D.L. Moody - Articles, Sermons, And Notes

[nChrist]

Anecdotes & Illustrations - Page 5

-If we have a praise church we will have people convened.

I don't care where it is, what part of the world it's in, if we have a praise church we'll have successful christianity.

-Every good gift that we have had from the cradle up has come from God. If a man just stops to think what he has to praise God for, he will find there is enough to keep him singing praises for a week.

-We have in our churches a great deal of prayer, but I think it would be a good thing if we had a praise meeting occasionally. If we could only get people to praise God for what He has done, it would be a good deal better than asking Him continually for something.

-All should work and ask God's guidance.

-The world knows little of the works wrought by prayer.

-Let us pray, and as we pray, let us make room for Jesus in our hearts.

-Unless the Spirit of God is with us, we cannot expect that our prayers will be answered.

-David was the last one we would have chosen to fight the giant, but he was chosen of God.

-Every one of our children will be brought into the ark, if we pray and work earnestly for them.

-The impression that a praying mother leaves upon her children is life-long. Perhaps when you are dead and gone your prayer will be answered.

-I would rather go into the kingdom of heaven through the poor house than go down to hell in a golden chariot.

-I believe there are more young men who come to Boston who are lost because they cannot say no, than for any other reason.

-It ain't necessary to leave the things of this life when you follow Him. It is not necessary to give up your business, if it's a legitimate one, in order to accept Christ. But you musn't set your heart on the old nets by a good deal.

-A great many people want to bring theft faith, theft works, their good deeds to Him for salvation. Bring your sins, and He will bear them away into the wilderness of forgetfulness, and you will never see them again.

-Do you believe that He would send those men out to preach the gospel to every creature unless he wanted every creature to be saved? Do you believe He would tell them to preach it to people without giving people the power to accept it? Do you believe the God of heaven is mocking men by offering them his gospel and not giving them the power to take hold of it? Do you believe He will not give men power to accept this salvation as a gift? Man might do that, but God never mocks men. And when he says "Preach the gospel to every creature," every creature can be saved if he will.

-Lift your eyes from off these puny Christians-from off these human ministers, and look to Christ. He is the Saviour of the world. He came from the throne to this earth: He came from the very bosom of the Father. God gave Him up freely for us, and all we have to do is to accept him as our Saviour. Look at Him at Gethsemane, sweating as it were great drops of blood; look at Him on the cross, crucified between two thieves; hear that piercing cry, "Father, Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." And as you look into that face, as you look into those wounds on His feet or His hands, will you say He has not the power to save you? Will you say He has not the power so redeem you?

____________________

These very old and beautiful articles, sermons, and notes can be used freely. However, you must give the author proper credit, never involve them with money, and never claim them as your own. Matthew 10:8 ........ Freely you received, freely give.

By Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899)
One Million Souls For Christ
Founder Of The Moody Bible Institute
And Moody Church In Chicago, Illinois
____________________

[nChrist]

Believe

Have faith in God! Take Him at His word! Believe what He says! Believe the record God has given of His Son! I can imagine some of you saying, "I want to, but I have not got the right kind of faith." What kind of faith do you want? Now, the idea that you want a different kind of faith is all wrong. Use the faith you have got; just believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only that, you can't give any reason for not believing. If a man told me he couldn't believe me, I should have a right to ask him why he couldn't believe me. I should have a right to ask him if I had ever broken my word with him; and if I had not broken my word with him, he ought to believe me. I would like to ask you, has God ever broken His word? Never. My friends, He will keep His word. God condemns the world because they believe not on Him; that is the root of all evil. A man who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ won't murder, and lie, and do all these awful things. Don't get caught up by that terrible delusion that unbelief is a misfortune. Unbelief is not a misfortune, but is the sin of the world. Christ found it on all sides of the world. When He first got up from the grave, He found that His disciples doubted. He had reason to cry out against unbelief.

____________________

These very old and beautiful articles, sermons, and notes can be used freely. However, you must give the author proper credit, never involve them with money, and never claim them as your own. Matthew 10:8 ........ Freely you received, freely give.

By Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899)
One Million Souls For Christ
Founder Of The Moody Bible Institute
And Moody Church In Chicago, Illinois
____________________

[nChrist]

(My Notes:  It is not known who wrote this short biography of D.L. Moody. I must also add that it isn't known how many of D.L. Moody's notes were taken out of context and how many hands they have gone through. It is known that D.L. Moody was a man who loved GOD with all of his heart and spent his life in happy and faithful service to our Lord and Saviour, JESUS CHRIST.)

D. L. Moody - A Short Biography
1837 ­ 1899

D. L. Moody may well have been the greatest evangelist of all time.  In a 40-year period he won a million souls, founded three Christian schools, launched a great Christian publishing business, established a world-renowned Christian conference center, and inspired literally thousands of preachers to win souls and conduct revivals.

A shoe clerk at 17, his ambition was to make $100,000.  Converted at 18, he uncovered hidden gospel gold in the hearts of millions for the next half-century.  He preached to 20,000 a day in Brooklyn and admitted only non-church members by ticket!

He met a young songleader in Indianapolis, said bluntly, "You're the man I've been looking for for eight years.  Throw up your job and come with me."  Ira D. Sankey did just that; thereafter it was "Moody will preach; Sankey will sing."

He traveled across the American continent and through Great Britain in some of the greatest and most successful evangelistic meetings communities have ever known.  His tour of the world with Sankey was considered the greatest evangelistic enterprise of the century.

