(dramatic music)
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- Hello, and welcome
to "Jesus for Asia Now."
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I'm Natalie Wood, and my
husband, Jon, is joining me
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today as we share about
a new approach to outreach
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and church
planting in unreached areas.
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Hello love. - Hi
darling, how are you?
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- I'm doing well, thank you.
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I'm looking
forward to this show.
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- Yes. - We're talking about,
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is it really a new approach?
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- No. - I don't think so.
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- No, we're trying
to be more biblical.
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So in some cases, that
might seem like a new approach,
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but it's not really
a new approach at all.
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- Okay, all right, so
where are we talking about?
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- We're talking about Asia.
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I think that this
approach can work anywhere,
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not just Asia, and not
just any specific countries,
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but we're trying it
out first in the country
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that we're seeing
the biggest challenge in.
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- Yeah, okay. -
Which is Thailand.
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- Okay, so in Thailand. - Mhm.
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- Now we've talked a little bit
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about some of these challenges
in the past, on the show.
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So some of our
viewers may remember,
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but just for a
refresher, can you share with us
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some of the, why,
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some of the challenge
why we're talking about
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doing outreach this way?
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- Right, well one of
the biggest frustrations
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that I've
experienced in mission work
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is driving
through the countryside,
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where you can drive
for hours, and hours,
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and hours, and
hours, without coming in
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within 100 miles of
an Adventist church.
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- Right.
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- And, or an Adventist believer.
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And it seems like
there's no plan in place
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to actually reach them,
to actually put someone there
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that knows Christ.
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And I felt so
discouraged thinking about,
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"Wow, so much that
still needs to be done."
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And we're not talking
about one or two cities,
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we're talking about hundreds.
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- Right- - Thousands.
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- And not just in Thailand,
but in other countries as well.
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There's so many places
where there's no Adventists,
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and so many places where
there's no Christian at all.
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- Right.
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- And it can be very expensive
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to put somebody in a new place.
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- Well, that's the whole thing,
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because you look at,
okay, what's it gonna take
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to plant a church?
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You've gotta develop
some, you've gotta rent a place.
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You gotta have
somebody that can do a skill,
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or you can do,
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I mean, traditionally
we've been thinking,
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"Well, we've gotta come in
with some kind of ministry,
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some kind of way, some
kind of excuse to make friends."
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So whatever that
ministry might be-
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- We often call that
tent making, you know,
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like we're gonna go in,
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and we're going to
earn our living somehow.
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- That's an option.
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- So that we can
connect with the people, or-
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- But even just
placing a Bible worker there,
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or a pastor there,
or a missionary there.
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What are they gonna
do when they get there?
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What's their
purpose? What are they?
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You know, all these questions
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were just boiling up in
my mind over the many years,
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just like, "What in
the world can we do?"
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And over the
course of several years,
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and several chance encounters,
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I started to see
what the real problem was,
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and to find a solution.
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Number one, what we're trying
to do with church planting
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and with raising new believers,
is a spiritual activity.
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- Right, right, very much so.
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It's a spiritual battle-
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- It is. - For
each one of our souls.
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- Yeah, and so like,
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it's not like we're
trying to set up a business
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where we make money,
that's the goal there.
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But what we're
trying to do, the end result
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of everything that we're
trying to do is a spiritual,
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so for somebody to
learn about Christ.
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- Right. - And somebody to pray-
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- And to be able to have
the opportunity to accept him.
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- Right.
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- And be there
for eternity with him.
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- Exactly, a lot of
these people don't know
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if there is a God, if
there is a God, what's he like?
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Is he a being? Is he
somebody you can talk to?
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How do you pray?
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I mean, just basic,
basic things like that.
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And so it's just
been really sad to me,
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to drive past, or through
all these towns and villages,
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no Adventist church
here, no Adventist church here,
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no Adventist church here.
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It's like how are
these people ever gonna know?
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How are they
gonna learn? - Right.
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- And TV makes a big impact,
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but the people on
the ground, you know...
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- Right, right, and
Mrs. White talks about
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having memorials in every city,
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you know, having a
place that's dedicated
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to the one true God.
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- Yeah, they deserve a witness.
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And another thing
that's really challenged me,
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as I drive through these cities,
as I stop in these cities,
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as I look around, it's
like, how come I don't feel
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more of a burden
for these people?
