Passion for the Lost — Luis Palau

We were in a church in the city of Cali, Colombia. It was a church, typical church, most of the world, about a hundred and thirty, a hundred and fifty people. The pastor was a missionary. So this was in South America now.

Praying for Revival Amid Persecution

A missionary called me up and he said, Luis, I was a kid myself in those days, but we were praying up a storm day and night that God would send revival to Colombia. There had been persecution, killings, murders, churches burned, preachers and missionaries butchered.

And he said, come on, let's have a revival in our church, a real revival. So we went and I began to preach five days, six, just the same things we've been teaching here. But I started out on Sunday morning to this little congregation.

It was just one church, not like here where we are lots of churches and towns. I preached on the possibilities and I sent them home drooling with excitement. How can I enjoy this life? Monday night was supposed to be the night on sin.

And so a buddy of mine, we were both young guys, we prayed and prayed and prayed and we read books on revival. And we were really in fear because when you talk about sin, it's no joke to preach about sin like I did the other night.

Public Confession and Reconciliation

I had started my message. There was no TV camera. So my buddy was seated right there and I started out talking about sin about 12 minutes into the message. Suddenly to my right hand, a man stood up. He said, stop.

I can't take it anymore. He said, I'm an elder in this church. My family's a mess. Look at me. I'm all alone. He was seated about there. He said, where's my wife? He looked around. Wife, where are you?

Here I am, honey. You know, Spanish. And he said, come on over here. So the woman found her way. My three children, where are you children? One here, one there, one there. Come on over here. And he began to confess that his family was a mess, that they were not happy, that they fought.

All this in public. I hadn't even started my message. He interrupted me. And when he began to confess, which is what we were praying that God would do, all over the audience, 150 or so, it was crowded.

It was a little chapel. Pop, pop, pop. People standing up all over. I began to cry. I looked at my buddy. We'd been praying for this dream, you know. One woman confessed, a man confessed, a teenager, but the dramatic one.

And I said, close the windows. There was a lot of neighbors sneaking in, listening. And this was too, you know, washing old stuff in house. I said, close the doors. I don't want any outsiders listening to our, you know, dirty undershirts.

And as I said that, a man right about over there stood up. And he said these words. He said, I killed the father of that young man on the platform. That was my buddy. And I thought, wow. I looked at him and he just didn't say a thing.

I said, what do you mean you killed him? Did you shoot him? He said, no. We were both elders at a church on 19th Avenue in Cali. And he said, I gave him so much trouble in the church that he had a heart attack and he died.

And I feel I killed him. And I can't ask him for forgiveness. But I want to ask his son if he would please forgive me in his father's name. We were all shaken, you know. I looked at Libny and I said, Libny, you're going to forgive him?

He said, yes. I said, well, go down there and give him a hug and forgive him. So Libny got off, went over there. You can imagine the power in that place. You know, when God begins to move, you hardly need publicity.

It's amazing. God begins to move and people want to be where God is moving. Anybody who's got any sensitivity. Now, when that happens, then God begins to move. And revival is a restoration of a normal Christian life.

Revival as a Spirit-Filled Christian Life

A normal Christian life is a life filled with God himself. Are you filled with God tonight? Are you filled with the Holy Spirit? If you've confessed every known sin, if you have dedicated your body, you ought to be able to say, yes.

Well, don't shout. But you can say, yes, I am. I'm filled with the Holy Spirit of God. Because there is no sin in my life. As far as I know, I'm walking in the light with God. The Holy Spirit has filled me.

I am filled with joy. I love the Word of God. I've learned to pray. I care for my neighbors. I've got a new love for my wife. I want to see my boys and girls walk with God. I love my church. I want to see God move in my community.

Those are the signs that God is at work. These nights we've been repeating together, you anoint my head with oil, my cup runneth over. It doesn't mean that you don't sometimes feel so tired you don't want to talk to anybody.

