Participants: Pr. Kenneth Cox
Series Code: TOTE
Program Code: TOTE000028
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00:02 Can you believe it?
00:05 Can you build your faith on it? 00:08 The promises of God's Word are sure. 00:12 They do not fail. 00:17 This Book has stood the test of time. 00:30 Gracious Father, 00:33 we come to You today 00:36 to express our thanks 00:39 for the presence of Your Spirit. 00:43 Also, Lord, to open our hearts to You. 00:48 Lord, we ask that each of us here 00:53 may make sure 00:57 that we're right with Jesus Christ. 01:02 Lord, may I know 01:05 that if my heart was to stop beating right now 01:10 that everything would be right with Jesus. 01:13 As we study Your Word, 01:15 we ask that You will give us insight, 01:19 You'll give us understanding. 01:23 Pray that we might see all that Jesus wants to do for us. 01:28 We ask that Your blessing might rest with each individual 01:33 here today. For this we ask in Your name, Amen. 01:46 In the Christian life 01:49 it is absolutely necessary 01:52 that you grow. 01:54 There is no such thing in the walk with the Lord 02:00 as standing still. 02:02 That doesn't exist. 02:05 If your Christian experience is not moving ahead, 02:09 then it's going backwards. 02:12 So it is necessary that you and I continue 02:17 day by day to grow. 02:20 The scripture tells us in Ephesians 4 verse 15: 02:33 So the Bible just simply says that you and I need to grow up. 02:38 Growth is not something that is instantaneous. 02:43 Growth is something that takes place over a period of time. 02:47 There is no such thing 02:50 as instantaneous sanctification. 02:56 Justification... yes. 02:58 When you give your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ 03:02 then at that moment your sins are forgiven. 03:06 You are justified, you are made right with Jesus Christ. 03:11 But from that moment on it is a walk with Jesus. 03:17 It is a growth day by day. 03:22 That is necessary in the Christian life. 03:33 So you and I are to grow in grace. 03:37 You are to realize that as 03:41 one who has accepted Christ 03:44 that that is the most important thing in your life 03:48 is your relationship with Jesus Christ. 03:52 That is the most important thing that you have 03:55 and therefore it is necessary that you do those things 04:00 that will cause growth to take place. 04:04 Those are important. 04:06 There are two men in the Bible, 04:09 two men other than Jesus Christ, 04:12 that you never read anything that they ever did wrong. 04:18 Now the Bible is unique in the fact that it tells 04:23 the good and bad of people. 04:26 I mean it doesn't just tell the good; it tells the bad as well. 04:29 But there's two men that you can't read where they ever did 04:32 anything wrong. One of those was Joseph. 04:35 You read the life of Joseph... it doesn't ever 04:39 tell about anything that Joseph did wrong. 04:42 Now true enough, he was a human being 04:44 and as a human being we are all sinners. 04:48 We all come short of the glory of God, so there's no 04:51 question he did things wrong... 04:53 but the scripture doesn't record it. 04:55 OK? So you've got an example in the life of two men 05:00 that will help you and I in our Christian life. 05:03 And it says this about Joseph: 05:13 Well now that may sound like a very simple statement. 05:16 There are great, great truths in that. 05:21 When it says that he is "a fruitful bough 05:25 by a... " What? "by a well. " 05:30 We'll come back and talk to that. 05:32 Because of being a fruitful bough by a well 05:36 his branches ran over the wall. 05:40 Great, great truth in that. 05:43 Grew. His experience grew. 05:47 He stayed close to the Lord 05:49 and as a result of that his branches ran over the wall. 05:54 The other person that the scripture mentions 05:57 that you can't read anything where he ever did anything wrong 06:01 was Daniel. 06:03 And it says this... Daniel 6 verse 10: 06:28 The decree had gone forth from the king 06:30 that nobody was to pray to any other god but the king. 06:36 That was it. 06:39 But Daniel's custom was to pray every day. 06:42 It didn't stop him, didn't deter him one bit, folks. 06:46 He went up with his windows open. 06:49 He didn't even close them. 06:50 Left the windows open and prayed to his God 06:54 as his custom was. OK? 06:57 There are some very important things about what Daniel did 07:01 that is necessary for you and I in our Christian growth. 07:06 OK... what is necessary? 07:12 What do I have to do for my spiritual experience 07:17 to grow? What is necessary? 07:19 Well, to begin with, it says: 07:29 So it makes it very clear that as babes 07:33 you and I need the milk of the Word. 07:37 This is it! That's what I need. 07:40 You can't really grow spiritually without it. 07:44 So you've got to take the milk of the Word 07:49 and drink of it if you're going to grow. 07:53 And dear friend, if that Bible's laying there on the coffee table 07:59 or if it's in the closet 08:02 if it's gathering dust, dust it off and get in it. 08:08 You know, spend time in the Word of God. 08:12 There's some very simple things about the Word of God. 08:16 The Bible is necessary. 