“Be ye born-again for Jesus is coming soon”, Alabi would often scream as he announced the glorious gospel to passersby.
In the morning, noon and night, Alabi would stand with loads of tracts; placing a copy into any hands that cared to receive it.
Soon, some people started describing him as the jobless evangelist at the junction.
When he heard the gossip of how he was described by passersby, he became discouraged and confided in his banker friend.
“Gbenga, I know God spoke to me to carry out this task for 6-months, but how is it going to put food on my table? I have been on this task for over 3-months already, and have been living by God’s grace. Not sure I can continue” Alabi complained.
“Alabi, when you said God asked you to do this, I didn’t want to argue with you over it, but my counsel to you as a friend is to go look for a job, a real job.”, Gbenga his friend taunted.
After his conversation with Gbenga, Alabi resolved to make meaning of his life by going to source for a job– a real job.
Soon, a young man who often received tracts from Alabi, and surrendered to Christ whilst going through one of them noticed Alabi was no longer at the junction sharing tracts.
Being prompted by the Holy Ghost, he replaced the “jobless” evangelist at the junction.
And so, each morning, as Alabi, decked up in his suit passes by the junction to his office, he would hear the young man scream just the way he usually did:
“Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand.”
The words will come at Alabi like a dagger in his heart, but he was determined to put bread on the table for himself and his family.
3-months after Alabi resumed his office job, and exactly 6-months after he got specific instructions from God to stay at the junction, Alabi noticed the young man who replaced him wasn’t at the bus stop any longer.
Instead, beautiful booths where tracts were placed occupied his usual position with young people in fancy attires sharing tracts and announcing Christ.
Amazed at the beautiful transformation, he was eager to know what caused it.
Then he heard the gist:
One hot afternoon, as the young evangelist was sharing the gospel, he encountered a very sick prosperous man who didn’t know Christ.
The rich man surrendered to Christ at the conviction of the word, and God healed him from his terminal illness.
And in thanksgiving to God, he showed appreciation to the Evangelist who led him to Christ by bequeathing half of his estate to him.
“Hmmm…that jobless evangelist is now a big man o, the guy now lives in a mansion and rides in very expensive cars, and now has several booths stationed all over town with youths sharing the gospel of Christ, and he also preaches still”, his informant concluded.
At this, Lanre started shedding tears, as he remembered clearly God’s instruction to Him when he asked God to change his story.
“Represent me at Beverly-Hill bus stop for 6-months, and in the 7th-month, I will make you”.
“Lord, have mercy on me”, Lanre screamed. “Have mercy”.
Whether you have a conviction to carry out an instruction, or simply instructions staring at you as you browse through scriptures, please, know this:
All obedience to scriptural instructions comes with bountiful rewards, and ignoring them also has its dire consequences.
So, I urge you today to put into serving God everything you’ve got, for He isn’t unfaithful to reward your labor of love.
Despise the shame. Ignore the taunts, and chase after your Master’s quest, for you soar by obedience to
instructions.
May heaven never have cause to find a replacement for you, in Jesus’ Name. Amen!
– Written by Sis Jane Edema (Team Watchmen)