Installation and Inaugural Services for Rev. van Ruitenburg

The Installation Service

Rev. H. Hofman, as former pastor, led this special service for the Chilliwack congregation, on December 11, 1996, to install Rev. P. van Ruitenburg as its new pastor. After the votum and salutation, the congregation sang Psalter 368, all stanzas. Scripture reading was from Deuteronomy 18:13-22, and Rev. Hofman led in congregational prayer, followed by Psalter 421:1-3. The text for this service was Deuteronomy 18:18-19, “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put My words in His mouth; and He shall speak unto them all that I shall command Him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which He shall speak in My Name, I will require it of him.”

The theme of the sermon was “The prophetical office of Jesus Christ,” and Rev. Hofman explained it in the following three points:

1) The authority of this office;

2) The message of this office; and

3) The responsibility of this office.

A summary of the sermon is as follows:

Rev. van Ruitenburg, consistory, and congregation, the Word of God comes to all of us on this special occasion. When a minister may be installed in your midst, this is not a work of man. It is the work and word of God. It is my desire to speak of the word and work of Jesus Christ, which is the only source of strength and light, both for this brother in the ministry and for the congregation.

Our text is prophetic of Jesus Christ. We know this from Acts 3:2223, and again from Acts 7:37, where this prophecy is specifically applied to Christ. Our text refers to Jesus Christ, and it is His work that Rev. van Ruitenburg will commence among you. A prophet is one who speaks in God’s Name and with God’s authority. God spoke through prophets in the Old Testament, who proclaimed, “Thus saith the Lord.” Jesus continued to teach during His ministry on earth, and He still teaches from heaven today by giving “some, pastors and teachers” (Ephesians 4:11b).

What a wonder that God will use men to bring His Word! Brother van Ruitenburg is called and sent to this flock to preach the words of life and grace in Jesus Christ, to stand between the congregation and God. We may tremble when we think of standing between God and the congregation. Isaiah declared, “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5). But our text states, “I will put My words in his mouth.” That is our comfort. We do not need to be afraid, when called and sent by God, for He will give His Words and His authority to speak His Word.

Brother, not only on the pulpit, but also in the study, and especially on your knees, you need to listen to what the Lord will say. He will give you your message to bring. He knows the needs, burdens, tears, and heart concerns of this flock. You can trust Him. As servants, we can plant and water, but God alone must give the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6). You are responsible to bring God’s message, but not for the fruits. You can trust the Lord. There are difficulties with the language and with our own incapabilities, but the Lord is able. “I will put My word in his mouth.” The words of God are not always pleasant, but the messenger must be faithful to speak that which he has heard from the Lord.

Congregation, in such a way you must receive this servant. Carry him upon the wings of prayer. Do not expect it from him, but from his Sender. Receive him as one who speaks the Word of God. In attending the church services or other church functions, is it to hear the Word of God from this servant of God? Then church becomes a real sanctuary, a Holy of Holies. The Lord did not give you over to self or Satan, but He has something to say to you. There is a message. The gospel speaks of an open fountain of blood. In the name of his Sender, this blood will be sprinkled upon the congregation. Sin will be reproved, the Word explained, and the church edified. Hungry and thirsty souls may be brought to the river to drink. The sincere milk of the Word will be provided for the lambs of the flock. The Word of God is like a two-edged sword, to cut off all that is of man and to remove all the fig leaves of our self-righteousness. We cannot please God apart from the blood of Christ. I cannot explain how good the Lord is! He has not forgotten you. He has provided another servant. There is work for him to do. God has sent him to provide for your needs. He comes with authority — God has sent him. He comes with a message — “I will put My words in his mouth.”

What is your responsibility? “Him shall ye hear.” The servant brings God’s message to the flock. Every time the pastor stands here and you sit there, congregation, you hear the Word of God. He is carrying the words of God. You must listen to, receive, and hearken to this Word. To hearken to the Word is to be pricked in your heart. Not one word is spoken in vain. It either hardens or softens. You must do something with this Word. The words of Peter on the day of Pentecost were sharp: “Ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain” the Lord of glory (Acts 2:23b). But what was the result? “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37).

