Sermon 20March2005 (English version)

A sermon by Rev. Stephen Tong, summarized but not yet checked by the preacher.

There are two kinds of people: Those who regard themselves highly, having titles, but may know nothing, and others who know a lot but regard themselves as lacking knowledge, having humility. Nicodemus was like the latter. He came to Jesus and called Him “Rabbi” meaning teacher. A Pharisee, a member of the Jewish ruling council was normally considered esteemed, but Jesus did not look for appreciation from a Pharisee, he said boldly,
”I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” People would normally feel offended if rebuked like that, but Nicodemus replied,
“How can a man be born when he is old? Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”
Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.”
The history tells us that Nicodemus finally became a Christian, thus evicted, then he lived humbly. Therefore if wealth is identified as God’s blessings, people can compromise with sin to gain wealth. Why do people who have no knowledge of religion are easier to convert than those who do? Because they have not been corrupted by the system yet. Nicodemus was different. He was full of knowledge but humble. He is a good inspiration for the proud.
Life is not enough. We need the wisdom from God. People say, “I’m a born-again Christian.” Being born again must show some changes. But is it a guarantee? Not all changes can be identified as being born again. Just like Chickens have two legs. But are animals with two legs chickens? They can be ducks, they can even be humans. “I am not smoking anymore.” So? In America, There are many who call themselves born-again Christians, but they still question the existence of God. They missed the fact that if God didn’t exist, who would have made them born again?
There are a lot of people open to Christian faith but lack understanding. That’s why Reformed is stressing on understanding so that we can survive. Why are sermons at GRII not about making jokes, full of emotions, etc.? Because we need to be strong, not easily swayed.
Being born again is not enough. We need wisdom from above (James 3:17,18), which is:
1.Pure: Quality first, then quantity will automatically follow without jeopardizing the quality. Do not compromise quality to get the quantity. This is a quality of clear mind and motivation towards God. Those who serve God but also seek respect for themselves are not pure. Mind that there are many who rent a place at a church community but actually belong to the dark.
2.Peace-loving: Learning not to be a stumbling block. Bob Pierce, the founder of World Vision in his welcome speech at a conference in Switzerland, once said: Switzerland is beautiful, the air is wonderful, the people are peaceful. Since around 100 years ago the Swiss have never taken any sides/ blocks of the world and never fought into war. Others may fight but we are still peaceful. Angry people may run out of words, we don’t need to fight back. We don’t need to defend ourselves from slander by explaining the fact with all our might to the slanderer. Don’t lower your grade. Don’t handle it the same way they do it. But rather, think why they don’t like you, perhaps you’ve planted something bad. What have you done in the past? Therefore, take heed of what you do today, for today shall be tomorrow’s yesterday. I always think thoroughly of what I’m about to preach. God has trained me a great deal. That’s why I’m not afraid of sickness, death, and slander. The treasure of life isn’t worldly goods, but rather time and process. There may be many who become rich in an instant but poor because of lacking the process. However, there are many great people whose experiences and struggles have inspired many others. We are created within time, space and process. Those are the real treasures.
3.Submissive and full of mercy: Be submissive towards those having greater authority and full of mercy towards those having less. Where are you? Even Kong Hu Cu when asked by his teacher as to what things that will never change in life, he replied being loyal towards superior and merciful towards the subordinates. That is the greatest statement of Chinese philosophy. Similar to the Bible: loving for those having less authority, and submissive towards those of greater authority. This is expressed in many instructions from the Word of God: a husband must love the wife, the wife must submit to the husband; and parents must love their children, children must obey their parents. But which one should act first? To love first or to submit first? This is like asking which comes first, eggs or chicken? Parents were once children, but children were never once parents, therefore parents must love first. This is God’s wisdom. Human relation can become so complex. And once it is tangled it would be very difficult to make it right, unlike tangled thread which can be solved by just cutting it with scissors.
When should we obey God’s command to love and obey, not just when there is no fight, but especially when there’s fight. The more you love, the more you sacrifice, but this is heavenly wisdom, we will never lose our gain. To those who hate, love. There are people who cannot live if they don’t hate. Just wait patiently for their repentance. Maybe God would make them His wonderful servants by God’s changing power.
4.Good fruit: We normally more familiar with the fruit of the Spirit. But the form of the fruit is not singular, the fruit of the Spirit is not the only one. There are the fruit of the Gospel, fruit of righteousness, etc. John 15:5-8: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing… This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” You may have great ideas, but bear fruit!
5.Impartial and sincere: being impartial is not easy, you can be caught in the middle. There are many who defend for righteousness but end up being on the wrong side, defending the guilty party. Being impartial means not receiving any bribes, not involved in any nepotism. Defend righteousness without being partial. Before elected as a president, Lincoln was once scorned by his opponent, saying, “Hi, Americans, if you want to see an orangutan, no need to go to the zoo, just look at Abraham Lincoln.” When Lincoln became a president and was looking for a person to lead the navy. The only one suitable for the position was the one who scorned at Lincoln before. When he decided to choose the person, his subordinate reminded him of the fact, but Lincoln said, “We’re not talking about relation but the best man for the position.”

A gentleman is not feared by power, doesn’t change in wealth, and doesn’t compromise in poor. A righteous one lives by being holy, just, and strict to his/her principles. Fight evil but keep peace towards everybody. This is the heavenly wisdom.