Slavery

4th Quarter 2011

CPYF Uth Chronicle

T o E n g a g e , E d u c a t e a n d E d i f y

Contents
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14
Editors Note What Constitutes OT Slavery Profitably Enslaved Serving self Seven Sin-slaying Suggestions Yf Speak! Retrospect My Bloo Ex - Teenz That Talk Over Twenty - Five Reports from Events! Personal Points Short and Broad Calendar Of Events
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Editors Note

(also known as teachers) demand endless labor when school is in session. Well, the Uth Chronicle is here to demonstrate that the above arguments are nothing more than shallow, worldly thinking. Weve got a whole bunch of articles lined up, but since Im the editor, I get rst crack at the issue.

Dear Reader, One would be hard pressed to source a newspaper article, from any mainstream newspaper, from the past few decades, that would portray slavery in any positive light. Slavery has proven itself to be one of the most taboo words in our vocabulary today, and its application is possibly only justied in relationships between computer components and National Service. And even in the second instance, they try to describe it in many other terms like forced labor. Not that its slightly more palatable description has made any of our young men any happier about having two years taken from them Frankly, it is rather easy to see why slavery is conceptually so abhorrent. The prevalent philosophy today is that everybody should be free to engage in their own pursuit of happiness! And without free choice, it is impossible to be happy. Eminently plausible statements, dont you think? Things are always more fun when you want to do them, as compared to when youre merely told to do them. Holidays are innitely preferable to term time, because you can do what you like to do during the holidays, but all of your time is eaten up by this mandatory thing known as school and your cruel overlords

This entire I need to be free before I can be happy idea presumes two things: 1. That free choice is possible, and 2. That Im the best person to decide what makes me happy. Martin Luther has actually written a pretty good book on the subject, called Born Slaves. Its pretty short, and only just over six bucks in Tabernacle, so Id recommend a read through. In this book, he convincingly argues that men dont actually have any free will to speak of. Now, most of you are Christians, and should be able to see where this argument is going. All men are totally depraved, and are in a state of sin. This is often described as slavery to sin. The only other alternative to this general experience (that ends up in the lake of re!) is to break free from sin by accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, and crucially, as our new Master. Effectively, then, its merely a choice between forms of slavery, and free will isnt exactly possible! I understand that this argument doesnt seem to apply on the level with which we identify slavery. NonChristians seem to be more free in their conduct, being able to smoke, drink, engage in promiscuous sex, and many other activities that seem fun. Christians, conversely, are bound by the Ten Commandments and so many

other moral rules that their daily lives appear to be in fetters. They dont even purport to live their lives for themselves, rather for some Master. Christianity does seem more a form of slavery. The reasoning above is actually half right. Christianity is a form of slavery. The argument I seek to make is merely that Christianity is the form of slavery that is preferable. The freedom that nonChristians seem to have is actually no freedom merely a blindfold that makes them oblivious to impending judgment. They may seem to have freedom now, but if freedom comes with such dire consequences, is it truly freedom? Their freedom then is merely an appearance of freedom, and not true freedom. Do not mistake it for true freedom! On the other hand, Christians have the Word of God, which is truth, and the truth doth set us free. How? By taking off that metaphorical blindfold, understanding that the only way to joy, true joy, and wonderful joy is through salvation by Jesus our Lord. And slavery to Christ is fundamentally different from the slavery that we know today. Slavery in the world is centered about exploiting the slave for the masters pleasure, producing no end of oppression. But is this an accurate description of our relationship with God? Does anyone care for our needs more than God? Does anyone know how to care for us better than God? No doubt that we have asked to present our bodies as living sacrices, but did Christ not rst sacrice all to redeem us unprotable servants?

other articles to tell you roughly the same thing, from different angles. My favorite article is by Rev Quek, who tells us about slavery in the Old Testament. Some of it is sanctioned slavery, and God-honoring! Why would someone drive an awl through his ear to preclude any freedom for the rest of his life? Rev Quek tells you why. Uncle Lewis, who is the father of Pandans own Martin Luther, tells us exactly how to be enslaved to Christ is to be protably enslaved. In the article, he explains to an African American man how being enslaved can be a good thing read it to see how that goes! On the other side of the coin, Sis Angie Quek writes an introspective article and asks us whether we have broken all ties to our life before salvation. Do we still linger in sin? And if the answer is yes, and you dont know how to get slay sin, Brian Failboy Lim, our Uth Chronicle Commando has compiled Seven Sin-Slaying Suggestions for you! All suggestions have been provided by actual members of our YF. YF Speak, our quarterly survey, take a look at who owns our time. Bro Henry takes a look at the data, and provides spiritual analysis, asking whether we in any way resemble the proverbial thorn and thistle choked wheat.

At this point, Id normally tell you all about the other regular features that we have, but this editors note has gone on for so long that Im pretty sure your eyes are dry and need a moment to apply your eye So there you have it. The above premises drops. But before you go, I will say two have been debunked, and one can now words about all the other great articles condently say that slavery is not we have in the last issue for this year. necessarily a bad thing, and is actually READ EM! a good thing within the Christian context. And we have a shedload of

What constitutes Old Testament Slavery

by Rev Dr Quek Suan Yew

There are ve types of slavery in the Bible. Slavery is not a bad thing when applied biblically according to Gods instructions. In fact, slavery in the OT was taught by God and carefully enforced for the well being and betterment of societal life in Israel. This is in contrast to the slavery we commonly know, a cruel and inhumane phenomenon.. We should, instead, understand slavery to be a system taught by mans Creator, and instituted for Gods people. When observed and obeyed, it achieves a God-honouring society. Mans slavery is hideous and includes all forms of abuse and injustice as portrayed by Hollywood lms. This leads to the conclusion that slavery is wrong, that there can be no justication for slavery, even

biblical slavery. This is denitely not the approach a believer should take. The Bible denes a slave as a person who has no rights at all. He is owned by his master and the master can do what he wants with him within the prescribed teaching of Gods Word. He submits to all that his master wants and that makes him a good slave. An obedient slave is a good slave. 1. The rst kind of slavery involved those who were captured in battle. They lost the war and became slaves. These slaves were under forced labour when they lived in Israel. However, they were not to be abused. Instead, they were to be well treated and cared for by Gods people. The reason stems from Israels mistreatment when captive in Egypt.

Israel had rst-hand experience of being enslaved under cruel masters and were therefore forbidden by God to ill-treat their slaves. They were not to force their religion on them. However, the slaves must abide by the Israelites way of life such as keeping the Sabbath Day holy. They were to rest on the Sabbath Day. Deuteronomy 5:14-15 (KJV), But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. 15 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day. When Israel was captured, they became slaves and were at the mercy of their captors. Thus, the rules of slavery given by God for Israel would not apply to the Israelites. The Assyrians were wicked people who tortured their slaves into submission. They would also uproot them from their homes and put them into different cities under the Assyrian Empire. Intermarriages were encouraged and the worship of each others gods was the end result. Through this, syncretistic worship and loss of identity ensued. This was how the Samaritans were formed with their mixed religion of truth and error. The

