Episode Transcript
<p><!--block--> Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of Couple O' Nukes. But this episode in particular is part of the Solo Scripture Samurai Arc. It is a ministry sub-series on the Couple O' Nukes podcast where they are solo sermons inspired by my recent time in Japan. I just lived there for a few months, and I'm back in the States now. But unfortunately, due to just how busy Japan was, I didn't have time to record all the sermons that really I was inspired by the local culture and different aspects of Japan while I was there. You know, I've done a few now, and this one I'm extra excited for. Now, I didn't get to actually see today's topic in person. That is tambo art. Now, that is a type of artwork where a Japanese rice paddy, basically the rice fields are used as a living canvas, so to speak. The farmers, they plant different colored rice plants, and then from a higher viewing point, uh, some of them even are calculated to look best from diagonally elevated rather than just straight down. But from a higher elevation, all these different colored rice plants form an image, much like a painting or, you know, a work of art. And it's super cool. If you look it up online, which I highly encourage you to do, I mean, these things are extremely detailed. Where it is compared to where it began, it began back in 1993, uh, in the Inakadate Village in Aomori. And, you know, or rather that's where the place that is well known in it. You know, the rice paddy art began with really just purple and yellow rice plants, and Mount Iwaki and the letters and the paddies, right, now is expanded into actual artwork. And I'm not sure if they use technology to help blueprint it or what the exact method is, but the basic on the fieldwork level is that different colored rice plants are used to create that image. What's super neat is that I never realized there were so many different types of rice. You know, I've eaten brown rice and white rice and yellow rice, and I didn't really know much about the actual plant before it's cultivated. But, you know, there's actually so many. Now, there's only two main cultivated species of rice, but then there's 132,000 over that number, over 132,000 known rice varieties and genetic samples all around the world. And so it's insane. And honestly, it's so amazing to me that God has such a diversity among so many things I once heard an atheist argue saying, "Well, God must be not real, because if he was real, he must be a bug collector because there's so many different types of just beetles." You know? And I think the diversity of creation is something that is just marvelous and amazing, and not, uh, counter to God, but all the fur- further and more proof. And so just looking at how many different types of genetic samples and varieties of rice we have, I mean, it blows my mind. And so when I was researching different parts of Japanese culture, I came across Tanbo art. Uh, actually, while scrolling through social media, I saw something, and I looked it up and researched it further. I definitely wish I could have gone and seen it in person and record some content for this sermon and for other stuff, but I didn't get to. But when I saw the pictures online, I instantly was just inspired by the Holy Spirit about sermon and scripture, because I looked at that and I thought to myself, from the ground level, it doesn't make sense. You know, if I hadn't known it was Tanbo art, as I was walking through the rice paddies and fields, I would've been like, "Why are they just randomly different colors?" Or, "Why are they seemingly structured in some kind of way I don't understand?" But from the view, from a different perspective, you see the picture. I instantly thought of Job. You know, Job is one of my favorite historical accounts of scripture because when God tells Job, "Brace yourself like a man, for I shall ask you all these things." Now, of course, Job doesn't have the answers. God asks him all these questions about different aspects of the universe. What is he doing right there? Many, many things. One of those is perspective. It's about perspective and view. God is taking Job to a higher elevation, looking down at all these interconnected parts to see a bigger picture than what you see at the ground level, much like Tanbo art. And so I love that, what I call a step back moment. I mean, God just shows Job how large the universe is. If you've ever read that whole section of Job, it is... Uh, it gives me chills. He says, "Brace yourself like a man. I shall ask you all these things." And as he's listing all these things poetically, I mean, it is just a beautiful and chilling moment of scripture for me personally, and I hope it is for you, too When we live our lives though, here on Earth as humans, you know, a lot of time we're living at the field level for most of our life. As we grow in faith, as we continue to study scripture and build our relationship with Yeshua, that is Jesus Christ, you know, as we do that, we're able to see a different perspective, but not always. And time passing helps because the longer I've lived, which isn't very long compared to some people, the longer I've lived and looked back, the more everything has gotten into place, and we're gonna talk about that today. You know, just like these real plants in Japan, all these different types of rice, it has to happen at the right time. It's not just about the right perspective. We need to wait. If you go on the mountaintop now, so to speak, and look down at the rice