March 01, 1989 by Norm Lewis

Excerpt from Priority One: What God Wants

A chap flunked out of college and was too scared to go home and face his father. Instead he sent a telegram to his father's best friend which read, "Flunked out. Be home tomorrow. Prepare Dad."

Back came the answer, "Dad prepared. Prepare yourself!" Yes, we must face reality if we are to be ready for life's crises. A rugged world confronts us all around. It takes tough-mindedness to cope.

November 15, 1985, inhabitants of Armero, Colombia, heard a roar as a nearby ancient volcano blew up. Ulises Molano, a resident there, said,

When we heard the eruption, we left our home and went to the fire department, but they told us it was nothing and they were not going to sound the siren because it would frighten people.

The result? Over 23,000 people died that night, buried under an expanse of mud a mile wide. Reality was kept from them, so they died.

What meaning is there for us in the tragic mistake those men made? We must see humanity in the light of truth.

Hope For the Unreached Hinges on Us
The Bible reveals that people who have not received Christ are lost and hopeless. But God loves all of us and ". . . wants all people to be saved and to come to know the truth" (1 Tim. 2:4). God's love is the foundation of our hope. The Apostle John wrote, "We love because He first loved us" (1 Jn. 4:19). We answer God's love by giving our lives to Him. We do what He wants. Ask yourself how "tough love" should respond to the following passage. God's Word says:

Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering towards slaughter. If you say, "But we knew nothing about this," does not He who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not He who guards your life know it? Will He not repay each person according to what He has done? (Prov. 24:11-12 NIV).

Those words are rugged, but true. Measure your life by them. Ask yourself, "Does what I do support what I believe?"

If the reality God's Word presents is alarming, then be alarmed! To be soothed when danger threatens may mean death. Those officials in Armero meant well. But their desire not to "frighten people" instead spelled their doom. We must avoid their mistake. In the real world of truth the Bible tells us that:

To Save People We Must Accept Reality
Our situation might be easier if truth were less stern. We may wonder why life for unreached peoples should depend on us. Or we may want to dodge responsibility as Cain tried to do when he asked, "Am I my brother's keeper?" But tough love requires us to recognize that the Bible is right.

God's world operation counts on every Christian to help "rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering towards slaughter." To that truth we must respond. Beware of false fantasies with which unbelief would blind us.

Someone once asked Abraham Lincoln, "If you call a horse's tail a leg, how many legs has the horse?" Said Lincoln, "Four! No matter what you call the tail, it is still a tail." Likewise the Bible teaches us to call things truthfully by their right names. We must be moved by the fact that the unreached are far from God's fold. "You too were dead in your transgressions and sins" (Eph. 2:1). That is the condition of all who have not heard God's good news and trusted Christ. That need brought God's Son from heaven to die. If spiritual life could have been found apart from Christ He would not have said, "I came so that they will have life . . ." (Jn. 10:10).

Have you thought why the Bible asks us to "rescue the captives from death"? We accept reality by agreeing that people groups beyond gospel frontiers are "dead in trespasses and sins."

God Says They Are Lost and Dead
We can all visualize how threatening physical death is. My wife and I remember a winter morning in Nyack, New York. We answered a knock at our door and were greeted by a wealthy neighbor, clad in a bloodstained bathrobe, who was begging a ride to a hospital. He had been shot seven times by his butler. His blood stained my car seat as I rushed him to the operating room where doctors struggled to save his life. Amazingly he lived and later sent me a letter thanking me, as he said, "for the icy and bloodsoaked ride which saved my life." He knew he had barely missed death. But those unreached with the gospel do not know they face eternal death. We sense Jesus' love for them when He says, "I have other sheep too, that are not in this fold. I must lead those too . . ." (Jn. 10:16), but they are barred from salvation by not knowing where or how to find the shepherd.

Newspapers reported the finding of a woman's body on the hot sands of California's Mojave Desert. She was gathering material for a feature story and lost her way in the desert. In her search for water, she came upon a cabin and broke a window to enter. She found no water but left $3.00 with the following note, "I am exhausted and must have water. I do not think I can last much longer." The cabin owner found the note and began to search for the woman. Her body was found only two miles from a spring with abundant water. She died because she did not know where the water was.

We know the One who gives "living water . . . bubbling with everlasting life" (Jn. 4:10,14). He has ordered us to ". . . preach the good news to the whole world" (Mk. 16:15). We own Him as our Lord. One conclusion follows: God wants us to bring in the unreached. We must tell them who Christ is because they do not know. How strongly the Apostle Paul argues,

But how can they call on Him if they haven't believed in Him? How can they believe in Him if they haven't heard of Him? How can they hear if nobody preaches? (Rom. 10:14).

