What Impression Do We Give?

In the late 1890's, some Americans visited a famous church in England. The preacher was eloquent and well spoken. The visitors left saying, "What a wonderful sermon!"

That evening, the same folks went to another church and heard Charles Spurgeon speak, and they walked out exclaiming, "What a wonderful Savior!"

Digging Up Wells!

Genesis 26: 15-18 gives us the account of how Isaac dug up the wells of his father, Abraham, that had been clogged with earth by the Philistines. As his servants unstopped each well, they found springs of water.

Modern day Philistines have infiltrated the Church and clogged up the faith of our fathers with all kinds of dirt; humanism, psychology, easy believism, self centered health/wealth message, and a watered down seeker ( sinner ) friendly gospel. Lost deep beneath this mess are springs of living water and the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, where the Holy Spirit still calls men to repentance and to the cross of Christ!

So where are the Isaacs of today? Where are men and women of God who will say "NO" to the compromise we are seeing in most churches across this nation? John the Baptist would not be allowed in today's pulpits. For that matter, neither would Peter, James, John, or Paul. They've already replaced the King James version of the Bible in most churches with newer, watered down translations, because the KJV is too offensive and harsh!

Sure, these new churches are full, but full of what? Clogged up with dirt!

At one church I attended, the Pastor told me that I needed to get in touch with my feminine side. At another, they gave a call for salvation, but never mentioned anything about repentance or the cross of Jesus. I've heard countless sermons filled with psychology ( a humanistic religion ), lightly peppered with scripture ( usually taken out of context ) and nary a mention of the precious atoning blood of our Savior!

If Martin Luther were here today, he would have to nail 95 more thesis to the doors of our "purpose driven" assemblies! Billy Sunday would still preach from a tent, because his "fire and brimstone" words are outdated and may hurt someone's feelings.

The Christian bookstores are filled with dirt. Christian television is filled with dirt. Churches are filled with dirt. We need somebody with a big shovel, or maybe even a bulldozer to dig up the dirt and reveal the "faith of our fathers".

The God of Isaac is still on the throne, but where are the Isaacs of God?

Quotes From Leonard Ravinhill

Below are quotes from Leonard Ravinhill gleaned from his various books:

We have too many dead men in the pulpits giving out too many dead sermons to too many dead people.

The secret of praying is praying in secret.

A sinning man will stop praying and a praying man will stop sinning.

A sober church never does any good. At this hour, we need men drunk with the Holy Ghost.

The only power that God yields to is the power of prayer.

If there are degrees of death, then the deadest I know of is to preach about the Holy Ghost without the anointing of the Holy Ghost.

I do not marvel at the patience of the Lord with sinners. After all, would we not be patient with a man both blind and deaf? But I do marvel at the Lord's patience with the sleeply, sluggish, selfish church.

God has nothing more to give to this world. He gave His only begotten Son for sinners. He gave the Bible for all men. He gave the Holy Ghost to convict the world and equip the church. What good is a meeting, if the living Lord is absent?

In praying, some assume the unpardonable arrogance of crying for the blessed Spirit to come with His grace.....but not with His gifts.

God asks men to do NOT what they can, but what they can't.

No man is greater than his prayer life.

The sign of Christianity is not a cross, but a tongue of fire.

If any of us knows God, then look out Lucifer!!

My wife is the most upstanding, moral person that I know. For years I envied her ability to almost always make choices that were in line with God's word. Just knowing what is right is not enough. Posting the ten commandments on your living room wall is not enough. Just like the Apostle Paul struggled with wanting to do the right thing, but often failing, I had my own struggles. And there was my wife. Always in front of me...no apparent struggling, no grappling with scripture or battling in prayer. She just chose to do what was right and not to do what was wrong.

I'd ask her what her secret was and she'd give me a baffled look. She wasn't even aware that she was going through life, for the most part, doing good and refusing to do bad. Why was it that I had to fight so hard to achieve what she found so easy?

I finally realized her secret one day. The desires of her heart were the same as Gods. She wanted what He wanted. My root problem was that I wanted what I wanted. I had desires that were mine alone, very different from the Lords. All I had to do was adopt the desires of God's heart and give up my own and the right choices in life would follow.

Perhaps to some of you, this is no big revelation, but to me it was lifechanging. When I could see God's love for the sinner, sharing my faith not only became easy, but essential. When I felt the Lord's heart break over sin, I became broken and lost any desire to hurt Him or myself that way anymore.

Someone once said, "the national anthem of hell is, ' I Did It My Way', and isn't that the truth. My logic, my carnal mind will only lead to death. I guess that's what the Bible means when it tells us to "take on the mind of Christ." God doesn't want us to DO good, He wants us to BE good.

Humility

There once was a man in Church who was given a button for being humble but they had to take it away because he wore it.

Humility is truly one of the most evasive of Christian virtues. How many of us have ever stood up in Church and testified, "Brothers and sisters, after a long period of time searching and praying, I have finally arrived....I am now humble!" Unlike many other desirable attributes, humility is lost when it is public ally confessed.

Another thing about humility; it is achieved usually through great trial and tribulation. It is difficult, if not impossible for a rich or famous person to be humble. Humility is bestowed upon the meek and the poor and the Mother Theresa’s of the world. To pray for humility is the same as to pray for great trials and pain upon oneself.

I really don't believe that humility is something to be sought out or measured in yourself or in those around you. True humility is something that God recognizes and that's all that really matters. Humility is simply a natural by product of a Spirit filled life.