Chapter I: Will in No Wise Cast Out."

Surely that is broad enough--is it not? I don't care who the man or woman is; I don't care what your trials, what your troubles, what your sorrows, or what your sins are, if you will only come straight to the Master, He will not cast you out. Come then, poor sinner; come just as you are, and take Him at His word.

There was a wild and prodigal young man who came into one of our meetings. He was running a headlong career to ruin, but the Spirit of God got hold of him. Whilst I was conversing with him, and endeavouring to bring him to Christ, I quoted this verse to him. I held it right up to him, and led his mind right up to it, for some time, and at last light seemed to break in upon him, and he seemed to find comfort from it, so I told him to stick to that verse. Well, after he had left, on his way home the devil met him. Why, 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 comes, and tries to assail him with doubts, and make him believe there is something wrong in it. And so this young man was met by Satan, who whispered to him, "How do you know that is a right translation?" So that brought him for a while to a standstill, and threw him into darkness again. But he remembered my telling him to stick to that text, and there he was, after Satan had put that into his mind, holding on to it, but he did not find peace till two o'clock. He then said to himself, "I will stick to it anyhow, and if it is not the right translation, when I get to the bar of God I will tell Him I didn't know it was wrong, because I didn't understand anything about Greek and Latin." "Him that cometh to Me I will in nowise cast out." If you will only come to Him, I have got good authority to tell you that Christ will receive you to-day--yea, this very hour.

The kings and princes of this world, when they issue invitations, call round them the rich, the mighty and powerful, the honourable and the wise; but the Lord, when He was on earth, called round Him the vilest of the vile. "This man," they said, "receiveth sinners, and eateth with them." Publicans, sinners, and harlots pressed into the kingdom of God in His days.

THIS MAN RECEIVETH SINNERS.

Here in London there is no society that would have such a man as John Bunyan once was in their company; yet the Lord saved him, and welcomed him into His kingdom. Here is some poor miserable drunkard cast out by his father and mother, and deserted by all his friends, but the Lord has received him. I have known some of the most miserable outcasts that were ever seen, cast out and despised by everybody, and yet the Lord has received them. Take Him then at His word to-day, and accept His invitation, "Him that cometh to Me I will in nowise cast out."

But you say I must just get rid of my sins first, and then I will come to Him. Why, that's just like a man dying of the scarlet fever saying, "Oh, I'll wait till I get rid of the fever before I send for a doctor!" Why, it is just because you are a sinner, and cannot get rid of your sins, that you need a Saviour. If I was dying for want of bread, it would be just as reasonable for me to say, "When I have got rid of this hunger, then I will begin to eat." It is because I am hungry that I need to eat, and it is because we are sinners that we need Christ. It is because a man is sick that he needs a physician, and Christ is the Physician of the soul.

3. In Luke v. we read of the leper coming to Christ, and the Lord said unto him,

"I WILL: BE THOU CLEAN."

And immediately the leprosy left him. That's another _I will_ I want to call your attention to. Now, if there is any man or woman here full of the leprosy of sin, if you will but go to the Master and tell all your case to Him, He will speak to you as He did to that poor leper, and say, "I will: be thou clean," and the leprosy of your sins will flee away from you. It is the Lord, and the Lord alone, that can forgive sins. There is His word, just look it right over, "I will: be thou clean," and then put that with the other verse, "Him that cometh to Me I will in nowise cast out."

THE DEVIL'S CASTAWAYS.

One day when Whitfield was preaching, he said the Lord was so anxious to save souls that He would take in the devil's castaways. Lady Huntingdon remonstrated with him, and said he ought not to make such statements. A little while after, however, there came to his preaching a poor fallen woman, an outcast from society. She was labouring under deep conviction of sin, and before long she found peace in her Saviour, and was received right into the kingdom of God. Now if there is a poor sinner here, let him take this one verse, and then keep in his mind that poor leper coming to Christ. The law forbade him to come, but Christ is above the law. "The law came by Moses, but grace and truth by Jesus Christ."

Now, you can make a wonderful exchange to-day. You can have health in the place of sickness; you can get rid of everything that is vile and hateful in the sight of God. The Son of God comes down, and says, "I will take away your leprosy, and give you health in its stead. I will take away that terrible disease that is ruining your body and soul, and give you my righteousness in its stead. I will clothe you with the garments of salvation." Is it not a wonderful thing? That's what He means when He says _I will_. Oh, lay hold of this "I will!"

4. Now turn to Matthew x. 32: "Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I also confess before My Father which is in heaven." There's the

"I WILL" OF CONFESSION.

Now, that's the next thing that takes place after a man is saved. We have been washed in the blood of the Lamb, and the next thing is to get our mouths opened. We have to confess Christ here in this dark world, and tell His love to others. We are not to be ashamed of the Son of God.

A man thinks it a great honour when he has achieved a victory that causes his name to be mentioned in Parliament, or in the presence of the Queen and her court. A very great honour. And in China, we read, the highest ambition of the successful soldier is to have his name written in the palace or temple of Confucius. But just think of having your name mentioned in the kingdom of heaven by the Prince of Glory, by the Son of God, because you confess Him here on earth. You confess Him here; He will confess you yonder. If you wish to be brought into the clear light of liberty, you must take your stand on Christ's side. I have known many Christians go groping about in darkness, and never get into the clear light of the kingdom, because they were ashamed to confess the Son of God. Don't be ashamed, Christians, to let your friends, and even your enemies, know that you are on God's side.

5. The next _I will_ is the

"I WILL" OF SERVICE.

There are a good many Christians here, I believe, that have been quickened and aroused to say, "I want to do some service for Christ." Well, Christ says, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." There is no Christian who cannot help to bring some one to the Saviour. Christ says, "And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me"; and our business is just to lift up Christ, and live to Him. You may go on preaching like the angel Gabriel; but if you live like a devil, your preaching goes for nothing. I do not care how eloquent you are, and what beautiful language you use, your preaching goes for nothing. It is no good following this man or that man; follow Christ, and Him only. He says, I will make you fishers of men.

