Christian Life

Your Commonest Trouble Will be Sympathized by Him

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

But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell Him of her. – Mark 1:30

The seaboard of Capernaum in which Peter dwelt is said by travelers to be a peculiarly damp, marshy, aguish, feverish place, no end of people had the fever just around the house; but Peter and Andrew did not argue that they must not tell the Lord because it was a common disease. Do not let Satan get an advantage over you by persuading you to keep back commonplace troubles or sins from your loving Lord. Beloved, if He counts the hairs of your heads, if not a sparrow falls to the ground without His knowledge, depend upon it your commonest trouble will be sympathized in by Him. “In all their afflictions He was afflicted.” It is a great mistake to think you may not carry to your Redeemer the ordinary trials of the day; tell Him, yea, tell Him all. If your child is only a common sinner, if there is no unusual depravity in him, if your son has never grieved you by perverseness, if your daughter has always been amiable and gentle, do not think there is no need to pray. If it is only a common case of the fever of sin, yet it will be deadly in the end unless a balm be found, therefore tell Jesus of it at once. Do not wait till your son becomes a prodigal, pray at once! Do not delay till your child is at death’s door, pray now!

Peter’s wife’s mother was attacked by no ordinary fever. We are told it was “a great fever”: the expression used implies that she was burning with fever; and she was intensely debilitated, for she was laid prostrate. Now the devil will sometimes insinuate, “It is of no use for you to take such a case to Jesus; your son has acted so shamefully, your daughter is so wilful: such a case will never yield to divine grace in answer to prayer.” Do not be held back by this wicked suggestion. Our Lord Jesus Christ can rebuke great fevers, and He can lift up those that are broken down and rendered powerless by raging sin. “Wonders of grace to God belong.” Go and tell Jesus of the case, common or uncommon, ordinary or extraordinary even as they told Jesus of her. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1236.cfm

Tell Jesus of It

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, prayer, Sovereignty of God 5 Comments

But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell Him of her. And He came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them. – Mark 1:30,31

The four friends have come in, and no sooner are they in than they begin to speak with the Master, for the text tells us, “Anon they tell Him of her,”-of Peter’s wife’s mother who lay sick. I like that expression-I do not know whether you have noticed it-“Anon they tell Him of her.” Luke tells us “they besought Him.” I have no doubt Luke is right, but Mark is right too. “They tell Him of her.” It looks to me as if it taught me this-that sometimes all I may do with my sore affliction is just to tell my own dear Lord about it, and leave it to His loving judgment to act as He sees fit. Have you any temporal trouble or sickness in the house? Tell Jesus of it. Sometimes that is almost as much as you may do. You may beseech Him to heal that dear one, but you will have to say, “Not as I would, but as Thou wilt,” and so will feel that all you may do is to tell Jesus the case and leave it with Him. He is so gentle and loving, that He is sure to do the kindest thing, and the thing which is most right to do; therefore we may be content to “tell Him of her.” With regard to spiritual things, we may press and be very importunate, but with regard to temporal things, we must draw a line, and be satisfied when we have told Jesus and left the matter to His discretion. Some parents may, when their children are ill, plead with God in a way which shows more of nature then of grace, more clearly the affection of the mother than the resignation of the Christian; but such should not be the case. If we have committed our way unto the Lord in prayer, and meekly told Him of our crisis it will be our wisdom to be still, and watch till God the Lord shall speak. He cannot be either unjust or unkind, therefore should we say, “Let Him do what seemeth Him good.”

Tell Jesus Christ all about it; His view of the matter will be to your advantage.~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1236.cfm

Take Your Lord Home with You

Sherry Christian Life Leave a comment

And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. – Mark 1:29

The best of us need instruction. It is unwise for Christian people to be so busy about Christ’s work that they cannot listen to Christ’s words. We must be fed, or we cannot feed others. The synagogue must not be deserted, if it be a synagogue where Christ is present. And oh, sometimes, when the Master is present, what a power there is in the word: it is not the preacher’s eloquence, it is neither the flow of language, nor the novelty of thought; there is a secret, quiet influence which enters into the soul and subdues it to the majesty of divine love. You feel the vital energy of the divine word, and it is not man’s word to you, but the quickening voice of God sounding through the chambers of your spirit, and making your whole being to live in His sight. At such times the sermon is as manna, or as the bread and wine with which Melchizedec met Abraham; you are cheered and strengthened by it, and go away refreshed. My dear brother, my dear sister, then is the time to go home and take your Lord home with you…Do as did the spouse of old, when she said, “I found him whom my soul loveth; I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.” Is there not a sick one at home? Take Jesus home to her. Is there no sorrow at home? Entreat your Lord to come home to help you in your distress. Is there no sin at home? I am sure there is. Take Jesus home to purge it away. But, remember, you cannot take Him home with you unless you first have Him with you personally. Labour after this then; be not satisfied without it. Resolve to be His servant-that I trust you are; to be His servant walking in the light as He is in the light, and having fellowship with Him-that I hope you are; and then, having gone so far, resolve that you will take Him to your friends and to your kinsfolk, that so your whole house may be blest. – C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1236.cfm

