Militant Evangelism! (4 page)

It's all very well to speak in such glorious, victorious and triumphant general terms; but how can
we
live practically in this realm of faith in everyday life? To illustrate the principles of faith, let me share something interesting with you. For many years I had the privilege of preaching the Gospel almost daily in an open city square. In one sense I was fulfilled in my ministry, and yet I had a great longing to reach more with the Gospel. In 1982, doors began to open for me to do just that. Requests began to come from churches saying, "Come and

stir
up our people to evangelism." Yet, I was horrified to find that not only did few Christians witness of their faith, but I found that 95%-100% of the congregations of our "Gospel Outreach" services were Christians! It seemed that much seed was being sown in the barn.

Then I heard that in 1982, $2,000,000,000 was spent on Christian television. I was impressed by the amount, until I found that those programs were being watched by only 4% of the viewing public. It would seem that $2,000 million worth of programs, were being watched mostly by Christians— commonly called "
inreach
," we were "preaching to the converted." Sad though it may be, few of the unsaved
tune
into Christian television. They love darkness and hate the light, neither will they tune into the light, lest their deeds be exposed. Men and women don't want to surrender. They are going to fight until they are forced to lay down their arms. Add to that fact that no matter how comfortable we make our Christian buildings in an effort to attract them to church, we have to go a long way to compete with the warmth and comfort of their own living room.

Secular, not Christian television is the medium to reach the lost, but how do we get the Word of Truth through the secular authorities, when the Bible tells us that they "suppress the truth in unrighteousness?" If a program even hints of sin, righteousness or judgment, it would no doubt be slotted into the early hours of the morning.

It was when I was considering these thoughts that I had an idea. Imagine you are an average unsaved person. You are enjoying your favorite sexually explicit and violent T.V. program, when there's a commercial break. Suddenly, a man appears holding a Bible and you hear the words:

"The Bible is the world's all-time best seller, yet many don't read it because they don't understand it. Let me give you an example: This is the King James Version
:
”
God
commendeth
all men everywhere to repent, because he hath appointed a day, in which He will judge the world in righteousness. ”
Now listen to how the
Good News
version puts the same verse
:
”
God commands all men everywhere to turn from their evil ways, for He has fixed a day in which He will judge the whole world with justice.
"... Why not call into your local Christian bookstore and view the large range of Bibles ... You'll be amazed at the variety."

You watch a few more commercials,
then
back to the program, but now with the truth of Judgment Day burning within your mind! This thirty second commercial has a threefold effect. First, and foremost, it gets the Word of God, spoken twice (with a close-up shot of the wording for those who turn the sound off during commercials) into the hearts and homes of millions of viewers (remember, God's Word will not return void). Second, it promotes the Word of God (two versions). Third, it promotes Christian bookstores (most of
whom
advertise in church columns and Christian magazines, thus many are unknown to the general public).

I was so excited about the
concept,
I hardly slept for three or four nights. I submitted the scripts of the commercials to the advertising department of the local television network, and, to my delight, they said they were O.K. as advertisements! I could hardly believe it. They gave me permission to quote, "God commands all men everywhere to repent,
etc
;" "... You must be born again ...;" "The fool has said in his heart...;" "Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man ...;" "God commended His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us;" "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
They saw the quoting of scripture in the commercials as merely a comparing of translations, to promote Bible versions!
Years earlier, I heard about a hardened sailor merely hearing Scripture as he stood outside a meeting, and was soundly converted. The same Word of God cut me to the heart on the night of my conversion, and here we had an opportunity to use this mighty weapon right in the very midst of the enemy.

It was on a Friday morning that I wrote in my diary to contact "Seven Seas Television," a Christian organization who could advise me as to how I should go about making the commercials. I would find their address on the Tuesday when I returned from a series of meetings in another city. I wasn't even sure of the city in which Seven Seas
was
stationed, but I would make that a priority for Tuesday.

After a seminar the following day, when I shared the vision of the commercials with the people with whom I was staying, they told me that they knew a television producer who knew the Lord. I said that I would love to spend some time with him to get his thoughts on the commercials. He was duly contacted, and I was delighted to find that he had already decided to come to my meeting the following morning. After the service, I met the gentleman, and shared the concept of the commercials. He loved the idea. He gave me some helpful advice, then handed me his card saying that if he could be of any help, not to hesitate to contact him. I stared in unbelief at the card—"Ian Ralston, producer,
Seven Seas Television. ”
Standing in front of me was the very man I had wanted to contact on the Tuesday after my return. I neither knew the name nor the address, yet God had brought him to me. I felt sure that God was with me in the venture.

Where Was The Enemy?

The next move was to raise the necessary finance. A package of twelve commercials reaching a viewing audience of 3,600,000 would cost $7,200. It was around that time, I found out that a Christian friend had just started a job with a local secular television station. On enquiry, I found that Greg's job was in the advertising department. Greg was ecstatic, and was even convinced that God had him in television for such a time as this.

