- ♪ Give me the bible ♪

>>Today we are blessed with a wonderful gift from God, the Bible. This book is God's living word. In its pages, we are told, "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword." It is in this book of books that we find the answers to all of men's questions in need. This morning, your area Churches of Christ welcome you to a program committed to that perfect law of liberty. ♪ Thy light shall guide me in the narrow way ♪

>>As we present "The Living Word". ♪ And promise, law and love combining ♪ ♪ 'Til night shall vanish in eternal day ♪

>>Now here is your host, Ray Sullins. ♪ Give me ♪

>>Jesus once promised, "And lo, I'm with you always, even to the end of the age," Matthew 28:20. Isn't it great to know that we always have God by our side each and every day of life? And thank you for being with us this morning for "The Living Word Program". We are excited to have you with us for this time of offering and praise to God, and we're glad that you have chosen to give this time to your creator on this, the Lord's Day, as we together will study God's word and sing praises to his perfect name. Let me encourage us each this morning to do our own part to make this time of offering acceptable in his sight. As we begin our offering to God this day, will you bow with me before his throne in prayer? Our God and Father in heaven, we are so thankful for this and every day of life. And Father, we are thankful because you are a great and loving and mighty God, and have even given us your son, Jesus, to come to this earth, and to die and to be buried and to rise again on the third day. And Father, we know it's only through the precious gospel that we have the opportunity to have eternal life, as well as the blessings that are available in this life. Therefore, father, help us to show you love and to obey you, as we give you our very best and worship you this day. In Jesus' name, we pray, amen. Certainly, prayer is a powerful thing and a great opportunity that we all have as God's people. Our first song of the morning encourages us to remember that God is a god who always delivers us, so when we pray, we know he hears and will help us. So won't you join in with the congregation at this time as we sing together, "Hide Me Rock of Ages"? ♪ Oh thou blessed rock of ages ♪ ♪ Rock of ages, I am ♪ ♪ Trusting now dear Lord in thee ♪ ♪ Dear Lord in thee I'm trusting ♪ ♪ Keep me 'til my journey's ended ♪ ♪ Journey's ended, keep me ♪ ♪ 'Til thy blessed face I see ♪ ♪ Hide me ♪ ♪ O blessed rock of ages ♪ ♪ Blessed rock of ages hide me ♪ ♪ 'Til thy blessed face I see ♪ ♪ Thy face I see in glory ♪ ♪ When the storms around me rages ♪ ♪ Round me rages, blessed ♪ ♪ Rock of ages hide thou me ♪ ♪ Keep me when the storm clouds gather ♪ ♪ Storm clouds gather, keep me ♪ ♪ 'Til the sun comes shining through ♪ ♪ Comes shining through the shadows ♪ ♪ Keep me 'til my work is over ♪ ♪ Work is over, keep me ♪ ♪ 'Til I bid this world adieu ♪ ♪ Hide me ♪ ♪ O blessed rock of ages ♪ ♪ Blessed rock of ages hide me ♪ ♪ 'Til thy blessed face I see ♪ ♪ Thy face I see in glory ♪ ♪ When the storm around me rages ♪ ♪ Round me rages, blessed ♪ ♪ Rock of ages, hide thou me ♪ ♪ When my journey is completed ♪ ♪ Is completed, Savior ♪ ♪ And there's no more work to do ♪ ♪ No work to do, O blessed ♪ ♪ Savior guide my weary spirit ♪ ♪ Weary spirit, to that ♪ ♪ Happy land beyond the blue ♪ ♪ Hide me ♪ ♪ O blessed rock of ages ♪ ♪ Blessed rock of ages hide me ♪ ♪ 'Til thy blessed face I see ♪ ♪ Thy face I see in glory ♪ ♪ When the storms around me rages ♪ ♪ Round me rages, blessed ♪ ♪ Rock of ages, hide thou me ♪

