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Feb 5, 2010 - 2:59AM

"Ten Sheckels and a Shirt" by Paris Reidhead YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS POST!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rita...

If there is one tape/cd that is a must have, it's Paris Reidhead's message "Ten Sheckels and a Shirt".He was associated with the Christian Misionary Alliance. I've encluded his personal autobiography on this tape blow. Rev Reidhead went on to be with the Lord in 1988, but the work of the Holy Spirit still resonates through this one tape, with the same power and life like it was first given.

I was talking with the owner of the bookstore shown at the bottom of the thread, when I found out he had converted the tape to a CD, I ordered several. The shop owner had a missionary couple that had spent 40 years in the mission field come into his store. They were burnt out. He gave them a copy of the tape free. A few days later they came back into the shop and thanked them for giving the tape to them. He asked what their plans were now. They said they were returning to the mission field.

One quick story, then you can read about the tape itself from the man who gave it. Paris Reidhead was a paster turned missionary turned pastor. In the 50's, he had heard of all the hardships of those that lived in Africa. He was determined to go himself and preach the gospel. He made a list of all the things he would need, had approval from the board and off he flew to do missionary work for those who were lost.

When he arrived in Africa, he realized that the conditions of life where far worse than the missionaries had depicted. His heart went out to the people. He didn't want those whose lives were filled with such depravity here on earth, then to end up in hell eternal. Sounds like a good motive, doesn't it???

He went out daily and preached to the people, but none were inteested. A month went by, then two, then three and finally after 4 1/2 months of preaching and not even one person converted, He went back to his trailor and got mad at God. He said..."Why in the world have you sent me to such a place. These people live in such depravity, yet they love their sin and want to stay in it?". As he sat on the bed, angry at God, the Lord spoke to Him and said "I didn't send you here for them, I sent you here for ME. I'm the One who died on the Cross, I'm the one who suffered the shame. I'm the One who loves them. I didn't send you there for them, I sent you there for Me. After that Paris said that it changed it all, it righted it all. No longer was he serving man, but was serving the Living God.

This tape is a life changing tape unlike any other. It's the type of tape that will reground pastors to the flock that they serve. It will change the heart and determination of each and every person who is willing to hear it.

God Bless...

Steve

And now the story, in his own words....

*HOW THIS MESSAGE CAME TO BE

In over fifty years of Bible teaching and preaching "Ten Shekels and a Shirt" is the only message that I feel constrained to explain how it came to be preached.

During a Bethany Fellowship Summer Conference in the mid sixties I was preparing to speak at the Tuesday morning Bible hour. Upon returning to my room after breakfast to meditate and pray about the message for that morning hour, I felt strangely impressed that I could not deliver the message that had been prepared for the session. Instead, I felt that there was some other message that was needed which I was to bring.

After prayer, the message that came to mind was one on which I had begun preparation for the ministry at the church in New York City of which I was pastor at that time. My notes were not with me, but were in a file folder in my study. An empty envelope was on the desk in my room, on the back of which I wrote the scripture texts to be used and one or two ideas that came to mind. With the envelope in my Bible marking Judges, Chapter 17, and myself utterly cast upon the Lord, I went to the auditorium where between four and five hundred people waited to hear from the Lord through me.

I remember praying, "This morning I am utterly cast upon You because I am not prepared." In my heart I seemed to hear His response, "Well, is that so bad, already?" (Being from New York City it was given in an idiom I would understand.)

I delivered the message and gave an invitation. Shortly the altar across the front of the auditorium was filled with broken people seeking God.

The summer conference was soon over and I returned to New York City and the ministry there.

About ten years later one of the Bethany Fellowship staff was in Washington, D.C., where we had moved and from where we still minister. His word was, "Paris, I want to tell you that God has repeatedly used your message 'Ten Shekels and a Shirt' in my life."

I didn't really know to what he referred, for I had never preached that message again. The substance of it occurs in other messages, but the exact message itself was preached only that once.

A week or two later Harry Conn from Rockford, Illinois was in Washington. He invited me to have dinner with him. In the course of the meal he said, "I buy that message 'Ten Shekels and a Shirt' by the dozen to give to people. God is really using it in lives." My response was that if you have a copy, I would like to have it sent to me so that I can find out what it is I have said. In a few days the cassette arrived.

Since I don't have a tape player in my office, I put the tape into the Sony dictating machine on my desk and listened through the little playback on the hand-held microphone. The element of distance in terms of time, and the distorted sound through the miniature speaker, let me listen to the message with no real awareness of who was speaking. From time to time I felt like exclaiming, "That's right. I wish I had said that." Then it dawned on me that it was I ... no, not really. I realized that on a Tuesday morning during a summer conference, God had been able to get His message across because of my utter and complete helplessness.

Be sure of this, I take no credit for anything and everything that is good and a blessing from the message. In the past sixteen years several thousands of taped copies of this message have been sold and many more thousands of copies have been made from the ones purchased.

I have never preached this message again, nor will I. This message has not been transcribed and printed, nor will it ever be. Here is the message just as the Lord, Who chose to use Balaam's donkey, was also able to use another who was utterly dependent upon Him.-Paris Reidhead

Rare Christian Books

19275 Highway 28

Dixon, MO 65459 USA

Phone/Fax 573-336-7316

Email: rcb@RareChristianBooks.com