S1: Hello friends. Welcome to this special edition, a special Thanksgiving
S1: edition of Open Line. One person I'm especially thankful for
S1: throughout my life has been Doctor George Sweeting. He went
S1: to be with the Lord on September 10th, 2024, just
S1: shy of being 100 years old. He has served as
S1: a pastor. As an evangelist, he was the president of
S1: Moody Bible Institute and also the Chancellor and then Chancellor Emeritus.
S1: When I think of him, I always think of him
S1: as the president of Moody when I was a student.
S1: In fact, what he did is he went out of
S1: his way to befriend me, to be kind to me,
S1: to actually look out for me. I was a fairly
S1: new follower of Jesus when I came to Moody, and
S1: Doctor Sweeting invited me up to his office, gave me
S1: a great deal of encouragement, and always looked out for
S1: me the whole time. I was a moody student and
S1: then stayed my friend through the years as I was
S1: in ministry on the East Coast going to school, different
S1: things I was doing came back to teach at Moody.
S1: He was always there. I always said that Doc Sweeting
S1: was my role model when I grew up. I said,
S1: and I still say I'd like to be like George Sweeting.
S1: I heard him do a teaching when he was about
S1: 94 years old, about how God's Word had led him
S1: his entire life. I thought it would be really good
S1: fitting tribute to Doctor Sweeting to play the interview I
S1: did with him afterwards, where I asked him about how
S1: God's Word guided him in making decisions. And that's what
S1: we're going to play now. So don't call this week.
S1: We'll answer your questions again next week. Today, just sit back.
S1: Listen to Doctor George Sweeting as he explains how the
S1: Word of God led him every step of the way.
S2: I grew up in a wonderful Christian home, mother and
S2: father emigrated from Scotland in 1923. I was born in Haledon,
S2: new Jersey in 1924, and so that's how it all started,
S2: you know?
S1: That same year, my mom was born. Oh, that's kind
S1: of surprising. I never realized that. But anyway, you came
S1: to the Lord. What age?
S2: Uh, my salvation experience was not dramatic. I grew up
S2: in a Christian home, so I was surrounded by hearing
S2: the gospel. My father came to know the Lord in Scotland,
S2: and he came to know the Lord through ministries that
S2: were the result of moody crusades in Edinburgh, Glasgow and
S2: all of Scotland. And so he was determined to have
S2: a Christian home and to to the best of his ability,
S2: leaders in the ways of the Lord. So it was
S2: a strong Christian home. Dad was the head of the home,
S2: no doubt about it. Mom was the heart of the home.
S2: No doubt about it. Both Scottish, both loving the Lord.
S2: Both loving the memory of Dale Moody.
S1: And Dale Moody. Because of them coming to faith through
S1: extensions of of of Mr. Moody's ministries in Scotland. Is
S1: that what? Yes.
S2: My father had been in World War one fighting in
S2: the Belgium area, and when the armistice was declared, he
S2: came home. But he was very unhappy, disillusioned with life.
S2: Three and a half years of trench warfare. And he
S2: was immediately rehired by his old firm. They sent him
S2: out to a town called Carstairs Junction, right outside of Edinburgh,
S2: to build a bridge. And so that's how he got
S2: to Carstairs. And there my mother, who had been led
S2: to the Lord by a convert of D.L. Moody in
S2: his crusades, led my mother to the Lord. My mother,
S2: in turn, witnessed to him, and he had never heard
S2: anything quite.
S1: To your dad, she witness. Yeah.
S2: She shared. Christ. She brought the workers some cold water
S2: every noon. And then after giving them the cold water,
S2: she'd say, I want you to listen as I tell
S2: you how I came to know the Lord. Wow. And
S2: so she'd witness to all of the men. He had
S2: never met anyone quite like that and said, where can
S2: I hear more? She said, well, you go to Glasgow
S2: on the weekends. They lived in Carstairs Junction during the week.
S2: And when you're home, either go to a building that
S2: is called the Tent Hall, seated about 2400 people, and
S2: they served serve breakfast every morning, had evangelism every day.
S2: And it was an evangelistic center named after Dale Moody's tent.
S2: So they called it Tent Hall. And then there was
S2: another one called Bridgeton Chapel and Moody that was a
S2: result of new converts from Moody's meeting. And it was
S2: a Bible center, and they were red hot in evangelism
S2: and sharing God's Word. Wow.
S1: And so that's how your folks, uh, their connection with D.L. Moody,
S1: your dad came to the Lord. They moved here. You're
S1: born here. You become to know the Lord. I think
S1: you've mentioned to me that when you were 15, that's
S1: when something dramatic happened.
