72 Sermon Illustrations on Soul Winning

The old Scots minister climbed wearily into the pulpit. Bowed and dejected, he had just faced the harsh criticism of one of his deacons. "Sir, there is something radically wrong with your ministry. Only one person has been saved this year, and he is only a boy." The words stung him, for he, too, felt heartbroken that so few had responded to the Gospel; yet still he trusted God for the results. The service concluded, but the weary man of God lingered on in the church, wondering if there was any point continuing in the ministry. A young lad saw him and waited behind. Please, sir... ." "Yes, Robert?" "Do you think if I worked hard for my education that I could ever become a preacher?" "God bless you, my boy," replied the old man with tears in his eyes. "Yes, I think you will become a preacher!" It was years later that an elderly missionary came back to London from Africa. He had pushed back the boundaries of geographical knowledge and brought savage chiefs under the influence of the Gospel of Peace, given tribes the Bible in their own tongues; but most of all, he had followed the Lord with all of his heart. Robert Moffat-"only a boy," won to Christ by a tired old man-had become a soul winner! On one visit to England, Robert told of the need of Africa. Among those who heard him that day was a young Scottish medical student who had given his life to God for missionary service. Robert Moffat's words pierced his heart: "There is a vast plain to the north where I have sometimes seen, in the morning sun, the smoke of a thousand villages where no missionary has ever been." Filled with the vision of what God wanted him to do, the student asked Mr. Moffat, "Would I do for Africa?" The direction of David Livingstone's life had been changed. Who can tell what impact was made through the ministry of the first old Scotsman? "Only a boy" it seemed-yet far-off generations and tribes knew the effect of it! You never know what God is doing and can do through your witness. Do not be discouraged. But trust and pray on!

"Don't write there," said one to a lad, who was writing with a diamond pin on a pane of glass in the window of a hotel.

"Why?" said he.

"Because you can't rub it out."

The glass may be destroyed, but the human soul is immortal. How careful, then, should we be of the impressions we make on deathless souls!

See yonder poor wretches whose ship has gone down at sea; they have constructed a poor tottering raft, and have been swimming on it for days; their supply of bread and water has been exhausted, and they are furnishing; they have bound a handkerchief to a pole, and hoisted it, and a vessel is within sight. The captain of the ship takes his telescope, looks at the object, and knows that it is a shipwrecked crew. "Oh!" says he to his men, "we are in a hurry with our cargo: we cannot stop to look after an unknown object. It may be somebody perishing, and it may not be; but, however, it is not our business:" and he keeps on his course. His neglect has murdered those who died on the raft. Yours is much the same case, only it is worse, because you deal with immortal souls, and he only deals with bodies, which he suffers to die. O my brother! I do implore you, before the Lord, never let this sin lay at your door again; but, if there be one who is impressed and needs a word of comfort, fly on the wings of mercy to such a soul, and help to cheer him as God enables you.

— Spurgeon

A jeweller received a very valuable diamond to be reset. He wrapped it carefully, and laid it away; but, when it was wanted, it could not be found. Its loss would ruin the jeweller. He searched everywhere; day after day, doing nothing else till he found it. At last, he discovered a bit of the paper, in which the jewel had been wrapped, among the ashes of a fireplace. He then sifted all the ashes made after the reception of the jewel, and was overjoyed to discover the lost treasure perfectly uninjured. What diligent search, then, should be made for lost but immortal soul-jewels!