PETER HAD A GOOD HAUL ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST.

I doubt if he ever caught so many fish in one day as he did men on that day of Pentecost. Why, it would have broken every net they had on board, if they had had to drag up three thousand fishes.

Our Lord said, "Follow Me, Peter, and I will make you a fisher of men"; and Peter simply obeyed Him, and there, on that day of Pentecost, we see the result.

But there is one reason, and a great reason, why so many do not succeed. I have been asked by a great many good men, "Why is it we don't have any results? We work hard, pray hard, and preach hard, and yet the success does not come." I will tell you. It is because a good many people spend all their time mending their nets. No wonder they never catch anything.

INQUIRY MEETINGS.

But the great matter is to _hold inquiry meetings_, and thus pull the net in, and see if you have caught anything. If you are always mending and setting the net, you won't catch many fish. Whoever heard of a man going out to fish, and setting his net, and then letting it stop there, and never pulling it in? Why, everybody would laugh at the man's folly.

There was a minister in Manchester who came to me one day, and said, "I wish you would tell me why we ministers don't succeed better than we do." So I brought before him this idea of pulling in the net, and I said, You ought to pull in your nets. I said there are many ministers in Manchester who can preach much better than I can, but then I pull in the net. Many people have objections to inquiry meetings, but I urged upon him the importance of them, and the minister said, "I never did pull in the net; I will try next Sunday." He did so, and eight persons, anxious inquirers, went into his study. The next Sunday he came down to see me, and said he had never had such a Sunday in his life. He had met with marvellous blessing. The next time he drew the net there were forty, and when he came to see me at the Opera House the other day, he said to me joyfully, "Moody, I have had eight hundred conversions this last year! It is a great mistake I did not begin earlier to pull in the net." So, my friends, if you want to catch men,

JUST PULL IN THE NET.

If you only catch one, it will be something. It may be a little child, but I have known a little child convert a whole family. Why, you don't know what's in that little dull-headed boy in the inquiry-room; he may become a Martin Luther, a reformer that shall make the world tremble--you cannot tell. God uses the weak things of this world to confound the mighty. God's promise is as good as a Bank of England note--"I promise to pay So-and-so," and here is one of Christ's promissory notes--"If you will follow Me, I will make you fishers of men." Will you not lay hold of the promise, and trust it, and follow Him now?

But then, if you wish to catch men, you must use a little--what shall I say?--

COMMON SENSE.

That's the plain English of it. If a man preaches the gospel, and preaches it faithfully, he ought to expect results then and there. But after he has proclaimed the glad tidings, let him have an inquiry meeting, and, if necessary, a second meeting, and go to the people's houses and talk and pray with them, and in that way hundreds will be brought to God. I believe it is the privilege of God's children to reap the fruit of their labour three hundred and sixty-five days in the year.

"Well, but," say some, "is there not a sowing time as well as harvest?" Yes, it is true, there is; but then, you can sow with one hand, and reap with the other. What would you think of a farmer who went on sowing all the year round, and never thought of reaping? I repeat it, we want to sow with one hand, and reap with the other; and if we look for the fruit of our labours, we shall see it. "If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto Me." We must lift Christ up, and then seek men out, and bring them to Him. Then, again, you must use the right kind of bait. A good many people don't do this, and then they wonder they are not successful. You see them getting up all kinds of entertainments with which to try and catch men. They go the wrong way to work. I will tell you what this perishing world wants: it wants

CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED.

There's a void in every man's bosom that wants filling up, and if we only approach them with the right kind of bait we shall catch them. This poor world needs a Saviour; and if we are going to be successful in catching men, we must preach Christ crucified--_not His life only, but His death_. And if we are only faithful in doing this we shall succeed. And why? Because there is His promise: "If you follow Me, I will make you fishers of men." And that promise holds just as good to you and me as it did to His disciples, and is as true now as it was in their time. "They that are wise shall shine like the sun in the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness like the stars for ever and ever." Think then of the exalted privilege of turning one soul to Christ. You set a stream in motion that shall go on running for ages after you are gone. "Blessed are they that die in the Lord; for they rest from their labours, and their works do follow them."

PAUL AND HIS WRITINGS.

Think of Paul up yonder. Why people are going up every day and every hour, the men and women that have been brought to Christ through his writings. He set streams in motion that have flowed on for more than a thousand years. I can imagine men going up there and saying, "Paul, I thank thee for writing that letter to the Ephesians; I found Christ in that." "Paul, I thank thee for writing that epistle to the Corinthians." "Paul, I found Christ in that epistle to the Philippians." "I thank thee, Paul, for that epistle to the Galatians; I found Christ in that." And so, I suppose, they are going up still, thanking Paul all the while for what he had done. Ah, when Paul was put in prison he did not fold his hands and sit down in idleness. No, he began to write; and his epistles have come down through the long ages of time, and brought thousands on thousands to a knowledge of Christ crucified. Yes, Christ said to Paul, "I will make thee a fisher of men if thou wilt follow Me," and he has been fishing for souls ever since. The devil thought he had done a very wise thing when he got Paul into prison, but he was very much mistaken; he overdid it for once. I have no doubt Paul has thanked God ever since for that Philippian gaol, and his stripes and imprisonment there. I am sure the world has made more by it than we shall ever know till we get to heaven.

6. We find the next "I will" is in John xiv. 18:

"I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU COMFORTLESS."

To me it is a sweet thought, that Christ has not left us alone in this dark wilderness here below. Although He has gone up on high, and taken His seat by the Father's throne, He has not left us. The better translation is, "I will not leave you orphans." He did not leave Joseph when they cast him into prison. "God was with him." When Daniel was cast into the den of lions, they had to put the Almighty in with him. They were so bound together that they could not be separated, and so God went down into the den of lions with Daniel.

