The Art of Soul Winning by J.W. Mahood
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J.W. Mahood >> The Art of Soul Winning
Scripture for Meditation: Gen. xviii, 16-33.
How the great heart of the Savior was burdened for the lost! See him
standing on Olivet and weeping as 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!"
Where there is no real soul-burden for sinners, there will be no
revival. The early Church travailed in pain for the souls of dying men.
One preacher said, "As I entered the pulpit, I could scarcely stand
erect because of my concern for the people and solicitude for souls;"
and another said, "I spent a whole night in prayer, and what I passed
through was inexpressible." When we get a glimpse of the worth of a
soul, and then of the death of a soul, and begin to realize that we
stand between lost men and heaven or hell, then we shall have real
concern, and the Lord will hear our prayer of intercession.
When Mr. Moody first went to London he preached in a Congregational
Church, Sunday morning. There was no particular stir. That evening he
spoke to a large audience of men in the same place, and scores expressed
a desire to become Christians. He went to Dublin next day, but was
recalled by a telegram saying that a great revival had broken out. And
Mr. Moody accounts for this wonderful work of grace which followed by
telling that, on that Sunday morning, a lady went home and told her
invalid sister that Mr. Moody from America had preached. "I know what
that means," said the invalid. "We are going to have a great revival. I
have been praying for months that the Lord would send him here." She
would not eat any dinner, but spent the day in fasting and prayer. The
revival began in that invalid's room.
A gentleman waked his wife up at three o'clock in the morning to have
her join him in prayer in behalf of a neighboring family who were
unsaved; and at daybreak went to his neighbor's house to entreat them to
yield to Christ.
When such concern for the perishing is manifested by the Church, there
is sure to be a gracious ingathering.
STUDY XXI.
A PERSONAL PENTECOST.
Memory Verse: "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is
come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the
earth."--(Acts i, 8.)
Scripture for Meditation: Acts ii, 1-4; xix, 1-6.
But, above all, the soul-winner must have _a personal Pentecost_. Christ
does not send us alone to seek the lost. In the fifteenth and sixteenth
chapters of St. John's Gospel, he definitely promises the Comforter. And
again, on the day of his ascension, he bids his disciples tarry at
Jerusalem until the Holy Ghost is come. Then as they waited, "with one
accord in one place," "a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind
filled all the house where they were sitting, ... and they were all
filled with the Holy Ghost." Since that day the one supreme
qualification for Christ's witnesses is _the enduement with the Holy
Ghost_. He will give a better knowledge of the Scriptures; he will
re-enforce tact and earnestness and perseverance; he will give
tenderness of heart and the burden for souls.
What a marvelous change the coming of the Spirit wrought in those
waiting disciples! They had forsaken him; they had doubted his word;
Peter had denied him. But now they all became flaming evangels, and
"spake the word of God with boldness."
A personal Pentecost will help the soul-winner to overcome timidity,
give utterance and a holy boldness, and make effective the words he
speaks. It is the supreme need of the Church to-day. God wants men and
women in every vocation of life who are Spirit-filled; and who, by
diligent study of the Word of God, by prayer, and by Christian
testimony, live a Spirit-filled life that is perennial.
The personal worker will succeed only when endued and empowered with the
Holy Ghost. Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman tells of a young Irishman who was a
member of his Church, and who had not had the educational advantages
many young people have. Dr. Chapman says:
"With a heart burdened for the men of the city, I called together a few
of the men of the Church, and laying before them the plan I had in mind,
told them first of all that we could do nothing without the 'infilling
of the Holy Ghost.'
"When this had been explained, I noticed this man leave the room. He did
not return while the meeting was in session. When I sought him I found
him in one of the lower rooms of the church, literally on his face
before God. He was in prayer.
"I shall never forget his petition: 'O God, I plead with thee for this
blessing!' then, as if God were showing him what was in the way, he
said, 'My Father, I will give up every known sin, only I plead with thee
for power;' and then, as if his individual sins were passing before him,
he said again and again, 'I will give them up; I will give them up.'