S2: Yeah. Uh, as a child, first, though, the first verse
S2: I memorized was, uh, Psalm 27 one. The Lord is
S2: my light and my Salvation. And he says, whom shall
S2: I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life.
S2: Of whom shall I be afraid? Now I was just
S2: a young boy when I memorized that, but that became
S2: my guiding verse. And I would say, Lord, I can't
S2: do this myself. But you're my strength. Be my strength.
S2: You're the strength of my life. Psalm 27 one says,
S2: and then he also goes on in that Psalm, and
S2: he talks about the Lord being the strength of his people.
S2: He says, the Lord is my strength and my shield,
S2: but the Lord is the strength of his people, a
S2: fortress of salvation for his anointed one. And the idea
S2: was placed in my mind and heart that if I
S2: were going to do anything in life, whatever it was,
S2: I thought I'd be an artist. Uh, that the Lord
S2: had to help me. He was my strength and I
S2: clung to that verse. Whether it was sports and I
S2: played a lot of sports in grade school and high
S2: school or whatever I was doing, the Lord was my strength,
S2: and if he was my strength, then there's very little
S2: that I couldn't do. And so that guarded me and
S2: guided me. And that was the first verse that made
S2: a great impact on my life.
S1: Psalm 27 that that was one of the first verses
S1: in my walk with the Lord. That really helped me,
S1: because there were a lot of when I came to faith,
S1: there were some people wanting to intimidate me from believing,
S1: and I, I kept reading that verse over and over,
S1: and it was a real encouragement to me.
S2: Yeah, we can't do it. But he can. He can.
S2: God is able.
S1: Yeah. Okay, so now what happened when you were 15?
S2: Well, like so many in a Christian home, We had
S2: family devotions every night. My father was really the spiritual
S2: head of the home. Mother was the heart of the home,
S2: and dad was an old fashioned disciplinarian. Mother was a happy, loving,
S2: joyful woman who, no matter what her situation was, she
S2: could find joy in it. She lived all that my
S2: dad professed. My dad did, too, for the most part.
S2: But my mother was a we used to say she
S2: was the greatest preacher in our family. Now, the reason
S2: I say that I had two brothers, they both became pastors.
S2: I served as a pastor. I think between us, we
S2: had over 160 years of ministry between the three of us.
S2: But it was all because of a godly mother and
S2: a godly father who trained us in the things of
S2: the Lord.
S1: Wow. And so when did you decide that you're going
S1: to go into ministry? I mean.
S2: My father was very concerned about where we went to church.
S2: We went to a wonderful church, a church that eventually
S2: I became the pastor of the church, then ministered to people.
S2: There were wonderful people, but they weren't as conscious as
S2: they should be of training the children and the young people.
S2: And there was a new work called the Hawthorne Gospel
S2: Church in Hawthorne, new Jersey, and it was born out
S2: of the throes of the Billy Sunday Crusade in 1924.
S2: And these people were youth centered. They wanted to have
S2: a program for children, for teenagers. They wanted to evangelize.
S2: It was a come Sunday, stay all day kind of
S2: church where there was one meeting after another. And that's
S2: where my dad decided we should go. So he wanted
S2: to expose us to the Christian life and what we
S2: could do if we were yielded to the Lord. Well,
S2: they had different speakers in every week from July 1st
S2: through Labor Day. Oh, uh, great Bible teachers from all
S2: over the United States and Europe. Uh, evangelists, prophetic teachers.
S2: We heard prophecy. We heard about Israel. Uh, Lewis Paul
S2: Bauman would come and teach archaeology. Uh, evangelists would come.
S2: Billy Graham, before he was known, would come and preach
S2: at our church. We heard all the evangelists, all the
S2: great musicians. And so we were surrounded by what we
S2: could do if we yielded ourselves to Christ and would
S2: give ourselves to him. And one night, Davis Otis Fuller
S2: from Grand Rapids was doing the preaching, and he preached
S2: on James chapter one. And he set down in verse
S2: 22 where it says, be doers of the word, and
S2: not hearers only. Well, the Holy Spirit applied that to
S2: my mind and heart, and I realized that I needed
S2: to get with it. And that night I said, Lord,
S2: with your help I'll be a doer, not just a hearer.
S2: Up to that time, I could give you the way
S2: of salvation. I could even lead a person to Christ.
S2: But really, I was half hearted. I wasn't doing what
S2: I should be doing. And I said, Lord, from tonight on,
S2: I'm going to be a doer of the Word of God.
