May 8, 2024 • 29 mins
As we venture into the heart of God's calling for His glory to envelop the earth, I, W Austin Gardner, invite you to stand shoulder to shoulder with believers who are responding to this call with vigor. Numbers 14:21 isn't just a verse; it's our battle cry in the mission for world evangelism. In today's episode, we tackle the hard truths of aligning our lives with our values and the teachings of the Bible, while embracing the qualities that every missionary needs: empathy, transparency, and the agility to adjust to ever-changing mission fields. Prepare to be emboldened to take up the torch and spread the Gospel, as we dissect the urgent global vision that should pulsate through every church and the heart of every leader.
Brace yourself for a stirring narrative, woven with the threads of Brazil's societal fabric, imprinted with struggle but drenched in hope through earnest intercession and the transformative power of the Gospel. We delve into stories of relentless faith and divine purpose, from the life of Mr. Pensotti to the influential teachings in "The Master Plan of Evangelism" by Robert Coleman, which has notably sculpted my ministry approach. These tales are not mere echoes of the past; they are the fuel that ignites the spirit of our youth, urging them to immerse in Scripture, prayer, and church life, readying themselves for the extraordinary ways in which God seeks to write them into His grand narrative. Join us, as we share these profound journeys and reflect on how they shape our continuous mission to reveal God's glory across the globe.
Thanks for listening. Find us on YouTube, Substack, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
W. Austin Gardner (00:01):
Hey there, welcome to the World Evangelism
Podcast with yours truly W.
Austin Gardner.
Today, we're diving into goodstuff.
We have our Bible verse of theweek, a country we all need to
pray for, a book that's beenchallenging and encouraging to
me over the years, a person thatGod has extensively used to
(00:24):
carry the gospel around theworld and, of course, my
favorite part, a particularchallenge for missionaries,
senders, supporters and youngpeople considering working in
world evangelism, consideringyour call.
Your presence here isinvaluable and I'm excited to
share these insights with you.
So get ready to be inspired,challenged, equipped for world
(00:48):
evangelism.
It's not just a journey.
It's a thrilling adventure thatis going to ignite your passion
.
I'm thrilled to have you alongfor this exciting ride.
My greatest desire is toinspire missions, world
evangelism and empower you to beall that God has called you to
be for His causes and Hispurposes.
(01:08):
I want to add value to you andyour life.
So let's dive right in with ourBible verse of the week, our
Bible verse of the week.
That's where you always start.
It's all based on God speakingto us through His Holy Spirit,
using His Word, and I want totake you all the way back to
Numbers, chapter 14 and verse 21.
(01:29):
The Bible says but as truly asI live, all the earth shall be
filled with the glory of theLord.
Numbers 14, 21.
All the earth shall be filledwith the glory of the Lord.
So from the day he created usuntil the day he takes us home
(01:51):
in, this world is put in an end.
His goal is that his name willbe magnified and his glory will
be everywhere.
Go with me.
Through the verse he says astruly as I live, that means he's
faithful, he's powerful, he'sable and he's certain.
(02:11):
Then he says all the earth.
That's the universal reach ofGod's glory that encompasses
every nation, every culture andevery people group.
It refers to God's presence,his majesty and his splendor
being manifested throughout allthe world.
God will win.
(02:32):
The assurance comes from theliving God, highlighting his
omnipotence, his sovereignty,his Lord, god Almighty, over all
of his creation.
It implies in the book ofNumbers, chapter 14, verse 31,
that God's going to carry outhis plan.
He's on the move.
He's drawing all of creationback to him.
(02:55):
The earth will become filledwith the glory of God, a global
witness and acknowledging of hisgreatness and goodness all the
way back in Numbers, under thework of the Israelis under the
work of the Jewish people.
This points to the impact,evangelistic impact, of God's
(03:16):
glory, drawing people from everycorner of the earth to him to
recognize him and honor him asour creator, the source of life,
and it's to remind us of God'songoing work.
God is at work in this world.
This ought to inspire amissionary mandate in our hearts
to mandate God's glory to everypeople, to proclaim it to every
(03:40):
group, in every nation.
It ought to encourage us topray.
It ought to get us involved incaring more about getting the
gospel out.
We ought to be participatingactively in the work of missions
and getting the gospel to theworld.
We ought to proclaim the wordof God.
We ought to be developing inour church, in our personal life
, in our family, a global visionof preaching the word of God
(04:05):
everywhere to the world.
So keep all this in mind as yougo through today's podcast, as
you go through it.
It's based on the Word of God.
We start out with Numbers,chapter 14 and verse 21.
I'll repeat the verse to youbefore I go on, but as truly as
I live.
The God Almighty says all theearth shall be filled with the
(04:26):
glory of the Lord.
Now that ought to thrill andignite something in our hearts,
and so I'd like to talk to everyone of you that are in some
form of leadership.
I'd just like to take just aminute, and all of us are in
some form of leadership.
If we're honest, you're leadingin some way, and so you know.
(04:46):
One of the things you want todo is to know yourself, to make
sure you are where you want tobe.
So have you worked onidentifying what your personal
values and beliefs are?
Have you thought about what'sinfluencing you, how you're
being motivated to makedecisions, and all Is it the
(05:08):
world?
Is it social media?
Is it based on your values?
Is it based on the Word of God?
Is it based on human prejudice?
Is it based on a political view?
Is it based on the Word of Godand the Holy Spirit?
What are you doing to help youbetter communicate the gospel of
Jesus Christ to the world?
Now, every one of usmissionaries, pastors, young
(05:31):
people, sunday school teachersand disciples we've all failed.
We all mess up.
I mean, we are a fallen race,but you know what we can learn
from our mistakes and we get upand we go back to work and we
start saying I want to serve andhonor God like I.
(05:51):
Should we make a mistake and weget back up.
So make sure you're living outwhat you believe, make sure
you're living out who you areand don't be afraid to question
yourself.
Don't be afraid to say am Idoing right?
