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The Holy Spirit in Connection with Our Ministry | Charles Spurgeon · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to Reformed Thinking. This is a custom tailored
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analysis designed specifically for you.
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Glad to be here for this one. Yeah, today we have a really
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clear mission. We are going to unpack a
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brilliant lecture by the legendary 19th century preacher
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Charles Spurgeon. Right, the lecturer titled the
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Holy Spirit in connection with our ministry.
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That is the one. It comes from his larger
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collection, Lectures to My Students.
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Our goal today is to take this historical text, break it down,
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and figure out what it means for anyone who claims to speak on
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behalf of God. We are looking at a
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transcription of His address and we are going to extract the
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absolute sharpest insights from it.
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Setting the context here is well, it's absolutely vital.
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Since we look at these texts through Reformed lens, we
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already hold to a very specific theological baseline.
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The Westminster Confession makes it clear that grasping the Word
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of God requires the inward illumination of the Spirit of
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God. A person cannot just read the
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text and truly comprehend its spiritual reality through
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natural intellect alone. We know that.
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Right, We know that. But Spurgeon's lecture takes
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that baseline doctrine and pushes it into a strikingly
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practical, almost terrifying reality.
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He is addressing men studying for the ministry and he is
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laying down the absolute necessity of divine assistance.
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OK, so let's unpack this with a question directly for you, the
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listener. Is your faith an intellectual
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checklist, or is it an experienced reality?
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That is a heavy question. It really is, but that is the
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core issue we are looking into today.
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We are going to examine the stark difference between simply
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holding a creed and actually experiencing a living divine
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energy. Spurgeon begins by drawing a
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hard line between reciting A doctrinal statement and
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possessing A devout personal consciousness of God's presence.
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Yeah, he says that ministers must move beyond just standing
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up and reciting. I believe in the Holy Ghost.
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It has to be more than a sentence.
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Much more. He uses this wonderful analogy
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about knowing people. He points out that there was a
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time when we only believe in the existence of our friends because
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we heard about them. Right.
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Someone tells you about a guy named John, and you assent to
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the fact that John exists. But eventually you meet John.
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You return what Spurgeon calls the fraternal grip.
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The fraternal grip. I love that phrasing.
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It is great you feel the influence of happy
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companionship. At that point you do not just
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believe John exists. You know he exists.
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You have experiential data. He argues that a minister must
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have that same conscious personal contact with the
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divine. And what stands out to me here
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is how Spurgeon anticipates the modern skeptic.
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He references what he calls the business doctrine of grad grind.
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Oh. That is such a fantastic
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literary reference. Isn't it?
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For anyone who hasn't read Charles Dickens Hard Times,
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Thomas Gradgrind is this notoriously rigid school board
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Superintendent who demands cold, hard facts and nothing else.
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Just the facts. Just the facts.
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He literally introduces himself as a man of realities, a man of
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facts and calculations. Precisely.
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The skeptic approaches religion with that exact grad grind
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mindset, demanding tangible, measurable phenomena.
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And Spurgeon does not back down from this challenge in the
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slightest. Not at all.
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He does not retreat into some mystical, untouchable corner.
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He argues that spiritual phenomena are actual facts.
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Just because a skeptical person lacks the equipment to perceive
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those facts does not negate their reality.
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He uses this brilliant analogy of a blind man to illustrate
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that point, which I think is spot on, Spurgeon says.
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Imagine a blind person telling someone with perfect vision that
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sight is a total myth. The blind person calls you a
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liar or a dupe because you claim you can see the sky or the color
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of a flower. The blind man is only proving
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his own lack of capability. He is certainly not disproving
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the reality of sight. And Spurgeon is demanding
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respect for his own position as a witness to facts.
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He states that those who have been spiritually quickened have
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eyes to see marvelous things. They have the equipment.
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They do to him the phenomena produced by the Spirit of God
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are as historically real and demonstrable as the parting of
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the Red Sea, or the manna falling in the wilderness, or
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water leaping from the smitten rock.
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Those were tangible realities for the nation of Israel.
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Yes, and the present work of illumination is a tangible
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reality for the believer too today.
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So we have established this baseline.
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The divine presence is a tangible reality.
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The conversation then naturally shifts to why relying on this
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reality is an absolute necessity for anyone speaking on behalf of
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Christ. Spurgeon makes it clear that
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without this divine assistance, the office of the minister is
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entirely void. Completely void.
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He argues that the entire Commission of Christ requires
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Pentecostal assistance. Think about the historical
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events of Pentecost, the. Flaming tongues the.
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Flaming tongues and a rushing, mighty wind.
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Those were physical symbols of a very real divine presence.
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Spurgeon is essentially arguing that if any preacher thinks they
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can succeed without that same presence, they are operating
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entirely outside the proper order.
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They're trying to run an electric motor without plugging
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it into the wall. That is a perfect way to put it.
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And his warning on this front is severe.
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He says that unless the spirit of the prophets rests upon a
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speaker, the mantle they wear is nothing but a rough garment to
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deceive. A rough garment to deceive.
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Yeah, that is a reference to the prophet Zechariah talking about
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false prophets who put on the outward uniform of a holy man
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just to con the people. Spurgeon even go so far as to
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say that anyone daring to speak for the Lord without this
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assistance should be driven out of the Society of honest men
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with abhorrence. That is incredibly strong
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language. It shows how fraudulent he
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considers a ministry that relies entirely on human talent,
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charisma or academic pedigree. If you do not have the divine
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backing, you are a fraud. But we have to look at how he
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balances the severe requirement while demanding total reliance
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on divine assistance. Spurgeon and clearly warns
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against a specific illusion of infallibility.
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Wait, let's pause there. Because if you have a guy
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standing in the pulpit claiming he is speaking with the literal
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fire of Pentecost, isn't the natural next step for that guy
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to claim that his words are flawless?
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That is the exact trap Spurgeon is addressing.
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He calls out a litigious modern sect of his day.
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Historians generally think he is referring to groups like the
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Plymouth Brethren or the Urbanites, who sometimes claim
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their meetings were under the direct, infallible presidency of
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the Holy Spirit. The presidency of the Spirit,
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meaning whatever they said was unquestionable.
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Right. If a brother stood up to speak,
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it was assumed the Spirit was speaking directly through him.
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As adherence to Reformed theology, we maintain that
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Scripture alone is infallible. The Canon is closed.
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Absolutely. Spurgeon points out that he
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cannot find the concept of this infallible presidency in the New
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Testament. He looks at the Corinthians, who
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were highly gifted but full of party strife and chaotic
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meetings, as the true representatives of this mindset.
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They had the gifts, but they were a mess.
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A total mess. The key distinction he makes is
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that the spirit guides human minds, but those minds remain
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active and fallible. Ministers are not, as he puts
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it, passive communicators of infallibility.
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We are honest teachers, sharing what we have learned, but our
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human infirmities, our ignorance and our errors remain totally
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apparent. That distinction is so vital
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because it is incredibly easy to confuse strong emotional
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impulses with divine inspiration.
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We see this today all the time. All the time.
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Someone gets a strong feeling about a topic and suddenly it is
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the Lord told me to say this. If a speaker believes they are a
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passive communicator of infallibility, they lose the
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ability to self correct. They lose the ability to accept
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correction from Scripture or from their peers.
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That is the danger. Maintaining a sober view of
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human fallibility keeps a minister grounded in study and
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humility. And if the Spirit does not make
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us infallible, what specific functions does he fulfill?
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Spurgeon outlines 8 distinct areas where this divine
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assistance is actively required. The 1st 2 are Knowledge and
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Wisdom. Knowledge and wisdom.
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The Divine Presence acts as the Spirit of Knowledge guiding A
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ministers study and the Spirit of Wisdom directing how that
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knowledge is applied to the congregation.
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Let's dig into that first one. Knowledge Spurgeon highlights
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the absolute necessity of preparation.
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He views habitually coming into the pulpit unprepared as an
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unpardonable presumption. He shares this wildly funny but
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devastating anecdote about a visitation discourse by the
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Bishop of Litchfield. Oh, this story is brutal.
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It is the Bishop was addressing a group of clergy about the
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necessity of earnestly studying the Word.
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Right. And after the address, a certain
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vicar approached the Bishop. This vicar proudly stated that
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he often entered the vestry not knowing a single thing he was
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going to say. Just 0 preparation.
