O Worship the LORD in the Beauty of Holiness

RENEWING OUR STRENGTH IN THE LORD

Text: Isaiah 40:27-31

          This is our church theme for the new year. It is an expansion of one of the four subthemes we had last year, which is Renewal. This theme applies to our members both individually and corporately, as summarised in Isaiah 40:31 – “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.”  

          Why have we chosen this theme for 2025? Firstly, this will be our 75^th year as a church. And it is a very appropriate time to focus on renewal to remove the perception that Life Church has seen better days – by God’s grace this church will be renewed and revitalised for even greater service than before.  

          Secondly, the focus on renewal will serve to recognise our younger members as the ones whom God has provided to carry the ministry of this church forward. They must be encouraged to be fully trained and equipped to serve and to lead the church effectively. This is vital to renewing our leadership and our ministries. As the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:2) 

          Thirdly, this topic of renewal will encourage all of us – both young and old – to renew our love for the Lord and our covenant to fulfill our mission together, which is “to build a united church family that is committed to making disciples of Jesus Christ through Salvation, Sanctification and Service, to the glory of God.” This is due to the great urgency of the times we live in, when every one of us must be willing to fulfill our respective roles in the work of the Lord. And where can we find the strength to do this well? 

          The answer can be found in Isaiah 40:31. This was written as a prophecy that the Jews would return from their captivity in Babylon. It was fulfilled in 539 BC when the Persians defeated the Babylonians and released the Jews from exile. But returning home was not an easy task. It would take them four months to reach home because of the long distance. After that they had the even bigger task of building towns and houses to dwell in and start making a living in their homeland.  

          It is not surprising then that many of those who returned would become very weary and discouraged along the way and begin to experience both physical and spiritual burnout. The initial excitement of seeing how God had fulfilled His promise to restore them from their captivity would soon give way to frustration, impatience, complaints and despair. 

          But God already knew that this would happen long before the Jews returned from their captivity. He included this word of prophecy in Isaiah so that when the time came for the Jews to return, they would know how to make their journey back to rebuild their homeland without experiencing burnout. What is written here can also sustain us today as we fulfill our respective roles in the work of the Lord. 

We need to have the right view of God. 

          One reason why God’s people may lack spiritual strength is found in their view of God. We see this in verse 27 – “Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?” Here the people complain that God does not know their struggles and does not care for their plight.  

          Such complaints reveal an inadequate view of God. Every spiritual problem in life can ultimately be traced back to this cause. For instance, those who have an inadequate view of God’s holiness tend to be careless about sin. Those who have an inadequate view of God’s power tend to doubt His promises to deliver them. And those who have an inadequate view of God’s faithfulness will complain that God had forsaken them. 

          This helps us to recognize the ultimate cause of spiritual burnout – it starts from having an inadequate view of God. We imagine God to be something that He is not! What can we do to avoid this? Make a thorough check on your view of God. The way to know if your view of God is right or not is to compare it with what God has revealed of Himself in the Scriptures.  

We need to relate this view of God to our difficulties. 

          This is seen in verses 28-29 – “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. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.” Here Isaiah replies to the complaints of the Jews by reminding them of things that they had already known about God. The problem was that they had failed to apply what they knew about God to their difficulties and problems. Instead, they had used their difficulties and problems to arrive at their inadequate view of God. 

          Perhaps we also do this sometimes. We start by saying, “All difficulties are bad.” Then when God allows us to experience difficulties, we naturally conclude that God is bad. But if we start from God’s Word and say, “God is good,” then when God allows us to experience difficulty, we would conclude that it must somehow be good.  

          We must therefore learn to apply what we know about God from the Scriptures to every situation of life we face. For instance, we read in verse 28 that God is everlasting. We then apply this truth in our life – His dealings with us never change: God will continue to show us the same love, grace and mercy that He had shown to His people in past generations. And so, although the world is presently in deep turmoil, we do not have to worry about what will happen to us.  

          Besides that, we read in verse 28 that God never faints or becomes weary. He continually upholds His entire Creation by the Word of His power. We then apply this truth to our life – God never gets tired of watching over us and caring for us. The Lord Jesus said that even “the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”  

          The next thing we read in verse 28 is that there is no searching of God’s understanding. No one can measure the depths of God’s infinite wisdom! We then apply this truth to unexpected events in our life – God knows what He is doing even though we cannot understand how it can work out for our deliverance or for His glory. We simply trust that one day we will be amazed to find what great wisdom there is in God’s ways! 

