pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Ganesha and saw two ships standing by the lake, but the fishermen were gone out of them and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land, and he sat down and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had nets speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a draft. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all night and have taken nothing. Nevertheless, at thy word I will let down the net. When they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes, and their net break. Before reading, I just want to point out something. You'll notice how the Lord used Peter's net here, or ship, in verse three. He entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. He used Simon's property. He used Simon's boat. And you'll notice how the Lord paid Simon back. How does he pay him back? You'll notice in verse six, and when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes and their net break. So you never let the Lord use anything you've got, but what? He won't pay you back a hundredfold. Peter never caught a fish or net a fish, a catcher fish like that before. And it's just simply because he had let the Lord have his boat. Now, says the Lord, Peter, I'll pay you back. And he got a great catch. Verse seven. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came and filled both the ships so that they began to sting. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Be part from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished at all that were with him at the draft of the fishes which they had taken. And so was also James and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men. When they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him. Another place, he said, I will make you fishers of men. Now, this morning we were speaking upon the fisherman's equipment, and we were pointing out how the Word of God, the Bible, is the fisherman's equipment, and how a real expert angler, one who loves to catch fish, how he appreciates his equipment. Why, you see, some of them, and they will take out their rods and their reels and so on, and they seem, as it were, to have, a considerable amount of affection for their equipment. They'll handle this plug and that hook and this lure and so on, and they just love their equipment. They keep it polished and good and clean. And what is the equipment of the soul winner? This Bible. And every Christian should love his Bible. And not only so, but any good books you have that expound the Bible. Love good books. Not only so, there are other things such as notes and any help that you may have in expounding and preaching and presenting God's Word. This is some of your equipment, illustrations you may use. And so this morning we were speaking on that line, the equipment of the soul winner. and how to use the right bait to catch the right fish. We're pointing out the difference between bait and the hook. All baits will never catch a fish, neither will all hook catch a fish. You put the bait on the hook and the fish is attracted to the bait and then at the appropriate moment you set the hook and you catch your bait. Sermons that do not have the gospel in them are all baked with no hook. If you listen to a sermon and there's no gospel in it, no reference to the precious blood of Christ, nothing said about man being a lost sinner and needing to be born again, why a sermon that's destitute and void of the gospel is baked without a hook, you'll never catch a sinner, you'll never catch a soul for Christ that way. Dig it up and speak on politics. or just to talk about a program. There's no hook there. You'll never catch a soul for Christ that way. On the other hand, just to use the bare hook without something to attract men and women, you'll not catch fish that way. And so I think it's up to the angler, the soul winner, to examine his equipment and know-how to use it. And we pointed out this morning in our concluding remark The best bait is live bait. And in that respect, we mentioned worms, minnows, frogs, something that's alive but suffering. And when you put this bait on the hook, naturally that little worm is suffering. Naturally, that little minnows or that frog is suffering. But in their death pangs, they're attracting a fish. What is the live bait that we bring? the sufferings and death of Christ. He says, I am a worm and no man. Paul says, I determined to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. My little experience in preaching the Gospel, I have known what it is to be on my subject for thirty and forty minutes and the audience to be in a measure restless until I got to the cross. I remember one message in particular. The last ten minutes, The Lord enabled me to picture Christ upon the cross, his suffering, his agony, and his death. And that very moment you could just feel a sense of God settled upon that audience. The atmosphere seemed to become charged with the presence of God, and the cross of Christ was made real to our hearts. The sufferings of the Savior laid hold upon the audience. And three came as soon as the meeting was over and said, Mr. Wilson, I saw Christ dying for me on that cross tonight in a way I never saw him before. They were caught. Yes, the sufferings of Christ caught them. And so live bait is always the best bait. And that's the bait for every Christian. That's the