Thursday 28 February 2013

C.H. Spurgeon Quotes


Posted: 28 Feb 2013 12:00 AM PST
We are one in Christ; let us be friends with one another; but let us never be friends with one another’s error. If I be wrong, rebuke me sternly; I can bear it, and bear it cheerfully; and if ye be wrong, expect the like measure from me, and neither peace nor parley with your mistakes.
C.H. Spurgeon

Yes, Lord!


    ~  ~  ~  ~  ~



(J.R. Miller)

"Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" Acts 9:6

Whatever command God gives--we should instantly and cheerfully answer, "Yes, Lord, I am ready to obey!"

It is not hard to say "Yes, Lord!" when God leads us in pleasant paths, where the flowers are plentiful, where the way is smooth and agreeable. But we know that sometimes the path is covered with thorns, and is rough and steep--or runs through fire or flood. We are still called always to say, "Yes, Lord!" If God calls us to some trial or cross-bearing or sacrifice, our answer should always be the same. We should be able to trust His loving heart--when our eyes cannot see blessing or goodness in the way He takes us. Every true path of God leads to rich joy!

"Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path." Psalm 27:11

"He led them forth by the right way" Psalm 107:7
   ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

Wednesday 27 February 2013

An almost Christian



    ~  ~  ~  ~  ~


(James Smith
, "The Way of Salvation Set Forth")

"Then Agrippa said to Paul: You almost persuade me to become a Christian!" Acts 26:28


There are many who conclude that they are Christians, because they have been enlightened to see something of their state, danger, and deserved doom. But many are only lighted to Hell, for light in the mind--is not life in the soul. Hebrews 6:4, 10:20.

A person may be awakened to feel, to tremble, to desire salvation--as did Felix and Balaam, Acts 24:25, Numbers 23:10.

He may be reformed, and turn from open profanity to strict morality--as did some in Peter's day, 2 Peter 2:20.

He may be assisted to do many things which are in themselves good, such as reading the Scripture, attending divine ordinances, engaging in prayer, and working miracles, Matthew 7:21-23, Mark 6:20, 1 Corinthians 13:3.

He may experience God's power put forth restraining him, and keeping him back from sin, as did Abimelech, Genesis 20:6.

He may humble himself before God, as did Ahab, 1 Kings 21:27-30.

He may possess joy and be exceeding glad under the Word, Matthew 13:20.

He may believe the Word, receive the testimony, and admire the preacher, Luke 4:22-29, 8:13, Ezekiel 33:31-32.

He may be filled with zeal for Christ and his cause, like the multitude, John 6:15, 16; Matthew 21:8-11; Luke 23:18-23.

He may be baptized upon a profession of faith, join a Christian church, and imitate the saints in his conduct--as did Simon Magus, Acts 8:13.

He may fill an office in the church, preach the gospel, and act consistent for a time--as did Judas; and yet Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place, Acts 1:25.

He may be highly esteemed by others, be sound in doctrine, and suffer for the cause of Christ, and yet be destitute of the vital principle of saving faith--like Demas, Alexander, Hymeneus, and Philetus, 2 Timothy 2:16-18, 4:10-14, 1 John 2:15.

He may have many excellent qualities, so that he may be admired and loved by others, like the rich young ruler in Matthew 19.

He may have all that has been named above--but ONE THING may be lacking, and he be found at last, merely an almost Christian.
 
   ~  ~  ~  ~  ~ 

C.H. Spurgeon Quotes


Posted: 27 Feb 2013 12:00 AM PST
There is no greater mockery than to call a sinner a free man. Show me a convict toiling in the chain gang, and call him a free man if you will; point out to me the galley slave chained to the oar, and smarting under the taskmaster’s lash whenever he pauses to draw breath, and call him a free man if you will; but never call a sinner a free man, even in his will, so long as he is the slave of his own corruptions. In our natural state, we wore chains, not upon our limbs, but upon our hearts, fetters that bound us, and kept us from God, from rest, from peace, from holiness, from anything like freedom of heart and conscience and will. The iron entered into our soul; and there is no slavery as terrible as that. As there is no freedom like the freedom of the spirit, so is there no slavery that is at all comparable to the bondage of the heart.
C.H. Spurgeon

Tuesday 26 February 2013

C.H. Spurgeon Quotes


Posted: 26 Feb 2013 12:00 AM PST
That is the sternest blow against free-will of which I know; what a free- willer can make out of that text, I cannot tell. He says that any man can come to Christ, yet Christ said to some, “Ye will not come to me;” and both observation and experience prove that this is still true. Never yet did a soul come to Christ till first Christ came to it.
C.H. Spurgeon

It is easier to offer God a few easy activities


    ~  ~  ~  ~  ~



(J.R. Miller)

