A Sermon to Ministers and Other Tried Believers
(No. 3273)
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1911.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, DURING THE SUMMER OF 1881.
"Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7
THIS season of depression in trade has brought great care to many a
house and heart, especially to village pastors and their flocks. Their
troubles have been heavy and I am afraid their cares have not been
light. Few have escaped the pinch of these hard times–the most
prosperous have to watch the ebbing tide and ask–How long shall these
things be? The subject will be seasonable to us all.
A very good preface to any sermon is the connection–let us look at the
passage before us. The verse preceding it is, "Humble yourselves,
therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due
time." If we are truly humble, we shall cast our care upon God and, by
that process, our joy will be exalted! We are slow to submit to the
hand of God and oftentimes our care is fretful rebellion against our
heavenly Father's will. We determine to carve for ourselves, and so we
cut our fingers! I saw upon a cart only yesterday the name of a
tradesman who calls himself, "Universal Pro-vider"–do we not aspire to
some such office? There isa Universal Provider–and if we are humble
under His hand, we shall leave our matter in His hands. Oh, for more
humility, for then shall we have more tranquility! Pride begets
anxiety–true humility gives birth to patience.
The verse which follows our text is this–"Be sober, be vigilant
because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about
seeking whom he may devour." Cast your care upon God because you need
all your powers of thought to battle with the great enemy. He hopes to
devour you by care. Cast all your care upon God, for if you are worried
you cannot be sober or watchful. Satan rides on the back of carnal care
and so obtains entrance into the soul. If he can distract our minds
from the peace of faith by temporal cares, he will get an advantage
over us.
The preface allowed of expansion, but I have compressed it with stern
economy of time. I must condense with equal rigor all through my
discourse. We will first expound the text and then enforce it.
I. First, let us EXPOUND THE TEXT–"Casting all your care upon Him, for
He caresfor you."
It is noteworthy that in the Greek, the two words for, "care," are
different. Hence the Revised Version reads, "Casting all your anxiety
upon Him, because He cares for you." The care which you are to cast
upon God is wearing you out and you are to cast it upon God because, in
quite another sense, "He cares for you." The word used in reference to
God is applied to caring for the poor and in another place to the
watchfulness of a shepherd. Our anxiety and God's care are two very
different things. His care, though tender and comprehensive, causes no
anxiety to Him, for His great mind is more than equal to the task. But
our care ferments within us and threatens the destruction of our narrow
souls. You are to cast your care, which is folly, upon the Lord, for He
exercises a care which is wisdom! Care to us is exhausting, but God is
All-Sufficient. Care to us is sinful, but God's care of us is holy.
Care distracts us from service, but the Divine Mind does not forget one
thing while remembering another!
If our care is to be cast upon God, we are hereby led to make a
distinction, for there is a care which we could not dare to cast upon
God–it would be blasphemy to attempt it! Anxiety to grow rich–can we
impart that to God? Anxiety to be famous, to live in luxury, to avenge
an injury, to magnify myself–can I ask the Most High to bear such an
anxiety for me? If any of you are vexed with such care, I charge you to
fling it off, for it is like the poisoned tunic of Hercules, and unless
you can tear it away, it will burn into your very soul! All cares of
covetousness, anger, pride, ambition and willfulness must be cast to
the winds–it would be criminal to dream of casting them upon God! Do
not pray about them,
except that God will redeem you from them. Let your desires be kept
within a narrow circle and your anxieties will be lessened at a stroke.
"Casting, "says the Apostle. He does not say "laying all your care upon
Him," but he uses a much more energetic word. You have to cast the load
upon the Lord–the act will require effort. It is no child's play to
cast all our care upon our Lord when there are six little children,
shoes worn out, cupboard empty, purse bare and the deacons talking of
reducing the scanty salary! Here is a work worthy of faith–you will
have to lift with all your soul before the burden can be shifted and
the anxiety cast upon the Lord! That effort, however, will not be half
as exhausting as the effort of carrying your load yourself. Oh, the
burden of watching and waiting for help which never comes! Depending on
the help of man who is altogether vanity! Oh, the weariness of carrying
a heartbreaking anxiety and yet standing up to preach! We have all seen
statues of Atlas bearing the world on his shoulders, but we can hardly
conceive of his preaching in that attitude! It would be better to make
one tremendous effort and have done with it, rather than groan under a
perpetual weight. If the fox is eating into our heart, let us pluck it
from our bosom and kill it at once!
Note, next, the words, "upon Him."You may tell your griefs to others to
gain their sympathy, for we are bid to bear one another's burdens. You
may ask friends to help you and so exercise your humility, but let your
requests to man be ever in subordination to your waiting upon God! Some
have obtained their full share of human help by much begging from their
fellow Christians, but it is a nobler thing to make known your requests
unto God! But somehow, those who beg only of God are wondrously
sustained where others fail! What a pleasant story is that in which we
recount the loving kindness of the Lord and tell how "this poor man
cried and the Lord heard him." Quiet, patient Believers have come under
my notice who have carried their cross in silence, waiting alone upon
the Lord. How they endured their trial, I cannot tell, save that "they
endured, as seeing Him who is invisible." But their necessity became
known, it leaked out, they knew not how, and they were helped–and
helped better than they would have been if their appeal had been to
man! I am condemning no appeal to our fellow Believers! Many are
willing to help, but they cannot do so if the need is unknown– but do
not place anyone in the office and throne of the great God who alone is
the Caretaker and Burden-Bearer of His people! I am afraid that,
sometimes, in our care not to alienate this great man who does so much
for the cause, or that excellent lady who takes half-a-dozen sittings
in the chapel, we may grieve the Lord and lose our true Helper. Cease,
then, from man and cast all your care upon God–and upon Him only!
Certain courses of action are the very reverse of casting all your care
upon God, and one is indifference. Whatever virtue there may be in
stoicism, it is unknown to the true child of God. "I don't care," may
be an appropriate expression for an atheist to use, but it is not
suitable for a Christian! It may sound well and the man who utters the
defiant words may think himself some great one, but it is an evil
utterance for all that. I am afraid some Brothers' "I don't care," is
very sinful, for they get into debt and don't care. They break their
promises and engagements and don't care. Brothers, such men ought to
care! Every man is bound to care about his life duties and the claims
of his family. He that cares not for his own household is worse than a
heathen! Casting care upon God is the very reverse of reckless and
inconsiderateness!
It is not casting care upon God when a man does that which is wrong in
order to clear himself. Yet this is too often tried. Under pressure,
some men do very unjustifiable things. We ought to be slow to condemn
since we ourselves also may yet be tempted in the same way and may err
in like manner. Still, faith ought to be able to win every battle. He
who compromises truth to avoid pecuniary loss is hewing out a broken
cistern for himself. He who borrows when he knows he cannot pay, he who
enter into wild speculations to increase his income, he who does
anything that is ungodly in order to turn a penny is not casting his
care upon God! An act of disobedience is a rejection of God's help so
that we may help ourselves. He who does the right thing at all hazards
practically casts his care upon the Lord. Acts are with us, but their
consequences are with God! Our main care should be to please God–and
all other care we may safely leave to Him.
How, then, are we to cast all our care upon God Two things need to be
done. It is a heavy load that is to be cast upon God and it requires
the hand of prayer and the hand of faith to make the transfer. Prayer
tells God what the care is and asks God to help, while faith believes
that God can and will do it. Prayer spreads the letter of trouble and
grief before the Lord and opens all its budget. And then Faith cries,
"I believe that God cares, and cares for me! I believe that He will
bring me out of my distress and make it promote His own Glory."
When you have thus lifted your care into its true position and cast it
upon God, take heed that you do not pick it up again. Many a time have
I gone to God and have relieved my care by believing prayer–but I am
ashamed to confess that
after a little time, I have found myself burdened again with those very
anxieties which I thought I had given up! Is it wise to put our feet
into fetters which have once been broken off? My Brothers, there is a
more excellent way–a way which I have tried and proved. I have at
times been perplexed with difficulties. I have tried my best with them
and I have utterly failed. And then I have gone with the perplexity to
the Throne of God and placed the whole case in the Lord's hands,
solemnly resolving never to trouble myself about the aforesaid matters
any more, whatever might happen. I was quite incapable of further
action in the matter and so I washed my hands of the whole concern and
left it with God. Some of these cares I have never seen again–they
melted like hoar frost in the morning sun–and in their place I have
found a blessing lying on the ground. Other troubles have remained in
fact but not in effect, for I have consented to the yoke and it has
never galled my shoulder again. Brethren, let the dead bury their dead,
and let us follow Jesus! Henceforth let us leave worldlings to fret and
fume over the cares of this life–as for us, let our conversation be in
Heaven, and let us carefully abstain from carelessness, being anxious
only to end anxiety by a childlike confidence in God!