No. It doesn't mean that you're always on top, you know, loud and boisterous and just, you know, go get them all the time. No. What it means is that out of your innermost being there's a flowing of the rivers of living water.

Now we all have different temperaments. Some are melancholic by nature. Engineers. You can't get engineers jumping up and down. You know, they jump in their heads, but physically engineers are cool cats, you know.

You can't say to an engineer, listen, I don't see you jumping enough. You're not filled with the Holy Spirit. No, no, no. Leave the engineers alone. But an engineer knows when he's filled with the Holy Spirit because there's a quiet little smile.

Most engineers never smile. You know, they always want to protect the world from chaos. But when an engineer is filled with the Holy Spirit, once in a while he goes like this. You know, just a touch of a smile and you know that he's revived.

But when you're filled with the Spirit, listen, you know it. Second, listen to this one. Your wife knows it or your husband. Now, from dedicating your body, what is the great final step? To begin to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Fruit of the Spirit and Christian Character

Now, we've got to distinguish between being filled with the Holy Spirit and, listen carefully, the gifts of the Holy Spirit. When you're filled with the Holy Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit begins to reveal itself in your life.

God balances you out. The fruit of the Spirit is love. It doesn't mean that you're a super lover, hug, hug, hug all the time. Some people are not huggers. But there's a love, genuine love. The fruit of the Spirit is joy.

And you know it says love, joy, peace, goodness, patience. And then it says, did you hear? Against such, there is no law. Did you notice that? You know what it means? When you're filled with the Holy Spirit, there's no law against too much love.

There is no law against too much joy. There is no law against too much peace. There's no law against too much patience. There's no law against these things. When you're filled with the Holy Spirit, the character of Christ begins to develop in you.

Now, that's different from the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Some have this gift and some have that gift. We want to concentrate on the fruit of the Spirit, which is the character of Jesus Christ. See, what my wife wants to see in me is not that I'm an evangelist.

You know, I'm an evangelist, hit the road, you're an evangelist, go and preach. But what she wants to see in me is the fruit of the Spirit. That when I'm home, I love her. When I'm home, I'm happy. When I'm home, I'm patient.

The Indwelling Christ and Crucified Self

She doesn't care so much what my gifts are. She wants to know what my character is. Amen? Wives? Isn't that right? Galatians 2 .20 goes like this, I am crucified with Christ. Remember that? Last night, when you made the decision to present your body a living sacrifice, you were saying in other words that thing, I am crucified with Christ.

I'm presenting my body a living sacrifice. I'm crucified with Christ. Then it says, it is no longer I who live, you see, I'm dead. I'm not here to do my will, Luis Palau's will. I'm not here to do my will.

I am dead. I am crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live. But what does it say? Christ lives in me. Would you like to say it out loud all together? Christ lives in me. Do you believe that? Amen?

Does Christ live in you? Amen. Now think about that. What does it mean to be filled with God himself? God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Christ lives in me. I am filled with Jesus Christ.

I am filled with the Holy Spirit. I am filled with God himself, Ephesians 3 .20. Filled with God himself. You say, but Luis, that's heavy stuff. I mean, hey, hey, hey. To be able to say I'm filled with God himself, that's big words.

Big words, true words. For every man that's here, you young fellows, I'm so delighted to see so many young men here tonight. They look like young marrieds. You know, a mixture of happiness and non-happiness.

You know, that burden look of a young married man. But young men, listen. Some of you fellows, maybe you say, hey Luis, I've done my thing in my day. You know what I mean? How can I be filled with God himself?

Spirit-Empowered Witness and Union With Christ

You can be because we've all done our thing in our day. And therefore, don't ignore the fact that the Lord says, you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And the Holy Spirit of God who indwells you, men, women, teenagers, he says, listen, let me just control you.

Let me just fill you. Let me use you, man. Let me use you and you shall be filled with God himself. The apostle says, Christ lives in me. That's a divine fact. 1 Corinthians 6, listen to this. He who is joined to the Lord, listen to this.

