Evangelism 06 Urgency of Soul Winning — Welcome Detweiler

I must express my sincere thanks and appreciation for having the privilege of being with you for this week. It really doesn't seem fair that a number of people should use a lot of energy in planning a conference like this, and then allow a foreigner to come in among you and have the privilege of doing nothing about that groundwork, and just having the privilege of presenting the Word of God.

I am very highly indebted to the management of this conference for allowing me this wonderful privilege. There is just a bit of sadness connected with the last service. I have so much enjoyed meeting Christians that I have never met before, and I'm reminded of a preacher that I met some years ago who said, every time I meet a Christian that I never met before, I feel that I have added another acre to my spiritual estate.

If that statement is true, you are looking at a very wealthy landowner, and I have enjoyed getting acquainted with you. In fact, I don't know how you could improve what you have done this week, except for one thing.

The Joy of Seeing Souls Come to Christ

If I should hear, whether tonight, or a week from now, or a month from now, or even a year from now, I should hear a report that, as a result of my visit to Park of the Palms, one person, or two, or three, or more, can say, I didn't know the way to heaven.

I was on the way to hell, but I found Jesus Christ as my Savior. That would crown everything, and I've known a number of conferences where we left the week being very happy, and then we could say, the crowning thing, we've almost forgotten all the rest, except one person came to know Jesus Christ in His saving grace and keeping power.

I really was thrilled to hear you saying, when the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there, because I am still meeting a number of people who cannot honestly sing that hymn. They sing it when the roll is called up yonder, I hope I'll be there.

It doesn't fit in very well, and it isn't scriptural. Where is a man when he doesn't know where he is? You say he's lost. That may be true. It is my prayer that not one person who sang that hymn has to say, well, really, I'm not positive that I will be there.

You can be, and God wants you to be absolutely sure. I know what it is to say, I hope I'm going to heaven. It sounds as though that's the right position to take, but it isn't. All the people in the Bible that you know that were believers could say, I know whom I have believed.

And if you don't know, there must be something wrong. How could you be happy? How could you have one moment's peace, even if you're a very wealthy person, and you have to look into the future and say, someday, like the rest of them, I'm going to have to leave?

And when I leave, who knows? I hope it will be heaven. It would rob you of everything not to have the future settled. There is nothing so wonderful as to live in a world that is filled with turmoil. Some six weeks ago, we heard men even around Washington saying, there is the possibility that we are heading for World War III.

With all the turmoil around, and absolute peace, and while men's hearts are failing them for fear, the Christian can say, I refuse to shake. I don't have anything to tremble about. My soul is anchored in the Rock of Ages, and I know that the best is yet ahead, that someday I will be in his presence for all eternity.

The Church's Responsibility to Evangelize

We've been talking about the general subject of evangelism, and in my first message I gave you the definition that seemed to stick with me better than all the rest that I've ever heard—an ex-beggar telling a beggar where to find bread.

And God has left on earth, in every generation, a whole church to evangelize a whole world. The early church was a very progressive church, and did an excellent job. It would be impossible, perhaps, to trace on a graph what has happened since that day.

But let us remember that we who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior are responsible for converting the world that is around us, telling them the news of God's wonderful salvation. The urgency of the matter.

We have a command, a mandate, from Jesus Christ, before he left this scene, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He meant that. What a wonderful privilege it has been to tell sinners, you don't have to go to hell.

You are a sinner by nature and a sinner by practice, but you still don't have to go to hell. You can go to heaven on one basis only, and that is, someone will have to pay for your sins before they can be forgiven, and Jesus Christ did that when he hung on Calvary's cross, and because he died for my sins and rose again, my judgment has been settled, and God does not need two payments for my sins.

That one was sufficient. God has accepted it, and I am resting in its finished work, and the Bible says, I have everlasting life, and there are many, many others who can say that. I know that I'm on. We've been talking about the importance of local churches seeing that this message is not watered down, but that the clear, simple plan of salvation is given day after day, and that we are reaching out in our communities to see that the people in our communities cannot go to hell and say, no one ever told me, by whatever means it may be.

