His Pleasure and Honor

“God never made use of any creatures because he had the least need of them, or the least help by them, but partly because it is his pleasure; he uses them because he will use them:  It is his pleasure ‘by the foolishness of the preaching to save them that believe,’ 1 Cor. 1:21; not that he has the least aid from preachers. So it is his pleasure by food and sleep to preserve man’s life; not that he has any help from them: ‘Thy visitation preserves my spirit,’ Job 10:12.  Partly from his own honour. Hereby he magnifies his sovereignty, and shows his dominion over all his creatures, that they are all at his beck, and he can with a stamp of his foot, or a glance of his eye, or a hiss of his mouth, call them from the uttermost parts of the world, to execute his command.”  –George Swinnock “Works of George Swinnock” Vol. 4, p. 443

No Helping Hand

“He works wholly by his own power, without the least help from any other. Creatures are all instruments, and act in the virtue of the principal efficient. Angels and men act not in their own, but in the strength of God; they have not some help from God, but all the power by which they work from God. But God acts wholly in his own strength, he never had nor desired a helping hand from any of his creatures.”  –George Swinnock “Works of George Swinnock” Vol. 4, p. 441

All Is Easy Alike To Him

“He works at all times without weariness, and does the greatest things with ease. As there is nothing too hard for God, so there is nothing hard to God. He does the hardest things that are with the greatest ease. Indeed, the great God does the greatest and the hardest things with the same ease that he does the least things. It is all one to him whether his work be small or great, easy or hard to others; all is easy alike to him.”  –George Swinnock “Works of George Swinnock” Vol. 4, p. 439

Believers Must Differ

“…Jesus is saying [Luke 12:22-30] that believers must differ in their inner yearnings, must set their hearts on different things, must be controlled by different ideals, and must be motivated by a different love. When church members hardly differ at all from ‘outsiders’ in the ambitions they cherish, in the goals they try to achieve, in the manner in which they react to the disappointments and adversities of life, in the way they conduct their social events and parties, in the kind of literature they prefer to read, in the songs they prefer to sing, in their choice of friends with whom they feel at home, etc., there is something very wrong. What Jesus here teaches is entirely in line with the rest of Scripture.”  –William Hendriksen “New Testament Commentary – Luke” p. 668

Hearts In the Message

“The message to be brought by the disciples must not be coldy objective, a mere recitation of memorized words. On the contrary, the hearts of these men must be in the message. Their preaching must be witness-bearing. It should include their personal testimony…Be outspoken in the defense of the faith!”  –William Hendriksen “New Testament Commentary – Luke” p. 655

Deliver Us From the Evil One

“If it be thy will, do not permit us, weak as we are and prone to sin, to enter into situations which in the normal course of events would expose us to temptation and to a possible fall; but whatever be thy way with us, deliver us from the evil one. Grant that we may remain watchful at all times, and that at last we may triumph completely.”  –William Hendriksen, “New Testament Commentary – Luke” p. 610

Light At The Cross

“Oh, dear souls, who are in the dark, if you want light, there is light nowhere but at the cross.  Do not look within for light; the only benefit of looking within is to be more and more convinced that all is as dark as midnight apart from Jesus.  Look within if you want to despair, but if you wish for hope look yonder to Calvary’s mountain, where the Son of God lays down his life that sinners may not die.  Hear you from heaven the voice which says, ‘I have found a ransom.’ That is the only reason why God delivers you, not because he has seen any good thing in you, but because he has found a ransom in you.  Look where God looks and your comfort will begin.”  –C.H. Spurgeon “Sermons, Vol. 10” p. 164