When I was holding meetings a little time ago, at Wharnecliff, in England, a coal district, a great burly collier [coal miner] came up to me, and said in his Yorkshire dialect, "Dost know wha was at meetin' t'night?" "No," I answered. "Why," said he, "So-and-so" (mentioning name). The name was a familiar one. He was a very bad man, one of the wildest, wickedest men in Yorkshire, according to his own confession, and according to the confession of everybody who knew him. "Well," said the man, "he cam' into meetin' an' said you didn't preach right; he said thou didn't preach nothin' but the love o' Christ, an' that won't do for drunken colliers; ye wan't shake 'em over a pit, and he says he'll ne'er come again." He thought I didn't preach about hell. Mark you, my friends, I believe in the pit that burns, in the fire that's never quenched, in the worm that never dies; but I believe that the magnet that goes down to the bottom of the pit is the love of Jesus. I didn't expect to see him again, but he came the next night, without washing his face, right from the pit, with all his working clothes upon him. This drunken collier sat down on one of the seats that were used for the children, and got as near to me as possible. The sermon was love from first to last. He listened at first attentively, but by-and-by I saw him with the sleeve of his rough coat, wiping his eyes. Soon after we had an inquiry-meeting, when some of those praying colliers got around him, and it wasn't long before he was crying, "O Lord, save me; I am lost; Jesus, have mercy upon me"; and he left that meeting a new creature. His wife told me herself what occurred when he came home. His little children heard him coming along; they knew the step of his heavy clogs, and ran to their mother in terror, clinging to her skirts. He opened the door as gently as could be. He had had a habit of banging the doors. When he came into the house and saw the children clinging to their mother, frightened, he just stooped down and picked up the youngest girl in his arms, and looked at her, the tears rolling down his cheeks. "Mary, God has sent thy father home to thee," and kissed her. He picked up another, "God has sent thy father home"; and from one to another he went, and kissed them all; and then came to his wife and put his arms around her neck, "Don't cry, lass; don't cry. God has sent thy husband home at last; don't cry," and all she could do was to put her arms around his neck and sob. And then he said, "Have you got a Bible in the house, lass?" They hadn't such a thing. "Well, lass, if we haven't we must pray." They got down on their knees, and all he could say was:
"Gentle Jesus, meek and mild,
Look upon a little child;
Pity my simplicity—
for Jesus Christ's sake, amen." It was a simple prayer, but God answered it. While I was at Barnet some time after that, a friend came to me, and said, "I've got good news for you. So-and-so (mentioning the collier's name) is preaching the gospel everywhere he goes, in the pit, and out of the pit, and tries to win everybody to the Lord Jesus Christ."
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D.L. Moody (1837 - 1899)
Was an American evangelist and publisher who founded the Moody Church in downtown Chicago. Preached to thousands in evangelistic meetings and had touches of revival in scotland and other countries. Ira Sankey was his worship leader who was used of the Lord in the meetings. Moody wrote many books including "Prevailing Prayer" and "The Way To God."Moody once said: "If this world is going to be reached, I am convinced that it must be done by men and women of average talent." And thus was born his ministry of book publishing, bible college and many other outreaches to equip the average layperson to be a soul winner and do great exploits for the Lord.
D. L. Moody was an American evangelist who founded the Northfield Schools in Massachusetts, Moody Church and Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, and the Colportage Association.
As a young man, he spent his evenings in missionary work among the lowly and destitute of the city. This work grew to such proportions that he was induced to give up his profitable business engagements and to devote all his time to religious work in connection with the local Young Men's Christian Association of which he became president. He soon became known as one of the most acceptable public speakers of the country, and was in constant demand at Christian conventions throughout the West and South.
Mr. Moody is supposed to have spoken to more people, and addressed larger audiences than any man of his generation. D. L. Moody was undoubtedly one of the greatest evangelists of all time. The meetings held by Moody and Sankey were among the greatest the world has ever known. They were the means under God of arousing the church to new life and activity, and were the means of sweeping tens of thousands of persons into the kingdom of God.
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.