"I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5).

By the mercies of God we meet in holy convocation to witness the passing out of 35 workers for the harvest fields. These are unusual, exceptional times—the last of the last days, so the signs tell us. Predictions made thousands of years ago are fulfilled before our eyes like "flashing amber lights" warning that the Lord’s return is near, even at the doors! Are you ready?

What signs, you ask? Signs for the seeing few, only the unbelieving see not. Last month a killer quake shook Turkey. In the past hundred years pestilences have claimed millions of lives. Pandemics and epidemics of influenza, AIDs, and now SARs, are not haphazard or without meaning. The Creator in wrath has sent a "wake up call"—the Judge of all the Earth is coming to restore order. Man’s rebellion has a limit.

How late is this prophetic day! Just one more sign to confirm: the fourth and final World Power foretold by Daniel and the Apostle John sits enthroned on the world scene. Daniel prophesied: "… the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms … shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces" (Dan 7:23). John wrote of the same Power: "… Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?" (Rev 13:4). Answer: on earth no one.

Let the wise understand: this Power is not of God (although some would like to believe that it is, noting the national motto "In God we trust" on every dollar note). But God’s Word is above men’s: Revelation 13:2 identifies the source of the Global Power: "…the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority."

And just to stress how close is the Momentous Event of our Lord’s appearing, read Revelation 13:8: "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."

This verse describes the post-rapture scenario when the entire world falls under the New World Order—the One World Government objective of the Satanic Illuminati-Freemason organisation.

The New World Order will engulf all on Planet Earth, whose names are not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Praise God for the Lamb, and for including us who love Him in that Book. Thank God for calling us into His service, for raising up this Church-College Partnership, a spiritual partnership of incalculable blessing and importance.

Rightly does the Word of God say: " How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up? For their rock is not as our Rock …" (Deut 32:30-31).

Our Rock ordained this blessed partnership of Church and College: the one to initiate and sustain, the other to multiply and supply. Did not our Lord say, "The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few"? While Life Church gathered in the harvest, the Lord of the harvest also raised up a shepherd to conceive of a training school for the wider harvest fields beyond our walls.

Thus was born the Life Church-Far Eastern Bible College co-operative, all praise to God. In more ways than one, our Singapore Life-FEBC is a replica of Spurgeon’s Metropolitan Tabernacle-Pastors’ College which flourished in London a hundred years earlier.

While Spurgeon is well beloved and remembered for his phenomenal ministry, preaching to weekly congregations of 5,000 for 37 years in the great city, it is less well known that his great contribution to the Gospel cause was the Pastors’ College which trained over 800 preachers of the Word—men of strong Biblical convictions and sound theology to bless congregations in churches all over Great Britain and beyond. Spurgeon was raised of God to "stand in the gap" against the rising tide of liberalism and ecumenism. So are we.

Since his day, there has not been a college in England which has embraced the same strong Biblical principles of theological training.

Cast in the same mould, FEBC stands today, lone sentinel and lighthouse for God. The College has a Faculty of a dozen, and an enrolment over a hundred. The visionary founder Rev Timothy Tow received his God-given mandate in the fifties, soon after Life Church was founded.

His first students numbered just three. But our Lord did not despise the day of small things. Today FEBC is what it is only because of God’s grace. The Lord of the harvest answered our prayers for labourers by giving us a College. Its symbiotic benefits have been proved over and over through five decades.

Of a Truth, God’s blessings are shared, as summed up by the Founder of both College and Church: "When we build the College we build the Church." That was Spurgeon’s genius adopted in Singapore.

Of his own College, Spurgeon said, "The Church ought to make the College the first object of its care." What was said of Spurgeon’s College a hundred years before FEBC, is a "hundred times" more relevant today, for we are that many years nearer our Lord’s return. The days are numbered and Satan’s forces of liberalism and ecumenism are a hundred times more active. In the words of the late Rev Paul Contento: "Without the Bible College the Church will die!"

And without the Spirit of the Lord we can do nothing.

To faithful B-Ps and Alumni of FEBC "earnestly contending for the faith of the Gospel which was once delivered unto the saints:" resolve to make the College "the first object of your care." Recall the words of William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania State: "If there is any good which I can do, let me do it now, for I shall not pass this way again."

And forget not by any means, that in all our "doing good" it is only by God’s good grace, for "without Him we can do nothing," which reminds us of one of the Principal’s axiom: "Do something good for Jesus every day." And why not, in life’s short day that we make ourselves fruitful for His name’s sake.

To our friends leaving shortly for the harvest fields, may you go in the strength of the Lord. The College has imparted to you theological tools for the job: use them for the advancement of His Kingdom and the defence of the faith.

Ours is no ordinary work: we are in a spiritual warfare and we must use the right weapons: "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds" (2 Cor 10:4). Man’s intellect and social skills are carnal: the adversary is not unduly concerned with these.

Never underestimate the power of the wily foe, nor forget that he is the father of lies, master of deception and accuser of the brethren. Against him we lose if we rely on our own strength. With him we are engaged in deadly conflict. But thank God, at Calvary our Lord Jesus overcame him, for through death he might destroy him that had the power of death (Heb 2:14). Through Christ our Lord you will do valiantly: our Lord has already won victory.

