Kleyns In The Philippines: * Visit to PRFA in Leyte

Kleyns In The Philippines: * Visit to PRFA in Leyte.

This past Wednesday, April 24, 2013, missionary-pastor Daniel Kleyn published a new blog post on a recent mission trip to another work in which our missionaries in the Philippines are involved (Rev.Richard Smit also). It was another great picture post which gives you an idea of the place, the people, and the work involved. The link above will take you to this post. And while, there, you might as well browse through the other posts.

If you are not a regular reader of the Kleyn’s blog or a email subscriber, you should be! Sign up and/or bookmark today, and stay informed of the labors of our missionaries in this part of the world! And thank you, pastor and Sharon, for keeping us informed so well through your blog! God bless! Our prayers are with you, the Smits, and the other pastors and people there!

Here is pastor Kleyn’s introduction to the post:

Recently I had the opportunity to accompany Rev. John Flores on a visit to the PRFA in Leyte. The PRFA is the Protestant Reformed Fellowship in Albuera, and is the mission work of the First Reformed Church of Bulacan. This was the second time I was able to join Rev. Flores on such a visit – the first was in September, 2010.

Here follow some pictures and brief descriptions of our visit (And here is a nice one of the whole group. Click on it to enlarge. – cjt).

“Why Follow Jesus?”: Our Motive for Discipleship – Jonathan Dodson

Why Follow Jesus? by Jonathan Dodson | Reformed Theology Articles at Ligonier.org.

Another good article I read in this month’s Tabletalk was the above-linked one by pastor J.Dodson, author of Gospel-Centered Discipleship and Unbelievable Gospel: Sharing a Gospel Worth Believing. Dodson explores what our motives should be for being a disciple of Christ and therefore our motives for wanting to make disciples of sinners in this world. Instead of pragmatism, which so often marks our age, Dodson argues that our motives should be rooted in the gospel itself, and especially in the Person and work of Christ Himself. You will profit from these words of his, and from the rest of the article as well.

The Jesus Disciple

When Jesus gave His mountaintop commission, He loaded it with kingdom motivation. The main directive to make disciples is preceded by the image of a risen, radiant king, rippling with power and authority, in heaven and on earth (Dan. 7:9–14; Matt. 28:17). He is strong enough to depose nations and glorious enough to summon their worship. We are sent under this aegis. We are not sent in the authority of our own experience but in the authority of His lordship. Our story isn’t sufficient to “make a disciple,” but His story is. Why do we go? To baptize into His name, not ours. Making disciples of all nations is no personal cause; it is the redemptive agenda of God Himself. Our motivation, then, arises from being submerged in the grace of God, not from having others align with our way of doing things.

How do we continue to make disciples when wading neck deep in sin? We have to remember that the success of our mission requires not only the authority of the King but also the mercy of the Messiah. He is the Disciple who succeeds where we fail, in perfect obedience to God. We extend mercy from His mercies that are new every day.

But what if the mission field is too hard? Behold, He is with us always, even to the end of the age. We depend not only on the past obedience of the Faithful Disciple, but also on the present presence of the risen Lord. We make disciples in the authority of Jesus, submerged in the grace of Jesus, enduring in the mercy of Jesus, with the forever promise of the presence of King Jesus. Disciples need to recover a singular motivation to endure all the cost—the infinite sufficiency and splendor of our Lord.

Why do we follow Jesus? Because of who He is. If we have Jesus, we have more than enough to make disciples.

“A Friend to Africa’s Orphans” – Rosemary Jensen

A Friend to Africa’s Orphans by Rosemary Jensen | Reformed Theology Articles at Ligonier.org.

The interview in the March Tabletalk is a fascinating missions feature, as “TT” talks with Rosemary Jensen, a godly Presbyterian women who has been involved with foreign missions for seven (7!) decades. She is also the author of two wonderful devotional books (see below). I believe you will find her story not only interesting but motivational. And we don’t have to go far to find needs like she has found in Africa.

Here is a small portion of the interview. You will find the rest at the Ligonier link above.