Don't be afraid to have alittle time of self-evaluation
and ask the Holy Spirit to speakto you and work in your heart.
(06:13):
Then I'd like to ask you areyou emphasizing with other
people?
Do you feel what other peoplefeel?
Do you ever imagine what itmust be like to be born in a
place with no gospel witness?
As a leader, have you set clearboundaries, boundaries for your
family, boundaries in yourrelationships with people of the
(06:36):
other sex?
Are you working at beingtransparent and honest?
Are you flexible?
Well, that's a missionaryquestion, because missionaries
have to learn to be flexible tothe point I used to say fluid.
You got to be willing to gowith the flow, whatever's
happening, because so much isgoing on and we have to be
(06:57):
careful that we don't let ourpride overrule our willingness
to learn.
We have to stop and say I needto learn.
A man I heard preach one timesaid every man is my teacher.
That ought to be our goal Now.
What's your purpose in life?
Who are you?
What's your dream?
(07:18):
Do you?
Here's another question.
We're working on us as leaders.
Do you practice active listening, you know?
Do you really pay attention?
Did you know that most people,when they're listening, they're
not listening?
They're preparing what they'regoing to say.
I'm not hearing what you got tosay because I got to get rid of
what I'm going to say.
I don't care what you say.
(07:39):
We need to say I really careabout you.
We need to see the person lookinto their eyes and say I see
you, I recognize you.
Do you hold yourselfaccountable, or are you the kind
that deflects the blame, triesto find somebody else to blame?
Are you living in a place ofvulnerability?
I just challenge you to thinkabout all of that, because we're
(08:05):
going to get the job done forJesus and carry the gospel
around the world.
We are definitely going to haveto work on who we are and know
that we are.
Boy.
I have to keep fixing me Goodnight, I mess up so much and I
just welcome you to the club.
We are all going to have towork on that.
Well, that brings us to thecountry of the week.
Well, that brings us to thecountry of the week, and our
(08:25):
country this week is Brazil.
Now, my future grandson-in-lawis from Brazil.
He's half Brazilian, half NorthAmerican, and so I'm always
going to be thinking aboutBrazil because of Gabe, and I
love him and I'm excited aboutthat.
Now, what I'd like to remind youof is that this is a country of
(08:47):
217 million people, and 87% ofthem live in an urban area.
Their language is Portugueseand they are 91.4% Christian,
but only 26% of that isevangelical.
(09:09):
So there's a great need to getthe gospel to this country Now.
Right now, poverty isransacking the country,
infecting tens of millions ofpeople.
There's crime everywhere youturn.
There is terriblediscrimination and exploitation.
They have a thing going onthere that I'm not sure you're
(09:30):
as up to date on it as youshould be, and I know I wasn't.
I even looked it up.
This is all coming from, youknow operationworldorg.
You can go there in Brazil.
By the way, today, as I preparethis for you, china was my
country to pray for.
It might have been my countryfor days because it's such a
large country, but Brazil hasquite a bit of what's called
debt slavery.
(09:52):
That's where people are forcedto work because of debt.
It's like they're in debt.
It's like being an indenturedservant.
It's like the company storeowns them.
And that's still taking place,and up to a quarter of a million
people there are suffering fromthat, especially those on the
Amazon River.
Crime is a massive problem inBrazil.
(10:14):
Brazil is the world's secondhighest consumer of illicit
drugs.
We need to pray for Brazil.
We need to pray that the gospelwould run and God's word would
continue to be preached.
Nearly 120 people a day aremurdered there, and policemen
are known for being heavy-handedand very corrupt.
(10:38):
So we need God to work in theirlives, to work in that country
for an unprecedented spiritualbreakthrough.
I'd like to remind you where Iget this information and I
challenge you all always to gothere OperationWorld.
org man.
I'm excited.
I'm so excited to get to talkto you.
(10:58):
This is a thrill of my week toget to share with you, because
we are both interested, you andme.
We're interested in worldevangelism.
I know you're sitting therewith your friends around a table
and you're thinking, or you'resitting there with your book
open in front of the map andyou're praying about what does
God want me to do.
You're a young person.
You don't know what to do.
(11:19):
This is the purpose I'm herefor you today.
Now can I talk to you about thebook of the week?
Oh, my goodness, one of myfavorites, all-time favorites.
You got to get a copy of thisbook.
If you haven't, you've got toread it over and over.
It's called the Master Plan ofEvangelism by Robert Coleman.
Now I'll be honest with you.
Most of the time I read booksintroducing to people.
(11:41):
But I was in Ida Kipa and oneday one of the pastors came up
to me and he was holding a bookin his hand and he's looking at
me and he says hey, I know whereyou learned everything you know
and I know how you learned todo what you do.
You're not fooling me.
I said what in the world?
And he held up the master planof evangelism and he said you
(12:03):
read it, hadn't you?
And I said no.
He said you did.
I said no, I didn't.
He said Robert Coleman.
I said never heard of him.
He said it's your plan, it'sexactly what you do.
And I said you know.
Honestly, god, just let mestumble on that.
But that book is so great.
Can I challenge you to read it,because the Holy Spirit taught
me and he's teaching you.
(12:24):
He's working on us right now.
He says in his book that Jesus'sconcern was not with programs
to reach multitudes, but withmen that multitudes would follow
.
Jesus's program was men,finding and training men.
Men were to be the method ofJesus Christ for evangelizing
(12:47):
the world.
By the way, he didn't startwith the best of men.
They were impulsive,temperamental, easily offended,
prejudiced.
He picked people that were justlike normal people.
That's why I know he can useyou.
That's why I know he can useyou.
That's why he can use me.
(13:07):
One person cannot transform theworld, except as individuals are
transformed.
As the Lord changes me, hebegins to do a work in the lives
of others.
He begins to do a work in thelives of others.
So the question that RobertColeman asked in the book well,
you got to read this book whythen did Jesus not capitalize on
(13:34):
his ministry, on enlarging amighty army of believers to take
the world with storm?
Now, isn't that amazing?
Why didn't Jesus look for amighty army he could use to take
the world by storm?
