Christian Life

Cashing In God’s Promises

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises 6 Comments

For all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. -2 Corinthians 1:20

The Lord always meant, when He said a thing, that we should remind Him of it. God’s promises were never meant to be waste paper; He meant that they should be used. Whenever God gives a promise, if a man does not use that promise, the promise fails in effect to that man, and God’s great intention therein is in some measure frustrated. God sent the promise on purpose to be used. If I see a Bank of England note, it is a promise for a certain amount of money, and I take it and use it. But oh! my friend, do try and use God’s promises; nothing pleases God better than to see His promises put in circulation; He loves to see His children bring them up to Him, and say, “Lord, do as thou hast said.” And let me tell you that it glorifies God to use His promises. Do you think that God will be any the poorer for giving you the riches He has promised? Do you think He will be any the less holy for giving holiness to you? Do you think He will be any the less pure for washing you from your sins? And He has said, “Come now, let us reason together, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as wool; though they be red, they shall be whiter than snow.” Faith gets hold of that promise, and it does not stand saying, “this is a precious promise, I will look at it;” it goes right up to the throne, and says, “Lord, here is the promise, do as Thou hast said.” And God says, “Oh! faith, I am as glad to see the promise brought to Me, as thou art to bring it; I meant My promise to be used, and the using of it glorifies Me.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0088.cfm

Faith’s Only Foothold

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, salvation 2 Comments

He that is of God hears God’s words…-John 8:47

The only solid foothold that faith has is, “It is written, God hath said it.” When a sinner comes to God he must have nothing else to rely upon except this, “Do as Thou hast said.” There is a tendency in most men’s minds to bring before God something which He did not say. Many of you, I dare say, will go and ask God in prayer for something for which you cannot prove a positive promise that He will ever give it to you. You go to God and say, “Lord, do as John Bunyan said, do as Whitefield said, let me have an experience like theirs.” Now, that is all wrong. We must, when we come to God, say only, “Lord, do as Thou hast said.” And then, again, I do believe that many of those who are members of our churches have not put their faith simply in what God has said. If I were to go round to some of you and ask you why you believe yourselves to be Christians, it is marvelous what strange reasons many of you would bring. It is very singular what strange views persons often have as to the way of salvation.

Faith can build on a “thou hast said it;” but it cannot build on frames and feelings, on dreams and experiences-it only relies on this-“Thou hast said it.”…The way of salvation is no great mystery, it is very plain; it is “believe and live.” And faith needs no mysteries to hang itself upon; it catches hold of the bare naked promise, and it says, “Lord, do as thou hast said.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0088.cfm

What Hast Thou Said?

Sherry Christian Life 2 Comments

Nathan had been giving to David, on God’s behalf, sundry exceeding great and precious promises. David expresses his gratitude to God for having so promised, and he says,

Now, O Lord God, the word that Thou hast spoken concerning Thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as Thou hast said. 2 Samuel 7:25

Such words will be equally in place, if they shall be adopted by us in these modern times, and if, after reading a promise, on turning to God’s Word, we should finish by saying, “Remember the word unto Thy servant, upon which Thou hast caused me to hope,” it will be a practical application of the text, “Do as Thou hast said.”

How important it is to know what God has said, for unless we know what God has said, it will be folly to say, “do as thou hast said.” Perhaps there is no book more neglected in these days than the Bible… I beseech you, therefore,…if you have but little time, do not expend it in reading ephemeral books, but take your Bible and read it constantly; and I promise you one thing, that if you are already Christians, the more you read the Bible the more you will love it. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0088.cfm

Under the Glass Bee-hive

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

Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. -James 4:8

Ah! sinner, remember, thou sinnest with God’s eyes looking on thee. How black must be thy heart! how awful thy sin! for thou sinnest in the very face of justice when God’s eye is fixed on thee. I was looking the other day at a glass bee-hive, and it was very singular to observe the motions of the creature inside. Well, now this world is nothing but a huge glass bee-hive. God looks down on you, and he sees you all. You go into your little cells in the streets of this huge city; you go to your business, your pleasure, your devotions, and your sins; but remember, whenever you go, you are like the bees under a great glass shade, you can never get away from God’s observation. When children disobey before the eyes of their parents it shows that they are hardened. If they do it behind their parents’ back, it proves that there is some shame left. But you, sirs, sin when God is present with you; you sin while God’s eyes are searching you through and through…Therefore, I beseech you, think of it, and repent of your wickedness, that your sins may be blotted out through Jesus Christ.

