Sermon 1282. Conversions Desired

(No. 1282)

A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, MARCH 5, 1876,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord." Acts 11:21.

THE Brethren who had dwelt together in Church fellowship at Jerusalem were scattered abroad by persecution which arose aboutStephen. Their Master had told them that when they were persecuted in one city they were to flee to another. They obeyed Hiscommand and in the course of escape from persecution they took very long journeys-very long journeys, indeed, for that ageof the world, when travel was exceedingly difficult. But wherever they found themselves, they began, at once, to preach JesusChrist, so that the scattering of the disciples was also a scattering of good Seed in broader fields. The malice of Satanwas made the instrument of the mercy of God.

Learn from this, dear Brothers and Sisters, every one of you, that wherever you are called to go, you should persevere inmaking known the name and Gospel of Jesus. Look upon this as your calling and occupation. You will not be scattered, now,by persecution, but should the demands of business carry you into different countries, employ your distant travel for missionarypurposes. Providence, every now and then, bids you remove your tent-take care that wherever it is pitched you carry with youa testimony for Jesus. At times the necessities of health require relaxation and change of air and this may take you to differentplaces of public resort-seize the opportunity to encourage the Churches in such localities, by your presence and countenance,and also endeavor to spread the knowledge of Jesus among those to whom you may be directed.

The position which you occupy in society is not an accidental one-it has not been decreed to you by a blind, purposeless fate-thereis predestination in it and that predestination is wise-and looks towards a merciful end. You are placed where you are thatyou may be a preserving salt to those around, a sweet savor of Christ to all who know you. The methods of Divine Grace haveordained a happy connection between you and the people with whom you associate. You are a messenger of mercy to them, a heraldof good tidings, an Epistle of Christ. The surrounding darkness needs you and, therefore, it is written, "Among whom you shineas lights in the world."

You are intended to warn and rebuke some, to entreat and encourage others. To you the mourner looks for comfort and the ignorantfor instruction. Let them never look in vain. Be the true friend of men, observe their condition before God and endeavor toreclaim them from their wanderings. If Joseph was sent to Egypt that he might save his father's house, you, also, are sentwhere you are for the sake of some hidden ones of the Lord's chosen family. If Esther was placed in the court of a heathenking for the deliverance of her nation, so are you, my Sister, called to occupy your present position for the good of theChurch of Christ. Look to it, Brothers and Sisters, lest you miss your life's calling and live in vain. It would be a sadthing, indeed, if you who profess to belong to Christ should be "creation's blot, creation's blank," by having failed to workwhile it is called today.

These good people of the early Church, however, with all their zeal, were somewhat narrow-minded and hampered by their nationalprejudices, for they preached at first to only Jews and it was very hard to make them see that the Gospel was meant for thewhole race of man, Gentiles as well as Jews. Their Master had said, "Go you into all the world and preach the Gospel to everycreature," and yet they began with preaching only to Jews. Words could not have been plainer and yet they missed their meaning.It is not to be wondered at, that some in our day are still unable to preach to men as men, when we see how slow the earlysaints were to learn the lesson.

Brethren, if there is any narrowness about our spirit, let us pray the Lord to take it away. We shall not, of course, be shackledas these Jews were by boasting of our nationality, but perhaps there may be classes of society of whom we despair and, therefore,for whom we make no effort. We say, "It would be useless to attempt the conversion of such charac-

ters. I feel myself quite able to talk to other persons and although I am placed in the midst of these people I cannot bringmy mind to speak with them about spiritual things, for I feel hopeless of success." Beloved, may you be delivered from thissnare and learn to sow beside all waters.

The Gentiles, though they were, for awhile, passed over by the Brethren, turned out to be the most hopeful of all classes.From the Gentile fields they reaped harvests such as were never gathered in Judea. Antioch, with its Grecians, became famousamong Christian Churches-there the Church of Christ first took its name amid a revival of religion when great multitudes believedand turned unto the Lord! God had, from of old, intended that the great majority of the election of Grace should be gatheredout of those very Gentiles whom even the Apostles, themselves, scarcely ventured to address!

