Great Quotes 6

Smith Wigglesworth said "Fear looks but Faith jumps."

"But see that impenitent sinner. Convicted of his sin under the clear gospel light that shines all around him, he is driven to pray. He knows he ought to repent, and almost thinks he wants to, and will try. Yet still he clings to his sins, and will not give up his heart to God. Still he holds his heart in a state of impenitence. Now mark here; his sin in thus withholding his heart from God under so much light, involves greater guilt than all the abominations of the Heathen world. Put together the guilt of all those widows who immolate themselves on the funeral pile -- of those who hurl their children into the Ganges, or into the burning arms of Moloch -- all does not begin to approach the guilt of that convicted sinner's prayer who comes before God under the pressure of his conscience, and prays a heartless prayer, determined all the while to withhold his heart from God. Oh! why does this sinner thus tempt God, and thus abuse his love, and thus trample on his known authority? Oh! that moment of impenitence, while his prayers are forced by conscience from his burning lips, and yet he will not yield the controversy with his Maker -- that moment involves direr guilt than rests on all the Heathen world together! He knows more than they all, yet sins despite of all his knowledge. The many stripes belong to him -- the few to them."

-Charles G. Finney

"See that backslider? He has tasted the waters of life. He has been greatly enlightened. Perhaps he has really known the Lord by true faith -- and then see, he turns away to beg the husks of earthly pleasure! He turns his back on the bleeding Lamb! Now, put together all the guilt of every Heathen soul that has gone to hell -- of every soul that has gone from a state of utter moral darkness, and your guilt, backsliding Christian, is greater than all theirs!Do you, therefore, say, may God then, have mercy on my soul? So say we all; but we must add if it be possible; for who can say that such guilt as yours can be forgiven! Can Christ pray for you as he prayed for his murderers, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do?" Can he plead in your behalf, that you knew not what you were doing? Awful! awful! Where is the sounding line that shall measure the ocean-depth of your guilt?"

-Charles G. Finney

Those Finney quotes are sobering indeed. I was such a one as he describes, saying a "sinner's prayer" only out of fear of hell, with no intention of yielding my will to the Lord of heaven and earth. Indeed my guilt was so great.

But, and what a glorious 'but' this is, there was mercy for me at the foot of the cross! What forebearance and love is this, what amazing grace! The one who deserves many stripes now receives a crown, who is sufficient for these things?

In Christ,

Ron

"Suppose I should call out a sinner by name -- one of the sinners of this congregation, a son of pious parents -- and should call up the father also. I might say, Is this your son? Yes. What testimony can you bear about this son of yours? I have endeavoured to teach him all the ways of the Lord. Son, what can you say? I know my duty. I have heard it a thousand times. I know I ought to repent, but I never would.

Oh! if we understood this matter in all its bearings, it would fill every bosom with consternation and grief. How would our bowels hum and heave as a volcano! There would be one universal outcry of anguish and terror at the awful guilt and fearful doom of such a sinner!"

-Charles G. Finney

"It is time that we all understood this subject fully, and appreciated all its bearings. It is no doubt true, that however moral our children may be, they are more guilty than any other sinners under heaven, if they live in sin, and will not yield to the light under which they live. We may be perhaps congratulating ourselves on their fair morality; but if we saw their case in all its real bearings, our souls would groan with agony -- our bowels would be all liquid with anguish -- our very hearts within us would heave as if volcanic fires were kindled there -- so deep a sense should we have of their fearful guilt and of the awful doom they incur in denying the Lord that bought them and setting at naught a known salvation. Oh! if we ever pray, we should pour out our prayers for our offspring as if nothing could ever satisfy us or stay our importunity, but the blessings of a full salvation realised in their souls."

-Charles G. Finney

"How foolish so many of us have been in the clear light of God's Word. We have been running off with blessings and anointings with God's power, instead of tarrying until Bible evidence of Pentecost came." Apostolic Faith (Azusa Street) - Issue #1

Some more quotes from the Apostolic Faith papers #5.

If you want to keep fat and filled with the power of the Holy Ghost, live off of the Word.

When you were poor and ugly in your own sight, then was the time God exalted and used you, but when you get to be some great Nebuchadnezzar, then God turns you out to eat grass like an ox. Keep little and God will use you.

You cannot win people by abusing their church or pastor. As long as you preach Christ, you feed souls; but as soon as you jump on the preacher, you grieve the Spirit. Preach Christ, and you will feed the flock and have fat sheep; but if you get to preaching against churches, you will find that sweet spirit of Christ that envieth not, vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, thinketh no evil, suffereth long and is kind, is lacking and a harsh judging spirit takes its place. If you feed them from Christ, you will find the same Spirit burning in their hearts.

We must deal patiently with the Lord's people. The Lord shows us in the parable of the ninety and nine, that we should not take the little lamb and beat it over the head; but lift it up into our bosom, just as the Shepherd did. We do not want to stamp out the little spark of life in one of God's weak ones, who has the Blood of Jesus Christ in their heart.

Many people claim to be saved from hell but not from sin. A good many are preaching that kind of salvation. They preach the fire all out of hell, but it is still there. We preach it is a lake burning with fire and brimstone, "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." The only salvation is through the blood of Jesus that cleanses from all sin. It will save you throughout eternity. Christ has conquered death and hell.

Here are some quotes on faith from an old preacher named George Kulp.

[b]Faith makes a man an optimist. The man who believes God cannot be discouraged.[/b] He hears the Master talking to him and, as he listens to Him, there comes the comforting words, "I am with thee even to the end." Now, the devil can launch his brigades and his divisions and his legions, but this man sees the other side and shouts the victory.

One day a smart little boy -- and you know there is nothing so smart as a little boy, unless it is a little girl -- said to his sister, "Can you spell water with three letters?" Of course she could not. Then he spelled it for her, i-c-e. When one gets where he can see God, he will find that every promise in the Bible is spelled v-i-c-t-o-r-y, -- victory over sin, over the world, the flesh, and the devil. "Oh, Brother Kulp, I have tried everything and I am defeated." [b]Quit "trying everything," and believe God. Faith is the victory.[/b]

The God who promised that He would take you through, no matter what may befall, is the same today, He will see you through until your soul shall be gladdened one day in the city where the sun never goes down. If I had my choice, I would rather he the son of a poor Christian man, rich with the promises of God, than to be the son of any millionaire on earth who did not know God. I would rather lean on God's Word than on any man' s money.

