTAMENT and go through the books of
KINGS and notice how some KINGS were obviously GOOD & GODLY
while others were much less so; well, the same seems to go for
SEMINARY PROFESSORS; and the effects of being in their presence
are LASTING. The GOOD ONES are worth their weight (x 10) in
GOLD; whereas the BAD ONES are SETTING BACK the faith
community; impeding the progress of GOD’s KINGDOM here on earth.

We DON’T NEED to be challenged by NANCEY MURPHY at the

seminary level ; to be ridiculed my Murphy about our faith in
CREATION BY GOD. We get that EVERYWHERE WE GO in the
secular world. If she thinks she is playing ‘DEVIL’s ADVOCATE” –
preparing us for what we will inevitably encounter anyways it is pretty
short-sighted on her part. We need to be NURTURED and cared for

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when we arrive at the seminary and pay our 1000’s of DOLLARS in
tuition (somehow I have to find a way to pay back $70,000 in student
loan debt before I die).

WE see “LIVING BY LUCK” EVERYWHERE WE GO IN THE

WORLD. We don’t need to see it at the seminary as well. Every time I
stop in at a convenience store or gas station I inevitably end up waiting
in line for somebody who is choosing LOTTO numbers and buying
another LOTTERY TICKET. That’s LIVING BY CROSS-YOUR-
FINGER LUCK, NOT FAITH.

A few weeks ago after a church service I passed by SANTA ANITA

HORSE RACE TRACK—a beautiful racing facility along the foothills
of ARCADIA, CA; and stopped in to see what it was all about. SEEING
THE HORSES CLOSE-UP and watching a race is a PHENOMENAL
experience; very marvelous aspect of GOD’s CREATION; but the
environment is IMPAIRED by the fact that 90% of the people there are
GRIMLY GAMBLING on the horses; hoping to make money off of the
race. I e-mailed my dad and Shirley Zink about this experience—saying
“Why can’t they just race for fun ?”

And I think back to my brother-in-law ENGELBERTL SLANDERSON

and his wife, SISSY, back in St. Joseph, MI and I realize that they too,
are LIVING BY LUCK, not faith; and it’s a shame because I believe
that at the heart of a LOT OF MENTAL ILLNESS is the LIVING BY
LUCK FALLACY. It’s that LACK OF CONVICTION that acquiesces
to the notion that all that matters is money and paying the bills, etc; or
in other words, in some cases it comes down to TRYING TO BE
JUSTIFIED BY LAW; which is also nothing more than a LUCK game
—because we know that NOBODY IS JUSTIFIED BY THE LAW
ALONE.

“…know that a man is not justified by

observing the law,
but by faith in Jesus Christ .
So we, too, have put our

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 faith in Christ Jesus
that we may be
justified by faith in Christ
and not by observing the law,
because by observing the law
no one will be justified” .
Gal 2:16NIV

“ Clearly no one is justified

before God by the law, because,
The righteous will live by faith.
The law is NOT based on faith;
on the contrary,
The man who does these
things will live by them.
Gal 3:11-12

At the HEART of many illnesses (which includes ALCOHOLISM, both

PHYSICAL & MENTAL, may perhaps lie some GLITCH IN LIVING
BY FAITH. The NEUROSIS of TRYING TO BE JUSTIFIED BY LAW
leads to cynicism and despair, at which point some turn to alcohol or
drugs to try to NUMB the pain or emptiness they feel, having admitted
DEFEAT to being UNJUSTIFIED BY LAW and not allowing CHRIST
TO TAKE OVER in their lives.

This applies to CHURCH-GOERS as much as anybody else. Have you

ever noticed how some CHURCH-GOERS may HABITUALLY attend
the same church ALL THEIR LIVES, always on time, sometimes always
in the same place; year after year after year. And this is NOT TO
CONDEMN them for attending church (for church is good) but if their

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attendance is NOT LEADING TO SPIRITUAL GROWTH then YES
there is a problem.