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Why am I not
turning my life upside down
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for the sake of these
people learning about Christ?
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You know, why am I not burdened?
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Why am I afraid of
allowing my heart to break
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for these
people that don't know,
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because I look at
them and you know,
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they're going
about their daily lives.
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They seem to
have plenty of food.
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Everything seems to be okay.
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I mean, it's not
like a big famine,
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or a crisis in a physical realm.
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But you see them and
God is working with them.
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I have no doubt about that.
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But they don't know who he is,
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and the blessings that we
have received in our lives.
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Where is my passion?
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Where's my desire for
them to know the Christ
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that I have grown to love?
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And it's just really humbled
me to see my lack of desire,
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my lack of
compassion for these lost souls.
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- Right, so we came
to realize something,
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and that is that
a spiritual battle
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has to use spiritual tools.
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- Yeah, and this
journey kinda began
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with realizing that I don't
have, we don't have the answers.
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We don't have the method.
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We don't know
what to do to reach.
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I mean, a lot of
people have tried really hard,
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in different ways,
with different methods,
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to reach this people group.
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It's mainly the central,
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you know, in
pretty much any country,
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is the fringes and the islands
that we have done well in.
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But the central main groups
are very difficult to reach.
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We've not done well in them,
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because they
already have their religion.
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They already have
everything they need.
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They're pretty
comfortable where they are.
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So, but they don't
know what they're missing.
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They don't know
what they don't know.
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So how do you reach
through that complacency?
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And so what you're talking
about is a spiritual battle.
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We found a verse in
the Bible where it says
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that it's Satan that
blinds the eyes and the minds
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of those that are gonna be lost.
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So Satan is actively
blinding people's minds,
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and blinding their
eyes to the gospel.
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So they may hear the gospel.
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You know, even Nicodemus,
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when he was sitting there
interviewing Jesus that night,
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he was sitting there
looking at the Son of God,
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looking at God in the eyes,
and he didn't recognize it.
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And Jesus says,
"Unless you're born from above,
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you cannot see the
kingdom of heaven."
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In other words, you
can be sitting there
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looking at the kingdom of
heaven with your own two eyes,
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and not see it, unless
you're born from above.
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So this is what you're
saying, a spiritual battle.
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Even before you
start meeting people.
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- Right, right, and that's true,
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because God's the
only one that knows
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the right time for each
place and for each person.
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And he's the only one
who can open the doors.
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- Yeah, and the right
method, and it's just...
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It's like the power of
resurrection from the dead,
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that takes that kind of
power to reach a person's heart.
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- Right. - Yeah.
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- Right, and
God's the one with that.
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- Absolutely, and plenty of it.
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- Right, and it makes me
think of 2 Corinthians 10:3-4,
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"For though we
walk in the flesh,
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we do not war after the flesh.
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For the weapons of our
warfare are not carnal,
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but mighty through God, to the
pulling down of strongholds."
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- Wow, so we've been trying
to come up with a technique,
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some kind of
method for doing this,
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and not realizing that
this is a spiritual thing.
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And so what do we
use in this battle?
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We've gotta start
with the spiritual tools.
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And the first spiritual tool is?
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- Prayer. - Yeah.
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- Right. - Yeah.
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- So we have an
overview video that shows
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where we're talking about,
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and so we can
actually, like go there.
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- Okay, sounds good to me.
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(serene music)
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- In the country of Thailand,
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there are not a
lot of Adventists,
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and where there are Adventists,
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they tend to be clustered
along the edges of the country,
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in a lot of ways, especially
among the Hill Tribe peoples.
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And so here in the
central valley of Thailand,
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there's a lot of
people, and very few Adventists.
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And in this city, there
are none that we know of.
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A few years ago,
we went to Sukhothai,
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which is about 2
1/2 hours north of here.
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And there was no
Adventists there.
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And so we went to make
some videos to share that need,
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because it's very
easy to be separated,
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and to not really connect
with the needs in the world,
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when we're living
our own lives, right?
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So we wanted to kind of
just put that out there,
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and pray and ask for people
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to consider coming to this
place that needed missionaries.
00:10:06.90\00:10:11.91
And about a year after
that, there was a family
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that was planning
to come to Sukhothai.