"Didn’t the Lord tell me from the beginning to give up everything and carry the cross to follow him? This is the Lord’s way. I am following him on the same path. Why should I be upset? Why should I complain? This is my biggest blessing." Epaphras from [url=http://www.chinasoul.org/e/e-va.htm]China Soul video (the underground church in China)[/url]

"I knew Jesus, and He was very precious to my soul; but I found something within me that would not keep sweet and patient and kind. I did what I could to keep it down, but it was there. I besought Jesus to do something for me, and when I gave Him my will, He came to my heart and took out all that would not be patient, all that would that would be kind, and then He shut the door." - George Fox

"Sin makes us stupid!"
-A brother from this forum

"In obeying the Lord wholly, we rejoice in heart fully. With complete consecration comes perfect peace." - Watchman Nee from "The Spiritual Man"

I like this one,"SIN MAKES US STUPID" haha.

But we arrive at a more adequate idea of the magnitude of sin by the greatness of the remedy provided. It is the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s only and well-beloved Son. God’s Son!
-Charles Spurgeon

"We want his power more than his purity." David Wilkerson

Murray

[b]David Brainerd[/b]
'Farewell, vain world; my soul can bid Adieu. My Savior taught me to abandon you. Your charms may gratify a sensual mind. But cannot please a soul for God Designed.'

'Oh! how amazing it is that people can talk so much about men's power and goodness, when if God did not hold us back every moment, we should be devils incarnate!'

[b]Horatius Bonar - words to winners of souls[/b]

'The soul and eternity of one man depends upon the voice of another'

(speaking of winning souls) 'if our heart is truly set upon this end, it must gain it, or else break upon losing it'

'He that saved our souls has taught us to weep for the unsaved'

'The loss of even 1 soul is terrible beyond conception.'

[b]Zac Poonen[/b]
'You know they boasted about the Titanic, that it was the one ship that could not be sunk. Somebody said ‘God Almighty can’t sink this ship’ You can be pretty sure when somebody says something like that it’s going to sink on it’s first voyage. But there is one ship that isn’t going to sink.. and that’s the church'

'God gives us a million and one things and all we can think and pray about is that ONE he hasn't given us... man is a MISERABLY selfish creature'

'was there anything Jesus wanted from this earth besides you and me? … NOTHING'

'When we say that there's only 1 way of salvation, people say ‘you’re very narrowminded’. But the truth is always narrow minded. 2 + 2 = 4.. it’s not 3.9, it’s not 4.1'

In Heaven there is a song – ‘thou alone art worthy’

[b]Leonard Ravenhill [/b]
'Isn’t the essence of Christianity Christ in you the hope of glory?.. There’s no other religion in the world where a man’s God comes down and lives inside of him'

'one of the most amazing things Jesus said is at the judgment seat preachers are going to say ‘I cast out devils’ and Jesus will say ‘I never knew you’'

[b] Michael Phillips [/b]
'if you want to overcome the fear of man, turn your fear into pity.. suppose the day of judgment has come and they are before God'

'By temperment, I am not a dogmatic person.. and not a stickler for every undotted I or uncrossed T, but let me speak to you as plainly as I can.. if you do not believe in the resurrection of Christ, you are damned.. even if you are a good person, and deeply religious. I get no pleasure from saying that , its embarrasing to say it in a pluralistic world, but embarrasing or not, it’s true. There is life for everyone who believes in the resurrection of Christ, there is death for every one who doesn’t'

'Grace and pride contradict each other. You can have 1 or the other but you can’t have both. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble'

[b]The Psalmist [/b]
'Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.' - Psa 116:15

We love Him that's why we fear Him
not that
We fear Him so that we Love Him

"A minister of God's word needs a deep love and longing for his people that dwindles his bible knowledge."

"The wicked of today hate to hear the word 'repent!'. The wicked of the past wish they could hear it just once more."

"A sign of life is you have a good appetite. And spiritual food is doing God's work – His will - Jn 4:34"

"Pride is the secret of division,Humility the secret of fellowship" Robert C Chapman

"I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light"
-John Falconer

"Let my heart be broken with the things that break God's heart."
-Bob Pierce

"Would that God would make hell so real to us that we cannot rest; heaven so real that we must have men go there."
- Hudson Taylor

"'Not called!' did you say? 'Not heard the call,' I think you should say. Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear Him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entrat you to go to their father's house and bid their brothers and sisters not to come there. Then look Christ in the face whose mercy you have professed to obey and tell Him whether you will join heart and soul and body and sircumstances in the march to publish His mercy to the world."
-William Booth

"Many continue the forms of prayer when they are living in sin, and do not try to reform, and even have no sincere desire to reform. All such persons should know that they grievously provoke the Lord to answer their prayers with fearful judgments."

-Charles G. Finney

"Christian hearer, is it not a dreadful thing for you to be in a state in which you cannot prevail with God? Who are they, and how many are there, in such a state that their prayers avail nothing, and who know before they pray, and while they are praying, that they are in no fit state to offer prevailing prayer? One of the brethren, you recollect, said to us at a recent church meeting, "I have lost my power to prevail with God. I know I am not ready for this work." How many others are there, still in the same awful condition?

Oh! how many have we here who are the salt of the earth, whose prayers and redeeming influence save the community from becoming perfectly putrid with moral corruption? I hope they will be found alive and at work in this trying hour. Oh! we must have your prayers for the impenitent -- for the anxious -- for backsliders; or if you cannot pray -- at least come together and confess your sins; tell your brethren and sisters you cannot pray, and beg of them to pray for you that you may be brought back to the light and the peace -- and the penitence of real salvation."