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Zero. He claimed he would just walk
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into the pulpit, preach his sermon and think nothing of it.
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He thought he was bragging about his spontaneous reliance on God.
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And the Bishop's reply is just legendary.
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He looks at the vicar and says you are quite right in thinking
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nothing of it for your church. Wardens have told me that they
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share your opinion. It is a humorous story, but it
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cuts straight to the bone. If a teacher is not instructed,
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they cannot instruct others. The study is where the hard
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labor happens. Spurgeon was a voracious reader.
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He had thousands of books. He had a massive library.
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He did. But even with all the
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commentaries, the lexicons and the original language tools at a
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minister's disposal, Spurgeon insists that the study will not
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profit anyone without crying mightily for divine instruction.
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To explain how this divine instruction works alongside
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human effort, Spurgeon sites a quote from the Puritan writer
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Thomas Goodwin. Goodwin uses the analogy of a
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dark Lantern. Yes, the dark Lantern analogy is
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brilliant. A dark Lantern in the 17th
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century was a Lantern with a shudder that could conceal the
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light. Goodwin says that a person's
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physical eye remains the same at all times.
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Your vision doesn't change. Right.
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Yet you might read a chapter of the Bible one day and see
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absolutely nothing of value. You might read it again the next
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week and suddenly you see incredible life altering truths.
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The text hasn't changed. Your physical eye hasn't
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changed. So what change?
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The Holy Ghost is the one who opens or shuts the dark Lantern.
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He opens it wider or contracts it, determining whether a
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passage is illuminated or left in darkness.
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So the study provides the raw material, but the Lantern
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provides the illumination to actually see what the material
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means. Here's where it gets really
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fascinating, though, because having the knowledge is only
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half the battle. You also need wisdom, which
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Spurgeon defines as the art of rightly using what you know.
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We all know people who have massive amounts of knowledge but
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zero wisdom and how they apply it.
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They will drop a heavy theological hammer on a person
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who just needs a bandage. Precisely.
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Spurgeon brings up this analogy of a nose caricature.
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He says a man's nose is a prominent feature on his face.
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It belongs there. But if an artist draws that nose
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so large that the eyes and mouth are thrown into insignificance,
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the drawing stops being a portrait and becomes a
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caricature. It distorts the whole face.
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The exact same thing happens in preaching.
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A minister can take a perfectly valid doctrine, let's say the
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sovereignty of God or the necessity of good works, and
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preach it so heavily in such excess that all other truths are
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thrown into the shade. And the result of that imbalance
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is a distorted Christianity. It is a caricature of the
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Gospel. That distortion actively harms
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the people who receive it, leading them to develop
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distorted characters themselves. To illustrate how congregants
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often prefer these theological caricatures, Spurgeon shares the
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anecdote of a Scotchwoman. This is another great story.
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So this Scotchwoman hears a sermon, and afterwards she
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remarks that the message was very well except for the trash
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of duties at the inner end. She loved the comforting
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promises. She loved the high, lofty
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doctrines of grace, but she absolutely despised the
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practical application of holiness at the end of the
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sermon. The trash of duties.
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Yes, the trash of duties. She wanted a caricature that
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only fed her intellectual preferences and demanded nothing
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of her hands and feet. Spurgeon stresses the necessity
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of preaching what he calls a four square gospel where nothing
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is omitted and nothing is exaggerated.
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Which brings up a great question for you, the listener.
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How do you evaluate your own intake of information?
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That is a very confronting question.
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It really is. When you listen to a sermon or
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read a theological book, or even listen to an audio analysis like
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this one, are you seeking A balanced Foursquare
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understanding of truth? Or do you find yourself seeking
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out a theological caricature that only feeds your personal
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preferences and ignores the trash of duties?
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It is a sobering self evaluation.
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It really is. We all have our favorite
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doctrines, our theological comfort zones, but wisdom forces
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us to preach and consume the whole council of Odd.
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Now, knowing what to say and having the wisdom to balance it
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is only the beginning. The next critical phase is the
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actual delivery of the message. Spurgeon outlines the 3rd and
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4th areas of Divine assistance, the Live Coal and the Anointing
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Oil. The live coal represents freedom
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of utterance. Spurgeon is referencing the
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biblical imagery from Isaiah 6 where the prophet is terrified
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of his own unclean lips and the seraphim takes a live coal from
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the altar and touches it to his mouth.
