Fatherhood and the theology it teaches...

As many of you are aware, I have had quite a momentous week also. Katarina (my wife) gave birth to a healthy baby boy, at 11:36pm Sunday night. We have had a great week settling in as a family and sincerely appreciate all your heartfelt congratulations and encouragements.

I remember saying to a friend of mine, that I couldn't wait to become a father because of all the new sermon illustrations it would provide me with.

Well what I should have said was, I cant wait to become a father knowing all the GOOD THEOLOGY I will TEACH me.

On the 1st Day of our baby boy’s earthly life there was a powerful lesson to experience.

Our baby was born with some amniotic fluid on the lungs and the Doctors wanted him to spend some time in the special care nursery for observation.

They began to put in an IV line (drip) and the nurses were having a horrible time getting a needle into one of his soft little veins. There I was standing over his crib talking to him and telling him its going to be ok and all the while he was screaming and writhing in fear of this unknown experience called pain. I left the room and left Katarina (my wife) there to attend to the little guy as my eyes welled up in tears. I felt helpless and a failure. Here was this special little guy who was my son, being put through unimaginable pain (in his context) and it was beyond what I could bare. Katarina later found me, in the hallway of the hospital and asked me if I was doing ok. I reassured her I’d be ok, and then asked her what she thought it must have felt like to be the Father God, looking down at His One and only Son, suffering the wrath and vengeance sin deserved upon the cross?

I now have a fresh and sharper insight [thought still horribly inadequate] into the suffering of the Father in those, world changing moments.

God Bless you all,

Craig Ireland

Knox Matias Ireland - born; 09/05/10 at 11:20pm (My 1st Born Child)

“Knox is kind of a weird name?” Some say, here’s my response,

My 1st born son, who is now 1 day 4 hrs old, was named in honour of John Knox 1510 – 1572, who was a student of the condemned reformers against the oppressive & murderously diabolical Catholic Church. He spent time as a galley slave and in exile because, in spite of massive pressure imposed upon him by foolish and evil dictators, Knox would not bow... See more or relent in his goal of reforming his nation. He (almost single handily) led Scotland to spiritual reformation and revival.

One astute observer, eulogised whilst gazing at the grave of this powerful weapon of God,” Here lies one who neither flattered nor feared any flesh.”

It was said of him, "Scotland has erected no monument on the grave of John Knox, for Scotland is his monument. He was courageous and true.”

The Fool Defending the Grave of a Dead Man,

How much of a fool would I look like if I was seen sitting on the grave of a dead man with a weapon in hand, and was claiming, with unflinching determination to defend the dead man with all my concerted energies?

Would I not then look like a man gone mad? Of course I would. Because dead men need no defending, they're already dead. The worst thing that can ever actually happen to them, mortally speaking, has already happened (die).

I reflect on this when I consider my own passionate and fleshly desire to so-often defend myself.

Whether it be defending myself against false accusations, defamation or something silly like having a dispute with my wife and being oh-so determined to be right, simply because I am addicted to being RIGHT.

So who am I defending? Well a dead man of course!

• Am I not dead in Christ?
• Am I not dead to the world and it's foolish, empty accusations?
• Am I not dead to the lusts of the flesh?
• Am I not dead to the inner pride that demands to be defended?
• Am I not dead, and have my life hidden with Christ in God?

Col 3:3 "For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God."

So often I'm just no,t and I desire true and thorough repentance for being a mad man, sitting on the grave of a dead man, determined to be his defence.

Sure there are times when defending oneself is necessary and even helpful to others, but for me it's deeper then that and if I just relied upon that excuse every time I wanted to justify myself in my defence I know I was being hypocritical. My defence stems right from the root of my fleshly heart, which demands to be right and seen as right for all to notice.

Please help me Lord?

God bless you & thanks for reading this small confession.

Craig Ireland

How to Avoid Assuming the Gospel

In Marks of the Messenger: Knowing, Living, and Speaking the Gospel (IVP, 2010), J. Mack Stiles sets out something I’ve heard Don Carson say a number of times: “Losing the gospel doesn’t happen all at once, it’s much more like a four generation process too:

The gospel is accepted —>

The gospel is assumed —>

The gospel is confused —>

The gospel is lost.”

How do you know if your church is beginning to assume the gospel? The answer, Stiles says, is when you no longer hear the gospel. He asks a series of diagnostic questions:

Was the gospel in the sermon Sunday morning?

Could the uninitiated hear that sermon and come to real faith in Christ?

Are gospel principles governing organizational decisions?

Do you hear the gospel in people’s prayers?

Does your fellowship encourage you to say the gospel? And then is it more than just a memorized sketch? Sure, it may follow the form of “God, Man, Christ, Response,” but is it in people’s own words?

Furthermore, do you see it in their actions? Is the gospel lived out?

Is membership based on a true commitment to the gospel or just because someone wants to join an organization—or maybe write an expose?

The healthy evangelist is asking these questions and looking for answers so as to guard the gospel. Here is the critical test.

Could you have preached that sermon if Christ had not died on the cross?

Could you have developed that leadership principle had Christ not been crucified?

I’m not saying be impractical—the Bible has much to say about being practical—but make sure that the practical is tied to the message of Jesus. Otherwise we are on the road to an assumption that will lose the gospel.

(p. 41, my emphasis)

May God give us grace to be men, women, and children of, by, and for the gospel!

Soli Deo Gloria!

A Mission trip review - Thailand, Cambodia, Burma 2009

Missions trip review April/May 2009,

Let me firstly introduce the team for you. accompanying me was, Rhoison Harris, Patrick McConnell and Luke Stewart.
We had made a mad rush back in Australia in the final week of preparation to print, fold and staple as many of the tracts (A pamphlet containing a gospel message) as humanly possible. We employed many volunteers to assist with the venture and when we left Australia we were armed with around 3700 Thai tracts and 1200 English ones.

We were on a trip to evangelise the native peoples of Thailand, Cambodia and Burma, with the distribution of around 1000 English tracts in Singapore on the flight stopover. This work is essentially scattering seed. Because we were limited in our modes of gospel presentation, we assumed it best to have the message of the gospel written in the local languages to distribute, in pamphlet form, to all who would take one. I wouldn’t suggest this is the best mode of evangelism, but one that is indispensible none the less. I believe all Christians are to be preachers and they must preach the gospel wherever and however they can.

Our plan was to spend our first week in Bangkok sharing Jesus (via tracts/pamphlets) on the streets and this we ventured upon with much vigour.

My journal had this entry from our first week in Bangkok preaching on the street with tracts,

”God is great and we feel like we're really making an impact here. We went to a part of this city today called Siam and began to tract near the colleges where English is taught.”

Doing this provided us with the opportunity to engage the locals in discussion about faith and God. We would hand them a tract and anyone who responded with “thank you” (in English) we would ask if they spoke English and begin to share our message with them. We had some amazing conversations with many people this way.

