uth chronicle 2010-iv

8/6/2019 Uth Chronicle 2010-IV

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uthchronicleIssue IV 2010

Oct Dec

Mysteries,

Marvels& Much Much More!


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Editors Note

Heylo dear readers,

Apologies for the late publication

of this issue! As is often said,

time and tide wait for no man.

Just as our deadline passed

without regard for ourunpreparedness to meet it, so

will 2010 come to a close

whether or not we have spent

the year wisely. Once again you

hold in your hands the final

issue of the Uth Chronicle for

this year, and once again it is

time for us to take a spiritual

stock check.

It is now roughly about a year

since regular readers have gone

through the previous years

issue for the fourth quarter. In

all that time, have we grown in

the grace and the knowledge of

our Lord? Have we obtained a

deeper understanding of at least

some small portion of Scripture?

Let us take care not to always

remain as babes in Christ. By

Gods grace, and in His infinite

wisdom, we have been saved inour youth, a period where we

have more energy, time and

freedom than most working

adults. With this in mind, we

must spare no effort in ensuring

that our spiritual growth

mirrors our physical growth so

that we may be effective

servants for our Lord. Let us

heed the call in 1 Timothy 4:12

to Let no man despise thy

youth; but be thou an example of

the believers, in word, in

conversation, in charity, in

spirit, in faith, in purity.

Which brings us to this issues

theme! It is a continuation of the

previous one as we explore some

of the mysteries and marvels of

the Bible, and here we take a

look at Babylon Through History

and Beyond, a contribution from

Rev Errol Stone that touches on

the significance of Babylon in

the Bible.

Also inside is an article by Rev

Dr Jeffrey Khoo that answers

the question What Happens to

Souls Right After Death, where

we take a look at exactly what it

means to be absent in the body,

present with the Lord.

Some of us may also be

wondering about the difference

between secret things (as inDeut 29:29) and mysteries (as

in Col 1:26). Pr Lek tackles this

in Secret Things vs. Mysteries.

Moving away from these

weighty topics, we have

something a little closer to our

daily life; the presence of

decisions. Ko Lingwei writes

about how we need to Be Wary of

the Open Door.

And as the year draws to a close,

it would also do us well to look

back on the year and reflect howwe have lived out the theme of

the YF, To Know Christ and to

Make Him Known. Jason Liew

has contributed an article that

takes a look at exactly what the

YF theme means.

There is little else for me to

write, except for a final

reminder to continue to study

Gods Word daily. If we have let

the year pass by with little

thought or thirst for the Bible, it

is never too late to repent, never

too late to obey Gods command

in Ephesians 5:15-16, See then

that ye walk circumspectly, not

as fools, but as wise, Redeeming

the time, because the days are

evil. So if the bulk of 2010 has

sped by and seen us walking

foolishly, then let us seize what

time is left and make the changenow, while the Lord still tarries.

God bless your reading! =)

Yours in Christ,

Brian

How the Uth Chronicle gets created.(From left to right) Brian gets the meeting startedwith discussing the theme. Bro Henry provides ameeting place, yummy pastries and ideas! After afruitful meeting, we make our way back to church!2


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Man consists of two partsthe body

and the soul. What happens to the soul

when a person dies? According to the

Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter

22, paragraphs 1-3, Of the State of Men

after Death, and of the Resurrection of the

Dead:

(1)!! The bodies of men, after death,return to dust, and see corruption: but

their souls, which neither die nor sleep,

having an immortal subsistence,

immediately return to God who gave

them: the souls of the righteous, being

then made perfect in holiness, are

received into the highest heavens, wherethey behold the face of God, in light and

glory, waiting for the full redemption of

their bodies. And the souls of the

wicked are cast into hell, where they

remain in torments and utter darkness,

reserved to the judgment of the great

day. Beside these two places, for souls

separated from their bodies, the

Scripture acknowledgeth none.

(2)!! At the last day, such as are foundalive shall not die, but be changed: and

all the dead shall be raised up, with the

self-same bodies, and none other

(although with different qualities), which

shall be united again to their souls

forever.

(3)!! The bodies of the unjust shall, bythe power of Christ, be raised to

dishonour: the bodies of the just, by his

Spirit, unto honour; and be made

conformable to his own glorious body.

Clearly, the two parts of man are

separable and they are separated when

man dies. The body is buried and

decomposes, while the soul lives on:

believers in heaven and unbelievers in hell,

waiting for the resurrection to come.

All who have died in Christ will

participate in the first resurrection.

Revelation 20:6 says, Blessed and holy is he

that hath part in the first resurrection: on such

the second death hath no power, but they shall

be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign

with him a thousand years. The first

resurrection will take place when Jesus

Christ returns to raise His saints from the

grave and rapture all believers who are still

alive on earth. This event is described for us

in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, But I would not

have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning

them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not,

even as others which have no hope. For if we

believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so

them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring

with him. For this we say unto you by the word

of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain

unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent

them which are asleep. For the Lord himselfshall descend from heaven with a shout, with

the voice of the archangel, and with the trump

of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

Then we which are alive and remain shall be

caught up together with them in the clouds, to

meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever

be with the Lord.

The souls of the unbelieving dead

will participate in the second resurrection.

The second resurrection is a cursed

resurrection because it is a resurrection

unto damnation. All the unbelieving dead

will be raised up to stand before the

Judgement of the Great White Throne and

be condemned to eternal torment in the

lake of fire. This Judgement is described in

Revelation 20:11-15, And I saw a great white

throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face

the earth and the heaven fled away; and there

was found no place for them. And I saw thedead, small and great, stand before God; and

the books were opened: and another book was

opened, which is the book of life: and the dead

were judged out of those things which were

written in the books, according to their works.

And the sea gave up the dead which were in

it; and death and hell delivered up the dead

which were in them: and they were judged

every man according to their works. And death

and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is

the second death. And whosoever was not

found written in the book of life was cast into

the lake of fire.

What Happens to Souls Right after Death?DR JEFFERY KHOO

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At this point in time, those who have

passed away, be they believers or unbelievers,

are said to be in their intermediate state.

What is the intermediate state? The

intermediate state is that realm or condition

in which souls exist between death and the

resurrection (Boettner). For the Christian, to

be absent from the body is to be present with

the Lord (2 Cor 5:8). The reprobate, on the

other hand, is now in a place of torment till

the judgment day (Luke 13:27-28, 16:23-24,

Jude 6-7, Rev 20:11-15).

The intermediate state is described by

Jesus in the story of the rich man and Lazarus

(Luke 16:19-31). From this true story of what

happened to the rich man (an unbeliever) and

Lazarus (a child of God) after they died, we

find the following description of what theintermediate state is like:

(1) The souls of the departed are truly alive,

and fully conscious.

(2) The wicked are experiencing tremendous

pain, and suffering.

(3) The redeemed are said to be in

Abrahams bosom.

(4) Verbal communication is possible.

(5) Heaven and hell are separated by a great

chasm.

(6) The souls of men are waiting for the

resurrection of the body (Luke 14:13-14, John

5:29, Rev 20:4-6).

(7) The departed cannot return to

communicate with the living (Exod 22:18, Lev

20:6, 27, Deut 18:10-12).

In light of the above, we reject the

following false views of the intermediate state:

(1)!! Soul Sleep: This view held by theSeventh-day Adventists teaches that when

man dies, his soul enters into a state of

unconsciousness. This view certainly

contradicts the story of the rich man and

Lazarus, for the rich man whose soul was

in hell was very conscious of where hewas and what he was going through.

Lazarus himself was very much awake and

comforted by Abraham in heaven.

(2)!! Purgatory: This view says thatthose who die without being thoroughly

cleansed of venial (unforgiveable) sins will

have to undergo a process of purification

in a half-way house before they can enter

heaven. Taught by Roman Catholics, it

contradicts what Jesus said in Luke 23:43

when He told the repentant thief, Verily I

say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with

me in paradise. The Apostle Paul himself

made it very clear that all the purging of

our sins have already been done by our

Saviour, Neither by the blood of goats and

calves, but by his own blood he entered in

once into the holy place, having obtained

eternal redemption for us. For if the blood

of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an

heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to

the purifying of the flesh: How much moreshall the blood of Christ, who through the

eternal Spirit offered himself without spot

to God, purge your conscience from dead

works to serve the living God? (Heb

9:12-14).

