MARANATHA BIBLE-PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Transcription

1 Weekly Newsletter of MARANATHA MESSENGER Private Circulation Only MARANATHA BIBLE-PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 4 June 2017 Present every man perfect in Christ Jesus (Colossians 1:28) Address: 63 Cranwell Road, Singapore maranatha.bpc@pacific.net.sg Sunday School: 9.45 am Sunday English / Chinese Worship Service: am Sunday Chinese Worship Service: 7 pm Wednesday Prayer Meeting: 8.00 pm Introduction In The Footsteps Of The Historic English Puritans And The Scottish Covenanters Revelation 12:11, And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. John Knox, Covenanters and the Scottish Reformation This was the 4 th time we led a group study tour but the first to the UK. It was probably the most memorable and insightful trip that will not be forgotten for a long time. With 39 pilgrims from 15 churches and 6 countries (Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, China, India and UK) by the will of God, we traced the lives and ministries of the Scottish Covenanters, English Puritans, Reformers and Revivalists. Many shared that they were challenged by their lives and deaths for Christ and His glorious cause to the glory of His name and the building up of a deeper devotion and faith in the Lord. 1

2 The names and places of the Scottish covenanters that we read or heard came alive as we reached our first destination in Edinburgh. Some went as a tour of the famous 12th century Edinburgh castle and learnt of the many historic battles that were fought. We beheld the courageous and gifted man of God, John Knox who transformed Scotland by his passionate preaching. He and others stood for biblical convictions in the midst of severe persecution with their own blood. The memorable sites we visited was the old house of John Knox and St Giles Church where he pastored. We rehearsed the birth and life, faith and courage of this servant of God who stood for his protestant convictions and how he prayed, give me Scotland or I die. God used him with his powerful preaching of the truth of God s Word against the strongly catholic Mary Queen of Scots, risking his life many times but God sovereignly preserved his faithful servant from all evil. At the Grey Friars Kirk In the afternoon, we had Mr Mathew Vogan of the Scottish Reformation Society and he shared of the covenanters at the Grassmarket who died for their faith and their united signing of the Covenant in 1638 at the Grey Friars Kirk. We were also at the 16th century Magdalen Church which is still being used today for meetings and services. At St Andrews 2 At St Andrews which is the seat of religious and academic life in Scotland, we also witnessed the places of martyrdom of the early reformers before Knox namely Patrick Hamilton and George Wishart outside St Salvator College and St Andrews castle (and later we saw the cathedral) respectively for their faith. In response, some men subsequently gathered and led to the assassination of Cardinal David Beaton. With the life changing preaching of the Word by St Peter s Church St Salvator College John Knox, this town was revived and the people there stood fast for the protestant faith that changed the destiny of Scotland later. When we were in Dundee, we visited St Peter s Church where Robert Murray McCheyne pastored in the 17th century and a revival broke out under William Chalmer Burns, a famous pioneering missionary to China

3 who preached in Beijing and Swatow, ministering to the forefathers of the BP movement. Rev David Robertson, the pastor gave us a talk of his life and many were encouraged by the testimony of the saintly McCheyne who died at the age of 29 who was a model of a godly Christian servant. All of us were soberly reminded of the self-denial and sacrifice of the Scottish saints in the defence of the faith. Tracing the life and ministry of John Knox brought us also to Berwick-upon- Tweed (i.e. in England) where he was invited by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer to pastor the Holy Trinity Church. He preached there for 2 years and providentially met his dear wife, Marjorie Bowes. God has His sovereign purpose for every station in our lives wherever He calls us. David Livingstone On the Lord s Day, the group worshipped at Airdrie Reformed Presbyterian Church in the morning and had a blessed time of fellowship with the members and Jenson Lim s family whom we stayed with last year when we were in Stirling (i.e. he used to attend our church and his brother, Jason and his wife comes to our church whenever they are in Singapore). The church showed us fine Scottish hospitality by providing lunch for us and we thank God for the unity of the fellowship of the saints. On the Sabbath afternoon, we visited the David Livingstone Centre (nearer to Glasgow) and learnt the extraordinary efforts of a pioneering 18th century man of God who advanced the kingdom of God in Africa as an explorer cum medical missionary. He discovered the Victoria Falls in the process and shared the gospel with many till he died. He was buried both in Africa (i.e. his heart) and in England as well (i.e. the rest of this body). We were warmly received at the David Livingstone Memorial Church by the Pastor and its members. Devotions A one night rest in the famous Lake District was refreshing. Every morning during the whole trip, we had devotions shared by either Pastor Babu, Elders Loke, Charles Phua, brother Francis or Pastor Jack Sin as we began the day with God. The English Puritans and the 16th-17th Century Reformation John Foxe recorded the lives and deaths of the martyrs in his acclaimed book Foxes Book of Martyrs which included men like Thomas Bilney, Anne Askew, Lady Jane Grey, John Rogers and archbishop Thomas Cranmer and William Tyndale, the translator of the English Bible among others. Thomas Cranmer, the first protestant archbishop of Canterbury appointed under King Henry VIII was arrested for defying the catholic Queen with his biblical protestant teachings. He was 3