He who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. You have been joined to the Lord. It's not anymore you trying to please God. You see, now you can serve God by the power of the Holy Spirit of God.

You say, but Luis, how shall I do it? There's only one thing. The just shall live by what? By faith. You see, God says it. Christ lives in me. He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. I am filled with the Spirit of God.

Beginning Each Day With Faith and Praise

I am a temple of the Holy Spirit. I'm not any old Joe. I'm old Joe with the Spirit of God. Now, I accept it by faith and I say, thank you, my Lord. So, what do you do? The thing that transformed my life, brothers and sisters, was this.

When I finally understood, and you know, all those years since I was a little boy like these kids here, I had to wait till I was almost 26. What a pity, huh? I waited so long to understand that Christ actually lived in Luis Palau.

And what I began to do was this. Every morning when I got up, I would get up and the first thing I thought, and I've done it all these years till today, is start out by saying, thank you, Lord Jesus. It's a new day with you.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, that you indwell me. Thank you, blessed Spirit, that you anoint me. Thank you that you're going to use me today. Thank you that in spite of all my troubles and problems and criticisms and all the rest of it, you never leave me, you never forsake me.

Lord, with your power, I can face this day. And that's the way to start the day, with a note of praise. Because when you start praising, you're really expressing faith in the promises of God. Amen? That's what it is.

Now, I know, sometimes we can get up and sing, you know, and you can do it automatically, and while others around you are filled with the Spirit, you're just sort of going through the motions. That can happen.

But if you consciously get up and say, thank you, Lord Jesus, I am yours. I am weak, but you are strong. I forget the Bible verses, but you never forget them. You're going to remind me when I need them.

Ian Thomas and the Power of the Indwelling Christ

Thank you that you're alive. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for the gifts you've given me. You're going to use me today. I have no idea what's going to happen, but Lord Jesus, use me today. A man by the name of Ian Thomas came to Multnomah School of the Bible.

And I was sitting there in the audience. I was studying the Bible. I wanted to serve the Lord. But you know, they had chapel every day. You know what chapel is? A preacher comes every day. Now, we studied the Bible from 8 to 9, from 9 to 10, from 10 to 11.

Then at 11, you had a break, you went to chapel, another preacher. It gets a little heavy. You know what I mean? One day this Englishman came. He had a half a finger missing. So when he pointed it, it looked like that.

He was an Englishman, Ian Thomas, and the half a finger caught my attention. And then it really did. It's stuttering English. You know, like the British talk. And I kind of got my attention. And he began to talk about Galatians 2 .20, Christ lives in me.

And then this is what got me. He said, do you remember Moses? Moses tried to serve God in the energy of the flesh. What did he do? He killed an Egyptian, buried him. The next day he tried to solve the problems of two Jews.

And the Jews said to him, hey, you're going to kill me like you killed the Egyptian? Suddenly Moses panicked. He ran away. He's taking care of sheep in the desert all by himself, miserable life. He used to live in a palace, and now he's taking care of dumb sheep.

And one day, God appears to him in a bush. A little spindly little bunch of things out of the desert called a bush. And there's a fire. And Moses says, hey, wait a minute. That bush doesn't consume itself.

What's going on? So he goes towards the fire, and as he gets closer, a voice from the bush says, Moses! Uh-huh-huh. Moses, take off your shoes. You're standing on holy ground. Moses said, sheesh, what's going on, man?

And God says to him, Moses, basically. He and Thomas paraphrase it this way. Moses, you thought you were going to be a great servant of mine because you were educated in the universities of Egypt. You thought you were going to be a great servant of mine because you had connections right into the palace.

The son, the adopted son of the daughter of the pharaoh. Moses, you thought you were going to liberate Israel by chopping off the heads of all the Egyptians. And now you've been hiding for 40 years. He said, God was trying to teach Moses.

