Beautiful Feet: Sending and Serving the Unreached in Asia

Revelation 5 lifts the eyes of the church from need to the throne, where thousands upon thousands cry, “Worthy is the Lamb.” The Lamb who was slain receives power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and praise, and that changes the focus of prayer. The valley may be real, but the good Shepherd is more real, and the Lord is able to bring hurting people through what they are in.

The altar invitation treats prayer as a step of faith, not a show. The open altar says that nobody has to get through the valley alone, because the family of God bears burdens together. The laying on of hands is not getting in somebody’s business, but a holy way of saying, “You’re not in this alone.”

The work in Japan shows that even what gets called “the graveyard of missionaries” is not too dead for Jesus. The spiritual oppression is heavy, and less than one percent of the people are Christian, but when Jesus shows up in a graveyard, graves do not get the last word. Land has been secured, a church building is coming, baptisms are happening, and a faithful woman who once had to sneak to Bible study can now say with tears, “I’ll see you next Sunday.”

The Asian circle puts the burden of missions in plain sight. More people live inside that circle than outside it, and most of the world’s unreached people groups are there. India, with its villages, idols, cows in the road, river baptisms, and hundreds of new churches, shows both the darkness and the revival. Bicycles, water wells, sewing classes, medical clinics, and community development centers become open doors for the name of Jesus.

Vietnam shows the same gospel under pressure. Communist intimidation, police interrogation, and canceled public conferences cannot stop Christ from building His church. Pastor Joshua’s life says it straight: Jesus can change a street kid, bless his labor, carry him through Job-like loss, and put a worship song in his mouth right in the middle of sorrow.

Romans 10 brings the whole burden home. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, but people cannot call on a name they have never heard. Goers and senders both matter. The mouth may preach, but the feet carry the mouth, and God calls those feet beautiful.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Worthy Lamb, greater than valleys Revelation 5 places trouble beneath the throne, not by denying pain, but by showing the Lamb who has authority over it. The valley is not the final word when the good Shepherd is present in it. Prayer becomes steadier when the focus shifts from the weight of the need to the worthiness of the One who is able. [18:06]
• 2. Graveyards change when Jesus arrives Japan may be called the graveyard of missionaries, but that name cannot outrank resurrection power. The slow work of thirty years, land purchased, baptisms, and a church building coming, shows that faithful seed can break through hard soil. The Lord does not measure fruitfulness by speed, but by the life that only He can bring out of death. [49:32]
• 3. Living water opens gospel doors A water well in a village is not just a mercy project, it becomes a doorway for the gospel. Physical thirst gives language for spiritual thirst, and care for the body can make room for the name of Jesus to be heard. The church becomes a community development center when love touches real needs and then points to Christ. [59:39]
• 4. Worship can answer deep loss Pastor Joshua’s worship song did not come after everything made sense. It came while sickness, robbery, and a burned factory were still fresh wounds. That kind of worship is not denial, but surrender, and it becomes a place where God can restore more than circumstances. [74:32]
• 5. Beautiful feet carry the gospel Romans 10 makes missions a partnership, not a platform for a few visible workers. The mouth that preaches still needs the feet that send, support, pray, and give. Hidden obedience may not be heard like a sermon, but heaven calls it beautiful because it carries the good news to people who have never heard. [86:36]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [16:13] - Worthy Is the Lamb
• [18:06] - Prayer at the Open Altar
• [46:02] - Forty Three Years in Missions
• [48:01] - Japan and the Graveyard of Missionaries
• [52:23] - The Asian Circle and Unreached People
• [54:11] - India’s Need and Spiritual Climate
• [56:34] - River Baptisms and Revival in North India
• [58:03] - Village Evangelists on Bicycles
• [59:39] - Wells, Sewing Classes, and Open Doors
• [63:23] - Beyond Borders Training Center
• [67:10] - The Ganges and the Burden for India
• [69:21] - Vietnam Under Communist Pressure
• [72:20] - Pastor Joshua’s Changed Life
• [82:14] - Romans 10 and Beautiful Feet

1. In Revelation 5, what are the specific things the Lamb is declared worthy to receive, and who is joining in that praise? [17:32]
2. What words from Psalm 23:4 describe the believer’s experience in a dark season, and what part of that verse explains why fear does not have to rule?
3. What were some of the practical ways gospel work was carried into hard places in Asia, beyond only preaching from a pulpit? [59:39]
4. In Romans 10:13-15, what sequence does Paul lay out between calling, believing, hearing, preaching, and sending? [01:23:45]

1. Revelation 5 turns attention toward the throne and the Lamb. How does that help explain why prayer can begin with God’s worthiness instead of being dominated by the size of the problem? [18:18]
2. Japan is described as spiritually hard ground, yet graves do not get the last word when Jesus shows up. What does that suggest about how the church should think about slow, difficult, or resistant ministry fields? [49:01]
3. Water wells, sewing classes, and medical clinics opened doors for the gospel in places where people were hesitant to enter a church building. What does that reveal about the relationship between meeting real needs and speaking clearly about Christ? [01:00:45]
4. Romans 10 says that preachers must be sent. How does that shape the way a church should view people who pray, give, encourage, and make gospel work possible even when they are not the ones traveling? [01:26:18]

1. When trouble has been loud lately, what has helped most in keeping the eyes on the Lamb instead of on the valley? What would it look like this week to begin prayer with worship before listing needs? [18:18]
2. No one is meant to walk through the valley alone. Is it easy or hard to let other believers come close enough to pray, listen, or lay a hand on a shoulder? What usually makes that difficult? [18:44]
3. Jesus still brings life in places that look spiritually dead. Is there a person, place, or situation that has quietly been labeled “too far gone”? How might faith begin to speak differently about that this week? [49:18]
4. The gospel often enters through ordinary acts of mercy. What are some real needs in this community that could become open doors for the name of Jesus rather than just good deeds with no witness attached? [59:54]
5. Pastor Joshua worshiped in the middle of loss, not after everything was fixed. When pain or disappointment hits, what is the usual response: withdrawal, complaint, numbness, or worship? What might surrender look like in that place right now? [01:14:32]
6. Some believers go, and some send, but both are necessary. Where is there a clearer sense of calling right now: to go more directly, to send more intentionally, or to grow in both? What would one concrete next step look like? [01:25:23]
7. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Is there anyone in personal life who still needs to hear that name clearly from someone who loves them? What has been holding back that conversation? [01:24:59]