TT: Why did you write your books Praying the Attributes of God and Living the Words of Jesus?

RJ: These books were written not for publication but for my own understanding of God and His Son, Jesus Christ. My goal in life was, and is, to know God. Therefore, at one point in my adult life, I spent my quiet time each morning going through the Bible and noting verses that spoke of the attributes of God. I organized the verses into thirty-one attributes so I could rehearse one each day of the month. This took me about four years, and it has influenced my life more than anything else I have ever done.

At another time, I promised God that I would obey everything Jesus told me to do. Going through the gospels again and again early each morning off and on for more than ten years resulted in helping me know how to live the Christian life.

The books were published because those in BSF asked me to make these exercises available to them.

TT: What is the mission and goal of the Rafiki Foundation?

RJ: Rafiki means “friend” in Swahili, and Rafiki’s mission is to help others in Africa to know God and to raise their standard of living. In 1987, to accomplish this mission, the Rafiki Foundation formed a board and became registered as a 501c3 missionsending agency. The goal is to enable committed Christians to volunteer in one of ten countries in Africa where Rafiki is legally established. These missionaries work in Rafiki Training Villages with nationals to help Africans know God, primarily through the Rafiki Bible Study. This study is designed to cover the entire Bible in six hundred weeklong lessons written by almost twenty Protestant theologians. It is taught every day to all Rafiki participants, including adults and children from preschool through high school. Regular Bible study is necessary to know God.

Rosemary Jensen is the president of Rafiki Foundation. She is the author of Praying the Attributes of God: A Guide to Personal Worship Through Prayer and Living the Words of Jesus: Meditations on 96 Crucial Topics of the Christian Life.

Seeking Shalom and “Building” the New Heavens and Earth

This morning our book club is meeting to discuss the recent book Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert co-authored: What Is the Mission of the Church? Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission (Crossway, 2011). On the whole this is an excellent book that addresses common errors and misconceptions in our day concerning what the church’s calling in this world is and that makes clear what her true mission is, namely, to preach the gospel and make disciples of Jesus Christ.

In reading one of the final chapters last evening (“Seeking Shalom: Understanding the New Heavens and the New Earth”) I came on this paragraph, in which the authors are speaking to the error that is so common today, that we are called somehow to build the new heavens and earth and in this way make shalom (peace) in this world. I found it to be an excellent summary of what the Bible teaches and how the Reformed faith views our “calling” with regard to our glorious future:

It would seem, therefore, to be far beyond the biblical witness to talk as if we as Christians are somehow contributing to the building of the new heavens and the new earth. It’s the same idea we considered earlier, in fact, with reference to the kingdom. Just as it is God and not we who will establish his kingship over the world, so it is God and not we who will create the new earth in which that kingship is exercised. In fact, that’s really the glorious thing about the gospel of Jesus. Everything we have – and everything we will ever have – is given to us. We will not have earned it; we will not have built it. We have simply received it all. When eternity finally comes, we will live in a land that was made and created for us, under a kingdom that was won and established for us by a Savior who died and was resurrected for us. Put simply, the gospel is the good news of a salvation, in all its parts, that is for us, and not in the least by us (p.208).

That is the gospel worth remembering – and worth proclaiming in the church and in this world.

Introducing “The Chinese Psalter”

Patron: “I see you have books in German and Dutch, and I know you carry books on Hebrew and Greek here at the Seminary library. But do you have any books in Chinese?”

Librarian: “As a matter of fact, we do. It came in late this summer, and it is a unique and wonderful treasure. It is “The Chinese Psalter” and it truly is entirely in Chinese. And God is using it to fill a void in the worship of Chinese Christians. It is an exciting book!”

The above conversation did not actually take place, but it does help me introduce to you this unique volume that was entered into our Seminary library this past summer. Let me tell you the story of it briefly along with some pictures I took of it (click on to enlarge). Earlier this year I was informed through our PRC website by a Dutch contact in the Netherlands that a Chinese version of our Psalter was being produced and would be available late in the summer. And in August I was told that I could pick up our copy at the Trinitarian Bible Society office in Grand Rapids, which I did (the TBS Chinese translator was involved in this project). I was excited to receive this book!

