Another Whitefield

Another Whitefield

“Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and

ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk

therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they

said, we will not walk therein.” -Jeremiah 6:16

George Whitefield

By the age of 21 he was the most well known preacher

in all of England, but by the age of 22, he was the

most hated.

With the statement of “Oh for another Whitefield!”

Jesse Morrell an open-air preacher himself responded:

”First, let a man so hunger and thirst after

righteousness, that he'd be willing to almost fast

and pray himself to death, as Whitefield did. Then,

let a man be willing to be thought of as a fool by his

own household, and a legalist by his own peers, as

Whitefield was. Then, let a man be willing to preach

the true gospel, so clear and so forcefully, that the

religious world will not be able to tolerate him, but

will force him to preach in the streets instead of the

Churches, as Whitefield was. Then, let a man be

willing to endure spittings, stonings, beatings, and

mobs, all with the love of

Christ burning in his heart,

as Whitefield did. Then, if a

man is willing to preach 40

hours a week, until he

often vomits blood, being

up early praying, and up

late traveling, ONLY

THEN, will we have another

Whitefield.”

Whitefield

preached more than 18,000 sermons between 1736

and 1770. That is more than 10 sermons a week over

a period of 34 years. Leonard Ravenhill remarks of

Whitefield: “From a lordly chamber heavy with the

pungent aroma of costly perfumes, Whitefield

would race off to a street meeting. Catch his joy as

he says, ‘There I was honored with having stones,

dirt, rotten eggs, and pieces of dead cats thrown at

me.’” What was the secret of Whitefield's success? I

think three things: He preached a pure gospel; he

preached a powerful gospel; he preached a passionate

gospel.” He preached to crowds of 30,000 to

78,000 and doing this with no voice amplification of

any kind. Whitefield would preach until he literally

coughed up blood and

with the warnings of doctors

he continued on! He

lived in light of eternity

continually and was used

of God in this measure.

His􀀁 last written letter was dated September 23,

1770. He told how he could not preach,􀀁 although

thousands were waiting to hear. On􀀁 September􀀁

29,􀀁he􀀁went􀀁from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to􀀁

Newburyport, Massachusetts. He preached en route

in the open at Exeter, New Hampshire. Looking up

he prayed, Lord Jesus, I am weary in thy work, but

not of thy work.􀀁If I􀀁have not yet finished my

course,􀀁 let me go and speak for thee once more in

the fields, seal thy truth,􀀁 and come home and die.

He was given strength for this, his last sermon. The

subject was Faith and Works. Although scarcely able

to stand when􀀁 he􀀁 first came before the group,􀀁he

preached for􀀁 two hours to a crowd that no building

then could have held. Arriving􀀁 at the parsonage of

the First Presbyterian Church in Newburyport,

which church he had helped to found he had supper

with his friend, Rev. Jonathan Parsons. He intended􀀁

to go at once to bed.􀀁 However,􀀁 having heard of his

arrival, a great number of friends gathered at the

parsonage and begged him for just a short

message.􀀁He paused a moment on􀀁 the stairs,􀀁 candle

in hand,􀀁and spoke to the people as they stood

listening until the candle went out.􀀁At 2 a.m., Panting

to breathe, he told his traveling companion

Richard Smith,􀀁‘My􀀁 asthma is returning;􀀁 I must

have two or􀀁 three days'􀀁rest.’􀀁 His last words

were,􀀁‘I am dying,’ and at 6 a.m. on Sunday morning

he died September 30, 1770. The􀀁 funeral was

held on October 2 at the Old South First Presbyterian

Church. Thousands of people were unable to

even get near the door of the church. Whitefield had

requested earlier to be buried beneath the pulpit if

he􀀁 died in􀀁 that vicinity,􀀁which was done.

Leonard Ravenhill

once pleaded: “God of

Whitefield, give us today

men like Whitefield who can

stand as giants in the pulpit,

men with burdened hearts, burning lips, and brimming

eyes. And, Lord, please do it soon!” If we do

not have another Whitefield in America or England

it is over! False prophets, false priests, peddling of

the word of God, all of these are common place and

only the trumpet call of prophetic magnitude of a

Whitefield will have any avail!