"My son, give me thine heart" Proverbs 23:26

"First gave their own selves to the Lord" 2 Corinthians 8:5

God wants, not so much your work, but you; at least He wants you first--and then your work. Service from hearts which are not really consecrated to God, is not pleasing to Him. We are in danger of forgetting this in our busy, bustling periods. It is easier to offer God a few easy activities--than to give Him our heart. The tendency of the religious life at present is to work and to serve--rather than to love God. So we need to remind ourselves continually, that loving must come before doing and serving. The largest and most noticeable work will find no acceptance with God--if our hearts are not His.
   ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

Monday 25 February 2013

C.H. Spurgeon Quotes


Posted: 25 Feb 2013 12:00 AM PST
Some, I know, fall into a very vicious habit, which habit they excuse in themselves—namely, that of ordering their steps according to impressions. Every now and then I met with people whom I think to be rather weak in the head, who will journey from place to place, and will perform follies by the gross under the belief that they are doing the will of God, because some silly whim of their diseased brains is imagined to be an inspiration from above.
C.H. Spurgeon

This book!



    ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

(James Smith
, "The Way of Salvation Set Forth")

The fountain of divine truth is the Lord Jesus Christ,
the repository of divine truth is the Holy Scriptures,
the proper abode of divine truth is the sinner's heart,
and the sacred revealer of truth is the Holy Spirit.

The Bible contains all necessary truth--and nothing but truth. It was written expressly for sinners, it is freely given to them by God, that they may learn the things which make for their everlasting peace and salvation. It was never designed to gratify the critic's pride, or please the carnal imagination; but it was intended . . .
  to inform the mind,
  to sanctify the heart,
  and to direct the feet.
When we take it up, we should remember that it is a precious gift of God to poor sinners, designed to benefit them, and glorify His holy name.

This book sets before us our true state before God, as sinners:
  cursed,
  loathsome,
  vile,
  unworthy,
  base,
  Heaven-daring,
  wrath-provoking,
  mercy-despising,
  Hell-deserving sinners.

It shows us that . . .
we have come short of the glory of God;
our hearts are depraved beyond description, and vile beyond expression;
the nature of Satan is not actually worse than ours;
instead of having anything to boast of, or pride ourselves in--all that we have and are, is calculated to fill us with shame, confusion, and self-abhorrence.

This book shows us plainly that salvation must be of grace--or not at all. It informs us that by faith in Jesus, we can rise from our dreadful state, and escape our fearful doom. It sets before us . . .
  the provision of divine mercy,
  the contrivance of infinite wisdom,
  and the promises of eternal love.

It exhibits a perfect Savior, suited to our miseries and woes.

It presents to us a salvation . . .
   all of grace,
   to be enjoyed by faith, and
   manifested by good works.
A salvation that . . .
reaches to our present state,
delivers us from all that we have reason to fear,
introduces us to all that we can consistently desire, and
gives us a right to all that God has promised, and that Jesus has procured.

In a word, this blessed Bible tells the poor sinner . . .
  what he is by nature,
  what he must be by grace, and
  then what he will be in glory.

It shows him . . .
nature's desert,
mercy's way of escape, and
how God is glorified in his present salvation and future glory.

This book exhibits God's . . .
gracious purposes,
merciful promises,
and wise precepts.

It sets forth . . .
the thoughts of God,
the secrets of eternity,
the designs of everlasting love,
the method of salvation,
the saint's privileges and glory,
the impenitent sinner's state, condition and awful doom!

This book  . . .
contains the mind of God;
reveals the way of salvation by Jesus Christ;
teaches the genuine evidences of real Christianity;
is a complete rule of life;
is the charter of the Christian's privileges;
is the casket that contains the jewels of God's promises;
is the light that illumines our path in this dark world; and
marks out as with a sunbeam, the blessed end of the righteous--and the miserable doom of the impenitent sinner. All who live and die without the salvation it makes known--will be cast into outer darkness, where there is eternal weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth!

There is a majesty in the Word of God which the believer sees, and an excellency, and glory which the Heaven-taught sinner discovers. He can no longer trifle with it, despise it, or pour contempt upon it. He views it as of . . .
  infinite importance,
  inconceivable value, and
  exact adapted to himself.
He feels a deep interest in its contents, and is concerned . . .
  to become acquainted with the blessings it reveals,
  to enjoy the privileges it sets forth, and
  escape the threatenings it holds out.

The true Christian . . .
  learns the doctrines with satisfaction,
  believes the promises with joy,
  accepts the invitations with gratitude,
  receives the cautions with fear,
  listens to the exhortations with pleasure,
  walks by the precepts with delight,
  reads it with reverence,
  searches it with diligence, and
  implores the promised teaching and guidance of the Holy Spirit to understand it.

