The Father

This Wonderful Prayer

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

“Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy Word is truth.”-John 17:17

Our Lord Jesus prayed much for His people while He was here on earth. He made Peter the special subject of His intercession when He knew that he was in extraordinary danger. The midnight wrestlings of the Son of man were for His people…He poured out His soul in life before He poured it out unto death.

In this wonderful prayer, our Lord, as our great High Priest, appears to enter upon that perpetual office of intercession which He is now exercising at the right hand of the Father. Our Lord ever seemed, in the eagerness of His love, to be anticipating His work. Before He was set apart for His life-work, by the descent of the Holy Ghost upon Him, He must needs be about His Father’s business; before He finally suffered at the hands of cruel men, He had a baptism to be baptized with, and He was straitened till it was accomplished; before He actually died, He was covered with a bloody sweat, and was exceeding sorrowful even unto death; and in this case, before He in person entered within the veil, He made intercession for us. He never tarries when the good of His people calls for Him. His love hath wings as well as feet: it is true of Him evermore, “He rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, He did fly upon the wings of the wind.” O beloved, what a friend we have in Jesus! so willing, so speedy to do for us all that we need. Oh that we could imitate Him in this, and be quick of understanding to perceive our line of service, and eager of heart to enter upon it. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1890.cfm

A People Separated Unto God

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, Sovereignty of God, The Father, The Holy Spirit 2 Comments

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you… – 2 Corinthians 6:17

The more sin abounds in the world, the more ought the Church of God to seek after the strictest holiness. If ever there was an age that wanted back again the sternest form of Puritanism, it is this age. If ever there was a time when we needed the old original stamp of Methodists, we need them now, a people separated unto God, a people that have nothing to do but to please God and to save souls, a people that will not in any way bow themselves to the fashions of the time. For my part, I would like to see a George Fox come back among us, ay, Quaker as he was, to bear such a testimony as he did bear in the power of the Spirit of God against the evils of his time. God make us to feel that now, in the dark, we cannot be even as lenient as we might have been in brighter days towards the sin that surrounds us! Are any of you tempted into “society” so-called, and into the ways of that society? Every now and then, those who read the papers get some little idea of what is going on in “society.” The stench that comes from “society” tells us what it must be like, and makes us wish to keep clear of it. The awful revelations that were once before made, which caused us to be sick with shame and sorrow, might be made again; for there is just the same foulness and filthiness beneath the surface of the supposed greater decency. O Christian people, if you could but know, as the most of you ought not to know, how bad this world is, you would not begin to talk about its wonderful improvements, or to question the doctrine of human depravity…Keep yourselves to your Lord, and hear you this voice sounding through the darkness, the voice of a wisdom that sees more than you see, “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, said the Lord Almighty.” “Until the day break, and the shadows flee away,” lift your hands to heaven, and pledge yourselves to walk a separated pilgrim life, until He cometh before whose face heaven and earth shall flee away. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2477.cfm

He Has Pledged Himself to Us

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

Is not the LORD your God with you? – 1 Chronicles 22:18

…for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. – Hebrews 13:5

Remember how Divine Wisdom said, “My delights were with the sons of men.” It is a wonderful thing to be able to say, but God takes a great deal more pleasure in us than we do in Him; yet there seems in us nothing that can give Him pleasure, while in Him there is everything that can afford us delight. The Lord so loves His people that He is never long away from them. You know that dear relationship into which our Lord has entered with His Church; she is His bride, He loves her as He loves His own soul. In some respects, He loves her better than He loves Himself, for He gave Himself for her; and do you think that He is happy away from His bride, His spouse? It is not so; He saith to her, “Let Me see thy countenance, let Me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely;” and whenever she calls for Him, saying, “Let my Beloved come into His garden,” His quick answer is, “I am come into My garden, My sister, My spouse.” He so loves us that, when we shut the door against Him, He stands and knocks, and cries to us, “Open to Me, My sister, My love, My dove, My undefiled; for My head is filled with dew, and My locks with the drops of the night.” Do not think that He has gone from you when He loves you so as your Father, and as the Husband of your soul. Moreover, He will be with His Church in her work, because her work is His work; and wherever there is a heart on the earth, sanctified by the Holy Ghost, in sympathy and harmony with the heart of Christ, depend upon it He is assuredly there, for that sympathy and that harmony are created by His very presence. Well, then, as He has pledged Himself, and He is Himself pleased to be with His people, we believe the assertion which is implied in the enquiry, “Is not the Lord your God with you?” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2471.cfm

Is Not the Lord Your God With You?

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

Is not the LORD your God with you? – 1 Chronicles 22:18

For this God is our God for ever and ever: He will be our guide even unto death. – Psalm 48:14

Brethren and sisters in Christ, the Lord our God is with us…Do you ask how I know that? Well, I know it because He has pledged Himself to be with His people. “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Is not the Lord your God with you, then? Assuredly He is, if He keeps His promise; and you do not doubt His fidelity, do you? Can He forget His promise, or, remembering it, will He treat it as if it were more verbiage, words without meaning? There are men who can do that, we know; but does God act so? Can you suppose it possible? No, not for an instant; then, as He hath said, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee,” He will keep His word. We say, “Never is a long day,” and so it is, for it covers all time; and the Lord hath said, “I will never leave thee,”-in poverty, in sickness, in slander and reproach, in depression of spirit, in the hour of death, in the day of judgment,-“I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” He has pledged Himself to this, and God forbid that we should, for even a moment, doubt that He will keep His word! To believers in their church capacity, there is a pledge given by the blessed Lord Jesus Himself which refers especially to His work: “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” “Lo, I am with you,” says Christ, as much as to say, “Not only do I promise to be with you, but I am with you, I am already fulfilling My promise to you. For the past, for the present, and for the future, ‘Lo, I am with you alway.'” Let not any Church of God hesitate to answer this question, “Is not the Lord your God with you?” If He be your God, He is with you as individuals, and He is especially with you as a Christian community going forth to preach His gospel to every creature. That ought to be enough, surely? He has pledged Himself to be with us. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2471.cfm

