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Sermon Text: Psalm 4
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 20th March 2022

Two weeks ago, we started a new sermon series during the Lord’s Day morning worship services from the Book of Psalms. We shall endeavour to study the Book of Psalms, as the LORD enables us by His Spirit, and at the same time praying for great blessings of these truths upon our lives.

Some Facts About the Book of Psalms

• In the Hebrew Bible, this book is entitled “The Book of Praises” (sēpher tehillîm). The English title “Psalms” (the Psalter) is derived from the title of this book found in the Greek New Testament (“the book of Psalms” – Luke 20:42; Acts 1:20). The book was known as “Psalms” among the Greek-speaking Jews, as the Greek translation of the Old Testament, Septuagint (LXX), has the title “The book of Psalms”. The verbal form of the Greek noun “psalms” signifies “plucking or twanging of strings”, thus suggesting the use of the psalms with musical accompaniment. It has been the inspired ‘hymnbook’ (the Psalter) of God’s people, ancient Israel and the N.T. church (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16).
  
• The 150 psalms in the Psalter are organised into 5 books as follows:
  • Book 1: Psalms 1–41
  • Book 2: Psalms 42–72
  • Book 3: Psalms 73–89
  • Book 4: Psalms 90–106
  • Book 5: Psalms 107-150
    
• Each of these books ends with a doxology (Psalms 41:13; 72:18-20; 89:52; 106:48; 150:6).
  
• Superscriptions or titles are found in 116 psalms. They are written in small print at the beginning of the psalms in our English Bible. They are part of the inspired text of the psalms. The original Hebrew texts include these titles with the verses themselves. The New Testament treated these superscriptions, and the information they provide, as sacred, inspired writings (Mark 12:35–37; Luke 20:42; Acts 2:29ff., 34ff.; 13:35–37). Those titles convey various, accurate information about the psalms, such as their authorship, historical occasions, liturgical instructions (e.g. the kind of music, musical accompaniment, what tune to use, as well as instruction to the choir director and other technical instructions of uncertain meaning due to their great antiquity).
  
• The Spirit of God has used several human authors to pen those inspired ancient sacred hymns. More than 7 composers have been identified as contributors to the Book of Psalms. Chief among them is David, the king, who wrote at least 75 psalms. Others are Asaph (12 psalms), the sons of Korah (10 psalms), Solomon (2 psalms), Moses (1 psalm), Heman (1 psalm), and Ethan (1 psalm). Nevertheless, the authorship of 48 psalms is not mentioned. Some scholars attribute some psalms to Ezra, as their contents refer to exilic and post-exilic events (e.g. Psalms 126, 137).
  
• The time range of the Psalms extends from Moses who wrote Psalm 90 (about 1410 B.C.) to the post-exilic author(s) of Psalms 126 and 137 (late 6th Century B.C.). So, the Book of Psalms must have been compiled over a span of about 900 years of Israel’s history.
  
• The Book of Psalms is the largest book in the Bible. While Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the entire Bible, Psalm 117 is the shortest chapter (comprising only 2 verses), which incidentally is also the middle chapter (out of 1,189 chapters) in the Bible.
  
• Various literary types or genres are identified in the Psalter. Some of them are: (i) Praise or thanksgiving psalms; (ii) Penitential psalms (confessing of sins); (iii) Royal psalms (depicting messianic, theocratic rule); (iv) Wisdom psalms that provide instruction for godly living; (v) Pilgrimage or Ascension psalms of those who travelled to Mt. Zion for worship; (vi) Imprecatory psalms invoking God’s curse on the ungodly; and (vii) Lament psalms that are cries to God for help in times of individual or communal crises.
  
• Unparalleled Hebrew poetic literary styles or characteristics, known as ‘poetic parallelism’, are found in the Book of Psalms. This Hebrew poetic parallelism is not based on rhyme and meter (like that of English poetry), but on a logical (or thought) arrangement of lines. Some of the frequent types of parallelisms are: (i) Synonymous (the thought of the second line restates that of the first with similar or synonymous words); (ii) Antithetic (the thought of the second line contrasts the first); (iii) Synthetic (the second and any subsequent lines advance the thought of the first line in a ‘stair-step’ fashion); (iv) Climactic (the second line completes the first by repeating words or phrases of the first line and then adding to it), (v) Emblematic (the second line explains the figure of speech used in the first line), (vi) Alternate (‘A-B-A-B’ pattern, where the third line repeats the thought of the first line, and the fourth line repeats the thought of the second line), (vii) Chiastic (or Introverted ‘A-B-B-A’ pattern, where the second line advances the thought of the first, then repeats the thought of the second in the third, and the thought of the first in the fourth.)
  