Now then, my Brother, in the light of this incident, begin to work where as yet you have done nothing-begin to hope whereup to now you have despaired. Throw out your best energies in that very direction in which you have felt most hampered, forthere awaits you, to your own intense surprise, a success which will amply reward you. You need not restrict yourselves tolands familiar with the plow-invade the primeval forest, fell the ancient trees and clear the broad acres-that virgin soilwill yield you harvests a hundredfold such as you will never find in fields where others have labored before you. If yourspiritual mining has become a failure, open fresh lodes of the precious metal, for veins of treasure lie concealed in theunbroken ground.

Launch out into the deep! Let down your nets for a catch and multitudes of fish shall crowd the net. It seems to me to bethe obvious teaching of the text that wherever we are cast, we should try to do good, and that we may hope for the largestsuccess among the most neglected portions of society. Coming closely to the text, I desire to press upon you, this morning,with great earnestness, the need of the conversion of men and the desirableness that we should have many converted here. AndI shall suggest what we can do to produce that result. In all these I beg to be assisted by the Holy Spirit, without whoseaid I shall only exhibit my own weakness and deaden those energies which I long to awake.

These will be our heads-first, the end we aim at-that many may believe and turn unto the Lord. Secondly, the power by whichthis can be attained-"The hand of the Lord was with them." Thirdly, the desirableness of our objective and, fourthly, howwe may promote its attainment.

I. Let us speak upon THE END WHICH WE DESIRE. It may seem very commonplace, but it is, in fact, one of the grandest designsunder Heaven. He who contemplates it has a higher aim than philosopher, Reformer, or patriot. He aims at that for which theSon of God both lived and died! We desire that men may believe, that is to say, first, that they may believe the testimonyof Jesus Christ to be true, for there are some who have not attained as far as that. They reject altogether the Inspired Wordand to them the Incarnation, the Redemption, the Resurrection, the Glory, the Second Advent, are so many old wives' fables.

You to whom these Truths are the light of your lives can scarcely realize the power of unbelief of this kind and yet somemen live and die in its gloom. We pray that they may be taught better and that the evidence of these great facts may be forcedhome upon them. Alas, there are many who profess to believe these things, but their only reason for doing so is that theyhave been taught so from their childhood and it is the current religion of the nation. They regard the Inspiration of Scripture,and so on, as matters about which it is not expedient to trouble themselves-they do not care one way or the other. They findit the easier and more respectable plan to admit the Truth of the Gospel and think no more about it. Such a vain complimentarybelief is rather an insult to our holy faith than a thing to be rejoiced in.

But, dear Friends, we need more than this faith of indifference which is little more than dishonest unbelief! We want mento believe for themselves because they are personally convinced and have felt in themselves the saving power of Christ Jesus.We pray that nominal Believers may treat the doctrines of Revelation, not as dogmas, but as facts-not as opinions, but asTruths of God-as surely facts as the events of history, as much truths as the actual incidents of everyday life. For, alas,the grand doctrines of the eternal Truths are frequently treated as venerable nonentities and have no effect whatever uponthe conduct of those who profess to receive them because they do not realize them as matters of fact, or see their solemnbearings.

It is shocking to reflect that a change in the weather has more effect on some men's lives than the dread alternative of Heavenor Hell! A woman's glance affects them more than the eye of God. We, therefore, desire to see men really and truly believingthe facts of the Gospel in an honest, practical manner. We cannot, however, be content with this. We la-

bor that those around us may savingly believe by putting their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the grand saving act-the man brings his soul and commits it to Christ for safe keeping-and that entrusting of the soul to Jesus saves him. He makesthe Savior, Trustee of his spiritual estates and leaves himself and all his eternal interests in those dear hands which oncewere nailed to the Cross. Oh, how we long to see the Holy Spirit bringing men to this, that they may believe in Jesus Christby resting in Him and trusting upon Him!

