An Urgent Request for an Immediate Answer

An Urgent Request for an Immediate Answer

(No. 2231)

A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1891,

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORDS-DAY EVENING, MAY
10, 1891.

"And now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and
if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left."
Genesis 24:49.

THE chapter from which the text is taken bristles with points. There is
a remarkable parallel between Eliezer seeking a wife for Isaac and the
ministers of Christ seeking souls for Jesus. It is something more than
an allegory. It is really a very instructive parable of how we are to
deal for our Master with the souls of men and women. For as truly as
Abraham sent his servant to seek a bride for his son, we are
commissioned to search for those who shall be brought into the Church,
and at last, as the bride of Christ, sit down at the marriage feast in
the Glory Land above!

You will notice how Eliezer prayed all along the way. He had no doubt
in his mind as to whether God interfered in human affairs, but boldly
and simply sought to know His will. Then, having presented his
petition, we find him in quiet confidence holding his peace, "to wit
whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not." And when
success crowned his efforts, he was forward to acknowledge that the
speedy fulfillment of his objective was in answer to his supplication.
It was the guidance of God and not his own acuteness or wisdom, which
led to such a favorable issue. Thus it is also with every true minister
of the New Testament. Oh, if we do not pray for you, my dear Hearers,
our preaching to you will be hypocrisy! We shall never speak to men for
God with any power of persuasion unless, first, we speak to God for men
with power of supplication! Not without many a prayer and many a
heaving of my heart in sighs have I come here to speak to you tonight.
I believe that I am sent to find out some appointed for Christ in the
Divine purpose and Covenant and I pray my Master that there may be many
such!

While this trusty servant thus prayed to his master's God, see how
loyal he was to his master. He evidently realized that he was not on
his own errand, but was the chosen instrument to do his lord's will.
The phrase, "my master," is the refrain of this chapter. The word,
"master," occurs 22 times. Eliezer did not aspire to any independence
of Abraham, or of Abraham's son. His thoughts were of his master–his
words were in praise of his master–his deeds on behalf of his master.
He was not his own, but the bond-servant of another. This is also our
position. Woe to the minister who loses sight of the true relationship
between himself and his Lord, or who begins to think of serving his own
interests rather than that of Him who called and sent him! My Brothers
and Sisters, we are not our own, but the slaves of Christ! May our
hearts be always kept loyal to Him! May our lips constantly speak His
praise! May our lives always witness to our devotion to our Lord!
Nothing we have is our own–all is His–and His absolute ownership of
us and ours is our highest delight!

George Herbert speaks of the "Oriental fragrance" which dwells in the
words, "My Master." It is, indeed, a name full of sweet savor and holy
gladness. Even here it is Heaven to serve Him! But what will it be to
see His face, when His bride is brought safely home?–

"O Jesus, You have promised To all who follow Thee That where You are
in Glory, There shall Your servant be! And Jesus, I have promised To
serve You to the end. Oh, give me Grace to follow,

My Master and my Friend."

See how alert Eliezer was to seize the opportunity of obeying his
master's orders. His love to Abraham made him quick to carry out the
commission with which he was charged. When Rebekah came to the well, he
began the conversation in the same way as the Lord Jesus, long
afterwards, at Jacob's well, began to talk to the woman of Samaria. He
asked her to give him a drink. The two scenes by the well might almost
form companion pictures. Then he very skillfully found out her name and
was invited to her father's house as a guest. I always feel a special
joy when I hear of the visit of a servant of God to a house being the
means of winning some member of the household for his Master! We should
always aim to make our visits a blessing to those with whom we visit.
It speaks much for the consistent life of the man who is enabled to do
so. If we realize that we are always on our Master's service, we shall
bear a good testimony before those with whom we come in contact, making
it quite clear that we watch for souls as those that must give
account–that we may do it with joy–and not with grief.

