Author: Sherry

The Plainly Written Truth of God

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, prayer, promises, salvation, Sovereignty of God, The Father Leave a comment

 …who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. – Romans 9:4,5

“Israel is my first-born,” says God…They had the first hold of all the spiritual gifts which the Lord bestowed upon the sons of men. They had, as it were, a monopoly of Light and Truth among them. The Jewish people had been singularly favored—they had seen God revealing His Son to them by types, by priests, by sacrifices, by the temple, by a thousand signs and marks. Verily the kingdom of God had come very near to them. But the privileges of the Jews were not greater than the privileges of men and women who hear the Gospel in these days, for Christ is not so well seen in bleeding bulls and rams and hyssop and scarlet wool as He is seen in the preaching of the Gospel! In the Gospel, God has torn the veil and made bare His heart to us in the Person of His dying Son.

You have no longer to search for the mind of God by mysterious hieroglyphs—it is written in plain letters and the wayfaring man, though a fool, need not err therein! You have but to hear it and with the exercise of an ordinary understanding, the letter of its meaning may be comprehended. And if there is a willing heart, no matter how small the capacity of the mind, there is intellect enough to receive the saving Truth of God! You do not now live in the moonlight of the Jewish dispensation, but you bask in the noontide sunlight of the Truth of God! God, who spoke to our fathers by the Prophets, has, in these last days, spoken to us by His Son who is the express image of His Person and the brightness of His Glory! “See that you refuse not Him that speaks.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1425.cfm

Plead for the Unsaved Nearest to You

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, prayer, salvation Leave a comment

For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites… – Romans 9:3,4

These people for whom Paul was in so much concern were his kinsfolk according to the flesh. It is well said that charity must begin at home, for he that does not care for his own household is worse than a heathen and a publican. He who does not desire the salvation of those who are his own kin, “how dwells the love of God in him?” Christianity is expansive—it makes the bosom glow with love to all that God has made—but, at the same time, our love does not expand so as to lose force, and this is seen when it turns its power towards those who are nearest home. Is your husband unsaved? O Woman, love him to Christ! Is your child unconverted? O Parent, pray that child to Christ! Are your neighbors still out of Christ? Lay them on your heart as an intercessor before God on their account—and cease not to plead till they are saved!

We may regard those for whom he prayed, in the next light, as persons of great privileges—a very important point. They had privileges by birth— “who are Israelites.” Many of you are highly favored. You are not Israelites, but you are the children of godly parents which is much the same thing…You have the privilege of being born in the midst of holy and gracious influences—an advantage not to be despised. If there are any people we ought to pray for above others, it seems to me they are the unconverted who live in the light but will not see—who have the bread of Heaven upon the table before them but will not eat—who have Free Grace and dying love sounding in their ears, but yet refuse the wondrous message of Grace! Beloved, let us not rest unless we feel a deep concern for those who stand on a par with Israelites, since they have the privilege of being born under a Christian roof. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1425.cfm

Paul’s Retaliation

Sherry Christian Life Leave a comment

For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh who are Israelites… – Romans 9:3,4

Who are these people for whom Paul was anxious beyond measure? To begin with, they were his worst enemies! The name of Paul brought the blood into the face of a Jew. He spat in rage. More than 40 of them had bound themselves with an oath that they would slay him (Acts 23:12-35) and the whole company of the circumcised seemed, wherever he went, to be moved by the same impulse. He frequently gathered large congregations of Gentiles who attended to him earnestly, but the Jews stirred up riots and mobs and, frequently, he was in danger of his life from them. They detested him, regarding him as an accursed apostate from the faith of his fathers…His generous retaliation was to pray for them—no, more—to carry the whole nation on his heart as a burden. “I have great heaviness,” says he, “and continual sorrow of heart for my kinsmen according to the flesh.” Now, if any of you, in following Christ, should meet with opposition, avenge it in the same way! Love most the man who treats you worst! If any man would kill you in his anger, kill him with your loving prayers. If he strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other, also, in submission and lift both hands and eyes to Heaven and cry, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do!”

