Participants:
Series Code: JFAN
Program Code: JFAN000109S
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00:00 (dramatic music)
00:21 - Hello, and welcome to "Jesus for Asia Now." 00:24 I'm Natalie Wood, and my husband, Jon, is joining me today 00:27 as we share about a new approach to outreach 00:30 and church planting in unreached areas. 00:33 Hello love. - Hi darling, how are you? 00:35 - I'm doing well, thank you. 00:37 I'm looking forward to this show. 00:38 - Yes. - We're talking about, 00:40 is it really a new approach? 00:42 - No. - I don't think so. 00:43 - No, we're trying to be more biblical. 00:46 So in some cases, that might seem like a new approach, 00:51 but it's not really a new approach at all. 00:53 - Okay, all right, so where are we talking about? 00:56 - We're talking about Asia. 00:58 I think that this approach can work anywhere, 01:00 not just Asia, and not just any specific countries, 01:04 but we're trying it out first in the country 01:06 that we're seeing the biggest challenge in. 01:10 - Yeah, okay. - Which is Thailand. 01:12 - Okay, so in Thailand. - Mhm. 01:14 - Now we've talked a little bit 01:16 about some of these challenges in the past, on the show. 01:19 So some of our viewers may remember, 01:20 but just for a refresher, can you share with us 01:23 some of the, why, 01:25 some of the challenge why we're talking about 01:27 doing outreach this way? 01:29 - Right, well one of the biggest frustrations 01:32 that I've experienced in mission work 01:34 is driving through the countryside, 01:37 where you can drive for hours, and hours, 01:40 and hours, and hours, without coming in 01:42 within 100 miles of an Adventist church. 01:44 - Right. 01:45 - And, or an Adventist believer. 01:47 And it seems like there's no plan in place 01:52 to actually reach them, to actually put someone there 01:56 that knows Christ. 01:59 And I felt so discouraged thinking about, 02:05 "Wow, so much that still needs to be done." 02:08 And we're not talking about one or two cities, 02:10 we're talking about hundreds. 02:11 - Right- - Thousands. 02:13 - And not just in Thailand, but in other countries as well. 02:15 There's so many places where there's no Adventists, 02:18 and so many places where there's no Christian at all. 02:20 - Right. 02:21 - And it can be very expensive 02:24 to put somebody in a new place. 02:26 - Well, that's the whole thing, 02:28 because you look at, okay, what's it gonna take 02:29 to plant a church? 02:31 You've gotta develop some, you've gotta rent a place. 02:34 You gotta have somebody that can do a skill, 02:37 or you can do, 02:38 I mean, traditionally we've been thinking, 02:40 "Well, we've gotta come in with some kind of ministry, 02:42 some kind of way, some kind of excuse to make friends." 02:46 So whatever that ministry might be- 02:49 - We often call that tent making, you know, 02:51 like we're gonna go in, 02:52 and we're going to earn our living somehow. 02:54 - That's an option. 02:56 - So that we can connect with the people, or- 02:57 - But even just placing a Bible worker there, 03:00 or a pastor there, or a missionary there. 03:02 What are they gonna do when they get there? 03:04 What's their purpose? What are they? 03:06 You know, all these questions 03:07 were just boiling up in my mind over the many years, 03:11 just like, "What in the world can we do?" 03:13 And over the course of several years, 03:15 and several chance encounters, 03:18 I started to see what the real problem was, 03:21 and to find a solution. 03:25 Number one, what we're trying to do with church planting 03:28 and with raising new believers, is a spiritual activity. 03:34 - Right, right, very much so. 03:37 It's a spiritual battle- 03:39 - It is. - For each one of our souls. 03:40 - Yeah, and so like, 03:42 it's not like we're trying to set up a business 03:45 where we make money, that's the goal there. 03:47 But what we're trying to do, the end result 03:50 of everything that we're trying to do is a spiritual, 03:53 so for somebody to learn about Christ. 03:56 - Right. - And somebody to pray- 03:58 - And to be able to have the opportunity to accept him. 04:00 - Right. 