Cross Talk Show 1 - Part 1

The Crosstalk International Ministry Alliance is open for service. How can they call on him in whom they have not believed? I think in many languages around the world which don't have the... It's just an imperative that the story be told. How can they believe in him in whom they have not heard? And how will they heal without a creature? And how will they preach except there be sin? Sin, yes.

Many things in life come down to money. Sometimes the way we spend our money impacts huge areas of our lives. Our choices need to be considered in light of what God desires for us.

We need to submit our will and our wallets to God very quickly after we give him our hearts. And then we need to be good stewards. You know, I believe in being very careful with the resources the Lord entrusts to this ministry.

Likewise, I believe in being personally very frugal. I've been told by friends within my new business that before I make a purchase, if I have two nickels to rub together, you can hear the buffalo scream before I let them go. Now, I don't see myself that way.

But I do work hard to stretch every dollar. I wear a Casio watch, and I bought this suit for my son's bar mitzvah when he was 13 years old, long before he was married with a family of his own. As long as it fits.

This suit will be worn and used until it's threadbare. Now, don't get me wrong. I have more than one suit.

Actually, the day I bought this one, I bought another one just like it in blue. If you watch crosstalk, you've seen it before, too. I've shown it to you, so just in case you don't remember it, it's a nice suit.

And it has aged better than I have. These suits were $55 each when I bought them. And the truth is that if you looked in my closet, you'd realize I have more clothes than I can possibly wear.

Nothing extravagant, but more than I need. See, I'm probably just like you. Let me ask you something about clothes.

Do your kids spend more on their clothes than you do? I promise you that mine do. My wife bought gym shoes for our youngest son when he was a high school basketball player that cost more than I spend on shoes in three years. I wear my shoes until the heels look like ski slopes and the soles can pick up corners without bending over.

Come on now, some of you have some comfy shoes just like mine in your closet. You can't wear them in the rain, but who looks underneath anyways? Look, most of us shop for bargains, and we all work hard to save our money because money is hard to come by. But some folks have a higher view, and others have a lower one.

We all know folks who see things as important and people as things. On the other hand, most of us also know people who recognize that people are important and things can be replaced. But every once in a while, someone comes along who has a more well-defined understanding of the things of this world.

Some folks weigh things in true terms. Let me give you an example. I know a believer who lives to please the Lord.

He recognizes that the things of this world can easily get in the way when we live to please ourselves. Knowing him causes me to evaluate how much I love the world. You might think he goes overboard, but I want to read you something that he wrote.

Ask yourself, who do you love and how assimilated to the world can you be before you become powerless for the things of God? How many of us need to confess our adulterous love affair with this present world? We cannot go on with God into the promised land because we're still looking back at the flesh pots of Egypt. Sometimes this sin is revealed in big things, but much more often it is in the little things. And then he told a very interesting little story.

He said, for example, I love a certain brand of perfumed soap. For years I always bought this brand. I considered it an innocent matter until one day my wife pointed out that it was four times the price of generic soap.

We could save $4 or $5 a month, over $60 a year if I would switch brands. That money could be used to give the gospel to thousands of people if we invested it wisely. I'd be just as clean, but I would have to give up my special liking for that brand of soap.

How could I reject such a justified rebuke? And then my friend asked this simple thing. If we can only start to make sacrifices in the small things like this, then it will be much easier to say no to the world and the flesh when we have to make big decisions. I'm afraid to analyze how many little things robbed me of my ability to be more fruitful for my kingdom.

I was with a friend who wrote that book recently, and I want to let you hear from him. Come with me as we move into an interview with Dr. K.P. Yohannan. I want to tell you a little story about him.

I have friends who are incredibly godly, truly committed to Christ, but extremely rich. He founded an international organization with thousands of missionaries, planting thousands of churches, seeing tens of thousands of people converted to our Messiah, and their lives changed. I know people who got nothing in the world, greedy like the devil.

I promise you, you don't know another man like the one that I'm going to introduce you to again here on the cross. I am what I am, minus everything I have received, gained, accomplished. We are so preoccupied with our own traditions that we cannot think differently.

But when you're confronted with the truth, all those who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. When you're confronted with reality, pain, and suffering, and opportunity, then you say, but how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? I believe that you're just like me. You'll care.

You'll want to be a doctor. The next question, how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? This text will revolutionize people's thinking about world missions. And how will they heal without a preacher? And how will they preach except their descendants? If you read this book, you will find the heart of God for the lost.

I would weep my eyes out for the lost millions when 80,000 people die every day and plunge into eternity without Christ. If you need to be revitalized in your own spirit because you've grown cold, you're so connected to this world, you're so attached to this temporary, passing world, the greatest need is within you. The greatest opportunity is right there.

The greatest harvest is right there. I want to appeal to you to call the number on our screen and request a free copy of this book, Revolution in World Missions. I beg you.

The question is not how are we going to do the job, but how are they going to hear the gospel. This book and our brother Dr. K.P. Young and Revolution in World Missions will touch you and change you. I dare you to request this book because I promise you if you do, you will be changed.

It's a rare privilege to work with a humble and true servant of God.