If you are a CHURCH ATTENDEE—but have not progressed, ask

yourself, WHAT’S NEXT in the LIFE OF FAITH ? Can you take the
NEXT STEP, and become a LEADER? Take a SMALL STEP at first.
DON’T OVERDO IT. But make sure you are taking at least some small
step forward.

Back at the SEMINARY the problem is TENURE and professors

getting STUCK IN THEIR WAYS and relying on the LAW OF
TENURE and PUBLICATION for justification. Some of them have
FALLEN PREY to the FALLACY that by virtue of being “published”
they are justified . And being published often leads to TENURE so they
do go hand-in-hand. THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THAT A LOT OF
NONSENSE GETS PUBLISHED all the time, both in the faith
community as well as the secular community.

Back at the CHURCH—maybe you have become a deacon, or an usher,

or an elder; and have done that for many years; WHAT’s NEXT ? YES,
you can MOVE BEYOND that level too ! No matter what we do in life
there is ALWAYS ROOM FOR GROWTH. When we STOP
GROWING and rely upon being ‘JUSTIFIED BY LAW’ which is an
OXYMORON, people become neurotic and sometimes even psychotic
and either hurt themselves or others in the process.

Back in St. Joseph, MI my brother-in-law ENGELBERT is an attorney

there, but I see PROBLEMS because both he and “his wife” SISSY
believe that they can be justified by law alone; and they often LACK
THE SPIRIT. I’ve talked about this before.

Here in COACHELLA VALLEY where I taught school back in the 90’s

—MY FIRST TEACHING JOB I ran into LEGALISM at the
administrative level. ONE OF THE LEGALISTS, FOCH PENSIS, is
still with the district; and went on to become a superintendent, but did
so by WALKING OVER PEOPLE and CHEATING PEOPLE,
including myself; his SIGHTS set firmly on becoming the
superintendent, but at WHAT COST and AT WHOSE EXPENSE?

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When I talk about GROWTH I don’t necessarily mean you have to
ASPIRE to a formal position in the church or other organizations. In
fact, sometimes the FORMALITY of creating positions and then
keeping these positions SECURE creates more LEGALISM problems in
and of itself. People are granted LARGE SALARIES in formal positions
and become COMFORTABLE and over time a sort of HARDENING
OF THE ARTERIES sets in and GROWTH STOPS; and the ENTIRE
BODY becomes infected after a while.

This is why JESUS CHRIST as well as the APOSTOLE PAUL USED

THE ‘BODY’ (and SPIRIT) analogy so often:

Your eye is the lamp of your body .

When your eyes are good,
your whole body also is full of light.
But when they are bad,
your body also is full of darkness
Luke 11:33-34

This is my body given for you;

do this in remembrance of me."
Luke 22:19

A person who has had a bath needs only

"
to wash his feet; his whole body is clean.
And you are clean, though not every one of
you.
John 13:10

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 “But if Christ is in you, your body is
dead because of sin, yet your
spirit is alive because of righteousness”
Rom 8:10

“ If the whole body were an eye, where

would the sense of hearing be?
If the whole body were an ear,
where would the sense of smell be? “
1 Cor 12:17-18

“ Now you are the body of Christ ,

and each one of you is a part of it.”
1 Cor 12:27
To NOT TRULY UNDERSTAND how we are the BODY OF CHRIST,
or NOT TRULY BELIEVE IT can cause neurosis or psychosis,
including ALCOHOLISM to numb the pain of being SEPARATED
from the love of CHRIST and the wear-and-tear OF the endless quest to
try to be justified by law, which is IMPOSSIBLE.

