Afflicted saint, when you are fretful and desponding \u2013 think\nwhat a lost soul, who had been in Hell but an hour, would give for a drop of\nthat grace which you have in your heart! Think seriously of this and be\nthankful! \n \n ~Thomas Brooks<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sinful man\nis so proud, so self-righteous, so conceited and deceived about himself, that,\nwhen it is declared unto him that God saves sinners fully, freely and forever,\nwith no regard to human works, worth or merit \u2013 he is offended, gets angry, and\nseeks another preacher and another message. Tell sinful man that God has merely\nmade salvation available, and that it is left up to sinners to avail themselves\nof it; that they must do or perform something to obtain it, and they set to\nwork and are happy. I call this spiritual insanity!<\/strong> Leading\nto spiritual suicide!!!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \n <\/strong>Pastor\nMaurice Montgomery<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n God does not say “when\nI see your faith,”<\/em> or “when I see your\nbelieving,” <\/em>or “when I see your\nexperience,” <\/em>or “when I see your\nbaptism,” <\/em>or “when I see your graces,” <\/em>but “When\nI see the blood, I will pass over you.”\n Pastor\nMilton Howard<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Crying Peace, Peace<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Preachers try to convince men of\nGod’s love and mercy without a word about His justice and righteousness.\nPreachers try to convince men of God’s willingness to receive them while\nnothing is said about their unwillingness to come. Preachers are comforting and\nencouraging men in their rebellion. They dare not reprove, rebuke, exhort or\noffend. They cry peace when there is no <\/em>peace\u2026Men are built up\nwho have never been broken down. Men are filled who have never been emptied.\nMen are saved who have never been lost. Men are healed who have never been\nwounded. Men are exalted who have never been humbled. Men are given life who\nhave never been killed. Men are given grace who have never been guilty. They\nwear the wool, eat the fat, but do not feed the sheep. They say God has put\nforth an effort. He sent His Son. That is all He can do. You must do something\nfor God so God can do something for you. But the word of God says that He must\ndo something for you, before you can do anything for\nHim. \n Pastor Scott Richardson<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n God told Moses, \u201cThou canst not see my face: for there shall no\nman see me, and live.\u201d (Exodus 33:20) The very One that we cannot look in the\nface of and live is the Very One that we must look into the face of to live.\nWhat a predicament. How can a man see God and live? Only one way! The apostle\nPaul answered that question for us very plainly and simply. \u201cFor God, who\ncommanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to\ngive the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus\nChrist.\u201d (2 Corinthians 4:6) <\/p>\n\n\n\n ~David Eddmenson<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Touching Christ”<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Luke 8:46) “And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched\nme: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n When our Lord preached, His preaching was very plain and\nclear. He did not beat around the bush and dodge the issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of all those gathered around our Lord this day, only one is\nmentioned \u2013 and this one is only called a “woman” \u2013\n“somebody”. Today you are reading this short word \u2013 and in a\nfew minutes you will be through. But, you will not be as you were. \nThis Word will have its perfect work. Some will be moved by it.\n “Somebody” will be rejoicing in Christ. Somebody will\nsay, “I have touched the hem of his garment, and I have been made\nwhole.” That is what makes it worth all, for in this pile of rocks\ncalled humanity, God has His precious jewels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All we do has no meaning unless we touch Christ. This has\nto be our only desire. Peter said, “The multitude throng thee, and\npress thee.” For many that is enough. All of this religious\ndoing means nothing if none are moved to touch Christ in faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some go to church because they think they are supposed to. \nThere is no interest in being there. Some go just to maintain their place\nin the community, or to keep someone else from getting their pew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What a sad thing it will be when we come to judgment and find\nout that custom has nothing to do with it. That is when we will find out\nthat to have heard the preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ is a serious\nmatter. We will have to answer before the great Judge of all the earth\nfor what we have heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For some it is enough to go through the motions of\nreligion. You are content with the form of godliness, but reject the\npower. There were many around Jesus in the crowd, but only one touched\nHim in faith. Christ said, “Somebody hath touched me,” and that\nis the heart of the matter. In all your religion, never be satisfied\nuntil you have touched Christ. Never be satisfied with just watching what\ngoes on. Unless you touch Him, it is only form without power. It is a\ndead performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This woman must touch Him but it was not an easy thing to\ndo. To touch Christ we have to get through all of our religion to get to\nHim. Religion is a great obstacle to the salvation of our soul. \nThis disease had taken all her strength. It left her helpless, just as\nour sin keeps us from God. It bars the gates of Heaven to us. God\nhides His face from us because of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, all that stood in her way is what qualified her to come to\nChrist and touch Him. There is no great show in what she did. It is\nnot how much I touch, but Who I touch. It is not how much I look, but to\nWhom I look. It is not how much I believe, but Who I believe. It is\nnot how much faith I have, but the Object of my faith. Our plea must not\nbe our goodness, but our guilt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The emptier I am, the more room there is for my Master. \nThe more I lack, the more He will give. A touch of Christ will heal your\nsin-sick soul. The precious blood of Jesus will cleanse you from all sin,\nand make you white as snow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel\u2019s\nveins;<\/p>\n\n\n\n And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty\nstains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Milton W Howard<\/p>\n\n\n\n OF COURSE IT MUST BE \u201cSURE\u201d IF IT IS ORDAINED OF GOD<\/p>\n\n\n\n David writes of the CERTAINTY of the salvation of God\u2019s elect in\n2 Samuel 23:5 declaring the \u201ceverlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and\nsure.\u201d OF COURSE IT MUST BE \u201cSURE\u201d IF IT IS ORDAINED OF GOD. Rulers and\nmonarchs may ordain certain things and never have power to carry them out – be\nfrustrated in their designs – BUT GOD NEVER CAN BE. He is omnipotent as well as\nin possession of all other perfections and consequently, WHAT THE ETERNAL MIND\nHAS ORDERED, SETTLED, DETERMINED AND FIXED BY DECREE, CAN NEVER BE\n REVOKED, BUT MUST BE CARRIED OUT AND ACCOMPLISHED BY HIS OWN ALMIGHTY\nARM. If God had ordained salvation with some ifs, buts and peradventures and\nleft them for you and me to get rid of, they would have stood against us till\nwe were banished to hell. THERE NEVER WOULD HAVE BEEN A SINNER ON EARTH SAVED\nIF JEHOVAH HAD LEFT CONDITIONS FOR MAN TO FULFILL. We must have been eternally\nlost; and therefore I do charge it upon those who advocate the free-will system\nand the accursed doctrine of universal redemption, THAT THEY ARE DOING ALL THEY\nCAN TO DRIVE MEN TO DESPAIR. IT IS THE MOST WICKED SYSTEM UPON EARTH. ”\n\u2014Joseph Irons<\/p>\n\n\n\n True Humility <\/p>\n\n\n\n True humility is to have a right estimate of one\u2019s self. It is\nnot to deny or underestimate true ability, real knowledge, and obvious gifts. A\ngifted singer knows he can sing. An intelligent person is aware of his\nknowledge. A successful businessman knows his\n business, and an artist knows his\nskills. It is not humility to speak\n what one does not truly feel. True\nhumility is born when one discovers the SOURCE of all gifts, talents, and\nknowledge. \u201cWHO maketh thee to differ?\u201d It\n is certain that we are different and some have\nwhat others do not have in different areas. But the Lord God,\n in His sovereign will, gives us all\n that we have. \u201cWithout Him we can do nothing.\u201d \u201cA Man can\nreceive nothing except it be GIVEN him from heaven!\u201d \n The higher a man grows in the\n grace of God, the lower he will be in his own eyes. A\nman who has been introduced to what really happened in the Garden of Eden and\nwhat really happened on the cross of Calvary will have\n no problem with pride and arrogance. \nApart from the mercy and grace of God,\n he knows WHERE he could be and WHAT\nhe could be! \u201cBy the grace of God, I am what I am.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Henry Mahan <\/p>\n\n\n\n Without Christ We Are\nNothing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There is an old saying, \u201cGod helps\nthose that help themselves.\u201d However, the word of God teaches us differently.\nThe word of God teaches us that God helps those that cannot help themselves.\n\u201cHe giveth power to the faint and to them that have no might he increaseth\nstrength; (Isa. 40:29). Christ said, \u201cI am the vine, ye are the branches, he\nthat abideth in me and I in him, that same bringeth forth much fruit; for\nwithout me you can do nothing\u201d (John 15:5).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Without Christ we are nothing and\ncan do nothing that God can be pleased with. We cannot take our next breath nor\nbreathe out a prayer that God will hear without Christ. We cannot know God\nwithout Christ. Christ is the key of knowledge, apart from Christ we know\nnothing and are nothing, period! \n \n \n ~John Chapman<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Afflicted saint, when you are fretful and desponding \u2013 think what a lost soul, who had been in Hell but an hour, would give for a drop of that grace which you have in your heart! Think seriously of this and be thankful! 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