Sermon 1757. The New Year's Guest

(No. 1757)

A SERMON PREACHED ON LORDS-DAY AFTERNOON, DECEMBER 16, 1883,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT MENTONE, BEFORE THE COMMUNION, TO A SMALL COMPANY OF BELIEVERS.

"I was a stranger, andyou took Me in." Matthew 25:35.

"But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." John 1:12.

I LATELY received a New Year's card which suggested to me the topic on which I am about to speak to you. The designer of thecard has, with holy insight, seen the relation of the two texts to each other and rendered both of them eminently suggestiveby placing them together. There is freshness in the thought that, by receiving Jesus as a stranger, our believing hospitalityworks in us a Divine capacity and we thereby receive power to become the sons of God. The connection suggested between thetwo Inspired words is really existent and by no means strained or fanciful, as you will see by reading the context of thepassage in John-"He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not." So He was a stranger inthe world which He Himself had made! "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not." So He was a stranger among thepeople whom He had set apart for His own by many deeds of mercy! "But as many as received Him"-that is to say, gave entertainmentto this blessed Stranger-"to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name."

I thought that this might prove to be a suitable and salutary passage to discourse upon at the beginning of a New Year, forthis is a season of hospitality and some among our friends will think it well to commence a New Year by saying to the LordJesus, "Come in, You blessed of the Lord; why do You stand outside?" This Divine stranger has knocked at many doors till Hishead is wet with dew and His locks with the drops of the night. And now I trust there are some who will rise up and open untoHim so that at the end of the year they may say with Job, "The stranger did not lodge in the street: but I opened my doorsto the traveler." Verily, in so doing, you will not only entertain angels unawares, but you will be receiving the Lord ofangels!

The day in which you receive Him shall be the beginning of years to you-it shall be the first of a series of years which,whether they are few or many, shall be, each one, in the best sense happy! I would say a few words, first, about the Strangertaken in and then, about the Stranger making strangers into sons.

I. THE STRANGER TAKEN IN-this is a simile given to us by our Lord, Himself-a royal metaphor presented to us from His own Throne.Note that the passage begins, "I was hungry and you gave Me meat: I was thirsty and you gave Me drink." These are two goodworks which prove faith in Jesus and love of Him and, therefore, they are accepted, recorded and rewarded. But it is a distinctand memorable growth when it comes to, "I was a stranger, and you took Me in." A place to stay is a larger gift than refreshmentat the door. It is good, believingly, to do anything for Christ, however small, but it is a much better thing to give entertainmentto Jesus within our souls, admitting Him into our minds and hearts.

We have not come to the full of what our Lord has a right to expect of us until we have given from our stores to Him by benefitingHis poor and aiding His cause-then we deliberately open the doors of our entire being to Him and install Him in our soulsas an honored Guest! We must not be satisfied with giving Him cups of cold water, or morsels of bread, but we must "constrainHim, saying, Abide with us." Our hearts must be as a Bethany, where, like Mary, Martha and Lazarus, we give our Master a grandwelcome! Or as the house of Obededom where the Ark of the Lord may dwell in

peace. Our prayer must be that of Abraham's, "My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, pass not away, I pray You,from Your servant."

The most important word of our text is stranger and its light casts a hue of strangeness over the whole passage. Here arethree strange things. The first is, that the Lord Jesus should be a Stranger here below. Is it not a strange thing that, "Hewas in the world, and the world was made by Him," and yet He was a stranger in it? Yet is it not a whit more strange thantrue, for when He was born there was no room for Him in the inn? Inns had open doors for ordinary strangers, but not for Him,for He was a greater Stranger than any around Him. It was Bethlehem of David, the seat of the ancient family to which He belonged,but alas, He had become "a Stranger unto His brethren, and an alien unto His mother's children"! And no door was opened untoHim.