S2: I remember waiting until everyone left. I didn't want to
S2: show my emotions, and I spoke to the pastor and
S2: he was so kind and loving. We knelt down by
S2: the front row and he committed me to the Lord
S2: and to his will. I remember taking a bus for
S2: a few miles and then walking another two miles to
S2: get home. A mother didn't ever go to bed until
S2: all six children were in, and as soon as I
S2: walked in, she knew intuitively that God had spoken to
S2: me that night. And she said, now what happened? And
S2: I told her. And again we both knelt in the
S2: little room outside the living room, and she committed me
S2: to the Lord, and that was that. I wrote my
S2: first goals. I wrote first, I'm going to bring glory
S2: to God. Secondly, I'm going to cultivate the inner life,
S2: not the outer life, but the inner life. I want
S2: to be what I ought to be. I want to
S2: be real. And thirdly, I want to disciple others. And fourthly,
S2: I want to win as many to Christ as humanly possible.
S2: And that was a momentous night when I yielded myself
S2: to do the will of God.
S1: 15 years old and you became a doer of the word,
S1: committed to being a doer of the word. What a
S1: phenomenal night and what a phenomenal decision. We're going to
S1: come back and talk about God's leading in your life
S1: some more. In just a moment. You're listening to Open
S1: Line with Michael Redlick, my guest today, Doctor George Sweeting,
S1: former president, a retired president, then chancellor, then chancellor emeritus
S1: of Moody Bible Institute. Don't go away. We're going to
S1: talk about some really important stuff coming up. Stay with us.
S1: Are you looking to deepen your grasp of Paul's powerful epistles,
S1: the Moody Bible commentary on Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians
S1: is your key to unlocking these treasured books with clear
S1: explanations and practical insights. This resource illuminates Paul's teachings on grace, unity, joy,
S1: and the supremacy of the Lord Jesus. Request your copy
S1: of this Moody Bible Commentary excerpt. When you give to
S1: open line, call And one, two, two or visit open
S1: line radio.org. Welcome back to Open Line with me Michael
S1: Ray Jelinek, my guest this hour, Doctor George Sweeting. We're
S1: talking really about how God's Word has guided him throughout
S1: his life and how it can guide us as well.
S1: I think that by application, that's that's so important to
S1: realize that this is not a unique experience for you, doc,
S1: is it?
S2: No, no, this is what the Lord does with men
S2: and women.
S1: Exactly. Last segment, we were talking and we were. You
S1: mentioned this really momentous time when you were 15 years old.
S1: You committed to being a doer of the word. And
S1: then not too long after that, you ended up going
S1: to Moody Bible Institute. How does a kid from northern
S1: north North Jersey end up in the Midwest in Chicago?
S2: Well, that decision to be a doer of the word
S2: really altered my lifestyle. I wasn't that I lived a
S2: careless life before, but I started to focus on what
S2: I was to do. And I read a little booklet
S2: by George Cutting called safety, Certainty and Enjoyment, and I
S2: read about being fully surrendered to Christ, and that I
S2: was to be a witness. I was to share my faith.
S2: So the next day I went to high school and
S2: I sat next to a fellow named Paul Pratt, and
S2: I said, Paul, are you a Christian? And he'd say, well,
S2: I go to a Christian church. I said, yeah, that's good.
S2: I said, but do you know the Lord is your
S2: personal savior? He said, I don't think so. I said, well,
S2: would you like to come to my home after school today?
S2: And I'll open the Bible and show you how to
S2: come to the Lord, how to know the Lord as
S2: your personal Savior. He said, yeah, I'd love to come.
S2: So he came to the home and I took my oath.
S2: Scofield Bible and I showed them Romans 323 all have
S2: sinned and come short of the glory of God. I said, Paul,
S2: that means me. I've sinned. I said, that means Paul Pratt.
S2: You've sinned, and we are sinners in the sight of
S2: a holy God. I said in the Bible says in
S2: Romans six, the wages of sin is death, but the
S2: gift of God, the gift of God is eternal life
S2: through Jesus Christ our Lord. And then I said, so
S2: here in John 316 it says, if you, Paul Pratt,
S2: believe you should not perish, but you'll have everlasting life.
S2: I said, do you believe the Bible? He said, yes.
S2: I said, do you think if you asked the Lord
S2: to become your personal savior. He would. He said, yes,
S2: I said, and it says if you believe in him,
S2: you won't perish, but you'll have everlasting life. Do you
S2: believe that too? He said yes. I said, then why
S2: don't we just get on our knees now and pray?
S2: And you, in your own language, say, Lord, I need you.
S2: I'm sinful, I want forgiveness, I want to put my
S2: faith in you, my trust in you. I want to
S2: become a child of God. He said, okay. So we
S2: knelt down and I helped him pray. And then I prayed.
