What is ThreeDs?
“ThreeDs” is the vision of our cell group for the year 2006. Our cell is officially called the SS23 cell group, but it’s a lot easier to just remember us as ThreeDs: Dive, Delve and Dwell.
What are the Three Ds?
The film Dodgeball had a scene where Patches O’Houlihan gives the 5 Ds of Dodgeball: Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive and…Dodge. Although for some bizarre reason the movie did not get nominated for the Oscars for best Sport Comedy, it did teach us an important lesson: to reach for something (in their case, to win the Dodgeball tournament), they needed a method, a plan, a vision and they had to work with this vision. Oh, and it also helps if the vision is easy to remember.
The SS23 cell don’t play dodgeball (we play almost every other sport!) but like Peter La Fleur’s team, we also work with our own Ds.
The three Ds that the cell focuses on are:
1) Diving deeper into His Presence
2) Delving in His Word
3) Dwelling in His Spirit
In Matthew 22:37 – 40, Jesus talks about the greatest commandment, to love your God with all your heart, mind and soul.
Diving deeper into His Presence
PRES’ENCE, n. s as z. L. proesentia; proe, before, and esse, to be. The existence of a person or thing in a certain place; opposed to absence.
Following this definition, we know that God is present everywhere because he exist in all places at once. When we say, we come into your presence, or dive into your presence, what we’re referring to is the realization of His presence. God doesn’t really come into a place, because he’s already everywhere (Psalms 139).
Then why do we not feel his presence at times?
God reveals himself to those who seek Him and draw near to Him (Deut 4:29 and James 4:8). It’s not just simply stepping in and stepping out when we feel like it. It’s about the preparation of the heart Acts 3:19. Without repentance, we cannot hope to go into His presence. The popular song, Create in me a clean heart states ‘cast me not away from your presence’. Hebrews 12:14 states to pursue holiness, without which we cannot see God.
People often say, if He is God, why doesn’t He pop out from the sky and write, Repent! God does not serve our whims. Acts 17:25 says He does not need anything, as if we, his creation can hope to demand God of anything. He’s more concerned about the heart, and the heart can only be changed in seeking and pursuing him diligently. His judgments are unsearchable (Rom 11:33). In Jer 29:13, you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Why do we need his presence?
Exodus 33:14 states My presence will go with you and I will give you rest. There is joy and security in God’s presence and He provides us the strength to face what storms that beset us. Moses continuously lived in God’s presence to enable him to lead Israel, and Joshua was chosen because of the hunger he had for God’s presence when he would stay on in the tabernacle when everyone else has gone home.
Exodus 33 talks about Moses’ hunger for God’s presence, as well as his successor, Joshua. The future leadership of our church and Christianity requires a vast amount of time spent with God alone!
And Moses went in during the tough times of Israel, he didn’t go in during a revival meeting or something or a Hillsongs seminar. He was there, up in Mount Sinai, fasting 40 days and 40 nights alone.
“Religious revivals,” says Catholic philosopher Michael Novak, “are always exuberant and filled with spirit, but the true measure of faith is in adversity and despair, when God doesn’t show up in every blade of grass or storefront Church.”
Moses said, there was no way he could go on without God’s presence. Without God’s presence, his destiny would not be fulfilled. Even more amazingly, after being told that God’s spirit would be with him, he went deeper. He dove deeper. He said, “Lord, show me your glory.” He wanted to see God, he wasn’t satisfied with where he was. That was the hunger that turned this castaway into a faith giant.
We need to experience God individually. Revival services are great, but individual experiences are more precious, because it is during out quiet moments with God that he reveals himself to us. To see His glory, to dive deeper into His presence, it’s all about the heart.
Delve in His Word
Is the word important?
The second D deals with Delving in His Word. This is the part where we love God with our mind. In order to understand the Word, it’s not enough to just read it and be done with it. Delving means to meditate on it, to dig deeper into it. Psalms 119:9-11 talks about how a young (wo)man (like us!) keep his way pure, by living according to the word. And again, so that we might not sin, we hide the word in our hearts. Knowing that the wages of sin is death, God’s Word is our counter weapon against the devil’s lies.
John 8:32 is everyone’s favourite verse: You will know the truth and the truth will set you free. But one verse before that, Jesus tells us how to know the truth, in abiding in His word.
Jesus understood the importance of the scripture. In the classic battle with Satan in the wilderness, Satan twists the scripture to tempt Jesus. The enemy never fights fair, he will corrupt truth and cheat us into believing in him. Will we ever be tempted? Of course. That’s the way we grow. An innocent faith might be pure, but it’s not strong. How do we strengthen our faith? Romans 10:17 concerns the hearing of the word and how faith comes by hearing.
Jesus countered every attack with the Word.
The great argument I face is that people do not accept the Bible as the word of God. Especially this year, with the upcoming movie on the Da Vinci Code, we’re constantly being driven into the corner where we would need to counter on God’s word.
The Bible in 2 Cor 2:17 plainly tells that the world will seek to corrupt the word of God. Just like Satan had done 2000 years ago, Dan Brown has done the same to the scripture.
Proof that the word of God is real will be covered in another time, but as Christians, we should have absolutely no doubt that what is in the Bible is God’s Word, and that no one should add or remove any part of the scripture.
Dwell in His Spirit
The final D talks about dwelling, or living in His Spirit. There’s actually another way to look at it, in which the Spirit Dwells (lives in us). John 17:20-21 talks about the partnership we have in God, where we need to live by the Spirit indwelling in us. The Holy Spirit made his debut in the beginning of genesis but was later introduced to the apostles as the comforter, when Jesus ascended to heaven. 1 Cor 2:13 shows the spirit reveals truths and words that the apostles spoke. In the book of Acts, it begins by the empowerment of the holy spirit before the apostles went out and miracles followed in the name of Jesus (Acts 2: 43).
And of course, the gifts of the spirit displayed in I Cor. 12: 8-10 allows us to have a part to play in God’s overall plan. Only by the enablement of the spirit can we attain such gifts.
The spirit dwells in us. 1 Cor 6:19 talks of the body being a temple of God and the spirit dwells in us. If diving in his Presence was loving God with our hearts, and delving was loving God with our mind, then dwelling in his Spirit is loving God with our soul. Romans 8:9 talks of the unbreakable relationship between belonging to God and having his Spirit. The spirit dwells in us the moment we make a decision to become a child of God.
Indwelling occurs at conversion but spiritual gifts occurs at different times.
So what does it mean to Dwell in the spirit? In Acts 8:12-19, the Samaritans were saved and had the spirit indwelling. However, only after being prayed, the Holy Spirit gifts were manifested and empowered. Clearly, we are to wait and pray for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit as God will give according to His own time and purpose. It is the cell vision to provide an environment to develop the gifts and ministries we are in.
Aside from the Spirit providing us with gifts, by living in the Spirit, we can counter our sinful nature and desires. Gal 5:16 says to live by the Spirit and we will not grant the desires of our sinful nature.
Conclusion
The three Ds is just a start to increase our relationship with God, and while the cell group lends support and friendship, we are also clear that we are here to learn and to help each other grow in the Lord. This is the year of Increase, and as in Matthew 6:33, seek first the kingdom and all will be added to us.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matt 6:33
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