{"id":25287,"date":"2015-09-19T17:36:29","date_gmt":"2015-09-19T16:36:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/?p=25287"},"modified":"2020-06-13T10:12:13","modified_gmt":"2020-06-13T09:12:13","slug":"the-simple-sermon-that-saved-charles-spurgeon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2015\/09\/the-simple-sermon-that-saved-charles-spurgeon\/","title":{"rendered":"The simple sermon that saved Charles Spurgeon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

An unknown, unheralded, unremembered, unlearned substitute preacher impacted Victorian London, and the English speaking world beyond it more than he could ever have imagined.<\/p>\n

A young man, who happened into a small chapel, was arrested. These simple truths, spoken by a simple man who was never acclaimed during Spurgeon\u2019s life (several men claimed to be the preacher, but were not recognized, and it seems the real preacher was content to remain unacknowledged). These same words which revolutionized the life of a young man and set him onto a path that would make him arguably the greatest English speaking preacher of all time.<\/p>\n

They can change your life today, whether you are saved already, but need a refreshing, or whether your need is to become a Christian<\/a> for the first time.<\/p>\n

\"spurgeon\"<\/a>I sometimes think I might have been in darkness and despair until now had it not been for the goodness of God in sending a snowstorm, one Sunday morning, while I was going to a certain place of worship. When I could go no further, I turned down a side street, and came to a little Primitive Methodist Chapel. In that chapel there may have been a dozen or fifteen people. I had heard of the Primitive Methodists, how they sang so loudly that they made people\u2019s heads ache; but that did not matter to me. I wanted to know how I might be saved, and if they could tell me that, I did not care how much they made my head ache. The minister did not come that morning; he was snowed up, I suppose. At last, a very thin-looking man, a shoemaker, of tailor, or something of that sort, went up into the pulpit to preach. Now, it is well that preachers should be instructed; but this man was really stupid. He was obliged to stick to his text, for the simple reason that he had little else to say. The text was,\u2014<\/p>\n

\u201cLOOK UNTO ME, AND BE YE SAVED, ALL THE ENDS OF THE EARTH\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

He did not even pronounce the words rightly, but that did not matter. There was, I thought, a glimpse of hope for me in that text. The preacher began thus:\u2014\u201cMy dear friends, this is a very simple text indeed. It says, \u2018Look<\/strong>\u2019.<\/p>\n

Now lookin\u2019 don\u2019t take a deal of pains. It ain\u2019t liftin\u2019 your foot or your finger; it is just, \u2018Look.\u2019 Well, a man needn\u2019t go to College to learn to look. You may be the biggest fool, and yet you can look. A man needn\u2019t be worth a thousand a year to be able to look. Anyone can look; even a child can look.<\/p>\n

But then the text says, \u2018Look unto Me.\u2019 Ay!\u201d said he, in broad Essex, \u201cmany on ye are lookin\u2019 to yourselves<\/strong>, but it\u2019s no use lookin\u2019 there. You\u2019ll never find any comfort in yourselves. Some look to God the Father. No, look to Him by-and-by. Jesus Christ says, \u2018Look unto Me\u2019. Some on ye say, \u2018We must wait for the Spirit\u2019s workin\u2019.\u2019 You have no business with that just now. Look to Christ. The text says. \u2018Look unto Me.\u2019\u00a0\u201d<\/p>\n

Then the good man followed up his text in this way:\u2014\u201cLook unto Me; I am sweatin\u2019 great drops of blood. Look unto Me; I am hangin\u2019 on the cross. Look unto Me; I am dead and buried. Look unto Me; I rise again. Look unto Me; I ascend to Heaven. Look unto Me; I am sittin\u2019 at the Father\u2019s right hand. O poor sinner, look unto Me! look unto Me!\u201d<\/p>\n

When he had gone to about that length, and managed to spin out ten minutes or so, he was at the end of his tether. Then he looked at me under the gallery, and I daresay, with so few present, he knew me to be a stranger. Just fixing his eyes on me, as if he knew all my heart, he said, \u201cYoung man, you look very miserable.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, I did; but I had not been accustomed to have remarks made from the pulpit on my personal appearance before. However, it was a good blow, struck right home. He continued, \u201cand you always will be miserable\u2014miserable in life, and miserable in death,\u2014if you don\u2019t obey my text; but if you obey now, this moment, you will be saved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, lifting up his hands, he shouted, as only a Primitive Methodist could do, \u201cYoung man, look to Jesus Christ. Look! Look! Look! You have nothin\u2019 to do but to look and live.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n

I saw at once the way of salvation. I know not what else he said,\u2014I did not take much notice of it,\u2014I was so possessed with that one thought. Like as when the brazen serpent was lifted up, the people only looked and were healed, so it was with me. I had been waiting to do fifty things, but when I heard that word, \u201cLook!\u201d what a charming word it seemed to me! Oh! I looked until I could almost have looked my eyes away. There and then the cloud was gone, the darkness had rolled away, and that moment I saw the sun; and I could have risen that instant, and sung with the most enthusiastic of them, of the precious blood of Christ, and the simple faith which looks alone to Him. Oh, that somebody had told me this before, \u201cTrust Christ, and you shall be saved.\u201d<\/p>\n

