promises

The Noticed Pray-er

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, prayer, promises 3 Comments

And the Lord said to (Ananias), Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth. – Acts 8:11

God bore witness that Saul did pray. He was about to answer the prayer. He had Ananias in readiness to go and comfort the poor blinded penitent. God is about to answer your prayer if you have cried to Him. Perhaps the man is present who will speak to you.

He called attention to it by a “Behold.” We have heard of many marvels concerning which men cry, “Behold”; but that which strikes God most is a sinner praying. God does not say, “Behold Herod on his throne,” or “Behold Caesar in his palace.” I am afraid there are many of whom it would have to be said, “Behold, he never prays!” What a sight — a man created by his Maker, and daily fed by His bounty, who never worships Him! And yet when he does pray, God makes a wonder of it. It is his first prayer this morning. He has reached home and is kneeling by the side of that bed on which he has slept so often without prayer, and he cries, “O God, I do not know what to say, but be merciful to me a sinner, and forgive my sins.” I hear the rustling wings of angels as they gather around the sacred spot. Anon they fly upward, crying, “Behold he prayeth.”…You remember that day when you first prayed; and you go upstairs, and say, “Lord, many days have passed since, and I have not ceased to cry; but now I am in special trouble. I beseech Thee, deliver me!” And angels sing and the devils mutter, “Behold, he prayeth.” The young man has grown old, and has gone up to the same room for the last time. “Behold, he prayeth.” Prayer, which has long been his vital breath and native air, is now “His watchword at the gates of death.” The shining ones gladly meet the soul that is on Jordan’s bank when they hear the voice, “Behold, he prayeth.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

http://biblehub.com/sermons/auth/spurgeon/behold_he_prayeth.htm

Real Prayer

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, prayer, promises 3 Comments

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise. – Psalm 51:17

Saul had never offered prayer of the kind which the Lord can accept. He knew the letter of the truth according to the ceremonial law; but he did not know the spirit of it as it is embodied in Jesus. He had been going about to establish his own righteousness, but he had not submitted himself to the righteousness of Christ; and therefore in his prayer he had not been traversing the road which led to the heart of God…Saul had never made mention of the name of Jesus. There is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved; there is none other name by which we can hopefully approach the mercy seat. Saul had rejected that name, and had come in his own.

Real prayer cannot come from men whose characters are contrary to the mind of God. Their lives have effectually pleaded against their lips. Saul of Tarsus was opposed to the Son of God; how could he be in favour with God Himself? If we set ourselves in opposition to His gospel, while we pretend to be knocking at heaven’s gate we are turning the key against ourselves…Friend, if you are living an ungodly life, I do not care how regularly you bend your knee in seeming devotion, there is nothing in it. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

http://biblehub.com/sermons/auth/spurgeon/behold_he_prayeth.htm

A True Conversion’s Witness

Sherry Character of Jesus, Christian Life, prayer, promises, salvation, The Holy Spirit 3 Comments

And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prays – Acts 9:11

These words are the hallmark of genuine conversion. “Behold, he prayeth” is a surer witness of a man’s conversion than, “Behold, he singeth, or, readeth the Scripture, or, preacheth.” These things may be admirably done by men who are not regenerate; but if a man really prays, we may know that he has passed from death unto life. Prayer is the autograph of the Holy Ghost upon the renewed heart. Hence the Lord gave to Ananias his sure indication that Saul of Tarsus was a converted man, by saying to him, “Behold, he prayeth.” In Saul’s case, this indication was very specially remarkable: “Behold, he prayeth” had a peculiar meaning in relation to this converted Pharisee. It was thought a great wonder that King Saul, of the Old Testament, prophesied. So unexpected and singular was the event that it became a proverb: “Is Saul also among the prophets?” But it was an equal marvel when this more modern Saul was seen to pray. Is Saul of Tarsus among those who pray to Jesus for mercy? The Lord from heaven Himself mentions it as a prodigy, he points to it as a thing to be beheld and wondered at, for He says to His servant Ananias, “Behold, he prayeth.”… This is very striking, for Saul was a Pharisee, and therefore a man who habitually repeated prayers; but He who searcheth the hearts, and knew what prayer is, here declares that now at length he begins to pray. What his friends would have put down as a great mass of prayer, the Lord makes nothing of…Words are but the body of devotion: the confession of sin, the longing for mercy, these are the spirit of prayer. A man may have repeated the choicest words, and yet not have prayed at all. A man may utter no word whatever, and he may be praying most effectually, as Moses and Hannah. Anyhow, that prayer which is not spiritual is not prayer; for “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” If the spirit does not commune with God, there may have been music and oratory, but there has been no prayer. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

http://biblehub.com/sermons/auth/spurgeon/behold_he_prayeth.htm

 

Lay Hold on the Better Hope

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, salvation 3 Comments

That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: -Hebrews 6:18

If any of you, dear friends, have said, “We will be okay, because we are regular church people;” or if you have said, “We are okay, for we are Baptists, we are Independents; our father and mother, and our grandfather and grandmother were good Christian people.” Ah, yes! and so may your great grandfather and great grandmother have been, but your pedigree will avail you nothing unless you personally repent of your sins, and lay hold of Christ as your Savior. Nor is there anything else upon which you can depend for salvation. Your baptism, your church-going, your taking of the Lord’s Supper, your reciting of church prayers, your family prayers, your giving of your money, everything of your own put together will all be less than nothing, and vanity, if you trust in it. You must flee from all such false hopes as that, and get a better hope, “That by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us” [Hebrews 6:18].

I pray, brothers and sisters, whoever you are, you who think you are so good, be anxious to get rid of all that fancied goodness of yours. I beg you, if you have any self-righteousness about you, to ask God to strip it off of you at once, I would like you to feel as that man did, who had a forged bank note and some counterfeit coins in his possession. When the policeman came to his house, he was anxious not to have any of it near him; likewise, shake off your self-righteousness. You will be as surely damned by your righteousness, if you trust in it, as you will be by your unrighteousness. Christ alone, the gift of free grace from God, this is the gate of heaven; but all self-satisfaction, all boasting, all exaltation of yourself above your fellow-men, is wicked and disastrous, and will surely be deadly to your spirit for ever. ~C.H. Spurgeon

http://www.biblebb.com/files/spurgeon/2704.htm

A Real Heart Change

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, salvation 3 Comments

Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. – Matthew 3:8

There is no going to heaven by following the road to hell. There is no finding pardon while continuing in sin. Depend upon it, Mr. Drunkard, you will not be forgiven for your drunkenness if you still go on with your drinking. Don’t let the man who is immoral imagine that he can go on with his sin and yet be forgiven. Don’t let the thief dream that there is any pardon for him unless he quits his evil course, and tries to make restitution as best he can to those whom he has wronged.  There must be repentance…evidences of true repentance is a new life. It is no use feeling sorry for yourself and crying, and praying a prayer of salvation with a lie in your right hand, and then going home to swear and drink, or to avoid Sunday worship, and to live as you like, and all the while still hoping to enter heaven. No, sin and you must part, or else Christ and you can never keep company. Do you remember that message that John Bunyan thought he heard in his head when he was playing sports on Sunday morning. He suddenly stood still with the stick in his hand, for he thought he heard a voice saying to him, “Will you turn away from your sins, and go to heaven, or keep your sins, and go to hell?” That is the alternative which both the law and the gospel put before men and women. “Flee from the coming wrath;” but there is no fleeing from wrath except by repentance of sin, which will be evidenced by the fruits of repentance: a real change of heart and life. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

http://www.biblebb.com/files/spurgeon/2704.htm

 

 

Flee from the Wrath to Come!

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, salvation 4 Comments

Who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us. -Hebrews 6:18

Sinner, you cannot endure the wrath of God. If your ribs were made of granite, and your nerves were made of brass, you could not endure the wrath of the Almighty; no, not even for a moment. If a man had a toothache, how dreadful it would seem to him to have to bear that pain for twelve months, even if he knew that there would be an end to it then; but what must the anger of God be like when He comes to deal with our entire life of sin, and to punish our sin for ever and ever? We cannot bear it; we must flee from it. What does this mean? How do we flee from the coming wrath?

A man who flees for his life does not want any indirect, roundabout roads, he takes short cuts, he jumps over hedges and ditches that he may get where he wants to be in the shortest possible time. So going straight to Jesus is the only direction for you…Some people will recommend that you read books, which I am certain you cannot understand, for no living soul can; or perhaps you should meet with persons who want to explain to you some wondrous mystery. Listen to them, if you like, after the great business of your salvation is over; but right now you do not have any time for mysteries, you have no time for puzzles, you have no time to be confused and perplexed; the one thing you have to do right now is to run straight to Jesus, straight to Jesus. You are a sinner, and He is the only Savior for sinners; so, trust Him- God help you to trust Him- and thus to find immediate salvation! You have a severe sin problem, thus you must flee straight to Christ. The plan of salvation is not a thing that is hard to understand. “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; and they will never be condemned; for they have passed from death to life.”

You have no time for anything else, and you have no need of anything else; so flee, “flee from the coming wrath.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

http://www.biblebb.com/files/spurgeon/2704.htm

 

Repent, Sinner!

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, salvation, The Holy Spirit 3 Comments

If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and made it ready. -Psalm 7:12

Because the wrath of God is not instantly poured out against an evil deed, therefore men and women say, “We need not trouble ourselves. God doesn’t see our sins, or if He does He doesn’t care about them. He winks at our iniquities; He counts them as mere trifles. No harm will come to us because of them.” I can only reply to these foolish people, “Oh, if you are prepared to throw away the Bible, I can understand a little why you would talk like that; but if you really believe that the Scriptures are the Word of God, you know what the consequences of your sin must be…Even if you are so foolish as to throw away your Bibles, yet, unless you think of yourselves as nothing more than a mere animal that will turn back into dust when you die, and totally cease to exist, then you must expect that there will be another state of existence in which right will be vindicated and wrong will be punished. It seems to lie upon the very conscience of men and women, in the unwritten code of intuitive knowledge, or of knowledge handed down from our fathers, that there must come a time in which God will surely expose every secret sin, and pour out His judgment on the proud and the arrogant sinner, and vindicate the rights of men and women and the rights of His own throne. It must be so; and even though the wrath is delayed for a while, it will surely come.

Oh, if God the Holy Spirit will make you feel your imminent danger, you will want to fly to Christ with the swiftness of the lightning-flash; you will not be satisfied to linger as you are even for another hour. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

http://www.biblebb.com/files/spurgeon/2704.htm