Installation and Inaugural Services of Rev. J. B. Zippro in the Beckwith Congregation, Grand Rapids, Michigan

In Psalm 126:3, the psalmist writes, “The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.” May that be the heartfelt language of the Beckwith congregation of Grand Rapids, Michigan, when after we had been a vacant congregation for a period of just over two years, the Lord inclined the heart of Rev. J. B. Zippro, of Scheveningen, the Netherlands, to accept our call to “come over and help” as our minister.

On the afternoon of April 26, 2006, Rev. C. Vogelaar, as moderator of the Beckwith congregation, led the installation service of Rev. Zippro in our midst. His text for this special occasion was 2 Timothy 4, verses 1 and 2, “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom; preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” Rev. Vogelaar chose as the theme for his sermon “Faithful Ministry,” with three main thoughts: 1) where God’s servants must stand; 2) what they must do; and 3) how they must labor.

The apostle Paul realized that his time of departure from this earth was at hand, for he wrote, “I have fought a good fight; I have finished my course.” As he neared the end of his life, the burden of the congregations was upon him, and he looked at his spiritual son Timothy as his successor. Paul wrote exhortations and warnings to Timothy about the task that would be placed upon him, for he knew that his task would be very difficult and that much would come up against it. When Paul said, “I charge thee,” this weighty word “charge” means “I adjure thee,” where Paul, as it were, took Timothy into the presence of the Lord in an appeal to something sacred. He knew that the task laid upon Timothy had been given to him by the Lord, in the presence of whom he stood.

Rev. Vogelaar went on to say that this “charge,” then, is a solemn word! For the Lord knows where you and I, Brother Zippro, are standing: before God! Thus you and I stand not only before the congregation, but above all we stand before God. May you not fear the frowns of the people nor seek their applause. You stand before God and before the Lord Jesus Christ, your Prophet, Priest, and King. When we are thus standing before Him, then we must know Him. You will need also to be near unto Him, because you will need His presence, His strength, His grace, and His comfort. When you are empty, you may look to His fullness for supply. You need Him for everything, for we cannot do it ourselves. Furthermore, one day you and I will stand before Him as Judge. Congregation, what account will your minister have to give about you in that day? Will he be able to speak with joy about fruits upon his labors, or will he have to speak with grief about seed being sown without fruits? Also, what account will the congregation have to give about their minister? Let us remember upon what a solemn place we stand when we are on the pulpit!

We will also speak of what God’s servants must do. First, they must preach the Word. This means to cry out loudly, as a herald with authority, with a message given to you by your King. We must preach what God’s Word says—the gospel, the full counsel of God, death in Adam and life in Christ, and how these two come together. We cannot preach Christ rightly without preaching Adam, but we must preach Him against the black background of what we have become in our fall in Adam.

You will also have to “reprove, rebuke, exhort.” To reprove means to correct and to refute error. It is the Spirit’s work to convince of sin, but you must point out the evils of the heart and the enmity of our existence. Thus you must point out the disease, but you must also point to the remedy. Then you must also rebuke. Many do not want to listen in our day, saying, “That is my business.” There is more and more a lack of respect concerning absolute truth in our day. You are also to rebuke those who build on false foundations.

Our text says also that you are to exhort. That is a more gentle word and can even mean to comfort. Oh, we cannot speak enough about sin and the evil of the heart, poor sinners, but you may also exhort poor sinners who stand outside and have need of a message of comfort. May you point such ones to Him who never forsakes the works of His own hands. We must be a guide to Jesus, to feed the hungry souls and comfort the mourners in Zion.

How must God’s servants labor? We are instructed here to do that with all longsuffering, with patience, and with a heart of love. Sinners are obstinate and hard-hearted by nature, and this may be discouraging at times. But always remember how much patience the Lord has with us. He did not open His mouth when He suffered here upon earth. We must also labor with doctrine, thus with instruction. We must point out the difference between the foolish and the wise builder. May you do so with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Finally, we are told to be instant, that is, always to be ready to do the work, for there is urgency. May we do so as ambassadors of Christ. Be instant! If your neighbor’s house was on fire, would you not cry out loudly to flee and to make haste for their lives? Thus we are called to speak in season and out of season. To do this work “in season” is to do it when it seems convenient, such as in church, catechism class, and house visitation. However, we are also called to labor “out of season,” when the circumstances do not seem convenient to us. Then we must deny self, and we must also speak at times when we are not welcome. We must take all opportunities to call, to rebuke, and to exhort. Do it continually. Jesus Christ was daily in the temple. Satan is also busy daily, trying to pull our young people from the truth.

