09 Apr

Reformed Witness Hour Update - April 2022

Published in First PRC Grand Rapids, MI

April 2022

April 3

Joseph Resists the Advances of a Seductive Woman

Genesis 39:6-20

Rev. R. Kleyn

April 10

Joseph in Prison

Genesis 40

Rev. R. Kleyn

April 17

Burning Hearts and Opened Eyes

Luke 24: 13-35

Rev. R. Kleyn

April 24

Joseph Remembered and Exalted

Genesis 41:1-40

Rev. R. Kleyn

For April, Rev. Kleyn will continue the series on The Life of Joseph and give a special Easter message on April 17. Rev. Kleyn is currently the pastor of First Protestant Reformed Church of Grand Rapids, MI.

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30 Mar

Covenant Reformed News - March 2022

Published in Covenant PRC Ballymena, Northern Ireland

Covenant Reformed News

March 2022 • Volume XVIII, Issue 23

The Four Horses Considered Together

In the last two issues of the News, we have identified and explained the four horses of Revelation 6:1-8. The white horse speaks of the gospel, the red horse brings war, the black horse deals with the selling of food and drink, and the pale horse conveys death. One could say that the white horse treats spiritual matters in the ecclesiastical sphere, the red horse concerns military matters in the national sphere, the black horse involves economic matters in the commercial sphere and the pale horse covers biological matters in the mortal sphere.

The four horses give a helpful perspective on the vital issues of man’s total depravity and God’s sovereign grace. Man’s sin issues in war (red horse), huge economic disparities (black horse) and death (pale horse), for “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). God’s grace comes into this fallen world by the preaching of the gospel (white horse) blessed by the Spirit of Jesus Christ to all His elect. One could sum it all up thus: the first horse deals with the progress of grace in the church and the other three horses with the misery of the curse in the world.

Clearly, the four horses cover key factors or major themes in human history. The movements of the white horse around the globe are traced in books of church history and even factor in studies on world history, though very rarely as prominently as they should. Moreover, is not the history of mankind splattered red with the blood of war, blackened with all sorts of economic woes and famines, and littered with pale corpses?

It is helpful to consider the effect of the four horses upon both those elected in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4) and the reprobate or “the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction” (Rom. 9:22). The pale horse with its rider has authority over both (Rev. 6:8) for all men are mortal since the fall. The black horse affects both believers and unbelievers, for some of both are rich and some are poor and some are in between these two extremes, with I Corinthians 1:26-28 indicating that many of God’s people are lightly esteemed and materially poor in this life. Christians too are involved in various ways in wars (red horse), including serving in the military, navy and air force. Bereavement and disabilities bring pain and grief to both the godly and the ungodly. The white horse rides into cities, towns and communities with the result that the elect are saved, whereas the reprobate are hardened and left without excuse. This occasions spiritual separation between those abiding in unbelief and those mercifully given faith.

All this is the sovereign good pleasure of the Most High, and the purpose of the Lamb who takes the book out of God’s right hand and opens the seven seals, including the first four: the white, red, black and pale horses! Rev. Angus Stewart

Was Nineveh’s Repentance Real?

The question for this article of the News is: “I have read your article on Jonah and Nineveh in the Standard Bearer (15 October, 2021), but can you prove that the people of Nineveh’s repentance was sincere and their faith was in Christ who is the only way of salvation? Did Jonah preach Christ? Nothing in the narrative proves this.”

Was the repentance of the Ninevites genuine? Was it just “the sorrow of the world,” which works death, merely a sorrow for the consequences of their sins and for their threatened destruction? Or was it a “godly sorrow” (II Cor. 7:10)? Many, such as Hugh Martin in his commentary on Jonah, do not believe that it was sincere.

There is clear evidence that Nineveh’s repentance was genuine. First, there is the testimony of Jesus in Matthew 12:41 (Luke 11:32): “The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.” There is no indication in the words of Christ that their repentance was false and every use of the word “repented” in the New Testament is of a real, spiritual repentance, worked by the Spirit of God.

In Matthew 12, Jesus is addressing an “evil and adulterous generation” (39) who refused, in their self-righteousness, to believe and humble themselves. They required a sign from Christ in order to repent and believe. Jesus tells them that no sign would be given but the sign of the prophet Jonah and speaks of Nineveh’s repentance as testimony against them. If Nineveh’s repentance had not been genuine, then it would have been no testimony against those unbelieving Jews.

Second, the Ninevites humbled themselves before God, cried to God and believed God (Jonah 3:5-9). The latter refers to their believing Jonah’s preaching of divine judgment especially but it is also the word that Scripture uses to describe true faith, worked by God’s Spirit. They heard Jonah’s proclamation but they “believed God” (5)! Believing God, they prayed to Him and in praying to Him they humbled themselves before Him. There can be no doubt that these Ninevites were saved as a demonstration of the great truth that “Salvation is of the Lord” (2:9). God did in Nineveh what He would not do in Israel for their hardness of heart and continued idolatry.

That this repentance lasted for only a short time, that is, for that generation, is evident. Within 100 years, the prophets Nahum and Zephaniah would speak again of Nineveh’s evil ways and would prophesy its destruction (Nah. 3:7; Zeph. 2:13). In 612 BC, Nineveh would be destroyed by the Medes.

