J. Oswald Sanders Quotes

It is impossible for a believer, no matter what his experience, to keep right with God if he will not take the trouble to spend time with God. Spend plenty of time with him; let other things go, but don't neglect Him.

The frontiers of the kingdom of God were never advanced by men and women of caution.

True leadership is found in giving yourself in service to others, not in coaxing or inducing others to serve you.

True greatness,true leadership,is found in giving yourself in service to others, not in coaxing or inducing others to serve you. True service is never without cost. Often it comes with a painful baptism of suffering. But the true spiritual leader is focused on the service he and she can render to God and other people, not on the residuals and perks of high office or holy title. We must aim to put more into life than we take out.

When God lays a burden on our hearts and thus keeps us praying, He obviously intends to grant the answer.

We are at this moment as close to God as we really choose to be. True, there are times when we would like to know a deeper intimacy, but when it comes to the point, we are not prepared to pay the price involved.

Jesus drank a cup of wrath without mercy, that we might drink a cup of mercy without wrath.

Once the joy of intimacy with God has been experienced, life becomes unbearable without it.

Faith enables the believing soul to treat the future as present and the invisible as seen.

There is no conceivable situation in which it is not safe to trust God.

Most men are notable for one conspicuous virtue or grace - Moses for meekness, Job for patience, John for love. But, in Jesus you find everything.

A great deal more failure is the result of an excess of caution than of bold experimentation with new ideas. The frontiers of the Kingdom of God were never advanced by men and women of caution.

The man of leadership caliber will work while others waste time, study while others sleep, pray while others play. There will be no place for loose or lazy habits in word or thought, deed or dress. He will observe a soldierly discipline, diet and deportment, so that he may wage a good warfare.

It is obvious that Paul did not regard prayer as supplemental, but as fundamental-not something to be added to his work but the very matrix out of which his work was born. He was a man of action because he was a man of prayer. It was probably his prayer even more than his preaching that produced the kind of leaders we meet in his letters.

Eyes that look are common; eyes that see are rare.

Before we can conquer the world, we must first conquer the self.

If a man is known by the company he keeps, so also his character is reflected in the books he reads.

True greatness, true leadership, is achieved not by reducing men to one's service but in giving oneself in selfless service to them.

Ambition that centers on the glory of God and welfare of the church is a mighty force for good.

We can lead others only as far along the road as we ourselves have traveled. merely pointing the way is not enough. If we are not walking, then no one can be following, and ware not leading anyone.

Pride takes many forms, but spiritual pride is the most grievous. To become proud of spiritual gifts or leadership position is to forget that all we have is from God, all the position we occupy is God's appointment.

One reason why people are unable to understand great Christian classics is that they are trying to understand without any intention of obeying them.

The spiritual leader will choose the hidden path of sacrificial service and approval of the Lord over the flamboyant self-advertising of the world.

We should always aim to read something different=not only the writers with whom we agree, but those with whom we are ready to do battle. Their point of view challenges us to examine the truth and to test their views...and let us not comment on nor criticize writers of whom we have heard only second-hand, or third-hand without troubling to read their works for ourselves...Don't be afraid of new ideas.

If a Christian is not willing to rise early and work late, to expend greater effort in diligent study and faithful work, that person will not change a generation. Fatigue is the price of leadership. Mediocrity is the result of never getting tired.

Sacrifice is the ecstasy of giving the best we have to the One we love most.

The deity of Christ is the key doctrine of the scriptures. Reject it, and the Bible becomes a jumble of words without any unifying theme. Accept it, and the Bible becomes an intelligible and ordered revelation of God in the person of Jesus Christ.

Leaders who want to show sensitivity should listen often and long and talk short and seldom. Many so-called leaders are too busy to listen. True leaders know that time spent listening is well invested.

God prepares leaders with a specific place and task in mind. Training methods are adapted to the mission, and natural and spiritual gifts are given with clear purpose.

Faith never knows where it is being led, or it would not be faith. True faith is content to travel under sealed orders.

The person who sees the difficulties so clearly that he does not discern the possibilities cannot inspire a vision in others.

Fatigue is the price of leadership. Mediocrity is the price of never getting tired.

The secular mind and heart, however gifted and personally charming, has no place in the leadership of the church.

If the world is to hear the church's voice today, leaders are needed who are authoritative, spiritual, and sacrificial. Sacrificial, because this trait follows the model of Jesus, who gave Himself for the whole world and who calls us to follow in His steps.

Desiring to excel is not a sin. It is motivation that determines ambition's character. Our Lord never taught against the urge to high achievement, but He did expose and condemn unworthy motivation.

Time lost can never be retrieved. Time cannot be hoarded, only spent well.

There is no such thing as a self made spiritual leader. He is able to influence others spiritually only because the Spirit is able to work in and through him to a greater degree than in those he leads.

Spirituality is not easy to define, but you can tell when it is present. It is the fragrance of the garden of the Lord, the power to change the atmosphere around you, the influence that makes Christ real to others.

Vision involves optimism and hope. The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty. The pessimist tends to hold back people of vision from pushing ahead.

True leaders must be willing to suffer for the sake of objectives great enough to demand their wholehearted obedience.

The final estimate of men shows that history cares not an iota for the rank or title a man has borne, or the office he has held, but only the quality of his deeds and the character of his mind and heart.

God is always at work, though we cannot see it, preparing people he has chosen for leadership. When the crisis comes, God fits His appointee into the place ordained for him.

If we are meticulously careful with the use of the days, the years will take care of themselves.

A visionary may see, but a leader must decide.

Jesus was the meeting place of eternity and time, the blending of deity and humanity, the junction of heaven and earth.

Are you responsibly optimistic? Pessimism and leadership do not mix. Leaders are positively visionary.

The original meaning of the word tact referred to the sense of touch (as in 'tactile'), and came to mean skill in dealing with persons or sensitive situations. Tact is defined as: 'intuitive perception, especially a quick and fine perception of what is fit and proper and right.' It alludes to one's ability to conduct delicate negotiations and personal matters in a way that recognizes mutual rights, and yet leads to a harmonious solution.

The spiritual leader should outpace the rest of the church, above all, in prayer.

Spiritual leadership is the power to change the atmosphere by one's presence, the unconscious influence that makes Christ and spiritual things real to others.

If you would rather pick a fight than solve a problem, do not consider leading the church