Now, isn't that amazing?
Why didn't Jesus look for amighty army he could use to take
the gospel to the world Becausehe meant to train men that
could lead the multitudes.
That's where we become leadertrainers.
That's why we work atdiscipleship and mentorship and
(13:55):
training other people.
It requires a lot ofconcentration and a lot of time
to spend so much time on fewerpeople, but we will be able to
raise up a people that can dothe work of the ministry and
make a difference.
Here's what's great.
Jesus didn't share hisknowledge by classroom style.
(14:18):
It wasn't communicated like inlaws and dogmas, it was more.
He lived with them, they knewhim, they saw the truth, lived
out in him.
And that's where we want tohead to in our ministry.
There's simply, robert Colemansays, no substitute for getting
with people and to realize thatit takes a miracle to train
(14:43):
somebody into spiritualleadership.
Evangelism is not optional,it's a heartbeat.
I hope you get a hold of thatbook, master Plan of Evangelism
by Robert Coleman.
I'll put the link in the shownotes and you can look that up
and go find it.
You can just go straight toAmazon master plan of evangelism
and you'll find that book.
And if you're watching orlistening, here is a little
(15:07):
booklet I've done, called, areyou called?
And it is ready.
I've even actually improved itsince this first copy came out
and it's available for you, butI want to send it to you free of
charge.
I'm doing five people a week.
The first five people that arewilling to post in some form of
social media that I follow alink saying you like the podcast
(15:29):
and inviting people to come toit.
I'll send you a free copy ofthe little booklet and I really
believe it can be a blessing toyou.
So I hope you'll do that.
Help me, help me share this.
Don't you know God wants theworld evangelized?
Don't you know he wants peopleto be hearing the gospel message
of Jesus Christ?
Would you help me?
Would you get involved inhelping me, help others like
(15:49):
this?
Now let me take you to the ohboy.
Hang on, you are not going tobelieve the missionary of the
week, Francisco PenzottiFrancisco Penzotti, he was a
Methodist coal porter.
In other words, he sold Biblesand Christian literature, but it
(16:13):
was really just a way toevangelize.
He was born back in 1851, andhe was born in Italy, and he
arrives at the age of 13.
He arrives in Montevideo,Uruguay, and finally, in 1870,
(16:34):
what is that?
19 years later, he gets married.
He had a big family, he hadeight children and he got saved
at a Methodist church under aman named Thomas Wood.
We'll talk about him later.
What a great man.
I know this isn't the time toput this in here, but there's a
book by Kessler, k-e-s-s-l-e-r,on the conflict and mission.
(16:57):
It's one of my favorite booksand if you're working at
reaching people in Latin Americayou definitely need to read it.
Wood then kind of raises up andtrains Pensalti and then he
sends him as an evangelist to acolony.
So you start off small, doingsomething close to home, and
then, in 1883, he goes to Chileand he gets to the city of Tacna
(17:18):
, which will become a part ofPeru, and he becomes an agent of
the American Bible Society, acoal porter, and so he takes off
to Lima Peru Adiquipa is alwayson my mind, you know and he
gets there and his daughter dies.
But he's in the city of Callao.
(17:39):
It's like the constitutionalcapital of Peru.
It's right outside of Lima,it's right beside Lima,
basically the same metropolitanarea, and he rents a place to
hold his first religiousservices.
Quickly, he has 50 people andthat jumps to 300.
And the English people in townoffered him their chapel, but
(18:02):
there were some people that didnot want him there.
A Catholic priest hated him.
He was terrified of him, so hestarted the first Methodist
church there working and theyrented an old warehouse and
Father Vidal y Urias he putspoop excrement on the doors of
(18:26):
the meeting place.
And then he waited until theywere inside having their service
and he took a chain andpadlocked the doors.
There was only one door in See.
There was no sign and the doorscouldn't be opened because the
only way the Catholic Churchwould allow them to have
services was that way and he wasfollowing all the rules and
(18:49):
they locked the door.
But a latecomer.
Here's a guy going to be famousin history, Manuel Rubio.
He comes late and he goessearching throughout.
He can't figure out why thedoor's locked.
From the outside he can hearhis brothers and sisters and
Christ inside and he opens thelock with a key.
He just happens to have a keyyou know, keys weren't sort of
sophisticated back then and hegets the door open.
(19:11):
The story is just great.
This Pensote guy wow, what aman.
He goes south into the country,he goes all the way down to
Moyendo that's in Arequipa Stateand he escapes, getting stoned
to death, and they get put injail and one of the men that are
working with him, a couple ofthem.
They spend 19 days in jail butlater on they arrest Penn Saudi
(19:34):
because this priest says he'sbeen having services illegally,
and they take him and they lockhim up.
They they actually came withfour, four uh policemen with
bayonets and arrested him andput him in the prison.
And uh, but the policeman withbayonets and arrested him and
put him in the prison.
But the prisoners welcomed himand he came in and his wife made
him as comfortable as he couldbe and he went to preaching.
(19:55):
You're not going to believethis, but even the mayor would
come and sit outside his celland hear him preach and he would
preach out the windows.
I know you heard about JohnBunyan, but did you know God was
doing it with an Italian thatwas raised in Uruguay, that was
working in Peru?
What a tremendous story.
Well, he's locked up in jailand the government asked him if
(20:16):
you'll sign this paper, we'lllet you go Sign a piece of paper
saying you'll not preachanymore.
He said I'm not signing it.
And so they leave him in jailwith some liberals political
liberals that were trying tofight.
The Catholic Church saw it andthey put it ran an ad in the
paper, in the New York Times or,excuse me, it was the New York
Herald.
(20:36):
They published it and itembarrassed the government and
they let him go.
And I should tell you this justbefore he got let go, his kids
came crying and saying there'snothing to eat at home because
he's not working, he doesn'thave a job, he can't take care
of his family, and he sent hissons away.
(20:57):
Well, the prisoners in prison,with Mr Pensotti, our brother in
Christ.