(3)!! Annihilation: This view is taught bythe Jehovahs Witnesses and the liberals.

They say that when the impenitent dies, he

will cease to exist. They deny the existence

of hell. Such a view contradicts what God

says in Revelation 19:20, and 20:10, And

the beast was taken, and with him the false

prophet that wrought miracles before

him, with which he deceived them that had

received the mark of the beast, and them

that worshipped his image. These both

were cast alive into a lake of fire burning

with brimstone. And the devil that

deceived them was cast into the lake of

fire and brimstone, where the beast andthe false prophet are, and shall be

tormented day and night for ever and

ever.

Finally, what benefits do believers

receive from Christ at death? The

Westminster Shorter Catechism (Q37) has

this good answer, The souls of believers are

at their death made perfect in holiness, and

do immediately pass into glory; and their

bodies, being still united in Christ, do rest intheir graves, until the resurrection. In light of

this, let us make sure that we are born again,

truly children of God, having the gift of eternal

life which only the Lord Jesus Christ can give

to all who will trust in Him.4


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Doing a search in the concordance,

one will find that the name Babylon

is mentioned 299 times in the whole

Bible. Other than Israel and Jerusalem,

Babylon is one of the most mentioned

cities in the Bible (another frequently

mentioned city is Egypt 611 times).

Based on this fact, one realises that

Babylon is not an insignificant city in

the Bible.

Origin of Babylon

This name Babylon comes from

Babel, which means to confound. It

also has the sense of mixing and thus

it can also mean confusion. This

name was first mentioned in the Bible

in Genesis 10:10 where Nimrod, the

son of Cush was described as the

founder of this city (Gen 10:9, 10). The

details of the origin of this city are

found in Genesis 11:1-9. The Biblical

description records that at that time,

the people of the world all spoke the

same language. They travelled eastward

to the land in Shinar and there theydesired to build a tower to reach to

heaven. This building of a tower is not

something small and insignificant. God

is always fair in judgment; therefore

the severity of this sin can be seen in

the severity of the punishment God

meted out. The building of a tower to

reach heaven was in fact an act of

pride and united rebellion against God

as they wanted to build a tower toreach to heaven in order to establish

their name to usurp Gods name.

Because of this act of united rebellion,

God confounded the people through

different languages and scattered these

rebels. This punishment was meted to

reflect the punishment aganst the

sinful unity; they will henceforth not

be able to gather as one united people

to stage a rebellion against God.

Nimrod the founder of this city was

probably the one who instigated the

people to rebel against God. The Bible

described him as a mighty hunter

before the LORD. (Gen 10:9). The

importance and significance of this

phrase is seen in the fact that this

phrase was repeated in the same

verse. What is the significance? Who is

Nimrod and what do we know about

him? The word before found in this

phrase is telling and explains the

significance. This word literally means

at the face of. This means Nimrod

was a mighty hunter against the

LORD. In his might, Nimrod rebelled

against God; through his might,

Nimrod led the people against God.

Based on the founder and the

founding of this city, one realises thatthe history of Babylon was cradled in

sin and steeped in defiance against

God. It began with a desire to

promote a false religion (as seen in the

desire to promote their own name)

that they might replace the worship of

Almighty God. Babylon is, therefore,

the centre of united religious apostasy

as well as the centre of united political

rebellion against God.

Genesis, the book of beginnings, has

given us the origin of Babylon. It is

noteworthy to see the book of

Revelation, the book of the last things,

describing this city again with the

same themes a united rebellion both

in religion and polity against God.

Location of Babylon

Babylon lies on the track of theEuphrates River, with its boundaries

extending to Mesopotamia and Assyria

to the North and to the Persian Gulf

to the south. It is located in modern

day Iraq.

Babylon through history

Subsequent to the founding of Babylon

described in Genesis 11, it came under

the rule of Amraphel (Gen 14:1 kingof Shinar), who was in an alliance with

four other kings of which

Chedolaomer, king of Elam was the

head. This account may be placed at

around 1960 1830 B.C. This was

slightly after Abraham left the Ur of

the Chaldees (also another name used

to describe the land of Babylon) to

journey to Canaan (Gen 11:31).

Babylon was then ruled by various

Chaldean kings in what is known as

the Old Babylonia period (1830

1550 B.C.). The Old Babylonian

Empire lasted several dynasties until it

was occupied by various Arabian

empires (1550 625 B.C.). A few

noteworthy kings who occupied

Babylon during this time were Tiglath-

pileser III (745 - 727 B.C), Sargon II

(722 705 B.C.) and Sennacherib (704

- 681 B.C.). All three kings were kingsof Assyria and we would recall the

northern Kingdom of Israel was

conquered by the Assyrians in 722 B.C

by Shalmaneser V. Babylon was finally

freed from the Assyrians control in

625 B.C., which led to the beginning of

what is now known as the Neo-

Babylonian Empire founded by

Nabopolassar. A coalition of the

Babylonians, Medes and a few otherstates initially conquered by the

Assyrians then attacked Nineveh, the

capital of Assyria, and captured it in

612 B.C. An Egyptian relief force

which had an alliance with the

Assyrians was destroyed and final

resistance ended in 605 B.C. The stage

was then set for Nebuchadnezzar (634

562 B.C.) to bring Babylon to its

heights.

The next significant instance where

Babylon was mentioned in the Bible

was during the reign of Hezekiah the

king of Judah (2 King 20). Isaiah was

the writing prophet who ministered

during Hezekiahs reign and he made

numerous prophecies relating to

Babylon. Most of these prophecies

were regarding the captivity of Judah

by the Babylonians and the subsequent

destruction of Babylon. Isaiah chapters

38 and 39 were prophecies describing

the rise of the Babylonian Empire and

the captivity of Judah. The amazing

thing regarding these prophecies was

Babylon Through History and BeyondREV ERROL STONE

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the fact that Isaiah made this

prediction regarding the Babylonian

captivity 100 years before the

Babylonian Empire even rose to

power!

There are other passages in Isaiah

which describe the destruction of

Babylon. Some of these refer to thedestruction by the Medes and Persians

(Isa 47), whereas others refer to

destruction in relation to the second

coming of Christ (Isa 14). The

prophet, at times, may also refer to

both the immediate future and in the

following verses, to a distant future.

This is what Rev Tow would call the

prophet-scope. He explained:

Like a man looking out of his window

into the distance, the seer and theprophet, insofar as prophetic history is

concerned, can see a panorama of four

mountain ranges, as illustrated

above. (Timothy Tow, The Gospel

Prophets, [Singapore: Christian Life

Publishers, n.d.], p.11.)

Such an instance is found in Isaiah 13.

In Isaiah 13:17-19, Isaiah looks to the

destruction of the Babylonians by the

Medes and Persians, and in the verynext verse Isaiah 13:20-22, he

switches to the destruction of Babylon

at the second coming of Christ.

The prophet Jeremiah also made

several prophecies regarding Babylon.

In Jeremiah 28:1-17, he prophesised

the defeat of Jerusalem by the

Babylonians. While Jeremiah predicted

the destruction of Jerusalem, there

were false prophets who also gave

their false message that Jerusalem will

defeat Babylon. Jeremiah was proven

true when Babylon defeated Jerusalem

in 605 B.C. Jeremiah witnessed the

destruction of Jerusalem by the

Babylonians. But the most remarkable

thing about the prophecies of Jeremiah

was that Jeremiah also prophesised

the destruction of Babylon while

Babylon was at the height of its

power. These prophecies are found in

Jeremiah 50 and 51. The prophet

Jeremiah also prophesied the exactlength of time Judah will be brought

into captivity 70 years (Jer 25:11;

29:10).

