SPEAKER_02 0:01

Do you know what a phone zombie is? Someone staring at their phone so intently that they lose awareness of the world around them, sometimes causing dangerous circumstances? And we see this every day, don't we? In the same way, as believers, we need to avoid losing spiritual awareness. Mr. Stanley Tay encourages us to practice spiritual attentiveness in his message this morning.

SPEAKER_01 0:27

Very good morning to all of you, my dear brothers and sisters. I'm glad to be back here today to share with you the final sermon of this series, Communing with God. And we were reminded that God is constantly inviting us to be in conversations with him. And his desire is that we will always be honest with him, particularly because he's interested in what we're going through and also in the state of our relationship with him. And then last Sunday, last Sunday, we looked together at the call to intimacy, becoming friends with God, and we saw how scriptures uh portray for us a God who desires intimacy with us, someone who is uh constantly inviting us to share a relationship or friendship with Him. Now, um you you may like to know that a fair bit of what I've shared with you in these sermons, uh, they are actually derived uh from materials that I've used for the contemplative retreats that I lead. And so what you get in these uh 30-minute sermons are really shortened versions of what is taught uh in these retreats. And and for those of you who have gone for retreats before, you you would know that at a stay-in extended uh time uh retreat, uh, unlike just listening to a sermon, you you get to have more time in a conducive environment to hear from God and as well as to contemplate on what he is saying to you. And there's also ample time in an unhurried uh setting where you can be open with God uh and just talk with him about whatever that is uh going on in your life. And very often, very often in these times, at such retreats, uh the Holy Spirit, given that uninterrupted space, uh, will often do a deep work that is in our heart, a deep work in our heart and a refreshing of our soul as we commune with him. Now I was uh talking with Pastor Daniel and and he's quite keen to explore further on how we can follow up on this sermon series. And perhaps one way, one way to do that is through the organizing of such retreats for those who are keen to have this kind of uh extended communion with God. Okay, so do do watch for his updates, yeah? But coming back coming back uh to our sermon for today, I've titled today's sermon, A Call to Attentiveness, a creating space for God. And the passage we are going to be looking at is our Old Testament reading from Genesis 28. And what I hope we can learn from Jacob and his encounter with God in this passage is this need to be attentive to God and his presence if we want to truly commune with him. And we will also look at our gospel reading from Luke chapter 10, and I pray that we will learn from the example of Mary how important it is to regularly create that space for God for our communion with him. Okay, so for today there are three points to the sermon. Point number one, recognizing our inattentiveness, recognizing our inattentiveness. Point number two, noticing God's presence. Noticing God's presence. And the final point, creating a sacred space. Creating a sacred space. Okay, so point number one, recognizing our inattentiveness. Uh, but before, before we look more closely at this first point, uh, uh, allow me to show you this uh first video.

SPEAKER_03 4:34

Count how many times the players wearing white pass the ball. The correct answer is sixteen passes. Did you spot the gorilla? For people who haven't seen or heard about a video like this before, about half miss the gorilla. If you knew about the gorilla, you probably saw it. But did you notice the curtain changing color or the player on the black team leaving the game? Let's rewind and watch it again. Here comes the gorilla, and there goes a player, and the curtain is changing from red to gold. When you're looking for a gorilla, you often miss other unexpected events. And that's the monkey business illusion. Learn more about this illusion and the original gorilla experiment at the invisible gorilla.com.