For this we live, for this we would be content to die that many might believe! The end we aim at is that men may so believein Jesus that they may be altogether changed in their relation towards God, for "many believed and turned unto the Lord."What does that mean? It means that these heathen gave up their idols and began to worship the only living and true God! Wedesire, dear Hearers, that faith in the Lord Jesus may lead you to give up the objects of your idolatrous love-yourselves,your money, your pleasures, the world, the flesh, the devil-and there are some whose God is their belly and who glory in theirshame. When a man believes in Jesus Christ he puts away his false gods and worships the great Father of Spirits-he makes noinferior objective the aim of his being-but from then on lives for the glory of

God!

This is a glorious turning, a complete conversion of the man's heart and soul. To turn to God means not merely to forsakethe false god for the true, but to turn from the love of sin. Sin lies that way, but God's Glory lies in the opposite quarter.He who looks sin-ward has his back to God-he who looks God-ward has his back to sin. It is blessed conversion when men turnfrom the folly of sin to the Glory of God. With weeping and supplication do men so turn, confessing their wrongdoing, lamentingtheir transgressions, abhorring their evil lusts, desiring pardon and hoping for renewal of their nature.

Precious in the sight of the Lord are the tears of penitence and the sighs of contrite hearts! We can never be satisfied withthe results of our ministry unless faith leads man to hearty repentance towards God, an intense loathing of their sins andan actual forsaking of them. To turn to God means that from now on God shall be sought in prayer. "Behold he prays" is oneof the indications of a true convert. The man who lives without prayer lives without God, but the man who has turned to Godis familiar with the Mercy Seat. What a turning it is when the eyes are turned upward to seek the Lord-with the solemn glancesof the eyes when none but God is near. To turn to God means to yield yourself obediently to His sway, to be willing to dowhat He bids, to think what He teaches, and to be what He commands.

Faith is nothing unless it brings with it a willing and obedient mind. Willful rebellion is the child of unbelief- sincereobedience is the offspring of humble believing. "They believed, and turned unto the Lord." We want men, indeed, to turn sothat their whole life shall be a going towards God, growing more like He, a closer communing with Him, leading on to the soul'sbecoming perfectly like He and dwelling forever where He is. Now, dear Friends, when I speak thus of believing and turningunto God, some will say, "Well, but that must be a very easy matter, only to believe and turn." Yes, my Brothers and Sisters,it appears simple, but it is, none the less, vitally essential. "He that believes on the Lord Jesus has everlasting life;but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed."

You say, "Why make all this stir about it?" Because upon this apparently little matter depends the present and eternal conditionof the sinner! To believe and to turn to God is to be delivered from the present dominion of sin and from the future punishmentof it. To be without faith and without God is to be without joy here and without hope hereafter. Brothers and Sisters in Christ,this is what you and I must aim at in all our attempts to influence our fellow men. It may be useful to reform them, but itis far better that Grace should regenerate them! God speed every effort to promote sobriety, chastity, thrift, honesty andmorality-but you and I are sent for something more than this-our work goes deeper and is more difficult.

It is not ours to wash the African, but to seek to change his skin. We do not so much pray that the lion may be tamed as thathe may be turned into a lamb. It may be well to lop the branches of the tree of sin, but our business is to lay the axe atthe root of the trees by leading men to turn to God. This is a change, not merely of the outward conduct, but of the heart!And if we do not see this result-if men do not believe and turn to God-we have labored in vain and spent our strength fornothing and in vain. If there are no believing and turning to the Lord, we may go to our secret chambers and bewail ourselvesbefore God because none have believed our report and the arm of the Lord has not been revealed. There is the objective-aimat it, saying, "This one thing I do."

