Give Back To God What Is God's

Give back to God What is God's

These are the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, spoken in an incident in which some of his haters were trying to catch Jesus in an offence against the then political system.  Most of the teachings of Jesus was not a threat to the Roman Empire which was ruling the Provinces of Israel and Palestine though Christ came preaching about a different Kingdom in the Roman King’s Rule, but it was unbearable for religious leaders.  The elders of the religion, chief priests, and pharisees were closely watching and spying to see in what manner they could catch Jesus Christ in His teaching and preaching that He had committed an offense against the Ruling Government and hand him over to the Governor’s rule and authority.  This Governor was sent by the Roman Kingdom to be in-charge of the provinces.


So, they find one moment to trap Jesus by asking a question whether to pay taxes or not.  Because Jesus was preaching about another Kingdom, they were expecting that Jesus would say “when you belong to the Kingdom of God, you don’t need to pay taxes.”  However, Jesus gave them an amazing answer and they were not able to catch Him by His word.  It is described as below. 

Luke 20

20 Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor.

21 So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.

22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

23 He saw through their duplicity and said to them,

24 “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

25 He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

The above Bible verses say that Jesus read their thoughts and intentions and understood that they did not ask Him out of a genuine thirst or a drive to know the truth but out of their craftiness to catch Him by His own word and bring upon Him some kind of danger or harm.  He told them to show a coin.  He puts forth a question back to those who asked Him the question, Whose image and inscription does it have? They had to reply Caesar’s because that was the image that was inscribed on it.  Then He says give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. 

Let’s take the latter part of the verse which says “Give back to God what is God’s.”  Let’s try and analyze, where we can see the image and inscription of God?  The earth and its fulness belong to God.  God is the creator.  Also, Mankind is created in the image and likeness of God.  In another words God has inscribed His Image upon us and He has stamped upon us that He is the Creator and that we belong to the Kingdom of God.  Not all are in the Kingdom of God.  Those who are not under the Lordship and Ruler-ship of God are strangers and aliens to the Kingdom of God.  Kingdom of God is not visible to the eyes (Luke 20:21) It is within us in our hearts.  When we accept the Lordship of Jesus Christ through believing that we are made righteous by the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus, we become the citizens of the Kingdom of God.  This process is called “to be born again,” because we are re-created in the image and likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ.  So, as the citizens of the Kingdom of God, God stamps upon us His Image and the inscription that says that we are His Royal Children, we belong to His family, and we are His possession. 

Since we belong to God, we are God’s.  Now, we don’t belong to ourselves, but Christ the King.  Our eyes are not ours, our ears are not ours, our feet are not ours, the members of our bodies are not ours, our passion, our liking, our wills, emotions, our properties, our possessions, everything should be centered on the Will of God.

It is not suffice that we are saved and born-again, but we need to have the understanding that we are not our own and we belong to the Kingdom.  We need to give ourselves back to the Kingdom.  It does not mean that all of us have to leave our current occupations and professions and become full time serving the Lord.  But it means in our capacity, in our circles which God has placed us in, we need to be doing the Will of the King. 

I once again would like to remind ourselves that Kingdom of God is not outside in any church or organization, it is within us in our hearts.  The Lord is ruling as King from our heart and the principles and precepts of the King are already given to us in the book called Bible.  Dr. Myles Munroe who has been my inspiration ever since I stumbled upon his book “Kingdom Principles,” calls Bible as the Constitution of the Kingdom of God.

It is so sweet to give ourselves back to the Kingdom than paying taxes to the government.  Because our Ruler, our King is generous and benevolent.  He does not rule us with Iron Hand.  Look how He rules us when we surrender to His Lordship....

Isaiah 11:

1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him - the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—

3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;

4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together; and a little child will lead them.

7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.

9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

The shoot that comes up from the stump of Jesse indicates the Lord Jesus Christ and the rest of the verses speaks of His rule, how He will rule.  The result of which there will be no harm or destruction in His Kingdom.  Though this speaks of His 1000-year rule, just like that God is able to provide us goodness and His care in our lives and keep us out of the evils of this world.

