Grace Gems for NOVEMBER 2024
The bishop and the knight tumble into the box with the pawns, and the king and the queen fare no better!
(Charles Spurgeon, "Flowers from a Puritan's Garden" 1883)
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
"All go to the same place. All come from dust, and to dust all return!" Ecclesiastes 3:20
"As chessmen are all thrown into the box together—so in the grave there is no distinction.
Skulls wear no wreaths, and corpses carry no marks of honor."
The bishop and the knight tumble into the box with the pawns, and the king and the queen fare no better! Death is a terrible leveler! It is a pity that some men carry their heads so high above their fellows all the day—for they will have to sleep at night in the same bed of clay with those whom they despise!
"Poor weeds, rich grain, gay flowers together stand.
Alas! Death mows down all with an impartial hand!"
"You sweep men away in the sleep of death; they are like the new grass of the morning—though in the morning it springs up new, by evening it is dry and withered." Psalm 90:5-6
Here is the history of the grass: sown, grown, blown, mown, gone!
The history of man is not much more: "For dust you are, and to dust you will return!" Genesis 3:19
There they come, streams of them, hurrying impatiently, rushing down to death and Hell—yes, eagerly panting, hurrying, dashing against one another to descend to that awful gulf from which there is no return!
Time, how short!
Death, how brief!
Eternity, how long!~ ~ ~ ~
No cradle holds an innocent one!
(Henry Law, "Beacons of the Bible" 1869)
(You will find it helpful to Listen to the Audio, as you read the text below.)
"Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me!" Psalm 51:5
"All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature, and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath!" Ephesians 2:3
When Adam fell, man's heart became entirely corrupt.
"Every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time!"
"Every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood." Genesis 6:5, 8:21
Now, corruption can only propagate corruption.
When evil fills the heart, evil effects will soon appear.
From tainted sources, tainted waters flow.
The root proclaims the qualities of its fruit.
When poison permeates the veins, the whole body sickens.
The parent reproduces his own likeness.
Hence every child is born in sin.
No cradle holds an innocent one!
Each offspring of the human family comes into the world . . .
dead towards God,
corrupt in heart,
prone to iniquity,
void of all righteousness,
a willing slave of his father, Satan,
blinded in intellect,
a pilgrim towards a diabolical land,
a vessel fitted for destruction!
His heart has many tenants, but God is no longer there.
The palace once so fair, is now overrun with weeds. Like Babylon in ruins, wild beasts of the wilderness roam there, and the houses are full of doleful creatures. Isaiah 13:21, 22
May this darksome picture scare you from delusion's dream!
Reader, surely such is your birth state!
Has your soul realized the dreadful truth?
Has the life giving Spirit quickened you with regenerating might?
Are you a new creation in Christ Jesus?
If so, then surely you will praise God for His marvelous mercy and grace in saving you.
"He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness,
and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins!" Colossians 1:13, 14~ ~ ~ ~
No man can do me a truer kindness, than to ____ ___ __.
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
Ephesians 6:18, " . . . always keep on praying for all the Lord's people!"
Intercessory prayer is a vital and powerful spiritual practice. It is an essential part of the Christian life, modeled throughout Scripture as an act of love and compassion towards others, and obedience to God.
This selfless act of praying for other believers, reflects the compassionate heart of Christ, who constantly intercedes for His redeemed people. This sacred duty of intercessory prayer is a tangible way for believers to demonstrate Christ-like love, and to bear one another's burdens.
Intercession is perhaps the greatest way we can help other Christians. Let us never be slack in it.
Earnest intercession will be sure to bring love with it. I do not believe you can hate a man for whom you habitually pray. If you dislike any fellow Christian, pray for him doubly, not only for his sake, but for your own, that you may be cured of all unkind feelings.
Love is the cement on which the living stones of the church should be laid, if they are to be united together. I ascribe lack of brotherly love, to the decline of intercessory prayer. Pray for one another earnestly, habitually and fervently—and you will knit your hearts together in love.
Dear brethren, when you pray for one another, not only will your sympathy and love grow, but you will have kinder judgments concerning one another. Prayer is a wondrous blender of hearts, and a mighty creator of love.
I urge you, my brethren, if there is any member of this church who has treated you unkindly—then revenge yourself upon him by praying for him more constantly and more earnestly.
Intercessory prayer is one of the holiest, and most heavenly exercises in which a devout man can possibly be occupied.
Oh, let us be done with murmurings and complainings, criticisms and fault-finding, and take the whole of it up to the mercy-seat. If half the breath that is vainly spent in censorious complaints were turned into intercession, there would be much more holiness in the church!
For myself personally, I say that no man can do me a truer kindness, than to pray for me.
"As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you!" 1 Samuel 12:23~ ~ ~ ~
I am afraid that he is a hopeless case!
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
1 Timothy 1:15, "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst!"
I thank God that most of the people in this church are actively engaged in soul-winning. Brethren, when you go out to evangelize this afternoon, launch into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. Let not this day pass over your heads, until you have lovingly sought to introduce to the Savior, someone who has been a stranger to Him. Do not allow any thoughts about the character of the person you are brought in contact with, to dampen your ardor.
Do you say of some especially vile sinner, "I am afraid that he is a hopeless case!" My dear brother, look unto the rock from whence you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit from whence you were dug!
Where is that sinner? I will tell you. He is exactly where the whole human race is by nature.
What kind of a sinner is he? If you turn to Romans 3, you will see the photograph of the man you are intended to evangelize,
"There is none righteous—no, not one!
There is none that understands,
there is none that seeks after God.
They are all gone out of the way,
they are together become unprofitable.
There is none that does good—no, not one!"
That poor sinner is just where all other sinners are. He is without any goodness; the imagination of the thoughts of his heart are evil, only evil, and that continually! There is nothing in the individual that you are sent to this afternoon that is at all unusual. He is just in the same fallen state where our father Adam left him. He was born in the same corruption, and there is the same evil in his heart—no more, no less. And therefore you must go to him with this upon your mind.
