THE LIVING WORD TRANSCRIPT

Program Air Date - 1-27-08

LESSON TITLE: "FEAR GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS: DON'T LEAVE THIS WORLD WITHOUT BEING RIGHT WITH GOD"

WELCOME

The Psalmist once encouraged us to realize that, "This is the day that the Lord has made, (thus) we shall rejoice and be glad in it!" How truly blessed we are by God to be assembled on this day which He has made for us. Furthermore, we should all rejoice and be glad for all our God has done and is doing for us.

Thanks for joining us this morning. As always it is an honor and privilege to have you with us as we commit this time to the things of God. It is our hope and prayer this morning that we may each participate and do our part to make this time acceptable before Him and according to His Word. Now let's begin by talking to God through prayer!

(Prayer)

I am excited to announce this morning that the Living Word Program has been blessed by God, and will remain on the air. We will talk about this more in just a minute. But for now let's rejoice and join in our first song of the day. So, won't you do your part as we sing together, "O Worship The King."

(SONG # 1)

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS

I am so thankful today to let you know that Lord willing, this good work of God will continue on for many more years. We thank God that we have received such a great response from our request for financial help. Many good brethren heard the cry and have responded in a positive way to say that we need to keep this good work of the Lord going. Although we have not raised all that we need. We have seen a substantial love, care and commitment to the program and we thank you all for encouraging us and joining with us to continue accomplishing God's Will through this avenue of television.

I want to take just a moment to thank our regular supporters, who have continued diligently throughout the years. In fact, some have supported the program from the very beginning. These are the congregations you see mentioned at the end of the program.

I also want to thank those who were already involved in the work, who have increased their support and made new commitments to the work. Specifically the Highlandville Church of Christ, the Marshfield Church of Christ, the Smith Chapel Church of Christ, and the Hwy 13 Church of Christ. We really appreciate these brethren digging a little deeper and helping us more in this time of need.

I am also excited to welcome some new supporters to the program. We thank them all for joining us in this good work of God. These congregations are: the Camdenton Church of Christ, the Curry Street Church of Christ, the Gospel Hill Church of Christ, the Mt. Grove Church of Christ and the Church of Christ in Gepp, AR. We are so happy to have these new supporters on board and we look forward to the continued success of our new work together for the sake of God.

Another group we are thankful for are the individuals who watch the program. So, we also want to thank the individuals who have helped in this time of need. We have received monthly commitments as well as one time help from many brethren in the viewing area. We thank you each for your support and we solicit your prayers that this great work for God may continue on to His glory.

Finally, let me confirm that although we have decided to continue the program for another year, we are not out of the woods yet. We still need your help! Especially those who are still considering helping in some way. It is our desire to financially secure this work, not just through this year, but for many years to come, so we still need your help to accomplish this. Won't you still prayerfully consider helping in some way, whether monthly or one time? If you have any questions or need further information about the program, feel free to contact me. And, Lord's Willing 10, 20, and even 30 years from now this area will still be blessed with the pure Word of God, through the Living Word Program. Praise be to our God for the outcome of these things!

Today we will continue our series of study entitled, "Fear God And Keep His Commandments." Our specific lesson this morning is "Don't Leave This World Without Being Right With God!" So, please continue with us and after our next song Brother Chuck Northrop will return and lead us in this study from God's Word.

Now let's join in our second song of the day. The name of the hymn is, "Purer in Heart."

(SONG # 2)

LESSON

By Chuck Northrop

Please don't leave this world without being right with God. Every single person will one day leave this world. Some will leave this world through death. Others will leave this world through the second coming or at the Second Coming of our Lord. But nonetheless, all will leave this world. So please don't leave this world without being right with God.

Probably for most of us death awaits us. Though we do not care to think about it, death is inevitable. In Hebrews 9 and verse 27, the Hebrews writer wrote, "As it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement." Since all after they have left this world will appear before God and stand before God in judgement, it is imperative that we do not leave this world without being right with God.

In the book of Isaiah, in Isaiah 38 we find that Isaiah goes to Hezekiah who is king over Israel at that particular time and he said, "Set thy house in order for thou shall die and not live." Like Hezekiah of old, we, too must face death. We, too, must set our house in order that we, because we will die. Hezekiah set his house in order and prayed to God and God granted then to him 15 more years. But nonetheless, Hezekiah would die.

Is your house in order? Is your life in order? Are you ready for death? Are you ready to leave this world? Many of us are probably thinking to ourselves, "Well, we're too young. I'm not going to die tonight. I'm not going to die today. I'm not going to die this week. I'm not going to die this month and probably will not die this year." Well, it may not be the case that you will die this year or today or this week or this month, and I truly hope that you do not. But nonetheless, if it comes, what then? If it comes upon you, are you ready to meet God in judgement? If so, then I rejoice with you. But if not, I beg with you, I plead with you, I beseech you to make yourself right with God. Prepare yourself.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verses 10-11, he said, "For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to all that he hath done whether it be good or bad." Then he says in verse 11, "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men."

How can I then prepare myself for departure from this world? Or another way of saying it is "What must I do to be saved Jesus makes it possible for us to prepare ourselves to stand before God in judgement.

In the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 8 and verse 9, a very powerful passage is written there by the apostle Paul there as he writes to the church at Corinth in his second letter to them. IN 2 Corinthians 8 verse 9 he says, "For ye know that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor that ye through His poverty might be rich." In other words, what he is saying is that Jesus died, became poor that we might live, become rich. And thus Jesus is the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him (Hebrews 5 and verse 9).

So then we ask the question: What must I do in order to obey Jesus that I might be saved?

All men must be taught the gospel. All men must be taught the Word of God.

In Romans 10 and verse 17 the Bible says, "So that faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God."

I'm reminded of the words of Acts 18 and verse 8 where Luke recorded that many of the Corinthians hearing believed and were baptized.

Salvation then becomes necessary or in order to have salvation it is necessary that we are taught the gospel. It is necessary for us to understand what God wants us to do within our lives. Every conversion within the scriptures begin with preaching and teaching and thus Christianity is a taught religion.

I'm reminded of the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 18 where he says, "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." As I think about the preaching of the gospel, we know to those that are in the world, we know to those that are lost it is foolishness, but to Paul and to those of us who are saved, it is the power of God. It is the power of God to overcome guilt. It is the power of God to overcome sin. It is the power of God to be right in life.

Later on in the same chapter in 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 12 he says, "For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believed."

So what is this hearing then lead us to? Well, Paul says it leads us to belief, and we understand that in order to be saved, in order to prepare ourselves for death we must believe. We must believe God.

In Hebrews the 11th chapter and verse 6, the Bible says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God for he that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." And so in this passage we learn that there are two things that we must believe. We must believe that there is a God and we must believe that God rewards those who obey Him. Jesus said it this way: "Ye shall die in your sins. For if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins" (John 8 and verse 24).

But as we think about belief, we understand that belief is more than simple knowledge of facts. You see, James says in James 2 verse 19, "Thou believest that there is one God, thou doest well and tremble." You see, the devils have a knowledge of facts. They understand who God is. They understand there is one God. They understand the spiritual nature of God and probably understand it better than we do since we are material and physically a part of this world and they are spiritual beings. And so the devils believe, but what kind of belief do they have? They have a knowledge of facts and it says that they tremble. Why do they tremble? Because they are not right with God. Our belief then should lead us to obedience. That's the living faith. That's the living belief that James is speaking of there in James chapter 2.

And so a person then must repent of his sins or his or her sins. Repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of action. Think about it this way. God is over here and we then in life are walking away from God. We haven't put God first in our life. We have sinned against God. We have done things that are contrary to God and so He is behind us. He's not first in our lives. So we are walking away from God. But then sometime in life we come to a point and we have a knowledge of these facts. We understand that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. We understand what He has done for us. We understand what God has done for us and we have a change of mind. But that change of mind is not repentance. NO, it's that change of action as well. So we turn and we begin walking toward God. That's repentance. It's a change of mind that results in a change of action.

Well as we think about repentance, Jesus said in Luke 13 and verse 3, "I tell you nay except a man repent he shall likewise perish."

In Acts the 17th chapter and verse 30, Paul has gone to the city of Athens and he sees the altar unto the unknown god and he declares unto them the God of heaven, and he talks about the God of heaven. But in verse 30 he says, "The times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent."

But as we think about obedience to the gospel plan of salvation, we know it's more than just hearing. We know it's more than just believing and repenting. It is also confessing the name of Christ.

In Romans chapter 10 verse 10, Paul says, "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

Jesus said it this way in Matthew 10 and verses 32 -33. "Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I deny before My Father which is in heaven."

But what is this confession that we must make? Well, Peter made the great confession in Matthew the 16th chapter and verse 16 where he said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God." What does it mean to be the Christ, the Son of the Living God? Well, the word "Christ" is the same word as "Messiah." "Messiah" is from the Hebrew and "Christ' comes from the Greek. The word simply means, "the anointed one." Christ was an anointed one. In the Old Testament they would anoint prophet, priest and king. Christ then is that anointed one, the chosen of God appointed to be prophet, priest and king for us today. So when Peter said, "Thou art the Christ," he was saying, "You are the chosen one of God. You are the anointed one."

But then a person must also be baptized into Christ. You see, we need to hear. We need to believe. We need to repent. We need to confess. But we also need to be baptized in Christ, immersed in water and raised up to walk in newness of life.

After the first preaching of the gospel in its fruition in Acts the 2nd chapter, Peter declared unto the people of that occasion that they had crucified the Son of God, that by the hands of lawless men, they had crucified and slayed Him. Then he brought it to a conclusion and he said, "Jesus is both Lord and Christ." Well the people then heard that, understanding that they had crucified the Son of God and they said, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Now listen to Peter's response. In Acts 2 and verse 38, Peter said unto them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Jesus said it this way in Mark 16 and verse 16. "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be condemned."

Now notice there are two formulas there. There's the formula for salvation and then there is the formula for damnation. The formula for salvation is he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. The formula for damnation is he that believeth not shall be condemned.

Well we know that baptism is a burial in water for the remission of sins. In Romans the 6th chapter verses 3-5, Paul says, "Know ye not so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death. Therefore, we are buried with Him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father even so we should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection." So just as Jesus Christ died, was buried, then raised again, we, too, must die to the old man, be buried and raised again. That's what baptism is. It's a picture of Christ's death, burial and resurrection. So then we put off the old man. We are buried with Christ in the watery grave and we're raised up to walk in newness of life. That newness of life is newness from the old man. We're not like what we were before we were baptized. It is that new birth then and we're raised to walk different than we were walking before we were baptized. We're raised to walk in newness of life.

When a person is baptized, God adds that person to the Lord's church. In Acts 2:47, Luke records, "Praising God and having favor with all the people added to the church daily such as should be saved." And so having become a member of the church of Christ, having become a member of the church, all people then must remain faithful unto God.

In Hebrews 10 and verse 35, there were some Hebrew Christians that were departing from the Living God. They were departing from the right ways of the Lord. The Hebrews writer is encouraging them and he says, "Cast not away therefore your confidence, which has great recompense or reward."

Have you ever thought about the consequences of not obeying the gospel? Listen to the word of Paul as he writes to the Thessalonians in 2 Thessalonians 1 and verses 7-9. He says, "To you who are troubled, rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting punishment from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power."

If you leave this world without being right with God, are you prepared for the consequences? "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God," Hebrews 10:31.

Man's purpose in life is clear and unmistakable. Solomon of old said, "Fear God and keep His commandments for this is the whole duty of man," Ecclesiastes 12:31.

Are you living up to your God given purpose? If you are a Christian, then you're living up to it, but if you're not a Christian, you are not living up to your God given purpose. Become a Christian today. Please don't leave this world without being right with God. If we can help you in any way, let us know that we might assist you.

(SONG # 3 - "Sinners Jesus Will Receive!")

CLOSING COMMENTS

Again, let me thank you for choosing to be with us this morning. I hope we all have been encouraged through our time spent together. Please remember, you are invited to join us every Sunday morning at 7:30, as we commit ourselves to this service of God.

Now let me ask if you have any questions or comments about today's lesson? Maybe, you would like a free transcript or a free cassette tape of this program? Possibly, we could assist you with free Bible materials or free Bible correspondence courses? No matter what your need is, please contact us at the following address:

The Living Word 2540 N. Kansas Expressway Springfield, Mo. 65803

Many of these materials are also available on our website: That address is: www.thelivingwordprogram.com

Or if you prefer, you may call us at: (417) 869-2284

Are you ready to meet your God? If so, thanks be to God, but if not why not do what is necessary, even today to know that you will not leave this world without being right with God.

(Program closing)