The above Scripture is found in our Lord’s temptation (Matthew 4:1-11). Before Jesus began His public Ministry, the Spirit led Him to the desert to be tempted by the devil. The impeccability of our Lord was to be tried by the devil during this time. Three times the devil tempted Him and all three times Jesus responded with Scripture.

The very first temptation came by way of the physicality of Jesus. He had been fasting 40 days and 40 nights, and at the end of this Jesus was hungry. The devil tempted Him with, command that these stones be made bread. Jesus response to this was…It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. This verse is a very emphatic response to the tempter. To paraphrase verse 4 from the Greek; but moreover to answer He said, it absolutely stands written, not at any time bread alone to live the man, but upon every word [spoken] to come out through the mouth of God.

The Greek word is not the usual logos, but in this verse it is rhema. The spoken word. W.E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary defines it as; that which is spoken, what is uttered in speech and writing.

A classic example from our Lord. He quotes Old Testament Scripture to the devil in all three of His temptations. That which was written down and that which did proceed from the mouth of God.

As children of God, nothing has changed in the way that we handle our daily walk with the Lord. The spoken Word, written down, alive and active within the believer’s heart. God’s Word is our defense in times of temptation. When we pray, we pray God’s Word. Throughout the day, we meditate upon the Word in our heart. To be ready in season and out of season. Diligently studying the Word of God, rightly dividing the Word of Truth, as Paul states in 2 Timothy 2:15, being a master cutter, to cut straight [Orthotomeo].

We are to live by God’s commands and precepts. His Word is sufficient for all things. The Word builds us up to be the people of God. And at the same time, to use the Word of God correctly.

Feed on the Word of God, and you shall be satisfied!

Struggling to achieve salvation through his own efforts, the Gloucester-born student, George Whitefield, at the age of twenty, read The Life of God in the Soul of Man, written by a 17th century Puritan divine, Henry Scougal. Near death for seven weeks because of his constant fasting, Whitefield learnt from this book that it is Christ’s dying and not our doing that gives the sinner acceptance with God. Whitefield wrote in his Journal, ‘God was pleased to remove the heavy load, to enable me to lay hold of his dear Son by a living faith. With what joy -joy unspeakable – was my soul filled!’ This great event took place in the spring of 1735 – three years before John and Charles Wesley trusted Christ alone for salvation.

Fifteen ‘mad people’

Ordained on June 20th 1736; a week later, Whitefield preached his first sermon at St. Mary de Crypt, Gloucester. ‘Fifteen people were driven mad’ complained some of his hearers to the Bishop who responded with the wish that the madness would not wear off before next Sunday. These first fifteen conversions paved the way for a ministry spanning thirty-five years throughout Great Britain and in thirteen American colonies. Historians estimate that Whitefield preached 18,000 sermons before he died.

Miners in tears

After a visit to America in 1738, Whitefield returned to England to find closed Anglican pulpits because of his powerful Spirit-anointed preaching. J. C. Ryle, the first Bishop of Liverpool wrote, ‘The Church was too much asleep to understand him, and was vexed at a man who would not keep still and let the devil alone’. The pulpit ban became a blessing in disguise when Whitefield took to open-air preaching. The evangelist described his first open-air preaching in his Journal: ‘I hastened to Kingswood [Bristol]. There were about 10,000 people to hear me. The trees and hedges were full. All was hush when I began; the sun shone bright and God enabled me to preach for an hour with great power, and so loudly that all, I was told, could hear me. The fire is kindled in this country and I know all the devils in hell shall not be able to quench it’. Miners, just up from the mines, listened and the tears flowed making white gutters down their coal-black faces. Whitefield’s preaching gave birth to the 18th century Evangelical Revival.