II. Accept this little contribution towards an exposition, and let us
now proceed to ENFORCE THE TEXT. I will give you certain reasons, and
then the reason why you should cast all your care upon God.
First, the ever-blessed One commands you to do it We need no other
reason. The precept is akin to the Gospel command, "Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ." It is a blessed privilege and it is also a command. He
who bids us cease from idolatry, also bids us cease from care. The Law
of Sabbath-keeping is not more Divine than that of resting in the Lord.
He whom we call Master and Lord bids us take no anxious thought–His
bidding has all the authority of Law. Say to yourself, my anxious
Brother, "I may roll my burden upon the Lord, for He bids me do so." If
you do not trust in God, you will be distinctly sinful–you are as much
commanded to trust as to love.
Next, cast all your cares on God because you will have matters enough
to think of even then/There are sacred cares which the Lord will lay
upon you because you have cast your care upon Him. When He has broken
your painful yoke, you will have His easy yoke to bear. There is the
care to love and serve Him better, the care to understand His Word, the
care to preach it to His people, the care to experience His fellowship,
the care to walk so that you shall not vex the Holy Spirit. Such
hallowed cares will always be with you and will increase as you grow in
Grace. In a sense, we may cast even these upon God, looking for His
Holy Spirit to help us, for it is He that works in us to will and to do
of His own good pleasure–yet not without our care and zeal does He
operate upon us–and this is one reason why you are not to allow lower
ends and designs to inundate your mind. Your spirit has another
vineyard to keep, another capital to put out to interest, another
Master to please and it cannot afford to yield its thought to meaner
pursuits. Ministers are shepherds and must care for the sheep! "The
hireling flee because he is a hireling, and cares not for the sheep."
But you have the care of churches laid upon you daily, and it is
peculiarly necessary that you should not be occupied with carnal care.
And, next, you must cast your care upon God, because you have God's
business to do. It is a dangerous thing for a merchant to employ a man
who has a business of his own, because sooner or later the master's
business will suffer, or else the man's own concern will die out. "No
man that wars," says Paul, "entangles himself with the affairs of this
life, that he may please him who has chosen him to be a soldier." There
is sure to be a clashing of interests when a Brother goes into
business, unless he does it as Paul did–that he may not be chargeable
to the Church–for then he attains to double honor. Paul carried his
needle and thread with him wherever he went, for everybody had a tent
in those days, and he was ready for work at any moment either upon
small family tents, or tents to cover a great assembly. When he had
finished preaching, he could turn to mending tents and so earn his own
living and preach the Gospel freely. Paul did not make his preaching a
stalking-horse to his trade, but he made his handicraft a packhorse to
his ministry, so that he could say, "These hands have ministered unto
my necessities, and to them that were with me." That is a very
different thing from a minister deserting his charge to make a larger
income by some other calling. The less we have to do with other
business the better, for all our care is needed by the Church.
Queen Elizabeth bade a notable merchant in the City of London go to the
Continent on royal business. "Please, Your Majesty, he said, "who will
attend to my business while I am away?" The queen replied, 'If you will
go abroad and see to my business, I will see to your business." I will
be bound to say that it would not suffer if such a queen took it in
hand! Just so the Lord says to us, "You attend to My work and I will
take care of you and your wife and children." The Lord pledges Himself
to do it–bread shall be given us, our water shall be sure! The
testimony of many among you will bear me out in this. I come of a line
of preachers and though some of them have had to endure straitened
circumstances, yet none of them were forsaken, nor have their seed been
seen begging bread. The Lord has cared for us and we have lacked
nothing.
You ought to do it not only for this reason, but because it is such a
great privilege to be able to cast your care upon God. If I am plunged
in a lawsuit and some eminent lawyer would offer to undertake it all,
out of love to me, how glad I would be! I would worry no longer. I
would say to all who troubled me on the matter, "You must go to my
solicitor. I know nothing about the matter." Do this to your cunning
enemy, the devil, who is always glad to see you anxious and fretful.
Let us say to him, "The Lord rebuke you, O Satan, even the Lord who has
chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you." What a file that is for the old viper to
break his teeth upon! Chosen! CHOSEN! And if chosen, shall we not be
cared for?
Let me add that you ministers ought to cast all your care upon God
because it will be such a good example for your hearers. Our people
learn much from our conduct. And if they see us fretting, they will be
certain to do the same. You preach faith, do you not? How sad it will
be for you to be convicted of unbelief! Our own words may condemn us if
we are anxious. Once when I was unduly depressed, my good wife said to
me, "I have a book here which I should like to read to you." It did me
good to hear her read, but I felt myself rebuked by every word! I half
suspected what was coming when she said, "That is your own, remember?"
She had been giving the doctor some of his own medicine! What a many
things you have said, my Brothers, that will condemn you if you do not
trust God! Is it, after all, mere talk? Did you mean what you said and
is it true? Or have you merely been repeating official dogmas in which
you have no personal confidence? Is the Providence of God a myth, or a
living, bright reality? "Here," said a quack in the market, "is a
medicine that will cure coughs, colds, consumptions [the fellow coughed
horribly at this point]. It is of such efficacy that it would almost
restore the dead. [Here he coughed again.] Nobody need remain a
sufferer–he has only to buy a box of the pills" [here the quack's own
cough prevented him from speaking.] Ah, laugh on, laugh on, Brothers,
only find that nobody laughs at you for doubting while you extol faith!
We must show in ourselves that faith in our God is a healing medicine,
or man will not believe us! We shall make Christ, Himself, seem to be a
pretender unless we practically prove that we have been healed by Him.
Let your people see in you what comes of trusting Christ! Let them see
what cheerfulness, what hopefulness, what buoyancy of spirit come to
those who trust Christ and cast all their cares upon Him!
But the reason of reasons is that contained in our text, "He cares for
you. " After all, what a small matter it must be to God to care for us,
since He provides for the commissariat of the universe, the feeding of
the cattle on a thousand hills and the wild beasts of the plains! Think
of those myriads of fish, those armies of birds, those enormous
multitudes of insects! What a God must He be who cares for all!
Compared with the demands of all these, our little needs are soon
supplied. We need but little and that little is scarcely a crumb from
the table of the Lord our God. Surely if God says, "I will care for
you," we need not give another thought except to sing, "The Lord is my
Shepherd, I shall not want." It does not need two of us for this small
matter, and certainly not two when One is Infinite in wisdom and power!
Even if we were wise, the Lord would not need our help. With whom took
He counsel and who instructed Him when He created the earth, piled the
mountains and spanned the sky? Let us, therefore, stand still and see
the salvation of God! The Lord thinks about us, plans for us, arranges
for us, studies to make things right for us–these are poor words with
which to describe His care, for He does more than that–He loves us.
That great, boundless, mighty heart loves us! This is fit matter for a
heavenly song! Because He has set His love upon us, we can surely cast
our care upon Him. He has given us Christ–will He not give us bread?
See, He has called us to be His sons– will He starve His children? See
what He is preparing for us in Heaven–will He not enable us to bear
the burdens of this present life? We dishonor God when we suspect His
tenderness and generosity! We can only magnify Him by a calm faith
which leans upon His Word.
There, dear Brothers, there is my word from the Master for you. I
should like to have hammered out that little grain of gold so that you
might have gilded your lives with it, but please do it for yourselves.
Now will you carry your cares away, or will you bow your heads in
silent prayer and throw them all off? Holy Spirit, the Comforter,
lighten our darkness, we beseech You!
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: 2 TIMOTHY 1; 2:1-13.
Verses 1, 2. Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,
according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy,
my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and
Christ Jesus our Lord. I would again remind you, as I have often done
before, that the Apostle Paul, when he is writing to a minister,
invariably begins his Epistle with the triple greeting, "Grace, mercy,
and peace," but when he is writing to a Church, he commences with the
double benediction, "Grace and peace." You will find that this is his
wish for the Romans, Corinthians, Gala-tians, Ephesians, Philippians,
Colossians and Thessalonians, "Grace be unto you and peace, from God
our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." This is also his form of
greeting to Philemon, who was a private Christian, not a minister. But
when the Apostle is writing to Timothy and Titus, his own sons in the
faith, and his fellow ministers of the Gospel, he says, "Grace, mercy,
and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord." It seems as
though, guided by the Holy Spirit, he thought that the office of the
Christian ministry is of so weighty and responsible a character that
the man who rightly fills that honorable position not only needs the
Grace and peace that are necessary for all Believers, but that he must
in addition have a special supply of mercy. And truly, no one needs
mercy more than the preacher of mercy! Note, too, that the "Grace,
mercy, and peace" are to come "from God the Father and Christ Jesus our
Lord." Father and Son are united in the gracious act of bestowing
"Grace, mercy, and peace." The Father is the great eternal Fountain of
all these blessings, but the Son is the Divinely appointed Channel
through whom they flow down to us!
