“Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and establish you in every good word and work.” Now, He’s to “comfort your hearts.” The Word of God will comfort you, and it will edify you. That is the important thing. And “establish you” means you’ll get rooted and grounded in the Word of God. You won’t be carried away by every wind of doctrine. You won’t be going out after every fad today. We need be established in the faith.
June 5, 2024
God is offering you—a lost, hell-doomed sinner—a salvation if you trust Him, and that’s grace. And if you’ve experienced that, then you know something of the peace of God—what it is to put your head on the pillow at night and rejoice in a salvation like this. And this word “peace” is the softest pillow that there is to sleep on at night. It’s the peace that comes when you know your sins are forgiven you. And this comes not because of some psychological gyration that you go through down here. It comes from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and it’s supernatural, my friend.
June 4, 2024
God is tenderhearted, like the Lord Jesus. And how tenderhearted He was, not willing that any should perish. But listen to Him speaking to these cities that rejected Him: “Woe unto you, Capernaum … you’ll be cast down to hell!” Say, that’s strong language coming from the gentle Jesus. We get just a warped view of Him when we run around, saying, “God is love! God is love!” That’s true. But God is holy, God is righteous, and God will judge. You’re not rushing into heaven, my friend, on the little love boat today. You’re only going to come there because Christ shed His blood, gave His life, that you might have eternal life and be covered with the righteousness of Christ, standing complete and acceptable in Him.
June 3, 2024
As you trusted Christ, the Holy Spirit did several wonderful things for you. He made you a child of God. Now you want to live for God. He also indwells you. “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he’s none of His.” So, if you don’t have the Holy Spirit, then you’re not a Christian yet. You become a Christian by trusting Christ, and then you’re indwelt by the Holy Spirit. You don’t have to ask Him in, because He’s there to take the things of Christ and show them unto you. Then, you’re baptized by the Holy Spirit. That means that you have now been put in the body of believers, the church, and you’re in Christ.
May 31, 2024
Love is not affection, it seeks the welfare of another here. And the end was, love was not an end in itself, that they might develop a character of holiness. And here’s a statement I’ve given you before. If you were tried in court for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Because we’re going to appear before Him, and He’s going to judge our works. Let me mention something else. May terrify you, but let’s mention it. He’s also going to judge our character as believers. Now this is to see whether we receive a reward or not. My Christian friend, what kind of life are you living today? That’s important.
May 30, 2024
“Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith: For now we live, if we stand fast in the Lord.” “We live” here means that as believers we enjoy life. And even in trouble, you can enjoy it. That’s not easy to do, my friend, but Peter made that statement: “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trials that shall try you as though some strange thing happened unto you, but rejoice….” Friend, you can’t lose being a Christian, even if you have trouble. It’s going to work out for your good. You can always be sure of that.
May 29, 2024
Now, may I say this to you: As a child of God, is the sky clear for you? There are no clouds? There’s not a ripple on the sea of life for you today? Everything is smooth, and everything is just nice for you? May I say if it is like that, then you might question your salvation. But if you are experiencing trouble down here and the pressures and tensions of life are on you, I have news for you—that’s one of the signs that you’re God’s child. I notice that God’s children suffer a great deal, and one of the most wonderful things is it’s going to be temporary. You’re going to come through it.
May 28, 2024
“In the world, ye shall have trouble … but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Be of good cheer in trouble? Yes. My friend, many of God’s children are learning and knowing what trouble is. He didn’t say that we would miss the storms. Fact of the matter is He said we would go through the storms, all the storms of life. The thing He did say very definitely and dogmatically, He said we were going to make the harbor. Because any little boat that He’s onboard isn’t going to the bottom of the Sea of Galilee, it’s going to the other side. And we’re in the process of going to the other side.
May 27, 2024
“Grace unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” If you have experienced the grace of God, that means you’ve been saved. For it is by grace are we saved. And you have come as a lost sinner, bringing nothing to God, and receiving everything from Him, then you’ve experienced the grace of God. He offers you salvation. The gift of God is eternal life, and you can’t work for a gift. If you do, it ceases to be a gift and it’s something you work for; it’s a payment. God is offering you¬—a lost, hell-doomed sinner—a salvation if you trust Him, and that’s grace.
May 24, 2024
Every person preaches by his life some message. You’re saying something to somebody by the life that you live. And you can’t help it. Maybe a child in your home. And that’s one of the reasons that we’ve got a lot of young kids out on the highways and byways and streets and alleys of this world today is they looked at mama and dad at home, and they didn’t like what they saw. And they took to the highway. Oh, my friend, may I say to you, the greatest sermon you’ll ever preach, and I’ll ever preach, is by the life that we live.
May 23, 2024