Christian Life

There is Much Power in the Prayer of Faith

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

“Therefore, I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. – Mark 11:24

When you ask anything of God, believe, and you shall receive. When you do appeal to His mercy, believe in the mercy. When you are pleading for His help, believe in the help, for there is much power in faith. “According to your faith, be it unto you.”

You all know, surely, what believing is. You say, “I shall go home to pray.” No, no, no; believe, and pray as much as ever you like, and a believing prayer will save you. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved;” but “how then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?”

Faith comes first. Believe, then, before you do anything else. May God, of His great mercy, enable, some poor sinner to have done with doings and with feelings, and to trust, just to trust Jesus! There you are, hanging up there in a tree. You are afraid of falling down, so you cling with all of your might. Suppose that a strong man comes underneath, and says, “Here, drop into my arms. I will catch you; I am able to bear your weight.” If you trust, him, you will drop into his arms. That is what you have to do with Christ; trust Him and let go every other confidence. Just drop into His arms, and you shall be saved. Remember, then, that there is no praying aright without believing. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2327.cfm

A Saving Faith

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

How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? – Romans 10:14

The faith that comes behind Christ, and touches the hem of His garment, is a saving faith; and I think that is what you are doing when you say, “Lord Jesus, save me.” If this is a real prayer, and not a sham one, if it comes from your heart, there is, at any rate, a tint, a shade, if not an actual color of faith, upon your soul already.

How could you call on Him in whom you have not believed? Would we call for help from a person who we did not think would help us or could help us? No; the mere fact of calling upon anyone for help proves that we have some measure of confidence in that person, that he can and will help us. Well, if you believe as much as that concerning Christ, and if you will cast yourself upon the believing that you shall be saved, I would that you had more faith, but even that little faith will bear thee into heaven.

You believe also that Christ can and does hear you. Ah, you would not have been alone upstairs this afternoon, crying for mercy, if you had thought that there was nobody to hear you! Rational beings do not go and ask of nobody. You believe that Christ is able to hear you, and you have some faith that He does hear you, for which I am very thankful indeed.

I think that I may add that you are measurably trusting to Christ Certainly, you are not trusting to anybody else. The fact that you often pray to Him for mercy, for the pardon of sin, for the renewal of your nature, proves that you have some degree, at least, some faint measure of faith in Him. Now, let me exhort you, while you keep on praying, to mix more faith with your praying. “With all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt,” and with all thy prayings you shall offer faith. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2327.cfm

Salvation Comes by the Prayer of Faith

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

How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? – Romans 10:14

Since we must pray, and only by prayer can find salvation—and there is no praying without believing—may the Lord help us to believe, for how shall we pray aright unless we do believe?

I think that I have persons here who have commenced to pray, who have begun pleading with God. I hope, dear friends, nay, I feel sure of it, that, if that prayer is sincere, there is a measure of faith in it, for would you ask God to save you if you did not believe that you needed to be saved? There is a measure of faith in that. Would you ask God to save you if you did not think that there is a way of salvation by which He can save you? There is a measure of faith in believing that.

I think that you believe that there is a Savior. There is a measure of faith in that; and, I hope, a measure of saving faith, too, in your believing that, notwithstanding all your sins and sinfulness, there is a Savior provided, who is able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by Him. You may not have much faith; but you must have some faith if you are really praying to God from your heart and entreating Him to save you.

I think, too, that you must have a little faith that the Savior will save you. You have been praying to Him to do it. Would you have expressed that desire, and have come to Him in prayer about it, unless there was some kind of sediment of faith in your heart? I want to put it very gently to you, yet very plainly. Remember, faith is not measured by the quantity, but by the quality. A man of strong faith is happier, but he is not more truly saved, than a man of weak faith, so long as he has any faith at all. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2327.cfm

As Plain as a Pikestaff and Sure

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

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. – Romans 10:13

What an easy word we have here! “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord.” Anybody can call upon the name of the Lord. Everybody understands what it is to call, “Hi, there!” Have you not often used such a call as that? And if you have been in distress or danger, have you never called, “Help, help, help?”

Very well, he who can thus call, let him call upon God, invoke His help, clamor for His mercy, crave His pity. If he does that in a believing way—as we shall have to show you, trusting that God will hear him—he shall be saved. So, there is no difficulty here that wants a Doctor of Divinity to explain—the truth is put mainly in monosyllabic words—”Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” It is as plain as a pikestaff. Oh, that you might see it, and begin to call upon the name of the Lord by earnest prayer!

