Mysteries, Marvels & Much Much More!

uth chronicle
Issue IV 2010 Oct Dec

Editors Note
Heylo dear readers, servants for our Lord. Let us heed the call in 1 Timothy 4:12 Apologies for the late publication to Let no man despise thy of this issue! As is often said, youth; but be thou an example of time and tide wait for no man. the believers, in word, in Just as our deadline passed conversation, in charity, in without regard for our spirit, in faith, in purity. unpreparedness to meet it, so will 2010 come to a close Which brings us to this issues whether or not we have spent theme! It is a continuation of the the year wisely. Once again you previous one as we explore some hold in your hands the nal of the mysteries and marvels of issue of the Uth Chronicle for the Bible, and here we take a this year, and once again it is look at Babylon Through History time for us to take a spiritual and Beyond, a contribution from stock check. Rev Errol Stone that touches on the signicance of Babylon in It is now roughly about a year the Bible. since regular readers have gone through the previous years Also inside is an article by Rev issue for the fourth quarter. In Dr Jeffrey Khoo that answers all that time, have we grown in the question What Happens to the grace and the knowledge of Souls Right After Death, where our Lord? Have we obtained a we take a look at exactly what it deeper understanding of at least means to be absent in the body, some small portion of Scripture? present with the Lord. Let us take care not to always remain as babes in Christ. By Some of us may also be Gods grace, and in His innite wondering about the difference wisdom, we have been saved in between secret things (as in our youth, a period where we Deut 29:29) and mysteries (as have more energy, time and in Col 1:26). Pr Lek tackles this freedom than most working in Secret Things vs. Mysteries. adults. With this in mind, we must spare no effort in ensuring Moving away from these that our spiritual growth weighty topics, we have mirrors our physical growth so something a little closer to our that we may be effective daily life; the presence of decisions. Ko Lingwei writes about how we need to Be Wary of the Open Door. And as the year draws to a close, it would also do us well to look back on the year and reect how we have lived out the theme of the YF, To Know Christ and to Make Him Known. Jason Liew has contributed an article that takes a look at exactly what the YF theme means. There is little else for me to write, except for a nal reminder to continue to study Gods Word daily. If we have let the year pass by with little thought or thirst for the Bible, it is never too late to repent, never too late to obey Gods command in Ephesians 5:15-16, See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. So if the bulk of 2010 has sped by and seen us walking foolishly, then let us seize what time is left and make the change now, while the Lord still tarries. God bless your reading! =) Yours in Christ, Brian

How the Uth Chronicle gets created. (From left to right) Brian gets the meeting started with discussing the theme. Bro Henry provides a meeting place, yummy pastries and ideas! After a fruitful meeting, we make our way back to church!

Advisor: Bro Henry Chua Editor: Brian Lim Secretar y: Dorothy Chiang Layouts: Grace Auyo ng Photos: Samuel Chia Chasers: Dorothy Ch iang & Joel Quah Special Ops: Jonan Ta n, Jonathan Tay, Michell e Chiang & Yeda Ko

UTH TEAM

What Happens to Souls Right after Death?

DR JEFFERY KHO O

Man consists of two partsthe body and the soul. What happens to the soul when a person dies? According to the Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 22, paragraphs 1-3, Of the State of Men after Death, and of the Resurrection of the Dead:

be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. The rst resurrection will take place when Jesus Christ returns to raise His saints from the grave and rapture all believers who are still alive on earth. This event is described for us in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning (1)!! The bodies of men, after death, them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, return to dust, and see corruption: but even as others which have no hope. For if we their souls, which neither die nor sleep, believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so having an immortal subsistence, them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring immediately return to God who gave with him. For this we say unto you by the word them: the souls of the righteous, being of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain then made perfect in holiness, are unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent received into the highest heavens, where them which are asleep. For the Lord himself they behold the face of God, in light and shall descend from heaven with a shout, with glory, waiting for the full redemption of the voice of the archangel, and with the trump their bodies. And the souls of the of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise rst: wicked are cast into hell, where they Then we which are alive and remain shall be remain in torments and utter darkness, caught up together with them in the clouds, to reserved to the judgment of the great meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever day. Beside these two places, for souls be with the Lord. separated from their bodies, the Scripture acknowledgeth none. The souls of the unbelieving dead will participate in the second resurrection. (2)!! At the last day, such as are found The second resurrection is a cursed alive shall not die, but be changed: and resurrection because it is a resurrection all the dead shall be raised up, with the unto damnation. All the unbelieving dead self-same bodies, and none other will be raised up to stand before the (although with different qualities), which Judgement of the Great White Throne and shall be united again to their souls be condemned to eternal torment in the forever. lake of re. This Judgement is described in Revelation 20:11-15, And I saw a great white (3)!! The bodies of the unjust shall, by throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the power of Christ, be raised to dishonour: the bodies of the just, by his the earth and the heaven ed away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the Spirit, unto honour; and be made dead, small and great, stand before God; and conformable to his own glorious body. the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead Clearly, the two parts of man are were judged out of those things which were separable and they are separated when written in the books, according to their works. man dies. The body is buried and And the sea gave up the dead which were in decomposes, while the soul lives on: believers in heaven and unbelievers in hell, it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged waiting for the resurrection to come. every man according to their works. And death All who have died in Christ will and hell were cast into the lake of re.This is participate in the rst resurrection. the second death. And whosoever was not Revelation 20:6 says, Blessed and holy is he found written in the book of life was cast into that hath part in the rst resurrection: on such the lake of re. the second death hath no power, but they shall
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At this point in time, those who have passed away, be they believers or unbelievers, are said to be in their intermediate state. What is the intermediate state? The intermediate state is that realm or condition in which souls exist between death and the resurrection (Boettner). For the Christian, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Cor 5:8). The reprobate, on the other hand, is now in a place of torment till the judgment day (Luke 13:27-28, 16:23-24, Jude 6-7, Rev 20:11-15). The intermediate state is described by Jesus in the story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). From this true story of what happened to the rich man (an unbeliever) and Lazarus (a child of God) after they died, we nd the following description of what the intermediate state is like: (1) The souls of the departed are truly alive, and fully conscious. (2) The wicked are experiencing tremendous pain, and suffering. (3) The redeemed are said to be in Abrahams bosom. (4) Verbal communication is possible. (5) Heaven and hell are separated by a great chasm. (6) The souls of men are waiting for the resurrection of the body (Luke 14:13-14, John 5:29, Rev 20:4-6). (7) The departed cannot return to communicate with the living (Exod 22:18, Lev 20:6, 27, Deut 18:10-12). In light of the above, we reject the following false views of the intermediate state: (1)!! Soul Sleep: This view held by the Seventh-day Adventists teaches that when man dies, his soul enters into a state of unconsciousness. This view certainly contradicts the story of the rich man and Lazarus, for the rich man whose soul was in hell was very conscious of where he was and what he was going through. Lazarus himself was very much awake and comforted by Abraham in heaven.
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(2)!! Purgatory: This view says that those who die without being thoroughly cleansed of venial (unforgiveable) sins will have to undergo a process of purication in a half-way house before they can enter heaven. Taught by Roman Catholics, it contradicts what Jesus said in Luke 23:43 when He told the repentant thief, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. The Apostle Paul himself made it very clear that all the purging of our sins have already been done by our Saviour, Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctieth to the purifying of the esh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Heb 9:12-14). (3)!! Annihilation: This view is taught by the Jehovahs Witnesses and the liberals. They say that when the impenitent dies, he will cease to exist. They deny the existence of hell. Such a view contradicts what God says in Revelation 19:20, and 20:10, And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of re burning with brimstone. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of re and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Finally, what benets do believers receive from Christ at death? The Westminster Shorter Catechism (Q37) has this good answer, The souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united in Christ, do rest in their graves, until the resurrection. In light of this, let us make sure that we are born again, truly children of God, having the gift of eternal life which only the Lord Jesus Christ can give to all who will trust in Him.

