prayer

The Given-up People

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, prayer, promises, salvation, Sovereignty of God, The Holy Spirit Leave a comment

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. – John 11:25

Martha had done everything (for her sick brother) and nothing seemed to be of the least use. None of the medicines she applied seemed to soothe the sufferer. Her brother grew worse and worse, until she saw that, though she had nursed him back to health the last time he had been ill, she was now utterly powerless. Then he died. Yet, even though things had gone as far as that, she had faith in Christ. In like manner, your case is beyond your skill; can you not even now feel that you shall find that word true, “He shall not fail”? Christ never did fail yet, and He never will. When all the doctors give a patient up, the Great Physician can step in and heal.

Perhaps you are in a worse plight still. The case has been given up. I think I hear one kind, gracious soul, whose hope has been crushed, say, “Well, sir, that is just what we have come to about my boy. We held a little family meeting and said we must get him to go away to Australia, if we can. If he will only go to America, or somewhere abroad, it will be a relief to have him out of our sight. He keeps coming home intoxicated and gets brought before the magistrates. He is a disgrace to us. He is a shame to the name he bears. We have given him up.” Martha had come to this. She had given her brother up and had actually buried him; yet she believed in the power of Christ. Ah, there are many people that are buried alive! I do not know that such a thing ever happens in the cemetery; but I know it happens in our streets and homes. Many are buried morally and given up by us before God gives them up. And, somehow, it is often the given-up people that God delights to bless. Can you believe that even now, even now, prayer can be heard; that even now the Holy Ghost can change the nature, and that even now Christ can save the soul? Believest thou this? I shall rejoice if thou canst, and thou too shalt rejoice ere long. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2249.cfm

Christ Will Come

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

Therefore, the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”…Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him…Now Martha said to Jesus…“But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” – John 11:3,,21,22

You say, “I have prayed long for a dear friend, and I believed, some time ago, that my prayer was heard, and that there was a change for the better; indeed, there was an apparent change; but it came to nothing.” You are just like Martha. She kept saying to herself, “Christ will come. Brother is very ill, but Jesus will come before he dies; I know He will. It cannot be that He will stay away much longer; and when He comes, Lazarus will soon be well.” Day after day, Mary and she sent their messenger to look toward the Jordan, to see if Jesus was not coming. But He did not come. It must have been a terrible disappointment to both these sisters; enough to stagger the strongest faith that had ever had in the sympathy of Christ. But Martha got the better of it, and she said, “Even now, though disappointed so bitterly, I believe that Thou canst do whatsoever Thou wilt.” Learn from Martha, my discouraged brother. You thought that your friend was converted, but he wanted to go back again; you thought that there was a real work of grace upon his heart, but it turned out to be a mere disappointment, and disappeared, like the mist in the sun. But can you not believe over the head of your disappointment, and say, “I believe even now, even now”? Blessed shall your faith be, if it gets so far. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2249.cfm

The Living Intercessor is Mighty to Save

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

“But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” – John 11:22

If you are in the same position as Martha, I can bring out several points of likeness which should encourage you to persevere. You, mother, have prayed for your boy; you, father, have pleaded for your girl; you, dear wife, have been much in prayer for your husband; you beloved teacher, have frequently brought your class before God; and yet there is a bad case pressing upon your mind, and your heart is heavy about some dear one, whose condition seems hopeless. I want you to believe that now, even now, Christ can grant your prayer, and save that soul; that now, even now, He can give you such a blessing that the past delay shall be more than recompensed to you.

There is one, for instance, in whom we are deeply interested, and we can say that the case has caused great sorrow. So, Martha could have said of Lazarus. “Blessed master”, she might have said, “my brother took the fever”- (for I should think it was a fever that he had) -“and I watched him; I brought cold water from the well, and I laved his burning brow; I was by his bedside all night. Nobody knows how my heart was wrung with anguish as I saw the hot beaded drops upon his brow and tried to moisten his parched tongue and lips. I sorrowed as though I was about to die myself; but in spite of all that, I believe even now that Thou canst help me; even now.” Alas! There are many griefs in the world like this. A mother says, “Nobody knows what I have suffered through that son of mine. I shall die of a broken heart because of his conduct.” “No one can tell,” says the father, “what grief that daughter of mine has caused me. I have sometimes wished that she had never been born.” There have been many, many such stories told into my ear, in which a beloved one has been the cause of anguish and agony untold to gracious, loving hearts. To those so sorely troubled I now speak. Can you believe that even now the living Intercessor is “mighty to save”? It may be that you are at this moment trembling on the verge of the blessing you so long have sought. God give you faith to grasp it “even now”! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2249.cfm

Even Now

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, prayer, promises, salvation, The Holy Spirit 1 Comment

Therefore, the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”…So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was…”But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” John 11:3,6,22

I hope that there are a great many persons here who are interested in the souls of those around them. We shall certainly never exercise faith concerning those for whose salvation we have no care. I trust, also, that we are diligent in looking after individuals, especially those who are amongst our own family and friends. This is what Martha did; her whole care was for her brother. It is often easier to have faith that Christ can save sinners in general, than to believe that He can come into our own home and save some particular member of our household. But, oh, the joy when this comes to pass; when we are able to kneel beside some of our loved ones and rejoice with them in being made alive by the power of the Holy Ghost! We cannot expect to have this privilege, however, unless like Martha we send our prayers to Jesus, and go to meet Him, and tell Him of our need. In the presence of Christ it seems very natural to trust Him even at the worst extremity. It is when we are at our wits’ end that He delights to help us. When our hopes seem to be buried, then it is that God can give a resurrection. When our Isaac is on the altar, then the heavens are opened, and the voice of the Eternal is heard. Art thou giving way to despair concerning thy dear friend? Art thou beginning to doubt thy Saviour, and to complain of His delay? Be sure that Jesus will come at the right time, though He must be the judge of which is the best time for Him to appear.

