'Text: Jude 18, 19
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 12 July 2020
'Text: Jude 18, 19
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 12 July 2020
What does Paul mean by the statement in 1 Corinthians 6:19 - "ye are not your own"?
It is instructive to note that even those who claim that "I am my own" are bound by circumstances, relationships, etc. No one is entirely free. Hence, none is fully independent in his decisions, speech and actions. One may differ from certain people, but others will influence or affect him.
The principle that the apostle Paul emphasises here is that every Christian belongs entirely to God. His soul and body are not his own, but God’s. This is one of the most elementary principles of Christian thought and life. The essence of Christianity is a voluntary surrender of will and life to Christ. No Christian should claim that he is the master of his own life, even though everyone naturally wants to think that he is his own master.
Christians are not their own. Christians are the Lord’s purchased possession. "For ye are bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s" (1 Corinthians 6:20). The divine possession of every Christian is a real, permanent, and blessed truth. If we could only realise it more!
To be mindful that we are not ours, but the Lord’s is not some dangerous fanaticism. It is a calm and dignified assurance within our souls that strengthens us to live consciously with holy and glorious aspirations. What strength and beauty it would give to our life!
When Christians appreciates this truth, they yield their hearts to Christ! Then their thoughts are not their own, but are subject to the Lord who redeemed them for Himself. Their abilities, time and resources are not theirs, but are to be consecrated to Him who is their Saviour and Lord.
Christianity is violated and demeaned when those who claim to be Christians refuse to yield their souls and bodies entirely to their Saviour and Lord. The Apostle asked, "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" (1 Corinthians 6:19). As Christians, our bodies are not our own to use in any way that would defy or displease the Lord who owns them entirely.
Paul emphasises that Christians are the temple of the Holy Spirit, who has made their body His residence. So Paul called them to abstain from sexual sins, that their body be kept sanctified as the temple of the Holy Spirit who indwells them. Committing fornication is as disgusting as committing sexual sins in a worship sanctuary. Whenever sexual immorality is committed by believers, abomination is committed within God’s sanctuary. Every sin committed in a Christian’s body is a defiling act within the temple of God. Christians’ bodies are God’s temple, reserved for His praise and purposes. Our bodies, therefore, have one supreme purpose: to glorify God. "Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body" (1 Corinthians 6:13b).
The sense of Divine ownership, rather than self-ownership, is the inspiration of all Christian virtues, aspirations, motivations, dignity and strength. Imagine the sanctity of the temple of old, about which it is said that "the glory of the Lord had filled the house" (1 Kg 8:11). Are we not also blessed with such a higher sanctity in our bodies because of the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit? Shall not "Holiness unto the Lord" also be our motto because we are His?
An Email from Pr Sujith Samuel
Dear Pastor,
I thank God for His special help and strength upon you in preaching five sermons on the theme, "Shepherding in the Spirit", during the Online Pastors’ Conference (June 25-26, 2020). I also praise God for bringing many participants from India, China and Southeast Asian countries (Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Singapore, etc.), including the preachers of our church from Singapore and the missionaries from the Philippines.
Most of the pastors who attended the last Pastors’ meeting (in June 2019) here in Vizag, India, were not able to make it for this meeting. They live and serve beyond the bounds of the city. The network coverage is not good in those areas. So, they could not get into the online meeting.
However, there were many new participants from other areas of India in last week’s Online Pastors’ Conference. From their feedback that I’ve received, I would like you to know that they were much blessed from the five teaching sessions that you have conducted. The "Question & Answer" session was beneficial to them to clarify their doubts on the topic of the Holy Spirit’s ministry in and through His servants. Some participants have requested for the recordings of all those sessions. I would like to thank you for your plans to make them available; for those recordings will undoubtedly benefit them, especially those who could not hear them.
I thank God for the help offered by Bro Lijoy George, Bro Cornelius Koshy, Bro Mathew Peh, Bro Norefel Resuma, etc. for all the efforts they have put in to ensure that the online meetings were smoothly conducted. May the Lord bless all those who helped in organising this conference.
