How long Have You Westerners Known?

Aril Edvardsen
 

In 1969, I held a crusade in the unreached city of Alamkulam in Indian’s interior, which marked me for life, and strongly confirmed my call: that the Lord Jesus had given me a priority to reach the unreached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thousands in Alamkulam got to hear about Jesus for the first time, hundreds were seeking salvation, and many new churches were established.

      The last evening a newly saved family grabbed my jacket when I walked down from the platform. The Father asked me: How long have you Westerners known that Jesus is  the world’s Savior?“

        Before I could answer, he continued: ”I am thinking about my parents, grand-parents, aunts and uncles that have died in small straw huts screaming of fear for the evil spirits and the unknown darkness!“

        ”How long have you Westerners known about Jesus as the Savior? Why didn’t you come before now with the message?“

         I could not answer. I thought about the many churches, prayer houses and Christian Centers we have had in Norway and the U.S. and the other countries in the West through many generations. I hurried away full of sorrow. What would you have answered these people?

The Times of the Gentiles are still not fulfilled - many people are still unreached:

I still meet all over the world the people that have not heard the Gospel.

        Some people believe ”Jesus“ is an American soft drink, like Coca-Cola and Fanta! A taxi driver in Bangkok asked very politely: ”Does he live here in the city?“ when I asked him if he heard about Jesus.

        Coca-Cola, Japanese transistor radios, knives, tin cans and all kinds of products from China, Korea and Taiwan, have reached all tribes and people the last two generations. But there are still another 2 billion that never have heard about Jesus, still 2 billion have heard enough to understand what salvation is all about.

         In our Christian engagement with church work, waves of renewal, the prophecy about Israel and the end time, yes, even the chains and bonds of materialism, most of the Christians set un reached and un churched people on the back rows.

         Many Christians do not understand the unrest and fighting in Jerusalem, because they have believed that ”the times of Gentiles“ had been fulfilled when Israel took the whole Jerusalem in June 1967. But the times of the Gentiles are not yet a fulfilled end-when God shall fulfill His promise to Israel. This will not happen ”until the full number of the Gentiles has come in“ (Rom. 11:25-27).Today, there are still about 7,000 unreached people groups-most of them living in the so-called 10/40 window.

         Jesus commanded us to give the bread of the life to all. He wants you and me daily to hear the calls from the millions of unreached that are calling: ”No man cared for my soul“ (Psalm 142:4)! Do you not hear the heartbeats of those 2 billion that have not yet heard that the Savior is born?

The Back Rows:

          In Matt. 14:13-21, we read about Jesus Feeding the multitude in the desert. Five Thousand men besides women and children were gathered together.

          Jesus directed the people to sit down on the grass, and He took the five loaves and two fishes. He blessed it, and broke it into pieces and gave the disciples to fill up their baskets, and ask them to go out and serve the people.

          Let me take you along with the disciples in their distribution among the people.

          When Jesus had filled their baskets, the disciples went out among the people and began to serve them. They started with the first row and gave all of them in the first row food. Thereafter they served the second and third rows. And then the baskets were empty, and they had to go back to Jesus for more food. He filled the baskets up again, and the disciples went out again among the people to continue to distribute the food.

         But they didn’t start at the fourth row; they started on the first row again. They served the first row, second row and third row again.

          The whole day they served just the first rows. Did they do it? What do you think the people in the back rows would have shouted?

The great unrighteousness:

         They would have shouted out right away; ”This is not justice. Why shall the first rows get food over and even gotten a little crumb?“ Did the disciples do this? No, they did not do it that way.

          But most of the Christians and most of the Christian churches in the world do this today. They serve the first rows over and over again.

          While more than 2 billion have not heard the gospel, 1/3 of the world’s population has received as much as a little crumb of the Bread of life.

           This is the world’s greatest unrighteousness. We have to correct it now. The Gospel has to get out to all in our generation. Even in our church ministries to foreign mission work; we almost give everything to the front rows. Just 10% of all mission work in the world today, is aimed toward the 2 billion unreached peoples in the world. Ninety percent of all mission work takes place today among peoples and nations that already have heard the Gospel the last 30-50 years. This shows us that even in our mission work we are mostly serving the first rows.

          We have to do like Jesus’ disciples did. They served ALL. The Bible says: And they ALL ate and were filled!

          Why should some hear the Gospel twice, when millions never have heard it once? We must reach all with the Gospel at once. We have to let all people share of the Bread of Life, at least once.

A meeting in the Devil's Council:

          Every evening, after the day is ended, the Devil has a council meeting with all of his demons, evil spirits and principalities of this world, down in Satan’s throne room. Every evening, he lays new plans and makes a new strategy for the next day. Can you hear how he is speaking to his demons and the lords of darkness? ”We don’t need to worry about the United States and Scandinavia where people already have heard the Gospel.“

          If we shall still succeed in ruling the world, it will depend on how successful we are in keeping the Gospel away from the people groups that have never heard it before. That is why we have to stop and hinder all Christians, churches and missions that have as their aim to reach 2 billion unreached people on the earth.

 His Own Words:

          The evil princes are nodding their heads to recognize what was said. ”This has to be our strategy,“ Satan continues.

          ”We have to let the churches be so selfish that they use up all their finances and offerings on themselves, and on new building projects, new organs, better chairs, finer glass windows and social parties, etc.

           When it comes to their mission offerings we have to find a way to derail the projects, so that the money for the mission field doesn’t reach to the 2 billion unreached peoples.

          You know that as long as it is called mission, Christians will support it. ”We have to let the Christians be occupied with specialties and renewal-with the Jews in Russia and The U.S.A., store food for needy times, the social gospel and much more. We have to get them to use their money on Christian Radio and Christian TV on Christian Stations, and not to buy airtime for preaching the Gospel on popular secular radio and TV stations and T.V. satellites that reach the secular world.“

         The princes of darkness are nodding their heads again. Satan continues: ”We could not hinder His first coming.“ When Satan refers to Jesus, the whole multitudes of demons begin to shiver. A wave of fear sweeps through them all.

          ”We could not hinder Him on His coming, but it is different today. He will not come back to reign before the Gospel has been preached to every ethnic group - these are His own words“ (Matt. 24:14 and Mark. 13:10).

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* Used with permission