Nineveh was not saved in its generations. God did not continue His covenant with Nineveh in the Old Testament. That would not happen among the Gentiles until New Testament times. Nevertheless, God demonstrated the sovereignty of His mercy and foretold the New Testament salvation of the Gentiles in Nineveh’s repentance.

The Ninevites, therefore, are an illustration of what the Word says in I John 1:8-9: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” May God grant us all repentance unto life (as He granted it to these Gentiles) and not take away this grace from us (as He took it from Israel)!

Nineveh’s salvation also demonstrates the importance of repentance. We cannot be saved from sin, except in the way of repentance and by faith in Christ. Salvation does not leave us in our sins, but saves us both from the guilt and power of sin. Repentance is turning from sin and is part of our conversion to God, and part of our deliverance from the presence and power of sin.

The reader poses a penetrating question, though, in asking whether Christ was preached to the Ninevites. Without the preaching of Christ, there is no possibility of genuine repentance or of faith. The important passage in answering this second question is Luke 11:30: “For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.”

Jonah cannot be a type of Christ, nor is he identified as a type in Scripture, but he was a sign, a miracle or sign that pointed ahead to the greater miracle or sign of Christ’s coming and work. That is what Christ means when He compares Jonah’s three days in the belly of the fish to His own three days in the belly of the earth. The one miracle points ahead to the other and greater miracle.

That miracle of Jonah’s deliverance from the fish’s belly became part of his preaching in Nineveh, whether he intended it to be so or not. He not only preached to them but he was also a sign to them. It was that sign, as much as Jonah’s actual preaching, which God used for the salvation of the Ninevites. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that Jonah himself, as much as the Word which came from his mouth, was the sermon he preached in Nineveh. In that way, Jonah’s preaching included both the call of the gospel to repentance and the good news of the gospel, the promise that whoever repents and believes will be saved. Thus he preached Christ to them.

We should not be surprised that the gospel was preached in that way in Nineveh. God, in the Old Testament, not only sent His Word through His prophets but very often made them living examples of the Word they brought. Hosea, commanded to marry a whorish woman, was a living sermon to Israel in the days of Jeroboam II, the same king in whose days Jonah prophesied (Hos. 1). Ezekiel, lying on his side in front of an iron pan for some fourteen months, was a sign and sermon to the Jews in the Babylonian captivity in the last days of the Kingdom of Judah (Eze. 4:1-8).

There are those who speculate about Jonah’s physical appearance after being in the belly of a fish for three days. This was a miracle and the Word of God does not tell us what it was like in the belly of the fish or anything of Jonah’s condition after those three days. It was not his appearance but what happened to Jonah, first under the anger of Jehovah and then in his repentance, that was a sign to the Ninevites of God’s justice of His mercy. How the Ninevites learned his story is beside the point but it was the sign, as well as the threat of destruction, that brought them to their knees.

Perhaps the sign was more effective than an actual recitation of the promises would have been, for the Ninevites would hardly have understood a passage like Isaiah 53, had it been preached to them. Many in Israel, who knew of the promised Messiah, did not understand how He could be “as a root out of a dry ground” or like a lamb led to the slaughter (2, 7).

But the Ninevites would have understood from Jonah’s story that the God whom he served, the God of heaven and earth and sea, was different from their idols. They would have understood Jonah’s disobedience, and would have learned from his story that the God of Israel was able to punish, and did punish, sin. They would have listened fearfully, therefore, when that man who had suffered such an awful ordeal preached to them the necessity of repentance. They would have realized, too, from Jonah’s story that the God of Israel, unlike the gods they served, was a God who is not only just but merciful, a God able and willing to save. They would even have realized that there was in God’s sight no difference between Jonah, the Israelite, and themselves.

So Jonah preached in Nineveh by Word and by example. May we, learning from the story of Jonah, have a higher regard for the preaching of the gospel and humbly submit ourselves to it, believing that His Word does not return void (Isa. 55:11). May we never forget that, though it is preached by weak and sinful men, it is “the power of God unto salvation” to all who believe (Rom. 1:16). May we, vomited out of the belly of hell by God’s amazing mercy, continue to give attendance on the preaching of the Word so that, when we fall into sin, as Jonah did, we too may be set again on the path of obedience by the power of the Word. And may all glory and praise be to Him, to whom alone belongs the glory both of the means He has appointed and their good fruit (Canons of Dordt III/IV:17). Rev. Ron Hanko

Westminster Confession 15: Of Repentance Unto Life

Repentance unto life is an evangelical grace, the doctrine whereof is to be preached by every minister of the gospel, as well as that of faith in Christ.
By it, a sinner, out of the sight and sense not only of the danger, but also of the filthiness and odiousness of his sins, as contrary to the holy nature and righteous law of God; and upon the apprehension of His mercy in Christ to such as are penitent, so grieves for, and hates his sins, as to turn from them all unto God, purposing and endeavouring to walk with Him in all the ways of His commandments.
Although repentance be not to be rested in, as any satisfaction for sin, or any cause of the pardon thereof, which is the act of God’s free grace in Christ; yet is it of such necessity to all sinners, that none may expect pardon without it.
As there is no sin so small, but it deserves damnation, so there is no sin so great, that it can bring damnation upon those who truly repent.

