George Whitefield – One Of The Greatest Preachers

“No preacher has ever retained his hold on his hearers so entirely as he did for thirty-four years. His popularity never waned.” – J.C. Ryle (on the life of Whitefield)

300 years ago, a man by the name of George Whitefield entered into the world. Hailed as one of the greatest evangelists and preachers ever to have lived, Whitefield played a key role in the Great Awakening, and devoted his life to spreading the Gospel throughout Britain and America during the mid-1700s. The Great Awakening was a spiritual renewal, spearheaded by Whitefield and lead by other men such John and Charles Wesley and Jonathan Edwards. The impact of the Great Awakening had a lasting touch upon the world.

Whitefield was a dynamic force for the Gospel, with estimates that 80% of the American colonial population heard him preach. His life touched people such as William Wilberforce who devoted his life to abolishing slavery in Britain, and millions of others in America and Britain. Even though his life on earth is finished, his impact continues. The Lord saved Whitefield in 1735 through a book that Charles Wesley lent him, “The Life of God in the Soul of Man” by Henry Scougal. He said of his conversation, “I know the place…Whenever I go to Oxford, I cannot help running to the sport where Jesus Christ first revealed himself to me and gave me the new birth.”

Preaching was what Whitefield was most known for; making little time to rest, he preached an estimated of 10 sermons a week. Crowds came in droves to hear Whitefield’s sermons, and he preached to numbers as high as 20,000 and as late as 2:00 a.m., which for the mid-1700s was no small feat. Even though he is most known for his preaching, Whitefield sought to care for the outcast. He started an orphanage in Georgia called Bethesda, which means “House of Mercy”. His hope for the orphanage was that many acts of mercy would take place in the walls which held the fatherless children.

Perhaps one of his most famous quotes is the following:

I will never speak of what is real as though it is imaginary. I will not be a velvet-mouthed preacher.

Below are a few more of his impactful quotes:

The care of the soul is ‘a matter of the highest importance;’ beyond any thing which can be brought into comparison with it.

If you are going to walk with Jesus Christ, you are going to be opposed … In our days, to be a true Christian is really to become a scandal

God forbid that I should travel with anybody a quarter of an hour without speaking of Christ to them.

What! Get to heaven on your own strength? Why, you might as well try to climb to the moon on a rope of sand.

We must all have the spirit of martyrdom, though we may not all die martyrs.

God is well pleased when all our actions proceed from love, love to Himself, and love to immortal souls.

Press forward. Do not stop, do not linger in your journey, but strive for the mark set before you. Fight the good fight of faith, and God will give you spiritual mercies.

Oh Christian, may we rejoice that such men of God walked this earth and pointed everyone towards Him. May we remember great men and women of the past and strive to be Godly representatives of Him.

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George Whitefield – One of the Greatest Preachers

“No preacher has ever retained his hold on his hearers so entirely as he did for thirty-four years. His popularity never waned.” – J.C. Ryle (on the life of Whitefield)

I will never speak of what is real as though it is imaginary. I will not be a velvet-mouthed preacher.

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