- ♪ 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 abiding ♪ ♪ 'Til night shall vanish in eternal day ♪ Now here is your host, Ray Sullins.

>>Our young people rightfully sing the BIBLE, yes, that's the book for me. I stand upon the word of God, the BIBLE. Thanks for joining us this morning to focus on that very book the Bible as we consider together the living word of God and it's always a privilege to have you with us for this time of offering to God and we welcome you to this service before the very throne of our creator. Today we have the privilege to gather together to worship and praise God and to glorify Him through songs of praise and the study of His word. So once you do your part this morning to make sure that all that you do is 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 another day of life. We also are thankful that you have given us everything that we need physically in this life, as well as all spiritual blessings. And Father, help us to live every day according to the knowledge that we have been given to Your word, we might do those things that are again acceptable and always pleasing in your sight. Father, we thank You for Jesus because we know that through the great sacrifice that He gave, we are now found justified before your throne and ultimately even in eternal life, we will be blessed with such only because again of the great sacrifice that He made, and the blood that was shed. Help us to give You our very best today as we worship and praise You, that we might do all in spirit and truth exactly as You have commanded and given us by example and command in the Bible and in Jesus name we pray, amen. It's time to begin our first song of praise this morning. So why don't you join in with the congregation at this time as we sing together, sing hallelujah to the Lord. ♪ Sing Hallelujah to the Lord ♪ ♪ Sing Hallelujah to the Lord ♪ ♪ Sing Hallelujah to the Lord ♪ ♪ Sing Hallelujah, sing Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Sing Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Sing Hallelujah to the Lord ♪ ♪ Sing Hallelujah to the Lord ♪ ♪ Jesus is risen from the dead ♪ ♪ Jesus is risen from the dead ♪ ♪ Jesus is risen from the dead ♪ ♪ Jesus is risen from the dead ♪ ♪ Jesus is risen ♪ ♪ Jesus is risen ♪ ♪ Jesus is risen from the dead ♪ ♪ Jesus is risen from the dead ♪ ♪ Jesus is living in His church ♪ ♪ Jesus is living in His church ♪ ♪ Jesus is living in His church ♪ ♪ Jesus is living, Jesus is living ♪ ♪ Jesus is living ♪ ♪ Jesus is living in His church ♪ ♪ Jesus is living in His church ♪ ♪ Jesus is Lord of heav'n and earth ♪ ♪ Jesus is Lord of heav'n and earth ♪ ♪ Jesus is Lord of heav'n and earth ♪ ♪ Jesus is Lord, Jesus is lord ♪ ♪ Jesus is Lord ♪ ♪ Jesus is Lord of heav'n and earth ♪ ♪ Jesus is lord of heav'n and earth ♪ ♪ He's coming back to claim His own ♪ ♪ He's coming back to claim His own ♪ ♪ He's coming back to claim His own ♪ ♪ He's coming back, He's coming back ♪ ♪ He's coming back, He's coming back to claim His own ♪ ♪ He's coming back to claim His own ♪ ♪ Sing hallelujah to the Lord ♪ ♪ Sing hallelujah to the Lord ♪ ♪ Sing hallelujah to the Lord ♪ ♪ Sing hallelujah ♪ ♪ Sing hallelujah ♪ ♪ Sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah to the lord ♪ ♪ Sing hallelujah to the Lord ♪

>>Today we find many ideas which are present in the world which are really not supported by scripture, and this certainly is true in the religious world as well. We've all heard statements like, well, it really doesn't matter what one believes, or some might say it doesn't really matter what church someone attends. Some even go so far as to say, well we all have a right to interpret the scriptures differently and still we can all be acceptable to God Almighty. My question would be, where on Earth do they find these concepts, or ideas presented in the Bible? In fact, the Bible actually says quite the opposite. Notice with me some words by the inspired Peter in 2 Peter 1:20. The Bible says, "Knowing this first that no privacy of scripture is of any private interpretation. For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." The holy scriptures or the word of God is directly from God, no man and no one else. Paul also confirmed this truth in 2 Timothy 3:16 where he said, by the Holy Spirit "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 may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." Notice again that all scripture is from who? God. God who guided man in the ways that he determined according to His desire and revelation, that man might walk in life according to God's will. To think about what he further says here he emphasizes the idea that we have been completely and thoroughly equipped by God. I don't know about you, but that is exactly then who I choose to follow, God and that which He has thoroughly and completely equipped me with wasn't an even Jesus who said, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me," John 