Recollect, too, that the lost sinner is where you once were. You look down and see him in a horrible pit; it looks a long way down, and the pit is full of mud and mire and filth; he is not deeper down than you once were.
At least the sinner who is further gone than I was, must be an extraordinary one. Though not in outward actions, yet in my inward soul I was as far from God as a man could be, who is not actually in Hell! And yet His grace has saved me. Since the Lord saved me, I never despair of anyone's salvation!
I think there are some of you who in past times, were perhaps given to horrible vices and sins—and yet the Lord saved you. I am sure when you go out to talk to sinners that are now what you once were, you may very well feel: "The Lord who saved me, can save them. The gospel that came with power to my soul, can come with power to their souls; and therefore I will go to them remembering the hole of the pit from whence I was dug, and feel encouraged concerning them."
Remember again, that that poor sinner whose soul you are going to seek this afternoon—is where the best and brightest of the saints once were. Peter was there, Paul was there—they were all under the same condemnation. By nature they were all heirs of wrath, such as those sinners are, who will shortly talk to. In all the glorious company of the apostles, the noble army of the martyrs, and the goodly fellowship of the prophets—there was never one who was not born in sin, and at enmity with God. All alike needed the omnipotent Christ to put forth all its strength, or else none of them could have ever been saved!
Recollect that that sinner you are going to speak with this afternoon, perhaps a drunkard in the street—is today, where those that are in Heaven once were! Their robes are pure white, for they washed them in the blood of the Lamb. They are now without fault, but they were once under condemnation. There is nothing to prevent the Lord from taking the drunkard, the blasphemer, the adulterer, yes, and the murderer—and washing such in the fountain that is open for sin and impurity, and robing them in the immaculate garment of Christ's perfect righteousness, and taking their place among the heavenly host, at the right hand of the eternal throne!
So be encouraged. And if you ever despair of any—then look to the rock from whence you were hewn, and the hole of the pit from whence you were dug.
Of all the saints that ever were saved, there was nothing in their human nature, physical or mental, that aided their salvation—absolutely nothing. Some of them were more moral than others, but still their whole head was sick, and their whole heart was faint. They were all lost, utterly lost, utterly undone—hastening down the broad way that leads to eternal destruction! It was the work of the Holy Spirit that saved them in every case, and of the Spirit alone!
On the other hand, in no soul has there ever been found any atrocious evil which has been able to defeat the Spirit of God when He has put forth His omnipotence! It is impossible to conceive of anything or anyone, that can resist the Spirit of God when He operates on the heart with purpose and with power. His ordinary ministrations are always resisted, and effectually too. But when He puts forth His might to quicken the dead sinner, in that regenerating operation He works omnipotently, and none are able to stand against Him.
In the case of every soul that was ever saved, God's motive was to magnify His sovereign grace. He saved the man, not because he deserved it, not because it would be any advantage to God to save him—but simply because He delights in mercy, and He has put it on record, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion!"
In what seems to be a hopeless case to us—there is the same omnipotence of divine grace which the Spirit can put forth to effectually save him. And when the man is deeply sunk in sin, it will glorify the mercy of God all the more, to save such a one that him. Therefore, I would rather expect that that particularly vile man be saved, than a more moral man. I would go with confidence to the chief of sinners, preach to him the Savior, Christ the Lord, and bid him look to Him—and I would hope that God would bless that word to him, even though he had become so soaked in sin and so vile in corruption!~ ~ ~ ~
False religion
(Horatius Bonar, "False Religion and Its Doom")
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
"I will lay your corpses in front of your idols, and scatter your bones around your altars!" Ezekiel 6:5
There is such a thing as false religion.
It may be earnest and zealous, and yet false.
No amount of sincerity or zeal will make that true, which is in itself false.
False religion is the worship of a false god, or the false worship of the true God.
We worship the true God untruly, when we give Him only half a heart, half a soul.
Do not think that the utterance of some true words, or the expression of a little sentimental devotion, is the true worship of the true God.
False religion is useless.
It profits nothing and nobody—either here or hereafter.
It is not acceptable to God.
It will not be counted a substitute for genuine piety.
It does not satisfy the conscience.
It does not make the man happy.
It does not fill the heart.
It does not remove burdens.
It will not stand the fire.
It is but wood, and hay, and stubble.
The judgment will sweep it all away.
It is useless both for time and eternity—both for earth and Heaven.
It is irksome and unprofitable, only cheating the poor worshiper into the belief that he has felt or performed something good and worthy.
God abhors false religion.
It has not one feature that is pleasing to Him.
It is merely external.
It is untrue.
It is against His Word.
It is dishonoring to Him.
It is self-exalting.
It is pure mockery.
It is rottenness and death.
It is a mouthful of words—a handful of dust and ashes.
Therefore God abhors it!
"I will lay your corpses in front of your idols, and scatter your bones around your altars!" Ezekiel 6:5~ ~ ~ ~
Why should I give you this?
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
Proverbs 15:29, "The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayers of the righteous."
Fathers, you love to hear the requests of your little children.
You know very well that your little girl needs a new dress for school, and you are well aware that your little boy needs school books. There is no necessity whatever, that Mary should inform you about her clothes, or that Johnny should tell you about his books; for you know what they have need of, long before they ask you.
But you like them to feel their needs, and to recognize that they are supplied by their father. Therefore, you like to hear them express their needs and desires to you. Sometimes you will stop a bit and say, "Why should I give you this?"
You set them a-pleading, because you like to hear their little prattling voices, and to have them put their little arms around your neck, and overcome you with kisses. You let them think that they master you with their pretty reasonings and fond embraces. It is pleasant to you, as well as to them.
In the same way, God loves to have His redeemed children entreat Him!
