JURONG CHURCH OF CHRIST

As there was a need to challenge God’s people to arise and rebuild the shattered wall of Jerusalem during Nehemiah’s time, so also there is a need now for the children of God in Jurong to rise up and be counted and serve the Lord. It is inspiring to learn of the pledges these young people of Jurong made on the 25th day of January 2004, to serve the Lord. Below is the cut-out of some of their promises to themselves and to the Lord.

*I want to serve the Lord in the ministry.*		*I want to be more active in church work and strive to be a better person.*		*I pledge to encourage others to study the Word of God. I want to show myself a good example to my family members.*
	I pledge to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.		I want to have my faith increased. Serve God in JBC or anywhere else. I want to be a better Christian to have the wisdom to know and do God's will.
I want to bring my mother and sister to church.		I want to be a diligent Bible student.		I want to be more obedient to my parents.
	I want to do personal work so that more people will come to know God.		I pledge to bring more souls into the church and also do my best for the Lord.
I will make more effort to be closer to the brethren, spending more time with them and write to encourage them..		I want to be more faithful, attend Wednesday Bible class more frequently. I want to pray more and bring my friends to Christ.		I want to do more PW and be a better Christian.
	I want always to be a humble and teachable child of God.		I want to memorise the important verses of the Bible and understand them.

I am a soldier in the Army of God! The Lord Jesus Christ my commanding officer! The Holy Bible is my code of conduct! Faith, Prayer, and the Word are my weapons of warfare! I have been taught by the Word of God, trained by experience, tried by adversity and tested by fire. I am a volunteer in this army, and I am enlisted for eternity! I will retire in this army at times’ end, or die in this army; but I will not sell out, be talked out, or pushed out. I am faithful, reliable, capable and dependable! If my God needs me, I am there! If he needs me in Sunday School, to teach children, work with youth, help adults or just sit and learn, he can use me because I am there! I am a soldier! I do not need to be pampered, petted, primed up, pumped up, picked up, or pepped up. I am a soldier! No one has to call me, remind, me, visit me, entice me or lure me! I am a soldier! I am not a wimp! I am in place, saluting my King, obeying, His orders, praising His name and building His Kingdom! No one has to send me flowers, gifts, food, cards, candy or give me handouts! I do not need to be cuddled, cradled, cared for or catered to! I am committed! I cannot have my feelings hurt bad enough to turn me around! I cannot be discouraged enough to turn me aside! I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit! When Jesus called me into His army, I had nothing! If I end up with nothing, I will still break even! I will win. My God will supply all my needs! I am more than a conqueror! I will always triumph! I can do all things through Christ! Devils cannot defeat me! People cannot disillusion me! Weather cannot weary me! Sickness cannot stop me! Battles cannot beat me! Money cannot buy me! Governments cannot silence me and hell cannot handle me! I am a soldier! Even death cannot destroy me, for when my commander calls me from this battlefield, He will promote me to live with Him! I am a soldier!

Webster defines character as “an individual’s pattern of behavior or personality.” Each one of us has a different character—traits that make us different from anyone else. WE can recognize these traits from the very start. Christians are to have certain traits that make them distinguishable from those who are without. Notice four character traits of a Christian.

A Christian loves. “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.”

(1 Jn 4:7). A Christian is a child of God, born of God, a son of God. Being such, he is instructed to love because God loves us, and God is love. We are to love God and man. Jesus said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God…Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”

(Mt 22:36-39). It would be ludicrous for us to profess to be children of God and then hate our fellow man. John said that those who do not love do not know God and those who say they love God and hate their brothers are liars. You cannot love God and hate man

(1 Jn 4:20) “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” It is very hard to love especially those who are unloveable; but God loves the unloveable and expects us to do the same. We love God and man because He first loved us and gave himself for us. A trait of every Christian is love.

A Christian forgives. Forgiveness of our sins is the basis of our reaching Heaven. However, we are given a condition for forgiveness: we must first forgive others. Jesus said, “But if ye forgive others. Jesus said, “but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses, neither will you Father forgive your trespasses” (Mt 6:15). Here Christ makes forgiveness of others a constant precondition of man’s forgiveness by the Father. With Christ as our example and God as our strength, we must learn to forgive and forget. The word “forgive” literally means to send away, to blot out, to obliterate. God forgives and forgets our sins; we should forgive and forget the sins of the brother who sins against us. How could we expect the love of God to sink deep into our hearts if our hearts are so hard we cannot forgive others? Forgiving others becomes much easier when we come to know the peace that comes from having our sins forgiven by the Father. Be forgiving and be forgiven.

