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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Overcoming Life, by Dwight Moody
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Overcoming Life
+       and Other Sermons
+
+Author: Dwight Moody
+
+Release Date: June 28, 2010 [EBook #33015]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE OVERCOMING LIFE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Keith G. Richardson
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE OVERCOMING LIFE
+
+AND OTHER SERMONS
+
+
+By D. L. MOODY.
+
+"_This is the victory that overcometh the, world, even our faith_."
+
+
+FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY
+
+New York Chicago Toronto
+
+_Publishers of Evangelical Literature_
+
+
+
+COPYRIGHTED 1896, BY Fleming H. Revell Company.
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+THE OVERCOMING LIFE
+
+PART I. THE CHRISTIAN'S WARFARE
+
+PART II. INTERNAL FOES
+
+PART III. EXTERNAL FOES
+
+RESULTS OF TRUE REPENTANCE
+
+TRUE WISDOM
+
+"COME THOU AND ALL THY HOUSE INTO THE ARK"
+
+HUMILITY
+
+REST
+
+SEVEN "I WILLS" OF CHRIST
+
+
+
+THE OVERCOMING LIFE.
+
+PART I.
+
+THE CHRISTIAN'S WARFARE.
+
+I would like to have you open your Bible at the first epistle of John,
+fifth chapter, fourth and fifth verses: "Whatsoever is born of God
+overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the
+world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he
+that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?"
+
+When a battle is fought, all are anxious to know who are the victors.
+In these verses we are told who is to gain the victory in life. When I
+was converted I made this mistake: I thought the battle was already
+mine, the victory already won, the crown already in my grasp. I
+thought that old things had passed away, that all things had become
+new; that my old corrupt nature, the Adam life, was gone. But I found
+out, after serving Christ for a few months, that conversion was only
+like enlisting in the army, that there was a battle on hand, and that
+if I was to get a crown, I had to work for it and fight for it.
+
+Salvation is a gift, as free as the air we breathe. It is to be
+obtained, like any other gift, without money and without price: there
+are no other terms. "To him that worketh not, but believeth." But on
+the other hand, if we are to gain a crown, we must work for it. Let me
+quote a few verses in First Corinthians: "For other foundation can no
+man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. But if any man
+buildeth on the foundation gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay,
+stubble; each man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall
+declare it, because it is revealed in fire: and the fire itself shall
+prove each man's work, of what sort it is. If any man's work shall
+abide, which he built thereon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's
+work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be
+saved; yet so as through fire."
+
+We see clearly from this that we may be saved, but all our works
+burned up. I may have a wretched, miserable voyage through life, with
+no victory, and no reward at the end; saved, yet so as by fire, or as
+Job puts it, "with the skin of my teeth." I believe that a great many
+men will barely get to heaven as Lot got out of Sodom, burned out,
+nothing left, works and everything else destroyed.
+
+It is like this: when a man enters the army, he is a member of the
+army the moment he enlists; he is just as much a member as a man who
+has been in the army ten or twenty years. But enlisting is one thing,
+and participating in a battle another. Young converts are like those
+just enlisted.
+
+It is folly for any man to attempt to fight in his own strength. The
+world, the flesh and the devil are too much for any man. But if we are
+linked to Christ by faith, and He is formed in us the hope of glory,
+then we shall get the victory over every enemy. It is believers who
+are the overcomers. "Thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to
+triumph in Christ." Through Him we shall be more than conquerors.
+
+I wouldn't think of talking to unconverted men about overcoming the
+world, for it is utterly impossible. They might as well try to cut
+down the American forest with their penknives. But a good many
+Christian people make this mistake: they think the battle is already
+fought and won. They have an idea that all they have to do is to put
+the oars down in the bottom of the boat, and the current will drift
+them into the ocean of God's eternal love. But we have to cross the
+current. We have to learn how to watch and fight, and how to overcome.
+The battle is only just commenced. The Christian life is a conflict
+and a warfare, and the quicker we find it out the better. There is not
+a blessing in this world that God has not linked Himself to. All the
+great and higher blessings God associates with Himself. When God and
+man work together, then it is that there is going to be victory. We
+are coworkers with Him. You might take a mill, and put it forty feet
+above a river, and there isn't capital enough in the States to make
+that river turn the mill; but get it down about forty feet, and away
+it works. We want to keep in mind that if we are going to overcome the
+world, we have got to work with God. It is His power that makes all
+the means of grace effectual.
+
+The story is told that Frederick Douglas, the great slave orator, once
+said in a mournful speech when things looked dark for his race:--
+
+"The white man is against us, governments are against us, the spirit
+of the times is against us. I see no hope for the colored race. I am
+full of sadness."
+
+Just then a poor old colored woman rose in the audience, and said.--
+
+"Frederick, is God dead?"
+
+My friend, it makes a difference when you count God in.
+
+Now many a young believer is discouraged and disheartened when he
+realizes this warfare. He begins to think that God has forsaken him,
+that Christianity is not all that it professes to be. But he should
+rather regard it as an encouraging sign. No sooner has a soul escaped
+from his snare than the great Adversary takes steps to ensnare it
+again. He puts forth all his power to recapture his lost prey. The
+fiercest attacks are made on the strongest forts, and the fiercer the
+battle the young believer is called on to wage, the surer evidence it
+is of the work of the Holy Spirit in his heart. God will not desert
+him in his time of need, any more than He deserted His people of old
+when they were hard pressed by their foes.
+
+The Only Complete Victor.
+
+This brings me to the fourth verse of the fourth chapter of the same
+epistle: "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them:
+because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world."
+The only man that ever conquered this world--was complete victor--was
+Jesus Christ. When He shouted on the cross, "It is finished!" it was
+the shout of a conqueror. He had overcome every enemy. He had met sin
+and death. He had met every foe that you and I have got to meet, and
+had come off victor. Now if I have got the spirit of Christ, if I have
+got that same life in me, then it is that I have got a power that is
+greater than any power in the world, and with that same power I
+overcome the world.
+
+Notice that everything human in this world fails. Every man, the
+moment he takes his eye off God, has failed. Every man has been a
+failure at some period of his life. Abraham failed. Moses failed.
+Elijah failed. Take the men that have become so famous and that were
+so mighty--the moment they got their eye off God, they were weak like
+other men; and it is a very singular thing that those men failed on
+the strongest point in their character. I suppose it was because they
+were not on the watch. Abraham was noted for his faith, and he failed
+right there--he denied his wife. Moses was noted for his meekness and
+humility, and he failed right there--he got angry. God kept him out of
+the promised land because he lost his temper. I know he was called
+"the servant of God," and that he was a mighty man, and had power with
+God, but humanly speaking, he failed, and was kept out of the promised
+land. Elijah was noted for his power in prayer and for his courage,
+yet he became a coward. He was the boldest man of his day, and stood
+before Ahab, and the royal court, and all the prophets of Baal; yet
+when he heard that Jezebel had threatened his life, he ran away to the
+desert, and under a juniper tree prayed that he might die. Peter was
+noted for his boldness, and a little maid scared him nearly out of his
+wits. As soon as she spoke to him, he began to tremble, and he swore
+that he didn't know Christ. I have often said to myself that I'd like
+to have been there on the day of Pentecost alongside of that maid when
+she saw Peter preaching.
+
+"Why," I suppose she said, "what has come over that man? He was afraid
+of _me_ only a few weeks ago, and now he stands up before all
+Jerusalem and charges these very Jews with the murder of Jesus."
+
+The moment he got his eye off the Master he failed; and every man, I
+don't care who he is--even the strongest--every man that hasn't Christ
+in him, is a failure. John, the beloved disciple, was noted for his
+meekness; and yet we hear of him wanting to call fire down from heaven
+on a little town because it had refused the common hospitalities.
+
+Triumphs of Faith.
+
+Now, how are we to get the victory over all our enemies? Turn to
+Galatians, second chapter, verse twenty: "I am crucified with Christ;
+nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life
+which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God,
+who loved me and gave Himself for me." We live by faith. We get this
+life by faith, and become linked to Immanuel--"God with us." If I have
+God for me, I am going to overcome. How do we gain this mighty power?
+By faith.
+
+The next passage I want to call your attention to is Romans, chapter
+eleven, verse twenty: "Because of unbelief they were broken off; and
+thou standest by faith." The Jews were cut off on account of their
+unbelief: we were grafted in on account of our belief. So notice: We
+live by faith, and we stand by faith.
+
+Next: We walk by faith. Second Corinthians, chapter five, verse seven:
+"For we walk by faith, not by sight." The most faulty Christians I
+know are those who want to walk by sight. They want to see the
+end--how a thing is going to come out. That isn't walking by faith at
+all--that is walking by sight.
+
+I think the characters that best represent this difference are Joseph
+and Jacob. Jacob was a man who walked with God by sight. You remember
+his vow at Bethel:--"If God will be with me, and will keep me in this
+way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
+so that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the
+Lord be my God." And you remember how his heart revived when he saw
+the wagons Joseph sent him from Egypt. He sought after signs. He never
+could have gone through the temptations and trials that his son Joseph
+did. Joseph represents a higher type of Christian. He could walk in
+the dark. He could survive thirteen years of misfortune, in spite of
+his dreams, and then ascribe it all to the goodness and providence of
+God.
+
+Lot and Abraham are a good illustration Lot turned away from Abraham
+and tented on the plains of Sodom. He got a good stretch of pasture
+land, but he had bad neighbors. He was a weak character and he should
+have kept with Abraham in order to get strong. A good many men are
+just like that. As long as their mothers are living, or they are
+bolstered up by some godly person, they get along very well; but they
+can't stand alone. Lot walked by sight; but Abraham walked by faith;
+he went out in the footsteps of God. "By faith Abraham, when he was
+called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an
+inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By
+faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country,
+dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of
+the same promise: for he looked for a city which hath foundations,
+whose builder and maker is God." And again: We fight by faith.
+Ephesians, sixth chapter, verse sixteen: "Above all, taking the shield
+of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of
+the wicked." Every dart Satan can fire at us we can quench by faith,
+By faith we can overcome the Evil One. To fear is to have more faith
+in your antagonist than in Christ.
+
+Some of the older people can remember when our war broke out.
+Secretary Seward, who was Lincoln's Secretary of State--a long-headed
+and shrewd politician--prophesied that the war would be over in ninety
+days; and young men in thousands and hundreds of thousands came
+forward and volunteered to go down to Dixie and whip the South. They
+thought they would be back in ninety days; but the war lasted four
+years, and cost about half a million of lives. What was the matter?
+Why, the South was a good deal stronger than the North supposed. Its
+strength was underestimated.
+
+Jesus Christ makes no mistake of that kind. When He enlists a man in
+His service, He shows him the dark side; He lets him know that he must
+live a life of self-denial. If a man is not willing to go to heaven by
+the way of Calvary, he cannot go at all. Many men want a religion in
+which there is no cross, but they cannot enter heaven that way. If we
+are to be disciples of Jesus Christ, we must deny ourselves and take
+up our cross and follow Him. So let us sit down and count the cost. Do
+not think that you will have no battles if you follow the Nazarene,
+because many battles are before you. Yet if I had ten thousand lives,
+Jesus Christ should have every one of them. Men do not object to a
+battle if they are confident that they will have victory, and, thank
+God, every one of us may have the victory if we will.
+
+The reason why so many Christians fail all through life is just
+this--they under-estimate the strength of the enemy. My dear friend;
+you and I have got a terrible enemy to contend with. Don't let Satan
+deceive you. Unless you are spiritually dead, it means warfare. Nearly
+everything around tends to draw us away from God. We do not step clear
+out of Egypt on to the throne of God. There is the wilderness journey,
+and there are enemies in the land.
+
+Don't let any man or woman think all he or she has to do is to join
+the church. That will not save you. The question is, are you
+overcoming the world, or is the world overcoming you? Are you more
+patient than you were five years ago? Are you more amiable? If you are
+not, the world is overcoming you, even if you are a church member.
+That epistle that Paul wrote to Titus says that we are to be sound in
+patience, faith and charity. We have got Christians, a good many of
+them, that are good in spots, but mighty poor in other spots. Just a
+little bit of them seems to be saved, you know. They are not rounded
+out in their characters. It is just because they haven't been taught
+that they have a terrible foe to overcome.
+
+If I wanted to find out whether a Man was a Christian, I wouldn't go
+to his minister. I would go and ask his wife. I tell you, we want more
+_home piety_ just now. If a man doesn't treat his wife right, I don't
+want to hear him talk about Christianity. What is the use of his
+talking about salvation for the next life, if he has no salvation for
+this? We want a Christianity that goes into our homes and everyday
+lives. Some men's religion just repels me. They put on a whining voice
+and a sort of a religious tone, and talk so sanctimoniously on Sunday
+that you would think they were wonderful saints. But on Monday they
+are quite different. They put their religion away with their clothes,
+and you don't see any more of it until the next Sunday. You laugh, but
+let us look out that we don't belong to that class. My friend, we have
+got to have a higher type of Christianity, or the Church is gone. It
+is wrong for a man or woman to profess what they don't possess. If you
+are not overcoming temptations, the world is overcoming you. Just get
+on your knees and ask God to help you. My dear friends, let us go to
+God and ask Him to search us. Let us ask Him to wake us up, and let us
+not think that just because we are church members we are all right. We
+are all wrong if we are not getting victory over sin.
+
+
+
+PART II.
+
+INTERNAL FOES.
+
+Now if we are going to overcome, we must begin inside. God always
+begins there. An enemy inside the fort is far more dangerous than one
+outside.
+
+Scripture teaches that in every believer there are two natures warring
+against each other. Paul says in his epistle to the Romans:--"For we
+know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For
+that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what
+I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto
+the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin
+that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,)
+dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to
+perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do
+not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I
+would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I
+find then a law, that when I would do good, evil is present with me.
+For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see
+another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and
+bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members."
+Again, in the Epistle to the Galatians, he says: "For the flesh
+lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and
+these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the
+things that ye would."
+
+When we are born of God, we get His nature, but He does not
+immediately take away all the old nature. Each species of animal and
+bird is true to its nature. You can tell the nature of the dove or
+canary bird. The horse is true to his nature, the cow is true to hers.
+But a man has two natures, and do not let the world or Satan make you
+think that the old nature is extinct, because it is not. "Reckon ye
+yourselves dead"; but if you were dead, you wouldn't need to reckon
+yourselves dead, would you? The dead self would be dropped out of the
+reckoning. "I keep my body under"; if it were dead, Paul wouldn't have
+needed to keep it under. I am judicially dead, but the old nature is
+alive, and therefore if I don't keep my body under and crucify the
+flesh with its affections, this lower nature will gain the advantage,
+and I shall be in bondage. Many men live all their lives in bondage to
+the old nature, when they might have liberty if they would only live
+this overcoming life. The old Adam never dies. It remains corrupt.
+"From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in
+it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been
+closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment."
+
+A gentleman in India once got a tiger-cub, and tamed it so that it
+became a pet. One day when it had grown up, it tasted blood, and the
+old tiger-nature flashed out, and it had to be killed. So with the old
+nature in the believer. It never dies, though it is subdued: and
+unless he is watchful and prayerful, it will gain the upper hand, and
+rush him into sin. Someone has pointed out that "I" is the centre of
+S-I-N. It is the medium through which Satan acts.
+
+And so the worst enemy you have to overcome, after all, is _yourself_.
+When Capt. T-- became converted in London, he was a great society man.
+After he had been a Christian some months, he was asked;
+
+"What have you found to be your greatest enemy since you began to be a
+Christian?"
+
+After a few minutes of deep thought he said, "Well, I think it is
+myself."
+
+"Ah!" said the lady, "the King has taken you into His presence, for it
+is only in His presence that we are taught these truths."
+
+I have had more trouble with D. L. Moody than with any other man who
+has crossed my path. If I can only keep him right, I don't have any
+trouble with other people. A good many have trouble with servants. Did
+you ever think that the trouble lies with you instead of the servants?
+If one member of the family is constantly snapping, he will have the
+whole family snapping. It is true whether you believe it or not. You
+speak quickly and snappishly to people and they will do the same to
+you.
+
+Appetite.
+
+Now take _appetite_. That is an enemy inside. How many young men are
+ruined by the appetite for strong drink! Many a young man has grown up
+to be a curse to his father and mother, instead of a blessing. Not
+long ago the body of a young suicide was discovered in one of our
+large cities. In his pocket was found a paper on which he had written:
+"I have done this myself. Don't tell anyone. It is all through drink."
+An intimation of these facts in the public press drew two hundred and
+forty six letters from two hundred and forty six families, each of
+whom had a prodigal son who, it was feared, might be the suicide.
+
+Strong drink is an enemy, both to body and soul. It is reported that
+Sir Andrew Clarke, the celebrated London physician, once made the
+following statement: "Now let me say that I am speaking solemnly and
+carefully when I tell you that I am considerably within the mark in
+saying that within the rounds of my hospital wards today, seven out of
+every ten that lie there in their beds owe their ill health to
+alcohol. I do not say that seventy in every hundred are drunkards; I
+do not know that one of them is; but they use alcohol. So soon as a
+man begins to take one drop, then the desire begotten in him becomes a
+part of his nature, and that nature, formed by his acts, inflicts
+curses inexpressible when handed down to the generations that are to
+follow him as part and parcel of their being. When I think of this I
+am disposed to give up my profession--to give up everything--and to go
+forth upon a holy crusade to preach to all men, 'Beware of this enemy
+of the race!'"
+
+It is the most destructive agency in the world today. It kills more
+than the bloodiest wars. It is the fruitful parent of crime and
+idleness and poverty and disease. It spoils a man for this world, and
+damns him for the next. The Word of God has declared it: "Be not
+deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, . . .
+nor _drunkards_ . . . shall inherit the Kingdom of God."
+
+How can we overcome this enemy? Bitter experience proves that man is
+not powerful enough in his own strength. The only cure for the
+accursed appetite is regeneration--a new life--the power of the risen
+Christ within us. Let a man that is given to strong drink look to God
+for help, and He will give him victory over his appetite. Jesus Christ
+came to destroy the works of the devil, and He will take away that
+appetite if you will let Him.
+
+Temper.
+
+Then there is _temper_. I wouldn't give much for a man that hasn't
+temper. Steel isn't good for anything if it hasn't got temper. But
+when temper gets the mastery over me I am its slave, and it is a
+source of weakness. It may be made a great power for good all through
+my life, and help me; or it may become my greatest enemy from within,
+and rob me of power. The current in some rivers is so strong as to
+make them useless for navigation.
+
+Someone has said that a preacher will never miss the people when he
+speaks of temper. It is astonishing how little mastery even professing
+Christians have over it. A friend of mine in England was out visiting,
+and while sitting in the parlor, heard an awful noise in the hall. He
+asked what it meant, and was told that it was only the doctor throwing
+his boots downstairs because they were not properly blacked. "Many
+Christians," said an old divine, "who bore the loss of a child or of
+all their property with the most heroic Christian fortitude, are
+entirely vanquished by the breaking of a dish or the blunders of a
+servant."