They came to him and said we'vecollected money, we're going to
pay for food for your family.
And Pensotti said we'vecollected money, we're going to
pay for food for your family.
And Pintoti said I reallyappreciate that, but first I
want to pray and ask God ifhe'll work a miracle and do it
outside of you guys.
And in just a few hours a guyarrived and gave him the money
(21:20):
that would take care of hisfamily.
He was finally freed in 1891.
And when he got home, thechurch was full.
What a woman that would lovehim and care for him and stand
by his side.
They were averaging over 180people.
And he starts training hisconverts and sending them out to
do the work.
And that's year in Peru.
(21:41):
He trained six young convertsand they all became coal porters
and he preached in 110 placesand he gave out or sold 7,000
(22:02):
copies of the Bible.
He preached fiery sermons andhe was greatly used of God.
Now he got jeered at andlaughed at and mocked, but he
didn't care.
Serving Jesus was well worth it.
And so I say to you there aregreat people in history that you
can study about and read about.
Kind of hard to get a book onPensodi.
(22:23):
Maybe I'll get with some otherpeople and we'll try to put
something together.
I've done that before, but Ijust want to challenge you
because God can use you to dogreat things.
By the way, I don't think hecould barely read, and God
greatly used him.
There's another guy that came toprove we'll talk about later
too.
His name was Diego ThompsonJames Thompson, that's where San
(22:48):
Diego gets his name St James,san Diego.
But he never would separatefrom religion.
He wouldn't separate from theCatholic Church, and so his
ministry never lived.
It died on him.
Do you understand?
God's been using people ingreat ways.
God's been doing great stuff.
(23:10):
God wants to do that with you.
He has a plan for you.
He wants to use your life andyou need to get a hold of the
fact that you can be greatlyused of God.
Now we've been talking aboutalso those some of us aren't
going to go.
I live in the United States ofAmerica right now.
I'm kind of strapped down.
I have to go to the doctorevery six months minimum.
You know I'm a cancer survivor,I'm a COVID survivor and I'm on
(23:35):
special medications to stayalive.
So we can all go that God knowsthat.
But we can all be involved.
So I'd like to challenge youthat one of the strongest ways
you can be involved is prayer.
You can pray.
The Bible says in Romans 15, 30that you strive together with
me and your prayers to God forme.
(23:57):
Now listen to me.
The missionaries need yourprayer.
They're learning anotherlanguage, they're learning to
live cross-culturally, they'readapting to another place.
They need you.
It's really not about yourmoney, it's about your love.
I think one of the sweeteststories of all of my life.
There was a lady named JeanSmith.
(24:19):
She's old enough to be mymother, but for some reason she
took a young preacher under herwing.
I was 22 years old and untilthe day she died, that woman,
she gave me all the Oliver BGreen books.
She gave me a Schofieldreference Bible.
She sent me money all the time.
(24:41):
She was always and when I wasin Peru, I think, I got a letter
from her every month and herbig donation was $10.
But she always said I'm prayingfor you.
Big donation was $10, but shealways said I'm praying for you.
I'm convinced with all of myheart that when I get to heaven,
the majority of my ministrythat has been done will be
credited to Gene Smith andpossibly, just to be honest with
you, also the guy named PaulForsythe.
(25:03):
I'll talk about him at anothertime.
He was also the best friend Iever had in the ministry as far
as loving me, the best yokefellow who was really, really
concerned about me.
And you know you can do that.
You can be that guy to somebodyelse.
You can help people do thingsthey would have never been able
to do without you.
(25:24):
Now, are you ready?
I want to talk to the.
I in no way want to put downpastors and missionaries, but
you young people, you're 17,you're finishing high school,
you're finishing college, oryou've got a job, or you're 25
(25:49):
or 30, but you know God wants touse you.
I need you to know that.
I want you to hear from me thatGod's still doing the same
things he did with Pensota.
He's still doing it today andhe wants to do it with you Now.
We talked last time, last week.
(26:10):
Be sure you're saved.
The number two thing that Iwould tell you is be a student
of the Word of God.
Get into your Bible.
Spend time in your Bible everyday.
What you want to do is developthat relationship with God.
If you can develop therelationship with God up, you'll
have a ministry that goes out.
God will use you horizontallywhen you work with him
(26:32):
vertically, and so I want tochallenge you to be seeking the
Lord and spending time with him.
Spend time in the word, spendtime in prayer, go out and begin
now.
We'll talk about this otherdays.
But the men that god usedoverseas he first used at home,
and I want to ask you to becomethe most important person in
(26:53):
your church.
I want you to be underfoot ofyour pastor.
Love your church, be involvedin your church, because god uses
the church to get the gospelaround the world.
Get under the foot of yourpastor.
Learn all you can.
Be involved in getting thegospel to the world.
Get involved, because God has aplan for you and he's working
in you and he's going to dosomething big with you.
(27:15):
Listen to me Don't you letanybody diminish you.
Don't you let anybody despiseyour youth.
Don't you let anybody think youcan't be used.
All of us were young kids onetime and all of us had a hunger
to be used of God.
And God did it.
And God's going to do it withyou.
He's been doing it and he'sgoing to keep on doing it.
(27:37):
And I just want you to knowthat God's got a plan for you.
He's going to do great things.
So don't you dare give up, man,I love you.
You dare give up, man, I loveyou.
Fact is, if you're a youngperson and you will contact me
and say, hey, you know what Ireally am wondering what I need
to do to prepare, I will sendyou, free of charge, this book.
(27:59):
It's a little big booklet butit's got a checklist in here to
help you know everything alongthe way you want to work on,
because I love you and I want tohelp you.
I am here to help you knoweverything along the way you
want to work on, because I loveyou and I want to help you.
I am here to help you and so ifthis week, within the next
seven days, you contact me, I'llsend it to you for free
Hardback copy Well, not ahardback, paperback copy, but
not a digital copy and you cango through here and you can
(28:23):
start working on gettingyourself ready.
See, it's a checklist todiscern your calling from God,
and I want to help you with thatand those of you that will help
me promote this.
