Pendeta Stephen Tong: 2008

Transcripts Irregular Hereafter...

15.54

Exodus Part 1: Israelites in Egypt

15.48

This is my personal summary of the preaching of Rev. Dr. Stephen Tong on 20th July 2008 in Newton Life. It was preached in Chinese with English translation.

Passage: Exodus 1

Without Genesis, we do not where humans come from. Without Exodus, we would not know what salvation is and how God wants to live our lives on earth. Before leaving Egypt, we are saved. After leaving Egypt, we will become people who truly serve God. After going through the wilderness and entered the promised land, we become those who have received God’s promises.

So there are three stages, from sinner, to salvation to abundant life. These three areas have two boundaries in between. Geographically, it is the Red Sea and the river of Jordan. After crossing the Red Sea, we have left the life of slavery. After crossing Jordan, we have left the wilderness.

The 10 commandments from Exodus have become the basis for ethics for the entire world. The tabernacle in Exodus became a model for worship for the church.

The whole family of Jacob moved from Canaan to the land of Goshen in Egypt due to the great famine, where only Egypt had food to last for seven years. In the eternal plan of God, the Promise Land was abandoned. Because of physical needs, people went to the fertile land. This often happens in our lives. When we face physical needs and difficulties, we are forced to forget the purpose of our lives. In another word, our flesh is weak. Due to material needs, we forsake spiritual needs. We call this the real world. A lot of people have high ideals but when facing actual needs in life, they tend to forget what they know.

Abraham left Mesopotamia and went to the Promise Land as guided by God. After the third generation, Jacob left the Promise Land and went to Egypt. The kingdoms of the world often would direct the people of God. On one hand, we are the citizens of the Kingdom of God. On the other hand, we are also citizens of the world. This dual citizenship often gives us conflicts. It is not easy to be Christians. Often we discover that the laws of the world make us unable to be naïve. The Spirit of God often rebukes us, so we have no peace with the way we deal with our lives. Similarly, Jacob left Canaan to go to Egypt. Was he not afraid that he would forget the promises of God? There would be another five years before the famine ended. Initially Jacob did not believe his sons and would not want to leave Canaan, until he saw the chariots and was convinced that it was from Joseph.

He went to Egypt but he did not forget the promises of God. Before he died, he asked Joseph to bury him in Canaan. And before Joseph died, he spoke the word of prophecy, saying that one day all of them would leave Egypt and asked for them to bring his bones out of Egypt. The Israelites multiplied and stayed in Egypt for a very long time. The whole generation that left Canaan and entered Egypt had died. The Pharaoh who knew Joseph had died. This new Pharaoh who did not know Joseph was pragmatic and felt that the Israelites were a threat as they were multiplying very quickly. So he made them construction workers. This frequently happens even in modern world. When a country becomes more developed, and a lot of foreigners come in, they were made to do the menial work that the citizens are not willing to do.

The Israelites were oppressed and unjustly treated. They suffered but they became healthier and stronger. So Pharaoh summoned the midwives to kill all Israelite baby boys. But the midwives disobeyed Pharaoh as they feared God. Many people who are non-believers might not be bad people. God blessed the midwives because they feared Him. God blessed them with marriage and children. God can allow them who do not know Him yet to have a good grasp of common grace. In contrast, many who have experienced saving grace do not understand common grace.

Then Pharaoh asked the midwives why they did not kill the boys. They said the babies were born before they came. Finally, Pharaoh passed another command to throw the babies into the river. This is the beginning of unjust law of men. Law is meant to constrain the lawbreaker. But it is often set up by political power to go against those who oppose them. It is used to harm others. Hence the God who is above the power of all kings pass the 10 commandments to intervene civilization’s laws.

Egyptians’ plan was that Israelite girls would grow up and would be unable to marry Israelite men because baby boys were killed. They would end up marrying Egyptians and slowly diminishing Israelite culture and race. But the sovereign God would rock this evil plan. So we should not fear when people use threat and deception. Vengeance is with the Lord. He would do what He pleases. His power is above the power of men. His throne is above the thrones of men. His law is above the laws of men. We will see finally that the direction God set in history would come true.

Humanity in Sin Part 59: Jacob’s Death

16.00

This is my personal summary of the preaching of Rev. Dr. Stephen Tong on 6th July 2008 in Newton Life. It was preached in Chinese with English translation.

Passage: Genesis 49:29-50:14

Jacob also gave Joseph very special blessing. He was the most precious son of Jacob. Although God chose Judah as the tribe through which Christ was descended, Joseph also received special blessings.

Joseph was referred as a fruitful vine. In the New Testament, Christ likened Himself as the vine as well. The fruit is on the branches, not on the stem. Christians ought not to forget that they are but branches. The true quality comes from the stem. The fruits we bear are not our fruits, but the Holy Spirit’s. The fruits are not for us to enjoy only but also for others. They are for God’s glory.

Joseph was portrayed as strong although there were enemies all around him. It is because the Almighty is with him. When Joseph was sold to Egypt, he was a slave. But he did not compromise his faith. His faith towards God is genuine and he knew that God would never forsake Him. Joseph was victorious and strong was because of the Shepherd of Israel. Joseph is different from all his brothers.

He was the prime minister of Egypt and was the only one who married an Egyptian. So his children were not pure Israelites. He was chosen by God and his future would surpass his brothers. Jacob wanted to emphasize that God had blessed Joseph, and that although he was the prime minister of Egypt, the blessings he gave to Joseph was greater than all other blessings he had received.

Genesis recorded only one chapter on creation, but many chapters on people’s lives. From chapter 12 to 50, it is all about 4 persons over 4 generations. This structure represents something important thing. The center of creation is humanity. The center of humanity is God’s chosen ones. The center of God’s chosen ones are those to whom God gave His revelation to guide His people through all generations. In Genesis, they are Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. Of all the blessings Jacob pronounced on his children, the blessings for Judah and Joseph are special.

After he blessed his children, he asked them to bury him in Canaan, where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca were buried. Joseph was a person who faithfully held on to the promise of God. The Egyptians conceded to his request. Joseph cried for his father for 7 days. When Joseph was about to die, he also asked his brothers to retrieve his remains when God brought them out of Egypt. Like his father, he still remembered the promises of God for Israel.

Humanity in Sin Part 57: Jacob Blessed Joseph’s Two Sons

08.55

This is my personal summary of the preaching of Rev. Dr. Stephen Tong on 15th June 2008 in Newton Life. It was preached in Chinese with English translation.

Passage: Genesis 48

Joseph never forgot about being filial after he became the prime minister. When he heard that his father was sick, he brought his two sons before Jacob. Jacob considered Manasseh and Ephraim his sons and the rest of Joseph’s sons after that would be his own, so Joseph received double portion of his inheritance. So Manasseh and Ephraim became two new tribes of Israel. The tribe of Dan was missing in the book of Revelation. It was because this tribe worshipped idol and was expelled from the tribes of Israel.

Jacob specially loved Joseph so he established Joseph above all his other sons. Joseph put his elder son Manasseh on the right side of Jacob, and the second son Ephraim on his left side. But Jacob crossed his arms so that he blessed Manasseh with his left hand and Ephraim with his right hand. Joseph was not pleased and tried to correct his father, but Jacob said he knew what he was doing, and would indeed bless the younger son more.

Human beings tend to follow natural status to make decision. But God’s plan often transcends the will of man. Jacob experienced that for himself. Esau was the firstborn son of Isaac, but God blessed Jacob. Instead of just following the natural law, Jacob wanted to bless whom God wanted to bless. Joseph was not able to see God’s sovereign will pertaining to his sons. Based natural law, it should be Reuben who received double portion of the inheritance. But based on God’s guidance, Joseph received it although he was the 11th son. God’s sovereignty was above our freewill.

We need to learn to open our heart to His ways that are above our ways. If God wants Ephraim to be ahead of Manasseh, in the position of Joseph we cannot interfere. If God wants the younger to overtake the older one, we have to submit. His authority cannot be surpassed by any other authority.

God never forbid us to have the desire to do great things. The Lord Jesus said that if we want to be great, we need to become a servant of all.

Humanity in Sin Part 56: Jacob Requested Burial in Canaan

14.56

This is my personal summary of the preaching of Rev. Dr. Stephen Tong on 8th June 2008 in Newton Life. It was preached in Chinese with English translation.

Passage: Genesis 47

What kind of hope does one have when alive? It was a wonderful thing to be reunited again with a long-lost son who was thought to have died. Very often emotional needs are deeper than rationality.

We are often trapped under temporal sufferings. Very few people can surpass the fragmentary history to see eternal value. From another angle, a culture that has not gone through sufferings is very bland and shallow. The value of human life is linked with sufferings. Sufferings could bring about the greatest blessings in life. A person who has not suffered is a scary person. He lacks empathy towards others and will tend to judge others based on his narrow experiences and self-centeredness.

Often we cannot tell what God has in mind for suffering people. The psalmist said he would wait upon the Lord. After a great calamity, people would often reflect upon their lives. We think that by wealth we can built many things but disasters often remind us that the earth has been cursed since the Fall.

We need to learn the lessons of sufferings. It is better to be envied than to envy others. Nobody envies someone who does not have something better than him. It is better to be maligned than to malign, to be hated than to hate. It is painful to be mistreated, but the person who causes others’ pain is in a more pitiful state, needing sympathy rather than hatred. These are very difficult lessons to learn in life. We need to cultivate a heart that loves God and humanity, have compassion on those who are suffering, and pray for our country and our people.

