INCIDENTS OF GOSPEL WORK
or
by
Charles Stanley
A preacher and a man of business.
Two cases of my need met by God.
God cares for the temporal things.
The lost dinner.
Led to go where the Lord directs, and found fruit
after many years.
Sent to Scarborough.
Expenses paid.
A collision on the way.
Met at the Terminus, though unknown.
Call to preach on a Steamer.
A Sermon, twenty miles long.
Many Saved.
It may be asked by some, how could I preach all my life in so many places, and
provide for my family? Well, I found there was nothing too hard for the
Lord. I may say I never gave up my business, until the Lord had given me
sufficient to live upon; but my custom was to preach three or four times a
weak, sometimes more, and work the rest. Indeed, often after a day's work
in commercial traveling on my own business account, I found the Lord with me in
preaching the word. The Lord often helped me in a very remarkable
way. I will give two instances when I felt greatly in need of His help.
At the time I kept a store of material for the Sheffield trades, I had only
small capital, but desired no more than I had. Indeed, I had learnt that
the Lord took special care of His little dependent ones. I was walking
about in my shop, having been absent of late about half my time preaching. I
had a bill to pay on the following Monday, and I felt a Christian should
always pay as payment was due, but in this case I had not the money, and did
not know where it was to come from. I lifted up my heart in prayer to the
Lord about this, and immediately thought of a large stock of emery; I had many
casks, which I could not sell. I told the Lord about this emery. He
said, "Cast the net on the right side of the ship." I said,
Lord, which is "the right side of the ship"? Immediately the
thought came, He must be the right side of the ship. I then asked the
Lord to sell for me the emery, for
I could not, and the amount would just meet my need. Whilst I was in
prayer, a man walked into my shop, and said, "Have you any emery to
sell?" "Yes, I have," I said; and went and took a pinch of the
heavy stock I had to sell and placed it in his hands. "Aye," he
said, "this is exactly what I want: how much have you?" I told him
the number of casks (a twentieth part
as much I had never sold at one time in my life); he said, "We will have
it all at the price you name, send it down to our firm to-morrow. And we
always pay for all we buy casually on Monday morning." I said,
"I will do so; and now tell me how it is you came here, and how is it you
can use this kind of emery? I have tried, and could not sell it anywhere;
indeed, I
ought to have returned it, as it was sent in mistake to me." He
replied, "Such and such a grinder told me you had a quantity to sell; we
wanted it badly, so I came on to see it. You might well not sell it, as
we are the only manufacturers who use this particular kind; we use it for
scratching saws for the foreign market." I sent it on, and received
just the money I needed.
I will give another out of the hundreds of instances of the Lord's care; and
then return to speak of His work. Years after the former case, when I was
a Sheffield merchant, supplying export houses in Birmingham, Wolverhampton,
London, Liverpool, and Glasgow, I had been traveling three days, and preaching
at night, and had received no orders-this was trying, I was walking down B_____
Street, in Birmingham, in prayer that the Lord would direct me to the house
where I might receive an order for goods. As I was thus in prayer, I felt
distinctly bid to walk exactly opposite to where I had arrived. There was
a small plate on the side of the door, H. and G., but it did not say what they
were. I looked in, and from what I saw, I said, "Why, Lord, this is
a leather warehouse. This is nothing in my way!" But the Spirit of
God seemed to say, "Go forward!" I did so. I opened the
warehouse door, and found a number of men doing something to skins of
leather. I presented my card and inquired if Mr. H. was within. I
was shewn into the private office, where I found Mr. H., and inquired if they
were requiring Sheffield goods for the export trade, naming Australia, as there
was a great demand for those colonies. He looked with some surprise, and
said, "Do you supply such goods for Melbourne?" I replied,
"Yes," and named several firms in the neighbourhood that I supplied.
Opening the order book brought by a clerk, he said, "Are you sure that you
supply R. & Sons?" "Certainly," I replied. "Well,"
he said, "this is very strange. We are export leather merchants, and
one of our clients in Melbourne has just sent us an order for Sheffield
tools, &c. We know nothing about these goods. But here is the order,
reading out some of the numbers and prices of my goods, which had been sent by
some one else." He ordered the clerk to write out the order, which
came to several hundred pounds. This was the commencement of a large and
most satisfactory account with a most honourable, straightforward house.
How can we account for all this, except on the ground of the tender care of Him
who hears and answers prayer? The history of that ever watchful love,
even in temporals, would fill a volume. From a child I had been led to
believe that God heard and answered our prayers.This will be seen from a
circumstance that occurred to me soon after my conversion. I was in a
field two miles from home, and had put my dinner in a hedge; a young horse had
got the dinner out of the hedge, and destroyed it except one small piece of
bread. Also my tinder and flint were gone, for making a fire, the weather
being cold in winter. I knelt down and prayed for a fire, and also that
the Lord would make the bread sufficient for my dinner. I found the steel,
and walking in the field soon found a flint. I gathered some dry leaves
and rotten wood, and soon had a fire. I then sat down, and whether the
Lord multiplied the bread, or made the little give the same sustenance, I know
not; but certainly I was as strengthened and satisfied as if I had had the best
of dinners. Many may smile at this; for my own part I only pray that we
all had more childlike faith, that expects and then enjoys answers to
prayer. Jesus says, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye
shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you." I felt
thankful for the need, which gave the opportunity for asking and receiving.
This is a little digression, but it is happy to think of His loving care. From
that first visit to Ackworth, about forty-three years ago, I was led to go just
wherever the Lord sent me, depending on what He could and would do, by the Holy
Spirit, in blessing to souls. Now I would not so much relate what
appeared at the time; but for the encouragement of the Lord's servants I would
say, I scarcely ever have visited a place twenty years after preaching but
there I have found fruit to His praise.
Some may be ready to ask, “What do I mean by going wherever the Lord sent
me?” I will try to give a few distinct cases out of very many.
I had gone down to Hull to collect a few accounts. At the time I was only
in a small way of business, and as I was pretty sure to collect the same, I had
not taken money with me. I was at a meeting for prayer and reading the
word, with a few Christians from different places, at eleven o'clock on the
Saturday morning. As we were reading the Spirit of God laid it on my
heart that I must go to Scarborough to preach. I went into a room alone,
and looked to the Lord in prayer that I might be assured of His will in the
matter. He gave me distinct assurance that I must go. This was a
long journey then via York, and I had not money to take my ticket. But
then the Lord knew that. I took my bag, told the friends I was staying
with, that I felt distinctly called to go to Scarborough, though I had never
been there, and only knew the name of one person there, and I had not money to
pay my fare. I named this to no one. But when God gives faith it is
faith. I left the house, and walked until I was just stepping up to the
booking office, when A.H. cried out behind me, "We have just heard you are
feeling led to go to Scarborough to preach to-morrow. A brother, Mr. H.,
desires to have fellowship with you, and has sent you, (I think it was $3) to
pay your expenses."
On the way we had a slight collision, exactly at the corner of the carriage
where I sat which was broken through. None of us were injured beyond a
shaking. I thought this was surely a token that the Lord would have me
speak the word to some one. I got into conversation with a young man who
was, I judged, going home to die of consumption. I found him somewhat
anxious about his soul, but thought he had a great work to do before he could
be saved. I believe God blessed the message to his soul. "It
is finished" was a wondrous new truth to him. As we drew near to
Scarborough, his mother, who was with him, was so delighted with the joy and
peace of her son, that she begged I would make her house my home whilst I
stayed in Scarborough. I thanked her very much, but said I could not do
so, as I had just been making a request to the Lord that would hinder me
from accepting her kind offer. As I only knew one name in Scarborough, I
had been asking the Lord to bring him to the station, and shew me which was
he. At last the train stopped. A gentleman came, and looked very
earnestly at me. And the Lord said to me, " That is he."