S2: And when we got off of our knees, he gave
S2: me the best smile I'd ever seen. Wow. He said
S2: it's real. He said, I believe it. He said, I
S2: even feel different. He said, I feel like. Like I've
S2: been washed. I feel like I'm a new person. I said, well,
S2: you know, the Bible says when you believe in Christ,
S2: you become a new person, a new creature, old things
S2: pass away and all things become new. He said, oh,
S2: it's wonderful. He said, I'm glad. And then I gave
S2: him instructions on how to go on in the Lord.
S2: And I'm so thrilled to say he did go on
S2: in the.
S1: Was that the first person you ever led to faith?
S2: First person.
S1: Wow, what a great thing. And so, I mean, obviously
S1: you've led many people to the Lord, but that was
S1: that was just and you were 15 or 16 when
S1: that happened.
S2: 15 and that was the beginning of about 40 that
S2: came to the Lord in our high school. And it
S2: was pretty much the same style, though usually it took
S2: place at school rather than at my home. But I
S2: would carry choice booklets that the church provided for us
S2: and I would say, here, read this and tomorrow tell
S2: me what you think about it. Wow. And I especially
S2: use the one by George cutting safety, certainty and enjoyment.
S2: And so they had a 30 page booklet to guide
S2: them after they'd received the Lord.
S1: Now, so you ended up at Moody when you were 18?
S2: I was 17, and my older brother had enrolled at
S2: the Moody Bible Institute, and he was felt called to
S2: be a pastor. And so I, I had a real
S2: dilemma there, because I was gifted as an artist, and
S2: I had a four year scholarship to Cooper Union, which
S2: is supposedly the best art school arts place in New
S2: York City. Yeah. And I turned it down to go
S2: to the Moody Bible Institute, where I'd have to even
S2: though you didn't pay tuition, you paid room and board.
S2: But that's what I knew I was to do. I
S2: was to go to the Moody Bible Institute.
S1: Did. God. Uh, how did you know that?
S2: Well, uh, I knew it because so many people in
S2: our church, we had 40 kids from our church going
S2: to Moody at the same time. And, uh, so some
S2: took up a whole floor.
S1: Some.
S2: Some would go to Wheaton and some would go to Moody.
S2: But that's the the ones that went to Moody went
S2: out as missionaries, evangelists, pastors all over the world.
S1: Now, uh, your wife Margaret went to Moody as well.
S2: Well, yes, but she was younger. Uh, I. So you
S2: weren't married students? I met her when she was 13, and, uh,
S2: she came out of the German brethren, and they wanted
S2: a program that was geared to youth, and her parents
S2: wanted that. And, uh, I saw her, and I thought, oh, my,
S2: I think I like that girl. And our dating consisted
S2: of church. You know, we went to church to meetings
S2: and we didn't have any other dates other than church
S2: related things, apparently.
S1: Listen, I heard a rumor that you would skip school
S1: to go see her sometimes.
S2: Well, she went to a high school called East Side
S2: High School in Paterson, new Jersey, and I went to
S2: Central High in Paterson, new Jersey. There were about a
S2: mile apart, but I had a free seventh period, so
S2: I'd walk over there, see her, and as a result,
S2: didn't get back for my eighth period class and flunked
S2: the class. The teacher gave me a 69 and I
S2: think I deserved that, but but also I had cartooned
S2: the teacher on the class board one day, and the
S2: kids all got a charge out of it, and it
S2: wasn't a flattering picture that I made and I was
S2: ashamed of myself, but that's what I did.
S1: I see. And so. Okay, so you dated through high school.
S1: You went off to Moody. How did you know to
S1: marry her?
S2: Well, she, uh, she stayed at home for two years
S2: and then decided when she finished high school, she would
S2: come to the Moody Bible Institute as well. Well, you know,
S2: they had their rules on that day, and you could
S2: sit in the same room together. But you better not
S2: be touching elbows in those days. And, uh. But we
S2: loved it. We loved the teachers. We loved the fellowship.
S2: We grew in grace. Uh, it was a wonderful experience
S2: being students at the Moody Bible Institute.
S1: And so when you graduated, is that when you got married?
S2: Well, when, uh, she took a shorter course. I took
S2: the three year try. Semester, three semesters a year, one
S2: month off every summer and she took a two year course.
S2: So I waited an extra year. And while I waited,
S2: I went to the Art Institute of Chicago and studied
S2: art there. Still struggling with the gifts of art, not
S2: knowing how the Lord would unite them. But at that
S2: stage I started illustrating messages and I built myself an easel, uh,
S2: started drawing different pictures. And then I would share, I
S2: would speak, I preach, and eventually, well, it started when
S2: I was 15. I would go to missions all over
S2: New York City, all over North Jersey, jails, anywhere. They
S2: asked me little churches, I would paint a picture and
S2: then preach. I was about 15 at the time, even
S2: spoke in our home church. Uh, I'm sure I wasn't
S2: prepared as well as I should have been, but I
S2: was saying what I knew was so in my own life.
