Salvation in Christian preaching centers on deliverance from sin through faith in Jesus Christ, who alone offers cleansing, new life, and eternal security (Acts 4:12, John 3:16). Illustrations often use images of rescue, transformation, and choice—such as a lifeline, a gift to be unwrapped, or Noah's ark—to emphasize the urgency and completeness of accepting Christ's saving work.
A poor woman, we are told, made the complaint to the Sultan that when
she slept she awoke to find everything lost. "Wherefore did you
sleep?" inquired the Sultan. "Sir," was the response, "I slept because
I thought you were awake." The monarch restored to her that which she
had lost.
-Christian Age Tan 5253
It had been my uncle's lifelong dream to come from his native Spain to
visit his sister, his five nieces and what he called his "sister's
country." Finally the trip was arranged. But his wife was afraid of
flying and kept trying to back out. At last he won her over bv saying,
"Just think how many airinail letters we have written in the past 40
years-and we haven't lost a single one!"
- Selected Tan 5254
When I was in England, during one of the conferences, a woman told me
she was once awakened by a very strange noise of pecking, or something
of the kind. When she got up, she saw a butterfly flying back and
forth inside the window pane in a great fright, and outside a spar-row
pecking and trying to get in. The butterfly did not see the glass, and
expected every minute to be caught, and the sparrow did not see the
glass, and expected every minute to get the butterfly. Yet all the
while that butterfly was as safe as if it had been millions of miles
away, because of the glass between it and the sparrow. So it is with a
Christian. Satan cannot touch the soul that has the Lord Jesus Christ
between itself and him. Tan 5255
After a pastor had counseled with an 11-year-old boy one Sunday during the invitation, happily he told the congregation that the lad had accepted Christ and wanted to follow Him. The pastor then made an unusual request. In addition to the parents and teachers of this boy, every person who had been his superintendent, leader or teacher was asked to come to the front of the auditorium. Among those who responded to this call were the following:
A nursery worker who recalled singing, "I like to go to church" when the boy was just a toddler.
A beginner superintendent remembered the smiling face of a 5-year old as the child saw seed sprouting in their Nature center.
A primary leader silently thanked God for the time he helped the little boy construct a picture of Christ.
The superintendent of the Junior Department rejoiced that he had made those extra visits last year to the home of the lad confined with the measles.
For several minutes people moved to the front of the building. In all, 37 adults gathered around the lad! Each obviously had had a share in the child's decision for Christ that day.
Every time a child, or anyone for that matter, comes down our aisle to receive Christ, think back and see if you have had anything to do in his/her conversion. Contrariwise, if someone whose life you, as a Christian have touched does not respond to an invitation to accept Christ, perhaps you should examine your life to see why not.
_______
Tabernacle Baptist Church via The Sword of the Lord
The thief had nails through both hands, so that he could not work; and a nail through each foot, so that he could not run errands for the Lord; he could not lift a hand or a foot toward his salvation, and yet Christ offered him the gift of God; and he took it. Christ threw him a passport, and took him into Paradise.
-- D. L. Moody, from "Day by Day with D.L Moody," Moody Press.
The clock of life is wound but once,
And no man has the power
To tell just when the hands will stop.
At late or early hour.
To lose one's wealth is sad indeed.
To lose one's health is more.
To lose one's soul is such a loss
That no man can restore.
Thirty-nine people died while you read this short poem.
Every hour 5,417 go to meet their Maker. What are YOU doing to help reach them with the Gospel before they are cast into Hell?
Several years ago a man and his wife were found frozen to death in
their car. A blizzard had dumped tons of snow in the area, burying
their vehicle. Before she died, the woman scribbled a note on a piece
of paper and stuffed it in the glove compartment. The note read: "I
don't want to die this way." Tragically, less than six feet from their
icy grave was a stranded bus, whose festive passengers remained warm
throughout the night. Today in the Word, October, 1990, p. 28
The Prodigal Daughter Longing to leave her poor Brazilian neighborhood, Christina wanted to
see the world. Discontent with a home having only a pallet on the
floor, a washbasin, and a wood-burning stove, she dreamed of a better
life in the city. One morning she slipped away, breaking her mother's
heart. Knowing what life on the streets would be like for her young,
atractive daughter, Maria hurriedly packed to go find her. On her way
to the bus stop she entered a drugstore to get one last thing.
Pictures. She sat in the photograph booth, closed the curtain, and
spent all she could on pictures of herself. With her purse full of
small black-and-white photos, she boarded the next bus to Rio de
Janiero. Maria knew Christina had no way of earning money. She also
knew that her daughter was too stubborn to give up. When pride meets hunger, a human will do things that were before
unthinkable. Knowing this, Maria began her search. Bars, hotels,
nightclubs, any place with the reputation for street walkers or
prostitutes. She went to them all. And at each place she left her
picture--taped on a bathroom mnirror, tacked to a hotel bulletin
board, fastened to a corner phone booth. And on the back of each photo
she wrote a note. It wasn't too long before both the money and the
pictures ran out, and Maria had to go home. The weary mother wept as
the bus began its long journey back to her small village. It was a few weeks later that young Christina descended the hotel
stairs. Her young face was tired. Her brown eyes no longer danced with
youth but spoke of pain and fear. Her laughter was broken. Her dream
had become a nightmare. A thousand times over she had longed to trade
these countless beds for her secure pallet. Yet the little village
was,in too many ways, too far away. As she reached the bottom of the
stairs, her eyes noticed a familiar face. She looked again, and there
on the lobby mirror was a small picture of her mother. Christina's
eyes burned and her throat tightened as she walked across the room and
removed the small photo. Written on the back was this compelling
invitation. "Whatever you have done, whatever you have become, it doesn't matter.
Please come home. I still love you." She did. Max Lucade, No Wonder They Call Him the Savior, Multnomah Press, 1986,
pp. 158-159
From a book in my library comes the following incident: "A marshal in
Napoleon's army -- a man who was devotedly and enthusiastically
attached to him -- was mortally wounded in battle. As the last
struggle drew near and he lay dying in his tent, he sent for his
chief. Napoleon came. The poor man thought his emperor could do
anything. Perhaps he even sought to put him in the place of God. So
he earnestly pleaded with his leader to save his life. The emperor
sadly shook his head and turned away. But as the dying man felt the
cold, merciless hand of death drawing him irresistibly behind the
curtain of the unseen world, he was still heard to shriek out, 'Save
me, Napoleon! Save me!'" In the hour of death, that soldier discovered
than even the powerful Napoleon could not give him physical life. Our
Daily Bread
Years ago a wealthy English family was entertaining friends at their
home. As the children swam one ventured into the deep water and began to drown. The gardner heard the other children screaming and jumped into the water and saved the child. The youngsters name was Winston Churchill. Deeply grateful to the gardner, the parents asked how they could ever repay him. He hesitated, but then said "I wish my son could go to college comeday to be a doctor. "He will" said Churchhill's parents. "We will pay his way." Years later when Sir Winston was Prime Minister, he became ill with pneumonia. The best physician the king could find was called to the bedside of the ailing leader. His name Sir Alexander Flemming, the developer of penecillin and the son of that Gardner who long ago saved a drowning Winston. Churchill later said, "Rarely has a man owed his life twice to the same person." As believers we owe a debt of gratitude and service to the Lord because He made and He saved us.
Can you lose your salvation? Can the belief of “once saved always saved” be biblically supported?
When God saves a person, He gives an irrevocable relationship with a Savior who promises to protect by His own power.
There is only one basis upon which anyone can qualify for eternal refuge from the judgment of God’s law, which is summed up in two simple words: in Christ. Because I believe and trust in Christ, I have a protection that begins and ends with God.
Can I be “in Christ” today but lose that protection tomorrow? Could my faith or lack of faith determine whether I am presently “in” or “out” of Christ?
God’s Word doesn’t call us to uncertainty but to believe in Christ, and to assume a new identity and a new destiny.
