The following is from April of 2022...and I bring if back often on the day before the Lord's Day....but I want to add a sermon recommendation with it....a Charles Spurgeon sermon directed to Christians who are weary....for they have agonized for the lost souls all around them....for years and maybe even decades....and wonder if God even hears their prayer....or is Himself concerned. Spurgeon gave this sermon in 1889....after about thirty-eight years of preaching in London....through times when the Holy Spirit moved greatly through the city....and times such as when he preached this sermon....two years before going to be with his Lord....when in a similar time as today....a more palatable gospel was desired by the people....one that permitted them to go about their normal lives without any real cost or interference. Spurgeon's answer was from Psalm 94....and he repeated it many times in the sermon...."The Planter Of The Ear Must Hear!"
Compare if you will these words below from the prophet Jeremiah.....as he watched for years upon years his beloved nation collapse into total idolatry and rebellion against God who had planted and watered and blessed. Compare these word to our pulpits today who have the same collapse of a beloved nation before them....but their smile is ever present....not reflecting a joy in the Lord smile....not a faith through trying times smile....not a hope in the nearness of the coming of the Lord of Glory smile....but a happiness in the mistaken belief that God must be pleased with them....as they can continue to enjoy their God given entertainments.
My heart within me is broken
Because of the [false] prophets;
All my bones shake,
I am like a drunken man,
Because of the LORD,
And because of His holy words....23:9....NKJV
A Lord's Day Prayer
Lord if it by Thy will may this be the day that Thy Holy Spirit awakens our pulpits. May this day before see Thy servants....our shepherds.....toss and turn this night....trying to deal with what Thy Spirit is calling them to do. Lord take thy church back to the old paths from which Thy servant Jeremiah instructed us to go. We are besot upon Lord from every direction. We are drowning Lord in a sea of unbelief. We are confused Lord.....in chaos even....so much so that a false prophet has bewitched us....and we followed him.....and he changed us......and took our eyes off of Thee. Thy glory has departed Lord. We meet and offer praises but our attention span is determined by the plans that we had already made for the day....acceptable and honorable plans in themselves Lord....but not acceptable on the day that Thou has given us to renew our strength. Thus Lord Thy glory and Thy power has departed from us. Restore us Lord. Thou has set boundaries on the sea....where it may go no further.....set boundaries Lord on the deceptions of this world....that they no longer overwhelm us. Do this Lord for Thy name sake.....for Thy glory alone. Bring a new day upon us Lord.....where we are once again a peculiar people....where we once again look with great hope and expectation for Thy return. Do all this Lord to Thy glory....may every breath we take be to Thy glory....every plan we make....every thought....every act of repentance....every offering of praise! Bring others into Thy kingdom Lord....use us Lord....fill the banquet hall! May we never lose astonishment Lord on how Thou has had mercy upon us....never forget our past state....our deadness to Thy Word....our hopelessness....and thus always be in remembrance of Thy grace and mercy....and may we therefore never stop praising Thee. Even when our minds are enmeshed in difficult and complicated tasks of the day....may Thy voice be as clear as in total silence....and Thy presence as overpowering as when we first believed!