Is it not a wise and best decision to come into the Lordship of Jesus and come under His Kingdom care and protection?  If your answer is yes, shall we then pray the following prayer?

Dear Father in Heaven, holy be your name.  I understand and conceive that Jesus has paid the price for my sin through His death on the cross.  I repent for my sins and I ask for forgiveness of my sins and washing of my sins through the Lord Jesus Christ.  I believe in Him and receive Him as my savior and Lord.  I come under the Lordship of Jesus.  I want to be reborn into your kingdom.  Thank you for taking me from this world of darkness and translating me into the Kingdom of Your Dear Son Jesus Christ.  Holy Be Your Name.  Your Kingdom come upon my life as it is in heaven.  Your Will be done in my life as it is heaven.  Thank you for making me a citizen of the Kingdom of God and stamping upon me Your Image and Inscription declaring that I belong to You.  Having thoroughly understood that I belong to you, as the Lord Jesus said, I give myself back to You.  Lord have Your way in the every day of my life and teach me Your precepts and statutes from the Constitution of the Kingdom of God.  Help me to walk in loving obedience to Your Will and Ways.  In Jesus Name I pray.  Amen. 

So...readers...hope that this post must have been a blessing to you.  Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments on this post.  Thanks!!

Written by Shanta S. Daniel

[Copyright@ Permission is granted to duplicate this article in its entirety, but only without additions, alterations or omissions of any kind, including the author and ministry name at the end]

What is Revival? - by C. H. Spurgeon From the December 1866 Sword and Trowel

Click Here for the Biography of Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834 - 1892) - The Powerful Pulpit Preacher of England

