| Previous Sermon | Next Sermon | List of Sermons | Ebooks (v 7.0) | Related links | Download |
Looking back, memories of sixty years tell one story: how we have changed with age!"... yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment... they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end" (Ps 102:26,27 ).
Praise God, our Lord Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever (Heb 13:8 ).
Today I look back; in those days, it was looking forward. What sort of “looking forward” was there in 1942 when we fell under the rule of an unknown master and struggled with Nippon-go to build the “Great East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere? ”
I remembered my vow of 1938. God had spared my life through the days of war. It was no “lucky escape” that one of General Yamashita’s last shells missed us and hit our next door neighour’s bunker and took his leg. It was a loud reminder: I had been spared for a purpose — there was a vow to fulfil. Without a doubt, God was working out His plan for me, a step at a time.
The years of Japanese rule passed quickly: time still flew! Thank God He kept our family intact through those trying years. We drew much comfort from God’s Word: "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul... the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows" (Matt 10:28-31 ).
God is our refuge and stength, a very present help in trouble (Ps 46:1 ).
That the Great East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere was but a passing event of history was not in doubt. The question was when? Then it happened: August 6 and 9, 1945 — Hiroshima and Nagasaki — mushroom fireballs of a peace offering at the cost of 200, 000 Japanese lives put an end to hostilities. For us in Singapore it was Nippon-go in reverse — Go — Nippon!
Overnight the Co-Prosperity bubble burst. The British returned in September 1945, and things began to return to normal. For me, the new year 1946 was back to school for the Senior Cambridge School leaving certificate. Not having opened an English book for four years, it was a daunting testing time. Nevertheless, the Lord was good, His grace was sufficient for me ( 2 Cor 12:9 ).
Adjusting to the discipline of school life after a break of four full years was a test of perseverance and adaptation. The experience was made more trying when God called Mother home suddenly in March of that year, adding the sorrow of bereavement to the burden of study. Again, God’s grace was sufficient..
That year’s effort gained me a Senior Cambridge Certificate, and admission to the King Edward Seventh College of Medicine for a six-year course of study, together with seventy-four other fellow freshmen.
The thought of entering the portals of higher learning brought back memories of my very earliest admission to the Anglo-Chinese Primary School in 1932. High up on the four walls of the Chapel Hall were inscribed in beautiful manuscript these words from Proverbs 3:5-6 :
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
What a precious promise to struggling students is this passge of holy Scripture. God had proved faithful in time past; should I not find Him faithful still in the days ahead?
The pursuit of knowledge is a long drawn process. It had taken me through the classrooms and playing fields of the Anglo-Chinese School for eleven long years. Ahead lay the prospect of six more years of immersion in the basic discipline of medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology. At the end of that time I shall be equipped with the basic knowledge to handle human problems of health and disease at an elementary and primary level. Thereafter would come the higher discipline of specialisation.
How does university life fit in with my Christian calling, in particular, the promise to give my life to the Lord? Is there a difference between a child of God and the rest of the class? The fact that I had received Jesus as my Saviour and had consecrated myself for lifetime service must surely make a difference in my conduct of life and usage of time, talents, and resources. A clearcut decision had to be made at the outset of the six years.
As I pondered this matter, the story of Daniel and his three friends came to mind. In prayer I asked the Lord to make me a Daniel for His name’s sake. God’s power will be tested and proved in the days ahead. Question: Dare I trust Him with all my heart?
Daniel’s three wonderful weary years
Daniel’s testimony is worthy of careful study by Christian young people, wondering how a course study at tertiary level should be handled. A Christian student in a non-Christian world needs to consider the issues of human relationships, the responses of the Christian faith, acknowledge the Lord and let Him direct his path.
Thank God for Daniel and his friends, and for the record of Scripture, written for our benefit: "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come" ( 1 Cor 10:11 ).
a) Who were these young Jews?
Dan 1:3-4 indicate that they were hand-picked, "Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace..."
From this description it may well have been that these young people already had received instruction of tertiary level, and that the three years of instruction prescribed by King Nebuchadnezzar was of a post-tertiary or graduate level.
Be that as it may, a course of instruction was laid down to “teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. ” But the royal offer attached a condition: "And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king" (Dan 1:5 ).
This was an extraordinary offer, a “King’s scholarship, ” something not to be lightly regarded.
There was every reason for Daniel and his friends to accept the King’s offer with gratitude. After all, they were a captive people — exiles and slaves. To them the King was according a high honour. To decline or refuse would be a slight to the great King.
But Daniel served a greater King. He and his friends were children of God. Their captivity in a foreign land did not change their status: they were still God’s children. Affliction did not break their morale and loyalty to God. Their faith in God remained steadfast. So should ours.
The King’s dainties would greatly appeal to the carnal and fleshly appetite. They were freely offered as part of the “scholarship. ” To refuse might incur the King’s displeasure and jeopardise their whole future. What does the reader say to this?
Praise God for the record: "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself" (Dan 1:8 ).
Daniel’s response to the King’s offer was the most difficult “first step” which, when refused by faithless Christians, would lead them into compromise and troubles afterwards. Daniel was able to take this difficult first step because he was in close touch with God. He was a man who knew the mind of God as few other men, a man in whom God’s Spirit dwelt.
While the world’s advice is: “When in Rome, do as the Romans do, ” Daniel, “purposed in his heart” that he would not do as the Babylonians, but he would rather remain faithful to his God.
