If you saw the movie "Titanic," you have a picture of what took
place when the ship that the experts said "even God couldn't sink", DID
sink. Of the 1,528 people who ended up in the icy water, only six were
rescued. But did you know that one of those six was actually saved twice
that night?
His story is an inspiring reminder that there's more to life than mere survival.
To tell this man's story, though, I have to first tell you about
another man, a Scot named John Harper. Harper, a minister of the Gospel,
boarded the Titanic with his six-year-old daughter, Nana. He planned to
travel to the Moody Church in Chicago, where he'd been invited to
preach for three months. When the ship struck the fateful iceberg and
began to sink, Harper made sure his daughter was placed into one of the
lifeboats. He then began what would be the last evangelistic work of his
young life.
As the freezing waters began to fill the ship, Harper was heard
shouting, "Let the women, children and the unsaved into the lifeboats."
Survivors reported that Harper took off his own life jacket and gave it
to another man. "Don't worry about me," he reportedly said, "I'm not
going down, I'm going up!"
When the ship began to sink, more than 1,500 passengers jumped or
fell into the icy waters. As they gradually drowned or froze to death,
Harper was seen swimming from one passenger to another, pleading with
them to accept Christ.
Only six of the 1,500 people struggling in the water were later
rescued, including a man who later identified himself as Harper's last
convert. This young man had climbed up on a piece of debris. Harper, who
was struggling in the water near him, shouted out, "Are you saved?"
"No," the man replied. Harper then shouted the words from Scripture:
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." The man did
not answer, and a moment later he drifted away on the waves.
A few minutes later, the current brought the two men back together.
Again Harper asked, "Are you saved?" Once again, the answer was "no."
With his dying breath, Harper shouted, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved." He then slipped under the waves for the last
time.
Then and there, the man he had witnessed to decided to turn his life
over to Christ. Four years later, at a Titanic survivors meeting in
Ontario, Canada, this man tearfully gave his testimony recounting how
John Harper had led him to the Lord.
I don't need to tell you that this dramatic story never made it into
the movie. We live in a culture that seems to be more interested in
fictional stories of romance, illicit sex, and priceless jewelry than in
the real romance between God and His people.
When the subject of the Titanic comes up,tell your friends the story
of the young Scottish minister who witnessed to Christ with his dying
breath. And make sure your kids know the story as well. John Harper
reminds us of a great lesson, the secret of the ages: that there's more
to life than mere survival. No wonder he was able to face death without
fear. If you are not SAVED, you are not SAFE! Don't exist, LIVE! ARE YOU
SAFE? If you are not SAVED, you are not SAFE!
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