This is the Truth Network, friends. My heart was broken when a man stood up in my Bible study from a foreign country, and he said, "I was in this country. I was serving a local church, encouraging them. When the pastor held up the Word of God to preach out of it, and I found out." That that was the only Bible for a three hundred member congregation. After he preached, there was a rush from the crowd to the front, and as they had signed up, a different family would get that Bible every couple hours throughout the whole week, trying to get it back to the pastor in time for him later in the week to preach a sermon and prepare from the Word of God.
Michael Woolworth, you're with Bible League. You, my friend, are a solution to that problem. Thank you for what you're doing. This is not an unfamiliar scenario in our world, is it, sir?
Well, it's pretty common, Stu. You know, this is a year eighty-eight for Bible. We've been doing this since Good Friday, nineteen thirty-eight, in the Chicago area, and then expanded a couple of decades later to the regions of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, a little bit of Europe. But Stu, yeah, it's commonplace. I travel on behalf of this great ministry.
People fund those trips. We have friends that fund those trips. Yeah, often I'll find a pastor is the only one in the congregation with a Bible. You know, these are heart hungry believers that we have chosen to help. Right now, we've come together with Truth Truth Network.
We said, look, as many as nine of ten new believers in those regions I just mentioned go without what's so basic to the Christian faith, and that's simply. Having a Bible, and Stu, let me tell you, it was about a year and a half ago. Bible League joined together with other Bible agencies—names you would know and appreciate: Voice of the Martyrs, Frontlines International, Open Doors, to name a few. We said, "Look, we know people all over the world need God's word, but it can't be a gut feeling. Let's study about half of the world's." Under-resourced churches.
So we studied about a hundred of those churches, or I'm sorry, those countries, too, and determined that there's 125 million believers around the world who are forced to go without a Bible. And so that helps us pray and work, I think, with a meaning and purpose. But again, we've said together as Truth Network and Biblically, by the end of October, can we do this for 3,500 waiting believers, people whose hearts are full, right? They're following Jesus. But he has them planted where their hands are empty, and they're waiting for those to be filled by wonderful, caring listeners like those to Truth Network.
I love it, and I love what you're doing. Anyone that wants to get the word of God to people, I've got a bunch of Gideons in my Wednesday in the Word. They love giving the Bible to people. They love writing checks to get the word of God out. What's different and what's unique?
About what Michael's doing is he's taking it to some of the toughest places in the world. I mean, there's places where they will put you in prison if they know you have a Bible. But he has a way. You have a way through Bible League, and I can't believe the price, Michael. It's probably got to be five hundred dollars just to get one Bible to someone, or maybe fifty dollars.
Is that what it is? I mean, it's got to be incredibly expensive to give a Bible to someone in one of these third world countries.
Well, it's about five dollars a Bible. Five dollars—the average cost. Oh my soul! Still, the average cost. See, that's why it ought to be unthinkable in our minds.
If we can solve this for a waiting believer, half a world away, let's say in the bush of Africa or somewhere in the Middle East. Again, who's hated because they bear the name of Jesus? Yet, not asking for our pity or for our protections, but for the precious Word of God.
So, again, it's a five-dollar gift that fills the waiting hands of believers that we know by name at Bible League. As I say, by the Time we get to the end of October, which is only a few weeks away, right? We'd love to be able to tell all three thousand five hundred waiting believers, "Hey, your Bibles—they're coming." I love it, and you know it's simple. I mean, it's five dollars. It's whatever amount of month, whatever amount of money is not is not yours anyway.
I I feel a little guilt. I'm not going to put shame on anyone else, but I'm going to guilt myself because I just I just downed a really delicious pumpkin spice latte. And I spent more than that on that on that drink on that beverage, and I I think we can do this. And I know listeners out there. I know you know probably there's one listener that could write a check for thirty five hundred bucks.
And if that what God tells you to do, do it. Send it to Bible League, and it's going to go and put that many Bibles. In the hands of that many people, but the the nice thing is, is maybe there's thirty five hundred people that want to give five bucks. Maybe there's thirty five hundred. Maybe there's three hundred fifty people that want to donate a hundred bucks.
