Greetings to you friend! I’m Mack Lyon. The program is a Bible study, “In Search of the Lord’s Way.” We’re so glad you have joined us today. Where do you turn for spiritual guidance? Your feelings? Do you ask or do you wait for God to speak to you? Phil Sanders has prepared a message about that very thing today. Oh, you’re going to want to hear this, so stay tuned!
Thank you, Mack! Hello, I’m Phil Sanders and this is In Search of the Lord’s Way, where we search the Scriptures to find the Lord’s will for every aspect of our lives. We go to the Holy Scriptures, because we know they are from God and they are utterly true. Thanks so very much for letting us into your busy life. We love hearing that you are watching or listening; and we want to be a part of your life each week.
Now, if you have listened to religious radio or TV, you’ve probably heard someone say, “The Lord spoke to me and said….” Or you might have heard “Let God speak to your heart…,” suggesting that God speaks directly to people today. Other people feel that the feelings they possess are evidence of God’s will for their lives.
Well, we are asking, “How does God speak to us today?” Is it through voices, through feelings, through councils and creeds? We believe the Bible is God’s revelation of truth for us today. The Word of God says, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.” That’s from Hebrews 1, verses 1 and 2.
Now, God gave all authority to Christ, who promised the Holy Spirit to the apostles and prophets to guide them into all the truth. They wrote this truth into the pages of the New Testament; and if we want to know the truth that sets us free, we have got to go to the Word of God found in the New Testament.
For thirty years Mack Lyon has focused on preaching the gospel of Christ with love. And he and I have concentrated on what the Bible says about how to live the Christian life. That’s why God gave us the Bible; and we offer the information on this program for free. Now, if you would like a printed copy, a CD or a tape of our study, mail your request to In Search of the Lord's Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083 or you can e-mail us at searchtv@searchtv.org. Or, if you like, call our toll-free telephone number. We’ll pay for the call. That number is 1-800-321-8633. We also stream this program on our website at www.searchtv.org.
Ken Helterbrand is going to lead us now, as we sing. Then we’ll read from God’s Holy Word in Matthew 7, verses 24 through 27.
Our reading today comes from the end of the Sermon on the Mount, our Lord Jesus’ famous sermon. This is from Matthew 7, verses 24 through 27. “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” That’s from Matthew chapter 7. Let’s pray together. O Father, we are grateful for Your love and for Your teaching through Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Help us, Father, to be obedient to Your will in everything. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen!
Because God speaks through His Son, we need to recognize the Lord Jesus as the authority in all religious matters. He has more authority than anyone, any group, or any church. He is the Son of God. And the Bible says that God “raised Him (that is Jesus) from the dead, and seated Him at the right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. And He (that is God, the Father) put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” The church is subject to Jesus, not to any man or any council.
Jesus said before He ascended into heaven, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28 and verse 18). Now, Jesus doesn’t need a representative on earth, because He himself is the head of His church on earth. John the Baptist said of Jesus in John 3, verses 35 and 6 that, “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” There is no one anywhere who is not subject to Jesus Christ. God has given all things into His hand. Jesus is the Lord of all, and we need to listen to Him very closely.
We shall be judged one day by the words of Jesus. Jesus, our Lord, said in John 12, verses 48 and 49 that, “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.” We’ll not be judged by opinion polls, by the creeds of men, or by some denomination’s beliefs. We will be judged by the words of Jesus found in the New Testament; and we need to know what the Bible says, don’t we?
Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, gave to His apostles the Word that His Father had given Him. In John 14, verses 25 and 26, Jesus told the apostles, “These things I have spoken to you, while abiding with you. But the Helper, (that is) the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” God determined that the words that He had given Jesus would be taught by the Spirit to the apostles for their time and for all time. The words of Jesus were not merely for the first century but for every century as long as this world stands. God “in these last days has spoken to us in His Son.” That is God is speaking to us through the Bible!
Now, Jesus promised His apostles in John 16, verses 12 to 15 these words; He said, “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, (that is) the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me; for He will take of Mine, and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; and therefore I said, He takes of Mine, and will disclose it to you.” Now, the apostles knew the truth of God—the whole truth of God. They were the spokesmen for God in their own day and for all time. We are led by the Spirit today not through some special revelation but through the writings of the apostles and prophets of Jesus Christ in the New Testament.
Now, in his brief epistle, Jude, the brother of Jesus, wrote in verse 3, “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.” Now, Jude who wrote sometime between 65 and 80 AD was already speaking of “the faith,” that is that body of doctrine, which was “once for all time” handed down to the saints. Now, what the Word said in the first century, it also says and means today. Jude wanted Christians not only to believe that faith but also to “contend,” that is to fight for it, to uphold it and to keep handing it down from generation to generation.
Paul told Timothy, “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” That is from 2 Timothy 2 and verse 2. Now, the faith was not just for the apostles; it was for all people of all time in all places. And this is why Paul could say to the church at Ephesus in Ephesians 4, verses 4 to 6, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.” There is indeed just one faith, and we are to contend or to fight for it. When people get away from the one faith, they abandon the revealed will of God.