Babylon Through History and Beyond

REV ERROL STON E

Doing a search in the concordance, one will nd that the name Babylon is mentioned 299 times in the whole Bible. Other than Israel and Jerusalem, Babylon is one of the most mentioned cities in the Bible (another frequently mentioned city is Egypt 611 times). Based on this fact, one realises that Babylon is not an insignicant city in the Bible.

slightly after Abraham left the Ur of the Chaldees (also another name used to describe the land of Babylon) to journey to Canaan (Gen 11:31). Babylon was then ruled by various Chaldean kings in what is known as the Old Babylonia period (1830 1550 B.C.). The Old Babylonian Empire lasted several dynasties until it was occupied by various Arabian empires (1550 625 B.C.). A few Origin of Babylon noteworthy kings who occupied Babylon during this time were TiglathThis name Babylon comes from pileser III (745 - 727 B.C), Sargon II Babel, which means to confound. It Based on the founder and the (722 705 B.C.) and Sennacherib (704 also has the sense of mixing and thus founding of this city, one realises that - 681 B.C.). All three kings were kings it can also mean confusion. This the history of Babylon was cradled in of Assyria and we would recall the name was rst mentioned in the Bible sin and steeped in deance against northern Kingdom of Israel was in Genesis 10:10 where Nimrod, the God. It began with a desire to conquered by the Assyrians in 722 B.C son of Cush was described as the promote a false religion (as seen in the by Shalmaneser V. Babylon was nally founder of this city (Gen 10:9, 10). The desire to promote their own name) freed from the Assyrians control in details of the origin of this city are that they might replace the worship of 625 B.C., which led to the beginning of found in Genesis 11:1-9. The Biblical Almighty God. Babylon is, therefore, what is now known as the Neodescription records that at that time, the centre of united religious apostasy Babylonian Empire founded by the people of the world all spoke the as well as the centre of united political Nabopolassar. A coalition of the same language. They travelled eastward rebellion against God. Babylonians, Medes and a few other to the land in Shinar and there they states initially conquered by the desired to build a tower to reach to Genesis, the book of beginnings, has Assyrians then attacked Nineveh, the heaven. This building of a tower is not given us the origin of Babylon. It is capital of Assyria, and captured it in something small and insignicant. God noteworthy to see the book of 612 B.C. An Egyptian relief force is always fair in judgment; therefore Revelation, the book of the last things, which had an alliance with the the severity of this sin can be seen in describing this city again with the the severity of the punishment God same themes a united rebellion both Assyrians was destroyed and nal resistance ended in 605 B.C. The stage meted out. The building of a tower to in religion and polity against God. was then set for Nebuchadnezzar (634 reach heaven was in fact an act of 562 B.C.) to bring Babylon to its pride and united rebellion against God Location of Babylon heights. as they wanted to build a tower to Babylon lies on the track of the reach to heaven in order to establish The next signicant instance where Euphrates River, with its boundaries their name to usurp Gods name. extending to Mesopotamia and Assyria Babylon was mentioned in the Bible Because of this act of united rebellion, to the North and to the Persian Gulf was during the reign of Hezekiah the God confounded the people through king of Judah (2 King 20). Isaiah was to the south. It is located in modern different languages and scattered these the writing prophet who ministered day Iraq. rebels. This punishment was meted to during Hezekiahs reign and he made reect the punishment aganst the Babylon through history numerous prophecies relating to sinful unity; they will henceforth not Babylon. Most of these prophecies be able to gather as one united people Subsequent to the founding of Babylon were regarding the captivity of Judah described in Genesis 11, it came under to stage a rebellion against God. by the Babylonians and the subsequent the rule of Amraphel (Gen 14:1 king destruction of Babylon. Isaiah chapters Nimrod the founder of this city was of Shinar), who was in an alliance with 38 and 39 were prophecies describing probably the one who instigated the four other kings of which the rise of the Babylonian Empire and people to rebel against God. The Bible Chedolaomer, king of Elam was the the captivity of Judah. The amazing described him as a mighty hunter head. This account may be placed at thing regarding these prophecies was before the LORD. (Gen 10:9). The around 1960 1830 B.C. This was 5

importance and signicance of this phrase is seen in the fact that this phrase was repeated in the same verse. What is the signicance? Who is Nimrod and what do we know about him? The word before found in this phrase is telling and explains the signicance. This word literally means at the face of. This means Nimrod was a mighty hunter against the LORD. In his might, Nimrod rebelled against God; through his might, Nimrod led the people against God.

the fact that Isaiah made this prediction regarding the Babylonian captivity 100 years before the Babylonian Empire even rose to power! There are other passages in Isaiah which describe the destruction of Babylon. Some of these refer to the destruction by the Medes and Persians (Isa 47), whereas others refer to destruction in relation to the second coming of Christ (Isa 14). The prophet, at times, may also refer to both the immediate future and in the following verses, to a distant future. This is what Rev Tow would call the prophet-scope. He explained:

destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. But the most remarkable thing about the prophecies of Jeremiah was that Jeremiah also prophesised the destruction of Babylon while Babylon was at the height of its power. These prophecies are found in Jeremiah 50 and 51. The prophet Jeremiah also prophesied the exact length of time Judah will be brought into captivity 70 years (Jer 25:11; 29:10). The rise and fall of Babylon was also prophesised by Daniel. It was through the interpretation of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar that Daniel foretold the rise and the fall of the Babylonian

Like a man looking out of his window into the distance, the seer and the prophet, insofar as prophetic history is concerned, can see a panorama of four mountain ranges, as illustrated above. (Timothy Tow, The Gospel Prophets, [Singapore: Christian Life Publishers, n.d.], p.11.)

Empire (Daniel 2:37-45). During the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian Empire reached the zenith of its power. During this time, the walls of Babylon were impregnable; the city was surrounded by two concentric sets of walls. The outer walls were 350 feet high and 87 feet thick, supposedly wide enough to Such an instance is found in Isaiah 13. allow a four-abreast horse chariot to In Isaiah 13:17-19, Isaiah looks to the turn. There were 150 gates of brass destruction of the Babylonians by the protecting the entrances; and 250 Medes and Persians, and in the very watchtowers, each 100 feet higher next verse Isaiah 13:20-22, he than the walls, were placed along the switches to the destruction of Babylon walls. And Babylon stored food which at the second coming of Christ. would be sufcient to last them through 25 years of any siege! In this The prophet Jeremiah also made several prophecies regarding Babylon. city were palaces and beautiful gardens, the most famous of which In Jeremiah 28:1-17, he prophesised was the Hanging Gardens one of the the defeat of Jerusalem by the seven wonders of the ancient world. Babylonians. While Jeremiah predicted After the death of Nebuchadnezzar!in the destruction of Jerusalem, there 562 B.C., his son Amel-Marduk were false prophets who also gave assumed the throne but was their false message that Jerusalem will assassinated two years later. defeat Babylon. Jeremiah was proven Neriglissar then ascended the throne true when Babylon defeated Jerusalem in 560 B.C., but he died only four in 605 B.C. Jeremiah witnessed the
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years later. He was succeeded by his son who was also assassinated. Nabonidus then assumed power appointing his son, Belshazzar as coregent. It was Belshazzar who held the feast recorded in Daniel 5. Daniel prophesised the destruction of the Babylonian Empire by interpreting the writing on the wall during the feast held by Belshazzar (Daniel 5:17-29). The very same night, the prophecy was fullled. The Medes and the Persian would rise to destroy the Babylonian Empire. The Medes had laid siege to the city of Babylon. Knowing how impregnable the walls were, they dug a canal to drain the water that owed under the city wall and there they entered the city through the dry channel underneath the walls. The feast organised by Belshazzar lowered the guard of the people allowing the invaders to enter the city without much resistance. This attack would probably have taken place just as soon as Daniel had given the interpretation to the handwriting on the wall. !The Babylonian Empire fell in 539 B.C. Babylon beyond History Although the Babylon as an Empire has fallen, its fall is not complete yet. The book of Revelation reveals certain signicant truths regarding this city. The key descriptions of Babylon are found in Revelation chapters 17 and 18. These descriptions are not to be spiritualised away. They will refer to the actual city of Babylon. While it is an actual city, it is also representative of a system of religious and political rebellion against God. Revelation 17 would particularly describe the religious aspect of this city Babylon. This city will be rebuilt and it will be the centre of religious apostasy and rebellion against God. This apostasy will be a global event. It will be ecumenical, where all religions will combine into a one-world church. This one-world church will rise to dizzy heights of power, and will seek to attack and persecute those who

