Torch, Spring 1991

Walter Wilson 1881-1969 A Physician Healing Body And Soul E very generation has its outstanding soul winners. At the turn of the century, Walter Wilson was such a person. Author, businessman, pastor, radio personality, and medical doctor, Wilson exemplified an amazing enthu– siasm for reaching the lost. God influenced him to become a soul winner at the age of 17 by bringing him under the influence of a godly Scottish minister. They discussed spiritual matters for hours, especially the minis– ter 's burden for the lost. The minister became seriously ill, and just before he died he asked Walter to kneel by his bed. "Lord," the old man prayed, "soon I will not be able to preach or witness any longer. Make thi s lad my succes– sor; endue him with power from on high ." Wilson accepted this dying man 's bedside plea as a challenge for his life. Soon he joined a Christian friend and went street witnessing in downtown Kansas City. At first, results were disappointing. Wilson stumbled over his words and felt that he needed a more creative way to present the Gospel. One day God brought an inspiration to his mind. He placed a black derby hat upside down on the sidewalk and covered it with a handkerchief and studied it intently. When a crowd gathered at the strange sight, Wilson stood up and said, "Ladies and gentle– men , long ago a handful of shepherds were curious, just like you, and their curiosity led them to Jesus Christ." From this introduction the teenager proclaimed a short, clear explanation of the Gospel. The more Wilson shared his faith the more creativity God gave him to present His message. He would often use illus– trations from nature just as Jesus had done two thousand years before. At a high school assembly, Wilson told the audience that he held in his hand something no human eye had ever seen. "I obtained it some time ago in McPher– son, Kansas, from a gentleman who had never seen it. He assured me that the salesman from whom he had purchased it had never seen it." When he asked how many of those assembled would like to see this object every hand went up. With attention riveted on his hand, he produced a single peanut. Opening the shell, he popped the nut in his mouth and said, "No one has ever seen this peanut before, and now that you have seen it, no one will ever see it again." Everyone laughed and relaxed to hear the rest of his talk. At the end the school principal declared publicly that he had just received Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. Wilson was a master at opening conversations that would quickly lead to spiritual matters. Seeing a man reading a newspaper he asked if the man knew of the most advertised event in the whole world. Wilson told him the event was promoted in every newspaper, bank statement, calendar, and even in every letter. Bursting with curiosity the reader would soon learn from Wilson that dates are figured from the time of the event of Christ's birth and death and dates are everywhere! "Has God's advertising campaign been effective or completely vain in your life, sir?" Wilson asked. He once questioned a lawyer, "Can anyone practice law before the Supreme Court of the United States?" Only those recognized by the Chief Justice could do this was the reply. Then Wilson inquired of the lawyer if he had arranged for someone to repre– sent him before God the Father at the Great White Throne in the "Supreme Court of the universe. " In 1913 Wilson longed to see greater fruit in his ministry. A missionary friend challenged him to evaluate his relation– ship with the Holy Spirit. He said, "When the Spirit has His own way in your soul, He will do freely what He came to do--reveal the Scriptures, exalt the Savior, magnify the Father, and give power in service and victory in the battle with Satan." He urged Wilson to seek to know the Spirit in a more personal way. Several weeks later he heard the respected Christian leader, Dr. James M. Gray, explain that God wants Christians to present their " ...bodies a living sac1ifice..." (Romans 12: 1). God the Father does not need a body for He is upon His throne; Jesus Christ already has a body. It is the Holy Spirit Who desires to indwell and control the bodies of saints who are fully surrendered to His will. Wilson was pricked in his heart. That night, as he lay on his bed– room floor, he prayed, "I give You this body of mine; from my head to my feet, I give it to You. I give You my hands , my limbs, my eyes, my lips, and my brain-all that I am within and without-I hand over to You for You to live in it the life that You please. You may send this body to Africa, or You may lay it on a bed of affliction. It is Your body from this moment on." While Wilson had the same witness and the same message, from that moment on he had new power and far greater results. Walter Wilson was a physician, pastor, and author.