Hindrances to Personal and Corporate Revival — Ralph Sutera

Tonight, hindrances to personal and corporate revival, hindrances. Make sure you have a pen or a pencil because tonight will be altogether different from anything else that we have done. And also you need to make sure that tonight you pick up the issues that relate to the subject, the heart God revives and a heart of revival.

Confusing Evangelism, Church Growth, and Revival

Revival, when will revival come? Make sure you get it. Look at this. We have confused evangelism with revival and added numbers to churches already loaded down with members that have been, what's this, starched and ironed but not washed.

We have imagined that we had a revival every time a church paid out of debt. That's revival. But look at there's a statement Vance Havner made, look at the statement, starched and ironed but not washed.

People in our churches have been starched, ironed, we've got it starched, we've got it straight but never been washed. And tonight, tonight is a time when we're going to do a scriptural spiritual laundry list, take a look at that to see what needs to be washed, to be cleansed.

Now you'll want to make notes and take down the scriptures because I'm not going to quote them all but I want you to make sure that you have them so that in the future, in the days ahead, you'll be able to use this and study it on your knees with your Bible open to be able to reflect on what it is God is trying to say.

So we are going to move rapidly through some of this and then get to the main part of it a little bit later. But I just want you to make sure we have it. Very important that everybody has a sheet and you do your own work as far as making notes.

Walking in the Spirit Rather Than the Flesh

Galatians chapter 5 is what we want to read, Galatians chapter 5, some verses. It says, stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Verse 7, you did run well, who did hinder you that you should not obey the truth? Verse 9, a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. Verse 13, for brethren, you have been called unto liberty, only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

For all the law is fulfilled in this word, even this, thou shalt tolerate thy neighbor as thyself. Does that make sense? No, thou shalt love thy neighbor. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that you be not consumed one another.

You know what I call that verse? I call that verse Christian cannibalism, biting and devouring one another. That's what cannibals do. They bite and devour one another. And you know it says, take heed that you be not consumed one another.

You know what I'm saying? Everybody gets consumed. No such winners. Biting and devouring each other. Hmm. This I say then, walk in the spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Why? Because the flesh lusts against the spirit, spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary to one another so that you cannot do the things that you would.

What it's really saying is that the flesh and the spirit are at war against each other. They do not coexist. They fight against each other. And then verse 24, 26, and they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

If we live in the spirit, we say we live in the spirit, let's also walk in the spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. Well, that whole chapter is a tremendous chapter between the walking in the flesh and walking in the spirit.

I just use it as a frame of reference because tonight we're taking a good look at what needs to be cleansed. What needs to be cleansed? Dr. George Sweeting, the former president of Moody Bible Institute, made this statement.

The greatest obstacle for the conversion to the conversion of Nineveh was not the sin and corruption of the Ninevites, though that was great, was not the graph-ridden police force or the corrupt politicians.

It was not the false cults and religions. That wasn't the biggest problem. The biggest obstacle to the salvation of Nineveh was in the heart of a pious, prejudiced man named Jonah. There was no deceitfulness in all of Nineveh like the deceitfulness in Jonah's heart.

That's when God had a problem with a prophet, trying to outdo what God wanted him to do. And so it's easy for us to be involved in religious activities and all kinds of profession and yet be the biggest ones, the most deceived and the biggest problems that God has as far as fulfilling his work is concerned.

So I want you to watch for numbers, the numbers 1 to 16 at the left top to keep up to where I am. You'll see the numbers and you'll know which number you're supposed to be on when we're writing. Okay?

The Motive for Wanting Revival

Hindrances to revival. Number one, the motive for wanting revival. The motive for wanting revival. And so what you need to do is write the statement down and then put the texts. And any comments that you want to make as well, that is up to you as I relate to it.

The motives for wanting revival. What we want revival. We want revival because our church, we just need more people to help us pay the bills. Is that a motive for revival? We want revival so we can straighten out some of the problems we have in our church.

Is that a motive for revival? Is that the motive for revival? We want revival because it will help some of our families that are really struggling in emotionally and physically and financially and revival.

