Blessed Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church
500 Upper Bukit Timah Rd, Singapore 678106
2 Kings 6:8-23 Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. 9 And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down. 10 And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.
The Apostle Paul quoting David’s writing in Psalm 69:22-23 points to the sufferings of Jesus Christ, the greater David under the Jewish establishment during the time of Jesus’ ministry. The Jewish religious leadership in Jesus’ time ought to have known better, having the Old Testament Scriptures, entrusted to their care. How could they not see, for example, in Isaiah 53 the description of the suffering servant fulfilled in Jesus Christ?
The Jews have sought salvation futilely with the greatest zeal and persistence by their own works of wisdom. They failed miserably in their endeavour to keep the law to find salvation. That being the case, all is not lost because God has chosen a remnant amidst gross spiritual blindness in Israel.
The Apostle Paul wants us to see God’s sovereign hand in reaching out to the unsaved. He himself was gloriously saved not by any good work that he had done, but by God’s loved reaching out to him at the road to Damascus. Thank God that He still saves sinners today by His grace. There is indeed hope for the seemingly hopeless world so blatantly rejecting God in Jesus Christ.
Acts 1:1-8 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: 3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
Likewise, for any new ministry do not despise the day of small beginning. If it is of the Lord, His grace will prosper it. Amidst seeming discouragement is the underlining hope of God’s gracious hand that God’s people are called to see. The Apostle Paul saw it, rejoiced and wrote to testify in this text. All is not lost for the remnant who continue to use the King James Bible and singing the old hymns. God will make good to spread His true word according to His mercy! Amen.
The Fruit of the Spirit is Peace
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
When God created the earth, it was a peaceful paradise. That peace was broken when Adam sinned. As a result of Adam’s fall, his posterity inherited a sin nature, the propensity for evil.
Since then, the generations that came failed to secure that most elusive “peace” which is the normal, non-warring condition of a nation, group of nations or the world, a state of mutual harmony between people or groups, especially in personal relations and the normal freedom from civil commotion and violence of a community. This world has yet seen true peace. War characterizes all the history of mankind. There can be no true peace for mankind plagued by this inalienable disease of sin which the Apostle Paul calls “the works of the flesh” (Gal. 5:19-21). Peace in the first family was broken, when Cain the elder son of Adam and Eve murdered his younger brother Abel (Gen. 4) because of uncontrolled anger.
God will not leave Himself without witnesses. There is a remnant whom God will choose to be His ambassadors in every age even amidst great apostasy among His own. The Apostle Paul is confidently citing God’s reassuring words to the despairing Elijah that He has reserved to Himself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal (Rom. 11:4). Elijah was not alone contending for the faith.
Today, there seemed to be an overwhelming tide for contemporary style worship modelled after the entertainments of the world. The singing of hymns and the use of the King James Bible seemed to be so old-fashioned as the prophet Jeremiah observed in Jeremiah 6:16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said We will not walk therein
It is indeed unfathomable and mind-boggling that a people whom God has given so much privilege would be so far from Him. Today, as we survey the church scene, it is sad to observe for the majority, church life is simply a Sunday routine. I pay my tithe and don’t bother me the rest of the week. There is no desire to serve, no zeal for prayer in this materialistic society. It seemed the only thing that matters is to get ahead for this life. There is little desire for witnessing, little traces of spiritual vitality.