Surely the time is short. Satan and death are busy, but the Spirit of God is also still busy, gathering and drawing by His power out of darkness into His marvelous light. Thus work as long as it is day. May the Lord give that you may be used to the conversion of sinners and to the coming of God’s precious kingdom. You and I need that precious great Servant who said, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Rev. Vogelaar then spoke a few words to Rev. Zippro’s relatives from the Netherlands. Finally, he addressed the congregation, exhorting them to love and to pray much for their minister.

In the evening, Rev. Zippro preached his inaugural service to the congregation and the many relatives and friends from far and near. He first spoke a few words about how the Lord had opened the way for him to come to Grand Rapids. He had already been much exercised with this flock during the night after he preached in Beckwith in the fall of 2005. In the months that followed, the Lord spoke repeatedly that he must feed the lambs and the sheep in Grand Rapids. Thus, when the call came to him at the Lord’s time, it was not difficult for Rev. Zippro to accept, despite the opposition that came from all sides.

Rev. Zippro used as his text for this special occasion the words from 2 Corinthians 5:14a, “For the love of Christ constraineth us.” With his theme being “The love of Christ,” Rev. Zippro’s two main points were 1) what this love contains, and 2) how this love constrains.

The love of Christ is an eternal love of a triune God. In eternity, in the Counsel of Peace, there was that one-sided love and sovereign grace by which God made a way to restore His poor fallen creatures. As it is stated in the Canons of Dordt and in the Heidelberg Catechism, man has become a hater of God and his neighbor. The law demands complete love to God and love to our neighbor, but man is unable to do this after his deep fall. By nature we are people who are filled only with selflove and who are seekers of our own honor. So it was also in the life of the Corinthians to whom Paul wrote his epistle. The city of Corinth was filled with sin, but there were people there who still had to be saved. We hope that there are such people here in Grand Rapids also. It was not easy for Paul to preach in Corinth, but the Lord had comforted the apostle with the words, “I have much people in this city.”

The conversion of a soul is the work of Christ. We cannot bring one sinner to the feet of Christ because as servants of God we are prone to all evil ourselves. It is all the work of Christ, who said, “Lo I come, in the volume of the book it is written of Me.” A loving Christ was revealed to Zacheus, to Levi, to Mary Magdalene, and to many others. We see this love especially revealed at the end of Christ’s life, where we see that He gave His life for His sheep. There it was seen that the love of Christ has no beginning and no end.

The love of Christ can be explained in two ways. We may speak in the first place of the love of Christ as the love from Christ to His children— that one-sided love of Christ to the sinner. The love of Christ can also be explained as the love of a sinner to Christ, because where the love of Christ is shed abroad in the heart, it cannot be that such a poor sinner will not love the Lord. That work of the Holy Spirit is experimentally known in the heart of God’s people. Thus I hope to preach about what is contained in that love, how a rich Christ becomes so necessary to a poor sinner, and how these two come together.

A sinner must experience, by the mirror of the law, that he is a wretch before God. Have you ever become a sinner before a holy and a righteous God? Then there comes that convicting work of the Spirit. But has there also come a time in your life when the love of God was shed abroad in your heart? The love of Christ breaks the heart, something the law of God cannot do. Then we will have a love for God’s service and His Word. Such a people come with empty hands, lost in themselves. We hope we may find such people here.

Our words are too poor to express the love of Christ. Christ went through death and hell to find and save His flock, which includes lambs and sheep. I hope that I may receive grace to give milk to the little ones in grace, but also to feed the sheep of the flock. Above all, may the love of Christ constrain us. We will speak briefly of that in our second point.