paddy, if it's not the right time or part of season, it's gonna be dirt, or some of the plants are gonna be... You know, you're... It's not gonna make sense 'cause the full image isn't there yet, and that's why I wanna share Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes in general has a very big sense of there is a time and place for everything. Nothing is new under the sun. Life is hevel, a chasing after the wind. But let's look specifically at Ecclesiastes 3 because it connects right into this farming work and this rice paddy artwork. Check this out. Ecclesiastes 3:1, "There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens." Tells you right there. And if you go down a few verses to verse 11, it's coming to you from the New International Version of the Bible. What does it say? "He has made everything beautiful in its time." And we know that it's not gonna make sense ahead of its time. We need patience in order to have everything be in full fruition, but we know for a fact, because look at what Yeshua said to us in John 13:7, "Jesus replied, 'You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.'" And I know that's a little bit out of context in the sense that, you know, obviously Jesus wasn't talking about rice paddy artwork, you know, the Tambo art. But wow, it applies so much when Yeshua says, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." And then of course, Paul spoke about some of this as well. He spoke of only partially seeing now, and then later understanding and seeing more. Just as it is with this Tambo artwork, you can't see it at certain times in your life. You have to be patient and wait. 1 Corinthians 13:12 says, "For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror. Then, then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." And so Yeshua and Paul tell us right now we don't fully understand. Maybe we understand a little bit, but we don't have the full picture or artwork that is in our life the fruition of everything. So to break down the analogy a little bit, when I talk about this temple artwork, what are the different pieces of rice that are being planted in our life, these different colored, you know, rice plants? Maybe it's a breakup, maybe it's a promotion, maybe it's a betrayal, maybe it's a new friendship. See, these rice crops aren't just good things. They're bad things, too, and we're gonna get into that. It's not just about what we can see though. Whether we see in part or full, we know that in 2 Corinthians 5:7, one of the most quoted verses of scripture of all time, "For we live by faith, not by sight." So we know there's a timing, which means there's a wait, and where there's a wait, there's a need for trust. In that patience, in that waiting, a waiting which could be a time of affliction or a time of blessing, we need trust. Faith, when we walk and live by faith, not sight, that requires hope and trust. And we are called to trust in the Lord with all of our heart, and not to lean on our own understanding, but in all our ways, submit to Him and He will make our path straight. Now, that's a paraphrase from Proverbs 3:5-6 And so with that, we know we're called to trust in the Lord. And the question you're asking yourself, maybe, maybe you've had your faith tested, maybe you're not even a believer, and I'm glad you're here either way. I wanna answer this question that you might have: how can I trust? Who is this Lord that I am trusting in this situation? See, we're both the workers and the planners of some of these rice crops. Some of them are from actions of the people around us. Because God is the ultimate farmer of all creation. He's the one with the design. Not only is he in charge of all of that stuff, but he has the design. We're planting some of the crops. God's planting some of the crops. Other people are doing stuff in our life that he's using and incorporating into this blueprint that he has. Only he has the actual blueprint of what that final artwork is gonna look like. And there is scripture to support it. You know, we're gonna go over that now. But I want you to know that he has plans before he acts. This isn't random or spontaneous. Look at Genesis. God forms and creates everything methodically. Genesis shows God forming creation in a specific order And so that specific order means that God is planning, and we don't know how long God was planning all of this before, before creation was made. But there sh- should be hope and reassurance. Now, this isn't just about the ocean, the mountains, the sky. The Bible speaks about us, human beings. Our personal creation was planned, not as a whole race, as individuals. Look at Jeremiah 1:5, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart. I appointed you as the prophet to the nations." And then you look at Psalm 139:16. What does it say? "Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." So this planning, the enactment of those plans, this should be an encouragement to all of y'all who are yet to fully understand your relationship with God or who He is. Uh, He's a planner. He is not a spontaneous, random, or uneducated God. He is all-knowing, divine, and powerful, and He creates everything purposefully. And as we place our trust in Him, that should be great reassurance. And this isn't a sermon about predestination or a free will debate. That's a whole topic on its own. But we know that God has a lot of plans for us, you know, including using what the enemy, Satan, wants to use against us, God can use it for good. You look at Genesis 