>>  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
and 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.
>> Daniel once prayed to God
and said, "O Lord, great
"and awesome God,
who keeps His covenant and mercy
"with those who love Him
and with those who keep His commandments."
Truly, what a great
and awesome God we serve
and come before this day.
And let me welcome you
this morning
to "The Living Word" program.
It is always a privilege
to have you with us
as we give this time
of offering to God.
And we welcome you
to this service
before God's throne itself.
Today, we will have
the opportunity, as always,
to worship God
in songs of praise
and to glorify Him
by studying His perfect word.
So won't you do your part
this day in order
that you might do everything
according to His perfect will
and that you yourself
might be found acceptable
in His sight
on the Lord's day.
But 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
and a great blessed day
because we know this is
Your day, the Lord's day.
And help us to do all we can
throughout this day
to focus on You
and to be mindful of You
and worshiping You
and loving You by obeying
Your commandments.
And, Father,
help us to understand
just how blessed and privileged
we are not
only to have Your word
and the guidance found therein,
but to know exactly
what You want of us
and what You would
have us to do.
Father, we also ask that
You'll be with us,
that we might always live
as lights every day,
and that You will help us
this day to always be mindful
that through Your grace,
love, and mercy,
someday we will have
eternal life.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
It's now time to start
our songs of praise.
So let me challenge you
to join in with the congregation
as we sing together
"A Hill Called Mount Calvary."
>>  There are things
as we travel 
 This earth's shifting sands 
 That transcend all the reason of man 
 But the things that matter
the most in this world 
 They can never be held
in our hand 
 I believe in a hill called Mount Calvary 
 I'll believe
whatever the cost 
 And when time has surrendered and Earth is no more 
 I'll still cling
to that old rugged cross 
 I believe that the Christ
who was slain on the cross 
 Has the power
to change lives today 
 For He changed me completely 
 A new life is mine 
 That is why
by the cross I will stay 
 I believe in a hill called Mount Calvary 
 I'll believe
whatever the cost 
 And when time has surrendered and Earth is no more 
 I'll still cling
to that old rugged cross 
 I believe that this life
with its great mysteries 
 Surely someday
will come to an end 
 But faith will conquer
the darkness and death 
 And will lead me at last
to my Friend 
 I believe in a hill called Mount Calvary 
 I'll believe
whatever the cost 
 And when time
has surrendered 
 And Earth is no more 
 I'll still cling 
 To that old rugged cross 
>> Throughout the Old Testament,
we see that the writers
there are continually
acknowledging the wonder
and the magnificence of God,
even as we have read
this morning.
And how encouraging it is to see
their faith through the things
which they proclaimed
to the people of their day.
In Deuteronomy 3:24,
notice what Moses
records to Israel.
"O Lord God, You have begun
to show Your servant
"Your greatness
and Your mighty hand.
"And what God is there
in heaven or on earth
who can do anything like Your works or Your mighty deeds?"
Oh, wondrous words here,
such wondrous words
that almost have
never been spoken.
Those things that confirm again
the great power and glory
and majesty
and wonder of our God
in heaven.
I also think about a verse found
in 1 Samuel 2
beginning there in verse 1.
Within the prayer of Hannah,
we read,
"My heart rejoices
in the Lord.
"My horn is exalted
in the Lord.
"I smile at my enemies because
I rejoice in Your salvation.
"No one is holy like the Lord,
for there is none beside You,
nor is there any rock
like our God."
This follower of God
in her day confirms
that the God
that she served was her rock
and certainly was one
who was counted on
in every aspect of her life.
However, the most wonderful part
of these expressions
of faith in God
is the fact that all of these
individuals truly understood
that salvation
was only found in God.
I love the way that Jonah
put it in Jonah 2:9.
There we read,
"But I will sacrifice to you
with the voice of thanksgiving
"and I will pay
what I have vowed.
Salvation is of the Lord."