Oh, what a blessing if you dothat.
I'm just trying to add value.
To be honest with you, I'm justtrying to make a difference for
eternity.
I'm using every tool God gaveme.
(28:44):
So there you have it.
We've dived into epic insights,jaw-dropping stories.
I hope you're as fired up as Iam to take on the world for
Jesus.
Thanks for tuning in andjoining me on the World
Evangelism Podcast.
It's been a wild ride.
I can't wait to see you thevery next time for more
(29:06):
adventure, inspiration andawesomeness.
But for now, w Austin Gardnersigning off, keep spreading the
gospel, keep being amazing.
God bless you.
My friends.
Thank you so much.
Hey there, welcome to the World Evangelism
Podcast with yours truly W.
Austin Gardner.
Today, we're diving into goodstuff.
We have our Bible verse of theweek, a country we all need to
pray for, a book that's beenchallenging and encouraging to
me over the years, a person thatGod has extensively used to
(00:24):
carry the gospel around theworld and, of course, my
favorite part, a particularchallenge for missionaries,
senders, supporters and youngpeople considering working in
world evangelism, consideringyour call.
Your presence here isinvaluable and I'm excited to
share these insights with you.
So get ready to be inspired,challenged, equipped for world
(00:48):
evangelism.
It's not just a journey.
It's a thrilling adventure thatis going to ignite your passion
.
I'm thrilled to have you alongfor this exciting ride.
My greatest desire is toinspire missions, world
evangelism and empower you to beall that God has called you to
be for His causes and Hispurposes.
(01:08):
I want to add value to you andyour life.
So let's dive right in with ourBible verse of the week, our
Bible verse of the week.
That's where you always start.
It's all based on God speakingto us through His Holy Spirit,
using His Word, and I want totake you all the way back to
Numbers, chapter 14 and verse 21.
(01:29):
The Bible says but as truly asI live, all the earth shall be
filled with the glory of theLord.
Numbers 14, 21.
All the earth shall be filledwith the glory of the Lord.
So from the day he created usuntil the day he takes us home
(01:51):
in, this world is put in an end.
His goal is that his name willbe magnified and his glory will
be everywhere.
Go with me.
Through the verse he says astruly as I live, that means he's
faithful, he's powerful, he'sable and he's certain.
(02:11):
Then he says all the earth.
That's the universal reach ofGod's glory that encompasses
every nation, every culture andevery people group.
It refers to God's presence,his majesty and his splendor
being manifested throughout allthe world.
God will win.
(02:32):
The assurance comes from theliving God, highlighting his
omnipotence, his sovereignty,his Lord, god Almighty, over all
of his creation.
It implies in the book ofNumbers, chapter 14, verse 31,
that God's going to carry outhis plan.
He's on the move.
He's drawing all of creationback to him.
(02:55):
The earth will become filledwith the glory of God, a global
witness and acknowledging of hisgreatness and goodness all the
way back in Numbers, under thework of the Israelis under the
work of the Jewish people.
This points to the impact,evangelistic impact, of God's
(03:16):
glory, drawing people from everycorner of the earth to him to
recognize him and honor him asour creator, the source of life,
and it's to remind us of God'songoing work.
God is at work in this world.
This ought to inspire amissionary mandate in our hearts
to mandate God's glory to everypeople, to proclaim it to every
(03:40):
group, in every nation.
It ought to encourage us topray.
It ought to get us involved incaring more about getting the
gospel out.
We ought to be participatingactively in the work of missions
and getting the gospel to theworld.
We ought to proclaim the wordof God.
We ought to be developing inour church, in our personal life
, in our family, a global visionof preaching the word of God
(04:05):
everywhere to the world.
So keep all this in mind as yougo through today's podcast, as
you go through it.
It's based on the Word of God.
We start out with Numbers,chapter 14 and verse 21.
I'll repeat the verse to youbefore I go on, but as truly as
I live.
The God Almighty says all theearth shall be filled with the
(04:26):
glory of the Lord.
Now that ought to thrill andignite something in our hearts,
and so I'd like to talk to everyone of you that are in some
form of leadership.
I'd just like to take just aminute, and all of us are in
some form of leadership.
If we're honest, you're leadingin some way, and so you know.
(04:46):
One of the things you want todo is to know yourself, to make
sure you are where you want tobe.
So have you worked onidentifying what your personal
values and beliefs are?
Have you thought about what'sinfluencing you, how you're
being motivated to makedecisions, and all Is it the
(05:08):
world?
Is it social media?
Is it based on your values?
Is it based on the Word of God?
Is it based on human prejudice?
Is it based on a political view?
Is it based on the Word of Godand the Holy Spirit?
What are you doing to help youbetter communicate the gospel of
Jesus Christ to the world?
Now, every one of usmissionaries, pastors, young
(05:31):
people, sunday school teachersand disciples we've all failed.
We all mess up.
I mean, we are a fallen race,but you know what we can learn
from our mistakes and we get upand we go back to work and we
start saying I want to serve andhonor God like I.
(05:51):
Should we make a mistake and weget back up.
So make sure you're living outwhat you believe, make sure
you're living out who you areand don't be afraid to question
yourself.
Don't be afraid to say am Idoing right?
Don't be afraid to have alittle time of self-evaluation
and ask the Holy Spirit to speakto you and work in your heart.
(06:13):
Then I'd like to ask you areyou emphasizing with other
people?
Do you feel what other peoplefeel?
Do you ever imagine what itmust be like to be born in a
place with no gospel witness?
As a leader, have you set clearboundaries, boundaries for your
family, boundaries in yourrelationships with people of the
(06:36):
other sex?
Are you working at beingtransparent and honest?
Are you flexible?
Well, that's a missionaryquestion, because missionaries
have to learn to be flexible tothe point I used to say fluid.
You got to be willing to gowith the flow, whatever's
happening, because so much isgoing on and we have to be
(06:57):
careful that we don't let ourpride overrule our willingness
to learn.
