31 December 2023 - HAVE WE KNOWN HIM AS WE OUGHT?
O Worship the LORD in the Beauty of Holiness
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8.00 am |
11.00 am | |
| Call to Worship |
Dn Benedict Sim |
Dn Benedict Sim |
| Opening Hymn |
The Love of God (TSMS 500) |
The Love of God (TSMS 500) |
| +Invocation-Gloria Patri |
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| Scripture Reading |
Psalm 62 |
Psalm 62 |
| Hymn |
Be Strong in the Lord (TSMS 1) |
Be Strong in the Lord (TSMS 1) |
| Offertory Hymn |
Every Moment of Every Day (TSMS 309) |
Every Moment of Every Day (TSMS 309) |
| Doxology & Prayer | ||
| Pastoral Prayer | ||
| Sermon |
For the Gospel unto the End (Acts 28:16-31) by Rev Lee Hann Yang |
For the Gospel unto the End (Acts 28:16-31) by Rev Lee Hann Yang |
| Closing Hymn |
Let Others See Jesus in You (TSMS 235) |
Let Others See Jesus in You (TSMS 235) |
| Benediction | ||
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Announcements |
HAVE WE KNOWN HIM AS WE OUGHT?
Many Christians all over the world will attend watchnight services tonight. It is believed that the tradition of having a watchnight service on New Year’s Eve was started in 1733 by the Moravian Church in Europe, when worshippers would gather together on New Year’s Eve to reflect on the past year and prepare for the coming one.
As we reflect on the past year, it is good for us to consider whether we have known God as we ought. This is not merely the knowing of certain truths about God, like knowing a school textbook from cover to cover. The word “know” in the biblical sense implies personal fellowship with God. Such fellowship is mentioned in 1 John 1:5 – “…and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His son Jesus Christ.” We can have close fellowship with God on the basis of the forgiveness of our sins through Christ’s death for us on the cross.
One example from the Bible of a person who knew God intimately was Enoch, who was Adam’s seventh-generation descendant. According to Genesis 5:22, Enoch walked with God. “Walking with God” is a beautiful way to describe knowing Him. One hymn-writer used the same metaphor to describe his experience of knowing God: “And He walks with me and He talks with Me, and He tells me that I’m His own.”
Why Should We Know God?
Many reasons can be given to know God as we ought. One of them is that it is the very purpose of our existence. God made man for the purpose of having fellowship with Him. This explains why man was the only creature that God made in His own image (Genesis 1:26). No other creature can ever fulfill this very unique role. Man alone was created with the capacity to enjoy blessed, intimate fellowship with God.
But man chose to sin instead, and God then sent Jesus Christ to save him. Eternal life can be obtained only through Him. This is meant to restore our fellowship with God, as Christ said in John 17:3 – “And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.” No one can legitimately say, “I want to be saved, forgiven, and have a place in heaven, but I do not want to know God or have fellowship with Him.” Heaven is a place where all the saints will have blessed fellowship with God forever, and thus we should already begin to know Him on earth as we ought.
And there is really no reason why we would not want this. The psalmist described the thrill of knowing God in very glowing terms: “…in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” (Psalm 16:11) If you have yet to discover how wonderful it is to spend precious moments in God’s presence, please do not wait any longer. You will find Him to be your soul’s greatest delight, and you will be so captivated that you will never want to leave His presence (cf. Psalm 27:4).
Some of us would give anything just for a chance to meet and talk with a particular person, perhaps a favourite author or famous athlete. These people do not even know us, let alone want to meet with us. But God, who is infinitely greater than anyone on earth, already knows us and invites us to spend time alone with Him daily, even to confide in Him concerning the seemingly unimportant and insignificant problems in our life. To God who knows every detail of our life, no problem is ever too small for us to bring before Him (cf. Psalm 139:17; Matthew 10:30).
Listen to His welcome words of invitation: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20) The Lord takes great delight in having fellowship with us. We are very dear to Him because He has known and loved us even before He created the world (Ephesians 1:4; Romans 8:29). He would even share the deepest secrets of His heart with us – “The secret of the LORD is with them that fear Him; and He will shew them His covenant.” (Psalm 25:14)
With such powerful reasons for knowing God as we ought, let us stop depriving our souls of the time we should spend with Him. Why spend endless hours in many trivial and unsatisfying pursuits when we can satiate our souls fully with God Himself? As the Lord says in Jeremiah 9:23,24, “…let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth Me and knoweth Me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.”
To those of us who claim that they have no time to do this, I can only say this: Isn’t it true that no matter how busy we are, we can find time to eat, to sleep and to groom ourselves each day? We always manage to find time to do the things that we want to do. Therefore, if we really treasure our time with God, we will undoubtedly find time for it.
How Should We Do This?
If we think that this is done by going through a prescribed set of actions, such as having a regular quiet time, praying five times a day, reading three chapters of the Bible a day, and attending every activity in church, then we would have the mistaken idea that fellowship with God is merely a routine performance, and that when we have done all these things, we have had fellowship with God. Man tends to reduce everything down to measurable formulas.
By reducing fellowship with God to such measured amounts of action we end up doing it merely for the sake of doing it. Concerning this, God says, “Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the precept of men.” (Isaiah 29:13)
The most important thing we need in order to have true fellowship with God, is the right desires in our heart. Without these desires, all that we do will amount to nothing.