Then, without any emotion, he rose from his knees, turned his face
heavenward, and simply said, 'And now I claim the blessing.'
"For the first time he became sensible of my presence, and with a
shining countenance he reached out his hands to clasp mine. You could
feel the very presence of the Spirit as he said, 'I have received him; I
have received him!' And I believe he had, for in the next few months he
led more than sixty men into the kingdom of God. His whole life had been
transformed."
THE SOUL-WINNER'S METHODS.
"THAT I MAY, BY ALL MEANS, SAVE SOME."
STUDY XXII.
DIRECT APPROACH.
Memory Verse: "Jesus ... saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and
tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee."--(Mark v,
19.)
Scripture for Meditation: John iv, 1-42.
John Vassar, than whom there has been no more successful soul-winner for
a hundred years, accomplished his work through personal conversation,
and declared that the best method of dealing with souls is to strike
home at once with the most direct and searching question possible.
Without a word of introduction he would say, "Have you experienced that
great change called the new birth?" That question could not be easily
evaded.
Study the methods of Christ in dealing with such as Nicodemus, the
Samaritan woman, and the rich young man. How eagerly he used every
opportunity! How his questions search the life! Without any apology,
how he thrusts home warning and entreaty!
How easily we may lose opportunity to speak directly to men of their
danger! While the great Dr. Chalmers was a guest at the home of his
friend, a Highland country gentleman, his friend died suddenly. Dr.
Chalmers had never spoken to him about his soul. He was much distressed,
and said, "If I had only known that he was going to be taken from earth
so soon, how earnestly I would have pleaded with him about his soul!"
Dr. J.E. Carson, of New York City, said to his congregation one Sunday
morning, that every saved man was either a channel through which the
Spirit of God was reaching the unsaved, or a barrier preventing the
Spirit doing his work. One of the trustees of the Church said to himself
on the way home, "Am I a channel, or a barrier?" That night he could not
sleep, and cried out, "O Lord, make me a channel!" Almost the first
thought that came was that there were some men in his employ to whom he
had never spoken a word about Jesus Christ. He confessed his fault, and
told the Lord that if he would make him a channel he would speak to
these men. The first man who entered his office the next morning was his
confidential clerk, who had been with him eighteen years. The merchant
said, "Edward, haven't I been a good employer to you?" "Yes, sir." "Have
not I treated you well?" "Yes, sir." "Why, sir, what have I done," said
the clerk, "that you are going to discharge me?" "Edward, I am on my way
to heaven, and I want you to go with me." Tears came into the eyes of
both men as Edward took the merchant's extended hand and said, "I will,
sir." Dr. Carson afterwards received eleven men into his Church because
this trustee had consented to be a channel for the Holy Spirit.
Dr. Manley S. Hard talked with a physician about his soul, and, two days
after, the doctor entered the revival-meeting just before the
benediction, walked straight to the altar, and begged the people to
wait and pray for him, saying:
"I know it is late and you are all tired, but I want you to stay a
little while and pray for me. This has been an awfully hard day. I have
ridden fifty miles and visited more than twenty patients, but I am the
sickest man of them all. Two sermons have been preached to me; a
faithful one yesterday by my pastor; the other this morning when I had
to tell a woman she had better get ready to die, for she could not live.
As I drove away I said to myself, 'You have warned another, but you are
not ready yourself.'"
To go to a man and speak to him directly and plainly about his
responsibility to God, and warn him to flee from "the wrath to come,"
may take more courage than to preach to a thousand; but it pays, and it
must be done if the dying multitudes are ever saved.
STUDY XXIII.
CORRESPONDENCE.
Memory Verse: "Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with
mine own hand."--(Gal. vi, 11.)
Scripture for Meditation: Philemon.
What a beautiful letter is that which Paul wrote to Philemon! How it
breathes affection, and sympathy, and tender entreaty! And it was
written _by his own hand_. Study this letter, and have your heart
saturated with its spirit. You will then know how to write "words that
touch" to your unsaved friends.