          Then in verse 29 we read that God gives power to the faint and that He increases the strength of those who have no might. The strength mentioned here is the willpower to keep doing what God wants us to do even under the most trying circumstances. We then apply this truth whenever we are weak and powerless…  

We need to rely on God to renew our strength.  

          This is the message of verse 31 – “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength…” To wait upon the Lord is to commune with Him through His Word and prayer. Through having such blessed communion with God, we can look forward to four wonderful things –  

We will renew our strength. Thus, we will be able to persevere in our service to God and not suffer from spiritual burnout.  

We will mount up with wings as eagles. Our renewed spiritual strength will take us upward to new heights of service to God.  

We will run and not be weary. This refers to the spiritual race that every Christian has to run. It is a long-distance race that can be completed only by constantly renewing our strength in the Lord. 

We will walk and not faint. This may refer to our daily conduct and the testimony of our life that will enable us to be fruitful Christians, leading sinners to find salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. 

          May the year 2025 be the time when we as a church will renew our strength in the Lord, to accomplish much more for His kingdom as we press on to serve Him faithfully!

– Pastor

Shorter Catechism Question 29

29. How are we made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ?
A. We are made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ, by the effectual application of it to us by his Holy Spirit. 

Appointments for the Week

Monday, Jan 6

        7.30 pm     ERBL: Counselling in the Local Church (Mr Joel Seah)

Tuesday, Jan 7

        8.00 pm     Prayer Meeting (Dn Benedict Sim)

Thursday, Jan 9

      10.00 am     Ladies’ Prayer Group

        7.30 pm     ERBL: The Epistles of Peter (Rev Bendick Ong)

Friday, Jan 10

        7.30 pm     MM Meeting

Saturday, Jan 11

        3.00 pm     LTF / YLM / MM

Sunday, Jan 12

  8.00 am Christ, Superior to the Angels Hebrews 1:4-14 (Rev Quek Kk)

  8.00 am Choir Practice

  9.15 am Library (Sanctuary Balcony)

    9.40 am Sunday School / Catechism Class

10.15 am Coffee Corner

11.00 am Christ, Superior to the Angels Hebrews 1:4-14 (Rev Quek Kk)

11.00 am Children’s Ministry

11.00 am Chinese Service (MPH)

11.00 am Filipina Service (Rm 1-6)

12.15 pm Library (Sanctuary Balcony)

  2.30 pm Thai Service (LMH)

  4.00 pm Indonesian Service (Rm 1-6)

Announcements

In-Person Church Prayer Meeting

Date: 5 January 2025 (Today)

Time: 5.00pm

Venue: Beulah Room 2-1

Staff Movement

Sister Amanda B has moved on to full time study at ERBC and her duties will be supported by sister Sim CK. We thank Sis Amanda for her service to the church the past 9 months and pray that the Lord will bless her in her studies. 

CNY Angpows

Angpows are available at the front of the Sanctuary. There are two types – gold and red packs. The red ones are large enough to insert tracts in them.

Door to Door Evangelism

5 January 2025 (Today) Meet in Beulah Room 2-11, 12.30pm Contact: Desmond or Amos

Scripture Memory Programme 2025

Please refer to the website via link: https://www.lifebpc.com/index.php/component/k2/equipped-for-the-lord-s-work 

Church Camp 2025

Save the date! Please mark your calendars for our upcoming church camp!

Theme: Are We Prepared to Meet Christ?
Dates: 17-20 June 2025
Venue: Radisson Hotel, Batam, Indonesia
Speaker: Rev Ian Goligher, Retired Pastor of Free Presbyterian Church in Cloverdale, BC Canada.

Join us for a blessed time of spiritual growth and fellowship as we explore the messages from the letters of Christ to the seven churches in Revelation. Camp registration will commence from January onwards. For any questions, please contact Dn Chen Wei'an .  

Catechism Class for Easter Baptism on 20 April 2025

will commence on 12 January 2025 at 9.30am. Please pre-register by emailing to Church Office. Those seeking baptism, reaffirmation of faith and transfer of membership must attend the catechism class. Closing date: 5 January 2025 (Today). 

Condolences

Our condolences to:

(1)      Sister D Tan and family on the homegoing of her mother, Mdm Teow KE (94 years old), on 30 Dec 2024.

(2)      Sister Yeow SC and family on the homegoing of her mother, Mdm Ngam AK (90 years old), on 31 Dec 2024. 

Ladies Fellowship 2025

Invites all ladies to join us in our various areas of fellowship (Bible Study, Outings, Ukulele class, Tea Fellowship, Love & Care Ministry). Please contact Sally or Gillian for more information or if you are interested to join us.

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