Moses, any old bush will do as long as God is in the bush. Any old bush will do as long as God is in the bush. If any old bush will do, you will do. Amen? That's right. The point was this. It was a dumb desert bush, but God was in the bush, and therefore, God was saying to Moses, Moses, forget your education, baby.

Forget your connections into the palace. Forget your personality. Forget your breeding. Forget your background. Moses, the important thing is this. Is God dwelling in Moses? And Moses suddenly became a giant for God.

The little coward who ran away, who was hiding in the desert, suddenly became a giant. Why? Because he finally believed Moses, indwelt by God, is a mighty weapon in the hand of God. Men, young fellows, women, young girls, if you are walking in the fullness of the Spirit, you won't even notice it, but there's going to be power coming out of your life.

Not that you strut around saying, filled with the Spirit, watch out. You know, here comes a man of God. Here comes a woman of God. Everybody out of my way. No, no, no, no. You just walk, praising the Lord and the power of the Spirit.

Developing a Passion for the Lost

You just obey. You just do what you should be doing, and you don't even notice it. There is authority and there's power. Now, what is the outcome of all this? And here we come to the true conclusion. The outcome will be this, and I'm applying it tonight to all of us.

It's this. Passion for souls. Passion for the lost. A love for those who are going to hell without Christ. You say to me, Luis, I'd love to have a passion for the lost, but I don't have it. I know I love the Lord, I love the Bible, but I don't get all worked up about the lost, like some of you characters seem to get worked up.

How does one get a passion for souls? How do you get a passion for the guys you work with? Some of whom are in real pain. How do you get a passion for your boss who's always on you and is unjust and mistreats you?

How do you get a passion for your employees who disobey you and are trying to get a union going so as to dump you or whatever your problem may be? How do you get a love? What do you have to do? There are three things that you should do to get a passion for souls.

Praying for Lost People by Name

First, begin to really pray for the lost that you know by name. Begin a list. It could be members of your family, some of you women, maybe your husband. Or your in-laws, cousins, uncles, family. Second, fellow workers or fellow students.

Make a list and listen. Get on your knees. Not that this is essential but do it. Get on your knees and get that list in front of you and pray for them by name. At first, the first three or four times you're going to say, Gosh, I've already prayed four times and they haven't been saved.

Studying the Bible's Teaching on Judgment

I better quit. No. Really begin to pray, pray, pray, pray, pray. Secondly, study the Bible, especially the New Testament and look up all the passages that talk about the eternal condemnation of the lost.

Study all the passages, especially in the Gospels. You know what you're going to find out? That the New Testament teaches that everybody who dies without Christ goes to hell, to the eternal fire, to the lake of fire and brimstone where people roast for eternity.

You've got to read it and read it and read it. It's got to sink in. Now at first, when you read it, you're going to try and explain it away. When Jesus says, Where the worm doesn't die and the fire is never quenched.

You read it and you say, Oh, I can't mean that. It must be symbolical. You know. But then you let it sink in. Did Jesus really mean it? That if you die without Christ, you are gone to hell forever? It takes a while because we're very slow and most of us would like to believe that somehow at the end of history, after people have roasted for a thousand years maybe, the Lord will say, Sheesh, let's have a general amnesty.

Let's get all those souls out of there. Let's bring them to paradise. Phooey, poor people. That's what most people like to believe even in our circles. But that's not what the Bible teaches. That's why most people don't have a passion for souls.

Believing the Bible About the Lost

Because they don't believe that when a man dies without Christ, he's lost forever and there's no hope. Then the third thing is this. Believe implicitly what the Bible says about the eternal condition of the lost.

So, what are you going to do? You're going to have to spend time with God. Young men, young fellows, you may have to cut some things out of your present lifestyle to spend time with God. Get yourself a big Bible that you can look good and read every word.

Get yourself a pencil. Spend time with God and say, God, give me a passion for souls. Give me a love for the lost. Lord, by nature, I don't have a passion for souls. Teach me the value of a soul. At least, how do we begin?