God will meet their needs. Is that the motive for it? No. Here's the motive. Whether we eat or drink or whatsoever we do, we do all to the glory of God. You see, in Ephesians 3, 20 and 21, unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages.

Unto him be glory. That's the motive. The glory of God alone and that's a whole subject, takes a whole night to develop that. Hindrance number two, self-satisfaction, self-satisfaction. Revelation 3, 16, 17, self-satisfaction.

Self-Satisfaction and Spiritual Lukewarmness

The Lord says you're lukewarm, you're neither cold nor hot, I'll spew you out of my mouth, but you say, we talk back to God. God tells us what we're like and we talk back to him. We say we're rich, we're increased with goods and we have need of nothing.

And God answers, and you don't even know that there are five things wrong with you. You know not that you're wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked. Now I've seen some wretched people who didn't know they were wretched when everybody else did know they were wretched.

Seen some miserable people that didn't know how miserable they were, most people know. I've never seen a poor man that didn't know that he was not poor. I've never seen a blind man with a seeing eye dog didn't know he was blind.

And I've never seen a person go through an International Falls winter naked and not knowing it. Now you put that all together and try to figure out what God is saying and we have the audacity to talk back to God with those maladies.

We say we have need of nothing, need of nothing. Well I don't want to take time to merely talk about I will spew you out of my mouth. You know that's interesting, in the Middle East, well yeah I'll do it.

I can tell you that years ago Lou and I had occasion to be in the Middle East and on the desert in Jordan, we were told that if you stop out on the desert and you ask for water, a glass of water or a cup of water, if they give you a lukewarm glass of water, as soon as you drink that, it will immediately come back up.

They say that the combination of the Middle Eastern sun, the chemical combination of all this, with the chemicals in the sand beneath, those two things with lukewarm water will not coexist. That as soon as it hits the bottom, boom, right back up.

Well for whatever that's worth, in the midst of everything else that portion of scripture means. You know what I'm saying? God says it nauseates me, I can't even hold it down. We say I have need of nothing, I'm satisfied just the way I am.

God says I can't even hold it down. Personal revival threatens the comfort and safety of what we have been doing without total commitment to Christ. A comfortable and safe life run without real commitment is a tragedy, anything that shakes the comfort and safety of our lives is feared and we ought to be praying God, help me, teach me to be earnest enough to face such a threat, deliver me from that self-satisfaction.

Self-Centeredness and the Flesh

Well hindrance number three, self-centeredness. Some of these are closely connected but a little bit different. Look at that, look at this, there's a man on his knees, I pray for me and mine Lord, more money please Lord.

And the truth is, what about praying for the lost, we're all wrapped up in ourselves. Romans 7, the apostle was, oh wretched man that I am, who's going to deliver me from this body of sin and death? And in chapter 6 he says, to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Chapter 8, verses 5 and 6, self-centeredness, well me, me, me Lord, it's me, me, my need, I call it Christian humanism, what's in it for me? And if the church can't benefit me, then I'll look for another church.

If it doesn't suit me just right, I'll go someplace else. If it doesn't meet what I think it ought to be primarily, what's in it for me? Oh, wretched man that I am, there's what the apostle Paul is saying, and there are the verses, to be carnally minded, they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, and they that are after the spirit mind the things of the spirit.

Literally he's saying, they that are after the flesh are fleshly minded, the mind of the spirit, they that are after the spirit allow the spirit to control their minds when we walk in the spirit. Hindrance number four, self-sufficiency.

Self-Sufficiency and Dependence on God

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God, self-sufficiency, well I've got enough in myself to make it happen. I can tell you what it was like, two pastors came to one of the sessions, I was doing morning sessions during a crusade, and I was talking about the problems, the peculiar problems of the clergy relating to revival, and I mentioned the fact that some pastors said, we can make it happen, we can make it happen, in ourselves, we can make it happen.

And two pastors came up to me and said, Ralph, do you realize what you said? He said, that's exactly what this man and I said, he's my associate, and I said to him and he said to me, I said, you and I in this church together, we can make it happen around here.

And God broke their hearts about their self-sufficient attitude, a know-it-all attitude, we can make it happen, know-it-all attitude. He who knows not that he knows not is not only a fool, but he's dangerous to others.

