by Pastor Afolabi Oladele

We continue today with Brother Spurgeon’s Exposition, a treatise needed by the body of Christ on serving God acceptably including on the matter of giving so no one be bound by any percentages, rather a willing surrender to Him who gave us all.

“I. And, first, according to the apostle, if we are to serve God acceptably it must be UNDER A SENSE OF OUR IMMEASURABLE OBLIGATION TO HIM.

(Remember Martin Nystrom’s song—lyrics stated below in brackets, again my emphasis):

[I am not my own, I was bought with a price
That was paid in full through death on a cross
I am not my own, I’m alive in Christ.
I am not my own

I am not my own
I’ve been saved by grace, by grace alone.
And it beckons me to lay down my throne
I’ve been saved by grace, I’m alive in Christ.
I’ve been saved by grace
You breathed life into this dead soul
Your Spirit made alive within me
No longer in the valleys I roam
You breathed life into this dead soul
Your Spirit made alive within me
No longer in the valleys I roam

I am not my own, I was bought with a price
That was paid in full through death on a cross
I am not my own, I’m alive in Christ.
I am not my own
I am not my own, I was bought with a price
That was paid in full through death on a cross
I am not my own, I’m alive in Christ.
I am not my own
You breathed life into this dead soul
Your Spirit made alive within me
No longer in the valleys I roam
You breathed life into this dead soul
Your Spirit made alive within me
No longer in the valleys I roam
I’m alive, I’m alive in Christ
I’m alive
I’m alive, I’m alive in Christ
I’m alive]

Look “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.” See, brethren, whatever service we may render to God, we must begin by being receivers. Our first dealing with the most High must not be our bringing anything to him, but our accepting of everything from him. We receive, that is our first stage; and I trow it is our last; for if ever we are able to serve the Lord by our gifts, we shall have to confess, “Of thine own have we given unto thee.” When we are privileged to cast our crowns before Emanuel’s throne, they will be crowns which he himself bestowed upon us of his own sovereign grace. Every hymn that comes up from saints made perfect is but an echo of almighty love. They love him because he first loved them. They are first receivers, and then, like pipes that are well filled from the fountain head, they pour out their contents. First we receive grace, and then we return service: holy service is a gift from beginning to end. We must, then, in approaching to God, remember what we have received of him; and is it not wonderful that it should be written, “We receiving a kingdom”? What a gift to receive! This is a divine gift; we have received, not a pauper’s pension, but a kingdom,—  “a kingdom which cannot be moved.” The old dispensation or kingdom has passed away; its ceremonial laws are abrogated, and its very spirit is superseded by a higher spirit, and we have entered upon another kingdom, in which the ruling principle is not law, but love. We are not under the yoke of Moses, but we are the subjects of King Jesus, whose yoke is easy and whose burden is light. The kingdom of Jesus will never end while time shall last, for he is the King Eternal, and immortal; neither will his laws be changed, nor shall his subjects die. Till that day when he shall deliver up the kingdom unto God, even the Father, and God shall be all in all, Jesus must reign: and even when the earthly mediatorial reign is consummated, the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven shall be continued unto us, and we shall still be members and citizens of it. We have received an eternal kingdom, and for this we ought to be eternally grateful. The shadows have vanished, but the substance abides: we have risen out of the types of Judaism into his kingdom by whom grace and truth have come unto us. This gospel state abideth; above the wreck of all things it remains, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Ours is the kingdom of Jesus Christ, in which the gospel is the law, believers are the privileged subjects, and grace and glory are the revenue,— a kingdom daily growing in brightness, a kingdom which shall consummate its glory in the eternal world when Christ shall have put all enemies under his feet, and his people shall reign with him for ever and ever.

“But,” say you, “we have not received this kingdom yet.” I answer that we have received it in a certain sense: we have received it first in the promise. Our Lord said, “I appoint unto you a kingdom as my Father hath appointed unto me.” “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Now, with a man’s word, if he be a man of honour, we are content: we count his promissory note as the equivalent of the gold which he promises to pay. Let him set his hand to a promise, and we pass it from hand to hand, regarding it as the thing itself which it promises. Shall we not think as much of the word of God? The promise of God is so firm, so sure, so true, that inasmuch as he hath promised a kingdom unto all them that wait for the appearing of his Son, that kingdom is ours, and by faith we grasp it this morning. Bless the Lord, we have received a kingdom. Let us worship him in that spirit of thankfulness which such a boon should excite.

More than this, we have received it in the principles of it, for it is written, “The kingdom of God is within you.” As the fairest flower lies packed away within the little shrivelled seed, and wants but time and sun to develope all its beauty, so perfection, glory, immortality and bliss unspeakable lie slumbering and hidden away within the grace which God hath given unto all his people. “He that believeth in him hath everlasting life.” The life of heaven is begun within the believer, it is germinating, it is daily developing, it shall in God’s good time come to its absolute perfection. We have the kingdom within us: it is not meat and drink; but righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. The Spirit of God within a man is the earnest of heaven, and an earnest is of the same nature as that which it guarantees. We who are born unto God have the firstfruits of the kingdom of God in possessing the indwelling Spirit; and in the firstfruits we see the entire harvest. Rise to this, my brethren, and under a sense of your immeasurable indebtedness go forth and serve your God with joyful thankfulness. This is the spirit in which to worship the Lord who has given us the kingdom.

Moreover, in a measure we have received this kingdom in the power of it. Notice, the text does not say we have received a little lordship, a small estate, a scanty portion, but we have received a kingdom. No gift less than this could content the great heart of our heavenly Father. He never stops half way in his march of mercy. He made us first his subjects, then his children, then his heirs, and here he makes us kings; for every heir of God is heir-apparent to a throne. “He hath made us kings and priests unto God, and we shall reign with him.” Brethren, in the grace which God has given you you received a measure of kingly power: you who have believed in Jesus have power over yourselves, power over your passions, power over the powers of evil, power in measure over your fellow-men for their good. You have also power in prayer, and what a real power is that, when a man can ask what he wills and it shall be done unto him. God hath endowed you with power from on high by giving you the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Thus you have received a kingdom in promise, in principle, and in power.

Moreover, you have received much of the provision and protection of that kingdom. You that are children of God are not left in the power of the enemy, but being redeemed the Lord is a wall of fire round about you. You are garrisoned by angelic strength, you are led by unfailing wisdom. The all-sufficiency of God is your treasure-house. The Lord hath said, “No good thing will I withhold from them that walk uprightly.” This is a royal charter of boundless liberality. “For all things are yours. Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.”

What royal provision is thus set apart for you! “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to his purpose.” Everything is arranged for our benefit. There were two brothers, one of whom had been diligently attentive to his worldly business, to the neglect of true religion. He succeeded in accumulating considerable wealth. The other brother was diligent in the service of the Master, and had learned both to distribute to the poor and for conscience’ sake to forego many an opportunity of gain, so that when he lay sick and dying he was in straitened circumstances. His brother somewhat upbraided him, remarking that if it had not been for his religion he would not have been dependent upon others. With great calmness the saintly man replied, “Quiet! quiet! O Tam, I have a kingdom no begun upon, and an inheritance I have ha yet seen.” Speak of laying up for a rainy day: we have infinite goodness laid up for them that fear the Lord, and none can rob us of it. Every child of God is as David when Samuel anointed him to a throne. He has a kingdom in reversion, secured by a covenant of salt.”

Will you think on these things? Shalom.