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When a speaker is experiencing this freedom, they feel the
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burning reality of the truth not just in their mind, but on their
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very lips. Spurgeon describes the physical
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toll and the ecstatic heights of this experience in vivid detail.
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He mentions the tremulous tones, the quivering bodily frames.
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Preaching under this kind of influence is physically
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exhausting. I could imagine.
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He contrasts two different feelings in the pulpit.
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Sometimes, he says, a preacher feels like a hind let loose, a
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deer running freely and swiftly. Other times, they feel like
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Pharaoh's Chariots, dragging heavily in the mud of the Red
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Sea with their wheels taken off. I think anyone who speaks
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publicly can relate to that chariot analogy.
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Sometimes you're just dragging the words out of your mouth.
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But he also mentions how this divine influence puts a bit and
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bridle on the tongue. This is fascinating for those
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with a gift for humor, or perhaps a background in rougher
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environments. The temptation to say something
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coarse or inappropriately funny is incredibly high.
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Spurgeon himself struggled with this.
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He was naturally very witty and often use humor in his sermons,
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which was highly controversial in Victorian England.
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He got a lot of criticism for that.
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He did, but he recognized that without the bit and bridle of
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the divine Presence, that humor could easily cross the line into
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frivolity. The divine Presence holds the
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speaker back, keeping them from uttering syllables that would
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distract the audience from eternal realities.
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So the live coal provides the utterance, and the bit and
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bridle restrain the excess, but the anointing oil?
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The 4th area covers the entire disposition of the speaker, and
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this leads to one of the most remarkable glimpses into
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Spurgeon's own mind that I've ever read.
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Yes, he details an astonishing moment of mental multitasking.
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We are talking about cognitive capability that borders on the
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superhuman. While preaching, he was once
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able to track 8 simultaneous sets of thoughts within the
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space of a single second. Eight.
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I can barely track 2. Let's list these out because it
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is staggering. First, he was actively
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proclaiming the gospel with all his might.
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He is speaking the words out loud.
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Second, he was feeling sympathy for a lady in the crowd who
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looked like she was about to faint.
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He is monitoring the physical well-being of his congregation.
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Third, he was keeping an eye on a brother opening a window to
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let in more air to help that fainting lady. 4th He was
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remembering an illustration he had accidentally omitted from
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his first point, filing it away to see if he could use it later.
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5th. He was mentally structuring the
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form of his second division, so he is speaking one point while
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outlining the next point in his head. 6th He was wondering if a
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specific person in the audience, someone he knew, felt a rebuke
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from the truth he was currently preaching. 7th he was praying
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that another specific person was receiving comfort from that same
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truth. And eighth, he was personally
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enjoying the very truth he was proclaiming.
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He wasn't just a detached orator.
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He was feeding his own soul at the exact same time he was
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feeding others. It is genuinely staggering to
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think about that level of cognitive capacity.
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Spurgeon views this ability to multiply mental states as a
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direct result of the spirit elevating human faculties.
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He does not take credit for having a massive brain, though
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he clearly did. He attributes it to the
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anointing oil. But this high elevation requires
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a massive amount of reliance. If you're operating at that
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level of intensity, the potential for burnout or anxiety
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is enormous. He shares a beautiful,
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comforting analogy that came to him when he was riding home one
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night, feeling completely exhausted by a long week's work.
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He was thinking about the biblical text, My grace is
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sufficient for thee. Right.
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And his exhausted mind conjured up this image.
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He felt like a tiny little fish in the middle of the sea,
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suddenly terrified that its thirst would cause it to drink
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the entire ocean dry. In that analogy, the father of
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the waters looks at the panic little fish and smilingly
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replies. Little fish, the boundless mane
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is sufficient for thee. The sheer vastness of the ocean
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makes the fishes worry look utterly ridiculous.
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By recognizing this boundless mane of divine supply, a
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minister is freed from operating in a proud, angry or unbelieving
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state. Think about the practical
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application of that. If you are relying entirely on
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the boundless mane, you do not have to preach as if you are
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apologizing for your own existence.
