Author: Charles Spurgeon

Pastor, God will prove his own word.

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ENCOURAGEMENT FOR PASTORS (BY SPURGEON)

Brother, if you preach God’s Word as he gives it to you, you have nothing to do with the consequences that come of it. God will justify his own truth; and even if it should seem that the worst rather than the best consequences ensue, it is for you still to go on in the name of him who sent you. Whenever you and I begin to try to manage God’s kingdom for him, we find the divine scepter too heavy for our little hands to hold; our case would be like that of Phaeton trying to drive the horses in the chariot of the sun. We cannot hold the reins of the universe.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION (BY SPURGEON)

Spurgeon was a master illustrator. You can use this illustration in your own preaching to describe the power of Christ to save us.

A lady is the wife of the most eminent physician of the day. She is seized with a dangerous illness and is smitten down by its power. Yet she is wonderfully calm and quiet, for her husband has made this disease his special study and has healed thousands similarly afflicted. She is not in the least troubled, for she feels perfectly safe in the hands of one so dear to her, in whom skill and love are blended in their highest forms. Her faith is reasonable and natural; her husband from every point of view deserves it of her.

This is the kind of faith that the happiest of believers exercise toward Christ. There is no physician like him; none can save as he can. We love him, and he loves us, and therefore we put ourselves into his hands, accept whatever he prescribes, and do whatever he bids. We feel that nothing can be wrongly ordered while he is the director of our affairs, for he loves us too well to let us perish or suffer a single needless pang.

THANKS FOR READING

Brothers,

Christ really is able to save his people, root out our sin, and prove his Word. He is the mighty savior, the husband-physician who will do the work of ministry.

We labor with the great assurance that God will certainly accomplish his purposes.

If this newsletter is encouraging, please share it with another pastor. You can forward this email to a pastor you know.

If someone forwarded this email to you, sign up to get another one every week. Click here to subscribe.

Blessings to your ministry,

Doug H.
Creator of SpurgeonBooks

Pray with Spurgeon: God, hear us because Jesus died in our place

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

O Jesus, we cannot pray as we would, but our hearts are full of bursting with an anxious desire to see men saved. Father, hear our cry. We have one argument that you will hear: It is that Jesus died. Behold we set his bloody sweat before your eye, his flagellations, his piercings on the mount of doom. Remember Jesus, O mighty Father. Look with eyes of love on him, and then with eyes of pity look on us. Can you deny us? Will you not hear us when we have such a plea as this?

O Thou mighty God, we cannot let you go until you bless us. As Jacob laid hold upon the Angel and wrestled with him, so lay we hold upon the Covenant Angel now. We must have a blessing. What shall our hearts do if you do not hear us? Our soul cries to you; out of the depth of our nature we cry unto you. Oh give us this day souls to our ministry, and souls for our hire.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

Here is the gracious invitation of the gospel in which the Savior’s tears and smiles were blended, as in a covenant rainbow of promise. “Come.” He drives none away. He calls them to himself. His favorite word is “come.” Not “go” to Moses but, “Come to me.” To Jesus we must come by a personal trust. Not to doctrine, ordinance, or ministry are we first to come but to the personal Savior.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Know (and enjoy) the God who gives all grace

Today we prayed that God would hear us — not because of our own goodness, but because of the blood of his Son Jesus Christ. This prayer reminds us that salvation by grace alone is a work of the Triune God alone. We don’t play a part, but each member of the Trinity does.

An excellent book for growing to enjoy the glorious God who gives grace is Experiencing the Trinity: The Grace of God for the People of God by Joe Thorn. This book is fifty, very short devotionals, each covering one aspect of God’s character and salvation. The book is divided into three sections: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, with each devotional reflecting on a different aspect of that person’s glory.

This daily devotional is a breath of fresh air — add it to your daily reading and you will grow your knowledge of God and your love for God. I hope you’ll grab a copy today.

