Sovereign Grace: Its Source, Its Nature and Its EffectsMoody, Dwight Lyman
Religion
Sovereign Grace: Its Source, Its Nature and Its Effects
Moody, Dwight Lyman
Grace (Theology) -- Sermons; Sermons, American -- 19th century
I find that many Christians are in trouble about the future; they
think they will not have grace enough to die by. It is much more
important that we should have grace enough to live by. It seems to
me that death is of very little importance in the meantime. When the
dying hour comes there will be dying grace; but you do not require
dying grace to live by. If I am going to live perhaps for fifteen or
twenty years, what do I want with dying grace? I am far more anxious
about having grace enough for my present work.
I have sometimes been asked if I had grace enough to enable me to go
to the stake and die as a martyr. No; what do I want with martyr's
grace? I do not like suffering; but if God should call on me to die
a martyr's death, He would give me martyr's grace. If I have to pass
through some great affliction, I know God will give me grace when
the time comes; but I do not want it till it comes.
There is a story of a martyr in the second century. He was brought
before the king, and told that if he did not recant they would
banish him. Said he, "O king, you cannot banish me from Christ; for
He has said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee!" The apostle
John was banished to the island of Patmos; but it was the best thing
that could have happened: for if John had not been sent there,
probably we should never have had that grand Book of Revelation.
John could not be separated from his Master.
So it was with this brave martyr, of whom I was speaking. The king
said to him, "Then I will take away your property from you." "You
cannot do that: for my treasure is laid up on high, where you cannot
get at it?" "Then I will kill you." "You can not do that; for I have
been dead these forty years: my life is hid with Christ in God." The
king said, "What are you going to do with such a fanatic as that?"
Let us remember that if we have not grace enough for service, we
have no one to blame but ourselves. We are not straitened in God: He
has abundance of grace to qualify us to work for Him.
MORE TO FOLLOW.
I heard a story about two members of a Church: one was a wealthy
man, and the other was one of those who cannot take care of their
finances--he was always in debt. The rich brother had compassion on
his poor brother. He wanted to give him some money; but he would not
give it to the man all at once: he knew he would not use it
properly. So he sent the amount to the minister, and asked him to
supply the needs of this poor brother. The minister used to send him
a five-dollar bill, and put on the envelope "More to follow." I can
imagine how welcome the gift would be; but the best of all was the
promise--"More to follow." So it is with God: there is always "more
to follow." It is such a pity that we are not ready to be used by
God when He wants to use us.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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