Mr. Ralph Carter was just a little bit upset when he filled that tank, that baptismal tank that evening, and the young medical doctor did not turn up. The next time he saw him, there was a great deal of embarrassment, and the doctor really did not give a clear explanation. But when it happened the second time, then something had to be said. and it was brought to Ralph Carter's attention that when he made the decision to be baptized that Sunday morning before the first baptismal night had been set aside, the highest ecclesiastical leader in that community made an announcement on the Sunday morning in the cathedral that if the doctor was baptized in a Protestant chapel, no one Absolutely no one was ever to go back and consult him again as a doctor. Now he was married, he had three young children, and perhaps for some of us it may be a little bit difficult to rationalize all this, but he knew that his life and his world was basically at stake, and he hesitated twice. When Mr. Carter knew about it, They sat down and they talked. There was no pressure from Mr. Carter. They prayed about it. And the third time the tank was filled, Dr. Lamarshi walked in and he was baptized. And when he went to his office the following day, no one came to consult him. And that went on for some time. He would sit in this office waiting, no one would come. And then he did something without perhaps realizing what he was doing. He set a pattern for the rest of his life. He would get on his bicycle and go down into the poorer parts of the city, and without any charge, he helped those who were sick in those areas. And of course, people got to know him. and to respect him and some even to love him, he would come down and if anything was wrong they would call him and he would go in and give his advice and if possible even samples of medicine to help those who were very poor. It only took maybe six months until people began to come back one by one and consult him in his office and the truth is when I knew him He was one of the most highly respected medical doctors in the city of Lavega. I knew him in his latter years and joined him often on my bicycle, and the two of us would go out into the poor areas of the city. He would do his medical work, and sometimes we have the opportunity to witness, to read from the Bible, and to pray. And out of those visits, there is no doubt that a good number were eventually added to the church fellowship in La Vega. As I close the story tonight, he became the most competent Bible scholar or teacher in that central area of the Dominican Republic. He was a quiet man, but he was a big man. He'd come into the church building, he'd have his Bible, he would see his notes in there, and then he would sit behind a table and he would teach the congregation the things of God. He was respected and he was loved in the Christian community. Like all of us, he grew to be an old man and quietly one day he went to be with the Lord. He passed away some years ago. His memory still is fragrant in the city of Lavega. And I've shared the story with you. Nothing dramatic, but it does highlight what it costs some people to stand up in an environment like the Dominican Republic in the thirties and take a stand for the Lord Jesus. He was always in that local church, a person that came from the highest brackets of our society in the Dominican Republic. And it was beautiful to see him after service, put his long arms around some of those who represented the poorest elements of our society. and they were brothers and sisters in the Lord. Thank you. Now we're going to miss you. We leave tomorrow on our way south and have a few meetings in Boca Raton and then down with the Spanish group in Miami and then we leave for the Dominican Republic. And we would very much appreciate your prayer interest as we return to that country. This time it is rather a short visit because of certain circumstances, but there are some important things that we hope to do and some important things in which we look forward to sharing. For instance, we're going down for the seventy-sixth anniversary of the beginning of the work in Porta Plata by Duncan and Mary Reed. They came from Scotland. And may I say to the Americans present in this audience, they went to Port-au-Plata to join a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Aza Moore from New York City. The Reeds and the Moors were the pioneer workers in the city of Porta-Plata. Mrs. Moore almost died. She was seriously ill. They were there for approximately four or five years, and in a weakened state, she was brought back to the United States, to New York, and they remained the rest of their life in the state of New York. The Reeds, they lived in Port-au-Plata for over sixty years, and when Duncan Reed was In the last days we were with him. He died in Porta Plata and his remains were buried in the Porta Plata Cemetery. Mrs. Reed went back to England with her daughter and she grew in age until she was over ninety years of age and then quietly went to be with the Lord. Today there are no missionaries in that part of the Dominican Republic. from North America or from any other part of the world. And there are a great number of Christian brethren congregations. Today, the government, the teaching, and