In a world of plenty, do we really need God?
Hello, I'm Phil Sanders.
And this is a Bible study, "In SEARCH of the Lord's Way."
Today we're going to explore our need for God
and how nothing else can take His place.
In all the hurry and hustle and confusion of modern living,
the Lord has the way.
We believe that the Bible is the revelation of His way.
We invite you to join us
In Search of the Lord's Way with Phil Sanders.
Welcome to In Search of the Lord's Way.
The Bible opens the door to the heart and the will of God.
God reveals Himself in Scripture.
And by reading His Word, we can
know His character and His power.
We can see His wisdom and His love.
From the beginning God has had a plan for redeeming
humanity from all the ugliness of sin.
Jesus said in John 10 and verse 10, "I came that
they might have life and have it abundantly."
And the more we know and draw close to God, the
more abundant our lives will become.
Ah, we're thankful that you've joined us.
We want to be a part of your life each week.
I once heard a man scoff about faith in Christ and
claim he had everything he needed.
He thought belief in God was merely a crutch and
for "women and children."
He felt one couldn't be much of a man if he had to
go to church and listen to the Bible all the time.
He said things in this life were going pretty good.
He had a good job, a fine family, and a happy life.
He could live contented without God.
He didn't need God. Do you need God?
If there is one thing I know, it's this: I need God.
I need His love, His grace, His help, His
forgiveness, and His wisdom.
I can't live without God.
"In him we live and move and have our being."
We have food, water, air, and life because
God gave them to us.
We need God more than we know!
We also need God spiritually.
We need His comfort when we hurt, His wisdom when
we're perplexed, His assurance when we're in
doubt, His forgiveness when we sin, and His
eternal life when ours is finished.
Scoffing at God today may seem cool, but one day no
one will be scoffing.
Now, if you want to study more about this topic, we
offer the information on this program free.
If you'd like a printed copy or a CD of our study,
mail your request to In Search of the Lord's Way,
P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083
or send an e-mail to searchtv@searchtv.org.
Or, you can call our toll-free telephone number.
That number is 1-800-321-8633.
We also stream this program on our website at www.searchtv.org.
The Edmond church will now worship in song, we'll
read from Psalm 103 verses 1 to 5, and explore our need for God.
Our reading today is a psalm of David, Psalm 103.
And in those first five verses he gives thanks to
God who provides for his needs.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, And all that is within me,
bless His holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of
His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities, Who
heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life
from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness
and compassion; Who satisfies your years with
good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.
Oh, how wonderful it is to have such a God.
Let's pray together.
Father, we're thankful that You love us and
provide all the things that we need.
Help to give ourselves to You and to bless Your Holy name.
And may Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
The Lord is looking for people who will seek after
Him and His ways.
Many people live as if they would live forever
and never have to give an account to God.
Hanani, the seer or prophet, told King Asa in
2 Chronicles 16:9, "For the eyes of the Lord run
to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give
strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him."
Many people live their lives never calling upon
God, never seeking His will, and never needing Him.
Is it any wonder that they do not have a meaningful
relationship with God?
Now, God is looking to draw close to you, but he
can't if you won't let Him.
Many Americans believe in "rugged individualism,"
not needing anything or anyone, pulling oneself up
by one's own bootstraps.
Even some American Christians can fall into
the trap of feeling self-sufficient.
We must realize, however, that our beliefs don't
always match up to reality.
Luke-warm Laodicea thought that they were self-sufficient.
The Lord Jesus said to Laodicea in Revelation 3
verses 15 to 18, "I know your works: you are
neither cold nor hot.
Would that you were either cold or hot!
So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot
nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.
For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need
nothing, not realizing that you are wretched,
pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire,
so that you may be rich, and white garments so that
you may clothe yourself and the shame of your
nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your
eyes, so that you may see."
Now, here was a church that did not realize its own problems.
Spiritually it was wretched and miserable and
poor and blind and naked.
You know, people often blind themselves to
reality-not seeing how very vulnerable and weak they are.
Laodicea had banks and were rich, had clothing
businesses with purple, and had a flourishing eye
business with salve.
They were prospering economically
but not spiritually!
You can have money, fame, and power and still be
poor and powerless with God.
It's easy to feel satisfied with ourselves,
until something happens.
You know, life has a way of reminding us that we
don't have all the strings.
Some strings belong only to God.
And we aren't as "in control" as we imagine.
