Take Away the Stone
Chapter 1
Take Away the Stone
In the gospel of John, we read that at the tomb of Lazarus, our Lord said to His disciples, Take ye away the stone (John 11:39). Before the act of raising Lazarus could be performed, the disciples had their part to do. Christ could have removed the stone with a word and easily commanded it to roll away. It would have obeyed His voice, like the dead Lazarus did when He called him back to life. But the Lord wants His children to learn this lesson: They have something to do towards raising the spiritually dead. The disciples not only had to take away the stone, but after Christ raised Lazarus they were told to also loose him, and let him go (John 11:44).
Consider this question: how often are people converted without God using some human instrument in some way? God could easily convert all men without us, but that isn’t His way.
The stone I want to talk about is a stone that must be rolled away before any great work of God can be accomplished. It is the wretched stone of prejudice. Many people have a huge prejudice against revivals. They hate the very word. And I am sorry to say this feeling isn’t confined to the ungodly or people who couldn’t care less. The truth is, there happens to be quite a few Christians who seem to hold a strong dislike both toward the word revival and to the event itself.
What does revival mean? It simply means a recalling from obscurity − a finding of some hidden treasure and bringing it back to the light. We all must acknowledge that we are living in a time of need. I doubt if there is a family in the world that doesn’t have a relative who needs salvation whom they’d like to see brought into the fold of God.
People are eager for a revival in business because of the current widespread and general stagnation in business. People are also concerned that there be a revival of trade, while in politics, we see a great revival right now. In all areas of life, you find people eager for a revival in the things that concern them most.
If this is logical, then I have to ask if it isn’t perfectly valid to say that every child of God should be praying for and desiring a revival of godliness in the world at the present time. Don’t we need a revival of downright honesty, truthfulness, uprightness, and self-control? In these times, many have become alienated from God and from the house of the Lord and are forming an attachment to visiting the neighborhood bar. Aren’t our children being drawn away by hundreds and thousands, so that while the churches are empty, the liquor shops are crowded every Saturday afternoon and evening? I’m sure barkeepers are glad to have a revival in their business. They don’t object to selling more whisky and beer. In the same line of thinking then, surely every true Christian should desire that people who are in danger of perishing eternally should be saved and rescued.
Some people seem to think revivals are a modern invention that have come about in recent years, but they are nothing new. If there isn’t scriptural authority for revivals, then I don’t understand my Bible.
But for the first two thousand years of the world’s history, people had no revival that we know of. Probably, if they had, the world wouldn’t have been destroyed by the flood. The first real awakening which we read about in the Old Testament was when Moses was sent to Egypt to bring his Hebrew brethren out of the house of bondage. When Moses arrived in Goshen, there must have been a great commotion as many out-of-the-ordinary things were being done. Among the many miracles worked at the hand of God, three million Hebrews were put behind the blood of the slain lamb. This was nothing but God reviving His work among them.
Under Joshua, the Hebrews experienced a great revival and then again under the judges. God constantly revived the Jewish nation in those olden times. Samuel brought the people to Mizpah, and told them to put away their strange gods. Then the Israelites went out and defeated the Philistines, so that they never came back in his day. Dr. Bonar says it may be that David and Jonathan were converted under that revival in the time of Samuel.
Consider the days of Elijah. What else can that be called but a great revival? The people had turned away from God to idolatry, and the prophet summoned them to Mount Carmel. As the multitude stood on the mountain, God answered with fire. And seeing it, all the people fell on their faces, and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God (1 Kings 18:39). That was the nation turning back to God. Even with this great revival, no doubt some people talked against the work and said it wouldn’t last. That is the cry of many today and has been the cry for four thousand years. In the days of Elijah, some old Carmelite probably said, “This won’t be permanent.” In the same way, many today shake their wise heads as if the work of God is nothing but a fad and say the work will not last.
When we come to New Testament times, we have the example of the wonderful revival under John the Baptist. Was there ever a man who accomplished so much in a few months, except for the Master Himself? The preaching of John was like the breath of spring after a long and dreary winter. For four hundred long years, the nation of Israel had no prophet and darkness had settled on the nation. John’s arrival was like the flashing of a brilliant meteor which heralded the coming day. He didn’t preach in the temple or in any synagogue, but on the banks of the Jordan. Men, women, and children flocked to hear him. Almost anyone can draw an audience in a crowded city, but this was out in the desert away from the populated areas. No doubt, this generated great excitement. I suppose the towns and villages were nearly empty as the people flocked 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 Racecourse. I saw more excitement there in one day than in all the religious meetings I ever attended in my life put together. And yet I heard no one complaining about too much excitement.
Not long ago, I heard about a minister who attended a public dance until after five o’clock in the morning. The next Sunday he preached against the excitement of revivals – against the late hours, and so on. It wasn’t a consistent kind of reasoning.
Also, when you look at the first Pentecost following Christ’s resurrection, the apostles preached and you know the result. I suppose the worldly men of that day said it would all die away. Although they brought about the martyrdom of Stephen and 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.
Many professing Christians find fault and criticize all the time. They criticize the preaching or the singing. Prayers are either too long or too short, too loud or not loud enough. They find fault with the reading of the Word of God or complain that it wasn’t the right portion of Scripture. They criticize the preacher, saying things like, “I don’t like his style.” If you doubt what I’m saying, listen to the people as they go out from a revival meeting or any other religious gathering.
“What did you think of the preacher?” one asks.
“Well, I must confess I was disappointed. I didn’t like his approach. He wasn’t graceful in his actions.”
Another will find a different fault. “He’s not logical. I like logic.”
Or another may complain, “He didn’t preach enough about repentance.”
If a preacher doesn’t cover 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 about justification, but he said nothing about sanctification.” So, if a preacher doesn’t go right through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation in one sermon, they instantly find fault and proceed to criticize.
Someone with this mindset might say, “The man didn’t touch my heart at all.” Another may say, “He was all heart and no head. I like a man to preach to my intellect.” Or, “He appeals too much to the will. He doesn’t give enough importance to the doctrine of election.” Or, again, “There is no backbone in his preaching. He doesn’t stress doctrine sufficiently.” Or, “He’s not eloquent.” Such complaints go on and on.
You can find hundreds of such faultfinders among professed Christians, but all their criticism won’t lead a single soul to Christ. I’ve never preached a sermon yet that I couldn’t pick to pieces and find fault with. I feel Jesus Christ should have a far better representative than me. But I’ve lived long enough to discover there’s nothing perfect in this world. If you plan to wait until you find a perfect preacher or perfect meetings, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until the millennium arrives. What we want is to be looking up to Jesus, so let’s be done with faultfinding. When I hear people complain in the way I’ve described, I say to them, “Come and do better yourself. Step up here and see what you can do.” It is so easy to find fault. It takes neither brains nor heart.
Some years ago, a pastor of a little church in a small town became exceedingly discouraged, and brooded over his troubles to such an extent that he became a chronic grumbler. He found fault with his fellow believers because, to his thinking, they didn’t treat him well. A fellow minister was invited to assist him a few days in a special service. At the close of the Sunday morning service, our unhappy brother invited the minister to his house for dinner. While they were waiting alone in the living room, he began to share his story. “My brother, you have no idea of my troubles. One of the greatest is that my fellow believers in the church treat me very badly.” The other offered the following questions:
“Did they ever spit in your face?”
“No, they haven’t come to that.”
“Did they ever strike you?”
“No.”
“Did they ever crown you with thorns?”
This last question he couldn’t answer. Instead, he bowed his head thoughtfully. The fellow minister replied, “Your Master and mine was treated in this way, and all His disciples fled and left Him in the hands of the wicked. Yet He didn’t open His mouth to complain.”
The effect of this conversation was wonderful. Both ministers bowed in prayer and sincerely sought to follow the mind of Christ Jesus. During the meetings of the ten-day revival, the discontented pastor became wonderfully changed. He worked and prayed with his friend, and many souls were brought to Christ.
Some weeks later, a deacon of the church wrote to the visiting minister and said, “Your recent visit and conversation with our pastor has brought about a wonderful influence for good. We never hear him complain now, and he works more prayerfully and zealously.”
Another charge brought against revivals is that they are out of the regular routine. Well, there is no doubt about that. But that doesn’t make them wrong. Eldad and Medad were out of the regular succession. But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad and the name of the other Medad, upon whom the spirit also rested; and they were of those that were written, but they had not gone unto the tabernacle; and they began to prophesy in the camp (Numbers 11:26). Joshua wanted Moses to rebuke them. Instead, Moses said, It would be good that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them! (Numbers 11:29).
Elijah and Elisha didn’t belong to the regular school of prophets, yet they exercised a mighty influence in their day. John the Baptist didn’t follow the regular route. He got his theological training out in the desert. Jesus Christ Himself was out of the recognized order. When Philip told Nathaniel that he had found the Messiah, he said to him, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? (John 1:46).
As we read the history of the past few centuries, we find God has frequently used those who were, so to speak, out of the regular line, order, or method. Martin Luther had to break through the regular order of things in his day before he brought about the mighty Reformation. Now we have some sixty million people who belong to the Lutheran church. John Wesley and George Whitefield weren’t exactly operating in the regular method, but look at the mighty work they accomplished.
When God works, things will often be done outside the regular methods. It seems to me that’s a good thing, because apparently, some people can’t be reached through the regular channels – but they will come to revival meetings which are out of the usual routine. It’s true, we’ve got our churches, but we want to make an effort to reach the outlying masses who won’t step foot in a church. Many of these people will come to these meetings simply because they are only held for a few days. And so, if they are to come at all, they must come to a decision about it quickly.
Others come out of idle curiosity or a desire to know what is going on. And often, at the first meeting, something that is said or sung touches them spiritually. If they have come and they hear the gospel, they will probably become real Christians. Sometimes you’ll hear people say, “We have our churches. If people won’t come to them, let them keep out.” But that was not the spirit of the Master when He walked on earth.
When our Civil War broke out we had a very small standing army and so the government asked for volunteers to enlist. Several hundred thousand men came forward and joined the ranks of the regular army, and each man had plenty to do. These volunteers weren’t as well trained and drilled as the more experienced solders, but both the irregular and regular soldiers were useful. In fact, many of these less-trained volunteers soon became efficient soldiers and performed a great service for the cause of the nation. If the outlying masses of the people are to be reached, we must have both the regulars and the irregulars.
I remember hearing about a Sunday school where the teacher had fallen into a rut. A young man was placed in charge as superintendent, and he wanted to rearrange the seats. Some of the older members said the seats had been in their present position for so many years that they shouldn’t be moved. There’s a good deal of that kind of spirit today, and it seems to me that if one method isn’t successful in reaching people for Christ, we ought to give it up and try some other plan that may be more likely to succeed. If the people won’t come to the “regular channels of grace,” let’s adopt some means that will reach and win them.
Let’s not fall into the trap of finding fault because things aren’t done exactly like they’ve been done in the past, or like we think they ought to be done. I am sick and tired of those who constantly complain. Let’s pay no attention to them and move forward with the work God has given us to do.
Another very serious charge brought against revivals is that “the work will not last.” As I have said, I’m sure there were many on the day of Pentecost who said that. And when Stephen was stoned to death, James beheaded, and finally all the apostles put to death, no doubt those same doubters would call Pentecost a stupendous failure. But was it a failure? Aren’t the fruits of that revival at Pentecost still evident even in our time? Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized each one of you into the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is unto you and to your children and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call (Acts 2:38-39).
In the eyes of the world, the mission of John the Baptist may have also been thought a failure when he was beheaded at the command of Herod, but it wasn’t a failure in the sight of heaven. The influence of this wilderness prophet is still felt in the church today. The world also thought Christ’s life was a failure as He hung on the cross and died, but in the sight of God it was altogether different. God made the wrath of men to praise Him.
I’ve got little sympathy for those pastors who begin to preach against revivals when God is reviving the churches. There isn’t a single denomination in Christendom today that hasn’t sprung out of a revival. The Roman Catholics and the Episcopalians both claim to be apostolic in their origin; if they are, they sprang out of the revival at Pentecost. The Methodist body rose out of revivals under John Wesley and George Whitefield, and didn’t the Lutheran church come from the great awakening that swept through Germany in the days of Luther? Wasn’t Scotland stirred through the preaching of John Knox? And where did the Quakers come from, if not from the work of God under George Fox? Yet people are so concerned that the regular routine of things might be disturbed. Let’s pray that God raises up many to be used by Him for the reviving of His church in our day. I think we need it.
One time we went into a place where one of the ministers found his church opposed to his taking part in the revival meetings. He was told that if he identified himself with the movement, he would alienate some of his congregation. He took the church record and found four-fifths of the members of the church had been converted in times of revival, among them the superintendent of the Sunday school, all the officers of the church, and nearly every active member. The minister went into the church the following Sunday and preached a sermon on revivals, reminding them of what had taken place in the history of the congregation. You will find many who talk against revivals have themselves been converted during such a time.
Not long ago, a capable minister preached a sermon against these awakenings. He didn’t believe in revivals. Some of his people searched the church records for the previous twelve years to see how many were added to the membership on profession of their faith. Not a single soul had joined the church in all those years on profession of faith. No wonder the minister of a church like that preached against revivals.
In my experience, those who are converted in a time of special spiritual interest become even stronger Christians than those brought into the church during ordinary times. One young convert helps another, and they get a better start in the Christian life when there are a good many growing together.
People say the converts won’t live on in the faith. Well, even under the preaching of Jesus Christ not everyone persisted. Many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him (John 6:66). Paul mourned over the fact that some of those who made a profession were walking like enemies of the cross of Christ.
In His wonderful parable found in Matthew 13, the Master shows various kinds of hearers: the stony-ground hearers, the thorny-ground hearers, and the good-ground hearers. Such people will exist until the end of time. I have a fruit tree at my home, and every year it has so many blossoms that if they all produced apples the tree would break. But I’d guess about nine-tenths of the blossoms fall off, and I still have a large number of apples.
Many who make a profession of Christianity fall away. Sometimes those who show the most favorable promise turn out the worst, and those who don’t show much potential at the start turn out best in the end. God must prepare the ground, and He must give the increase. Those along the way are those that hear; then comes the devil and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. Those on the rock are those that when they hear, receive the word with joy, but these have no root, who for a while believe and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are those who when they have heard go forth and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are those who in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it and bring forth fruit with patience (Luke 8:12-15).
I have often said that if I had to convict men of sin, I would have given up the job long ago. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. Our part is to scatter the good seed of the Word, and expect that God will bless it to the saving of men’s souls.
Of course, we can’t expect much help from those who speak against revivals all the time. I believe the faith of many young disciples becomes chilled by those who condemn these special efforts. If the professed converts don’t continue in Christ, it isn’t always their own fault.
I preached in a certain city some time ago, and a minister said to me, “I hope this work doesn’t turn out like the revival here five years ago. I accepted one hundred converts into the church, and, with the exception of one or two, I don’t know where they are today.” How discouraging.
I mentioned this to another minister in the same city and said I’d rather give up the work and go back to a secular job, if the fruit of the work wasn’t going to last. He said, “I took in one hundred converts at the same time, and I can lay my hand on ninety-eight out of the hundred. For five years, I’ve watched them and only two have fallen away.” Then he asked me if his brother minister had told me what took place in his church after they brought in those young converts. Some of them thought they ought to have a better church, and they became divided among themselves. Nearly all the members left the church. If anyone will just engage wholeheartedly in this work, they will have enough to encourage them.
It’s very easy for people to talk against a work like this, but we generally find that these people not only do nothing for the Lord themselves, but they also know nothing about the very thing they are criticizing. Surely, it’s hardly fair to condemn a work if we haven’t taken the trouble to become personally acquainted with it. Instead of sitting on the platform and simply looking on or criticizing, if such people would mingle among the people and talk to them about their souls, they would quickly see for themselves whether the work was real or not.
I heard about a man who returned from living in India. While out at dinner with some friends one day, he was asked about missions. He said he’d never seen a native convert in all the time he was in India. A missionary sitting at the table with him didn’t reply directly to the statement but quietly asked the skeptical Englishman if he had seen any tigers in India. The man rubbed his hands, as if the recollection gave him a good deal of pleasure. He said, “Tigers! Yes, I did. I’ve shot a good many of them.”
The missionary said, “Well, I was in India for a number of years and never saw a tiger.” The fact was that the one had been looking for converts and the other for tigers, and they both found what they looked for.
If we look for converts, we will find them. There’s no doubt about that. But the truth is that in most cases those who talk against revivals know nothing about them from personal contact or experience. Do you think new converts are going to come around to your house and knock at the door to tell you they’ve been converted? If you wish to find out the truth about what is happening, you must go among them in their homes and talk to them.
I hope no one reading this book will be afraid of the inquiry room. It is just a tool, a place to answer questions and help lead a soul to Christ once they come forward. At one of the places where I worked, I found many people hated the very name “inquiry room,” but no matter what you call it, I argue that it is a perfectly acceptable thing. When a boy is at school and can’t solve some problem in algebra, he asks help of someone who knows it. In our case, we are talking about the great question of eternal life which must be solved by each of us. Why shouldn’t we ask those who are more experienced than ourselves to help us if they can? If we have any difficulty we can’t overcome, in going to others, we will probably find some godly man or woman who experienced that same difficulty twenty years before, and they will be glad to help us. They’ll be able to tell us how they were enabled to overcome it. So, don’t be afraid to let them help you.
I believe that for every spiritual difficulty there is some promise in the Word of God to meet that difficulty. But if you keep your feelings and your troubles all locked up, how are you to be helped? I might stand and preach to you for thirty days without touching on your particular difficulty. But a twenty-minute private conversation can clear away all your doubts and troubles.
I recently saw a lady who worked in the inquiry room when we were in the south of London nine years ago. She told me she had a list of thirty-five cases of people with whom she talked that she thought were truly converted. She wrote letters to them and sent them little gifts at Christmas and so far as she could tell, not a single one of the thirty-five had wandered away from the faith. She placed her life alongside theirs all these years, and she has been able to be a blessing to them.
If we had a thousand people like this, by the help of God, we’d see signs and wonders. There’s no category of people, however hopeless or disgraced, who can’t be reached. We must only step out of our comfort zone to reach them. Many Christians are asleep, and we want to arouse them so they will take a personal interest in those living in carelessness and sin. Let’s lay aside all our prejudices. If God is working, it hardly matters whether or not the work is done in the exact way we would like to see it done, or in the way we’ve seen it done in the past.
Let us give up one united cry to God, asking that He revive His work in our midst. Let the work of revival begin with us who are Christians. Let us remove all the hindrances that come from ourselves. Then, by the help of the Spirit, we will be able to reach these non-churchgoers, and multitudes will be brought into the kingdom of God.