We hope that by giving these messages the churches in Taiwan, especially the saints in the church in Taipei, will rise up quickly to preach the gospel. Today every aspect of society in Taiwan is advancing; the government is stable, and the economy is strong. This is an excellent opportunity for the church to preach the gospel. We are not being faithful to the Lord or to our fellow countrymen if we do not grasp this opportunity. Taipei is like a big fishpond; there are millions of fish all around us. We must preach the gospel and deliver salvation to them, or we will be indebted to them.
Paul said, “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. If I do this of my own will, I have a reward” (1 Cor. 9:16-17). He also said, “I am debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to foolish” (Rom. 1:14). Paul was not cursing himself when he said, “Woe to me.” Rather, he was saying that if we lose the race of our Christian life, we will not receive a reward. The condition of woe does not refer to being cursed; it refers to not receiving a reward. If we preach the gospel, we will receive a reward; if we do not preach the gospel, we will not receive a reward. The Lord knows whenever a sinner repents, because the Bible says that there is “joy in heaven over one sinner repenting” (Luke 15:7). Whenever a sinner repents, the angels in heaven rejoice.
A sinner’s repentance is significant to God. We should not think that it does not matter whether or not we lead a person to salvation. Whenever a person is saved, there is a record before God. If we do not lead anyone to salvation, we will suffer loss instead of receiving a reward. Therefore, we need to rise up and preach the gospel to save people. Hymns, #921 says, “Rescue the perishing, / Care for the dying, / Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave; / Weep o’er the erring one, / Lift up the fallen, / Tell them of Jesus the mighty to save. / Rescue the perishing, / Care for the dying; / Jesus is merciful, / Jesus will save.” After singing the hymns in a thorough way, we need to begin to take action and go forth to preach the gospel. The fire of the gospel needs to be kindled, and everyone needs to pick up this burden.
Preaching the gospel is the primary obligation of Christians to society. This is the reason that some Christians refer to preaching the gospel as “the great commission.” In Mark 16:15 the Lord charged us to “go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to all the creation.” In the Chinese Union Version to all the creation is rendered as to all the nations. There is also a note which says, “Nations, lit., creation.” In this verse the Greek word means “creation.” We need to preach the gospel until every person on earth has heard the gospel. Then we can continue to preach the gospel to the rest of creation. The Lord Jesus said, “Go therefore and disciple all the nations” (Matt. 28:19). All the nations refers to every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. The first commission we bear before God is to preach the gospel. If we do not preach the gospel, we are not fulfilling our obligation. Paul said that he was a debtor (Rom. 1:14). As long as our obligation is not fulfilled, we are debtors.
Every saint needs to resolve to save one person every year. This is not difficult. We should not think that we are unable to catch one fish in a year even though we live in a “fishpond.” We have no excuse. God in His sovereignty has arranged for many people to be around us. Some of the streets in Taipei seem to be filled with people. Moreover, we all have relatives, friends, classmates, and colleagues. If we contact them every day, we will be able to lead at least one person to salvation in a year. If every one of the seven thousand saints in this meeting leads one person to salvation, by next year there will be fourteen thousand saints. Some saints may have a stronger desire and lead two or more people to salvation. This is also good. Then we will not have an increase of merely seven thousand. We all need to make such a vow.
In the past we neglected the matter of gaining people. Now we need to forget the past and press on by opening to the Lord and receiving His forgiveness. We need to begin a new page in the history of the churches in Taiwan by gaining a twofold increase every year.
According to statistics, the population of Taipei and its suburbs is 3,000,000, and there is a floating population of around 800,000. Therefore, the total population is about 4,000,000. There are around 50,000 saints on the name list of the church in Taipei, and about 5,000 saints meet regularly. If the 5,000 saints gain one person every year, after one year there will be 10,000 saints; after two years, 20,000; after three years, 40,000; after four years, 80,000; after five years, 160,000; after six years, 320,000; after seven years, 640,000; after eight years, 1,280,000; and after nine years, 2,560,000. After ten years our number will reach 5,120,000.
If we are faithful to practice diligently, lay a foundation, and build up the habit of leading one person to salvation in a year, we will have a twofold increase every year, and in ten years our increase will be a thousandfold. For us to succeed, every saint will need to lead one person to salvation every year. The older saints, the middle-aged saints, and even the younger saints need to consider how they can lead one person to salvation in a year. If we are able to do this, we will have a twofold increase in one year and a thousandfold increase in ten years. We will be able to gospelize Taiwan in ten years, and Taiwan will be a gospel nation that is filled with the gospel.
In order to gospelize Taiwan we must pray. We need to rise up corporately to pray for the gospelization of Taiwan in ten years. Then we need to endeavor to preach the gospel in every place. Whether we are at school, at work, or in the market, we must preach the gospel. The churches should cooperate and print gospel tracts for the saints to distribute in large quantities. When the sisters buy groceries, they can give gospel tracts to the cashier and to other women who are buying groceries. There is no need for us to be timid. They should distribute gospel tracts day after day. Distributing gospel tracts can be compared to digging a well. Water does not come forth as soon as we begin to dig. Rather, we need to dig persistently until we reach water.
In 1939 in Tsinan, Shantung Province, there was an official who held a prominent position at the Provincial Bureau of Construction. A brother, who held a low position, also worked at the bureau. Because the brother was very burdened to preach the gospel to this official, he and his wife prayed for the official. Every morning the brother put a gospel tract on the official’s desk. When the official saw the gospel tract, he threw it into the trash can. This went on for almost half a year. Then one day the official picked up the gospel tract and read it. Eventually, he believed in the Lord and attended the meetings in the church in Tsinan and was greatly blessed.
The official threw away the gospel tracts he received, but he could not do this for three hundred and sixty-five days. He was eventually gained by our brother’s perseverance. We should not worry if people dislike the fact that we distribute gospel tracts. People will know that we are “crazy.” However, there will also be a continual result. We must build up such a gospel atmosphere.
In 1949, when we arrived in Taiwan, we preached the gospel. We posted gospel banners of different colors in the streets and alleys and in train and bus stations. This created a good atmosphere for the gospel. When we saw a house with a banner on the door, we knew that a brother or sister lived there. If the environment permits, the church should print some banners and post them in different places in order to create an atmosphere for the gospel. The banners can read, “God so loved the world,” or “Christ came to the world to save sinners.” In 1949 we also had gospel marches in which we all wore gospel robes. Some saints beat large drums and everyone else sang, “You need Jesus.” These marches enhanced the gospel atmosphere. Praying, speaking, and preaching are our weapons for preaching the gospel. Christians need to pray, speak, and preach. Prayer is the greatest weapon, because it can shake the authority of Hades.
In order to preach the gospel, we can have gospel marches, post gospel banners, distribute gospel tracts, and speak in every place. We can distribute gospel tracts at work, at school, and even when we are in a store. We should also distribute tracts when we are on a train or a bus. Wherever we are, we should distribute gospel tracts. Some people need to receive more than ten gospel tracts before they decide to read one. They will eventually believe in the Lord after being “besieged” with gospel tracts.
If we distribute only one or two gospel tracts, we will not create an atmosphere of the gospel. Suppose five thousand brothers and sisters in Taipei distributed gospel tracts every day. A person may receive your tract today, my tract tomorrow, and another person’s tract the day after. This would be very effective. In order for the gospel to spread, we should not be silent or quiet. We should go out to speak to people and to distribute gospel tracts.