Our Serenity and Usefulness
The LORD your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land. – Joshua 1:13
That undisturbed serenity which springs from a sense of perfect safety in Christ Jesus is a glorious domain into which (many) do not enter. Our soul is made by faith to be calm as the lake upon a summer’s evening, when the surface is unbroken by a ripple. Alas! we give way at times to doubt and fear, and hardly know whether we are the Lord’s people or not. This must not go on. We must have faith; but we may have, and we ought to have, the full assurance of faith. In full assurance lies the spring of perpetual serenity. The Lord can create in us habitual calm: in the midst of trouble He can give us joy; in the hour of struggle He can give us confidence. Oh, rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; then shall your times be of the halcyon order, and your days as the days of heaven upon the earth.
When we come to Christ by faith we have communion with God; and this is a land that floweth with milk and honey. Out of communion comes usefulness, and there are certain who fancy that they can never be very useful. The Lord cannot do many mighty works through them because of their unbelief. They have to be fed with a spoon, like invalid children. If they had but faith enough to receive power from on high by fuller communion with God, they might become as David. There is no limit to the possibilities of usefulness in any man or woman when perfectly consecrated. Let us not imagine that we are doomed to small usefulness. That branch of the vine which hitherto has yielded little or no fruit, may yet be made by the heavenly Vinedresser to bring forth much fruit. By faith let the divine sap of grace be received. Let living graces bring the living Christ into us, and then we shall bring forth clusters large as those which the spies brought from Eshcol of old. ~ C.H. Spurgeon
https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2086.cfm
Holiness is The Fruit of Regeneration
Arise, go over this Jordan…unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. – Joshua 1:2
When we come to Christ by faith, we are born again, and made new creatures in Christ Jesus: this must be. But, brethren, when we are born again we perceive that the new birth begets a new life, and that new life develops itself in the beauty of holiness. Holiness is the fruit of regeneration; yet some imagine that they cannot be holy, at least not to any great extent. They believe that they can be saved from certain grosser evils, but they cannot ascend to those glorious heights of consecration and sanctification without which the believer can never attain to the stature of a man in Christ Jesus. My message to you is, Arise, go over this Jordan, and take possession of the larger inheritance. Take possession of it all: seek after holiness, follow on to know the Lord. Be not satisfied until you are conformed unto His image, who is “the firstborn among many brethren.” Aspire to the utmost God can give. You have not seen the goodly heights of Lebanon; as yet you are satisfied to stop at Jericho, by the river’s brink, as if the conquest of one city had satisfied you. Gird on your harness, and go forth to the fight, for the Lord is with you, and the land is before you.
Again, as soon as a man has believed in Jesus he is safe. If thou believest that Jesus is the Christ thou art born of God; and, being born of God, thou comest under the divine wing, and the Lord shall preserve thee from all evil. ~ C.H. Spurgeon
https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2086.cfm
Our Name is Hephzibah
To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. – Ephesians 1:6
And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ… – Romans 8:17
When we at first come to Christ by faith, we begin to enter into our inheritance, for we obtain the pardon of sin. Some believers are not even sure that they have a present and perfect remission; but some of us know that we are, once for all, “washed in the blood of the Lamb,” and therefore we are whiter than snow. This we know; but beyond that lies “acceptance in the Beloved,” which possibly we have not dared to claim. Hosts of professors are satisfied to be washed, but have not yet asked to be clothed with the righteousness of Christ. Beloved, we are not only absolved, but we are positively delightful unto God in Christ Jesus. He accepts our offerings, our prayers, our praises, our heart’s love. Our name is Hephzibah, for the Lord delighteth in us. Pardon of sin is like the little Canaan that must be conquered; but why not advance to the wider regions of “accepted in the Beloved”? Brethren, let us walk in the light, as God is in the light, and have fellowship with Him, while the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.
“Behold what wondrous grace
The Father hath bestow’d
On sinners of a mortal race,
To call them sons of God!”
“If children, then heirs, heirs of God, joint heirs with Jesus Christ.” Adoption you must have, heirship you ought to have, How rich you are, since God Himself is yours-“heirs of God”! Yes, God Himself is as truly yours as He is Christ’s, “joint heirs with Jesus Christ.” Why are we naked, and poor, and miserable, when we are heirs of a kingdom by reason of our adoption of the Lord? Let us take the good the Lord provides us. ~ C.H. Spurgeon
https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2086.cfm
Are We Mere Princelets?
Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses…The LORD your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land. – Joshua 1:3, 13
The inheritance that God has given us to enjoy in Christ Jesus is exceeding broad; but we limit ourselves. All that we can think or desire is ours in the covenant of grace. There are immeasurable breadths and lengths, but we confine ourselves to close quarters. Truly “there is very much land yet to be possessed”! Some graces you must have, or you are not saved; some sins must at once be driven out of your life at the sword’s point, or you are not the Lord’s. As for the choicer graces, you are foolish indeed if you think of doing without them; and as for the less violent sins, you err greatly if you spare one of them. The deep knowledge, the spiritual experience, the high joy, the extreme delight, and the heavenly communion, which fall to the lot of certain of the saints, should be enjoyed by us all. There is no reason why one should miss them; for if they have but faith enough to grasp all that God gives, they have full permission to do so. The Lord may truly say to us, “Ye are not straitened in Me, but ye are straitened in your own bowels.” We are petty princelets when we might have an imperial inheritance. ~ C.H. Spurgeon
https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2086.cfm
Cease from the Wanderings of Fear
“Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.” – Joshua 1:2, 3
Our friends have come as far as that first verse of our Lord’s invitation, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”; and they have a measure of that rest which comes of pardoned sin and confidence in Jesus. The pity is that they have not advanced to His next word of exhortation, “Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” This is a rest discovered and enjoyed through willing service: “Ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Many people are saved in one sense, but in another sense they are seeking salvation. Oh, that we may come to be saved in every sense: may salvation be ours in the broadest, widest, deepest, highest meaning of that blessed word! May we not only be saved from but saved to! Saved from sin; that makes us safe. Saved unto holiness, that makes us happy. May we realize our completeness in Christ this day, and cease from the wanderings of fear! It is time that we took possession of that goodly heritage which the Lord has made our own, for in Christ Jesus “we have obtained an inheritance,” and have the earnest of it in our possession of the Spirit of God. Hear ye the watch-word, ye that have tarried long enough in the wilderness: “Arise, go over this Jordan!” If I read the whole verse it is a command to myself: “Arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon
https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2086.cfm
Watching is Prayer
…praying always…being watchful… – Ephesians 6:18
I have known some people run great risks, and yet say that they have prayed to the Lord to preserve them. I have heard, dozens of times, these words, “I made it a matter of prayer,” and I have been ready to grow angry with the man who has uttered them. He has done a wrong thing, and he has excused himself because he says that he made it a matter of prayer. A young man married an ungodly young woman, and yet he said that he made it a matter of prayer! A Christian woman married an ungodly man, and when someone blamed her for disobeying the Word of God, she said that she made it a matter of prayer! If you had really sought divine guidance, you would not have dared to do what the Scriptures expressly forbid to a child of God. Prayer without watching is not sufficient to preserve us from evil.
On the other hand, dear friends, watching without praying is equally futile. To say, “I will keep myself right,” and never pray to God to keep you, is self-confidence, which must lead to evil…”Watch and pray,” or, as my text has it, “Pray and watch.” One will help the other. Prayer will call out the watchman, prayer will incite him to keep his eyes open, prayer will be the food to sustain him during the night, prayer will be the fire to warm him. On the other hand, watching will help prayer, for watching proves prayer to be true. Watching excites prayer, for every enemy we see will move us to pray more earnestly. Moreover, watching is prayer. If there be true watching, the watching itself is prayer. The two blend the one into the other. ~ C.H. Spurgeon
https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2254.cfm
He Hath Said 