Now, the writers of the New Testament spoke with the authority of God. And in 1 Corinthians 2, verses 12 to 13, Paul said, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.” Paul said that what he taught did not come from men but from the Holy Spirit. God was behind his teachings and his writings. And that’s why we can say that Paul said this or that, or we can say that God said this or that, because both statements are true; because whatever Paul wrote God led him to write.
Later in this same epistle, Paul deals with women speaking out in church. The apostle Paul, by inspiration of God, said, “The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says…” He further says “it is improper for a woman to speak in church.” And then he says, “Was it from you that the word of God first went forth? Or has it come to you only? If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment. But if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.” That is 1 Corinthians 14, from verse 34 to 38. You see the apostle Paul would not be ignored.
On another occasion the apostle Paul defends himself against some of his enemies by explaining where he got his gospel. Paul said, “For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1, verses 11 and 12). Now, it was because of this that he could be so sure about his gospel—that his gospel was true and right!
In fact, the apostle Paul warns everyone to stay with his gospel and not to change it; that anyone who changes his gospel risks losing his soul and the souls of those he teaches.
The apostle said in Galatians 1, verses 6 to 10, “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you, and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” Then he says, “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.” God’s written Word is sacred and unchangeable. When you get away from the Bible, you also get away from God! In 1 Thessalonians 2 and verse 13, Paul spoke well of the Thessalonians because of their faith and obedience. He said, “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.” God’s written Word can work in our lives, when we are willing to listen to it and apply it to our lives. And unless we humbly obey its message, we cannot receive its blessings.
In 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 15, God said, “So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.” God has always demanded that his people stay with what they have learned from Jesus and his apostles, not moving from those things or getting involved with human traditions or human ideas. There truly is but one gospel, so please hold on to it.
With so many voices, so many denominations, so many non-denominational churches saying so many different things, we must ask, “do they really all speak for God?” When they contradict themselves and argue with each other, are they really from God?
The Lord Jesus distinguishes people by how they listen and follow His Word. The Lord said to the Jews in John 8, verses 31 and 32 that, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” Now, to continue in Jesus’ word means to remain, or to abide, or to stay there. Jesus said “true” disciples do that. Some people say they are disciples, but they go outside to other sources of information. Some believe they hear from God directly, some trust in their feelings, some merely look to whatever is popular and “happening” today. The unfortunate thing is that when they get away from God, they lose God, too.
Jesus said in Matthew 7, verses 21 to 23 that, “Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you.” Now that is the Lord speaking! And then He says, “Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” It’s not speaking religious language or doing religious things that make us right with God. A true Christian is one that hears and does the will of the Father who is in heaven.
These religious people that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 7; oh, they talked and acted like good, religious people; but Jesus rejected them because they didn’t follow God’s will. They did what they wanted or what they thought was popular. They stepped outside the will of God; and for that reason they were lawless.
Think with me now. If the “true” disciples remain in the Word, how do you rate the church where you attend? Does it stay with the Bible or does it vary from the Bible? Now, we’ll all be judged by the words of Jesus, not by how we feel about things. The only standard we have is the Word of God, found in the Bible. We know the Bible to be true and right. We have no promise, no blessing, when we substitute our own ways for the Word of God. We truly become “lawless” whenever we get away from the word of God because we aren’t listening to God but to our own desires. Oh, we don’t need to do that! Let’s pray. O Father, help us to be fully committed to doing Your will in everything. Help us to study to know what Your will is. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
The best thing we can do is read God’s Word everyday and see whether or not the things that we are hearing at church are so. Don’t be led astray by people who have moved away from God’s word and teach their own opinions. Stay with the Bible, and stay with God!
The Bible taught in the first century the same thing that it teaches today, and it teaches what we most need to hear. Hebrews 2, verses 1 to 3 says, “For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” It’s very easy for us to become neglectful and drift away from the things that we have heard from the Scriptures. It’s the Scriptures is where the truth is! Not in our feelings, not in some council, or some creed, or some tradition. Go to the Word for the Truth!
Feelings can deceive, men can be wrong, but God’s Word has stood true for centuries. It says the same things today it said from the beginning, and you can trust it. Why not trust it and become a Christian? You can do that by trusting and loving the Lord, by turning away from sin in repentance, by confessing Jesus as the Son of God before everyone, and by being baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And when you are baptized in water, God will wash away your sins and add you to His church. Keep studying and growing in the Word every day. Do you have a close, loving, peaceful relationship with God? The greatest need of our time is to draw close to God and listen to His Word. Won’t you do that?
We hope you’ve been blessed by today’s study. If you want a free printed copy, a CD, or a tape of this message, “How God Speaks Today,” mail your request to us, to In Search of the Lord's Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083 or you can e-mail us. Our address is searchtv@searchtv.org.
Or, call the Search office toll-free at 1-800-321-8633. Now, our programs appear on our website at searchtv.org, and you can access or download them in a printed form, audio, or video format. We also offer online study sheets that go along with our programs. You can download them before the program airs or you can call and request them. They’ll help you as you study God’s Word with us. Churches and Bible classes are now using them already!
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