As a parting gift, take with you the text of God’s Word, the Sword of the Spirit: John 15:5. Let not a day pass without the recall and recourse to our Lord’s words: "Without me ye can do nothing." What did our Lord mean by these words? He gives us the explanation.

"Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you … I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you" (John 16:7, 14:18).

In the divine scheme and strategy, the Risen Christ, having completed His work of redemption ("It is finished") must return to the Father: His earthly ministry was over. From thence, the work on earth passes on to the Third Person of the Holy Trinity: the Holy Spirit. No more the personal presence of the Son, but the Spirit would perform and perfect the work.

Pentecost marked the commencement of the Era of the Holy Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus: without Him we can do nothing. The entire work of the Gospel was to be propagated and sustained by the blessed Comforter promised in John 14:16. The Comforter’s coming made all the difference.

When the Spirit came, in one day, nay in a moment of time, the disciples were changed—men made new! In an instant their inter-personal strife (Luke 22:24), their fearfulness and disloyalty (Matt 26:58), and Peter’s cowardly denials (Matt 26:69-75)—all these sins and transgressions were cleansed and taken away.

The eleven disciples rose as a man to face the multitude (Acts 2:14), filled with the Spirit of Jesus, to be witnesses for their Lord as predicted (Acts 1:8). From then on the disciples cared not for their own safety or interests, but only preached Christ the Saviour and Risen Lord, testifying to His saving power, and fearing no man but God.

Did it ever occur to you that our Lord had committed the immense task of establishing the Church in a hostile world to a motley group of fisher folk and the likes. By common sense reasoning such a proposition would be written off, labeled a failure even before it took off. But God’s word says differently: "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the LORD of hosts" (Zech 4:6). So the rulers and elders and scribes in Jerusalem, witnessing the boldness of the disciples, "… perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13). That makes all the difference.

What the establishment did not understand was that Peter and John, and the rest of the disciples, were men filled with the Spirit of Jesus, mighty instruments of God.

Reading John 15:5 most times we skim over the text, without much heed to the deeper and hidden meaning, what our Lord meant: "Without me ye can do nothing." Now that we have paused to look deeper into the text, it becomes only too obvious that our Lord meant "Without my Spirit, you can do nothing."

While we preach Christ crucified, the power of God unto salvation to a dying world, we plead with the Lord for the filling of the Spirit, recognising that without Him we can do nothing. For He is the Spirit of truth, our perfect Teacher and Guide (John 14:17, 26; 16:13). Without Him to illumine our darkened minds, and to guide us into all truth, we cannot understand the Scriptures. Without Him to energise us we are helpless and incompetent for the task ahead.

In all our ministry and all that we do, then, let us pray for the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of wisdom, grace, truth and knowledge. No amount of administrative and management skills can ensure success in ministry. Without His Spirit we can do nothing. We read Scripture but the truth of it is not impressed upon our mind. We forget to ask His help in trouble, and we sink deeper in despair.

The Lord taught us a precious lesson in our part of His vineyard. We were desperately trying to execute the work. But the adversary had crept in unawares and sowed seeds of dissension and discord. Brethren became suspicious of each other: stopped smiling or talking to one another, began to avoid one another. Emails flew thick and fast. People began to count votes. The Church had become a war zone, all because the adversary, that accuser of the brethren and father of lies had done his work.

We had neglected our Lord’s clear instruction: "If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you" (John 13:14-15). Instead of washing one another’s feet, we were busy washing one another’s dirty linen.

In the hour of dark despair, God’s light shone through. Much prayer had ascended to the throne: "Lord help! Lord intervene! The unity of the Church is at stake. At all costs, restore and heal Thy Church, for it is Thy body."

Days and weeks and months of earnest fervent prayer ascended to God’s throne of grace. Just when the night of conflict was darkest, God sent the light of His Word. Well read, familiar words spoke to us with new meaning. Division and striving over non-essentials does not come of God: it can only come from the accuser of the brethren.

Thank God for the timely intervention, that we heeded the Word, to resist the wily foe "Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices" (2 Cor 2:11). Praise the Lord for the two-edged sword of the Word repelling the false angel of light.

Reading Ephesians 4:32, Philippians 3:13 and 1 Peter 4:8, the Spirit opened to us the way of peace. Forgetting those things which were behind (the petty differences and non issues), tenderhearted, forgiving one another, the Spirit enabled us to exercise fervent charity, for charity covered the multitude of sins.

Then we began to see beams in our own eyes rather than motes in others’ eyes (Matt 7:1-5). Then we began to exercise fervent charity one to another, and wounds began to heal, all because the Spirit had come to our aid.

To our departing brethren, beware the wiles of the evil one, and be not ignorant of his devices. The accuser of the brethren does not rest or take a day off from his mischief and sowing seeds of discord. No ministry can survive if discord creeps in. A house divided cannot stand.

Stay close with the Lord. Remember His words: "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5).

Pray daily for the filling of the Spirit and for a mighty Gospel Ministry wherever you go. Without Him you can do nothing. Keep praying, He will answer you. Amen.