(Mat 24:14 NKJV) "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Jesus is not coming back soon, at least in my lifetime because the Gospel has not been preached in all the world as a witness to Jesus Christ. With the Internet, one can access the Gospel message and listen week in and out to great sermons. Gospel preaching to all nations does not mean the basic presence of the church in a nation or a people group, or that the bible is available in their language, or a person can accessed the good news on the web if he seeks hard enough. What does the Gospel of the Kingdom witness means:-

a) It refers to great and miraculous revival, the kind we see in Jerusalem, the time in the Acts when the Holy Spirit came, and there was great revival and the number of Christians rose 5,000 in a day. Historians say that at one point before persecution started, there was 10% Christians in Jerusalem. It is not the Gospel being preached to the last tribe on earth, but about revival extending to the last tribe on earth. The last tribe on earth is the Gay tribe and we do not even open our doors to the gay rainbow fish. Those we find in our Christian sanctuary will be thrown out or large scrubs be used to try to rub out their rainbow colors. The rainbow refers to God’s grace and mercy. When we reject this people group who exist in every society and nation here on earth, we reject God’s grace and mercy coming forth in every nation. We need the refreshing rain of renewal and life from heaven, and when it rains cutting through the light of the shining sun (representing the glory of the Son of God), we see the rainbow across the sky, a reminder of God’s grace and mercy, to give us great blessings of revival and miracles though we deserved it not.

b) It refers to a coming out of culturally based religions. The Jews who converted to Christianity took a major step to believe Jesus to come out of Judaism even though both have the “same” God. Worshiping the right God does not guarantee us salvation, for it is in the name of Jesus Christ that one is saved. Christianity in a sense has become a national religion in many countries bounded with a set of rules, and religious ceremonies. When asked which mountain to find God, Jesus answered the Samaritan women to worship Him in the Spirit and in truth ie not which set of religious practices. In countries where Christianity has a deep tradition and history, it has become devoid of Christ and instead replaced by the Saints, and religious figures. Many people are “Christians” by natural birth or by reason of which country and people group they were born in. There is no spiritual connection and change of heart and revelation of the truth in the spirit.

c) It refers to the freedom of choice. The people group and the nation that you were born in essentially determined what religion you are in. The choice is not freely available to choose to become a Christian. If you were born in Thailand, you were likely a Buddhist, which is the prevailing culture, and religion. If you were born in the Arab countries, you were likely to be a Muslim. There is not really much of a choice nor freedom of choice. In many countries, conversion to Christianity is a death sentence. Anti Gay activist such as Focus on Family and liberty league has this to mean choosing our sexual orientation. However, Christianity was never about sex, it was about whom we worship and honor. The bible talks of idol worship involving sexual orgies with a climax of straight men having sex with men! It does not mean that they were gays, it meant that they have made the choice to worship the fertility gods and those were the religious practices. When we limit the freedom of the GLBT community, we are limiting the freedom of religion because they essentially come under the same basic bill of rights. When we come against gay marriages with all sorts of false testimonies and reasons of the will of the majority, others will do likewise concerning Christianity. In India, the term “Freedom of Religion” was aptly used to persecute Christians not much unlike our use of the term “Protection of Marriage” to ban Gay marriage. The measure we use will be measured against us, sometimes many times more.

The Rev Derek Hong of the Anglican Church of our Savior was ironically close to the truth when he said the “Homosexuals are out to destroy Christianity”, not because of any insidious Gay Agenda, but because how the Christian Church has treated the gay community will determine their destiny. We blame eating sugar coated ice-cream causing our tooth decay, but it was really our choice to eat it. Gays of course are very juicy and yummy to be eaten whole by the Christian Right. You would not see any reaction from the Archbishop of Canterbury so eager to maintain the fellowship at the expense of gays. Surely 5% of the population is never worthy to compromise a 500 year old communion. Some sacrifices have to be made for the sake of the communion, better for the gay lambs to be roasted at the altar of religion than the bishops.

However, the path to revival out of Jerusalem, out of the God’s anointing and the mighty move of the Spirit, is a place call Samaria. Christians have tried to redefine the bible by calling it a ministry to another far away people group. However, the Jews and Samaritans were very close relatives, and in fact, they are a distance from City Hall Anglican Cathedral to Tampines. They were a people group so close by yet constantly ignored and despised and considered as immoral and unworthy of God’s grace, mercy and salvation. Just like the Jews banning the Samaritans from worshiping at the temple of God, we banned Gays from our Churches and insist that they hide their rainbow colors. Many are related to us - our gay brothers and sisters, our gay relatives and work mates whom we see as unnatural and living a God forsaken lifestyle. They are our Gay citizens, who pay taxes and who serve the nation yet denied their basic rights of existence where homosexuality is an offence.

We will wake up one day and realize that Gays are so normal, just like you and me, their sexuality God given just like you and me. Our guilty and red crimson hands, God may forgive in Jesus Christ, as we repent when we realized our grave error. But when we revisit Samaria, the gates may be shut very tightly, the gates that we ourselves have created out of our prejudice, self righteousness and homophobia. Once the doors of God’s grace and mercy are shut, it would be too late and there would be a long wait. From behind the gates, we may see large stones thrown at us for the great pain and suffering we have caused.

Forgive us Lord today for our secret sins against the Gay community. Give us a new sight to see and an open heart to receive the truth, and to receive them as You would have done before it is too late. Come Lord Jesus, we thirst and long for Your coming.

If I have wounded any soul today,
If I have caused one foot to go astray,
If I have walked in my own willful way,
Dear Lord, forgive!

If I have uttered idle words or vain,
If I have turned aside from want or pain,
Lest I myself shall suffer through the strain,
Dear Lord, forgive!

If I have been perverse or hard, or cold,
If I have longed for shelter in Thy fold,
When Thou hast given me some fort to hold,
Dear Lord, forgive!

Forgive the sins I have confessed to Thee;
Forgive the secret sins I do not see;
O guide me, watch over me and my keeper be,
Dear Lord, Amen.