You see, these servants of God
were willing to clearly proclaim
who their God was
and were willing to give Him
the glory that He deserved,
knowing that that he would
save them someday.
So, what about this morning?
Don't you want to be one
who is in that proper covenant
relationship with Jesus Christ?
That relationship
that the Hebrew writer
speaks of in chapter 7
and verse 22 of his book,
where we read
"But so much more,
"Jesus has become a surety
of a better covenant.
"How blessed we are to know that
Jesus has secured our salvation,
"making a new
covenant available
and sealing it
with His own blood."
Hebrews chapter 9.
And finally we read
the words of Peter in Acts 4:14.
He proclaimed,
"Nor is there salvation
in any other,
"for there is no other name
under heaven
given among men
by which we must be saved."
Sound familiar?
We also have salvation in God
through who?
Jesus Christ our Lord.
The question is, have we done
what is necessary to receive
such a wondrous gift
from God?
This morning, our topic
of study will again
focus on the works
of the flesh
and our specific study
of the morning
is entitled "Drunkenness."
So stay with us.
And in a few minutes
I will return
and lead us
in our thoughts of the day.
But for now, it's time to join
in our second song
of the morning.
The name of the hymn,
"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 till
my journey's ended 
>>  Journey's ended, keep me 
>>  Till Thy blessed face
I see 
 Hide me, O blessed
rock of ages 
>>  Blessed rock of ages,
hide me 
>>  Till 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 
>>  Till the sun comes shining through 
>>  Comes shining
through the shadows 
>>  Keep me
till my work is over 
>>  Work is over, keep me 
>>  Till I bid this world
adieu 
>>  Hide me, O blessed
rock of ages 
>>  Blessed rock of ages,
hide me 
>>  Till 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 
>>  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 
>>  Till 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 
>> We're so glad you've
continued with us this day
now as we go to God's Word
and continue
one of the last few discussions
that we'll have from
the works of the flesh.
And certainly today,
as all the weeks,
we will consider something
that is very much
affecting our society
and the world as a whole.
And so today, as we go to Galatians chapter 5
once again in verse 21,
we consider the text itself.
We are those who should what?
"Not be involved in envy,
murders, drunkenness
and revelries, and the suchlike
of which I've told you
beforehand," he says.
"I also have told you
in times past
"that those who practice
such things
will not inherit
the Kingdom of God."
So today what we look at within
the list found in verse 21 of
chapter 5 in Galatians
is the concept of drunkenness.
And if you'll notice
right off the bat,
it's not something hard to
understand --
to drink or drinking something that leads to be drunk.
And certainly the word itself
is quite self-explanatory.
But it's still important that we
might look at the original word.
The original word actually
is a word
that comes out of the form
of what is called wine,
intoxicating wine.
So, in the original language,
it's very familiar
or similar to that word,
the form of drunkenness.
This word is only found
three times in this form
in the New Testament.
And what it means
is a deep drink,
not only the idea of drinking
deeply or excessively,
but also that which intoxicates.
Sometimes in the Bible
we actually find
that the idea of wine
is used in relationship
to the concept of freshness,
like new wine
or something that is fresh
or juice that has been,
you know, newly squeezed.
And sometimes there are stories
where the same Greek word
or Hebrew word is applied
to also intoxicating alcohol
or that juice
which has fermented
or gone
through a fermentation process.
And so that is really
what we're considering here
in the fact of drunkenness,
because we know that the concept
of drunkenness itself
would require that whatever
is being taken
or consumed or drunk is that
which is leading to intoxication
and therefore a deep drinking.
It also can be translated
as strong drink
or the effect of strong drink.
That having been said, then,
I think there are several verses
that will help us
in the New Testament
and also in the Old Testament
to kind of get a general view
of what the Bible
and really what God says
about this idea of drunkenness.
And the first one
I'd like to begin with
is in the book of Romans.
Paul, again, to the Roman church
deals with so many
of these things
that we face today,
because the Roman world,
frankly, in its morality
is very much
where we even in our country
and many parts of the world
are today,
once again, the immorality.