Never let oppressors see your anger. They will observe your emotion and your grief and they will perceive that you are naturally vexed and troubled but let them also see that you bear them no malice and only desire their welfare. I commend this to those who have a hard fight for Christ in the workroom, in the midst of sneers and jests. Never use the devil’s weapons, though they lie very handy and look very suitable. Only use Christ’s Omnipotent weapon of love and so shall you be His disciples. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1425.cfm

Paul’s Conversion and His New Passion

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, repentance, salvation Leave a comment

“I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that I were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsman according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertains the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the Law, and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.”- Romans 9:1-5

Our first thought, after reading this passage, is, what a wonderfully tender and loving preacher Paul must have been. One of the early fathers was known to say that he wished he could have seen Solomon’s temple in its glory, Rome in its prosperity and Paul preaching! I think the last the grandest sight of the three! Oh, to have heard him speak! It might have shamed us into deeper tones of earnestness. Though, I suppose, his oratory was not very astonishing as mere rhetoric, for some said his speech was contemptible, yet it must have been wonderfully powerful upon the heart, for it abounded in sighs and tears and other tokens of evident emotion! Besides, his awful intensity of look and tone must have made his discourses irresistible! He would never have written as he has done in his Epistles if he had been one who could speak with icicles hanging about his lips. He must have spoken from a burning heart which shot forth red-hot bolts of fiery words! He poured his language out like lava from a volcano from the flaming furnace of his soul! His sentences burned their way into the hearts of those who heard him! Brother, if you are called to preach the Gospel, let Paul be your model! I reckon that we never preach aright unless we pour out our inmost soul! And unless we long and hunger and thirst for the conversion of our hearers, we might as well be in bed and asleep! We shall teach them to be indifferent if we, ourselves, are indifferent…. Commend me to the eloquence of Paul and to the oratory of his Master, for Paul was a great preacher because he caught his Master’s spirit and spoke in the manner of Him of whom they said of old, “Never man spoke like this Man.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1425.cfm

A Heart Changed

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, repentance, salvation Leave a comment

“I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that I were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsman according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertains the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the Law, and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.”- Romans 9:1-5

What an intense man Paul was! Once convince him and his whole nature moved in the direction which he judged to be right. He was whole-hearted when he persecuted the Church of God and he was equally whole-hearted when, afterwards, he labored with all his might to build up the Church which he had sought to destroy! What a change was worked in Saul of Tarsus, that he who was so ardent a persecutor should become so fervent a preacher! His conversion is one of the proofs of the Divinity of Christianity. When you remember what he was by nature, you will marvel at the extraordinary change of thought and feeling which was worked in him! He who was cruel to the saints, who gave his voice against Stephen and held the garments of those that stoned him, became tenderhearted as a nurse towards her child! Though his Jewish brethren terribly persecuted him and pursued him from city to city, there is not a trace of resentment in any word he writes! Rather, he is full of gentleness. The lion had become a lamb and he that breathed out threats breathed out prayers! He who seemed to burn with enmity became a flame of love! I would to God we were all as thorough-going in the service of our Lord! The pity is that so many professing Christians appear to have no heart, while others borrow a heart for some occasions but do not seem to keep one permanently beating in their own bosoms. O for a warm, engine-like heart all consecrated and forever pulsing mightily! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1425.cfm

God’s Will about The Future

Sherry sermon Leave a comment

You who are King of kings and Lord of lords, we worship You. Before Jehovah’s awful throne we bow with sacred joy.

Sermon Text

Do All for Him

Sherry Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises Leave a comment

Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. – Colossians 3:24

I beseech you, Brothers and Sisters, if you have any love, pour it out upon Him! If you have any faith exercise it for Him! If you have any courage, be bold for Him! If you have any endurance, endure hardness for Him! If you have any Grace, any virtue, any gift of His Spirit—anything that is lovely and of good repute—use it for Him! Now is the day, now is the hour, now His love puts in her claim and serves you with her sacred writs. By the espousals which you have not forgotten, by the Covenant which you have oft repeated with Him, by the seals of His table, by your burial with Him in Baptism in days gone by, I beseech you now bring forth all your pleasant things for your Beloved! None for anyone else, but all for Him!

I fear we often forget to do all for Him. I know if I preach a sermon and have any recollection that such-and-such a passage might please a learned or wealthy hearer, I have failed to please God. If I have any consideration in my mind as to whether I shall gain esteem for excellence of speech I am weak. But if I preach for Jesus only, then whoever finds fault it doesn’t matter because my work is sweet to Him. And if you pray in the Prayer Meeting, or teach in the class, or give your contribution to the Lord’s work—if you feel you have done it for HIM—oh, then you know you have done right because that is the point which sweetens all! I believe that many have stolen up to the offering-box and dropped in what they could give for the Lord’s sake, and none have known it, and therefore Christ has accepted it—while others may have given large sums ostentatiously because others of their standing were giving as much, and therefore they were not accepted. Put what you give into the pierced hands—make that your treasury! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1066.cfm