One other thing in this man is noteworthy. He meant business and went
with unerring aim straight to the mark. He had not many purposes, but
only one. He did not go there for anything else but to find a wife for
Isaac. And when he got into pretty comfortable quarters and had been
called, by Laban, "the blessed of the Lord," he was not satisfied. He
meant business and would not even eat the meat set before him until he
had explained his errand. Like every true servant of Christ, he put his
Master's business before his own ease or comfort–even before the
question of necessary food. When a man begins to think more of his
eating than of doing the will of God, he ceases to be a true-hearted
minister! Let us imitate the thoroughness of Abraham's servant in this
matter. He told Bethuel and Laban what he came for and, before he
finished his address, he turned to them and said distinctly, "Now, what
answer do you mean to give to my master's message? I cannot be kept in
suspense. If you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me.
And if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand, or to the
left."

I. Notice, first, that HE STATED HIS CASE. You must not expect men to
come to a decision upon a matter which has not been laid before them.
Our good young Brother who goes into the pulpit and cries, "Believe,
believe," but does not tell his hearers what is to be believed, has not
accomplished much! You cannot ask people to buy if you have no goods to
show them. But Eliezer opened his pack, exposed his wares and sought,
at once, to do business on his master's account. What did he say to his
interested listeners?

To begin with, he told them that his master was great and gave them
some idea how rich he was, for he went over the list of his
possessions–his flocks and herds, his silver and gold, his camels and
asses, his menservants and maidservants. Thus did he commend his
master, as I would also seek to commend mine. Language fails me to
speak of His greatness! This world is His and all the worlds that He
has made. "The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, says the Lord of
Hosts." He lays claim to all things in the earth, animate and
inanimate. "Every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a
thousand hills." None other can be mentioned beside Him. "Who has
measured the waters in the hollow of His hand and meted out Heaven with
the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and
weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?" So great
is He that all other things are small compared with Him. "Behold, the
nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of
the balance: behold, He takes up the isles as every little thing." Is
He not a glorious Master to serve? "How great is His goodness and how
great is His beauty!"

Having first spoken of his master, he told them that his master's son
was his heir. That was a very important point in the business. And he
spoke about how his master had put all that he had into the hands of
his son–that the promises were his and that the inheritance would come
to him. He called the son, "master," equally with the father. I also
desire to glorify God and to magnify Christ Jesus, His Only-Begotten
and Well-Beloved Son. It is the Father's will "that all men should
honor the Son, even as they honor the Father." He is His Father's
heir–He claimed the title in His parable of the wicked husbandmen.
When we come on our Master's business, we seek those who shall become
"heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ."

This is the third point with Eliezer–he wanted one who would leave her
home and go and be one with his master's son. He said that his master's
son needed a wife and he had come to seek one for him. He needed one
who would be willing to go on a long and venturous journey and be a
pilgrim in a strange land with her husband. He would have no other than
one who would give herself up to the God of Israel and take a full
share with Isaac in the Covenant blessing. Well, now, that is my case,
too. The Lord God, the Creator of Heaven and earth, has all manner of
good things to bestow upon the

sinful sons of men. There is no measuring the Grace and love of God and
He would have you to be His people that He may be your God. He wants
those who will be willing to leave all and be united to His
Only-Begotten Son, the Lord Jesus, who for our salvation came down from
Heaven and took our nature, and lived in it–who took our sin and died
for us–that we might be pardoned and forever saved. The Son must see
of the travail of His soul. There must be souls that shall be eternally
saved through believing on Him. He cannot die in vain! He must have a
people who shall be to Him a bride, with whom He shall delight Himself
forever and ever. And the question is, are there any such here? Are
there any here who will yield themselves to His sweet love, who will
trust themselves with Him, as Rebekah trusted herself with Isaac–who
will come out of the world–and live the separated life with Him? This
is the errand on which we have come.

And Eliezer added that he hoped that he had found the right person. He
believed that it was Rebekah, for he had put it before God in
prayer–and in answer to his prayer she had come. She had done exactly
as he had laid it down in prayer that she should do. Now, I have a hope
dancing in my heart that I have, on this occasion, found the right
person. I often wonder why some people are here. There has come into
the Tabernacle on the Lord's-Day, many a time, a runaway from his
father's house in the country. He has come to London to sin and he has
little thought that he came to London to be saved–but here the Word of
God has laid hold upon him! There has dropped in here a sailor who had
only been a day or two in port, and the last thing that he ever thought
was that he should be converted! But here he came and found eternal
life! Your coming here in such numbers and your eyes, as you look at
me, encourage me, while your willingness to hear what I have to say
inspires me to fearlessly deliver my Master's message! Surely God means
to bless you! If He gives the hearing ear, will He not give the broken
heart? And if He has led you to be anxious to listen to my message, are
you not, many of you, the very persons whom He has appointed to be
forever united to His beloved Son?