I hope and pray that the words of your new pastor may have this effect, and that some, pricked in their heart, may come to him, asking, “What must I do to be saved?” Then the Lord shall open his mouth (when the hammer and sword have done their work) to proclaim, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” Many gladly received this word and came to be washed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Thus the kingdom of Christ was extended.

Congregation, hearken to the Word of God. Your minister will bring God’s Word. Receive it as such, and so God’s Name may be glorified.

After the singing of Psalter 349:34, Rev. Hofman read the Form for the Ordination of a Minister of the Word, and its questions, to which Rev. Van Ruitenburg responded, “Yes, with my whole heart.” The new minister and his congregation were then addressed with personal words by their former minister. The service was then closed with prayer, the singing of Psalter 428:5, the doxology, and the benediction.

The Inaugural Service

Rev. van Ruitenburg, as newly-installed pastor, led this special service, his first as minister of the Chilliwack congregation. After the votum and salutation, the congregation sang Psalter 19:2-3. Articles 1-3 from the First Head of Doctrine of the Canons of Dordt were read, followed by Scripture reading from Isaiah 55. He then offered prayer, followed by the singing of Psalter 48:5-7.

In his introductory remarks, Rev. van Ruitenburg stated, “I believe that the Lord has formed a bond between you and me. The Lord invited me. The Lord said that I must go, and I could not refuse. And now I am installed here by your former pastor. I feel incapable, not only language-wise, but also incapable to bring the gospel message into the hearts of sinners and to lead and guide God’s children. Our hope and comfort for the future lies in God. ‘The things which are impossible with men are possible with God’ (Luke 18:27). Do not place your expectation in this installed servant, nor let me place expectation in you. May our hope and expectation be in God.”

Rev. van Ruitenburg’s text for this service was Isaiah 55:5, “Behold, Thou shalt call a nation that Thou knowest not, and nations that knew not Thee shall run unto Thee because of the LORD Thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for He hath glorified Thee.” The theme of the sermon was: “Nations called by Christ because of God.” His sermon contained the following points: 1) Nations in misery; 2) Christ’s call is effectual; and 3) The Lord God — the fountain of peace.

Congregation, unknown persons cannot be loved. There is a distance between them. You will not give an unknown person, a stranger, a key to your home. If someone is not loved much, there is generally little concern for him.

By nature we are all strangers to God. We are not loved. As sinners, we lie under the wrath and curse of God. We are alienated from God as rebels. We are “a nation that Thou knowest not.” Who is this “Thou”? He is the Lord Jesus Christ. By nature, we are strangers; we are not in fellowship with Christ. This is a terrible condition. We are a people, a nation in misery. Having no communion with God, we lie outside of His favor. We are such that He could rightly testify, “Depart from Me, all ye workers of iniquity” (Luke 13:27b).

Certainly, Christ knows all our names, our addresses, our sins. But we are not His acquaintance, His children. Do we know this? We can feel the consequences of sin, but do we feel the burden of being under God’s disfavor? Do we know what it means to be without Christ, that He knoweth us not? Conversely, we can also say that we do not know Jesus Christ — “nations that knew not Thee.” It appears so hopeless, so impossible. There is a great gap between God and us, that we cannot jump over or wipe away.

No minister can clear away this separation. Maybe he can stir some emotions, but he cannot convert one soul. So do not place your expectation in your new minister. I do not know everyone in the congregation, but I may fear that there are many who do not know God and whom God does not know as His children. I carry a burden for the unconverted. But that which is impossible with man is possible with God.

Christ’s call is effectual. Our text does not read, “You shall call,” but “Thou [Christ] shalt call” and they “shall run unto Thee.” Jesus Christ shall call unknown nations, He shall call sinners to salvation. Not your minister, but Jesus, as the great Office-bearer, will call His people. His call is an effectual call. They “shall run unto” Him. In our text, this refers to God’s internal, irresistible call. Shall those who hear His call refuse? Shall they walk slowly? No, they “shall run” to the Lord.

