An unsuccessful search for a hymn in Mission Praise has reminded me of an
incident in my life when I was a teenage Christian.
Fred Bartlett was a Clerical Assistant
and Union representative in the small Civil Service office where I had found
employment after leaving school and as I trained as an evangelist. He shared the General Office with three other
people and, among his other duties, dealt with the steady flow of public
enquiries. Fred declared himself to be a
Catholic, though I think this was more nominal than practising. Among the remaining 18 members of staff there
was one practising Catholic, one practising Methodist, one lapsed Methodist,
the Worshipful Master of the Freemason Lodge, the Worthy Primo of the Royal
Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes, and a few nominal Anglicans. We were a strange mix in such a small office
spread over four floors.
My own role was as a Temporary Clerical Assistant
in charge of some 85,000 property files relating to four Local
Authorities. The room in the basement was
hot and airless, so I periodically found opportunity to go upstairs to the
General Office. On one such occasion, as
I entered the room, Fred started to dance around the room, clapping his hands
and la-la-ing a lively hymn tune that I just about recognised. As he danced around the office room he broke
off singing occasionally to say, “I saw
you Barry Boy”. An enquiry as to
what he was talking about revealed that he had seen an open-air meeting where
this hymn had been sung with enthusiasm, and where he was convinced I had taken
part. He now sought to humiliate me in
front of others.
I offered up a quick prayer, informed
Fred that whoever he had seen it wasn’t me.
I then had a sudden thought and asked Fred if he would like me to teach
him the words. I must have put him off
guard because he immediately said he would.
Fred had given me an exceptional opportunity, so as all listened I
proclaimed:
I need no other argument;
I need no other plea;
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that he died for me.
The hymn of which this is the chorus, in
case you do not recognise the words, begins “My
faith has found a resting place, not in device nor creed. I trust the ever-living one. His wounds for me shall plead.
What an opportunity to testify had been
given to me! Fred sat down at his desk
apparently embarrassed by his actions.
The other three remained silent.
I completed the task for which I had come up from the filing room, and
quietly slipped away. Later that day,
Fred found an excuse to visit me. On one
wall in my room I had pinned up various hymn words that blessed or challenged
me, and a few card text plaques, with biblical passages on them. Fred pointed at the plaques and asked in a
rather sarcastic tone why I put them on the wall.
I explained that in other parts of the
offices there were other posters, some of which I would not want on display in
my room, and that I preferred what I had chosen to display. “How
much does all this cost?”, he asked in a challenging tone. When I explained that they had cost only a
few pence, he asked if he could buy one of them from me. I had no idea why he wanted to do so, or what
he might do with the plaque to which he was pointing. “You
don’t need to buy it; I’m happy to give it to you”, I said. I took it down and handed it over. Fred left the room with it.
It was on my next visit to the General
Office that I saw the plaque, boldly on display on the wall behind Fred’s desk. The text on it proclaimed Believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. (Acts 16:31). Some months
later, Fred was promoted and moved to another floor in the offices. He took the plaque with him where it remained
on display. A few months after that I
left to enter full-time Christian work.
My reason for looking for this hymn is
that it is very appropriate to the passage on which I plan to speak. In Hebrews 10:19-25 the author of this New
Testament letter summarises all he has been teaching in the previous chapters
as he points out the sufficiency of what God has done for us. Because Christ’s blood has been shed, a way
made for us to have access to God opened for us, and a High Priest who intercedes
for us, we can draw near to a holy God with confidence. We need no other argument!
Of course, the word argument is used here, not in the sense of having a row, but as a
set of reasons given to support an idea.
The same hymn includes the lines, “Enough
for me that Jesus saves, this ends my fear and doubt. A sinful soul, I come to him. He’ll never
cast me out.” As I pondered on the
theme of the sufficiency of what God has done for us and our salvation, another
hymn came to mind, which is also not in Mission Praise. This hymn, written by Charles Wesley, goes
well to the tune Weymouth (repeat the
penultimate line of each verse). Please
take a few moments to read these words, and ponder for yourself on all that God
has done for you so generously. Perhaps,
after you have read them through carefully, perhaps a few times, you could take
a moment to express your gratitude to God in prayer.
Arise,
my soul, arise! Shake off thy guilty fears;
The
bleeding Sacrifice In my behalf appears.
Before
the throne my Surety stands;
My
name is written on His hands.
He
ever lives above for me to intercede,
His
all-redeeming love, his precious blood to plead.
His
blood was shed for all our race,
and
sprinkles now the throne of grace.
Five
bleeding wounds He bears, received on Calvary;
They
pour effectual prayers; they strongly speak for me.
Forgive
him, O forgive, they cry,
nor
let that ransomed sinner die!
The
Father hears Him pray, his dear anointed One;
He
cannot turn away the presence of His Son.
His
Spirit answers to the blood,
and
tells me I am born of God.
To
God I’m reconciled, his pardoning voice I hear;
He
owns me for His child, I can no longer fear.
With
confidence I now draw nigh,
and
Father, Abba, Father, cry.
From
the Diary
Recent activities include participating
in the Churches Group for Evangelization.
There was much to be encouraged by and some excellent new
resources. I plan to refer to some of
these on the Rural Mission Solutions Facebook page. I also served as Pastoral Care Board representative
at a weekend for students training with the Congregational Federation. It was an inspiring few days. Last Sunday I took the service for Clarendon
park Congregational Church, Leicester, where I had provided pastoral care for
two years during a vacancy.
Sunday 9th July – Bunyan Christian
fellowship, Elstow, Beds.
Monday 10th – School leaving-assembly. Please pray for those I have taught who go on
to secondary schools.
Tuesday 11th – Regular work
at HMP Gartree.
Sunday 16th July – Welford Congregational
Church
Our
next free webinar is on Saturday 5th
August 9.00 to 9.45 when Gordon Banks and I will be presenting ideas for
missional activity during the autumn months.
Book the date now. It is even
possible to reserve your free place by clicking here. I received many encouraging comments
following the last webinar on “Mission
Through Prayer”. The video recording will be appearing on www.ruralmissionsolutions.org.uk.
Thank you for your fellowship.
Barry
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