We have to stop and say I needto learn.
A man I heard preach one timesaid every man is my teacher.
That ought to be our goal Now.
What's your purpose in life?
Who are you?
What's your dream?
(07:18):
Do you?
Here's another question.
We're working on us as leaders.
Do you practice active listening, you know?
Do you really pay attention?
Did you know that most people,when they're listening, they're
not listening?
They're preparing what they'regoing to say.
I'm not hearing what you got tosay because I got to get rid of
what I'm going to say.
I don't care what you say.
(07:39):
We need to say I really careabout you.
We need to see the person lookinto their eyes and say I see
you, I recognize you.
Do you hold yourselfaccountable, or are you the kind
that deflects the blame, triesto find somebody else to blame?
Are you living in a place ofvulnerability?
I just challenge you to thinkabout all of that, because we're
(08:05):
going to get the job done forJesus and carry the gospel
around the world.
We are definitely going to haveto work on who we are and know
that we are.
Boy.
I have to keep fixing me Goodnight, I mess up so much and I
just welcome you to the club.
We are all going to have towork on that.
Well, that brings us to thecountry of the week.
Well, that brings us to thecountry of the week, and our
(08:25):
country this week is Brazil.
Now, my future grandson-in-lawis from Brazil.
He's half Brazilian, half NorthAmerican, and so I'm always
going to be thinking aboutBrazil because of Gabe, and I
love him and I'm excited aboutthat.
Now, what I'd like to remind youof is that this is a country of
(08:47):
217 million people, and 87% ofthem live in an urban area.
Their language is Portugueseand they are 91.4% Christian,
but only 26% of that isevangelical.
(09:09):
So there's a great need to getthe gospel to this country Now.
Right now, poverty isransacking the country,
infecting tens of millions ofpeople.
There's crime everywhere youturn.
There is terriblediscrimination and exploitation.
They have a thing going onthere that I'm not sure you're
(09:30):
as up to date on it as youshould be, and I know I wasn't.
I even looked it up.
This is all coming from, youknow operationworldorg.
You can go there in Brazil.
By the way, today, as I preparethis for you, china was my
country to pray for.
It might have been my countryfor days because it's such a
large country, but Brazil hasquite a bit of what's called
debt slavery.
(09:52):
That's where people are forcedto work because of debt.
It's like they're in debt.
It's like being an indenturedservant.
It's like the company storeowns them.
And that's still taking place,and up to a quarter of a million
people there are suffering fromthat, especially those on the
Amazon River.
Crime is a massive problem inBrazil.
(10:14):
Brazil is the world's secondhighest consumer of illicit
drugs.
We need to pray for Brazil.
We need to pray that the gospelwould run and God's word would
continue to be preached.
Nearly 120 people a day aremurdered there, and policemen
are known for being heavy-handedand very corrupt.
(10:38):
So we need God to work in theirlives, to work in that country
for an unprecedented spiritualbreakthrough.
I'd like to remind you where Iget this information and I
challenge you all always to gothere OperationWorld.
org man.
I'm excited.
I'm so excited to get to talkto you.
(10:58):
This is a thrill of my week toget to share with you, because
we are both interested, you andme.
We're interested in worldevangelism.
I know you're sitting therewith your friends around a table
and you're thinking, or you'resitting there with your book
open in front of the map andyou're praying about what does
God want me to do.
You're a young person.
You don't know what to do.
(11:19):
This is the purpose I'm herefor you today.
Now can I talk to you about thebook of the week?
Oh, my goodness, one of myfavorites, all-time favorites.
You got to get a copy of thisbook.
If you haven't, you've got toread it over and over.
It's called the Master Plan ofEvangelism by Robert Coleman.
Now I'll be honest with you.
Most of the time I read booksintroducing to people.
(11:41):
But I was in Ida Kipa and oneday one of the pastors came up
to me and he was holding a bookin his hand and he's looking at
me and he says hey, I know whereyou learned everything you know
and I know how you learned todo what you do.
You're not fooling me.
I said what in the world?
And he held up the master planof evangelism and he said you
(12:03):
read it, hadn't you?
And I said no.
He said you did.
I said no, I didn't.
He said Robert Coleman.
I said never heard of him.
He said it's your plan, it'sexactly what you do.
And I said you know.
Honestly, god, just let mestumble on that.
But that book is so great.
Can I challenge you to read it,because the Holy Spirit taught
me and he's teaching you.
(12:24):
He's working on us right now.
He says in his book that Jesus'sconcern was not with programs
to reach multitudes, but withmen that multitudes would follow
.
Jesus's program was men,finding and training men.
Men were to be the method ofJesus Christ for evangelizing
(12:47):
the world.
By the way, he didn't startwith the best of men.
They were impulsive,temperamental, easily offended,
prejudiced.
He picked people that were justlike normal people.
That's why I know he can useyou.
That's why I know he can useyou.
That's why he can use me.
(13:07):
One person cannot transform theworld, except as individuals are
transformed.
As the Lord changes me, hebegins to do a work in the lives
of others.
He begins to do a work in thelives of others.
So the question that RobertColeman asked in the book well,
you got to read this book whythen did Jesus not capitalize on
(13:34):
his ministry, on enlarging amighty army of believers to take
the world with storm?
Now, isn't that amazing?
Why didn't Jesus look for amighty army he could use to take
the world by storm?
Now, isn't that amazing?
Why didn't Jesus look for amighty army he could use to take
the gospel to the world Becausehe meant to train men that
could lead the multitudes.
That's where we become leadertrainers.
That's why we work atdiscipleship and mentorship and
(13:55):
training other people.
It requires a lot ofconcentration and a lot of time
to spend so much time on fewerpeople, but we will be able to
raise up a people that can dothe work of the ministry and
make a difference.
Here's what's great.
Jesus didn't share hisknowledge by classroom style.
(14:18):
It wasn't communicated like inlaws and dogmas, it was more.
He lived with them, they knewhim, they saw the truth, lived
out in him.
And that's where we want tohead to in our ministry.