Covenant Protestant Reformed Church
83 Clarence Street, Ballymena, BT43 5DR • Lord’s Day services at 11 am & 6 pm
Website: https://cprc.co.uk/ • Live broadcast: cprc.co.uk/live-streaming/
Pastor: Angus Stewart, 7 Lislunnan Road, Kells, N. Ireland, BT42 3NR • (028) 25 891851
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. • www.youtube.com/cprcni • www.facebook.com/CovenantPRC

19 Mar

Covenant PRC-N.Ireland Newsletter - March 2022

Published in Covenant PRC Ballymena, Northern Ireland

CPRC News Header

March 18, 2022

Dear saints in the Protestant Reformed Churches,

Church Visitation

Due to Covid-19 and its regulations, the CPRC did not have church visitation by a delegation from the PRC for the last two years. Thus it was especially good to welcome back Prof. Barry Gritters and Elder Sid Miedema (5-14 January). Like all arriving in the UK in January, the two men had to quarantine on arrival until they got back a negative Covid test on day two. We had planned to have our congregational dinner at a local restaurant while our American visitors were here but, sadly, we had to cancel it because of the hassle with Covid rules for large group dining.

BG SM CPRC Jan 2022

Prof. Gritters brought the Word of God at both the Sunday services on 9 January, led a Bible study on Exodus 19 (cf. Heb. 12:18-29) on the Tuesday morning and gave a lecture on “Being the Hand of God: Godly Parenting in an Ungodly World” on the Wednesday night. His excellent instruction was much appreciated by the congregation.

Advertising for the speech on child-rearing included an article written by Julian Kennedy which was published in the Ballymena Guardian. We were very pleased with the attendance, and the parents in the church found the lecture especially helpful (www.cprc.co.uk/sermons/being-the-hand-of-god-godly-parenting-in-an-ungodly-world).

Prof. Gritters and Sid Miedema visited a number of families in the congregation. Mary and I took them for some lovely coastal walks in the north of County Antrim and forest walks in the south of County Down, where there was snow on the mountains.

Church Activities

Alfonso and Salome Mansona and their two adult sons, Chester and Dale, were gladly received as confessing members on 21 November. Jeremy Watterson, the fifth covenant child of Sam and Anga, was baptized on 23 January.

Charlotte Higgs arrived in Northern Ireland from Brisbane, Queensland in the middle of February and is staying in our province for a few months. She is a member of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Australia, and a daughter of Pastor David and Sue Higgs. Charlotte has settled into the life of our congregation very well.

CPRC dinner 2022

We were finally able to have our church dinner at the Ross Park Hotel on Friday, 11 March. William Graham, our organizer and quizmaster, booked the venue soon after all the Covid regulations for such events were removed. This left us short of time to contact friends outside our own congregation and get together all the orders for the three courses. Thus we decided simply to invite members and attendees with their spouses, etc. It was a very enjoyable evening of fellowship.

Michelle Lou-Hing, a niece of Marie Kennedy, and her son, Liam, were able to make it to Northern Ireland for the congregational dinner, since Michelle and her husband are buying a house in Broughshane. It is great to have them back in our midst again.

Besides the Lord’s Day preaching of the Word, the four Monday evening catechism classes, and the Tuesday morning Bible study on “Saving Faith: A Biblical and Theological Analysis,” we have a Wednesday night doctrine class on the Belgic Confession. We are currently on Article 37, which deals with the end times. We have covered Scripture’s own eschatological time periods: the two ages (“this age” and “the age to come”), “the last days,” the 1,000 years (Rev. 20), and the 1,260 days, 42 months or 3½ times (Rev. 11-13).

In our Wednesday classes, we recently concluded a series of 9 studies on “The Nearness of Christ’s Coming,” explaining the 7 major ways in which the Bible teaches that our Lord comes (3 in the past, 3 ongoing, and 1 climactic), the things which must happen before His glorious bodily return, and Scripture’s full testimony to both its “soonness” and its “delay.” All these doctrinal audios are not only available in CD box sets (www.cprc.co.uk/product-category/cdsdvds/belgic-confession) but can be listened to free on-line (www.cprc.co.uk/belgic-confession-class).

Currently, there are 3 families and 3 individuals in 3 membership classes. During the week, I meet with Billy and Anne, Grace and Kerryann Gould in Antrim; Joe and Lisa McCaughern in Portglenone; and Ivan Ortu and Colm Ring at the manse in Kells. We go through (the positive articles of) the Canons of Dordt, and then various distinctive Reformed doctrines and practices, so that new members join the church with a solid grasp of the truth, a good conscience, and joy.

On-Line Witness

Our main website (www.cprc.co.uk) is doing very well. Around 17 November, 2021, its number of daily page hits suddenly tripled. Things continued around this level for a few weeks before growing by 50%. Thus we are now receiving about 4.5 times as many page hits on our main website as we were at the time of my last letter (5 November, 2021).

We recently created an “Election and Reprobation Resources” webpage, containing links to audios and/or videos of doctrine classes, sermon series and lectures, as well as articles, pamphlets, books, etc. (www.cprc.co.uk/ election-and-reprobation-resources). This is our 35^th handy resource page (www.cprc.co.uk/topical-resources).