Jacob rushed to Egypt to meet his son Joseph before he died. He knew the promise land was Canaan, not Egypt. After 3 generations since God’s promise to Abraham, it had not come to pass. It is often difficult to understand God’s timing.

Joseph reported to Pharaoh that his family had come. Pharaoh honored them although that was against Egypt’s culture. Despite the fact that Egyptians despised shepherds, Pharaoh still gave them the best of the land to live in. This shows that Joseph had truly earned Pharaoh’s respect.

Jacob told Pharaoh that the years of his pilgrimage had been few and difficult. He was clear that he was only passing by on earth. No matter how long we live and how much we suffer, we are only guests on earth. His words to Pharaoh represent the lives of Christians. Today we make a lot of mistakes because we treat our temporal dwelling here as our permanent home.

When Jacob was about to die, he told Joseph, “If I find favor in your eyes, do not bury me in Egypt but bury me where my fathers are buried.” Although he was Joseph’s father and could simply command Joseph, he did not use his position to do so. This kind of attitude is often seen in the Bible. Paul did not enforce his authority, but persuade his congregation by the mercy of God to obey God’s commandment. The spiritual people serve fervently but never preach about themselves. The glorious angels cover their faces. The Son of God did not glorify Himself when walking on earth. They want others to see God’s glory, not their glory. Jacob entreated Joseph by reminding him of God’s promise to him. Joseph consented willingly. Even Pharaoh consented to the request as well.

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob received the eternal promise of God with faith. They did not see with physical eyes their descendants inheriting the promise land but they believed. Later on, Joseph himself also requested for his bones to be carried out of Egypt. These patriarchs trusted in the promise of God until their last breath. They are prepared for eternity.

Gospel Rally September 2008

10.23

Humanity in Sin Part 55: Jacob Went to Egypt

16.04

This is my personal summary of the preaching of Rev. Dr. Stephen Tong on 1st June 2008 in Newton Life. It was preached in Chinese with English translation.

Passage: Genesis 46

This passage told how Jacob brought his whole family into Egypt. God commanded Abraham to leave his hometown and his father’s household but he did not know where the future would be. This is the principle of faith. We trust in God for our unknown future.

Now God commanded Jacob to go to Egypt. But Egypt was not the promised land. God promised Canaan to them. Jacob went to pray to the God of his father Isaac. God called him that evening, “Jacob, Jacob.” instead of calling him “Israel”.

This is parallel to the New Testament. Jesus gave Simon a new name, Peter. But Jesus still called him Simon. After Jesus gave Simon a new name, there was only once Jesus addressed him as Peter. On the one occasion when Jesus called him Peter, it was through another person, not directly. After his resurrection, he said, “Tell Peter.” But Jesus still called him Simon even in the last chapter of John.

Very often, we already have a new status, but we still behave based on old status. Based on status, we are saints. But based on our own spirituality, we are not like saints at all. Israel means the crown prince of God (Esra El), but in many ways Jacob did not live out his name.

There were 66 people who went to Egypt but God considered Joseph’s family as well, so altogether there were 70 people in the house of Israel. Joseph’s wife was not a Hebrew but by God’s grace, was still included in Israel’s family. Before his death, Joseph commanded Israelites to bring his bones out of Egypt when God brought them out of Egypt because he did not belong there. We should always remember that this world is not our home. We have an eternal destiny so we should prepare ourselves for Home.

Because of Joseph, Pharaoh honored all his family who came from Canaan. The Egyptians detested the shepherds so would not live with them. So Jacob’s family lived in the land of Goshen, where the shepherds were. It is the way the world detests Christians.

After the Pharaoh who knew Joseph died, the people forgot Joseph and started persecuting the Israelites. But God never forget His people. When His time comes, He would deliver His people. Genesis told us the promises of God and Exodus showed how the people of God were delivered.

Humanity in Sin Part 54: Joseph Made Himself Known

08.45

This is my personal summary of the preaching of Rev. Dr. Stephen Tong on 11th May 2008 in Newton Life. It was preached in Chinese with English translation.

Passage: Genesis 45

In this passage, we see how God’s purpose unfolded and we are moved to realize that everything that happened, He allowed for good reason. Like music, we need time and space to understand life. We need time to appreciate the art of time. We need space to appreciate the art of space. But an impulsive person is not able to listen patiently.

Do we know God will lead us and teach us? We are often too anxious and impatient, so we grumble against God when we go through difficulties in our lives. Joseph never grumbled against God. In the entire process, he patiently waited upon the Lord. He suffered great injustice and encountered difficulties that most people could not bear, but he stood firm in his faith.

Joseph never harbored hatred against those who did evil against him. This is an example for us to follow. We cannot fulfill any great things with hatred. God would allow injustices to come. All these things should not result in us treating others with evil motives. If we can understand the spirituality behind these statements, we will become a channel of God’s grace to many people. The bigger our heart is, the more the blessings of God will flow through our lives. The narrower our heart is, the more obstacles there will be.

He put his silver cup in the bag of his blood brother, Benjamin. When he summoned Benjamin, all his brothers were distressed. Judah stood up for Benjamin and offered to take the penalty for Benjamin. After Judah’s words, Joseph could not bear it anymore. He asked all the Egyptians to leave, and cried in front of his brothers. He kept asking them about his father. His brothers were so terrified at his presence that they could not respond.

Joseph told his brothers not to be distressed by what they had done, as it was to save lives that God sent him there. He was very reformed. He knew God as the Sovereign One who planned all things throughout history. However people try to harm us, God’s grace will be sufficient for us. We should see the God’s sovereignty is greater than the will of men. But if we shift our focus towards others’ attack, we are foolish and are carrying a cross that has no reward. We should not partake in whatever that is against God’s will, no matter how others treat us. The plans of men might not come true, but God’s purpose will surely come to pass. Further, we should not be troubled if those who seek to harm us are those who have no part in our upbringing, who have no credit in bringing us where we are today.

Joseph was able to see God’s hand in all that happened and he had a very gracious heart towards those who harmed him. This is very Christ-like. He asked the brothers to go back and bring his father to Egypt. They returned home and told the father that Joseph was still alive. Initially Jacob found it hard to believe as he had been deceived by his sons all his life. But he was finally convinced that it was for real. He was deeply overjoyed and wanted to see Joseph before he died.

Humanity in Sin Part 53: The Silver Cup

20.38

This is my personal summary of the preaching of Rev.Dr.Stephen Tong on 4th May 2008 in Newton Life. It was preached in Chinese with English translation.

Passage: Genesis 44

When we read the difficulties the brothers went through, we started wondering why Joseph brought so much problems on their brothers. He put back the money in their sacks on their first journey, hence the brothers could not return in peace. The second time, he also put back their money, but in addition he added his silver cup into their sack, so that this time the brothers really could not go home in peace.

Joseph did not have intention for revenge. Joseph was really lonely and wanted to have more moments with his brothers but he still could not reveal his identity. Hence he swallowed his own sufferings and did not reveal his feelings to his brothers. We need to train ourselves to wait on God’s timing.

Joseph was a very special person. He was only 17 when he was sold to Egypt. He had no friends there and did not know the culture. He entered Egypt with the lowest status as a slave. In this difficult situation, he maintained his integrity.

Joseph used some words that belonged to the Gentiles. Israelites are the people of God and should not use the word “divination”. But Joseph was using the words of the Egyptians so that the brothers would not suspect that he was a Hebrew. He could not reveal his identity until God’s timing came. His brothers did not check the content of their sack before they left. Joseph planted the cup in Benjamin’s sack and then asked his steward to chase after them. He did not want to them to leave him.

The brothers bravely said that whoever was found with the silver cup would die and the rest of them would become his slaves. They did not steal the cup but had been rash with their words, not realizing that it was a set-up. We should not easily tie ourselves with covenants. People who do no wrong could be very brave to declare their innocence but forget that others might set trap for them. When they found that the cup was with Benjamin, they were astonished and tore their clothes, and went back to the city.

Judah spoke up and begged to take the place of Benjamin. Judah was more righteous than his brothers in this matter. He had a lot of mistakes but he was self-sacrificing and stood forth when there was great trials. Although he had adultery with Tamar, he immediately repented when he knew he was guilty. God would later send the promised Christ through his lineage. Joseph was the most righteous and examplary of all Jacob’s sons, but it was Judah that God blessed the most. This is the mystery of God’s grace.

Judah explained to Joseph about his covenant with his father that he had made himself a surety for Benjamin. His words moved Joseph deeply. After these words, God’s timing had come for Joseph to reveal his identity.

My Personal Note:

From Calvin’s commentary, Joseph’s motivation in all those actions was to test his brothers’ character. Since his brothers did such wicked thing as to sell him to Egypt many years ago, it was necessary to put them to the test to find out if they were still the same way. It was Judah’s words that finally convinced him that they had changed. Regarding the term ‘divination’, Calvin believed that Joseph sinned greatly in this matter. As a man who feared God and gave all the glory to God before Pharaoh even when all Egyptians believed he interpreted dreams by divination, Joseph failed here by claiming to use divination to find out that his brothers had stolen the silver cup. In his plot, he combined falsehoods to make his story sound more convincing to his brothers, but it was wrong for a man of God to attribute something to divination.

