Moody's Mistake

I have always been intrigued and challenged by the life of D. L. Moody. He was a man whom God used in remarkable ways in the salvation of souls. I spent many a profitable day at Moody's grave in Northfield, Massachusetts.

One day in particular stands out in my memory. I spent the afternoon sitting on the porch of the home he was born in, while I reflected on his greatly useful life. Moody once heard a minister remark to him, "'The world has yet to see what God can do with the man wholly sold out to Him.'" Moody walked away, muttering, under his breath, "'By God's grace, I will be that man.'" Moody went out and did more for God than all of us put together, but there is a story he told about the biggest mistake of his life, and I want to relate that story to us this evening, friends, before we go to our time of prayer.

D. L. Moody was preaching one evening in 1871, and it was that very night that the terrible conflagration of the Chicago Fire broke out. Listen to his moving testimony. "'Oh, what a mistake! I have never dared to give an audience a week to think about their salvation since.

If they were lost, they might rise up at the judgment against me. I remember Mr. Sankey singing, and how his voice rang when he came to that pleading verse, "'Today the Savior calls, for refuge fly. The storm of justice falls, and death is nigh.

I have hard work to keep back the tears today. Twenty-two years have passed away, and I have not seen that congregation since, and I will never meet these people again until I meet them in another world. I have asked God many times to forgive me for telling people that night to take a week to think it over, and if he spares my life, I will never do it again.

One lesson I learned that night, which I've never forgotten, and that is when I preach, I press Christ upon the people then and there—' Well, I will stop there, France, with Moody's emotion-filled words. I wish I could go back and witness to all the people I failed to witness to while they were still in this world—one man in particular. He was a construction worker on my house, and he'd always get there before the other men, and I'd greet him while we waited for the others.

I failed miserably to witness to this man. Three weeks later I was reading the newspaper, going through the obituaries, and his face stood out and haunted me above his death notice. He was a young man in his thirties, and I believe God had that man show up early each day so I could witness to him, but I dropped the ball.

He slipped suddenly into eternity without a gospel witness from me, and his face haunts me still, and I'll see him at the judgment. I submit to you, France, for Moody's mistake is our mistake too. We should press Christ upon the people then and there whom God puts in our paths each day.

Life is shorter than we realize. Let us not be guilty of Moody's mistake. People need to hear about Jesus, the one who came down here, so we can go up there.

Let us pray.