The word “constrain” is also used in Luke 24, where we read of the two men on the way to Emmaus. We read, “And they constrained Him.” It is as if they said, “Please do not leave us, but abide with us.” I hope that something of that love of Christ will be in my heart in my work among you, because if I have to do it myself, it will be impossible. Time and again Christ must become precious also for us, so we may bring that message to the flock. May the Lord use us to the extension of His kingdom. As Rutherford said, “If my work among you would be for the conversion of one soul, that would be the crown of my ministry.”

The apostle Paul speaks in the plural here: “The love of Christ constraineth us.” Paul, Timothy, Titus, and Apollos had different gifts, but they all had the same love of Christ. On the one hand, we must bring before you the terror of the law, but on the other hand, the love of Christ. How can I do this? for I have nothing of myself to feed you. In short, I am nothing without the love of Christ. Only with that love can our task become possible, and then it may be a pleasure! Oh, congregation, pray that our hearts may be filled with the love of God. The world sings, “All you need is love,” with man in the center, but what we really need is the love of Christ. What shall it be to go lost after having heard all our lives of this love! In order to know something of that love, however, we must first know ourselves in our misery, for only then will Christ and His love become precious to us. Pray that the Lord may convert you as He converts all His people. Then we may say with Paul, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”

Rev. Zippro then thanked Rev. Vogelaar for installing him, and for his advice and kind words. He brought the greetings from the classis representatives and ministers in the Netherlands. He then thanked the congregation of Beckwith for their warm welcome and the gifts of love received, and, addressing the consistory, he expressed his hope that they might work together in maintaining the old truths. He addressed his wife and spoke parting words to those of his family who would return to Holland, including his oldest daughter and her husband, and his mother-in-law, the widow of the late Rev. Hakkenberg. In conclusion, he read from Romans 11:36, “For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things, to whom be glory for ever. Amen.”

Afterwards, various speakers spoke words of welcome from the different classes. Rev. H. D. den Hollander spoke on behalf of Classis East, Rev. E. C. Adams on behalf of Classis Midwest, and Rev. C. Sonnevelt on behalf of Classis Far West. Elder Dick Spaans addressed our new minister on behalf of our consistory and congregation, and then after exhorting us to pray for our new minister, he requested everyone to sing Psalter 398, stanza 2, standing. Rev. Zippro thanked all the speakers, and after the singing of Psalter 196, he pronounced the benediction for the first time in his new congregation.

Book Review

At Thy Sacred Altar Bending, Volumes 1 and 2

As you may have read in our May issue of the Banner of Truth, the second volume of At Thy Sacred Altar Bending has finally become available. The translation has been a long process. Volumes 1 and 2 include all the churches of the Netherlands Reformed Congregations on six continents and in nine nations: the Netherlands, Belgium, the United States, Canada, Bolivia, South Africa, Nigeria, Indonesia, and New Zealand. These churches make up four independent denominations, yet they are formally affiliated through official ties of correspondence. Volume 1 covers the churches from A to M, and volume 2 from M to Z.

Each of these volumes carries the subtitle, “A Daily Devotional and Church Directory, with an Explanation of our Liturgy.” These volumes explain:

• Where we worship, with many pictures and data from each church;

• How we worship, with an explanation of the various aspects of our worship;

• What we hear, by means of meditations from the Psalms;

• Those who minister among us, by means of names, pictures, offices, and dates.

The meditations in volume 1 are from Psalms 1 through 75, and those in volume 2 from Psalms 76 through 150. They can be used for daily devotional reading.

Rev. De Jongste also gives a very interesting and extensive explanation of the liturgy of our worship services. He writes about the Lord’s day, church buildings, and their interiors. In a very practical manner he writes about the order of the services, but also, for instance, about organs, official clothing, and many other matters. He informs us about the meaning and intent of the votum and salutation, singing, Scripture reading, the ministry of prayer, offerings, the Word of God, and the blessing on the congregation, adapting volume two as much as possible to the American and Canadian churches. In conclusion he addresses the readers personally to consider what each has done with what he has heard in church. His expositions are very instructive.

These books may also serve to emphasize what we have in common in spite of differences among languages and cultures. It is my wish that God may bless them to the strengthening of mutual ties in a time of increasing individualism and forceful attacks on doctrines and lifestyles that we believe are based on Scripture. We hope that all the consistories will order a considerable number of two-volume sets for their members who have just made confession of faith.

