Christian Life

The Bliss of the Glorified

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

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. -Revelation 7:16-17

We have not the full description of it here; but we have here a description of certain evils from which they (those who have gone before) are free. You notice they are of two or three kinds-first, such as originate within-“They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more”-they are free from inward evils; secondly, such as originate without-“Neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.” They are altogether delivered from the results of outward circumstances. Take the first: “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more.” We are never so to strain Scripture for a spiritual sense as to take away its natural sense, and hence we will begin by saying this is no doubt to be understood physically of the body they will have in glory. Whether there will be a necessity for eating and drinking in heaven, we will not say, for we are not told, but anyhow it is met by the text, “The Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall feed them”-if they need food-“and lead them to living fountains of water” if they need to drink…Children of God have been hungry here: the great Son of God, the head of the household was hungry before them; and they need not wonder if they have fellowship with Him in this suffering. Children of God have had to thirst here: their great Lord and Master said, “I thirst”; they need not wonder, therefore, if in His affliction they have to take some share. Should not they who are to be like their head in heaven be conformed unto Him on earth? But up yonder there is no poverty, and there shall be no accident that shall place them in circumstances of distress. “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3499.cfm

No Cares in Heaven

Sherry Attributes of God, Christian Life, promises, salvation, Sovereignty of God 3 Comments

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. -Revelation 7:16

We no doubt can appreciate in some measure, though not to the degree which we should if we were in Palestine in the middle of summer, we can appreciate the words, “Neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.” This signifies that nothing external shall injure the blessed. Take it literally. There shall be nothing in the surroundings of heavenly saints that shall cause glorified spirits any inconvenience. I think we may take it mainly in relation to the entire man glorified; and so let us say that on earth the sun lights on us and many heats in the form of affliction. What heats of affliction some here have passed through! Why there are some here who are seldom free from physical pain. There are many of the best of God’s children that, if they get an hour without pain, are joyful indeed. There are others that have had a great fight of affliction Through poverty they have fought hard. They have been industrious, but somehow or other God has marked them out for the scant tables and the thread-worn garments. They are the children of poverty, and the furnace heat is very hot about them. With others it has been repeated deaths of those they have loved. Ah! how sad is the widow’s case! How deep the grief of the fatherless! How great the sorrow of bereaved parents! Sometimes the arrows of God fly one after the other; first one falls and then another until we think we shall hardly have one left. These are the heats of the furnace of affliction… “Neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.” No poverty, no sickness, no bereavement, no ingratitude-nothing of the kind. They for ever rest from affliction.

“Cast all your care on Him. for He careth for you.” But they have no cares in heaven. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3499.cfm

Our Heavenly Duty

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, prophecy 5 Comments

Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people. – Isaiah 65:17-19.

I hope and believe that the following verses will actually describe the condition of the redeemed during the reign of Christ upon the earth: “There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old. They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of My people, and Mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, saith the Lord.”

There is to be a literal new creation, but that new creation has commenced already; and I think, therefore, that even now we ought to manifest a part of the joy. If we are called upon to be glad and rejoice in the completion of the work, let us rejoice even in the commencement of it. The Lord Himself will joy and rejoice, and we who are in sympathy with Him are exhorted and even commanded to be glad; let us not be slack in this heavenly duty. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2211.cfm

Live Near to Jesus

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

Therefore are they before the throne of God…For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them… -Revelation 7:15,17

Idle Christians are often unhappy Christians. I have met with many a spiritual dyspeptic always full of doubts and fears. Is there a young man here full of doubts and fears who has lost the light he once possessed, and the joy he once had? Dear brother, get to work. In cold weather the best way to be warm is not to get before a fire, but to work. Exercise gives a healthy glow, even amidst the frost. “I am doing something,” says one. Yes, with one hand; use the other hand. “Perhaps I should have too many irons in the fire,” says one. You cannot have too many. Put them all in, and blow the fire with all the bellows you can get. I do not believe any Christian man works too hard, and, as a rule, if those who kill themselves in Christ’s service were buried in a cemetery by themselves, it would be a long while before it would get filled. Work hard for Christ. It makes happy those who are in heaven to serve God day and night, and it will make you happy on earth. Do all you can. Another way is to have fellowship with Christ here. Read again this chapter. “He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them-He shall feed them.” Oh! if you want to be happy, live near to Jesus. Poor men are not poor when Christ lives in their house. Truly, sick men have their beds made easy when Christ is there. Has He not said, ” I will make his bed in all his sickness”? Only get fellowship with Jesus, and outward circumstances won’t distress you. The sun will not light on you, nor any heat. You will be like the shepherd on Salisbury Plain, who said it was good weather, though it rained hard. “It is weather,” said he, “that pleases me.” “How so?” said a traveller to him. “Well, sir,” he said, “it pleases God, and what pleases God pleases me.” “Good day!” said one to a Christian man. “I never had a bad day since I was converted,” said he. “They are all good now since Christ is my Saviour.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3499.cfm

