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THE SPIRIT OF FEAR

"Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.  For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:6, 7).                                                                                                                        Edwin Cole, who has been called “the Father of the Christian Men’s Movement,” has said that the definition of faith and the definition of fear are the same.  He said, “ Faith is believing that what you cannot see will come to pass.  Fear is believing that what you cannot see will come to pass.”  This being true, it appears ...

"I WILL"

There is a simple story contained in the gospel of St. Luke that recently caught my attention.  I haven't heard anyone use this story for the basis of a sermon or teaching before (although I'm sure many have), maybe because it is so very short and the narrative is very direct, but it is for those reasons that it stood out to me.   The story is about a leprous man who came to Jesus for healing.  "And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." (Luke 5:12 NKJV).  This man was in a desperate condition.  He didn't have just a touch of leprosy; he was full of leprosy.  His was an extreme case.  Without divine intervention, he likely didn't have much longer to live.  In his desperation he came and fell down at Jesus' feet, begging the Lord to make him clean.  Clearly, the man had faith that Jesus...

THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT (PART 4)

  SECTION VIII ENTERING AT THE STRAIT GATE   JUDGING OTHERS   “Judge not, that ye be not judged.   For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” (Matthew 7:1, 2).   The question of whether or not Christians can or should judge others has been debated for centuries.   There are those who strictly believe that judging others is forbidden.   Besides the one command from the Savior that is quoted above, they direct us to many other places in scripture which speak plainly about not judging.   For instance, James wrote, “Speak not evil one of another, brethren.   He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge .” (James 4:11).   Paul tells us, “ Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for whe...