by Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001)
"I'LL GIVE TWO 'FIFTHS'"
"Okay, I'll go to church with you tonight-but just to keep you from nagging," Leon said.
He did come to church; he heard the message on the subject, "The Funeral of the Old Man." He was a drunkard.
He was a big, barrel-chested, broad-shouldered, contractor-but a drunkard. I went back during the invitation and asked him if he would be saved.
"I don't know what being saved means," he replied, "but I sure would like to have a funeral for my 'old man.'" He came down the aisle, buried the "old man," and became a new creature in Christ.
In a few days he went back into the tavern again. "The drinks are on me!" he shouted to the boys in the tavern. This time the drink was Living Water as he stood up at the bar and preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to his old crowd. This he did every week while I was his pastor for many years. He became one of the most effective soul winners I have ever seen. Almost any Sunday morning you could see him with a motley crowd of visitors coming in the church. People who were sitting over near where they sat moved over quietly to avoid the odor. When the invitation came, one by one they would come, professing their faith publicly in the Saviour.
When Leon was saved, I told him he should give a tenth to the Lord. He said, "Preacher, I don't know what this 'tenth' business is, but I have two 'fifths' in the car I am willing to give up for Jesus."
The last time I saw him, he was still after souls. A few months ago I preached in Fort Worth, Texas; he brought two souls down the aisle to Jesus Christ that night. At last report, he was a deacon in his church and was busily engaged in soul winning.
