If you can go into sin, and afterwards Feel Satisfied to have done so, you are on the Road of Destruction.
If there are No prickings of conscience...
No Inward Torments...
No Bleeding Wounds...
If you have No Throbs and Heavings of a bosom that cannot Rest...
If your Soul Never feels filled with Wormwood and Gall when you Know you have Done Evil, you are No Child of God.
-Charles Spurgeon
The forces which are at work to bring a soul to ruin...
To prevent a man or a woman from reaching God’s appointed and desired haven...
Are far greater and more terrible and persistent than anything that has ever been encountered in the natural realm of storms.
Of course, you do not know that Until you Definitely Set yourself in the Direction of GODS Will.
A great many people in this world seem to be getting along very well...
With not very much trouble...
And Think that they are going (in that easygoing, carefree way) to get where God wants them to be.
That is an illusion.
Never yet has there been a Definite and Serious association with the Will of GOD...
The purpose of GOD...
Except there has been the rising of terrific conflict and tempest to make that realization impossible...
And I say when a man or a woman does Seriously have an understanding with God that His Will and purpose is to be realized in their life and that they are Abandoned to Him for that...
Then such a life will Know that it is Not all plain sailing, or easygoing.
There will be forces which were not imagined arising to Hinder that, to make that impossible.
The course of the salvation of a soul is the course of no less a conflict than all the forces of heaven and hell locked in battle over that soul.
That is not exaggerating.
Sooner or later it is found that we are Not going to get through quite so easily.
In the early stages of this story, these people thought they had gained their end - "the south wind blew softly".
The thing seemed to be going very well.
Oh no, that is not the experience of those who are Really In Union With GOD for His purpose, and we shall find that we need a good cargo of anchors before we are through.
If there is one thing that we shall need, it will be Anchors.
We are going to be put under Terrific Testing and Strain and there has got to be some Real Holding Power or we are going to be on the rocks spiritually, our destiny will be a shipwreck.
There are those referred to in the New Testament as those who "concerning the faith have made shipwreck".
1Ti 1:19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:
That is a terrible possibility.
But there are those referred to also as having, "an Anchor of the soul, both Sure and Steadfast and Entering into that which is Within The Veil".
Heb 6:19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
~T. Austin Sparks~
You are very poor, or business is going very awkwardly, and Satan suggests that you should Help Yourself in an Improper manner.
He tells you that you can get out of your trouble Very Easily by some action which, although it may not be strictly right, may not be so very wrong after all.
He said to Jesus, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."
But Jesus answered him saying "It is written" That is Christ's sword.
See how swiftly he drew it out of its sheath.
What a Sharp Two-Edged Sword is this to be used against Satan!
You also, believer, have this Powerful Weapon in your hand.
Let no man take it from you.
He should Overcome the tempter "It is Written" "It is Written"
~Charles Spurgeon~
Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
The Lord Does Not Put Us In Glass Houses to Grow us, to be His Trees...
The Lord Does Not Protect Us From The Storms, The Adversities...
He Exposes us to the Bitter Winds and the Scorching Suns of Adversity and Trial.
The Lord is Working In Us that which is According To His Own Nature...Eternity, The Enduring, The Everlasting God...
That which will not be Easily or Hardly carried away.
He Is Putting Substance In You.
Oh, today we fear that the Appeal to become Christians is so often in terms of having an Easy or a Good time...
Being happy and enjoying yourself...
Well, thank God for ALL Divine Joy...
But this is True to the House, to the City...
That the First Thing the Lord is Working Toward...
And Seeking To Work Into His People is that Substantial, Steadfast, Enduring Faithfulness that is according to His Own Nature.
Substantial!
Oh For Substantial Christians That Don’t Need Coddling And Nursing And Running After All The Time...
Being Pandered To Get Them To Go On Or Stand Up.
Men And Women Like Cedars Of Lebanon...
Like The Hewn Stones...
Weighty, Accountable, and Responsible to Carry Weight...
And all that is meant by Strength.
I can only remind you again of what a Large Place that has in the Word of God...
Be Strong, Be Strong in the Lord in the Strength of His Might...
Be Strong in the Grace that is in Christ Jesus.
Think again...
Want to Understand Why the winds are Allowed to blow so Fiercely...the storms?