S2: And the Lord had done a work of grace in
S2: my life. So while at Moody, it was youth for Christ.
S2: Days in every city of any size had a youth rally.
S2: And so because I was young, they wanted a young person.
S2: I would go and I would draw and then preach
S2: and would travel as far away as Cleveland, uh, up
S2: to Grand Rapids, up to, uh, Sioux Falls.
S1: When you would draw the picture, what would you use? Chalk.
S1: Is that what.
S2: Chalk? No, I would draw and have a musical background,
S2: and I would end singing, and then I would, uh,
S2: move into the message. And usually people came forward to
S2: receive Christ as savior. Some small meetings, some were fairly
S2: large meetings. But from Cincinnati to Saint Louis to, uh,
S2: to to the far west. I travel every weekend. In fact,
S2: I didn't have to have a practical Christian work assignment.
S2: James Harrison said, you don't need this. He said, we'd
S2: like you to be free to take meetings every weekend
S2: if you wanted. So I kept my equipment down by
S2: Crowell Hall desk, and I'd take it. Go out on
S2: a Saturday night, uh, preach somewhere. Saturday night, Sunday morning. Somewhere.
S2: Sunday night somewhere. Came back late at night and into
S2: class on Monday morning.
S1: Well, I still want to hear how you decided how
S1: God led you to ask Margaret to marry you. Uh,
S1: but we're going to take a little break here. And
S1: when we come back, I just love hearing how God
S1: led you. Uh, thus far. We're going to hear more.
S1: I'm sure everyone wants to hear how God continued to
S1: lead you into service for him. Uh, and how the
S1: Lord Jesus has always been the one you've been serving.
S1: So stay with us. We're going to talk more with
S1: Doctor George Sweeting. This is Michael Rolnick on Open Line.
S1: Open line is designed to take your questions and provide
S1: you with straightforward, honest answers from Scripture about the things
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S1: visit febc. Dawg, that's Phoebe Dawg. Welcome back to the
S1: special Thanksgiving edition of Open Line. We're playing a previously
S1: recorded from 2019 interview with Doctor George Sweeting, who went
S1: to be with the Lord September 10th, 2020 for just
S1: shy of his hundredth birthday. He was the former president
S1: of Moody Bible Institute. Great influence in my life. I
S1: interviewed him about God's guidance in his life and we
S1: were talking about his marriage to Hilda. They were married
S1: for 70 some years. Amazing couple. Just about three weeks
S1: after Doctor Sweeting went to to be with the Lord,
S1: his wife, just shy of her 98th birthday, also went
S1: to be with the Lord. She loved him so much.
S1: He loved her so much. She was also especially kind
S1: to me all the time. Well, I asked doc in
S1: this interview, uh, how was it that having met this
S1: beautiful young girl when they were both in youth group
S1: in high school, how was it that he knew she
S1: was the one?
S2: I met this beautiful girl in our church. She must
S2: have been 13. I was a little bit older than that,
S2: and right away I. I was impressed with her. I
S2: knew her mom and dad. Her mother's name was Martha.
S2: My mother's name was Mary. They were the best of friends.
S2: They'd visit together and I thought, here her folks immigrated
S2: from Germany. Mine immigrated from Scotland. We have that in common.
S2: We both love the Lord. She's beautiful. I thought she's
S2: the one. And then one day I asked her about
S2: a verse and she gave me this verse from Proverbs
S2: chapter three verse five. Trust in the Lord with all
S2: your heart. That's positive. Negative. Lean not on your own understanding.
S2: Then it's positive again in all your ways. Submit to
S2: him and then it says he will make your paths straight.
S2: I read that verse and I thought, what a verse
S2: that's for me. And she shared it with me. And
S2: I thought, that's going to become very important to me.
S2: And I think it was love at first sight. But
S2: we went to Star Lake on Labor Day, and I
S2: got her in a rowboat, and I rode my shoulders
S2: off trying to show her how good I could row
S2: that day. But that's how it all started. And, uh,
S2: our dates consisted of church and church activities, and it grew.
S2: And then I told her I felt called to the
S2: Lord's work, and she was excited about that, although she
S2: had two years of high school to finish, and soon
S2: I was off to the Moody Bible Institute, but I
S2: never dated anyone else. Wow. The fellows at school all
S2: tried to get me to date and I said, I
S2: don't have time to date. I know who I'm going
S2: to marry. It's all set. I said, so I have
S2: to be about my father's business. And so I was
S2: working on spiritual things.