14:6. So what is the truth? Again, Jesus said, God's word is truth. And furthermore, Christ proclaimed that the truth would make us free again in John 8:32. So if the word is truth and the truth brings freedom through Christ, what must we follow? Again, I will follow Christ. When will we ever learn that it's not enough to say, Lord, Lord, even Jesus made this point in Matthew 7:21 when he said, "Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven." So now we see exactly what someone does who loves God and who wants to be accepted by God. Well, in that same text back in verse 20 Jesus also said "By their fruits you will know them." Finally, I want to mention a verse that is found in 1 Corinthians 1:10 where the inspired Paul told God's followers what was actually expected of them. There we read, "Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing and that there be no division among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." Does this sound like it matters to God what we believe and what we do and whether we agree on what the Bible says? Well, certainly it does. Have we forgotten what Jesus prayed for. He prayed for unity among believers there in John chapter 17. And do you remember what it said there? He fervently prayed that his followers might be one as Christ was one with the Father. So why not choose today to fully submit to God, and follow Him and to do those things according to His will that you might be found acceptable in His sight, and that you might be one who does everything according to what God says and not man. Our topic today will again focus on our series concerning the works of the flesh and our specific study of the morning will focus on jealousy. So please stay with us this morning and in just a few minutes I'll return with this lesson from God's word. But for now it's time to join in our second song of the morning the name of the hymn, I have decided to follow Jesus. ♪ I have decided to follow Jesus ♪ ♪ I have decided to follow Jesus ♪ ♪ I have decided to follow Jesus ♪ ♪ No turning back, no turning back ♪ ♪ Though none go with me, I still will follow ♪ ♪ Though none go with me, I still will follow ♪ ♪ Though none go with me, I still will follow ♪ ♪ No turning back, no turning back ♪ ♪ My cross I'll carry, till I see Jesus ♪ ♪ My cross I'll carry, till I see Jesus ♪ ♪ My cross I'll carry, till I see Jesus ♪ ♪ No turning back, I'll follow him ♪ We're so glad you've continued with us this day as we now go to God's word and look at another one of the sins that are clarified in the list that is given in Galatians chapter five of what are referred to as the works of the flesh. And certainly one of the things that always again jumps out at me about the discussion here within this text is that the things pertaining to the flesh, or the works of the flesh, again use that concept of something that is active, or working, something that is done that someone makes choice in. And then how when we look at the spiritual fruits, the fruit of the spirit, it's something that is born forth or something that grows out of. So I do think that's a beautiful idea. So as we think today about another thing that people make a choice they work at, they actually are doing as almost a job by choice. We now will consider this day jealousy and jealousy is found in verse 20 amongst the list that we've already been considering together, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, next week will be outburst of wrath and selfish ambition, dissensions and heresy, and then a few other things will be considered as well. As we look at the word jealousy, it's an interesting Greek word. We find it about 16 times being used at least in this form in the New Testament. But before we get into the New Testament I would like to make mention that there's another word for jealousy that is used in the Hebrew language, and it is actually only found six times. One of those times you might know with me is in relationship to Moses and the days of Moses. If you'll turn there in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 34, and when we look here I think you'll find it very interesting because he not only mentions jealousy, but notice how he mentions jealousy. It says there in verse 14 of Exodus chapter 34, "For you shall worship no other gods, for the Lord God whose name is jealous is a jealous God." Now this isn't the same word, but what it shows you is that this word that is only used in relationship to God that actually the idea of jealousy, or being jealous wouldn't in and of itself have to be an evil or a wicked thing, We find out about many different words. We find that, and we'll look at that next week, no doubt with wrath in the idea that wrath doesn't have to be something that is necessarily sinful that God sometimes brings about or shows forth wrath. And so what we begin to see in relationship to these different aspects is that someone might envy in an