Hebrews 11: 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the
destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

===
This week, Dr Tong was back in his elements. Rev Koh said this was because
he was forced to stay in Indonesia while applying for visa for New Zealand
(for the May Gospel Rally) so he need not fly around the region this week.
But instead of resting, he clocked another 35 hours of lecturing. He was
having a livid discussion with Rev Koh about hold gospel rally in Europe,
and he kept telling Rev Koh that we should always bear in mind that the aim
is to bring the message to the people, so organisational issues should stay
secondary.

Dr Tong opened the session by introducing to the people Ms Ling Wang Rui,
the sister of noted conductor Tjaja Ling, conductor of the Cleveland
Philharmonic Orchestra, and the most successful Chinese conductor in the
world today. What people may not know is that Tjaja Ling has had a long
association with the Stephen Tong ministry, and is actually the
Vice-Chairman of STEMI (Stephen Tong Evangelistic Ministry International)
USA. Ling was in Singapore to conduct the SSO but left Sunday morning. His
sister is also a long-time supporter of the ministry, and lectures theology
in Northern Thailand as a missionary, after spending many years at the
United Nations.

Tong began by reiterating last week's lesson, but placing further emphasis
on how ministry should not be viewed as us contributing our money, talent,
time, etc. to God, but always as an opportunity and blessing that the LORD
has given to us. Many people think that just because they have talent and
money, they are in the position to pick and choose if they want to serve the
church. Tong said that he told all his co-workers that we are not here to
contribute to the church because God does not need our help. Rather, we are
all here to learn and serve. Moses had this understanding as he penned
Psalms 90, always acknowledging his own limitations.

God called Moses at a time when he must have felt that his life is coming to
an end, since he was already 80. At the same time, God called him from a
burning bush, declaring the ground he was standing upon as holy. This tells
us that holiness comes wherever, or whoever God may call and be present. Any
time we are meeting God is a holy moment of our lives. The sovereignty of
God was displayed fully when Moses replied to God's calling by saying that
he was slow in speech and tongue. The LORD rebuked him and reminded him that
God was the creator of even the mouth and tongue, but since Moses protested,
Aaron was raised. Tong said that God will not take any of our excuses since
He is sovereign, but He will give portion of our blessings to others if we
kept resisting Him. His will and plan will never be thwarted.

Tong then went into a philosophical explanation about God's
self-proclamation as the "I AM", declaring this to be a revelation that can
only come from God, and not from man's imagination or reasoning. Exodus 3:14
sets the Bible apart from all other faith and scriptures of the world. All
other faith have many gods, or attempt to define their gods via their
reasoning powers; here God declared Himself. In the Chinese translation, the
term used was "I am self-existing and everlasting".

Tong explained the all existence in the world are 'contingent' existence, in
that when a man exists, he exists for a span of time. In the midst of his
existence, he may have children, and they in turn exists in a continued span
of time; but the first person would die out. So the history of man, and
indeed of all creation has been a series of contingent existences. All
things exist because of the Creator, who created all things out of
nothingness (which in itself is an important theological concept). Nothing
can exist outside of the existence of God, who is the source of meaning of
all existence.

God's existence however, is a very different ball game altogether. By His
own declaration, He is self-existing, everlasting. His existence is not
subjected to anything, or constrained or defined by anything else outside of
Himself. His existence is the existence of the 'subjectivity of the truth'
(a term actually coined by Tong). There has never been a time, or moment in
existence, in which God did not exist (a very striking thought for me, even
in the midst of translation).

Tong declared that Moses understood this clearly, and all prophets in the
Bible understood this; that the invisible God is eternal and fully in
control of all things. This was why they were able to see the power above
powers of the world, throne above thrones of the world, kingdom above
kingdoms of the world; and be NOT afraid of the present powers or
circumstances. Tong lamented that such prophetic spirit is sorely lacking in
the church today, the spirit that would challenge the injustices of the
world without any fear, which he said is the role of the church (now,
prophetic spirit seems to be more about prophesizing whether it will rain
tomorrow or not). We have lost this prophetic role and authority.