SPEAKER_01 5:23

Okay, in case you're wondering, uh, what has this video got to do with our sermon? And let me give you some context here. Well, this video is actually part of a well-known study that was carried out by uh Daniel Simons and Chris Chabriz. And part of the study involves getting participants to take the test that you saw in the video. Now, this test is called the invisible gorilla test. And basically, what the subjects of the study uh were asked to do, as you saw in the video, uh, is to count the number of passes uh that were made by the team uh wearing the white t-shirts. And then after watching the video, the subjects were also asked if they had noticed anything else that happened in the video. Well, uh all of you saw the video for yourself, right? Did anyone actually uh notice the gorilla walking into the scene? No, huh? Some some did, I'm sure, uh, some didn't. Now, according to results uh that were collected from the study, half of those involved in this study, that is those who watched this video, uh, they actually didn't see the gorilla at all. Now, if you did notice the gorilla, did you also notice, like you saw in the video, the change in the color of the curtain or one of the players from the black team walking away from the scene? Well, I I actually missed, I missed those two things. And it seemed that many of the participants in this test also didn't notice that. So, what's the point of this study? And and what has it really got to do with our sermon? Well, the aim of the study is to demonstrate that when we are too focused on something or when we get distracted by something, we often fail to notice the other things that are happening around us. Now, the study team calls this phenomenon inattentional blindness. And according to them, this is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when a person fails to notice something that's fully visible because his or her attention is so narrowly focused on a particular task or event. Now, whether you realize it or not, inattentional blindness also happens in our spiritual life. Spiritual inattentiveness, if I can use that term, happens when we are so narrowly focused on something or we are so distracted by something that we completely fail to notice the presence of God, both in our life and in what's happening around us. And I want to suggest that spiritual inattentiveness is exactly what our Old Testament passage today is showing us through the example of Jacob. Listen to what Jacob said in Genesis chapter 28, verse 16. He said this, surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it. Well, that's spiritual inattentiveness, isn't it? God was present with Jacob all the while, but somehow Jacob didn't know it until much later. And so the question is, why wasn't Jacob attentive to the presence of God? I mean, what caused him to be so distracted? He had missed noticing that God was fully present with him the whole time he was at Bethel. Well, this is where I would like us to invite us to look more closely at our passage in Genesis 28. Now, if you're familiar with the story of Jacob, you would have known what happened prior to this episode that took place here at Bethel. You see, Jacob was basically running away, running for his life, because he had kind of stolen the blessing that was meant for his brother Esau. He and his mother Rebekah had conspired and they had devised a plan to make his father Isaac think that he was blessing Esau, the elder son. And so when Esau found out that Jacob had cheated him of this blessing, Esau was both heartbroken as well as a raging man. And this is how uh Genesis 24 verse 41 puts it. Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him. And Esau said to himself, The days of mourning for my fathers are approaching, and then I will kill my brother Jacob. And so Jacob had to flee from his home, and he was hoping to find refuge in the home of his uncle Laban in Haran. And that's what uh Genesis 28, verses 10 to 11 tell us. Jacob left Beersheba and went towards Haran, and he came to a certain place which Jacob later named Bethel. You see that in verse 19, and he stayed there that night because the sun had set. Just put yourself in the shoes of Jacob for a moment and try to imagine uh what are your feelings as you arrive in this desolate place that is in the middle of nowhere. Well, it's not too difficult to imagine, right? That because of what had happened back home or earlier, Jacob was feeling uh lonely, fearful, is probably feeling uh very uncertain and apprehensive about what lies ahead of him. And I can also imagine that finding himself in such a ubo place, it's really quite difficult for Jacob to be able to feel uh or to experience the presence of God. But of course, of course, we we all know from the passage that God was with Jacob all the while. And by appearing to Jacob uh in a dream and speaking to him in the vision of the leather, God made it unmistakably clear that he has been with Jacob and that he will always be with Jacob. So why? Why was it that Jacob was unable to notice God's presence all this while uh when he was at Bethel? Well, it has to do with this problem of spiritual inattentiveness, isn't it? And like what we saw earlier in the invisible gorilla test, Jacob was just too preoccupied with his own concerns and with the conflict that he is having with his brother Esau. And that was why he just couldn't pay attention to what was going on around him and he couldn't notice the presence of God. Now, I like what uh again my friend and author Tony was for what he wrote in his book that is titled Attentive to God. You listen to his observation about Jacob and his problem, and also about our own spiritual inattentiveness. This is what Tony wrote. Jacob was pre-occupied with his own concerns. His mind and his emotions were absorbed by the conflict with his