by Walter L. Wilson, M.D |
A meeting
was in progress in a small country church which was heated by a large stove at
the back of the room near the door. The stove was usually kept fairly hot
during those cold days, so that the visiting friends could not sit very near
to it. One young man, however, preferred to sit directly behind the stove
where he would be hidden from the preacher. |
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The
services in the little church attracted quite a bit of attention in the
neighborhood, and almost the whole village was coming. This attracted our
friend, and so he decided he would see what was going on at the church. A
number of his friends were coming and some had been saved. All of them had
been stirred, and the meetings were the talk of the neighborhood. He
therefore attended, but of course did not feel at home, and so sat in an
obscure place in the back of the church behind the stove. |
As I gave
the message, some portions would be of unusual interest to him, and he would
lean out from behind the stove to see me. I was quick to take advantage of
this and would say something especially intended for him, but which was in
connection with the message. He would soon draw back out of sight and remain
hidden for a while. This continued throughout the meetings. |
One night
the subject of the message was John 5:24- "Verily, verily, I say unto
you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath
everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from
death unto life." I sought to make it clear to the audience that our
manner of life revealed whether we were dead in sins or whether we were alive
in Christ. As I explained the symptoms of a dead sinner, |
At no time
did |
The
following Sunday night, when I came to the front of the church, imagine my
surprise to see Everett sitting on the front seat, holding in his lap the largest
Bible I had ever seen in the hands of any person. It was a pulpit Bible, and
an unusually large one. I immediately went to him and said, " |
His face
glowed with joy as he told the following story: |
"Last
Sunday night, I sat behind the stove, listening to your sermon about Jesus
making us alive. I had never heard anything like that in my life. I knew
something was wrong with me, but did not know what it was. As you described
the symptoms of a dead sinner, I saw right away that you were talking about
me. You said that the dead sinner did not care for God, and certainly I never
have. You said that the dead sinner did not understand the Bible, and I know
very well I never did. You said that the dead sinner did not care whether
others went to heaven or hell, and I never have cared a bit where anybody
went. You said that anyone that was dead in their sins did not care very much
whether they sinned or didn't, and I never have cared--really I loved to
commit some sins. You certainly hit me right square on the head when you told
those symptoms. |
"When
you closed the service, I beat it for home. I did not want to talk with
anybody. I wanted to fight that thing out and see if I could understand it
and get it straightened out. When I arrived at my little house, I lit my
lantern, got out a little Testament that I had, and tried to find the place
that you preached about, but I could not find that verse. I knew it was
somewhere in John, and so I started reading from the first verse in John
until I found it. I never went to school very much, so I cannot read very
fast, and have to spell out some of the words. It was |
"After
reading it several times, I got down on my knees and said, 'Jesus, God sent
You to save me, and I am going to let You do it. You said if I believed on You,
I would have everlasting life, and I do believe on You, and I am taking You
for my Saviour right now. I am going to be Your man and live for You, because
You died for me.' |
"After
praying, I got a wonderful peace in my heart, and I said to myself, 'If
reading one verse will give so much peace, reading more verses will give me
more peace.' |
"I
sat down beside the lantern and read on until I came to the verse that says
that no man does anything in secret, if he wants people to know him openly
(John 7:4). I thought surely that is right. So I took my lantern and started
out to tell the folks. |
"When
I knocked at my neighbor's house, he called out the window and wanted to know
who was there. I told him it was me and that Jesus had just saved me, and I wanted
him to know it. |
"He
said, 'Oh, is that so?' |
"And
I went on to the next house. I knocked at the door and pretty soon Jim stuck
his head out upstairs and said, 'Who is down there?' |
"And
I said, 'It is |
"I
went all around the village, Dr. Wilson, and told everybody in town, because
I did not want Jesus to say that He saved me in secret and I did not tell it
openly." |
This wonderful
story of faith and confession stirred my heart greatly. I rejoiced with him
in the blessed relationship he had found with Christ. Still, however, I could
not understand the secret of the big Bible, and so I asked him to tell me why
he had such a big book. He told me the following story: |
"You
see, Doctor, all I had at home was a little Testament, and the print was not
very good in it, and the only light I had was a lantern. I wanted a whole Bible,
one that had the old Bible in with the new Bible, so I could read it over. I
wanted print big enough so I could read faster when I did not have a very
good light. |
"Monday
morning I went over to the bookstore in the next town, and I said to the book
manager, 'Mr. Mack, I want to buy a big Bible.' |
"He
brought me out a Bible like that one you have that you preach out of, but I
said, 'No, I do not want a little Bible like that; I want a big Bible.' |
"Then
he brought me out a Bible that had maps in it and a lot of writings about the
Bible and a thumb index for blind people to find the books, but I did not
want that either, and I told him so. |
"I
told him that I wanted a great big Bible, the biggest Bible he had in the
store, so he brought out this one, and I said, 'That is just what I want.
Wrap it up for me.' |
"Mack
said, 'It will cost you $12.50.' |
"I
said, 'That is all right. I never did buy a Bible, so I never spent any money
on a Bible, and I might as well spend a whole lot now.' |
"He wrapped
it up, and I paid him for it, and started out of the door. Then he called me
and said, ' |
"I
was glad to tell Mack how that Jesus had saved me, and now I was a Christian.
I knew Christians ought to read their Bibles and not be ashamed of it. |
"I
said to him, 'Mack, you are right. Everybody knows that I have been a tough
fellow and never cared anything for the Bible, but now you see I belong to
Jesus, and I want to carry a Bible everywhere I go. Now if I only had my
little Bible, the New Testament that I have at home, I might be walking along
the street with it, and I would see some of the old gang coming up the
street, and the devil would say, "Everett, here comes the gang. Better
put that Bible in your pocket." Mr. Mack, I want a Bible I cannot get in
my pocket. That is the reason I got this great big one. The devil is not
going to get me to hide a Bible in my pocket after Jesus died for me and
saved me.' |
"And
that is the reason, Dr. Wilson, I have this big Bible. I want everybody to
know that |
What a
rebuke this new convert is to many of you who know
and love the Lord. May this incident lead each one to honor the Scriptures more,
to confess Christ better, and to be an out-and-out testimony for our Saviour. |
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From Remarkable New Stories: Told by the Doctor
by Walter L. Wilson. 1940. |
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