refuse to take part in their united rebellion against God (Rev 17:3-13). This one-world religious system will, however, be brought to an end (Rev 17:16-18) by the beast which made use of this one-world religious system to start his own new world religious system to worship the beast described in Revelation 13. Revelation 18 would however focus on the political aspect of Babylon. The emphasis is on the political and economic nature of Babylon. This political nature is seen since the very beginning when Nimrod founded this city. The city of Babylon will be the capital of the one world empire of the Anti-Christ during the great tribulation. This city will be destroyed suddenly and completely. As in Genesis, Revelation describes Babylon as a city led by one who will seek to lead a global united rebellion against God both politically, and religiously. But this time, God will not just scatter the people; God will destroy the empire of the Anti-Christ totally and completely.

The application for Christians in knowing these truths about Babylon are numerous: The world will continue to seek for opportunity to rebel against God, and Christians must be careful that they are not sucked into the systems of the world which will ultimately lead to apostasy and a rebellion against God. Many of the prophecies as described by Isaiah, Jeremiah and Daniel regarding Babylon in its capture of Judah and its destruction were accurately fullled. There are however many prophecies still unfullled. As some of the prophecies made by Isaiah and Jeremiah sounded preposterous then, some of the unfullled prophecies today may appear to be so to some. But take note - as older prophecies were fullled in the past, so will these be in the future. Christians must therefore live with eternitys values in view. Looking at the signs of the time with the ecumenical movement, and the world moving towards a one world

political system we are living in the last of the last days. We must therefore be prepared for the coming of the Lord. Christians living in the last days will suffer persecution, but when suffering for Christs sake there is a promise of double blessings (Matthew 5:10-12). Resources used: John F. Walvoord, Chapter V: The Rise and Fall of Babylon. http://bible.org/ seriespage/chapter-v-rise-and-fallbabylon J. Hampton Keathley III, Babylon as Seen in Scripture: An Introduction to Revelation 17-18. http://bible.org/ seriespage/babylon-seen-scriptureintroduction-rev-17-18 International Standard Bible Encyclopedia American Tract Society Dictionary Faussets Bible Dictionary Naves Topical Bible

To Know Christ and to Make Him Known

JASON LIEW

The Origin Our Senior Pastor, Dr SH Tow, with the help of Miss Anna Swarr, an American missionar y, adopted the motto, To Know Christ and to Make Him Known when he founded Life Church Youth Fellowship (LCYF) in 1953. It has been the motto of all B-P Youth Fellowships ever since. See SH Tow, A Small But Blessed Beginning: How Life Church Youth Fellowship Started in Life B-P Church Youth Fellowship 50th Anniversary (1953-2003) Magazine (Singapore: LifeBible-Presbyterian Church, 2003), 18. Born in Dec 1925, Dr Tow was 27 when he became the rst LCYF President, serving from 1953 to 1954.

Life Church was still located at Prinsep To Know Christ and To Make Him Street then. Known, as our 75-year-old slogan. See !"#$%%&&&'()*+,)-./0'./,%10% Because it is such a catchy and )2.1-10%&!)-3&435. (last accessed meaningful slogan, many churches, November 1, 2010). Did you notice Christian groups and organisations the at the back? While it resembles have also adopted it as their motto. the emblem of Batmans sidekick, it When searched online, Google actually refers to a registered generated a total of 33,600,000 results trademark. In my opinion, The in 0.08 seconds. There is no doubt that N av i g a t o r s w i l l b e o n e r i c h this is one of the most popular organisation should they commence dictums in Christendom which legal proceedings on such widespread invariably begs the question, Where usage but it is unlikely that they will do did this motto originate from? Having so. served in FCM previously, I met counterparts in The Navigators (an The Meaning interdenominational para-church I suppose, to many, To Know organisation) who shared with me that ! this was their motto too. It might Christ and To Make Him Known means surprise you that they had identied being saved and spreading the gospel. Well, if that were the case, I should

just end my article here. At rst the scores of people who took the glance, that may seem all there is to it. How well do you know so-and-so? quizzes on Facebook. 50%? 70%? While salvation and evangelism are Hardly accurate. Even if we are able to i m p o r t a n t , m o re e m p h a s i s o n precisely pinpoint the percentage, s a n c t i c a t i o n c a n b e s e e n i n people change. Just because you knew programmes planned by leadership of someone in the past does not various Youth Fellowships to build up guarantee that you know them in the the body of believers, or in simpler present. As I was browsing through terms, to help YFers know Christ s o m e p h o t o g r ap h s o f my e x better. It does appear more weight classmates, I was aghast at how much has been given to knowing Christ theyve changed. Friends whom I rather than making Him known. once thought were traditionalists, How many tracting sessions and conservatives and studious have since gospel rallies does YF organise per turned into revellers, smokers, year? Not many. However, I would like alcoholics and fornicators deled by to submit to you that while the above and addicted to the vices of this meanings are included in the motto, wicked world. They have no shame the motto is not limited to that. engaging in public displays of affection and scofng at those who will live The Question: Do You Know? righteously. What does it mean to know a Perhaps the only scarier person? Johann Kaspar Lavater (1741-1801), Swiss poet, Protestant possibility is they have been like that pastor and founder of physiognomies all along and that I was just fooled by offered a cynical comment, Say not their facade all these years. As the you know a man entirely till you have Chinese adage goes, divided an inheritance with him. In this . Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us, The world of smoke and mirrors, do you heart is deceitful above all things, and really know whom you think you desperately wicked: who can know it? know? This was the question I asked myself some time ago when I noticed

King David understood this. He did not seek mans heart but Gods. He was a man after Gods own heart. Are you? The Reality: Knowing Christ No Enough However the reality is that we prefer spending time shopping with friends and getting to know them better to seeking Gods face and favour in prayer and the Word. Perhaps some of us who are drama serial addicts have greater insights on which character died in which episode rather than the Biblical saints of old. Sometimes we claim we know our favourite football hero, admired actors and actresses when we really dont. We may profess to know them (e.g. the celebrities) but they do not know us. Do we transfer this delusion into Christianity as well? Jesus warned in Matthew 7:22-23, Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. O what a terrifying thought! Dear friends, do you really know

