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HEB 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Dr Tong started by revising the lessons from chapter 11. He placed great emphasis on the dualistic aspect of faith. On the one hand, we are to know that God can do anything and can deliver us. On the other hand, we are to know that when His promises are not fulfilled in this life time, it is but a reminder to us that firstly, His promises are linked to eternity. Secondly, our lives do not end at death, but extends into eternity. So faith produces hope and that allows us to transcend the present constraint and enter into eternity. Not having received is simply a proof that our lives do not end here.
Dr Tong followed on with last week’s lesson on chapter 12:1. Verse 1 cannot be separated from chapter 11, which ended with a statement that the great heroes of faith were people that the world is not worthy of. Although physically they were the same like us, they were people who lived the heavenly life while they were on earth. The author of Hebrews in chapter 12:1 used the word ‘cloud’ to describe them. Clouds are made of H2O. There are H2O too on earth, in the sea and rivers. But the H2O in the clouds are different from that on earth in that they have broken away from the gravity of the earth, and ascended up high.
There are 2 differences between the H2O on earth and that in the cloud. Firstly, the H2O in the cloud is pure, unlike that on earth which is filled with impurities of all sorts. For H2O to ascend to heaven, it must first remove all the impurities. If we were to live a heavenly life, we too must be tried by God, and have our impurities removed, so that we can lead a holy life.
Secondly, the H2O in the cloud had gone through a massive transformation. 1 cubic centimeter of water weighs 1 gram. When you heat up this cc of water, it will reach 100C in temperature, upon which it will physically change. Bubbles will appear, and the water will become gas. To do that, it needs lots of energy, 540 calories to be exact. With this energy, the water will be transformed into vapour to form the clouds. It will expand 700 times its original volume in order to ascend.
The work of the LORD is the same. If the church does not have the power of the Holy Spirit with her, the church will be cold, boring, and little in numbers. Once the Holy Spirit comes, the church will be empowered to grow. At that time, we will think that our church is too small. We often think that our church is too big because our attendance is small. We are like the 1 cc of water. But when we are powered-up by the Holy Spirit, we will grow beyond our constraint, and even a stadium should not be enough to house us.
Dr Tong said that many churches today do not have revival because they are all inward-looking. They illuminate each other within their own building, without going out to the world to be salt and light. If the Holy Spirit is with the church, it is impossible for it not to grow. When water becomes steam, it is so powerful that it can drive a train. The work of the Holy Spirit is the same. We are to be engaged in work that will preach the truth, convert the sinners, transform the world.
When water becomes the cloud, the essence is the same. It is still water. In the same manner, we remain the same person when we have been transformed by the Holy Spirit, except that we are now a person guided by the Spirit. We have ascended into a different plane and can see a completely different view. Dr Tong insists that when a person receives the Holy Spirit, he must surely be a different person, a person empowered by the Holy Spirit.
When the five loaves and 2 fishes were in the hands of a child, it is enough for 1 small child. But in the hands of Christ, 12,000 could be fed with it. This is because it has been transformed by Christ. The goodness that the LORD has given to us cannot remain in our hands. They must be spread out to others. Since Dr Tong committed his life to Christ at 17, about 2 million people have heard him preach, a few million heard him through the tapes and books. This is how the LORD multiplies our work. In the Reformed Institute in USA, an elderly Chinese professor of Japanese language came to attend. She told Dr Tong that she is determined to translate his work into Japanese. Dr Tong challenged the people to remember that when we are really willing to serve the LORD, the LORD will multiply our work for His own sake.
The clouds in the sky reflect the light from the sun. In the same manner, the witnesses reflect the glory of God. The earth becomes brighter because of the clouds and their reflection. Christians need to reflect the grace of God upon the sinners.
Dr Tong related the first time he flew in a plane, when he saw that everything is very small from where he was. If our spirituality allows us to ascend to a great height, we will be able to join these saints and see the world differently. But how do we get up there? We need to escape from gravity, by overcoming the world. We do that by thinking about things of heaven more than we think of things of the world. In the movies, we see that whenever a helicopter tries to escape, the superhero will throw a cable with a hook to catch the helicopter. Try as it may be, the helicopter will never ascend simply because it has been tied down. In the same manner, we want to ascend spiritually, but we need to get rid of our entanglement. Why are we so unproductive spiritually? We dare not pray, dare not bear witness, but we are not ashamed to do evil things like gambling, or having sexual immorality. We need to remove all these entanglements, so that we can ascend spiritually.