I sent out literature to 350 churches, 90 bookstores and a number of individuals whom I knew had a desire to see the nation of New Zealand reached for the Kingdom of God. The response was very encouraging. Thousands of dollars began to roll in. Opening the mail was a most uplifting experience. One Bible distributor did express a concern that the commercials gave an impression that we were demeaning the King James Version. I wrote back and told him that we were using that in every one of the twelve commercials and that I was hoping that other Christians would see what we were actually doing. If we didn't structure the commercials to look as though we were comparing versions, there would be no way we would be allowed to quote Scripture. He was satisfied and showed his support by sending a large check. Almost everywhere I turned, I received nothing but encouragement.

All the money for the production and for the screening of the commercials rolled in. I felt that I was at last doing something substantial for the Kingdom of God. I was going to have the privilege of firing the cannon of the Word of God right into the heart of the enemy. Over previous months, I had become disheartened that the Church was always on the
defense
. It was continually trying to stand against the influx of the enemy. It seemed I was forever being asked to sign petitions. We were putting all our energies into Holding ground, and little into taking any. Now it was just a matter of aiming the cannon and waiting for the right time to push the button. Everything was set. The commercials were made using a well-known Christian newsreader, who was delighted to do them free of charge. Alpha Video, a Christian organization had produced them giving a 50% discount—everything flowed. In fact, things were going so well, I was wondering where the enemy was. I was suspicious, but I wasn't complaining.

Enemy Sighted

I was relaxing at home when Greg appeared unannounced and grim-faced—"The top guy in television said that he did not approve those Scriptures ... he's lying. I remember his words Ray. Pharaoh has raised his ugly head!"

Twice Greg had sought written confirmation of the commercials and nothing had come through. We talked for a few minutes and then decided to have a time of prayer. As we prayed, different Scriptures came to mind, "The battle is not yours but the Lord's," "If God be for us who can be against us!" This was just another Red Sea. God would make the way for us to go through, and all we had to do was to "Stand still and see the salvation of God."

The combat had begun, and the battleground was in my mind. I was determined to hold onto my weapons. I held the shield of faith up high. Suddenly and unexpectedly, a fiery dart struck my mind—
What
if God doesn't help you? What if the television people see what you are up to? If they have seen that you are preaching the Word of God there is no way they are going to let it through! How naive, to think that secular television would allow the Bible to be read on TV!"

My mind flooded with the weight of other thoughts. I would have to return all the money. I would end up $2000 in debt because I spent it on production costs. All that work down the drain!
So much for the offensive ... back to the petitions.

Then I would say to myself, "What's going on, I shouldn't be thinking like this!" For the shield of faith to do its work I had to
willfully
stand within my mind. The enemy was seeking to take my courage from me. He
was wanting
to discourage me. These thoughts that had invaded my mind were merely imaginations based upon the thought that God was going to let me down. Paul exhorts us with the words, "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to tear down strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:2-5).

The King James Version uses the word "imagination" instead of the word pretension, and that was my mind stayed on God. I had lowered my shield of faith and allowed the flaming arrows to strike me.

The battle raged for about 24 hours before God brought deliverance. Greg received a long distance call from the top man in television advertising. He had viewed the spots, and said, "Those commercials look O.K. to me."

Doubting Castle

I had been through the same experience as "Christian" and "Hopeful," so graphically illustrated in,
Pilgrim's Progress.
Both Christian and Hopeful left the King's Highway and fell asleep in the grounds of Doubting Castle. Giant Despair woke them and asked what they were doing in his grounds. They said that they were pilgrims who had lost their way.
Giant Despair, being stronger than both of them, drove them into Doubting Castle and thrust them into a dungeon which is described as being "very dark, nasty and stinking."

For four long days and nights they lay there until Giant Despair's wife, Diffidence (lack of
selfconfidence
) counselled her husband to beat them without mercy. Giant Despair was obedient to his wife, and beat them, then told them that they should kill themselves. Christian and Hopeful actually considered the suggestion, but the fear of God stopped them. The next evening, the giant returned and became furious because they hadn't taken his advice. His wife men told him to take Christian and Hopeful down to the castle-yard and show them the bones and skulls of those he had already dispatched. The next morning he took them into the yard, showed them the bones and skulls and said, "These were pilgrims who trespassed on my grounds and I tore them to pieces" (nice guy). The giant then assured his captives that he would do the same to them within 10 days! Hopeful and Christian decided to pray.

After about six hours of prayer, Christian cried
,
”
What a fool I am, thus to live in this stinking dungeon when I may as well walk out in liberty. I have a key in my bosom called 'promise.' That will, I am persuaded, open any lock in
Doubting
castle. ”
Christian then pulled out the key, unlocked the door and they escaped . . . no doubt the wiser.