The Past In Christ: Salvation Accomplished. What if I told you that I know my future is secure because all of my sins are already paid for? I enjoy immunity from the eternal punishment of God. The basis for my security is that I am in Christ (Romans 6). I have been crucified with Christ (Rom 6:6) and resurrected with Christ (Rom 6:4-5). In Christ, I have already paid for my crimes against God.
The Present In Christ: Salvation Protected. This is security that doesn’t depend on what we do but on what Christ has done for us. It reminds us that our Savior has not only paid the price for our salvation, but He has also promised to intercede for us now on the basis of what He did for us in the past.
The Future in Christ: Salvation Completed. What about that day when we all stand before the Judge in the final day of accountability? Is it possible that at that critical point we might lose everything?
God has already announced that He has given authority to His Son to judge the earth (John 5:24-30). It is at the judgment seat of Christ where we who are in Christ must one day appear (Romans 14:1-12; 2 Corinthians 5:10). It is that same Judge who has already promised all who are in Him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24).
If you have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, count on those words. They are God’s promise to you.
*
[Original illustration at this number was deleted for being obsolete]
"When God gets in a person, he comes out of that person. You can no more hide Jesus in a life that's redeemed than you can hide the fragrance of a rose under a hair net."
- Bailey Smith
"Real Evangelism," p. 32
On several occasions at Camp Zion, Bro. Paul Ragland asked this question before he would preach. Every time he would ask it, I would be bothered spiritually because I had never experienced lostness.
The word “lost” means to be separated from God and under His condemnation. This is the condition of every non-believer who has reached the “knowledge of accountability,” that point in life where a person is responsible for his own sin. Many refer to this as the “age of accountability” and try to say that when a person reaches a certain age they are accountable.
A person is not accountable based on age but on a time in their life when they have knowledge between good and evil. The only scripture that makes this clear is Deut. 1:39, “Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey [taken captive], and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.” This verse refers to those Israelites who were under 20 years of age at Kadesh-Barnea who were not sentenced to death when they refused to enter Canaan. (Num. 14:26-35)
Notice, “they had no knowledge between good and evil,” not right and wrong as many say [Holwick: the NIV translates it “good and bad”]. There is a difference between good and evil and right and wrong. Children can and should know the difference between right and wrong as young as one year old, yet, they have not knowledge of good and evil at that age because they can only think “concrete” not “abstract” until they are about six or seven years of age or possibly older. “Concrete” means “tangible” or capable of being touched. God is “abstract,” a Spirit, not capable of being physically touched. Faith is also abstract. Therefore until a child is capable to think in abstract terms they are not able to be saved and have not reached the “knowledge of accountability.” In this condition they are “safe” and will go to heaven if they die as 2 Sam. 12:23 indicates.
The word “knowledge” means to have some understanding about good and evil. “Good” refers to God and “evil” to the devil. Therefore, for one to be saved he must have some understanding about God, not just mimic or repeat what he has heard as a child. Those who make a profession at a young age usually repeat what they have heard and they have no real knowledge or understanding of good and evil. (By the way, the tree Adam was forbidden to eat of was the tree of the “knowledge of good and evil” not a tree of “the knowledge of right and wrong.”)
At the point one reaches the knowledge of accountability he is “lost” and may not even recognize that fact. It is not enough to be lost or even recognize that you are lost because to be saved you must experience “lostness.” Many have come to the conclusion that they are lost because they have reasoned out and concluded from scripture that they are not saved. This is only mental ascent to one’s condition which is not enough to produce real salvation.
Godly sorrow or Holy Ghost conviction must have a complete work before one will repent and receive Jesus Christ as their Lord (2 Cor. 7:10). Repentance is necessary to be saved. Romans 10:13, states, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” and 1 Cor. 12:3 states, “No man can call Jesus, Lord but by the Holy Ghost.” This takes a completed work of reproval or Holy Ghost conviction in three areas: sin, righteousness, and judgment as John 16:8-11 bears out.
When Godly sorrow has its complete work there will be more than the revelation of the fact that you are not saved thus concluding you are lost. There will be the reality of being lost as you realize you are separated from God in your sin of unbelief, and are in need of the Lord to control your life.
Many who say they are saved have never experienced “lostness;” therefore, they cannot tell you a time and place where they were saved because they really are not saved. Some were bothered and made a profession to get the pressure off them but they have never experienced lostness; therefore, they are not saved. Others prayed a prayer or did what some well meaning preacher or personal worker told them to do, but they have never experienced lostness. Therefore, they are not saved. Oh how sad it will be for those who one day will be cast in the lake of fire, because they mimicked and repeated words they were told to say before they ever reached the knowledge of accountability and hung on to that profession when they were void of knowledge of good and evil and did not experience lostness.
When did you experience lostness? I did not ask when you were saved! If you have ever experienced lostness you will never forget it and that Godly sorrow that produced the experience of lostness in you will have its finished work. But if you have never experienced lostness then you are not saved. 2 Cor. 13:5 states, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”
THE PERSUADER
June-July, 1995
*
[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #6578]
Put you finger on your wrist and find your pulse. Have you found
your pulse yet? If not please have some one help you find it. For
every pulse of your heart, one, two, three, four ---- someone in the
world has died without Jesus as their savior. They are souls who have
never had the opportunity to hear the message of GOD'S love for them
in Jesus, or even worse, have heard and rejected it. Do still feel
your pulse? God does. He is aware of each pulse, of each soul who has
entered into Hell's gates.
The commission is to go unto all the people groups and share the
Gospel. To quicken every soul, unto internal life, through faith in
Jesus. You can forever change the pulse beat of someone else, if you
would just reach. To reach out and help them find the their heat beat,
and their need for GOD's love and forgiveness.
-- Thomas Knight
The presiding judge of a district in which I once held a meeting,
became deeply convicted of sin, and privately asked Christians to pray
for him, but through pride and prejudice he had become very much
opposed to kneeling at a Methodist altar; the meetings in that place
were held in a Methodist church.
He attended the meetings, but usually sat in the back part of the house. Once or twice he rose for prayer, but would not go to the altar
for prayer. He asked one of the ministers if he could not be converted
without kneeling at a Methodist altar, and of course was told he
could. Still he found no peace, although he sought it carefully with
tears.
So deeply did he feel his sins, that he sent out at midnight for a minister he knew to pray with and for him; and they both prayed earnestly, the judge knowing Jesus could, and believing he would, receive him without his going to the altar; that the place he occupied
made no difference. That this was true, the result showed; but it also
showed that he could not be accepted by Christ until he was willing to
go to that despised altar.
At that midnight hour, while the pastor and judge were pleading for
the salvation of the latter, he seemed to throw himself upon the
Saviour, saying, " Jesus, take me just as I am." In the judgment of
the pastor he found the sought-for peace.
The next day two of the pastors came to me and said: "We think the judge is converted, and will let the congregation know it this
evening, if you give him an opportunity."
I said I would give him a good opportunity to speak; but was sure he was not converted, and could not be until he was willing to kneel at a Methodist altar.
In the evening, after the sermon, I said, "If there is one present who thinks God has forgiven his sins, we would like to hear that one speak a few words."
All eyes were turned towards the judge; but he had nothing to say. We then bowed in prayer, the judge kneeling in the aisle, and praying
for himself as a lost sinner--this time giving up all, and feeling
willing to go even to the spot to which he had so often refused to go.
After this season of prayer he arose, and, turning to me, said:
"Mr. Earle, I am now willing to go anywhere. I have found Jesus precious. I am willing to kneel at a Methodist altar, or do anything Christ wishes."
I replied, "We do not want you at this altar if your will is given up; it was only necessary that you be willing to kneel here."
He then gave clear testimony before all that he had found no peace until he was willing to go to that altar; but the moment he yielded his will he found peace, without actually going there.
