Article
The question under consideration is an interesting one: “How do you know when you reach the point of no return in your Christian life?
I would say, to begin with, that the personal commitment of a life to the Lord Jesus is the only basis of salvation. Salvation is not a statement of doctrine; it is a surrender to a Person. Of course, you believe right, or you cannot live right. But you can believe right and still not be saved. Personal salvation must involve commitment, and you can find no other basis of salvation in the New Testament.
“What …
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Article
“…All things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee…O Lord our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own”—1 Chronicles 29:14-16
Money can be a great asset or liability. The Bible says, “The love of money is the root of all evil,” and we might add, the proper use of money is the root of great good.
Some men, like Abraham and Job, are rich and honest; others are rich because they are dishonest. Some are poor because …
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Article
The text you will find in 1 Chronicles 21:26, “And the Lord answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of the burnt-offering.”
The Lord answered David from heaven by fire upon the altar of the burnt-offering! That is the answer of God to the cry of every heart. It is the uttermost that God in heaven can do for ransomed souls on Earth—fire from heaven. This is the immediate and dynamic response of God for the uttermost yielding of our hearts and lives—fire from heaven.
The Pressure
Let me ask you to observe, in this particular incident in …
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Article
A great flaw of Western Christianity is its profound ignorance and trivialization of the occult with its related activities. The Scriptures not only confirm their reality and danger, but they also consistently condemn any association with them (Leviticus 19:31, 20:6; 2 Chronicles 33:6; Galatians 5:19-20; Revelation 21:8). In fact, the church in Ephesus gives us an example of how occult practices were removed from the early church (Acts 19:11-20). No syncreticism (a blending of two or more belief systems) was allowed, as Christ alone was and is sufficient.
Condoning (or observing) occult practices is inherently an act of distrust against …
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Article
The books of Ezra and Nehemiah, the first post-captivity books, belong to each other. Zerubbabel led the first company of exiles back to the land of promise. Eighty years later he was followed by Ezra with a company of probably fifty thousand. Ezra’s mission was purely religious. He brought gifts to the temple and sought to restore the worship of the fathers and revive the spiritual life of the nation. He was faced with very discouraging conditions, for the Jews had intermarried with the heathen and corrupt and idolatrous practices had been introduced which created a great problem.
The book …
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Messaged preached on Sunday morning, July 17, 1949 by The Moody Church’s Associate Pastor, H.A Hermansen.
I want to consider with you an Old Testament story that comprises four chapters of the book of Second Chronicles; and for a text I would like to read just the first eight verses of the nineteenth chapter.
“And Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem.
And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to the king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord? therefore …
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Psalm 77: “I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and He gave ear unto me…”
This psalm tells the story of David and how he got out of the cave. As Professor James G. Murphy of Belfast says in his commentary, “The psalm was most probably composed on some critical emergency in the eventful life of David. The hiding of David in the cave of Adullam has been suggested by different writers.”
It is the devil’s peculiar joy to get us into a hole, and it is God’s particular delight to get us out …
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Probably more Christians are praying today for a revival than at any other time in the history of the church, and yet no sign appears. Indeed, we have never known such indifference, such carelessness and absolute disregard for the claims of Christ as are manifested at the present time. How few are there who have any thought of God in their hearts! How few respond to the Gospel call! As we search our hearts and seek for an explanation of these conditions, there are some facts which face us and they speak plainly regarding the problem.
Leaven of Criticism
First, …
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