Beware of slighting, despising, or neglecting the Bible.
Read it daily,
pray over it incessantly, and
meditate on what it reveals continually!
"His delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night!" Psalm 1:2

   ~  ~  ~  ~  ~ 

Sunday 24 February 2013

Every word is practical


    ~  ~  ~  ~  ~



"I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word." Psalm 119:101

(J.R. Miller)

We must not merely read the Bible--but strive that we may obey it. If the Bible is not the guide of our life--it is nothing to us. Its truths are to be applied. If we read the Beatitudes, we are to compare ourselves with their Divine requirements--and seek to be conformed to them. If we come upon a Scripture which rebukes any sinful habit or attitude of ours--we are immediately to make the needed amendment. We are to accept its promises, believe them, and act upon them. We are to allow its comforts to enter our hearts, and support us in sorrow.

There is nothing written in the Bible, merely for ornament or beauty. Every word is practical. There is no truth in it which has not some bearing upon actual living. When we come to it eager to know how to live, and ready to obey its precepts--we shall find it opening its inmost meaning to us.

"If ye love me, keep my commandments." John 14:15
   ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

C.H. Spurgeon Quotes


Posted: 24 Feb 2013 12:00 AM PST
of men. God will never bless us if we wish to please men, that they may think well of us. Are you willing to tell them what will break your own heart in the telling and break theirs in the hearing? If not, you are not fit to serve the Lord. You must be willing to go and speak for God, though you will be rejected.
CH. Spurgeon

Our lives should be New Testament pages that all can read!


    ~  ~  ~  ~  ~



(J.R. Miller)
"Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." 1 Timothy 4:12

"In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works." Titus 2:7

"Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear." 1 Peter 3:1-2

Unbelievers do not read the Bible, nor come to church to hear the gospel message. All that they learn about Christ and the Christian life--they must learn from those who bear Christ's name and represent Him--as they view our character.

If all church members lived truly consecrated lives--holy, humble, separate from the world, loyal to Christ in business, in pleasure, and in all things--it would be impossible to estimate what the influence of the Church would be, by godly example alone. It is awful to think that professing Christians, by the inconsistencies of their personal lives, lead souls away from the Savior. We are all responsible for our example to others. Our lives should be New Testament pages that all can read!
 
"For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you." John 13:15

"…leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps." 1 Peter 2:21

   ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

Saturday 23 February 2013

If God is your enemy!


    ~  ~  ~  ~  ~



(James Smith, "The Way of Salvation Set Forth")

Unconverted reader, did you ever consider that solemn text, "He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy." Proverbs 29:1. You have been often reproved, yet you delay; you have refused . . .
  to bow to God's authority,
  to yield to His command,
  to embrace His mercy,
  to flee to the refuge He has provided,
  to seek and obtain the pardon which He promises.
Instead, you have hardened your neck. What if He should destroy you! What if He should destroy you suddenly! He can, for He is almighty! He may, for He has threatened! If He should, what a dreadful condition would you be in forever! Shut up in hopeless despair, and destroyed without remedy!

While you delay, you are in the greatest danger!
A person slumbering in a burning house,
a man sleeping on the edge of a precipice,
a blind man walking round the crater of a volcano
--is safe, in comparison with you!
Around you are kindling the quenchless flames of Hell,
you sleep on the brink of the bottomless pit,
you are in danger of plunging into that lake of glowing brimstone, where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth!

"But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me." Luke 19:27

"For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." Hebrews 10:26-27 

Consider, consider seriously, that while you delay, God is your enemy--and He is angry with you every day! Every sin provokes God to anger--but no sin is so provoking as unbelief, because it calls God s liar. To have an absolute monarch for your enemy is bad enough--but to have God for your enemy is infinitely worse! "God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready. He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors." Psalm 7:11-13.

He waits to watch the conduct of delaying sinners, He gives them space for repentance, He is long-suffering toward them--but they will not turn.
He will sharpen His sword,
His bow is ready bent in His hand,
He has taken out His arrow from His quiver, and
the impenitent sinner is the mark at which He aims!
Will not His arrows pierce the heart?
Will they not inflict dreadful pains, and produce incurable wounds?
Will they not rankle and fester to all eternity.
If God wounds--then who can heal?

Think, dear reader, if you were shackled and placed before an assembled crowd, to be shot at with poisoned arrows, for injuring and insulting the king, and refusing his pardon--would not your case be dreadful?

But this would be nothing, compared with your present condition! You have insulted the God of mercy numberless times, in ten thousand ways; you have injured His creatures, you have joined yourself to His inveterate and determined foes! And He has offered you a pardon, not once or twice--but has waited years to see if you would accept it--but you have obstinately refused! And now justice, holy justice, demands that you be punished according to your deserts. Before assembled worlds, your folly will be published, and your sins will be proclaimed! And while God lives to punish, and justice remains unchanged--your sad, your just, your indescribable sufferings will continue!

