In this sermon, the preacher shares a humorous anecdote about a preacher who unknowingly preached to an empty congregation. The sermon then focuses on the idea of the "second touch" as seen in Mark 8. The preacher explains how a man who was deaf and dumb received his healing after Jesus touched him twice. The sermon emphasizes the importance of spiritual vision and the need for the touch of God to open the eyes of the spiritually blind.

Now, I'd love to see Andy conducting the singing, and I'm quite sure he'll look no more angelic than he did tonight when he conducts the choirs in glory. If you don't, brother, I'm going to have a word with Peter about it myself. Very good. Now, it's nice to see you here again. You've been keeping the thing going pretty well, and we're glad of your fellowship. You know how inexperienced I am now at part of the palms. This is only my second preaching session here, and inexperience still shows itself. Especially in this, that I got out a list of addresses on the Gospel according to Mark. You've all had a copy of these. And you notice that I've been going on one after the other, one chapter after the other, morning and evening and morning and evening. And it means to say that you who haven't been able to come in the mornings have missed the continuity. So what's the good of us giving consecutive ministry? Now, because of my inexperience, you have to forgive me, and next time I'll do, as if there is going to be a next time, might all be in the glory, and some of you might have had such a satisfying ministry this week, it will last 25 years. That's what happened when I was at Cambridge, speaking at a missionary conference in the assembly there just two or three years ago. I said, satisfying ministry, must have been, you haven't invited me since for 25 years. However, next time I come, if there is one, I'll do what some of the other preachers have done, that is do a consecutive ministry in the mornings of one particular type, and then another type of consecutive ministry in the evening. Do you think that's a better idea, brother? No view on it? Well, what about all these people missing the consecutive ministry in the mornings, because they not come? They will. Well, let me just say, we must expect all these people tomorrow morning, because not only is it consecutive ministry, but tomorrow morning is the last morning of these conference meetings, and we are going together up the mountain with the Lord in the morning. You'll have to come tomorrow morning. Oh, we're going right up the mountain with the Lord in the morning. Come in? You are? Amen. A brother at the front says Amen. Another one, that's two. Well, praise the Lord. Beware, two or three are gathered together again. Very good. Well, now, it's nice to get your fellowship tonight, and we do trust and pray that the Lord will richly bless his word to our hearts. In one of the assemblies that I preach on occasion, and I shall be there for the month of November, God willing, in Nassau, you sort of have to keep your eyes on the congregation. In this one assembly, which is in a very, very busy area, they keep the doors open, and people come and go during the meeting, you know. And if you're not interested, and you're sort of preaching, you look around, and half of them are gone. And then you see a few more dribble in as you preach on, and it's like that. So, I'm going to keep my eye on, just in case, you know. And one preacher was preaching, and he was looking up at the ceiling all the time. Well, I tell my students always to look the people right between the eyes. Look at every one of them, right? Keep looking. And this preacher, he was looking up at the ceiling, you know, and he was preaching away at the ceiling. And after 35 minutes, he looked down. That was the end of his sermon. And lo and behold, everybody had gone. So, he turned round to the brother on the platform, and he says, where are they all? He says, they've all gone. Well, he said, think of that, why haven't you gone? He said, well, I'm the next speaker. I'm the next speaker. So, that's why I'm glad to see you, and very glad there's no shifting congregation here in Park of the Palm. We're going to read together from Mark 8 this evening. May God bless to us the reading of his word. And I think we'll read just a few verses, commencing at 21. Verse 21, but please keep your finger in the beginning of the chapter as well. We'll refer to that in a moment. Mark chapter 8 and verse 21. I think we ought to see what we're looking at this morning, especially verse 33 of the previous chapter for connection. And he took this deaf and dumb man aside from the multitude and put his fingers in his ears. That was the first touch. And he spit and touched his tongue. That was the second touch. Verse 35, his ears were opened and the string of his tongue was loose and he spake plain. And verse 37 was the text this morning, he hath done all things well. He maketh both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak. Now chapter 8 and verse 21. He said unto them, how is it that you do not understand? And he comes to Bethsaida and they bring a blind man unto him and besought him to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when he had spit on his eyes and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw anything. And he looked up and said, I see men as trees walking. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes and made him look up. And he was restored and saw every man clearly. And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town. And Jesus went out and his disciples into the towns of Caesarea Philippi. And by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? They answered John the Baptist, but some say Elias, and others say one of the prophets. He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answered and said unto him, Thou art the Christ. And he charged them that they should tell no man of him. He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected of the elders and of the chief priests and scribes and be killed. And after three days rise. Verse 34. And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross. And the Lord blessed to us that portion of his word. Now this chapter, at least the first part, is essentially about forgetfulness. And it is, that part I think is concluded by verse 21, which we read first of all, where he said, How is it that you do not understand, that you have really forgotten all that I did and all that I said? Do ye not remember, he said in verse 18. You see the disciples had forgotten the recent miracle. Verse 4. Whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness? And only recently, just before, he had performed a miracle and fed multitudes from such a small amount. The principle there is, we must remember his past wonders to be saved from our present worries. That's verse 4. And then of course, later on, the Pharisees had forgotten his word. This is in verse 10 and 11. They had forgotten his word and his earthly signs and they were seeking for another sign from heaven. The principle here of course is that there are none so blind as those who will not see. And then in verses 14 and 15, the disciples had forgotten to take bread. And of course they were all mixed up really. They got the wrong idea completely. Their priorities were out of order and the Lord Jesus had to explain this graciously to them. And the principle there is, our highest wisdom is to get our spiritual priorities. And then later on in verse 34 we were reading about forgetting ourselves. If any man will come after me, let him forget himself. Let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. The principle there is of course that the Christian's cross is something to die. However I don't think we can dwell this evening on this first part of the chapter although it is a very helpful and instructive part in itself. Man we know is a forgetful creature. You know very well that my memory is the thing that I forget with. Perhaps you are afflicted a little way that way also. And of course I was reminding a friend of mine the other day when he said all great professors are absent. But the great point is this of course, that God never forgets with one exception. When you trust His Son as your Saviour, God never forgets that. He saves you with an eternal salvation. And when you come to the Lord again in a special need and surrender your will to Him, God never forgets that and He takes you and uses you and blesses you in a new way. And when you come to a crisis of real spiritual dedication to Him, God never forgets. And He works out His purposes in the dedicated life, in His own way, in His own time to the glory of His own name. But there is one exception when I say God never forgets, because when God forgives, He forgets. Our sins He will remember no more. You know God said that these people in Malachi's day comes to me just now. Most of them were godless. They were insensible to God's love. They were insensible to their sinnership. They had despised His name and couldn't see it. They were insensible to the fact that the God of judgment and justice was on the throne. They were insensible to their need of conversion and so on. This is the outline of the book of Malachi. But there were a few who were the exceptions. And they responded to His love and acknowledged His righteousness and received His salvation. And the first thing they did was to do what you are doing tonight. They gathered together and had a meeting. And they had meeting after meeting. And the thought in their meeting was the Lord. He was the centre of their gathering. And they thought on His name. And He said, I'll never forget the judgment. I will not condemn them. I will spare them as a man spares his own son. And He says, and I'll have a book made and put their names in it. And the book shall be called the book of remembrance. Because I shall never forget them. God loves to see us gathered together in the park of the palms chapel. In the mornings and in the evenings. Around His word, thinking on His name. Exalting His Son. Exalting one another to follow the Lord Jesus all the way. God looks down from heaven and is very pleased. Especially when we go out of our way to glorify His Son. And to apply the word of God to our individual lives. May this be the result of our meeting here this evening. So we'll have to conclude this forgettory part of the chapter with this little incident. One man was very forgetful but his wife was too. Which of course is very exceptional. And she in church one morning said, how awful. She nudged him. Jim, how awful. I forgot to turn off the gas oven. He says, don't worry dear. It won't burn long because I forgot to turn off the faucet in the bathtub. The message really this evening is around this idea that we were talking about this morning. Because it comes in chapter 8 as well as in chapter 7. In chapter 7 this man who was deaf and dumb did not come into the fullness of blessing until Christ had touched him twice. He screwed his finger into his ear, gave him a real touch. And he heard. And then he touched his tongue and that was the second touch. And the impediment in his speech disappeared. The strings of his tongue were loosed. His tongue was loosed, the strings were loosed. And he was able to hear the Saviour and to speak forth his praise on the second touch. Now very often, as we shall see tonight, it is the second touch that makes all the difference in the life of a child of God. Very noticeable in some Christian lives and not so noticeable in others. There are some who seem to come into the fullness of blessing at salvation. But not many, most of us have to progress in the spiritual life. And have to come to the Lord again and again and again in rededication in our spiritual life. In a little Methodist church in Britain some time ago. The deacons were having a deacons meeting one Wednesday evening on their own. In the front of the church, in the front of the auditorium, only a little place. And the point was this, the ceiling of the old church was beginning to crumble. And it needed repairs very badly indeed. So they had a meeting to see what could be done. And they were discussing all sorts of things. And the one blew all through the evening. And somebody said well now it's going to cost £500 to put the ceiling of the church right. And at that precise moment a piece of plaster fell from the ceiling onto the bald head of this dear brother who hadn't said a word and who'd got all the money. So he looked up and rubbed his head. He said I'll give the first £250. And one little brother was praying in the corner for all his worth. Lord, he said, touch him again, touch him again. He wanted another £250. Said Lord touch him again. And you know sometimes there isn't a full response when the Lord touches them. Well I must confess that anyway. Sometimes we don't yield completely you know. And the Lord has to touch us again to bring forth a full response from our hearts and our lives to his overture. Now when I'm talking about a second touch. And notice in the heading I've said something terribly foolish. I've put a second touch and a second blessing. Now don't let that lead you astray. I might have said the 15th touch and the 15th blessing. Whenever the Lord really touches your soul and there's a response in your heart there's a tremendous blessing. And in talking in language like that I don't want to mislead you so I must explain. I'm not talking about the baptism of the Holy Ghost after conversion. Because there is no such thing in the theology of the New Testament. The baptism of the Spirit is always in relation to the body of Christ. And as far as the baptism of the Spirit is concerned the sphere into which we are baptised is never the Holy Spirit. The sphere is always the body of Christ. Look for the body of Christ in the context every time. I'm not going to give a lecture on this but I'm just going to explain. I'm not, I trust, propagating extreme doctrine this evening. Because I don't believe in a second work of grace. I don't believe in the eradication of the old nature. When you say, are we not crucified with Christ? Yes and no. We are crucified with Christ only in the divine reckoning. And this is why we have to reckon on the divine reckoning. We still have the old nature. So our old nature actually was not crucified with Christ. But if we enter into the divine reckoning and this is why we are justified from sin because we have died for our sin in another. This is Romans chapter 6 and verse 7. This is why we have to reckon upon what God is reckoning. That we have died in Christ for our justification. And say with the apostle, I am crucified with Christ. For you have died in the divine reckoning you have. And your life is hid with Christ in God. So much for the little explanation. Now if you will pardon a personal note. In my experience, I professed faith in Christ at the age of six. It was at my mother's knee. Well