Charles Haddon Spurgeon - The People's Preacher

[Matureartisan]

Charles Haddon Spurgeon - The People's Preacher

[Nikos]

In spite of the fact that Spurgeon was Calvinist, he was used of God in a great way. He wrote some of the greatest sermons I have ever read. He also had a tremendous healing ministry that few seem to know little about. He was a great man of God!

[Bookman]

Right, Nikos. This is from a bio of Spurgeon

There are now living and worshipping in the Metropolitan Tabernacle hundreds of people who ascribe the extension of their life to the effect of Mr. Spurgeon's personal prayers. They have been sick with disease and nigh unto death, he has appeared, kneeled by their beds, and prayed for their recovery. Immediately the tide of health returned, the fevered pulse became calm, the temperature was reduced, and all the activities of nature resumed their normal functions within a short and unexpected period. If a meeting were to be called of all those who attribute their recovery to the prayer of Mr. Spurgeon, it would furnish one of the most deserved tributes to his memory that could be possibly made.

His ministry in London began with some of these most remarkable incidents, which so confirmed the truths he uttered from the pulpit as to make persons believe in him because of his very works' sake. Stories were very current during the first year of his ministry at New Park Street Chapel of the marvelous results which had attended his pastoral visitations upon the sick. One man in 1855 arose from his bed of fever the same day in which the physician had declared his case to be very critical, and appeared at the meeting in the evening, to the astonishment of all his acquaintances, saying: "Mr. Spurgeon prayed with me this morning, I have been divinely healed." Another, in the same season, appeared one Sunday, walking decidedly and firmly down the aisle to a front seat, who for years before had always limped into the service. He was often heard to murmur and once to shout, "Glory to God!" as he was giving praise to his Divine Master for having used Mr. Spurgeon for his miraculous recovery. It was a case of partial paralysis, which physicians now say is due largely to a failure of some portion of the brain to perform its natural duties. In any case, it is a nervous disease, and can only be healed by the restoration of the nervous forces or in those avenues connected with the brain or in the brain itself. One gentleman connected with an institution of learning in London explained this matter satisfactorily to himself by saying that some unusual mental excitement had aroused the dormant brain into normal action, and had restored the nerves; and consequently had given the man renewed power to use his right side, which had been stricken in the paralytic stroke of five years before. That he was healed no one questioned; the. crutch he gave away, thoroughly believing he would never have occasion again to use it, and declaring confidently that he was to live to be seventy-eight years of age. Whether he did live out the days as he so confidently expected is not known to the writer.

One man who had been unable to leave the house for many years, afflicted with a form of rheumatism somewhat akin to that common disease, the gout, insisted that Mr. Spurgeon should come and pray for his recovery, but Mr. Spurgeon, while accepting the invitation to attend and pray, said that for himself he could not have a complete faith in the power of his prayer to restore such a case. Notwithstanding Mr. Spurgeon's own unbelief in the effects of his petitions, the man asserted his perfect confidence. Mr. Spurgeon knelt with him and prayed. At the close of his prayer the man asserted very strongly that he felt very different and very much better. He urged Mr. Spurgeon to return and pray with him the next morning, which the preacher very cheerfully did. The old gentleman met him at the door and welcomed him with a hearty laugh, saying "The Lord is performing His promises and has answered your prayer." He was not entirely well, but he had so far recovered as to be able to walk about the house, and a few weeks thereafter did resume the care of a business which required no great amount of physical exercise. He was for several years afterward a regular attendant at the chapel, and neither storm nor cold hindered him from reaching his accustomed place.

