If you have your Bibles handy, please open to 2 Corinthians 4. I will make my way toward that verse shortly, though we will not start there. Happy Reformation Sunday. Yeah, technically, I guess tomorrow would be October 31st, Reformation Day, This is this is close enough and in light of this being Reformation Sunday, I will speak to a Reformation theme. I want to open up to us this morning the theme of Luther and the Reformation. A revival of preaching. Luther and the Reformation, a revival of preaching that will be the theme. It was. A truly great awakening. What God did in the 15th and 16th centuries. And much of what he did, he accomplished through the spoken word. Pray with me. Father. we rejoice in your goodness to us, that we live as those who have greatly benefited, both as a saved people with this rich heritage, and even as a nation from the mighty work that you did in the days of the Reformation. We want to rightly esteem those men, and much more than that, we want to walk in the very principles that were revived in that day. So help us this morning by your spirit to be those that both appreciate the Reformation and are always reforming ourselves. Help us not to be satisfied, but to live and dwell in things old things that will strengthen us, things that we will stand firm on, things that we will live by and even die by. I pray that You would bless this Word to us. And in a very real sense, ready us for the hour to come in which the scriptures will be opened and preached to us. Thank you for your faithfulness to this body. Thank you for giving us this time together today. Bless, keep, sanctify, and draw near to us. In Jesus' name, amen. So it was a great evil of that medieval period that the Word of God had been kept back from the people. You remember for approximately a thousand years what the church had was the Latin Vulgate, and the problem with that was that the common people didn't speak Latin, meaning they had no Bible. An ignorant populace was totally bought into the idea In the days of the pre-Reformation period, they were totally bought into the idea of sola ecclesia, the church alone, because they had been entirely cut off from even a meager diet of Scripture. The church then had become the seat of authority. Salvation was only in and through her. Popes and priests, security in the sacraments, It had all become a hollow religion instead of anything like until holy rigor. This was the disaster that existed leading up to the days of the Protestant Reformation. I'm reminded of Amos chapter 8 verse 11. Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will send a famine on the land. Not a famine of bread. Nor a thirst for water. But of hearing the words of the Lord. And this certainly marked the days of the pre-Reformation period. These were years of true biblical famine. So what does God do? What does he do in great mercy? He sends a mighty revival and reformation of preaching. And this is where Martin Luther enters God's story. It was his nailing of the 95 theses to the church door at Wittenberg that proved to be the shot heard around the world. Of the Protestant Reformation, The church historian Philip Schaff says the following, that next to the beginning of Christianity, the Reformation was, quote, the greatest event in human history. And what many scholars fail to realize, Philip Schaff doesn't fail, he recognizes this, but what so many scholars fail to realize is that the heartbeat of the Reformation consisted of preaching. The bold and unadulterated proclamation of the Word of God was at the very core of the Reformation. Martin Lloyd-Jones, 20th century, comments, quote, a revival of true preaching has always heralded the great movements in church history. Another church historian, E.C. Dargan, wrote, the great events and achievements of that mighty revolution were largely the work of preachers and preaching for it was by the word of God through the ministry of earnest men who believed loved and taught it that the best and most enduring work of the Reformation was done. And conversely, the events and principles of the movement powerfully reacted on preaching itself, giving it new spirit, new power, new forms, so that the relation between the Reformation and preaching may be succinctly described as one of mutual dependence, aid, and guidance. You see, during the Middle Ages, preachers were an exceedingly rare commodity. But when the dam burst open in the early days of the Protestant Reformation, there was, as John Broadus said, a great outpouring of preaching such as had not been since the early Christian centuries. And it was valiant men then, like Martin Luther, that God raised up to restore the primacy of the pulpit in the church and trumpet forth the truth of the gospel to a blind and wayward and ignorant people. Again, as E.C. Dargan explains it, quote, among the reformers, preaching resumes its proper place in worship. The exposition of scripture became the main thing. Preaching becomes more prominent in worship than it had been perhaps since the fourth century. Harold Grimm says the Protestant Reformation would not have even been possible without the sermon. The role of the sermon in making the Reformation a mass movement can scarcely be overestimated. Roland Bainton, the author of the great Luther biography, Here I Stand, he put it this way, the Reformation gave centrality to the sermon. The pulpit was now higher than the altar. Had it not been for the resurrection of true biblical preaching, who can say what the past 500 years would have looked like? Before men like