Life B-P Church Weekly

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Life B-P Church Weekly - 7 March 2010

Scripture Memory: Desiring God.
VERSE : Psalm 73:25 "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee."

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O Worship the LORD in the Beauty of Holiness

7 March 2010
8.00 am Worship Service:
Quek Keng Khwang (Desiring Him Above All)
10.45 am Worship Service:
Rev Charles Seet (Remedy for Troubled Hearts, Lord's Supper)
6:00 pm Evening Service:
Mark Chen (Eaten Up By Little Things)

14 March 2010
8.00 am Worship Service:
Rev Colin Wong (We Have Found The Messiah)
10.45 am Worship Service:
Dn Lee Hock Chin (They That Wait Upon The Lord)
6:00 pm Evening Service:
Rev Frank Low (God Rewards Us In His Time)

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My dear Reader,

MEN OF GOD THAT INSPIRE

I always stand amazed when I see God using His chosen servants in an unusual way. In my life, I have met many of God's chosen servants. Their lives not only blessed me greatly but they also inspired me tremendously. I like to read biographies of men and women of God. Reading the lives of these godly people not only helps me spiritually but it also teaches me valuable lessons about Christian living and ministry.

I have just finished reading a 559 page biography of "Brother Bakht Singh of India." I had heard much about him and his ministry in the late 70s but did not have the opportunity to meet up with him while serving the Lord in India and Nepal. However, God, in His providence, allowed me to meet up with one of his close associates - John Kennedy of Worldwide Evangelization Crusade. John was a godly man. He had given his life to serve the Lord in India. His life had been an inspiration to me. John had gone home to be with the Lord some years ago in Scotland.

Brother Bakht Singh has been a household name among Protestants in India. He was one of the most sought after evangelists/revivalists in colonial India. He was an Indian equivalent of the greater western evangelists, as skilful as Finney and as direct as Moody. He was a first-class Bible teacher, of the order of Campbell Morgan or Graham Scroggie.

During his visit to England in the summer of 1965, Bakht Singh met with the late Dr Martin Lloyd-Jones and Rev Leith Samuel while ministering the Word at the Keswick Convention. They spent several hours with him, asking him questions from the Bible. His answers challenged and surprised these men of God. The doctor asked him how he got such insight into the Word of God. To that he answered, simply by reading and meditating on the Word of God upon his knees until the Holy Spirit of God revealed the deeper things of God (1 Corinthians 2:10).

Few were free from the impact of his life and ministry be it individuals, denominations, mission societies, clergy, laity or non Christians. Tens of thousands of Christians were challenged and transformed by his Bible-based and Spirit-anointed messages. He was India's foremost evangelist and indigenous church planter of world renown.

I would like to share with you some inspirational lessons which I learned from this man of God of India. I pray that the Spirit of God may use these valuable lessons to further encourage you in your walk with the Lord.

Hearing the Voice of God

Bakht Singh once said, "Once we learn the secret of hearing the voice of God, all our questions, no matter how difficult they are, are answered; and our problems, however complicated, are solved. The Lord does speak" (Psalm 62:11). In our daily devotion, you and I desire to hear what God is saying to us so that we can follow His footpaths. Here are three conditions Bakht Singh stipulated for those who desire to follow the way of the Lord.

1. If you want to hear the voice of God, you must repent of your sin and acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour and Lord. If you have acknowledged Him as your personal Saviour, you shall hear His voice according to John 10:27 - "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."

2. The voice of God is heard through divine light or revelation. Bakht Singh said that without divine light, you cannot know or see or hear God. If you want to receive the light of God, then first of all you must believe from your heart that the Bible is true from Genesis to Revelation. You must hear and read the Word of God with respect, reverence and faith, and go on saying, step by step, 'Lord, speak to me from Thy Word' (Ephesians 1:17, 18).

3. If you want to hear the voice of God, you must have a deep desire to know and to do the will of God (John 7:16, 17).

The Sovereignty of God

Bakht Singh believed with all his heart that God is in control of every situation and circumstance. Therefore, it did not matter what would happen to him, for he believed that the Lord could turn his trials and tragedies into glorious triumphs.

On one occasion, he was to go to Bombay by air from Hyderabad. Before he left, he was delayed by so many people asking for prayer that his co-workers told him to hurry up, otherwise he would miss his flight. But he said that if the Lord wanted him to go to Bombay, He will take care of it. By the time he arrived at the airport the plane had already left. He was not the least concerned, however. He told his co-workers who were worrying about it, "Don't worry. If the Lord wants me to go to Bombay, He will bring the plane back." Sure enough, a few minutes later the same plane did come back to Hyderabad. Apparently, after the plane had taken off one of the passengers, a wealthy woman, reported to the pilot that she had left a very costly diamond ring in the ladies' room. She then pleaded with the pilot that the plane return to Hyderabad so that she could look for her diamond ring (Only in India this might happen). The pilot consented, allowing him to catch the flight to Bombay.