It was Henry Varley who said, "It remains to be seen what God will do with a man who gives himself up wholly to Him."  And Moody endeavored to be, under God, that man; and the world did marvel to see how wonderfully God used him.

Two great monuments stand in the indefatigable work and ministry of this gospel warrior - Moody Bible Institute and the famous Moody Church in Chicago.

Moody went to be with the Lord in 1899.

____________________

These very old and beautiful articles, sermons, and notes can be used freely. However, you must give the author proper credit, never involve them with money, and never claim them as your own. Matthew 10:8 ........ Freely you received, freely give.

By Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899)
One Million Souls For Christ
Founder Of The Moody Bible Institute
And Moody Church In Chicago, Illinois
____________________

[nChrist]

Blind Bartimeus

The apostle was going into Jericho for the last time. By the wayside he finds a poor, blind beggar who asks for a farthing, and he says, "Silver and gold have I none, but I can tell you of a great physician in Israel who can cure you." "Can cure me?" he says. "I was born blind." "Yes, but I have talked to a man in Jerusalem who says he was born blind, but now he sees." "Why," says Bartimeus, "how is that?" "Well, sir, Jesus of Nazareth was in Jerusalem, and a boy, he said, led him up to Him, and He just made clay with spittle and anointed his eyes, and sent him to wash in the pool of Siloam. If you could only go up to Jerusalem, all you would have do would be to tell Him. He don't charge anything." "He don't charge anything?" "No, He treats princes, potentates, and penniless all alike, for nothing; you have only to come before Him, and ask Him." I can see Bartimeus' eyes light up as he cries out, "If I can get my eyes by asking, I will get them." He takes his place by the wayside in expectancy. All at once he hears some one coming, and he cries out, "Who is coming? What does it mean?" At this no one answers him, but he begins to mistrust that it is Jesus of Nazareth. He has been told how great crowds flock about Him. And he cried out again in a louder voice, and they told him Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he cried again, then, with all his might, "Thou son of David, have mercy upon me." Some in the crowd thought Christ was going up to Jerusalem to be crowned king, and did not want Him to be disturbed by the blind beggar; they cried out not to disturb the Master, but the beggar would not cease, but cried all the louder, "Thou son of David, have mercy upon me." And the prayer reached the ear of the Son of God, and he hushed all the voices about Him while He heard the earnest suitor. There was no mistake.

____________________

These very old and beautiful articles, sermons, and notes can be used freely. However, you must give the author proper credit, never involve them with money, and never claim them as your own. Matthew 10:8 ........ Freely you received, freely give.

By Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899)
One Million Souls For Christ
Founder Of The Moody Bible Institute
And Moody Church In Chicago, Illinois
____________________

[nChrist]

Critics Beware

Love will rebuke evil, but will not rejoice in it. Love will be impatient of sin, but patient with the sinner. To form the habit of finding fault constantly, is very damaging to spiritual life; it is about the lowest and meanest position that a man can take. I never saw a man who was aiming to do the best work, but there could have been some improvement; I never did anything in my life, I never addressed an audience, that I didn’t think I could have done better. and I have often upbraided myself that I had not done better; but to sit down and find fault with other people when we are doing nothing ourselves, not lifting our hands to save some one, is all wrong, and is the opposite of holy, patient, divine love.

Love is forbearance; and what we want is to get this spirit of criticism and fault finding out of the Church and out of our hearts; and let each one of us live as if we had to answer for ourselves, and not for the community, at the last day. if we are living according to the 13th chapter of Corinthians, we will not be all the time finding fault with other people. "Love suffereth long, and is kind." Love forgets itself, and don’t dwell upon itself. The woman who came to Christ with that alabaster box, I venture to say, never thought of herself. Little did she know what an act she was performing. It was just her love for the Master.She forgot the surroundings, she forgot everything else that was there; she broke that box and poured the ointment upon Him, and filled the house with its odor. The act, as a memorial, has come down these 1800 years. It is right here - the perfume of that box is in the world today. That ointment was worth $40 or $50; no small sum of those days for a poor woman. Judas sold the Son of God for about $15 or $20. But what this woman gave to Christ was everything that she had, and she became so occupied with Jesus Christ that she didn’t think what people were going to say. So when we act with a single eye for the glory of our lord, not finding fault with everything about us, but doing what we can in the power of this love, then will our deeds for God speak, and the world will acknowledge that we have been with Jesus, and that this glorious love has been shed abroad in our hearts.

If we don’t love the Church of God, I am afraid it won’t do us much good; if we don’t love the blessed Bible, it will not do us much good. What we want, then, is to have love for Christ, to have love for His Word, and to have love for the Church of God, and when we have love, and are living in that spirit, we will not be in the spirit of finding fault and working mischief.

____________________

These very old and beautiful articles, sermons, and notes can be used freely. However, you must give the author proper credit, never involve them with money, and never claim them as your own. Matthew 10:8 ........ Freely you received, freely give.

By Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899)
One Million Souls For Christ
Founder Of The Moody Bible Institute
And Moody Church In Chicago, Illinois
____________________

[nChrist]

Cast Your Cares

"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you"
(1 Peter 5:7).

A great many people seem to embalm their troubles. I always feel like running away when I see them coming. They bring out their old mummy, and tell you in a sad voice:

"You don't know the troubles I have!"

My friends, if you go to the Lord with your troubles, He will take them away. Would you not rather be with the Lord and get rid of your troubles, than be with your troubles and without God? Let trouble come if it will drive us nearer to God.