Buy Experiencing the Trinity:

Pray with Spurgeon: God, teach us how to pray

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Our Father, we have many petitions to put up to you this morning. We pray that you would hear them. We are sometimes afraid that we your people are growing cold in heart. You have brought summer weather upon our bodies, and you make the whole earth to rejoice in the light of the sun; but how often is there winter within while there is summer without. We are afraid that too often we come up to the house of prayer without prayer, and go away from it, in consequence without a blessing. How little heart is there in our praise! How little true earnestness in our prayers!

At this hour, Lord, inspire the heart of every child of yours to true prayer. Help us to feel the weight of men’s souls. May the wondrous value of a soul be opened up to our understanding; may the preciousness of a soul be laid upon our hearts, and may we pray, every one of us, as if we have never prayed before, and if we have had power with you, may we have a special power now, while silently we are pleading. God have mercy upon us, and have mercy upon sinners this day.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12)

No prayer of mortal men could be complete without confession of sin. Prayer which does not seek for pardon will fail, as the Pharisee’s prayer did. Let proud men boast as they please, those who are in Christ’s kingdom will always pray, “Forgive us our debts.” Our Lord knew that we should always have debts to own, and therefore would always need to cry, “Forgive!” This is the prayer of men whom the Judge has absolved because of their faith in the Great Sacrifice; for now to their Father they come for free forgiveness, as children.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

God hears your prayers, not because you’re good enough (but because Jesus is)

Today we prayed, confessing the unworthiness of our prayers. And today’s verse of the day shows us that our only hope in prayer is that we would be covered in the righteousness of Christ. This is our only hope with which to approach God. This should give us great hope and confidence as we pray — we do not come in our own name, but in the mighty name of Jesus!

A great, refreshing book that has really helped me learn this lesson is A Praying Life by Paul Miller. This book makes clear that our only hope of acceptable prayers is the blood of Jesus.

A Praying Life is a great, encouraging book on Christian prayer. Reading this book has cultivated Scripture-saturated prayers of childlike faith in my life. Miller describes prayer in a way that is thoroughly biblical and incredible desirable.

I know A Praying Life will help you deepen your prayer life — I hope you’ll buy a copy today.

Buy A Praying Life:

Pray with Spurgeon: Taking the bleeding Savior at his word

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

O Lord Jesus, our souls fly to you. You are the only refuge of our heart. Our confidence is fixed upon your blood and righteousness, and we believe that these will never fail us. We are persuaded that if we build upon this Rock of ages, the floods may come, and the winds may beat upon that house, but it shall not fall because it is built upon the rock.

Renew the faith of your people. Let its former simplicity come back. May we each of us come to Jesus as we did at first, weary, and over-worn, and sad, and sinful, and find in him all that our largest want can possibly demand. Oh for grace today to take a bleeding Savior at his word, and to believe him to be the propitiation for our sins.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24–25)

Hearing is not enough; we must do these sayings. There must be practical godliness, or nothing is right within us. The doing hearer has built a house with a stable foundation: the wisest and safest, but the most expensive and toilsome thing to do. Trials come to him. His sincerity and truthfulness do not prevent his being tested. From above, and from beneath, and from all sides, the trials come: rain, floods, and winds. The tests become so severe that nothing can save the building unless it be the strength of its foundation. Because the chief support is so immovable, the entire erection survives.

Let the Rock of Ages be praised if, after terrible tribulation, it can be said of our faith, “it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.”

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Hearing and Doing the Word of God

I was encouraged to come to this passage in Spurgeon’s prayers and to find his reference to Matthew 7. I recently finished a sermon series through the Sermon on the Mount and just preached this text a few weeks ago.

Christianity is not primarily about a decision you make, so saying the right things will never be enough.

Christianity is not primarily about a work you do, so doing the right things will never be enough.

What is it that really separates a Christian from a non-Christian? It’s being known by the God of all grace.

Listen to this sermon, “Kingdom Salvation” right here. I hope it encourages you.

