So Bright is Our Prospect

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. – 1 Corinthians 2:9

The ungodly man’s look-out is dark and dreary: when he dares open the window and look, what seeth he? Come hither, come hither, ungodly man, I must take thee to the battlements of thine house and bid thee look abroad. What seest thou? Ah, he closes his eyes and refuses to look, for he sees a river, the name of which is Death, and he seeth that the waves are black and foaming with the wrath of God. Look, sir, look, I pray you, for to close your eyes upon it will not dry it up. And see you what is beyond that river? Ah, he dares not think for after death to him cometh hell and the wrath of God. O man, look, I beseech thee, look, for it will be thy portion except thou relent and fly to Christ for mercy. But no, he covers his eyes, and gets him back to his gaieties, for he cannot bear to look at what will surely be his portion. But come, thou Christian, thou who hast washed thy robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb; what seest thou? Suppose it should be thy lot to die before the Master comes in the Second Advent, what seest thou? “I see,” saith he, “but a couch whereon I recline and close mine eyes on earth to open them in heaven; I see angels waiting round that bed, and the Master, the Lord of life, ready to receive my spirit.” “What next do you see?” “Nay, I cannot tell you, for my eyes are dazzled with the glory, and my tongue is not able to describe what God revealeth to His children by His Spirit; but there is the never-ending glory, for ever with the Lord, the rest that knows no fear, the Sabbath without end.” Oh, the glory, the glory that lasteth on for aye in the presence of the Master whom we have served, and the Father who hath loved us of old! This is your prospect now; and brethren, as your prospect is so bright, I beseech you do ye more than others. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1029.cfm

God is Yours

…and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people -Hebrews 8:10

…the poorest Christian possesses more than the richest unbeliever. You shall set before me now the pauper who is a believer, and the emperor who has no faith in Christ, and I am persuaded that the poor, aged pauper would not exchange her lot though the imperial purple should be offered her. She would refuse to leave her Savior though the world were offered her. While the poor believer feels that his God is his portion he despises rather than covets the glories of the world. Brethren in Christ, you know right well that you possess the covenant of grace, a covenant rich beyond comparison…More than that, you have Christ in the covenant, and Christ is all. All the glories of His immaculate manhood and His infinite Godhead, and all His merits, and all His conquests, and all His glories, all are yours, seeing you are His. And what is most of all, God is yours. “I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people.” And having God to be your God, Providence is yours-all things work together for your good. Life’s goods are yours and so are its ills; this world is yours and worlds beyond the river; time and eternity, things present and things to come, life and death, all are yours. And yet no good thing was yours by natural inheritance…they are all the gifts of the sovereign grace of God. Brethren, we are all debtors: who shall tell how much we owe?

Depths of mercy, that I, a sinner, should ever have a hope of heaven, but oh, heights of mercy! that I should be adopted into the family of God, and made a joint heir with Christ Jesus of all the heritage of the Firstborn of God; to have all that God is, and all that God has, to be the portion of my cup, this is grace indeed! My cup runneth over! Bless the Lord, O my soul!  ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1029.cfm

Omnipotence Doth Gird Us

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. -Matthew 5:48

(W)hat is the indwelling Spirit within us? Is He not Omnipotence Himself? The Holy Ghost who has come upon us is no influence which might be limited in its efficacy; but He is a divine person, who dwelleth with us and shall be in us. Who shall set any limit to the power of that man in whom the Holy Ghost Himself dwells? All believers must never dare to say, “That habit we cannot give up.” We can and must overturn all the idols in our hearts. We may never say, “That height of devotion I can never reach.” Brethren, Omnipotence doth gird us; God giveth us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord. We are never to sit down and say, “I must be a sinner up to such-and-such a point; I cannot get beyond that attainment.” What saith the Scripture? “Be ye perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect;” after this perfection we are to strain, and towards this mark of our high calling we are to press. God who dwells in us is working in us daily to will and to do according to His own good pleasure, so that we can do what the dead sinner cannot do; we can do what sinners, without the Spirit, cannot do; and, if we can, we must. Surely, it is required of a man according to what he hath, and where much is given much will be required. Let us take care that we quench not the Spirit, that by our unbelief we restrain not His divine energies; but let us strive, God striving in us, after the highest conceivable standard of holiness and of separation from the world. O Spirit of God, do Thou help us that we may be sanctified by Thy grace in spirit, soul, and body. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1029.cfm

Our Holy Conversation

But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation -1 Peter 1:15

According as ye have received so will love suggest to you to render. Can any holiness be too precise in return for the infinite love which has been bestowed upon you from before the foundation of the world? Can any service be too hard to repay the suffering which your Savior bore for your redemption? Can any self-denial be too severe to prove that the Holy Spirit in you has subdued your flesh and overcome your corruptions? I say the argument appeals to your love: I will not utter it in legal tones lest you should think you hear the whip of the law behind me, but even the Master Himself would put it to you thus, “Inasmuch as I have loved you thus, and have redeemed you with such a price, and have begotten you unto Myself by the power of My Spirit, what manner of people ought ye to be in all holy conversation?” What must be expected from those so signally distinguished by the sovereign grace of God?