+
+I have had people say to me, "Mr. Moody, how can I get control of my
+temper?"
+
+If you really want to get control, I will tell you how, but you won't
+like the medicine. Treat it as a sin and confess it. People look upon
+it as a sort of a misfortune, and one lady told me she inherited it
+from her father and mother. Supposing she did. That is no excuse for
+her.
+
+When you get angry again and speak unkindly to a person, and when you
+realize it, go and ask that person to forgive you. You won't get mad
+with that person for the next twenty-four hours. You might do it in
+about forty eight hours, but go the second time, and after you have
+done it about half-a-dozen times, you will get out of the business,
+because it makes the old flesh burn.
+
+A lady said to me once, "I have got so in the habit of exaggerating
+that my friends accuse me of exaggerating so that they don't
+understand me."
+
+She said, "Can you help me? What can I do to overcome it?"
+
+"Well," I said, "the next time you catch yourself lying, go right to
+that party and say you have lied, and tell him you are sorry. Say it
+is a lie; stamp it out, root and branch; that is what you want to do."
+
+"Oh," she said, "I wouldn't like to call it _lying_." But that is what
+it was.
+
+Christianity isn't worth a snap of your finger if it doesn't
+straighten out your character. I have got tired of all mere gush and
+sentiment. If people can't tell when you are telling the truth, there
+is something radically wrong, and you had better straighten it out
+right away. Now, are you ready to do it? Bring yourself to it whether
+you want to or not. Do you find someone who has been offended by
+something you have done? Go right to them and tell them you are sorry.
+You say you are not to blame. Never mind, go right to them, and tell
+them you are sorry. I have had to do it a good many times. An
+impulsive man like myself has to do it often, but I sleep all the
+sweeter at night when I get things straightened out. Confession never
+fails to bring a blessing. I have sometimes had to get off the
+platform and go down and ask a man's forgiveness before I could go on
+preaching. A Christian man ought to be a gentleman every time; but if
+he is not, and he finds he has wounded or hurt someone, he ought to go
+and straighten it out at once. You know there are a great many people
+who want just Christianity enough to make them respectable. They don't
+think about this overcoming life that gets the victory all the time.
+They have their blue days and their cross days, and the children say,
+
+"Mother is cross to-day, and you will have to be very careful."
+
+We don't want any of these touchy blue days; these ups and downs. If
+we are overcoming, that is the effect our life is going to have on
+others, they will have confidence in our Christianity. The reason that
+many a man has no power, is that there is some cursed sin covered up.
+There will not be a drop of dew until that sin is brought to light.
+Get right inside. Then we can go out like giants and conquer the world
+if everything is right within.
+
+Paul says that we are to be sound in faith, in patience, and in love.
+If a man is unsound in his faith, the clergy take the ecclesiastical
+sword and cut him off at once. But he may be ever so unsound in
+charity, in patience, and nothing is said about that. We must be sound
+in faith, in love, and in patience if we are to be true to God.
+
+How delightful it is to meet a man who can control his temper! It is
+said of Wilberforce that a friend once found him in the greatest
+agitation, looking for a dispatch he had mislaid, for which one of the
+royal family was waiting. Just then, as if to make it still more
+trying, a disturbance was heard in the nursery.
+
+"Now," thought the friend, "surely his temper will give way."
+
+The thought had hardly passed through his mind when Wilberforce turned
+to him and said:
+
+"What a blessing it is to hear those dear children! Only think what a
+relief, among other hurries, to hear their voices and know they are
+well."
+
+Covetousness.
+
+Take the sin of _covetousness_. There is more said in the Bible
+against it than against drunkenness. I must get it out of me--destroy
+it, root and branch--and not let it have dominion over me. We think
+that a man who gets drunk is a horrid monster, but a covetous man will
+often be received into the church, and put into office, who is as vile
+and black in the sight of God as any drunkard.
+
+The most dangerous thing about this sin is that it is not generally
+regarded as very heinous. Of course we all have a contempt for misers,
+but all covetous men are not misers. Another thing to be noted about
+it is that it fastens upon the old rather than upon the young.
+
+Let us see what the Bible says about covetousness:--
+
+"Mortify therefore your members . . . covetousness, which is
+idolatry."
+
+"No covetous man hath any inheritance in the Kingdom of God."
+
+"They that will be (that is, desire to be) rich fall into temptation
+and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men
+in destruction and perdition.
+
+For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some
+coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves
+through with many sorrows."
+
+"The wicked blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth."
+
+Covetousness enticed Lot into Sodom. It caused the destruction of
+Achan and all his house. It was the iniquity of Balaam. It was the sin
+of Samuel's sons. It left Gehazi a leper. It sent the rich young ruler
+away sorrowful. It led Judas to sell his Master and Lord. It brought
+about the death of Ananias and Sapphira. It was the blot in the
+character of Felix. What victims it has had in all ages!
+
+Do you say: "How am I going to check covetousness?"
+
+Well,--I don't think there is any difficulty about that. If you find
+yourself getting very covetous--very miserly--wanting to get
+everything you can into your possession--just begin to scatter. Just
+say to covetousness that you will strangle it, and rid it out of your
+disposition.
+
+A wealthy farmer in New York state, who had been a noted miser, a very
+selfish man, was converted. Soon after his conversion a poor man came
+to him one day to ask for help. He had been burned out, and had no
+provisions. This young convert thought he would be liberal and give
+him a ham from his smoke house. He started toward the smoke-house, and
+on the way the tempter said,
+
+"Give him the smallest one you have."
+
+He struggled all the way as to whether he would give a large or a
+small one. In order to overcome his selfishness, he took down the
+biggest ham and gave it to the man.
+
+The tempter said, "You are a fool."
+
+But he replied, "If you don't keep still, I will give him every ham I
+have in the smoke-house."
+
+If you find that you are selfish, give something. Determine to
+overcome that spirit of selfishness, and to keep your body under, no
+matter what it may cost.
+
+Mr. Durant told me he was engaged by Goodyear to defend the rubber
+patent, and he was to have half of the money that came from the
+patent, if he succeeded. One day he woke up to find that he was a rich
+man, and he said that the greatest struggle of his life then took
+place as to whether he would let money be his master, or he be master
+of money, whether he would be its slave, or make it a slave to him. At
+last he got the victory, and that is how Wellesley College was built.
+
+Are You Jealous, Envious?
+
+Go and do a good turn for that person of whom you are jealous. That is
+the way to cure jealousy; it will kill it. Jealousy is a devil, it is
+a horrid monster. The poets imagined that Envy dwelt in a dark cave,
+being pale and thin, looking asquint, never rejoicing except in the
+misfortune of others, and hurting himself continually.
+
+There is a fable of an eagle which could outfly another, and the other
+didn't like it. The latter saw a sportsman one day, and said to him,
+
+"I wish you would bring down that eagle."
+
+The sportsman replied that he would if he only had some feathers to
+put into the arrow. So the eagle pulled one out of his wing. The arrow
+was shot, but didn't quite reach the rival eagle; it was flying too
+high. The envious eagle pulled out more feathers, and kept pulling
+them out until he lost so many that he couldn't fly, and then the
+sportsman turned around and killed him. My friend, if you are jealous,
+the only man you can hurt is yourself.
+
+There were two business men--merchants--and there was great rivalry
+between them, a great deal of bitter feeling. One of them was
+converted. He went to his minister and said,
+
+"I am still jealous of that man, and I do not know how to overcome
+it."
+
+"Well," he said, "if a man comes into your store to buy goods, and you
+cannot supply him, just send him over to your neighbor."
+
+He said he wouldn't like to do that.
+
+"Well," the minister said, "you do it and you will kill jealousy."
+
+He said he would, and when a customer came into his store for goods
+which he did not have, he would tell him to go across the street to
+his neighbor's. By and by the other began to send his customers over
+to this man's store, and the breach was healed.
+
+Pride.
+
+Then there is _pride_. This is another of those sins which the Bible
+so strongly condemns, but which the world hardly reckons as a sin at
+all. "An high look and a proud heart is sin." "Everyone that is proud
+in heart is an abomination to the Lord; though hand join in hand, he
+shall not be unpunished." Christ included pride among those evil
+things which, proceeding out of the heart of a man, defile him.
+
+People have an idea that it is just the wealthy who are proud. But go
+down on some of the back streets, and you will find that some of the
+very poorest are as proud as the richest. It is the heart, you know.
+People that haven't any money are just as proud as those that have. We
+have got to crush it out. It is an enemy. You needn't be proud of your
+face, for there is not one but that after ten days in the grave the
+worms would be eating your body. There is nothing to be proud of--is
+there? Let us ask God to deliver us from pride.
+
+You can't fold your arms and say, "Lord, take it out of me"; but just
+go and work with Him.
+
+Mortify your pride by cultivating humility. "Put on, therefore," says
+Paul, "as the elect of God, holy and beloved, . . . humbleness of
+mind." "Be clothed with humility," says Peter. "Blessed are the poor
+in spirit."
+
+
+
+PART III.
+
+EXTERNAL FOES.
+
+What are our enemies without? What does James say? "Know ye not that
+the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore
+will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." And John? "Love
+not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man
+love the world, the love of the Father is not in him."
+
+Now, people want to know what is _the world_. When you talk with them
+they say:
+
+"Well, when you say 'the world,' what do you mean?"
+
+Here we have the answer in the next verse: "For all that is in the
+world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride
+of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world
+passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God
+abideth forever."
+
+"The world" does not mean nature around us. God nowhere tells us that
+the material world is an enemy to be overcome. On the contrary, we
+read: "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world,
+and they that dwell therein." "The heavens declare the glory of God;
+and the firmament sheweth His handywork."
+
+It means "human life and society as far as alienated from God, through
+being centered on material aims and objects, and thus opposed to God's
+Spirit and kingdom." Christ said: "If the world hate you, ye know that
+it hated Me before it hated you . . . the world hath hated them
+because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world."
+Love of the world means the forgetfulness of the eternal future by
+reason of love for passing things.
+
+How can the world be overcome? Not by education, not by experience;
+only by faith. "This is the victory that overcometh the world, even
+our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth
+that Jesus is the Son of God?"
+
+Worldly Habits and Fashions.
+
+For one thing we must fight _worldly habits and fashions_. We must
+often go against the customs of the world. I have great respect for a
+man who can stand up for what he believes is right against all the
+world. He who can stand alone is a hero.
+
+Suppose it is the custom for young men to do certain things you
+wouldn't like your mother to know of--things that your mother taught
+you are wrong. You may have to stand up alone among all your
+companions.
+
+They will say: "You can't get away from your mother, eh? Tied to your
+mother's apron strings!"
+
+But just you say: "Yes! I have some respect for my mother. She taught
+me what is right, and she is the best friend I have. I believe that is
+wrong, and I am going to stand for the right." If you have to stand
+alone, _stand_. Enoch did it, and Joseph, and Elisha, and Paul. God
+has kept such men in all ages.
+
+Someone says: "I move in society where they have wine parties. I know
+it is rather a dangerous thing because my son is apt to follow me. But
+I can stop just where I want to; perhaps my son hasn't got the same
+power as I have, and he may go over the dam. But it is the custom in
+the society where I move."
+
+Once I got into a place where I had to get up and leave. I was invited
+into a home, and they had a late supper, and there were seven kinds of
+liquor on the table. I am ashamed to say they were Christian people. A
+deacon urged a young lady to drink until her face flushed. I rose from
+the table and went out; I felt that it was no place for me. They
+considered me very rude. That was going against custom; that was
+entering a protest against such an infernal thing. Let us go against
+custom, when it leads astray.
+
+I was told in a southern college, some years ago, that no man was
+considered a first class gentleman who did not drink. Of course it is
+not so now.
+
+Pleasure.
+
+Another enemy is _worldly pleasure_. A great many people are just
+drowned in pleasure. They have no time for any meditation at all. Many
+a man has been lost to society, and lost to his family, by giving
+himself up to the god of pleasure. God wants His children to be happy,
+but in a way that will help and not hinder them.
+
+A lady came to me once and said: "Mr. Moody, I wish you would tell me
+how I can become a Christian." The tears were rolling down her cheeks,
+and she was in a very favorable mood; "but," she said, "I don't want
+to be one of your kind."
+
+"Well," I asked, "have I got any peculiar kind? What is the matter
+with my Christianity?"
+
+"Well," she said, "my father was a doctor, and had a large practice,
+and he used to get so tired that he used to take us to the theater.
+There was a large family of girls, and we had tickets for the theaters
+three or four times a week. I suppose we were there a good deal
+oftener than we were in church. I am married to a lawyer, and he has a
+large practice. He gets so tired that he takes us out to the theater,"
+and she said, "I am far better acquainted with the theater and theater
+people than with the church and church people, and I don't want to
+give up the theater."
+
+"Well," I said, "did you ever hear me say anything about theaters?
+There have been reporters here every day for all the different papers,
+and they are giving my sermons verbatim in one paper. Have you ever
+seen anything in the sermons against the theaters?"
+
+She said, "No."
+
+"Well," I said, "I have seen you in the audience every afternoon for
+several weeks and have you heard me say anything against theaters?"
+
+No, she hadn't.
+
+"Well," I said, "what made you bring them up?" "Why, I supposed you
+didn't believe in theaters." "What made you think that?"
+
+"Why," she said, "Do you ever go?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Why don't you go?"
+
+"Because I have got something better. I would sooner go out into the
+street and eat dirt than do some of the things I used to do before I
+became a Christian."
+
+"Why!" she said, "I don't understand."
+
+"Never mind," I said. "When Jesus Christ has the pre-eminence, you
+will understand it all. He didn't come down here and say we shouldn't
+go here and we shouldn't go there, and lay down a lot of rules; but He
+laid down great principles. Now, He says if you love Him you will take
+delight in pleasing Him." And I began to preach Christ to her. The
+tears started again. She said:
+
+"I tell you, Mr. Moody, that sermon on the indwelling Christ yesterday
+afternoon just broke my heart. I admire Him, and I want to be a
+Christian, but I don't want to give up the theaters."
+
+I said, "Please don't mention them again. I don't want to talk about
+theaters. I want to talk to you about Christ." So I took my Bible, and
+I read to her about Christ.
+
+But she said again, "Mr. Moody, can I go to the theater if I become a
+Christian?"
+
+"Yes," I said, "you can go to the theater just as much as you like if
+you are a real, true Christian, and can go with His blessing."
+
+"Well," she said, "I am glad you are not so narrow-minded as some."
+
+She felt quite relieved to think that she could go to the theaters and
+be a Christian. But I said,
+
+"If you can go to the theater for the glory of God, keep on going;
+only be sure that you go for the glory of God. If you are a Christian
+you will be glad to do whatever will please Him."
+
+I really think she became a Christian that day. The burden had gone,
+there was joy; but just as she was leaving me at the door, she said,
+
+"I am not going to give up the theater."
+
+In a few days she came back to me and said, "Mr. Moody, I understand
+all about that theater business now. I went the other night. There was
+a large party at our house, and my husband wanted us to go, and we
+went; but when the curtain lifted, everything looked so different. I
+said to my husband, 'This is no place for me; this is horrible. I am
+not going to stay here, I am going home.' He said, 'Don't make a fool
+of yourself. Everyone has heard that you have been converted in the
+Moody meetings, and if you go out, it will be all through fashionable
+society, I beg of you don't make a fool of yourself by getting up and
+going out.' But I said, 'I have been making a fool of myself all of my
+life.'"
+
+Now, the theater hadn't changed, but she had got something better and
+she was going to overcome the world. "They that are after the flesh do
+mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the
+things of the Spirit." When Christ has the first place in your heart
+you are going to get victory. Just do whatever you know will please
+Him. The great objection I have to these things is that they get the
+mastery, and become a hindrance to spiritual growth.
+
+Business.
+
+It may be that we have got to overcome in _business_. Perhaps it is
+business morning, noon and night, and Sundays, too. When a man will
+drive like Jehu all the week and like a snail on Sunday, isn't there
+something wrong with him? Now, business is legitimate; and a man is
+not, I think, a good citizen that will not go out and earn his bread
+by the sweat of his brow; and he ought to be a good business man, and
+whatever he does, do thoroughly. At the same time, if he lays his
+whole heart on his business, and makes a god of it, and thinks more of
+it than anything else, then the world has come in. It may be very
+legitimate in its place--like fire, which, in its place, is one of the
+best friends of man; out of place, is one of the worst enemies of
+man;--like water, which we cannot live without; and yet, when not in
+place, it becomes an enemy.
+
+So my friends, that is the question for you and me to settle. Now look
+at yourself. Are you getting the victory? Are you growing more even in
+your disposition? are you getting mastery over the world and the
+flesh?
+
+And bear this in mind: Every temptation you overcome makes you
+stronger to overcome others, while every temptation that defeats you
+makes you weaker. You can become weaker and weaker, or you can become
+stronger and stronger. Sin takes the pith out of your sinews, but
+virtue makes you stronger. How many men have been overcome by some
+little thing! Turn a moment to the Song of Solomon, the second
+chapter, fifteenth verse: "Take us the foxes, the little foxes that
+spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes." A great many
+people seem to think these little things--getting out of patience,
+using little deceits, telling white lies (as they call them), and when
+somebody calls on you sending word by the servant you are not at
+home--all these are little things. Sometimes you can brace yourself up
+against a great temptation; and almost before you know it you fall
+before some little thing. A great many men are overcome by a little
+_persecution_.
+
+Persecution.
+
+Do you know, I don't think we have enough persecution now-a-days. Some
+people say we have persecution that is just as hard to bear as in the
+Dark Ages. Anyway, I think it would be a good thing if we had a little
+of the old fashioned kind just now. It would bring out the strongest
+characters, and make us all healthier. I have heard men get up in
+prayer-meeting, and say they were going to make a few remarks, and
+then keep on till you would think they were going to talk all week. If
+we had a little persecution, people of that kind wouldn't talk so
+much. Spurgeon used to say some Christians would make good martyrs;
+they would burn well, they are so dry. If there were a few stakes for
+burning Christians, I think it would take all the piety out of some
+men. I admit they haven't got much; but then if they are not willing
+to suffer a little persecution for Christ, they are not fit to be His
+disciples. We are told: "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus
+shall suffer persecution." Make up your mind to this: If the world has
+nothing to say against you, Jesus Christ will have nothing to say for
+you.
+
+The most glorious triumphs of the Church have been won in times of
+persecution. The early church was persecuted for about three hundred
+years after the crucifixion, and they were years of growth and
+progress. But then, as Saint Augustine has said, the cross passed from
+the scene of public executions to the diadem of the Caesars, and the
+down-grade movement began. When the Church has joined hands with the
+State, it has invariably retrograded in spirituality and
+effectiveness; but the opposition of the State has only served to
+purify it of all dross. It was persecution that gave Scotland to
+Presbyterianism. It was persecution that gave this country to civil
+and religious freedom.
+
+How are we to overcome in time of persecution? Hear the words of
+Christ: "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer:
+I have overcome the world." Paul could testify that though persecuted,
+he was never forsaken; that the Lord stood by him, and strengthened
+him, and delivered him out of all his persecutions and afflictions.
