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A.B. Simpson

Albert Benjamin "A.B." Simpson (1843 - 1919). Canadian-American preacher, author, and founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA), born in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island. Raised Presbyterian, he experienced conversion at 14 and studied at Knox College, Toronto, graduating in 1865. Ordained, he pastored in Ontario, then Louisville, Kentucky, where his church grew to 1,000 members. In 1881, after a healing experience, he moved to New York, founding the independent Gospel Tabernacle to reach the marginalized. In 1882, he launched The Word, Work, and World magazine, and in 1887, merged two ministries to form the C&MA, emphasizing the "Fourfold Gospel": Christ as Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King. Simpson authored 101 books, including The Fourfold Gospel, and composed hymns like "Jesus Only." In 1883, he started Nyack College, training 6,000 missionaries. Married to Margaret Henry in 1866, they had six children. His global vision sent 1,500 missionaries to 40 countries by 1919. Simpson’s teachings on holiness and divine healing shaped modern Pentecostalism.
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A.B. Simpson emphasizes the importance of holding fast to our confidence in God, illustrating the journey of faith through the examples of Elijah and Joash. He describes the initial simple trust represented by Elijah's proclamation of rain, followed by a deeper, more intense prayer life that requires perseverance and active faith. Simpson warns that many believers fall short in their faith journey, failing to meet God's expectations after asking for His blessings. He encourages believers to remain steadfast in their confidence, reminding them that they are partakers of Christ if they endure to the end. The sermon concludes with a message of hope for struggling believers, urging them to trust in Christ's victory over their challenges.
Hold Fast the Confidence
The attitude of faith is simple trust. It is Elijah saying to Ahab, There is a sound of abundance of rain (1 Kings 18:41). But then there comes usually a deeper experience in which the prayer is inwrought. It is Elijah on the mount, with his face between his knees, travailing, as it were, in birth for the promised blessing. He has believed for it and now he must take it. The first is Joash shooting the arrow out of the window, but the second is Joash smiting on the ground and following up his faith by perseverance and victorious testing (2 Kings 13:14-25). It is in this latter place that many of us fall short. We ask much from God, and when God proceeds to give it to us we are not found equal to His expectation. We are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end (Hebrews 3:14), and trust Him through it all. Fainting soldier of the Lord, Hear His sweet inspiring word, "I have conquered all thy foes. I have suffered all thy woes; Struggling soldier, trust in Me, I have overcome for thee."
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Albert Benjamin "A.B." Simpson (1843 - 1919). Canadian-American preacher, author, and founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA), born in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island. Raised Presbyterian, he experienced conversion at 14 and studied at Knox College, Toronto, graduating in 1865. Ordained, he pastored in Ontario, then Louisville, Kentucky, where his church grew to 1,000 members. In 1881, after a healing experience, he moved to New York, founding the independent Gospel Tabernacle to reach the marginalized. In 1882, he launched The Word, Work, and World magazine, and in 1887, merged two ministries to form the C&MA, emphasizing the "Fourfold Gospel": Christ as Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King. Simpson authored 101 books, including The Fourfold Gospel, and composed hymns like "Jesus Only." In 1883, he started Nyack College, training 6,000 missionaries. Married to Margaret Henry in 1866, they had six children. His global vision sent 1,500 missionaries to 40 countries by 1919. Simpson’s teachings on holiness and divine healing shaped modern Pentecostalism.