This case shows the necessity of a full surrender of the will
before conversion, and also all the importance that can be attached to
"measures."
Many anxious persons suppose they have given up all until the will is tested by some simple thing which has no virtue in itself, but shows whether the individual is in complete submission to God or not.
I think it is well, sometimes, to ask the inquirers to meet Christians in another room, to stop after meeting for conversation, or something of the kind, without adopting any set of measures: let the
occasion and circumstances suggest their own measures, or none at all,
according to the judgment of the person conducting the services.
I find measures, as they are called, that seem very objectionable in a time of coldness in religion are looked at quite differently by
the same persons, when the heart is weighed down with earnest desire
for the salvation of souls. -- A. B. Earle, From: "Incidents Used ...
In His Meetings," published in 1888
Among those who were most deeply convicted of their lost condition, in our meetings in Portland, Oregon, was a lady in high standing. She came to my room bathed in tears, under a deep sense of her lost condition, crying out in the language of the jailor:
“Sir, what must I do to be saved?”
I at once replied, “I can tell you just what to do. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.”
“Oh, sir,” she said, “I must be saved in some other way than that. My father died rejecting Jesus Christ and I cannot embrace anything that does not take my father to heaven. You must tell me of some other way.”
“My dear madam,” I said, “there is no other way. Your Heavenly Father says, ‘There is no other name given under heaven among men whereby we must be saved.’ Also ‘without the shedding of blood there can be no remission of sins.’ The Father has no blood. The Holy Spirit has no blood. The angels have no blood, however friendly and anxious they may feel for lost men. And your blood and mine is poisoned by sin, so that if you or your father reject Christ there is no help for you.
Oh, how bitterly the poor woman wept. Still exclaiming, “there must be some other way.”
What a scene to witness, a convicted sinner crying out under a load of sin:
“I must be saved, but I cannot embrace Jesus, because it would shut my dear father out of heaven. Dear sir, can’t my sins be washed out some other way?”
“No other way,” I said.
“None but Jesus, none but Jesus,
Can do helpless sinners good.”
For a while it seemed a hopeless case. I finally told her of the conversion of a Mr. McCall, converted after he was drowned. It was this:
“McCall was swimming in deep water and in a cramp or in some way went to the bottom, and filled with water, and while lying on the gravel under water in a perfectly conscious state sought and found forgiveness of his sins through Christ. He was taken out of the water and appliances made and life restored. As soon as he could speak he said to his friends, ‘After I filled with water and went to the bottom, while lying on the gravel, I saw everything clearly, and conscious of my sins, I gave myself to Christ and felt that I was forgiven and accepted of him.’ I knew this man for many years after this wonderful conversion. He lived a faithful Christian life, and died a triumphant death.”
I related this incident to this anxious soul, who listened with intense interest.
I then asked if she knew her father did not see his mistake and repent and embrace the rejected Saviour, after he was too far gone to tell her? She calmly replied:
“I don’t know, do I?”
I then asked her if she would leave her father there and embrace Christ as her only hope. The Spirit seemed to show her Christ as her Saviour, and gave her power to believe on him as her Saviour.
She wiped her tears, and looking up with a heavenly smile on her face, said:
“Oh, sir, I can trust Jesus now, and I feel that my sins are washed away in his blood.”
I felt paid for a life of toil in being permitted, through the Divine Spirit, to so present Christ to this lost one that she could believe on him.
________
A. B. Earle, “Incidents Used ... In His Meetings,” published in 1888
One of my very best hearers in a meeting in New York, was Post
Master Wilkinson. He was very anxious to become a Christian, but could
not be prevailed upon to make any movement until the last day, and the
last hour of the meetings. He would neither rise for prayers nor go
into the inquiry meeting, or kneel with us, yet he was greatly
convicted of his sins.
But the last hour of the meetings, I asked those who could do
nothing more and yet desired religion to raise up their hand. As Mr.
Wilkinson began to raise his hand, he rose to his feet, and stretched
up his hand high. This act had so affected him that he came near us at
the desk, and wished to settle the question there.
We knelt and prayed with and for him, and at once he found peace.
It was now four o'clock, P. M., and I must leave in thirty minutes.
Mr. Wilkinson put his name on my blank book and said, as he left me:
"All the rest of my life for Jesus."
He left the room and had just forty-five minutes of life for Jesus,
no more, and went into eternity. I thought then and feel the same now,
that I would urge each one to seek Christ at once. You may not have
forty-five minutes for Jesus. I speak to every one whose eye rests on
this page. -- A. B. Earle, From: "Incidents Used ... In His Meetings,"
published in 1888
When Christ was twelve years old, he said to his parents, "I must
be about my Father's business."
In the winter of 1860, while I was holding a meeting near Boston, a
girl about twelve years old, came into my room with tears on her face,
and said:
"Mr. Earle, I came up here to give my heart to Jesus. I feel that I
am a great sinner. Will you pray for me?"
I said, "I will pray for you, and I can pray in faith if you see
that you are a sinner; for Jesus died for sinners."
After pointing out the way of salvation, I asked her if she would
kneel down by my side and pray for herself, and, as far as she knew,
give herself to Jesus, to be his forever.
She said, "I will; for I am a great sinner."
Could one so young, and kind to everybody, be a great sinner? Yes,
because she had rejected the Saviour until she was twelve years old;
and when the Holy Spirit had knocked at the door of her heart, she had
said, "No, not yet. Go thy way for this time."
We kneeled down, and after I had prayed, she said:
"Jesus, take me just as I am. I give myself to thee forever. I will
love and serve thee all my life."
The door of her heart was now open, and Jesus entered and took
possession. The tears were gone from her face, which was now covered
with smiles. And I believe holy angels in that room witnessed the
transfer of her heart to Jesus, and then went back to heaven to join
in songs of thanksgiving; for "joy shall be in heaven over one sinner
that repenteth."
Ella then went down stairs, her face beaming with joy as she
thought of her new relation to Jesus, and said to her mother:
"I have given myself to Jesus, and he has received me. Oh, I am so
happy!"
Little did we think that in a few days she would be walking the
"golden streets" with the blood-washed throng.
Like the Redeemer, who, when at her age, said to his mother, "Wist
ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" she seemed to long
to be doing good. Reader, will you do the same, now? -- A. B. Earle,
From: "Incidents Used ... In His Meetings," published in 1888
In Maine I was sent for to visit a young lady who was dying, and
thought she had no desire to become a Christian. She was educated for
the medical practice, and when about ready to enter upon her chosen
profession, her lungs failed, and she died. She could only whisper
when I visited her. One of the pastors had just called, but she did
not wish to see him, as she had no desire, as she thought, to become a
Christian.
Although she knew she must die, yet her heart was so hard she said
she did not wish to converse on the subject of religion. In this state
she was passing into eternity.
The result, however, showed that she had a real desire to become a
Christian. As the Spirit convicts the world, I suppose there is more
or less conviction for sin and desire for religion in every heart.
I sat down near her bed, and after a few words of inquiry, taking
out of my pocket a pencil and paper, I said:
"Julia, if an angel out of heaven sat where I do, with a deed
written with the blood of Christ, leaving only a blank with room for
your name, and the seal of blood opposite the blank, holding a pen in
his hand dipped in Christ's blood, should say, 'Miss _____ if you will
write your full name in this blank, with this pen, you shall belong to
Christ forever,' would you write your name there? Do you think you
would hesitate?"
(I wish you all could have seen that pale, death-stricken face at
that moment.) She saw the point. She saw, in the light of the figure,
that she did desire to become a Christian. This satisfied her that the
desire was in her heart. She whispered, with what little strength she
had:
"I would."
I said:
"Julia, are you satisfied that you have some desire to become a
Christian?"
"I am," she replied.
I then asked her if she would like to have me kneel down and offer
a short prayer for her. She said:
"I would."