Please continue to pray for the work here in Vizag and its surroundings. Students are preparing to come back and resume their studies in GBI. We are still not sure whether students from far will be able to return to GBI for the new semester. Meanwhile, some renovation works are being done in our rented premises to enlarge the meeting area to receive more students and also to ensure social distancing. If the Lord permits, the renovation will be completed soon, and the premises will be ready for worship service, classes, etc.
I am delighted to know that the church in Singapore had been given permission to conduct Holy Communion service in Gethsemane Media Centre. May the Lord, in His good time, open the doors of His house for regular worship, prayer, fellowship meetings, etc.
Remembering all of you in my prayers,
Sujith
Text: Matthew 6:6
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 5 July 2020
If you have been following the Lord Jesus, having trusted Him as your Saviour and Lord, then heaven is prepared for you. Jesus said, "If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour" (John 12:26). Later He said, "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (John 14:2-3).
The day before His crucifixion, Jesus prayed, "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world" (John 17:24). How remarkable is it that Jesus' greatest desire concerning His people is that they will share His celestial glory for all eternity! He eagerly awaits our arrival in heaven to welcome us to heaven's pure and perfect joys.
However, Christians of our times, generally, seem to have lost the excitement about the glory of heaven. Their hearts relentlessly pursue earthly affluence, success, pleasures, and prosperity. Their lives are so dedicated to their academic excellence, career goals, business success, vacation plans, etc. that the notion of "laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come" (1 Tim 6:19) is viewed as an unwanted distraction. To them, the appeals from Scripture that they ought to prepare themselves to eventually leave this earth by laying up treasures in heaven, are unwelcome intrusions into their busy lives. They disdain and set aside the biblical counsels to live every day with heaven in view. They think that living for heaven while on earth is an enormous waste of their time and energy. When such Christians lose their focus on heaven, they become self-indulgent and self-centred, materialistic and worldly, spiritually weak and lethargic.
All genuine Christians must remind themselves that they are "strangers and pilgrims" (1 Peter 2:11; cf. Heb. 11:13), and that their citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). This world is not the Christians' real home. Like the ancient heroes of faith, we too must confess that "here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come" (Heb. 13:14). Godly men in the Bible longed for heaven, and expressed their earnest expectation of the coming glory with the LORD in heaven:
Like those saints who declared their enthusiasm and hope of heaven, we too should sing and declare our longing for heaven, and live with great anticipation for heaven's glory. Let us rejoice that we are called to be heirs of the eternal celestial glory. As Jesus told the disciples, let us "rejoice, because your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20; cf. Phil. 4:3; Rev. 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27). As noted earlier, their citizenship is there (Phil. 3:20). We are promised "an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven" (1 Peter 1:4). Our eternal reward is there. In Luke 6:23, Jesus said, "Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven". Our greatest impetus to be in heaven is the rich fellowship that we will have with our wonderful Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the glory of heaven.
If the church loses its heavenly-mindedness, it will become a worldly, carnal, and spiritually lethargic church. Such a worldly-minded church will be disobedient to the Lord and be ungodly in its pursuits. So brethren, let us take heed to the Lord's command to all His followers, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 6:19-21). "If ye then be risen with Christ," Paul wrote, "seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God" (Colossians 3:1).
Text: Matthew 7:13-14
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 28 June 2020
Revelation 20:14-15: "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
This is a description of what follows the final Great White Throne Judgment. All the wicked dead shall be brought to life again and be judged according to their works by the Lord who sits upon the Throne. According to the previous verse, Revelation 20:13, "the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works." The mention of "the sea" giving up its dead makes it clear that regardless of how far a body has disintegrated, it will nevertheless be resurrected for this judgment. The physical bodies of the unsaved will be joined with their souls; then they will be cast into "the lake of fire"!
