Ships Need Wind, Coal Needs Fire

As we look toward launching a new gospel mission later this year, I am energized by words of Charles Spurgeon, a preaching with amazing speaking gifts, "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." As someone who has longed for great gifts, I now realize how withered and useless I have been through much of my preaching ministry. I am so glad for Spurgeon sharing his secret. The power was not to be found in his great gifts, but in his great God. And if he needed the empowering of the Holy Spirit, man, how much more do it need it—and not just in preaching, but in every facet of living the implications of the gospel as a follower of Jesus. So give me the wind and the fire... of the Spirit.