50:20, one of the most quoted verses on this podcast, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives," right? Said from Joseph to his brothers in Egypt when they fear that he wants revenge on them. What does he say? "That evil that was intended to harm me, God used for good." Those rice plants that you put into my field that were not the same color, that looked like they messed up the image, no, God was able to use that. Not because God does evil on purpose, causes evil. No, God is so powerful and divine, He can take the sins of yourself and others and use them as part of that artwork, of that thimble art in your life, and that is truly beautiful. And that is a even greater encouragement for trust, if anything But again, it's all planned out. What does he say in Isaiah 55:8-9? "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Right? God's thoughts and ways are higher than ours. What does that mean? We couldn't even begin to fathom them. But there's trust and reassurance in that, knowing that God, I mean, whatever we're thinking, God is levels above that. In Jeremiah 29:11, another famous quote of scripture, what does it say? "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." This is spoken to a people in exile, and oftentimes we feel like we're in exile. We're suffering the afflictions. Maybe it's the breakup, maybe it's the betrayal, maybe it's the layoff, whatever it may be. Maybe it seems like there's a patch of rice missing. Maybe it seems like the wrong color rice was planted But it's not. That stuff isn't happening because it's meant to harm us. God's plans are to give us a hope and a future. Amen. His plans are higher than our plans And so we've seen through scripture that God has it all planned out, plans that are beyond our understanding, beyond our thoughts, beyond our emotions, and ultimately for good, because God is a sovereign, faithful, and to quote Isaiah, a holy, holy, holy Lord. Not quoting Isaiah the prophet, but the section of the Bible known as Isaiah, where the seraphim say, "Holy, holy, holy." That's what God is, and so these plans are good, holy plans. As we end this sermon here, it's a very short and simple one, I wanna end with a quote of scripture that's gonna reaffirm all of this. Whatever season of the rice paddy you're in, whatever color crops are being planted, whatever ones are being planted around you, whatever ones you're planting, and most importantly, whatever rice plants are being planted that you don't understand, that you're unsure of, I want you to remember this quote more than any other one we went over today so far. Everything I said today was meant to encourage you, give you hope, and help shift you towards that elevated perspective. And sometimes it's not about forcing ourselves or trying to see from that elevated perspective, but knowing that God can see that. He is doing that. He is viewing that way. Therefore, what we see at the field level, we need to keep in account that He who is up in heaven looking down at the tamba art of our life is guiding it very meticulously and purposefully, and we can't allow ourselves to get caught up in the field view and bring doubt and destruction and self-sabotage to the artwork that God is trying to make in our rice paddy of life. And so here's a quote, one of the most well-known verses of scripture, and a reassuring positive one. Comes from Romans 8:28. We all know it. Say it along with me if you know it. "And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." Right? As God is having us plant these seeds, as others are planting these rice crops, and as He's doing His part, what is it for? He's working for the good of those who love Him and who have been called according to His purpose. So ladies and gentlemen, imagine this. You're working in a rice paddy in Japan. You're planting different crops. You're not planting of your own accord. Some of them you're planting because you wanna try this or do that, but some of them, God is telling you, "Plant this here or remove that plant there," and you're thinking, "Why, God? It doesn't match the image I'm trying to make." It's because God is making a Tambo artwork that we could never even fathom, that is way better than ours. Sometimes we try to force our plans onto God, and it never works out. God has much better plans for us. And while we're creative human beings, we're made in the image of a creator. He is the creator, and the Tambo artwork He's making is far superior. So ladies and gentlemen, I ask you, it is a simple prayer today to surrender to God. Let Him be the artist, the farmer, the blueprint, the designer of your rice paddy of life. And I just pray that you would s- be able to surrender that to Him. It's not always easy, but pray, uh, for surrendering. And with that surrendering, discernment. A lot of people are gonna try to paint their picture in your rice field. They're gonna give you their crops, they're gonna try to get you to invest in them, or they're gonna tell you what is best for you, not what God says is best for you. So pray for discernment. "Lord, help me to plant the right rice. Help me to plant the right colors. Help me to do everything to make this Tambo artwork truly beautiful and in line with your will and your blueprint, Lord." That simple prayer. Thank you all for listening. I hope you have enjoyed this Tambo art Japanese-inspired sermon, and I highly encourage you to check out the other parts of the Solo Scripture Samurai arc. Thank you and God bless. </p><p><!--block--><br><br></p>