-Charles G. Finney

“But, O Lord, How insufficient I am for this work. Alas, with what shall I pierce the scales of Leviathan, or make the heart feel that is hard as the nether millstone? Shall I go and speak to the grave, and expect the dead will obey me and come forth? Shall I make an oration to the rocks, or declaim to the mountains, and think to move them with my arguments? Shall I make the blind to see? From the beginning of the world was it not heard that a man opened the eyes of the blind. But O Lord, thou canst pierce the heart of the sinner. I can only draw the bow at a venture, but do Thou direct the arrow between the joints of the harness. Slay the sin, and save the soul of the sinner that casts his eyes on these words.”

-Joseph Alleine

“If men maybe enlightened and brought to the external performance if holy duties, and yet go down to perdition fro resting in them and sitting down on this side conversion; what will become of you, O miserable families that live without God in the world? What will become of you, wretched sinners, with whom God is scarcely in all your thoughts; that are so ignorant that you cannot pray, or so careless that you will not? O repent and be converted, break off your sins by righteousness. Away to Christ for pardoning and renewing grace.”

-Joseph Alleine

“O conscience! Do your duty. In the name of the living God, I command you, discharge your office. Lay hold upon this sinner, fall upon him, arrest him, apprehend him, undeceive him. What! Will you flatter and soothe him while he lives in his sins> Awake, O conscience! What meanest thou, O sleeper? What! Have you no reproof in your mouth? What! Shall this soul die in his careless neglect of God and of eternity, and you altogether hold your peace? What! Shall he go on still in his trespasses, and yet have peace? Oh, rouse yourself, and do your work. Now let the preacher in your bosom speak. Cry aloud, and spare not; lift up thy voice like a trumpet. Let not the blood of his soul be required at your hands.”

-Joseph Alleine

“Sinner, will you not give up your vain hope of being saved in this condition [of sin]? Bildad says, 'Shall the earth be forsaken for thee; or the rocks be moved out of their place?' (Job xviii 4). May I not much more reason with you? Shall the laws of heaven be reversed for you? Shall the everlasting foundations be overturned for you? Shall Christ put out the eye of His Father's omniscience, or shorten the arm of His eternal power for you? Shall divine justice be violated for you; or the brightness of His holiness be blemished for you? O the impossibility, absurdity, blasphemy, of such a confidence! To think Christ will ever save you in this condition is to make the Saviour become a sinner, and do more wrong to the infinite Majesty than all the wicked on earth or devils in hell ever did, or ever could do; and yet will you not give up such a blasphemous hope?”

-Joseph Alleine

“O how willful will your destruction be if you should yet harden yourself in your sinful state! But none of you can say that you have not had fair warning. Yet I cannot leave you so. It is not enough for me to have delivered my own soul. What! shall I go away without my errand? Will none of you arise and follow me? Have I been all this while speaking to the wind? Have I been charming the deaf adder, or allaying the restless ocean with argument? Do I speak to the trees and rocks, or to men? to the tombs and monuments of the dead, or to the living? If you are men and not senseless stocks, stop and consider where you are going! If you have the reason and understanding of men, do not dare to run into the flames, and fall into hell with your eyes open; but stop and think, and set about the work of repentance. What, men? and yet run into the pit, when the very beasts will not be forced in? What, endowed with reason? and yet trifle with death and hell, and the
vengeance of the Almighty? Are men only distinguished from brutes in that these, having no foresight, have no care to provide for the things to come, and will you, who are warned, not hasten your escape from eternal torments? O show yourselves men, and let reason prevail with you.”

-Joseph Alleine

“Alas, for such sinners! must they perish at last by hundreds? What course shall I use with them that I have not tried? 'What shall I do for the daughter of my people?' (Jer ix 7).”

-Joseph Alleine

“Beloved, do not be your own betrayers. Do not decieve your own hearts, nor set your hands to your own ruin by a wilful blinding of yourselves. Set up a tribuanl in your own breasts. Bring the word and conscience together. To the law and to the testimony. Hear what the word concludes of your state. Oh, follow the search till you find how the case stands. Make a mistake here and you perish.”

“O searcher of hearts, set this soul searching, and help him in his search.”

-Joseph Alleine

“I find by sad experience that such a spirit of sloth and slumber possesses the unsanctified that, though they are convinced that they are yet unconverted, often they carelessly sit still…
It is therefore of high necessity that I not only convince men that they are unconverted, but that I also endeavour to bring them to a sense of the fearful misery of this state.”

-Joseph Alleine

“Could I bring paradise into view, or represent the kingdom of heaven to as much advantage as the tempter did the kingdoms of the world, and the glory thereof, to our Saviour; or could I uncover the face of the deep and devouring gulf of Tophet in all its terrors, and open the gates of the infernal furnace; alas, he has no eyes to see it. Could I paint the beauties of holiness or the glory of the Gospel; or could I expose to view the more than diabolical deformity and ugliness of sin; he can no more judge of the loveliness and beauty of the one, and the filthiness and hatefulness of the other, than a blind man of colours.”

-Joseph Alleine

Ministers generally avoid preaching what the people before them will understand as addressed particularly to them. They will preach to them about other people, and the sins of other people, instead of addressing them and saying, "You are guilty of these sins; and, The Lord requires this of you." [u]They often preach about the Gospel instead of preaching the Gospel.[/u] They often preach about sinners instead of preaching to them. They studiously avoid being personal, in the sense of making the impression on anyone present that he is the man. Now I have thought it my duty to pursue a different course; and I always have pursued a different course. I have often said, "Do not think I am talking about anybody else; but I mean you, and you, and you."
-Charles Finney

Ministers told me at first that people would never endure this; but would get up and go out, and never come to hear me again. But this is all a mistake. Very much, in this as in everything else, depends on the spirit in which it is said. If the people see that it is said in the spirit of love, with a yearning desire to do them good; if they cannot call it an ebullition of personal animosity, but if they see, and cannot deny, that it is telling the truth in love; that it is coming right home to them to save them individually, there are very few that will continue to resent it. If at the time they feel pointed at and rebuked, nevertheless the conviction is upon them that they needed it, and it will surely ultimately do them great good.
-Charles Finney

I have often said to people, when I saw that they looked offended, "Now you resent this and you will go away and say that you will not come again; but you will. Your own convictions are on my side. You know that what I tell you is true; and that I tell it for your own good; and that you cannot continue to resent it." And I have always found this to be true.
-Charles Finney

The following are excerpts from Chapter one of [i]Tortured for Christ[/i]. I finished reading this first chapter today and thought to share some of it.