04:01 - And be there for eternity with him. 04:03 - Exactly, a lot of these people don't know 04:05 if there is a God, if there is a God, what's he like? 04:11 Is he a being? Is he somebody you can talk to? 04:14 How do you pray? 04:16 I mean, just basic, basic things like that. 04:19 And so it's just been really sad to me, 04:22 to drive past, or through all these towns and villages, 04:25 no Adventist church here, no Adventist church here, 04:27 no Adventist church here. 04:29 It's like how are these people ever gonna know? 04:31 How are they gonna learn? - Right. 04:32 - And TV makes a big impact, 04:35 but the people on the ground, you know... 04:39 - Right, right, and Mrs. White talks about 04:42 having memorials in every city, 04:44 you know, having a place that's dedicated 04:46 to the one true God. 04:48 - Yeah, they deserve a witness. 04:50 And another thing that's really challenged me, 04:52 as I drive through these cities, as I stop in these cities, 04:55 as I look around, it's like, how come I don't feel 04:59 more of a burden for these people? 05:02 Why am I not turning my life upside down 05:07 for the sake of these people learning about Christ? 05:10 You know, why am I not burdened? 05:12 Why am I afraid of allowing my heart to break 05:16 for these people that don't know, 05:18 because I look at them and you know, 05:19 they're going about their daily lives. 05:21 They seem to have plenty of food. 05:23 Everything seems to be okay. 05:24 I mean, it's not like a big famine, 05:28 or a crisis in a physical realm. 05:31 But you see them and God is working with them. 05:35 I have no doubt about that. 05:37 But they don't know who he is, 05:41 and the blessings that we have received in our lives. 05:44 Where is my passion? 05:46 Where's my desire for them to know the Christ 05:50 that I have grown to love? 05:52 And it's just really humbled me to see my lack of desire, 05:58 my lack of compassion for these lost souls. 06:00 - Right, so we came to realize something, 06:03 and that is that a spiritual battle 06:05 has to use spiritual tools. 06:07 - Yeah, and this journey kinda began 06:09 with realizing that I don't have, we don't have the answers. 06:14 We don't have the method. 06:16 We don't know what to do to reach. 06:19 I mean, a lot of people have tried really hard, 06:21 in different ways, with different methods, 06:23 to reach this people group. 06:26 It's mainly the central, 06:28 you know, in pretty much any country, 06:31 is the fringes and the islands that we have done well in. 06:36 But the central main groups are very difficult to reach. 06:40 We've not done well in them, 06:41 because they already have their religion. 06:44 They already have everything they need. 06:46 They're pretty comfortable where they are. 06:48 So, but they don't know what they're missing. 06:51 They don't know what they don't know. 06:53 So how do you reach through that complacency? 06:55 And so what you're talking about is a spiritual battle. 06:59 We found a verse in the Bible where it says 07:02 that it's Satan that blinds the eyes and the minds 07:06 of those that are gonna be lost. 07:08 So Satan is actively blinding people's minds, 07:11 and blinding their eyes to the gospel. 07:13 So they may hear the gospel. 07:15 You know, even Nicodemus, 07:17 when he was sitting there interviewing Jesus that night, 07:19 he was sitting there looking at the Son of God, 07:22 looking at God in the eyes, and he didn't recognize it. 07:26 And Jesus says, "Unless you're born from above, 07:28 you cannot see the kingdom of heaven." 07:31 In other words, you can be sitting there 07:33 looking at the kingdom of heaven with your own two eyes, 07:36 and not see it, unless you're born from above. 07:39 So this is what you're saying, a spiritual battle. 07:43 Even before you start meeting people. 07:47 - Right, right, and that's true, 07:49 because God's the only one that knows 07:51 the right time for each place and for each person. 07:54 And he's the only one who can open the doors. 07:56 - Yeah, and the right method, and it's just... 08:01 It's like the power of resurrection from the dead, 08:05 that takes that kind of power to reach a person's heart. 08:08 - Right. - Yeah. 08:10 - Right, and God's the one with that. 08:11 - Absolutely, and plenty of it. 08:13 - Right, and it makes me think of 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, 08:17 "For though we walk in the flesh, 08:20 we do not war after the flesh. 08:22 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, 08:25 but mighty through God, to the pulling down of strongholds." 