Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Nothing will compensate for a lack in prayer

There should be meetings wholly devoted to prayer, and there is a serious flaw in the arrangements of a church when such gatherings are omitted or placed in a secondary position. These prayer-meetings should be kept to their object, and their great attraction should be prayer itself. An address if you like, a few burning words to stir up prayer if you like, but if you cannot have them, do not look upon speech-making as at all necessary.

Let it be a standing ordinance in the church that at certain times and occasions many shall meet together to pray, and supplication shall be their sole object. The private Christian will read, and hear, and meditate, but none of these can be a substitute for prayer: the same truth holds good upon the larger scale, the church should listen to her teachers, and receive edification from gospel ordinances, but she must also pray; nothing can compensate for the neglect of devotion.

From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled "The Special Prayer Meeting," delivered July 20, 1875.

HT: www.thedailyspurgeon.com

Monday, February 27, 2012

God is Good, You're Not! - Paul Washer



"The moment when you take your first step through the gates of hell, the only thing you will hear is all of creation standing to its feet and applauding and praising God because God has rid the earth of you. That's how not good you are." - Paul Washer

Listen or watch the rest of the video clip here.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Live Dangerously - Al Mohler



Southern Seminary Convocation Message "The Year of Living Dangerously" you can find the full length message here.

The Lord's Requirement Of A Circumcised Heart



HT: Truth Matters

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Friday, February 17, 2012

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Faith that saves will change your heart

I am afraid that some imagine that they have only to believe something or other, and they will go to heaven when they die, and that they have only to feel a certain singular emotion, and it is all right within them. Now, if any of you have fallen into that error, may God in his mercy lead you out of it, for it is not every faith that saves, but only the faith of God’s elect. It is not any sort of emotion that changes the heart, but the work of the Holy Ghost. It is a small matter to go into an inquiry-room and say, “I believe”; such an avowal as that proves nothing at all, it may even be false. It will be proved by this, — if you have rightly believed in Jesus Christ you will become from that time forward a different man from what you were. There will be a change in your heart and soul, in your conduct and your conversation; and, seeing you thus changed, those who have been honest objectors will right speedily leave off their objections, for they will be in the condition of those who saw the man that was healed standing with Peter and John; and therefore they could say nothing against them.

The world demands facts, and these we must supply. It is of no use to cry up our medicine by words, we must point to cures. Your change of life will be the grandest argument for the gospel, if that life shall show the meaning of my text, "They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts."

From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled "A Vindication Of The Doctrine Of Justification By Faith.

HT: www.thedailyspurgeon.com

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Re- Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus - Leonard Ravenhill



http://www.sermonindex.net - This is a response video to: "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus" - What is the christian life? Easiness, welfare, prosperity, pleasures? NO! Christian life is a life of sacrifice, disclaim, agony, to burden ourselves the marks of the Lord, to be like Him, to live like He did, to suffer like He did, to walk so close to Him that people will think you are Him. This is CHRISTIAN LIFE!

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Repentance and Faith

“Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:14,15).
There are many passages in the New Testament which indicate that repentance is the key to salvation. For example, Paul said that he had preached everywhere that they “should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance” (Acts 26:20).

But he also preached that faith in Christ is the way to be saved. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved’ (Acts 16:31). One could cite many verses stressing repentance and many that stress faith.

There is obviously no real conflict here, though if repentance is ignored there is a danger in what has been called “easy believism.” Mental assent to certain facts about Christ is not true saving faith. Nor would it produce salvation for a person merely to be sorry for his sins and change his behavior if he did not really trust from his heart in the person and work of Christ.

It is not “either/or” but “both/and.” One cannot truly repent (that is “change his mind” about Christ and His work, as well as his own life) without genuinely believing personally that Christ died for his sins and rose again to provide his salvation. Neither can one have genuine faith in Christ as Son of God and as his own personal Savior without having his whole life and attitude changed.