'I can say that they had all the Christian virtues, except the virtue of joy. This they had only at conversion, then it disappeared. I thought about this a lot. Once I asked a Baptist, “How is it that you know no joy?” He answered, “How can I be joyful when I have to hide from the pastor of my church that I am an earnest Christian, that I lead a life of prayer, that I try to win souls? The pastor of the church is an in­former of the secret police. We are spied on one after another and the shepherds are those who betray the flock. There exists very deep in our heart the joy of salvation, but this external gladness that you have—we do not have it anymore.”'

More from Chapter one of [i]Tortured for Christ[/i]

"Christianity has become dramatic with us. When Chris­tians in free countries win a soul for Christ, the new believer may become a member of a quietly living church. But when those in captive nations win someone, we know that he may have to go to prison and that his children may become or­phans. The joy of having brought someone to Christ is always mixed with this feeling that there is a price that must be paid. We had met an entirely new type of Christian—the Christian of the Under­ground Church."

'She replied, “This is an even greater wonder. If in heaven there is an Almighty God, in whom in stupidity our fore­fathers believed, it would then be only natural that we should have thumbs. An Almighty God can do everything, so He can make a thumb, too. But if in heaven there is nobody, I will worship with all of my heart the ‘Nobody’ who has made the thumb.”'

and finally these...

'For example, I was later in prison together with souls whom God had helped me to win for Christ. I was in the same cell with one who had left behind six children and who was now in prison for his Christian faith. His wife and children were starving. He might never see them again. I asked him, “Have you any resentment against me that I brought you to Christ and because of this your fam­­ily is in such misery?” He answered, “I have no words to express my thank­fulness that you have brought me to the wonderful Savior. I would never have it any other way.”'

"When I was kidnapped by police and kept imprisoned for years in strictest secrecy, a Christian doctor actually became a member of the secret police to learn my whereabouts! As a secret police doctor, he had access to the cells of all prisoners and hoped to find me. All of his friends shunned him, thinking he had become a Communist. To go around dressed in the uniform of the torturers is a much greater sacrifice than to wear the uniform of a prisoner."

This last qoute reminds me so much of how Christ Himself had put on the uniform of the enemy(so to speak), being clothed in the form of our sinfull flesh so that He could seek us out in the prison of our sins! Praise God!

"You are what you are when you are alone!"
-Unknown

I have found that the key to my victory is understanding that at any given moment, I could do the most despicable thing in the world. [b]I need God every hour![/b]
-Crawford Loritts

Whenever we have to confront somebody about sin, [b]there ought to be a little bit of a tear in our heart, if not in our eyes.[/b] We need to be reminded that but for the grace of God, the capacity for sin in us could break out.
-Crawford Loritts

"We have in false cults a horrible picture of lost men seeking lost men to lead them to a lost eternity."

-Leonard Ravenhill

Vance Havner - "We're suffering from a believism that never has believed and a receivism that never has received and it leads to deceivism" - http://www.devcobaptist.org/clientimages/31831/believismthatneverhasbelieved.wma

"Prayer is sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart of the soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit, for such things as God has promised, or according to His Word, for the good of the church, within submission in faith to the will of God."

-John Bunyan

We religious leaders need to look very much more deeply. We can so easily have talks with people, and they can say we have helped, write us grateful letters, even stand steady for a time till the juice we have put into them runs out; but, we may have brought them no hunger for God-because that hunger is no ache in our own heart-nor brought them anywhere near to the end of self.

... Florence Allshorn (1887-1950), Notebooks [1957]

http://www.cqod.com/

[i]It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.[/i] 1 Corinthians 15:44 (ESV)

Not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up in life. These are words by which the slanderers of the nature, of the body, the impeachers of our flesh, are completely overthrown... We do not wish to cast aside the body, but corruption: not the flesh, but death. The body is one thing, corruption another; the body is one thing, death another... What is foreign to us is not the body but corruptibility.

St. John Chrysostom (345?-407)

"The serious urgency of this duty is created by several facts: First, the utter incompatibility of any measure or kind of sin with holiness. Second, there is a spurious kind of sanctification, which, like Antinomianism, allows itself seemingly to palliate sin. Vice may occur, but it is at once neutralized, or somehow loses its character, by faith or the blood, in connection with a sanctified nature. An egregious error. Sin in the saved is the same as sin in the unsaved. It invalidates the profession of holiness, brings condemnation, and necessitates forgiveness. Third, there is a degree of holiness which is made to comport with the milder forms of moral obliquity. Certain appetites, vanities, and fashionable follies are allowed, fostered, and extenuated; and yet full salvation is claimed and professed. This is a delusion. It is morally impossible for God to sanctify, so long as we toy or tamper with sin. Faith can no more grasp the blessing of sanctification while under the embargo of cherished sin, than the hand can perform its functions under paralysis..."

-Asbury Lowrey

"I do not think it possible for a man to love holiness who loves novels, or craves the staple matter of our secular newspapers. Nor is it possible for a man to find zest in sanctified and sanctifying literature who frequents the theater and other common resorts of worldly men. The same may be said of those who participate in popular amusements or mingle in the hilarities of fashionable society. Such frivolities and vices create revulsions to holiness. And wherever Christians make worldly customs and tainted literature their element, soul-hunger for purity is sure to die out. A candle cannot burn in the foul air that settles in old wells and cisterns. No more can a flame of holy love exist in an atmosphere of un-Christian habits though not grossly wicked."

-Asbury Lowrey

"Sin has not only put a film on the eye, but destroyed the capacity to see. It has ruined the faculty of spiritual insight, and struck the soul with blindness. The only perfect cure is the salve of experimental grace. A man may have all the learning in the world, and all the culture the schools can afford, and yet be a mere novice in spiritual understanding."

-Asbury Lowrey

"A season of silence is the best preparation for speech with God."

