Reaching Your World with Luis Palau

I’ve heard so many people talk about reaching their world as though it’s the hardest thing around. They’ve made it sort of a check box at the bottom of their spiritual to-do list. They want to obey God so they try to reach their world, but they don’t really want to. And what a sad thing that is! Reaching your world is the greatest blessing. God allows us to be part of changing lives for all of eternity. I still remember the first time I led someone to the Lord. It was a woman at a Saturday-night home Bible study.  The teacher didn’t show up so the host said, “Luis, you take it.”  I had not prepared.  So I read the Beatitudes and then made some comments.  When I got to the verse that says, “Blessed are the put in heart for they shall see God,” a woman interrupted and said, “Please, somebody help me.  I don’t have a clean heart.  I’m going to hell.  Somebody please help me.”  So we stopped the Bible study, we prayed with her, and she was the first woman I ever led to the feet of Jesus Christ.  I can never forget it. I pray that you also would realize the deep, fulfilling joy in sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. You don’t want to miss out on the God-given thrill of reaching your world.    

Jesus gave the Great Commission at the end of the Gospel of Matthew, saying, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” You know, the work of reaching your world doesn’t end with sharing the Good News! Jesus is telling us to make disciples. Discipleship is sort of like coaching. It’s helping others to grow closer to Jesus, to learn more about his word, and to become more like Him! The first boy I led to Jesus Christ was 11; his name was Marcos, in a Sunday School class in Argentina.  He lived with his grandma because his parents were divorced.  And so, when he gave his life to the Lord, I decided I was going to disciple him. It was only a few, short weeks.  One day he grabbed ahold of a streetcar on his bicycle.  The bicycle slipped under the streetcar, and he was run over and he died on the spot.  Boy, did that shake me up!  Did I teach that boy the assurance of heaven?  Thank God, yes!  And I’ll see him there one day. Have you been obedient to Jesus’ last command? Are you making disciples? Are you helping others to go deeper in their walk with Jesus? Gather together a group of several friends for encouragement and to help one another, “as iron sharpens iron.”  There’s no better use of time.  

C.S. Lewis once said that we are “like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum.” He continued with, “We are far too easily pleased.” I think he’s right. It’s easy to be complacent. It’s tempting to take God’s gift of salvation and forgiveness and just stay there. But there is more to our faith. We aren’t just people saved from sin. We have been saved to something also. We have been saved to son-ship. The Bible says that those who believe in Jesus have become children of God. As part of God’s family, we have the responsibilities and expectations that come with that position. It’s similar to my family here on earth. My wife and I adopted a beautiful little girl from Ethiopia. Our daughter is as much a part of our family as our older boys. She has our name, our love, and our inheritance. She also has the responsibility to be part of our family. She no longer is alone. She has been saved from her old life to something new. It’s up to her to live in her new life. Let’s not settle for making mud pies in the slum. Let’s not become a member of God’s family only to take His name and the privileges that come from sonship. Rather, as children of the King, let’s live with integrity and show the world true life in Christ. Don’t settle for anything less.  

When people ask if Jesus Christ is relevant to us today, the answer is a resounding yes! He is relevant to every aspect of our lives. And do you want to know why? It’s because Jesus Christ suffered, died in our place, and rose again. So we have a God who understands our suffering. Isn’t that amazing? You are not alone in your suffering. Peter tells us, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” When we suffer, we are sharing in Christ’s suffering. And the Bible says that this is cause for rejoicing. Our God understands our daily struggles and challenges. Jesus Christ is relevant in our sufferings. He will guide us through it. Elisabeth Elliot writes, “In all our afflictions he is afflicted. We are together in them...” Will you share the relevancy of our Savior with a suffering friend today?  

There are many emotional disturbances that we all struggle with. A big source of anxiety is unresolved guilt. Unresolved guilt can cause all sorts of issues for people. But when we come to Jesus Christ he washes our mind and begins to heal our life. He cleanses us so we can be at peace with God regarding our past life and sins and failures. The Bible says, “The blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God purifies us from all sin.” That’s the first big step to healing. We have to be forgiven. We must admit that we’ve sinned against God. And when we do, He will take away our guilt and we will experience a new peace and joy unlike anything else. There’s a song I heard the other day that was so powerful. It said, “I still remember the day you saved me, the day you called out my name. You said you loved me, you’d never leave me, and I’ve never been the same.” Coming to Jesus Christ changes each one of us so we are never the same- in the very best of ways! The peace of God that passes all understanding will keep our minds and hearts in Christ Jesus. Share this amazing truth with a friend who is struggling today.

