Pasay Study Continues & Typhoon Udate

Our Tuesday study in the “Learning to Use the Bible” series went very well. We covered the NT books in an overall look, the view the books in their groupings (Gospels, History, Epistles/Letters and Prophecy), and then some distinctive elements of each individual book. Since I was fighting the loss of my voice, Jonathan Carino took the rest of the time after I left about 3pm. As most of the Filipino preachers are more familiar with the NT, they seemed to grasp the points more readily than the day before.

This morning was our time to bring it all together. We reviewed the principles from the previous two days, then I put up the words of a passage and had them identify where it was located using the principles about the books that we learned previously. They were only allowed to use their Bibles without any kind of concordance or search engine. As we went through the exercise, they caught on well and were able to narrow it down to a given book and then find the text. After doing that about 20 times, I showed them the ultimate point of the exercise. We noted that they could alter that process and find a passage by knowing the point they wanted to make in a sermon and, knowing the make-up of the sections and books, quickly find a passage that would be correctly used in its context rather than just seeing a phrase that looked right and possibly using it out of its context. They seemed to benefit from the classes and expressed their thanks repeatedly.

The extent of the damage done by Typhoon Ompong (known as “Mangkhut” as the international name) is becoming clearer by the day. Some of the worst loss of life seems to have been some distance south of the typhoon’s path in Baguio. That is a mountainous region and the rain was especially heavy there causing large landslides. Today, the reports are that 60 were killed in one large landslide. The damages in the Cagayan province (where Tuguegarao is located) seem to be mostly from the high winds. I saw reports yesterday from Jerome Forelo, Rody Gumpad’s son-in-law, that he had personally seen those from 16 congregations in that area and all had significant damage to either homes or church buildings or both. Many seemed to have had their metal roof taken away by the wind.

Rody leaves tomorrow and hopes to be in Tuguegarao by Saturday. I am due to be in Tuguegarao in early November for preacher training classes there on the “Epistles of Peter” and “Premillennialism.” It looks like those classes will be possible as the President of the Philippines visited Tuguegarao shortly after the typhoon passed. He has ordered a massive force to restore power quickly and have the airport open within a week. When Typhoon Yolanda hit several years ago, the President at that time did very little and much of the devastation remained unchanged for more than a year. I will do my best to keep up with news of the damage as I get it and pass it along to all of you.

This statement is from Rody Gumpad: “I am getting so many requests from brethren in many places and I do not know how to start with! The damages are so great! Besides Isabela, Kalinga and Apayao Provinces there are more than 60 active Congregations in Cagayan alone and all have damages and heavily affected (Church Buildings and house of members and crops destroyed)! It is so impossible to supply all the amounts they are requesting to help them recover but we can divide what we can get especially to those who are most in need.”

Classes in Pasay Begin

We started a new class in the Pasay, part of the Metro Manila area. This study is on “Learning to Use the Bible.” (You may want to read this post on the “Philippine Updates” linked above since I have included some of the photos used in the class today.) We first noted how the study would progress from looking at the “Big Picture” regarding the overall purpose of the Bible to then open up more and more detail as we go into greater detail with the books as we go. The saw the overall theme of the Bible is “Salvation in Christ.” We focused today on how the Old Testament fit into that theme, the way the groups of OT book fit into that theme, and what each of the books basically covered.

We took a large amount of time in covering the purpose of the OT books of History and what was in each. We first tried to establish a purpose for the books. We then looked at the period of Israelite History covered by each. We spent a larger amount of time trying to establish the period of history covered by each since that was the area of least familiarity the class. We did much the same with all divisions of OT books, but the books of History definitely required the most time.

We also spent a great deal of time talking about the purpose and place of the books of Wisdom in the OT. We broke down what each one covered and then showed how they all work together to help man live with the various aspects of our lives while trying to serve God. This took a larger amount of time than I expected as a number did not seem to have a grasp of the books of Wisdom, so we spent some extra time covering questions asked. The Lord willing, we will finish the closer focus on the OT books tomorrow and move into the NT books. Wednesday will be spent in practical application of the principles in order to have a greater overall grasp of the Bible and how to use it effectively in study and teaching.

