PASTORAL CHAT

My Dear Readers

Being the founding B-P pastor and oldest I seem to get a good number of invitations to speak at anniversaries. Today we are being invited by Kelapa Sawit, our first mission station started in 1952 by Life Church with the cooperation of Miss Leona Wu, principal of Chin Lien Bible School. Later on she entrusted the work to us. As I was with Miss Wu there, I am invited to speak at her 54th Anniversary.

Kelapa Sawit is a lively, self-supporting Church today headed by Tee Chung Seng, a convert from Kelapa Sawit’s branch Church, Air Bemban, 3 miles north of Kelapa Sawit. Tee Chung Seng studied at FEBC and continues with the good work of almost 20 years by Miss Ng Sang Chiew at Kelapa Sawit. After Miss Ng Sang Chiew retired to stay at Ling Kwang Home, Tee Chung Seng succeeds as Pastor of both Kelapa Sawit and Air Bemban.

Today we are going to Kelapa Sawit, 43 miles north of Singapore with Judith and Deborah Mae providing transport. Others coming are Seah Seow Hock and wife and Dr Wu of Calvary Pandan separately.

Deborah will sing to the congregation.

Kelapa Sawit under Tee Chung Seng has branched out to Jemaluang, 13 miles south of Mersing, to revive the work started in 1952 by Miss Adeline Char, missionary from Hawaii. This work has an adult Sunday Service of 20 and operates once a month on the 4th Sunday.

May I remind you once again our Lord’s Second Coming is any day now. He demands that we be  ready any moment. Rev. 9:13-16 says the 3rd World War will erupt from the Euphrates River which is Iraq. We know two wars have been fought there, the second by Bush. Jesus can come during our lifetime! Every earthquake is a reminder of His coming and end of the world. From Dec 26, 04 the terrible undersea tsunami there are four more earthquakes, No. 2, 500 killed in Iran, No. 3 that shook Japan, No. 4 Kuantan Sunday School another big one that shook the Sumatra Island of Nias on Mar 28, 05 that killed 2000 and No. 5 on Sunday April 10, 05 that struck Padang, Sumatra with 8.3 reading on the Richter Scale and that also shook Singapore and sent 700 people running down the buildings. 5 earthquakes in 3½ months.

And as it is said by our Lord “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come,” our Church must hasten with the gospel henceforth.

Your affectionate pastor
T T

 

 

THE QUALIFICATIONS OF DEACONS

(Message delivered by Dr Jeffrey Khoo at the True Life Church 10.30 am Service, Apr 10, 05)
Text: Acts 6:1-7

True Life B-P Church is 1½ years old by the grace of God, and it is time we appoint deacons (diakonoi, “servants”) who will assist the pastor and the elders in the service of the church. With a growing membership and attendance, the needs of the church have also increased, with many added responsibilities both spiritual and physical, and the pastor and elders cannot manage the church all on their own. In matters physical and fiscal, the deacons can step in to assist the pastor and the elders who are mainly in charge of the spiritual matters of the church.

In Acts 6, we find the Apostles overwhelmed by the physical care of the church members, so much so that they had no time to pray and to preach. By this time, there were at least 8000 members in the church; 3000 believed at Pentecost (Acts 2:41), and another 5000 (men not counting women and children) later on when the Apostles preached in the temple (Acts 4:4). Since there were only 12 Apostles, that would mean 1 Apostle to every 700 members. It was no wonder that the Apostles found themselves overwhelmed by the increasing demands of a rapidly growing church, and unable to concentrate on the vital ministry of the Word of God and of prayer which they were called to do.

Moreover, the poor and destitute among the Greek-speaking Jews were neglected in the daily distribution of food and funds (Acts 6:1). There was a real and urgent need to appoint, from within the church, men who could be deacons to take care of the physical needs of the believers so that the Apostles could focus on meeting their spiritual needs (Acts 6:3-4).

The seven deacons were assigned to “serve tables” (Acts 6:2). The “tables” here refer to food and finance tables (cf John 2:15). These tables were specially set up for the poor and needy to apply or appeal for food or money. The deacons would sit at these tables to lend a sympathetic ear to their plea, and decide on the right and fair amount to give as good stewards of God’s money and provisions. It is no simple task, and so those chosen for such a duty must have these three qualifications (Acts 6:3):

(1) Deacons must be men of honest report
They ought to bear a good testimony and reputation in the church and in the world. The qualities of such men are listed in 1 Timothy 3:8-13, “Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

One of the important qualities of a deacon is that he must not be greedy of filthy lucre. He cannot be tempted with money. He must be absolutely trustworthy, and the congregation must be sure that he can be trusted in no uncertain terms. No gamblers, no casinos! Deacons must be above board and beyond reproach. They should not give any reason for members to suspect that they might be pocketing the tithes and offerings collected. He must not love money, “for the love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Tim 6:10).

(2) Deacons must be men full of the Holy Spirit
They must be born again, Spirit indwelt and Spirit controlled. It is not enough just to find an honest man. A man might be honest but void of the Spirit, an unbeliever. A deacon must be a believer, and a spiritual one at that. The work of a deacon is not secular work but spiritual work. The deacon must perform his service with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit to give direction, and to make the right decisions especially when dealing with difficult cases or situations. He needs the wisdom of God, and this wisdom can only come through prayer. He must be a prayerful man, totally dependent on the Spirit to help him succeed in his service.

(3) Deacons must be men full of wisdom
This wisdom is not worldly wisdom but Wordly wisdom—wisdom that comes from the Word of God—the Holy Scriptures. Psalm 19:7 says, “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.” The Spirit uses the Word to make a person wise. An effective deacon is one who is not only Spirit-filled but also Wordfilled. The Good Book is his infallible Guidebook, not any of the “Edward de Bono” type or motivational business administration books the world has to offer.

The tragic problem with the church today is its worldliness as seen in its employment of the world’s thinking and methods in appointing men to church office and in governing the church. The world looks for the rich, the powerful, and the intellectual. It is commonly thought that the most capable and qualified men to run the church are those with means, influence, or brains. Well, these are the world’s requirements, but not God’s. We do not demean nor denigrate people with means, influence, or brains, and we are not saying that such men are automatically disqualified from church office, but money, power and brains are simply not the things the Lord tells His church to look for in choosing men for service. Spiritual service requires spiritual credentials—we need men who are honest, spiritual and wise— not necessarily those who are rich, powerful or brainy.

May the Lord help us choose the men of His choice to serve Him in His church to the glory of His Name

 

The Good Word
How good it is to hear
God’s Word.
He speaks to all
Where’er it’s heard.
‘Tis not of man;
Thus saith the Lord.
He authored
its divine accord.
So all mankind
Could thus afford
The blessings of His
Holy Word.
– John Tow