Blog Archives - Witness And Testimony

There Is Nothing Too Hard For Thee

6/30/2014

Jer 32:17 Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:

At the very time when the Chaldeans surrounded Jerusalem, and when the sword,
famine and pestilence had desolated the land, Jeremiah was commanded by God to purchase a field, and have the deed of transfer legally sealed and witnessed.

This was a strange purchase for a rational man to make. Prudence could not justify it, for it was buying with scarcely a probability that the person purchasing could ever enjoy the possession.

But it was enough for Jeremiah that his God had bidden him, for well he knew that God will be justified of all his children.

He reasoned thus: “Ah, Lord God! thou canst make this plot of ground of use to me; thou canst rid this land of these oppressors; thou canst make me yet sit under my vine and my fig-tree in the heritage which I have bought; for thou didst make the heavens and the earth, and there is nothing too hard for thee.”

This gave a majesty to the early saints, that they dared to do at God’s command things which carnal reason would condemn.

Whether it be a Noah who is to build a ship on dry land, an Abraham who is to offer up his only son, or a Moses who is to despise the treasures of Egypt, or a Joshua who is to besiege Jericho seven days, using no weapons but the blasts of rams’ horns, they all act upon God’s command, contrary to the dictates of carnal reason; and the Lord gives them a rich reward as the result of their obedient faith.

Would to God we had in the religion of these modern times a more potent infusion of this heroic faith in God.

If we would venture more upon the naked promise of God, we should enter a world of wonders to which as yet we are strangers.

Let Jeremiah’s place of confidence be ours—nothing is too hard for the God that
created the heavens and the earth.

~Charles Spurgeon~

One Look From The LORD

6/28/2014

Jdg 6:14 And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?

What a look was that which the LORD gave to Gideon! He looked him out of his discouragement into a holy bravery.

If our look to the LORD saves us, what will not His look at us do? LORD, look on me this day and nerve me for its duties and conflicts.

What a word was this which Jehovah spoke to Gideon! "Go." He must not hesitate. He might have answered, "What, go in all this weakness?" But the LORD put that word out of court by saying, "Go in this thy might."

The LORD had looked might into him, and he had now nothing to do but to use it and save Israel by smiting the Midianites.

It may be that the LORD has more to do by me than I ever dreamed of.

If He has looked upon me, He has made me strong.

Let me by faith exercise the power with which He has entrusted me. He never bids me "idle away my time in this my might." Far from it. I must "go" because He strengthens me.

What a question is that which the LORD puts to me even as He put it to Gideon! "Have not I sent thee!" Yes, LORD, Thou hast sent me, and I will go in Thy strength.

At Thy command I go, and, going, I am assured that Thou wilt conquer by me.

~Charles Spurgeon~

It Will Not Be Long

6/27/2014

Jas 5:8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. 

The last word in the Canticle of love is, "Make haste, my beloved," and among the last words of the Apocalypse we read, "The Spirit and the Bride say, Come"; to which the heavenly Bridegroom answers, "Surely I come quickly."

Love longs for the glorious appearing of the LORD and enjoys this sweet promise - "The coming of the LORD draweth nigh." This stays our minds as to the future. We look out with hope through this window.

This sacred "window of agate" lets in a flood of light upon the present and puts us into fine condition for immediate work or suffering.

Are we tired? Then the nearness of our joy whispers patience.

Are we growing weary because we do not see the harvest of our seed-sowing? Again this glorious truth cries to us, "Be patient."

Do our multiplied temptations cause us in the least to waver? Then the assurance that before long the LORD will be here preaches to us from this text, "Stablish your hearts." Be firm, be stable, be constant, "stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the LORD."

Soon will you hear the silver trumpet which announces the coming of your King.

Be not in the least afraid. Hold the fort, for He is coming; yea, He may appear this very day.

~Charles Spurgeon~

It Is Finished!

6/26/2014

Joh 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost

Though the life of Jesus had been so short, He was quite ready to go when the end came. He had done each day the work given to Him to do that day, and when the last hour of the last day came there was nothing that He had left undone.

