HEB 13:14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name.

Dr Tong started by reiterating last week's lesson on how we should follow Christ out of the city to suffer with Him. He emphasized that we can only do this when we have a value system that is different from the world. This can come about only when we realise, as the author of Hebrews did, that there is no enduring city in the world for the people of God. Only when a person has a value system that is different from the rest of the world can he take on the sufferings that will surely come. The important thing is to understand the link of our suffering and eternity. If the result of our suffering has a relationship with eternity, then there will be eternal value attached to it.

But the problem for us lies in that whenever we suffer, we feel a sense of abandonment, or loneliness. We would often believe that we are the only people who are suffering in this entire world. Ironically, when we sin, we never feel alone, but would typically think that everybody else is doing the same thing, so there is no big deal. Dr Tong said that this is a deception from Satan. We are made to feel alone when we suffer, and we look upon suffering as if it will never end, and we become very bitter with life. But when we sin, the opposite is true, and we feel very much a part of the masses, and could indeed feel that everything that we are doing is accepted and normal. Dr Tong said this is one key reason why psychologists cannot solve the problems of the world. They lack the enlightenment from God Almighty, and attempt to solve man's problems with man's own fallen understanding of the world and himself.

Dr Tong taught that when we suffer, there are three things we need to check:

1. Is our suffering the result of sin? If it is not, then God has allowed it, and God cannot make a mistake. The suffering would certainly be out of God's good will, and it must be of benefit to us ultimately. This thought is the beginning of victory over suffering.

2. We must know that since there is no enduring city in the world, this suffering will also not endure. Nothing from this world can last forever. So even if Satan could kill my physical body, he cannot kill my soul and I need not fear it. These are the words of Christ in Luke 12:4,5: "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him." In the Old Testament, we seem to read about how God delivered the prophets and His people from one disaster to another. But progressively, the situation seems to get worse because by the time we reach the New Testament, other that Judas and the apostle John, all other apostles died tragic death. So what is the sustaining power these apostles had? The answer lies in what Christ taught them regarding the temporal body and the eternal spirit. So they were not afraid to follow the example of their suffering teacher, for the student cannot be higher than the teacher. Those of us who had left the camp to suffer the disgrace with our LORD know that these sufferings are temporal, and nothing compared to the great glory to come (Romans 8:18). We need not feel alone in suffering, because His rod and His staff comfort us (Psalm 23).

3. We need to have faith that after the suffering is done, we will be made better. Job 23:10, "But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold." 1 Peter 1:7, "These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." These verses tell us that after each trial, we become a better person.

Armed with these three facts, we would not compromise easily in the midst of suffering. This was how the three friends of Daniel (Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego) behaved. Dr Tong said that they would not kneel to the idol because their knees had already knelt before God Almighty, so they cannot be bent toward anything else on earth. We are not coming to a Mt Zion on earth, but a new Jerusalem in heaven, where righteousness rule. Since we are citizens of this new heaven and earth, we need to behave in the right manner. Once we understand all these, we would be able to live a life on earth as if we were in heaven.

When we have understood these, verse 15 natural admonishes us to be a person filled with praise and thanksgiving. A person who is thankful would often bear the fruits of praise upon his lips. 1 Cor 12:3 says that no one can proclaim Jesus as LORD without the Holy Spirit. Therefore, when a person is truly imbued with the Spirit of God, thanksgiving and praise become a natural outflow. True praise and thanksgiving can only come from someone who has been moved by the Holy Spirit. This was why Jesus Christ said that not all who call Him Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of God, because many people pay lip-service to Jesus Christ. Only those who truly belong to Him could truly praise Him, and would do His will.