Christ? Are you sure you are saved? Consider the words Apostle Have you known Christ as you ought? Paul penned in Philippians 3:7-10, But This reminds me of the timeless word what things were gain to me, those I in the hymn by Thomas Pollock: counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the We have not known thee as we ought, excellency of the knowledge of Christ Nor learned thy wisdom, grace and Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered power; The things of earth have lled our the loss of all things, and do count them thought, but dung, that I may win Christ, And And tries of the passing hour. be found in him, not having mine own Lord, give us light thy truth to see, righteousness, which is of the law, but And make us wise in knowing thee. that which is through the faith of Christ, The Quest: Knowing Christ the righteousness which is of God by begins after Knowing Christ faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the Your quest of seeking God fellowship of his sufferings, being made does not end when you become a conformable unto his death. Christian. It is but the beginning. Dr A W Tozer (1897-1963), in his book The What does it mean to know Pursuit of God rightly remarked, To Christ? To Paul, it meant counting the have found God and still to pursue Him is aforementioned advantages (vv 4-6) the souls paradox of love, scorned indeed such as his Jewish heritage, education by the too-easily-satised religionist but and illustrious track record as a loss justied in happy experience by the and hindrance to knowing what is the children of the burning heart. In other breadth, and length, and depth, and words, do you still have a genuine height (Eph 3:18) of God and His insatiable desire for God that you are love. To Dr John Sung, it meant tossing willing to seek Him no matter the all academic accolades over the Pacic personal cost? Ocean, including all his prestigious Just think: If a guy loves a girl, he will think of her every day, yearn to be in her presence and seek to spend time together with each other as much as possible. This could be either through hours on the phone or whatever creative ways they can come up with. Similarly, if one loves God, the person will meditate on His precepts day and night, yearn to be found in Gods presence and commune with God through much prayer and the study of His Word. Are you in love with God? Do you pursue Him? A person who is in love is driven to know his beloved. Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) the French Mathematician, Physicist and Religious Philosopher said it well, Human things must be known to be loved: but Divine things must be loved to be known. The Cost: Knowing Christ Demands Sacrice
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insignicance. Nothing else can ll up our hearts with the same peace, satisfaction and love that Christ can. Why then do we chase after the material when the greatest treasure is right there in front of us? As children of God, we have been bestowed this treasure freely. It is an eternal inheritance which we did not do anything to deserve. Why then are so many of us blind, seizing the wrong treasure in our hands? If put next to knowing Christ, all these things can be considered as dung compared to what can be gained in Christ. Be wise! He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose says Jim Elliot, the missionary who was martyred at the young age of 29. Drop the dung in your hand and grab hold of the most glorious treasure. Is giving up 3 hours on Saturday to attend YF too much? Or putting aside 2 hours on a weekday to attend FCM too costly? And 1.5 hours on Tuesday to attend Prayer Meeting too burdensome? Or carving out 1 hour on the Lords Day to attend SGBF too painful? Is devoting 0.5 hour everyday awards, gold medals, keys, decorations to do QT also too onerous? and hard-earned degrees (except for his PhD to present to his parents in The poem Leftovers can lial piety) when he dreamt of himself teach us so much lying in a cofn, dressed in academic Leftovers are such humble things, regalia with his hand clasping on to his We would not serve them to a guest; degree. Leslie T Lyall in his biography Yet we serve them to the Lord, Who of John Sung noted, Like Paul he would deserves the very best. renounce the world and its fame once for We give to Him leftover time, all: he would burn his bridges behind Stray minutes, here and there. him. Leftover cash we give to Him, Such few coins as we can spare. What about us? What is our We give our youths unto the world, treasure? Because there will our heart To pleasure, lust and strife; be also. Are they hall activities, CCA Then in declining years, we give,To competitions/performances, TV Him the remnant of our life. serials, sports, money or computer Leftovers? God forbid! games? If we are thus distracted and allow these things to displace Christ, Knowing Christ demands sacrice. then we would have lost what we One must, consistently and continually could have had with the Lord. That is dedicate and devote time to the not to say that these things are bad or personal study and meditation of evil by themselves; but it must be Gods Word. Have you no spiritual made clear that compared to Christ, appetite? It is an acquired taste. The all these things must pale into more you eat it, the better it gets.

Dont let the junk food of the world choke the Word which is sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb (Ps 19:10b). To know Christ means we must give up certain things in our lives. Paul made it crystal clear.

repeat the Christian vocabulary they learned as children, knowing in their heart of hearts that it has ceased to have any real connection with their lives. A living relationship with Christ is the difference between a faith which will grow and a faith which will die through lack of nourishment.

of love is worth a pound of knowledge. John Wesley The Mandate: Making Christ Known ! When we think of making Christ known, the Great Commission naturally comes to mind. Matthew 28:18-20, And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. ! Many people believe that it is by evangelism -- Romans 10:14-15, How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! Suppose you go for evangelism and you manage to successfully invite someone to your church but all they see are apathy, lack of good works, and a lot of in-ghtings here and there. Whats the point? They may even label us as hypocrites! ! Some think that it is by good works -- Matthew 5:16, Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Other religions also

T h e D i f f e re n c e : K n ow i n g Tr u l y, A m a n m a y b e Christ in the Head or Heart theologically knowing and spiritually It is signicant to note that ignorant says Stephen Charnock, a there are 2 different Greek words Puritan divine. To know Christ means used to translate know in the New knowing Him experientially. Knowing Testament. They are oida (head Christ in the head is good, but knowledge) and ginosko (hear t knowing Christ in the heart is far knowledge). Oida means to see/ better. As sons of the Reformation, as perceive, a cognitive knowledge that Bible-Presbyterians, we must have a comes via observation. Ginosko, on the good balance of revivalism and other hand, refers to a deeper confessionalism. We must worship comprehension and expresses a God in spirit and in truth. It is possible connection to the object that is being and even easy for youths to be puffed known if any man love God, the up with knowledge, score well for same is known of him (1 Cor 8:3). This BMC quizzes, teach others (JW/teens/ type of knowledge is gained through etc) but not live out and experience experience and results in an intimate God in all that we do. This form of relationship with Christ. When the godliness and denying the power Apostle Paul declared that I may know t h e r e f o r e i s d a n g e r o u s a n d him in Philippians 3:10, he used the detrimental to our spiritual life. word ginosko. To Paul, knowing Christ Romans 1:21, Because that, when they meant knowing Him in the heart. It is knew God, they gloried him not as God, an experiential knowledge, not just neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart something cognitive. was darkened. Do you know of people In the book Knowing Christ, McGrath who once served God faithfully, but mentioned, are no longer walking with Him today? May we not be like them. The measure It is not enough to maintain the of divine knowledge should be evident externals of faith. Some faithfully in our lives and translated into love. attend church, yet nd it devoid of meaning. Some obediently The more knowlegable we are, the believe in the truth of the more loving we should be. Beware you Christian creeds, yet nd that are not swallowed up in books! An ounce these make no difference to their lives whatsoever. Others

do a lot of good works. In fact, they surpass us by leaps and bounds. Unbelievers will also look at the good works that the Buddhists do, and glorify their Buddha whom they think is in heaven. How do you make Christ known? Many people believe that it is by evangelism, some think that it is by good works,! few realise that it is very much by loving one another -- 2 Corinthians 3:2-3, Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in eshy tables of the heart. Non-believers look at our lives. In John 13:35, our Lord Jesus Christ Himself qualied AGAPE as the catalyst for making Himself known, By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. Unconditional love comes from God and it is universal among all men that they have the capability and propensity to understand that such love is not of the world, but of God. Nowhere else in Scripture is such a promise given.

1 Corinthians 13:13, And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. While we endeavour to share our faith, inevitably there will be those who do not believe. While Christian relief efforts (e.g. Tsunami/earthquake, mission aid) provide hope for the lost, it is only temporal and others far supercede us in good works. But, love never faileth. Love is everlasting. When a world of hatred and unbelief see Christians overcoming evil with good, dying for their enemies, acts and expressions of divine love exhibited, our Lord promised us that all men shall know that we are the disciples of Christ. Making Christ known means loving one another. Making Christ known is rst and foremost by the way we live for that is how we show others we have Jesus in us. Then later via the means of evangelism and good works, we may make Christ known. The Conclusion

well do you know Christ? Let us touch our hearts and ask ourselves honestly. It is between God and us. Are we saved? Are we sure? Are we pursuing God? Are we growing in grace and knowledge? Are we experiencing God? Are we loving one another? Are we actively doing good works and spreading the gospel? To know Christ means more than being saved. To know Christ demands sacrice. To know Christ means we experience Him. He is real. Making Christ known is more than evangelism and good works. Making Christ known is about demonstrating the love of God in our lives. To know Christ and to make Him known may seem like a tall order, but it is not impossible. Is it just a fancy motto to all of us? Or is it something that will characterise us as a CPYFer? Come, join us every week, as we endeavour To know Christ and to make Him known.

