ENCOURAGEMENT FOR PASTORS (BY SPURGEON)
Our Lord’s anointing was with a special view to his preaching of the gospel. Such honor does the Lord of heaven and earth put on the ministry of the Word that, as one of the old Puritans said, “God had only one Son, and he made a preacher of him.” It should greatly encourage the weakest among us, who are preachers of the gospel also, to think that the Son of God, the blessed and eternal Word, came into this world so that he might preach the same good news that we are called to proclaim.
SERMON ILLUSTRATION (BY SPURGEON)
Spurgeon was a master illustrator. You can use this illustration in your own preaching to describe the cost of following Christ.
Before we buckle on the Christian armor we ought to know what that service is which is expected of us. A recruiting sergeant often slips a shilling into the hand of some ignorant youth, and tells him that Her Majesty’s Service is a fine thing, that he has nothing to do but walk about in his flaming colors, that he will have no hard service—in fact, that he has nothing to do but to be a soldier, and go straight on to glory.
But the Christian sergeant, when he enlists a soldier of the cross, never deceives him like that. Jesus Christ himself said, “Count the cost.” He wished to have no disciple who was not prepared to go all the way—“to bear hardness as a good soldier.”
THANKS FOR READING
Brothers,
No matter what other people think of us or our office, we can be confident that our work has dignity. We are shepherds and preachers, just like Christ himself. Let us strive to be faithful.
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Blessings to your ministry,
Doug H.
Creator of SpurgeonBooks