The case being thus faithfully stated by Eliezer, he now pressed for a
reply. "If you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. If
Rebekah will go with me to be the wife of Isaac, tell me." So I put it
to you. If you are willing to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and are
ready to leave the world and all its temptations and come to Him, say
so! Tell me. Let us know if you have now come to a turning point. You
remember how the Roman ambassadors demanded of some who came to them
that they should, on the spot, decide whether they meant war with Rome
or submission to it? When they asked for time, the ambassadors drew a
circle round them, and said, "Before you exit that circle, you must
settle whether it is to be peace or war." I would draw, here, a circle
round some of you and say, "Your portion must be either salvation or
damnation. You have already been hesitating and halting too long. Do
not leave that seat till you have decided, one way or the other."

There is, just under the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral, a spot which I
once had pointed out to me–it must have been 40 years ago–where a
workman, busily engaged at the top of the dome, fell, and, of course,
was dashed to pieces on the floor. And I saw the mark of his chisel on
the place where he was killed. I wonder whether there are any marks in
these pews where souls were lost, where some have parleyed with God,
refused His Grace, resisted His Spirit and gone thenceforth the
downward road? I would to God that, instead thereof, there might be
some mark where the Grace of God has worked effectual salvation! I
believe there is not a single pew or seat in the aisles in this place,
that might not legitimately be marked as a place where souls have been
saved, for, time out of mind, when friends come here and speak on
Monday nights, you must have noticed how one of them says, "The third
seat from that pillar over yonder was the place where I sat when the
Light of God came." And another says, "Christ found me in a back seat
in the top gallery," and so on, until they have pointed to almost every
part of the building as the place where God has called someone by His
Grace! I hope that some of you are now sitting in the very spot where
you are predestinated to be born again unto everlasting life!

II. In the second place, it is clearly set before us, that when Eliezer
had stated his case, HE WISHED TO HAVE A FAVORABLE REPLY. I might
almost say he expected it. After his wonderful guidance and his
hospitable reception, his hopes would rise high that his quest would be
speedily brought to a satisfactory end.

If a favorable reply was given to him, it would enable him to execute
his errand. Whereas, if the answer was against him, he could not, then,
carry out his master's orders. If no soul gets saved through this
discourse, I cannot carry on my business. "Oh, well," says one, "a man
may preach very faithfully and yet he may have no souls saved." Yes, a
fisherman may fish and never catch any fish, but he is not much of a
fisherman, and so, if there were no souls saved, perhaps I might find
some way of satisfying my conscience, but it is unknown to me as yet! I
have never sought such a solace and hope I never shall. With me it is,
"Give me children, or else I die." If you are not saved and brought to
Christ, I feel as if I must

give up my work of preaching to you. I cannot stand here beating the
air. If my hearers are not converted, I have lost my time–I have lost
the exercise of brain and heart! I feel as if I had lost my hope and
lost my life unless I find for my Lord some of His blood-bought
ones–and I must find some of them by this sermon!

I think that Eliezer longed for a favorable reply because it would be
an answer to his prayer. Possibly you have not prayed for yourself, but
we have prayed for you–not that we know your name, or your case–but
we have often gone over in secret a case just like yours, and we can
say that we have brought you before God in earnest supplication. And
perhaps there are godly people at home who are praying that as you are
here, you may get a blessing. I frequently see people who come to join
the Church and they say, "My husband is not converted," or, "My
daughter is not converted." "Do you get them to come and hear the
Word?" I ask. "Oh, yes, Sir, they come and hear!" "Well," I have said,
"if you get them into the battle, where the shots are flying, they are
very likely to be wounded." So we have often prayed that when some of
you have been persuaded to come and hear the Word of God, the Spirit of
God may get hold of you and that you may fall wounded beneath His sharp
sword, or receive an arrow between the joints of the harness!

