Blessed Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church
500 Upper Bukit Timah Rd, Singapore 678106
The believer is exhorted to keep trusting God and walking with Him whatever their vocation in life. The Word of God through the gospel has freed him from the bondage of sin. And he can shine for the Lord whatever vocation God has called him to.
Hymns: 339 When I Fear My Faith Will Fail 338 Show My Thy Way, O Lord 349 Surely Goodness and Mercy
Study of the Book of Ecclesiastes
(Remember Now Thy Creator)
Wise Up
Ecclesiastes 10:1-7
1 Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour. 2 A wise man’s heart is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart at his left. 3 Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool. 4 If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences. 5 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler: 6 Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. 7 I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth.
Exodus 1:1-14 (KJV) 1 Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob. 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4 Dan, and …
Christians are freely pardoned of their sin by Christ. But the cost of obtaining that pardon is great. It caused God’s Son to greatly suffer to take the punishment of our sins. That was a debt we could not pay. As the old saying goes, “He came to pay a debt He didn’t owe because we owe a debt we could’t pay.”
When a slave is converted and he becomes a Christian, he may still be a slave to man. But in the eyes of God, he is special. He has been freed from the bondage of sin and given eternal life in Jesus Christ. Such a one its the Lord’s freeman. He enjoys the liberty of having the power to overcome sin through the power of the Holy Spirit and the wisdom given in God’s Word.
The Apostle Paul addresses those who servants or literally slaves. Were you a slave when you were called, let that not bother you.¹ Upon conversion, they may not feel dismayed for who they are in their lowly occupation. But Christ accord them the same privilege whatever their social status. The beggar Lazarus did not have the good things in this life. He ate from the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. But he was a believer. When he died, he went to heaven. He was comforted in Abraham’s bosom.
Acts 12:18-25 Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter. And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode. And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king’s chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king’s country. And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. But the word of God grew and multiplied. And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.
Hendriksen observed well, “Paul’s emphasis is on the words calling and called, which relate to spiritual rebirth through God’s Word and Spirit. And calling refers to one’s situation in life. This spiritual rebirth is not merely a vertical link between God and man but also a horizontal relation that extends from a person’s place in life to his or her fellow men. A calling can be understood as a position or a vocation in which a believer lives in obedience to God’s precepts. Paul is saying that “everyone is to remain in the station in which he found himself when he was called.””
3rd Anniversary Thanksgiving
Thank God for gathering His people to remember the Lord’s goodness toward His church on her 3rd Anniversary here at BHBPC on 22 January 2017. Rev Dr Tow Siang Hwa, our Pastoral Advisor, sends his greetings to all.
The message was “Steadfast, Unmovable and Always Abounding” taken from 1 Corinthians 15:51-58. The church of the living God is the pillar and ground of the truth. There is no other organisational entity whereby God has entrusted to be His witness and to proclaim the truth but the church of Jesus Christ. We are called to be God’s witnesses in these last of the last days, the last hour of human history before our Lord returns to receive His church to glory.
The Christian life is the grace of living out the character of God as declared summarily by God in the Ten Commandments even in the Word of God. There is a consistency between the heart and the hand. God is glorified in such a life. The essence of God’s law is nothing less than the expression of God’s character – His holiness and His love. True holiness and true love begins with a transformed heart. There is an inner holiness and love present in the heart. It is not a mechanical outward obedience of the Pharisees. That’s not true righteousness, Jesus pointed out.