Exodus, chapter one, tells the story of Israel's
rapid decline in Egypt from a wealthy and
powerful position to one of slavery.
Oh, it all happened when Egypt changed politically.
God's Word says in Exodus 1:6 to 11, "Then Joseph
died, and all his brothers and all that generation.
But the people of Israel were fruitful and
increased greatly; they multiplied and grew
exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.
Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.
And he said to his people, 'Behold, the people of
Israel are too many and too mighty for us.
Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they
multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our
enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.'
Therefore they set taskmasters over them to
afflict them with heavy burdens.
They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses."
You know, time has a way of changing things.
No matter how secure you think you are, your life can
be shattered in a day; and your life will never be the same.
You can't turn back the clock or recover what you lost.
It's presumptuous to think we'll never need the help
of God or never need Him as our friend.
James talked about assuming too much in life
in chapter 4 verses 13 to 15.
When he said, "Come now, you who say, 'Today or
tomorrow we will go to such and such a city,
(we're gonna) and spend a year there and (we're
gonna) engage in business and make a profit.'
Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.
You are just a vapor that appears for a little while
and then vanishes away.
Instead, you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills,
we will live and also do this or that.'"
Realistically, none of us knows the future or
what our lives will be like.
We act in hope and hope things will go as we
planned; but we don't know what will happen to us in
coming days and weeks.
Some think God is an uncaring boss.
And they don't like being told what to do, so they
live in rebellion to God's will and ignore God.
They don't need a boss.
God, however, is not a bully but a loving guide.
The time will come when they wish they had some
guidance and wisdom to help them through the stormy days.
Paul realized that people who trust in their own
wisdom become deceived by the thinking and the
assumptions of the world.
The world's ways are foolish
when compared to the ways of God.
It's easy to get caught up in the popular
beliefs and forget God.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:20 to 25,
"Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe?
Where is the debater of this age?
Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not
know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the
folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we
preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews
and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called,
both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God
and the wisdom of God.
For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and
the weakness of God is stronger than men."
Paul later said in 1 Corinthians 2 verses 14 to
16, "But a natural man does not accept the things
of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to
him; and he cannot understand them, because
they are spiritually appraised.
But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet
he himself is appraised by no one.
For who has known the mind of the Lord,
that he will instruct Him?
But we have the mind of Christ."
The natural or unspiritual man is one who never
thinks beyond this life and is totally oblivious to God.
He can only see the here and now and thinks only of
what pleases himself.
This is why he cannot accept the things of God.
Some people want a Savior, but they don't want a "Lord."
They want freedom to do as they please and never be accountable.
They don't want a God whose Word they must obey.
But they must realize that everyone has a "lord."
You know everyone is enslaved to someone or something.
Unfortunately many, many are enslaved to sin and
they don't even know it.
Jesus said in John 8 and verse 34, "Truly, truly, I
say to you, (that) everyone who commits sin
is the slave of sin."
Now a person commits sin because he thinks it's
pleasurable; but in time the sin begins to control the person.
He's a slave.
And instead of being "in control,"
he is being "controlled."
Peter spoke of some false teachers of his day as
people enslaved to sin in 2 Pet.
2 verses 17 to 19: "These are springs without water
and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black
darkness has been reserved.
For speaking out arrogant words of vanity
they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality,
those who barely escape from the ones who live in
error, promising them freedom while they
themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a
man is overcome, by this he is enslaved."
Sin is cruel.
It brings nothing but harm and shame and regret.
Sin is a terrible master.
Now, everyone has a Lord, wouldn't it be better to
choose a master who will love and bless you rather
than one that curses and enslaves you.
When you reject Jesus as Lord, you also reject His
promises and the inheritance that He has prepared for you.
Now, some think they don't need a Savior.
They say well, "I'm, I'm not really so bad that I
deserve to be lost."
People tend to downplay their own sins.
To many "sin" is an outdated word and "hell"
is a myth designed to manipulate.
But if sin and hell are real, and they are, then
punishment after death is real.
We need a Savior!
God's Word says in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death."
And those wages haven't changed.
In Psalm 14 verses 2 to 3, David wrote, "The LORD has
looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To
see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God.
They have all turned aside, together they have
become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one."
Romans 3:23 simply says, "for all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God."
Sin is a universal problem!
Everyone has it.
Now, someone objects well, "I can't be all that bad."
But the apostle John said in 1 John 1:8 to 10, "If
we say that we have no sin, (then) we are
deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, (then) He is faithful and
righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness.