The preacher

Eyewitnesses speak of Whitefield’s eloquence, envied even by actors such as David Garrick who said ‘I would give a £100 to say “Oh” like George Whitefield’. Pennsylvania’s Benjamin Franklin, a publisher and a Quaker with little spiritual interest in the evangelist’s message gave a glowing report of his preaching. ‘The multitudes of all sects and denominations that attended his sermons were enormous. I observed the extraordinary influence of his oratory on his hearers, and how much they admired and respected him, notwithstanding his common abuse of them’ – he called his hearers sinners! The changed lives of Whitefield’s hearers impressed Franklin even more than the preachers oratory. An American farmer who heard Whitefield preach wrote, ‘He looked almost angelical, a young slim tender youth. He looked as if he was clothed with authority from the great God. A sweet solemnity sat upon his brow. My hearing him preach gave me a heart wound. … I saw that my righteousness would not save me’. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones called Whitefield ‘the greatest preacher that England has ever produced’.

The Message

George Whitefield skillfully adapted his message to his hearers – the noisy crowds on London’s Kennington Common and at Moorfields and the aristocrats in the home of Selina, the Countess of Huntingdon. He believed that the unchanging gospel is ‘the power of God’ for all sorts of sinners (Rom. 1:16).

What was Whitefield’s message? The doctrines known as Calvinism: the depravity of sinners and the freeness of God’s grace; he rejoiced in the substitutionary atonement of Christ for God’s elect; he proclaimed that all those for whom Christ died will persevere to the end of their lives and will then be glorified in heaven. Where did he learn these truths? ‘My doctrines I had from Jesus Christ and His apostles; I was taught them of God’, he wrote, and added two years later, ‘I embrace the Calvinistic scheme, not because Calvin, but Jesus Christ, has taught it to me’. Whitefield, the convinced Calvinist, preached the gospel earnestly and persuasively urging and commanding sinners to go to Jesus Christ for salvation. A mark of revival is heartfelt gospel preaching whether the preacher is a Calvinist, such as George Whitefield, or an Arminian, such as John Wesley – both men preached that salvation is through Christ alone.

‘I die to be with him’

Whitefield died, during an asthmatic attack, in America on Sunday morning September 30th 1769, having reached the age of 55, and was buried at Newbury Port, New England. Shortly before dying he said ‘Lord Jesus, I am weary in the work, but not of it. If I have not yet finished my course, let me go and speak for You once more in the fields and come home to die’. God answered this prayer and he preached for two hours. While preaching this last sermon he cried out ‘Works! Works! A man get to heaven by works! I would as soon as think of climbing to the moon on a rope of sand! How willingly would I live forever to preach Christ, but I die to be with him’.

The Secret of Whitefield’s Success

1. Natural eloquence – a gift from God – used by the power of God’s Holy Spirit.
2. Fellowship with God. Whitefield gives us a glimpse in his Journal of his walk with God. ‘Early in the morning, at noonday, evening and midnight, nay, all day long, did the blessed Jesus visit and refresh my soul. At other times I would be overpowered with a sense of God’s Infinite Majesty’.
3. Godliness. ‘Above all he was a great saint, and Wesley and others bore tribute to this during his life and his death. This was the ultimate secret of his preaching power’ (Lloyd-Jones).
4. Concern for the lost and the conviction that sinners are in danger of an everlasting hell.
5. Wholehearted commitment to God. ‘If ever a man burnt himself out in the service of God, it was Whitefield. He was tireless and relentless in his efforts to win souls. Throughout his life he enjoyed the presence of God in his preaching. Even on his last day in this world he preached, though he was very ill. He was a man whose sole desire was to preach Christ crucified’ (Nigel Clifford, Christian Preachers, Bryntirion Press).

By Stan K. Evers

Recommended reading

Biography of George Whitefield (2 volumes), Arnold Dallimore
The Journal of George Whitefield
The Letters of George Whitefield
Select sermons of George Whitefield
All published by the Banner of Truth.

Quinta Press have the most comprehensive Works of George Whitefield in a CD with an index. Not only are the six Works of Whitefield on the CD but also a number of biographies.
E-mail whitefieldinfor@quintapress.com
Web-site:http:www.quintapress.com

With permission from the Revival Newsline, Spring 2005, of the Reformation and Revival Fellowship
Editor Colin Thompson veritynews@btinternet.com

via http://www.banneroftruth.org/pages/home.php

It is interesting to notice the time when this prayer was offered. It was a time of mercy. “Lord, thou hast been favorable unto thy land.” It was a time when God had led many to the knowledge of Christ, and covered many sins. “Thou has forgotten the iniquity of thy people.” It was now they began to feel their need of another visit of mercy — “Wilt thou not revive us again?”

The thing prayed for. “Revive us again,” or literally, return and make us live anew. It is the prayer of those who have received some life, but feel their need of more. They had been made alive by the Holy Spirit. They felt the sweetness and excellence of this new, hidden, divine life. They pant for more — “Wilt thou not revive us again?”

The argument presented. “That thy people may rejoice in thee.” They plead with God to do this for the sake of His people, that their joy may be full; and that it may be in the Lord — in the Lord their righteousness — in the Lord their strength.

I. When this prayer is needed.

1. In a time of backsliding. There are times when, like Ephesus, many of God’s children lose their first love. Iniquity abounds, and the love of many waxes cold. Believers lose their close and tender walking with God. They lose their close and near communion with God. They go out of the holiest, and pray at a distance with a curtain between. They lose their fervency, sweetness, and fullness in secret prayer. They do not pour out their hearts to God.

They have lost their clear discovery of Christ. They see Him but dimly. They have lost the sight of His beauty — the savor of His good ointment — the hold of His garment. They seek Him, but find Him not. They cannot stir up the heart to lay hold on Christ.

The Spirit dwells scantily in their soul. The living water seems almost dried up within them. The soul is dry and barren. Corruptions are strong: grace is very weak.

Love to the brethren fades. United prayer is forsaken. The little assembly no more appears beautiful. Compassion for the unconverted is low and cold. Sin is unrebuked, though committed under their eye. Christ is not confessed before men. Perhaps the soul falls into sin, and is afraid to return; it stays far off from God, and lodges in the wilderness.

Ah! this is the case, I fear, with many. It is a fearfully dangerous time. Nothing but a visit of the free Spirit to your soul can persuade you to return. Is it not a time for this prayer — “Wilt thou not revive us again?”

2. A time of temptation. The soul of a believer needs grace every moment. “By the grace of God I am what I am.” But there are times when he needs more grace than at other times. Just as the body continually needs food; but there are times when it needs food more than at others — times of great bodily exertion, when all the powers are to be put forth.

Sometimes the soul of a believer is exposed to hot persecution. Reproach breaks the heart; or it beats like a scorching sun upon the head. “For my love they are my adversaries.” Sometimes they are God’s children who reproach us, and this is still harder to bear. The soul is ready to fret or sink under it.

Sometimes it is flattery that tempts the soul. The world speaks well of us, and we are tempted to pride and vanity. This is still worse to bear.

Sometimes Satan strives within us, by stirring up fearful corruptions, till there is a tempest within. Oh, is there a tempted soul here? Jesus prays for thee. Pray for thyself. You need more peace. Nothing but the oil of the Spirit will feed the fire of grace when Satan is casting water on it. Send up this cry, “Wilt thou not revive us again?”

3. A time of concern. “Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain.” When God begins a time of concern in a place — when the dew is beginning to fall — then is the time to pray, Lord stay not thine hand — give us a full shower — leave not one dry. “Wilt thou not revive us again?”

II. Who need this revival.

1. Ministers need it. Ministers are naturally hard-hearted and unbelieving as other men (Mark 16:14), so that Christ has often to upbraid them. Their faith is all from above. They must receive from God all that they give. In order to speak the truth with power, they need a personal grasp of it. It is impossible to speak with power from mere head knowledge, or even from past experience. If we would speak with energy, it must be from present feeling of the truth as it is in Jesus. We cannot speak of the hidden manna unless we have the taste of it in our mouth. We cannot speak of the living water unless it be springing up with us. Like John the Baptist, we must see Jesus coming, and say, “Behold the Lamb of God.” We must speak with Christ in our eye, as Stephen did. “I see Jesus standing on the right hand of God.” We must speak from present sense of pardon and access to God, or our words will be cold and lifeless. But how can we do this if we be not quickened from above? Ministers are far more exposed to be cast down than other men; they are standard-bearers, and Satan loves when a standard-bearer fainteth. O, what need of full supplies out of Christ’s fullness! Pray, beloved, that it may be so. “Wilt thou not revive us again?”

2. God’s children need it. The divine life is all from above. They have no life till they come to Christ. “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.” Now this life is maintained by union to Christ, and by getting fresh supplies every moment out of His fullness. “He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me, and I in him.” In some believers this life is maintained by a constant inflowing of the Holy Spirit — “I will water it every moment” — like the constant supply which the branch receives from the vine. These are the happiest and most even Christians. Others have flood-tides of the Spirit carrying them higher and higher. Sometimes they get more in a day than for months before. In the one of these grace is like a river; in the other, it is like the shower coming down in its season. Still, in both there is need of revival. The natural heart in all is prone to wither. Like a garden in summer, it dries up unless watered. The soul grows faint and weary in well-doing. Grace is not natural to the heart. The old heart is always for dying and fading. So the child of God needs to be continually looking out, like Elijah’s servant, for the little cloud over the sea. You need to be constantly pressing near to the fountain of living waters; yea, lying down at the well-head of salvation, and drinking the living water, “Wilt thou not revive us again?”

3. Those that were awakened and have gone back, need it. A drop fell from heaven upon their heart. They trembled, wept, prayed. But the shower passed by, and the rocky heart ceased to tremble. The eye again closed in slumber; the lips forgot to pray. Ah, how common and sad is this case! The King of Zion lifted up His voice in this place and cried. Some that were in their graves heard His voice, and began to live. But this passed by, and now they sink back again into the grave of a dead soul. Ah! this is a fearful state! to go back to death, to love death, and wrong your own soul. What can save such a one, but another call from Jesus. “Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” For your sake most of all I pray, “Wilt thou not revive us again?”

4. Barren fig-trees need it. Some of you have been planted in this vineyard. You have enjoyed sun and shower. You have passed through all this time of awakening without being moved. You are still dead, barren, unconverted, fruitless. Ah! there is for you no hope but in this prayer. Ordinary times will not move you. Your heart is harder than that of other men. What need have you to pray for a deep, pure, effectual work of God, and that you may not be passed by. Many of you would stand the shock much better now. You have grown experienced in resisting God, and quenching the Spirit. Oh, pray for a time that will remove mountains. None but the Almighty Spirit can touch your hard heart. “Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain.” “Wilt thou not revive us again; that thy people may rejoice in thee?”

III. From whom revival comes.

It is God who must revive us again. It is not a human work. It is all divine. If you look to men to do it, you will only get that curse in Jeremiah 17, “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm.”

1. The Lord has all the means in His hands. The Son of Man holds the seven stars in His right hand. These stars are ministers. He lifts them up, or lets them down, at His sovereign will. He gives them all their light, or He takes it away. He holds them up and lets them shine clearly, or He hides them in the hollow of His hand, as it seemeth good in His sight. Sometimes He lets them shine on one district of a country, sometimes on another. They only shine to lead to Him. The star that leads away from Him is a wandering star, and Christ will cast it into the blackness of darkness forever. We should pray to Christ to make his ministers shine on us.

2. The Lord has the fullness of the Spirit given to Him. The Father has entrusted the whole work of redemption into the hands of Jesus, and so the Spirit is given to Him. “As the Father hath life in Himself, and quickeneth whom He will, so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself, and to quicken whom He will.”

It is He who keeps all His own children alive from day to day. He is the fountain of living waters, and His children lie beside the still waters, and drink every moment eternal life from Him.

It is He that pours down the Spirit in His sovereignty on those that never knew Him. “I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplications.” Truly, the whole work from beginning to end is His.

Every means will be in vain until He pour the Spirit down (Isa. 32:15): “Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers,” until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high. We may preach publicly, and from house to house; we may teach the young, and warn the old, but all will be vain; until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, briers and thorns shall grow. Our vineyard shall be like the garden of the sluggard. We need that Christ should awake; that He should make bare His arm as in the days of old; that He should shed down the Spirit abundantly.

3. The children of God should plead with Him. Put your finger on the promise, and plead, “When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, I the Lord will hear them.” (Isa. 41:17) Tell Him you are poor and needy. Spread out your wants before Him. Take your emptiness to His fullness. There is an infinite supply with Him for everything you need, at the very moment you need it.

4. Ungodly men, you are saying, there is no promise to us. But there is, if you will receive it. Ps. 68:18; “Thou has ascended on high; Thou hast led captivity captive; Thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also.” Are you a rebel? Go and tell Him so. Oh, if you are willing to be justified by Him, and to get your rebel heart changed, go and ask Him, and He will give you living water. Prov. 1:23; “Turn you at my reproof; behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto you.” Go and tell Him you are a “simple one, a scorner.” Ask Him to do what He has promised in Ezek. 34:26: “I will make them and the places round about my hill, a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.” Now, you cannot say you belong to Zion hill, but you can say you are in the places round about this hill. Oh cry, “Wilt thou not revive us again?”

IV. The effects of a revival.

1. The Lord’s children rejoice in Him. They rejoice in Christ Jesus. The purest joy in the world is joy in Christ Jesus. When the Spirit is poured down, His people get very near and clear views of the Lord Jesus. They eat His flesh and drink His blood. They come to a personal cleaving to the Lord. They taste that the Lord is gracious. His blood and righteousness appear infinitely perfect, full, and free to their soul. They sit under His shadow with great delight. They rest in the clifts of the rock. Their defence is the munitions of rocks. They lean on the Beloved. They find infinite strength in Him for the use of their soul — grace for grace — all they can need in any hour of trial and suffering to the very end.

They go by Him to the Father. “We joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” We find a portion there — a shield, and exceeding great reward. This gives joy unspeakable and full of glory.

Now, God loves to see His children happy in Himself. He loves to see all our springs in Him. Take and plead that. Oh, you would pray after a different manner if God were to pour water on the thirsty. You would tell him all, open to Him all sorrows, joys, cares, comforts. All would be told to Him.

2. Many flock to Christ. “Who are these that fly like a cloud, and like doves to their windows?” “To Him shall the gathering of the people be.” Just as all the creatures came into the ark, so poor sinners run in such a time. Laying aside their garments (Mark 10:50), their jealousies, they flee together into the ark Jesus. Oh, there is not a lovelier sight in all this world.

Souls are saved. “Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. They are passed from death unto life.”

It is glorifying to God. “He that receives Christ, sets to his seal that God is true.” He confesses the holiness of God, His love and grace. His mouth is filled with praise. “Bless the Lord, O my soul!” He begins to long for the image of God, to confess Him before men, to walk in His ways. It gives joy in heaven, and joy in earth. Oh, pray for such a time.

There is an awakening again of those who have gone back. If we have not a time of the outpouring of the Spirit, many who once sought Christ, but have gone back, will perish in a dreadful manner; for they generally turn worse than before. Sometimes they scoff and make a jest of all. Satan is all the worse, that he was once an angel. So they become all the more wicked who have gone back. They generally go deeper into the mire of sin. But if God graciously pour down His Spirit, the hardened heart will melt. Pray for this.

There is an awakening of fresh sinners. It is a sad state of things when sinners are bold in sin; when multitudes can openly break the Sabbath, and openly frequent the tavern. It is an awful sign when sinners can live in sin, and yet sit unmoved under the preaching of the Word, cast off fear, and restrain prayer before God. But if the Lord were pleased to revive us again, this state of things would be changed.

I am sure it would be a lovelier sight to see you going up in company to the house of prayer, than thronging to the tavern, or the haunts of sin and shame, that will bring down eternal ruin on your poor soul. It would be sweeter to hear the cry of prayer in your closets, than to hear the sound of oaths and profane jesting, and your hard speeches and reproaches of God’s children. Sweeter far to see your hearts panting after Christ, His pardon, His holiness, His glory, than to see them burning after the world and its vain idols.

