Rob Morgan - 40 Days of Purpose: Tell Someone!

Tell Someone!

A Pocket Paper

from

The Donelson Fellowship

______________

Robert J. Morgan

May 30, 2004

When we moved into our house on Pennington Bend fifteen years ago, my girls—who were just children then—found little maple tree seedlings growing in the pots and flower beds around our house. Like a mighty commander-in-chief, a maple tree somewhere in our neighborhood had sent its army of thousands of miniature helicopters flying across our lawn, and as a result we had these little maple sprouts coming up everywhere. Our girls potted some of them, and as they grew they re-potted them and re-potted them again. By and by they were large enough for planting, and today we have a beautiful little grove of trees towering over our back deck. Do you know what they do every Spring? Each of them sends an army of thousands of little miniature helicopters flying across our lawn, and as a result I have scores and maybe hundreds of tiny little maple trees coming up in all my pots and flower beds.

Every spring, I watch the process in amazement. God placed within those maple trees an enormous and urgent drive to reproduce itself. It lives to propagate. Now my maple trees have several purposes. They provide shade. They provide limbs for hammocks and swings. They provide a home for the birds. They provide beauty all year long and especially in the Fall when their leaves change from green to red, orange, and gold. They raise their limbs heavenward in praise of their Creator. But every Spring, the most obvious thing about them is their capacity for so prolifically scattering abroad its seeds to the four winds.

Today we’re coming to the last of the five great purposes for which we’ve been made. We’re here on this earth to prolifically scatter the Gospel seed to the four winds. We’re here because we’ve got something to say, we’ve got a message to share, we’re made to evangelize. If you don’t believe this is the mission of the Christian and of the Church, just read the book of Acts. It begins with the final words of our Lord Jesus before He ascended to heaven. His last words are our first priority: You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Chapter 2 describes the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the church, and how every single believer was infused with the Spirit and spoke the message of Christ in the languages of the nations as a sign of the initiation of the era of the spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Chapter 2 also records Peter’s great sermon, and as we read through the next several chapters of Acts, everything is focused on the spreading of the Gospel and the growth of the church. By the time we come to chapter 8, the bold and persistent evangelizing activities of the early church had resulted in a backlash of persecution. And look at what it says in Acts 8:1:

At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles….

Notice that the apostles stayed in Jerusalem for now. They were like good captains, willing to go down with the ship if necessary. But it was the ordinary, run-of-the-mill Christians—the laity, the untrained non-apostles—who went out spreading the word. The evangelization of our streets and communities isn’t up to professional preachers and pastors and evangelists. Every one of us is commissioned by Jesus as an evangelist. If you know Christ as your Savior then you’re charged with the task of making Him known to others. Where did these believers go? To Judea and Samaria. This verse marks a major division in the book of Acts.

Whenever you study the Bible, it’s a good idea to see if the author of the various books gives us a summary verse that encapsulates the theme or the plan for his book. In the case of Luke and the Book of Acts, the answer is yes. Acts 1:8 is the key to understanding the entire book of Acts. In that verse we have a summary of the book’s contents coupled with a sort of table of contents for the book. And you shall receive power after the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the world.

Chapters 1 and 2 tell about the Holy Spirit coming upon them. Chapters 2-7 tell about the evangelization of Jerusalem. And now with chapter 8, we find these Spirit-anointed Christians evangelizing all Judea and Samaria. This is the Gospel pushing outward as it always does. Let’s keep reading:

Therefore those who were scattered…

The word “scattered” used here is the Greek word διασπείρω (diaspeirō). It’s the word from which we get our English word “dispersed,” and it comes from a Greek stem word meaning—what do you think? Seed! It’s the idea of scattering seed. Just think of this picture Luke gives us. God took a handful of new Christians and scattered them like a farmer scattering seed in his field. Like a maple tree sending out its whirly-birds. That’s the word-picture used here. Those who were scattered like seed went everywhere…

Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching [εὐαγγελίζω (euangelizō) – good-message / good-messaging or evangelizing] the word.

The word used here for preaching doesn’t refer to the act of getting up and delivering a formal sermon to a group of nicely-dressed, seated listeners. The word here literally means “good-message-izing.” Evangelizing. They went everywhere sharing the Good Message, the Good News.