When you feel you know all the answers, you have yet to hear all the questions. Somebody said, you might as well have a conversation with yourself, you have all the answers anyway. Know-it-all attitude, self-sufficient in ourselves.

Timothy Dwight said, self-confidence is a guide, eminently dangerous and deceitful. Safe as we may feel under its direction, our safety is imaginary. Our true wisdom lies in willingly feeling and cheerfully acknowledging our dependence on God.

That's the true wisdom. And committing ourselves with humble reliance to his care and direction. See, it's an imaginary, imaginary safety when we are sufficient within ourselves. And that leads me to number five, reliance on human and natural resources.

Reliance on Human and Natural Resources

See, it all ties together, but a little difference. Our reliance on human and natural resources, I probably should have said, that's the place where I should have talked about the pastors who could make it happen.

But there's more than that. You see, the scripture, John 3 .30, he must increase, but I must decrease. He must increase, I must decrease. And that leads me right to John 5 .30, I can of mine own self do nothing.

That's Jesus talking. I can of mine own self do nothing. And that leads me to John 6 .63, it's the spirit that quickens, the flesh profits nothing. The spirit quickens, but the flesh profits nothing. Profits nothing.

Well when I look at that, I like to call it this way, I call it the downward trail of self-centeredness or of depending on human resources. See, from decreasing to doing nothing to profiting nothing.

The downward trail to reliance on self-centeredness. See, you must know you cannot before you know you can so that when you do, you know you didn't. How's that for a riddle? You must know you cannot before you know you can so that when you do, you know it wasn't you that did it.

I like that. See, God needs to strip us of our reliance on human resources. And by the way, those of us in ministry, this is a real danger. We can rely on our education, rely on the natural abilities and the spiritual gifts that God might have given us, thinking that it comes through that instead of reliance on the power of God.

A pastor commented, he said, I was on fire for the Lord, but when I look back now, it was my own flesh that was burning. He said, I was a busy man with a dried up, lazy spiritual heart. And it doesn't have to be a pastor.

But you see, when we think we have enough resources, human resources, that we don't need God to come on the scene, what a danger that is in our Christian experience. Well, I can tell you what it was like when God allowed this ministry to be used in Canada in the early 70s, what people said.

You know, can any good thing come out of Nazareth? They said that of Jesus, didn't they? Well, I can tell you what it was like when the reporters came to try to figure out what was happening up there.

One man wrote in the periodical, somebody gave us a copy of it, it said the music was below par, trying to analyze it. The music was below par. And it was. Dr. Virgil Brock was our song leader, he was 83 years of age.

He had a natural vibrato in his voice. You were never sure which note he was on. And he was, and he sang some of those old ancient songs that he had written 50 years earlier. And there he was, 83 years of age, with us, totally opposite of what it should have been.

So they said the music was below par. And they were right. They went on to say the preaching was below par. Hmm. And it went on to say in both content and delivery. Now what's left? In both content and delivery.

And I chided Lou, because at that time, during that crusade, he was doing most of the nighttime preaching, so I had to let him say, Lou, look at this, look what they said about your preaching. So the music was below par.

The preaching was below par in both content and delivery. But you know what else it said? It said, but one could not escape the fact that God was at work among his people. And when I showed that to Lou, and I was trying to chide him about what it said about preaching, but he got that last part.

But one could not escape that God was at work among his people. I'll never forget what happened to him. His eyes began to sparkle and a great big smile, and he bursted out, reeled out, praise the Lord.

It's about time something happens. That's it. And God needs to strip us of our reliance on human resources and recognize, and by the way, 1 Corinthians chapter 1 is that whole story. Why does he do it?

So that no flesh will glory in his presence. God uses the weak things so that no flesh will glory in his presence. Well, look at this. You talk about human resources. I couldn't resist a revitalizer. Look how hard they're working to revive, to revive, revive, see?

And he's saying to them, it wasn't supposed to be this hard. Sure, you try to do it in the energy of the flesh, it'll always be hard. Try to depend on your own human resources to make things happen spiritually, it'll always be hard.