Oh, lift up your hearts to the Lord for such a time. Plead earnestly the promise, “I will pour my Spirit upon all flesh.” Then this wilderness will become a fruitful field, and its name be, Jehovah-Shammah — the Lord is there.

via http://www.westminsterconfession.org/

A Real and Lasting Revival

I am glad of any signs of life, even if they should be feverish and transient, and I am slow to judge any well intended movement, but I am very fearful that many so called revivals in the long run wrought more harm than good. A species of religious gambling has fascinated many men, and given them a distaste for the sober business of true godliness.
But if I would nail down counterfeits upon the counter, I do not therefore undervalue true gold. Far from it. It is to be desired beyond measure that the Lord would send a real and lasting revival of spiritual life.
We need a work of the Holy Spirit of a supernatural kind, putting power into the preaching of the Word, inspiring all believers with heavenly energy, and solemnly affecting the hearts of the careless, so that they turn to God and live. We would not be drunk with the wine of carnal excitement, but we would be filled with the Spirit. We would behold the fire descending from heaven in answer to the effectual fervent prayers of righteous men. Can we not entreat the Lord our God to make bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the people in this day of declension and vanity?

Old-fashioned Doctrine

We want a revival of old-fashioned doctrine. I know not a single doctrine which is not at this hour studiously undermined by those who ought to be its defenders. There is not a truth that is precious to the soul which is not now denied by those whose profession it is to proclaim it. To me it is clear that we need a revival of old-fashioned gospel preaching like that of Whitefield and Wesley.
The Scriptures must be made the infallible foundation of all teaching; the ruin, redemption and regeneration of mankind must be set forth in unmistakable terms.

Personal Godliness

Urgently do we need a revival of personal godliness. This is, indeed, the secret of church prosperity. When individuals fall from their steadfastness, the church is tossed to and fro; when personal faith is steadfast, the church abides true to her Lord.
It is upon the truly godly and spiritual that the future of religion depends in the hand of God. Oh, for more truly holy men, quickened and filled with the Holy Spirit, consecrated to the Lord and sanctified by His truth.
Brethren, we must each one live if the church is to be alive; we must live unto God if we expect to see the pleasure of the Lord prospering in our hands. Sanctified men are the salt of society and the saviours of the race.

Domestic Religion

We deeply want a revival of domestic religion. The Christian family was the bulwark of godliness in the days of the puritans, but in these evil times hundreds of families of so-called Christians have no family worship, no restraint upon growing sons, and no wholesome instruction or discipline. How can we hope to see the kingdom of our Lord advance when His own disciples do not teach His gospel to their own children?
Oh, Christian men and women, be thorough in what you do and know and teach! Let your families be trained in the fear of God and be yourselves “holiness unto the Lord”; so shall you stand like a rock amid the surging waves of error and ungodliness which rage around us.

Vigorous, Consecrated Strength

We want also a revival of vigorous, consecrated strength. I have pleaded for true piety; I now beg for one of the highest results of it. We need saints. We need gracious minds trained to a high form of spiritual life by much converse with God in solitude.
Saints acquire nobility from their constant resort to the place where the Lord meets with them. There they also acquire that power in prayer which we so greatly need. Oh, that we had more men like John Knox, whose prayers were more terrible to Queen Mary than 10,000 men! Oh, that we had more Elijahs by whose faith the windows of heavens should be shut or opened!
This power comes not by a sudden effort; it is the outcome of a life devoted to the God of Israel! If our life is all in public, it will be a frothy, vapoury ineffectual existence; but if we hold high converse with God in secret, we shall be mighty for good. He that is a prince with God will take high rank with men, after the true measure of nobility.
Beware of being a lean-to; endeavour to rest on your own walls of real faith in the Lord Jesus. May none of us fall into a mean, poverty-stricken dependence on man! We want among us believers like those solid, substantial family mansions which stand from generation to generation as landmarks of the country; no lath-and-plaster fabrics, but edifices solidly constructed to bear all weathers, and defy time itself.
Given a host of men who are steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, the glory of God’s grace will be clearly manifested, not only in them, but in those round about them. The Lord send us a revival of consecrated strength, and heavenly energy!
Preach by your hands if you cannot preach by your tongues. When our church members show the fruits of true godliness, we shall soon have inquiries for the tree which bears such a crop.
Oh the coming together of the saints is the first part of Pentecost, and the ingathering of sinners is the second. It began with “only a prayer meeting”, but it ended with a grand baptism of thousands of converts. Oh that the prayers of believers may act as lode stones to sinners! Oh that every gathering of faithful men might be a lure to attract others to Jesus! May many souls fly to Him because they see others speeding in that direction.
“Lord, we turn from these poor foolish procrastinators to thyself, and we plead for them with thine all-wise and gracious spirit! Lord, turn them and they shall be turned! By their conversion, pray that a true revival has commenced tonight! Let it spread through all our households, and then run from church to church till the whole of christendom shall be ablaze with a heaven-descended fire!”