brother. The very word pre-occupied reminds us that where a space is occupied already, there is little room for anyone or anything else. Jacob's mind was crowded and his heart congested. There was no space for God. We have all experienced moments of self-absorption. When it seems impossible to think about anything other than our particular concerns, such self-absorption works against our knowing God more deeply. Or perhaps you have faced extended periods when it seemed like God had been very absent or even very silent and quiet. Now, could it be? Could it be that it's not because God is absent or silent, but rather we are the ones who are absent and we are the ones who are not listening because we have not been very attentive to him. And could it be that our inattentiveness to God is due to our distractions with something else or our preoccupations with things that keep us from being open to God? Well, in Jacob's case, as we have seen, he was preoccupied with many concerns, and his self-self-absorption actually kept him from realizing that God has always been with him. Now, how about you? How about you? What are the distractions that have kept you from being attentive to what God may be saying to you or to what he's doing in your life? Well, for me, for me, my problem with inattentiveness really has to do uh with technology and my general lack of discipline. And the first thing I do when I wake up in the morning, instead of you know uh setting aside the time just to be still and to be in the presence of God, uh, I pick this up and I occupy myself with uh emails, WhatsApp, social media, etc. And and that preoccupation has often shut God out of the picture and prevents him from getting my attention. Now I want to admit that uh this has been a constant struggle for me, and it's a problem I try to bring to God all the time in prayer. But because I know that God himself desires our attentiveness to him, and I know God will certainly help us in our struggle to give him our full attention. And so may I suggest these words, which are adapted from something that C.S. Lewis himself wrote, uh, and may this be but our prayer for God to help us to give him our full attentiveness, particularly for each morning. Let me read this prayer, Lord. You know it comes the very moment I wake up each morning. All my wishes, my hopes, my distractions rush at me like wild animals. Help me, Lord, for each morning to shuffle them all back. I want to listen to your voice, I want to hear your point of view, and I want to let your larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in all day long. Okay, point number two, noticing God's presence. Now, as we have seen from Jacob's example, uh, when we are not being attentive because we are either too focused on something or we are too distracted by something we are facing, then it's very easy for us to miss the presence of God. And that was what happened to Jacob, right? But as we saw in the story, as we saw in the story, God was determined to get Jacob's attention. And so he met Jacob in a dream. And when Jacob realized that he had been spiritually inattentive all this while, he made this statement in verse 16 of our passage, which we saw just now, right? God was definitely in this place, and yet I was not aware of his presence, and somehow I just couldn't see that he was here. So the question is: how can we then learn to be attentive so as to be able to notice, to recognize, and to see the presence of God? Well, let me let me share with you uh a true story that can perhaps provide us with some encouragement for us to learn to notice God's presence in the midst of our daily life situation. Now, this is a story that's told uh by spiritual writer and retreat director Margaret Seif, and it's a story about a friend of hers named Jennifer. Now, Jennifer had unfortunately uh met with a major accident uh which left her partially paralyzed and also confined her to a wheelchair. Sadly, her husband, unable to cope with the situation, left her. And Jennifer was left to fend for herself throughout much of her journey. But her situation was made uh much uh made a lot more bearable when some friends and neighbors came by and provided whatever help they could offer her. Now, one day, one day during a quiet day in church, uh Jennifer was reflecting on the story of Jacob and specifically on the part of the story that we have been looking at. And as she was thinking about how Jacob found himself in a desolate place with only a stone for a pillow, something about the next part of Jacob's story caused her to pause and reflect more deeply. And and this was, of course, the part about Jacob encountering the angels of God going up and down the ladder that connected heaven and earth, right? Now, let me let me quote for you what Margaret Seif said about what happened next. Shortly before the end of the gathering, Jennifer shared this with all of us. I have read this passage so often, she said, but until today, I had never realized that it's not just about Jacob, but also about me. I know that lonely place where Jacob spent the night. I know that stony ground and a hard pillow, but I also know those angels moving up and down the ladder to support me. It's the story of the last few years of my life. But today, I've come to recognize that however stony the road may be, the Lord is in this place. And I never knew it until now. You see, that was the moment when Jennifer became attentive and realized that God has always been present with her in her ups and downs. And that was also the moment she noticed God's presence, who came in the form of her friends and neighbors, and they were like the angels whom God sent to her. Now, my dear friends, if we want to be attentive to God and to be able to notice his presence, then we would need to learn to open our eyes to see him in our daily uh