On the motivation of Joseph’s actions, and his error in claiming to use divination, and Judah's words convincing Joseph that the brothers have repented and he could finally reveal his identity without fearing their pretension, I am more inclined to Calvin’s interpretation.

Humanity in Sin Part 52: Second Journey to Egypt

20.33

This is my personal summary of the preaching of Rev.Dr.Stephen Tong on 27th April 2008 in Newton Life. It was preached in Chinese with English translation.

Passage: Genesis 43

Jacob was unwilling to let Benjamin go after losing Joseph as Benjamin was the only son of the woman he loved that was left. He asked why they told the man in Egypt that they had another brother. Judah explained that the man kept asking about their family details, including their father. If Benjamin did not go, they would not go. At this time, nobody could follow Jacob’s order. Eventually Jacob released him, implying that he had given away all his hope.

When we come to the end of our lives, there is only one source of hope we have. That is that the Almighty God has grace on us. Within this hopeless situation, Jacob blessed his sons that the Almighty God might grant them mercy with the ruler in Egypt. These brothers who used to sin actively in their youth now had to passively go to Egypt because of hunger, which was in line with God’s plan. Above the will of men, the acts of men, is the power and sovereign will of God.

Nobody understood Joseph’s misery and loneliness. Pharaoh trusted him and his subordinates might envy him, but deep inside Joseph suffered a lot. Joseph’s steward brought the brothers to Joseph’s house while Joseph stayed to do his work and only came back during lunch hour to eat with them. This showed his responsibility towards his duty. He had enough power and position to be flexible with his work, and he was dying to reunite with his brothers, but he stayed faithful to his duty.

The brothers were very frightened when they were brought to Joseph’s house because they thought he would attack them and make them slaves. They did not trust the Egyptians. They forgot the blessings of their father Jacob before they left. They did not see it as a privilege to be brought to the prime minister’s house. They only looked at the bad possibility, their pessimism infected one another, not realizing that Jacob’s blessings upon them had come true. They had really been granted favor.

They thought they were arrested because of the money that was put back into their sacks. So they told the steward about it and begged to be given mercy. The steward assured them that he had received their silver and it was their God, their father’s God, who blessed them with the money. The steward had probably heard from Joseph about them, their father and testified about their God. He brought Simeon to them, who was in a good condition. So a lot of their worries were not founded. Problems are not worse than their worries.

The steward washed their feet and gave food for their donkeys to prepare them to eat with Joseph. When Joseph came back for the feast, the brothers gave gifts to him and bowed to the ground. That was exactly what he dreamed many years ago. They hated him and envied him because of that dream. Even his father could not accept the dream. But Jacob kept the matter in his heart while his brothers took the matter into their own hands to harm Joseph. The course of events showed that men’s will could not go against God’s will.

When he saw his brother Benjamin, he could not disclose his identity so he simply said, “God be gracious to you, my son.” But he missed him so much and felt so moved that he ran out to cry. Still wanting to keep his identity a secret, he came back and asked to prepare the feast. There were 3 tables, one for Joseph alone, one for the Egyptians and the rest for his brothers, because the Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews.

But Joseph brought all his brothers to sit at his table, and arranged them to sit in order of age. It must have been puzzling to his brothers that the ruler of Egypt could accurately arrange them to sit in such order. He also gave Benjamin extra portion as his blood brother. With all these, the brothers still could not understand that this was Joseph.

Joseph was different from his brothers. He did not take revenge. He was calm and waited for the Lord. He submitted in all his sufferings and waited for God’s deliverance. The brothers always did things out of self-interest, sold him because of envy and came to Egypt because of hunger.

There are three motivations that would make us weak in life, that is to do something for money, for self, and for pleasing the rich and the powerful. But if whatever we do, we do it for the truth, for God’s glory and for building up other people, our lives will be strong and we will walk in the right direction.

Humanity in Sin Part 51: Joseph's Brothers Returned Home

13.33

This is my personal summary of the preaching of Rev.Dr.Stephen Tong on 20th April 2008 in Newton Life. It was preached in Chinese with English translation.

Passage: Genesis 42:25-38

In Joseph’s wisdom, he demanded his brothers to bring along Benjamin the next time they came along to prove that they had not lied to him. He kept one of his half-brothers, Simeon, in Egypt. Joseph also ordered his men to put back all the money in their sacks. The brothers were afraid when they found their money and quickly returned home. All their fears were because they were haunted by their past guilt.

When they returned, there were only 9 of them. So they had no choice but to tell the father the whole truth. Jacob was deeply saddened. When they told him that they had mentioned about Benjamin before the ruler of Egypt who required them to bring Benjamin over, Jacob was really troubled. He would not want to release this one because he had lost Joseph. He said if Benjamin was taken he would be brought to the grave (seoul) in sorrow.

When Jacob was young, he was so intelligent. But when he grew old, he could not handle his household problems. His life was dramatic, very different from Isaac. All kinds of tragedies happened to Jacob. His sons ganged up and did very wicked things. He felt he was at the mercy of his 10 sons.

Jacob was determined not to let Benjamin go, but Joseph was determined to see him. Gradually as their food supply was exhausted, they had to go again. Reuben said to let him bring Benjamin along and if he could not bring him back, he would sacrifice his two sons. There was so much distrust between Jacob and his sons that Reuben had to put his sons to the line to assure Jacob that he would take care of Benjamin’s safety. Jacob had no choice but to release Benjamin.

Nobody could oppose God and He would hold us accountable. We cannot do whatever we want and think we can escape from God. Whatever we do in the past would become our bondage in the future. We cannot interfere in the sovereignty of God. He would bless whomever He wills. We should not be jealous when God has special grace on certain people.

The brothers bowed down to him when they saw him. God’s revelation through Joseph’s dream were now fulfilled. God would raise anyone He wills, no matter how men are against it. Blessed are those who fear God from the beginning. They would try to avoid unnecessary mistakes. Their lives would not be constrained by jealousy.

There are three great characters of Joseph. Firstly, he never succumbed to the crowd. He did not partake in the sins of his brothers and of the world. He held on to his holy living. We need to honor such a person.

Secondly, he never grumbled when he suffered unjustly. He paid the price for living a holy life. He was attacked by his brothers, sold as a slave, and imprisoned unjustly. But he submitted to God and continued to be a testimony through his faithfulness.

Finally, when his enemies bowed down to him, he did not take the chance to revenge. He encouraged others for their good and did not count the evil deeds his brothers committed against him. The Bible recorded 3 times that the brothers hated Joseph and once that they were jealous of him. But Joseph had no hatred in his heart. He was willing to understand and to forgive others.

Through the life of Joseph, we see the sovereign will of God controlling all things in the midst of human decadence. He is a shining example for all generation.

Humanity in Sin Part 50: The Famine

12.46

This is my personal summary of the preaching of Rev.Dr.Stephen Tong on 13th April 2008 in Newton Life. It was preached in Chinese with English translation.

Passage: Genesis 42

It is hard to transit from prosperity into poverty. But sufferings will trigger us to think about the meaning of life. We also learn to enjoy life more after we have gone through sufferings.

In Egypt, after 7 years of abundance, 7 years of famine came. How many of us will prepare ourselves for the days of sufferings? When we are in safety, we need to think about crisis. The entire land around Egypt was affected. But God had prepared Joseph to become their prophet and lord. Pharaoh was not the real ruler over Egypt, Joseph was. Pharaoh did not have the wisdom to deal with the famine. It was Joseph that had the wisdom to rule over Egypt.

God said to Israel to seek after His face and His favor. But few people are looking for that. People look for status, fame and their own interest. Joseph did not graduate from any great school. His wisdom came from his fear of the Lord. This is greater than Socrates’ statement that knowing oneself is the beginning of wisdom.

Jacob asked his sons to go to Egypt to buy food but refused to let Benjamin come along. He loved Rachel so he especially loved the sons of Rachel. He was afraid of losing another son.

Joseph immediately knew the 10 men were his brothers as he had a sensitive heart. He wanted to know whether his father and brother were still alive. So he devised a strategy to find that out. He accused the brothers as spies. They immediately defended themselves, saying that they were honest men, they had one father, and two other brothers. One was at home and another one was no more. Joseph was so moved that he went out to cry. None of the brothers could recognize him. They would never have imagined that a slave could become a ruler. The ways of God far surpass men’s ways. No matter how lowly a person is despised, God could raise the person up. We should not be afraid that others would look down on us. We should only be afraid that we depart from God’s ways.

Joseph did not want to let his brothers go because he still wanted to find out other things. When jailed, the brothers began to speak to each other in their own language. They started to talk about how they sold Joseph off in the past and believed that they were punished because of their great sin. But God used the event to save the Israelites. Through sufferings, Joseph became an important person in history of mankind. It showed that the power of God surpasses the power of politicians.

May we learn to see the hand of God when we encounter the things we do not welcome naturally. The Bible says God works through all things for the good of those who love Him. We should not fear whatever sufferings we encounter, but should go through all sufferings with a heart that fears God and loves God.

Humanity in Sin Part 49: Pharaoh's Dream

21.20

This is my personal summary of the preaching of Rev.Dr.Stephen Tong on 6th April 2008 in Newton Life. It was preached in Chinese with English translation.