When I got the news, I asked our previous webmaster, Rev.G.Van Baren, and he was able to fill me in on a few details regarding this project. But I was curious to know more. So I started an email conversation with Maarten, the Dutch contact, and he gave me the details I sought.  I will quote the relevant parts of his email (Please excuse the somewhat broken English; the brother is Dutch.):

The project has been started about 12 years ago. Due to the fact that I was requested by several church members at different places in China during my many trips to China whether I was able to produce a Psalter for them. They all said we have only hymns and we want to sing the Psalter in our church services. That was the beginning. It was an urgent and sincere request. A request, but not an easy request. When there was a small sum of money available I could start and I wanted to start with. About 15 up to 20 people at a certain time, most Chinese persons, pastors, students, all Christians has given help in this project.  Translation, production of the music, music notation and numerical notation, checking all translations several times. How should this kind of software work together with another kind of software. There was a lot of invention in this project necessary how to solve everything. The co-operation of one part of the project with another part of the project. There were many, many bottlenecks to solve. Without the help of the Lord the project would never have been finished. It is hardly to tell how many bottlenecks there were to solve and to find a solution for. A few words I wrote you, so that you have an idea about. 4000 copies have been printed. Most of them are in the Far East. Just a very small part in the U.S.A. and the Netherlands for Chinese churches. There are already two Chinese churches in the U.S.A. as well, that like to use the Chinese Psalter in their church services. The project is not a project of a church, although one church in the Netherlands and my friends have given nice donations to make it possible to finish this huge project.

Here is some information. It is only very small part of the real story of this project.

There are already several Chinese churches in the Far East that are very happy and they use the Chinese Psalter already in their church services.

I asked him further about the material in the back of this Psalter, because it looked to be our Reformed creeds and liturgy material (I could make out enough from the layout – not from the Chinese!). And I inquired about the music CD that came with it, a recording of a choir singing from this Psalter, in Chinese (obviously). This is what he had to say about these things:

The choir is a small Chinese choir.

The Chinese Psalter contains: the apostolic confession, the Nicea confession, the Athanasian confession and the Chalcedon confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Canons of Dort, the Belgian confession, the Compendium, the liturgy of Dort, the consolation of the sick, the christian prayers, the church order of Dort. Besides this on request: the Westminister confession, the larger catechism and the shorter catechism. That’s it more or less.

“The Chinese Translators” will be a new foundation. It intends to translate several worthwhile religious books from the past into Chinese.

Fascinating and amazing, is it not! Who would have guessed?! And yet, here it is, a Chinese Psalter meeting a real need for Chinese believers in the church here and there, and indeed, throughout the world! And yes, I did inform our sister church in Singapore about this Psalter, and they are already using it for the benefit of those who cannot use the English Psalter. What a wonderful blessing this little volume is! We pray it is used mightily by the Lord for the worship of His great name among those of the Chinese tongue!

You will notice that it is laid out like the Scottish Psalter, with the song numbers matching the number of the Psalm (a feature I truly like!). The paper is very thin which made it difficult to photograph too, but you can see enough to make out the structure and content of it.). Stop in sometime, and I will show it to you. It is worth your time, even if you don’t read the Chinese

A Great Inheritance: An Interview with Conrad Mbewe

A Great Inheritance: An Interview with Conrad Mbewe by Conrad Mbewe | Reformed Theology Articles at Ligonier.org.

The interview is this month’s Tabletalk is with a unique and interesting individual: Conrad Mbewe, pastor of Kabwata Reformed Baptist Church in Lusaka, Zambia, Africa and principal of the Reformed Baptist Preachers College in Zambia. The needs of the church in Africa are great and the difficulties she faces are many (false doctrine, poverty, shortage of good pastors, etc.), but Mbewe has encouraging news as well – including some lessons we can learn from these Christians. I will give you a small part of the interview below; read all of it at the Ligonier link above.

