D.L. Moody & Early Public Speaking

Some encouraging words from the biography of D.L. Moody. We may very well be weak, imperfect, under-experienced and aware of all our shortcomings. But to be used by God in all of it... awesome!

"While still retaining a reluctance to engage in public speaking, he, nevertheless, did engage in it, and his efforts were owned of God. He made mistakes; stumbled through his periods and perpetrated innumerable grammatical blunders. Yet he grew to ignore these shortcomings, almost as though they were non-existent. His chief, his only concern was to deliver a message of cheer, hope and salvation. None was more conscious of the imperfect character of his public utterances than he himself. But this consciousness did not deter him, and great spiritual blessing accrued."
D.L. Moody - Soul Winner, Cheshire Mann, p33

"It is an open question [he said in later years], whether, at any time during my public ministry, was the thing I tried to do more signally owned of God, than in the days when I faltered and blundered in my efforts to reach the lost. This I can say, without any sense of misgiving. God knew my heart. He realized how I yearned to bring men to His feet. And He supplied in rich abundance all, and everything I lacked. It was His work and He richly fulfilled His promise. His work not returned unto Him void."
D.L. Moody - Soul Winner, Cheshire Mann, p33-4

Incredibly Hard Workers (Part 2)

The words of D.L. Moody...

"God is not a hard taskmaster; and, in later years, I have learned, that to do your best work, you cannot afford to neglect the common laws of health."

From D.L. Moody, Soul Winner by Chester Mann

The Marks of a True Believer

I was listening to a sermon today that said generous giving was a mark of a true believer. Without it, your salvation could be in question. It was one of those statements that I agreed with to some extent, but couldn't agree in the fullest. I had to pick apart why that was. And here's where I got with my thinking...

While generous giving is certainly a mark of a believer, it is really just one of many, many signs. The real and true mark of a believer is regeneration, which is the bigger, wider picture of what is going on in a believers life. Giving, in this sense, is like one particular branch of a much bigger tree. You would certainly hope that it was there, but it doesn't, in itself, make the tree.

The trouble with gradual sanctification is it takes someone time to grow. Just like a tree, the more it grows, the stronger it gets and the more branches, shoots and fruit it produces. But in the beginning, there's hardly anything to see. It's barely a twig. It might only have one leaf.

So really, generous giving is just one of many marks that you are likely to see in a mature believer. It's a single mark of a much greater evidence: regeneration.

Spurgeon made me laugh...

“There is dust enough on some of your Bibles to write ‘damnation’ with your fingers.”

Charles H. Spurgeon, “The Bible” in Spurgeon’s Sermons, Vol. 1, 33.

Clinton E. Arnold On Community

From 3 Crucial Questions about Spiritual Warfare:

"Much spiritual vulnerability comes from being detached from the body of Christ."
p128

"The message and the community go hand in hand. When a person becomes a Christian, the Holy Spirit not only unites the person to Christ, but also to other Christian. Believers need each other as they grow to maturity.
     There are not many themes in the New Testament about which more is said than community. Yet it appears that there is less community now in the church than at any other time in history."
p128

Clinton E. Arnold On The World, The Flesh & The Devil

"It is crucial to recognize that these three influences do not work separately but in concert. It is extraordinarily difficult, if not impossible, for us to make sharp distinctions among the three in trying to understand our own personal struggles and those of other people."

Illustration and quote taken from 3 Crucial Questions about Spiritual Warfare, p35

Clinton E. Arnold On Satan

From 3 Crucial Questions about Spiritual Warfare:

"Satan not only works in blatantly evil ways but he also works in ways that appear right and good. He can masquerade as "an angel of light" (2 Cor. 11:14)."
p54

"One of Satan's key ploys has been deception. If he can't prevent people from turning to Christianity, he can alter the Christianity to which they turn and make it into something that is not Christianity at all."
p60

"Satan continues his work of deceit, attempting to pervert a true and proper understanding of Christ ... Groups such as the Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Christian Scientists all teach a different Jesus than the one revealed in the Bible and confessed by the church throughout the centuries."
p62

"The classic way Satan operates is by enticing believers to sin, which has garnered him the title "the tempter" (1 Thess. 3:5). According to John, this has been one of the devil's primary modes of operation since the beginning (1 John 3:8).""
p97

"As "the Accuser," the Evil One brings indictments to God continuously against believers (Rev. 12:10). He likewise reminds believers of their shortcomings, unworthiness, and sin. By stimulating feelings of guilt, he hopes to keep Christians from feeling well-assured in their relationship to Christ and unworthy to receive his empowering grace."
p99

"Tertullian asked rhetorically, "What man is there to whom an evil spirit does not adhere, even at the very gates of his birth, waiting to ensnare his soul?"
p109

"As Martin Luther said regarding the devil in his famous hymn, "one little word shall fell him". That word is Jesus."
p112

Clinton E. Arnold On Prayer

From 3 Crucial Questions about Spiritual Warfare:

"The very act of prayer is an admission that "there is someone greater than I" and that "I am not able"."
(Ephesians 3:14 – For this reason I kneel before the Father)
p43

"Prayer is communication with the commander-in-chief during the battle. Our awareness of the battle heightens our sense of need to stay in constant touch with our superior officer, who can resupply us and provide us with our orders."
p46

"Prayer is more than just vocalizing a list of needs to God. Prayer involves asking God how we should pray and then acting on the promptings and impressions the Spirit places on our minds."
p46

"God is near. We have the privilege of entering his presence regularly as children."
p46

"The heart and essence of spiritual warfare at any level is prayer."
p187

"Part of the ministry of the Holy Spirit is in providing direction an guidance in how we pray (Eph. 6:18)"
p188

Lessons From Clinton E. Arnold

Some great quotes and one-liners I lifted from 3 Crucial Questions about Spiritual Warfare by Clinton E. Arnold...

"The Christian life is a lifelong struggle, not a one-time fix."
p36

"The struggle is a daily affair. The wrestling event for the Christian is not over in twelve minutes or even half an hour."
p38

"This is not a time to settle down and relax. This is a time for mission and doing the work of the kingdom."
p38

"There are certain periods of time, however, when Christians face a flurry of terrible difficulties or when temptation seems to come with unusual power."
p38

"We often do not realize the extent to which naturalistic assumptions have permeated our thinking."
p30

"Very little of what we do is disconnected from how we think."
p66

"Eternal life is just as much a present experience as a future aspiration (cf. John 17:3)."
p21

"Spiritual warfare is an integral part of the entire Christian experience. It is a fact of life. To think that a Christian could avoid spiritual warfare is like imagining that a gardener could avoid dealing with weeds."
p19

Radical Generosity

A great point from Tim Keller's 'Radical Generosity' sermon: if you wanted to give 10%, you could. Because if you suddenly took a 10% pay cut you would simply make do. It would be painful – but you would make it work.

Giving - A Theory (Part 2)

Why is it that the poorest people are often the most generous? It's both awesome and humbling.