Sermon Text: Psalm 1
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 27th February 2022
Sermon Text: Psalm 1
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 27th February 2022
Colossians 3:2—“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”
Those who are risen with Christ have not only a new spiritual pursuit (cf. Colossians 3:1), but also a new passion, which the apostle Paul describes in the text stated above.
The verb “set your affection” (phroneo) means “direct your mind to something”. A Christian’s thoughts should be directed to Christ and the things associated with where He now dwells. That is our ultimate destination; hence it must be our preoccupation while we live on this earth. We are to be heavenly-minded (“on things above”) because, as Paul says in Philippians 3:20, “For our conversation (or citizenship) is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ”.
What are your great interests? The great object of our contemplation should be the celestial city that Jesus is preparing for us. Readiness for that final home must be our greatest passion on earth.
While we are exhorted to be heavenly-minded, we are also cautioned not to be earthly-minded – “not on things on the earth”. Our affections should not be placed on wealth and health, houses and lands, honour and pleasure, etc. Neither should our passions be the worldly fashions and corrupting entertainments of this world. Worldly lusts must be denied. The deeds of the flesh, which are sinful, must be mortified. No provision should be made for the encroachment of worldly allurements.
While Christ and heaven draw us upwards, the world and its charms draw us downwards. Let us not yield to the pull of earthly things, but earnestly pursue heavenly things. Let us not love things that are earthly and perishing, but those that are heavenly and everlasting. The apostle John admonishes us in 1 John 2:15-16, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”
Christians must always be conscious and deliberate to prefer and pursue heavenly and eternal matters above earthly and carnal matters. Unless our affections are set on the heavenly matters, we will never seek after them in a proper manner. Let Christ and heavenly things be our greatest concern, passion and pursuit. Let us be desirous of everything that fixes us to heaven and its eternal glory.
Greetings to all of you!
I praise and thank the Lord for His grace and mercy upon us. After the restoration of the basic utilities to the church premises (which had been damaged by the typhoon last month here), I am encouraged to see a good number of brethren coming for the physical “in-person” worship services.
The other Sunday, we have 4 brethren who transferred their membership to our church here in Cebu. They were supposed to be with those whom we received through baptism (2 brethren) and transfer of membership (3 brethren) on Dec. 19 in 2021, but weren’t able to make it (due to the typhoon aftermath).
Last Sunday, we also had good church attendance, including children. Praise God!
Lastly, the repair works of the damaged houses of our affected brethren are ongoing. I am sending some of the photos of the repair works, as well as those of the recent gatherings of brethren during our worship and other meetings.
Thank you very much for your prayers and support, Pastor. The Lord is good!
Respectfully,
Rev. Reggor
Sermon Text: Galatians 6:17–18
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 20th February 2022
A blessing for more than three decades – that’s my sincere testimony about our church’s mid-week gathering for the study of God’s Word and prayer – which we commonly refer to as ‘Church Prayer Meeting’. On Tuesday nights (8 pm), as we regularly met together, we rejoiced in the Lord as we sang our hymns, meditated on God’s Word and prayed together.
However, the COVID safe measures hindered our gathering; the result was that we met online for the church prayer meeting. Though our online meetings were held efficiently and orderly, they lacked the joy of us coming together as a congregation to have fellowship with our God and one another. Besides, it had been very tedious to plan and hold the online prayer meeting.
Now that we are allowed to meet physically (with the safety protocols), the Church Prayer Meeting is being held again in the SingPost auditorium every Tuesday night. We urge all the church members and friends to come together for our prayer meeting and be blessed by the blessed ministry of the Holy Spirit amongst us through hymn-singing, meditation of the Word, prayer and fellowship.
As announced some time ago, the live webcast of the Church Prayer Meeting has been halted. The webcast of the entire meeting was made available only because of the mandated restrictions to our physical gatherings. The proper practice is that believers ought to come together in one place for the meetings. It is the Scriptural injunction and pattern that the church members get together to pray. Secondly, it is improper and unwise to share over the internet the prayer items that we mention amongst ourselves during the prayer meeting. Nonetheless, members can listen to the sermons preached during the prayer meeting from Bible Witness Web Radio’s ‘Faithful Men’ segment (available from the on-demand page).