+
+A great many shrink from the Christian life because they will be
+_sneered at_. And then, sometimes when persecution won't bring a man
+down, _flattery_ will. Foolish persons often come up to a man after he
+has preached and flatter him. Sometimes ladies do that. Perhaps they
+will say to some worker in the church: "You talk a great deal better
+than so-and-so"; and he becomes proud, and begins to strut around as
+if he was the most important person in the town. I tell you, we have a
+wily devil to contend with. If he can't overcome you with opposition,
+he will try flattery or ambition; and if that doesn't serve his
+purpose, perhaps there will come some affliction or disappointment,
+and he will overcome in way. But remember that anyone that has got
+Christ to help him can overcome every foe, and overcome them singly or
+collectively. Let them come. If we have got Christ within us, we will
+overthrow them all. Remember what Christ is able to do. In all the
+ages men have stood in greater temptations than you and I will ever
+have to meet.
+
+Now, there is one more thing on this line: I have either got to
+overcome the world, or the world is going to overcome me. I have
+either got to conquer sin in me--or sin about me--and get it under my
+feet, or it is going to conquer me. A good many people are satisfied
+with one or two victories, and think that is all. I tell you, my dear
+friends, we have got to do something more than that. It is a battle
+all the time. We have this to encourage us: we are assured of victory
+at the end. We are promised a glorious triumph.
+
+Eight "Overcomes."
+
+Let me give you the eight "overcomes" of Revelation.
+
+The first is: "_To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree
+of life_." He shall have a right to the tree of life. When Adam fell,
+he lost that right. God turned him out of Eden lest he should eat of
+the tree of life and live as he was forever. Perhaps He just took that
+tree and transplanted it to the Garden above; and through the second
+Adam we are to have the right to eat of it.
+
+Second: "_He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death_."
+Death has no terrors for him, it cannot touch him. Why? Because Christ
+tasted death for every man. Hence he is on resurrection ground. Death
+may take this body, but that is all. This is only the house I live in.
+We need have no fear of death if we overcome.
+
+Third: "_To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden
+manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name
+written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it_." If I
+overcome God will feed me with bread that the world knows nothing
+about, and give me a new name.
+
+Fourth: "_He that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to
+him will I give power over the nations_." Think of it! What a thing to
+have; power over the nations! A man that is able to rule himself is
+the man that God can trust with power. Only a man who can govern
+himself is fit to govern other men. I have an idea that we are down
+here in training, that God is just polishing us for some higher
+service. I don't know where the kingdoms are, but it we are to be
+kings and priests we must have kingdoms to reign over.
+
+Fifth: "_He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white
+raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but
+I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels_." He
+shall present us to the Father in white garments, without spot or
+wrinkle. Every fault and stain shall be taken out, and we be made
+perfect. He that overcomes will not be a stranger in heaven.
+
+Sixth: "_Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of My
+God; and he shall go no more out; and I will write upon him the name
+of My God and the name of the city of My God, which is New Jerusalem,
+which cometh down out of heaven from My God: and I will write upon him
+My new name_." Think of it! No more backsliding, no more wanderings
+over the dark mountains of sin, but forever with the King, and He
+says, "I will write upon him the name of My God." He is going to put
+His name upon us. Isn't it grand? Isn't it worth fighting for? It is
+said when Mahomet came in sight of Damascus and found that they had
+all left the city, he said: "If they won't fight for this city what
+will they fight for?" If men won't fight here for all this reward,
+what will they fight for?
+
+Seventh: "_To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My
+throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His
+throne_." My heart has often melted as I have looked at that. The Lord
+of Glory coming down and saying: "I will grant to you to sit on My
+throne, even as I sit on My Father's throne, if you will just
+overcome." Isn't it worth a struggle? How many will fight for a crown
+that is going to fade away! Yet we are to be placed above the angels,
+above the archangels, above the seraphim, above the cherubim, away up,
+upon the throne with Himself, and there we shall be forever with Him.
+May God put strength into every one of us to fight the battle of life,
+so that we may sit with Him on His throne. When Frederick of Germany
+was dying, his own son would not have been allowed to sit with him on
+the throne, nor to have let anyone else sit there with him. Yet we are
+told that we are joint heirs with Jesus Christ, and that we are to sit
+with Him in glory!
+
+And now, the last I like best of all: "_He that overcometh shall
+inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son_."
+My dear friends, isn't that a high calling? I used to have my
+Sabbath-school children sing--"I want to be an angel": but I have not
+done so for years. We shall be above angels: we shall be sons of God.
+Just see what a kingdom we shall come into: we shall inherit all
+things! Do you ask me how much I am worth? I don't know. The
+Rothschilds cannot compute their wealth. They don't know how many
+millions they own. That is my condition--I haven't the slightest idea
+how much I am worth. God has no poor children. If we overcome we shall
+inherit all things.
+
+Oh, my dear friends, what an inheritance! Let us then get the victory,
+through Jesus Christ our Lord and Master.
+
+
+
+RESULTS OF TRUE REPENTANCE.
+
+I want to call your attention to what true repentance leads to. I am
+not addressing the unconverted only, because I am one of those who
+believe that there is a good deal of repentance to be done by the
+Church before much good will be accomplished in the world. I firmly
+believe that the low standard of Christian living is keeping a good
+many in the world and in their sins. When the ungodly see that
+Christian people do not repent, you cannot expect them to repent and
+turn away from their sins. I have repented ten thousand times more
+since I knew Christ than ever before; and I think most Christians have
+some things to repent of.
+
+So now I want to preach to Christians as well as to the unconverted;
+to myself as well as to one who has never accepted Christ as his
+Savior.
+
+There are five things that flow out of true repentance:
+
+1. Conviction.
+
+2. Contrition.
+
+3. Confession of sin.
+
+4. Conversion.
+
+5. Confession of Jesus Christ before the world.
+
+1. Conviction.
+
+When a man is not deeply convicted of sin, it is a pretty sure sign
+that he has not truly repented. Experience has taught me that men who
+have very slight conviction of sin, sooner or later lapse back into
+their old life. For the last few years I have been a good deal more
+anxious for a deep and true work in professing converts than I have
+for great numbers. If a man professes to be converted without
+realizing the heinousness of his sins, he is likely to be one of those
+stony ground hearers who don't amount to anything. The first breath of
+opposition, the first wave of persecution or ridicule, will suck them
+back into the world again.
+
+I believe we are making a woeful mistake in taking so many people into
+the Church who have never been truly convicted of sin. Sin is just as
+black in a man's heart to-day as it ever was. I sometimes think it is
+blacker. For the more light a man has, the greater his responsibility,
+and therefore the greater need of deep conviction.
+
+William Dawson once told this story to illustrate how humble the soul
+must be before it can find peace.
+
+He said that at a revival meeting, a little lad who was used to
+Methodist ways, went home to his mother and said,
+
+"Mother, John So-and-so is under conviction and seeking for peace, but
+he will not find it to-night, mother."
+
+"Why, William?" said she.
+
+"Because he is only down on one knee, mother, and he will never get
+peace until he is down on both knees."
+
+Until conviction of sin brings us down on both knees, until we are
+completely humbled, until we have no hope in ourselves left, we cannot
+find the Savior.
+
+There are three things that lead to conviction: (1) Conscience; (2)
+the Word of God; (3) the Holy Spirit. All three are used by God.
+
+Long before we had any Word, God dealt with men through the
+conscience. That is what made Adam and Eve hide themselves from the
+presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the Garden of Eden. That
+is what convicted Joseph's brethren when they said: "We are verily
+guilty concerning our brother in that we saw the anguish of his soul
+when he besought us and we would not hear. Therefore," said they (and
+remember, over twenty years had passed away since they had sold him
+into captivity), "therefore is this distress come upon us." That is
+what we must use with our children before they are old enough to
+understand about the Word and the Spirit of God. This is what accuses
+or excuses the heathen.
+
+Conscience is "a divinely implanted faculty in man, telling him that
+he ought to do right." Someone has said that it was born when Adam and
+Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, when their eyes were opened and they
+"knew good and evil." It passes judgment, without being invited, upon
+our thoughts, words, and actions, approving or condemning according as
+it judges them to be right or wrong. A man cannot violate his
+conscience without being self-condemned.
+
+But conscience is not a safe guide, because very often it will not
+tell you a thing is wrong until you have done it. It needs
+illuminating by God because it partakes of our fallen nature. Many a
+person does things that are wrong without being condemned by
+conscience. Paul said: "I verily thought with myself that I ought to
+do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth." Conscience
+itself needs to be educated.
+
+Again, conscience is too often like an alarm clock, which awakens and
+arouses at first, but after a time the man becomes used to it, and it
+loses its effect. Conscience can be smothered. I think we make a
+mistake in not preaching more to the conscience.
+
+Hence, in due time, conscience was superseded by the law of God, which
+in time was fulfilled in Christ.
+
+In this Christian land, where men have Bibles, these are the agency by
+which God produces conviction. The old Book tells you what is right
+and wrong before you commit sin, and what you need is to learn and
+appropriate its teachings, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
+Conscience compared with the Bible is as a rushlight compared with the
+sun in the heavens.
+
+See how the truth convicted those Jews on the day of Pentecost. Peter,
+filled with the Holy Ghost, preached that "God hath made this same
+Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." "Now when they
+heard this, they were _pricked in their heart_, and said unto Peter
+and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?"
+
+Then, thirdly, the Holy Ghost convicts. I once heard the late Dr. A.
+J. Gordon expound that passage--"And when He (the Comforter) is come,
+He will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment;
+of sin because they believe not on Me,"--as follows:--
+
+"Some commentators say there was no real conviction of sin in the
+world until the Holy Ghost came. I think that foreign missionaries
+will say that that is not true, that a heathen who never heard of
+Christ may have a tremendous conviction of sin. For notice that God
+gave conscience first, and gave the Comforter afterward. Conscience
+bears witness to the law, the Comforter bears witness to Christ.
+Conscience brings legal conviction, the Comforter brings evangelical
+conviction. Conscience brings conviction unto condemnation, and the
+Comforter brings conviction unto justification. 'He shall convince the
+world of sin, because they believe not on Me.' That is the sin about
+which He convinces. It does not say that He convinces men of sin,
+because they have stolen or lied or committed adultery; but the Holy
+Ghost is to convince men of sin because they have not believed on
+Jesus Christ. The coming of Jesus Christ into the world made a sin
+possible that was not possible before. Light reveals darkness; it
+takes whiteness to bring conviction concerning blackness. There are
+negroes in Central Africa who never dreamed that they were black until
+they saw the face of a white man; and there are a great many people in
+this world that never knew they were sinful until they saw the face of
+Jesus Christ in all its purity.
+
+Jesus Christ now stands between us and the law. He has fulfilled the
+law for us. He has settled all claims of the law, and now whatever
+claim it had upon us has been transferred to Him, so that it is no
+longer the _sin_ question, but the _Son_ question, that confronts us.
+And, therefore, you notice that the first thing Peter does when he
+begins to preach after the Holy Ghost has been sent down is about
+Christ: 'Him being delivered by the determinate counsel of God, ye
+have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.' It doesn't
+say a word about any other kind of sin. That is the sin that runs all
+through Peter's teaching, and as he preached, the Holy Ghost came down
+and convicted them, and they cried out, 'What shall we do to be
+saved?'
+
+Well, but we had no part in crucifying Christ; therefore, what is our
+sin? It is the same sin in another form. They were convicted of
+crucifying Christ; we are convicted because we have not believed on
+Christ crucified. They were convicted because they had despised and
+rejected God's Son. The Holy Ghost convicts us because we have not
+believed in the Despised and Rejected One. It is really the same sin
+in both cases--the sin of unbelief in Christ."
+
+Some of the most powerful meetings I have ever been in were those in
+which there came a sort of hush over the people, and it seemed as if
+an unseen power gripped their consciences. I remember a man coming to
+one meeting, and the moment he entered, he felt that God was there.
+There came an awe upon him, and that very hour he was convicted and
+converted.
+
+2. Contrition.
+
+The next thing is contrition, deep Godly sorrow and humiliation of
+heart because of sin. If there is not true contrition, a man will turn
+right back into the old sin. That is the trouble with many Christians.
+
+A man may get angry, and if there is not much contrition, the next day
+he will get angry again. A daughter may say mean, cutting things to
+her mother, and then her conscience troubles her, and she says:
+
+"Mother, I am sorry: forgive me."
+
+But soon there is another outburst of temper, because the contrition
+is not deep and real. A husband speaks sharp words to his wife, and
+then to ease his conscience, he goes and buys her a bouquet of
+flowers. He will not go like a man and say he has done wrong.
+
+What God wants is contrition, and if there is not contrition, there is
+not full repentance. "The Lord is nigh to the broken of heart, and
+saveth such as be contrite of spirit." "A broken and a contrite heart,
+O God, Thou wilt not despise." Many sinners are sorry for their sins,
+sorry that they cannot continue in sin; but they repent only with
+hearts that are not broken. I don't think we know how to repent
+now-a-days. We need some John the Baptist, wandering through the land,
+crying: "Repent! repent!"
+
+3. Confession of Sin.
+
+If we have true contrition, that will lead us to confess our sins. I
+believe that nine-tenths of the trouble in our Christian life comes
+from failing to do this. We try to hide and cover up our sins; there
+is very little confession of them. Someone has said: "Unconfessed sin
+in the soul is like a bullet in the body."
+
+If you have no power, it may be there is some sin that needs to be
+confessed, something in your life that needs straightening out. There
+is no amount of psalm-singing, no amount of attending religious
+meetings, no amount of praying or reading your Bible that is going to
+cover up anything of that kind. It must be confessed, and if I am too
+proud to confess, I need expect no mercy from God and no answers to my
+prayers. The Bible says: "He that covereth his sins shall not
+prosper." He may be a man in the pulpit, a priest behind the altar, a
+king on the throne; I don't care who he is. Man has been trying it for
+six thousand years. Adam tried it, and failed. Moses tried it when he
+buried the Egyptian whom he killed, but he failed. "Be sure your sin
+will find you out." You cannot bury your sin so deep but it will have
+a resurrection by and by, if it has not been blotted out by the Son of
+God. What man has failed to do for six thousand years, you and I had
+better give up trying to do.
+
+There are three ways of confessing sin. All sin is against God, and
+must be confessed to Him. There are some sins I need never confess to
+anyone on earth. If the sin has been between myself and God, I may
+confess it alone in my closet: I need not whisper it in the ear of any
+mortal. "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before Thee."
+"Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy
+sight."
+
+But if I have done some man a wrong, and he knows that I have wronged
+him, I must confess that sin not only to God but also to that man. If
+I have too much pride to confess it to him, I need not come to God. I
+may pray, and I may weep, but it will do no good. First confess to
+that man, and then go to God and see how quickly He will hear you, and
+send peace. "If thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there
+rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee; leave there thy
+gift before the altar, and go thy ways. First be reconciled to thy
+brother, and then come and offer thy gift." That is the Scripture way.
+
+Then there is another class of sins that must be confessed publicly.
+Suppose I have been known as a blasphemer, a drunkard, or a reprobate.
+If I repent of my sins, I owe the public a confession. The confession
+should be as public as the transgression. Many a person will say some
+mean thing about another in the presence of others, and then try to
+patch it up by going to that person alone. The confession should be
+made so that all who heard the transgression can hear it.
+
+We are good at confessing other people's sins, but if it is true
+repentance, we shall have as much as we can do to look after our own.
+When a man or woman gets a good look into God's looking glass, he is
+not finding fault with other people: he has as much as he can do at
+home.
+
+"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our
+sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Thank God for the
+Gospel! Church member, if there is any sin in your life, make up your
+mind that you will confess it, and be forgiven. Do not have any cloud
+between you and God. Be able to read your title clear to the mansion
+Christ has gone to prepare for you.
+
+4. Conversion.
+
+Confession leads to true conversion, and there is no conversion at all
+until these three steps have been taken.
+
+Now the word "conversion" means two things. We say a man is
+"converted" when he is born again. But it also has a different meaning
+in the Bible. Peter said: "Repent, and be converted." The Revised
+Version reads: "Repent, and _turn_." Paul said that he was not
+disobedient unto the heavenly vision, but began to preach to Jews and
+Gentiles that they should repent and _turn_ to God. Some old divine
+has said: "Every man is born with his back to God. Repentance is a
+change of one's course. It is right about face."
+
+Sin is a turning away from God. As someone has said, it is _aversion_
+from God and _conversion_ to the world: and true repentance means
+conversion to God and aversion from the world. When there is true
+contrition, the heart is broken _for_ sin; when there is true
+conversion, the heart is broken _from_ sin. We leave the old life, we
+are translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of
+light. Wonderful, isn't it?
+
+Unless our repentance includes this conversion, it is not worth much.
+If a man continues in sin, it is proof of an idle profession. It is
+like pumping away continually at the ship's pumps, without stopping
+the leaks. Solomon said:--"If they pray, and confess thy name, and
+turn from their sin . . ." Prayer and confession would be of no avail
+while they continued in sin. Let us heed God's call; let us forsake
+the old wicked way; let us return unto the Lord, and He will have
+mercy upon us; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
+
+If you have never turned to God, turn now. I have no sympathy with the
+idea that it takes six months, or six weeks, or six hours to be
+converted. It doesn't take you very long to turn around, does it? If
+you know you are wrong, then turn right about.
+
+5. Confession of Christ.
+
+If you are converted, the next step is confess it openly. Listen: "If
+thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus Christ, and shalt
+believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou
+shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness,
+and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
+
+Confession of Christ is the culmination of the work of true
+repentance. We owe it to the world, to our fellow-Christians, to
+ourselves. He died to redeem us, and shall we be ashamed or afraid to
+confess Him? Religion as an abstraction, as a doctrine, has little
+interest for the world, but what people can say from personal
+experience always has weight.
+
+I remember some meetings being held in a locality where the tide did
+not rise very quickly, and bitter and reproachful things were being
+said about the work. But one day, one of the most prominent men in the
+place rose and said:
+
+"I want it to be known that I am a disciple of Jesus Christ; and if
+there is any odium to be cast on His cause, I am prepared to take my
+share of it."
+
+It went through the meeting like an electric current, and a blessing
+came at once to his own soul and to the souls of others.
+
+Men come to me and say: "Do you mean to affirm, Mr. Moody, that I've
+got to make a public confession when I accept Christ; do you mean to
+say I've got to confess Him in my place of business, and in my family?
+Am I to let the whole world know that I am on His side?"
+
+That is precisely what I mean. A great many are willing to accept
+Christ, but they are not willing to publish it, to confess it. A great
+many are looking at the lions and the bears in the way. Now, my
+friends, the devil's mountains are only made of smoke. He can throw a
+straw into your path and make a mountain of it. He says to you: "You
+cannot confess and pray to your family; why, you'll break down! You
+cannot tell it to your shopmate; he will laugh at you." But when you
+accept Christ, you will have power to confess Him.