Personal Evangelism as Every Christian's Calling

And then, last night, I had to impress upon my own heart and yours that perhaps the most effective method of evangelization today is personal evangelism. It is so easy for us to say, the evangelist is a certain preacher who loves to proclaim the gospel to sinners, and the rest of us are listeners.

There's one thing I wanted to get across last night is that you, everyone, with no exception, except if you're not saved, but if you are a Christian, you are an evangelist, and you can lead souls to Christ, and you should lead souls to Christ.

I hope that very soon you will add to that statement, and by the grace of God, lead souls to Christ. I have spent fifty-four days in a hospital on various occasions. Twelve years ago, with a severe heart attack, hovering just across the threshold of heaven, God was pleased to answer prayer.

In fact, I didn't really ask him to heal me. I said, Lord, I know one of two things are going to happen. Either I get well, or else I go to heaven, and both of them are wonderful. I let you choose. He gave me second best.

He allowed me to live, and I feel that I am living on borrowed time. Four and a half years ago, major cancer surgery, and that scares you just a little bit, and that makes me realize once more I am living on borrowed time.

I guess I was before, but I didn't realize it. And I should be interested, in whatever days I have left, that the greatest possible good shall be accomplished. Will you help me? How can that be accomplished?

There are a lot of poor people in the world that are living in shacks, and maybe don't have enough food. Let's suppose that I fall upon some wealth, and I donate all my wealth to lift those poor people on a better standard of living.

Wouldn't that be a worthwhile cause to live for? But is there something higher than that? To help a person while he is living on earth here, to live a little better, and then they let him go down to a lost eternity?

I really haven't helped him very much, have I? But to help that person, and to tell them, I want to be sure that when you leave this scene, you will have a guarantee and a peace in your soul that you're going to heaven, and not.

The Christian Hope of Heaven

Our Bible tells us that, Paul said it, when a Christian comes to the end of the road, he can say, to die is gain. By nature, we shrink from death. We don't like to hear it. But after we are saved, the sting of death is removed, and we can say, all that death can do is take me into the presence of my blessed Savior, and we no longer have to face death and say, what will I do when I get there?

Heaven at the end of the road. That's wonderful. And I would like to spend the rest of my days helping poor, guilty sinners that haven't found anything in this earth worth living for, telling them, Jesus loves you, if nobody else does.

He proved it by dying for you on Calvary's cross, and you need not perish in your sin. You can be saved by grace. You have a right to be in heaven just as much as anyone else. But there is one thing you will have to do.

You will have to come to Jesus Christ as a helpless sinner, and thank him for dying for you, and tell him, I am willing to trust in your precious blood shed on Calvary's cross, and nothing else, to save me from my sins.

And if you do that from the heart, God will save you on the spot. And you need not have a saved feeling. I've never had it, but you can have something better. The word of God tells me that I'm saved, and that's better than for a preacher to tell me.

The preacher could be wrong. The feelings could be wrong. The Bible can't be wrong. And that wonderful assurance God can give to everyone. I have just a few verses to read to you. I'll begin with the last verse in the epistle of James.

Winning Souls According to James, Daniel, and Proverbs

The last verse, the closing verse of James' epistle, and that would be chapter 5 and verse 20. Let him know that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

There's a verse in Daniel's prophecy that is very similar to it. Chapter 12, and verse 3. Daniel, chapter 12, and verse 3. And 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.

But my text tonight is found in Proverbs chapter 11 and verse 30, and just to make it easier so I won't overtax your mind, I'm just going to read the last half of the verse six words. Surely, after a hard Friday, you can remember these six words.

He that winneth souls is wise. He that winneth souls is wise. One thing we did not talk about last night, or in any of the previous nights, is the tools that God has given us for this wonderful enterprise or profession of showing people the way of salvation.

Scripture as the Indispensable Evangelistic Tool

I had a friend in Pennsylvania some years ago who had to decide what kind of profession he wanted to take up or what kind of work. And he said, if I'm a carpenter, I have to buy a saw and a hammer, and he went over the list of tools.

And if I'm an electrician, I'll have to buy an awful lot of tools. If I'm a plumber, I'll have to buy an awful lot of tools. And I figured out the thing that I can do in the building profession with the least tools, I'm going to be a plasterer.

That was before there were sheetrock. And plasters were a part of the business. He said, all I need, just, well, I can just carry them in a little bag. And he said, that's the reason I selected. I can save buying all those tools.

