- ♪ 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." ♪ Precept and promise ♪ ♪ Law and love combining ♪ ♪ Till night shall vanish ♪ ♪ In eternal day ♪

>>Now here is your host, Ray Sullins.

>>"Therefore, whatever you would that men would do to you, do also to them." Good morning and thank you for choosing to be with us this day for "The Living Word" program, and we are excited that you have given this time to God and that you have gathered that we might be encouraged as we participate in the things of God. And we're glad that you have joined us as we also offer this worship and time of worship to our Savior. Our commitment this morning, as always, is to give glory to the Creator through the singing of songs of praise and through the study of His perfect Word. My hope and prayer is that we'll each do our part to make what we do acceptable in His sight and according to His perfect will. And 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, another day of life. We're thankful for the opportunity that we have to be called Your children, to be workers and servants in Your kingdom. And Father, help us to every day to shine His lights in this world that others might know You through us and that we might always be those who not only are striving to make it to heaven ourselves, but to help others to know and to find the way as well. We thank You for Jesus and we know that only through Him do we have the opportunity to be recipients of Your grace, love, and mercy. And Father, we thank You for that great sacrifice. We ask this day that you'll help us to give You our very best according to Your perfect will. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Today, we'd like to begin with a song of praise that helps us to understand that as children of God, we have every reason to be encouraged, knowing that God has blessed us to be a part of His perfect kingdom. So at this time, won't you join in with the congregation as we sing together, "I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord!" ♪ I love Thy kingdom, Lord ♪ ♪ The house of Thine abode ♪ ♪ The church our blessed Redeemer saved ♪ ♪ With His own precious blood ♪ ♪ I love thy church, O God ♪ ♪ Her walls before Thee stand ♪ ♪ Dear as the apple of Thine eye ♪ ♪ And graven on Thy hand ♪ ♪ For her my tears shall fall ♪ ♪ For her my prayers ascend ♪ ♪ To her my cares and toils be given ♪ ♪ Till toils and cares shall end ♪ ♪ Beyond my highest joy ♪ ♪ I prize her heavenly ways ♪ ♪ Her sweet communion, solemn vows ♪ ♪ Her hymns of love and praise ♪ ♪ Jesus, thou friend divine ♪ ♪ Our Savior and our King ♪ ♪ Thy hand from every snare and foe ♪ ♪ Shall great deliverance bring ♪ ♪ Sure as Thy truth shall last ♪ ♪ To Zion shall be given ♪ ♪ The brightest glories earth can yield ♪ ♪ And brighter bliss of heaven ♪

>>One of the hardest things that we must all learn as Christians from time to time is how do we really need to treat others? This is so important because the way that we treat others is to be seen as the way that we certainly are doing what God has asked and it's the way that Christ also would treat them. In fact, isn't this why we are called Christians at all? We are to be those who strive to be like our Creator, like our God, and even like Christ. The Bible says we are to be imitators of God even as His dear children. Ephesians 5:1. And furthermore, as we quoted earlier, Christ told us that in the golden rule, we are to treat others as we would want to be treated. Matthew 7:12. Learning how to treat others is especially hard when it comes to those who really are on our list of not likes, are those that we really don't like to be around, and because of this, we find it difficult to treat them as we should. The wise man, Solomon, even understood this when he said, "If your enemy is hungry, what should you do?" He says there, "Give him bread to eat. And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink." Proverbs 25:21. This is also the same idea that Jesus presented in Matthew 5:44 when He said, "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you and do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you or persecute you." You might say, but why? Well, verse 45 goes on to tell us, the Bible says, "In order that we might be sons of God." That's why we do this. I think the best verse on our discussion is also there again found in Matthew 25 when we again see that our Lord is talking about the followers and those who would do good, not just to Him, but to all men. And then He makes the clarification that we do good to all men by doing good in a way as if we were reacting to Him to God Himself. He mentions there those that are in prison. He also talks about those who are hungry or those who have little. What again is it that we do toward them? Hopefully what we do toward them is the ability to know that we are acting as if we are treating Christ in the same way. The Bible actually says, "Assuredly I say to you, and as much as you did it to one of the least of these, my brethren, you did it to me." When we do good to anyone or treat