Saturday, October 24
Charles Spurgeon was one of the greatest Gospel preachers in history. An English Baptist, Spurgeon only lived to be 57, but in that time, he is estimated to have preached to around 10 million people. At the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, where he pastored for many years, he often preached to 6000 people without amplification. The church baptized over 14,000 new believers in his time there. Today, his sermons are still studied by believers looking for inspiration, and preachers who hope for self-improvement (ahem).
Spurgeon loved to tell the story of how he was first saved, telling it over 280 times. It happened when he was only 15, hungry to know who God was and what He required. There were many great churches in London in those days, so every Sunday, Spurgeon would attend a different one, hoping to find the answer he was looking for.
One Sunday, a blizzard was howling through the London streets, and young Spurgeon could barely leave his home. He made it to a Primitive Methodist church just down the street from where he lived. The pastor was absent. An elder of the church was there, and one other member. Spurgeon, feeling conspicuous, sat way in back. When it became clear that the pastor wasn’t coming, this elder got up and opened his Bible to read Isaiah 45:22, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else.” The elder was not a trained speaker, and he had no prepared remarks. He just kept reading that text, again and again, making a few very repetitive, not very enlightening comments along the way. Suddenly, he pointed at Spurgeon and said, “Young man, you look miserable. Look unto Jesus and be saved.” Spurgeon at that very moment realized it was exactly that simple. All he had to do was turn his life over to Jesus. When he got home, his mother saw him and said, “Something wonderful has happened to you today.” She was right. Has it happened to you?
On Monday, I shared the lyrics of a hymn I grew up singing, one inspired by John 8:12. Whether you know it or not, if you have come into the light, you’ll enjoy hearing The Light of the World is Jesus
Senior Pastor
First Baptist Conroe
More from Pastor Jeff at his website: jeffbergerwriting.com
