Missionary Churches - Active Workers vs. Idlers - John Nevius (1886)

"There is a great army of active workers at home, as well as idlers. ...In the early history of the Church, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, Christianity spread chiefly through the voluntary zeal of ordinary church members, and the work of the Apostles consisted mainly in superintending and organizing the companies of Christians thus gathered.  Their zeal was so great that persecution could not repress, but only intensified it.  If there is not that zeal and effort in the Church at home, it is much to be deplored.  Perhaps the want of it is due in a great measure to growing habit of leaving work for Christ to be done by those who are paid for it.  Where such an idea prevails, whether at home or on missionary ground, it tends to paralyze the power of the Church for good." - John Nevius, life-long missionary to China, 1886 - in The Planting and Development of Missionary Churches (p.35)

Change - Human Instruments vs. the Holy Spirit

"Human instruments, apart from the Holy Spirit, cannot change dead hearts, obstinate wills, evil imaginations, perverted understandings, and biased judgments." - J.B. Lawrence, The Holy Spirit In Missions (64). 

Quoted in J.D. Payne's Discovering Church Planting (68)

Persecution - Richard Wurmbrand

"Persecution has always produced a better Christian - a witnessing Christian, a soul-winning Christian. Communist persecution has backfired and produced serious, dedicated Christians such as are rarely seen in free lands. These people cannot understand how anyone can be a Christian and not want to win every soul they meet."


Richard Wurmbrand

Billy Graham - Q & A Interview

Billy Graham just conducted an insightful interview with Christianity Today on the following questions.

• What advice would you give to people who are aging?
• What would you say to children who have aging parents?
• If you could, would you go back and do anything differently?
• What are the most important issues facing evangelicals today?

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the article...

On aging:

• But God has a reason for keeping us here (even if we don't always understand it), and we need to recover the Bible's understanding of life and longevity as gifts from God—and therefore as something good. ... So part of my advice is to learn to be content, and that only comes as we accept each day as a gift from God and commit it into his hands. Paul's words are true at every stage of life, but especially as we grow older: 'Godliness with contentment is great gain' (1 Tim. 6:6)."
• "As we grow older we should focus not only on the present, but more and more on Heaven. ... If we know Christ, we know we have 'an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you' (1 Pet. 1:4). ... Heaven gives us hope, and makes our present burdens easier to bear."
• "So the first thing I'd say to those whose parents are growing older is to be prepared for it, and to accept whatever responsibilities it brings you.  Then be patient with them."

On ministry and evangelism:

• "I'd spend more time at home with my family, and I'd study more and preach less. I wouldn't have taken so many speaking engagements, including some of the things I did over the years that I probably didn't really need to do... Whenever I counsel someone who feels called to be an evangelist, I always urge them to guard their time and not feel like they have to do everything."
• "I also would have steered clear of politics. ... looking back I know I sometimes crossed the line, and I wouldn't do that now."
• "But the most important issue we face today is the same the church has faced in every century: Will we reach our world for Christ? In other words, will we give priority to Christ's command to go into all the world and preach the gospel? Or will we turn increasingly inward, caught up in our own internal affairs or controversies, or simply becoming more and more comfortable with the status quo? Will we become inner-directed or outer-directed? The central issues of our time aren't economic or political or social, important as these are. The central issues of our time are moral and spiritual in nature, and our calling is to declare Christ's forgiveness and hope and transforming power to a world that does not know him or follow him. May we never forget this."
  
  
  

Christian Quotes on Suffering

"Jesus promised the disciples three things---that they would be completely fearless, absurdly happy and in constant trouble." G.K. Chesterton


"No character is ultimately tested until it has suffered." Harry Emerson Fosdick

"Christian, remember the goodness of God in the frost of adversity." Charles Spurgeon

"They gave our Master a crown of thorns. Why do we hope for a crown of roses?" Martin Luther

"God would not rub so hard if it were not to fetch out the dirt that is ingrained in our natures. God loves purity so well He had rather see a hole than a spot in His child's garments." William Gurnall

"Whomever the Lord has adopted and deemed worthy of His fellowship ought to prepare themselves for a hard, toilsome, and unquiet life, crammed with very many and various kinds of evil." John Calvin

"God, who foresaw your tribulation, has specially armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain." C.S. Lewis

"A Christian is someone who shares the sufferings of God in the world." Dietrich Bonhoffer

From http://christianquotes.org/tag/cat/35/0/34

Quote - Billy Graham

"If I had it to do over again, I'd spend more time in meditation and prayer and just telling the Lord how much I love Him and adore Him and (am) looking forward to the time we're going to spend together for eternity." - Billy Graham

Quote - Billy Graham

"Spend more time in study and prayer.  That's the secret of successful evangelism.  If you neglect that, you've neglected the very heart of God's call to you." - Billy Graham

Quote - Charles Spurgeon

"I will not believe that thou hast tasted of the honey of the gospel if thou can eat it all to thyself" - Charles Spurgeon

Quote - Charles Spurgeon

"Faith and obedience are bound up in the same bundle. He that obeys God trusts God; and he that trusts God obeys God. He that is without faith is without works; and he that is without works is without faith." - Charles Spurgeon

In Christ: I am significant - Neil T. Anderson

The below is quoted from Neil T. Anderson's The Bondage Breaker (p.43-45) and is an extremely helpful summary of our identity in Christ.

