Pastor Lim Fong Jwong : 25 Feb 1940 - 13 Sep 2002
This tribute should have been written more than 10 years ago! I don't want to delay it any longer. But alas, things were getting tumultuous those days, on two different fronts, and the passing of a wise and mature man of God, did not help the situation at all.
Pastor Lim was the man of God who gave the charge at my marriage to Alice. That's more than 25 years ago. He was there again at my 'wedding' to the Sungai Dua Church in Nov 1993! That's coming to 20 years soon. And on both occasions, it was the Lord Himself who had arranged it. I have no hand in it whatsoever. Between those two significant events, Pastor Lim became a dear friend, brother, and teacher to me. He was the only father-figure I ever had in the ministry... for he taught me as a father would his own son. With his departure to glory, I lost the man who has taught me precious lessons along the way. My wife and I still talk about him to this day...
I was blessed with 15 years of his love and fellowship in our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. Before he left to be with the Lord, he had given instruction to his wife that I should preach at his funeral service. I was humbled to the dust by the honor bestowed on me.
And the Lord continued to knit our hearts closer in those fifteen years as we laboured together in the ministry of the gospel, and in defense of the truth of the gospel (as we understood it then), and especially defending the liberty from ecclesiastical tyranny.
Brief Background:
Fong Jwong grew up in Ipoh, Perak and attended the Anglo Chinese School in Ipoh. After Cambridge 'O' Level, he went to Australia for further education. He was sent to Orange, a country town in NSW, some 200+ km to the west of Sydney, to do his pre-u. From there he went to read Pharmacy at Sydney University. During his final year at SU, he began attending the Stanmore Baptist Church. He had also begun joining the Overseas Christian Fellowship in the university. (I spent 6 years at the same university doing my BSc. and BArch. I was 21 years his junior).
Along the way, he felt called to the ministry. During his time with OCF, he heard the news of the setting up of the Discipleship Training Centre (DTC) in Singapore. He worked as a pharmacist for two years in Sydney. Later he became one among the first batch of students when DTC started operating in 1968! There was no little opposition and resentment from family members! (I experienced the same when I entered the ministry!)
A fellow student from Sydney University had been posted to Kuala Kubu Baru (administrative center of Hulu Selangor District) as a medical officer. He had started a Christian fellowship in his rented home and wanted the work to continue upon his leaving. He heard that Fong Jwong was preparing for the ministry in DTC, and persuaded him to come to KKB, and he came in July 1971.... and remained there till he was called home to glory in 2002. He continued the work passed on to him, and in Dec 1974, with the help from the Brethren churches, the work was constituted at Kuala Kubu Chapel. In 1978 he was married to a Dr. Ong, a dentist (National University of Singapore) who was posted to KKB. And the Lord bless their ministry together in KKB and further afield among the Brethren churches for many years. By the time I first met him in 1987, he had begun to identify himself with the RBs.
He ministered faithfully in Kuala Kubu Chapel (later known as Kuala Kubu RBC) till the Lord called him to glory!
15 years together:
The very first time Pastor Lim and I met was in 1987 August (?) at the 1st Reformed Ministers Conference held in Port Dickson. The political situation was very tense then because of the massive Operation Lallang... when the despotic civil authority rounded up and imprisoned many innocent civilians, and only a few of those who registered for the conference actually turned up. Mr. Erroll Hulse was the invited speaker. I was then a student at FEBC, Singapore. A few days of interaction made a good impression on me concerning Pastor Lim. (It was also the first time I met Brother C.S. Woon. He was working as a site engineer in Seremban. We have stuck together as founding church members of Sungai Dua Church to this day! Bless the Lord!)
Finishing my first and only year at FEBC by May 1998, I moved to Sri Serdang in order to be with the Sri Serdang Church. Alice and I were married on June 11th, after which Alice and I stayed at the home of Dr. Sim until we left for London Theological Seminary in Sep 88. (Alice was expecting our first child, Josiah, born 26 May 89.) Julian Bull, who was the pastor of my home church in Sydney, was scheduled to preach at our wedding. We were engaged at the church in Sydney. However, he was down with severe sickness while in London (on the way back to Sydney via KL), and couldn't make it to our wedding. The pastor of the then S S Church was unlawfully detained and incarcerated under the infamous and notorious Operation Lallang.
He married us...
Pastor Lim was the Lord's SPECIAL provision in such exigency! He helped to arrange for an assistant registrar of marriage from a Brethren assembly for the occasion, officiated the wedding, and preached the wedding message to us. Everything went smoothly... and we were happily married... and still married to this day! Those few months (May-Aug 88) in Seri Serdang gave us the opportunity to interact with Pastor Lim whenever he visited Sri Serdang. We witnessed his hearty love and generosity towards those saints in need, especially towards the family of the imprisoned and incarcerated pastor. The same love and generosity were shown to us in later years.
He ordained me...
We left for London in early Sep 88. Then we (now with Josiah) came back to KL for a few weeks in mid-July 90. We again stayed with Sister Sim (this time in the university staff quarters). We visited Pastor Lim in KKB to renew the fellowship. He reminded me of a few things... because a man from his church who had also gone to the UK for theological studies... came back and raised some issues that grieved him. I took his advice to heart! In August we left for Sydney and remained with the home church there (Newtown Baptist) until Feb 1991 when we decided to return to Malaysia for the sake of the gospel. We stayed with Sister Debra Sim for a few months until we moved into our own accommodation some 30 min's drive away in PJ Section 22. We settled into Sri Hartamas Church.
I was employed as an architect from March 91 - Feb 93. On March 93, we (now with the addition of Jo-Hannah, and Jo-Hanan still in the cozy womb!) moved to Penang for the church planting work. I had been making monthly visits with another pastor since May 92. On 1 May 93, the new work was constituted as Sungai Dua Church, taking the name of the suburb. The church called me to be the pastor in Sep 93. I was ordained to the gospel ministry in November. Four pastors formed the ordination presbytery. Read here if you want to know more http://things-new-and-old.blogspot.com/2009/10/iv-call-and-ministry-of-word.html
Pastor Lim was one of the ordaining elders, and he gave the charge to the brand-new still-wet-behind-the-ears pastor. One of the things he said remains with me to this day: the grave danger of lording over the Lord's blood-bought flock! Be tender to the Lord's sheep... love them, not lord over them. Another pastor gave the charge to the church - of 9 charter members, including my wife and I.
A lot more could be said of this brave and humble servant of the Lord...
i. When shown some of the truth by the Lord, he bravely left the Brethren teaching... despite the loss of friendship and usefulness among them, and enduring all sorts of unpleasant treatments from those who were close to him before. I once heard him say in public, "A great man is one who is bold enough to admit his errors and move on!" In that sense, he was a great man!
ii. He was a man of principle... (I will continue...)
Please, if you have something to say, leave your comments. Thank you.
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| Pastor Lim delivered the message at the wedding on June 11, 1988 |
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| Taken with Jo-Hanan, after the special service to constitute the Melaka RBC on 15th March 2002. Pastor Lim gave the charge to the newly constituted church Jo-Hanan and I attended the special service! |
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| At the graveside on 15 September 2002 - The message was from 1Cor 15: 42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. At the funeral service the message was from Ps 116:15 "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints." |
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| Our children were close to "Uncle Lim." They know he loved them very much. It was always a special treat to them visiting Uncle and Auntie Lim at KKB! (I hope Auntie Lim will forgive me for putting this picture on the net.) |
