Hello, this is Cheryl Stanley, and you're listening to the InTouch Messenger. These are the sounds of the InTouch Messenger, a device that fits in the palm of your hand yet contains the entire Word of God. It's mobile, it powers up in the sun, and it proves again that Scripture is living and active, even if you can only listen to it.
Over the last 15 years, InTouch Ministries has shared more than 1.4 million of these discipleship tools in nearly 150 languages. Plus, the Messenger contains dozens of Dr. Stanley's most practical Bible lessons on becoming a Christian and growing in the gospel. Hi, I'm John.
And I'm Joseph. Welcome to Songs of Spirit and Truth, a limited audio series from InTouch Ministries, where we're going to take you to Southeast Asia to introduce you to new friends in faraway places. In coming episodes, you'll meet Rahel, a woman once bound by the darkness of witchcraft, now a witness to the power of Christ in her city and for her city. And a couple called Hopeless because of their life-altering disabilities, who God is now using to bring spiritual healing to the brokenhearted. Also, a gangster who shot people to collect their debts for his bosses, now repentant and free and writing worship songs to the Lord who saved his life. Those stories and more of new believers that are transformed and worshiping now with gratitude because of the Bible that's now available in their own language.
So John, why don't we begin in the Philippines? Everyone, that's where we met Pastor Alex. He introduced us to entire villages of people who use the messenger to grow in their faith. Not only that, but the local churches there are growing and sometimes developing out of a single messenger Bible study.
Now, I was in the car with Pastor Alex as we were approaching the first mountain village. This is San Mateo in the Philippines. Most of the people, maybe 80% cannot read. And if they can read, they can hardly comprehend what they read. So some of them can barely sign their names and they have no birth certificates.
This is not only true of San Mateo, but of many corners of the world. The messenger is often the first Bible a person will own. Because many world cultures are orally based, most of the people in that community don't learn to read.
They may not even have a written language. Pastor Alex grew up in a religious culture, but he didn't come to know Jesus until he was a teenager. He needed a mentor, but he couldn't find one. Well, that's when he discovered Charles Stanley.
He enjoyed what he was reading from Dr. Stanley and he began a correspondence with us at InTouch. Yeah, it wasn't until we arrived in the Philippines and met Alex that we learned about this foundational season of his life, now nearly 40 years ago. Today, Alex pastors a large church in the city of Cagayan de Oro, but his heart is often focused on those in the mountain villages. Usually, city pastors don't go to mountain tribes. It's so expensive to minister in tribal areas. You have to pay the gas, transportation. But anyway, we believe in a great commission.
We wait and continue to work even in the places where no one dares to go. When we arrived in that first village, one without running water or electricity, the whole church greeted us. It was well over a hundred people, many of them children, dressed in their finest. Then Alex and the whole congregation started to sing. Now at this point, we were navigated to the front row where we were swarmed by happy faces, our arms outstretched to shake our hands or embrace us. It was really quite a welcome.
And every village that we went to was the same. They were very hospitable. And certainly one reason for that was that their joy and gratitude was full. They were happy for the messenger. Now they had the word of God in their own language.
Listen to what they were saying. There when I went to my farm, I used to bring my audio Bible. I'm part of your beneficiary of your spiritual Bible to share the word of God. The audio Bible, you don't need reading glasses. Audio Bible is very effective here in our area. Audio Bible, the messenger Bible helps them to keep, be reminded of how to walk a Christian walk. When she listened to the audio Bible, she can find peace. The messenger Bible, it has a big impact to my life. She listens to the Psalms here in the messenger. She was so amazed on what is inside of that messenger Bible about the word of God. The Lord helped them to grow through the messenger Bible.
We not only made new friends in the Philippines, but also in Indonesia. There we met Gede, a pastor and a leader who, like Alex, introduced us to many wonderful people. John had a conversation with Gede as he took us to visit a local family. This family is the first Christian in the area. So how did this family come to Christ if they're the only ones?