It is a great thing to have a place of resort in the time of trouble. How people get on without the God of the Bible is a mystery to me. If I didn't have such a refuge, a place to go and pour out my heart to God in such times, I don't know what I would do. It seems as if I would go out of my mind. But to think, when the heart is burdened, we can go and pour it into His ear, and then have the answer come back, "I will be with him," there is comfort in that!

I thank God for the old Book. I thank God for this old promise. It is as sweet and fresh today as it has ever been. Thank God, none of those promises are out of date, or grown stale. They are as fresh and vigorous and young and sweet as ever.

____________________

These very old and beautiful articles, sermons, and notes can be used freely. However, you must give the author proper credit, never involve them with money, and never claim them as your own. Matthew 10:8 ........ Freely you received, freely give.

By Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899)
One Million Souls For Christ
Founder Of The Moody Bible Institute
And Moody Church In Chicago, Illinois
____________________

[nChrist]

Cherries

—The prodigal son got down very low, but he did not get down low enough to beg; he went to work.

—I've lived nearly forty years, and I've learned one thing if I've learned nothing else; that no man or woman who treats disrespectfully father or mother ever prospers.

—The most devoted love on earth is the love of a mother for her child; but what is it in comparison to God's love? Mothers "may forget, yet I will not forget thee," saith the Lord.

—When I was in England, my little girl said, "Papa, why don't those colored folks wash themselves white?" You might as well try to make yourselves pure and holy without the help of God.

—Some one has said there were thousands of men in that camp who knew that God could use them, but David was the only one who believed that God would use him. Said David, "Now, I will go."

—There are three thoughts that I have tried to bring out, that God is love; that His love is unchangeable; that His love is everlasting. The fourth thought is this, that His love is unfailing. Your love is not.

—A great many people wonder why it is that they don't prosper, and are not blessed in the world. It is no wonder to me. The wonder is that God blesses them as He does. If I had a child in constant rebellion toward me, I wouldn't want that child to prosper until that spirit of rebellion would be swept away, because prosperity would ruin them.

—It seems to me after I am dead and gone, I would rather have a man come to my grave and drop a tear, and say, "Here lies the man who converted me; who brought me to the cross of Christ;" it seems to me I would rather have this than a column of pure gold reaching to the skies, built in my honor. If a man wants to be useful, follow Christ.

____________________

These very old and beautiful articles, sermons, and notes can be used freely. However, you must give the author proper credit, never involve them with money, and never claim them as your own. Matthew 10:8 ........ Freely you received, freely give.

By Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899)
One Million Souls For Christ
Founder Of The Moody Bible Institute
And Moody Church In Chicago, Illinois
____________________

[nChrist]

Child Friendship, how Durable

I heard some time ago of a little book upon a passage of Scripture, I didn't know there was such a passage; which occurred in the story of David and Mephibosheth. You know, one day Jonathan and David were together, and Jonathan said, "David, I want you to make a vow." I suppose it had been revealed to Jonathan that he was to take his place. Instead of his heart being filled with jealousy, he loved him as a brother. "Now, I want you to make a vow that when you get my father's throne, if any of my father's house are alive, you will show them kindness." "Why, yes, Jonathan," replies David; "I will. I would do it for your sake alone." Well, time went on. You know how Saul persecuted David, and drove him into the cave of Adullam, and if he could have caught him, you know how he would have slain him. News came to him that the Israelites were routed, and that Saul and Jonathan were slain, and David came up to Hebron, and reigned for seven and a half years, and came after this up to Jerusalem. I can see him in his palace in the height of his power, and the recollection of the old vow he made to Jonathan suddenly comes upon him. His conscience tells him he has made a vow to his old friend Jonathan which he has not kept. I can see him order in one of his servants, "Do you know if there are any of Saul's house alive?" "Well, I don't know, but there is an old servant of Saul's, Ziba." David orders him in, and asks, "Are any of Saul's house alive, because if there are I want to show kindness to them." I can imagine the expression of his face. The idea of David showing kindness to any of Saul's house; to Saul, who wanted to slay him, and who persecuted him. "Well, yes," the servant answers; "there is a son of Jonathan living." "What!" he cries; "a son of my old friend Jonathan; where is he?" "He was at Lo-debar the last I heard of him." Now, you may have been a great traveler, and yet you have never heard of Lo-debar. You may have been all around the world, and still you have not heard of Lo-debar. You may work in the post office, and you have never heard of Lo-debar; never saw a letter directed to that place. Still, that is the place where every one of Adam's son has been. Every one has been in Lo-debar. Every backslider is there. When David heard where he was, he sent down to bring up Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth. See that chariot sweeping through the town. "Why, the king's chariot is here," the people say; "what does it mean?" We are told that this poor prince was lame, and I can see the poor, lame prince as he comes out to meet the servant. "What is it?" he inquires. "King David has sent for you," the servant replies. I can see the prince trembling from head to foot when he hears this. He thinks King David wants to slay him; he thinks he is just going to cut off his head. That's the way with sinners. They think that God stands behind them with a double-whetted sword ready to annihilate them. The servant says, "I want you to come down and see the king." "But," replies the prince, "I tell you that means death to me." Just as a good many sinners think. "But," continues the servant, "he has sent me, and wants you to come;" and he gets him into the carriage and onto the highway, through the streets and unto the palace of the king. The king looks upon him, and sees upon his brow the image of Jonathan, and says to Mephibosheth, "I will show thee kindness for thy father's sake, and I will restore unto you all of Saul's possessions, and you shall sit at the king's table." He restores to the lame prince the inheritance he lost, and then gives him a place at the king's table. That is the gospel. God wants you to come up from Lo-debar to Jerusalem, and take your inheritance. The moment you come from your Lo-debar to the city of peace, that moment you will learn the glad tidings.

