Category: The Shepherd Publications

THE UNCOMMON REFORMER (Part 1 of 2)
After his conversion and dramatic baptism in the Holy Spirit, he quitted practicing law to enlist in the cause of Christ. He knew with a deep sense that God had commissioned him to preach the gospel. He found out that he was unwilling to do anything else, had no disposition to neither make money nor thirst after worldly pleasures. His whole mind was taken up with Jesus and the gospel. He departed from traditional Calvinist theology and taught salvation by choice to all. Central to his preaching was justification by faith. He advocated a “second blessing of the Holy Spirit” (sanctification) and also believed it was possible for Christians to backslide and lose their salvation as opposed to the erroneous eternal security preached today by many.

Finney was an active revivalist who through prayer “took short-cuts to men’s hearts, and demolished the subterfuges of unbelief by God’s Word”. His steadfastness in prayer impacted so much that the Holy Spirit would brood on the audience till they turned to Christ.

LITTLE FOLLY THAT COSTS MUCH
“Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour” (Ecclesiastes 10:1). When a man acts without thinking and does things, only to later regret the consequences of such actions, that is nothing but folly.

In Genesis 25:29-34, Esau returned from the field and he was dying of hunger. “Sell me this day thy birthright”, Jacob named his price. There are people like Jacob today who are after the most precious things in your life.

CHANGE IS POSSIBLE
Randy was unsure about his choice of clothes for church so he sought some counsel from his wife. He asked, “Do you think I should change?” She took advantage of the opportunity and replied, “It depends – are you talking about changing your shirt or making a wholesale change as a human being?”
I remember reading through one of the books of John C. Maxwell Be all that you can be and I got captivated by a statement in the last chapter of the book where Frederic Flach in his book Choices, wrote “Most people can look back over the years and identify a time and place at which their lives changed significantly.

BE USEABLE
The Master was searching for a vessel to use; on the shelf there were many – which one would He choose? Take me, cried the gold one, I’m shiny and bright, I’m of great value and I do things just right. My beauty and luster will outshine the rest and for someone like You, Master, gold would be the best!
Unheeding, the Master passed on to the brass, it was wide mouthed and shallow, and polished like glass. Here! Here! cried the vessel, I know I will do, Place me on Your table for all men to view.

THE MARRIAGE BED
A third-grade teacher asked her students to draw a picture of what they wanted to be when they grew up. The pictures came in, and there were pictures of nurses, of astronauts, of firemen etc. But one little girl handed in a blank piece of paper. The teacher said, “Don’t you know what you want to be?” And the little girl said, “Sure I know. I want to be married. But I don’t know how to draw it!”
Well that little girl is not the only one that doesn’t know what being married is supposed to look like. But God knows what a marriage is supposed to look like. In fact, He’s the one that came up with the original design. And He has shown us through various passages in His Word what He wants marriage to look like. Top on that list is the sanctity of the marriage relation.

THE UNKNOWN GOD
We may know some public figures, their personal likes, dislikes, and other details but still do not really know them. How well do you know God? You must have heard so much about Him, likely have studied His book, the Bible, but do not actually know Him. “For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.” From here Paul was saying “People of Athens, I see that you are very religious. As I was going through your city and looking at the things you worship, I found an altar with the words, “To an Unknown God.”

THE PRICE OF PROMISCUITY
“Promiscuity is one example of a class of high-risk behaviors involving sexual addictions. It is comparable to, and may coincide with behaviors such as heavy drinking, gambling, and other thrill-seeking behaviors. Echoes from both human and divine tones spell doom for promiscuous behavior in no small way.
In a study conducted which employed data on young women from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to explore the relationship between number of sex partners and educational attainment, ordinary least squares and instrumental variables estimates suggest that number of sex partners is negatively related to educational attainment, a result that is consistent with the argument that romantic involvements are time consuming and can impose substantial emotional costs on adolescents and young adults.

GOD RESERVED PERSON (GRP)
There was a squadron of men in South East Asia who got involved in all sorts of wickedness possible. Every time they had leave, they would go to bars and houses of prostitution to gratify their lustful desires. At a point, one man said, “I have a girl back home. I love her. I’m going to keep myself for her.” The other men later contracted diseases except for this one man. When this man saw his bride-to-be, he was so glad he had been faithful. One day soon, we will marry Jesus! Keep yourself pure and unspotted.

WISDOM FOR THE YOUTHS
I spend a bulk of my time counselling and interacting with youths. A common feedback that I get on why youths behave the way they do is simply that they are youths and must behave as youths. Generally, youths are known for all forms of social vices, and they see the time of their youth as the right time to engage in all sort of things. My friend, it doesn’t have to be! That many are doing it does not make it right and less destructive. Being a youth is not a license to engage in what will ruin your life.

ABOUNDING GRACE
Charles Spurgeon and Joseph Parker both had churches in London in the 19th century. On one occasion, Parker commented on the poor condition of children admitted into Spurgeon’s orphanage. It was reported to Spurgeon however, that Parker had criticized his orphanage. Spurgeon blasted Parker the next week from the pulpit. The attack was printed in the newspapers and it became the talk of the town. People flocked to Parker’s church the next Sunday to hear his rebuttal.