hook as well as the bait. The sufferings and death of the Lord Jesus. Christ dying... for our sins. Now tonight, the fisherman's effort. You know, the fisherman, he toils for hours. He undergoes hardships. He suffers annoyances. And when I thought of this this afternoon, I thought of a trip I made down to Lake Panasovsky in Florida one time. I went down with a brother up in North Carolina. I wasn't much of a fisherman. He was taking me down to try and show me how to catch fish. This was a number of years ago. While we were out on that lake, we were besieged with gnats. I'm going to tell you I was swallowing gnats. They were in my ears or my nose, and they were just around me. And, of course, he at the other end, he knew all about it. He had brought along three or four cigars. There were enough to kill a horse, let alone the gnats. and he put that cigar in and he would just puffin away at a cloud of smoke, and that's how he got rid of the gnats. But I'm going to tell you I was just miserable. I wouldn't have cared if I pulled in a bath at every cast. Those miserable gnats made it miserable for me. And I thought, if ever I get off this lake, I'll never go and fishin' again. But I did. That was an annoyance, all right, the gnats and sometimes flies and mosquitoes. These are some of the hardships and the annoyances that a fisherman will go through, and you know some of them, they'll get soaking wet, they'll get cold, and they go home dog tired, they didn't get a bite, but you know a fisherman will always go back. He's a real fisherman. Sometimes he gets a backlash every time he casts, and if he's not a Christian, you know what he's going to say. all these little annoyances. And yet a real fisherman, he doesn't let them stop him. He puts up with them, but at heart he's efficient. And he's determined he's going to catch some fish. The Bible says we are to endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. And remember, this Christian, it's not easy to be a soul winner. There are plenty of annoyances. There's persecution. There's ridicule. There is scoffing. There is scoff. Validious and friends will make it miserable for your time. They'll swarm around you almost like a bunch of gnats, unpasteous. Just because you believe in Christ, you're born again, and you want to see people saved. Oh, the annoyances, the grievances, the hardships you'll go through if you want to win souls for Christ. But if you're a real soul winner, you won't let these things stop you. You'll go back at it. Just like many a real fisherman, he goes back at it. Although he didn't get a thing the last time, he'd go again. His heart did. And time and time again we're like the apostles, they toiled all night. They caught nothing. The Sunday school teacher week after week and week after week, she has to put up with the restlessness of the children. She has to put up with various annoyances, but week after week, week after week, she goes at it. She's trying to win those little ones for Christ. Eventually she will. And the preacher's got to keep at it. You have annoyances such as bad weather. Other times it's something else. What are you going to do? Quit? No. A real fisherman has hearts in it. I'm going to keep at it. I'll keep casting my line. I'm going to win souls for Christ. You know, in connection with fishing, strange as it may seem, distant waters always seem best, don't they? You know, it's amused me about how people around Auburn, they go down to Florida fishing, and people down Florida come up around Auburn. Do you ever notice that? Distant waters always look better. and down on that very same lake that's eight miles long. We were at this end of the lake at a camp, and we would go right across the other end, take us about an hour and a half, a little old boat we had, and why we were going over there, folks, the other end were coming over and fishing around our dock. Well, why couldn't we have stayed around our dock and let them stay around? Oh, they're just something about a fisherman that thinks the fish are better over there. You know, that's true, and it's hard to win your neighbors. and those under your own roof. Oh, you like to fish in distant waters. Maybe the heathen. Some people want to go as a missionary to China or some other country. They think the fish are biting better there. People will listen to the gospel better there. Will they? You'll find that sin is just the same there as here. You'll find the evil heart, the natural heart of man, is just as wicked there as here. You'll find the devil is just as active there as here. You'll find the world is just as tempting there as here. You've got the same conditions to contend with. And right around your door there are people not saved who need to be caught for Christ. We know that distant fields look green and waters Further afield seem to be most tempting, but, oh, there are lost souls right around us who need to be saved. You know the different ways of catching fish sometimes. You catch one, just one now and again. Then you run into a school of them, and you get one about every task. Well, that's something like preaching every Sunday night, now and again, you land a soul. You catch one. One will trust the Savior. then you have a campaign, a revival, and it's like striking a school, and why you'll get one almost every night. And so there are different kinds of fishing, aren't there? He says, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men, and it's up to us to keep fishing every Sunday, every Sunday, until the time comes when it pleases God to let us see a school. In other words, a lot coming in to hear the gospel and souls getting saved regularly. We saw this happen in Durham, North Carolina, when it was just ordinary. It was customary for seven, eight and nine to get saved every Sunday night. And yet no revival going on. During the week there'd be five, six, and seven. And the Thursday night prayer meeting, two or three would trust the saved. and it seemed the fish were coming from every direction. And all you had to do was get up and say a few words from the Bible and someone wanted to be saved. You run into a school. God only knows how we pray for such a thing in all that. So there are individuals catching a fish by casting here and casting there and getting one here and one there and then there's such a thing as getting a number right along. You know, a real fisherman, he expects a strike at every cast. You know that? If he's a real fisherman, he expects a fish to jump on his lure every time he throws in the water. That's right. Why? He just keeps casting. He keeps casting. He said, well, he keeps casting. He'd done it already about thirty or thirty or forty times. You haven't got a strike. Yeah, but he's going to get it this time. You see, a real fisherman, he keeps fast. He expects a strike every time he goes in his life. One time a preacher came to see Spurgeon, that great preacher, Mr. Spurgeon, I haven't seen a soul saved in my church for months. And I see by the report that you see them saved every week. Spurgeon, I don't understand it. I preach as hard as I can, and I haven't seen a soul saved for months. Mr. Spurgeon says, well, you don't expect to see souls saved every time you preach the gospel, didn't you? Oh, no, of course not. That's your trouble. He walked right in. See? Spurgeon, when they get up to preach, he expected someone to get saved every time he preached the gospel. This man did. Lack of faith. And so... A real fisherman, he expects a strike every time he casts. You know, there's one thing. You won't catch any fish with your line in the boat. You won't catch any fish sitting on the bank wishing you could catch some. I've seen people doing that. Sitting on the bank and there's their line and they're facing the hand. Oh, I wish I could catch a fish. Well, you're not going to catch any fish with your line on the shore in the boat. Keep your baits and your hook in the water. That's it. Some people say, I wish I could win a soul the Christ. Do you try? I wish I could point someone to the sea. Keep trying. Keep giving your testimony. Don't sit down wishing and doing nothing about it. You know, experience is needed in fishing, that is, to land some big ones. Don't set your hook too quick. Some fishermen make that mistake. I made it when I first started to cast. As soon as I saw the slightest disturbance around my plug that I'd cast into the water, not yet, and I missed many a big one. I was too anxious. I pulled it before he really got a hold of it. And you know you can do that in speaking to men and women, too. You can be too anxious. Over-anxious. And if you do that, you're liable not to catch some fish. Let them get a good hold of it. Give them the gospel. Let them swallow it. And that way, you're liable to catch them. Another thing, if you're speaking to someone and you realize that individual is just a little too intelligent, too smart for you, and yet if you were to catch this one, my, what a big fish it would be. But you realize that you're just a young Christian, you don't have the experience, you don't have the knowledge of the word, you can't cope with the arguments that are being presented. You know what to do? Turn your equipment over to an experienced and older fisherman and let him land them. You see what I mean? If you're trying to point a soul to Christ and you realize you've got a big one on the line, and there's someone around older, more experienced than you, someone who knows the Bible, just turn that troubled soul over to him or to her. Let them land. For many a boy and even some young girls have caught big fish. And when they realize they've gotten a big one on the line, what do they do? Why, they realize this is too big for me to land and they turn it over to their parents. For many an inexperienced fisherman has lost a big fish, whereas he wouldn't have lost it if he had turned it over to an experienced soul in him. And so these things need to be considered when you're catching souls for threats. Experience is a great thing. I remember in Augusta years ago when we were having a campaign there, we'd already caught two or three big ones. I say whoppers. George Hines, prosecuting attorney at the Superior Court of the Augusta District, was one of them. His wife was another. and a French title lady who had written a book that was being put on the screen in Hollywood, Madame de Dulles, and who served in the Red Cross Corps under Marsha Patan during the last war, she and her nurse were saved in that same campaign. And through her, some of these very tracks were sent to Marsha Patan when he was in exile, and she received letters back how instantly he was, and that was the first time he had gotten the Gospel. So you never know that the Marsha may be in heaven today to that lady