MOUNTAIN-MOVING FAITH

Rev Dr Timothy Tow

What does Jesus mean by “If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.” (Matt 21:21)? Does Jesus literally mean the moving of a mountain, in Singapore the shifting of Bukit Timah Hill to sea at Katong? No! In Matthew 17 Jesus also uses the same figure of speech to expose the unbelief of His disciples in not being able to cast a devil possessing a boy. Jesus is once again talking of a faith that can overthrow great odds. They (the apostles) can do what their Lord has done, especially in healing.

We do not believe in what the Charismatics are doing today. They say that their members can heal one another but if not healed it is due to the patients’ lack of faith. They think the gift of healing is given to the whole church.

We also believe in divine healing, but according to James 5:14–15, “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”

Today, in our church life we receive frequent requests to pray for the sick. The pastor and elders are especially responsible. But we thank God for blessing medical science. God gives wisdom to doctors and surgeons. While pastors and elders will pray trusting God to heal, God uses the doctors and surgeons to play their part. Both pastors and elders, doctors and surgeons have contributed to the healing.

I have two cases to show how the Lord promptly answered my prayer for baby Joseph Roslan in healing him from leukemia. I had just come home from Korea after a month-long gospel campaign preaching 52 times. No sooner had I stepped into my house then the phone rang. It was the voice of Chandra whom I had lately contacted for Christ. It was 6.30pm and he and his wife had brought their child to hospital very ill with leukemia. I could not come until 10pm that night.

Chandra was carrying a Bible and nervously approached me to baptise his son. Now Chandra was a Roman Catholic and his wife a Malay and Muslim. I demanded them to accept Christ as Saviour and become Protestants. They readily submitted to the Lord and I baptised Joseph Roslan telling them the saving of his soul was more important than the body.

The Lord heard my cry, for the baby by next morning had recovered 50%. In two days he fully recovered and the doctors in great amazement discharged him. Chandra had eight children and Miss Ivy Tan was sent to teach them the Word. After one year his house became a church, from which have sprung three BP Indian churches. Mrs Chandra, his Malay and Muslim wife, remains a strong Christian to this day.

Some years after I had Rev Grauley, missionary from America, who accompanied me to pray for a deacon’s wife suffering from some sickness that coloured her face yellow that it looked like jaundice. According to James 5:14 and after John Sung’s practice of anointing the patient with olive oil, I brought along a bottle of olive oil.

Being full of faith the deacon’s wife submitted to my putting the oil over her forehead. After praying for her and we opened our eyes I was amazed to see her face turn orange while she declared she was there and then healed. Immediately she requested she wanted to be baptised the coming Lord’s Day in church.

She gave her testimony of feeling good in her body after prayer and anointing and Rev Grauley is a witness to all this. By delivering this deacon’s wife so speedily Jesus would equate this with removing a mountain and casting it into the sea.

For shortness of time I will not tell you of a third case of healing that amazed me in my long years of service wherein God gave me mountain-moving faith. [True Life Weekly, 22 February 2004]

MY EYE SURGERY

Han Weiwei, 27 July 2020

Greetings in our Lord’s blessed name. I am Weiwei. I want to thank God for helping me undergo an eye surgery on Wednesday 22 July 2020. It was a retinal detachment. I knew it last Saturday 18 July. It was very serious since the detachment had already crossed the center of my right eye. It means I lost half of the sight of my right eye. Just from last week I felt my eyes were very tired and could not see clearly. At that time I thought I needed to change my glasses. Later, for about three days, when I saw some objects, the shapes changed. On Saturday morning after I got up, my right eye was very painful. Then I messaged Mrs Khoo and told her that I needed to see the doctor. She answered okay. After a while she called me back and asked me about the symptoms of my eye. She felt I needed to see an eye doctor and would make an appointment for me on Monday since the eye doctor she knows does not work on Saturday. I answered okay. But later she called me again and said maybe it is something serious. She asked me to talk to Dr Chan, a doctor in True Life B-P Church. So I talked to Dr Chan about the details of my right eye. Then they decided immediately that I must see an eye doctor right away.