The phrase "lake of fire" occurs only in Revelation – and that for a total of five times (19:20; 20:10, 14, 15; 21:8). In our text, the casting of the wicked dead into the lake of fire is referred to as "the second death". It does not denote, as some erroneously taught, annihilation or complete destruction of a person. According to their teaching, the soul and body of the wicked will be completely destroyed, such that they will not suffer the eternal torment in hell or the lake of fire. That teaching of annihilation is unscriptural.
The lake of fire is the place where the wicked will suffer eternally the torments of hell. It is the place in which the wicked spend eternity in torment. John the Baptiser associated hell with "unquenchable fire" (Matthew 3:12; Luke 3:17). Jesus referred to hell as "everlasting fire" (Matthew 18:8), and "everlasting punishment" (Matthew 25:46). He also described hell as "the fire that never shall be quenched: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:43b-44; cf. 9:45b-46, 48). This is the place where Satan, the Antichrist and the false prophet will also be cast into forever. Revelation 20:10 says, "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." The epistle of Jude also testifies to the eternality of the hell-fire, which is reserved for the unrepentant wicked. In fact, hell’s torment is referred to by Jude as "suffering the vengeance of eternal fire" (Jude 1:7).
It is declared in Revelation 20:15, "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." This divine declaration about those whom God will cast into the lake of fire, the place of eternal torment, is sure to happen.
Let not the strident voices of the unbelieving ones – that God will not cast anyone into eternal hell – ever cause us to doubt the certainty of His judgment, which is mentioned so clearly here. God will execute the judgment of the unrepentant and the unredeemed, just as He has said here.
We are told that "whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." The word "whosoever" means all persons, irrespective of their ranks, worldly achievements, age or social status. It is an all-encompassing word. The only group of people who will be delivered from the lake of fire will be those whose names are "found written in the book of life". Kings, princes, statesmen, judges, philosophers, religious men, rich men, poor men, the young, the aged, as long as their names are not found written in the book of life, will be doomed to the lake of fire for eternal punishment!
In the New Testament, "the book of life" is the sacred register of all those who are saved (cf. Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:5; 22:19). This book belongs to Christ, the Lamb who was slain for the redemption of the people whose names are written in the book of life from the foundation of the world (cf. Revelation 13:8b; 17:8b). At the last judgment, everyone not listed in the book of life is consigned to the fiery lake (Revelation 20:12, 15)!
How can you know whether your name is written in the book of life? If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and be an overcomer of sins and trials by His grace, you can be assured that your name is in the book of life. In Revelation 3:5, Jesus said, "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels." He will never blot out the names of those who have trusted Him for the forgiveness of their sins. The comfort of the believers is that their names are recorded in the book of life, and that they shall remain secure in the possession of the Lamb who was slain for them.
Those who repent from their sins and trust in Christ do not have to fear the eternal hell. For in Revelation 20:6, it is said concerning the believers that "on such the second death hath no power".
But all those who are not found in the Book of Life will be doomed to an eternal punishment in the lake of fire!
Text: John 10:7-9
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 21 June 2020
While rebuking the unbelief of the Jews, Jesus said to them that "…many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 8:11). The Lord means not only those who are geographically far away from Israel, but also those who have been far away spiritually, like the Gentiles, will become heirs of His kingdom by faith in the Gospel. What a grand, glorious prophecy was that! It is His plan to draw many from the Gentile world that lay in spiritual darkness and alienation from Him into His glorious kingdom.
That prophecy has been steadily worked out through His faithful servants since He uttered those words. Jesus also said how God would gather a great multitude from all the corners of the world at His coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory – "he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matthew 24:31).
To bring all His people into His kingdom, He tells His servants, "Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled" (Luke 14:23). Jesus wants us to "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). Every faithful church and every genuine Christian cannot lose this perspective that Jesus has placed before His followers.
We have a great vision and responsibility from the Lord concerning global evangelism. Like the apostles and all the faithful, fervent Christians of yesteryears, we must press forward to spread the Word all around the world. We should spare no effort in the work of the world evangelisation.
