‘THE’ –
o The year was 1986 – my mom walked in with me into the school. We walked together into my class room.–the basic problem was this – my mom was complaining to my school teacher – he does not speak anything except Malayalam in the house(he refuses to speak English) – what should I do about him?
o 24 years later I don’t remember the content of the discussion that ensued (and I don’t want to remember also!) – but what do I remember is – the final verdict – from now on I am expected to speak only ENGLISH – no Malayalam – in school my teacher would be watching me – at home my mom would be watching me
o That’s how began my long journey with the most widely spoken language in the history of our planet. Used by one out of every seven human beings around the globe. The language in which half of the world's books are written. The language in which majority of international telephone calls are made. Over sixty percent of the world's radio programs is in this language. More than seventy percent of international mail is written and eighty percent of all computer text is stored in English. English has acquired the largest vocabulary of all the world's languages, perhaps as many as two million words, and has generated one of the noblest bodies of literature in the annals of the human race.
o Since, 1986, as I experimented with the use and misuse of this language – I discovered very early– English is quite a crazy language
o Blackbird hen is brown in colour – and blackboards need not be black can be blue or green.
o There is no butter in buttermilk, no egg in eggplant, no grape in grapefruit, no bread in shortbread, neither mush nor room in mushroom, neither pine nor apple in pineapple, neither peas nor nuts in peanuts, and no ham in a hamburger.
o English muffins weren't invented in England, french fries in France, or Danish pastries in Denmark
o And the more we study this language
o we find that hot dogs can be cold, darkrooms can be lit, homework can be done in school, nightmares can take place in broad daylight while morning sickness and daydreaming can take place at night,
o How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same and a bad licking and a good licking be the same
o And my favourite confusion with this language – we have ‘running nose’ and ‘smelling feet’
o In school – there was a time this language called English terrorised me when they introduced this book called ‘Wren and Martin’. I did not mind – Speaking English, writing English, listening English – but this book said we all got to speak grammatically correct English
o And this book talked about alien stuff – past perfect tense, present passive tense, and it went on and on! Till I lived a very tense life
o That’s when this book introduced 3 tiny words which English calls it as ‘articles’
o The first 2 articles are ‘a’ and ‘an’ – which English calls as indefinite articles and the third article is a 3-letter word(which English calls as a definite article) and the word is(which I have already used countless times in my talk thus far)
o (‘THE’ Video)
o This tiny 3-letter word ‘THE’ is going to provide the framework for what’s going to happen at SOAR Live 2011!
o Jacob, what’s big deal with this ‘THE’ ? That’s a good question
o I am hoping by the end of tonight’s talk you will discover THE big deal –but just as starter I want you to understand the difference between ‘a or an’ and ‘the’
o (when somebody states) ‘My friend’s son wants to buy a dog this Christmas’( He is talking about any dog – we don’t know which dog as he has not found the dog yet)
o ‘The dog that bit me ran away’ (He is talking THE dog – a specific dog which bites)
o (all wearing a sweater or jacket stand) – all of you stood up – but if I were to say (please stand if you are wearing ‘the’ sweater I gave you’) – hmmm nobody is here – I think he ran away with it
o (All the girls please stand) If a guy were to come up here and say ‘You know what, I love a girl out here’ I will say ‘Ok, which girl are you talking about’ He responds ‘Well that’s not important – as I have not made up my mind – any girl will do’ But If another guy was to come up here and say ‘You know what ‘the’ girl wearing multi-colour sweater – the girl with blue contacts – the girl with multi-colour shoes and hair – I am in love with the girl’
o Are you beginning to understand what makes ‘THE” so special – as soon you mention ‘the’ in connection with an item or a person - it immediately makes the person unique or exceptional or only one of its kind or exclusive or distinctive
o It immediately zooms in on person out of the 6 billion plus people in the world – as distinct or special
o You will say, Yes! Jacob – I am beginning to understand your wavelength(which is quite weird for most people) – but ‘the what’ – I can’t go through the whole year/life stuck on ‘the’ – I am glad you asked, as we need to visit a particular scene which will make you understand what makes you unique
o This particular scene is when God created the world –
o He merely thought out loud about the idea- the sun, moon, stars and everything you see in the galaxy and beyond came into existence- He had another idea and he said it – the land and waters decided to obey and started teeming with life and energy.
o That’s when God our Creator, decided ‘Hmmm, all this is very good and excellent, but now its time to unveil and unravel what has happened never before – and will never be able to be copied or duplicated or reproduced either by any machine or expertise or system. With my own hands I will fashion and shape THE ultimate masterpiece of all that I have ever created. And what will make this the supreme of all that I have created and will be totally unique and exclusive is that I will make my most ambitious project in my own image – sealed and stamped and made to be like me.
