24:24 Goal: Movement engagements in every unreached people & place by 2025 (10 months)

This is an excerpt from the recently published book Living Fire: Advancing God’s Kingdom in Challenging Places, available on Amazon.

One evening in 1996, I heard a knock on my door. I opened the door, and a man with a dark beard stood there, holding a small pamphlet in his left hand. I didn’t know him at all, so after the usual greeting, I asked him, “What do you want? Can I help you with anything?”
But he just stood there, looking very upset, then he asked, “Is your Jesus able to cleanse the sins of the whole world?”
I was shocked! I didn’t expect this at all. I thought, “He doesn’t know me, and I don’t know him. Where is this coming from?” In fact, although I didn’t know him, he knew about me. He had heard of me and some prayer ministry I had. Also, one of his relatives had a relationship with me, as I had interacted with him about the gospel. I said, “Come again?”
“Is your Jesus able to cleanse the sin of the whole world?”
I didn’t want to answer directly, as it felt like a trap—especially since he looked so angry. I said, “Come in. Let’s discuss this.”
“No. You give me an answer: Yes or No.”
Because he pushed me so hard, I had to answer bluntly. I said, “Yes, Jesus can cleanse the sin of the whole world.”
He said, “You are a liar!” And as he said it, he entered the little house I was renting (three by three meters—less than 100 square feet) and he sat down.
I didn’t want to argue with him about different religious doctrines, so I said, “Let me share my story with you.” I told him how Jesus came into my life. I shared with him briefly about the life I used to live before I met Jesus: the many dark seasons I experienced,1 and how Jesus had come into my life. I told about the forgiveness I had received and felt deeply when I welcomed Jesus into my heart. I shared how I became free indeed and how my life had changed. I told him, “That’s not just my personal experience, but…” without mentioning names, I told him the biblical story of Saul’s conversion on the Damascus Road and other stories. I shared those in an oral storytelling way.
Suddenly he said, “Okay, your Jesus may be able to cleanse your sins. And maybe other people you know about. But let me tell you: He will never cleanse my sins.”
I don’t know how he came across the pamphlet he was still holding in his left hand, but it apparently mentioned the verse (1 John 2:2) that says Jesus's blood can cleanse the sins of the whole world. I told him, “Jesus forgave me. And Jesus forgives everyone who comes and asks for forgiveness.”
Then he started sharing with me his struggles with a sin that had bothered him ever since he committed it a long time ago. He was involved in religious leadership and was an educated and well–respected person.
But he said, “I can never sleep. This thing bothers me day and night. Then I found this message, and I couldn’t explain it. I became very angry. But now, what you are telling me seems convincing.”
I told him, “Abdu, I don’t know you, but God created us equal, and he provided equal opportunity to be forgiven. It doesn’t matter whether a person thinks they’ve been good or bad. There is no prerequisite. The only requirement is to bow down and ask him to forgive you.”
“Right now?”
“Yes, right now, if you are ready.”
“I am ready.” He knelt down and both of us began to pray. Tears ran down his cheeks as he prayed and welcomed Jesus into his life. And his countenance changed. The man who had come to my door very angry began smiling. I still remember it vividly: like a sunrise coming into a dark room.
I started discipling Abdu day after day, on many different topics. I took him to a nearby church where I used to worship. I told him, “Abdu, these are your brothers and sisters. They believe in the same faith that you have just committed to. Despite any differences in race or tribe, you can call them ‘my brothers and my sisters.’” That amazed him. He had never heard of such a concept. He felt he was just a refugee here, but immediately upon praying that prayer, he had hundreds of brothers and sisters. He was astonished.
He asked, “Are you sure these are my brothers?” “Yes!”
I saw his excitement every day, and his eagerness to read the word of God. He began to read it in his own language because the Bible already had been translated into that language. His life changed completely and God broke many bondages in his life as he prayed through issues with me.
Then one day, he looked at me and asked, “What do you think about people from my religious background, especially religious leaders? Do you consider it scary to share the gospel with them?”
I said, “Yes, I think so. You came looking for me; I didn’t come looking for you.”
He said, “Even though we look scary on the outside, our inside is empty. My people need this message. But they will never come and knock on your door like I did. This was a rare opportunity. To get the good news to them, please don’t expect them to come knock on your door. Instead, go and knock on their door; they need this gospel.”
That was so challenging I felt like a bomb had exploded in my mind. I began weeping, because I had considered such people almost unreachable.
I had thought, “This goes beyond my categories and my boundaries. I can’t do this.” But his words became a wake-up call that has stayed with me every day: “Go to them; they can’t come to you.”
Abdu became a leader in the fellowship of people from his country and people started to respect him. His community has many sub-clans, and he’s not in the upper class of his sub-clan. But because of his obedience, he became a respected leader in the fellowship. His knowledge of the Scripture increased significantly, and he boldly shared his faith with others. He experienced persecution because of that, but it didn’t deter him.
After a few months, he came to me and said, “I’m going to cancel my refugee status. I want to go back home.”
I said, “Are you crazy? You’re already elderly; you could have a good life by getting asylum in some Western country. You’ve already begun that process. Why would you cancel it?”
 

He said, “The only way I can share the good news I’ve experienced is by going back. That’s the only way I can express to my people my love for God.”
He went back to his country, and I followed up with him for many months. He kept growing in the Lord and became a leader in the underground church in his country’s capital city. Then, I suddenly stopped hearing from him. I think he very likely has become a martyr for Jesus, because that was the only way he could take the gospel to his people. As Tertullian said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” Abdu’s blood became a seed to spread the good news in a very dangerous place.
We have seen God raise up leaders like that. Some of them write songs, some translate useful articles, and some lead worship. The Lord has given them diverse giftings, and they express those gifts in their service to him.