Several have written about the effect of Typhoon Mangkhut (called “Ompong” in the Philippines) and wanting to help. Just as in the case of Typhoon Yolanda several years ago, accurate reports are hard to get at first. Since I am in the classes with Rody Gumpad, I am beginning to hear about damage reports from brethren in the area affected. We do not have a good grasp yet on how may homes of brethren and how many church building have been damaged or destroyed. I hope to have a better idea of how serious things are by tomorrow or Wednesday at the latest. Jerome Forelo, Rody’s son-in-law, now is getting out and checking on the damage in the Cagayan region that was hard hit. There have also been reports of large landslides from the rains and I expect that Kalinga province will also be hard hit in that regard because of its geography and

the large rainfall totals it received. I appreciate the concern of so many who have a love and concern for their Filipino brethren! [Note: the picture above at the left is from the center of town in Tuguegarao. The picture just below and to the right is of the airport in Tuguegarao. Both are taken from the news media here in the Philippines.]

Classes on Matthew End & the Crazy Schedule Begins

The last day of classes on Friday was extended by about 30 minutes so we could finish the material. We started at Matthew 24 and made it through the end of the book by about 12:30pm. Of course, we started on time at 7am and only took one break of about 15 minutes. Even with such a demanding schedule, the class was extremely attentive and fully engaged in the study. Many had never studied Matthew 24 all of the way through and repeatedly expressed the fact that it would help them a great deal as they deal with premillennial friends and family. As I have noted before, the vast majority of gospel preachers, especially in the Visayas and Mindanao, have been converted from denominationalism – most from an Evangelical, Charismatic or Pentecostal group that teaches Premillennialism.

In addition to Matthew 24 and the judgment of God against of Jerusalem and the Jewish nation, we noted the Judgment at the end of time in Christ’s final coming. We showed how the texts of Matthew 24 and 25 not only contradict the teachings of Premillennialism, but also refute the errors of “Realized Eschatology,” otherwise know as the “A.D. 70 Doctrine.” We gave attention to the principles governing all judgments of God, whether temporal or eternal and the need for all of us to be watchful and prepared for the coming of the Lord. Matthew 25 also brought us to a study of the eternal nature of both heaven and hell. We saw some of the statements made by Homer Hailey and Edward Fudge denying that hell will be eternal. However, the same Greek word is used in Matthew 25:46 to affirm the duration of both “everlasting punishment” and “eternal life.”

We studied Matthew 26 and 27 as a narrative of the garden preparation, unlawful trial and crucifixion of Christ. As Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, His disciples were still in doubt that He would be taken and killed as He had repeatedly said, but we noted that it was another step taken by the Lord to prepare them. (We also quickly noted some of the errors surrounding the Lord’s Supper in contrast with Jesus’ instituting it and how it was properly implemented in the worship of the first century church.) We showed that the trial of Jesus was a clear violation of OT principles regarding the lawful establishment of truth. We looked at the horrible suffering of Jesus from the garden of Gethsemane to the trial and on to the mocking, scourging and crucifixion. We looked step by step in the account as Jesus perfectly fulfilled prophecy, fully submitted to the

suffering and became the perfect sacrifice by which we could be saved. After the crucifixion narrative, we concluded the study with examining Matthew 28 and the account of the resurrection. At the conclusion of the book, I asked them to sing “Tell Me the Story of Jesus.” Those who know me well know that is my favorite song and I very rarely make it through the song with dry eyes. This time, I kept my composure until we discussed the passages we could put with each verse and how we should always keep those events in our minds. As we came to an end, I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room. What a wonderful Savior we have!