evangelism is all in the hands of local Dominican men and women. You do not read about it in Missions Magazine because there are no missionaries now in that part of the country. But I would like to assure you tonight the solid foundation put down so many years ago on that foundation Dominican men and women have built and are continuing to build. And I would like to anticipate that in coming years there will be greater blessings than we have ever seen before. And then in nineteen sixty-three, four of us, two Canadian missionaries and two Dominican men, we founded an institution called Daily. In English it would stand for distributors and editors of evangelical literature. Daily now has a long history, and God has blessed that ministry over the years. It has had different facets as the years have gone by. Today it has become one of the major, if not the major distributor of evangelical literature in the Dominican Republic. And I think of all that has happened down through the years, and there's much to give thanks to God for His kindness and His faithfulness. Now some of us represent an older generation. Just recently, Daly moved into a new building. A former colleague, Bill Kent, has been down there for two months helping them set it up. It is now a large Christian bookstore. It is also a distributor. And in the month of March, this March, I think it's around the twenty-second and the twenty-third, there will be an official opening of that building. And I just received an email. I'm considered the honorary president of Daily, and I've been asked to address those who meet on that occasion. It'll be a joy to do that. Old men can look back and remember the past. It's a brave man at my age that can look into the future and be a prophet. But we certainly trust that as we make plans for the future, and in a sense, gently step aside, that God will continue to bless that ministry and especially the emphasis on good evangelical literature. It's surprising in a country like ours the number of people who sacrificially save so they can buy good Christian books. And there's a whole generation of young people and they are reading and they are studying and I'm sure God is going to use them and bless them in the future. Now when we speak, and I realize tonight, and I have all during the week, that I'm speaking to an audience in which there are many capable Bible teachers, both men and women. And when God gives us the opportunity to minister His Word, you sometimes wonder what type of response you will find in the audience. Of course, now and then, there's superficial response. I was a young man, maybe a little braver than I am today, and I remember once dedicating a whole message to a large congregation in Porta Plata on the subject of hell. Now, I have rarely spoken on that subject, and I remember the sense of awe as I studied what the Bible says about this, and almost in fear and trembling, I presented that message as a Bible study, and then I was at the door, and a nicely dressed lady came out with a big smile and took me by the hand and shook hand, and she said, Mr. Cochran, what a beautiful message you gave tonight. I realize she'd never really heard a word of the message. That was a superficial response. There are inadequate responses. Now, I'm guilty of this. Perhaps some of you are. And you listen to a message and you sit there and say, my, I wish brother so-and-so was here to hear that. Or sister, so-and-so. And it's gone right over your head. And you're trying to pass it on to someone else. There are, of course, times when there is no response. Now, some of you remember with affection and respect Mr. August Van Rine. I was home from the Dominican Republic in Vancouver, Canada, on a furlough. And Mr. Van Rine was there having some meetings. And my father asked him, if one evening I would take the car and go and pick him up where he was and bring him to the evening service. I said, I'll be delighted to do that. And I went with him to the service. I remember he spoke on Ephesians. It was a good Bible study. And afterwards, when he was finished, he came back to the car and I drove him home. And he sat in quietness for some time. And then he said to me, Jim, Sometimes I just wish there was some type of response. Even if somebody came up and said, I don't agree with you, but just some type of response. He said, so often we pour out our heart in the ministry of God's Word and there is absolutely no response. Well, we've been looking at Isaiah and there is no doubt in the world that having seen the glory of God in that great vision, and then listening to the voice of God, you have a very beautiful response. We don't know all the details about Isaiah, but scholars do a lot of research, and there are certain things that we believe may be true. Prior to Isaiah six, which represents his call to the ministry of being a prophet, he could have been what they called cultic prophets. That is, a young man with other young men who followed a well-known religious leader. We do have in the Bible reference to the schools of the prophets. These were young men, and they would follow well-known teachers. He may have been that type of a man. Some believe he was born around the year five hundred and fifty BC in Judah and very possibly in the city