Galatians 1:15-16 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace,… I. God's way of working in the hearts of His people is to START AND QUICKEN RELIGIOUS IMPULSES. 1. By preaching. 2. Bible study. 3. Prayer. 4. Religious biography. But 5. there are impulses for which we cannot account at all. II. God carries on His work in us by SETTLING IMPULSES INTO LIFE PRINCIPLES. This is sanctification. The leaping mountain spring that bounds from rock to rock, and rushes over hindrances, gathers strength and becomes presently the noiseless quiet river that flows smoothly along, breathing out refreshment as it flows, and singing to its own quieter music the same song to God. III. SIN CHECKS THESE IMPULSES by suggesting delay in acting them out. IV. THE DIVINE ORIGIN OF THESE IMPULSES MAY BE TESTED by their tendency to — 1. Devotion. 2. Work. 3. Holiness. 4. Beneficence. V. SUCH IMPULSES MAY BE SAFELY FOLLOWED. VI. DIVINE IMPULSES ARE CHECKED BY THE COOL CALCULATIONS OF SELFISHNESS. Application: 1. Some of you are not naturally impulsive. There is a side of your nature which needs cultivation. 2. Some of you are naturally very impulsive. Don't lay violent hands upon them, but strengthen your other faculties. (R. Tuck, B. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, |
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