Hear, then, in a few words, the way of salvation. It is this. Christ said to the Apostles, “Preach the gospel to every creature: he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned.”…Thou asked what thou art to believe. Why, this: that Christ died and rose again; that by His death He did bear the punishment of all believers; and that by His resurrection He did wipe out the faults of all His children. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0085.cfm

 

God is Witness

Sherry Attributes of God, Christian Life, promises 2 Comments

Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good behavior in Christ. -1 Peter 3:16

And now a word to the slandered. There are some of us who come in for a very large share of slander. It is very seldom that the slander market is much below par; it usually runs up at a very mighty rate; and there are persons who will take shares to any amount. If men could dispose of railway stock as they can of slander, those who happen to have any scrip here would be rich enough by to-morrow at twelve o’clock. There are some who have a superabundance of that matter; they are continually hearing rumours of this, that, and the other; and there is one fool or another who has not brains enough to write sense, nor honesty sufficient to keep him to the truth, who, therefore, writes the most infamous libels upon some of God’s servants, compared with whom he himself is nothing, and whom for very envy he chooses to depreciate. Well, what matters it?…They say that such-and-such is your motive, but you need not answer them; you can say, “God knows that matter.” You are charged with such-and-such a thing of which you are innocent; your heart is right concerning the deed, you have never done it: well, you have no need to battle for your reputation; you need only point your finger to the sky, and say, “There is a witness there who will right me at last-there is a Judge of all the earth, whose decision I am content to wait; His answer will be a complete exoneration of me, and I shall come out of the furnace, like gold seven times purified.”

…If any man desires to reply to the false assertions of his enemies, let him go and do good, and he needs not say a word-that will be his answer.  ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0085.cfm

 

God’s Loving Care for You

Sherry Attributes of God, Christian Life, promises 3 Comments

Cast your burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain you: He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. -Psalm 55:22

(N)ow a word for the careful: Some here are very full of care, and doubts, and anxieties, and fears. “Oh! sir,” you say, “if you could come to my poor house, you would not wonder that I should feel anxious. I have had to part with much of my little furniture to provide myself with living; I am brought very low; I have not a friend in London; I am alone, alone in the wide world.” Stop, stop, sir! you are not alone in the world; there is at least one eye regarding you; there is one hand that is ready to relieve you. Don’t give up in despair. If your case be ever so bad, God can see your care, your troubles, and your anxieties. To a good man it is enough to see destitution to relieve it; and for God it is enough to see the distresses of His family at once to supply their wants. If you were lying wounded on the battle-field, if you could not speak, you know right well your comrades who are coming by with an ambulance will pick you up, if they do but see you; and that is enough for you. So if you are lying on the battle-field of life, God sees you; let that cheer you: He will relieve you; for He only needs to look at the woes of His children at once to relieve them. Go on then, hope yet, in night’s darkest hour, hope for a brighter morrow. God sees thee, whatever thou art doing;

“He knows thy cares, thy tears, thy sighs;
He shall lift up thy head.”

~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0085.cfm

God Knows

Sherry Attributes of God, Christian Life, prayer, promises 3 Comments

You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all.…-Psalm 139:3-4

Prayerful man, prayerful woman, here is a consolation-God sees you: and if He can see you, surely He can hear you. Why, we can often hear people, when we cannot see them. If God is so near to us, and if His voice is like the thunder, surely His ears are as good as His eyes, and He will be sure to answer us. Perhaps you cannot say a word when you pray. Never mind, God does not want to hear; He can tell what you mean even by seeing you. “There,” says the Lord, “is a child of Mine in prayer. He says not a word; but do you see that tear rolling down his cheek? do you hear that sigh?” Oh! mighty God, Thou canst see both tear and sigh; Thou canst read desire when desire hath not clothed itself in words…Ah, God, when I cannot pray with words, I will throw myself flat on my face, and I will groan my prayer; and if I cannot groan it I will sigh it; and if I cannot sigh it I will wish it: and when these eye-strings break, and when death has sealed these lips, I will enter heaven with a prayer, which Thou wilt not hear but which Thou wilt see-the prayer of my inmost spirit, when my heart and my flesh fail me, that God may be the strength of my life and portion for ever. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0085.cfm