of Jerusalem. That would mean that he grew up in the very center of power and authority in that nation. And I think there is no doubt that he was highly educated. Scholars who know and master the Hebrew language They tell us that his Hebrew, as he writes this great prophecy, is unequaled in the literature of the Old Testament. So he was not a poor lad with little education. He was highly educated. He definitely has a superb knowledge of history, possibly because he belonged to an aristocratic family in which he was born. Now, we can't be dogmatic, but when you read through, he certainly had relationships with kings. I have seen in the writings of some scholars that some wonder they are not dogmatic if he was really linked to the royal family and possibly a distant cousin of King Uzziah. There's no doubt about it. He certainly was a very well-prepared young man. One has written, his knowledge of the religious heritage of Israel and his unique theological contributions inspire awe. He was alive to what was transpiring in the court, in the marketplace, in high society with its shallowness and in the political frustrations of the nation. Again, I emphasize We're not sure what age he was when he had the experience of six. Many would lean to the fact he was a young man, and afterwards he had a long ministry as a prophet of God. So now at his call, he sees that beautiful vision, and he hears the voice of God. Isaiah chapter six, and you read in verse eight, Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Now, I don't like to exaggerate, but the language is so forceful. It almost gives you the impression he jumped up, and he said, Here am I? In that he's saying, I'm ready and I'm willing. A young man who has had the honor of standing in a sense in the throne room of God and listening to the councils of God, understanding those things that are precious and dear to the heart of God. And He's saying, I want to be with you. I want to do your will. I'm ready and I'm willing. Here am I. Now, if you read in the New Testament, you'll know there's another case almost identical. And that, of course, is the case of Saul of Tarsus, this great enemy of the Christian church. And this man is outside of Damascus, and that light comes down from heaven, another worldly light, the glory of God. He looks up and there is a person. He does not know who he is. And you know the story. He asked the question, who are you? He didn't like the way that person was talking to him and the things he was saying. And the answer came back, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads. Now this happened in an instant. Here is a man who is an enemy of God, not openly, but an enemy of the true God, of the character and the will of God. He certainly is a declared enemy of Jesus and his followers. And in an instant, as he sees the glory of God on the face of the Lord Jesus, he says, Lord, what do you want me to do? That's the New Testament equivalent of Isaiah chapter six. Here am I. And Paul is saying with that drastic upheaval in his life and sensing who the Lord Jesus is, he's saying, what do you want me to do? Please note in both cases, There's no hesitation. There are no questions. Isaiah and Saul, they're willing to serve, and it's made very clear. Both cases, you have a long life afterwards that proves how sincere they were in that joyful commitment to the cause of God. Now, I don't want you to take this tonight just quickly. I want you to sense both in the Old Testament, in the New Testament, it was not always like that. Let's take one of the greatest men of the Old Testament, Moses. Now, I know you've read the story. Please let me read it to you tonight again and follow what happened. God says to Moses, Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh. that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. To me, that's the same background as Isaiah six, where he, Isaiah feels his own sin in the presence of God, knows the people are a sinful people. They need help. They need salvation. They need redemption. Well, in the times of Moses, the people are in a deplorable state. And God says to this man, now come on, we'll bring them out. We'll bring them into salvation and into redemption. And Moses said to God, but who am I? That I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt. So you have the invitation, but there's not a quick response. An obstacle is put in the way by Moses immediately. But God answers, and He says, I will certainly be with you. But Moses is not satisfied. He says to God, indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they say to me, what is his name? What shall I say to them? Here's a man that's nervous. He is hesitant. And God said to Moses, I am who I am. That great personal name of God revealed to the patriarchs. Moses is not satisfied. And so he says to God, but suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice. Suppose they say, the Lord does not appear to you. Here's a man with no insurance, no confidence, no readiness, no willingness. And the Lord said to him, What is that in your hand? He said, A rod. And God said, Throw it down. It became a serpent. And then he put his hand in his shirt and took it out and it was leprous. He put it back in and it came out and it was healed. God is telling him, I'm a powerful God. I will be with you and I will help you. But Moses said, Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent. I am slow of speech and slow of tongue. one thing after another. And the Lord is patient, and he said to him, Who has made man's mouth? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall say. And then you come to almost an unbelievable verse, and Moses said, O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send. Now that's an awkward English phrase, even in the New King James Version. Listen to it in a modern translation. But Moses again pleaded, Lord, please send someone else. Here is a man who has been given one of the greatest challenges in the history of the world. And he keeps turning it down and turning it down. And he finally says to God, please, I beg you, send someone else. No wonder the Lord was angry with Moses. And finally he said to him, Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well, and he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God. And reluctantly Moses stood up to do the work of God. And even in that work When you find Him out in the desert, Moses said to the Lord, See, you say to me, Bring up this people. But you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, I know you. The thought is Moses saying, I don't know you. But you say, You know me. Now I really want to know you. He's received a great task. Now therefore I pray, if I have found grace in your sight, show me your way. that I may know you. And God said to Moses, Moses, my presence will go with you. That wasn't enough. Moses said, if your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. And then again he said, and how then will it be known that your people and I have found grace in your sight except you go with us? And God said to Moses, I will also do this thing. Everything that Moses requested, God said, I will do it. He's still not satisfied. And you have this man, and he stands in the presence of God, and it is a great plea. And he says to God, show me your glory. He wanted to get into the character of God, understand how God acts and what he feels. And as you know, this man went on in the service of God. He failed a number of times, but someone has said he was almost like a conscript. He had to be pulled and dragged into the service of God. Look at Isaiah. He sees the glory of the Lord. He hears the voice of the Lord, and he says, Here am I. I am ready and willing to go. There is another case that comes to mind. That's the case of Jeremiah. We call him the weeping prophet. I've read about Jeremiah that from his prophecy there is a very definite indication that by nature he was a gentle and tender man in his feelings and sympathetic to the people of Israel. In contrast, God gave him some of the most solemn pronouncements of judgment that you find in the Bible. Here's a gentle man, a kind man, and he receives these powerful messages of condemnation, and he weeps. He's known as the weeping prophet. He lives on the eve of the apostasy, and it finally takes place, and the whole world falls down, and a broken man walks off with others in the direction of Egypt. He wasn't a joyful, spontaneous one who was serving the Lord. He was serving him with a broken heart. You don't see that in Isaiah. Here am I. I'm ready and I'm willing. Of course, we can't miss tonight the other case because maybe it touches some of us here tonight. There was a man called Jonah. And God said, Joan, I want you to go to Nineveh and preach to the people. And under his breath, he said, I will do no such thing. And he traveled down to the seashore, probably had never in his life made a journey by sea. These men were not sailors. They were men of the land. And he got into a boat. And when he got in, he went down into the hold. He's emotionally and physically exhausted. He's been running away from God, and He goes to sleep. And one of the worst storms recorded in the Bible, where you find the veteran sailors are trembling for their life, and they're throwing the cargo overboard. They go down, and Jonah's sound asleep. I don't know if you've ever tried to understand that. Ever traveled in the plains? Do you remember your first journey? Remember my brother Bob? who's traveled many times now by airplane, but the first time he said to me, Jim, when the plane banked, I leaned to the other side so it wouldn't flip over. Here's a man who's never been on a ship probably before in his life, and he's down in the whole sound asleep in an awesome storm. And when they woke him, he knew it was God. You can't run away from God. And so he said, take me and throw me overboard. They didn't want to do that. but they finally did. And in that awesome storm, he was swallowed by a great fish. I'm very careful about symbolism. I don't know how you understand the fish, but it seems to me and to others, it was one great expression of the grace of God. He should have perished in the sea. He was a rebellious servant. He rejected the invitation to serve God. But God is so gracious. He sent along a great fish, swallowed the man, brought him back to the beach, put him on dry ground, and then God said, Now listen, Jonah, I want you to go to Nineveh. And he was given a second opportunity. He went, but