Visit to D. L. Moody Museum

Lisa and I recently had a long layover in Chicago, so we made a visit to the D. L. Moody Museum at Moody Bible Institute. Moody has been a hero of mine for some time. He preached the gospel to an estimated 100 million people, and his favorite message was on “The New Birth.” Below are some pictures from our time at the museum, followed by some great favorite Moody quotes.

Quotes by D. L. Moody

“Out of 100 men, one will read the Bible, the other 99 will read the Christian.” 

“There are many of us that are willing to do great things for the Lord, but few of us are willing to do little things.”

“A man may preach with the eloquence of an angel, but if he doesn’t live what he preaches, and act out in his home and his business what he professes, his testimony goes for naught, and the people say it is all hypocrisy after all; it is all a sham. Words are very empty if there is nothing back of them.” 

“It is a great deal better to live a holy life than to talk about it.” 

 “If this world is going to be reached, I am convinced it must be done by men and women of average talent. After all there are comparatively few people in the world who have great talents.” 

 “It is very much better to get a reputation for being brief than to have people say that you preach long sermons. Say what you have got to say in just as few words as you can. Then stop when you get through. Some men go on and feel around for a good stopping place. I’d rather stop abruptly than do that. Don’t waste any time. Remember, we are living in an intense age. Men think quicker than they used to… What we want in our preaching is to condense. Get a reputation for being short, and people will want to hear you.” 

 “Our Gospel that we are preaching is a supernatural Gospel, and we have got to have supernatural power to preach it.” 

 “If a man is not filled with the Spirit, he will never know how to use the Book. We are told that this is the sword of the Spirit; and what is an army good for that does not know how to use its weapons?” 

 “I think it is clearly taught in the Scripture that every believer has the Holy Ghost dwelling in him. He may be quenching the Spirit of God, and he may not glorify God as he should, but if he is a believer on the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost dwells in him. But I want to call your attention to another fact. I believe today, that though Christian men and women have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, yet He is not dwelling within them in power; in other words, God has a great many sons and daughters without power.”

 “There has been much inquiry of late on the subject of the Holy Spirit. In this and other lands thousands of persons have been giving attention to the study of this grand theme. I hope it will lead us all to pray for a greater manifestation of His power upon the whole Church of God. How much we have dishonored Him in the past! How ignorant of His grace, and love and presence we have been? Through His agency we are “born again,” and through His indwelling we possess superhuman power… The Holy Spirit who inspired prophets, and qualified apostles, continues to animate, guide and comfort all true believers… I believe, and am growing more into this belief, that divine, miraculous creative power resides in the Holy Ghost.” 

 “See the results when the disciples got the power! See how He came on the Day of Pentecost. It is not carnal to pray that He may come again, and that the place may be shaken… I think the Church has made this woeful mistake that Pentecost was a miracle never to be repeated. I believe if we looked on Pentecost as a specimen day, and began to pray, we should have the old Pentecostal fire back in Boston. That’s what we want! May God open our eyes and reveal it to us!”

 “I firmly believe that if we had this building filled with men and women expecting the Pentecostal power, we would get it. I believe if this building was filled with men and women hungry for the Spirit of God, we would have this place shaken, and there would be an influence felt not only in this land, but in foreign lands. It wouldn’t take long to reach the whole world. Talk about twenty years. It needn’t take twenty years if the Church of God is baptized and quickened.”

 “I know of nothing that speaks louder for Christ and Christianity than to see a man or woman giving up what they call their rights for others, and ‘in honor preferring one another.”

 “I have never known the Spirit of God to work where the Lord’s people were divided.”

 “Don’t go away and talk so much about these meetings as about Christ; the world needs him.”

 “When I pray, I talk to God, but when I read the Bible, God is talking to me… I believe we should know better how to pray if we knew our Bibles better.”