To have God for ones enemy, is of all terrible things, the most terrible! Just look for one moment at His perfections, and see them all opposed to you.

If God is your enemy--then He is an Omnipotent enemy--and can you effectually oppose almighty power? He could crush you to atoms--but He will only punish you as justice demands. There is no cruelty in His nature--but there is dreadful inflexible justice.

If God is your enemy--then He is an Omniscient enemy! He . . .
  sees your heart,
  reads your thoughts,
  knows your motives,
  understands your designs, and
  penetrates the deepest recesses of your soul.

Can you deceive him? Never! There is not a thought in your heart--but He knows it altogether! Your whole history is before Him--the secret, as well as the public. His eye will pursue you, and rest upon you throughout eternity! Should you sink to the deepest depths of Hell--His eye will rest upon you, and pierce your inmost soul. There is something very fearful in the thought of God's eye resting upon the lost soul forever, flashing conviction into the heart like the flashes of the fearful lightning.

If God is your enemy--then He is an Omnipresent enemy. As every sin was committed in His presence--so every pain must be endured in His presence. The sense of His presence in Hell, will be very different to our sense of His presence on earth. It will be fearful! It will be very dreadful! He is ever present--how then can you flee from Him? Where can you go? Where can you hide? What will conceal you from an ever present God!

O hasten to His throne of grace,
flee into the open arms of His mercy,
submit at once at His footstool--and
His omnipresence shall be your joy, your safeguard, and your refuge!

If God is your enemy--then He will be strictly Righteous. He will take no bribe. He will violate no principle of His government. He will never forget or rescind one threatening recorded in His word. Your just wages shall be paid--no more, no less. He now mingles mercy with His judgments--but there will be no mercy then. He is now emphatically "The merciful God," but He will not be so then.
Mercy will then give place to justice,
grace will then give place to equity,
and love will then give place to wrath--
in the experience of the lost soul.

If God is your enemy--then you will have an Eternal enemy. He can never die. From everlasting to everlasting, He is God. If only man were your enemy--he might die; and his death may work a deliverance for you. But if God is your enemy, there is no hope! He ever lives, and while He lives--He must hate sin. And while He hates sin--He must punish the sinner! O fearful case! The eternal God is your enemy! He will be your enemy forever!

Now, reader, dwell for one moment upon the solemn thought:
God is my enemy!
I have an Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent, Righteous, Eternal enemy!
One from whom I cannot escape.
One whom it will be Hell to face.
One whom my conscience will forever justify, while suffering the most dreadful torments. 
Shall I rush upon the sword of His justice--or run into the arms of His mercy?

Think, delaying sinner. Pause, and say to yourself,
"I am under the curse and wrath of God.
If I die in this state I shall die . . .
  without mercy,
  without pity, and
  without hope.
My sins are all recorded in God's book,
   I am unpardoned and unblessed,
   Satan is my father and my god,
   and Hell is my everlasting home!
All creation will despise me.
All in Heaven will frown upon me.
All in Hell will eternally upbraid me.
No one will respect or sympathize with me.
I shall forever lie under the burning wrath of God--a curse and eternal execration!"

Unconverted reader!
Sickness
is coming!
Death is coming!
Judgment is coming!
Eternity is just at hand!
   ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

C.H. Spurgeon Quotes


Posted: 23 Feb 2013 12:00 AM PST
great professions for a time, but afterwards go back and leave us. The reason very often being that the preaching has sifted them out from the wheat and proved that they are only chaff. I know that some of you feel very uncomfortable when I am preaching the Doctrine of Election or any of the other great Doctrines of Sovereign Grace. I am very sorry for any of you who cannot appreciate those glorious Truths of God in which my soul delights itself to the fullest—and I would earnestly and solemnly urge you to examine yourselves to see whether you have ever had Divine Grace in your hearts at all if you do not love to hear the Doctrines of Grace preached!
C.H. Spurgeon

Friday 22 February 2013

C.H. Spurgeon Quotes

Posted: 22 Feb 2013 12:00 AM PST
Now, there are certain doctrines commonly called Calvinistic (but which ought never to have been called by such a name, for they are simply Christian doctrines) which I think commend themselves to the minds of all thoughtful persons, for this reason mainly, that they do ascribe to God everything.
C.H. Spurgeon

