The Christ of Experience

By Vance Havner Last of all he was seen of me also (1 Cor. 15:8).In this marvelous and classic statement of the Gospel, Paul sets forth:1. The Christ of history – “Christ died.”2. The Christ of doctrine – “Christ died for our sins.”3. The Christ of the Scriptures – “Christ died…was buried…and rose again the […]

The Lesson of Carmel: God’s Power

By Vance Havner The God that answereth by fire, let him be God (1 Kings 18:24).The great day on Carmel had all the elements of a mighty moving of God. 1. The promise of showers of blessing (v.1).2. The human efforts of Ahab and Obadiah to meet the need of the hour (vv. 2-16).3. God’s […]

Duncan Campbell, a great agent of God, in a revival in Scotland 40 years ago, said, “We do not pray for revival in order that souls may be saved, but souls are saved in their thousands when we have revival. When the thirsty are satisfied, then the floods come on the dry ground.”

Do you need a Christian tune-up?
If so, here are five tune-up specials for you.
1. Adjust your light so others may see your good works.
2. Set your timing so as to be at the meeting house on time.
3. Adjust the brakes on your tongue.
4. Align your direction so that you may stay on the straight and narrow.
5. Anti-freeze your heart and be fervent in spirit, above all things, love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind.

Revival is needed when sinners are careless and stupid, and sinking into hell unconcerned. Then it is time for the CHURCH to stir itself. It is as much the duty of the church to awake as it is of the firemen to awake when a fire breaks out in the night in a great city. The CHURCH ought to put out the fires of hell which are laying hold of the wicked. Sleep! Should the firemen sleep and let the whole city burn down? What would be thought of such firemen? And yet their guilt would not compare with the guilt of CHRISTIANS who sleep while sinners around them are sinking stupid into the fires of hell. – Charles G. Finney

When God finds His people willing, when they have been forged into an instrument He can use, He will begin to work in power upon the consciences of sinners. – Anonymous

God is not only the source of revival – but He is also the end of revival. Revival comes from God and leads to God, that He may be ‘all in all’ and that man may learn that of himself he is nothing. – Anonymous

Revival times cause a rebuilding of the altar of prayer and a new commitment to seeking God. – Anonymous

Revival

Repentance is always difficult, and the difficulty grows still greater by delay. – Samuel Johnson in The Quotable Johnson, Christianity Today: October 6, 1997

One thief on the cross was saved, that none should despair; and only one, that none should presume. – J.C. Ryle

If there are a thousand steps between us and God, He will take all but one. He will leave the final one for us. The choice is ours. – Max Lucado

The man who knows his sins is greater than one who raises a dead man by his prayer. – Isaac the Syrian

Repentance may be old-fashioned, but it is not outdated so long as there is sin. – J.C. McCauley

Within the next few hours if we really opened our hearts to repentance and faith for an unscheduled invasion of God, we could meet the demonism of this age with the demonstration of the Holy Spirit and power. – Vance Havner

People who admit they’re wrong get a lot farther than people who prove they’re right. – Beryl Pfizer

Repentance

Just in terms of allocation of time resources, religion is not very efficient. There’s a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday morning. – Bill Gates (quoted in Chicago Tribune, Jan. 13, 1997)

A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world – and might even be more difficult to save. – C.S. Lewis

We have supplanted:
• Prophets with performers, who lack God's power, perseverance and purpose.
• Pastors with promoters, who often confuse an organization with the Kingdom of God, and who promote an organization with church-growth techniques, and neglect the Growth of the Kingdom of God.
• Proclaiming the truth with prattling trivialities, which amuse and entertain, and which sometimes stimulate and excite, but which do not challenge or transform.
• Preaching with propaganda embracing a false eschatology, which looks for Christ's peace to be produced by a political process, rather than by righteous and separated living.
• Piety with pretense, which replaces sanctification and substance with superficiality and success.
James L. Holly, M.D.