When we LIVE BY FAITH and allow ourselves to be JUSTIFIED BY

FAITH (as opposed to ‘KICKING AGAINST THE GOADS” so to
speak) we BECOME THE BODY OF CHRIST COLLECTIVELY and
this CURES AILMENTS & ILLNESSES because it is according to
GOD’s PLAN & PURPOSE for our lives :

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 “ It was he who gave some to be
apostles, some to be prophets, some to
be evangelists, and some to be pastors
and teachers, to prepare God's people
for works of service, so that the body of
Christ may be built up until we all
reach unity in the faith and in the
knowledge of the Son of God and
become mature, attaining to the whole
measure of the fullness of Christ.”
Eph 4:10-13

There is NO LUCK in the FAITH LIFE. “Assurance” is a deep

conviction WAY BEYOND cross-your-finger luck. If you have ever been
in the presence of TRUE, DEEP, FAITH, you will know the difference.
“Hoped for” or “assurance of” in Hebrews 11.1 comes from the GREEK
“elpizo” and means “EXPECTATION” with UTMOST CONFIDENCE
> NT:1679 elpizo (el-pid'-zo); from NT:1680; to expect or confide:KJV -
(have, thing) hope (-d) (for), trust.
(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew
Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

And this kind of HOPE or CONFIDENCE is

QUALITATIVELY DIFFERENT than the type of HOPE or
CONFIDENCE that is found in the LAW, which is sometimes
closer to the game of “luck” we think about in more
stereotypical ways. The HOPE we have as believers is a
CONFIDENCE that comes from the SPIRIT within us (which
comes from KNOWING CHRIST in a relational way), and IS

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EVIDENCED by the FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT , against which
there is ‘NO LAW.”

Likewise “substance” of things hoped for comes from the

GREEK hupostasis and refers to something with STRONG
SUPPORT, like a well-built building or even skyscraper which
you enter and go to the top of without any fear whatsoever of it
falling. : NT:5287 Upostasis or hupostasis (hoop-os'-tas-is);
from a compound of NT:5259 and NT:2476; a setting under
(support), i.e. (figuratively) concretely, essence, or abstractly,
assurance (objectively or subjectively):
(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew
Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

It’s ABSOLUTE UNWAVERING CONFIDENCE but again,

not the type of “CONFIDENCE” given by the law—that’s a
MAN-MADE artificial form of confidence that is ultimately
HOLLOW (albeit in good courts of law (the few & between
that exist out there) it is, at least, somewhat HONEST). This
CONFIDENCE we have as BELIEVERS comes from the
SPIRIT OF GOD in us, individually and collectively; and
CANNOT BE SHAKEN. Again, the evidence ARE THE F
RUITS OF THE SPIRIT:

But the fruit of the Spirit is

love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness,
faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control.
Gal 5:22-23

And so I will leave it at that for now. Since I began this

message at 7 a.m. subsequently I’ve been to THREE
CHURCHES, including the LORD’s LIVING SUPPER at the

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CV ROCK CHURCH , and I also stopped by the annual LA
QUINTA ARTS FESTIVAL (my first time ). Also happening in
CV (Coachella Valley) this weekend (and next) is a
PROFESSIONAL TENNIS TOURNAMENT featuring some of
the top names (both men & women). I inquired about a ticket
—they’re about $30 each this weekend. I’ll let you know if I
end up going.
Meanwhile, REMEMBER that WE, the BODY OF
BELIEVERS, live by UTMOST FAITH (which is
UNWAVERING CONFIDENCE) in the promises of GOD as
we CONTINUE TO GROW IN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH
CHRIST AND THE BODY OF BELIEVERS. !

IT’S ST. PATRICKS DAY !DON’T LIVE BY THE ‘LUCK OF

THE IRISH”! LIVE BY STEADFAST FAITH

JOHNNY TOMMY PHILIP CHRISTMAS KOK

PASTOR KOK III
CHIEF BIG FAITH

DON’T SAY GOOD LUCK

TO ME
SAY
“ GOOD FAITH”
LIVING BY FAITH IS NOT BY LUCK 3/14/08

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TAGS: FAITH, LUCK, assurance, conviction, exegesis, greek, nancey murphy, sissy,
prophets, evangelist, FULLNESS, KOK, justified, alcoholism, hypostasis, Greek,
Pensis, neurosis, psychosis,

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