We are to run the race marked for us with perseverance. It is a paradoxical description, to run, but with patience. Running seems to imply speed, but patience implies slowness. To run with patience means that the journey is long, and one cannot possibly run it with the speed for a 100m dash. We need to run steadily, and patiently. Many young people want to give their life to God anxiously. But Dr Tong said that God may not want us to die for Him. He may however, want us to suffer and struggle; so we need to run with patient. It is not the speed, but the way we run. The race has been marked for us, meaning that we all have our own spiritual responsibilities.
When we run, we need to be dressed lightly, not burdened with heavy clothing, or with all sorts of jewelry. Dr Tong challenged the people by telling them that they alone know what are the things that hinder their personal spiritual growth. These are things that are personal. Each Christian needs to search his heart to remove the sins that entangle him.
Not a single Christian will have a smooth journey of faith. We all have our own journey of faith, and the Bible never ever promise that this journey will be smooth. In fact, the Bible says that there will be valleys and unevenness, shadow of death, ups and downs. But the LORD promises to be with us. When we run this race, we need to remember three things:
We must focus our eyes on the finishing line. The goal for Christians
must be Jesus Christ. Dr Tong said that he too would face difficulties,
disappointments, dark days like everyone else. But he is focused
on Christ whenever he preaches, because he believes that God is
the first audience, followed by men. He is not interested in the
reaction of the people, he just want to be focused on preaching
the truth of God without fear or favour. Dr Tong said that a famous
preacher once told him not to offend people whenever he preaches,
and should tone down his messages or avoid certain areas sensitive
to the people, like not talking about smoking when many members
are smokers. Dr Tong rejected the advise and insisted in preaching
the truth of God. He is completely focused on pleasing God and God
only. The final goal must be Jesus Christ, who would never fail
or compromise. 2. Remember that only Jesus Christ is the author and perfecter of our faith. He is the source of the entire process of faith, from the beginning to the very end. When we serve God, we must remember that He is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. So we start by faith and end by faith, relying on God alone. Many people start off their ministry by calling on the LORD, but somewhere along the line, they call upon money. By faith we must rely on Him and Him alone. Jesus Christ is both the author and perfecter of our faith, and He is also the WORD itself. The seed of faith is contained within the WORD of God. When we listen to the WORD, the seed of faith comes into us and we respond to God. The WORD cannot be separated from faith. The WORD is also the truth of God. Dr Tong then linked the Holy Spirit with the truth of God in 5 areas:
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth Dr Tong proclaimed that whenever a person truly preaches the WORD, it is impossible that the Holy Spirit does not go into action. When one truly preach the WORD faithfully, the Holy Spirit must work. Also, when the cross of Jesus Christ is truly upheld, the Holy Spirit will move the heart of the sinner. This is because He is the Spirit of truth, and the WORD is truth. So when the truth is being preached and the cross upheld, it would be impossible for the Holy Spirit not to be involved.
3. Jesus saw the joy ahead and scorn the pain today. We need to follow His example. Jesus Christ said that the students cannot be higher than the teacher, meaning that none of His followers will ever suffer more than He did. His suffering was more than all the sufferings of all saints combined. But He looked at the joy of the future. We too need to know that when we suffer, we can do two things:
Look at the joy ahead of us, the reward in heaven We need to see the suffering of this life in light of eternity, and see Jesus Christ as the greatest example. He scorned the shame of the temporal world, because He knew that there is a surpassing glory that is to come. Rev Andrew Gih said that Christ was so above the rest of the world that the moment His hands were pierced, He bled to forgive at the same time. There was no bitterness, no reluctance; just perfect submission.
When a woman is pregnant, she would not mind the shape of her body. Indeed, her suffering would be her glory because she knows that she would have a joy coming in the future. But another woman with the same body shape may be carrying a tumour instead. There is no future joy. So when we suffer for righteousness’ sake, we will have rewards and joy that are to come.
Dr Tong ended the session by giving a forceful encouragement for all to persevere and grow in our faith. After the session, he told me that he felt the Holy Spirit moving among the people, and that his message was powerfully delivered. I agreed with him whole heartedly. 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. |