As he shared about the extreme persecution taking place against Christians in India, he was surprised by the lack of enthusiasm and emotion they expressed. He was hoping for a better response. More compassion for their spiritual brothers and sisters on the other side of the world. More concern for their plea for help. All he got were blank stares, yawns and clock watching. To him, this was a heavy topic, God's will for His people. Part of His Kingdom plan. How often did he get asked by members of his congregation what God's will was for their lives? The lack of interest only confirmed what he already knew; they really aren't interested at all in really living out God's will for their lives. Even after the service was over, only a few people made mention of the issue. Most made the usual comments, "Mornin' Pastor, been out fishin'? I see there's a ton of guys out on the ice", or, "Hey Pastor. Loved the sermon. My wife and I are looking at buying a new house and aren't quite sure what we should do. Will you pray for us?"
These comments always made him remember back before he really knew the Lord, back when he was a "*fan". A "fan" is someone who may go through all the religious motions, but doesn't really want to be in the game. They are not willing to follow Jesus. He grew up in the church. His dad was a deacon in the church and his mom loved Jesus and loved the church. She was one of those ladies that always brought a delicious dish to the potluck dinners and crocheted scarves and hats for the homeless mission. He had attended Sunday School, youth group and summer camp since he was a boy. Even after he grew into a man, he continued to go church. He prayed before dinner. He tithed when he was at church. Sometimes he would even throw in $5 or $10 to special offering opportunities such as youth mission trips or feeding the hungry, if he felt guilted into it. But he never really knew Jesus- not personally.
He continued living his life selfishly, like everyone else. He had no evidence in his life of being a follower of Jesus Christ. He did not love or care for other people. He was not willing to sacrifice or surrender anything for Jesus. He believed that he was saved, because he did all these church things. But he wasn't.
Now he was different though. Jesus had revealed himself to Steven when his life hit rock bottom. First, he lost his dad to a heart attack, and then a couple years later, his mother to cancer. This hit him hard, especially when he lost his dad. He never really knew him very well because they didn't spend a lot of time together, especially as Steven got older, but he had great respect for him. He was sad and regretted the fact that he didn't take more time to spend with him. He never really though about him dying, or the fact that he would someday be gone.
He almost lost his job because work was slow. He was temporarily unemployed for six months before being called back to work. When he was called back, his hours were cut, so he was barely able to support he and his wife. They struggled through financially difficult times before she finally left him. They fought all the time about money. She eventually couldn't take the stress of not being able to pay their bills, so she left. If things didn't get better soon, he would lose the house.
His world was crashing down. He was losing any hope that he had. His life was devastating. It was at this time that Steven turned to Jesus. Jesus showed him that he wanted him to repent of his sins and give up everything to follow Him. Steven could not resist. When he saw Jesus, giving all he had was not enough.
One of the people who came up to him after the service was in her mid 30's. She introduced herself as Susan. She was fairly new to the church. He had noticed her coming for quite some time now, sitting with Carrie, but had not met her yet. He had noticed from the pulpit as he preached, that she was intensely focused on the messages. Her eyes seemed to pierce him as he spoke. He noticed that she brought her Bible with her every week and that she followed along in the Scriptures and took notes during the message. She was fully engaged. He suspected that she was growing in Christ and that she was hearing Him speak to her through his messages. And now as he talked to her for the first time and she asked him questions about what was going on with the persecution in India, he could sense the Holy Spirit's power within her. He had seen it before in all of his years as a pastor, but this was the first time in a while he'd sensed the Spirit so powerfully. He knew Jesus had big plans to use her for His kingdom purposes. He had seen many people, like Carrie, come to Christ through his messages, but this was the first time in a long time that he felt like God was speaking through him, and he felt proud to be used again by His Father. He was glad that the woman God was speaking to about this issue was so strong in the Lord. He hoped she would be faithful and heed her call.
On the other side of the world, Ajit and the churches he planted continue to pray for strength, support and encouragement from other believers around the world as Christian persecution becomes reality to many as believers are attacked and killed for their faith. They also pray for faith and courage for the western church and that they will turn back to God.
*From the book not a fan by Kyle Idleman
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