Passage: Genesis 41

What is the difference between dreams and revelation of God? What kind of general principles did Joseph and Daniel used? When God reveal the truth to men, it did not happen only once and through one method. But He revealed through many different methods and progressively, culminating in Jesus Christ. Prophets are God’s spokesmen. On one hand we need to listen to God’s messengers but on the other hand we need to reject false prophets. From Genesis to Malachi, there were times when God used dreams to reveal His will. But not all dreams are God’s revelation. In the few thousand years of Old Testament, not many people receive God’s revelation through dreams, not many were recorded. If a dream is from God, it will certainly come true.

In the latter days particularly, there are many false dreams. Why are the dreams in the latter part not as important as the earlier dreams? Because as God’s revelation progresses, we understand God through His written Word. The importance of dreams therefore diminishes.

There are four incidences of the Holy Spirit descending in the book of Acts but they happened in a span of 28 years and were not repeated on the same group of people. Jerusallem, Samaria, Cornellius’ household and the church of Ephesus received the Holy Spirit only once. It is a mistake for the Pentacostals to think that the Holy Spirit would keep descending year after year.

The cupbearer forgot Joseph after being released from prison. It is human weakness to forget people’s goodness but to remember people’s offence. But even when people forget, God does not forget. Two years later, Pharaoh had a dream and he did not know the meaning. He summoned all the magicians and wise men to interpret for him but none could do it. That was when the cupbearer remembered Joseph. Why did Joseph have to wait so long in jail? Why must it be Pharaoh’s dream? It was all in God’s timing. Often times we could not wait for God’s timing. We move before God’s timing and find ourselves in all kinds of troubles. Jesus Christ left a good example for us on following God’s timing.

When Joseph was summoned and told of the dream, he was very conscious that he did everything for the glory of God. Joseph told Pharaoh that God revealed to Pharaoh what was to come. Here we see that God’s special revelation was sometimes given to the Gentiles. There would be 7 years of abundance followed by 7 years of famine. Pharaoh’s two dreams had the same meaning, implying that God had determined to let it come to pass. Joseph suggested to Pharaoh to find the wisest person to take care of this. Immediately Joseph became a second man to Pharaoh. A prisoner was raised to glory in a day. Joseph did not grumble during those years of silent sufferings. He knew he was treated unjustly but he also knew to submit to God’s timing. God used people like that.

There is a group of people who do not grumble, who wait for God’s timing, who are always thankful, and keep doing their work faithfully in the midst of sufferings. They are not jealous and will praise God for others’ successes and ask for God’s mercy for people’s failures. They will be used by God. People who are narrow-minded might escape being fooled by others but they are seldom used by God. God would not use a person who keep grumbling.

If we always care for our own interests, God will not remember us. If we work for God’s glory and do not remember ourselves, God remembers us. Honor is not the result of our strife. It is given from above. Joseph was maligned and suffered greatly. But when God’s timing came, he became the prime minister in the most important country in the ancient world.

Do not keep thinking about our own glory and honor. We only owe the debt of glory to God, the debt of love to our neighbor, and the gospel to the lost.

Joseph was also given the daughter of a priest in Egypt as his wife, which was considered a great honor in Egypt. In Egypt, he worked for God. How many Christians today are the representatives of God before the non-Christians? Pharaoh said he could not find anyone better than Joseph. It was not from Joseph’s mouth, but from the words of Pharaoh. When others look at us, what kind of person do they see?

Easter Message 2008: Mystery of the Death of Christ

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This is my personal summary of the preaching of Rev.Dr.Stephen Tong on 23rd March 2008 in Newton Life. It was preached in Chinese with English translation.

Scriptures Passage: Rom.5:6-8, 10; Acts.3:12-16

When Christ died, was it a normal person who died? Was it a common person who resurrected? It was not. It was the Lord of Life. He is the Second Person of Trinity. If Christ is God but not man, there can be no mediation between God and man. But if Christ is man but not God, He cannot bring men to God. Christianity is about Christ. He is the intermediary between God and man, the Holy One and sinner, Eternity and temporal world.

There is a representation between the visible and invisible. No culture can reach this understanding. All other religions cannot have this essence. Because He who is from heaven has come to earth, we can go to heaven. The Christian faith is not imaginary. The Eternal God came in flesh in history as intermediary between God and men. Christians ought to understand how precious their faith is. They need to surpass the constraint of contradictions in their life by faith.

There is enlightenment by many religions. But like us, they struggle in sin. They try to find their way out. Five similar elements that religions believe in:

1. Sin is undeniable.
2. There must be a way out.
3. It is important to do good.
4. Death is not the end.
5. There is supernatural strength to rely on.

There is a lot of contradiction in religions. On one hand, they believe in the supernatural power, on the other hand they continue to rely on themselves. Religion starts from human beings looking for God’s grace, blessings and prosperity. Men make the first move. But Christianity starts from God. God seeks the lost, reveal grace to those who do not know Him. God is the Initiator. There is a difference in essence.

The content of Christian faith is not based on doctrines, but on a Person. For many religions, they can survive on doctrines alone. All doctrines of other faith are results of fallen men’s thoughts. But Christianity finds all promises in One Man, Christ. If Christ is taken away, the content means nothing.

In 1 Cor.15 the Apostle Paul said that the gospel is the Jesus Christ died, was buried, resurrected based on the Word of God. So His death, burial and resurrection were set and revealed by God. When the time came, He truly died for us, was buried for us, and resurrected for us. The eternal plan was manifested in history. When Jesus Christ was born, the eternal Word entered history. He is the only One who can link us to God. All other religious leaders could not.

Salvation truth is different from scientific truth. No matter how well you feed a person, he cannot have eternal life. Christ came to the world to become the Son of Man. But if we were to treat him just as the Son of Man, we will never know Him. We need to see Him from another angle. Jesus told Nicodemus that unless he was born again he could not see the kingdom of God. It is impossible for a person on earth to understand the things in heaven. John the Baptist said the One from heaven is above all things and speak of heaven. The one from earth see things on earth and speak earthly things. A person needs first to be born again from above to understand the things from heaven. People born from earth can only understand the things on earth.

The Jews always saw Jesus only from the earthly point of view. Jesus told them, “If you are brought to where the Son of Man come from, what would you do?”

Jesus was the Eternal One so He could not die. He came to earth so that it was possible for Him to die. This became salvation. In contrast, those who are in the flesh want eternal life. Those who should die are not willing to die. This is religion. The One who should not die is willing to die. This is salvation.

When Jesus died on the cross, with what identity did He die? As a son of man, or the Son of God? If He simply died as a human being, He could not accomplish salvation for the entire human race. But if He died as the Son of God, how could we understand that God died? The book of Romans said Christ died, not Jesus died. In Rom.5:10, it said, the death of God’s Son.

The 7 words of Jesus on the cross:

- Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.
- I tell you the truth, today you will be in paradise with Me.
- Woman, behold your son. Behold your mother.
- My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
- I am thirsty.
- It is finished.
- Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.

The first, forth and the last words were addressed to God. The first and last addressed God as His Father. Only on the forth statement, Jesus called God as God. When Jesus called His Father, He was calling as the Son of God towards His Father. The Son of God had the right to die for sinners. As the Son of God He finished the task given by His Father. He died as the Son of God.

In the middle, He called “My God, My God.” He could not be addressing as the Son of God as He was God Himself. Here He spoke to God as the Son of Man.

When He was forsaken by God, He represented human beings who were in sin, abandoned and forsaken by God. But how could He call upon God to forgive sinners as a finite human being? God cannot die, surely He must have died as the Son of Man. But human beings are finite, so He cannot

All these mysteries are found in Him. In Christ, He is God and not Man. It is not possible for Him to die. In order to die, He came in the flesh. If Christ is man but not God, He can die a great death but this would not be sufficient to wipe away the sin of humanity.

The Apostle Paul said while we were still sinners, Christ died for our sins. In verse 10, it said we were reconciled to God through Christ’s death. It was the death of the Son of God.

There are 4 important mysteries in His death:

1. It is substitutionary death.

It is a death that takes our place that fulfil God’s demand for justice. It is not something that anyone can do. If a person will die himself, he is not worthy to die for sin. He cannot fix his own problem of death, how can he help others? Hence no religious leaders can stand in the stead of others. This is the problem of religion. How can a person in sin saved others who are in sin? Only the sinless Christ can do that.

2. It is a saving/redemptive death.

It is an exchange of value. He bought us with a heavy price, through His blood and His life. So we ought to glorify God with our lives. With what do we measure our value? Before we are saved, where were we? We were in the hands of Satan. But to whom did He pay His blood and His life to? The church did not understand it in the first few centuries. Why is there a need to pay this price? This is related to justice. When we sin against God, there is a price to pay. We have fallen short of God’s glory. We owe God His glory. Jesus Christ paid the price to God. We did not owe the devil, but to God. Jesus Christ paid to God. When God abandoned us, He did not throw us to the devil, but the devil took this temporal opportunity to capture us. The devil is not the legal owner of my soul. So Jesus Christ paid the price to God and snatched us from the devil’s hand. We now belong to Him.

3. It is a propitiative death.

We should have been punished. Nothing could stop His anger. Only the holiness of Christ could satisfy the justice of God. He stopped the wrath of God. He is no longer angry with us. Because of Christ, He forgives us.

4. It is a reconciliatory death.

Not only have our debts been paid, not only have we become God’s, not only have God’s wrath stopped, even our relationship with God is reconciled. This is even more proactive. Paul said we should be reconciled to God. Only we reconcile to God, not God reconcile to us. It is because it is human being who first damaged the relationship.

