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GOSPEL STRATEGY FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM
S H Tow
I invite you to please turn
with me to the Book of Jeremiah Chapter 6 reading from verse 9 to 17.
Thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall throughly glean the remnant of
Israel as a vine: turn back thine hand as a grapegatherer into the
baskets. To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear?
behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the
word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it. For
from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given
to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one
dealeth falsely. They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my
people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. Were they
ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all
ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them
that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith
the LORD. Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for
the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find
rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. Also I set
watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they
said, We will not hearken.
It is with greatest joy that
I address you this evening on the 38th year of the founding of this Bible
College. So soon 38 years have flown by and very soon a new millennium
dawns and with it, new dangers and challenges. Whether you like it or not,
these will come upon us—a new social order, a new world order and a new
church order—and things will never be the same again. Last December while
we were in Canada, I read the newspapers how our SM Lee said:
A new age is coming on earth. Things are changing, the way we live, we
think, we do business, we conduct ourselves, is changing. All because of
the revolution brought about by that little microchip and the computer.
Everything is changing and no matter how well you have been doing, how
successful you have been, if you do not adapt to the changing situation,
you will be left behind.
The same word of wisdom
applies to us. Things are changing so rapidly in the computer field, every
few months what was good gets out of date and is cast aside. My friends,
we are children of light and the darkness deepens and danger mounts. Let’s
ask ourselves, “What must we do?” Verse 16: “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye
in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths.” Here God gives us the
formula, the direction for the future: “There is the good way, walk ye
therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.” Verse 17 says, “Also I
set watchmen over you … hearken to the sound of the trumpet.” What is the
need of the hour today? As in these verses, we are clearly told that we
are to ask for the old paths. We who serve the Lord, surely, the Lord
knows our needs but we must always turn to Him. Of ourselves we can do
nothing; we shall fall. Pray for faithful watchmen to be raised, men and
women of the Word of God, filled with the spirit of God; men and women of
prayer who daily are in touch with that power house from above, who heed
the voice of the Master.
What does the Master say?
“Thus saith the Lord.” We must know what He says, not what the world says,
not what the church says. Oh, it is a sad thing to note Christendom today
has lost its way, fallen into the hands of the adversary. This was
Jeremiah’s concern in his day and I say this is our concern today. In
God’s service, as an ordinary member in the pew, whoever you are, if we
name the name of Christ, we must know what Christ our Lord says every day
or we shall lose our way.
Jeremiah was concerned. Are
we concerned? We need faithful Jeremiahs today—men and women, prophets,
watchmen, messengers—those willing to be used. I say to all young friends
here studying, graduating; before you is a tremendous opportunity to prove
the power of God. That power is not diminished today. If you follow the
Lord and call upon him, He sends power from above that you may face the
future and all its pitfalls and temptations that come your way. This
college was raised for such a time as this, to train and equip watchmen. I
like this word “watchman.” I’d rather be a watchman in the house of God
than to dwell in tents of wickedness. The watchman has a task assigned to
him—you have to observe with your eyes, your ears, sometimes with your
nose, and your business is to raise a warning. Now a watchman’s task is
not popular or easy but that is not our concern. Watchmen must be
faithful. This is the need of the hour for we are put in trust by the
Master. I say again to our friends who are going back to their churches or
to the mission fields. Wherever you go throughout the four corners of this
earth, your faithfulness means life and death to those you minister to. If
you give the pure word of God, those who hear and heed will be delivered
from death into life. It must not be otherwise.
“Thus saith the Lord” must
be our one constant, unchanging message while the world around us changes.
We have a Lord, Head of the Church, who is the same yesterday, today and
forever. He never changes and He is our one constant point of reference.
Keep going back to Him, to hear what He teaches, what He says in the Book
and what His faithful servants the apostles say to us: make that your
guide, nothing else.
Spreading deception is the
order of the day today. In this new millennium so many new messages are
coming in, new theologies. I remember what Spurgeon said a century ago:
“You may rest assured, in theology there is nothing new except that which
is false.” Please remember this. Someone has discovered a new exegesis, a
new hermeneutic, a new theology—be careful, beware, always turn back to
the verses we have read: “Thus saith the Lord” and remember what the Lord
said 2,000 years ago stands today—changeless. Let us embrace that Word …
“Stand in the ways … ask for the old paths, the good way ...”. Our duty is
not to please the hearers, my friends. This is the problem today.
Preachers are afraid to loose their congregations, to lose the support of
those who send in the donations, if they preach a contrary message. God
spare us from the curse of preaching for popularity.
The Word of God here says
that He will come and false prophets will be cast down. Why? Because they
said, “Peace, peace, when there is no peace.” Now how are we to understand
this? I speak as a medical person. The patient is suffering from cancer
and doctors prescribe lotions and band-aid treatment. My friends, these
preachers are sending precious souls to eternal damnation in hell. The
perils of the new millennium call for raising of more faithful watchmen.