There are special occasions [Transcriber's note: original reads
'ocasions'], such as the time of bereavement, of sickness, of trial, or
of success, when this method may be employed to advantage. Many a soul
has been won for Christ, and many a lonely life cheered by a
sympathetic, wisely-worded letter, winged by prayer.
Sitting in a public park, a young man was seen poring over a letter
while the tears rained down his face, and he almost sobbed aloud. "It is
from my mother," he said. "She wrote it herself, and though I ran away
from home and broke her heart, yet she says that she still loves me, and
is praying for me, and wants me to come home."
Dr. T.L. Cuyler went to make his first call on a rich merchant. It was a
cold winter evening, and as the door was opened when the minister was
leaving, a cold, piercing gale swept in. Dr. Cuyler said, "What an awful
night for the poor!" The merchant went back and brought a roll of
bank-bills, saying, "Give these to the poorest people you know." Some
days after, Dr. Cuyler wrote him, telling him how his bounty had
relieved many poor, and then added, "How is it that a man so kind to his
fellow-creatures has always been so unkind to his Savior as to refuse
him his heart?" That sentence touched him. He sent for the minister to
talk to him, was converted, and told Dr. Cuyler that he was the first
person in twenty years who had spoken to him about his soul.
Do not allow letter-writing to excuse you from direct personal work; but
watch for opportunity to write, as well as speak, that "by all means you
may save some."
STUDY XXIV.
TRACTS AND BOOKS.
Memory Verse: "And when I looked, behold, a hand was sent unto me; and,
lo, a roll of a book was therein."--(Ezek. ii, 9.)
Scripture for Meditation: Eccl. xi, 1; 1 Tim. iv, 7-16.
The influence of a tract or of a good book can not be estimated. Rev. J.
Hudson Taylor, of the China Inland Mission, was converted in boyhood
through reading a gospel tract which he found in his father's library.
"He had been frequently troubled about his soul, and had again and again
tried to become a Christian, but had failed so often that he had
concluded that there was no use in trying any more."
An agent of the American Tract Society relates the following:
"A man on a canal-boat received a tract, but to show his contempt for
the tract and its giver, took out his penknife and cut it up into
fantastic shapes. Then he held it up to the derision of the company.
"In tearing it apart, one of the pieces clung to his knee. His eyes were
attracted by the only word on it--'eternity.' He turned it over, and
there was the word 'God.'
"These ideas remained in his mind. He tried to laugh them off; then to
drink, to play cards in order to banish them. But they still clung to
him, and plagued him till he sought God and preparation for eternity."
There is an old true story about a tract, that should be told over and
over again:
A Puritan minister named Sibbs wrote a tract called "The Bruised Reed."
A copy of this was given by a humble layman to a little boy at whose
father's house he had been entertained over night. That boy was Richard
Baxter, and the book was the means of his conversion. Baxter wrote his
"Call to the Unconverted," and among the multitude led to Christ by it
was Philip Doddridge. Doddridge wrote "The Rise and Progress of Religion
in the Soul," and "the time would fail to tell" its blessed influence.
By it Wilberforce was converted, and of his life and labors volumes
could be written. Wilberforce wrote his "Practical View of
Christianity," and this led not only Dr. Chalmers into the truth, but
Legh Richmond to Christ. Richmond wrote "The Dairyman's Daughter," which
has been published in a hundred languages, and many million copies have
been sold.
But he who would make the best use of good literature must be wise. How
little tact some workers have! In a hospital a tract-distributor handed
a leaflet on dancing to a poor fellow who had lost both limbs. Another
zealous young man gave a tract on "The Tobacco Habit" to a beautiful
cultured lady, the wife of a minister. A good supply of common sense is
just as necessary to success in the use of this method as in any other.
STUDY XXV.
THE PRAYER LIST.
Memory Verse: "I will pray for you unto the Lord."--(1 Sam. vii, 5.)
Scripture for Meditation: Luke xviii, 1-8.