It's first time because of the son-in-law and then the daughter that come to Christ. We were on our way to the home of Mr. K. Now for security reasons, we changed the names of everyone that we met in Indonesia. At this house was not only Mr. K, but his daughter and his son-in-law, Joko. We learned that Joko came to Christ through another man as they worked together on a cruise trip.
We'll learn more about that story and the challenges that Mr. K faced as the very first Christian in his community as the series continues. You know, it was easy to be impressed and inspired by these two men, Alex in the Philippines, Gede in Indonesia. They share a passion for seeing people encounter Jesus. They realize that wherever they see a need, that's the place they ought to be. Joseph, it reminded me of the needs that I'm able to recognize in my community and you probably feel the same. I mean, it's like what keeps me from saying, why not me?
Why don't I do something about that need in front of me? And these two guys are doing just that. There are so many people in these places who have that kind of focus. They just want their friends and neighbors to know Jesus. You know, it's like that guy Danny that you met.
Oh yeah, Danny. He lived in a place called Paradise, if you can believe that. How have you been encouraged lately? I encouraged to evangelize the other village because the praises of God will touch my heart. During when I worship him, I cry and I felt the power of God.
He changed my life with the power of the Holy Spirit entered my life. So my vices are all gone. Your vices are all gone? Yeah, because I am a drunkard before and I am a smoker.
I am a gambler. Yeah, many kinds of sins are committed. But now, through the power of God, I am changed through the word of God also.
That's why I am encouraged. It's such a powerful story. I mean, I appreciated the vulnerability of Danny and the other new friends that we made. They were not afraid to reveal what God had rescued them from. And as I later discovered, everyone in that village knew Danny. When Pastor Danny invited her to the church, she learned that there is a God who will provide if we just ask the Lord.
Before, he suffered from deep pain, different problems. But after that, Pastor Danny came over to her house and shared the word of God. And then suddenly, he went to church and then now, she serves God. Pastor Danny visited our home, then he studied about the word of God. Then I will visit him. Pastor Danny, he's moving around. He's talking to everybody. Pastor Danny is like a Superman. He goes somewhere. He sounds like it. He must be fast.
He must be fast. Yeah, you know, Danny may have seemed to be everywhere in paradise, but Pastor Alex was all over the Philippines. Village after village, his efforts to bring the Bible to people through the messenger, his heart for discipleship is transforming lives, lives that ripple out to many others. Alex's son, Dave, was an incredible partner also on this trip through the Philippines. Not only that, but he helped translate many of our conversations. Here is Dave with a woman named Beverly. She was happy joining the service and she learned also that there is a God who is waiting for us, who will guide us and help us in our life.
What was your life like at that time? Her life before, she was a gambler. Especially, she is always joining the street gambling style, very Filipino style of gambling, just the size of the streets or neighbor's house, that kind of gambling. Being a gambler in her past life, it causes harm to her and to her family because the budget for the food she uses is for gambling. So she cannot provide any more for the food.
So her family is starving because of that addiction to gambling. But when Pastor Danny invited her to the church, she learned that there is a God who will provide. If we just ask the Lord everything that we need, God will provide. Tell me a little bit about the peace or the joy that you have in this church now. Through listening to the word of God, they receive salvation and they receive Christ and they have a relationship with Christ. So that brings joy to her and not only to her, but also to her family. Beverly was just one of the many lives God changed because of pastors like Danny and Alex, who saw the need around them and responded, why not me?
Joseph, their example really resonated with me. God is still in the transformation business. We sure saw that.
Absolutely, and amen to that. We'd like to thank you for joining us for this very first episode of our limited audio series, Songs of Spirit and Truth, God at Work in the Philippines and Indonesia. Next time, we'll introduce you to the hardships and victories of the people that we met in Indonesia. Plus, we'll hear Mr. Kay's story. His new faith put him in harm's way.
His neighbors had the power to drag him to court, even to force him out of his home. How could he find the courage to live faithfully for Christ under that kind of pressure? You'll hear how God brought help and rescue in our next episode. Join us in prayer for the new friends we met in Southeast Asia. For your free copy of our Songs of Spirit and Truth prayer cards, visit us at intouch.org slash songs.