The rise and fall of Babylon was also

prophesised by Daniel. It was through

the interpretation of the dream of

Nebuchadnezzar that Daniel foretold

the rise and the fall of the Babylonian

Empire (Daniel 2:37-45). During the

reign of Nebuchadnezzar, theBabylonian Empire reached the zenith

of its power. During this time, the

walls of Babylon were impregnable; the

city was surrounded by two

concentric sets of walls. The outer

walls were 350 feet high and 87 feet

thick, supposedly wide enough to

allow a four-abreast horse chariot to

turn. There were 150 gates of brass

protecting the entrances; and 250

watchtowers, each 100 feet higher

than the walls, were placed along the

walls. And Babylon stored food which

would be sufficient to last them

through 25 years of any siege! In this

city were palaces and beautiful

gardens, the most famous of which

was the Hanging Gardens one of the

seven wonders of the ancient world.

After the death of Nebuchadnezzar!in562 B.C., his son Amel-Mardukassumed the throne but was

assassinated two years later.

Neriglissar then ascended the throne

in 560 B.C., but he died only four

years later. He was succeeded by his

son who was also assassinated.

Nabonidus then assumed power

appointing his son, Belshazzar as co-

regent. It was Belshazzar who held the

feast recorded in Daniel 5. Daniel

prophesised the destruction of the

Babylonian Empire by interpreting the

writing on the wall during the feastheld by Belshazzar (Daniel 5:17-29).

The very same night, the prophecy

was fulfilled. The Medes and the

Persian would rise to destroy the

Babylonian Empire. The Medes had laid

siege to the city of Babylon. Knowing

how impregnable the walls were, they

dug a canal to drain the water that

flowed under the city wall and there

they entered the city through the drychannel underneath the walls. The

feast organised by Belshazzar

lowered the guard of the people

allowing the invaders to enter the

city without much resistance. This

attack would probably have taken

place just as soon as Daniel had given

the interpretation to the handwriting

on the wall. !The Babylonian Empirefell in 539 B.C.

Babylon beyond History

Although the Babylon as an Empire

has fallen, its fall is not complete yet.

The book of Revelation reveals certain

significant truths regarding this city.

The key descriptions of Babylon are

found in Revelation chapters 17 and

18. These descriptions are not to be

spiritualised away. They will refer to

the actual city of Babylon. While it is

an actual city, it is also representative

of a system of religious and political

rebellion against God.

Revelation 17 would particularly

describe the religious aspect of this

city Babylon. This city will be rebuilt

and it will be the centre of religious

apostasy and rebellion against God.

This apostasy will be a global event. Itwill be ecumenical, where all religions

will combine into a one-world church.

This one-world church will rise to

dizzy heights of power, and will seek

to attack and persecute those who6


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refuse to take part in their united

rebellion against God (Rev 17:3-13).

This one-world religious system will,

however, be brought to an end (Rev

17:16-18) by the beast which made

use of this one-world religious system

to start his own new world religious

system to worship the beast described

in Revelation 13.

Revelation 18 would however focus

on the political aspect of Babylon. The

emphasis is on the political and

economic nature of Babylon. This

political nature is seen since the very

beginning when Nimrod founded

this city. The city of Babylon will be the

capital of the one world empire of the

Anti-Christ during the great

tribulation. This city will be destroyed

suddenly and completely.

As in Genesis, Revelation describes

Babylon as a city led by one who will

seek to lead a global united rebellion

against God both politically, and

religiously. But this time, God will not

just scatter the people; God will

destroy the empire of the Anti-Christ

totally and completely.

The application for Christians in

knowing these truths about Babylon

are numerous:

The world will continue to seek for

opportunity to rebel against God, and

Christians must be careful that they

are not sucked into the systems of the

world which will ultimately lead toapostasy and a rebellion against God.

Many of the prophecies as described

by Isaiah, Jeremiah and Daniel

regarding Babylon in its capture of

Judah and its destruction were

accurately fulfilled. There are however

many prophecies still unfulfilled. As

some of the prophecies made by Isaiah

and Jeremiah sounded preposterous

then, some of the unfulfilledprophecies today may appear to be so

to some. But take note - as older

prophecies were fulfilled in the past,

so will these be in the future.

Christians must therefore live with

eternitys values in view.

Looking at the signs of the time with

the ecumenical movement, and the

world moving towards a one world

political system we are living in the

last of the last days. We must therefore

be prepared for the coming of the

Lord.

Christians living in the last days will

suffer persecution, but when suffering

for Christs sake there is a promise of

double blessings (Matthew 5:10-12).

Resources used:

John F. Walvoord, Chapter V: The Rise

and Fall of Babylon. http://bible.org/

seriespage/chapter-v-rise-and-fall-

babylon

J. Hampton Keathley III, Babylon as

Seen in Scripture: An Introduction to

Revelation 17-18. http://bible.org/

seriespage/babylon-seen-scripture-

introduction-rev-17-18

International Standard Bible

Encyclopedia

American Tract Society Dictionary

Faussets Bible Dictionary

Naves Topical Bible

To Know Christ and to Make Him KnownJASON L IEW

The Origin

Our Senior Pastor, Dr SH

Tow, with the help of Miss Anna

Swarr, an American missionary,

adopted the motto, To Know Christand to Make Him Known when he

founded Life Church Youth Fellowship

(LCYF) in 1953. It has been the motto

of all B-P Youth Fellowships ever

since. See SH Tow, A Small But

Blessed Beginning: How Life Church

Youth Fellowship Started in Life B-P

Church Youth Fellowship 50th Anniversary

(1953-2003) Magazine (Singapore: Life-

Bible-Presbyterian Church, 2003), 18.Born in Dec 1925, Dr Tow was 27

when he became the first LCYF

President, serving from 1953 to 1954.

Life Church was still located at Prinsep

Street then.

Because it is such a catchy and

meaningful slogan, many churches,

Christian groups and organisationshave also adopted it as their motto.

When searched online, Google

generated a total of 33,600,000 results

in 0.08 seconds. There is no doubt that

this is one of the most popular

dictums in Christendom which

invariably begs the question, Where

did this motto originate from? Having

served in FCM previously, I met

counterparts in The Navigators (aninterdenominational para-church

organisation) who shared with me that

this was their motto too. It might

surprise you that they had identified

To Know Christ and To Make Him

Known,as our 75-year-old slogan.

See !"#$%%&&&'()*+,)-./0'./,%10%

)2.1-10%&!)-3&435. (last accessed

November 1, 2010). Did you notice

the at the back? While it resembles

the emblem of Batmans sidekick, it

actually refers to a registered

trademark. In my opinion, The

Nav iga tors wi l l be one r ich

organisation should they commence

legal proceedings on such widespread

usage but it is unlikely that they will do

so.

The Meaning

! I suppose, to many, To KnowChristand To Make Him Knownmeans

being saved and spreading the gospel.

Well, if that were the case, I should7
http://www.navigators.org/us/aboutus/what-we-dohttp://www.navigators.org/us/aboutus/what-we-dohttp://www.navigators.org/us/aboutus/what-we-dohttp://www.navigators.org/us/aboutus/what-we-dohttp://www.navigators.org/us/aboutus/what-we-dohttp://www.navigators.org/us/aboutus/what-we-dohttp://www.navigators.org/us/aboutus/what-we-dohttp://www.navigators.org/us/aboutus/what-we-dohttp://www.navigators.org/us/aboutus/what-we-do


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just end my article here. At first

glance, that may seem all there is to it.

While salvation and evangelism are

important , more emphasis on

sanct ificat ion can be seen in

programmes planned by leadership of

various Youth Fellowships to build up

the body of believers, or in simplerterms, to help YFers know Christ

better. It does appear more weight

has been given to knowing Christ

rather than making Him known.

How many tracting sessions and

gospel rallies does YF organise per

year? Not many. However, I would like

to submit to you that while the above

meanings are included in the motto,

the motto is not limited to that.

The Question: Do You Know?

What does it mean to knowa

person? Johann Kaspar Lavater

(1741-1801), Swiss poet, Protestant

pastor and founder of physiognomies

offered a cynical comment, Say not

you know a man entirely till you have

divided an inheritance with him. In this

world of smoke and mirrors, do you

really know whom you think you

know? This was the question I asked

myself some time ago when I noticed

the scores of people who took the

How well do you know so-and-so?

quizzes on Facebook. 50%? 70%?

