JURONG OUTREACH - MAR 08

THE LONG WALK HOME
2nd March 08

It had been a long day. The man was tired, hungry and sore. Yet, still he faced the long walk home. He was weary to the bone, but he began to put one foot in front of the other, for he had not been home in a very long time. The man was aware of activity all around him. He was conscious of a throbbing headache and his back had been hurting all day. These things, however, were suppressed, for surely he had other things on his mind. Life had been burdensome from time to time. The man had seen good friends and family pass away. He had shown goodwill toward his fellow man, only to have it thrown back in his face. He had been honest and forthright, only to be ridiculed for it. He did not lie, cheat or steal, yet, few people were impressed by this conduct. He stood by his friends in difficult times, yet most of his friends did not return this loyalty. He was a good brother to his siblings, but there existed a gap between himself and his family. Yes, the man had a lot on his mind as he travelled home.  

Weary beyond belief and deep in thought, the man did not at first realize that he had been approached by someone. A hand fell on his shoulder and Jesus of Nazareth lifted His weary eyes and looked into the face of Simon of Cyrene. Simon took the weight of the cross off the shredded back of God's Son. Jesus continued the long walk home, still carrying the sins of the world.

Yes, life had been burdensome from time to time. The Lord had left His heavenly home over thirty years before. He who was equal with God came to walk among men. He came not to condemn, "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3:17.) He came to save the souls of men, even these men, who ridicule Him as He walks toward home. As He approaches the place called Golgotha, He wipes the blood from His forehead where the thorns had cut so deeply. He looks at these people whom He loves, as they shout obscenities in their hatred for Him. He came here to save them, but the rough hands that yank Him to the ground show no mercy. Many hands hold the King outstretched upon the cross. Men hold His arms--He chooses not to move them. Dull spikes are driven through His hands--He chooses not to stop them. Spikes are driven through His feet--He allows it. The cross is raised and the weight of His body pulls on the new wounds. His body screams, but His mind recalls the necessity of this moment and He cries out, ". . . Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34.)  

He is almost home. It is all over now, except for dying and rising from the grave as He had promised. Then He will ascend to the Father and He will be home again. Having shed His blood, having been the sacrifice for the sins of the world, He will abide in heaven forever, where He will intercede for those who follow Him. The body of Jesus died on the cross that day. But Jesus had promised to do what no mere man could do.  

"Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father." (John 10:17,18.) 

Jesus said He would not only lay His life down, but by His own power He would take it up again. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is an event that cannot be disputed by rational people. The evidence is overwhelming. The Jews of the day certainly would have produced the body of Jesus if the body was to be found. The weight of eyewitness testimony alone would be more than sufficient in any court of law, to prove that the resurrection of Jesus Christ did happen (Matthew 28:1-7, Mark 16:9,10, 12, Acts 1:3 1 Corinthians 15:4). Jesus overcame death as He said He would. He then ascended to the Father where He sits at the right hand of God in the seat of power. (Hebrews 1:1-3).  

Every child of God seeks heaven as his eternal home. From the time one emerges from the waters of baptism, one faces a long walk home. When the Christian walk seems too long or too hard for you, remember our Saviour's long walk home. Remember that long ago day when He trudged through the streets of Jerusalem. He was wounded, mocked, spit upon and totally in control. He choose to walk to His execution for you. Now, how hard is your walk?  

Remember as well that this same Jesus arose from the grave by His own power. He intercedes for you. He had the commitment to die for the sins of man and His Word has the power to bring you safely home, if you walk as He walked. So when the road is long, look to the horizon and keep walking. When the road is hard, put your head down, grit your teeth and endure. Our Lord did.

STAND UP AND BE COUNTED!
9th Mar 08

In Judges chapters four and five we read about Deborah, Barak, and Sisera. There was lack of male leadership in Israel.  Many of the people came to the prophetess Deborah for words of wisdom.

 The Israelites were servants of the Canaanites at this time. The people cried to God for relief from the persecution. God had told Barak to go to war against the Canaanites whose captain was Sisera.
Barak was scared to go unless Deborah went with him. So Deborah goes with him. All the tribes of Israel were called to the battle. However, some did not go.

In Judges 5:23, we read, "Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty."