08:20 It does a lot of things for us, the scripture does. 08:23 And so you need to get a Bible. 08:26 Get one, folks, that you can understand. 08:28 OK? What I've been preaching to you here five weeks out of 08:33 is what's called the New King James version. 08:36 Why do I use the New King James version? 08:38 I use the New King James version because I grew up 08:43 on the old King James. 08:45 That's how I grew up. In fact, when I was a boy 08:48 I had a difficult time with this 08:50 because my mother... 08:54 You know, I didn't appreciate it and didn't like it 08:56 but now as I got older 08:59 I realized what invaluable help it was. 09:02 But she would make me... She would make me sit down 09:05 and read to her the scripture. 09:08 I mean, she would make me read several chapters 09:11 to her out loud. 09:12 You know, and I detested that as a young person. 09:17 I didn't want to do that at all, but she insisted 09:20 that I read to her. And I can still remember 09:22 I'd read it just as fast as I could read it. 09:24 You know? But boy, those texts 09:28 that I read to her over and over 09:30 they stuck. You know, they stayed there. 09:34 And now great, great help because those texts come 09:37 flooding back. So spend time in the Word of God. 09:42 It has tremendous effect upon your life. 09:46 Speaking of those in Berea 09:51 it says they were faithful because they did something. 09:56 It says here in Acts 17:11: 10:14 They heard Paul; they heard Silas speak. 10:17 But they got the scriptures and they checked it out 10:20 and they studied the scripture to see if what was being 10:23 preached to them was so. 10:25 That's what you need to do. 10:27 I've stood up here and preached to you, 10:29 but you need to open the Word of God and see 10:32 what I told you if it's true or not. 10:34 You do not build your belief on a preacher. 10:40 You build your belief on the Word of God. 10:43 What... what in this text that I just read you 10:47 other than the fact that they've spent time in the Word of God 10:51 is important? There's one word there you ought to pay 10:54 special attention to. Yeah... that word "daily. " 10:59 They did it daily. 11:02 It wasn't something that was spasmodic with them. 11:05 Wasn't something they did once in a while 11:07 but they did it daily. 11:10 And you and I need to spend time in the Word of God daily. 11:15 So important that you do. 11:17 I learned a long time ago 11:23 that you've got to give it special priority. 11:25 Why do you have to give it special priority? 11:29 You know why? 11:31 You have to give it special priority because the devil 11:34 will do everything he can to keep you from doing it daily. 11:37 I can assure you: he'll bring up everything he can - 11:41 every way - to try to keep you from doing that. 11:47 But I decided that if I could eat physically - 11:51 I seem to find time to do that every day - 11:55 if I could do that, I could spend time eating spiritually 11:59 every day. And so I made a decision. 12:02 I said: "OK, if I do not spend time eating spiritually 12:07 I don't eat physically. " 12:10 And since that day I've found time to do both. 12:13 So, you know, open up the Word of God. 12:17 Spend time in it daily. 12:20 Make all the difference in the world in your life. 12:24 You see, the scripture is your defense against sin. 12:29 Did you know that? 12:31 The scripture is your defense against sin. 12:35 If you're having a hard time - struggling - over some 12:39 particular sin that plagues your life, 12:42 spend time in the Word of God. 12:45 This is what the scripture says: 12:47 "Your Word have I hidden in my heart that I might not 12:51 sin against You. " 12:53 "Your Word have I hid in my heart that I might not 12:56 sin against You. " 12:58 That is simply what the Word does. 13:00 I take it into my life and it builds, it helps. 13:04 I grow spiritually, 13:07 and as I grow it's a defense against sin. 13:10 That's the way you meet temptation. 13:14 Did you know that? 13:16 I run onto people who seem to think you meet temptation 13:21 by will power. 13:23 No... you don't. 13:26 You meet temptation by the Word of God. 13:28 That's how you meet it. 13:30 In fact, that's the way Jesus met it. 13:33 If you don't think that He didn't meet it that way, 13:36 listen to the temptation where the devil has come to Him. 13:41 Said, you know: "If You're the Son of God, 13:45 turn these stones into bread. 13:49 Haven't had anything to eat for 40 days. " 14:02 "It is written. " Are you getting the point? 14:06 I mean, when the temptation was there 14:09 He went to the Word of God, said "It is written, 14:11 man shall not live by bread alone. " 14:15 You know? I mean that's where He went. 14:17 The devil wasn't satisfied with that. 14:19 "but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. " 14:22 And then it says that the devil took Him where? 