God Asks Us to Go Where They Are
Only "reaching the unreached" expands God's kingdom. That is why it was Paul's practice to go with the ". . . good news only where Christ's name wasn't known . . ." (Rom. 15:20). God gave Paul the method that should have become basic practice for every church during the present age. It is God's way to insure nonstop progress. Outreach is assured so long as we practice Paul's procedure. Christianity will continue to fill the earth so long as our prime focus is to "tell the good news only where Christ's name is not known."

The importance of applying this truth today can hardly be exaggerated. Where churches are in decline, this is the task that will turn them around. This is the secret of success, the thrust we dare not dilute. People groups that lie beyond present gospel frontiers are the target we must keep in our sights.

God loves all the peoples of the world. He asks us to focus on pioneer outreach in order to offer the greatest good to the greatest number of lost people. They are dead to God and face a hopeless future. When the Church forgets that, the results are tragic. When we obey and go, results are glorious.

Our service will be flawed if we fail to accept the reality that people unreached with the gospel are truly lost. The Bible says, "All who sin without having the law will perish without the law" (Rom. 2:12). God's Word pictures the plight of those without the gospel as sad beyond words. They live in night, they die without hope, they face darkness forever. That truth should ring like an alarm gong in the bell tower of our hearts.

Since hope for unreached people hinges on our obedience,

To Save People We Must Actively Respond
The Bible warns us to avoid the trap of saying, "Look, this isn't our business." We dare not hide behind the excuse that we didn't know the unreached were lost. Far better to trust the Bible and obey God's marching orders. There is a message of hope for the world's people. There is good news by which they can be saved eternally. We must pay the price to carry God's message to them all.

Obstacles are sure to confront obedient Christians, but they can be overcome. Remember how early believers were arrested and imprisoned as they shared God's good news. The officials warned them never again to speak to anyone in Jesus' name.

Peter and John answered them, "Does God consider it right to listen to you and not to God? Judge for yourselves. We cannot stop telling what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:19-20).

One such obstacle to finding enough workers for God's harvest can be the influence of parents. Many withhold their children from service for Christ abroad. The whole progress of God's redemptive plan is impacted by such disobedience. The example of parents is powerful. Mr. and Mrs. Gratton Guinness heard J. Hudson Taylor and were convinced they should leave England to serve Christ in some unreached area. Instead they were asked to take charge of a Training College in a poor section of East London to prepare others to go. They talked to their children from infancy about the Lord and each trusted Christ personally by age four.

Their son, Whitfield, at fourteen, was baptized and joined the church with the goal of going where the gospel had not yet been preached. From his parents and the trainees, he sensed constant concern to honor God's priority. Whitfield got his medical degree and was ready to go to China. But his family was now scattered leaving only his mother at home. He asked her, "How can I also go far away and leave you alone?" She replied,

My son, do you so little know your mother? Do you not realize that it is my ambition, my heart's desire, to see you all--every one of my children--serving the Lord where the need is greatest? I would not keep you back one hour!

Under the China Inland Mission, Whitfield went to the province of Honan, China, where more than 35 million people existed with no witness for Christ. There he labored for Christ twenty-seven years until his death.

It Will Cost Full Surrender
Before me is a letter telling of Rick, whose mother led him to Christ in a North African country where the law forbids any open witness for Christ. Not long ago in a coffee shop, he explained the gospel to a cousin and another friend. The next day, three policemen took Rick to the police station and questioned him for four hours before letting him go. Shortly thereafter, Rick was traveling on a bus with another cousin to whom he gave his testimony. Apparently his words were overheard. A secret policeman a few seats in front of them confronted Rick and ordered him to take the next bus back to where he had come from. Despite these problems, Rick is unashamed to be counted among the redeemed. God has His own who are truly lights in dark places. We must support their testimony.

God asks your all. Paul pled with the Christians at Rome,

. . . give your bodies as a living sacrifice . . . let yourselves be transformed by the renewing of your minds . . . (Rom. 12:1-2). He called the Corinthians to yield fully to Christ, saying,

He died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died and rose for them (II Cor. 5:15). Christ's love will powerfully enable you. Jesus said, "Anything can be done if you believe" (Mk. 9:23).

Audubon, the great birdwatcher and painter, did some amazing things. He was driven by a passion to understand the life of the birds of North America and to portray them in their natural surroundings. It is said he would often wade into a swamp until only his head remained above water. There he would stand for hours as poisonous snakes swam by and other dangers threatened. Why did he do it? Simply to be able to paint one more bird in its habitat. Audubon fulfilled his ambition to do what others had not done. So it is that even young people with scant experience do exploits.

