'Be silent!' shouted Andrew Murray

It took a humbling experience for Andrew Murray to see how easily man can try to stop God's work of revival.

ANDREW MURRAY'S family had emigrated from Scotland to South Africa, where his father was to pastor a church. It was a godly family where prayer was normal and hymns were sung around the house.

Most of all, Andrew's father prayed for revival. Every Friday evening he would read to his family accounts of the great movings of the Holy Spirit in history. Then he would go to his study and pour out his heart with tears to God for a similar outpouring on South Africa.

These experiences marked young Andrew deeply, as did a visit to Germany to hear Johann Blumhardt, who had a ministry of signs and wonders. Here, Andrew saw healings and deliverance from demons, and grew up convinced that greater power was available to the Church than she realized.

In time, Andrew himself became a pastor, and flung himself into his duties. He rode many miles, preaching and baptizing, and won the loyal affection of his parishioners. Yet after a time, Andrew grew dissatisfied. He wrote: "When I look at my people, my peace forsakes me. I am forced to flee to the Master to seek a new and more entire surrender to His work. My prayer is for revival, but I am held back by the increasing sense of my own unfitness for the work. I lament that awful pride and self-complacency that have till now ruled in my heart. O that I may be more and more a minister of the Spirit."

Desperate

God was humbling Andrew Murray and making him thirsty for the living water that was soon to come. Yet there was an obstacle. The young minister still felt instinctively that the Holy Spirit had to move through the preaching of the word, and therefore only through the pastor. God was to humble him by sending a revival that Andrew himself did not initiate, and, in fact tried to stop!

The churches in South Africa were at that time desperate for more leaders. They searched in vain, so sent to Europe for volunteers. They also called a conference at Worcester, Cape Town, in 1860, to consider the issue of revival and to begin united prayer for a move of the Spirit.

God did not keep them waiting long. One Sunday, a preacher invited people in his congregation to pray out what was on their heart. A black girl of about fifteen responded and cried aloud for God to visit His church. "While she was praying," wrote the pastor, "we heard a sound in the distance, which came nearer and nearer, until the whole hall seemed to shake. The entire congregation began to call on God, and the noise was deafening."

At this point Andrew Murray arrived, to find scenes of chaos in the church. Not recognizing this as the revival he had so longed for, he went to the front and shouted: "People, be silent! God is a God of order, and this is confusion!" Nobody took any notice. All were too absorbed in God.

Andrew left, angry and confused. Meanwhile, the church came alive. Old and young, black and white, flocked to the meetings. Before long, there were three prayer meetings a day, and people were upset if they finished too early. The meetings would begin with quietness, then prayer, whereupon the same noise of a rushing wind would be heard. Some fell down under the anointing of the Spirit while others poured out their hearts to God in loud repentance.

Finally, God remembered Andrew. At a Bible study he began to pray, then let others pray. Immediately the sound of the wind was there and the Holy Spirit came upon the gathering. Andrew was about to quiet the people once more, when a visitor came up to him and said: "Be careful what you do! I have come from America, where revival has been moving. This is precisely what I have witnessed there. This is the Spirit of God." Andrew Murray needed no further confirmation. He humbled himself and let God have His way.

God's awakening power moved throughout the region. It was not confined to towns and villages. Even on remote farms and plantations, people were suddenly gripped with conviction of sin and a longing after Jesus. Lives were changed and holiness became popular.

Even opponents of the revival had to admit to the amazing changes that took place in previously godless people. Where once the churches had not been able to find one young man ready to be a leader for God, the revival raised up fifty in Andrew's area alone! His own parish recorded more conversions and changed lives in one month than in the whole course of its previous history.

Looking back on those days and the humbling lessons God taught him, Andrew later wrote: "If only we did not so often hinder Him with our much trying to serve, how surely and mightily would He accomplish His own work of renewing souls into the likeness of Jesus Christ."

This article has been extracted from Jesus Life magazine, published by Jesus Fellowship. Useful Sources: Absolute Surrender (Andrew Murray, Lakeland,1962), Andrew Murray, Apostle of Abiding Love (Leona Choy, CLC, 1978)

Andrew Murray
He Almost Stopped a True Revival!
by David Smithers

Soon after coming to Christ, I was given two small paperbacks written by Andrew Murray, "The Prayer Life" and "Waiting on God". It seemed with each new chapter came fresh insights and new experiences in prayer. As a young believer, these writings greatly helped me to define and establish my personal prayer life. The principles conveyed in those little dog-eared books still continue to have a significant influence upon my prayer life and ministry. Almost twenty years later, I am only now beginning to feel that I truly understand the depth of what Andrew Murray was writing about! Most works on prayer direct you to a process of prayer, but Mr. Murray’s writings direct you to the person of prayer - JESUS CHRIST.