Ah, me! to think of such a soul being made to grind like a blinded Samson at the wheel of your sensual pleasures, when it has a wing scarcely inferior to the seraph's in strength, and might yet prove capable of a flight as high!—to think of its being confined to the duties of the workshop, seldom rising above the question, What wages can I earn? when the boundless universe is its proper field of discovery, and does not afford it a too ample range!—to think of its being made the drudge of the body, knowing no better employment than to pamper its lusts, when it could make the highest world its foot-tool, and, while suns and systems roll in all their grandeur at its feet, could levy tribute from them all! The degradation of such a soul can neither be described nor imagined. In vain do we look around us to find, or exercise the imagination to conceive of, any thing that will adequately illustrate its extent. I have thought of the eagle, which, soaring above the range of human vision, gazes with unfaltering eye on the splendor of the noonday sun, and basks in his golden beams: I have thought of the degradation of the noble bird when chained to a stone in the dungeon wall. I thought of an angel smitten with insanity, its noble intellect deranged, leaving the heaven where in its youth it soared and sang, to find employment in heaping together the dust of the earth. I have thought, too, of the king reduced to the condition of the beggar; and thus have I attempted to picture by comparison the most deplorable calamity, — the waste, the destruction, of a human soul. But I have tried in vain. Its degradation cannot be described by any illustration which the universe can furnish or the imagination create. Landels.

5121. 80UL, Dissatisfied. A great thinker has said, "Give a man half a universe, and he will at once quarrel with the holder of the other half. What he needs is God's infinite universe all to himself." I do not think God's infinite universe would do. I think David comprehended it better, when he said, "My soul panteth for God, for the living God." There is that in man which the knowledge of the living God only can satisfy, which having God, has all things in him. J. B. Brown.

5122. 80UL, Doors of the. The door by which the world enters the soul, in the act of opening shuts the door by which heaven enters. Hence, it happens that those who have their door constantly open towards the world have their door constantly shut towards heaven. While worldly gains and pleasures, scenes and sounds, are freely entering the soul by an open door, the King of heaven stands knocking at the shut door. On the other hand, when the door freely opens to the Lord Jesus, and to heavenly gains and joys, the door by which the world enters closes. The worldly door being shut, the Lord Jesus and the soul banquet together. The soul is then in her glory: she is dead to the world, and the world is dead to her. J. Pulsford.

5123. 80UL, Emblem of the. A city which was strongly besieged by a potent enemy, by holding long out, was brought to extreme want. No hope of relief appeared. Famine and sword attended, — the one without, affighting, and the other within, dismaying the poor inhabitants; insomuch that they were at their wits' end, and held a serious consultation what was best to be done for their better safety. The result was this, that there should be a considerable number of dead bodies (of which there were many lying starved in the streets) clad in armor, and set on the walls in the still of the night, that so, in the morning, the enemies, upon sight thereof, might be amazed; which fell out accordingly: for it was thereby conceived that some fresh supplies had been brought in to their assistance; and thereupon the siege was raised and the city relieved. This distressed city, so strongly besieged, is the soul of man: the potent enemy that lieth before it is the Devil, that great commander-in-chief over all such regiments as the world and the flesh can possibly raise for his service. Spencer.

5424. 80UL, Enemies of the. Love fools her, ambition mocks her, covetousness rusts her, lust enflames her, hope tickles her, pleasure melts her, despair depresses her, anger burns her, hatred sours her, envy gnaws her, jealousies prick her, revenge exasperates her, cruelty hardens her, fear freezes her, and sorrow consumes her. N. Caussin.

5425. 80UL, Funeral of a Lost. What, if it be lawful to indulge such a thought,—what would be the funeral-obsequies of a lost soul? Where shall we find the tears fit to be wept at such a spectacle? or, could we realize the calamity in all its extent, what tokens of commiseration and concern would be deemed equal to the occasion? Would it suffice for the sun to veil his light, and the moon her brightness? to cover the ocean with mourning, and the heavens with sackcloth? Or, were the whole fabric of Nature to become animated and vocal, would it be possible for her to utter a groan too deep, or a cry too piercing, to express the magnitude and extent of such a catastrophe?

Robert Hall.