One of the highest privileges of the Christian life is the privilege of
intercession for the unsaved. Every Christian may be an intercessor, and
bear to the mercy-seat, in the arms of prayer, some unsaved friend every
day. Have a prayer list. In a little memorandum-book write the names of
those whom you are anxious to see saved. Spread these names before the
Lord daily until your prayers are answered.
One of the greatest Christian movements of modern times started with a
prayer-list carried in the vest-pocket of a commercial traveler, Mr.
E.R. Graves, traveling for a paper-house in New York City. He secured
permission from a merchant to allow his name to be entered on his
prayer-list. The merchant wrote his name in the traveler's book, and
then proceeded to inform Mr. Graves that he had determined not to be a
Christian, and that he had taken too big a contract if he expected to
pray him into the kingdom. But the traveler simply said, "I confidently
expect my prayer to be answered." When they met again the merchant had
been converted, and, amid tears of rejoicing, another name was checked
off the list. The merchant's name was Samuel M. Sayford. Mr. Sayford
became a secretary in the Young Men's Christian Association, and shortly
after met C.K. Ober, then a student at Williams College, and pushed him
out into Association work. Mr. Ober, in turn, found John E. Mott in
Cornell University, persuaded him to enter Association work among
students; and Mr. Mott, in the course of time, started on his journey
around the world, organizing the World's Christian Student Federation.
STUDY XXVI.
WORK AMONG STUDENTS.
Memory Verse: "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did
beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled
to God."--(2 Cor. v, 20.)
Scripture for Meditation: 1 Cor. ii.
No more fruitful and important field for personal work can be found than
in our educational institutions, and Christian students who make
soul-winning a habit of life may win many rich trophies for the Master.
Bishop H.W. Warren, when a Freshman in college, was led to an open
confession of Christ through a Saturday morning walk with a Junior, who
talked to him about his soul.
Dr. J.W. Bashford, in _The Christian Student_, tells about "a Senior in
the Ohio Wesleyan University who was smitten with conviction because he
had neglected personal work for the Master. He intended to be a
minister, but had been indifferent to the spiritual welfare of his
student friends. He offered himself to Christ in full consecration, and
made a list of sixteen friends for whom he felt personal responsibility.
He engaged in systematic personal work with these friends, and had the
satisfaction before the year was completed of seeing every one of them
begin the Christian life. Six of his sixteen friends entered the
ministry, and some of them are even more talented and successful than
the student friend who led them to Christ."
As a rule, young people during their college years are thoughtful and
easily reached; but if not saved before they leave the college halls and
begin the active work of life, they are almost certainly lost to the
kingdom. How often, because of timidity or carelessness, Christian
students and teachers allow this precious harvest time to go by, and
lose the opportunity to win a soul for Christ!
A man, who is now an eminent and widely-known minister, says that he
roomed with a young man at college for two years, and never said a word
to him about his soul. When he was about to leave for home, his
room-mate said, "Why have you not spoken to me about my soul?" Said the
Christian student, "I thought you did not care for me to do so." The
young man replied, "Why, that is the very reason I roomed with you, and
there has never been a day for these two years that you could not have
done so."
Let Christian students set out to win some trophies among their friends
and room-mates for Christ. The results of faithful personal work may not
be immediate or apparent, but the blessed Spirit of God will water the
seed. For thirteen months a college student prayed for and urged a
fellow-student to surrender to Christ, and died without seeing any
result of his efforts. But the seed was faithfully sown, and the young
man was afterwards converted, and became Bishop Hannington, the martyr
bishop of Africa.
STUDY XXVII.
MEETING OBJECTIONS.
Memory Verse: "For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your
adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist."--(Luke xxi,
15.)
Scripture for Meditation: John ix, 1-41.
The zealous personal worker will be met by objections; but it must be
remembered that these objections are often given for the sake of
argument, and often for the sake of something to say. They should be
squarely met, however, and answered; and the best way to answer such is
by Scripture. There is not an objection advanced by the unconverted that
can not be met and overcome by some passage of Scripture. Just as Jesus
in the wilderness met the tempter's arguments with "It is written," so
we may meet every argument of the objector with the Word.
