Another Sunday with the privilege to hear from Dr. Siang Yang. The more time I spend with Siang Yang the more I recognize that he truly loves God and relies on Him and he deeply cares and loves the Lifespring family. He shared with me that his assignment at this point in his life is to help young pastors (Gabe), counsellors (Andrew), and academics (Ryan) in their journey with the Lord. He is doing so for the Lifespring family.
Siang Yang dived into 1 John 4:7-12, emphasizing that God IS love. Please take a moment to watch the teaching and ministry time HERE.
As Siang Yang was teaching, the Holy Spirit started to convict me. Over the past years, we have really emphasized that we are called to mature in our walk with the Lord, to be the Huios (mature sons). And although this is still true, God was showing me a pitfall that can easily cause us to stumble in the walk of maturity.
In our maturity and relationship with the Lord, we often correlate it with signs that are “typical”. Are we more devout in our Bible studies and prayer, do we operate in more gifts of the Spirit, do we dive into the spiritual disciplines? These are all good things. But these are not true measures. The true measure is if we love more like Christ. Do we agape love?
I was reminded of a time in my first year of full-time pastoral ministry. I was diving into the ministry by leading, developing, and pouring into Overflow. I started new programs, new discipleship, and even planned a large group to take a bus to Kansas City for the IHOP conference. I was so busy doing so many things and it seemed like all the hard work was paying off. As I listened to the speaker at IHOP, he asked a question that cut straight to my heart where all I could do was bend at the stomach, weep, and groan. The question was simply, “Do you love God more today, than you did one year ago”? I could not answer. I could list all the things I DID for God, but I could not say I loved Him more. I was reminded of this conviction, but at the end of this memory, I heard the Lord speak to me through Siang Yang:
I really really love you, Gabriel.
It was not just a memory about me loving Him. It was a conviction to remember that He loves me.
Siang Yang closed with this advice for us:
Receive that God really really loves you
Receive that God really really likes you
Stop striving, stop trying to earn Him
Don’t beat yourself up when you sin (no penance)
Receive the grace and power of the Holy Spirit. It is a free gift
If the above is too good to be true? You got it. You are ready to be changed from the inside out.
Father God, thank you Siang Yang. Thank you for your Holy Spirit that guides us every step of the way. Forgive us when we make it about us when truly it is all about you. You really really loves us. You really really like us. Help us to receive freely. We love you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.