The Scriptures consistently affirm that God welcomes, listens to, delights in, and values the prayers of His redeemed children. He encourages them to approach Him . . .
in faith,
in love,
in humility,
in sincerity.
"The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.
He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him.
He also hears their cry and saves them!" Psalm 145:18-19
"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy, and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:16~ ~ ~ ~
The nest was destroyed, and the poor bird lay bleeding and exposed!
By James Smith
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
Job 29:18, "I thought: Surely I shall die in my nest!"
Job's nest was very comfortable, and appeared to be very secure. It was on high, and not to be easily reached. He knew that death could reach it, but he thought that nothing else would disturb it.
His conduct was consistent,
his conscience was quiet,
God was his Father, and
providence was his friend.
"I thought: Surely I shall die in my nest!"
But alas! Suddenly a 'storm' arose, the nest was destroyed, and the poor bird lay bleeding and exposed!
No earthly nest is out of danger! Temporal comforts are only lent to us. The higher the tree in which we build, the more exposed we are to the whirlwind and the storm!
Here on earth, we have no continuing city. In one moment, our fine nest may be devastated! Let us therefore endeavor to leave our matters fully with the Lord, and learn to be content with His appointments.
We must die! But when, and where, and how—should be left with the Lord.
Five minutes after death, it will matter very little whether we died on a bed of down, in a luxurious mansion, and surrounded by kind friends—OR as a poor diseased beggar, dying alone in squalor!
Present comforts may all leave us, and our soft nest may be scattered to the winds—but nothing can disturb our salvation and future glory!
"These all died in faith, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth!" Hebrews 11:13
"They were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a heavenly city for them!" Hebrews 11:16~ ~ ~ ~
My Father!
By James Smith
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
"My Father!" Jeremiah 3:4
This is a child's cry!
It is full of meaning.
It is full of love.
It is full of comfort.
It is a title which the Lord loves to hear us use!
Lord, give us the Spirit of adoption this morning, and let us see and feel, that we are Your children!
Believer!
To whom will you repair in trouble?
To whom will you look in difficulty?
To whom will you cry in danger?
From whom will you ask when in need?
Surely I hear you say, "My Father!"
Who speaks to you in the Bible?
Who tries you by His providence?
Who chastens you with His rod?
Who purifies and cleanses you?
Who humbles and reproves you?
Again you will say, "My Father!"
Who supports the world?
Who controls the nations?
Who chains up Satan?
Who comforts the believer?
Who pardons the backslider?
Again you reply, "My Father!"
Then I exhort you to . . .
trust your Father's Word,
abide in your Father's house,
expect from your Father's hand,
and say in every trial:
"I will arise and go to my Father!"~ ~ ~ ~
Everyone had a home, but Him!
By James Smith, "Daily Bible Readings for the Lord's Household"
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
Matthew 8:20, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has no place to lay His head."
What an astonishing fact!
Here is the Creator of all things, without a home.
Here is the Ruler of the universe, without a habitation.
Here is the eternal, immortal King, more destitute than the birds of the air, or the beasts of the forest.
"Then each one went to his own home, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives." John 7:53-8:1
Everyone had a home, but Him!
What brought Him into these circumstances? LOVE.
Love for whom? Love for sinners, the vilest, the basest of mankind.
Why did He stoop so low? He became poor, that we might become rich.
He was without a poor cottage on earth, that we might possess a splendid mansion in Heaven.
He was destitute in time, that we might possess a glorious portion in eternity.
O Jesus, how astonishing is Your love!
O my soul, admire, adore, and praise—the wondrous love of your beloved Lord.
"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich—yet for your sakes He became poor; so that you through His poverty might become rich." 2 Corinthians 8:9~ ~ ~ ~
Though you are as black as night, and as hideous as Hell!
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
1 John 1:7, "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin."
Oh that blessed word all. It includes:
willful sins and unintentional sins,
sins against gospel light,
sins against the love of God,
sins wantonly perpetrated,
sins against man and against God,
sins of body and of soul,
sins of thought and word and deed,
sins of every rank and character,
sins as immense as the sea
—all, all are removed, no matter how many, or how vile they are!
What comfort there is here for every believer! However heinous your sins may be, there is a sin-offering which cleanses away every sin. However you may have defiled yourselves, though you are as black as night, and as hideous as Hell—yet there is power in the sin-atoning blood of the incarnate God to make you as white as newly-fallen snow!
What a joy it is to think, not only has Christ put away my sin; but now for me, He is a sweet savor to God, and I am . . .
for His sake accepted;
for His sake beloved;
for His sake delighted in;
for His sake precious unto God.
The immaculate Christ has died, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.
Washed once in the fountain opened for sin and for impurity—there shall remain upon you no trace of guilt!
"The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin."
"He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness, and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves—in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:13-14
"Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him." Romans 4:7-8~ ~ ~ ~
The progress of sin in a man
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
James 1:14-15,
"Each one is tempted when,
by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin;
and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death!"
Jeremy Taylor very clearly described the progress of sin in a man:First sin startles him,
then it becomes pleasing,
then it becomes easy,
then it becomes delightful,
then it becomes frequent,
then it becomes habitual,
then it becomes a way of life.Then the man is impenitent,
then the man feels no guilt,
then he becomes obstinate,
and then he is damned!
Friends, if you don't want to come to this, remember the rule I give you this day: Resolve at once to break off every known sin, however small!
"Lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin!" Hebrews 3:13~ ~ ~ ~
An outlet and an inlet
Thomas Brooks, "The Crown and Glory of Christianity, or, HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness", 1662
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
1 Corinthians 15:54, "Death has been swallowed up in victory!"
DEATH is an outlet and an inlet to a holy man.
Death is an eternal outlet . . .
to all his sins,
to all his sorrows,
to all his shame,
to all his sufferings,
to all his afflictions,
to all his temptations,
to all his oppressions,
to all his confusions,
and to all his vexations.