Hardly accurate. Even if we are able to

precisely pinpoint the percentage,

people change. Just because you knew

someone in the past does not

guarantee that you know them in the

present. As I was browsing through

some photographs of my ex-

classmates, I was aghast at how much

theyve changed. Friends whom I

once thought were traditionalists,

conservatives and studious have since

turned into revellers, smokers,

alcoholics and fornicators defiled by

and addicted to the vices of this

wicked world. They have no shame

engaging in public displays of affection

and scoffing at those who will live

righteously.

Perhaps the only scarier

possibility is they have been like that

all along and that I was just fooled by

their facade all these years. As the

Chinese adage goes,

. Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us, The

heart is deceitful above all things, and

desperately wicked: who can know it?

King David understood this.

He did not seek mans heart but

Gods. He was a man after Gods own

heart. Are you?

The Reality: Knowing Christ

No Enough

However the reality is that we

prefer spending time shopping with

friends and getting to know them

better to seeking Gods face and

favour in prayer and the Word.

Perhaps some of us who are drama

serial addicts have greater insights on

which character died in which episode

rather than the Biblical saints of old.

Sometimes we claim we know our

favourite football hero, admired actorsand actresses when we really dont.

We may profess to know them (e.g.

the celebrities) but they do not know

us. Do we transfer this delusion into

Christianity as well? Jesus warned in

Matthew 7:22-23, Many will say to me

in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not

prophesied in thy name? and in thy name

have cast out devils? and in thy name

done many wonderful works? And thenwill I profess unto them, I never knew

you: depart from me, ye that work

iniquity. O what a terrifying thought!

Dear friends, do you really know

8


9/24

Christ? Are you sure you are saved?

Have you known Christ as you ought?

This reminds me of the timeless word

in the hymn by Thomas Pollock:

We have not known thee as we ought,Nor learned thy wisdom, grace and

power;The things of earth have filled our

thought,And trifles of the passing hour.

Lord, give us light thy truth to see,And make us wise in knowing thee.

The Quest: Knowing Christ

begins after Knowing Christ

Your quest of seeking God

does not end when you become a

Christian. It is but the beginning. Dr A

W Tozer (1897-1963), in his bookThePursuit of God rightly remarked, To

have found God and still to pursue Him is

the souls paradox of love, scorned indeed

by the too-easily-satisfied religionist but

justified in happy experience by the

children of the burning heart. In other

words, do you still have a genuine

insatiable desire for God that you are

willing to seek Him no matter the

personal cost?

Just think: If a guy loves a girl,

he will think of her every day, yearn to

be in her presence and seek to spend

time together with each other as

much as possible. This could be either

through hours on the phone or

whatever creative ways they can come

up with. Similarly, if one loves God, the

person will meditate on His precepts

day and night, yearn to be found in

Gods presence and commune with

God through much prayer and the

study of His Word. Are you in love

with God? Do you pursue Him? A

person who is in love is driven to

know his beloved. Blaise Pascal

( 1 6 2 3 - 1 6 6 2 ) t h e F r e n c h

Mathematician, Physicist and Religious

Philosopher said it well, Human things

must be known to be loved: but Divine

things must be loved to be known.

The Cost: Knowing Christ

Demands Sacrifice

Consider the words Apostle

Paul penned in Philippians 3:7-10, But

what things were gain to me, those I

counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and

I count all things but loss for the

excellency of the knowledge of Christ

Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered

the loss of all things, and do count them

but dung, that I may win Christ, And

be found in him, not having mine own

righteousness, which is of the law, but

that which is through the faith of Christ,

the righteousness which is of God by

faith: That I may know him, and the

power of his resurrection, and the

fellowship of his sufferings, being made

conformable unto his death.

What does it mean to knowChrist? To Paul, it meant counting the

aforementioned advantages (vv 4-6)

such as his Jewish heritage, education

and illustrious track record as a loss

and hindrance to knowing what is the

breadth, and length, and depth, and

height (Eph 3:18) of God and His

love. To Dr John Sung, it meant tossing

all academic accolades over the Pacific

Ocean, including all his prestigiousawards, gold medals, keys, decorations

and hard-earned degrees (except for

his PhD to present to his parents in

filial piety) when he dreamt of himself

lying in a coffin, dressed in academic

regalia with his hand clasping on to his

degree. Leslie T Lyall in his biography

of John Sung noted, Like Paul he would

renounce the world and its fame once for

all: he would burn his bridges behindhim.

What about us? What is our

treasure? Because there will our heart

be also. Are they hall activities, CCA

compet it ions/performances, TV

serials, sports, money or computer

games? If we are thus distracted and

allow these things to displace Christ,

then we would have lost what wecould have had with the Lord. That is

not to say that these things are bad or

evil by themselves; but it must be

made clear that compared to Christ,

all these things must pale into

insignificance. Nothing else can fill up

our hearts with the same peace,

satisfaction and love that Christ can.

Why then do we chase after the

material when the greatest treasure is

right there in front of us? As children

of God, we have been bestowed this

treasure freely. It is an eternal

inheritance which we did not do

anything to deserve. Why then are so

many of us blind, seizing the wrong

treasure in our hands? If put next to

knowing Christ, all these things can be

considered as dung compared to

what can be gained in Christ. Be wise!

He is no fool who gives up what he

cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose

says Jim Elliot, the missionary who was

martyred at the young age of 29. Drop

the dung in your hand and grab hold

of the most glorious treasure. Is giving

up 3 hours on Saturday to attend YF

too much? Or putting aside 2 hours

on a weekday to attend FCM too

costly? And 1.5 hours on Tuesday to

a t t e n d P r a y e r M e e t i n g t o o

burdensome? Or carving out 1 hour

on the Lords Day to attend SGBF too

painful? Is devoting 0.5 hour everyday

to do QT also too onerous?

The poem Leftovers can

teach us so much

Leftovers are such humble things,We would not serve them to a guest;Yet we serve them to the Lord, Who

deserves the very best.

We give to Him leftover time,Stray minutes, here and there.

Leftover cash we give to Him, Suchfew coins as we can spare.

We give our youths unto the world,To pleasure, lust and strife;

Then in declining years, we give, ToHim the remnant of our life.

Le f tovers ? God forb id !

Knowing Christ demands sacrifice.

One must, consistently and continually

dedicate and devote time to the

personal study and meditation of

Gods Word. Have you no spiritual

appetite? It is an acquired taste. The

more you eat it, the better it gets.8


10/24

Dont let the junk food of the world

choke the Word which is sweeter also

than honey and the honeycomb (Ps

19:10b). To know Christ means we

must give up certain things in our

lives. Paul made it crystal clear.

The Difference: Knowing

Christ in the Head or Heart

It is significant to note that

there are 2 different Greek words

used to translate know in the New

Testament. They are oida (head

knowledge) and ginosko (heart

knowledge). Oida means to see/

perceive, a cognitive knowledge that

comes via observation. Ginosko, on the

other hand, refers to a deeper

comprehension and expresses a

connection to the object that is being

known if any man love God, the

same is known of him(1 Cor 8:3). This

type of knowledge is gained through

experience and results in an intimate

relationship with Christ. When the

Apostle Paul declared that I may knowhim in Philippians 3:10, he used the

word ginosko. To Paul, knowing Christ

meant knowing Him in the heart. It is

an experiential knowledge, not just

something cognitive.

In the book Knowing Christ, McGrath

mentioned,

It is not enough to maintain the

externals of faith. Some faithfullyattend church, yet find it devoidof meaning. Some obedientlybelieve in the truth of theChristian creeds, yet find thatthese make no difference totheir lives whatsoever. Others

repeat the Christian vocabularythey learned as children, knowingin their heart of hearts that ithas ceased to have any realconnection with their lives. Aliving relationship with Christ isthe difference between a faithwhich will grow and a faith whichwi l l d ie through lack of

nourishment.