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You are backed by the ocean. Conversely, you do not stand in
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the pulpit acting as though the congregation is exceptionally
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lucky to hear you speak. Because you know you are just a
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little fish. The boundless mane is doing all
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the heavy lifting. All of this preparation, this
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balanced wisdom, this fiery delivery has to lead to a
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tangible result. We arrive at the 5th and 6th
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areas, effect and supplication. Spurgeon is adamant that the
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minister must aim for actual effect.
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We are talking about genuine conversion, real comfort and
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true repentance. He is sharply critical of those
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who use the pulpit for public exhibition.
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He says the pulpit is not a place for displaying skill in
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spiritual swordplay. Spiritual swordplay.
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Yeah, you aren't up there twirling a sword to show off
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your wrist mobility. It is a place for actual
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fighting. He despises those he calls
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bombast blowers and handkerchief manipulators who treat the
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church like a show box to exhibit themselves.
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You can just picture the Victorian orator waving a white
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handkerchief around using 50 words when 5 would do just to
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sound impressive. Spurgeon hated that
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theatricality. If we connect us to the bigger
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picture, we hit a hard theological reality.
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Think about it on a purely existential level.
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A human being physically cannot snap their fingers and create a
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living fly out of thin air. We do not have the capability to
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create life from nothing. How then could a human being
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possibly possess the spiritual hardware to create a new heart
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and a right spirit inside another person they?
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Can't. To drive this point home,
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Spurgeon quotes Robert Hall, a famous Baptist minister who came
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a generation before him. Hall looks at the historical
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evidence of ministerial success. Hall points out that men like
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David Brainard, who preached to Native Americans in the freezing
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snow, or Richard Baxter, who changed the entire town of
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Kidderminster, or Christian Friedrich Schwartz, who saw
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massive fruit in India, all of these men relied totally on
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divine. Meanwhile, Hall notes that those
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who deny the necessity of this divine aid face total failure.
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In fact, their efforts are so fruitless that they often
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abandoned trying to convert the lost altogether.
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Instead, they turn their efforts towards seducing the faithful
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into heresy. Hall sarcastically remarks that
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propagating heresy requires absolutely no divine assistance
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whatsoever. You can ruin a church all on
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your own, but to see actual lasting effect there must be a
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constant posture of prayer, which is the 6th area, the
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spirit of supplications. Spurgeon contrasts vibrant, free
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prayer with dead formal liturgy. He refers to relying on a prayer
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book out of spiritual barrenness as going down to Egypt for help.
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Going down to Egypt, that is a sharp critique.
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It is, he insists, that a minister must maintain a
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constant habit of prayer, an instinct of the new nature that
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is as natural as a baby crying for its mother.
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He confesses that if he feels he cannot pray freely, he would
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rather groan over his own barrenness until his devotion is
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restored, then rely on formal fetters.
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He wants the genuine struggle, not a scripted performance.
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And he shares a deeply striking personal confession regarding
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prayer. Spurgeon says that his greatest
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secrecy with God, his truest moments of sheer loneliness and
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isolation with the divine did not occur in a private, quiet
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room. They occurred while he was
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pleading aloud in the midst of thousands of people in the
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Metropolitan Tabernacle. He would be standing in front of
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5 or 6000 people leading the pastoral prayer, and he would
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become so entirely absorbed in the presence of God that he
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forgot the crowd existed. He.
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Forgot they were even there. Yes, he would open his eyes at
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the close of a public prayer and feel a genuine shock at finding
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himself back on earth, surrounded by men.
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That level of public effectiveness is directly rooted
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in the private character and relational guidance of the
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leader. Which brings us to the 7th and
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8th areas, Holiness and discernment.
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The Spirit acts as the spirit of holiness, fostering a blameless
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life. A considerable part of the
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Christian ministry lies an example.
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The congregation watches what the minister does in the social
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circle just as closely as they listen to what is said in the
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pulpit. You cannot preach like an Angel
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on Sunday and live like a devil on Monday.
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Spurgeon argues that purity cannot be carried too far.
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He points out that George Whitfield, the great 18th
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century evangelist, had a specific reason for keeping his
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linen scrupulously clean at all times.
