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 Did You Know? (32 amazing facts about spurgeon)

[b]Did You Know?[/b]

Charles Haddon Spurgeon is history's most widely read preacher (apart from the biblical ones). Today, there is available more material written by Spurgeon than by any other Christian author, living or dead.

1. One woman was converted through reading a single page of one of Spurgeon's sermons wrapped around some butter she had bought.

2. Spurgeon read The Pilgrim's Progress at age 6 and went on to read it over 100 times.

3. The New Park Street Pulpit and The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit—the collected sermons of Spurgeon during his ministry with that congregation—fill 63 volumes. The sermons' 20-25 million words are equivalent to the 27 volumes of the ninth edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica. The series stands as the largest set of books by a single author in the history of Christianity.

4. Spurgeon's mother had 17 children, nine of whom died in infancy.

5. When Charles Spurgeon was only 10 years old, a visiting missionary, Richard Knill, said that the young Spurgeon would one day preach the gospel to thousands and would preach in Rowland Hill's chapel, the largest Dissenting church in London. His words were fulfilled.

6. Spurgeon missed being admitted to college because a servant girl inadvertently showed him into a different room than that of the principal who was waiting to interview him. (Later, he determined not to reapply for admission when he believed God spoke to him, "Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not!")

7. Spurgeon's personal library contained 12,000 volumes—1,000 printed before 1700. (The library, 5,103 volumes at the time of its auction, is now housed at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri.)

8. Before he was 20, Spurgeon had preached over 600 times.

9. Spurgeon drew to his services Prime Minister W. E. Gladstone, members of the royal family, Members of Parliament, as well as author John Ruskin, Florence Nightingale, and General James Garfield, later president of the United States.

10. The New Park Street Church invited Spurgeon to come for a 6-month trial period, but Spurgeon asked to come for only 3 months because "the congregation might not want me, and I do not wish to be a hindrance."

11. When Spurgeon arrived at The New Park Street Church, in 1854, the congregation had 232 members. By the end of his pastorate, 38 years later, that number had increased to 5,311. (Altogether, 14,460 people were added to the church during Spurgeon's tenure.) The church was the largest independent congregation in the world.

12. Spurgeon typically read 6 books per week and could remember what he had read—and where—even years later.

13. Spurgeon once addressed an audience of 23,654—without a microphone or any mechanical amplification.

14. Spurgeon began a pastors' college that trained nearly 900 students during his lifetime—and it continues today.

15. In 1865, Spurgeon's sermons sold 25,000 copies every week. They were translated into more than 20 languages.

16. At least 3 of Spurgeon's works (including the multi-volume Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit series) have sold more than 1,000,000 copies. One of these, All of Grace, was the first book ever published by Moody Press (formerly the Bible Institute Colportage Association) and is still its all-time bestseller.

17. During his lifetime, Spurgeon is estimated to have preached to 10,000,000 people.

18. Spurgeon once said he counted 8 sets of thoughts that passed through his mind at the same time while he was preaching.

19. Testing the acoustics in the vast Agricultural Hall, Spurgeon shouted, "Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world." A worker high in the rafters of the building heard this and became converted to Christ as a result.

20. Susannah Thompson, Spurgeon's wife, became an invalid at age 33 and could seldom attend her husband's services after that.

21. Spurgeon spent 20 years studying the Book of Psalms and writing his commentary on them, The Treasury of David.

22. Spurgeon insisted that his congregation's new building, The Metropolitan Tabernacle, employ Greek architecture because the New Testament was written in Greek. This one decision has greatly influenced subsequent church architecture throughout the world.

23. The theme for Spurgeon's Sunday morning sermon was usually not chosen until Saturday night.

24. For an average sermon, Spurgeon took no more than one page of notes into the pulpit, yet he spoke at a rate of 140 words per minute for 40 minutes.

25. The only time that Spurgeon wore clerical garb was when he visited Geneva and preached in Calvin's pulpit.

26. By accepting some of his many invitations to speak, Spurgeon often preached 10 times in a week.

27. Spurgeon met often with Hudson Taylor, the well-known missionary to China, and with George Muller, the orphanage founder.

28. Spurgeon had two children—twin sons—and both became preachers. Thomas succeeded his father as pastor of the Tabernacle, and Charles, Jr., took charge of the orphanage his father had founded.

29. Spurgeon's wife, Susannah, called him Tirshatha (a title used of the Judean governor under the Persian empire), meaning "Your Excellency."

30. Spurgeon often worked 18 hours a day. Famous explorer and missionary David Livingstone once asked him, "How do you manage to do two men's work in a single day?" Spurgeon replied, "You have forgotten that there are two of us."

31. Spurgeon spoke out so strongly against slavery that American publishers of his sermons began deleting his remarks on the subject.