Think it's easy? No, no. Always be hard. Number six, hindrance to revival. Our preconceived mental framework as to how it comes. Tremendous hindrance to revival. Preconceived mental framework as to how it comes.

Preconceived Frameworks About Revival

After praying and hearing revival sermons for years, some cannot accept it from God if it does not fit their mental mold. In other words, that can't be a revival. They've got, after all, it didn't happen like it happened in Finney's day, in somebody else's day, somebody, it can't, that can't be a revival.

You see, our historical concepts of revival, what we've read in the past, can sometimes box God into the framework of history. As if we say, God, you have to do it that way because that's the way you did it in the past.

And if it doesn't show up that way, then it must not be of God because it never happened like that before. And so we shrivel God into a framework of the past history and do not allow God to be God to do whatever he wants to do.

Now, you know as well as I that if God is going to send a reviving and a revival to International Falls, you know as well as I that it has to come in the evangelical covenant church, right? And if God sees fit to start it in the Nazarene church, you know their doctrine is not right.

That can't be from God. And if God wants to start in some Mennonite churches, oh no, never there. See? And we lose sight of the kingdom of God. And it's got to fit our mold and that's a sense of dishonesty when we think like that.

We think our mind and our mental capacity is more important than what God says. And that's a tremendous hindrance to what God wants to do. For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Who hath been his counselor?

For of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be glory forever. And of course, Isaiah 55, 7, and 8, he says my thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither are my ways your ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than yours and my thoughts than your thoughts.

So let's let God be God. And if some of us are bound to think that it has to come a certain way, just the way it fits our mental capacity, our mold, then it's a tremendous hindrance to what God wants to do.

Praying for Revival in Unbelief

Here's another one. Praying for revival in unbelief. Praying for revival in unbelief. Now some of that unbelief is caused from our previous ill experiences. From our previous ill experiences. I dare say there are people who, you remember years gone by when they used to have special kind of meetings, they called them revival meetings.

And they used to twist people's arms to respond. They used to pull people out of an aisle and they'd drag them down and then they would kneel and they would wrap their arms around them and they'd pray over them.

And they're praying over them and going like this over them. And they say, do you feel it? Brother, do you feel it? Do you feel it? Do you feel it? Yes, I feel it. Yes, I feel it. And all wrapped up in feelings and emotion and it's no sooner over and they're, in quotes, reviving's all over.

And some people have never gotten over that. And the word revival or reviving is an ill repute to some people because of the past failures and attempts. I get what it was like to be in a crusade in Ontario, in eastern Canada, and there was an associate pastor, minister of Christian education, who just came on the staff.

And his first ministry out of Bible college, seminary. And it was evident while we were there, he did everything to stay away from any of us. So for the first few days, I noticed how aloof he was. So after a few days of that, I said, how about if you and I go out and have lunch together?

Well, we did. And I didn't need to say a word. He brought it up. He said, you no doubt have noticed that I have been rather aloof. I said, yes, I guess that's probably the statement of the year. Very evident.

Tell me why. And he said, because I graduated with 13 others in the seminary from our class. And not a one of 13 fellows studying for the ministry and now in the ministry would have anything good to say about revival.

I said, why? He said, because all of the human efforts and the human attempts of people who had come through to try to produce a revival and some of the students even try to manipulate things to bring about a revival.

He said, I have nothing to do with it. I said, will you be honest enough to give God a chance? He was sitting in the back rows when we started. He said, all right, all right, I'll be honest enough to give God a chance.

And it was amazing to watch. We were there for three weeks. It was amazing to watch that after that first week, every night he and his family were moving up one row. And by the time we got to the end of the crusade, he and his family were sitting on the front row.

And he came up to me after and he gave me a great big hug. He said, you know what? He said, I'm going to write, I'm going to contact every one of the graduates of our class and tell them that our concept of revival is absolutely wrong.

What have I said? It's so easy, some of us, if we've had some ill experience in the past, to automatically write off what's real. And it becomes a tremendous hindrance to what it is God wants to do. Dr. G. Christian Weiss, who used to be the voice of missions for the Back to the Bible broadcast years ago.