>>Have you ever stopped and asked the question, why do we have the Bible? At one time or another in our Christian lives, we probably have all questioned and asked ourselves about faith, and the fact is, do we really believe in God or the Bible and why do we believe in God and the Bible? But when it comes to the word of God, we need to understand why we have it. John helps us to answer this question in his gospel account, Chapter 20, beginning in Verse 30. There we read, "And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that you may believe that you have life in his name." There we have it, we have the Bible so that we might believe in the name of Jesus, and the fact that we have life in the name of Jesus. Let's also read from 1 John 5:13. Again, in this verse, we see that John adds to our discussion by saying, "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life and that you may continue to believe in the name of the son of God." Oh, praise be to God that we have the Bible that helps us to know Jesus that we might believe. And not only to know who he is, but also what he expects of those who believe and are willing to follow and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. Have you been really one who looks to the book, the book of books, the word of God, to not only know who God is, but to know exactly what God wants of his followers? Isn't that what Paul actually told Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16 beginning? The Bible says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness, that the man of God might be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." Here we have confirmed for us all that of the Bible and all the things that are given in it are from God himself, and therefore they are profitable to us in our daily lives. And they completely, it says, equip us for everything that we need to do in this life and all the things that we need to deal with on a daily basis. So praise be to God that he has blessed us with such a wonderful and informative book that guides us in the ways of eternal life, a book that is perfect, as James said there in James 1:25, "A book that gives us the perfect law of liberty, that answers all the questions that we need to know and to follow in this life to be pleasing in the sight of God." Now, let me ask you again, why do we have the Bible? Well, I hope we all will realize that we have the book that is from our God, to know Jesus, to obey his will. And the question we should consider today is are we doing exactly what God asked? Our topic of study this morning is still related to our series, which is entitled "Meditate on These Things". Our specific lesson of the morning will focus on whatever things are of good report. So please stay with us, and in just a few minutes, we will return with this study from God's word. As far as our guest speaker, we are happy to again have Brother Trey Sullins with us. Brother Trey is a full-time instructor at the Bible Institute of Missouri here in Springfield, and we thank him for joining us and look forward to him leading our main thoughts from God's word at the appropriate time. Well, for now, let's join in our second song of the day, the name of the hymn, "Seek Ye First". ♪ Seek ye first the kingdom of God ♪ ♪ And his righteousness ♪ ♪ And all these things shall be added unto you ♪ ♪ Singing allelu, alleluia ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ Seek ye first ♪ ♪ The kingdom of God ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ And his righteousness ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ And all these things ♪ ♪ Shall be added unto you ♪ ♪ Alle, alleluia ♪ ♪ Singing allelu, alleluia ♪ ♪ Ask and it shall be given unto you ♪ ♪ Seek and ye shall find ♪ ♪ Knock and the door shall be opened unto you ♪ ♪ Singing allelu, alleluia ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ Ask and it shall be ♪ ♪ Given unto you ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ Seek and ye shall find ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ Knock and the door ♪ ♪ Shall be opened unto you ♪ ♪ Alle, alleluia ♪ ♪ Singing allelu, alleluia ♪ ♪ Man shall not live by bread alone ♪ ♪ But by every word ♪ ♪ That proceeds from the mouth of God ♪ ♪ Singing allelu, alleluia ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ Man shall not live ♪ ♪ By bread alone ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ But by every word ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ That proceeds ♪ ♪ Out the mouth of God ♪ ♪ Alle, alleluia ♪ ♪ Singing allelu, alleluia ♪

