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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The goal of King Ministries is to lead one million people to Jesus every year. We can not accomplish this goal without your help. Would you give a monthly gift to help us rescue people from hell? Even a gift of $1 a month would be a huge help.

Over the course of our twenty years of ministry, we have found it takes an average cost of $1 for every person we have lead to Jesus. In order to do large evangelistic outreaches, we need to rent a platform, sound system, and advertise the event. Plus we give away thousands of free books and Bibles to help disciple the new believers.

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