getting saved and sending him this literacy. But in that campaign there were a lot of people like that who came along and found Christ. They were what you would call big ones. I remember the last night came, I think I mentioned this one time previously, John Hines, brother to George Hines, colonel in the First World War, and professor of mathematics at Richmond Academy. One of the most outstanding minds in Augusta, a brilliant man, very intelligent, looked upon as one of the intellectuals of Augusta. He came up to me after the meeting, a hard-bitten man, a very proud man, a very stubborn man with his education. He came up to me and he said, Mr. Wilson, I appreciate your messages. He said, I can't tell you what they've meant to me. A crowd was milling around us to the last night, and I knew that he wouldn't have sat down, and I asked him to and let me speak to him right there, because everybody knew him. So I happened to say to him somewhat quietly, so others didn't hear. I said, Mr. Heinz, would you like me to visit you in your home? Always said, would you do that? I could see he wanted to talk to me, and he wanted me to talk to him about his soul, but not there. I said, would you like me to visit you in your home right after the meeting? He said, would you do that? And he gripped my hand as the tears started down his cheeks. I said, I'll be over. And I went over about an hour later because we had to speak to several others. And when I got there, he was sitting waiting. And I had the joy of pointing him to Christ. He found the Savior and he burst into tears and he wept like a child when he was saved. Now, you see, a young person would never, an inexperienced Christian, never would have landed that man. And for me to have asked him to sit right down there and I'd talk to him in the midst of all that crowd, I would likely have lost that face. You see what I mean? One has to use a little of the experience they gain over the years. in landing men that you see will be a big text. For instance, supposing you were to win a prominent doctor to Christ, or supposing you were to win someone to the Savior who would turn out to be a preacher. Someone won Billy Graham to Christ, wasn't that a big one? Someone won the Elmudi to Christ, wasn't that a big one? Do you see what I mean? Yes. It takes a little bit of tact and experience to land some of these big ones, officials, people of high standard. And if you ever run into someone like that and you see that person's interested and you feel as though that you can't cope with their intelligence and their argument, just turn the line over to someone else who may, by his experience, be able to land that fish for Christ. So don't be too anxious and remember this. The best way to catch a big fish is to tire it out. You know that. I remember the first time I got a big bass on my line, I just start wheeling that thing right in. And when he got up near the boat, he ducked down to the boat and I pulled up my line and he cut the line under the boat and away he went. I lost that big bass. And I wondered why I'd lost him. And I found out. But now when I get a big one on, I don't do that. I don't worry when I get a big one on. It's up to the fish to worry now. Just play him. Play him. And you know that big fish soon will lose all his fight. And after you've played him long enough, and he's through fighting, then when you see him turn on his back, you can get him right up to the boat and you can lift him right in without any trouble. And if you're wise in winning souls to Christ, wear them down. But I'll tell you one thing, you don't have any trouble pointing a lost sinner to Christ. When you are without strength, Christ died for us. When you get a person to the point where that person says, I'm lost, I can't save myself, there's no use to me struggling, I'm just a poor sinner, what must I do to be saved? All the fight's gone. You don't have any trouble pointing that person to Christ. But you know, when you're trying to speak to someone about the Savior and they're all the time asking you questions and arguing with you, for instance, I've had people come to me and say they want to be saved, and I'd start talking with them about being saved. They said, Oh, Mr. Wilson, who wrote the Bible? Oh, that person's a long way from being saved. Any person who doubts the Bible is a long way from being under conviction. or they start arguing, bringing up this and bringing up that and bringing up the other thing. People who talk like that, they're not ready to be saved. You've got to wear them down with the word of God. They'd only get no, they're lost and go into hell, or they'd try out, what must I do to be saved? And the Bible says, every mouth must be stopped and all the world becomes guilty before God. And when a man's mouth is shut, when he hasn't any arguments, and acknowledges I'm a lost sinner and if I don't get saved I'll be in hell forever. The thing is by preaching and preaching and preaching you wear down the resistance to the point where they acknowledge I'm lost. You have no trouble landing them. That's the way you catch big fish. Any fisherman will tell you that. Another thing I want to say in this connection, you never catch fish when you make a lot of noise. Be quiet. And if ever you see someone come up to me wanting to be saved, and I appreciate the way you have behaved many of you, and this has happened, when