Birthplace & Home

Andrew Murray was born on May 9th, 1828 in a Dutch Reformed parsonage in Graaff Reinet, South Africa. It was here that his father, the Rev. Andrew Murray, Sr. was ministering to the Dutch settlers. The Murray home was a vibrant and active place filled with the lively sounds of joy, prayer, and worship. Every Friday evening Andrew Murray’s father would gather his family together and read them moving accounts of past revivals. He would then retire to his study and pour out his heart in prayer for revival to come to South Africa. This had been his weekly habit since 1822. Young Murray also benefited from several other fine examples of Christian zeal and devotion. Such men as David Livingstone and Robert Moffat frequently passed through their home on their way to the coast.

William C. Burns

In 1838, at the age of ten, Andrew left home with his brother John to study in Scotland. They stayed with their uncle, the Rev. John Murray. In the spring of 1840 the uncle introduced the boys to the revival ministry of William C. Burns. This renowned Scottish revivalist left a deep and lasting impression on the youthful Andrew Murray. The twelve-year-old Murray must have been thrilled when Mr. Burns invited him to carry his Bible and cloak as they walked together to the revival meetings in Aberdeen. Years later, Murray could still vividly recall the power of Burns’ godly influence upon his life. His sincerity, fervent praying, and penetrating preaching all helped Andrew Murray define his own personal ministry and calling. The influence of one generation’s Spirit-filled ministry often waters the seeds of another generation’s harvest.

Pastor Blumhardt

After graduating from Marischal College in 1844, the two brothers went to Utrecht, Holland, for the purpose of further study in theology and the Dutch language. Religious life at this time in the Netherlands was at a low ebb and rationalism had crippled many of the pulpits and seminaries. Much like the Wesley brothers and the Holy Club at Oxford, John and Andrew joined a zealous group at the college called "Sechor Dabar" (Remember the Word). Here they found like-minded brethren, warm fellowship, and true missionary zeal. During a vacation from their classes, the brothers visited Germany, where they had the opportunity to meet Pastor Blumhardt. This remarkable man had been used to bring revival to the Renish province in Germany. This revival was marked by extraordinary manifestations of deliverance and healing the sick through prayer. "Andrew saw firsthand the ongoing work of God’s power in his own time."

The Boy Preacher

The two brothers were ordained at The Hague on Andrew’s twentieth birthday, leaving soon afterwards to begin their work in South Africa. Andrew appeared to be barely more than a child when he first returned to Africa. At twenty years old, he looked much younger than his age. An Old Dutch farmer was once heard to say, "Why, they have lent us a girl to preach to us." Nevertheless, in spite of Murray’s fragile appearance, there was no end to his endurance and zeal. He would often go out for weeks at a time on horseback to hold meetings for the Boers, (Dutch-speaking South African farmers). These spiritually hungry farmers would come from literally hundreds of miles to listen to this "boy preacher". A temporary church of reeds would be quickly erected and then surrounded by hundreds of big Dutch farm wagons. It was during such ministry ventures, that the young Mr. Murray began to give expression to the fire and fervency so often associated with his classic writings on prayer and the Deeper Life.

Preparation for Revival

In 1860 Andrew Murray accepted a call to pastor the church at Worcester. His induction to the church coincided with a revival and missions conference made up of 374 South African ministers. The conference was planned for the specific purpose of encouraging spiritual revival and recruiting new workers and missionaries for the Dutch Reformed churches of South Africa. At the beginning of the conference a paper was handed out which traced the news of the recent revival in America and Britain. The attending ministers were strongly encouraged to expect and pray for a similar move of God in South Africa. A Dr. Robertson spoke on their great need for revival, followed by a Dr. Adamson who then gave a detailed report on the recent awakening in America. Andrew Murray, Sr. attempted to address the gathering, but was unable, being overcome with brokenness and tears. Overall, the conference was a great success, encouraging fresh hope and prayer among the attending ministers.

Shortly after the conference, a meeting of young people was held at the church on a Sunday evening. It was at this meeting that the Spirit of revival unexpectedly broke out. The meeting moved along as expected, until an unassuming 15-year-old black girl stood up to pray. Mr. Murray’s associate, J. C. deVries, was overseeing the prayer meeting and gives us an eyewitness account of these extraordinary events. "On a certain Sunday evening there were gathered in a little hall some sixty young people. I was the leader of the meeting, which began with a hymn and a lesson from God’s Word, after which I prayed. Three or four others gave out a verse of a hymn and prayed, as was the custom. Then a colored girl of about fifteen years of age, in service with a nearby farmer, rose at the back of the hall and asked if she too might propose a hymn. At first I hesitated, not knowing what the meeting would think, but better thoughts prevailed, and I replied, ‘Yes.’ She gave out her hymn-verse and prayed in moving tones. While she was praying, we heard, as it were, a sound in the distance, which came nearer and nearer, until the hall seemed to be shaken; with one or two exceptions, the whole meeting began to pray, the majority in audible voice, but some in whispers. Nevertheless, the noise made by the concourse was deafening. A feeling, which I cannot describe, took possession of me…"

