Jesus--Wherever You Go, Whatever You Are Doing, Get to Know Him
Posted: Sunday, November 02, 2008
by Jean Purcell
OpineBooks.com
A Puritan said, "God had only one Son, and He made a preacher of Him." C. H. Spurgeon wrote that God sent His Son, the eternal Word, into this world "that He might preach the same good tidings that we are called to proclaim."
Preaching is part of the life of God's people, and the true example for this is the Lord Himself: "He was always preaching." To paraphrase Charles H. Spurgeon, Jesus' miracles were sermons, living discourses of action.
Through His silence, which was eloquent, and every movement and action of His earthly life.
When He gave, and when He received:
When he allowed the woman to wash His feet with her tears of gratitude He gave to her that gift of loving service, for He graciously agreed to receive;
When He divided the loaves and fishes for a hungry and tired multitude on a mountain, He gave to them first His compassion and then His action.
When He stood beaten and bleeding before Pilate, He gave a good confession by His patience;
From the tree of crucifixion, that bloody cross, He preached:
His hands and feet bound Him there, lifted up for all to witness the shame and degradation of that tree of punishment;
There, he delivered an unparalleled discourse of love, justice, vengeance, and grace, of life and of death, the most wonderful sermon every preached, as one has said, "in this poor world."
There is no doubt: He was always preaching! Every action, every "Yes" and every "No," every "Wait," and every "Soon."
With "all His heart and soul He preached."
He preached when He prayed. He preached when He wept. He preached when He walked the dusty streets and visited the quiet garden.
He preached when with many and He preached when with a few.
He preached when the people broke into His seclusion.
He preached when the people crowded against Him.
He preached when He stood in the boat to escape the great push of the multigudes that followed Him.
He preached when He calmed the violent seas, and He preached when He comforted and spared the woman the religious were ready to stone.
He preached in and out of season. He preached as He went along.
He preached when He allowed so many access to Him when He was tired and hungry. "He did not send them away without a gracious word.""
Preaching was His Life, His one calling, which He "pursued in the power of the eternal Spirit."
He did not run from His calling. He gave Himself to it, for it was for the people He came to save, for a world lost in sin's evil and confusion.
He trained others to preach by keeping them with Him. He sent others out to preach as He had done.
Having learned from Spurgeon, I am reminded that when we give even a cup of cold water in Jesus' name, Jesus has told us that we are giving it to Him. Thereby, we preach, too, when we follow Him, for He will give our silences and our words, our stillness and our busyness grace to speak of Him.
And why did He preach? He quoted Isaiah to tell His mission of salvation by grace, by the offering of His life on the Cross:
The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.
Isaiah 61: 1-3; Luke 4: 18, 19
"As you go, preach the gospel," He said .
Resource: The Mourner's Comforter by C. H. Spurgeon:
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Hi Jane, thanks for much for sharing this powerful reminder from Surgeon.It is the word that tells us we are living espistles. We are the only bibles some people will ever read. Now that is a scary thought. What are we preaching? In word, dead and silence. Thanks for the reminder to keep my spirit in check.Blessings to you!Dear Teresa, thanks for your comment. Thanks also for elaborating. I appreciate your reminders too! Hope you are in good health. Jane
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