NO SEPARATION.

If we have got Christ with us we can do all things. Do not let us be thinking how weak we are. Let us lift up our eyes to Him, and think of Him as our Elder Brother, who has all power given to Him in heaven and on earth. He says: "Lo, I am with you, even to the end of the world." Some of our children and friends leave us, and it is a very sad hour when some member of our family goes to a distant country--perhaps to Australia. But, thank God, the believer and Christ shall never be separated. He is with us here, and we shall be with Him in person by and by. We shall be with Him, and see Him in His beauty by and by. But not only is He with us, but He has sent us the Holy Ghost, who will tell us all things. Let us honour the Holy Ghost by acknowledging that He is here in our midst. He has got power to give sight to the blind, liberty to the captive, and to open the ears of the deaf that they may hear the glorious words of the gospel.

7. Then there is another _I will_ in John vi. 40; it occurs four times in the chapter: "I will raise him up at the last day."

THE "I WILL" OF RESURRECTION.

To me it is a very sweet thought to think that I have a Saviour who has power over death. My blessed Master holds the keys of death and hell. I pity the poor unbeliever and the poor infidel. They have no hope in resurrection. But every child of God can open that chapter and read the promise, and his heart ought to leap within him for joy as he reads it. You know the tradesman generally puts the best specimen of his wares in the window to show us the quality of his stock. And so, when Christ was down here, He gave us a specimen of what He could do. He just raised three from the dead, that we might know what power He had. There was (1) Jairus's daughter, (2) the widow's son, and (3) Lazarus of Bethany. He raised all three of them, so that every doubt might be swept away from our hearts. How dark and gloomy this world would be if we had no hope in the resurrection; but now, when we lay our little children down in the grave, although it is in sorrow, it is not without hope. We have seen them pass away, we have seen them in the terrible struggle with death; but there has been one star to illumine the darkness and gloom--the thought, that though the happy circle has been broken on earth, it shall be completed again in yon world of heavenly light. You that have lost a loved one rejoice as you read that "I will." Those that have died in Christ shall come forth again by and by. The darkness shall flee away, and the morning light of the resurrection shall dawn upon us. It is only a little while, and He that has said it shall come, His voice shall be heard in the grave--"I will raise him up at the last day." Precious promise! precious _I will!_

8. Now, the next _I will_ is in John xvii. 24: "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am."

THE "I WILL" OF GLORY.

That was in His last prayer in the guest-chamber, on the last night before He was crucified and died that terrible death on Calvary. I see some here whose countenances begin to light up at the thought that they shall be with the King in His beauty by and by. Yes; there is a glorious day before us in the future. Some think that on the first day they are converted they have got everything. To be sure, we get salvation for the past, and peace for the present; but then there is the glory for the future. That's what kept Paul rejoicing. He said, "These light afflictions, these few stripes, these few brickbats and stones that they throw at me--why, the glory that is beyond excels them so much that I count them as nothing, nothing at all, so that I may win Christ." And so, when things go against us, let us cheer up; let us remember that the night will soon pass away, and the morning dawn upon us.

DEATH NEVER COMES THERE.

It is banished from that heavenly land. Sickness, and pain, and sorrow come not there to mar that grand and glorious home where we shall be by and by with the Master. God's family will be all together there. Glorious future, my friends! Yes, glorious day! and it may be a great deal nearer than many of us think. During these few dark days we are here, let us stand steadfast and firm, and by and by we shall be in the unbroken circle in yon world of light, and have the King in our midst.

THE SINNER'S "I WILL."

And now there is just one _I will_ that I want you to say, and that is the _I will_ of the sinner. You have got the eight "I wills" of Christ: (1) He will give us rest; (2) He will not cast out the vilest, but will receive all that come; (3) He will make us clean; (4) He will confess us as His; (5) He will make us successful winners of souls; (6) He will not leave us comfortless; (7) He will raise us up at the last day; and (8) He wills that we be with Him in glory.

And now I want sinners to say,

"I WILL ARISE, AND GO TO MY FATHER."

Who will say it this afternoon? Who will come to God as the poor prodigal did? I can see him now. Perhaps he is looking over those blue hills; and away in the distance he can see the home he has left, and he knows that there's a loving father, a grey-headed man there; and he says, I perish here in a foreign land, while there is bread enough and to spare in that home which I have left; "I will arise, and go to my father." That was the turning-point in his life. That was a glorious thing to do, was it not, sinner?

When Mr. Spurgeon preached the other day in the West End, he summed up the things his audience had got over. Some of you, he said, have got over the prayers of faithful Sabbath-school teachers who used to weep over you, and come to the house and talk to you. You resisted all their entreaties, and got over their influence. And you have got over your mother's tears and prayers, and she, perhaps, sleeps in the grave to-day; you have got over the tears and prayers of your father and of your minister, who has prayed with you and wept with you, a godly, faithful minister. There was a time when his sermons got right hold of you, but you have got over them now, and his sermons make no impression on you; you have been through special meetings, and they have made no impression on you, they have not touched you. Still, you say, you are getting on. Well, so you are; but bear in mind, you are getting on as fast as you can to hell, and there is not one man in ten thousand who can hope to be saved after he has grown so hard-hearted.

Oh, my friends, say I will arise to-day! Let there be joy in heaven to-day over your return. We read in Luke xv., "There is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth." May many return now, and live.

I am lost, and yet I know,
Earth can never heal my woe
I will rise at once and go,
Jesus died for me.

THE RIGHT KIND OF FAITH

"Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"--Acts xvi. 30.

