Tag: Church

The Core & Center

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“Sound Bible exposition is an imperative must in the Church of the Living God. Without it no church can be a New Testament church in any strict meaning of that term. But exposition may be carried on in such way as to leave the hearers devoid of any true spiritual nourishment whatever. For it is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself, and unless and until the hearers find God in personal experience they are not the better for having heard the truth. The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts.”

~ A.W. Tozer

The Church

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“The true man of God is heartsick, grieved at the worldliness of the Church…grieved at the toleration of sin in the Church, grieved at the prayerlessness in the Church. He is disturbed that the corporate prayer of the Church no longer pulls down the strongholds of the devil… The church used to be a lightning bolt, now it’s a cruise ship. We are not marching to Zion – we are sailing there with ease. In the apostolic church it says they were all amazed – and now in our churches everybody wants to be amused. The church began in the upper room with a bunch of men agonizing, and it’s ending in the supper room with a bunch of people organizing. We mistake rattle for revival, and commotion for creation, and action for unction… The true church lives and moves and has its being in prayer.”

~ Leonard Ravenhill

Two Separate Systems

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“The plain truth is, there are two distinct and separate systems of Christianity in England at the present day. It is useless to deny it. Their existence is a great fact, and one that cannot be too clearly known. According to one system, religion is a mere corporate business. You are to belong to a certain body of people. By virtue of your membership of this body, vast privileges, both for time and eternity, are conferred upon you. It matters little what you are and what you feel. You are not to try yourself by your feelings. You are a member of a great ecclesiastical corporation. Then all its privileges and immunities are your own. Do you belong to the one true visible ecclesiastical corporation? That is the grand question.

According to the other system, religion is eminently a personal business between yourself and Christ. It will not save your soul to be an outward member of any ecclesiastical body whatever, however sound that body may be. Such membership will not wash away one sin, or give you confidence in the day of judgement. There must be personal faith in Christ, personal dealings between yourself and God, personal felt communion between your own heart and the Holy Ghost. Have you this personal faith? Have you this felt work of the Spirit in your soul? This is the grand question. If not you will be lost.

This last system is the system which those who are called evangelical ministers cleave to and teach. They do so, because they are satisfied that it is the system of Holy Scripture. They do so, because they are convinced that any other system is productive of most dangerous consequences, and calculated to delude men fatally as to their actual state. They do so, because they believe it to be the only system of teaching which God will bless, and that no church will flourish so much as that in which repentance, faith, conversion and the work of the Spirit are the grand subjects of the minister’s sermon”.

~ J.C. Ryle (1816-1900)

Fulfill My Joy

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“Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.”

~ Philippians 2:1-2

Prayer Life Pause: Heavenly Father, fulfill the joy of Your people by giving us like-mindedness, affection and love for one another as the Body of Christ. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Men of Prayer

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“What the Church needs today is not more or better machinery, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use – men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men – men of prayer.”

~ E.M. Bounds

Prayer Life Pause: Lord Jesus, grant Your church more people of prayer. May it please You to fill all of our hearts with a desperate hunger and thirst for You that can only be filled by deep, earnest and faithful prayer. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Little To The Imagination

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“I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me.”

~ Song of Solomon 7:10

Solomon was famous for his wisdom and the ability to put down in words human thoughts and feelings that express our deepest and most intimate emotions. In his “songs”, Solomon captures the beauty and essence of human desire, love and devotion between a man and a woman. And it is portrayed at times, as to leave little to the imagination.

The spiritual significance of King Solomon’s words here relate to Christ and His Church. As the man in the “songs” pursues his beloved, the woman to whom he gives his love (vs.12), so Christ loves and pursues His Church. Jesus’ desire is for you to respond to His love and to pursue Him and to desire Him above all else. May our love and commitment to Christ be so evident, steadfast and sure, it leaves little to the imagination.

Amen

The Church Defined

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“The Church of Christ is the multitude of all those who believe in Christ for the remission of sins, and who are thankful for that mercy and who love the law of God purely, and who hate the sin in this world and long for the life to come.”

~ William Tyndale (1494-1536)