“These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication…” (Acts 1:14). True Christians (not pretentious) within the church have always been fond of coming together to pray. The church recorded in the Scriptures has always been characterised by prayer gatherings of her members. The church’s legacy in the New Testament portrays it as wholly given to prayer to give thanks to God and to plead for the Gospel work, the preachers, the fellow believers. Though faced with many treacherous circumstances, the church thrived everywhere by the continuous engagement of her people in prayer.
The record of the early church in the Book of Acts alone mentions prayer to God in heaven about 50 times. Most of the recorded prayers in Acts are public prayers, though a few are private ones, such as Cornelius’ prayer. The prayers recorded in the first four chapters of Acts are all public prayers led by the apostles. Various people offered the prayers in this book: Christ’s disciples in general (1:13-14), new believers (2:42), apostles (6:4; 8:15), a deacon (7:59-60), leaders of a church (13:3), a centurion (10:4), the concerned brethren of a church (12:5), women (16:13), a repenting persecutor of believers (9:5), etc. The book of the Acts of the Apostles also records prayers of people in different situations: as the disciples waited for the power of the Spirit (chp. 1), in appointing an apostle (chp. 1), for the releasing of Christ’s witnesses (chp. 4), at death (chp. 7), on a journey (chp. 9), when believers were still in prison (chps 12, 16), while thrusting missionaries forth (chp. 13), in strengthening churches (chp. 14), when fasting and praying (chps 13, 14), while facing persecution (chp. 16), in bidding goodbye (chp. 20), and in thanking God for food (chp. 27), etc. Indeed, prayer is strategic in Acts – from close to the start (1:14) to near the end (28:15)!
There are some unique practical benefits when church members pray together. Though more can be listed as benefits of praying together, a few are listed below:
It is downright disobedience and a dishonourable attitude to consider church prayer meetings as not obligatory. Church members and leaders must put off the tendency to think of prayer gatherings as an optional “extra-curricular activity” in the church’s life.
When church members come together to pray, they honour God, who Himself has sovereignly ordained the corporate praying of the church. May God, who down through the ages has been pleased to work out His mighty purposes through the churches that have prayed together, also grant us the grace to increase our commitment to pray together and thus be channels of His blessings.
Sermon Text: Galatians 6:16
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 13th February 2022
“God is love.” Though short, it is a statement of eternal magnitude and significance. Never was more meaning encapsulated in so few words as in this short sentence – “God is love.” The apostle John stated this truth twice in his first epistle (cf. 1 John 4:8, 16). The message of this short verse is splashed across the Bible.
Some clarifications are necessary before any further elaboration of this glorious statement is attempted. When John wrote that “God is love”, he was not saying that “love” is the complete revelation of God. In fact, he has already written in the same epistle that “God is light” (1 John 1:5); that refers to God’s holy nature (cf. John 3:18–21; 1 John 1:5–10). So, love is not the only attribute that adequately describes God. God cannot be fully explained by one of His attributes alone. Love is not the only perception we ought to have of Him. Neither was the apostle John implying that “love is God”. The emphasis of the saying, “God is love”, is that in God alone can one fully view what true love is – and only by His enablement can one have the power to express true love.
The declaration that “God is love” not only reveals God as a loving God, but also portrays love as natural and essential to His divine glory. All of God’s will and all of His works are draped in His glorious love. In nature and essence, He is “God of love” (2 Corinthians 13:11).
God is perfect, and His love is perfect too. God is unfathomable, and hence His love is beyond our full grasp. But the knowledge that God is full of perfect and infinite love enables us to draw near to Him with full assurance of faith for pardon and redemption.
In this dark world of hatred, sin and sorrows, we have the assurance that the God of infinite love rules over all. Though we may not be able to reconcile all the cruelty and tragedies that occur around us, yet by exercising faith on this marvellous declaration, we can find consolation. In fact, amidst all the sadness, sin and sorrow, there is abundant evidence that God is love. Among all the manifestations of His love in this dark world, the gift of a Saviour is the greatest of all.