Heaven on Earth

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

These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. -Revelation 7:14

Dear hearers, have you all got faith? It is, as it were, the key of blessedness. “But all men have not faith,” says the Apostle. Hast thou faith? Dost thou believe in Christ Jesus? In other words, dost thou trust thyself alone with Him? Can you sing with our poet:

“Nothing in my hand I bring
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress,
Helpless, look to Thee for grace.
Foul, I to the fountain fly,
Wash me, Saviour, or I die”?

Make much of the faith that will admit you to heaven… Do any of us want to know what heaven is on earth? Most of us will say, “Aye” to that. Well then, the text tells you how to find heaven on earth. You find it in the same way as they find it in heaven…be thou washed in the blood of Christ, and that will be a great help towards happiness on earth. It will give thee peace now, “the peace of God that passeth all understanding.” Some people think that heaven on earth is to be found in the theatre, and in the ballroom, and in the giddy haunts of fashion. Well, it may be heaven to some, but if God has any love to you, it won’t be heaven to you. Wash your robe, therefore, in the Saviour’s blood, and there will be the beginning of heaven on earth. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3499.cfm

Think Much of Heaven

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

Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. -2 Peter 1:10-11

We cannot too often turn our thoughts heavenward, for this is one of the great cures for worldliness. The way to liberate our souls from the bonds that tie us to earth is to strengthen the cords that bind us to heaven. You will think less of this poor little globe when you think more of the world to come. This contemplation will also serve to console us for the loss, as we call it, of those who have gone before. It is their gain, and we will rejoice in it. We cannot have a richer source of consolation than this, that they who have fallen asleep in Christ have not perished; they have not lost life, but they have gained the fullness of it. They are rid of all that molests us here, and they enjoy more than we as yet can imagine. Cheer your hearts, ye mourners, by looking up to the gate of pearl, by looking up-to those who day without night surround the throne of their Redeemer. It will also tend to quicken our diligence if we think much of heaven. Suppose I should miss it after all! What if I should not so run that I may obtain! If heaven be little, I shall be but a little loser by losing it; but if it be indeed such that the half could never be told us, then, may God grant us diligence to make our calling and election sure, that we may be certain of entering into this rest, and may not be like the many who came out of Egypt, but who perished in the wilderness and never entered into the promised land. All things considered, I know of no meditation that is likely to be more profitable than a frequent consideration of the rest which remaineth for the people of God. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3499.cfm

 

Refusing the Everlasting and the Ever Blessed

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

For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from Him that speaketh from heaven -Hebrews 12:25

When Moses spake in God’s name, it was no light thing to refuse such an ambassador. Still, Moses was but a man. Though clothed with divine authority, yet he was but a man and a servant of God. But Jesus Christ is God by nature. See that ye refuse not Him who is of heavenly origin, who came from heaven, who is clothed with such divine powers, that every word He speaks is virtually spoken from heaven, and who, being now in heaven, speaks through His ever living gospel directly out of the excellent glory. Regard ye this, I pray you, and remember well the parable which Jesus gave. A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it out to husbandmen, and when the time came that he should receive the fruit he sent a servant, and they stoned him. He sent another, and they beat him. He sent another, and they maltreated him. After he had thus sent many of his servants, and the dressers of the vineyard had incurred his high displeasure by the shameful way in which they had treated the servants, he sent his own son, and he said, “They will reverence my son.” It was the highest degree of guilt when they said, “This is the heir; let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.” Then they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. You know how the Saviour was treated by the sons of men; but here is the point I aim at; it is this: to reject Jesus Christ, to refuse Him, to refuse merely His gospel, if He did not speak in it, might not be so high a misdemeanour, but to refuse Him!-I don’t know how it is, but my heart feels very heavy, even to sinking, at the thought that any man here should be able to refuse Christ, the Son of God, the Everlasting and the ever Blessed…I cannot fashion an excuse for any of you, if you, after having heard the gospel, be cast into hell, I dare not think that its utmost pains will be too severe for so high an insult to such wondrous love. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3492.cfm