Let me suggest that, in winning souls, there is one indispensable tool. This one. Because, when we approach a person regarding the way of salvation, we must remember that he is a religious person by birth, and that he already has made up his mind, to some extent, as to what he thinks that is necessary to take him to heaven.

And he is not really interested in another opinion. He's already got one, and he's heard a few others, and they were rather confusing. And he is really not interested in what my opinion is, but most people are interested in what does God have to say about it.

What does God have to say about me? And to answer that, I have to turn to the word of God and say, are you ready for it? You better sit down, because God is brutally frank. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

But, surely, I haven't sinned as much as some of my neighbors. That may be true. But, if God says you have sinned, you'll have to argue with him, or else agree with him, that at some time in your life you have deliberately broken one of God's commandments, so you are a sinner, not only by nature, but also by practice.

Another bitter lesson we have to learn is that, after we have sinned, we would like to cancel that sin, if possible, by our own good deeds. And the second bitter lesson is that I cannot save myself. I would like to, but I can't.

I am hopeless. I am helpless. And the third thing that I have to learn is that Jesus Christ is the only possible one that can save me. No preacher, no church can save me. No ordinance, no baptism can ever save me.

One person, Jesus Christ. Now, that does sound a bit narrow, doesn't it? And the other night, when I was speaking on the message of the gospel, I should have mentioned that when Paul is writing to the Galatian Epistle, he says, "'If any man, even an angel from heaven, comes down and preaches any other gospel than mine, let him be accursed.

Paul, you are too strong.'". Let us just imagine that, while I'm speaking here tonight, for the first time, you see an angel of the platform right here, silently. I think you would say, "'Deathweiler, give him a chance to talk.'".

All right, I'll give him a chance. And if he does not give the message of salvation as it is recorded in this book, Paul says, "'That angel, let him be accursed.'". He says, "'If an angel from heaven.'".

That's pretty strong language. Well, of course, remember this. If he came down and said that, you could call him a fallen angel. He would be a fallen angel, if he didn't agree with the word of God. The Lord Jesus was extremely narrow, and folks don't like narrow preachers, but Jesus Christ was.

And he said, "'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me.'". Isn't that true? Supposing God provided two ways of salvation, or two saviors. Would you like that better?

It would indicate that the first one was not adequate, wouldn't it? It would also indicate that God is extravagant. If he had provided a savior that can save every sinner in the world, remember what he went through on Calvary's cross?

God would be cruel if he provided two saviors. They are not necessary. One savior that can save every guilty sinner. This tool is the one that we need to use when we deal with people and read to them the Scriptures.

Gospel Tracts as Silent Messengers

But beyond that, there are some other tools. And I would like to suggest that gospel tracts are very important things. In fact, I would like to suggest that when you leave the house at any time, or leave the premises, you should not feel that you are properly dressed.

Gentlemen, unless you have a few tracts in your pocket, and ladies, that big trunk that you carry around that has everything in except the kitchen sink, I want you to check, is there a gospel tract in there?

And, again, you should ask yourself, you do stand before the mirror and say, Am I fit to go out? And you say, Oh, I look fine, let's go. I am not properly dressed unless I have some gospel tract. I may run into a person, I may not have time to talk to him, he may be busy, but I want to leave something with him.

I would like to advertise some tracts, and I didn't write them, and I don't sell them, and you'll have to find out where to get them, but my number one tract, so far as a person who has already expressed some interest in the way of salvation, I've mentioned here, God's Way of Salvation by Alexander Marshall.

There is no better tract in the world that answers every question that the sinner may ask. A number of people to whom I have given this tract have said, when they read it through, Whoever wrote that tract must have known me, because everything in that tract fits me exactly.

God has blessed this. There will be a number of people, I don't know whether they'll have a chance to raise their hand in Heaven, how many of you were saved by just reading God's Way of Salvation? Many of them.

A lady just a few years ago was interested in being saved, but she was afraid to talk to the preacher. I gave her this at the close of the meeting. Later in the week, she called me, she said, I want to talk about it.