We can know God because His great love is manifested unto us. Immediately after making the assertion that “God is love”, the apostle John wrote, “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10). God’s love has sent the Son of God to bear all our sins so that we may know Him intimately.
How amazing it is that God should love vile mortals like us! Who can fully comprehend that the eternal God, who is holy, would love ungrateful rebels such as us? What a great mystery and a grand miracle that the divine love would send His only begotten Son into the world for us! If this is not love, what then is love?
John says, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). God’s sending of His Son is so unusual and such an unprecedented expression of love that the apostle says, “Herein is love”. God loved the world so wonderfully, so amazingly, and so incredibly, that He sacrificed His only begotten Son as the ransom for the redemption of sinners. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Being moved by the love of God manifested through Christ, the apostle John exclaimed, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God” (1 John 3:1a). John encourages us to contemplate the greatness of God’s love. He points us to God’s love as peculiar. It is out-of-this-world kind of love. There is no act of love in this world that can ever be compared to God’s love that received us as His children, though we were once His enemies.
The apostle was so astonished at the greatness of God’s love that he wrote, “what manner of love”! The Greek words (potapên agape), used by the apostle, point to both the quantity and quality of God’s love. Its length, breadth, depth and height are beyond description.
How can we ever describe the love of God that allows us to call Him, “Father!” There can be no higher expression of love than His adopting of us, reckless children as we are, as His own, now and forever. There can never be any greater act of love, even from God, than that which He manifested through the sacrifice of His Son so that we may be reconciled to Him as His children. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
He loved us, when we had no love for Him. He lovingly came to us, even when we had wandered away from Him. When we laid down in our sin, guilt and misery, His tender love sought to redeem us. When we were undeserving, ill-deserving, polluted and unclean, in love He stooped down to wash us from our sins with His sacred blood. While we were dead in trespasses, His love for us “affixed” Him on the cross to die, that we might live forever through Him. He loved us, wretched sinful mortals, that we might live in heaven, live with God, and live in eternal glory and blessedness with Him and through Him. Oh, what love has reached us here on earth!
All those who have tasted His love, in receiving the salvation by faith in Christ, must praise Him for His eternal love. When we remember how insignificant we are as creatures, and how ungrateful, rebellious and vile we have been as sinners, we may well be full of adoration and worship at His love which has adopted us into the holy family of God, so that we may be regarded and treated as the children of the Most High. The love of God that surpasses all finite conception will be the theme of adoring praises from multitudes that no man can number, for ever and ever. Moreover, we should declare His love to every creature, that others may also come to Him and rejoice in His love.
Even in this world of animosity, bitterness, violence and suffering, we have sufficient evidence to prove that He is benevolent. Let us always behold the cross, where the love of God shines through the injustice, travesty and violence of human sin. The gruesome experiences of this earth tend to mask our perception that God is love. The full glory and meaning of His infinite love will be fully understood only when we reach heaven. In the meantime, let us hold on to the truth that God is love. Let us believe that He sincerely desires our good, and that what seems dark to us may be designed for our welfare; yea, amidst all the sorrows and disappointments of this present life, let us rest assured that our interests and our destiny are in the hands of the God of love.
There is none who is infinitely perfect in love as God. Oh, what astonishing goodness and condescension from the Almighty God towards us who believe on His Son. God is love!
Sermon Text: Galatians 6:14–16
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 6th February 2022
No book is more important to a Christian than God’s Word, the Bible. Reading and meditating on the Bible is our God-given daily duty (cf. Deut. 6:6-8; 17:19; Josh. 1:8; Jn 5:39; 1 Tim 4:15); it is essential to our spiritual growth and blessing (Psalms 1:2, 37:31; 119:11, 97-104, 130; Prov. 2:1-5, 8:34; Lk. 11:28; 2 Tim. 3:15-17; 1 Pet. 2:2-3; Rev. 1:3). The Bible is essential for knowing God and His will for our lives. It is the source of divine truths that every Christian should know, believe and obey.
Next to the Bible, biblically sound magazines, books, and other published material are essential resources for Christians’ spiritual development. Good Christian books provide the readers with the knowledge necessary for establishing their faith and nurturing godly living. Understanding sound biblical doctrines will produce motivation and enthusiasm to live godly and fruit-bearing spiritual lives.