Death is an eternal inlet into . . .
the clear, full, and constant enjoyment of God,
the sweetest pleasures,
the purest joys,
the highest delights,
the strongest comforts,
and the most satisfying contentments.
Death is the funeral of all a holy man's sins and miseries—and the perfection of all his joys, graces, and spiritual excellencies.
Death is not the death of the man—but the death of his sin.
Death is a Christian's discharge from all trouble and misery.
Death came in by sin—and sin goes out by death.
Death cures all diseases:
the aching head, and the unbelieving heart;
the diseased body, and the defiled soul.
Death will cure the holy man of all natural and spiritual afflictions.
Death is God's gentle usher to conduct us to Heaven!
Death to a holy man, is nothing but the changing of . . .
his grace, into glory;
his faith, into sight;
his hope, into fruition;
and his love, into eternal rapture!
Oh, who would not go through death . . .
to Heaven,
to eternal life,
to immortality and glory!
Death to a Christian, is . . .
a welcome guest,
a happy friend,
a joyful messenger!
"For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21
"I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far." Philippians 1:23~ ~ ~ ~
Shall we fondle the adder, or press the deadly cobra to our bosom?
Charles Spurgeon, "Slaughtering Sin!"
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
What has sin done in this world? Look down the scroll of history and you will see that sin is man's worst enemy.
Sin's hot breath blasted Eden, withered all its bowers of bliss, and caused the earth to become barren, so that without sweaty labor, it will not yield bread for our sustenance!
Mark the innumerable graves which cover every plain. Who slew all these? By what gate did death come into the world? Sin was the porter that opened the door to death.
Hearken to the shouts of war which in every age of the world's history, have created a horrible blare of groans of dying men, and shrieks of dying women. It was sin that first dipped the war-flag in blood, and made the air pestilent with carnage.
Sin set up yonder despotic throne that has crushed down the multitude and made the lives of many bitter with hard bondage. Sin laid its dark foundations, and cemented it with blood.
Whence came war with its carnage, and tyranny with its sufferings? Whence, indeed, but from the sins and lusts of men.
All over the world, sin's hand has sown its poisonous hemlock in every furrow, and thistles on every ridge.
The trail of this serpent, with its horrid slime, has obliterated the footsteps of joy.
See the garden of Adam and Eve. Sin has turned this Paradise into a desert and a bone-yard.
Look down into the ghastly gloom of Hell, that abhorred region, where the finally impenitent dwell who died with unforgiven sins upon their souls. Can you bear to hear their groans and moans of anguish? We will not attempt to describe the sufferings of those eternally banished from all hope and peace.
Sin has dug Hell's pit, and cast men into it! Sin provides the fuel for the terrible flames of Hell.
Sin gives to the worm that never dies, the tooth which never blunts.
Sin is the mother of Hell!
Sin is a monster! Its scales are bright with many colors, and its eye gleams with fascination, but its fangs are deadly!
O sin, it is not fit that any heir of Heaven, redeemed from Hell, should make friends with you. Shall we fondle the adder, or press the deadly cobra to our bosom? If it had not been for the grace of God, our sins would have shut us up in Hell already; and even now, they seek to drag us there. Therefore, let us take these enemies of our souls and slay them through the grace of God. Whether it is pride, or sloth, or covetousness, or worldliness, or lust, or any other form of evil—let not one escape!
It is not fit that souls redeemed by the blood of Jesus, loved with His everlasting love, and made recipients of His endless favor, should harbor those black and foul traitors—the sins of the flesh and of the mind!
By the sin-atoning sacrifice of Jesus, you are under bonds to hate evil. Your sins necessitated the griefs of Christ—and will you indulge them? For your transgressions, your Savior bore the wrath of God—and will you return to them? This would be barbarous ingratitude—can you be guilty of it? Can you gaze upon the bleeding wounds of Jesus, and then wound him afresh with sin? There is no more sanctifying spectacle in the world, than the sight of the bloody sin-atoning sacrifice of Jesus.
Heaven's eternal Darling bleeds and suffers for our transgressions, hence our transgressions must die too. The cross crucifies sin. The tomb of Jesus, is the sepulcher of our iniquities. Sin should not be pampered, but abhorred!
"So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires." Colossians 3:5 (nlt)~ ~ ~ ~
Sin always hunts in packs!
Charles Spurgeon, "Slaughtering Sin!"
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
One sin ruined our whole race. One fruit plucked from the forbidden tree, hurled mankind from his pristine glory. The effect of that one sin, has gone on rankling in our blood through six thousand years, and will go on when years cease to be counted, destroying men throughout an eternity of woe—if it is not first forgiven and purged from them. The results of this one original sin are dreadful to think about.
See what harm sin causes. One sin has often ruined a whole church. Achan committed only one sin, and caused the whole nation of Israel to be defeated.
There are poisons so potent, that one drop will envenom the whole body.
One leak in a ship, may be sufficient to sink it to the bottom.
One lone rock, may break the staunchest timbers of a gallant war-ship.
We must realize that one sin never comes alone. Sin always hunts in packs! If you see one of these wolves—then you may be certain that a countless company will follow at its heels.
For instance, note Adam's sin in the Garden of Eden, in taking a forbidden fruit. What was the essence of that one sin? It would not be difficult to maintain the thesis that Adam's sin was pride, or that it was discontent, or that it was lust, or unbelief, or indeed almost any other sin you would like to name. It was a many-sided transgression. That demon's name was Legion, "for they were many." Sin's whole brood was hatched out of one egg! This original sin, had all other sins in its loins.
We must never think of indulging one sin, for it will bring in many others more wicked than itself. He who sports with one sin, will soon come to play with more, and go from bad to worse.
A thief who cannot get in at the front door because he finds it locked, tries the back door, and then the windows, and then he finds a window so small, that it was not fastened because no full-grown man could enter by it. Hence he puts a little child through it, and that is quite enough, for the little one can unlock the door and let in as many thieves as he will!
