Sermon Central
-
When To Pray For ...
Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 13, 2012 (message contributor)
WHEN TO PRAY FOR DISCERNMENT
I think about the pastor of the church that I went to couple of years in California, Pastor Chuck. A man came to him and said he wanted to make a large donation - one million dollar donation. The pastor said to that, “Wow – that is a lot of money. Let me go first and pray about it!” You don’t say to the person who wants to give you a million dollar, let me pray about it. But Pastor Chuck prayed about it and the Lord led him to the portion in Genesis where a king wanted to give Abraham great wealth, but Abraham refused it, because he said, “then you will say that you made Abraham rich!” Abraham wanted God to get the glory for his wealth. So the pastor went to the man said that he cannot receive the gift because as he prayed he was not at peace and that he did not want the man to say that he made this church rich.
This church grew from that time. Every morning about 3000 people would gather for different services. That’s only the adults. They also had an overflow room that seated about 900 people and was full for all three services. And through the offerings they collected, Calvary Chapel bought a radio station and has the largest radio station in Southern California, which is one of the media capitals of the world where you have the Hollywood, Burbank and all these television and film studios.
And they broadcast bible studies and worship music. The church is able to sponsor all this and they are able to give without expecting anything in return. They also have a conference centre where people can go for retreats. And another one that they turned into a Bible college. In other words, the pastor decided to honor God for his resources, He gave preference to Jesus and not to someone who was going to give a million dollar donation – and God is faithful! God provides – He is able! You give Him preference first, and He will take care of you.
From a sermon by Ken Henson, Come to Jesus: Matthew 15:21-39, 6/19/2012
Related Sermon Illustrations
-
Citation: N.t. Wright In For All God's Worth. ...
Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Feb 27, 2004
Citation: N.T. Wright in For All God’s Worth. Christianity Today, Vol. 41, no. 12.] We live in a world full of people struggling to be, or at least to appear, strong in order not to be weak; and we ...read more
-
Several Years Ago At A Promise Keepers ...
Contributed by Timothy Smith on Sep 3, 2005
Several years ago at a Promise Keepers conference, Dennis Rainey placed animal traps on stage. They were big ones too. Bear traps and even an African safari large animal trap that took two men to open. There were a dozen or so traps, and he set or opened them all. Then Dennis Rainey had a father ...read more
-
Beauty's True Source PRO
Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Feb 27, 2004
[Beauty’s True Source, Citation: Jim Congdon] A jarring TV commercial didn’t say a word. It simply shows a series of people who have one thing in common—a nasty injury or scar. There’s a cowboy with a huge scar around his eye, and something wrong with the eye itself; a fellow with a bulbous ...read more
-
Marty Williams A Pastor Of Family Ministries Asks ... PRO
Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jul 15, 2004
Marty Williams a Pastor of Family Ministries asks the question that we all must ask ourselves today, “Am I Teachable?” He has 12 thoughts to help us discover if we are teachable: 1. I am willing to listen more than talk. 2. I admit when I am mistaken. 3. I observe before acting on a ...read more
-
A Jewish Man Was Confronting A Christian Man: ...
Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Mar 15, 2005
A Jewish man was confronting a Christian man: “You know, you people borrowed the 10 Commandments from us.” “Well,” responded the Christian, “we may ...read more
Related Sermons
-
The Poverty Mindset
Contributed by Jeff Van Wyk on Apr 13, 2013
One false concept is that poverty has some mysterious refining qualities. Some believe that it is spiritual to be poor. That is not the way God lives and neither does He want us to live that way. Just look how He blessed Abraham. The Bible teaches us that
-
Invest In God's Kingdom
Contributed by Jeff Van Wyk on Feb 2, 2013
To be a good steward we must not waste what has been given to us. We must invest what has been given to us and must show a return for it.We are given resources according to our individual abilities. We are all different. It is a fact that some people are
-
The Rich Fool Series
Contributed by Jeff Strite on Nov 4, 2018
Why was God angry at the "rich farmer?" What had this farmer done wrong and what can we learn from his story about the need to being rich toward God?
-
I’m Gone Get To My Better Series
Contributed by Charles Jones on Jun 30, 2012
You may know that God wants to save you. You may know that God wants to heal you. But do you also know that God wants to prosper you?
-
True Riches Series
Contributed by Dennis Davidson on Oct 20, 2014
Our attitude toward money & how we use it is a barometer of our spiritual state. It reveals whether we are foolishly thinking only of the present or astutely looking to eternity. What is the purpose of money anyway?