5426. 80UL, House for the. What if a man should see his neighbor getting workmen and building-materials together, and should say to him, "What are you building?" and he should answer, "I don't exactly know. I am waiting to see what will come of it." And so walls rush up, and room is added to room, while the man looks idly on; and all the bystanders exclaim, "What a fool he is!" Yet this is the way many men are building their characters for eternity; adding room to room, without plan or aim, and thoughtlessly waiting to see what the effect will be. Such builders will never dwell in "the house of God, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Many men build as cathedrals were built,—the part nearest the ground finished, but that part which soars towards heaven, the turrets and the spires, forever incomplete. A kitchen, a cellar, a bar, and a bedroom: these are the whole of some men, the only apartments in their soul-house. Many men are mere warehouses full of merchandise: the head, the heart, are stuffed with goods. Like those houses in the lower streets of the city which were once family dwellings, but are now used for commercial purposes, there are apartments in their souls which were once tenanted by taste and love and joy and worship; but they are all deserted now, and the rooms are filled with earthy and material things. Beecher.

A city is nothing when weighed in the balance against a human soul. Phidian Jupiter was a statue of gold and ivory so magnificent, that a man that died without seeing it might be commiserated; and a man that had seen it might say, "Now let me die in peace." That statue, whose annual disclosure was so august, that men and women in their enthusiasm fell before it with outcries and exclamations; that statue, which I would willingly have made a pilgrimage to see, if it had been saved from medieval violence and iconoclasm, — was wonderful beyond all description. But one poor soul dragged out of the slough, and saved, and beginning to speak the language of heaven, and to shout the praises of God, is more wonderful and more glorious in the sight of angels and of God than the lordliest statue of the greatest of all artists; and I would go farther to save one soul than to see a million Phidian works of art. Beecher.

It is said of the learned John Smith, "that he had resolved very much to lay aside other studies, and to travail in the salvation of men's souls, after whose good he most earnestly thirsted." Of Alleine, author of "The Alarm to Unconverted Sinners," it is said that "he was infinitely and insatiably greedy of the conversion of souls; and to this end he poured out his very heart in prayer and preaching." Bunyan said, "In my preaching, I could not be satisfied unless some fruits did appear in my work." "I would think it a greater happiness," said Matthew Henry, to gain one soul to Christ than mountains of silver and gold to myself. If I do not gain souls, I shall enjoy all other gains with very little satisfaction; and I would rather beg my bread from door to door than undertake this great work." Doddridge, writing to a friend, remarked, "I long for the conversion of souls more sensibly than for any thing besides. Methinks I could not only labor, but die for it, with pleasure."

After a Roman army had won a victory, various rewards were given to the soldiers whose services had been most distinguished. He who had first mounted a rampart, he who had first sealed a wall, he who had first entered the enemy's camp, — each of these received an honorable public recompense; but the highest reward of all — the highest which any soldier could receive, — was given to him who had saved the life of a citizen. This reward was the civic crown made of oak-leaves, and adorned with this inscription, "ob civem servatum." This crown was bestowed by the prince himself. The person who received it was admitted to peculiar social honor. He sat next the senate on grand public occasions. When he entered, the entire audience rose as a mark of their respect. It was an honor which even Augustus himself was proud to wear.

— Rev. J. R. Berry

A teacher had among her pupils a young man of reckless habits. At length, when she heard that he was fast drifting to ruin, she found courage to speak to him. The young man was much affected by her earnest appeal, influenced as he knew she was by love for his soul; and, when he had mastered his emotion, he said to her in a tremulous voice, "Had any one ever before spoken to me as you have to-night, I might have been a Christian long ago; but no one has thought me worth saving."