ungodly way, but there also might be some things that are used in a positive way about jealousies or envys that really would be in a wholesome or a productive sense. Now why that's interesting is because when we get to the Greek word, the Greek word is actually zelos, zelos in the original language. There are actually two facets to this word, I want you to notice this with me. First of all the word can mean to have warmth of feeling for or to have a feeling against. So notice that it can be used in the positive, or in the negative. Another way that it was described someone who was able to be zealous on one hand or jealous on the other hand. So the idea of stirring up emotion, stirring up emotion to the warmth toward or toward the zealousness of or stirring up emotion to a fact of being uncontrolled, to be a warm feeling even against someone, or jealous against someone. So see, really it gets back to the same place, emotion. And what is emotion about? Control. Are we learning self-control? Do we have self-control? One of the ways that they're in the strongs it began to play out the usage within the text, and actually made this statement. It is something as in an envious, or contentious rivalry in the negative sense. So now we have the word envy, or contention a word by the way contentious that we looked at last week and envy that sometimes even this word can be translated as whereas someone is looking at another not in a positive way, not in a warm feeling for or a zealous sense, but in a very negative, or against or jealous, and emotional almost outburst toward them and therefore, what do we have? We have jealousy. I'd like to look at how the word is used specifically in the positive and the negative, and so let's go back first of all to John if you will. We're gonna look at John chapter two. And here what you're going to remember with me is a familiar event where Jesus enters into the temple, and He throws out the money changers. And I want you to notice a word that is used here in verse 17, right after he has spoken about the fact that they have made His father's house a house of merchandise. Verse 17 says, then "His disciples remembered that which was written" and this is from Psalm 69, what was written from Psalm 69, "zeal for your house oh God has eaten me up." Jesus was what? Jesus was consumed in feeling, Jesus was zealous. And actually, if you'll notice the word here zeal is how it is translated, a feeling, or a passion, or a stirring of emotion to zeal. So what does that tell us? It tells us that within the context this word again can have an emotion that is used in even a positive sense for the right reasons or godly reasons, but it also by the context can be used in this negative sense of someone who is against, or someone who is stirred up in the sense of being a rival against or even wanting to harm someone else. Now if you go over to the book of Acts we actually begin to see the word being used in a negative sense several times. And so first of all, look with me in chapter five. Remember this word is only used in the Greek about 16 times in its different forms, but there in chapter five and verse 17 when we find here the apostles being really spoken against and acted against. Look at what verse 17 says, "Then the high priest rose up and all those who were with him which is a sect" it says "of the Sadducees, and they were filled with indignation." There's the word indignation "and they laid hands on the apostles and they put them in prison," or the common prison. So notice that their emotion was stirred up against unto even a type of wrath as we'll look at again next week, and the apostles were thrown into prison. Well, see someone who's indignant that they're against and really even jealous. And if you look at the concept of what is happening here, what was really the issue? The issue was the multitudes were listening and following the apostles. Now how do we further know that? Well, the word is used again over in Acts chapter 13, and they're in Acts 13:45. I want you to notice that it actually clarifies that in relationship to the work of Paul and Barnabas as they were preaching and the people were listening. In fact, verse 44 of chapter 13 in Acts says "On the next Sabbath day almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God" from Paul and Barnabas. Now notice the reaction in verse 45. "And when the Jews saw the multitude, they were full of envy," there it is, jealousy. They were jealous, they wished bad, harm, they wanted to stop it, they were stirred in a motion of a rivalry. People loved the message of the apostles, and the Jews were jealous and envious and they had hatred in their hearts. And what did they do? As we saw earlier in the case there in chapter five they grabbed them and they threw 'em in prison. And the only reason that that didn't happen immediately here is because in that case, they were afraid of the multitudes who by the way again had a