In one part of town near our hotel there was a store owner who took exception to our practices and he came out and began shouting at us (in English) for handing out tracts outside his shop. He really gave us a scolding and told us to get moving and not to tract outside his shop. I apologised as nicely as I could and told him we meant him no trouble and we moved on. I guess it was our first and only real piece of persecution for the trip. All in all people were quite willing to take the tracts and they began reading them almost immediately. It was exciting to walk down a street handing out tracts and then make our way back up the street and many of the people had stopped what they were doing and were reading them. This made me very grateful to our Great God.

There are many other stories from our first week in Bangkok but to cut a long story short, over 4000 gospel tracts were distributed and dozens of conversations were entered into on that precious and eternal subject of salvation. We also made connections with many great people who are labouring in the vineyard of our Lord in that place

(God bless you all. We respect and appreciate every one of you, you know who you are. Thank you).

We arrived the following week in Phnom Phen which is capital of the Kingdom of Cambodia. We were taken to the province of Kâmpóng Cham which is about 3 hours drive NNE. There we met with the workers of the missions base called Heartland International Ministries. The base is also the building used for the Sunday services of the local church of the same name. This was going to be our home for the next week.

Cambodia touched all of our hearts. It’s one of those places in the world where the gospel would surely spread rapidly if there were enough labourers in the field. The Cambodians are a sincere, hospitable people who are eager to meet new people and talk about new things. We spent the majority of our time going from house to house and village to village preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. On some occasions we would pull up at a village and start playing music and sing and before long many people would gather around. They would enjoy the music and then we would give them all a tract and share the gospel with them. The pastors of the local church were gracious enough to accompany us and translate our message. This help was invaluable and for this we are extremely grateful.

We did this at one particular village and just pulled out a guitar and began to sing for any who would listen. A crowd began to gather and we shared the most glorious news they could ever hear: the gospel of Jesus Christ. Approximately 60-70 people listened quietly and took tracts from us. One lady who was sitting near me whilst I was preaching asked the local pastor to come back again and teach her more. She expressed a sincere interest in the things of God. “Oh God may you touch her heart and bring that seed planted in her spirit to full fruition.”

Then as we were finishing the message, three Buddhist Monks came our way walking down the dusty road. I motioned to one of our team to go to them and present them with a tract. They took it curiously and asked us what we were doing there. We replied that we were here sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with the people. The (seeming) leader of the three, who spoke English, then asked us what our plans were. We responded that we had no real plan but just wanted to preach to all who would listen. This seemed to please them and they asked us if we were willing to go to their monastery and preach to the Monks there. I couldn’t resist my excitement and answered with a resounding, “YES!” The monastery was quite a beautiful building, as they all are. No expense seems too great when building one of these places. They are lavish and an obvious paradox to the general humble abode the common people live in. We answered their questions about western life and why we had come to Cambodia what we planned to do and how we planned to do it. We answered plainly that we were preachers of Jesus Christ and had come to share His message to all who would listen. I then began to tell them about the great God, who is preeminent above all other gods. The one true God who would judge the world of their sin and render to them the punishment He had promised long before to all who would live ungodly lives. This seemed agreeable to them and then I began to share how this great and just God wouldn’t just sit by and see His whole creation slip into hell due to their own unrighteousness, but that He would in fact come Himself to this place in the form of a man (Jesus) and take the penalty they had earned from their evil deeds. I also shared that this Jesus died on a cross to take the place of all who would come to Him and believe in Him and follow Him; through repentance and faith. That this was all He required from anyone no matter what their race or religion, that He would accept all who would just humbly give their lives over to Him. And for those who don’t do this, He would punish them as their sins deserve in hell forever. They seemed interested in this theology and we began then to talk a little about Buddhism. I strived to show them that their religion was in fact unjust as there was no atonement for sins committed. Buddhism has five precepts that if broken will lead the guilty straight to hell. I asked the monks if they had broken any of these laws themselves before. They looked shocked that I would ask this and then their shock turned to embarrassment as they all admitted they had indeed been guilty. I then asked them what hope had they of redemption without a redeemer and this question seemed to pierce them more than any other. I told them about how great God was and that His greatness wasn’t just summed up in His high and lofty nature but that this God also condescended (became low) to our state and lived among His subjects so He could die to provide the atonement that all needed. I told them that they needed Jesus Christ as much as anyone else because they were guilty sinners. The main monk who spoke the most then confided to us that he had tried to read the Buddhist holy books and found them difficult to understand. I told him that the bible was God’s holy book and that he would find it easy to understand it if he read it with a humble heart. He then asked me if I could procure him a copy of it for him to read.

We soon left that place and I couldn’t help but be a little excited at the opportunity God had provided to us. We had ventured into the very jaws of the lion (the devil) and attempted to pull out those who were being deceived in to hell. My joy was full and brimming over that we had also seemed to make some significant impressions on them and they were going to pursue this truth for themselves. (now I just have to make sure that local Pastor DOES in fact return to give them a bible) .

After the preaching trip to the monastery we went to the hospital in the afternoon. It was the most putrid hospital one could imagine and defies description. It was simply foul! There were people dying all over the place. It was difficult to see them just lying in the intense heat on timber slats that were supposed to be beds. We made our way over to the AIDS ward and found the place almost empty except for one lady laying on one of the uncomfortable beds and suffering all the discomforts of HIV. She was lying in a contorted manner half naked, with her husband and mother there to nurse her. She might have been about 30-40 years of age. There seemed little to no life left in her and I began, through the interpreter, to preach the good news of Jesus Christ to her. She was receptive and told me that she wanted to be saved from her sins. I responded with the affirmation that Jesus Christ was able and willing to save her if she put all her trust in Him. She was certain that she would and we prayed together: it was an amazing experience. God will judge sincerity and I will rejoice that one so close to the judgement seat had made her peace and would now be received there with rejoicing. We then walked out the door and found the rest of the AIDS victims sitting down or hanging in hammocks on the porch of the hospital trying to find relief from the heat. I asked Rhoison to share with them all the message of Christ and he did a great job. They were all quite receptive. We left them with tracts and moved onto the trauma ward.

The trauma ward was quite a special experience. ‘Crazy’ and ‘mind-blowing’ are two adjectives that come to mind. We would go to one bed and ask the person laying there what they suffered from. This often wasn’t necessary as the wounds were commonly unattended to and glaringly apparent. The patients would just lay there waiting for their turn to be treated by the extremely short amount of staff. One young man obviously had a broken femur and the bone was pressing against his skin. He said that he had been in an accident and was waiting for his operation. I asked him how long had he been waiting there, and his answer blew me away… “Ten days,” was the reply… I couldn’t believe my ears. They would just give him enough pain killers to lay there on a timber bed for 10 days and wait his turn. He wasn’t the worse case we witnessed either, just the first. The stories seemed to go from bad to worse. Another man had breaks on his wrist, thigh and shin bones. He also had been waiting for days. We prayed for each one and shared Jesus with many, handing tracts out to any who would take them.

