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My dear Readers I was hospitalised yesterday in Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Wednesday (Sep 27, 06). The thought is to return home. But I am kept here till Thursday I am told. I feel too cold with the air-con on which tends to keep me in bed, which is warmer. I have the church to pray for me. Also my two grandchildren at home. I would ask them to pray for me which I appreciate very much. Honestly I want to be discharged as soon as possible. Though we have my brother, Dr S H Tow, looking after me, prayer is the best. For three years the Lord has blessed us in the withdrawal from Life Church because both my assistant pastors suddenly declared they could not take the oath for the Bible as perfect and contains no mistake which is administered by the Far Eastern Bible College yearly. Many have joined us now at RELC, next to Shangri-La Hotel, Orange Grove Road. I’m praying for our people in the coming celebrations.
Your affectionate pastor ***** Dean Burgon Oath I swear in the name of the Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, that I believe “the Bible is none other than the voice of Him that sitteth upon the throne. Every book of it, every chapter of it, every verse of it, every word of it, every syllable of it, every letter of it, is the direct utterance of the Most High. The Bible is none other than the Word of God, not some part of it more, some part of it less, but all alike the utterance of Him that sitteth upon the throne, faultless, unerring, supreme.” So help me God, AMEN. *****
The Great Privilege of Service The unmistakable hand of God was seen in directing and guiding the planning and execution of the 2006 FEBC Gospel Rally. It was an event that testified to the goodness of God when His children are obedient to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ (Matt 28:18-20). Echoing the words of Evangelist D L Moody, “It is not what Moody can do for God but what God can do for Moody. Do you see?” The intense spiritual warfare can be summed up by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:10 and 12, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might … 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.” Being engaged in the business of snatching souls from the gates of hell is a great privilege and the battle is won not by the arm of flesh but by the Spirit of God, by much concerted prayer and even fasting to seek the Lord’s blessings. The darts of Satan came in many different forms, and discouragements were very real experiences. To “be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might” was the spiritual lesson learned in serving the Lord. On September 16 itself, the Lord heard our prayers by withholding the rain, thereby making it easy and convenient for people to come to the Gospel meeting. We give thanks to the Lord for the message, “Want to Trade Your Soul?” (Mark 8:34-38), clearly and powerfully preached by Rev Dr Quek Suan Yew, pastor of Calvary Pandan B-P Church, and interpreted into Mandarin by Deaconess Audrey Liaw of Tabernacle B-P Church. We thank God for preacher Daniel Lim who interpreted for the worship leader, and Mrs Janice Lai for directing the FEBC choir and arranging the songs. We thank God for Kelvin Wong who translated the hymn, “Have You Counted the Cost?” into Mandarin, Ko Ling Kang for producing the programme sheet, and Eld Tan Nee Keng for writing the gospel tract and John Loo for photography. We thank God for the overall coordination by Dominino, the counselors led by Rev Dohar Siregar, greeters by Vijayenthiran and ushers by Byju, the refreshments prepared by the ladies, and the children’s programme conducted by Mrs Anne Lim. Praise the Lord for moving ten people to respond to the message preached that night. Sister Wendy Teng will be doing the follow-up. The Lord knows how to reward all who had worked hard for Him in doing the work of evangelism by way of preaching, tracting, giving out gospel bookmarks, or sending out invitation postcards; “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love” (Hebrews 6:10). We thank God for our beloved Principal, Rev Dr Timothy Tow, who despite his bodily weakness, was present with us. His presence was a great encouragement to us. We thank God for the valuable advice given by Rev Dr Jeffrey Khoo, our academic dean, and Mrs Ivy Tow, our matron, who guided our steps. “And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever” (2 Chron 7:3). ***************