One day, Lou and I were having lunch with him. He's now in heaven. And I said to him, Dr. Weiss, what is your thought, your concept of the idea of seeing revival in our day? The possibility of seeing God do something in revival in our day.

He said, well, I guess I can answer that by merely saying to you that a man gave me a book that he had written and he wanted me to critique it. I said, what was it? He said the book was, he wrote it. This man wrote it.

The book was titled Ten Reasons Why No Revival Before Jesus Comes. I said, well, what did you think of the book? He said, I didn't even have to open it. He said, I took one look at the cover and the title and I turned to the man who wrote it and who gave it to me.

I said, sir, here's my evaluation of your book. Your book is reason number 11. Your book is reason number 11. Romans 14, 23b says, whatsoever is not of faith is sin, and a spirit of unbelief is sin. Is it ever dispensationally wrong to pray, will thou not revive us again that thy people may rejoice in thee?

Dr. Dr. What was his name? I forgot. Anyhow, the old pastor of Moody Church in Chicago, way back there, years ago, who remembers what his name was? Dr. Ironsides. H .I. Ironsides. See, my senior moment is over.

Even he came out with a clear-cut statement condemning those, or not condemning, but renouncing those who would dare say such a thing that God cannot work in these days. The biggest problem with the sin of unbelief is that we don't believe we have it.

That's the biggest problem. See, we doubt our beliefs and we believe our doubts. That's our problem. See, unbelief turns into prayerlessness. We quit praying for people and situations if we don't believe it can happen.

Why pray if we don't believe it happens? By the way, this is one of the reasons why some people do not come to prayer meeting, and I need to qualify as a statement I made. I understand there is a prayer meeting in this church.

I was suggesting, and I thought maybe that was not the case, but it is the few, the handful, maybe on one hand. See, why come to pray if we doubt whether or not anything can happen? Why pray? So unbelief turns into prayerlessness in our lives.

Unbelief, see, one pastor said, I can see how subtly more and more we believe less and less. After we've prayed and nothing happens, we believe less and less. Unbelief, the Bible says, is an evil heart, and it's a heart that is departing from the living God.

Hebrews 3. It's a heart that is departing from the living God. And the writer says, take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

Sin of unbelief, it's an evil heart. Now look at this. Science class, November 18, 2052. I expect to be here. The next converging of Venus, Jupiter, and the moon. That's what it says. Scientists say that's the date.

And July 28, 2061 will be the date of the return of Halley's Comet. Now just think of that. Who could ever put that all together? Just think of that. Jeremiah 33, 25 and 26 says, God says, if my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and the earth, if I have not done it, then will I cast away the seed of Jacob and David my servant.

You know what he's saying? Saying, if you can believe that I am the one who has set that up, so November 18 and July 28 are in my design. If you can believe that, then you can believe that I will not cast away the seed of Jacob and David my servant.

So what does it really say? God uses a scientific fact to assure us of the covenantal relationship between himself and his people. His fixed universal laws, ordinances of heaven and earth, have the same certainty as his promises to his covenant people.

So where should there be any spirit of unbelief in our lives? If God can do that and set that in order, and he promises that if he puts that in order, he will keep his promises promised to his covenant people.

So then let's become believing believers. It's one thing to read the word and even pray we can do it in unbelief. Number eight, hindrance to revival. Structuring God in his program. Structuring God in his program.

Structuring God Instead of Following the Spirit

We structure our lives. We structure other people's lives. We structure the church's ministry often. We attempt to organize and structure God instead of letting his spirit organize us in Christ's body.

When revival broke out in Rives Junction, Michigan in 1970, this was even before what happened in Canada, there was a prelude to it. There was an evangelist who was having meetings 30 miles away, and he got on the radio each day in his regular broadcast, and he said to the people, I promise you that if you come to my meeting at 7 o 'clock by 8 .30 sharp, I will have you on your way home.

And you know what he did at 8 .30? He jumped into his car, drove 30 miles, and he came to our meetings. And he got there about 9 .15 or so, and we hadn't even started preaching yet. And it was wonderful how God used that and spoke to him through it all.