experience of life. Very much like how Jennifer's eyes were open from her reflection on her own experience and on all that was happening in her life through the story of Jacob. And and to have our eyes open to see God's presence, it will require us to cultivate what Saint Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits, call the spiritual habit of finding God in everything. And and what is this spiritual habit of finding God in everything, you may be asking? Well, let me let me read for you what Ignatius himself wrote to his Jesuits as he encouraged them to practice this habit. And this is what he said to them practice seeking, uh practice the seeking of God's presence in all things, in your conversations, in your walks, in all that you see, taste, hear, understand, in all your actions. Since his divine majesty is truly in all things, by his presence, power and essence. You see, my friends, God is an omnipresent God. And God has also promised to always be with us. And so what that means is that we can expect to find God present and involved in everything that happened around us and in every aspect of our life. No, that is a given. That is a given. I mean, there is no doubt that God is present in all things. But the problem is not with God, it is with us. We are the ones who are. Often blind and oblivious. We are the ones who often cannot see God's undeniable presence in all things and his sovereign involvement in everything. Now we may have eyes, but like what scripture says, right? Often we have eyes but cannot see. Like what Jesus said in Matthew 13, verses 10 to 17. And that's why, that's why at the retreats that I lead, what I would normally encourage everyone to do is to pray first for the Holy Spirit to open our eyes so that we may see Him and we may notice His presence and we may behold His beauty and glory. And more specifically, I encourage everyone to pray constantly that the Holy Spirit will help us to become noticers and beholders. Noticers and beholders. That we will always notice his presence and that we will also learn to behold his beauty and not just at the retreats, but also in the ordinary activities of everyday life. I mean it's important to recognize that God is not just present with us when we are alone with him in our times of solitude and contemplation, but he's also present and working through our daily activities and through our interactions with people, be it at the workplace, uh the classrooms, or in our homes. Now we we we saw that in the story, we saw that in the story of Jennifer, didn't we? How God was present and working through her friends and neighbors who came around her. And that can be where we find God amongst his people when we are interacting and relating to one another. And sometimes we we don't realize it until much later that God does often use what someone says to speak to us as well. It could be a timely word of encouragement, or it could be a much-needed admonishment. And if we are not attentive, we may end up echoing what Jacob said in verse 16, right? Surely God was speaking through so and so, and yet I did not know it. Now, besides finding God and noticing his presence amongst people and in our relationship with others, we can also see God as he reveals himself through nature and through all that he has created. And if you look at Psalm 8, you will get an example of how the psalmist saw God in his glorious creation and how God spoke to him as he beheld God's marvelous handiworks. Let me read for you Psalm 8, verses 3 and 4. And just now the word was given, right? About looking at the sun, the moon, and the stars. Anyway, this is what verses 3 and 4 said. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place. And then God spoke. What is meant that you are mindful of him and the son of men that you care for him. Now, this passage has spoken to me various times in the past, particularly at a time when I was feeling a bit low and I was uh questioning my own self-worth. I remember I was at a West Coast Park sitting at a beach, and as I was looking into the horizon, I felt quite overwhelmed by the vastness of the sky and the sea, and feeling very small. And right there and then I felt a strong sense of God's presence. And God spoke to me from these words in Psalm 8, verses 3 and 4. And I sensed this words from the Lord. You may be small compared to the sky and sea, but you matter much more to me than these things. Okay, now we turn to our final point, huh? Creating a sacred space. So, my dear friends, I'm not sure how familiar you are with um the term spiritual disciplines or with the practice of spiritual disciplines. Uh, but the fact the fact about spiritual disciplines is this if we are serious about wanting to commune with God, that is, we really want to converse with him, we we want to experience and enjoy intimacy with him, or we simply want to be attentive to his presence, then we cannot ignore or avoid the practice of spiritual disciplines. Now, what are spiritual disciplines or spiritual practices, you may be asking? Well, if I can put it very simply, spiritual disciplines are basically means, tools, or practices through which we create a space for God and ourselves, through which we create a sacred space for God and ourselves. And and such sacred spaces are vitally important for our times of communion with God because they allow us to be fully present with God and they make it possible for us to give God our undivided attention. And very often, what also happens in the sacred spaces is that as we give God that uninterrupted time and space, the Holy Spirit will not only speak to us, but he will also do a deep work of in our heart as he continues uh to form us into greater Christ-likeness. Now, time does not uh permit me to uh explain to you in detail the different types of spiritual disciplines, which include