someone wants to be saved, the best thing is to do is to be quiet and tiptoe away. Because when a soul is troubled, they want to be alone. That's why we take them into an inquiry room where we can sit down alone in the quietness of God's presence and show them how to be saved. It's difficult to try and put a soul to Christ when Christians are laughing and talking and chatting all around. The waters are too troubled. There's too much noise. You're not going to catch a fish. That's it. And so that's the fisherman's effort. Now we've come to the fisherman's catch. My, when the fisherman catches his fish and he has him in the boat, he's a happy fisherman. And when a Christian lands a soul for Christ, I'm going to tell you he's the happiest person on earth. You've never known the real love of God unless you've pointed a soul to the same. Oh, the thrill of winning a soul to the Lord Jesus. I broke my father's heart, my mother's too, when I was a young man. Not because I was a drunkard, but I wasn't. I was just wild. I was wrecked. All I thought about was athletic. And I was indifferent to the gospel. I didn't want to go to preaching. I turned my mother down cold, which invited me. I'd like to broke her heart. But finally their prayers prevailed. My dad lived to be seventy-five years of age. If you'd have said to him, if you'd have met him on the street, you wouldn't have had any trouble getting acquainted with my father because he never met a stranger. You'd have said, Mr. Wilson, would you tell me the happiest moment of your life? He'd say, yeah. The happiest moment of my life was when I pointed my son Lester to the Lord Jesus Christ in the kitchen of our home, next to his own conversion, when he sat down beside his wayward son and pointed him to the sea. And that's the happiest moment of anyone's life when they point another to the Lord Jesus. a catch, a wonderful catch. You go in for catching fish. You know, little fish make a big splash. Do you ever know that? I remember one time fishing up in Canada. My brother George was with me at the time I referred to this morning. And we saw a lot of splashing going on around the stump. And I said to George, I said, boy, there's a big one cutting up over there. Let's get over there. And finally we eased up And I cast him, I plugged it in about a foot of that stump, and the fish hit it. And I pulled it in, it was about that long. And it was the one who was doing all the cutting up, because there wasn't any more splashing going on after that. But I caught it as a big one. You know, a little fish can make a lot of noise. A little fish can make a lot of splash. And every fisherman has caught a fish. Boys, I've got a big one. And in his mind, it's about that long. The time he lands them, it's about like that. You know, I've caught some people. My, they've come up to me and they said, Oh, I'm saved. Boy, they had a loud profession. I thought, My, I'd land a big one. And they hear them talk. The night they got saved, you thought, Here's another apostle. My, they made a big splash. Lots of talk. But, boy, those big fish, they shrank with the munch. Well, finally, I wondered if they were saved at all. A little fish can make a big splash sometimes. But you know you like to see fish grow with the munt, don't you? You like to see one get saved when you watch them grow. You don't like to see them shrink. The cats. Well, whether it's a big one or whether it's a little one, it's a wonderful cat. Whether you're able to point a big man to Christ who is educated, cultured, refined, who has wonderful natural gifts. It's wonderful to point a person like that to the Son of God, or whether it's a fine, brilliant young man, or an attractive young woman, or whether it's a little girl, or a little boy, just a little minnow, you would say. Friend, that's a wonderful catch. The fisherman's catch. What does it mean? Well, you remember Peter, Andrew, he caught Peter, and Peter, he caught What? Three thousand of one calf. That was a big one. Do you remember the little captive maid? She won Nehemiah, that captain of the host of the King of Surah. Oh, yeah. It's grand to get the big one, but I'm going to tell you this. I'm happy. Happy as can be when I can catch a little. Just a boy or girl who has really found Christ. What does it mean? It means another life is saved as well as a soul. It means another name is written down in the Lamb's Book of Life in heaven. It means another soul has passed from death unto life. It means that God has blotted out a load of sin from that conscience. It means another face will be saved around the globe. It means another voice will swell his prey. It means another knee is bending in the presence of God. It means another form will be seen in glory amidst that innumerable multitude. It means as another soul rests in hell and another soul added in heaven. That's what it means to catch a soul for Christ. Is it worth it? One soul is worth more than all the world. He says, follow me. I'll make you fishes of men. That's the fisherman's cats. Yes, I'm happy. But then you have the fisherman's end. You know, it's wonderful to talk to old fishermen. Fisherman's end. And here's what you hear. The old fisherman says, Well, I can't go out now, I'm too old. and he'll pull out his old tackle box, shine, shining. He's kept it clean. He'll open it up. He'll take out his plugs and they're all nice and clean