Thursday 31 October 2013

The Shulamite’s choice prayer


“Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm; for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave; the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it.” Solomon’s Song 8:6-7
Suggested Further Reading: Ephesians 3:14-21
“Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm. Love me, Lord. Help me, Lord. Let thy heart move towards me; let thine arm move for me too. Think of me, Lord; set me on thy heart. Work for me, Lord, set me on thine arm. Lord, I long to have thy love, for I hear it is as strong as death, and thou knowest I am chained by Satan, and am his bond-slave. Come and deliver me: thou art more than a match for my cruel tyrant. Come with thy strong love and set me free. I hear that thy love is as firm as hell itself. Lord, that is such a love as I want. Though I know I shall vex thee and wander from thee, come and love me with a love that is firm and everlasting. O Lord, I feel there is nothing in me that can make thee love me. Come and love me, then, with that love which finds its own fuel. Love me with those coals of fire which have a ‘vehement flame.’ And since many waters cannot quench thy love, prove that in me; for there are many waters of sin in me, but Lord, help me to believe that thy love is not quenched by them; there are many corruptions in me, but Lord, love me with that love which my corruptions cannot quench. Here, Lord, I give myself away; take me; make me what thou wouldst have me to be, and keep and preserve me even to the end.” May the Lord help you to pray that prayer, and then may he answer it for his mercy’s sake.
For meditation: Omnipotent God loves his people with an omnipotent, all-conquering love (Romans 8:35-39) which surpasses all knowledge and imagination. Can you say with assurance that he “so” loves you (John 3:16; 1 John 4:11)?
Sermon no. 364
31 October (Preached 24 February 1861)
C.H. Spurgeon

Continue earnestly in prayer

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(James Smith, "The Pastor's Evening Visit")

"Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving." Colossians 4:2

Prayer is always necessary, and it is always profitable. In prayer . . .
we do homage to the perfections of God,
we exercise faith on His omnipresence,
we express our dependence on Him for our supplies,
we evince the sincerity of our profession,
we acknowledge our poverty and weakness,
we unburden the mind of our secret trials,
we give vent to our feelings of joy and sorrow, of gratitude and grief,
we give utterance to our desires, and spread our case before the Lord,
we . . .
confess our sins,
acknowledge our backslidings,
and obtain pardon and restoring grace.

Prayer is the medium of communication between God and our souls:
We communicate our thoughts, feelings, fears, and desires.
He communicates light, strength, comfort, and grace to us.

Prayer is a very important duty; it is a great privilege.

Prayer should be . . .
constant,
fervent,
believing,
hopeful, and
incessant.

God loves it,
Satan hates it, and
every true Christian values it.

We should be always in a praying frame--though we cannot be always in a praying posture.

True prayer is always . . .
necessary,
profitable and
acceptable to God.

"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16

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Wednesday 30 October 2013

Christlikeness at home

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(J.R. Miller)

Keep the lamp of love shining day after day . . .
amid the many home cares and duties,
amid the criticisms, sarcasms, and thoughtlessness of others,
amid the thousand little irritations and arguments of home life
--which tend to break peace and disrupt a sweet temper.

Let your love at home be of the kind that never fails. Wherever else, far away or near, you pour the bright beams of your Christian love--be sure that you brighten your own home. No goodness and gentleness outside the home, will atone for lack of love at home.

"Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous." 1 Peter 3:8

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The Saviour’s many crowns


“On his head were many crowns.” Revelation 19:12
Suggested Further Reading: Revelation 4
All the mighty doers in Christ’s church ascribe their crown to him. What a glorious crown is that which Elijah will wear—the man who went to Ahab, and when Ahab said, “Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?” reproved him to his very face—the man who took the prophets of Baal, and let not one of them escape, but hewed them in pieces and made them a sacrifice to God. What a crown will he wear who ascended into heaven in a chariot of fire! What a crown, again, belongs to Daniel, saved from the lion’s den—Daniel, the earnest prophet of God. What a crown will be that which shall glitter on the head of the weeping Jeremiah, and the eloquent Isaiah! What crowns are those which shall cover the heads of the apostles! What a weighty diadem is that which Paul shall receive for his many years of service! And then, my friends, how shall the crown of Luther glitter, and the crown of Calvin; and what a noble diadem shall that be which Whitefield shall wear, and all those men who have so valiantly served God, and who by his might have put to flight the armies of the Aliens, and have maintained the gospel banner erect in troubled times! No, but let me point to you a scene. Elijah enters heaven, and where goes he with that crown which is instantly put upon his head? See, he flies to the throne, and stooping there, he uncrowns himself, “Not unto me, not unto me, but unto thy name be all the glory!” See the prophets as they stream in one by one; without exception, they put their crowns upon the head of Christ. And mark the apostles, and all the mighty teachers of the church: they all bow there and cast their crowns at his feet, who, by his grace, enabled them to win them.
For meditation: Will you receive any of the crowns mentioned in the New Testament?—The crown of rejoicing—for faithful evangelism out of love for the lost. The crown of righteousness—for faithful expectation out of love for the Lord’s presence. The crown of resurrection life—for faithful endurance out of love for the Lord’s person. The crown of renown—for faithful examples out of love for the Lord’s people (1 Thessalonians 2:19; 2 Timothy 4:8; James 1:12; 1 Peter 5:2-4).
Sermon no. 281
30 October (1859)
C.H. Spurgeon

Tuesday 29 October 2013

A basket of summer fruit


“Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit. And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.” Amos 8:1,2
Suggested Further Reading: 2 Peter 3:1-10
For thousands of years the Lord came not, although sin was rampant and the darkness dense, nothing could excite the Lord to an unwise haste. Nor on the other hand did he stay beyond the proper hour; for when the fulness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, made under the law. In heaven we shall probably discover that Christ came to die for our sins precisely at the only fitting moment, that in fact redemption’s work could not have been so wisely accomplished at the gates of the garden of Eden as on Calvary; and that the reign of Herod and the Roman Caesar afforded the most fitting era for the sacrifice of the Cross. And so shall it be with regard to the second advent of our blessed Lord and Master. We are apt to say, “Why are his chariots so long in coming? Do not the virgins sleep because the bridegroom tarries, the wise as well as the foolish, have they not all slumbered and slept?” And many are the servants who say in their heart, “My Lord delayeth his coming,” and are ready therefore to beat their fellow-servants, to drink and to be drunken; but cheer your hearts, you who look for his appearing. He will not come too hastily, for why should the sun arise until darkness has had its hour? Nor will he delay his appearing one moment beyond the proper time, for should not the sun beam forth in the morning? We know and are persuaded that when he shall stand a second time upon the earth, it shall be as much the fulness of time for him to come, as it was the fulness of time when he came at first.
For meditation: We know that Christ was born at the right time (Galatians 4:4) and that he died for us at the right time (Romans 5:6). We cannot tell when he will come again, but it will be at the right time (Acts 17:31). The right time to trust in him is now (2 Corinthians 6:2).
Sermon no. 343
29 October (Preached 28 October 1860)
C.H. Spurgeon

Monday 28 October 2013

None are too sinful, too base, too vile, or too far gone!

