Here I Am, Lord Cultivating a Tender Heart for the Lost by Luis Palau HERE I AM, LORD Cultivating a Tender Heart for the Lost Copyright © 2009 Luis Palau All rights reserved. “Here I Am, Lord” Text and music © 1981, OCP. Published by OCP. 5536 NE Hassalo, Portland, OR 97213. All rights reserved. Used by permission. In the summer of 2009, Luis Palau spoke to a small group of ministry friends in Sunriver, Oregon. This booklet is a transcription of that message. CULTIVATING A TENDER HEART FOR THE LOST Here I Am, Lord I want to read just a few verses from Matthew 18: 1-6. Keep an eye for what Jesus did here in this chapter: At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. “And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” And in another passage a bit further down (Matthew 18: 10-14) Jesus is still speaking: “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven 5 HERE I AM, LORD always see the face of my Father in heaven. What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety- nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.” That’s why I do what I do. That’s why I am an evan- gelist. I proclaim God’s Good News Gospel so that none of these little ones should be lost—none! Why Am I Committed? I heard a song in Scotland the other day. We were launching an evangelistic festival publicly in a local church with about 800 people. During the launch they sang this song. I pray that the Lord will use it in your heart like He used it in my heart. Let me read it: I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard my people cry. All who dwell in dark and sin My hand will save. 6 CULTIVATING A TENDER HEART FOR THE LOST I, who made the stars at night, I will make the darkness bright. Who will bear my light to them? Whom shall I send? Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the night. I will go, Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart. I, the Lord of snow and rain, I have borne my people’s pain. I have wept for love of them. They turned away. I will break their hearts of stone, Give them hearts with love alone. Speak my word to them. Whom shall I send? Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the night. I will go, Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart. I will hold your people in my heart. By Dan Schutte ©1981, OCP. All rights reserved. Used by permission. 7 HERE I AM, LORD You know, this is a question that we need to ask ourselves even into old age. We cannot all sell our businesses and go. I don’t think we should. Who’s going to support the other guys? Who should go? Somebody has to work and make money. For some of you, that’s your calling. But we must ask ourselves, “What is my role? What is my calling? What does God want me to do?” That’s why that phrase and the melody is very haunting. The refrain especially touched me while in Scotland. The whole congregation of Scots sing- ing: “Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the night.” I don’t know what hit me! I had just been reading about Samuel, who was a little boy if you remember. In 1 Samuel 3, he was only 6 years old if I’ve got it right. And the Lord calls him in the night. He says, “Samuel, Samuel.” Samuel thought it was the high priest calling him. So he runs up to the high priest and says, “You called me?” The high priest wakes up and says, “I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.” 8 CULTIVATING A TENDER HEART FOR THE LOST So the Lord calls Samuel again. “Samuel, Samuel,” the Lord says. And again, having never heard the voice of the Lord, he thinks it’s the priest. So he runs off to the priest and is told the same thing. The third time the priest finally gets it. It’s the Lord speaking to Samuel. So he says, “When the Lord says, ‘Samuel,’ you say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening’” (1 Samuel 3: 1-10). He was 6 years old! Just think—we usually tell a kid at that age that he had too much pizza or that he’s imagining things. But, no! God does speak to little boys! The Voice of the Lord I remember as a boy when my mom used to read us stories about missionaries. Even though we were in Argentina’s “mission field,” my mom would read us missionary stories about Africa and China. I remember China specifically. I used to think, “Someday when I grow up I’m going to go to China and tell those boys and girls about Jesus because they don’t know Him there. They are worshipping idols, burning incense, candles and such. They must know, or they will be lost—forever.” 9 HERE I AM, LORD It wasn’t until I was 60 years old before I got into China (which seemed impossible at the time). I still remember landing in Shanghai. I began to cry on that United Airlines flight. I thought, “After sixty years of praying for China, finally I am here.” Whatever the Lord places on your heart, do it in obedience by faith and go in the direction where God is leading you. I’ve been studying the life of Abraham. You know, Abraham wasn’t perfect, but his commitment to the will and Word of God was there. I pray that my life is the same. And how God used Abraham! Three thousand years later we still talk about him. We feel we know him. Why Do I Go? Why does the Palau team still have a passion for Europe? Africa is wide open and they respond like mad to the Gospel. Latin America, it’s the same thing. Can there really be half a million people in Argentina standing downtown at an evangelistic festival? Yes! We saw it with our own eyes last year. But Europe? Why do we go there? Why do we still have a passion? Because God said, “Go.” 10 CULTIVATING A TENDER HEART FOR THE LOST God didn’t say go to the nice places only or go to the easy places. He said to “go into all the world and preach the Gospel” (Mark 16:15). I thank God for those who taught me the Word as a young guy in Argentina. Growing up, I remember youth conferences all the time. I don’t know why, but it seemed like there was a period where the theme of every youth conference was “Go!” Just one word: “Go.” In Spanish, it’s the same. Just two letters, “ir,” which means go. You’d walk into the hallway and see a big banner above the pulpit: “Go.” The message was very simple: “Go.” My mom and dad hammered it home, as well. They were always saying, “Go, go, go.” And they went themselves! We all ‘went”—and still do. My sisters and my brother and I are all in fulltime Christian work. We “go!” My dad was a businessman and would build homes and subdivisions. He built them in an old- fashioned way, not like the classy, gated housing communities today. But he’d develop areas, buy land, build houses, and lay down roads. On the weekends he would go with another businessman, Mr. Rogers, who worked for an oil company. He was the guy who led my dad and mom to Christ. 11 HERE I AM, LORD With me and my five sisters in tow, they would go out and preach the Gospel. We were brought up with the idea that weekends and holidays were for evangelism. We would pass out literature and stand on street corners. My dad would tell his story. The British businessman would get up and preach the Gospel with a heavy English accent. A little crowd would gather and cuss them out and call them names. My dad and Mr. Rogers would carry on and people would be converted.