We approached a middle aged man who was laying in obvious agony. He had dressed wounds on his abdomen and it was revealed he had just had his appendix taken out. He was writhing in pain; fists clenched and face contorted. We asked him if he wanted us to pray for him and he was quite eager so we laid our hands on him and prayed a prayer to our God the healer. The man was very thankful, he took a tract, and we moved on to the next person. The next person also requested prayer. As I was praying for this person my eyes opened to look back at the last gentleman who was in so much agony. I was quite interested in how he was going as I felt very helpless. When I looked back at him he had a big smile on his face and his countenance had totally changed. I alerted my translator and he asked him if he felt better and the man said almost all the pain was gone. I marvelled all over again at the greatness of our God.

We offered many prayers for the sick that day as well as our primary business of preaching to all who would hear.
We returned to the missions base and had our dinner. On the missions trip program the nights are free but we were still very eager to go out village preaching again. We convinced some of the young guys to come out with us. They spoke very little English but we were willing to try anyway. The first house we stopped at we were made very welcome and the lady of the house went and got her neighbour so she could also hear the gospel as well. I tried almost in vain to preach to her through the interpreter. It turned out that she already considered herself a believer. I asked her had she been to the local church and she replied that she had no time for church as she had to work. I felt to press the believer’s obligation to be in constant Christian fellowship and never to grow habitual in church truancy (Heb 10:25). If she considered herself a follower of Jesus Christ then church attendance would naturally be a high priority. She listened and received my encouragement silently. I then asked her if she could read. She replied that she could and when I asked her if she had ever owned a bible, she said no. I told her I would get her one and it would be waiting for her that Sunday in the local church service if she could find the time to attend. I had the sense in my spirit that she really wasn’t a Christian at all. Sunday came and I was booked to preach in that very church. I had her bible ready and was somewhat doubtful whether she would even show up. I preached my sermon and the pastor came up and conducted an altar call for anyone who wanted to surrender their life to Christ. Low and behold there she was, coming forward as sincere as I ever saw anyone, offering herself wholly to Christ the great Saviour. I gave her the bible and my heart leaped with the most rapturous joy. Truly a brand plucked from the burning!

Our time in Cambodia was also taken up with visiting the slums and preaching the gospel to those desperate and utterly hopeless people. Along with the words of life we also gave them bags of rice to feed their belly.

Our last day in Cambodia entailed travelling the two and a half hours back to Phnom Phen (the capital). We had thousands of tracts to unload so we stopped along the way in some villages and literally canvassed the whole town with the good news of Jesus Christ.

We then left Cambodia and arrived in Chiang Rai the following morning. Chiang Rai is the northern most city in Thailand and not to be confused with the more well-known Chiang Mai. We connected with a missions base there and slept on the floor of the church building for the week. I shared earlier that before we embarked on our trip we printed folded and stapled most of our tracts ourselves. By the third week of our trip we had just three left! I asked the local pastor if there was a print shop handy that I could get more photocopied, he took me for a drive around to have a look. We found a place that would copy, fold staple for 1.6 Baht each,6 Australian cents! This was incredibly cheap so I asked him to print 10 000 for me. This is how we spent a large portion of our final week; scattering the seed of the gospel all over that place. We distributed around 7000 of these tracts in six days and left the pastor with 3000 for himself to use.

(I have since learned that now that this pastor has under 1000 left and is receiving great responses to the tracts, and that his church has since doubled since our work in that place.)

During our final week we hired a car and ventured into the mountains on the Thai-Burmese border. The local Pastor who would act as our interpreter could speak Thai, English and Lahu. This last language is spoken by many hill tribes on the border and is a distinct language of its own. These people have their own Lahu culture and don’t consider themselves Thai, Chinese or Burmese. We had heard that one of these villages had no church, preacher or gospel, so we made a trip to this remote place in the mountains. It was a beautiful village, made almost entirely of bamboo. The people were excited about seeing white people and we gave them all gospel tracts (only the young people can read so tracting isn’t very effective in villages like this one). We then pulled out the guitar and began to sing for them. They enjoyed it and all gathered around to listen. Through the pastor, I then preached to them the divine truths of Jesus Christ. They were all pleased with the discourse and thanked us for coming by.

(I’m very eager to plant a church in this village as I’m quite sure the gospel would take root with these humble, open people, if only there was a constant witness in that place. If you have a heart for this please contact me, as I have since procured a local pastor from Chiang Rai who speaks the Lahu language and is very willing to go and spend his life there building up a church. This kind of venture I can’t do on my own and I’ll need some assistance)

We got back in our vehicle and drove off to another Lahu village. We were racing the setting of the sun because the roads were so horrible on the mountains it really wasn’t safe in the day, let alone at night, when visibility was almost nil. There were inclines that our 4wheel drive couldn’t climb, and we had to all get out so it could be driven up the almost vertical slope (no guard rails either)!

We arrived at our next village after sundown and by the grace of God all in one piece. As we pulled up in that next village we heard the meeting bell ringing. There had been a meeting planned on our arrival for all who wanted to come and hear the westerners’ message. This village had a building for a church but again no pastor. Around 70+ people crammed into the church building and we sang and preached to them the good news. The people admitted that they had never heard anything like the message we gave them and they were all very impressed by it. One young man (who looked around 16 or 17 years of age), seemed to have some kind of mental disability; his speech was slurred and he seemed to lack concentration. This young man came forward and asked to be prayed for so he could receive salvation. We obliged gleefully and then he gave the rest of the people a message of his own in his native tongue. I was doubtful if this guy had it all together but for some reason all the people listened to him with deep concentration. Later on when we returned to our bamboo hut to sleep, he came in and began discoursing with the pastor we had with us. Again I was ignorant of the content of the conversation but couldn’t understand who this guy was. The pastor leaned over to me and told me he was a very well respected man in his village and a kind of village leader. I couldn’t help but thinking that it was a joke. I asked the pastor if this guy was serious and the pastor told me it was true. I asked him why he seemed to act like he was mentally ill or something and the pastor told me the man had arrived at the meeting drunk and that he was sincere in his decision for Christ. It made sense to me now why everyone listened to him in the church building. I asked the pastor how old this he was and the pastor said he was in his late twenties. Well I was shocked and learned a good lesson on making judgements about people I don’t know!