and shining. He's taken them out many times since he was unable to go fishing because of his age. He'll take out his fishing pole and all his equipment and a real old fisherman will sit down and he'll tell you, about this piece of equipment and how he caught a big one with that plug and how he caught another one with that plug and he'll tell you his story. And an old fisherman will keep you entertained by the hour, telling you about his equipment. He loves it. Yes, he loves to talk about it and he talks about the fish he caught here, there and when he caught them and how he caught them and all the events. An old fisherman is a happy old man. But now what about an old soul winner? I don't know a happier way to end your life than to be able to sit down in old age when you're too old to preach. Too old to go out and win souls for Christ, but you can spend your last days reflecting, reminiscing, pulling out the equipment. Like old Mr. Livingston, of course you don't know him, But I knew him well. That old fellow, when he went into his home, he had the seven Jehovah titles around his house, text like that. The old fellow is about this high, seventy-some years of age. And he'd go round and he'd point to that text, he'd take to the next, he'd point to that text, and then if you were a young man, he'd say, young man, oh, he says, live for God, win souls for Christ. I remember so and so and so and so and so back in Ireland. When I was a young man, I pitched my tent, and then he'd start telling me about the people he wanted to cry. There was the old man who couldn't preach anymore, but oh, he loved her M&S, and talked about the people he'd wanted to save her. Oh, Mr. Jelly, who lived down in St. Petersburg, Florida, he died at ninety-three, about three years ago. When I used to get down to St. Petersburg, I always stayed with him. Well, I didn't stay with him exactly because he was in the hotel, but I stayed with his daughter. not far away, and I was having a campaign there. And I used to take Mr. Jolly home. In fact, I couldn't get away from him. Whenever I'd come out to get in my car, he was parked right in the front seat. And we'd go by, sometimes he wanted to get a milkshake on the way home. And we'd get in front of the hotel. You know, I was tired. I wanted to get home. But the old fella had sit there at eleven o'clock. I would hint around the bush that I wanted to get home, but all he would do night after night was from about nine thirty to eleven o'clock and sometimes past. Brother, he says, remember, I've been to such, such a place. Then he'd start telling me how he won that lady for Christ. And then he'd start telling me about how he won this one for Christ. Ninety-three years of business. Why, the old fellow was bubbling away there in the front street. That's all he wanted to talk about. He was in heaven talking about how he had won souls to Christ. Back in this younger day. It's a nice way to spend your life, your latter days. Not like some old men have to spend it, waiting for death. Oh, Mr. Miles, I stayed in their home in Burlington, North Carolina. He wasn't a Christian. Mrs. Miles, a lovely Christian. I used to go into the front room. There sat, oh, Mr. Miles, eighty years of age. And all he did for morning tonight was smoke a pipe. And he had a little bit of a radio. And his only entertainment was Amos and Andy and Laman Amna. That's all he lived for. When Amna and Andy went off, then he would wait, turn the radio off, he'd wait for Laman and Amna. When Laman and Amna went off, then he was ready to go to bed. Get up the next morning, smoke its pipe, Laman Amna, Amna, Amna. That's all he had to listen. He didn't know Christ, and you couldn't get his ear of the gospel. The old man died and went to hell, rejecting Christ. What a melancholy ending. Take our sister Cutler, eighty-nine years of age, next month. She's not here tonight. What do you think gives her joy in these sunset years? For fifty-five years, She taught Sunday school in a Bible class in the First Baptist Church. She thinks of those she calls her girls and how she sowed the seed in their hearts and how she's looking forward to seeing some of them in heaven. And at eighty-eight years of age, she was one of the main links in pointing her soul to Christ, sitting right here in Mrs. Fillingham last year. Eighty-eight years of age and still with her soul to Christ. or be the link in the chain. Is that a wonderful way to end your life? Instead of waiting for the undertaker, able to reflect and reminisce on having one soul to the Lord Jesus. And if you want to have a happy ending as an old man or an old lady, live for Christ, win others for Christ, then you'll be able to have a happy ending too. And then to think after it all, you're going to see them all in heaven. Isn't that wonderful? Think of the joy you have of winning them for Christ here on earth. But think of the added joy of seeing them all in heaven. Do you know what Paul says in First Thessalonians? He says, For what is our hope or joy or a sound of rejoicing are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ? And we are told that those that we win for Christ will welcome us into everlasting habitation. For that we want. The joy of winning them here and the joy of seeing them all there. You know, I don't think for one second that I'm going to see all the souls that I've wanted Christ. Time and time again