Tru ly , A man may be

theologically knowing and spiritually

ignorant says Stephen Charnock, a

Puritan divine. To know Christ means

knowing Him experientially. Knowing

Christ in the head is good, but

knowing Christ in the heart is far

better. As sons of the Reformation, as

Bible-Presbyterians, we must have a

good balance of revivalism and

confessionalism. We must worship

God in spirit and in truth. It is possible

and even easy for youths to be puffed

up with knowledge, score well for

BMC quizzes, teach others (JW/teens/

etc) but not live out and experience

God in all that we do. This form of

godliness and denying the power

the re fo re i s d an ge rou s a nd

detrimental to our spiritual life.

Romans 1:21, Because that, when they

knew God, they glorified him not as God,

neither were thankful; but became vain in

their imaginations, and their foolish heart

was darkened.Do you know of people

who once served God faithfully, but

are no longer walking with Him today?

May we not be like them. The measure

of divine knowledge should be evident

in our lives and translated into love.

The more knowlegable we are, the

more loving we should be. Beware you

are not swallowed up in books! An ounce

of love is worth a pound of knowledge.

John Wesley

The Mandate: Making Christ

Known

! When we think of makingChrist known, the Great Commission

naturally comes to mind. Matthew28:18-20, And Jesus came and spake

unto them, saying, All power is given unto

me in heaven and in earth. Go ye

therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing

them in the name of the Father, and of

the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching

them to observe all things whatsoever I

have commanded you: and, lo, I am with

you alway, even unto the end of the

world. Amen.

! Many people believe that it isby evangelism -- Romans 10:14-15,

How then shall they call on him in

whom they have not believed? and how

shall they believe in him of whom they

have not heard? and how shall they hear

without a preacher? And how shall they

preach, except they be sent? as it is

written, How beautiful are the feet ofthem that preach the gospel of peace,

and bring glad tidings of good things!

Suppose you go for evangelism and

you manage to successfully invite

someone to your church but all they

see are apathy, lack of good works, and

a lot of in-fightings here and there.

Whats the point? They may even label

us as hypocrites!

! Some think that it is by goodworks -- Matthew 5:16, Let your light

so shine before men, that they may see

your good works, and glorify your Father

which is in heaven.Other religions also9


11/24

do a lot of good works. In fact, they

surpass us by leaps and bounds.

Unbelievers will also look at the good

works that the Buddhists do, and

glorify their Buddha whom they think

is in heaven.

How do you make Christ

known? Many people believe that it isby evangelism, some think that it is by

good works,! few realise that it isvery much by loving one another -- 2

Corinthians 3:2-3, Ye are our epistle

written in our hearts, known and read of

all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly

declared to be the epistle of Christ

ministered by us, written not with ink, but

with the Spirit of the living God; not in

tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the

heart.Non-believers look at our lives.

In John 13:35, our Lord Jesus Christ

Himself qualified AGAPE as the

catalyst for making Himself known, By

this shall all men know that ye are my

disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Unconditional love comes from God

and it is universal among all men that

they have the capability and propensity

to understand that such love is not of

the world, but of God. Nowhere else

in Scripture is such a promise given.

1 Corinthians 13:13, And now

abideth faith, hope, charity, these three;

but the greatest of these is charity.

While we endeavour to share our

faith, inevitably there will be those

who do not believe. While Christian

relief efforts (e.g. Tsunami/earthquake,

mission aid) provide hope for the lost,

it is only temporal and others far

supercede us in good works. But, love

never faileth. Love is everlasting. When

a world of hatred and unbelief see

Christians overcoming evil with good,

dying for their enemies, acts and

expressions of divine love exhibited,

our Lord promised us that all men

shall know that we are the disciples of

Christ. Making Christ known means

loving one another. Making Christ

known is first and foremost by the

way we live for that is how we show

others we have Jesus in us. Then later

via the means of evangelism and good

works, we may make Christ known.

The Conclusion

Earlier on in the article, I

mentioned the How well do youknow so-and-so? Facebook quizes.

My question posed to you is this: How

well do you know Christ? Let us touch

our hearts and ask ourselves honestly.

It is between God and us. Are we

saved? Are we sure? Are we pursuing

God? Are we growing in grace and

knowledge? Are we experiencing God?

Are we loving one another? Are we

actively doing good works and

spreading the gospel?

To know Christ means more

than being saved. To know Christ

demands sacrifice. To know Christ

means we experience Him. He is real.

Making Christ known is more than

evangelism and good works. Making

Christ known is about demonstrating

the love of God in our lives. To know

Christ and to make Him known may

seem like a tall order, but it is not

impossible. Is it just a fancy motto to

all of us? Or is it something that will

characterise us as a CPYFer? Come,

join us every week, as we endeavour

To know Christ and to make Him

known.

See you at CPYF next

Saturday.

10


12/24

The secret things are things hidden,

concealed, not to be made known.

Deuteronomy 29:29 tells us there are

those closed doors of knowledge

known only to God and not unlocked

to man. But there is that knowledgethat is revealed to man, these are

providentially written and perfectly

preserved in Gods Word. In a limited

sense, a mystery is a secret. But a

mystery is truth known by divine

revelation. God uncovers the secret

for us in His Word and it is for Gods

children to unravel that mystery by

the deep study of His Word. This term

mystery refers to that which hasbeen kept secret by God in the past,

but which He has now chosen to

make plain.1 Herein is the difference

between secrets and mysteries,

biblically speaking.

Deuteronomy 29:29 is a warning to

Gods children not to rebel against

Gods boundary of revelation, not to

venture beyond. That realm that is

locked and unfathomable, let it remainso, for it is the will of God. It is in His

pleasure, to withhold it for our good.

The secret things refer to things

hidden. Although these things are

secret to us, they are not secret to

God, thus the phrase The secret

things belong unto the Lord our

God.2 And the sequel, but the things

which are revealed belongs to us and

our children forever tells us thatwhat God has revealed to us, in His

Word will not be lost but remains

with Gods children for every

generation to come. The context is

with reference to all the words of

Gods law. What comfort it is for

Gods children that they can be guided

by those same words of Scripture

revealed to their forefathers, available

in every generation by the providential

hand of God.

To illustrate the things secret versus

things revealed, we consult the first

written book of divine revelation, the

book of Job. When Job was undergoing

the afflictions of faith, he did not know

the conversation between God and

Satan for it was a secret to him. God

had allowed Satan to try him. Hecould not understand why these

afflictions were allowed but he

submitted himself to the sovereign

hand of God. It was complete trust in

the Lord. He says in Job 13:15, though

he slays me, yet will I trust in him: but I

will maintain mine own ways before

him. To Job, God is trustworthy come

what may. Even at the close of the

book, even after his trial was lifted, toJob was not revealed the spiritual

realm of Satans wiles. But he had

sufficient knowledge of God to

persevere and help him refute his

friends wrong theology and to

triumph in faith by forgiving them and

praying for God to pardon them (Job

42:8). It fact, Job was the only true

theologian in the book. He talks to

God; his friends talk about God. It

must be the same for us. Jobs friends

attempted to interpret the mind of

God to explain Jobs predicament but

they were erroneous. As Gods

children, we are given Gods Word, it

behoves us to understand it for our

blessing, benefit and well-being.

Then, there are mysteries in the word

of God that we are to diligently seek

after for our spiritual well-being. Theword mystery is best illustrated in

Colossians 1:26 Even the mystery

which hath been hid from ages and

from generations, but now is made

manifest to his saints. This mystery is

explained in the subsequent verse,

Colossians 1:27 To whom God would

make known what is the riches of the

glory of this mystery among the

Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the

hope of glory. This is the gift of

salvation through Jesus Christ and the

riches of life in Christ.

For example, in Romans 11:25, the

Apostle Paul says, For I would not,

brethren, that ye should be ignorant of

this mystery, lest ye should be wise in

your own conceits; that blindness in

part is happened to Israel, until thefulness of the Gentiles be come in.

This verse tells us God has

deliberately blinded the spiritual eyes

of Israel so that salvation comes to

the Gentiles. But Gentiles are advised

by Apostle Paul not to be proud

because of the unbelieving Jews.