You who are interested in football, befriend the football kids in the high school. You girls who take your kids in a car pool to school, begin to pray for the women that you carpool with if you do such a thing.

And you men who go fishing, invite some old boy who's a fisherman but hard against the Lord. And while you're fishing, you're praying for him. And if an opportunity, the Lord will give you opportunities.

It's not easy. I'm not saying it's easy, especially with your neighbors and the people you see all the time. But you've got to be aware. You've got to be alert. You're praying. There will be so many opportunities to witness.

Trusting the Indwelling Christ for Obedience

You're going to go crazy with joy. Now we've come to the culmination of the steps necessary to enjoy the Christian life in all its fullness. A victorious life, a holy life, a life filled with God Himself, an obedient life.

Now the big step is this. You have confessed your sins. You've torn up the sheet of paper. You've been cleansed by the blood of Christ. You have dedicated your body, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God.

Now what? Now comes the real big step. And that is Christ lives in me. Galatians 2 .20, Colossians 1 .27, John chapter 17, all over the Bible. The most exciting truth is Christ lives in me. Christ lives in me.

No longer I, but Christ. The resurrected Lord Jesus with His almighty power lives within me by His presence through the Holy Spirit. That's why the Bible says, Ephesians 5, be filled with the Spirit. Be controlled by the Spirit.

Be absolutely saturated with the Spirit of God. What does that mean? Well, Christ lives in me. You must accept that by faith. So the second thing is trust and obey. Trust means believe. Obey, as someone has said, obedience is faith in action.

When you are trusting the Lord, you actually begin to obey. And as you obey, you are really saying I believe God, not only intellectually, but I believe Him and trust Him in action. I begin to obey the Word of God.

Pursuing a Passion for the Lost Through Prayer and Scripture

I begin to obey the Bible. Because I trust Him, I obey Him. And I'm obeying Him because I believe Him. Then the final step is this. If you have learned to trust in the indwelling Christ, if you have settled it that you shall be a trusting, obedient person, then you begin to have a passion for the lost.

You say to me, well, Luis, how do I get a passion for the lost? Three things. First, pray for the lost that you know. People who are without Christ outside His church obviously don't believe in the Bible or the Lord Jesus.

They are lost. You begin to pray for them. Secondly, you study the Bible as to what it teaches about the condition of the lost, of people outside of Christ. They are lost like sheep without a shepherd here on earth.

The Bible teaches they go to hell when they die. Therefore, you study the Bible and then thirdly, you believe and accept without conditions what the Bible actually teaches about the condition of people outside of Christ.

No questions, no ifs or buts, no accommodation to the current trends of society today or in any age. You pray for the lost. You study what the Bible says about the lost. You believe it implicitly. You will get a passion for the lost.

Final Commitment to a Spirit-Filled Life

And when you do, you go after them. The Lord will give you creativity and wisdom. But you go to win the lost for Christ. Now, let's finish this series. You join me. Let's have a prayer. And you and I can take the final step of committing to the Lord this new life that you are going to live until the day He takes you home or comes in the clouds to take us all home together.

Let's pray together. Shall we? You pray with me. O God, my Father, thank You that the living, resurrected Jesus Christ has come to live within my life. Thank You, Father, that I am a temple of the Holy Spirit of God.

I am not alone. You have not left me a helpless orphan. I have Christ living in me. I am anointed by the Holy Spirit. I am filled with the Holy Spirit. And I have the power of the Holy Spirit. Now, Lord Jesus, give me a passion for the lost and a love for my church.

Lord, I want to pray for my lost friends and neighbors. I want to study Your Word and get a passion like Your passion for the lost. And I want to believe every word Your Word says about the lost. Lord, use me to win the lost to Christ.

Use me to win many to the eternal kingdom of God. Use me, O God, for the glory of Your name until the day Jesus comes back or You call me home. Thank You, Father. Christ lives in me. You shall use me.

You will use me. And I'm available, Lord, to be used by the Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name.