THE GREAT OMISSION

One of the most important tasks given to born again Christians has been called THE GREAT COMISSION. After spending almost 30 years in Asia, and knowing that the total Christian population of these countries ranges from 3% to .5% (no statistics are available for China), and the fact that these countries represent one half of the Worlds total population, I feel the efforts of American Christians can be called The Great Omission. There are several Bible references which are called The Great Commission. One is found in Matthew 28:16-20: 16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Jesus was more specific in this passage: Mark 16:15-16 15And he said unto them, Go ye into Anne Graham Lotz all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. Recently I saw Billy Graham's daughter Anne Graham Lotz on TV talking about her new book in which she clearly states that Jesus will return in her lifetime. I think in every generation from the days of the Apostles that there have been those who believed that Jesus would come in their lifetime. One of list of Bible proofs was her quotation of the first passage above. She said the gospel has been preached already in all nations. But she omitted to quote the real command of Jesus where He said EVERY CREATURE. There is such a difference between the words EVERY NATION and EVERY CREATURE. Certainly Jesus meant we are to reach every person! Nations cannot be born again--individuals must be born again. I have also heard the claims of Christian networks that they are reaching every nation. Again this is another omission. The fact that they put their signal on Asian satellites means nothing as far as reaching "every creature" is concerned to receive their programming an Asian would have to buy an expensive satellite dish especially designed to receive that signal. I have never heard of anyone who bought this expensive equipment. I have been ministering in most Asian countries. Not once have I seen a local TV cable provider put a single Christian network on their cable. In India most villagers who can afford to even buy a TV would have only a small antenna to receive a few channels, all of which would be in their local language. Ms. Graham and the claims of the religious networks are part of what I call "The Great Omission." There is no effort to reach individuals. This has to done by face-to-face preachers. Romans 10:14 clearly states: How can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone

preaching to them. I have spent 29 years as a missionary to India and the last 16 years ministering in Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, China, Vietnam, and Burma. Most of these countries have few churches and only a few local pastors. They have never been given a chance to hear the Gospel. While Americans have dozens of churches in every city, as well as Super churches so large they meet in stadiums, their efforts to reach the Asian countries which the Lord has laid on my heart are sio minimal. They are simply preaching to the choir and neglecting world evangelism. Here is and experience I must share with you. While in Shanghai, China, I visited an ancient Buddhist Temple where there is a huge statue of Buddha carved from jade. They had several guides, and I was surrounded by the guides wanting to meet an American and ask questions about America. It was around five pm and the temple was closing. I walked slowly down a side street looking for a subway station to return to my hotel. Two of the guides spotted me about a block from the temple and asked where I was going. I told them I wanted to find a small restaurant to eat and then the subway. One spoke good English and told me they were going to a restaurant and invited me to join them. It was fortunate for me as most restaurants off the tourist path do not speak English. In China there custom is to order plates of food and all eat together with chopsticks. The food was wonderful. After we finished eating I had an opportunity to witness to them. I started by asking what the thought about Jesus. They looked puzzled, and asked why they should know Him. Was he an American movie star?

I asked again directly if they had heard about Him and both said positively they had never heard the name. The communist country had been successful in stamping out every trace of Jesus. I had a chance to tell them for the first time about how God loved them and sent His Son to die for their salvation. Again I thank you for joining me in fulfilling The Great Commission. Not everyone can go, but you have an equal reward for the multitudes that have found Jesus through this ministry.

Our newest village church in the village of Bakkanna Palem, in northern Andhra Pradesh, near the city of Vishakhapatnam. When we started the church, there were only five who attended. Now the church is packed for every service