by Jeffrey Bush from They Turned the World Upside Down
Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord,
2 Corinthians 2:12
In Raratonga, Missionary John Williams sat in a church that was newly built by one of his trained nationals. He watched in amazement as the people came towards him, throwing their idols and fetishes at his feet. The natives wanted to show him that they were turning from false gods to serve the living, true God. The church soon grew to over 2,000 Christians. They built a “praying vessel”, called the Messenger of Peace. There were no nails available. Instead, they used wooden pins to hold the boat together. He and the other believers traveled thousands of miles in this vessel, telling the other islands about Christ. They reached a Samoan group and in just a few years, there were 50,000 people saved and baptized out of the 70,000 people on the island.
What a great work God can do with a man totally surrendered to him! If John had not attempted to build a boat, the Messenger of Peace would have never reached the neighboring islands. He had a vision for what God could do. If John had lost sight of his dream, those 50,000 souls on the island of Samoa would have gone to hell. Because one man believed that God would use him, those people are in heaven today!
Challenge: When God opens a door for you, you should go through it and keep working until He shuts it. Do not stop when you reach one soul. Determine to win the world! There is a world of lost people going to hell at your very own doorstep. What kind of goals and dreams do you have to see the Word carried around the world? What are you doing to fulfill the vision the Lord has given?