THE LIVING WORD Not through visions or dreams or mysterious voices, but in my waking moments through the preaching of His Holy Word by His faithful messengers, did I hear the repeated reassuring words of my Saviour constantly reminding me to trust in Him completely for He is in control and He will bring things to pass according to His perfect will and plan. Like never before, I realised over and over again just how gracious, loving and caring our Lord God is, and just how powerful and wonderful the ministering of His Word is. Just when adversity hits you hard, out of the blue, and you are hurting, questioning, even angry, overwhelmed by the ugliness and wickedness of it all, He sends a reaffirmation of a promise you recall. And so it was when I heard the memory verse at prayer meeting that Friday evening – it was Isaiah 43:2. I had remembered this verse, and now it was being repeated “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” My heart skipped a beat and a lump came to my throat. Right from the outset, God was there and He wanted me to know that. Two days later, at the Lord’s Day service, our all-knowing, almighty God spoke to me again. Preaching from Psalm 43:1-3, the Lord’s messenger confirmed it firmly in my heart that the Lord will “deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man”. What could be clearer than this? That God knew exactly the nature of my affliction, and He would not only preserve me from harm but also establish the truth of the matter. Never before in my entire working life have I had my integrity put into question. I have no doubt that this trial was sent by God as a test of my faith. How would I react? God was not tardy in His counsel. Another message from the pulpit, taken from Mark 4:35-41, was like balm to my soul as it reminded me that the Lord is in control of all circumstances we are in and that He does care for us even in times of distress, even as He challenges our faith in Him especially during stormy times. Yes, God the Omnipotent, Creator of all things, is in control throughout each storm in our lives, and He is right there with us in the midst of it. I need not fear if the waves get a bit choppy, tossing the boat to and fro. Did He not say that He would keep me from overflowing waters and lead me through the flood? Indeed, He led me along, holding me gently but strongly through the faithful preaching of His inspired, inerrant and infallible Word week after week. And in His good time, all praise to God, He brought me out of the stormy cloud. The allegations made against me were found to be baseless. But I learnt a painful lesson – a lack of sensitivity to how man could interpret one’s action especially if he has ill intentions in his heart. Then came the hardest part. I had just been trusting in the Lord to deliver me and now I was impatient and not confident that He would “send out Thy light and Thy truth” according to Psalm 43:3. I was toying with the idea of doing it myself! Thank God for putting questions in my mind and hesitation in my heart. Deep down, I knew what I had to do – trust Him completely and wait on Him to bring things to pass in His good time. And once again, praise Him for verifying this truth and ending my struggle through the message preached on “Get Thee Behind Me Satan” (Matt 16:21-28). How close I was to becoming an adversary of God! But the merciful and loving God once again led me out of the fire and how thankful I am. I do not know how long I have to wait for the truth to be revealed. I do not know what will happen. But I know that the Almighty God is in control and His hand is at work, and may I continue to trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not unto my own understanding. As the hymn goes – I hear the Saviour say, “Thy strength indeed is small, Child of weakness, watch and pray, Find in me thine all in all”. And I know that I can trust in all that He has written in His Holy Scriptures – every promise, every blessing, every assurance – for every word is kept perfect and not one word is lost. Amen. Verse for the Week: Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox. Prov 14:4 ***** Mon and Thu night classes are held at the Far Eastern Bible College, 9A Gilstead Road, Singapore 309063. Ladies Fellowship Meeting will be held this Wed (Oct 4, 06) at 7.45 pm. Venue: RELC, Level 6, Newton Room (Room 601). Message: “Living in Christian Fellowship” by Rev Ronny Khoo. All are welcome. For enquiries, please contact Judith at 96729973. Family Worship cum Prayer Meeting will be held at the home of Mr and Mrs David Ong this Fri (Oct 6, 06) at 8 pm. Address: 31 Windsor Park Road, Singapore 574137. Tel: 64599459. Young People’s Fellowship will be having a Music and Chairing Workshop this Sat (Oct 7, 06) at the home of Elder Boaz Boon. Time: 9.30 am. Address: 207, Choa Chu Kang Central, #07-10. Transport leaves FEBC at 8.50 am sharp. For details, please contact Herbert at 94377715. The Adults’ Sunday School Class by Dr Jeffrey Khoo is now studying the book of I Peter, 9.15 am – 10.15 am. All are welcome. Anniversary Thanksgiving Lunch: The 3rd Anniversary Thanksgiving Lunch will be held at the Tang Court Cantonese Restaurant, RELC, after Worship Service today at 12.30 pm. True Life B-P Church’s sermons are taped and available for sale in DVD ($5) or Audio CD ($3). You may place your orders with Dn Charles Kan, Barnabas Yap or any of the PA crew. Pray for Pastor Tow that the Lord will restore him completely to good health and strength and for Bro Henry Tan as he prepares to undergo 2nd round of chemotherapy. We extend our deepest condolences to Mrs Maria Ong on the homegoing of her beloved mother on Sep 28, 06.
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