Babylonians like King Nebuchadnezzar captured their slaves, fed them with the Kings food, educated them with Babylonian philosophies and sciences and changed their names into Babylonian ones after the gods of the Babylonians. This was to hijack their loyalty to the king of Babylon. Different countries treated their slaves differently. 2. The second kind of slavery involved those who owed a large debt. The amount would be so large that the only way to serve out the enormous debt was to become slaves (see Matthew 18:23-35). If the debt is really huge, the entire family could be enslaved. Bad businessmen or farmers with poor crops would nd themselves in debt. If the debt is small, they would lend their land to the creditor who would farm the land and obtain crops from the land that would pay off the debt. Once the debt has been paid up, the land is returned to the debtor. The slaves who owed a great debt would have to become slaves. Their children would have to be sold as slaves together with their parents until the debt is completely paid up. After the debt is paid up, the whole family was allowed to leave as free men. 3. The third kind of slavery referred to those who were born slaves because their parents were slaves. Slaves who were single could be given spouses. These

slaves would then start a family. When the term of slavery was over, they were to leave alone. They came in alone and they had to leave alone. The families of the slaves belonged to the master who gave them spouses. The slave had no right of ownership because he was a slave. His nature as a slave denied him that right. If he had any rights, then he was no longer called a slave! Exodus 21:1-4 (KJV), Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them. 2 If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. 3 If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her masters, and he shall go out by himself. It does not matter how one became a slave. As long as he was a slave, he had no ability to own anything. 4. The fourth kind of slavery included those who were sold as slaves, like Joseph, who were sold against their will. To be sold as a slave was very demeaning. Before slavehood, he was a freeman,withtheabilitytorunhisownlife, go wherever he pleased and do whatever he desired. Now a slave, he had to do whatever his master dictated. It was either obey or be punished. A master might not like his slave and might not want him at all. He might sell him to another master. Or, if he was in debt, he might sell his slaves before he sells

(i.e. leases) his land. In Josephs case, his own brothers sold him as a slave to get rid of him for some money. Side note: If the slave was a girl If the slave was a girl, then Scripture teaches a different way of treating her. She was not to be treated like her male counterpart. A male slave was not allowed to be a slave for more than six years, regardless of the size of his debt. In the seventh year, he would be set free. However, a female slave was to be married and bear children. The master was to marry her and treat her as a proper wife. If he did not want to marry her, then his son was to marry her. If his son did not want to marry her, the master was to sell her to another master (only a Jew). If this was also not possible, then he was to set her free. Exodus 21:7-11 (KJV), And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do. 8 If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her. 9 And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters. 10 If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish. 11 And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.

5.

The fth kind of slavery involved willing slaves who loved their masters and did not wish to be free. They willingly chose to be slaves for life. This was the best condition of slavery whereby the slave regarded his master to be a fair and most honourable man. He willingly remained a slave to his master for life. He refused to leave a free man when it was time for him to go free. He found that life as a slave under this master was most acceptable and he probably loved his master very much. It could also be that the master had given him a woman (wife), that he had children with her and he loved his family. He did not wish to leave for the rest of his life. Exodus 21:5-6 (KJV), And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: 6 Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever. This was a not a small decision as this decision sealed his fate for life on this earth. Deuteronomy 15:17 (KJV), Then thou shalt take an aul, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise. This was also to be done to the willing maidservant as Deu 15:17 reveals. CONCLUSION -- Slavery in the OT was instituted by the LORD for the people of Israel. It was a form of social help rendered to the downtrodden, for both Israelites and Gentiles. This was also to engender responsibilities for every action done because there are

consequences to every decision made. If an Israelite made a bad decision, then he had to pay the price for his mistakes. This would cause the Israelites to be careful and to not make hasty decisions. On a more spiritual note, every human being is born a slave. He is a slave to sin the moment he begins to exist in this world. Sin is his merciless master whose wages is death (Romans 6:23a). After the sinner becomes a believer by receiving Jesus Christ into his heart, he remains a slave still but his master is different. The Lord Jesus Christ becomes his new Master. He is changed from an unwilling slave (under sin) to a wiling slave in Christ Jesus. He is now bound to live a life characterized by righteousness. Romans 6:18 (KJV), Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. The Bible is NOT against slavery but only abused slavery committed by wicked and sinful men! AMEN.

parts of the continent, who were sold by African slave traders to European by Bro Lewis Ting traders, who transported them to the Many years back when I was a young colonies in North and South America. man working for an American Multi Now that they are free people, it would National Company (MNC), I was sent be unthinkable for them that there to the USA for training. The training was still bondage in Singapore and cocoordinator was an African American that I was one of the victims! Bondage, man. During our conversation he found slavery are all taboo words to the African out that I was bonded to the company Americans. They value individual for a specied period of time as a result freedom very highly and cannot of the training I was going to receive. He imagine anyone would want to went off the tangent and angrily said he give up this personal freedom for wanted to speak to my manager back in something else. However to me, I was Singapore. He strongly felt that it was a protably enslaved to my company, as grave injustice inicted on me. In his mind I was receiving many personal benets. I was doing a positive thing and showing Although history tells us that my commitment to the company in going slavery was prevalent in Africa at and in to the USA for training; the company many parts of Asia including China, the should be grateful. Yet, I was bonded! earliest records of slavery are from I had to cool him down and explain the Bible when the Jews were held in that it was normal in Singapore to bondage in Egypt and in Babylon. The bond the recipient of such overseas Israelites suffered tremendously in training as insurance because the the hands of their wicked masters. In company had to spend signicant a way the Bible is an instrument that amount of money to do so. Furthermore, taught mankind the meaning of freedom acceptance to the terms was willingly when Moses led the Israelites free from givennoonehadforcedmetoacceptit!He slavery under Pharaoh. Freedom was also subsequently accepted my explanation. in short supply during the oppression of The reason for my boss the Papal authority during the dark ages, indignation was likely that the African as well as during during the Japanese American people, in recent past, had been occupation in the 2nd world war.

Profitably Enslaved

forced into slavery, which was a period of great humiliation. They were in total subjection to their white masters; their freedom was taken away from them. From a Wikipedia reference source, systems of servitude and slavery were common in many parts of Africa, as they were in much of the ancient world. The vast majority of slaves involved in the Atlantic trade were Africans from the central and western

Freedom is a prized commodity. The Western world, having enjoyed democracy and free speech, has pulled out all the stops to promote the democracy and human rights globally. They sound logical, dignied, compassionate, and purport to go about their campaign for the advancement of human society. However, the discerning person knows that there are many weaknesses inherent to such Western ideologies.

Freedom without responsibility can lead to corruption at all levels of human societies. Slavery seems negative whichever way you look at it, since it eliminates free choice and free choice is widely held to be the prerequisite to happiness. But is it really so? We saw in Exodus about a servant who was in such a situation. And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: Exodus 21:5 This servant willingly made a choice to continue to serve his master whom he loved because he experienced loving treatment from his master, amongst other reasons. He believed that slaving under such a benevolent master is best for him and his family. For these reasons, he was willing to give up his personal freedom. The servant was wise to choose this route in which he could be protably enslaved If a human rights activist were confronted with the above situation, he might take the view that it was not the genuine desire of the slave to remain enslaved. Rather, a result of some trickery employed by the master. After all, It is unthinkable for anyone to give up personal freedom! This reasoning sounds logical; freedom is precious and cannot be replaced by anything else! We too have been indoctrinated with such philosophy. This is one of the reasons we nd it so difcult to submit to authorities. We want to have freedom to dowhatwethinkisbestforourselves.This philosophy is encapsulated in Frank Sinatras song, I did it my way. This is an extract of the lyrics of the song and you can judge for yourself that this song is full of self.

And now, the end is near, And so I face the nal curtain. My friends, Ill say it clear; Ill state my case of which Im certain. Ive lived a life thats full Ive travelled each and every highway. And more, much more than this, I did it my way. I planned each charted course Each careful step along the byway, And more, much more than this, I did it my way. For what is a man? What has he got? If not himself - Then he has naught. To say the things he truly feels And not the words of one who kneels. The record shows I took the blows And did it my way. Yes, it was my way. (This is one important reason why Christian should be discerning when listening to popular songs because song lyrics sometimes spout unbiblical teachings that tempt the Christian to stray away from our undivided love for the Lord.) The non-Christians are very disturbed that we Christians, not only give up our freedom but we are willing to subject our life totally to the person Jesus Christ. To them, Christians are the most

pitiful, pathetic, spineless, and foolish people. Why would Christians want to give up all their rights to determine the way they live and submit to an invisible God and His teachings in the Bible? To them we are missing out lifes great excitements and becoming a slave to our belief. Are we wrong and are they right? They nd the words of Christ difcult to stomach:

even the love of a parent for his child does not come close. The Lord Jesus gave up Heavens glory to be a humble carpenter and then to live and die for sinful men; hung on the cross and shed His blood to cleanse us of our sins; buried and rose again the 3rd day and coming back to receive us again into everlasting fellowship with God. No wonder Jesus has every right to demand our unyielding love for Him and to wholeheartedly follow Him.

