The Lord Will Work for Us As We Contend for the Faith
Rev Dr Timothy Tow
(Adapted from the Bible-Presbyterian Banner, January-February 1979)
Text: 1 Samuel 14:1-23
“The LORD will work for us: for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few” (1 Sam 14:6).
There is a clarion call from Jude exhorting us to “earnestly contend for the faith.” Now, we who contend for the faith have often been taken for trouble-makers, disruptive elements in the Church, Christians who have no love. In this respect it is well for us to take stock if we have broken the rules of contention. We must contend for the faith because the Lord has called us to, but we must not be contentious! As Dr Maris says of Poole-Connor, we can disagree with those who do not keep His Word, but we must not be disagreeable.
Nevertheless, to contend for the faith is not only a New Testament injunction, but an eternal one. Ever since sin came into the world, contention between good and evil, right and wrong, truth and falsehood, has been given by God to His children in the working out of His salvation plan. Has it not been said since the judgement was given in the Garden of Eden, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Gen 3:15).
The perennial contention between Israel and the heathen tribes of Canaan, known as “the wars of the Lord,” were necessary to preserve the faith of their fathers. That the young church in the time of the Apostles was exhorted to earnestly contend for the faith was for the same purpose—the preservation of their precious salvation heritage. We see this principle in action throughout Church History to this present day. “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall raise up a standard against him” (Isa 59:19).
In 1 Samuel 14:1-23, we see the fortunes of Israel at a very low ebb. Israel is groaning under the yoke of the Philistines. In our contending for the faith, let us admit we have our ups and downs, times even of weariness and depression. But Jonathan encouraged his armour bearer, “There is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few.”
Because Jonathan persevered, two were able to overpower twenty, yea, even put ten thousand to flight! A great victory was won for Israel that day. Today is a day of victory for the 20th [now 21st] Century Reformation Movement in the Far East. But in this victory we must not rest. It is only the beginning. We must counter-attack! Too long have we been inactive. But the Lord’s command to His Church is “Go!” Is this not the first of our injunctions that make up the Great Commission?
Unless we go out for the Lord, the battlefront lies static. The enemy remains entrenched. Onward march!
In our future battles for the Lord, let us learn to stand on our own feet. God’s work must be pursued not by might and power of human strength, but by His Spirit. God’s work must be carried out with what little we have, trusting Him to provide. “There is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few.” God honours our faith, and all that is done in His Name brings Him glory!
Similarly, it is exhorted to the Church to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth on the wings of love. God can send His angels to preach the Word, but no, He rather delights to use His feeble children.
God’s work cannot be advanced but by a willing, loving consecration and by faith and perseverance in His strength. Hence all the frightful and the timid ones are told to remain at home. “Earnestly contend for the faith” is an order given to the faithful and courageous, and to those who will persevere to the end. Amen.
Thanksgiving Testimonies
Selina Ho (Mrs Jonathan Tow)
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
It’s been almost two months since I’ve been in the States. It is amazing how good God is. Preparing to leave Singapore and making the transition to live in the States was not easy, emotionally or physically. But the Lord in all His goodness sent me so much help in the form of family, friends and colleagues, that I felt that angels have come to my aid. God sent me people who had a heart and mind to help me whether it was to get my visa done or managing my apartment and car.
When I arrived in the States, it was amazing how quickly I managed to get an apartment—all within a timeframe of two days. I was in New York with Jonathan then, but my friend in DC helped me secure a wonderful apartment right across the road from my school—it’s reasonably priced, furnished and I really appreciate the location. The landlady is really nice and the handover of the apartment went without a hitch. The move from NY to DC also went very smoothly, with Jonathan making two trips with me from NY to help me shift my things. Things in the States are not as convenient as they are in Singapore, so I really appreciated all the help I got.
In early August, I started pre-term in Microeconomics. As part of getting my degree, I have to do four econ courses. Micro is the start of all these courses, and I did pre-term in order to speed up the PhD process. Not having dealt with economics for almost twenty years, and being a non-numeric person, you can just imagine how stressed I was! I had to finish two mid-term exam and one final all within a month. (If I have taken Micro during term time, I would have three months to work on it, not one month. So, it’s kind of a crash course.) After the first week of school, I thought I’m going to fail pre-term! I was in dismay and began to wonder how I was going to complete the degree if I can’t deal with econ. But God saw me through it. My final results just came in a few days ago – I got a high pass, which is A/A-. This is a miracle. The month went by in a flash, but I can really see God’s grace at work. As I was struggling through econ, I told God that I believe all is in His hands and He should do what He deems fit for me. All glory and honour to God!
Throughout these few months, I have felt like the Psalmist who said, “But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God” (Ps 40:17).
I thank God that He is my safe harbour, my constant companion and my best friend. That with Him, I don’t have to be strong but I can be as needy and as weak as I truly am, without fear of rejection or shame.
I thank you all for praying for Jonathan and I. Please continue to pray for us, and also to pray for me to find a church where I can be spiritually nourished and grow. I’ve tried out two churches thus far, but it is difficult to find a church that uses the KJV.
God bless and you are in my prayers. Selina (Email, 29 Aug 08)
Rev Hien Gia Nguyen
Dear Dr Khoo
Thank God and praise the Lord for hearing the humble prayers of His children. Thank you for your prayers. Yesterday morning, by God’s grace, I delivered a message on regeneration and sanctification by the Lord Himself and by His Word, and our Lord was pleased to use it to edify the hearers. The pastor and those who shook hands with me thanked God for the message. My brother and his wife and children, and my sisters said that the message is very good, touching and edifying. Praise and thanks be to the Lord!
Thank God for blessing my days in Canada with my parents and siblings. My siblings have invited me to travel to Quebec and other places, but I have declined and said that I prefer spending my time with my parents. I am really happy and thankful to the Lord that my parents and my single elder sister who stays with my parents have faithfully kept family worship every morning and they always ask me to explain God’s Word more to them. I am also glad that by God’s grace I have done some repairs around their house. Time has gone by so fast and I shall fly back to Brisbane this Thursday and arrive there on Saturday. I do appreciate your prayers for my safe journey back home.
Please kindly find attached my photo with my parents (my father is 80 years old and my mother 79 years old) and my photo in front of First Baptist Church.
May God strengthen you and sustain you and Rev Tow, Mrs Tow and your family and mightily preserve FEBC.
Faithfully yours in Christ
Hien Nguyen (Email, 11 Aug 08)