Thursday 21 February 2013

Signs of the Times


By J. C. Ryle, October 21, 1884
 
Enormous luxury, extravagance, self-indulgence, mammon-worship, and an idolatry of fashion and amusements, are sorrowful marks of our times.
With all our outward show of religion, is there any proportionate increase of internal reality? With all this immense growth of external Christianity, is there any corresponding growth of vital godliness? Is there more faith, repentance, and holiness among the worshipers in our churches? Is there more of that saving faith without which it is impossible to please God, more of that repentance unto salvation without which a man must perish, and more of that holiness without which no man shall see the Lord? Is our Lord Jesus Christ more known and trusted and loved and obeyed? Is the inward work of the Holy Spirit more realized and experienced among our people? Are the grand verities of justification, conversion, sanctification, more thoroughly grasped and rightly esteemed by our congregations? Is there more private Bible reading, private prayer, private self-denial, private mortification of the flesh, private exhibition of meekness, gentleness, and unselfishness? In a word, is there more private religion at home in all the relations of life? These are very serious questions, and I wish they could receive very satisfactory answers. I sometimes fear that there is an enormous amount of hollowness and unreality in much of the Church religion of the present day, and that, if weighed in God's balances, it would be found terribly wanting.
For after all, we must remember that it is written, 'Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.' The great Head of the Church has said, 'This people draws near to me with their mouth, and honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.' He has also said, 'The true worshipers shall worship in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeks such to worship Him.' If there is one thing more clearly taught than another in the Word of God, it is the utter uselessness of formal outward worship, however beautifully conducted, when the hearts of the worshipers are not right in the sight of God. I suspect that the Temple worship in the days when our Lord Jesus Christ was upon earth was as perfectly and beautifully performed as possible. I have little doubt that the music, the singing, the prayers, the dress of the priests, the gestures, the postures, the regularity and punctuality of the ceremonial observances, the keeping of the feasts and fasts, were all perfection itself, and there was nothing faulty or defective. But where was true saving religion in those days? What was the inward godliness of men like Annas and Caiaphas and their companions? What was the general standard of living among the fierce zealots of the law of Moses who crucified the Lord of Glory? You all know as well as I do. There is only one answer. The whole Jewish Church, with all its magnificent ritual, was nothing but a great whited sepulcher, beautiful without, but utterly rotten and corrupt within. In short, the Jewish Church was intended by God to be a beacon to all Christendom, and I am certain that these are days in which its lessons ought not to be forgotten.
We must not be content with what men call 'bright and hearty' services, and frequent administrations of the Lord's Supper. We must remember that these things do not constitute the whole of religion, and that no Christianity is valuable in the sight of God which does not influence the hearts, the consciences, and the lives of those who profess it. It is not always the church and congregation in which there is the best music and singing, and from which young people return saying, 'How beautiful it was,' in which God takes most pleasure. It is the church in which there is most of the presence of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, and the congregation in which there are most 'broken hearts and contrite spirits.' If our eyes were only opened to see invisible things, like the eyes of Elisha's servant, we might discover to our amazement that there is more presence of the King of kings, and consequently more blessing, in some humble unadorned mission room where the Gospel is faithfully preached, than in some of the grandest churches in the land.
There is nothing like testing systems by their results. Let us ask quietly whether there has been any increase of Christian liberality and spiritual-mindedness in the land, in proportion to the enormous increase of attention to external worship. I am afraid the reply will be found very unsatisfactory. In many cases, the money given by a congregation to help missions at home and abroad, and to promote direct work for the salvation of souls in any way, would be found absurdly out of proportion to the money expended on organist, choir, ferns, flowers, and general decoration. Can this be right? And is this a healthy state of things? Does the annual contribution of money for religious purposes throughout England and Wales, in these days of enormously increasing wealth, bear any proportion to the gigantic expenditure on racing, hunting, shooting, yachting, elaborate entertainments, fashion, dancing, and the general round of recreation? Yet all this goes on in the face of an immense increase of external religion! I cannot think this a symptom of a healthy condition.
I shall never forget what an American clergyman said to me not long ago, when I asked him what he thought of the state of Church religion on revisiting England after an absence of some ten years. He told me in reply that while he saw a great increase of music, singing, and ceremonial religion in our public worship, he could not see the slightest increase, but rather a decrease, of true religion among our worshipers. I have a sorrowful suspicion that the American was not far wrong.
The preaching of the pure Word of God is the first mark of a healthy Church. It is sound doctrine taught and preached, and not ritual, which in every age the Holy Spirit has used for awakening sleeping human consciences, building up the cause of Christ, and saving souls. The dens and caves and upper rooms in which the primitive Christians used to meet were doubtless very rough and unadorned. They had no carved wood or stone, no stained glass, no costly vestments, no organs, and no surpliced choirs. But these primitive worshipers were the men who 'turned the world upside down,' and I doubt not that their places of worship were far more honorable in God's sight. It was well and truly said that in those ancient days 'the Church had wooden communion vessels--but golden ministers,' and it was this which gave the primitive Church its power. And when religion began to decay, it was said that the conditions were reversed; the ministers became wooden--and the communion plate golden.
But I want everything in the English Church in the 19th century to be golden. I long to have everywhere golden ministers, golden worship, golden preaching, golden praying, and golden praise. I want everything in the service of God to be done as perfectly as possible, and no part of it to be scamped, slurred over, done carelessly, and left out in the cold. I charge you affectionately, my reverend brethren, to make this your aim. Let the best, brightest, and heartiest services be always accompanied by the best and ablest sermons that your minds can produce and your tongues deliver. Let your sermons be addresses in which Christ's blood, mediation, and intercession; Christ's love, power, and willingness to save; the real work of the Holy Spirit, repentance, faith, and holiness; are never lacking—sermons full of life, and fire, and power; sermons which set hearers thinking, and make them go home to pray. Then, and then only will the Church have its just influence, and God will open the windows of heaven and give us a blessing.
The very best and most elaborate services are only means to an end, and that end should be the salvation of souls. All is not done when people have heard beautiful music and singing, and seen the most ornamental ceremonial. Are their hearts and consciences better? Is sin more hateful? Is Christ more precious? Is holiness more desired? Are they becoming more ready for death, judgment, and eternity every week that they live? These are the grand ends which every clergyman should set before him in every service which he conducts. He should strive to conduct it with an abiding recollection of the eye of God, the sound of the last trumpet, the resurrection of the dead, and the final judgment--and not with the petty thought, 'Is my service bright, hearty, and well done?' That these may be more and more the aims of every clergyman in the present day, is my earnest prayer.

