The Holy Spirit

Come to Christ

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, repentance, salvation, The Holy Spirit 3 Comments

 

These are the words of Jesus Christ when He appeared to His servant John,

“I counsel thee, buy of Me,” – Revelation 3:18

There is no place where truth can be found in its power and life, except in Jesus Christ. Truth is in His blood; it will wash away what is false in you. Truth is in His Spirit; it will eradicate what is dark and vile in you. His love will make you true by conforming you to Himself. Come to Christ. Bring nothing with you. Come as you are, empty-handed, penniless, and poor. The rills of milk and wells of wine are all with Him. He is the banquet-giver, and the banquet too. To trust Him is to live. To look to Him alone for salvation is to find salvation in that look. Oh! that these simple words might point someone to the place where he shall buy the truth!

Oh! that you were decided for God! …If the gospel does not save you, it will certainly be a curse to you, and I am afraid it is being so to some of you…Do you not hear the knock of the hand that was pierced? Admit Him! He comes not in wrath; He comes in mercy. Admit Him! He has tarried long, even these many years, but no frown is yet upon His brow. Rise now and let Him in. Be not ashamed. Though ashamed, be not afraid, but let Him in, and blushing, with tears in your face, say to Him, “My Lord, I will trust Thee; worthless worm as I am, I will depend upon Thee.” Oh! that you would do it now, this moment! The Lord give you grace to do it! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3449.cfm

The Battle Within

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, salvation, Sovereignty of God, The Holy Spirit 4 Comments
…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. – Philippians 2:12-13

Alas! we see nowadays in many professors a great deal of life without struggle, and I think I have learned that all spiritual life that is not attended with struggles is a mistake, for Isaac, the child of the promise, is sure to be mocked by Ishmael. No sooner does the seed of the woman come into the world than the seed of the serpent tries to destroy it. You must, and will, find a battle going on within you if you are a believer. Sin will contest it with grace, and grace will seek to reign over sinful corruptions. Be afraid of too easy an experience. “Moab is at ease from his youth; he hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel; for the time cometh when the Lord will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled upon their lees.” There must be strivings within, or we may well beware of such an experience. And I think I have noticed a growing feeling abroad of confidence without self-examination. I would have you hold to believe God’s Word, but do not take your own state at haphazard. Do not conclude that you are a Christian because you thought you were ten years ago. Day by day bring yourself to the touchstone. He that cannot bear examination will have to bear condemnation. He that dare not search himself will find that God will search him. He that is afraid to look himself in the face has need to be afraid to look the Judge in the face when the great white throne shall be placed, and all the world summoned to judgment. Confidence is quite consistent with self-examination, and I pray you in this thing buy the truth, and seek to have a religion that will bear the test-a true faith, a living faith, a faith that moves your soul, a deep-rooted faith, a faith which is the supernatural work of the Holy Ghost, for the time cometh when, as the Lord liveth, nothing short of this will stand you in good stead.~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3449.cfm

Only One True New Birth

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, repentance, salvation, Sovereignty of God, The Holy Spirit 5 Comments

Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. – Luke 3:8

How easy it is to be deceived with the notion that we are converted when we still need to be converted; to fancy that, because we have the approbation of our minister and of our Christian friends, we must, therefore, necessarily be the people of God. There is only one true new birth, but there are fifty counterfeits of it. In this respect, then, buy the truth. Let me have you beware of an experience which has a faith in it that was never attended with repentance. I am afraid of a dry-eyed faith. That faith seems to me to be the faith of God’s elect, whose eyes are full of tears. If thou hast never felt thyself a sinner, never trembled under the law of God, never felt that thou hast deserved to be cast into hell, I am afraid thy faith is a mere presumption, and not the faith that looks to Christ. Beware of an experience that lies in talk, and not in feeling. Mr. Talkative, in Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress could speak very glibly about religion; no man more so than he; he was fit to take the chair in an assembly of divines; but it was not heart-work; it was all surface-work. Plough deep, my brethren. Feel what you believe. Let it be with you real homework, soul-work, the work of God the Holy Ghost-not a temporary excitement, not head-knowledge, not theory. May the truth be burned into your souls by the operation of the Holy Ghost. In this respect, buy the truth. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3449.cfm

The Good Wine

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, prophecy, salvation, Sovereignty of God, The Holy Spirit 9 Comments

The governor of the feast called the bridegroom, and saith unto him, every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse; but thou hast kept the good wine until now. – John 2:9-10

My dear friends, this is a great fact, that Christ’s feast increaseth in sweetness. When first the Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed a feast for the sons of men, the first cup He set upon the table was but a very little one, and it had in it but few words of consolation. You remember the inscription upon that ancient vessel, the first cup of consolation that was ever held to the sons of men-“The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent’s head.” There was to them but little sweetness there: much to us, because we can understand it better, and some to them, because God’s Spirit might help them to understand it, but still in the revelation of it there seemed but little promise. As the world went on, there were greater cups of precious wine brought forth, whereof patriarchs and ancient saints did drink; but beloved, all the wine they ever had under the Old Testament dispensation was far behind that of which we drink. He that is least in the kingdom of heaven is more highly favoured than he who is chief under the Old Testament dispensation. Our fathers did eat manna, but we do eat the bread that came down from heaven; they did drink of water in the wilderness, but we drink of that living water whereof if a man drink he shall never thirst. It is true they had much sweetness; the cups of the ancient tabernacle had precious wine in them; there was in the outward symbol the sign and the shadow, much that was delightful to the faith of the true believer; but we must remember that we are drinking to-day of that wine which prophets and kings desired to drink of, but died without a taste thereof. They guessed its sweetness; they could by faith foresee what it would be; but lo! we are allowed to sit at the table and quaff full draughts of wines on the lees well refined, which God hath given to us in this mountain wherein He hath made a feast of fat things for all people.~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0226.cfm

Our God Singing!

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, The Father, The Holy Spirit 1 Comment

The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing. – Zephaniah 3:17

Did you ever get into your hearts the idea of the Lord God singing? God singing over His church, over His Jerusalem, over His new creation! God singing! I can understand the angels singing for joy over God’s work, but here is God singing over His own work. I will tell you something more wonderful than that: it is that you should be a part of that work, and that God should sing over you. And yet it is not so very wonderful, for is He not the Father, and doth not the Father sing over His prodigal son that wandered and is come back? is He not the Savior, and will not the Savior, who bought us with His blood, sing over us who are the purchase of His agonies? He is the Spirit, and shall not the Spirit, who has striven with us, and wrought all our works in us, sing when His work is done, and we are sanctified? Father, when Thy eternal purposes are all fulfilled, Thou wilt joy over Thy people! Son of God, Redeemer, when all Thy agonies shall have received their recompense in the salvation of Thy redeemed, Thou wilt rejoice over Thy chosen! Holy Ghost, when all Thy condescending indwelling within us shall have accomplished Thy design, Thou wilt rejoice in Thy people! Come now, beloved, rejoice in sympathy with the divine heart! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2211.cfm

Be a Joy to Others

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, repentance, salvation, The Father, The Holy Spirit 3 Comments

But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. – Isaiah 65:18

Alas, there are heady, hard-hearted persons abroad who, by their wilfulness and pride, would crush every flower in the garden beneath their wicked hoofs! Wherever they go, everything is despised, ridiculed, and kicked by them! This is the spirit of the evil one. Oh, do not so! Christian people, you dare not be so; you shall not be so: God will not let you be so: you must be gentle, compassionate, generous, kind, gracious. Wherever you go, try to make others happy; for God creates Jerusalem a rejoicing, and His people a joy: a joy to others who have no joy, a source of happiness to the saddest of our race. Help the widow, comfort the fatherless, succor the poor, cheer the desponding, tell the glad news to the weary heart…When the creation of God goes on, and a man is helped to conquer sin, when the work of grace in his soul grows and increases, he cries, “Thanks be to God which giveth us the victory,” and he gets increased joy in his soul over every conquered sin. When you and I see sin subdued, do we not feel happy? Whenever the news comes to me that a man has been reclaimed from drunkenness, or a woman is saved from the streets, or when I hear of a hard-hearted sinner repenting, I rejoice in the Lord. Conversion-days are our high holidays. Revivals are our jubilees.

In the Father’s hands, in Christ’s hands, in the Spirit’s hands, seek to break the prisoner’s fetters, and to bring him out into the light of liberty: you, too, are anointed to proclaim liberty to the captives. May the God of infinite mercy help you and help me so to do!~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2211.cfm

Be Happy! And Share the Happiness

Sherry Attributes of God, Christian Life, promises, salvation, The Holy Spirit 10 Comments

But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. – Psalm 68:3

God always intended that His chosen, called, and converted people should be a rejoicing people. He created you on purpose that you should yourselves be happy, and bring happiness to others. Do you not know that His name is the happy God, and nothing gives Him greater happiness than to give happiness to His creatures? Do you think you were chosen to be a groaner all your days? Were you called to misery, dear brother? Does Jesus Christ say, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will make you doleful”? Does He say, “Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, and ye shall find agony in your hearts”? No; but He talks about rest, and peace, and joy, and blessedness.

Different people have different ways, you know; and some love to be comfortably wretched. But I find myself miserable only when I keep away from my Lord and His work of new-creation. I have always found hitherto that when I can get under the shadow of His wings, my soul is at rest, and I look upon that restfulness and happiness as the work and fruit of the Spirit-“the fruit of the Spirit is joy and peace.”

He has created His people a rejoicing: yea, His people to be a joy. Ours is a heritage of joy and peace. My dear brethren and sisters, if anybody in the world ought to be happy, we are the people. How large our obligations! How boundless our privileges! How brilliant our hopes! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2211.cfm