Grace Audio Treasures

You sell them to be slaves of Satan! Charles Spurgeon: Parents! Your children need to be saved! Their salvation should be a subject of your incessant prayer. You must make earnest endeavors that your children would be converted to God. There must be pleading with, and praying for, the conversion of your children unto the Lord Jesus Christ.Parents! What have you done for the conversion of your children? Father, do you ever put your arms around your boy's neck and pray for him, and with him? Mother, do you ever talk to your little children about Christ and Him crucified? Under God's blessing, you may be a spiritual as well as a natural mother to that beloved child of yours! Richard Baxter:Parents! Your children have an everlasting inheritance of happiness to attain--and it is that which you must bring them up for. They have an endless misery to escape--and it is that which you must diligently teach them. If you don't teach them to know God, and how to serve Him, and be saved, and to escape the flames of Hell--y

One incessant fight!Henry Law The life of faith is one incessant fight. Beneath the cross a sword is drawn, of which the scabbard is cast far away. Until the victor's crown is won, unflinching combat must go on. Our foes are . . . many, mighty, wily, restless, malicious, diabolic. They meet us at each step. They lurk in every corner. They infest our public life. They enter our closed doors. They are outside us--around us--within us! Count, if you can, the hateful legions who compose Hell's hosts. They all rush at the soul. Survey the WORLD . . . its snares, its foul seductions, its enticing arts, its siren calls, its deceitful smiles, its envenomed sneers, its terrifying threats. Each in its turn assails us. And each, when foiled, renews the assault. Behold the HEART, and all its brood of lusts and raging passions. How often it betrays us! Yes, the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked!Believer go forth in faith and hope! You have a Captain, by whose side no battle can be lost; beneath w

"Therefore, come out from them and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don't touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you." 2 Corinthians 6:17As a Christian, I am to be separated from the sinful world around me. Separated in actual character and conduct, by the work of the Holy Spirit in my heart and life. I have come out from them, for my lot is no longer with them. I cannot walk in their paths. I cannot pursue their objects. I cannot partake of their pleasures. While they reject the gospel, my heart thankfully embraces it. While they live without Christ, it is my desire and delight to live for Him and with Him. While they are earthly in all their plans and objects, I am to seek the things which are above. There is my treasure, and there my heart must be also. Their opinions, and maxims, and plans are of no consequence to me. I cannot yield . . . to their judgments, nor to their examples, nor to their authority. I cannot find my pleasures in this wilderness world!I must not run out for the t

When grace subdues the heart, a wondrous change ensues! Earth knows no greater change--but words are too weak to picture it. Here is a feeble outline of the new creation: Light shines, where once night brooded. Satan's chains no more enslave. The prison bars are broken. Holy principles direct. Holy ends are sought. Holy means are used. Life is now life indeed, for the man lives for God. But is SIN therefore dead? Indeed it is wounded, but it retains power to sting. Sometimes it revives in fearful strength. Though crippled, it strives to conquer. It may seem for a season to regain its hold, and win brief victory. It may roll the new man in the mire. But it cannot keep him down. Sin's real dominion is gone. Its existence only lingers, until full escape from this world delivers wholly from its touch.Where is the saint who is not conscious that the foe still lives? Witness the secret prayers of the man of God: What bitter humblings! What smitings of the bosom! What sensitive laments! What writhing under

It was while C.T Studd was studying at Cambridge University in 1833, that he came across the following tract written by an anonymous atheist:"If I firmly believed, as millions say they do, that the knowledge and practice of religion in this life, influence destiny in the eternal world, then religion would mean everything to me. I would cast away all . . .  earthly enjoyments as dross,  earthly cares as follies,  and earthly thoughts and feelings as vanity. "I would esteem one soul gained for Heaven, worth a life of suffering. Earthly consequences would never stay my hand nor seal my lips. Earth--its joys and its griefs--would occupy no moment of my thoughts. I would strive to look upon eternity alone, and on the immortal souls around me--soon to be everlastingly happy or everlastingly miserable."I would speak to my fellow men in season and out of season, and as far as my influence reached, I would strive to save them from eternal doom."Yet, you Christians who profess to believe this truth, and who say that yo

Begone Unbelief Don Fortner Be gone my fears, for Christ is near,And for my soul He will appear:His work my Savior will perform,So let me smile at every storm.Though dark my way, Christ is my Guide,(Jehovah-jireh will provide!)Though cisterns break and creatures fail,His promised grace shall yet prevail.His mercy, love and grace I knowWill never, never let me go!The many Ebenezers pastAssure me that free grace will last.Preserved by grace, He watched my path,While I rebelled and courted death,And He will keep me through all strifeWith sins and falls to endless life!He Who taught me to trust His Name,Said "You shall not be put to shame."I'm saved, I'm saved by grace aloneIn Jesus Christ, God's darling Son!

There are many idolaters in the world, besides those who worship blocks of wood and stone. There are men who would scorn to be called idolaters, who, nevertheless, are not worshipers of the true God, but votaries of a deity of their own making. They have not made him with wood, or clay, or gold, or silver--but they have fashioned him out of their own conceptions. They believe in a god such as they think God ought to be; and according to the general rule and fashion now-a-days, the god whom men invent for themselves, is a being entirely devoid of justice.They say that the God of the Bible, who is the real, living, and true God--is vindictive, because he punishes all rebellion against His law; because, being at the head of all moral government, He will not allow His law to be trampled on with impunity, and will by no means spare the guilty. The God who executes vengeance upon sinners, is not the God for men of the modern school. They want an easier deity, a far more lenient governor, a soft God for themselves.

Have any of you been abroad in the fields during the past week? If so, you must have marked the waning year. The leaves are fading all around us, clothing the departing year with a wonderful beauty. As they fade away one by one, they preach to us, and say, "You, too, O men, will soon fall to earth and wither!" Have you heard the sermons of the falling leaves? You say to yourselves, "Winter will soon be here." You begin to store up your stocks of fuel to meet the coming cold. But do you not see those gray hairs upon your head--are they not wintry tokens too? Do you not note those trembling limbs, those loosened sinews, that furrowed brow? Do not these betoken that your winter is hastening on? Have you made no provision for eternity? Will you be driven away forever, where there shall be no hope? Have you laid up no stores of comfort for another world? O fools, and slow of heart--even the birds of the air rebuke you! It was but the other day I saw the swallows gathering, and away they flew across the sea to sunn

The expulsive power of a new affectionby John MacDuff"For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." Romans 8:14"I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules." Ezekiel 36:27God has made gracious provision to secure, on the part of His ransomed people, a holy walk and obedience; and that, not through their own strength, but through the strength and power of His indwelling Spirit. By that Spirit, we are not only renewed, but led. We are sweetly constrained to walk in harmony with the divine will as manifested in His Word, and the impulses of our regenerated nature. We have here, what is called the expulsive power of a new affection. This expulsive power of a new affection, is a plant which our Heavenly Father must plant. It is not indigenous to the natural soil of the human heart, which is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.The power of sin, becomes slowly weaker and weaker. The power of grace, slowly, it may be im

Jesus, the believer's treasureJonathan EdwardsThere is no treasure so satisfying as Christ, for He is the fountain of all happiness, and the source of eternal joy.The believer values Christ above all, for He is the chief good--and in Him, all desires are fully satisfied.Christ is the pearl of great price, for whom the believer gladly sells all to possess.The true saint delights to behold the beauty and glory of Christ, for He is altogether lovely.The true believer prizes Christ above the world, counting all things but loss for the excellence of knowing Him.The love of Christ fills the soul as the sweetest treasure, making all earthly pleasures seem as nothing.When Christ is our treasure, we rejoice in Him as our eternal inheritance--one that can never fade away.The believer's heart rests only in Christ, for He is the treasure that can never be exhausted.Jesus Christ is . . . the sum of all good things, the fountain of all beauty, and the source of all joy to the soul.There is an infinite excellence in Christ,

Luke 12:34, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."A person's desires manifest the genuine state of his heart.When I have heard of Christians attending sinful amusements as an occasional treat, I have seen at once what their hearts truly desired; they evidently loved worldly pleasures better than spiritual joys. Where either a man's pleasure or treasure is--there his heart is. Whatever gives you the most pleasure, is really your God.To be flattered is the greatest delight of many--their God is themselves."To make money is my greatest delight," says one. Then the golden calf is your God.Whatever is your greatest joy and treasure, that is your Heaven and your God. If you do not find the greatest pleasure in the things of God, then you do not know what the Christian life means, neither will you ever know the pleasures which are at God's right hand."Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds o

Your Father KnowsAnnie Johnson Flint, 1923God knows the need of my life,For shelter and clothing and food;In each trifling care of the day,The word of His promise is good.He knows my thought from afar,The wish that I never have told,And every unspoken desire,His wisdom grants or withholds.He knows the way that I take;Each step of that way He has planned;And, walking through sunshine or storm,I walk in the shade of His hand.In deserts untrodden and drear,Where foes in the darkness may hide,He leaves me never alone;He sends me light and a guide.God knows the need of my soul,The trial that calls for His grace,The weakness that leans on His strength,The fear that looks up to His face.He knows what sifting is best,To scatter the chaff from the wheat,And lay all my self-righteous pride,Low down in the dust at His feet.He knows me yet He can love,Can wait with love's patience divine,My stubborn and arrogant heart,Its will to His own to resign.He knows my frame is but dust;He knows how much it can bear;I rest in that

When I survey life's varied sceneAnne Steele, 1760When I survey life's varied scene,Amid the darkest hours,Sweet rays of comfort shine between,And thorns are mixed with flowers.Lord teach me to adore Your hand,From whence my comforts flow;And let me in this desert land,A glimpse of Heaven know.Is health and ease my happy share?O may I bless my God;Your kindness, let my songs declare,And spread Your praise abroad.While such delightful gifts as these,Are kindly dealt to me,Let all my hours of health and ease,Be devoted Lord to Thee.When present sufferings pain my heart,Or future terrors rise,And light and hope almost depart,From these dejected eyes.Your powerful Word supports my hope,Sweet cordial of the mind!And bears my fainting spirit up,And bids me wait resigned.And O, whatever of earthly bliss,Your sovereign hand denies,Accepted at Your throne of grace,Let this petition rise:"Give me a calm, a thankful heart,From every murmur free;The blessings of Your grace impart,And let me live to Thee.""Let the sweet h

'Tis not that I did choose TheeJosiah Conder, 1789–1855'Tis not that I did choose Thee,For Lord that could not be;This heart would still refuse Thee,Had You not chosen me.You from the sin that stained me,Have cleansed and set me free,Of old You have ordained me,That I should live to Thee.Twas sovereign mercy called me,And taught my opening mind;The world had else enthralled me,To heavenly glories blind.My heart owns none before Thee,For Your rich grace I thirst;This knowing, if I love Thee,You must have loved me first!

'Tis a point I long to knowJohn Newton, 1779'Tis a point I long to know,Oft it causes anxious thought;Do I love the Lord or no?Am I His, or am I not?If I love, why am I thus?Why this dull and lifeless frame?Hardly sure can they be worse,Who have never heard His name!Could my heart so hard remain,Prayer a task and burden prove,Every trifle give me pain,If I knew the Savior's love?When I turn my eyes within,All is dark and vain and wild;Filled with unbelief and sin,Can I deem myself a child?If I pray, or hear, or read,Sin is mixed with all I do!You who love the Lord indeed,Tell me, Is it thus with you?Yet I mourn my stubborn will,Find my sin a grief and thrall;Should I grieve for what I feel,If I did not love at all?Could I joy His saints to meet,Choose the ways I once abhorred,Find at times, the promise sweet,If I did not love the Lord?Lord decide the doubtful case!You who are Your people's sun,Shine upon Your work of grace,If it is indeed begun.Let me love You more and more,If I love at all, I pray;If I have

