August 19-22 UK-France-Philippines #7
Dear family, brethren, and friends,
On Monday we left the hotel early to drive an hour to the airport, then caught a plane to Cebu City and another one to General Santos City in southern Mindanao, arriving about 3:30 P.M. Salvador Parbo met us and brought us to our hotel. I ate super in my room because I was working on my report, tomorrow’s sermons, and email. This has been a long day with a lot of travel and my body forced me to go to bed before 11:00 P.M., which does not happen often.
A 2-day lectureship on “God’s Truth Defeats Satan’s Lies” was planned for the Lanton church in General Santos City where Jolly Julom serves as an evangelist, and we started Tuesday. Well over 100 souls heard 2 morning lessons on “God’s Truth VS Satan’s Lies” and 2 afternoon sermons on “Overcoming Sin.” This was a very attentive audience in spite of the summer heat. My clothes were soaked with sweat again today, but the heat was more bearable because a light cloud cover shielded the church building from the sun’s direct heat.
When the floor was opened to questions, they started coming like a good rain storm – all good questions. What is the condition of an infant who dies when one or both parents are unbelievers? The infant’s soul is perfectly innocent and is not polluted with the sins of his parents (Ezek. 18:20). Does John 3:5 teach we must receive both water baptism and Holy Spirit baptism to enter God’s kingdom? No, it teaches that we learn to submit to water baptism by the instruction of the Holy Spirit who guides the new birth.
How is it possible that God created us in His image to live in fellowship with Him, and then allowed Satan to draw us away from Him by his lies? The Bible answers from start to finish that God gave us free will, and, thus, invites and allows us to live in fellowship with Him without forcing us to do so (see Gen. 3 & Rev. 21:17).
Do we receive the Holy Spirit when we are baptized? Yes, but not in some miraculous or mystical sense. The Bible shows that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit dwell in God’s people, and we dwell in each of them, which means we are united in spiritual fellowship with each other (see Jn. 17:21; Rom. 8:9; 1 Jn. 4:12-13).
There were more, but this is a good sampling. Since I had been on my feet teaching almost 6 hours today, Salvador Parbo suggested we close the session at 6:00 P.M. This was a fruitful day with faithful brethren, backsliders, and visitors present. We sow the seed in full confidence God will give the increase according to His will.
And, wow, hasn’t that full moon been a gorgeous sight the last couple of nights!
Jack Jaco went early Wednesday morning to the Lanton church to preach on the Bible timeline showing that we live in the Gospel Age or Christian Age, not the Patriarchal or Mosaic Age. My first subject was “The Prison of Sin,” followed by “True Worship VS False Worship.”
There were 3 conversions today. Leonardo Maste is a long time Christian and preacher, but he has not always been stable. In recent years he has been associated with denominational groups, but today he repented, confessed his sins, and asked for the prayers of the saints (Acts 8:22-24). Also, 2 other men confessed their faith in Christ and were baptized for the remission of their sins. There was great joy in heaven and on earth!
For the final 2 topics in the series, we moved to the nearby River Side church of Christ where Johnny Julom has ministered for many years. His sons keep the work going while he is preaching on a small island where he is successfully reaping a harvest of souls for Christ. The last 2 lessons were “Finish the Race” and “Death, What Then?” The latter topic usually generates good questions and discussion, as happened again today.
We left General Santos City Thursday morning and reached Digos City at 10:00 to preach with Ben Canada at the Chapter 2 Aplaya church where about 60 souls gathered. Since our time was limited, we sang a couple of songs and I started preaching immediately the sermon “When Peter Confessed Christ,” a textual study of Matthew 16:13-19, followed by “Finish the Race. A Baptist preacher attended and seemed to be very receptive, which is not unusual over here, but there was another golden opportunity which is very unusual.
Two Filipinos invited American friends to come, and both came: Jerry from Riverside, California and Ron from south Texas. They sat at the front and were very attentive, although it was obvious they had never heard such lessons. Jerry commented afterward that he was glad he came because otherwise he would have been at the bar drinking beer – one of the sins directly addressed in the second sermon. So, clearly, he was listening. There were no questions when I opened the floor because everyone including Ron and Jerry said they understood the lessons clearly.
We got to Kidapawan City in the Province of Cotabato late this afternoon after traveling from Digos City. I napped before supper because preaching in the heat today drained my energy more than I had realized. I walked after supper, but the pace was slow. Our hotel is in a good location: a police station on one side and a hospital just across the corner. We will start our work here tomorrow, God willing.
In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook
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