"Will you give yourself to Christ as far as you know, as far as you
understand yourself, while I am praying? You say, if by signing that
deed you could belong to Christ forever, you would do it. Now, will
you, instead of signing the deed, silently say, "Here, Lord, I do give
myself to thee; 'tis all that I can do?' "
"I will," she said.
I kneeled down, and while praying I felt the evidence of an answer.
The whole room seemed filled with the Divine Spirit.
After prayer I asked:
"Did you give yourself to Christ while I was praying, as far as you
know?"
She replied:
"I did."
Her answer was, with great firmness.
"Will you ever take it back?"
"Never."
When I left that room, I said to her:
"If you never take that back, I shall walk the golden streets with
you."
The young lady lingered for a few days, and continued to whisper
till the last minute of her life:
"Peace, peace, peace."
What she needed was to know how to give herself up as far as she had
light, and be persuaded to do it.
Let me ask the reader of this incident, if an angel held such a
deed and pen as I have just described to you, assuring you, if you
would sign your full name to it, you should belong to Christ forever,
would you sign it? Do you think you would? Is this not desire and
feeling enough to warrant an immediate action? Will you not do as this
young lady did, and be Christ's forever, and kneeling alone, say:
"Here, Lord, I do give myself to thee,
'Tis; all that I can do"
And never take this gift of yourself to the Saviour back. Pray
differently after this, "Jesus, let me know that I am accepted." Press
your suit for an answer to the prayer for this evidence. -- A. B.
Earle, From: "Incidents Used ... In His Meetings," published in 1888
The Psalmist says, "He brought me up, also, out of an horrible pit,
out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock."
I heard of an incident in Scotland very much like the Prophet
Jeremiah's being taken out of a deep pit of mire and clay by having
ropes and old clothes let down to him, Jeremiah tying the ropes about
his body, and the thirty men, sent for the purpose, drawing him up.
(\reference{Jer. 38}{Jeremiah 38}.)
The incident in Scotland was this. Three boys, nearly grown to
manhood, went into the woods back of their father's house. In these
woods was a very deep gulf. One of the boys proposed to see how deep
into the gulf they could descend; the other two agreed to go as deep
as the leader would. All three agreed to this. They started, the
leader going first. They slid down from rock to rock a long way into
the gulf, apparently, without thinking how they would get back They
became intensely excited to get as low down as possible. They saw one
rock far below, which the leader--determined to reach if he could. So,
taking hold of an overhanging rock with both hands, he swung himself
under this rock, and dropped upon the rock below. The other two let
themselves down in the same way. They now discovered that the rock on
which they stood overhung a very deep chasm, and that they could not
return by their own strength, and no one could come to their
assistance. They saw no way but to die in this gulf. Long, weary hours
they heard only the echo of their own fruitless cries. They had time
to think over their madness and folly.
Their father missed them, and raised the whole neighborhood, and
searched the woods for his sons. They looked all along the edge of the
gulf, if possibly they might find a hat or coat, or some evidence that
they had fallen into the gulf. At last they heard the cry of the boys,
and knew about where they were.
The father had, no doubt, read the thirty-eighth chapter of
Jeremiah, and said at once;
"I can get my boys."
He procured long, strong ropes, and fastening one end of these
ropes firmly at the top, let the other end down into the gulf. But the
overhanging rock threw the rope beyond the reach of the boys. They
vibrated or swung the rope so that it swung within the reach of the
boys. I have called their names George and John and Benjamin. George
caught the rope first, and was told to put it around his body, and tie
a hard knot, one that he could not untie himself in a hurry. They
assured him the rope was strong, and they had plenty of help. But
George could not be prevailed upon to tie a hard knot, but to tie it
so that, if he was afraid, he could untie it in an instant, but did
not think he would. So they drew slowly upon the rope until George's
feet were out on the rock as far as he could go without swinging off.
He feared to swing off over the chasm, and untied the knot to throw
himself back with his brothers; but he had waited too long, was too
far over, so went down into the chasm, and was lost in the very act of
being saved.
John took the rope next, but notwithstanding the death of George,
and the assurances of his father that it would be entirely safe to tie
a hard knot, and swing off, he would not tie a hard knot, but did not
believe he would untie it, but left it so that he could, John tried to
trust, but just as he was about to swing off and be saved, he untied
the loose knot to throw himself back by the side of Benjamin. He, too,
had waited too long, and was lost just as he was about to be saved.
Benjamin next took the rope, and putting it around his body, said:
"I will do anything you tell me."
This time a hard knot was tied, and Benjamin swung off where he
could not help himself. Just what his father wanted him to do. His
father knew then he had him safe. I imagine, as he went up his rugged
way, Benjamin said:
"Father, I cannot help myself at all."
"No, my son, don't take hold of a twig or rock; just trust me."
Just as God says to us, "Only believe."
Soon Benjamin was on the rocks above, safe in his father's arms,
and poor George and John might have been there too, if they had only
tied a hard knot.
So God says to all who would be brought out of the horrible pit.
Tie a hard knot, and swing off on the cord of Christ's love. "Only
trust him, only trust him," and you too will say, "He brought me up
also out of a horrible pit."
In the city of New York, while relating this incident, a sea
captain present, a profane swearer, sprang to his feet in the public
assembly, and said, with great earnestness:
"Give me hold of that rope, sir; give me hold of that rope!"
The scene was a very thrilling one; everybody seemed touched by it.
The meeting was soon dismissed.
I had further conversation and prayer with the captain that night,
but he hesitated about tying a hard knot, and becoming a Christian,
for this reason. He had always made his men on the vessel obey him by
swearing at them, and if he became a Christian, he could not swear at
his men. And for a whole day he held that rope (so to speak),
unwilling to give it up, and yet feared his men would not obey him, if
he gave himself to Christ. At last he said to me:
"I will tie a hard knot. I will become a Christian, if I give up my
vessel."
After giving himself to Christ, he went on board his vessel, called
all his men about him, and told them he had become a Christian, that
there would be no more swearing on their vessel. They had prayers on
board, instead of profanity; his men obeyed him much better. He ran
two trips to a foreign port and back. On the second trip he was taken
sick on his way back, reached New York too sick to be taken from his
vessel, and died, triumphant in Christ, in his stateroom. -- A. B.
Earle, From: "Incidents Used ... In His Meetings," published in 1888
At a religious meeting in the South of London a timid little girl
desired the prayers of Christians for herself that she might be saved;
so she said to the gentleman conducting the meeting:
"Will you pray for me in the meeting, please? But do not mention my
name."
In the meeting that followed, when every head was bowed silently in
prayer, this gentleman prayed for a little girl who wanted to come to
Jesus, and he said:
"O Lord, there is a little girl who does not want her name known,
but Thou dost know her; save her soul, Lord."
There was perfect silence for an instant, then away in the back of
the room a little voice said:
"Please, it's me, Jesus -- it's me!"
She did not want any doubt or uncertainty. She wanted to be saved,
and she was not ashamed to arise in that meeting, little girl as she
was, and say:
"It's me, Jesus, it's me."
Are we willing to confess our needs and make our wants and wishes
known? -- SELECTED
An old man lost a bank note in his barn. He looked for it several
times, but could not discover it. At last he said to himself, "That
note certainly is in the barn somewhere, and I will search for it
until I find it."
Accordingly he went to work, says the Bible Student, and carefully
removed the straw and hay, hour after hour, till he at last found the
note. A few weeks later the old man sat by his fire, musing over his
spiritual state, for he felt that he was not right with God. Turning
to his wife, he asked, "What must I do to become a Christian?"
"You must seek for it," she replied, "as you sought for the bank
note."
The words made a deep impression on him; he followed her advice,
and ere long was rich in spiritual joy and blessing. -- SELECTED
By William Moses Tidwell, "Effective Illustrations."
It is said that a man was seen in a cemetery at Nashville,
Tennessee, weeping bitterly. When asked the cause he replied, "I was
conscripted during the Civil War. I had a large family and a very sick
wife. We were very poor and it looked as though my family would all
starve. But I had a friend who was not quite old enough to be drafted.
He went to the authorities and stated the case and asked to become my
substitute. He was accepted. He took my place. He was killed in battle
and is buried here. This is his grave. He died for me. That's what
makes me weep. I am living because he is dead."
That was enough to make him weep. When we think of the
substitutional death of Christ, it seems that that should be
sufficient to break our hearts with gratitude.
By William Moses Tidwell, "Effective Illustrations."
Dr. F. B. Meyer related the following incident which came within
the scope of his personal experience:
A great preacher thrilled us in London a little time ago by this
story: He said he was composing a sermon from the text, "To this end
was I born, end for this cause came I into the world." His nephew, a
young man, came into the room and asked casually, "Uncle, what is the
text you are taking for next Sunday?"
On being told, he said, "Uncle, what do you think I was born for?"
"Well," said the uncle, "it's more than I know."
"The same with me," replied the young fellow, and flung himself out
into the street, wondering as he walked along what on earth he was
made for and what opportunities life would bring him. He had not gone
very far when he saw a crowd of people outside a theater and asked of
a bystander, "What's the matter in there?"
"There's a fire inside, and the passage is choked up SO that people
cannot get out."
The young fellow was strong and athletic. Throwing off his coat, he
plunged in and dragged out one after another from the seething mass of
people and laid them down in the causeway, until there were thirteen
people lying there, and the ambulance came and took them to the
hospital. He plunged in for the fourteenth time, but was struck by a
piece of falling timber and so badly hurt that he lost consciousness.
They dragged him out, and he, too, was taken to the hospital. He
whispered that they should send for his uncle, mentioning his name.
When the clergyman arrived he was just in time to bend over his
nephew's lips and catch his last words: "Uncle, 'to this end was I
born, and for this cause came I into the world' -- that I might save
those thirteen."
Like a flash some day may appear, if it has not already done so,
the thing for which you were born -- a vision of some one thing to be
done, or a task taking years for its accomplishment. -- Evangelical
Messenger.
By William Moses Tidwell, "Effective Illustrations."
A young man, who had rejected many calls from the Lord, was on his
death bed. The minister exhorted him to seek the Lord, but he insisted
that he had refused so many opportunities that he was ashamed to come.
Said he, "Don t you think it would be mean of me to come now?" The
minister replied, "Yes, it is a fearful thing that you have done, and
it is a shame that you did not come sooner, but I think it would be
more wicked never to come. It would be better to come now than never."
After some time the young man seemed greatly moved because of the
Lord's willingness to receive him, even then. He seemed to definitely
trust the Lord, and passed on praising Him for His great mercy.
By William Moses Tidwell, "Effective Illustrations."
The gentleman stopped at the country store, leaving his team of
horses out in the road. While he was in the store the team became
frightened and ran down the road. The man ran out of the store, across
the field, climbed the fence and caught the team by the bridles as
they came dashing round the road. They sped on, dragging him as they
went, but he would not let go. Finally, after they had almost
exhausted themselves, they stopped. The man relaxed his grip and fell
panting, bruised, bleeding and dying. As he lay there the men from the
store came and saw him in his dying condition and said, "What made you
do it?" "They are not worth it,; you are dying." The dying man said,
"Go look in the wagon." They did and there they saw a little boy on
the hay. Then they knew why he did it. You ask, "Why did Jesus come
to this poor old world, and run the gauntlet of hell and suffer and
die?" Our answer is, "Go, look at a lost world and you will
understand."
By William Moses Tidwell, "Effective Illustrations."
I once heard of a father who had a prodigal boy who had sent his
mother down to the grave with a broken heart. One evening the boy
started out as usual to spend the night in drinking and gambling. As
he was leaving, his old father said, "My son, I want to ask a favor of
you tonight. You have not spent an evening with me since your mother
died, and now I want you to spend this night at home. I have been very
lonely since your mother died. Now, won't you gratify your old father
by staying home with me?" "No," said the young man; "it is lonely
here, and there is nothing to interest me, and I am going out." The
old man prayed and wept, and at last he said, "My boy, you are just
killing me as you have killed your mother. These hairs are growing
whiter, and you are sending me, too, to the grave." Still the boy
would not stay, and the old man said, "If you are determined to go to
ruin, you must go over this old body tonight. I cannot resist you; you
are stronger than I. But if you go out, you must go over this body."
He laid himself down before the door, and that son walked over the
form of his father, trampled the love of his father underfoot, and
went out.
That is the way with sinners. You have to trample the blood of
God's Son under your feet if you go down to death, to make light of
the blood of the Innocent, to make light of the wonderful love of God.
-- MOODY.
William Moses Tidwell, "Pointed Illustrations."
One day A. J. Gordon met an old man singing. "Friend," said Dr.
Gordon, "why should an old man be so cheerful?" "Not all are." "Well,
then, why are you?" "Because I belong to the Lord." "And are none
others happy at your time of life?" "No, not one, my friendly
questioner," said he, and his form straightened. "Listen to the truth
from one who knows, and no man of threescore and ten shall be found to
deny it: The devil has no happy old men!"
William Moses Tidwell, "Pointed Illustrations."
It is related that a young man and his wife were attending a
revival meeting. The Spirit was striving, but they were inclined to
reject Him. As they were leaving the church the minister asked them to
take a piece of paper just before they retired that night and write
these words on it and pin it on the headboard of the bed, "If I should
die tonight, my soul would spend eternity in hell." They agreed to do
it. As they were in the act of retiring, the young wife brought the
pencil and paper and gave them to her husband. He began to write, but
wrote only two words, "If I." Then his hand became unsteady, and he
said, "Wife, I can't write it. I can't go to sleep with an inscription
like that on our bed. Wife, get the Bible, and let's see if we can
find some help." This she did, and they opened the Bible in the chair,
one kneeling on one side and one on the other.
They read and searched and found scriptures that condemned them,
and then promises of salvation to all who would repent and believe.
After long searching and praying, they trusted Christ and were
gloriously saved. But why? It was because we must meet God personally.
Salvation is a personal matter. "If I." Not the other person, but
myself.
Longfellow could take a worthless sheet of paper, write a poem on it, and make it worth $6,000 -- that is genius.
Rockefeller could sign his name to a piece of paper and make it worth millions -- that is capital.
Uncle Sam can take gold, stamp an eagle on it, and make it worth $20 -- that is money.
A mechanic can take material worth $5.00 and make an article worth $50.00 -- that is skill.
An artist can take a fifty-cent piece of canvas, paint a picture on it, and make it worth $1,000 -- that is art.
God can take a worthless, sinful life, wash it in the blood of Christ, put His Spirit in it, and make it a blessing to humanity -- that is salvation.
William Moses Tidwell, "Pointed Illustrations."
A disused harp had long lain in a front room of an old house in
Kentucky. No one in the family could play it; but since it was a
family relic, care was bestowed upon it. Sometimes, indeed, it had
been in the way, and there had been talk of throwing it out on the
dust heap. But still it remained in its place, no one liking to do the
deed of destruction.
A weary man on his journey stopped at the house and was granted
hospitality for the night. Supper was over, and he found his way with
others into the front room. There he noticed the old instrument and,
taking it up, looked carefully upon it. At once he became deeply
interested and began with masterly skill to tune its strings. Then
most lovingly he swept his hands across them and produced the
loveliest music! All who heard were entranced with the sweet sounds,
and for a long time he kept them silent and absorbed with the
rapturous strains. When at last he ceased, and all were expectant that
he would say something about it, he remarked, "This was my
grandfather's harp. His mark is inside. He gave it to me as a boy and
taught me to play it. My grandfather played for the king in the old
country. During the great Civil War the enemy raided our home, and our
harp was never seen again."
That instrument, made for a musician, had been silent for years. At
last it was found by its owner and used with great effect. You were
made for God's glory. You were designed that upon you there might be
played the music of the praise of God. Is this music being played in
your life, or are you silent? Oh! put yourself into His hands.
William Moses Tidwell, "Pointed Illustrations."
A pious old slave had a wicked master. This master had much
confidence, however, in the slave's piety. Sometimes the master would
be serious and thoughtful about religion. One day he came to the old
slave with the New Testament in his hand and asked if he would explain
a passage for him. The slave was willing to try and asked what it was.
"It is here in the Romans," said the master. "Have you done all that
it tells you to do in Matthew, Mark, and John?" inquired the slave,
seriously fixing his eye upon his master's. "No, I haven't," he said.
"Then you're getting along too fast, too fast, master. Go back to the
beginning of the Book; do all it tells you till you get to Romans, and
you will understand it easy enough then, for the Book says, 'If any
man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine.'"
A little boy who had just been saved climbed upon his uncle's lap
and said, "Uncle George, Papa said you had your house, car, and barn
insured, but he feared you did not have your soul insured. Uncle
George, do you have your soul insured?" Uncle George replied, "No,
Son, I fear I do not have my soul insured." He left the house
immediately for the barn. After some time he returned and, with a
beaming face, said to his nephew, "Now, Son, I have my soul insured."
William Moses Tidwell, "Pointed Illustrations."
A very brilliant young man who specialized in mathematics had just
finished his university and graduate work. He was very proud of his
attainments. He insisted that he could solve any problem given him. An
old gentleman, hearing his remarks, said "I have a problem I wish you
to solve for me. It is this, 'What shall it profit a man, if he shall
gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?'"
It struck conviction to his heart, and as a result he found the
Lord. No, this is one question that man, devil, angel, or God himself
cannot answer. It is unanswerable. There is no answer.
William Moses Tidwell, "Pointed Illustrations."
A CERTAIN poor widow had one solitary Sheep. At shearing time,
wishing to take his fleece and to avoid expense, she sheared him
herself, but used the shears so unskillfully that with the fleece she
sheared the flesh. The Sheep, writhing with pain, said, "Why do you
hurt me so, Mistress? What weight can my blood add to the wool? If you
want my flesh, there is the butcher, who will kill me in an instant;
but if you want my fleece and wool, there is the shearer, who will
shear and not hurt me."
There are no shortcuts to Heaven and there are no shortcuts to
overcoming Sin: Jesus Christ is the answer!
Mel Fisher had a great sixty-fourth birthday.
A treasure hunter, Fisher owned Treasure Salvoras, Inc. and had
been looking for the Spanish galleon {Nuestra Senora de Atocha
}for seventeen years. The ship, loaded with precious cargo, sank in
1622 during a hurricane. It was on its maiden voyage from Havana to
Spain.
On a July day just before his sixty-fourth birthday, Fisher
discovered the ship and its treasure about forty miles west of Key
West, Florida. Imagine his joy that day as his divers brought up from
the deep an estimated 150 pounds of gold, including seventy-six gold
bars, gold chains, and gold disks!
In addition to this find, more than nine hundred silver bars and
one hundred gold bars have been recovered. It is estimated that the
ship's fortune may contain a treasure worth more than $340 million.
Finding a treasure like that is mind-boggling! What red-blooded
American has not dreamed of doing the same thing? If he could find a
treasure like that, he could make a down payment on his debts and pay
the rest off in monthly installments!
But there is a greater treasure waiting to be found. It's neither
silver nor gold, and it isn't kept in a bank vault. It doesn't need
to be protected fromm thieves who would come at night and steal it
away. It is free and everyone can have it. Multiplied millions of
people have found this treasureand claim it for themselves, but its
wealth has not been depleted one iota. There is as much of it today
as there ever has been, and everybody can have it.
- J. B. Fowler, {Basic Bible Sermons on Philippians
}(Nashville: Broadman Press, 1991) 79-80
On board a steamer I met a fruit grower from California. We were
talking together, and he said: "Did you notice that White Star liner
was two minutes late in starting?"
No," I said, "I did not notice it." For these big steamers go away
to the minute, with the precision of a railway train.
He continued: "There was a detention of two minutes.''
"I saw excitement on the wharf," I said, "but I did not know what
it was.''
"Well," he said, "my friend and I raced from California to catch
the steamer. We had just five hours between the advertised time of
arriving in New York and the sailing of the Teutonic. For days our
train ran exactly to the minute, and we reached Albany, only a few
hours from New York, exactly on time -- five days' traveling to the
minute; but at Albany a snow storm came on. The conductor wired the
White Star Company that there were two passengers on board their train
who wanted to catch the Teutonic, and would they just wait a bit? On
the train raced; we came to Jersey City, and the very ferryman had
been advised to wait for us. We got across the river and got a cabman,
and told him to hurry, hurry -- we had just about fifteen minutes, and
we found as we swung into the wharf that we were half a minute behind
time. There were two officers of the Teutonic, all was ready, every
rope had been lifted, every gangway but one away, steam up and the
Teutonic facing seaward, and the mighty racer across the deep was
anxious to be off. Two minutes! There we are. I wanted to give the
cabman something extra, but I could not get my hand into my pocket.
They said: "Come away, come away, or you will be left behind," and I
shouted to my cabman: "I'll see you when I come back," and he replied:
"Ay, many of them tell me that, but they never see me;" and the fruit
grower said: "When I get back to New York, in 21 days, I am going to
find out that poor cabman and let him know that I mean it when I say
'I'll see you again.'"
But the point is that hardly had they got over the gangway, hardly
had they got their feet on the deck, when the vessel swerved from the
shore and swung out into the deep. No more to get on board, no
possibility of getting on board. Do you see it? The ship of salvation
is alongside the wharf, you may be saved tonight, but it is a matter
of haste, for I believe that the gangway is about to be flung ashore.
I believe that the passageway into grace is soon to be dropped, and
the church of God, the saved in the ark of salvation, are to be taken
away.
For your never-dying soul's sake get on board, for as soon as the
ark is filled it is off. And it is filling up. They are coming from
China, and from India, and from Japan, and from the isles of the sea
-- and the ark is filling up, and soon the angel will get his
instructions to put one foot on the sea and the other on the shore,
and to swear that time shall be no longer. O soul, go aboard. Are you
safe in the arms of Jesus? That will stand. Saved and safe. -- John
Robertson.
By J. Wilbur Chapan, "Present Day Parables."
Some old divine has pictured Peter preaching on the day of
Pentecost. A man pushed his way through the crowd, and said: "Peter,
do you think there is hope for me? I am the man who made that crown of
thorns and placed them upon Christ's brow; do you think he will save
me?"
"Yes," said Peter," 'whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved.' You are a 'whosoever'; if you call he will hear your
cry. He will answer your prayer and save you." The man might have
cried then and there, and the Lord saved him.
Another man pushed his way up and said to Peter, "I'm the man who
took that reed out of his hand, and drove it down upon that cruel
crown of thorns, sending it into his brow: Do you think he will save
me?"
"Yes," said Peter, ''he told us to go into the world and preach the
Gospel to every creature, and he did not mean you to be left out;
salvation is for you. He did not come to condemn men; he came to get
his arm under the vilest sinner and lift him up toward heaven."
Another man, elbowing his way through the crowd, pushed up to Peter
and said, "I am the Roman soldier who took the spear and drove it to
his heart, when there came out blood and water; do you think there is
hope for me?"
"Yes," said Peter, "there's a nearer way of reaching his heart than
that: 'Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.'
" And the Roman soldier might have cried then and there, and might
have obtained forgiveness and salvation.
If the Lord heard the cry of those Jerusalem sinners whose hands
were dripping with the blood of the Son of God -- if he heard their
cry and saved them, do you think he will hear your cry and save you?
-- D. L. Moody.
By J. Wilbur Chapan, "Present Day Parables."
