He was twenty-three years old....and preached to 23,000 people at London's Crystal Palace.
This was four years after his conversion! That God gave this untrained young man such wisdom and biblical insight is on the one hand....an awesome work to behold....whether by the people in his time and in his church....or those of us today who continue to be blessed by his preaching....but one the other hand....it seems to be what God does most of the time....and that is use the most unlikely vessels to carry the gospel.
So I came across this August of 1857 sermon....two days ago....and have listened to it three times already....and plan to listen again when I am finished with this post. The thoughts that Spurgeon gives in this sermon....a few weeks before that Crystal Palace sermon mentioned above....are so....controversial....that I wondered a few times if he would hold to the same view throughout his life. His ministry would last thirty-five years more.
If you listen to this sermon....which I hope that you do....you will hear Spurgeon expounding on a verse that has always been a memory verse for Christians....Zechariah 4:6...."Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the LORD of hosts."
I would assume that we all think that we have a handle on what the verse means....and we would be correct....but according to Spurgeon there is more to it than a simple verse that would look good on a poster.
I'll just give you one clue here on where Spurgeon will be going. We tend to think that if America....(Spurgeon refers to England)....represented by our government....proclaims itself to be God-fearing....then that would automatically empower the spreading of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Spurgeon says that the opposite would happen....and he uses history as evidence. So this sermon....if he is correct....which I believe that he is....speaks directly to us today in America....and our misplaced hope in a government that constantly tells us that they are defending the Christian Faith.