Again, it is certain that true Christians can do more than others. “Can,” saith one, “why, they can do nothing.” True, but through Christ that strengtheneth them they can do all things; and Christ does strengthen His people. I admit their weakness, I admit, nay, I mourn and experimentally lament, in my own person, their feebleness; but, for all that, they are strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Jesus Christ lends to them His conquering energy, and, as His blood has overcome the enemy, they overcome through the blood of the Lamb. God has given them His Son, and in the power of Jesus they can and must vanquish sin. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1029.cfm

Complete in the Beloved

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans 8:1

Dear brethren, you and I, if we are believers in Christ, are this day completely pardoned. There is no sin in God’s book against us. We are wholly and completely justified. The righteousness of Jesus Christ covers us from head to foot, and we stand before God as if we had never sinned. Now let no man rob you of this reward. Do not be tempted by anything that is said to doubt the completeness of a believer in Christ. Hold this, and, as you hold it, enjoy it. Do not let the man,  yourself, whom you have most to fear, beguile you. Even though conscience should upbraid you, and you should have many grave reasons for doubt, as you imagine, yet if you believe in Jesus, stand to it- “There is, therefore, now no condemnation to me, for I am in Christ Jesus; he that believeth on Him is not condemned; I have believed, and I am not condemned, neither will He permit condemnation to be thundered against me, for Christ has borne my sin for me, and I am clear in Him. Let no man beguile you of the reward of feeling that you are complete in Christ. Not only are you pardoned and safe in Christ, but you are accepted at this moment, in the Beloved. Your acceptance with God does not rest upon anything in you. You are accepted because you are in Christ, accepted for Christ’s sake. Now sometimes you will get robbed of this reward if you listen to the voice which says, “Why, there is sin in you still; your prayers are imperfect; your actions are stained.” Yes, but let no man beguile you of this conviction that, sinner as you are, you are still accepted in Christ Jesus. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3466.cfm

Walk in Holy Confidence

Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD. -Psalm 4:5

If you put your trust in Jesus Christ, there are some who will say it is presumption. Let them say it is presumption. “Wisdom is justified of all her children,” and so shall faith be. If you take the promise of God and rest upon it, there will be some who will say that you are hare-brained fanatics. Let them say it. They that trust in Him shall never be confounded. The result will honour your faith. You have but to wait a little while, and, perhaps, they that now censure you will have to hold up their hands in astonishment, and say with you, “What hath God wrought?” Your confidence in Christ, especially, my dear young friend, I trust does not depend upon the smile of your relatives. If it did, then their frown might crush it. Walk with your Saviour in the lowly walk of holy confidence, and let not your faith rest in man, but in the smile of God… Men will always give as bad a reason as they can for a good man’s actions. It seems to be innate in human nature never to give a man credit for being right if they can help it, and often tender minds have been greatly wounded when they have been misrepresented, and their actions have been imputed to sinister and selfish motives, when they have really desired to serve Christ. But do not let your heart be broken about that. You will appear before the judgment-seat of Christ: do not care about these petty judgment-seats of men. Go on with your Master’s work dauntlessly and fearlessly. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3466.cfm

The City of an Abiding Happiness

…for He hath prepared for them a city. -Hebrews 11:16

I delight to preach a free gospel, and to preach it to every creature under heaven; but we must never forget the speciality-“He hath prepared for them a city.” That is, for such as are strangers and foreigners, for such as have faith, and therefore have left the world and gone out to follow Christ. He hath prepared for them, not for all of you, but only for such as He has prepared for the city, has He prepared the city. But note what it is. It is a city, which indicates, first, an abiding happiness. They dwelt in tents-Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but He has prepared for them a city. Here we are tent-dwellers, but the tent is soon to be taken down. “We know that this earthly house of our tent shall be dissolved, but we have a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens.” “He hath prepared for them a city.” A city is a place of social joy. In a lonely hamlet one has little company, but in a city much. There all the inhabitants shall be united in one glorious brotherhood-the true Communism; Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity, in the highest possible degree. There shall be delightful intercourse. “He hath prepared for them a city.” It is a city, too, for dignity. To be a burgess of the City of London is thought to be a great honour, and upon princes is it sometimes conferred; but we shall have the highest honour that can be given when we shall be citizens of the city which God has prepared. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3478.cfm