Since my last letter about 4 ½ months ago, we have added 112 translations to our website. Thus, we have been receiving about 6 translations per week—a good rate! Many of these are short pieces, such as Covenant Reformed News articles (www.cprc.co.uk/covenant-reformed-news) or chapters from Doctrine According to Godliness by Rev. Ron Hanko. We now have some 3,368 articles and creeds in more than 200 foreign tongues (from Afrikaans to Zulu) on our website (www.cprc.co.uk/languages).

Thanks to Nic, a Reformed elder in S. Africa, Afrikaans has grown most, increasing by 35 to 175 translations. Polish has seen 33 additions through the work of Marcin in Norway, Sebastian in Poland, and Robert in the Republic of Ireland. For our Polish translations, now totalling 88, Mary has created a specific Polish webpage (www.cprc.co.uk/languages/polish), to add to the other nine individual language webpages (Afrikaans, Burmese, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish).

We also received a good number of translations in Hungarian (13 by Balint) and Russian (12 by Viktor). The others are 6 Spanish (by Jorge in Peru), 5 Portuguese (including 2 pamphlets on drama by Revs. Dale Kuiper and Richard Smit), 4 Swahili (the last 3 of which were by Lilian, a new translator from Nairobi, Kenya), 3 Dutch (by Gerben in the Netherlands), and 1 Latin (the Belgic Confession, so that we now have all 4 of our ecumenical creeds and all 3 of our Reformed creeds in this language).

In the last month or so, Sam Watterson has been placing paid ads on Facebook on behalf of the CPRC, targeting people within 30 miles of Ballymena. So far, he has advertised the video debate on Calvinism (www. Youtube.com/watch?v=G5B_UknPtFM)) and an article on the real healing miracles in the Bible (www.cprc.co.uk/articles/healings). We have been receiving positive feedback and intend continuing this means of advertising.

British Reformed Fellowship (BRF)

The first British Reformed Journal with Sam Watterson as editor was sent to subscribers and BRF members in January. These are the titles of its five articles: “New Editor!” “Editorial: It’s Too Complicated,” “The Destructive Teaching of Hypo-Calvinism in Common Grace Scripturally Exposed,” “Two Men from Trier: Karl Marx (and Communism) and Caspar Olevianus (and the Heidelberg Catechism)” and “Doctrinal Doublespeak.” The cost is just £10 (or $20US) for 4 issues and new subscribers are very welcome (www.britishreformed.org/journal/subscribe).

Castlewellan BRF conference 2022

At this summer’s BRF Family Conference in Castlewellan Castle, County Down, Northern Ireland (9-16 July), Profs. David Engelsma and Brian Huizinga will unfold the glorious truth of our “Union with Christ” (www.cprc.co.up/articles/brfconference2020). The booking forms for the conference (including its low prices) and the contact details for the booking secretaries are available on-line (www.brfconference.weebly.com/booking.html). We hope that many of you will be able to join us for a wonderful week of Reformed teaching and fellowship!

As of today, the UK has ended its Covid travel rules. This means that people arriving in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales no longer need to get tested or write a passenger locator form. This is good news for people flying in for July’s BRF conference or those wanting to visit the CPRC in Ballymena!

May the Lord bless and keep you all,

Rev. & Mary Stewart

05 Mar

Reformed Witness Hour News - March 2022

Published in First PRC Grand Rapids, MI

News from the Reformed Witness Hour March 2022

Upcoming Broadcasts for March

March 6
Made Perfect Through the Promise
Hebrews 11:39,40 (Rev. W. Bruinsma)

March 13
Joseph's Dysfunctional Family
Genesis 37:1-11 Rev. R. Kleyn)

March 20
Joseph is Sold into Slavery
Genesis 37:12-36 (Rev. R. Kleyn)

March 27
Joseph's Diligence in a Strange Place and Position
Genesis 39:1-6 (Rev. R. Kleyn)

2021 Message Statistics in Review

In 2021, we had 15,862 downloads of our messages. August was our best performing month with 1,858 downloads. Our August featured message, I Am Your God by Rev. Spriensma, performed well with 351 downloads, and it appears to have increased attention to our messages for the next several days.

On September 5 we had the year's most downloads in one single day with 266 downloads. This was the day we featured Rev. Kleyn's message Certainty in Prayer. Certainty in Prayer continued to perform very well and finished the year as the most downloaded message of 2021 with a total of 432 downloads.

We continue to see about an even distribution between App downloads, Podcast downloads and Web downloads.

Stats chart 2021

Top Downloads of 2021

The top 5 most downloaded messages for 2021 were:

Certainty in Prayer by Rev. R. Kleyn
I Am Your God by Rev. A. Spriensma
Prayer for Restored Joy by Rev. W. Bruinsma
The Praiseworthy Woman by Rev. R. Kleyn
Considering and Provoking One Another by Rev. R. Kleyn

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Interacting with our posts (shares, likes & comments) help bring attention to our program and promote our messages!

