Last night, many of us were in prayer for the FACT conference, which stands for “Filipino Americans Coming Together”, a cultural awareness conference. Some of our church members as well as our church’s dance ministry (Mustard Seeds) were emceeing and performing. It’s great whenever the church can step outside its walls to share the love of Christ in a humble yet bold manner. It’s not merely a nice thing to do, but it’s our calling to do so. Later that night, I was glad to see an email from Chris Sotelo who emceed the night along with his wife Marah. One section of his email caught my eye: “Foellinger was packed with people (the most ever, for a FACT Vshow, from what I hear), and they were LOUD… and very into it  I was really moved by all the potential I saw in that room.” I was so glad he was looking at the audience with the eyes of Christ. It’s really Chris’ version of Matthew 9:37-38. He was seeing the harvest field.

He also gave a good report about Mustard Seeds (MS) and their performance. I personally know that MS takes every performance very seriously, often praying hours to make sure they are doing it in the strength of the Lord and for the glory of the Lord. They really consider it a dance ministry, not merely a dance crew. One of the MS leaders said to me, “There was some unbelievable talent in that place last night. We don’t consider ourselves to be on their level, talent wise. But many of them came up to us and thanked us for our performance, sometimes even in tears saying, “your message really touched us.” Tears come out of hearts that have been touched. When the Spirit of God falls, even in a secular conference like FACT, it can change the atmosphere of the place. I praise God for his work through MS last night.

In light of last night, I started thinking about David. In 1 Sam 16 we see the anointing of David and the rejection of Saul. This chapter is triumphant for David but tragic for Saul, who looked promising as the first king of Israel but is now spiraling out of control. His world is a vertigo of pride and rebellion and he cannot clearly hear the voice of God through all the distortion of his soul. Sadly, according to 1 Samuel 16:14, because Saul would not repent, the presence of the Lord departed from him and an evil spirit tormented him. At this point in the Samuel narrative, the descent of the incumbent king intersects with the ascent of his would be replacement. You see, David was a magical harpist, which was like the electric guitar of his time. So he stood with his harp, not in front of a packed auditorium like FACT, but before the royal court of Saul. Not the good benevolent Saul of yesteryears but the mean cranky demon disturbed man he had become. Well, it worked. When David played, Saul felt better and the evil spirit left him (1 Sam 16:23). Why? How? It’s because “the Lord was with him.” (1 Sam 16:18) Notice that David didn’t sing a beautiful song. All he did was play his harp. That’s it. His playing was so anointed by God that it drove the evil spirit away. Each pluck of the string made God smile and the demons bolt. Spiritual power.

I think Chris and Marah understood this as they emceed. I think MS understood this as they danced. I hope I understand it as I teach, preach, and write. I hope we all understand this as we live. We simply cannot have any impact on others’ lives unless He is with us and anoints what we do. May he unleash his power in our lives in a fresh way as we pray and as we fall in love with our God as revealed in the Word.

Ooh, these just went up on youtube: videos of the MS performace and Chris, Marah, and Justin’s emcee intro video. Good job guys! Glory to God!

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