Participants:
Series Code: GMS
Program Code: GMS000906B
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00:05 Welcome back to Tampa, Florida.
00:07 Next stop we travel to Bangkok, Thailand 00:10 where Rick McEdward learns the fascinating way 00:13 in which Chinese characters 00:15 depict scenes from the Bible 00:18 providing connection points 00:19 between scripture and the Chinese people. 00:23 Thanks, Gary. 00:24 Here with us today is Dr. Samuel Wang 00:27 good friend of mine an experienced missionary. 00:30 And, Dr Wang, I hope you don't mind 00:33 if I ask you a few questions. 00:34 Sure go ahead. All right. 00:36 Tell us first of all what is it that 00:39 you're doing with your work 00:40 and your sharing of the gospel today? 00:42 I am now working as a Chinese evangelist 00:45 for this region in SSD and, and especially in SAUM. 00:52 So the SSD is Southern Asia-Pacific Division 00:55 and SAUM is the South East Asia Union 00:59 and these are areas have large populations of Chinese people. 01:05 Outside of China and Taiwan 01:06 the largest the Chinese population 01:08 is in Thailand 01:10 and then you have next 01:11 you have the Chinese in Malaysia 01:13 and Chinese in Singapore 01:15 as well as in Indonesia. 01:17 So there is large groups. 01:18 When you speak to the Chinese people 01:20 and you're doing some evangelistic outreach 01:23 what kind of approach you use with them? 01:25 I normally would go from the Chinese culture, 01:29 from the cultural gateway to go from there to the Bible 01:33 because Chinese are normally quite 01:36 proud of their own culture, history and traditions 01:39 and there we find a lot of similarities 01:44 that we can still use to pave a way to the Bible truth. 01:48 So you have found some connections 01:51 that are evident between say Chinese language 01:56 and culture history and Bible truths. 01:58 Yes. 02:00 You know, today with the Bible we have is a written version 02:04 we have it like 3,500 years 02:06 but a human history is much longer than that. 02:09 So for the first 2,500 years 02:12 the Revelation of God was not written 02:15 but we have Noah, we have a Enoch, Adam 02:18 they all receive Revelation from God 02:21 that I believe must have been pastored down 02:25 through oral by word of mouth. 02:28 So these oral traditions 02:30 you found that there are some very specific connections. 02:34 Can you give us a simple one, 02:36 I don't know maybe there's something about Noah, 02:37 or Enoch or something that 02:39 that could be simple for us to see that connection. 02:42 Probably the easiest one 02:44 we can see is in the Chinese characters 02:46 the inventors of these characters 02:48 may have known the stories in the Bible. 02:51 For instance the word for the boat 02:55 you find a boat with eight persons in it. 02:59 And another word let's say 03:01 about restrain or control yourself 03:04 it is a tree in the middle 03:06 and then there is some mouth there 03:07 and it seems to indicate 03:09 that the only thing you need to restrain yourself 03:12 is not use your mouth to touch anything from that tree. 03:15 So we're referring back to the Garden of Eden 03:18 and the choice between taking-- 03:20 the mouth taking and not taking, 03:22 Another-- now the word is there is two mouths and two hands 03:25 picking from that tree 03:27 and that's the word for it to die. 03:28 And-- oh, wow, interesting and of course, 03:31 the boat with the eight would have maybe 03:34 potentially refer to Noah 03:36 and the eight people on the Ark. 03:37 That could be a way that the early inventors 03:40 of the Chinese people 03:42 wanted to keep the stories to know 03:45 and the character writings, they pass it down. 03:47 Very interesting. 03:49 So when you share these kind of things are people surprised? 03:54 They are-- I think the feelings are mixed. 03:57 They are-- at first they are surprised 03:58 and then they feel very privileged 04:00 and it is so much information. 04:02 Not only in their writings and they can also see like, 04:06 you know, other traditions. 04:07 Even the Confucius teachings, 04:09 you can find almost all the major teachings 04:12 like love God and love people 04:15 and he prophesied about a holy man 04:19 who is going to come to rule the world 04:22 with the principle of love. 04:24 And those are very similar to the Bible teachings. 04:26 So in some ways there is an affirmation 04:28 of cultural heritage 04:30 at the same time teaching biblical truth. 04:32 So in order not to make the Chinese feel like 04:35 Christianity is a foreign religion 04:37 we have find the pieces and from here in there 04:40 in the Chinese culture tradition 04:43 so it will be a natural way to lead them 04:46 to the complete Word of God. 04:49 I want to just ask a personal question. 04:51 I know your personal story. 04:54 Well, we have just a very short time. 04:57 How did God bring you from where you were 05:01 up into the place now where you're 05:04 kind of a world known evangelist among Chinese people 05:08 Well, I don't think I'm well known 05:10 but I was born in a very humble farm 05:13 and grown up in a communist China. 