| Sermon | Spiritual Growth
"But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."-2 Peter iii 18.
I have heard of a little boy being found by his mother in one of the garden beds with his feet buried in the soil, and standing beside a tall sunflower, to which he was eagerly looking up. When his mother asked him what it all meant, he said that he w ...read |
| Devotional | Stablish, strengthen, settle you
In taking Christ in any new relationship, we must first have sufficient intellectual light to satisfy our minds that we are entitled to stand in this relationship. The shadow of a question here will wreck our confidence. Then, having seen this, we must make the committal, the choice. That commitment must be just as definite as the planting of a tre ...read |
| Devotional | stature of the fullness of Christ
God is preparing His heroes. When the opportunity comes He can fit them into their places in a moment, and the world will wonder where they came from. Let the Holy Spirit prepare you by all the discipline of life. When the last finishing touch has been given to the marble, it will be easy for God to put it on the pedestal and fit it into its niche. ...read |
| Sermon | Staying By the Stuff
"As his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff; they shall part alike. And it was so from that day forward that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day."[I Samuel 30:24-26]
DAVID had just achieved a glorious victory over the Amalekites, and defeated the invaders of Ziklag, a ...read |
| Devotional | Strangers and pilgrims
If you have ever tried to plough a straight furrow in the country-I feel sorry for the man who does not know how to plough and more sorry for the man who is too proud to want to know-you have no doubt found it necessary to have two stakes in a line and to drive your horses by these stakes. If you have only one stake before you, you will have no st ...read |
| Devotional | Strengthened with all might . . . unto all patience
The apostle Paul prays for the Colossians to be strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and long suffering with joyfulness. It is one thing to endure and show the strain on every muscle of your face, seeming to say with every wrinkle, "Why doesn't someone sympathize with me?" It is another thing to endure ...read |
| Devotional | Take no thought for your life
The Lord is still using the things that are despised. The very names of Nazarene and Christian were once epithets of contempt. No man can have God's highest thought and be popular with his immediate generation. The most abused men are often the most used. There are far greater calamities than to be unpopular and misunderstood. There are far worse ...read |
| Sermon | Tarrying By The Stuff
"As his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff; they shall part alike. And it was so from that day forward that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day."[I Samuel 30:24-26]
DAVID had just achieved a glorious victory over the Amalekites, and defeated the invaders of Ziklag, a ...read |
| Devotional | That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost
God gives to us a power within which will hold our hearts in victory and purity. That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us. It is the Holy Spirit; and when any thought or suggestion of evil arises in our hearts, the quick conscience can instantly call upon the Holy Spirit to drive it out, and He will ...read |
| Devotional | That I may know him
Better to know Jesus Himself than to know the truth about Him, for the deep things of God are revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. Paul's great desire was, that I may know him. Not just know about Him, or the mysteries of the wonderful world, or even the deeper and higher teachings of God, but to enter into the Holy of Holies where Christ is, where ...read |
| Devotional | That I might finish my course with joy
This is a most serious thought, this thought of finishing our work. There is nothing in the Christian life quite so sad as unfinished work. As I look over the work of God, I see strewn all along the way this curse of incompleted work. The book of Judges tells us of five hundred years of declension because God's people did not complete their work w ...read |
| Devotional | That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace
Christ's great purpose for His people is to train them to know the hope of [their] calling, and . . . the riches of the glory of their inheritance, . . . and what . . . the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe (Ephesians 1:18-19). Let us prove, in all our varied walks of life and scenes of conflict, the fullness of His power and ...read |
| Devotional | That take, and give unto them for me and thee
There is a beautiful touch of loving thoughtfulness in the account of Christ's miracle at Capernaum in providing the tribute money. After the reference to Peter's interview with the tax collector, the Scriptures add, when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him (17:25); that is, anticipated him, as the old Saxon word means. Jesus arranged ...read |
| Devotional | That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us
In our earlier experiences we know the Holy Spirit only at a distance, in things that happen in a providential direction or in the Word alone. But after a while we receive Him as an inward Guest, and He dwells in our hearts. He speaks to us in the innermost chambers of our being. The external working of His power does not cease; rather, it increase ...read |
| Devotional | The anointing which ye have received
Divine anointing is the secret of the deeper life, but that ye [may be] rooted and grounded in love (Ephesians 3:17) is the substance and sweetness of it. The fullness of the divine love in the heart will make everything easy. It is very easy to trust those whom we love, and the more we realize their love the more we will trust them for it. This lo ...read |
| Devotional | The ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them
God does give us impressions but not with the intent that we should act on them as impressions. If the impression comes from God, He will Himself give sufficient evidence to establish it beyond the possibility of a doubt. We read of the impression that came to Jeremiah concerning the purchase of the field of Anathoth. Jeremiah, however, did not act ...read |
| Devotional | The battle is not yours
The thing is to count the battle God's. The battle is not yours but God's. We shall not need to fight in this battle. As long as we count our dangers and responsibilities, we shall be distracted with fear. But when we realize God is bound to take care of us as His property and His representatives, we shall feel infinite relief and security. If I ...read |
| Devotional | The body is . . .
Just as it was Christ Himself who justified us, and Christ Himself who was made unto us sanctification, so it is only by personal union with Him that we can receive this physical life and redemption. indeed, it is not a touch of power upon our bodies which restores and then leaves them to the mere resources of natural strength and life for the futu ...read |
| Devotional | The carnal mind is enmity against God
The flesh is incurably bad. It is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. It can never be any better. It is no use trying to improve the flesh. We may educate it all we please. We may train it by the most approved methods, we may set before it the brightest examples, we may pipe to it or mourn before it we may treat it with encourag ...read |
| Sermon | The Death of Self
"Not I, but Christ." Gal. ii: 20.
The story of Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac is a parable, illustrating this text. The casting out of Ishmael is most clearly declared in this very epistle to be an allegory setting forth the spiritual experience of the believer when he dies to the law and sin through the cross of Jesus Christ, and comes into the re ...read |
A.B. Simpson