Luke 14:7-11
To read the biographies of those who God has used down through the ages and how they first began is fascinating to say the least! Normal people like you and me, no trims, no frills, nothing spectacular to the outward eye; yet it seems that it pleases the Father, to take the nothings and the nobodies of this world and to make them ambassadors for Jesus Christ! As one looks to find the golden thread running through the accounts of the giants God has used throughout the centuries, one finds that rather than being golden, the thread is of lowly linen; one not of grand beginnings but of small beginnings, humble beginnings.
I believe wholeheartedly that God is wanting to work among His people in our day and is raising up labourers to labour in His harvest. The places where He is looking for labourers are the places He has always looked – not the high and lofty, but the lowly. This sermon is a challenge to all that would have the Lord use their lives for His glory; are you prepared to serve God in the lowly places? Oh, may it be and in so doing, in due season we shall hear the words “...go up higher.”
1 Cor. 6:9-11
As an off-road vehicle was designed and built for rough terrain, so the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ was designed to go into darkness!! Tasked with the mission of bringing such light to the heathen masses, the Apostle Paul came not with excellency of speech or of the wisdom of this world but rather preached Christ crucified and under the anointing of God, the power of God was unleashed upon a world of darkness and sin smitten men were born into the Kingdom of God! Ruined sinners forever reclaimed for Jesus Christ, their lives never being the same again!! Tell me dear soul, is this your experience; for the Bible knows of no other than men passing from darkness into light?
We need like never before, God anointed preaching to awaken blackened hearts under the conviction of God the Holy Spirit. The doctrine of regeneration needs like at no other time to be rekindled and shouted from the rooftops declaring the total ruin of the children of Adam and that ye must be born again!! “Man of sorrows, what a name; for the Son of God who came; Ruined sinner to reclaim! Hallelujah! What a Saviour!”
Psalm 34:6
Every occasion warrants a disposition of some sort fitting for the moment. For the man appearing in the presence of royalty, he positions his heart’s attitude aright, from one of casualness and indifference to one of heightened sobriety and respect. For a child sitting an examination, a disposition of focus and attention; for an offender appearing before a magistrate, a disposition of sorrow and remorse; for a son or a daughter receiving honour, a disposition of gladness and joy! What then ought to be the disposition of a heart for prayer? “Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly” (Ps. 138:6).
This sermon is a challenge to God’s people to return again to prayer in the proper attitude of humility. It’s well been said that prayer moves the hand of God, but humility moves the heart of God!! “This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles” (Ps. 34:6). Oh, that we might be brought to a place where we truly know that we are nothing without God. Then, we shall see praying Christians and a praying Church!
Genesis 26:17-18
A number of significant occurrences took place in the Bible at wells. At Beersheba (the well of an oath), Abraham entered into a covenant with Abimelech; at Beerlahairoi (the well of Him that liveth and seeth me), the Angel of the LORD visited Hagar in her distress. Who can forget Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, who at well was given a bride by God for his master's son Isaac? Fast forward some 2000 years and we have yet another encounter with a woman at a well, this time Jesus and the woman of Samaria. At this well, Jesus offers living water, that if a man drinks he shall never thirst again, an internal well springing up within him into everlasting life!
This sermon is a call for reality in the Christian life!! Just as in the days of Isaac when the Philistine enemies filled his father’s wells, many Christians sadly have allowed their wells to be filled with dirt and on account of this no longer sense and experience the vital reality of God the Holy Spirit within them bringing forth the fruit of joy and peace! Dry and dead religion has become their portion. My dear Brethren, there is some re-digging to be done so that once more we might sense the presence of God in our Christian experience. At all costs, we must maintain reality with God!
Romans 3:1-5
Diamonds are among the most prized gems in the known world today and are renowned for their dazzling beauty and sparkling array. Yet, the story of this precious stone is one of great affliction from start to finish. One hundred miles beneath earth’s surface, at temperatures in excess of 20000C, and at phenomenal pressures, the diamond is formed.