— S. S. Times

As the pilot-boats cruise far out, watching for every whitening sail, and hover, through day and night, all about the harbor, vigilant to board every ship that they may bring safely through the Narrows all the wanderers of the ocean; so should we watch off the gate of salvation for all the souls, tempest-tossed, beating in from the sea of sin, and guide them through the perilous straits, that at last, in still waters they may cast the anchor of their hope. Beecher

Pyrrhias, a merchant of Ithaca, seeing an aged man captive in a pirate's ship, took compassion on him, and redeemed him, and with him bought likewise his commodity, which the pirate had taken from him, being certain barrels of pitch. The old man, perceiving that not for any service that he could do him, nor for the gain of his commodity, but merely out of charity, Pyrrhias had done this, discovered to him a great mass of treasure hidden in the pitch; whereby he grew exceedingly wealthy, having obtained an answerable blessing for so good an act of piety. How much greater shall be the reward for rescuing souls! Spencer.

The excellent Rev. T. Charles, of Bala, England, informed the general meeting of the Sunday School Union, in 1813, that, throughout the country in which he resided, they received most of the members into their churches from Sunday schools; and that, during the preceding year, nearly one hundred persons had been received into Christian communion from the Sunday schools in the town of Bala.

Rev. Mr. ——, of H——, Mass., in August, 1830, thus wrote: "Since the 1st of February, of the present year, 161 persons have been admitted to this Church, most of whom have generally attended my Bible class instruction, for the last six years, and nearly 60 of them have been members of the Sabbath school. I have a class of twenty children, all of whom are members of the Sabbath school, who are cherishing the hope that they have passed from death unto life. These children are from eight to fourteen years of age. The object of bringing them into a class, has reference to their making a profession of religion.

“A class,” says the report from F—, Mass., “consisting in all of six scholars, usually numbering three or four on the Sabbath, was left vacant by the removal of its teacher, who might be denominated a good commonplace teacher. Her place was supplied by one who felt the solemn responsibility of her station and the worth of souls. Her influence was soon seen and felt. Numbers flocked to her class. In a short time it increased from six to fourteen, and others were necessarily denied admission. A deep interest and general seriousness soon pervaded the whole class. This was evidently the result of direct and personal conversation with them on the subject of their salvation. In a short time this devoted teacher was obliged by ill health to resign her place to another; the class has now lost much of its interest in spiritual things, and has gradually dwindled away to nearly its former number. This instance goes to show that even the thoughtless have a disposition to covet and listen to the instructions of those who deal faithfully with their souls.”

Net of Gospel cast into sea of humanity, gathers every kind. These remain together in the professing church until end of age. Note—no world conversion pictured here

Fastening eyes upon (v. 4)—give one dealt with exclusive attention. Look on us (v. 4). Get the man's attention. Silver and gold have I none (v. 6). Get rid of every subject but the one great one. Such as I have (v. 6). Introduce thought of eternal life. In the name of Jesus (v. 6). Get sinner to take definite step by faith. Took him by the hand (v. 7)—personal contact. Lifted him up (v. 7). Pray and pull is the combination for lifting men

Have attitude of coldness toward prodigals brought in, and do not deeply join in Christ's longing for the wayward. Would feed the prodigals on cold potatoes instead of the fatted calf

Angel spoke to Philip but message had to be taken to Ethiopian by a man, not an angel. Only those redeemed can effectually proclaim salvation.

The next thing to finding Christ as the Lamb of God is to find another and introduce that one to Him. One soul won is a link to hundreds more

The soul of man is a clasping, clinging soul, seeking to something over which it can spread itself, and by means of which it can support itself. And just as in a neglected garden you may see the poor creepers making shift to sustain themselves as best they can; one convolvulus twisting round another, and both draggling on the ground; a clematis leaning on the door, which will by-and-by open and let the whole mass fall down; a vine or a passion-flower wreathing round a prop which all the while chafes and cuts it; so in this fallen world it is mournful to see the efforts which human souls are making to get some sufficient object to lean upon and twine around.— James Hamilton, D.D.

In the “Life of Lord Tennyson,” by his son, a story is told of a New England clergyman who once wrote to Tennyson telling him how, one Sabbath, he was strangely imprest to drop his sermon, and recite “The Charge of the Light Brigade.” The congregation were shocked and later dismissed the pastor. Subsequently, a stranger called upon this clergyman, and told him how on that particular Sunday he had wandered into his church and heard him recite the famous poem; that he was in that charge; had fought at Gettysburg; and felt he had done something, and ought to be a man. Said the New England clergyman to the old England poet: “I lost my pulpit, but I saved a soul.”

At an early evangelistic meeting Mordecai Ham went after the worst sinner in the area. He found him hiding in a corn field.

"What are you going to do to me?" he asked the evangelist.

"Ask God to kill you."

"Why??"

"Why not? You don't believe in God, so it shouldn't bother you."

"Please don't pray that."

"All right, I'll pray for God to save you."

The man accepted Christ, and he and his whole family were baptized.

Personal evangelism is one of the most effective methods of sharing the Gospel with friends, family and strangers. According to an article written by Thom S. Rainer, author of “Surprising Insights from the Unchurched and Proven Ways to Reach Them,” about two-thirds of new believers his research team interviewed said someone had shared with them personally how to become a Christian.

But what then is the next step? How do believers nurture new Christians to grow in their faith? What are the responsibilities of believers in following up those with whom they have shared the Gospel? Some good examples of sincere follow-up can be seen in the evangelism ministry of First Baptist Church of Colleyville, Texas, and one of its members, Ron Cogburn.

Frank Harber, pastor of the Colleyville church and former evangelism professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, recounted his church's strategy for encouraging members to have a lifestyle of involvement in the lives of others, called “I2,” which stands for “Invest and Invite.” Members are challenged weekly to invest themselves in relationships with the lost and then invite them to church.

First Baptist Colleyville has quadrupled in size in the last two years, from 400 to 1,800 members, and from a budget of $1.2 million to $4.1 million.

“We tailor everything in our church for our people to come and bring people. That's why our church has grown so fast,” Harber said. “The church is the New Testament strategy to reach people on this planet. So the church has to be involved in the mindset to do this.”

Regardless of the sermon topic, Harber presents the Gospel in every message. “People receive Christ every single week. Our people know that our church is a place that they are going to hear the Gospel,” he said. “We've created a climate where people know how to bring their friends.” Events and programs that are good entry points for new people into the church are noted in the church bulletin with the “I2” logo.

Inviting people to church is a powerful but sometimes overlooked method of follow-up, Harber said. But what about those outside our daily reach -- those who respond to the Gospel through mission trips, business trips, or others with whom we are not likely to have regular contact?

Ron Cogburn, chairman of the deacons at First Colleyville and president of a Dallas consulting firm, has many times witnessed to people he is not likely to see again until Christ returns. On a business trip to Saipan, Cogburn shared the Gospel daily, with passengers he sat next to on airplanes, hotel employees and others he met along the way.

As people responded to the Good News of Christ, Ron sent home e-mails requesting tools to help them understand their new relationship with God, such as Filipino Bibles and a book called “Going Forward with Jesus Christ.” Cogburn also requested prayer for each person he had witnessed to and for those who had become new brothers and sisters in Christ through his witness.

One of Cogburn's friends, Kyle Mabry, said of the e-mail reports, “I don't want to over-dramatize this, but you almost felt like you were reading one of Paul's letters. 'Send this person one of these. Provide this person a copy of this.'“

While in Saipan, he also visited with a Baptist missionary, Bob Berkley, who made contact with the new converts and invited them to attend church services there.

Closer to home, Cogburn became aware of some impoverished Hispanic neighborhoods in Grapevine, not too far from his church -- people not likely to enter the doors of First Baptist Colleyville. Upon discovering their plight and the fact that no church was doing significant ministry there, Cogburn inspired church leaders to organize an annual December event called Mission Colleyville.

The church advertised through fliers that they would send buses to pick up anyone who wanted to attend the event to receive a meal, free groceries and toys donated by church members. More than 1,000 people attended, and more than 200 responded to the Gospel that night.