TT: How would you describe the overall state of the church in Zambia, Africa? Has the influx of aberrant forms of Pentecostalism impacted the health of the African church?

CM: The church in Zambia in particular, and Africa in general, has a great inheritance. The evangelical pioneer missionaries did what they could to give us New Testament Christianity. By now, most Africans south of the Sahara would consider themselves to be Christians, though most of them would be nominal Christians. Granted, low levels of education at that time led these missionaries to give us only the basics of the Christian faith—but the faith they preached was largely true to the Bible. Sadly, it left us vulnerable to Christian aberrations, which have come in like a flood. The health-and-wealth form of Pentecostalism has now taken center stage as the most widely known form of “evangelical” Christianity. The result of this has been a loss of the true gospel and the loss of servant leadership in the church. African traditional religions have come into the church through the back door in the name of “deliverance.”

…TT: What are two important lessons that Western Christians can learn from the African church?

CM: Western civilization has lost a lot of its interpersonal virtues. It has become overly individualized—if you see what I mean. Issues like hospitality, respect for authority and the elderly, being more people-conscious than time-conscious, and so on are largely lost. This has affected not only the society generally but Christians as well.

Western Christians have filled their lives with too many things (toys?) that have robbed them of eternal perspectives. Electronic gadgets, holidays, sports, recreation, and so on have almost become idols. Even church must be about having fun. The church has little time in the lives of its members to prepare them for eternity. There is a greater consciousness of eternity here in Africa. Perhaps it is because we have fewer toys to dull our spiritual senses and death is all around us.

A greater exposure of Western Christians to their African counterparts may help them regain some of these lost virtues, strengths, and perspectives.

“A Hopeful Offense” (the Gospel to Jews) – John Starke

A Hopeful Offense by John Starke | Reformed Theology Articles at Ligonier.org.

A second article I read in the October Tabletalk is this one by Rev.John Starke, penned for the rubric “Pastor’s Perspective”. Writing in the context of his own challenging ministry in New York city among Jews of all stripes, he shares what he has learned about how best to minister God’s Word to them.

Though his thoughts on this are, in the end, quite basic (when you think about it), I truly appreciated what he had to say. It seemed to me to be exactly what all of us ought to be ready to present to any Jews with whom we have to do. Here are a few of his points; you will find the entire article at the Ligonier link above.

First of all, like those offended by Paul or Peter’s preaching, you will likely see people offended when you use their Scriptures to show that Jesus is the Messiah and true King of Israel.

I don’t know how you get around that, but the Apostles seemed to expect it, so we should probably expect it as well. After all, the gospel is offensive. However, the Apostles give us examples that keep us from being more offensive than the gospel and help us make explicit what is the offense of the gospel.

So, here are several points to help us in preaching to Jews the gospel from the Old Testament:

Know the Old Testament Well

There is no substitute for knowing the Old Testament. There are no shortcuts here either. In order to understand how the Apostles in the New Testament preached and how we should preach today, we must know the Old Testament. We need to know not only the stories but also how they organically relate to each other. What is the storyline of the Old Testament? What are the themes that run throughout the storyline (for example, Son of God, covenant, God’s presence, land, and so on)? Once you begin to see these things more clearly, you’ll also see the many unresolved tensions in the Old Testament that are just begging to be resolved in Jesus Christ.

…Show How Jesus Fulfills the Hopes and Relieves the Tensions of the Old Testament

The gospel of Jesus Christ fulfills every hope and relieves every tension in the Old Testament: the hope of the forgiveness of sins and the tensions of an inadequate priesthood; the hope of rest and the tensions of a people never at peace with their enemies; the promise of God dwelling with His people and the tension of a temple-less people.

John Starke is lead pastor of All Souls Church in New York City and an editor for The Gospel Coalition. He is co-editor with Bruce A. Ware of the forthcoming book One God in Three Person: Upholding the Trinity’s Unity of Essence and Distinction of Persons.

