Tag Archives: throne of god

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Sovereign grace and man’s responsibility

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“But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me. But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.” Romans 10:20,21

Suggested Further Reading: Matthew 26:20-25

I see in one place, God presiding over all in providence; and yet I see, and I cannot help seeing, that man acts as he pleases, and that God has left his actions to his own will, in a great measure. Now, if I were to declare that man was so free to act, that there was no control of God over his actions, I should be driven very near to atheism; and if, on the other hand, I declare that God so overrules all things, as that man is not free enough to be responsible, I am driven at once into Antinomianism or fatalism. That God predestines, and that man is responsible, are two things that few can see. They are believed to be inconsistent and contradictory; but they are not. It is just the fault of our weak judgment. Two truths cannot be contradictory to each other. If, then, I find taught in one place that everything is fore-ordained, that is true; and if I find in another place that man is responsible for all his actions, that is true; and it is my folly that leads me to imagine that two truths can ever contradict each other. These two truths, I do not believe, can ever be welded into one upon any human anvil, but one they shall be in eternity: they are two lines that are so nearly parallel, that the mind that shall pursue them farthest, will never discover that they converge; but they do converge, and they will meet somewhere in eternity, close to the throne of God, whence all truth springs.

For meditation: The Bible does not tell us everything; nor does it give a full explanation of what it does tell us. But it tells us more than enough to give us a sound foundation for our faith and obedience (Deuteronomy 29:29; John 20:30,31).

Sermon no. 207

1 August (1858)

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Spiritual Adultery

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Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. —James 4:4

Here is a simple truth to remember: If you are single, you are not supposed to have sex. And if you are married, you are to have sex only with your spouse (a member of the opposite sex, I might add). That is the way it is. Everything else is a sin.

Some will disagree, and some will say this viewpoint is not politically correct. Nevertheless, it is biblically accurate, and if they have an argument, then their argument is with God. The Bible says, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9–10).

In Revelation 14 we read of 144,000 messianic believers who lived pure lives:

These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God. (verses 4–5)

The word “defiled” used here means immoral. And on more than one occasion, the Bible uses the metaphor of having other gods as being like adultery. James says, “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (4:4).

To love this world means committing spiritual adultery. You have a choice. You can be the world’s friend and God’s enemy, or you can be God’s friend and the world’s enemy. Which will it be?

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Charles Spurgeon – Looking unto Jesus

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“They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.” Psalm 34:5

Suggested Further Reading: 1 Timothy 2:1-7

See there he sits in heaven, he has led captivity captive, and now sits at the right hand of God, for ever making intercession for us. Can your faith picture him today? Like a great high priest of old, he stands with outstretched arms: there is majesty in his demeanour, for he is no mean cringing suppliant. He does not beat his breast, nor cast his eyes upon the ground, but with authority he pleads, enthroned in glory now. There on his head is the bright shining mitre of his priesthood, and look you, on his breast are glittering the precious stones whereon the names of his elect are everlastingly engraved; hear him as he pleads, hear you not what it is?—is that your prayer that he is mentioning before the throne? The prayer that this morning you offered before you came to the house of God, Christ is now offering before his Father’s throne. The vow which just now you uttered when you said, “Have pity and have mercy,”—he is now uttering there. He is the Altar and the Priest, and with his own sacrifice he perfumes our prayers. And yet, mayhap, you have been at prayer many a day, and had no answer; poor weeping suppliant, you have sought the Lord and he has not heard you, or at least not answered you to your soul’s delight; you have cried unto him, but the heavens have been as brass, and he has shut out your prayer, you are full of darkness and heaviness on account of this, “Look to him, and be lightened.” If you do not succeed, he will; if your intercession be unnoticed, his cannot be passed away; if your prayers can be like water spilt on a rock which cannot be gathered up, yet his prayers are not like that, he is God’s Son, he pleads and must prevail.

For meditation: The prayers of the true seeker and of believers are not a waste of effort; they are not like letters lost in the post, but reach the throne of God (Acts 10:4; Revelation 5:8). But only praying in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is accepted; prayers addressed to saints, to false gods or to the dead are always turned away—“not known here.”

Sermon no. 195

23 May (1858)

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Alistair Begg – Today!

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Everyone who believes is freed from everything.

Acts 13:38

 

The believer in Christ receives a present justification. Faith does not produce this fruit later on, but now. So far as justification is the result of faith, it is given to the soul in the moment when it closes with Christ and accepts Him as its all in all. Are those who stand before the throne of God justified now? So are we as certainly and as clearly justified as those who have entered into the portals of heaven. The thief upon the cross was justified the moment that he turned the eye of faith to Jesus; and Paul, at the end of his life, after years of service, was not more justified than the thief who had no service at all.

We are today accepted in the Beloved, today absolved from sin, today acquitted at the bar of God’s judgment. What a soul-stirring thought! There are some benefits that we will not be able to enjoy until we enter heaven; but this is our immediate possession. This is not like the corn of the land, which we can never eat until we cross the Jordan; but this is part of the manna in the wilderness, a portion of our daily nutriment with which God supplies us in all our comings and goings.

We are now–even now–pardoned; even now are our sins put away; even now we stand in the sight of God accepted, as though we had never been guilty. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”1 There is not a sin in the Book of God, even now, against one of His people. Who dares to lay anything to their charge? There is neither speck, nor spot, nor wrinkle, nor anything remaining upon any one believer in this matter of being justified in the sight of the Judge of all the earth. Let our present privileges awaken us to present duty, and now, while life lasts, let us spend and be spent for our sweet Lord Jesus.

1-Romans 8:1

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Memory Full! – Greg Laurie

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My computer screen flashes a little warning sign on those occasions when I try to load too much information onto my hard drive. It tells me my memory is full—it has no more room for any more information.

In a similar way, if we would fill our hearts and minds with God’s Word, then when the devil comes with his perverse thoughts and ungodly schemes, he will see a sign that notifies him that our memory is full. It is so important for us to fill our minds and hearts with the Word of God!

Certainly it is good to carry a Bible in your briefcase, pocket, or purse; but the best place to carry the Bible is in your heart. It is good to go through the Word of God, but it is better for the Word of God to go through you. It is great to mark your Bible, but it is best if your Bible marks you. It must affect the way you live.

The Bible tells us to store up its words in our hearts, teach them to our children, and write them down (Deuteronomy 11:18-20). Memorizing a verse may not feel like a supernatural experience, but it is an important discipline. That is why the Lord told Joshua to meditate on His Word “day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8).

When you store the Word of God in your memory, the next time you face a difficult situation, suddenly that verse will come to you with freshness from the very throne of God. It will speak to your situation and strengthen your heart.

So get God’s Word into your heart and mind! And put it into practice.