When we come to New Testament times, we have the wonderful revival
under John the Baptist. Was there ever a man who accomplished so much
in a few months, except the Master Himself? The preaching of John was
like the breath of spring after a long and dreary winter. For 400 long
years there had been no prophet, and darkness had settled down on the
nation. John's advent was like the flashing of a brilliant meteor that
heralded the coming day. It was not in the temple or in any synagogue
that he preached, but on the banks of the Jordan. Men, women, and
children flocked to hear him. Almost any one can get an audience in a
crowded city, but this was away out in the desert. No doubt there was
great excitement. I suppose the towns and villages were nearly
depopulated, as they flocked out to hear the preaching of John.
People are so afraid of excitement. When I went over to England in
1867, I was asked to go and preach at the Derby race-course. I saw
more excitement there in one day than I have seen at all the religious
meetings I ever attended in my life put together. And yet I heard no
one complaining of too much excitement. I heard of a minister, not
long ago, who was present at a public dance till after five o'clock in
the morning. The next Sabbath he preached against the excitement of
revivals--the late hours, and so on. Very consistent kind of
reasoning, was it not?
Then look at Pentecost. The apostles preached, and you know what the
result was. I suppose the worldly men of that day said it would all
die away. Although they brought about the martyrdom of Stephen and of
James, other men rose up to take possession of the field. From the
very place where Stephen was slain, Saul took up the work, and it has
been going on ever since.
There are many professed Christians who are all the time finding fault
and criticising. They criticise the preaching, or the singing. The
prayers will be either too long or too short, too loud, or not loud
enough. They will find fault with the reading of the Word of God, or
will say it was not the right portion. They will criticise the
preacher. "I do not like his style," they say. If you doubt what I
say, listen to the people as they go out of a revival meeting, or any
other religious gathering.
"What did you think of the preacher?" says one. "Well, I must confess
I was disappointed. I did not like his manner. He was not graceful in
his actions." Another will say: "He was not logical; I like logic." Or
another: "He did not preach enough about repentance." If a preacher
does not go over every doctrine in every sermon people begin to find
fault. They say: "There was too much repentance, and no Gospel; or, it
was all Gospel, and no repentance." "He spoke a great deal abort
justification, but he said nothing about sanctification." So if a man
does not go right through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, in
one sermon, they at once proceed to criticise and find fault.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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