S1: And so, I mean, you've been together a long time.
S2: Long time.
S1: That's amazing. And I can see I actually I love
S1: it when I see you guys, if I go out
S1: and speak at your congregation or things like that. I
S1: love how you guys look at each other. You probably
S1: don't even know it, but I can see it even now.
S1: It's it's, uh.
S2: She can read my mind, and I can read hers. Nearly.
S2: That's good. That's so great.
S1: Uh, okay. So you finished Moody? You went to the
S1: Art Institute. Did you go right into evangelism, or did
S1: you become a pastor right away?
S3: No.
S2: I went right into evangelism and Had all the meetings
S2: I could ever handle because it was quite unique to
S2: illustrate something, I would sing while I would draw, and
S2: then I would preach the message. And I was young
S2: and there were these youth meetings all over the place.
S2: And so it was just the right time to be there.
S2: And the Lord blessed, and people came to the Lord,
S2: and others were revived, and one thing led to another.
S1: So when we were students, I have to say that
S1: one of the highlights every year seemed to be when
S1: you would do a chalk talk in chapel.
S2: Well, I did it quite often. I didn't do it
S2: every year, but I did it occasionally and they seemed
S2: to enjoy it.
S3: I loved it.
S2: I enjoyed doing it for them.
S1: I liked it because it was the only time we
S1: saw you without your suit jacket.
S3: Well, I'd take my jacket.
S2: Off and hands were dirty, but the heart was clean.
S3: And. Yeah.
S2: And I'd go to work.
S3: It's fun. Yeah.
S1: Well, then. So how did you shift from evangelism to
S1: the pastorate? Because really, most people think of you. If
S1: they don't think of you as the president, they think
S1: of you as the pastor of Moody Church. So how
S1: did you move to the pastorate?
S3: It was.
S2: A struggle. I knew ultimately that I was to be
S2: a pastor teacher, and different opportunities came my way. I
S2: was closely associated with Jack Wertz, and the word of life.
S2: And Jack meant so much in my life, learned so
S2: much through him, spoke there every year, started when I
S2: was 20 years of age and for 50 years in
S2: a row spoke there. But that helped me think through
S2: different things. What would I do? And I decided by
S2: God's grace, I wanted to be a teacher, preacher, to
S2: share God's Word. How I didn't know how, but I
S2: remember I was called early on to be a pastor,
S2: and I wanted to be a pastor, and I specifically
S2: chose that so that I would know what a pastor
S2: faces and I could be a better evangelist if I
S2: knew what he faced week after week. And so I
S2: decided I took a church and I said, Now I'll
S2: only be here for two years. So I said, you
S2: might not want me. They said, no, we'd like you
S2: to come. I said, but then I'm going to travel
S2: as an event.
S3: In North Jersey.
S1: That's where this church was.
S2: Uh, was Grace Church in Passaic, new Jersey, new Jersey.
S2: And I had told them when I came, I said,
S2: I'll only be here two years. I said, and then
S2: I'm going to take the next step, which I think
S2: will be an evangelist. And so they said, well, we
S2: want you to come. And I came and in two
S2: years started as an evangelist. And the meetings just came
S2: without any organization whatsoever. And I was busy all all
S2: 50 states, Canada and parts of Mexico. And by that
S2: time we decided the children were coming along, we were
S2: married and children came along. Four sons, they said I
S2: would never have children. And then I decided to go
S2: back into the pastorate so I'd be nearer my teenage
S2: boys while they were going through challenges.
S1: And so when you went to church in the North Jersey,
S1: how was it that you knew to come to Moody
S1: Church in Chicago? I mean, they called.
S3: You as that was.
S2: Interesting. I took this church called the Madison Avenue Baptist
S2: Church in Paterson. It had been a great church of
S2: about a thousand, but the city started to suffer and
S2: it went down to about 150. So they asked if
S2: I would come and be pastor, and I said it
S2: would fit into what we think we need right now.
S2: we need a regular, faithful diet with our boys. We
S2: don't want to win everybody else's boys and lose our
S2: own boys. And so we stayed in our same home.
S2: I pastored the church. Uh, we bought up, uh, all
S2: the homes around us, took their yards and made them
S2: in a parking lots. And, uh, the mayor was a
S2: dear friend. And I shared with him many times. Uh,
S2: and he came and he said, oh, he said the
S2: whole area of Paterson, new Jersey is changed because of
S2: the Madison Avenue Baptist Church. Well, we said, thank God. Well,
S2: somehow Moody Church heard about this and a pulpit committee
S2: came out and they they told me they were a
S2: pulpit committee. Would I consider coming there? I said, no,
S2: I said, I'm an Easterner. I love the ocean. Ridiculous excuses.
