Welcome to the Daily Blade . The Word of God is described as the sword of the Spirit , the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil . Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson , and they stand ready to equip men for the fight . Let's sharpen up .
Speaker 2All right , guys , we made it to the end of another
week . This week we've been looking at real-life stories of courage and sacrifice from the tragic shipwreck and sinking of the RMS Titanic on April the 15th of 1912 , and how they relate to historical occurrences described in God's Word . So I teased today's episode on Monday of this week , so I'm glad you're here for it . It is simply one of the most moving and powerful stories of evangelism that I've ever heard in my entire life . So today I'm going to tell you about one of the greatest heroes in the history of Christianity , and I would venture to guess that almost all of you guys have never heard of this man . Right ? I'm talking about John Harper
. So John Harper was a 39-year-old Scottish Baptist evangelist and pastor of Walworth Road Baptist Church in London . So he was a widow and it was raising his only child , a six-year-old girl named Annie Jesse , when he , his sister and Annie boarded the RMS Titanic as second-class passengers on April the 10th of 1912 . So Pastor John was traveling from London to Chicago where he was set to preach for several weeks at Moody Church . So this was where he actually was a guest preacher the previous fall and he was coming back to continue his ministry in America . So obviously , those plans changed entirely when the Titanic hit an iceberg on April the 14th 1912 . So Pastor John quickly surmised
that his fate was likely already set , but that he could still save his daughter and his sister . So Pastor John quickly got Annie and his sister to a lifeboat . Now here's where things really get interesting . Okay , harper could have taken a seat on the lifeboat next to his daughter , because he was the only surviving parent of Annie , right ? But instead he decided to stay behind on the ship . Why would he do that ? Well , it became apparent very quickly , so that he could share the gospel of Jesus Christ . I mean , just think about the mindset of John Harper as you continue with the story .
Speaker 2So , as witnesses reported , john Harper frantically and fervently began confronting people that were on the boat deck , many of whom would likely perish very soon , to accept Jesus Christ . I mean , he was compelling them , as Charles Spurgeon taught us in his famous sermon , compelled them to come in . He was quoted right as screaming women and children and the unsaved to the lifeboats . So a witness actually saw Pastor John give up his life vest to a passenger that didn't have one . So Pastor John had found out that this passenger was not a follower of Christ . And the witness said that Pastor John said this to the passenger . You need this more than I do . So Pastor John , in this moment , was sealing his own fate in the chance that it would give this one passenger more time to accept Christ .
Speaker 2So early on the morning of April the 15th 1912 , the Titanic sank into the freezing waters of the North Atlantic . John Harper was one of roughly 1,500 people that met their fates in the frigid ocean . But that isn't
nearly the end of Pastor John's story Without a life vest . Nearly the end of Pastor John's story Without a life vest . Surely , knowing that he was only moments away from death , pastor John swam from person to person asking them are you saved ? Do you know Jesus Christ ? And one man actually called out to Harper saying that he was not saved . Harper swam in the frozen waters to this man and immediately quoted Acts 16 31 Believe on the Lord , jesus Christ , and you will be saved . Those were the last words that John Harper ever uttered . This man said that Pastor John disappeared under the surface of the water , never to come back up . He literally died with the gospel on his frozen lips . That man went on to accept Christ and became known as John Harper's last convert .
Speaker 2So this incredible story reminded me of Stephen as described in Acts 6 and 7 . So in Acts 6 , stephen is doing many great wonders and signs , and the members of the synagogue , they , really didn't like this very much , so they concocted a scheme to seize him , accuse him of blasphemy and then have him killed . So when Stephen was brought before the high priest of the Sanhedrin , he gave a blistering speech about Abraham being called by God , joseph being rejected by his brothers , moses being rejected by the Israelites , the law being disobeyed and the temple being misunderstood and a bunch of other stuff . But let's actually go to Acts 7 , and we're going to start in verse 54 . Now , when they heard these things , they were enraged and they ground their teeth at him .
Speaker 2But he , full of the Holy Spirit , gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God . And he said and he said and as they were stoning Stephen , he called out Lord , jesus , receive my spirit . And , falling to his knees , he cried out with a loud voice Lord , do not hold this sin against them . And when he had said this , he fell asleep . Stephen's final words were a proclamation of the divinity of Jesus and a calm plea for Jesus to receive him and to not smite the men that were murdering him . He died with Jesus on his lips . He , like John Harper , was evangelizing until the moment of death . May we prepare our hearts , minds and spirits to do the same as these two giants
of the faith . Thank you for your attention this week . Stay sharp .
Speaker 1Thank you for listening to today's episode Before you go . If you want to help equip other men for the fight , share this podcast around and leave us a five-star rating and review . Stay sharp .