In the same way, one sin allowed to run riot in the soul, will prepare the heart for such vile transgressions which he could never have dreamed of.
There are no "little sins". They appear small in their infancy, but they will be giants when they come to their full growth.
Men do not become abominable sinners all at once, but one sin opens the way for many worse sins. One sin nursed, grows into crime!
Jesus never overlooked any one of our sins, but for every sin He wept, and groaned, and bled, and died. Our sins were His murderers—and shall we indulge them? Shall we harbor those who spit in His dear face, and pierced His blessed side? There is no argument so powerful for the Christian to mortify his sins, as the astonishing love of Christ for him.
Beloved, will you grieve the Lord who bought you? Will you distress Him whose heart bled for you? By all the charms of His matchless beauty, and the flames of His quenchless love, I charge you to be chaste to your soul's Bridegroom, and drive out the vile rivals which would steal your hearts and defile you. Let Calvary be the gallows of all your sins!~ ~ ~ ~
Pithy gems from John Calvin!
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
~ ~ ~ ~
Man's heart, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols!
~ ~ ~ ~
When the Bible speaks, God speaks!
~ ~ ~ ~
Nothing, including human suffering, happens by chance.
~ ~ ~ ~
No one will calmly and quietly submit to bear the cross, except those who have learned to seek their happiness beyond this world!
~ ~ ~ ~
Without the fear of God, men do not even observe justice among themselves!
~ ~ ~ ~
The human heart has so many crannies where vanity hides, so many holes where falsehood works, and is so decked out with deceiving hypocrisy, that it often dupes itself!
~ ~ ~ ~
The secret things of God are not to be scrutinized.
Those things which He has revealed are not to be overlooked."The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law." Deuteronomy 29:29
~ ~ ~ ~
When God wants to judge a nation, He gives them wicked rulers!
~ ~ ~ ~
God preordained, for His own glory and the display of His attributes of mercy and justice, a part of the human race, without any merit of their own, to eternal salvation. And the other part, in just punishment of their sin, He has preordained to eternal damnation.
~ ~ ~ ~
I have given up all for Christ, and what have I found?
I have more than all in Christ!~ ~ ~ ~
Little sins warrant only a little Hell
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
"He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree" 1 Peter 2:24
If the sacrifice provided by God for human sin must be none other than the Son of God Himself—then sin is a gigantic evil, and the punishment of sin is stupendous also!
In the same way, the moment we begin to mitigate our thought of Hell's terrors, we also lower our idea of sin's evil, and with it we also decrease our estimate of the Savior and His sin-atoning sacrifice.
Little sins warrant only a little Hell. Hence only a little atonement is needed to save from this little Hell.
But grant that a divine Savior, and His infinite sacrifice is needed to atone for sin—then sin must be exceedingly heinous to the pure and holy God, and the eternity of future punishment is justified.
"He was delivered over to death for our sins" Romans 4:25
"God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us" 2 Corinthians 5:21
"He was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace, was upon Him,
and by His wounds we are healed." Isaiah 53:5~ ~ ~ ~
We denounce Catholicism because . . .
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
We abominate that most degrading and sickening of all idolatries, in which a priest makes a god out of flour and water, and bakes this god in an oven. Then the devout Catholic bows down before it, and then swallows it—thus sending his god into his belly! Is not this the most despicable form of superstition that ever debased the intellect of man. The fetish worship of the savage is not more groveling! O that Christians would turn away from such nonsensical idolatry, and execrate everything associated with it!
Here are several additional Spurgeon gems on Roman Catholicism:
"We denounce Catholicism because . . .
her errors are so glaring,
her idolatry is so flagrant, and
her influence is so ruinous to men's souls."
"Popery is one of the vilest forms of idolatry that ever came from the polluted heart of man!"
"Popery is as much the masterpiece of Satan, as the gospel is the masterpiece of God."
"Romanism is a gigantic system of human inventions, opposed to the simplicity of the gospel of Christ."
"I would sooner be a devil than be a priest! Of all pretensions on earth, there is none so detestable as the pretense of being able to bestow grace upon men, and of standing between their souls and God."~ ~ ~ ~
The golden thread of grace!
By Charles Spurgeon, "Salvation All of Grace"
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
Ephesians 2:8, "By grace are you saved."
Besides His grace, God manifests His other divine attributes in the salvation of every sinner:
The wisdom of God devised the plan of salvation.
The power of God executes in us the work of salvation.
The immutability of God preserves and carries on salvation.
In fact, all the attributes of God are magnified in the salvation of a sinner. But at the same time the text is most accurate, since grace is the fountain-head of salvation, and is most conspicuous throughout every aspect of it.
Grace is to be seen in our election, for "there is a remnant according to the election of grace, and if by grace then it is no more of works."
Grace is manifestly revealed in our redemption. It is utterly inconceivable that any soul could have deserved to be redeemed with the precious sin-atoning blood of Christ. The mere thought is abhorrent to every holy mind.
Our effectual calling is also of grace, for "He has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before the world began."
By grace also, we are justified. Over and over again, the apostle insists upon this grand and fundamental truth. We are not justified before God by our works in any measure, but by faith alone.
We see the golden thread of grace running through the whole of the Christian's history, from his election before all worlds, to his admission into Heaven's glory.
There is no point in the history of a saved soul, upon which you can put your finger and say, "In this instance, he is saved by his own deservings." Every single blessing which we receive from God, comes to us by the channel of free grace alone.
Boasting is excluded, because deservings are excluded. Merit is an unknown word in the Christian vocabulary!
"By grace are you saved." This clear and unqualified statement sweeps away all supposition of any deserving on our part, or any thought of our meriting salvation. We stand before God as condemned criminals, when we come to Him for mercy. We are already lost, "already condemned," and our only course is to cast ourselves upon the sovereign mercy of God.
"By grace are you saved." This is true of every saint on earth, and every saint in Heaven. It is altogether true, and without a single exception. No man is saved, except as the result of the free grace and unbought mercy of God. We are entirely and altogether saved, because the Lord "will have mercy on whom He will have mercy," and He wills to bestow His favor on unworthy men.
Though I am as repulsive as the devil with sin, and as vile as the devil with innate depravity—yet, if the Lord looked upon me in mercy, then He would forgive my every sin, and change my nature, and make me as bright a seraph as Gabriel before His throne!
"He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy." Titus 3:5
"By the grace of God, I am what I am!" 1 Corinthians 15:10~ ~ ~ ~
The best news that unbelievers could ever hear!
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
Job 34:21-22,
"His eyes are on the ways of men; He sees their every step.
There is no deep shadow, no utter darkness, where evildoers can hide."
It would be the best news that unbelievers could ever hear, if it were proven that God was dead! They would rejoice above all things, at the thought that there was no God . . .
who is present everywhere,
who is all-powerful,
who knows their every thought,
who hears their every word,
who sees their every action,
who is absolutely holy,
who would judge them with unerring justice,
who would punish them in eternal Hell.
Here are some choice Spurgeon quotes on the wickedness of unbelief:
"Atheism is a strange thing. Even the devils never fell into that vice, for 'the devils believe, and tremble.'"
"An atheist is a man who marches through this beautiful temple of nature and says, 'There is no architect!'"
"To deny the existence of God, is a disease of the heart, rather than of the head."
"Atheists are often very angry with someone who does not exist."
"There are no infidels anywhere, but on earth.
There are none in Heaven, and there are none in Hell."
"A fool may now say in his heart, 'There is no God!' but he will change his mind in eternity."
"When men cease to believe in God, they do not believe in nothing—they believe in anything."
"The existence of God is so evident, that those who refuse to see it, must be willfully blind."
"Atheism is a rebellion, not against the God who doesn't exist, but against the God they know does exist."
"The atheist's creed is like a spider's web—spun out of himself, and easily swept away by truth."
"There is no land where the thought of God does not cast its shadow—except in the darkness of a rebellious heart."
"The doom of the atheist is not non-existence; it is to exist forever without hope."
"Hell is truth believed too late."
"Atheism digs its own grave, with spades of pride and shovels of sin."
"The godless man laughs at judgment now, but he will weep and wail when it falls upon him like a thunderbolt!"
"For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." Ecclesiastes 12:14
"Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give our account." Hebrews 4:13~ ~ ~ ~
Why do our hearts grow so cold?
Octavius Winslow, "Love at the Foot of the Cross"
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
Revelation 2:4, "You have forsaken your first love."
Beloved, why do our hearts grow so cold in their affections towards Jesus?
The influence of the world will chill it.
The encroachments of temporal engagements, upon the study of God's Word and the devout transactions of the prayer-closet, will chill it.
The society of cold and worldly professors will chill it.
Unfitting levity of spirit will chill it.
Trifling with sin will chill it.
Carnal pursuits will chill it.
An idolatrous love of the creature will chill it.
Fretting against the Lord, murmuring at His dealings, rebellion against His authority and chastenings—will chill it.
Alas! How much there is to produce deep and sad declension in the love of our hearts to the Lord. How easily its warm flowing current, chills and congeals.
Oh that our hearts should so soon grow cold in their affections towards Him—whose love to us is ever so warm, that He ransomed us from Hell with His own heart's blood!
Let shame and confusion of face cover us. Let deep humiliation and tender holy contrition, prostrate us beneath the cross—that we should for one moment gaze coldly upon so divine and gracious, so lovely and precious a Redeemer.
"Remember the height from which you have fallen.
Repent and do the things you did at first.
If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place!"
Revelation 2:5~ ~ ~ ~
The malady and the remedy
by Charles Spurgeon, "A Simple Remedy"
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
"He was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace, was upon Him,
and by His wounds we are healed!" Isaiah 53:5
Nothing ever delivers a man from the power of sin, like a sight of his suffering Savior.Then our heart melts with love to Him.
Then hatred of sin takes possession of our soul.
Then the reigning power of evil is destroyed.
Only Christ's wounds can heal us of the love of sin.
Faith in the Crucified One, has healed our eyes!
Once we were blind, for when we saw Him, there was no beauty in Him that we should desire Him.
But now, since we have seen His wounds, we see every beauty unite in His adorable person.
If we have put our trust in the sin-atoning sufferings of Jesus—then we know Him to be the most precious of beings. We see Him to be the chief among ten thousand, and the altogether lovely One!
The wounds of Immanuel have also healed our hearts!
We once hid, as it were, our faces from Him. We despised everything about Him.
But now our hearts delight in Him, and we turn our faces towards Him as the flowers look to the sun. We only desire that we could see Him face to face.
His sufferings have also healed our feet—for they were ever prone to evil. "All we like sheep have gone astray; each of us have turned to his own way."
But a sight of His sin-atoning wounds has brought us back to Him. Charmed by His wondrous love for us, which caused Him to suffer in our stead—we now follow the Great Shepherd of our souls, and desire never again to wander from His commands.
From head to foot, His sin-atoning wounds have healed our wounds of sin, and mollified them with His precious ointment. He forgives all our iniquities, He heals all our diseases.
He who once believingly beholds the mystery of Christ suffering for him, shakes off the viper of sin into the fire which consumed the great sacrifice! Wherever the blood of the atonement falls—sin's hand is palsied, its grasp is loosed, its scepter falls, and it vacates the throne of the heart. Then spirit of grace, and truth, and love, and righteousness occupies the royal seat.
"By His wounds, we are healed." This is a universal antidote for sin. There is no disease by which your soul can be afflicted, but an application of the bruises of your Lord, will remove the deadly virus from your soul.