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For Whitfield, it was an outward physical picture of his desire
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to maintain an unspotted life. The psychology of physical
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cleanliness acting as a constant mirror for spiritual purity is
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fascinating. The 8th area is discernment,
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which is the ability to deal with diverse personalities and
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church governance. Spurgeon shares a slightly
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bizarre but perfectly fitting analogy about a statue he saw in
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the Church of San Zeno in Verona.
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I look this up, it is such a weird visual.
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The artist carved the St. in a sitting posture but gave the
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statue incredibly short knees. The result was that the statue
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had absolutely no lap. Spurgeon uses this to describe
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leaders who have no capability to be a nursing father.
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They can argue about doctrine all day long.
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They can write brilliant academic papers, but they have
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no lap. They have no capacity to
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sympathize with struggling people, to sit down with someone
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who is weeping, and offer genuine comfort.
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He compares this lack of sympathy to a story of a
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Highlander. This Highlander was walking near
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a bog and saw an Englishman sinking in the mud.
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The Englishman cried out, asking if the Highlander could tell him
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how to get out. And the Highlander calmly
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replied, I think it is likely you never will and simply walked
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away. That cold, detached attitude is
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disastrous when dealing with sinners struggling in the slaw
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of despond. Discernment is required because
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No2 individuals are alike. A person you comforted with
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tears yesterday might need to be confronted with a frown today if
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they are trifling with that consolation.
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This discernment applies directly to church government.
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Spurgeon contrasts 2 entirely different mindsets of
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leadership. He brings up the famous quote
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attributed to the French king Louis the 4th Litha Symmois.
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The state is myself. This is the dictatorial mindset
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where the pastor is the Lord paramount and the congregation
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has no voice. The pastor rules by Fiat.
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Spurgeon firmly rejects this, advocating for a localized
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congregational order. He says that a true leader is a
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spiritual father who claims absolutely no dictorial
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authority over the people. Yet because that leader is
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universally esteemed and acts as the servant of all, his tender
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advice operates with the sheer force of law.
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The people voluntarily defer to him because they know he defers
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to their well-being. It is a system designed not to
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promote the glory of priests, but to educate manly Christians
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who will not take their faith secondhand.
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So we've seen this incredible spiritual high, the mental
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multitasking, the anointing oil, the holy discernment.
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But the text makes a really hard pivot here.
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Spurgeon warns that this isn't a permanent guarantee.
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You can actually lose this assistance.
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He is clear that the Holy Ghost can be grieved, vexed, resisted,
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and insulted until he departs. Now to understand this without
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falling into theological error, we have to clarify the nature of
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divine sovereignty. We often hear the phrase that
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the Spirit blows where he wishes, which is entirely true.
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But sovereignty does not mean capriciousness.
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It is not randomness. Spurgeon explains this using an
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analogy of the River Thames. If you watch the river, it winds
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and twists according to its own will.
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It curves here, bends there, but a geologist can look at the
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soil, study the confirmation of the rock, analyze the topography
24:46
and tell you the reason why the river diverges to the right or
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to the left. The rivers path is not random,
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it responds to the conditions of the ground.
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Similarly, the Spirit of God favors certain conditions and
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avoids others. Spurgeon uses the biblical
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typology of the dove. The dove resorts to peaceful,
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quiet waters. You will never find a dove
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landing on a violent battlefield filled with the noise of
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cannons, and you will never find it a lighting on a piece of rod
25:10
and carrion. So what are the specific
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conditions, the carrion, so to speak, that drive the spirit
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away? Spurgeon provides A devastating
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bolded list of grievances. The first is a want of
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sensitiveness. This is a state of being
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completely unfeeling, constantly disobeying gentle influences.
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He compares this to being like a horse or a mule, animals that
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have no understanding and only respond to the harsh crack of a
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whip. If a minister requires a whip to
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move, if they only obey God when their life falls apart or a
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crisis hits, they will not enjoy the tender guidance of the
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comforter. The second grievance is a want
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of truthfulness. Spurgeon compares a double
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minded minister to a great musician picking up a guitar or
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a harp and fighting that the strings are out of tune and the
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notes are false. What does the musician do?
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He stays his hand. He refuses to play.