I do not know of any more important truth to bring out than the answer to this question, because that is the beginning of everything with regard to the divine life. A man must know he is saved before there is any peace, or joy, or comfort. The answer to the question is, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved"; and the question that comes right after that from almost every one is, "What is it to believe?" I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God; I believe that He came into the world to save sinners. Well, and so do the devils. The devils not only believe, but they tremble. I can believe intellectually that Jesus Christ is able and willing to save, and yet be as far from the kingdom of God as any man who never heard about Jesus Christ. To believe that He can and is willing to save you, won't save you. I will now take up the word "faith," which means believing.

THE BIBLE DEFINITION OF FAITH.

People say, "What is faith?" Now the Bible definition of faith is perhaps as good as any one that we know of. We are told in Hebrews xi., "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Now faith is--what? The substance, or, as you have it in the margin, "ground" or "confidence." In other words, faith is dependence upon the veracity of another. Why, all business is carried on on this principle of faith. Let men lose confidence one in another, and see how quick business could cease here in London. Let men withdraw their confidence, and see what would take place in the commercial world to-morrow. It was faith that brought you here. If you had not faith to believe that there would be a meeting in this hall, you would not have come. Somebody said there are three things about faith--knowledge, assent, and laying hold, and it is the last clause that is safe. Not the knowledge. A great many people say, "I believe Christ is able to save." They give their assent, and say, "I believe" but that does not save. It is the last clause, the laying hold, that saves, and that is what we want to press upon you.

Faith has an outward look, not an inward one. Hundreds of people spend time in looking at their own hearts, but

FAITH IS AN OUTWARD LOOK.

We are to have faith in God, and not in man. A great many people place their faith in men, and they pin their faith to other people's doctrines and creeds. Not long ago I heard of a man who was asked what he believed. He said he believed what his church believed. "What does your church believe?" "The church believes what I believe." And that was all they could get out of him. There are a great many in that same state of mind. They believe what the church believes, but they do not know what the church believes. If their church teaches it, they believe it. All the churches in the world can't save a soul. It is not to have faith in this church or that church, this doctrine or that doctrine, this man or that man, but it is to have faith in the man Christ Jesus at the right hand of God. That is the only faith that will ever save a soul.

PUT NO CONFIDENCE IN MAN.

Let me call your attention to a few verses where God has warned us not to put faith in man: Jeremiah xvii. 5: "Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is." You will find some men have not faith in God; they are like a tree that is withered and blasted. And there is a man perhaps right along next to them who has strong faith in God; "he is like a tree planted by the rivers of water; his leaf also shall not wither." Why? He trusts in the living God. "Happy is the man that hath the God of Jacob for his help." Cursed is the man that leaneth upon an arm of flesh, and trusteth in man. The same thought is brought out in Isaiah xxx.: "Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin: that walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion." In one place He says, "Woe," and in another place He says, "Cursed be the man." It is a terrible thing for man to put faith in man. Then Psalm cxlvi. 3: "Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God." Now here we are told very plainly by God that we are not to put our trust in this man or that man--not to lean upon an arm of flesh. All the ministers in the world and all the potentates in the church put together cannot save one soul. It is thoroughly impossible. It is the Lord that can save, and the Lord alone; therefore we want to get our eyes away from man, from the church, and right straight up to the man Christ Jesus. We read in Mark xi. 22 whom we are to believe in. Christ says--and how sweet it sounds--"Have faith in God." I never saw a man or woman in my life that had faith in God who was confounded, I do not care what their troubles or trials were. Have faith in God, and not in man.

THE GREAT DELUSION OF OUR DAY.

We are living in very strange days. Some people tell us it does not make any difference what a man believes if he is only sincere. One church is just as good as another if you are only sincere. I do not believe any greater delusion ever came out of the pit of hell than that. It is ruining more souls at the present time than anything else. I never read of any men more sincere or more earnest than those men at Mount Carmel, those false prophets. They were terribly in earnest. Some people say, "Why, if these men are holding, as you say, error, why should they be so in earnest?" Those prophets of Baal were the most earnest men I ever read of. You do not read of men getting so in earnest now that they take knives and cut themselves. Look at them leaping upon their altars; hear their cry, "O Baal! O Baal!" We never heard that kind of prayer on this platform. They acted like madmen. They were terribly in earnest, yet did God hear their cry? They were all slain. "I believe one religion is just as good as another, if you are only sincere in what you believe." It is one of the devil's lies.

HAVE FAITH IN GOD,

not in man. I don't care how good a man is, don't you put your faith in him. His breath departs from him, he dies, and where is your help? Our God never dies, our God never will disappoint us if we put our faith in Him. "Have faith in God," says Christ.

I saw some time ago some men arranging to go up in a balloon fastened to the car. They had one rope fastened, and by some mistake that rope got untied, and instead of seizing hold of the car they seized hold of the rope. One of them let go; the other just hung on, and he was swept away in the heavens and lost. "It did not make any difference; if he had hung on to the car it would have been just the same," you say, "if he was only sincere." Why, that man was very sincere when he seized hold of that rope, yet he was lost--perished in his earnestness. My friends, bear in mind if you do not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ you must perish. It is God that says it--not man. Some people say, "He is such a good man, I cannot help but believe him; it is all right because he is such a good man, and he holds that doctrine." Paul says, "If a man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." And if Gabriel should come right down here to-night, and commence to proclaim a different gospel from this platform, I would get out of the hall, and would not listen to him.

DECEIVERS AND DARK DAYS.

Deceivers are going out into the world who would deceive even the very elect if they could. I believe we are living in dark days. Error is coming in on all sides, and it is a time when we must maintain the faith. "I have kept the faith," says Paul. The good old doctrine of our forefathers, and of the Puritans, is a good deal better than your new doctrine at the present time, that is just doing away with Christ, with hell, and even with heaven. Let us cling to the word of God, and have faith in God.