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(Don Fortner)

"A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.
Jesus said to him: Today salvation has come to this house!" Luke 19:2, 9

It is always profitable for our souls to read about the conversion of a sinner by God's omnipotent grace. It is especially profitable to read and study the stories of God's converting grace given to us in the pages of Holy Scripture. We should read them often and study them with care, asking God the Holy Spirit to teach us the wonders of His grace. When we read about these conversions, we find our hearts saying, "That is what the Lord has done for me!"

We see here the story of Zacchaeus' conversion by the Lord Jesus. He was saved by omnipotent grace. What He did for Zacchaeus, He still does for sinners today. Never cease to adore and give thanks to God our Savior for His sovereign, distinguishing grace! He who has mercy on whom He will have mercy, has not left us to ourselves!

Grace Omnipotent

Zacchaeus' conversion tells us that the grace of God that brings salvation is omnipotent and irresistible. None are too sinful, too base, too vile, or too far gone for Christ to save! His arm is not shortened that He cannot save. Oh, no! His mighty arm is omnipotent in the operations of His grace! None are beyond the reach of His omnipotent mercy!

Here is a notorious publican transformed into a saint.
Here is a rich man made to pass through the needle's eye into the kingdom of God.
Here is a covetous man transformed instantaneously into a self-sacrificing philanthropist!

Our all-glorious, ever-gracious Christ is able to save to the uttermost! Here is a Physician before whom none are incurable! Yes, Jesus Christ still makes the lame to walk again and causes the blind to see!

Sovereign Election
Salvation comes to chosen sinners because the purpose of God according to election is sure. Like you and me, Zacchaeus was . . .
a sinner by birth,
a sinner by nature,
a sinner by choice, and
a sinner by practice.
But he was distinguished from all others in the crowd that day by God's distinguishing grace, and effectually called because God had from the beginning chosen him to salvation.

O my soul, roll these things over in your heart day by day. Never lose sight of them. The Son of God had His eye upon you from eternity, just as He had his eye upon Zacchaeus.
You were chosen by Him in everlasting love! (Ephesians 1:3-4)
Your name was written in the Book of Life before the worlds were made! (Revelation 13:8; Luke 10:20)
You were one of those sheep given to the Good Shepherd by the Father from old eternity! (John 10:27-29).

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“Worldly” Christian


From the Pastor: Dr. M. J. Seymour, Sr.
Jesus said of the believers: “I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. … They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” (John 17:14, 16) Apostle John wrote: “For whatsoever is born of(out of) God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” (I John 5:4)
The term “worldly Christian” is an oxymoron; the two words are diametrically opposed to each other. All too frequently the term is used to describe one who claims to be a believer but whose life is consumed with ungodly living perpetually. This ideology is inconsistent with the Holy Scriptures. “Backslider” is a Biblical word used to identify a believer that has temporarily afflicted himself in the lust of the flesh (sin), but it is not a continuous existence wallowing in sin. A backslider is quickly chastened by the Father and is returned to his proper journey of following Christ. Those remaining in the filth of sin whether happily or unhappily are not blood bought sons of God. They are not bornout of God!
Apostle Paul wrote: “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. … But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. …For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”(Rom. 8:5, 9, 13-14) This settles the debate! One is either “of the world” or “of the Christ,” but one cannot be of both.
The term “worldly Christian” is simply an empty vain pretext to give some form of credibility for an ungodly vulgar life style. A Christian will strive to please and obey the Father, but a reprobate will dance sadistically for the Puppeteer through the gutters of hog wallow pillaging for another fix of ecstasy in emotional religionism.
In the depths of His grace!
Bro. Manuel

"One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple."
Ps. 27:4

Chastisement


“And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him.” Hebrews 12:5
Suggested Further Reading: Deuteronomy 8:1-6
What son is there whom the Father chasteneth not? You ministers of God who preach the gospel, is there amongst your ranks one son whom his Father chastens not? Unanimously they reply, “We all have been chastened.” You holy prophets who testified God’s word with the Holy Ghost from heaven, is there one amongst your number whom God chastened not? Abraham, Daniel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Malachi, answer; and unanimously cry, “There is not one among us whom the Father chasteneth not.” You kings, you chosen ones, you Davids and you Solomons, is there one in your high and lofty ranks who has escaped chastisement? Answer David! Were you not obliged to cross the brook Kedron in the darkness? Answer Hezekiah! Did you not spread the letter before the Lord? Answer Jehoshaphat! Did you not have the cross when the ships were broken that were sent to Tarshish for gold? Oh starry host above, translated out of the reach of the trials of this world, is there one amongst you whom the Father chastened not? Not one; there is not one in heaven whose back was unscarred by the chastening rod, if he attained to the age when he needed it. The infant alone escapes, flying at once from his mother’s breast to heaven. There is one whom I will ask, the Son of God, the Son par excellence, the chief of all the family. Son of God Incarnate, did you escape the rod? Son without sin, were you a Son without punishment? Were you chastised? Hark! The hosts of earth and heaven reply—the church militant and triumphant answer: “The chastisement of our peace was even upon him; he suffered; he bore the cross; he endured the curse as well as any of us; yea, more, he endured ten thousand-fold more chastisement than any of us can by any possibility endure.”
For meditation: Christians have different gifts and different callings, but this is something shared by all. How do you react when God disciplines you? Does the experience leave you dismissive, discouraged or (as God intends) disciplined?
Sermon no. 48
28 October (1855)
C.H. Spurgeon

We shall lose nothing but our dross!

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(James Smith, "The Pastor's Evening Visit")

" Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction." Isaiah 48:10

" And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness." Malachi 3:3

" But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." Job 23:10

Job was in the furnace! It was heated seven times hotter, but he was conscious of his integrity. He knew that though he was imperfect--he was sincere. He knew that he had a living Redeemer--that his God knew his heart, his motives, his desires, and his course. Therefore he felt confident that he would not be consumed--but only refined.