08:30 - Wow, so we've been trying to come up with a technique, 08:33 some kind of method for doing this, 08:35 and not realizing that this is a spiritual thing. 08:37 And so what do we use in this battle? 08:40 We've gotta start with the spiritual tools. 08:42 And the first spiritual tool is? 08:44 - Prayer. - Yeah. 08:45 - Right. - Yeah. 08:48 - So we have an overview video that shows 08:50 where we're talking about, 08:52 and so we can actually, like go there. 08:56 - Okay, sounds good to me. 08:58 (serene music) 09:01 - In the country of Thailand, 09:02 there are not a lot of Adventists, 09:06 and where there are Adventists, 09:07 they tend to be clustered along the edges of the country, 09:12 in a lot of ways, especially among the Hill Tribe peoples. 09:16 And so here in the central valley of Thailand, 09:19 there's a lot of people, and very few Adventists. 09:24 And in this city, there are none that we know of. 09:39 A few years ago, we went to Sukhothai, 09:41 which is about 2 1/2 hours north of here. 09:44 And there was no Adventists there. 09:47 And so we went to make some videos to share that need, 09:51 because it's very easy to be separated, 09:54 and to not really connect with the needs in the world, 09:58 when we're living our own lives, right? 10:00 So we wanted to kind of just put that out there, 10:03 and pray and ask for people 10:06 to consider coming to this place that needed missionaries. 10:13 And about a year after that, there was a family 10:15 that was planning to come to Sukhothai. 10:19 And so after that, we went and did a prayer walk, 10:22 to pray for God to work in that city, 10:25 to prepare the ground for that missionary family to come. 10:30 And what we've seen happen in that city is amazing. 10:33 There's all sorts of connections 10:35 that we can just look at and say, "That's God working, 10:41 and there's no other explanation." 10:42 (gentle piano music) 10:50 Behind me. Here is the city of Nakhon Sawan. 10:54 It means, in English, the heavenly city. 10:57 And I believe that God wants to put heaven 11:00 in the hearts of the people here. 11:04 As we've been here, I've been reading different things, 11:08 and I was reading about Nineveh, 11:10 and you know, such a great wicked city, 11:12 and God sent Jonah to go to Nineveh. 11:16 And the reason for that was because God saw 11:19 that in that city, there was people 11:23 who were yearning and desiring 11:25 and hoping for something better, a better way of life. 11:29 And so God sent Jonah to give the warning message, 11:33 and then when Jonah went and gave that warning message, 11:36 the Holy Spirit took that message, 11:39 and just set it in the hearts of the people, 11:42 and they responded. 11:44 I believe that that's what God wants to do 11:47 in this city of Nakhon Sawan. 12:03 I believe that God wants us to care about the things 12:07 that he cares about. 12:09 And God cares about these people. 12:11 In his Word, it says that he's not willing 12:14 that any should perish, 12:15 but that all should come to repentance, 12:18 and all should have eternal life. 12:20 He loves them, he cares about them, 12:23 but they don't even know that. 12:26 And they deserve that opportunity to know 12:29 that there's a God in heaven who created this world, 12:31 who created them, who loves them, 12:34 and who wants them to be with him for eternity. 12:45 As we've been here in this city the last couple of days, 12:49 we have seen God working, and we have sensed 12:52 that God is preparing this city, 12:55 and the people in this city, 12:57 for the message that will come here. 13:08 - So during the lockdown, I was trying to figure out 13:12 how I could get over to that city, and do a prayer walk. 13:16 'Cause that's the first thing we did in Sukhothai, 13:18 and I wanted to do the same thing in Nakhon Sawan. 13:21 But before I had a chance to say anything, 13:24 or purchase my ticket to go, 13:27 'cause I had to go through two weeks of quarantine, 13:29 and all that stuff, 13:30 I got a message from Jonathon Hill, 13:32 saying that they were thinking about going to Nakhon Sawan 13:35 to do a prayer walk. - Right. 13:38 - And I was a little jealous, 'cause I wanted to go there. 13:40 But he and his wife arranged, and connected with Jim Castor, 13:45 who's been on our show before, 13:47 good friend from the Philippines, having a prayer ministry. 