. . .That happy day, when I found the Saviour, and learned to cling to His dear feet, was a day never to be forgotten by me. An obscure child, unknown, unheard of, I listened to the Word of God; and that precious text led me to the cross of Christ. I can testify that the joy of that day was utterly indescribable. I could have leaped, I could have danced; there was no expression, however fanatical, which would have been out of keeping with the joy of my spirit at that hour<\/strong>. Many days of Christian experience have passed since then, but there has never been one which has had the full exhilaration, the sparkling delight which that first day had. I thought I could have sprung from the seat on which I sat, and have called out with the wildest of those Methodist brethren who were present, \u201cI am forgiven! I am forgiven! A monument of grace! A sinner saved by blood!\u201d<\/p>\n

My spirit saw its chains broken to pieces, I felt that I was an emancipated soul, an heir of Heaven, a forgiven one, accepted in Christ Jesus, plucked out of the miry clay and out of the horrible pit, with my feet set upon a rock, and my goings established. I thought I could dance all the way home. I could understand what John Bunyan meant, when he declared he wanted to tell the crows on the ploughed land all about his conversion. He was too full to hold, he felt he must tell somebody.<\/p>\n

C. H. Spurgeon, C. H. Spurgeon\u2019s Autobiography, Compiled from His Diary, Letters, and Records, by His Wife and His Private Secretary, 1834\u20131854, vol. 1 (Cincinatti; Chicago; St. Louis: Curts & Jennings, 1898), 105\u2013108.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If these words have stirred you, visit the following page to find out more about\u00a0becoming a Christian<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An unknown, unheralded, unremembered, unlearned substitute preacher impacted Victorian London, and the English speaking world beyond it more than he could ever have imagined. A young man, who happened into a small chapel, was arrested. These simple truths, spoken by a simple man who was never acclaimed during Spurgeon\u2019s life (several men claimed to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1268,"featured_media":22913,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,115],"tags":[475,510,534,686,533,408,516,380],"class_list":["post-25287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-charles-spurgeon","category-preaching","tag-church-2","tag-evangelism","tag-gospel","tag-messages","tag-mission","tag-preaching-2","tag-sermons","tag-spurgeon"],"yoast_head":"\nThe simple sermon that saved Charles Spurgeon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An unknown, unheralded, unremembered, unlearned substitute preacher impacted Victorian London, and the English speaking world beyond it more than he could\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2015\/09\/the-simple-sermon-that-saved-charles-spurgeon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The simple sermon that saved Charles Spurgeon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An unknown, unheralded, unremembered, unlearned substitute preacher impacted Victorian London, and the English speaking world beyond it more than he could\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2015\/09\/the-simple-sermon-that-saved-charles-spurgeon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Adrian Warnock\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/adrianwarnockpage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-09-19T16:36:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-06-13T09:12:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/298\/2013\/12\/images.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"216\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"233\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Adrian Warnock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@adrianwarnock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Adrian Warnock\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2015\/09\/the-simple-sermon-that-saved-charles-spurgeon\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2015\/09\/the-simple-sermon-that-saved-charles-spurgeon\/\",\"name\":\"The simple sermon that saved Charles Spurgeon\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-09-19T16:36:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-06-13T09:12:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#\/schema\/person\/4dc7481b9baa3553d9a7698715084eaa\"},\"description\":\"An unknown, unheralded, unremembered, unlearned substitute preacher impacted Victorian London, and the English speaking world beyond it more than he could\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2015\/09\/the-simple-sermon-that-saved-charles-spurgeon\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2015\/09\/the-simple-sermon-that-saved-charles-spurgeon\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2015\/09\/the-simple-sermon-that-saved-charles-spurgeon\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The simple sermon that saved Charles Spurgeon\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/\",\"name\":\"Adrian Warnock\",\"description\":\"Patheos Evangelical\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#\/schema\/person\/4dc7481b9baa3553d9a7698715084eaa\",\"name\":\"Adrian Warnock\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e5ff2076e287d1578e3b13fc015d78be?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e5ff2076e287d1578e3b13fc015d78be?