“Henry,” asked the elder of two men, of whom the younger had been helping the other in some religious work, “do you know what became of Noah’s carpenters?”
“Noah’s carpenters!” exclaimed Henry; “I didn’t know that Noah had any carpenters.”
“Certainly, he must have had help in building one of the largest and best-proportioned ships ever put upon the stocks. There must have been many ship-carpenters at work for a long time to have constructed such a vessel in such an age. What became of them, think you, when all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened?”
“What do you mean by such a queer question?” Henry asked.
“No matter what, just now. Please answer the inquiry, and you may also tell me, if you will, what you would have done in that dreadful hour, when the storm came in its fury, and Noah’s prophecies were all fulfilled and all but the family of the preacher of righteousness were ready to be engulfed in those black waters?”
“I don’t know,” said Henry, in a half-thoughtful, half-trifling manner, “perhaps I should have got on the rudder.”
“This is human nature exactly, Henry. It would climb up some way rather than enter the fold by the only door. It would ‘get on the rudder,’ in its pride and short-sightedness, rather than go into the ark of safety. It would ‘save itself,’ by hanging on at the hazard of being swept away into the gulf of despair, instead of being saved by the provision of infinite love.” -- R. S. Cook.
________
J. Wilbur Chapan, “Present Day Parables.”
Two young girls came to my office the other day and asked me if I would pray for them. I said: “Why cannot you ask for yourselves?” and they said: “Why, we are not worthy to ask for ourselves;” and then they told me about a dear friend and a cousin of theirs, and one of them said: “The Major could ask things from God, because he is good, but I could not ask so much.” I said: “God would not give Major anything because he is so good. If he gives him anything, it is because he has put to his credit his own righteousness. If he should ask for anything according to his own merits he would be cast out, a poor, undeserving sinner, and so would I.” Then I said: “Suppose you had a kind friend visiting you in New York, who was pretty well off, and after she was here two or three weeks she should say ‘I am going to leave two hundred dollars with Mr. Macy for you to purchase goods, and I want you to get whatever you wish;’ I said: Suppose you should go down there, you would not say ‘I should not dare to buy a hundred dollars’ worth here; I will buy four or five dollars’ worth.’ Who would get the benefit of that except Mr. Macy? Why, he would say to you ‘This money is paid, the same as if you had paid it; it is to your credit, and you are very foolish if you don’t get the benefit of it.’ Now you are entitled to two hundred dollars’ worth, and I will venture to say that you would not let any of that money be lost, but it would all be claimed to the last cent, and you would feel that you were entitled to it, although you hadn’t paid a penny yourself. That is the way we go to God. We have nothing to present to him as a claim, but on the books of God to our credit the infinite righteousness of Christ has been deposited, and God comes and says: ‘In his name, ask my help as far as that credit will go. You have not any right, but he has a right, and he gives it to you.’ ‘Oh!’ she says’ ‘I see it. Why, I think I could ask anything of God now.’ “
This incident illustrates the meaning of justification; it is not that you are pardoned and slipped through on sufferance. That is not very creditable; but you are lifted right up into the peace of Jesus himself, and you stand where he stands. The very moment after you have come to him he puts you in his place and represents you to the Father. Now that is justification. We are made righteous through the righteousness of Christ. There is no difference between Major and his little cousin; no difference between George Muller and you poor sinners. Both are perfectly justified as much as Christ is, the moment you accept Jesus as your righteousness.
________
J. Wilbur Chapan, “Present Day Parables.”
"Crucified together, quickened together, raised together,
seated together, heirs together, suffering together,
and glorified together with Christ,"
Gal.ii: 20; Col. ii: 13; Eph.ii: 6; Romans viii: 17.
Wonderful! glorious! past comprehension!
I, so unworthy, once ruined and lost,
Am now one with Christ, through his grace and his mercy,
Purchased by blood, at an infinite cost.
In the beloved accepted, forgiven,
God, looking at me, sees only his Son;
That blessed one, who, for me, has been smitten,
And not what I, a poor sinner, have done.
I have been crucified with my redeemer,
So I am dead to the law and to sin;
We have been quickened together, forever,
So I am bearing the new life within:
Risen with Christ, yea, and sitting together,
With my beloved in places above;
So doth the father behold me forever-
Oh! how amazing, what wonderful love!
Suffering together in fellowship holy,
Sharing his sorrows, his treatment, his shame;
Though man despise me because I am lowly,
Mine is an honor which no one can name.
I am an heir to all treasures immortal,
Heir to the Father, joint heir with the Son;
And just beyond, where I stand on the portal,
I shall reign with him, because we are one.
Glorified with him, forever and ever,
Oh, what a future in store through his grace!
Naught from his love can my soul ever sever
I shall be like him when I see his face.
Lord, grant that now I may faithfully serve thee,
Since I am one with thee, help me, I pray;
That by my life, and my words, I may praise thee,
And may exalt thee, dear Saviour, each day. -- A. E. R.
By J. Wilbur Chapan, "Present Day Parables."
At the close of a battle in the days of the war [Civil War?], a young man was found dying on the battlefield. A soldier stopped to render him assistance, and as he moistened his lips and made his head rest easier, the dying man said, “My father is a man of large wealth in Detroit, and if I have strength I will write him a note, and he will repay you for this kindness.”
And this was the letter he wrote: “Dear father, the bearer of this letter made my last moments easier, and helped me to die. Receive him and help him for Charlie’s sake.”
The war ended, and the soldier in tattered garments sought out the father in Detroit. He refused to see him at first on account of his wretched appearance. “But,” said the stranger, “I have a note for you in which you will be interested.” He handed him the little soiled piece of paper, and when the great man’s eyes fell upon the name of his son all was instantly changed. He drew his arms about the soldier, and drew him close to his heart, and put at his disposal everything that wealth could make possible for him to possess. It was the name that made the difference. And thus we stand on redemption ground, before God in the name of Jesus Christ, and he speaks for us as did Paul for the Roman slave Onesimus.
________
J. Wilbur Chapan, “Present Day Parables.”
During our college years, my wife spent part of a summer as a counselor at a Bible camp, buried deep in the mountains. I mean, deep in the mountains. Deep enough in the woods in the mountains that the rattlesnakes are plentiful. One day as Karen was hiking with her girls through the woods, they all heard what they thought was just a branch or a stick breaking - until they realized that one of the girls had been struck in the leg by a rattlesnake. Now my wife is someone you want to have around when there's a crisis - she's got a very cool head. She ran to the nearby camp and immediately went for the box in the infirmary that said “snake bite kit” on it. But her heart sank when she opened it - the life-saving kit was empty. Thankfully, they were able to get that girl to a hospital in time to save her life - no thanks to that empty snake bite kit!
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Life-Saving Kits with Nothing Inside.”
It's a terrible thing to realize that the thing that claims to be able to save your life really has nothing that can help. As you read the pages of the Bible, you discover that the religions of the world are much like that. Every religion motivates its followers with the same promise - some form of heaven, of eternal life if you're a good follower of “whatever” or “whoever.” Sadly, religion does not, for the most part, offer a cure for the deadly infection we have - sin and its eternal death penalty.
There may be no more famous verse in all the Bible than John 3:16. It says, “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Interestingly enough, the verses that immediately precede that description of God's plan for saving us talk about a snake. Yeah, in John 3:14 and 15, our word for today from the Word of God, He says, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. God so loved the world...”
In order to understand this snake thing - and, more importantly, to understand the only way your sins can be forgiven and you can go to heaven - it helps to go back to Numbers 21 where this snake incident took place. Venomous snakes have attacked God's people in the desert, and many of those people are dying. God says to Moses, “'make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.'“ (Numbers 21:8-9) Their only hope was to look at what God had lifted up to save them.