O Lovely Source of True DelightAnne Steele, 1760O lovely Source of true delight,Whom I unseen adore!Unveil Your beauties to my sight,That I may love You more.Your glory over creation shines;But in Your sacred Word,I read in fairer, brighter lines,My bleeding, dying Lord.'Tis here whenever my comforts droop,And sin and sorrow rise,Your love with cheering beams of hope,My fainting heart supplies.But O too soon the pleasing scene,Is clouded over with pain;My gloomy fears rise dark between,And I again complain.Jesus my Lord, my life, my light!Oh, come with blissful ray;Break through the dark shades of night,And chase my fears away.Then shall my soul with rapture traceThe wonders of Your love.But the full glories of Your faceAre only known above.

"Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is." Psalm 39:4-5Richard Baxter: "This life was not intended to be the place of our rest. Let us live as strangers and pilgrims, longing for a better country.""You have no time but what is given to you by God, and it is given to you to use for Him.""Live as men who must shortly die, and as men who must live forever."Thomas Boston: "Since time is so uncertain, we must live every day as if it were our last. When we lie down at night, we do not know if we shall rise in the morning."Thomas Brooks: "The world is but a great inn where we are to lodge a night, and to be gone in the morning. Oh, that we would consider this, that we might sit loose from all things below, and use the world as travelers use their inns.""Eternity is at the door! Let us not dream away our time in the pursuit of vanities."Jonathan Edwards: "Time is far more precious than money, and yet there is nothing that is so much wasted as time.""Resolved, neve

"Let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us" Hebrews 12:1Around us are a thousand entangling things! I see all around me a crowd of alluring, fascinating, pleasurable, and dazzling things. Pleasure calls to me; I hear her siren song. Philosophy and learning charm me; gladly would I yield my heart to them. This world is very much like the pools we have heard of in India, in which grows a long grass of so clinging a character that, if a man once falls into the water, it is almost certain to be his death, for only with the utmost difficulty could he be rescued from the meshes of the deadly, weedy net, which immediately wraps itself around him. In the same way, this world is entangling. All the efforts of grace are needed to preserve men from being ensnared with the deceitfulness of riches, and the cares of this life . . . the ledger demands you, the shop requires you, the warehouse bell rings for you; the the

John 14:26, "But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you."One way in which the Holy Spirit comforts us, is by His teaching. It is His work to help us understand the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit is the master teacher who takes the things of Christ and reveals them to us, making our hearts burn within us.The Spirit's work is not to deliver new truths, but to make the truths in the Word shine with living clarity before our eyes.The Spirit does not merely teach us doctrine, but makes us feel its power and sweetness in the depths of our souls.The Spirit's teaching is heart-teaching. It is not learned in the intellect alone, but in the soul's deepest experience.The Spirit is the great interpreter of God's Word--and without His teaching, we cannot rightly divide the Scriptures.I can teach you the letter of God's Word, but there is only One who can teach you effectually and savingly. The Spirit not only rev

The old Toledo blade cost the warrior much at first, but when he had once procured it he knew that it would cut through joint and marrow in the day of battle. So he was not afraid to dash into the thick of the fray, trusting to its unrivaled temper and keen edge.Could he not find a cheaper sword? He could have found it easily enough, and with small expense, but then in the moment when his sword smote upon his enemy's helmet, instead of cleaving through the skull, it would snap in the warrior's hand and cost him his life!In the same way, many professors of the gospel take up a cheap religion. There is, no self-denial in it, no forsaking of the world, no giving up of sinful amusements.They are just the same as the world. Their religion costs them nothing, and at last when they need it, it will fail them--it will snap like the cheap, poorly-made sword in the day of battle, and leave them defenseless. Oh, if you want that which will endure the conflict, you must expend cost upon it.Many professing Christians neve