Beloved, if you would be cured of any sin, however ingrained its infection may be—then fly to the wounds of Jesus. This is the only way to be rid of . . .
the palsy of fear,
the fever of lust,
the abscess of remorse,
or the leprosy of iniquity.
His wounds are the only remedy for our iniquities.~ ~ ~ ~
Hell itself is not more horrible than sin!
Charles Spurgeon, "A Simple Remedy"
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
"There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.
All have turned away, they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good, not even one!" Romans 3:10-12
Those who are now before the throne of God, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing—were once as defiled with sin as the most loathsome lepers are defiled with disease. Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, David, Elijah, Hezekiah, Daniel—all of these were once sick with the accursed malady of sin.
All the excellent of the earth among us now, who have been saved by sovereign grace—were once heirs of wrath even as others. They were as surely shaped in iniquity and conceived in sin, as the rest of mankind—all were sorely sick with sin.
We were so diseased, that nothing could have restored us but the precious sin-atoning blood of our dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
It is a dreadful fact that sin has infected the entire family of men. We are all sinful—sinful through and through, corrupt with evil passions and depraved desires. Our fathers were fallen men, and so are we, and so will our children be.
Oh mournful, miserable fact, that every man by nature lives as . . .
a rebel to his Maker and Sustainer,
a traitor to the truth,
an enemy of all that is pure and holy,
a Hell-bound slave of sin and Satan.
Sin has left man spiritually wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked!
Hell itself is not more horrible than sin! No ghastly and grim sight, can ever be so terrible to the spiritual eye, as the hideous and loathsome thing called sin.
No man ever desires the Savior, until he knows that he is a lost, ruined, and undone soul.
No man ever loves Christ, until he loathes himself.
"He was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities,
the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him,
and by His wounds we are healed!" Isaiah 53:5~ ~ ~ ~
The Good Ship of Self-righteousness
(Various authors. You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
1 Timothy 1:15, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners!"
By nature, people cling to their morality and religiousness for acceptance with God. Multitudes are sailing in the Good Ship of Self-righteousness, and they are expecting that they shall get to Heaven in her. But this ship never did carry a soul safely into the Fair Haven yet—and she never will.
Self-righteousness is as surely a road to Hell, as scandalous sin itself.
We may as certainly destroy ourselves by opposing the righteousness of Christ—as by transgressing the law of God. Self-righteousness is as much an insult to God, as blasphemy. God will never accept it, neither shall any soul enter Heaven by it.
There are many of these self-righteous Pharisees, who delight in themselves in thinking . . .
that they are good people,
that they are not great sinners,
that they are fine religious people,
that they partake of the sacraments,
that they say their prayers,
and that they read their Bibles.
Poor deluded souls! It is your badness, not your goodness—that draws Christ to you as a Savior.
You good, religious, self-righteous ones—your righteousness will be your eternal ruin!
But if the gospel comes to you in power, then you will realize that you are spiritually wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked—and that all of your righteous acts are nothing but filthy menstruous rags before the thrice holy God! Your first genuine prayer will be, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner!"
"I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance!" Luke 5:31-32
Heinous sins kill their thousands of souls, but self-righteousness kills its tens of thousands!
"Christ died for the ungodly.
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
When we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son"
Romans 5:6, 8, 10~ ~ ~ ~
Every Christian's Testimony
(Author unknown. You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
"By the grace of God, I am what I am!" 1 Corinthians 15:10
Simply stated, in myself I am nothing more than a sinner saved by the free grace of God. My name, date of birth, and life are not worthy of mention. I fell in Adam, was shaped in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. I came forth from the womb speaking lies and estranged from God. By nature I am a God-hating rebel, a child of wrath even as others.
However, God teaches me in His Word that before He formed me in my mother's womb, He knew me, loved me, and chose me to be His child. I have something better than a man-made theological degree. I have a priceless education of grace. I have been instructed by God in the ways of sovereign mercy, redeeming love, and omnipotent grace. I have been brought up in the School of Christ and illuminated by the Spirit of God. No man can have a better teacher than God, or receive a better spiritual education than the one that God has freely given me by His grace.
By God's grace and through painful experience, I have learned, not only about my Savior—but that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwells no good thing. My blessed Redeemer has taught me well, that all men by nature are totally depraved and deserving of Hell because of their sin—I myself included. By the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, God has convinced me of the utter insufficiency of my own righteousness to justify me, and the all-sufficiency of the righteousness of Christ. By the eyes of God-given faith, I now see that Christ is all: all in salvation, all in the Scriptures, all in life, all in death, all in time, and all in eternity!
"Christ is all!" Colossians 3:11~ ~ ~ ~
Puritan gems on the blessings of affliction
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
Richard Baxter:
"Afflictions teach us to value the blessings of God which in prosperity we are apt to forget."
"God's afflictions are not to destroy us, but to wean us from the world and bring us closer to Christ."
"It is folly to doubt God's goodness because of His chastening rod, for the rod is in the hand of infinite love."
Thomas Brooks:
"Afflictions are but God's furnace to refine His gold."
"Christ's school of affliction, is the best school in this world."
"God would not rub so hard, if it were not to fetch out the dirt that is ingrained in our natures."
"Afflictions are God's medicines to cure His people."
William Bridge:
"As the winter prepares the earth for the spring, so affliction prepares the soul for glory."
"The greatest afflictions are less than we deserve."
"God empties us of worldly comfort to fill us with heavenly joy."
Jeremiah Burroughs:
"God's people are like gold—they are purified by fire."
"God does not strike as an enemy to destroy, but as a father to correct."
John Flavel:
"Sanctified afflictions are better than unsanctified prosperity."
"The furnace of affliction is where God polishes His jewels."
William Gurnall:
"God's wounds cure—sin's kisses kill."
John Owen:
"Afflictions quicken our desires for eternal things."
"Afflictions are blessings to the soul, though they seem bitter to the flesh."