13:51 And they put together two prayer walks. 13:55 One was with some local people, friends, Adventists 13:58 that came up and walked Nakhon Sawan. 14:00 - So, and we have a video from the first prayer walk. 14:04 - [Jon] Okay. 14:05 (gentle music) 14:14 - Today's a very special day, 14:15 because we're here in Nakhon Sawan, a dark city. 14:19 And we have some friends who have come together 14:22 to pray with us. 14:24 And so today we are doing a prayer walk. 14:27 We're praying in different places throughout the city, 14:30 for the people in this city, 14:32 but also for people to come, 14:35 and share the gospel in this city. 14:46 - I'm here because I was privileged and blessed enough 14:49 to join the prayer walk at Sukhothai before. 14:51 I think that was three years ago. 14:53 And seeing how God mightily works in there, 14:58 I know that he could do mighty things here too. 15:01 And doing the prayer walk, and being in the place 15:04 that you're praying for 15:06 gives you a different inspiration to pray more. 15:10 - For me, I just realized that I have been praying for, 15:14 like I am asking God to give me something, 15:16 or someone to pray for, and to intercede for. 15:18 And I am so blessed to have a experience like this 15:23 for the very first time. 15:25 (serene music) 15:48 For me, like God is changing the way I pray. 15:52 He has been showing me that your prayers 15:55 are just so focused to yourself. 15:57 And there are a lot of people 15:58 who are really in need of prayers. 16:00 - It's refreshing, it gives us a new focus 16:03 on what we are here for, not merely for ourselves. 16:06 - It's a reminder that you have to live outside yourself, 16:10 and that God created you to be a part of a bigger body. 16:14 So you have to pray for others as well, and it's a blessing. 16:21 - We went to eat lunch, 16:23 and we were at this vegetarian restaurant eating lunch, 16:25 and it was wonderful and everything. 16:27 But then Hannah noticed 16:29 that there was 20 baht on the floor. 16:32 And so she thought maybe it was the people next to us, 16:34 and so she asked, and they said, "No, it's not ours." 16:39 Anyway, we started talking to them a little bit, 16:41 and it turns out they speak English. 16:43 So they started talking to us in English, 16:45 and it was just a really friendly, 16:47 warm, wonderful conversation. 16:49 So we got their contact info, 16:52 and we shared a couple of little glow tracks with them. 16:56 And the one lady, she looked at the front of one of 'em, 16:59 and it was something about how to have a better future. 17:02 And she picked it up, and she pointed at it, 17:04 and she said, "That's what I want." 17:09 That's exactly what God wants to bring 17:12 to the people in this city, is a better future. 17:38 - I was in a Sabbath school class, 17:39 teaching a Sabbath school class once, 17:40 and I was expressing my burden for the lost. 17:43 And somebody in the class says, "Aren't their organizations 17:49 that can take care of that? 17:51 And you don't have to worry, 17:52 you don't have to stress so much about it." 17:54 And my reply was, "If I don't allow the sufferings 18:02 of humanity to break my heart, 18:05 then what kind of heart do I have? 18:07 And it's a stony heart." 18:10 And Christ allowed the sufferings of humanity 18:13 to break his heart. - Right. 18:15 - And he did something about it. 18:17 - Yeah. 18:18 - And the end result is gonna be worth it. 18:20 - Right. - Yeah. 18:21 - So that was such a beautiful video. 18:24 So powerful, showing the different places there. 18:28 I mean, it's always interesting to see different places, 18:30 but to think about the people that live there, 18:32 the people that they were walking past, 18:34 the lady in the restaurant, 18:36 and the man that was cooking, 18:37 and you know, the different people that they saw, 18:42 just their lives are real to Christ. 18:45 He has known them since before they were born. 18:47 And they may not be real to us, but they're real to him. 18:53 And so, we should care. 18:57 - And that's where you start, you know. 18:59 One person told me, he says, "How come, you know, 19:01 I don't love the people that are over there." 