Preaching in a dark land

Preaching in a dark land

On May 13^th, we were privileged to have a special brother give a testimony on his ministry in a country where it is forbidden to preach Christ.

He shared how he first started off helping with a street feeding program and telling the gospel very simply to some of the poor people there. One ex-convict told him, “I have served my time in prison, but society is still punishing me.” He could not get any job and was not even allowed to go to religious places. Our brother shared with him the verse “Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal that Christ has called me heavenward”. And the verse had a profound impact on the poor man.

Another time, our brother was walking in a train station when he saw a familiar face begging by the side of the road. He proceeded to buy some food for the poor man, and prayed for him. Soon, our brother noticed someone following him and he turned around. The man who followed asked our brother to do the same thing he had done for the beggar. Calmly, he explained what prayer was about and asked the man if he wanted to receive Jesus, and he did. They prayed together, and another lost soul entered the kingdom of Heaven.

One thing our brother noticed was that many churches have a grasshopper mentality, viewing reaching out to the lost as impossible in many countries. However, our God is a God of the impossible!

One important thing he learnt is that we must share the gospel from their perspective, from the perspective of the audience whom they are speaking to. In the country’s religious book, Jesus is a prophet too. So a question he may ask of their people is “What do you think of Jesus?” They will say he is a respected prophet, a respected man. “Where is Jesus right now?” They will say in Heaven, for they cannot accept that Jesus died on the cross. “Of all the prophets in your religion, which one is still alive today? Their Holy Book says Jesus was taken up to heaven. “Which prophet can show us the way to heaven then?” Jesus. “If I want to go to a place, who should I ask?” Who has been there? Who can show the way? No one can be in the presence of God unless they are holy, therefore Jesus is holy.

In their religion, they believe in judgment day. The sign of judgment is when Jesus comes back, the same as Christianity. Jesus will come back one day to judge mankind. “The destiny of our soul is in whose hand?” Jesus.

In their religion, they believe good works will get them to heaven. Their works will be balanced on a scale, and those with more good works than bad works will go to heaven. When will they know? Only on judgment day, and on judgment day, it also depends on the mercy of God. Thus, there is no strong basis for salvation and the forgiveness of sins. One goes through life, living in fear about tomorrow, about the afterlife. However, we believe in Jesus know that we need not fear tomorrow, for He has made the way for us to go to Heaven.

Many follow their religion as merely a form, never really knowing what its all about. Their priests keep the people in the dark by using a foreign language and the masses are not encouraged to read on their own.

Interestingly, our brother reports that a lot of conversions come through dreams and visions. An old man in a backward village called the village of darkness received a marvelous vision. He was under water and there were poles with the names of different prophets, but the name of Jesus was lifted higher than the rest. He received dreams and visions and personal discipleship from the Lord, and he spoke from the Lord even in poetic form. And to think he was a former medium.

Indeed, while the church was sleeping, God used His own miraculous methods to reach out to a people in darkness. May the Lord give us greater courage and wisdom to be bolder in our faith and declaring the gospel of His salvation. In Jesus name, Amen.