+
+There was a young man in the West--it was the West in those days--who
+had been more or less interested about his soul's salvation. One
+afternoon, in his office, he said:
+
+"I will accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior."
+
+He went home and told his wife (who was a nominal professor of
+religion) that he had made up his mind to serve Christ; and he added:
+
+"After supper to-night I am going to take the company into the
+drawing-room, and erect the family altar."
+
+"Well," said his wife, "you know some of the gentlemen who are coming
+to tea are sceptics, and they are older than you are, and don't you
+think you had better wait until after they have gone, or else go out
+in the kitchen and have your first prayer with the servants?"
+
+The young man thought for a few moments, and then he said:
+
+"I have asked Jesus Christ into my house for the first time, and I
+shall take Him into the best room, not into the kitchen."
+
+So he called his friends into the drawing room. There was a little
+sneering, but he read and prayed. That man afterwards became Chief
+Justice of the United States Court. Never be ashamed of the Gospel of
+Christ: it is the power of God unto salvation.
+
+A young man enlisted, and was sent to his regiment. The first night he
+was in the barracks with about fifteen other young men who passed the
+time playing cards and gambling. Before retiring, he fell on his knees
+and prayed, and they began to curse him and jeer at him and throw
+boots at him.
+
+So it went on the next night and the next, and finally the young man
+went and told the chaplain what had taken place, and asked what he
+should do.
+
+"Well," said the chaplain, "you are not at home now, and the other men
+have just as much right in the barracks as you have. It makes them mad
+to hear you pray, and the Lord will hear you just as well if you say
+your prayers in bed and don't provoke them."
+
+For weeks after the chaplain did not see the young man again, but one
+day he met him, and asked--
+
+"By the way, did you take my advice?"
+
+"I did, for two or three nights."
+
+"How did it work?"
+
+"Well," said the young man, "I felt like a whipped hound, and the
+third night I got out of bed, knelt down and prayed."
+
+"Well," asked the chaplain, "how did that work?"
+
+The young soldier answered: "We have a prayer-meeting there now every
+night, and three have been converted, and we are praying for the
+rest."
+
+Oh, friends, I am so tired of weak Christianity. Let us be out and out
+for Christ; let us give no uncertain sound. If the world wants to call
+us fools, let them do it. It is only a little while; the crowning day
+is coming. Thank God for the privilege we have of confessing Christ.
+
+
+
+TRUE WISDOM.
+
+"They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and
+they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever."
+Dan. 12:3.
+
+That is the testimony of an old man, and one who had the richest and
+deepest experience of any man living on the face of the earth at the
+time. He was taken down to Babylon when a young man; some Bible
+students think he was not more than twenty years of age. If anyone had
+said, when this young Hebrew was carried away into captivity, that he
+would outrank all the mighty men of that day--that all the generals
+who had been victorious in almost every nation at that time were to be
+eclipsed by this young slave--probably no one would have believed it.
+Yet for five hundred years no man whose life is recorded in history
+shone as did this man. He outshone Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Cyrus,
+Darius, and all the princes and mighty monarchs of his day.
+
+We are not told when he was converted to a knowledge of the true God,
+but I think we have good reason to believe that he had been brought
+under the influence of Jeremiah the prophet. Evidently some earnest,
+godly man, and no worldly professor, had made a deep impression upon
+him. Someone had at any rate taught him how he was to serve God.
+
+We hear people nowadays talking about the hardness of the field where
+they labor; they say their position is a very peculiar one. Think of
+the field in which Daniel had to work. He was not only a slave, but he
+was held captive by a nation that detested the Hebrews. The language
+was unknown to him. There he was among idolaters; yet he commenced at
+once to shine. He took his stand for God from the very first, and so
+he went on through his whole life. He gave the dew of his youth to
+God, and he continued faithful right on till his pilgrimage was ended.
+
+Notice that all those who have made a deep impression on the world,
+and have shone most brightly have been men who lived in a dark day.
+Look at Joseph; he was sold as a slave into Egypt by the Ishmaelites;
+yet he took his God with him into captivity, as Daniel afterwards did.
+And he remained true to the last; he did not give up his faith because
+he had been taken away from home and placed among idolaters. He stood
+firm, and God stood by him.
+
+Look at Moses who turned his back upon the gilded palaces of Egypt,
+and identified himself with his despised and down-trodden nation. If a
+man ever had a hard field it was Moses; yet he shone brightly, and
+never proved unfaithful to his God.
+
+Elijah lived in a far darker day than we do. The whole nation was
+going over to idolatry. Ahab and his queen, and all the royal court
+were throwing their influence against the worship of the true God. Yet
+Elijah stood firm, and shone brightly in that dark and evil day. How
+his name stands out on the page of history!
+
+Look at John the Baptist. I used to think I would like to live in the
+days of the prophets; but I have given up that idea. You may be sure
+that when a prophet appears on the scene, everything is dark, and the
+professing Church of God has gone over to the service of the god of
+this world. So it was when John the Baptist made his appearance. See
+how his name shines out to-day! Eighteen centuries have rolled away,
+and yet the fame of that wilderness preacher shines brighter than
+ever. He was looked down upon in his day and generation, but he has
+outlived all his enemies; his name will be revered and his work
+remembered as long as the Church is on the earth.
+
+Talk about your field being a hard one! See how Paul shone for God as
+he went out, the first missionary to the heathen, telling them of the
+God whom he served, and who had sent His Son to die a cruel death in
+order to save the world. Men reviled him and his teachings; they
+laughed him to scorn when he spoke of the crucified One. But he went
+on preaching the Gospel of the Son of God. He was regarded as a poor
+tent-maker by the great and mighty ones of his day; but no one can now
+tell the name of any of his persecutors, or of those who lived at that
+time, unless their names happen to be associated with his, and they
+were brought into contact with him.
+
+Now the fact is, all men like to shine. We may as well acknowledge it
+at once. Go into business circles, and see how men struggle to get
+into the front rank. Everyone wants to outshine his neighbor and to
+stand at the head of his profession. Go into the political world, and
+see how there is a struggle going on as to who shall be the greatest.
+If you go into a school, you find that there is a rivalry among the
+boys and girls. They all want to stand at the top of the class. When a
+boy does reach this position and outranks all the rest, the mother is
+very proud of it. She will manage to tell all the neighbors how
+Johnnie has got on, and what a number of prizes he has gained.
+
+Go into the army and you find the same thing--one trying to outstrip
+the other; everyone is very anxious to shine and rise above his
+comrades. Go among the young men in their games, and see how anxious
+the one is to outdo the other. So we have all that desire in us; we
+like to shine above our fellows.
+
+And yet there are very few who can really shine in the world. Once in
+a while one man will outstrip all his competitors. Every four years
+what a struggle goes on throughout our country as to who shall be the
+President of the United States, the battle raging for six months or a
+year. Yet only one man can get the prize. There are a good many
+struggling to get the place, but many are disappointed, because only
+one can attain the coveted prize. But in the kingdom of God the very
+least and the very weakest may shine if they will. Not only can _one_
+obtain the prize, but _all_ may have it if they will.
+
+It does not say in this passage that the statesmen are going to shine
+as the brightness of the firmament. The statesmen of Babylon are gone;
+their very names are forgotten.
+
+It does not say that the nobility are going to shine. Earth's nobility
+are soon forgotten. John Bunyan, the Bedford tinker, has outlived the
+whole crowd of those who were the nobility in his day. They lived for
+self, and their memory is blotted out. He lived for God and for souls,
+and his name is as fragrant as ever it was.
+
+We are not told that the merchants are going to shine. Who can tell
+the name of any of the millionaires of Daniel's day? They were all
+buried in oblivion a few years after their death. Who were the mighty
+conquerors of that day? But few can tell. It is true that we hear of
+Nebuchadnezzar, but probably we should not have known very much about
+him but of his relations to the prophet Daniel.
+
+How different with this faithful prophet of the Lord! Twenty five
+centuries have passed away, and his name shines on, and on, and on,
+brighter and brighter. And it is going to shine while the Church of
+God exists. "They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the
+firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars
+forever and ever."
+
+How quickly the glory of this world fades away! Eighty years ago the
+great Napoleon almost made the earth to tremble. How he blazed and
+shone as an earthly warrior for a little while! A few years passed and
+a little island held that once proud and mighty conqueror; he died a
+poor broken-hearted prisoner. Where is he to-day? Almost forgotten.
+Who in all the world will say that Napoleon lives in their heart's
+affections?
+
+But look at this despised and hated Hebrew prophet. They wanted to put
+him into the lions' den because he was too sanctimonious and too
+religious Yet see how green his memory is to-day! How his name is
+loved and honored for his faithfulness to his God.
+
+Many years ago I was in Paris, at the time of the Great Exhibition.
+Napoleon the Third was then in his glory. Cheer after cheer would rise
+as he drove along the streets of the city. A few short years, and he
+fell from his lofty estate. He died an exile from his country and his
+throne, and where is his name today? Very few think about him at all,
+and if his name is mentioned it is not with love and esteem. How empty
+and short lived are the glory and the pride of this world! If we are
+wise, we will live for God and eternity; we will get outside of
+ourselves, and will care nothing for the honor and glory of this
+world. In Proverbs we read: "He that winneth souls is wise." If any
+man, woman, or child by a Godly life and example can win one soul to
+God, their life will not have been a failure. They will have outshone
+all the mighty men of their day, because they will have set a stream
+in motion that will flow on and on forever and ever.
+
+God has left us down here to shine. We are not here to buy and sell
+and get gain, to accumulate wealth, to acquire worldly position. This
+earth, if we are Christians, is not our home; it is up yonder. God has
+sent us into the world to shine for Him--to light up this dark world.
+Christ came to be the Light of the world, but men put out that light.
+They took it to Calvary, and blew it out. Before Christ went up on
+high, He said to His disciples: "Ye are the light of the world. Ye are
+my witnesses. Go forth and carry the Gospel to the perishing nations
+of the earth."
+
+So God has called us to shine, just as much as Daniel was sent into
+Babylon to shine. Let no man or woman say that they cannot shine
+because they have not so much influence as some others may have. What
+God wants you to do is to use the influence you have. Daniel probably
+did not have much influence down in Babylon at first, but God soon
+gave him more, because he was faithful and used what he had.
+
+Remember a small light will do a good deal when it is in a very dark
+place. Put one little tallow candle in the middle of a large hall, and
+it will give a good deal of light.
+
+Away out in the prairie regions, when meetings are held at night in
+the log schoolhouses, the announcement of the meeting is given out in
+this way:
+
+"A meeting will be held by early candlelight."
+
+The first man who comes brings a tallowdip with him. It is perhaps all
+he has; but he brings it, and sets it on the desk. It does not light
+the building much; but it is better than nothing at all. The next man
+brings his candle; and the next family bring theirs. By the time the
+house is full, there is plenty of light. So if we all shine a little,
+there will be a good deal of light. That is what God wants us to do.
+If we cannot all be lighthouses, any one of us can at any rate be a
+tallow candle.
+
+A little light will sometimes do a great deal. The city of Chicago was
+set on fire by a cow kicking over a lamp, and a hundred thousand
+people were burnt out of house and home. Do not let Satan get the
+advantage of you, and make you think that because you cannot do any
+great thing you cannot do anything at all.
+
+Then we must remember that we are to _let_ our light shine. It does
+not say, "_Make_ your light shine." You do not have to _make_ light to
+shine; all you have to do is to _let_ it shine.
+
+I remember hearing of a man at sea who was very seasick. If there is a
+time when a man feels that he cannot do any work for the Lord it is
+then--in my opinion. While this man was sick, he heard that someone
+had fallen overboard. He was wondering if he could do anything to help
+to save the man. He laid hold of a light, and held it up to the
+port-hole. The drowning man was saved. When this man got over his
+attack of sickness, he went on deck one day and was talking with the
+man who was rescued. The saved man gave this testimony. He said he had
+gone down the second time, and was just going down again for the last
+time, when he put out his hand. Just then, he said, someone held a
+light at the port-hole, and the light fell on it. A sailor caught him
+by the hand and pulled him into the lifeboat.
+
+It seemed a small thing to do to hold up the light; yet it saved the
+man's life. If you cannot do some great thing you can hold the light
+for some poor, perishing drunkard, who may be won to Christ and
+delivered from destruction. Let us take the torch of salvation and go
+into the dark homes, and hold up Christ to the people as the Savior of
+the world. If the perishing masses are to be reached, we must lay our
+lives right alongside theirs, and pray with them and labor for them. I
+would not give much for a man's Christianity if he is saved himself
+and is not willing to try and save others. It seems to me the basest
+ingratitude if we do not reach out the hand to others who are down in
+the same pit from which we were delivered. Who is able to reach and
+help drinking men like those who have themselves been slaves to the
+intoxicating cup? Will you not go out this very day and seek to rescue
+these men? If we were all to do what we can, we should soon empty the
+drinking saloons.
+
+I remember reading of a blind man who was found sitting at the corner
+of a street in a great city with a lantern beside him. Someone went up
+to him and asked what he had the lantern there for, seeing that he was
+blind, and the light was the same to him as the darkness. The blind
+man replied:
+
+"I have it so that no one may stumble over me."
+
+Dear friends, let us think of that. Where one man reads the Bible, a
+hundred read you and me. That is what Paul meant when he said we were
+to be living epistles of Christ, known and read of all men. I would
+not give much for all that can be done by sermons, if we do not preach
+Christ by our lives. If we do not commend the Gospel to people by our
+holy walk and conversation, we shall not win them to Christ. Some
+little act of kindness will perhaps do more to influence them than any
+number of long sermons.
+
+A vessel was caught in a storm on Lake Erie, and they were trying to
+make for the harbor of Cleveland. At the entrance of that port they
+had what are called the upper lights and the lower lights. Away back
+on the bluffs were the upper lights burning brightly enough; but when
+they came near the harbor they could not see the lights showing the
+entrance to it. The pilot said he thought they had better get back on
+the lake again. The Captain said he was sure they would go down if
+they went back, and he urged the pilot to do what he could to gain the
+harbor. The pilot said there was very little hope of making the
+harbor, as he had nothing to guide him as to how he should steer the
+ship. They tried all they could to get her in. She rode on the top of
+the waves, and then into the trough of the sea, and at last they found
+themselves stranded on the beach, where the vessel was dashed to
+pieces. Someone had neglected the lower lights, and they had gone out.
+
+Let us take warning. God keeps the upper lights burning as brightly as
+ever, but He has left us down here to keep the lower lights burning.
+We are to represent Him here, as Christ represents us up yonder. I
+sometimes think if we had as poor a representative in the courts above
+as God has down here on earth, we would have a pretty poor chance of
+heaven. Let us have our loins girt and our lights brightly burning, so
+that others may see the way and not walk in darkness.
+
+Speaking of a lighthouse reminds me of what I heard about a man in the
+State of Minnesota, who, some years ago, was caught in a fearful
+storm. That State is cursed with storms which come sweeping down so
+suddenly in the winter time that escape is difficult. The snow will
+fall and the wind will beat it into the face of the traveler so that
+he cannot see two feet ahead. Many a man has been lost on the prairies
+when he has got caught in one of those storms.
+
+This man was caught and was almost on the point of giving up, when he
+saw a little light in a log house. He managed to get there, and found
+a shelter from the fury of the tempest. He is now a wealthy man. As
+soon as he was able, he bought the farm, and built a beautiful house
+on the spot where the log building stood. On the top of a tower he put
+a revolving light, and every night when there comes a storm he lights
+it up in the hope that it may be the means of saving someone else.
+
+That is true gratitude, and that is what God wants us to do. If He has
+rescued us and brought us up out of the horrible pit, let us be always
+looking to see if there is not someone else whom we can help to save.
+
+I remember hearing of two men who had charge of a revolving light in a
+lighthouse on a rock-bound and stormy coast. Somehow the machinery
+went wrong, and the light did not revolve. They were so afraid that
+those at sea should mistake it for some other light, that they worked
+all the night through to keep the light moving round.
+
+Let us keep our lights in the proper place, so that the world may see
+that the religion of Christ is not a sham but a reality. It is said
+that in the Grecian sports they had one game where the men ran with
+lights. They lit a torch at the altar, and ran a certain distance;
+sometimes they were on horseback. If a man came in with his light
+still burning, he received a prize; if his light had gone out, he lost
+the prize.
+
+How many there are who, in their old age, have lost their light and
+their joy! They were once burning and shining lights in the family, in
+the Sunday-school, and in the Church. But something has come in
+between them and God--the world or self--and their light has gone out.
+Reader, if you are one who has had this experience, may God help you
+to come back to the altar of the Savior's love and light up your torch
+anew, so that you can go out into the lanes and alleys, and let the
+light of the Gospel shine in these dark homes.
+
+As I have already said, if we only lead one soul to Jesus Christ we
+may set a stream in motion that will flow on when we are dead and
+gone. Away up the mountain side there is a little spring; it seems so
+small that an ox might drink it up at a draught. By and by it becomes
+a rivulet; other rivulets run into it. Before long it is a large
+brook, and then it becomes a broad river sweeping onward to the sea.
+On its banks are cities, towns and villages, where many thousands
+live. Vegetation flourishes on every side, and commerce is carried
+down its stately bosom to distant lands.
+
+So if you turn one to Christ, that one may turn a hundred; they may
+turn a thousand, and so the stream, small at first, goes on broadening
+and deepening as it rolls toward eternity.
+
+In the book of Revelation we read: "I heard a voice from heaven saying
+unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from
+henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their
+labors; and their works do follow them."
+
+There are many mentioned in the Scriptures of whom we read that they
+lived so many years and then they died. The cradle and the grave are
+brought close together; they lived and they died, and that is all we
+know about them. So in these days you could write on the tombstone of
+a great many professing Christians that they were born on such a day
+and they died on such a day; there is nothing whatever between.
+
+But there is one thing you cannot bury with a good man; his influence
+still lives. They have not buried Daniel yet: his influence is as
+great today as it ever was. Do you tell me that Joseph is dead? His
+influence still lives and will continue to live on and on. You may
+bury the frail tenement of clay that a good man lives in, but you
+cannot get rid of his influence and example. Paul was never more
+powerful than he is to-day.
+
+Do you tell me that John Howard, who went into so many of the dark
+prisons in Europe, is dead? Is Henry Martyn, or Wilberforce, or John
+Bunyan dead? Go into the Southern States, and there you will find
+millions of men and women who once were slaves. Mention to any of them
+the name of Wilberforce, and see how quickly the eye will light up. He
+lived for something else besides himself, and his memory will never
+die out of the hearts of those for whom he lived and labored.
+
+Is Wesley or Whitefield dead? The names of those great evangelists
+were never more honored than they are now. Is John Knox dead? You can
+go to any part of Scotland today, and feel the power of his influence.
+
+I will tell you who are dead. The enemies of these servants of
+God--those who persecuted them and told lies about them. But the men
+themselves have outlived all the lies that were uttered concerning
+them. Not only that; they will shine in another world. How true are
+the words of the old Book: "They that be wise shall shine as the
+brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness
+as the stars forever and ever."
