A SUNBIRD HAS FOUND A NEST IN GOD’S HOUSE

 

“My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.” (Ps 84:2-4)

I was looking out of my room one morning when I saw a nest hanging on a bamboo branch just outside the L-Annex of the boys’ dorm at FEBC. An olive-backed sunbird has found a nesting place for herself in the house of God. Flying in and out of her nest every four to five minutes, she was peaceful and safe with her young. What a blessing! I was reminded of God’s deliverance and safekeeping of His students and servants at the Far Eastern Bible College. We have a home right here at Gilstead and by God’s grace no one can take that away from us. It is God’s faithful provision and caretaking of His school of prophets. I was encouraged.

I pray that soon the Lord will also bless us with peace. For we right now live in the midst of hostility. There are those who hate the College and the good doctrine of the verbal and plenary preservation of the Holy Scriptures. They threaten and sue because we refuse to stop teaching and defending the present perfection of the Holy Scriptures. How can we deny our Lord and His Word? “We ought to obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29).

As disciples of our Lord and Saviour, we should be ready to suffer as He did. Jesus said, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” (Matt 8:20). But the Lord comforts us with His Word. Although He suffered and calls us also to suffer for Him, He promised to strengthen us and provide for us. “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” (Matt 6:25, 26). We are told not to worry. God knows our needs. The Lord requires us to do just this one thing: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matt 6:33).

We as True Lifers do not have a “house” we can call our own. Nevertheless, we thank the Lord we can meet at the RELC every Lord’s Day. Will we have a permanent house of worship in time to come? Only the Lord knows. Property prices are climbing up and up. Just recently, the Catholic Church paid $21 million for a piece of church land (3000 sqm) in Punggol. The lease from the government is only for 30 years. Our Lord tells us not to worry about tomorrow. Live day by day, week by week. He is Jehovah Jireh—our Provider. Aren’t we more precious than sparrows and sunbirds? Let’s continue to trust our heavenly Father to work it out for us in His own good time. Let us be ready when the time comes.

THE MUSTARD NOT THE MUSHROOM

“Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.” (Matt 13:31, 32).

The Rev Dr Timothy Tow commenting on church growth once said, “The symbol of church growth is the mustard not the mushroom. Not vertical but horizontal is the divine pattern for church growth.” God’s way of church planting is not the big and grandiose but the small and humble. Church growth gurus may talk about starting out with a big bang and a big budget to guarantee success. They talk about marketing strategies using McDonald’s or Coca-Cola as models. Advertise and publicise with professionally designed posters and colourful flyers to “catch eyeballs”. Make sure those who chair, sing or appear on stage are good looking. Make the church look and feel like the world as much as possible so that people when they come will not feel strange or out of place. If you can do all this, you will get people to come again and again and stay.

But what does the Bible teach about doing God’s work? 1 Corinthians 1:26-2:5 says, “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”

It is not through worldly wisdom that God will use to bring people to Himself and build His Church. In fact it is precisely the opposite. God uses the things that the world despises to do His great work of church planting and soul saving. This He does so that no one can claim any credit for the success of His Church which He promises but Him and Him alone.

This is certainly the case with Brisbane Bible-Presbyterian Church and the new, fledgling Vietnamese Bible-Presbyterian Church in Brisbane which are under the pastoral care of the Rev Hien Gia Nguyen. After completing his theological studies at FEBC, Hien joined his wife (Trang) and two children (Hahn and Timothy) in Brisbane. The Brisbane BPC had humble beginnings and started out as a Bible Study in the home of Hien and his family This Bible Study after many years of toil and labour eventually became a church. On the Lord’s Day of 16 March 2014 (afternoon), they commemorated their 7th Anniversary with a thanksgiving service and dinner held at St John’s Presbyterian Church in Annerley. I preached on “Serving the Lord Faithfully”.

The Vietnamese BPC in Brisbane also began in a small, humble way. Rev Hien has been contributing weekly Christian articles for the local Vietnamese newspaper in Brisbane. The Lord then opened the door for him to preach in a few Vietnamese churches. Later, some brethren invited him to conduct Bible studies in their homes. Rev Hien being Vietnamese has a heart for his own people and wish for them not only to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation but also understand the Holy Scriptures for their spiritual health and growth. These regular Bible studies eventually led to the formation of the Vietnamese BPC last year. About 20 people gather every Lord’s Day in a nearby Presbyterian Church which kindly let them use their worship hall for just $50 a month. A dedication service for the new Vietnamese BPC was conducted on 16 March 2014 (morning­), and I preached a message on “Worshipping God Biblically.”

Praise the Lord for raising up godly members to assist their pastor in the administration of the church. In Brisbane BPC, brother Minh who was from BPCWA (Perth) serves as Secretary, and brother Michael Benjamin is the Treasurer. The Secretary in the Vietnamese BPC is brother Tuan, and the Treasurer brother Luong. All of them took the Dean Burgon Oath with their pastor to declare their commitment to the sole and supreme authority of God’s verbally and plenarily inspired and preserved Word of God (Matt 5:18).

We thank the Lord for the fellowship we could have with Naohiko and Sharon Shimizu whom we knew 30 years ago in Life BPC and FEBC. They drove eight hours from Rockhampton to attend the Bible seminar and Lord’s Day service. They came with their three daughters—Naomi, Elly and Hannah.

Jemima and I thank the Lord for a blessed time in Brisbane and for bringing us safely back. Thank you for your prayers. JK