The books can be ordered from Mr. Dick den Breejen, 37 Fredon-Marksboro Road, Fredon, NJ 07860-5014; phone (973) 940-1229; fax (973) 940-2839; e-mail . To keep shipping costs at a minimum, it is advisable for members of each congregation to order together. Let our consistories promote the purchase of this worthwhile reading material, also by coordinating these orders.

We heartily recommend these books.

— Rev. C. Vogelaar

Curatorium Announcement

At the meeting of the Curatorium held on May 17, no students were accepted to attend our Theological School. At the prayer service the prior evening, Rev. P. L. Bazen spoke on the words of the Lord Jesus to His disciples, but also to us, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38). May that need be bound upon the hearts of young and old. The Lord was in times past, but is also today, the Hearer of the suppliant’s prayer, and may we therefore seek His gracious aid (Psalter 168).

The Lord willing, Rev. G. M. de Leeuw, as clerk of the Curatorium, will provide an article in our next issue with further comments.

65th Wedding Anniversary

The Lord willing, on July 30, 2006,
our dear parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents,

Mr. and Mrs. Gerrit & Jeannette Van Den Top

hope to commemorate
their 65th wedding anniversary.

It is our hope and prayer that, in the
climbing of their years, the Lord
may bless them and their children
in all their needs for time and eternity.

“The secret of the LORD is with them that
fear Him; and He will show them His covenant”
(Psalm 25:14).

811 Heritage Drive, #811
Rock Valley, Iowa 51247

50th Wedding Anniversary

The Lord willing, on June 26, 2006,
our dear parents, grandparents,
and great-grandparents,

Mr. and Mrs. Henry Frens

hope to commemorate
their 50th wedding anniversary.

We pray that the Lord may guide and
bless them in the unknown future.

“And he said unto Him, If Thy presence
go not with me, carry us not up hence”
(Exodus 33:15).

N3305 Cattaraugus Road
Waupun, Wisconsin 53963

50th wedding Anniversary

The Lord willing, on July 10, 2006,
our dear parents and grandparents,

Gilbert and Loraine Hoogendoorn

hope to commemorate
their 50th wedding anniversary.

We pray the Lord will remember them
in the unknown future.

“What shall I render unto the LORD
for all His benefits toward me?”
(Psalm 116:12).

712 20th Avenue S.E.
Rock Valley, Iowa 51247

55th Wedding Anniversary

The Lord willing, on July 2, 2006,
our dear parents, grandparents,
and great-grandparents,

Mr. and Mrs. Ben & Tini Hakkenberg

hope to commemorate
their 55th wedding anniversary.

It is our wish and prayer that the Lord may
guide and bless them in the unknown future.

“They that trust in the LORD shall be as
mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but
abideth for ever. As the mountains are round
about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about
His people from henceforth even for ever”
(Psalm 125:1-2).

102-47 Main Street East. P. O. Box 694,
Norwich, Ontario N0J1P0

Youth Conferences

Chilliwack Youth Camp Conference

The Chilliwack Youth Camp Conference is planned for this summer, D. V., at the same location as in previous years, the Bear Paw Retreat and Conference Center, which is near the Washington/Idaho border. The conference extends from Tuesday afternoon, July 18, through Friday morning, July 21. Bus (or van) transportation is arranged by the local congregations, and those planning to attend should contact the conference coordinator to make arrangements for transportation. Total conference cost is $100 (U.S.) or $125 (Canadian) per person. For more information and/or a registration packet, please call Mrs. Katrina Maljaars, phone (604) 794-7145, fax (604) 824-8759, e-mail .

Classis East

Classis East hopes to have their Youth Conference on Saturday, July 15, in Norwich, Ontario, starting at 9:30 a.m. All young people 16 years and older are invited to attend, also from other Classes of our denomination. Registration will begin later Friday afternoon at the school (behind the church), where the participants will be welcomed. They will be directed to either of two locations for supper and activities. On Saturday the speakers will be Rev. J. Spaans and Mr. Case Den Dekker. A sing-along will follow the evening service on Sunday. For further information or accommodations, please contact Mr. Rob Fallowfield, (519) 424-2750, or Mr. Steve Van Brugge, (519) 863-5276.

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen