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Oswald J. Smith Preaching - Part 4
Oswald J. Smith
Oswald Jeffrey Smith (1889–1986). Born on November 8, 1889, in Embro, Ontario, Canada, to a Methodist family, Oswald J. Smith became a globally influential pastor, missionary advocate, and hymn writer. Saved at age 16 during a 1906 Toronto revival led by R.A. Torrey, he studied at Toronto Bible College and McCormick Theological Seminary but left before graduating due to financial strain. Ordained in 1915 by the Presbyterian Church of Canada, he pastored small churches before founding The Peoples Church in Toronto in 1928, leading it until 1958, when his son Paul succeeded him. Smith’s church sent millions to missions, supporting over 400 missionaries, earning him the title “the greatest missionary pastor.” He pioneered radio evangelism with Back to the Bible Hour and authored 35 books, including The Passion for Souls and The Man God Uses, emphasizing evangelism and prayer. A prolific hymnist, he wrote over 1,200 hymns and poems, like “Then Jesus Came.” Married to Daisy Billings in 1915, he had three children and died on January 25, 1986, in Toronto. Smith said, “We talk of the Second Coming; half the world has never heard of the first.”
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Sermon Summary
This sermon emphasizes the importance of spreading the gospel globally by drawing parallels to historical missionaries like David Livingstone, William Carey, Judson, and the Apostle Paul who left their comfort zones to reach distant lands. It challenges the audience to see the world as the field that needs to be worked entirely, not just focusing on local missions.
Sermon Transcription
But I wasn't sequestering. Why go to the foreign field when there's so much to be done here at home? Let me answer that question by asking four other questions. First, why did David Livingstone leave Scotland and go to Africa when there was still so much to be done in Scotland? Why? And why did William Carey leave England when there was still plenty to be done in England and go to India? Why? And why did Judson leave the United States of America and go to Burma when there was still so much to be done in America? Why? And why did the Apostle Paul leave his own homeland, Palestine, when the people of Palestine had not even heard the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ? Why did he leave Palestine and go to Europe, to your forefathers and my forefathers, in order to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ? Why? I can give you the answer, and I give it in the words of the Bible. The field is the world. I say the field is the world. Did you ever see a farmer? Did you ever in your life know a farmer to settle down in one little corner of his field and spend a lifetime working that one little corner and leaving the rest of the field? Never. The farmer works the entire field. He works the whole of the farm. The United States of America is only a fence corner. Great Britain is only a fence corner. If you have given all your money for Christian work in the United States of America, then you have been working in a fence corner.
Oswald J. Smith Preaching - Part 4
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Oswald Jeffrey Smith (1889–1986). Born on November 8, 1889, in Embro, Ontario, Canada, to a Methodist family, Oswald J. Smith became a globally influential pastor, missionary advocate, and hymn writer. Saved at age 16 during a 1906 Toronto revival led by R.A. Torrey, he studied at Toronto Bible College and McCormick Theological Seminary but left before graduating due to financial strain. Ordained in 1915 by the Presbyterian Church of Canada, he pastored small churches before founding The Peoples Church in Toronto in 1928, leading it until 1958, when his son Paul succeeded him. Smith’s church sent millions to missions, supporting over 400 missionaries, earning him the title “the greatest missionary pastor.” He pioneered radio evangelism with Back to the Bible Hour and authored 35 books, including The Passion for Souls and The Man God Uses, emphasizing evangelism and prayer. A prolific hymnist, he wrote over 1,200 hymns and poems, like “Then Jesus Came.” Married to Daisy Billings in 1915, he had three children and died on January 25, 1986, in Toronto. Smith said, “We talk of the Second Coming; half the world has never heard of the first.”