Be Not Allured By Worldly Lusts - Clement of Rome


Let us, then, repent with our whole heart, that no one of us may perish amiss. For if we have commands and engage in withdrawing from idols and instructing others, how much more ought a soul already knowing God not to perish. Rendering, therefore, mutual help, let us raise the weak also in that which is good, that all of us may be saved and convert one another and admonish. And not only now let us seem to believe and give heed, when we are admonished by the elders; but also when we take our departure home, let us remember thecommandments of the Lord, and not be allured back by worldly lusts, but let us often and often draw near and try to make progress in theLord's commands, that we all having the same mind may be gathered together for life.

For the Lord said, I come to gather all nations and tongues. This means the day of His appearing, when He will come and redeem us— each one according to his works. And the unbelievers will see His glory and might, and, when they see the empire of the world in Jesus, they will be surprised, saying, Woe to us, because You were, and we knew not and believed not and obeyed not the elders who show us plainly of our salvation.And their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be a spectacle unto all flesh. It is of the great day of judgment He speaks, when they shall see those among us who were guilty of ungodliness and erred in their estimate of the commands of Jesus Christ.

The righteous, having succeeded both in enduring the trials and hating the indulgences of the soul, whenever they witness how those who have swerved and denied Jesus by words or deeds are punished with grievous torments in fire unquenchable, will give glory to their God and say, There will be hope for him who has served God with his whole heart.

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Alone With God - A.W. Tozer


And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. --John 6:3

Just prior to this miraculous multiplying of the bread and fish, Jesus "went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples"(6:3). That fact is noteworthy. It seems plain that Jesus withdrew purposely from the great press of people who had been pursuing Him.

There are some things that you and I will never learn when others are present. I believe in church and I love the fellowship of the assembly. There is much we can learn when we come together on Sundays and sit among the saints. But there are certain things that you and I will never learn in the presence of other people.

Unquestionably, part of our failure today is religious activity that is not preceded by aloneness, by inactivity. I mean getting alone with God and waiting in silence and quietness until we are charged with God's Spirit. Then, when we act, our activity really amounts to something because we have been prepared by God for it....

Now, in the case of our Lord, the people came to Him, John reports, and He was ready for them. He had been quiet and silent. He had sat alone with His disciples and meditated. Looking upward, He waited until the whole hiatus of divine life moved down from the throne of God into His own soul. He was a violin tuned. He was a battery recharged. He was poised and prepared for the people when they came. Faith Beyond Reason, 130,133. "Lord, I'll spend a lot of time in the company of people today, but just now I come in quietness and silence to wait for You to fill me. Amen."

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Featured Sermon: BEWARE OF AMBITION BY CHUCK SMITH


Chuck Smith

BEWARE OF AMBITION BY CHUCK SMITH


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 (People God Uses) 03 Beware of Ambition by Chuck Smith

Topic: People God Uses
Scripture(s): Acts 3:12-13  
Description: God is looking for men and women that are not seeking to glorify themselves, but to give glory to God. People that begin to take glory for themselves soon become unusable by God. God can set us aside in a hurry. We should have no personal ambitions for greatness if we want to be used by God.
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A Word to Christian Artists, Musicians, Pastors, and the Rest of Us
      comment id: 999
"Beware of Ambition" is the first message I have ever heard Chuck Smith preach. Wow. What a clean, well-targeted word. God meant for me to hear it, because when God began to prosper me in school, I immediately began spreading the word about my good grades. Hidden beneath the pretext of giving a "Look what God has done for me" testimony, I must admit that it was really motivated by the fleshly instinct that Pastor Smith describes in this sermon. Even when it is done somewhat subconsciously, striving for and basking in the praise that God deserves is a grave mistake, even (especially?) when one is supposedly doing it for God. 

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