June 14, 2020

Many Shall Come from the East & the West!

Written by:
Rev (Dr) Prabhudas Koshy

While rebuking the unbelief of the Jews, Jesus said to them that "…many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 8:11). The Lord means not only those who are geographically far away from Israel, but also those who have been far away spiritually, like the Gentiles, will become heirs of His kingdom by faith in the Gospel. What a grand, glorious prophecy was that! It is His plan to draw many from the Gentile world that lay in spiritual darkness and alienation from Him into His glorious kingdom.

That prophecy has been steadily worked out through His faithful servants since He uttered those words. Jesus also said how God would gather a great multitude from all the corners of the world at His coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory – "he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matthew 24:31).

To bring all His people into His kingdom, He tells His servants, "Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled" (Luke 14:23). Jesus wants us to "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). Every faithful church and every genuine Christian cannot lose this perspective that Jesus has placed before His followers.

We have a great vision and responsibility from the Lord concerning global evangelism. Like the apostles and all the faithful, fervent Christians of yesteryears, we must press forward to spread the Word all around the world. We should spare no effort in the work of the world evangelisation.

We must be ready to thrust forward when God opens the doors of the Gospel for us, and prepares us with convictions and capabilities to do whatever He would lead us for the extension of His kingdom. We must believe that His purposes shall not fail. And when He bids us do His will, we must count it a great privilege and honour to give all that He requires of us, knowing that we are given the honour to be part of His great plan for the redemption of a people whom He wants us to reach for His name’s sake.

To the unbelieving and disobedient Jews, Jesus said, "Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof" (Matthew 21:43). May we never be a spiritually barren people, lest the Lord’s judgment be upon us for wasting the opportunities and resources (which He has graciously afforded us) for selfish and worldly purposes. Instead of being accursed for wilful barrenness, may we expect His blessing as we yield our all to serve Him and be fruitful. May we be warned: when He looks for the fruit in us, if we are found to be like the fruitless fig tree, He will pronounce His curse upon us (cf. Matthew 21:19)!

A sacred compulsion is laid upon our hearts by our great Saviour and Lord. May the persistent love of our Lord work through us to call sinners from eternal damnation, and out of their guilt, shame, misery into His kingdom of light. One day soon, "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever" (Revelation 11:15). The Biblical vision that compels us forward in the global expansion of our church ministry is: "for all nations shall come and worship before thee" (Revelation 15:4). Indeed, "All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee" (Psalm 22:27). Let us not hesitate to continue to give ourselves to the redemption of sinners, so that worship of the LORD may arise all around the world.

Let every child of God yield to the Spirit’s leading in his or her heart concerning the part He wants us to contribute in the global Gospel outreach. Continue to pray earnestly for all our preachers and missionaries, mission churches, the Bible Witness magazine, web-radio, internet ministry, media ministry, Gethsemane Bible Institutes, and for all the local evangelistic efforts through TGCM, the campus ministries, Lions Home for the Elders, door-to-door evangelism, etc.

Mission Needs:

There are three areas that the Board of Elders would like to call for your continued support.

  1. Cebu Building Project: We prayerfully hope to raise S$2 million, within the next 5 years, to have a building to accommodate the church and GBI ministries, and if possible, the TGCM (Cebu) as well.
  2. San Antonio Worship Hall: A small structure, which was built by our late missionary on his family property, has been dilapidated after being bombarded by several typhoons over the past several years. It has become necessary to fence up the compound to prevent some from misusing the place. It would cost about S$30,000/-.
  3. A Vehicle for the Vizag Mission: To help the Gospel work carried out by Pr Sujith Samuel, our elders have decided to raise about S$ 30,000/-.

Let us pray earnestly for the above needs, and support with whatever the Lord help us to give.

Gethsemane Bible-Presbyterian Church adheres to the system of faith commonly known as the “Reformed Faith” as expressed in the Westminster Confession of Faith together with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms.
Our Worship Address
SingPost Centre
Level 5 Auditorium
10 Eunos Road 8, Singapore 408600
(next to Paya Lebar MRT station)
Our mailing address
Gethsemane Media Centre
33 Ubi Crescent
Singapore 408584
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