The next day we made a border crossing over to the Union of Myanmar (Burma). We had about 1000 tracts in Burmese to distribute and were all very excited about getting over into what is considered by many Christians a closed country. We made it over the border and no one even checked our bags. We were cautious as to how to distribute a thousand tracts without being caught by police. We walked around a market place handing them out one at a time, trying to be careful not to be seen. In these markets are many people who carry around with them a kind of over-the-shoulder tray that holds all kinds of things they are trying to sell. They follow westerners around and just harass them until they buy something to bring themselves some relief. One young girl was following us. Rhoison gave her a tract and thought that might persuade her to go away. But it didn’t, and so he thought another might do the trick. She took the second one, ran off, handed it to someone, and came running back with a big smile on her face and her hand out. I thought this was a little odd so I gave her another few and she did the same. On her return we gave her a bunch of ten and the same process occurred. When she returned her face was alight and she was asking us for more and more, so we gave her a couple of hundred this time and off she went. We thought to ourselves that this might be the way God had arranged for our tracts to be distributed in Burma. She returned and had three other young people all with hands outstretched wanting more, so we obliged. We then found a cafe to drink coffee in as our little army went out and circulated the gospel for us. This young girl was very clever and avoided all security and police by ducking around them into small shops and hiding every time one approached her to ask her what she was doing. We were amazed. Had this been us we would have been caught and deported at best, arrested and locked up and who knows what else at worst. How great is our God! He provides for us and keeps His children safe. We eventually ran out of tracts and all the children were somewhat disappointed. We thanked them and gave the young girl who was the ring leader some money for her troubles (which it must be said she wasn’t all too fussed about, it certainly wasn’t about the money for her.) Was she a Christian? We don’t know. Was she an angel? Eternity will tell. She was definitely a messenger sent by God to assist us in the proclamation of His message of hope. By this time we knew it was time to get out. Security was eyeing us suspiciously and we walked briskly toward the border and when they saw we were on our way out they stopped following us. We entered Thailand again and rejoiced in our triumph and the triumph if the gospel cause.

Praise God who does all things so wonderfully!

We departed Thailand for Brisbane flying the same route we took to get there: Patrick and I with Royal Brunei airlines and Luke and Rhoison with JetStar (the latter two stopping in Singapore again and passing out more tracts on their stopover). We arrived home on the 6th of May 2009.
Suffice to say there are many more stories to be told, but I feel like I have said enough to give a glimpse of the adventures we have had.

Christ our Lord once said, “...Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:15-16)

This we have striven to do and I am confident that with the 20 000+ tracts we handed out and countless many who heard the gospel from our lips, we have simply been obedient to this command. No more, no less. May He, who has no beginning and no end, find reason to improve our efforts in the saving of many souls.

We want to sincerely thank all who supported us in prayer. This is a most precious gift you have offered us and who knows how many dangers we were spared due to those supplications. We will see in eternity what these prayers have achieved. So thank you all. It is also appropriate to offer our humble thanks to all who assisted financially. Your gifts of support have made this venture possible. Without them we would have had very few tracts to distribute and our impact would have been minimal compared to the scope of what we actually achieved. This trip, we believe, was a worthy cause and we appreciate all who demonstrated it as such with their money, not just verbal assent. So I offer my heartfelt thanks to you all. Your reward is in heaven. “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.” (Psalm 2:8)

And lastly but certainly most importantly, we want to thank our most precious Lord and King. You alone are my heart’s desire and I long to bring You glory. Please Lord, take our efforts and do with them as You see fit; but my yearning is that whatever You see fit to do, would bring You utmost glory. Bless You my Lord and ten thousand thanks to You, my most glorious KING!

O worship the King, all glorious above, O gratefully sing His power and His love; Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days, Pavilioned in splendour, and girded with praise.
O tell of His might, O sing of His grace, Whose robe is the light, whose canopy space,His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,And dark is His path on the wings of the storm.

Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail, In Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail; Thy mercies how tender, how firm to the end, Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.

O measureless might! Ineffable love!While angels delight to worship Thee above, The humbler creation, though feeble their lays, With true adoration shall all sing Thy praise.

Thank for taking the time to read this report.
I do hope you’ll contact me with any comments or questions that might arise from this. I look forward to hearing from you.

Craig Ireland

Website) http://www.preachworldwide.com/Craig_C_Ireland

Email) caigireland@inbox.com

Ph) 07 3133 3032

--War on the Gospel--

---War on the gospel---

In our modern day (ambiguous term I know), we find a church that looks... well... vibrant. In fact, it’s been difficult for me to access any church’s website and not see this adjective pasted as the first statement you read, “’Such & such’ church is a VIBRANT, contemporary church,” they read, and I feel deeply that this is all too true.

Programs litter their menu panel: they want their folk to get involved and this becomes the catch cry of the modern ‘evangelical’ church. Get involved in a life group, get involved in the music team, get involved in the social activities; things ranging from yoga to line dancing. Just get involved is their 1st commandment. And so get involved is exactly what one does.

We are told that the meaning of Christianity is an enriched life, much enhanced by community and ‘Doing Life Together’.

Sounds great, huh? I mean, what else would you ever want? The average person’s mundane existence that they are plodding through day to day, is lacking something. And it’s this ‘something’ that the modern church claims to have the answer for. It’s a ‘hole in the heart’ that can only be filled with Jesus, thus it’s a Jesus-shaped hole in our heart. Get along to one of these fine establishments and enjoy a sense of belonging and appreciation from likeminded people, who will share with us life’s journey.

Well, to be quite honest, it doesn’t sound great. In fact it makes me feel ill. Sure, doing life, enjoying community and life enhancement all sound fantastic, hence why these churches are filling up fast enough to make progress graphs spike with glee. I just feel that I want to ask, “Isn’t there actually something missing with this picture?”

Doesn’t anyone else feel like this? I have tasted this kind of Christianity most of my ‘regenerate’ life and consumed it well, like a good little boy taking my medicine. I realised this isn’t actually going to fix my deepest problem, Yay, my greatest need.And I feel like my deepest problem and greatest need isn’t specific to me, but it’s the same thing the whole world over is suffering from.

Maybe it’s a good time to turn in our bible to Ephesians chapter 2:1-3

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

Hmm, I think there is something this text is diagnosing in the heart of everything that is human, that might be closer to the truth of the real issue facing us all.

I'm told by the modern church that:

o I'm lost,

o I'm misguided,

o I’ve followed a less-than-helpful path

o I'm broken, o I've made mistakes,

o I ‘m just a stray child of God,

This passage tells me:

o I'm dead,

o I’ve followed the curse of this world ,

o I’ve followed the devilo I'm disobedient,

o I lived in the passions of my flesh

o I'm, by nature, a child of wrath,

Is there not an obvious difference between these two messages? And I know by this passage that it’s not just me suffering from the latter of the two lists’ ailments, because the final words of the passage are clear, “like the rest of mankind.”

So why is there a discrepancy, I feel to ask?