Are you one? Ask yourself—do you know the issues? Do you know what is
right and wrong? Do you know a false prophet from a true one? A false
teacher? Can you smell him out? I trust that in your time at this college,
you have learnt this and learnt it well. If you didn’t learn a tremendous
amount of theology, at least you learnt one thing—to discern truth from
error and then to stand by the truth, come what may. Nothing must move you
from the truth. Why? Because it is the truth and only the truth can save;
only the truth can set you free, only the truth can establish the church,
and save souls into God’s kingdom.
So, may you all be watchmen,
faithful, filled with the Spirit, with prayer, daily watching, waiting
unto the coming again of the great God—our Saviour Jesus Christ. Does He
cause you to look up and your heart to leap up? “Behold He comes!” is
something we must expect any moment, any time, in our life time – are you
ready? May this thought constantly spur us on that we may never turn back,
never slow down but keep pressing on, “forgetting those things which are
behind ... press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God
in Christ Jesus.”
Now just a few specifics:
the things you ought to know as a watchman. You ought to know that is
happening. Why? Because God has called you to be a watchman. Did it occur
to you that today’s evangelical preaching almost never touches on sin and
repentance? Observe those who preach over television and radio. How often
do you hear the message of repentance? But rather those people talk much
about love and unity, about “Holy Spirit and salvation,” “healing and
renewal,” words without meaning. But repentance and restitution are rarely
mentioned. What must we do? Dear friends, these are realities which you
face. You are going to meet those who have been nurtured in apostate
churches. They are going to come to you. What do you tell them? “Ask for
the old paths.” Let us constantly return to the old paths and say “Repent
ye.” This is the message of John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus Christ and
Peter the Apostle on the day of Pentecost. What did they preach? “Repent,
for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” There is no other way to enter the
Kingdom except to repent and to make restitution. “Repent ye for the
Kingdom is at hand,” was what John the Baptist said, “Who hath warned you
to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for
repentance” (Matt 3:7b-8).
Did it occur to you that
nowadays, the popular preaching of heaven and hell is totally changed.
What is heaven? Heaven is now defined as a place where God is calling
people out of every religion, and those who hear the call, see the light
and follow, they will arrive in heaven. This is a strange heaven not found
in the Bible. Do you realise that?
Listen, the Word of God
says, “And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth …
but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Rev 21:27). There
is no exception, no deviation, no way you can bypass this. Remember what
our Lord said: “I am the way … no man cometh unto the Father but by me.”
No other way, only one: Jesus Christ.
Now what about hell? The
leading evangelicals are changing their view of hell—Billy Graham, John
Stott, J I Packer and others. Now, there are many versions of hell. Listen
carefully: firstly, hell is a state of mind and not a place; hell is
longlasting but not forever; hell is hot but not so hot; hell is a real
place, but there is no one in it. Now these new teachings are coming out
of evangelicalism into the church of God and people are gleefully
embracing them. Wonderful! Now who is afraid of hell? Listen, ask for the
old paths “Thus saith the Lord.” “The fearful, and unbelieving, and the
abominable (those who twist and turn doctrine) … whoremongers … sorcerers
… idolaters (those who go to church and bow to images) … all liars (who
preach the new evangelicalism—these are liars),” the Word of God says,
“shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone:
which is the second death” (Rev 21:8). Now, that is hell. Why don’t we go
by the Word of God? Why go by books that are written today?
“Evangelical Truth” it is
called. In it John Stott says, “How can hell have a fire that burns and
destroys and yet those who go in are never destroyed!” Amazing new
evangelical doctrine!
Today the call to all
Christendom is, “Love and unite!” In 1995 the Pope issued his Twelfth
Encyclical. (An encyclical means a directive to all humanity with
particular reference to the churches.) He says “I speak as the head of the
church. All Christendom return to mother church!” When? By the year 2000.
When? By the end of this year. Now what do you say to that? God’s Word
says “No.” That is the doctrine of the devil.
But the Word of God says,
“Come out from among them, and be ye separate … and touch not the unclean
thing” (2 Cor 6:17). What is the unclean thing? Today, the whole world is
uniting to form a One World System. Now this is prophetic—you cannot stop
it. It is irresistible and indeed it is now almost ready to function—one
world, one church. God’s Word says, “Come out … be ye separate … touch not
… I will receive you. And I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my
sons and daughters” (2 Cor 6:17-18). This is the word of God. Do you know
it? Do you obey it?
A couple of people, last
week when I was in Kuala Lumpur preaching at Calvary Jaya Church, came up
to me and said, “We come from a Methodist Church. Is the Methodist Church
supporting this ecumenical movement?” Indeed it is one of the front
runners leading people into this One World System. “But what can I do? In
our town, there is no other church.” Very difficult! What do you do—come
out of her and have no church? So these are things we have to think, to
find solutions. I say as long as you are in that church, cling to the
Saviour, call out to Him and have no part in that One World System. Then
you are safe, and even out of that church you can be saved. Why? Because
there is no other church to go to. But you must take a stand on the truth
of God’s Word and do not support the One World System.