>>Good morning, and thank you so much for joining in again with us. As always, it is such a pleasure that we have to be able to study God's word this time, and to even offer our praise and our worship to him on his day, this Sunday, the Lord's Day, as it comes every week. We have such a great privilege to be able to do that and to be able to give these things to him, as, of course, we know he's given us so much, even in our lives, and of course, throughout the years as well. As we've been looking over the last few weeks, and you might remember, we've been seeing from Philippians 4:8 how God has provided for us a pattern of things that we ought to fill our minds with, and things that we ought to meditate on, as it even says there. We're gonna focus on one of those now, Philippians 4:8. If you'll just read that with me again, it says, "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report. If there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things." Now, what we're focusing on mainly at this time is that final segment of the "Whatever things are," and that is the whatever things are of good report. Now, this word here of good report and particularly the words, "Good report," in the original language is actually one word, it's euphemos. And you might notice from that sound, euphemos, it is actually the same word where we get our word in English, euphemism. And though we usually have a negative connotation upon the word euphemism, in the Greek language, the wording here just has to do with something that sounds well, something that sounds good, something that is of a good reputation even. We might use the word reputable, and with good reputation is really the idea there behind that even. The idea is, whatever things are good and sound good, whatever things have a good reputation about them, that's what we ought to be filling our minds with. Now, as you're going to see a little bit later, this isn't something that we just get to decide upon. We know that right and wrong comes from God, and he decides what has good reputation and what has bad reputation, even as we study his word. But just to think about this for a moment, it's such a powerful concept to consider that, in our world, we have so much around us that's constantly trying to fill our minds with things that we shouldn't be thinking about, even things that aren't necessarily wrong, as in sinful, there's just distractions from what is really important. A great example of this might be in our society even here in the United States, and in many countries throughout the world, probably all of them really, but you'll find advertisements, constant advertisements. And every moment of every day, you find something is trying to be sold to you by someone, somewhere. You've got billboards on the sides of the roads, you've got vehicles with names on them and phone numbers that you can call and websites on them. Even here around the programs that you have on your television, you've got the same things, people trying to sell you things. And they may not necessarily be bad ads, bad advertisements, trying to give you things you shouldn't have, but still, they can be distracting, can't they? If you have your mind constantly filled with all this stuff, then you forget about what it is that you're supposed to be doing. One great example of this, certainly, that you have in your lives every single day probably is with cellphones. The technology age that we live in has sort of revolutionized the way that we work and think and even operate throughout our day. You probably have noticed before how you've had a thought in your mind or you've had a action you wanna perform. You need to go to this room and do this thing in your house, and along the way, you see 15 notifications on your phone. Some of them are trying to sell you stuff and some of them are your friends and your family texting you things, and maybe you find an email or two in there as well. And at the end of it, you get to that other room and you're thinking, "Now, what in the world was I doing here? Why am I in this place? What was I supposed to accomplish?" Well, of course, we've all done something similar to that, but the point is, whatever things are of good report, those things that sound well need to be in our minds instead, we can't let the distractions in, and certainly, it goes without saying, we can't let the sinful things in. If the sinful things are filling our minds, as in even those things talked about in Galatians 5, the works of the flesh, those things are definitely going to be distracting us from the good things of God. If you consider with me Proverbs 23:7, there's a passage there that says, "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." And the idea behind that is, certainly, whatever we put into our minds, whatever is in our minds and we're meditating on, that's what we're going to do. And so take our examples we're talking about now. If we allow ourselves to be constantly consumed with the advertisements, then what kind of a person do we become? We become a person that is wanting the next thing. Our mind is always focused on, "I need to go buy this, I need to go buy that," or, "What's the newest phone? What's the newest car? What's the newest whatever? I've gotta have it." And certainly, at that point, it's a distraction, it's keeping us away from the things that are of good report, keeping us away from the things that our minds really should be filled with. And that is the good things of God, not sinful things, not distracting things, but the good things that God has given unto us. One other example of this we wanna look at is in 1 Timothy. 1 Timothy 4, in fact, and in Verse 13, Paul gives Timothy an exhortation actually exactly like this, but he defines it a little bit further and gives him a little bit more clarification on what's supposed to be in his mind as far as those good things, those good report things goes. In 1 Timothy 4:13, he says, "'Til I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the Eldership." Then notice in Verse 15, "Meditate on these things, give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all." Now, in this passage, we'll finish off there Verse 16 in just a moment, but notice what he's saying, Verse 13 is pretty simple, that you ought to have your mind filled with these good things, with the exhortation and with the doctrine, that you get by reading. In other words, study the word of God and fill your mind with the things that you receive from the word of God, that's the application we can see from that. And Verse 16, he as well had those miraculous gifts that he was to have in that first stage. And we know that those things are no longer around us today, but as you continue then in Verse 15, he's supposed to meditate on those things to keep his mind filled with that good spiritual material that God was giving to him as his worker. Finally, then look with me at Verse 16, it says, "Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine, continue in them. For in doing this, you will save both yourself and those who hear you." You see the purpose to all of this is so that you might accomplish a goal. You're not just filling your mind with things pointlessly, you're not just filling your mind with God's word or filling your mind with things that are of good report, with things that sound good, with things that are reputable for no reason at all. You're filling your mind with them so that you can do them, so that there's a success at the end of this, a success that's defined by God, which equals a faithful Christian. Now, we can see a great example of this all the way back in the Old Testament, in James, or Joshua rather, 1:8. You see Joshua was coming at that age in Israel's history as they're entering into the land of Canaan and have already done so to some degree. Now, Joshua's real task is to continue what Moses had started, to really get that conquest going as God was giving the people the land of Canaan. And he says there in Verse 8 of Joshua Chapter 1, again, Joshua 1:8, "This book of the law must not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For you will make your way," or, "For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." We'll come back to that latter part in just a moment, but notice the simple exhortation he's giving them. He tells them that they need to look into the words of God and meditate on the words of God. And that's really where we wanna finish out for the rest of our study this morning, is to think about the things that are of good report. Philippians 4:8, remember, whatever things are of good report, whatever things are reputable, or sound well is the idea, comes from God. It's not what we think sounds well, it's not what we decide is something that is reputable, but it's defined by the Lord. If you think here, even in this passage, Joshua 1:8, he says, "But you shall meditate in it, night, day," as in, all the time, you've got God's laws in your mind. Now, just think about it for a minute from a practical standpoint. Imagine a person, Person A on this side, who is filling their minds constantly with all the distractions. They're on their cellphones all day, looking at all the ads and scrolling through all the websites, all the things that they can buy, and all the other stuff you can do with your phone. And person B, they're in the word of God all day, and they're thinking about those things that God has given unto us. Now, obviously these two extremes are not really ever going to happen. A person can't do either of these things all day, practically speaking, but if they did, which one of these people would be better off, the person that's filling their minds with only the things that are distractions, or the person filling their mind with the word of God? And obviously we know the answer, the person who is always focused on God's word, who's always focused on what they're supposed to be doing, as this says here, "Who's meditating in it day and night," is going to have a better mind, a more healthy mind, they're also going to have a more spiritually healthy mind as well, one that's proper in the things that it ought to be doing. Think about this with some more literal examples that we have. If you were to take these same two people. On the one side, you've got the guy who's distracted on his phone, and on the other guy you've got a, or on the other side rather, you've got a guy who is thinking about kindness, a guy who's thinking about caring attitudes, a guy who's thinking about helping others, a guy who's thinking about maybe even studying and praying and worshiping and all these other things. Now, certainly, again, you know, one of them's going to be much better shape in their life, in their spiritual life, in their mental life and all the capacities than the other person will be. And that's just how life is. Remember Proverbs 23:7, "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." Whatever we fill it up with in our minds and hearts, that's what's going to be who we are, that's what's going to define and guide our characteristics. And that's why it's so important that we focus and meditate on whatever things are of good report. Finally, what we wanna do for the last few moments here is to think about what happens when we do this. We've been talking even about so many of these other ideas of the, "Whatever things are," concepts, but in the Book of Psalms, the very first Psalm there, and in Verse 1, I want you to notice for a minute the kind of person who is always in and focusing on God and his word and on his law. He says, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the council of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in his law, he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season whose leaves also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so." Look then at Verse 6, "For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish." Now, that simple psalm there is explaining to us an idea that is so important. When we fill our minds with those things that are of good report, those things that sound well, they're reputable because God has told us they are good and God has told us they are right. When our minds are filled with those things, what happens to us is we become a person just like that, we become a person who's trying to help others, we become a person who has better marriages, who's a better parent, who's a better citizen, who's a better everything in our lives because our minds aren't just focused on ourselves. But it's reaching out to others, to help others to do good by others, and certainly, as well, to do good by God. Another one here in Matthew 6, where we wanna finish off with, in Verse 33, says this very thing, "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. If you seek after God, meditate on those things that are of good report, then what happens? Well, he just told us right there, didn't he? The thing that happens, it will be added unto you. In other words, by meditating on what's good, we have the great opportunity to make it to heaven. ♪ He is my everything ♪ ♪ He is my all ♪ ♪ He is my everything ♪ ♪ Both great and small ♪ ♪ He gave his life for me ♪ ♪ Made everything new ♪ ♪ He is my everything ♪ ♪ Now how about you ♪ ♪ Some folks may ask me ♪ ♪ Some folks may say ♪ ♪ Who is this Jesus ♪ ♪ You talk about every day ♪ ♪ He is my savior ♪ ♪ He set me free ♪ ♪ Now listen while I tell you ♪ ♪ What he means to me ♪ ♪ He is my everything ♪ ♪ He is my all ♪ ♪ He is my everything ♪ ♪ Both great and small ♪ ♪ He gave his life for me ♪ ♪ Made everything new ♪ ♪ He is my everything ♪ ♪ Now how about you ♪

