Dwight L. Moody illustrated grace like this in a late 1800s sermon:

“Remember, salvation is a free gift, and it is a free gift for us. Can you buy it? It is a free gift, presented to “whosoever” will accept it.

Suppose I were to say, I will give this Bible to “whosoever” will take it; what have you got to do? Why, nothing but take it. But a man comes forward, and says: “I’d like that Bible very much.”

“Well, didn’t I say ‘whosoever’ will can have it?”

“Yes; but I’d like to have you mention my name.”

“Well, here it is.”

Still he keeps eyeing the Bible, and saying, “I’d like to have that Bible; but I’d like to give you something for it. I don’t like to take it for nothing.”

“But I am not here to sell Bibles; take it, if you want it.”

“Well, I want it; but I’d like to give you something for it. Let me give you a cent for it; though, to be sure, it’s worth about five dollars.”

Suppose I accept the cent; the man takes up the Bible and marches away home with it.

His wife asks, “Where did you get that Bible?”

“Oh, I bought it.”

Mark the point: when he gave the penny, it ceased to be a gift. So with salvation. If you were to pay ever so little, it would not be a gift.

Tags: Bible, grace, Moody, works

Back in 1997, we had just moved into our new building and were trying to sell our old building with little success. Finally a man came to see me who wanted to buy the building for his church. I asked him how many people he had coming, and he replied, “Oh, none, yet, but I’d like to start one.”

I think he got the cart before the horse. Church starts with people who need a meeting place, not a meeting place which needs people. I encouraged him to start a home Bible study and build from there, but he was determined to start with a building.

In D. L. Moody’s day, it was a common practice for people to rent a church pew rather than giving in an offering. One Sunday morning, 19-year old Moody marched down the aisle with a motley crew of society’s outcasts trailing behind him. He had rented four pews and was determined to fill them with those who were spiritually needy. Having taken the Savior’s “Go” personally (Matt. 28:19), he literally “went out into the highways and gathered together…both bad and good” (Matt. 22:10).

Let me encourage you to  follow Moody’s example and invite someone to church with you think weekend. The pew’s already been paid for.

Tags: evangelism, invitation, Moody

While Chicago evangelist D. L. Moody was attending a convention in Indianapolis on mass evangelism, he did more than just talk about it. He asked a friend, who was a gifted musician, to meet him on a street corner at 6:00 one evening. The man stood on a box and sang a song. When a crowd gathered, Moody spoke briefly and then invited the people to follow him to the nearby convention hall.

Soon the auditorium was filled with spiritually hungry people, and he preached to them. When the convention attendees began to arrive, Moody stopped preaching and said, “Now we must close, as the brethren of the convention want to discuss the topic, ‘How to Reach the Masses.’”

Jesus sent his disciples out to preach the good news, not just talk about it among themselves. The Great Commission begins with the word, “Go!”

Select a person in your life who needs to hear about Jesus and go to them. Jesus is counting on you.

Tags: evangelism, lost, Moody

Dwight L. Moody was an extremely effective evangelist of over a century ago in Chicago. He told this story in his own words:

A wild and prodigal young man, who was running a headlong career to ruin came into one of our meetings in Chicago. Whilst endeavoring to bring him to Christ, I quoted this verse to him: “Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out.”

I asked him: “Do you believe Christ said that?”

“I suppose He did.”

“Suppose He did? Do you believe it?”

“I hope so.”

“Hope so? Do you believe it? You do your work, and the Lord will do His. Just come as you are, and throw yourself upon His bosom, and He will not cast you out.”

This man thought it was too simple and easy.

At last light seemed to break in upon him, and he seemed to find comfort from it. It was past midnight before he got down on his knees, but down he went, and was converted. I said:

“Now, don’t think you are going to get out of the devil’s territory without trouble. The devil will come to you tomorrow morning and say it was all feeling; that you only imagined you were accepted by God. When he does, don’t fight him with your own opinions, but fight him with John 6:37: “Him that cometh to Me I will in nowise cast out.” Let that be ‘the sword of the Spirit’.”

I don’t believe that any man ever starts to go to Christ but the devil strives somehow or other to meet him and trip him up. And even after he has come to Christ, the devil tries to assail him with doubts, and make him believe there is something wrong in it.

The struggle came sooner than I thought in this man’s case. When he was on his way home the devil assailed him. he used this text, but the devil put this thought into his mind:

“How do you know Christ ever said that after all? Perhaps the translators made a mistake.”

Into darkness he went again. He was in trouble till about two in the morning. At last he came to this conclusion. Said he:

“I will believe it anyway; and when I get to heaven, if it isn’t true, I will just tell the Lord I didn’t make the mistake – the translators made it.”

Tags: doubt, mistake, Moody, unbelief

In 1871 evangelist Dwight L. Moody preached a series of sermons on the life of Christ in old Farwell Hall in Chicago for five nights. As he was following the life of Christ from the cradle to the judgment hall, I said that he made the greatest blunder he ever made in his life.

With the firebell (a common sound) ringing in the background, Mr. Moody finished his sermon with the question: “What shall I do with Jesus?” He said, “Now, I want you to take the question with you and think it over, and next Sunday I want you to come back and tell me what you are going to do with Him.”

That night the Great Chicago Fire destroyed Farwell Hall as well as the church Moody pastored. He never saw that crowd again. And he learned a valuable lesson. Moody never again closed a meeting without an invitation to accept Christ.

When have you delayed something until it was too late?

Tags: delay, mistakes, Moody

19th Century evangelist Dwight L. Moody told the following story: “The story is told that a man once said he would not talk to his son about religion; the boy should make his own choice when he grew up, unprejudiced by him.

“The boy broke his arm, and when the doctor was setting it, he cursed and swore the whole time. The father was quite grieved and shocked.

“Ah,” said the doctor, “you were afraid to prejudice the boy in the right way, but the devil had no such prejudice. He has led your son the other way.

“The idea that a father is to let his children run wild! Nature alone never brings forth anything but weeds.”

I’m interested in knowing if you agree or disagree.

Tags: children, Moody, obedience