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WEEKLY
Volume 1 Number 18
1 October 2006
Dear Brethren
We thank God for the ministry of Rev
Stephen Khoo in our midst last week. Rev Khoo conducted our Bible study
on Saturday, and preached and conducted the Lord’s Supper last Sunday.
We have all been blessed and encouraged by his message.
Yours in His Service,
Pr Hien Nguyen
***************
Only One Life
(Sermon Notes taken by Pr Hien
on the Message delivered by Rev Stephen Khoo at the Sunday Worship
Service, 2 pm, Sep 24, 06)
Text:
2 Timothy 4:7
Paul was ready for his
departure. Christians do not die but only transfer their address or
their place from earth to heaven. Death is only a departure to a better
place.
God says, “I am the God of
Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” and our Lord
Jesus says, “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living”
(Matt 22:32). It means that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are living with the
Lord at the moment. No matter how old you and I are, we do not die once
we are born again and have eternal life in Christ.
These days are the last days.
The world is no more a safe place to stay or travel. Socially, people
are selfish and they only love themselves. In churches, many professing
Christians are outwardly lovely and nice but they do not believe in
God’s Word, “only having a form of godliness, but denying the power
thereof” (2 Tim 3:5). There are more earthquakes, typhoons,
diseases, and so forth. Morality is declining, and people love sins and
worldly pleasures, not God. All these things are happening at the same
time to warn us that our Lord and Saviour is coming very soon. Then what
is the purpose of your life?
Only One Life
To study and work is right,
but it alone is not the best. We are to do all for the Lord. We are to
serve the Lord. What have we done for the Lord? Jesus will come back
soon as He promised. He will come back suddenly and it may be now and
today. We only have one life. If you offer your life to the Lord, your
life will be far more interesting and meaningful as Jesus says, “I am
come that they might have life, and that they might have it more
abundantly” (John 10:10).
A Fulfilled Life
The apostle Paul said, “I
have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the
faith” (v 7). “I have fought a good fight”: this is the picture of a
soldier. “I have finished my course”: this is the picture of a sportsman
or an athlete. “I have kept the faith”: this is the picture of a
steward.
A Soldier
What are the qualities of a
soldier? What is a soldier required to do? A soldier has to be loyal to
his master and be willing to lay down his life for his country. He must
be brave and courageous. Are you a soldier of the Lord? We also have
lady soldiers here. That does not mean we go here and there carrying
weapons and fighting like religious terrorists. The Bible says, “Put
on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the
wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places”
(Eph 6:11-12). There is a spiritual warfare in Christian life against
Satan and sins. In this spiritual warfare, you may be tempted to go
against God’s Word. People may despise you, persecute you and even kill
you, but be brave and be not afraid. You must be a loyal soldier of the
Lord.
A Sportsman/Athlete
What is a sportsman supposed
to do? He has to look at the goal ahead of him and run until he reaches
the finish line although he may be the last one left behind in the race.
He cannot give up and step aside in the midst of the race. He is to
persevere, discipline and train himself to finish the course. We see
people use the blinkers (blinders) to put at the side of a horse’s eyes
so that it can only see forward or else it is easily distracted by the
surroundings and cannot run forward ahead. We Christians are to “lay
aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let
us run with patience the race that is set before us” (Heb 12:1).
Paul is determined to press toward the mark, saying, “this one thing
I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto
those things which are before . . . for the prize of the high calling of
God in Christ Jesus” (Philip 3:13-14) and “I therefore so run,
not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beat the air: But I keep
under my body, and bring it unto subjection …” (1 Cor 9:26-27).
A Steward
What is required of a steward?
It is his faithfulness, “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a
man be found faithful” (1 Cor 4:2). We are to be faithful in keeping
our faith. What does it mean? It is to keep our faith in God’s Word, in
the teaching of the Bible, and in our Saviour Jesus Christ, who died for
our sins, rose again, ascended to heaven and will come back again, and
will establish His kingdom of peace on earth for one thousand years. And
then God will make a new heaven and a new earth. Those who have Jesus
Christ will not be judged but will live with God forever in heaven.
Those who do not have Jesus Christ will suffer in the lake of fire
forever and ever. That is the faith we are to keep.
This is the second time Paul
was in prison. Knowing that he would be executed soon, Paul said, “For
I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand”
(v 6). Paul meant that he was willing to pour out his life as a
drink-offering, to be put to death for the sake of his Master Jesus
Christ. Looking back at his life, Paul was able to say, “I have
fought a good fight (as a loyal and brave soldier), I have
finished my course (as a disciplined and persevering sportsman),
I have kept the faith (as a faithful steward)” (v 7). How about you
and me? Are we willing to pour out our lives as a living and holy
sacrifice? Whatever God says in His Word, we must do or obey as loyal
soldiers, persevering sportsmen, and faithful stewards. You and I cannot
improve on God’s Word, the Holy Bible. God is all-knowing and is
infinitely wise. So we can never know better than God. You and I must be
faithful in our preaching, teaching and living.
The Reward
After we have finished our
course, what is our reward? Will there be any reward for a loyal
soldier, a persevering sportsman and a faithful steward? Yes, surely as
Paul said, “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at
that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his
appearing” (v 8).
As sinners coming short of
God’s glory and righteousness, it is a great reward for us to be given a
crown of righteousness that the Lord has reserved for His loyal,
persevering and faithful servants and children, who love and look
forward to His coming.
Conclusion
My dear brethren, what God
wants you and me to do, let us do it willingly and faithfully so that
when we depart from this world or when our Lord Jesus Christ comes back,
we will meet Him with joy and gladness. Let us give the rest of our
lives to the Lord and live for Him. You and I only have one life to
live. God has called me and I have given my life to Him, and now I pass
the message to you. Give your life to the Lord and serve Him till He
comes. Amen.
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