Praying in the Holy Spirit and depending upon His power, push on with this one sole objective. Drive at it, you teachers inthe Sunday school-do not be satisfied with instructing the children-labor to have them converted! Drive at it, you preachers-donot believe that you have done your work when you have taught the people-you must never rest till they believe in Jesus Christ!Pursue this end in every sermon or Sunday school address-throw your whole soul into this one objective. Yours must not bea cold inculcation of an external morality, but a warm enthusiasm for an inward regeneration. You are not to bring men tobelieve in themselves and so become self-made men, but to lead them to believe in Jesus and to become new creatures in Him.There is our end and aim-are we all alive to it?

II. Secondly, let us consider THE POWER BY WHICH THIS CAN BE ATTAINED-"The hand of the Lord was with them." None ever believein Jesus except those in whom God's arm has been revealed, for Jesus says, "No man can come to Me except the Father, whichhas sent Me, draws him." But, Brother ministers, in answer to prayer, that power has been revealed among His people and iswith them still! His arm is not shortened that He cannot save, neither has He withdrawn it from His Church.

Be encouraged while I suggest to you a few thoughts. The hand of God is upon many of our friends before we speak to them.It is most pleasant to me, when I am seeing inquirers, to observe how God makes ready the hearts of my hearers. I am studyinga certain subject and praying to God for a blessing on it-and upstairs in a chamber, which I have never seen, one of my hearersis being made ready for my message. He is struck with a sense of sin, or troubled with uneasy thoughts, or rendered hopefulof better things-and thus he is being made ready to accept the Christ whom I shall preach to him! Yes, and ready to acceptthat particular form of the Gospel message which the Spirit of God gave me when I preached!

There on a sick bed will lie a woman painfully exercised with the sad memory of her sinful life, in order that when she comesup to the House of God, every word may have power over her. Sickness and pain, shame and poverty, often produce a conditionof mind most hopeful for the reception of the Gospel. A man well-to-do in circumstances has been ruined in business, he despairsof happiness below and, therefore, comes to hear the Gospel, made willing to seek his happiness above. Another has latelyfelt failures of bodily strength and so has been warned that life is frail-and thus he is prepared to listen to the admonitionswhich speak of eternity. Courage, minister of God! You are nothing, but the Almighty God is with you! When you lift your handto build the House of the Lord, Omnipotence works with you and names your labor a success.

Every revolution of those awful wheels, so ponderous that even the Prophet said, "O wheel!" is working to accomplish the objectivewhich is near your heart. The stars in their courses fight for you! The stones of the field are in league with you! Eternalwisdom plans for you, infinite power works with you, boundless patience perseveres with you and almighty love will conquerby you! "The hand of the Lord was with them." What more do we need? Sow, Brother, for God has plowed! Go up and build, forGod has prepared the stones and made ready the foundation!

Moreover, the hand of the Lord is with His people in helping the teachers and preachers, themselves. There are strange impulseswhich come over us at times, which make us think and say what otherwise had never crossed our minds-and these work with powerupon men's minds. If you will live to win souls it shall be given you in the same hour what you shall speak. You will oftensay to an inquirer what you would not have beforehand arranged to say, but God, who knows that inquirers heart better thanyou do, has prevented your saying what you would have liked to have said and has led you to say what you afterwards judgedto be a mistake.

My experience teaches me that we are often wise in our ignorance and as often foolish in our wisdom. We have frequently donebest when we felt that we did but badly. If we will but trust God and be whole-hearted in the winning of souls we shall havea power assisting us in our speech of which the greatest orator in the world is not aware. Speak in the House of Commons fora party and you will have to look within for aid, but speak in the House of the Lord and you may look upward for spiritualaid. The poet invokes the fabled muses, but for you, O servant of the Lord, there is real help from a higher source! Thinkof this, you workers, and be encouraged!

Besides Providence and the gracious help by which good men speak, there is a distinct work of the Spirit of God upon the heartsof men where the Gospel is preached. Not only is the Spirit in the Word, but over and above that, in His own elect, God worksmost effectually so His Truth is rendered Irresistible. Let us never forget where our great strength lies, for in this matterwe must rely alone upon the Spirit of God. How often has God worked in the power of His Grace

by making men feel the majesty of the Word? They come, perhaps, to hear the preacher out of the most idle curiosity. Theylook for something which shall amuse them-but the Truth of God comes home to them and searches their heart. Simple as thelanguage is, "as if an angel spoke they hear the solemn sound," it goes through them like a dart and they cannot help feeling,"Surely God was there, and He spoke with me."