To Get Us Away From That Natural, Easy-going-ness or Cheapness, Lightness, Frivolousness...
And To Make Us People Of Weight.
Strength Through Testing, Through Adversity...
Strength To Endure Throughout All Ages.
There is much which is going to be Carried Away in the Last Great Testing...
And if, therefore, Trial and Adversity is the Only Way to Deepen us, to Put Caliber into us...
I Suppose We Must Expect More Of It As The Time Shortens.
~T. Austin Sparks
Meditate, dear friends, upon the Whole Range Of God's Works in Creation and Providence.
There was a period when God dwelt alone, and creatures were not.
In that time before all time, when there was No day but "The Ancient Of Days,"...
When Matter and Created Mind were alike Unborn, and even space Was Not...
God, The Great I AM, was as Perfect, Glorious, and as Blessed as He is now.
There was No sun, and yet Jehovah Dwelt In ineffable Light.
There was No earth, and yet His throne Stood Fast and Firm.
There were No heavens, and yet His Glory Was Unbounded.
God inhabited eternity in the infinite Majesty and Happiness of His Self-Contained Greatness.
If
the Lord, thus abiding in Solemn Solitude, should Choose To Create
Anything--the first thought and idea Must come from Him... for there was
no other to think or suggest.
All things must be of Him in design.
With whom can He take counsel?
Who shall instruct Him?
There existed no other to come into His council-chamber, even if such an assistance could be supposable with the Most High.
In
the beginning of His Way, before His works of old, Eternal wisdom
brought forth from its own mind the perfect plan of future creations...
And every Line and Mark therein must Clearly have been of the Lord Alone.
He Ordained the pathway of every planet, and fixed the abode of every star.
He Poured forth the sweet influences of the Pleiades, and girt Orion with its bands.
He Appointed the bounds of the sea, and settled the course of the winds.
As to the earth, the Lord Alone Planned Its Foundations, and Stretched His Line Upon It.
He Formed in His own mind, the mold of all His creatures, and found for them a dwelling and a service.
He Appointed the degree of strength with which He would endow each creature...
Settled its months of life...
Its hour of death...
Its coming and its going.
Divine Wisdom Mapped This Earth...
Its Flowing rivers and Foaming seas, the Towering mountains, and the Laughing valleys.
The Divine Architect Fixed The Gates Of The Morning...
And The Doors Of The Shadow Of Death.
Nothing could have been suggested by any other, for there was no other to suggest.
It was in His Power to have made a universe very different from this-if He had so pleased.
That He has made it what it is, must have been merely because in His Wisdom and Prudence, He Saw Fit To Do So.
Rev
4:11 Thou Art Worthy, O Lord, to Receive Glory and Honour and Power:
for thou hast Created All Things, and for Thy Pleasure they are and were
created.
~Charles Spurgeon
Not merely Pardoned, not only Adopted-but made heirs of God Himself and co-heirs with Christ.
This is a staggering truth, and one far beyond human merit or imagination.
It is God's sovereign grace
on display, lifting the ruined sons of Adam into the royal family of Heaven.
To be a Child of God is the Highest Privilege known to man.
It is not something earned, but Granted by Divine Grace to those who are United to Christ by faith.
And with Sonship comes Inheritance, not merely an inheritance from God, but God Himself as our portion.
We are Heirs of God,
and Joint-Heirs with Christ.
But there is a Condition, "IF indeed we Share in His sufferings."
This is not a condition of merit, but of Identity.
To Belong to Christ is to Walk The Path He Walked.
There Can Be No Crown Without The Cross; No Glory Without The Grief.
This World That Hated Him, Will Not Embrace His Followers.
And while our afflictions may differ in kind and
degree-Every True Believer will in some form, Share in the Fellowship of
His Sufferings.
How can that be? Because the Weight of Glory is Infinite.
The Suffering is Momentary, yet the Glory is Eternal.
The Trials are Temporal-yet the Inheritance is Incorruptible, Undefiled, and Unfading.
IF we are to Reign with Christ, we Must Be Content to Suffer with Him.
The Cross Is The Stepping-Stone To The Crown.
The Cross we Bear today, is but
the Prelude to a Crown of Righteousness that Christ Himself Will Place upon
our heads.
