A noted evangelist was once
holding a series of services in a church whose minister was a
man of long experience and of great influence. One night as
they sat on the platform together the minister pointed out to
the evangelist a man in the audience.
"For twelve years," he
said, "I have tried to win that man to Christ; I have preached
to him so long that I sometimes find myself doing it almost
unconsciously."
"From the pulpit?"
asked the evangelist.
"From the pulpit,
yes."
How many times have
you gone to him with the love of God in your heart and said:
'I want to see you become a child of God?'
"
"I must confess," said
the minister, "that I have never spoken to him personally and
directly concerning his salvation."
"Then," said the
evangelist, "perhaps he is not impregnable after
all."
That night
the evangelist, after the service, caught the man before he
got to the door. He spoke only a few words, but they were
earnest and loving. And the next evening in the "after
service," in which many souls have found lasting peace and
eternal life, the man was on his knees with the tears
streaming down his cheeks. It was the personal touch that did
it.
The sermon is
effective with man. Music has brought salvation to many a
life. But on thousands and thousands of cases it is only the
personal touch that wins.
~Unknown
