Life B-P Church Weekly

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Life B-P Church Weekly - 14 March 2010

Scripture Memory: Desiring God.
VERSE : Psalm 73:25 "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee."

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O Worship the LORD in the Beauty of Holiness

14 March 2010
8.00 am Worship Service:
Rev Colin Wong (We Have Found The Messiah, Lord's Supper)
10.45 am Worship Service:
Dn Lee Hock Chin (They That Wait Upon The Lord)
6:00 pm Evening Service:
Rev Frank Low (God Rewards Us In His Time)

21 March 2010
8.00 am Worship Service:
Rev Colin Wong (Whatsoever He Saith Unto You, Do It)
10.45 am Worship Service:
Eld Khoo Peng Kiat (What Do You Have In Christ?)
6:00 pm Evening Service:
Mark Chen (Coincidence or God's Providence)

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WHEN GOD TESTS OUR FAITH

Some time ago I visited an elderly Christian couple. They were in great need of comfort and encouragement. Both of them were coping with sicknesses due to old age. They shared with me about their financial problems and the difficulties they were facing with their two children. I encouraged them through the Word of God and their faith was strengthened as they trusted in God's Word.

Perhaps you may also be facing difficulties and trials which make you feel discouraged. When this happens, you must go the Scriptures to learn how to cope with them. And what you will learn is that you must have faith in God. In fact God deliberately allows you to go through trials in order to test your faith in Him.

This happened to Abraham, a man who was known for his faith in God. He believed God's promise to give him and his barren wife a son. And God miraculously did this when Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 years old. Abraham's faith in God was therefore vindicated. All his hopes of having many descendants would be fulfilled as Isaac grew up, got married and had his own children. We can imagine how lovingly Abraham and Sarah must have doted on their precious son. They must have taken the greatest care to nurture him and protect him from all harm and danger. He was their precious miraculously-born son, who was their great hope and future!

God's Testing of Abraham

But now God told Abraham to do something quite unthinkable: "And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." (Genesis 22:1,2)

We can imagine how shocked Abraham must have been to hear this. No reason was given why this was to be done. It seemed to go against all that God had told him before.

The Bible does not record any response from Abraham to this commandment except one: Complete obedience. This obedience was based on his confidence that God is always good, righteous, fair, just and loving no matter what He does. He is not unreasonable, cruel or bloodthirsty. He hates any kind of human blood sacrifice. In fact, when God gave His laws to Israel about 400 years later, one of the prohibitions was against human blood sacrifices (Deuteronomy 12:31; 18:10).

Why then did God command Abraham to sacrifice his son? The answer is found in the first verse of the text - "And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham," The word "tempt" here, which means "to test" or "to prove," is important to the whole passage and provides the right perspective for us to understand it. There was no intention of a blood sacrifice although Abraham did not know it yet. The command was meant only to test his faith.

And he passed the test very well with unquestioning obedience. Abraham took his son with him up to Mount Moriah, built an altar and laid Isaac on it. But just before the knife was plunged, the Lord sent an angel to stop him. His faith was proven.

Lessons from Abraham's Faith

1. Faith is necessary in any crisis because of our incomplete knowledge of God's plan.

God does not require us to know every single detail before we can obey Him. There are many things He has chosen not to reveal to us yet, but He wants us simply to trust Him. According to Isaiah 55:8,9 - "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."

In every crisis we face, we must believe that God has a good purpose for what He does and for what He allows to happen in our lives. Romans 8:28 assures us that "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." Our trials are not there merely by chance or accident but by God's design. They have all been carefully planned and deliberately woven into the fabric of our lives for His glory. Thus we should humbly submit ourselves to them, just like Abraham did.

Are you facing a trial that greatly perplexes you at present? Do you wonder why God has allowed this to happen to you? Be aware that there are things being accomplished that you do not know about, and that you have an opportunity to trust Him for the things you do not know. Where knowledge ends, faith in the Lord begins!

2. Faith obediently submits to God's will.

Faith makes us willing to give up anything God requires from us, even the things that may be most precious to us. It acknowledges that our lives and all that we have are not ours anymore but God's, to shape and to use in any way He wants to. Unless God is made the lord of all, He cannot be lord at all.

If the Lord should require you to give up something very precious to you for His sake, would you submit to Him obediently? The way to overcome any unwillingness to submit obediently to the Lord is to focus on His power and provision. God's requirements are not designed to deprive or destroy you, but rather to bless you. This brings us to the third lesson we can learn about faith...

3. Faith confidently depends upon God's power and provision.

Although we do not know all that Abraham felt and thought as he was preparing to offer Isaac, we have 2 important clues: The first is found in the reply that he gave to Isaac's question, "Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" (v.7) His reply was, "My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering." We must not think that he was telling Isaac a lie here. The truth of the matter was that if God had commanded that Isaac is to be sacrificed, then Isaac must be the lamb that God has provided. But of greater significance here, is the confidence expressed here by Abraham that God will provide. This shows Abraham's faith in God's unfailing provision.