The Spirit of God makes men remember their sins. They try to forget them, but sometimes they cannot. Sad memories steal overthem and wholesome regrets fatigue their very souls. Men who have been giddy, careless and forgetful, have all of a suddenfound themselves turning over the pages of their old diaries and with thoughtfulness reviewing the past. All this leads torepentance and faith! That same Spirit makes men see the beauty of holiness. They cannot help admiring it, though they arefar from it. They are charmed with the loveliness of the Character of Jesus and begin to feel that there is something aboutit which they would wish to imitate. When the preacher proclaims the way of salvation the same Spirit leads men to admireit and to say within themselves, "There is something here which human wisdom could never have devised"-and they begin to longfor a share in it! A wish takes possession of their heart, as though some strange bird from an unknown land had flown intotheir souls and had amazed them with a new song. They do not know where the desire came from, but they feel strangely boundto entertain the stranger.

Sometimes the Spirit blows like a hurricane through men's hearts and they have been borne along by its power without the willto resist. As when a tempest rushes across the sea and drives the frail boat before it helplessly, so have I known the DivineSpirit sweep away the peace and quiet of the soul's self-righteousness, stir up the deeps of inward trouble, make the soulreel to and fro and stagger like a drunken man-and impel the heart forward to the iron-bound coast of self-despair where everyfalse hope and vain-glorious trust has been wrecked forever. Glory be to God when this is the case, for then the soul is drivento cling to Jesus!

Yes, Brothers, it is not the preacher and it is not altogether what the preacher says, but there is a power abroad, as potentas that by which the worlds were made. Unbelievers sometimes ask, "Where is your God?" O Sirs, if you once felt the powerof the great Spirit, you would never ask that question! "Since the fathers fell asleep," they say, "all things continue asthey were." But this they willingly are ignorant of, that new creations are being worked every day. That there are men andwomen alive in this world who are neither liars nor enthusiasts who can declare that upon their spirit the eternal power andGodhead has operated and changed them. It has conquered them and holds them as willing captives to its supreme majesty.

Yes, Brothers, there is a hand of the Lord and that hand of the Lord is still with His people. If it is not, then we shallsee no believing and no turning to God. But since it is still at work among us, let us work on, for as surely as we live weshall see great numbers converted to God and God will be glorified.

III. Let us now dwell upon THE DESIRABLENESS OF CONVERSIONS. It is no new thing to you and to me to see many believing andturning to God. These 22 years God's hand has been stretched out-we have had no spasm of revival, we have not alternated betweenfurious spurts and sudden lulls. But month by month, I think I might say Sunday by Sunday, souls have been saved and the Churchhas grown exceedingly and God has been glorified. What we have enjoyed we desire to retain-yes, we would have more! The Lordsays to us what he said to the Church at Philadelphia, "Hold fast what you have, that no man take your crown," and our crownis the crown of soul-winning, which we must hold fast, for we cannot endure to lose it.

This must be our crown, that we have preached the Gospel, both minister and church members, and have been all of us soul-winners.We desire this because, first of all, we desire to see the Truth of God, godliness, virtue and holiness extended. Who amongyou does not? Does not every good man wish others to be good, every honest man wish others to be honest? Does not every manwho loves his family desire that other families should be well-ordered? Oh, then, if there were no nobler reason, you maydesire that men may be converted, since conversion is the root of everything that is pure and lovely and of good report!

