> Reflections

12/02/2013 - The Good and Powerful Word

Machado

I have the pleasure of introducing you to a little bit of the work we have been doing in Portugal. In order for you to know more about the Gospel in Portugal, let’s go back in time. The Portuguese Constitution of 1933 recognized the principals of religious freedom, but stated that the Catholic Church was the official national religion of Portugal. The State ignored the existence of other religious confessions–in other words, there was no way to spread the Gospel. With the fall of dictatorship on April 25th, 1974; the way opened for other churches and associations to actively emerge. In the 1976 Constitution of the 3rd Republic, we can clearly see that the landscape was changing in terms of Portuguese religious freedom.

Since then, the situation has been gradually progressing. In 1988, for example, temples were exempted from real estate tax; then private church donations were made tax-deductible in 1989. The Gospel in Portugal, however, still has much room for growth. National suicide rates are high, with around 600 deaths and at least 24 thousand attempts yearly. Divorce rates are also high, as every year there are about 60 thousand weddings and 19 thousand divorces.

When we arrived in Portugal, on September of 2003, I saw this nation as a great land to be won by the Lord Jesus. We immediately got to work Evangelizing, protected by the words in the Book of Acts Chapter 8 verse 5-8. Then Philip went down to the[a] city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. 6 And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. 8 And there was great joy in that city. When Philip arrived in Samaria, he found many ill people oppressed by demons. It was through the preaching of the Word that he won success, and that’s what we have done in Portugal. We attend the people who seek us every day, who tell us their problems, difficulties and pains, and we give them what Philip gave to the people of Samaria – the Word of God, the Gospel and the Good News.

The Lord has confirmed our work, doing wonders and we have already begin to see results. We are aware of the difficulties of bringing the Gospel to a nation in which, according to some studies, less than 1% of it’s population is Christian. However, we know that there is a great desire for God in this place, and we keep our eyes focused on that fact. Just like there was great joy in Samaria, there will be great joy in Portugal, because of the good and powerful Word of God!

 

Rev. José Machado é pastor-líder da Igreja
Internacional da Graça de Deus Portuguesa

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