Sermons & Devotionals by T. Austin-Sparks
T. Austin-Sparks
The Conflict Against the Fulfilment of the Purpose of God
“He that descended is the same also that ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things” (Ephesians 4:10). “He put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all” (Ephesi... Read More
T. Austin-Sparks
The Conflict of The Ages
Reading: Acts 12. I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished! (Luke 12:49,50). In our first message we were mainly occupied with the cup and its consequence in the scattering of... Read More
T. Austin-Sparks
The Consecrated Ear
Reading: Lev. 8:22-24,30; 14:25-28. The Blood Touched Ear In the former of these two passages we read of the consecration of Aaron and his sons, and the placing of the blood upon the tip of their right ears - the ear consecrated by means of the blood. The blood, as you know, was always the means of ... Read More
T. Austin-Sparks
The Consummation of the Ages - The Purpose of God in the Eternal Government of this World
We concluded our last chapter with the words: "The last movement before 'I come quickly' MUST be a Christ-movement." If this book of "the Revelation" is finality, then it is - in that very connection - the book of the fullness and finality of Jesus Christ. Above we have used the word 'consummation',... Read More
T. Austin-Sparks
The Continuation of the Conflict in Relation to the Church as the Corporate Company
We have said enough to make it abundantly clear that there is an age-long battle for spiritual life, and that, if that life can be arrested in its manifestation, its expression, it will be so arrested. There is a great power and force working by the instrument of spiritual death to quench the testim... Read More
T. Austin-Sparks
The Continuation of the Conflict in Relation to the Individual Believer
We are seeking to take a further step in the apprehension of what is related to this great and pressing matter, and are going to deal with the continuation of the conflict, with reference to its nature and its sphere. THE NATURE OF THE CONFLICT The work of the Lord Jesus in His Cross has now been se... Read More
T. Austin-Sparks
The Continuing Need For Adjustment
From time to time, right through the ages, those who have stood in quite a definite relationship to the things of God have either been seduced, or have drifted, or have for some reason come to fixed and systematized positions as to the ways, works, and purposes of God - which fixed ideas have come t... Read More
T. Austin-Sparks
The Continuous Controversy and Conflict
It is a matter of very simple evidence and observation that the first three chapters of the Bible have not been passed before all the elements of conflict and controversy are met with. And from then onward, right through the Bible, those elements of conflict and controversy are rarely absent. The Bo... Read More
T. Austin-Sparks
The Contrast Between the Old Dispensation and the New
"For they that dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him" (Acts 13:27). In a way, that verse is the key to the whole of the book of the Acts, for this book is really an interpretation... Read More
T. Austin-Sparks
The Controversy of Zion
Reading: Hebrews 12:22; Isaiah 34:8. "Ye are come to Zion." "For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, the year of recompence in the controversy of Zion." What is the controversy of Zion? It is nothing other than the controversy for the life of Zion. Zion is often represented in the Old Testament a... Read More
T. Austin-Sparks
The Corporate Expression of the Heavenly Man
Reading: Eph. 3:17–21, 4:1–10. The fact that the Lord Jesus is the Heavenly Man is touched upon at various points in this reading. Here in chapter four we have the statement that “He... ascended far above all the heavens...” while all that follows in the chapter is related to the present expression ... Read More
T. Austin-Sparks
The Corporate Vessel (1 Corinthians 12:12)
There are two titles or designations of the Church, which are, to my mind, supreme amongst the designations. The first is "Christ": "For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ" (I Corinthians 12:12). That seems to ... Read More
T. Austin-Sparks
The Creation and Consecration of the Ark
We are occupied at this time with the greatness and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we are seeing how that greatness and glory is represented to us in the Old Testament by means of the ark of the covenant. We have begun to look at the journeys of the ark through the wilderness and into the land,... Read More
T. Austin-Sparks
The Creation Motivated by the Love of God
"...but God, being rich in mercy, for HIS GREAT LOVE wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace have ye been saved)" (Eph. 2:4-5). "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; ... Read More
T. Austin-Sparks
The Crisis as to the Earthly and the Heavenly
Reading: Numbers 13:1-3, 17-23, 27-33; 14:1-3. We have been considering the fact and nature of the heavenly way. The Bible begins with the creation of the heavens and the government of the heavens. It ends with the emergence from heaven of that which has been formed by heaven, according to heavenly ... Read More
T. Austin-Sparks
The Crisis of Our Times
We remember, O Lord, that it is written: “He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” By the Word of the Lord were the heavens, the earth, created. Our prayer, Lord, is that Thou would speak acts. That Thy Word may be Thine act. Not just words, Lord, but words of power—Divine fiat, ... Read More
T. Austin-Sparks
The Criteria of Livingness - Function and Energy
5. Function and Energy In a living organism like the human body these two things are so evidently characteristic of life: namely, specific function and vital energy. Of course, we refer to a normal and healthy body. As we have before pointed out, that unique definition or designation of the Church a... Read More
T. Austin-Sparks
The Criteria of Livingness - Growth
Having briefly touched upon the first evidence of life, that is: freshness or newness, we proceed to note the second, namely, growth. We have seen that the essential difference between the animate and the inanimate, a living thing or a rock - for instance - is that life produces an organism. The cha... Read More
T. Austin-Sparks
The Criteria of Livingness - Reproduction
Having noted that essential evidence of life which is organic relatedness, we naturally move to the law of reproduction. When God united man and woman in "the grace of life", He immediately said "Be fruitful, and multiply". Reproduction is the law, the object, and the evidence of organic, living, re... Read More
T. Austin-Sparks
The Criterion of Livingness
Having laid a foundation, and given good ground for the conclusion that life is the horizon of God's work in nature and grace, we take a phrase from that introduction as the key to much more - that is, the Criterion of Life. So we proceed to consider the main points of the criterion of livingness; t... Read More
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T. Austin Sparks (1888 – 1971)
He was ordained as a Baptist pastor at the age of 24, and from 1912 to 1926 led three congregations in Greater London. During these years, he was also closely related to Jessie Penn-Lewis and her publication and speaking ministry, the "Overcomer Testimony."Among the many books that he wrote, at least three are regarded as Christian classics: The School of Christ, The Centrality and Supremacy of the Lord Jesus Christ and We Beheld His Glory. The primary theme of Sparks' books is the exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ. He mentored Watchman Nee for many years and was very influential in his understanding of the Church Life.
Recommends these books by T. Austin Sparks:
Daily Open Windows: Excerpts from the Messages of T. Austin-Sparks
Discipleship in the School of Christ by T. Austin Sparks
More of Christ: From "The Stewardship of the Mystery" by T. Austin Sparks
"Mr Sparks", as he was affectionately known, was born in London, England in 1888. He came to know Christ as a teenager and later became a Baptist pastor. However, his "ecclesiastical" career took a decidedly different direction when a physical crisis brought him to a place of brokenness.
At the same time God also delivered him from his previous prejudice against anything that was related to the "deeper life". As a result, he joined Jessie Penn-Lewis in the ministry of the spiritual growth of believers; a ministry to which he devoted his life and which also cost him his reputation and his career in the denominational circles of England.
He was based in southeast London at Honor Oak Christian Fellowship which is where Watchman Nee met and fellowshipped with him during a visit to England in 1933. Nee's refusal to disavow Austin-Sparks later became the grounds for him being disfellowshipped by the Taylor Brethren. It has been said that Watchman Nee considered Austin-Sparks as his spiritual mentor, and their fellowship appears to have been rich and fruitful.