Giving up your rights and yourself? For ye are bought with a price therefore glorify God in your body, and in Whosoever will come after me, let your spirit, which are Gods. 1 Cor 6:20 him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Mark 8:34 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto Giving up your life and all that you love? themselves, but unto him which died If any man come to me, and hate for them, and rose again. 2 Cor 5:15 not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he Brethren, we have to be very clear about cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:26 this: we were hopeless people bound for eternitys re, but Christ chose us from the thousands and gave to us Jesus demands absolutely that we love unspeakable salvation joy. Arent we Him even above closest relations and grateful and therefore willing to follow assets most precious to us. It is him? He gives us abundant life on earth unimaginable to the unbelieving world the prot we gain is not of this world, for that such a high demand can be nothing can pay for the price for peace reasonably placed on another. It is and reconciliation with our Almighty unimaginable because they dont God. Dont you want to be protably believe, as we do, that Christ is the enslaved to this wonderful savior only begotten son of God, who came to Jesus Christ who wants us to live for Him! save mankind from their sins. Our faith, inspired of Scripture and enhanced by our own personal experience during A true Christian who does not live conversion gives us reason to sacrice all. a grateful life to our Saviour does not understand the love Christ has for us. In Ephesians 3:17-19, the What the Lord has done for each of ApostlePaulwantedustounderstandthe His disciples is without comparison; enormous love Christ has for us. In

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Romans 8:38-39, Apostle Paul again I have been in the deep. 2 Co 11:24-25 wanted us to know that Christs love for us dees all situations and will remain faithful even in the calamities of life. Brethren, we have received true freedom which only Christ can give. All other freedoms are mans concoctions That Christ may dwell in your hearts and cannot stand the test of storms by faith; that ye, being rooted and and time. Stand fast therefore in the grounded in love, may be able to liberty(freedom) wherewith Christ hath comprehend with all saints what is the made us free, and be not entangled breadth, and length, and depth, and again with the yoke of bondage. Gal 5:1 height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be lled with all the Nevertheless this freedom from fulness of God. Eph 3: 17-19 Christ also drives us into service for the Lord. Otherwise this freedom will lack a purpose so fundamental to For I am persuaded, that neither death, the responsibility of the Christian. nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, For he that is called in the Lord, nor powers, nor things present, nor being a servant, is the Lords things to come, nor height, nor depth, freeman: likewise also he that is called, nor any other creature, shall be able to being free, is Christs servant. 1 Cor 7:22 separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom 8:38, 39 So while Frank Sinatra is so full of himself in crooning I did it my way, Apostle Paul is full of fear of God in his conversion and walk with the Lord. He was a Pharisee and an infamous persecutor of the Christians. But Christ appeared to him and saved him. From then on his life was transformed; he lived a grateful Christian life and remained steadfast in his faith despite the great sufferings at the hands of Gods enemies. The Apostle Paul was protably enslaved to the Lord Jesus Christ so much so that he has the spiritual strength to withstand the trials and temptations threw at him: Of the Jews ve times received I forty stripes save one. thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day In this respect, our Christian freedom is resting on the solid rock of Christ; of giving ourselves to be servant of Christ and in all things we do it is the love of Christ that constraineth us. It is therefore Christ that has enabled us to be protably enslaved. Beloved, to be protably enslaved is the most blessed position for the Christian. It is a position that we will know for sure that we are in the will of God and in this position, no matter what life throws at us we will be safe in the bosom of Christ even as the seas swirl around us. Not to be protably enslaved to Christ is to be negatively enslaved to self and to the world.

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As an older man and a more experienced Christian, I say with all truthfulness, be Protably Enslaved to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

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Serving Self
By Aunty Angie Quek Numbers 22:12 - And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed. Numbers 22:21 - And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab. 2 Peter 2:15-16 - Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with mans voice forbad the madness of the prophet.

Romans 6:16-17 - Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

Before a sinner is saved from his sins, sin ruled his heart. He was a captured slave to sin. The Lord Jesus precious blood was shed on the cross for the remission of the sins of the whole world. When the sinner receives Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour, sin is no longer his Numbers 31:16 - Behold, these caused master. He has received liberty from the the children of Israel, through the bondage of sin through Christ Jesus. counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass The truly born-again believer against the LORD in the matter of becomes a servant or slave of Christ Peor, and there was a plague among the Jesus his Lord. He is transformed from congregation of the LORD. being a slave to sin to a slave of Christ. He We all know the story of Balaam. He loved is clothed with Christs righteousness. He money, position and power. His love for surrenders his life to the Lord money spurred him on to boldly disobey Jesus who is His Master. No longer will he God and to do evil. Balaam devised an serve and obey sin. He is very repentant evil plan to cause the children of Israel when his sins are pointed out to him, like to sin against God. He chose to serve David, the man after Gods own heart. mammon and to forsake the His desire is to obey the Lord and do His Lord. There are many more will. However, it is possible that some like Balaam in the Bible. Judas believers do not want to completely betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ surrender their lives to the Lord. The for lthy lucre. He was driven by his Lord Jesus does not have rst place own desires with no thought for the in their lives. Thus they may not be consequences. Balaam and Judas could walking closely with the Lord, and they not have been true believers. They may be serving self. remained as slaves to sin till their death.

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Could the following be some of the our lives unto Him? Are we adamant behaviours of a believer who puts self about living our lives the way that we want to live? rst? : His will be done rst, not Gods; His wants and pleasures are more important than doing what is pleasing to God; If we have fully surrendered our lives to the Lord, have we become lukewarm in our devotion to Him? Has self been creeping in more and more and edging the Lord out of His rightful place? Have we conditioned ourselves to just go to church on Sunday mornings and be satised that we have done our duty as Gods children?

Hell serve the Lord when its convenient to him, when the children are grown, when hes more secure nancially, when hes not too tired, and so on;

Are we truly servants of Christ and is He forgets that everything he He our Master and Lord, the rst and does has a spiritual signicance; the last? Can we sing this hymn with a He procrastinates because he sincere heart? believes that his time is his own; More like the Master, I would live and He will not be inconvenienced, and grow, lets others make the sacrices; More of His love to others I would show; His bedroom can be a mess because More self-denial, like His in Galilee, he tells himself: Its my room; Ill tidy up More like the Master, I long to ever be. later. All believers will struggle with sin because Hell dress in a worldly fashion of the sinful esh (Romans 7). There will because he feels he looks good and be times when we will fall into sin. This doesnt care what people may say its will go on until we receive the gloried none of their business who are they to body, which is why self-examination and judge?; repentance are very necessary as we His speech is full of buts. He go through the sanctication process. can explain his selsh actions very When sin was our master, there was no promptly. He tells himself that his struggle at all because we were dead in actions and thoughts are not sins, only sin. It is not just the head knowledge that a difference of opinion; is important; the application of Gods Hell spend more time with earthly Word is so vital as well. Lets not treat pursuits than with the study of Gods the sins of pride and self centeredness lightly. To serve self is denitely a sin. Word. We must perpetually remind ourselves Some, if not most of us may be guilty of to ensure that the Lord Jesus Christ at least one of the above. We may have has rst place in our lives and to not let truly received the Lord Jesus as our the worlds attractions and personal Saviour but have we fully surrendered ambitions lure us into sin.