The New Millennium brings in
a new Christianity—so different, with “another gospel, another Jesus.” It
is by God’s grace that we have come thus far in the B-P Church, 50 years.
You know this year is the golden anniversary, and when you have 50 years
behind you, you can look back and size up the whole situation with what we
call “hindsight.”
When we started in Prinsep
Street we used to have OMF missionaries come to us and together we could
preach the same gospel. Today, no longer. OMF missionaries preach another
gospel, so different. Time has changed many things and the New Millennium
is bringing in a New Christianity paving the way for the New World
Order—the order set up by the god of this world, predicted in the Word of
God, that must come to pass but of which you ought not have a part. I
realise that some of you come from non-fundamental churches, from various
churches in the mainline denominations like Methodist, Anglican, Baptist,
Lutheran and so on. What must you do? I say you should pray and heed the
Word of God. If you are convinced and you are called, God will show you
what you ought to do.
Verse 13: It says in
Jeremiah’s time “from the least unto the greatest, everyone is given to
covetousness; and from the prophets even unto the priest every one dealeth
falsely.” It is a sad thing when religion is made commercial. How can it
be? Oh yes, it is being done. Indulgences are being sold. Last January the
Pope announced a special discount for indulgences to commemorate the year
2000. Religion at a discount? Wonderful! Let us buy more indulgences for
future use. This is called “forward buying.”
What about “healings and
miracles?” You think they are cheap? They are not cheap because when a
person gets so low in his sick state, and hoping for a cure, money pours
into the healers’ offering bags. Today, Benny Hinn, front runner and
successor to Kathleen Kuhlman, is building a Healing Park in the States
for US$30M. For what? For healing! “All who are sick come along and we
will heal you.” This is the greatest hoax and lie. Easily proved—they can
do the healing on stage, in the park, but take them to the hospital and
they can’t even heal one, not even one. My friends, you want to challenge
these people who claim signs and wonders and healings? Just say, “Follow
me to the Chronic Sick Ward now, heal, let me see, heal.” It just doesn’t
happen. It only happens on stage. They have their props—part of the show.
What deception! My friends, this is the high cost of healing today. Benny
Hinn’s 25th anniversary—to celebrate with him people pay $100 a plate to
sit there and listen to this great deceiver and false prophet. As in
Jeremiah’s day religious leaders are given to covetousness and deception.
These things are happening and you ought to know. Did not Jeremiah say
that “every one is given to covetousness, from the prophet to the priest,
every one dealeth falsely.”
Now what gospel strategy do
we have for the New Millennium? We fundamentalists are called “bigots,
backward, uninformed!” My friends, care not what people call you. It is
what you are and how you serve the Lord that counts, not what people
falsely say about you. What do you say to this? I say, “Back to the Word
of God—Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, the good
way”—the unchanging Word of God, the unchanging pathway of God. Today our
strategy for the new millennium is “Back to the Bible, know your Word,
King James Version.” Notice every modern English version attacks some
vital central doctrine of the Bible and all claim to be “most accurate,
most authentic”— a lie of the devil. Why? Did not Jeremiah say
“covetousness, and deception?” Modern Versions bring to the publishers and
copyright owners multi-millions of dollars. You know that? Ah, my friends,
religion today is commercialised. Latest: Pat Robertson is marketing a new
Bible called “The Book.” On publicity alone he spends US$7M in
anticipation of huge profits coming ahead. Make no mistake: commercial
religion reigns today. What must we do?
Back to the Bible, the good
old King James Bible! Back to God’s greatest salvation, the Reformation of
the 16th century! Today, it is submerged, blacked out, nobody ever hears
anything about the Reformation. Today it is a bad word. Let us go back to
God’s greatest salvation since Pentecost, when God’s people rallied with
the war cry: Sola Scriptura! Sola Fide! Sola Gratia! Solus Christus!
Only
these are sufficient for all our needs and our message. So, I say, for the
New Millennium: back to the grand simplicity of the gospel. Be not
entangled with all the new fangled doctrines, new styles of worship, new
music, new music idioms, all kinds of fantasies, words of wisdom, words of
knowledge, direct relevations from God—all these are tricks of the devil.
Back to the old fashioned gospel and tell it as it is. Know the Word –
there is power in the Word. Give it as it is and see if God will not
honour this simple faith in His wonderful Word.
Be a Jeremiah. Jeremiah
preached for 40 long years to a stiffnecked, rebellious people. Jeremiah
never gave up but he wept for his people. He was a true patriot, one who
felt for his people. Do you feel for your people? Was there any time you
wept for your people because they are in sin?
Be a Jeremiah: “Ask for the
old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest
for your souls.” Amen.
Dr S H Tow is senior pastor of Calvary
Bible-Presbyterian Church. This sermon was delivered at the 25th
Graduation Service of the Far Eastern Bible College at Life
Bible-Presbyterian Church, May 14, 2000.
- Published in
The Burning Bush,
Volume 7 Number
1 (January 2001)
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