The Holy Spirit

The Lord Hath Done It

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

Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit (My Father) taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. – John 15:2

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

Certain of us have been made to suffer much physical pain, which often bites into the spirit, and makes the heart to stoop: others have suffered heavy temporal losses, having had no success in business, but, on the contrary, having had to endure privation, perhaps even to penury. Are you ready to complain against the Lord for all this? I pray you, do not do so. Take the supposition of the text into your mind this morning. The Lord has been pruning you sharply, cutting off your best boughs, and you seem to be like a thing despised that is constantly tormented with the knife. Yes, but “supposing Him to be the gardener,” suppose that your loving Lord has wrought it all, that from His own hand all your grief has come, every cut, and every gash, and every slip: does not this alter the case? Hath not the Lord done it? Well, then, if it be so, put your finger to your lip and be quiet, until you are able from your heart to say, “The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away, and blessed be the name of the Lord.” I am persuaded that the Lord hath done nothing amiss to any one of His people; that no child of His can rightly complain that He has been whipped with too much severity; and that no one branch of the vine can truthfully declare that it has been pruned with too sharp an edge. No; what the Lord has done is the best that could have been done, the very thing that you and I, if we could have possessed infinite wisdom and love, would have wished to have done; therefore, let us stop each thought of murmuring, and say, “The Lord hath done it,” and be glad…Let us believe great things from the work of Christ by His Spirit in the midst of His people’s hearts, and we shall not be disappointed. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

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

It Is in His Own Hands

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

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

And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. – Malachi 3:11

I am sometimes troubled by the question, what if roots of bitterness should spring up among us to trouble us? We are all such fallible creatures, supposing some brother should permit the seed of discord to grow in his bosom, then there may be a sister in whose heart the seeds will also spring up, and from her they will fly to another sister, and be blown about till brethren and sisters are all bearing rue and wormwood in their hearts. Who is to prevent this? Only the Lord, Jesus by His Spirit. He can keep out this evil. The root which beareth wormwood will grow but little where Jesus is. Dwell with us, Lord, as a church and people: by Thy Holy Spirit reside with us and in us, and never depart from us, and then no root of bitterness shall spring up to trouble us.

Then comes another fear. Suppose the living waters of God’s Spirit should not come to water the garden, what then? We cannot, make them flow, for the Spirit is a sovereign, and He flows where He pleases. Ah, but the Spirit of God will be in our garden, “supposing our Lord to be the gardener.” There is no fear of our not being watered when Jesus undertakes to do it. “He will pour water on him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground.” But what if the sunlight of His love should not shine on the garden? If the fruits should never ripen, if there should be no peace, no joy in the Lord? That cannot happen “supposing Him to be the gardener;” for His face is the sun, and His countenance scatters those health-giving beams, and nurturing warmths, and perfecting influences which are needful for maturing the saints in all the sweetness of grace to the glory of God. So, “supposing Him to be the gardener” I fling away my doubts and fears and invite you who bear the Church upon your heart to do the same. It is all well with Christ’s cause because it is in His own hands. He shall not fail nor be discouraged. The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hands. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

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

An Oasis of Life in a Desert of Death

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

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

Upon a hard and flinty rock the Lord has made the Eden of His Church to grow. How came it to be, here an oasis of life in a desert of death? How came faith in the midst of unbelief, and hope where all is servile fear, and love where hate abounds? “Ye are of God, little children, and the whole world lieth in the wicked one.” How came there to be a people for God, separated, and sanctified, and consecrated, and ordained to bring forth fruit unto His name? …How comes the Church of God to flourish in such a clime? This present evil world is very uncongenial to the growth of grace, and the Church is not able by herself alone to resist the evil influences which surround her. The Church contains within itself elements which tend to its own disorder and destruction if left alone; even as the garden has present in its soil all the germs of a tangled thicket of weeds. The best Church that ever Christ had on earth would, within a few years, apostatise from the truth if deserted by the Spirit of God. The world never helps the Church; it is all in arms against it; there is nothing in the world’s air or soil that can fertilise the Church even to the least degree. How is it, then, that notwithstanding all this, the Church is a fair garden unto God, and there are sweet spices grown in its beds, and lovely flowers are gathered by the Divine hand from its borders? The continuance and prosperity of the Church can only be accounted for by “supposing Him to be the gardener.” Almighty strength is put to the otherwise impossible work of sustaining a holy people among men; almighty wisdom exercises itself upon this otherwise insuperable difficulty. Hear ye the word of the Lord and learn hence the reason for the growth of His Church below. “I, the Lord, do keep it: I will water it every moment; lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

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

Our Lord Thirsts for Us

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

“I thirst.” – John 19:28

Our blessed Lord has at this time a thirst for communion with each one of you who are His people, not because you can do Him good, but because He can do you good. He thirsts to bless you and to receive your grateful love in return; He thirsts to see you looking with believing eye to His fulness and holding out your emptiness that He may supply it…And what makes Him love us so? Ah, that I cannot tell, except His own great love. He must love, it is His nature. He must love His chosen whom He has once begun to love, for He is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. His great love makes Him thirst to have us much nearer than we are; He will never be satisfied till all His redeemed are beyond gunshot of the enemy. I will give you one of His thirsty prayers-“Father, I will that they also whom Thou hast given Me be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory.” He wants you brother, He wants you, dear sister, He longs to have you wholly to Himself. Come to Him in prayer, come to Him in fellowship, come to Him by perfect consecration, come to Him by surrendering your whole being to the sweet mysterious influences of His Spirit. Sit at His feet with Mary, lean on His breast with John; yea, come with the spouse in the song and say, “Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth, for His love is better than wine.” He calls for that: will you not give it to Him…Let all your love be His. I know He loves to receive from you, because He delights even in a cup of cold water that you give to one of His disciples; how much more will He delight in the giving of your whole self to Him? Therefore, while He thirsts give Him to drink this day. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1409.cfm