____________________

These very old and beautiful articles, sermons, and notes can be used freely. However, you must give the author proper credit, never involve them with money, and never claim them as your own. Matthew 10:8 ........ Freely you received, freely give.

By Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899)
One Million Souls For Christ
Founder Of The Moody Bible Institute
And Moody Church In Chicago, Illinois
____________________

[nChrist]

Christ All in All - Page 1

Colossians 3:11- "Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

CHRIST is all in all to every one who has truly found Him. He is our Savior, Redeemer, Deliverer, Shepherd, Teacher, and also sustains toward us many more offices, to which I desire to call your attention.

1. If we turn to Luke 2:10, 11, we find Christ is there announced as our SAVIOR: "Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord."

We learn to know Christ as our Savior, to meet Him on Mount Calvary, to look on Him as the bleeding Lamb of God, before we know Him as our Redeemer, Deliverer, and Shepherd. Now, looking round upon this vast assembly, I, who do not know the hearts of the people, cannot know whether you can say that Christ is your Savior. There are many, I trust, who can say this, and who rejoice in His salvation; while, without being uncharitable, I am afraid there are many who know nothing personally of Jesus as their Savior.

He is offered to every one of you today as a Savior; "God gave Him up freely for us all," that we all through Him might be saved. If you are belonging to this world, I can prove that you have a Savior. If you belonged to some other planet, such as the moon or any of the stars, then I could not say a Savior was offered to you; for it is not revealed whether the people of these distant worlds, even if they are inhabited, require salvation or not. But this I know, that every man on this globe has a Savior offered him.

SALVATION FREE TO ALL

I have no sympathy with those men who try to limit God's salvation to a certain few. I believe that Christ died for all who will come. I have received many letters finding fault with me, and saying I surely don't believe the doctrine of election. I do believe in election; but I have no business to preach that doctrine to the world at large. The world has nothing to do with election; it has only to do with the invitation, "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." That is the message for the sinner. I am sent to preach the gospel to all.

After you have received salvation, we can talk about election. It's a doctrine for Christians, for the Church, not for the unconverted world. Our message is "good tidings, which shall be to all people; for unto you is born this day a Savior, which is Christ the Lord." All people, this Savior is proffered to you. Accept Him, and God will accept you; reject Him, and God will reject you. Your eternal destiny depends on your refusal or otherwise to accept the proffered Savior. The case is simply one of giving and taking. God gives; I receive. We must, then, first of all know Christ as our Savior.

2. But He is still more: He is our REDEEMER.

Supposing I saw a man tumble into a river, and I were to jump in and rescue him, I should be a savior to him - I should have saved him. But when I brought the man ashore, I should probably leave him, and do nothing further.

But the Lord does more. He not only saves us, but He redeems us - that is, buys us back. He ransoms us from the power of sin, as if I should promise to watch over that rescued man for ever, and see that he did not again fall into the water. The Lord not only saves us from spiritual death, but He redeems us for ever that death can never touch us.

LIBERTY TO THE CAPTIVES

When I was at Richmond, U.S., the colored people were going to have a meeting. It was the first day of their freedom. I went to the African church, and never before or since heard such bursts of native eloquence.

"Mother," said one, "rejoice today. Your little child has been sold from you for the last time; your posterity are for ever free. Glory to God in the highest! Young men, you have heard the driver's whip for the last time; you are free today! Young maidens, you have been put up on the auction- block for the last time!" They spoke right out, they shouted for joy; their prayers had been answered, it was the gospel to them. In like manner Jesus Christ proclaims liberty to the captives. Some have accepted it; some, like the poor negroes, scarcely believe the good tidings; but it is none the less true. Christ has come to redeem us from the slavery of sin.

======================See Page 2

[nChrist]

Christ All in All - Page 2

Now, who will accept of that redemption? There was one colored woman, a servant in an inn in the Southern States, who could not believe she was free. "Be's I free, or be I not?" she asked of a visitor. Her master told her she was not, her colored brethren told her she was. For two years she had been free without knowing it. She represents a great many in the Church of God today. They can have liberty, and yet they don't know it.

3. Again, Christ is our DELIVERER.

The children of Israel were not only saved and redeemed from the bondage of the Egyptians, but they were also delivered, that they should not be led back again into bondage. Many are afraid; they think they are not able to hold on, and therefore shrink from making a profession. But Christ is able to keep you from falling; He is able to deliver you in the dark hour of trial and temptation, from every evil device of Satan, and from the snare of the fowler.

In Isaiah 49:24, we read: "Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? But thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children." I will save him; I will deliver him. The children of Israel were saved from the cruel bondage of Egypt, they were led out of the land of Goshen; but still they were not fully delivered. The great host of the Egyptians was thundering behind them. It was not till they had passed safely through the Red Sea, which closing behind, them, swallowed up the host of the enemy - it was not till then that they were free, that they were delivered. And similarly in our times of danger we shall find it to be true of Christ, "He delivered my soul"; and again in Job 33:24, "Then He is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom. His flesh shall be fresher than a child's: he shall return to the days of his youth: he shall pray unto God, and He will be favorable unto him: and he shall see His face with joy: for He will render unto man His righteousness. He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light." Here we have the saving, the redeeming, the deliverance from the pit. Man is fallen into the deep pit, he is kept there a lawful captive by one who is mighty. If he is to be brought back from the darkness of the pit to see the light, then we must have a ransom. Here God comes forward, and says, "I have found a ransom." Christ is the ransom, and He will deliver us. Sound out the cry, "Christ is our deliverer." He is mighty to save, He is able to deliver.

