"YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN" TWICE-BORN
MEN
TRUE
CONVERSION
RECORDS OF~100 WELL - KNOWN
MEN IN ALL
RANKS OF LIFECompiled by
HY. PICKERING
An Egyptian Sheikh
SHEIKH ABD-EL-MASEEH told this story in the City
of Glasgow, in the presence of the Editor of this
volume:
"I was born at Fej, in Morocco, in the year of the
Flight 1293 (1875), a Mosl_m by religion, my father being
a distinguished Sheikh, learned in the teaching of Isl_m.
I attended the College in the Mosque of Al Karwin; sat at
the feet of the distinguished teacher, the Said Mohammed
Ibn Jafer; went on a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1902, and was
returning when, reaching Suez, I noticed as I passed along
one of the streets a place open, with this sign written
above it, ‘Food for the souls of men,’ and on the door a
printed paper. I went up to read it, and found written
these words, ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest’ (Matt. 11. 28). I
was astonished at the saying, and said to my friend,
‘Who can the owner of this place be, who thinks so much
of himself that he can say this? No one can use words
like these but God, the Blessed?’ I said, ‘I must enter
the place and ask about it.’ My companion tried to
dissuade me, but I said I would not go from thence until
I found out the truth about this Man who said, ‘Come
unto [M]e, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest.’ So we went in. I asked them, ‘What do
you sell here?’ They replied, ‘We have Holy Books for
anyone to read, and also to buy if they wish.’ I said,
‘What are the Holy Books?’ For I thought they meant
the Kor_n, or the Mosl_m Commentaries. They replied,
‘They are the Old and New Testaments--the Taurat and
Zabour and Engeel.’ I asked to be allowed to read them,and they gave me a book, and we read and talked until
sunset. My companion was very angry at our conversa-
tion, and got up, saying to me, ‘Come away, and let us
pray the sunset prayers.’ And although we were in the
midst of our conversation, I was obliged to go.
"I could not touch my supper that night, and, saying
nothing to anyone about what was in my heart, I slipped
off alone to that place, and meeting one of the men,
asked him to finish the conversation we had been inter-
rupted in. The subject was about Christ being the Son
of God, and the meaning of the Cross of Calvary, and till
late that night we talked, arranging, ere we parted to
meet early on the morrow. All that night I remained
in a state of tumult, and next morning found me at the
door of the place at 6 a.m., although we had not arranged
to meet until 8 o’clock.
"My conscience has found rest from what has always
troubled me in it, and I know that there is to man one
Saviour and Intercessor, and one only, Who has redeemed
me by His precious Blood, the Lord Jesus to Him be the
glory for ever and ever!
"Oh, how great was His love, bearing all the toil and
agony, and dying on the Cross that He might save me, the
poor miserable sinner, and that I might inherit His
Heavenly Kingdom! How unworthy I am of it all!
For I confess that I was sinking in the sea of disobedience
and self-will, a great burden of sin resting upon me, and
I had nothing good to recommend me to God; but He
Himself prepared the way in His mercy, and said, ‘Come
unto Me, weary and heavy laden one, and I will give you
rest.’ I rejoiced in that great promise, and my heart was
glad, and I fled for refuge to the Strong Tower. I believe
His Word to all like me who had gone astray, ‘him that
cometh to [M]e I will in no wise cast out’" (John 6. 37).
In all the ages of time and in all the climes of earth, no
one ever yet came, in honesty of heart, to the Lord Jesus
Christ, as a weary and heavy laden sinner, but found, as
this Egyptian found, and as millions of all sorts and con-
ditions of men and women have found, that HE welcomed
and saved them, and fully satisfied their longing souls.
You put it to the test and you will find it true. "COME
UNTO ME, . . . and I WILL GIVE YOU REST."
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