Pray with Spurgeon: God’s sweet promises to sinners

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Gracious God, we have all sinned. Your servants who are members of the Church of Christ would acknowledge that we have not lived for God as they should. How little have we done for him who died to save our guilty souls. Our love is cold. Your mercies flow to us like rivers, but returns are but scanty drops.

Lord, forgive us all. We come to you conscious that we are guilty, and most of all ashamed of ourselves that we are not more ashamed, and blushing that we do not blush, mourning that we do not mourn. God be merciful unto us sinners. With the tax-collectors we take our place. Our cry is the cry of the returning prodigal. O Father, we are not worthy to be called your sons, but our faith beholds the promise, the sweet and assuring promise made to sinners, and we know that God was in Jesus Christ reconciling the world to himself, not imparting to us our trespasses.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“I am at rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.” (Psalm 62:1)

David had no mixed reliance. He has no confidence anywhere but in God. He had not built on a foundation partly of iron and partly of clay; it was all in harmony throughout. His trust was in the Lord alone. It is a blessed thing to wait only on God. You have proved everything else to be a failure, and now you hang upon the bare arm of God alone. There is certainly enough for us to depend on there. Most people want something to see, something tangible to the senses, to be the object of their confidence, but David rests only in God. His salvation is already on the road. It is coming now. It is a salvation from present trouble and from present temptation. A complete salvation is on the road for all those whose souls are waiting only on God.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Remember the sweetness and wonder of salvation

I LOVED the way Spurgeon described Christ’s salvation offer in today’s prayer: “the sweet and assuring promise made to sinners.” I love those words, because they remind us that salvation is not merely an escape from hell, but bringing us to the sweet reward of God himself.

This is also the theme of John Piper’s newest book, What is Saving Faith? This book is a wonderful display of the GOODNESS of God to give us himself in salvation. Piper argues biblically that the kind of faith that actually saves is a faith that treasures God above all things.

This book is so encouraging and I know it will encourage you.

Buy What is Saving Faith?:

Pray with Spurgeon: We are sinful, but God does not cut us off

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

We know not which most to wonder at, your lovingkindness or our ingratitude. How stupid, how indifferent have we been. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but we have not known, we have not considered. Even the sheep follow their shepherd but we would not follow you, but we went astray after any leader rather than follow him who is now today our All-in-All. Lord, we thank you for your long-suffering mercies, that you have not cut us down.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” (Psalm 51:7)

David’s horrible sin had stained him and left him needing to be washed. The power of Jesus Christ to cleanse from sin must lie, first, in the greatness of his person. It is inconceivable that the sufferings of a mere man, however holy or great he might have been, could have made atonement for the sins of all of the Lord’s chosen people. It was because Jesus Christ was one of the persons in the divine Trinity. It was because the Son of Mary was none other than the Son of God. It was because he who lived and labored and suffered and died was the great Creator, without whom nothing was made that was made, that his blood has such efficacy that it can wash the blackest sinners so clean that they are “whiter than snow.”

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

God’s grace sets us free from sin

Today, we prayed reflecting on the seriousness and persistence of our sin, and we saw in God’s Word about the freeness and persistence of God’s grace. No matter how many times we sin, we find his grace to be an inexhaustible ocean.

But God’s grace is NOT about forgiving our sin and leaving us stuck; it’s about empowering you to actually change. The book Unlimited Grace by Bryan Chappell will show you how wonderfully large and never-ending God’s grace is, and how this grace has the power to change your life from the inside out.

I know this book will encourage you and fill your heart with love and gratitude for God’s grace. If you’re feeling discouraged and shameful about your past sin, this book will assure of God’s never-ending kindness towards sinners. If you’re feeling stuck and unmoved in your present sin, this book will help you to lean into the power of God’s grace to change.

