A Study of George Whitefield

[image][img]http://www.kirkwood.k12.mo.us/parent_student/khs/plattes/topics3and4/topics3and49.jpg[/img]
Dear Saints, I would like to use this thread to post reflections upon the ministry and man of George Whitefield. I know of no other man of God who has influenced me as strongly as this old brother. His solid preaching, his evangelism, his relentless love for souls and passion and true tears and thunderings deserve our utmost reflection...especially in these last days of religious perversions and spurious occasionings. I believe that in studying the ministry of George Whitefield one can find all the quintessential qualities for the minister of the gospel, a precious balance of grace and truth, of tears and thunderings, of charity and unprecedented boldness. It was the younger Whitefield that John Wesley first saw take to the fields alone, fearlessly preaching the Word of God to the drunkards and whoremongers and being pelted with rocks and dead animals in England, Scotland and Wales. And as he loved the mockers and warned of the terrors of hell that awaited them, tears always streamed down his face. Brethren, let us bring some sobriety back into the forum and return and learn and be impacted by the God-honored old paths.

[i]"Stop, stop O sinner! Stop and turn, turn! You unconverted men, the way you are walking in, however right it may seem to your blinded eyes, will end in death, even the eternal destruction of both body and soul. Do not tarry any longer! At your peril, I charge you: step not one step further in your present walk. For how do you know, O man, that the next step you take may be into hell? Death may seize you, judgment find you, and then the great gulf will be fixed between you and endless glory forever and ever!"[/i]

- From the sermon "Walking with God"

[i]"It is often remarked of people in the Old Testament, that they rose early in the morning, and particularly of our Lord in the New Testament, that he rose a great while before the day to pray. The morning befriends devotion; and, if people cannot use so much self-denial as to rise early to pray, I know not how they will be able to die at a stake - if so called to it -for Jesus Christ."[/i]

- Frem the sermon, "Abraham's Offerings"

I hope this thread is a main stay!!!

We can go ahead & note the thread on, Shubal Stearns & The Sandy Creek Revival that sent the gospel into the southeastern us.
____
Every time I hear a preacher mention Whitefield's name it is promptly followed by a ref. to "Ye Must Be Born Again"
What a testimony!

[i]Formality and hypocrisy in any religious exercise, is an abomination unto the Lord. And to enter his house merely to have our ears entertained, and not our hearts reformed, must certainly be highly displeasing to the Most High God, as well as unprofitable to ourselves.[/i]

[i]"...and therefore, as I suppose many of you are unconverted and graceless, go home! Go away to your closets and go down with your stubborn hearts before God, If you have not done it before, let tonight be the night....let the language of your heart be 'O Lord, convert me! Lord, make me a little child. Lord Jesus, let me not be banished from Thy Kingdom!'"[/i]

- From the sermon, "The Marks of a True Conversion"

“But woe unto you that laugh now; for you shall then lament and weep.” Woe unto you, who either believer there is no devil, or never felt any of his temptations. Woe unto you that are at ease in Zion, and instead of staying to be tempted by the devil, by idleness, self-indulgence, and making continual provision for the flesh, even tempt the devil to tempt you. Woe unto you, who not content with sinning yourselves, turn factors for hell, and make a trade of tempting others to sin. Woe unto you, who either deny divine revelation, or never make use of it but to serve a bad turn. Woe unto you who sell your consciences, and pawn your souls for a little worldly wealth or honor. Woe unto you who climb up to high places, when in church or state, by corruption, bribery, extortion, cringing, flattery, or bowing down to, and soothing the vices of those by whom you expect to rise. Woe unto you! For whether you will own the relation or not, surely you are of your father the devil; for the works of your father you will do; I tremble for you. How can you escape the damnation of hell?

From: The Temptation of Christ

"[i]...Whitefield, and Spurgeon used the work (Matthew Henry's Commentary), and commended it heartily. Whitefield read it through four times, the last time on his knees...[/i]"

- The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Philip Schaff Vol. V:

Here is a free pdf book download of 59 Selected Sermons from Whitefield

Selected Sermons of George Whitefield

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.html

Whitefield, George (1714-1770)Author(s):
Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal LibraryPublisher:

[i]"I tell you, O man, I tell you O woman, whoever you are, you are a dead man, you are a dead woman, no - a damned man, a damned woman, without a new heart..."[/i]

- From the sermon "The Putting on of the New Man, A Certain Mark of the Real Christian"

A thing I've always noticed about Whitefield's exhortations is that they are all foundationed on the concept of impending eternal doom or the promise of eternal glory through salvation in Jesus Christ. Eternity is always pervading his words in one aspect or another. Perhaps this goes to explain how crowds of thousands upon thousands hung on to every one of his words. When a preacher opens the vista of eternity under the authority of God, men begin to tremble and are held spellbound. The awareness of death and everlasting consciousness is engraved upon the soul of man (whether he admits it or not) and God is able to awaken such knowledge and fear when the genuine gospel of sin, righteousness and judgment is put forth with unction in the Holy Spirit.

Thankyou for a wonderful reference

Paul, this is a wonderful thread. I too have been profoundly impacted by George Whitefield. His exhortations at the end of his sermons are full of eternity and urgency, but what I appreciate most about his preaching was his profound understanding of the new birth and the supernatural work of God in converting the soul.

The book that God used to bring Whitefield from death to life was Henry Scougal's, "The Life of God in the Soul of Man", which revealed to him the nature of "true religion", which was the new life of God birthed in the man by the Spirit, the union of Christ with the soul.

[i]"I know by sad experience what it is to be lulled asleep with a false peace; long was I lulled asleep, long did I think myself a Christian, when I knew nothing of the Lord Jesus Christ. I went perhaps farther than many of you do; I used to fast twice a-week, I used to pray sometimes nine times a-day, I used to receive the sacrament constantly every Lord's-day; and yet I knew nothing of Jesus Christ in my heart, I knew not that I must be a new creature -- I knew nothing of inward religion in my soul."[/i]

- From the sermon: The Method of Grace

“If we once get above our Bibles, and cease making the written Word of God sole rule both as to faith and practice, we shall soon lie open to all manner of delusion, and be in great danger of making shipwreck of faith and a good conscience. Our blessed Lord, though He had the Spirit of God without measure, yet always was governed by, and fought the devil with, ‘It is written.’” (George Whitefield)

Great thread. Just to let you know in advance, I'm beginning a free audiobook website, and Whitefield is high in the list of authors to narrate. Whether or not anyone can capture his tone and energy is to be determined.

[i]The Spirit of God must be at work if the interests of Satan’s kingdom are opposed. This is a sure sign. Satan’s kingdom encourages sin and encourages men to cherish worldly lusts. The Holy Spirit does not.

This sign is given in 1 John 4:4-5: “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.” The apostle is here comparing those who are influenced by two opposite kinds of spirits. One spirit is true, and the other is false.

John shows the difference like this: one spirit is from God and so overcomes the spirit of the world. The other spirit speaks about and relishes the things of the world. Here, the spirit of the devil is called “the one who is in the world.” This is the difference between Christ and the devil. Christ says, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36), but Satan is called “the god of this age” (2 Cor. 4:4).

We know what the apostle means by “the world” or “the things that are of the world” from his own words in 1 John 2:15-16: “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world.” Clearly, he means everything to do with sin and includes all men’s corruptions and lusts--everything they look to for satisfaction.

So, from what the apostle says here, we may safely conclude that if a people:

have their love of ordinary, worldly pleasure, profits, and honors lowered;

are weaned from eagerly chasing such things;

have a deep concern about eternity and the eternal happiness that comes through the gospel;

earnestly begin to seek God’s kingdom and righteousness; and

are convicted of the ugliness and guilt of sin, as well as the misery to which it leads, then the Spirit of God must be at work.[/i]

[url=https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=15267&forum=40]from Signs of true revival by Edwards[/url]

Whether or not anyone can capture his tone and energy is to be determined.

[i]"Have we read or heard of any person who called so many thousands, so many myriads of sinners to repentance? Above all, have we read or heard of anyone who has been God's blessed instrument to bring so many sinners from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God as Whitefield."[/i]

- John Wesley

PaulWest wrote:
[i]"Have we read or heard of any person who called so many thousands, so many myriads of sinners to repentance? Above all, have we read or heard of anyone who has been God's blessed instrument to bring so many sinners from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God as Whitefield."[/i]

- John Wesley

In the process of reading these words by Wesley, I find myself shamed by the answer I must give to his question.

How can I spend the time and energy that I have; being comforted by healings, sermons, praises of and by men, revival with thousands saved, all in the distant past, and continue to sit comfortably and ask the Lord, ‘where is or when is our revival coming.’?

Do we know the sacrifices that were made and are we even willing to begin to offer, ourselves a sacrifice, the kind required?

When will we stop getting our spiritual fixes from the past?

A soul saved yesterday does not keep a thousand from going to hell today.
Yesterday’s healings do not help those who are suffering today.
All the past revivals save not one soul today.

Though I have enjoyed and been spiritually blessed by many wonderful sermons from the past, men and women need to hear God’s Word preached today from vessels willing to sacrifice all for the saving of souls.

Today is the day of salvation, and it is today we must live as though it is the last we may have to proclaim His wondrous grace.

So do we continue to be content answering ‘no’ to John Wesley’s question?

"Have we read or heard of any person who called so many thousands, so many myriads of sinners to repentance? Above all, have we read or heard of anyone who has been God's blessed instrument to bring so many sinners from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God as Whitefield."

- John Wesley

Or will we fall upon our faces and repent for the reasons we answer ‘no’ and offer ourselves a living sacrifice unto our Lord, no matter what the cost?

If we are not willing to sacrifice all for the souls of men, then we are not worthy of His.

Hebrews 12:1-4
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, [2] Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. [3] For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. [4] Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

Romans 12:1
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

I have a question. Does anyone know which is preferable, and why, between Pollock's and Dallimore's biographies on Whitefield?