prayer

True Christian Worship

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, prayer, Sovereignty of God, The Father, The Holy Spirit Leave a comment

“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”-John 4:23-24.

True Christian worship addresses God, not merely as Creator and Preserver, or as the great Lord of the Universe, but as one who is very near of kin to us, our Father, beloved of our souls. Jesus likewise states that gospel worship is to be of a kind which does not result from the man himself merely, but comes from God, and is a work of grace. This is implied in the sentence, “The Father seeketh such to worship Him,” as if no true worship would come from any man unless God sought it. True devotion under the Christian dispensation is not merely human but also divine. These are very grave points, and draw a broad line of distinction between the living worship of the chosen of God and the dead formal worship of the world which lieth in the wicked one.

Furthermore, the Savior goes on to say that they who worship God are to worship Him “in spirit.” No longer with the visible sacrifice of a lamb, but inwardly trusting in Him who is the Lamb of God’s Passover; no more with the sprinkled blood of goats, but heartily relying upon the blood once shed for many; no longer worshipping God with ephod, breastplate, and mitre, but with prostrate soul, with uplifted faith, and with the faculties not of the body but of the inward spirit. We who worship God under this Christian dispensation are no longer to fancy that bodily exercise in worship profiteth anything, that genuflexions and contortions are of any value, but that acceptable worship is wholly mental, inward, and spiritual. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0695.cfm

Pray to the King

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

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit… – Ephesians 6:18

I fully believe that the darkest time of any true Christian church is just the period when it ought to have the most hope; for when the Lord has allowed us to spin ourselves out till there is no more strength in us, then it is that He will come to our rescue…Look to the Most High, and not to man, or ministers, or modes, or methods, but only to Him, and the guidance of His Spirit…In His name I ask you, can anything be too hard for the Lord? Perhaps in your sphere of service you have grown so dispirited that you are inclined to say, “I may as well give up all further effort; no good will result from my endeavors.” But what have you told the Master, and what have you sought at His hand? Have you told Him all your discouragements? Have you asked Him to speak with power, and has He refused you? If so, then give it up, but not till then, for He can even now “say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back;” and as when He said to the thick primaeval darkness, “Let there be light,” and the light leaped into being, and the darkness fled, so can He, amid the gross darkness of our huge city, or the not less dense darkness of our villages, create light to our astonishment and to His glory. It is the King’s word we want-nothing short of it, and nothing more. We must get that by prayer; we must wait upon Him with importunity. If there be only two or three whose hearts break over the desolations of the church, if we have only half a dozen that resolve to give the Lord no rest till He establish and make Jerusalem a praise in the earth, we shall see great things yet. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1007.cfm

Come Now to Your Divine Help

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

Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, Thou shalt purge them away. Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest, and causest to approach unto Thee, that he may dwell in Thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of Thy house, even of Thy holy temple. – Psalm 65:3,4

Dear brethren and sisters, there may be difficulties in your way; iniquities may hinder you, or infirmities; but there is the promise, “Thou shalt purge them away.” Infirmities may check you, but note the word of divine help, “Blessed is the man whom Thou causest to approach unto Thee.” He will come to your aid and lead you to Himself. Infirmities, therefore, are overcome by divine grace. Perhaps your emptiness hinders you: “he shall be satisfied with the goodness of Thy house.” It is not your goodness that is to satisfy either God or you, but God’s goodness is to satisfy. Come, then, with thine iniquity, come with thine infirmity; come with thy emptiness. Come, dear brethren, if you have never come to God before. Come and confess your sin to God and ask for mercy; you can do no less than ask. Come and trust His mercy, which endures for ever; it has no limit. Think not hardly of Him but come and lay yourself down at His feet. If you perish, perish there. Come and tell your grief; pour out your hearts before Him. Bottom upwards turn the vessel of your nature, and drain out the last dreg, and pray to be filled with the fullness of His grace. Come unto Jesus; He invites you; He enables you. “(I) have not prayed before,” you say. Everything must have a beginning. Oh, that that beginning might come now. It is not because you pray well that you are to come, but because the Lord hears prayer graciously, therefore, all flesh shall come. You are welcome; none can say you nay. Come! ’tis mercy’s welcome hour. May the Lord’s bands of love be cast about you; may you be drawn now to Him. Come by way of the cross; come resting in the precious atoning sacrifice, believing in Jesus; and He has said, “Him that cometh unto Me, I will in no wise cast out.” The grace of our Lord be with you. Amen. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1023.cfm

God Hears Prayer

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

O Thou that hearest prayer, unto Thee shall all flesh come. – Psalm 65:2

Observe, here, that God hears prayer. It is, in some aspects, the lowest form of worship, and yet He accepts it. It is not the worship of heaven, and it is, in a measure, selfish. Praise is superior worship, for it is elevating; it is the utterance of a soul that has received good from God and is returning its love to Him in acknowledgment. Praise has a sublime aspect. Now, observe, if prayer is heard, then praise will be heard too. If the lower form, on weaker wing as it were, reaches the throne of the majesty on high, how much more shall the seraphic wing of praise bear itself into the divine presence. Prayer is heard of God: therefore, our praises and vows will be. And this is a very great encouragement, because it seems terrible to pray when you are not heard, and discouraging to praise God if He will not accept it. What would be the use of it? But if prayer and yet more praise be most surely heard, ah, brethren, then let us continue and abide in thanksgiving. “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me, saith the Lord.”