+
+Let us go on turning as many as we can to righteousness. Let us be
+dead to the world, to its lies, its pleasures, and its ambitions. Let
+us live for God, continually going forth to win souls for Him.
+
+Let me quote a few words by Dr. Chalmers: "Thousands of men breathe,
+move and live, pass off the stage of life, and are heard no more--Why?
+They do not partake of good in the world, and none were blessed by
+them; none could point to them as the means of their redemption; not a
+line they wrote, not a word they spoke could be recalled; and so they
+perished; their light went out in darkness, and they were not
+remembered more than insects of yesterday. Will you thus live and die,
+O man immortal? Live for something. Do good, and leave behind you a
+monument of virtue that the storms of time can never destroy. Write
+your name in kindness, love and mercy, on the hearts of the thousands
+you come in contact with year by year; you will never be forgotten.
+No, your name, your deeds will be as legible on the hearts you leave
+behind as the stars on the brow of evening. Good deeds will shine as
+the stars of heaven."
+
+
+
+"COME THOU AND ALL THY HOUSE INTO THE ARK."
+
+I want to call your attention to a text that you will find in the
+seventh chapter of Genesis, first verse. When God speaks, you and I
+can afford to listen. It is not man speaking now, but it is God. "The
+Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark."
+
+Perhaps some sceptic is reading this, and perhaps some church member
+will join with him and say,
+
+"I hope Mr. Moody is not going to preach about the ark. I thought that
+was given up by all intelligent people."
+
+But I want to say that I haven't given it up. When I do, I am going to
+give up the whole Bible. There is hardly any portion of the Old
+Testament Scripture but that the Son of God set His seal to it when He
+was down here in the world.
+
+Men say, "I don't believe in the story of the flood."
+
+Christ connected His own return to this world with that flood: "And as
+it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son
+of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given
+in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the
+flood came, and destroyed them all."
+
+I believe the story of the flood just as much as I do the third
+chapter of John. I pity any man that is picking the old Book to
+pieces. The moment that we give up any one of these things, we touch
+the deity of the Son of God. I have noticed that when a man does begin
+to pick the Bible to pieces, it doesn't take him long to tear it all
+to pieces. What is the use of being five years about what you can do
+in five minutes?
+
+A Solemn Message.
+
+One hundred and twenty years before God spake the words of my text,
+Noah had received the most awful communication that ever came from
+heaven to earth. No man up to that time, and I think no man since, has
+ever received such a communication. God said that on account of the
+wickedness of the world He was going to destroy the world by water. We
+can have no idea of the extent and character of that antediluvian
+wickedness. The Bible piles one expression on another, in its effort
+to emphasize it. "God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the
+earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was
+only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that He had made man
+on the earth, and it grieved him at His heart. . . . The earth also
+was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And
+God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh
+had corrupted his way upon the earth." Men lived five hundred years
+and more then, and they had time to mature in their sins.
+
+How the Message was Received.
+
+For one hundred and twenty years God strove with those antediluvians.
+He never smites without warning, and they had their warning. Every
+time Noah drove a nail into the ark it was a warning to them. Every
+sound of the hammer echoed, "I believe in God." If they had repented
+and cried as they did at Nineveh, I believe God would have heard their
+cry and spared them. But there was no cry for mercy. I have no doubt
+but that they ridiculed the idea that God was going to destroy the
+world. I have no doubt but that there were atheists who said there was
+not any God anyhow. I got hold of one of them some time ago. I said,
+
+"How do you account for the formation of the world?"
+
+"Oh! force and matter work together, and by chance the world was
+created."
+
+I said, "It is a singular thing that your tongue isn't on the top of
+your head if force and matter just threw it together in that manner."
+
+If I should take out my watch and say that force and matter worked
+together, and out came the watch, you would say I was a lunatic of the
+first order. Wouldn't you? And yet they say that this old world was
+made by chance! "It threw itself together!"
+
+I met a man in Scotland, and he took the ground that there was no God.
+I asked him,
+
+"How do you account for creation, for all these rocks?" (They have a
+great many rocks in Scotland.)
+
+"Why!" he said, "any school boy could account for that."
+
+"Well, how was the first rock made?"
+
+"Out of sand."
+
+"How was the first sand made?"
+
+"Out of rock."
+
+You see he had it all arranged so nicely. Sand and rock, rock and
+sand. I have no doubt but that Noah had these men to contend with.
+
+Then there was a class called agnostics, and there are a good many of
+their grandchildren, alive to-day. Then there was another class who
+said they believed there was a God; they couldn't make themselves
+believe that the world happened by chance; but God was too merciful to
+punish sin. He was so full of compassion and love that He couldn't
+punish sin. The drunkard, the harlot, the gambler, the murderer, the
+thief and the libertine would all share alike with the saints at the
+end. Supposing the governor of your state was so tender-hearted that
+he could not bear to have a man suffer, could not bear to see a man
+put in jail, and he should go and set all the prisoners free. How long
+would he be governor? You would have him out of office before the sun
+set. These very men that talk about God's mercy, would be the first to
+raise a cry against a governor who would not have a man put in prison
+when he had done wrong.
+
+Then another class took the ground that God could not destroy the
+world anyway. They might have a great flood which would rise up to the
+meadowlands and lowlands, but all it would be necessary to do would be
+to go up on the hills and mountains. That would be a hundred times
+better than Noah's ark. Or if it should come to that, they could build
+rafts, which would be a good deal better than that ark. They had never
+seen such an ugly looking thing. It was about five hundred feet long,
+and about eighty feet wide, and fifty feet high. It had three stories,
+and only one small window.
+
+And then, I suppose there was a large class who took the ground that
+Noah must be wrong because he was in such a minority. That is a great
+argument now, you know. Noah was greatly in the minority. But he went
+on working.
+
+If they had saloons then, and I don't doubt but that they had, for we
+read that there was "violence in the land," and wherever you have
+alcohol you have violence. We read also that Noah planted a vineyard
+and fell into the sin of intemperance. He was a righteous man, and if
+he did that, what must the others have done? Well, if they had
+saloons, no doubt they sang ribald songs about Noah and his ark, and
+if they had theaters they likely acted it out, and mothers took their
+children to see it.
+
+And if they had the press in those days, every now and then there
+would appear a skit about "Noah and his folly." Reporters would come
+and interview him, and if they had an Associated Press, every few days
+a dispatch would be sent out telling how the work on the ark was
+progressing.
+
+And perhaps they had excursions, and offered as an inducement that
+people could go through the ark. And if Noah happened to be around
+they would nudge each other and say:
+
+"That's Noah. Don't you think there is a strange look in his eye?"
+
+As a Scotchman would say, they thought him a little daft. Thank God a
+man can afford to be mad. A mad man thinks everyone else mad but
+himself A drunkard does not call himself mad when he is drinking up
+all his means. Those men who stand and deal out death and damnation to
+men are not called mad; but a man is called mad when he gets into the
+ark, and is saved for time and eternity. And I expect if the word
+crank was in use, they called Noah "an old crank."
+
+And so all manner of sport was made of Noah and his ark. And the
+business men went on buying and selling, while Noah went on preaching
+and toiling. They perhaps had some astronomers, and they were gazing
+up at the stars, and saying, "Don't you be concerned. There is no sign
+of a coming storm in the heavens. We are very wise men, and if there
+was a storm coming, we should read it in the heavens." And they had
+geologists digging away, and they said, "There is no sign in the
+earth." Even the carpenters who helped build the ark might have made
+fun of him, but they were like lots of people at the present day, who
+will help build a church, and perhaps give money for its support, but
+will never enter it themselves.
+
+Well, things went on as usual. Little lambs skipped on the hillsides
+each spring. Men sought after wealth, and if they had leases, I expect
+they ran for longer periods than ours do. We think ninety-nine years a
+long time, but I don't doubt but that theirs ran for nine hundred and
+ninety nine years. And when they came to sign a lease they would say
+with a twinkle in their eyes:
+
+"Why, this old Noah says the world is coming to an end in one hundred
+and twenty years, and it's twenty years since he started the story.
+But I guess I will sign the lease and risk it."
+
+Someone has said that Noah must have been deaf, or he could not have
+stood the jeers and sneers of his countrymen. But if he was deaf to
+the voice of men, he heard the voice of God when He told him to build
+the ark.
+
+I can imagine one hundred years have rolled away, and the work on the
+ark ceases. Men say, "What has he stopped work for?" He has gone on a
+preaching tour, to tell the people of the coming storm--that God is
+going to sweep every man from the face of the earth unless he is in
+the ark. But he cannot get a man to believe him except his own family.
+Some of the old men have passed away, and they died saying: "Noah is
+wrong." Poor Noah! He must have had a hard time of it. I don't think I
+should have had the grace to work for one hundred and twenty years
+without a convert. But he just toiled on, believing the word of God.
+
+And now the hundred and twenty years are up. In the spring of the year
+Noah did not plant anything, for he knew the flood was coming, and the
+people say: "Every year before he has planted, but this year he thinks
+the world is going to be destroyed, and he hasn't planted anything."
+
+Moving in.
+
+But I can imagine one beautiful morning, not a cloud to be seen, Noah
+has got his communication. He has heard the voice that he heard one
+hundred and twenty years before--the same old voice. Perhaps there had
+been silence for one hundred and twenty years. But the voice rang
+through his soul once again, "Noah, come thou and all thy house into
+the ark."
+
+The word "come" occurs about nineteen hundred times in the Bible, it
+is said, and this is the first time. It meant salvation. You can see
+Noah and all his family moving into the ark. They are bringing the
+household furniture.
+
+Some of his neighbors say, "Noah, what is your hurry? you will have
+plenty of time to get into that old ark. What is your hurry? There are
+no windows and you cannot look out to see when the storm is coming."
+But he heard the voice and obeyed.
+
+Some of his relatives might have said, "What are you going to do with
+the old homestead?"
+
+Noah says, "I don't want it. The storm is coming." He tells them the
+day of grace is closing, that worldly wealth is of no value, and that
+the ark is the only place of safety. We must bear in mind that these
+railroads that we think so much of, will soon go down; they only run
+for time, not for eternity. The heavens will be on fire, and then what
+will property, honor, and position in society be worth?
+
+The first thing that alarms them is, they rise one morning, and lo!
+the heavens are filled with the fowls of the air. They are flying into
+the ark, two by two. They come from the desert; they come from the
+mountain; they come from all parts of the world. They are going into
+the ark. It must have been a strange sight. I can hear the people cry,
+"Great God! what is the meaning of this?" And they look down on the
+earth; and, with great alarm and surprise, they see little insects
+creeping up two by two, coming from all parts of the world. Then
+behold! there come cattle and beasts, two by two. The neighbors cry
+out, "What does this mean?" They run to their statesmen and wise men,
+who have told them there was no sign of a coming storm, and ask them
+why it is that those birds, animals, and creeping things go toward the
+ark, as if guided by some unseen hand.
+
+"Well," the statesmen and wise men say, "We cannot explain it; but
+give yourselves no trouble; God is not going to destroy the world.
+Business was never better than it is now. Do you think if God was
+going to destroy the world, He would let us go on so prosperously as
+He has? There is no sign of a coming storm. What has made these
+creeping insects and these wild beasts of the forest go into the ark,
+we do not know. We cannot understand it; it is very strange. But there
+is no sign of anything going to happen. The stars are bright, and the
+sun shines as bright as ever it did. Everything moves on as it has
+been moving for all time past. You can hear the children playing in
+the street. You can hear the voice of the bride and bridegroom in the
+land, and all is merry as ever."
+
+I imagine the alarm passed away, and they fell into their regular
+courses. Noah comes out and says: "The door is going to be shut. Come
+in. God is going to destroy the world. See the animals, how they have
+come up. The communication has come to them direct from heaven." But
+the people only mocked on.
+
+Do you know, when the hundred and twenty years were up, God gave the
+world seven days' grace? Did you ever notice that? If there had been a
+cry during those seven days, I believe it would have been heard. But
+there was none.
+
+At length the last day had come, the last hour, the last minute, ay!
+the last second. God Almighty came down and shut the door of that ark.
+No angel, no man, but God Himself shut that door, and when once the
+master of the house has risen and shut to the door, the doom of the
+world is sealed; and the doom of that old world was forever sealed.
+The sun had gone down upon the glory of that old world for the last
+time. You can hear away off in the distance the mutterings of the
+storm. You can hear the thunder rolling. The lightning begins to
+flash, and the old world reels. The storm bursts upon them, and that
+old ark of Noah's would have been worth more than the whole world to
+them.
+
+I want to say to any scoffer who reads this, that you can laugh at the
+Bible, you can scoff at your mother's God, you can laugh at ministers
+and Christians, but the hour is coming when one promise in that old
+Book will be worth more to you than ten thousand worlds like this.
+
+The windows of heaven are opened and the fountains of the great deep
+are broken up. The waters come bubbling up, and the sea bursts its
+bounds and leaps over its walls. The rivers begin to swell. The people
+living in the lowlands flee to the mountains and highlands. They flee
+up the hillsides. And there is a wail going up:
+
+"Noah! Noah! Noah! Let us in."
+
+They leave their homes and come to the ark now. They pound on the ark.
+Hear them cry:
+
+"Noah! Let us in. Noah! Have mercy on us."
+
+"I am your nephew."
+
+"I am your niece."
+
+"I am your uncle."
+
+Ah, there is a voice inside, saying: "I would like to let you in; but
+God has shut the door, and I cannot open it!"
+
+God shut that door! When the door is shut, there is no hope. Their cry
+for mercy was too late; their day of grace was closed. Their last hour
+had come. God had plead with them; God had invited them to come in;
+but they had mocked at the invitation. They scoffed and ridiculed the
+idea of a deluge. Now it is too late.
+
+God did not permit anyone to survive to tell us how they perished.
+When Job lost his family, there came a messenger to him: but there
+came no messenger from the antediluvians; not even Noah himself could
+see the world perish. If he could, he would have seen men and women
+and children dashing against that ark; the waves rising higher and
+higher, while those outside were perishing, dying in unbelief. Some
+think to escape by climbing the trees, and think the storm will soon
+go down; but it rains on, day and night, for forty days and forty
+nights, and they are swept away as the waves dash against them. The
+statesmen and astronomers and great men call for mercy; but it is too
+late. They had disobeyed the God of mercy. He had called, and they
+refused. He had plead with them, but they had laughed and mocked. But
+now the time is come for judgment instead of mercy.
+
+Judgment.
+
+The time is coming again when God will deal in judgment with the
+world. It is but a little while; we know not when, but it is sure to
+come. God's word has gone forth that this world shall be rolled
+together like a scroll, and shall be on fire. What then will become of
+your soul? It is a loving call, "Now come, thou and all thy house,
+into the ark." Twenty four hours before the rain began to fall, Noah's
+ark, if it had been sold at auction, would not have brought as much as
+it would be worth for kindling wood. But twenty four hours after the
+rain began to fall, Noah's ark was worth more than all the world.
+There was not then a man living but would have given all he was worth
+for a seat in the ark. You may turn away and laugh.
+
+"I believe in Christ!" you say; "I would rather be without Him than
+have Him."
+
+But bear in mind, the time is coming when Christ will be worth more to
+you than ten thousand worlds like this. Bear in mind that He is
+offered to you now. This is a day of grace; it is a day of mercy. You
+will find, if you read your Bible carefully, that God always precedes
+judgment with grace. Grace is a forerunner of judgment. He called
+these men in the days of Noah in love. They would have been saved if
+they had repented in those one hundred and twenty years. When Christ
+came to plead with the people in Jerusalem, it was their day of grace;
+but they mocked and laughed at Him. He said: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
+thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto
+thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a
+hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" Forty
+years afterward, thousands of the people begged that their lives might
+be spared; and eleven hundred thousand perished in that city.
+
+In 1857 a revival swept over this country in the east and on to the
+western cities, clear over to the Pacific coast. It was God calling
+the nation to Himself. Half a million people united with the Church at
+that time. Then the war broke out. We were baptized with the Holy
+Ghost in 1857, and in 1861 we were baptized in blood. It was a call of
+mercy, preceding judgment.
+
+Are Your Children Safe?
+
+The text which I have selected has a special application to Christian
+people and to parents. This command of the Scripture was given to Noah
+not only for his own safety, but that of his household, and the
+question which I put to each father and mother is this: "Are your
+children in the ark of God?" You may scoff at it, but it is a very
+important question. Are all your children in? Are all your
+grandchildren in? Don't rest day or night until you get your children
+in. I believe my children have fifty temptations where I had one. I am
+one of those who believe that in the great cities there is a snare set
+upon the corner of every street for our sons and daughters; and I
+don't believe it is our business to spend our time in accumulating
+bonds and stocks. Have I done all I can to get my children in? That is
+it.
+
+Now, let me ask another question: What would have been Noah's feelings
+if, when God called him into the ark, his children would not have gone
+with him? If he had lived such a false life that his children had no
+faith in his word, what would have been his feelings? He would have
+said: "There is my poor boy on the mountain. Would to God I had died
+in his place! I would rather have perished than had him perish." David
+cried over his son: "Oh, my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom, would
+God I had died for thee!" Noah loved his children, and they had
+confidence in him.
+
+Someone sent me a paper a number of years ago, containing an article
+that was marked. Its title was: "Are all the children in?" An old wife
+lay dying. She was nearly one hundred years of age, and the husband
+who had taken the journey with her, sat by her side. She was just
+breathing faintly, but suddenly she revived, opened her eyes, and
+said:
+
+"Why! it is dark."
+
+"Yes, Janet, it is dark."
+
+"Is it night?"
+
+"Oh, yes! it is midnight."
+
+"Are all the children in?"
+
+There was that old mother living life over again. Her youngest child
+had been in the grave twenty years, but she was traveling back into
+the old days, and she fell asleep in Christ asking, "Are all the
+children in?"
+
+Dear friend, are they all in? Put the question to yourself now. Is
+John in? Is James in? Or is he immersed in business and pleasure? Is
+he living a double and dishonest life? Say! where is your boy, mother?
+Where is your son, your daughter? Is it well with your children? Can
+you say it is?
+
+After being superintendent of a Sunday school in Chicago for a number
+of years, a school of over a thousand members, children that came from
+godless homes, having mothers and fathers working against me, taking
+the children off on excursions on Sunday, and doing all they could to
+break up the work I was trying to do, I used to think that if I should
+ever stand before an audience I would speak to no one but parents;
+that would be my chief business. It is an old saying--"Get the lamb,
+and you will get the sheep." I gave that up years ago. Give me the
+sheep, and then I will have someone to nurse the lamb; but get a lamb
+and convert him, and if he has a godless father and mother, you will
+have little chance with that child. What we want is godly homes. The
+home was established long before the Church.
+
+I have no sympathy with the idea that our children have to grow up
+before they are converted. Once I saw a lady with three daughters at
+her side, and I stepped up to her and asked her if she was a
+Christian.
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+Then I asked the oldest daughter if she was a Christian. The chin
+began to quiver, and the tears came into her eyes, and she said,
+
+"I wish I was."