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We have been bought with a price Gods only begotten Sons precious and sinless blood was shed to pay the penalty for our sins. Let us not live to please and serve ourselves, but only Christ Jesus our Lord. It should not be what we want but what Christ wants that must matter the most! What will the Lord say when we appear before Him at the Bema? 2 Corinthians 5:10 - For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

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Seven Sin Slaying Suggestions

Pointers given by our own YFers! This world is not a friend to believers. There is often a temptation at every turn, waiting to snare us in sin. Some of us may even now be entangled in it, and struggling to get out of it. However, we can take heart knowing that God has not left us to ght these spiritual battles alone; He is intimately familiar with our weaknesses and has left us enough instruction in His Word, along with the promise of His grace, to be able to overcome the sins in our lives. Here are Seven Sin-Slaying Suggestions offered by YFers:-

removing ourselves from the situation! 2) Follow After Righteousness 2 Timothy 2:22, Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

The rst portion of this verse echoes the previous suggestion, but the focus here is on what ought to replace the lust. Separating from sin or eeing from lust will not be enough we need to make sure that we ll that breach with the things of God, or we will soon nd ourselves returning to our old ways and habits. The word following also carries the idea of chasing after, and that is the kind of fervency with which we need to pursue the things of God, to keep us from sin!

1) Starve the Sin

3) Guard Your Thoughts

Romans 13:14, But put ye on the Lord Philippians 4:8-9, Finally, brethren, Jesus Christ, and make not provision whatsoever things are true, whatsoever for the esh, to full the lusts thereof. things are honest, whatsoever things Making no provision for the esh is the are just, whatsoever things are emphasis of this suggestion. Our sins pure, whatsoever things are lovely, are sometimes fed by our tendency to whatsoever things are of good report; live as close to the edge as possible to if there by any virtue, and if there by see how far we can go before we fall. any praise, think on these things. Those This verse exhorts us to not consider things, which ye have both learned, and satisfying the lusts of our esh in even received, and heard, and seen in me, do: the slightest way. If we know we are prone and the God of peace shall be with you. to sin in a given situation, then one good way to deal with it is to starve that sin by

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What occupies our minds has a very real and direct impact on how we lead our lives. If our minds are lled with the things of earth, then we will naturally lead lives that are focused only upon earthly and carnal things. This suggestion proposes that the best remedy is to ll our minds with the things of God. This suggestion can be seen as the natural partner of the second suggestion. Once our minds are focused on the things of God, our actions will follow after.

5) Hide Gods Word in Your Heart Psalm 119:11, Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

4) Have Godly Friends Proverbs 27:17, Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

Also described as the sword of the Spirit in Ephesians 6:17, the Word is absolutely vital in our battles with sin. Without the Word, we have nothing! Christ Himself used the Word to rebuff Satan when He was tempted in the wilderness, setting an example that we would be foolish to ignore. Gods Word can help us deal with sin only if we have rst hidden it in our hearts, and that often means memorizing and understanding it! Hymns can also serve us well here if they help us recall Gods Word.

A very useful weapon in the ght against sin is the mutual edication and encouragement that believers can enjoy because of the common faith we have. Building strong friendships based rmly in the bond we share in Christ is important because our fellow brothers and sisters can serve as our keepers, and we can full that same duty, ensuring that all of us stay on the straight and narrow. And when we fall, a timely word of rebuke is often instrumental in restoring us.

6) Learn to Ask Aright James 4:3, Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

Prayer is a vital part of our battle against sin, and because of that we must learn to pray correctly. If our prayer lives are stunted by a carnal focus, we will fall when we meet with temptation because we have not asked for the grace to live a life that is in accordance to Gods will that has been revealed to us in His Word.

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7) Remember that God is Watching Psalm 139:2-3, Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.

The thought of God being ever with us is a comforting one that is often invoked when we face a trial of faith, but it can also serve to stop us from sinning. If we have a holy fear in our hearts of offending the Almighty God, then the thought of how the same God is watching our every step will denitely keep us from sinning against Him.

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Slavery
What you is the ultimate may give a compliment Christian? An efcient committee member, devoted Sunday School teacher, or humble behind-the-scenes worker? Or perhaps a meticulous bible study leader or zealous evangelist? No. The ultimate compliment, for a believer, is that he is a slave of Christ.

ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. To what are you enslaved?

The recent survey on what YFers spend most time on yielded mixed results. Paul the Apostle was not one to Only 24 responded, so the results atter. Among the few people he do not cover the entire spectrum of praised was a slave servant. In Rom YFers, but should give enough color. 16:1, he wrote, I commend unto you Phoebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea. Of Only a quarter of respondents did not list Phoebe, we know little except she was spending time on computer / computer a dedicated servant, or slave, of God. games / social media sites / SMSing as a major item. More worrying, a few listed texting, surng the net, and having fun Weareallslavestosomethingorsomeone. on the computer as their top priority. Put another way, we are all enslaved to something or someone. When we are enslaved to something, we are drawn Many students have mobile phone to it with a power that overwhelms. contracts that allow for unlimited We are mastered, we are owned. number of SMSes sent. While that sounds like a good deal, is it? Thats like having access to buffets everyday. When we read the concept of slave and Most human beings are hardwired to master in the bible, we must remember lack discipline, and having buffets it is utter subjection of one to another, everyday will do more harm than good to not an employee-employer relationship many of us. Likewise, having unlimited we are more familiar with. When we were number of SMSes cannot be healthy for lost in sin, sin was our master. We were someone who cannot discipline himself. enslaved by it and dead to Christ. But when we accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are to have awakened to When we are enslaved to something, righteousness and become slaves to we are drawn inexorably to it. God. Rms 6:16 to 18 tell us as much, Know For good or bad, the pull remains.

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Are you enslaved to your mobile phone? To social media sites? Do you need to check your email every other minute? Must you send that 17th SMS to a friend in the same minute? Ask yourself honestly how your studies, sleep, or relationships have been affected by endless texting or surng. Do this simple test: compare the amount of time you relax texting or surng yesterday with the amount of time you spend on your QT. On surng I youtubed a Russian violinist the other day, using his family name. Along with videos on him was one of a bikini-clad model by the beach. Turns out this Russians rst name coincided with the title of a mens magazine. This anecdote must be one of many you know, or have experienced. Dangers lurk in the Net. Spending that amount of time on it clearly exposes us to them, so we all need to be circumspect. God has allowed the invention of computers and expansion of technology. Use them, enjoy them. But be in control of things. Technology can also usher social suicide into lives. How many people you know live vicariously through avatars and MMORPG games? In your surng, have you perhaps considered sites that steer us to a deeper knowledge of God? You must know there are a lot of sites that allow you to read the Word, or commentaries, or grant access to hitherto thick dictionaries and concordances.