There was a young man God sent down to Bethel, and told him to prophesy against it. He was not to eat and drink in the place, nor to go back by the same way as he went. Down the young man went. The king asked him to go to his palace, but he refused. No, God had told him to go and prophesy, not to eat and drink. But there was an old prophet, and he sent out word to tell him an angel had told him to invite him, and the young man obeyed the voice of the angel rather than God, and then he started home another way, and a lion met him and slew him. We are not to put our faith in this man or that man, not even in a prophet if it is contrary to the word of God; not to believe the best man living if it is contrary to the word of God. If God says it, let us take our stand upon it. God's word will stand when these men and their names have been swept away and forgotten. There have always been false teachers, men trying to teach us it does not make any difference what a man believes if he is only sincere. My friends, let us have faith in the living God, and then it will be light where it is darkness now.

HOW TO GET FAITH.

Now, just turn to John xx. I can imagine some of you saying, "I would like to have faith in God, but I do not know how to get it; I have been praying a long time for faith." I used to pray, "O God, give me faith," and at the same time I was all the time neglecting the Bible. Here it stands; see how we are to get faith: "But these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name." Now John took up his pen and wrote the gospel for one express purpose. What was it? That men might believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God. Every chapter but two in John speaks of believing, and if you run through the gospel and mark out the word "believe," you would find what that gospel is written for. It is, "Believe, believe, believe, believe," and it keeps right on to that one thing. He took up his pen and wrote that gospel that we might believe, and by believing we get life. Then turn to Romans x. 15: "How shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Do you want to know how to get faith? It is to get acquainted with God. Jehovah says, "Acquaint now thyself with me, and be at peace." We find the people that are best acquainted with God have the most peace. It is the people that do not know God that do not trust Him. The people that know God put their trust in Him. I never knew a man to be well acquainted with God who did not trust Him. The more you know of a true man the more you trust him. I met a man ten years ago for the first time; I had not much faith in him, because I did not know much about him. In the course of a year I got well acquainted with him, and found him to be a true man; then I had more faith in him; the second year I had still more; and this year I have more faith in him than ever, because I know him well now. If you know God you cannot help trusting Him.

LITTLE WILLIE.

I wanted to teach my little boy what faith was some time ago, and so I put him on a table. He was a little fellow two years old. I stood back three or four feet, and said, "Willie, jump." The little fellow said, "Pa, I'se afraid." I said, "Willie, I will catch you; just look right at me, and jump"; and the little fellow got all ready to jump, and then looked down again, and says, "I'se afraid." "Willie, didn't I tell you I would catch you? Will Pa deceive you? Now, Willie, look me right in the eye, and jump, and I will catch you"; and the little fellow got all ready the third time to jump, but he looked on the floor, and said, "I'se afraid." "Didn't I tell you I would catch you?" "Yes." At last I said, "Willie, don't take your eyes off me," and I held the little fellow's eyes, and I said, "Now jump; don't look at the floor"; and he leaped into my arms. Then he said to me, "Let me jump again." I put him back, and, the moment he got on the table he jumped, and after that, when he was on the table, and I was standing five or six feet away, I heard him cry, "Pa, I'se coming," and had just time to rush and catch him. He seemed to put too much confidence in me. But you cannot put too much confidence in God. Now faith never looks down; it looks right up. God says, "Trust me," and God will bring us through all our difficulties, if we will only trust Him. Who will trust Him to-night? Who will have faith in Him to-night? "Whatsoever He saith unto thee, do it," is what the mother of Christ said at the wedding; and whatsoever God speaks to you, do it. If God tells you to run, run. If God says, "Believe," believe, and you will always be safe in doing just what God tells you to do.

UNBELIEF THE GREATEST ENEMY.

I have a great admiration for the old coloured woman who said, if God told her to jump through a stone wall she would jump; getting through the wall was God's work, not hers, and she would do whatever God told her to do. The greatest enemy God and man have got is unbelief. Christ found it on both sides of the cross. It was the very thing that put Him to death. The Jews did not believe Him; they did not believe God had sent Him; they took Him to Calvary and murdered Him; and the first thing we find after He got up out of the grave was unbelief again. Thomas, one of His own disciples, did not believe He had risen. He said, Thomas, feel these wounds; and Thomas did, and believed, and said "My Lord and my God." Now those Christians here that have learnt to trust God in past years will bear me out in this, that the more they know of God, the more they can trust Him. Why? They have found God to be true. When man has failed, God never has failed; and when every one else has disappointed them, God has proved true. Now, you that never trusted Him, won't you just leap right into His arms to-night? Won't you just take Him at His word, and believe on Him now?

THE GREATEST INSULT TO GOD.

It is considered you cannot offer a man a greater insult than to tell him he is a liar. Unbelief is telling God He is a liar. Why, suppose a man said, "Mr. Moody, I have no faith in you whatever," don't you think it would grieve me? There is not anything that would wound a man much more than to be told that you do not have any faith in him. A great many men say, "Oh, I have profound reverence and respect for God." Yes, profound respect, but not faith. Why, it is a downright insult! Suppose a man says, "Mr. Moody, I have profound respect for you, profound admiration for you, but I do not believe a word you say." I wouldn't give much for his respect or admiration; I wouldn't give much for his friendship. God wants us to put our faith in Him. How it would wound a mother's feelings to hear her children say, "I do love mamma so much, but I don't believe what she says." How it would grieve that mother. And that is about the way a great many of God's professed children talk. Some men seem to think it is a great misfortune that they do not have faith. Bear in mind it is not a misfortune, but it is the damning sin of the world.

GOD'S WORD IS ALWAYS KEPT.

Is there any reason why you should not have faith in God? Has God ever broken His word? I will defy any infidel to come forward and put his finger on any promise God has ever made to man that He has not kept. I can show you for 6000 years how the devil has lied, and how he has broken every promise he has made. What a lie he told Adam and Eve; and yet I can find a thousand men that will believe one of the devil's lies quicker than I can find one man that believes God's truth. Men will believe lies; but when it gets to real truth, then how few will believe the word of God. Why should not every man and woman in this house have faith in God? Why should not every one put confidence in Him now, and trust God to save them? And let me say, if you are ever saved, you will have to come to this one point of trusting to God for salvation. You never will be saved until you put your trust and confidence in God.