While this meeting was going on, Andrew Murray was preaching in another section of the church. He was not present during the beginning of these events. When his own service was over, an elder passed the door of the prayer meeting, heard the noise, peeked in, and then ran back to get Mr. Murray. J. C. deVries vividly recalls Murray’s surprising reaction to the young people’s meeting, "Mr. Murray came forward to the table where I knelt praying, touched me, and made me understand that he wanted me to rise. He then asked me what had happened. I related everything to him. Then he walked down the room for some distance and called out as loudly as he could, ‘People, silence!’ But the praying continued. In the meantime, I kneeled down again. It seemed to me that if the Lord was coming to bless us, I should not be upon my feet but on my knees. Mr. Murray then called loudly again, ‘People, I am your minister, sent from God! Silence!’ But there was no stopping the noise. No one heard him, but all continued praying and calling on God for mercy and pardon. Mr. Murray then returned to me and told me to start the hymn-verse commencing ‘Aid the soul that helpless cries’. I did so. But the emotions were not quieted and the meeting went right on praying. Mr. Murray then prepared to depart, saying, ‘God is a God of order, and here everything is confusion!’ With that he left the hall."

Revival Praying & Power

Prayer meetings were spontaneously organized every evening after that. The order of these meetings was usually the same each time, although no one set it. At the beginning there was generally great silence; no efforts were made to stir up emotions, but after the second or third prayer the gathering would suddenly begin to simultaneously cry out in prayer. This was definitely not the custom of the Dutch Reformed churches at that time, nor did anyone ever teach them to do this. Sometimes the gathering would continue until three in the morning; even then, many wished to stay longer. As the people returned to their homes in the middle of the night they went singing joyously through the streets. The prayer meeting quickly grew and had to be moved to a nearby school building. Eventually, this facility also proved to be far too small for the crowds of God-hungry seekers. "In places where prayer meetings were unknown a year before, now the people complained because meetings ended an hour too soon! Not only weekly but daily prayer meetings were demanded by the people, even three times a day – and even among children." The revival shook the entire countryside. The young and old, rich and poor, blacks and whites were all equally affected by the revival. "It was quite amazing that the awakening was not confined to the towns and villages, but felt in totally isolated places without outside contacts, even on remote farms, where men and women were suddenly seized with emotions to which they had been utter strangers a few weeks or even days before." People were frequently gripped with intense conviction. Strong men cried out in anguish while others fell to the ground unconscious and had to be carried out of the meetings.

Learning about Revival

J. C. deVries gives us a further account of Mr. Murray’s difficulty in accepting these manifestations as from God.  J. C. deVries writes, "On the first Saturday evening in the larger meeting-house, Mr. Murray was the leader. He read a portion of Scripture, made a few observations on it, engaged in prayer, and then gave others the opportunity to pray. During the prayer, which followed his, we heard again the same sound in the distance. It drew nearer and nearer and then suddenly the whole gathering was praying. That evening a stranger had been standing at the door from the beginning of the meeting, watching the proceedings. Mr. Murray descended from the platform and again moved up and down among the people, trying to quiet them. The stranger then tiptoed forward from the door, touched Mr. Murray gently, and said in English, ‘I think you are the minister of this congregation. Be careful what you do, for it is the Spirit of God that is at work here. I have just come from America, and this is precisely what I witnessed there."

Andrew Murray had been offended by the intense outbursts of emotional praying, and sought unsuccessfully to control and calm the meetings. However, after this incident he apparently stopped trying to manhandle the Holy Spirit. He learned to accept these sudden outbursts of prayer and strong emotions as the work of God. His father, Andrew Murray, Sr. also confirmed that these stirrings were genuine, stating, "he blessed God that he lived to witness such a work of the Spirit". Mr. Murray’s strong reaction seems to stem from the fact that these particular revival manifestations exceeded his own personal experience and sense of propriety. Though he had earnestly prayed for revival, studied reports about revival and even witnessed a measure of revival himself, he still failed to anticipate his own response to the supernatural nature of a revival in his own church.