Wouldn’t you like to have more information, more details? Don’t you wish Luke would give us a few examples of the evangelizing techniques and experiences of these scattered, persecuted, beleaguered, first-century Christians? Well, of course we would. So our writer, Luke, devotes the rest of chapter 8 to zeroing in on one prime example—a rather ordinary man like you or me named Philip. Acts 8 gives us two examples of Philip’s evangelistic activities. The first was to an entire city, and the second example is to a solitary individual. Let’s keep reading:

Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. Then Philip…

Who was Philip? The name Philip meant literally “Fond of horses” or “Horse-lover.” That doesn’t necessarily mean anything of any significance, but we know that there were four men in the New Testament who bore this name. Two of them were Roman leaders in the government. The other two were Christian leaders in the church. Of those two, one was an apostle. In the lists of the twelve original disciples of our Lord, given to us in the Gospels, there is a man named Philip. He shows up several times in Gospel stories, especially in John’s Gospel. But he isn’t the Philip that we meet here in this chapter. The Philip in Acts 8 was the fourth Philip in the Bible, and we first meet him in Acts 6, when the first deacons are appointed. He’s the vice-chairman of the deacons, his name coming right after that of Steven. He was a Hellenistic Jew, a godly man, a fervent Christian, and a gifted leader. Today we call him Philip the Evangelist. Let’s keep reading:

Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them.

What do we know about this city? Well, we have a problem with the text here. In the New King James Version, it says, “Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria.” But if you have a Bible with notes, notice that there is a textual notation that says this verse could be translated, “Philip went down to a city in Samaria.” That’s the way it’s translated in the New International Version.

We aren’t sure which translation is the correct one. It’s like saying, “Philip went to the city of New York.” Or “Philip went to a city in New York.”

In the case of Philip, however, it isn’t such a problem, because Samaria isn’t nearly as large as New York. On our last trip to Israel, I directed our bus driver to take us through Samaria. This isn’t the route usually taken by tour companies in Israel, because it can be a tense area. It is part of the occupied West Bank and heavily Palestinian now. But I wanted to see Samaria, and so we went. It was incredible. Rugged. Beautiful. And it’s still possible to visit Jacob’s well, which is an authentic biblical spot. This is the area to which Philip traveled and in one of the Samarian cities, he preached.

And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed.

Philip’s message found a very receptive audience there, and it is really quite surprising because the animosity between Jews and Samarians is similar to the animosity between Jews and Arabs in the same area today. Why was there such a good response? Well, let’s go back to my maple trees. When these little whirling seed packets fly over the land, some fall on the asphalt and some on rocks and some on very hard ground. But some fall on flower beds, flower pots, and soft, fertile ground. When we preach the same thing happens, and in this case the ground had been prepared. How? Well, this is very interesting. We have to go back to the Gospels for the answer. Let me show you three passages in Luke’s other book, the Gospel. Look at Luke 9, 10, and 11.

First, Luke 9:51ff: Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him (Jesus) to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. And when His disciples, James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” And they went to another village.

Jesus had two problems here. First, the Samaritans were not very eager to receive Him; they were resistant to Him. Second, the disciples didn’t think very highly of the Samaritans.

Jesus tackled the second problem first. Look at chapter 10. I’ll not take time to read this, but Jesus told the story of a Jewish man who was traveling the Jericho Road and who fell among thieves. The man was waylaid, stripped, mugged, robbed, beaten, and thrown like a piece of battered trash into the ditch. A Jewish priest and a Jewish Levite came along and refused to get involved; but who did come by and show compassion and show love? Who was the hero of the story? It was a Samaritan.

Now, think about this. In chapter 9, Jesus goes into a Samaritan village and is more-or-less kicked out of town, and His disciples are very angry about it. But in chapter 10, Jesus tells a story and the hero is a Samaritan. He is saying, “The Samaritan is a good neighbor. The Samaritan can be better and more loving that a Jewish Priest or Levite.” What was He doing? He was changing the way the disciples viewed the Samaritans.

Now let’s go on to Luke 17:11ff: Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village….

Jesus was persistent. He didn’t give up. He was burdened for the Samaritans, so He kept coming back. The first time, He didn’t have much success, but at least they became acquainted with His Name and who He was. He spoke highly of them before others. Now He’s going to have a little more success. He’s going to see the firstfruits of an eventual harvest.

Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”

And in this story, Jesus heals the ten lepers, and one of them is especially appreciative. And notice what Luke says about him in verse 16: …and (he) fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.

Do you think this nameless Samaritan leper had a testimony to take back to his family and friends?

And so in the unfolding of time, Jesus returned to heaven, the Holy Spirit descended, the church was born, persecution arose, and Philip went into this area which Jesus had occasionally visit—and now the harvest came. An entire city came to Christ.

I wonder if it was the city that had earlier rejected Him. I wonder if it was the hometown of the leper who was healed and who gave thanksgiving? Luke doesn’t tell us, but he does give us enough information to let us know that the harvest usually doesn’t come on the very day the seed it planted. It takes time, but we shouldn’t be weary in well-doing—in evangelizing—for we shall reap in due season if we faint not.

And notice the last verse of the story—Acts 8:8: And there was great joy in the city.

Now, based on all this, I would like to share with you seven things that have helped me in evangelistic work. I’m not an evangelist by nature, by personality, or by gift. I’m envious of those who are, and I used to earnestly pray that God would give me the gift of evangelism. I long more than anything to see people come to Jesus Christ in great numbers. But God has not gifted me as an evangelist the way He has gifted many others.

But we are—every one of us—to do the work of evangelism whether we are gifted or not and whether it comes naturally or not. The Great Commission wasn’t just given to a few people. It is the obligation of every Christian; and I firmly believe that there are people in this world that only you can win and that only I can win. You might be the only Christian that somebody knows, and the Bible says, “He who wins souls is wise.”

So I made up my mind that I would do my best to lead people to Christ even though the gift of evangelism is not my primary gift in life. I’ve been at it for over thirty years now, and I’ve found seven things that have helped me very much. I’d like to share them with you today and tonight.

1. Holy Spirit Excitement

The first is Holy Spirit excitement. My testimony about this is very simple. When I was in High School, I was a church-going Christian without a lot of excitement and enthusiasm about the Lord. In fact, I was embarrassed for my friends to know that I secretly harbored a desire to go into the ministry. I didn’t want them to know that I read my Bible every night in bed, and I recall how utterly humiliated I was when my father, who taught at the same high school I attended, started bragging about me to others, saying that he was proud of how I read and studied my Bible every day. I was just mortified.

Two years later, as a sophomore in college, God dealt with my heart and I fully yielded my life to Christ as seriously and sincerely as I knew how. I asked Him to take me and fill me with His Holy Spirit. On that evening, September 2, 1971, I told Him I was willing to go where He sent and do what He said. And as I went to bed that evening, I felt an excitement for Jesus Christ that I had never felt before, and I couldn’t wait for morning to come so that I could tell someone else about it.

Before that point, I was embarrassed about being a Christian. Now, I couldn’t wait to tell others what Jesus meant to me. I couldn’t hold it in.

I felt like Peter. Before the Day of Pentecost, he was embarrassed and denied three times that he knew the Nazarene. After the Day of Pentecost, when the Jewish Ruling Council forbad him and his colleagues from preaching, he said, “We cannot help but speak of the things that we have seen and heard.”

And when, years later, he wrote to converts in Asia Minor, he gave them this advice about it: Always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is within you.

In other words, when you give yourself without reservation to Jesus Christ and when His Holy Spirit really takes over in your life, you can’t keep quiet. There’s a hope within you, a glow about you, and you become a man or a woman with a mission.

This is the very point Jesus was making in Matthew 5. He said: You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Two or three years ago, I was teaching a young preacher the techniques of interpreting the Bible and developing sermons. So he developed a sermon from this text about Christians being the salt of the earth. He brought it to me and I read it. I was horrified. He had about six or seven points about how Christians are like salt. He said Christians are like salt in that they are preservatives. Just as salt keeps meat from decaying, so the presence of Christians in a society slows down the rate of moral decay in a culture. Just as salt makes people thirsty, the presence of Christians in a society should make people thirsty for the Word of God. And so forth.

