December 9-12 Philippine preaching
Dear family, brethren, and friends,
Jack and I left the hotel in Bacolod City on Friday at 6:30 A.M. to catch our flight to Cebu City on the island of Cebu. We were met by our dear friends Jonathan and Nanette Carino who live and labor in the Lord here.
The weather blessed us during the past week on Negros because the constant rain they had been having relented. It resumed last night and is forecast to continue every day. Daily rain is also forecast here on Cebu for the week ahead, with temperatures in the high 80’s, so we will pray for safety as we travel and teach.
Every night on Negros I worked hard to get to bed at a decent hour, but preparing lessons, reports, and email messages kept me up until about 12:30 virtually every night. Then we tried to get on the road by 8:00 A.M. each day to travel to our appointments. Fortunately, no appointments were scheduled for today. There is work to do, but I am getting a little extra rest as well. Did someone say we are getting older and we can feel it? Let’s just count our blessings every day and do whatever we can in serving the Lord. The night is coming when we can no longer work, as Jesus said in John 9:4.
Jonathan has been battling several health issues. He is slowly recovering from cataract surgery at this time, but Nanette and he are ready for the work planned for the upcoming week. Please pray for them.
Saturday and Sunday were scheduled for the Seaside church of Christ at Mainggit, Toledo City where Shamar Cajigas has continued the work of his father Nathan who died earlier this year. Jim McDonald first brought me here in 2002 and it has been an inspiration to watch the steady growth of this congregation. Jonathan and Nanette drove two hours through and across the mountains to take Jack, Mario Rubio, and myself to the all-day meeting. Including visitors from area congregations, about 150 people attended and most of them are members here. Their large church building has been repaired after suffering serious damage in a strong typhoon.
It appeared that nearly half the audience was composed of young people and they were very attentive as we studied two morning sessions on “Selecting a Mate” and after lunch an additional two sessions on “The Threat of Pornography: Making Sex an Idol.”
After this four hours of study, the open forum continued for another hour with several questions involving incidental and theoretical matters on the subject of baptism which are causing friction among some Filipino preachers. For instance, in some unusual situation where the sinner does not know or cannot find a faithful gospel preacher to baptize him, could he or she request any person including a woman to baptize him or her? The power to save is in the message and not in the messenger. In Philippians 1 Paul rejoiced because souls were saved even when the preachers had sinful attitudes – the power of the seed is in the seed, not in the sower.
In addition to addressing the questions, I tried to impress upon everyone that all the Filipino preachers are practicing the same thing: immersion for the remission of sins (Mk. 16:16; Acts 2:38). No preacher is asking someone who is not a Christian or asking a female to do the baptizing. And that is not even the issue: The only question is what to do when no gospel preacher is available.
It is counterproductive to the Great Commission for us to debate and divide over incidentals when the world needs to hear the truth of the gospel which we preach and practice in order to be saved! Any discussion of incidentals should be conducted with calmness and forbearance because we all are on a learning curve which requires time and patience.
I really hope and pray that Filipino preachers will be so busy in the pressing practical work of preaching the gospel to the lost that they will not have time to waste on theoretical questions.
On the Lord’s Day we left the hotel at 7:30 A.M. for the two hour drive through the mountains again to reach Mainggit where the building was full again, with 344 souls present. Their large building needs another extension! “From Wretched Man to More Than Conquerors” was the subject of the first sermon, followed by “Work While It Is Day” during the worship hour. After lunch we studied “Marriage: God’s Gift to Man and Woman” and last, “Salvation: Amazing, Astonishing!” 17 precious souls of all ages responded to the gospel call and we walked to the sea nearby where Shamar baptized them, just as his father had done many times through the years. I pray God will bless this young preacher to have many years in His service!
The weather continues to be in the 80’s with high humidity, so that my clothes are soaked with sweat when I finish preaching. It is made bearable because we are near the ocean and can feel the breeze.
During the covid lockdown, some members of the Seaside church began meeting in the house of Cornelio Roda, Jr. at Balamban a few kilometers from the Seaside church. Our Monday appointment was with the saints who have established this new congregation and 51 people attended our all-day meeting today.
Roda made a short summary in the local dialect of each sermon. In the morning I preached “From Wretched Man to More Than Conquerors” and “The Reformation: Reactions Against Catholicism.” The latter lessons explains the good things accomplished by the Reformation of the 1400’s-1500’s in breaking away from Catholicism but also the failures involved in denominationalism which prevented a full restoration of New Testament Christianity. After lunch we studied “The New Testament Church” and “Come Out of Her, My People.” All the lessons were well received in spite of the high heat and humidity.
We are getting back to the hotel about 6:30 or 7:00 each evening. By the time I east supper, study the next day’s lessons, take my exercise, answer a few emails, and make notes for these reports, I am lucky to get to bed by 12:30 A.M., and then get up shortly before 6:30 to start the new day. But I confess to cheating: I take cat naps during our 4 hours of round-trip travel each day.
What a high and holy privilege it is to preach to so many precious souls who hunger and thirst to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ!
In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook
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