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And so after that, we
went and did a prayer walk,
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to pray for God
to work in that city,
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to prepare the ground for
that missionary family to come.
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And what we've seen
happen in that city is amazing.
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There's all sorts of connections
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that we can just look at
and say, "That's God working,
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and there's no
other explanation."
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(gentle piano music)
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Behind me. Here is
the city of Nakhon Sawan.
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It means, in
English, the heavenly city.
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And I believe that
God wants to put heaven
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in the hearts
of the people here.
00:11:00.96\00:11:02.59
As we've been here, I've
been reading different things,
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and I was reading about Nineveh,
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and you know, such
a great wicked city,
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and God sent
Jonah to go to Nineveh.
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And the reason for
that was because God saw
00:11:16.74\00:11:19.84
that in that
city, there was people
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who were yearning and desiring
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and hoping for something
better, a better way of life.
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And so God sent Jonah to
give the warning message,
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and then when Jonah went
and gave that warning message,
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the Holy Spirit
took that message,
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and just set it in
the hearts of the people,
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and they responded.
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I believe that
that's what God wants to do
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in this city of Nakhon Sawan.
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I believe that God wants
us to care about the things
00:12:03.35\00:12:07.92
that he cares about.
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And God cares
about these people.
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In his Word, it says
that he's not willing
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that any should perish,
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but that all
should come to repentance,
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and all should
have eternal life.
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He loves them,
he cares about them,
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but they don't even know that.
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And they deserve
that opportunity to know
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that there's a God in
heaven who created this world,
00:12:29.58\00:12:31.98
who created
them, who loves them,
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and who wants them to
be with him for eternity.
00:12:34.18\00:12:39.19
As we've been here in this
city the last couple of days,
00:12:45.19\00:12:49.53
we have seen God
working, and we have sensed
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that God is preparing this city,
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and the people in this city,
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for the message
that will come here.
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- So during the lockdown,
I was trying to figure out
00:13:08.18\00:13:12.02
how I could get over to
that city, and do a prayer walk.
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'Cause that's the first
thing we did in Sukhothai,
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and I wanted to do the
same thing in Nakhon Sawan.
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But before I had a
chance to say anything,
00:13:21.26\00:13:24.43
or purchase my ticket to go,
00:13:24.43\00:13:27.27
'cause I had to go
through two weeks of quarantine,
00:13:27.27\00:13:29.07
and all that stuff,
00:13:29.07\00:13:30.31
I got a message
from Jonathon Hill,
00:13:30.31\00:13:32.37
saying that they were thinking
about going to Nakhon Sawan
00:13:32.37\00:13:35.91
to do a prayer walk. - Right.
00:13:35.91\00:13:38.01
- And I was a little jealous,
'cause I wanted to go there.
00:13:38.01\00:13:40.92
But he and his wife arranged,
and connected with Jim Castor,
00:13:40.92\00:13:45.79
who's been on our show before,
00:13:45.79\00:13:47.49
good friend from the
Philippines, having a prayer
00:13:47.49\00:13:51.33
ministry. And they put
together two prayer walks.
00:13:51.33\00:13:55.36
One was with some local
people, friends, Adventists
00:13:55.36\00:13:58.97
that came up and
walked Nakhon Sawan.
00:13:58.97\00:14:00.67
- So, and we have a video
from the first prayer walk.
00:14:00.67\00:14:04.14
- [Jon] Okay.
00:14:04.14\00:14:05.31
(gentle music)
00:14:05.31\00:14:07.91
- Today's a very special day,
00:14:14.28\00:14:15.75
because we're here in
Nakhon Sawan, a dark city.
00:14:15.75\00:14:19.49
And we have some
friends who have come together
00:14:19.49\00:14:22.79
to pray with us.
00:14:22.79\00:14:24.06
And so today we are
doing a prayer walk.
00:14:24.06\00:14:27.30
We're praying in different
places throughout the city,
00:14:27.30\00:14:30.70
for the people in this city,
00:14:30.70\00:14:32.73
but also for people to come,
00:14:32.73\00:14:35.44
and share the
gospel in this city.
00:14:35.44\00:14:38.81
- I'm here because I was
privileged and blessed enough
00:14:46.35\00:14:49.05
to join the prayer
walk at Sukhothai before.