Buy Unlimited Grace:

Pray with Spurgeon: We are unfaithful, but God will never leave

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Our Father in heaven, we are not worthy to be called your sons. We have so sinned against you that if you should drive us forever from your house of love, and from your heart of mercy, we could not blame you. Justice would but have its due if we were this day sorrowing with the rich man.

Lord, we thank you for your long-suffering mercies, that you have not cut us down as cumberers of the ground. We thank you that you did not permit eternal ruin to fall upon us. And we thank you that though, since we have known you, we have been very unfaithful, and are always going astray from you, starting aside like a broken bow, yet still your lovingkindness holds good, and your mercy is not put away from your people.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“For it stands in Scripture: See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and honored cornerstone, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.” (1 Peter 2:6)

All Christ has promised to be, he will be to those who trust him. Christians will never have any cause to be ashamed of Jesus upon whom they believe. They shall never be driven to confess that they made a mistake in trusting him and are, therefore, ashamed at having been so miserably duped. To risk all with Jesus is to end all risk.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

A Book to Help Kids Understand God’s Forgiveness

Today we prayed, praising God for his wonderful, forgiving mercy that holds onto us no matter how much we sin. Even though we sin, we don’t have to hide from God — his grace is enough to cover our sins.

Recently, my family has been loving a new kids’ book by Melissa Kruger, His Grace is Enough: How God Makes it Right When We’ve Got it Wrong. This book unpacks this crucial message of God’s grace and invites our sinful children to run towards God, not away from him.

His Grace is Enough invites children to know and rest in the sin-forgiving love of God, shown in Christ. It’s a serious, wonderful, joy-filled message, but the book is really fun, with engaging illustrations that help kids understand the message.

If you have preschoolers in your life, I know you’ll want to buy a copy (or two, to use as gifts!) — I hope you’ll add it to your family’s library today.

Buy His Grace is Enough:

Pray with Spurgeon: God will finish his work in you (may he start it in others)

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Remember with the churches of our Lord Jesus Christ. Revive your work in the midst of the years. Wherever and by whoever your cross is lifted up, there let the energy of the Spirit be found, and there let sinners believe and live, and let your saints be comforted.

O Father, remember those people we know who are not yet converted to God. O Spirit of God, go forth into their hearts to slay, and like healing balm, make them whole; wound and heal, for you must do both. You great Omega of our souls, be the Alpha to their souls. You who will complete, begin. Mighty Finisher, be the Author. May some man be led to feel that he can go no farther. May some sinner be brought this very morning to a dead pause. May he stand still and say: “This will not do! I must reverse my course; no longer will I live for the world. Now will I live unto him.”

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Son of man, I have made you a watchman over the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, give them a warning from me.” (Ezekiel 3:17)

If we would be found really useful and serviceable for our Lord and Master, the ear is to be disciplined. To train the tongue we must begin with the ear. No one is fit to command who has not first learned to obey, and assuredly no one is qualified to teach who has not first of all found pleasure in learning. We must be a disciple and sit at the Master’s feet before we can become an apostle and go forth to speak in the Master’s name.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

A resource to help you share your faith (AND help others too!)

Today we prayed that God would save the non-Christians that we know. We cannot save our friends, but we CAN bring the Word of God to them.

Evangelism can be daunting for some, but it doesn’t have to be complicated! The most effective thing you can do with a non-Christian friend is to read the Bible together.

And to help you do that, I’ve created a new resource, Know Jesus. This is a simple, easy-to-use Bible study. It’s designed for a Christian to take a non-Christian through 15 passages in Mark’s Gospel.

I worked really hard to create a resource that was as easy-to-use as possible, because we are called to share Christ with others.

The best part: 100% of the profits from this book are given to purchase copies for evangelism in Washington, DC, where I live and minister. (One copy purchased = one copy for a non-Christian in the nation’s capital).

So I hope you’ll buy two copies (one for you and one for a non-Christian friend) and start a late-summer Bible study with someone that you know.

