You Can't Just Sit There

By Pastor Sam Polson

Larry Walters was an ordinary man living on the outskirts of Los Angeles. He enjoyed resting in the sunshine, but got bored. One day he had a crazy idea that he could float over neighbors' back yards. At an Army Surplus store he bought 40 weather balloons, a tank of helium, rope, stakes, and a parachute. He staked down his lawn chair and tied on the helium-filled balloons. He sat in his chair surrounded with sandwiches, drinks, the parachute and a BB gun. Then he cut the cord. That's when things went wrong. Larry didn't go up about 100 feet over the neighbors' back yards; he took off like a rocket and leveled off about 11,000 feet, right in the flight path of the Los Angeles International Airport. A pilot radioed in, "I have not been drinking; I just passed a man on a lawn chair." After Larry got over being petrified, he decided to shoot the balloons. He floated to the ground, landing safely. Of course, reporters wanted to talk to him. The first asked, "Were you scared?" He answered, "I was terrified." The next asked, "Mr. Walters, why would you do such a thing?" His classic answer: "You just can't sit there."

We might disagree with Larry's strategy, but not his philosophy. As Christians, as a church that believes in the lordship of Jesus Christ, we can't just sit here. We HAVE to do something. That was the philosophy of the apostle Paul. Because he had been gloriously saved, Paul knew he had to invest his life in the greatest work on earth: the proclamation of the good news. In Romans 1, we find two of Paul's principles.

1. Paul was aware of what God was doing in people's lives.

He says, "I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world" (Romans 1:8). Paul knew that God was doing something important in Rome, and praised Him for the gospel's success.

We can never get away from the command given in Matthew 28:18-20 to share the good news. When Jesus speaks of going to all the world, He does not refer just to countries. He means groups of people who have the same language, culture and customs. Jesus is saying to us today, "Go to the world's 24,000 people groups; to the 42 people groups in Chad; the 115 people groups of Indonesia; the 3,000 pockets of people in the vast Indian subcontinent." For 2,000 years Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, has sent out messengers so all the pockets of people in the world may hear.

2. Paul wanted to join the Lord in His work.

In Romans 1:10, Paul says that he looked forward to going to Rome and wanted to help in any way he could. The apostle Paul had a heart for the whole world, but he built his strategy around where the needs were greatest.

Where are the greatest needs today?

The area between 10° and 40º latitude north of the equator, from the tip of North Africa to Japan, is called the 10/40 window. Why is this part of the world significant?

• Most of the world's population lives there. The 10/40 window covers only one-third of the earth, but contains two-thirds of the world's population.
• Most of the least evangelized people in the world live there.
• Most of the world's unevangelized PEOPLE GROUPS live there.
• The area contains the largest number of unevangelized mega-cities: cities containing one million or more people.
• Most of the world's poor live there. The average income is less than $40 per month.
• The 10/40 window is home to three of the world's largest non-Christian religions: Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.
• Although 90% of the unevangelized people of the world live in the 10/40 window, only 8% percent of mission resources go to this area.

Paul said, "I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians; both to the wise and the unwise" (Romans 1:14). That meant to cultured people and those who were not; to educated or uneducated. As Christians we are indebted to Jesus Christ because He saved us by His grace. The Lord has given a ministry of sharing the gospel, and we are in debt to anyone who does not know Christ as Savior.

What can we do?

• First-and don't take it lightly-we need to pray. Individually, and as a global church we need to intercede for missionaries and national Christians.
• We need to give. It costs money for missionaries to go, but can you think of a better investment? The money you give to the work of the gospel pays eternal dividends.
• We need to partner with fellow believers. Most of the countries in the 10/40 Window are not open to traditional missionaries, but in many of them, Bible-believing local pastors and teachers are hard at work. Through the ministry of GAP-Global Access Partnerships- a church or individual can partner with these believers in prayer and financial support. We need to go. In South Korea last year 60,000 young people dedicated themselves to foreign missions for one year, helping plant churches. Mormon young men, supported by their parents and friends, give two years to spread their false doctrine. Young and old alike could set aside two, four, or six weeks to serve in world missions. Some could give their summers to the Lord. People able to take early retirement could invest in spreading the gospel. Some people need to pray about vocational ministry; giving their lives to full-time missions. When most of the people in the world have never heard once of Jesus, don't sit waiting for God to give you a special call. Either go yourself, or support those who are serving the Lord even in the midst of trial and persecution. YOU CAN'T JUST SIT THERE.

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