A Bible-Presbyterian Church in Every Major Australian City
(Pastor Tow’s Word to Brisbane BPC on Occasion of its Inauguration Service, March 18, 2007)
A Bible-Presbyterian Church (BPC) in every major Australian city was the burden and plan of Dr S H Tow and mine. The Bible-Presbyterian Church of Western Australia (BPCWA) was inaugurated in 1986 through Mr Robin Tan’s leadership. Now, the church has its own building on the Canning Highway.
Bethel BPC in Melbourne was started in the home of Mr Loke Tat Luen who migrated to Melbourne in 1985. Regular services were held since April 1986. Bethel now occupies a beautiful sanctuary at 10 Downing Street, Oakleigh.
There is also a BPC in Adelaide called Hope started by Rev and Mrs Edward Paauwe. Our part in Hope BPC was in the acquisition of the Stone Mansion by way of counsel and encouragement, and love gifts from a sister who loved the Lord, and other BPCs.
Now, we have Brisbane BPC served by True Life’s missionary preacher, Hien Gia Nguyen, a Master of Theology graduate of FEBC who believes the Bible to be 100% perfect, without any mistake.
The Church’s one foundation
Is Jesus Christ her Lord;
She is His new creation
By water and the Word:
From heav’n He came and sought her
To be His holy bride;
With His own blood He bought her,
And for her life He died.
Yours in Christ
Rev Dr Timothy Tow
Pastor
Our Lord Jesus Christ and God’s Word
(Message delivered by Pr Hien Nguyen at the Lord’s Day Service, Brisbane BPC, 2 pm, Mar 11, 2007)
Text: John 17:14-17
What is our attitude toward the Lord Jesus Christ and God’s Word?
Jesus Christ Is Lord
There are many today who do not believe in the Lord Jesus. They even ignore Him, reject Him, despise Him, and blaspheme His Name. Many professing Christians may profess that Jesus is Lord with their lips but are not submissive to Him as their personal Lord, not wanting Him to have full control over their lives. Our Lord Jesus says, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matt 7:21).
The Bible also confirms “that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). Furthermore, “unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom… And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands” (Heb 1:8, 10).
How about you and me? Do we exalt the Lord Jesus as our Lord and King from our hearts with full submission and dependence? Do we seek His will and approval in what we think, say, do, believe, worship, read, watch, eat or drink, and all to His glory? It is the Holy Spirit who can transform our lives, subdue our sinful nature, and help us submit ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor 12:3). Shall we not wisely submit ourselves to our mighty and wise Saviour and Maker, who loves us so much that He humbled Himself and came to this world to die for our sins and rose again to be our loving and living Lord and Saviour? In the end, when our Lord Jesus Christ comes back, “every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:11).
God’s Word Is Truth
Our Lord Jesus lives by His Father’s Word, saying, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4), and faithfully ministers God’s Word to His followers, praying to His Father, “For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them… I have given them thy word… Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:8, 14, 17).
In Jesus’ days on earth, there were no extant original manuscripts (autographs) of the Old Testament except copies (apographs) of them. Jesus, the all-knowing and perfect God, did not see any “discrepancies” in the copies of the Old Testament concerning the dates, the numbers, the names and so forth, nor questioned, nor criticised, nor cast doubt on the Scripture like many modern “scholars” do nowadays. On the contrary, our Lord Jesus was assured of the verbal and plenary preservation (VPP) of His verbally and plenarily inspired (VPI) Word, and strongly confirmed that “the scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35), and that “till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matt 5:17-18), and that “heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matt 24:35; Mark13:31; Luke 21:33). He challenged the Jewish leaders, “For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings (only copies), how shall ye believe my words” (John 5:46-47).
My friends, only God’s Word is Truth, which is able to transform our lives, regenerate and sanctify us (John 17:17; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23) and help us know the truth about God and man and His will concerning our beliefs and practices, our lives and our worship.
Conclusion
Whether you and I believe it or not, Jesus Christ is still the Lord, and God’s Word is Truth. May God help us to submit ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ, and God’s Word alone, all to His glory. Amen.
A Foretaste of Things to Come
A Testimony by Dn Charles Kan Praise and glory be to our Triune God— Father, Son and Holy Ghost—for the way He has established the Brisbane Bible-Presbyterian Church with True Life’s missionary preacher Hien Gia Nguyen as the under-shepherd of the small flock of twelve members, namely, Hien and his wife Trang, their children Hahn and Timothy; Tim and his wife Anne (FEBC alumna) and son Zechariah; Eric Too and his wife Linda and daughters Hannah and Emma; and Brother Michael.
I thank our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for the opportunity to go to Brisbane to rejoice with our brethren on this most joyous occasion of the inauguration of Brisbane BPC. We praise Him for the way He has provided us with two free return tickets plus accommodations and airport transfers to Gold Coast through our younger son, Andrew, who won the tickets as a prize for his purchase of T-shirts worth about $50.
Now, we can see how our Heavenly Father has prepared and led Preacher Hien to the Far Eastern Bible College (FEBC) to be trained in His forever infallible and inerrant words of life. After he graduated from FEBC, the Lord led him and his family to set up home in Brisbane where no BPC has yet been established.
When the date of the inauguration of the church was set on March 18, 2007, we were encouraged to know through the testimonies at our Friday prayer meetings that our Lord had placed a burden in the hearts of some brethren of True Life BPC to make the trip down under. True Lifers (Deborah Mae and Judith D’Silva, Jacelyn and Joycelyn Chng, Dr and Mrs Francis Lee and little Moses their son, Jenny and myself) were glad to be there. Deborah and Judith rendered songs of praise to the Lord and songs of encouragement to all who were at the service.
We also had representatives from churches in the other states of Australia: Rev Dr Okman Ki (Hope BPC, Adelaide), Rev and Mrs Errol Stone (Faith Presbyterian Church, Perth), Eld Charles Choong (Bethel BPC, Melbourne), and Dn Anthony Ngan (Sydney BPC) were there to send greetings from their respective congregations.
We thank the Lord for Rev Paul Seiler of St John’s Presbyterian Church who graciously allowed the inauguration service to be held in the main sanctuary. At the service, Rev Stephen Khoo was the Lord’s messenger, and he reminded us of the Lord’s words to His people, “Ye shall be Witnesses” (Acts 2:38-47).
We also witnessed the Dean Burgon Oath being taken by every member of the Brisbane BPC. How we rejoice to know that we have brethren that are likeminded, who stand squarely on the 100% inspired, and forever infallible, inerrant, 100% preserved words of God. Do continue to pray for this small flock, that they will remain faithful and steadfast in their service for the Lord, and that the Lord will grant them His increase. We praise and thank our Lord for journey mercies there and back to Singapore and the meals that were provided by the brethren there, who received us so warmly.
Last but not least, we thank the Lord for the Christian fellowship we had, which is a foretaste of things to come when our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ returns.