But my point is simple. What if God wanted to show up in a very special way at 8 .31 in his meeting, and he promised the people that by 8 .30 they'd be on their way home? What have I said to you? Structuring God, structuring how it has to happen, telling God it has to happen this certain way, rather than letting the Holy Spirit organize us in Christ's body.

Somebody said, you'll know you've been revived when the clock is crucified. Vance Havner said, many of our services start at 11 o 'clock sharp and end at 12 o 'clock dull. Now, I'm not suggesting there is any merit primarily to long meetings just for the sake of having long meetings.

But I'm suggesting that if we are bound by the clock and we structure God in such a way that it has to happen in that certain hour, then no wonder God cannot bless. I'll tell you what it was like in our home church in Ohio a number of years ago.

The pastor, one Sunday morning, our home church, he preached a powerful sermon. There was such an anointing of God on it. But when it came to be a certain hour, he was ready to give the invitation. He said, all right, but before I give the invitation, I want all the mothers who have children in the nursery, make sure you go now to get your children, because we don't want the nursery workers to stay any longer than they have to stay.

So women got up, went to the nursery, and then the pastor tried to give an invitation after that. It was all over. Do you know why he had to do that? Because some elders would jump on the pastor for making the people in the nursery stay a few moments longer.

And you know what the people in nursery said? Why did the pastor do that? We're not afraid to keep the children longer, especially when God's working. And if we think we're going to structure God as to how it happened and when it's going to happen and where and all the rest of it, we'll never see.

You know why? Because we're still in control. And God will not allow us to succeed until he's the one who's going to get the glory for doing it his way. See? Matthew 16, 18, Jesus said, I will build my church.

I'm going to build the church, not us. And when he builds the church and not us, then the gates of hell are not going to prevail against it. And you know what that is. That's not just defensive, that's offensive.

That means when he builds it his way, not our way, when that happens, there's going to be an offensive thrust against the gates of hell and we're going to see victory. When it's done his way. And here's a hindrance number nine.

The Paralysis of Analysis

I call it the paralysis of analysis. The paralysis being paralyzed by an analytical spirit. Anyone merely an analyst of revival is not a true candidate to be revived. See? First Corinthians, the apostle Paul says, knowledge puffeth up.

If any man think that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know it. Knowledge puffs up. Pride. See? And in that light, Isaiah 55, 7, and 8, that we already quoted, we already quoted Isaiah 55, 7, and 8.

Knowledge puffs up. Look at this statement by Jonathan Edwards. There's a great danger in not recognizing God's work. It was the problem in Jesus' day when he came down from the mountain. They said, he can't be of God.

We know his family. They sent scholars to analyze. They took three years of analyzing and then crucified him. God came down to earth and ministered for three years and the world could not recognize him.

The paralysis of analysis is a hindrance to revival. Sure, we ought to know what we believe and we ought to know what the scripture teaches. But maybe I can illustrate it this way. Here's a music pastor in a church in Western Canada who said, you know what?

We'd go to a musical concert someplace else and we come home and my wife in the car says, oh, how I was so blessed by that musical concert. And I'm sitting there saying, why couldn't I be blessed? Because all I was doing is analyzing the music, analyzing this, analyzing that, analyzing the other, and I couldn't be blessed.

And you see, it's even possible, you know, we get our eyes on people. I dare say that I've probably said some things already that some people didn't appreciate or didn't agree with and all the rest of it.

So maybe one statement I might have made could be enough for some people never to want to come back again. Because after all, boom, didn't agree with it. So they lose the baby with the bathwater. I don't agree with everything my brother does.

You know, somebody said, aren't you glad we're not all alike? If God made everybody just like I am, then everybody would want my wife. That makes sense. And another man said, yes, I'm so glad we're not all alike.

Because if God made everybody just like I am, nobody would want your wife. See, we're not going to agree on everything. God made us all different. You mentioned, I mentioned last night, I talked about our home church last night.

Didn't I say it's not perfect? Sure, it's not perfect. But I can tell you when I see a spirit of love that flows, and when I see the outreach ministry, and when I see the anointing of God on the preaching and all the rest of it, I can put up with some things about which I don't agree.