-The Path of Prayer, Samuel Chadwick

Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit
was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of
idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the
devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those
who happened to be there. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic
philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, "What
does this babbler wish to say?" Others said, "He seems to be a
preacher of foreign divinities"--because he was preaching
Jesus and the resurrection. And they took hold of him and
brought him to the Areopagus, saying, "May we know what this
new teaching is that you are presenting? For you bring some
strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what
these things mean." Now all the Athenians and the foreigners
who lived there would spend their time in nothing except
telling or hearing something new.

So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus,
said: "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very
religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of
your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'To
the unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this
I proclaim to you."
-- Acts 17:16-23 (ESV)

_______________________________________________________________

Quotation:
If those who say that we must preach the same message as
Paul and the other apostles mean that we should also exhibit
the same adaptability and sensitivity to the background
culture, then they are right... If, however, they mean that we
should expect results merely by repeating the actual phrases
found in the New Testament, then they are mistaken. They are
making, in fact, one of the basic mistakes in verbal
communication, which is to confuse words with what they
describe. The gospel is something God has done, not a series
of phrases describing it. Saying this does not undermine the
Christian's belief in the inspiration of the Bible, for the
important thing about the Bible is what it talks about, rather
than the way it does the talking. If we considered that there
was the same degree of essential inspiration in the way it
does the talking, then we would have to insist that every
Christian learn Hebrew and Greek. The mere fact that we in the
Western world read translations of the scriptures is a clear
admission that times and cultures have changed.
... Gavin Reid, The Gagging of God [1969]

[url=http://www.cqod.com/]http://www.cqod.com/[/url]

A man is what he is on his knees before God, and nothing more

ROBERT MURRAY M'CHEYNE

Prayer is as natural an expression of faith as breathing is of life.

-- Jonathan Edwards

We must not admit for one moment the truth of a statement
often made, that the man who devotes himself to the
establishment of the church, declining to be involved in all
sorts of activities for the improvement of social conditions,
is indifferent to, or heedless of, the sufferings and
injustices under which men suffer. He is nothing of the kind:
he is simply a man who is sure of his foundation, and is
convinced that the only way to any true advancement is
spiritual, and is Christ; and therefore he persists, in spite
of all appearances, in clinging to Christ as the only
foundation, and in building all his hopes for the future on
the acceptance of Christ. He is not content with attacks upon
symptoms of evil; they seem to him superficial: he goes to the
roots. He cannot be content with teaching men Christian
principles of conduct, "Christian ideals of social life"--
still less with the establishment of colleges and clubs.
Nothing but Christ Himself, faith in Christ, the obedience of
Christ, seems to him equal to the need, and nothing else is
his work but the establishment of that foundation. In doing
this he is not showing indifference to social evils, he is not
standing aloof from beneficent movements; he is actively
engaged in laying the axe to the roots of the trees which bear
the evil. That is not indifference.
... Roland Allen (1869-1947), Mission Activities [1927]

http://www.cqod.com/

To be "in the will of God" is not a matter of intellectual discernment, but a state of heart. To a sanctified soul the will of God is its implicit life, as natural as breathing. It is the sick man who knows intellectually what the will of God is; but a sanctified heart is the expression of the will of God. Its motto is --" My Father can do what he likes with me, He may bless me to death, or give me a bitter cup; I delight to do His will." " ....as unto a faithful Creator." The sovereignty of God is the greatest comfort to the saint. The soul of the sanctified saint is en rapport with God, he has no responsibility, he is "without carefulness: because his Father cares, God's predestinations are that soul's voluntary choosings. The pre-eminent mystery in this thought is the mystery of the nature of love: the saint knows, with a knowledge "which passeth knowledge". This truth is never discerned by the powerful in intellect, but only by the pure in heart.

Oswald Chambers, Christian Disciplines Volume 1;

"I must honestly declare my conviction that, since the days of the Reformation, there never has been so much profession of religion without practice, so much talking about God without walking with Him, so much hearing God's words without doing them, as there is in England at this present date. Never were there so many empty tubs and tinkling cymbals! Never was there so much formality and so little reality. The whole tone of men's minds on what constitutes practical Christianity seems lowered. The old golden standard of the behaviour which becomes a Christian man or woman appears debased and degenerated. You may see scores of religious people (so-called) continually doing things which in days gone by would have been thought utterly inconsistent with vital religion. They see no harm in such things as card-playing, theatre-going, dancing, incessant novel-reading, and Sunday-travelling, and they cannot in the least understand what you mean by objecting to them! The ancient tenderness of conscience about such things seems dying away and becoming extinct, like the dodo; and when you venture to remonstrate with young communicants who indulge in them, they only stare at you as an old-fashioned, narrow-minded, fossilized person, and say, 'Where is the harm?' In short, laxity of ideas amoung young men, and 'fastness' and levity among young women, are only too common characteristics of the rising generation of Christian professors."

-- J.C. Ryle

"We want more men and women who walk with God and before God, like Enoch and Abraham. Though our numbers at this date far exceed those of our evangelical forefathers, I believe we fall far short of them in our standard of Christian practice. Where is the self-denial, the redemption of time, the absence of luxury and self-indulgence, the unmistakable separation from earthly things, the manifest air of being always about our Master's business, the singleness of eye, the simplicity of home life, the high tone of conversation in society, the patience, the humility, the universal courtesy, which marked so many of our forerunners seventy or eighty years ago? Yes: where is it indeed? We have inherited their principles, and we wear their armour, but I fear we have not inherited their practice. The Holy Ghost sees it, and is grieved; and the world sees it, and despises us. The world sees it, and cares little for our testimony. It is life, life--a heavenly, godly, Christ-like life--depend on it, which influences the world. Let us resolve, by God's blessing, to shake off this reproach. Let us awake to a clear view of what the times require of us in this matter. Let us aim at a much higher standard of practice. Let the time past suffice us to have been content with a half-and-half holiness. For the time to come, let us endeavour to walk with God, to be 'thorough' and unmistakable in our daily life, and to silence, if we cannot convert, a sneering world."