Another person, who was a visitor in London from Wales, who had been sadly afflicted mentally in consequence of some physical defect or disease, pleaded most piteously with his family to send for Mr. Spurgeon, that he might pray at his bedside. They considered it the foolish raving of an insane mind. But at last they consented to ask Mr. Spurgeon to visit him. Mr. Spurgeon's prayer that day had a most soothing effect upon the poor lunatic and appeared partially to restore his mental balance. The family were so surprised and delighted at the effect of the petition that, while they accredited it entirely to natural causes, they interceded most earnestly for Mr. Spurgeon's return. He came to the house the same night, after the evening service, and remained for some time, praying with all his heart for the recovery of the patient, in which the poor invalid most piteously joined. Mr. Spurgeon, himself stated afterward that while he prayed with all his heart and tried to believe that the patient would recover, yet he could not convince himself that his visit had been of any other use but simply to appease the feelings of the nurses, who were disturbed by the poor man's cries. Yet in the night after the prayers were offered, the sick man awoke with a start and a cry which frightened his nurses. But he was found to be entirely in his right mind. He declared he had dreamed of meeting the Saviour, and that the Saviour had assured him that the devils were cast out. A few days after he was able to go out of the house, and shortly afterward removed to Canada, where he has been a successful business man, having been carried to his grave in 1882.

An incident is recalled of a child who was very sick with a contagious disease which was declared fatal by the doctor. Mr. Spurgeon visited the home at the request of the family, knelt with them in a circle around the bed, and offered up a prayer for the child's salvation and added a petition for her recovery, if it should be in accordance with the will of God. The father and mother both followed in prayer, and when they arose from their knees the child, just then becoming conscious, asked for water and said: "I feel very much better." From that point in the child's sickness there was no break in her continual recovery. She afterward stated to her mother that during the prayer she felt a "strange sensation running all over her, as though the fever began to decline at her head and gradually passed off at her feet."

A boy who had worked in a printing-office as an apprentice, met with a sad accident wherein his arm was broken twice; once below the elbow, and another bad fracture in the bone near the shoulder. His father had heard of others who had stated that they had recovered from disease through the power of prayer, and sent for Mr. Spurgeon to come and pray for the healing of his arm. The physician, who had heard of the request; said "the boy will recover the use of his arm without prayer, and if you intend to pray for anything, you had better pray that the upper-arm will not be deformed." The physician declared that he knew nothing in the school of surgery that would prevent the deformation, because the break was of such a singular and complicated nature. When the deacon of the Church who accompanied Mr. Spurgeon asked him if he thought it was possible for prayer to heal a case like that, Mr. Spurgeon answered, with a smile: "All things are possible with God, but," said he, "I cannot feel that it is very probable. Yet it is our duty to pray for the things we desire, even though they seem impossible." Mr. Spurgeon talked with the boy concerning Christ and his soul's salvation, until he was sure that the boy understood what it was to be a Christian, and was satisfied that he intended to accept the great gift, then he asked him to kneel in prayer. Mr. Spurgeon there prayed for exactly the thing that the physician had told them he would need to ask for. He appeared to be very much in earnest, and while in prayer was strongly impressed himself that in some way the prayer was to be literally answered. The next day the boy fell upon the stairs and fractured the bones again, making the wound apparently more dangerous than before. He was then carried to a hospital where a somewhat celebrated French physician was for the time visiting, and under his care the bones were so reset as to assume their natural position.

In 1861 it is said that this belief in Mr. Spurgeon's healing power became among some classes a positive superstition, and he was obliged to overcome the very false and extravagant impressions which were going out concerning it by mentioning the matter from the pulpit, and rebuking the theories of the extremely enthusiastic. He felt that it was becoming too much like the shrines of Catholic Europe, from which came the stories of such marvelous cures, many of which were unquestionably true. The power of faith does not seem to be in fact limited to any sect or Church. That fact adds another element to the mystery of the complicated problem.

For twenty-five years it has been one of the most frequent things at the Tabernacle to hear mentioned in public the request of some person, who was sick, for the prayers of the Church that God might send a speedy recovery. The very fact that the number of such applications increase year by year, is in it self satisfactory evidence that the people who were prayed for at first must have believed that the prayers of the Church were answered, and advertised the fact among their friends.

Thousands of cases like those we have related might be gathered, and a great number of them have been collected, showing the wonderful agency of some Divine power exercised in answer to prayer.

[Nikos]

Thanks for the info you shared about Spurgeon's healing ministry. It was inspirational just to read it. It is obvious that God used Spurgeon in a great way in the healing ministry. All Glory to God!

[GraceLoveTruth]

Spurgeon did pray and God did heal. My problem with Spurgeon was his openly speaking against the gifts continuing, such as tongues. He spoke of speaking in tongues as the dregs of the wine, that the more permanent gifts were better and latter than the former. He was a cessationist when it came to the gifts, and this is why i have very little to do with the man. He may have preached some good sermons, but those who quench the Spirit and speak openly such downgrades against the gifts are men to have little to do with, IMHO.