14:29 OK. It says: 14:32 To the Lord he said... you know, took Him to the 14:36 pinnacle of the temple... said: "Cast yourself off. " 14:38 In fact He quoted... Jesus is quoting the scripture, 14:43 quoted the devil scripture. Said: "It is written, 14:45 man shall not live by bread alone. " So the devil said: 14:48 "OK, You want to quote scripture. Why over here in 14:51 Psalms it says He'll give His angels charge over you 14:55 lest you dash your foot against a stone. 14:57 Jump off! See if He will. " 15:00 And Jesus responded... Jesus said to him: 15:03 "It is... " OK, see, coming back with scripture. 15:11 Said: "That's it. " Then the devil said: "Well, 15:15 if I can't get Him that way. " 15:17 Took Him to an exceeding high mountain. 15:20 Showed Him all the kingdoms of this world. 15:23 Said: "I'll give it all to you 15:27 if You'll just fall down and worship me. " 15:47 Every time... EVERY TIME... Jesus went to the Word of God. 15:51 So dear friends, that's where you and I have to stand. 15:55 When the temptation comes, we've got to go to the 15:57 Word of God. That's where you've got to go. 15:59 This is what the Word of God says... this is where I stand. 16:03 This is where my faith is is in the Word of God. 16:08 If I do that, then it's a defense against sin. 16:13 Then it helps me begin to grow. 16:24 How can you get acquainted with Him if you never spend 16:29 any time with Him? 16:30 I've never understood that. 16:33 You know? How can you get acquainted with Jesus 16:36 if you don't spend time with Him? 16:39 In fact, Jesus said that's the way you got acquainted with Him. 16:57 Said: "These are the ones that testify of Me. " 17:01 So if you want to come to know Jesus Christ, 17:04 then you've got to spend time in the Word of God. 17:07 That makes all the difference in the world. 17:10 I can tell you right now, dear friends, 17:12 it's Jesus Christ that makes the scripture come to life. 17:19 It's Jesus Christ that puts meaning 17:23 into the Christian life. 17:25 It's Jesus Christ that brings peace to your heart. 17:30 It's Jesus Christ that puts joy in your soul. 17:35 And if you have religion without Jesus Christ, 17:40 I'm sorry... I'm sorry but you don't have those things 17:46 because religion without Jesus doesn't bring peace. 17:52 It brings fear. 17:55 You see, religion without Jesus doesn't bring joy. 18:00 It does away with those things. 18:03 It's Jesus that makes it real in every way. 18:16 So dear friends, I'm going to tell you if you're going to grow 18:19 in Jesus Christ, you're going to have to spend some time 18:22 in the Word of God daily... on a regular basis. 18:27 I've had many of you come up to me and say: 18:29 "Oh Brother Cox, I've enjoyed the meetings so much. 18:31 My Christian experience has been enriched. 18:34 Helped me so much. " 18:36 Folks, let's be real honest with one another. 18:41 That has nothing to do with the preacher. 18:44 Has nothing to do with the preacher at all. 18:48 It only has to do with the fact that you're spending 18:51 more time in the Word of God. 18:53 That's what it has to do with. 18:55 You see, your interest is not in the preacher. 18:58 If a Western Union boy comes to your door 19:00 knocking on the door, what are you interested in most? 19:03 The Western Union boy or the message? 19:06 OK, that's all I am is a Western Union boy... 19:08 nothing more. OK? 19:11 That's it. So spend time in the Word of God. 19:15 Learn what it has to say because it's in it 19:19 that you become acquainted with Jesus Christ. 19:22 You must not... You MUST NOT, folks... 19:25 And those of you that are being baptized, those of you 19:27 have come here and some 275 of you or so that have accepted 19:33 Jesus Christ as your personal Savior 19:35 and you're born into the kingdom of God, 19:37 you're born into the kingdom of God as babes. 19:40 OK? But please: don't stay a baby. 19:45 You know? We all love babies. 19:49 We pick them up, love them. They're wonderful. 19:52 But if it stays a baby, there's something seriously wrong. 19:56 OK? We want it to grow. 19:59 And you must grow in your Christian experience. 20:02 If you don't, then it's not right. 20:05 So don't stay a baby... grow! 20:08 How do you do that? 20:19 I've given you a mixture here. 20:21 I've given you some milk 20:23 and I've given some of you 20:25 some solid food. OK? 20:27 But nevertheless, you don't need to just stay on milk. 20:31 You need to get on solid food. 20:54 So it's saying: If all you get is milk, 20:58 well then you're just a babe. 21:02 You need to get into some solid food. 21:06 That means you need to spend time studying the Word of God. 21:09 "But solid food belongs to those who are of full age. " 21:15 So dear friend, get into the Word of God. 21:18 Begin to study it. 21:29 All right. What does it do? 21:36 You take a tree when it sprouts... comes up. 21:41 Just a very, very small twig... a tree. 21:46 A child can go and pull it up. 21:51 Not difficult. I mean, when it comes up 21:53 and it's just a little twig a child can reach and get hold 21:56 of that tree and pull it out of the ground. 21:59 But you let that tree grow 22:02 and you let it become a mighty oak 22:07 and ten men can't move it. 22:10 That's the same thing in the Christian experience. 22:14 That's what Jesus was talking about 22:17 when He talked about the sower that sowed seed. 22:20 And He said that it sprung up, remember? Sprung up. 22:24 But He said: "It didn't have much root. " 22:28 And it says when the sun came out 22:30 and persecution came it withered up and died. 22:34 You see, you've come here. You've read the Word of God. 22:37 You've seen it on the screen; you've studied it. 22:40 And you have reached out in faith and given your heart to 22:42 Jesus Christ. It's as a twig that's come up. 22:47 But you mustn't stay there; you've got to put down roots. 22:51 When you put down roots, then the tree begins to get solid 22:56 and fast and no one can shake it or move it. 23:00 That's what you and I are to be. 23:02 My faith must be based on the Word of God. I must stand there. 23:06 That's what I must believe. 23:09 And if I do that, then it becomes solid. 23:13 I grew up... When we left Chicago we moved to Oklahoma. 23:19 I grew up in the southeast part of the state. 23:24 In the southeast part of the state they have what's called 23:27 strip mines. I don't know if you've ever heard 23:30 of what is called a strip mine or strip pit. 23:33 But fields like this. And what they do 23:37 is they find that just under the soil - 23:40 two or three feet under the soil - is coal. 23:43 And so they go in and they take bulldozers 23:47 and they push away the soil and they begin to strip out 23:51 the coal... dig it up, strip it out. 23:54 But let me tell you something: in strip mines 23:59 like this type, they dig up the ore and all, 24:03 you don't find diamonds. 24:08 You understand me? 24:10 In strip mines, you do not find diamonds. 24:15 You know where diamonds are found? 24:18 Way down in the mine shafts. Way back... 24:23 deep is where the diamonds are found. 24:26 What I'm trying to tell you: 24:28 that same thing is true in the Word of God. 24:31 That's where you find it. 24:32 If you're just going to peruse it and if you're just 24:34 going to go over it shallow, 24:36 you're never going to find the diamonds. 24:38 It's when you get into it and you dig and you study 24:43 then all of a sudden you run across diamonds. 24:46 And when you find them you know it! 24:48 No question. It speaks to your heart. 24:50 There's the diamond of God's Word and you see things. 24:54 All of a sudden the inspiration of the scripture stands out 24:57 in vivid form and you understand what God 25:01 is trying to tell you. 25:02 That takes place, folks, by solid food... 25:07 digging in the Word of God. 25:09 So spend time in the Word of God. 25:12 Dig in it. How to study the Bible. 25:16 I want to share with you just some principles 25:19 because I think a lot of people don't know how to study it. 25:31 Let me tell you something: 25:33 human mind of itself won't comprehend it. 25:38 So you need to pray and you need to ask God 25:43 to give you understanding. 25:56 You see, you have to have the Spirit of God 26:00 lead you. And I know people who read the Word of God 26:03 that they never get anything out of it. 26:06 They never seem to understand it. 26:09 As it says in scripture: "They wrestle it 26:11 to their own destruction. " Do you know why? 26:16 Because they're lacking the Spirit of God. 26:20 What do I mean they're lacking the Spirit of God? 26:22 I mean that if you won't open your heart, 26:26 if you won't keep your heart soft, 26:29 if you won't give the Holy Spirit the right 26:31 to work in your life and to mold and to impress and to guide you, 26:35 then you're not going to understand the Word of God. 26:40 That's why it talks about reading the scripture with 26:43 a veil over your face. 26:45 Can't do that... so you've got to pray 26:48 and you've got to open up your heart 26:50 and invite the Holy Spirit to come into your life 26:53 and to fill your life so that you can understand 26:56 the Word of God. That is necessary, friends. 27:01 So first: pray. 27:08 Don't start out studying the Word of God 27:13 by taking on some major question. 27:17 I find people that are babes 27:19 trying to run out and understand the nature of God. 27:24 What are you talking about friend? You're a human being! 27:27 You're not going to understand divinity. 27:30 Never in 10,000 years will you understand totally 27:34 the question of divinity. 27:36 Don't take something on like that! 27:39 Oh, you may... As years go by 27:42 you may begin to get a glimpse and you may understand. 27:46 But start out with some simple things. 27:50 Learn some... just the basic truths. 27:54 Look for those simple things. 27:56 What a difference it'll make in your life 27:58 when you see those. And then when you run across the diamond 28:02 well praise God. Something wonderful has happened, see? 28:07 But that's what you need to do. 28:08 Spend time with Him, 28:10 but just learn simple things to start with. 28:19 I run onto people who read it 28:22 always trying to read it for somebody else. 28:26 You know, read it for your own soul. 28:29 Let it speak to your own heart. 28:32 See what God has to say to you. 28:36 That's not easy. 28:38 That's not easy 28:40 because you get into the Word of God 28:44 and sometimes it speaks so direct to you 28:47 that you don't want to hear it! 28:49 You know? Just says... God just very clear says 28:53 this and you say: "My! Wish I hadn't read that. " 28:58 But you've got to let it speak to your soul. 29:02 If you'll let it speak to your soul, 29:05 then you begin to grow. 29:07 Things begin to happen in your life. 29:09 But if you're always going to read it 29:11 and read it for somebody else... 29:13 'Cause I run onto people that read it strictly for argument's 29:17 sake. No... no! 29:21 That's not the way you study the Word of God. 29:24 It's His letter to you. 29:26 That's what He's talking... He's talking to you. 29:29 Read it; understand it as He speaks to you. 29:39 Like I told you, man, I read it to my mother 29:42 just as fast as I could read it. 29:44 But that didn't help. I mean, sure it implanted 29:48 a lot of scripture in my mind. 29:50 But that isn't the way you really understand it. 29:53 You need to read it slow. 29:56 You're not trying to win some contest. 29:59 Just read it, and as you read it 30:03 try to understand what each verse is talking about. 30:06 So don't try to read it fast. 30:10 Just read it. As I told you I... I cannot 30:16 haphazardly do it. It's not my nature. 30:19 So I know before a year starts I know what I'm going to read 30:23 that whole year. 30:24 I read my Bible through every year 30:27 completely from cover to cover. 30:29 And I probably will read five, six, seven books 30:35 related to the Bible at that time. 30:38 I'll read that and I'll study those. 30:41 That's what I do... that's my devotion. 30:43 That's the time I spend with Jesus Christ... 30:47 a very wonderful time. But read it slowly. 30:51 It'll help you if you do. 30:57 If you don't understand what it's saying 31:00 on one particular verse, 31:02 stay with that verse until you understand what God's 31:05 saying. Don't go away from it. 31:07 Just stay there until... Read it or read something about it 31:11 until you understand what that verse is saying to you. 31:16 Have you? A simple illustration: 31:20 Do you remember when David went to fight Goliath? 31:23 Huh? 31:25 Do you know how big Goliath was? 31:28 Huh? 31:30 Yeah, almost 10 foot... almost 10 foot. 31:35 The head of the spear weighed 70 pounds. 31:40 And you remember, David went out to fight him with 31:43 a slingshot. 31:46 That's all. 31:48 And it says that David got to the brook there 31:53 and it says that he picked up 31:57 five smooth stones is what the scripture says. 32:01 Now folks, surely David had enough sense to know 32:05 that all he was going to be able to throw was one. 32:09 That was it. 32:11 And by the way, don't think for a moment 32:14 that David didn't know how to throw it. 32:16 'Cause I can read to you in the scripture 32:19 where it says that he was able to throw that stone 32:22 so it hit within a hair's breadth every time. 32:26 So I can guarantee you, when Goliath pulled back that helmet 32:30 David knew where the rock was going. 32:32 No question about that. OK? 32:36 So he pulled back his helmet and David hit him 32:38 right between the eyes with a rock. 32:41 But why did he pick up five smooth stones? 32:47 'Cause the scripture says that Goliath had four brothers 32:51 and David picked up one for each one. 32:56 Amen! You see, I'm talking about spend a little time 33:01 in the Word of God. 33:03 Learn what it's talking about. It'll enrich your soul! 33:06 You'll find things there that God will speak to your heart. 33:13 I have preached to you night after night 33:16 and I've tried to get across to you that the scripture 33:19 will be consistent. 33:21 Don't buy that folks. That's so prevalent in the world 33:25 today that seem to think that Moses is going to disagree 33:29 with Paul and Paul's going to disagree with Jeremiah 33:32 and Jeremiah's going to disagree with Matthew. 33:35 No! They will not! 33:38 It will be consistent all the way through. 33:42 If you run across a text that doesn't seem to be consistent 33:47 with other scripture, then you need to spend more time 33:50 with that text. 33:52 And as you do, it'll clear up and you'll see 33:55 that it'll be consistent with all the scripture. 33:58 So take the scripture for what it says. 34:02 It'll make a great great difference. 34:05 Don't try to spiritualize it. 34:07 Just read it, try to understand it for what it's telling you. 34:16 Go through it: take it verse by verse. 34:19 Read it; study it. 34:20 It'll make great, great improvement 34:25 in your Christian life. 34:27 Secondly is prayer. 34:31 I'm talking about ways to grow. 34:34 You've got to spend time in the Word of God 34:37 and you've got to spend time in prayer. 34:41 Prayer is the breath of the soul. 34:46 So you've got to believe - you've got to! 34:50 You've got to take time to pray. 34:52 Absolutely necessary. 34:54 Prayer is simply talking to a friend. 34:58 OK? That's all it is. 35:01 Simply talking to a friend. 35:04 There is no prescribed way. 35:08 Oh, I believe that when you come before the Lord 35:11 it's nice to kneel. 35:14 That's the reason I do each night: 35:17 because I'm coming before the Lord. I want His presence. 35:21 I think that's nice. 35:22 I think that's what I as a servant of Jesus Christ 35:26 that I should do... so I kneel. 35:29 But you don't always have to kneel to pray, folks. 35:32 You can pray anywhere you're at - any time - 35:36 and just open up your heart and have a talk with Jesus. 35:41 The song says A Little Talk With Jesus Makes Things Right. 35:47 See? A little talk with Jesus. 35:50 So just talk to Him as a friend 35:52 and you'll find it will make a great, great difference. 35:55 Let me try to illustrate what I'm trying to tell you. 36:02 If... Let's say you came to me and said 36:07 "I'm interested in getting married 36:12 but I can't find anybody. " 36:15 And I say: "Well who you looking for? " 36:18 You say: "Well, I'm looking for somebody that's kind 36:21 and that's gentle 36:24 and that is helpful 36:27 and is loving 36:31 and never sees anything bad in me 36:35 and will be a very, very close friend. " 36:39 And you go on, enumerate all these things. 36:41 And I'm going to say to you: "Good luck! " 36:45 That's what I'm going to say to you: "Good luck! " 36:47 If you could find somebody that was kind and gentle 36:51 and loving and always saw good in you 36:53 and did all those things, 36:55 would you be interested in them? 36:56 Huh? 36:59 Would you? 37:00 Oh, absolutely! 37:02 That'd be wonderful! 37:04 Well what I'm trying to tell you is Jesus is like that. 37:07 That's the way Jesus is. 37:09 See? He's kind; He's gentle; 37:12 He's loving; He's merciful. 37:15 He only wants that which is good for you. 37:19 So why don't you talk to Him? 37:23 See? He's your friend. 37:25 That's what it says. 37:35 Said: "Just come to Me. I'll give you rest. " 37:39 He loves you, cares for you. 37:55 So take the time to spend with Jesus. 38:03 Marvelous things that He promises! 38:05 Jesus is that friend. 38:09 See? That's what He is. 38:10 And so prayer is just a matter of talking to a friend. 38:14 That's what it is. So don't... 38:16 don't get all caught up and think that you have to say 38:18 special words, you know? 38:21 Just... just talk to Him as your friend 38:25 and it'll make a great, great difference. 38:40 Jesus is that friend. 38:42 And so I'd like to encourage you to spend time 38:45 talking with Him. I think you will find 38:47 it will help your Christian experience grow. 38:49 There's many ways to pray, folks. 38:51 Many ways to pray. 38:53 There are prayers of confession. 38:57 That's when I'm coming to Him and saying 39:01 "I messed up. " 39:03 "I did something I shouldn't. " 39:09 "I'm sorry for what I did. " 39:14 "Forgive me. " 39:15 Prayers of confession. 39:18 There's prayers of intercession 39:20 when your heart is burdened for somebody. 39:25 When you want to talk to Him about that person. 39:28 And then there's prayers of thanksgiving 39:33 where you're thanking the Lord, praising Him for what He's done. 39:37 Those are all different types of prayer. 39:38 And I have read lots of books on prayer. 39:41 It's always kind of... you know... 39:45 amused me 'cause they act like that you take 39:49 these different kinds of prayer and you come to the Lord 39:52 and you say: "Well Lord, today I've got to confess my sins. " 39:56 Or: "Today I need to spend some time in thanksgiving. " 40:01 No... no. That's not the way it is. 40:04 Prayer is the result of a relationship. 40:13 I'm going to come to the Lord and say: "Lord, listen... 40:16 I'm so sorry I let You down. 40:20 You've had so much confidence in me 40:24 and I just blew it. I'm sorry. " 40:28 That's a relationship, folks. 40:32 I'm going to come to Him and say: "Lord, 40:34 my heart's burdened today... 40:38 burdened because of that child of mine. 40:42 Doesn't serve You, Lord. 40:45 Child's not listening. 40:50 Doesn't know You as his Savior. 40:52 My heart's burdened for him. " 40:56 Prayer is an intercession. 40:59 Or I'm going to say: "Lord, You've been so good to me. 41:03 Have done so much for me. 41:06 I thank you for what You did today. " 41:10 Prayers of thanksgiving. 