Favorite Message from January 2022

Our listeners’ favorite message from January was Joseph's Command Concerning His Bones by Rev. Bruinsma:

Joseph’s life was colorful. The Lord led him through sore trials of his faith... All the while he was strong in his faith. He refused to be taken in by the temptations and allurements of Egypt.

Yet, the writer to the Hebrews does not call our attention to any of these acts of faith. He focuses our attention on the end of Joseph’s life on earth ... He desires to point us to the fervent hope the patriarchs possessed that the promises of God would indeed come true. This Joseph reveals when he gave his family commandment concerning his bones.

We read in Genesis 50:25, "And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence." Joseph firmly believed that God would, according to His promise, lead his people Israel from the land of Egypt to Canaan. This faith of Joseph was rooted in what God had promised Abraham many years before.

In Genesis 15 God informed Abraham that He would give Canaan to the nation of Israel - but only after they would remain for a long time in a strange land. Abraham did not know what land that strange land was....Joseph now did... the land of Egypt

This promise of God to Abraham was passed down orally to Isaac, and then to Jacob, and then to his sons.… God promised that not only would He deliver the people of Israel from the bondage of Egypt but He would also bring them to Canaan so that they could possess the land. And Joseph believed these promises... He viewed himself as an Israelite to whom God made His promises just as to the rest of his brothers in their generations.

In this, Joseph’s faith was revealed! You know, it was not as if it would matter to Joseph where his bones would end up. Joseph expresses in his command that he did not desire to be numbered among the Egyptians. Neither did he wish to be with the Egyptians in his death. He represented the cause of God in this world. God’s people were his people. He was a pilgrim and stranger in Egypt.

Listen to the full message at reformedwitnesshour.org

15 Feb

Covenant Reformed News - February 2022

Published in Covenant PRC Ballymena, Northern Ireland

Covenant Reformed News

February 2022 • Volume XVIII, Issue 22

The Black and Pale Horses

After treating the white and red horses in the last issue, we now turn to the black and pale horses (Rev. 6:5-8). The black horse speaks of food and drink in terms of subsistence, famine and luxury. The “pair of balances” or scales is used to weigh food carefully (5). A “measure” (Greek: choinix) was a dry measure of about 2 pints, an adult male’s requirement of food for a day (6). A “penny” was a working man’s daily pay (6).

In other words, this speaks of the minimum food needed for survival. If a man can work, he can feed himself for a day with bread made from wheat (“A measure of wheat for a penny”) or for three days with bread made from barley, which is cheaper (“three measures of barley for a penny”).

But what about his buying other things? What about providing for his wife and children? What if he becomes sick or is injured? Economically, such a man ekes out his existence day by day and things are even harder if he has a family. The third horse is “black” for this is the colour of scarcity and famine (cf. Jer. 14:2; Lam. 4:8; 5:10).

The above describes the way it has been for most people over the last 2,000 years. Even in our day, there are many people who do not have enough to eat and so suffer hunger, ill-health or starvation, for example, in Haiti, N. Korea, Venezuela or parts of Africa. But in previous ages it was much worse!

But this is not all, for “a voice in the midst of the four beasts” cries out, “see thou hurt not the oil and the wine” (6). Wine and olive oil suggest that others possess plenty and even enjoy luxury. “Do not damage these things,” cries the voice; this would upset the wealthy!

There are huge economic disparities around the world and even within individual countries, such as South Africa and Suriname. There are the haves and the have-nots, the rich and the poor, and the First World and the Third World, though there are, of course, many degrees between these extremes.

Material poverty and economic disparity are also found in Christ’s blood-bought church, considered both globally and in individual congregations. Our Saviour Himself said, “For the poor always ye have with you” (John 12:8).

Christ Himself opens the third seal and sends forth the black horse! This teaches us that agriculture and trade, failed crops and inflation, empty bellies and famine relief agencies, etc., are included in God’s counsel and governed by the Lord Jesus seated at His right hand. “For promotion [or material prosperity] cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another” (Ps. 75:6-7).

Jehovah is sovereign over the distribution and inequality of foodstuffs and wealth, determining whether we own or rent property, live in a mansion or a hovel, are employed or unemployed, have empty or full larders, etc. Even man’s sinful responses—the snobbery and condescension of the prosperous, and the envy and resentment of the poor—are not outside of the eternal decree of our heavenly Father.

The fourth and final horse in Revelation 6 is pale, the colour of a corpse, and its rider is “Death,” who is closely followed by “Hell” (8). Four terrible means of death are listed in Revelation 6:8.

First, there is the “sword,” which includes slaughter by bullet or bomb, or even through an infected wound or exhaustion in battle. This reminds us of the second seal (3-4).

Second, we read of death by “hunger,” from the scarcity of food and in times of famine. These things are covered in the third seal, as in the first part of this article (5-6).

Third, “Death” kills “with death”! To what does this refer? Death by accident or old age? It speaks of death by disease or pestilence (cf. Eze. 14:21) in all its different forms, including smallpox, flu, tuberculosis, malaria, cholera, HIV/AIDS, cancer, measles, diphtheria, etc. Diseases may be caused by bacteria, viruses or genetic disorders, and occur through poor quality water or air pollution, poor sanitation or malnutrition, etc.