18 years' ago, Tong was invited to preach in Manila in the midst of their
political turmoil (the days of Ferninand Marcos), to some 20,000 odd people
in English (I have heard the tape before; even though Tong's English was not
perfect, his message was very good and moving). When he did the altar call,
2462 people came in response (wonder how he remembered the exact number?).
After that, an American came to speak to him, telling him that they will
broadcast the sermon via television, but they will have to edit away the
portion during which Tong declared that the nation needs to repent, from the
President all the way to the street cleaner. Tong said that the fact showed
that in the end, God is still in His throne, but the President had long
gone.

To illustrate his point further, he spoke of another occasion in 1998 Feb
14th, when he was invited to preach to a group of people, organised by a
General who was with Suharto's bodyguard brigade. Those were the days of
turmoil in Indonesia when Suharto was facing great challenges to his rule,
and instead of helping the poor, the Christians gathered 6 kg of gold bars
and presented them to Suharto. Tong said that the money meant for Jesus
Christ was given to King Herod instead. During his sermon, he declared
loudly that Indonesia needs to repent, and Suharto needs to repent. He said
that he saw the General shaking visibly right infront of him. The General
later told Tong that he could not sleep that night, fearing that he would be
arrested. Later that year, Tong was delivering the message during Ascension
Day, and someone handed him a note, which stated that half an hour ago,
Suharto declared that he will step down. So Tong said that the day of
Ascension was when Christ went up, Suharto came down. Again, the throne
above the thrones of man on display here.

The third illustration was about how 100 years' ago, Goethe (German
Philosopher) and Beethoven was having a conversation in a Vienna garden.
Suddenly there was a commotion because Crown Prince Rudolf came by. Goethe
quickly went to pay his respect, but Beethoven sat still. Ironically, Prince
Rudolf came out of his chariot and paid respect to Beethoven, before he rode
off. Goethe then asked Beethoven why this was so. Beethoven replied that
royalty came about by coincidenct at birth, and there are many royalties
around. But there is only one Beethoven, who had proven his own musical
genius through his own struggles. Tong ended this segment by reminding all
that a true servant of God would stand out because his calling is higher
than all other calling, and that his work is done through his tears, sweat
and blood.

Tong then moved into the portion about the passover. He said that there are
many things about this passage that puzzled him in the beginning, every
detail and requirement Exodus 12 spoke about. He explained that the choice
of the sacrificial lamb was of great significance, for it signified the
salvation of Christ. There were 4 conditions, the goat or lamb ought to be
male, first born, 1 year old, without defects. All these naturally referred
to Christ, the one year old signifying the age at which the lamb was
strongest (Jesus dying at the prime age of 33). The roasting of the lamb
over fire signified the suffering of Christ over hell fire. Of significance
was the command to be dressed for travel. Once salvation was given, the
people were to get ready to be on the move. Tong said that the belt was to
be tightened, so that one does not eat too much. Sandals were on the feet,
ready to move. Christians today only want to enjoy the salvation, and are
not prepared to be on the move, going into action for the LORD, and we need
to correct this.

The last portion related to Exodus 12:36, how the Israelites 'plundered' the
Egyptians by taking their gold and silver. Tong emphasized that this was how
God restored righteousness, so that the Israelites can have their wages
restored. He did a little discourse on Marxism, and its idea of Surplus
Value, and how communism proposed that workers are exploited by capitalists
who do not match price for value. In the end, the communists exploited the
workers even more (I think he was targeting this at the large group of
Chinese laborers seated at the back).

Because of God's grace, salvation came during the passover for the
Israelits, protected by the blood of the lamb. God also restored their need
for justice, by allowing them to take from the Egyptians their price of
labour for 430 years of slavery. Tong ended the session by doing an altar
call for all who wants to receive this salvation and righteousness, and many
people responded.

END

Disclaimer: This summary does NOT represent the official position of STEMI (Stephen Tong Evangelistic Ministry International), and is the personal opinion of the author, expressed without prejudice. Expressed opinions are meant for academic discussions only.