Salvation came because Christ died for us. In His physical body, He suffered and died for us. But because He was divine, when He died, the power of God is manifested. He purchased us by His own blood. His blood is divine and becomes the medium for the New Testament. The Old Testament was based on the blood of lamb, but the New Testament was based on the blood of the lamb of God.

The Jews crucified Christ because He was seen as a threat to their culture. Christ had declared two things that were most offensive to them. First, He said it was because He told them the truth they wanted to kill Him. Immediately Jesus told them their greatest weakness. They prided themselves for having the law the God above other people, yet they resisted the truth. Not only did they not repent, they were against others who were seeking the truth. People who are self-righteous are those who are most daring in commiting sin. The second most offensive statement Jesus said to them was that their father was not God nor Abraham, but the devil. In the entire world, only these people had the law of God. They were not aware of their errors. They thought they were worshiping God. It was the irony of religion.

They hated Him so much that they killed Him on the cross. But the Bible said they killed the Lord of Life, not a life. The Lord of Life is the Source of Life. This is a very frightening thing. Can we kill the Master of Life? The Master of Life cannot be murdered. We can use a knife to cut all kinds of things, but we cannot cut water. No matter how sharp the knife is, the water is still one. The Lord of Life is not a receiver of life, He is Eternal Life Himself, the Creator of all life. Hence He resurrected from the dead. When He resurrected men, He did not need to pray for God’s help. When Elijah, Elisha and Paul raised the dead, they need to pray first. But Jesus Christ immediately commanded the son of the widow, the daughter of Jairus and Lazarus to come to life. He is the Author of Life. He cannot be killed. His resurrection proved that He had power over death.

May our faith be re-established on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. May His sovereign will be done in our lives.

Humanity in Sin Part 48: Joseph in Prison

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Humanity in Sin Part 47: A Model for Young Generation

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This is my personal summary of the preaching of Rev.Dr.Stephen Tong on 9th March 2008 in Newton Life. It was preached in Chinese with English translation.

Passage: Genesis 39

In his youth, Joseph went through great trials and training. He was sold as a slave and seduced but he stood the test and emerged victorious. Many Christians live their lives passively. We have political, ethical, philosophical and scientific challenges. A person who faces challenges is courageous. He who overcomes is strong. However, accepting challenges alone is not enough as it is still passive. We simply respond to it. If there are no external challenges, what would Christians do? If we are effective only when there are challenges then we are not salt and light. Being salt and light is active, not passive. It means we must have dynamic influence and change the world – not passively, but actively. Only light will go into darkness. Darkness would not go into light.

People like Daniel and Joseph were not passively responding to challenges. They prepared themselves to have the courage to fight. More than anyone else, they could see the decadence of the world and challenged it. No matter what situation, Joseph continued to be a testimony. He did not ask for mercy when Potiphar’s wife falsely accused him. Other people might think he was just a slave but deep inside he had unshakable dignity. He could see the throne of God above all thrones, the laws of God above the laws of men. When a person could see the supremacy of God above all things, he is no longer bothered by other people’s opinions about him. This is the life attitude of saints in the Scripture.

This should be the spirit of Christianity. We can be persecuted but we should not compromise in obeying the will of God. A saint is not a person who is completely holy, but he has great sensitivity towards the smallest sin. The more retarded our spirituality is, the less sensitive ware towards even great sins. Joseph was sensitive spiritually. He considered it a great sin to commit adultery with Potiphar’s wife. How many young people today indulge in pornography? So many people are beautiful externally but live like animals. The basis of human relationships is relationship with God. Joseph could see that wrong human relationship is a sin against God. His faith is linked with his action.

Joseph is different form David. Joseph understood this without making the mistake but David understood only when he had committed adultery and was rebuked by the prophet Nathan.

When Potiphar’s wife could not get what she wanted, she started to hate Joseph and he ended up in jail. So many disasters came upon Joseph. How would we respond if we go through Joseph’s difficulties? Would we get angry with God? Joseph never grumbled against God. When we go through difficulties, we must constrain our tongue and do not grumble against God. The just God often allow unjust things to happen.

In the days of our trials and training, God wants us to constrain our tongue and continue to live a holy life. But at this time Satan would encourage you to blaspheme against God. This is a test of our spirituality. For Job, in the same day all his 10 children died. God wants to see what words come out from our mouth when we go through difficulties. Job’s wife cursed God but Job said, “God gives and God takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” We have true victory when we could constrain our tongue from speaking against God in our difficulties.

Joseph kept quiet and went to jail. He is a very precious young man. He is the model for all young people in all generation. God will raise a person like that.

Humanity in Sin Part 46: Joseph’s Integrity in Potiphar’s House

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This is my personal summary of the preaching of Rev.Dr.Stephen Tong on 2nd March 2008 in Newton Life. It was preached in Chinese with English translation.

Passage: Genesis 39

Genesis 38 recorded evil deeds of Judah’s sons, and Judah’s sin in prostituting with his daugher-in-law. God’s word is pure and like a mirror it shows how sinful we are. Genesis 39 records an incident that has happened in every generation and could happen in our lives. It becomes a great teaching for all generation, especially for the young people. The response of this young man is very different from what common people would do, so he becomes an example for all young people. But in preserving his purity and clear conscience before God, his action landed him in jail.

There is one same thing mentioned in the beginning and end of the chapter, that is that God was with him and prospered him in everything he did. Why did Joseph suffer so much? Many people do not believe in God because they see a lot of sufferings, so becoming atheists. When we discuss atheism, it is more important to discuss their motivation first before discussing their content.

However, the more Joseph suffered, the closer he was to God. This is a lesson for all Christians. When we suffer and call on God and there seems to be no answer, we should not abandon our faith. We need to learn from Joseph. In the midst of sufferings, he still did all his duties faithfully and lived a holy life as a young person. Joseph and Daniel are the only two people with no moral blemishes recorded in the Bible.

In His providence, God sent Joseph to Potiphar. Potiphar was able to see that Joseph was a trustworthy person. If we are trustworthy, we can solve the greatest crisis. Potiphar entrusted everything to Joseph so he became the chief steward Potiphar’s house. Potiphar was often out of the house. Other than his food at home, he did not need to care about anything else because he could trust Joseph in everything. Such a young person is a rare jewel. He was away from his family, his father who loved him so much. He was hated and sold by his brothers. But he was so faithful in the midst of sufferings that he earned the privilege of such trust from his master.

But the devil would not let him go. As Joseph was young, well-built and handsome, the master’s wife started to like Joseph. Man often could overcome everything, but fail at the temptation from a woman. This seduction is very difficult to overcome, especially when she offered herself freely. Many women make such mistakes when their husbands are not around. This is not only man’s weakness. When women are filled with desires, they would volunteer themselves.

But Joseph’s reply is a very important declaration in human history, “With me in charge, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house. He has withheld nothing from me except YOU, because you are his wife. How then can I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” This is a remarkable response for such a young man in sufferings. He made two important points. First, he knew his position in the house as a steward who had been entrusted by his master. The second is that he recognized that adultery as wickedness against God. He did not say that is a sin against her husband, but a sin against God.

The woman did not stop tempting Joseph. One day when nobody was in the house, she caught Joseph by his cloak. Joseph left his cloak and ran out of the house. Her unfulfilled desire turned into hatred. And hatred led her to harm Joseph. She lied that Joseph wanted to violate her and she screamed so he left. Joseph had to suffer false accusation because of his righteousness.

Do such great young men exist today? Why is the pulpit so powerless? Why is it that people are not willing to listen to Christians? If we are not living a holy life, we have no power in ministry. Holy lives would manifest the presence of God because God is holy. When we present ourselves as Christians before the church, we need to remember how we present ourselves when temptation comes. May God preserve us in His ways.

Humanity in Sin Part 45: Joseph Sold by His Brothers

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This is my personal summary of the preaching of Rev.Dr.Stephen Tong on 24th February 2008 in Newton Life. It was preached in Chinese with English translation.

Passage: Genesis 37: 12-36

Is love active or passive? Do we love someone because we choose to or because it just happens outside our control? This is a very complex issue because it goes beyond rationality. When we love someone disproportionately, we might end up planting a bomb that would explode some day. Jacob had a few wives although that was never his plan. Fulfilling his duty as a husband, he had 10 children from women he did not really love. God finally gave him a son through Rachel, the only woman he loved. His special love for Joseph could not be hidden among his other sons.

They were jealous and the matter was made worse when Joseph told them he dreamed he became lord over all his brothers. They hated him enough to kill him but was constrained from doing so.

This is an illustration of God’s common grace. The grace God distributes to both believers and unbelievers is called common grace. Jesus spoke of this grace when He said that Father in heaven gives rain and sunlight to both the evil and the good. Common grace consists of many aspects, including the universal ethical concepts we have. Abraham Kuyper built up this concept further. The advancement in all aspects of society came from God. Though all receive common grace, the responses and feelings towards common grace are different between believers and unbelievers. Believers acknowledge their blessings as from God and would give thanks for common grace.

Common grace also stops us from sinning too far. Sinners do not sin to their utmost because there are constraints such as the existence of law, religion, and punishment. The sense of shame, the accusation of conscience and the knowledge of the consequence of our actions also act as constraints. These constraints bring about social stability. But they are not eternal. Cornelius Van Til said that as God slowly withdraws His common grace people would be more decadent and daring in sinning. In modern days, things that used to be done in closed doors are now done publicly without shame.