We must take God’s outward, His external, call seriously. Also tonight God calls you, “Incline your ear, and come unto Me” (Isaiah 55:3a). While this call is serious and important, we can resist it. We need the inward, irresistible call. Christ’s effectual call conquers the hostility of our hearts; it calls the dead to life. This is our comfort, congregation, that our expectation is not from each other, but from God. “He shall call” and “they shall run.” His Word shall not return void. “So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).

Do you know something of this, congregation? Do you find that you cannot resist any longer? As a convicted sinner who cannot escape a well-deserved punishment, do you run when this call comes? You run, not slowly, not tomorrow, but today — immediately. See this with Levi. Jesus called, and immediately he left all and followed Him. Have you run? What do you think of Christ?

Unconverted sinner, you are yet on the broad way which leads to destruction. “Incline your ear, and come unto Me: hear, and your soul shall live” (Isaiah 55:3a). You have nothing good to give to the Lord, but only sin. The Lord grant you to hear and to run immediately. That is the work of God and His grace. This expectation in what God will do encourages us.

Why run unto Him? This is our third thought. It is because He is the Lord God — the fountain of peace. Theologians distinguish between the moving cause and the meriting cause of salvation. The moving cause lies in a Triune God. It is because of Himself. There are no reasons in you or me. The Lord loves Himself and will glorify His attributes. Because He loves to give grace to sinners, He will call them, and they shall glorify Him. In this moving cause lies the immovable foundation of the gospel. It is “because of the Lord thy God,” for “He hath glorified Thee.” He hath glorified the Lord Jesus Christ — the meriting cause. Christ paid the price for His flock with His blood. He cried out on the cross, “It is finished.” Because of these moving and meriting causes, the work shall prosper, and sinners shall be saved.

My farewell text in Dordrecht was Psalm 93:1a, “The Lord reigneth.” Because He reigneth, His work shall go forward. Many shall run unto Him. Do you know something of this? God’s people know of all their ways being cut off and of a running to the only way — Jesus Christ. May many poor, needy, filthy, unrighteous sinners be drawn to this merciful Savior.

After the singing of Psalter 176:1 by the congregation, Rev. Van Ruitenburg spoke some personal words to Rev. Hofman for installing him, to the congregation and consistory, to the many visitors from other congregations, and to his wife and children.

He then gave an opportunity to others to extend a word of greeting. Rev. J. Spaans of Norwich, Ontario, spoke on behalf of Synod and Classis East; Rev. H. Overduin on behalf of the Free Reformed congregations; Elder J. Slingerland on behalf of the Classis Farwest and our Lethbridge congregation; and Elder Stolk of Dordrecht, the Netherlands. Elder J. den Bok of the Chilliwack congregation then addressed their new minister on behalf of congregation and consistory, welcoming him and his family into their midst. He urged the congregation to bring their minister to the throne of grace, and then requested the singing of Psalter 374:1 and 5.

After the singing, Rev. Van Ruitenburg sincerely thanked the speakers for their kind words and expressed his desire that the Lord might grant their fulfillment. He then led in prayer. This memorable service was concluded by the singing of the doxology in Psalter 197 and the application of the benediction.

Installation of Rev. G. M. de Leeuw

The Lord willing, Rev. De Leeuw’s installation in the congregation of Lethbridge will take place on Wednesday, January 29, at 2 o’clock in the afternoon. His inaugural sermon will then be at 7:30 in the evening of the same day. The address of Rev. and Mrs. De Leeuw will be 820 7th Street N., Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada T1H 1Y7, and their phone number will be (403) 327-8037.

Anniversary and other announcements will be placed upon request. A donation for their placement would be appreciated. For consistency, size is limited. Requests for placement should be made by the 15th of the month prior to the month of publication.

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