Charles Haddon Spurgeon
The Nineteen Year Old Preacher
Things are not always what they appear to be!
Let’s take a little self survey of your understanding and maturity as a Christian Believer in the The Lord Jesus Christ. Let us assume that you believe in and follow the Lord Jesus. Let us further assume you are well grounded in the Word of God, The Holy Bible, and that you are a regularly attending member of your own local church. Got it?
What would your initial reaction honestly be if your church was searching for a new senior pastor and you learned from the Elder Board that they had just settled on the best available prospect…a nineteen year old pastor fresh out of Divinity School? Would your church call an untested nineteen year old pastor to lead it?………..
On a Saturday afternoon in December 1853 a nineteen year old lad came to London from Cambridge on the Eastern Counties Railway and then went to the boardinghouse that was expecting him. It was his first trip to London and he stared wide-eyed at the sights around him. No one observing him would have guessed that this young fellow was about to begin a ministry to the influential city of London that would last thirty-eight years, a ministry unparalleled in the history of the church up to that time.
His name was Charles Haddon Spurgeon. His father and grandfather were Congregational pastors. His grandfather had been the pastor of the Independent Church in Essex for fifty-four years, and his father pastored a number of other independent churches throughout all of England. The Spurgeon family had descended from Huguenots, who had fled France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes and had settled in Essex.
When Charles was just ten years old and vacationing at his grandfather’s, a pastor friend of his grandfather’s heard him read a chapter from the Bible in the Sunday service and was extremely impressed at how well he read. The next day, the pastor told the family that he had a conviction that someday Charles would preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to thousands of people. He said, “So sure am I of this, that when my little man preaches in Rowland Hill’s Chapel [Surrey Chapel, the largest Independent Church in London], as he will do one day, I would like him to promise me that he will give out the hymn commencing ‘God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform.’ ” The promise was made, and the prophecy was later fulfilled. Spurgeon did preach in Rowland Hill’s Surrey Chapel, and the hymn was sung.
After being converted at a Primitive Methodist chapel at the age of sixteen, he began to study the issue of baptism. He became convinced that the New Testament taught that baptism was to be for believers and by immersion. In spite of their belief in infant baptism, his parents encouraged him to follow his own convictions, and so he was baptized. Shortly thereafter Charles joined a Baptist church in Cambridge.
He soon discovered his gift of preaching, and in spite of his young age he was in much demand. After taking a brief pastorate at the age of eighteen near Cambridge, Charles Spurgeon was called the following year to the pastorate of the New Park Street Baptist Chapel in London. It was a small church, but within a few weeks, of his arrival he was attracting great crowds. The Chapel soon proved to be too small, so the church decided to enlarge the building. During construction the church moved to a large hall, but once again the crowds surpassed what the hall could accommodate. When Spurgeon resumed preaching in the enlarged Chapel on New Park Street, it once again proved to be too small.
The decision was finally made to build a tabernacle sufficiently large to accommodate the crowds coming to hear the twenty-five year old preacher.
On August 16, 1859, the cornerstone of the Metropolitan Tabernacle was laid. The church was built to hold sixty-five hundred, and it was Spurgeon’s prayer that it open debt-free. Metropolitan Tabernacle opened in May 1861, with no outstanding debt. Charles Spurgeon preached there until shortly before his death in 1892.
The Metropolitan Tabernacle was more than just a preaching station. It was an educational and social center. Spurgeon founded a pastor’s college
and orphanage, both of which continue to minister to this day. He also began a literature ministry and provided many services to the nearby slums. Spurgeon’s Metropolitan Tabernacle was one of the great churches of all time.
This is just another of the many great true stories of the Hand of God working in a miraculous manner and way to accomplish great and glorious things and purposes for His most loved and prized creation,….mankind.
Things To Ponder
What do you value more in a church–the bricks and mortar or the message that is preached there? Charles Spurgeon’s Metropolitan Tabernacle had both architectural beauty and powerful preaching. But breathtaking sanctuaries have never changed or saved any lives. It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ that is the power of God unto salvation.
(23) “ but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling
block and to the Greeks foolishness,
(24) but to those who are called , both Jews and Greeks, Christ
the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
1 Corinthians 1 : 23-24 NKJV
Our culture and our society places a great deal of credence in age and experience. This is a good thing. However, there are exceptions to every rule associated with mankind. Many times in life, experience can be outweighed by raw talent and focused ability. Everyone begins as a child. From that point forward in life, preparation, practice, study, learning and understanding are the stuff that real and lasting success is made of. Self development and sacrifice and growth are the keys that turn mediocre into greatness. The best leader is always first the best follower. The best teacher is always first the best student. Personal growth…mind growth… is the primary ingredient for self-development. That is the key that will unlock the doors to your God-planned future. Be obedient to His Word and follow the leadings of your own heart. Father God will guide your foot steps that will take you where He wants you to go!
Learn Well The Lessons Of History……….