Through this understanding, we can see deeper principles in the Scriptures and the hand of God in history.

When God gave Joseph special revelation, even Jacob resisted it. But he still put it in his heart, not knowing what to make of it. The rest thought of Joseph as a self-centered and abnormal person. When there is conflict between the will of man and the will of God, there would be struggles.

Jacob sent Joseph to check whether his brothers were safe, resulting in danger for Joseph’s life. When his brothers saw him, they called him the ‘dreamer’. They still held a lot of grudge regarding his dreams. Joseph’s brothers said, “Here is the dreamer, let’s kill him and see what will become of his dreams.” This is frightening as they did not realize that they were going against God’s will. We need to be careful in our decisions, lest we find ourselves fighting against what God is bringing to pass. There is also no need to over-react to claims. If it is from God, it will come to pass. If it is not, nothing will happen.

Human relationships have one common problem. Everybody in the world has become paranoid in always thinking of themselves as victims. We use this psychological response to look at others. We lost our youthful innocence and when we meet people, we think we meet the devil. We are always suspicious.

There needs to be a balance. We also cannot over trust people. Some people are not as good as we think. We will be at a loss when we think of others as too good. And we will also be at a loss when we think of others worse than they are.

Joseph would not have imagined that his brothers want to kill him because of his dreams. They looked at Joseph and his dreams as a threat to them. They felt he was arrogant. But he was merely sharing the dream God gave him. Many people react to the truth in this manner. They think that proclaiming Christ as the way to salvation is arrogant. They felt this is a threat. But this is not a threat, this is grace that would save them.

The brothers sold Joseph, and took his robe, tore it and put goat blood on it to convince their father that Joseph had died. Human beings will spin more stories to sustain their belief as the foundation of their peace. Subsequently it would be quite convincing when they tell it. One example is man’s reluctance to believe in God’s existence. In response to that, they have to find different ways to explain nature and soon theory of evolution or aliens emerge.

Jacob was a deceitful man, but his children were even more deceitful. This is the plea of humanity. Good virtues do not get passed down to the next generation, but the bad things get passed down really quickly and gets worse with each generation.

Initially, the brothers wanted to kill Joseph so that his dreams would not come true. But God had another plan and nobody can thwart God’s plan. In the end they decided to sell Joseph for 20 shekels of silver, so Joseph lived on and his dreams really came to pass.

Our decision and our judgement is not the final. The final comes forever from the One who sits on the throne of Heaven. Do not think of ourselves as the final solution or determinant of anything. If we are treated unjustly by others, do not take vengeance for yourself. God’s final judgement surpasses all our human wisdom.

Humanity in Sin Part 44: Joseph the Favorite Son

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This is my personal summary of the preaching of Rev.Dr.Stephen Tong on 17th February 2008 in Newton Life. It was preached in Chinese with English translation.

Passage: Genesis 37:1-11

The rest of the book of Genesis from this chapter onwards shifts its focus to the life of Joseph, Jacob’s firstborn from Rachel, the only woman he ever loved. Joseph is a great example for young people of all generation to follow. Among all Jacob’s sons, Joseph was a man who truly feared and honored God and who suffered great injustice in his life.

Everything in the life of Jacob seemed to be passive ever since he went to the house of Laban. He did not plan to have multiple wives but it happened to him, and from 4 women 12 sons were borne to him. When Joseph was born, however, Jacob became active again. He loved Joseph actively, and loved him more than he loved all his other sons.

Jacob’s favoritism towards Joseph bred hatred among his siblings. Fair treatment is the most basic expectation that children have towards their parents. Parents need to be careful and sensitive to the psychology of their children. Unfairness led to another injustice, where Joseph was hated by his brothers not because of what he had done, but simply because he was specially loved by their father.

As though God was putting him on trial, Joseph had dreams regarding the future. He received special revelation from God. His dreams had special significance in the Old Testament as it unveiled God’s plan for Israel. When he told his dreams to his brothers, they hated him all the more as it seemed to put him at a superior position than all of them. His brothers were not willing to accept it because of their selective perception, although what Joseph told them was revelation from God. They looked down on Joseph because he was younger and could not accept that one day he would rule over them. Jacob, however, kept the matter in his mind. As Christians, we need to learn to listen to the truth even when it causes a lot of discomfort. If we cannot understand it now, we can keep it in our mind, which might prove true and important some time in the future.

Among our sins there is one that we always ignore. That is self-confidence in our self-righteousness. We continually seek reasons to justify ourselves. This is horrifying. We do not know where we have gone wrong and treat wrong things as right and continue to find reasons to support our theory. So the more we think, the more right we think we are.

From this short passage, we should learn not to despise the young and be open to God’s ways which are often beyond our imagination.

Humanity in Sin Part 43: The House of Israel

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This is my personal summary of the preaching of Rev.Dr.Stephen Tong on 10th February 2008 in Newton Life. It was preached in Chinese with English translation.

Passage: Genesis 35:16-29

Rachel passed away in this passage. Rachel was the woman Jacob truly loved. He met her for the first time and loved her for the rest of his life. But Jacob cannot control a lot of things that happened in his life. It was as though he was passive in all those events. It was not his intention to marry more than one wife. It was not his will that Dinah should be violated. He could not control the wicked thing his son Reuben did. The woman he loved was barren and the woman he did not love kept giving birth.

Eventually Rachel gave birth to a son and his passivity became active. Special milestones in our lives awake us to action. The sufferings we go through make us rethink the meaning of our existence and give us motivation towards new direction. Jacob kept working mechanically. When Rachel finally had a son, his entire life changed and he decided to leave Laban.

Jacob loved Joseph more than all his children. This favoritism later caused a lot of problems in his family. Children do not blame their parents for being not handsome or ugly. And few children grumble about the condition of their family. But they suffer greatly when they perceive unfair treatment by their parents.

Sometimes we love someone so much that we end up hurting them. This is the side effect when emotions are not properly applied. Life should be treated solemnly. Life is both lovely and scary. In the progression of life, life goes in one direction without return. We can regret forever because of the wrong decisions we made. This happened several times in Jacob’s life. Many families seem to be floating around passively in the wheel of time. This passage told us of the birth of his last son, Benjamin. And Rachel passed away after that.

Joseph was treated as the firstborn son of Jacob. Hence his name is not in the tribes of his Israel, instead it was replaced by the names of his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. This is because Joseph received a double portion of inheritance. But in Revelation, the tribe of Benjamin disappeared. Benjamin tribe was rejected because they no longer worshipped the God of Israel. Although Benjamin was historically Jacob’s son, he was removed from the tribes of Israel.

The 12 tribes of Israel represent the kingdom of God in Old Testament while the 12 apostles represented the Church of God in the New Testament.

All the apostles were directly appointed by Jesus Christ. Judas was rejected because he betrayed Jesus. Judas had no place in eternity although in history he was appointed by Jesus Christ. He was removed because of unbelief. The mistake he made was a demonstration that he never had faith. While all the apostles called Jesus Lord, Judas called him Rabbi. Jesus was never Lord in his heart.

The church drew lot and appointed Matthias to replace Judas. But Judas’ position was actually replaced by Paul. Jesus appeared before Paul on the road to Damascus and directly appointed Paul as His apostle. This is from God’s point of view.

In the house of Israel, there are many tribes. In the Church, there are many denominations. When denominational spirit dominates, the house of God will be neglected. Joseph is not the most special tribe although he received double portion. God called His people Israel, referring to the entire kingdom of God.

We should serve with kingdom concept although we have our own denomination. We cannot treat heretic as denomination, but should welcome all denomination as brothers. Reformed system is not for reformed churches alone. Its existence is for the entire Church of God.

Humanity in Sin Part 42: God Appeared to Jacob Again

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This is my personal summary of the preaching of Rev.Dr.Stephen Tong on 3rd February 2008 in Newton Life. It was preached in Chinese with English translation.

Passage: Genesis 35

In this passage, the only One True God revealed to Jacob His plural personhood. He said, “Go up to Bethel and settle there, and buld an altar there to God (instead of “to Me”), who appeared to you when you wre fleeing from your brother Esau.” There are several passages in the Bible where God implied the plurality of His personhood.

God is the Revealer. He is also the One who is being revealed. The 3 generations, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, received revelation from the Revealer. Jacob’s weaknesses were apparent but he was also a person who consistently pursued God’s blessings.

He struggled with his brother, his uncle, his children and his God. But through it all God had preserved him. Earlier Jacob promised God that he would build an altar for Him if God protected him all the way. God reminded him of his own oath. We need to take seriously whatever we speak before God. God reminded him to fulfil his oath towards the God who revealed Himself to him.

Jacob was obedient and later on commanded his household to remove all the foreign gods among them. Here the greatness of Jacob is seen. Only 400 years later the 10 commandments was passed, of which the first was we are to have no other gods before Him. But these words already proceeded from Jacob’s lips. Before him, his grandfather Abraham had stood fast to monotheistic faith. Now God revealed Himself as the One True God through His plural personhood, Jacob understood and said to his family to get rid of all foreign gods because he believed there was only one God.