it was at the old kitchen table where my mother and I were kneeling together. One August bank holiday Monday morning at about 9.30 in the morning. Asking her the way of salvation because the night before I had been so troubled about the coming of the Saviour and my unreadiness for His appearing. And she led me to Christ. And it was real at the time. But you know with a childish profession of faith in Christ it is very, very necessary to get a second touch. I know lots of young people in the assemblies in America today who profess conversion when they were five and six and seven and eight. And they hate the assembly today. Won't go near the assembly. They don't like God's people. And they never worship the Lord. And you talk to their parents, they say, oh yes my child. Mary was saved when she was six. I think it is very, very important that there is a confirmation by a second touch in the life of these children who profess faith in Christ. You know that in your experience if you were saved when you were a child. You had to come again and again and again to the Lord. Not to be saved again, you could only be saved once. But to get real assurance from God that you are born again and are His child and ready for the coming of Christ. And it was when I was nearly sixteen and I was baptised in our chapel at home and I made my profession of faith in Christ standing in the water that really a great change came in my young life. I was about sixteen at the time. And then when I was seventeen or a little older the pilgrim preachers came to our chapel and on a Thursday night Brother Thomas was speaking to the young people. The chapel was filled and he made an appeal to us to give our young lives to Christ. And a number of us responded that night and I did too. And it was very real with me and I sang because this was his request if you mean this sing it standing while the others sit. And a number of us young men in the assembly stood and we all sang from our hearts and meant it and God remember! And we sang take my love my Lord I pour at thy feet it's treasure store. Take myself and I will be ever only all. Now this man hearing the story he could not. Where there is no vision the people perish. It's a very sad thing for people to go through life blind. We're very very deeply sympathetic in one of the assemblies in Nassau there's a whole family come to the morning meeting sort of chain style hanging on to one another. There's about four ladies and one man they're all brothers and sisters and they walk in together like that because they've been blind all their lives. Very very sad to see and we're very sympathetic with those who've gone through life blind. Like this man. But of course our deepest concern is for those who are spiritually blind. Because they really will be lost forever unless the eyes of their souls are opened by a touch from the Saviour. So they brought this man to Jesus. They knew that he needed the divine touch. And he needed the divine touch to enjoy full life. To see, to go the right way. And of course to see his Saviour, the Lord Jesus himself. Now this really, this incident is an allegory of the disciples' position at this time. They were very forgetful. They only had kind of half spiritual vision. They were half blind at this stage. But you know they were going to get another touch. A second touch before very long. He said, carry ye here in Jerusalem. He said to them, you're going to get another touch. You're going to be endued with power from on high. You're going to be my witnesses throughout the world. But he will touch you. He will be in you. He will abide with you forever. And this is your power of the earth. Now the Saviour led this man out of the town. He took him by the hand. Led him out of the town. And the man felt his touch. The Saviour wanted to bless him. He took him away from the crowd that he might work on him. Bring him into the blessing. And what a day that was for this man. When he took the prophet hand of the Saviour. And the Saviour led him away to bless him. And he felt this first touch of the Saviour's power in his soul. Now God's design and desire and objective for us all is good. His tender mercies are over all his works. If he takes you by the hand one day and leads you away from the crowd. As in chapter 7. Or leads you out of the town as in chapter 8. You'll know that he's leading you aside. That you might feel his touch. That you might get his blessing. He does that purposely. Because his desire and design is good. There is a verse in the Psalms which you all know so well. David said he has not only given me a hearing. And given me a ride. In Britain we say given me a lift. Out of the Māori clay. And given me a firm foundation for my faith. And given me a hope for the future. Established my goal. But he's given me a new song to sing. And he said it's a song of praise unto God. Many shall see it and fear and trust in the Lord. And the analysis of that verse is very interesting. It's a song of praise