Believer, are you Weary under the Burden of Sorrow, Temptation or Persecution?
Are you Misunderstood, Slandered or Lonely in your walk with Christ?
Take Heart. These Are The Marks Of Sonship.
Do not look merely at what is Seen. Fix your gaze on what is Eternal.
You are an Heir of God. You are a Co-Heir with the Risen, Reigning Christ.
Every tear shall be Wiped Away. Every groan shall be turned to praise.
Every Trial
is Preparing you for a Glory that shall be Revealed in you-a Glory that is
nothing less than Full Conformity to Christ, and Everlasting Communion with
Him.
Yet even in the midst of these afflictions, the Spirit testifies of
something far greater--the Glory that will be Revealed in us.
This is not a hope based on feelings or fantasies.
It is the Spirit-Wrought Assurance that
suffering is Not the end, but the Appointed Path to Everlasting Glory.
Paul, a man well acquainted with agony and loss, weighs both suffering and
glory in the scales of eternity-and declares that our sufferings are not
even worthy of comparison.
Our sufferings, though real, are Fleeting Shadows.
The Glory that awaits is Full, Eternal and Transforming.
It shall be revealed IN us, not merely before us, or around us, but WITHIN us.
The Glory of Christ shall Shine in
and through all the Redeemed, when we are made like Him and be
with Him Forever.
Believer, when the burden is heavy and the path is dark, let your heart Anchor itself to this truth-you are an Heir of Glory!
You may Groan today, but you will be Glorified tomorrow.
These light and momentary afflictions, are Preparing You for an Eternal weight of glory that far outweighs them all.
Keep Your Eyes On The Unseen.
The Sorrow is Passing-the Glory is Everlasting.
Father, Help us to Endure the Sufferings of this present time with Hope and Perseverance.
Fix our eyes on the Glory that is to come, and let the Promise of our Inheritance in Christ Sustain us through every trial.
May we Rejoice, not in the ease of our path, but in the Certainty of our Destination. In Jesus' name, Amen.
~Charles Spurgeon
Scripture testifies that these events are neither random nor outside of His Control.
God Ordains All things, including calamities.
Nothing happens outside His Sovereign decree.
Yet, while God Decrees and Governs all things, He remains perfectly Holy and Unstained by sin.
Psa 46:8 Come, behold the Works of the LORD, what Desolations he hath made in the earth.
From the Decimating Earthquake, to the Devouring Fire; From the Devastating Tsunami, to the Deadly Plague; From the Volcanic Eruption, to the Destructive Hurricane
The Bible clearly teaches that all what we call "natural disasters" fall under the Sovereign decree of Almighty God.
He governs all of His creation according to His Decreed Will--yet He remains Unstained by sin, executing His Sovereign purposes in Justice, Wisdom and Righteousness.
"Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it?" (Amos 3:6)
Amo 3:6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil(affliction,calamity) in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?
When the earth quakes beneath us, let us not attribute it to chance, or accident, or laws of nature--but to Him Who Alone Shakes The Pillars thereof.
Storms at sea, Earthquakes on land, and Tempests in the sky--are but the outstretched rod of Jehovah, Calling men to Repentance and reminding them that He alone is God!
Though God ordains all these events, He remains holy and without sin. "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5).
1Jn 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
He does not do evil, nor can He be accused of injustice. God's purposes are always just and righteous. "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?" (Genesis 18:25).
Let us, therefore acknowledge God's Sovereign hand in all things, and Bow in Reverence!
~Charles Spurgeon
The ungodly world is hard to teach. Egypt Does Not Know Jehovah and therefore dares to set up its idols and even ventures to ask, "Who is the LORD?"
Yet the LORD means to Break Proud Hearts, whether they will or not.
When His judgments Thunder over their heads, Darken their skies, Destroy their harvests, and Slay their sons, they Begin To Discern somewhat of Jehovah's Power.
There Will Yet Be Such Things Done In The Earth as shall bring skeptics To Their Knees.
Let us not be dismayed because of their blasphemies, for the LORD can take care of His own name, and He Will Do So in a Very Effectual Manner.
The salvation of His own people was another potent means of making Egypt know that the GOD of Israel was Jehovah, the Living and True GOD.
No Israelite died by any one of the Ten plagues.
