PASTORAL CHAT

My Dear Readers

Last Lord’s Day I ministered to Tabernacle B-P Church at 133 Fidelio Street (Opera Estate), Singapore 458518. It was the happy occasion of their 18th Anniversary. My message to them was “Jesus is coming very soon”. Are you labouring with meeting with Him in view? With an active membership of 70 and baptised infants of 16 they have taken a stand with us of a 100% perfect Bible without any mistake.

They go to Chai Chee with their Elder on a  Saturday for Evangelism, quoting Prov. 11:30, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.”

They are planning on a missionary trip to Cambodia July 9 – 13, nine of them.

They have seven who gather for Bible study in Chinese with help from an FEBC graduate, hoping  for a Chinese pastor to shepherd them. They are actively labouring to meet our Lord who is coming very soon. We need to learn from them.

In regard to our Lord’s very soon coming we pointed out last week how in Christ’s acceleration programme (Matt. 24:14) we should pay special attention to all kinds of nationalities visiting our Lord’s Day Service. We have observed Indonesians, Australians, Indians, Americans, mainland Chinese coming into our congregation. If they sit near you it is your duty to contact them after service as required of God’s Word to win all nationalities to Christ. This is one advantage worshipping at RELC.

Your affectionate pastor
T. T.

 

 

 

EXCERPTS FROM DR. S. H. TOW’S CHAT

26 June 2005

My Dear Readers
1. A VOICE FROM THE PAST

This week we reprint a pastoral which I wrote in 1988 for Calvary Weekly of Lord’s Day 13 November. The 17-year-old article has useful practical lessons for all who love God’s house. All too often we lack the warmth of welcome for visitors and newcomers, or we fall short in the area of reverence for the holy Sanctuary.

May we be reminded by this voice from the past of the need to honour the Lord in His House so that we may receive His approval and blessing.

2. “WHY I LEFT ANOTHER CHURCH TO COME HERE”

No church is perfect, but this does not mean we should not strive for perfection. A church which fails to provide a quiet and worshipful atmosphere in the Sanctuary will cause members to become dissatisfied, and some will leave to look elsewhere.

Recently a new friend told us why she came to us: “In the other church there is chit-chatting in the Sanctuary, and disrespectful behaviour. I found it hard to concentrate on worship.” Another visitor said, “For 45 minutes we sang, clapped hands, prayed and shouted Hallelujah, as well as held hands or raised hands and swayed the body.”

While we may marvel at the defects in other churches, we might well be guilty of other sorts of defects ourselves. As I meditated on the matter, I am persuaded to write for the benefit of all. Surely YOU and I ought to be concerned that we do not “put off” new friends by our commissions and omissions. It is already not easy to get people to come to church, and to drive our visitors away by our defects (which are largely avoidable) must be something most thoughtless and foolish. Let us all examine ourselves: do I do things which dishonour God in His holy Sanctuary?

3. DISHONOURING GOD IN HIS HOUSE

It is a strange fact that men of the world honour their politicians and musicians more than we honour our great Omnipotent God. People are seated 15 minutes before some VIP politician or minister arrives to give a speech. At musical performances (eg of SSO at the Victoria Concert Hall) latecomers are shut out and not allowed to enter to disturb the audience while a performance is on. This is the RESPECT the world shows to VIPs and music lovers. Everybody observes these rules of common courtesy. But in God’s House it seems we have no rules and no respect for God or others. Consider these 10 ways of dishonouring God in His House:
(1) Habitual and careless latecoming.
(2) Coming without heart preparation.
(3) Irreverent attitude toward Sanctuary.
(4) Chatting and casual talking.
(5) Reading things not related to worship.
(6) Indifference to prayer / singing /listening.
(7) Walking in and out at will.
(8) Falling asleep during worship.
(9) Allowing children to disturb the peace.
(10) Disrespectful attire, worldly.

When you consider the above account carefully, you will surely say: “These things ought not so to be.” All of us would agree too.

4. HONOURING GOD IN HIS HOUSE

Of course we all want to honour God, in His House and elsewhere, at all times. However, due to thoughtlessness, or lack of discipline on the part of some church leaders, the Sanctuary is allowed to degenerate into a club house or social meeting place, sometimes even into a market-place. (Calvary is not any of these, thank God.) Nevertheless it is needful for us to take stock and IMPROVE the SANCTITY in the SANCTUARY:
(1) Lord’s Day worship should be seen as the CLIMAX to a week of devotion toward the Lord. We must therefore come with adequate heart preparation.
(2) Let us keep an early Saturday night so as to be able to get up early on Lord’s Day morning.
(3) We must LEAVE home EARLY (making allowance for traffic delays, etc) aiming to ARRIVE 15 minutes before time.
(4) Approach the Sanctuary reverently and observe SILENCE.
(5) In the Sanctuary: no casual talking, no unnecessary moving about (Do not walk to toilet! Go before service).
(6) In worship, do it heartily with ALL our HEART/ SOUL / MIND / STRENGTH.
(7) Keep young children RESTRAINED.
(8) Come to God’s House properly attired: no flashy or fleshy clothes. We must All learn to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth.
(9) For today (17 years after) we need to add: check your handphones and pagers, switch them off during Worship Service! Let us observe sanctity in the Sanctuary.

Lovingly in the Lord
Dr SH Tow, Senior Pastor
Calvary Pandan BPC

 

THE GOSPEL OF LIFE: Chapter XII

John 12:28-36
The Father’s Final Confirmation

The Father spoke from heaven on Jesus’ baptism to tell the world that this was His Son (Matt. 3:17). The Father spoke from heaven again at the Transfiguration of the Son to strengthen the faith of the three disciples (Matt 17:5). Now the Father spoke the third and final time to tell both the world and His disciples what He would do through His Son. “This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes,” declared our Lord as the voice subsided.

What was the reaction of the crowd to the Voice from heaven? To most of the crowd it was a rumbling sound, like thunder. “Except a man be born again he cannot hear from the Kingdom of God” is our corollary to Jn. 3:3. As the Apostle Paul puts it, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” The words of the preacher, declaring God’s message to the congregation Sunday after Sunday, may be falling on too many deaf ears. Are you one of them?

Some of the crowd said, “An angel spoke to Him.” The Voice was from the Father for their sakes, but they thought it to be directed to Jesus by some angelic power. The second class of hearers who see a need in others but never in  themselves are not only deaf but blind. When you come to Church you come because there’s a special singing item with angelic music (the church today uses entertainment to draw a crowd) or because you want to hear what He will say to you?

When the Father answered, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again” to the Son’s prayer, “Father, glorify thy name.” He meant to say, “I will perfect what I have begun” (Calvin). It is our duty to make the glory of God the utmost exertion of our life, if need be, even to death. This is the Son’s submission to the Father, who reiterates it in his reference to being “lifted up” i.e. to be hung on the cross to save them that believe. The Father’s final confirmation of the Son finds reciprocal submission in the Son. His substitutionary death on the cross is a prerequisite to the Glory to come. And He invites the crowd again to believe in Him by walking in this light of His teaching. And you!

Come to the Light, ’tis shining for thee;
Sweetly the Light has shone upon me;
Once I was blind, but now I can see:
The Light of the world is Jesus.