We must be ready to thrust forward when God opens the doors of the Gospel for us, and prepares us with convictions and capabilities to do whatever He would lead us for the extension of His kingdom. We must believe that His purposes shall not fail. And when He bids us do His will, we must count it a great privilege and honour to give all that He requires of us, knowing that we are given the honour to be part of His great plan for the redemption of a people whom He wants us to reach for His name’s sake.
To the unbelieving and disobedient Jews, Jesus said, "Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof" (Matthew 21:43). May we never be a spiritually barren people, lest the Lord’s judgment be upon us for wasting the opportunities and resources (which He has graciously afforded us) for selfish and worldly purposes. Instead of being accursed for wilful barrenness, may we expect His blessing as we yield our all to serve Him and be fruitful. May we be warned: when He looks for the fruit in us, if we are found to be like the fruitless fig tree, He will pronounce His curse upon us (cf. Matthew 21:19)!
A sacred compulsion is laid upon our hearts by our great Saviour and Lord. May the persistent love of our Lord work through us to call sinners from eternal damnation, and out of their guilt, shame, misery into His kingdom of light. One day soon, "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever" (Revelation 11:15). The Biblical vision that compels us forward in the global expansion of our church ministry is: "for all nations shall come and worship before thee" (Revelation 15:4). Indeed, "All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee" (Psalm 22:27). Let us not hesitate to continue to give ourselves to the redemption of sinners, so that worship of the LORD may arise all around the world.
Let every child of God yield to the Spirit’s leading in his or her heart concerning the part He wants us to contribute in the global Gospel outreach. Continue to pray earnestly for all our preachers and missionaries, mission churches, the Bible Witness magazine, web-radio, internet ministry, media ministry, Gethsemane Bible Institutes, and for all the local evangelistic efforts through TGCM, the campus ministries, Lions Home for the Elders, door-to-door evangelism, etc.
There are three areas that the Board of Elders would like to call for your continued support.
Let us pray earnestly for the above needs, and support with whatever the Lord help us to give.
Text: Matthew 11:28-30
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 14 June 2020
Thank you for hosting the Online Bible Conference - our first. We enjoyed the solid spiritual feeding - underscoring the focus on God's Word, biblical truths and doctrines as the basis of our faith. Obeying God and doing what is right and pleasing to God will enable us to have a good conscience. The Conference makes us more aware of the spiritual warfare we are constantly battling in. With ever so subtle and destructive an enemy as Satan, there is the real need to put on the full armour of God as a soldier for Christ. Just as Paul discipled Timothy, it is so important to continue the teaching and discipling of our younger generation in sound biblical truths and doctrines so that they can, in turn, teach and disciple faithful men. Our thanks to Pastor Koshy and the team who co-laboured with him.
We are very blessed by the messages which expounded on the theme: "Holding Faith and a Good Conscience". Sound biblical doctrines as the foundation of our true faith, as well as teaching and passing these truths on to faithful men with the charge of safeguarding the truths / doctrines without compromising or taking God's Word lightly. Good warning and timely reminder!
The Online Bible Conference certainly spurred me to be conscientious and intentional about my sanctification! I would like to thank Pastor Koshy for his courage and conviction to preach, with firmness and love, this urgent, "unappetising" truth that believers (myself included) need to hear. Amid our daily pursuits and responsibilities, it is easy to slip into longer work hours and put God in second place – when He deserves our first love, with no other gods before Him!
Thank God for another opportunity given to us to receive God's truth through the Online Bible Conference.
It was a timely reminder to us concerning "Holding Faith and a Good Conscience" (1 Tim 1:19), that we may wage a good warfare against the world and Satan. We need to nourish ourselves in the Word of God so that we can be good soldiers of the Lord Jesus. Thank God that when we are equipped with His Word and live with a good conscience, we can be overcomers, just as Christ who overcame the world (John 16:33). Praise the LORD!
Our Lord has been very merciful – as we wait upon Him in our chambers, within shut doors, "until the indignation be overpast" (Isa 26:20). He has not forsaken us but has tenderly visited us to feed us with the Written Word. I found that staying at home for the study on the theme of 'Holding Faith and a Good Conscience' in this period of 'Circuit Breaker' afforded us an ideal setting, possibly more conducive than having it in a resort. To "give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine" (1 Tim 4:13b) at this time was nothing short of a blessing, and it showed how God's Providence continues to be upon His people in love.
Knowing that the greatest enemy in the spiritual warfare is myself – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, the pride of life – I pray for daily grace and mercies to "exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men" (Acts 24:16); to submit to the King's servants through whom His charge is ministered to my soul; to love, cherish and pray for the many witnesses with whom I have received the words of faith; to not abandon ship based on hasty presumption; to revisit and hold "the things that (I have) heard" (2 Tim 2:2a) with a humble, teachable and peaceable spirit; as well as to strengthen my spiritual sensitivities and powers against my unseen enemy, lest I be lifted up in pride and be made shipwreck to the shame of my Saviour's name.
Praise the Lord for laying the burden in the hearts of Pastor Koshy and his team to organise the GBPC's Online Bible Conference, and for His grace in bringing it to fruition. I have been very blessed by the 5 days of Singspiration, Morning Devotions and Theme Messages. I thank God for granting wisdom to Pastor Koshy in explaining and expounding His Word so clearly, showing how "holding faith, and a good conscience" is necessary to being a good Christian and minister. I am brought to remembrance the need to be nourished up and grounded in the Bible, and to be committed to an unwavering devotion to God's Word. Indeed, every aspect of a genuine believer's life must be guided by the Word of God so that he may live a life of purity for His glory. I am also reminded of the unceasing spiritual warfare I am engaged in on many fronts, and thus the need to be geared up with the armour of God to fight a good warfare.
May God help us to remember what we have learnt through this Conference, and enable us to remain steadfast, persevering in "holding faith, and a good conscience" till we can say, like the apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 4:7-8, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 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."
All praise and thanks be unto our God Almighty for enabling us to participate in the Online Bible Conference. What an opportunity it was for all of us to receive spiritual nourishment from His precious WORD! The main messages based on 1 Timothy 1:19, "Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck", were very edifying. I thank God for blessing Pastor Koshy to deliver God's Word faithfully to exhort us to live an obedient and godly life all through our life on earth.
I have been convicted of my many sins from which I must repent and seek God. I acknowledge my lack of obedience and diligence, which have fragmented / shipwrecked my life in some areas. I pray the Lord to teach me to be a better Christian, bearing a good testimony, especially to my loved ones at home. Being a retiree, I hope to use my time to continue with the study of His Word and to serve the Lord in the church.
I am happy that I have learned many spiritual truths, particularly regarding (i) what ‘holding faith’ means, (ii) what a good conscience is, and (iii) what it means by "some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck". I put my trust in my God, my King and my Saviour, that He will enable me to be diligent to hold fast my faith and have a good conscience.
I also give thanks to God for our preachers – Ho Kee How, Jeremiah Sim, Daniel Lim and Samson Hutagalung – who preached God's Word in the morning devotions, and for our church elders who led the Singspiration sessions and prayer. Thanks also to our Pr Kelvin, Pr Jeremiah, Bro Cornelius and Sis Luan Kheng for teaching the children participants.
I would like to thank my brethren in GBPC Online Bible Conference Committee for their heartiest service to the Lord with their time and efforts in managing registration, logistics and monitoring of our daily meeting times, operating Zoom conferencing, etc. "Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness" (Psalm 150:2). All glory to God.
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).
It is amazing how the mighty hand of the Lord works upon His people. I praise and thank God for the zealous labour of our church, led by our devoted Pastor Koshy, elders, deacons, preachers and brethren to organise a well-coordinated Online Bible Conference in a very short time. Despite the unprecedented pandemic we are facing, our God brought about so much good through the faithful preaching of God's Word to the rest of the world. May the Lord continue to bless and use them mightily for His glory.