Well the average reader at this point just might want to state that the modern church isn’t totally incorrect in its diagnosis. And I heartily agree, this is where the deception starts, my friend. If I want to fool you, then I don’t try and convince you of something you don’t agree with. I simply and craftily convince you of something that isn’t detectably disagreeable to your convictions, and yet still isn’t the whole truth.

And thus the gospel propounded by the modern church is still partially true. I am lost, misguided, broken, prone to mistakes, and a stray child of God, but this isn’t how the bible speaks of me. The bible tells me that I'm dead in my trespasses and sins, I have followed and swallowed the curse of the world, I'm of all things utterly disobedient, I live in the passions of the flesh and am, by nature, a child of wrath. It’s so important to have that ‘by nature,’ in there, because many times the sermon simply tells me that I'm really a good person deep down but have just fallen in a little dirt and messed up my inherent good looks.

This is a corrupt and foul deception.

The truth is that my nature was so defiant of God that I wilfully, volitionally, chose of my own accord, to sin and I loved it so much I sinned all the more. Not by some misguided mistake, or by following the less-than-ideal path, but because my nature was above all and in all, sinful. And I loved every moment of it.

So why the difference? Why does the modern church neglect to tell people these things and does this neglect constitute as an innocent and accidental oversight? Or does it reveal a distinct disregard for biblical truth in an exchange for public acceptance and appreciation?

Hmm, begs some thought.Honestly: I don’t know. I have my suspicions as to the motive for this desertion from the truth, and yet because it’s just a suspicion I’ll leave it for another time.

But decide for yourself. If you attend a church and are subject to its weekly pulpiteering, then ask yourself, “Does this true gospel, so openly constituted in the New Testament, coincide with the supposed gospel being preached in my church?”

And if the answer is an obvious no, I have only one piece of advice for you, “RUN!” Just leave. Don’t pass go, do not collect $200, just find a church where you can hear the gospel in its fullness and accuracy and get there fast. Your eternal life depends on it.

If you answer, “Well, I'm not really sure.” Then it’s you I would like to address from here on in.

Ok, maybe there’s those who just can’t see what the big deal is. Let me lay it out for you, shall I. For this we’ll need to go to Romans. Let’s look at chapter 1:16.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

It’s probably a real favourite in your Sunday school, I'm sure. People love to quote this verse because it’s one of those; pump your fist in the air and let’s all shout together, “We’re not ashamed... We’re not ashamed... We’re not ashamed...” and so it goes. But don’t neglect to see what the text is actually saying. Paul is surely making an admission that he is not ashamed of the gospel, for (because) it is the power of God for salvation! Don’t miss it now. It is trying to tell you and me that the gospel is the power of God for salvation. It doesn’t say that it is A power, or it is PART of the power; no it is certainly saying that the gospel IS the power of God for salvation. Do you see the ramifications of this truth? There is no other power in which God has ordained for saving souls. He is bent on this one single means of reaching sinners with His most efficacious grace. The gospel is not one of the means of salvation and thus you can find salvation in the message on the back of your cereal box. No, this text is as clear as day. Without the gospel, sinners can not be saved and without the gospel, sinners will not be saved. Not because God is limited, but because it’s His eternal decree to save sinners one way and one way only; by His gospel.

So surely you can now see the danger in presenting only part of this gospel, and especially as many do, present the half of it as thought it was the whole of it.

“A half truth presented as if it were a whole truth is an untruth.” -John MacArthur-

Therefore, if we are to be faithful to this text we must conclude; if the gospel isn’t being preached in its fullness and severity then people aren’t being saved. The only means of salvation prescribed in the New Testament is the Gospel, and thus if there isn’t the true, unadulterated, complete gospel being presented, then people are still in their sins. If only a half-gospel is being presented then don’t be fooled, it isn’t the true gospel at all, but another gospel altogether. And we read in Galatians 1:6-9 Paul saying that,

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” (Accursed- Strong's G331 ‘anathema’ ἀνάθεμα, a thing devoted to God without hope of being redeemed, and if an animal, to be slain; therefore a person or thing doomed to destruction, used to mean a curse or a man accursed, devoted to the direst of woes)

Can you see from this text, the seriousness of the issue? There is indeed a war on the gospel in our modern times.

I can hear some objections fluttering through my mind as I write this. Objection: “But every week I see people getting saved in my church by saying the sinner’s prayer and coming to the altar call.”

Ok let me deal with this, because I feel this is going to be the biggest thing people will struggle with. Experiential evidence suggests that people are being saved and thus the assertions I have made here can’t be right.

Right?

Wrong. Sadly many modern churches that have altars filled each week with genuine seekers aren’t seeing people saved at all. I know how hard this might be to swallow, but I must implore you to search this out for yourself, and do not look for experience to justify your claim, look to scripture. How many altar calls do you find in the New Testament? Alright then, how many times did the apostles lead someone in a sinner’s prayer? Hmm, ok, well then where do these precedents come from? Just because people come to the front of a meeting and claim to be saved (or rather the preacher claims them to be saved), does that constitute biblical regeneration or salvation? No, of course not. Are they genuinely saved? Do they flee sin with all their might? Do they develop a strong fear of God and detestation for anything other than His will for their life? Do they experience a complete life change, as from death to life and darkness to light? Do they have an overpowering love for the Saviour and does He become most precious to them, more precious than anything or anyone else? Or do they come and go from altar to altar week by week and never quite become born again because they haven’t really experienced a full gospel?

Of course I believe people can be saved at an altar call, just like they can be saved on a bus or in a field or in a school cafeteria. But they are certainly not saved by an altar call or some ‘sinner’s prayer’. They are saved by Grace, through faith in the power and fullness of the gospel (Eph 2)

Am I perhaps saying that no one can be saved in these churches, then? No, of course not. Hopefully they have real bibles on their laps and therefore have the real gospel before them, if they will take the time to look and read. Or maybe they have been experiencing real preaching from another source; perhaps they download solid biblical preaching online or enjoy the podcasts of many sound biblical expositors. But there’s one thing I'm sure of, and that's that people cannot be saved unless they have experienced the gospel in all its fullness.

So if you believe that the bible is the inspired, inerrant, plenary word of God then you must assent to this same truth. ‘NO GOSPEL EQUALS NO SALVATION!’

So does your church preach the whole gospel? When was the last time you heard your pastor preach on sin in such a way that your skin started to crawl and your blood boiled in utmost hate for it? When was the last time your preacher expounded a whole sermon on God’s wrath and vengeance and Holy anger? When was the last time your pastor preached on hell and its utter mind blowing, eternal consequences for the unregenerate? When was the last time your pastor preached the most holy truths of Jesus Christ in such a way that you felt like that great divine Jonathan Edwards did when he stated, “I wish to lie low before God, as in the dust; that I might be nothing, and that God might be all, that I might become as a little child.”