05:17 The ten pointer for me was, you know, 05:20 to the Tiananmen Square student movement, 05:23 national students all of them have a part in this movement 05:27 but I didn't find the answer 05:29 then I shift to a spiritual movement 05:32 which is known as a Hare Krishna movement. 05:34 Which is sort of a branch of Hinduism. 05:36 Is a branch of Hinduism, 05:37 they are very much contextualized 05:39 to the western version of it. 05:42 Okay. 05:43 And I have become attracted to this movement 05:46 and actually was doing quite well 05:50 in that movement 05:52 but when I started to try to preach to others 05:56 I run into Adventists 05:58 and I run into Spirit of Prophecy 06:01 and the book of Great Controversy 06:04 just convert me. 06:06 Change your life. Changed my life, yeah. 06:08 Since you became devoted Adventist Christian 06:13 you've been developing all kinds of resources. 06:16 For last two years you've added a couple more 06:19 resources to help explain faith to others. 06:23 Tell us about the back to the beginnings 06:26 books that you've shared with. 06:28 That back to the beginnings is a new contextualize 06:31 the Chinese resource for reaching the Chinese 06:35 and that is a project that started with Center 06:37 for East Asian Religions 06:39 used to be the Buddhist studies center 06:42 and I had a privilege to work 06:45 with the center for the past four years. 06:47 And this book is as a new way to reach the Chinese 06:52 not only used the Bible 06:54 but start from the Chinese culture 06:56 and to pave ways and to build bridges 07:00 to lead the Chinese to the Bible truth. 07:03 Wonderful. 07:05 Well, thank you so much for joining us today. 07:07 And I just want to say, 07:08 you know, there's many ways of sharing our faith 07:10 and what Dr. Wang has shared with us 07:12 today is just one of them. 07:15 I encourage you to make friends with your neighbors 07:17 and share your faith. 07:19 Back to you, Gary. 07:21 I invite you now to pause for a few month 07:24 and as you watch this video as you see the images, 07:27 as you listen to the words of this song. 07:30 Please remember in prayer those who are serving 07:33 on the front lines of Mission. 07:36 The song is called 07:37 "Missionaries Need Missionaries Too." 07:50 Somewhere under sun in the heart of a foreign land 07:57 The family where the passion is living their mission trend 08:04 Bringing God to, to a hungry thirsty child 08:10 Knowing what our lives are always on the line 08:17 Missionaries need missionaries too 08:23 They need the prayers of loved ones 08:26 They need love from me and you 08:30 And when they just like Christ make the ultimate sacrifice 08:37 Someday in heaven they will thank you 08:41 Because you are a missionary too 08:50 Somewhere in jungle skies Is a plane that saving lives 08:57 Brining cures to ease the pain 09:00 Brining sight to darken lives 09:04 Carrying all their work Through the storms 09:07 And through the night 09:10 Never ending labors Touring souls of light 09:17 Missionaries Need missionaries too 09:23 They need the prayers Of loved ones 09:26 They need love from me and you 09:30 And when they just like Christ Make the ultimate sacrifice 09:37 Someday in heaven They will thank you 09:41 Because you are a missionary Too 09:47 In the streets or a village Their work may go unseen 09:53 For the sake of Christ They sacrifice their own needs 10:00 Remind them that you love them And give them what you can 10:06 Because your mission field Is very near 10:09 Help them carry out God's plan 10:15 Missionaries Need missionaries too 10:22 They need the prayers Of loved ones 10:24 They need love from me and you 10:29 And when they just like Christ Make the ultimate sacrifice 10:34 Missionaries Need missionaries too 10:40 They need the prayers Of loved ones 10:42 They need love From me and you 10:47 And when they just like Christ Make the ultimate sacrifice 10:55 Someday in heaven They will thank you 10:59 The things your praise Brought them too 11:02 And mission is accomplished Lord, thank you 11:06 You are a missionary too 11:14 You are a missionary too 11:21 You are a missionary too 11:48 Well, that's about it for today's program 11:51 and I hope that you've been inspired 11:52 and challenged for what you've seen 11:55 on Global Mission Snapshots. 11:57 Around the world today from here in Tampa, Florida, 12:00 to China, to the streets of London, England 12:04 the light of God's love is being shared 12:06 by men and women, boys and girls 12:08 who have made a commitment 12:09 to follow the example of Jesus Christ. 12:12 And I want to thank you for your continuing prayers 12:15 and your financial support for Global Mission 12:18 planting new groups of believers 12:20 around the world. 12:22 And before we go I would like to offer you 12:23 a small free gift 12:25 as a thank you for your continuing 12:27 participation in mission. 12:29 I hope that you will continue to pray 12:30 for the frontline mission workers 12:32 and for the un-entered areas 12:34 and un-reached people groups of the world. 12:37 For Global Mission Snapshots 12:39 I'm Gary Krause 12:40 and I hope that you can join me next time 12:42 right here on this program. |
Revised 2015-11-09