promises

A Word to Mockers and Despisers of Christians

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

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. – Matthew 5:10

You have got a poor man who works for you, who wears a fustian jacket. He is nobody. You may laugh at him. He will not tell anybody, or even if he does, you will not be called to book about it, because he is nobody. You dare not laugh so at a duke or an earl. You would mind your behavior if you were in such company as that; but because this is a poor man, you think you have a license given you to laugh at his religion. But remember, that beneath the fustian jacket there is Jesus Christ Himself. Inasmuch as you have done this unto one of the least of His brethren, you have done it unto Him. Has the thought ever struck you, that when you laughed you were laughing, not at him, but at his Master? Whether it struck you or not it is a great truth, that Jesus Christ takes all the injuries which are done to His people as if they had been done to Him… If ye could see Christ enthroned in heaven, reigning there in the splendours of His majesty, would ye laugh at Him? If ye could see Him sitting on His great throne coming to judge the world, would ye laugh at Him? Oh! as all the rivers run into the sea, so all the streams of the churches’ suffering ran into Christ. If the clouds be full of rain they empty themselves upon the earth, and if the Christian’s heart be full of woes it empties itself into the breast of Jesus. Jesus is the great reservoir of all His people’s woes, and by laughing at His people you help to fill that reservoir to its brim. and one day will it burst in the fury of its might and the floods shall sweep you away, and the sand foundation upon which your house is builded shall give way, and then what shall ye do when ye shall stand before the face of Him whose person ye have mocked and whose name ye have despised?~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0202.cfm

What Grace!

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

“And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”- Act 26:14

What grace was it that could lead the Saviour’s heart to speak to such a man as Saul, who had breathed out threatenings against His church? Had he not haled men and women to prison; had he not compelled them in every synagogue to blaspheme the name of Jesus Christ? and now Jesus Himself must interpose to bring him to his senses! Ah, had it been a thunderbolt which quivered in its haste to reach the heart of man, we should not have marvelled, or had the lips of the Saviour been heaving with a curse we should not have been astonished. Had He not Himself in His own lifetime cursed the persecutor? Did He not say, whosoever shall offend one of the least of these My little ones, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that be were cast in the sea? But now the man that is cursed by that language, is yet to be blessed by Him whom he had persecuted; who though he had stained his hand in blood, and had now the commission in his hands to drag others to prison, though he had kept the clothes of those who had stoned Stephen, yet the Master, the King of heaven, must Himself speak from the upper skies to bring him to feel the need of a Saviour, and to make him partaker of precious faith. I say this is marvellous condescension and matchless grace. But, beloved, when we come to recollect the Saviour’s character it is but little wonderful that He should do this for He has done far more than this. Did He not in person leave the starry thrones of heaven, and come down to earth to suffer, and bleed and die? But when I think of Bethlehem’s manger, of the cruel garden of Gethsemane, and the yet more shameful Calvary, I do not wonder that the Saviour should do any act of grace or condescension…And you and I, beloved, who have tasted of this grace, can say it was matchless love that saved Paul, but not love unexampled; for He hath saved us also, and made us partakers of the same grace.  ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0281.cfm

 

The Crowns of the Reclaimed

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

The four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sat on the throne, and worship Him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. – Revelation 4:10, 11

Here they come-Saul of Tarsus, and Manasseh, and Rahab, and many of the same class. “And how came ye here?” They reply, “We have had much forgiven, we were grievous sinners, but the love of Christ reclaimed us, the blood of Christ washed us, and whiter than snow are we, though once we were black as hell.” “And whither are ye going?” They reply, “We are going to cast our crowns at His feet, and ‘Crown Him Lord of all.'” Among that throng, my dear hearers, I hope it may be my lot to stand. Washed from many sins, redeemed by precious blood, happy thou that moment be, when I shall take my crown from off my head, and put it on the head of Him whom having not seen I love, but in whom believing, I rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. And it is a happy thought for me, this morning. that many of you will go with me there… Will not your gratitude be great? Will not your song be loud, when approaching His dear feet, you lay your honors there and cry, “Blessed be Jesus who has kept my poor soul in all its dangers, and brought me safely at last to Himself?”

I must ask you this question, my dear hearers: Have you a crown to put on the head of Jesus Christ to-day? “Yes,” says one, “I have. I must crown Him for having delivered me out of my last great trouble.” “I must crown Him,” says another, “for He has kept up my spirits when I was well nigh despairing.” “I must crown Him,” says another, “for He has crowned me with lovingkindness and tender mercy.” …Take Him to be thy all in all, and say, “Yes, on His head are many crowns, and I have put one there, and I shall put another there ere long.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0281.cfm

The Crowns of Martyrs and Soul Winners

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

…and on His head were many crowns… – Revelation 19:12

How brilliant are the ruby crowns of the martyred saints. From the stake, from the gibbet, from the fire, they ascended up to God; and among the bright ones they are doubly bright, fairest of the mighty host that surrounds the throne of the Blessed One. What crowns they wear! … An angel might blush to think that his dignity was so small compared with that of those riders in chariots of fire. Where are all those crowns? They are on the head of Christ. Not a martyr wears his crown; they all take their blood-red crowns, and then they place them on his brow-the fire crown, the rack crown, there I see them all glitter. For it was His love that helped them to endure; it was by His blood that they overcame.

And then, brethren, think of another list of crowns. They who turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars for ever and ever. There are a few men whom God has enabled to do much for the church and much for the world. They spend and are spent. Their bodies know no rest, their souls no ease… What crowns shall theirs be when they come before God, when the souls they have saved shall enter paradise with them, and when they shall say, “Here am I and the children which Thou hast given me! “What shouts of acclamation, what honors, what rewards shall then be given to the winners of souls! What will they do with their crowns? Why, they will take them from their heads and lay them there where sits the Lamb in the midst of the throne. There will they bow and cry, “Jesus, we were not saviours, Thou didst it all; we were but Thy servants. The victory belongs not to us but to our Master. We did reap, but Thou didst sow, we did cast in the net, but Thou didst fill it full. And our success is accomplished through Thy strength, and by the power of Thy grace.” Well may it be said of Christ, “On His head are many crowns.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0281.cfm

The Casting of Our Crowns

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

The four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sat on the throne, and worship Him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne… – Revelation 4:10

All the mighty doers in Christ’s church ascribe their crown to Him. What a glorious crown is that which Elijah will wear-the man who went to Ahab, and when Ahab said, “Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?” reproved him to his very face-the man who took the prophets of Baal, and let not one of them escape, but hewed them in pieces and made them a sacrifice to God. What a crown will he wear who ascended into heaven in a chariot of fire! What a crown, again, belongs to Daniel, saved from the lion’s den-Daniel, the earnest prophet of God. What a crown will be that which shall glitter on the head of the weeping Jeremiah, and the eloquent Esaias! What crowns are those which shall begirt the heads of the apostles! What a weighty diadem is that which Paul shall receive for his many years of service! And then, my friends, how shall the crown of Luther glitter, and the crown of Calvin; and what a noble diadem shall that be which Whitefield shall wear, and all those men who have so valiantly served God, and who by His might have put to flight the armies of the Aliens, and have maintained the gospel banner erect in troublous times! Nay, but let me point to you a scene. Elijah enters heaven, and where goes he with that crown which is instantly put upon his head? See, he flies to the throne, and stooping there, he uncrowns himself; “Not unto me, not unto me but unto Thy name be all the glory!” See the prophets as they stream in one by one; without exception, they put their crowns upon the head of Christ. And mark the apostles, and all the mighty teachers of the church; they all bow there and cast their crowns at His feet, who, by His grace, enabled them to win them.

“I ask them whence their victory came;
They, with united breath,
Ascribe their triumph to the Lamb,
Their conquest to HIS DEATH.”

~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0281.cfm

Yet He Died for Me

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

But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5:8

Christ could have man’s heart, but man would not give it to Him. Christ tried him in many a way; He woed him, but man’s heart was hard and would not melt. Moses came, and said, “My Master, let me try and open man’s heart;” and he used the fire, and the whirlwind, and the hammer of God; but the heart would not break, and the spirit would not open to Christ. Then Christ came, and He said, “Hard-heart, I will win thee; O, icy Soul, I will melt thee.” And the Soul said. “No, Jesus, I defy Thee.” But Christ said, “I will do it.” And He came once upon a time to the poor Hard-heart, and brought His cross with Him. “See, Hard-heart,” said He, “I love thee; though thou lovest not Me, yet I love thee, and in proof of this, see here; I will hang upon this cross.” And as Hard-heart looked on, suddenly fierce men nailed the Saviour to the tree. His hands were pierced; His soul was rent in agony, and looking down on the Hard-heart, Jesus said, “Hard-heart, wilt thou not love Me? I love thee; I have redeemed thee from death; though thou loveth not Me, yet do I die for thee; though thou kickest against Me yet will I surely carry thee to My throne.” And the Hard-heart said, “Jesus, I can bear it no longer, I yield to Thee. Thy love has overcome me; oh, I would be Thy subject for ever, only remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom, and let me be numbered with Thy subjects both now and for ever.” My hearers, has Christ ever overcome you? Has His love been too much for you? Have you been compelled to give up your sins, woed by His love divine? Have your eyes been made to run with tears at the thought of His affection for you, and of your own ingratitude? Have you ever thought this over? “I, the blackest of sinners, have despised Him; His Bible I have left unread; His blood I have trampled under foot, and yet He died for me, and loved me with an everlasting love.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0281.cfm

Christ is Universal Monarch

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

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. – 1 Corinthians 15:57

Sin has been more than a match for creatures of every kind. Sin fought the angels and a third part of the stars of heaven fell. Sin defied the perfect Adam and soon overcame him, for even at the first blow he fell. Sin had a stern contest with Jesus our Lord, but in Him it found its master. Sin came with all its temptations, but Christ resisted and overcame. It came with its horror and with its curse; Christ suffered, Christ endured, and so destroyed its power. He took the poisoned darts of the curse into His own heart, and there quenched its poison fires by shedding his own blood. By suffering, Christ has become master over sin. The dragon’s neck is now beneath His feet. There is not a temptation which He has not known and therefore not a sin which He has not overcome. He has cast down every shape and form of evil, and now for ever stands as more than a conqueror through His glorious sufferings…He died, and in that dreadful hour He overcame death, rifled the sepulcher, split the stone which guarded the mouth of the grave, hewed death in pieces and destroyed the arch-destroyer. Christ seized the iron limbs of Death and ground them to powder in His hand. Death swayed its scepter over all the bodies of men, but Christ has opened the gate of resurrection for His redeemed, and in that day when He shall put the trumpet to His lips and blow the resurrection blast, then shall it be seen how Christ is universal monarch over all the domains of death, for as the Lord our Saviour rose, so all His followers must… Oh, my brethren, how bright that crown which He deserves, who hath for ever put away our sin by the sacrifice of Himself. My soul enraptured restrains my voice, and once again I bow before His throne and worship, in spirit, my bleeding Ransomer, my suffering Saviour.~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0281.cfm