Recently President Reagan honored four young Americans including Trevor Ferrell, 13, of Philadelphia. Two years ago, Trevor began taking blankets and food to homeless people. He had seen their plight dramatized on television. There are now 250 volunteers in "Trevor's Campaign for the Homeless." They feed up to 200 people a night. Reagan said afterward, "Nothing is impossible; no victories beyond our reach."

You may say, "But what can I do? I'm just a common Christian." Whoever you are, God knows you and has a place for you in His rescue force. During my travels in the Indian subcontinent I was deeply impressed with young people who have gone there with the gospel. They are genuinely effective for Christ. Why? It is not that they are more talented than others. But they have proved they are available to God by going. That makes the difference.

Such availability reminds me of a letter that I prize from a young couple who went recently to a so-called "closed land" as members of a Christian team. The letter ends with these words:

You are a special part of this team. The people here know so little about the Lord that even with our limited language we can still communicate our hope. This is what makes life here so exciting. If you care to join us over here, they sure need your witness.

Another avenue for expanding truly pioneer missions projects is to give wisely to those who are doing the job. "Back to the Bible Broadcast" of Lincoln, Nebraska, has reaped a harvest of souls in India. There, they broadcast the gospel daily to an area where 300 million Hindi-speaking people live. Many thousands have been saved. They also sponsors gospel projects abroad through other agencies. In any such case, they require that every dollar received go to the designated project without deduction. Such work is worthy of support.

It Will Claim First Place
Our text reminds us that each must answer to God for the use of time, talents and assets. An hour of reckoning is ahead. Each will ". . . receive according to what he has done with his life" (II Cor. 5:10).

As we make our choices we should always be aware that ". . . each of us will have to give an account of himself to God" (Rom. 14:12). It should be our primary concern to focus on peoples who are God's priority—to take the gospel beyond its current frontiers. That is the way to finish the task.

But remember, a priority makes demands. I learned that in Argentina one day while working on a pump motor at the bottom of a twenty-foot well. Our son, Tim, about ten years old, started down the well to bring me a tool, and slipped. I heard his cry, thrust out both arms and caught him as he fell backwards. The jolt almost knocked me flat but probably saved Tim from breaking his back on the motor. The moment I heard his cry, Tim's safety became my priority, the one thing that mattered. Unless we really focus on unreached peoples, other needs close at hand will fill our lives.

In New Orleans, I spoke to a businessmen's group about the desperate plight of unreached people. At the close the chairman prayed, "Oh God, you know that New Orleans is just as dark as darkest Africa." I felt like saying, "Who are you kidding?" People in New Orleans have access to saving truth in many ways. Anyone can hear the gospel by radio or TV, get a Bible, find a church, read Christian literature or talk with a believer. In countless areas in Africa there are no such avenues to Christ.

How recently have you asked yourself, "What am I really living for?" I recall an experience that helped me with that question. I was flying from Costa Rica to New Orleans. A businessman boarded the plane in Honduras and sat beside me. He was a lumberman who for years had operated a mill in Louisiana. As timber was used up, he moved his mill to another part of the state. Timber got scarce there also. He heard there was lumber in Honduras, went there and built a mill. When I met him, he had been traveling back and forth for several years, his family in Louisiana, his work in Honduras. I thought, "What a life of sacrifice!" But the man said no such thing. His goal was to make money. He lived for that.

God's priority for us is to offer eternal life to everyone. The organization I work with focuses on Islam. Fifteen percent of the world's people are Muslims. You might assume we would be sending them that proportion of the 50,000 witnesses for Christ who go abroad from the United States. Instead, we have been sending them less than one percent.

Today we sense in many lives a fresh vision. More young people are owning God's priority: finish the world task. Recently several couples went with that aim to a North African country. One night three of the families were arrested and jailed. After a few hours the police released the women and children. The three men were held thirty days in a pest-ridden jail. The families were then deported from the country without a trial. They are now in the process of regrouping, seeking another needy field. Tough love does not flinch in the face of hardships. Hope for unreached peoples hinges on obedience to Christ.

Here's what Christian leaders are saying about Priority One: What God Wants—

Ted Engstrom, World Vision International: "Priority One is more than a textbook on the Great Commission. It clearly, forcefully and biblically articulates the Christian's marching orders."

Robert Bowman, Far East Broadcasting Company: "Priority One is a book you should read at all costs. It is about YOUR life! It will change your life."

Ralph Winter, U.S. Center for World Mission: "Priority One.... Nothing else is as direct, cogent, unavoidable."

Bill Bright, Campus Crusade for Christ: "Priority One speaks truth plainly. Christians who are committed to its goals will help the Church recapture its original role to take the Gospel to everyone everywhere and make disciples of all nations."

To obtain copies for yourself and your friends, use the order form on page 23 of this issue of Mission Frontiers.