prayers, meditation, silence, retreats, etc. But what I would like to do is to focus on the type that is commonly known as the contemplative disciplines. And what we read in our gospel passage today about Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus. Now, that is a perfect picture of what the practice of contemplation looks like. Now, Francis de Salle, well-known writer of the spiritual classic Introduction to the Devout Life, he describes the practice of contemplation as what? The giving to God of our loving attention. The giving to God of our loving attention. And that's what we see when we look at the example of Mary. She created this sacred space for Jesus, sat at his feet, and gazing at Jesus, Mary gave him her full loving attention. So look with me at our gospel reading in Luke chapter 10 and allow me to highlight some of the verses from this gospel passage. Mary sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. Jesus said, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but really only one thing is necessary. And Mary has chosen the good portion. Now, this this is a passage uh I'm sure is familiar to many of us, and I won't be surprised if you have already heard quite a few sermons that have been preached from this text. Perhaps even with the preacher telling you, don't be like Martha, be like Mary. Well, I suspect I suspect that for most of us here, we kind of know that that is not exactly what Jesus is telling us here, right? I mean, it is quite obvious that Jesus is not calling everyone to go become a monk or to look go and live the monastic life, spending your whole day just praying and reading scriptures. No, that's definitely not what Jesus is saying here. But what he is trying to teach us, I believe, is this don't become so busy in your life and get so engrossed with everything else that you totally neglect creating a sacred space for Jesus. Or put in another way, in the midst of your busy life, don't forget to take time to sit in his presence and give him your loving attention. Now, I like again Margaret Seaver, what she how she understood this this passage. And so allow me to read for you her reflection on this passage. Quote There are times when we need to be busy because life has to carry on. And there are times when we need to simply be because it is in the quiet of the being that we find the inner resources for all our doing. Jesus was certainly a man of action, but he drew his strength from those quiet withdrawals to be with God in solitude and prayer. Our inner Martha has a loud, insistent voice, forever prodding us into action all the time. Our inner Mary, however, sits quietly and listens. So, my dear friends, as we look at Martha and Mary, do continue to bear this in mind. Even as we are thinking about our communion with God, if we are not mindful or intentional, it's very easy for the Martha's voice, the loud and insistent voice, to drown out the invitational voice of Jesus. And so my prayer, my prayer is that we will be committed to regularly practice the discipline of contemplation. And like Mary, we will be intentional about entering into that sacred space with God, to learn to sit in silence and in solitude, and just enjoy listening to Jesus as we commune with him. Now, to encourage all of us to learn to give God our loving attention through the practice of contemplation, let me share with you uh two two final stories, which I hope will show you how lovely it can be when we learn to contemplate God in his intimate presence. First story concerns uh this priest by the name of John Viani. He's a 19th-century parish priest from the small French town of Ars. When he first arrived in the town, he noticed that there was this villager who passed by the church every day. And without fail, this villager would always step into the church. And he did this every morning when he went to work and in the evening on his way back from work. This man would leave his spade and his pickaxe at the church door before entering in. So Vyani noticed this man, uh, and he noticed that this man never prayed with a prayer book. And so one day Vyani managed to meet up with him and he asked this man what he said to God during the long visits in the church, in the sanctuary. And the man answered, Oh, I don't say anything to God. I look at God and God looks at me. Now, that, my friends, it's a picture of contemplation. It is what can happen in an intimate sacred space when we mutually give and receive each other's loving attention. Second story this is a story that uh is about an interview that is done by new US newscaster Dan Rather with Mother Teresa, and uh Dan wanted to know about Mother Teresa's prayer life, and so he asked Mother Teresa what she said during her prayers, and Mother Teresa responded, I listened, and then he asked her, How about God? What does God say to you? And she said, He listens. Now that is also a picture of contemplation, not just me looking at God and God looking at me, but also me listening to God and God listening to me. So, my dear brothers and sisters, as I conclude our sermon today, I I have a strong sense that the Lord is wanting to make an invitation to all of us who are present in this place. And I believe this is his invitation to come commune with me, come into this sacred space and just sit here with me and just be still before me. Enjoy my presence and enjoy our friendship. Let's talk together face to face, let's share heart to heart. Lift up your face and let me look at you. Even I also as I invite you to gaze upon my face, and know that I'm listening to you, my child, even as I also invite you to hear my voice whispering to you all that is in my heart.

SPEAKER_02 35:33

We pray that you can strike by the Word of God today. If you'd like to know more about History Christian Church, please visit our website at ycc.com. Have a blessing.