A Clear Command
Jesus said:
“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).
“Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).
“Repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations” (Luke 24:47).
His words could not have been clearer: We are to take the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ to people of every nation.
Now, we obviously can’t go to every single country and announce the Good News to every single person. Even Billy Graham could not do that. But he tried!
We can, too. We can pray for God to bring the saving message to people of all ethnic groups – the meaning of “nation.” We can give to organizations like Far East Broadcasting Company that proclaim the truth to millions of people around the world. We can support individual missionaries or groups that focus on one or more people groups. We can reach out to individuals from many nations who live in our towns, especially in the United States.
As you well know, since 1975 Dori and I have devoted ourselves to sharing the unsearchable riches of Christ with Chinese people, first in Taiwan, then in the United States, and then also in mainland China.
An Expanded Horizon
Recently, however, I have sensed that God wants me to enlarge the scope of my ministry to include other peoples in addition to the Chinese.
Notice, I said, “in addition to,” not, “instead of.” I believe that God will always have me concentrate upon the Chinese, even as I also reach out to others.
This new sense of leading has come to me in several ways.
First, on several occasions in the past year, I believe that he has spoken to me by his Spirit in my heart, quite unexpectedly. We know that such subjective experiences are not necessarily from God, however. If they really represent his will, he usually confirms them in other ways.
Second: Articles I have written and posted on the website Academia.edu have, to my great surprise, been read – or at least viewed - around the world. Each time I read the analytics that come to me, I am stunned by the reach of these papers.
There’s no way I can furnish a complete list of the more than forty cities and countries where students, professors, and scholars have viewed these articles, which number about ten so far, but in the past month they have included: Mumbai, India; Bangkok, Thailand; Australia (3); Singapore (2); Buenos Ares, Argentina; Bern, Switzerland; Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea; Colombo, Sri Lanka; the Netherlands; Penang, Malaysia; Honk Kong; Koukou Angaran, Chad; Taipei, Taiwan; Penal, Trinidad and Tobago; and ten cities in the United States.
The papers cover a variety of topics, including the biblical doctrine of creation, Matthew 7:1-12, Madame Chiang Kai-shek, and Hudson Taylor - to give only a sampling. I am currently working on an article about Augustine’s teaching on grace.
Third: An Indian evangelist and pastor whom I met when I visited that country in 1993, and who re-established contact with me about ten years, has invited me to offer Bible teaching for several nights by Zoom, possibly in October. He will interpret into Hindi.
We all know how Zoom and similar platforms have transformed not only business and education, but also Christian ministry, greatly expanding opportunities for communicating with people whom we can’t visit in person. I see this invitation as, perhaps, the first of what could be other such opportunities to preach and teach viewers around the world.
Please Pray
Ask God to:
Enable me to complete the article on Augustine.
Use my written and spoken words to build his church around the world.
Energize all believers to bear witness to the saving grace of God in Jesus.
Bring many to repentance, faith, and devoted discipleship to our Lord.