This is the design of all our trials. They are . . .
to make us fit for the Master's use;
to make us reflect the Savior's image;
to fit us for eternal glory!

However fierce the fire--we shall lose nothing but our dross! God sits by the furnace as the Refiner; He superintends the whole process of purification, and He removes us from the fire, the moment His design is accomplished.

Tried Christian, your God is refining you!
His design is most loving!
He will take care of you!

Say with Job, " But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold."

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Sunday 27 October 2013

Sovereign Grace Missionary BaptistChurch
1217 Dillon Texarkana, Texas 75501
October 27, 2013
Newsletter Number 438
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 & Martha Mollette, Larry Mollette II & Family, Kerry Pennington, Kim Poole, Danny & Nita Mollette, Robert Riggs, Wendell Henderson, Judy Dunn, Martha Gray, Joshua Kidd, Matthew Kidd, Ronnie and Sarah Henderson, Ronnie Henderson Jr. & Children, Ricky Henderson and Family, Jacie Henderson, Velma 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, Pat Abercrombie, Barbara Brewer, Donna Jones, Dale and Linda Trahan, Ricky and Margaret McCoy, Brother David O’Neal, Tommy Walker and family, Diane Thomas, Gina Peel, James and Lynn Tomlin, Brother Kelley and Sister Hinson, Robert, Megan Whitaker, Manual Seymour, Sr. Sister Jean Dodson, 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.

From Our Pastor:
The Joy Of Finding Others Walking In Truth.3 John 1:4 “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”
After returning for the bible conference in Silsbee, Texas, I remember three new brethren I enjoyed meeting for the first time. After hearing these three brethren preach I rejoiced in the truth of God’s word that they all preached. It is always good to enjoy the fellowship of others who preach and/or walk in the truths of Gods precious word of truth. You can find those who will believe or walk in false doctrine one every corner, those that seek to please man rather than God. John here said “I have no greater joy…” than those who I find walking in the truth of God’s holy script. Sometimes we as sovereign grace Baptist feel as though we are alone in our doctrine and walk but please be assured that we are not. However, though it seem that we are alone in a very liberal religious world. This is why it brings so much joy when we meet other believers in Christ that actually walk and preach the truth of God’s word. However John went as far to say “I have no greater joy…” as though nothing in life would bring greater joy to our hearts and I agree. I just pray that these three men can have the same joy in their hearts as I do in meeting and hearing me speak. One of these days even those believers who do not know and walk in the truth will know and believe the truths of God’s word, their will be no error in heaven!
For Our Weekly Meditation:
Very Precious"Yes, He is very precious to you who believe!" 1 Peter 2:7
Jesus is precious to believers—as the bread of God coming down from heaven, and giving everlasting life to their souls. By Him they are really, constantly, and daily supported, fed and sustained. As bread is sweet and precious to a hungry man—so is Christ sweet and precious to those who live by Him. The entertainment that He gives to them—is a divine, a spiritual feast!
Jesus is precious to believers—as the Sun of Righteousness. The beams of His grace are healing, enlightening, cheering, and full of consolation. If natural light is sweet, if it is a pleasant thing to behold the sun—how much more pleasant to experience the irradiating influences of the Light of life!
Jesus is precious to believers—as the fountain where they bathe their weary souls, and in which they are cleansed from all sin and impurity. He is the tree of life, under the shadow of which, they sit with great delight, and His fruit is sweet to their taste. He is a rock, a strong tower, a hiding-place, where they find protection from every storm, and security from every foe. He was precious to the Psalmist under all these views—"I will love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my strength in whom I trust; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower."
It is therefore the delight of their lives—to know Him, to love and honor Him with their whole hearts, and to aspire after conformity to His blessed image, and His holy will.
"O blessed Redeemer, I find in you all that my poor helpless soul stands in need of. Though I have the greatest reason for shame and humiliation, on account of what I am in myself—yet in You I behold everything to elevate my hopes, and to afford me relief and encouragement! May my soul magnify the Lord, and my spirit rejoice in God my Savior! The characters and relations in which You have revealed Yourself to me in Your Word—exhibit a balm for every wound, and a cordial for every fear.
- If I am naked—You are the Lord my righteousness.
- If I am soul-sick—You are my physician.
- If I am weak and helpless—You are my strength.
- If I am neglected and despised—You are my compassionate and faithful friend.
- If I am ignorant—You are made unto me wisdom.
- If I am polluted and enslaved—You are made unto me sanctification and redemption.
- If I am nothing but emptiness and vanity—You are full of grace and truth."
"Yes, He is very precious to you who believe!" 1 Peter 2:7

By John Fawcett
Church News:

Please remember to set your clocks back one hour next Sunday November 03
The School Of Thoughtlessness And Vanity:
Christian parents and Christian families would do well to consider, that the tendencies of fashionable amusements are unfavorable to the cultivation of piety. Our children and youth are naturally far enough from God. It is both wise and kind—not to multiply and increase the temptations and dangers which everywhere lurk around their path, and beguile them to eternal ruin! The world is vain and alluring enough already. The way of death is sufficiently enticing, and abundantly strewed with flowers.
Nothing is more evident—than that a passion for fashionable amusements banishes all serious regard for true piety, silences the voice of conscience, and neutralizes the means of grace and salvation. They may not always prove to be "the school of vice and profligacy," but they are always "the school of thoughtlessness and vanity," where everything else is fortified, rather than serious thoughts of God and the coming judgment. "What is a man profited, if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?"
Gardiner Spring, New York, March 1, 1831

The making of a beautiful and happy home!

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(J.R. Miller)

A true home
is one of the most sacred of places. It is a sanctuary into which men flee from the world's perils and alarms. It is a resting-place to which, at close of day--the weary retire to gather new strength for the battle and toils of tomorrow. It is the place . . .
where love learns its lessons,
where life is schooled into discipline and strength,
where character is molded.

Few things we can do in this world are so well worth doing--as the making of a beautiful and happy home! He who does this--builds a sanctuary for God, and opens a fountain of blessing for men.

Far more than we know--do the strength and beauty of our lives, depend upon the home in which we dwell. He who goes forth in the morning from a happy, loving, prayerful home--into the world's strife, temptation, struggle, and duty--is strongly inspired for noble and victorious living.

The children who are brought up in a true home--go out trained and equipped for life's battles and tasks--carrying a secret of strength in their hearts, which will make them brave and loyal to God, and will keep them pure in the world's severest temptations!