Matthew 7 contains very disturbing descriptions of how some people may do great works and wonders in the name of the LORD, and yet not be accepted by Him. On the surface, this seems to be unreasonable, and even contradictory, for Romans 10:9,13 says that all who call upon the name of the LORD will be saved. The fact is that for the Romans back then, calling upon the name of Jesus was a capital offence, with death as the punishment. So anybody who still dared to call upon the name of Jesus as LORD would had been a true believer, willing to die for his faith. Therefore, these people had to pay a heavy price for proclaiming His name, and certainly were people of God, chosen by God and moved by God's Spirit to confess Jesus as LORD. This comes from God's grace alone, and has nothing to do with man's good works.

Those who call upon the name of the LORD truthfully would be people who would not grumble or curse against God in the midst of their trials and sufferings. On the contrary, they would give thanks and praises to God. The problem is that we can see many, many Christians who make demands of God, but very few would praise Him or give genuine thanks.

The Bible has many descriptions of the fruits a Christian ought to bear. Dr Tong mentioned a few, including the fruit of righteousness, the fruit of light, the fruit of good works, the fruit of repentance. Here, the author wrote about the fruit of lips that confess His name. Dr Tong mentioned about someone he knows in Malang, who is noted to be a person who often encourages. Anybody who knows him, or who had spoken to him would come away being really encouraged and blessed. Our words reflect our spirituality. Dr Tong said that we ought to follow the example of Job, but not his wife. Job was a righteous man, who made a covenant with his eyes not to look at other women (Job 31:1) and was clear that the LORD gave and takes away and is still to be blessed (Job 1:21). But Job's wife was so distraught over their sufferings that she left him, complaining strangely of his bad breath (Job 19:17). Job's lips would simply not curse God.

Dr Tong reminded all that whenever we undergo trials, Satan would take the opportunity to blaspheme against God via our lips. When we grumble against God in the midst of sufferings, these words could shake the faith of others who hear it, and even share our own faith. We ought not to seek after God as if He owes it to us. Dr Tong said that it is as if someone gave us 10 dinner treats, and when he fails to give us the 11th treat, we get angry and curse at him. But towards another person who simply gave us a treat once, we become very grateful. Such is the state of our fallen nature.

Dr Tong illustrated this by relating a story about a pastor, who pastored a church in England. This pastor is always filled with joy and had a smile for everyone. He also prayed the best prayer of thanksgiving. One Sunday, there was a snow storm, and the place was covered thick with snow. A young member of his congregation wanted to go find out how this pastor would pray, since he knew that no one would be able to go to church that morning. So he struggled to get to church just to see what will happen next. Other than the pastor and his wife, this young person was the only person in the congregation. The worship service started and everything proceeded as usual. When it came to the prayer of thanksgiving, the pastor simply prayed a short prayer, "Thank you LORD because we never had this snow storm in the past." The young person was moved because he knows now that this pastor was truly a person who could find areas of thanksgiving, regardless of the circumstances. He gave thanks to God that for so long, they never encountered such snow storm.

Dr Tong gave another illustration relating to a member of his congregation. When he was in his twenties, Dr Tong was invited to visit a widow. This woman's husband died suddenly, and they were married for more than 40 years. They were a loving couple, never apart from each other even for a single day throughout their marriage. When Dr Tong visited her, she immediately went into a tirade and cursed at God loudly for taking away her husband, before Dr Tong could even say a word. Dr Tong said that he was really taken aback, and shocked at this development.

He went back and thought about this incident repeatedly. The LORD had been so good to this couple for so many years, and yet when the husband was taken away, she cursed relentlessly at God. So he kept wondering what it will take for her to learn to be thankful. It suddenly occurred to him that perhaps God should have given her a husband who would beat her everyday till she bled, and quarreled with her for 40 years. Then on the day he died, she would be thankful to God that he is finally taken away.

Dr Tong ended the session by encouraging all to remember that if we get what we deserved, we would be burning in hell now. We need to remember that every good thing comes from the grace of God, and that He owes us nothing. We need to learn to count our blessings or we will become a person with no awareness of God, and will end up being bitter and difficult. We could very well become tools of Satan, blaspheming God without knowing it through our lips.

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.