A LEADER

4. But now we need something more. Look back again to the children of Israel; when they had marched gloriously through the Red Sea, they had been saved, redeemed, and delivered; but was that all they required? No; they had been brought into the wilderness. What now do they need? They must have a way to go in the pathless desert. They required a leader. Then Christ is the way and the leader. Are we in difficulties, in doubt, or in perplexity? Christ is our way. "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 10).

I have heard some say, "Well, if I am converted, and become religious, I don't know what church I would go to. There are so many different churches and denominations. I really don't know which is the right one." Hence some people are bewildered, and do not know which is the true way. Well, I would say to such, Look only to Him who says, "I AM THE WAY." He is the only true way, and if you want to reach the kingdom you have only to follow Him. We may be in darkness, but He is able to lead us in the right path. He is the Shepherd of His flock. He will go before us and lead us. He is calling upon us to arise and follow Him, and He will lead us by a way we know not; He will guide us to the green pastures if we only look to Him.

THE PILLAR OF CLOUD

All that the children of Israel had to do was to follow the cloud. If the cloud rested, they rested; if the cloud moved forward, then they moved. I can imagine that the first thing Moses did, when the gray dawn of morning broke, was to look up and see if the cloud was still over the camp. By night it was a pillar of fire, lighting up the camp, and filling them with a sense of God's protecting care; by day it was a cloud shielding them from the fierce heat of the sun's rays, and sheltering them from the sight of their enemies.

====================See Page 3

[nChrist]

Christ All in All - Page 3

Israel's Shepherd could lead them through the pathless desert. Why? Because He made it. He knew every grain of sand in it. They could not have a better leader through the wilderness than its Creator.

And, sinner, can you, in all your difficulties or doubts and fears, have a better leader than Jehovah? Oh, I do like that good old hymn: "Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah, Pilgrim through this barren land; I am weak, but Thou art mighty, Hold me with Thy powerful hand.

Bread of heaven, Feed me till I want no more." Yes, that is the true prayer of the bewildered sinner. God is able, and still more, He is willing, to lead us, and to feed us.

"Thou gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst" (Nehemiah 9:15).

He is still as able to lead any of us as He was four thousand years ago to lead the children of Israel, "For I am the Lord; I change not." To every one of us He says, "Fear not, I will lead thee; I will help thee." Wonderful thing, is it not, to have God to help us on our way? In our Western countries, when men go out hunting into the dense backwoods, where there are no roads or paths of any kind, they take their hatchet and cut a little chip out of the bark of the trees as they go along, and then they easily find their way by these "blazes." They call it "blazing the way." And so, if you will allow me the expression, Christ has "blazed the way." He has traveled the road Himself, and knowing the way, He tells us to follow Him, and He will lead us safe on high.

5. Now we have seen Christ is our Savior, Redeemer, Deliverer, Leader, or Way. But He is more than all that; HE IS OUR LIGHT.

"I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." He shall have the very "light of life." Yes, it is the privilege of every Christian to walk in an unclouded sky.

But do we walk thus in an unclouded sky? No, most Christians are often in darkness. If I were to ask this congregation if they were all walking in the light, I believe there is scarcely one, if he spoke the true feeling of his heart, but would reply, "No, I am often in darkness." Why is that? It is because we are not following Christ, and keeping close to Him. We are much in darkness when we might be in the light.

Suppose the windows of this building were all closed, and we were complaining of the darkness, what would any one say to us? Why, they would say, "Admit the light; open the windows all round, and you'll soon have plenty of light." Similarly we must let in Christ, who is the light, and open our minds to receive Him, and we shall soon walk in light. There is a great deal of darkness at the present time, even in the hearts of God's own people. But follow Him, and then you will have plenty of light. Then Christ will show to each of us that He is "The Light"; and He will do more, He will set us on fire with His light, that we also may shine as lights in this dark world.

May God help His own people to SHINE BRIGHTLY, to flash out of darkness, that men may take knowledge of us that we have been with Jesus. But remember, the world hates the light. Christ was the light of the world, and the world sought to extinguish it at Calvary. Now He has left His people to shine. "Ye are the light of the world." He has left us here to shine. He means us to be "living epistles, known and read of all men." The world is certain to watch, and to read you and me. If we are inconsistent, then you may be sure the world will take occasion to stumble at us.

The world finds plenty of difficulties on the way; let us see that we Christians do not add more stumbling-blocks by our un-Christlike walk.

God help us to keep our lights burning clear and brilliant! Out West a friend of mine was walking along one of the streets one dark night, and saw approaching him a man with a lantern. As he came up close to him he noticed by the bright light that the man had got no eyes. He went past, but the thought struck him, "Surely that man is blind." He turned round, and said, "My friend, are you not blind?" "Yes." "Then what have you got the lantern for?" "I carry the lantern that people may not stumble over me, of course," said the blind man. Let us take a lesson from that blind man, and hold up our light, burning with the clear radiance of heaven, that men may not stumble over us.

================================See Page 4

[nChrist]

Christ All in All - Page 4

6. Objectors have said that it's all moonshine about Christ's people being lights on the way. Well, that's just what we believe; we reflect the light of Christ.