The principal reason, however, why this good man wanted to find a
willing response about Rebekah was because it would gladden his
master's son. "Oh," he thought, "what joy I shall give him if I take
back to him the right woman, the wife whom God has appointed for him!
He has lost his mother, Sarah, and he is pining and grieving. But if I
can take him back one who will fill her place in his tender heart, I
shall rejoice." As for us, our one business is to make glad the heart
of Christ! His heart was pierced with a spear after having been broken
with great anguish–and there is nothing that will refresh Him like a
soul yielding itself to His care. Who will do that here? Are there any
in this house who are now saying, "I will belong to Christ from this
time forth. I will trust Him, for He loved me, and gave Himself for
me"? Happy messenger, to stand here and tell His story, and to say, "My
Lord is waiting for you in the far country. He has sent me to invite
you to share with Him all that He has! If your heart is willing to take
Him, He gives Himself to you."

His only complaint is, "You will not come unto Me that you might have
life." And His declaration is, "Him that comes to Me I will in no wise
cast out." Any, "him" that comes to Him, He will receive and bless!
Eliezer was quite sure his master would deal tenderly and truly with
Rebekah, therefore he asked her father and brother to "deal kindly and
truly" with him. I am quite sure that my Master will deal "kindly and
truly" with you–He could not do otherwise! If you but knew His heart,
or had a glimpse of His beauty, you would hesitate no longer. Will you
not give Him a favorable answer, and say, "Yes, we will deal kindly and
truly with your Master, and will yield our hearts to Him at once and
forever"?

I think, too, that Eliezer had begun to feel that it would be for
Rebekah's benefit to go to his master. He had seen her face at the
well. He liked the style of the young woman and he thought, "If I can
get her for Isaac, she will be settled in life; she will be the
mistress and queen of a great household; she will have a happy husband
and all that her heart can desire." As I think of some here who have
never found peace, I say to myself that if I could only get you to
Christ, how happy you would be! If you would come and trust Him, your
everlasting fortune would be made. If you would yield yourselves to
Him, there would be an end of sin, an end of doubt, an end of fear and
an end of terror. You would be saved! Your morality, which is now so
precarious, would rise into a solid spirituality, for you would be made
holy through the indwelling Spirit. Seeing that this would be the case,
could I do you a better turn than to lead you to Jesus?

John B. Gough tells a story of how he was fetched from a railway
station to speak. one night, and the cab that was sent for him had a
broken window. He noticed that the man who came in the cab put a
handkerchief over his head as he sat close up against the hole in the
window–and then he observed that he put his head against the window.
Mr. Gough said, "Have you a cold in your head?" "No," he said, "but
there is a nasty hole in this pane of glass and I am afraid that you
may take cold. I am sticking my head into the hole to shield you, for
you taught me to be a man and a Christian." Such gratitude as that was
most touching–and if we can bring any to Christ, I am sure they will
be very grateful to us. If we can lead them to Jesus, they will feel as
if they could not do too much for us. therefore out of love to them,
having so many who are now our dear children in Christ, we would plead
with them, and say, "Give us a good answer and say 'Yes' to the
overture of our Master's Son."

III. But now the point of the text is that HE WAS DETERMINED TO HAVE AN
ANSWER. He says, "If you will deal kindly and truly with my master,
tell me: and if not, tell me." He would have their answer, whether it
was, "Yes," or, "No." "If not, tell me." May I ask that everyone here
will say, "Yes," or, "No," to the invitation to give himself up

to Christ? If you will do so, say, "I will." If you will not do so, say
deliberately, "I will not." I wish I could get hold of an undecided man
and, taking his hand, could say to him, "Now, you must tell me which it
will be." I can imagine some of you would say, "Oh, give me time to
consider!" and I would reply, "You have had time to consider. Your hair
is getting gray." In spite of all our entreaties, people say, "Oh, but
I do not like to decide so suddenly!" If I asked you whether you would
be honest, I hope that you would not take many minutes to answer that!
Why, then, should you hesitate so long in giving your adherence to
Christ? I am like Abraham's servant–I must have an answer!