Revival & Broken Expectations

Mr. Murray’s expectations about proper church order and that of the Holy Spirit’s were obviously quite different. Broken expectations, if left unchecked, can lead to confusion, frustration and even harsh criticism. When the crowd in Jerusalem rushed to observe the miracle of Pentecost, Acts 2: 6 notes that many of the onlookers were "CONFUSED". These feelings of confusion obviously caused some to become offended, resulting later in them openly ridiculing the work of the Holy Spirit. -(Acts 2:6-13). Mr. Murray’s new revival experiences eventually taught him not to judge every seemingly confusing situation as the result of a lack of proper order. Often we experience strong feelings of confusion or even frustration when we are suddenly placed in an unexpected or unfamiliar situation. All of us have surely struggled with feelings of confusion or anxiety while trying to find our bearings in an unfamiliar city or country. The source of our confusion was not a lack of proper order, but our own unfamiliarity with our new surroundings and circumstances.

Acts 2:6 is not suggesting that God is the author of disorder and confusion! On the contrary, this verse serves to remind us that our natural sense of protocol and order is sometimes quite different than the divine order of Heaven come down to earth. When we are suddenly surprised or confused by unfamiliar events, we must guard against thoughtlessly rejecting them simply because they are new to our personal experience. Only a PROUD heart rushes in to condemn what it does not understand! We must carefully examine all things according to the Scriptures, rather than by our personal preferences and traditions. Then and only then will we be prepared to hold fast to what is good in the coming days. –(1Thes 5:21).

Revival & the Keswick Convention

The lessons learned during this revival helped prepare Andrew Murray for his future role in the influential Keswick movement. Mr. Murray attended the Keswick Convention for the first time in 1882. In 1895, he was asked to speak at both the Keswick and Northfield Conventions. Murray was warmly received at these conferences and was later responsible for bringing the Keswick movement to South Africa. The Keswick Convention was itself, the indirect fruit of this wonderful season of awakening. The revival touched at least four different continents, bringing with it a renewed faith and vision for personal holiness and the Spirit-filled life. It was this liberating message that soon became synonymous with Andrew Murray’s personal ministry.

The birth of the Keswick Convention united the emerging European Holiness Movement and thereby helped to channel the fire and energy of what became known as the "Third Great Awakening".  However, the Keswick Convention did much more than merely unify and preserve the remaining fruit of this great revival. With a clear call to personal holiness through faith in Christ, the Keswick movement helped to prepare a new generation for the next move of God.

Those attending the conventions were always strongly encouraged to embrace a lifestyle of holiness, unity and prayer. In the 1902 Keswick Convention, five thousand Christians agreed to form home prayer circles for a worldwide outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The fruit of these Keswick praying bands was no doubt realized through the Welsh Revival of 1904. R. B. Jones, Jessie Penn-Lewis, and F. B. Myer all considered the Keswick Convention as one of the hidden springs of the Welsh revival. Through the biblical teaching of men like Andrew Murray, J. Elder Cumming, Evan Hopkins, F. B. Myer and many others, thousands of Christian workers and missionaries were empowered and purified to enter a new millennium of global harvest. James Hudson Taylor, A. T. Pierson, Samuel Zwemer and many other missionary mobilizers regarded the Keswick Convention as one of the finest "hunting grounds" for the best missionary recruits. Here again we find it to be true, that the influence of one generation’s Spirit-filled ministry often waters the seeds of another generation’s harvest.

On January 18th, 1917, Andrew Murray crossed over into Glory. He entered into Heaven the same way he lived on earth, praying and urging others to pray. Few men have ever impacted more souls for the cause of the Spirit-filled life than Andrew Murray. He was arguably the Church’s most prolific writer on the subject of prayer and the Deeper Life, publishing some 240 books between 1858 and 1917. Several of these books have been translated into as many as fifteen different languages. Soon after the Christian Literature Society for China translated Mr. Murray’s book, "The Spirit of Christ" into Chinese, revival reportedly broke out in Inland China. Even today his writings are still shaping the way multitudes of hungry Christians think about prayer and the Spirit-filled life.

Andrew Murray unquestionably was a man of rare gifts and deep spiritual insight, yet he almost quenched a genuine revival. He was raised in a home where his father had faithfully prayed for more than 30 years for revival. Nevertheless, for a time he stubbornly opposed the long-awaited answer to his father’s prayers. As a boy he had delighted in the revival ministry of William C. Burns and while in Germany he witnessed the miraculous ministry of Pastor Blumhardt. Yet, when personally confronted with revival manifestations in his own church, he opposed them. I do not write these things to dishonor the memory of one of our respected fathers of the faith, but rather to pose an important and timely question. If such a gifted man as Andrew Murray could fail to recognize the Spirit of revival, while in the midst of preparing for revival, how much more are we capable of making the same mistake? This generation of Christians must be willing to learn from the experiences, insights, and errors of our spiritual forefathers if we are to be prepared for the next move of God. Are you willing to LEARN?
 

Resources Used – The Life of Andrew Murray of South Africa by J. Du Plessis, Andrew Murray and His Message by W. M. Douglas, Andrew Murray: Apostle of Abiding Love by Leona Choy, "THE LIFE OF FAITH, JANUARY 26,1967" St. Andrew of South Africa by N. L. Cliff, Andrew Murray by Dr. William Linder,Jr. Northfield Echoes Vol. 6 Northfield Conference Addresses for 1899 Edited by Delavan L. Pierson, Evangelical Awakenings in Africa by J. Edwin Orr, The Fervent Prayer: The Worldwide Impact of the Great Awakening of 1858 by J. Edwin Orr, The Holiness Revival of the 19th Century by Melvin Easterday Dieter, The Keswick Convention: Its Message, Its Method and Its Men by C. F. Harford, Keswick from Within by J. B. Figgis, These Sixty Years: The Story of the Keswick Convention by Walter B. Sloan, So Great Salvation: The History & Message of the Keswick Convention by Steven Barabas, Scotland’s Keswick by Norman C. Macfarlane, The Forward Movement of the Last Half Century by A. T. Pierson, Revive Us Again by Herbert Lockyer, Rent Heavens: The Revival of 1904 by R. B. Jones, The Awakening in Wales by Jessie Penn-Lewis.

"Immediately one, and another, and another sunk to the earth: They dropped on every side as thunderstruck." --John Wesley, 1739

"After preaching to an earnest congregation at Coleford, I met the Society. They contained themselves pretty well during the exhortation, but when I began to pray the flame broke out: many cried aloud; many sunk to the ground; many trembled exceedingly; but all seemed to be quite athirst for God, and penetrated by the presence of his power." --John Wesley, 1784

Excerpted from "Thunderstruck:" John Wesley and the "Toronto Blessing"

John Wesley And The Gifts Of The Holy Spirit:  by Robert G. Tuttle Jr.  A selected quote: "I was fully convinced of what I had long suspected, 1. That the Montanists, [a charismatic movement] in the second and third centuries, were real, scriptural Christians; and, 2. that the grand reason why the miraculous gifts were so soon withdrawn, was not only that faith and holiness were well nigh lost; but that dry, formal, orthodox men began even then to ridicule whatever gifts they had not themselves, and to decry them all as either madness or imposture." --John Wesley

From His Journal

Although Whitefield influenced John Wesley with respect to open-air preaching, it was Wesley who had originally influenced Whitefield to take another look at the manifestations. He wrote of Whitefield as follows in his Journal on July 7, 1739:

Nevertheless, when Wesley was exposed to the more cacophonous manifestations at the meetings of the Moravians a few months later, he was shocked. On October 18, 1739, Philip Henry Molther of Germany stopped off in England on his way to America. J. E. Hutton, in A HISTORY OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH, 2d ed. (London, Moravian Publication Office, 1909), p. 296, describes what happened:

Wesley speaks of the manifestations on many occasions throughout his journals, and although at times he attributes some of them to causes other than God, he still speaks favorably of them in most cases. It was at the outset of some of these things that Wesley wasn't always so sure, as we've already seen with respect to the Moravian meetings. Less than a year later, one of the manifestations that worried him was the spirit of laughter:

As far as John Wesley was concerned, most of the manifestations were of God, and he refers to them as such on many occasions in his Journal. Here are some examples:

In the evening, I was at St. Ewe. One or two felt the edge of God's sword, and sunk to the ground; and indeed it seemed as if God would suffer none to escape Him; as if He both heard and answered our prayer (August 28, 1755).

Of particular importance to Wesley was the outpouring of the Spirit in Everton during the summer of 1759. The vicar of Everton, John Berridge (1716-1793), had undergone a fresh understanding of justification by faith alone in 1757, and from that moment onward had resolved to preach Jesus Christ and salvation by faith. He had burned all of his old sermons, shedding tears of joy over their destruction. This attracted the attention of the entire neighborhood, and his church soon became crowded whenever he preached. He wrote, "as soon as I preached Jesus Christ, and faith in his blood, then believers were added to the Church continually."

Within a year and a half, John Wesley was on the scene, and what he found made a profound impression on him, to the extent that he made occasional references to it in his Journal throughout the rest of his life. In one of his first references to it (July 29, 1759), he quotes a very long account of the work of God in Everton, probably by John Walsh, who wrote:

During this outpouring of the Spirit in Everton, Lady Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon (1707-1791), sent two envoys to investigate what was happening. She was the patroness of Methodism in her era. After her conversion in 1739, she attended some of John Wesley's meetings and soon began to function as a bishop by virtue of her right as a peeress to appoint Anglican clergymen as household chaplains and assign their duties, and to purchase presentation rights to chapels, enabling her to decide who would conduct services and preach.

Among the many chaplains whom she appointed and continued to finance for many decades was George Whitefield. Much later, in 1779, after sixty chapels were already functioning under her auspices, this practice was disallowed by a consistory court of London. But Under the Toleration Act, she was able to register her chapels as dissenting places of worship, which became known as "The Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion."

In 1759, she sent two people, including William Romaine (1714-1795), the well-known Calvinist preacher, to investigate what was happening at Everton. Her biographer wrote as follows:

Some of John Wesley's biographers have mistakenly asserted that he was only open to the manifestations in the earliest period of the awakening in England, but then became more and more convinced that they were not of God as the decades went on and the revival matured, deepened and broadened. This is actually very far from correct; favorable descriptions of the phenomena can be found in his Journal throughout the remainder of his life. Here are some examples:

Selected quotes from "The Manifestations Throughout History" - St. Louis CATCH THE FIRE Conference, May 3-6, 1995 by Richard M. Riss.

Some unusual manifestations became evident in New England under the preaching of Jonathan Edwards. These phenomena became extensive enough to motivate him to write about them and offer advice as to exactly what, if anything, they might signify. Should a work of God be judged on the basis of such things? Edwards felt that the manifestations could neither prove nor disprove that a given work was the work of God. Rather, the test for a work of God was in the fruit. Does Godly character result from a given work? Then it is the work of God. In THE DISTINGUISHING MARKS OF A WORK OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD (1741), he wrote:

Jonathan Edwards was involved in a great debate that had been raging regarding whether or not what we now know as the "Great Awakening" was really of God. Edwards challenged his opponents to go to the scenes of revival and see for themselves whether what was happening was of God. Charles Chauncy, one of his fiercest opponents, took up this challenge and was an eyewitness of some of these things. In his SEASONABLE THOUGHTS ON THE STATE OF RELIGION (Boston, 1743), p. 239, Chauncy wrote of one meeting as follows:

Chauncy felt that this was proof that the Great Awakening was not of God. He put Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, and Gilbert Tennent into the same category as James Davenport. These manifestations were evident at Davenport's meetings, as they were in those of the other revivalists. However, Davenport managed to bring the Great Awakening into considerable disrepute with his extravagant and outlandish behavior. He claimed to be able to distinguish infallibly the elect from the damned, and he publicly greeted the former as "brethren," and the latter only as "neighbors." Everywhere he went, he denounced the ministers of New England as unconverted men who were leading their flocks blindfolded to hell. He questioned many of them personally and condemned them as damned to their faces, insisting that bodily manifestations MUST accompany any true conversion to Christ.

The antics of James Davenport tended to discredit the Great Awakening as a whole, but Jonathan Edwards did what he could to repair the damage, trying to convince critics like Charles Chauncy that he did not hold to Davenport's extreme views. His contemporaries felt that he did not succeed in this, and Edwards seems largely to have made enemies on both sides of the debate. In his well-known biography of Edwards (1949), Perry Miller wrote, "by 1743 Edwards was beaten, an awesome but discredited figure. Harvard and Yale, infuriated by charges in Whitefield's journals, published testimonies that . . . they did not approve identifying the operations of the spirit with 'the swelling of their breasts and stomachs,' and condemned extravagance, which meant that they had no more to do with Edwards. When Whitefield returned in 1744, the opposition was organized and kept him out of most pulpits. . . . Chauncy was the great man; hundreds of churches were split, the people were exhausted, and the solidarity of New England society in the preceding century had been sundered as by a knife" (p. 176).

Why God Used D.L. Moody

Excerpts from a sermon by R.A. Torrey - 1923

INTRODUCTION

D. L. Moody died in the last days of the 19th century. Dr. R. A. Torrey was probably his closest associate and friend. Dr. Torrey was the first superintendent of the Moody Bible Institute and set up a curriculum for that Bible Institute which has been a pattern for others like it. When Moody died, Torrey soon took worldwide lead in great citywide campaigns in Australia, England and America. In 1923 Dr. Torrey was asked to speak at a great memorial service on "Why God Used D. L. Moody," and this is that remarkable address about that amazing man, probably the greatest man of his generation, as Dr. Torrey says.

The reader will notice that R. A. Torrey and D. L. Moody both used the term, "baptized with the Holy Ghost" just as it is used in Acts 1:5 about Pentecost. Later, because of some wildfire and theological differences of people who used the term, "the baptism of the Holy Ghost," Plymouth Brethren said that that term should refer only to Pentecost and the origin of the church. Thus in retreating from other movements, they took out of the Moody Bible Institute and other Bible institutes the teaching of D. L. Moody and R.A. Torrey, and took out the emphasis which those great men of God had put on the fullness of the Spirit, or baptism with the Spirit. And so Dr. C. I. Scofield, in the note to the Scofield Bible, took the Plymouth Brethren position and forsook the position of Moody and Torrey which he originally held.