• Some psalms, from the first to the last verse, utilise an acrostic or alphabetical arrangement. This can be only seen in the Hebrew text, where the first letter of the first word of every verse begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet in order until all the 22 Hebrew letters are used. Acrostics occur in Psalms 111 and 112, where each letter begins a line; in Psalms 25, 34 and 145, where each letter begins a half-verse. Psalm 119 has the most fascinating demonstration of the acrostic device, where in each section of eight verses, the same opening letter is used, and the twenty-two sections of the psalm employ the Hebrew alphabet, letter after letter. Psalms 9, 10, 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119, and 145 are recognised as either complete or incomplete acrostics. Such a literary device (mnemonic device) was used to help with the memorisation of the psalm. It is also thought to be a poetic way of indicating a total coverage of the main subject discussed in the said psalm.

(God willing, more on the Psalms next week…)

Sermon Text: Psalm 3
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 13th March 2022

Sermon Text: Psalm 2
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 6th March 2022

We have no shortage of “evangelical” pastors and preachers who preach biblical and helpful messages. But in modern times, an erroneous trend is increasingly found among such preachers. The error is not that they outrightly teach false doctrines, but rather, they do not preach truth explicitly so as to uncover the widespread sinful and worldly habits in their congregations or the apostasy and compromise in the modern Christian world.

A great number of preachers of our times prefer to leave the errors and evils among their flocks untouched in their preaching. Though they preach that repentance is a necessity, they will not rebuke immodesty, carnality or materialism in their congregations. They are only concerned about giving cosmetic beauty to their preaching. Their preaching seldom goes beyond surface; it hardly touches the “raw nerve” of the people’s conscience.

Why Don’t Preachers Expose Error?

Popularity

Whenever a preacher stands up and preaches, he does so with the hope that his voice will be heard and that his message will be received in full by the congregants. Herein lies the danger. When people’s opinion becomes predominant in the mind of the preacher, he seeks to cater to their pleasure rather than preach the will of God in its entirety, which is expected of him. The ultimate duty of every preacher is not to please the crowd, but to please God. The preacher who is a man-pleaser is an entertainer – not a servant of the Lord, nor a faithful minister of His Word.

Another problem of a preacher who is preoccupied with the acceptance of the people, is that he will be constantly under an irresistible pressure not to apply the truth of God’s Word in a way that would unsettle the “comfort” of the errant ones. A popularity-conscious preacher will be silent even when he is aware of the unrestrained sinful ways of his congregants. Such a man cherishes the comfortable relationship that he enjoys with the congregants, rather than the holiness and glory of God. He feels more at ease with the abominable ways of the men and women of his congregation than with the discomfort resulting from the bold rebuke of their immodest, carnal and materialistic ways. So, he develops a style of preaching which appears to be biblical but without full, appropriate and necessary application of God’s Word to the lives of his hearers.

Pragmatism

Pragmatism is the mindset and principle of those who pursue fame and recognition. It is the notion that meaning or worth is determined by practical consequences. Where pragmatism reigns, only visibly productive ideas and practices are pursued. All else, even biblical principles, are considered secondary. Pragmatism pushes aside holiness, faithfulness and the fear of God from their primacy in preaching, and replaces them with bigger crowds, human appeasement, more money, more glamour, etc.

Insofar as preachers and their preaching, ministry and life are concerned, the present pragmatism of modern Christianity is at odds with Scripture. It is leading preachers away from being admonishers of sin and false doctrines to being their accommodators. The pragmatist’s road to popularity is too often paved with deception and lined with vagueness. The “signposts” on such a highway to acceptance are always indistinct. Pragmatic pastors are leading their flocks into puddles of sin and the devil’s pastures. This has become an acceptable way of life for those on the way to the top of the ladder of success in the business of entertainment.

The world thinks little of using improper manoeuvres to gain its goals. A vast number of people have obviously determined that morality is no longer a needed asset in the social, political and spiritual fields. Immodesty and immoral lives are quietly overlooked. Smooth-sounding professionalism of pastoral preaching largely turns a blind eye to apostasy and compromise. More and more preachers and churches are toning down and paring down their messages. Once in a while, these will be hinted at, but not dealt with in a plain manner.

None of these should surprise us. The Spirit of God has already cautioned us in His Word: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:2-4).

Personal Pleasure and Gain

To offend listeners means loss of income and influence. So, the pragmatic ideology of modern preachers has filled many church pulpits with “dumb dogs”, who refuse to “bark” and alert men of the spiritual calamities that encircle them. Pragmatism has produced a breed of “greedy dogs” who rather remain silent for their own gain, even at the expense of the souls placed under their charge.