I sincerely feel like these are fair questions to be asked. After all you’re eternal destination might depend on it.

Are you really saved? Are you really born again? Do you have an assurance of salvation (a certainty beyond any reasonable doubt – Rom 8:16)? If not then you are not regenerate. And the good news of the gospel is that you can be. Please go and have a look at these websites:

www.gty.org/Resources/Articles/2425

www.wayofthemaster.com/goodperson.shtml

www.needgod.org/

And for those of you who are starting to feel doubtful about their own church, I would encourage you to conduct a full investigation into whether your preachers and pastors are interested in preaching the gospel, or are they ashamed of this gospel in such a way that they are quite willing to damn souls to hell forever, so long as they don’t need to relinquish their reputation. It’s quite sickening to think that this actually goes on, but if we’re honest about it, we know it does.

So what can one do to guarantee their spiritual health in this matter?

1. Become born again. If you haven’t felt your guilt before God because of your sins then you are not saved. Please take the time to visit the website provided above that will help you ascertain what might be done to ensure your salvation. John 3:3 tells us that, “...Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." This is of utmost importance and your most immediate duty. Please take a moment to visit the websites above and get into contact with me about your journey to faith in Christ. I’ll offer assistance wherever I can.

2. Study your bible. If you don’t have a bible you’ll need to get one. It is the believer’s paramount priority, it’s more important for your health than your next meal. Bibles can be purchased from all good book stores and I would strongly recommend you ask for an English standard version. [ESV].

3. Know what the full gospel is. If you have no clear knowledge about what the full gospel is then you cannot be saved. But you can find this information in the bible. I would recommend you turn to the book of Luke in your New Testament and read from there to the end of the book. Once you have done that, go to the start of the bible and read the whole thing through. Listen to as much good preaching as you can. I can provide a list of free downloadable sermons online to anyone who wants them. This is so vital to understanding God’s word (My contact details are below if you want this assistance).

4. Find a good church. This is surely the most complicated step. But it is possible. Firstly pray to God that He would help you do it. I don’t want you to be concerned with denominations at all; there is no real distinction among them according to what is a good church or a bad church. As long as they call themselves a Christian church, there will always be very, very good churches and then horrifically bad ones. So don’t concern yourself with the denomination: Baptist, Presbyterian, Anglican, Lutheran, Reformed, Methodist, Charismatic etc. They all have some great churches and dismal ones amongst them. You want to find a church that believes the whole bible and only the bible. They preach about God’s mercy and love continually and also the topics I listed a few paragraphs above, regarding God’s wrath and vengeance and hell etc. It all needs to be preached systematically and continuously to be considered the whole gospel. I would shy away from any church that is spending excessive time talking about money or numbers of people and gravitate toward a church that embraces you with open arms and really cares about your day to day life, while also taking pains to correct you if you’re in error.

Be in no doubt that our modern day is seeing a war on the gospel and the church of Jesus Christ has a duty to take up arms and defend it with all her might. Don’t sit comfortably in your seat (pew), stand and fight for this gospel. Laziness is not acceptable in this war and God will not honour the lethargic servant but deal with him in like manner to the lazy servant in Matthew 25. It was said in the story of a servant who did nothing with the talent given to him,

“Throw out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

What can one do in the battle for truth and the gospel?

1. Pray. We should be bending our knees before our most gracious God and plead with Him that He would pour out His Spirit without measure to the purification of His Sons most precious Bride. Revelation 19:7-8

2. Become proactive in the pursuit of holiness in our own lives and the life of our church. Don’t be shy in speaking to your leaders and pastors about your observations of concern. Matt 18 spells out the biblical way to deal with a grievance, so go directly to the one who you think is causing the gospel work to be hindered, and be bold in the face of reproach for the gospel. Lovingly inform any who err in this matter the truth you have observed and always use scriptural backup.

3. Lastly, I think we can all do our part publically, whether it is online or amongst our friends and acquaintances. We can encourage brethren to stand firm on the gospel truths they know to be unchangeable. Join in the battle to stir up the lay people of churches all over the western world to stand for gospel purity and encourage people to be vocal where ever they see opportunity. Write letters or blogs, or just make comments on other people’s blogs, maybe get together with your faithful friends and have prayer meetings with this single focus: That the church of Jesus Christ will recover the true saving gospel. All for the Glory of Christ’s Name.

I do hope this article has been of some help to you, the reader, and I pray God will lead you in all truth regarding His plans for your life. Let’s take up arms against the evil pervading in our day.

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(If you would like to contact Craig Ireland you can do so via email: craigireland@inbox.com or visit his website: http://preachworldwide.com/members/21/index.php )

Missions to the Philippines

Greetings again,

I am going to attempt to write a review for the recent Philippines mission trip, so anyone who is interested can have some insight into how it all went.

God is an amazing God... AMEN?

First and foremost I must start by explaining how in the world an unemployed (officially) volunteer Pastor of a very small church can afford to spend so much money on an overseas trip. After my first trip in April (Most expenses paid by my former church) I was desperate to return and be a blessing to the precious Filipino people. There was a real sense of “so much work to do but so little time to do it in”. None the less, I committed it to God and asked Him to do as seems best to Him. If that meant a return trip, then He is big enough to arrange that. About September I began to feel a stir in my heart to plant a church. This was very exciting on the one hand because God had now revealed His immediate plan for my wife and I. But it also brought the assumption that any chances of a return to the Philippines were now lost. I had all but given up on the idea when a pastor friend of mine offered to foot the cost. I was elated until I heard the catch; he requested me to work in his church for the remainder of the year and he would fund the trip to Philippines as remuneration. I couldn’t accept this offer as I was certain I had been guided by the Holy Spirit to plant a church in 2008. So my hopes were dashed again. I had to leave the matter in God’s hands and I asked Him to just do what seems best to Him. And of course He always does. I figured I needed around $1400 - $1600 for flights and another $1000 for accommodation just for one person, and of course this money was impossible on our shoestring budget. However, with God all things are possible, and money began to trickle in, eventually reaching the desired amount. Money was appearing in our bank account without any explanation from people and amounts of money was appearing in our mail box with the words “God bless you“. This continued until we had the exact amount I needed to go and I was doubly excited, now with the budding church and a mission trip, both in 2008. I began to consult travel agents trying to get the cheapest possible flight. I discovered that it was almost impossible to fly cheaper than $1400 (inc taxes) so I did some searching of my own and by God’s amazing providence I found a flight on Royal Brunei airlines for $780.00 return all taxes included. I was ecstatic because with the money we had received; now I could take my wife as well for no extra cost. Oh how my joy was full! I was so happy that God did and does so exceedingly, abundantly above all I can ask or think. So off we were with miracle money in hand and mission in our hearts.

