Bible Dictionaries
Spirit of God: the Fire From Heaven

Spurgeon's Illustration Collection


Suppose we saw an army sitting down before a granite fort, and they told us that they intended to batter it down, we might ask them, 'How!' They point to a cannon ball. Well, but there is no power in that; it is heavy, but not more than half-a-hundred or perhaps a hundredweight; if all the men in the army hurled it against the fort they would make no impression. They say, 'No, but look at the cannon!' Well, but there is no power in that. A child may ride upon it; a bird may perch in its mouth. It is a machine, and nothing more. 'But look at the powder.' Well, there is no power in that; a child may spill it; a sparrow may peck it. Yet this powerless powder and powerless ball are put in the powerless cannon: one spark of fire enters it, and then, in the twinkling of an eye, that powder is a Rash of lightning, and that cannon ball is a thunderbolt which smites as if it had been sent from heaven.


So is it with our church or school machinery of this day; we have the instruments necessary for pulling down strongholds, but O for the fire from heaven!


Bibliography Information
Spurgeon, Charles. Entry for 'Spirit of God: the Fire From Heaven'. Spurgeon's Illustration Collection. https://www.studylight.org/​dictionaries/​eng/​fff/​s/spirit-of-god-the-fire-from-heaven.html. 1870.