It is so important for Christians entering the halls of higher learning, away from the influence of church and home, to “purpose in the heart” — have the mind made up — resolved to keep oneself pure for God and separate from the world and its sinful practices.
Christian students: remember, as Daniel remembered, we are different from the people of the world, different from the rest of the class. Christian students"... are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people.. “ and we should “shew forth the praises of him who hath called (us) out of darkness into his marvellous light" ( 1 Pet 2:9 ).
No, when in Rome, a Christian does not do as the Romans do in everything. The Christian student belongs to Christ the Lord, who bought him and owns him: he is not his own ( 1 Cor 6:19,20 ). Therefore it is incumbent on him to “purpose in his heart” to be faithful to his Lord, and to please Him rather than men.
Thank God, Daniel and his friends took a stand and God honoured them for it. Dan 1:17 says, "As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams."
Be informed, dear young people and students, our God"... is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us" (Eph 3:20 ), and that power is God’s Spirit in us. At the end of the three years came the test. "And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm" (Dan 1:19-20 ).
Praise the Lord. He rewards us for faithfulness.
Maintaining my Christian calling
In 1947 when I embarked on the six-year course, the situation was not greatly different from Daniel’s. A child of God is in the world but not of the world. So, come what may, I resolved that by God’s grace I would walk the strait and narrow road and keep separate from the customs and sinful practices of the world. By God’s grace He kept me through those years.
The academic result at the end of the first year in 1948 exceeded all that I had asked or thought: two distinctions and the top position in the class, with a silver medal and a scholarship, the gift of God’s grace.
More amazing was God’s gift in the final professional examination in 1953: two distinctions, four medals and top position in the class, and the Queen’s scholarship All thanks and praise to the Lord.
To students and those who ask: “Tell us your secret of success, ” here it is.
“Ten Commandments for Successful Students”
1. Purpose in your heart to glorify God in your studies. Our Lord is not unmindful of your resolve. He promises:"... them that honour me I will honour" ( 1 Sam 2:30 ). This is not easy but worthwhile.
2. Pray always: before, during, and after study:
"... in every thing by prayer... "(Phil 4:6 ) is the instruction of God’s Word.
3. Be concise and precise. “Summarise your summary. ”
Writing makes an exact man. Knowledge not summarised is not fully grasped.
4. Utilize the pre-dawn hour for maximum profit. The mind is freshest after a good sleep. Trying to study when the body is fatigued is a waste of time and effort.
5. Knowledge shared is knowledge assured. Never be selfish. There are no secrets in learning. "The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him" (Ps 25:14 ). Therefore the secret of learning is “fear God, ” for "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom" (Ps 111:10 ).
6. Study always with an objective and attain it. To study without an objective is a waste of time, no matter how good the intention.
7. “Know something of everything, and everything of some things. ” This is the formula for distinction. No one can know everything of everything.
8. Redeem the time: make every minute count. Buy back precious time: cut out unprofitable activities. Invest wisely your golden hours.
9. Exercise daily to keep fit. “A sound mind in a sound body. ” We all know: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. ”
10. Keep God’s day holy. Honour the Lord. He did His work in six days, and so should we. Be God-like: He rested on the seventh day. You too.
God is a Bonus-giving God
Purpose in your heart to glorify God, and He sends bonuses your way. While the chief end and objective was the MB, BS degree, the Lord giveth to all men liberally: He gives more than we ask or think.
By God’s grace He extended my Christian witness beyond the confines of mere books.
a) Founding of Varsity Christian Fellowship
In 1947 a few of us Christian students in search of fellowship attended the “Student Christian Movement” (SCM), student arm of the World Council of Churches. Finding no pasture, only soul poison, the group departed and initiated the Varsity Christian Fellowship as a local version of Inter-Varsity Fellowship International (IVF).
This body, with the inclusion of some Christians from Arts and Science Faculties, eventually became officially registered as the VCF. (In course of time, the VCF fell from its original evangelical-fundamentalist position and was swept into the ecumenical stream).
b) Helping to found the Bible-Presbyterian Movement
Having imbibed from Dr John Sung the Biblical faith of the Gospel, I was given a small role in the initial welcome to the International Council of Christian Churches and the group led by Dr Carl McIntre when they first visited Singapore in 1948 to lay the ground-work of Christian fundamentalism in Singapore.
In 1950 under the leadership of Rev Timothy Tow and Rev KC Quek, it was my privilege to help inaugurate the Life Church English Service, Mother of the Bible-Presbyterian Movement in Singapore and beyond.
A surprise gift of athletics
Some call it, “Mind over Matter. ” The apostle Paul says, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Phil 4:13 ). In the case of Samson, it is clearly stated that"... the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times.... "(Judges 13:25 ) and enabled him to achieve phenomenal feats of strength, which strength left him when the Lord was departed from him (Judges 16:20 ).
In 1951, the fourth year of study, I was provoked by a bumptious fellow student who was the University sprint champion. Strutting about with obvious pride he would brag about his exploits. I thought to myself, “Maybe I’ll show him something. ”
That year was “light and easy, ” without any stress of examinations. I gave myself six months to train for the Annual Athletic Meet. Entered for seven events, the Lord was gracious to give me five golds, one silver and one bronze.
The most personally satisfying accomplishment was this: the bumptious champion was dethroned. At the finishing line, with great astonishment, he said to me, “I never knew you could run! ” I replied, “I never knew myself! ”
"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13 ).
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.