Faith. Part 9
Let me give you an up-to-date example of Practical Faith. My son John and his wife Helen have four children and another four foster children, so they have their hands full. They attend a church in Louth, Lincolnshire, not far from their home. John is an energetic man of action, and has been moved by the Holy Spirit to bring the Gospel message to young people. He realised that today’s typical youth in this electronic age has little time for “church”, thinking it to be out of sync with the life-style of his peers.
But the Lord spoke to John. He would not say that he heard a voice, but the message was nevertheless clear enough. The Holy Spirit conveyed the message, and the pressure to act grew steadily. He therefore started to formulate a plan. His goal was to bring together the youth in the surrounding area, and give them an evening’s entertainment of the sort they are used to, but at the same time use it as the instrument to convey the Gospel message.
He booked the assembly hall of the Cordeaux Academy in Louth and contacted a Christian group known as Message Trust. They would be able to send one of their music groups known as Brightline for the occasion. John then produced flyers and other advertising material, and travelled around visiting churches and youth groups to encourage attendance on Friday evening 21st October. Tickets were sold at £5. The flyers made it perfectly clear that no food or drink was to be allowed during the evening, but he supplied bottled water at his own expense. He hoped to get about 100 young people to the gig.
When the night arrived he was delighted to find 145 in attendance, and the evening went well. The four musicians of Brightline gave a performance that met with the style teenagers are used to, but the message within the songs was clear enough not to be misunderstood. At the end of the performance, the call was made to commit one’s life to Christ, and as a result 36 made that commitment.
John was overwhelmed with thanksgiving to the Lord, and so were we all.
This example shows how the Lord plants a plan within a man’s mind. It comes as a promise. “If you do this, I will act.” Receiving the message was an act of faith, but that faith would not bear fruit without his preparations. As James said in his letter, “Faith without works is dead.” (James 2:20, and 2:26)