00:14:49.05\00:14:51.79
I think that
was three years ago.
00:14:51.79\00:14:53.32
And seeing how God
mightily works in there,
00:14:53.32\00:14:58.33
I know that he could
do mighty things here too.
00:14:58.33\00:15:01.00
And doing the prayer
walk, and being in the place
00:15:01.00\00:15:04.50
that you're praying for
00:15:04.50\00:15:06.07
gives you a different
inspiration to pray more.
00:15:06.07\00:15:09.57
- For me, I just realized
that I have been praying for,
00:15:10.97\00:15:14.04
like I am asking God
to give me something,
00:15:14.04\00:15:16.38
or someone to pray
for, and to intercede for.
00:15:16.38\00:15:18.85
And I am so blessed to
have a experience like this
00:15:18.85\00:15:23.59
for the very first time.
00:15:23.59\00:15:25.02
(serene music)
00:15:25.02\00:15:27.62
For me, like God is
changing the way I pray.
00:15:48.68\00:15:52.85
He has been showing
me that your prayers
00:15:52.85\00:15:55.15
are just so focused to yourself.
00:15:55.15\00:15:57.05
And there are a lot of people
00:15:57.05\00:15:58.72
who are really
in need of prayers.
00:15:58.72\00:16:00.72
- It's refreshing,
it gives us a new focus
00:16:00.72\00:16:03.83
on what we are here for,
not merely for ourselves.
00:16:03.83\00:16:06.83
- It's a reminder that you
have to live outside yourself,
00:16:06.83\00:16:10.37
and that God created you
to be a part of a bigger body.
00:16:10.37\00:16:14.54
So you have to pray for others
as well, and it's a blessing.
00:16:14.54\00:16:18.01
- We went to eat lunch,
00:16:21.84\00:16:23.28
and we were at this vegetarian
restaurant eating lunch,
00:16:23.28\00:16:25.38
and it was
wonderful and everything.
00:16:25.38\00:16:27.48
But then Hannah noticed
00:16:27.48\00:16:29.08
that there was 20
baht on the floor.
00:16:29.08\00:16:32.29
And so she thought maybe
it was the people next to us,
00:16:32.29\00:16:34.89
and so she asked, and
they said, "No, it's not ours."
00:16:34.89\00:16:39.63
Anyway, we started
talking to them a little bit,
00:16:39.63\00:16:41.76
and it turns out
they speak English.
00:16:41.76\00:16:43.23
So they started
talking to us in English,
00:16:43.23\00:16:45.43
and it was just
a really friendly,
00:16:45.43\00:16:47.57
warm, wonderful conversation.
00:16:47.57\00:16:49.77
So we got their contact info,
00:16:49.77\00:16:52.14
and we shared a couple of
little glow tracks with them.
00:16:52.14\00:16:56.98
And the one lady, she looked
at the front of one of 'em,
00:16:56.98\00:16:59.51
and it was something about
how to have a better future.
00:16:59.51\00:17:02.98
And she picked it up,
and she pointed at it,
00:17:02.98\00:17:04.95
and she said,
"That's what I want."
00:17:04.95\00:17:07.36
That's exactly
what God wants to bring
00:17:09.92\00:17:12.69
to the people in this
city, is a better future.
00:17:12.69\00:17:15.83
- I was in a
Sabbath school class,
00:17:38.09\00:17:39.35
teaching a
Sabbath school class once,
00:17:39.35\00:17:40.56
and I was expressing
my burden for the lost.
00:17:40.56\00:17:43.59
And somebody in the class says,
"Aren't their organizations
00:17:43.59\00:17:48.56
that can take care of that?
00:17:49.43\00:17:51.47
And you don't have to worry,
00:17:51.47\00:17:52.70
you don't have to
stress so much about it."
00:17:52.70\00:17:54.30
And my reply was, "If I
don't allow the sufferings
00:17:54.30\00:17:59.31
of humanity to break my heart,
00:18:02.21\00:18:05.28
then what kind
of heart do I have?
00:18:05.28\00:18:06.98
And it's a stony heart."
00:18:07.85\00:18:09.25
And Christ allowed
the sufferings of humanity
00:18:10.45\00:18:13.56
to break his heart. - Right.
