A Young Man’s Invitation to a Life of Sacrifice

I am not really from the blogging, internet type of generation; I’m kind of old school. And I suppose all that stuff really has some value to it, but as I wrote recently, it really just burns my heart, you know, you see all these young men blogging and fighting over theological nuances… In a way many of them haven’t lived long enough to even know or at least experience what they are talking about. And we’ll sit there and we’ll fill up the Internet with this kind of stuff, when there’s literally billions of people who have not heard the Gospel. I mean, it’s insane. 

If you are listening to this and you’re a young man, if you’re a young man, this is probably not your time to write a book and change the world or have a blog that gets hits from all over the planet. This is your time to prepare yourself to become a man of God. Not to be on the Internet, but to be alone with God in prayer until He pours out His Spirit on you and makes you a useful servant. And then go out, and don’t be involved in pouring water on a land that’s saturated. Go out with your life and preach the Gospel to the nations that don’t know Christ. 

Why be alive? The need is tremendous… But I’m not going to tell you that the need is tremendous and that God won’t get it done without you. God will get it done without you. But what a loss, what a loss of joy. You know, I invite you to a life of just real sacrifice and a life of joy unspeakable and full of glory. Some of you young men, you need to think about this, you need to think about going out there and preaching the Gospel, suffering for Christ and relishing that suffering. 

I’m 49 years old and my body is broken into a million pieces. Like Robert Murray M’Cheyne said: the Lord gave me a message and a horse, and I’ve killed the horse. And I feel that way, but I can tell you this, I’m glad, I’m glad. He’s worth dying for, young man. And don’t waste your life trying to be a theological expert to a bunch of people who already probably know more than you do. Get out there and preach the Gospel. Go to the fields; go to the places, where it’s dark. Preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. T

here is, you know, right now I’m just rejoicing in what God is doing in India and Nepal. But there is Tibet. You know, I ask God: when are you going to open the door for Tibet? And China? And when are you going to open the door for Mongolia? A friend of mine, out in California, an acquaintance of mine, Larry Pan, he has on his website or whatever, he said that he would rather be on the frontlines preaching, than jostling for prominence on the stage. Young men, go somewhere and die that only God and hell will know your name. God because He loves you and His Spirit is powerful upon you and hell because hell hates you. Go somewhere and preach the Gospel. 

I sometimes read the Puritans, and well, I like the Puritans a lot, Martyn Lloyd-Jones and Charles Spurgeon. Then I look at the modern-day preachers that we’ve been so blessed with, you know, men like John MacArthur and John Piper and Joel Beeke and… So many brilliant men. Wayne Grudem, and all these men. They’re older men and they’ve studied a lot and God has given them a voice. Young man, don’t try to be them, at least not now. And don’t think that America needs you so much. You know, it’s better to sometimes to be a… If I preach in the United States, I’m just another preacher. But to go overseas and to preach where no one is preaching… Even if you’re as pitiful a preacher as I am, you’re THE preacher. Go somewhere where John MacArthur and John Piper are not and preach the Gospel and pray and intercede. All the men that I’ve ever studied, all of them, it’s hard for me to find a common denominator in their lives. Some of them were more Calvinistic, others not. And some of them were well known and seemed prosperous, and others seemed to die as martyrs and no one knew their name. They are all so different. 

But I found one thing in common and that was their life of prayer. Prayer – enduring, persevering prayer. You know, who cares about what man knows your name? The question is: Does God know your name? And secondly: Does our archenemy know your name? Does he hate you with a great hatred? Not because you’re some well-known preacher, but because on your knees you fight him, on your knees you wrestle with him. You’ve grabbed hold. You need to be a man of prayer and because missions like India and Nepal, everywhere else, it’s based, it advances on prayer. 

There’s a few things that I have never heard. I’ve never heard an old man say that he wished he had spent less time with his wife and children. They always say the opposite. I’ve never met an old preacher who regretted spending too much time in prayer. But just about everyone I’ve ever met has regretted not spending enough time in prayer. If you know the Word really well, and you’re just perfect in your thinking, and your logic is pristine, but you’re not a man of prayer, you’re not worth two cents in the Kingdom of Heaven, you’re just not worth two cents in the Kingdom of Heaven. You’ll be full of a lot of knowledge, and proud, and no power. No power. And I pray that you would not jostle for prominence on America’s stage, but you’d go and die somewhere for Christ that your name would be known in Heaven. That you’d be a man of prayer, that you’d study deeply, not in order to preach to other brilliant men. But to preach properly to those who have never heard and to pastors, whom God has raised up in foreign lands, who’ve never had the privilege of studying, as you’ve had the privilege to study. Well, this was impromptu. I got back yesterday from India and Nepal, and tomorrow I head out to the strange land of California to preach, so I’ll be needing your prayers. And then, when I get back, I’m going to have several weeks of just to kind of get back in the groove of things here at HeartCry and especially to get back with my family, with my wife and my three little children. Please, I covet your prayers. My life, for whatever it is, it depends upon the prayers of the saints, so please pray for me, and pray for us, and pray for Nepal and India, and all the other countries of the world, that Christ’s name would be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun and that He will receive the full reward for all His suffering. God bless you, have a great day. 

Please visit our website at heartcrymissionary.com There you will find information about the ministry, our purpose, beliefs and methodologies and extensive information about the missionaries we are privileged to serve. “My name will be great among the nations.” (Malachi 1:11)