Believe that Christ can save even now. You believe, perhaps, that Christ can save. I want you to be persuaded that He can save…even now; that is to say, at this exact hour and minute, going by the clock, while you hear these words, even now, Christ can forgive; even now, Christ can save; even now, Christ can bless. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2249.cfm

Sow the Seed. You Can Never Tell What God Will Bless

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

Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth… – Ecclesiastes 11:1-3

What says Solomon? “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.” Go, my brothers and sisters, and find out the most unlikely people, and begin to work for God with them. Now, try, if you can, to pick out the worst street in your neighbourhood, and visit from house to house, and if there is a man or woman more given up than another, make that person the object of your prayers and of your holy endeavours. Cast your bread upon the waters; then it will be seen that you are trusting God, not trusting the soil, nor trusting the seed.

“Give a portion to seven, and also to eight.” Talk of Christ to everybody you meet with. If God has not blessed you to one, try another; and if He has blessed you with one, try two others; and if He has blessed you to two others, try four others; and always keep on enlarging your seed-plot as your harvest comes in.

Learn this lesson: “If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth;” and say to yourself, “If God has made me full of grace, I will go and pour it out to others. I know the joy of being saved, if I have had fellowship with Him, I will make a point of being more industrious than ever, because God has been unusually gracious to me. My fulness shall be helpful to others. I will empty myself for the good of others, even as the clouds pour down the rain upon the earth.” Beloved, sow in the morning, sow in the evening, sow at night, sow all day long, for you can never tell what God will bless. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2264.cfm

Simply Rely Upon Him and Be at Peace

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

Christ is all… – Colossians 3:11

See in the truth before us a rebuke for the doubts of many seekers. They will say, “I have not this, I have not that.” Suppose thou hast it not, Christ has it, if it be good for anything. “I would fain cast myself upon the mercy of God in Christ this day, but,”-Ah, away with thy “buts.” What dost thou want? “I want true belief,” saith one. Come to Christ for it then. “I want a broken heart,” says another. If you cannot come with a broken heart to Christ, come for a broken heart.

“True belief, and true repentance
Every grace that brings us nigh,
Without money
Come to Jesus Christ and buy.”

We have an odd proverb about the folly of taking coals to Newcastle; but what folly must that be which makes a man think that he can take something to Christ, when Christ is all. Come, come, come, come to Him, poor sinner, and let Him be all in all to thee. Simply rely upon Him and be at peace.

How this rebukes the coldness of saints. If Christ be all in all, then how is it we love Him so little? If He is so precious, how is it we prize Him so little? Oh! my dull, dead, cold heart, what art thou at? Art thou harder than adamant, and baser than brutish, that thou art not much more moved with ardor and fervent affection towards such a Lord us this? Christ is all, my brethren, yet look how little we offer to Him-of our substance how scant a portion-of our time how slender a part-of our talents how small a parcel! God stir us to holy fervency, that if Christ be all for us, we may be all for Christ. May we lay ourselves out without reservation to the utmost stretch of our power, asking fresh strength from Him, that we may do all that can be done by mortal men, and that all may be done with us by God, that He shall see it to be compatible with His glory to do. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1006.cfm

Living with Christ

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

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee. – Isaiah 26:3

There are many of us who could say, without any exaggeration, that though we do not think so much of our Lord as we should, and are not so much with Him in contemplation as we desire, yet we have spent more time with Him than we have spent with anybody else. Little as we know compared with what we hope to know, yet His love has become to us now the brightest, the most conspicuous fact in all our history. We know but few things; but we know that we are one with Christ in a union never to be broken.

If we are one with Him, to live with Him should be the most natural thing in our lives. Have I not heard, however, of some professors who have not had communion with Christ for many a day? I talked once with a brother, who said a great deal about many things; and when he had complained of this and of that, I leant forward to him, and said, “Brother, how long is it since you have had close fellowship with Christ?” He answered, “Oh, there you have got me!” When I asked him, “What do you mean by that?” he answered, “I am afraid that I have not had fellowship with Christ for months.” I had suspected that it must have been so, or else his conversation would not have been of the kind it was. What a sad thing it must be for a wife to live in her husband’s house, and not speak to him for weeks! But how much worse it is for us to profess to be one with Christ, and yet have no sort of communication with Him by the month together! This is something perfectly horrible. God save us all from such a thing! May we think continually of our Lord, and ever live with Him, because we are one with Him! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2244.cfm