Christian Life

With the Lord’s Presence We Can Do It

Sherry Attributes of God, Christian Life, promises, salvation, Sovereignty of God, The Holy Spirit 2 Comments

Is not the LORD your God with you? – 1 Chronicles 22:18

We are engaged in the building of a temple, in a spiritual sense. God has sent His servants into the world, to gather together for His beautiful house, stones hewn out of the quarry of nature, to be shaped, polished, and prepared for building into the temple of His grace. The Church is the living temple of God, “exceeding magnifical.” It is a wondrous idea that men’s hearts and souls can be blended together, and built up into a spiritual temple wherein God will dwell. This temple is to be builded of stones taken from the quarry of nature, and, God being with us, you and I are to go forth, and to hew out and shape and prepare the stones for the building of this house of the Lord which shall endure for over.

In order to do this, we certainly need the presence and the help of God; for what can we do without Him? In the work of conversion, what can be done without the Spirit of God? I would like anybody who thinks he can convert another person without divine help, to try and do it, and see what a wretched failure he will make of it, or what a dire hypocrisy he will produce by his apparent success. We must have God with us for this work; we cannot create a spark of grace, how then can we create a new heart and a right spirit? Conversion is an absolute creation, regeneration is a miracle of divine grace, the work of the Spirit of God; and this is altogether beyond our power. We need the Spirit of God to aid us in the building of a temple for God; but, brethren, with the Lord’s presence we can do it. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2471.cfm

His Work Will Continue On

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

Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the LORD. – 1 Chronicles 22:19

God was with David in the gathering together of the great stores of treasure for the building of the temple; but then God was also with Solomon. Oh, what a mercy it is that God did not give all His grace to other people before we came into the world! The God of grace did not empty the whole horn of grace upon the head of Whitefield or Wesley; He did not pour out all the blessings of His Spirit upon Romaine and John Newton, so as to leave nothing for us. No; and to the end of time He will be the same God as He was yesterday, and as He is to-day. There is no break in the Lord’s blessing; He has not ceased to be gracious, His arm is not shortened that He cannot save, nor is His ear heavy that He cannot hear. God buries His workmen, but His work goes on; and He, the Great Worker, wearies not of it, nor shall He ever fail or be discouraged. All His everlasting purposes shall be accomplished, and Christ shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied. Wherefore, let us be of good heart, if we have been apt to look upon the future with fear. The Lord Jesus still lives, and He will take care that His Church shall live and work on until He Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God.

“The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” We sing with Cowper,-

“Jesus, where’er Thy people meet,
There they behold Thy mercy-seat:
Where’er they seek Thee, Thou art found,
And every place is hallow’d ground.”

~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2471.cfm

Do What God Permits You to Do

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, Sovereignty of God 3 Comments

“Is not the Lord your God with You?”-1 Chronicles 22:18

Here is David most anxious about the building of the temple at Jerusalem; he is not permitted to erect it himself, and therefore he sets to work with diligent care to gather together the gold and the silver, the brass and the iron, the timber and the stone, that would be required. He also instructed the workmen who would be needed, so that, when he was gone, and his son Solomon had ascended the throne, the temple might be built. Did David live in vain? Can it be truly said that he failed in the grandest project of his life? Assuredly not; he did all that he was permitted to do, and by making those elaborate preparations, he was really the means of the building of the temple.

Let every man and every woman among us judge of our life, not merely from that little narrow piece of it which we ourselves live, for that is but a span; but let us judge it by its connection with other lives that may come after our own. If we cannot do all we wish, let us do all we can, in the hope that someone who shall succeed us may complete the project that is so dear to our heart. That is a blessed prayer which Moses wrote in the 90th Psalm, “Let Thy work appear unto Thy servants, and Thy glory unto their children.” We shall be quite satisfied to do the work, and scarcely see the glory, if we may but know that, in another generation, the work that we shall have done shall produce glory to God which shall be seen among the sons of men. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/1ch/22/18/s_360018

Faith is Your Weapon

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, confession of sin, promises, Sovereignty of God 1 Comment

Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That Thou mightest be justified in Thy sayings, and mightest overcome when Thou art judged. – Romans 3:4

We have among us those who are not exposed to persecution, but have to stand against assaults of unbelief. That which believers in past ages have accepted as truth, is not believed in many places nowadays; and so it comes to pass that one brings to us a bit of sceptical science which he has picked up from Huxley or Tyndall; another comes with a criticism that he has found in some of the modern divines, who are the devil’s instruments for spreading infidelity; and a third appears with a vile blasphemy from one of the coarser assailants of religion, and each one demands an immediate answer to his quibble, or his difficulty. Do they really expect that we are to answer, on the spur of the moment, every objection that they are pleased to raise? I confess that I do not believe that one human brain is capable of answering every objection that another human brain could raise against the most obvious truth in the world. Do not try to answer cavillers; but if you do, mind that faith is your weapon. If you take the wooden sword of your own reasoning, you may easily be beaten. Believe for yourself, because God has said it; and speak as the Lord guides you. Fix it in your mind, “This is God’s Book. This is His infallible revelation, and I believe it against every argument that can possibly be urged against it. Let God be true, but every man a liar.” This will be sure defensive ground; but if you get off that rock, you will soon find yourself sinking or staggering. For an offensive weapon, take “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”; and if this does not serve your turn, nothing will. Have a thorough, and entire, and childlike faith in the revelation of the Most High, and you will be made strong in those mental conflicts for which in yourself you are so weak. The Lord give you to believe to the utmost degree, for His name’s sake! Amen. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2209.cfm