We decided we wanted to spend the majority of the trip doing personal evangelism. So we wanted to print some tracts which would be purpose written for the Filipino people. These people are drenched in Catholicism and most are nominal members of the Catholic Church. They are a very superstitious people and idolatry is rampant. Knowing this we knew we had to write our own tract message that would speak directly to their heart and conscience. This was again going to cost but we were not perturbed, God was with us and we knew He would supply all our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Ph 4:19). Again, people caught wind of our plans and wanted to give to the cause. Within weeks we had the money we needed to print 4000 tracts to take and hand out, while sharing one on one with the lost about our risen Lord.

So we were off, armed with a few thousand gospel tracts and hungry hearts to see God do amazing things.

We boarded our plane in Brisbane on November 14th2008. We arrived on Philippines soil late that night.

The question may be asked, “Why did we go?” or “what was our purpose?”

We enjoyed some amazing scenery, ate exotic foods (my wife and I being the only 2 out of our team of 6 who didn’t fall ill). We hiked kilometres through mountains and swam in crystal clear creeks. We had adventures, like travelling from one city to another in the back of a garbage truck. Even walking down the street with my wife proved to be quite an adventure. Traffic almost literally stopped as people wanted to get a glimpse of this young, blonde and white skinned girl. They had seen plenty of white men before, most of them filthy middle elderly men looking for desperate 20year old Filipino girl to marry in a hurry. This kind of seedy behaviour is very frustrating. So for them to see a young white female was something entirely exciting. Mothers pointing to their children to look as she walked by, and motorcycles full of people (sometimes carrying up to five passengers without helmets) would slow down and stare. This always made me laugh, but made my wife very self conscience. We also had some time to relax by the resort pool, reading a book. It was great fun and we enjoyed every minute. But this was not at all our purpose in going.

It’s true we visited many churches, preaching the gospel and encouraging the local believers to be passionate about the cause of Christ in the world. We visited churches where very few westerners will ever go, and certainly very few preachers have ever been (Primarily because there was no love offering to be received: these people are the poorest of the poor). We were received with true Christian hospitality and our hearts were overflowing with the love poured out on us. We spent almost all our time on the Island of Leyte in the Visayan region of the Philippines. We visited churches in Palompon, Tambulilid, Camp Downs, Mahalit and Matlang. We had a fantastic time over there and were very blessed to be made welcome in these places of worship. But this was not our purpose in going.

Our main purpose in going was; Reggie, Eric & Delridge, Edith, Bernadette, and many, many other nameless people.

Reggie: We met him in the ferry terminal on our way from Cebu to Leyte. He was standing by himself looking out the window waiting for his ferry. He was a well dressed man probably in his 30’s or 40’s. While he was minding his own business, I saw the opportunity and went over to share the gospel with him. I started by handing him a tract, to which almost everyone responds with, “What is this?” There was my opening and I began to share the gospel with him one on one. He seemed very open and eager to discuss the deeper things of faith and religion. Then he dropped a bombshell. At the time I had others standing around while I was sharing with him but he didn’t seem to care and just blurted out, “I'm continually masturbating and I want God to forgive me.” I tried to look calm and in control but truth was I had to use all my strength from pulling a face of surprise. Here man was so desperate he felt he needed to discuss his deepest and darkest secrets with a complete stranger. I told him God would cleanse him of all his unrighteousness, if he was truly repentant and put his faith in Christ alone for salvation. Reggie looked at me with a solemn look and told me he wanted to do this. I asked him, when he would do it, would he do it today and he replied with "Can I do this right now?" I was treated to another shock as he looked as sincere and desperate as I can remember seeing anyone. So I put my hand on his shoulder and prayed with him, that God would lead him in the paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake. It was a thrilling event and I was so overjoyed to have stopped and spoken to Reggie that day.

Eric & Delridge: I will couple these two stories together, because they are so similar, not for lack of importance. We travelled to the Visayan State University to hand out tracts and share the gospel with college students there. We handed out a couple thousand tracts and took opportunities to preach Jesus with them. I encountered a young man named Eric. He had a Catholic background (as they all do) and had a certainty that he was spiritually in good shape. I questioned him on his salvation and his freedom from sin and the curse of the law. Many people already know I am a big believer in using the law to bring people to the cross of Christ and this is the message that is particularly important for people who have taken ease and comfort in idolatry and false religion. Their guilt needs to be proven to them before they will allow you to speak to their heart. So, to the Ten Commandments I went, and asked the young man if he was a good person before God. He responded that he felt he was and then after a little examination using the Ten Commandments we both learned he was in fact addicted to sin of all kinds. I asked him why Jesus come to earth and he said that Jesus came to save us from our sins, and I asked him if he had been saved from indwelling sin or does he commit sin regularly with no real regard for God. He replied that the latter described him, and I told him that God would judge him on judgement day as guilty of breaking His laws, and he had no reason to believe God would not send him to hell. God would make it sure that hell would in fact be his portion in the hereafter and for ever after. He looked shocked. I asked him if this concerned him at all. He replied that it did, so I then lead him to the cross of Jesus Christ, where all sin has been washed away and the penalties, we as sinners deserve, have been poured out on the only Saviour. I prayed for him and implored him to study the scriptures and also to feel free to contact me if he had any more questions. The conversation with Delridge was quite similar excepting one fact. He had a conscience already pricked by the Holy Spirit. As soon as I started to speak with him it was obvious his heart was broken. He was well aware of his crimes before a just and holy God and he desperately wanted someone to explain to him the way of salvation. Thank my most amazing and mighty God that I was chosen to be the one to do so. “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!” (Rom 10:14-15) I also prayed with him and left him with a tract and contact details for me. He was truly a man whose heart was white for harvest.

We were sent there by God for Edith. A young girl who was a member of the church in Tambulilid contacted me and asked me if I could visit a friend of hers who was in hospital. That afternoon when I received the message, I was quite tired and really just felt like a quiet night in, but there was a stirring in my spirit that I should not miss this opportunity. So along I went (I won’t begin to describe the horrific condition the private hospital was in). The patient’s name was Edith and she was around 45-55 years old. She had cancer throughout her body and was in a critical condition. The doctor had given her 4 weeks to live. So here I was in the room with many family and friends of Edith and I just froze up. No matter how often I share the gospel with people I always get nervous and yet this time was different. I wasn’t just nervous, I was petrified. People kept looking at me as to ask me what was I going to say, and truth was I didn’t know. I was stone silent and yet I knew that life or death hung in the balance and I had no choice but to open my mouth wide and share the gospel with Edith. I conjured all the courage left in me and asked through an interpreter whether Edith thought she would go to heaven when she dies. Edith said that she really didn’t know, so I asked her if she would like to know her eternal destination for sure and she said yes. I was stuck again and silently prayed in my heart for guidance by the Holy Spirit. I turned to her and asked her if she considered Jesus to be Lord. She again replied in the affirmative and then I asked her if she thought she was a sinner and she said yes. So I told her of a living, loving God who came down to earth to seek and save the lost and that He wants her to become His child. If she does this she will be saved. She needs to ask Jesus to forgive her of all her sins, renounce her idolatry and humbly embrace the cross, confess that He is Lord, God raised Him from the dead and it’s Him alone who can save. I asked her if she was quite ready to do this. She replied that she wanted to do it so I lead her in a prayer. I later pondered why I was felt so weak at this particular witnessing encounter and I concluded that I had never actually shared the gospel with someone who has such little time left to receive Christ as their Saviour. This placed me under all kinds of pressure and I certainly thank my God humbly, who gives liberally the Spirit to whoever asks, because I certainly needed it then.