32. Occasionally Spurgeon asked members of his congregation not to attend the next Sunday's service, so that newcomers might find a seat. During one 1879 service, the regular congregation left so that newcomers waiting outside might get in; the building immediately filled again.


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SI Moderator - Greg Gordon

 2005/7/27 23:43Profile
jeremyhulsey
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 Re: Number 33

(33.) The New York Times used to have their London office telegraph Spurgeon's Sunday morning sermons so that they could print them on Monday.


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Jeremy Hulsey

 2005/7/27 23:59Profile
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 Re: Did You Know? (32 amazing facts about spurgeon)

Great stuff, Greg

Quote:
5. The only time that Spurgeon wore clerical garb was when he visited Geneva and preached in Calvin's pulpit.

He also insisted on being called Mr Spurgeon and would not use the title of Reverend.

I have one book that was owned by him, and have preached in one baptist church where he preached. He also had a wonderful sense of humour. If you have not read them

Lectures to my students
An all round ministry

are still full of humour and good sense.


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Ron Bailey

 2005/7/28 2:56Profile
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 Re: Did You Know? (32 amazing facts about spurgeon)

wow, amazing facts, indeed. Thank you for sharing this brother.

I haven't read much from Spurgeon, but recently I had chance to read one of his sermon translated on macedonian (it is made as a tract).
The sermon is called "Compel Them to Come In"
I haven't read or heard such sermon adressed to unbelievers on such way! I could only imagine how has been when this sermon was preached in live. Such anointing, such a burden for the lost souls, such a passion and pleading to "Come In" into to the Kingdom of God I have never heard.

I will made another thread with the sermon text and encourage everyone to share this sermon with unbelievers, print it and share it!

[Edit]: Here is the link of the sermon: [url=https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=6524&post_id=48691&order=0&viewmode=thread&pid=0&forum=34#48691]Compel Them to Come In[/url]

 2005/7/28 4:53Profile
RobertW
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 Re: Did You Know? (32 amazing facts about spurgeon)

Quote:
(The library, 5,103 volumes at the time of its auction, is now housed at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri.)



Wow, now go figure! William Jewell College is 15 minutes from my house. Liberty borders Independence on the north. Somehow, someway, I have to get in there and see this. Maybe I could get some pictures. :-P


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Robert Wurtz II

 2005/7/28 8:27Profile
RobertW
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 Re: Did You Know? (32 amazing facts about spurgeon)

Quote:
. Spurgeon once said he counted 8 sets of thoughts that passed through his mind at the same time while he was preaching.



This is all wonderful. It is interesting '8' sets of thoughts. That is the number of resurrection and new beginnings. He had to be under an unction for that to happen. No person has that much mental RAM.


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Robert Wurtz II

 2005/7/28 8:31Profile
RobertW
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 Re: Did You Know? (32 amazing facts about spurgeon)

Quote:
24. For an average sermon, Spurgeon took no more than one page of notes into the pulpit, yet he spoke at a rate of 140 words per minute for 40 minutes.



To give you an idea of the magnitude of this, it is a stretch to get 700 words of average Times New Roman size 12 font on a standard piece of paper. The total word count is 5600 in 40 minutes. That would be like reciting 8 pages of text. By contrast, anyone who has ever listened to my teachings on SI will note that they are roughly 40 minutes and they are less than 4 pages of the same size text pages. To do all that without the aid of a microphone is a humbling statistic!


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Robert Wurtz II

 2005/7/28 8:44Profile
RobertW
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 Re:

Quote:
He also insisted on being called Mr Spurgeon and would not use the title of Reverend.

I have one book that was owned by him, and have preached in one baptist church where he preached. He also had a wonderful sense of humour.



I'm sure preaching where he preached was a neat experience. Having one of his books would be neat also.

I note that you mention his sense of humour. This is something I struggle with in teaching. I always worried about taking the seriousness of the moment away. Maybe I've read too much Finney. Looks again like I have a lot to learn. The frequency of this revelation has become staggering of late.

Thanks for sharing everyone!


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Robert Wurtz II

 2005/7/28 8:54Profile
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 Re: Did You Know? (32 amazing facts about spurgeon)

I don´t remember who said and is it this for Spurgeon? - that whenever he preached about hell there were tears in his eyes.

 2005/7/28 9:06Profile
_Disciple_
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 Re: Did You Know? (32 amazing facts about spurgeon)

Spurgeon had to preach one day in the Crystal Palace, so he went there the day before to test the sound was and how loud he would have to preach. The building in itself was not quite builded to held services, so to tested how it would sound.

So he would stand there and repeated a couple of times the verse "Behold The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!!"

and the person who was at work in that place, somewhere in that building heard those words and was converted a few days later, because the verse was planted in his heart.


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William

 2005/7/28 9:20Profile





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