00:18:13.56\00:18:15.26
- And he did something about it.
00:18:15.26\00:18:17.33
- Yeah.
00:18:17.33\00:18:18.56
- And the end result
is gonna be worth it.
00:18:18.56\00:18:20.30
- Right. - Yeah.
00:18:20.30\00:18:21.86
- So that was
such a beautiful video.
00:18:21.86\00:18:24.07
So powerful, showing
the different places there.
00:18:24.07\00:18:28.14
I mean, it's always interesting
to see different places,
00:18:28.14\00:18:30.64
but to think about the
people that live there,
00:18:30.64\00:18:32.97
the people that
they were walking past,
00:18:32.97\00:18:34.71
the lady in the restaurant,
00:18:34.71\00:18:36.44
and the man that was cooking,
00:18:36.44\00:18:37.88
and you know, the
different people that they saw,
00:18:37.88\00:18:40.35
just their lives
are real to Christ.
00:18:42.05\00:18:45.49
He has known them
since before they were born.
00:18:45.49\00:18:47.69
And they may not be real to
us, but they're real to him.
00:18:47.69\00:18:52.69
And so, we should care.
00:18:53.73\00:18:57.37
- And that's where
you start, you know.
00:18:57.37\00:18:59.37
One person told me, he
says, "How come, you know,
00:18:59.37\00:19:01.60
I don't love the
people that are over there."
00:19:01.60\00:19:04.24
And I'm like,
"Well, neither do I.
00:19:04.24\00:19:05.97
How can you love
somebody you've never met?
00:19:05.97\00:19:08.34
But Christ loves them,
and because he loves them,
00:19:08.34\00:19:11.81
already, right off the
bat, for my love for Christ,
00:19:11.81\00:19:14.98
I can love them," and then-
00:19:14.98\00:19:16.92
- Right, well, that's
where our love comes from,
00:19:16.92\00:19:18.09
is our connection with him.
00:19:18.09\00:19:19.89
So if we're
connected with Christ,
00:19:19.89\00:19:21.79
then whether we
know them or not,
00:19:21.79\00:19:23.59
we will have some sort of
interest in them, you know?
00:19:23.59\00:19:27.66
And his love will grow
in our hearts for them.
00:19:27.66\00:19:29.93
And that's one of
the reasons we pray,
00:19:29.93\00:19:32.77
is to have care, like
the young lady was saying.
00:19:32.77\00:19:36.54
'Cause our prayers are selfish,
00:19:36.54\00:19:38.01
they're focused on
our needs, on ourselves.
00:19:38.01\00:19:40.68
And this is something
00:19:40.68\00:19:41.88
that we can
intercede for someone else.
00:19:41.88\00:19:44.75
And, you know, we may never
meet them this side of heaven,
00:19:44.75\00:19:47.82
but God can come in,
because of our prayers,
00:19:47.82\00:19:50.45
and make huge
changes in their lives.
00:19:50.45\00:19:52.39
- Yes, exactly.
00:19:52.39\00:19:54.16
Also wanted to talk a little bit
00:19:54.16\00:19:55.76
about what a prayer walk is.
00:19:55.76\00:19:57.86
It's not
anything magical. - Right.
00:19:57.86\00:20:00.50
- But being there with
our feet on the ground,
00:20:00.50\00:20:03.40
we can claim Joshua 1:3,
00:20:03.40\00:20:05.17
"Wherever you put
the sole of your foot,
00:20:05.17\00:20:07.07
that have I
already given to you."
00:20:07.07\00:20:09.07
And seeing the people,
seeing the environment,
00:20:09.07\00:20:11.54
seeing the city-
00:20:11.54\00:20:13.41
- The way they live,
what the city looks like.
00:20:13.41\00:20:16.64
- It becomes
priority in your mind.
00:20:16.64\00:20:18.88
- Right. - It becomes more real.
00:20:18.88\00:20:21.32
And that encourages you to
pray more, with a bigger burden.
00:20:21.32\00:20:25.52
- Right. - Yeah.
00:20:25.52\00:20:26.39
- Right.
00:20:26.39\00:20:27.62
- So, that's the
reason for the prayer walks.
00:20:27.62\00:20:29.09
- Right, so that was
from the first prayer walk.