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The Spirit will not act as an accomplice to a minister who
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shuffles the truth. Spurgeon asks A piercing
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question regarding this. He asks his students, Are you
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preaching certain doctrines not because you actually believe
26:09
them, but because the congregation expects you to?
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Are you using Orthodox language while quietly bidding your time
26:15
until you can safely renounce your creed?
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He says men who do this are baser than the meanest slaves.
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The third grievance is what he calls a scantiness of grace.
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He admits the phrase is awkward, but it perfectly describes a
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specific type of person. He says there is a whole scanty
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Grace family and usually one of the brothers ends up in the
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ministry. We all know a member of the
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Scanty Grace family. This man is not overtly
26:38
dishonest. He is not living in scandalous
26:40
immorality. He does not have a raging bad
26:42
temper. He shows up on time.
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But there is just something entirely missing.
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The man is not spiritual. His heart never burns within
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him. His soul is simply not alive.
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The active presence of God will not bless a ministry that
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fundamentally lacks spiritual fire.
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The 4th grievance is pride. Spurgeon states that the way to
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be very great is to be very little.
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If a minister insists on dwelling upon the high places of
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the earth, demanding attention, seeking titles, and craving
27:09
noteworthy status, they will find those mountain summits to
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be incredibly cold and entirely barren.
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The Lord dwells with the lowly and knows the proud afar off.
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Finally, the 5th grievance is laziness.
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The Spirit of God is an active agent, and He will never wait at
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the door of a sluggard to supply the deficiencies created by
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sheer indolence. If you spend your week lounging
27:31
around, you cannot expect a live coal to touch your lips on
27:34
Sunday morning. So what happens when a minister
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accumulates these grievances? What happens when the
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sensitiveness is gone, the truthfulness is compromised, the
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grace is scanty, the pride is high and the laziness sets in?
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When the Spirit withdraws, the consequences are absolutely
27:49
staggering. Spurgeon outlines a chilling
27:51
progression of biblical figures who lost divine assistance, he
27:55
starts. By noting that some preachers
27:56
were never God's true servants to begin with.
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They were only used temporarily for a specific purpose, and for
28:02
those temporary instruments the end is often sudden and
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catastrophic. Helis, Nadab and Abihu, the sons
28:08
of Aaron, who offered strange fire before the Lord and were
28:11
consumed by fire in return. Helis, Hofni and Phineas, the
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corrupt sons of Eli, who ministered in the Tabernacle
28:18
while living in secret defilement, and who were cut
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down in their prime and battle. Spurgeon warns that a ministry
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might end suddenly because the Lord will endure the public
28:26
hypocrisy no more. Than he points to the tragic
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figure of King Saul. It is explicitly written in
28:32
scripture that the Spirit of God came upon Saul.
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He was even seen prophesying among the prophets.
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But Saul was faithless to that influence.
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He became proud. He disobeyed direct orders, the
28:43
spirit departed, and an evil spirit took its place.
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Look at what Saul became A Moody cynic, he spent his time
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criticizing others, hurled javelins of detraction at David,
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a man far better than himself, and eventually resorted to
28:56
seeking advice from a witch at Endor.
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Spurgeon compares this to a disappointed preacher who loses
29:02
his vitality, constantly worries and attacks true evangelists,
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and eventually seeks help from dead heresies because he has no
29:09
spiritual life left in him. He also brings up the sons of
29:12
Siva from the book of Acts. These were pretenders who tried
29:15
to cast out devils in the name of Jesus whom Paul preached.
29:18
They tried to use the name as a magic spell, but because they
29:21
had no actual spiritual authority, the demons leaped
29:24
upon them, overcame them, and drove them out of the house
29:26
naked and wounded. Spurgeon relates this to
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preachers who publicly declaim against sin, only to be
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overthrown by the exact vices denounce.
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He notes how often the demon of drunkenness prevails over the
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man who loudly denounces the cup, or the demon of unchastity
29:41
leaps upon the preacher who publicly applauds purity but
29:44
harbors private lust. We also see the example of
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Balaam. Here is a man whose eyes were
29:49
open, who saw the vision of the Almighty and who spoke true
29:52
prophecies, yet his heart was corrupt.