>>Thanks for choosing to be with us today for "The Living Word Program". I hope and trust that together we have all benefited from this time of service to our Lord. And let me invite you to join us every Lord's Day morning at 7:30, as we give this time to our creator. But for now, let me ask you if you have any questions or comments about today's lesson. Maybe you'd like a free transcript, or free CD, or DVD of the program, or possibly we could assist you with free Bible materials, or free Bible correspondence courses. No matter what your need is, please feel free to contact us at the following address, The Living Word, 2540 North Kansas Expressway, Springfield, Missouri, 65803. Many of these items are also available on our website, that address, thelivingwordprogram.com, or if you'd prefer, you may call us at 417-869-2284. Thanks be to God that he has begun in us a clear directive on how to live and really what it is that he requires, that we might have a good report before he and others in this life. Hopefully, we live in such a way that God will be glorified in all things that we do and say, and that others might know him through us.

>>Our prayer is to help the world know more about God through this television program. "The Living Word" has been brought to you under the oversight of the elders of the Kansas Expressway Church of Christ in Springfield, Missouri, with the assistance of the following area Churches of Christ. ♪ Seek and save the lost ♪ ♪ Give me the Bible, holy message shining ♪ ♪ Thy light shall guide me in the narrow way ♪ ♪ Precept and promise, law and love combining ♪ ♪ 'Til night shall vanish in eternal day ♪