Whitefield (Dallimore) - Vol 1, Pt 2, Ch 8 'Military Chaplain' (Timeless Tuesday) On Timeless Tuesdays, I read on the subject of church history and am currently doing so through George Whitefield by Arnold Dallimore. The following are a portion of my notes, for my reference and your additional edification:

8 - Military Chaplain

• as Whitefield's ship was about to leave, Wesley's pulled in with him dejected because Wesley had gone to Georgia in order to earn God's favor and instead found himself to be unconverted, failing miserably due to many severe personal faults and sins (pp143-150)
• Wesley cast lots and sent Whitefield a 'message from God' that he should go back to London instead of onto Georgia, but Whitefield replied with a wise, biblical reasoning for himself to go on (pp150-151)
• Whitefield was at first despised by the worldly, coarse sailors, but he meekly ministered the comforts of the Word to whomever he could, including appropriate deeds, and by the end of 7 weeks many of the soldiers onboard had been catechized, and almost everyone attended shipwide worship twice a day (pp151-155)
• when they stopped in Gibraltar to take on more soldiers, there was a work of the Spirit already going in the place, and Whitefield's ministry was used of God to further it (pp155-156)
• at this time, he added to his ministry personal examinations, to see whether people could adequately profess their faith (p156)
• he took notice of and learned about the interests of everyone, enabling him to connect further with them, and use spiritual illustrations from their own lives (p158)
• at sea, he was delivered from a near-death illness, though he recorded his great desire to enter glory: "I earnestly desired to be dissolved and go to Christ; but God was pleased to order it otherwise, and I am resigned, though I can scarce be reconciled to come back again to this vale of misery.  I had the Heavenly Canaan in full view and hoped I was going to take possession of it; but God saw I was not yet ripe for glory, and therefore in mercy spared me." (p160)
• during this time in calmer waters, all three ships could sail close to each other, and did so in order that Whitefield's services could be heard by all; so that, on all three ships it was felt a great loss to arrive and no longer have his daily ministry (p160-162)

Labels: Timeless Tuesday (History), Whitefield (Dallimore)

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  Whitefield (Dallimore) - Vol 1, Pt 2, Ch 7 'Lasting Results' (Timeless Tuesday) On Timeless Tuesdays, I read on the subject of church history and am currently doing so through George Whitefield by Arnold Dallimore. The following are a portion of my notes, for my reference and your additional edification:

7 - Lasting Results

• GW was popular and effective with all classes (p132)
• the result was his being under constant scrutiny and having no private life (p132-133)
• as his popularity grew, he guarded against pride by thinking often of the judgment seat of Christ and standing before Him--that he might not be moved by what he appears before men but rather by what he appears as before God (p134) -- [God help me to do this!]
• [of course] his doctrinal conviction and uncompromising preaching brought opposition from within the clergy and the church itself (p134-135)
• though he didn't do what we would call today "altar calls" he applied the gospel clearly and pointedly in preaching and many of those awakened during the preaching were later converted (p136)
• this often came as a result, partly, of their seeking him out for private pastoral counseling with the spiritual questions and concerns that arose in their hearts (p136-7)
• "He directed the needy soul to the Gospel promises and told him to plead them before God, and, on the basis of them, to seek the assurance that this Divine work was accomplished within his heart" (p137)
• He wouldn't just give credit to all claims of conversion.  "He chose to wait until conversion had been manifested by months of a transformed life, and his attitude is well expressed in his words, 'Only the judgment morning will reveal who the converts really are'." (p137)
• the clergy/church characterized those who responded to Whitefield's ministry as fanatics, and wouldn't accept them or help them grow in Christian maturity, so Whitefield began organizing them into religious societies (p137-8)
• as his ship went port to port as he was leaving for Georgia, he began preaching extemporaneously for the first time--a skill and practice that would be needed for the rest of his life (p140)
• seeing the challenges ahead, he prayed "God give me a deep humility, a well-guided zeal, a burning love, and a single eye, and then let men or devils do their worst!" (p140)

Labels: Timeless Tuesday (History), Whitefield (Dallimore)

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  Whitefield (Dallimore) - Vol 1, Pt 2, Chs 5-6 (Timeless Tuesday) On Timeless Tuesdays, I read on the subject of church history and am currently doing so through George Whitefield by Arnold Dallimore. The following are a portion of my notes, for my reference and your additional edification:

5 - Preaching that Startled the Nation

• as soon as he finished his degree, he received a call to supply at the Tower of London and, after struggling against the idea, accepted (p103-4)
  
• he preached on the New Birth for two months then returned to Oxford (p104-5)
• he loved being at Oxford but was soon asked to supply again and did in a parish called Dummer, where he learned to love ministering among the poor and illiterate.  (p105-6)
• it was here that, at John Wesley's requests, he decided to be a missionary to Georgia (p106-9)
• while waiting passage to Georgia, he preached first in Stonehouse, then Bristol, then Bath, then London--at first, five times per week, steadily increasing to nine times, and to ever growing congregations (p109-15)
• they came because he combined a very rare absolute conviction about Scripture and the gospel with an even rarer joy and zeal, to which were added neatness of appearance and remarkable eloquence (p115-6)
• ultimately, however, the secret of his "success" was the divine power of the Holy Spirit with him (p116-7)

6 - The Sermons of a Youth

• "At this early stage of his ministry Whitefield read his sermons word for word from a manuscript" (p119)
• although this allows us to analyze them, we must remember that this was still at the very beginning of his ministry, at the age of 22, and not compare them with sermons by others written in their prime as if fairly comparing the two men (p128)
  
• his preaching was chiefly characterized by "its Biblical content, its doctrinal emphasis, and its simplification" (p119)
• some examples from more practical sermons
• "an almost Christian, through his subtle hypocrisy, draws away many after him, and therefore must expect to receive the greater damnation" (p120)
• "Did He come down and shed His precious blood to deliver them from sin, and will they spend their youthful strength and vigour in the service of it, and then think to serve Christ when they can follow their lusts no longer?" (p121)
• "Men dare not revile a general at the head of an army.  And is the Almighty God, the great Jehovah, the everlasting King, who can consume them with the breath of His nostrils, and frown them into Hell in an instant; is He, I say, the only contemptible being, that may be provoked without fear and offended without punishment?" (p122)
• "Lastly, often meditate on the joys of heaven.  Think, think with what unspeakable glory those happy souls are now encircled, who, when on earth were called to deny themselves, and were not disobedient to the call." (p123)
• other sermons "were more strongly doctrinal" (p124)
• one called Of Justification by Christ demonstrates (p124-5)
  
• unity and order
• no extra ideas
• able argument
• Scriptural proof
•  "principles which eh continually implies are accepted by both himself and his hearers [include]
• that salvation is a work of God, for it is He who justifies and HE who glorifies
• The preservation of the believer, for he recognizes an unbreakable link between justification and glorification
• The particular nature of redemption, expressed in his statement, 'Christ has purchased for, and in due time will actually confer on all true believers, eternal glory'." (p127)
• in general, his sermons "are far removed from the triviality and emotionalism which has been supposed" (p127)
• "the chief characteristic of this preaching is its Biblical content" (p127)

Labels: Timeless Tuesday (History), Whitefield (Dallimore)

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  Whitefield (Dallimore) - Vol 1, Pt 1, Chs 3-4 (Timeless Tuesday) On Timeless Tuesdays, I am resolved to read on the subject of church history and am currently doing so through George Whitefield by Arnold Dallimore. The following are a portion of my notes, for my reference and your additional edification:

3 - Oxford, the Holy Club, and Conversion

• as a servitor at Oxford, GW would have been treated as lower-class, almost subhuman (p61-2)
• at that time, Oxford was at a low ebb, academically and morally (p62-3)
• "To him any form of time-wasting was unthinkable" (p64); he was extremely diligent about both religious and academic duties (p64-66)
• GW was lonely, but befriended by a kind tutor (prof) and then the Wesleys and the Holy Club (p65-67)
• the Holy Club was despised by others on campus for not being worldly, but they were religiously zealous and also excelled academically (p67-70)
• Corrections to some misconceptions about the Holy Club (p71-2)
  
• It was not famous
• It was not evangelical: its members at the time weren't even converted and didn't know grace!
• It was not the beginning of the revival: the Holy Club of the Wesleys ended in 1735, the Methodist revival began under Whitefield in 1737
• It did not bring its members spiritual satisfaction: they read and did mostly "devotion, mysticism, self-discipline, and good works," and were ignorant of the Reformers and Puritans
• GW awakened to his spiritual need reading Scougal's Life of God in the Soul of Man, where he first heard of the new birth, saying "Lord, if I am not a Christian, or if I am not a real one, for Jesus Christ's sake, show me what Christianity is that I may not be damned at last!" (p73)
• at first, he tried to gain the new birth by increased austerity, nearly killing himself (p73-7)
• when GW was almost dead from physical self-denials "God revealed Himself in grace, and granted him that which he had found could never be earned" (p77) ... GW wrote "God was pleased to remove the heavy load, to enable me to lay hold of His dear Son by a living faith, and by giving me the Spirit of adoption, to seal me even to the day of everlasting redemption." (p77)

4 - Ordination -- Divine and Human

• After his conversion, GW still as resolved against sin as ever (p79-80)
• made restitution for childhood thefts
• list by which he evaluated each day at its end: "Have I,
  
• Been fervent in private prayer?
• Used stated hours of prayer?
• Used ejaculation [i.e. spontaneous prayer] every hour?
• After or before every deliberate conversation or action, considered how it might tend to God's glory?
• After any pleasure, immediately given thanks?
• Planned business for the day?
• Been simple and recollected [self-controlled] in everything?
• Been zealous in undertaking and active in doing what good I could?
• Been meek, cheerful, affable in everything I said or did?
• Been proud, vain, unchaste, or enviable of others?
• Recollected [self-controlled] in eating and drinking? Thankful? Temperate in sleep?
• Taken time for giving thanks according to [William] Law's rules?
• Been diligent in studies?
• Thought or spoken unkindly of anyone?
• Confessed all sins?" (p80)
  
• focus now not on mystic asceticism, or attempt to earn favor from God, or attempt to get secret knowledge from God ... but applied the same force of effort now in those things spiritually profitable, our of love and joy.  "Gone entirely are the gloom and fear of his pre-conversion days" (p81)
• GW now reading the Puritans, but especially his English Bible, Greek Testament, and Henry's Commentaries (p82)
• developed a habit of "praying over every line and word of both the English and the Greek till the passage ... has veritably become part of his own soul" (p83)
• at this time GW organized the first Methodist society (p83)
• he dreaded entering the ministry b/c he did not consider himself spiritually prepared for such a weighty spiritual responsibility (p85-6)
• had no money for the final preparations needed at Oxford, but then gifts came streaming in from numerous sources (p87-8)
• back at Oxford, rekindled the Holy Club in order to minister to young students (p88)
• had a frequent ministry in jail and poor house (p89)
• knew the help of the Holy Spirit in frequent exhorting [wouldn't call it preaching yet, b/c not ordained] (p89-90)
• passed exams, though his examiner disliked him and was intentionally harder on him (p90-1)
• upon ordination, feared to enter into pastoral ministry immediately and pleasantly surprised to be assigned to lead a Holy Club at Oxford (p92-3)
• from the very first sermon, his hearers were always deeply affected with Scriptural truth (p93-7)
• he resisted and even fled from the praise of men, expecting rather to be considered a fool and to endure hardship for Christ's sake (97-98)

Labels: Timeless Tuesday (History), Whitefield (Dallimore)

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  Whitefield (Dallimore) - Vol 1, Pt 1, Chs 1-2 notes (continued from 10-Nov-09) from George Whitefield by Arnold Dallimore (or save a couple dollars by purchasing both volumes together from RHB)

1 - Whitefield's Ancestry

• There were at least 9 Oxford trained ministers in Whitefield's ancestry, in addition to businessmen and politicians (pp37-40)
• GW's parents, Thomas and Elizabeth, were entrepreneurial owners of an Inn (The Bell) and stable (p40)