-- J.C. Ryle

Not how many meetings you go to.
Not how many gifts you have.
Not how many sermons you preach.
Not how many records you've made.
Tell me what time you spend alone with God...
and I'll tell you how spiritual you are

Leonard Ravenhill

"If Jesus had preached the same message that ministers preach today, He would never have been crucified."

Leonard Ravenhill

"I'm not about to put up a silly skit and preach a 15-minute message on 'how to cope' to a multitude of people who are dying and going to hell. I tremble at the thought."

- David Wilkerson

“Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to the garage makes you a car.”
--Laurence J. Peter

"Do we spend ten minutes a day in prayer? Do we consider it important enough for that? Ten minutes a day on our knees in prayer - when the
Kingdom of heaven can be had for the asking!"

"Why, the wonder is not that we pray so little, but that we can ever get up from our knees if we realize our own need; the needs of our home and our loved ones; the needs of our pastor and the Church; the needs of our city - of our country - of the heathen and Mohammedan world! All these needs can be met by the riches of God in Christ Jesus."

- qoutes from [i]The Kneeling Christian[/i] by [i]Anonymous[/i]

"When the house churches heard about the arrest of 36 of the 39 workers, do you think they were disillusioned? Far from it! Believers all around the nation lifted up holy hands before the Lord and with tears streaming down their cheeks they thanked the Lord for performing the great miracle of getting three Chinese missionaries out of China! We have learned to be thankful for any advance of the gospel."

- from [i]Back To Jerusalem: Three Chinese House Church Leaders Share Their Vision to Complete the Great Commission[/i] by Paul Hattaway, Brother Yun, Peter Xu Yongze and Enoch Wang

'In a letter smuggled out secretly, the Underground Church said, “We don’t pray to be better Christians, but that we may be the only kind of Christians God means us to be: Christlike Chris­tians, that is, Christians who bear willingly the cross for God’s glory.”'
-Richard Wurmbrand [i](Tortured for Christ)[/i]

J.C. Ryle, dated April 23, 1864:
"For my own part I can only say that i read everything I can get hold of which professes to throw light on my Master's business, and the work of Christ among men. But, the more I read, the less I admire modern theology. the more I study the productions of the new schools of theological teachers, the more I marvel that men and women can be satisfied with such writings. There is a vagueness, a mistiness, a shallowness, an indistinctness, a superficiality, an aimlessness, a hollowness about the literature of the 'broader and kinder systems', as they are called, which to my mind stamps their origin on their face. They are of the earth, earthy. I find more of definite soul-satisfying thought in one page of Gurnall than in five pages of such books as the leaders of the so-called 'Broad Church School" put forth. In matters of theology, the old is better."
- as quoted in "An Abridgement Of A Biographical Account Of The Author", William Gurnall's book, "The Christian In Complete Armour".

Religion is hanging around the cross; CHISTIANITY IS GETTING ON THE CROSS.

Steve Hill

"The devil's not fighting churches today, he's joining churches."-Vance Havner

"When Jesus therefore had recieved the vinegar,he said,it is finished:and he bowed his head and gave up the ghost."

Minister of the gospel, say that of your congregation, The greatest need for my people is my personal holiness. Teacher say that of your class - The greatest need for my Sunday School class is my personal holiness.

Robert Murray McCheyne

Life without war is impossible either in nature or in grace ...

Health is the balance between physical life and external nature ... If I have enough fighting power, I produce the balance of health . . .

The same is true of mental life . . . I have to fight, and in that way the mental balance called thought is produced. . .

Morally it is the same. Everything that does not partake of the nature of virtue is the enemy of virtue in me . . .Immediately I fight, I am moral in that particular . .

Spiritually it is the same . . .I haved to learn to score off the things that come against me, and in that way produce the balance called holiness, then it becomes a delight to meet opposition.

Holiness is the balance between my disposition and the law of God as expressed in Jesus Christ.

Oswald Chambers

'Some of us have been reading about Praying Hyde. Truly, his intercession changed things. Men tell us they were thrilled when John Hyde prayed. They were stirred to their inmost being when he just pleaded the name "Jesus!-Jesus!-Jesus!" and a baptisim of love and power came upon them.

But it was not John Hyde: it was the Holy Spirit of God whom one consecrated man, filled with that Spirit, brought down upon all around him. May we not all become "Praying Hydes"?'

" Failure in prayer is due to fault in the heart."

"Every unanswered prayer is a clarion call to search the heart to see what is wrong there; for the promise is unmistakable in its clearness: '[b][color=660033]If ye shall ask anything in my name, that will I do[/color][/b]'"

qoutes from [i]The Kneeling Christian[/i] by [i]Anonymous[/i]

"Are not our prayers so often ineffective and powerless - and sometimes even prayerless - becuase we rush unthinkingly and unpreparedly into God's presence, without realizing the majesty and glory of the God whom we are approaching, and without reflecting upon the exceeding great riches of his glory in Christ Jesus, which we hope to draw upon? We must 'think magnificently of God.'"

- from [i]The Kneeling Christian[/i] by [i]Anonymous[/i]

"If no immediate choice has to be made, one should wait. The Lord orders our stops as well as our steps. When the time comes that a decision must be made, one can proceed in the direction that seems best. As you conscientiously seek His guidance, He will not let you make a wrong choice." George Mueller

John 5:39 "Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

His cup of affliction was filled to the brim,
And are we not willing to suffer for Him?
The robe of His glory for us He laid down,
To show us the path from the cross to the crown.
Fanny Crosby

A partial obedience is a disobedience and a partial truth is a lie.
Art Katz

[color=6600FF]The life of the Lord in us is a spring of living water--ever flowing without variation. Nothing is wrong with the inlet: It is the outlet that is obstructed. The water of life does not spring forth because the flow has no way through. Were the outlet cleared, the water of life would flow unceasingly. What a child of God needs is not more life but more flow of life. "

Brother Watchman Nee[/color]

"Tried this morning especially to pray against idols in the shape of my books and studies. These encroach upon my direct communion with God, and need to be watched." - taken from "Andrew Bonar: Diary & Life" on Saturday, September 7, 1850

"Pride is a sin which of all sins, makes a person
most like Satan. Pride is Satan's disease. Pride
is so base a disease, that God had rather see His
dearest children to be buffeted by Satan, than
that in pride they should be like Satan."