REFLECTED LIGHT

Just like the moonshine, our light is borrowed light. When we are living in the light of our Savior we shine with His light: somewhat like the face of Moses, which shone after he had been in the mount with God. Let us live in an atmosphere of heaven, and we cannot help shining. But whenever we get downcast and weak in faith, then we are sure to lose our light.

I remember during the American war I was in a prayer meeting. We were all very dark and gloomy. Things had been going against us for some time.

At last an old man got up, and said, "What is the matter with us, that we are downhearted and sad? It is simply our lack of faith. Moses, Joshua, and David were men strong in faith. They believed, and therefore God honored them. Whence comes our want of faith? God is not dead. He is as powerful, as willing, to help today as ever He was. Why, then, are we not full of faith in Him? It is God-dishonoring to forget that He still has power, although our armies are defeated, and all seems dark and gloomy."

GET ABOVE THE CLOUDS

I will tell you what happened to me some time ago when I was out West. I wanted to reach the summit of one of the Western mountains. I had been told that sunrise was very beautiful when seen from the summit. We got up to the half-way house one afternoon, where we were to rest till midnight, and then set out for the top. Soon a little party of us started with a good guide. Before a great while it began to rain, and then it became a regular storm of thunder and lightning. I thought there was little use in going on, and said to the guide, "Guess we'd better turn back; we won't see anything this morning, with all these clouds." "Oh," said the guide, "I expect we'll soon get through these clouds, and get above them, and then we'll have a glorious view." So we went on, whilst the thunders were rumbling right about our ears. But soon we began to get above the thunder-cloud; the air was quite clear, and when the sun rose we had a splendid view of his rays as they tinged the hilltops; and then, as the glorious sunshine began to break on where we stood, we could see the dark cloud far beneath our mountain height. That's what God's people want - to get into the clear air above the stormy clouds, and to CLIMB HIGHER away up to the mountain peak. There you'll catch the first rays from the Sun of Righteousness far above the clouds and mists. Some of you may be in great darkness and gloom; but fear not, climb higher, get nearer to the Master, and soon you'll catch His bright rays on your own soul, and they will sprinkle back upon others.

KEEP THE LOWER LIGHTS BURNING

We must live as children of the light, not as children of the darkness. If we are dark and sorrowful, how is the world to know that we are children of peace, and joy, and gladness? Our determination must be to keep our lights burning. A few years ago, at the mouth of Cleveland harbor there were two lights, one at each side of the bay, called the upper and lower lights; and, to enter the harbor safely by night, vessels must sight both of these lights.

These Western lakes are more dangerous sometimes than the great ocean.

One wild, stormy night a steamer was trying to make her way into the harbor. The captain and the pilot were anxiously watching for the lights.

By and by the pilot was heard to say, "Do you see the lower lights?" "No," was the reply; "but I fear we have passed them." "Ah, there are the lights," said the pilot; "and they must be, from the bluff on which they stand, the upper lights. We have passed the lower lights, and have lost our chance of getting into the harbor." What was to be done? They looked back, and saw the dim outline of the lower lighthouse against the sky. The lights had gone out. "Can't you turn her head round?" "No; the night is too wild for that. She won't answer her helm." The storm was so fearful that they could do nothing. They tried again to make for the harbor, but they went crash against the rocks, and sank to the bottom. Very few escaped; the great majority found a watery grave. Why? Simply because the lower lights had gone out.

And with us the upper lights are all right. Christ Himself is the upper light, and we are the lower lights, and the cry to us is, keep the lower lights burning, that is what we have to do. In the place God has put us He expects us to shine, to be living witnesses, to be a bright and shining light.

While we are here our work is to shine for Him, and He will lead us safe to the sunlit shore of Canaan, where there is no more night.

======================See Page 5

[nChrist]

Christ All in All - Page 5

7. But Christ is more than our Light on the way; for He is OUR TEACHER.

What a wonderful thing to have a teacher sent from heaven. "If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him" (James 1:5).

"If any lack wisdom": I am afraid there are a great many of us who lack wisdom, and even the best of us at times will be in perplexity. There are moments in the life of us all when we seem in a fix; we just stand still, and say, "What shall I do? I don't know what is the best way." Oh, leave it with God, He will Himself be our teacher! "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me." Here is a wonderful teacher. He has had a school for many thousand years; He has had the best men in His school; but still there's room for another scholar there. His college is not too full yet, and the teacher is the One sent from heaven.

Any one, every one in this assembly may join this school. Jesus will welcome you there. Are you in doubt about anything? ask Jesus; He will tell you.

Anxious sinner, seek the good teacher, as Nicodemus did: "Master, we know thou art a teacher sent from God." If you seek Him thus He will direct you. He will keep you, and lead you into green pastures and by the still waters. I met a woman the other day who was full of infidel doubts and fancies. She could not believe. Reading for some time infidel works had thrown a dark and gloomy pall over her mind. It made me sad to see her in such a case. Some of you may be like her. I wish you would take Christ as your teacher, and then all darkness would flee away.

Christ is able to teach us. See how He taught the disciples. He never wearied of their learning from Him. So He will teach us if we will only listen to Him.