This reality of unfaithful, pragmatic modern preachers reminds us of Paul’s words, “If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; he is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself” (1 Timothy 6:3-5).

The Lord also spoke of such pastors in Isaiah 56 – “His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant” (vv. 10-12).
As Isaiah said, one of the reasons for the silence of many pastors in the face of increasing sinfulness in their congregations is their own love for sinful pleasures, such as wine drinking, immorality and worldliness.

Exposing Error: Is It Worthwhile?

Exposing error is a very unpopular task. Objection is often raised even by some who are sound in the faith - regarding the exposure of error as being entirely negative and of no real edification. But from every Scriptural standpoint, it is most worthwhile. Proverbs 24:25 affirms, “But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.” A wise pastor will rebuke the sins of his congregation, and a wise congregation will gladly receive it with submission and obedience for their own blessing.

When a godly pastor or elder or a brother or a sister points out your errors, you ought to be thankful rather than resentful. Psalm 141:5 says, “Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.” You should not go against the loving act of the one who rebukes you. Neither should you smear his or her good intention with false accusations nor with your own false self-exaltation. Scripture says such angry responses belong to the scornful and the foolish ones. “Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee” (Proverbs 9:8).

God’s Word says, “Open rebuke is better than secret love” (Proverbs 27:5). And the next verse reiterates, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend”. It is the duty of every loving pastor to rebuke and correct his flock, even if it causes some form of emotional hurt to the offender. If rebuke is necessitated by sin or a doctrinal error, then godly love demands the intense rebuke of it. Unfortunately, today, rebuke is a much neglected duty of love. (I do not advocate harsh treatment of an errant brother [cf. Galatians 6:1-2], though I fully agree that a church should take biblical disciplinary actions against unrepentant men and women in its congregation [cf. Matthew 18:15-20].)

At this juncture, I would like to bring to my readers’ attention the words of a famous godly preacher of yesteryear, H. A. Ironside (1876–1951): “Error is like leaven of which we read, ‘A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.’ Truth mixed with error is equivalent to all error, except that it is more innocent looking and, therefore, more dangerous. God hates such a mixture! Any error, or any truth-and-error mixture, calls for definite exposure and repudiation. To condone such is to be unfaithful to God and His Word and treacherous to imperiled souls for whom Christ died.”

I end this article with the advice of the apostle Paul to all preachers: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:2). In a similar vein, he advised Titus concerning some malicious men who had infiltrated the church, “whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake. One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith” (Titus 1:11-13).

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.

Updates from Gethsemane B-P Church, Cebu

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.

Church Prayer Meeting Resumed

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.

Church Prayer Meeting Webcast Halted

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).

Church: A People in Prayer

“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)!

Church Prayer Meeting & Its Benefits

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:

• Coming together to pray helps brethren to encourage one another to seek the LORD and His blessings (cf. Acts 2:46-47; Hebrews 10:24-25). We also will be encouraged by others’ exhortations and examples.
• Coming together to pray unites the congregation. Praying together creates a deep feeling of belonging, resulting in strengthened fellowship and solidarity of the church. The brotherhood within a church that prays together will be healthy and vibrant.
• Coming together to pray enables the church to receive the Spirit’s guidance to identify and ordain godly leaders (cf. Acts 1:24; 6:6).
• Coming together to pray enables the church to seek, find and send Gospel workers for the soul harvest locally and abroad (cf. Matt. 9:38; Acts 13:2-3).
• Coming together to pray opens our hearts to the struggles, fears and needs of other brethren and reminds us of our duty to intercede for them, as expected by God (1 Thess 5:25; Gal 6:1-2).
• Coming together to pray provides an opportunity to listen to others pray and improve our attitude, manner and presentation of prayers to God.
• Coming together to pray increases our faith, knowledge, wisdom and discernment as we hear and understand how the will of God is discerned by the pastors, elders, preachers and deacons who pray for various needs, difficulties, problems, etc.
• Coming together to pray comforts and strengthens us in our painful situations as others pray for our nourishment, healing, guidance and steadfastness.
• Coming together to pray grants an increasing sense of responsibility towards one another, the ministries of the church, and all other matters presented in prayer. Thus, each member grows as a part of God’s glorious purposes worked out in and through the church. Besides, the Lord may then show us how we can be the answer to someone’s need and prayer.
• Coming together to pray as individuals and families offers us a unique opportunity to witness the answers to our prayers together. It is like the experience of the Jerusalem church (praying together for Peter who was earlier arrested) that was suddenly taken by surprise when Peter, being miraculously released by God’s angel, went to them while they were still praying (Acts 12:12-17)!

Conclusion

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