I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. "
When Christians Abate their Fervency in Private DevotionsPosted by Thomas Watson 1 CommentWhen Christians abate their fervency in private devotions, God abates their peace. If you slacken the strings of the violin, the music is spoiled; so, if a Christian is slack in duty, they spoil the sweet music of peace in their souls. As the fire decays, the cold increases; so, as fervency in duty abates, our peace cools. “A Body of Divinity” pg. 264
What is the End and Aim of Gospel Preaching?
When the beauty of Christ is unfolded, it draws the wounded, hungry soul unto him. The preaching of the word doth that that shows the sweet love of God in Jesus Christ. This makes the ordinance of the ministry so sweet. The ordinance of the ministry is that that distributes the portion to every child of God. The ministers of God are stewards, as it were, to distribute comfort and reproof to whom it belongs. Now where there is a convenient distributing of the portion to every one, that makes the ordinance of God so beautiful, when the waters of life are derived from the spring of the Scripture to every particular man’s use.
The word, in the application of it, is a sweet thing. For good things, the nearer they are brought home, the more delightful they are. This ordinance of preaching, it lays open the ‘riches of Christ.’ There may be a great deal of riches wrapped up in a treasury, but this opens the treasury, as St Paul says, ‘ to lay open the unsearchable riches of Christ’ (Eph 3:8). The ministry of the word is ordained to lay open the treasure to God’s people, that they may know what riches they have by Christ; and the end of the ministry is to win the people’s love to Christ.
Therefore they come between the bride and bridegroom to procure the marriage; therefore they lay open that that procures the contract here, and the consummation in heaven; so to woo for Christ, and ‘beseech them to be reconciled to God’ (2 Cor 5:20). This is the end of the ministry. This makes the church of God so beautiful, that it hath this ordinance in it [preaching], to bring God, and Christ, and his people together: to contract them together. There be rich mines in the Scripture, but they must be digged up. The ministry serves to dig up those mines.
Taken from The Works of Richard Sibbes, Banner of Truth Trust, 1979, volume 2, page 232.
"Religious people find God useful. Christians find God beautiful.” ~ Tim Keller
"If God is perfectly holy, then we can be confident that His actions toward us are perfect and just." ~ Jerry Bridges
“When you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.” ~ Oswald Chambers
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." ~ Edmund Burke
“For having lost so much time, you have the greater need of diligently improving what time yet remains.” ~ Jonathan Edwards