o God got to work immediately with extreme passion and enthusiasm – and crafted and designed His Masterpiece – God stood back to look at the first man and woman and exclaimed from now you will branded ‘THE ORIGINAL’
o The first man and woman – asked – THE ORIGINAL’
o God said – That’s right – The Original
o The first man and woman – looked at each other puzzled – The Original – what makes us different from that long necked animal we decided to call a giraffe – or from that long nosed obese fat creature Elephant – or from that long legged narrow neck creature Ostrich – or even different from that creation which has 2 legs 2 hands – Gorilla or Chimpanzee –
o God replied – ‘All of that is my creation too – but you are The Original – fashioned and designed to be like me – look at your own hands(nobody else even for thousands of years will ever have your fingerprints) – Touch your ears - (nobody else even for thousands of years will ever have your unique shape) – Put out your tongue((nobody else even for thousands of years will ever have your tongue-print) – Touch your eyes((nobody else even for thousands of years will ever have your unique eyes) – Are you beginning to realise that what makes you THE ORIGINAL. And that Adam and Eve is just the appetizer
o Friends, this evening our human body – is God’s masterpiece and the human brain in the words of Isaac Asimov is ‘…the most complex and orderly arrangement of matter in the universe’ – (put your hand on your head – wherever your brain is!) – This brain of yours is the centre of a complex computer system more wonderful than the greatest one of ever build by man. In just one human brain there is probably more wiring, more electrical circuits than all the computer systems of the world put together. Your brain has 30 billion nerve-cells each operating at a potential of nearly one-tenth of a volt of electricity. (The Original)
o Put your hand on your heart(just check if its beating – all is well) – this heart beats at 60-70 times a minute – 93000 times per day – 34 million times per year – What’s so amazing is that most of the time, this heart fuels itself, paces itself, repairs itself and alters itself in response to lifestyle change, with no conscious effort on your part. (The Original)
o You know what your body has its own air-conditioning system – In freezing weather our bodies will sometimes overheat – that’s when the body’s cooling system takes over. Drops of perspiration pour from millions of tiny sweat glands in the skin. The human body has an automatic thermostat that takes care of both our heating and cooling systems, keeping our body temperature at about 37 C(The Original)
o (I can go on and on – about what makes you THE Original) – just one final example –– Your eye has 130 million little rods for black and white vision and 7 million cones for colour vision. These are connected to the brain by 300, 000 nerve fibres. Your eye can receive 1.5 million messages at the same time and it won’t hang(unlike our Vodafone or Docomo connections which suddenly go berserk on 31st Dec). Listen to this, to duplicate the function of one eye, mechanically, it would require 250,000 TV transmitters and receivers!
o WOW! All this God your creator and my creator – with his own hands – as he designed and destined The Original
o No wonder, Is. 44:2 states ‘I am your Creator. You were in my care even before you were born’
o Now are you beginning to realise – what makes you The – The only one – not an accident – not a conveyor belt mass production – but uniquely fashioned and planned – God prescribed every single detail of your body. He deliberately chose your rave, the colour of your skin, your hair and every other feature. He custom-made your body just the way he wanted. He determined the natural talents you would possess and the uniqueness of your personality. ‘You know me inside and out every bone in my body. You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing to something
o Because you are The Original and He has The Original Plan, God decided
o When you would be born and how long you would live
o Where you would be born and where you’d live for his purpose
o How you would be born
o You know why this amazing God, made you The Original – because He loves you – you are the masterpiece of His love – He wants to shower His love on you -
o There is this beautiful poem by Russel Kelfer which sums up – what it means to be The Original
You are who you are for a reason
You’re part of an intricate plan
You’re a precious and perfect unique design
Called God’s special woman or man
You look like you look for a reason
Our God made no mistake
He knit you together within the womb
You’re just what he wanted to make
The parents you had were the ones he chose
And no matter how you may feel
They were custom-designed with God’s plan in mind
And they bear the Master’s seal
No, the trauma you faced was not easy
And God wept that it hurt you so
But it was allowed to shape your heart
So that into his likeness you’d grow
You are who you are for a reason
You’ve been formed by the Master’s rod
You are who you are, beloved,
Because there is a God
o Thanks, Jacob, I am beginning to understand , what it means to be The Orginal – Tell me how do I live out being THE Original this year and in the years ahead
o I am glad you asked….This tiny 3 letter word THE is a prelude to your most exciting journey to experience what it means to be The Original in 2011 and your future. This next 11 months watch out for it means to be THE Original
o But how do I live out being THE ORIGINAL today
o As I conclude this talk, to live as The Original
o Live out The Real You – Most of us live a façade! A Fake(next week) – Its time to live out THE REAL YOU – a life of truth, honesty, love – a life of fulfilling the dreams you are destined to fulfilled
(Eph 2:20 – For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago)
o Live a life of Influence – You are placed in this world – to bring change to the world – to influence – to impact – not just to exist and live life through the motions
o Live life King-Size– If your creator is your King – then the Living God has a huge-size plan and purpose for your present and future – Listen to His voice – Read His Word – and live life to His Size – not in your narrow small world
o How do I live out The Original Lifestyle? The Real You! The Life of Influence! Live at King-Size! Starting next week, you are going to discover The Original Plan as the Plan-Maker destined for you
o Are you ready to be The Original?
