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F.B. Meyer

Frederick Brotherton Meyer (1847 - 1929). English Baptist pastor, author, and evangelist born in London. Converted at eight, he studied at Regent’s Park College and graduated from London University in 1869. Ordained in 1870, he pastored in Liverpool, York, and London, notably at Christ Church, Lambeth, and Regent’s Park Chapel, growing congregations through accessible preaching. A key figure in the Keswick Convention’s holiness movement, he emphasized deeper spiritual life and social reform, advocating for the poor and prisoners. Meyer wrote over 75 books, including The Secret of Guidance (1896) and Paul: A Servant of Jesus Christ, with millions of copies sold globally. He traveled to North America, Asia, and South Africa, influencing figures like D.L. Moody and Charles Spurgeon. Married twice—first to Jane Elder in 1874, then Lucy Holloway in 1898—he had one daughter. His temperance work led to 500 pub closures in York. Meyer’s devotional writings and Bible studies remain influential in evangelical circles.
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Sermon Summary
F.B. Meyer emphasizes the importance of having a clear inner purpose and intention in our spiritual lives, warning against the dangers of trying to serve both God and material wealth, which leads to a distorted vision of our true priorities. He illustrates this with the example of Edward Irving, whose childhood experience caused him to have a squint, paralleling how many attempt to balance their devotion to God with worldly desires. Meyer references John Bunyan's character Mr. Facing-Both-Ways, who ultimately deceives himself by trying to please both God and the world, highlighting the futility of such a divided heart.
Scriptures
What to Seek and Whom to Serve
Matthew 6:19-26 What is in our inner life which answers to the eye of the body? Some have said that it is the intellect; others the heart. But it is truer to say that it is the inner purpose and intention of the soul. When our physical eye is in an unhealthy condition, the image is doubled and blurred. To use a common expression, it has a squint, such as affected the noble face of Edward Irving, the noted English clergyman. We are told that as a babe he was laid in a wooden cradle, in the side of which was a small hole through which he watched what was going on. This distorted his vision through life. So we may look two ways at once. The endeavor to serve God and mammon, to stand well with both worlds, to lay up treasures on earth and at the same time be rich toward God, is a spiritual squint. John Bunyan tells of Mr. Facing-Both-Ways, who kept one eye on heaven and the other on earth; who sincerely professed one thing and sincerely did another. He tried to cheat God and Devil, but in the end cheated only himself and his neighbors.
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Frederick Brotherton Meyer (1847 - 1929). English Baptist pastor, author, and evangelist born in London. Converted at eight, he studied at Regent’s Park College and graduated from London University in 1869. Ordained in 1870, he pastored in Liverpool, York, and London, notably at Christ Church, Lambeth, and Regent’s Park Chapel, growing congregations through accessible preaching. A key figure in the Keswick Convention’s holiness movement, he emphasized deeper spiritual life and social reform, advocating for the poor and prisoners. Meyer wrote over 75 books, including The Secret of Guidance (1896) and Paul: A Servant of Jesus Christ, with millions of copies sold globally. He traveled to North America, Asia, and South Africa, influencing figures like D.L. Moody and Charles Spurgeon. Married twice—first to Jane Elder in 1874, then Lucy Holloway in 1898—he had one daughter. His temperance work led to 500 pub closures in York. Meyer’s devotional writings and Bible studies remain influential in evangelical circles.