If you lived 150 years ago in England you would. He is Charles Haddon Spurgeon, a man who became one of God’s most powerful and prolific preachers of all times. Born on June 19, 1834, many have declared Spurgeon to be the greatest preacher since the apostle Paul.

Spurgeon’s grandfather was a pastor of a church that had only four pastors in 200 years. When Spurgeon was only seven he was a good reader and spent many hours in his grandfather’s library and in the discussion of spiritual matters with his grandfather and those who would visit his home.

Converted at age 16, following he joined a Baptist church by baptism.
As a teenager of 18, Spurgeon pastored his first church.
At age 20 be began pastoring what became the Metropolitan Baptist Tabernacle, which grew from a small deteriorating church in south London to a congregation of thousands, their building seating 6,000. So many came to hear him the people had to secure tickets two and three weeks in advance. Often he would ask his church members to stay at home so visitors could find room in the church services to hear the gospel.

On October 19, 1856 he preached for the first time in the Music Hall of the Royal Surrey Gardens. The crowd far exceeded the 10,000 seating capacity. Someone shouted, “Fire!” and there was great panic in parts of the building. Seven people were killed in the stampede and scores were injured. Spurgeon later said, “Perhaps never soul went so near the burning furnace of insanity, and yet came away unharmed.”

Spurgeon once addressed an audience of more than 23,000 without a microphone or any mechanical amplification.

Spurgeon began a pastors’ college that trained nearly 900 students during his lifetime --- and it continues today.

By the time of his death in 1892 at the age of 58 he had published more than 2,000 sermons and 49 volumes of commentaries, devotional guides and other Christian literature. During his lifetime, Spurgeon is estimated to have preached to 10,000,000 people.

One of the important and interesting things about people who have been greatly used of God is to hear their testimony of salvation.

Charles Spurgeon tells of his searching for God as a young lad in London. For five years, he wandered from place to place seeking someone who could give him a word of assurance. He said he did not so much fear the wrath of God as he feared sin itself for what it was. He said, “If some preacher had told me to bare my back and with fifty lashes would earn eternal life, I would have instantly ripped the shirt from my back and said, ‘Do your worst. Spare not the rod if it will bring peace to my troubled soul.’ If they had told me to run a hundred miles barefooted, I would have started off immediately, if I could have gained eternal life. But to trust in Christ, rest upon His finished work, simply by faith take hold of Him, do nothing except believe and receive, this I knew not how to get hold of at all.”

In the book, Life and Work of Spurgeon, published in 1890, Mr. Spurgeon gives his own personal account of his conversion.

“I sometimes think I might have been in darkness and despair now, had it not been for the goodness of God in sending a snowstorm one Sunday morning, when I was going to a place of worship. When I could go no further, I turned down a court and came to a little Primitive Methodist chapel. In that chapel there might be a dozen or fifteen people. The minister did not come that morning; snowed up, I suppose. A poor man, a shoemaker, a tailor, or something of that sort, went into the pulpit to preacher.

This poor man was obliged to stick to his text, for the simple reason that he had nothing else to say. The text was, “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.” He did not even pronounce the words rightly, but that did not matter.

There was, I thought, a glimpse of hope for me in the text. He began thus: “My dear friends, this is a very simple text indeed. It says, ‘Look.’ Now that does not take a great deal of effort. It ain’t lifting your foot or finger; it is just ‘look.’ Well, a man need not go to college to look. You may be the biggest fool, and yet can look. A man need not be worth a thousand a year to look. Anyone can look: a child can look. But this is what the text says, “look unto me.’ Many look to themselves. No use looking there. You’ll never find comfort in yourself. Some one look to God the Father. Not look to Him by and by. Jesus Christ says, ‘Look unto me.’

When he had gotten about that length and managed to spin out ten minutes or so, he was at the length of his tether. Then he looked at me under the gallery, and I dare say, with so few present, he knew me to be a stranger. He then said, ‘Young man, you look so miserable.” Well, I did; but I had not been accustomed to having remarks made on my personal appearance from the pulpit before. However, it was a good blow struck. He continued,‘And you will always be miserable --- miserable in life and miserable in death --- if you do not obey my text. But if you obey, now, this moment, you will be saved.”

Then he shouted, ‘Young man, look to Jesus Christ; look now.’ I did look to Jesus Christ. I looked until I could have looked my eyes away; and in heaven I will look still, in joy unutterable.