4 put in the Tower of London and finally executed in 1556 after a brief trial and recantation which he later recanted of and stood firmly for the testimony of the Lord. At Leicester, we visited the William Carey central church where Dn Roger gave us a tour of the church with explanation of this Father of Modern Missions. He blazed the trail by going to India in 1793 for 41 years sharing the gospel, starting churches, colleges and orphanages and translating the Bible into many Indian languages. Indeed, we need the fervent spirit of Carey today to Expect great things from God, Attempt great things for God. From there, we were transported to Lutterworth where John Wycliffe was exiled after being removed from his professorship in Oxford for speaking out against the doctrinal errors of Rome. While he was at St Mary s Church in Lutterworth, he translated the Bible from Latin into English and with the help of his followers, the Lollards copied them (i.e. 10 months to copy one Bible) and later distributed them all over the countryside where many were saved by reading the English Bible. We moved on to Stratford- upon-avon where the famous English poet, Shakespeare was born and learnt about the life of this great poet and his famous works. Then we moved on Richard Baxter to Kidder minister where the non-conformist Richard Baxter was the pastor for 17 years. He was used of God to revive the whole town of 5000 people with his meaningful pastoral visits, house to house catechism and faithful preaching and teaching of the Word. Don Gilbert gave us a commentary of his life and ministry. Many of us bought his book on Richard Baxter who is famous for many books including the Reformed Pastor and the Christian Directory, the best manual of biblical counselling arguably. The next morning, we were in Gloucester to witness the great 18th century revival under the passionate preaching of the pure gospel by George Whitefield to the conviction of many hearts who turned away from their sins to faith in Christ. The inception or growth of the Sunday School in 1780 by Robert Raikes to reach out to street delinquents. We learnt how he promoted and organised the ministry of Sabbath schools from the Kitchen of Mrs Meredith to many parts of the UK and later even to the US through George Fox. Today, almost every church has a Sunday School ministry and we need to regain the evangelistic vision of the Raikes and revive our Sunday School ministry as well. These fervent and faithful men blazed the trail and made a difference to the lives of many others by their spiritual commitment to God where they tirelessly advanced the cause of Christ. This challenged us to soberly reflect what we should do for Jesus 4 St Mary s Church in Lutterworth

5 to the edifying of the saints in our times. It was also here where the brave and learned John Hooper, the bishop of Gloucester and Worcester was executed in 1555 for refusing to compromise his protestant beliefs. At Oxford, one of the two noted institutions of higher learning, we remembered most of the puritans and revivalists who studied there like John Owen (Christ College), the Wesley brothers, George Whitefield (i.e. Holy Club) and John Wycliffe St Mary de Crypt Church, Gloucester who taught at Balliol College (and some were in Cambridge). It was also near the Martyrs Memorial that the bishops, Hugh Latimer and Nicolas Ridley were burnt during the reign of Bloody Mary in 1555 and about 280 others during her reign of religious persecution of the protestants. Oxford is a renowned academic centre of 38 colleges where kings, bishops, scholars and prime ministers studied and grew up intellectually including our late Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. Of Bunyan, Newton and Cowper The group then made their way to Olney and Bedford. We met up with Charles Pearson of the Protestant Alliance (i.e. which produced the bimonthly, The Reformer) who took us to see St Paul and St Peter Church of Olney where John Newton, who was a former slave trader pastored there for 11 years. He wrote the famous Amazing Grace which is still sung in so many different languages and for different occasions worldwide. There is also another notable man who was there and he was the famous hymn writer, William Cowper. Though he suffered from depression and was often suicidal, yet God preserved and used him to compose many hymns including God Moves in a Mysterious Way to touch the hearts of many. At The Palace Beautiful in Bedford which is mentioned in Pilgrim Progress. 5 At the John Bunyan Museum. We visited the museum which gives a brief history of Cowper. At Bedford, we learnt of the famous John Bunyan who wrote the allegorical Pilgrim Progress which had touched so many lives. He depicted the Christian journey of life in a picturesque way from the city of destruction to the celestial city via many trials and testings from the wicket gate, slough of despond, the doubting castle, fighting Apollyon, fair meadows and the hill of difficulty and vanity fair and finally crossing over the delectable mountains. The group was privileged to see The Palace Beautiful (which is a 17th century Houghton house of the duchess of Pembroke)

