repentance

Turn Unto the Lord

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

Supposing Him to be the Gardener. – John 20:15

But He answered and said, Every plant, which My heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. – Matthew 15:13

In this great congregation many are to the Church what weeds are to a garden. They are not planted by God; they are not growing under His nurture; they are bringing forth no fruit to His glory. My dear friend, I have tried often to get at you, to impress you, but I cannot. Take heed; for one of these days, “supposing Him to be the gardener,” He will reach you, and you shall know what that word meaneth, “Every plant which My heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up.” Take heed to yourselves, I pray.

Others among us are like the branches of the vine which bear no fruit. We have often spoken very sharply to these, speaking honest truth in unmistakable language, and yet we have not touched their consciences. Ah, but “supposing Him to be the gardener,” He will fulfill that sentence: “Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away.” He will get at you, if we cannot. Would God you would turn unto the Lord with full purpose of heart; so that instead of being a weed you might become a choice flower; that instead of a dry stick, you might be a sappy, fruit-bearing, branch of the vine. The Lord make it to be so; but if any here need the caution, I pray them to take it to heart at once. “Supposing Him to be the gardener,” there will be no escaping from His eye; there will be no deliverance from His hand. As “He will thoroughly purge His floor, and burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire,” so He will thoroughly cleanse His garden and cast out every worthless thing. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1699.cfm

Sinner, Christ Wants Thee!

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, prayer, promises, repentance, salvation 1 Comment

Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. – Matthew 11:28,29

Sinner! if thou wantest Christ, Christ wants thee; if thou hast a desire after Christ, Christ has a desire after thee. What sayest thou, poor soul, wilt thou take Christ just as He is? Come! bundle out all thy righteousness. come! Pack up all thy goodness and cast it out of doors. Take Jesus, Jesus only, to be thy salvation; and I tell thee, though thou wert black as night, and filthy as a demon, while thou art yet in the land of the living, if thou dost now take Christ as thy Savior, that Christ will be enough for thee, enough to clothe thee, enough to purge thee, enough to perfect thee, and enough to land thee safe in heaven. But if you are self-righteous, I have no gospel for you except this,

“Not the righteous, not the righteous, Sinners, Jesus, came to save.”

Sinners, of all sorts and sizes! sinners black, sinners blacker, sinners blackest! sinners filthy, sinners filthier, sinners filthiest! Sinners bad, sinners worse, sinners worst! All ye who can take to yourselves the name of sinner! All of you who can subscribe to that title! I, in God’s name, preach to you that “He is able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by Him;” and if by faith and prayer you are enabled to come to Him this night, there is not a sinner who feels his need of a Savior who may not this night have that Savior. God has given Him first, and He will not deny Him second. He who is freely proclaimed in revelation, is freely commended to you in ministration.

“True relief and true repentance,

Every grace that brings you nigh;

Without money,

Come to Jesus Christ and buy.”

Oh! save souls! O God! save souls! Amen! Amen!

~ C.H. Spurgeon

Sermon, Grace Reviving Israel

The “Better Things”

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

And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. – Hebrews 12:24

I bid you notice that we are expressly told that this precious blood speaks “better things than that of Abel.” I do not think that the whole meaning of the passage is exhausted if we say that Abel’s blood cries for vengeance, and that Christ’s blood speaks for pardon.

What does the blood of Abel speak? The blood of Abel speaks to a complete and believing obedience to God. It shows us a man who believes God, and notwithstanding the enmity of his brother, brings to God the appointed sacrifice of faith, strictly following up, even to the bitter end, his holy obedience to the Most High. The death of Jesus Christ was the crown and close of a perfect life; it was a fit completion of a course of holiness. In obedience to the Great Father, Jesus even laid down His life. But if this is all the blood of Jesus speaks, as some say that it is, then it does not speak better things than the blood of Abel, for it only says the same things in a louder voice. The martyrdom of any saint has a voice for obedience to God as truly as the martyrdom of Jesus, but the death of our Lord says far more, infinitely more, than this. It not only witnesses to complete obedience, but it provides the way by which the disobedient may be forgiven and helped to obedience and holiness. The cross has a greater, deeper, gladder gospel for fallen men than that of a perfect example which they are unable to follow. Our Lord’s blood says “better things than that of Abel,” and what does it say? It says, “There is redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1888.cfm

This Blood is Always Speaking

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

And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. – Hebrews 12:24

The text says not “the blood of sprinkling that spoke,” but “that speaks.” It is always speaking; it always remains a plea with God and a testimony to men. It never will be silenced, either one way or the other. In the intercession of our risen and ascended Lord His sacrifice ever speaks to the Most High. By the teaching of the Holy Spirit the atonement will always speak in edification to believers yet upon the earth. It is the blood that speaks. According to our text, this is the only speech which this dispensation yields us. Shall that speech ever be still? Shall we decline to hear it? Shall we refuse to echo it? God forbid. By day, by night, the great sacrifice continues to cry to the sons of men, “Turn from your sins, for they cost your Savior dearly. The time of your ignorance God winked at, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, since He is able to forgive and yet be just. Your offended God has Himself provided a sacrifice; come and be sprinkled with its blood and be reconciled once and for all.” The voice of this blood speaks wherever there is a guilty conscience, wherever there is an anxious heart, wherever there is a seeking sinner, wherever there is a believing mind. It speaks with a sweet, familiar, tender, inviting voice. There is no music like it to the sinner’s ear, it charms away his fears. It shall never cease its speaking so long as there is a sinner yet out of Christ, no, so long as there is one on earth who still needs its cleansing power because of fresh backslidings. Oh, hear its voice! Incline your ears and receive its blessed accents. It says, “Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord; though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1888.cfm

Your Sin or Christ?

