as promised

dr tan's talk notes-

'farmers and framers'
psalm 141

1. psalm 141, consisting of traditional and untraditional aspect of Jewish prayer.
on framing- David brackets his day with prayer. and pleads for them to be fragrant. for help- because he knows they are not (fragrant). dr tan- if your prayer was fragrant, you'd know it and you wouldn't have to ask for help. but david knew what his was, so he asked.
thus- think of a framework of prayer; frame your day with prayer.

corner joints- David's prayer had 4 corner joints that were the right-angles to his framework:
a) guard over me
b) have righteous men strike me
c) pray against evil
d) safety from snares

b) was untraditional because David was king, and there are not many kings who would pray for righteous men to strike them if they were wrong. often, kings were supported, not dissented. but for David it was a personal prayer. David... lost his best friend Jonathan in battle. he had lost him, and so asked for righteous friendship in his life.
dr tan- how many of you have three or four friends you can call at anytime of the day or night, anywhere in the world you are, and say to them, look, i'm thinking of doing this this this, and they will tell you truthfully, this is inconsistent with who you are, with your beliefs? relationships have to be invested in. they don't just appear. you have to work for them, make sacrifices. for transition from school to work to promotion etc, ask God for friends. for three or four whom you can call up and say i want to do x, and they will tell you to your face this is inconsistent with who you are, with your beliefs and what you stand for.
you know how many men my age commit suicide? and why?
do you have someoneo in your life that could affirm as well as rebuke you?

Proverbs 27:5-6 (King James Version)
Open rebuke is better than secret love.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

2. Strength can be a weakness- unless you lay it on God's hand.
dr tan- you know when i married my wife, you know why she married me? because i read book. i don't drink don't smoke don't club, i read book. so she married me. but when we got married, she would come up to me and say, 'want to go out?' i say, 'i reading book'. she say, 'want to go movie?', i say, 'i reading book'. finally she say, 'you read so much, why get married?'. i say, 'you married me because i read book right?'

strength must be given to God.
Godly, iron sharpens iron.- through the fellowship of believers.
Why lives mess up- because you think, your business your business, my business my business.
How are you going to stand before God and account for your choices?

3. [moving on to three words he has on a whiteboard: truth, bondage, love]
Why proclaim truth?
unless it's to show love. all else must be refined.

[on interdenominations and their theological bickerings]
doctrine is important. it is so important it must change our lives. you go check the carpark. whether it's fundamental or charismatic, all same car. you check the labels on the windscreen. all same country clubs.

[lives of bondage]
of gambling. of cheating.
dr tan-i tell you a story. once i went to my fruit-seller in yunan, i told him, 'you are a very bad guy. just because i am a foreigner you cheat me.' he said, 'no, no. not true. i cheat everyone!'. [laughter] then he said, to you it is $.50. what is 50cents to you? nothing. but to me it is a lot. and you see how he rationalises.
of gambling. of anger. of fruit-selling cheating.
and yet we all do it too. we rationalise. our bondages. in our own lives. in daily surrender- to passivity. that we lose our fire. and go under bondage.

+ the strength in our youths- it's not to be better than the local pastor. or anything. the strength is to be used to empower encourage the local pastor. or anyone.
dr tan- i know singaporeans like to be good and better. efficient huh. but when you go on mission trips, do you give the message because you're better educated than the local pastor? no. if anything, you help him to learn.

4. Q&A
[on tent-making vs. church supporting]
:driver analogy
- last time in yunan being the governer's driver was a profession. the governer himself didn't know how to drive. so the driver was powerful. likened to the clergyman or evangelical of the old days.
- now, everyone drives. but it's still a skill, it's a necessity.

: we're all drivers.
-some called to full time... formula 1 drivers, the old day chauffers // clergymen, evangelicals
-but we're all drivers.

~

if you still have stamina :)
- Sibling Rivalry in the House of Faith