SETTING THE SEAL.

Look at John iii. 33: "He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true." In those days men used to wear a signet ring, with their initials, and instead of signing their names, they used to take the ring and seal the document. That was setting to their seal; that was an endorsement. And now God comes down into this unbelieving world, and says, "Who will set to his seal that I am true?" And so I want to ask the friends in this hall, Who will set to his seal or her seal that God is true? It is a great deal better for us to make ourselves liars and God true than to try and make ourselves out true and God a liar. That is what many men will do. Who will set to his seal that God is true? Unbelief says, "I won't." Faith says, "I will set to my seal." Oh, may God help many now to say, "I will set to my seal that God is true" this very hour; and, my friends, the moment you do set your seal that God is true, and put your faith in God, then comes the peace, the happiness you have been looking for so long!

NO PEACE WITHOUT TRUST.

A great many people go looking for peace and happiness before they trust. There will be no peace, no happiness, no joy, until you put your trust in God. The joy that flows through the Christian's heart is the result of trusting God. Suppose I meet a man to-night leaping for joy, laughing at the top of his voice. I say, "My friend, what makes you so happy?" "Oh, I don't know; I am so happy I cannot contain my feelings!" What would you say? Why, you would say the man had gone mad. But suppose I meet a man whom I have seen out here night after night begging, and I say to him, "Hullo, beggar, is that you?" "Don't call me a beggar; I am no longer a beggar." "Are not you the man who has been begging here every night?" "Yes." "Where did you get your good clothes? How is this you are not a beggar?" "No, I am no beggar; I am worth a thousand pounds." "How is that?" "Well, sir, last night I was here begging, and a man came along and put a thousand pounds in my hand." "How did you know it was good money?" "I took it to the Bank of England, and they gave me gold for it." "How was it done?" "Well, I just held out my hand, and he came and put a cheque right into it, and I took it to the bank and got gold for it." "Did you really get it in that way?" "Yes." "How do you know it was the right kind of hand?" "Why," says the beggar, "what do I care about the hand, I have got the money." Faith is the hand that reaches out and takes the blessing. Any faith that brings me to Christ is the right kind of faith, and instead of looking at your faith look to Christ. Some one has said, faith sees a thing in God's hand, and says, "I will have it." Unbelief sees it there, and says, "God won't give it me." Look to God by faith to-night and have salvation.

WHO WILL HAVE IT?

Every man and woman may have it if they will but put their trust in God. Is not God worthy of our confidence? Is not God worthy of our trust? You must have a poor opinion of God if you cannot trust Him. We consider we have a poor opinion of a man if we cannot trust him. If a man should tell me something, and I did not believe a word he said, I would have a very poor opinion of the man. Faith is putting confidence in God's word. Take hold of His word to-night. He will save all that will come--not only that, but He will save you when you do come. Away with everything but Christ, and take Him now. Who will take God at His word to-night? Some one has said, "Faith is saying yes to God." Who will say yes to-night, and take it? Now, is it too much to ask or to expect that every person in this hall should put their faith in God? If God does not save us, who will? Men cannot, the church cannot, creeds and doctrines cannot; the sacraments cannot save; baptism cannot save. You must have a living personal Christ, and God presents Him to the world. Who will take Him? Who will have Christ--who will trust Him? Faith says, I will. Is it not the very best thing you can do? Can you do a better thing than trust to God for salvation? "What must I do to be saved?" Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, or trust the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, and trust Him now.

STORY OF A CONDEMNED MAN.

Away back some years ago it is recorded in history of a man that was condemned to be put to death, that when he came to lay his head on the block the prince asked him if there was any one petition that he could grant him, and all that the condemned man asked for was a glass of water. They went and got him a tumbler of water, and when he got it his hand trembled so that he could not get it to his mouth. The prince said to him, "Your life is safe until you drink that water." He took the prince at his word, and dashed the water to the ground. They could not gather it up, and so he saved his life. My friends, you can be saved to-night by taking God at His word. The water of life is offered to "whosoever will." Take it now, and live. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Rom. x. 17).

Faith is not what we see or feel,
It is a simple trust;
In what a God of love has said
Of Jesus as the Just.

THE DYING THIEF

Read Luke xxiii. 39-43

I am going to take as my text a man who was the last one saved before Christ went to heaven, or before He died on the cross, and the story of his conversion ought to give hope to every man. We have got an account of the conversion of all classes of people in the Bible. There is not one class left out. There is the richest and the poorest; the greatest and the smallest; all classes of men, and all classes of women.

There are so many people nowadays talking against sudden conversions, that I think the very best thing we can do is to see what the Scripture says about it--to see how long it takes God to convert a soul. If I read my Bible correctly, there were eight thousand converted in two days. That was a good number in a short time, was it not? We have not got to that yet; I wish we had. But I feel sure, if the church of God would only wake up, we should see something like it.

NEVER TOO LATE.

Well, this man was not only a thief, but a reviler of God, right upon the threshold of eternity, a most depraved and abandoned wretch. Matthew tells us: "And the two thieves cast the same in His teeth." You would have thought they would have been doing something better than that, coming so near death and the grave; and that their thoughts would have been made very solemn in the face of not only death, but after death the judgment. Instead of that, they were reviling Christ, and casting accusations in His teeth a few hours before their death. Well, I do not think this thief could have sunk any further, until he sunk into hell. Though so far off Jesus found him. Matthew and Mark both tell us that these two thieves reviled Him. John says nothing about their reviling; in fact, he does not tell us about one of them being converted. The first we get of it is in Luke xxiii. 40, where we find him saying to the other thief, "Dost not thou fear God?" Solomon, the wise man, says, "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God." Now, there we have the beginning of wisdom in this thief. He began to _fear_ God. I hope there will be hundreds in this building who will fear Him; for that is the true beginning of wisdom.