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Saturday 26 October 2013

Keep your heart!

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(Arthur Pink)

"Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." Proverbs 4:23

The 'heart' is here put for our whole inner being. It is that which controls and gives character to all that we do.
To 'keep'--garrison or guard--the heart is the great work which God has assigned us. The enablement is His--but the duty is ours. We are to keep . . .
the imagination from vanity,
the understanding from error,
the will from perverseness,
the conscience clear of guilt,
the affections from being set on inordinate or evil objects,
the mind from being employed on worthless or vile subjects.
This, this is the work to which God has called us!

"The keeping and right managing of the heart in every condition, is the great business of a Christian's life!" John Flavel
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Friday 25 October 2013

The rules for domestic happiness


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(William S. Plumer, "Sinners Saved by Unmerited Kindness")

Domestic happiness requires the following elements . . .
from superiors: truth, justice, consistency, humility, gentleness and kindness;
from inferiors: respect, love, obedience, honor;
from equals: truth, justice, tenderness and brotherly kindness.

A profession of religion, when not accompanied by a cheerful and habitual performance of family duties--is worth nothing.

The rules for domestic happiness are few and simple. He who runs, may read. They are mighty. We can but admire the effects produced in a Christian household by such maxims and precepts as these!

1. Be humble. "Pride only breeds quarrels."
2. "Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit."
3. Find your own happiness in trying to make others happy.
4. Mind your own business. Do not be meddlesome.
5. Beware of a fretful, suspicious, or censorious temper.
6. "Overcome evil with good." "Bless and curse not."
7. "Love one another deeply, from the heart."
8. Do not magnify the trials or afflictions of life.
9. Beware of sloth. There is no greater enemy of peace and happiness.
10. Make it your business to serve God.
11. Keep out of debt. "Owe no man anything." Loans breed bad tempers and harsh dispositions.
12. Keep the ultimate purpose of life in view--to glorify God. This will repress many vain wishes and chasten immoderate desires.
13. Let your prayers be frequent and fervent.
14. Never listen to scandal nor backbiting.
15. Do not grieve or worry over things which cannot be helped.
16. Set the Lord always before you. Seek His glory. Do and suffer His will with readiness. Let Christ be all and in all. Trust in the Lord forever.

There is something peculiarly pleasing in the manifestations of the grace of Christ in a truly pious family, however humble their condition in life.

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Light at evening time


“It shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.” Zechariah 14:7
Suggested Further Reading: Luke 24:13-21, 28-35
God very frequently acts in grace in such a manner that we can find a parallel in nature. For instance, God says, “… as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, … so shall my word be, …it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” We find him speaking concerning the coming of Christ, “He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.” We find him likening the covenant of grace to the covenant which he made with Noah concerning the seasons, and with man concerning the different revolutions of the year—“Seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” We find that the works of creation are very frequently the mirror of the works of grace, and that we can draw figures from the world of nature to illustrate the great acts of God in the world of his grace towards his people. But sometimes God oversteps nature. In nature after evening comes night. The sun has had its hours of journeying; the fiery steeds are weary; they must rest. Lo, they descend the azure steeps and plunge their burning fetlocks in the western sea, while night in her dark chariot follows at their heels. God, however, oversteps the rule of nature. He is pleased to send to his people times when the eye of reason expects to see no more day, but fears that the glorious landscape of God’s mercies will be shrouded in the darkness of his forgetfulness. But instead, God overleaps nature, and declares that at evening time, instead of darkness there shall be light.
For meditation: The text has only ever been true on one occasion in a physical sense (Joshua 10:12-14), but God, to whom even the darkness is light (Psalm 139:12), is always repeating the event spiritually in the lives of his people.
Sermon no. 160
25 October (1857)
C.H. Spurgeon

Thursday 24 October 2013

Your present trial

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(James Smith, "Comfort for Christians!")

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

All things? Yes! Everything that happens to the Christian is directed and overruled by God's special Providence for his good! The experience may be very bitter--it may lay him very low and try him to the core; it may keep him in the dust for a long time. But it will do him good--not only in the end, but while it lasts.

Believer, your present trial is for your good. Nothing could be better for you! You may not see it now; you may even feel as if you never could think so--but the time is coming when you will bless God for it.

You love God--and God loves you with an infinite and eternal love. You came to the cross as a poor sinner--and you looked to the Lord Jesus to be your perfect Savior. This proves that you have been called according to God's purpose. You are one of God's beloved ones, and as such--you may have the assurance that all things . . .
light and darkness,
health and sickness,
hatred and love,
prosperity and adversity,
life and death--
will work together for your good!

Dark clouds bring rich blessings--and sharp winters introduce fruitful springs. Even so, sore troubles often precede the sweetest consolations. Your present affliction--whether it is . . .
sickness of body,
trouble of mind,
bereavements,
losses,
crosses, or
whatever else
--is working for your good. It will work for good in the future, and it is working for good now. While your heart is bleeding, and you are tempted to think that all is against you--all is working together for your good!

Dear Lord, I do not see how my affliction can be good for me. But help me, Lord, to accept it as such by faith--so that I may receive what You have for me through it.

" And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope:" Romans 5:3-4

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Grace reviving Israel


“I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.” Hosea 14:5-7
Suggested Further Reading: Colossians 3:16-4: 1
The most beautiful tree in a garden is the one that bears the most fruit: and there is a promise given to a Christian that after his branches have spread, his beauty shall be as the olive tree; that is, he shall grow and be laden with fruit. The olive tree is evergreen; and so is the beauty of the Christian. Alas for the beautiful Christians we have in some of our places of worship on Sunday! Glorious Christians! If they could be packed up and sent to heaven just as they are, provided their appearances were true indications of their state, what a blessed thing it would be! But alas! On the Monday they have not the same sort of dress they had on Sunday, and therefore they have not the same kind of actions. Dear friends, there is so much Sunday religion in these days! Now, I like a Monday religion, and a Tuesday religion, and a Wednesday religion, and a Thursday religion, and a Friday religion, and a Saturday religion. I do not think the religion of the pulpit, or the religion of the pen, is to be relied upon. I think it is the religion of a draper’s shop, the religion of a corn exchange, religion in a house, religion in the street, and the religion of a fireside, that proves us to be God’s children. But how would some of you come off if you were weighed in these balances? Fine fellows, on Sunday; but poor creatures on Monday! You are not well arrayed then; but ah! If you were Christians, you would always be well arrayed: yes, you would always be as beautiful as the olive tree.
For meditation: God wants us to live the Christian life, not to live the Christian meeting! True worship involves practice as well as praise (Romans 12:1; James 1:26-27).
Sermon no. 342
24 October (Undated Sermon)
C.H. Spurgeon

Wednesday 23 October 2013

There is no such thing as "chance," "luck," or "accident"

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~



(Don Fortner)

"But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered! Fear not therefore: you are of more value than many sparrows." Luke 12:7

With these words, our Lord Jesus Christ assures us that none of God's elect shall ever be in any real danger or suffer any real harm, for we are under the special care and protection of God Himself. I see six things in this sentence, which are a constant source of peace and encouragement to my soul.