19:04 And I'm like, "Well, neither do I. 19:05 How can you love somebody you've never met? 19:08 But Christ loves them, and because he loves them, 19:11 already, right off the bat, for my love for Christ, 19:14 I can love them," and then- 19:16 - Right, well, that's where our love comes from, 19:18 is our connection with him. 19:19 So if we're connected with Christ, 19:21 then whether we know them or not, 19:23 we will have some sort of interest in them, you know? 19:27 And his love will grow in our hearts for them. 19:29 And that's one of the reasons we pray, 19:32 is to have care, like the young lady was saying. 19:36 'Cause our prayers are selfish, 19:38 they're focused on our needs, on ourselves. 19:40 And this is something 19:41 that we can intercede for someone else. 19:44 And, you know, we may never meet them this side of heaven, 19:47 but God can come in, because of our prayers, 19:50 and make huge changes in their lives. 19:52 - Yes, exactly. 19:54 Also wanted to talk a little bit 19:55 about what a prayer walk is. 19:57 It's not anything magical. - Right. 20:00 - But being there with our feet on the ground, 20:03 we can claim Joshua 1:3, 20:05 "Wherever you put the sole of your foot, 20:07 that have I already given to you." 20:09 And seeing the people, seeing the environment, 20:11 seeing the city- 20:13 - The way they live, what the city looks like. 20:16 - It becomes priority in your mind. 20:18 - Right. - It becomes more real. 20:21 And that encourages you to pray more, with a bigger burden. 20:25 - Right. - Yeah. 20:26 - Right. 20:27 - So, that's the reason for the prayer walks. 20:29 - Right, so that was from the first prayer walk. 20:32 - The in-person one. - Right. 20:33 And then they scheduled a Zoom one, and invited everybody. 20:37 And so we have three videos coming up. 20:40 The first one is from before prayer started. 20:43 - [Jon] Okay. 20:44 - Good morning, fellow missionaries. 20:46 Welcome back to Mission Viewfinder. 20:48 It is about six o'clock, seven o'clock, sorry, 20:50 in the morning here, and we are headed out to pray. 20:54 To pray where? 20:56 Here in Nakhon Sawan. 20:57 (gentle music) 21:02 - Be stronger than that, 21:04 and a full treasury of (indistinct) 21:10 And just imagine something, the beautiful promises 21:12 that we will somehow believe (indistinct), 21:16 as we wrestle with the Lord, for the lives of the people. 21:19 - That building, where they have rented, and are opening, 21:25 that is like 150 feet from two of the places 21:31 that we prayed at the prayer call in Sukhothai. 21:34 Like, it's so amazing the way God works. 21:45 - Okay, so that was kinda before running into 21:48 the actual prayer call, but this next video 21:50 is what it looks like in the prayer call. 21:52 - Right, and I just wanted to mention, 21:54 when Hannah came on the screen, 21:56 that's Hannah Hill, Jonathan's wife. 21:58 When she came on the screen, she was talking, 22:00 "Hello, welcome to Mission Viewfinder." 22:02 And I just wanted our viewers to know 22:04 that Jonathan and Hannah have a YouTube channel, 22:07 called Mission Viewfinder. 22:09 And there they share a little behind the scenes, 22:12 and they share spiritual thoughts, 22:14 and things that they've gone through in the mission field, 22:17 different things like that. 22:18 It's more of a personal vlog kind of thing, a video blog. 22:22 And so if our viewers are interested, 22:24 it's on the YouTube channel. 22:26 - Yeah, Mission Viewfinder. 22:27 - Right, so let's go ahead with the next video. 22:29 - Okay. 22:31 - My brother, Jonathan Hill, 22:32 who's there already in Thailand right now. 22:34 Friends, do you know why we're excited? 22:38 Because last year, was it last year, Brother Jon? 22:44 Our brother, Jon Wood, is here in the line as well. 22:46 Was it last year when you did, 22:47 oh no, not last year, 2019, 22:50 when you did that prayer walk in Sukhothai? 22:53 Is it last year, yes? 22:55 And they did not do something like this, 22:57 there was no online prayer call. 23:00 There was just like less than five of you, 23:03 Brother Jon, wasn't it? 23:04 Five or six of you? - That's correct. 23:07 - I think there was five of us. 23:11 Jonathan Hill was there, 23:14 and we just walked through the town, the city, 23:16 and prayed for the city, 23:17 stopped at different places in the park, 23:19 in the center of downtown, and one of the temples. 23:22 We just lifted up the city, for God to intervene, 23:26 and to open doors. 