There's simply, robert Colemansays, no substitute for getting
with people and to realize thatit takes a miracle to train
(14:43):
somebody into spiritualleadership.
Evangelism is not optional,it's a heartbeat.
I hope you get a hold of thatbook, master Plan of Evangelism
by Robert Coleman.
I'll put the link in the shownotes and you can look that up
and go find it.
You can just go straight toAmazon master plan of evangelism
and you'll find that book.
And if you're watching orlistening, here is a little
(15:07):
booklet I've done, called, areyou called?
And it is ready.
I've even actually improved itsince this first copy came out
and it's available for you, butI want to send it to you free of
charge.
I'm doing five people a week.
The first five people that arewilling to post in some form of
social media that I follow alink saying you like the podcast
(15:29):
and inviting people to come toit.
I'll send you a free copy ofthe little booklet and I really
believe it can be a blessing toyou.
So I hope you'll do that.
Help me, help me share this.
Don't you know God wants theworld evangelized?
Don't you know he wants peopleto be hearing the gospel message
of Jesus Christ?
Would you help me?
Would you get involved inhelping me, help others like
(15:49):
this?
Now let me take you to the ohboy.
Hang on, you are not going tobelieve the missionary of the
week, Francisco PenzottiFrancisco Penzotti, he was a
Methodist coal porter.
In other words, he sold Biblesand Christian literature, but it
(16:13):
was really just a way toevangelize.
He was born back in 1851, andhe was born in Italy, and he
arrives at the age of 13.
He arrives in Montevideo,Uruguay, and finally, in 1870,
(16:34):
what is that?
19 years later, he gets married.
He had a big family, he hadeight children and he got saved
at a Methodist church under aman named Thomas Wood.
We'll talk about him later.
What a great man.
I know this isn't the time toput this in here, but there's a
book by Kessler, k-e-s-s-l-e-r,on the conflict and mission.
(16:57):
It's one of my favorite booksand if you're working at
reaching people in Latin Americayou definitely need to read it.
Wood then kind of raises up andtrains Pensalti and then he
sends him as an evangelist to acolony.
So you start off small, doingsomething close to home, and
then, in 1883, he goes to Chileand he gets to the city of Tacna
(17:18):
, which will become a part ofPeru, and he becomes an agent of
the American Bible Society, acoal porter, and so he takes off
to Lima Peru Adiquipa is alwayson my mind, you know and he
gets there and his daughter dies.
But he's in the city of Callao.
(17:39):
It's like the constitutionalcapital of Peru.
It's right outside of Lima,it's right beside Lima,
basically the same metropolitanarea, and he rents a place to
hold his first religiousservices.
Quickly, he has 50 people andthat jumps to 300.
And the English people in townoffered him their chapel, but
(18:02):
there were some people that didnot want him there.
A Catholic priest hated him.
He was terrified of him, so hestarted the first Methodist
church there working and theyrented an old warehouse and
Father Vidal y Urias he putspoop excrement on the doors of
(18:26):
the meeting place.
And then he waited until theywere inside having their service
and he took a chain andpadlocked the doors.
There was only one door in See.
There was no sign and the doorscouldn't be opened because the
only way the Catholic Churchwould allow them to have
services was that way and he wasfollowing all the rules and
(18:49):
they locked the door.
But a latecomer.
Here's a guy going to be famousin history, Manuel Rubio.
He comes late and he goessearching throughout.
He can't figure out why thedoor's locked.
From the outside he can hearhis brothers and sisters and
Christ inside and he opens thelock with a key.
He just happens to have a keyyou know, keys weren't sort of
sophisticated back then and hegets the door open.
(19:11):
The story is just great.
This Pensote guy wow, what aman.
He goes south into the country,he goes all the way down to
Moyendo that's in Arequipa Stateand he escapes, getting stoned
to death, and they get put injail and one of the men that are
working with him, a couple ofthem.
They spend 19 days in jail butlater on they arrest Penn Saudi
(19:34):
because this priest says he'sbeen having services illegally,
and they take him and they lockhim up.
They they actually came withfour, four uh policemen with
bayonets and arrested him andput him in the prison.
And uh, but the policeman withbayonets and arrested him and
put him in the prison.
But the prisoners welcomed himand he came in and his wife made
him as comfortable as he couldbe and he went to preaching.
(19:55):
You're not going to believethis, but even the mayor would
come and sit outside his celland hear him preach and he would
preach out the windows.
I know you heard about JohnBunyan, but did you know God was
doing it with an Italian thatwas raised in Uruguay, that was
working in Peru?
What a tremendous story.
Well, he's locked up in jailand the government asked him if
(20:16):
you'll sign this paper, we'lllet you go Sign a piece of paper
saying you'll not preachanymore.
He said I'm not signing it.
And so they leave him in jailwith some liberals political
liberals that were trying tofight.
The Catholic Church saw it andthey put it ran an ad in the
paper, in the New York Times or,excuse me, it was the New York
Herald.
(20:36):
They published it and itembarrassed the government and
they let him go.
And I should tell you this justbefore he got let go, his kids
came crying and saying there'snothing to eat at home because
he's not working, he doesn'thave a job, he can't take care
of his family, and he sent hissons away.
(20:57):
Well, the prisoners in prison,with Mr Pensotti, our brother in
Christ.
They came to him and said we'vecollected money, we're going to
pay for food for your family.
And Pensotti said we'vecollected money, we're going to
pay for food for your family.
And Pintoti said I reallyappreciate that, but first I
want to pray and ask God ifhe'll work a miracle and do it
outside of you guys.
And in just a few hours a guyarrived and gave him the money
(21:20):
that would take care of hisfamily.
He was finally freed in 1891.
And when he got home, thechurch was full.
What a woman that would lovehim and care for him and stand
by his side.
They were averaging over 180people.
And he starts training hisconverts and sending them out to
do the work.
And that's year in Peru.
(21:41):
He trained six young convertsand they all became coal porters
and he preached in 110 placesand he gave out or sold 7,000
(22:02):
copies of the Bible.