1. The Blessed Fact of Divine Predestination
The text might be better translated "the very hairs of your head have all been numbered." Before the world began, our heavenly Father counted up and ordained the number of hairs that were to be upon your head at this very moment! This is meticulous predestination. What does it tell us? God's sovereign purpose of grace in predestination, includes all that we do and all that we experience.

2. A Comforting Assurance of Divine Providence
The primary intent of the text is to show us our Father's constant rule of all things. The sparrow cannot fall to the ground, and a hair cannot fall from your head without your Father's eternal decree in predestination, and His direction in providence.

3. Our Heavenly Father's Perfect Knowledge of All Things Concerning Us
Our God, who predestined all things and rules all things--knows all things! We are so well known by God, that He has even numbered the hairs of our heads. "Your Father knows." We need no other comfort. The Lord's knowledge of us is constant and entire. His knowledge of us is the knowledge of a tender, sympathetic Father.

4. Our Father's Constant Care
He who takes the trouble to number the hairs of our heads, must surely care for us. We are the apple of His eye. Cast all your care upon Him. "He cares for you!"

5. The Honor and High Esteem our God has for His Elect
God has numbered our hairs because He values them. He holds us in honor and high esteem above all the people of the world, because of His gracious purpose toward us in Christ, because He has made us one with His darling Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (Isaiah 43:3-5; 1 John 4:9-11).

6. The Promise of Divine Protection
The hairs of our head are all numbered, because our God intends that "Not a hair of your head shall perish!" Trials are certain. Temptations are sure. Tribulations are constant in this world. But there is no cause for fear. "The very hairs of your head are all numbered!"

Nothing whatever, whether great or small, can happen to one of God's elect--without God's decree and direction. The providential government of our great God over everything in this world, is a truth which is clearly revealed and constantly taught in the Word of God. Just as the telescope and microscope show us that there is order and design in all the works of God's hand, from the greatest planet down to the least insect--so the Book of God teaches us that there is an infinite wisdom, Divine order, and gracious design in all the events of our daily lives. There is no such thing as "chance," "luck," or "accident" in God's creation, or in our journey through this world. All is arranged and appointed by God, our heavenly Father. "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose!" Romans 8:28

Let us seek to have an abiding sense of God's hand in all our affairs. Our Father's hand measures out our daily portion. All our steps are ordered by Him who loves us with an everlasting love. Confidence in God's wise and good providence, is a mighty antidote against murmuring and discontent. In the day of trial and disappointment, as in the day of joy and happiness--all is right and all is well done. When we are laid on the bed of sickness, there is a "needs be" for it. Else, it would not come to pass. Because it comes to pass, the very fact that it comes to pass should assure us that it is for our souls' advantage. Let us bow and be still, and bear all things patiently. Ours is "an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure" (2 Samuel 23:5). That which pleases our God, ought to please us. Truly, "He has done all things well!" And He will yet do all things well.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The chaff driven away


“The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.” Psalm 1:4
Suggested Further Reading: 1 Peter 2:11-17
Christian habits are the best business habits, if men would but believe it. When a man mixes his religion with his business and allows every act of his life to be guided by it, he stands the best chance in this world, if I may be allowed such a secular expression, for “Honesty is the best policy” after all, and Christianity is the best honesty. The sharp cutting competition of the times may be called honesty—it is only called so on earth, it is not called so by God, for there is a good deal of cheating in it. Honesty in the highest sense—Christian honesty—will be found after all to be the best policy in everything, and there will ordinarily be a prosperity, even worldly prosperity, attending a good man in the patient industrious pursuit of his calling. But if he does not have that success he craves, still there is one thing he knows, he would have it if it were best for him. I often know Christian men talk in this fashion; “Well I do but very little business,” says one, “but I have enough coming in to live upon comfortably and happy. I never cared much for push and competition; I never felt that I was fit for it, and I sometimes thank God that I never thrust myself out into the rough stream, but that I was content to keep along shore.” And I have marked this one thing, and as a matter of fact I know it cannot be disproved, that many such humble-minded men are the very best of Christians, they live the happiest lives, and whatsoever they do certainly does prosper, for they get what they expected though they did not expect much, and they get what they want though their wants are not very large.
For meditation: Honesty honours God, and God honours those who honour him (1 Samuel 2:30). Dishonesty in the early church was strikingly exposed (Acts 5:1-11).
Sermon no. 280
23 October (1859)
C.H. Spurgeon

Tuesday 22 October 2013

Ah, life is too solemn, too momentous, too earnest!

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~



(Alexander Smellie, "The Hour of Silence" 1899)

"Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus!" Philippians 3:13-14

1. Mine be the Pauline oblivion of the past. It is well to forget the things which are behind. If I remember too vividly former failures--the recollection will depress my soul and hamper my movements. If I remember too often former attainments--I shall grow contented and make no further progress. There is a tyranny of success--as hurtful as the tyranny of defeat. And if I remember too constantly the modes of my religion hitherto, I shall look simply for a repetition of old experiences, instead of desiring greater achievements. Yes, let me forget.

2. And mine be the Pauline aspiration towards the future. Like the runner in the chariot race, I should stretch forward to the things which are before me. In front of me lie . . .
a fuller holiness,
a larger likeness to Christ,
a deeper humility,
a more wide-reaching usefulness,
victory over sin and death,
abundant entrance into Heaven,
and eternal glory yet to be revealed.
These things I must seek with the intensity which . . .
the man of the world carries into his business,
the scholar into his studies,
the explorer into his journeys and toils.

3. And mine be the Pauline endeavor in the present. Always let me be pressing toward the mark for the prize. Some sin I ought to put off every day; some Christian grace or virtue I ought daily to put on. I must open my soul more absolutely to the Holy Spirit. Each hour must bring . . .
its work and its battle,
its duty to be done,
its prize to be gained.

