Psalm 2:11—“Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.”
When we make ourselves available to serve God sincerely, feelings of joy mingled with fear would fill our hearts. Divine service often engenders many emotions and virtues in the hearts of His servants. Here the psalmist speaks of fear, joy and trembling as the expected and most suitable feelings and experiences of the LORD’s servants.
Fear and joy may appear to be two contrasting feelings, yet they co-exist in the hearts of those who serve the LORD. Both are necessary feelings of those who come into the awesome presence of God to serve Him.
Scripture reminds us in Psalm 89:7, “God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.” We must not only have great reverence for the LORD’s majesty, but must also possess great fear of His wrath against disobedient conduct in the midst of divine service. The LORD should be served with awe; all the teachings of God’s Word confirm this. His majesty, power, holiness, justice are to be greatly feared.
Such fear of the LORD makes His servant exceedingly cautious and diligent as he renders himself to the LORD’s work. The fear of the LORD makes him wise unto holiness, faithfulness and fervency, which are essential to the LORD’s work. It will drive away reluctance, slothfulness and sinful habits from the heart of His servant and will fill him with readiness, zeal and obedience for solemn service before Him.
The fear of God is never detrimental to one’s spiritual joy. It is rather a forerunner of joy in the LORD’s service. Those who serve God in godly fear will find themselves filled with joy unspeakable in the presence of God. Their reverential fear of the greatness of God dispels hesitancy and gloom to serve Him. Cheerful, happy service then freely flows out of their hearts, which are filled with the glory of the sovereign LORD. The service of God begets the highest joy that a man has ever known. When the hearts of His servants are overwhelmed with such earnest and sombre emotions, they would even be overcome with “trembling”! Unlike the carnal and worldly rejoicing that produces a puffed-up attitude, the spiritual joy of service evokes solemn inner impulses of humility and devotion, which are referred to here as “trembling”. The LORD’s servant is girded with humility and submission as he reverentially and joyfully renders his service.
Rev. Reggor Galarpe
Dear Pastor, elders, deacons and all our beloved brethren,
Greetings in the Blessed Name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! With praise and thanksgiving to the Lord, I wish you all a “Blessed 35th Anniversary!”
We rejoice together with you as you celebrate the Lord’s goodness and faithfulness upon the church in blessing all her labours in the ministry of the Gospel all these years.
On this happy occasion, I would like to express our sincere appreciation for all your prayers and support. Also, please know that your commitment, zeal and enthusiasm for the Lord’s work have been a great encouragement to us here in Cebu.
We thank the Lord for His faithful under-shepherd, our beloved Pastor Koshy, who has faithfully laboured in nurturing God’s flock – not only in Singapore, but even among the mission churches and many others in different parts of the world, through his teaching and preaching ministry made available on the internet.
We also commend the Board of Elders and the deacons in their commitment to serve alongside Pastor Koshy, together with the preachers and faithful co-labourers serving in various capacities, as well as all our fellow brethren. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).
May the Lord richly bless you and continue to prosper your labours, and enable you to do even greater things for His glory.
Blessed 35th Anniversary!
Rev. Donald dela Cruz
Dear Pastor Koshy,
The hot weather has officially started here in the Philippines. The weather is currently very dry and hot. The scorching heat is now felt especially during noon time. Rain is also very rare. The hot weather is still felt even late at night. I have advised the brethren to stay hydrated and be careful against heat stroke. May the Lord protect the brethren from any sickness.
I praise the Lord for the provision of transportation for the brethren from Binday. Though most of them have their own motorcycles with sidecars, they are lacking drivers. Sometimes, there are Sundays when some families are not able to join the worship service because their drivers are not available. Praise the Lord for bringing one employee of Bro Kyt to serve as a driver. His name is Roel. He has been attending the worship service regularly. Bro Kyt had earlier asked him if he was interested to ferry people, which he happily agreed. He is driving Bro Kyt’s minivan. Our jeepney, which we previously used to fetch people, is still functioning but we have no driver. God willing, we can let him use the jeepney after some inspection. Surely, if God can answer our prayer about the provision of a driver, I told the brethren that God is also able to provide for the needs of His work, as well as their personal needs. I encouraged them to continue to trust the Lord, for He is faithful.
Furthermore, I praise the Lord for enabling the church choir to learn and sing praises unto the Lord. Singing in harmony (in 4 parts), with “SATB” voices, is not common here. Most of the brethren are not even familiar with that. Nevertheless, the sisters singing in alto have adjusted very well, and I am very thankful that the brothers singing in bass are slowly catching up.
Last but not least, I praise the Lord for sustaining Gethsemane BP Church, Singapore for the last 35 years. The Lord has used the church in so many ways that cannot be numbered. There were many struggles, but the spiritual blessings eclipse the difficulties. Praise the Lord for strengthening you to anchor the work of the mission stations. On behalf of the brethren here in Pangasinan, I wish you all a “Blessed Anniversary!”