In Christ...

I am significant:

• I am the salt and light of the earth (Matt. 5:13)
• I am a branch of the true vine, a channel of His life ( John 15:1,5)
• I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16)
• I am a personal witness of Christ's (Acts 1:8 )
• I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3:16)
• I am a minister of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:17-20)
• I am God's coworker (2 Cor. 6:1)
• I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realm (Eph. 2:6)
• I am God's workmanship (Eph 2:10)
• I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3:12)
• I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)

In Christ: I am secure - Neil T. Anderson

The below is quoted from Neil T. Anderson's The Bondage Breaker (p.43-45) and is an extremely helpful summary of our identity in Christ.

In Christ...

I am secure:

• I am free from condemnation (Rom. 8:1,2)
• I am assured that all things work together for good (Rom. 8:28)
• I am free from any condemning charges against met (Rom. 8:31-34)
• I cannot be separated from the love of God (Rom. 8:35-39)
• I have been established, anointed, and sealed by God (2 Cor. 1:21,22)
• I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3)
• I am confident that the good work that God has begun in me will be perfected (Phil. 1:6)
• I am a citizen of heaven (Phil. 3:20)
• I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7)
• I can find grace and mercy in time of need (Heb. 4:16)
• I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me (1 John 5:18)

In Christ: I am accepted - Neil T. Anderson

The below is quoted from Neil T. Anderson's The Bondage Breaker (p.43-45) and is an extremely helpful summary of our identity in Christ.

In Christ...

I am accepted:

• I am God's child (John 1:12)
• I am Christ's friend (John 15:15)
• I have been justified (Romans 5:1)
• I am united with the Lord and one with Him in spirit (1 Cor. 6:17)
• I have been bought with a price - I belong to God (1 Cor. 6:20)
• I am a member of Christ's body (1 Cor. 12:27)
• I am a saint (Eph. 1:1)
• I have been adopted as God's child (Eph. 1:5)
• I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)
• I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins (Col. 1:14)
• I am complete in Christ (Col 2:10)

Demons - C.S. Lewis

"There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils [demons].  One is to disbelieve in their existence.  The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.  They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or magician with the same delight." C.S. Lewis in The Screwtape Letters

Our Primary Duty - John Stott

“According to this commission, which is still addressed to us today, our primary duty is to be neither reformers of society nor healers of the sick, but rather preachers of the Gospel.”  John Stott

The Great Commission - Part III" at The Congress on World Evangelism - Berlin, 1966

The Holy Spirit - Billy Graham

"We are now living in a generation when nothing will break through the overwhelming power of Satan except the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit." Billy Graham
"Why the Berlin Congress?" at The World Congress on Evangelism, in Berlin, 1966

Turning Churches Inside Out

"We deeply regret that many of our congregations are inward-looking, organized for maintenance rather than mission, or preoccupied with church-based activities at the expense of witness. We determine to turn our churches inside out, so that they may engage in continuous outreach, until the Lord adds to them daily those who are being saved"  - The Manila Manifesto (1989)
Lausanne II, Second International Congress on World Evangelization

The Devil vs. The Church - John Stott

"The devil uses moral as well as intellectual weapons. If he cannot deceive the church into error, he will attempt to corrupt it with sin and worldliness...Not content with his attempts to introduce sin and error into the church, the devil also attacks the church from outside, seeking either by physical persecution or by restrictive legislation to hinder the church's work."
John Stott
The Lausanne Covenant: An Exposition and Commentary

Miracles - Billy Graham

“Brethren, I do not believe that the day of miracles has passed. As long as the Holy Spirit abides and works on the earth, the Church's potential is the same as it was in apostolic days. The great Paraclete has not been withdrawn, and He still waits to work through those who are willing to meet His conditions of repentance, humility, and obedience.”

Billy Graham

"Why the Berlin Congress?", World Congress on Evangelism, Berlin, 1966

Christ Crucified vs. Morality Preaching - David Brainerd

"I found that when my people were gripped by this great doctrine of Christ and Him crucified, I had no need to give them instructions about morality. I found that one followed as sure and inevitable fruit of the other."
David Brainerd, in the journal of his life and doings among the North American Indians.
Quoted by Billy Graham

Daily Walk & Evangelism - Billy Graham

"I am convinced that if each of us is living a Spirit-filled life, God will continually bring across our paths people in spiritual need that we can lead to Christ."
Billy Graham
"Why the Berlin Congress?", World Congress on Evangelism, Berlin, 1966

Effective Evangelism - Billy Graham

"The most effective method of evangelism is organizing the laity of the church to do the work of evangelism. The clergyman is not to do the work alone. He is to be like the foreman in a shop, or the coach of a team. The actual work is to be done primarily by the laity."  Billy Graham
"Why the Berlin Congress?", World Congress on Evangelism, Berlin, 1966