Outreach to Sriracha, Thailand
Our Gospel Festival in Sriracha, Thailand is a study in contrasts. This is the city where the famous Sriracha hot sauce was born. Thailand is a beautiful land with an ancient culture, but it is also a modern and thriving nation. Our outreach event took place right in front of a mall. At the entrance to the mall is a Buddhist statue with incense sticks burning as an offering. Above the Buddha is a big screen advertising Hollywood blockbusters and Thailand cinema in an endless loop. Inside the mall is a McDonalds and a KFC. Right outside is a food market with dead chickens, fresh fish, and bowls of exotic fruit available for purchase.
Thailand is 97% Buddhist and only 2% Christian. The challenge of reaching people in a nation with few believers is that non-Christians have no desire to come to a Christian event. Often the unbeliever does not know a single believer or have any idea who Jesus is. How can we have the opportunity to present the Gospel to them?
Jesus told us to be fishers of men. The key to being a good fisherman is using the right bait. For this festival, the bait we use is music. We hold a music competition. Many young teenagers are in a band and they long to be famous. They sign up for the opportunity to perform on a big stage with a loud sound system. They invite their friends and anxiously wait to hear if they have won a prize. Many of the bands play secular music but in-between the performances Christians share their testimonies and worship groups from local churches play Christian songs. Slowly, subtly, secular teens from a Buddhist background are exposed to Christian ideas. They meet young people from local youth groups. The churches serve fried eggs and rice and ice slushies to everyone who comes. This gives the churches an opportunity to start conversations with people who need Jesus.
After the music competition, but before the winner is announced is when I step on the platform to preach the Gospel. On the day I arrived in Thailand, there was a big earthquake. Dramatic footage of the collapse of a high-rise skyscraper that was under construction is dominating the news. Everyone is anxious about the possibility of follow up quakes. So I decide to preach about the peace that Jesus can bring in the midst of a storm.
I begin by reading the story of Jesus in the storm. Jesus is in a boat with his twelve disciples. The wind begins to blow and the waves begin to crash. The disciples are freaking out. They shout, “We are going to drown.” Where is Jesus? He is in the back of the boat, with his head on a pillow, sleeping. The disciples wake him up and Jesus asks them, “Why do you have such little faith.” Then Jesus spoke to the wind and waves, “Peace, be still.” Instantly, the storm was calmed and there was peace.
We all face storms in life. Suffering and trouble comes for us all. When we face a storm, we have a choice to respond with fear (as the disciples did) or we can respond with faith. I explain that if we put our faith and trust in Jesus, He will bring peace in the midst of every storm.
This message resonates with the Buddhist mentality because Buddhists believe that all of life is suffering, that the cause of suffering is desire, that the way to escape suffering is to escape desire, and they teach a noble eight-fold path to freeing oneself from desire. Yet despite their effort to have the right understanding, right attitude, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration, many people still feel a lack of peace in their lives.
Ultimately, Jesus is the only one who can give genuine peace. Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and He gives a peace that passes all understanding. True peace comes from having a relationship with Jesus.
We do a little drama. I invite twelve young people to pretend to sit in a boat. My friend Michael Job dresses up as Jesus and gets in the boat with the disciples. A storm comes. The wind blows. The waves rise (I splash everyone with water). The disciples in the boat scream in fear. Jesus stands up and speaks to the storm. He says, “Peace, be still.”
I ask the audience an important question. “Is Jesus in your boat?” I explain, “Storms, suffering, and trouble will come in your life. You might face a storm in your finances, in your relationships, or in your thinking. But if you have a relationship with Jesus, He will give you peace in the midst of every storm.”
I continue to explain, “The biggest storm is caused by sin which leads to death. Sin is doing foolish things that bring dishonor upon us or upon our family. Sin, or doing foolish things, leads to punishment but Jesus died on a cross to free us from the foolish things we have done. Jesus took our shame upon Himself at the cross but Jesus was restored to a place of honor when He rose from the dead. Now, Jesus takes away our shame and gives us honor.” Thailand is an honor/shame culture so as I explain the Gospel in these terms it resonates with the people.
“Who wants Jesus to give you peace?” I ask the crowd. Many people raise their hands. I invite everyone who wants the peace that comes from having a relationship with Jesus to come forward to the front. Many young people came forward to pray with us and to ask Jesus to live with them and to give them peace. Afterwards, trained counselors from the churches pray with those who responded to the altar call and we give away copies of the Gospel of John to everyone who prayed with us.
Outreach to Pattaya, Thailand
The nightlife of Pattaya is like Las Vegas on steroids. Every perversion known to man is on display. Prostitution, human trafficking, drugs, and alcohol abound. Beautiful ladies grab passing men and invite them to have sex. But many of the seductively dressed woman have big hands, an Adam’s apple, and speak in a deep voice so it is suddenly apparent they are not ladies.