But Dr. Will H. Houghton, president of Moody Bible Institute, in an edition of this little book, Why God Used D. L. Moody, said, "But let no one quibble about an experience as important as the filling with the Spirit. In this little book Dr. Torrey quotes Mr. Moody as saying, in a discussion of this very matter, 'Oh, why will they split hairs? Why don't they see that this is just the one thing that they themselves need? They are good teachers, they are wonderful teachers, and I am so glad to have them here, but why will they not see that the baptism of the Holy Ghost is just the one touch that they themselves need?' " And Dr. Houghton further said, "The tragedy is that so many are technically correct and spiritually powerless."

God is looking for men whom He can mightily use in winning souls. We pray that many a reader of this booklet will earnestly ecide to follow the pattern of D. L. Moody in the qualities which made him so God could use him with mighty power to win multitudes!

John R. Rice

WHY GOD USED D. L. MOODY
by R. A. Torrey

Eighty-six years ago (February 5, 1837), there was born of poor parents in a humble farmhouse in Northfield, Massachusetts, a little baby who was to become the greatest man, as I believe, of his generation or of his century -- Dwight L. Moody. After our great generals, great statesmen, great scientists and great men of letters have passed away and been forgotten, and their and its helpful influence has come to an end, the work of D. L. Moody will go on and its saving influence continue and increase, bringing blessing not only to every state in the Union but to every nation on earth. Yes, it will continue throughout the ages of eternity.

My subject is "Why God Used D. L. Moody," and I can think of no subject upon which I would rather speak. For I shall not seek to glorify Mr. Moody, but the God who by His grace, His entirely unmerited favor, used him so mightily, and the Christ who saved him by His atoning death and resurrection life, and the Holy Spirit who lived in him and wrought through him and who alone made him the mighty power that he was to this world. Furthermore: I hope to make it clear that the God who used D. L. Moody in his day is just as ready to use you and me, in this day, if we, on our part, do what D. L. Moody did, which was what made it possible for God to so abundantly use him.

The whole secret of why D. L. Moody was such a mightily used man you will find in Psalm 62:11: "God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that POWER BELONGETH UNTO GOD." ...If D. L. Moody had any power, and he had great power, he got it from God.

DEFINITELY ENDUED WITH POWER FROM ON HIGH

[One reason] why God used D. L. Moody was that he had a very definite enduement with power from on High, a very clear and definite baptism with the Holy Ghost. Moody knew he had "the baptism with the Holy Ghost"; he had no doubt about it. In his early days he was a great hustler; he had a tremendous desire to do something, but he had no real power. He worked very largely in the energy of the flesh.

But there were two humble Free Methodist women who used to come over to his meetings in the Y.M.C.A. One was "Auntie Cook" and the other, Mrs. Snow. (I think her name was not Snow at that time.) These two women would come to Mr. Moody at the close of his meetings and say: "We are praying for you." Finally, Mr. Moody became somewhat nettled and said to them one night: "Why are you praying for me? Why don't you pray for the unsaved?" They replied: "We are praying that you may get the power." Mr. Moody did not know what that meant, but he got to thinking about it, and then went to these women and said: "I wish you would tell me what you mean"; and they told him about the definite baptism with the Holy Ghost. Then he asked that he might pray with them and not they merely pray for him.

Auntie Cook once told me of the intense fervor with which Mr. Moody prayed on that occasion. She told me in words that I scarcely dare repeat, though I have never forgotten them. And he not only prayed with them, but he also prayed alone. Not long after, one day on his way to England, he was walking up Wall Street in New York; (Mr. Moody very seldom told this and I almost hesitate to tell it) and in the midst of the bustle and hurry of that city his prayer was answered; the power of God fell upon him as he walked up the street and he had to hurry off to the house of a friend and ask that he might have a room by himself, and in that room he stayed alone for hours; and the Holy Ghost came upon him, filling his soul with such joy that at last he had to ask God to withhold His hand, lest he die on the spot from very joy. He went out from that place with the power of the Holy Ghost upon him, and when he got to London (partly through the prayers of a bedridden saint in Mr. Lessey's church), the power of God wrought through him mightily in North London, and hundreds were added to the churches; and that was what led to his being invited over to the wonderful campaign that followed in later years.