The purpose of the Conference has been well served. Many of our relatives in the Philippines were able to join freely. We were very delighted that my parents, parents-in-law, siblings, nephews and nieces participated in the Conference. They were very enthusiastic about listening to the exhortation of the Scriptures (even though the internet connection was unstable in their place). We pray that the Holy Spirit would lead them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, and that they will worship and walk with the Lord with gladness, and enjoy Him forever.
Praise God for enabling and sustaining Pastor Koshy as he expounded the Scripture portion of 1 Timothy 1:19, on the theme: "Holding Faith and a Good Conscience". Not to mention how the Lord helped everyone to persevere in studying the Scriptures. I thank God for the week-long programme, which provided abundant spiritual blessings, including the respective sessions of "Singspiration and Prayer" led by our dedicated elders, which cheered our hearts and prepared us for the Morning Devotions by our faithful preachers. Likewise, the "Bible Trivia" sessions during the Fellowship Time in the afternoon, conducted by our kind brethren, refreshed our memory concerning the biblical events and GBPC’s history. It reminded me of how wonderful the Lord is in preserving and nurturing our church till this day.
I pray that our church will be found faithful and steadfast until the day of Christ's return. Thank God also for the passionate labour of our sisters and Children's Choir. I rejoiced as I listened to their joyful singing of "Thank you, Lord" and "Bringing in the Sheaves". Indeed, our salvation is so rich and free! Those songs gave us comfort that despite the hard work, heavy burdens and tears during the planting of the Gospel seed, we shall reap the fruit of our labour as people come to the Lord for eternal life.
Indeed, as I am being nourished and equipped with the great truths of the Bible, I also desire to walk worthy of God as I exercise my faith and grow spiritually. I pray that by God's grace and wisdom, I will submit and obey His "charge" with a good conscience. May the Lord teach me to relate to my husband with a humble and submissive heart as his godly wife and good helpmate (though not an easy task for me). As a mother, I pray the Lord will strengthen me in this God-given role to raise my son according to His sovereign purpose. "Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward" (Psalm 127:3). May the Lord bless my husband and me as we minister to the spiritual needs of our son and cultivate him for the Master's use. Also, I am greatly thankful to God for providing us with Gethsemane Children's Ministry, where God's Word is faithfully and lovingly taught for the care of our children. Finally, I thank God for preserving our family by leading us to Gethsemane Bible-Presbyterian Church, which has been a true vessel of God for our spiritual growth. I pray that my family shall be joyfully committed to carrying out the sovereign will of our great King in our lives (cf. Luke 22:42), lest we be made shipwreck, engulfed by our sin and unfaithfulness. May our Almighty Lord keep and preserve us in His most loving hand, and His glory be exalted in our life. Amen.
I am thankful to God, who has helped my family to 'co-host' the recent Online Bible Conference in our home. I thank God for Andronicus and Dorcas who handled the technical aspects 'behind Pastor' in the confines of our flat. I thank God that amid this busy schedule of the Online Conference, He has enabled Dorcas not to miss any message, though she was busy working on her final submissions of the last year of her musical studies.
Praise God also for all who have a part in handling the administrative, technical, organisational aspects of the Conference. Indeed, thanks to God for giving grace to Cornelius (amongst other teachers) to teach the children; for all our elders who chaired and prayed for God's blessings upon all the meetings; for all the singers who laboured to pre-record the hymns to guide us in our singing, as well as all who have mixed those individual recordings of the brethren to make them into congregational singing; and for all our devotional speakers who have delivered to us the infallible Word of God. Last but not least, I thank God for using Pastor to preach on the topic, "Holding Faith, and a Good Conscience", taken from 1Tim 1:19 – "Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck". Below, I share an excerpt of Pastor's messages – (i) to remind participants what have been expounded to us from the Word, and (ii) to benefit those who could not participate in the Conference.
The theme of the Conference encapsulates a genuine Christian's life and ministry. The word "faith" here means the whole Bible, not just the act of believing. Pastor exhorted us that our lives must hold forth the Bible ("faith"). We must not only learn the biblical doctrines but live by them. When our desires, thoughts and motivations are biblical, we will have a good conscience before God and man. Thus, we can live in the strength of a good testimony borne out of faith and a good conscience. We then become like the one who builds his house upon the rock: strong, happy, calm and without fear amidst all the temptations and trials of life.