CONVICTION OF SIN.

Now, the next thing was, the man was convicted. No man is likely to be converted until he is first convicted of sin. This thief was convicted. And what convicted him? He heard no sermon from Christ. The rulers were then deriding Him. The chief men of His own country had found Him guilty of blasphemy, and had condemned Him to die the death of the cross. The chief men of the realm were there wagging their heads and mocking Him. What was it then that convicted this poor thief? He had seen Christ perform no miracles; he had heard no wonderful words fall from His lips; he saw no glittering crown upon His brow. True, it was written over His cross, "Jesus, the King of the Jews"; but where was His kingdom? He saw nothing of the Jews paying homage to Him. The Jews were putting Him to death. There was no sceptre in His hand. True, He had been crowned a little while before, but only with thorns, and yet amidst it all this poor thief was convicted after fear fell upon him.

THE POWER OF LOVE.

What convicted him? I will tell what I think convicted him, though I could not teach it dogmatically but I think it was the Saviour's prayer. When the Lord Jesus cried out from the very depths of His soul, "Father, forgive them," conviction flashed into his heart. He must have said, "Why, this is more than a man; He has got a very different spirit from me. I could not ask God to forgive them. I would call down fire from heaven to consume them, and I would call upon God to smite them with blindness as Elijah did, and I would sweep them from this mountain if I had the power." That's what he must have thought as he heard the piercing cry go up, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Ah, it was love that broke his heart. In those days, when they crucified a man, they used to scourge him. This poor man had been taken into the court, and tried and condemned by the judge; but that had not broken his heart. He had been led forth and scourged; but that had not broken his heart. And now they had nailed him to the cross; but even that had not broken his heart. There he is reviling his God. But when he saw that loving Saviour, he got a glimpse of His love, and that one glimpse broke his heart.

I heard of a young man once who was very hardhearted. His father loved him as he loved his own life. He had tried everything he could to win that prodigal boy back. When his father was dying, they sent for him; but he refused to come. But after his father's death, he returned home to attend the funeral; but not a tear fell from his eyes. He followed that father to his resting-place, and never dropped a tear over his grave. But when they got home, and the will was read, they found that father had not forgotten his prodigal boy, but had remembered him kindly in his will; and that proof of the father's love just broke his heart. And so I think it must have been with the thief when he heard the Saviour crying, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do"; it pierced like an arrow down into his heart, and he was convicted.

CONFESSION FOLLOWS CONVICTION.

Well, then, the next point in this man was, he confessed his sin. He says to his brother thief, "We are suffering justly; we deserve it." I never knew a man saved till he took his stand as a sinner. Cain never confessed his sin. Judas never confessed his sin to God, though he went and confessed it to man.

Now, I want to say that I am not come here to urge you to confess your sins to any man, unless you have done some sin against him and he is stumbling over it; if so, go and confess that certainly. We must not confess our sins to any but God. I have not much sympathy with the class of people that are always running to this man and that man to confess their sins. There is no priest on earth that can forgive sins. I have got a high priest who is "a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek." The only man we have a record of in Scripture who confessed his sins to man was Judas, and he went right out and hung himself.

FAITH IN CHRIST.

The next thing about this thief was his faith in Christ Jesus. We talk about the faith of Abraham and Moses; why, this thief had the most remarkable faith of any man on record. He took his stand at the very head of the class, passing by many who had wonderful faith. He heard no sermon, saw no sceptre in Christ's hand, no crown on His brow, nor witnessed any marvellous works, yet he had wondrous faith. Why, God was twenty-five years toning up Abraham's faith. God met Moses in the burning bush, and went up into the mountains and talked with him; and Isaiah saw God lifted up on His throne; but not so with this thief. There were many who had met Christ and seen wonderful things. His disciples had heard Him discourse, and had seen Him raise the dead, and yet they had forsaken and left Him. Yet here amidst the darkness and gloom this poor thief had faith in Him; for although the Jews had nailed his hands and feet to the cross, they did not nail his eyes, and he could look at Him. They did not nail his heart to the cross, and it is with the heart man believeth, as we read in Romans, and with his heart _he believed_. There's faith for you.

NOT ASHAMED OF CHRIST.

Then the next thing is, he confessed Christ at that dark period. It was the darkest hour of Christ's pilgrimage down here. We will never see another dark hour like that. The sin of the world was on Him; heaven was closed against Him--locked, bolted, and barred. He was now hanging on the tree bearing our sins; and it is written, "Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." And even God had to hide His face from Him, for He could not look on sin, and Christ was then bearing the sin of all the world. I believe that's what Christ meant in the garden of Gethsemane, when He prayed that the cup might pass from Him. Up to that time He saw His Father's face, and He knew He was blessed of Him, and from time to time a voice came from heaven, "This is my beloved Son." But now He was taking our place before God as a sinner, and God had to hide His face from Him. Yes, it was breaking the Saviour's heart; and now, when darkness is coming over creation, and the moon is to be turned into blood, and the sun is about to veil its face because it cannot look upon the terrible scene, and Peter, one of His most conspicuous disciples, had denied Him with a curse, and swore that he never knew Him, and Judas, one of His own disciples, had gone out and sold Him for thirty pieces of silver, and the chief men of the nation were mocking Him, saying, "He saved others, let Him save Himself, if He be the Christ"--amidst all this darkness and gloom, out comes this signal faith of the thief, "Lord, remember me," He called Him Lord there and then; and he said to the other thief, "This man hath done nothing amiss." Thank God for that confession. There's faith and confession for you. If you want to be saved, you must have faith in Christ, and be ready to confess Him before all men.