to God. It is a song of effective testimony. Many shall see it and fear and trust in the Lord. And it is a new song. He hath put a new song into my mouth. And fourthly it is an individual song. He hath put a new song in my mouth. But you know what strikes me? Mostly in the verse. Something I haven't said yet. The fifth heading for the analysis of the text. And he hath put a new song in my mouth even praise unto God. The Lord wanted David to sing. The Lord wanted his servant to be happy. And the Lord wanted to bless him. Now God's design for you is good. Or judge you. Or cut you off. Or stop you. He's wanted to lead you on. Maybe he'll lead you out of the town. That he might lead you into his blessing. His desire and design is always good. The Lord is good to all is the key verse of Psalm 145. And his tender mercies are over all his works. So he felt the touch of the Saviour. And thank God for this first touch. That many of us can testify about when we knew his saving grace. Now I don't like to hear people giving their testimony like this. Now my testimony is this. That I was brought up in a Christian home. And I was made to go to Sunday school. And when I was seven I trusted Jesus. And gave him my heart. And when I grew older I dedicated my life to his service. Now that isn't a very good testimony is it? I mean it's a good testimony in a way. But it doesn't seem to be much either. But when a brother gets up and he says. Like Spurgeon in Spurgeon's language. Stand here and give a cosy little chat about something or other in the scriptures. And a little talk about his own experience of Jesus. Not on your life. This is what he said. All joy inexpressible. All rapture divine. Amen. Amen. We learned to do that this morning. Oh we didn't learn to do it this morning. I was trying to teach you that's what they do in Nassau you know. And if you're supposed to say anything good that wasn't me. Amen. May you all say Amen. All joy inexpressible. All rapture divine. All happy day and no mistake. When Jesus from my heart did take. The load of sin that made it ache. And filled my heart. Means so much to us. It's not enough you know. I know you're converted. But are you dedicated? I know you're saved. But are you surrendered? I know that you're born again. But are you living the life which is the Christ? It's true we often need a second touch. And I believe. Some of you during these days of conference here. At Park of the Palms. Have heard the voice of the Saviour calling you. And I'll touch you again. And it's happened has it? In these last three months or so. And it's happened. And you feel that the Lord has all of you now. And your eyes have been opened upon your soul. Although you were 62 years ago. In one conference in England. Arnold Pickering was one of the echoes of service. He had to go and speak at this conference. And the idea in this assembly was. That the brethren who gave the messages in the evening. In the short afternoon session. Before tea time. You know meal time. They had to give a personal. Do you know what happened? Amen. To you today. And so it was this man needed a second touch. Of course he did. He could only see men as trees. He could see so much. He'd never seen anything before. Thank God for the power. But it wasn't enough. When there is only a single touch. It often means. There is a blurred vision. One touch only means. You see men as trees walking. You're in need of a second touch. You can't shake hands with a tree you know. Can you? Your fellowship is restricted. You need a second touch. You can't go through life. Cutting down men as though they were trees. You need a second touch. You know you'll always find as you go through life. Whatever church you join. There is a little bit of imperfection. I spoke to a young man who left out. In one of the assemblies. Where you're leaving really. But have a good look round. And if you do find a perfect church. Don't join it. And wherever you go. There is a little bit of imperfection. And you see men as trees walking. And he thinks that's true. Brother you see. And he said. I know all about. I've met them everywhere. I've gone through the land. Of course this was through England. Of course. But he said. No he said. In Archer. And I don't really. Although he was such a nice brother. Until he died. And then of course. That was a real transformation. Then. But it's marvellous what the Lord can do with us. You can't go through life cutting down trees. Like the cantankerous brother. Cutting down men as trees. You can't live with trees. You need a second touch. You must see men clearly as men. As human beings. You must acknowledge the fact. That the same Holy Spirit of Jesus. Who's in your heart. Is in his heart. In her heart as well. If you see his race. And you don't see his grace. You see men as trees. If you see his label. And you don't see his spirituality. You see men as trees. If you see his nationality. And you don't see his spirituality. You see men as trees. And you need. A second. And this was this man. And the Lord said. Do you see anything? He said. Not a lot. He said. Right. I will touch you again. That the blessing may be complete. And perfect. Where there is a second touch. There is clear vision. Because you see on this occasion. The Lord Jesus touched him again. And made him look up. Now this is a phrase. Which I like very much. He made him look up. Now if he had looked around. He would have been in despair. And if he had looked within. He would have been despondent again. But he looked up. And there was the Lord Jesus. Right in front of his face. He opened his eyes at the second touch. And he turned his eyes upon Jesus. And looked full in his wonderful face. And what a tremendous blessing. That was. John Mark you know was the man who. Had a second touch. We were talking about this in the introduction on Sunday. Had it had gone on the first missionary journey. With Paul only half way. Rather less than half way. And then went back home. It only seemed men as trees walking. And he wasn't wholly dedicated to the Lord. And he gave up the work. But then. During the years. And then there were quite a number of years between. I forget the number. I think it was sixteen years between. He had another touch from the Lord. And Paul got to know about it. And he said bring John Mark. He's had another touch from God. He'll be a blessing to me. And Peter was very fond of John Mark. Especially. When he had a second touch. And gave him all the information. That he could remember. About the Lord Jesus. And about his work. And about his sayings. And John Mark wrote them in this gospel. That we are studying this week. Now Elijah of course. We read in 1 Kings 19. Was touched. And then. Touched again. And it was on that second touch that he went. For forty days. And it was after a great victory. That Elijah was in despair. And that's often the case. When we've had a great time of triumph. And blessings. The conference has been good. And the fellowship grand. Sometimes a sudden surge of despair. Or loneliness. Attacks us. And we're like Elijah of old. And we need a second touch. Which will make us go right on. In the ways of being Christ Jesus. And so it was also with Daniel. He said a hand came. And touched me. And I fell at his feet. And he said I was on all fours. Right on my face. Before him. And his first touch. Weakened me. And brought me low. But then thank God. Says Daniel. He touched me again. And he put strength in me. And I stood upright. And he strengthened me with strength. In my soul. Where is the blessedness I knew. When first I saw the Lord. Do you remember that day? And the blessedness. And how you walked on air. And how you testified to his saving grace. How his joy thrilled your soul. The hope of his coming was clear in your mind. And now. There is very little blessing left. You need a second touch. Jeremiah you remember. Went down to the potter's house. And the vessel that the potter was making. He noticed. Was marred. In the hands of the potter. The vessel was still in the hand of the potter. When it was marred. Even while we are in God's hand. And we know his saving grace. Times come when our lives are affected. And there is a scar. Or a break. Or a marring. And we need a second touch from the master potter. We need to lie in his hand. And say Lord touch me again. Mold me again. And make me again. After thy perfect will. Cannot I do with you. As this potter did with the clay. Seth the Lord. Cannot I make you again. So as I conclude tonight. I am just going to ask you. For our mutual help. One or two little questions like this. Do you sometimes feel. That you are a victim. Instead of a victor. In Christ. Well you need his second touch. Is it that occasionally you are spiritually cold and dead. You wake up in the morning and there doesn't seem to be any spirituality about you. You have no desire to read. Or to pray. Or to seek the Lord's face. Or to walk with the Lord through the day. It's because you need a second touch. Are you fruitless in your life. And you feel you might be going home to God soon. And there is nothing to take with you. Fruitless. You have never gone out into the street. And led anybody to the saviour. Never gone downtown. Making some contact with your track distribution. Never gone to the hospital for Jesus sake. To try and lead the dying person to Christ. And you feel your life is fruitless. Do you. Brother. Sister. Come in for a second touch. From the saviour. Tonight. Are you sometimes joyless. You think of all your problems instead of your blessing. You count your calories instead of your blessing. And the sadness in your soul. Because you're thinking of all things around you in the world. And the problems of life. Instead of looking off into his face. And you're joyless. You need a second touch. You have no spiritual desire sometimes. You are occasionally materialistically minded. You're thinking of your bank account. Whether God is going to be faithful or not. Doesn't come into your mind. You're just calculating on your stocks and bonds. And you're weighing things up. And you're a bit despairing. And you're far. Your mind is filled with materialistic things. And you need a pattern. From Christ your saviour. Or you're just plain fearful. You're fearful. And the saviour said be of good cheer. But you can't be of good cheer. Because your soul is filled with worry. And you're just wondering what's going to happen. And you're fearful. And you've forgotten his promise. Remember it says they were perplexed. Because they came and found the tomb was empty. Why were they perplexed? They'd forgotten his promise to rise again. And in the last, one of the signs of the last days is this. That there should be perplexity. Perplexity. Men's hearts failing them for fear. Fearfulness and perplexity. But he said you need not be perplexed. He said believe in me. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go away I will come again. They forgot his promise to rise again. And were perplexed. And if we forget his promise to come again. In these days in which we live. We should be perplexed. And fearful as well. Fearful. You need a second chance. Probably you know of some men of God. Close old names they are. Men of God who went on so far in their Christian experience in an ordinary way. And then one day they had a second touch from the Master. And they became mighty. That's why their names are household names in Christian circles today. D. L. Moody was preaching his sermons in Chicago before he came to Britain. And of course he was doing a good work And a few were being led to Christ. And the work was gradually increasing. And it was a good work. And then he came to Britain and he preached the same sermons. Word for word. And there was a mighty revival. And thousands and thousands were led to Christ. What had happened? D. L. Moody in between times. He said they are the same sermons brethren. But it is a new power. Hudson Taylor. There in the heart of China with the burdens of the new mission weighing heavily upon his soul. Felt he would collapse amidst all the weight of responsibility when he gave up. And he let go. And he entered into rest in Christ who is our life. Touched him the second time. And brought peace into his soul. We were talking about George Muller the other day. Was it last night? And I was trying to find in my Bible the exact saying. And now I have it. There was a day he said when I died. Utterly died. Died to George Muller. To his opinions. To his preferences. And to his tastes. And to his will. Died to the world and its approval. And its censure. Died to the approval and the blame of my brethren. And my friends. And since then I have studied only to show myself approved unto God. For Jesus sake. Only. And that was the time of his second touch. There was a certain conference in Britain a few years ago. And the preacher was Stephen Osler. You know that he used to be an evangelist in the assemblies. I worked with him some years ago. In some certain ways. And know him very well. I did in those days. And he was giving some very heart warming and searching ministry. And sitting in the congregation there was a young man whom also I knew. Who was an evangelist. I knew this evangelist. He had been to our town. As a matter of fact he was taken ill while he was preaching. And I had to finish his sermon for him and give the invitation and then visit him in hospital every day. And every time I visited him he was on the phone to America where he lived. And he soon got better. But this evangelist was sitting there and he had been an evangelist for some years. And I tell you what happened in that meeting that day while Stephen Osler was preaching. Christ came alongside this young man and gave him a second touch. Very definitely. And he will testify to this experience. And his name is Billy Graham. The Lord Jesus is with us tonight. Not only to save the lost. Not only to restore the backslider. Not only to inspire us again and again and again with his presence. But he is here to touch our souls in a new way. We must respond to his call. You to his touch. And as we yield our souls are finding peace. Longsought. We thank the Heavenly Father that our Lord Jesus went on earth on some occasions met people and blessed them and then touched them again that they might receive the fullness of blessing. God forbid that any of us here this evening should stay at the first touch. Lead us right on in full dedication in absolute surrender and absolute ceasing and absolute repentance to a knowledge of Christ and a dedication to Christ that has never been known before. As we feel the touch of his pierced yet powerful hand upon our souls tonight. Lord Jesus. Lord Jesus draw near. Meet us now in the point of our need and give us another touch. To the glory of thy name in our lives for our own personal good and for the blessing of others through us. And this we pray for with praise and evening worship in thine own precious name.