- The Desire to Communicate with Him
Fellowship is impossible without communication. It is a two-way process between us and the Lord. God speaks to us through His written Word, the Bible. When we read the Bible or listen to messages based on it, we hear the voice of God speaking to our heart. Everything in it must be regarded as “thus saith the Lord.” As He speaks to us, our part is to listen carefully to what He wants us to hear.
And then we respond by speaking to God in prayer. We express our thoughts to Him, not merely repeating the same phrases we regularly use in prayer, but saying what we really mean. We respond to what He has said to us in His Word. We ask Him questions (like the prophet Habakkuk did). We request for His help. And when God works in our life and through our circumstances, we worship Him and thank Him spontaneously. This is the kind of communication that God wants us to have with Him.
- The Desire to Commune with Him
The difference between communication and communing with God is that communication involves the understanding, while communing goes further than that, causing our feelings to be stirred in God’s presence. When we commune with God, we love to be in His presence simply because He is God. In Psalm 46:10 we are told, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Every moment with Him becomes special and precious to us. We yearn for it and look forward to it throughout the day. And when the opportunity comes for us to give our undivided attention to God in prayer, all the love that we have for Him wells up in us. Nothing else then matters but enjoying the presence of God.
- The Desire for Commitment to Him
Commitment means practical obedience to Him, yielding all our resources in order to glorify Him, and willingly submitting to His will. It means being faithful and loyal to Him even though it costs us inconvenience and loss. In desiring to be committed to God, our soul aspires to give its utmost for His highest. Of all the desires for fellowship with God, this is the one that reveals whether we have really known Him as we ought.
These three desires that we have just seen are actually similar to those that are essential for any close human relationship. Whether in friendship, marriage or parenthood, communication, communion and commitment are required to build the relationship. Our relationship with God however, can grow to heights that are much greater than any other relationship in life. He alone can be the Friend that “sticketh closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24). And as we grow to love Him more deeply, every other love in our life will gradually recede in importance (Matthew 22:37-39; 10:37-39).
When Should We Begin?
Having seen that communication, communion and commitment are essential for fellowship with God, what we need to do is to cultivate these desires diligently. Nothing should prevent us from doing this. Perhaps we can make a resolution to build them into our devotional life, especially in the New Year. Since every good gift and every perfect gift comes from God (James 1:17), we can ask Him to put these desires in our heart. If we really want to know God as we ought, let us remind ourselves about it daily.
The wonderful thing is that the more we know God as we ought, the more we will want to know Him. We will discover what God has written in 1 Corinthians 2:9 to be true in our own experience: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.” – Pastor
We have not known Thee as we ought,
Nor learned Thy wisdom, grace and power;
The things of earth have filled our thought,
And trifles of the passing hour.
Lord give us light Thy truth to see,
And make us wise in knowing Thee.
We have not loved Thee as we ought,
Nor cared that we are loved by Thee;
Thy presence we have coldly sought,
And feebly longed Thy face to see.
Lord, give a pure and loving heart
To feel and own the love Thou art.
When shall we know Thee as we ought,
And fear, and love and serve aright!
When shall we out of trial brought,
Be perfect in the land of light!
Lord, may we day by day prepare
To see Thy face, and serve Thee there.
- Thomas Benson Pollock -
Appointments for the Week
Tuesday, Jan 2
8.00 pm Prayer Meeting (Eld Roger Lim)
Wednesday, Jan 3
8.30 am SF Outing
Thursday, Jan 4
10.00 am Ladies’ Prayer Group
Saturday, Jan 6
3.00 pm LTF / YLM
Sunday, Jan 7
8.00 am Consider Your Ways Haggai 1:1-15 (Rev Charles Seet)
8.00 am Choir Practice
9.15 am Library (Sanctuary Balcony)
9.40 am Sunday School
10.15 am Coffee Corner
11.00 am Consider Your Ways Haggai 1:1-15 (Rev Charles Seet with Holy Communion)
11.00 am Children’s Ministry
11.00 am Chinese Service (MPH)
12.15 pm Library (Sanctuary Balcony)
2.30 pm Thai Service (LMH)
4.00 pm Indonesian Service (Rm 1-6)
Announcements
Watchnight Communion Service
Tonight, 31 Dec 2023, 10.45 pm
Sermon: “Behold, I Make All Things New!” (Revelation 21:1-5; 2 Corinthians 5:17) by Rev Charles Seet
Ladies’ Tea Fellowship
New series based on the book of Genesis: “Building our trust in a faithful God ”
Starting on 27 Jan 2024, 3.30pm to 5pm, at Room 1-6.
Registration for 2024 Pre-Nursery Sunday School Class
is now open for children aged 18 months to 3 years old. Parents who wish to enrol their children, please email Ling Ling
ERBL Evening Lectures
Two evening lectures offered from January-May 2024:
1) Old Testament Prophetic Books by Rev Charles Seet (Monday @ 7.30pm)
2) Bible Geography by Ms Lilian Lee (Thursday @ 7.30pm)
It will be conducted on-site at No. 10 Gilstead Road. It is compulsory for all Credit Students to attend lectures on-site and Audit Students can either attend lectures via Zoom platform or
on-site. Interested parties can register for the courses online at https://www.lifebpc.com/erbl/
Deadline for registration: Tomorrow, 1st January 2024.
Traffic Wardens
Lifers are invited to serve our Lord as Traffic Wardens on Sunday. Kindly contact Dn Choong or Bro Kelvin if you are available.
Ladies’ Fellowship
Invites all ladies to join us in our various ministries: Bible Study on Ephesians, Outings, Ukulele Class, Tea Fellowship, Love & Care Ministry. Contact Gillian for more information.