+
+The mother looked very angrily at me and said, "I don't want you to
+speak to my children on that subject. They don't understand." And in
+great rage she took them all away from me. One daughter was fourteen
+years old, one twelve, and the other ten, but they were not old enough
+to be talked to about religion. Let them drift into the world and
+plunge into worldly amusements, and then see how hard it is to reach
+them. Many a mother is mourning to-day because her boy has gone beyond
+her reach, and will not allow her to pray with him. She may pray _for_
+him, but he will not let her pray or talk _with_ him. In those early
+days when his mind was tender and young, she might have led him to
+Christ. Bring them in. "Suffer the little children to come unto Me."
+Is there a prayerless father reading this? May God let the arrow go
+down into your soul! Make up your mind that, God helping you, you will
+get the children in. God's order is to the father first, but if he
+isn't true to his duty, then the mother should be true, and save the
+children from the wreck. Now is the time to do it while you have them
+under your roof. Exert your parental influence over them.
+
+I never speak to parents but I think of two fathers, one of whom lived
+on the banks of the Mississippi, the other in New York. The first one
+devoted all his time to amassing wealth. He had a son to whom he was
+much attached, and one day the boy was brought home badly injured. The
+father was informed that the boy could live but a short time, and he
+broke the news to his son as gently as possible.
+
+"You say I cannot live, father? O! then pray for my soul," said the
+boy.
+
+In all those years that father had never said a prayer for that boy,
+and he told him he couldn't. Shortly after, the boy died. That father
+has said since that he would give all that he possessed if he could
+call that boy back only to offer one short prayer for him.
+
+The other father had a boy who had been sick some time, and he came
+home one day and found his wife weeping. She said:
+
+"I cannot help but believe that this is going to prove fatal."
+
+The man started, and said: "If you think so, I wish you would tell
+him."
+
+But the mother could not tell her boy. The father went to the sick
+room, and he saw that death was feeling for the cords of life, and he
+said:
+
+"My son, do you know you are not going to live?"
+
+The little fellow looked up and said: "No; is this death that I feel
+stealing over me? Will I die to-day?"
+
+"Yes, my son, you cannot live the day out."
+
+And the little fellow smiled and said: "Well, father, I shall be with
+Jesus tonight, shan't I?"
+
+"Yes, you will spend the night with the Lord," and the father broke
+down and wept.
+
+The little fellow saw the tears, and said: "Don't weep for me. I will
+go to Jesus and tell Him that ever since I can remember you have
+prayed for me."
+
+I have three children, and if God should take them from me, I would
+rather have them take such a message home to Him than to have the
+wealth of the whole world. Oh! would to God I could say something to
+stir you, fathers and mothers, to get your children into the ark.
+
+
+
+HUMILITY.
+
+"Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart."--Matthew 11:29.
+
+There is no harder lesson to learn than the lesson of humility. It is
+not taught in the schools of men, only in the school of Christ. It is
+the rarest of all the gifts. Very rarely do we find a man or woman who
+is following closely the footsteps of the Master in meekness and in
+humility. I believe that it is the hardest lesson which Jesus Christ
+had to teach His disciples while He was here upon earth. It almost
+looked at first as though He had failed to teach it to the twelve men
+who had been with Him almost constantly for three years.
+
+I believe that if we are humble enough we shall be sure to get a great
+blessing. After all, I think that more depends upon us than upon the
+Lord, because He is always ready to give a blessing and give it
+freely, but we are not always in a position to receive it. He always
+blesses the humble, and, if we can get down in the dust before Him, no
+one will go away disappointed. It was Mary at the feet of Jesus, who
+had chosen the "better part."
+
+Did you ever notice the reason Christ gave for learning of Him? He
+might have said: "Learn of me, because I am the most advanced thinker
+of the age. I have performed miracles that no man else has performed.
+I have shown my supernatural power in a thousand ways." But no: the
+reason He gave was that He was "meek, and lowly in heart."
+
+We read of the three men in Scripture whose faces shone, and all three
+were noted for their meekness and humility. We are told that the face
+of Christ shone at His transfiguration; Moses, after he had been in
+the mount for forty days, came down from his communion with God with a
+shining face; and when Stephen stood before the Sanhedrim on the day
+of his death, his face was lighted up with glory. If our faces are to
+shine we must get into the valley of humility; we must go down in the
+dust before God.
+
+Bunyan says that it is hard to get down into the valley of
+humiliation, the descent into it is steep and rugged; but that it is
+very fruitful and fertile and beautiful when once we get there. I
+think that no one will dispute that; almost every man, even the
+ungodly, admires meekness.
+
+Someone asked Augustine, what was the first of the religious graces,
+and he said, "Humility." They asked him what was the second, and he
+replied, "Humility." They asked him the third, and he said,
+"Humility." I think that if we are humble, we have all the graces.
+
+Some years ago I saw what is called a sensitive plant. I happened to
+breathe on it, and suddenly it drooped its head; I touched it, and it
+withered away. Humility is as sensitive as that; it cannot safely be
+brought out on exhibition. A man who is flattering himself that he is
+humble and is walking close to the Master, is self-deceived. It
+consists not in thinking meanly of ourselves, but in not thinking of
+ourselves at all. Moses wist not that his face shone. If humility
+speaks of itself, it is gone.
+
+Someone has said that the grass is an illustration of this lowly
+grace. It was created for the lowliest service. Cut it, and it springs
+up again. The cattle feed upon it, and yet how beautiful it is.
+
+The showers fall upon the mountain peaks, and very often leave them
+barren because they rush down into the meadows and valleys and make
+the lowly places fertile. If a man is proud and lifted up, rivers of
+grace may flow over him and yet leave him barren and unfruitful, while
+they bring blessing to the man who has been brought low by the grace
+of God.
+
+A man can counterfeit love, he can counterfeit faith, he can
+counterfeit hope and all the other graces, but it is very difficult to
+counterfeit humility. You soon detect mock humility. They have a
+saying in the East among the Arabs, that as the tares and the wheat
+grow they show which God has blessed. The ears that God has blessed
+bow their heads and acknowledge every grain, and the more fruitful
+they are the lower their heads are bowed. The tares which God has sent
+as a curse, lift up their heads erect, high above the wheat, but they
+are only fruitful of evil. I have a pear tree on my farm which is very
+beautiful; it appears to be one of the most beautiful trees on my
+place. Every branch seems to be reaching up to the light and stands
+almost like a wax candle, but I never get any fruit from it. I have
+another tree, which was so full of fruit last year that the branches
+almost touched the ground. If we only get down low enough, my friends,
+God will use every one of us to His glory.
+
+"As the lark that soars the highest builds her nest the lowest; as the
+nightingale that sings so sweetly, sings in the shade when all things
+rest; as the branches that are most laden with fruit, bend lowest; as
+the ship most laden, sinks deepest in the water;--so the holiest
+Christians are the humblest."
+
+The _London Times_ some years ago told the story of a petition that
+was being circulated for signatures. It was a time of great
+excitement, and this petition was intended to have great influence in
+the House of Lords; but there was one word left out. Instead of
+reading, "We humbly beseech thee," it read, "We beseech thee." So it
+was ruled out. My friends, if we want to make an appeal to the God of
+Heaven, we must humble ourselves; and if we do humble ourselves before
+the Lord, we shall not be disappointed.
+
+As I have been studying some Bible characters that illustrate
+humility, I have been ashamed of myself. If you have any regard for
+me, pray that I may have humility. When I put my life beside the life
+of some of these men, I say, Shame on the Christianity of the present
+day. If you want to get a good idea of yourself, look at some of the
+Bible characters that have been clothed with meekness and humility,
+and see what a contrast is your position before God and man.
+
+One of the meekest characters in history was John the Baptist. You
+remember when they sent a deputation to him and asked if he was Elias,
+or this prophet, or that prophet, he said, "No." Now he might have
+said some very flattering things of himself. He might have said:
+
+"I am the son of the old priest Zacharias. Haven't you heard of my
+fame as a preacher? I have baptized more people probably, than any man
+living. The world has never seen a preacher like myself."
+
+I honestly believe that in the present day most men standing in his
+position would do that. On the railroad train, some time ago, I heard
+a man talking so loud that all the people in the car could hear him.
+He said that he had baptized more people than any man in his
+denomination. He told how many thousand miles he had traveled, how
+many sermons he had preached, how many open-air services he had held,
+and this and that, until I was so ashamed that I had to hide my head.
+This is the age of boasting. It is the day of the great "I."
+
+My attention was recently called to the fact that in all the Psalms
+you cannot find any place where David refers to his victory over the
+giant, Goliath. If it had been in the present day, there would have
+been a volume written about it at once; I don't know how many poems
+there would be telling of the great things that this man had done. He
+would have been in demand as a lecturer, and would have added a title
+to his name: G. G. K.,--Great Giant Killer. That is how it is to-day:
+great evangelists, great preachers, great theologians, great bishops.
+
+"John," they asked, "who are you?"
+
+"I am nobody. I am to be heard, not to be seen. I am only a voice."
+
+He hadn't a word to say about himself. I once heard a little bird
+faintly singing close by me,--at last it got clear out of sight, and
+then its notes were still sweeter. The higher it flew the sweeter
+sounded its notes. If we can only get self out of sight and learn of
+Him who was meek and lowly in heart we shall be lifted up into
+heavenly places.
+
+Mark tells us, in the first chapter and seventh verse, that John came
+and preached saying, "There cometh one mightier than I after me, the
+latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose."
+Think of that; and bear in mind that Christ was looked upon as a
+deceiver, a village carpenter, and yet here is John, the son of the
+old priest, who had a much higher position in the sight of men than
+that of Jesus. Great crowds were coming to hear him, and even Herod
+attended his meetings.
+
+When his disciples came and told John that Christ was beginning to
+draw crowds, he nobly answered: "A man can receive nothing, except it
+be given him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness that I said, I
+am not the Christ, but that I am sent before Him. He that hath the
+bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which
+standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the
+bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must
+increase, but I must decrease."
+
+It is easy to read that, but it is hard for us to live in the power of
+it. It is very hard for us to be ready to decrease, to grow smaller
+and smaller, that Christ may increase. The morning star fades away
+when the sun rises.
+
+"He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is
+earthly, and speaketh of the earth: He that cometh from heaven is
+above all, and what He hath seen and heard, that He testifieth; and no
+man receiveth His testimony. He that hath received His testimony hath
+set to his seal that God is true. For He whom God hath sent speaketh
+the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him."
+
+Let us now turn the light upon ourselves. Have we been decreasing of
+late? Do we think less of ourselves and of our position than we did a
+year ago? Are we seeking to obtain some position of dignity? Are we
+wanting to hold on to some title, and are we offended because we are
+not treated with the courtesy that we think is due us? Some time ago I
+heard a man in the pulpit say that he should take offence if he was
+not addressed by his title. My dear friend, are you going to take that
+position that you must have a title, and that you must have every
+letter addressed with that title or you will be offended? John did not
+want any title, and when we are right with God, we shall not be caring
+about titles. In one of his early epistles Paul calls himself the
+"least of all the apostles." Later on he claims to be "less than the
+least of all saints," and again, just before his death, humbly
+declares that he is the "chief of sinners." Notice how he seems to
+have grown smaller and smaller in his own estimation. So it was with
+John. And I do hope and pray that as the days go by we may feel like
+hiding ourselves, and let God have all the honor and glory.
+
+"When I look back upon my own religious experience," says Andrew
+Murray, "or round upon the Church of Christ in the world, I stand
+amazed at the thought of how little humility is sought after as the
+distinguishing feature of the discipleship of Jesus. In preaching and
+living, in the daily intercourse of the home and social life, in the
+more special fellowship with Christians, in the direction and
+performance of work for Christ--alas! how much proof there is that
+humility is not esteemed the cardinal virtue, the only root from which
+the graces can grow, the one indispensable condition of true
+fellowship with Jesus."
+
+See what Christ says about John. "He was a burning and shining light."
+Christ gave him the honor that belonged to him. If you take a humble
+position, Christ will see it. If you want God to help you, then take a
+low position.
+
+I am afraid that if we had been in John's place, many of us would have
+said: "What did Christ say,--I am a burning and shining light?" Then
+we would have had that recommendation put in the newspapers, and would
+have sent them to our friends, with that part marked in blue pencil.
+Sometimes I get a letter just full of clippings from the newspapers,
+stating that this man is more eloquent than Gough, etc. And the man
+wants me to get him some church. Do you think that a man who has such
+eloquence would be looking for a church? No, they would all be looking
+for him.
+
+My dear friends, isn't it humiliating? Sometimes I think it is a
+wonder that any man is converted these days. Let another praise you.
+Don't be around praising yourself. If we want God to lift us up, let
+us get down. The lower we get, the higher God will lift us. It is
+Christ's eulogy of John, "Greater than any man born of woman."
+
+There is a story told of Carey, the great missionary, that he was
+invited by the Governor-general of India to go to a dinner party at
+which were some military officers belonging to the aristocracy, and
+who looked down upon missionaries with scorn and contempt.
+
+One of these officers said at the table: "I believe that Carey was a
+shoemaker, wasn't he, before he took up the profession of a
+missionary?"
+
+Mr. Carey spoke up and said: "Oh no, I was only a cobbler. I could
+mend shoes, and wasn't ashamed of it."
+
+The one prominent virtue of Christ, next to His obedience, is His
+humility; and even His obedience grew out of His humility. Being in
+the form of God, He counted it not a thing to be grasped to be on an
+equality with God, but He emptied Himself, taking the form of a
+bond-servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in
+fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death,
+yea, the death of the cross. In His lowly birth, His submission to His
+earthly parents, His seclusion during thirty years, His consorting
+with the poor and despised, His entire submission and dependence upon
+His Father, this virtue that was consummated in His death on the
+cross, shines out.
+
+One day Jesus was on His way to Capernaum, and was talking about His
+coming death and suffering, and about His resurrection, and He heard
+quite a heated discussion going on behind Him. When He came into the
+house at Capernaum, He turned to His disciples, and said:
+
+"What was all that discussion about?"
+
+I see John look at James, and Peter at Andrew,--and they all looked
+ashamed. "Who shall be the greater?" That discussion has wrecked party
+after party, one society after another--"Who shall be the greatest?"
+
+The way Christ took to teach them humility was by putting a little
+child in their midst and saying: "If you want to be great, take that
+little child for an example, and he who wants to be the greatest, let
+him be servant of all."
+
+To me, one of the saddest things in all the life of Jesus Christ was
+the fact that just before His crucifixion, His disciples should have
+been striving to see who should be the greatest, that night He
+instituted the Supper, and they ate the Passover together. It was His
+last night on earth, and they never saw Him so sorrowful before. He
+knew Judas was going to sell Him for thirty pieces of silver. He knew
+that Peter would deny Him. And yet, in addition to this, when going
+into the very shadow of the cross, there arose this strife as to who
+should be the greatest. He took a towel and girded Himself like a
+slave, and He took a basin of water and stooped and washed their feet.
+That was another object lesson of humility. He said, "Ye call me Lord,
+and ye do well. If you want to be great in my Kingdom, be servant of
+all. If you serve, you shall be great."
+
+When the Holy Ghost came, and those men were filled, from that time on
+mark the difference: Matthew takes up his pen to write, and he keeps
+Matthew out of sight. He tells what Peter and Andrew did, but he calls
+himself Matthew "the publican." He tells how they left all to follow
+Christ, but does not mention the feast he gave. Jerome says that
+Mark's gospel is to be regarded as memoirs of Peter's discourses, and
+to have been published by his authority. Yet here we constantly find
+that damaging things are mentioned about Peter, and things to his
+credit are not referred to. Mark's gospel omits all allusion to
+Peter's faith in venturing on the sea, but goes into detail about the
+story of his fall and denial of our Lord. Peter put himself down, and
+lifted others up.
+
+If the Gospel of Luke had been written to-day, it would be signed by
+the great Dr. Luke, and you would have his photograph as a
+frontispiece. But you can't find Luke's name; he keeps out of sight.
+He wrote two books, and his name is not to be found in either. John
+covers himself always under the expression--"the disciple whom Jesus
+loved." None of the four men whom history and tradition assert to be
+the authors of the gospels, lay claim to the authorship in their
+writings. Dear man of God, I would that I had the same spirit, that I
+could just get out of sight,--hide myself.
+
+My dear friends, I believe our only hope is to be filled with the
+Spirit of Christ. May God fill us, so that we shall be filled with
+meekness and humility. Let us take the hymn, "O, to be nothing,
+nothing," and make it the language of our hearts. It breathes the
+spirit of Him who said: "The Son can do _nothing_ of Himself!"
+
+   Oh to be nothing, nothing!
+      Only to lie at His feet,
+   A broken and emptied vessel,
+      For the Master's use made meet.
+   Emptied, that He might fill me
+      As forth to His service I go;
+   Broken, that so unhindered,
+      His life through me might flow.
+
+
+
+REST.
+
+Some years ago a gentleman came to me and asked me which I thought was
+the most precious promise of all those that Christ left. I took some
+time to look them over, but I gave it up. I found that I could not
+answer the question. It is like a man with a large family of children,
+he cannot tell which he likes best; he loves them all. But if not the
+best, this is one of the sweetest promises of all: "_Come unto Me, all
+ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my
+yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and
+ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and My burden
+is light_."
+
+There are a good many people who think the promises are not going to
+be fulfilled. There are some that you do see fulfilled, and you cannot
+help but believe they are true. Now remember that all the promises are
+not given without conditions. Some are given with, and others without,
+conditions attached to them. For instance, it says, "If I regard
+iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." Now, I need not pray
+as long as I am cherishing some known sin. He will not hear me, much
+less answer me. The Lord says in the eighty fourth Psalm, "No good
+thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly." If I am not
+walking uprightly I have no claims under the promise. Again, some of
+the promises were made to certain individuals or nations. For
+instance, God said that He would make Abraham's seed to multiply as
+the stars of heaven: but that is not a promise for you or me. Some
+promises were made to the Jews, and do not apply to the Gentiles.
+
+Then there are promises without conditions. He promised Adam and Eve
+that the world should have a Savior, and there was no power in earth
+or perdition that could keep Christ from coming at the appointed time.
+When Christ left the world, He said He would send us the Holy Ghost.
+He had only been gone ten days when the Holy Ghost came. And so you
+can run right through the Scriptures, and you will find that some of
+the promises are with, and some without, conditions; and if we don't
+comply with the conditions we cannot expect them to be fulfilled.
+
+I believe it will be the experience of every man and woman on the face
+of the earth, I believe that everyone will be obliged to testify in
+the evening of life, that if they have complied with the condition,
+the Lord has fulfilled His word to the letter. Joshua, the old Hebrew
+hero, was an illustration. After having tested God forty years in the
+Egyptian brick-kilns, forty years in the desert, and thirty years in
+the Promised Land, his dying testimony was: "Not one thing hath failed
+of all the good things which the Lord promised." I believe you could
+heave the ocean easier than break one of God's promises. So when we
+come to a promise like the one we have before us now, I want you to
+bear in mind that there is no discount upon it. "Come unto Me, all ye
+that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
+
+Perhaps you say: "I hope Mr. Moody is not going to preach on this old
+text." Yes: I am. When I take up an album, it does not interest me if
+all the photographs are new; but if I know any of the faces. I stop at
+once. So with these old, well-known texts. They have quenched our
+thirst before, but the water is still bubbling up--we cannot drink it
+dry.