 The word "revival" is as familiar in our mouths as a household word. We are constantly speaking about and praying for a "revival;" would it not be as well to know what we mean by it? Of the Samaritans our Lord said, "Ye worship ye know not what," let him not have to say to us, "Ye know not what ye ask." The word "revive" wears its meaning upon its forehead; it is from the Latin, and may be interpreted thus—to live again, to receive again a life which has almost expired; to rekindle into a flame the vital spark which was nearly extinguished.
When a person has been dragged out of a pond nearly drowned, the bystanders are afraid that he is dead, and are anxious to ascertain if life still lingers. The proper means are used to restore animation; the body is rubbed, stimulants are administered, and if by God's providence life still tarries in the poor clay, the rescued man opens his eyes, sits up, and speaks, and those around him rejoice that he has revived. A young girl is in a fainting fit, but after a while she returns to consciousness, and we say, "she revives." The flickering lamp of life in dying men suddenly flames up with unusual brightness at intervals, and those who are watching around the sick bed say of the patient, "he revives."
In these days, when the dead are not miraculously restored, we do not expect to see the revival of a person who is totally dead, and we could not speak of the re-vival of a thing which never lived before. It is clear that the, term "revival" can only be applied to a living soul, or to that which once lived. To be revived is a blessing which can only be enjoyed by those who have some degree of life. Those who have no spiritual life are not, and cannot be, in the strictest sense of the term, the subjects of a revival. Many blessings may come to the unconverted in consequence of a revival among Christians, but the revival itself has to do only with those who already possess spiritual life. There must be vitality in some degree before there can be a quickening of vitality, or, in other words, a revival.
A true revival is to be looked for in the church of God. Only in the river of gracious life can the pearl of revival be found. It has been said that a revival must begin with God's people; this is very true, but it is not all the truth, for the revival itself must end as well as begin there. The results of the revival will extend to the outside world, but the revival, strictly speaking, must be within the circle of life, and must therefore essentially be enjoyed by the possessors of vital godliness, and by them only. Is not this quite a different view of revival from that; which is common in society; but is it not manifestly the correct one?
It is a sorrowful fact that many who are spiritually alive greatly need reviving. It is sorrowful because it is a proof of the existence of much spiritual evil. A man in sound health with every part of his body in a vigorous condition does not need reviving. He requires daily sustenance, but reviving would be quite out of place. If he has not yet attained maturity growth will be most desirable, but a hale hearty young man wants no reviving, it would be thrown away upon him. Who thinks of reviving the noonday sun, the ocean at its flood, or the year at its prime? The tree planted by the rivers of water loaded with fruit needs not excite our anxiety for its revival, for its fruitfulness and beauty charm every one. Such should be the constant condition of the sons of God. Feeding and lying down in green pastures and led by the still waters they ought not always to be crying, "my leanness, my leanness, woe unto me." Sustained by gracious promises and enriched out of the fullness which God has treasured up in his dear Son, their souls should prosper and be in health, and their piety ought to need no reviving. They should aspire to a higher blessing, a richer mercy, than a mere revival. They have the nether springs already; they should earnestly cover the upper springs. They should be asking for growth in grace, for increase of strength, for greater success; they should have out-climbed and out-soared the period in which they need to be constantly crying, "Wilt thou not revive us again?" For a church to be constantly needing revival is the indication of much sin, for if it were sound before the Lord it would remain in the condition into which a revival would uplift its members. A church should be a camp of soldiers, not an hospital of invalids. But there is exceedingly much difference between what ought be and what is, and consequently many of God's people are in so sad a state that the very fittest prayer for them is for revival. Some Christians are, spiritually, but barely alive. When a man has been let down into a vat or into a well full of bad air, yea do not wonder when he is drawn up again that he is half-dead, and urgently requires to be revived. Some Christians—to their shame be it spoken!—descend into such worldly company, not upon such unhallowed principles, and become so carnal, that when they are drawn up by God's grace from their backsliding position they want reviving, and even need that their spiritual breath should as it were be breathed into their nostrils afresh by God's Spirit.
When a man starves himself, continuing for a long time without food, when he is day after day without a morsel of bread between his lips, we do not marvel that the surgeon, finding him in extremities, says, "This man has weakened his system, he is too low, and wants reviving." Of course he does, for he has brought himself by low diet into a state of weakness. Are there not hundreds of Christians—shame that it should be so!—who live day after day without feeding upon Bible truth? shall it be added without real spiritual communion with God? they do not even attend the week-night services, and they are indifferent hearers on the Lord's day. Is it remarkable that they want reviving? Is not the fact that they do so greatly need it most dishonorable to themselves and distressing to their truly spiritual brethren?
There is, a condition of mind which is even more sad than either of the two above mentioned; it is a thorough, gradual, but certain decline of all the spiritual powers. Look at that consumptive man whose lungs are decaying, and in whom the vital energy is ebbing; it is painful to see the faintness which suffuses him after exertion, and the general languor which overspreads his weakened frame. Far more sad to the spiritual eye is the spectacle presented by spiritual consumptives who in some quarters meet us on all hands. The eye of faith is dim and overcast, and seldom flashes with holy joy; the spiritual countenance is hollow and sunken with doubts and fears; the tongue of praise is partially paralyzed, and has little to say for Jesus; the spiritual frame is lethargic, and its movements are far from vigorous; the man is not anxious to be doing anything for Christ; a horrible numbness, a dreadful insensibility has come over him; he is in soul like a sluggard in the dog-days, who finds it hard labor to lie in bed and brush away the flies from his face. If these spiritual consumptives hate sin they do it so weakly that one might fear that they loved it still. If they love Jesus, it is so coldly that it is a point of question whether they love at all. If they sing Jehovah's praises it is very sadly, as if hallelujahs were dirges. If they mourn for sin it is only with half-broken hearts, and their grief is shallow and unpractical. If they hear the Word of God they are never stirred by it; enthusiasm is an unknown luxury. If they come across a precious truth they perceive nothing particular in it, any more than the cock in the fable, in the jewel which he found in the farmyard. They throw themselves back upon the enchanted couch of sloth, and while they are covered with rags they dream of riches and great increase of goods. It is a sad, sad thing when Christians fall into this state; then indeed they need reviving, and they must have it, for "the whole head is sick and the whole heart faint." Every lover of souls should intercede for declining professors that the visitations of God may restore them; that the Sun of righteousness may arise upon them with healing beneath his wings.
When revival comes to a people who are in the state thus briefly described, it simply brings them to the condition in which they ought always to have been; it quickens them, gives them new life, stirs the coals of the expiring fire, and puts heavenly breath into the languid lungs. The sickly soul which before was insensible, weak, and sorrowful, grows earnest, vigorous, and happy in the Lord. This is the immediate fruit of revival, and it becomes all of us who are believers to seek this blessing for backsliders, and for ourselves if we are declining in grace.
If revival is confined to living men we may further notice that it must result from the proclamation and the receiving of living truth. We speak of "vital godliness," and vital godliness must subsist upon vital truth. Vital godliness is not revived in Christians by mere excitement, by crowded meetings, by the stamping of the foot, or the knocking of the pulpit cushion, or the delirious bawlings of ignorant zeal; these are the stock in trade of revivals among dead souls, but to revive living saints other means are needed. Intense excitement may produce a revival of the animal, but how can it operate upon the spiritual, for the spiritual demands other food than that which stews in the fleshpots of mere carnal enthusiasm. The Holy Ghost must come into the living heart through living truth, and so bring nutriment and stimulant to the pining spirit, for so only can it be revived. This, then, leads us to the conclusion that if we are to obtain a revival we must go directly to the Holy Ghost for it, and not resort to the machinery of the professional revival-maker. The true vital spark of heavenly flame comes from the Holy Ghost, and the priests of the Lord must beware of strange fire. There is no spiritual vitality in anything except as the Holy Spirit is all in all in the work; and if our vitality has fallen near to zero, we can only have it renewed by him who first kindled it in us. We must go to the cross and look up to the dying Savior, and expect that the Holy Spirit will renew our faith and quicken all our graces. We must feed anew by faith upon the flesh and blood of the Lord Jesus, and so the Holy Ghost will recruit our strength and give us a revival. When men in India sicken in the plains, they climb the hills and breathe the more bracing air of the upper regions; we need to get nearer to God, and to bathe ourselves in heaven, and revived piety will be the sure result.
When a minister obtains this revival he preaches very differently from his former manner. It is very hard work to preach when the head aches and when the body is languid, but it is a much harder task when the soul is unfeeling and lifeless. It is sad, sad work—painfully, dolorously, horribly sad, but saddest of all if we do not feel it to be sad, if we can go on preaching and remain careless concerning the truths we preach, indifferent as to whether men are saved or lost! May God deliver every minister from abiding in such a state! Can there be a more wretched object than a man who preaches in God's name truths which he does not feel, and which he is conscious have never impressed his own heart? To be a mere sign-post, pointing out the road but never moving in it, is a lot against which every tame heart may plead night and day.
Should this revival be granted to deacons and elders what different men it would make of them! Lifeless, lukewarm church officers are of no more value to a church, than a crew of sailors would be to a vessel if they were all fainting and if in their berths when they were wanted to hoist the sails or lower the boats. Church officers who need reviving must be fearful dead weights upon a Christian community. It is incumbent upon all Christians to be thoroughly awake to the interests of Zion, but upon the leaders most of all. Special supplication should be made for beloved brethren in office that they may be full of the Holy Ghost.
Workers in the Sunday-schools, tract distributors, and other laborers for Christ, what different people they become when grace is vigorous from what they are when their life flickers in the socket! Like sickly vegetation in a cellar, all blanched and unhealthy, are workers who have little grace; like willows by the water-courses, like grease with reeds and rushes in well-watered valleys, are the servants of God who live in his presence. It is no wonder that our Lord said, "Because thou art neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth," for when the earnest Christian's heart is full of fire it is sickening to talk with lukewarm people. Have not warm-hearted lovers of Jesus felt when they have been discouraged by doubtful sluggish people, who could see a lion in the way, as if they could put on express speed and run over them? Every earnest minister has known times when he has felt cold hearts to be as intolerable as the drones in the hive are to the working bees. Careless professors are as much out of place as snow in harvest among truly living Christians. As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes are these sluggards. As well be bound to a dead body as forced into union with lifeless professors; they are a burden, a plague, and an abomination. You turn to one of these cold brethren after a graciously earnest prayer-meeting, and say with holy joy, "What a delightful meeting we have had!" "Yes," he says carelessly and deliberately, as if it were an effort to say so much, "there was a good number of people." How his frostbitten words grate on one's ear! You ask yourself, "Where has the man been? Is he not conscious that the Holy Ghost has been with us?" Does not our Lord speak of these people as being cast out of his mouth, just because he himself is altogether in earnest, and consequently, when he meets with lukewarm people he will not endure them? He says, "I would thou wert cold or hot," either utterly averse to good or in earnest concerning it. It is easy to see his meaning. If you heard an ungodly man blaspheme after an earnest meeting, you would lament it, but you would feel that from such a man it was not a thing to make you vexed, for he has only spoken after his kind, but when you meet with a child of God who is lukewarm, how can you stand that? It is sickening, and makes the inmost spirit feel the horrors of mental nausea.
While a true revival in its essence belongs only to God's people, it always brings with it a blessing for the other sheep who are not yet of the fold. If you drop a stone into a lake the ring widens continually, till the farthest corner of the lake feels the influence. Let the Lord revive a believer and very soon his family, his friends, his neighbors, receive a share of the benefit; for when a Christian is revived, he prays more fervently for sinners. Longing, loving prayer for sinners, is one of the marks of a revival in the renewed heart. Since the blessing is asked for sinners, the blessing comes from him who hears the prayers of his people; and thus the world gains by revival. Soon the revived Christian speaks concerning Jesus and the gospel; he sows good seed, and God's good seed is never lost, for he has said, "It shall not return unto me void." The good seed is sown in the furrows, and in some sinners' hearts God prepares the soil, so that the seed springs up in a glorious harvest. Thus by the zealous conversation of believers another door of mercy opens to men.
When Christians are revived they live more consistently, they make their homes more holy and more happy, and this leads the ungodly to envy them, and to enquire after their secret. Sinners by God's grace long to be like such cheerful happy saints; their mouths water to feast with them upon their hidden manna, and this is another blessing, for it leads men to seek the Savior. If an ungodly man steps into a congregation where all the saints are revived he does not go to sleep under the sermon. The minister will not let him do that, for the hearer perceives that the preacher feels what he is preaching, and has a right to be heard. This is a clear gain, for now the man listens with deep emotion; and above all, the Holy Spirit's power, which the preacher has received in answer to prayer comes upon the hearer's mind; he is convinced of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment to come, and Christians who are on the watch around him hasten to tell him of the Savior, and point him to the redeeming blood, so that though the revival, strictly speaking, is with the people of God, yet the result of it no man can limit. Brethren, let us seek a revival during the present month, that the year may close with showers of blessing, and that the new year may open with abundant benediction. Let us pledge ourselves to form a prayer-union, a sacred band of suppliants, and may God do unto us according to our faith.

"Father, for thy promised blessing,
Still we plead before thy throne;
For the time of sweet refreshing
Which can come from thee alone. "Blessed earnests thou hast given,
But in these we would not rest,
Blessings still with thee are hidden,
Pour them forth, and make us blest.
"Wake thy siren bering children, wake them,
Bid them to thy harvest go;
Blessings, O our Father, make them;
Round their steps let blessing flow.
"Let no hamlet be forgotten,
Let thy showers on all descend;
That in one loud blessed anthem,
Myriads may in triumph blend."

Courtesy @http://www.spurgeon.org/s_and_t/wir1866.htm - From the December 1866 Sword and Trowel

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834 - 1892) - The Powerful Pulpit Preacher of England

"Now, I venture to say that all history proves that the truth has very seldom been accepted by the rulers of this world, and that for the most part the poorest of the poor have been more able to perceive the truth than the greatest of the great have ever been. There would have been no Christianity in the world at the present moment if it had not found a shelter in workshops and in cottages."

"Christianity is a life which grows out of truth."

"Charity and purity are the two garments of Christianity."

"Secularism teaches us that we ought to look to this world.Christianity teaches us that the best way to prepare for this world is to be fully prepared for the next."

"The church of God owes very little to kings and princes and nobles. She owes far more to fishermen and peasants."

"God will not cause his children to be born where there are none to nurse them; he will be sure not to send converts to churches which do not want them."

These were the words of the highly gifted orator Charles Haddon Spurgeon, who was instrumental in the hand of God for a great revival in United Kingdom.

Charles H. Spurgeon was born on June 19, 1834 in Keveldon, England. His father Rev. John Spurgeon and his grandfather were congregation Independents. The early years of Charles Spurgeon were spent in Stambourne with his granndfather who brought him up in evangelical faith. He was a child genius and a boy of profound intellect. Even at the age of 6, when some children have advanced no farther in spelling than words in one syllable he could read out with a point and emphasis, which was really marvelous in one so young. Here is an example of his inquisitive nature and his earnest desire to understand the Biblical facts, which he has recorded in his own words. “When I was a small boy I was allowed to read the scriptures at family prayer. Once upon a time when a reading in Revelation, which mentions the bottomless pits, I paused and said, “Grandpa, what can this mean?” The answer was kind but unsatisfactory, “Pooh, Pooh, child go on.” The Child, however, intended to have an explanation, and therefore selected the same chapter morning after morning, and always halted at the same verse to repeat the enquiry, hoping that by repetition he would importune the good old gentleman into reply. I can remember the horror of my mind when my dear grandfather told me what his idea of the “bottomless pit” was. There is a deep pit and the souls are falling down. Oh, how fast it is falling! the last ray of light at the top has disappeared, it falls on-on-on and so it goes on falling on-on-on- for a thousand years! Is it not getting near the bottom yet? Won’t it stop? No, no, the cry is on-on-on. I have been falling a million years; am I not near the bottom yet? No you are not near the bottom yet. It is a bottomless pit and so the soul is falling perpetually into a deeper depth. Woe! Without termination, without hope of its coming to a conclusion. Doesn’t this really enlighten us about the real but definite destiny of those who turn their backs to Christ, the Savior?

In 1850, On January 6, when he was in a Primitive Methodist Chapel listening to a preacher, God’s word came straight to him. The preacher looked into the eyes of Spurgeon and said, “Young man, look to Jesus Christ. Look. Look. Look. You have nothing to do, but to look.” Charles Spurgeon beautifully described this incident-“I saw at once the way of salvation. I know not what else he said. I did not take much notice of it- I was so possessed with that one thought, like as when the brazen serpent was lifted up, the people only looked and were healed and so it was with me. I had been waiting to do fifty things, but when I heard the word “Look” what a charming word it seemed to me! The cloud was gone, the darkness had rolled away, and that moment I saw the sun. I do from my soul confess that I never was satisfied till I came to Christ."

Charles Spurgeon’s ministry began in Cambridge at his residence. He was just 16 when he started preaching the gospel in the churches, and the listeners marveled at his intellect and artistic speech. His fame spread far and wide and the church leaders invited him to preach in their churches on special occasions. One such invitation came from a little church in Waterbeach. Charles Spurgeon accepted the invitation and began to minister among the people of Waterbeach. God blessed his ministry there and so he remained there and continued his pulpit ministry. Although he had encouraged and helped many to go to college, when his father urged him to apply to Stepney College he refused to join a college. Rising up early in the morning, waiting upon God, getting divine revelations with the help of the Holy Spirit, and sharing it to the congregation was the secret behind the success of his pulpit ministry.
Charles Spurgeon was invited to preach in a church at New Park Street, London. He ministered the word of God for a few Sundays in London, eventually as per divine leading he left Waterbeach and settled his ministry at New Park Street. Crowds of people flocked to this chapel with the earnest desire to know the depths of the word of God through Charles Spurgeon. His sermons became very popular and often attracted great number of audience. On one occasion about 12,000 people gathered to hear him preach under one roof.
As the Lord greatly blessed his ministry there was much inadequacy in terms of space and so there was a need for a larger building to accommodate the growing crowd. Therefore, in 1861 the foundation for “The Metropolitan Tabernacle” was laid. The congregation contributed generously and cheerfully for the construction purpose. They were able to build a beautiful church, which could accommodate more than 6,000 people at a time. Charles Spurgeon’s experience was as that of the Old Testament Saint David, the king of Israel, which could be put in a nutshell as – “You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.”- Psalms 66:12.

