My dear readers,
1. Love not the world
Matthew Henry in his Commentary says: "Christians should unite in being dead to the world. Their love should be reserved for God; throw it not away upon the world. Now here we see the reasons for this and caution that it is hard to dissuade disciples from the love of the world.
But "If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (1 John 2:15 ). The heart of man cannot contain both loves. (No man can serve two masters.) The world draws down the heart from God; and so the more the love of the world prevails the more the love of God dwindles and decays."
But the world and its attractions are displacing the love of the Lord's Day from many hearts. Many Christians are contented to attend Morning Service, and devote the rest of the day to their own pleasure. The love of the Lord is losing out to the love for the world. Only the faithful few continue to serve the Lord at SGBF.
Let us pray! Prayer is the solution; we should all pray earnestly and honestly, that the Holy Spirit would revive the Church. "Lord, have mercy on Thy people. Come, revive us again."
2. Spiritual Mentor Brother - II
From the earliest days Big Brother was fired with a burning zeal for souls. This sent him and Elder Hsu Chiang Tai on numerous missions to Malaysia's "New Villages" to evangelise the Chinese who were resettled by Gen Sir Harold Templer in the war against Communism. I had the joy of accompanying Big Brother on a few of those trips, to have a first-hand taste of practical evangelism.
In those villages, his knowledge of Chinese dialects was put to excellent use. He spoke fluent Teochew, Hokkien, Hakka, Cantonese and Mandarin, to convey the Gospel message to the villagers.
Life Church, true to its name, was full of life, like a fruitful vine bearing much fruit for the Lord. In quick session Life Church brought forth many daughter churches: Sembawang, Zion, Kelapa Sawit, Kulai, etc.
While a student at Faith Theological Seminary he first heard the call to Biblical Separation from Dr Carl McIntire. Big Brother testified that his heart was strangely warmed, gripped by the clarion call, to "... earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3 ).
While many of those who started out well, apparently striving together with us, have defected or fallen by the wayside, Big Brother has remained faithful and steadfast, still abounding in the work of the Lord, in the fifty-seventh year from the year of his ordination in 1948 in Amsterdam.
The motto "...for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 1:9 ) has kept Big Brother faithful and steadfast; "holding forth the word of life" (Philippians 2:16 ) steadfast and unmoveable in his stand on the King James Bible, the Bible of the Reformation, the only Bible whose translators suffered the fires of Rome. While many BPs have defected from the KJV to embrace the NIV and other Modern English Versions, Big Brother holds fast to the end.
In money matters, Big Brother taught me to be completely clean and unselfish. During my years sitting with him in Life Church Session, it was always a difficult thing to persuade him to accept a pay rise. His chief concern was, and still is, for the honour of God's House. During the purchase of Beulah House at a cost of about six million dollars, his entire salary went toward the building fund: he led by example and the people followed. Inspired by his leadership,in six months, the entire sum was realised.
A man of prophetic vision, he founded Far Eastern Bible College. In his words: "Without a college to train our own workers, the BP Church will die." Founded in 1962, the FEBC to date has turned out almost 600 graduates, workers for God's vineyard in all parts of the world.
Not only does FEBC keep on enlarging its training programme, but it has helped to found Bible Institutes and Colleges in Myanmar, Indonesia, Kenya, Tanzania, Cambodia.
Amazingly, in his eighty-third year, he left Life Church to found True Life BP Church. While men may wonder, we are persuaded that the thing is of the Lord for the words of Romans 8:28 still apply.
Physical slowing down notwithstanding, the spirit is willing even though the flesh is weak. Spiritual Mentor Big Brother continues faithful in the Lord's Service for 58 years, steadfast, unmoveable. Amen. (end of Excerpt)
Lovingly in the Lord
Dr SH Tow, Sr Pastor