But can we rightly press men to decide if we fear that they will
answer, "No"? I think we may, because, from the nature of the case, no
answer means a denial. How many of our hearers have thus, for years,
turned their back upon Christ by the simple method of giving no answer
at all? "We hear what you say, Sir," they murmur, "and thank you for
saying it," but, nevertheless, they go out and go on their way–and
forget what manner of men they are! Such a response is a refusal–and
it is none the less a refusal because you will probably retort, "But I
did not say, 'No,' Sir. Indeed, one of these days I may, perhaps, say,
'Yes.'" But, meanwhile, you reject the proposal and refuse to give
yourself up to the Lord! The question is, Will you believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ? The absence of an affirmative answer means, "No, I will
not." I am sure that it does in every case. No argument can be raised
about that.

But if you will answer me, "No, I will not have Christ. I will not
believe on Him. I will not become a Christian. I will not leave my old
ways–I mean to go on in them," well, I thank you for the answer,
pained as I am, because now we can talk it over! This is better than no
response, for now we have something to work upon. An ill answer can be
considered, while no answer baffles all our efforts to help you! It is
far more hopeful to encounter opposition than to meet with
indifference. It is a great thing, when a ship is at sea, for the
captain to know whereabouts he is–and when we meet with those who
distinctly reject Christ–we at once know our bearings. If you say,
"No, I am not a Christian and I do not want to be," so far you are
honest and I need you, now, to think it over.

Would you like to die in this frame of mind? You may die where you are
sitting! Are you wise to come to this determination? Do you think that
this is a resolution which you can justify before the judgement bar of
God? You will certainly have to appear there! After death you will rise
again when the trumpet of the archangel sounds and, as surely as you
are here, you will have to stand before the Great White Throne whereon
Christ will sit as Judge! How will the resolution which you have now
made stand the light of that tremendous Day? I pray you, think of it,
and I hope that you will alter your decision as many another man has
done when he has calmly considered the magnitude of the issues at stake
and the awful result which must come of rejecting Him who is now the
Savior, but who will one day sit as the Judge!

But we are the more determined to press you for some decision because
an ill answer will set us free to go to others. You see, Eliezer says,
"If not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left."
Do not suppose that if you refuse Christ, He will lose the effect of
His death! "He shall see of the travail of His soul and shall be
satisfied." If you will not come unto Him, others will. If you reject
Him, He has a people who will accept Him, by His almighty Grace. O
Sirs, if you that hear the Gospel will not have my Master, we will go
and bring in the publicans and harlots–and they shall enter the
Kingdom of Heaven before you! Sons of pious parents, children of Sunday
schools, if you believe not, you shall be cast into "outer darkness"
where shall be "weeping and gnashing of teeth"–while the people whom
you despise– infidels and profligates, the very scum of society, shall
accept the Savior and live!

Oh, I charge you, think not that your refusal of the Gospel invitation
will leave any gaps in the ranks of the redeemed! Our Savior, in His
parable of the marriage of the king's son, foretold what will happen.
The king said to his servants, "The wedding is ready, but they which
were bidden were not worthy. Go you, therefore, into the highways and
as many as you shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went
out into the highways and gathered together all as many as they found,
both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests." But I
would urge you to yield yourself unto the Lord, that you may be found
at the marriage supper of the Lamb. Do not trifle with eternal matters!
If you want to play the fool, do it with counters or with pebbles, but
not with your soul that shall live forever in bliss or in woe!

My importunity with you is strengthened when I think that, perhaps, if
you give me the answer straight out, "No, I am not a Christian and I do
not mean to be one," you may, in saying it, see more clearly what a
terrible decision you have arrived at. An ill answer may startle you
and ultimately lead you to repent of your folly and reverse your
decision! If you would write down–"I am not a Christian and I never
mean to be one," it might startle you still more. I challenge you to

do so! And when it is written, put it over the mantelpiece and look at
it. It will be far better to do that, horrible as it is, than to
continue in this state of wicked suspense, indifferent as to whether
you are lost or saved, undecided whether you are for Christ or against
Him and yet, in your heart of hearts, dead in trespasses and sins! In
this very place, I once urged those who were undecided to go home and
write down, either the word, "Saved," or, "Lost," and sign their name
to the paper. One man, when he got into his house, asked for pen and
paper. And when his wife enquired why he wanted it, he said he was
going to do what the parson said and write down, "Lost." She refused to
fetch him the paper if he was going to do that.

