Heart on SermonAudio

We Need God To Reveal It The message centers on our complete dependence upon the Lord to see life, sin, ourselves, and Jesus rightly. Like Israel in Numbers 15, we are naturally inclined to follow our own hearts and our own eyes, but God calls us to look, listen, and live—to look to Him, listen to what He says, and then walk by faith in what He reveals. The contrast between Joshua and Caleb and the other ten spies shows that faith does not deny what is visible; faith simply believes God's report above what seems right to us. The message then moves into the ongoing work of revival in the believer's life through three essential truths: God must reveal it, grace must remove it, and His goodness must replace it. We cannot properly deal with bitterness, unforgiveness, pride, self-reliance, or any other work of the flesh until God shines His light upon it. Once He reveals it, we do not overcome it through our own strength; we surrender it to the sufficient grace of Jesus. But God does not merely remove what is wrong—He fills that place with His own goodness, character, and ways so that the life of Jesus can be manifested through us. Numbers 15, Leviticus 18, and the wilderness journey all reinforce the same truth: God's people are not to live according to where they came from or according to the world around them. We have been given a new life, a new family, and a new way of living. We do not learn that life from Egypt, Canaan, our past, our feelings, or the culture; we learn it by looking unto Jesus and yielding to His Spirit. The message ultimately calls us to intentional dependence upon the Lord. We cannot accidentally obey God, accidentally walk in the Spirit, or accide

Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." King James Version

This sermon explores the spiritual danger of 'drying up' or withering, using the account of Jesus cursing the fig tree in Mark 11 as a central illustration. The message identifies five areas where believers may experience spiritual stagnation: church services, suffering, sin, the state of the soul, and the direct relationship with the Savior. It emphasizes that God does not expect perfection or an abundance of fruit, but rather a consistent, abiding connection to Christ that produces evidence of life even during difficult seasons. Bro. Qualls urges the audience to examine their spiritual vitality, warning that a superficial connection to God results in withering, while a deep, abiding faith yields fruit that glorifies God. The tone is pastoral and convicting, encouraging believers to remain responsive to God's grace and to avoid the hardness of heart that leads to spiritual death.

The devotional emphasizes the necessity of shifting the focus of prayer from personal needs to the exaltation of God, drawing on Psalm 66 to illustrate that God listens to those who approach Him with a heart free of cherished iniquity. It argues that true prayer involves high praises that lift up God's character and glory, a practice that enriches the believer's spiritual life and aligns with the intent of the Lord's Prayer. The message encourages believers to examine their hearts before praying and to cultivate a posture of worship that centers on God's person rather than their own circumstances. By prioritizing the glory of the Father, Christians can experience a deeper intimacy with God, similar to the cherished relationship described in the context of long-term marriage.

During this period, Spurgeon is locked in combat, contending for the honour and glory of Christ. This sermon is situated both in the overall battle he is fighting, but also in the context of a pastoral ministry in which he is conscious of the need to feed and encourage the flock of Christ. So, having previously preached on the Lamb in glory (the previous sermon in this volume, number 2095, if you want to read it for yourself) he now wants to emphasise that this Lamb is the Bridegroom of the church, and that all our hope and happiness centres in him not only in this life but also in the life which is to come. He therefore steps through the prospect that lies before us, noting from Revelation 19 some of the events which precede the moment of marriage. He turns our attention to the marriage itself, asking how it has been brought about and what it involves. He fixes our eye upon the Bridegroom of our hearts, Jesus Christ, in his character as the Lamb of God, pushing us to recognise that this is essential to the union. Finally, he allows us to see the wife of the Lamb as she approaches her Beloved, prepared by him, for him, clothed in the white linen of her righteousnesses. It is a beautiful picture, and one which the preacher would have us ponder, not only to stir up love and faith and hope, but also to ensure that we will, through trust in the Lamb, participate in that glorious consummation.

VaultAI Summary: This sermon explores the call for believers to be wholly consecrated to the fear of the Lord, examining how this devotion manifests in the mind, heart, eyes, and feet. Drawing from Psalm 119, the text argues that true Christianity requires the mind to be renewed by God's teaching, the heart to be inclined toward delight in His commandments rather than covetousness, and the eyes to be guarded against vanity. The preacher emphasizes that intellectual assent is insufficient without the power of the Holy Spirit to quicken the soul, enabling genuine obedience and a walk that reflects Christ's character. By uniting these faculties in reverence, Christians avoid hypocrisy and bring glory to God, relying on His grace to sustain their devotion and protect His name from reproach.

Ecclesiastes 11:10 "Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity." King James Version

The golden candlestick in the tabernacle is a picture of the Lord Jesus and His church in purity, in unity, in foundation, and in the capacity to illuminate hearts and minds with the gospel. THE BIBLE Baptist Church of DeLand, Florida Pastor James W. Knox Pastor David A. Brown https://biblebaptistdeland.com For more sermons and Bible study materials, please visit our web store at https://store.jameswknox.org/ DeLand School of THE BIBLE: https://dsbkjv.com

Look • Listen • Live The message centers on God's gracious instruction in Numbers 15:37–41, where He gave Israel tassels with a blue thread as a visible reminder to look, remember, and do what He had commanded. The principle carries directly into our lives today: look to Jesus, listen to what He has said, and live by faith in what He gives us. We do not naturally drift toward obedience. Our hearts and eyes are inclined toward the flesh, so walking with God requires intentional faith and continual dependence upon His light. God is not looking for the best version of us or even our version of Jesus. He desires for the life of Jesus to be manifested through us. That means we need Him to reveal what we cannot see and correct what we are seeing wrongly. Faith comes by hearing, so in the kingdom of God we often see by hearing—God speaks, His Word sheds light, and suddenly we can interpret our circumstances from His perspective rather than our own. The illustration of "life in a jar" pictures the many experiences that fill our days. The ordinary moments are like buttons. The unforgettable "ever since" moments of God's grace and faithfulness are like pearls. And then there are the lemons—the losses, disappointments, griefs, hardships, and wounds that leave a sour taste in our lives. God does not necessarily remove those lemons, but when He pours His light into our lives, His light changes how we see everything in the jar. The pain may still be painful, but it no longer gets to interpret God for us. That is why we must continually look to Jesus. Hebrews 12 reminds us that when we become weary and discouraged, we are to consider Him. Jesus endured the race set before Him, trus

This instructional kids message defines the theological concepts of faith and repentance using the Westminster Shorter Catechism as a framework. Faith is presented not merely as intellectual assent but as a complete trust and resting in Jesus Christ for salvation, illustrated through the physical act of sitting in a chair. Repentance is distinguished from mere remorse, defined instead as a decisive turning away from one's own selfish way and a turning toward God's way. The message emphasizes that these two responses are inseparable and necessary for escaping God's wrath. The sermon concludes by anchoring this transformation in the person of Jesus, who is identified as the way, the truth, and the life, requiring the believer to rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance.