The Father

The Desire of the Christian

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

O fear the LORD, ye His saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him… they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing. – Psalm 34:9,10

The (saved) man seeks the Lord by daily and constant prayer, seeking that he may be upheld, guided, constrained in paths of righteousness, and restrained from the ways of sin. He becomes a seeker of the Lord after sanctification as once he was after justification. And then he becomes a seeker of the Lord in a further sense. He seeks to enjoy the Lord’s love, and His gracious fellowship and communion. He seeks to get near in reverent friendship to his Lord. He now longs to grow up in the likeness of Christ, that his intercourse with the Father and the Son may be more close, more sweet, more continuous. He feels that God is his Father, and that he is no longer at a distance from him in one sense, for he is made nigh by the blood of the cross. Yet sometimes he is oppressed with a sense of his old evil heart of unbelief and in departure from the living God, and he cries out, “Draw me nearer to Thyself.” In fact, his prayer always is:

“Nearer my God to Thee,
Nearer to Thee:
E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me,
Still all my cry shall be,
Nearer to Thee, nearer to Thee.”

He seeks the Lord’s company. He delights to be in God’s house, and at God’s mercy-seat, and at the foot of the cross, where God reveals Himself in all His glory. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3409.cfm

The Life of the Christian

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

…they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing. – Psalm 34:10

The term to “seek the Lord,” I may say, is the description of the life of the Christian. When he lives as he should, his whole life is seeking the Lord. It is with this he begins. “Behold, he prayeth,” that is, he seeks the Lord. He has begun to be conscious of his sin; he is seeking pardon of the Lord. He has begun to be aware of his danger; he is seeking salvation in the Lord. He is now aware of his powerlessness, and he is looking for strength to the Lord. Those deep convictions, those cries and tears, those repentings and humblings, and, above all, those acts of simple confidence in which he casts himself upon the great atonement made upon Calvary’s bloody tree-those are all acts of seeking the Lord. Now, perhaps, some of you have got no farther than this. Well, you shall have your proportion of blessing, according to your strength. You shall have your share in it, little as you are. He will give to His children at the table their portion, as well as to those who have grown to manhood.

After a man has attained unto eternal life by confiding in the Lord Jesus, he then goes on to seek the Lord in quite another way. No wonder; since he has found the Lord, or rather has been found of Him, and yet he still presses on to apprehend Him of whom he has been already apprehended. He still presses forward, seeking the Lord, and he seeks the Lord thus. He seeks now to know the Lord’s mind, the Lord’s law and will. “Show me what Thou wouldest have me to do,” saith he. “Lord, I went by my own wit once, and I brought myself into a dark wood: I lost myself: I was at hell’s brink, and Thou didst save me: now, Lord, guide and direct me: be pleased to teach me: open my lips when I speak: guide my hands when I act: I wait at Thy feet, feeling that –

“For holiness no strength have I;
My strength is at Thy feet to lie.”

~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3409.cfm

Consider the Probabilities of It

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, promises, Sovereignty of God, The Father, The Holy Spirit Leave a comment

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. – Romans 10:17

The only way by which you can be saved is by faith. Take that to be settled. Now if a man says, “I cannot believe such a thing”-what then? What is his wisest course? Suppose you find a difficulty in believing a report-what do you do? why, you consider the probabilities of it. Suppose it, had been rumoured that the emperor Napoleon had shot himself. Shall I believe the report? I will ask whence the rumor comes, what intelligence corroborates it, upon what authority it is stated, and soon by that means I arrive at a conclusion whether it is probably true or is a mere idle tale. Now if you earnestly desire to believe, faith is the gift of God, and a work of the Spirit, but God works according to the laws of mind, and faith in Christ will most readily come to you in conformity with those laws. “Faith cometh by hearing,” how by hearing? Why, because by hearing I learn the truth concerning Christ, and what I hear commends itself to my judgment and understanding, and so I come to believe. Faith comes to us by reading which is another form of hearing. Read what the Scripture has to say about the Messiah and His work, and you will be helped to believe God’s testimony, by knowing what it is and on what authority it comes to you…Is it not a marvellous system that God should be pleased to put away sin through an atonement, by laying the sin upon another, and punishing it in the person of His Son? Do you know of any other system that would meet the case so well, that would be so suitable to you? I believe that the authenticity of Scripture is better proved by the very existence of this doctrine than by anything else, for no human mind could ever have contrived or conceived of a way so just to God, and yet so infinitely gracious. I feel sure it is true, I am certain of it. Then I find it promised over and over again by God Himself, that if I trust Christ I shall have the benefit of all His work. I therefore believe the thing is reasonable, it is proclaimed by divine authority. I have God’s promise for it, I know that the Almighty One cannot lie; I cheerfully accept what He provides for me, and I am saved. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0947.cfm

The Most God-like Work

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, confession of sin, prayer, promises, repentance, salvation, The Father, The Holy Spirit Leave a comment

Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” – John 6:28

Never hope to be saved except by God’s way of salvation. O that the Holy Ghost would enable you in your heart to say, “Now I come to Thee, O Jesus; guilty as I am, I lift my eyes to Thee, and this is my prayer: ‘Help me for Thy mercy’s sake; have pity upon me and cleanse me in Thy blood, for I put all my trust in Thee.'” Resolve, O seeker, to have no refuge of lies, no Savior but the Lamb of God.