Mr. Spurgeon founded a college for young men who desired to serve the Lord Most high to give them the opportunity to educate themselves for the work. Spurgeon wrote about the purpose of this The pastor’s college – “I had not even a remote idea of whereunto it would grow. They were springing up around me, as my own spiritual children, many earnest young men who felt an irresistible impulse to preach the Gospel, and yet with half an eye it could be seen that their lack of education would be a sad hindrance to them."

Mr. Charles and Ms. Susannah Thompson were united in Holy Matrimony on January 12, 1856. They were gifted with twin sons Thomas and Charles. Their personal life was remarkable for faith, sacrifice, and dedication. Mrs. Spurgeon not only aided in her husband’s ministry being her husband’s personal secretary, but also dispensed gifts of books and boxes of clothing to the village ministers. She also saved money from her housekeeping and started “The Book Fund’ to provide financial aid for the education of the pastors throughout United Kingdom.

God laid a heavy burden in the heart of Mr. Spurgeon regarding the pathetic spiritual status of the educational institutions of England. He wrote “We have too much given up our children to the enemy. A great effort should be made to multiply our day-schools, and to render them distinctly religious by teaching the gospel in them, and by laboring to bring the children, as children to our Lord Jesus. The silly cry of nonsectarian is duping many into the establishment of schools in which the most important part of wisdom, namely the fear of the Lord is altogether ignored. We trust this folly will soon be given up, and that we shall see schools in which all that we believe and hold dear, shall be taught to the children.” Mr. Spurgeon opened an orphanage, the Stockwell Orphanage, which was run with the supreme objective to bring up the children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. It is an undeniable fact that the present-day schools have been given up to the adversary. There is a great need for a total reformation with respect to moral upbringing in our schools. Bible says in Isaiah 54:13 “All thy children shall be taught of the Lord and great shall be the peace of thy children.” It is a must that we need to dedicate ourselves afresh and cry unto God for this promise to come true in our lives.

Charles Spurgeon suffered from physical pain and rheumatism most of his life. His health declined greatly and he was forced to be away from the pulpit. From the “furnace of affliction”God enabled Spurgeon to write an enduring work called, “The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith.” Charles Spurgeon, the great orator, Mr. Valiant-for-truth entered the kingdom of God on January 26, 1892 in Menton, France. As per his wish, he was buried in the center of the Stockwell Orphanage grounds.
“Look unto me and be ye saved” is the blessed verse of conversion in the life of Charles Spurgeon. This is a simple word, but very powerful Rhema or Spoken word from the very mouth of God, which transformed the life of this young man.

Jesus' simple, however, discerning and intent look caused conviction and repentance of Peter, after he betrayed Jesus. "The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times," and he went outside and wept bitterly. Luke 22:61,62. As long as we focus on Him, we will walk over the raging seas underneath our feet. Once we look away from Jesus, then we begin to lose balance and the ground beneath us gives way. Therefore, looking unto Jesus, the author and the perfecter of our faith, let us work out our salvation with fear and trembling.- Hebrews 12:2, Philippians 2:12. This great man of God has richly blessed us with his nonobliterating sermons and exemplary life.

Written By: Shanta S. Daniel
www.comprehensivechristian.com
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