Scripture

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all.

~Galatians 1:6-7, NIV

Quote

The true gospel is no new gospel but is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever.

~Charles H. Spurgeon

Charles Haddon Spurgeon was and English Baptist preacher of the 19th century. His story is one of the most amazing I’ve ever heard. He was born in a village known as Kelvedon, England. He had a difficult childhood and was a very troubled young man. As a teenager, he sought the LORD on a cold winter day and wondered into a chapel, just to seek a place of warmth. A handfull of people where gathered a man was preaching the gospel. The LORD revealed Himself to Spurgeon who was in his middle teens. Shortly afterwards he felt the call to preach and from his first sermon, witnesses knew that he was anointed. What I am going to share with you in phenomenal; there is no explanation.

Spurgeon made his way to London and became the pastor of New Park Street Chapel which was a congregation in decline. They had a big building and a small crowd. Spurgeon first audience was less than a hundred, but in no time word spread and space became a problem. They moved a time or two until they got settled in Metropolitan Tabernacle, a huge auditorium that would seat 6,000 and allow another 500 to stand. Now for the unbelievable. He filled the Tabernacle up from the get go, with people standing and people waiting outside. To hear Spurgeon preach, you had to have a ticket. In his youth he preached three times on Sunday and five times during the week. In later years only twice on Sunday: 11:00 am and 6:00 pm. He never preached to an empty seat. People came from all over the world to hear this young man preach. Can you imagine someone purchasing a ticket to here someone preach today? I couldn’t fill a sanctuary if I was out there offering to pay folks to come in and hear my sermon.

I know what you are thinking: he must have studies all the time and then preached. Actually, he did more than prepare and preach. The Tabernacle was open daily with a soup kitchen. This was during the same era as George Muller and the streets were filled with homeless children. Spurgeon’s orphanage was not as large as Mullers, but he helped hundreds. He never burdened the church with a salary, he lived off of book royalties. I would starve. He even financed some of the missions himself and they started twenty missions during his brief life time of only 57 years. Spurgeon was promoted from Mentone, France, a resort that faced the sea. He also retreated in his life time to a resort on the Mediterranean Sea. He suffered from exhaustion and at times depression. He perspired every time he went to the pulpit: it was both exhilerating and a horror. These are his words. All I can say is Wow!

One other thing: he was a contemporary of Charles Darwin who was one of the men who influences what they call the enlightenment, and it was an era where English Baptist drifted to the left. Spurgeon withdrew from the Baptist Union because of this downgrade which I think the progressives called and upgrade. He stuck to the word and would not depart from it. The press hated him and did their best to destroy him. He did smoke cigars briefly due to the advice of friend, but he gave it up immediately when the press made an issue of it. It is an incredible story.

Extra

June had her gall bladder removed yesterday lathroscopically. It turned out to be a bigger deal than we had imagined but she made it. She is at the house and doing much, much better this morning. She is restricted for a couple of days. Can’t drive or lift for a while.

Christy text me last night and she planned to be at church tonight, PTL. I am bringing a couple of Marie Calendar pecan pies. Cindy said all we needed was desserts.

God bles you, hope you have a good day and thanks for reading the blog.