I will confess to you, dear seeker, that often I am myself personally driven to do what I trust you may be led to do today. I look back upon my past life, and while I have much to thank God for, much in which to see His Spirit’s hand, yet when I feel my responsibilities and my shortcomings, my heart sinks within me. When I think of my transgressions, better known to myself than to anyone else, and remember too that they are not known even to me as they are to God, I feel all hope swept away and my soul left in utter despair, until I come anew to the cross, and bethink me of who it was that died there, and why He died, and what designs of infinite mercy are answered by His death. It is so sweet to look up to the Crucified One again, and say, “I have nought but Thee, my Lord, no confidence but Thee. If Thou be not accepted as my substitute I must perish; if God’s appointed Savior be not enough, I have no other, but I know Thou art the Father’s Well-beloved, and I am accepted in Thee. Thou art all I want, and all I have.”…The Jews asked our Savior, “What shall we do that we may work the works of God?” and He said, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.” The greatest of all works, the most Godlike work, is to leave off self-righteous seeking, and trust in Jesus. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0947.cfm

Drink of Salvation’s Cup

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

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. – Hebrews 11:6

It is some good thing certainly to be a seeker, but it is also an ill thing if I follow my seeking and refuse God’s way of salvation. Hear what the apostle John saith: “He that believeth not God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son.” This is no small sin to be guilty of, and it entails no small punishment, for “he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” Suppose that I have been told of a remedy for my disease. Well, it is so far good that I desire to be cured of my deadly malady, it is so far hopeful that I have sent for a physician. But after being informed that there is the one specific for my disease, and that it alone will certainly heal me-if I were still to continue seeking a remedy, or to say I am seeking this one true remedy, I shall remain sick, and ultimately die. I shall never be healed unless I take that which is prescribed: to seek it is not enough, I must actually take it…O seeker for Jesus, think of this, for while I would not discourage thee, yet would I encourage thee to end thy seeking by becoming a believer. Look not at salvation’s cup, but drink of it. Stand not by the fountain’s brim but wash in it and be clean. O may the Holy Spirit lead thee to cease thy search for goodly pearls, for the pearl of great price is before thee. Jesus is not to be discovered as a secret; He stands before thee openly. Behold His hands and His feet, mark well His riven side, and as thou lookest, trust, and henceforth He is all thine own. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0947.cfm

Seeking for Jesus

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

When the people saw that Jesus was not there, neither His disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus. – John 6:24

The persons who are here described as seeking for Jesus, were looking after Him from a very mean and selfish motive, not because of the gracious words which He spake, nor to render Him thanks for benefits received at His hands, but merely because they had eaten of the loaves and fishes and hoped to do so again. From such sordid motives let us flee.

“Seeking for Jesus” has a large amount of hopefulness in it; it is as the almond tree in blossom, though as yet fruit there is not. The seeker at any rate is not indifferent now; he is not a careless sluggard, demanding yet more sleep and folding of the hands; he is not a defiant rebel, daring the wrath of God with blasphemous audacity; he is no longer a denier of revelation; he would not be seeking for Jesus unless he had some kind of faith-at any rate, a theoretical faith-in a Savior, and in his need of Him… For an alarmed and awakened sinner to seek rest in ceremonies, will be a search for bread among ashes; to labor for salvation by thine own righteousness, will be looking for substance among dreams. Thy seeking after Jesus shows that thou art on the right track, and though as yet thou hast not reached the haven, the helm is set in the right direction, and I am grateful to God for it, and encouraged concerning thee…What a pleasing sight it is to see a man who has formerly been prayerless, casting himself upon his knees in secret! How gratifying to see the unread Bible brought out from the dust and carefully studied! Methinks an angel must look on with holy interest when he sees the fresh tear fall in the solitary chamber, and the unaccustomed suppliant bow before his God. Glad are those blessed spirits when they hear the seeker say, “O God, I will seek Thee until I find Thee; I will cry unto Thee till I receive an answer of peace.” …A heart that turns itself to Christ if haply it may find Him, is evidently in a hopeful condition. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0947.cfm

All Things Are Mine

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

Therefore, let no man glory in men. For all things are yours…And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s. – 1 Corinthians 3:21,23

The Bible is a dull book to a person who has no part or lot in it. There is no drier reading, in all the world, than the reading of a will in which one has no interest; but there is nothing that would interest you more than listening to the will of your old uncle, in which he had left you a large fortune. You would lean forward, and you would put your hand to your ear lest you should lose any of it, and you would think that you had never heard a more eloquent discourse than that, and when a man gets to know what “God hath spoken,” what he hath written for him in this blessed Book, which contains His will, every word is music to him, and he is ready to pick out some of the choicest words, and say, “Regeneration is mine; justification is mine; adoption is mine; sanctification is mine; union to Christ is mine; resurrection is mine; eternal life is mine; yea, all things are mine;” and he would dwell upon each one with a holy unction, at least to his own soul. Then, if you know what God has given you, mind that you use it all...Christian, if you have true faith, and mean to do real business with God, and for Him, say to yourself, “I have this, and that, and the other blessing, and I am going to use them all for His glory. I have been adopted by God; I am His child; so I will plead with Him and will get all I can from my Father to use in His service! I am justified, I have peace with God; so I will go forth, and, in the power of that peace, I will let others see what bliss Christians know. Then I also have sanctification given me in Christ; so I will use that, and seek to be a true saint, that my life may be a blameless, holy, gracious, Christ-like life. By God’s grace, I will not have even one unused privilege. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2864.cfm