As a personal testimony, I would like to mention that reading books written by great men of faith from yesteryears and of this generation has been immensely valuable to my growth as a Christian young adult in the ministry. The books were like having a peek into the devout minds and consecrated endeavours of the spiritual giants who wrote them. Reading their books was like sitting with them and enjoying an enlightening conversation on various topics of great interest. Sometimes, it was like taking a long walk with them and having a heart-to-heart chat about theological and practical issues. The books, written by men of biblical knowledge, with profound experiences of Christian life and ministry, and of excellent testimonies, have been refreshing and nourishing to my soul.
Good books are like bottles of “well-brewed tonic”, where the wise thoughts of a sanctified mind, accumulated through many years of learning and experience, are distilled and stored. As such, biographies of Christian men and women, who lived with sincere piety and zeal for God, are of great benefit to all those who seek to live an abundant Christian life. Cultivating the habit of reading all types of good Christian books would help a believer to be well informed, duly motivated, and adequately equipped for a life of spiritual excellence.
Excellent Christian resources provide faithful exposition and application of God’s Word. They carefully delineate the biblical truths with clear and robust explanations that are logically developed and arranged. They accurately present the doctrines and well-thought-out biblical counsels to aid the readers for a life of devotion and piety. While some excellent books provide us with nourishing biblical truths, others warn us against pernicious doctrines and philosophies of life that are equivalent to heresies and hedonism. There are still others (in content, historical and biographical), which open our minds and hearts to good biblical traditions, exemplary behaviour, God-honouring passions and pursuits, profitable ideas and actions, etc. All in all, they provide biblical truths for the building up of the readers’ lives.
The apostle Paul, who wrote more than a dozen of the inspired books of the New Testament, wanted the books that he had owned to be delivered to him. So, he advised Timothy, “The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments” (2 Timothy 4:13). The “cloke”, a large, heavy woollen garment that served as both a coat and blanket, was of an urgent need for Paul as he was about to face the winter. “Books” (probably papyrus scrolls) and “parchments” (vellum sheets, made of animal hides) were of little use to provide him with physical warmth or protection. Nonetheless, Paul regarded them as of great importance for his ongoing ministry. They probably included the Old Testament books, and other essential writings and documents. While speaking on 2 Timothy 4:13, Charles Spurgeon commented about Paul’s interest in the books as follows:
“He was inspired, and yet he wants books!
He had been preaching for thirty years, and yet he wants books!
He had seen the Lord, and yet he wants books!
He had a wider experience than most men do, and yet he wants books!
He had been caught up into the third heaven, and had heard things that it was not lawful for a man to utter, and yet he wants books!
He had written a major part of the New Testament, and yet he wants books!”
Beware of loving to read books more than God’s Word, the Bible. Never neglect daily reading and meditation of the Bible. You may read many good books, but you should not neglect the reading of God’s Word in order that you may live by it (Psalm 119:97, 127, 167; Neh. 8:8; James 1:22).
Beware of reading books to impress others, whether it is the size of the book or the number of books you read. Always be mindful to read for the spiritual growth of your soul.
Beware of the content of the books you choose to read. These days, many books made available as “Christian books” are of little profit for spiritual growth. Worse still, not a few of them are unbiblical, posing a serious threat to their readers’ purity of doctrine and practice. Much care must be exercised in choosing books for your consumption. I would strongly warn, especially younger readers (whether in age or understanding), against adhering to contemporary books, which have not been adequately analysed and evaluated. It would be best if you instead choose older books, which have been read and recommended by faithful teachers and preachers of the Word. Choose weighty and worthy Christian books with biblically sound content. Ask mature Christians to recommend books for you, or ask for their opinions about the books you want to choose for reading. Read a variety of books – Bible study books, commentaries, devotionals, biographies, books on theology, church history, apologetics, etc.
We thank God for everyone who has laboured to catalogue and make the books of our church library available to children, youth and adult members and regular worshippers alike. A team consisting of Bro. John Peh, Sisters Ruby Seng, Yeo Geok Hien, Chong Shu Mun, Chairine Chayadi and Jenice Choy have been availing their service to help brethren to obtain books from the church library.
