Greetings to you, friend! I’m Mack Lyon. The program’s In Search of the Lord's Way to become a Christian and to live like one. We are all in a state of change. We’re either growing closer to God or we’re moving farther away from Him. Oh, you don’t think so? Stay tuned. Phil Sanders will lead our study today of God’s Holy word.
Oh say, friend! It’s a joy I have had for almost three decades now to welcome you to our Bible study program In Search of the Lord's Way for becoming a Christian. And, you know, our audiences are still growing! People like you are still seeking the Lord’s way! And in spite of all that’s being said to the contrary, The Lord’s Way is still acceptable!
Furthermore, we’re here every week free of all appeals for money because we are sponsored by some churches of Christ, and some members in churches of Christ, in the viewing area of this good station like this one. You see, this program is Christians working together to tell other people about the blessings of the Christian life. And God has blessed our feeble human efforts to do it.
Today’s program is just such a program. Phil Sanders will present the message which he titled, “Where Are You Going?” You will want a printed copy of it, I’m sure. Or perhaps you will want it on an audio cassette tape or a CD. It’s free in any of those forms. Mail your request to In Search of the Lord's Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083 or by e-mail the address is searchtv@searchtv.org. If it were me, I would probably use the toll-free telephone number and call in my request. That number is 1-800-321-8633. We would like you to visit our website, too. It’s at www.searchtv.org. There is a lot of information there, very valuable and very interesting information that you will enjoy. Ken Helterbrand’s going to lead us now as we sing; then Phil will join us with the reading of 2 Peter chapter 1, verses 5 through 7.
Hello! I’m glad you have joined us today for the reading of God’s word. This comes today from the epistle of 2 Peter chapter 1, verses 5 through 8. “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” That is a reading from 2 Peter chapter 1. Let’s pray together. O Lord, help us to take each day a step closer to You to add to our faith virtue, knowledge, and patience, self-control and godliness, brotherly love. And Father, help us to love You more than anything else in the world. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Hello! I am Phil Sanders. And welcome to this time we can spend studying the word of God which is the greatest blessing of the world. Bill Snell was a successful businessman. He owned and operated a large furniture store. Bill was president of a civic club, a member of the school board. He was a devoted husband and father. Bill was especially close to his young son, Jerry. In fact they were constant companions. Sometimes Jerry “worked” with his dad at the furniture store; and the boy was called “Mr. Jerry” by many of the customers. Mrs. Gibson said that Jerry’s smile sold more furniture than all his dad’s good words. But there was one place to which Bill and his son never went together. Mr. Snell did not accompany his wife and family to worship. You see he stayed home because he claimed he was too busy. Jerry often asked his father to go, but Dad never went. Jerry loved to go to Bible class. He liked his teacher. He was among one of the most attentive students in the class. And on a particular Lord’s Day, that’s Sunday, the first day of the week, the teacher asked Jerry, “When you get to heaven, what are you going to do first?” Well, without hesitation Jerry replied, “I’m not going to heaven! I’m going with my dad. We go everywhere together.”
Later, the teacher told Mr. Snell about Jerry’s remark. And Bill said, “Well, that’s just like him. He always wants to be with me, to go where I go.” Well, the teacher gently asked, “Where are you going? Where are you taking Jerry?” Well, Bill never answered. He knew the answer but he couldn’t say it. Nevertheless, that question just kept ringing in his ears, “Where are you going?” Now happily for Bill and for his family, he soon changed his life and became a Christian. And from that day forward, Bill and Jerry truly went everywhere together. The question though is this, “Where are you going?” You know that’s a question that we will all have to answer someday. We are all going somewhere. We may be getting closer to God or we may be moving further away from Him, but we are going somewhere. And wherever we go, there will be others going with us. If we choose to live life without God, we will lead others to a godless life as well. And if we choose to live in obedience to God, we will influence others to serve God. Where, my friend, are you going?
Peter spoke of some things that we must add to our lives, if we expect to please God. In 1 Peter chapter 1, verses 5 to 7, Peter gives us some divine instruction about what the steps we should take to be close to God. He said, “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.”
Now, that growth is step by step: faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. Taking these steps means growth and productivity. But if we forget how God saved us, we can possibly stumble. As long as we are practicing these things, however, the Bible says we will never stumble. God wants to bless his people and to give them an abundant entrance into his heavenly kingdom.
Now, each step is important. Peter wrote to people who had faith, but you know what, we can always build up our faith in God. Paul said in Romans 10 and verse 17, that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” You see, the more we read and study God’s word, the more faith we will have in those times when we really need faith. Reading and studying will build you up and it will give you confidence in God. We can also build our faith by living out the word of Christ; living out the things that He taught us. You know, Jesus made a bold challenge to us in the gospel of John chapter 7, verses 16 and 17. He said, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me (that is the Father’s). If anyone is willing to do His will, (if anybody is willing to do His will) he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself.” You see, the more one lives the Christian life and practices the things that Jesus teaches, the more he knows that God is real and that Jesus is teaching His will.
You see, faith will lead to virtue; it will lead to living a life that is morally excellent. And this word virtue points to a way of life that is attractive because of its purity and its goodness. Paul said in Romans 12, verse 2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” The Christian is not to live like everyone else, but to live a holy life that demonstrates how good and perfect God’s will really is. When a Christian lives like Jesus lived, he spreads goodness to everyone. You know what; we can rise above the world to live pure lives that please God. John, the apostle, said in 1 John 2, verse 15 to 17, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. (And he says that) The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” A person shows virtue when he sets his heart on things that are above where Christ is rather than here on earth where worldliness can lead him astray.