+
+If you probe the human heart, you will find a want, and that want is
+rest. The cry of the world to day is, "Where can rest be found?" Why
+are theaters and places of amusement crowded at night? What is the
+secret of Sunday driving, of the saloons and brothels? Some think they
+are going to get it in pleasure, others think they are going to get it
+in wealth, and others in literature. They are seeking and finding no
+rest.
+
+Where Can Rest be Found?
+
+If I wanted to find a person who had rest I would not go among the
+very wealthy. The man that we read of in the twelfth chapter of Luke,
+thought he was going to get rest by multiplying his goods, but he was
+disappointed. "Soul, take thine ease." I venture to say that there is
+not a person in this wide world who has tried to find rest in that way
+and found it.
+
+Money cannot buy it. Many a millionaire would gladly give millions if
+he could purchase it as he does his stocks and shares. God has made
+the soul a little too large for this world. Roll the whole world in,
+and still there is room. There is care in getting wealth, and more
+care in keeping it.
+
+Nor would I go among the pleasure seekers. They have a few hours'
+enjoyment, but the next day there is enough sorrow to counterbalance
+it. They may drink the cup of pleasure to-day, but the cup of pain
+comes on to-morrow.
+
+To find rest I would never go among the politicians, or among the
+so-called great. Congress is the last place on earth that I would go.
+In the Lower House they want to go to the Senate; in the Senate they
+want to go to the Cabinet; and then they want to go to the White
+House; and rest has never been found there. Nor would I go among the
+halls of learning. "Much study is a weariness to the flesh." I would
+not go among the upper ten, the "bon-ton," for they are constantly
+chasing after fashion. Have you not noticed their troubled faces on
+our streets? And the face is index to the soul. They have no hopeful
+look. Their worship of pleasure is slavery. Solomon tried pleasure,
+and found bitter disappointment, and down the ages has come the bitter
+cry, "All is vanity."
+
+Now, there is no rest in sin. The wicked know nothing about it. The
+Scriptures tell us the wicked "are like the troubled sea that cannot
+rest." You have, perhaps been on the sea when there is a calm, when
+the water is as clear as crystal, and it seemed as if the sea were at
+rest. But if you looked you would see that the waves came in, and that
+the calm was only on the surface. Man, like the sea, has no rest. He
+has had no rest since Adam fell, and there is none for him until he
+returns to God again, and the light of Christ shines into his heart.
+
+Rest cannot be found in the world, and thank God the world cannot take
+it from the believing heart! Sin is the cause of all this unrest. It
+brought toil and labor and misery into the world.
+
+Now for something positive. I would go successfully to someone who has
+heard the sweet voice of Jesus, and has laid his burden down at the
+cross. There is rest, sweet rest. Thousands could certify to this
+blessed fact. They could say, and truthfully:
+
+   I heard the voice of Jesus say,
+      "Come unto me and rest.
+   Lay down, thou weary one, lay down,
+      Thy head upon my breast."
+   I came to Jesus as I was,
+      Weary and worn and sad.
+   I found in Him a resting-place,
+      And He hath made me glad.
+
+Among all his writings St. Augustine has nothing sweeter than this:
+"Thou hast made us for Thyself, O God, and our heart is restless till
+it rests in Thee."
+
+Do you know that for four thousand years no prophet or priest or
+patriarch ever stood up and uttered a text like this? It would be
+blasphemy for Moses to have uttered a text like it. Do you think he
+had rest when he was teasing the Lord to let him go into the Promised
+Land? Do you think Elijah could have uttered such a text as this,
+when, under the juniper-tree, he prayed that he might die? And this is
+one of the strongest proofs that Jesus Christ was not only man, but
+God. He was God-Man, and this is Heaven's proclamation, "Come unto Me,
+and I will give you rest". He brought it down from heaven with Him.
+
+Now, if this text was not true, don't you think it would have been
+found out by this time? I believe it as much as I believe in my
+existence. Why? Because I not only find it in the Book, but in my own
+experience. The "I wills" of Christ have never been broken, and never
+can be.
+
+I thank God for the word "give" in that passage. He doesn't sell it.
+Some of us are so poor that we could not buy it if it was for sale.
+Thank God, we can get it for nothing.
+
+I like to have a text like this, because it takes us all in. "Come
+unto me all ye that labor." That doesn't mean a select few--refined
+ladies and cultured men. It doesn't mean good people only. It applies
+to saint and sinner. Hospitals are for the sick, not for healthy
+people. Do you think that Christ would shut the door in anyone's face,
+and say, "I did not mean _all_; I only meant certain ones"? If you
+cannot come as a saint, come as a sinner. Only come!
+
+A lady told me once that she was so hard-hearted she couldn't come.
+
+"Well," I said, "my good woman, it doesn't say all ye soft-hearted
+people come. Black hearts, vile hearts, hard hearts, soft hearts, all
+hearts come. Who can soften your hard heart but Himself?"
+
+The harder the heart, the more need you have to come. If my watch
+stops I don't take it to a drug store or to a blacksmith's shop, but
+to the watchmaker's, to have it repaired. So if the heart gets out of
+order take it to its keeper, Christ, to have it set right. If you can
+prove that you are a sinner, you are entitled to the promise. Get all
+the benefit you can out of it.
+
+Now, there are a good many believers who think this text applies only
+to sinners; It is just the thing for them too. What do we see to-day?
+The Church, Christian people, all loaded down with cares and troubles.
+"Come unto me all ye that labor." All! I believe that includes the
+Christian whose heart is burdened with some great sorrow. The Lord
+wants you to come.
+
+Christ the Burden-Bearer.
+
+It says in another place, "Casting all your care upon Him, for He
+careth for you." We would have a victorious Church if we could get
+Christian people to realize that. But they have never made the
+discovery. They agree that Christ is the sin-bearer, but they do not
+realize that He is also the burden-bearer. "Surely He hath borne our
+griefs and carried our sorrows." It is the privilege of every child of
+God to walk in unclouded sunlight.
+
+Some people go back into the past and rake up all the troubles they
+ever had, and then they look into the future and anticipate that they
+will have still more trouble, and they go reeling and staggering all
+through life. They give you the cold chills every time they meet you.
+They put on a whining voice, and tell you what "a hard time they have
+had." I believe they embalm them, and bring out the mummy on every
+opportunity. The Lord says, "Cast all your care on Me. I want to carry
+your burdens and your troubles." What we want is a joyful Church, and
+we are not going to convert the world until we have it. We want to get
+this long-faced Christianity off the face of the earth.
+
+Take these people that have some great burden, and let them come into
+a meeting. If you can get their attention upon the singing or
+preaching, they will say, "Oh, wasn't it grand! I forgot all my
+cares." And they just drop their bundle at the end of the pew. But the
+moment the benediction is pronounced they grab the bundle again. You
+laugh, but you do it yourself. Cast your care on Him.
+
+Sometimes they go into their closet and close their door, and they get
+so carried away and lifted up that they forget their trouble; but they
+just take it up again the moment they get off their knees. Leave your
+sorrow now; cast all your care upon Him. If you cannot come to Christ
+as a saint, come as a sinner. But if you are a saint with some trouble
+or care, bring it to Him. Saint and sinner, come! He wants you all.
+Don't let Satan deceive you into believing that you cannot come if you
+will. Christ says, "Ye will not come unto Me." With the command comes
+the power.
+
+A man in one of our meetings in Europe said he would like to come, but
+he was chained, and couldn't come.
+
+A Scotchman said to him, "Ay, man, why don't you come chain and all?"
+
+He said, "I never thought of that."
+
+Are you cross and peevish, and do you make things unpleasant at home?
+My friend, come to Christ and ask Him to help you. Whatever the sin
+is, bring it to Him.
+
+What Does it Mean to Come?
+
+Perhaps you say, "Mr. Moody, I wish you would tell us what it is to
+come." I have given up trying to explain it. I always feel like the
+colored minister who said he was going to _confound_, instead of
+_expound_, the chapter.
+
+The best definition is just--come. The more you try to explain it, the
+more you are mystified. About the first thing a mother teaches her
+child is to look. She takes the baby to the window, and says, "Look,
+baby, papa is coming!" Then she teaches the child to come. She props
+it up against a chair, and says, "Come!" and by and by the little
+thing pushes the chair along towards mamma. That's coming. You don't
+need to go to college to learn how. You don't need any minister to
+tell you what it is. Now will you come to Christ? He said, "Him that
+cometh unto Me, I will in no wise cast out."
+
+When we have such a promise as this, let us cling to it, and never
+give it up. Christ is not mocking us. He wants us to come with all our
+sins and backslidings, and throw ourselves upon His bosom. It is our
+sins God wants, not our tears only. They alone do no good. And we
+cannot come through resolutions. Action is necessary. How many times
+at church have we said, "I will turn over a new leaf," but the Monday
+leaf is worse than the Saturday leaf.
+
+The way to heaven is straight as a rule, but it is the way of the
+cross. Don't try to get around it. Shall I tell you what the "yoke"
+referred to in the text is? It is the cross which Christians must
+bear. The only way by which you can find rest in this dark world is by
+taking up the yoke of Christ. I do not know what it may include in
+your case, beyond taking up your Christian duties, acknowledging
+Christ and acting as becomes one of His disciples. Perhaps it may be
+to erect a gamily altar; or to tell a godless husband that you have
+made up your mind to serve God; or to tell your parents that you want
+to be a Christian. Follow the will of God, and happiness and peace and
+rest will come. The way of obedience is always the way of blessing.
+
+I was preaching in Chicago to a hall full of women one Sunday
+afternoon, and after the meeting was over a lady came to me and said
+she wanted to talk to me. She said she would accept Christ, and after
+some conversation she went home. I looked for her for a whole week,
+but didn't see her until the following Sunday afternoon. She came and
+sat down right in front of me, and her face had such a sad expression.
+She seemed to have entered into the misery, instead of the joy, of the
+Lord.
+
+After the meeting was over I went to her and asked her what the
+trouble was.
+
+She said: "Oh, Mr. Moody, this has been the most miserable week of my
+life."
+
+I asked her if there was anyone with whom she had had trouble and whom
+she could not forgive.
+
+She said: "No, not that I know of."
+
+"Well, did you tell your friends about having found the Savior?"
+
+"Indeed I didn't, I have been all the week trying to keep it from
+them."
+
+"Well," I said, "that is the reason why you have no peace."
+
+She wanted to take the crown, but did not want the cross. My friends,
+you must go by the way of Calvary. If you ever get rest, you must get
+it at the foot of the cross.
+
+"Why," she said, "if I should go home and tell my infidel husband that
+I had found Christ I don't know what he would do. I think he would
+turn me out."
+
+"Well," I said, "go out."
+
+She went away, promising that she would tell him, timid and pale, but
+she did not want another wretched week. She was bound to have peace.
+
+The next night I gave a lecture to men only, and in the hall there
+were eight thousand men and one solitary woman. When I got through and
+went into the inquiry meeting, I found this lady with her husband. She
+introduced him to me (he was a doctor, and a very influential man) and
+said:
+
+"He wants to become a Christian."
+
+I took my Bible and told him all about Christ, and he accepted Him. I
+said to her after it was all over:
+
+"It turned out quite differently from what you expected, didn't it?"
+
+"Yes," she replied, "I was never so scared in my life. I expected he
+would do something dreadful, but it has turned out so well."
+
+She took God's way, and got rest.
+
+I want to say to young ladies, perhaps you have a godless father or
+mother, a sceptical brother, who is going down through drink, and
+perhaps there is no one who can reach them but you. How many times a
+godly, pure young lady has taken the light into some darkened home!
+Many a home might be lit up with the Gospel if the mothers and
+daughters would only speak the word.
+
+The last time Mr. Sankey and myself were in Edinburgh, there were a
+father, two sisters and a brother, who used every morning to take the
+morning paper and pick my sermon to pieces. They were indignant to
+think that the Edinburgh people should be carried away with such
+preaching. One day one of the sisters was going by the hall, and she
+thought she would drop in and see what class of people went there. She
+happened to take a seat by a godly lady, who said to her:
+
+"I hope you are interested in this work."
+
+She tossed her head and said: "Indeed I am not. I am disgusted with
+everything I have seen and heard."
+
+"Well," said the lady, "perhaps you came prejudiced."
+
+"Yes, and the meeting has not removed any of it, but has rather
+increased it."
+
+"I have received a great deal of good from them."
+
+"There is nothing here for me. I don't see how an intellectual person
+can be interested."
+
+To make a long story short, she got the lady to promise to come back.
+When the meeting broke up, just a little of the prejudice had worn
+away. She promised to come back again the next day, and then she
+attended three or four more meetings, and became quite interested. She
+said nothing to her family, until finally the burden became too heavy,
+and she told them. They laughed at her, and made her the butt of their
+ridicule.
+
+One day the two sisters were together, and the other said: "Now what
+have you got at those meetings that you didn't have in the first
+place?"
+
+"I have a peace that I never knew of before. I am at peace with God,
+myself and all the world." Did you ever have a little war of your own
+with your neighbors, in your own family? And she said: "I have
+self-control. You know, sister, if you had said half the mean things
+before I was converted that you have said since, I would have been
+angry and answered back, but if you remember correctly, I haven't
+answered once since I have been converted."
+
+The sister said: "You certainly have something that I have not." The
+other told her it was for her too, and she brought the sister to the
+meetings, where she found peace.
+
+Like Martha and Mary, they had a brother, but he was a member of the
+University of Edinburgh. He be converted? He go to these meetings? It
+might do for women, but not for him. One night they came home and told
+him that a chum of his own, a member of the University, had stood up
+and confessed Christ, and when he sat down his brother got up and
+confessed; and so with the third one.
+
+When the young man heard it, he said: "Do you mean to tell me that he
+has been converted?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Well," he said, "there must be something in it."
+
+He put on his hat, and coat, and went to see his friend Black. Black
+got him down to the meetings, and he was converted.
+
+We went through to Glasgow, and had not been there six weeks when news
+came that that young man had been stricken down and died. When he was
+dying he called his father to his bedside and said:
+
+"Wasn't it a good thing that my sisters went to those meetings? Won't
+you meet me in heaven, father?"
+
+"Yes, my son, I am so glad you are a Christian; that is the only
+comfort that I have in losing you. I will become a Christian, and will
+meet you again."
+
+I tell this to encourage some sister to go home and carry the message
+of salvation. It may be that your brother may be taken away in a few
+months. My dear friends, are we not living in solemn days? Isn't it
+time for us to get our friends into the Kingdom of God? Come, wife,
+won't you tell your husband? Come, sister, won't you tell your
+brother? Won't you take up your cross now? The blessing of God will
+rest on your soul if you will.
+
+I was in Wales once, and a lady told me this little story: An English
+friend of hers, a mother, had a child that was sick. At first they
+considered there was no danger, until one day the doctor came in and
+said that the symptoms were very unfavorable. He took the mother out
+of the room, and told her that the child could not live. It came like
+a thunderbolt. After the doctor had gone the mother went into the room
+where the child lay and began to talk to the child and tried to divert
+its mind.
+
+"Darling, do you know you will soon hear the music of heaven? You will
+hear a sweeter song than you have ever heard on earth. You will hear
+them sing the song of Moses and the Lamb. You are very fond of music.
+Won't it be sweet, darling?"
+
+And the little tired, sick child turned its head away, and said, "Oh
+mamma, I am so tired and so sick that I think it would make me worse
+to hear all that music."
+
+"Well," the mother said, "you will soon see Jesus, You will see the
+seraphim and cherubim and the streets all paved with gold"; and she
+went on picturing heaven as it is described in Revelation.
+
+The little tired child again turned its head away, and said, "Oh
+mamma, I am so tired that I think it would make me worse to see all
+those beautiful things!"
+
+At last the mother took the child up in her arms, and pressed her to
+her loving heart. And the little sick one whispered:
+
+"Oh mamma, that is what I want. If Jesus will only take me in His arms
+and let me rest!"
+
+Dear friend, are you not tired and weary of sin? Are you not weary of
+the turmoil of life? You can end rest on the bosom of the Son of God.
+
+
+
+SEVEN "I WILLS" OF CHRIST.
+
+A man when he says "I will," may not mean much. We very often say "I
+will," when we don't mean to fulfil what we say; but when we come to
+the "I will" of Christ, He means to fulfil it. Everything He has
+promised to do, He is able and willing to accomplish; and He is going
+to do it. I cannot find any passage in Scripture in which He says "I
+will" do this, or "I will" do that, but it will be done.
+
+1. The "I Will" of Salvation.
+
+The first "I will" to which I want to direct your attention, is to be
+found in John's gospel, sixth chapter and thirty-seventh verse: "_Him
+that cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out._"
+
+I imagine someone will say, "Well, if I was what I ought to be, I
+would come; but when my mind goes over the past record of my life, it
+is too dark. I am not fit to come."
+
+You must bear in mind that Jesus Christ came to save not good people,
+not the upright and just, but sinners like you and me, who have gone
+astray, and sinned and come short of the glory of God. Listen to this
+"I will"--it goes right into the heart--"Him that cometh unto Me, I
+will in no wise cast out." Surely that is broad enough--is it not? I
+don't care who the man or woman is; I don't care what their trials,
+what their troubles, what their sorrows, or what their sins are, if
+they will only come straight to the Master, He will not cast them out.
+Come then, poor sinner; come just as you are, and take Him at His
+word.
+
+He is so anxious to save sinners, He will take everyone who comes. He
+will take those who are so full of sin that they are despised by all
+who know them, who have been rejected by their fathers and mothers,
+who have been cast off by the wives of their bosoms. He will take
+those who have sunk so low that upon them no eye of pity is cast. His
+occupation is to hear and save. That is what He left heaven and came
+into the world for; that is what He left the throne of God for--to
+save sinners. "The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which
+was lost." He did not come to condemn the world but that the world
+through Him might be saved.
+
+A wild and prodigal young man, who was running a headlong career to
+ruin came into one of our meetings in Chicago. The Spirit of God got
+hold of him. Whilst I was conversing with him, and endeavoring to
+bring him to Christ, I quoted this verse to him.
+
+I asked him: "Do you believe Christ said that?"
+
+"I suppose He did."
+
+"Suppose He did! do you believe it?"
+
+"I hope so."
+
+"Hope so! do you believe it? You do your work, and the Lord will do
+His. Just come as you are, and throw yourself upon His bosom, and He
+will not cast you out."
+
+This man thought it was too simple and easy.
+
+At last light seemed to break in upon him, and he seemed to find
+comfort from it. It was past midnight before he got down on his knees,
+but down he went, and was converted. I said:
+
+"Now, don't think you are going to get out of the devil's territory
+without trouble. The devil will come to you to-morrow morning, and say
+it was all feeling; that you only imagined you were accepted by God.