I go to a place that I haven't been to for years up in North Carolina for chance. And someone comes up to me and said, Mr. Wilson, I haven't told you, but when you were here the last time, I was saved. I found Christ. My, you know, that makes me happy. And although God in His sovereign grace has given us to see hundreds of people saved, yet I expect to see just as many in heaven that I haven't heard about on earth, who've gotten saved in heaven told us, would that be a wonderful homecoming? To get to heaven and see people there, that you want to trust. It's a wonderful thing to look forward to. And like Rutherford said, who lived in Antwerp. If one's soul from Antwerp meet me at God's right hand, my heaven shall be through heavens in Emmanuel's land. Think of the hymn, we son. Must I go an empty hand? Must I meet my Savior's soul? Not one soul with which to greet him? Must I empty hand it? Go? Am I not going to win one soul for Christ? story that stirred my young heart to its depths when I was first saved was when I read the biography of Duncan Matheson. Duncan Matheson was a pugilist, a boxer. And seeing I used to do a little of that, I was interested in reading his book. Duncan Matheson found Christ. And then with another young Christian, he said one night, he said, You know, I had an old uncle, used to be a preacher. And he's buried away over yonder in a certain graveyard in a little town. He says, let's go. It's miles, but I want to go. I've heard so much about my grandpa. These two young Christians started out and they walked and they walked and about midnight. They reached the cemetery and the moon was shining right the full moon. They found the tombstone. And as young Matheson looked at it, he read, on that tombstone they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever. And he fell across the grandfather's grave. He said, O God, burn those words into my heart. From then on that young man became a fire for God and pointed many to the Lord Jesus Christ. What did the Lord Jesus say? Go to the sea and cast a hook and pick up the fish. The sea may be looked upon as the water. Go to the people, cast the hook, give your testimony, tell them about Christ, invite them to the meetings, and you, Kessler. Oh, yes, men and women need to be one for Christ. Follow me. He says, and I will make you. He can't make you a fisher of men unless you follow him. Follow me, and I will make you. Fishers of men. How can you expect God to make you a fisher of men if you don't follow him? Follow him first to the cross. Follow him into the closet in prayer. Follow him into the study where you read his word. Follow him in obedience. Follow him in separation from the world. Follow him, sir. Follow him. I will make you fishers of men. From henceforth thou shalt catch men. I would say, God, that every Christian here tonight would pray this wonderful prayer. If you would, then mean it. I believe a revival would break out in Albany. If you were conscious of lost souls around you, and in the presence of God bent and broken, you would just say, Oh, God, roll upon me the weight of immortal souls. Roll upon me the weight of a mortal soul. Men and women dying at every hand who need Christ. Many women for whom Jesus died. They need to be one in order for them to be in heaven. There are many fish swimming around in these waters around Albany. These waters of sin and death and judgment. Christ wants to catch them. And you're the fish of it. He wants to use it. Cast a line. But if you can't cast an individual line, what you should, as an individual Christian, give your personal testimony, get your hand on the net and let it be a church effort to win men and women to the Lord Jesus. And you who are not saved tonight, although I've spoken mainly to Christians, I speak to you who are not Christians. The Lord loves us, and we'd like to win you for Christ. We'd like you to be among that number, who in that day will be on yonder shore, not praising me, God forbid, but praising the one who loved you and gave himself for you. May we have the privilege of winning you to Christ tonight, shall we pray. Our Heavenly Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus, we ask thy blessing upon thy word to our heart. Oh, God grant that those of us who are saved may indeed be fishers of men. Remember the dear unsaved but audience, those who know not the Lord Jesus. We pray for them. We pray that we may win them to Christ. May thy word this night arouse within them some desire to be saved. This we ask in our Savior's precious name. Amen. Let us sing in the closing The Perlinder Hymn, just as I am. Two hundred and twenty-six. We just sing two verses. You're not a Christian, you would like to be. We give you this opportunity to come, that we may point you to the Lord Jesus Christ. Two hundred and twenty-six, just as I am without one plea. But that thy blood was shed for me, and that thou bitst me, come to thee. O Lamb of God, I come, I come. Is there one who will say yes? I'll come. standing as we sing. Just as I am without one's knee, but as thy blood was shed for me, as thou didst become To be, O Lamb, of God, I come, I come. The last verse. Just as I am the wills receive, Will dwell some heart and cleanse me, Because my promise I believe, O Lamb, the God I come. I come. Don't forget the meeting Tuesday night. We'll be glad to see every one of you back. The meeting's open.