Fourth, the rider on the pale horse kills “with the beasts of the earth,” such as wolves, snakes, elephants, scorpions, etc. Mosquitoes are more dangerous than any of these as “carriers, or vectors, for some of humanity’s most deadly illnesses ... Mosquito-borne diseases cause millions of deaths worldwide every year with a disproportionate effect on children and the elderly in developing countries” (National Geographic).

Authority is given to the pale horse and its rider “over the fourth part of the earth” to kill human beings in these four ways: “with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.” A quarter speaks of the steady rate, the usual frequency, of human mortality, though it fluctuates somewhat at certain times.

Jesus proclaims, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death” (Rev. 1:18). Thus it is entirely fitting that the Triune God has appointed our risen Lord as the ruler over death, the One who sends forth the pale horse. From His throne in heaven, Christ has governed the deaths of billions of people all around the world for two millennia. He is absolutely sovereign over diseases, epidemics, medicine, health care, funeral services and mourning.

Our Saviour’s rule over death includes all future deaths, including our own. Through Jesus’ atoning sacrifice, the death of each child of God is “a passage into eternal life” (Heidelberg Catechism, A. 42), for Christ prepares our place in His Father’s house and “will come again” to receive us unto Himself (John 14:2-3)! Rev. Stewart

The Faith of Old Testament Believers

One reader of the News has sent this request: “I would appreciate if Rev. Hanko could write something concerning the faith of the Old Testament saints and how/where it differs from the faith of New Testament believers (Heb. 11:13; John 8:56).”

This is a very good inquiry (as are all the questions that we receive), but I believe that in referring to Hebrews 11:13 and John 8:56 the reader has already given us the basis for the answer to his own question. There is no essential difference between the faith of God’s people in the Old Testament and in the New Testament!

Hebrews 11:13 says, “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” The only difference between their faith and ours is that we, by faith, have seen the beginning of the fulfilment of these promises in the coming and work of Jesus Christ, though we too still see the completion of those promises “afar off” but that is not an essential difference.

Jehovah’s people in the Old Testament believed, loved and embraced God and His promises, for they were all promises of Christ. For the sake of these promises, they were willing to live as strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Believing these same promises, we trust in the same God that they did, the God of Israel. Like them we, by faith, love these promises more than we love anything else and love the Christ of the promises. It is to those promises that we cling in the darkest times, as they did, and it is these promises that make us, with them, strangers and pilgrims on the earth (I Pet. 1:1; 2:11).

The whole of Hebrews 11 shows that their faith is the same as ours. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (1). Faith is its own evidence and, therefore, also its own assurance of things that eye hath not seen or ear heard or that have entered into the heart of man to understand. Faith needs no more proof than itself and needs no “scientific” proof that “the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” (3). It does not need such proof today and never did. As it was both evidence and assurance for the “elders” (the saints of the Old Testament), so it is for us (2).

Faith for us is everything that it was for the Old Testament people of God. It offers “a more excellent sacrifice” to God (4), though no longer the animal sacrifices that pointed ahead to the sacrifice of Christ. Out of gratitude for Christ’s sacrifice, faith offers “the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name” (13:15). Faith still translates us, as it did Enoch (11:5), so that “whosoever liveth and believeth in [Jesus] shall never die” (John 11:26), whether we go to heaven in the way Enoch did or in the ordinary way.

Faith always comes to God believing “that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb. 11:6). The testament makes no difference in that. Faith, “being warned of God of things not seen as yet,” always finds refuge in an ark, no longer an ark of wood but an ark that was prepared on a cross of wood (7). Faith always goes out with Abraham to a place which it after receives as an inheritance and he who has faith always goes not knowing “whither he went,” but looking “for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God,” for he is a stranger in this world as long as life lasts and is never again satisfied with any other city (8-16).

“And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets [and of John Hus and John Wycliffe and Martin and another John, of old Polycarp and of the two Margarets, of Ridley and Cranmer, and so many others]: who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens” (32-34). Their successors, though unremembered in history, are doing the same today, fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, elders and church members, who live everywhere and always by the faith of the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us (Gal. 2:20).

The rather minor difference between the faith of Old and New Testament believers is mentioned again in Hebrews 11:39-40: “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” Their faith waited for Christ to come. Now that He has come, our faith waits for Him to come again. That is a difference but not an essential difference. There is no true faith but faith in Christ and nothing for faith but Christ. By faith, whether in the Old or the New Testament it is:

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ where I lie, Christ where I sit, Christ where I arise
(Prayer of St. Patrick).

John 8:56, the other passage cited by our enquirer, teaches us that the faith of Abraham (and of his true children) was in Christ just as ours is: “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad,” and that is the most important thing about the faith of Old Testament saints. Their faith united them to Christ (it was in God and in Christ) and, uniting them to Christ, it was their righteousness before God, their justification (Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:16-25). It was, as it always is, saving faith.

How utterly foolish to teach that the Old Testament saints were saved by law works and by obedience to the law: “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us [and in them], who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Rom. 8:3-4).