S2: You know.
S3: I said.
S2: I'm going to stay in new Jersey till I die.
S2: Family's here. We're here to stay. We're not going anywhere.
S2: But they didn't hear me for that. Soon I got
S2: an invitation to preach at Founder's Week in 1965. And again,
S2: the Moody elders met with me, and they said, what
S2: would you do if you were a pastor here? And
S2: I gave about 30 things, and they said, would you
S2: ever consider. I said, no. They said, well, would you
S2: come and preach for us once? I said, well, I'll
S2: come once.
S3: And they were.
S1: Dangling you.
S3: There. They were bringing you along.
S2: I was getting nervous. She thought we were going to
S2: go to Chicago. And sure enough, as time went on,
S2: we took a sheet of paper, put reasons for going.
S2: Reasons for not going. And in no time the reasons
S2: for going prevailed. And we said, you know what? We
S2: have to do this whether we want it or not.
S2: This is what the Lord wants us to do.
S1: We're going to be right back in just a moment.
S1: You're listening to Doctor George Sweeting talking about how God
S1: led him to Moody Church. We're going to finish up
S1: that story and how he came to Moody Bible Institute
S1: in just a moment. This is open line with Michael Redlich.
S1: Some claim Paul is the key person who took the
S1: message of the Jewish Messiah. Jesus made it into something Gentile.
S1: But Paul is also the one who wrote, brethren, my
S1: heart's desire for Israel is for their salvation. Romans ten
S1: one chosen people ministries. One of our underwriters wants us
S1: all to learn what drove Paul's passion for his own people.
S1: They're offering the book The Heart of the Apostle by
S1: Rich Freeman, free to all open line listeners. To get
S1: this exposition of Romans nine through 11, just go to
S1: our website, openline. radio.org. Scroll down to the link that
S1: says A free gift from Chosen People Ministries. Click on
S1: that and you'll be taken to a page where you
S1: can sign up for your very own free copy of
S1: The Heart of the Apostle. Welcome back to Open Line.
S1: I'm Michael Ray Dominic. I'm so glad you're listening in
S1: with me today. We're having a wonderful conversation with Doctor
S1: George Sweeting, uh, the sixth president of Moody, the chancellor
S1: emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. And my dear friend, one
S1: of my favorite people in the world. Thank you. Thank you, doc,
S1: for being with me. Before we went to break, we
S1: were talking about you made a list whether to go
S1: to Moody Church or not to go, and you looked
S1: at it, you decided to go. And what happened when
S1: you when you got to Moody Church?
S2: Oh, you know, three verses have guided me and held
S2: all of our life. One is Psalm 115. One not
S2: to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name
S2: be the glory because of your love and your faithfulness.
S2: And the other one is Isaiah 40 28I am the Lord,
S2: that is my name and my glory. I will not
S2: give to another. And the other verse was Second Corinthians,
S2: chapter four, verse seven. We have this treasure in earthen vessels,
S2: so that the glory will not be of ourselves but
S2: of the Lord. And those three verses kind of came
S2: before we did anything else, and we wanted him to
S2: get the credit. We wanted him to get the glory.
S2: And so those three verses became all important in every
S2: decision that we made. We came to Moody Church August 1st, 1965.
S2: The first six months I preached on the love of God.
S2: I knew that was D.L. Moody theme. Yes. And I
S2: knew it had to be my theme. And I thought
S2: of that verse in Jude, keep yourself in the love
S2: of God. And I ask that the Lord would make
S2: the place a house of love again, like it was
S2: under D.L. Moody. And the Lord honored that prayer, and
S2: it became a house of love. And soon people started
S2: coming from all around. At first there were maybe 4
S2: or 500 people coming in that auditorium that seats 4200
S2: and has 365 doors. Wow. I tend to be a
S2: detailed person. And so I walked all around and surmised
S2: the looked over the situation and and I said, yes,
S2: we'll come up with a plan. I wrote out a
S2: plan for the church, and the elders and deacons agreed
S2: to the plan. One, as I said, in my first
S2: two months, I'm going to have Jack Watson come in.
S2: I've talked to him and we're going to have Friday
S2: night rallies. And they said, well, we haven't used the
S2: balcony for years. I said, well, we will. They said,
S2: who's going to clean them? I said, the people, they're
S2: going to dust them off when they sit in the chairs.
S2: And so we contacted Harry Saulnier and a few other
S2: people in the Chicago area, and we said, we want
S2: you to get the word out. Jack's going to be
S2: here every Friday night for six Friday nights, and we're
S2: going to fill the place every seat and see hundreds
S2: come to Christ. And they said, you think that'll happen?