+When he does, don't fight him with your own opinions, but fight him
+with John 6:37: 'Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.'
+Let that be the 'sword of the Spirit.'"
+
+I don't believe that any man ever starts to go to Christ, but the
+devil strives somehow or other to meet him and trip him up. And even
+after he has come to Christ, the devil tries to assail him with
+doubts, and make him believe there is something wrong in it.
+
+The struggle came sooner than I thought in this man's case. When he
+was on his way home the devil assailed him. He used this text, but the
+devil put this thought into his mind: "How do you know Christ ever
+said that after all? Perhaps the translators made a mistake."
+
+Into darkness he went again. He was in trouble till about two in the
+morning. At last he came to this conclusion. Said he:
+
+"I will believe it anyway; and when I get to heaven, if it isn't true,
+I will just tell the Lord _I_ didn't make the mistake--the translators
+made it."
+
+The kings and princes of this world, when they issue invitations, call
+round them the rich, the mighty and powerful, the honorable and the
+wise; but the Lord, when He was on earth; called round Him the vilest
+of the vile. That was the principal fault the people found with Him.
+Those self-righteous Pharisees were not going to associate with
+harlots and publicans. The principal charge against Him was: "This man
+receiveth sinners and eateth with them." Who would have such a man
+around him as John Bunyan in his time? He, a Bedford tinker, couldn't
+get inside one of the princely castles. I was very much amused when I
+was over on the other side. They had erected a monument to John
+Bunyan, and it was unveiled by lords and dukes and great men. While he
+was on earth, they would not have allowed him inside the walls of
+their castles. Yet he was made one of the mightiest instruments in the
+spread of the Gospel. No book that has ever been written comes so near
+the Bible as John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress." And he was a poor
+Bedford tinker. So it is with God. He picks up some poor, lost tramp,
+and makes him an instrument to turn hundreds and thousands to Christ.
+
+George Whitefield, standing in his tabernacle in London, and with a
+multitude gathered about him, cried out: "The Lord Jesus will save the
+devil's castaways!"
+
+Two poor abandoned wretches standing outside in the street, heard him,
+as his silvery voice rang out on the air. Looking into each other's
+faces, they said: "That must mean you and me." They wept and rejoiced.
+They drew near and looked in at the door, at the face of the earnest
+messenger, the tears streaming from his eyes as he plead with the
+people to give their hearts to God. One of them wrote him a little
+note and sent it to him.
+
+Later that day, as he sat at the table of Lady Huntington, who was his
+special friend, someone present said:
+
+"Mr. Whitefield, did you not go a little too far to-day when you said
+that the Lord would save the devil's castaways?"
+
+Taking the note from his pocket he gave it to the lady, and said:
+"Will you read that note aloud?"
+
+She read: "Mr. Whitefield: Two poor lost women stood outside your
+tabernacle to-day, and heard you say that the Lord would save the
+devil's castaways. We seized upon that as our last hope, and we write
+you this to tell you that we rejoice now in believing in Him, and from
+this good hour we shall endeavor to serve Him, who has done so much
+for us."
+
+2. The "I Will" of Cleansing.
+
+The next "I will" is found in Luke, fifth chapter. We read of a leper
+who came to Christ, and said: "Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me
+clean." The Lord touched him, saying, "_I will: be thou clean_"; and
+immediately the leprosy left him.
+
+Now if any man or woman full of the leprosy of sin read this, if you
+will but go to the Master and tell all your case to Him, He will speak
+to you as He did to that poor leper and say. "I will: be thou clean,"
+and the leprosy of your sins will flee away from you. It is the Lord,
+and the Lord alone, who can forgive sins. If you say to Him, "Lord, I
+am full of sin; Thou canst make me clean"; "Lord, I have a terrible
+temper; Thou canst make me clean"; "Lord, I have a deceitful heart.
+Cleanse me, O Lord; give me a new heart. O Lord, give me the power to
+overcome the flesh, and the snares of the devil!"; "Lord, I am full of
+unclean habits"; if you come to Him with a sincere spirit, you will
+hear the voice, "I will; be thou clean." It will be done. Do you think
+that the God who created the world out of nothing, who by a breath put
+life into the world--do you think that if He says, "Thou shalt be
+clean," you will not?
+
+Now, you can make a wonderful exchange to-day. You can have health in
+the place of sickness; you can get rid of everything that is vile and
+hateful in the sight of God. The Son of God comes down, and says, "I
+will take away your leprosy, and give you health in its stead. I will
+take away that terrible disease that is ruining your body and soul,
+and give you my righteousness in its stead. I will clothe you with the
+garments of salvation."
+
+Is it not wonderful? That's what He means when He says--_I will_. Oh,
+lay hold of this "I will!"
+
+3. The "I Will" of Confession.
+
+Now turn to Matthew, tenth chapter, thirty-second verse: "_Whosoever
+therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before
+my Father which is in heaven_." There's the "I will" of confession.
+
+Now, that's the next thing that takes place after a man is saved. When
+we have been washed in the blood of the Lamb, the next thing is to get
+our mouths opened. We have to confess Christ here in this dark world,
+and tell His love to others. We are not to be ashamed of the Son of
+God.
+
+A man thinks it a great honor when he has achieved a victory that
+causes his name to be mentioned in the English Parliament, or in the
+presence of the Queen and her court. How excited we used to be during
+the war, when some general did something extraordinary, and someone
+got up in Congress to confess his exploits; how the papers used to
+talk about it! In China, we read, the highest ambition of the
+successful soldier is to have his name written in the palace or temple
+of Confucius. But just think of having your name mentioned in the
+kingdom of heaven by the Prince of Glory, by the Son of God, because
+you confess Him here on earth! You confess Him here; He will confess
+you yonder.
+
+If you wish to be brought into the clear light of liberty, you must
+take your stand on Christ's side. I have known many Christians go
+groping about in darkness, and never get into the clear light of the
+kingdom, because they were ashamed to confess the Son of God. We are
+living in a day when men want a religion without the cross. They want
+the crown, but not the cross. But if we are to be disciples of Jesus
+Christ, we have to take up our crosses _daily_--not once a year, or on
+the Sabbath, but daily. And if we take up our crosses and follow Him,
+we shall be blessed in the very act.
+
+I remember a man in New York who used to come and pray with me. He had
+his cross. He was afraid to confess Christ. It seemed that down at the
+bottom of his trunk he had a Bible. He wanted to get it out and read
+it to the companion with whom he lived, but he was ashamed to do it.
+For a whole week that was his cross; and after he had carried the
+burden that long, and after a terrible struggle, he made up his mind.
+He said, "I will take my Bible out tonight and read it." He took it
+out, and soon he heard the footsteps of his mate coming upstairs.
+
+His first impulse was to put it away again, but then he thought he
+would not--he would face his companion with it. His mate came in, and
+seeing him at his Bible, said,
+
+"John, are you interested in these things?" "Yes," he replied.
+
+"How long has this been, then?" asked his companion.
+
+"Exactly a week," he answered; "for a whole week I have tried to get
+out my Bible to read to you, but I have never done so till now."
+
+"Well," said his friend, "it is a strange thing. _I was converted on
+the some night_, and I too was ashamed to take my Bible out."
+
+You are ashamed to take your Bible out and say, "I have lived a
+godless life for all these years, but I will commence now to live a
+life of righteousness." You are ashamed to open your Bible and read
+that blessed Psalm, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." You
+are ashamed to be seen on your knees. No man can be a disciple of
+Jesus Christ without bearing His cross. A great many people want to
+know how it is Jesus Christ has so few disciples, whilst Mahomet has
+so many. The reason is that Mahomet gives no cross to bear. There are
+so few men who will come out to take their stand.
+
+I was struck during the American war with the fact that there were so
+many men who could go to the cannon's mouth without trembling, but who
+had not courage to take up their Bibles to read them at night. They
+were ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the power of God
+unto salvation. "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him
+will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven. But whosoever
+shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which
+is in heaven."
+
+4. The "I Will" of Service.
+
+The next _I will_ is the "I will" of service.
+
+There are a good many Christians who have been quickened and aroused
+to say, "I want to do some service for Christ."
+
+Well, Christ says, "_Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men_."
+
+There is no Christian who cannot help to bring someone to the Savior.
+Christ says, "And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me";
+and our business is just to lift up Christ.
+
+Our Lord said, "Follow Me, Peter, and I will make you a fisher of
+men"; and Peter simply obeyed Him, and there, on that day of
+Pentecost, we see the result. Peter had a good haul on the day of
+Pentecost. I doubt if he ever caught so many fish in one day as he did
+men on that day. It would have broken every net they had on board, if
+they had had to drag up three thousand fishes.
+
+I read some time ago of a man who took passage in a stage coach. There
+were first, second and third-class passengers. But when he looked into
+the coach, he saw all the passengers sitting together without
+distinction. He could not understand it till by-and-by they came to a
+hill, and the coach stopped, and the driver called out, "First-class
+passengers keep their seats, second-class passengers get out and walk,
+third class passengers get behind and push." Now in the Church we have
+no room for first-class passengers--people who think that salvation
+means an easy ride all the way to heaven. We have no room for second
+class passengers--people who are carried most of the time, and who,
+when they must work out their own salvation, go trudging on giving
+never a thought to helping their fellows along. All church members
+ought to be third class passengers--ready to dismount and push all
+together, and push with a will. That was John Wesley's definition of a
+church--"All at it, and always at it." Every Christian ought to be a
+worker. He need not be a preacher, he need not be an evangelist, to be
+useful. He may be useful in business. See what power an employer has,
+if he likes! How he could labor with his employees, and in his
+business relations! Often a man can be far more useful in a business
+sphere than he could in another.
+
+There is one reason, and a great reason, why so many do not succeed. I
+have been asked by a great many good men, "Why is it we don't have any
+results? We work hard, pray hard, and preach hard, and yet the success
+does not come." I will tell you. It is because they spend all their
+time mending their nets. No wonder they never catch anything.
+
+The great matter is to hold inquiry meetings, and thus pull the net
+in, and see if you have caught anything. If you are always mending and
+setting the net, you won't catch many fish. Whoever heard of a man
+going out to fish, and setting his net, and then letting it stop
+there, and never pulling it in? Everybody would laugh at the man's
+folly.
+
+A minister in England came to me one day, and said, "I wish you would
+tell me why we ministers don't succeed better than we do."
+
+I brought before him this idea of pulling in the net, and I said, "You
+ought to pull in your nets. There are many ministers in Manchester who
+can preach much better than I can, but I pull in the net."
+
+Many people have objections to inquiry meetings, but I urged upon him
+the importance of them, and the minister said,
+
+"I never did pull in my net, but I will try next Sunday."
+
+He did so, and eight persons, anxious inquirers, went into his study.
+The next Sunday he came down to see me, and said he had never had such
+a Sunday in his life. He had met with marvelous blessing. The next
+time he drew the net there were forty, and when he came to see me
+later, he said to me joyfully,
+
+"Moody, I have had eight hundred conversions this last year! It is a
+great mistake I did not begin earlier to pull in the net."
+
+So, my friends, if you want to catch men, just pull in the net. If you
+only catch one, it will be something. It may be a little child, but I
+have known a little child to convert a whole family. You don't know
+what is in that little dull-headed boy in the inquiry-room; he may
+become a Martin Luther, a reformer that shall make the world
+tremble--you cannot tell. God uses the weak things of this world to
+confound the mighty. God's promise is as good as a bank note--"I
+promise to pay So-and-So," and here is one of Christ's promissory
+notes--"If you follow Me, I will make you fishers of men." Will you
+not lay hold of the promise, and trust it, and follow Him now?
+
+If a man preaches the Gospel, and preaches it faithfully, he ought to
+expect results then and there. I believe it is the privilege of God's
+children to reap the fruit of their labor three hundred and sixty five
+days in the year.
+
+"Well, but," say some, "is there not a sowing time as well as
+harvest?"
+
+Yes, it is true, there is; but then, you can sow with one hand, and
+reap with the other. What would you think of a farmer who went on
+sowing all the year round, and never thought of reaping? I repeat it,
+we want to sow with one hand, and reap with the other; and if we look
+for the fruit of our labors, we shall see it. "I, if I be lifted up,
+will draw all men unto Me." We must lift Christ up, and then seek men
+out, and bring them to Him.
+
+You must use the right kind of bait. A good many don't do this, and
+then they wonder they are not successful. You see them getting up all
+kinds of entertainments with which to try and catch men. They go the
+wrong way to work. This perishing world wants Christ, and Him
+crucified. There's a void in every man's bosom that wants filling up,
+and if we only approach him with the right kind of bait, we shall
+catch him. This poor world needs a Savior; and if we are going to be
+successful in catching men, we must preach Christ crucified--not His
+life only but His death. And if we are only faithful in doing this, we
+shall succeed. And why? Because there is His promise: "If you follow
+Me, I will make you fishers of men." That promise holds just as good
+to you and me as it did to His disciples, and is as true now as it was
+in their time.
+
+Think of Paul up yonder. People are going up every day and every hour,
+men and women who have been brought to Christ through his writings. He
+set streams in motion that have flowed on for more than a thousand
+years. I can imagine men going up there, and saying, "Paul, I thank
+you for writing that letter to the Ephesians; I found Christ in that."
+"Paul, I thank you for writing that epistle to the Corinthians."
+"Paul, I found Christ in that epistle to the Philippians." "I thank
+you, Paul, for that epistle to the Galatians; I found Christ in that."
+And so, I suppose, they are going up still, thanking Paul all the
+while for what he had done. Ah, when Paul was put in prison he did not
+fold his hands and sit down in idleness! No, he began to write; and
+his epistles have come down through the long ages of time, and brought
+thousands on thousands to a knowledge of Christ crucified. Yes, Christ
+said to Paul, "I will make you a fisher of men if you will follow Me,"
+and he has been fishing for souls ever since. The devil thought he had
+done a very wise thing when he got Paul into prison, but he was very
+much mistaken; he overdid it for once. I have no doubt Paul has
+thanked God ever since for that Philippian gaol, and his stripes and
+imprisonment there. I am sure the world has made more by it than we
+shall ever know till we get to heaven.
+
+5. The "I Will" of Comfort.
+
+The next "I will" is in John, fourteenth chapter, verse eighteen: "_I
+will not leave you comfortless_."
+
+To me it is a sweet thought that Christ has not left us alone in this
+dark wilderness here below. Although He has gone up on high, and taken
+His seat by the Father's throne, He has not left us comfortless. The
+better translation is, "I will not leave you _orphans_." He did not
+leave Joseph when they cast him into prison. "God was with him." When
+Daniel was cast into the den of lions, they had to put the Almighty in
+with him. They were so bound together that they could not be
+separated, and so God went down into the den of lions with Daniel.
+
+If we have got Christ with us, we can do all things. Do not let us be
+thinking how weak we are. Let us lift up our eyes to Him, and think of
+Him as our Elder Brother, who has all power given to Him in heaven and
+on earth. He says: "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the
+world." Some of our children and friends leave us, and it is a very
+sad hour. But, thank God, the believer and Christ shall never be
+separated! He is with us here, and we shall be with Him in person by
+and by, and shall see Him in His beauty. But not only is He with us,
+but He has sent us the Holy Ghost. Let us honor the Holy Ghost by
+acknowledging that He is here in our midst. He has power to give sight
+to the blind, liberty to the captive, and to open the ears of the deaf
+that they may hear the glorious words of the Gospel.
+
+6. The "I Will" of Resurrection.
+
+Then there is another _I will_ in John, sixth chapter, verse forty; it
+occurs four times in the chapter: "_I will raise him up at the last
+day_."
+
+I rejoice to think that I have a Savior who has power over death. My
+blessed Master holds the keys him, and I got more comfort out of that
+promise "I will raise him up at the last day," than anything else in
+the Bible. How it cheered me! How it lighted up my path! And as I went
+into the room and looked upon the lovely face of that brother, how
+that passage ran through my soul: "Thy brother shall rise again." I
+said, "Thank God for that promise." It was worth more than the world
+to me.
+
+When we laid him in the grave, it seemed as if I could hear the voice
+of Jesus Christ saying, "Thy brother shall rise again." Blessed
+promise of the resurrection! Blessed "I will!" "I will raise him up at
+the last day."
+
+7. The "I Will" of Glory.
+
+Now the next _I will_ is in John, seventeenth chapter, twenty-fourth
+verse: "_Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be
+with Me where I am_."
+
+This was in His last prayer in the guest-chamber, on the last night
+before He was crucified and died that terrible death on Calvary. Many
+a believer's countenance begins to light up at the thought that he
+shall see the King in His beauty by and by. Yes; there is a glorious
+day before us in the future. Some think that on the first day we are
+converted we have got everything. To be sure, we get salvation for the
+past and peace for the present; but then there is the glory for the
+future in store. That's what kept Paul rejoicing. He said, "These
+light afflictions, these few stripes, these few brickbats and stones
+that they throw at me--why, the glory that is beyond excels them so
+much that I count them as nothing, nothing at all, so that I may win
+Christ." And so, when things go against us, let us cheer up; let us
+remember that the night will soon pass away, and the morning dawn upon
+us. Death never comes there. It is banished from that heavenly land.
+Sickness, and pain, and sorrow, come not there to mar that grand and
+glorious home where we shall be by and by with the Master. God's
+family will be all together there. Glorious future, my friends! Yes,
+glorious day! and it may be a great deal nearer than many of us think.
+During these few days we are here let us stand steadfast and firm, and
+by and by we shall be in the unbroken circle in yon world of light,
+and have the King in our midst.
+
+
+
+THE RED LIBRARY
+
+16MO, CLOTH, EACH NET. 30 CTS.
+
+Weighed and Wanting.
+
+Men of the Bible.
+
+Bible Characters.
+
+Select Sermons.
+
+Moody's Anecdotes.
+
+The Overcoming Life.
+
+The Way to God.
+
+Thoughts for the Quiet Hour.
+
+Moody's Latest Sermons
+
+Short Talks by D. L. Moody.
+
+Pleasure and Profit in Bible Study.
+
+Sowing and Reaping.
+
+Heaven.
+
+Moody's Stories.
+
+To the Work!
+
+Sovereign Grace.
+
+Prevailing Prayer.
+
+Secret Power.
+
+_The above eighteen volumes are all by D. L. Moody, and are published
+as "The Moody Library," in boxed set, net, $5.40_.
+
+The True Estimate of Life.
+
+   By G. Campbell Morgan.
+
+All of Grace.
+
+   By C. H. Spurgeon.
+
+According to Promise.
+
+   BY C. H. Spurgeon.
+
+John Ploughman's Talks.
+
+   By C. H. Spurgeon.
+
+John Ploughman's Pictures.
+
+   By C. H. Spurgeon.
+
+Good Tidings.
+
+Recitation Poems.
+
+The Way of Life.
+
+Tales of Adventure from the Old Book.
+
+Resurrection.
+
+Select Poems for the Silent Hour.
+
+Up from Sin.
+
+The Revival of a Dead Church.
+
+
+
+Fleming H. Revell Company
+
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