The people of Meroz refused to join the other Israelites in fighting against the Canaanites. They are severely cursed for denying to do what God required and had commanded. The fighting occurred almost in their back yard yet they did not raise a hand to help the Israelites in the battle.
 

There are many spiritual battles that can occur today in each of our communities and nations. Abortion is one of those battles. Proper definition of the family and marriage is another one. Many professed Christians refuse to get involved in these battles. They always want someone else to do the battling, whether it be with finances, teaching, tracting or any other activities of the church.  .

Sometimes there are spiritual battles within the local congregation or in a sister congregation. Many sit back and do nothing to stand for the truth. They want to enjoy the benefits of a victory for truth without contributing in any way to the battle. God is not pleased with such inactivity.

 Will we take a stand for the Lord or will we fold our hands and think that all these battles are for others and they do not concern me? I am just a bystander, an on-looker, an ordinary member of the church. Let the older members do it, let the teachers and leaders do it.  

The work of the Lord is everyone’s business, the responsibility to sow the seed and to save souls belongs to every Christian. Let us stand up and be counted. Let us join forces to spread the Good News of Christ to everyone around us.  

Date:14th-16th March 08

Venue: 120 Boon Lay Drive

Speaker:Subin Panboon

Take a Stand

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist 

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat 

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist. 

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn’t a Jew. 

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.  

—Martin Niemöller (1892–1984)

Dachau Concentration Camp survivor

 “Stand fast in the faith . . .” —1 Corinthians 16:13

JESUS -  WHOSE SON IS HE?
23rd Mar 08

"What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he?" Those were questions that Jesus asked some Pharisees during the last week of His life. Their answer to Him was, "The son of David" (Matthew 22:42). Jesus and others often referred to Him as "the Son" of someone. Perhaps a brief look at some of those Bible descriptions of the Christ as "the Son" will be helpful.

Jesus – the Son of Mary. Before Mary had physical relations with Joseph, she conceived a child by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18,20,25). Before she conceived, God sent the angel Gabriel to her with this message: "And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS" (Luke 1:31). Since Jesus was the Son of Mary, then we understand why the Bible identifies her as "Mary the mother of Jesus" (Acts 1:14). Mary was the chosen vessel, the virgin, through whom the Messiah came into the world (Isaiah 7:14; Galatians 4:4). 

Jesus – the Son of Man. Jesus once asked His disciples, "Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" (Matthew 16:13). Since in this instance Jesus called Himself "the Son of man," then that is just Whom He was. To say that He was "the Son of man," which is a term that the Master often used for Himself, is simply to point out Jesus’ humanity. Since He had an earthly mother, then there was a human side to Him. He became flesh and dwelt among men (John 1:14), and in so doing He "was made in the likeness of men" (Philippians 2:7). Since the ones whom He came to redeem (humans) "are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same" (Hebrews 2:14). He temporarily became a man, a sinless one, in order to offer an unblemished sacrifice to save sinners. 

Jesus – the Son of God. Gabriel not only told Mary that she would have a Son (making her the mother), but he also informed her, ". . . that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). The opening words of the Book of Mark are so plain: "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (Mark 1:1). How did Jesus respond when the high priest asked Him point blank, "Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" (Mark 14:61). He said, "I am" (14:62). In the same way that the term "Son of man" points to and emphasizes Jesus’ humanity, so the expression "Son of God" points out His deity. Jesus possessed (and possesses) the nature of God – He is part of what the Bible calls "the Godhead": "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Colossians 2:9). On numerous occasions the Bible even refers to Jesus as "God" (John 1:1; Hebrews 1:8). That does not mean, of course, that Jesus is God the Father, but He does possess the divine nature. 

Jesus – the Son of David. We earlier quoted from Matthew 22:42, in which we are told that the Jews referred to the Messiah as "the Son of David." Would that be King David? Yes, indeed. The very first verse in the New Testament states, "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David . . ." (Matthew 1:1). In Romans 1:3 it is written, "Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh." In 2 Timothy 2:8, He is again identified as "Jesus Christ of the seed of David."  

To say that Jesus was "the Son of" David simply points out that He was David’s offspring. The prophecies of the Old Testament made it clear that the Messiah would be the descendant of David (2 Samuel 7:12-14; Psalm 132:11; Isaiah 11:1). Peter’s proclamation on Pentecost is helpful in understanding this: "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David . . . Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne" (Acts 2:29,30). Prophecy made, prophecy fulfilled – the promised Messiah must be an offspring of David and sit on David’s throne. Jesus came as the descendant of King David, and He now sits on his throne, ruling over spiritual Israel, the church (Luke 1:31-33). 

