He Wanted a New Car

Bob Sharpe

I started a new church in London, Ontario, Canada, in 1978. We rented a vacant church building a few months after our first service.

Shortly after we started, a Christian lady in the neighborhood started attending our services and joined our church. She knew that our church was a Great Commission church, so she asked if we would pray for her husband to get saved.

I  shared 1 Peter 3 with her. I showed her what it says that she should do if she wanted to see her husband saved. She made the commitment to follow the Scriptures.

Her husband began to see some changes in the way that she related to him, and he liked the changes very much. When he commented on one of the changes, she just said, "Oh, that's what I've been learning in my new church." 

That caused two reactions in him. First, it made him like us. Second, it made him curious. He was ready to talk to me the next time I came to visit.

He was a very nice guy to talk to. The problem was that he was a weekend alcoholic. He worked during the week, and he spent his weekends drinking. He spent so much money on beer that he couldn't afford a car. He lived about 4 blocks from work, so he walked to work every day.

I had called on him several times. He knew he needed to get saved. He always wanted to wait until another time.

One day I bought a new car. That night I went to call on him again. As we talked, the Lord put a thought in my mind. I said, "Hey, Bill (not his real name), would you like to have a car?"

He said, "Yes, but I can't afford one."

"How much do you spend on beer every month?" I asked.

"About $30 a week" was his reply.

I got up and walked to the front window. "Come here a minute. I want to show you something."

When he got to the window I said, "Look out there. Do you see that new car? I bought it this morning. My car payments are less than your beer payments. Why don't you get saved and buy yourself a new car?"

He looked, but he didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. I could sense that the Holy Spirit had taken my statement and hit a bull's eye.

He didn't get saved that night, but he was in church on Sunday morning. When I gave the invitation, he almost ran down the aisle. He said, "Pastor, do you remember when you told me to get saved and buy a new car? I haven't been able to get that out of my mind ever since. I want to get saved right now, and I'm going to buy a car with my beer money."

There was rejoicing in Heaven that morning as Bill received Christ as his personal Savior. The next week he bought a brand new Plymouth. He became a leader in the church. He served Christ faithfully until his homegoing 21 years later, in January, 2001.