With so little sleep throughout the week, I went to my hotel room and crashed on Friday afternoon through that night. I met Jonathan for breakfast before he took me to the airport. With the typhoon bringing heavy rains and winds to Manila, I was not sure whether the flight would be canceled. When I got there, I found that my flight to Manila was not canceled, though most were. I had bought my round-trip tickets from Manila to Cebu and returning long ago, paying in advance extra for the excess baggage weight. (That fee is more than the flight itself if you pay for it on the day of the flight, so I always buy it in advance.) My original plan was to have Saturday evening as well as Sunday afternoon and evening to study for the classes in Pasay starting Monday morning. However, when I got the invitation to preach at the Sunday

services of the “Bright and Morning Star Church” (known as BMS), I had to buy another round-trip (without any luggage) to get back to Cebu on Saturday night and back to Manila on Sunday afternoon. It was a major hassle, not to mention the added expense, but I was not going to pass up this opportunity that we have been working towards for about 3 years. To make a long story short, I preached on “God’s Use of Prophets,” a lesson showing the verbal inspiration of the Scripture and how it will not allow for any changes of the divine message. It ended with the fact that the Holy Spirit not only inspired the unchangeable message of morality and the reality of an eternal heaven and hell, but also inspired the unchangeable message affirming only one true church built by Jesus, one pattern for authorized worship and one gospel plan of salvation. The lesson was well received and I believe several of the members are getting closer and closer to understanding the truth and obeying it.

As I finish this report, I am back in Manila at a hotel close to the meeting place of the congregation in Pasay. The Lord willing for tomorrow, we will begin the class there on “Learning to Use the Bible.” We will begin the classes a little later tomorrow so that Jonathan and I can get a little rest because the last few days have been very demanding and exhausting. (Jonathan and Nanette are due to fly into Manila about 1am Monday morning!) Please keep these classes in your prayers.

I am sorry for not getting out a report daily during the past week. It was a far more challenging class and immeasurably more time consuming for the daily preparations than any classes I have conducted before. I hope to return to my normal daily reports during this week’s studies that are scheduled to end Wednesday afternoon. Thank you again for your help in support and prayers to assist in this work! I appreciate it far more than words could ever express! God bless!

Matthew Classes in Cebu Continue

This week’s classes on Matthew have been the most demanding of all that I have done to this point. I am sorry for not getting a report out every day, but the preparations for each class has kept me busy into the very late hours. I have been getting to bed about 1 to 2am and rising at 4:30am. Since classes will end at noon tomorrow, I intend to catch up on some sleep tomorrow afternoon, the Lord willing.

On Tuesday, we covered Matthew 6–11. Throughout the Sermon on the Mount, we emphasized the “gospel of the kingdom” was of a different kind than the old law. The law of Moses was given to govern a physical kingdom, thus having laws dealing with governing, protecting and judging as necessary in that physical kingdom. However, the gospel of Christ, governing a spiritual kingdom, is very different. We also noted that once the fundamental principles of the gospel were laid out in the Sermon on the Mount, that new revelation needed to be confirmed which Jesus did by working all types of miracles.

On Wednesday, we began our study with Matthew 11 and finished towards the end of chapter 17. We gave emphasis to the contrast between divine law and the traditions of man that add and subtract from the law of God. We spent a good deal of time in noting the various miracles in this section of the book, Christ’s promise to build His church as well as how and when it was fulfilled and the events surrounding the transfiguration. In going through a number of the parables, we noted principles about properly interpreting parables and avoiding the mistake of overreaching for parallels not intended.

On Thursday, we started with Matthew 17:24 and closed in the afternoon by completing Matthew 23. We continued the study of parables, especially those regarding the nature of the kingdom (ie. “the kingdom of heaven is like…). We gave special stress to the number of passages in this section showing the need for humility and having the servant’s attitude. We discussed the fact that this is especially needed for preachers. It was a profitable day of study for all of us.

The Lord willing, tomorrow will bring our studies to a close. The students have been attentive throughout the week and it has been a joy to be with them. One was baptized on Monday night. Many have made comments on particular points that were helpful in the studies. I believe the week has been very edifying for all of us and we all appreciate so much the assistance by all who have made these classes possible. God bless!