“But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adultieries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.” Matthew 15:18-20

I came across this passage this morning during my morning devotions. It struck me in my heart (sharply) I might add! In this portion of Scripture, the Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus and asked Him why His disciples broke the “tradition” of the elders, by eating with unwashed hands. This in turn caused Jesus to ask them (Pharisees and scribes) why they transgress the commandments of God for the sake of their “tradition?” The tradition of the elders was only an oral extrabiblical law that existed from the time of their Babalonyian captivity, and then was added to the Mishna at the end of the second century.

Jesus went on to expound on the commandment that you should honor your father and mother. The Pharisees and scribes transgressed the Law for the “tradition of the elders”, instead of obeying the Lord.

John MacArthur says about their transgression in verse 3; “The nature of this sin is identified in vv. 4-6 as dishonoring one’s parents in a cleverly devised way. The commandments of God were clear (quoted from Ex. 20:12; 21:17; Dt. 5:16); but to circumvent them, some people claimed they could not financially assist their parents because they had dedicated a certain sum of money to God, who was greater than their parents. The rabbis had approved this exception to the commandments of Moses and thus in effect nullified God’s law (v. 6).”

In turn it was more “lip-service” and “tradition” than honoring and respecting God’s commands. Jesus spoke and said that Isaiah rightly prophesied concerning the Pharisees in Isaiah 29:13: This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.

Jesus called the crowd to Him and said that it’s not what enters a man’s mouth that defiles him, but it’s what comes out of man’s mouth that defiles him. Possibly shocking to the hearers to hear that the tradition that was being taught to them and followed, was not truth and God honoring. The text goes on to say that the disciples said to Jesus that the Pharisees were offended at His statement. Jesus answered and called them blind guides leading the blind, and that every plant that God did not plant, will be uprooted. Then we have Peter asking Jesus to explain what the parable means. This will now bring us to the opening verses, about the things that proceed out of a man’s heart defile the man. And out of the depraved heart comes; evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. Those are the things which defile a man.

It’s a scary thought to know that our heart, even in it’s regenerated state, is still, as Jeremiah 17:9 puts it quite well; The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? This passage has the Lord saying cursed is man, who trust in man.

You see, when the traditions and customs passed down from generation to generation get more recognition than the commandments of the Lord. Then what happens is what happened in Matthew chapter 15 between Jesus and the Pharisees. Then the weightier matters get trampled on and discarded as either not truth, or, as truth that does not take precedence over man’s words. You might be asking…what does this have to do about spoken words reveal the heart?  Out of the heart comes wickedness, lies, etc. Men follow men, that’s a given. Whether they are godly men, or evil men with (good intentions). Your heart will reveal who you are! A man pleaser, or a God pleaser. Our hearts will guide us into what we think is a good thing, but does it match up with the Word of God? By thinking that we are doing “justice” in a situation, is it really doing harm or good? Be a man who is following God in His Word! Because in the long haul…your words that you speak, do reflect who you are. The Pharisees were man-centered, they relied upon tradition more than the commandments of God’s Word.