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He cunningly devised a scheme to cause the Israelites to stumble
29:58
into idolatry and immorality, plotting the destruction of the
30:02
very people God loved. Spulgeon warns that ministers of
30:05
the Gospel have turned into infidels and freethinkers,
30:08
plotting the destruction of the truth they once professed a
30:11
prize. And then there is Samson.
30:13
Samson technically finished his life work by bringing down the
30:16
Temple of Dagon on the Philistines.
30:19
But he did so completely blind, grinding in a dungeon, a
30:22
prisoner of his enemies, all because he lost his strength by
30:25
compromising in Delilah's lap. He achieved a victory at the
30:28
end, but the personal cost of his compromise was a tragic
30:31
ruins life. All of these examples are
30:33
frightening, but Spurgeon saves the most terrifying for last.
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This brings us to the absolute climax of his warning.
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He focuses entirely on one final, deeply sobering example.
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Moses. This one hits so hard.
30:46
It does. This example saddened Spurgeon
30:48
beyond all expression. Why?
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Because Moses was not a false prophet like Balaam.
30:53
He was not a rebellious king like Saul.
30:56
He was not a hypocrite like Hoffney.
30:57
Moses was favored of God beyond all others.
31:00
He was the meekest man on earth. He did not lose his soul.
31:03
He did not lose his crown in heaven.
31:05
Yet for one seemingly infinitesimal offense, speaking
31:09
unadvisedly with his lips and striking the rock in anger
31:13
instead of speaking to it as God had commanded, Moses was barred
31:16
from leading the people into the Promised Land.
31:19
He was taken up to Mount Pisgah to see the land with his eyes,
31:22
but he was strictly forbidden to enter it.
31:24
His life work was marred at the very close.
31:26
Spurgeon reflects on the absolute gravity of this
31:29
discipline. It feels incredibly harsh to our
31:31
modern sensibilities. We want to say God, cut the guy
31:34
some slack. He dealt with these complaining
31:35
Israelites for 40 years. But if God refused to overlook
31:38
this fault in Moses, the representative of the Divine
31:41
King, He will not overlook in anyone else.
31:43
Proximity to the Divine requires an elevated standard of
31:46
holiness. Spurgeon draws A terrifying
31:48
conclusion from this. He says it is a dreadful thing
31:51
to be beloved of God. That sentence should stop anyone
31:55
in their tracks. It is a dreadful thing to be
31:58
beloved of God. If you are beloved of God, you
32:01
are subject to His most exact and jealous discipline.
32:04
Spurgeon asks. Who among us shall dwell with
32:07
devouring fire? Only he that walks righteously
32:09
and speaks uprightly can face that sin consuming flame of
32:13
love. God's judgement begins at his
32:15
own house, and within that house it begins with His ministers.
32:19
The weight of that reality is crushing.
32:21
Operating in the Christian life without the active presence of
32:24
the Holy Spirit is an exercise in total futility.
32:27
The requirement is absolute dependence, severe humility, and
32:30
a constant trembling reference before a holy God.
32:33
So we turn this back to you, the listener.
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This challenges you to consider your own hidden compromises.
32:38
If Moses faced such strict discipline for one moment of
32:41
unadvised speech, how carefully are you walking?
32:43
Are you resting on your past successes, assuming that God
32:45
will tolerate a little pride, a little laziness, or a slight
32:48
lack of truthfulness? I want to leave you with a final
32:50
thought to Mull over. We have spent this entire time
32:54
unpacking Spurgeon's terrifying and glorious assessment of what
32:58
is required for the pulpit. But what does this imply for
33:01
your daily vocation? That is the real kicker right
33:04
there. If a minister requires minute by
33:06
minute divine strength just to function without failing, can a
33:09
believer truly parent their children, relying only on their
33:13
natural intellect? Can you run a business or
33:16
interact with your neighbors or resolve conflicts in your
33:18
marriage without this Pentecostal reality?
33:21
Is it possible that many modern Christians are living out a
33:24
scanty grace existence, technically sound in all their
33:28
theological creeds, but completely devoid of the active
33:31
divine energy required for everyday obedience?
33:34
It is a weighty question, and one that demands a completely
33:37
honest answer from every single one of us.
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Thank you for joining us for this deep dive on reformed
33:41
thinking. We invite you to seriously
33:42
evaluate your own spiritual reality this week, and we will
33:45
see you next time.