Indispensable Apologetics: An Interview with Ravi Zacharias

Indispensable Apologetics: An Interview with Ravi Zacharias by Ravi Zacharias | Reformed Theology Articles at Ligonier.org.

Dr. Zacharias is the founder and chairman of the board of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, headquartered near Atlanta, Georgia, with additional offices around the world. He is the author of The Real Face of Atheism.

Part of this month’s Tabletalk (Ligonier Ministries Reformed devotional magazine) is an interesting interview with noted Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias, speaker on the program “Let My People Think”, which we get to hear in this area on Sunday mornings. Not only is his conversion account striking; so also is his life’s work. I believe you will be encouraged and edified by this “printed” interview with him. Read the entire article at the Ligonier link above. Here are a few paragraphs from it that I found especially interesting:

Tabletalk: How did you become a Christian?
Ravi Zacharias: I became a Christian while a teenager in India, the land of my birth. I had struggled with many issues—especially those of failure and disappointing my family. There was a series of events, but the culminating point came when I tried to take my own life. It was on that bed of suicide when a Bible was brought to me. I heard John 14 read to me, especially verse 19. Jesus said: “Because I live, you also will live.” In that crisis situation, I cried out to Jesus and received Him as my Lord and my Savior. That was the beginning.

TT: How has God used your Indian upbringing in your ministry?
RZ: This whole global shift in “looking to the East” for answers has become a very real platform from which to address with understanding and experience what these worldviews teach and why more than ever the answers of Jesus Christ are relevant and true. India’s songs, India’s spiritual struggles, India’s brain drain as its brightest minds headed west have both economic and worldview reasons and implications. These provide ready soil for the gospel, probably as never before in history. Being Indian by birth and upbringing, and my ancestors coming from the highest caste of the Hindu priesthood, provides a story to tell. Audiences in the entertainment world and business or academic strata are all more open than before.

TT: How can we overcome the fears we have about preaching the gospel to followers of other religions?
RZ: It is very important to understand these other worldviews. Also, be a patient listener to someone of another faith. But you must know how to defend your own beliefs. If we cannot answer their genuine questions, we will “confirm” in their minds what they are often brainwashed into believing: that Christianity is intellectually flawed. This is what they are told. One doesn’t need to have all the answers, but one should know where they are found.

TT: How do we equip young people to remain committed to Christ in a secular and non-Christian world?
RZ: The Bible reminds us to guard our doctrine and our conduct. Our youth know firsthand what the world has to offer. They need to be reached at a younger age because of the world of the Internet that ravages young minds sooner than ever before. Building their faith is not a prime strength in our churches today. We seem to think that we need to entertain them into the church. But what you win them with is often what you win them to.

They can see through a hollow faith in a hurry. Their minds are hungry for coherence and meaning. They long to think things through. They long to know why the gospel is both true and exclusive. None of these issues are often addressed within their own reach. I believe this is the most serious crisis of our church-going youth today. Their faith is more a longing than a fulfillment. We have a special burden for the youth. We will keep at it as we try to reach them. It’s a tough world for the young.

Evangelism: Naturally Speaking Good News – Will Metzger

Evangelism: Naturally Speaking Good News by Will Metzger | Reformed Theology Articles at Ligonier.org.

For this first Monday in July I am going to do my usual – introduce the new issue of Ligonier Ministries’ Tabletalk – but first I want to post one more item from the June issue. That’s because I had one more article to read from last month’s issue related to the theme of evangelism. The last featured article is written by Will Metzger, author of the well-known and well-referenced book, Tell the Truth (Inter-Varsity Press), a basic manual on personal evangelism. His article also relates (not surprisingly) to personal witnessing, which is why his title is worded the way it is.

He encourages us to witness in a “natural” way, i.e., living as Christians in and before a watching world, so that talking to unbelievers about Christ arises “naturally”, and not out of some canned setting or conversation. And at the end of his article Metzger has a fine example of this from his own life, during a time when his wife was dying of pancreatic cancer and their doctor noticed her joy and security in Christ and began asking about it after she died.