41:12 All those are the result of a relationship. See? 41:17 And that's simply what the Lord wants you to do. 41:19 He just wants you to come and talk to Him and visit with Him. 41:23 Spend time with Him. And as you do that 41:27 that's what changes your life. 41:30 What makes it different is you spend time in prayer with Him. 41:35 But you've got to balance it out. 41:39 You can't spend time in the Word of God 41:44 and spend time in prayer and let it stop there. 41:50 You see, you've got to grow. 41:56 Body has to grow. 41:59 You can't be hydrocephalic. You understand what I mean? 42:04 Can't have a great big head and a little body. 42:08 That isn't the way it works. 42:11 You've got to exercise. 42:12 And we're going to do a little exercise right now. 42:15 We're going to have all the folks that are being baptized 42:20 right now have an exercise and go right out that door 42:25 right over there and go get ready for the baptism. 42:28 All the folks that are being baptized. 42:30 We're going to let them go do that right now. 42:35 OK. So we'll let them do that. 42:37 But we aren't through with this sermon. 42:39 OK. But when we finish the sermon we want to be ready 42:43 to go right into the baptism. 42:44 So that's what they're going to do. 42:46 But you... If your Christian experience is going to grow, 42:49 you've got to exercise. 42:52 That is absolutely necessary in the Christian experience 42:55 is to exercise. 42:57 So what does that mean? 42:59 Well, it says Joseph is a what? 43:04 "Fruitful bough. " OK. 43:11 Great lesson here, folks. 43:14 Joseph spent time with the Lord. 43:17 That's the well. 43:19 See, he drank of the well. And because he drank of the well 43:24 what happened? The vine grew! 43:27 The vine grew and it bore fruit. 43:31 And it even ran over the wall. 43:34 OK? If you spend time in the Word of God, 43:39 you spend time in prayer, 43:41 you're going to grow. 43:42 OK? You're going to grow! 43:45 And as you grow, it will be necessary 43:49 for you to witness 'cause it says: 44:01 That person that spends time in the Word of God 44:06 is going to be like a tree. 44:08 Going to grow and it's going to produce fruit. 44:13 Now what I'm trying to tell you this morning 44:19 is if you don't have any fruit what's wrong? 44:27 If you don't have any fruit, what's wrong? 44:31 Well yeah... you're not spending time in the Word of God. 44:36 You're not spending time in prayer. 44:40 See? 44:42 'Cause you can't drink of the water and not produce fruit. 44:46 Impossible. 44:59 Now let's watch what's going to happen to him. 45:01 If I drink of the water of life, I spend time in the Word of God, 45:05 I spend time in prayer, 45:07 I've given my heart to the Lord Jesus Christ... 45:20 You become a stream of water. 45:23 OK? That's what you become. 45:26 And when that happens, then, dear friend, 45:31 you can't help it. 45:33 Jeremiah... Jeremiah said: "I've talked to these people 45:38 until I'm tired of talking to them. " 45:41 He said: "I've preached to them early in the morning. 45:44 Late at night I've talked to them. They won't listen. 45:47 I'm tired of talking to these people. " 45:50 Then watch what happened here: 45:57 Jeremiah said: "I'm not going to talk about the Lord 45:59 to them anymore... not going to mention His name. 46:01 I'm not going to say anything about Him! " 46:23 That's what you and I are to do: 46:27 spend time in the Word of God until it so floods my soul 46:31 until I say: "I can't... I can't keep from talking about it! " 46:36 Preachers... preachers: 46:40 if you're going to preach, preach out of the overflow. 46:46 You understand what I'm saying? 46:49 Preach out of the overflow. 46:51 Spend time in this Book until it flows over. 46:55 And when it starts running over, people will know it! 46:59 Preach out of the overflow. 47:02 Spend time with the Lord. 47:05 Then you can't help it, friends. 47:07 Can't help it. Makes a great, great difference. 47:21 That's witnessing. That's what you were called to do 47:25 is to witness, see? Every one of you. 47:30 Called to witness. But dear friends, 47:34 you've got to spend time here so you see and so you hear 47:39 and so you experience. See? 47:43 That's what it's about. 47:44 If you haven't seen anything or you haven't heard anything, 47:47 or you haven't experienced anything, 47:49 then you aren't going to have much to say. 47:52 But a witness is one who tells what he's seen, 47:55 heard or experienced. 47:57 Now let me tell you something about witnessing: 48:02 when you're witnessing to people 48:05 who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ - 48:09 OK? You're talking to someone who does not know the Lord 48:13 Jesus Christ - then you must witness to them subjectively. 48:19 Do you understand what I mean by that? 48:21 In other words, you must talk to them about what Jesus 48:26 means to you. 48:29 What Jesus has done for you. 48:31 The experience that you've had with Jesus. 48:35 They can't argue with that. 48:37 Do you understand me? 48:39 That's my experience... 