None of the Chosen Seed were drowned in the Red Sea.
Even so, the salvation of the elect and the sure glorification of all True believers will make the most obstinate of GOD'S enemies Acknowledge that Jehovah, He Is GOD.
Oh, that His Convincing Power would go forth by His Holy Spirit in the preaching of the gospel, till all nations Shall Bow at the name of Jesus and call Him LORD!
They tell us that prayer is a pious exercise which has no influence except upon the mind engaged in it.
We know better.
Our experience gives the lie a thousand times over to this infidel assertion.
Here Jehovah, the Living GOD, distinctly promises to Answer the prayer of His servant.
Let us Call Upon Him again and Admit No Doubt upon the question of His Hearing us and Answering us.
He that Made The Ear, shall He not Hear?
He that gave parents a love to their children, will He not listen to the Cries of His Own Sons and Daughters!
God will Answer His pleading people in their anguish.
He has Wonders in store for them.
What they have Never seen, Heard of, or Dreamed of, He Will Do for them.
He will invent New blessings if needful.
He will ransack sea and land to Feed them:
He will send every angel out of heaven To Succor them if their distress requires it.
He will Astound us with His Grace and make us feel that it was never before done in this fashion.
All He asks of us is that we will Call Upon Him.
He cannot ask less of us.
Let us cheerfully Render Him Our Prayers At Once.
~Charles Spurgeon
We are told that Abraham could look at his own body and consider it as good as dead Without Being Discouraged, because he was not looking at himself but at the Almighty One.
He did not stagger at the promise, but Stood Straight Up Unbending beneath his mighty load of blessing;
And instead of growing weak he waxed Strong in the Faith, grew more robust, the more difficulties became apparent, glorifying God through His very sufficiency.
And being "Fully Persuaded" (as the Greek expresses it) "that he who had promised was," not merely able, but as it literally means "Abundantly Able," Munificently Able, Able with an Infinite Surplus Of Resources, Infinitely Able "To Perform."
He is the GOD Of Boundless Resources.
The Only Limit Is In Us.
Our asking, our thinking, our praying are Too Small; our Expectations are Too Limited.
He is trying to Lift Us Up to a Higher Conception, and lure us on to a Mightier Expectation and Appropriation.
Oh, shall we put Him in derision?
There is No Limit to what we may Ask and Expect of our glorious El-Shaddai;
And there is but One measure here given for His blessing, and that is According to the Power That Worketh In Us.
A. B. Simpson
Climb to the treasure house of blessing on the ladder made of Divine Promises.
By a promise as by a Key to Open the Door to the Riches of God's Grace and Favor.
He drives, he harasses, he torments, he worries; yes, he does many things for the undoing of God's people by means of this weapon of fear.
How many of the Lord's people are found in a state of weakness, impotence, and paralysis, because of fear!
They are afraid, they fear.
How many are found in a state of indecision, incapable of taking any definite, deliberate, strong step, because of fear.
They are all the time moving so cautiously, so uncertainly, because they are afraid, because of fear, and multitudes of the Lord's people are in a state of positive spiritual defeat because of fear working in some way - foreboding, dread, apprehension.
Fear, John rightly says, has torment, and it is possible to get into such a state that you are almost afraid to leave your home for half an hour lest you might come back and find that something has gone wrong, to take a journey without all the time wanting to keep in touch with things.
You are afraid.
It is a terrible thing, this fear, and in countless ways the enemy lashes the children of God by this rod, this whip, of fear.
The Word of God is very strong about this matter. "God has not given us a spirit of fear", and let us once and for all get this kind of fear defined and disentangled from the other fear of which we have to speak, the right kind of fear.
I think that failure to discriminate in this matter is perhaps at the root of a very great deal of the defeat.
We, somewhere in the back of our minds, in an undefined way, have got muddled up and confused.
Fear - yes, but we are commanded to fear, the fear of the Lord. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."
We must fear lest we make mistakes, lest we go wrong, lest we grieve the Lord; we must fear this and that.
Oh, but let us drive the wedge clean in between the devil's fear and the fear of the Lord!
They are two different things, and let us settle it once and for all that this kind of harassing, driving fear comes straight from the pit; it is born in hell, a weapon forged there by the devil himself against the children of God.
