02.03. The Sermon

3. THE SERMON

If you want to give an invitation at the close of the service, you should plan and build your message for that purpose. Preach with a view of drawing the net and endeavor to put into your sermon that which is likely to make people think about the need of their souls.

There are, however, exceptions to all rules and sometimes that sermon which has not been particularly planned for immediate results, if an invitation is given, will produce wonders. For this reason, the soul winner should always preach with his ear listening for the voice of God and his heart tuned to the urge of the Spirit.

Lean on the Lord

Place your dependence on God and never on your message. Dr. M., after preaching a great evangelistic message without results, returned to the parsonage and in great agitation walked the floor, saying, over and over: "I don’t understand it; when I preach that sermon I always have a large altar service. Did he depend too much on his discourse? I do not know, but I do know it always pays to lean heavily upon the Lord.

Dr. J. had an effective evangelistic sermon with which he often lined the altar. However, one night in his endeavor dramatically to sweep the audience off their feet his methods reacted and he was humiliated and the amused audience went away laughing.

Rev. S. used to give a very fruitful message on the four horsemen of Revelation and often the slain of the Lord were many. One night he said to a group of ministers, "We will have the altar full tonight; I am going to ride the horses." He rode the horses all right and used the same words he had at other times, but folks did not respond.

Personal Reference

I have a message I have tried to preach over three hundred times with over six thousand seekers resulting, and I know there is a temptation to lean upon the sermon. There have been times when God has so blessed that more than a hundred souls came forward, but there have been other times when no one was reached. We cannot emphasize too much the fact that it is "not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord."

Be Careful
Be careful lest your message leave the impression that it is too difficult to find God. Do not picture the task so hard that sinners will think it useless to seek the Lord. If you convince men they have committed the unpardonable sin, you have convinced them that it is hopeless for them to seek God.

Humor

Humor, properly used, can often be very helpful in getting the attention and holding your audience. It is easier to make people laugh than to make them cry. It is easier to move folks from laughter to crying than from gravity to weeping.

Place your jokes, epigrams, funny stories, and all lightness in the beginning, or in the body of your message, never at the close. Many good appeals have been hindered and the invitation ruined by the joke or wisecrack which was placed too near the close of the message.

Patience

Patience is both a gift and a grace in giving an invitation. Many a service that might have been profitable has closed without results because the preacher lost patience. In my early ministry I was often defeated in this way.

A Pastor’s Help

Years ago, a pastor for whom I was conducting a campaign greatly helped me along this line. During the first two or three nights of the invitation he stood near me and, in tones too low for others to hear, he would say over and over, "Hold on,. God is here, don’t give up." This greatly encouraged me, increased my patience, brought results, and taught me a lesson I have never forgotten.

Bud Robinson

It was the last night of a great camp meeting; Bud Robinson was my co-laborer and it was my turn to preach. At the close of the message I was completely defeated. I gave an invitation but did not expect anyone to respond. Bud Robinson stood in back of me and began saying, "Hold on, they are coming, hold on." I did not think so but, because of his faith and encouragement, I held on until 125 were kneeling at the altar. This was another much needed lesson in patience.

Do Not Be Defeated
Do not let the devil bluff you out of an invitation. He will try it. He will make all kinds of suggestions, such as, "There is no conviction, the hour is late, you will drive folks away." Or he will pick out some individual in the audience and suggest because of him you should not give an invitation. Do not be defeated. We should always remember that the devil is a liar and the father of lies.

Invitation Expected

Christians expect an invitation and 90 per cent of the sinners expect it. Twice in my ministry I have received a note from the unsaved rebuking me because I did not give them an opportunity to come to the altar.

We are not suggesting that an invitation should always be given or that it should always be lengthy. Yet we are saying that we should try to get the mind of God as to how and when the invitation should be given and not be defeated by a suggestion of the devil.

Lethargy

Do not let the fact that there seems to be a lethargy or deadness in the service defeat or deceive you. I have yielded to this feeling and closed the service and had good Christians come around and say, "God was here tonight, and lots of conviction on the people." It was I who was dead, tired, and afflicted with lethargy. I was deceived, whipped out, and defeated in what might have been a fruitful service.

If we could only remember that Jesus said, "I am with you alway"; you may be tired, but "I will help thee."

C. E. Cornell

Dr. C. E. Cornell, the author of Hints to Fishermen and Casting the Net, and perhaps the most successful at giving the invitation of any man our church has ever known, said: "Make your sermon twenty-five or thirty minutes long, right to the point, then make your invitation as long as your message." Of course, this is not a hard and fast rule; circumstance, place, and the spirit of the service will help you in judging how long to make your invitation.