12TH ANNIVERSARY THANKSGIVING SERVICE OF KEMAMAN LIFE B-P CHURCH, JULY 7, 2006

A Word from Dr Wee Tiong Soon
(Deacon of Kemaman Life BPC)

Dearly beloved, the Lord has been faithful towards us from the humble beginning 12 years ago. He had been sending to us every week His preachers without fail. Thank God for journey mercies for all of the Lord’s messengers. May the Lord continue to bless them with good health and strength for the work here and elsewhere. May the Lord move us to pray as everything depends on Him, and to work with more effort. We thank all helpers in our ministry for God knows we cannot function on our own. May their reward in heaven be abundant. Psalm 115:1 says, “Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.”

As we celebrate our 12th anniversary, let us remind ourselves that we are what we are because of God’s power. We are still a small church, but we find comfort in God’s way of doing things. God does not look at numbers. The chosen are always the minority. Meanwhile, let us continue in our calling. We are called to be sowers. Our ministry is to bring the gospel to the people, especially the children. It does not matter that they will leave us when they go away to study or work elsewhere. There are sowers and reapers in the Lord’s kingdom according to His grace. We have the universal kingdom of God in mind when we serve Him. May the Lord find us faithful. So dearly beloved, let us continue to press toward the mark as Paul said in Philippians 3:14, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” We thank God for the unity of our church as we are aware we are all sinners saved by grace. We can expect to be forgiven as we forgive others. May the grace of Christ our Saviour, and the Father’s boundless love, with the Holy Spirit’s favour, rest upon us from above. Amen.

A Report by Mr Eio Eng Hua (Member of True Life BPC)

On the night of 6th July, six members forming the Singapore delegation assembled at Lavender bus station to get ready for the Kemaman trip. They were Dr Jeffrey Khoo, Lim Ren Muh, Deborah Mae and Judith D’Silva, Mr and Mrs Eio Eng Hua. The bus ride was “smooth sailing” all the way up to Centre Point, Kemaman. However, there was a “hiccup” at the end of the journey. Mr Eio suddenly discovered that he had “lost” his travel bag. The bus was delayed for 15 minutes to enable him to find his “lost” item. Finally, it was Helen who spotted the bag and the search ended. Praise the Lord! Dr and Mrs Wee Tiong Soon were already at the pick-up point to fetch us to their house.

The following afternoon, we witnessed the Kemaman Life B-P Church Friday Bible Study and Fellowship in operation. Ren Muh (Calvary Tengah) led the children (50 of them) in lively singing and he taught them a new song by using PowerPoint software. Later, the children were dispersed into four classes under the care of Dr Khoo, Mr Eio, Mrs Helen Eio and Mrs Lee.

Later that evening, there was the sumptuous dinner for all present on the 1st floor of the church building. Then came the hour everyone was waiting for – the 12th Anniversary Thanksgiving Service. Around 80 church members and guests (9 from Calvary Jaya) congregated at the church hall to praise God through singing of hymns, prayers and presentation of special items. Holy Communion was administered by Dr Khoo. It was followed by a medley of Christian songs by sister Deborah and assisted by sister Judith on her guitar. The members of Kemaman Church also presented a song item entitled, “Prepare to Meet the Lord.”

Dr Jeffrey Khoo delivered the message of the evening, “Who is the Word of Life?” which was interpreted into Chinese by Rev Lee Kim Shong. Dr Khoo expounded from 1 John 1:1-3, and highlighted that Kemaman Life was a lively church because of the “Word of Life.” The Word of Life is none other than the Living Word—Jesus Christ—who is fully God and fully man, and the Written Word—the Bible—which is 100% inspired and 100% preserved. He then brought the congregation “down memory lane” all the way back to 1994 to throw some light on how the Kemaman Life BPC came into existence. God led the late Rev John Ling to start this witness in Kemaman with the help of our pastor, Rev Dr Timothy Tow. When Rev Ling went to glory, Kemaman Life BPC’s operation fell on the
shoulders of Dr and Mrs Wee (a couple who love and honour the Lord).

The Kemaman Church then was in need of manpower and the Lord sent Rev Lee Kim Shong of Calvary Jaya B-P Church to help out. Thank God also for other preachers and mission workers who visited the Kemaman Church regularly for the last 12 years to share God’s word to the lost souls. Since 1998, both Dr and Mrs Wee have been labouring continuously with the local brethren to keep the flame of Kemaman Life BPC burning bright “for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Rev 1:9).

The Lord granted us a safe journey home on Saturday, 8th July. All glory to the Lord.

THE GOSPEL OF LIFE: Chapter 21

John 21
To His flock and undershepherds, Jesus Christ is that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant. Amen.

This very last chapter in John is an Epilogue. According to Webster, an epilogue is “a closing section added to a novel, play, etc., providing further comment, interpretation, or information.” But why is it added after John’s Gospel is concluded with such a beautiful climax at Jn. 20:30, 31?

According to Hendriksen there is a sevenfold purpose:
1. To prove that the risen Christ still takes an interest in His Church, and that His power and love have not diminished in any way.
2. To remind the disciples to be fishers always of men.
3. To show Peter, despite his grievous sin of denying the Saviour, he has been reinstated. What is remembered by man is forgotten by God, because God’s forgiveness is divine.
4. To stress once again the comforting truth of predestination, inasmuch as Peter’s glorious death has been foreseen and predicted (see 21:18, 19).
5. To remove a misunderstanding in respect of Jesus’ saying about John that he was not going to die (21:23).
6. To allow the Ephesian elders to present the united testimony to the reliability of John’s Gospel record.
7. To explain why so many other events in the life of Christ were not recorded (21:25).

Whatever other purpose for penning this Epilogue, the fact that it is John’s personal experience and eye-witness account makes it throb with life. How do you know that John was there that “third” Resurrection morning?

John 21:1-3
Fruitless Enterprises Without Christ

The sea of Tiberias is the sea of Galilee, the old haunt of the disciples. The disciples had returned to their homes in Galilee to keep an appointment with the Lord (Matt 28:10). As they were first called in Galilee, so should they be commissioned from Galilee.

While they waited for the Lord, Peter, captain of the team, suggested to go fishing. Not fishing for pleasure, but for livelihood. “. . . if any would not work neither should he eat” (I Thess 3:10). Should the apostles be farmers, they would be digging in the field. They were no “rice-tubs”, sitting down, like lazy monks, to be fed. They were no eaters of the bread of idleness. Work is sacred and honourable.

Be that as it may, self enterprise needs God’s help to succeed. As the Lord was not present, and this fishing expedition was launched rather at Peter’s own initiative, the Lord wanted them to learn again that previous lesson (Lk 5) of fruitless self-effort. The Lord also wanted to assure His very own of His ever present help in time of need. For soon He would return physically to Heaven, but He would go through life with them as their Provider. There is the higher purpose of God in the affairs of His children in withholding or releasing. So the story is abruptly told in one verse, with an abrupt ending – “and that night they caught nothing” (v. 3). Is that your experience also?

In Church work there are those who like to sweat through with fairs and sales, walkathons and flags, concerts and musicals. But when the Lord promotes His own work, He will need none of our self-efforts, that all glory should redound only to Himself.