He preached fiery sermons andhe was greatly used of God.
Now he got jeered at andlaughed at and mocked, but he
didn't care.
Serving Jesus was well worth it.
And so I say to you there aregreat people in history that you
can study about and read about.
Kind of hard to get a book onPensodi.
(22:23):
Maybe I'll get with some otherpeople and we'll try to put
something together.
I've done that before, but Ijust want to challenge you
because God can use you to dogreat things.
By the way, I don't think hecould barely read, and God
greatly used him.
There's another guy that came toprove we'll talk about later
too.
His name was Diego ThompsonJames Thompson, that's where San
(22:48):
Diego gets his name St James,san Diego.
But he never would separatefrom religion.
He wouldn't separate from theCatholic Church, and so his
ministry never lived.
It died on him.
Do you understand?
God's been using people ingreat ways.
God's been doing great stuff.
(23:10):
God wants to do that with you.
He has a plan for you.
He wants to use your life andyou need to get a hold of the
fact that you can be greatlyused of God.
Now we've been talking aboutalso those some of us aren't
going to go.
I live in the United States ofAmerica right now.
I'm kind of strapped down.
I have to go to the doctorevery six months minimum.
You know I'm a cancer survivor,I'm a COVID survivor and I'm on
(23:35):
special medications to stayalive.
So we can all go that God knowsthat.
But we can all be involved.
So I'd like to challenge youthat one of the strongest ways
you can be involved is prayer.
You can pray.
The Bible says in Romans 15, 30that you strive together with
me and your prayers to God forme.
(23:57):
Now listen to me.
The missionaries need yourprayer.
They're learning anotherlanguage, they're learning to
live cross-culturally, they'readapting to another place.
They need you.
It's really not about yourmoney, it's about your love.
I think one of the sweeteststories of all of my life.
There was a lady named JeanSmith.
(24:19):
She's old enough to be mymother, but for some reason she
took a young preacher under herwing.
I was 22 years old and untilthe day she died, that woman,
she gave me all the Oliver BGreen books.
She gave me a Schofieldreference Bible.
She sent me money all the time.
(24:41):
She was always and when I wasin Peru, I think, I got a letter
from her every month and herbig donation was $10.
But she always said I'm prayingfor you.
Big donation was $10, but shealways said I'm praying for you.
I'm convinced with all of myheart that when I get to heaven,
the majority of my ministrythat has been done will be
credited to Gene Smith andpossibly, just to be honest with
you, also the guy named PaulForsythe.
(25:03):
I'll talk about him at anothertime.
He was also the best friend Iever had in the ministry as far
as loving me, the best yokefellow who was really, really
concerned about me.
And you know you can do that.
You can be that guy to somebodyelse.
You can help people do thingsthey would have never been able
to do without you.
(25:24):
Now, are you ready?
I want to talk to the.
I in no way want to put downpastors and missionaries, but
you young people, you're 17,you're finishing high school,
you're finishing college, oryou've got a job, or you're 25
(25:49):
or 30, but you know God wants touse you.
I need you to know that.
I want you to hear from me thatGod's still doing the same
things he did with Pensota.
He's still doing it today andhe wants to do it with you Now.
We talked last time, last week.
(26:10):
Be sure you're saved.
The number two thing that Iwould tell you is be a student
of the Word of God.
Get into your Bible.
Spend time in your Bible everyday.
What you want to do is developthat relationship with God.
If you can develop therelationship with God up, you'll
have a ministry that goes out.
God will use you horizontallywhen you work with him
(26:32):
vertically, and so I want tochallenge you to be seeking the
Lord and spending time with him.
Spend time in the word, spendtime in prayer, go out and begin
now.
We'll talk about this otherdays.
But the men that god usedoverseas he first used at home,
and I want to ask you to becomethe most important person in
(26:53):
your church.
I want you to be underfoot ofyour pastor.
Love your church, be involvedin your church, because god uses
the church to get the gospelaround the world.
Get under the foot of yourpastor.
Learn all you can.
Be involved in getting thegospel to the world.
Get involved, because God has aplan for you and he's working
in you and he's going to dosomething big with you.
(27:15):
Listen to me Don't you letanybody diminish you.
Don't you let anybody despiseyour youth.
Don't you let anybody think youcan't be used.
All of us were young kids onetime and all of us had a hunger
to be used of God.
And God did it.
And God's going to do it withyou.
He's been doing it and he'sgoing to keep on doing it.
(27:37):
And I just want you to knowthat God's got a plan for you.
He's going to do great things.
So don't you dare give up, man,I love you.
You dare give up, man, I loveyou.
Fact is, if you're a youngperson and you will contact me
and say, hey, you know what Ireally am wondering what I need
to do to prepare, I will sendyou, free of charge, this book.
(27:59):
It's a little big booklet butit's got a checklist in here to
help you know everything alongthe way you want to work on,
because I love you and I want tohelp you.
I am here to help you knoweverything along the way you
want to work on, because I loveyou and I want to help you.
I am here to help you and so ifthis week, within the next
seven days, you contact me, I'llsend it to you for free
Hardback copy Well, not ahardback, paperback copy, but
not a digital copy and you cango through here and you can
(28:23):
start working on gettingyourself ready.
See, it's a checklist todiscern your calling from God,
and I want to help you with thatand those of you that will help
me promote this.
Oh, what a blessing if you dothat.
I'm just trying to add value.
To be honest with you, I'm justtrying to make a difference for
eternity.
I'm using every tool God gaveme.
(28:44):
So there you have it.
We've dived into epic insights,jaw-dropping stories.
I hope you're as fired up as Iam to take on the world for
Jesus.
Thanks for tuning in andjoining me on the World
Evangelism Podcast.
It's been a wild ride.
I can't wait to see you thevery next time for more
(29:06):
adventure, inspiration andawesomeness.
But for now, w Austin Gardnersigning off, keep spreading the
gospel, keep being amazing.
God bless you.
My friends.
Thank you so much.
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Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.