And when I got there, I saw this book, and it was wrinkled, it looked terrible, it didn't look nice and clean like this. I saw it on the coffee table, and I said, uh-oh, she has murdered that book. And she came in, and she said, Mr. Detweiler, you're too late.

I got saved before you got there. I read that thing through three times, and when I got through the third time, I said, I don't need the preacher. This has answered all my questions. I'm going to trust the Savior right now.

There is a companion tract written by George Cutting that follows this tract called Safety, Certainty, and Enjoyment. And I highly recommend this as the second tract. Just as soon as a person has received the Lord Jesus Christ, they do need some scriptures that will tell them how they can be absolutely sure.

Those three words are very intriguing. Safety, Certainty, and Assurance. Isn't that wonderful? Security in Jesus Christ. There's another tract about the same size as this one. It's called The Reason Why, written by Laidlaw, and it's a little bit different.

I keep that little tract on hand for professional people. There are a number of people who have heard about religion, and they open this up, oh, it's some kind of religious thing, and they lay it down.

But Laidlaw, in that book, starts as if the person had never seen a Bible, never knew anything. He starts from scratch, and he tells why I have to believe there is salvation for the sinner. And a number of people have picked that tract up, and one man especially told me, he said, I've read a lot of religious papers, and he said, I've never read one that had as much common sense in it as that little booklet.

Not long to read, just a little tract, 32 pages or so, and I carry one of those. Now, you may not be able to carry these booklets continually, but there are many, many four-page tracts that you can carry continually, give them out, and regarding these, you want to read these tracts before you hand them out, to make sure that they are sound, because some gospel tracts perhaps may not be.

But I have found that sometimes I can associate, as soon as I look at the author, when I find a tract that is written by William MacDonald, I don't bother reading it, because I've read every one so far, I guess, that he's made, or most of them, and I know that that man has been gifted especially to put a hook in that tract that the person can't lay it down until he's finished.

It's just a little folding tract, very little, and when Bill MacDonald writes a tract, he writes it about twice as long as this, and then he cruelly goes over that tract and says, this doesn't have to be, and I want to get down to the nitty-gritty, I don't want the man to have any chaff to read, I want him to get right to the thing, I want him to make every word count, and when he writes a tract, as soon as I see it's William MacDonald, I say, that tract is good, that will fit every sinner that I happen to meet.

Now, I don't mean that there are not some other people that are writing good tracts as well, but there are many, many, and I want to urge you, these are called silent messengers. When you are talking to a person about the way of salvation, even if you are very careful not to offend them, you should expect that they're on the defensive just a bit, and they will probably try to defend themselves.

If they sit at home alone with a tract, it would be awkward to find them arguing with a piece of paper, wouldn't it? These tracts don't talk back, they never argue, they just present the truth. And God has blessed gospel tracts, so did you hear me say, you should not feel properly attired when you leave your house or the premises to go to the shopping center, wherever you go, unless you say, do I have something on my person that I can give to anyone that I should happen to meet, and have the opportunity of telling them the way of salvation?

Choosing Evangelistic Literature Carefully

I think the Lord wants us to be careful how we select our tracts, and so on, and even our books, but in general, if you are watching for opportunities, you will find. Let me just mention one person who was a little bit careless.

A man by the name of Dr. Wells, an elderly man, eventually had to go to the hospital and have an operation, and some friends who knew him so well said they felt so sorry for him, but he was making nice progress.

And then they heard the news that the operation was not successful, he was facing a second one. And one lady said, I feel so bad about it, I'd like to go to the bookstore and buy a book so that he could read a book.

And she looked over the books rack, and she finally found a book on Isaac and his well, he was digging wells. And she said, this is one thing, I heard him preach on Isaac and his wells one day. So she bought this book and took it to the hospital to give to him just before he was going to have his second operation.

But she forgot one thing. On the cover of the book, the title of the book was Old Wells Reopened, and that wasn't a good title at all. So be just a bit careful about the title of the tract, so you don't give the wrong tract at the wrong time.

Creative Avenues for Personal Witness

I want you to think of the various avenues of spreading the gospel, maybe some that are not quite standard brand. A number of you folks would know when I mention the name of George Whatmal, the professional hitchhiker, who traveled from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast.

