Brother Clifford made it a duty upon
himself that come sunshine or rain, he will be at the Train Station
distributing Gospel Tracts to passengers as they board or leave the train! This
he did faithfully for several years!
One day at the church service after a
rendition by the choir members in church, the choir was appreciated, praised
and given a standing ovation. Brother Clifford, instead of being happy for them
was very sad. He thought his soul winning efforts was not being acknowledged,
rewarded and recognised by the church members and ministers.
He also noticed that nobody from the
station has met him to say thank you for what he has been faithfully doing over
the years.
Brother Cliffird decided to abandon the
trips to the Train Station. Instead he joined the choir and started singing
with them. To his surprise he was warmly welcomed. He discovered also that very
soon he was singing and receiving standing ovations. He concluded in his mind
he has just made the right decision.
One day, he sang Psalm 23 as a solo and
by the time he finished singing, the whole church including the pastoral team
and the elders were on their feet clapping and giving him a standing ovation.
Suddenly there arose an old man, a
stranger in the midst of the congregation who asked to sing the same song while
the church was still on their feet clapping for the soloist.
Against protocol, the pastor cynically
allowed the old man to sing.
By the time the old man finished singing,
the whole church was on their knees, some weeping, others praying in
repentance.
That day, there was no more sermon but an
altar call. With sinners giving their lives and backsliders returning to their
first love and the whole church rededicating its life.
Brother Clifford, the evangelist in choir
robe, felt a deep hole in his heart. He felt empty. He saw the difference
between entertainment for the appreciation of men and the ministration for the
appreciation of heaven. He left the church with a heavy heart.
Without thinking of removing his choir
robe, he headed for the Train Station empty handed as if in a trance. Getting
there he met a man in the same spot where he used to stand to distribute gospel
leaflets before. The man was distributing gospel tracts and handed him one. The
Tract read "I WILL BE A FAITHFUL SOLDIER, I WILL DIE AT MY POST". It
ended asking, "are you a faithful witness of the WORD?"
With tears in his eyes and a shaky voice,
he asked the man how he came to start distributing the tracts at the spot in
the Train Station. The busy man, not looking at him, told him of a dead man who
used to come there come sunshine and rain to distribute tracts. That for months
the man has not been there. He told him that he believed and concluded the man
must be dead. He said the dead man once gave him a tract before that changed
his commitment to Christ. And since the man was dead, he felt God wanted him to
replace the dead man to continue the good work in the memory of the dead man.
The man kept emphasising, "The Dead
Man, The Dead Man" which further sent Brother Clifford back to his knees
weeping and asking for God's forgiveness.
Hmm...
If you are still reading this believe me,
God has set you up to read it because He has a purpose for your life.
Have you left your assignment because of
some discouragements from cynics and critics?
Have you abandoned the unheard, unseen
and unsung praise of heaven for the standing ovation of men?
Are you like the evangelist in choir
robe? Or are you like the singer singing to entertain in church - the place of
entertainment is in the theatre not the church.
The church is for ministration in the
Spirit by Worshiping God in The Spirit and The Truth.
REMEMBER,
GOD IS A GOD OF SECOND CHANCE, SO IF YOU ARE FAR AWAY RETURN TO YOUR
FIRST LOVE TODAY.
No comments:
Post a Comment