2 - George, the Boy of the Bell

• The Bell was one of Gloucester's finest inns, and his parents were fairly wealthy (p44)
• GW was the last of seven children, and his father died when GW was 2 (pp44-5)
• GW remembered his own youth as quite sinful and wasted (p46-7)
• His mother remarried when he was eight (p47, cf. p52)
• At the age of 24, "a tremendous conviction of the holiness of God and of the sinfulness of sin [...] made him consider faults that most Christians would entirely overlook, as grievous iniquities.  He made much of abasing himself and magnifying the Lord." (p48--Dallimore's explanation for how GW remembered his childhood)
• "By the time he was sixteen he was reading the Greek New Testament for his spiritual edification and had laid the foundation for the proficiency in Latin that we shall notice later." (p50)
• Of the seven children, GW's education received the most attention
• From his youth, he had a vivid imagination, which he employed in acting in plays (for which he was later greatly ashamed and grieved)
• Elizabeth's second husband took over the inn and ruined it (until brother Richard recovered it later), destroying their marriage, and forcing her out. (p54)
• Financial difficulty interrupted his schooling, focing him to work at business and manual labor; and, in the ministry this helped him understand all sorts of people and apply to them in preaching (p56)
  
• When at the age of 17 he discovered that he could work his way through Oxford as a servant, he returned to prep school, also undergoing some spiritual renewal at the time (p57)
• "Though as yet he knew nothing of the redemption by grace that God was to teach him at Oxford, he was given strength to leave his evil companions entirely and to pursue his programme of study and religious duty with unremitting diligence." (p58)

Labels: Book Recommendations and Reviews, Timeless Tuesday (History), Whitefield (Dallimore)

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  Whitefield (Dallimore) - Introductory Material Since it had been a year since I last read in this excellent biography, and I couldn't find where I had blogged through what I have already read, I decided to start over.

Introductory Material

On Knowing Whitefield

• "There are few men whose characters have suffered so much from misrepresentation and ignorance as George Whitefield!" (p6)
• One problem is that he only journaled for three years of his ministry and then refused--just as he refused to start a church with his name on it saying "Let the name of Whitefield perish, but Christ be glorified!" (p7)
• Some measure him by those three journaled years, even though "the man of later years [was] humbly apologetic for his earlier errors" (p7)
• Whitefield used of God to bring worldwide revival--the revivals on both sides of the Atlantic not disconnected but one (therefore Dallimore prefers the term The Eighteenth-Century Revival to any localizing terms
• Dallimore uses "source materials not heretofore used" (p15) and makes known "not only his accomplishments and abilities, but also his foibles and mistakes" (p15) of which he actually laments that there are so few that he might appear biased in his writing (!)
• The aim of the book is that God would use it to shape a generation of young preachers through whom He would bring another like revival... Men mighty in the Scriptures, their lives dominated by a sense of the greatness, the majesty and holiness of God, and their minds and hearts aglow with the great truths of the doctrines of grace.  They will be men who have learned what it is to die to self, to human aims and personal ambitions; men who are willing to be 'fools for Christ's sake', who will bear reproach and falsehood, who will labour and suffer, and whose supreme desire will be, not to gain earth's accolades, but to win the Master's approbation when they appear before His awesome judgment seat.  They will be men who will preach with broken hearts and tear-filled eyes, and upon whose ministries God will grant an extraordinary effusion of the Holy Spirit (p16)

 Spiritual and Moral Conditions in England before the Revival

• The rejection of Puritanism had plunged the nation into godless immorality (p19)
• Deists had conducted "a vigorous warfare against supernatural religion--Biblical Christianity," attacking especially the idea of the Bible as God's Word (p20) with (my observation) many of the same arguments as 19th century theological liberalism and 20th century secular humanism
• "Professional" clergy who desired the praise of the world and the pleasure of sin had given in to Deism quite readily (p22)
• "Every sixth house in London had become a gin shop and the nation was in an uncontrollable orgy of gin drinking" (p25)
• "It was among a people broken by gin that Whitefield and the Wesleys went about" (p25)
• This immorality had destroyed the vast majority of society into a diseased, wretched mass (pp26-27)
• Though there had been small awakenings and attempts to minister, including hospitals, prison condition improvement, charity schools, societies against immorality, and societies for promoting Christian knowledge (pp28-30); yet, "there was no noticeable improvement in the moral and religious state of the nation" (pp30-31)
• It was into this context that Whitefield first preached

Next week, God-willing, we'll pick up with Part 1, Chapter 1

Labels: Book Recommendations and Reviews, Timeless Tuesday (History), Whitefield (Dallimore)

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