In accordance with his agreement with the Persian king, Nehemiah had returned to the court upon the completion of the building of the wall. Twelve years later, seeking renewed permission, he returned to Jerusalem. The last chapter of this amazing record in the Word of God reveals to us the unswerving loyalty of Nehemiah to his God, right through to the very end.
“I came to Jerusalem and I understood...” (verse 7).
Those few words are the clue to the whole zeal and character of this man Nehemiah. He came to Jerusalem, the place from which all divine strategy in …
“And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.”—Genesis 32:31
The topic this morning is Untraveled Tracks, and here is one in this 31st verse before us, a path that Jacob had never trod before,—trodden by a man who had never lived before; for he was a new man with a new name as he started out upon his journey; and it says “as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him.” As he entered into this new path after his struggle and after the victory, the sun rose upon him. …
“I want you to know brethren, that what I have gone through has resulted in the furtherance of the gospel.”—Philippians 1:12 (Weymouth translation)
“What I have gone through.” What tremendously suggestive words these are, and how personal they are to everybody, but in so many different ways. Has there been for you a crushing bereavement which has broken your heart, or has it been a fiery trial of temptation that has threatened to make shipwreck of your testimony? Has it been a broken friendship, shattered hope, an unexpected and unwanted change in circumstances of life? Or some physical suffering, such …
I suppose that if one were to choose one word that embraces what is happening around us, and across the world, at this present time and in the last twenty years, that word would be “change.” Maps [are] changing—nations are being born—the exploration of the starry universe opens a new world. Neighborhoods change—governments change—circumstances of life change. In this world of change we need something to hold on to—something that is permanent and unchangeable. Something solid and firm on which we can stand. Some place where we can rest our thoughts and feel that we have laid hold of the …
In the fourth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians you will find our text for this message—Ephesians chapter four, verses eleven through thirteen.
“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
“For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ;
“Till we all come into the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”
The good news: God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.
The bad news: Satan hates you and has a destructive plan for your life.
Although not explicitly stated in Scripture, I believe Satan has already made meticulous plans for the downfall of believers. All that is left is for us to step into his carefully laid trap. Unfortunately, the trap is hidden—it blends in with our aptitudes, surroundings, and friends—and it’s disguised as the path to fulfillment. Satan does not come to us announcing who he is; he comes to us and tries to put ideas …
“So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”—Luke 12:21
We have here the picture that Jesus draws of the rich fool. Now it is pretty hard to tell the world that there is such a thing as a rich fool, because nearly everybody thinks when a man gets money he is about the wisest thing on the earth, and they think when money comes it is about all you can ask for, and it seems to be the god of this world.
God has said Himself, that “the love of money is the …
Sermon preached by Dr. Vance Havner at The Moody Church on Sunday August 14, 1960.
This is the age of the crowd. There are more of us than there has been before, and we are more crowd-conscious—everything is geared to the multitude. In the religious world the most successful preacher is the one who packs the church, and the most successful church is the one with the biggest statistics. While we are counting numbers, we have failed to make numbers count. We’re many but we’re not much, and that would apply to church members pretty generally today.
“And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word of God.”—Luke 4:4
When God put man in the garden of Eden He put luscious fruits all around him, and all man had to do was to reach up and get them or reach down and pluck the herbs. There was plenty of food and the supply never ran short. There was no sweat or worry or pestilence and nothing to harm or poison or destroy until sin came in with its …
“Why seek ye the living among the dead?”—Luke 24:5
It is quite characteristic of weak, doubting human nature that the women who had heard the Lord Jesus declare that He would rise on the third day should come to the sepulcher bringing spices for the dead instead of approaching the grave in high expectation to see the living. On the very day He had promised to return from the dead, they came to honor a corpse instead of to greet a Conqueror!
So forgetful of His promise were they that the angels must call it to their attention (Luke 24:5-8). …
Sign In
Store
