After a very restful night of
sleep, Lordy Salunga picked me up from the hotel this morning and had his
brother Ronnie with him. Ronnie and his wife, Nina, as well as their son, Ron,
are visiting their native home in Philippines, though they are now citizens of
New Zealand living in Auckland. Ronnie and Nina started a faithful work in Auckland
several years ago and it has grown and thrived. Lordy and I went there to
preach in a gospel meeting in September of 2012. They repeatedly asked and
urged us to come again and we agreed to arrange that as soon as possible.
The gospel meeting with the
congregation in Angeles City began about 9:00am and continued until after
4:00pm. Though I thought another brother would preach with me, alternating our
lessons, I found out that I would be the only speaker for the day. We started
with a study on “The Foundation of Faith.” We noted that the gospel is God’s
power to save all because all have sinned (Rom. 1:16-17; 3:23). Man is not lost
because he has not heard the gospel, but because he has sinned. Thus, the
gospel is preached to all as the remedy to be saved from their sins. The lesson
considered the step-by-step process whereby God has lead men to search for His
truth. The foundational fact that “God
Is” has been revealed to all in the nature of His creation that evidences
His power and wisdom of God as we note that everything has purpose and order.
When one reaches the inescapable conclusion that “God Is,” that person has the
responsibility to search what purpose that one was given by the God that made this
world. That causes us to search for the will of God and find the evidence that
the Bible is the source for the
revelation of God and His purpose for us. When we yield to that message of the
gospel to answer our purpose and responsibility, we are led to His plan for our
salvation. The second lesson was much shorter as we studied “By What Authority”
examining the religious practices present in many churches of men that lack the
authority of God.
At noon, we took a lunch
break of about one hour. We were then led in singing for about 30 minutes. At
the conclusion of the singing, the third sermon of the day was delivered on
“Breaking the Hold of Temptation.” It was a very practical look at why we sometimes
find ourselves captivity to various sins, rather than truly putting them to
death in our lives. We gave some practical ways we can overcome those
temptations and sins by truly changing our minds to see temptation and sin as
God sees them. We then took a short break and began our last study for the day
on “Before the Door Is Shut” from Matthew 25:1-12. We examined the principle
that preparation must be made before we are ready to meet the Lord in the Judgment,
before we give an answer for our hope, before we can be ready to lead in
spiritual service and before we are truly ready to worship God. We concluded
the full day meeting with no visible responses to the invitation.
The Lord willing, we go south
to the city of San Fernando for another gospel meeting tomorrow. Please keep us
in your prayers. Also, please accept my great thanks to all who have help make
this work possible. God bless!