So he got it himself and put down a capital L. At that time his little
girl climbed up in the chair behind him and said, "No, father, you
shan't do that! I'd rather die than you should do that"–and the
child's tears fell on his hand as she spoke. What my sermon had failed
to do, those tears accomplished! The strong man was bowed and yielded
himself to Christ–and when they got up from their knees in that little
room, he took the pen, and changing the L into an S, wrote "Saved." He
was saved because he came face to face with the fact that he was lost!
His ill answer startled both himself and his child! May God work the
same change in you, both for your own sake and also for the sake of
your loved ones!

I want to press you for some kind of answer because, like Eliezer, I
have promised my Master to make a search for you and an ill answer will
clear me of my oath. If I can get a, "No," from you as your answer, and
am certain that you will not go with me to my Master's Son, I shall be
clear. It was so with Abraham's servant–he and his master agreed to
that at the first. When men say, "No," and entreaties are of no further
use, and the preaching of the Gospel has no power over them, then we
must leave them and carry the glad tidings to others, just as Paul and
Barnabas of old said to the angry Jews at Antioch, "It was necessary
that the Word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing
you put it from you and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life,
lo, we turn to the Gentiles." I beseech you, do not put Christ away
from you! And I press you for a definite answer. I say, as Eliezer
said, "If you will deal kindly and truly with my Master, tell me: and
if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left."

Now I want to have a little talk with you over this matter. My dear
Friend, you are in peril of eternal death. While you are hesitating,
life is ebbing. During the past few months, how many of our dear
friends have been taken away by influenza and other causes! This
congregation has suffered from sickness, in family after family, as I
never knew it suffer before! May you not be taken? I charge you,
therefore, do not act as though you had plenty of time. Possibly you
have not another week to live! The clock, as it ticks, seems to me to
say, "Now, now, now, now, now, now." And for some of you, there is an
alarm in the clock, which, when it runs down, utters this warning, "Now
or never, now or never, now or never."

After all, the matter that we have in hand is not one that requires
great debate! Whether I will believe the Truth of God or not should not
be a matter of discussion. Whether I will receive the gift of God or
not should not be a thing to be argued about if I am in my right mind!
Whether, being lost, I am willing to be saved–whether, having the
Gospel of eternal life proclaimed to me, I should accept it by
faith–well, I need not ask the sages as to what I shall answer, nor
need I go to the Law Courts to consult the judges as to my reply! This
is a thing so simple that it requires no argument! Who will choose to
be damned? Who will refuse eternal life? Surely these are questions
that should be decided at once!

Waiting and trifling have done you no good up to now. The countryman,
when he wanted to cross the river, and found it deep, said that he
would sit down and wait till the water was all gone by. He waited, but
the river was just as deep after all his waiting! And with all your
delay, the difficulties in the way of your accepting Christ do not get
any less. If you look at the matter rightly, you will see that there
are no great difficulties in the way, nor were there ever such
obstacles as your imagination pictures.

Another countryman, having to cross Cheapside one morning, was so
confused by the traffic of omnibuses and cabs and foot passengers that
he said he felt sure he could not get across the road and would wait
till the people thinned out a little. But all day long they never did
thin out. Unless he had waited till the evening, he would have found
little difference in that perpetual stream of hurrying people. O
Friends, you have waited until you can get "a convenient season" to
become a Christian and, after all your delay, the way is not any
clearer! Twenty years ago some of you were as near decisions for Christ
as you are now. No, you seemed nearer! I then thought, "Oh, some of
them will soon believe in Jesus and yield their hearts to Him!" But you
said, then, that it was not quite time. Is it time now? Is the day
without difficulty any nearer? Is the season any more suitable? No,
indeed, there is no improvement!

Let me say that I believe that your waiting has not only done you no
good, but has positively done you great harm! There were times when it
seemed easy for you to yield to the pressure of the Divine Spirit. It
certainly is not easier now. Indeed, it is more difficult. I think
sometimes God treats men as Benjamin Franklin treated the man who stood
loafing in his bookshop and, at last took up a book and asked, "How
much is this?" Franklin replied, "A shilling." "A shilling?" Franklin
said, "a shilling." And he would not give the price. After staying
about 10 minutes, he said, "Come, Mr. Franklin, now what will you take
for it?" Franklin answered, "Two shillings." "No," he said, "you are
joking!" "I am not joking," said Franklin, "the price is two
shillings." The man waited and sat a while, thinking. "I want the
book," he drawled out, "still, I will not give two shillings. What will
you take for it?" Franklin said, "Three shillings." "Well," the man
said, "why do you raise your price?" To which Franklin responded, "You
see, you have wasted so much of my time that I could better have
afforded to take one shilling at first than three shillings now."