Time and again Mr. Moody would come to me and say: "Torrey, I want you to preach on the baptism with the Holy Ghost." I do not know how many times he asked me to speak on that subject. Once, when I had been invited to preach in the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, New York (invited at Mr. Moody's suggestion; had it not been for his suggestion the invitation would never have been extended to me), just before I started for New York, Mr. Moody drove up to my house and said: "Torrey, they want you to preach at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York. It is a great big church, cost a million dollars to build it." Then he continued: "Torrey, I just want to ask one thing of you. I want to tell you what to preach about. You will preach that sermon of yours on 'Ten Reasons Why I Believe the Bible to Be the Word of God' and your sermon on 'The Baptism With the Holy Ghost.'"

Time and again, when a call came to me to go off to some church, he would come up to me and say: "Now, Torrey, be sure and preach on the baptism with the Holy Ghost." I do not know how many times he said that to me. Once I asked him: "Mr. Moody, don't you think I have any sermons but those two: 'Ten Reasons Why I Believe the Bible to Be the Word of God' and 'The Baptism With the Holy Ghost'?" "Never mind that," he replied, "you give them those two sermons.

Once he had some teachers at Northfield -- fine men, all of them, but they did not believe in a definite baptism with the Holy Ghost for the individual. They believed that every child of God was baptized with the Holy Ghost, and they did not believe in any special baptism with the Holy Ghost for the individual. Mr. Moody came to me and said: "Torrey, will you come up to my house after the meeting tonight and I will get those men to come, and I want you to talk this thing out with them."

Of course, I very readily consented, and Mr. Moody and I talked for a long time, but they did not altogether see eye to eye with us. And when they went, Mr. Moody signaled me to remain for a few moments. Mr. Moody sat there with his chin on his breast, as he so often sat when he was in deep thought; then he looked up and said: "Oh, why will they split hairs? Why don't they see that this is just the one thing that they themselves need? They are good teachers, they are wonderful teachers, and I am so glad to have them here; but why will they not see that the baptism with the Holy Ghost is just the one touch that they themselves need?"

I shall never forget the eighth of July, 1894, to my dying day. It was the closing day of the Northfield Students' Conference -- the gathering of the students from the eastern colleges. Mr. Moody had asked me to preach on Saturday night and Sunday morning on the baptism with the Holy Ghost. On Saturday night I had spoken about, "The Baptism With the Holy Ghost: What It Is; What It Does; the Need of It and the Possibility of It." On Sunday morning I spoke on "The Baptism With the Holy Spirit: How to Get It." It was just exactly twelve o'clock when I finished my morning sermon, and I took out my watch and said: "Mr. Moody has invited us all to go up to the mountain at three o'clock this afternoon to pray for the power of the Holy Spirit. It is three hours to three o'clock. Some of you cannot wait three hours. You do not need to wait. Go to your rooms; go out into the woods; go to your tent; go anywhere where you can get alone with God and have this matter out with Him."

At three o'clock we all gathered in front of Mr. Moody's mother's house (she was then still living), and then began to pass down the lane, through the gate, up on the mountainside. There were four hundred and fifty-six of us in all; I know the number because Paul Moody counted us as we passed through the gate.

After a while Mr. Moody said: "I don't think we need to go any further; let us sit down here." We sat down on stumps and logs and on the ground. Mr. Moody said: "Have any of you students anything to say?" I think about seventy-five of them arose, one after the other, and said: "Mr. Moody, I could not wait till three o'clock; I have been alone with God since the morning service, and I believe I have a right to say that I have been baptized with the Holy Spirit."

When these testimonies were over, Mr. Moody said: "Young men, I can't see any reason why we shouldn't kneel down here right now and ask God that the Holy Ghost may fall upon us just as definitely as He fell upon the apostles on the Day of Pentecost. Let us pray." And we did pray, there on the mountainside. As we had gone up the mountainside heavy clouds had been gathering, and just as we began to pray those clouds broke and the raindrops began to fall through the overhanging pines. But there was another cloud that had been gathering over Northfield for ten days, a cloud big with the mercy and grace and power of God; and as we began to pray our prayers seemed to pierce that cloud and the Holy Ghost fell upon us. Men and women, that is what we all need the Baptism with the Holy Ghost.

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Methodism became firmly established in Gateshead through the ministry of John Wesley. His regular visits to the North-East built up a strong and vibrant community of believers. After his death however things his work became fragmented, with rival groups of Methodists each opening their own chapels and treating one another like heretics. In Gateshead there were chapels belonging to the Wesleyan Methodists, the Primitive Methodists, the Independent Methodists, the United Methodist Free Church and the Methodist New Connexion.

In 1836 the New Connexion opened its first chapel in Melbourne Street, in the Barn Close area of the town (now underneath the dual carriageway behind the bus station). Bethesda Chapel was built to seat 1300 people, though it rarely got such numbers - by 1843 the regular congregation was between 30 and 60. In 1858 a young new pastor was appointed. William Booth, then aged 29 had already acquired a reputation as a fiery