prayer

Alive, but also Awake?

Sherry Christian Life, prayer, The Holy Spirit Leave a comment

I myself will awake early. – Psalm 57:8

“Will awake.” This is a world in which most men nowadays are alive to their temporal interests. If in these pushing times any man goes about his business in a sleepy, listless fashion, he very soon finds himself on an ebb-tide, and all his affairs aground. The wideawake man seizes opportunities or makes them, and thus those who are widest awake usually come to the front. Years ago affairs moved like the broad-wheel wagon, very sleepily, with sober pause and leisurely progression, and then the son of the snail had a chance but now, when we almost fly, if a man would succeed in trade, he must be all alive, and all awake. If it be so in temporals, it is equally so in spirituals, for the world, the flesh, and the devil are all awake to compete with us; and there is no resolution that I would more earnestly commend to each one of the people of God than this one: “I will awake; I will awake at once; I will awake early, and I will pray to God that I may be kept awake, that my Christian existence may not be dreamy, but that I may be to the fullest degree useful in my Master’s service.” If this were the resolve of each, what a change would come over the Christian church! I long to see the diligence of the shop exceeded by the closet, and the zeal of the market excelled by the church. Each Christian is alive: but is he also awake? He has eyes, but are they open? He has lofty possibilities of blessing his fellow men, but does he exercise them? My heart’s desire is that none of us may feel the dreamy influence of this age, which is comparable to the enchanted ground; but that each of us may be watchful, wakeful, vigorous, intense, fervent. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0996.cfm

The Healthy Church

Sherry Attributes of God, Christian Life, prayer, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. – 1 Peter 4:7

The Church is never healthy except when she abounds in prayer. I have known prayer meetings that have been like the bells to the parish steeple-a very poor parish where there were never enough bells to ring a chime. The minister has had to pray twice and read a long chapter, in order to spin out the time, or to meet the want yet more efficiently, he has caned upon a brother who had the gift of supplicating for twenty-five minutes, and then concluded by asking pardon for his short comings…Shut up that house in which men have ceased to pray; or if you open it, let your opening be a meeting for hearty and earnest prayer. I have to mourn and confess in my own case, that I have had to feel in myself-and I think I can speak for many others-a want of prayerfulness with regard to missionary effort especially…We do pray for our own families, and our own congregations, but the heathens are across the sea, many miles away…Many Christians might see whole months pass with them without carrying the cause of the heathen, who are in darkness, before the throne of God; and how can we expect, while this unhealthiness exists among us, that God will bless our missionary operations. Zion must avail before she can bring forth children. She may use all her weapons but if she keeps back the great battering-ram of prayer, she will never break the walls of the spiritual Jericho. She may use every other instrument, but unless she takes John Bunyan’s weapon of “all-prayer,” she will never put to rout the great enemy of souls. Yes, my brethren, we want faithfulness, we want healthiness, we want a prayerful spirit given to us, then we may conclude that all is well with us. It shall be left to each individual heart, and each member of the Church, to answer for himself the question whether his own church is in a state of spiritual health taking these things as a test, namely, purity, soundness, unity, and prayerfulness. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0314.cfm

But, Blessed But

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

“One who is righteous has many adversities, but the LORD rescues him from them all.” – Psalm 34:19

Scripture does not flatter us like the story books with the idea that goodness will secure us from trouble; on the contrary, we are again and again warned to expect tribulation while we are in this body…It is the earthly portion of the elect to find thorns and briers growing in their pathway, yes, to lie down among them, finding their rest broken and disturbed by sorrow.

But, bless-ed but, how it takes the sting out of the previous sentence! “But the LORD rescues him from them all.” Through troops of ills Jehovah shall lead His redeemed scatheless and triumphant. There is an end to the believer’s affliction, and a joyful end too. None of his trials can hurt so much as a hair of his head, neither can the furnace hold him for a moment after the Lord bids him come forth of it. The same Lord who sends the afflictions will also recall them when His design is accomplished, but He will never allow the fiercest of them to rend and devour His beloved.

Lord, we thank You now in the retrospect for the trials which we have endured. Some of us have been brought very low with physical pain and mental weariness, and others have been sore smitten with bereavement, losses and crosses, and persecutions; but there is not one out of all our trials which we could have afforded to have been without. No, Lord, all has been ordered well; there was a need-be for every twig of the rod, and we desire now to thank you that we can see in looking back, how all things have even now worked together for good, though we know we cannot see the end as yet. Amen. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

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Speechless

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, confession of sin, prayer, repentance, salvation, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

…And he was speechless. – Matthew 22:12

Why is he silent? Surely it was because he was convicted of open, undeniable disloyalty…He was speechless; he could not have chosen a worse place, nor a more impertinent method of ventilating his disloyalty than that which he selected; there was nothing he could say in self-defense. At that moment, when the King looked him through and through, he saw the full horror of his position; his loins were loosed, like Belshazzar of old when he saw the handwriting on the wall; he saw now that his time to insult was over, and the day of retribution had come. He was taken in the very fact and could not escape. He had been guilty of a superfluity of naughtiness, of an unnecessary extravagance of wickedness in coming into the feast to air his pride. He had committed a suicidal intrusion. He might have kept himself away at any rate, and not have thrust himself into the Judge’s presence. He saw now that the cause of sedition was hopeless, the King was there, and he was in his power and none could rescue him. Why did he not burst into tears? Why did he not confess the wrong? Why did he not say, “My king, I have insulted thee, have pity upon me”? His proud heart would not let him. Sin made him incapable of repentance.

He stood speechless. It was not only that he had no excuse, but he would not confess his wrong. Have I anyone here in such a condition of heart, that while he has been sinning by making a false profession, and knows it, yet he sullenly refuses to confess his fault? Yield thee, man! Yield at once. Fall at the King’s feet at once. Even if you are not a hypocrite, if you have any suspicion that you are, fall down and say, “My King, make me sincere; I submit myself to Thy will, and am ready to put on the wedding badge; if there is any method by which I can honour Thy Son, I cavil not at it; let me wear His colours, and be known by all men to be truly a lover of the great Prince.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0976.cfm

The King at His Feast

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, prayer, promises, Sovereignty of God, The Holy Spirit 1 Comment

And when the king came in to see the guests… – Matthew 22:11

“The king came in to see the guests.” What an honour and privilege this was to the poor creatures whom his royal munificence had brought together! Was it not indeed the chief point of the entire festival’? What would church fellowship be if it had not the fellowship of God with it? To sit with my dear brethren and rejoice in their love is exceedingly delightful; but the best wine is fellowship with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. The king did not provide the banquet and leave his guests to eat by themselves, but he “came in,” and into every gospel church gathered according to His command the King will come. I am sure the most fervent desire of this church is that the King may personally visit us. We trust He is with us, but we want Him yet more fully to reveal Himself. Our cry is, “Come, great King, with all Thy glorious power, with Thy Spirit and with Thy glorious Son, and manifest Thyself to us as Thou dost not unto the world.” When the king came into the banqueting chamber he saw the guests, and they also saw him. It was a mutual revelation. Ever sweet is this to the saints, that their God looks upon them; His look brings no terror to our minds when we are loyal and loving. “Thou God seest me” is sweet music. We desire to abide for ever beneath the divine inspection, for it is an inspection of unbounded love. He sees our faults-it is to remove them; He notes our imperfections, it is to cleanse them away. Behold me, O great King, and lift up Thine eyes upon me, accepting me in the Beloved. What joy it is to us who are saved in Christ Jesus that we also can see Him! “Through a glass darkly,” I grant you we behold Him, for as yet we are not fit to behold the full splendour of His Godhead! but yet how sweetly doth He reveal Himself to our souls and unveils His eternal love. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0976.cfm

To Behold His Face

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

As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness… – Psalm 17:15

Have I not seen my Father’s face here below? Yes, I have, “through a glass darkly,” But has not the Christian sometimes beheld Him, when in His heavenly moments earth is gone, and the mind is stripped of matter? There are some seasons when the gross materialism dies away, and when the ethereal fire within blazes up so high that it almost touches the fire of heaven. There are seasons, when in some retired spot, calm and free from all earthly thought, we have put our shoes from off our feet because the place whereon we stood was holy ground; and we have talked with God! even as Enoch talked with Him so has the Christian held intimate communion with his Father. He has heard His love whispers, he has told out his heart, poured out his sorrows and his groans before Him. But after all he has felt that he has not beheld His face in righteousness. There was so much sin to darken the eyes, so much folly, so much frailty, that we could not get a clear prospect of our Jesus. But here the Psalmist says, “I will behold Thy face in righteousness.” When that illustrious day shall arise, and I shall see my Saviour face to face, I shall see Him “in righteousness.” 

My God, I believe I shall stand before Thy face as pure as Thou art Thyself, for I shall have the righteousness of Jesus Christ -there shall be upon me the righteousness of God. “I shall behold Thy face in righteousness.” O Christian, canst thou enjoy this? Though I cannot speak about it, dost thy heart meditate upon it? To behold His face forever; to bask in that vision! True, thou canst not understand it; but thou mayest guess the meaning. To behold His face in righteousness! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0025.cfm

The Hope of Future Bliss

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

“As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness.”- Psalm 17:15

It would be difficult to say to which the gospel owes most, to its friends or to its enemies…Jesus Christ would never have preached many of His discourses had not His foes compelled Him to answer them; had they not brought objections, we should not have heard the sweet sentences in which He replied. So with the book of Psalms: had not David been sorely tried by enemies, had not the foemen shot their arrows at him, had they not attempted to malign and blast his character, had they not deeply distressed him, and made him cry out in misery, we should have missed many of those precious experimental utterances we here find, much of that holy song which he penned after his deliverance, and very much of that glorious statement of his trust in the infallible God. We should have lost all this, had it not been wrung from him by the iron hand of anguish…Then was it that he gave honour to God, then he shouted aloud to that mighty Jehovah, who for him had gotten the victory. This sentence follows a description of the great troubles which the wicked bring upon the righteous, wherein he consoles himself with the hope of future bliss.; As for me,” says the patriarch, casting his eyes aloft; As for me,” said the hunted chieftain of the caves of Engedi-“As for me,” says the once shepherd boy, who was soon to wear a royal diadem-“As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness, I shall be satisfied, when I awake with Thy likeness.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0025.cfm