My Foreword for Spurgeon on the Holy Spirit
A collection of Spurgeon's sermons on the Spirit was published, and I was thrilled to supply a foreword.
When was the last time you thought about the Holy Spirit?
Asked the Spirit to help you? Contemplated the Spirit's power in your prayers? Believed the Holy Spirit was enabling you to turn from sin? Discerned him prompting you to evangelize? Realized him quickening your heart for Christ? Noticed the Spirit of Christ illuminating your heart and mind as you sat with coffee at your side and a double-edged sword shimmering in your hands?
Dear Christian, the Spirit is at work in you. Don't be discouraged. You may feel like God is sick and tired of waiting for you to get it together. Well, remember that the fruit of the Spirit is also a description of the Spirit himself. He is loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and in control. You are in good hands. Patient and gentle hands. Keep up (Galatians 5:25). Like a kind older brother grinning and motioning to his slow-witted sibling, "Come on, bud, keep up." That's us. And that's a safe place to be because it's with God.
Charles Spurgeon understood the Spirit's role in the Christian life. He was eager for the Spirit's work in his life and ministry. "Without the Spirit of God we can do nothing. We are as ships without wind or chariots without steeds. Like branches without sap, we are withered. Like coals without fire, we are useless." O, how we need the Spirit! Just think: How will we turn from sin, love our brothers and sisters and Christ—and our enemies—serve the church, evangelize the lost, raise our children, pursue godliness, and lean into the glory to be revealed? By the indwelling, filling, and anointing of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit prompts and empowers disciples of the risen Christ for our long pilgrimage toward glory. Every step of the way, he's with us—ministering to us, encouraging us, correcting us, and transforming us more into the image of the Lord Jesus. As you read these sermons from Spurgeon, don't settle for a meeting with the mind of Spurgeon. No, no—seek the Spirit. Seek the work of God in your life. That's why Spurgeon preached these words, so sinners like you and me could rest and run in the high-voltage work of God. Keep up.
— J.A. Medders