he went as a grumbling servant. So I've highlighted those cases because it's rather unusual to find a man so quickly, so spontaneously, so joyfully to say, here am I, I'm willing, and I'm ready to go. No wonder that that portion has been picked up as a messianic portion. And a lot of people know those words. If they're not really familiar with the Bible, they might even think, this is the Word of the Lord Jesus. He's the Son. And when the thought was mentioned in the Godhead, the Son responds, here am I, send me. Well, it is a beautiful thought. It is a true thought. It is a messianic thought. But please don't lose the lesson that it's based on a real, live human being. His name is Isaiah. And he responded so beautifully to the call of God that that illustration is picked up. And it illustrates the heart and the mind of the Lord Jesus. After all, the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. And the Lord Jesus said, My meat is to do the will of Him who sent me. That's the words of the Lord Jesus that correspond to the words of Isaiah. Here am I. I am ready and I'm willing. And He came into our world to do the work of God. Now, in this response, there's not only that initial willingness, but there's another part. To me, it seems a little bit strange. for he says, here am I, and I wonder why he didn't stop there. But he went on and said, send me. Not only is there willingness, but he's not going to move until he's been sent. Now there's a great historical lesson in the Old Testament that illustrates the importance of this. Nehemiah is down in the high court of the King of Persia. He's the cupbearer. He receives letters telling him what a sad condition the city of Jerusalem is in. The gates are broken, the walls are destroyed. It's a disaster. This is his hometown. This is where his people came from. His heritage is linked to that city. And as he thinks of this, he comes into the king's presence, whether he was aware of it or not. His countenance, his face, you could tell he was sad. The king noticed it. And it came out. And this is what Nehemiah said. If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my father's tombs, that I may rebuild it. Did you notice he did not ask for a leave of absence. He asked the Persian king, would you send me? And as they sat there, you read, and the king said to me, the queen also sitting beside him, how long will your journey be, and when will you return? So it pleased the king to send me, and I set him a time. Now you might say to yourself, is there importance in that? Could he not just have asked for a leave of absence and gone off to do this himself? There was great wisdom in Nehemiah. First of all, he received letters from the king for the governors through whose lands he must travel to reach Jerusalem. And probably without those letters, If those rulers had found out he was going back to rebuild that city, he would never have got there alive. But he was sent. And when they received the king's letters, they opened the door and they let him through. Furthermore, what would he do in Jerusalem if he arrived there safely without materials? So the king gave him letters to the keeper of the king's forest. You went in there at the risk of your life, and if you cut down a tree, you signed your death warrant. But Nehemiah came with the letters of the king, and he was allowed to get the lumber, to take back, to do the job in Jerusalem. He was sent, and there was great importance in this. So when I think of this man, I take out a lesson. He did not go alone. He was no doubt willing but he wanted to be sent. Now, in the New Testament, there are indications of that. And I think we mentioned it earlier in the week. Paul is behind the province of Asia, and he looks westward and sees that great province. He must have said to his friends, let's go in there. And they would pray and make preparations. But God said, no, you're not to do that. No reaction. No rebellion. They just traveled farther northward. And there's Bethany up by the Black Sea. And again, the same thing, prayer and getting ready. And for the second time, the Holy Spirit indicated, No, you're not to do that. And then he went towards Troas, and that's where he received the message. That's when he jumps out of bed and tells his companions, I know where to go, and with the sense of being sent, They went into Macedonia, to Philippi, and you have the beginning of a beautiful work in that city in Thessalonica, Berea. Not much happened in Athens, but a church was formed in Corinth. And then eventually they came into the province of Asia through the front door. They were sent when they were not sent. They did not try to do something even though they wanted to do it. Now, I think In the Old Testament, in the times of Isaiah, you have an insight in what it means to be sent. For Isaiah later on will write about the special servant. The collective servant Israel failed, but there would be a special servant, the Messiah. And this is what is said about him. I, the Lord, have called you, capital Y, in righteousness and will hold your hand. I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles. The Messiah would come, sent. He would come. And I know it's almost a sentimental thought, but the one who sends will hold