A Christian fights. We may think of the Christian as a fighter, but the life of a Christian is a life of war—war against the evil works of darkness. Paul wrote that we should put on the whole armor of God so we could withstand the fiery darts of the wicked (Ep 6:13) “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Then, he tells us how we can identify the enemy. They are not flesh and blood; they are powers, principalities, rulers of darkness, spiritual wickedness (Ep 6:12) “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” In short, anything that is contrary to the holy ordinances of Almighty God is an enemy of God and, therefore, our enemy because we are God’s children. We fight them until we die or until Christ comes again. We must be consistent in our battles. We cannot war against sin today and then turn and allow it to run unchallenged in another situation. If it is sin, it is an enemy of God and an enemy of the Christian. We are marching in the battlefields with Christ as our commander, waging war against the unfruitful works of darkness, assured of a victory over sin in the last day when Christ returns with His mighty angels “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.” (2 Thess 1:7-10) but, until that day we must wage a ceaseless battle against sin, bringing the lost to Christ.

A Christian lives. We are dead to the world but alive to Christ. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Gal 2:20). “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

(Phi 1:21). We live as Christians on this earth for Christ and His cause. WE are dead to sin and to the world but alive anew in Christ, working for the furtherance of His kingdom. Those who remain faithful will live forever. “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

(1 Thess 4:17). We love because Christ loves; we forgive because Christ forgives; we fight because Christ fights; and we live because Christ lives. These are the four traits of a Christian—four traits of Christ. This is the character of a Christian. Christian is this your character?

“And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest, That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.”(Joshua 3: 15-16)

1. For the priests that bare the ark, it was necessary—commanded that they get their feet wet in the flooded banks of the Jordan (Josh 3: 9-13) Likewise, the Christian is commanded to get his/her feet wet in teaching God’s word (Matt 28:18-20)

1. God did not leave it to Joshua’s discretion as to how to cross the river Jordan. (Josh 3:9-13)

2. Likewise, God has given us specific instructions in evangelism. The child of God is told to “Go” (Matt 28:19; Mk16:15) The child of God is told to “teach the Gospel” (Rom10:14-17;Matt 28:19; Mk 16: 15), and no other gospel or philosophies of men. (Gal 1:8-9) The child of God must teach God’s word in its entirety. (2Tim 3:14-17; 4:2-5)

He promised to be with Joshua and Israel (Josh 3:7) He promises to be with us as well. (Matt 28:20)

IV. Satan will try to flood the Christian’s heart with those things that would prevent him from obeying God, from “Getting his feet wet in Evangelism.”

The flood of fear—Satan wants us to be afraid to teach others about Christ. He tries to make evangelism a frightening thing by creating misconceptions about it in the minds of Christians everywhere.

You have to go far away from home to be involved in evangelism.—On the contrary, oftentimes the most effective evangelism is not accomplished by speaking to the masses on foreign soil. It is done at home, work or school, sitting across dining room tables sharing a meal, one soul at a time; friends.

The flood of doubt—Satan wants the child of God to doubt that God will do what he has promised to do. God has promised to be with us, but Satan wants us to feel alone and afraid. Satan doesn’t want us to remember passages such as (Phil 4:13) “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. He magnifies our weaknesses in an effort to shrink our courage. The child of God’s only defence against Satan in the word of God, for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. (Heb 13:5-6)

The flood of procrastination—Satan is the originator of Procrastination. He loves to deceive man into always assuming there will be a tomorrow. Forgetting that tomorrow is no guarantee. (Jas 4:13-17) Procrastination in evangelism is a sin. It is a choice not to do today what we know we ought. It is arrogant to assume there will be a tomorrow. Teaching the lost should take presidence over all else. This point is well Illustrated in Jesus reply to the man who asked to put off following Jesus until he buried his father. Jesus told him to, Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. (Lk 9:60). Stressing the importance of setting cares of the world aside and putting God first. (Matt 6:33)

Getting our feet wet in evangelism is a command requiring both faith and obedience. The child of God must continually resist Satan’s attempts to flood our hearts with fear, doubt and procrastination. We must have the faith of Joshua, and the priests who were willing to get their feet we at God’s command. When we obey God we know that HE will be with us and HE will do all that He has promised.

In his book, "Will Daylight Come?" Robert Heffler pens this moving illustration.

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with, out in the woods. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit the target. Getting discouraged, he headed back to dinner. As he was walking back, he saw Grandma's pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let fly, hit the duck square in the head and killed it. He was shocked and grieved. In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the woodpile, only to see his sister watching. Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.

After lunch that day... Grandma said, "Sally, let's wash the dishes." But Sally said, "Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen today, didn't you Johnny?" And then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck!" So Johnny did the dishes. Later Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing, and Grandma said, "I'm sorry, but I need Sally to help me make supper." But Sally smiled and said, "Well, that's all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help." And she whispered again, "Remember the duck!" Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed!