Each person is made up of body, soul and spirit. We are three-dimensional. So I don’t believe you can truly be complete and mature in any sense, even intellectually, until you come to know Jesus Christ. I was once on a radio call-in show in the United Kingdom, and a lawyer called in. He was angry that I was sharing this concept. He said, “I have a great wife, wonderful children, a fulfilling career, plenty of money. How can you say my life isn’t complete?” And I told him very honestly, “no one can be a whole person until they come alive to God.  Your spirit is dead.” You may be a fabulous person, highly educated, and have a wonderful family. But you are missing out on one third of your life! You are living in two dimensions when you were created to live in three. When you come to know Jesus your mind will expand and your knowledge will increase. You will be fully alive for the first time. Paul says in Ephesians 2 “you were dead in your trespasses and sins but God made you alive in Christ.” You cannot be fully alive apart from Jesus Christ. So, for the intellectual questions that come, Jesus Christ is a champion. Jesus Christ is relevant to our intellect. In Him alone you can be completely alive. Remember this as you reach your world today!        

A humorist once paraphrased Dickens, saying, “Whether this is the best of times or the worst of times, it’s the only time we’ve got!” I thought that was pretty good. And it’s true you know. When we turn on the news it can be scary and people are worried. Is another war about to break out? Will the economy get better? What is happening to the family today? There is a lot of fear. But I really like the approach of thinking of these times as the only time we’ve got. This is it, and God put each of us on this earth for such a time as this.  God placed you here in this time, in this place, to reach your world. And you can do it. You have an amazing opportunity to shine for Jesus Christ in dark times and worrisome days. Jesus says in Matthew to “let your light so shine before men that they may see your good deeds and glorify your father in Heaven.” You can actually be the light of Jesus Christ to your friends and neighbors. Jesus Christ is the light.  He lives in us who believe in Him, so we become the light by reflecting Christ in us. You can bring hope to the hopeless. So, will you reach your world today? After all, this is the only time we’ve got.

Have you ever been on a mission trip? Maybe you went to a foreign country and built houses. Or, maybe you went overseas to take care of orphans. Or, maybe you were part of a disaster relief team. There are many wonderful reasons to leave your home and serve people of a different nationality, language, or culture. It’s a good thing to do and I highly recommend it. It will change your life. When you’re away from home, with the purpose of serving and telling those you meet about Jesus, it’s easy to share your faith, right? It’s easy to tell someone you’ll likely never see again that Jesus loves them. We’re not as timid to share the Good News when we’re on a trip specifically for that purpose. But, did you know there are people in your neighborhood who have the same need as those in a different country? Maybe the physical needs look different, but the spiritual need is the same. People in your town are just as lost without Jesus Christ as those in an impoverished country. Yet, it’s easy to ignore them. It’s easy to focus on the need away from home and neglect those living next door. Jesus said the “harvest is plentiful.” He’s right! There is a plentiful harvest of souls in your life, right now. The harvest field could be next door.

There was a humble British maid who lived in the early 1900s. Her name was Gladys Aylward. She was uneducated but she believed that God had called her to China. Yet because she wasn't educated, no mission society would send her. But Gladys was tenacious and she finally found a way to get to China without the support of a missionary agency. Finally, with a few coins in her pocket and a one-way train ticket across Europe and Russia, she said good-bye to her family, and she set out to go to China. Once in China, Gladys shared the Good News wherever, and however, she could. First, she began working at an inn and told Bible stories to the travelers who stayed there. She later started adopting orphans, and saved scores of boys and girls when World War II broke out in China. At one point, she walked for 12 days with 100 orphans to escape the bombing of her city. She led them to safety, and then collapsed with Typhoid fever. Gladys later wrote, "My heart is full of praise that one so insignificant, uneducated, and ordinary in every way could be used to His glory..." First Samuel 16:7 says "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." God can use you (look, he can use me!) so, whatever your shortcomings, lacks, failures, or fears may be, He will use you. He has chosen you to spread the Good News to your world. So make the most of it.

Years ago, I met Cameron Townsend in Mexico City. I had always admired this missionary because of his faith and vision to start Wycliffe Bible Translators. So when I saw Mr. Townsend in a coffee shop, I wanted to hear what he was working on. He was about 65 years old, but I knew he wasn't slowing down in his evangelism efforts. Cameron Townsend told me he was studying Russian. "Why?" I asked. He said, "Because I'm going to go to Russia and I'm going to place missionaries there." Now this was in the days when atheistic Marxism-Leninist was still in power in Russia and it sounded like a crazy idea. "How are you going to get permission?" I asked. He said, "The Lord told me to go. I will get permission." And then he said, "Luis, never take no for a negative. When somebody closes a door, it means the Lord probably wants you to come in through the back window." A few months later I saw Dr. Townsend again. He said, "Luis, we've already got three couples in Russia!" They were translating the Bible into some of the esoteric languages of the old Soviet Union! In Matthew 19:26 Jesus tells his disciples, "With God all things are possible." When you share the Good News, God can open doors you never imagined would open. Choose to believe Him, and then go for it, just as Cameron Townsend did. And look at the results.

