The Holy Spirit Goes Before You

When Bible translator Jim Walton first entered the primeval jungles of La Sabana in Columbia, South America, he thought no one there had previously heard the Gospel. Then he met Andres.

Andres was the oldest son of Chief Fernando of the Muinane tribe, and by occupation a tapper of latex from rubber trees. While slaving away in the rubber trees one day, Andres began pondering the deep questions of life—where did we come from, what happens after we die, is there really a God? Answers eluded him.

A few nights later in boredom, Andres started fiddling with a transistor radio given to him by a rubber baron. Suddenly he picked up a crystal clear signal from Trans World Radio in Bonaire. A preacher was reading the following words from Jesus’ Olivet Discourse: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven…” (Matt. 24:29-30, KJV).  

By strange coincidence, that very evening the moon did not give its light. Though Andres didn’t understand it at the time, a total lunar eclipse had covered the jungle with thick blackness. The young Columbian was deeply stirred, especially since he’d been questioning life, death and eternity.

As providence would have it, the next day Jim Walton arrived unexpectedly in his village to preach the Gospel. Jim opened his New Testament in front of Chief Fernando’s family and began to read. Andres was spellbound. He later recalled:

“When I saw Mr. Jim reading that book, I knew it was the book from the radio, the book that contained the truth. And when he said it was God’s Word, and he wanted to put it into my language I wanted to help.”

Andres gave his life to Christ and began helping Jim Walton. For the next 18 years, Andres served Jim Walton as con-translator, helping him complete the first draft of the New Testament and portions of the Old Testament in the language of the Muinane people.[1]

                           Jim Walton

When you seek to share your faith in Christ, remember that God has gone before you, preparing the heart of the listener, just as a diligent farmer plows and prepares the ground in which he intends to sow his seed. In fact, this is exactly what the Holy Spirit was up to when Philip was directed to meet the Ethiopian official on a dusty desert road (Acts 8). The Ethiopian was reading the passage from Isaiah 53, a prophetic portrait of Jesus’ suffering and death, but he didn’t understand it. However, Philip did and the Holy Spirit ordered his steps to meet this royal official so he could lead him to Christ.  It was a divine appointment.

Here’s a thought—ask God to take you to those folks whose hearts have been prepared by the Holy Spirit. There is no lower hanging fruit than the people who’ve ben pre-evangelized by the Spirit. As D. L. Moody once said, "There is no better evangelist in the world than the Holy Spirit." Be prepared for God to lead you into some exciting situations. “Lord, place me in the path of somebody who needs to hear the Gospel. Give me the words to say and the courage to share Christ.” –DM

1. Robert J. Morgan, Real Stories for the Soul (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2000), 23-25.