This sermon is an exhortation to have joy in the midst of tribulation!! Joy, “knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope” (Rom 5:3-4). As gold tried through the fire and is purified, and as the sweet flavours of food are more concentrated in the higher temperatures of a sealed pressure cooker; so precious Christ-like character is wrought in a Christian soul under the extreme pressure and fierce heat of tribulation!
Ephesians 4:11-16
When a baby’s born, no sooner than it’s come out of the womb, it craves one thing and one thing only…milk! Some 8-12 times a day, it desires to feed on that white liquid and thereby feeding, it grows!! Is it too much to ask that what is true in the natural, ought also to be true in the spiritual? When a soul passes from death into newness of life, the first thing that soul ought now to crave is the milk of God’s Word!! “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (1Pe 2:2). Moving on from milk, the infant progresses to solids and through length of time and continual feeding, grows from boyhood to manhood! I say again, is it too much to ask that what is true in the natural, ought also to be true in the spiritual lives of God’s people?
This sermon is an exhortation to the Body of Christ calling God’s children to a place of spiritual maturity. Gone are the years of infancy for those saved of many years, the time has now come that we ought to be teachers. May the Lord challenge and encourage His people by His Word through this stirring sermon.
John 21:19-22
“Tis so sweet to walk with Jesus, step by step and day by day; stepping in His very footprints, walking with Him all the way. Step by step, step by step, I would walk with Jesus; all the day, all the way, keeping step with Jesus” (A.B Simpson). Oh, how many are caught up with the burden and grief of trying to keep step with Mr and Mrs Jones when we’re called instead to keep step with Jesus! To take our eyes off the Lord and to begin comparing ourselves with others, is breeding ground for all manner of strife and division, contention and envy.
This sermon is an exhortation to us all to keep our eyes on Jesus Christ and not to allow what the Lord is doing in others’ lives to be a hindrance to what God is wanting to do in our own lives! We’ve each been called by name to the Saviour into a personal relationship. The good Lord deals with each of His children as it so pleases Him. May we resist the temptation to compare ourselves with others and in so doing to become envious. Walking with Jesus must be our primary focus! One person put it this way; “Resentment comes from looking at others, contentment comes from looking to God”.
Luke 18:1-8
That men ought always to pray is instruction worthy of the utmost honour and regard. What air is to the human lungs and water to the gills of fish, so prayer is to the spiritual life of the Christian. A prayerless Christian is a dead Christian at worst and a carnal one at best, without prayer we’re not going very far!!
This sermon is not only an exhortation that men ought always to pray, but in continuing the verse “…and not faint”, an exhortation is given to preserve in prayer. Oh, dear Soul, unanswered prayer by no means is an indicator that God is not willing to answer prayer. The parable before us in this sermon is a firm declaration that this is not the case at all. Be of good courage and continue in prayer labouring in the same in earnest for it’s not over until it’s over!
Luke 22:31-32
We ought to be under no illusion as believers as to the sobering reality that we each have a common foe, an arch-enemy of our soul; one who hates us with a perfect hatred; one who in his very essence is the epitome of pure evil. When going out to war, it is the fool who proceeds into battle, ignorant of the enemy he’s facing. The wise man first studies his opponent and knows ahead of time his strategies of battle that he might prepare himself for victory!
In this sermon, you will learn of four chief ways in which Satan seeks to attack the believer in Christ. In each and every one of these modes of assaults, Satan is out to destroy one thing, our faith!! As believers, not only must be aware of his stratagems, but we must also know how to overcome in each attack. Behold…Satan the deceiver, Satan the accuser, Satan the tempter and Satan the persecutor. The one thing that he seeks most of all is the one thing by which we overcome. “…This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” (1 Jn. 5:4)
Romans 13:11-14
That we are living in the Last Days is clearly evident for all with eyes to see. The very signs spoken of by the prophets, apostles and indeed our Lord Himself, declare with a single voice that the end of the age is upon us and the soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ draws near.
This sermon is a warning to all who call themselves Christian and yet are sleeping in this critical hour to awake!! This is no time to sleep!! Rather, we are to be vigilant and watchful, casting off the works of darkness and putting on the armour of light. May this message serve to be an admonishment to those fast asleep and an encouragement to those faithfully walking as is becoming for Saints. “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” (Lk. 21:28)