For a society that’s secular by law, America is a very religious place. Virtually all Americans say they believe in God; 90% say religion is important in their lives; 72% pray every day. – April 1, 1996, USA TODAY

I certainly don’t think that the death required that “ye be born again,” is the death of reason…One of the effects of modern liberal Protestantism has been gradually to turn religion into poetry and therapy, to make truth vaguer and vaguer and more and more relative, to banish intellectual distinctions, to depend on feeling instead of thought, and gradually to come to believe that God has no power, that he cannot communicate with us, cannot reveal himself to us, indeed has not done so, and that religion is our own sweet invention. – Flannery O’Connor in Habit of Being

Religion in our time has been captured by the tourist mindset. Religion is understood as a visit to an attractive site to be made when we have adequate leisure. For some it is a weekly jaunt to church. For others, occasional visits to special services. – Eugene Peterson in A Long Obedience in the Same Direction (quoted in Sharing the Practice, Spr 1996, page 1)

Too much of our orthodoxy is correct and sound, but like words without a tune, it does not glow and burn; it does not stir the heart; it has lost its hallelujah. One man with a genuine glowing experience with God is worth a library full of arguments. – Vance Havner

We have found hundreds that have allowed the “system” to overshadow the Savior…This is not Biblical and it is weakening the church wherever we find it…It’s not new…Jesus had to ask Peter three times, “Lovest thou me more than these?”…consider this seriously…when the system overshadows the Savior you have a sickness that demands serious surgery…God is now performing some of this surgery in His church…Some will recover to shine and bless…some will be laid aside never to be heard from again…a host of others will just plain die leaving no fruit behind them. – Rev. Don Miller

Give up your good Christian life and follow Christ. – Garrison Keillor (quoted in Salt of the Earth, Sept/Oct 1996. Pg. 35)

Religion

Tomorrow’s Pastors

– Of the 3,000 students graduating from 90 seminaries in 1999, 60 percent earned Master of Divinity degrees. – Males accounted for 65 percent of the graduates, females 35 percent. However, this figure includes Catholic seminaries. In many Protestant seminaries, there’s been a more rapid influx of women in the last 40 years than this […]

How Would We Feel?

– If God gave us the same amount of time and attention that we devote to Him?– If God offered as many excuses as we do, and if the excuses were no more justifiable than ours?– If God’s promises were no more certain than ours?– If God withheld His blessings from us as we withhold […]

April Fools Day: Its Christian History Finally Uncovered

It’s widely known that Mardi Gras, Halloween and other “secular” celebrations have their roots in ancient Christian history. What many have never heard, however, is the religious roots of April Fool’s Day. In approximately 312 AD., a little-known saint named Aprilius lived in Rome and was attributed a stream of strange miracles. St. Aprilius lived […]

True Truth

Defending Absolute Truth in a Relativistic World – Art Lindsley. InterVarsity. Lindsley is the senior fellow at the C.S. Lewis Institute. This book comes highly recommended by Charles Colson and Ravi Zacharias. Seeing the increasing polarization of American culture, it’s important that we understand how to stand for truth in a relativistic age. There are […]

The Sermon Maker

Tales of a Transformed Preacher – Calvin Miller. Zondervan. A well written book that is easy to read with practical principles for preaching that you can apply. You may find yourself in Pastor Sam’s position and find some hope between these pages. 2ProphetU2ProphetU is an online magazine/website, started by Warren Wiersbe and Michael Catt, to […]

The 7 Sins of Highly Defective People

– Rick Ezell. Kregel. The author takes a look at the 7 deadly sins and gives practical advice on how to overcome them. If you are preaching through the 7 deadly sins, this is a book to add to your library. 2ProphetU2ProphetU is an online magazine/website, started by Warren Wiersbe and Michael Catt, to build […]

Take Heart

Daily Devotions with the Church’s Great Preachers – Compiled and Edited by Diana Wallis, Kregel. What a great idea for a devotional book. These daily devotions include contributions by some of the great leaders of the church including: Spurgeon, Whitefield, Augustine, George H. Morrison, Jonathan Edwards, Martin Luther, Alexander Maclaren, Phillips Brooks, Clovis Chappell, Charles […]

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