Well, those things may be true. But Jesus only had one point in this passage about salt—and it wasn’t about being a preservative or making people thirsty. Look again at verse 13: You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

In other words, here you have two substances—salt and dirt. What’s the difference? The salt is very useful and valuable because it has a distinctive flavor. It has a distinctive mission. It has a distinctive characteristic. It is salty. It is pungent. You know it’s there. And if it loses that distinctive characteristic, that saltiness, that pungent flavor—it’s no better than ordinary dirt.

Christians have a distinctive flavor about us. We’re different from everyone else. We have a pungent distinctive. People know we’re around. We can’t be missed. But if we lose this distinctive flavor, we’re no better than ordinary dirt.

We’re like a lamp giving off its light. If it stops shining, it’s worthless.

It is in the nature of salt to be salty. It’s in the nature of a lamp to give off light. It’s then nature of a maple tree to send out helos. It’s the nature of a Christian to beam Jesus out of our lives into the world. Jesus said, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” It only stands to reason that if we aren’t fishing, we aren’t following.

2. Learning a System

Second, it helps us to learn a system.

When John the Baptist was preaching in the wilderness, the people came and heard his message and they were convicted in their hearts. And they asked one question: “What shall we do?”

On the Day of Pentecost, Peter preached a great sermon and the multitude was convicted in their hearts and they cried out, saying, “What shall we do?”

When the Apostle Paul was imprisoned in the city of Philippi, bruised and bleeding from a beating, he found himself singing at midnight, and the other prisoners were listening to him. The Lord sent an earthquake, and in the ensuing bedlam, someone cried out, “What shall we do to be saved?”

John and Peter and Paul were all able to briefly and concisely answer that question. They were able, using a few words and a brief presentation, to lead people to faith in Christ. Can you? Can I? It helps to learn a system.

Shortly after I gave my life whole-heartedly to Christ, I took a course in personal evangelism and I began learning a method to use in leading people to Christ. Now I have four different plans that I use, depending on the circumstances.

Most often now I use the FAITH outline, because that’s the system we teach and learn here at The Donelson Fellowship in our FAITH classes. It uses the word FAITH as an acrostic giving various elements of the Gospel truth: Forgiveness, Available, Impossible, Turn, and Heaven. This is a good time for me to invite you to become part of our FAITH outreach ministry.

But I also sometimes use the old Romans Road. This is a system that takes four verses or passages from the book of Romans lead someone to an understanding of the Gospel.

· Romans 3:23: All have sinned….

· Romans 6:23: The wages of sin is death…

· Romans 5:8: But God demonstrated His love for us in this, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

· Romans 10:9-10 & 13: If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved….

Sometimes I just go to John 3:16. That’s a great verse to use for leading someone to Christ for two reasons: First, it is the best-known verse in the Bible; and (2) it contains all the element s of the Gospel: For God: And I talk a little about who God is. So loved: And I explain how God loves us despite our sins. The world: That includes you. That He gave His only begotten Son: That refers to Jesus Christ who died on the cross for us. That whosoever believeth in Him: That’s what we have to do. Shall not perish but have eternal life. That’s the gift God wants to give us.

And sometimes I just a plan called the Bridge to Life which uses Romans 6:23, which is perhaps the most comprehensive verse in the entire Bible in summarizing the Gospel: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Take one of those plans, and begin practicing it. Memorize it. Learn it. Practice on one another. Go over it in the mirror. I can promise you that if you will do these first two things—get the excitement of the Holy Spirit within you and learn a plan for presenting the Gospel—you’ll become a soul-winner. Sooner or later, you’ll win someone to the Lord.

3. Reading Books on Personal Evangelism

Now a third thing that has helped me has been reading books on personal evangelism. I have about twenty of them that I’ve collected over the years, and most of them were written long ago. There aren’t many books being published now on the subjects of soul-winning and personal evangelism. But let me just read you the opening page of one of my favorites. It’s a book entitled Taking Men Alive by H. Clay Trumbull. The first chapter opens with three points followed by an incredible observation from the Greek language. Trumbull says:

If Jesus of Nazareth had not been a Master Fisherman, the work of extending His Kingdom among men would have ended with His death. If we do not learn and practice His art of fishing, or “taking men alive”, we shall be failures in the chief work of His Kingdom on earth.