3. I thank God whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience,
that without ceasing I have remembrance of you in my prayers night and
day. Thank God that Paul had such a sympathetic spirit and that
Timothy's needs so continually rose before his supplicating eye–and
that Paul was able to pray for Timothy, not with anxiety, not in
doubtfulness–but with thankfulness. Oh, that all young Christians
might be such consistent Christians that those who have brought them to
Christ might always be able to pray for them with thankfulness!
4. Greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may
be filled with joy. I suppose that Timothy was very tender-hearted and
that he had been grieved because of Paul's many afflictions. And on his
part, the Apostle greatly missed his dearly-beloved son in the faith.
In the latter part of this Epistle, Paul writes, "Do your diligence to
come shortly unto me: for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this
present world." And again, "Do your diligence to come before winter."
Looking forward to his impending martyrdom, Paul longed for the
companionship of the one who was so specially dear to him.
5. When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in you, which
dwelt first in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice; and I am
persuaded that in you, also. Grace does not run in the blood, but it
often runs side by side with it. The "grandmother Lois" and the "mother
Eunice" had the true Grace of saving faith dwelling in them, and Paul
was persuaded that it dwelt in the son and grandson Timothy.
6. Therefore I put you in remembrance. Paul had been speaking of his
own remembrance of Timothy and of Timothy's faith, and now he says,
"Therefore I put you in remembrance–
6. Thatyou stir up the gift of God, which is in you by the putting on
of my hands. [See Sermon #1080, Volume18–OUR gifts AND HOW TO USE
THEM.] The best of fires sometimes need stirring
and the best gift of God, even the sacred fire of the Holy Spirit, may
sometimes burn low in the heart so that we have need to stir up the
gift of God that is within us. There are some Brothers, also, who have
more God-given gifts within them than they know of. They have never
searched for them, so they allow them to lie hidden away unobserved and
useless. We have need to stir up our gifts as well as our Graces and to
use to God's Glory all the powers with which He has entrusted us.
7. For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of
love, and of a sound mind. What a gift this is to all who can truly say
with Paul, "God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and
of love, and of a sound mind!"
8. Be not you, therefore, ashamed of the testimony of our Lord–There
is need to say this today, for many are becoming "ashamed of the
testimony of our Lord," that old-fashioned Gospel which Paul received
by direct Revelation from his Lord, and for which he laid down his
life. It is fashionable, nowadays, to put on the ruffles of modern
philosophy rather than to be robed in the snow-white garment of the
Truth of God. Paul says to Timothy, "Be not you, therefore, ashamed of
the testimony of our Lord"–
8, 9. Nor of me, His prisoner: but be you partaker of the afflictions
of the Gospel according to the power of God who has saved us, and
called us with an holy calling. Salvation comes first, and calling
afterwards–at least, so it is in the great plan of Redemption. We are
saved by the death of Christ before we are effectually called by His
Grace. The great work of our salvation was worked for us on Calvary and
now we are made to know and to partake of that salvation by the
effectual calling of the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the
Gospel!
9. Not according to our work, but according to His own purpose and
Grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.What a
blessed Doctrine this is! Some people cannot endure even to hear or
read of it, but it is full of comfort and joy for the Spirit-taught
people of God! God's Grace was "given us in Christ Jesus before the
world began
[See Sermon #703, Volume 12–SALVATION ALTOGETHER BY GRACE.]
10, 11. But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior, Jesus
Christ, who has abolished death, and has brought life and immortality
to light through the Gospel: whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and
an Apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.How Paul gloried in this
triple Divine appointment! He commenced this Epistle by writing, "Paul,
an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God," and here he says of the
Gospel, "whereunto I am appointed a preacher." I see that some
tradesmen put up a notice over their shops stating that they are
so-and-so "by appointment to Her Majesty," but Paul had the highest
honor under Heaven in being "appointed a preacher, and an Apostle, and
a teacher of the Gentiles."