What a testimony to the power of faith that, even in the Old Testament, faith rejoiced in Christ, saw His day and was glad, found its righteousness in Christ, obtained the victory over Satan and sin and hell, and hoped for, and was translated to, heaven! In every age, faith is in Christ and the gift of God, “Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:9-10). Rev. Ron Hanko

Covenant Protestant Reformed Church
83 Clarence Street, Ballymena, BT43 5DR • Lord’s Day services at 11 am & 6 pm
Website: https://cprc.co.uk/ • Live broadcast: cprc.co.uk/live-streaming/
Pastor: Angus Stewart, 7 Lislunnan Road, Kells, N. Ireland, BT42 3NR • (028) 25 891851
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. • www.youtube.com/cprcni • www.facebook.com/CovenantPRC

05 Feb

Berean PRC Newsletter - February 2022

Published in Berean PRC, the Philippines

Berean PRC newsletter header

~ Meditation by Rev. Ibe Page 1

~ Monthly Birthdays and Wedding Anniversary Page 2

~ Getting to know our Church Family Page 3

~ Out of the Mouths of these Children Page 4

~ Kids’ Corner Page 5

~ Literary Section: Art Work, Poems Page 6

~ Daily Scripture Verses Page 9

~ Announcement/ Pulpit Supply Page 10

MEDITATION Psalm 1

The whole first Psalm is a description of what God has done upon and in the heart and soul of a regenerated son/daughter of His by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hence, an introduction to the whole book of Psalms. In the Book of Psalms, we find the pilgrim’s journey and the diary of his/her walk with the Lord as he/she treads upon darkness in the world of sin and misery.

For that reason, we are told, that, The Law of God is his Light onto the path of glory. The daily struggles in life cannot surpass the joy that the Word of God brings to his heart and mind. And though the pilgrim’s place in the world is surrounded with “ungodly sinners whose mouth is full of bitterness, lies and mockery,” peace and comfort never leave him, for God is with him and always for him.

We have a clear picture, therefore, of what would be life is for the godly during and throughout their journey with God in this world. A life full of trials, temptations, enemies within and without the fold, and thus persecution for righteousness’ sake; and apart from the grace of God, he would never have continued in his journey by and in his own strength, for it will surely fail him!

We note further that the pilgrim is pronounced as “blessed” essentially not for his external deportment but for his inward affections upon God’s Law produced by the Holy Spirit which caused his abhorrence of evil and thus, of evil men. This is the outstanding character of one who is poor in spirit and yet so rich in Christ for all the blessings which flow from the cross of Jesus into his heart and soul.

Besides, the pilgrim’s bread and water are drawn out of the cisterns of God’s constant provision from His Word. He daily receives and meditates upon God’s Word with great delight, and thus always guided and guarded by it wherever and whatever life brings him!

Keep in mind too, that, the pilgrim’s hope [i.e., future expectation] is likewise grounded upon God’s Word. His eyes are fixed in the glory that awaits him when His Savior comes again to bring him Home! The ungodly are not so; for the Savior’s judgment is their lot against their wicked works when He returns.

The pilgrims, therefore, begins and ends his/her journey with the certainty of the fruit of God’s Word; sealed in his heart with the blood of the Lamb by the Spirit of the Savior onto glory everlasting, in the presence of the Almighty Triune God, for Christ’s sake alone and for the glory of God’s name alone! Amen.

-VRI

February

Birthdays:

1- Paul Benjamin Zuniega

2- Venus Figueroa (AGPRF)

6- Cris Espiritu

11- Melody Ibe

15- Jotham Luchico

21- Lea Trias

26- Peter Adrian Zuniega

27- Bheny Alarcon

Wedding anniversary:

6- Julius & Mari Arragona

16- Argel & Emy Chua

WELCOME TO THE BEREAN PRC

We welcome in our congregation, Stefanie Buenaventura and her 2 daughters, Isla who is 11 years old and Sahara who is 4 years old. They are from Antipolo. Her husband Mark is an OFW. They used to be members of a Pentecostal/Charismatic church. By the grace of God, they were able to see the errors on the teachings and practices of that church and decided to leave. Although it was a painful decision for them, but they are full of hope that they could find another church. After months of searching or googling Stefanie found out about Berean Protestant Reformed Church. Upon knowing the address, she could not believe that it was near where she lives. They have been attending since October and it has been a joy for them. She is forever grateful to God for calling them out from a false church and to start anew. They are very much thankful for the warm welcome and they appreciate everything. God willing, Stefanie will join the Essential Class this coming month in preparation for her public confession of faith. While Isla has already started joining the Catechism Class where they are learning the Old Testament History. We pray that God will use these means for them to grow with us spiritually.

OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF THESE

HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT JESUS LOVES YOU?

Jesus loves me because He made me and has every intention of me succeeding in becoming a living child of God.

– Charis, 11 years old

Jesus loves me because that's the truth of who He is, a joyful and eternal truth - Achaicus Zion Espiritu, 7yrs old, ?