The sinful lifestyle of Pattaya eats people up and spits them out. Young woman arrive from the countryside hoping to make money to send home to their parents. Their lives are quickly destroyed as pimps sell their bodies and their souls for a few batt.
Equally deceived by sin are the John’s. It is common to see an old white man with his hands fondling a woman forty years younger than him. Often older European or American men move to Thailand looking for sexual adventure and end up committing suicide by jumping off a tall building. This happens so frequently they call it “The Pattaya Flying Club.” For these men, life is a fast-paced party until the moment it comes to an abrupt end.
Foreigners come to Pattaya looking for “cheap love” but we came to tell people about God’s love.
In Pattaya we sponsored a music competition. Many local young people entered their bands into the competition in order to win a prize. As the bands competed, local churches gave away free food and prayed with people.
Then I shared Jesus with the teenagers by talking about how Jesus encouraged the paralyzed man. I explained that if you are dealing with sadness, depression, worry, fear, or loneliness, Jesus wants to encourage you. When I gave the altar call, many of the young people responded to the message.
Nearby was a playground. The kids were having fun running around and going up and down the slide, but the moment our team set up a puppet stage they all sat down to watch a puppet show about the life of Jesus. When the Jesus puppet defeated the devil puppet, all the kids cheered.
Outreach to Khon Kaen, Thailand
Spiritual warfare is real. On the street near our Gospel Festival in Khon Kaen, Thailand there was a Buddhist celebration. I saw a parade of two long lighted snake dragons held up by hundreds of people. A group of young men climbed two tall poles in the middle of the street. Then the snake dragon climbed up the pole and as it encircled the humans everyone celebrated with fireworks. At the top of the pole, the snake dragon looked alive as it surveyed the people’s adulation.
We are in a battle against an invisible enemy for the souls of men and women. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:2).
According to the Museum of Siam, the society of Thailand is built on three pillars: Nation, King, and Religion. Religion is an important part of life in Thailand. Their traditional beliefs are a mix of Buddhism, animism, and Brahminism. Animism is a belief in spirits. These spirits can be appeased with little rituals or can give blessing in exchange for worship. People also wear amulets to attract or to repel spirits. Fortune telling is done by shaking fortune sticks out of a cup.
There are many Buddhist temples throughout Thailand with statues of Buddha. In some statues Buddha is standing, in others he is sitting, sometimes he is laying down. Each individual pose represents a different moment in Buddha’s life. Monks in orange robes chant in front of the statues. You will also see statues of Hindu gods with people burning incense in front of them.
Thailand has a population of almost seventy million people but only 3% is Christian. In order to reach people who have never had a chance to hear the Gospel, we set up our platform right in front of the main shopping mall in the city of Khon Kaen. The mall was ultra-modern and a huge billboard advertising the newest iPhone model was on the wall behind the stage. But at the same time from the stage we could see a monument dedicated to Buddha. Our event was advertised as an “International Gospel Music Festival,” and we used music from various bands to attract young people.
As I preached on the first night at the Gospel Festival,, everyone listened intently, and many responded. The theme of my message was “Shame & Honor.” In the west we usually think in terms of guilt and innocence but in much of the east they think in terms of shame and honor. In America, we rarely hear a sermon that talks about shame, but the Bible actually has a lot to say on the topic.
What is shame? Shame is when we feel isolated, rejected, polluted, excluded and abandoned. What is honor? Honor is when we are included, accepted, exalted, cleansed and loved. When God created us, He gave us great honor because we are made in His image. But sin caused shame to enter the world. When a thief is caught, he brings shame upon his family. Isaiah 59:2 says, “But your iniquities (sins) have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you…” This speaks to an Asian audience because “keeping face” is important to their culture.
God sent Jesus to take away our shame. He died a shameful death, hung naked on a cross. He took our shame upon Himself. But then God raised Him up and gave Him great honor. “Because of the joy awaiting Him, [Jesus] endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated at the place of honor beside God’s throne” (Hebrews 12:2b). You have probably heard Romans 10:9-10 quoted a hundred times. But have you ever read the next verse? “The one who believes in Him will NEVER BE PUT TO SHAME” (Romans 10:11). When we receive Jesus and believe in Jesus’ name, we receive the right to become children of God (John 1:12) which is a position of great honor.
Jesus takes our guilt and gives us forgiveness. Jesus also takes our shame and gives us great honor. Jesus is Lord of both the east and the west. When I gave the altar call, many young people filled out decision cards.
Thank you for helping us reach people for Jesus in the nation of Thailand!
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