The World is Our Pulpit

//Kenneth W. Hagin

Before Jesus ascended into Heaven, He commissioned believers to preach the Gospel in every nation. He gave this commission to everyone—not just to those who are called to a pulpit ministry. In fact, sharing the Gospel shouldn’t be done only in a pulpit. Wherever we go—on the streets, in the nursing homes and prisons, on our jobs, at school, and so forth—we can bring words of life and healing to the hungry, thirsty, and needy. In essence, the world is our pulpit.

Over seven billion people are living today, and we must have a global vision to reach them. My son-in-law has a degree in international business. His schooling trained him to look beyond the community and nation that he lives in and think globally.

Coca-Cola is an example of a company with a global vision. I’ve traveled all over the world and have found that you can go into a restaurant where no one speaks English and say “Coke,” and they know what you want. That’s because Coca-Cola took their soft drink to the world.

On one ministry trip to Africa, after we landed at the airport, we drove an hour and a half on paved roads. Then we traveled two hours on dirt roads, and finally another hour on what looked like a cow trail. When I sat down to eat, they gave me a 12-ounce bottle of Coke along with my meal. Coca-Cola found its way to the middle of nowhere!

Likewise, we shouldn’t rest until every person—even in remote places—has heard the Gospel message.

Touching One to Reach Many

You may be thinking, “I’m just one person. How can I reach the world for Jesus?” It’s not as hard as you might think. It’s done by reaching one person at a time. No job is too big when we break it down into a series of steps and stages. Jesus was constantly surrounded by multitudes, but He always took time to minister to individuals.

Action Required: Share Christ with someone who doesn’t know Him. And help send someone who is called to take the Gospel to a foreign land.

In Matthew chapter 8, a great multitude was following Jesus when He stopped and healed one man of leprosy (vv. 1–3). The woman with the issue of blood had to press through a large crowd to touch the hem of His garment. And when she did, Jesus stopped (see Mark 5:24–34). Luke’s Gospel records the story of religious leaders and a crowd of people who squeezed into a house to hear Jesus teach. Out of all the people who were there that day, Jesus healed only one—a man let down through the roof (see Luke 5:17–26).

In our global vision, we have to have an individual vision. By that I mean we have to touch the one to reach the many. Everybody can touch somebody. Someone reached out and shared the Gospel with each of us. Either someone told us personally about the saving power of Christ, or we heard the Gospel message preached on TV or the radio, or we read something in a book or tract, or on the Internet. All of us had to first hear about the saving power of our Lord Jesus Christ before we could give our lives to Him.

And because somebody shared the Good News with us, we now have life. Where would we be if we had not heard that God loves us and sent His Son to the earth to die for us?

Now it’s our turn to tell others. Many people say, “I’m not an ordained preacher.” If you need an ordination certificate or sermon, Jesus has already preached one to all of us.

MARK 16:15–18 (NIV 1984)
15 “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not
believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

If all of us would just touch one person for the Lord, think how many people would be won to God!

Another way to reach the world is to send someone who is called to go. When we send others, it’s just as if we went ourselves. We can pray. We can take care of the home base while others go. Let’s grab hold of a global vision and make an impact for the Kingdom of God. Whether we stay or go, we can do something to reach the world.

If all of us would just touch one person for the Lord, think how many people would be won to God!