12. For which cause I also suffer these things. And I expect that his
eyes glanced round on the walls of his dungeon, and that he rattled the
chains that bound his hands to those of the soldiers who had him in
their charge.
12-15. Nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed,
and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed
unto Him against that day. Hold fast the form of sound words, which you
have heard from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. What
good thing which was committed unto you, keep by the Holy Spirit which
dwells in us. This you know, that all they which are in Asia have
turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. Probably
these were leaders who ought to have acted differently and to have
stuck by the Apostle. But when he was in prison and likely to be put to
death by Nero, many who had been his former companions forsook him, and
were ashamed to acknowledge him–for which we also are ashamed of them.
It is the same, now–if the servant of God shall fall into the disfavor
of the great ones of the earth, many will be ashamed of him. Paul
mentions these who turned away from him, for their unfaithfulness
evidently grieved him sorely. But he also mentions another case of
quite a different sort–
16, 17. The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus, for he often
refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chains: but, when he was in
Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me. He did not know
exactly where the Apostle was–in which prison he was confined–but he
went from place to place until at last he lighted upon him! And then he
was not ashamed to be seen ministering to the poor chained prisoner. We
read of various corporations spending a great deal of money in buying
chains of office for their mayors, but this chain, worn by the Apostle
in his prison cell at Rome, was far more valuable than any of them.
What an eternal honor it will be to him, and how sad it is that anyone
should have been ashamed of his fetters when he was so bravely
suffering for Christ's sake! There was more value in those chains on
Paul's wrists than in all the chains that were ever worn on the necks
of the great ones of this world!
18. The Lord grant unto him, that he may find mercy of the Lord in that
day. I have no doubt he came to Paul and talked with him and probably
sang with him, and prayed with him. He often refreshed the Apostle in
Rome. And then Paul added–
18. And in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, you know
very weel. This happy Onesiphorus was a true servant of the Lord Jesus
Christ who loved to minister to the Apostle when he was in suffering
and sorrow. 2 Timothy 2:1-13
Verses 1, 2. You, therefore, my son, be strong in the Grace that is in
Christ Jesus and the things that you have heard of me among many
witnesses, the same commit you to faithful men, who shall be able to
teach others also. This is the true Apostolic succession–one minister
brings another to Christ and then charges that other to train other
preachers and teachers to carry on the blessed work of evangelization!
3, 4. You, therefore, endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus
Christ. No man that wars entangles himself with the affairs of this
life, that he may please him who has chosen him to be a soldier. The
man who has given himself wholly to the service of Christ must not
undertake any other business that would prevent his giving his whole
strength to his Master's work.
5-8. And if a man also strives for masteries, yet is hie not cro wned,
except hie strive la wfully. The husbandman that labors must be first
partaker of the fruits. Consider what I say, and the Lord give you
understanding in all things. Re-
THE RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD JESUS–Read/download the entire sermon,
free of charge, at http://www.spurgeongems.org .1 The Resurrection of
Christ is
the cornerstone of the glorious Temple of Truth, the keystone of the
arch of Revelation. Paul tells us, in that great chapter, 1 Corinthians
15, how hopeless our case would be if Christ was not "raised from the
dead." But he also proves most conclusively that he was raised "the
third day, according to the Scriptures."
33–NOT BOUND YET and #1453, Volume 25–ETERNAL FAITHFULNESS UNAFFECTED
BY HUMAN UNBELIEF.] Thank God that it is not yet bound though many have
tried to fetter it! When they think that they have manacled it, it
breaks loose again and so it always will. However low this heavenly
fire may burn, it soon blazes up again and so it shall to the world's
end. Immortal as the Christ who is the sum and substance of it is the
everlasting Gospel of the blessed God!
10-13. Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sake, that they
may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal
Glory. It is a faithful saying: For if we are dead with Him, we shall
also live with Him: if we suffer, we shall also reign with Him: if we
deny Him, He will deny us: if we believe not, yet He abides faithful:
He cannot deny Himself. Blessed truth, God grant us the Grace to
mediate upon it until we also shall become faithful to Him and to His
Truth!