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Adrian Warnock\"},\"description\":\"The resurrection of Jesus changes everything. Just not all at once. Healing takes time. Compassion and patience carry us over a lifetime of change. These are the themes I explore in my books and in the articles I have written for Patheos since 2003. My writing draws on my scientific training as a doctor and psychiatrist, my work in the UK's National Health Service and the pharmaceutical industry, alongside more than twenty-five years as a member of a growing church where I served on the leadership team offering pastoral care. My perspective has also been shaped by chronic illness since 2017, when I developed life-threatening pneumonia that caused lasting damage to my body, triggered several further conditions, and uncovered a diagnosis of blood cancer. This was successfully treated, although doctors expect it to return in the future. Out of these experiences I founded Blood Cancer Uncensored, an online patient-led support community. I am the author of the Transformed by Jesus: Spiritual Renewal series of books, which ask: \u2192 Is the Easter story true, and what does it mean? Raised With Christ: How the Resurrection Changes Everything \u2192 Why is change so difficult? What causes the resistance? The Traitor Within: Understanding and Healing Our Deceitful Hearts \u2192 How does transformation happen over time? Amazing Grace: How Faith Grows in the Human Heart \u2192 What are the first steps on a journey of faith? Hope Reborn: How to Become a Christian and Live for Jesus These books bring together medical, psychological, social, and faith-based insights, advocating for a biopsychosocial\u2013spiritual model of wellbeing. My qualifications and training reflect this integrated background: \u2192 British MB BS medical degree (equivalent to an MD in the USA) \u2192 Postgraduate qualifications in Psychiatry (MRCPsych) and Pharmaceutical Medicine (MFFM, DipPharmMed) \u2192 Theological training courses run by Newfrontiers\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/adrianwarnockpage\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/adrianwarnock\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/author\/awarnock\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The simple sermon that saved Charles Spurgeon","description":"An unknown, unheralded, unremembered, unlearned substitute preacher impacted Victorian London, and the English speaking world beyond it more than he could","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2015\/09\/the-simple-sermon-that-saved-charles-spurgeon\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The simple sermon that saved Charles Spurgeon","og_description":"An unknown, unheralded, unremembered, unlearned substitute preacher impacted Victorian London, and the English speaking world beyond it more than he could","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2015\/09\/the-simple-sermon-that-saved-charles-spurgeon\/","og_site_name":"Adrian Warnock","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/adrianwarnockpage\/","article_published_time":"2015-09-19T16:36:29+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-06-13T09:12:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":"216","height":"233","url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/298\/2013\/12\/images.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Adrian Warnock","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@adrianwarnock","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Adrian Warnock","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2015\/09\/the-simple-sermon-that-saved-charles-spurgeon\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2015\/09\/the-simple-sermon-that-saved-charles-spurgeon\/","name":"The simple sermon that saved Charles Spurgeon","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-09-19T16:36:29+00:00","dateModified":"2020-06-13T09:12:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#\/schema\/person\/4dc7481b9baa3553d9a7698715084eaa"},"description":"An unknown, unheralded, unremembered, unlearned substitute preacher impacted Victorian London, and the English speaking world beyond it more than he could","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2015\/09\/the-simple-sermon-that-saved-charles-spurgeon\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2015\/09\/the-simple-sermon-that-saved-charles-spurgeon\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2015\/09\/the-simple-sermon-that-saved-charles-spurgeon\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The simple sermon that saved Charles Spurgeon"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/","name":"Adrian Warnock","description":"Patheos Evangelical","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#\/schema\/person\/4dc7481b9baa3553d9a7698715084eaa","name":"Adrian Warnock","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e5ff2076e287d1578e3b13fc015d78be?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e5ff2076e287d1578e3b13fc015d78be?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Adrian Warnock"},"description":"The resurrection of Jesus changes everything. Just not all at once. Healing takes time. Compassion and patience carry us over a lifetime of change. These are the themes I explore in my books and in the articles I have written for Patheos since 2003. My writing draws on my scientific training as a doctor and psychiatrist, my work in the UK's National Health Service and the pharmaceutical industry, alongside more than twenty-five years as a member of a growing church where I served on the leadership team offering pastoral care. My perspective has also been shaped by chronic illness since 2017, when I developed life-threatening pneumonia that caused lasting damage to my body, triggered several further conditions, and uncovered a diagnosis of blood cancer. This was successfully treated, although doctors expect it to return in the future. Out of these experiences I founded Blood Cancer Uncensored, an online patient-led support community. I am the author of the Transformed by Jesus: Spiritual Renewal series of books, which ask: \u2192 Is the Easter story true, and what does it mean? Raised With Christ: How the Resurrection Changes Everything \u2192 Why is change so difficult? What causes the resistance? The Traitor Within: Understanding and Healing Our Deceitful Hearts \u2192 How does transformation happen over time? Amazing Grace: How Faith Grows in the Human Heart \u2192 What are the first steps on a journey of faith? Hope Reborn: How to Become a Christian and Live for Jesus These books bring together medical, psychological, social, and faith-based insights, advocating for a biopsychosocial\u2013spiritual model of wellbeing. My qualifications and training reflect this integrated background: \u2192 British MB BS medical degree (equivalent to an MD in the USA) \u2192 Postgraduate qualifications in Psychiatry (MRCPsych) and Pharmaceutical Medicine (MFFM, DipPharmMed) \u2192 Theological training courses run by Newfrontiers","sameAs":["http:\/\/patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/adrianwarnockpage\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/adrianwarnock"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/author\/awarnock\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25287"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25287\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}