Buy Know Jesus on Amazon (Paperback)

Pastor, don’t covet a larger church

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ENCOURAGEMENT FOR PASTORS (BY SPURGEON)

Do I address any servant of God here who is afraid of losing his reputation? This is not a reason which will stand examination. My brother, that is a fear which does not trouble me. I have lost my reputation several times, and I would not go across the street to pick it up. It has often seemed to me to be a thing that I should like to lose, that I might no longer be pressed with this huge throng, but might preach to two or three hundred people in a country village, and look after their souls, and stand clear at last to God about each one of them; whereas, here am I tied to a work I cannot accomplish—pastor to more than five thousand people! A sheer impossibility! How can I watch over all your souls? I should have an easy conscience if I had a church of moderate size, which I could efficiently look after. If a reputation gets one into the position I now occupy, it certainly is not a blessing to be coveted.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION (BY SPURGEON)

Spurgeon was a master illustrator. You can use this illustration in your own preaching to describe the power of Scripture.

Certain plants are so full of vitality that if you only take a fragment of a leaf and place it on the soil, the leaf will take root and grow. It is utterly impossible that such vegetation should become extinct.

And so it is with the truth of God. It is living and incorruptible, and therefore there is no destroying it. As long as one Bible remains, the religion of free grace will live. More than that, if they could burn all printed Scriptures, as long as there remained a child who remembered a single text of the word, the truth would rise again. Even in the ashes of truth the fire is still living, and when the breath of the Lord blows on it, the flame will burst forth gloriously.

THANKS FOR READING

Brothers,

It’s really, REALLY hard to look out at the congregation on Sunday morning and not compare our ministry to others. Sometimes, we pridefully believe we deserve a bigger church; sometimes, we pridefully believe our church is small because we’re the only one preaching the truth.

But God has called us to love the flock among us, not only to long to have a different, larger, better, healthier flock. These sheep are yours to care for.

And of course, we want to see our churches grow as the Kingdom grows, but we must never do so at the expense of shepherding the sheep that we currently have, for we will certainly give an account for their souls.

If this newsletter is encouraging, please share it with another pastor. You can forward this email to a pastor you know.

If someone forwarded this email to you, sign up to get another one every week. Click here to subscribe.

Blessings to your ministry,

Doug H.
Creator of SpurgeonBooks

Pray with Spurgeon: Comfort us, for we are suffering

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Look upon each of us now. There are so many families that have been bereaved, that we pray for all. You take away a mother here; you take away a husband there; you remove a child there; you are smiting on the right hand and on the left. We would kiss the rod and the hand that wields it, but we pray that the richest consolation may be given, especially, to those who through years and infirmities suffer much.

We pray that richer consolation than usual may be given where most it is required. Sanctify their bereavements. May the whole of the flock feel that when the Shepherd is taking away one after another, it is time for us to be ready for his coming.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Serve with a good attitude, as to the Lord and not to people.” (Ephesians 6:7)

Our work for Jesus must be the outgrowth of the soil of the heart. Our service must not be performed as a matter of routine. There must be vigor, power, freshness, reality, eagerness, and warmth about it; or it will be good for nothing. No fish ever came upon God’s altar because it could not come there alive. The Lord wants none of our dead, heartless worship.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

The only way to make sense of our suffering

Today we prayed that God would comfort us in our suffering. And we definitely need his comfort, because our world is full of suffering. I believe that Christianity offers the only logical explanation for all of the suffering that we face in this world. And the Bible doesn’t just offer a reasonable explanation of these things — the Bible offers a hopeful, gospel-saturated explanation of our world.

A great book on this topic is Jesus or Nothing by Dan DeWitt. The book presents Christianity as the only reliable and hopeful alternative to atheism. This book will surely deepen your faith and help you defend it against skeptics and atheists.

But, maybe more importantly, the book will fill you up with joy that the real God who really did create the world, really did launch a loving plan to save you. And that’s really good news.

Buy Jesus or Nothing: