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The immediate, experiential work of the Holy Spirit and the expectation of spiritual gifts.
Key question: “How does this text reveal the present-day work and power of the Holy Spirit?”
24,009 sermon illustrations through the Pentecostal lens
"The Word is not dead letters but living light! The Spirit illumines Scripture—makes it personal, makes it NOW. When you open the Bible, expect the Spirit to switch on the lamp! The Word becomes light when the Spirit reveals it to YOUR situation." — A.W.
"Christ died while we were sinners—this is prevenient grace in its starkest form. Before we sought God, He sought us. Before we loved, He loved. His death is the ultimate expression of grace that comes before any response on our part.
"Fear departs when we are united with God. The soul progressing in theosis knows increasing fearlessness because God's presence becomes more real than any threat. 'The Lord is with you'—this is not metaphor but mystical reality. In Him, we are unshakeable." — St.
"Worry is practical atheism—living as if God will not provide. 'Seek first' means trust first. The kingdom is God's gracious rule; His righteousness is Christ's righteousness given to us. Trust the Father who knows what you need; He delights to give." — Martin Luther.
"Jesus speaks to the 'heavy laden'—the campesinos crushed by unjust labor, the poor burdened by systems that exploit. His rest is not opiate but strength: rest to continue the fight, rest that declares their worth, rest that is itself resistance to dehumanization." — Oscar Romero.
"God is FAITHFUL—there is your anchor. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. He knows your limits better than you do. And He provides the way of escape—not always around the temptation but through it.
"'In Christ'—there is the key. New creation is not self-improvement but Christ-participation. We are new because we are in Him. His death becomes our death to the old; His resurrection becomes our rising to newness. Apart from Christ there is...
"Jesus didn't say 'I teach the truth'—He said 'I AM the truth.' Truth is not just doctrine; it's a Person to be encountered. When you meet Jesus—really meet Him—you encounter the Way, the Truth, and the Life. This is personal, experiential, transformational." — David Wilkerson.
"Faith is the substance—the solid ground beneath our feet when we cannot see. It is the evidence—the proof that convinces though eyes see nothing. Faith does not create reality; it perceives the reality that is already there, unseen by natural eyes." — A.W.
"Christ offers rest NOW—present salvation rest for the weary. But ultimate rest awaits: the millennial kingdom, the eternal state, when all burdens cease forever. We taste rest now; we will feast on rest then. Present grace; future glory." — Warren Wiersbe.
"Be still and know—and what do we know? We know Christ. He is the revelation of God; in Him we see who God is. Stillness before Christ, meditation on His word, contemplation of His cross—here we know that He is God.
"Jesus didn't come to give you ordinary life—He came to give you ABUNDANT life! OVERFLOWING! SUPERNATURAL! The enemy wants to steal your joy, kill your dreams, destroy your purpose—but JESUS gives LIFE! More than enough! Walk in the FULLNESS!" — T.D.
"Christ died for sinners—for enemies. This defines how we treat enemies: as those for whom Christ died. We cannot kill those Christ died to save. 'While we were enemies, we were reconciled'—this transforms ethics. Enemy love is not idealism; it...
"'I am crucified with Christ' is not private spirituality; it's the shape of the community. We die to individualism, violence, power-seeking. Together we embody the crucified life: vulnerable, serving, peace-making. The church IS a crucified body." — Stanley Hauerwas. Anabaptist cruciform community.
"God's 'plan' in Orthodox theology is the divine oikonomia—the household management of salvation. The future God promises is theosis, participation in divine life. Jeremiah 29:11 points beyond restoration to transformation, beyond return to transfiguration." — Metropolitan Kallistos Ware. Orthodox: the plan is theosis.
"Whatever YOUR work—do it for the Lord. Your boss may not appreciate you; your coworkers may not notice; but Christ sees and rewards. YOU work for HIM. That changes everything: your attitude, your effort, your integrity. Personal faithfulness in work matters." — Billy Graham.
"Through every dispensation, the LORD has been light to His people—to Israel, to the church. As darkness increases in these last days, His light shines brighter. Our stronghold is eternal; our salvation is secure. We fear not the coming tribulation;...
"Looking to Jesus means following Him to the cross. He endured the cross, despising the shame—for us. The race is costly discipleship; cheap grace offers no finish line. But He who endured is now seated at God's right hand.
"In prayer we cast our cares—the Jesus Prayer itself is a casting: 'Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.' Each repetition releases anxiety into divine mercy. The practice of ceaseless prayer is ceaseless care-casting. God's providence holds what we release." — St.
"This text is rightly called the gospel in miniature because it contains the entire sum of the Christian doctrine in a brief compass: God so loved... that He gave... that whoever believes... shall not perish but have eternal life. Here...
"'Be still'—this is hesychia, the sacred stillness of the heart. In hesychasm, through the Jesus Prayer, we descend from the mind into the heart and there encounter the living God. 'Know that I am God'—gnosis, direct experiential knowledge, theotic knowing." — Kallistos Ware.
"Read the context: 'Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile.' The promise of hope comes WITH a command to work for the common good. Jeremiah 29:11 is not private prosperity but communal flourishing—your welfare...
"Isaiah 40 speaks to exiles exhausted by empire. 'Wait on the Lord' is not quietism but resistance—refusing to be defined by Babylon's pace and priorities. Renewed strength comes to those who trust God's alternative future, not imperial timelines." — Walter Brueggemann.
"The mind is renewed through the Word of God. As we saturate our thinking in Scripture, transformation happens. In this church age, God has given us the complete canon—our manual for mind renewal. Discerning God's will comes through knowing God's Word." — Warren Wiersbe.