salvation

Persecutor, Christ’s Sovereign Will Is Over You

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

Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God… – Ephesians 2:19

We have seen a horse stand still in the street, and the driver, who had not very much patience with him, has so belaboured him, that we wondered how the poor horse could stand still under such a torrent of blows; but we have observed at last that the horse is obliged to go on, and we wondered what he got by standing still. It is just the same with you. If the Lord means to make a Christian out of you, you may kick against Christianity, but He will have you at last. If Jesus Christ intends your salvation you may curse Him, but He will make you preach His gospel one day, if He likes to do so. Ah, if Christ had willed it, Voltaire who cursed Him, might have made a second apostle Paul. He could not have resisted sovereign grace, if Christ had so determined. If anyone had told the apostle Paul when he was going to Damascus, that he would one day become a preacher of Christianity, he would no doubt, have laughed at it as ridiculous nonsense; but the Lord had the key of his will, and He wound it up as He pleased. And so it will be with you-if He has determined to have you as one of His followers-

“If, as the eternal mandate ran
Almighty grace arrest that man,”

Almighty grace will arrest you; and the bloodiest of persecutors will be made the boldest of saints. Oh, how foolish must you be, to persevere in a rebellion which is harmful to none but your own soul, which is not injurious to Him whom you hate, but which, if He pleases, He can stop, or if He doth not stop, He can and will revenge. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

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

Personal Preaching

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

…Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?… – Acts 26:14

Jesus did not say out of heaven. “Saul, why does the synagogue persecute Me? Why do the Jews hate My religion?” No; it was put more pertinently than that-“Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?” If it had been put in general terms, it would have glanced off from the heart of the apostle; it could have been like an arrow which had missed the mark, and barely grazed the skin of the man in whose heart it was intended to find a home; but when it came personally-“Why persecutest thou Me?”-there was no getting off it. I pray the Lord to make the question personal to some of you. There be many of us who have had personal preaching to our souls. Do you not remember, dear brother in Christ, when you were first pricked in the heart, how personal the preacher was? I remember it well. It seemed to me that I was the only person in the whole place, as if a black wall were round about me, and I were shut in with the preacher, something like the prisoners at the Penitentiary, who each sit in their box and can see no one but the chaplain. I thought all he said was meant for me; I felt persuaded that some one knew my character, and had written to him and told him all, and that he had personally picked me out. Why, I thought he fixed his eyes on me; and I have reason to believe he did, but still he said he knew nothing about my case. Oh, that men would hear the word preached, and that God would so bless them in their hearing, that they might feel it to have a personal application to their own hearts.

Oh! Master! turn sinners to Thyself; for Jesus sake! Amen.~ 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

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

The Everlasting Diadem of the King of Heaven

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

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

Let every believing eye look through the thick darkness and behold Jesus as He sits this day upon the throne of His Father, and let every heart rejoice while it sees the many crowns of dominion upon His head. There sparkles about His brow the everlasting diadem of the King of Heaven. His are the angels. The cherubim and seraphim continually bound forth His praise. At His behest the mightiest spirit delights to fly, and carry His commands to the most distant world. He has but to speak, and it is done. Cheerfully is He obeyed, and majestically doth He reign. His high courts are thronged with holy spirits, who live upon His smile, who drink light from His eyes, who borrow glory from His majesty. There is no spirit in heaven so pure that it does not bow before Him, no angel so bright that it does not veil its face with its wings, when it draweth near to Him. Yea, moreover, the many spirits redeemed, delight to bow before Him, day without night they circle His throne, singing, “Worthy is He that was slain and hath redeemed us from our sins by His blood! Honor, and glory, and majesty, and power, and dominion, and might, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.” To be King of Heaven were surely enough! The ancients were accustomed to divide heaven, and earth, and hell, into divers monarchies, and allot each of them to distinct kings; and surely heaven were an empire large enough even for an infinite Spirit. Christ is Lord of all its boundless plains. He laid the precious stones upon which was builded that city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God; He is the light of that city, He is the joy of its inhabitants, and it is their loving life evermore to pay Him honor.~ C.H. Spurgeon

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