The other clue to his thoughts is found in Hebrews 11:19 which says, "Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead." This shows that Abraham had no doubts at all about God's unlimited power. He believed that if God wants to, He can resurrect the dead body of Isaac back to life. But it turned out that God provided a ram as a substitute to be sacrificed instead of Isaac.

In the same way that Abraham depended on God's unfailing provision and power, we too need to depend on Him when we face trials in life. We must believe that God will provide whatever is needful. If we suffer loss, we must believe that God will either sufficiently provide by restoring that which we have lost (as He did for Job), or that God will provide sufficient grace for us to bear the loss (as He did for Paul). In whatever way God provides, the fact remains that He will provide!

In any crisis, let us have firm confidence that God can do anything that He wills to do. It is well within His power to raise the dead back to life if He wants to, or to remove all traces of cancer if He wants to, or to provide timely material and financial help, or to change the heart of an estranged spouse or of a prodigal child. But while all things are within His power to do, this does not mean that He will always choose to use His power the way that we would like Him to use it.

For instance if I have cancer, I must be confident that if God wills He can remove my cancer immediately and miraculously. But I must not presume that He will do that in my case, as I have no right to expect Him to do that. I must simply accept whatever God chooses to do for me, as good. His ways are so much higher than my ways. He may choose to remove my cancer by the use of medical treatment, or He may choose to let it remain. This last option does not mean that God is less powerful than what He is.

The Lord can provide and He will provide, whether by miracle or by ordinary means, whether by life or by death, whether by deliverance or by suffering, whether by gain or by loss. Thus, we should confidently say, "I do not know how the Lord will provide, and I do not know what the Lord will provide, But this one thing I know by faith - The Lord will provide!"

4. Faith benefits by being manifested, proven and refined through times of testing.

This is seen in God's response to Abraham's unquestioning obedience - "Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from Me." (v.12) This reveals God's hidden purpose for the strange command He had given to Abraham. It was designed to prove his love and devotion to God.

In the process it also proved Abraham's faith, since Hebrews 11:17 states that Abraham offered up Isaac by faith. Abraham's faith was precious to God. And it was God's plan that it should be fully revealed and refined, not for God to see - because God already knows it, being omniscient - but for Abraham and all his descendants to learn from. That includes us, who are his spiritual descendants. The only way in which this could be done was by putting Abraham through this severe trial.

Similarly, God places trials in our life to reveal our faith and to refine it. They are part of the curriculum which He has designed to change our lives and make us more like Christ. Through them we develop virtues. We become less and less dependent upon ourselves and more dependent upon Him. Through trials we become better than what we were before. And so we endure them patiently and willingly. We endure them now with better understanding and with greater trust in God who lovingly brings these trials into our life.

Dear Reader, there is no doubt that you need these precious lessons on faith. Perhaps you may be going through a difficult trial right now. Or perhaps you may experience one soon. It may come suddenly and unexpectedly. No one can tell what your next trial will be or when it will come. But at least you now know what you should do when it comes. May the Lord help you to apply these lessons when He tests your faith. -Pastor

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1) Both Rev Charles Seet and Rev Colin Wong will be overseas from 15 to 18 March. Members who need the help of an ordained minister may contact Rev Ho Chee Lai at 96674510.

2) "Daily Homily": Daily Devotional by F B Meyer, Vol 10 (Apr-Jun 10). Now available at the front counter. The same devotions are available online at http://www.lifebpc.com/devotions.

3) Combined BPC Seminar on "The Christian Perspective of Suffering and Bereavement" by Dr Len Pine. Sat, 27 Mar 10. 2.30-5.00 pm. Life Church Sanctuary. For administrative reasons, those who are interested to come for the seminar are to register by tomorrow by sending an email to admin@lifebpc.com or filling up the registration form available at the reception counter.

4) Lecture on "The Biblical Mandate and Methodology for Effectual Gospel Missions" by Dr Len Pine on Monday, 29 Mar 10 at 7.30 pm, MPH Beulah House. All are welcome.

5) Annual Church Camp 2010. 14-18 Jun 10 at Awana Genting Highlands Golf & Country Resort, West Malaysia. Theme: "Building Christian Relationships". Speaker: Prof William Harding. Love offerings towards defraying the cost will be appreciated. Camp Registration Office will be closed from 12 to 20 Mar 10. 90 rooms left.

6) Yishun Life Children's Ministry held on Saturdays, 2-4 pm at Blk 701A Yishun Ave 5, #02-04. Volunteers are needed. Those who are interested, please contact Dn Ong Beng Hong, 96230800 or ongbeng@singnet.com.sg.

7) Our condolences to Tan Bee Choo and family on the demise of her father, Tan Kee Siong (80 yrs) on 9 Mar 10.

Preaching appointment: Rev Seet in Perth, 11 to 18 Mar 10 for inauguration of Covenant BPC.

Rev Wong at Life BPC Chinese Service. In Vietnam from 15 to 20 Mar 10.