As we consider the concept of slavery, be reminded we are to pledge allegiance to only one King. This Potentate must be our dear Lord, not computer games, emails, texting, Youtube, FB, Twitter We are to be serious about our walk. We sing, talk, read of surrender to Jesus and give of your best to the Master. In terms of the time you spend, how much do you really surrender to Him? You must have sung these words, All to Jesus I surrender, Humbly at His feet I bow, Worldly pleasures all forsaken; Take me, Jesus, take me now. Were you a hypocrite what you mouthed them? In closing, be encouraged by the timeless and timely words in 1 Thess 5: 5-8, Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

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RetroSpect
A letter to your past
By William Quah Hi William, You might think that it is cool to receive a letter from future-you, but I think you will not be pleased upon reading the contents of this letter. However, I hope you will listen, for it concerns your soul. It is with much sadness that I write to you, seeing how you are so consumed with the things of the world. You please your own eshly desires. TV and computer games have consumed you. You are wasting so much time and energy, both of which are God given. For someone who was born into a Christian home and has been brought up in a doctrinally sound church and claims to be a Christian, your life has been hypocritical and has reected that of an unbeliever rather than that of a disciple of Christ. Indeed, in church, you appear ne, serving in the teens comm, YPC, and you have a good reputation with teachers and peers, but behind that faade your mind is lled with devilish computer games that much of your life is spent on. Even when you are not facing the screen, you think about it. You formulate strategies about it, thinking of when to play it and talk to your friends about it. On the other hand, you have not told your friends about Christ and hardly stand up for Him. The love for computer games has even led you to lie to your parents that you are doing work when they are both away at work when you are actually playing games. The computer has become one of your idols! 21

Repent! Check your own salvation, for a good tree will denitely produce good fruit. Matthew 7:17-23 is not for the Charismatics but for YOU! You call Jesus Lord in your prayers and words but in your life He is not so. You had better repent before you end up in that situation where Jesus says I never knew you: Depart from me ye that work iniquity. Remember the words of the Lord Jesus in Luke 9:23 If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. You say you follow Christ, so why dont you deny yourself and take up the cross? You might think a future-you will know that he is saved and so why worry. Its precisely because at that time you made all these mistakes, thinking that it is not serious, that a future-you is still cleaning up the mess of sin and its far-reaching consequences. What is wrong about computer games you might ask? Two things Id like to bring up. The rst is the devilish content of many of the games you play and the second is how the games have become an idol to you. Listen hard and listen well, for this is not what I say, but what the word of God says about these things. Since young, many games that you have played have an element of witchcraft and sorcery involved. Casting spells, necromancy and demons have all been part of these games, and these games are widely played by many friends you have, and also many Christians. It seems like it is ok, as long as you dont actually do it in real life. This thinking is where the devil, the master seducer, has got you. Matthew 24:12 says, And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. In Acts 2:40 the Apostle

Peter calls it an untoward generation the lake which burneth with re and and in Galatians 1:4 a brimstone: which is the second death. present evil world. The 2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement devil has made sin so common-place in your hath the temple of God with idols? for ye surroundings so that you do are the temple of the living God; as God not hate sin as God does and hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk all Christians should. This is in them; and I will be their God, and they especially true in prosperous shall be my people. Singapore where you dont have to worry about day-to-day living, so you can have From these few verses you can the time and means to indulge in these see that God says that those that things and so become hardened against continue in witchcraft and idolatry will sin. You know what the Bible says about burn, for these are signs of unbelievers, and not the good fruit that comes from sorcery? God. We are the temple of God. Can you Deuteronomy 18:10-12 There shall not imagine God dwelling in us, walking in us be found among you any one that maketh to do something evil that He absolutely his son or his daughter to pass through hates? You see how you try to deceive the re, or that useth divination, or an yourself into thinking it is ok and just observer of times, or an enchanter, or harmless? Gods word is absolutely clear a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter on this. with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two because of these abominations the masters: for either he will hate the one, LORD thy God doth drive them out from and love the other; or else he will hold before thee. to the one, and despise the other. Ye Thats right! Witchcraft is an cannot serve God and mammon. abomination to God. You might not Now I move on to the part about being understand the word abomination. It ensnared by the games. You might ask means that it is something that God now. How about Winning 11 or any other extremely hates. How can we even get sports games? Or strategy games? comfortable by treating what God hates Or games like Gunbound? Surely they lightly? cannot harm, right? Its true that not Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works all computer games are harmful to you. of the esh are manifest, which are But look at your weak depraved self and these; Adultery, fornication Idolatry, your feeble efforts to limit yourself. witchcraft and such like: of the which How many hours have you played, giving I tell you before, as I have also told you the excuse of holidays or I must nish in time past, that they which do such this game or another? How many times things shall not inherit the kingdom of have you snapped at your parents or brother because you were in the middle God. of a game and cannot leave for fear Revelations 21:8 But the fearful, of losing? How many times have you and unbelieving and sorcerers, and been somewhere, including on Sunday idolators shall have their part in mornings in church, or during prayer 22

or teens class and then the games and the strategies and the things that you must do in order to better your game play entered your mind and distracted you from worshipping God? How can you say Jesus, I love you and I will follow you and do what you ask me to do when your energies and mind is used on such things? Have you constantly been praying? Have you been thinking of how to share the gospel with your friend who is about to die and go to hell? Have you even shared the gospel with a friend before? Have you repeatedly thought to spend time in encouraging a friend in Christ in church? Do you even know about your friends spiritual states? Have you done your best in whatever tasks youve been given? Can you spend your time better for Christ? Will He say Well done my good and faithful servant for spending time playing computer games? I know all the answers to those questions, one good thing about being future-you. You cannot serve God and the world. 1 John 1:6 says If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. Ephesians 5:16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Colossians 4:5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. If you truly believe that Christ is coming again, and you are wondrously saved by His grace, you would not spend time in such frivolous things, but go spend and be spent for Him. Remember, as in Ezekiel 33:6, how much blood of your friends and loved ones is on your hands? Yet another thing done by you that haunts future-you till now.

With all these problems, you are thinking that there is no hope for you. You even think that why ght against the esh when you are bound to sin these sins again anyway. Well, future-you tells you that God through His grace has shown future-you through His Word that there is a way out. God tells you in Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall nd rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. You have to see how you really cannot help yourself. I seriously tell you, you will try many times to be resolute and try to kick this addiction with your own willpower and you will fail miserably. You are really easily tempted to fall into the sin of idolising TV, computer among many things. Your pride also makes you think you can do it (even up till now it happens). And so you fail. You better thank God that He is gracious and merciful to you and shows you that you are such a wretched creature, and doesnt leave you there, but gives you the way of salvation and to overcome sin. For who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:5,4. You can overcome the world through Gods help! Keep on seeking God through His word and through much prayer. This phrase might be the most commonly used phrase that you have heard other Christians say, but its true. John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 23

Ephesians 5:26 That he might sin, the consequences and the gospel. sanctify and cleanse If they still dont mind being around you, it with the washing of and dont nd you weird, then thats good, and shine for Christ! water by the word, Luke 11:9-10 And I say unto you, Ask, Lastly, with the all the extra time you and it shall be given you; seek, and ye have, if you dont use it well, you will shall nd; knock, and it shall be opened just fall to another snare placed by unto you. For every one that asketh Satan. Besides spending more time on receiveth; and he that seeketh ndeth; personal devotions and prayer, you can and to him that knocketh it shall be go join the YF and benet from fellowship and the Word of God! You can think and opened. It may seem that you have tried to ask prepare to tell loved ones and friends God with much tears and prayer, but around you about Christ. You can pray you still fall into sin. You try reading the and encourage brethren in Christ. You Word but you still fall back into sin. Force can serve more and better in teens and yourself to choose not to go play games in YF when you go there. You can ponder with your gaming friends and make the of how you can be a better testimony at choice to join all the Bible studies you can home, school and church. If you but open and prayer meetings too. Sometimes in your eyes, you will see that theres so the future you are not sure what help much work to be done for the Lord that they can give but know this: God uses His He calls you to! John 4:35 tells us not to word to move your heart to live for Him. wait (for tomorrow that never comes) Its true I tell you, believe me. Keep going to do Gods work, but theres already so at these 2 avenues -- of Gods word much to do now! Look and see! and prayer, for it is the only way you are Thats all I have for you now. Remember ever going to nd deliverance from the this point before I end. With all the burden of besetting sin and the power nonsense that you sow, a future-you of snares. The other hard choices that will reap all the rubbish as well. All I can you have to make are to mix less with do is clean up and continue the ght. Ah your friends that bring you to do these well, what to do but live now for Christ! things and mix with Christian brethren. Sad regards, The outside friends might be more fun as they bring you to focus on the many Your regretful future-you fun things of the world but realise this, it will all burn. If you continue indulging in worldly pleasures with them, you will cause your friends to burn in hell by your testimony too. 1 Corinthians 15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. You think that you can change them? Its unlikely that it will happen. What happens is usually the other way round. If you want to test that, tell them about their 24

Hellooooo dear yfers!!

