First Journal Entry for October

Journal Entry. Evening. 6th of October. 2025

My thoughts are continually exercised and greatly afflicted by the remembrance of the street meeting we were constrained to forego by reason of my current ailment. My spirit finds itself in a sincere and arduous wrestling with the conviction that but a single public assembly per week may fail to bear the abundant fruit that the Lord desires. The soil is hard-packed, and the seeds must be scattered often and with great persistence!

A particular thought hath now come clearly into view, one that aligns with a burden the Lord hath been impressing upon my heart for many weeks. Yet I am careful not to run ahead in my own strength, lest I make a rash commitment apart from His leading and enablement. For now, I wait upon the Lord, seeking clearer direction and the assurance of His blessing upon the matter.

Whitefield's activities in Scotland supply further evidence of the carefulness with which he planned his work of preaching.

His first three weeks were spent in Edinburgh. During this period he fulfilled his busy schedule of preaching, but he also used this time to familiarize himself with the land and to consider how best to reach its people. Thus he developed plans for an itinerary which would allow him, while using Edinburgh as his base, to range out on a series of evangelistic excursions, each one usually of a week's duration, first in one direction and then in another, thereby covering the major portion of southern Scotland. Then, during the next two months (September and October, 1741) he carried out these plans.

From Edinburgh he went out first in a somewhat north-easterly direction, preaching at Falkirk and Stirling. The second week took him towards the north - to Perth and Crieff - and the third still further north, to Cupar and Dundee. The fourth week he spent in the west, in and around Glasgow. Then came an  excursion to what he called the "south country" - to Galasheils and other towns in that direction. And after spending the next week at Edinburgh, he made his longest journey - a three week circuit north-east to Aberdeen, with pauses on both outward and return trips, to preach at Cupar and Dundee and other towns en route.

This Whitefield's planning enabled him to minister in many of the major cities and towns of Scotland and to cover a broad territory that contained the bulk of the country's population. Moreover, it allowed him to work according to his 'preach and return' method - preach to sow the seed and return to reap the harvest, preach to awaken the sinner and return to instruct the saint.

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Considering the size of the city before me, the task is a huge undertaking. At first glance, impossible. Yet if the Lord should bring this work into being, He will also provide the strength, provision, and power necessary to sustain it. The work is His, and He is never lacking. I have sought a fellow laborer, but thus far the Lord hath not granted me the companionship of one who shares this particular burden. And so I find myself standing alone for the present, carefully weighing the many objections that arise from both the world and the flesh, while seeking from God the answers that overcome them.

To name but two of the chief impediments against this glorious task:

• First Objection: It is often put forth: Why trouble oneself to evangelize an area where, upon inquiring of any man or woman met on the street, the answer given as to the knowledge of our Blessed Savior is invariably 'Yes'? It is already claimed as a 'Christian' nation, and the need seems far less acute than in heathen lands.
• Answer: Ah, but this is a fatal deception! The people may indeed know His Name, yet they do not know Him as their Sovereign Lord and Redeemer. The outward profession is but a shadow; the inward life is wanting. Furthermore, we must bear in mind that this is not a unified Christian dominion, but one sorely divided, being half claimed by the tenets of the Roman Church, and the other half by the doctrines of the Moslem faith. The lost are yet lost!

• Second Objection: It is observed that there are already sound, Reformed churches planted in certain portions of Bulacan, possessing the pure doctrine and the orderly means of grace. Why, then, must we commence this laborious task?
• Answer: Alas, we must confess with grief that these very congregations, though reformed in principle, often cater only to the spiritual well-being of their own gathered flock, neglecting those who dwell immediately outside the pale of their fellowship. They exhibit no holy burden to venture forth with clear and urgent intent to compel the truly lost to come in. The work remains undone!

These and more. 

It (Bulacan) has 572 barangays in 20 municipalities and four component cities (Baliuag, Malolos—the provincial capital, Meycauayan, and San Jose del Monte the largest city). In the 2020 census, Bulacan had a population of 3,708,890 people, the most populous in Central Luzon and the third most populous in the Philippines, after Cebu and Cavite. Bulacan's most populated city is San Jose del Monte, the most populated municipality is Santa Maria, while the least populated is Doña Remedios Trinidad yet the largest municipality in terms of area. source: Bulacan Wiki

As I look upon the map of this region, I cannot escape a troubling conviction. I believe there remain many lost sheep scattered throughout it, and not a few hidden among those who outwardly dwell within the visible church. Their proximity to the fold often conceals the true danger of their condition. The sheer number is overwhelming to consider. Among the 3,708,890 souls who inhabit this region, how many shall pass into eternity without Christ? How many shall stand before God having known religion, yet never having known the Savior? Such thoughts weigh heavily upon my spirit. The burden is not merely numerical, but eternal. These are immortal souls, each destined for everlasting joy or everlasting judgment. And the consideration of so great a multitude passing into a Christless eternity is a thought that burns within me and giveth me little rest.

And I must put the question to my own heart, with the utmost severity: For whom do I wait to go after them? Must I stand idly by, expecting another to assume the yoke and bear the burden of souls that the Master has laid upon me? 

Thus far, by the mercy of God's providence, we have been permitted to labor in these places. Many of them have received the Gospel repeatedly through numerous visits over time. The Lord hath also enabled us to carry this work across a considerable portion of the region, from its northern reaches even unto its southern bounds.

But it is the regions of Bulacan and the vast area of Metro Manila that remain our primary fishing hole—the very hub of our most dedicated ministry. Yet, even as we ply these waters, the eye of faith must acknowledge that a region yet more vast and tragically unevangelized lies before us, its darkness untouched by the lamp of truth. The harvest is indeed plenteous, and the laborers remain few.

The task is great, and the laborers are few. But rather than settling my soul into a lukewarm contentment with the small portion thus far achieved, my conscience compels me to a higher question: What doth my Master yet bid His unworthy servant to do?

I must not rest nor be satisfied with a meager yield, but must press toward the highest expression of His will. I shall not cease to inquire of Providence until the next clear duty is laid upon my heart.