"Holding faith, and a good conscience" was mentioned by the apostle Paul in connection to a Christian's responsibility to "war a good warfare" (1 Tim 1:18). Christians are God's soldiers in the spiritual battle against Satan and his minions' attack on His kingdom. To equip us against these formidable enemies, who are mightier than us, God has provided us with "the whole armour of God". This potent spiritual arsenal for every Christian's use is the Word of God. All of God's truths, wise counsels and commands are our aid in the battle. The royal command from the KING eternal (1 Tim 1:17) is to fight this noble war for Him. Hence, as soldiers, we have a great responsibility to remain loyal to Him. Nothing should deter us from His charge to fight a good fight of faith. We must bravely march onward through all trials of life, enduring hardness, undeterred and undistracted. We cannot retreat but fight on. Then we'll have victory over the Satanic foes.
Our conscience will accuse us if our outward religion is without inward faith in all that God has charged us in His Word. A soldier of Christ cannot abandon God's call. He must not quit where the Lord has appointed him unless the divine providence transfers him to another area of service. We do well to bear in mind that we are not called to serve among a group of holy angels, but among sinners in this terrible world of satanic ambushes. But God will give us the grace to fulfil our responsibility to fight a good warfare, not a weak one. Then our fight will end well, and finally, we can echo Paul's words: "I have fought a good fight" (2 Tim 4:7)!
No Christian knows fully the vastness of his work, but as he moves forward, defeating all enemies, it slowly comes to full light. Ministry is a service for the King and His Kingdom which has no end. So, everyone in the church must be dedicated to his King's cause with reverence and fidelity. Why do we insist on right doctrine? Because right doctrine drops "as the rain" and "as the showers upon the grass" (cf. Deut. 32:2), transforming Christians to live a godly and pure life which pleases God. Even preachers must renew their mind constantly and nourish up continually on right doctrine to be able to "put the brethren in remembrance of these things" (cf. 1 Tim. 4:6).
There are many fronts to a Christian's warfare, of which I will only mention two.
Firstly, false doctrine by brethren or teachers. They are licentious seducers, fun-loving at the expense of Christ, bringing us back into the bondage of sin. Paul has cautioned us against them in the following verses: "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light" (2 Cor 11:13-14); "For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts" (2 Tim 3:6).
Secondly, Satan and demonic hosts. 1 Cor 7:5 counsels regarding husband and wife relationship: "Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency." Furthermore, 1 Tim 5:14 advises young unmarried ladies: "I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully", which unfortunately, some did not take heed – "For some are already turned aside after Satan" (1 Tim 5:15). In this regard, we read of Paul chastising so-called believers, by leaving them to Satan because they had gone after Satan (1 Tim 1:20). This means that no ministerial attention would be offered to that person, as a form of chastisement. The church needs to take disciplinary action against those who unrepentantly walk in defiance of His truth and holiness. Otherwise, their ill influence would cause terrible shipwreck to others in the congregation concerning faith and good conscience.
What are the dangers of not holding faith and a good conscience? The enemy may take advantage of the soldiers, who have slept instead of keeping watch, to tarnish the testimony, unity and faithfulness of the church. They may become spiritually lethargic, disappointing the church amidst her battle!
I, for one, have been greatly blessed by the sermons and exhortations heard during the Online Bible Conference. The precious lessons I received were edifying to me. To know and see that I am not alone in this spiritual battle enables me to stand up together with brothers and sisters of like-minded faith. I praise the Lord for the singing of hymns and for the faithful preaching of God’s Word.
I thank Rev Koshy, the elders, deacons and preachers for sharing the Word and guiding us in the ‘Singspiration’ sessions. I also would like to thank those who worked behind the scenes - brothers and sisters who laboured to organise this Online Conference.
May God bless us all!