Cameron Townsend was a missionary who was working on translating the Bible for a tribe in Guatemala but was frustrated that he couldn't reach more tribes with Bibles in their languages. So he came up with an idea. Dr. Townsend's goal was to go into the jungles of South America with groups of linguists, learn the languages, form alphabets, teach the people how to read, and translate the Bible into those languages. Now, Cameron Townsend had no funding, no linguists, no help of any kind. But he had faith that God would bring it all together. Townsend went back to the United States to begin recruiting the finances and volunteers. Only a few months later, he returned to Guatemala with a group of linguists to start his project. Essentially, that's how Wycliffe Bible Translators began. Because of Cameron Townsend's vision and faith, there are now people groups all over the world who have the Bible in their own language. What is God calling you to do? Where is He calling you to go? Who is He calling you to serve? Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." So take a step of faith right where you are. Watch the Lord work in miraculous ways as you reach your world for Jesus Christ.

My parents raised me on stories about missionaries from the 1800s since I was a little boy. Even today, I get excited when I hear the accounts of these great, amazing, courageous, men and women of God. It reminds me that we're all called to 'go preach the Good News.' One of my favorite missionary heroes is Hudson Taylor. This Englishman was the first missionary to the interior of China. He later founded the China Inland Mission where he saw hundreds of missionaries follow him, establishing Gospel stations all over China. Taylor's motto was to "move men through God, by prayer." He was a man who did everything, so to speak, on his knees before God, and the Lord honored that. I believe that's why he was so astonishingly successful in his mission endeavors. Hudson Taylor died a little over a hundred years ago, but his tremendous legacy follow him in China. Even atheists - national Chinese leaders, who I have met, know about him! Do you spend time on your knees before the Lord, asking Him to move in the hearts of people who don't know Him? Matthew 21:22 encourages us, "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." So, let's you and I follow Hudson Taylor's lead, and continue praying for the lost people in our world. God has chosen you to work in answer to prayer.

There is a film about the life and conversion of Martin Luther – the 16th century monk famous for starting the Protestant Reformation. In the film, Luther lives in fear of God because he believes God to be primarily an angry judge who will condemn him. When Luther’s mentor asks what he wants from God, Luther replies, “A God who loves me.”   It seems that many people have Luther’s outlook on God. They assume that God is distant and harsh. But, nothing could be farther from the truth! The Bible says that God calls to us: “Draw near to Me and I will draw near to you.” The Bible also says that God did not come to condemn the world but save it through Jesus. Do you know someone who thinks or acts as though God is an angry tyrant? Go to them today. Show them God’s love in tangible ways. Pray for them. Then explain who God really is – a God who loves them unconditionally and wants to have a personal friendship with each of us. That is the God we serve, a relational loving God, not a dictator or tyrant. Today, reach out to those who have this imbalanced view of God. Explain to them that, just as Luther desired, the one true God is a God of love, compassion and restoration.   

One of the biggest questions in life is: Where do we go when we die? I bet you can sit down with any a group of people and ask them this question, and you'll get answers ranging from, "I don't know," to "I'll go to Heaven because I'm a good person." The responses to this question may vary, but there is only one right answer. And God loves us so much that He actually wrote down the answer for us in His inspired, inerrant Word, the Bible. When we read the Bible, we discover the solution: Where we go when we die depends on whether or not we have put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ for our eternal salvation. Those who do not put their faith in Jesus will be shut out from the presence of the Lord forever. What a terrible thought! But that's clearly what it says in 2 Thessalonians 1:9. On the other hand, Romans 10:9 says, "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." So why don't you invite your friends to coffee? Ask them this ultimate question about where we go after we die. Then discuss these verses and show them how to find lasting hope.

More than we need food or water or air - we all need hope. A hopeless existence just isn't worth living. Humans instinctively know this, so we spend our days searching for hope. However, sometimes we settle for something a little short of hope. In a legitimate desire to feel good about where we're headed, we mistake positive thinking for genuine hope. The real difference between the two comes down to their sources. Positive thinking flows from the human will, from the choice to believe that everything will turn out all right (whether it actually does or not). But Biblical hope rests on the unchanging character of God, that He will keep all His promises (whether it looks that way or not). In other words, positive thinking depends on us, while hope depends on God. In Isaiah 49:23, God says, "Those who hope in me will not be disappointed." Maybe you have a family member who does not know the Lord and is trying to get by on "positive thinking." Don't knock positive, it beats negative thinking any time. But the next time she is struggling, explain to her the promises in God's Word. Pass on your experiences of God's great love, because hope in Jesus Christ is infinitely more powerful than any amount of positive thinking.