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

And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. – Matthew 27:16,17,20

Barabbas-a thief, a felon, a murderer, a traitor, had been captured; he was probably one of a band of murderers who were accustomed to come up to Jerusalem at the time of the feast, carrying daggers under their cloaks to stab persons in the crowd, and rob them, and then he would be gone again; besides that, he had tried to stir up sedition, setting himself up possibly as a leader of banditti. Christ was put into competition with this villain; the two were presented before the popular eye, and to the shame of manhood, to the disgrace of Adam’s race, let it be remembered that the perfect, loving, tender, sympathizing, disinterested Savior was met with the word, “Crucify Him!” and Barabbas, the thief, was preferred. “Well,” says one, “that was atrocious.” The same thing is put before you -the very same thing; and every unregenerate man will make the same choice that the Jews did, and only men renewed by grace will act upon the contrary principle. I say, friend, this day I put before you Christ Jesus, or your sins. The reason why many come not to Christ is because they cannot give up their lusts, their pleasures, their profits. Sin is Barabbas; sin is a thief; it will rob your soul of its life; it will rob God of His glory. Sin is a murderer; it stabbed our father, Adam; it slew our purity. Sin is a traitor; it rebels against the king of heaven and earth. If you prefer sin to Christ, Christ has stood at your tribunal, and you have given in your verdict that sin is better than Christ. 

You cannot be willing to come to Christ, and yet Christ reject you. God forbid we should suppose the possibility of any sinner crying after the Savior, and the Savior saying, “No, I will not have you.” Blessed be His name! “Him that cometh to Me,” He says, “I will in no wise cast out.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0495.cfm

Will You Behold Your King?

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, promises, repentance, salvation, The Holy Spirit 4 Comments

And they shall mock Him, and shall scourge Him, and shall spit upon Him, and shall kill Him: and the third day He shall rise again. – Mark 10:34

The Jews no doubt having bribed the soldiers to excessive zeal of scorn, a second time (oh! mark this; perhaps ye thought this happened only once! this is the fifth time He has thus been treated) the soldiers took Him back again, and once more they mocked Him, once more they spat upon Him, and treated Him shamefully. So, you see, there was once when He first went to the house of Caiaphas; then after He was condemned there; then Herod and his men of war; then Pilate after the scourging; and then the soldiers, after the ultimate condemnation. See ye not how manifestly “He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.” Oh, that I could set forth Thy grief, Thou Man of Sorrows! God the Holy Ghost impress it on your memories and on your souls and help you pitifully to consider the griefs of your blessed Lord.

You must this day accept Christ as your King, or else His blood will be on you. I bring my Master out before your eyes, and say to you, “Behold your King.” Are you willing to yield obedience to Him? He claims first your implicit faith in His merit: will you yield to that? He claims, next, that you will take Him to be Lord of your heart, and that, as He shall be Lord within, so He shall be Lord without. Which shall it be? Will you choose Him now? Does the Holy Spirit in your soul-for without that you never will-does the Holy Spirit say, “Bow the knee, and take Him as your king?” Thank God, then. But if not, His blood is on you, to condemn you. Pilate, Caiaphas, Herod, the Jews and Romans, all meet in you. You scourged Him; you said, “Let Him be crucified.” Do not say it was not so. In effect you join their clamours when you refuse Him; when you go your way to your farm and to your merchandise, and despise His love and His blood, you do spiritually what they did literally-you despise the King of kings. Come to the fountain of His blood, and wash and be clean. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0495.cfm

There Christ Rests

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

And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. – Ephesians 5:2

May we each one be more watchful lest the Bridegroom should withdraw from us. He will go away if we grow proud. If we are boastful, and say, “There is some reason why God should bless us,” and should begin to speak hectoringly towards weaker brethren, the Lord will let us know that “not unto us, not unto us, but unto His name shall be all the glory.” A little thing, a very little thing, will drive Him from us, and it may be many a day before our repentance shall be able to find Him again. He has suffered so much from sin that He cannot endure the approach of it. His pure and holy soul abhors the least taint of iniquity.

If there be a want of love among us, the Lord of love will be offended. The holy dove loves not scenes of strife; He frequents the calm still waters of brotherly love. There the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore, where brethren dwelt together in unity. If any of you have half a hard thought towards another, get rid of it; if there be the beginnings of anything like jealousy, quench the sparks. “Leave off strife,” says Solomon, “before it be meddled with,” as if he said, “End it before you begin it,” which, though it seems strangely paradoxical, is most wise advice. “Little children love one another.” “Walk in love as Christ also has loved us.” May discord be far from us. Wherever He sees true repentance, real faith, holy consecration, purity of life, chastity of love, there Christ rests. I believe He finds no sweeter happiness even in heaven than the happiness of accepting His people’s prayers and praises. Our love is very sweet to Him; our deeds of gratitude are very precious, the broken alabaster boxes of self-sacrifices done for Him are very fair in His esteem. He finds no rest in the world, He never did; but He finds sweet rest on the bosoms of His faithful ones. He loves to come into a pure church, and there to say, “I am at home. I will declare Thy name unto My brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1035.cfm