C.H. Spurgeon Quotes

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 12:00 AM PST
It has come to be a dreadfully common belief in the Christian Church that the only man who has a “call” is the man who devotes all his time to what is called “the ministry,” whereas all Christian service is ministry, and every Christian has a call to some kind of ministry or another.
C.H. Spurgeon

Wednesday 20 February 2013

This new spiritual life


    ~  ~  ~  ~  ~



(James Smith, "The Way of Salvation Set Forth")

By nature we are all dead in trespasses and sins. There is . . .
  no breath of prayer,
  no sight of God,
  no listening to the voice of mercy,
  no power of faith;
but we are alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that is in us. In this state we live--until God who is rich in mercy with the great love with which He loved us, quickens us together with Christ, and saves us by His grace. The Holy Spirit imparts a new, a divine life. In consequence of this, we . . .
  discover our lost state,
  feel our dangerous position,
  fear the wrath of God,
  desire true holiness, and
  flee to Jesus for full salvation.

This life coming from God--always leads us to God.
Being holy--it produces earnest longings for holiness.
Being spiritual--it can only be satisfied with spiritual blessings.

Jesus becomes the food, the repose, the delight of the soul. To Jesus the spiritual life always tends; on Him it feeds; and of Him alone it boasts.

This new spiritual life is imparted in regeneration, and reveals itself in conversion to God. Its manifestations are . . .
  repentance for sin,
  faith in Jesus,
  love to God, and
  earnest longings for holiness of heart and life.

It is this spiritual life which distinguishes the real believer from the mere professor of religion. It makes him a new man, and leads him to prove the truth of the Apostles words, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. " 2 Corinthians 5:17

   ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

C.H. Spurgeon Quotes


Posted: 20 Feb 2013 12:00 AM PST
But men fight against God with God’s own gifts. A woman endowed with beauty, the rare gift of God, uses it to ensnare others into sin. God gives us garments, and there are some who use their very garments for nothing else but pride, and who go through the world with no motive but display.
C.H. Spurgeon

Tuesday 19 February 2013

The Christian's safety!


~ ~ ~ ~ ~



(James Smith, "The Way of Salvation Set Forth")

" Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust." Psalm 16:1

The lost sinner is in danger--in the greatest possible danger! He is always in danger, for . . .
the wrath of God abides on him,
the curse of God is leveled at him, and
the justice of God makes a fearful demand upon him.
He is like an unprotected traveler in a forest, where robbers and wild beasts unite to terrify and destroy. He is . . .
exposed to every storm,
liable to every calamity, and
may be cut down at any moment!
The law condemns him,
Satan seeks by all means to destroy him,
and his situation is truly dreadful!

But the believer is safe in Jesus:
his sins are pardoned,
his person is justified,
he is accepted in Jesus, and
to him there is no condemnation.
To him, Jesus is a strong tower, into which he runs and is safe.
To him, God is a shield, which defends him from every hostile weapon. God . . .
surrounds him as a wall of fire,
bears him up on everlasting arms, and
guides him by His strength to His holy habitation.