My Bl Brethren Lies oo Over the Ocea ! n

Hmmm... Ive been debating what to write about for nearly two weeks now, and yet, I have absolutely no idea what to write. So well see how this goes..! Studying overseas has denitely been a huge challenge, but I am SO thankful that I have a God who cares for me and will never leave me alone. Indeed, sometimes it can get pretty lonely, people can make racist comments about you, or people give you that hate glare :) but our God never changes and He will always love you the same. The last year of high school (sec 3 j2 age in case you were wondering) was denitely my most stressful year out of the four and a half years Ive been at Bob Jones. For some reason, this time round, I had the home sickness feeling wayyyyyyyy too early. I guess I kept having that feeling :) Ahhh!! Im graduating this year and Ill be home soooooooonnnn!!!! and that denitely did not help. Also, having a 15-year-old roommate who always complained about wanting to go home every other day, if not every day since like :) one week into school:) yeah, totally did NOT help. At rst whenever I felt homesick, I would trick my mind and just busy myself with school work or work itself. But then you can never really run away from that fact that youre so far away from home and how much you miss it, no matter how busy you are. I broke down so many times just because I wanted to leave everything behind me and go home. I felt that I did not belong because there were people who literally told me they hated me, or some that would tell racist jokes, or look down on you, and just various things like that. But through it all, God was always there for me whenever I cried out to Him. Though at times it felt like He wasnt listening, I knew that God hears our every cry and He KNOWS what were going through. Academics was another thing. I was taking a huge load, which even my counselor had said was very risky but I absolutely did not want to stay for summer school after my graduation so I decided to go ahead with it. Taking two levels of English (sec 4 and j2) was denitely a challenge, with many papers to write, lots to read, and many tests to take. And then there was US History which is nothing but memorization. But the tests were like :) what was the horses name that General _______ rode on? Like SERIOUSLY??!?!?!?! A horses name?!? And I was also involved in a musical my school did which took up a lot of my time after school. Juggling school, work and the play was VERY interesting indeed. This was especially true when we had a choir concert, which meant extra rehearsals and piano performances/competitions which mandated compulsory attendance. Through it all, though, God gave me the strength even though I literally thought I couldnt roll out of bed anymore because I was so exhausted from standing through rehearsals and work. Honestly, I really didnt know how I could have done it without Gods help. Truly, Hes the ONLY giver of strength and the patience when you need it. 25

What helped me go through everything was singing songs and reading His Word. Really, nothing is more refreshing than talking with God. One of my favourite songs that kept popping into mind was Lord, I Need You because at that time, I really needed His strength though winds and waves look tormenting and I feel so small like Id never make it through. Reading the Psalms was also a huge help. Psa 18:7-8 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed. These are probably my favourite verses and they were really applicable to me at that time. Well, they still are. Soooo :) Joel Tan kind of suggested I share a little about life in California since I had just moved here in August so here goes! The start of college life has denitely been exciting. New environment, new friends, new home :) can get pretty overwhelming sometimes, but I thank God for amazing teachers that care, nice friends, a place to stay, and the list goes on and on and on. Please pray that I wont yield to the temptations as Ive already been asked to go party/smoke/drink with them. Yeah, its only the fourth week of school and they already asked me to join them. Kinda scary if you ask me. But yeah, I guess this is how the world works now. Also, please pray that Ill be a good testimony at school and that I wont let my guard down. I do love my courses though, theyve been pretty fun and interesting. Political Science however, has been messing with my brain so please pray for discernment..! Other than that, life has been pretty exciting and good. I thank God for protection thus far and for His providence. My brother is doing well too, missing home too of course but hey, whats there not to miss about Singapore? :D Well anyway, that was a long article and your eyes must be dried up and tired. Thank you for letting me write this article..! : ) Im saving up all my laughs till I come home, so just wait! Haha. I miss you all and am praying for you guys!! Stay close to the Lord always and give glory to God ONLY in all that you do! :) Will see you all soon, Lord willing! Celeste

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Ex-Teens That Talk

By Serena Lok
My rst impression of YF was when I attended my rst Sept retreat in sec 2. I rst started attending YF when I was in Secondary 3. However, I was not a regular and stopped during my O levels year. When I ended my Os, I decided to attend YF more regularly. I also got to know more YFers because some of them came to teach in our Sec 4 classes and some even offered to help me in my Os! YF always offers mutual encouragements in Christ. Brothers and sisters in Christ would send text messages of verses and ask about our spiritual walk and QT. The group leaders would always be there to ask for prayer requests to pray for each and every one of us. They would also plan group outings to bond/to have fellowship with the members of the group. In my opinion, attending YF and its various spiritual activities requires a certain amount of discipline. Amidst our busy schedule, it is always good for our soul to learn more about His word and to receive His promises. We will also have the assurance that we are not alone because there are all the YFers here for us. It is a blessing to be in such a ministry and I pray many teens will be more encouraged to share this with us. In Christ, Serena

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Of Slaves and Slavery

by Grace Au Yong
I wasnt very old when I rst heard the gospel. Yet, after being brought up in Church, I had learnt to think like a Christian. I sung Sunday School songs, and read the Bible in church every Sunday. If I was afraid at night, I would coax myself back to sleep reading Psalm 23. I even had a Christian name. The Bible informed all my moral beliefs, and they were aligned to the Faith. But they were done without a changed heart. I knew that you should be a Christian, (and I told my friends about it,) but I didnt personally understood why. As a kid, I didnt think much about itnot blessed in the brains department, and was always too distracted to stay on that question. I would have died in my sinseven when Im in church every week, and knew how to be saved, and why we should be saved. Scary thought. Its only recently that I realized (and will admit) how easily I could be seduced by the power of money, by wanting that recognition of effort in school, by that wanting to please others just to get ahead in life and just have my entire being consumed by that. (While theres nothing wrong with earning money, theres everything wrong with making earning money your master. I need to write this down somewhere, I keep forgetting it.) These desires give a small glimpse how much of a slave I was to sin, and that I could never redeem myself from it, unless the Lord revealed His truth towards me, which He did. (Thank you God.) While these desires still exist, (testament to the effects of the old man, and the internal struggle that Christians will always have,) Im very thankful that they no longer have supreme control over my life. That saying, suggestions of pride and earthly grandeur till beset me. They never arrive announcing themselves. Unless youre walking close to the Lord, you never 28

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really realize the beginning of a sin, until you are in the middle of it. Since being given the topic Ive been noticing how my actions have been inuenced by the sinful nature in me. I must admit that its all very subtle the irritatable tone when I speak to my parents, the lies that I tell in life, a whisper in the back of my head saying Ive done enough to deserve that youtube clip, procrastination, excuses, and more procrastination God has given us the power over sin, and yet the sin nature still aficts us every moment. This is what I nd most disturbing about sin. Although nobody walks around in physical chains, we know that everyone that is unsaved is a slave to Satan, and can engineer no escape of his own. God gave us an idea of what we were like, when He described the people of Nineveh to Jonah. Their mind is in such spiritual darkness that they could not discern between their right hand, and their left hand (Jonah 4:11). This description is very apt. Its a spiritual bondage that were talking about, this mental burden of sin that weighs on your being. It is without doubt, a great and potent burden, but because it is not tangible, sometimes people ignore it. And being in church makes this very dangerous, because you can think youre a Christian, when you are really not. Friends, are you still in chains, bound to the service of sin? You might have grown up in Church, gone through Teens, and were even given the talk by Brother Milton but are you truly saved? If youre saved, are you growing in the Faith? Youre not a slave to sin, and must struggle against the Old man, this sin nature within us. The only way to struggle, and be victorious in that struggle, is to have a close walk with Christ, and a slave to Christ. Slaves have no rights at all, and their will has to be completely tied to their Master. If you have your will tied to the Lord, then examine how your testimony is, and you behaveis it betting of Him? This is difcult, but not impossible. And remember, we will fail lest we do it with Gods help. May we all strive daily to be worthy of our Master. Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall nd rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. 29