Martin Luther began to open their mouths, the vast majority of pulpits across the globe were filled with something other than preachers. John Broaddus again describes this seismic shift. Instead of long and often fabulous stories about saints and martyrs and accounts of miracles, instead, it was passages of Aristotle and Seneca. But Reformation preachers preached the Bible. The question was not, what did the Pope say? And even the church fathers, though highly esteemed, they were not the decisive authority. It was the Bible. The preacher's calling was once again understood among Luther and the Reformers. Their one great task in ministry was to set forth the totality of the Word of God. Sola Scriptura was the cry of the Protestant Reformation, as well as Tota Scriptura, Scripture alone and all of Scripture. After centuries of apostasy and the heavy fist of the false Church of Rome, the full counsel of God was again being heralded by faithful men, Luther central among them. You see, Martin Luther was a true defender of the faith. He was bold and courageous when he stepped into the pulpit. His powerful preaching was born out of an undying commitment to Scripture, his deep convictions that the Bible was truly God's Word, and his passion for the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was Luther and the Reformers' commitment to true preaching that brought about genuine revival in both Germany and the European continent. It was Luther's powerful yet plain preaching that brought about genuine reformation. Again, the historian Philip Schaff said, in order to understand the genius and history of the German Reformation, we must trace its origin in the personal experience of the monk who shook the world from his lonely study in Wittenberg and made Pope and Emperor tremble at the power of his word. Of all the reformers, Philip Schaff says Luther is the first. He is so closely identified with the German Reformation that one would have no meaning without the other. So how God so used Martin Luther is our focus this morning. Some consider Luther to be not the most significant European figure in church history, but the most significant European figure in the last millennia. Think of that. Not just church history, but world history. Some refer to Luther as the German Hercules. It seems that in the new birth, when Luther became a genuine Christian, that he comes out of the spiritual womb running. He comes out of the spiritual womb as one ready for battle. So when you read his life, you see that when the conflict was the fiercest, Luther was his boldest. He was bold in prayer. He was bold as a professor in the university. He was bold as an author. Yet preeminently, he was most bold and shines brightest in the pulpit. As one historian, Fred Muser, comments, Martin Luther is famous as a reformer, theologian, professor, translator, prodigious author, and polemicist. He is well known as a hymn writer, musician, friend of students, mentor of pastors, and pastor to countless clergy and laity. Yet he saw himself chiefly as a preacher, end quote. Luther himself was gripped by this reality. Hear from his own mouth, quote, Christ himself wrote nothing, nor did he give command to write, but to preach orally. Well, if I had to name a theme verse for this morning's message, it would be 2 Corinthians 4 verse 13. I'll be reading it in the ESV. This is the Word of God. 2nd Corinthians 4. Verse 13, which says, since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, I believed and so I spoke. We also believe. And so we also speak. Brothers and sisters, what Luther came to see in Scripture, he wholeheartedly embraced. What he embraced as God's truth, he had to speak it. Much like the prophet Jeremiah in his day who said, if I say I will not mention him or speak any more in his name, there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones and I am weary with holding it in and I cannot. Luther was of the same spirit as Jeremiah. He simply could not contain himself as the word of God had come to him and he must proclaim it. Luther's cry can be heard simultaneous to the Apostle Paul's cry, woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. And preach he did. Most Sundays Martin Luther preached two to three times. 5 a.m. service, then again 9 a.m., and often an afternoon service as well. In addition to that, he usually preached another one to three times during the week. Both his work ethic and his preaching output is phenomenal. Between the years, the primary years of his preaching ministry, 1510 to 1546, a total of 36 years, he preached a staggering 7,000 sermons. Approximately 200 sermons a year, year after year after year. All of this was happening not in the comforts of his study, but in the midst of defying Pope and Emperor, in the midst of traveling to various disputations and conferences, not by Uber, and hiding out even as a wanted man in a secluded castle in Wartburg. What he said at the Diet of Worms on April 18, 1521 is so true of his life in ministry and y'all are familiar with what he said that day unless. I am convinced by the testimony of Scripture or by clear reason, for I do not trust either in Pope or councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves. I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted. and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. I cannot do otherwise. Here I stand. So help me, God. Amen." This is what marked the man's life. This was a man both captive to and captivated by the Word of God. So when he stepped into the pulpit, this reality bled through his preaching. With entire confidence in the Word of God, he would say things like this, quote, I simply taught, preached, and wrote God's Word. Otherwise, I did nothing. And while I slept, the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that no prince or emperor ever inflicted such losses upon it. I did nothing. The Word of God did everything." Luther's allegiance was to the divinely inspired Word. And though the modern terms like inerrancy or infallibility weren't used by Luther, it is clear that he saw all scripture as the perfect word of God. He would confess it this way, quote, the Holy Spirit is the author of this book. These words are God's scriptures and God's words. The Bible was the word exalted above all other words in Luther's mind. This is why he would rail against the papists' enemies saying, give me scripture, scripture, scripture. Do you hear me? Scripture. He clearly saw the Bible as the supreme authority for both the church and individual believers. And he preached in light of these things. Luther would say things like this, a good preacher invests everything in the word or we can spare everything except the word. He labored to know and understand God's word with a constant untiring effort to the word we must go to the word Luther went. He said, quote, studying is my work. This is the work God wants me to do, and if it pleases him, he will bless it. And God really blessed it. Of the intensity of his labor in the study, I want you to hear him talk about it. Quote, I would like to see the horseman who could sit still with me all day and look into a book. even if he had nothing else to care for, write, think about, or read. Ask a preacher whether writing and speaking is work. The pen is light, that is true. But in writing, the best part of the body, which is the head, and the noblest of the members, which is the tongue, and the highest faculty, which is the speech, must lay hold and work as never before. In other occupations, it is only the fist or the foot or the back or some other member that has to work. And while they are at it, they can sing or jest, which the writer cannot do. They say of writing that it only takes three fingers to do it. but the whole body and soul is at work too. He just loved to study and come to know the truths of scripture. Thomas Pattison wrote of Luther, quote, his love of scriptures made Luther a great biblical preacher because Luther was hungry for the scriptures himself as one who had been long deprived of necessary food. Church historian Jaroslav Pelikan put it, Luther was so saturated with the language and thought of the Bible that he often quoted it without even being conscious of it. Of his own intake of scripture, Luther wrote, quote, for some years now, I have read through the Bible twice every year. If you picture the Bible to be a mighty tree and every word a little branch, I have shaken every one of these branches because I wanted to know what it meant and what it said." It seems clear that Luther's power in the pulpit was directly connected to his devotion and devouring of Scripture. He said at one point, the best preacher is the man who is best acquainted with his Bible. who has it not only in his memory and in his mind, but who understands its true meaning and can handle it with effect. And yet on numerous occasions, Luther would confess that his study really wasn't the key to his learning, but rather the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit was the one thing necessary. We see this in his conversion, of course, in that tower experience, which I won't rabbit trail into, but it marked his life, the reality of the Holy Spirit as the ultimate instructor. He'd say things like, quote, no one can correctly understand God or his word unless he has received such understanding directly from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit instructs us as in his own school, outside of which nothing is learned besides empty words and prattle. His entire ministerial career was marked by his spirit-worked devotion to the Bible alone. And so it was that the fruit of his labors was powerfully exercised throughout his pulpit ministry. Martin Luther was a word-centered preacher through and through. And we can see in the fruit of his faithful pulpit ministry the reality that God does honor those preachers who most honor his word. So let's take a brief look at Luther's aims in preaching, this revival of preaching in the days of the Reformation. The very aims that we also see, not just in Luther, but men like Calvin and Zwingli and Knox and Butzer. I want you to see seven critical characteristics of Reformation preaching, and we're going to move quickly through these characteristics seemingly brought from death to life in the days of Lutheran, the reformers. Seven characteristics of Reformation preaching. This revival of true pulpit ministry brought forth preaching that is number one, textual. Number two, Christ centered. Number three, gospel focused. Number four, simple. Number five, passionate. Number six, pleading. And number seven, bold. Textual, Christ-centered, gospel focused, simple, passionate, pleading, and bold. Let's start with the word. Reformation preaching was textual. Luther said, quote, it is disgraceful for the lawyer to desert his brief. It's even more disgraceful for the preacher to desert his text. He went on to say that in preaching, I take pains to treat a verse of scripture, to stick to it, and so instruct the people so that they can say, this is what the sermon was all about. in his sermon preparation, he would identify what he called herzpunkt, or heart point, the central meaning of the text that he was working through. And according to the practice of Lectio Continua, this continual exposition of consecutive verses or passages of scripture, Luther just systematically worked through book after book after book in the Bible. Over the course of his ministry, he preached through the following books of the Bible, start to finish. Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, 2 Samuel, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Acts, you see a gap here, I'll explain in a moment. Acts, Romans, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1st Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, 1st Peter, and 1st John. He covered a lot of territory over those 36 years, didn't he? Typically, when preaching a sermon, he would handle no more than three to five verses at a time. In addition to those books of the Bible, what was the glaring gap? The Gospels. In addition to those books, he spent significant time in the Gospels, though he never preached from chapter one to the end in any of the four Gospels. But he spent significant time there, preaching through vast sections of them, verse by verse. In the Synoptic Gospels alone, Matthew, Mark, Luke, Luther preached more than 1,000 sermons out of that 7,000 number I already gave you. It seems that John's gospel was likely his favorite. There are hundreds of sermons that Luther preached from John's gospel alone. During 1531, 1532, an 18-month period, Luther spent those months preaching through John chapters 6, 7, and 8. Eighteen months in those three chapters. While many remember Luther for his preaching and commenting upon Paul's epistles, he's so famous for his commentary on Romans or Galatians, it seemed that he really loved to spend his time in the Gospels themselves, just loving and being enraptured by the life and ministry of Christ that's presented there. But brothers and sisters, he was fundamentally a preacher of the text. He just stuck to the text. To preachers, he would exhort them to either preach the word of God or shut your mouth. He just had no patience with those that preached something other than the word. It's the word of God that was needed in the pulpit then. It's the word of God that is needed in the pulpit now. we need nothing of the imaginations or creative thoughts of men." Reformation preaching was textual. Two, Reformation preaching was Christ-centered. Luther said, the preacher has no other office than to preach the clear Son, S-U-N, Christ. Let them take care that they preach thus or let them be silent. In the very last sermon that Luther preached in his life, February 14, 1546, he's preaching in Eisleben. He's preaching on the text of Matthew 11, 25 through 30. That's quite a text to finish on. This is the gentle and lowly Christ. Come unto me, all who labor and are heavy laden. And here's what he said in the midst of that sermon. The hearers must say, We do not believe our pastor unless he tells us of another master, one named Christ. To Christ he directs us. What Christ's lips we shall heed. And we shall heed our pastor insofar as he directs us to his true master and teacher, the Son of God." End quote. You see, for Luther, Christ was key and the cross was central. Everything centered on Christ, everything terminated on Christ. Reformation preaching was Christ-centered. Third, Reformation preaching was gospel-focused. Luther could magnify the cross with the best of them. He said, in the midst of a sermon, quote, it is not enough or in any sense to preach the works, life, and words of Christ as historical facts, as if the knowledge of these would suffice. Rather, ought Christ to be preached that faith in him may be established and that he may not only be Christ, but be Christ for you and me. and that what is said of him and denoted in his name may be effectual in us. Such faith is produced and preserved by preaching why Christ came, what he brought and bestowed, what benefit it is to us to accept him. This was the man preeminently used of God to sound forth the trumpet of justification by faith, the material principle of the Reformation. This was Luther's great breakthrough in that tower experience. Luther was saturated. With the gospel, the language of the gospel, he was saturated with the doctrines of grace. The man that would beat himself on the back was now a man enthralled by saving grace. He had peace with God and he wanted others to know peace with God. And so this was what he trumpeted in whatever pulpit he stood in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Though the gospel had never at any point in human history been entirely vanquished. In Luther's day, true gospel preaching really did seem to be on life support. It's so remarkable then what God did through men like him to revive even almost resurrect true gospel preaching. That's how God used Luther, to herald this gospel message loud and clear. And for so many, countless multitudes, it would change everything. Reformation preaching was gospel-focused. For Reformation preaching was simple. One of my favorite preachers of all time is J.C. Ryle. As the men heard at the retreat, he has this small booklet Yeah, you could read it online as well in PDF form for free, but the booklet is titled Simplicity in Preaching, and I have no doubt that it is a booklet that Luther would have thoroughly appreciated and enjoyed. Because for Luther and for the Reformers in general, preaching had to be simple. It had to be digestible to the common man, even the children among the congregation. This was a critical point for them. Luther would say to preach plainly and simply is a great art. Again, historian E.C. Dargan commented, Luther thought with the learned, but he also thought and talked with his people. His style of speech was clear to the people, warm with life and sentiment and vigorous with the robust nature of the man himself. Again, John brought us wrote Luther, gloried in being a preacher to the common people. Luther described his own preaching like this quote when I preach. I regard in either doctors or masters, but I have an eye for the multitude of young people, children and servants of which there are more than 2000. I preach to them. I direct my discourse to those who have need of it. You see, he felt a special burden for the common man, the overlooked, the unlearned and in likeness to his master. When Luther saw the multitudes seated before him, he felt compassion for them. Because they were like sheep without a shepherd. For Martin Luther to preach in a clear and plain and simple way was to preach like Jesus Christ. This was the kind of preaching that God so blessed throughout the Protestant Reformation. This is our heritage, beloved. The language of the sermon was familiar, the force of the sermon was felt, and the fruit of the sermon was unto everlasting life. Reformation preaching was simple. It was also passionate. Number five, Reformation preaching was passionate. It's evident that Luther's sermons were powerful, both in their content and in the delivery. He preached with the aim to stir up his hearers to action, not merely to inform their minds. One writer said of Luther that he possessed, quote, a lively and impetuous eloquence by which he was delighted and by which he captivated his hearers. His preaching was considered by another author to be strong and manly. John Bratis said this, Luther is a notable example of the intense personality in preaching. He was indeed an imperial personality. They who heard him were not only listening to truth, but they felt the man. Philip Schaffigan succinctly states that Luther was a son of thunder. the like of whom Germany never heard before or since. So when Luther entered the pulpit, he entered it with his whole heart, his whole being, not only as a theologian, but as a doctor of souls that would do good to men. The passion that poured forth in his preaching was just the overflow of the man himself. He thought deeply and he felt strongly, and so he couldn't help but preach with passion and zeal. It evidences Luther's own sentiment, quote, the gospel should not be written. It should be streamed, end quote. Reformation preaching, was passionate. Six, the Reformation preaching was pleading. And by pleading, I mean Reformation preaching, generally speaking, called for an immediate response. It called for action. It wasn't merely doctrine and teaching, but it was application and calls to action. Hughes Oliphant Old took note of Luther's evangelistic appeals and said, quote, for the reformer of Wittenberg, faith is nothing less than taking to one's heart the promises of the gospel and then building one's life upon them. It requires response. It's powerful, prophetic, pleading preaching. that moves men toward Christ or away from Christ. One or the other, you're not gonna stand still. And Luther habitually sought to compel men, to verbally compel men and call men to come to Christ. Here's just one example from one of Luther's sermons. Quote, it is extremely important that we know where our sins have been disposed of. The law deposits them on our conscience and shoves them into our bosom. But God takes them from us and places them on the shoulders of the Lamb. If sin rested on me, I would be lost, for it is too strong and too burdensome. God says, I know that your sin is unbearable for you. Therefore, behold, I will lay it upon my Lamb. I will relieve you of it. Believe this, He says. If you do, you are delivered from your sin. There are only two abodes for sin. Either it resides in you, weighing you down, or it lies on Christ, the Lamb of God. If it is loaded on your back, you are lost. But if it rests on Christ, you are free and saved. Now make your choice. That's what he says. Now make your choice. You see, Luther. Wasn't concerned about having the applause of men. He wanted to win people to Christ. So with all his energy, he labored in preaching to call people to the faith to call people to repentance to bring souls to God. Reformation preaching was pleading preaching. Lastly, 7th Reformation preaching was bold. Bold. This is where we're going to begin to wrap up. Not only, and this is how we often remember Luther, being so against Rome. Not only was he courageous in pushing back against the false church and false doctrine, but he was a man bold in gospel proclamation. This means that Luther and others like him, other reformers, entered the pulpit and held nothing back, even if it meant their death. Cowardice is not becoming of a reformer. Luther himself contended that he, quote, would go through iron mountains and adversities of every kind with a fearless and invincible heart. That's what he said of himself. Listen to Luther. as he spoke of fearless preaching. Quote, a preacher should also open his mouth vigorously and confidently to preach the truth that has been entrusted to him. He should not be silent, he should not mumble, but testify without being frightened or bashful. He should speak out candidly without regarding or sparing anyone. Let it strike whomever or wherever it will. It's a great hindrance to a preacher if he looks around and worries about what people like or do not like to hear, or what might make him unpopular or bring harm or danger upon him. As he stands high on a mountain in a public place and looks around freely, so he should also speak freely and fear no one, though he sees many kinds of people and many faces. Luther's Boldness was born out of two crucial truths. First, God had promised in the Scriptures to be with him. Joshua 19 have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Or Christ himself in the New Testament, of course, behold. I am with you. Martin Luther. Philip Neely. Even to the end of the age. So Luther writes. When I am all alone. Therefore, I am still not alone. Because I have the Word of God. I have Christ with me together with all the dear angels and all the Saints since the beginning of the world. But secondly, Jesus had promised to build this church. Matthew 16, 18, Jesus said to his disciples, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And Luther held this truth near and dear to his heart, that Christ was really a capable Christ, that he would do what he said he would do. So Luther could say, you papists will never accomplish what you intend. Do whatever you will. To this gospel, which I, Martin Luther, have preached, popes, bishops, monks, kings, princes, devil, death, sin, and everything that is not Christ and in Christ will give way. They shall be subdued by the gospel. Martin Luther was just courageous by the grace of God, both in and out of the pulpit. Courageous as a wanted man, courageous as a man with numerous enemies, people that wanted him dead. He was courageous by the power of the Spirit of God in him. He was a man that did not count his life as precious to himself. It was all for Christ with Martin Luther. He says, burn me if you can and dare. Here I am. Do your worst upon me. Scatter my ashes to all the winds. Spread them through all the seas. My spirit shall pursue you still. Luther shall leave you neither place nor rest till he has crushed in your brows of brass and dashed out your iron brains." That sounds kind of violent, doesn't it? It was this kind of boldness. Think what you will of what he said. that was willing to confront and defy tyrants, both governmental and ecclesiastical. As a gospel minister, he saw himself not just as a shepherd, but a soldier. And much like the workers in Nehemiah's day, rebuilding the wall with one hand, carrying a weapon in the other, Luther was willing to fight. Whatever faithfulness would cost him, He was willing to fight. He was willing to embrace that cost, not just at the Diet of Worms, but in all of his life. He once wrote, quote, from the year of our Lord 1518 to the present time, every Maundy Thursday at Rome, I have been by the Pope excommunicated and cast into hell, yet I still live. This is the honor and crown we must expect to have in this world. On another occasion, he said this, I am rough, boisterous, stormy, and altogether warlike, fighting against innumerable monsters and devils. I am born for the removing of stumps and stones, cutting away thistles and thorns, and clearing wild forests." This is what he did. This was who he was. And it's with this understanding that Luther, year after year after year, marched forward, preaching a powerful gospel with great effect. He understood his calling and then courageously gave himself to it, holding nothing back. Two quotes in closing. First, how Luther saw the Great Commission, Matthew 28. Quote, this is Christ's commission. Go therefore, just go on preaching. Do not worry about who will listen. Let me worry about that. The world will be against you. Do not let that trouble you. Nevertheless, there will be those who listen to you and follow. You do not know them now, but I know them already. You preach and let me manage." Second, I'll close with a plea from Spurgeon for Luther-like preachers in his day and in our day. We want again Luther's, Calvin's, Bunyan's, Whitfield's, men fit to mark eras, whose names breathe terror into our foes' ears. We have dire need of such. When will they come to us? They are the gifts of Jesus Christ to his church and will come in due time. He has power to give us back again a golden age of preachers. And when the good old truth is once more preached by men's lips who are touched as with a live coal from off the altar, this shall be the instrument in the hand of the Spirit for bringing about a great and thorough revival of religion in the land. I do not look for any other means of converting men beyond the simple preaching of the gospel and the opening of men's ears to hear it. The moment the church of God shall despise the pulpit, God will despise her. It has been through the ministry that the Lord has always been pleased to revive and bless His church. May the Lord send us more. Luther's. Amen. I'll pray father. What you have done? Through men you possessed and used. Is to our benefit today. Help us not. to merely drift in the wind and stir that they have created, but to run with you ourselves, to have the kind of boldness and courage and confidence in our Christ and in this powerful gospel that Luther and Calvin and men like them had. Oh, Lord, build up your church, not only in number, but in strength and maturity and courage, that we could fight in this evil day, that we could see battles won See your kingdom come. See your church built up and established. More and more outposts. More and more that are being born again. Use us, O God, in our day. For your name's sake, in Jesus' name, amen.