48:41 my experience and nobody else's. 48:43 So you can't argue with that. 48:45 So your witness must be subjective. 48:49 You only witness to people objectively 48:54 after they've given their heart to Jesus. 48:58 You see, if you go out here 49:00 and you start taking one of the Bible doctrines 49:03 and you're trying to explain a Bible doctrine to someone who 49:07 has never given their heart to the Lord Jesus Christ 49:09 I'm sorry... you're wasting your time. 49:13 You're not helping that person. 49:15 You need to talk to that person about Jesus! 49:19 After they have given their heart to Jesus Christ 49:23 then as a follower of Jesus Christ you can talk to them 49:26 about what Jesus taught. 49:29 See? But you don't until then. 49:32 So make sure when you're talking to people about 49:37 Jesus that you keep it subjective if they don't know 49:40 Jesus Christ as their Savior. 49:43 Don't argue with them. 50:03 They said: "We found this Man that all the Bible talked about: 50:07 Jesus of Nazareth. " 50:09 Watch Nathanael: 50:17 Said: "You found this Man in Nazareth? Is this possible? " 50:21 Now folks, Philip argued with him. 50:23 Huh? 50:26 Philip argued with him. 50:27 No he didn't argue with him. What did he do? 50:29 Philip said to him: "Come and see. " 50:34 "Come and see. " 50:35 That's all. Didn't argue with him. Didn't say: "Now listen, 50:38 everybody in Nazareth's not bad. " 50:40 He didn't argue about that. 50:42 He just said: "Come and see. " 50:45 He came and he saw. 50:47 And what he saw convinced him 50:50 that He was all that He claimed to be. 50:53 That's witnessing, folks. 50:56 That's witnessing. That brings about a balance. 50:59 Your witness is an indication of your relationship with Christ. 51:05 That's what your witness is. 51:11 Because if you're full of Christ 51:14 I'll guarantee you: you'll talk about Him. 51:24 You are a living epistle. 51:27 You're a witness, and people look at you and they read 51:32 Jesus Christ. 51:34 They read what Jesus Christ did. 51:54 See folks, as a witness to Jesus 51:57 sure I must live it. 52:00 I must live it day by day. 52:04 Living it includes a lot of things. 52:08 But I must not just live it, I must talk about it. 52:12 I must talk about it. 52:14 I must witness with my mouth. 52:27 That's what it says. 52:42 So dear friend, if you're going to have a Christian life, 52:46 if you're going to grow, 52:48 you've got to spend time in the Word of God. 52:52 OK? 52:53 Secondly, you need to learn to talk to Jesus as a friend. 52:59 Visit with Him. And then if He is very real to you, 53:04 you'll witness to those about you 53:07 of the marvelous wonderful love of Jesus Christ. 53:12 This is what He will do for you. 53:16 So He just simply invites you and I. 53:19 Invite Him into our hearts. To accept Him as our Savior. 53:25 To give our life to Him. 53:28 That He will pour out His Holy Spirit upon us. 53:32 And I must turn everything over to Him. 53:35 I must surrender all. 53:43 All to Jesus 53:49 I surrender, 53:54 all to Him 53:59 I freely 54:03 give. 54:07 I will ever 54:12 love and trust Him, 54:18 in His presence 54:24 daily live. 54:30 I surrender 54:37 all. 54:42 I 54:45 surrender 54:49 all. 54:56 All to Thee, 55:00 my 55:02 blessed 55:05 Savior, 55:12 I 55:15 surrender 55:20 all. 55:28 This morning as we come down to the end of this service 55:32 I would like to give an invitation. 55:36 There may be a man, woman, young person here 55:39 in this congregation that has not given their heart 55:43 to Jesus Christ. I want to give you that opportunity today. 55:47 If you would like to accept Christ as your Savior, 55:50 I'm going to invite you to step out and make your way 55:53 to the front. 55:54 There may be some of you that have been in the valley 55:57 of decision concerning baptism. 56:00 If you would like to follow your Lord in baptism, 56:02 I'm going to invite you to come. 56:04 Or there may be some of you that need to take the step. 56:07 You've learned the truths of God's Word. 56:10 You'd like to become part of the church. 56:12 Like to become a member of the church. 56:14 I'd like to invite you also too. 56:17 As we pray, won't you just step out and make your way 56:20 at this time? Heavenly Father, 56:23 as these give their hearts to You, 56:26 follow You in baptism, 56:28 we pray, Lord, that You will draw very near to them. 56:32 May they realize that all their sins 56:36 are being washed away. 56:39 They stand clean in Christ Jesus. 56:41 We're thankful for each one. 56:44 May this day be a very special day to them. 56:47 We pray in Christ's name, Amen. 56:51 OK. 56:53 Because you have accepted Jesus Christ into your heart 56:58 as your personal Savior, 57:00 you desire to follow Him in baptism, 57:03 it is our privilege to baptize you in the name of the Father, 57:08 the name of Jesus Christ, 57:10 and in the name of the Holy Spirit. Amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17