00:20:29.09\00:20:32.09
- The in-person one. - Right.
00:20:32.09\00:20:33.70
And then they scheduled a
Zoom one, and invited everybody.
00:20:33.70\00:20:37.33
And so we have
three videos coming up.
00:20:37.33\00:20:40.00
The first one is from
before prayer started.
00:20:40.00\00:20:43.64
- [Jon] Okay.
00:20:43.64\00:20:44.87
- Good morning,
fellow missionaries.
00:20:44.87\00:20:46.44
Welcome back to
Mission Viewfinder.
00:20:46.44\00:20:48.04
It is about six
o'clock, seven o'clock, sorry,
00:20:48.04\00:20:50.35
in the morning here, and
we are headed out to pray.
00:20:50.35\00:20:54.22
To pray where?
00:20:54.22\00:20:56.15
Here in Nakhon Sawan.
00:20:56.15\00:20:57.52
(gentle music)
00:20:57.52\00:21:00.16
- Be stronger than that,
00:21:02.86\00:21:04.19
and a full
treasury of (indistinct)
00:21:04.19\00:21:09.16
And just imagine something,
the beautiful promises
00:21:10.53\00:21:12.50
that we will somehow
believe (indistinct),
00:21:12.50\00:21:14.54
as we wrestle with the Lord,
for the lives of the people.
00:21:16.00\00:21:19.17
- That building, where they
have rented, and are opening,
00:21:19.17\00:21:24.18
that is like 150 feet
from two of the places
00:21:25.38\00:21:30.05
that we prayed at the
prayer call in Sukhothai.
00:21:31.45\00:21:33.82
Like, it's so
amazing the way God works.
00:21:34.96\00:21:39.69
- Okay, so that was
kinda before running into
00:21:45.17\00:21:48.07
the actual prayer
call, but this next video
00:21:48.07\00:21:50.61
is what it looks
like in the prayer call.
00:21:50.61\00:21:52.54
- Right, and I
just wanted to mention,
00:21:52.54\00:21:54.64
when Hannah came on the screen,
00:21:54.64\00:21:56.28
that's Hannah
Hill, Jonathan's wife.
00:21:56.28\00:21:58.18
When she came on the
screen, she was talking,
00:21:58.18\00:22:00.15
"Hello, welcome to
Mission Viewfinder."
00:22:00.15\00:22:02.55
And I just wanted
our viewers to know
00:22:02.55\00:22:04.15
that Jonathan and
Hannah have a YouTube channel,
00:22:04.15\00:22:07.69
called Mission Viewfinder.
00:22:07.69\00:22:09.89
And there they share a
little behind the scenes,
00:22:09.89\00:22:12.66
and they share
spiritual thoughts,
00:22:12.66\00:22:14.46
and things that they've gone
through in the mission field,
00:22:14.46\00:22:17.33
different things like that.
00:22:17.33\00:22:18.87
It's more of a personal vlog
kind of thing, a video blog.
00:22:18.87\00:22:22.04
And so if our
viewers are interested,
00:22:22.04\00:22:24.31
it's on the YouTube channel.
00:22:24.31\00:22:26.04
- Yeah, Mission Viewfinder.
00:22:26.04\00:22:27.48
- Right, so let's go
ahead with the next video.
00:22:27.48\00:22:29.48
- Okay.
00:22:29.48\00:22:30.31
- My brother, Jonathan Hill,
00:22:31.31\00:22:32.55
who's there already
in Thailand right now.
00:22:32.55\00:22:34.75
Friends, do you
know why we're excited?
00:22:34.75\00:22:36.69
Because last year, was
it last year, Brother Jon?
00:22:38.12\00:22:42.92
Our brother, Jon Wood,
is here in the line as well.
00:22:44.39\00:22:46.49
Was it last year when you did,
00:22:46.49\00:22:47.83
oh no, not last year, 2019,
00:22:47.83\00:22:50.20
when you did that
prayer walk in Sukhothai?
00:22:50.20\00:22:52.57
Is it last year, yes?
00:22:53.60\00:22:55.07
And they did not do
something like this,
00:22:55.07\00:22:57.31
there was no online prayer call.
00:22:57.31\00:23:00.98
There was just like
less than five of you,
00:23:00.98\00:23:03.24
Brother Jon, wasn't it?