6 overlooking the Chiltern Hills which symbolised the delectable mountains to Bunyan. What a wonderful experience for every one as we saw the content of this book come alive as many of them bought it at the Bunyan museum and will relish it even more now after this trip. His other books include The Fear of God, The Throne of Grace, Instruction to Boys and Girls and Holy War among others. Wesley, Westminster and Bunhill Fields At John Bunyan Church At the historic Westminster Abbey where the Westminster Confession was written in the mid 17th century. Our last stop for 4 days was at London, the capital of the UK. We visited the historic 1000 year old Westminster Abbey where the Westminster Confession of Faith was written by 121 Puritans at a particular section of it from 1643 to The next day after a full English breakfast, we walked and visited the British museum where we saw how archaeology authenticates the accuracy of the Bible with discoveries of artefacts that mentioned the names of the Assyrians kings in the Bible like Shalmaneser, Tiglath Pileser, Sargon2 and Sennacherib and other famous monarchs in the Babylonian and Persian Empire in Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus and during the Egyptian empire, where young Moses was taken care of by Hatshepsut, the daughter of the Pharoah and how Moses faced off with Thutmose III which validated what the Bible recorded. We also visited the Tower of London and noted the martyrs that were imprisoned there. New Life BP Church, London In the afternoon, we went to the Wesley Centre where we witnessed the lives and ministries of John and Charles Wesley. We learned of the wonderful effect of the 18th century evangelical awakening. Today, Brother Timothy Zhu giving his testimony there are about 75 million Methodists worldwide as a result of this movement. Opposite, there is Bunhill fields and we saw the grave stones of famous non-conformists like Isaac Watts, John 6 Taking the London subway to New Life BP Church is part of the experience for the group.

7 Bunyan and John Ripon and others laid to rest there. We worshipped on the Lord s Day at New Life BP Church service and had good fellowship with brethren over lunch and we also met to give our thanks giving to God in our sharing. In the evening after a quick tea, we worshipped at the Metropolitan Tabernacle where Charles Spurgeon was the famous pastor in the 19th century with 5000 members. After the service, some of us met up with Dr Peter Masters, the current minister who welcomed us warmly in his office. The group heard an oral history of the church by Elder Chris Cooper of the Metropolitan Tabernacle and many also bought Christian books at the Tab Bookroom. On the final day, we concluded the trip with a visit to the Museum of The Book for some with Dr Carl Martin bringing us. We met Dr Smith who gave us a 2 hour oral tour of his wonderful collection of ancient Bibles and church documents dating back to the 15th - 19th century. Many were enlightened and amazed by the Word of God that had transformed so many lives over the centuries. Conclusion The pastors and elders with Dr Peter Masters On the final night of the trip, many of the pilgrims shared of the rich lessons they learnt from the Lord. Our hearts are filled with thanksgiving to God for journeying mercies over almost 900 kms on the road and for His divine protection in the midst of the Manchester terrorist blast, the attack of the Coptic Church in Egypt and the breakdown of the British Airways IT system which caused much chaos in the Heathrow airport. God is our eternal Refuge and our present Guide and we need to pray for an evangelical awakening in our times as the Lord wills as in England and Scotland from the 16th-18th century. We look up expectantly to Christ with greater zeal and devotion after this trip to serve and glorify Christ even more in these last days till He comes. Jack and Angie Sin Warm fellowship over a delectable English meal 7