It is like two sides of the same coin—repentance on one side, faith on the other. We can only see one side at a time, but both are real and neither one of them can be there without the other. The real “formula” for salvation is “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). As Christ Himself preached: “Repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

—Henry M. Morris

Repent! About What?

Most readers are probably too young to remember the “mourner’s bench.” I did not grow up in a church that had one, but I knew
friends who did. The mourners’ bench was simply a place to kneel at the front of the church where the sinner could weep over and confess his sins. Then, with a resolve to turn from those sins, he would receive Christ as his Savior. Mourning, turning, and believing met at the mourners’ bench.

No criticism of this practice is implied. Indeed, it would be a healthy thing to see more sorrow for sin today. But what does sorrow for sin or a resolve to turn from sin have to do with salvation? What is the place of repentance in relation to salvation? Must repentance precede faith? Is it a part of faith or a synonym for it? Can one be saved without repenting?

What Is Repentance?

A number of scriptural terms have a basic, almost generic meaning that requires one to ask some questions in order to understand the exact meaning in a particular situation. For example, the word salvation means “to rescue or save.” But in some contexts salvation means a rescue from an earthly predicament, and in others it refers to being rescued from eternal damnation.

The same principle applies to the word repentance. In both the Old and New Testaments repentance means “a change of mind.” But the question must be asked, About what do you change your mind? A biblical call to repentance usually demands a new mindset toward God, ourselves, and our ways.

Non-Saving Repentance

Repentance is not merely a superficial intellectual assent to something; it is a genuine shift which includes a resultant change, usually in actions. However, while people who reform have repented—changed their minds about their past lives—that kind of repentance, albeit genuine, does not of itself save them.

Many people connect repentance with sorrow so much that, for all practical purposes, sorrow becomes the definition of repentance. Sorrow may accompany a repentance, and the sense of sin may stir up a person’s mind or conscience so that he or she realizes the need for a Savior, but if there is no change of mind about Jesus Christ there will be no salvation.

Saving Repentance

The clearest use of the word repent in the saving sense is found in Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38). Some in the crowd, hearing Peter’s plea to repent, may have wondered, Repent about what? If they listened closely—and if we recall what Peter’s sermon was all about—the answer to that question is clear.

The apostle first had spoken about Jesus of Nazareth: His life, His death, and His resurrection (Acts 2:22-24). Next, quoting from Psalm 16:8-11, Peter reminded his audience that Messiah would be raised from the dead (Acts 2:25-31).

Then the apostle made it extremely clear that Jesus of Nazareth, who had risen from the dead less than two months before in that very city, was Messiah. Furthermore, since David also predicted (in Psalm 110) that Messiah would ascend to the right hand of God as Jesus of Nazareth did, then Jesus must be the Messiah.

In other words, Peter painted two pictures—one of Messiah from the Old Testament, and the other of Jesus of Nazareth. Now the inescapable conclusion: Jesus is “both Lord [God], and Christ [Messiah]” (Acts 2:36).

Upon hearing and realizing this, conviction overwhelmed the people. They asked what they should do, and Peter replied “Repent.” Repent about what? Change your minds about Jesus of Nazareth. Whatever you thought about Him before or whoever you thought He was, change your minds and now believe that He is God and your Messiah who died and who rose from the dead. That repentance saves.

Indeed, before any of us came to Christ we had some conception of Him. Perhaps it was fuzzy, perhaps it was reasonably clear, perhaps it was wrong. But we turned from whatever conception we had and turned to Him as our Savior from sin. And that repentance brought eternal salvation.

—Adapted from So Great Salvation by Charles C. Ryrie.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Are You Amazed?



It is clear from the gospels that wherever Jesus went, the people were amazed. Whether rich or poor, young or old, for Him or against Him, they were all amazed. Music by Phillips, Craig & Dean. Footage from the movie "Jesus of Nazareth".

http://www.ignitermedia.com

Saturday, February 4, 2012

The Gospel - Steve Lawson



Watch, listen or download the full message here.

In the Beginning was the Word