Leaving All to Follow Jesus

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

And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. – Mark 1:17

Beloved, what a difference there may be between one Christian and another…We know some who are saved-at least we hope they are-but oh, how few are the fruits of the Spirit; how feeble is the light they give; how slender is their consecration; how small is their likeness to Him whom they call Master and Lord. Thank God, we have seen others who live in quite another atmosphere, and exhibit a far different life. It is not a higher life, I hardly like that term, for the life of God is one and the same in all believers; but it is a higher condition of the life, more developed, more vigorous, more influential; a condition of life which has a clearer eye, and a nimbler hand, a quicker ear, and a more musical speech; a life of health, whereas too many only know life as laboring under disease, and ready to give up the ghost. There are Mephibosheths among the king’s favourites, but give me the life of Naphtali, “satisfied with favor and full of the blessing of the Lord;” or of Asher, of whom it is written, “let him dip his foot in oil.” An owl is alive though it loves the darkness, and a mole is alive though it is always digging its own grave, but give me the life of those who mount as on the wings of eagles, who live upon the fat things, full of marrow, and drink the wines on the lees well refined. These are the mightier of Israel, whose joyous energy far surpasses that of the weary and faint, whose faith is feeble and whose love is cold. Now, Peter and his friends at this time had been called from their fishing tackle and their boats to abide with Jesus in His humiliation, and learn of Him the secrets of the kingdom, which afterwards they were to teach to others. They had heard the Master say, “Follow Me,” and they had left all at His bidding. They were in the path of fellowship, boldly pressing on at their Lord’s command, so that now they had taken a grand stride in their Christian career; and that is the time, beloved, when men bring blessings on their houses. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1236.cfm

Godly Work-fellows

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

Now as He walked by the sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed Him. – Mark 1:16-18

It is a great help to a man to find godly work-fellows. If he must needs go a-fishing like Peter, it is a grand thing to have a James and a John as one’s partners in the business. How helpful it is to piety when Christian men associate from day to day with their fellow Christians, and speak often one to another concerning the best things. Firebrands placed closely together will burn all the more freely, coals laid in a heap will glow and blaze, and so hearts touching hearts in divine things cause an inward burning and a sacred fervor seldom reached by those who walk alone. Many Christians are called to struggle hard for spiritual existence through having to work with unbelievers; they are not only sneered at and persecuted, but all sorts of doubts and blasphemies are suggested, and these materially hinder their growth in the heavenly life. When they are brought into this trial in the course of providence they have need of great grace to remain firm under it. Beloved brother, if in your daily business you meet with none to help but many to hinder, you must live all the nearer to God, for you require a double measure of grace; but if in the providence of God you happen to be placed where there are helpful Christian companions, do not readily change that position, even though your income would be doubled thereby. I would sooner work with James and John for twenty shillings a week than with swearers and drunkards for sixty. You who reside with really consistent Christians are much favored, and ought to become eminent Christians. You are like flowers in a conservatory, and you ought to bloom to perfection. You live in a lavender garden, and you ought to smell sweetly. Prove that you appreciate and rightly use your privileged position by endeavoring to bring grace to your house, that it may be altogether the Lord’s. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1236.cfm

Thou Shalt be Saved, and Thy House

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

And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. – Acts 16:31, 32

Heads of families, what responsibilities rest upon us! We cannot shake them off, let us do what we may! God has given us little kingdoms in which our authority and influence will tell for the better or the worse to all eternity. There is not a child or a servant in our house but what will be impressed for good or evil by what we do. True, we may have no wish to influence them, and we may endeavor to ignore our responsibility, but it cannot be done; parental influence is a throne which no man can abdicate. The members of our family come under our shadow, and we either drip poison upon them like the deadly upas tree, or else beneath our shade they breathe an atmosphere perfumed with our piety. The little boats are fastened to our larger vessel and are drawn along in our wake. O fathers and mothers, the ruin of your children or their salvation will, under God, very much depend upon you. The gracious Spirit may use you for their conversion, or Satan may employ you as the instruments of their destruction. Which is it like to be? I charge you, consider. It is a notable event in family history when the grace of God takes up its headquarters in the heart of the husband and the father: that household’s story will henceforth be written by another pen. Let those of us who are the Lord’s gratefully acknowledge His mercy to us personally, and then let us return to bless our household. If the clouds be full of rain they empty themselves upon the earth; let us pray to be as clouds of grace to our families. Whether we have only an Isaac and an Ishmael like Abraham, or twelve children like Jacob, let us pray for each and all that they may live before the Lord, and that we and all that belong to us may be bound up in the bundle of life. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1236.cfm

Become a Messenger of Salvation

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

He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. – John 1:41

Andrew followed Jesus, and having become a disciple, he desired to lead others to be disciples too. He began, as we all ought to begin, with those nearest to him by ties of relationship; “He first findeth his own brother Simon.” Beloved friend, if you are yourself saved, you should cast about you and inquire, “To what house may I become a messenger of salvation?” …Perhaps Andrew had no wife, and no children; I cannot tell. If it were so? I feel sure that he said to himself, “I must seek the good of my brother and his family.” I believe, if we are really lively and thoughtful Christians, our conversion is an omen for good to all our kinsfolk. We shall not idly say, “I ought to have looked after my own children and household, if I had any, and having none I am excused”; but we shall consider ourselves to be debtors to those who are kindred householders. I hope that some Andrew is here who, being himself enlisted for Jesus, will be the means of conquering for Jesus a brother and a brother’s household. If there be no Andrew, I hope some of the Marys and Marthas will be filled with zeal to make up for the deficiency of the men, and will bring brother Lazarus to the Lord. Uncles and aunts should feel an interest in the spiritual condition of nephews and nieces; cousins should be concerned for cousins, and all ties of blood should be consecrated by being used for purposes of grace. Moses, when he led the people out of Egypt, would not leave a hoof behind, nor ought we to be content to leave one kinsman a slave to sin. Abraham, in his old age, took up sword and buckler for his nephew Lot, and aged believers should look about them and seek the good of the most distant members of their families; if it were always so the power of the gospel would be felt far and wide. The household of which Peter was master might never have known the gospel if a relative had not been converted. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1236.cfm