There and then the cloud was gone; the darkness had rolled away, and that moment I saw the sun. I could have risen that moment and sung with the most enthusiastic of them of the precious blood of Christ, and the simple faith which looks alone to Him. Oh, that somebody had told me that before --— look unto Christ and you shall be saved.”

There are many people, like Mr. Spurgeon, who have been raised by godly parents, attend church regularly, yet they never fully understand how to be saved, they never get a mental grasp of the gospel to the saving of their souls. For this reason, I want to preach a clear salvation message using the single scripture that Charles Spurgeon heard the day he was saved --— Isaiah 45:22.

The impromptu preacher was Robert England, a deacon. He had walked six miles to that church that morning --— in the snow. Thank God Robert England didn’t stay home that morning. Robert England had never preached before, but he preached that morning. And thank God Robert England didn’t preach on “How to be up when the weather is down” or “How to glow in the snow.” Thank God, he preached the gospel, the old, old story and Jesus and His love.

“Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none other.”

The Source of Salvation. “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the end of the earth: for I AM GOD, and there is none else.” Allow me to say this so clearly—there is only one Savior and His name is Jesus Christ! This scripture does not say, “Look to a church” or “Look to a good life,” or “Look to baptism.,” or “Look to a religion.”

One becomes a Christian because of what he has, not because of what he does. How does one become a millionaire? By having a million dollars. How does one become a Christian? By having Christ. “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life,” 1 John 5:12.

Suppose you were to stand before God and He were to ask you, “Why should I let you into my heaven?” I wouldn’t say, “I’ve been preaching for 41 years; pastor of Baptist churches for 38 years; author of many Bible study books; been baptized in water over my head.“ No, I would answer, “Jesus is my only hope of heaven.” The old hymn says,
“My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.”

2. The Scope of Salvation. “Look unto me, and be ye saved, ALL THE ENDS OF THE EARTH: for I Am God, and there is none else.”

I love what I do for many reasons, but one major one is everybody is not just a suspect, but a prospect --- everybody needs what I have to offer them in the gospel. If I were selling refrigerators there might be an Eskimo that didn’t need one.

All men are sinners. “For all have sinned,” (Romans 3:23) so all need to be saved.

Christ died for all men. . . . “He by the grace of God should taste death for every man,” Hebrews 2:9. “And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our’s only, but also for the sins of the whole world,” 1 John 2:1. “For God so loved the world…” John 3:16.

Salvation is also for all men. God is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance,” 2 Peter 3:9. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest,” Matthew 11:28. “Come...come...come...and whosoever will let him take the water of life freely,” Revelation 22:17.

You may have left God out of your plans, but He didn’t leave you out of His plans. The death of Christ is sufficient for all, but is efficient only to those who believe.

3. The Simplicity of Salvation. “LOOK unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I Am God, and there is none else.” This is where most people stumble. We feel that something so wonderful can not be obtained so easily. “LOOK unto me . . . and be ye saved.”

Not…Turn over a new leaf….Keep the Ten Commandments….Promise to do better.

Salvation does not depend on our living, but simply on our looking!

“Look” does not just mean to admit to the historical reality of Jesus Christ as a fact.

“Look” means to…Depend on Me. Trust in Me. Rely on me.

4. The Security of Salvation. “Look unto me, and be ye SAVED, all the ends of the earth: for I Am God, and there is none else.”

A sweet word. “Saved.”

A Scriptural word.

“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost,” Luke 19:10. “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to saved sinners; of whom I am chief,” 1 Timothy 1:15. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved,” Romans 10:9. It was the Philippians jailer who asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Acts 16:30. A serious word. Someone who is saved is saved from something.

Imagine you are swimming; your legs begin to cramp; you are in deep, deep water; you begin to sink; someone comes along and saves you . . . you are saved from drowning.

Imagine you are enjoying an evening at home reading a book; you smell something; your neighbor knocks on your door and then rushes in uninvited; and brings you out of your burning house . . . you are saved from burning to death.

As unpleasant as it is, people need to be saved from hell. Hell is an actual place, where those who are not saved will be for eternity. It is a place of everlasting fire and torment. People who are saved are saved from hell.

And someone who is saved is saved to something. Those who “look” are saved to eternal life.