promises

The Saints’ Inheritance

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

And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. – Acts 20:32

Beloved, if you come to Christ, you shall never need to go away from Him to find variety of joys. In His teaching you shall find Lebanons of sublime doctrine, and Sharons of pleasant precept. Here are Hermons of experience, Tabors of communion, Jabboks of prevailing prayer, and Cheriths of divine providence. The revelation of God is a blessed country, full of all manner of delights. They that live in Christ dwell in spiritual realms, which for light and joy are as heaven below. Above all things, it is “Thy land, O Immanuel!” That is the dearest name for the Canaan of grace. The saints’ inheritance is the choicest form of life, and peace, and joy. We come to live with Christ, in Christ, for Christ, as Christ: we rise in Him to fellowship with the Father, and with the Church of the Firstborn. One heart sympathizes with all the purposes of God, and we joy in God Himself. I cannot properly describe all this, but I live in the enjoyment of it. We live through our Lord, and with our Lord; and this is life eternal. This is “the life which is life indeed.” Compared with it all other life is death. Grace is glory in the bud: it will be full-blown by-and-by.

All that is in Christ is meant for all believers, and therefore all believers may have all that is in Christ, who is all in all. We should not be content with pence when He endows us with pounds. No child of God could ever yet say, “I have taken all that God can give me, and still I am wanting more.” God all-sufficient is our heritage, and He more than fills our deepest need, our highest aspiration. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2086.cfm

Take Possession

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

Arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. – Joshua 1:2

The country into which Israel entered was of a very choice kind. Travellers in Palestine tell us that it is the world condensed. Within that narrow strip of territory, you get plains and hills, frosts of winter and heats of summer, with products both of the semi-tropical and temperate zones. Palestine is the whole earth in miniature, and all the advantages of all lands are gathered into it. It was, in Joshua’s days, a place of extreme fertility: “A land that floweth with milk and honey.” Nor was this all: while it was fertile on the surface, it was rich underneath. It was a land “whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.” The useful metals were near at hand, and every other convenience. Besides being fertile and wealthy, it was prepared for immediate habitation. The tribes had not to build houses, they inhabited what others had builded; they had not to plant vineyards, but to eat the fruit of former labors. All things were waiting for the true heirs of the land. Beloved, when faith gets her heritage in Christ, she is brought into a wealthy place. When sin is driven out, and we come to live in God’s own land, then we find precious treasure; we dig, and we are enriched. We have all things in Christ; yea, in Him we have all that our utmost want can require. As He has gone in heaven to prepare a place for us, so on earth He has already prepared, in the covenant of grace, everything that is needed for the way home. Why do we not take possession of that which He has prepared for us? ~C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2086.cfm

Our Serenity and Usefulness

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, Sovereignty of God 1 Comment

The LORD your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land. – Joshua 1:13

That undisturbed serenity which springs from a sense of perfect safety in Christ Jesus is a glorious domain into which (many) do not enter. Our soul is made by faith to be calm as the lake upon a summer’s evening, when the surface is unbroken by a ripple. Alas! we give way at times to doubt and fear, and hardly know whether we are the Lord’s people or not. This must not go on. We must have faith; but we may have, and we ought to have, the full assurance of faith. In full assurance lies the spring of perpetual serenity. The Lord can create in us habitual calm: in the midst of trouble He can give us joy; in the hour of struggle He can give us confidence. Oh, rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; then shall your times be of the halcyon order, and your days as the days of heaven upon the earth.

When we come to Christ by faith we have communion with God; and this is a land that floweth with milk and honey. Out of communion comes usefulness, and there are certain who fancy that they can never be very useful. The Lord cannot do many mighty works through them because of their unbelief. They have to be fed with a spoon, like invalid children. If they had but faith enough to receive power from on high by fuller communion with God, they might become as David. There is no limit to the possibilities of usefulness in any man or woman when perfectly consecrated. Let us not imagine that we are doomed to small usefulness. That branch of the vine which hitherto has yielded little or no fruit, may yet be made by the heavenly Vinedresser to bring forth much fruit. By faith let the divine sap of grace be received. Let living graces bring the living Christ into us, and then we shall bring forth clusters large as those which the spies brought from Eshcol of old. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2086.cfm

Holiness is The Fruit of Regeneration

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

Arise, go over this Jordan…unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. – Joshua 1:2

When we come to Christ by faith, we are born again, and made new creatures in Christ Jesus: this must be. But, brethren, when we are born again we perceive that the new birth begets a new life, and that new life develops itself in the beauty of holiness. Holiness is the fruit of regeneration; yet some imagine that they cannot be holy, at least not to any great extent. They believe that they can be saved from certain grosser evils, but they cannot ascend to those glorious heights of consecration and sanctification without which the believer can never attain to the stature of a man in Christ Jesus. My message to you is, Arise, go over this Jordan, and take possession of the larger inheritance. Take possession of it all: seek after holiness, follow on to know the Lord. Be not satisfied until you are conformed unto His image, who is “the firstborn among many brethren.” Aspire to the utmost God can give. You have not seen the goodly heights of Lebanon; as yet you are satisfied to stop at Jericho, by the river’s brink, as if the conquest of one city had satisfied you. Gird on your harness, and go forth to the fight, for the Lord is with you, and the land is before you.

Again, as soon as a man has believed in Jesus he is safe. If thou believest that Jesus is the Christ thou art born of God; and, being born of God, thou comest under the divine wing, and the Lord shall preserve thee from all evil. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2086.cfm

Are We Mere Princelets?

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

Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses…The LORD your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land. – Joshua 1:3, 13

The inheritance that God has given us to enjoy in Christ Jesus is exceeding broad; but we limit ourselves. All that we can think or desire is ours in the covenant of grace. There are immeasurable breadths and lengths, but we confine ourselves to close quarters. Truly “there is very much land yet to be possessed”! Some graces you must have, or you are not saved; some sins must at once be driven out of your life at the sword’s point, or you are not the Lord’s. As for the choicer graces, you are foolish indeed if you think of doing without them; and as for the less violent sins, you err greatly if you spare one of them. The deep knowledge, the spiritual experience, the high joy, the extreme delight, and the heavenly communion, which fall to the lot of certain of the saints, should be enjoyed by us all. There is no reason why one should miss them; for if they have but faith enough to grasp all that God gives, they have full permission to do so. The Lord may truly say to us, “Ye are not straitened in Me, but ye are straitened in your own bowels.” We are petty princelets when we might have an imperial inheritance. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2086.cfm

Cease from the Wanderings of Fear

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

“Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.” – Joshua 1:2, 3

Our friends have come as far as that first verse of our Lord’s invitation, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”; and they have a measure of that rest which comes of pardoned sin and confidence in Jesus. The pity is that they have not advanced to His next word of exhortation, “Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” This is a rest discovered and enjoyed through willing service: “Ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Many people are saved in one sense, but in another sense they are seeking salvation. Oh, that we may come to be saved in every sense: may salvation be ours in the broadest, widest, deepest, highest meaning of that blessed word! May we not only be saved from but saved to! Saved from sin; that makes us safe. Saved unto holiness, that makes us happy. May we realize our completeness in Christ this day, and cease from the wanderings of fear! It is time that we took possession of that goodly heritage which the Lord has made our own, for in Christ Jesus “we have obtained an inheritance,” and have the earnest of it in our possession of the Spirit of God. Hear ye the watch-word, ye that have tarried long enough in the wilderness: “Arise, go over this Jordan!” If I read the whole verse it is a command to myself: “Arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2086.cfm

Watching is Prayer

Sherry Attributes of God, Christian Life, prayer, promises 2 Comments

…praying always…being watchful… – Ephesians 6:18

I have known some people run great risks, and yet say that they have prayed to the Lord to preserve them. I have heard, dozens of times, these words, “I made it a matter of prayer,” and I have been ready to grow angry with the man who has uttered them. He has done a wrong thing, and he has excused himself because he says that he made it a matter of prayer. A young man married an ungodly young woman, and yet he said that he made it a matter of prayer! A Christian woman married an ungodly man, and when someone blamed her for disobeying the Word of God, she said that she made it a matter of prayer! If you had really sought divine guidance, you would not have dared to do what the Scriptures expressly forbid to a child of God. Prayer without watching is not sufficient to preserve us from evil.

On the other hand, dear friends, watching without praying is equally futile. To say, “I will keep myself right,” and never pray to God to keep you, is self-confidence, which must lead to evil…”Watch and pray,” or, as my text has it, “Pray and watch.” One will help the other. Prayer will call out the watchman, prayer will incite him to keep his eyes open, prayer will be the food to sustain him during the night, prayer will be the fire to warm him. On the other hand, watching will help prayer, for watching proves prayer to be true. Watching excites prayer, for every enemy we see will move us to pray more earnestly. Moreover, watching is prayer. If there be true watching, the watching itself is prayer. The two blend the one into the other. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2254.cfm