(I have since learned after publishing this note that Edith actually died the day after we left the Philippines, God's timing is so perfect. She can now see her Saviour face to face.)

After having prayed for Edith and heard her confession of the Lordship of Christ over her life I was interrupted by the lady sitting next to me. She was middle aged also and sat silent through the whole ordeal but now for some reason wanted to get my attention. I really wasn’t sure if she was going to reprimand me for preaching Christ or what else she wanted until she asked me the question: “What about me?” I asked her what she meant and she replied that she also wanted to renounce her idolatry and come to Christ to be saved. I was gobsmacked again and asked her if she was serious. She had wide eyes and asked me sincerely if she could too have this Saviour because she was also a sinner. So I pressed her hard for a few moments to see if she was sincere, and she was as sincere as I ever found anyone. I pushed harder and harder to see if she were quite willing to forsake all and follow the Lamb wither so ever He goes, and she told me she was. I asked her if she was willing to die for this truth, that Jesus Christ alone was Lord and no other. She again professed vocally that she believed this. So I asked her the question that usually causes people in her circumstance to choke. I asked her if she would receive baptism. You can guess why this is usually a stumbling block for some, because they have all been baptised as infants into the Catholic Church. Receiving this holy ordinance again signifies publically, total denunciation of their childhood religion and rejection of its false teachings. This will usually be met with public scorn and rejection by one’s family and friends. So when I asked her if she would be baptised into Christ’s true church and renounce all her idolatry and falsehood she kept nodding and affirming all I said. Well, I just couldn’t believe it, and asked my friend who had taken us there whether she even understood anything I was saying. The young girl confirmed that this lady Bernadette had indeed understood everything and was ready and willing to come to Christ. So I repeated my prayer for her sake and everyone in the room loudly repeated it after me. It was a heart melting experience and we pray fervently that more than just two were solemn and sincere about what we prayed for that night. God is so sovereign and holy and we thank Him forever with tender affection.

These are but a few stories of people we encountered and shared God’s unending love with. Many go unmentioned because the encounters were brief and I would be simply repeating myself to recount any more. There was one young girl I would like to tell you about. She is about 20 years of age and a member of her local Christian church. I didn’t really know anything about her accept she asked me for some of our tracts to give out at her work. She kindly thanked me and nothing more came of it. The following week I was preaching in her church when at the end of the service the pastor of the church asked for people to respond to the gospel call. This is something I rarely, if ever, do, but if the pastor wants to do it I don’t really mind. Well this young girl came forward with among others and I was a little surprised to see her at the front of the church. Earlier when she asked me for some tracts I was under the impression she was already born again. So after the service I questioned her about her church membership and she confirmed my suspicions that she had been baptised about 5 years earlier into the church. But when I handed her some tracts she went home and thought she’d give it a read before she handed them out. She soon realised she wasn’t right with God at all and in fact she was horribly guilty before Him. She said she could hardly get any sleep that night and tossed and turned “terrified” (this was the word she used) because of her guilt before Jesus the Just Judge. So when given the opportunity to respond in faith to the gospel at the next church service, she just had to. For almost two hours I examined her and pressed for evidence of her sincerity and she proved herself ready to take up her cross daily and follow her Lord. I thanked God for how His Holy Spirit works on people’s hearts, even when to us they seem to be faithful believers, but are in fact totally lost. I Thank Him for leaving the ninety nine to go and find this one. Praise Him forever.

Finally, I will like to report on an interdenominational pastor’s seminar we held over there. This wasn’t our idea it was the idea of a few of the pastor’s over there. I would never presume to know enough about ministry to hold such a seminar. But they were insistent, so we agreed. Pastors and leaders came from all around representing varying denominations and we all met for one day at Camp Downs Church of Christ on Leyte. They asked me prior to the meetings what the theme of the event should be, and I had only one option, ‘The True Gospel’. So I began to share with these various leaders and pastors what the true gospel contains and what it does not contain. Why we as pastors should never neglect this gospel, as it is the power of God unto salvation (Rom 1). Well, hearts were moved and it was a solemn time. There seemed hardly a dry eye in the house as we talked about the preciousness of Christ and how His sacrifice is being watered down in many modern churches because people won’t call sin what it is. They are trying to reduce sin to be just a small pain that we should do our best to try and avoid. Preaching this turns the Son of God dying on the cross for sin (which is just a small little pain) into a massive overreaction. Unless of course the truth of the gospel message is that we are all sinners (Rom 3:23) and are dead in our sins. And that God is ultimately and totally just in sending sinners to hell for ever to be burned and forever dying as punishment for sin (another gross overreaction for something that’s just a little pain). But that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. And then explaining true repentance is to grow such a hatred and detestation for sin that, as believers, we never EVER want anything to do with it again. Not out of legalism, but out of love for Him who died to save us from it: “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?" (Rom 6:1-2) The result was miraculous. Many were broken and the meeting was lead into solemn worship with many on their knees before God. God sovereignly moved on all our hearts. As for the result after the meeting, one story will suffice: One pastor approached me and confessed he was about to resign his church because he had lost all hope. He had heard some westerners were holding a pastors’ seminar, and thought it worthwhile to attend. He was now revived and was ready to throw himself wholly into the task of preaching the GOSPEL. Praise God forever.

I want to offer a dear and heartfelt thank you for everyone who supported us while we were away. Your kind emails, messages and most importantly, prayer, were invaluable to our cause. We also want to thank everyone who gave to the mission work and want you all to know that we couldn’t have done it without you; your reward is in heaven. And thank you to Him who knows no end and has no beginning, who rules the world with the word of His mouth and by His words He sustains all things, the Master of my heart and life. To You my most sovereign King I owe all and in turn give You all. Thankyou.

“Crown Him the Lord of years, the Potentate of time,Creator of the rolling spheres, ineffably sublime.All hail, Redeemer, hail! For Thou has died for me; Thy praise and glory shall not fail throughout eternity.”Crown Him with Many Crowns (Matthew Bridges, 1800-1894, and Godfrey Thring, 1823-1903)