Excuses! Excuses! Lying, insolent, deceiving excuses! That is all that men offer when they will not have Jesus as Saviour and pretend that it is for some good reason. - John R. Rice [Immanuel--God With Us, page 151]
He [Jesus Christ] did not say, "Now, I'll tell you what to do. You are sort of an ignorant bunch, but I have trained you the best I could. Be sure to learn your Scripture. Then when you go get somebody converted, get him baptized, then put him through a Bible institute. Put him through Tennessee Temple Schools, or through Baptist Bible College, or Moody Bible Institute or some seminary." He did not say that. You will not misunderstand me--I am not against education. I was a college teacher. (I have been forgiven for my past sins--you ought not to hold that against me!) But I was a college teacher! I am for education. And I have some degrees (not all deserved, maybe). But, my friends, education is like the snap of a finger--it is an incidental. It is like a feather in the road beside this one main matter of the power of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. - John R. Rice [Ten Messages That Changed Ten Thousand Lives, pg. 86]
Education? Yes, He can use educated people; but now and then He is going to use uneducated men like D. L. Moody, like Billy Sunday, to make a joke of the rest of us nice, stiff preachers with our degrees. Sometimes maybe it is a handicap to some of us that we have an education. We think we are so smart. God says, "I'll by-pass you and use somebody who is not thinking so much about education but who has My power on him." - John R. Rice [Ten Messages That Changed Ten Thousand Lives, pg. 86-87]
Every Christian was convicted by the Holy Spirit before he was saved. Then the Holy Spirit regenerated him when he trusted Christ. The Holy Spirit came in to dwell in the body of every one He regenerated. Then the Holy Spirit is the Teacher, the Comforter, the Prayer-Helper, the loving Friend of every Christian. - John R. Rice [Ten Messages That Changed Ten Thousand Lives, pg. 93]
Do you want to know Jesus Christ? The Holy Spirit will manifest Him to you. Do you want to remember what Jesus said? The Holy Spirit will help you to remember; "He will bring to your remembrance all things," Jesus said. The way to remember Scripture and memorize Scripture is to have the Spirit of God put it in your heart, burn it in, recall it to your memory. O Holy Spirit, teach us the Word of God! - John R. Rice [Ten Messages That Changed Ten Thousand Lives, pg. 104]
It is quite obvious that Jesus leaves us to do His work. As far as the atoning death on the cross, of course nobody could do that but Jesus. As far as paying the price for man's sin, Jesus alone had to do that. But on the matter of getting out the Gospel, the Lord Jesus has gone away and He has left us - you will understand me - to save all who will be saved in the world. I do not mean we will get the whole world saved. I do not mean we will save anybody without the supernatural work of the Spirit of God. But the getting out of the Gospel and the use of the miraculous power of the Gospel and the Holy Spirit in us are left to people today. WE are to do the work of God. - John R. Rice [Ten Messages That Changed Ten Thousand Lives, pg. 112-113]
Somebody says, "Well, I will pray." That is all right, but praying will not take the place of obeying. Praying will not take the place of preaching the Gospel. You can pray until you are black in the face but people are not going to be saved without somebody preaching the Gospel to them. People are not going to be saved without being told how. That is God's plan. Romans 10:14 says, "How then shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? AND HOW SHALL THEY HEAR WITHOUT A PREACHER?" God is not going to change His plan for one who does not want to obey Him. God still has us to take the Gospel. - John R. Rice [Ten Messages That Changed Ten Thousand Lives, pg. 117]
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