Taken from [url=https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=13960&forum=45&0]Here[/url]

"I am not yet weaned from all created glory, honor, wisdom, and esteem of others, for I have a secret motive to eye my name in all I do."

- Author Unknown, taken from a prayer titled [i]The Dark Guest[/i], in [i]The Valley of Vision[/i] Puritan Prayers and Devotions

"I was invited to a gathering one time, where their brochure announced there would be a worship leader demonstrating radical worship...

...the term “radical worship” did cause me to think of a couple of instances in the Bible which I would describe as being radical worship. Job, a righteous man, afflicted by Satan with God’s permission so that he lost almost everything, and was afflicted with a very severe skin disease and sat in a pile of ashes, worshipping God. I would call that very radical."

- George H. Warnock

[i]Qoute taken from here[/i] [url=https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=14193&forum=40]Latter Rain Pioneer Warnock Looks to Future[/url]

Dear Chris,

Thanks for sharing this. I love GW. Awesome man of God. I have read all of his books I could get my hands on and thought them excellent.

thanks again. :-D

Dear Goldminer, I'm so glad that sharing the qoute was a blessing to you! It is a joy to share blessings with each other.

I wish you all goodness and fullness in God and Christ Jesus,

Chris

Quote:

Many times in our walk with God, and in spiritual warfare, we may present an image of defeatism to the world about us, or to the Church. We just have to recognize that, and bear the reproach of it all. We are not really defeated...we are just projecting that image in the purpose of God for the eventual defeat of the enemy.

AFTER REPENTENCE, AFTER THE ROOTING OUT OF THE IDOLS OF THE HEART...GOD'S INTERVENTION IN OUR LIVES PRODUCES SUCH A WORKING OF GRACE THAT THE FAILURE ITSELF IN ENTWINED INTO HIS PURPOSES, AND GREATER IS THE GLORY THAT MAY COME FORTH FROM IT!

"Beauty for Ashes" by George H. Warnock

Any manipulation of the Scriptures to make them speak peace to the natural man is evil and can only lead to ruin.

The purpose of the Bible is to bring men to Christ, to make them holy and prepare them for heaven. In this it is unique among books, and it always fulfills its purpose when it is read in faith and obedience.

A. W. Tozer

"Beloved, God is not a cosmic vending machine!" - Ron Hembree

"In the modern campaign the evangelist calls upon people to accept Christ, and rightly so. But oh, that we could hear sinners calling upon Christ to accept them! People take salvation today in such a cold, formal, matter-of-fact, business-like sort of way, that it appears as though they are doing God an honor in condescending to receive His offer of Redemption. Their eyes are dry, their sense of sin absent; nor is there any sign of penitence and contrition. They look upon it as a manly thing to do. But oh, if there were conviction! if they came with hearts bowed down, yea! broken and contrite, came with the cry of the guilt-laden soul: "God be merciful to me a sinner!"--came trembling with the burning life and death question of the Philippian jailor: "What must I do to be saved ?"--what converts they would be!"

-Oswald J. Smith

"The power of God was present. They came to be saved, and were not disappointed. The sobs and cries were wonderful. It seemed as if God had come down in terror and power; as if the Spirit were passing through every region of every soul, diffusing Himself through all its capacities, and recesses; throwing light into the understanding, assailing and subverting the fortress of sin in the heart; revealing Himself as the antagonist of sin--disturbing and tracking it in all its windings--stirring the soul to its depths, drawing it slowly, but surely, to a crisis--piling up these sentences of condemnation, one upon another, until the whole soul, collecting all its energies into one out-cry for mercy, exclaimed, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner, what must I do to be saved? Save, Lord, or I perish! O, save or I sink into hell. Heal my soul for I have sinned against Thee !"

--James Caughey(Speaking about the type of conviction in sinners during his ministry)

"When the conviction as to its mental process reaches its crisis, the person, through weakness, is unable to sit or stand, and either kneels or lies down. A great number of convicted persons in this town and neighborhood, and now I believe in all directions in the north where the Revival prevails, are "smitten down" as suddenly and they fall as nerveless and paralyzed and powerless, as if killed instantly by a shotgun. They fall with a deep groan, some with a wild cry of horror--the greater number with the intensely earnest plea, 'Lord Jesus, have mercy on my soul !' The whole frame trembles like an aspen leaf, an intolerable weight is felt upon the chest, a choking sensation is experienced and relief from this found only in the loud, urgent prayer for deliverance, usually the bodily distress and mental anguish continue till some degree of confidence in Christ is found. Then the look, the tone, the gestures, instantly change. The aspect of anguish and despair is changed for that of gratitude, and triumph, and adoration. The language and the looks, and terrible struggles, and loud desperate depreciation, tell convincingly, as the parties themselves declare, that they are in deadly conflict with the old serpent. The perspiration rolls off the anguished victims; their very hair is moistened. Some pass through this exhausting conflict several times; others but once. There is no appetite for food; many will eat nothing for a number of days. They do not sleep, though they may lie down with their eyes shut."

--The Irish Revival 1859.

"I had not discoursed long when the congregation melted into tears. This abated for a few minutes, till a little boy about seven or eight years of age cried out exceeding piteously indeed and wept as though his little heart would break. I asked the little boy what he cried for. He answered 'my sins !' I then asked him what he wanted. He answered, 'Christ!'

"Others were so earnest for a discovery of the Lord to their souls that their eager crying obliged me to stop, and I prayed over them, as I saw their agonies and distress increase. Oh, the distress and anguish of their souls! oh, the pains that were upon them!

"Many of the assembled were deeply affected, groaning and sobbing; there was a great weeping and mourning."

--William Bramwell.

If Jesus Christ be God and died for me. Then no sacrafice I make for Him is too great!