00:23:03.24\00:23:04.48
Five or six of
you? - That's correct.
00:23:04.48\00:23:07.82
- I think there was five of us.
00:23:07.82\00:23:11.39
Jonathan Hill was there,
00:23:11.39\00:23:12.85
and we just walked
through the town, the city,
00:23:14.22\00:23:16.39
and prayed for the city,
00:23:16.39\00:23:17.66
stopped at
different places in the park,
00:23:17.66\00:23:19.29
in the center of downtown,
and one of the temples.
00:23:19.29\00:23:22.93
We just lifted up the
city, for God to intervene,
00:23:22.93\00:23:26.63
and to open doors.
00:23:26.63\00:23:29.40
And it's amazing what God did.
00:23:29.40\00:23:31.21
- [Gem] And, for to build
up, for to build up the prayers
00:23:31.21\00:23:35.91
that has been offered.
00:23:35.91\00:23:37.01
- So that's just a little taste.
00:23:38.45\00:23:39.68
This went on for
about a full hour.
00:23:39.68\00:23:42.25
Yeah, and people
really, really enjoyed it.
00:23:42.25\00:23:45.72
- Right.
00:23:45.72\00:23:46.65
- And the outpouring of prayer,
00:23:46.65\00:23:47.82
and lifting up that one city,
00:23:47.82\00:23:49.79
that you know, who
knows how many of our viewers
00:23:49.79\00:23:53.36
have prayed for
Nakhon Sawan before?
00:23:53.36\00:23:55.93
- Right, yeah, most
people had never heard of it.
00:23:55.93\00:23:58.37
- Exactly, I
hadn't heard about it,
00:23:58.37\00:24:00.10
until I drove
through it a few times.
00:24:00.10\00:24:01.74
- Right.
00:24:01.74\00:24:03.24
- And it's like the biggest
city in Central Thailand.
00:24:03.24\00:24:05.91
- Yeah. - Yeah.
00:24:05.91\00:24:07.34
- All right, so
now we have a video
00:24:07.34\00:24:08.84
of Jonathan's reaction
after the prayer call was over,
00:24:08.84\00:24:12.45
for Mission Viewfinder.
00:24:12.45\00:24:14.22
And just wanna invite everybody,
keep a look on his eyes.
00:24:14.22\00:24:17.79
- Wow, that was amazing.
00:24:19.35\00:24:21.26
We just got off the prayer call,
00:24:21.26\00:24:22.89
and you know, it's
just really amazing.
00:24:24.13\00:24:28.03
We're here, two people.
00:24:28.03\00:24:30.00
Yesterday, there was five of us,
00:24:30.00\00:24:31.47
but today
there's only two people.
00:24:31.47\00:24:33.17
And it can seem
like what can we do?
00:24:34.67\00:24:37.91
What, you know, we're
praying, yes, and God works.
00:24:39.74\00:24:42.68
But sometimes, just two,
00:24:42.68\00:24:47.58
feels like not so much.
00:24:48.95\00:24:50.39
But we just got off a
prayer call with 57 people
00:24:51.79\00:24:54.96
pouring their hearts out
for God to work in this city.
00:24:54.96\00:24:59.46
And that was,
00:25:02.16\00:25:03.00
that was a precious thing.
00:25:05.97\00:25:07.27
And I know, I know God
is working in a mighty way.
00:25:09.67\00:25:14.68
I just can't wait to see
what it's gonna look like
00:25:16.11\00:25:18.08
in a year, or six months.
00:25:18.08\00:25:20.45
- (laughing) 'Cause you know
what happened right after that?
00:25:22.98\00:25:26.99
- I know what happened. - Yeah.
00:25:26.99\00:25:29.19
- God sent
Jonathan and Hannah there.
00:25:29.19\00:25:31.69
So be careful what you pray for,
00:25:31.69\00:25:34.10
and what you pour
your heart out for,
00:25:34.10\00:25:36.73
because he will honor
it. - Yes, that's right.