And the fishing unto eternal life must be done individually. Let us therefore consider at the outset these three truths: (1) The work of individual soul-winning is the greatest work that God permits men to do. (2) It was Christ’s own preferred method of work, as it is His preferred method for us today. For it is always the most effective way of working. (3) It is the hardest work in the world to do, and it always will be the hardest.

But then Trumbull goes on to point out a particular word that occurs only two times in the Greek New Testament. It’s the word ζωγρέω (zōgreō). Notice the contrast of the way this word used in these two passages. The word means to capture or to catch, to take alive, to capture alive.

The first time the passage occur is in Luke 5:10, Jesus said to Simon Peter after the miraculous catch of fish on the Sea of Galilee: Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.

The second and last time this word occurs is in 2 Timothy 2:26 where it talks about the devil who has taken people captive by him to do his will. In this passage, Satan has captured people.

Everyone in this world is going to be captured. Everyone’s going to be caught. The devil is a fisher of men. He wants to take men alive. The Savior is a Fisher of men; He wants to take people alive, and everyone is eventually going to be captured by Satan or by the Savior. And if they’re captured by the Savior, it’s your responsible and mine to catch them, for He said to His disciples, Follow Me, and I will make YOU to become fishers of men. We are to take men and women and boys and girls alive.

Well, when I read something like this—believe me—it motivates and encourages me to be a better soul-winner. So find a book on personal evangelism and read it.

4. Prayer

The fourth secret is prayer. Prayer and Personal evangelism go hand-in-hand, because the job of taking people alive is a partnership between us and the Lord. We can’t do His part, which is to convict of sin and covert the heart. We can only do our part, so it behooves us to pray that as we’re doing our part, God will be doing His, inclining people toward the Savior.

Paul said, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.”

Keep a small list of people in your prayer journal, and pray that God will win those people to Himself. Ask Him to direct you to those you can influence toward Christ. Say:

Lord, lay some soul upon my heart,

And love that soul through me,

And may I humbly do my part

To Win that soul to Thee.

5. Giving to the Lord’s Work

Fifth, I’ve learned that I can spread the Gospel to others through living a life of financial stewardship. This past semester at FAITH we had ten people who professed faith in Jesus Christ as our teams went out. This ministry of FAITH would not be possible were it not for the tithes and offering of our people, making possible the on-going ministries of our church. The children who grow up in our church and launch into adulthood knowing Christ as their Savior would have been sorely handicapped in their spiritual development without a strong local church providing them a Christian environment during their formative years. The missionaries we send out depend on our financial resources. Yet I read last year one of the most amazing statistics I’ve ever read: A recent newspaper report said that if American Christians would simply give the biblical tithe to the Lord, an additional $143 billion dollars would flow annual into His worldwide work. That’s billion with a “b.” That’s an unbelievable sum. Despite being the most affluent generation in history, only a fraction of believers tithe from their income to the ministry of the Gospel, and I think God is going to hold American Christians accountable for the materialistic way in which they have used for themselves the wealth that God gave us for the evangelization of our communities and of our world. On the other hand, what a blessing to get to heaven and find a harvest of souls there because we gave $7000 worth of Gideon Bibles in Brandon Rowe’s memory. Who knows the lives that will be touched by the funds we gave.

6. Jumping Off the High Board

Sixth, it has helped me to be a better evangelist that I grew up in the day in which swimming pools had high diving boards. When I was a boy, I spent most of my summer at the swimming pool. There were several in our town. One was the public pool down in the part of town known as Blackbottom. Another was the pool at the Franklin Club which was a private pool. Another was up in Hampton, and a fourth was on Watauga Lake. The pool at Blackbottom had a high diving board, and the one at Hampton also had a high diving board that was attached somehow to the roof of the bathhouse.

I don’t suppose that swimming pools have high diving boards anymore because of all the ridiculous insurance regulations that are strangling our society. But I grew up back when people were free to break their necks if they wanted to, and I vividly recall watching people jump and dive off those high boards. One day I garnered my courage and headed up the ladder. As impressive as those diving boards seemed when I looked up them from below, it was nothing compared to the sheer terror I felt when I stood on the end of the board and looked at the water a mile or so below me—or so it seemed. I almost chickened out, but everyone was watching and so I had no choice but to close my eyes and leap out onto thin air.

