The Representative of Christ

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

And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever. – John 14:16

Christ Jesus, the Lord, is present in His Church by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is this day the representative of Christ in the midst of the Church, and it is in the power and the energy of the Holy Ghost that Christ is with us always and will be even to the end of the world. As God, Jesus is everywhere; as Man, He is only in heaven; as God and Man in one person, Mediator and Head of the Church, He is present with us by the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, whom the Father has sent in His name. It is by the working of the Spirit of God that Christ’s presence in the Church is manifested; and we are to expect no other presence than that: we have the spiritual divine presence of the second person of the blessed Trinity, and the presence of Christ Jesus also in the power of His representative on earth, the Holy Ghost. This presence, not a bodily but a spiritual presence, is the glory of the Church of God. When she is without Him, she is shorn of her strength; when she possesses Him all good things ensue. Brethren, if a church be without the Spirit of God in it, it may have a name to live, but it is dead, and, you know, that after death there follows corruption, corruption which breeds foulness and disease. Hence, those churches which have turned aside unto error, have not only lost all power to do good, but they have become obnoxious and the causes of great evil in the midst of the world. If any professing church abides not in Christ, it is cast forth as a branch and is withered; and while it is decaying, it is injurious, and there is need for the world’s welfare that it be utterly destroyed. We must have Christ in the church, or the body which was meant to be the medium of the greatest good becomes the source of the grossest evil. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1035.cfm

Marvellous Light

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You who are King of kings and Lord of lords, we worship You. Before Jehovah’s awful throne we bow with sacred joy.

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The Dark Side of God to Sinners

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

So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night. – Exodus 14:20

That same glory which lit up the canvas city, and made it bright as the day, darkened all the camps of Egypt. They could see nothing, for the dark side of God was turned to them. I am afraid it is so with some of you. Oh, dear friends, is it not a dreadful thing that to some men the most terrible thing in the world would be God? If you could get away from God, how happy, how merry, how jolly you would be! You want to depart from Him; you are departing from Him. One of these days Jesus will tell you to depart. “Keep on as you were,” says He, “you were always departing from God; keep on departing. Depart from Me, ye cursed!” That will be the consummation of your life. To some of us the thought of God is joy, but to the ungodly nothing would be such good news as to hear that there was no God, indeed, they find a dreadful comfort in endeavoring to be sceptical and unbelieving. God has a dark side to sinners; His justice and His righteousness, which are the comfort of His people, are the despair of the wicked.

Now look at the gospel itself. Why, there are many that sit and hear the gospel, and they say, “I do not understand this believing, this atonement, and so on.” No, I know you do not; you are an Egyptian, it is dark to you. It is a savor of death unto death to you. I am afraid you will go on quarrelling with it until God ends the quarrel in your destruction. Oh, that ye would believe in Jesus Christ! Oh, that ye would “kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little,” for “Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.” You can come and be numbered with Israel, for the door into Israel is Christ Himself. If you come to Christ you have come to His people, you have come to safety, and henceforth “the Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward.” Amen. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1793.cfm

Nearing that Perfect Day

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

And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed… – Exodus 14:19 

For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward. – Isaiah 52:12

“The Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rereward.” This is the condition into which the Lord brings His people when they depart from Babylon and are no more conformed to this present evil world. I trust He has brought many of us into this all-surrounding light at this good hour. The Lord is behind us, we know: our sins and iniquities are covered, our past mistakes are all erased, we are accepted in the Beloved. But we have not to look forward and say, “The Angel of God has removed.” Oh, no. We can see the bright light before us still. Our ways are ordered of the Lord, and none of our steps shall slide. We glory in tribulations also, believing that we shall glorify God in them. We look forward to the time of old age, believing that to hoar hairs He is the same, and that in our days of decline He will carry us. We look forward to the advent of our Lord with delight; or, if that may not be in our day, we look to falling asleep upon the bosom of our Savior. Before us we see the resurrection morning and all its splendor: we anticipate the risen body, that glorified fabric in which our pure and perfect spirits shall dwell for ever: we hear the voice of harpers harping with their harps, saluting the reign of Christ and the glorification of His people with Him. Below there is nothing before us now but that which is inexpressibly delightful: the day has long dawned with us, whose morning clouds have passed away; a day which grows warmer and brighter and is nearing to the perfect day. A few more months, a few more years, and we shall be in the land of the unclouded sky. What will it be to be there! What will it be to be there for ever! How willingly would I fly away and be at rest. I feel my wings; they are not strong enough, as yet, to bear my soul away; but they will be. God is making His children ready to depart, and He will only have to beckon them, and they will cry, “Here am I,” and then they shall be with Him for ever. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1793.cfm

Curses into Blessings

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And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. – Exodus 14:19

The LORD is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation…Thou in Thy mercy hast led forth the people which Thou hast redeemed: Thou hast guided them in Thy strength unto Thy holy habitation. – Exodus 15:2,13

Learn to look at your circumstances through the light God hath set between Israel and the Egyptians. Will you now look back with all your eyes? How about the circumstances you have passed through? Do you see anything wrong about them now? Oh, no, say you, they were all right. As you look back you can only see the glory of God: the Lord hath led you by a right way. Who is he that can harm us? What is there to distress us? See your circumstances through the medium of the love of Jesus, and you perceive all things working for your good. Hitherto the Lord hath been our shield and our exceeding great reward. We see now no evil occurrent; He hath turned for us the curse into a blessing. The Lord has caused us to be far from fear and has put terror far away.

The cloudy pillar went behind…that the Egyptians might not see them. Their enemies were made to stumble and were compelled to come to a dead stand. “The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my lust shall be satisfied upon them.” Why does he halt? Why does the lion pause when about to spring? He is blindfolded. He shivers in the dense blackness, bethinking him of that former day when all the land of Mizraim quailed beneath a darkness that might be felt. Be calm, O child of God; for the Covenant Angel is dealing with your adversaries, and His time is generally the night. You will hear by-and-by of what He has done. Meanwhile, remember what He did to Pharaoh and Sennacherib. The Lord may not be before you, shedding delight upon your face, but He is behind you, holding back the foe. He looks forth from the cloud and discomforts your foes. “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.” Wherefore, stand still, and see the salvation of God! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1793.cfm

Where Are Your Sins?

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And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD… And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. – Exodus 14:10,13

We read that Israel lifted up their eyes and saw the Egyptians, and then they began to tremble, and cry out: and so God drew the blinds down that His poor children could not see their frightful taskmasters. It is a great mercy when God does not let us see everything. What the eye does not see, perhaps the heart will not rue. May I ask you just to try and use your eyes a little now? There are your sins; will you look back on them for a minute? Look steadily. They are quite as dreadful as the Egyptian horsemen and chariots. I have looked intently, and I cannot see a sin remaining. “What, have you lived such a life that you have never sinned?” Ah, no, beloved, I have to mourn over many offenses, but I cannot see one of them now, for my sin is covered. I believe this text, “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” If I am cleansed, why should I see spots, or speak as if I did? The Lord stands between His people and their sins. Jesus, who veiled His glory in the cloud of our humanity, interposes between us and our transgressions. Is it not written, “The iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found; for I will pardon them whom I reserve”? If God declares that our sins cannot be found, then I am sure we need not look for them; and if He says that Christ has made an end of sin, then there is an end of it. The Egyptians shall not come near us all the night of this life; and when the morning breaketh, we shall see them dead upon the shore. Then shall we sing unto the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously, and our transgressions and iniquities hath He cast into the depths of the sea. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1793.cfm

“Thou God seest me.”

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, Sovereignty of God 1 Comment

…and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided. So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground… – Exodus 14:21,22

Who shall say that God was not in the van of Israel when they went down into the sea? They could not see the ensign of His presence, but He could see their obedience to His bidding. How else did the sea in fright draw back? Was it not because the Lord rebuked the sea? The strong east wind did not of itself divide the sea; for a wind naturally strong enough for that would have blown all the people into the air. The wind was used of God to move the waters, but its chief object was to dry up the damp from the floor of the sea, and to make marching the more easy for the vast host of Israel. Truly the Lord was there, triumphing gloriously. No cloudy pillar was seen across the waters as Israel looked forward to the shore; but yet the Lord was there majestically; and you may have but little comfort of the Lord’s presence at this time, and yet God may be with you wondrously. Do not so much set your heart upon comfort but rejoice in the fact which gladdened Hagar in the wilderness: “Thou God seest me.” It does not matter to the fire whether the logs are cast upon it from the front, or the oil poured upon it secretly from behind the wall, so long as it finds its fuel. To you the daily supply of grace is more important than the supply of comfort, and this shall never fail you so long as you live.

Tried child of God, you have to bear your trouble, and when that is quite clear your way is no longer doubtful. Cast all your care on Him who careth for you, and in patience possess your soul. “Oh, but I thought I was going to find a way of escape made for me. “Listen!” God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” You have to bear it, you see. Your great want for this present is faith in God, who has said-“I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring My people again from the depths of the sea.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1793.cfm