Karl Gessler @KarlGessler@dingdash.com

“Whatever may be the explanation it is a mere matter of history that Churches rise or fall by their attitude toward Jesus Christ.” -J.C. Carlile (biographer Of Spurgeon)

It may seem like a no-brainer, but this statement is very profound. The “attitude” toward Jesus is the seriousness with which we take His words and the reverence we show for His demands. The Church will not be preserved by a trendy Jesus but by the Jesus who is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. He is the foundation of the entire structure.

“I used to think,” said Charles Spurgeon, “that if they had degrees who deserved them, diplomas would often be transferred and given to those who hold the ploughing handle or work at the carpenter’s bench, for there is often more divinity in the little finger of a ploughman than there is in the whole body of our modern divines.”

Wow! Nailed it. 🔥🔥🔥

“Spurgeon’s intense evangelization raised opposition...”

A lot of Christians foolishly, in my view, speak about the increase of opposition as “good for the Church.” I think we have that figured the wrong way. Persecution hurts the Church in many ways. Sometimes, it can stir a deeper faith in a few but it can also damage many. We ought not rejoice in rising persecution. We should rejoice in the power of the Holy Spirit. You see, the shoe needs to be on the other foot. We don’t need the world to persecute us for revival to take place. We need to take the war to the enemy. Work for revival and persecution will come. We will rejoice in it then because we know we are having an effect. It is the cornered tyrant that lashes out against his enemies. The godless who have everything their own way are the rulers who ignore us.

Spurgeon’s evangelism threatened the powers that be, even in the organized church.

Let’s be a problem for evil doers and compromisers today by obeying the Lord fully.

My journey to discover Spurgeon journal entry #6

We often feel like the church has never been in such a poor state. But this is not true. Our enemy wants us to feel defeated.

When Spurgeon started evangelizing, he began at home.

“England was a land of closed churches and unstoled clergy...the parson was often an absentee, not infrequently a drunkard. Bishops filled their aprons with (payments)...and did little work. The rich went to church to doze in upholstered curtained lees fitted with fireplaces, while the poor were herded together in uncomfortable benches. It was beyond question that the Church was broadly speaking, spiritually moribund and discredited utterly...There were a few earnest men who deplored her imminent collapse.”

The story is always the same. The Church needs revival and the world needs the church revived. When the Church is not in revival, she is dying. But she will never die. It’s not time to despair, it is time to return to our first love.

Many people will argue that it is merciful to abort a child because many aborted children would likely be born into homes of poverty, neglect, and abuse. And many Christians believe that babies go to heaven when they die. So, it is merciful to let a baby skip the pain of this world and go straight to the next?

https://www.buzzsprout.com/255747/8737557

My journey to discover Charles Spurgeon journal entry #5

A leader of a local preachers association heard about the gifted young Spurgeon’s preaching. This leader wanted to test Spurgeon’s abilities as a preacher and invited him to go to a neighboring town for a Sunday service, without informing Spurgeon that he was
the guest preacher until just before they arrived!

Spurgeon decided to do his best. “How long or short it was, I cannot remember. To my own delight I had not broken down nor stopped short...I made a finish and took up the hymn book, and to my astonishment a woman’s voice exclaimed, ‘Bless your heart dear, how old are you?’ I solemnly replied, ‘You must wait till the service is over before making any such inquiries. Let us now sing.”

Charles Spurgeon was 15 years old.

My journey to discover Charles Spurgeon journal entry #4

Charles Spurgeon believed that the best way to learn how to preach is by preaching. I resonate with that greatly! How many more preachers, teachers, worship leaders, evangelists, etc. we would have if we learned to apprentice them instead of sending them off to seminary (or cemetery as my friend calls it!).

I am a preacher, teacher and a worship leader though I have never been to college for an hour. Nevertheless, I was immersed in vibrant Christian faith through my parents and the culture they created in our home. A.W. Tozer, the famous preacher and Author from the mid-west was also self-taught and organically developed.

What matters more than any education is an earnestness of devotion to Jesus and a willingness to obey Him.

How old was Spurgeon when he began preaching? See my next post.

My journey in Charles Spurgeon entry #3

I haven’t had much to share about my insights into Spurgeon recently because I am not too impressed at this point by the writing in this book. But it is considered a Christian classic so I expect it to get better. Just a little dull to begin with.

Today, I learned that Charles Spurgeon was passionate about giving the poor the advantages of education. Good for him.

It seems that nearly everyone who has a successful evangelistic ministry also has a passion to meet practical needs. It seems to me that I remember the Apostle Paul encouraging his disciples to do the same.

“Our people must learn to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others; then they will not be unproductive.” Titus 3:4

This fact about successful evangelists should not surprise us when we remember that the Gospel is good news for the whole person and the whole planet, not just the soul.

Hey Men!
Imagine this scenario: Suppose there was a young woman who was so crazy about you that she agreed to be your exclusive sex partner for life. Nobody else could be with her. Your possession of her would be so complete that people would refer to her as “your woman.” She only does favors for you. How does that sound?

I think it sounds awesome! It’s called marriage! How did we ever believe that having many competing partners would be more satisfying?!

Oh, and the deal works both ways. You belong to exclusively your woman. I think both men and women will find that scenario pretty dang HOT! Trust the plan. It’s God’s plan.

#trusttheplan

“He who would succeed in life must be careful in the choice of his parents.” —Ward Beecher

Charles Spurgeon’s Mother once wrote to him, saying, “I have often prayed for you to become a Christian, but not that you might become a baptist.”

With characteristic pleasantry, Spurgeon responded, “It is just like the Lord not only to answer prayer but to bestow more than had been asked.”

I’m not a Baptist, but I love that response. We should be able to be light-hearted about our simple differences in the Church.

The world is a happy place when Father’s possess integrity.

Happy Father’s Day! Be the man God made you to be!

“Our practice is the only sure evidence that we are Christians.”

“In the absence of the heavenly quality of life, no experience of eternal wonders is a valid evidence of the birth from above...the new heart is to be defined by its quality, not by its history.”

“It was not so much that I feared Hell as that I feared sin,” —Charles Spurgeon

If we feared sin as much or more than Hell, we would see revival.

“The evidence for Christianity is not the evidences. The evidence for Christianity is a Christian.” —Henry Drummond

Why do Christians always expect the future to be worse than the present?

https://www.buzzsprout.com/255747/8701333

My Discovery Of Charles Spurgeon journal entry #2

A fellow pastor complained to Charles Spurgeon one day that he was seeing no conversions through his preaching.

Spurgeon feigned surprise and answered,
“But you do not expect conversions every time you preach, do you?”

“Oh, no, of course not!”
Replied the minister.

Spurgeon retorted,
“And that is why you do not have them!”

“If the world abuses me I am a match for that. I begin to like it. It may Fire all its big guns at me, I will not return a single shot, but just store them up and grow rich on the old iron.” —-Charles Spurgeon

I’m starting in on a book about another of the fathers of our faith. I’m familiar with Spurgeon’s name but I know nothing of him directly. I look forward to sharing what I learn about and from the man.
I plan on journalling my discovery of Spurgeon on my Telegram channel.
You can follow me here: https://t.me/TheGospel4PlanetEarth