them properly, we must consider that Jesus says it's as if we have done the same to Him. However, if we do bad or we do not help those around us, we must also consider that we have done something against Christ and not according to His will. So I ask, are you treating others as Christ would have you in your daily life? If not, choose today to begin to treat others as God commands, therefore, being found pleasing in His sight and ultimately being able to receive the great reward of heaven someday. Our guest speaker this morning will be Brother Cory Orr. Brother Cory is the minister for the Bona Church of Christ in Bona, Missouri. He's also an instructor at the Bible Institute of Missouri. We're glad that he has joined us this day to lead us in our main thoughts from God's Word at the appropriate time. As far as our main study today, we'll be considering our next topic in our discussion concerning the works of the flesh. Specifically today, idolatry is the topic. So please continue with us this morning. And after our next song together, we will return with this study from God's Word. The name of our next hymn, "I Know The Lord Will Find A Way For Me." ♪ I know the Lord will find a way for me ♪ ♪ I know the Lord will find a way for me ♪ ♪ If I walk in heaven's light ♪ ♪ Shun the wrong and do the right ♪ ♪ I know the Lord will find a way for me ♪ ♪ The Lord has said go preach the Word to all the world ♪ ♪ The Lord has said go preach the Word to all the world ♪ ♪ If I walk in heaven's light ♪ ♪ Shun the wrong and do the right ♪ ♪ I know the Lord will find a way for me ♪ ♪ Won't it be grand to hear Him say well done ♪ ♪ Won't it be grand to hear Him say well done ♪ ♪ If I walk in heaven's light ♪ ♪ Shun the wrong and do the right ♪ ♪ Won't it be grand to hear Him say well done ♪

>>It is good to be with you today. Thank you as always to the Kansas Expressway congregation for allowing me to be here. I look forward to today, our topic of discussion, to look at, and I'd ask you, I hope that you'll have your Bibles with you today so that you can be turning in the scriptures as we study God's Word together, but I'd ask you to open your Bibles to Galatians 5. Our topic as we continue our series to consider the works of the flesh, today, what we need to understand and make sure that we see is that these things are clearly seen, and that's what we see here in the text as Paul writes to the churches of Galatians, in Galatians 5, beginning in verse 19, he says, "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, evil, murders, drunkenness, revelries and the like of which I tell you beforehand just as I also told you in time passed, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." Now, specifically today, we are going to be looking at idolatry, but if we notice there again, the beginning of verse number 19, that the works of the flesh are evident, meaning that they are clearly seen. Let me ask you this question. I want you to think about your walk with God and your life and what it looks like. What sort of things do you put ahead of God? What sort of things do you practice in your life that you would say God comes in second to? When we think about what we do in our lives, does God truly come first? For those that would call themselves Christians, God is to come first. And once again, if we notice our text here, if He does not come first, it is plain to see for everyone else. So if our jobs come first, if sports come first, our family, so many things that we can easily put in front of God, especially if we're not paying careful attention, we must make sure that we don't practice idolatry. This is what idolatry is, and if you look with me at Exodus 20. In Exodus 20, we see here that God is giving to Moses the 10 Commandments, and what we understand here, what we begin to see is what God's expectations are for those who are going to follow after Him. Those who follow after God, in Exodus 20, beginning here in verse number 1, notice what God says to Moses and the children of Israel. "God spoke all these words saying, 'I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourselves a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them nor serve them for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands to keep those who love me and keep my commandments.'" You see, from the very beginning, this was God's expectation. And while today, you and I may not be under the 10 commandments any longer, but under the law of Christ, what we see is that God's expectation has not changed. When Paul writes to the churches of Galatia in Galatians 5:19-21, to demonstrate to them that clearly seen are the works of the flesh, one of those being idolatry, that God's expectations have always been the same, and therefore, our expectations must be to follow the will of God. If we notice here that those that God wants to bless here in Exodus 20:6, God wants to bless those who do His will. This has not changed. It is the same today that what God desires is for us to desire to follow after Him. In John 