Defy Public Opinion

"We need ministers who will defy public opinion and, with flaming zeal, burn a way into men’s hearts."

~C.H. Spurgeon

This statement is so true! Lately my husband and i have been listening to some ministers who do exactly this. When listening to them, the Word of God pierces you with a ferocity that forces you to confront anything that is out of line w/ it. They preach with authority and without apology. These men do not use "pop-psychology" to engage the hearers, NO! They use the Word of God, and it is piercing. With so many churches watering down the gospel, these men are a breath of fresh air (or fire!). 

We attend a church where the Word of God is preached as well. Hear me when i say that! Yet i am so hungry to know more, so that i can be the brightest light i can be for Him! 

Who are the men that we are listening to? Fasten your seat belts....

• Paul Washer ~ One of his sermons, called Ten Indictments, has impacted me heavily. It is 2 hours long. He has many sermons online, and they are excellent. 
• Voddie Baucham ~ This sermon, at an Evangelistic conference, is a wonderful intro. to him. Just this past week, he was on Family Life Today talking about forgiveness in marriage.
• Alistair Begg ~ We have listened to him for years! Find him at Truth For Life. We listen to him every morning for a "chapel time" before we start our home-school day.
• John MacArthur ~ Fantastic... I enjoy using his study Bible. Find him at Grace to You. His book Charismatic Chaos brought some much-needed clarity as i was leaving the charismatic/pentecostal/vineyard movements. 
• R.C. Sproul ~ I have been listening to Renewing Your Mind, and have enjoyed his guest speakers.
• Ken Ham ~ WOW! Find him at Answers in Genesis. I am currently in a study that is going through his new Foundations curriculum. I highly recommend it to EVERYONE! 
• Doug Philips ~ Enjoyed his thoughts on a documentary i recently watched. Find him at Vision Forum.
• Steven Lawson ~ His series "The Doctrines of Grace in John" is amazing! Find him here. The first message i heard by him was called "War on the Word". wow! I heard "Doctrines in Grace" (link takes you to 1st of 12 messages) and "War on the Word" on Renewing Your Mind. 

Well, there you have it! Each of these men are the embodiment of what Spurgeon spoke over 100 years ago. These men HAVE NOT and DO NOT capitulate to the culture! And,  they take heat for it too. These men have counted the cost. They have looked at what it cost's them to preach the Truth, and are willing to pay the price. Now, are we willing to take stands that go against public opinion, and be counted as faithful messengers of the gospel of Jesus Christ? 

Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for hte sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong. 1 Peter 3:13-17

Plea That Applies Today

In Spurgeon's sermon on John 12:3, he makes a plea for men and women to be devoted. I quote it for you:

Beloved Friends, the Church of Christ needs a band of men and women full of enthusiasm who will go beyond others in devotion to the Lord Jesus. We need missionaries who will dare to die to carry the Gospel to regions beyond. We need ministers who will defy public opinion and, with flaming zeal, burn a way into men’s hearts. We need men and women who will consecrate all that they have by daring deeds of heroic self-sacrifice. Oh, that all Christians were like this, but we must at least have some! We need a bodyguard of loving champions to rally around the Savior, the bravest of the brave, Immortals and Invincibles, who shall lead the van of the armies of the Lord! Where are we to get them? How are they to be produced? The Holy Spirit’s way to train men and women who shall greatly serve Christ is to lead them to deep thought and quiet contemplation. There they obtain the knowledge and vital principle which are the fuel of true zeal. You cannot leap into high devotion, neither can you be preached into it, nor dream yourself into it, or be electrified into it by revivalism! It must, through the Divine energy of the Holy Spirit, arise out of hard, stern dealing with your soul and near and dear communion with your Savior! You must sit at His feet, or you will never anoint them! He must pour His Divine teaching into you, or you will never pour out a precious ointment upon Him!  ~Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Volume 55, Sermon no. 3174

Who's Grace??

"My grace is sufficient for thee."  2 Corinthians 12:9

I absolutely love this story from C. H. Spurgeon:

'The other evening I was riding home after a heavy day's work. I felt very wearied, and sore depressed, when swiftly, and suddenly as a lightning flash, that text came to me, "My grace is sufficient for thee." I reached home and looked it up in the original, and at last it came to me in this way, "MY grace is sufficient for thee"; and I said, "I should think it is, Lord," and burst out laughing.

 I never fully understood what the holy laughter of Abraham was until then. It seemed to make unbelief so absurd. It was as though some little fish, being very thirsty, was troubled about drinking the river dry, and Father Thames said, "Drink away, little fish, my stream is sufficient for thee." 
Or it seemed after the seven years of plenty, a mouse feared it might die of famine; and Joseph might say,'Cheer up, little mouse, my granaries are sufficient for thee."

Again, I imagined a man away up yonder, in a lofty mountain, saying to himself, "I breathe so many cubic feet of air every year, I fear I shall exhaust the oxygen in the atmosphere," but the earth might say, "Breathe away, O man, and fill the lungs ever, my atmosphere is sufficient for thee."

Oh, brethren, be great believers! Little faith will bring your souls to Heaven, but great faith will bring Heaven to your souls.'

For now, my comments will be null...This story speaks volumes! What are your thoughts? Have you struggled with believing that His grace IS sufficient?