him by the hand as he does that ministry. And when you come to the New Testament, the Lord Jesus said to his own, Go and make disciples of all nations and lo, I am with you always, even through the end of the age. That's his language which says, and I'm going to hold you by the hand. I'll walk with you right through the end. But that great commission, it begins with these words, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples. The king of Persia. represented the ultimate in power at that time, and he backed up Nehemiah in that job. In our world today, the one who stands with us, the one who stands behind us, is the Lord Jesus, and he has all power and authority in heaven and on earth. Practical thoughts as we finish, that does not mean that it will necessarily be an easy road. Not at all. One illustration from the Dominican Republic. We met with Dr. Kenneth Strachan of the Latin American Mission. Some of the evangelical leaders in our country, he shared with us the vision of evangelism in depth, of evangelicals working together to reach a whole nation with a basic presentation of the gospel. Some were very hesitant. They'd never worked outside of their own little church circles, but there was a group of men. They came from the evangelical Mennonites. They came from the free Methodists. They came from some Baptist congregations. They came from Christian brethren circles. There was quite a group, and we met, and we prayed, and eventually we experienced collectively that sense, God is in this. and He is sending us. And we began that movement after much preparation in the spring of nineteen sixty-five with a week-long retreat for church leaders. Invited from your country was Dr. Merrill Kenney and a man from Latin America. I still remember the sound biblical teaching of that week. It was a great week. And there was much prayer and much rejoicing. We'd never seen anything like this. I'm not sure that we've ever seen anything like it since in the Dominican Republic, but the evangelical community was united in reaching the whole nation with a basic Christian message. And the last night of that retreat was an all-night prayer meeting, and halfway through the night someone came in. You knew something had happened. And then another person came in, and someone finally made an announcement And they told us, they tell us there is outright fighting in Santo Domingo, the capital city. Our children were in that city. And Grace and I were alarmed, and we got off the next morning early. The only car traveling south, all the traffic was coming north out of the city. We were in the beginning of a civil war. Many of those who'd worked towards Evangelion in depth They were evacuated by the Americans, the Eighty-second Airborne Division. Finally, two of us who remained, we met together. One was a local man and myself, and we gathered others, and we came to the conclusion, God sent us to do this, and we're not going to stop because of a civil war. The war raged in the capital city. Other parts of the country were quieter. And I remember as Christians gathered, we began that movement. It was a beautiful thing to see. Every time we moved into some new phase, there would be outright shooting and bombs. But we went on and on right until the end. And I still meet people today who tell me I met the Lord in the year of evangelism in depth. The only thing that accounts for the fact that we did that, was the sense we were not only willing, but we had the sense that we had been sent by God. Now, I was over in Scotland. My son Jim came over from Vancouver, spent two weeks with us, and Grace and I took him down to the place where David Livingston grew up as a boy. It used to be a mill town in a little room. You wouldn't believe it. What the Scots call just a little place where you have a bed and a little fireplace and saw a button bend. And we looked at it. Jim was very quiet. He lives in a very spacious home in British Columbia. But I found in the writings of David Livingston these words. Would you like me to tell you what supported me through all the years of exile, among a people whose language I could not understand, and whose attitude toward me was always uncertain and often hostile? It was this, Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. On these words, I state, everything, and they never failed. We learn from Isaiah the wonder of being willing. Here am I. Let's not forget the other lesson. Though young, he was a wise man, and he said, Send me. And sent by God, he realized in his generation a remarkable ministry. Regardless of our age, whatever we have to do, Let's be willing and let's look to God for a sense that He's leading us in that direction. And if He is, there may be problems, but you'll walk through the problems because the Lord Jesus will walk with you. Take your hymn book and we'll sing as our closing hymn, hymn number five hundred and seventy-six. Soul, send thy youth. to labor unrewarded, to serve unpaid, unloved, unsought, unknown, to bear rebuke, to suffer scorn and scoffing, so send I you to toil for me alone. We're going to sing verses two, three, and five, verses two, three, and five, and then we'll sing that last refrain after the last verse. Five hundred and seventy-six, and I invite you to stand.