But here is a sure word—”Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” There is no “if” here; no “maybe” here; but a glorious “shall.” Our shalls and wills are poor, puny things; but God’s “shall” is firm as the eternal mountains. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved,” as surely as there is a God.

The Lord has made no mistake; He will not revoke His declaration by changing His mind. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Oh, that many would call upon His name and find immediate salvation, which will last them throughout life, and throughout eternity, for “shall be saved” reaches a very long way, even throughout the eternal ages that are yet to come. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2327.cfm

This It Is That Saves the Soul

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

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. – Romans 10:13

Notice, dear friends, that we have the way of salvation set before us in the plainest terms: “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” I remember well when I lived on that verse for many months. I longed for salvation; I could not see that there was any way of hope for me; I thought that I must be left out, that I was too sinful, or too hard, or too something or other, so that others might be saved, but I should not be.

But when I read this verse, I did what I ask you to do, I caught at it; it seemed like a life-line thrown to a sinking man. I clung to it, and it became a life-buoy to me: “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” “Ah!” thought I, “I do call on that blessed name, I will call on that glorious name; if I perish, I will never cease to invoke that sacred name.” An invocation of the name of God, a trusting in God, and a consequent calling upon God and acknowledgment of God, this it is that saves the soul.

 “Whosoever.” If I call upon the name of the Lord, if you call upon the name of the Lord, if the man who lies upstairs dying calls upon the name of the Lord, we shall be saved. What a wide word that “whosoever” is! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2327.cfm

When Our Work is Done

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

Then took he Him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou Thy servant depart in peace…For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation…– Luke 2:28-30

Saints are willing to depart when their work is almost done. This will not be the case with many here present, perhaps, but it was so with Simeon. Good old man! He had been very constant in his devotions, but on this occasion, he came into the temple, and there, it is said, he took the Child in his arms and blessed God. Once more he delivered his soul of its adoration-once more he blended his praise with the songs of angels. When he had done that, he openly confessed his faith: another important work of every believer-for he said, “Mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.” He bore public testimony to the Child Jesus and declared that He should be “a light to lighten the Gentiles.” Having done that, he bestowed his fatherly benediction upon the Child’s parents, Joseph and His mother; he blessed them, and said unto Mary “Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel.” Now, we read that David, after he had served his generation, fell on sleep; it is time for man to sleep when his life’s work is finished. Simeon felt he had done all: he had blessed God; he had declared his faith; he had borne testimony to Christ; he had bestowed his benediction upon godly people; and so, he said, “Now, Lord, lettest thou Thy servant depart in peace.” …When a man feels, without claiming any merit, that he has fought a good fight, finished his course, and kept the faith, then will he rejoice in the crown which is laid up for him in heaven, and he will long to wear it. Throw your strength into the Lord’s work, dear brethren-all your strength; spare none of your powers: let body, soul, and spirit be entirely consecrated to God, and used at their utmost stretch. Get through your day’s work, for the sooner you complete it, and have fulfilled like an hireling your day, the more near and sweet shall be the time when the shadows lengthen, and God shall say to you, as a faithful servant, “Depart in peace!” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1014.cfm

Weaned from This World

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

Lord, now lettest thou Thy servant depart in peace… – Luke 2:29

Beloved, saints have drawn their anchor up and spread their sails, when they have been made to hold loose by all there is in this world; and that is generally when they hold fastest by the world to come. To many this world is very sweet, very fair, but God puts bitters into the cup of His children; when their nest is soft, He fills it with thorns to make them long to fly. Alas, that it should be so, but some of God’s servants seem as if they had made up their minds to find a rest beneath the moon. They are moon-struck who hope to do so. All the houses in this plague-stricken land are worm-eaten and let in the rain and wind: my soul longeth to find a rest among the ivory palaces of Thy land, O Immanuel.

Brethren, it often happens that the loss of dear friends, or the treachery of those we trusted, or bodily sickness, or depression of spirit, may help to unloose the holdfasts which enchain us to this life; and then we are enabled to say with David in one of the most precious little Psalms in the whole Book, the 131st, “I have behaved and quieted myself as a child that is weaned of his mother, my soul is even as a weaned child.” I have often thought that if David had said, “my soul is even as a weaning child,” it would have been far more like most of God’s people. But to be weaned, quite weaned from the world, to turn away from her consolations altogether, this it is which makes us cry, “Lord, now lettest thou Thy servant depart in peace.” Even as the psalmist when he said, “And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in Thee.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1014.cfm