''I WANTED THE CHRIST THAT HE SERVES''

Sometime ago, a minister was preaching. And--and there was a man who'd been attending his church for a, oh, quite a lengthy time. And he came that morning up to the altar, and he said, "Pastor, I now wish to give my testimony and my surrender to the Lord Jesus, which I have done last night."

And the Pastor said, "Well, I am sure glad to hear about that, John, to know that you have decided to finally come and give yourself to the Lord, because we don't want to hurt your feelings, but we know that you had been very wicked. And we know you have mistreated your family. You gambled away your money, and you drank it up, and lived a horrible life; and your family went without. And it gives my heart joy this morning to know that you have come forward now and going to surrender yourself to the Lord Jesus to become a different person, to serve Him."

He said, "Thank you, pastor."

He said, "Then just what... I want to ask you something. What sermon did I preach, or what text did I use, or what song was sung in the church in the hymns that made you so decide to do this?"

And as the man looked at him in the face, with the tears running off his cheeks he said, "Pastor, it was none of your sermons, though as good as they were. It was none of the choirs singing or the specials, though as good as they were."

He said, "Then would you tell this congregation why you have made this decision?"

He said, "I worked with a man who is a Christian, and I've said everything to him. I've called him a holy-roller. I've called him a religious fanatic and everything, and it didn't bother him a bit. But he lived such a life till finally in my heart, all along, he has won a place that I want to be like that man. And that's the reason that I ask him to lead me to Christ. I wanted the Christ that he serves." THE SUDDEN SECRET GOING AWAY OF THE CHURCH JEFF.IN SUNDAY 58 1012