Earlier on in the article, I See you at CPYF next mentioned the How well do you Saturday. know so-and-so? Facebook quizes. My question posed to you is this: How

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Secret Things vs. Mysteries

PR. LEK AIK WEE

The secret things are things hidden, concealed, not to be made known. Deuteronomy 29:29 tells us there are those closed doors of knowledge known only to God and not unlocked to man. But there is that knowledge that is revealed to man, these are providentially written and perfectly preserved in Gods Word. In a limited sense, a mystery is a secret. But a mystery is truth known by divine revelation. God uncovers the secret for us in His Word and it is for Gods children to unravel that mystery by the deep study of His Word. This term mystery refers to that which has been kept secret by God in the past, but which He has now chosen to make plain.1 Herein is the difference between secrets and mysteries, biblically speaking. Deuteronomy 29:29 is a warning to Gods children not to rebel against Gods boundary of revelation, not to venture beyond. That realm that is locked and unfathomable, let it remain so, for it is the will of God. It is in His pleasure, to withhold it for our good. The secret things refer to things hidden. Although these things are secret to us, they are not secret to God, thus the phrase The secret things belong unto the Lord our God.2 And the sequel, but the things which are revealed belongs to us and our children forever tells us that what God has revealed to us, in His Word will not be lost but remains with Gods children for every generation to come. The context is with reference to all the words of Gods law. What comfort it is for Gods children that they can be guided by those same words of Scripture revealed to their forefathers, available in every generation by the providential hand of God. To illustrate the things secret versus things revealed, we consult the rst
1 Expository 2. Secret

written book of divine revelation, the book of Job. When Job was undergoing the afictions of faith, he did not know the conversation between God and Satan for it was a secret to him. God had allowed Satan to try him. He could not understand why these afictions were allowed but he submitted himself to the sovereign hand of God. It was complete trust in the Lord. He says in Job 13:15, though he slays me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. To Job, God is trustworthy come what may. Even at the close of the book, even after his trial was lifted, to Job was not revealed the spiritual realm of Satans wiles. But he had sufcient knowledge of God to persevere and help him refute his friends wrong theology and to triumph in faith by forgiving them and praying for God to pardon them (Job 42:8). It fact, Job was the only true theologian in the book. He talks to God; his friends talk about God. It must be the same for us. Jobs friends attempted to interpret the mind of God to explain Jobs predicament but they were erroneous. As Gods children, we are given Gods Word, it behoves us to understand it for our blessing, benet and well-being. Then, there are mysteries in the word of God that we are to diligently seek after for our spiritual well-being. The word mystery is best illustrated in Colossians 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints. This mystery is explained in the subsequent verse, Colossians 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. This is the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ and the riches of life in Christ.

For example, in Romans 11:25, the Apostle Paul says, For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. This verse tells us God has deliberately blinded the spiritual eyes of Israel so that salvation comes to the Gentiles. But Gentiles are advised by Apostle Paul not to be proud because of the unbelieving Jews. Instead, they were instructed that in His time, God will usher in the last Gentile to be saved before all Israel is (Romans 11:26a). To illustrate the task and blessings of uncovering mysteries in Gods revelation, a good illustration may be found in natural science. Consider the discovery of electricity. Man did not create electricity but discovered its uses when God deemed it t to reveal them to man in human history. But there are limits set, and he can go no further. Every man who has given himself to thought and investigation along any line possible to the human mind has discovered a point of limitation. We do not know anything beyond what has been revealed to us regarding the gloried body from Scriptures, but we can by searching Gods Word discover the mysteries of the gloried body. The secret things therefore we will know when we see our Lord. Until then, they will remain a secret. The revealed things include the mysteries in His Word that we are to discover for our eternal blessings. May we spare no effort like the noble Christians in Berea in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so (Acts 17:11). Amen.

Dictionary of Bible Words, Stephen D. Renn, 659. and Revealed Things, The Westminster Pulpit, The Preaching of G. Campbell Morgan Volume III, Baker Book House, 25.

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ex

TEENS THAT TALK

I FIRST STARTED ATTENDING YF AFTER THE 2007 DEC CAMP. AFTER THAT, I WAS REALLY ENCOURAGED BY MY FAMILY TO ATTEND EVERY SATURDAY. I AM ACTUALLY PRETTY SURE THAT MY LIFE AND CHRISTIAN WALK WOULD BE VERY DIFFERENT HAD I NOT GONE TO YF. I HAVE BEEN GREATLY BLESSED BY YF, BY THE PEOPLE, ACTIVITIES, AND MESSAGES! REALLY! IVE MET NEW PEOPLE, LEARNT NEW SONGS AND LEARNT MANY VALUABLE LESSONS I WOULD NOT HAVE LEARNT HAD I NOT ATTENDED YF. THERE IS A GREAT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TEENZ AND YF. IM NOT SAYING THAT WHICH IS BETTER, BUT THEY ARE TWO DIFFERENT GROUPS ALTOGETHER. BUT, HONESTLY, I WOULD SAY THAT I STARTED MATURING MORE AS A PERSON AND A CHRISTIAN UPON ENTERING THE YF. ALTHOUGH IT COULDVE BEEN BECAUSE MATURITY COMES WITH AGE, I HIGHLY DOUBT THATS THE REASON; IT IS THE YF. COMING TO YF AFTER TEENZ IS A BIG STEP. MOST OF THE PEOPLE IN YF WILL BE PEOPLE YOU WONT KNOW, BUT IM PRETTY SURE YOUVE SEEN EVERYONE OF THEM AROUND IN CHURCH. OUR CHURCH ISNT THAT BIG, SO JUST GETTING TO KNOW THEM BETTER AND MAKING NEW FRIENDS WONT BE DIFFICULT, RIGHT? :D THERE ISNT A BM IN YF, THERE ARENT ANY CLIQUES AND YOU WONT FEEL LIKE YOU ARE ONLY ALLOWED TO BE FRIENDS WITH THE SAME GENDER IN YF. OF COURSE, EVERYTHING ORGANISED IS SUPERVISED BY THE YF EXCO AND ITS MUCH BETTER RECEIVED THAN WHEN TEENZ ORGANISES SOMETHING AS EVERYONE IN YF IS ENTHUSIASTIC AND ACTUALLY PARTICIPATES! YF IS HELD ON SATURDAYS, SO WHETHER YOU COME OR NOT IS DETERMINED BY YOU AND NOT BECAUSE YOUR PARENTS BROUGHT YOU TO CHURCH ON A SUNDAY. THERE IS MUCH MORE RESPONSIBILITY IN COMING BY YOURSELF, SO IT WILL BE UP TO YOU AND ONLY YOU ON WHETHER OR NOT YOUR SPIRITUAL GROWTH IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHATEVER YOU USUALLY DO ON A SATURDAY. IN TEENZ, THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE WHO COME JUST BECAUSE THEIR PARENTS FORCE THEM TO COME, OR THEY HAVE TO WAIT FOR THEIR PARENTS TO FINISH THEIR OWN ACTIVITIES. IN YF, YOU COME BECAUSE YOU WANT TO, NOT BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO. I CAN RELATE VERY WELL IF YOURE SCARED OF COMING TO YF AFTER TEENZ. ITS A TOTALLY NEW ENVIRONMENT, QUITE A BIG STEP FORWARD! IM NOT VERY GOOD AT GIVING ADVICE, BUT EVERYONE HAS TO GROW UP SOMETIME RIGHT! :D YOU COULD GIVE EXCUSES LIKE I HAVE NO FRIENDS THERE, IM TOO BUSY ON SATURDAYS, NO ONE IS MY AGE GROUP THERE OR YOU COULD PRAY AND MAKE TIME FOR YF. ITS SERIOUSLY UP TO YOU. AND EVEN IF YOU ARE SUPER UNLIKEABLE AND HAVE TOTALLY NO FRIENDS, GOD IS STILL ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU. PSALM 27:14 REMINDS US, WAIT ON THE LORD; BE OF GOOD COURAGE, AND HE SHALL STRENGTHEN THINE HEART: WAIT, I SAY, ON THE LORD. SO COME TO YF! OK! :D ZACH

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Ov er 2 5

Be wary of the open door.