Ah, life is too solemn, too momentous, too earnest!

By forgetfulness, by expectation, by effort . . .
I grow in Christlikeness,
I make progress in the pilgrim march,
I climb nearer and nearer the summits of God's snow-white Alps of purity and holiness.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The High Priest standing between the dead and the living


“And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.” Numbers 16:47, 48
Suggested Further Reading: Hebrews 4:14-5: 10
Jesus, the propitiator, is to be looked upon as the ordained one—called of God as was Aaron. Settled in eternity as being the predestined propitiation for sin, he came into the world as an ordained priest of God; receiving his ordination not from man, neither by man; but like Melchisedec, the priest of the most high God, without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, he is a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. Stand back, sons of Korah, all of you who call yourselves priests. I can scarce imagine that any man in this world who takes to himself the title of a priest, unless he takes it in the sense in which all God’s people are priests,—I cannot imagine that a priest can enter heaven. I would not say a thing too stern or too severe; but I do most thoroughly believe that an assumption of the office of priest is so base an assumption of the priestly office of Christ, that I could as well conceive of a man being saved who called himself God, as conceive of a man being saved who called himself a priest; if he really means what he says, he has so trampled upon the priestly prerogative of Christ, that it seems to me he has touched the very crown jewels, and is guilty of a blasphemy, which, unless it be repented of, shall surely bring damnation on his head. Shake your garments, you ministers of Christ, from all priestly assumption; come out from among them; touch not the unclean thing. There are no priests now specially to minister among men. Jesus Christ and he only is the priest of his Church. He has made all of us priests and kings unto our God.
For meditation: Because the Christian has a Father in heaven, he is not to call any man his spiritual father on earth (Matthew 23:9); because the Christian has a great High Priest in heaven (1 Timothy 2:5), he is not to regard any man as his priest on earth. We are no longer living in Old Testament times!
Sermon no. 341
22 October (Preached 21 October 1860)
C.H. Spurgeon

Monday 21 October 2013

Heaven has become a trifle to you, Hell is almost a jest, eternity an empty notion, and death but a bugbear!

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~



(Charles Spurgeon)

"Many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able!" Luke 13:24

I do not wonder that so many are deceived, when I see the careless way in which they deal with their souls. When men have to do with their estates, they are very careful; they pay a lawyer to go back over the title-deeds perhaps for two or three hundred years. In trade they will hurry hither and thither to attend to their commercial engagements; they would not launch into speculations, nor would they run great risks.

But the soul, the poor soul--how men play with it as a toy, and despise it as if it were worthless! Two or three minutes in the morning when they first roll out of bed, two or three odd minutes in the evening, when they are nearly asleep--the fag-ends of the day given to their souls, and all the best part given to the body!

And then, with what indifference do you lend your ears too often to the preaching of the Word! It is an old song; you have heard it so many times; Heaven has become a trifle to you, Hell is almost a jest, eternity an empty notion, and death but a bugbear!

Alas! it is a marvel that there are not more deceived. The wonder is that any find the gate, that any discover eternal life, when we are so, so mad, so foolish, so insane--as to trifle where we ought to be solemnly in earnest; and to play and toy--where the whole heart should be given to a work of such everlasting importance. God help us, since it is so easy to be deceived--to search, and watch, and look, and test, and try, that we be not found castaways at the last!

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it!" Matthew 7:13-14

"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?" 2 Corinthians 13:5

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Christ’s prayer for his people


“I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” John 17:15
Suggested Further Reading: Philippians 1:19-26
We never have any encouragement to ask God to let us die. Christians are always wanting to die when they have any trouble or trial. You ask them why? “Because we would be with the Lord.” O yes, they want to be with the Lord, when troubles and temptations come upon them. But it is not because they are yearning to be with the Lord, it is because they desire to get rid of their troubles. They want to get home, not so much for the Saviour’s company, as to get out of the little hard work. They did not wish to go away when they were in quiet and prosperity. Like lazy fellows, as most of us are, when we get into a little labour we beg to go home. It is quite right sometimes that you should desire to depart, because you would not prove yourself to be a true Israelite if you did not want to go to Jerusalem. You may pray to be taken home out of the world, but Christ will not take up the petition. When your prayers come to the Lord, this little one may try to get amongst them, but Christ will say, “I do not know anything about you, ‘I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world.’” You may wish it sincerely, and really desire it, but you will not at present get your Master to pray with you. Instead, then, of crying, or wishing to be away from the battle, brace yourself up in the name of the Lord. Every wish to escape the fight is but a desertion of your Master.
For meditation: Elijah prayed it while he was afraid for his life (1 Kings 19:3,4)! But God had a different departure planned for him (2 Kings 2:11). Jonah prayed it twice when he was angry (Jonah 4:3,9) soon after begging God to deliver him from drowning (Jonah 2:2,7). What a good thing God rejects our foolish requests when we or they are outside his will. Paul had the mind of Christ on this matter.
Sermon no. 47
21 October (1855)
C.H. Spurgeon

Sunday 20 October 2013

This is too hard for me!

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~



(Alexander Smellie, "The Hour of Silence" 1899)

"Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place: Jehovah-Jireh--the Lord will provide!" Genesis 22:13-14

And what does He provide?

The Lord will provide BREAD when I am hungry. It seems natural to begin there. He has a care for my body as well as for my soul. He is certainly not desirous that I should have wealth or distinction or the means of indulgence and display. But, if I trust Him, I shall get enough for comfort--if not enough for plenty; enough to rid me from unworthy worry--if not enough to free me from wholesome dependence and continuous faith. Every modest and present need, He is sure to satisfy.

The Lord will provide HELP when I am helpless. Is it the discipline of my own inner life? Is it to escape this enticing world? I am sufficient for none of these things.
Sometimes my road is rough,
sometimes it is steep,
sometimes it is dark,
sometimes it is slippery.
My heart whispers discouragement, and says, "This is too hard for me!" But, when I come to the place, I find that God Himself has solved my difficulties, and puts to flight my fears!