"For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock." Psalm 27:5

Every perfection of God is on his side,
every purpose of God secures his salvation,
every promise of God is made for his comfort and safety.
He is in the hands of Christ,
his name is engraved on the breast-plate of the Great High Priest,
and his cause lies near to the heart of the Omnipotent One.
Nothing that concerns him is left to chance,
his times are in the Lord's hands, and
God works all things together for his good.
He will have everything that is . . .
really good,
truly great, and
eternally glorious!
God is his Father--and he will defend His child.
Jesus is his Bridegroom--and he will protect His Bride.

If the power of God can preserve him--then he is safe; for he is kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

If the love of God can secure him--then he is safe; for God loves him with an everlasting love!

Will a kind, fond, and tender mother take care of her child? Then will God take care of the believer, for He asks, "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?" He admits, " yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.  Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. " Isaiah 49:15-16

The believer is safe from all real evils. He is under . . .
the special care and charge of Christ,
the sunshine of his Father's love,
the watchful eye of the Great Shepherd,
the guidance and guardianship of the Holy Spirit.

What a precious, unutterably precious truth is this! May we . . .
press it to our hearts,
enjoy it in our daily walk, and
relish it as we would our choicest treasure!

" The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower." Psalm 18:2

" For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock." Psalm 27:5
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

C.H. Spurgeon Quotes

Posted: 19 Feb 2013 12:00 AM PST
What the sun is to the heavens, that the doctrine of a vicarious satisfaction is to theology. Atonement is the brain and spinal cord of Christianity. Take away the cleansing blood, and what is left to the guilty? Deny the substitutionary work of Jesus, and you have denied all that is precious in the New Testament.
C.H. Spurgeon

Monday 18 February 2013

C.H. Spurgeon Quotes

Posted: 18 Feb 2013 12:00 AM PST
You are as much serving God in looking after your own children, and training them up in God’s fear, and minding the house, and making your household a church for God, as you would be if you had been called to lead an army to battle for the Lord of hosts.
C.H. Spurgeon

This lesson makes life easy and simple!


~ ~ ~ ~ ~



(J.R. Miller)

"As thy days, so shall thy strength be." Deuteronomy 33:25

We have nothing to do with life in the aggregate--that great bulk of duties, responsibilities, struggles, and trials which belong to a course of years. We really have nothing to do even with the nearest of the days before us--tomorrow. Our sole business is with the one little day which is now passing. Its burdens will not crush us--we can easily carry them until the sun goes down. We can always get along for one short day--it is the projection of life into the long future, which dismays and appalls us.

Each day is, in a certain sense, a complete life by itself. It has
its own duties,
its own trials,
its own burdens,
and its own needs.
The very best we can do for the perfecting of our life as a whole, is to live the one day well.

We should put all our thought and energy and skill into the duty of each day, wasting no strength, either in grieving over yesterday's failures--or in anxiety about tomorrow's responsibilities.

This lesson makes life easy and simple!

"Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Matthew 6:34

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sunday 17 February 2013

Sovereign Grace Missionary BaptistChurch
1217 Dillon Texarkana, Texas 75501
February 17, 2013
Newsletter Number 404
Brother Randy Johnson, Pastor Brother Ronnie Henderson, Song Director
Pastor E-Mail: pastor@sgmbaptist.com Web Site: www.sgmbaptist.com
"Where The Truths Of God’s Word Have Been Taught For More Than Fifty Years”
You Were Asked To Pray For:
All of Our Military, Their Family’s & All the Civilian Workers in The Middle East, Zee Mink Fuller and Family, Her son’s Bryan Armstrong and Hunter Hackie, Daughter Shannon, and Brother Philip & Sondra Thornsberry, Junior Baldridge, Frankie Baldridge and daughter, Buckie Thompson, Frank & Sonya Trusty, Frank & Dawana Reigel, Andrew Preston, Larry Mollette, Larry Mollette II & Family, Kerry Pennington, Kim Poole, Danny & Nita Mollette, Wendell Henderson, Judy Dunn, Martha Gray, Joshua Kidd, Matthew Kidd, Ronnie Henderson Jr. & Children, Ricky Henderson and Family, Jacie Henderson, Bro. & Mrs. Hammond, Charles, Don Hammond and Families, Archie & Barbara Griffin, Bro. & Sister Bob Keller, Mary Ramsey, Donna Johnson, Fay Johnson, James and Luann Reynolds, Timothy and Nathan Fails, Jacob Ramsey, Jerry Hughes, Sister Nita Bookout, Teresa Bookout, Pastor G. L. Burr, Melody Carr, Janie Capps, Imajo Tracy, Linda Hughes, Roy Lemmon, Rosie Tomlin, Lee Mollette’s Daughter & Granddaughter Kristal, Kathy Johnson and their mother, Pat Abercrombie, Barbara Brewer, Donna Jones, Dale and Linda Trahan, Ricky and Margaret McCoy, Brother David O’Neal, Gina, Ryan, and Mallary Peel, Tommy Walker and family, Brother Steve McCool and the work in Canada, Brother Curtis Pugh, Brother Dan Sullivan and the work in Thailand, Brother Raul and the work in Romania, and Bro. Sergey Mochalov and the Churches in Russia.
A Thought From Our Pastor:
Evil Hates The LightJohn 3:20 "For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved."
People need to understand that God is not pleased with sinfulness whether by His own or those that are not His. God continually warned the Israelite not to sin, not to serve this world and it’s evil, and the Israelites continually ignored God and His words of warning. God has boldly warned us that we cannot serve to masters (God and mammon) Matt. 6:24 "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." And the reason is that one opposes the other. This world system is controlled by Satan and therefore it opposes God in every way. If a believer in Christ gets much involved with the world or the things of it, they will oppose God and His Holiness. Evil hates light and if one walks in the darkness of this world they also will oppose God and His Holiness whether they believe they do or not. The greatest examples are the religious institutions call churches, they (as sad as it is to say) oppose God. They serve themselves instead of God and this is the reason they do not properly worship God and His Holiness. This is the reason they accept any wind of doctrine instead of truth. Most of them will even admit that they do not teach or serve doctrine, well the definition of doctrine is instruction in scripture, therefore they openly admit that they do not teach or believe instruction from Gods word. How can a believer understand God and His will if they are not taught instruction in the scriptures. Even Jesus Christ admitted in John 7:16 "Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me." He taught doctrine and it was Gods doctrine. Now we can clearly see why these worldly religious institutions called “churches” are full of scripturally clueless people. This is why Paul said in Ephesians 4:14 “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;” that people will believe anything taught by man as truth even though God had declared that they would change the truth into a lie. Romans 1:25 "Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen." This horrible change of truth into a lie caused man to serve the creature instead of God which is exactly what you get in these “churches” (so to speak). One cannot hide behind their membership in one of these religious institutions because it is sinful and God said "...ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out." Numbers 32:23
God, in our text scripture told us "For every one that doeth evil hateth the light…” or they hate the truth and even despise it because they have changed Gods truth into a lie and love the lie more than the truth. God also said in our text scripture “…neither cometh to the light…” they will become satisfied believing the lie of Satan and will not return to the truth and the reason is they have come to hate the truth. God finished our text scripture with these words “…lest his deeds should be reproved." The word “reproved” means – to discover a lie – and this is the reason; they have been lead into lies and untruths therefore repentance is unlikely. They will hate those who attempt to warn them and despise them for trying to tell them. This is why they sit in these religious places of untruth, deniers of Gods truths as though it is truth, all the time singing their Contemporary music, waving their hands, believing any wind of “truth” as long as it is not the truth of God, shouting “we will not believe nor teach doctrine.” Believing that some how they are pleasing God. If you are a believer of Christ and are in one of these places of religious worship; come on back to where the truth is taught and a Sovereign God is truly worshiped. before it is to late.
For Our Weekly Meditation:
Never Cast OutHim that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37)
Is there any instance of our Lord's casting out a coming one? If there be so, we would like to know of it; but there has been none, and there never will be. Among the lost souls in hell there is not one that can say, "I went to Jesus, and He refused me." It is not possible that you or I should be the first to whom Jesus shall break His word. Let us not entertain so dark a suspicion.
Suppose we go to Jesus now about the evils of today. Oh, this we may be sure—He will not refuse us audience or cast us out. Those of us who have often been and those who have never gone before—let us go together, and we shall see that He will not shut the door of His grace in the face of any one of us.
"This man receiveth sinners," but He repulses none. We come to Him in weakness and sin, with trembling faith, and small knowledge, and slender hope; but He does not cast us out. We come by prayer, and that prayer broken; with confession, and that confession faulty; with praise, and that praise far short of His merits; but yet He receives us. We come diseased, polluted, worn out, and worthless; but He doth in no wise cast us out. Let us come again today to Him who never casts
By Charles Spurgeon from his “Faith's Checkbook” series
The book of life shall be opened in the great day,
because then it shall be shown . . .
who were elect—and who were reprobates;
who truly believed in Christ—and who did not;
who worshiped God in spirit and in truth—and who did not;
who walked with God as Noah did—and who did not;
who truly reverenced God—and who did not;
who followed the Lamb wherever He went—and who did not;
who were sincere—and who were not;
who are sheep—and who are goats;
who are sons of God—and who are slaves of Satan;
who have mourned for their sins—and who have made a sport of sin;
who preferred Christ above ten thousand worlds—and who did not;
who preferred their farms, and their oxen, and their swine,
yes, their very lusts—before a Savior, a Redeemer!
By Thomas Brooks