Jesus – the Son of Abraham. Back to Matthew 1:1 – "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." The Lord God promised Abraham that in him all families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3). God later told him, "And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 22:18). This was nothing less than a promise that through his offspring the Messiah would come into the world. To say that Jesus was "the Son of Abraham" simply points out that He was Abraham’s descendant and the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises. Galatians 3:16 makes this plain: "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as on one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." Jesus – whose Son is He? The Bible refers to Him as the Son of Mary, Son of Man, Son of God, Son of David, and Son of Abraham. These are not contradictory terms one to another, but rather complimentary. Each of those five expressions is unique, pointing out some special aspect of the Christ, in Whom we trust and to Whom we owe our salvation.  

-- Roger D. Campbell

I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES
23rd March 08  

Once prosperous from every consideration, then destitute of this world's goods and even of his health, yet Job maintained the hope of a heavenly hereafter that sufficiently overshadowed every present distress. Job demonstrated confidence in the Lord to whom he gladly trusted his eternity. Job earnestly desired that the consolation with which he was comforted based on this hope would be realized by many others as well.  

Job's hope and confidence was three-fold: (1) Job was confident that the Redeemer lives; (2) he also fully expected that the Messiah would someday appear to rescue his and other souls; and, (3) Job was hopeful and confident regarding the general resurrection in which he would participate.  

These reflections encouraged Job in the face of his severe adversity and served as the basis of his hope. Likewise, contemporary children of God who find themselves greatly afflicted or facing death can appropriate to themselves consolations through the same hope. Certainly, for the rest of us who are relatively free from great trials, we can also through this hope known to Job find sufficient strength to satisfactorily cope with daily affairs.  

The Redeemer of whom Job spoke is the Christ (i.e., Savior, Messiah) whose function and certain ministry on earth was first intimated in Genesis 3:15. “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” That our Redeemer lives is the foundation of all our hope; if our God were dead as some declare, we could have no hope. Job had sure hope based on the resurrection long before the earthly walk of Christ, His crucifixion and triumphant resurrection; we see so much more clearly than Job and yet he harbored great hope--the same hope.  

Unlike idolaters whose worship pertains to dead gods fashioned from stone, wood, metal and the imaginations of men, Christians have a living Savior. Our Great Prophet is alive ever more. Those who reject the Christ have no Savior (Redeemer). Only Christians have a living Savior--who resides in heaven at the right hand of God (Acts 1:9-10; 7:55-56). “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;” Jesus our Messiah is coming back to rescue the righteous. In Job's day, the first advent of our Lord was still future, to which he referred (19:25). However, when Jesus returns, He will not stand on the earth (Zechariah 6:12-13; Hebrews 8:4).  

The Second Coming of Jesus Christ is the hope of both Old and New Testament children of God; our eternity depends on it. While necessarily the "first" coming preceded the future "second" coming, were Jesus not to come again, the "first" coming would be meaningless. The Second Coming of the Lord is the cardinal hope of Christians (1 Corinthians 15; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) and the dreadful fear of the ungodly (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).  

The general resurrection is pending (John 5:28-29). “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” Job believed in a bodily resurrection (19:26), which is also a principle of Gospel truth (1 Corinthians 15:49-54; Philippians 3:21; 1 John 3:2-3). “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” 

Our hope for eternity rests on our resurrection from the grave; we know we shall be resurrected because the resurrection of Christ guarantees our resurrection. Without our resurrection all would be hopeless (1 Corinthians 15:19). “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” We have a common hope with Job and God's people of all dispensations:

                        (1) our Redeemer lives;

                        (2) our Redeemer is coming for us; and

                        (3) our Redeemer will resurrect us.  

Job desired that his hopes might be recorded in a book or engraved in stone so that others might develop the same kind of hope and become beneficiaries of the same consolations. His words, though, are immortalized in the eternal volume, the Bible, for all of every time to see.  

Modern man has often derived comfort from Job's words as he sings them: "I know that my Redeemer lives." May our Redeemer live in each of us as we always abide in the Gospel.