Allow me to go back a number of years in time, back when I was still Under 25 (as opposed to being Over 25 and eligible to write here). I was trying to decide what to do with my life after I nished serving the nation. I had a place in a university overseas, and my parents indicated that they were willing to send me overseas to study. It seemed that God had opened the door, and my path was clear. Or was it? take that open door. God had another plan for me. We all know that God opens doors, and that sometimes God shuts them. When He shuts them, His will for us is clear. But what about the open door that may not be the one that God has chosen? Not all open doors are indicative of opportunities God wants us to take. Sometimes the open door may be a further test for us whether Inexplicably, I did not feel at peace. I we are close enough to God to was not entirely convinced this open properly discern His will for us, and to door and clear know that that pathway was Gods seemingly obvious SOMETIMES THE OPEN will for me, and I choice may not be DOOR MAY BE A FURTHER prayed long and Gods choice. TEST FOR US..... hard about it. I On his second shared my dilemma missionary journey with some older brothers and sisters in in Acts 16, the Holy Spirit forbade Paul Christ, who weighed in with advice. to preach the gospel in Asia, and the Then I prayed some more. I eventually same thing happened when he tried to decided to stay in Singapore, and once I go to Bithynia. Surely, to Paul, the way came to a conclusion, I was very much to Asia and Bithynia would have seemed at peace. like open doors. And the fact that it was Now of course, Im not suggesting that going overseas to study is a bad thing. Far from it. But for myself at that point in time, it would have been (and in retrospect, was!) better for my spiritual growth to continue to stay close to home, family and church. I wasnt quite yet ready to face the world on my own. I did eventually study overseas for a time on an exchange programme, and spent a very blessed year worshipping with a small independent Baptist church in Canada. But that was not my rst year in the university, but after having grown much in the grace and knowledge of Christ. Which concludes my little reminiscing. But what is the moral, you may ask? When is an open door Gods door? I dont know for sure how I would have turned out had I gone abroad, but looking back, God did not want me to the Holy Spirit that stopped Paul from proceeding, and not circumstance, suggests that the way was clear.Yet he was prompted by the Holy Spirit not to go, and was eventually led to Troas and on to Macedonia. Even though he desired to preach in Asia and Bithynia, that was not Gods plan for him. In the same way, for ourselves, our hearts may desire one thing which may not be Gods will for us, notwithstanding the clear path and the open door. The open door is not always Gods door. We always must still be led by the Holy Spirits prompting in all the choices we make. We all have sat through numerous sermons regarding how to discern Gods will, and as Im nowhere qualied to expound on that Ill just leave you with one thought to be wary of the open door.

Lingwei
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RETROSPECT

How time ies! Just as the apostle James says, our life is like a vapour which appears for a little while and then it vanishes away ( Jas 4:14). e ravages of time have begun to take its toll on the body, and much of the youthful glory has wasted away, never to return. Our youth is but for a moment and it is as ower and grass that ourishes for a while and is soon cut down. Looking back, over 20 years have passed and I have crossed the half way mark of the proverbial fourscore years. I am excited that I am given this opportunity to write this letter to you. I urge you to take heed to what I have to say simply because these are things, I realize, that really matter. I wish that certain things could remain unchanged, or if I turn back the clock, to have more of the same. I wish for certain areas to be avoided altogether or recti ed, as I am now su ering the residual e ects of them. As I re ect on my life, I am thankful to God for His providence and for the experiences I had as a youth. If I can have my youth again, I would want to go through the same experiences. I recall the seemingly endless energy I had, the ventures and exposures to many tough experiences. I realise how important these are now, even though I recall trying to worm myself out of them then. Perhaps there were some precious opportunities I had lost because I was lazy and had taken the easy way out. On hindsight, I should have faced them squarely if they were for my good, and taken the great step of faith. ose experiences helped when I had to undergo some similar situations now. Fear is greatly reduced as experience tells me that God is a very present help in times of need. If there is an area that needs to be recti ed soon, it is self discipline. Up to this day, I struggle not to waste time in trivial things and stay focused, not to get distracted and leave un nished a good work I have started. How important it is to nish what you have begun unless providence determines otherwise. Be disciplined, bite the bullet, and move on when you face di culties. Learn in those times to lean on God and to see His salvation and to prove His strength in your weakness. Another piece of advice - dont be too quick to defend yourself when someone points out your mistakes. Be quick to hear, slow to speak. Ponder those things that are mentioned. Dont be too quick to reply or give an excuse. ese are sent by God to smoothen the rough edges of your character. ank those who bother to correct you and tell you your wrongs. Instead, beware of those who condone everything you do and even cheer you on when you are in error. Make true friends, friends who care enough and who are brave enough to tell you what they see something amiss. If there is one last thing that I can leave with you, it is to remember your Creator in the days of thy youth. Seek Him early. A life that is surrendered to the Lord is one of true spiritual liberty and not of bondage or restraint. Gods way is always the best; His will for you is always good. Dont ever think that you are too young to be of any good to God. God makes you just as you are and He takes delight in your vibrancy and zeal and fervour for His glory. Seek Him early; seek Him always through the Word of God and through prayers. Give yourself to activities where Gods Word will be glori ed and to fellowship that will draw you to God and His people. Refrain from evil company that draws you to the love of the present world and all that it has to o er. e glory of the world is nothing in comparison to the glory that God has prepared for them that love Him and serve Him. Lay up for yourself treasures in heaven. All the glory and accolades of this earth, all the money and power, are vanities and vexation of the spirit, as Jeremiah concluded in Jeremiah 45:5,And seekest thou great things for thyself ? seek them not..
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Dear Chong Kiat,

Take heed, my brother. Hope you can make a di erence to me 20 years later.

H U I M IN S R EP ORT OF BL ESSIN G S F RO M T HE C O MBINED YO U TH C O NFERE N C E

If memory serves, this should be the rst Combined Youth Conference (CYC) I have attended. Though I was not a full timer, it was still a refreshing period of spiritual feasting before leaving for Australia the very next day after camp ended. It was also a good time to get to know other brothers and sisters in Christ who were also serving God in their own ways. So the next time I see them, I will not go, who is this person... but rather, oh, this person looks familiar or even better, hello ____! exhorted us not to be lled with our own ways, but to acknowledge any sin or backslidden nature in us. (Proverbs 14:14- The backslider in heart shall be lled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satised from himself.) The view at the top of this mountain is assured to be most beautiful and will be worth it!

Is something dragging you down? Or have you packed in excess baggage that slows down your progression? Remember, backsliding is a hindrance to So yea! It encourages me to know there progression. are other saints out there running the race for Christ. The topic chosen for this years sixth CYC was Peters I believe Peter understood this very Progress: What About Mine? Rev well. When Peter rst met Christ, he Prabhudas Koshy brought us through was called Simon and shing was still his the exciting life of Peter, how he was line. He was totally unaware that Christ called into the ministry, how he failed had already set him a mountain to Christ at times and how he repented climb. That must have been a similar and progressed. When I think of Peter, experience for you. Before you came to the rst impression that comes to mind know Christ, you too would have been is a lowly sherman at work in his like Simon, going about your daily duties favourite Sea of Galilee. Ok, maybe not or routines. I remember trying to work his favourite, but that was where he was hard to achieve whatever was approached by Christ and called into important to me. For Simon, it may have ministry. He began as a sherman and been his shing. Christ understood it ended up being an Apostle, a great well for He told Simon: Follow me, and progression indeed. I will make you shers of men. (Matthew 4:19) We too were sought by God, for without Him rst I believe Brother Joseph Poon brought seeking and saving us, we would never home an important message during the have gone to Him in our depravity. morning devotion. In order to progress, Once the call of salvation was heeded, we must rst understand and be honest our Christian journey began. God has with our present state of spiritual His plan for each individual Christian. health. He brought up the analogy of a Here begins Peters journey with mountain climber who wants to ascend Christ : No more shing for shes; start to the top of a mountain. In order to shing for men. progress, he must rst prevent himself from sliding down. It is the same for a Christian soldier. In order to push Like Peter, many of us might have been forward, he must rst ensure that he is very fervent upon conversion. To use not backsliding. Thus, the rst step to the phrase in the account of Peter, we progression is to be honest with immediately left our nets, and followed yourself. Check your own heart, and ask Christ. However, this same net which if you are backsliding in any way. He Peter left behind became a constant

temptation he had to struggle with. At times, when he took his eyes away from Christ, this net will ensnare. It became a cause of backsliding and Simon eventually returned to his shing. This was in spite his initial fervency. Once again, Christ came personally to remind him of the plan He had for his life. After a long and uneventful day at the Galilee Sea, Christ came specically to Simons ship and said: Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. (Luke 5:4) Many shes were caught and the weight broke the net! When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the shes which they had taken Luke 5:8-9. Peter was reminded of Gods plan for His life through this event. Abundant blessings 15

will only come if a life is lived in accordance to Gods plan. Recognising his backslidden state, he repented.

Of course, there were other occasions when he went back to his shing business. The most signicant one was after the crucixion of Christ. The experienced sherman that he was, he caught nothing despite having spent the whole night in the sea. (John 21:3) Yet again, Christ came personally to Simon to remind him of his calling. To me, this was like history repeating itself. After casting their nets to the right side of the ship as instructed by Christ, they were not able to draw the net due to the multitude of shes. With one difference, this was similar to what happened in Luke 5:4. This time, Simon Peter failed to recognise his Lord. So engrossed was he that he could not even recognise the voice of Christ. Neither did he realise that Christ was using the same incident to teach him that one important lesson: to forsake his net and to become a sher of men. Have we too become like a Simon Peter, too engrossed in that something or some things which we ought to set away the moment we believe in Christ? Has this

something robbed our attention and our focus from Christ, whom we call dearly our Lord and Master? Once again, Christ told Simon Peter: Follow me. (John 21:19b) If you are backsliding, Christ is calling out to you too. In the very same way He called out to Simon Peter. Of course, each of us will have a different story to tell, as God deals with each of us differently and personally. However, His mercy, grace and patience will always be with His dealing with each one of us.

If we follow Him, we can be sure He will see to our every need. This is very evident in this account, where at the instruction of Christ to cast their nets at starboard, a great draught of shes was caught. The thing that hit me most was that Christ needed none of shes caught by the disciples. Before the disciples brought in the catch, there was already a re of coals, sh and bread, all ready for the hungry disciples. (John 21:9) This knowledge that God will take care of His children brings much assurance and comfort to me.

Also, he dedicated his life for Gods service and was instrumental in the Pentecost where about 3,000 souls were saved. When we allow ourselves to be used by God, God can transform our lives and make it an instrument to bless others. What will our story be? Of course, we do not have to model our lives exactly like Peters. God has His specic plan for each one of us. The question is, have we really forsook our nets and followed Christ? We once started as a Simon, but do we end up like a Peter? Is there a progression in our walk? Once again, the topic for this years CYC is Peters Progress: What About Mine? Allow me to add in another question. Peter Progressed, What About You?

We know that Peter nished his Christian journey well. He was said to have died for his faith by being crucied, upside down.

JOYCE HUA NG On 31st July 2010,YF celebrated this annual event in honour of our parents! The evening started with a praise item by members of the YF, singing the hymn A Christian Home.

Rev Queks message was on Showing Love to our parents. Preaching from Exodus 20: 1-17, Rev Quek reminded us 16

not to miss the window of opportunity to appreciate our parents while they are still alive, as well as to not take our parents for granted. Looking at the Ten Commandments, two commandments are positive imperatives: to honour our parents and to keep the Sabbath day holy. The other eight of them start with a negative imperative - Thou shalt not Why is this so? This is because we are predisposed to dishonour our parents, and therefore

must always make a conscious effort to show love to them. For this, we have to constantly seek Gods help in prayer, remembering that we are not perfect and cannot overcome this sin without His strength. At the end of each day, reect on how we have treated our parents. Have we been rude to them? Have we talked behind their backs, complaining about their nagginess to our siblings or friends? We must bear in mind that we are a testimony to our

parents (especially if they are unbelievers) as much as they are a testimony to us.

parents have no qualms showering unconditional, sacricial love on us. Should we not reciprocate?

Rev Quek also shared with us 3 practical steps on showing love to our parents: 1. Be wise in Gods word Prov 10:1 A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother. It will not please our parents if we are knowledgeable, but not wise. We need to learn to apply Gods word, to be patterned after Christ.

Remember, our testimony starts at home!

2. Dont waste Prov 19:26 He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother, is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach. Do not follow after the Prodigal Son, wasting the material blessings that our parents have worked so hard for us to enjoy.

After the message, the group video by Keepers was screened (view it along with the other YF group videos at http:// www.youtube.com/user/minotaur235). This was followed by a game played by YFers and parents! A YFer would draw about things I appreciate my parents for, while his/her parent would draw famous parent sayings. It was a time when hidden artistic talents were revealed.

3. Be Obedient Prov 23:22 Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old. We may be more highly educated than our parents, but that does not give us the right to dishonour, despise or disobey them. The Lord chose our parents for us, and we should obey them simply because they ARE our parents. Our

According to the short tradition we have, dinner was prepared by us youths! There were homemade cream puffs, udon, sushi, nger-licking good chicken wings and refreshing yoghurt dessert. Of course, not forgetting the famous custom-made egg omelettes personally cooked on the spot by experienced youth chefs.

The turnout by parents was very encouraging and it was a great family bonding time. Looking forward to more exciting dishes whipped up by YFers next year!

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L E E W EI S R EPO RT O F BL ES SING S F RO M T H E S E P T E M B E R R E T R E AT
This years retreat was held in church from 3-4 Sept 2010, subsequently continuing into the regular YF session. Approximately 36 youths attended. The theme was on Singleness of heart, with the theme song Where your heart is and verse Servants, obey in all things [your] masters according to the esh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: (Col 3:22) and speaker Br Henry Chua. Preparations If I recall correctly, I believe the planning phase leading up to the retreat itself commenced at least a month in advance, comprising around three meetings and several emails to decide on pertinent matters, so this can be considered to have gone smoothly. Logistics, on my part, entailed mainly the booking of venues and equipment for the activities. I also prepared the morning devotion Bearing fruit (Jn 15:2). Day One The rst message was Singleness of heart towards God (Psa 57:7). After the message, we adjourned for supper (which was served during ice-breakers, along with a re-cap of the message) and the day ended with dorm fellowship. Day Two The second message was the retreat theme Singleness of heart in service (Col 3:22), followed by a group discussion of issues related to this message on the topic of service. In the afternoon, Dn James & Angeline Fu conducted a meaningful and productive workshop entitled Service as a Christian. A striking point highlighted during the workshop was that service permeates through every aspect of our daily life, not just limited to the church context. 18 Thereafter was the nal message in the series, Singleness of heart towards unity (Acts 2:42-47). Conclusion In retrospect, this has been a fruitful retreat particularly for me, with many take-away lessons from the faithful preaching of the word of God through these messages, to even incline thine ear unto wisdom, [and] apply thine heart to understanding (Pro 2:2), to live out the lessons learnt. I sincerely thank God for this time of spiritual refreshment, a timely reminder to pause and reect on my personal spiritual journey thus far, especially concerning single-heartedness in relation to Christ, to rechart the course of my life moving forward in view of this. I have been richly blessed by this retreat, as Im sure many others who attended also are. This encompassed both in my area of service to the Lord in managing the logistics, as well as the opportunity to fellowship with other partakers of Christ (Heb 3:14). It is truly my honour and privilege to be enabled to accomplish these things for the Lord. It is my hope that you have also been greatly blessed through our service, to grow in grace, and [in] the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (2 Pe 3:18). Perhaps more may be burdened to do likewise by coming forward to serve in future retreats. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. (1Co 3:9). We are fellow servants in Gods service, serving one another, to the end that we may all be well established in the faith, and be better equipped to withstand the many temptations the world presents endlessly. May the Lord help each one of us. ***** Lee Wei

