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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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Sermon Summary
A.B. Simpson emphasizes the necessity of constantly looking unto Jesus, urging believers to turn their gaze away from evil and not allow their minds to dwell on it. He illustrates the importance of having spiritual 'eyelids' to shield oneself from the temptations and defilements of the world, likening them to a protective stockade. Simpson warns that exposure to evil can corrupt the soul, even without consent, and stresses that the remedy lies in a steadfast focus on Christ. He encourages believers to cultivate an inner vision of Jesus to maintain spiritual purity and strength.
Looking Unto Jesus
There must be a constant looking unto Jesus, or, as the German Bible states it, an offlooking upon Jesus-that is, looking off from the evil, refusing to see it, not letting the mind dwell upon it for a second. We should have mental eyelids as well as physical ones, which can be used like shields to keep out evil. They should be like a stockade camp in the woods, to repel the first assault of the enemy. Many do not seem to know that they have spiritual eyes. They go through the world as if somebody had cut off their eyelids. The devil comes along with his evil pictures and bids them look, and they stare away at the good and evil alike. We cannot look upon evil without being defiled. Sometimes, as we walk along the streets, the sight of some of the pictures will cast their filth upon our souls so that we feel the need of being cleansed in Jesus' blood. There has been no consent unto sin, but the sight of it has defiled us. The only remedy is in the resolute, steady, inner view of Christ.
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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.