Gethsemane Youth Fellowship started a reading programme last year to encourage our youths to read and grow spiritually. We thank God for the testimonies of a good number of the youths who have benefited from the reading programme. Their testimonies are published today in an additional booklet made available with the church bulletin. I encourage all members and worshippers to cultivate the habit of reading good Christian books for your edification.
In 1 John 2:15-17, when the apostle John warns us about the dangers of worldliness, he also provides three strong counsels against worldliness.
The first absolute counsel against worldliness is a command: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world” (v. 15a). No Christian should engage in any form of worldly activities. He should not even desire to be like the world. Oh, let us all stop loving the world! Jesus said about true Christians: “ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world” (John 15:19). If this is true, how can a Christian continue to love the world more than God?
Christians, we are just sojourners here on earth. We are not here forever. We are pilgrims heading to the glory land. So, do not get stuck in the miry clay of worldliness.
If you, my reader, have been abiding in worldliness, it means that you are heading towards a fiery end in hell. Please repent of your sins. Ask the Lord Jesus Christ to renew your heart by the mighty work of His Holy Spirit, so that you may love God with all your heart and love not the world that is perishing.
If you are a backslidden Christian, you must now yield to the Spirit who teaches you through His Word. Plead before His presence for a resurgent love for the things of God, yea, even for the things that matter for all eternity.
The second counsel against worldliness is a great declaration: “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof” (v. 17a). A person whose character and personality are shaped by a life that is obedient to God, will not be affected by the passing away of the world and its vain desires.
Do not desire anything in this world more than the will of God permits. Our desire has to be always regulated by the Word of God. All the pursuits of the world must be subject to His will. Never pursue any of our desires beyond His will for us. Such exhortation is a Johannine way of saying, “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.”
The third counsel against worldliness is the wonderful reminder that there is eternal life for all who forsake worldliness to embrace the love and will of God – “he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (v. 17b).
God’s cure for worldliness lies in the bringing before us of another world – an eternal world – which is infinitely more glorious than that which He calls on us to forsake. There is no thorough cure for worldliness but this. It is a lack of faith in eternal realities that makes us worldlings! By faith, when our eyes are fixed on the world to come, we will learn to set our affections on things above.
Christians, we need to be sternly and repeatedly warned against the spirit of worldliness. People in the church are very prone to forget their role as pilgrims in this present evil world. Our dignity as God’s chosen people is not in craving after the things of this world, but in doing His will and thereby getting ready for His glorious appearance. Let us not allow the world to obscure or blur our vision of the glory and kingdom of God that He has called us to inherit. Dear Christians, let us live on earth as heavenly citizens.
Dear Pastor Koshy,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
Praise God for His goodness in sustaining us in the work of the ministry. After over a month, the electricity was finally restored last Thursday, followed by the telephone / internet lines last Saturday. Thank God that everything is back to normal, insofar as utilities and basic services are concerned. We already have the PA system, lights and air-conditioning functioning during our worship service yesterday. Also, we have resumed our live streaming.
Last Saturday morning, I was able to visit the wake of Nanay Rebecca (Bro. Eric Delina’s mother), and got to meet some family members. Among them was Noel (Bro. Eric’s nephew), who had been to Singapore and had attended worship services there together with Eric.
Yesterday, after the worship service, we passed to Bro. Dave the sum for the estimated cost of materials for the repair of his house, which had been severely damaged during the severe typhoon. In any case, he told me that there could be some additional materials needed.
On the part of Bro. Oscar, he has not finalised the list and the costing yet, as the carpenter they contacted had made some changes concerning the wood size and the specification of the iron sheets that they will use.
Pastor, I want to thank you for the Bible Witness calendars. We received them last Friday. These came just in time, as the local calendars were also just made available “hot from the press” – and we were able to distribute them together yesterday. Praise God!
On a personal note, my mother was released from her quarantine this morning. We were able to spend time with her, together with my siblings and the children.
Thank you very much for all of your prayers and support.
Respectfully,
Rev. Reggor
Sermon Text: Galatians 6:11–14
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 30th January 2022