Francis Chan
With my natural communication abilities, I could probably gather a crowd even without the Spirit.Collection: Communication
It's easy to write for God and about God, because what a thrill to remind the church that the Holy Spirit of God is in you. What a rush! What an amazing blessing!Collection: Amazing
When you read the New Testament, you see the Holy Spirit was supposed to change everything so that this gathering of people who call themselves Christians had this supernatural element about them.
A key to everything is surrender - to really come before the Lord and say, 'I will literally stay here as long as you want me to stay' or 'God, I will really go anywhere on the earth.'
There are periods that we forget that in the pursuit of fruit, that if we just abide in Him, then fruitfulness is a guarantee.
Due to our consumer mindset, people are prone to jump from church to church, which weakens the church overall.
Truth is, I think, if God just gave us our daily bread, many of us would be angry. 'That's all you're going to give me? You're just going to give me enough to sustain me for today? What about tomorrow or next year or 10, 20, 30 years from now? I want to know that I'm set up.' And yet Jesus says just pray for your daily provisions.
I want to help people understand how to study the Scriptures with other people, to give them an overview of Scripture and assume that by understanding the Scriptures better, the Holy Spirit will bring to mind the right stories, the right teachings.
When I read the statements of Christ, there seems to be this urgency and intensity. I guess that's what I get out of it when I read the tone of the Scriptures, which is very different from the tone of our culture.
Our God listens to us. Our God is a living God. He's not a block of wood you made up that's not going to answer you. My God listens to me. He answers me.
Our culture is all about shallow relationships. But that doesn't mean we should stop looking each other in the eye and having deep conversations.
Even in my own church I heard the words, 'Francis Chan' more than I heard the words, 'Holy Spirit.'
I could be wrong about salvation. I could be wrong about a lot of things.
If I have a script, I tend to stick to it even if God may be leading me elsewhere in the moment.
As a culture, we're so worried about what's going to happen to us 30 years from now that we are not taking care of our brothers and sisters who need help today.
I want the joy of knowing that I am doing something with my life, the joy of battle.
If you really want to experience God, go and make disciples.
One of my biggest fears - maybe my biggest weakness as a Christian - is that I have a hard time going up to a stranger and talking to them about Jesus.
Every year in my life, I trust fewer and fewer people.
Being around a church culture, even leading a gathering of believers, I've gotten pretty good at predicting what's going to happen in a church service.
When I don't think biblically, I go nuts. I just go, 'This is crazy.'
Honestly, when I read the Scriptures, I really believe the Lord puts a heart in us when we become believers.
I've never felt a need to really respond to someone else's writing.
Churches we build only by our own efforts and not in the strength of the Spirit will quickly collapse when we don't push and prod people along.
Churchgoers in America are notorious for jumping into movements, even ideas that are hard to listen to. But when they actually have to change their lifestyle and do something about it, it rarely translates into action.
I could fill my whole time doing interviews, speaking to crowds, and there's this natural human tendency because of our culture to think that the more people I talk to, the bigger the impact I'll have, and yet Jesus didn't spend His time just speaking to the masses. He spent the bulk of his time with a small group of people.
There are just certain times I sense the Lord is wanting me to write, and so I write.
For a person to be truly discipled and growing in their faith, they need more than one person discipling them.
Parents are supposed to instruct their kids. It doesn't mean they necessarily have that gift of teaching.
Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.Collection: Inspirational
The world says love yourself, grab all you can, follow your heart. Jesus says deny yourself, grab your cross and follow me.Collection: Jesus
God has allowed hard things in your life so you can show the world that your God is great and that knowing Him brings peace and joy, even when life is hard.Collection: Knowing
It's crazy, if you think about it. The God of the universe - the creator of nitrogen and pine needles, galaxies and E-minor - loves us with a radical, unconditional, self-sacrificing love. And what is our typical response? We go to church, sing songs, and try not to cuss.Collection: Song
Life is about Jesus. We are not here to tell our story, but His.Collection: Jesus
Don't fall into the trap of studying the Bible without doing what it says.Collection: Fall
God's definition of what matters is pretty straightforward. He measures our lives by how we love.Collection: What Matters
But God doesn't call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn't come through.Collection: God
We need to be more concerned about who we are before God than our reputation before people.Collection: People
Trust whatever He has for you. It will be better than anything you can plan for yourself.Collection: Plans
We never grow closer to God when we just live life. It takes deliberate pursuit and attentiveness.Collection: Christian
Lukewarm people give money to charity and to the church...so long as it doesn't impinge on their standard of living. Lukewarm people tend to choose what is popular over what is right. Lukewarm people don't really want to be saved from their sin; they want to be saved from the penalty of their sin. Lukewarm people rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends. Lukewarm people are thankful for their luxuries and comforts, and rarely consider trying to give as much as possible to the poor.Collection: Christian
In our world, where hundreds of things distract us from God, we have to intentionally and consistently remind ourselves of Him.Collection: Our World
We should be so joyful from God's grace that others would respond by saying, 'I wish I had your God.Collection: Grace
Don’t believe something just because you want to, and don’t embrace an idea just because you’ve always believed it. Believe what is biblical. Test all your assumptions against the precious words God gave us in the Bible.Collection: Believe
I don't want my life to be explainable without the Holy Spirit. I want people to look at my life and know I couldn't be doing this by my own power. I want to live in such a way that I am desperate for Him to come through. That if He doesn't come through, I am screwed.Collection: People
I quickly found that the American church is a difficult place to fit in if you want to live out New Testament Christianity. The goals of American Christianity are often a nice marriage, children who don't swear, and good church attendance. Taking the words of Christ literally, and seriously, is rarely considered. That's for the 'radicals' who are 'unbalanced' and who go 'overboard.' Most of us want a balanced life we can control, that is safe, and that does not involve suffering.Collection: Children
God is love, but He also defines what love is. We don't have the license to define love according to our standards.Collection: Love Is
Something is wrong when our lives make sense to unbelievers.Collection: Christian Inspirational
Churchgoers all across the nation say the Holy Spirit has entered them. They claim that God has given them a supernatural ability to follow Christ, put their sin to death, and serve the church. Christians talk about being born again say that they they were dead but now have come to life. We have become hardened to those words, but they are powerful words that have significant meaning. Yet when those outside the church see no difference in our lives, they begin to question our integrity, out sanity, or even worse, our God. And can you blame them?Collection: Christian
Grace is when you should be totally punished but are blessed for no reason.Collection: Blessed