Samuel Rutherford:
"Your afflictions are your Father's love-tokens."
"When I am in the cellar of affliction I look for the Lord's choicest wines."
Richard Sibbes:
"God breaks the cistern to drive us to the fountain."
"The fire does not destroy the gold, but only refines it."
"God's hammer breaks us in pieces, that He may fashion us into His own likeness."
"God squeezes the sins out of His saints by affliction."
"It is better to go limping to Heaven, than leaping to Hell."
Thomas Watson:
"A sick bed often teaches more than a sermon."
"God's rod is a pencil to draw Christ's image more distinctly upon us."
The Puritans consistently viewed affliction as a tool in our Father's loving hands for instructing, humbling, sanctifying, refining, drawing believers closer to Him, increasing their graces, shaping them into Christ-likeness, and preparing them for glory!
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Spurgeon's Thanksgiving Gems
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
"Our thanksgiving is measured by the depth of our awareness of what we've been delivered from, and of the glorious blessings which we shall soon partake of."
"Let us daily give thanks for the wonders of God's astounding love in saving us from sin and damnation."
"The best way to show our thankfulness to God for saving us is to live a life wholly devoted to Him."
"We are debtors to God's saving grace, and the very least we can do is to give Him endless thanks."
"Those who have tasted the sweetness of pardon cannot but rejoice and give thanks. Gratitude is the soul's natural response to God's saving grace."
"He who has been forgiven much—loves much and thanks much. True gratitude springs from a deep sense of what God has done for us in Christ."
"Oh, that we might always feel our utter dependence on God's grace, for then our unceasing thanksgiving will rise like sweet incense to God."
"The more we realize the depth of our sin, and the more we marvel at the height of God's mercy to us—the more thankfulness becomes the breath of our lives."
"Our thanksgiving should be as abundant as God's saving grace.
If He has saved us completely, let us thank Him endlessly."
"The greatest of all sins is ingratitude, and the greatest of all virtues is thanksgiving."
"When we are thankful, we are not only expressing our gratitude to God, but we are also expressing our dependence on God. We are saying, 'I am nothing and You are everything.'"
"Oh, what a debt of love and gratitude we owe to the Lord who has redeemed us from the pit of destruction! Let our lives be psalms of thanksgiving to Him."
~ ~ ~ ~
Puritan Thanksgiving Gems
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
Thomas Brooks:
"God's greatest mercies call for our greatest thanks.
His saving sinners calls for eternal praise.""The greatest blessing we can receive from God is salvation from sin and Hell. And therefore, the greatest reason we should give thanks to God is for His great salvation."
John Bunyan:
"He who is truly saved will spend his days singing praises to the God who redeemed his soul from damnation."
Stephen Charnock:
"What can a saved sinner do, but lift his voice in perpetual thanks for God's unmerited mercy?"
John Flavel:
"Eternal praise and thanksgiving befits those who have been saved from eternal damnation."
Jonathan Edwards:
"True thankfulness flows out of a redeemed heart, recognizing that it owes all to the free grace of God."
"The soul's deepest gratitude is reserved for the One who delivered us from sin and brought us into His redeemed family."
"Thanksgiving to God for our salvation is not only a duty, but the most natural expression of a heart transformed by grace."
William Gouge:
"Thanksgiving is the language of the redeemed. It is the voice of the soul, expressing gratitude to God for His redemption."
John Owen:
"Gratitude for deliverance from wrath, stirs up great love for the Deliverer."
"Our greatest joy is to rejoice in our salvation; and our most fervent thanksgiving is to God for His grace in saving sinners."
Richard Sibbes:
"Thanksgiving is the sweetest music that can be sung to God.
It is the most pleasing sacrifice that can be offered to Him."~ ~ ~ ~
Salvation!
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
"And they were shouting with a great roar: Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne, and from the Lamb!" Revelation 7:10
The sweetest song that Heaven ever proclaimed, the most blessed note that ever melted the soul, is salvation!
Saved FROM . . .
death and Hell;
the worm which never dies;
the fire which is never quenched;
the sulphurous flames of the bottomless pit;
the companionship of tormenting fiends and
all the foul wretches under which earth has groaned;
blaspheming God in unutterable woe;
an eternity of misery without end or hope!
Saved INTO . . .
Heaven;
the sight of Jesus as He is;
perfect holiness and happiness;
the blissful company of holy angels and glorified saints;
and all this during the countless ages of a blessed eternity!
What tongue of men or angels can describe the millionth part of what is contained in the word salvation?
"After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in Heaven shouting: Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God!" Revelation 19:1~ ~ ~ ~
If you feel your tongue itch to talk nonsense
(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)
"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable . . .
for teaching,
for reproof,
for correction,
and for training in righteousness,
that the man of God may be complete,
equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Take care never to impute the vain imaginings of your foolish heart to the Holy Spirit. I have seen the Spirit of God shamefully dishonored by people—I hope they were insane—who have said that they have had this and that revealed to them.
For years, there has not been a single week in which I have not been pestered with the revelations of hypocrites or maniacs. Semi-lunatics are very fond of coming with "messages from the Lord" to me. It may spare them some trouble if I tell them once and for all, that I will have none of their stupid messages. When my Lord and Master has any message for me, He knows where I am, and He will send it to me directly, and not by madmen.
Never think that events are revealed to you by God, or you may come to be like those idiots who dare impute their blatant follies to the Holy Spirit. If you feel your tongue itch to talk nonsense—then trace it to the devil, and not to the Spirit of God.
Whatever is to be revealed by the Spirit to any of us, is in the Word of God already. He adds nothing to the Bible, and never will.
Let people who have revelations of this, that, and the other—go to bed, and wake up in their senses. I only wish they would follow this advice, and no longer insult the Holy Spirit by laying their nonsense at His door.
"The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes." Psalm 19:7-8
"And now I commend you to God and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified." Acts 20:32