You desire, too, that your fellow creatures should be happy, but there is no such happiness as that which springs out of reconciliationto God. The peace which you, yourselves, enjoy through pardoned sin must surely make you desire that others may possess thesame. If religion is, indeed, a source of perennial joy to yourself, you are inhuman if you do not wish others to drink ofit. Brothers and Sisters, as you would make eyes sparkle, as you would make countenances radiant with delight, as I know youwould spread gladness on all sides-desire above all things that your children, your rela-

tions, your neighbors, your friends, should be converted to God! Thus shall thorns and briars give place to myrtles and rosesand deserts shall be turned into gardens of the Lord.

You also desire conversion, I am sure, because you feel the dreadful hazard of unconverted men. You have not yet subscribedto the modern doctrine that these men and women around you are only two-legged cats and dogs and horses and will ultimatelydie out and cease to be. You believe in the God-given immortality of human souls-a heritage from which no man can escape,the noblest of all man's endowments-in itself the highest of all gifts, though sin may pervert it into the direst of all evils.You would have scant motives for desiring men's conversion if you did not believe that there is another and everlasting state.

But, believing that men live hereafter and exist forever, you must, I am sure, be eager that men may escape from the wrathto come. Knowing the terrors of the Lord, you would persuade men. Judging that there is one of two things for them all, either,"These shall go away into everlasting punishment," or else, "The righteous into life eternal," you can never rest until youfeel convinced that those about you are partakers of life eternal. Look at any unconverted person and your sympathies shouldbe awakened. If I saw tokens of fever, or marks of consumption in the face of anyone I loved, I should be struck with alarm.What, then, must I feel when I see damnation-as I do see it-in the face of every unbeliever?

How is it that we are not more distressed than we are when men are perishing in their sins? Why, my Brethren, are we not moreintent upon the conversion of men? Let these questions humble us and cause great searchings of heart. It is a shame to usthat we have so little of the mind of Christ, so little compassion for men's souls. Moreover, Brothers and Sisters, self-preservationis a law of Nature and the Church can never preserve herself except by increasing from the world by conversion. Where arethe preachers for the next generation? Today they are among the ungodly and we must labor to bring them to God. Where arethe stones that are to make the next course in the walls of our Zion? They are not quarried yet and we must, by God's Grace,excavate them.

We who now labor for the Lord will soon go our ways. Our thrones and crowns are waiting for us and the angels are beckoningus away. Who will fill our places? Who will bear the banner? Who will blow the trumpet? Who will wield the sword? We mustfind new champions in the ranks of the foe-they must be born unto God-and we must pray that this may be accomplished by ourinstrumentality. Seek conversions for Christ's sake. You know the agony and bloody sweat-shall these be spent in vain? Youknow the nailing to the Cross and the shriek of, "Why have You forsaken Me?" Shall these be unrewarded? You have thought overand trusted in the bitter pangs of your Redeemer's death-shall He not see of the travail of His soul?

Shall He not be satisfied? These lost sheep are His sheep, for whom He shed His precious blood! These lost pieces of moneyare His money and they bear His image and superscription-shall they not be found? These lost sons spending their living inriotousness are His brothers, children of His Father-do you not desire, for Jesus' sake, that they should be brought home?Dear Friends, what joy it will be to yourselves if men believe and turn to the Lord by your means! I put that motive lastand hope it will not be the strongest, but it may yet be one of the liveliest. What joy it will be to yourselves if you seemany converted!

Somebody has asked, "If the heathen are not evangelized, what will become of them?" I will put another question of a far morepractical character. If you do not try to evangelize the heathen, what will become of you? Do not so much inquire about theirdestiny as your own if you have no care for their salvation! He who never seeks the conversion of another is in imminent dangerof being damned, himself. I do not believe in any man's salvation who is wrapped up in self! Assuredly he is not saved fromselfishness. I cannot believe in any man's possessing the Spirit of God who is indifferent to the condition of others-oneof the first fruits of the Spirit is love. Even as flowers, at their very first blooming, shed their perfume, so do the savedones, in their earliest days of Grace, desire the good of their fellows.

I know that one of my earliest impulses, when I first looked to Christ and lost the burden of my sin, was to tell everybodyaround me of the blessings I had received, for I longed to make others as happy as I was. I fear that you who never try towin souls lack an essential part of the Christian character. I leave the question with your own consciences.

IV. Fourthly, let us enquire, WHAT WE CAN DO TO PROMOTE CONVERSIONS. Conversion is God's work. It cannot be worked withoutHis hand. Without Him we can do nothing. Our hands are far too puny for such a work. The

power of the first disciples and our own lies in the fact mentioned in the text-"The hand of the Lord was with them." Still,there are certain circumstances under which that hand will work and there are hindrances which will restrain it.

Let us think awhile. First, then, if sinners are to be converted we must distinctly aim at it. As a rule, a man does whathe tries to do and not that which is mere by-play. The conversion of sinners is not one of those things which a man is likelyto accomplish without intending it. Sometimes, in the Sovereignty of God, a preacher who does not aim at conversion may, nevertheless,be made useful, for God works as He wills. But as a rule, men do not win souls if they do not eagerly desire to do so. Fishingfor men cannot be carried out by throwing in the net without caring whether fish are caught or not.

Few traders become rich by accident-they generally have to plod and work hard for money-and to be rich in treasures of savedsouls you must aim at it and labor for it. I am struck with astonishment as I think how many sermons are preached, how manySunday school addresses are given, how many religious books are written of which you are quite sure that the intention wasnot immediate conversion. It is thought that in some unknown way these good things may accidentally contribute to men's salvation,but they are not aimed at as their present objective. Ah, Brother, if you want men to come to Christ you must preach Christto them with all your heart-with this design-that they may immediately close in with Christ and at once give their heartsto Jesus!

Yes, and you are to pray that they may do so through the present effort which you are making for their good. There is thetarget and if you continue to shoot into the air long enough an arrow may strike it. But, man alive, if you want to win theprize of archery you had better fix your eye upon the white and take your aim distinctly and with skill! If an individualwould win souls, he must bend his whole soul to it and make it the objective of his whole energy. Next to that we must takecare, if we would have souls won, that we press upon them the Truths which God usually blesses. Shall I read to you the versebefore my text? Here it is-"They spoke unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus, and the hand of the Lord was with them."

Now, if we do not preach Jesus Christ we shall not see souls saved. There are certain forms of doctrines which condemn themselvesby working out their own extinction. Did you ever hear of a minister whose preaching leaned towards Unitarianism but whatthe congregation, sooner or later, began to diminish? Though many such preachers have been men of great ability, they havenot, as a rule, been able to keep the dead thing on its feet! You shall go into our small towns and you may find an ancientchapel which was once an Independent, or a Presbyterian, or it may be a Baptist chapel. But if you see over the door, "Unitarians,"you have, as a rule, seen all that there is. There is neither church nor congregation worthy of the name-frequently the placeis never opened at all and the grass grows knee deep on the path to the door.

Even when these little places are used, you will generally find that they contain half a dozen nobodies who think themselveseverybody as to intellect and culture. It is a religion of the utmost value to spiders, for those insects are able to spintheir webs in the meeting houses without fear. Who ever heard, who will ever hear of a Unitarian Whitfield, or a SocinianMoody gathering 20,000 people to listen to a Christless Gospel? It is a phenomenon which never has been seen and never willbe! Men's instincts lead them to turn away from a creed which contains so little which can solace the troubled soul.

If we want souls saved, we must equally avoid the modern intellectual system in all its classes. "Oh," cries somebody, "youshould hear the great Mr. Bombast. It is-Oh, I cannot tell you what it is, but something very wonderful! It is an intellectualtreat." Just so. But how many conversions are worked by this wonderful display of genius? How many hearts are broken by finerhetoric? How many broken hearts are healed by philosophy? So far as I have observed, I find that God does not save soulsby intellectual treats. Certain views as to man's future are equally to be kept clear of, if you would be the means of conversion.Diminish your ideas of the wrath of God and the terrors of Hell-and in that proportion you will diminish the results of yourwork!

I could not conceive a Bunyan or a Baxter, or any other great soul-winner, falling into these new notions. Or if he did, thatwould be an end to his success. Other crotchets and novelties of doctrine are also to be left alone, for they are not likelyto promote your objective, but will most probably divert men's attention from the vital point. Dear Brothers, if you wanta harvest, look well to your seed. Time was when gardeners threw all the little potatoes on one side for seed and then theyhad bad crops. Now I have seen them pick out the very best and put them by. "We must have good seed,"

they say. If I had to sow my fields with wheat I would not take the tail corn. I should grudge no expense about seed, forit would be false economy to buy any but the very best. Go preach, teach and instruct with the best doctrine, even that ofGod's Word, for, depend upon it, though the result is not in your hands, yet it very much depends upon what you teach! O,eternal and ever blessed Spirit, guide Your servants into all Truth!

Next to this, if you want to win souls for Christ, feel a solemn alarm about then. You cannot make them feel if you do notfeel yourself. Believe their danger, believe their helplessness, believe that only Christ can save them and talk to them asif you meant it. The Holy Spirit will move them by first moving you. If you can rest without their being saved they will rest,too. But if you are filled with an agony for them, if you cannot bear that they should be lost, you will soon find that theyare uneasy, too. I hope you will get into such a state that you will dream about your child, or about your hearer perishingfor lack of Christ-and start up at once and begin to cry, "O God, give me converts or I die!" Then you will have converts-thereis no fear about that-God does not send travail pangs to His servants without causing them to abound in spiritual children.There will be new births to God when you are agonizing for them!

But, let me add, there must be much prayer. Delight to be at Prayer Meetings where the Brethren will not let the Lord go exceptHe bless them, when a Brother prays, choking as he speaks, tears rolling down his cheeks as he pleads with God to have mercyon the sons of men. I am always certain that sinners are ordained to be blessed when I see saints thus compelled to pleadwith God for them. In your closets, alone, at your family altars and in your gatherings for prayer, be importunate and thehand of the Lord must and will be with you. Cry aloud and spare not, plead as for your lives and bring forth your strong arguments,for only by prevailing with God will you be enabled to prevail with men.

Then there must be added to prayer direct personal effort on the part of all of you. Great numbers may be saved by my preachingif the Holy Spirit blesses it, but I shall expect larger numbers if you all turn preachers, if every Brother and Sister herebecomes a witness for Christ. Are you lazy? Are any of you beginning to sleep? I charge you, wake up! By the love you bearto Jesus and by the love you bear to your fellow men, begin at once to seek the conversion of those who dwell around you.O my Beloved, do not become lukewarm! My heart fails me at the very thought! If you are earnest, I live-if you grow slothful,my spirit dies within me!

Last of all, if you want to see many converts, expect them. "According to your faith so be it unto you." Look out for them.Believe that God will bless every sermon and go hunting, after the sermon, to see where the converts are. As a company ofbutlers and camp-followers generally follow every army-and after a battle go up to strip the slain-so if you cannot preachI would have you follow after the warriors to gather in the spoil. No one needed to urge the voracious spoilers to prowl overthe field of Sedan or Gravelotte, but now it even seems necessary to persuade you to collect a far nobler prey.

Come up! Come up, you servants of the Lord and divide the spoil with the strong! Christ has fought your battle. His arrowshave been sharp in the hearts of the King's enemies-the two-edged sword has struck right and left-come up, you sons of Jacob,to the prey and gather in the converts as your spoil! Speak with the young converts, cheer the broken hearts, comfort theseekers and bring into His palace trophies for your Lord! Verily, I say unto you, if you look not for conversions, neithershall you obtain them! And you cannot blame the Lord-you are not straitened in Him-but in your own hearts!

God bless you, Beloved, and may we have a larger increase to this Church during the next month than we have had for yearspast, that our God may have greater praise.

PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON-Acts 11. HYMNS FROM "OUR OWN HYMN BOOK"-887, 450, 881.