Best of all, my Lord will provide SALVATION when I am burdened with sin. It was a lamb for sacrifice which Jehovah-Jireh prepared on the bare summit of Moriah. And in fullness of time, on the green hill of Calvary, close beside mount Moriah--a better Lamb died by divine appointment and made reconciliation for my iniquity! In the presence of such a sacrifice, how full my joy should be! Jesus, the precious Lamb of God . . .
breaks every fetter,
unbars every door,
forgives every debt!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Christ’s estimate of his people


“How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices! Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb; honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.” Solomon’s Song 4:10,11
Suggested Further Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
When he comes and begins to praise you, and tells you, “That your lips drop as the honeycomb, that all your actions smell of myrrh, and that your love is better than wine, and that the thoughts under your tongue are better to him than wine and milk,” what will you say? “Oh, Lord, I cannot say thou art mistaken, for thou art infallible; but if I dared so think thou art mistaken, I should say, “Thou art mistaken in me;” but Lord I cannot think thou art mistaken, it must be true. Still, Lord, I do not deserve it; I am conscious I do not and I never can deserve it; still if thou wilt help me, I will strive to be worthy of thy praise in some feeble measure. I will seek to live up to those high praises which thou hast passed upon me. If thou sayest, “My love is better than wine;” Lord, I will seek to love thee better, that the wine may be richer and stronger. If thou sayest, “My graces are like the smell of ointment,” Lord, I will try to increase them, so as to have many great pots filled with them; and if my words drop as the honeycomb, Lord, there shall be more of them, and I will try to make them better, so that thou mayest think more of such honey; and if thou declarest that the thoughts under my tongue are to thee like honey and milk, then, Lord, I will seek to have more of those divine thoughts; and if my daily actions are to thee as the smell of Lebanon, Lord, I will seek to be more holy, to live nearer to thee; I will ask for grace, that my actions may be really what thou sayest they are.”
For meditation: Do you serve God because you feel you ought to, out of a sense of duty? Or because you want to, out of a sense of his love and acceptance of you in Christ? God’s grace should motivate us to obey him even more than God’s law does (Romans 6:15).
Sermon no. 282
20 October (Preached 23 January 1859)
C.H. Spurgeon

Saturday 19 October 2013

LOST!

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~



(Arthur Pink, 1951)

"But if our gospel is hid--it is hid to those who are LOST! The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers!" 2 Corinthians 4:3-4

What multitudes of people there are who have no concern over, in fact, no consciousness of, their woeful condition! While they do not regard themselves as perfect, yet they are not aware that there is anything seriously wrong with them. They are respectable people, law-abiding citizens, and nothing particular ever troubles their conscience. They consider that they are certainly no worse than their religious neighbors, and though they scarcely ever read the Bible or enter a church, they fully expect to go to Heaven when they die.

Some of them will indeed admit that they are sinners, but imagine that their good works far outnumber their bad ones. Some of them were sprinkled as infants, attended a Sunday school class as children, said their prayers each night, and later joined the church. Nevertheless, to this moment, they have never realized that they are the enemies of God, an abomination in the eyes of His holiness, and that Hell is their just deserts! They see no beauty or glory in the Gospel, no suitableness in it unto their case, and therefore do they despise and reject it.

Though Satan rules in their hearts and lives (Ephesians 2:2), yet it is by their own free consent. They voluntarily obey him and submit to his will. His dominion over them is maintained by . . .
keeping their minds in darkness,
deceiving and deluding them,
blinding them by pride, prejudice, and the workings of their own corruptions.

Nowhere but in the Scriptures, can we learn what is the real condition of the natural man. There his case is diagnosed with unerring precision by the divine Physician. Many are the terms used therein by the Holy Spirit to describe the solemn and direful state to which the fall has reduced every descendant of Adam; and among them probably none is more pointed and awesome than is the term LOST! How dismal is its sound! How much is summed up in that single word! It signifies . . .
that the natural man is in a sinful, wretched, and perilous state,
that he is far astray from God,
that he has willfully and wantonly forsaken the path of duty.

Lost! A traveler from time to eternity, treading the road that leads to certain and everlasting destruction!

Lost! A creature who has forfeited the approbation and favor of his Maker, and is now an outcast from Him!

Lost! One who has squandered his substance in riotous living, and is now a spiritual bankrupt and pauper. He is out of the way of peace and blessing, and utterly incapable of finding his way back to it!
Fearful beyond words, is the condition of fallen man. His case is as hopeless as that of a dying person whose disease is incurable. A lost child is a pitiful object--but what mind can estimate or pen depict the tragedy of a lost soul? Lost now, lost forever--unless a sovereign God intervenes and performs a miracle of mercy for its recovery!
Man is lost positively, in that he is not what he should be. He is . . .
a defiled creature,
a guilty criminal,
a child of disobedience!

Lost judicially, under the curse of God's broken Law, sentenced to death, "condemned already" (John 3:18), the wrath of God abiding on him! (John 3:36)

Lost meritoriously, for his transgressions deserve eternal death, which is the wages of sin--and fully has he earned them.

Lost experientially in point of ability or power to recover himself, he is "not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can he be" (Romans 8:7). The moral impotency of man is such that he is utterly incapable of performing a single spiritual act: "Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil! (Jeremiah 13:23)
None will know how utterly man is lost, until they experience God's wrath in Hell, and can then measure the fearful distance they have departed from Him!

Thus man is lost in every way, and in every sense!
Federally, by the imputation to him of the guilt of his representative's offence.
Effectually, by the transmission of a corrupt nature from his parents.
Actually, by his own evil conduct, "you have destroyed yourself" (Hosea 13:9).
Practically, by the forming of evil habits, so that now he is "held with the cords of his sins" (Proverbs 5:22).

Lost to God, for He has no love, no service, no glory from the unregenerate, so that they deprive Him of the honor of their creation.

Man is lost to himself . . .
to all reason and rational inducements,
to right conceptions and perceptions,
to every consideration of God's claims upon him.

Lost to all sense of shame for his horrible condition in the eyes of the Holy One.

So lost as to have "delight in wickedness" (2 Thessalonians 2:12).

Lost to piety and true happiness.
Out of the way of holiness, peace, and security.

Lost in sin, in ignorance, and error.