Mrs Khoo made an appointment for me to see Dr Ong of EYE & RETINA SURGEONS. She, with May Lynn, brought me to that clinic. Dr Ong checked my eye. Finally, the result came out. It was retinal detachment. The doctor said the detachment had occurred for about two months or a few weeks already. At the beginning there was no symptom, so I could not know it. But when the symptoms came, it was already very serious and dangerous. My eye was getting worse. Therefore, I needed surgery as soon as possible. Otherwise, I might lose my sight. After the result came out I let the doctor talk to Mrs Khoo because I could not explain my case clearly in English. Thank God that Dr Ong could speak Mandarin well and explained everything to me in Mandarin. Then they decided that I should go for surgery. Before I left the clinic, they estimated the fee for my surgery. It was very high, about $21,000 even after it was reduced by $2000. I was shocked by both the surgery and the high bill for the surgery. At that moment I could not think about what was happening.

After I came back to FEBC, I showed the bill to Mrs Khoo. She just said not to worry. She told me to make sure to make an appointment with Dr Ong as soon as possible since my eye could not wait. On Monday, I went to make an appointment with Dr Ong and they checked my eye again. At the same time I passed a letter from Dr Khoo to the doctor. Finally, I received a new bill. Dr Ong would not charge any surgeon’s fee. Therefore, the fee came to about $10,000. I believe it was God who moved the heart of the doctor. On Wednesday afternoon at 1pm, May Lynn fetched me to the hospital. The surgery started at 2.30pm and lasted for one hour. When I woke up, it was already around 4.30pm. At that time I still could not walk. So they made me lie down for one more hour. At about 6pm, Dr and Mrs Khoo fetched me back to FEBC. On Thursday morning I went to see the doctor again and he checked my eye. The surgery was quite successful. The doctor was very happy. Now my eye is red and swollen. It will take two weeks to recover.

I thank God so much for delivering me from this dangerous retinal detachment. Although it came very urgently and seriously, God is in control of everything. Everything is going well in God’s hand. I have experienced a lot of grace from God. Firstly, I thank God that I was able to see the doctor and go for surgery quickly. I thank God for Mrs Khoo and Dr Chan. They were very sensitive about my eye problem and took care of me. I never imagined that the situation of my eye could be so serious. They helped me to see the doctor immediately. I do not know what would happen if I did not go to check my eye that day. God gave me a good timing.

Secondly, thank God for providing me with a good eye doctor. I heard that Dr Ong is one of the best eye doctors in Singapore. He is so kind and did not charge any fee. We just paid the hospital. Another thankful thing is that the staff who helped me in the clinic can speak Mandarin well. They explained how to take care of my eye after surgery very clearly. In addition, the clinic is very near FEBC. It is convenient to go there.

Thirdly, I want to thank God for FEBC. FEBC takes responsibility for me. They would pay the high bill for me in order to save my sight. No matter how high the bill was, they just wanted me to go for surgery by the best doctor as soon as possible. I am very touched by it. Thank God the final bill was about $7,000. They love all the students of FEBC very much. They took care of each one of us and treat us as their own children. They do their best to help us in study and in life. Before the surgery I was afraid and nervous, but I still had peace in my heart because Dr and Mrs Khoo were very calm and of strong faith. They made a good decision for me and took action immediately. What’s more, a lot of brothers and sisters have been praying for me. I have gotten many blessings since I came here. I believe FEBC has blessed innumerable people through all these years and will bless more. I also have learned a lot from the leaders and lecturers of FEBC in the past three semesters. They are true and good shepherds like Jesus Christ. They love their sheep so much. They are serving the college and students with all their heart and strength. Some lecturers are old or unwell. Once they become better or get the strength, they would like to go back to serve the Lord. Through this surgery I realize it is happiness to serve the Lord when we are still strong and healthy. I must fear Him more and love Him more. I must only serve Him and live for Him. I cannot have any idols in my heart. It is because God is a fearful and holy God. This is what I have learned from God and from this college.

Finally, I want to give thanks for my friends in FEBC and those who are praying for me. I cannot go to class nor do any duty. Many loving sisters are helping me in my study and life.

We may face many difficulties, but God is good and provides everything that we need. Dr Khoo said there are some storms coming to FEBC. I think my eye is one such storm in the first week of the new semester. Although storms may come fiercely and dangerously, God will protect us and keep us safe. Without God’s will and permission, nothing would happen. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). We are becoming stronger and stronger by facing the storms.

[Wei Wei is from China and a 2^nd year student at Far Eastern Bible College. Pray for her full recovery.]