We ought to learn the lesson, and live as Jesus lived, so as to have every part of our work finished when the end comes. But what was it that was finished, when Jesus bowed His head on the cross?

A famous picture represents Christ lifted up, and beneath Him an innumerable procession of the saints advancing out of the darkness and coming into the light of His cross.

There can be no doubt that He had such a vision of redemption while He hung there, for we are told that He "endured the cross, despising the shame, because of the joy set before Him."

It is finished, was therefore a shout of victory as He completed His work of suffering.

He went into the grave, but not to stay there. He came again, a glorious conqueror; and because He lives, all His people shall live also.

~J. R. Miller~

No Rest Apart From The Ark...The LORD Jesus Christ

6/25/2014

Gen 8:9 "But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark."

Reader, can you find rest apart from the ark, Christ Jesus? Then be assured that your religion is vain.

Are you satisfied with anything short of a conscious knowledge of your union and interest in Christ? Then woe unto you.

If you profess to be a Christian, yet find full satisfaction in worldly pleasures and pursuits, your profession is false.

If your soul can stretch herself at rest, and find the bed long enough, and the coverlet broad enough to cover her in the chambers of sin, then you are a hypocrite, and far enough from any right thoughts of Christ or perception of his preciousness.

But if, on the other hand, you feel that if you could indulge in sin without punishment, yet it would be a punishment of itself; and that if you could have the whole world, and abide in it forever, it would be quite enough misery not to be parted from it; for your God—your God—is what your soul craves after; then be of good courage, thou art a child of God.

With all thy sins and imperfections, take this to thy comfort: if thy soul has no rest in sin, thou are not as the sinner is! If thou art still crying after and craving after something better, Christ has not forgotten thee, for thou hast not quite forgotten him.

The believer cannot do without his Lord; words are inadequate to express his thoughts of him.

We cannot live on the sands of the wilderness, we want the manna which drops from on high; our skin bottles of creature confidence cannot yield us a drop of moisture, but we drink of the rock which follows us, and that rock is Christ.

When you feed on him your soul can sing, “He hath satisfied my mouth with good things, so that my youth is renewed like the eagle's,” but if you have him not, your bursting wine vat and wellfilled barn can give you no sort of satisfaction: rather lament over them in the words of wisdom, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!”

~Charles Spurgeon~

The Enemy Frustrated

6/23/2014

Neither did Sennacherib molest the city. He had boasted loudly, but he could not carry out his threats. The LORD is able to stop the enemies of His people in the very act. When the lion has the lamb between his jaws, the great Shepherd of the sheep can rob him of his prey. Our extremity only provides an opportunity for a grander display of divine power and wisdom.

In the case before us, the terrible foe did not put in an appearance before the city which he thirsted to destroy. No annoying arrow could he shoot over the walls, and no besieging engines could- he put to work to batter down the castles, and no banks could he cast up to shut in the inhabitants.

Perhaps in our case also the LORD will prevent our adversaries from doing us the least harm. Certainly He can alter their intentions or render their designs so abortive that they will gladly forego them.

Let us trust in the LORD and keep His way, and He will take care of us. Yea, He will fill us with wondering praise as we see the perfection of His deliverance.

Let us not fear the enemy till he actually comes, and then let us trust in the LORD.

~Charles Spurgeon~

A Woman's War

6/21/2014

Judges 4:9 And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.

Rather an unusual text, but there may be souls in the world that may have faith enough to grasp it.

Barak, the man, though called to the war, had little stomach for the fight unless Deborah would go with him, and so the LORD determined to make it a woman's war. By this means He rebuked the slackness of the man, gained for Himself the more renown, and cast the more shame upon the enemies of His people.

The LORD can still use feeble instrumentalities. Why not me?

He may use persons who are not commonly called to great public engagements. Why not you?

The woman who slew the enemy of Israel was no Amazon but a wife who tarried in her tent. She was no orator but a woman who milked the cows and made butter.