Sometimes, if men come to Christ at the very first invitation, it is a
sweet and easy coming. See how dear young children often yield
themselves to Christ and how peaceful is their entrance into the rest
of faith! But when people wait. When they postpone believing. When they
violate conscience. When they tread down all the uprising of holy
thoughts within them, it becomes much harder for them to trust in
Christ than it would have been when He was first preached to them. I
come, therefore, to you, again, and say, "If you will deal kindly and
truly with my Master, tell me. And if not, tell me, and tell me now."

"Well," says one, "I am glad you have spoken to us. I will think it
over." No, Friend, I do not mean that. I do not want you to think it
over. You have had enough of thinking! I pray that God's Spirit may
lead you to an immediate decision. "Well, suppose that we consider it
during the week?" you ask. No, that will not suit either my Master or
myself. I want the answer now. I am like a messenger carrying a letter
on which is written, "The bearer will wait for a reply." I was once in
a country town and I said to my host, when I went to bed, "I have to be
in London tomorrow and I cannot get up in time for my work unless I
leave by a train which I can catch readily enough if you wake me at six
o'clock." Well, my host was an Irishman, so he woke me at five o'clock.
And when I sat up in bed, I said, "What time is it?" He said, "You have
only another hour to sleep."

The consequence was that I missed my train. If He had only wakened me
at the proper time and said, "Now you must get up," I would have
dressed at once, but as he said, "You have only another hour to sleep,"
of course I slept that hour and another one as well, for I was weary.
The same principle applies to you. If I say to you, "Go home and think
it over all the week," I shall be giving you a week in which to remain
in rebellion against God! And I have no right to do that. I shall be
giving you a week in which you are to continue an unbeliever–and he
that is an unbeliever is in peril of eternal ruin, for, "He that
believes not shall be damned." Worse than all, the week may lead to
many other weeks–to months, perhaps, and years–perhaps to a whole
eternity of woe! I cannot give you five minutes! God the Holy Spirit
speaks by me, now, to souls whom God has chosen from before the
foundation of the world! And He says, "Today, if you will hear His
voice, harden not your hearts." The Holy Spirit says, "Today, even
today." "Turn you, turn you from your evil ways; for why will you die,
O house of Israel?" The question comes to you, Will you be Christ's?
"If you will deal kindly and truly with my Master, tell me: and if not,
tell me."

The best answer you can give is in the verses that follow the text.
"Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceeds from the Lord:
we cannot speak unto you bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before you;
take her." Oh I wish some of you would thus respond to my appeal this
day! This thing is also from the Lord–it was He who gave me this
message–it was He who brought you to hear it! Surely you will not be
found fighting against God! Your heart is open to Him–He sees the
faintest desire that you have toward Him. Breathe out your wish, now,
and say, "My heart is before You–take it."–

"Take my poor heart, and let it be

Forever closed to all but Thee!

Seal You my breast and let me wear

That pledge of love forever there." He will not be slow to accept that
which is offered to Him! He will take you now and He will keep you
forever!

"How is it to be done?" says one. The plan is very simple. Jesus Christ
took upon Himself the sins of all who ever will trust Him. Come and
rest upon His atoning Sacrifice. Give yourself up to Him wholly and
unreservedly and He will save you. Take Him to be your Savior by the
simple act of faith. The pith of the matter is that I, being lost, give
myself over to

Christ to save me. I believe that the act of faith was very well set
forth in the statement of a poor imbecile. They said that he was an
idiot, but I think that he had more real sense than many a man who
boasts of his intellect. Someone said to him, "John, have you got a
soul? "No," he said, "I ain't got no soul." "Why, John, how is that?"
He replied, "I had a soul once, but I lost it, and Jesus Christ found
it, so I have just let Him keep it." There is the whole philosophy of
salvation. You have lost your soul. Christ has found it! Let Him keep
it! God bless you! Amen.

PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON–Genesis 24.