Soon there was no safe room for Him in the village, itself, for Herod the king sought the young Child's life and He must fleeinto Egypt, to be a Stranger in a strange land and worse than a stranger-an exile and a fugitive from the land where, by birthright,He was king! On His return and in His public appearing, there was still no room for Him among the mass of the people. He cameto His own Israel-to whom Prophets had revealed Him and types had set Him forth- but they would have none of Him. "He wasdespised and rejected of men." He was the Man "whom men abhorred," whom they so much detested that they cried, "Away withHim! Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" Yes, the world so little knew Him that they must necessarily hang up the Lord of Glory ona Cross and put "the Holy One and the Just" to a felon's death! Jew and Gentile alike conspired to prove how truly He wasa stranger-the Jew said, "As for this Fellow, we know not from where He is." And the Roman asked Him, "Where are You from?"

Now, that Christ should be such a Stranger was, indeed, a sadly singular thing, and yet we need not wonder, for how shoulda wicked, selfish world know Jesus or receive Him? The Lord's own had been forewarned of this in ancient type, for long beforethe Lord appeared in the flesh, He had shown Himself as a Stranger to the faithful. He came in angelic form to Abraham andthus we read the story-"And he lifted up his eyes and looked and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ranto meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground. And said, My Lord, if now I have found favor in Yoursight, pass not away, I pray you, from Your servant: Let a little water, I pray You, be fetched, and wash Your feet, and restyourselves under the tree: and I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort you your hearts."

The Lord, who stands out in the center of the three, was a Stranger, and the father of the faithful entertained Him, in typeof what all the faithful of every age will do. This is He of whom Jeremiah said, "O the hope of Israel, the Savior thereofin time of trouble, why should You be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turns aside to tarry for a night?"Yet with this fair warning, it still remains sadly singular that, coming on an errand of mercy, our Lord should find so scanta welcome; should be so little known; so seldom recognized, so harshly entreated. Truly as Egypt made Israel to serve withrigor, so have we made this patient Stranger to serve with our sins and wearied Him with our iniquities.

The Son of Man had not where to lay His head. Luke says the barbarians showed Paul and his friends no little kind-ness-butmen were worse than barbarians to their Savior! Shall the servant be better treated than his master, or the disciple thanhis Lord? "Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: thereforethe world knows us not, because it knew Him not." Another strange thing is that we should be able to receive the Lord Jesusas a stranger. He has gone into Glory and will He always say of us, "I was a stranger and you took Me in"? Yes, He will sayso, if we render to Him that spiritual hospitality of which He here speaks.

This can be done in several ways. Brothers and Sisters in Christ, for such I trust you are, we can receive Christ as a strangerwhen Believers are few and despised in any place. We may sojourn where worldliness abounds and religion is at a discount-andit may need some courage to swear our faith in Jesus. Then have we an opportunity of winning the approving word, "I was astranger, and you took Me in." There is a sure proof of love in receiving our Lord as a stranger. If the Queen desired, again,to visit Mentone, every villa would be gladly placed at her disposal! But were she driven from her empire and reduced to bea poor stranger, hospitality to her would be a greater test of loyalty than it is today.

When Jesus is in low esteem in any place, and He sometimes is so, let us be all the more bold to acknowledge our allegianceto Him. I fear that many professors take their color from their company and are fellows with the irreligious and the unbelieving.These cry, "Hosanna," with the multitude of the Lord's admirers, but in heart they have no love to the Son of God. Our loyaltyto Christ must never be a matter of latitude and longitude-we must love Him in every land, honor Him when the multitude disregardHim-and we must speak of Him when all forget Him. Again, we have the Lord's own warrant for saying that if we show brotherlykindness to a poor saint we entertain the Lord, Himself.

If we see Christians in need, or despised and ridiculed and we say, "You are my Brother in Christ. It matters not what garbyou wear, the name of Christ is named on you and I suffer with you. I will relieve your needs and share your reproach," thenthe glorious Lord, Himself, will say to us at the last, "Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these, My brethren,you have done it unto Me." It does seem passing strange, though I thus speak, that you and I should still be able to entertainour Lord and yet it is so! We do not wonder that the righteous, with a humble truthfulness exclaim, "Lord, when did we seeYou hungry and feed You? Or thirsty and gave You drink? When did we see You a stranger and took You in?" Neither are we freefrom admiring surprise. We also cry, "Will God in very deed dwell with men upon the earth? Will He accept hospitality at ourhands?" It is even so!

Again, we may entertain the Stranger, Christ, by holding fast to His faithful Word when the doctrines taught by Himself andHis Apostles are in ill repute. Nowadays the Truth which God has revealed seems of less account with men than their own thoughtsand dreams! And they who still believe Christ's faithful Word shall have it said of them, "I was a stranger and you took Mein." When you see the revealed Truth of God, as it were, wandering about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted,tormented, and no man says a good word for it, then is the hour come to acknowledge it because it is Christ's Truth-and toprove your fidelity by counting the reproach of Christ greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt!

Oh, scorn on those who only believe what everybody else believes because they must be in the swim with the majority! Theseare but dead fish borne of the current and they will be washed away to a shameful end! If living fish swim against the stream,so do living Christians pursue Christ's Truth against the set and current of the times, defying alike the ignorance and theculture of the age! It is the Believer's honor, the chivalry of a Christian, to be the steadfast friend of the Truth of Godwhen all other men have forsaken it. So, also, when Christ's precepts are disregarded, His day forgotten and His worship neglected,we can come in, take up our cross and follow Him-and so receive Him as a stranger.

To be sure, some will say, "Those people are fanatical Methodists, or strait-laced Presbyterians," but what of that? It mattersnothing to us what the world thinks of us, for we are crucified to it and it to us! If our Lord has laid down a rule, it isours to follow it and find rest unto our souls in so doing! Yes, and a special rest in doing it, when by so doing we are securingthat blessed sentence, "I was a stranger, and you took Me in." Death, itself, for His sake, would be a small matter if therebywe secured that priceless word!

Once more, that spiritual life which is the innermost receiving of Christ-that new life which no man knows but he that hasreceived it; that quickening of the Spirit which makes the Christian as much superior to ordinary men as men are above dumb,driven cattle-if we receive that blessed gift, then shall we with emphasis be entertaining our Lord as a stranger. Professionis abundant, but the secret life is rare. The name to live is everywhere, but where is the life fully seen? To be rather thanto talk; to enjoy rather than to pretend; to have Christ truly within-this is not every man's attainment, but those who haveit are among the God-like ones, the true sons of God!

A third strange thing is the fact that Jesus will deign to dwell in our hearts. Such a One as Jesus in such a one as I am?The King of Glory in a sinner's bosom? This is a miracle of Divine Grace, yet the manner of it is simple enough. A humble,repenting faith opens the door and Jesus enters the heart at once. Love shuts the door with the hand of Penitence and holyWatchfulness keeps out intruders. Thus is the promise made good, "If any man hears My voice, and opens the door, I will comein to him and will sup with him, and he with Me." Meditation, contemplation, prayer, praise and daily obedience keep the housein order for the Lord!

And then follows the consecration of our entire nature to His use as a temple-the dedication of spirit, soul, body and alltheir powers, as holy vessels of the sanctuary! It is the writing of, "Holiness unto the Lord," upon all that is about ustill our everyday garments become vestments, our meals sacraments, our life a ministry and ourselves priests unto the MostHigh! Oh, the supreme condescension of this indwelling! He never dwelt in angels, but He resides in a contrite spirit! Thereis a world of meaning in the Redeemer's words, "I in them." May we know them as Paul translates them, "Christ in you, thehope of glory."