Your Secret Martyrdom

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

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. – 2 Corinthians 12:10

There are many ways in which the devil’s whip can reach the back of the child of God. Persecution is still abundant, and many a man’s foes are of his own household. I will rehearse no stories of Christian women with jeering husbands, nor of godly youths who endure scoffing, and far worse; but many a house is still a place of martyrdom. Gracious sufferers, may the Lord keep you from anger and unkindness! By faith alone can you bear persecution, and turn it to account for the good of others. Do not attempt to escape by yielding what is right and true; but ask the Lord to help you to stand fast for Him. If it be true that the Lord has His martyrs still, let it be seen that they are as brave as ever. Not now do they gather in the great amphitheater, where sits the emperor in state, with all the proud citizens of Rome in the nearer gallery, tier on tier, and the multitude up yonder, gazing with their cruel eyes into the vast arena below. Not now do I see them lift up the great iron door, and let loose the monsters that come forth roaring, hungry for their prey. Not now do I see, standing in the middle, a man and his wife and children, all unarmed. Not now do I hear the shouts of the mob, as they exult that Christians are given to the lions. This is all over. Christ, in His suffering members, has conquered Caesar and pagan Rome; for out of weakness believers were made strong. A softer spirit has come over the human mind; but there is as much enmity against God as ever; and now it finds a less public arena, and a meaner mode of torture. Today, the tried one suffers alone, and misses the encouragement of Christian eyes. At times he has to feel that it were better for him to fight with beasts at Ephesus than to bear the taunts, and threats, and slanders of ungodly kinsfolk. My sister, my brother, have faith in God in your hidden sorrow! Cry to Him in the secret of your soul, and you will bear your load; yes, you will bear it calmly, and you will win those who hate you. Of your secret martyrdom angels will be spectators, and Christ will suffer in you-wherefore, fear not. Out of weakness you shall be made strong by faith. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2209.cfm

Seeing Him who is Invisible

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, prayer, promises, Sovereignty of God 3 Comments

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. – Hebrews 11:1

The patience of hope is a very important part of Christian life, and faith is the essence of it. Many are called to suffer much in daily life. Ah me! what a world of misery there is in this great city, among even good and gracious people! A man might study London till he turned his brain. The poverty and the suffering of even godly people in London would be a subject too harrowing for those of you who have specially tender hearts. Let us not forget those members of Christ’s mystical body that are in the fire: “His feet are like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace.” Few, if any, are without sorrow, and many saints have a double portion of grief in their pilgrimage…Assuredly, you will not hold out without true faith, and much of it. You must endure, “as seeing Him who is invisible.” You must joy in God, or you will not joy at all. Earthly comforts are not yours; but if you grasp the spiritual and the eternal you will not repine. If in this life only you had hope, you would be of all men most miserable; but having that hope, you are among men most happy. The solitary place shall be glad for you, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. Commend me to firm faith for power to bear the daily cross. He that believeth hath everlasting life, and the joys which come of it. Trust thou in thy God, in His love to thee, in His care of thee, and then thou shalt be as the lilies, which toil not, and spin not, and yet are clothed; or as the ravens, which have no store, and yet are fed. Behold thou, by faith, the heaven prepared for thee, and know of a certainty that thou wilt soon be there among the angels; and thou wilt defy cold, and hunger, and nakedness, and shame, and everything else. Thy faith out of weakness shall make thee strong.

There are seas of suffering which the sufferer must navigate alone. No other sail is within sight. Scan the horizon, and nothing is to be seen but wave after wave. Now is the hour for faith in the great Lord, who holds even lonely seas in the hollow of His hand. He knows thy poor body, and He permits it to be frail, and permits thy heart to be trembling, because He will glorify Himself in His tenderness to thy weakness, wherein He will make thee strong. JEHOVAH ROPHI is His name: “The Lord that healeth thee.” Give thyself up to Him, and thou shalt yet sing of His lovingkindness and tender mercies. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2209.cfm

The Infinite Capacity of God

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

…out of weakness were made strong… – Hebrews 11:34

…My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. – 2 Corinthians 12:9

“Yes,” says one, “I own that it is an urgent service to make known to others what the Lord has done for me: but, somehow, I cannot discharge my conscience by fully doing as I would. I tried the other day to say a good word, and I am afraid that I made a failure of it. I stammered a good deal, and I said little that I thought to say, and some things which seemed to weaken what I did say. I resolved, the other day, that I would see a man whom I had known, and tell him that I was a changed character; but when I reached his house, I drifted into other talk, and went the way in which he led me. I could not come to the point.” Many would make a similar confession if they made a clean breast of it. Many of the truest children of God are at first possessed by a dumb spirit; and it needs the Lord Jesus to cast it out. But do you not think that we are too apt to attempt to spread the gospel in our own strength; and need we wonder if we break down? If we were by faith to begin, humbly waiting upon the Lord for words, and taking hold upon divine strength, might we not accomplish far more than we now do? Dear friend, would you like to do something great for God? Have you heard the motto of our early missionaries: “Attempt great things for God”? Does that thought burn within your heart? Do you long to be of some use? “Oh, yes,” says one, “I would attempt great things for God, but I am terribly weak.” Make the attempt by faith in God; for it is written, “Out of weakness were made strong.” If you feel incapable, throw yourself upon the infinite capacity of God. So long as you are willing to be used, so long as God has given you an anxiety and travail of spirit for the souls of others, you need not fear; but may with faith get to work in all your feebleness, for as your day your strength shall be. Has not the Lord said, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness”? And is not that word true? ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2209.cfm