Can anyone tell me how many times, 33 times? I'm not sure. A hitchhiker on purpose. A suitcase, a tall man, standing by the roadside, just like this. Not a hippie, a gentleman. And people, a man like that, a well-dressed man, thumping his way, an elderly man, they'd pull on the side.

He'd get in the car, and begin to talk to them, get acquainted with them, and then he would say, I have a wonderful message that I would like to give to you, and especially a few verses from the Bible.

And sometime along the way, if you find a place that we can pull to the side that is convenient, if you feel like it, pull to the side, and I would like to read those verses to you. And very often, that man would watch for a place, and then he would read the scriptures.

And then he would tell them the way of salvation. A wonderful opportunity. God has blessed that minister. Not many of us do that. But God blessed that particular man. I know of a man who was a magician before he was saved.

And after he was saved, he said, I wonder if I could use that as a worm on the hook to catch the sinner. Because people don't usually like to hear preachers. And he did. I was with him in Camp Shelby during World War II with the Pocket Testament League.

He had some gadgets there, and we had services in the Army Chapel at night. And during the daytime, we would go around and say there's going to be a gospel meeting down at Chapel Six and so on. But soldiers are not interested.

But this magician went out among the soldiers while they were walking. And he pulled one of these out and showed it to them. Before long, he had 12 soldiers there, and he pulled a trick on them. And he said, by the way, I'll show you how I did this.

Then, of course, he showed them. Tonight at that 7 o 'clock down at Chapel Six, we're going to have some more of this. How about coming? Packed the place up. Packed the place up. Why did he do it? He did it to get the fellows in.

And then, after he showed them the tricks and had the whole place roaring, the man in charge said, Mr. Palmer, why don't you tell these fellows how you got saved? Oh, I'll be glad to. Laid all his tools out.

Fellas, one day I was a lost sinner on the road to hell, and I discovered that I needed Jesus Christ. And you know what I did? I'm the happiest man in this world since I crossed with the Savior. The magician talks like that.

He's not a magician. He tricked us. He's a preacher, too. He's a magician preacher. He got the message across. And then the man that was in charge said, Now, you've heard the testimony of this man, and I want to leave a few verses with you.

And he gave a gospel verse. And then he would say, Now, fellows, we're not going to hold you a long time, but if some of you would like to have the gospel by John, we're going to hand out the gospel of John by every one of you that will read it.

And you fellows come up to the front after the service, and we'll give you one. And if there are soldiers here that would like to be saved, this is why we have come here. We'd like to take the word of God and show you how you can be saved.

God blessed that man. If we had gone into that camp without the magician, and made an announcement, went around, a gospel meeting, Chapel Six, I think we'd have had twelve soldiers there, probably all Christians.

Otherwise, we'd have the place packed every night. God used that man. Faith is full of inventions. I don't know what your gift is, but God can use it in order to bring souls to Christ. I must tell you that visiting sick people in the hospital is a wonderful opportunity, because some of the rest of the friends that go in to visit them, all they can say is, Good luck to you, I hope you feel better, and so on.

But you can take your little Testament along, and read a few verses of encouragement, and then have prayer with them, and see if there is a spiritual need. When the body is breaking down, and there are some apprehensions, people are a little more serious-minded than the rest of the time.

And this is a wonderful opportunity of just sitting down and trying to meet their needs. If you can't do any more, you will gain their confidence, and maybe later on, being able to lead them to the Savior.

The convalescent homes, lonely people who may go months before a visitor comes because the relatives are quite a distance, an interested Christian coming in and visiting. Oh, there are so many different ways in which we can use to bring the gospel of the grace of God.

Training Believers for Soul Winning

I don't think it would be wrong for a local church to have a training program for people who would like to be used in personal witnessing, who feel they are not adequate. I think we can learn some lessons from the Jehovah's Witnesses.

They do not have a Sunday morning service in most places. Sunday morning, 11 o 'clock, maybe 10 to 12, they go out and knock on doors. And any place that there are people still around, those are people that are not going to church anyway.

These are good prospects. They talk to them. In the afternoon, maybe 4 o 'clock or 5 o 'clock, they meet at the Kingdom Hall, and there is a professional salesman there who will say, now, everyone that went out, will you tell us what obstacles you got into, what arguments did you get into, what couldn't you answer, and I'll help you.