May not the LORD use any one of us to accomplish His purpose? Somebody may come to the house today, even as Sisera came to Jael's tent. Be it ours not to slay him, but to save him.

Let us receive him with great kindness and then bring forth the blessed truth of salvation by the LORD Jesus, our great Substitute, and press home the command Believe and live. Who knoweth but some stout-hearted sinner may be slain by the gospel today!

~Charles Spurgeon~

You Become Like That Which Obsesses You

6/19/2014

You become like that which obsesses you, which occupies you.

Is that not true? You see what people are occupied with, and you can see their character changing by their obsessions.

They are becoming like the thing which is obsessing them; they are changing; they are becoming different.

Something has got a grip on them; they can never think about anything else, talk about anything else; and it is changing their character.

Now Paul said, 'For me to live is Christ - being occupied with Him'.

It is the wrong word to use, but nevertheless it would be a good thing if He became our 'obsession', our continuous occupation.

As we steadfastly fix our gaze upon Him, the Spirit changes us into the same image.

~T. Austin Sparks~

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Our Field Of Battle

6/17/2014

Deu 20:4 For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.

We have no enemies but the enemies of God. Our fights are not against men but against spiritual wickednesses.

We war with the devil and the blasphemy and error and despair which he brings into the field of battle.

We fight with all the armies of sin -- impurity, drunkenness, oppression, infidelity, and ungodliness. With these we contend earnestly, but not with sword or spear; the weapons of our warfare are not carnal.

Jehovah, our God, abhors everything which is evil, and, therefore, He goeth with us to fight for us in this crusade.

He will save us, and He will give us grace to war a good warfare and win the victory.

We may depend upon it that if we are on God's side God is on our side. With such an august ally the conflict is never in the least degree doubtful.

It is not that truth is mighty and must prevail but that might lies with the Father who is Almighty, with Jesus who has all power in heaven and in earth, and with the Holy Spirit who worketh His will among men.

Soldiers of Christ, gird on your armor. Strike home in the name of the God of holiness, and by faith grasp His salvation. Let not this day pass without striking a blow for Jesus and holiness.

~Charles Spurgeon~

All Natural Ground Must Be Forsaken

6/14/2014

In this dispensation God is not meeting Jews as Jews, and Gentiles as Gentiles, and a great many are making the mistake of thinking that He is. His

Word to the Jew is: you must leave your Jewish ground, and stand before God, not as a Jew, but as a man, and until you take that ground God has nothing to say to you; you will not have any light whilst you persist in coming before God on your own ground. The same has to be said to everyone else. We have to leave our own ground in every way.

As that applies in these directions nationally, it applies in every other thing. Are you going to answer the Lord back: But I am this or that, or something else; or, But I am not this or that.

It is not what you are, but what the Son is, that is of account.

Come on to His ground. The Lord will not meet you on the ground of what you are, whether it be good or bad; He will meet you on the ground of the Heavenly Man.

Do you answer back, I am so weak! The Lord is not going to meet you on that ground; He will meet you on the ground of His Son.

That is what the Holy Spirit means by such words as He speaks through Paul: "...be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim. 2:1).

God hears us exclaim, But I am so weak, Lord! but He does not pay any heed to what we mean to indicate by that confession, which is: Come down on to the ground of my weakness and pick me up! He says, You forsake that ground, and come on to the ground of My Son, and you will find strength there. I am so foolish, Lord! The Lord says: You will remain foolish until you get on to the ground of My Son, who is made unto you wisdom.

That applies all the way along. We take our own ground before the Lord and are surprised that the Lord does not lift us right out of our own ground and put us into a better position, but He never does. We shall stay there for ever, if that is our attitude.

The Lord's word to us is: Forsake your own ground and come on to My ground. I have provided a Heavenly Man who is full of all that you need; now come on to that ground. It does not matter what you are, or what you are not. There everything is adjusted and made good.

~T. Austin Sparks~