PURITANS on SermonAudio

This sermon explores the necessity of maintaining spiritual integrity in private life by examining the narrative of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. The central argument posits that true faithfulness requires the constant awareness that God is always watching, a concept rooted in the Puritan practice of living *coram Deo*. Through the lens of five attributes—God's presence, power, perspective, purity, and patience—the text illustrates how divine omniscience exposes hidden sin and motivates believers to live with reverence rather than mere performance. The preacher emphasizes that while God's judgment on deception is severe, His patience and mercy offer a path to repentance and purification for those who seek Him. Ultimately, the message calls for a life of honest confession and holy conduct, driven by the love of God and the fear of His righteous discipline.

We highly suggest that you READ the TEXT at the link below, as you listen to the audio above. https://gracegems.org/2019/05/With the rope around my neck.html Feel free to FORWARD this gem to others!

A special request by Mrs. Jane Miller, widower of Pastor's RPTS Missions Professor Rev. Steven F. Miller now with the Lord. Christians must love one another like Jesus does them: purely, purposefully, and perpetually. Love Your Christian Brethren Fervently.

We highly suggest that you READ the TEXT at the link below, as you listen to the audio above. https://gracegems.org/2026/a_christians_solemn_dedication_t.htm Feel free to FORWARD this gem to others!

What it is for God to "hide his face"? To know that, we must inquire what it is for the face of God to shine upon any. You may observe that the shining of God's face upon any is, in Scripture, comprehensive of all mercies and of all blessings whatsoever. I will mention but one place, Numbers 6:24-26, the blessing of God when he put his name upon the people: "The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: the LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: the LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace." Grace, preservation, and peace, they are the sum of all we receive from God in this world.

I have studied revival history for 41 years. For its extent and scope, there is nothing like the revivals that happened between 1857 and 1859. What began as a quiet, lay-led prayer meeting on Fulton Street in Lower Manhattan quickly crossed the Atlantic, igniting an unprecedented transatlantic awakening that reshaped the spiritual landscape of the British Isles. Documented in the firsthand accounts of William Gibson (*The Year of Grace*), Rev. Adam Magill (*Authentic Records*), Thomas Phillips (*The Welsh Revival*), and the ministry of James Turner along the Scottish fishing ports, this movement bypassed famous evangelists and institutional power to sweep through drafty schoolhouses, coal mines, slate quarries, and harbor piers. Driven by ordinary working people and persistent prayer, it added over 300,000 converts across Ulster, Wales, and Scotland in a matter of months, emptying taverns, emptying jail cells, and offering a enduring testimony that no spiritual drought is too deep for a sudden, sovereign awakening.

Welcome to today's episode, where we trace one of the most profound and comforting truths in the Christian life: the vital distinction between saving faith and the full enjoyment of assurance. Drawing from John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, we explore Christian's journey from passing through the Wicket Gate to the climactic moment at the Cross where his heavy burden finally rolls away into the empty tomb. Guided by Westminster Larger Catechism Q. 81 and the classic pastoral insights of Thomas Ridgley, Thomas Brooks, Thomas Goodwin, John Owen, and Richard Sibbes, we confront modern misunderstandings—including the polemical debate between Dr. Joel Beeke and David Engelsma—to show why full assurance is not the immediate essence of faith, but a precious fruit grown over time. Join us as we consider Goodwill's tender counsel to be content to bear our burdens until the place of deliverance, offering deep encouragement to every "bruised reed" and "smoking flax" looking away from their own fragile feelings and fixing their eyes on the finished work of Jesus Christ.

The piece draws from the Puritan John Owen to urge believers to cultivate a tender conscience and a watchful heart by meditating on the benefits of the gospel. It emphasizes that cherishing redemption and justification should intensify the awareness of the guilt associated with indwelling sin. The text highlights God's infinite patience and forbearance, contrasting His continued grace with the believer's tendency to test His limits through persistent corruption. It warns against the danger of hardening one's heart and drifting into careless living, urging the listener to fill their conscience with memories of God's providential blessings. The ultimate goal is to reach a state where the conscience is deeply wounded by sin, compelling the soul to seek the vigorous mortification of corruption rather than justifying failure.

What if the greatest threat to a spiritual awakening isn't secular hostility, but a manufactured fake? Between 1792 and 1838, America witnessed a dramatic tug-of-war for the soul of revival—shifting from the quiet, sovereign, and deeply doctrinal outpourings in New England towns like Somers and Canton to the high-pressure, emotionally charged "New Measures" of the western frontier and Charles Finney. In this episode, we open the vault on rare, forgotten 19th-century periodicals and primary source treatises—from the Connecticut Evangelical Magazine to the letters in Spragues Lectures on Revival and Grant Powers's 1828 warning on how an excited imagination tricks the nervous system into a false hope. How solid pastors fought to rescue genuine, Spirit-wrought regeneration and the deep, Puritan pursuit of sanctification from being replaced by man-made psychological machinery of men like Charles Finney.