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

November
Apparent Paradoxes
6th: Follish Intelligentsia Prof. Tan Yock Lin 10th: Rich Poor; Poor Rich Bro Henry Chua 17th: Servanthood Leadership (Neh 5) Rev Wee Eng Moh 24th: Strongest When Weakest (2 Cor 12:9) Dr Colin Tey Birthdays: 1st Shanice 16th William 17th Joy 22nd Zach 24th Joel Woo 30th Yeda

December
4th: Seminar on The Life of John Calvin @ Tengah 11th: Follow Me Dn Chia 18th: YF Remembrance Night 25th: No YF (Christmas Day) 20th24th:YF year-end Camp Birthdays: 7th Dorothy, Evan & Matthew Chiang 10th Kai Shuin & Yi Jie 14th Zhang 19th Wanping 31st Abby

Short and Broad

JULY
1 Joanne Khor returned from London after spending 2 weeks there in July. 5 9, 12 16 Brian Lim was attached to Zhenghua Primary and Regent Secondary on respective dates for his practicum posting 18 4 Aug Jon, Ruth and cousins, Joy, jQ and Brian made a tiring journey up Mt. Rinjani. Brians thighs gained a mysterious voice of their own and the group doesnt bathe for 3 days despite the physically strenuous activities. 29 Gabriel Teo and Jeremy Chan began their exciting and perilous NS adventure. 9 National Day. The Teens Department have their annual Family Day at West Coast Park. The event was attended by several people from the YF. 10 Hannah Woo embarked on further studies in the NUS School of Business. 21 POT and Keepers had a combined outing/ fellowship walk from Mt. Faber to Hort Park. Brian Lim gave an exhortation thereafter from Ezekiel 16 about the debt of love we owe to Jesus Christ. 28 5 Sept Alanna Quek went to Perth for a short trip. 30 24 Sept Jonathan Tay spent his Student Internship Programme (SIP) at the Changi General Hospital.

SEPTEMBER

3 4 YF September Retreat was held on the theme Singleness of Heart. The speaker was Bro Henry Chua. 8 The FCM NUS Gospel Rally for AY10/11S1 was held. Dr Paul Ferguson spoke on The Most Valuable Thing in the Universe (Mark 8:34-37). There were two new faces. 16 Christopher Cheong ew for further studies in law at the University of Manchester. 23 Brian Lim changed his major at NTU NIE from English to Literature 24 The second FCM Combined Meeting 2010 was held at Calvary Pandan Bible-Presbyterian with FCM Polytechnic as the organiser. Rev Dr Prabhudas Koshy, pastor of Gethsemane Bible-Presbyterian Church and Dean of Students at the Far Eastern Bible College, delivered the message Living a Victorious Christian Life amid Ungodly Inuences.

AUGUST

5 FCM NUS held a Day of Prayer and Consecration at the home of Ko Lingting. William Quah gave the devotion Lessons from the Resolutions of Daniel, Paul and Jonathan Edwards. 5 Ko Lingkang left for another 3-month ministry at BPCWA 6 Alanna Quek completed a work attachment at Cambridge Child Development Centre. 6 Zhongyan nished his internship with the Housing Development Board (HDB). 5 10 Joanne Khor and family had a holiday in China

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PERSONAL POINTS
Full name: Loh De-hou Joshua Age: 19 School: Catholic Junior College Hobbies: Computer games Hopes: Havent really thought about it

Full name: Serlina Sim Li Yu Age: 19 School: Nanyang Technological University Hobbies: Reading, watching Korean dramas Hopes: To be honest I actually havent thought about it yet!

TRUE LIFE YF CAME FOR A VISIT ON THE 16TH OCT! :)

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YF SPEAKS!
wanping

What is the most difficult part of the Bible to understand for you?
The poll was taken via msn and quoted verbatim.

proverbs revelations trinity

zhongyan how three persons are all equally God and are one God? cos no matter how many times we read it, over and over again, we still can learn more things from it endless and no matter what i'll still nd something that i'm unsure of

alanna

the levitical law

and the prophesies I suppose, like revelations basically stuff which requires a whole comprehensive understanding of the bible, without which you can't really understand like minor prophets as well

ruth

haha a lot man got mcq? hmmmmm human responsibility and God's sovereignty like how they work together

joanne

song of solomon
mervyn that's one book i don't get

Romans i guess
the england verri cheem i mean the phrasing or communication of ideas hmmm i havnt read through the whole bible, dont know which is the most difcult. Haha!

elliot

zechariah
like some of the visions the meaning and signicance as well as the messianic prophecies jason L

suling

in the understanding of the mind of God, what He is trying to tell me, behind every
event, every book, every verse no matter how insignicant it may be haha i havnt really studied OT books which i think are difcult

My Bloo

Whats happening?
Our Editor did a twitter interview with Elliot...and this is what they said.

Orloxian Brian Lim @tweet_eLt Greetings Elliot! Uth Chronicle would like to conduct a Twitterview with you for My Brethren Lies Over the Ocean tweet_eLt Elliot Chin Xen @Orloxian oh haha yea dude, heard abt it, so what's going on? Orloxian Brian Lim @tweet_eLt Tell us how you've been settling down in the US! Have you gotten use to life over there? tweet_eLt Elliot Chin Xen haha wow i'm supposed to answer that within 140 characters? well, i think i've settled down just enough to survive, i still get lost but I get by. Orloxian Brian Lim @tweet_eLt you can use multiple tweets :p Have you found a good church to settle into yet?
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tweet_eLt Elliot Chin Xen @Orloxian why yes! its the Santa Monica Bible Baptist Church, would like to make a special mention of @jasonliewyf for helping me look for one. Orloxian Brian Lim @tweet_eLt Thank God. :) Have you gotten to know the people there? Is there a fellowship group you attend? tweet_eLt Elliot Chin Xen @Orloxian they've just started a college fellowship group and its pretty young so we'll see where that goes haha if you're wondering I make up 30% of the youth demographic if tht's what you're asking Orloxian Brian Lim @tweet_eLt haha, wow. So the church is mostly adults? Does it feel very different from Pandan? tweet_eLt Elliot Chin Xen @Orloxian well denitely, every church is unique in its own right. but yea there's nothing like home. mostly grandparents? did you say grandparents? yeah. Orloxian Brian Lim @tweet_eLt :p Well, hope you won't feel too disconnected despite age, since we all share a common bond in Christ :) How's school then? tweet_eLt Elliot Chin Xen @Orloxian its killing me. haha my friends say i took too many heavy courses this quarter and as a freshman. I agree. Orloxian Brian Lim @tweet_eLt Ouch. Are you somehow coping, though? tweet_eLt Elliot Chin Xen @Orloxian haha yea, have to right? Singaporean mah.. Orloxian Brian Lim @tweet_eLt haha, pray for sustenance! Any words for those back in Singapore? tweet_eLt Elliot Chin Xen @Orloxian miss you guys like i miss satay. but hey, i'll be back next year so don't play play.. tweet_eLt Elliot Chin Xen @Orloxian what?!! I know I'm going to regret this in the morning.. Orloxian Brian Lim @tweet_eLt Haha, thanks Elliot. Take care! We'll keep you in prayer. =)

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A Publication of Calvary Pandan Youth Fellowship Calvary Pandan Bible-Presbyterian Church 201 Pandan Gardens Singapore 609337 Email: uth.chronicle@gmail.com Edify, Educate, Engage