Jesus loves me because I am his child and I also love him because he made me and other people. Axcel Prosia, 12 years old

Jesus loves me because He is my Lord and I love Him with all my heart and He forgives all my sins. -Azaleia E. Prosia, 10 yrs old

Jesus loves me because I'm His child. And by His grace I will serve him. -Trixie Jean Luchico, 13 years old

Jesus loves me because I am His child and He loved me first before I’ve loved him and serve His name. - Jethro V. Luchico Age: 11 yrs. Old

Jesus loves me because He blessed me with wisdom. – Robert Sumalde, 9 years old

Jesus loves me because He gave me faith to become a believer of Jesus Christ. – Rihanna Eunice Zuniega, 7 years old

Jesus loves me because He saved me from all my sins and gave me faith. – James Daniel Zuniega, 10 years old

Jesus loves me because He saved me from my sin. Paul Benjamin Zuniega, 9 years old

Jesus loves me because He died on the cross for my sins so that I become His child. – Louvin Jedidiah Ibe, 9 years old

Jesus loves me because He gave me wisdom so I could love Him and worship Him. -Bryce Acerado, 7 years old

Jesus loves me because He saved me from my sins. – Antonielle Chua, 10 years old

Jesus loves me because He died for my sins. – Isla Faith Buenaventura, 11 years old

Jesus loves me because He has chosen me even before I was born to live and to serve Him, for His glory and for Jesus’ sake, and He shows it so by providing everything that I need in this life and the life to come. -Martyn Ibe, 12 yrs. Old

Jesus loves me because He died on the cross for my sins that I may be saved and live with Him forever in Heaven. - Vernon Bien Ibe, 6 yrs. old

kids page

WORD SEARCH

(see the attched pdf)

Kids ARTWORK

art work LJIbe Feb 2022

Poems

Jesus Loves Me

m.o.m.i

Jesus Loves me, this I know

From heaven above to here below

He sent His Son for Him to show

His love for me that overflows.

I am the apple of His eye

And I could tell you why

Not because of what I’ve done, no matter how I try

But at Calvary’s cross where He was crucified

Was indeed the proof that I am justified.

He has chosen me before the world began

He loves me beyond my life span.

Such an amazing love I can’t find from no one

But from God’s only begotten Son.

Thy Love

m.o.m.i

Thou hast loved me

Even though I’m a sinner,

Thou hast loves me

Though I can’t show the same,

Thou hast loved me

though I disobeyed You and follow my way,

Thou hast loved me

Still, Thou didn’t turn away.

Thanks for Thy love

It’s a blessing from above,

Thanks for Thy love

It’s something, I can’t live without,

Thanks for Thy love

I wouldn’t fear nor doubt,

Thanks for Thou love

It’s a great thing to talk about.

Knowing Thee more and more

Is the desire of my soul,

More of Thee in my life

That others may see the light,

Knowing Thee for others to know Thee

And see Thy great love for me.

FEBRUARY 2022

Daily Verses

LOVE

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.”

1 John 4:7

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
		1	2	3	4	5
		Psalm 5: 11	Matt. 22: 37	Prov. 8:17	John 13:35	Romans 5: 5
6	7	8	9	1 0	11	12
Micah 6: 8	John 15:9	Romans 8: 35	Psalm 145: 20	John 15: 13	Isaiah 38: 17	1 Thess. 3: 12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
Jeremiah 31: 3	Eph. 5:33	Eph. 3: 19	1Tim. 1: 14	Heb. 10: 24	Romans 13: 10	James 1: 12
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
Psalm 116:1	Psalm 40: 16	Phil. 2:2	1 Peter 1:22	Psalm119: 165	2Tim. 4:8	Ephesians 5: 2
27	28
2Corinthians 8: 7	Rom. 12: 9

ANNOUNCEMENT

We encourage everyone, especially the catechumens, to write articles, poems, and/or submit their artwork based on the monthly theme. Monthly theme are as follows:

March- Mercy

April- Death & Resurrection of Christ

May- God’s Provision of Godly Mothers

June- God’s Provision of Godly Fathers

July- Joy

August- Antithesis

September- Comfort in Dying

October- Reformation Day/ Faith

November- Thankfulness

December- Redemption

*Please submit articles, poems, artworks to Sis. Melody a week before the month ends or earlier.

*Children are encouraged to answer the Kid’s Page and submit it to Sis. Melody. You may screenshot it and edit it to solve the puzzle if you are unable to print it out. Then take a picture and send it to the messenger account of Sis. Melody Moyo-Ibe.

* You may also suggest a better name for our Monthly Newsletter. For now, it’s called Berean Page

PULPIT SUPPLY

February 6- Rev. Smit

February. 13- Elders (Pastor has a week off)

February 20- Rev. Ibe

February 27- Rev. Ibe

News

Churches

April 2022

Joseph Resists the Advances of a Seductive Woman

Genesis 39:6-20

Rev. R. Kleyn

Joseph in Prison

Genesis 40

Rev. R. Kleyn

Burning Hearts and Opened Eyes

Luke 24: 13-35

Rev. R. Kleyn

Joseph Remembered and Exalted

Genesis 41:1-40

Rev. R. Kleyn

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March 2022 • Volume XVIII, Issue 23

The Four Horses Considered Together

Was Nineveh’s Repentance Real?

News from the Reformed Witness Hour March 2022

Covenant Reformed News

February 2022 • Volume XVIII, Issue 22

The Black and Pale Horses

The Faith of Old Testament Believers

WELCOME TO THE BEREAN PRC

Kids ARTWORK

Poems

ANNOUNCEMENT

PULPIT SUPPLY

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Contact/Missions

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