But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

The disciples are to tell people about Jesus and the salvation that he brings. But to whom are they to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ? First, the disciples are all Jews and they are to preach the gospel to their own people who live in the land of Israel (Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria). Second, they are also to bring the gospel “to the ends of the world.” This command is a package. In other words, to obey this one command, you would need to bring the gospel to two geographical locations: local and abroad. You cannot do one without the other. Missing one location means disobedience.

I thank God for many of you who gave to the mission trip of the Youth Fellowship. This is a new endeavour. The funds collected from the you all are more than $3,000. This means that the church does not need to subsidise this trip from the church bank account.

But most importantly, these funds collected tells a lot about the mindset of this church: you care about missions, that is, bringing the gospel to foreign lands. I thank God for many of you because you care about the Lord’s desire: God desires to save all nations and all races.

You gave also because you want to encourage the youths. The Lord will remember your kind heart and love for God’s young people. They are very encouraged. Praise the Lord! Your love for them will “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Heb 10:24). This is Christian fellowship in action.

Every Christian must be actively involved in saving souls. No Christian is exempted. We have a duty to the Lord to attract people to Jesus Christ by our good Christian behaviour (Christian testimony). We also must be telling people the gospel. I urge you to start by giving out tracts to your friends and colleagues. But we must not stop at reaching out only to our friends and relatives. You should desire to bring the gospel to foreign lands. Hence, you have done well in giving to the mission trip.

How can you be involved in advancing gospel work? The church should consider starting another worship service elsewhere in the afternoon. It could be in Woodlands or somewhere in the northern part of Singapore. If we start a new outreach work, and I think we should, would you help? If you wish to help, I require you not only to help out in the new outreach, you also need to continue your involvement here in the morning. It will be tiring. You need to make sacrifices as you would be busy in the morning and afternoon. Would you consider and pray about it? May the Lord move your heart to love Him and to love souls for your Saviour’s sake.

Jesus once said: “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Matt 9:37-38). The Lord also once asked: “Whom shall I send?” The prophet Isaiah replied: “Here am I. Send me!” (Isa 6:8). Will you respond as Isaiah did?