(And) If we say that we have not sinned, we make
Him a liar and His word is not in us."
We need the Lord to save us from sin and to lead us to heaven.
Without the blood of Jesus, we'd all be lost
and without hope.
And instead of puffing up about our sins,
let's humble ourselves.
Jesus "bore our sins in his body on the tree, that
we might die to sin and live to righteousness.
(For) By his wounds you have been healed"
(1 Peter 2 and verse 24).
What Jesus did is very personal.
And we deserve punishment for our sins.
God laid on Christ the penalty that you and I
should have suffered.
He endured this penalty personally with his body
and shedding his physical blood.
Jesus died so that we could be freed from sin
and live in righteousness.
And we should be grateful for the Lord Jesus.
Paul said in Romans 5:6 to 8, "For while we were
still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
For one will scarcely die for a righteous
person-though perhaps for a good person one would
dare even to die-but God shows his love for us in
that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
It it's hard to grasp such great love.
To die for people who were weak, ungodly, and sinners
shows the surpassing love of Jesus.
We can't ignore that measure of love.
Our salvation came at a tremendous cost.
And your soul and my soul were not cheap.
Peter said in 1 Peter 1:18 to 19, "knowing that you
were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from
your forefathers, not with perishable things such as
silver or gold, but with the precious blood of
Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot."
God took us seriously enough to sacrifice His Son.
Jesus loved us and sacrificed His life.
We can't ignore the cross, acting as if nothing happened.
Jesus bore your punishment because He loved you and
wanted to spend an eternity with you.
Do we need the Lord?
Of course we do!
So why, why does this matter?
Because we need the Lord!
We need Him in every facet of our lives!
We need saving. We need forgiveness.
We need His counsel and wisdom.
We need to know Him and the power of his resurrection.
We need the Father to hear our prayers.
We need His care and protection.
We need the Lord's help to overcome sin.
Ah, the God of the Bible is the one true and living God.
And if we don't have Him, if we don't have Him, we have nothing.
Nothing. Let us pray.
Oh, Father we're thankful that You have given us
Your Son Jesus that we may come to understand You and
know You and know all of the great plans that You
have made for our lives.
Help us heavenly to love You from a full heart and
to give ourselves completely to You.
May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
In Jesus name, Amen.
In Philippians 3:7 to 8 Paul revealed he needed the Lord.
He'd give every earthly benefit to have Jesus.
He said, "But whatever things were gain to me,
those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
More than that, I count all things to be loss in
view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of
all things, and count them but rubbish
so that I may gain Christ."
Paul understood the Lord was more important than
any advantage his Jewish heritage could have given him.
The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 13 verse 44, "The
kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a
field, which a man found and covered up.
(And) Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he
has and buys that field."
In ancient times people hid their treasure in the
fields and of course in in a time of war or other things.
And this treasure was so great that he'd sell
everything he owned to get it!
Christ and His kingdom is our great treasure today.
We can lose everything else,
but we can't afford to lose Christ.
He has "surpassing value."
Do you have a close, loving, peaceful
relationship with God?
Do you have peace of mind?
God hasn't left you; it may be that you have left God.
Our greatest need is to know God and to draw close
to Him by listening and obeying His Word.
Will you come to Christ in faith?
Will you turn from your sins and make Christ your
Lord in repentance?
Will you confess Him before others?
Will you be baptized into Christ?
You do this by being immersed in water in the
name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
And when you are baptized, God will wash away your
sins and free you from them.
We hope our study about needing God has made you think.
We offer a free printed copy or a CD of our
message, so it you want one mail your request to
In Search of the Lord's Way,
P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083
or send an e-mail to searchtv@searchtv.org.
Or, you can call the Search office
toll-free at 1-800-321-8633.
Our programs appear on our website at www.searchtv.org.
And, we also offer Bible Correspondence courses to
help you learn more about God's will.
Now if you want one, let us know.
And we also offer study sheets that go with our programs.
And you can download them free before each program
at our website or you can call and request them.
Now we won't ask you for money or put you on a list.
Please worship with a church that's in your
area, a church of Christ.
They're the reason we don't ask for money.
Now if you are looking for a church home, we'll be
happy to help you find one.
Churches of Christ want and love guests.
We'll be back next week, Lord willing.
So, keep searching God's Word with us and tell a friend.
God bless you and we love you from all of us at
In Search of the Lord's Way.
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