Hymns: RHC 306 Pass Me Not, 319 It Is Well With My Soul, 7 God Moves In a Mysterious Way

Job 1:20-22

20Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, 21And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. 22In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. (Job 1:20-22 KJV)

It Is Well With My Soul

OUTLINE

(1) Submission to God’s Will (v20-21)

(2) Sin Not to Murmur Against God (v22)

INTRODUCTION

The hymn “It is Well with My Soul” was a song given in the storm of life. After the great fire of 1871, Horatio Spafford (1828-1888), a Chicago lawyer, arranged an ocean voyage to Europe form his family, where he would join them later. The ship on which the happy family sailed, the Ville du Havre, never got farther than halfway across the Alantic. In the dead of the night, it was rammed by a sailing vessel and cut into two. On the confusion and disaster that followed, Mrs. Spafford saw her four daughters swept away to their deaths. A falling mast knocked her unconscious, and a wave freakishly deposited her body on a piece of wreckage where she regained consciousness. When she and a few other survivors reached Wales, she cabled two words to her husband: “Saved alone.”

Five Good Years

Psalm 136:3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Thank God for granting Blessed Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church (BHBPC) five good years in His vineyard. Truly, we have experienced the sustaining grace of God leading us through the days of each passing year. We can look back and acknowledge that the LORD has helped us and He was there with us each step of the way.

The Second Coming of Jesus Christ is the theme from which BHBPC got her name. It was in January 2012 when we first started renting the Booth Tucker Room for weekly Bible study every Wednesday from 11am-12.30pm.

BHBPC’s first prayer meeting was held in the Praise Chapel on 15 August 2013 on a Thursday night at 8pm. The Lord moved twelve to come for the inaugural prayer meeting – Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. (Jeremiah 33:3). The message was “The Work of Soul Winning” (Matthew 9:35-38).

Godly Response to Afflictions

6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
13 And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house:
14 And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them:
15 And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
16 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
17 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
18 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house:
19 And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
20 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,
21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. (Job 1:6-22 KJV)

When the Storm Hits

OUTLINE

(1) Preparation (v5)

(2) Permission (v8-12)

(3) Persecution (v13-19)

INTRODUCTION

Jesus gave these words of wisdom, comfort and cheer to His disciples before He went to the cross in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 is the record of the last words of our Lord’s last sermon to His disciples. The discourse began in John 13:31 after Judas had left the group to betray Jesus. The Lord was in the Upper Room with the disciples before He went to the cross. And He gave His disciples these comforting words of assurance of His abiding presence with them. Just as His Father’s presence was with Him without let-up, so too they would find rest in Jesus’ abiding presence in times of severe trial and testing. His abiding peace (v33a) resting with us and persevering courage to live for Jesus (v33b), trusting in Him to see us through hard days.

Recounting with Thanksgiving

It is with thanksgiving that we recount God’s blessings for the year of grace 2018:

(a) 1 January 2018

Thank God for the beginning of the Study of the Book of Proverbs both in our devotions and during the Lord’s Day sermons.

(b) 7 January 2018

Youth Fellowship’s 3rd Anniversary was commemorated with the message “Let No Man Despise Thy Youth” 1 Timothy 4:12; Revelation 1:3.

(c) 28 January 2018

“Now Thank We All Our God” was the theme for our blessed 4th Anniversary Thanksgiving Service. The message from 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 – The Church Before the Throne of Grace , The Church Persevering in Her Witness by Pastor Lek.

Hymns: RHC 324 Simply Trusting, 327 All Thing Work Out for Good, 332 Moment by Moment

Job 1:1-12

1There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. 2And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. 3His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east. 4And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. 5And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.6Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. 7And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 8And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? 9Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? 10Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. 11But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. 12And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

Brewing of a Spiritual Storm

OUTLINE

(1) Piety in the Calm of Life (v1-5)

(2) Storm Clouds Brewing in the Heavenlies (v6-12)

Prayer for the New Year

Philippians 1:9-11.9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; 10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; 11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

As we begin the New Year, it is fitting that we consider how we can live it profitably and usefully before life loses its strength and we sit in regret of a wasted life.

The Apostle Paul writes with great affection concerning the spiritual well-being of the church in Philippi. How do you express concern for someone you love? The Apostle sets for us the example, he prays for them. And you will notice that his prayer for them expresses Christ’s heart for the well-being of the believer. He exhorts the church in 1 Corinthians 11:1Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. (1 Cor. 11:1 KJV)It is a prayer we can adopt for ourselves in our prayer for others. Also, this prayer gives the spiritual qualities that may be manifested in our lives that mark the milestones in our spiritual progress.

Hymns: RHC 311 Does Jesus Care? 314 Nearer Still Nearer, 306 Pass Me Not

Job 1:1-5

1There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. 2And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. 3His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east. 4And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. 5And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually. (Job 1:1-5 KJV)

Godly Devotion for All Seasons

OUTLINE

(1) A Christian in Prosperity (1:1-5)

(a) His Character

(b) His Social and Family Life

(c) His Spiritual Life