14:15, Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." In John 15:14, He says, "You are my friends if you do whatsoever I have commanded you to do." Therefore, there's the responsibility that we have, to make sure that we are obedient. We demonstrate that we do love Him when we follow His commandments. In Matthew 7:21, Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father." Therefore, we see the expectations that God has of us to make sure that we follow after His commandments to do what He would have us to do, and that includes not putting anything ahead of Him, making sure that there is no idol that we put. And when we think about idolatry, a lot of times, we do think about those small figurines, right? At times, people will place them in a prominent place in their homes. The children of Israel and those in the surrounding areas would put them in a prominent place in their house, such as a mantle or place that is in high esteem where they would be always seen. Those are not things that we are to be doing. We need to make sure today the place that we put those idols, the prominent place is in our heart. You see, God is not to be replaced. God is not to have anything that is put ahead of Him. He's not to be second to anything in our lives. God is to be first. Notice here in Exodus 20, "I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me." Nothing else is to come before Him. We need to make sure that we don't put anything ahead of God. If you notice with me in Leviticus 26. Leviticus 26, there, beginning in verse number 1, again, we see the words of God. He says, "You shall not make idols for yourselves, neither a carved image nor a sacred pillar shall you rear up for yourselves, nor shall you set up an engraved stone in your land to bow down to it. For I am the Lord your God. You shall keep my sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary, I am the Lord." Again, no carved images, nothing that comes before God, nothing that we put ahead of God. We need to make sure that always, God comes first in our lives. If you look with me at Deuteronomy 7. Deuteronomy 7. Again, we show and demonstrate that God's expectations have not changed, but that they remain the same. Here in Deuteronomy 7, beginning in verse number 25, "You shall burn the carved images of their gods with fire. You shall not covet the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves unless you be snared by it for it is an abomination to the Lord your God. Nor shall you bring an abomination into your house lest you be doomed to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it for it is an accursed thing." When we think about what He is talking about here, those people that the children of Israel would come into contact with, even those that they would be taking out of the land as they crossed over to overtake the land of Canaan, they were not to follow after their gods. They were not to say, oh, well this is a beautiful thing that they possess, and I'll keep that for myself. God says, no, you utterly destroy it. You burn it. Don't even desire to keep the silver or gold that is on it because it will become a snare to you. It will become an idol. It will be something that you put first. You know, we often think about the people that we hang out with. I have three children, and I love them dearly and I want them to make sure that they surround themselves with people who are going to help get them to God. We've seen in places like 1 Corinthians 15:33 that evil company corrupts good habits or good morals. We have to watch the people that we come into contact with. Are we hanging out or around the sort of people who are bringing us down or are we being the influence? Are we the one that is bringing them up? Notice here that God did not want the children of Israel looking upon the things that other people had, especially when they crossed into the land to overtake it. He did not want them to make idols for themselves of the things that those people were already worshiping and bowing down to. You burn them. You get rid of them. We need to make sure that when we have things that begin to creep up in our lives that would start to take the place of God, that we in our minds do the same thing, that we get rid of those things, that we don't have them in our lives any longer. Instead, we make sure that we do whatever is necessary to make sure that God comes first in our lives. It's not always easy. I know it sounds so simple, but when we think about our lives and we truly take an intense look and an honest look at ourselves, do we see things that have crept into our lives and allowed God to become second place? Or do we see ourselves putting God first and getting rid of those things when they creep up? You know, I'm reminded of times that of Acts 17. Here in Acts 17, Paul, who goes into Greece at this time, he is in Athens, and Paul, he's waiting on a couple of men to come and to see him, to come and be with him, but Paul, he is walking around the city and he sees that they are filled with idolatry. They have idols all over the place, and the spirit