Everyone at that time has their own personal god to protect them. Jacob’s children were not as faithful as Jacob. They might have some anxiety and follow some superstitions. It is not uncommon to see parents who are godly with children who lack faith. Jacob buried all their idols. This could create a lot of commotions as people might be offended and also afraid that some disasters might happen. But Jacob was not afraid of false gods. We see later that the terror of God fell upon Jacob so that nobody pursued them (v.5). Here we see one principle that when we are fully obedient to God and bravely displayed our faith, the problems in our surrounding come under control.

Jacob’s faith was not only theoretical belief but it transformed into action. Jacob built an altar and called it El Bethel, which means God in the temple of God. It means that the temple of God is not empty, but God dwells in it. So his faith is not an empty religion, but faith given to him by the true and living God.

God told Jacob that his name was Jacob but he would no longer be called Jacob, but Israel. This is the second time God told him his name was Israel. The first time was when Jacob wrestled with the Messenger of God, who changed his name to Israel when Jacob was blessed. God reminded him of his new name, and then revealed to him what would happen in the future. Israel means the Crown Prince of God. From the day of creation God had wanted to crown us. Psalms 8 said that God had crowned man with glory and honor. We often forget we are human beings and we do not live like one. If for one instance we suddenly understand that we are human beings, our life will be lifted up. When a person live a holy and righteous life, we can see how great the honor of humanity is.

When we are born again, we are new creation in Christ. The old has gone and the new has come. We will manifest the glory of heaven and not the decadence of the world. But we often still live as though we never have a new life. If we always go back to our old self, we will live a defeated life.

Before Jacob died, he had become Israel. What about us? Do we still live as though we have never believed? May we reach abundant life through living faith in the promises of God in Christ.

Humanity in Sin Part 41: Dinah's Story

13.33

This is my personal summary of the preaching of Rev.Dr.Stephen Tong on 27 January 2008 in Newton Life. It was preached in Chinese with English translation.

Passage: Genesis 34

Dinah is the only daughter of Jacob mentioned in the Scripture. The Bible does not mention whether Jacob had any other daughers. She was curious about the women of the land so took a walk there. But another man was observing her and violated her later on. Her original plan was thwarted and she lost her innocence. Many women go to the city to observe the night life and end up getting raped. That is what often happen. We plan to do one thing but something else occur out of our expectation that cause us to regret.

Beauty is an asset and a grace. But it is also a source of danger. If we are beautiful, people will take notice of us. If we are ugly, in this respect we are very safe. Grace is dangerous. Danger is all around us when we are full of grace. Dinah was not aware of the value and potential danger of her beauty and hence got herself into trouble.

God did not create all of us equally in His distribution of grace. Justice is not about equality. But to whom more is given, more will be asked. God’s grace is linked to His sovereignty. If more is given to us, God will require more from us in the future.

Shechem was not wise as he had no self-control. He succumbed to his desire first before knowing the consequence. But he was a responsible man after all. After violating Dinah, he loved her and wanted to marry her very much. Shechem’s father negotiated with Jacob to allow Shechem to marry his daughter, Dinah, and all of them could live together in their land and intermarry with their daughters.

This case is different from adultery committed by a man who had another woman other than his wife. The Scripture said if those who committed adultery should be put to death. But if a man violated a virgin outside of marriage, the Scripture said he should pay restitution and then marry the woman as wife for life.

Jacob kept quiet when he found out what happened to Dinah. But her brothers were really angry and revengeful. They were not willing to give Dinah to them. They tricked the Shechemites that they had to be circumcised if they wanted to intermarry with them. This is not in line with God’s principle because only the descendants of Isaac were the people of Israel. Shechem were taken in by their deception and due to his good reputation, the people agreed with his proposal to circumcise themselves on one appointed day.

Circumcision is a painful process. When they were in pain, Simeon and Levi, Leah’s sons and the blood brothers of Dinah, went around and killed every male in the city and plundered all their goods. This is a very impulsive act.

If we act based on impulsive emotions, we will cause greater trouble. We need the Holy Spirit to give us the power of self-control. Self-control is the most difficult thing to do.

Simeon and Levi seemed to have great victory but it was not glorious. They acted out of uncontrolled fury. They were not solving any problem but heaping up problems for the future. If we take the place of God in judgement and take revenge on our own, it will become a reason for others to revenge against us. The cycle of violence will happen over and over again. This is not wisdom but a manifestation of foolishness. We need to learn to be like Jesus Christ who submitted all judgement into God’s hands when He was treated so unfairly.

Much violence and bloodshed took place in this passage and it all started with Dinah’s curiosity. Many times our curiosity is the starting point of many disasters and we suffer greatly as a result. We will do well to take heed to control our curiosity when it is not the right time or not for us to know.

Humanity in Sin Part 40 : Jacob Met Esau

19.13

This is my personal summary of the preaching of Rev.Dr.Stephen Tong on 20th January 2007 in Newton Life. It was preached in Chinese with English translation.

Passage: Genesis 33

Jacob was a great fighter. It is important to have fighting spirit but the motivation is also important. If we fight for the Kingdom of God, we are like Jesus Christ. If we fight for our own gain, we are like Satan. Jesus sought God’s glory and humbled Himself during His life on earth, and as a result God lifted Him up. His humility was active and His exaltation was passive. But Satan elevated himself, and was cast down by God. So his pride was active and his humiliation was passive.

In his life, Jacob grabbed hold of many opportunities for his own gain. But after he was touched by God, his life changed.

Now Jacob put himself right in front to meet Esau. Behind him were his wives and children. As a responsible husband and father, he met the danger first. He had prevailed when he wrestled with the Angel of God the night before and had been limped. Now he no longer relied on himself or saw himself that great. He was willing to sacrifice himself and take care of others first. When new life comes, we will have new boldness, new love, new strength. A great character is one who is the first to face difficulty and the last to rush into gain.

When Esau arrived, there were no weapons. They embraced each other and wept. The people we hate might not be as evil as we think than they are. We often think others are worse than we are. Such tendency itself reveals that we are bad people. We tend to be very pessimistic but a lot of what we worry about would not happen. If we take away 80% of those thoughts of worry and replace them with thoughts on how to advance in the kingdom of God, the church will have revival.

Jacob knelt 7 times before he met his brother. He was begging for mercy. It was difficult for a crippled person to get up after bowing down. All his wives and children also did the same thing. The whole family submitted to Jacob. Esau must have felt very weird that as brothers Jacob would pay such obeisance to him. But the strange thing was also that Esau did not bring his own family, but instead he brought 400 men. That aggravated Jacob’s fear that Esau might be coming to harm him.

However, Esau talked to Jacob as though nothing ever happened in the past. Esau wanted Jacob to follow him to Seir. But Jacob refused by giving the reason that the children and the livestocks could not follow their fast pace. He said he would follow behind and eventually reach Seir. However, Jacob did not go to Seir. He went to another place and built his own house. Since Jacob left home and went to Laban’s, he never had a house of his own. This was the first time he built his own house and settled. The hatred, mischief and deceptions of the past had ended here.

Jacob’s life was full of dramatic events. He was the first person in the lineage of the patriachs that had many wives. But that was not his own initiative. Later on, he would continue to face a lot of strife in his family. Through the life of Jacob, the Scripture teaches us many important principles in life and human relationships.

Humanity in Sin Part 39: Jacob Prepared to Meet Esau

19.08

This is my personal summary of the preaching of Rev.Dr.Stephen Tong on 13th January 2007 in Newton Life. It was preached in Chinese with English translation.

Passage: Genesis 32

We might have made some mistakes in the past which have present consequences and as we grow older these things still follow us. So we have difficulties facing the people we have offended. Jacob was afraid to meet Esau and had carried this burden for decades. Finally it was time to go home and he had no peace to meet his brother. He had a big family and had acquired a lot of property now but they could be all gone in a day if his brother wanted to take revenge. It is diffcult to make good friends and it is even more difficult to get rid of our enemies. We should try our best to live at peace with all people and not make enemies through our self-centeredness.

Jacob sent messengers to Esau and was told that Esau was bringing 400 people to come and meet him. Jacob was very frightened. Why would Esau need 400 people to welcome him? Jacob deceived Esau before, so could not believe that Esau meant well. If we always use craftiness to deal with others, we will keep thinking that others are also crafty like us. Our inability to trust anyone is itself it is a punishment for us. Was Esau as bad as Jacob thought? We tend to think of others badly but always try to justify ourselves. Actually it was not the case. Later on Esau embraced Jacob. They were brothers after all.

That night a person came and wrestled with Jacob. Jacob used all his strength to fight. He could not overcome Jacob so he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip. Since then Jacob limped. The person was a Messenger of God. But why couldn’t he defeat Jacob? It was not that he could not overcome Jacob, but he limited his physical strength to that which was comparable to a man’s.

Jacob feared God and had always longed after God’s blessings in his life. But he was also a deceiver. So there was irony in his life. God was pleased with some aspects of his life, and was displeased with other aspects of his life. Jacob knew it was important to have God’s blessings but in he often relied on himself in worldly matters.

Many Christians are willing to listen to the Word of God and receive heaven’s blessings, and this is good. But practically, we might use many self-centered methods to achieve our ends. Would God allow a spiritual person to continue in decadent life? Many unbelievers live better ethical lives than Christians who love to read God’s Word and are active in church ministry. Jacob is a special character than reflects many of us.