THE YF WENT ON A MISSION AWARENESS TRIP, WOOO~!!! (:

We thank God for the privilege to labour in the organization and the execution of this trip, and the fellowship we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. The planning of this Mission Awareness Trip has been of great encouragement and also rebuke to me. It is indeed a joy to see how everybody labours together as many members of the same body. Though there were bumps along the way and I get discouraged because I lose sight of God in the planning, God sends His children to encourage and to lift up. God is good. He leads each step of the way and taught me the importance of waiting upon Him - it is truly not what I can do for God but what God would have me to do for Him. There is a three-fold objective for this Mission Awareness Trip:

(1) To generate awareness of the Mission Field

This is the primary objective of the Mission Awareness Trip. The YF Executive Committee initiated this idea to provide an opportunity for the YFers to serve in the mission eld and in the hope of encouraging them to participate in similar outreaches. Therefore, in line with that purpose, the planning committee tried to rope in the help of the YFers. This was the reason for both the skit and the Art & Craft ideas. We thank God for the labour of JQ, Ivan and Lek Xuan in the coordination of all the details that we had to iron out for the skit. God truly works in marvellous ways and He pours down His grace in His ministry. For all the help rendered by those who have served in mission trips from the help in the preparation of the crops for the skit to the translation of the script, we could only praise and bless His Holy name. Thank God for the many YFers who were forthcoming in taking on roles in the skit and for all the help in the cutting and in the preparation of the craft materials. It was encouraging to see how the YFers helped the kids in Batam enthusiastically with the craft despite the language barrier.

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Truly as I look back, I could only thank God for His wonderful grace in helping us to serve Him though we are inadequate in so many ways.

(2) For fellowship among the Berean YFers and the Pandan YFers that we may forge a stronger bond in the Lord Jesus Christ
Im sure all of us have gotten to know the Berean YFers better even if it is simply knowing their names (or the names they have in the skit e.g. woman 1 or widow 1). Now when we see one another, we could say SURPRISE!! (: It is heartening to see members of the body of Christ work together to serve the King of kings and the Lord of lords in the different roles that God has called. Together with Ivan, we are privileged to be working with Ben and Lek Xuan in the planning of this trip, of the times we see things coming to a halt because we know not how to continue and of the many emails we sent one another to update and to nd alternatives to certain situations. Most importantly, Im thankful to God for His Word and His promises. That is where we nd strength and encouragement not to be weary and labour on.

Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. 31

(3) To encourage the teens in GAPPI Getsemani in light of Gods Word

This is another objective of our mission trip that our trip may be a blessing to the church. Our decision to do a DVBS in GAPPI Getsemani was to bring the gospel message to the many kids in Batam that they too may hear of the wonderful grace of our God and come to salvation knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Nonetheless, our focus of the trip was actually the Teens. We hope to be able to share our spiritual blessings and the knowledge we have in the Word of God with them. This was why we had a combined Youth Fellowship with the Teens on the message of Loving the Lord where Kenny reminded us on why we should love the Lord and how we ought to love the Lord. We had also station games which were mainly based on biblical events or objects. These games ideas were not simply raised to take up the time we have set aside for games with the Teens but Joy Khor and Elvin had spent effort in coming up with these ideas in the hope of encouraging them. The Sword Drill station was to help them familiarize with the books of the bible. The Pictionary station was to help them familiarize with the characters and the objects in the Bible and the Still Shots station was to help them familiarize with the events that God has written for our learning. These station games may have been seemingly easy for us who were given the privilege in the study of these characters or events through bible studies or the many resources that we possessed in our self-study but it may not be the case for them. 1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. The Mission Awareness Trip was planned for our learning and in the hope that we may participate in similar outreaches in the future. We do pray and hope that God will use us to be a blessing to other people. It has been a month, have we actually forgotten the purpose of the trip and treated it as an event of our life that has since passed? I hope that we will count our blessings each day to know that we are indeed privileged to have the luxury of the air-conditioned cry-room and the many faithful preachers of Gods Word week after week for YF to help us grow in the grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. May this be a reminder not to take our weekly YF meetings for granted and to remind us to abound to every good work for the Lord! In Christ, Su Ling

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that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall by Ivan Ting accomplish that which I please, and it It all started with a godly desire which shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent ignited in the heart of our advisor. Do it. missions, and make aware the need of missions. And of course, have blessed fellowship along the way. As the song But alas! It may be said of me, This goes, it only takes a spark to get a people draweth nigh unto me with their re going. Soon, the combined Berean- mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; Pandan YF caught re and we embarked but their heart is far from me. Work on a one day Mission Awareness Trip to done for the Lord without true sincerity of heart, without that kind of love with GAPPI Getsemani B-P Church. which He rst loved us, is but wood, hay, stubble, unable to stand the re of the But even though initially enthusiastic, Bema seat of judgment. the winds of the Evil One sought to snuff out the ame in my heart. I imperceptibly lamented the May this personal sharing be awarning arduous preparation necessary to us all of the danger of spiritually for just one day of missions. Passion for lethargic service. May the Lord rekindle evangelistic missions was slowly my re, and yours too if it has dimmed. infected by a cold sense of May the Lord impress on us by His obligation to do what needed to be done. Spirit the HIGH CALLING which all of us How easy it is for the soul to be lulled to Christians have been bestowed indifference! with, the GRAND WORK that he has called us to perform, and the U N I M A G I N A B L E The skit, the songs, the art & craft, SACRIFICE that has redeemed our the games, all went smoothly and wretched persons and demands the energetically. William, as Zacchaeus, was giving of our soul, our life, our all. brave to the task, having to memorized pages of script in a third language. The cast was focused in the actual And with this high view of God, His performance and executed their best calling, and His sacrice, may we echo run. The art & craft engaged the with godly passion the words of the younger ones by and large, and its father of modern missions, EXPECT emphasis on the memorization of Luke GREAT THINGS FROM GOD, ATTEMPT 19:10 was appropriate to the objectives GREAT THINGS FOR GOD. Amen, and of the mission trip. For the Son of man Amen! is come to seek and to save that which I must work the works of him that sent was lost. Surely, for Christs sake, and me, while it is day: the night cometh, when for the glory of His name, the Word which no man can work. John 9:4 went out by role-play, preaching, and memorization, must have accomplished its purpose. For, So shall my word be

Mission Trip Reflections

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Mission Trip Reflections

by Joel Tan On 20th August, a group of us from Pandan and Bereans Youth Fellowship took a ferry down from the Harbourfront Ferry Terminal to Batam for a Missions Awareness Trip! Both YFs collaborated and prepared song items, games, arts and crafts & a skit for the day trip to Batam. We headed down to GAPPI Getsemani upon reaching the shores of Batam, and started preparing for the Zaccheus skit and song presentations to be presented in front of the children for their VBS. We were introduced to the children, and had the very pleasant opportunity to shake their hands while singing simple Christian songs in Indonesian! The children over there sang really loudly, and it was certainly a pleasant surprise to see and hear how much they loved to sing to the Lord. Following which, the skit and the songs were presented in Indonesian, and thank God that everything went smoothly and that the message behind the skit was delivered!