Thus Has Christ Delivered Us

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

For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. – 2 Corinthians 5:21

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. – Romans 8:1

Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world… – Galatians 1:4

How does the death of Christ deliver us from the world? It does this by removing from us the condemnation of our sin. Having borne our sins in His own body on the tree, Christ has for ever freed us from the penalty that was our due. Christ has delivered us from the world by making sin hateful to us. We say to ourselves, “Did sin kill Christ? Then we cannot play with that dagger that stabbed our Lord. How can we be friendly with the world that cast Him out, and hanged Him on a tree? O murderous sin, how can I give thee lodgment in my heart when thou didst kill the altogether lovely One?” Men speak hard things of regicides, but what shall I say of deicide? And sin is that deicide which slew the Christ of God; yet, marvel of marvels, by that death on the cross He hath crucified us to the world, and the world unto us, and so He has delivered us from this present evil world. I may add that Christ has also delivered us from the world by the splendor of His example in giving Himself to die for His enemies, and by the glory of His infinite merit, whereby He purchased back that image of God in Adam which sin had obliterated. He gave Himself, the very image of God, and more than that, God Himself, that He might give back to us that image of God which long ago we had lost. Thus has Christ delivered us from this present evil world; judge ye, sirs, whether He has thus delivered you. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2483.cfm

Freed from Fear

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

The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe. – Proverbs 29:25

…that He might deliver us from this present evil world… – Galatians 1:4

There are multitudes of people still in the condition of abject slavery to those who are round about them; but when Christ came into the world, He gathered out of the world a people who were not afraid of anybody. After His good Spirit had renewed them, they walked about fearless of the greatest earthly potentates. There was the great Emperor of Rome, for instance, and who dared ever contradict what the Emperor of Rome said? The man who wrote our text did; and Paul before Nero is a vastly greater man than the cruel tyrant upon the throne. When they bring the saints before the judgment-seat, the Roman consul says, “Offer sacrifice to idols. You know the law; take that incense, and put it on the altar, this very moment.” One of the guards says, ” “Sir, this man is obstinate and rebellious; I have told him what he is to do, but he refuses.” The consul says, “Dost thou, impious wretch, refuse to worship Jupiter? Put that incense on the altar, this moment, or thou shalt be torn in pieces with hot irons.” The man before him replies, “I am a Christian.” “Is that your answer?” “Yes, sir, my only answer; I am a Christian.” “Then tear him with the pincers; let him learn what my hot irons can do.” They do it, and the brave saint bears it. Perhaps a groan escapes his lips, for flesh is frail; but when he is asked again, “Will you worship Jupiter?” he replies as before, “I am a Christian.” “To the lions with him, then, to the lions with him,” cries the enraged persecutor, and he is taken off to the amphitheatre; but as that poor simple peasant walks across the arena, the wild beasts themselves seem cowed before him, and, though he is soon torn in pieces, everybody goes home from the amphitheatre saying, “What a strange being that man was, he seemed utterly devoid of fear!” Yes, the early Christians were without fear and without reproach, for Christ came to set them free from fear of this present evil world. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2483.cfm

You Have Heard the Gospel

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

See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh. – Hebrews 12:25

If you had never heard the gospel, you could not have refused it, but now that you have heard the message, it lies within your power, and it is an awfully dangerous power, to refuse Him that speaks. Oh, can you, will you, dare you refuse my bleeding Savior—refuse the Lord of love? I see Him now. The crown of thorns is about His brow. He is hanging on His cross expiring in unutterable agony! Can you refuse Him while He presents such a spectacle of sacrifice? His eyes are red with weeping; have you no tears for such sorrow? His cheeks are all stained with the brutal soldiers’ spit; have you no love and homage for Him? His hands are fastened to the wood—His feet the same, and there He hangs to suffer in the sinner’s stead. Will you not yield yourselves to Him? I could joyfully bow before the foot of the cross to kiss His dear feet stained with blood. What a charm He has for me! And you—do you refuse Him?

He is no mere man. It is God Himself who hangs upon the cross. His body is that of a man, but it is in union with the Godhead. He who died at Calvary is God over all, and this makes His death so effectual. He, whom you have offended, in order to be justly able to pardon you, hangs there and dies for you, and do you turn your back on Him? O sirs, if you are wise you will come, as I said I gladly would come, and kiss those bleeding feet, and look up and say, “My Lord, I am reconciled to You— how could I be otherwise?” My enmity is dead. How can I be an enemy to Him that died for me? In shame, and scorn, and misery, Jesus dies that I may live. “O Lord Jesus, You have worked in me, not merely reconciliation, but full submission and hearty love. I joy to sink myself in You, and to be Yours forever.” See that you refuse not my Lord. May the sweet Spirit who loves the cross, and like a dove, hovers round it now, descend upon you all who hear my message! May the Holy Spirit apply the blood of sprinkling to you, and may you feel that, instead of refusing Him that speaks, you will rejoice in His name! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1889.cfm