After several days... of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's, he finally couldn't stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed that he killed the duck. She knelt down, gave him a hug, and said, "Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing. But because I love you, I forgave you.
I was just wondering HOW LONG you would let Sally make a SLAVE of you."

Like Johnny, YOU and I are guilty of committing sin: “For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We CANNOT -DENY IT- or -HIDE IT-.

The GOOD NEWS (the Gospel) is that forgiveness is AVAILABLE! Jesus died on the cross so that we can be forgiven of our sin.

(Romans 5:8). "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were STILL sinners, Christ died for us" God has promised that: -IF WE WILL- place our trust in Him: (Hebrews 11:6), “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” repent of our sins (2 Corinthians 7:9-10), Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. be baptized (immersed) into Christ (Acts 2:38) Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Galatians 3:27) For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.. and live in faithful obedience to Him (1 John 1:7), But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. -THEN HE WILL- wash away our sins.

You would think... that once we receive forgiveness from God, Satan would leave us alone, but he doesn't! He CONTINUES to accuse us and tries to make us feel guilty. That's what he does best -- HE'S AN ACCUSER

(Revelation 12:10). And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

Sometimes we make the mistake of listening to him -- REMAIN a slave!

Forgiveness offers freedom -- freedom from "GUILT" as well as freedom from "SIN".

How long will YOU allow Satan to make a SLAVE of you? Accept the Lord’s forgiveness by TRUSTING and Obeying Him today!!!!

Death comes to call on everyone. Sometimes peacefully, taking his victim as he dreams. Sometimes violently, with a rattle deep in the throat. Sometimes Death comes like a refreshing breeze and carried away his long-suffering victim like a buoyant kite cut loose in the wind, leaving her pain behind. Sometimes it is only after much pumping and pounding and fluids and medications and electrical shocking that we allowed Death to come. Whatever way Death choose to come, we cannot control. If I had my way, I would rather die suddenly without pain. But this, we cannot choose.

I came face to face with death on the night of 13th February 2004 when he took my mother-in-law after eight painful months of battle with cancer. We saw her literally reduced to skin and bone. How it pained us! When I look at the lifeless body, it suddenly dawned on me that something was different, something was missing! What made the woman who had been lying on the bed a minute ago so different from this one? Her life is gone from her and her soul has left the shell of the body. What happens to this departed soul? Does it have consciousness after death? Does it return to visit after 6 or 7 days?

The Bible teaches that physical death is the separation of the spirit from the body, (Eccl 12:7) “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." The body returns to its origin, the dust, while the spirit, the real man, returns to its origin, God.

(Gen 3:19) “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

The Bible does not say that the spirit is dead without the body; it says the body is dead without the spirit. The spirit does not die.

(James 2:26) “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."

In Luke 16: 19-31, we learn from the parable of the rich man and Lazarus that the soul indeed is conscious between physical death and the resurrection. The soul lives after the body dies, in bliss or in misery, according to the life lived upon this earth. The rich man died and was “in torments”. He not only knew of his misery, but he remembered his five brothers, still alive on earth, and wished to keep them from coming to the same place that he was in.

Abraham asked him to recall his previous life on earth for it would help him understand why he was now tormented. Lazarus also died, but he was “comforted”. Hence, both the rich man and Lazarus were in a state of conscious existence. They could remember their life on earth. From this parable Jesus used some figurative language to clarify man’s understanding. Our physical mind find it difficult to understand spiritual things and thus our Lord had to use parable, physical experiences, to explain the spiritual concepts. Thus, “earthly story with heavenly meaning”.

Firstly, death is not the end. The soul survives the dissolution of the body and lives after the body has returned to the dust.

Secondly, disembodied souls are in a state of consciousness. They are conscious of existence and retain memories of earthly life. The Bible teaches that man’s soul is capable of separate and conscious existence when the body is dissolved.

Thirdly, the departed souls will not return to earth. Neither the rich man nor Lazarus could return to earth to warn the living. Those who are still alive have the Bible to warn them and to tell them what they ought to do to be saved and how they should live on earth. We are told that the dead shall not have anything else to do on earth again.

(Ecc 9:5-6)For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.

Are we, who are still alive today taking the Lord’s warning seriously? Are we living in such a way that we are prepared to meet our Creator?

Our chance to repent is now, our chance to serve the Lord is now, we have no promise of tomorrow. We don’t know when Death will call on us, but we can be sure that our date with him is certain. Pray we’ll be ready when he comes.

(Ro 13:11) And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

(2 Cor 6:2) For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

February		Author
1/2/04 8/2/04 15/2/04 22/2/04 29/2/04	I Pledge to Serve the Lord Character of a Christian Getting our Feet Wet Remember the Duck Death	Sis Sharon Chan