Getsemani, as the weather was much hotter than in Singapore, and it was very nice! After lunch, we had a combined Youth Fellowship with the teens from GAPPI Getsemani. After the message by Kenny, we proceeded for a time of fun & games with the teens. In our various groups, we proceeded to different stations to play Pictionary, Snapshots and Sword drill! Through these games, we had the opportunity to get-to-know the teens better, and enjoy some friendly competition in the various games with them. Everyone both from Singapore and Batam had an enjoyable time playing games and getting to know each other better! As the day was getting late, it was soon time for us to head back to Singapore. We enjoyed some local delicacies from Batam, made by some members from GAPPI Getsemani, and had more time to interact with the teens over dinner. Finally, as the sun was setting, we headed back to the ferry terminal to catch our boat back to Singapore! The entire day trip to Batam was a very enjoyable and blessed one. It was certainly a good opportunity to fellowship with the brethren in Batam despite the difculty in communication, but hank God that we could encourage them through the skit, song items and even our presence over there in Batam! Personally, it was rather encouraging to see the young children sing so enthusiastically for the Lord before the skit started, certainly much louder than how we sing in our church! Thank God for the opportunity to visit the brethren in Batam, and I look forward to future Mission trips with the YF!

We then had an Arts and Craft session with the children and the teens, where the children were supposed to paste and put together pieces of paper to form the memory verse of Luke 19:10, the verse they memorized from the Zaccheus skit. They also colored a picture of Zaccheus on the sycamore tree. The YFers stood around assisting the children and the teens, while interacting with them with their limited grasp of the Indonesian language. It was however a very enjoyable time to interact with fellow Christian brethren from Batam despite the language barrier. We were also treated to a refreshing honeydew drink prepared by the adults and teens from GAPPI 34

September Retreat
by Hannah Woo September Retreat was held on the 9th & 10th of September! It was a good respite from the long (half) semester at school, spending a weekend away from the demands of school and work , instead spending time in church learning more about His word and of course, fellowshipping with the YFers :) The theme of the retreat was Blessings in Disguise, taken from the life of Joseph. Brother Henry, the main speaker for the retreat, came up with 3 exciting message titles to substantiate the theme. 1. Betrayed but Blessed 2. Tempted but Triumphed 3. Forsaken but Forgiving

How often can we be like Joseph, who despite the harsh circumstances, managed to keep his good Christian testimony? Im sure that if we were betrayed by our siblings or close friends, we certainly would not recognize it as a blessing. And we would certainly not be as forgiving as Joseph was towards his brothers who had abandoned and sold him away when he was young. Blessedness, as mentioned in the bible, can only be experienced by those who are truly saved. Why would it be in a disguise 35

then? God places trials in our lives, and through these trials he guides and leads us till we overcome them. Only then, when we look back and see the hand of God protecting us through said trial, would we realize that it was a blessing. Also, Joseph resisted temptation when met with Potiphars wife because he dared to be different and refused her advances. Just like Joseph, we also ought to purpose in our hearts not to follow in the ways of the world and give in to sin and temptation. Every time we give in to temptations and dwell on it, we succumb to sin, acknowledging that Satan is our master. Hence we should learn from the life of Joseph, and dare to be different from the world. Forgiving the people who had caused so much hurt to us can be a very difcult thing to do. However, forgiveness in the bible is a commandment. Colossians 3:13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. Just as Christ has forgiven us our sins, we too must also follow the example of Him and forgive the people who have hurt us, just like how Joseph forgave his brothers. Indeed there is so much for us to learn and emulate from Josephs life!

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Name & age? What are you doing now? What do you want to be in the future? Hobbies? Who in the Bible is your ideal girlfriend/ boyfriend?

Personal Points

1. Leslie Lim, 24 this year but nobody believes me... haha. 2. Business Management student at SIM-RMIT 3. By Gods Will, that I can be a good husband and having a happy family? A stable job too :) 4. I like jogging, cycling, swimming and occasionally stoning. [Editors note: Stoning, an ancient Israelite past time!] 5. Hmmm Im still not versed in the Bible so I cant give an answer :)))
1. Raphael Goh, 21 years old. 2. First year student at the National University of Singapore (likely majoring in Communications and New Media) 3. Maybe a photographer? 4. Hmmm I havent been doing much recently. Used to run and swim when I was in army! 5. Never thought of it before I dont know!!
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1. Joelle Cheong, 16! :D l studying fles Girls School, stil t at Raf 2. Secondary 4 studend O Levels. :D for my end of years an rever the phanage somewhere, whe for me to tian or 3. I want to open a Chrisurse if it really is His calling Lord leads :D and of co do so :D g in general, g, eating cookies, eatin 4. Sleepin ovels and sing, reading romance n ing, sm playing the guitar, talk watching chick flicks! xD in God to ired his faith and trust uld problly adm 5. mmm Joshua? :D I rea tes after Moses. I guess it wo li help him lead the Israe ary and daunting to keep the standard ably have been quite scthe world would see it, but Joshua was that Moses had set, as would use him to lead them in His perfect able to trust that God o its true, the spies get all the girls.] way :D [Editors note: S

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July 3 Matthew Yeo, Jonathan Poon and Joshua Loh march 24km overnight to their Passing-Out Parade 4 Jonan returns from the jungles of Brunei 9 Joy Ng graduates from the National University of Singapore and enters the working world! Sophia graduates from the National Institute of Education and goes back to Secondary school! 11 -Lingting returns from Manchester :) 13 Jo-Ann Siew jets back to Melbourne on a night ight Brian nds himself being called Mr Lim for the next ve weeks at Regent Secondary School Joyce Huang successfully demonstrates her motor skills by passing her driving test Jan takes her Grade 7 Piano exam and her Driving Basic Theory Test Leslie successfully obtains a licence to blow bubbles. As an open water diver, of course. Zhongyan nds himself back in the army for reservist training from 14-30 Kenny lands safely in Singapore after spending some time in Melbourne August 1 Jonan ies off for a free 3-week holiday to Taiwan, courtesy of MINDEF 9 Zhongyan tests the stability of an MRT pillar with his head while cycling with a number of other YFers and comes away from the experience with nine stitches. Some say the catalyst of the accident was a girl whose name starts with A and rhymes with whale. 27 (A) Working Faith and Scripture Seeking Saints go through a gauntlet of faith at Jurong Central Park 28 Jonan returns from his all-expenses paid trip to Taiwan 38

Short & Broad

August continued... Sophia Huang fractures her bular, which eventually leads to her purchase of specialised footwear so expensive that she can only afford one side William obtains a licence to hit the road on two wheels! September 17 P.E.A.R.L has a wonderful time of fellowship at a group outing baking bread 21 Suling, Wanping and William travel to Batam as part of a project for their Bahasa class 24 P.E.A.R.L and Scripture Seeking Saints host a combined group outing at sunny Sentosa, while (A) Working Faith and LOGgers hit the ice on skates at Kallang. It was easy to tell who went for what outing during that particular YF September continued.... Gabriel embarks on an overseas outeld exercise between 20-23 Sept in his service to the nation Sophia gets back on her feet (in a manner of speaking) and is once again able to come and have fellowship with like-minded brethren

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October 2011: Men of Great Faith 1 Church Bible Study (CBS) 8 Lessons from the Life of William Tyndale 15 Lessons from the Life of Watchman Nee 22 Lessons from the Life of Robert Murray MCheyne 29 Lessons from the Life of John Newton 26th Oct: Deepavali November 2011 5 Church Bible Study (CBS) 12 Book Study on Nahum 19 Book Study on Nahum December 2011: Prophesies Concerning 26 Book Study on Nahum Christs First Coming 6th Nov: Hari Raya Haji 3 The Christmas Story 10 The Suffering Lamb of God 17 The Hope of A Coming Life 24 No YF in view of Christmas Eve Praise Service 31 No YF in view of Watch Night Service YF Camp 2011: 19th to 24th December This Issue is brought to you by: Joel Quah Brian Lim Dorothy Chiang Samuel Chia Elvin Siew Lim Siu Chen Hannah Woo Yeda Ko Jan Yap Joelle Cheong Hannah Joy Chew 40

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The Last Page

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