Let it be settled in your heart forever that this kind of fear is Not from God.
This fear Is from Satan.
Oh, I do feel that it is so important that the people of God should nail this matter of fear. When you find yourself in this state because of fear, you say, "This is not from God!"
Fear is a master weapon of Satan, and you have got to free yourself in the Name of the Lord from his awful drive by this means.
What is he after?
It is always good to ask ourselves what is the effect of a thing in our lives.
I can very well discover where it comes from if I recognize what the effect is.
If a thing paralyzes me, if it takes all certainty and confidence and assurance out of my heart, if it takes the steady firmness out of my walk, my tread, if it holds me up in weakness and paralyzes so that I am afraid to move, then that is not of God.
God wants His people to go forward with assurance and confidence, with a firm and steady tread, not to have in their hearts everlastingly a paralyzing doubt.
So what is the effect?
Recognize that and you know where it comes from.
What is Satan after? You say, to paralyze me, to destroy me, to hold up. Oh yes, but that is only secondary!
He is after dishonouring God, and God is dishonored in His people.
It has ever been that Satan has aimed at the work of God's hands, aimed his blow to dishonor God, and God is dishonored when His people are, in the wrong sense, fearful.
What is fear, after all?
Well, it is mistrust, it is lack of faith.
John says that it is the opposite of love.
There is no fear in love.
Perfect love casts out all fear, and he that fears is not made perfect in love.
Fear is the opposite of love, and what is love if it is not trust?
None of us would agree that we were loved if we were not trusted.
We demand absolute confidence as the hallmark of professed love.
It is only feigned love which has reservations about an object which it professes to love.
It is mere empty sentiment and pretense which says, "I love you but I am not sure of you".
Oh no! That is the only kind of love that we really, in our hearts, can accept and believe in.
A lot of people tell me they love me, but I know all the time they have got big questions about me and they are suspicious.
I say that kind of love is not much good, it does not help me very much.
It does not get us anywhere just to keep that shadow all the time in between.
But carry that into the divine realm.
Can that be tolerated in relation to God?
I love God, but I do not trust Him, I am not sure of Him.
I am afraid to go out tomorrow lest something should go wrong, lest the Lord should let me down.
You see, it is very practical.
Perfect love casts out all fear.
It is by this fear and fearfulness that Satan is seeking to dishonor God in us by keeping us in a state of uncertainty about God, a reservation of confidence and trust.
Fear is the opposite of trust.
If we trust, we are not afraid.
It is put quite simply: "I will trust and not be afraid" (Is. 12:2).
Isa 12:2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.
These two things cannot live together - trust and fear.
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1
Oh, the gain to the enemy against the Lord along the line of fear!
But, of course, this is a very real thing, this fear, and although the Word of God may not use the phrase, we have reason to believe that amongst the hosts of evil spirits, there are definitely the spirits of fear.
For very often this thing is something extra to ourselves; it comes upon us.
It is something that happens to us at times.
We find ourselves afraid.
The enemy wants to make us afraid and his spirits of fear are sent forth to do that.
There needs to be a very definite and strong attitude taken in spirit before the Lord to resist the devil in this form.
When we say the devil, we mean all his hosts as well; however he may come - to resist fear. It is a resolution - "I WILL trust, and not be afraid - for the Lord...".
Well, that is all I am going to say for the moment about the evil of fear.
I want you to take that word and keep it in your heart; dwell much upon it, because I am convinced that the enemy is pressing very much along this line.
Do you notice what Nehemiah said? Oh, it was a significant thing!
Nehemiah said something more than he knew he was saying, I am quite sure of that!
He said a thing which embraces a great deal of the New Testament.
He said, "For this purpose were they hired that they might make me afraid, and do so, and sin".
Yes, but that is only half.
And then what? "That they might have an evil report, a case, against me".
What the enemy is after all the time is, first of all, to make afraid, and then to get us to take some step, to do something out of fear, and then to come right round on us and accuse us before God.
How cruel, how subtle, how wicked! - but that is of no consequence to him.
What he is after is to cast the saints down by accusation, and if he can only get them either to do or to refrain from doing through fear, he has got a case, and it will not be long before he comes back on that very ground and makes accusation, condemnation, and distress.
T. Austin Sparks