Observe too according to the text, that all prayer, if it be true prayer, is heard of God, for so it is put-“Unto Thee shall all flesh come.” Oh, how glad I am at that word. My poor prayer-shall God reject it? Yes, I might have feared so if He had said, “Unto Thee shall all spirits come.” Behold, my brethren, He takes the grosser part as it were, and looks at prayer in His infinite compassion, perceiving it to be what it is-a feeble thing-a cry coming from poor fallen flesh, and yet He puts it, “Unto Thee shall all flesh come. My broken prayer, my groaning prayer shall get to Thee, though it seems to me a thing of flesh, it is nevertheless wrought in me by Thy Spirit. And O my God, my song, though my voice be hoarse and oftentimes my notes most feeble, shall reach Thee. Though I groan because it is so imperfect, yet even that shall come to Thee. Prayer, if true, shall be received of God, notwithstanding all its faultiness, through Jesus Christ. Then so it will be with our praises and our vows. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1023.cfm

Heart-felt Silent Praise

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

“Praise is silent unto Thee”… – Psalm 65:1

There is praise for God in Zion, and it is often spoken; but there is often praise for God in Zion, and it is silence. There are some who cannot sing vocally, but perhaps, before God, they sing best. There are some, I know, who sing very harshly and inharmoniously-that is to say, to our ears; and yet God may accept them rather than the noise of stringed instruments carefully touched. There is a story told of Rowland Hill’s being much troubled by a good old lady who would sit near him and sing with a most horrible voice, and very loudly- as those people generally do who sing badly-and he at last begged her not to sing so loudly. But when she said, “It comes from my heart,” the honest man of God retracted his rebuke, and said, “Sing away, I should be sorry to stop you.” When praise comes from the heart, who would wish to restrain it. Even the shouts of the old Methodists, their “hallelujahs” and “glorys,” when uttered in fervor, were not to be forbidden; for if these should hold their peace, even the stones would cry out. But there are times when those who sing, and sing well, have too much praise in their soul for it to enclose itself in words. Like some strong liquors which cannot use a little vent, but foam and swell until they burst each hoop that binds the barrel; so, sometimes, we want a larger channel for our soul than that of mouth and tongue, and we long to have all our nerves and sinews made into harp strings, and all the pores of our body made mouths of thankfulness. Oh, that we could praise with our whole nature, with not one single hair of our heads, or drop of blood in our veins, keeping back from adoring the Most High! When this desire for praise is most vehement, we fall back upon silence, and quiver with the adoration which we cannot speak. Silence becomes our praise…Let us, then, by our silence, praise God, and let us always confess that our praise, compared with God’s deserving, is but silence. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1023.cfm

Our Holy Worship

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

Praise waiteth for Thee, O God, in Zion: and unto Thee shall the vow be performed. – 65:1

Although we shall never cease to pray as long as we live here below, and are surrounded by so many wants, yet we should never so pray as to forget to praise. “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is heaven,” must never be left out because we are pressed with want, and therefore hasten to cry, “Give us this day our daily bread.” It will be a sad hour when the worship of the church shall be only a solemn wail. Notes of exultant thanksgiving should ever ascend from her solemn gatherings. “Praise the Lord O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion.” “Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and His praise in the congregation of saints. Let Israel rejoice in Him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.” Let it abide as a perpetual ordinance, while sun and moon endure, “Praise waiteth for Thee, O God, in Zion.” Never think little of praise, since holy angels and saints made perfect count it their life-long joy, and even the Lord Himself saith, “Whoso offereth praise, glorifieth Me.’ The tendency, I fear, among us has been to undervalue praise as a part of public worship, whereas it should be second to nothing. We frequently hear of prayer-meetings, but seldom of praise-meetings. We acknowledge the duty of prayer by setting apart certain times for it; we do not always so acknowledge the duty of praise…In everything we are to give thanks; it is as much an apostolic precept as that other, “In everything, by prayer and supplication, make your requests known unto God.” I have often said to you, dear brethren, that prayer and praise are like the breathing in and out of the air, and make up that spiritual respiration by which the inner life is instrumentally supported. We take in an inspiration of heavenly air as we pray: we breathe it out again in praise unto God, from whom it came; if then, we would be healthy in spirit, let us be abundant in thanksgiving…”Praise the Lord; for the Lord is good: sing praises unto His name; for it is pleasant.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1023.cfm

Get to Living Things!

Sherry Attributes of God, Christian Life, confession of sin, prayer, promises, The Holy Spirit Leave a comment

And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days. – Numbers 19:16

Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption [for us]. – Hebrews 9:12

In the passage in Numbers which is now before us, the one source of defilement dealt with is death. “Whoever touches one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.” Now, death is peculiarly the symbol of sin as well as the fruit of sin. Sin, like death, defaces the image of God in man. As soon as death grasps the body of a man, it destroys the bloom of beauty, the dignity of strength and drives forth from the human form that mysterious something which is the token of life within. However comely a corpse may appear for a time, yet it is defaced—the excellence of life has departed and, alas, in a few hours, or at longest in a few days, the image of God begins utterly to pass away—corruption and the worm commence their desolating work and horror follows in their train. What death does for the “human face,” sin does for the spiritual image of God upon us. It utterly defaces it…Like a dog at one’s heels, sin is always with us! Like our shadow, it follows us, go where we may. Yes, and when the sun shines not and shadows are gone, sin is still there. Where shall we flee from its presence and where shall we hide from its power? When we would do good, evil is present with us. How humbled we ought to be at the recollection of this!

Sin is death. Labor to keep from it! Inasmuch as you are delivered from the yoke of sin, go forth and serve God! Since He is the living God and evidently hates death and makes it to be an uncleanness to Him, get to living things! Offer to God living prayers and living tears! Love Him with living love! Trust Him with living faith! Serve Him with living obedience! Be all alive with His life—not only have life—but have it more abundantly! He has purged you from the defilement of death, now live in the beauty and glory and excellency of the Divine Life and pray the Holy Spirit to quicken you that you may abide in full fellowship with God! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1481.cfm