A faithful study of Christ's conversations with seeking souls, such as
Nicodemus and the rich young man, will also be helpful.
Below are some of the objections usually given, with the Scripture
references that may be used to meet them. This arrangement of texts is
taken from "Personal Work," by S.M. Sayford, by consent of the
publishers:
"I am good enough." (Gen. vi, 5; Ps. li, 5-7; Luke xviii, 19.)
"I am as good as most Christians." (Rom. xiv, 10-12; 2 Cor. v, 10; Rev.
xx, 11; xii, 15.)
"I have never done anything really bad." (Luke xvi, 15; James ii, 10.)
"I can not give up my pleasures." (Eccl. ii, 1; xi, 9; Ps. xvi, 11.)
"I know I shall fail." (John vi, 37; 2 Tim. i, 12; iv, 18.)
"I can not now, but will some time." (Luke xiv, 17; Acts xxiv, 25; James
iv, 13, 14; Luke xii, 19, 20.)
"I am too great a sinner." (Luke v, 32; xix, 10; 1 Tim. i, 15.)
"My day of grace has past." (Ex. xxxiv, 5-7; 2 Chron. xxx, 9; Isa. lv,
7.)
"I do not feel concerned." (Rom. xiii, 11; Eph. v, 14; Heb. ii, 3.)
"I can not know that these things are true." (Acts xvii, 11; John v, 39;
vii, 17.)
"It will cost me my living." (Matt. vi, 33; Ps. lxxxiv, 11; Rom. xiv,
8.)
"It will prevent my becoming rich." (1 Tim. vi, 9, 10; Mark viii, 36,
37; Rev. iii, 17, 18.)
"I can not hold my friends." (Matt. x, 37; xxii, 37; Phil. iii, 8.)
"How may I know that Christ is the Son of God?" (John xx, 30, 31; x,
23-25; 1 John v, 13, 20; Mark iv, 11.)
"How may I know that the Bible is true?" (John vii, 17.)
"Will not God save me if I do my best?" (Eph. ii, 9; Titus iii, 5-8.)
"Why must a man believe in Christ to be saved?" (John xiv, 6; Acts iv,
12; Gal. ii, 16; Rom. iii, 23, 26.)
"How may I know I am forgiven?" (Ps. xxxii, 5; Prov. xxviii, 13; 1 John
i, 7-9.)
STUDY XXVIII.
NO EFFORT IN VAIN.
Memory Verse: "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it
shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I
please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."--(Isa.
lv, 11.)
Scripture for Meditation: John iv, 36; 1 Cor. xv, 58.
"Some day I hope you will preach the gospel," said an aged minister to a
little boy in England. That boy became Charles H. Spurgeon. That great
soul-winner, Mark Guy Pearse, says that when he was a boy his father
took him to see a saintly old lady, who laid her hand upon his head,
saying, "God bless the boy, and make him a minister." Mr. Pearse says
that, through this aged woman, God called him to the ministry.
In a college chapel in Pennsylvania a Christian layman sat down beside a
boy and talked to him about Christ. That boy became Alfred Cookman,
whose name will be held in everlasting remembrance.
An eminent lawyer of Minneapolis, converted a short time since, declares
that the earnest question, "Have you found Jesus?" spoken by a young
lady to his friend who sat by his side in a revival-meeting, and her
startled look, when she was answered roughly, followed him for fifteen
years until he was finally converted.
No sincere effort for Christ can fail. To human eyes there may be little
encouragement, but his Word shall prevail. Every invitation and entreaty
shall in the end be, to those who reject it, the "savor of death unto
death," but to those who accept it, "the savor of life unto life." We
may go forth now, weeping, bearing precious seed; but some blessed day
we shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing our sheaves with
us.
Perhaps we are too anxious to see results now. We do like to number the
converts, and add to the Church roll. Far better do our best for Christ
and souls, then leave the results to God. He will see that the seed,
faithfully planted, is watered, and that _no effort is in vain_.