C hapter Two M any of the Psalms are those written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and sung by David. I particularly enjoy the 104th, be ginning with verse 31. I think of the words: “I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise unto my God while I have my be ing.” This has been my ministry for the past 24 years, the last 13 of which have been in association with Overseas Crusades, and six and a half years with our family in the Philippines. I wasn’t in Manila 24 hours before I found myself singing to 10,000 people. The enthusiasm of the people was almost unbelievable. Their response to the Gospel was tremendously rewarding. We had a 500-voice choir that sang each eve ning, and as the message was given, people listened and responded to the call of the Gospel. One night, Presi dent Ramon Magsaysay drove by in his limousine. The next day, we re ceived an invitation to have break fast with him. When the meal was finished, the President said, “Norm, I understand you sing. Let’s go into the music room, and give us a con cert.” That was quite a thrill, but then missionary life is always filled with contrast. Whether out in a re mote village or with leaders of the country, it’s exciting and rewarding with many spiritual victories. During the time we were in the Philippines, I sang to more than two millions of people and reached un told numbers more through radio. This is really one of th e main avenues of reaching the Orient to day. Radio goes beyond the bamboo and iron curtains. In the Orient, wherever you go, you see people carrying transistor radios. I’ve seen men going through the jung les, wearing only a loin cloth, but with their little receiver. There are many radio stations there which while not large certainly have a tremendous audience. Before leaving the field, I 13
used to give Greg an audience of sev eral thousand, instead of just sev eral hundred. Oh, how the people re sponded! We send a sound truck through a city or village and there is a guaranteed crowd of anywhere from three to fifteen thousand peo ple. They really roll out the red car pet. The people enjoy singing but also listening to the Gospel. The min istry of music can be extremely ef fective. Opportunities are almost unlimit ed to present the Gospel in song. I would much rather be singing the Gospel, than to be on any concert stage of the world. People are im portant. The only things God prom ises to rescue from this old globe are human beings. Souls for Christ are more important than popularity, position or anything else. Some well- meaning friends told me when I left for the mission field that my talent would be wasted. How wrong they were! Although I was reared in a Chris tian home, and gave a mental assent to the Gospel, I didn’t invite Christ into my heart until the age of 12. I was at home alone and began sing ing, almost absent-mindedly, some of the songs I had learned in church and Sunday school. The little chorus, “Into my Heart” hit me. With tears of joy, I invited Christ simply to come into my heart. He did, and took over the controls of my life. How wonderful it's been! Some time later, in church, I enjoyed hearing a college quartet. While they weren’t the greatest singers, there was some thing about their smiles and testi mony that touched my heart. From that moment on, I determined to use my talent for the Lord. I ’m convinced that if we give God all we have without reservation, He in turn will give us all He has. On this basis, a person can’t lose. Ro mans 6:11-13 should challenge our lives. Let’s yield ourselves “as instru ments of righteousness unto God.”
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