FBC still visits that neighborhood regularly, offering assistance for physical needs and sharing the Gospel.

“Mission Colleyville has really jumpstarted a move of God in the Hispanic community,” Cogburn said. Since then, a church has been established in the neighborhood. Cogburn said FBC also works closely with GRACE, a local charity organization, to continue meeting needs in that area.

Harber acknowledged that follow-up may not always be possible, but that should not stop people from spreading the Gospel. He looks to the parable of the sower for his evangelism philosophy. “Evangelism is really sowing. Only one in four in the parable are responding in the different soils,” he said. “But the sower was maniacal about spreading the seed, which was the Gospel. Some people will only witness to people they think will respond. We should throw it out everywhere. We don't know what's going to happen. If we sow and faint not, we will reap.”

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #931]

WONDROUS LOVE AND OTHER GOSPEL ADDRESSES by Dwight L. Moody

submitted by Kevin Burden

A stage-driver away on the Pacific coast — as I was told when I was there about three years ago — while lying on his dying bed, kept moving one of his feet up and down, saying, “I am on the down grade, and cannot reach the brake.”

As they told me of it, I thought how many were on the down grade, and could not reach the brake, and were dying without God and without hope. I plead with you as a fellow-traveler; don’t go out of this hall without saying, “Heaven is my home, and God is my Father.” Don’t let the scoffers laugh you into hell; they cannot laugh you out of it. The Blood is upon the mercy-seat, and while it is upon the mercy-seat you can enter into the kingdom. God says, “There is the Blood; it is all I have to give. As long as it is there, there is hope for you. I am satisfied with the finished work of my Son, and will you be satisfied?” Don’t leave this meeting until you can claim this as yours.

How dark and sad it is to go to the bedside of a dying infidel or atheist, or one who is dying without the light of the resurrection morn. But if we trust to Christ, death has lost its sting, and the grave its victory.

An eminent minister in America, Alfred Cookman, the Robert McCheyne of his day, was dying, and when his friends were gathered round his couch, waiting to see him depart to be with Christ, his face lit up, and with a shout of triumph he said, “I am sweeping through the gates, washed in the blood of the Lamb!”

And this echoes and re-echoes through America today: “I am sweeping through the gates, washed in the blood of the Lamb!” May these be our last words, and may an abundant entrance be granted us into the gates of the heavenly city! Who, who are these, beside the chilly wave, Just on the borders of the silent grave; Shouting Jesus power to save, Washed in the blood of the Lamb. Sweeping through the gates of the new Jerusalem Washed in the blood of the Lamb!

"It's unsinkable!" That was the proud boast made by the builders of the Titanic, the magnificent ocean liner that on April 14, 1912, went down during its maiden voyage. Most of the 2,100 passengers were sent to their deaths.

In an article for the Danish magazine Evangelisten, Ingvald Andersen told about one of the passengers, John Harper, who was a fervent witness for Christ. According to a survivor, on the evening of the disaster John had led a young Englishman to faith in the Savior.

Soon afterward, John went for a walk on the deck with his daughter and a niece. As they were admiring the spectacular sunset, Harper said, "It is going to be beautiful in the morning."

For him and any other Christian who died that night, the next morning was beautiful. Theirs was sunrise on their first day in heaven. Andersen, as he related all of this, urged his readers to be certain of their own relationship to Jesus.

No matter how safe and serene your life may be, it can end in shipwreck at any moment. So if you have never done so, you need to do as that young Englishman did–accept Christ as your Savior now. Then, regardless of when or how you die, yours will be sunrise in heaven. –VCG

When life is over and daylight is past,

In heaven's harbor my anchor is cast,

When I see Jesus my Savior at last,

Oh, that will be sunrise for me! –Poole

© 1924 The Rodeheaver Company

Salvation deferred too long becomes the tragedy of too late.