23:29 And it's amazing what God did. 23:31 - [Gem] And, for to build up, for to build up the prayers 23:35 that has been offered. 23:38 - So that's just a little taste. 23:39 This went on for about a full hour. 23:42 Yeah, and people really, really enjoyed it. 23:45 - Right. 23:46 - And the outpouring of prayer, 23:47 and lifting up that one city, 23:49 that you know, who knows how many of our viewers 23:53 have prayed for Nakhon Sawan before? 23:55 - Right, yeah, most people had never heard of it. 23:58 - Exactly, I hadn't heard about it, 24:00 until I drove through it a few times. 24:01 - Right. 24:03 - And it's like the biggest city in Central Thailand. 24:05 - Yeah. - Yeah. 24:07 - All right, so now we have a video 24:08 of Jonathan's reaction after the prayer call was over, 24:12 for Mission Viewfinder. 24:14 And just wanna invite everybody, keep a look on his eyes. 24:19 - Wow, that was amazing. 24:21 We just got off the prayer call, 24:24 and you know, it's just really amazing. 24:28 We're here, two people. 24:30 Yesterday, there was five of us, 24:31 but today there's only two people. 24:34 And it can seem like what can we do? 24:39 What, you know, we're praying, yes, and God works. 24:42 But sometimes, just two, 24:48 feels like not so much. 24:51 But we just got off a prayer call with 57 people 24:54 pouring their hearts out for God to work in this city. 25:02 And that was, 25:05 that was a precious thing. 25:09 And I know, I know God is working in a mighty way. 25:16 I just can't wait to see what it's gonna look like 25:18 in a year, or six months. 25:22 - (laughing) 'Cause you know what happened right after that? 25:26 - I know what happened. - Yeah. 25:29 - God sent Jonathan and Hannah there. 25:31 So be careful what you pray for, 25:34 and what you pour your heart out for, 25:36 because he will honor it. - Yes, that's right. 25:40 They were living just on the outskirts of Chiang Mai, 25:42 and the statistic is that 75% of all missionaries 25:45 that go to Thailand, go to Chiang Mai, 25:48 'cause it's nice, it's beautiful, and it's just- 25:51 - Pretty easy to work. 25:53 - And so they just felt the burden, "Why don't we move?" 25:55 So now, praise God, there are two people, 25:59 two Adventists living in Nakhon Sawan. 26:02 - Right. 26:03 - So you might think, "Well, two people, 26:05 that's not very much." 26:06 But think about it a percentage, 26:08 if you go from one to two, 26:09 or 100 church members to 200 church members, 26:11 that's 100% growth. 26:13 But if you go from zero to two, 26:16 that's infinite growth, percentage wise. 26:19 - Right. - You know. 26:20 Before there was nobody, and now there's two, 26:23 worshiping God on the Sabbath, in that city. 26:27 - Right, and God is opening all sorts of opportunities. 26:31 I mean, I know they have a lot of stories, 26:32 and we've heard some of them 26:34 on their Mission Viewfinder channel, 26:36 because Jonathan loves to run. 26:39 They have met people that are running. 26:41 They have met people 26:43 that have gone biking with, cycling with. 26:46 They're meeting people in the market, 26:48 you know, different things God has led in different ways 26:51 to specific places. 26:53 You know, just the way God is guiding, 26:57 and even to the house that they're living in, 26:59 it was very definitely a God thing, 27:01 because the place was not for rent. 27:03 It was for sale, but it was not for rent. 27:06 And God told the lady that she was to rent to them. 27:10 And so it's like, God really has a purpose and has a plan. 27:14 - Yes, yes, and the only way we can make a difference 27:17 is to pray. - Right. 27:20 - And the beautiful thing about prayer 27:22 is that you don't have to go there to pray. 27:25 - Right, you can pray from anywhere, for anywhere. 27:29 - Yes. - And God has big plans. 27:31 - Yes, absolutely. 27:34 - I would like to invite you to pray 27:36 for Jonathan and Hannah, 27:37 and for the people of Nakhon Sawan, 27:39 that they would come to know God, 27:42 the one who loves them so very, very much. 27:44 If you would like to contact us, 27:46 you can reach us at Jesus for Asia, P.O. Box 1221, 27:51 Collegedale, Tennessee, 37315. 27:55 Call us at 423-413-7321, 27:59 or visit our website at jesus4asia.org. 28:03 May God richly bless you until we see you next time, 28:07 on "Jesus for Asia Now." 28:09 (dramatic music) |
Revised 2021-12-28