God might allow believers to sin for a time and might seemingly close His eyes. But when His time comes, His judgement would come first upon His household. The principle of justice will go to those He loves first. Do not think we can fool around with God and use our own methods to achieve personal gain. Do not think we can sin all we want and God still takes care of us. Like the Israelites, we might think that for the sake of His own name, He will never forsake His people. But God will not consider these as obstacles when He wants to carry our His principle of justice and chastise His children.

Like Jacob, He just need to touch our lives once and we will be limped forever. But it is better to fall into the hands of God and in the hands of our enemy. When God touches us, it is the end of all our self-deception. We are to come down from our throne of pride and correct wrong concept of God.

Jacob was already limping, but with his hand he still grabbed hold of the Messenger. He would not let go. He asked for His blessings. The Messenger asked for Jacob’s name, and changed it to Israel. It means the Crown Prince of God. But he was now crippled for life. His strength had been taken away. From that day onwards, Jacob no longer walked like he did in the past. He could no longer boast. He can no longer rely on himself.

Before the hand of God touches a person, his glory is false and his success is temporal. But when God chastise us, rebuild us and work on us, our spiritual life will have a true awakening. Now that he was limped, he could not escape from Esau anymore. He could no longer on his own experience and strength. He could only rely on God.

Often we cannot be blessings to others because we ourselves do not think we need God and are using our own wisdom to walk our lives, therefore we do not have God’s blessings to overflow to others. Only when we lose the reasons to boast of ourselves, the sun will arise in our lives. After this event, Jacob went his way across the river, limping, to meet Esau his brother.

New Year 2008 Message: Why We Must Preach the Gospel

19.58

This is my personal summary of the preaching of Rev.Dr.Stephen Tong on 6th January 2008 in Newton Life. It was preached in Chinese with English translation.

The Apostles and Prophets represent the Revelation of God in the Old and New Testament. The churches of all generations are built upon the teaching of the apostles and the prophets. They are the foundation of the church, with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone. The teaching of the apostles and the prophets all point to Jesus Christ. Christianity is Christ.

And upon these foundation of the church, God has given the Church 3 main ministries: evangelism, pastoral ministry and teaching. Preaching the gospel is the first requirement. It is the call to be witnesses to the world so that sinners might be brought before the presence of God. After these people come to the church, we need to pastor their spirituality and teach them the right doctrines. Preaching is like giving birth to a child. A church that does not preach the gospel is suicidal. After the child is born, he needs to be nurtured and educated so that he might grow up, mature and become healthy. But it is no good just to be healthy but remain ignorant. If you do not take care of the child, he will be sick. If he is not taught, he will be ignorant.

People come to the church through the gospel and grow through pastoral ministry. But these are not enough. They must learn to differentiate between good and evil. So they need to learn doctrines. The Apostle Paul said he knew whom he believed in. Christians need to understand the foundation of their faith.

Focusing on the first ministry in this session, the following are the reasons why we need to preach the gospel.

1. It is God’s will

Every Christian is required to obey God’s will. Preachers can preach the gospel and every believer can preach the gospel too. We need to have a solemn attitude towards God’s will. How important is God’s will? John Calvin said there is nothing greater than the will of God than God Himself. God is the Lord of all universe. His will is greater than all wills.

If we honor God, we will be obedient to His will. His will is serious and profound. If He has not willed, there is no heaven and earth. All things exists because of His will in creation. If He has not willed, there is no salvation. Salvation came about because of God’s will in redemption. Because of God’s will in creation, all things exist. Because of God’s will in redemption, we are saved. Because of God’s will in revelation, we can understand God’s truth. God’s will is very great and profound. Therefore we are not to take the name of God in vain and say “the will of God” haphazardly.

God’s will is different from God’s guidance. God’s will is that we are to be holy. But in the guidance of God, some will get married and some will not. But whether married or not, we are to live a holy life. Similarly, it is God’s will that we preach the gospel. Some are guided to be preachers, some are not. But whether we are preachers or not, we are to preach the gospel. A preacher preaches the gospel as his profession, but a normal Christian preaches in his lifestyle. Preaching the gospel is not God’s guidance, it is God’s will. Whether preacher or layperson, we must preach the gospel.

2. It is the command of Jesus Christ

Jesus said if we love Him we will follow His command. Christians have to love God and obey His command. Jesus Christ gave two great commands to us. The first one is internal and the second one is external.

Before Jesus was betrayed, He gave a new command to His disciples to love one another. Why is this a new command? Because in the Old Testament, we are commanded to love God. This encompasses the first 4 of the 10 commandments, that is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. The second one is to love our neighbor as ourselves. This is is the Old Testament. But the Old Testament does not say to love one another. Love here becomes mutual responsibility. If we love each other, people will know we are Christ’s disciples. That is the mark of a true disciple of Christ. As Jesus said, the world will know we are His disciples if we love one another. We prove we are Christ’s disciples through our love.

Reaching out externally, Christ commanded us to go to all the world and preach the gospel to all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and He will be with us until the end of age. Therefore, based on this command, we must preach the gospel.

3. The love of Christ compels us

We know Jesus has died for us. Those of us who live should live for Him because He died for us. The Apostle Paul continued to preach the gospel despite all the sufferings and dangers he constantly faced because he was compelled by the love of Christ. He was internally motivated to preach the gospel. Whether a preacher is good or bad can be ascertained by how he is motivated in preaching the gospel. If he does it for any personal reason it is of no value. But if it is because of the love of Christ, it is of a great value.

We love because Christ first loved us. His Holy Spirit works in our hearts. The extent to which we understand His love is based on how much we understand His sufferings. The more we understand His sufferings, the more we know how to love Him. We will do things people will not do, suffer what people will not suffer, because we are inspired by God’s love. He receives a supernatural power that surpasses his own ability and experiences. When we love someone, we are willing to die and challenge all our limitations. Nothing can stop us. No danger can frighten us.

Do we want to preach the gospel? It is not just a matter of studying and doing well in exams. We need to be inspired by the love of Christ, and then relentlessly we will continue to preach the gospel so that others can share in the blessings.

When we are compelled internally, it is no longer our choice. We no longer have the freewill to go against it. All of a sudden, we move from being active to becoming passive. The great wave moves us. There is no way for us to do differently. The Apostle Paul said the love of Christ compels us. His power to subdue us is greater than our power to refuse. This is what it means by the power of Christ overcoming us. We will become willing to work harder than usual. Do we have such experience? When we look at the unsaved, the lost sinners, how do we feel?

4. This is the need of men

Only Christ can see the true need of men. When we are richer, we think we need better things. We sell off our old car and buy a new car. We change our furnitures and lifestyle. We have more high class enjoyment. The concept of better living is different for different people. But the more meaningful better living is to enjoy deeper culture, art, morality, truth, greater form of music, purer form of love, closeness to God. This is better living which surpasses material changes. If we do not increase in knowledge and become better in character, and we clothe ourselves with all kinds of jewelleries, it is just like a pig with a lot of expensive clothes and jewelleries on it.

What we truly need is God’s love, the light of God’s truth and the touch of the Holy Spirit. And in our lives we should desire a part in contribution to mankind. The greatest of all need is the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is very paradoxical, because while this is men’s greatest need it is also the need that men are most insensitive about. That is why it is so hard to preach the gospel. People really need it but they do not know they need it. Church has a problem where they only preach to those who come, rather than going out to preach the gospel. For people to come, we need to go and get them to come. On one hand, we know they need the gospel. On the other hand, they do not think they need the gospel. Few people are willing to become preachers. When we truly want to consider it, we become calculative. Our experience tells us that people do not feel their need so we continue to get rejected.

This is the paradox of the gospel. It is God’s will and it is also the hardest to obey. We see this in many things. Can we live without eating and drinking? We cannot. Can we live without breathing? We cannot. Breathing is more important than drink, and drink is more important than food. Air is more important than water and water is more important than food. We can live without food for 3 days, but we will die without water for 3 days. And we will die without air for 3 minutes. But the more important thing is cheaper. We never pay a single cent for oxygen. We pay for our drink and pay even more for food. The most important thing cannot be bought with money. And the most expensive things in monetary terms are the things we do not really need.

We must preach the gospel. The Apostle Paul said woe to him if he does not preach the gospel. Whatever he does is for the gospel. His hardwork, his debates, his sufferings, his death, all he does, are all for the sake of the gospel. How many Christians are able to declare this? Apostle Paul said he wants others to share the gospel blessings. Preaching the gospel is the true act that gets us out of our selfishness. God had fulfilled his need so he wanted to meet others’ need of the gospel.

5. We are indebted redeemed sinners

The more we have a sense of debt, the better we can live our lives. Do we know it when we owe people something? The attitude of a perfect person is one who is aware of his debt. Why are we rude to others? Because we do not think we owe them any manners. Why do we not honor people? Because we do not think we owe anyone honor. We will enter into perfection when we see what we owe. A truly humble person does not think he is humble. A person moving towards perfection knows that he is imperfect.

If we do not feel that we are indebted to God to preach the gospel, we will not preach it. The Apostle Paul sensed it very deeply.

What sort of attitude do we have in preaching the gospel? D.L. Moody said he could not sleep if he had not preached the gospel for one day. He was not evangelist only to the masses, but he was very diligent in his personal evangelism.

May we make a covenant with God in this new year that we will be fruitful for Him, to be obedient to His will, to be constrained by His Spirit, to be inspired and have a sense of debt to God so that we are willing to share the gospel with others.

Pendeta Stephen Tong