One of the paragraphs that grabbed my attention was the one below, where Metzger ties our personal evangelism to our worship. Having been in the presence of the Lord yesterday, we should be “driven” to testify of our Savior in this coming week. May we do that in deed as well as in word. At the end of his article Metzger also had some searching questions for us to answer in terms of our desire and readiness to witness. Read his full article at the Ligonier link above. Or you may simply click here.

Worship is the fuel for and the goal of the Christian life. Edmund Clowney writes:

Worship is evoked by the presence of god, a response, not a self-initiated creative activity on our part… it is adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable, and therefore the chief remedy for that self-centeredness which is our primary sin and the source of all actual sins.

Worship takes gospel truths from your mind down into the desires of your heart, motivating you for a life of ongoing evangelism. Worship takes you out of yourself to focus on the sovereign God. Can you remain indifferent about those who are lost among your family, friends, acquaintances? Worship by the Spirit sparks desire and action. Your emotions are touched in personal and public worship to plead in prayer and love, and to initiate conversation about Christ. The experience of God working through you to reach others gives birth to faith that God will use you to point people to Christ (p.21).

Preach the Gospel, and Since It’s Necessary, Use Words – Ed Stetzer

Preach the Gospel, and Since It’s Necessary, Use Words by Ed Stetzer | Reformed Theology Articles at Ligonier.org.

The above is the third in the series of articles on this month’sTabletalk theme, “The Theology of Evangelism”. And it is another good one. I do not know the author very well, though I have seen and read other of his articles in various publications. But I was pleasantly impressed with what Stetzer had to say about the necessity of preaching the gospel as God’s chief means of evangelizing the lost. While we in the Reformed camp have always believed and expressed this, it is good to hear others state it with conviction too. I believe you will profit from Stetzer’s article and so have linked it above. Here is a portion of it to get you started:

There’s a popular saying often repeated by Christians. It has found new life on Facebook and Twitter. Maybe you have even uttered these words, commonly at tributed to Francis of Assisi: “Preach the gospel. Use words if necessary.” I think we can appreciate what many are getting at when they say something like this. As Christians, we should live in such a way that our lives point to the person and work of Jesus. However, good intentions cannot overcome two basic problems with this quote and its supposed origin. One, Francis never said it, and two, the quote is not biblical.

…The idea may not have resonated with Francis, but for many today, wordless ministry is a compelling approach. “Words are cheap,” we like to say, and “Actions speak louder than words.” Galli explains that the sentiment complements our culture rather well:

“Preach the gospel; use words if necessary” goes hand in hand with a postmodern assumption that words are finally empty of meaning. It subtly denigrates the high value that the prophets, Jesus, and Paul put on preaching. Of course, we want our actions to match our words as much as possible. But the gospel is a message, news about an event and a person upon which the history of the planet turns.

And this is the real problem — not from whom the quote originally came, but just how it can give us an incomplete understanding of the gospel and how God saves sinners. Christians are quick to encourage each other to “live out the gospel,” to “be the gospel” to our neighbors, and to even “gospel each other.” The missional impulse here is helpful, yet the gospel isn’t anything the Christian can live out, practice, or become.

The Apostle Paul summarized the gospel as the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, through whom sin is atoned for, sinners are reconciled to God, and the hope of the resurrection awaits all who believe . The gospel is not habit, but history. The gospel is the declaration of something that actually happened. And since the gospel is the saving work of Jesus, it isn’t something we can do, but it is something we must announce. We do live out its implications, but if we are to make the gospel known, we will do so through words.

It appears that the emphasis on proclamation is waning even in many churches that identify themselves as evangelical. Yet proclamation is the central task of the church. No, it is not the only task God has given us, but it is central. While the process of making disciples involves more than verbal communication, and obviously the life of a disciple is proved counterfeit when it amounts to words alone, the most critical work God has given the church is to “proclaim the excellencies” of our Savior.

Ed Stetzer is president of LifeWay Research. He is also visiting professor at both Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, as well as serves on the Church Services Team at the International Mission Board (SBC).