And they would say, well, I ran into a fellow, and he really wrapped me up. How do you get out of it? The professional salesman, this is how you get up. Over in Ezekiel, there's a verse, and they learn.

And after a while, they are professionals. They go out. I think there must be an awful lot of manpower available, willing manpower, who can say, you know what I would like to do more than anything? I would like to be a soul winner, but I don't know how to go about it, and I don't want to do the wrong thing.

If someone would have a class, and would have to say, we're going to teach you some of the basics of soul winning. I'd love that, and I think perhaps it would be good for every local church to realize there are new people coming in, new people getting saved, and these perhaps are not aware of some of the mistakes that can easily be made in cutting off ears when you are trying to win someone to the Lord.

But to avoid some of those things, perhaps we could realize that there are many people who would love if they just had a little bit of help from others. I have a strange ambition. I don't think it will ever be fulfilled.

Christ's Sacrifice and the Message to the Lost

There is one man in Panama right now that I would love to meet. He wants to be called the Shaw. It's more convenient for me to call him Mr. Shaw. I would love to meet him. Mr. Shaw, you are a very unusual person.

There are very few people that have ever been as high as you have been. To reign over a country that has at its control the oil valves of the world, and to be a wealthy man, to have all that the news media at least tells us about you, you are a remarkable man, and you are a very remarkable and unusual man that just a little over a year ago, you had a terrible fall all the way from up there down so low that you almost have to reach up to touch ground.

Is there anyone else that has dropped as low as you have? Have a visit with Richard Nixon, and after you have a little talk, you'll have to say, Richard, you've been high, and you've been low, but never as low as I am.

I am a man without a country. I do have quite a bit of wealth. I would like to enjoy it. I would like to travel, but I can't. It isn't doing me a bit of good. Mr. Shaw, besides that, I heard that you are a cancer victim.

There's really not much sunshine ahead of you, is there? You have really dropped low, but I have a message for you. Do you know that you could be one of the happiest people in this world? How? The Lord Jesus Christ died for you.

Now, I know that you have been told that there's something better than that, but still, will you please listen? Jesus Christ died for you, and while you may not have a country that you can go to, you are a despised person.

You could be a happy person in this area. You could be a Christian, and you could know that whenever your life terminates, you will be in heaven. And besides that, if you want to, you can be the most popular person that ever lived on the face of the earth except Jesus Christ.

Did you ever give thought to this? I think I could do a great thing if I just told the people I'm going back. I'm going to face the music. If that will release the hostages, I will do it. Have you ever thought of that?

Not really. Let me suggest something to you. If you did decide to do that, all the television cameras in the world would allow you to be before them when you make that decision and announce it, and everyone worldwide would see your face on the screen.

And when they heard you say, I have decided if I can save the lives of those 50 men over there as hostages, I'm the only one that can do it, I'm going. You could be the most popular person in all the world.

But, Mr. Shaw, have you any idea of what they would do when you arrive? Do you think they would shoot you as soon as they saw you? No. What would they do? I think they would take me through the streets of Iran, and they would allow every student and everybody else who wants to to take their fist and bash it in my face as hard as they could.

And it would be a painful ordeal. And they would take down President Carter in effigy, and they will put me up in reality on a cross they would crucify. You would go down in history as the greatest man that ever lived, apart from Jesus Christ, if you were willing to do it.

But I must admit, that would be a horrible death. That would be a horrible price to pay. But Jesus Christ did that. And there was no question about him going back because he had to face the music. He did it because he loved us.

And each one of us who have been, who were once hostages of sin, have been delivered because one person decided, I want to go down there. I want to die for them. Do you know what that will mean? I do.

A crowd of thorns pressed upon your brow, nails driven through your hands and your feet, a spear thrust into your side. They're going to walk past and they're going to jeer you. It will be a shameful ordeal.

I know all about it. I want to go. Did you ever hear of love like that? He did that for me. And then he turns around and asks me, Will you tell others about my love, so that more people can be included in my great salvation?

The Cross as the Source of Evangelistic Zeal

I mentioned last night that in order to be a good fisherman, you have to have the fishing fever. And I asked the question, Where do you get the fishing fever? Where do you get the desire to lead souls from Christ?