II. A few words must suffice upon THE STRANGER MAKING STRANGERS INTO SONS. "As many as received

Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." Yes, Beloved, the moment Christis received into our hearts by faith, we are no more strangers and foreigners, but of the household of God, for the Lord adoptsus and puts us among His children! It is a splendid act of Divine Grace, that He should take us, who were heirs of wrath,and make us heirs of God, joint-heirs with Jesus Christ! Such honor have all the saints, even all that believe on His name.

There is more to follow-the designation of sons brings with it a birth into the actual condition of sons. The privilege bringswith it the power; the name is backed up and warranted by the nature-for the Spirit of God enters into us, when Christ comes,and causes us to be born again. To be adopted without being born again would be a lame blessing, but when we are both adoptedand regenerated then have we the fullness of sonship and the Grace is made perfect towards us. "Except a man is born again,he cannot see the kingdom of God." And this mysterious birth, which comes with the reception of Christ, makes us free, notonly in the kingdom of God, but in the house and the heart of God!

Don't forget that when the Lord Jesus enters our hearts, there springs up between us and Him a living, loving, lasting unionwhich seals our sonship-for as we become one with the Son, we must be sons, also. Jesus puts it, "My Father and your Father."It is the Spirit of His Son in our hearts by which we cry, "Abba, Father." "He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit."We are unto the Father even as Jesus is, as He says, "You have loved them as You have loved Me." Thus you see that in receivingJesus, we receive, as the Revised Version puts it, "the right to become the sons of God."

Yet once more-the practical reception of Jesus into the life becomes a proof to ourselves and others that we are the sonsof God, for it creates in us a likeness to God which is apparent and unquestionable. For look, although Jehovah, our God,is incomprehensible and Infinite, and His Glory is inconceivable in its splendor, yet this fact we know of Him, that in Hisbosom lies His Son, with whom He is always well-pleased. When we receive Jesus into our bosom, as one with us, and when ourjoy and delight are in Him, we do, in that matter, become like the Father. Having thus, with the Father, the same Object oflove and delight, we are brought into fellowship with Him and begin to walk in the Light of God as He is in the Light.

A small window will let in the great sun-much more will Jesus, as the blessed meeting place between our souls and God-letin the Life, Light and Love of God into our souls, making us like God! Moreover, having received Jesus as a stranger, we feela tenderness towards all strangers, for we see in their condition some resemblance to our own. We have love to all who, likeourselves, are strangers with God and sojourners, as all our fathers were, and thus again we are made like God, of whom itis written, "The Lord preserves the strangers." Our God is "kind unto the unthankful and to the evil." Our Lord Jesus, therefore,bade us be the children of our Father which is in Heaven, "For He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendsrain on the just and on the unjust."

By becoming doers of good, we are known as children of the good God. "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be calledthe children of God." A man is a son of God when he lives beyond himself by a thoughtful care for others; when his soul isnot confined within the narrow circle of his own ribs, but goes abroad to bless those around him, however unworthy they maybe. True children of God never see a lost one without seeking to save him; never hear of misery without longing to bestowcomfort. "You know the heart of a stranger," said the Lord to Israel. And so do we, for we were once captives, ourselves,and even now our choicest Friend is still a stranger, for whose sake we love all suffering men.

When Christ is in us, we search out opportunities for bringing prodigals, strangers and outcasts to the great Father's house.Our love goes out to all mankind and our hands are closed against none if it is so that we are made like God, as little childrenare like their father. Oh, sweet result of entertaining the Son of God by faith! He dwells in us and we gaze upon Him in holyfellowship so that, "we all with open face beholding as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image,from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

"Love is of God and everyone that loves is born of God and knows God." May we daily feel the power of Jesus within our hearts,transforming our whole character and making us to be more and more manifestly the children of God! When our Lord asks, concerningus, "What manner of men were they?" may even His enemies and ours be compelled to answer, "As You are, so were they-each oneresembled the children of a King." Then shall Jesus be admired in all them that believe, for men shall see in the children,the Divine Stranger's handiwork.