For us, that's Jesus, God's Son, dying on that cross. We've all been bitten by the deadly snake of sin. None of the great moralities or great religions can possibly pay the death penalty for our sin. Getting to heaven isn't about putting enough good on one side of the scale to balance the bad on the other - it's about satisfying a death penalty and it took Jesus Christ's death to do that. You have to look to Him as the only One who can save you.
Have you ever done that? If you don't know you've given yourself to Jesus, you probably haven't. And you are risking an eternity away from God, paying an eternal death penalty that Jesus already paid. But this could be your day to look away from any other hope of heaven and say, “Jesus, You are my only hope of having my sins forgiven - my only hope of going to heaven. I'm Yours!”
Don't depend on something that promises life but can't possibly give it to you. Depend on the One who loves you so much that He died so you don't have to.
________________
Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"
*
[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #4450]
1. Up Calv'ry's mountain, one dreadful morn,
Walked Christ my Saviour, weary and worn,
Facing for sinners death on the cross
That He might save them from endless loss.
Chorus
Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer!
Seems now I see Him on Calvary's tree,
Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading—
Blind and unheeding—dying for me!
2. "Father, forgive them!" thus did He pray,
E'en while His lifeblood flowed fast away,
Praying for sinners while in such woe—
No one but Jesus ever loved so.
3. O how I love Him, Saviour and friend!
How can my praises ever find end!
Through years unnumbered on heaven's shore,
My tongue shall praise Him forevermore.
*
J. Wilbur Chapman tells of the time he attended one of D. L. Moody's evangelistic services in Chicago. After the service Mr. Moody sat beside him. He asked me if I was a Christian. I said, "Mr. Moody, I am not sure whether I am a Christian or not." He very kindly took his Bible and opened it to John 5:24, which reads as follows: "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."
I read it through, and he said: "Do you believe it?" I said, "Yes." "Do you accept it?" I said, "Yes." "Well, are you a Christian?" "Mr. Moody, I sometimes think I am, and sometimes I am afraid I am not."
He very kindly said, "Read it again," So I read it again. Then he said, "Do you believe it?" I said, "Yes." "Do you receive Him?" I said, "Yes." "Well," he said, "are you a Christian?"
I just started to say over again that sometimes I was afraid I was not. Moody became angry. He turned on me with his eyes flashing and said, "See here, whom are you doubting?" Then I saw it for the first time, that when I was afraid I was not a Christian I was doubting God's Word.
==============
I often use this illustration told by I. Wilbur Chapman. to close the message:
I will tell you how to be saved, and how you may know you are a Christian. I was studying for the ministry, and I heard that D.L. Moody was to preach in Chicago, and I went down to hear him. I finally got into him after the meeting, and I shall never forget the thrill that went through me, when he came and.sat down beside me, an inquirer. He asked me if I was a Christian. I said, “Mr. Moody, I am not sure whether I am a Christian or not.” He asked whether I was a church member, and I said I was, but was not always sure whether I was a Christian or not. He very kindly took his Bible and opened it at the fifth chapter of John. the twenty-fourth verse, which read as follows: “Verily, verily, I say unto you. He that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
Suppose you had read that for the first time, wouldn't you think it was wonderful? I read it through. and he said: “Do you believe it?” I said, “Yes.” “Do you accept it?” I said, “Yes.” ~Well, are you a Christian?” “Mr. Moody, I sometimes think I am, and sometimes I am afraid I am not.”
He very kindly said, “Read it again.”
So I read it again, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life.” Then he said, “Do you believe it?” I said, “Yes.” “Do you receive Him?” I said, “Yes.” “Well” he said, “are you a Christian?” I just started to say over again that sometimes I was afraid I was not, when,
-the only time in the years I knew him and loved him, he was sharp with me. He turned on me with his eyes flashing and said, “See here, whom are you doubting?”
Then I saw it for the first time, that when I was afraid I was not a Christian I was doubting God's Word. I read it again with my eyes overflowing with tears.
Since that day I have had many sorrows and many joys, but never have I doubted for a moment that I was a Christian, because God said it. Now what I ask you to do is to plant your feet upon this promise, and say, “Yes, from this moment I know I am a Christian.
-- Carl Johnson, Tan #5245
1. Tell me the old, old story
Of unseen things above,
Of Jesus and His glory,
Of Jesus and His love,
Tell me the story simply,
As to a little child,
For I am weak and weary,
And helpless and defiled.
Chorus
Tell me the old, old story,
Tell me the old, old story,
Tell me the old, old story,
Of Jesus and His love. 2.
2. Tell me the story slowly,
That I may take it in –
That wonderful redemption,
God's remedy for sin.
Tell me the story often,
For I forget so soon;
The early dew of morning
Has passed away at noon.
3. Tell me the same old story
When you have cause to fear
That this world's empty glory
Is costing me too dear.
Tell me the story always,
If you would really be,
In any time of trouble,
A comforter to me.
*
"Mother, please," exploded the teenager." "I've heard all the religion business I can take. You and Daddy are always bothering me about it. I'm not interested!" The girl stamped her foot and marched out of the room, slamming the door. Her mother sank wearily to a chair. What more could she do? Finally she decided to call the pastor. The pastor listened to the problem and made an appointment to see the girl alone. When the pastor called on the girl the parents left the room and he turned sympathetically to the girl. "I think it's a shame," he said, "that your mother and father pester you so much about religion." The girl, who had been braced for a lecture, smiled in relief. Now this is the kind of preacher I like, she thought. He's willing to leave me alone if I am not interested. "I have a suggestion," said the pastor. "Suppose I persuade your parents and friends not to mention the subject of God to you for a whole year." The girl was startled. "A year," she gasped. "I don't know whether it would be safe to wait a whole year. I might die before then." "That's true," agreed the pastor. "A year is too long. Suppose we make it six months?" The girl pondered a moment and then replied that six months might not be safe either. "Well, then," proposed the pastor, "how about three months? I'll arrange it so you won't be bothered about God for three months." The pastor stood up and started to leave, but the girl stopped him. "I don't think it would be safe," she said, "to put it off at all. Please pray with me now." Promptly they got down on their knees and the teenager asked Jesus into her heart.
It is an oft-told story, but its moral points up a great truth. There was an extremely wealthy man who possessed vast treasures of art. The man had one son who was an ordinary boy, and who passed away in late adolescence. Having loved the lad deeply, the sorrowing father died of a broken heart only a few weeks later.
The father’s will provided that every thing would be sold by auction and strangely, the father stipulated that an oil painting of his son was to be the first item offered by the auctioneer. Large crowds came to bid on the widely reputed collection of art. In keeping with the proviso of the will, the boy’s portrait was first held up for bids.
No one cared about the deceased boy. Not until several moments had passed did an old Negro servant, who had always loved the boy, place a seventy-five-cent bid.
The picture was at once sold to the Negro, there being no further bids registered. Then the dramatic moment came; the sale was stopped, as the will had further provided that anyone who loved the son enough to buy his portrait should receive everything in the father’s house.
________
Tan’s Illustrations #5228
In a book entitled Peace Child, Don Richardson records the moving account of how the Sawi people of Irian Jaya came to understand salvation through Jesus Christ. For many months he and his family sought for some way to communicate the gospel to this tribe. Then they discovered the key for which they had been praying. All demonstrations of kindness expressed by the Sawi were regarded with suspicion except one act. If a father gave his own son to his enemy, his sacrificial deed showed that he could be trusted! Furthermore, everyone who touched that child was brought into a friendly relationship with the father. The Sawi were then taught that in a similar way God’s beloved Son could bring them eternal peace.
________
Our Daily Bread
Tan #5222
[see also #5899]
Plutarch tells us that when Themistocles in the hour of his exile
wished to be reconciled with Admetus, king of the Molossians, who he
had previously offended, he took the king's son in his arms and
kneeled down before the household gods. The plea was successful, in
fact it was the only one the Molossians looked upon as not to be
refused. and so the philosopher found a refuge among them.
-Walter Baxendale Tan 5227
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