C.T. Studd

"Faith is the organ or sense for the perception and apprehension of the heavenly world and its blessings. Faith seeks .the glory that comes from God, that only comes where God is All. As long as we take glory from one another, as long as ever we seek and love and jealously guard the glory of this life, the honor and reputation that comes from men, we do not seek, and cannot receive the glory that comes from God. Pride renders faith impossible. Salvation comes through a cross and a crucified Christ. Salvation is the fellowship with the crucified Christ in the Spirit of His cross. Salvation is union with and delight in, salvation is participation in, the humility of Jesus. Is it wonder that our faith is so feeble when pride still reigns so much, and we have scarce learnt even to long or pray for humility as the most needful and blessed part of salvation?"

- Andrew Murray from Humility and Faith

[url=https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/articles/index.php?view=article&aid=1817]Humility and Faith[/url]

'Italy was the prey of petty tyrants and wicked priests, and dukes and popes who strived with each other for political power and control. These things brought great sorrow to his young soul which was burning for holiness and truth. He talked little, and kept to himself. He loved to wander in lonely places to sing or more often weep, giving vent to the strong emotions which tore at his heart. "Prayer was his one great solace, and his tears would often stain the altar steps, where he sought aid from heaven against the vile and corrupt age".'

[i]Prayer was his one great solace, and his tears would often stain the altar steps, where he sought aid from heaven against the vile and corrupt age".[/i]

[i]Prayer was his one great solace[/i]

- taken from [b]Girolamo Savonarola[/b]
by David Smithers

[url=https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=14101&forum=40&6]Thread containing article and qoute[/url]

Quote:

"The secret place is the King's chamber (Song of Solomon 1:4), the place where we nurture our growing love relationship.

This is where He speaks over us, declaring how beautiful and fair we are in His sight. We respond by opening our hearts to Him with greater abandonment, praising the glorious attributes of His beauty and character, and receiving the lavish affections of His heart. Oh, the exchange of love in the secret place is most glorious! He sure knows how to capture the heart and keep it!

Jesus didn't die to marry "amazon woman," a battle axe of a bride that is so tough that she intimidates with her hulking strength and imposing demeanor. Nor did He die to marry a work-horse who will tirelessly labor for fulfill His household chores and glean His fields. He died for love. He died to marry a beautiful bride who will walk with Him, talk with Him, dream with Him, laugh with Him, strategize with Him, and rule with Him.

"Secrets fo the Secret Place" by Bob Sorge

"I withdrew from prayer, hoping for strength from above. In prayer I was exceedingly enlarged and my soul was as much drawn out as I ever remember it to have been in my life. I was in such anguish, and pleaded with so much earnestness and importunity, that when I rose from my knees I felt extremely weak and overcome I could scarcely walk straight; my joints were loosed; the sweat ran down my face and body; and nature seemed as if it would dissolve."

-David Brainerd

"Come by faith to Jesus, for without him you perish for ever. Did you ever notice how a fir-tree will get a hold among rocks which seem to afford it no soil? It sends a rootlet into any little crack which opens; it clutches even the bare rock as with a huge bird's claw; it holds fast, and binds itself to earth with a hundred anchorages. Our little drawing is very accurate. We have often seen trees thus firmly rooted upon detached masses of bare rock. Now, dear heart, let this be a picture of yourself. Grip the Rock of Ages. With the rootlet of little-faith hold to him. Let that tiny feeler grow; and meanwhile, send out another to take a new grasp of the same Rock. Lay hold on Jesus, and keep hold on Jesus. Grow up into him. Twist the roots of your nature, the fibers of your heart, about him. He is as free to you as the rocks are to the fir-tree: be you as firmly lashed to him as the pine is to the mountain's side."

- C.H. Spurgeon

From [i]fir tree among rocks(Illustration)[/i]

[url=https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=1309]fir tree among rocks[/url]

"Christians are not perfect, just forgiven." (Some backslider must have written that one.)

-Leonard Ravenhill

"People are getting fit for Truth
Like they're buying a new tailored suit
Does it fit across the shoulders
Does it fade when it gets older
We throw ideas that aren't in style
In the Salvation Army pile
And search for something more to meet our needs

And the Word was
And the Word is
And the Word will be"

- Lyrics to the song [i]The Word[/i] by Sarah Groves

"But the soul renounced shall abide in the boundlessness of God's life. This is liberty, this is prosperity. The more we lose, the more we gain”
Watchman Nee

"Good is still the worst enemy of the best. Satan's most effective temptation is to get us to do what God has already called us to do, but do it prematurely and do it in a way that avoids the cross."

Rick Joyner

"The secret of following God's will is wrapped in rejecting the good for God's best."

K.P. Yohannan

"Pride is God's most stubborn enemy! There is no sin so much like the devil as pride. It is a secret and subtle sin, and appears in a great many shapes which are undetected and unsuspected."

- attributed to Jonathan Edwards in [i]Grace Gems for January 2005[/i]

Thiss a bit long for a quote but i didn't want to start a new thread and this seemed like a reasonable spot for this.

What a mystery are you!

"So I find this law at work—When I want to do
good, evil is right there with me." Rom. 7:21

Are you not often a mystery to yourself?

Warm one moment—cold the next!

Abasing yourself one hour—
exalting yourself the following!

Loving the world, full of it, steeped up to
your head in it today—crying, groaning, and
sighing for a sweet manifestation of the love
of God tomorrow!

Brought down to nothingness, covered with
shame and confusion, on your knees before
you leave your room—filled with pride and self
importance before you have got down stairs!

Despising the world, and willing to give it all
up for one taste of the love of Jesus when in
solitude—trying to grasp it with both hands
when in business!

What a mystery are you!

Touched by love—and stung with hatred!

Possessing a little wisdom—and a great deal of folly!

Earthly minded—and yet having the affections in heaven!

Pressing forward—and lagging behind!

Full of sloth—and yet taking the kingdom with violence!

And thus the Spirit, by a process which we may feel
but cannot adequately describe—leads us into the
mystery of the two natures perpetually struggling
and striving against each other in the same bosom.
So that one man cannot more differ from another,
than the same man differs from himself.

But the mystery of the kingdom of heaven is this—
that our carnal mind undergoes no alteration, but
maintains a perpetual war with grace. And thus,
the deeper we sink in self abasement under a
sense of our vileness, the higher we rise in a
knowledge of Christ, and the blacker we are in
our own view—the more lovely does Jesus appear.

J. C. Philpot