00:25:36.73\00:25:40.14
They were living just on
the outskirts of Chiang Mai,
00:25:40.14\00:25:42.47
and the statistic is
that 75% of all missionaries
00:25:42.47\00:25:45.81
that go to
Thailand, go to Chiang Mai,
00:25:45.81\00:25:48.11
'cause it's nice, it's
beautiful, and it's just-
00:25:48.11\00:25:51.75
- Pretty easy to work.
00:25:51.75\00:25:53.28
- And so they just felt the
burden, "Why don't we move?"
00:25:53.28\00:25:55.65
So now, praise God,
there are two people,
00:25:55.65\00:25:59.25
two Adventists
living in Nakhon Sawan.
00:25:59.25\00:26:02.46
- Right.
00:26:02.46\00:26:03.66
- So you might
think, "Well, two people,
00:26:03.66\00:26:05.03
that's not very much."
00:26:05.03\00:26:06.16
But think about it a percentage,
00:26:06.16\00:26:08.00
if you go from one to two,
00:26:08.00\00:26:09.56
or 100 church members
to 200 church members,
00:26:09.56\00:26:11.83
that's 100% growth.
00:26:11.83\00:26:13.34
But if you go from zero to two,
00:26:13.34\00:26:15.37
that's infinite
growth, percentage wise.
00:26:16.44\00:26:19.37
- Right. - You know.
00:26:19.37\00:26:20.58
Before there was
nobody, and now there's two,
00:26:20.58\00:26:23.75
worshiping God on the
Sabbath, in that city.
00:26:23.75\00:26:27.92
- Right, and God is opening
all sorts of opportunities.
00:26:27.92\00:26:31.19
I mean, I know they
have a lot of stories,
00:26:31.19\00:26:32.99
and we've heard some of them
00:26:32.99\00:26:34.72
on their Mission
Viewfinder channel,
00:26:34.72\00:26:36.79
because Jonathan loves to run.
00:26:36.79\00:26:39.53
They have met
people that are running.
00:26:39.53\00:26:41.76
They have met people
00:26:41.76\00:26:43.00
that have gone
biking with, cycling with.
00:26:43.00\00:26:45.17
They're meeting
people in the market,
00:26:46.27\00:26:48.47
you know, different things
God has led in different ways
00:26:48.47\00:26:51.34
to specific places.
00:26:51.34\00:26:53.78
You know, just the
way God is guiding,
00:26:53.78\00:26:57.18
and even to the house
that they're living in,
00:26:57.18\00:26:59.38
it was very
definitely a God thing,
00:26:59.38\00:27:01.22
because the
place was not for rent.
00:27:01.22\00:27:03.65
It was for sale,
but it was not for rent.
00:27:03.65\00:27:06.55
And God told the lady
that she was to rent to them.
00:27:06.55\00:27:10.59
And so it's like, God really
has a purpose and has a plan.
00:27:10.59\00:27:14.50
- Yes, yes, and the only
way we can make a difference
00:27:14.50\00:27:17.70
is to pray. - Right.
00:27:17.70\00:27:20.00
- And the
beautiful thing about prayer
00:27:20.00\00:27:22.57
is that you don't
have to go there to pray.
00:27:22.57\00:27:25.64
- Right, you can pray
from anywhere, for anywhere.
00:27:25.64\00:27:29.34
- Yes. - And God has big plans.
00:27:29.34\00:27:31.68
- Yes, absolutely.
00:27:31.68\00:27:34.35
- I would like to
invite you to pray
00:27:34.35\00:27:36.22
for Jonathan and Hannah,
00:27:36.22\00:27:37.95
and for the
people of Nakhon Sawan,
00:27:37.95\00:27:39.99
that they would
come to know God,
00:27:39.99\00:27:42.02
the one who loves
them so very, very much.
00:27:42.02\00:27:44.99
If you would like to contact us,
00:27:44.99\00:27:46.56
you can reach us at
Jesus for Asia, P.O. Box 1221,
00:27:46.56\00:27:50.07
Collegedale, Tennessee, 37315.
00:27:51.17\00:27:53.23
Call us at 423-413-7321,
00:27:55.10\00:27:59.84
or visit our
website at jesus4asia.org.
00:27:59.84\00:28:03.71
May God richly bless you
until we see you next time,
00:28:03.71\00:28:07.35
on "Jesus for Asia Now."
00:28:07.35\00:28:09.22
(dramatic music)
00:28:09.22\00:28:11.95