Still I hesitated to speak, and got out of the carriage. He continued to
look at me. I thought, how foolish I am to pray, and not to believe God,
so I said: "May I ask, Is your name Mr. L.? "Yes, it is," he
said; "is your name Stanley, of Sheffield." "Yes, it
is," I said; "but how do you know my name?" He said,
"Mr. J., of Hereford, was expected by this train, to preach to-morrow; and
this is the last train, and there is not one in the morning. And as I was
feeling disappointed, my eye caught you, and it was just as if a voice had said
to me, “That is Stanley of Sheffield: I have sent him." He assured
me of a hearty welcome, and a large congregation on the morrow. There is
something very blessed in preaching Christ, feeling the certainty that He had
sent you. Certainly I had that assurance on the following day.
Shortly after this, I was again at Hull, having preached on the Lord's Day. I
was seated with Mr. A.J. after dinner, when I had a distinct call to preach on
a steamer. I told Mr. J. He said, "There is a market steamer which
will leave at 2 or 3 o'clock (I forget the exact time), and it will be crowded
with market people." I felt assured I was called to preach there on
board that day. I therefore took my bag, and Mr. J. went with me to shew
me the way. At that time there was no proper landing-stage for this
steamer, and as I was walking the plank from the pier to the steamer, it
suddenly lurched from shore, my plank fell in the water, and I just caught on
to the steamer's side, and was got on board. There was a great shout and
excitement, and I was a good deal shaken. In this weak condition, I
looked to the Lord in prayer, that He would raise me up, and give me a
fellow-helper on board. I walked the crowded deck in prayer, and as I
passed a man sat down; the Lord pointed him out as the one to help me. I
stooped down, and asked if he were a Christian. "Yes," he said,
"through mercy I am." I said, "Have you faith?" I
then told him how the Lord had sent me to preach on board, how shaken I was,
and weak, and I had been asking the Lord for a helper. He jumped up,
saying, "Faith and works, man," and ran away. I now felt much
cast down. How strangely the Lord prepares His servants for His
work. I had about become low enough for the Lord to use, when the man
came back with a beaming face; "All is ready," He said. I asked,
"What is ready?" He said, "I have got the captain's permission,
and a number of people are ready to sing a hymn." He gave out a
hymn, which was heartily sung. The Lord then gave me strength to preach
the gospel all the way, nearly to Thorne------that was the name of the
place. The people kept getting off at different landing stages up the
river. At the time I was not aware that a single soul was saved that
day. I was preaching all the afternoon until night.
Many years after this, when I had almost forgotten the circumstance, after
preaching in Birmingham, a gentleman came up, and said, "I dare say you
have forgotten me." I did not recollect him. He said, "Do
you remember preaching a sermon twenty miles long?" I did not
remember him, I said, "Well," he said, "Do you remember
preaching up the river, from Hull to Thorne, which was twenty miles or
more?" Then it came to my mind very distinctly. He was a
Wesleyan minister, and said, "I have long wished to see you."
He was the man who helped me so kindly that day. He told me he was
stationed at Selby afterwards, and visited the different towns and villages up
the river where the steamer stops, and he had found souls who had been saved
that day all up the river. Thus, after many days the Lord gives us proof
that His "words shall not return unto Him void." Oh to preach
in full assurance that souls will be saved!
What a joy it will be in the presence of the Lord, at His coming, to see the
thousands (it may be) of souls who have been brought to Him, through the riches
of His grace, by His weak servants? O depths of mercy, not only to have
saved us from hell but to use us as channels of mercy to others. The
apostle could say, "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing?
Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his
coming?" I have never, that I am aware of, seen one of those dear
children by the river. No doubt by this time, after so many years, many
of them are with the Lord. I shall meet them in the glory, so near at
hand.