Witnesses for Christ (Part 1)

The Apostle Paul wrote the epistle to the Colossians during his first Roman imprisonment. Epaphras was a faithful minister of Christ to the Colossian church (Col. 1:7). He visited the Apostle Paul and brought him good reports concerning the faith, love and hope of the church at Colosse. The Apostle Paul wrote the epistle to encourage the Colossians to greater service.

Two thoughts – (1) Glowing for Jesus (Col. 1:9-14) (2) Grounded in Jesus (Col. 1:15-23).

(1) Marks of True Faith

Abraham’s faith was characterized by obedience and patience.

(a) Obedience

Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

Abraham submitted to God’s instruction. He complied and acted upon God’s call. He willingly ventured into the unknown. Despite the uncertainty, he embarked on a spiritual pilgrimage of faith, led by God. Abraham did not go alone. His entire family went with him. He was the spiritual leader of his family and he led his family as God led him. He was already 75 years old at that time. Abraham affirmed his faith by his obedience.

Evangelism at the Beautiful Gate

A lame man above 40 years old sought alms from Peter and John at the gate of the temple called Beautiful (Acts 3:2; 4:22). The man’s limbs were without strength and he could not walk from birth. It was no fault of his. It was sad, but it was for the glory of God.

The Beautiful gate was the main gate at the eastern part of Herod’s Temple. It was the ninth gate and the principal entrance into the Temple. The ascent to the Temple was by 12 easy steps. The gate itself was made of dazzling Corinthian brass, richly ornamented and so massive were its double doors that they needed the united strength of 20 men to open and close them. It was at 3pm, the 9th hour (Acts 3:1). The Jews observed daily three stipulated hours of prayer. These were the 3rd, 6th and 9th hour. It was when Peter and John observed the appointed time of communion with God that they met the lame man.

(1) Stand Up for Jesus

– A Deathbed Challenge

A revival broke out in Philadelphia in 1858 under the powerful preaching of twenty-nine-year old Dudley Tyng. Besides pastoring his own church, he held noonday services at the downtown YMCA that attracted great crowds.

On March 30 of that year, over five thousand men gathered for a meeting during which Rev. Tyng preached from Exodus 10:11, “Ye that are men, now go and serve the Lord.” Over one thousand of those present committed their lives to Christ. At one point in his sermon Rev. Tyng said, “I must tell my Master’s errand, and I would rather that this right arm were amputated at the trunk than that I should come short of my duty to you in delivering God’s message.”

God’s Best Gift to Man

Man has three problems he cannot solve. They are sin, sorrow and death.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We see that this world is plagued by sin, hatred and violence.

Sorrow is an inevitable result of this fallen world. Broken relationships, broken family bonds, broken marital bonds, and the list goes on. Somehow, we just could not live peaceably and joyfully with one another.

To top it all, none can escape death. 10 out of 10 will die. When death strikes in a family, the entire family sorrows for the departed loved one.

Ecclesiastes 7:2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.

We are awakened to the reality of life. We are awakened to the sad plight of men. Is there no remedy?

The Great Commission

The Great Commission is the last instruction of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to His disciples before His ascension to heaven. It is recorded in all four gospels (Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16, Luke 24:44-48, John 20:21-23) and a fifth time in Acts 1:8, which essentially is the summary statement of the entire book of Acts. In essence, the book of Acts is a detailed account of how the apostles fulfilled the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20.

The first principle for missions and church growth must be to understand its divine strategy or blueprint as taught in the Great Commission.

(1) Gospel Rally

God willing, we would have our first gospel rally on 30 August 2015 during the Lord’s Day Service. The message is “If a man die, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14).

This would be a great opportunity to reach out to our unsaved loved ones and friends. Do invite them to church and pray for God’s grace to prepare their heart to receive the gospel. May the Lord be praised, His name proclaimed and souls saved!

The Secret of the Christian’s Strength

For the weary and faint-hearted Christian endeavouring to wait upon God and walk with Him through trials and tribulations of life, God promise to give him renewed strength and victory.

Isaiah 40:28-31 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. 29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 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.

Lessons from Noah’s Life

Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

The world certainly does not know and realise the impending judgment upon planet Earth. Life goes on as usual. Eat, drink and be merry, lay up much goods for the future. The world seems to feel very secure with her make-belief sense of prosperity.

Dear readers, this is the deception today. It was the same deception too in Noah’s time, just before God brought a global flood that destroyed the entire old world.