A Warning Against Backsliding, False Worship & False Teachers - Puritan John Flavel Audio Books ▶️SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/user/stack45ny ▶️After subscribing, click on NOTIFICATION BELL to be notified of new uploads. ▶️SUPPORT CHANNEL: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=RB72ANM8DJL2S&lc=US&item_name=stack45ny¤cy_code=USD&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF%3abtn_donateCC_LG%2egif%3aNonHosted Ephesians 4:1 Chapter 4 1 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called, King James Version (KJV) 4 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called Colossians 1:10 10 to walk worthily of the Lord unto all pleasing, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; King James Version (KJV) 10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God 2 Timothy 3:9 9 But they shall proceed no further. For their folly shall be evident unto all men, as theirs also came to be. King James Version (KJV) 9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as their's also was. Micah 7:4 4 The best of them is as a brier; the most upright is `worse' than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen, even thy visitation, is come; now shall be their perplexity. King James Version (KJV) 4 The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity. Revelation 13:3-4 3 And `I saw' one of his heads as though it had been smitten unto death; and his death-stroke was healed: and the whole earth wondered after the beast; 4 and they worshipped the dragon, because he gave his authority unto the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? And who is able to war with him? King James Version (KJV) 3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. 4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? John Flavel (1628-1691) Excerpt from Meet the Puritans by Dr. Joel Beeke and Randall J. Pederson John Flavel was born in 1628 in Bromsgrove Worcestershire. He was the son of Richard Flavel, a minister who died of the plague in 1665 while in prison for nonconformity. John Flavel was educated by his father in the ways of religion, then "plied his studies hard" as a commoner at University College, Oxford. In 1650, he was ordained by the presbytery at Salisbury. He settled in Diptford where he honed his numerous gifts. In 1656, Flavel accepted a call to be minister in the thriving seaport of Dartmouth. He earned a smaller income there, but his work was more profitable; many were converted. One of his parishioners wrote of Flavel, "I could say much, though not enough of the excellency of his preaching; of his seasonable, suitable, and spiritual matter; of his plain expositions of Scripture; his talking method, his genuine and natural deductions, his convincing arguments, his clear and powerful demonstrations, his heart-searching applications, and his comfortable supports to those that were afflicted in conscience. In short, that person must have a very soft head, or a very hard heart, or both, that could sit under his ministry unaffected." Flavel was ejected from the pulpit in 1662 for nonconformity, but he continued to meet secretly with his parishioners in conventicles. On occasion, he would preach for them in the woods, especially on days of fasting and humiliation. Once he even disguised himself as a woman on horseback in order to reach a secret meeting place where he preached and administered baptism. At another time, when pursued by authorities, he plunged his horse into the sea and managed to escape arrest by swimming through a rocky area to reach Slapton Sands. Flavel was humble, godly, and learned. He spent much time in study and prayer. One of his children wrote, "He was always full and copious in prayer, seemed constantly to exceed himself, and rarely made use twice of the same expressions." He was well versed in church discipline, infant baptism, and a number of Oriental languages. Flavel's power as a preacher came out of his depth of spiritual experience. He spent many hours in meditation and self-examination. As Middleton writes, "He [Flavel] attained to a well-grounded assurance, the ravishing comforts of which were many times shed abroad in his soul; this made him a powerful and successful preacher, as one who spoke from his own heart to those of others. He preached what he felt, and what he had handled, what he had seen and tasted of the word of life and they felt it also" (ibid., p. 58). While meditating on heaven on one occasion, Flavel was so overcome with heavenly joy that he lost sight of this world. Stopping his horse by a spring, he viewed death as the most amiable face he had ever seen, except that of Christ's, who made it so. When he finally arrived at an inn, the innkeeper said to him, "Sir, what is the matter with you? You look like a dead man." "Friend," Flavel replied, "I was never better in my life." Years later, Flavel said that he understood more of heaven from that experience than from all the books he had ever read and all the sermons he had ever heard on the subject.