Now with that faith and virtue we would add knowledge, knowledge of God and knowledge of his will. Jeremiah chapter 9, verses 23 and 4 says, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things, declares the Lord.” My friend, knowing the Lord is the most important task of life. I’m amazed at how many people know sports; they know movies; they know politics; and they know science but they don’t know the Lord. Paul said in Philippians 3, verses 7 and 8, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Knowing Christ was the most important thing in the world to Paul; knowing Christ led to every real blessing that he had and he would find in heaven; yes, all of them from knowing the Lord. My friend, I hope that you know the Lord.
Now, to knowledge we add self-control; that is the ability to say no to our desires when we need to. We live in such a self-indulgent world. Self-control would be a blessing to all of us. Jesus showed self-control when he prayed in the presence of those who were nailing His hands and feet to a cross; you remember His prayer, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23 and verse 34). The Bible says of Jesus in 1 Peter 2, verse 23 that “while being reviled, (that is they were talking ugly about Him) He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but (what He did He) kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously.” Jesus didn’t call twelve legions of angels (that is 72,000 of them) down to be rescued from the cross. No, what He did was He bore the cross for you and for me. My friend, we need that kind of self-control.
To self-control we add steadfastness or patience. Patience is the ability to take a great deal of punishment, a great deal of things that are unhappy, from evil people or circumstances without losing our temper, without becoming irritated and angry, or without taking vengeance on other people. Patience includes the capacity to bear pain or trials without complaining, the ability to forbear under severe provocation, and the self-control that keeps one from acting rashly even though suffering opposition or adversity. That is patience. Jesus showed that ability to do God’s will without compromising his character. He was calm and He bore his cross. You know what, we, too, need to bear our cross without complaining, to love and to trust our souls, and trust our souls to God.
And then to steadfastness we add godliness. Godliness means that one has such a respect and reverence for God, that he lives his life in holiness. God says in the book of 1 Peter chapter 1, verses 13 to 16, “Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. And as obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” We have to live lives that show that we belong to God, not to the world. That holy living starts with a relationship with God that takes Him and takes His word very seriously. My friend, do the people who know you realize that you are a Christian and that you take your love for God seriously?
To godliness we add brotherly kindness. Brotherly kindness is a measure of maturity. Now it is easy to love some folks and it’s hard to love others. It is a challenge to love everybody, to set aside selfishness for the sake of others. Jesus, you remember, said in John chapter 13, verses 34 and 5, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Now, one true, distinguishing mark of Christianity is the love that one Christian shows to his Christian brother or sister; and that is so important.
Brotherly kindness leads to this last virtue, that of love. God’s kind of love is willing to sacrifice for the best interests of others. It is willing to give and forgive. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. God is love. And the Bible says in 1 John 4, verses 7 to 11, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (that is the atoning sacrifice) for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” Now, we understand love, because God and Christ first loved us. It is impossible to live the Christian life without loving other people and serving them. Love also means loyalty to God. We are to love Him with all our hearts, with all our souls, with all our strength, and with all our minds (Mark 12:29). Now, if your love leads you to assemble with the church regularly, it’s good love. But if you haven’t been in church for a while, perhaps today is a good day for you to begin going. My friend, where are you going to? Are you getting closer to God or farther away?
The Bible says about these Christian virtues: “For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you” (2 Peter 1, verses 8 through 11). Each of us will either go into that kingdom, or we will be left to go to another place outside the love or the blessing of God. There is nothing in your future more important than entering into God’s eternal kingdom. You can have the world at your feet; but if you miss heaven, you have missed everything; you have missed what God has prepared for you. You are today deciding by your life where you are going. If you live in rebellion to God, you can’t expect that God will reward you. God is gracious, but He is also just and righteous.
You can obey the Lord by trusting in Him and in His Word, the Bible. Faith is essential to please God (Hebrews 11:6). You must also repent of your sins, changing your heart and your life. Leave the old world of sin and embrace the Christian life. And after confessing your faith, be baptized into Christ. One is baptized into the death and blood of Christ by being buried in water and by rising to walk to newness of life. Oh, that is the person who is blessed, that’s the gospel; and when you obey the gospel by being baptized; He will wash you clean from every sin, and add you to His church. Don’t you want to be a child of God today? Don’t live in doubt about your salvation. You have only one soul and one opportunity to prepare, my friend. My friend, where are you going? Let’s pray. O, Lord may each of us walk toward You and love You always. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Thank you, thank you brother Phil Sanders for reminding us of some of the additions to life that enhance its beauty and its meaning. Oh yes! The Lord’s way to live is undoubtedly the very best way to do it! Oh, it is! Yes it is! And I hope you are a Christian, my friend. If you are not, may I ask you, “Where Are You Going?”
Personally, I hope you will repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, just as you read in your Bible in Acts chapter 2, verse 38. Do it today. If you need assistance in finding someone to baptize you, let us be that assistance. Our toll-free telephone number is 1-800-321-8633.
For a free printed copy of Phil’s message, or if you would like it on a CD or an audio cassette tape, “Where Are You Going?” mail your request to In Search of the Lord's Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083, or to searchtv@searchtv.org. It’s in our web page, too, along with some other good things at www.searchtv.org. Well, we plan to be back next week; and I hope you do, too. You have some time perhaps to invite some other people to see the program and hear these gospel messages, these good news messages of God and how to live the Christian life. Oh, how we need this kind of teaching spread throughout all of the country today. We pray that God will bless you, love you, because we love you.
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