THE OLD JUDGE CONVERTED

I remember, as I was coming out of the daily prayer meeting in one of our American cities a few years ago, a lady said she wished to speak to me; her voice trembled with emotion, and I saw at once that she was heavily burdened by something or other. She said she had long been praying for her husband, and she wanted to know if I would go to see him; she thought it might do him some good. What is his name? "Judge - ," and she mentioned one of the most eminent politicians in the State. "I have heard of him," I said; "I am afraid I need not go, he is a booked infidel; I cannot argue with him." "That is not what he wants," said the lady. "He has had too much argument already. Go and speak to him about his soul." I said I would, although I was not very hopeful. I went to his house, was admitted to his room, and introduced myself as having come to speak to him about salvation. "Then you have come on a very foolish errand," said he; "there's no use in attacking me, I tell you that. I am proof against all these things, I don't believe in them." Well, I saw it was no use arguing with him; so I said, "I'll pray for you, and I want you to promise me that when you are converted you'll let me know." "Oh, yes, I'll let you know," he said in a tone of sarcasm. "Oh, yes, I'll let you know when I'm converted!" I left him, but I continued to pray for him. Some time subsequently I heard that the old judge was converted. I was again preaching in that city a while after that, and when I had done talking the judge himself came to me, and said: "I promised I'd let you know when I was converted; I have come to tell you of it. Have you not heard of it?" "Yes; but I would like to hear from you how it happened." "Well," said the judge, "one night, some time after you called on me, my wife had gone to the meeting; there was no one in the house but the servants. I sat by the drawing-room fire, and I began to think: Suppose my wife is right, that there is a heaven and a hell; and suppose she is on the right way to heaven, where am I going? I just dismissed the thought. But a second thought came: Surely He who created me is able to teach me. Yes, I thought, that is so. Then why not ask Him? I struggled against it, but at last, though I was too proud to get down on my knees, I just said, 'Father, all is dark; Thou who created me canst teach me.' "Somehow, the more I prayed the worse I felt. I was very sad. I did not wish my wife to come home and find me thus, so I slipped away to bed, and when she came into the room I pretended to be asleep. She got down on her knees and prayed. I knew she was praying for me, and that for many long years she had been doing so. I felt as if I could have jumped up and knelt beside her; but no, my proud heart would not let me, so I lay still, pretending to be asleep. But I didn't sleep that night. I soon changed my prayer; it was now, 'O God, save me; take away this terrible burden.' "I didn't believe in Christ even yet. I thought I'd go right straight to the Father Himself. But the more I prayed I only became the more miserable; my burden grew heavier. The next morning I did not wish to see my wife, so I said 'I was not well, and wouldn't wait for breakfast.' I went to the office, and when the boy came I sent him home for a holiday. When the clerks came I told them they might go for the day. I closed the office doors: I wanted to be alone with God. I was almost frantic in my agony of heart. I cried to God to take away this load of sin. At last I fell on my knees, and cried, 'For Jesus Christ's sake take away this load of sin.' At length I went to my wife's pastor, who had been praying with her for my conversion for years, and the same minister who had prayed with my mother before she died. As I walked down the street the verse that my mother had taught me came into my mind, 'Whatsoever things ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.' Well, I thought, I have asked God, and here I am going to ask a man. I won't go.

=========================See Page 6

[nChrist]

Christ All in All - Page 6

I believe I am a Christian. I turned and went home. I met my wife in the hall as I entered. I caught her hand, and said, 'I am a Christian now.' She turned quite pale; she had been praying for twenty-one years for me, and yet she could not believe the answer had come. We went into our room, and knelt down by the very bedside where she had so often knelt to pray for her husband. There we erected our family altar; and for the first time our voices mingled in prayer. And I can only say that the last three months have been the happiest months ever I spent in my life." Since then that judge has lived a consistent Christian life; and all because he came to God, asking for guidance.

If there is one here today whose mind is filled with such infidel thoughts, go honestly to God, and He will teach you the right way through the dark wilderness of infidelity. He won't leave you in darkness or doubt. It is the devil's own work to lead men into such doubts; well he knows if he once gets them there he has them pretty safe.

It is Satan's work to keep you in ignorance or doubt. It is God's work to teach you. The teacher is Christ; He is appointed by God for this work.

God help us all to accept Him as our teacher. 8. Now we have seen Christ as our Savior, Redeemer, Deliverer, Leader, Light, and Teacher. But He is still more; He is also OUR SHEPHERD.

A very sweet thought it is to me, "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want." There is not one here, except the very babes, who does not understand the work of a shepherd. He watches over his flock, protects them from danger, feeds them, leads them into the best pastures. In fact, the 23rd Psalm is just a statement of the duties of a good shepherd: "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want," etc.

You want to be fed; are you going to wander about seeking something to satisfy the cravings of your soul? Then, I tell you, you never will find anything to satisfy the longings of your heart. The world cannot, and never could, satisfy a hungry soul. The Lord Jesus can - He is the true Shepherd. He is seeking to restore your soul, to lead you back to the paths of righteousness. Even to death will He lead you, and safely through its shadow guide you to a better land. Mother, father, will you claim Him as your Shepherd? Young man, young woman, will you have Him as your Shepherd? My little child, will you have Jesus as your Shepherd? He will lead safely and softly.

You can, all of you, if you will. For "God gave Him up freely for us all," that He might have us for His flock. He will lead us through life, down to the banks of the Jordan; He will lead us across the dark river into His kingdom. He is a tender, loving Shepherd.

I sometimes meet people in the anxious inquiry-room who are nourishing hard, bitter feelings against God, generally because they have been afflicted. A mother said to me the other day, "Ah, Mr. Moody, God has been unjust to me; He has come and taken away my child." Dear afflicted mothers, has God not removed your children to a pure and happy life? You may not understand it now, but you will by and by. He wants to lead you up there. THE EASTERN SHEPHERD.