However you cut it, it's not. What other people give, you know, you don't sit in the church and watch the plate go around and say, "Hey, what's that guy doing?" You know, and maybe you're a little bit like me. I was I was in a church the other day, and a big bucket came around, and it was plastic, so I thumped it to sound like I put a big quarter in. Michael, don't tell anyone this, even though we're on a national radio show, but I did it. Just I had a couple kids I'm mentoring with me, and of course I support that ministry, and we we we've been a blessing to them.
But you know, this is not showmanship. No one knows who you are. You could do it. Donate these Bibles in someone else's name, but Michael Woolworth, it is that simple, isn't it? Just go to the website.
I think we've got a big link at TruthNetwork.com. We have affiliates that listen to this program on all kinds of stations. We're grateful for those affiliates. We all have this in common. We want to get God's word to God's world.
People need the Lord. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. This is just simple, basic. But Michael, make it easy for us. Tell us, tell us what to do.
Okay, let me thirty second story, then I'll tell you what to do. Vishnu's in India. Stew there that there's anti conversions laws on the book. They can throw you in jail if you tell somebody what Jesus means to. But that does not keep people like keep people like Vishnu from sharing what Jesus means to him.
He's a rickshaw driver. You ever been in one of these things? Do he will transport people from you know point A to point B.
Sometimes those are tourists.
Sometimes those are local workers, but in a very quiet, winsome way, he shares the hope of the gospel with these people, primarily Hindus. And I can tell you, he's been thrown in jail. They've turned him in to the authorities. He's been thrown in jail for sharing his faith. But I can tell you, by the grace of God and through the gumption of that man Vishnu, 182 former Hindus in recent weeks do have come to Christ.
They've gone through a weekly Bible study from Bible League, and they're not praying today for our pity or for our protections. Again, in a country That is fiercely opposed to the gospel. They're simply praying for the precious word of God in the Hindi language.
So again, it's five dollars a Bible, sixty dollars sends twelve, five hundred dollars today would take care of filling the waiting hands of a hundred believers. Again, all of these that we know by name at Bible League. There's two ways to get involved. It's eight hundred yes word, eight hundred y e s w o r d, eight hundred yes word, or click the Bible League banner. It says send Bibles, be a joy maker, and you can find.
That at truthnetwork dot com. That's truthnetwork dot com. Stu, our problem is we're starting to run out of the month of October. We're officially done right around November first. We want to do this for three thousand five hundred waiting believers.
If there's a caring group of believers that I know from years of partnering that can get us there, it is the Truth Network listening family. Five dollars sends a Bible. How many will you send to eight hundred? Yes, word or truthnetwork dot com. Yeah, and this isn't to pull your gifting away from this great radio ministry.
That whatever, wherever you're listening to Truth Talk, this isn't to pull your money away from your local church. Above all things, to keep giving there and tithing and blessing, supporting your church, your pastor. This is a gift that goes directly to a ministry that is a wonderful partner with us. But this helps them take God's word. And give it to people who otherwise will not get a Bible.
And just imagine—I mean, Michael—someone gets a package from you. They open that package, and there is the Word of God in their language. I mean, is there any greater thing? I mean, just put yourself, friend, listener, friend, put yourself in that situation. You've never seen a Bible.
You've heard about it.
Someone led you to Christ by sharing the Word of God with you. But they may have been the only one in your village that actually owned a copy of God's Word, and now here comes a little box with some copies of God's Word for you to read in your own language. And I mean, is there is there anything greater, Michael Woolworth? Thank you. I want to say thank you for doing this, man.
I'm gonna I'm gonna donate to you guys. I'm gonna. Go on your site, hit the link, and I'm going to use with my little chubby fingers, and I'm going to I'm going to send send some money to send some Bibles. I always love to do it, and I just I love what you're doing, and I just man, there's something powerful when you start getting generous, and when you stop, you know, being so miserly and and penny pinching, and you start giving to things that really matter. Hey, God does something in your heart; it becomes infectious, isn't that right, Michael?
Well, Paul writes in Colossians six. He says, "What? Let's bear one another's burdens and fulfill the law of Christ." Stu, that's what characterizes the family of God. We care for each other, right? And again, there's three thousand five hundred waiting believers without God's word.
But enter the Truth Network listening family. By the end of October, our plan is to what? Provide all thirty five hundred Bibles, maybe a little bit more. But five dollars sends a Bible, sixty dollars sends twelve. Two ways to get involved: eight hundred yes word, eight hundred yes word, or click the Bible League banner.
You can find that at truthnetwork.com. Truth, talk.