[revkev]

He was obese, addicted to tobacco, imbibed regularly in alcohol, and suffered from extreme bouts of depression which caused him to be bedridden and reclusive for months at a time. His theological understanding, being rooted in what it was, and his aversion to the gifts, had a lot to do with that in my opinion. Personally, I think history has been kind to him, and he has been attributed with a lot that honestly cannot be determined. It appears he had oratorical gifts that captivated people and got their attention. My questions concern more about how much of a living example of what he preached he was.

[commentmama]

Hi Matureartisan, so far I've listened to about 20 minutes of the video and plan to hear more later. I like it. I had picked up a book by Charles Spurgeon at Family Books less than a year ago and haven't yet read it. I didn't even know there were books by him before seeing it. I had only heard about him listening to Paul Washer and Leonard Ravenhill, both of whom I love listening to. (Paul Washer does tend to point out that he does not agree completely with his references when he mentions them. He only completely agrees with God's Word - should be for all of us in Christ.)

I would be concerned too if Spurgeon taught against speaking in tongues and other spiritual gifts. Could what he had said been misinterpreted? Paul the apostle said in I Cor. to desire the gifts but rather to prophesying. He elaborated why it was better to prophesy in an assembly rather than speak in tongues before the assembly without an interpreter. (But, in Romans and other passages, we know that speaking in tongues, without ministering in tongues with interpretation, edifies the believer.) And it could seem that he discounted spiritual gifts in the absence of love when he basically says the person having those gifts is nothing without love.

And Revkev, is there a biography that mentions Spurgeon's lifestyle? I'd really be interested to know because I have wanted to read his book for a while. And, for me, it is hard to receive from someone who does not live what he preaches. (Of course, I know we all have to continually die daily to our flesh. But lifestyle...)

[revkev]

Hi Matureartisan, so far I've listened to about 20 minutes of the video and plan to hear more later. I like it. I had picked up a book by Charles Spurgeon at Family Books less than a year ago and haven't yet read it. I didn't even know there were books by him before seeing it. I had only heard about him listening to Paul Washer and Leonard Ravenhill, both of whom I love listening to. (Paul Washer does tend to point out that he does not agree completely with his references when he mentions them. He only completely agrees with God's Word - should be for all of us in Christ.)

I would be concerned too if Spurgeon taught against speaking in tongues and other spiritual gifts. Could what he had said been misinterpreted? Paul the apostle said in I Cor. to desire the gifts but rather to prophesying. He elaborated why it was better to prophesy in an assembly rather than speak in tongues before the assembly without an interpreter. (But, in Romans and other passages, we know that speaking in tongues, without ministering in tongues with interpretation, edifies the believer.) And it could seem that he discounted spiritual gifts in the absence of love when he basically says the person having those gifts is nothing without love.

And Revkev, is there a biography that mentions Spurgeon's lifestyle? I'd really be interested to know because I have wanted to read his book for a while. And, for me, it is hard to receive from someone who does not live what he preaches. (Of course, I know we all have to continually die daily to our flesh. But lifestyle...)

Usually we only hear of the positive. However, there is a lot of info online including photos of his darker side. For a real eye opener google Spurgeon and tobacco and read how many people use that fact as an excuse to smoke. Amazing.

[FLAME]

Modern day Calvanists would not believe or either do not want to make it known that he prayed for healing and people were healed.

There are books other great preachers wrote about themselves recieving the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and speaking in tongues. But publishers now revise and take out those parts and the originals are out of print and hard to find

[commentmama]

Well, I did read up on him. I found a lot that was disappointing...as is the case with what I've read over the years on so many who are high profile today. It really is disheartening. But if I have to listen to a message from any preacher, the best thing I can do is be sure it lines up with God's Word. Not getting distracted by the person's lifestyle *is* challenging. the Internet surely does make it hard for these people to lead private lives and privately grow through repentance...even in the case of those who were here and left us before Internet.

I appreciate the video anyway. I could watch it again. Also, thanks revkev.