"LORD, REMEMBER ME."

Look at the prayer of the thief. People say, "Oh, pray for salvation, and you will get it!" Yes, but bear in mind you must have faith in Christ before you can pray. He had got faith in Christ, and now he calls Him "Lord." It was the sound of a young convert's voice, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." It was not a very long prayer, but it was a prayer red-hot, one right out of his heart. Some people tell you they cannot pray without a prayer-book. But the poor thief had no prayer-book; and if there had been any prayer-books then, there was nobody to give him one. He wanted salvation, he simply wanted to be saved, and he cried from his heart, "Lord, remember me!" and a more eloquent prayer never was heard or printed on earth. But not only that, he got more than he asked, for he only asked to be remembered. We always get more than we ask when we come to the Lord.

THE WORLD'S LAST LOOK AT CHRIST.

Now, when a great man dies, people are very anxious to get his last words and acts. It is sweet to get the last words of the Son of God. The last sight the world had of Christ was on the cross. They have never seen Him since. We have no record that any uncircumcised eye beheld Christ after He rose from the dead. The last glimpse the world had of Christ was saving a poor sinner as he hung upon the cross, saving him from the very jaws of hell, and the grasp of Satan. Christ snatched him out of the very grasp of the devil, and said unto him, "This day shalt thou be with me in paradise." The lion of the tribe of Judah conquered the lion of hell, when He snatched the dying thief as a lamb out of Satan's grasp. "This day shalt thou be with me in paradise." That's the glorious gospel. Free from the law. There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.

FREE! FREE!

In the days of Wilberforce, when slavery was abolished, and it was said that no slave could live under the Union Jack, because a bill had been passed declaring every man free, the news had got abroad, and when the captain of a ship was going to a distant island in the slave dominions, the negroes were on the watch to get the news and make sure if it were true. They were anxious to know if the bill had passed that they were really free. And when the captain came in sight of the little island, there they were waiting to get the tidings, and the captain put his trumpet up to his mouth, and shouted across the island, "Free! Free!" And the cry was taken up and echoed through the island, "Free! Free!" And they shouted for joy, because they were slaves no longer. I bring you good news. The Son of God will speak the word, "Free." He spoke the words on the cross, and the poor thief was a free man, and Satan could not hold him.

Then think of the contrast! In the morning led out a poor condemned man, cursing and reviling the Son of God Himself; in the evening singing the new song of redemption. That evening I see him hard by the throne, singing the sweet song of Moses and the Lamb. In the morning cursing, in the evening singing, "Glory to God in the highest." Was it not a change? What a contrast! Think of it, O sinner. Condemned in the morning by man, cast out as too vile for earth; in the evening good enough for heaven; in the evening washed in the blood of the Lamb, and Christ ready to receive him into the kingdom of heaven. Christ was not ashamed to walk down the crystal pavement of heaven with him. He heard the shout on the cross when Christ called out, "It is finished!" How his soul must have thrilled with joy at that shout! He said, "My salvation is completed now." He saw the spear thrust into that side and the blood flow out, and I can see the sparkle on his face lit up with glory. "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission." It was a sad sight, but glorious.

THE BEST THING TO DO.

Now, young man, do you want Him to save you? Are you ready to confess Him as your Lord and Saviour, and take your stand by the Master, and say from this hour, I will serve the Lord Jesus? If so, it will be the best night in your life up to this time. The best thing you can do is to yield to Christ at once. Every true Christian would give you that advice, and if I could shout clear up to the throne, and ask the Saviour what He would have you to do, I should hear a voice rolling down from heaven, and saying, "Tell him to seek salvation." When the poor thief was converted, it was probably the first time he had ever heard of the Lord Jesus Christ, or had been invited. But it is surely not so with you. How many people keep putting salvation off and off, until it is one day too late! There are so many that live in the future. It is better you should be wise, and enter into the kingdom of God now. Let your prayer, like that of the poor thief, go up from your heart, "Lord, remember me," and you will not ask in vain.

A TIMELY CONVERSION.

A minister in Edinburgh tells a story of the conversion of a young man who was working in one of the mining districts. When the meeting at one of the churches was over on a particular evening, he saw him standing by a pillar in the church, the rest having gone out, all but two or three, and they asked this man if he was not going home. He said, "I have made up my mind that I will not leave this church till I become a Christian"; so they stopped and talked and prayed with him. It was the best thing he could do. I would like every man here to do the same thing. Make up your minds that you won't leave till you have settled about your soul for eternity. Well, the next day, while this young man was working in the mine, the coal fell in upon him, and before he died, he had just strength enough left to say to his companions, "It's a good thing that I settled it last night--a very good thing." Young man, I will leave you to answer the question, Was it not a good thing he settled it that night?

A young man, who was in the army during the Civil war, told me that when he heard that his brother, from whom he had never been separated, had joined a certain regiment, he went right away and put his name down under his brother's. They messed together, marched together, and fought shoulder to shoulder. At last his brother was struck with a Minnie ball, and he fell mortally wounded by his side. He saw too plainly that he must die, and as the battle was raging, and he could do nothing to save him, he put his brother's knapsack under his head, and made him as comfortable as he could, and bending over him, kissed him, bade him good-bye, and left him to die. As he was going away, his brother said, "Charlie, come back, and let me kiss you upon your lips." "As I bent over him," said the young soldier who told me the story, "he kissed me on my lips, and said, 'Take that home to mother, and tell her that I died praying for her'; and as I turned away from him, I could hear him say, 'This is glory,' and as he lay weltering in his blood, and I wondered what he meant, I asked him what was glory. He said, 'Charlie, it's glorious to die looking up--I see Christ in heaven.'"

DYING LOOKING UP.

If you want to die looking up and seeing Christ, seek the kingdom of God. You may never hear the call again. Do not leave this place without making up your mind to settle the solemn question of eternity at once.