Masters of the Art of Prayer

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, prayer, promises, The Father, The Holy Spirit 4 Comments

Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. – 11:33,34

Can you pray, my brother? If you know how to pray, you can move heaven and earth. Can you pray, my brother? Then you can set almighty forces in operation. You can suffer no need, for everlasting supplies await the hand of prayer: “Ask, and it shall be given you.” You cannot miss your way, for you shall be guided in answer to prayer. You shall hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk ye in it.” “O sir,” you say, “I cannot pray prevailingly.” Then you are not like Jacob, good at wrestling. You cannot take hold upon the angel, and win the victory. Do you feel in prayer as if the sinew of your strength were shrunk, and your knee out of joint? Well, then, let me bring the text before you. Out of this weakness in prayer you can only be made strong by faith. Believe in God, and you will prevail with God. Believe in His promise, and plead it. Believe in His Spirit, and pray by His help. Believe in Jesus, who makes intercession; for through Him you may come boldly to the throne of grace. Faith alone can confirm feeble knees. “According to your faith be it unto you.”…Seek faith to become Masters of the Art of prayer. I would rather be Master of the Art of prayer than M.A. of both universities. He who knows how to pray has his hand on a leverage which moves the universe. But there is no praying without believing. If thou believest not, thou mayest be heard-it is more than I can promise thee; but if thou believest, thou shalt be heard, for God refuses no believing prayer. To refuse to keep His own promise when it is pleaded would be to falsify His word, and change His character; and neither of these things can ever be. Have thou strong confidence: “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” Jesus said, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?” Believe in prayer, and you will pray believingly. Some do not think that there is much in prayer. Poor souls! The Lord teach them better! O my brothers, believe up to the hilt in prayer, and you will find it to be the most remunerative work on earth! He that trades with God in prayer enters upon a business whereof the merchandise is better than silver or gold. Prayer makes us “rich towards God,” and this is the best of riches; but it must be believing prayer. “Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.” Hast thou a poor, faint heart in this sacred exercise? Be assured that only by faith out of this weakness canst thou be made strong. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2209.cfm

This is Stupendous Condescension

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

I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. – Song of Songs

Be it always remembered that human self-praise is evil because of the motive which underlies it. We praise ourselves, and, alas! that we should be so foolish as to do so, we do it out of pride; but when Christ praises Himself, He does it out of humility. “Oh!” say you, “how can you prove that to be true?” Why, thus; He praises Himself that He may win our love; but what condescension it is on His part that He should care about the love of such insignificant and undeserving persons as we are! It is a wonderful stoop that the Christ of God should speak about having a bride, and that He should come to seek His bride among the sons of men. If princes were to look for consorts among beggars, that would be after all but a small stoop, for God hath made of one blood all nations of men that dwell upon the face of the earth; but for Christ to forsake the thrones and glories of heaven, and the splendours of His Father’s courts above, to come down to win a well-beloved one here, and for her sake to take upon Himself her nature, and in her nature to bear the shame of death, even the death of the cross, this is stupendous condescension of which only God Himself is capable; and this praising of Himself is a part of that condescension, a necessary means of winning the love of the heart that He has chosen. So that this is a matchless instance, not of pride, but of humility, that those dear lips of the heavenly Bridegroom should have to speak to His own commendation, and that He should say, “I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.” O human lips, why are ye silent, so that Christ must speak about Himself? O human hearts, why are ye so hard that ye will never feel until Christ Himself shall address you? O human eyes, why are ye so blind that ye shall never see till Christ shows Himself in His own superlative light and loveliness? I think I need not defend my Master, though He used these sweet emblems to set forth Himself; for this is an instance, not of His pride, but of His humility. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2472.cfm

This is Rare Praise

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, Sovereignty of God, The Father 5 Comments

My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven. His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set. His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh. His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires. His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. – Songs 5:16

There is no point in our Lord Jesus that you could improve. To paint the rose were to spoil its ruddy hue. To tint the lily (for He is lily as well as rose), were to mar its whiteness. Each virtue in our Lord is there in a state of absolute perfection: it could not be more fully developed. If you were able to conceive of each virtue at its ripest stage it would be found in Him. In the matter of transparent ingenuousness and sterling honesty, did ever man speak or act so truthfully as He? Ask, on the other hand, for sympathizing tenderness and love, was ever any so gentle as Jesus? Do you want reverence to God? See how He bows before the Father. Do you want boldness before men? See how He bears the Pharisees. You could not better anything which you find in Jesus. Wherever you shall cast your eye it may rest with satisfaction, for the best of the best of the best is to be seen in Him. He is altogether lovely at every separate point, so that the spouse, when she began with His head, descended to His feet, and then lifting her eyes upward again upon a return voyage of delight, she looked into His countenance and summed up all that she had seen in this one sentence, “He is altogether lovely.” This is rare praise. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1446.cfm