The words of our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ – “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15b) – should always bear rule on our hearts. It is our Lord’s mandate to His people that His Gospel is to be offered to the whole world. The Lord, in His divine sovereignty, has ordained the means of salvation of all His elect in all nations of the world through worldwide preaching of the Gospel of Christ.
Those words of Christ give the Gospel work a global scope. The Gospel of Jesus Christ must be extended beyond all boundaries, divisions and classes. The whole world is to be reached with the Gospel. When it comes to our commitment to spread the Gospel, it should not be subject to limitations of country, distinctions of culture, barriers of ethnicity, or restraints of language. Wherever there is man, Christians should attempt to bring the Gospel. Our Lord has commanded us to constantly expand our vision for the Gospel outreach.
It is gross disobedience to limit our attempt to spread the Gospel beyond our region. We must be ever ready to forward the Gospel to new frontiers. No one who takes the words of the Lord seriously can remain passive about the global advancement of the Gospel. World missions being entrusted to the church would mean that we send men with the Gospel to people far and wide (Rom. 10:14–17).
Christians must know that they are commissioned by their Lord and Saviour to be wholly involved in the global movement for the Gospel. They must join forces, as God has enabled them, with the rest of the church to send forth the Gospel everywhere. Every Christian should be involved in this divine global endeavour. Though not every Christian is called to be an evangelist or missionary or preacher, every Christian and every church must joyfully yield to advance the Gospel across the world.
Christian mothers and fathers must teach their children the importance of global missions. They must in their homes pray for the missionaries and mission works. The parents must discuss with the children how they can be involved or play a part in the mission works of their churches. Pastors and elders must make sure that their congregations are part of church-planting ministries around the world by sending and supporting missionaries.
The preaching of the Gospel is the greatest work that Christ has entrusted to Christians. Therefore, all true Christians must enthusiastically give themselves to making Gospel preaching a worldwide movement. It must be their joy to be part of the Lord’s grand plan for redeeming sinners, and for gathering them as His saints for the eternal celestial home which He is preparing. The apostle Paul asks us, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:14-15).
Our Lord says to us, “Go!” Will we then answer Him, “No, we will stay back or hold back…”? Our Lord’s charge is that we must always be committed to spreading the Gospel. Let us arise then and go to preach the Gospel to the uttermost part of the world. Let us do our part for global evangelism.
Prayer is very vital in the fulfilment of Gospel missions. This is because firstly, world evangelism is God’s plan. Moreover, it is God who acts through His servants, who proclaim the Gospel to save and make disciples from every tongue, tribe, people, and nation, that churches may be established everywhere. Without God, we can do nothing in the work of the Gospel everywhere. “So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:7).
When we pray to God for global missions, we acknowledge Him as the true Architect and Builder of missions. We pray to Him for missions, humbly acknowledging that we are depending on and yielding to His plans for the salvation of souls in all the world. Prayer has a great deal to do with missions. The success of all real missionary efforts is dependent on prayer.
An important part of our church prayer meeting on Tuesday night is given to seek the Lord’s help and blessings for our church’s various missions around the world. I urge you to be there for the prayer meeting, and to give yourselves in prayer for this great work of global missions.
I praise the Lord for sending people from the neighbourhood of the new mission station. The Lord brought 5 teens and 3 adults from Macayug last Lord’s Day. Most of the children attending the Junior Worship over the years have also come from that neighbourhood. In fact, some of those children, who have grown up, are now attending our adult worship services. At present, 12 out of 15 children who are regularly attending the Junior Worship are newcomers.
Last week, God has enabled us to visit the homes of brethren who come from Binalonan and Asingan. Thank God for the strength and provision to share God’s Word with them.
Incidentally, I noticed that many from the cultic church of Mormons are making frequent home visitations in Macayug. They usually conduct their studies on the weekdays and Sundays. They visit the homes of poor people, especially those with disabilities. May the Lord help me to warn the people about their lies and introduce the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I praise the Lord for the labour of Bro Jumar and Bro Kyt in fetching the brethren using their own vehicles. Bro Kyt is bringing our brethren from Binday while Bro Jumar is ferrying the brethren from Villasis. They did not require the church to pay them for the service. Thank God they are very happy serving the Lord in this ministry. However, with the recent higher costs of diesel and gasoline, I gave them a fuel subsidy of PHP2,000 to help them with the surging costs. God willing, the subsidy will be given to them monthly as a token of thanksgiving for their labour.
Jesher (my son) is now in the last stages of his Primary 1 studies. They have only three weeks left for this school year. We are planning to transfer him to another school because his school is only Christian in name. I feel very uncomfortable when the teachers introduce worldly songs and activities to the class. Most teachers are also not Christians, but from Roman Catholic, Jehovah’s Witness and Iglesia ni Cristo (another cultic church) backgrounds. May the Lord guide us to find a good Christian School for him.
(Pastor’s Note: Pr Donald dela Cruz updates us frequently with reports of the Gospel work in the Pangasinan area of the Philippines. The above report was sent to us last week. We thank God for brethren like Jumar and Kyt, whom the Lord has blessed with spiritual fervour and faithfulness while they were working here in Singapore. Having returned to their homes in Pangasinan, they now fervently serve the Lord, along with Pr Donald. Let us also remember and pray for Pr Donald’s wife, Sis Se Jin, and their son, Jesher).