It Is Hot!!!

We are continuing our efforts in the classes and trying to make sure we finish the material by the end of our allotted time. As long as the power stays on, the PowerPoint presentations make it easy to cover the material in the time schedule while being understandable. However, the frequent brownouts that last for anywhere from ten minutes to over an hour make meeting our schedule more of a challenge. Our battery backup will keep things going for about ten minutes, but beyond that we lose the projector and we are back to the white board. As the heat increases, the brownouts seem to increase as well. This picture from my digital thermometer is not a fake. It was set on a retaining wall in front of Rody’s house and beside of the building. It registered 122 F! To see if it was significantly different off of the hot concrete, I held it in the air by a non-heat sensing part of the clock/thermometer and it registered 112.4 F – confirming that it is, in fact, hot!

The morning class on the Prophets covered Micah and Nahum. I begin each class by reminding them of the prophetic model seen repeatedly in these books. To evidence the fact that he speaks of God, the prophet includes in his message of instruction a foretelling of events to be fulfilled in the relatively near future. When those come to pass, God shows to the people that they can have confidence in all of the prophet’s teaching, including the events foretold of the more distant, and often Messianic, future. This is seen in Micah as the prophet tells of the imminent destruction of Samaria (Israel), the more distant judgment on Judah (if they also fail to repent), as well as the distant blessings of the Messiah to the remnant of the faithful. Micah tells by inspiration about the coming Messiah “whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting” that would come out of Bethlehem in Judah (Micah 5:2). The total accuracy of prophecy regarding the nations and the Messiah is compelling evidence for the inspiration of the Scripture. We also looked at the corruption of the leaders which was singled out for special rebuke. These students are very familiar with the concept of corrupt leaders as they see it in abundance in their government. In fact, the books for these classes are still being held up in Manila by corrupt customs officials who want a bribe in order to release them. We talkeded about the only effective way to change corruption – from the bottom up, as honesty is taught and exemplified in their lives, their families and their community. The truth is that honesty has always been a “grassroots movement.” In Nahum, God again shows that he gave the Gentiles an opportunity to know His will, though we are not given many details about such opportunities. The same Nineveh (Assyria) that Jonah had brought to repentance had increased in wickedness again to the point that God would destroy them. He gave them the time and opportunity to repent, but they would not. The same principle holds true for any nation or individual. As Nahum describes the overthrowing of Nineveh, their vain attempts to flee and their ultimate destruction, it is like reading the historical account of their demise. The prophet shows such detailed accuracy that the prophecy could only come from God. When wicked Assyria fell, no one mourned their fall. Such is the epitaph of evil.

Our New Testament Survey class took a closer look at Romans 4 – 5 to examine what the text means by Abraham being accounted righteous by faith that it might be by grace. We saw that it cannot be referring to the popular doctrine of salvation by “faith only” (the point of mental acceptance of certain facts) because that would go against both the context of Romans and the facts about the life of Abraham as seen in the book of Genesis. We noted that Abraham is pronounced “righteous” by God in Genesis 15:6. This was not the first time he had mentally accepted as fact all that God said, nor was it the first time he showed a reverence and commitment to God. Before this point, chapters 12 through 14 of Genesis show that Abraham’s faith was active in obeying all that God said. He left Ur and Haran as God directed. He journeyed to a land he did not know as God directed. He built altars to worship God and called on the name of the Lord, obeying God each step of the way. When Abraham was told of the coming child of promise, he believed God and acted in readiness to receive the promise though he knew it was impossible by physical means. In other words, the saving faith of Abraham involved obedience.

In the Church History class, we looked closely at the work of those who prepared the way for reformation and restoration efforts that followed them and often depended on their previous work. Special emphasis was given to the early work done by John Wycliffe, often called the “Morning Star of the Reformation.” He was truly an amazing character whose scholarship and zeal for making known the message of the Bible helped many people to seek God’s will by returning to the Bible. His work in England as a teacher at Oxford influenced many student, some of them carrying that teaching back to mainland Europe. We also noted the life of John Huss and his effect on the people of mainland Europe. His thinking was first challenged by former students of Wycliffe who had returned to Prague. Through Huss, the idea spread of going back to the Bible for authority in religious matters, rather than to the Catholic Church. In Florence, Italy, a Dominican monk named Girolamo Savonarola also had a profound influence towards reform from within the Catholic Church. As a serious student and pious man, Savonarola saw the ungodly lifestyle of the pope and the priests and was appalled. He spoke out against such. Aided by the protection of Charles VIII of France who had invaded Italy, Savonarola spoke out even more boldly. He condemned the extravagance of the wealthy in Florence including the very rich and powerful De Medici family. His call for a true reform of character from top to bottom was not received with joy by the rich and powerful. Eventually, the corrupt religious leaders joined hands with the materialistic people of wealth to kill Savonarola by hanging and then burning his body. It is not the last time that morally corrupt people of false religion and wealth have joined to silence a principled teacher of truth. We then began examining the German Reformation and the work of Martin Luther and will finish that tomorrow, the Lord willing.

As in previous days, I will continue to introduce you to some of the students each day. Sammy Gamit, 59, is from Saguday, Quirino. His father was one of the pioneer preachers in that area and Sammy is faithfully following in those footsteps. He has been an excellent student in attitude and in diligence of study. Julian Ramil, 60, is from Ballesteros, Cagayan. He is another former Pentecostal preacher converted by Rody during the 1980’s. His wife was initially an impediment to his conversion as she was a “pastora” and resisted the fact that women were not preachers or those who took oversight in the New Testament church. In the end, both submitted to the gospel and are now working in the Lord’s service according to His pattern. Robert Pader, 36, is from Tuguegarao City. He was one of those converted in the 1990’s from the Solana area. There is much good and fruitful work continuing to take place in that area which is very near Tuguegarao. Mamerto Leoncion, 30, is the youngest of the students in this training. He comes from Abra De Ilog on the island of Mindoro where I earlier noted that we have received invitations to come and preach to those desiring to hear the pure message of the gospel. Mamerto was a Mormon for 12 years before his conversion which I believe was about two years ago.

Thank you again for reading these reports and showing you interest in the work being done. The students and teachers continue to voice our thanks for your help and support in this training program because we know it would not be possible without you. Many of the prayers include words of thanks for your generosity and concern. Please know that I am continually thankful for every assistance and encouragement that you have given to this effort and me personally. May God bless and prosper you as you have done to us.

Brotherly, Harry O.