The World Is Our Pulpit
Before Jesus ascended into Heaven, He commissioned believers to preach the Gospel in every nation. He gave this commission to everyone—not just to those who are called to a pulpit ministry. In fact, sharing the Gospel shouldn’t be done only in a pulpit. Wherever we go—on the streets, in the nursing homes and prisons, on our jobs, at school, and so forth—we can bring words of life and healing to the hungry, thirsty, and needy. In essence, the world is our pulpit.
Over seven billion people are living today, and we must have a global vision to reach them. My son-in-law has a degree in international business. His schooling trained him to look beyond the community and nation that he lives in and think globally.
Coca-Cola is an example of a company with a global vision. I’ve traveled all over the world and have found that you can go into a restaurant where no one speaks English and say “Coke,” and they know what you want. That’s because Coca-Cola took their soft drink to the world.
On one ministry trip to Africa, after we landed at the airport, we drove an hour and a half on paved roads. Then we traveled two hours on dirt roads, and finally another hour on what looked like a cow trail. When I sat down to eat, they gave me a 12-ounce bottle of Coke along with my meal. Coca-Cola found its way to the middle of nowhere!
Likewise, we shouldn’t rest until every person—even in remote places—has heard the Gospel message.
You may be thinking, “I’m just one person. How can I reach the world for Jesus?” It’s not as hard as you might think. It’s done by reaching one person at a time. No job is too big when we break it down into a series of steps and stages. Jesus was constantly surrounded by multitudes, but He always took time to minister to individuals.
In Matthew chapter 8, a great multitude was following Jesus when He stopped and healed one man of leprosy (vv. 1–3). The woman with the issue of blood had to press through a large crowd to touch the hem of His garment. And when she did, Jesus stopped (see Mark 5:24–34). Luke’s Gospel records the story of religious leaders and a crowd of people who squeezed into a house to hear Jesus teach. Out of all the people who were there that day, Jesus healed only one—a man let down through the roof (see Luke 5:17–26).
In our global vision, we have to have an individual vision. By that I mean we have to touch the one to reach the many. Everybody can touch somebody. Someone reached out and shared the Gospel with each of us. Either someone told us personally about the saving power of Christ, or we heard the Gospel message preached on TV or the radio, or we read something in a book or tract, or on the Internet. All of us had to first hear about the saving power of our Lord Jesus Christ before we could give our lives to Him.
And because somebody shared the Good News with us, we now have life. Where would we be if we had not heard that God loves us and sent His Son to the earth to die for us? Now it’s our turn to tell others.