S2: And that is exactly what happened. The first night we
S2: just about filled it and maybe a hundred professions of faith.
S2: The next night it was packed with overflow and every
S2: night was filled when we saw maybe 500 new converts
S2: come to Christ and the church grew. And soon we
S2: saw that God was going to do some great things.
S3: He did great.
S1: Things. Just real briefly, how was it that you're in
S1: this thriving, burgeoning church? I mean, it was it was
S1: revived and you left it to go to Moody Bible Institute.
S1: How did that crash into your life?
S3: Well, that was.
S2: Another interesting thing. I started Moody Bible Institute as a
S2: student August 2nd of 1942. Doctor Culbertson came as the
S2: dean of education the same day he came from Philadelphia.
S2: I came from northern new Jersey in 1969, I became
S2: a trustee of the Moody Bible Institute. Before I became president.
S2: Little did I realize that Doctor Culbertson would want me
S2: to succeed him. He took me to the Union League club,
S2: and we were sitting at a certain table and he said,
S2: you know, I sat here many years ago with Will
S2: Holton and Will Holton before the conversation was over, said, uh, uh,
S2: Doctor Culbertson, I feel you ought to succeed me here
S2: at Moody Bible Institute. And I thought, oh, no. And
S2: Doctor Culbertson said, so I'm going to ask you the
S2: same thing. I said, well, uh, you'll have to give
S2: me time to pray about it, and I'll have to.
S2: He's having much time. You need. I said, I need
S2: at least six months. I said, I'm going to write
S2: down reasons why and reasons why not, and we'll see
S2: what the Lord has. He said we're willing to wait.
S2: At the end of that time. I said, I'm not
S2: ready yet. I don't know, I don't feel I don't
S2: feel equal to it. I don't feel I'm a doctor, Culbertson.
S2: I don't feel I'm a I don't feel I have
S2: all the gifts that I ought to have. He said, well,
S2: no one does. And so anyway, eventually, though, after much prayer,
S2: I said, yes, Lord willing, God help me, I'll give
S2: it a try.
S3: You know, I.
S1: Don't think anyone's adequate, but the Lord makes us adequate.
S2: Yeah, we're not adequate.
S3: We're not.
S2: Adequate.
S3: I think it's woefully.
S2: Inadequate.
S3: When we.
S1: We get into trouble, when we think we are adequate.
S3: Don't you think?
S2: Not unto us, not unto us, but unto thy name
S2: give glory. That's what it.
S3: Is. That's true. Wow.
S1: Doc, I so appreciate what you said about God's leading
S1: you in life. But he's still leading you. And one
S1: of the things that I know is a passion of
S1: your heart and passion of your life is to end well.
S1: So I was wondering if you could kind of tell
S1: us a little bit about that and your perspective about that.
S2: You know, Doctor Culbertson used to always say, I want
S2: to end well, and I never expected him to pass
S2: away when he did. But the day the Lord took
S2: him home, he was 65 years of age, had never
S2: been a smoker, but he had lung cancer and he
S2: didn't expect to die that day because there were some
S2: meetings he had scheduled. And I said, would you like
S2: me to take those meetings for you? He said, no.
S2: He said, once I get out of the hospital, he said,
S2: I'll take those meetings. Well, that night he passed away.
S2: That night he quoted a verse from revelation. Hallelujah, the
S2: Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Close his eyes and died 65
S2: years of age. He wanted to end well, and he
S2: did end well. Someone asked me about ending well, and
S2: I said we finished life well, by the grace of God.
S2: That's how we start the Christian race. That's what keeps
S2: us in the Christian race. And that's what takes us
S2: to the end of the Christian race. And then I
S2: wrote this sentence when everything is said and done, God's
S2: grace is the only explanation for why any of us
S2: make it.
S1: Well, Doctor George Sweeting did indeed end well. I'm sure
S1: the first words he heard when he passed into the
S1: presence of the Lord was well done, good and faithful servant.
S1: He literally wrote the book on how to end well.
S1: He wrote the book How to Finish the Christian Life
S1: and he ended so well, faithful serving to the very end.
S1: I'm so grateful to God for his life, for his ministry,
S1: for the impact he's had not just on me, but
S1: on so many. What a great, great role model. Well,
S1: we'll be back next week with your questions. You can
S1: call then and we can talk about the Bible together.
S1: Keep in touch with us till then by going to
S1: our website openline. radio.org has all the links that you're
S1: looking for and all that you'll need. Keep reading the Bible.
S1: We'll talk about it next week. Open line is a
S1: production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.
S2: And to God be the glory. Great things he has done.