Trust on SermonAudio

"If Need Be, I'll Be" The truth that His light reveals, His grace removes, His goodness replaces, and His guidance renews and readies us. The message centers on the truth that God does not merely deliver His people from bondage; He brings them under His loving government so He can guide, refine, renew, and ready them for everyday mission. Drawing from Numbers 15, 1 Peter 1, and Romans 12, the sermon calls believers to keep looking to the Lord, listening to His Word, and allowing Him to govern every step rather than being shaped by the world, past experiences, or what seems right in our own eyes. A major emphasis is that trials are not meant to ruin genuine faith but to refine it. Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the furnace, believers can trust that God is present in the fire and can use what was intended to bind them as part of their freedom and testimony. Peter's phrase "if need be" becomes the heart of the message: "If need be, I'll be. If You'll be with me, we'll be in it together, so others can be blessed by what You are doing in me through it." God determines the "need be," controls the thermostat, and uses every season to conform His people to the image of Jesus. The sermon also describes the ongoing work of personal revival in four movements: God's light reveals what is wrong, His grace removes what does not look like Jesus, His goodness replaces it with His own character, and His guidance renews and readies us for what He has assigned us to do. Rather than being conformed to the world, believers continually present themselves as living sacrifices so that God can renew their minds and transform them from the inside out. Ultimately, the call is to live

This sermon explores Psalm 11 as a call to trust in God's sovereignty amidst the temptation to flee from suffering. The central message contrasts the unreliable sight of human fear with the reliable reality of God's presence in His holy temple, emphasizing that the Lord sees, tests, and ultimately judges the wicked. By identifying the 'Righteous One' as a Christological figure who endures the cup of wrath, the text highlights the theology of the cross as the foundation for Christian hope. The tone is pastoral and instructional, encouraging believers to adopt a posture of resolute courage and to view their trials through the lens of faith rather than sight. Ultimately, the sermon assures the audience that because God is righteous and sees all, the upright can confidently expect to behold His face.

Doreen Virtue explains how Satan uses counterfeit spiritual experiences and false teaching to draw people away from the true gospel. She addresses the New Age emphasis on feelings, distortions of God's love, and deception concerning sin, judgment, and salvation. Pointing to Christ's sinless life, substitutionary death, and bodily resurrection, she urges listeners to repent, trust in Christ, and test spiritual claims by Scripture. For more from Contending for the Word Q&A, please visit: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-qa/

During this period, Spurgeon is locked in combat, contending for the honour and glory of Christ. This sermon is situated both in the overall battle he is fighting, but also in the context of a pastoral ministry in which he is conscious of the need to feed and encourage the flock of Christ. So, having previously preached on the Lamb in glory (the previous sermon in this volume, number 2095, if you want to read it for yourself) he now wants to emphasise that this Lamb is the Bridegroom of the church, and that all our hope and happiness centres in him not only in this life but also in the life which is to come. He therefore steps through the prospect that lies before us, noting from Revelation 19 some of the events which precede the moment of marriage. He turns our attention to the marriage itself, asking how it has been brought about and what it involves. He fixes our eye upon the Bridegroom of our hearts, Jesus Christ, in his character as the Lamb of God, pushing us to recognise that this is essential to the union. Finally, he allows us to see the wife of the Lamb as she approaches her Beloved, prepared by him, for him, clothed in the white linen of her righteousnesses. It is a beautiful picture, and one which the preacher would have us ponder, not only to stir up love and faith and hope, but also to ensure that we will, through trust in the Lamb, participate in that glorious consummation.

Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." King James Version

This instructional kids message defines the theological concepts of faith and repentance using the Westminster Shorter Catechism as a framework. Faith is presented not merely as intellectual assent but as a complete trust and resting in Jesus Christ for salvation, illustrated through the physical act of sitting in a chair. Repentance is distinguished from mere remorse, defined instead as a decisive turning away from one's own selfish way and a turning toward God's way. The message emphasizes that these two responses are inseparable and necessary for escaping God's wrath. The sermon concludes by anchoring this transformation in the person of Jesus, who is identified as the way, the truth, and the life, requiring the believer to rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance.

The devotional explores the biblical command to cast burdens upon the Lord, emphasizing that this act requires genuine faith and the release of personal control. It distinguishes between merely throwing a worry to God and truly letting go, noting that carrying loads not designed for human endurance leads to spiritual and physical exhaustion. The message highlights that God's care is active and that He sustains the righteous, even when outcomes differ from human expectations. Through a personal testimony of a missed career opportunity that led to a greater spiritual purpose, the text illustrates how God's timing and plan often surpass individual desires. The core intent is to encourage believers to trust God's ability and wisdom, replacing anxiety with reliance on His perfect will.

Who is Jesus? Mark 10:46–11:11 looks forward to the hearing of God's Word, publicly read, in the holy assembly on the coming Lord's Day. In these eighteen verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that Jesus is the Son of Man, the Son of David, the forever-King. This devotional explores the dual narrative of Mark 10:46-11:11, contrasting the spiritual sight of blind Bartimaeus with the physical sight but spiritual blindness of the surrounding crowd. The central message emphasizes that true faith involves recognizing Jesus as the Son of David and the eternal King, rather than merely participating in a frenzy of praise without understanding. By drawing parallels to Job's insistence upon beholding Christ, Pastor illustrates genuine repentance and trust in Christ's power and mercy. The passage culminates in Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, where He is presented not just as a political figure, but as the King, Who is the ultimate Temple and Ransom for many. The sermon concludes with a pastoral exhortation to seek the sight and life that only Christ provides, urging believers to see Him, and follow Him, as their Savior and King.

Please pray for the Stockton Open Air, Thursdays at 11:30 am. This sermon centres on the birth of Jesus Christ as recorded in Matthew 1, emphasising that His incarnation as Emmanuel, or God with us, was specifically to save His people from their sins. The message presents a stark choice between acknowledging Jesus as Lord or rejecting Him, arguing that human works are insufficient for salvation and that only grace through faith in Christ's atoning death can remove the penalty and power of sin. It highlights the infinite worth of Jesus, who bore the wrath of God on behalf of sinners, contrasting the hope of eternal life with the certainty of judgment for those who reject Him. The tone is urgent and pastoral, calling listeners to examine their spiritual state and trust in the finished work of Christ to be adopted into God's royal family.

This sermon examines Daniel 11:20-45, tracing the historical rise and fall of Antiochus IV Epiphanes and his conflict with the Ptolemaic kingdom of Egypt. The teaching highlights the fulfillment of prophecy through historical records, specifically citing Josephus and the Maccabees, to demonstrate that God sovereignly governs the rise and fall of world powers according to His appointed time. It contrasts the deceit and self-exaltation of the 'King of the North' with the steadfastness of the faithful Jews who 'know their God' and resist persecution. The passage serves as an apologetic for the veracity of Scripture, showing that specific predictions were fulfilled in history, thereby validating God's ultimate control over human affairs. The sermon concludes by encouraging believers to trust in God's sovereignty rather than placing hope in shifting political powers, finding strength in the promise that the wise will shine as stars in the final judgment.