Lost irretrievably, like a sheep that wanders farther and farther astray, until it perishes. Man is utterly unable to find his way back to God, for he is in total darkness--a wanderer in a pathless desert, perishing in a howling wilderness. What makes man's case yet worse, is that he has no desire to be recovered! He has perversely set himself up to be his own master, and stubbornly determines to please himself and carve out his own career.
Rather than return unto God, the unregenerate would take any road which leads farther away from Him. They resent His expostulations and resist the strivings of His Spirit. If not with their lips, with their hearts, they say unto God: "Depart from us--for we have no desire to know Your ways!" (Job 21:14). Yes, they would much prefer to be annihilated than yet meet God face to face, and have to give an account of themselves to Him (Romans 14:12). They hate His holiness and dread His justice, while despising His goodness and abusing His mercies!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Memento mori


“Oh that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end.” Deuteronomy 32:29
Suggested Further Reading: Ecclesiastes 12:1-7
I know not when, nor where, nor how I shall breathe out my life. Into that sacred ark I cannot look—that ark of the secrets of God. I cannot pry between the folded leaves of that book which is chained to the throne of God, wherein is written the whole history of man. When I walk by the way I may fall dead in the streets; an apoplexy may usher me into the presence of my Judge. Riding along the road, I may be carried as swiftly to my tomb. While I am thinking of the multitudes of miles over which the fiery wheels are running, I may be in a minute, without a moment’s warning, sent down to the shades of death. In my own house I am not safe. There are a thousand gates to death, and the roads from earth to Hades are innumerable. From this spot in which I stand there is a straight path to the grave; and where you sit there is an entrance into eternity. Oh, let us consider then, how uncertain life is. Talk we of a hair; it is something massive when compared with the thread of life. Speak we of a spider’s web; it is ponderous compared with the web of life. We are but as a bubble; nay, less substantial. As a moment’s foam upon the breaker, such are we. As an instant spray—nay, the drops of spray are enduring as the orbs of heaven compared with the moments of our life. Oh, let us, then, prepare to meet our God, because when and how we shall appear before him is quite unknown to us. We may never go out of this hall alive. Some of us may be carried hence on young men’s shoulders, as Ananias and Sapphira of old. We may not live to see our homes again.
For meditation: The New Park Street Pulpit contains no sermons from October 1856. On the 19th a congregation of some 7,000 assembled for the first time at the Royal Surrey Gardens Music Hall. As Spurgeon prayed some troublemakers cried out “Fire” and in the ensuing panic seven people were trampled to death. Spurgeon never forgot it. “Memento mori”—“Remember you must die.”
Sermon no. 304
19 October (Preached 18 March 1860)
C.H. Spurgeon

Friday 18 October 2013

Though we have been robbers, traitors and murderers!

  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~



(Charles Spurgeon)

"Then cried they all again, saying: Not this man, but Barabbas!" John 18:40

Barabbas was a murderer, a felon, and a traitor. This fact is very significant. There is more teaching in it than at first sight we might imagine. Have we not here in this act of the deliverance of the sinner, and the binding of the innocent--a sort of type of that great work which is accomplished by the death of our Savior?

You and I may fairly take our stand by the side of Barabbas. We have robbed God of His glory; we have been seditious traitors against the government of Heaven; and if he who hates his brother is a murderer--then we also have been guilty of that sin. Here we stand before the judgment seat; the Prince of life is bound for us--and we are allowed to go free! The Lord delivers us and acquits us--while the Savior, without spot or blemish, or shadow of a fault, is led forth to crucifixion!

Two birds were taken in the rite of the cleansing of the leper. The one bird was killed, and its blood was poured into a basin. The other bird was dipped in this blood, and then, with its wings all crimson, it was set free to fly into the open field.

The bird slain well pictures the Savior, and every soul that has by faith been dipped in His blood, flies upward towards Heaven singing sweetly in joyous liberty, owing its life and its liberty entirely to Him who was slain!

It comes down to this: Barabbas must die--or Christ must die. You the sinner must perish--or Christ Immanuel, the Immaculate, must die. He dies--that we may be delivered!

Though we have been robbers, traitors and murderers--yet we can rejoice that Christ has delivered us from the curse of the law, having been made a curse for us!

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The true Christian’s blessedness


“We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
Suggested Further Reading: Philemon 4-20
All things work together for the Christian’s eternal and spiritual good. And yet I must say here, that sometimes all things work together for the Christian’s temporal good. You know the story of old Jacob. “Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away; all these things are against me,” said the old patriarch. But if he could have read God’s secrets, he might have found that Simeon was not lost, for he was retained as a hostage—that Joseph was not lost, but gone before to smooth the passage of his grey hairs into the grave, and that even Benjamin was to be taken away by Joseph in love to his brother. So that what seemed to be against him, even in temporal matters, was for him. You may have heard also the story of that eminent martyr who was wont always to say, “All things work together for good.” When he was seized by the officers of Queen Mary, to be taken to the stake to be burned, he was treated so roughly on the road that he broke his leg; and they jeeringly said, “All things work together for good, do they? How will your broken leg work for your good?” “I don’t know,” he said, “but for my good I know it will work, and you shall see it so.” Strange to say, it proved true that it was for his good; for being delayed a day or so on the road through his lameness, he just arrived in London in time enough to hear that Elizabeth was proclaimed queen, and so he escaped the stake by his broken leg. He turned round upon the men who carried him, as they thought, to his death, and said to them, “Now will you believe that all things work together for good?”
For meditation: We are called upon to rejoice in our sufferings, not for their own sake, but because of the outcome (Romans 5:3,4; James 1:2-4). If we, like God, knew the end from the beginning, we would laugh in the midst of our trials, as we shall later (Luke 6:21).
Sermon no. 159
18 October (1857)
C.H. Spurgeon

Thursday 17 October 2013

I see a Cross on the Hill of Reproach!

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(Alexander Smellie, "The Hour of Silence" 1899)

"God is Love!" 1 John 4:8

It is a little flower which I pluck from the garden of John's letter--this fragrant definition of God. Yet it suggests mysteries and miracles for which my intellect has no solution.

For it carries me away into the dateless years of eternity. Always Love has been God's name; always Love has summarized and crowned God's nature. Deep in His heart it lay through these far-off years. But, even then, it cared for me, and foresaw my sin and bitterness and and death and damnation. Long before my world was made, God, who is Love, was busy devising my salvation!

I look again at John's rose-blossom, and I see a Cross on the Hill of Reproach. Love could not remain pent up in the bosom of God. It broke the confining barriers. "The God of love," Plato said with unconscious prophecy, "would be found one day lying on the city streets, shoeless, penniless, homeless." It is true of my God. He gave Himself for me! He became, in this apostle's phrase, the atoning sacrifice for my sins!

Again I lift John's flower, and it awakens in me a glowing hope for myself. There is none so wondrous and powerful as this God of love. I welcome Him and . . .
  my heart is transfigured,
  my life is sublimed,
  I am changed into His image,
  I dwell myself in love,
  love becomes my atmosphere and my universe.

God is Love . . .
  Love indwelling me,
  Love sacrificing and suffering for me,
  Love melting and conquering me, and making all things new.

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