is stirred within him. He cannot keep silent. He has to talk to them to help them understand that there is nothing that can come before God. And in Acts 17, beginning in verse number 22, "Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, 'Men of Athens, I perceived that in all things, you are very religious. For as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to the unknown god. Therefore, the one whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you. God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.'" And we'll stop right there for just a moment. Paul begins with telling 'em, "I perceive that you are very religious" you have idols all over the place. In fact, you want to make sure you're so concerned with not offending any sort of deity that you even have an idol to the unknown god. Well, He's the one who you worship in ignorance. He's the one I want you to know about, and let me tell you about this God, the God that made the heavens and the earth, the Creator of all things. When we think about God in our lives, we remember that He is the very reason that you and I have breath in our lungs and life in our bodies. Do we celebrate Him and worship Him? Do we put Him first because of all that He has done for us? When we think about God, and the fact that God is the reason that we have all the goodness in our lives, do we put Him first? Does it give us reason and cause to put Him first in our lives? If you look at verse 29 there of Acts 17, Paul says, "Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising." You see, God is not what we make Him out to be. God is not what we think in our hearts that He should be. Instead, God is the Creator. He's the reason that you and I have life, and He deserves to be put first in our lives. Nothing else is to be put ahead of Him. If we truly take that honest look at our lives, does our job come first? Does our family come first? Does sports come first? You know, I often talk with people about sports. I love sports. If I can argue with you and give you all of the team stats of my favorite teams to tell you why my team is better than your team, but I cannot tell you what you must do to go to heaven to put God first in your life and what that looks like, then I have failed as a Christian. You see, the responsibility I have is for you to understand and see God in my life, that truly He comes first. And so, I would encourage you this day to truly take an honest look at your life to see where you stand. Where does God stand in your life? If we say that He is first, is it merely lip service or would others as they look at us, see that God truly comes first in our lives? Because they're going to be able to tell. The works of the flesh are evident, clearly seen. And if God does not come first in our lives, everyone that we come into contact with, those that we work with, our family, our church family, they're all going to know whether or not God comes first in our lives. And so, I would implore you this morning, please take a look at your life, see where you stand. Make sure that God is truly the one who comes first in your life, because if He's not, there are some changes that you need to make in your life to make sure that God is first and not an idol. ♪ 'Tis the grandest theme through the ages rung ♪ ♪ 'Tis the grandest theme for a mortal tongue ♪ ♪ 'Tis the grandest theme that the world e'er sung ♪ ♪ Our God is able to deliver thee ♪ ♪ He is able to deliver thee ♪ ♪ He is able to deliver thee ♪ ♪ Though by sin oppressed ♪ ♪ Go to Him for rest ♪ ♪ Our God is able to deliver thee ♪ ♪ 'Tis the grandest theme in the earth or main ♪ ♪ 'Tis the grandest theme for a mortal strain ♪ ♪ 'Tis the grandest theme ♪ ♪ Tell the world again ♪ ♪ Our God is able to deliver thee ♪ ♪ He is able to deliver thee ♪ ♪ He is able to deliver thee ♪ ♪ Though by sin oppressed ♪ ♪ Go to Him for rest ♪ ♪ Our God is able to deliver thee ♪ ♪ 'Tis the grandest theme ♪ ♪ Let the tidings roll ♪ ♪ To the guilty heart ♪ ♪ To the sinful soul ♪ ♪ Look to God in faith ♪ ♪ He will make thee whole ♪ ♪ Our God is able to deliver thee ♪ ♪ He is able to deliver thee ♪ ♪ He is able to deliver thee ♪ ♪ Though by sin oppressed ♪ ♪ Go to Him for rest ♪ ♪ Our God is able to deliver thee ♪

>>Again, let me thank you for choosing to be with us this day. I hope our time together has been an encouragement as well as a blessing to us all. And remember, you're invited to join us every Sunday morning at 7:30 as we commit ourselves to this offering before God's throne itself. 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 prefer, you may call us at 417-869-2284. May we never put anything in this world before or above our God, for there's only one who is God and worthy of our worship and praise. The question is, are you worshiping the one and only true God of the universe today? If not, give yourself fully to Him and obey His perfect will.

>>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. ♪ To 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 ♪ ♪ Till night shall vanish ♪ ♪ In eternal day ♪