Instead, they were instructed that in

His time, God will usher in the last

Gentile to be saved before all Israel is(Romans 11:26a).

To illustrate the task and blessings of

uncovering mysteries in Gods

revelation, a good illustration may be

found in natural science. Consider the

discovery of electricity. Man did not

create electricity but discovered its

uses when God deemed it fit to reveal

them to man in human history. But

there are limits set, and he can go nofurther. Every man who has given

himself to thought and investigation

along any line possible to the human

mind has discovered a point of

limitation. We do not know anything

beyond what has been revealed to us

regarding the glorified body from

Scriptures, but we can by searching

Gods Word discover the mysteries of

the glorified body.

The secret things therefore we will

know when we see our Lord. Until

then, they will remain a secret. The

revealed things include the mysteries

in His Word that we are to discover

for our eternal blessings. May we spare

no effort like the noble Christians in

Berea in that they received the word

with all readiness of mind, and

searched the scriptures daily, whetherthose things were so (Acts 17:11).

Amen.

Secret Things vs. MysteriesPR. LEK AIK WEE

1 Expository Dictionary of Bible Words, Stephen D. Renn, 659.2.Secret and Revealed Things, The Westminster Pulpit, The Preaching of G. Campbell Morgan Volume III, Baker Book House, 25.

11


13/24

TEENS THAT TALKex

12


14/24

Allow me to go back a number of years

in time, back when I was still Under 25

(as opposed to being Over 25 and

eligible to write here). I was trying to

decide what to do with my life after I

finished serving the nation. I had a place

in a university overseas, and my parents

indicated that they were willing to send

me overseas to study. It seemed that

God had opened the door, and my path

was clear. Or was it?

Inexplicably, I did not feel at peace. I

was not entirely convinced this open

door and clear

pathway was Gods

will for me, and I

prayed long and

hard about it. I

shared my dilemma

with some older brothers and sisters in

Christ, who weighed in with advice.

Then I prayed some more. I eventually

decided to stay in Singapore, and once I

came to a conclusion, I was very much

at peace.

Now of course, Im not suggesting that

going overseas to study is a bad thing.

Far from it. But for myself at that point

in time, it would have been (and in

retrospect, was!) better for my spiritual

growth to continue to stay close to

home, family and church. I wasnt quite

yet ready to face the world on my

own. I did eventually study overseas for

a time on an exchange programme, and

spent a very blessed year worshipping

with a small independent Baptist church

in Canada. But that was not my first

year in the university, but after having

grown much in the grace and

knowledge of Christ. Which concludes

my little reminiscing. But what is the

moral, you may ask?

When is an open door Gods door? I

dont know for sure how I would have

turned out had I gone abroad, but

looking back, God did not want me to

take that open door. God had another

plan for me.

We all know that God opens doors,and that sometimes God shuts them.

When He shuts them, His will for us is

clear. But what about the open door

that may not be the one that God has

chosen? Not all open doors are

indicative of opportunities God wants

us to take. Sometimes the open door

may be a further test for us whether

we are close enough to God to

properly discern His will for us, and to

know that that

seemingly obvious

choice may not be

Gods choice.

On his second

missionary journey

in Acts 16, the Holy Spirit forbade Paul

to preach the gospel in Asia, and the

same thing happened when he tried to

go to Bithynia. Surely, to Paul, the way

to Asia and Bithynia would have seemed

like open doors. And the fact that it was

the Holy Spirit that stopped Paul from

proceeding, and not circumstance,

suggests that the way was clear. Yet he

was prompted by the Holy Spirit not to

go, and was eventually led to Troas and

on to Macedonia. Even though he

desired to preach in Asia and Bithynia,

that was not Gods plan for him.

In the same way, for ourselves, our

hearts may desire one thing which may

not be Gods will for us,

notwithstanding the clear path and the

open door. The open door is not always

Gods door. We always must still be led

by the Holy Spirits prompting in all the

choices we make. We all have sat

through numerous sermons regarding

how to discern Gods will, and as Im

nowhere qualified to expound on that

Ill just leave you with one thought to

be wary of the open door.

Lingwei

Be wary of the open door.

SOMETIMES THE OPEN

DOOR MAY BE A FURTHER

TEST FOR US.....

Over 25

13


15/24

How time ies! Just as the apostle James says, our life is like a vapour which appears for a little while and then it

vanishes away (Jas 4:14).

e ravages of time have begun to take its toll on the body, and much of the youthful glory has wasted away, never to

return. Our youth is but for a moment and it is as ower and grass that ourishes for a while and is soon cut down.

Looking back, over 20 years have passed and I have crossed the half way mark of the proverbial fourscore years.

I am excited that I am given this opportunity to write this letter to you. I urge you to take heed to what I have to say

simply because these are things, I realize, that really matter. I wish that certain things could remain unchanged, or if I

turn back the clock, to have more of the same. I wish for certain areas to be avoided altogether or rectied, as I am now

suering the residual eects of them.

As I reect on my life, I am thankful to God for His providence and for the experiences I had as a youth. If I can have

my youth again, I would want to go through the same experiences. I recall the seemingly endless energy I had, the

ventures and exposures to many tough experiences. I realise how important these are now, even though I recall trying toworm myself out of them then. Perhaps there were some precious opportunities I had lost because I was lazy and had

taken the easy way out. On hindsight, I should have faced them squarely if they were for my good, and taken the great

step of faith.ose experiences helped when I had to undergo some similar situations now. Fear is greatly reduced as

experience tells me that God is a very present help in times of need.

If there is an area that needs to be rectied soon, it is self discipline. Up to this day, I struggle not to waste time in trivial

things and stay focused, not to get distracted and leave unnished a good work I have started. How important it is to

nish what you have begun unless providence determines otherwise. Be disciplined, bite the bullet, and move on when

you face diculties. Learn in those times to lean on God and to see His salvation and to prove His strength in your

weakness.

Another piece of advice - dont be too quick to defend yourself when someone points out your mistakes. Be quick to

hear, slow to speak. Ponder those things that are mentioned. Dont be too quick to reply or give an excuse.ese are sent

by God to smoothen the rough edges of your character.ank those who bother to correct you and tell you your wrongs.

Instead, beware of those who condone everything you do and even cheer you on when you are in error. Make true

friends, friends who care enough and who are brave enough to tell you what they see something amiss.

If there is one last thing that I can leave with you, it is to remember your Creator in the days of thy youth. Seek Him

early. A life that is surrendered to the Lord is one of true spiritual liberty and not of bondage or restraint. Gods way is

always the best; His will for you is always good.

Dont ever think that you are too young to be of any good to God. God makes you just as you are and He takes delight

in your vibrancy and zeal and fervour for His glory. Seek Him early; seek Him always through the Word of God and

through prayers. Give yourself to activities where Gods Word will be gloried and to fellowship that will draw you to

God and His people.

Refrain from evil company that draws you to the love of the present world and all that it has to oer.e glory of the

world is nothing in comparison to the glory that God has prepared for them that love Him and serve Him. Lay up for

yourself treasures in heaven. All the glory and accolades of this earth, all the money and power, are vanities and vexation

of the spirit, as Jeremiah concluded in Jeremiah 45:5,And seekest thou great things for thyself ? seek them not..

Take heed, my brother. Hope you can make a dierence to me 20 years later.

RETROSPECT

Dear Chong Kiat,

4


16/24

If memory serves, this should be the

first Combined Youth Conference

(CYC) I have attended. Though I was

not a full timer, it was still a refreshing

period of spiritual feasting before

leaving for Australia the very next day

after camp ended. It was also a good

time to get to know other brothers and

sisters in Christ who were also serving

God in their own ways. So the next

time I see them, I will not go, who is

this person... but rather, oh, this

person looks familiar or even better,

hello ____!

So yea! It encourages me to know there

are other saints out there running the

race for Christ. The topic chosen for

this years sixth CYC was Peters

Progress: What About Mine? Rev

Prabhudas Koshy brought us through

the exciting life of Peter, how he was

called into the ministry, how he failed

Christ at times and how he repented

and progressed. When I think of Peter,

the first impression that comes to mind

is a lowly fisherman at work in hisfavourite Sea of Galilee. Ok, maybe not

his favourite, but that was where he was

approached by Christ and called into

ministry. He began as a fisherman and

ended up being an Apostle, a great

progression indeed.

I believe Brother Joseph Poon brought

home an important message during the

morning devotion. In order to progress,we must first understand and be honest

with our present state of spiritual

health. He brought up the analogy of a

mountain climber who wants to ascend

to the top of a mountain. In order to

progress, he must first prevent himself

from sliding down. It is the same for a

Christian soldier. In order to push

forward, he must first ensure that he is

not backsliding. Thus, the first step toprogression is to be honest with

yourself. Check your own heart, and ask

if you are backsliding in any way. He

exhorted us not to be filled with our

own ways, but to acknowledge any sin

or backslidden nature in us. (Proverbs

14:14- The backslider in heart shall be

filled with his own ways: and a good

man shall be satisfied from himself.) The

view at the top of this mountain is

assured to be most beautiful and will be

worth it!

Is something dragging you down? Or

have you packed in excess baggage that

slows down your progression?

Remember, backsliding is a hindrance to

progression.

I believe Peter understood this very

well. When Peter first met Christ, he

was called Simon and fishing was still his

line. He was totally unaware that Christ

had already set him a mountain to

climb. That must have been a similar

experience for you. Before you came to

know Christ, you too would have been

like Simon, going about your daily dutiesor routines. I remember trying to work

hard to achieve whatever was

important to me. For Simon, it may have

been his fishing. Christ understood it

well for He told Simon: Follow me, and

I will make you fishers of

men. (Matthew 4:19) We too were

sought by God, for without Him first

seeking and saving us, we would never

have gone to Him in our depravity.

Once the call of salvation was heeded,

our Christian journey began. God has

His plan for each individual Christian.

Here begins Peters journey with

Christ : No more fishing for fishes; start

fishing for men.

Like Peter, many of us might have been

very fervent upon conversion. To use

the phrase in the account of Peter, weimmediately left our nets, and followed

Christ. However, this same net which

Peter left behind became a constant

temptation

he had to struggle with. At times, when

he took his eyes away from Christ, this

net will ensnare. It became a cause of

backsliding and Simon eventually

returned to his fishing. This was in spite

his initial fervency. Once again, Christ

came personally to remind him of the

plan He had for his life. After a long anduneventful day at the Galilee Sea, Christ

came specifically to Simons ship and

said: Launch out into the deep, and let

down your nets for a draught. (Luke

5:4) Many fishes were caught and the

weight broke the net! When Simon

Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus'

knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am

a sinful man, O Lord. For he was

astonished, and all that were with him,

at the draught of the fishes which they

had taken Luke 5:8-9. Peter was

reminded of Gods plan for His life

through this event. Abundant blessings

HUIMINS REPORT OF BLESSINGS FROM THE COMBI NED YOUTH CONF ERENCE

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will only come if a life is lived in

accordance to Gods plan. Recognising his

backslidden state, he repented.

Of course, there were other occasions

when he went back to his fishing business.

The most significant one was after the

crucifixion of Christ. The experienced

fisherman that he was, he caught nothing

despite having spent the whole night in the

sea. (John 21:3) Yet again, Christ came

personally to Simon to remind him of his

calling. To me, this was like history

repeating itself. After casting their nets to

the right side of the ship as instructed by

Christ, they were not able to draw the net

due to the multitude of fishes. With one

difference, this was similar to whathappened in Luke 5:4. This time, Simon

Peter failed to recognise his Lord. So

engrossed was he that he could not even

recognise the voice of Christ. Neither did

he realise that Christ was using the same

incident to teach him that one important

lesson: to forsake his net and to become a

fisher of men.

Have we too become like a Simon Peter,

too engrossed in that something or somethings which we ought to set away the

moment we believe in Christ? Has this

something robbed our attention and our

focus from Christ, whom we call dearly our

Lord and Master? Once again, Christ told

Simon Peter: Follow me. (John 21:19b) If

you are backsliding, Christ is calling out to

you too. In the very same way He called

out to Simon Peter. Of course, each of us

will have a different story to tell, as God

deals with each of us differently and

personally. However, His mercy, grace and

patience will always be with His dealing

with each one of us.

If we follow Him, we can be sure He will

see to our every need. This is very evident

in this account, where at the instruction of

Christ to cast their nets at starboard, a

great draught of fishes was caught. Thething that hit me most was that Christ

needed none of fishes caught by the

disciples. Before the disciples brought in

the catch, there was already a fire of coals,

fish and bread, all ready for the hungry

disciples. (John 21:9) This knowledge that

God will take care of His children brings

much assurance and comfort to me.

We know that Peter finished his Christianjourney well. He was said to have died for

his faith by being crucified, upside down.

Also, he dedicated his life for Gods service

and was instrumental in the Pentecost

where about 3,000 souls were saved. When

we allow ourselves to be used by God,

God can transform our lives and make it an

instrument to bless others. What will our

story be? Of course, we do not have to

model our lives exactly like Peters. God

has His specific plan for each one of us. The

question is, have we really forsook our

nets and followed Christ? We once

started as a Simon, but do we end up like a

Peter? Is there a progression in our walk?

Once again, the topic for this years CYC is

Peters Progress: What About Mine?

Allow me to add in another question. Peter

Progressed, What About You?

JOYCE HUANG

On 31st July 2010, YF celebrated this

annual event in honour of our parents!

The evening started with a praise item

by members of the YF, singing the hymn

A Christian Home.

Rev Queks message was on Showing

Love to our parents. Preaching from

Exodus 20: 1-17, Rev Quek reminded us

not to miss the window of opportunity

to appreciate our parents while they are

still alive, as well as to not take our

parents for granted. Looking at the Ten

Commandments, two commandments

are positive imperatives: to honour our

parents and to keep the Sabbath day

holy. The other eight of them start with a

negative imperative - Thou shalt not

Why is this so?

This is because we are predisposed to

dishonour our parents, and therefore

must always make a conscious effort to

show love to them. For this, we have to

constantly seek Gods help in prayer,

remembering that we are not perfect

and cannot overcome this sin without

His strength. At the end of each day,

reflect on how we have treated our

parents. Have we been rude to them?

Have we talked behind their backs,

complaining about their nagginess to

our siblings or friends? We must bear in

mind that we are a testimony to our

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parents (especially if they are unbelievers)

as much as they are a testimony to us.

Rev Quek also shared with us 3 practical

steps on showing love to our parents:

1. Be wise in Gods word

Prov 10:1 A wise son maketh a glad

father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of

his mother. It will not please our parents

if we are knowledgeable, but not wise. We

need to learn to apply Gods word, to be

patterned after Christ.

2. Dont waste

Prov 19:26 He that wasteth his father, and

chaseth away his mother, is a son thatcauseth shame, and bringeth reproach. Do

not follow after the Prodigal Son, wasting

the material blessings that our parents

have worked so hard for us to enjoy.

3. Be Obedient

Prov 23:22 Hearken unto thy father that

begat thee, and despise not thy mother

when she is old. We may be more highly

educated than our parents, but that does

not give us the right to dishonour, despise

or disobey them. The Lord chose our

parents for us, and we should obey them

simply because they ARE our parents. Our

parents have no qualms showering

unconditional, sacrificial love on us. Should

we not reciprocate?

Remember, our testimony starts at home!

After the message, the group video by

Keepers was screened (view it along with

the other YF group videos at http://

www.youtube.com/user/minotaur235). This

was followed by a game played by YFers

and parents! A YFer would draw about

things I appreciate my parents for, while

his/her parent would draw famous parent

sayings. It was a time when hidden artistic

talents were revealed.

According to the short tradition we have,

dinner was prepared by us youths! There

were homemade cream puffs, udon, sushi,

finger-licking good chicken wings and

refreshing yoghurt dessert. Of course, not

forgetting the famous custom-made egg

omelettes personally cooked on the spot

by experienced youth chefs.

The turnout by parents was very

encouraging and it was a great family

bonding time. Looking forward to more

exciting dishes whipped up by YFers next

year!