Can you believe the above incident? (Jeremiah 33:3; Genesis 18:14)

The Life of Faith

There is no doubt that Bakht Singh was a man of faith. He had a child-like faith. He trusted God to provide his needs. He never made any appeal for funds for himself or for his ministry. All through his life, God marvelously provided all of his financial needs through His people.

Every year Bakht Singh had a number of Holy Convocations in India where several thousand people were massed together in close quarters for a week of Bible teaching. There was no appeal for funds but God marvelously provided every need for these meetings through prayers.

On one occasion, he needed some money for the Holy Convocation. He prayed for an exact amount. While he was praying, an Indian believer was going to the bank to deposit a certain amount of money. The Lord, however, spoke to him to give the money to Bakht Singh. Immediately, he made a U-Turn and went to look for him and handed him an envelope. On opening it, Bakht Singh found the exact amount of money he had been praying for.

Throughout his life, the Lord demonstrated again and again that He is not only a prayer-hearing God but also a prayer-answering God. God honoured his child-like faith by not only providing all of his needs for the ministry, but also by using him mightily to challenge his co-workers about the importance of trusting God for their daily needs.

Jesus said, "Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full" (John 16:24). Try it!

The Life of Prayer

Needless to say, Bakht Singh was a man of prayer. His whole life was saturated with prayer. He would spend long hours on his knees in communion with God seeking His mind regarding the Gospel work.

Dennis Clark, a British missionary who worked with him since the 40s in India and Pakistan, had this to say about his prayer life - "Brother Bakht Singh's prayers were earth-shaking. They were so strong in fact, like praying Hyde of Sialkot, and would continue so long that many were moved. In my whole life's experience, I have never heard the equal of Bakht Singh's prayers and the flow of prayer meetings wherever he went with the team. In Pakistan, late at night with his head under the mosquito net he would be praying. We had string beds on the mud house roofs. It was very hot in late May or early June. Before dawn he was already up, and I noticed his ankles moving against each other to ward off mosquitoes. Prayer was central to his life and the whole movement: the prayer of men and women often before meetings was 'burdened,' when prayer after the meetings could go on a long time. Bakht Singh's prayer life was consistent over the many years that I knew him" (From Dennis Clark's Letter to the Author, 1988).

When Bakht Singh was asked where and how did he find strength and energy to do the Lord's work, he simply said, "When we wait upon the Lord, we are renewed and refreshed, and the power of resurrection becomes a reality." Isn't it what Isaiah said, "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31).

There is so much to say about this man of God Bakht Singh. I trust that this little sharing of his life and ministry may encourage your heart greatly and inspire you to greater heights of spirituality. Amen.

-Lovingly in Christ, Pastor Colin

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1) David's Psalm of Praise this Friday and Saturday, 7.30 pm, Sanctuary. All Lifers are encouraged to attend this Worship in Music, Exhortation and Fellowship.

2) Adults' Fellowship meeting has been brought forward from 21 Mar to 14 Mar (next Sunday).

3) Men's Fellowship meeting for the month of March is being held on 19th and not 12th.

4) "Daily Homily": Daily Devotional by F B Meyer, Vol 10 (Apr-Jun 10). Now available at the front counter. The same devotions are available online at http://www.lifebpc.com/devotions.

5) Combined BPC Seminar on "The Christian Perspective of Suffering and Bereavement" by Dr Len Pine. Sat, 27 Mar 10. 2.30-5.00 pm. Life Church Sanctuary. For administrative reasons, those who are interested to come for the seminar are to register by Monday, 15 March by sending an email or filling up the registration form available at the reception counter.

6) Lecture on "The Biblical Mandate and Methodology for Effectual Gospel Missions" by Dr Len Pine on Monday, 29 Mar 10 at 7.30 pm, MPH Beulah House. All are welcome.

7) Annual Church Camp 2010. 14-18 Jun 10 at Awana Genting Highlands Golf & Country Resort, West Malaysia. Theme: "Building Christian Relationships". Speaker: Prof William Harding. Please register early and submit the forms to the Camp Registration Office (at Beulah Centre, Level 3, Room 3-14). Love offerings towards defraying the cost will be appreciated. 113 rooms left.

8) Yishun Life Children's Ministry held on Saturdays, 2-4 pm at Blk 701A Yishun Ave 5, #02-04. Volunteers are needed. Those who are interested, please contact Dn Ong Beng Hong, 96230800 or ongbeng@singnet.com.sg.

9) Our condolences to Yeng Lai Pheng and family on the demise of her mother on 1 Mar 10.

Preaching appointment: Rev Seet in Perth, 11 to 18 Mar 10 for inauguration of Covenant BPC.

Rev Wong in Batam.