The thing is, I never got used to it. In the years that followed, I jumped off the high board hundreds of times, but I never got over the fear. It was always a moment of sheer terror. And frankly, that’s sort of the way I feel about witnessing.

I remember after I’d given my life fully to the Lord and I was excited about Him, wanting to share Him with others, that a friend suggested we go to the new shopping mall in Columbia and witness to strangers about Christ. I was terrified, but I went—and during the course of the year we saw some professions of faith. When I started pastoring in the hills of Tennessee, I would go up and down the country roads, knocking on doors and inviting people to Jesus—but it was always outside my comfort zone; yet somehow by God’s grace I did it, and saw some people come to Christ. Even now, after all these years, I sometimes feel a moment of anxiety as I walk up the sidewalk on a FAITH visit or share my faith with someone on an airplane. But I’m so glad I learned to leap out onto thin air as a boy because it serves me in good stead now.

Witnessing for the Lord sometimes pushes us outside our comfort zone, but when the Lord leads us and opens a door, we just have to take the plunge and do it anyway, trusting Him to bless. And He will give us souls in His timing for our labors.

7. Learning to Trust God with the Results

And that leads to the last thing that has helped me—I’ve learned to trust God with the results. It’s possible to go for days or weeks or months or years witnessing for the Lord without seeing an actual profession of faith. But it is very important to cast out discouragement before it ever has a chance to sneak into your heart. This is one work that must be undertaken by sheer faith whether we see immediate results or not. It is often likened in the Bible to farming, and we seldom see a harvest during planting season.

Remember how James and John were discouraged and disgusted with their initial attempts to win that city in Samaria? But Jesus said, “Let’s not call fire down from heaven on them yet, boys. Let’s give them time. I’ve come to save people, not to destroy them.” Sometime later, a grateful leper became the firstfruits. Months passed; perhaps years. And when Philip went down to Samaria in the power of the Lord, it was harvest season.

Let’s just keep planting, knowing that the Word of God is sure when it says: “Let us not become weary in well-doing (evangelizing) for we shall reap a harvest if we faint not.”

I’ve just finished writing the second volume of hymn stories, entitled Then Sings My Soul: Book 2. Of all the interesting stories I uncovered, none moved me more than the story behind the hymn, “God Leads Us Along.”

George Young, a carpenter, and his wife dedicated their lives to following the Lord, wherever He would lead. “He does the leading,” they often said, “and we do the following.” God led them to the rural Midwest, and the traveled from church to church in revival efforts. Their finances were always tight, but, “through the many years we never went hungry!” Mrs. Young said years later. “Oh, sometimes we didn’t have too much of this world’s goods but… we always had so much of Jesus.”

Finally they saved enough to buy a small piece of land on which George built a cottage. Though small, it was the fulfillment of a life’s dream, and when they moved it they dedicated the house to God and sang the Doxology. But some time later, when the Youngs were away on a ministry trip, a thug who had been offended by George’s preaching set the house afire. Returning home, the Youngs found a heap of ashes. All their worldly goods and cherished possessions were gone.

As George gazed at the ruins, he recounted the precious possessions fire could never destroy—his family, his relationship with Christ, his ministry, his eternal home. There and then, the words to “God Leads Us Along” began forming in his mind. Within a few days, he had written all three stanzas.

Years later, Dr. Harold Lillenas, seeking to track down George’s widow, drove to the small Kansas town where she resided. Stopping for directions, he was alarmed to hear that Mrs. Young was living in the rundown Country Poor House. Lillenas was deeply troubled that the widow of the author of such a hymn about God’s guidance should spend her final days in the Poor House. But when he finally found her, Mrs. Young explained, “One day God took my sweet husband home. Oh, how I missed him, for we had always served the Lord together. In my heart I wondered—where will God now lead me? Dr. Lillenas, God led me here! I’m so glad He did, for you know, about every month someone comes into this place to spend the rest of their days, and, Dr. Lillenas, so many of them don’t know my Jesus. I’m having the time of my life introducing them to Jesus! Dr. Lillenas, isn’t it wonderful how God leads?”

God wants to lead you to introduce someone, somewhere to the Lord Jesus. Perhaps He wants to use you, like Philip, to win an entire city to Him. Just be faithful, and be true to the one who said, “Follow Me, and I will make you to be fishers of men.”