How did one faithful Christan help to transform an entire nation?

In the late 1800s, Welsh missionary Robert Germaine Thomas traveled to Korea following the death of his wife. In the midst of a battle, he scattered Bibles ashore before being beheaded by a Korean magistrate. This magistrate then papered his home with pages from the Bible Thomas had been carrying. In the decades that followed, others read these scriptures, leading to the planting of Christianity in the region.

When missionaries returned to Korea later, they discovered people who had already heard the Gospel through the Scriptures posted along the magistrate's wall. Today, Korea, once a secluded kingdom allowing no foreigners, has become the second most 'sending' nation in terms of missionaries, only surpassed by America. It is a testament to the transformative power of the Gospel and the importance of discipleship in spreading the Word of God.

Matthew 28:19 (NKJV): 'Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.'

Well, in the 1800s, late 1800s, there was a young man, his name was Robert Germaine Thomas. He was a Welsh missionary and he went to Korea. His wife had just died. He had kind of hitchhiked on an American vessel and sailed up the river and ended up in Pyongyang, which is now the capital of North Korea. And a war kind of broke out or a battle broke out and there was shooting and all that kind of thing took place between the Koreans and the Americans.

And here was this young man with Bibles and he stumbled ashore with these Bibles, throwing them out, tossing them out with the hopes that maybe someone will take these Bibles. Well, he ended up dying on the shore. The magistrate had him beheaded right there. And he took his Bible that was in his hand, this magistrate did, he took the Bible, And as a trophy, he papered his wall at his home with the word of God. Well, it wasn't too far, maybe a couple decades later, that people would come in, they would actually read the word of God, and the basis of Christianity was planted in this place.

Well, when missionaries came back a little bit later, after it had become a little bit more opened up, they had found people that had already heard the message of the gospel. Well, that was because of the scriptures posted along the wall. And what I'm saying is that Korea, this place that was previously called the Hermit Kingdom, where no foreigners, no people that were not Koreans could go, how did this hermit kingdom in the 20th century now become the second most sending nation in the world after America in terms of missionaries. So I've been all over the world, some harsh hostile environments, and guess what? You will find Korean missionaries there preaching the Word of God.

And so what I'm saying is that Christianity, true discipleship, going out into all the world and making disciples of every nation is an important task. It's the heart of God. And when that happens, a place that was previously the hermit kingdom becomes a place that becomes a sending country sending men and women out into the far reaches to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to others. And so I hope you see the beauty of the gospel and the power of what it means to become a disciple of Jesus Christ.