8 Thanksgiving from Leicester Attempt great things for God expect great things from God Just a reminder of the punch line from Carey s Sermon in launching the Missionary Society. I should really have highlighted this quote. So encouraging. It was great to have your visit and I really want to thank you for the generous donation you left for the church. Next week we have the pleasure of a visit from a group of American Christians. I trust the visit to Lutterworth was inspiring. Wycliffe s effort of writing out the precious words of the Bible in English by hand onto parchment is amazing, at a time when it was illegal by the dictates of the Roman church of the time. His fellow priests, known as Lollards also copied out the scriptures and were burnt at the stake for their trouble. Just a quote of encouragement William Tyndale. An early translator of the Bible, mush of which was used in the King James Authorised Version, was also burnt at the stake and his dying words were Lord, open the King of England's eyes. His payer was answered when King Henry 8th decreed that the Great Bible in English was to be put in every parish church. I pray that your trip around some of the locations of the wonderful Saints of the past was inspiring for you. Dn Roger Beeby Central Baptist Church of William Carey, Leicester A Word Of Farewell How time flies, three years passed in a blink of an eye. I thank God all the way in guiding and leading me! He is God full of compassion and grace, and when I stepped into the path of service, He guided His way in His own name, because He was a faithful shepherd. I am very thankful to God that I can worship and serve in the Maranatha Bible-Presbyterian Church, where I was taken care by the brothers and sisters, and my heart was grateful, and deeply moved. What I see in Pray for brother Timothy Zhu as he returns you all is that faith is not just the knowledge of the to serve the Lord mind, but also the manner of life! I have experienced not only your love of God, but also the love for others, the love as the servants of God and the 8

9 love to the church of God. The devil always wants to destroy the church of God, but the church that He pays with His blood is not going to fall, as the world is the Father s world. Though depravity in the world seems to prevail, our Father is still in control! I am also happy for the church who cherish the salvation of souls. The world is occupied by utilitarianism, so that everything is done with respect to secular interests. And even some churches are affected, so they no longer spread the gospel to the strangers who cannot bring economic and practical value to the church, because it is only "lost" without "harvest". But this idea is not the teachings of the Bible, because the salvation from Jesus is passed on to men, and there is no prejudice in Christ, regardless of nationality, men or women, for all men are sinners, and everyone needs the gospel. Jesus came to this world to save His people, and he entrusted the mission to the church to preach the gospel, to baptize, and to make the disciples of all nations (Matthew 28: 19-20). Maranatha's attention to the mission of God also seized the opportunity to freely preach the gospel in Singapore. During the three years, the church's enthusiasm for evangelism did not change, both in manpower, prayer and giving. Although the process of sharing of the gospel is tough, we see some people sowing and some harvesting in due time. Perhaps, we sow the seeds, and I believe that time will witness God s results (1 Corinthians 15:58). So my beloved brethren, you must be strong and unshakable, and often strive for more work, because you know that your labour is not in vain. My prayer is that the Lord continues to keep the ministry of this gospel, leading people to believe in the Lord is the most meaningful and worthy thing in life. What could be more precious than the salvation of a soul? I am also grateful to those brothers and sisters who often pray for me and dedicated to support my studies. Though I may not know your name, but I believe that God already knew what you did. I pray that God also doubly bless you. I will not forget the love of brothers and sisters, I will show the same love to someone. I would like to ask the brothers and sisters to pray for me in my return to my country to serve and to start the mission in a new place, a new environment with a new challenge, and perhaps with new difficulties. But I believe that the grace of the Lord is sufficient for me to let Him guide me to fulfill His mission. God has given me the verse of my life. Romans 14: 8. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. I thank you for supporting me for three years and for my opportunity of service. I am very grateful, but also will miss all of you Timothy Zhu Translated by Tianqi Chen 9

10 (NB. MBPC has arranged for him to serve in a certain Church in country X with another pastor.) The morning Chinese Service 4th Anniversary. Pray for this work that God will use to build His church for the mandarin speaking brethren. Theme for the Quarter : Developing A Biblical World View English Worship Service Rev Dr Jack Sin speaks on A Divine Calling To Be Obeyed (Scripture Text : Acts 20:19-24, 26:18-23; Responsive Reading : Exodus 3:1-15). [End of MM] 10