A friend of mine, who had been in eastern lands, told me he saw a shepherd who wanted his flock to cross a river. He went into the water himself and called them; but no, they would not follow him into the water.

What did he do? Why, he girded up his loins and lifted a little lamb under each arm, and plunged right into the stream, and crossed it without even looking back. Whenever he lifted the lambs, the old sheep looked up into his face and began to bleat for them; but when he plunged into the water the dams plunged after him, and then the whole flock followed. When they got to the other side he put down the lambs, and they were quickly joined by their mothers, and there was a happy meeting.

My friend says he noticed the pastures on the other side were much better and the fields greener; and on this account the shepherd was leading them across. Our great Palestine Shepherd does that. That child which He has taken from the earth is but removed to green pastures of Canaan, and the Shepherd means to draw your hearts after it, to teach you to "set your affections on things above." When He has taken your little Mary, Edith, or Julia, accept it as a call to look upward and beyond. You, mother, are you weeping bitter tears for your little one? Do not weep! Your child has gone to the place where there is neither weeping nor sorrow. Would you have it return? Surely never.

Christ is our Shepherd - faithful and loving. Though sickness, or trouble, or even death itself, should come to our house, and claim our dearest ones, still they are not lost, but only gone before. God help each one of us to have Him as our Shepherd.

======================See Page 7

[nChrist]

Christ All in All - Page 7

If time permitted, I should like to take up the subject of Christ as our Justification, our Wisdom, our Righteousness, the Friend that sticketh closer than a brother; but it would take a whole eternity to tell what Christ is to His people, and what He does for them.

I remember when I was preaching on this subject in Scotland, after I had done, I said to a man that "I was sorry I could not finish the subject for want of time." "Finish the subject," said the Scotchman, "why, that would require all eternity, and even then it would not be complete; it will be the occupation of heaven." 9. Once more, let us look at Christ as OUR BURDEN-BEARER.

Oh, I love to think of Him as the bearer of our burdens as well as our sin-bearer.

He carries our sins, although they are more numerous than the hairs of our heads. Great and terrible as these burdens are, God has laid them all on Jesus.

"O Christ, what burdens bowed Thy head! Our load was laid on Thee." That aspect of His burden-bearing we have already looked at in His work as Savior and Redeemer. I wish now to take up the sweet thought, which has been a great comfort to me.

"Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows." Glorious, is it not, to know we have such a Savior? Can you feel that He has lifted your burden off your shoulders on to His own shoulder? Then you will feel light in heart.

A LIGHT HEART

On one occasion, after I had been talking this way, a woman came forward, and said, "Oh, Mr. Moody, it's all very well for you to talk like that, about a light heart. But you are a young man, and if you had a heavy burden like me you would talk differently. I could not talk in that way, my burden is too great." I replied, "But it's not too great for Jesus." "Oh," she said, "I cannot cast it on Him." "Why not? surely it is not too great for Him. It is not that He is feeble. But it is because you will not leave it to Him. You're like many others. They will not leave it with Him. They go about hugging their burden, and yet crying out against it. What the Lord wants is, you to leave it with Him, to let Him carry it for you. Then you will have a light heart, sorrow will flee away, and there will be no more sighing. What is your burden, my friend, that you cannot leave with Christ?" She replied, "I have a son who is a wanderer on the face of the earth. None but God knows where he is." "Cannot Christ find him, and bring him back?" "I suppose He can." "Then go and tell Jesus, and ask Him to forgive you for doubting His power and willingness; you have no right to mistrust Him." She went away much comforted, and I believe she ultimately had her wandering boy restored to her!

A MOTHER'S PRAYER ANSWERED

This circumstance reminds me of a faithful father and mother in our country, whose eldest son had gone to Chicago to a situation. A neighbor of theirs was in the city on some business, and he met the young man reeling along the streets drunk. He thought, "How am I to tell his parents?" When he returned to his village, he went and called out the father, and told him. It was a terrible blow to that father, but he said nothing to the mother till the little ones had all gone to rest; the servants had retired, and all was quiet in that little farm on the Western prairies. They drew up their chairs to the little drawing-room table, and then he told her the sad news. "Our boy has been seen drunk on the streets of Chicago - drunk." Ah, that mother was sorely hurt; they did not sleep much that night, but spent the hours in fervent prayers for their boy. About daybreak the mother felt an inward conviction that all would be well. She told the father "she had cast it on the Lord, had left her son with Jesus, and she felt He would save him."

One week from that time the young man left Chicago, took a journey of three hundred miles into the country; and when he reached his home, he walked in, and said, "Mother, I've come home to ask you to pray for me." Ah, her prayer had reached heaven; she had cast her burden on Jesus, and He had borne it for her. He took the burden, presented her prayer sprinkled with the atoning blood, and got it answered. In two days that young man returned to Chicago rejoicing in the Savior. What a wonderful thing it is to have Christ as our burden-bearer! How easy, how light do our cares become when cast upon Him!

Do you say Christ is nothing to you? If so, it is only because you won't have Him. He is to all who will accept Him a Savior from death, a Redeemer from the power of sin, a Deliverer from our enemies, a Leader through the wilderness; He is the way Himself, He is Light in the darkness, He is a Teacher to His people, He is the Shepherd of His flock, our Justification, Wisdom, Righteousness, Elder Brother, Burden-bearer.

=======================See Page 8