An ignoramus is not likely to be
much of a soulwinner
“ therefore, let us all
ask, brethren, that we may be well instructed in the truth of God, that we
may be able to teach others also.”
An evident sincerity
“You may depend upon it
that, when the people once suspect that you are insincere, they will never
listen to you except with disgust, and they will not be at all likely to
believe your message if you give them cause to think that you do not believe
it yourselves.”
An evident earnestness
“What earnestness our
theme deserves! We have to tell of an earnest Saviour, an earnest heaven,
and an earnest hell.”
An evident love to his hearers
“You must have a real
desire for the good of the people if you are to have much influence over
them. Why, even dogs and cats love the people who love them, and human
beings are much the same as these dumb animals.”
An evident unselfishness
“…the less you think of
yourself, the more will people think of you; and the more you think of
yourself, the less will people think of you.”
Holiness of character
“When people see that we
not only preach about holiness, but that we are ourselves holy men, they
will be drawn towards holy things by our character as well as by our
preaching.”
Seriousness of manner
“…we shall never bring
many souls to Christ, if we are full of that levity which characterises some
men. People will say, "It is all a joke; just hear how those young fellows
jest about religion, it is one thing to listen to them when they are in the
pulpit, but it is quite another matter to listen to them when they are
sitting round the supper table.”
“I have heard of a man
who was dying, and he sent for the minister to come and see him. When the
minister came in, the dying man said to him, "Do you remember a young man
walking with you one evening, some years ago, when you were going out to
preach?" He said, he did not. "I recollect it very well," replied the other.
"Do you not remember preaching at such-and-such a village, from
such-and-such a text, and after the service a young man walked home with
you?" "Oh, yes, I remember that very well!" "Well, I am the young man who
walked home with you that night; I remember your sermon, I shall never
forget it." "Thank God for that," said the preacher. "No," answered the
dying man, "you will not thank God when you have heard all I have to say. I
walked with you to the village, but you did not say much to me on the way
there, for you were thinking over your sermon; you deeply impressed me while
you were preaching, and I was led to think about giving my heart to Christ.
I wanted to speak to you about my soul on the way home; but the moment you
got out you cracked a joke, and all the way back you made such fun upon
serious subjects, that I could not say anything about what I felt, and it
thoroughly disgusted me with religion, and all who professed it, and now I
am going to be damned, and my blood will lie at your door, as sure as you
are alive:"
A great deal of tenderness
“…if there is an
unpleasant thing to be said, take care that you put it in the kindest
possible form. “
“Take care always to
speak the truth in love, and especially when you are rebuking sin.”
Conclusion
“I believe, brethren,
that soul-winning is to be done by men of the character I have been
describing; and most of all will this be the case when they are surrounded
by people of a similar character. You want to get the very atmosphere in
which you live and labour permeated with this spirit before you can rightly
expect the fullest and richest blessings. Therefore, may you and all your
people be all that I have pictured, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake! Amen.”