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19/24

This years retreat was held in church from

3-4 Sept 2010, subsequently continuing into

the regular YF session. Approximately 36

youths attended.

The theme was on Singleness of heart,

with the theme song Where your heart

is and verse Servants, obey in all things

[your] masters according to the flesh; not

with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in

singleness of heart, fearing God: (Col

3:22) and speaker Br Henry Chua.

Preparations

If I recall correctly, I believe the planningphase leading up to the retreat itself

commenced at least a month in advance,

comprising around three meetings and

several emails to decide on pertinent

matters, so this can be considered to have

gone smoothly.

Logistics, on my part, entailed mainly the

booking of venues and equipment for the

activities. I also prepared the morning

devotion Bearing fruit (Jn 15:2).

Day One

The first message was Singleness of heart

towards God (Psa 57:7). After the

message, we adjourned for supper (which

was served during ice-breakers, along with

a re-cap of the message) and the day ended

with dorm fellowship.

Day Two

The second message was the retreat theme

Singleness of heart in service (Col 3:22),

followed by a group discussion of issues

related to this message on the topic of

service.

In the afternoon, Dn James & Angeline Fu

conducted a meaningful and productive

workshop entitled Service as a Christian.

A striking point highlighted during the

workshop was that service permeates

through every aspect of our daily life, not

just limited to the church context.

Thereafter was the final message in the

series, Singleness of heart towards

unity (Acts 2:42-47).

ConclusionIn retrospect, this has been a fruitful retreat

particularly for me, with many take-away

lessons from the faithful preaching of the

word of God through these messages, to

even incline thine ear unto wisdom, [and]

apply thine heart to understanding (Pro

2:2), to live out the lessons learnt.

I sincerely thank God for this time of

spiritual refreshment, a timely reminder topause and reflect on my personal spiritual

journey thus far, especially concerning

single-heartedness in relation to Christ, to

rechart the course of my life moving

forward in view of this.

I have been richly blessed by this retreat, as

Im sure many others who attended also

are. This encompassed both in my area of

service to the Lord in managing the

logistics, as well as the opportunity to

fellowship with other partakers of

Christ (Heb 3:14). It is truly my honour

and privilege to be enabled to accomplish

these things for the Lord.

It is my hope that you have also been

greatly blessed through our service, to

grow in grace, and [in] the knowledge of

our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (2 Pe

3:18). Perhaps more may be burdened to

do likewise by coming forward to serve in

future retreats. For we are labourers

together with God: ye are God's

husbandry, ye are God's building. (1Co

3:9). We are fellow servants in Gods

service, serving one another, to the end

that we may all be well established in the

faith, and be better equipped to withstand

the many temptations the world presents

endlessly.

May the Lord help each one of us.

*****

Lee Wei

LEE WEIS REPORT OF BL ESSINGS

FROM THE SEPTEMBER RETREAT

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

November

Apparent Paradoxes

6th: Follish Intelligentsia

Prof. Tan Yock Lin

10th: Rich Poor; Poor Rich

Bro Henry Chua

17th: Servanthood Leadership

(Neh 5) Rev Wee Eng Moh

24th: Strongest When Weakest

(2 Cor 12:9) Dr Colin Tey

Birthdays: 1st Shanice16th William 17th Joy

22nd Zach 24th Joel Woo

30thYeda

December

4th: Seminar on The Life of

John Calvin @ Tengah

11th: Follow Me Dn Chia

18th:YF Remembrance Night

25th: No YF (Christmas Day)

20th24th:YF year-end Camp

Birthdays: 7th Dorothy, Evan &

Matthew Chiang10th Kai Shuin

& Yi Jie 14th Zhang

19thWanping31stAbby

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TRUE LIFE YF CAME FOR A

VISIT ON THE 16TH OCT! :)

Full name: Loh De-hou Joshua

Age: 19

School: Catholic Junior College

Hobbies: Computer games

Hopes: Havent really thought about it

Full name: Serlina Sim Li Yu

Age: 19

School: Nanyang Technological University

Hobbies: Reading, watching Korean dramas

Hopes:To be honest I actually havent

thought about it yet!

PERSONAL POINTS

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What is the most difficult part of

the Bible to understand for you?The poll was taken via msn and quoted verbatim.

trinityhow three persons are all equally God and areone God?

proverbscos no matter how many times we read it, overand over again, we still can learn more thingsfrom itendless

and no matter what i'll still find something thati'm unsure of

the levitical lawand the prophesies I suppose, like revelationsbasically stuff which requires a wholecomprehensive understanding of the bible,without which you can't really understandlike minor prophets as well

revelations

YF SPEAKS!

wanping

zhongyan

ruth

haha a lot mangot mcq?hmmmmmhuman responsibility and God's

sovereignty

like how they work together

song ofsolomonthat's one book i don't get Romans i guess

the england verri cheemi mean the phrasing or communication of ideas

zechariahlikesome of the visionsthe meaning and significanceas well as the messianic prophecies

mervyn

jason L

alanna

joanne

elliot

hmmm i havnt read through the whole bible,dont know which is the most difficult. Haha!

in the understanding of the mind of

God, what He is trying to tell me, behind everyevent, every book, every verse no matter howinsignificant it may behaha i havnt really studied OT books which ithink are difficult

suling

Whats happening?

Our Editor did a twitter interview with Elliot...and this is what they said.

My Bloo

Orloxian Brian Lim

@tweet_eLt Greetings Elliot! Uth Chronicle would like to conduct aTwitterview with you for My Brethren Lies Over the Ocean

tweet_eLt Elliot Chin Xen@Orloxian oh haha yea dude, heard abt it, so what's going on?

Orloxian Brian Lim@tweet_eLt Tell us how you've been settling down in the US! Have yougotten use to life over there?

tweet_eLt Elliot Chin Xenhaha wow i'm supposed to answer that within 140 characters? well, ithink i've settled down just enough to survive, i still get lost but I get by.

Orloxian Brian Lim@tweet_eLt you can use multiple tweets :p Have you found a goodchurch to settle into yet?

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tweet_eLt Elliot Chin Xen

@Orloxian why yes! its the Santa Monica Bible Baptist Church, wouldlike to make a special mention of @jasonliewyf for helping me look forone.

Orloxian Brian Lim@tweet_eLt Thank God. :) Have you gotten to know the people there?Is there a fellowship group you attend?

tweet_eLt Elliot Chin Xen@Orloxian they've just started a college fellowship group and its prettyyoung so we'll see where that goes haha if you're wondering I make up30% of the youth demographic if tht's what you're asking

Orloxian Brian Lim@tweet_eLt haha, wow. So the church is mostly adults? Does it feel verydifferent from Pandan?

tweet_eLt Elliot Chin Xen@Orloxian well definitely, every church is unique in its own right. but yeathere's nothing like home. mostly grandparents? did you say

grandparents? yeah.

Orloxian Brian Lim@tweet_eLt :p Well, hope you won't feel too disconnected despite age,since we all share a common bond in Christ :) How's school then?

tweet_eLt Elliot Chin Xen@Orloxian its killing me. haha my friends say i took too many heavycourses this quarter and as a freshman. I agree.

Orloxian Brian Lim

@tweet_eLt Ouch. Are you somehow coping, though?

tweet_eLt Elliot Chin Xen@Orloxian haha yea, have to right? Singaporean mah..

Orloxian Brian Lim@tweet_eLt haha, pray for sustenance! Any words for those back inSingapore?

tweet_eLt Elliot Chin Xen@Orloxian miss you guys like i miss satay. but hey, i'll be back next yearso don't play play..

tweet_eLt Elliot Chin Xen@Orloxian what?!! I know I'm going to regret this in the morning..

Orloxian Brian Lim@tweet_eLt Haha, thanks Elliot. Take care! We'll keep you in prayer. =)

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A Publication of

Calvary Pandan Youth Fellowship

Calvary Pandan Bible-Presbyterian Church

201 Pandan Gardens

Singapore 609337

Email: [email protected], Educate, Engage
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

uth chronicle 2010-iv

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