very favorable idea of what the apostles were doing. So the Jews were jealous, but the people were responding well to the word of God. So as we think about this word jealousy then there are about three things I would like to suggest that we can learn quickly from that concept. One is found over in 1 Corinthians in chapter three, and that first idea is that jealousy is sin. We know that from our main text even today because jealousy is being mentioned within what we refer to as the works of the flesh. But notice there in 1 Corinthians chapter three beginning there in the text verses one through three, but look specifically at verse three, "For you are still carnal. For you are those who have ambient strife and division." And then it says you're behaving like mere men. See, he was telling the Corinthians that they were guilty of behaving like the world and like men, and what is listed their actions were carnal, sinful, of the flesh. You see, envy, strife, the things such as jealousy, these things are against what God has said. And you can find that same idea later in 2 Corinthians 12:20-21 where Paul again warned them about being envious and being jealous because he condemned it as a sin. James also in his writing spoke about the fact that there was a lot of problems with jealousy in his day and in relationship to the ones who read the message that he wrote from God. And there if you're look in chapter three and verse 14 it talks about the things of the world, and notice amongst the things of the world that you are those who have bitter envy and who are self-seeking in your hearts and you lie in boast against the truth. He says "This wisdom" verse 15 "does not come from above it comes from the earth and is demonic," well envy and jealous is all about sin, all about that which is contrary, all about that which is of the flesh, all about what is that of the earth. And so therefore, what is the decision that we must make? Well, if you'll turn back one more time to the book of Romans and in chapter 13, and by the way this word is found quite often throughout the book of Romans, but in Romans 13:13 beginning, the challenge is this, he says, "Let us walk properly as in the day," but then he warns "not as revelry or drunkenness, or lewdness or lust and not in strife and not in envy." You see, "let us walk properly as in the day." Verse 14 says "And put on the Lord Jesus Christ," not as the world, not as sin, not as those things that will keep me, Galatians chapter five works of the flesh from entering the kingdom of God. So I challenge you this day to understand that jealousy as we have seen it described in the Bible when it is that emotion that is against, or to harm has no place in the life of a child of God, or any man. But if you and I will strive to be like Christ and to have a spirit of warmth, the feeling of love toward the world around us and our brethren hopefully we'll all be able to make it to heaven and challenge the world to know God, and do so as well so that someday we'll all have that promised mansion on high and live with our God eternally. ♪ Have you a heart that's weary ♪ ♪ Tending a load of care ♪ ♪ Are you a soul that's seeking ♪ ♪ Rest from the burden you bear ♪ ♪ Do you know, do you know my Jesus ♪ ♪ Do you know, do you know my friend ♪ ♪ Have you heard, have you heard He loves you ♪ ♪ And that He will abide til the end, til the end ♪ ♪ Where is your heart, O Pilgrim ♪ ♪ What does your light reveal ♪ ♪ Who hears your call for comfort ♪ ♪ When naught but sorrow you feel ♪ ♪ Do you know, do you know my Jesus ♪ ♪ Do you know, do you know my friend ♪ ♪ Have you heard, have you heard He loves you ♪ ♪ And that He will abide til the end, til the end ♪ ♪ Who knows your disappointments ♪ ♪ Who hears each time you cry ♪ ♪ Who understands your heartaches ♪ ♪ Who's dries the tears from your eyes ♪ ♪ Do you know, do you know my Jesus ♪ ♪ Do you know, do you know my friend ♪ ♪ Have you heard, have you heard He loves you ♪ ♪ And that He will abide til the end, til the end ♪ Let me thank you again for choosing to be with us this day for the Living Word program and hope and trust that our time together has been a great benefit to us all as we have gathered before the throne of God. And let me invite you to join us every Sunday 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 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 correspondents 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 the LivingWordProgram.com. Or if you prefer, you may call us at 869-2284. Brethren and friends may we avoid being a jealous people, but rather may we learn to be satisfied with the blessings God has given each and every one of us. Remember, the spirit of jealousy is not of God, but of the world. So who will you serve this day?

>>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 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 ♪ ♪ 'Til night shall vanish in eternal day ♪ ♪ Give me ♪