And so that's why we find
so many similarities
in so many of these lessons
to what Paul was addressing
to the church at Rome,
but specifically there
in Romans chapter 13,
after he has talked about
a few things
concerning our responsibility
to the government
and how we should again respect
and honor those who are over us.
From that standpoint, he begins
to talk about that new man
that we have put on there.
There around verse 11,
he begins to talk about
the salvation that we have
and the fact
that we need to wake up
and not be those who sleep.
And I want you to notice
a few things that he says here.
And then I want to emphasize
verse 13.
"And do this knowing
the time that now
"is, it is high time
to awake out of sleep,
"for now our salvation is nearer
than when we first believed.
"The night is far spent,
and the day is at hand.
"Therefore, let us cast off
the works of darkness
and let us put on
the armor of light."
Verse 13 -- "And let us walk properly as in the day,
"not in revelry and drunkenness
and lewdness and lust
"and strife and envy,
but put on the Lord Jesus Christ
"and make therefore no provisions for the flesh
to fulfill its lust."
You know,
in the discussion here,
it's quite simple to understand
what he's talking about,
the great contrast
of righteousness
and unrighteousness.
He uses that by describing
the idea itself
of understanding
that there are certain things
that are according
to the will of God
and not according to
the will of God,
things that lead to salvation,
things that lead away
from salvation.
So he says, we got to wake up,
we got to wake up
and be honest with ourselves,
that there are some things
that are against God
and there are things that are
according to the will of God.
And that's what what
righteousness is all about,
being able to learn that and
determine it so that we stay
away from anything
that is not according to God
or that would somehow
take us away from God
or perhaps cause us
not to perform the functions
that we need to
as Christians properly.
But the real thing
that is interesting here
is he starts talking about
the light and the darkness.
And that's often the case
in righteousness
and unrighteousness.
And he says that we're supposed
to be those
who have the armor
of light,
not following the works
of darkness.
In fact, he says those things
that we have cast off,
we have thrown those things off.
So we've thrown away sin
and darkness, the dark.
And then he even implies
the idea
of what happens in the day
and what happens in the night.
When does a lot of drunkenness
happen?
You don't see a lot of drunks
walking around in the daytime.
But on those days
and especially weekends,
when do you see somebody
who might behave drunk
or somebody
who might be a drunk driver?
It's not normally at 9:00
in the morning
or necessarily around noon.
It's usually in the evening
when such things are seen,
somebody swerving all over
the road or coming out of a bar.
You see, those things
that are done in the dark,
that are done in secret
the New Testament talks about,
quite different
from the armor of light
that we are supposed to wear.
But then notice that that word
is found there.
We are to walk properly
as in the day, not the darkness.
Not those things that partake
or are
a part of the darkness,
like drunkenness and revelries
and lewdness
and all those things
that happen at night.
But we are to walk in the day.
And so here we again
find clearly that drunkenness
is associated
with what is,
again, not pure or holy or right
or righteous in the eyes of God.
It's something that's
hidden under the cover of night
because it is shameful.
I think even those of you
who might choose to drink
and who have been drunk before,
you don't necessarily want to
walk into church drunk, do you?
You don't necessarily
want to walk
in to work on Tuesday morning
or Friday morning
and you're drunk at work.
Because what's going to be
the response?
What's going to happen?
You see, even you understand
that that's something
that you do at different times,
something that usually takes
place in the darkness,
something that leaves
maybe a hangover.
You don't even want
to go with a hangover
because you're going to, again,
have a rough day after that.
You see again how those things
are just associated
with almost negative
or things that aren't good
and things that aren't pure?
I love the Proverbs writer --
and remember with me
that the one
who wrote Proverbs is Solomon.
I might also remind you
that he was the wisest man
that ever lived because
God gave him that knowledge.
But there notice
a few applications
he mentions about wine
in general.
There in proverb amongst
the Proverbs chapter 20,
look at verse 1.
"Wine is a mocker,
and strong drink is a brawler."
Boy, that doesn't sound
good immediately.
But then he says,
"And whoever is led astray
by it is not wise."
When you allow yourself
unto drunkenness,
or partaking of these things,
they mock you.
They cause you
to be really those who fight
or who are against others
or who are out of control.
It doesn't sound very good to me
according to what this wise man
said by the Holy Spirit.
Just a few chapters
over in chapter 23 --
And by the way,
there are many others.
I've tried to pick out
a few of the the better ones
because of time.
But there in Chapter 23,
look with me at verse 31.
He says there, "Do not look
at the wine when it's red,
when it sparkles in the cup."
Boy, it looks good, tastes good.
Everybody's doing it. It's fun.
It's going to be
a blast this evening.
We're going to all get drunk
and have a great evening.
But then notice
what the results are.
Verse 32 --
"It bites like a serpent,
and it stings like a viper."
You see the results?
The results.
You say,
"Well, should I get drunk?"
Even in relationship
to the results of drunkenness,
it teaches you
that you become one
who is out of control,
who would do things
and say things that otherwise
you would never do or say.
And therefore,
we have to understand
that it keeps us from being
those who have self-control
and those who are ready to meet
Jesus.
That's actually what is said
there in Luke 21:34
when it says there
and warns about drunkenness.
Jesus himself says,
"But take heed to yourself lest
your heart be weighed down
"with carousing and drunkenness
and the cares of life
and the day comes unexpectedly."
He goes on to say,
"Watch, watch.
"You know the Lord's coming,
"and yet you go out
and you get drunk.
"And when you get drunk,
"you don't know
when that day is coming
"and you have allowed life
to take over
"and you come and guess what?
You're not prepared."
Like the foolish virgins
or like those who knew
the bridegroom
or the master was coming
and yet --
Or the thief is coming,
and yet you don't prepare?
The Lord may come at any time.
And do you really want
to be drunk when he shows up?
Do you really want
to have a hangover?
Do you really think again,
those are those good,
godly or
wonderful characteristics?
In 2 Timothy chapter 1:17,
we are challenged
to understand
that all Christians should be
of sound mind, sound mind.
And when you begin to get -- Like, even in our discussion
in Galatians chapter 5
and you look there in verse 22
about those things
that are according
to the walk of the Spirit,
not the works of the flesh
in our main text,
but the walk of the spirit.
Guess what one of those is.
Self-control.
Why would we ever want
to do anything --
That would include drugs
and medications
that really take us away
completely so far
that we don't have control
any longer.
Why would we ever want
to do anything that keeps us
from being in control
of not only who we are,
but what we do and what we say?
Because who do we represent
as the light of the world 24/7?
God.
Who must we always give glory
and praise to God?
Who is it that should see God
in us, no matter
where we are at all --
God and all men.
So, do you see the problem
even in relationship
to the the generalities
of drunkenness and alcohol?
And have you ever considered
the cost to our society
and the problems that
these things bring every day?
There's not a one of us
listening right now
or watching that doesn't know
personally someone most likely
that has been killed
by a drunk driver
or someone who has been
somehow affected by alcohol.
Families, children,
even relatives
who have been cheated
and lied to.
You see, brethren,
why would Christians
the light of the world,
those who are examples
for Christ --
why would they ever choose
to engage
in things that, again,
are, according to the flesh,
the works of the flesh,
by choice,
and then lead themselves
down a path
that can keep them
out of the kingdom of God?
Why not today
make sure you're right with God?
Live righteously.
Walk in the Spirit
knowing that those who do
so will receive
the kingdom of Heaven.
>>  I love Thy kingdom, Lord 
 The house of Thine abode 
 The church our blessed Redeemer save 
 With His own precious blood 
 I love Thy Church, O God 
 Her walls before Thee stand 
 Dear as the apple
of Thine eye 
 And written 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 
>> Let me thank you again
for choosing to be with us today
for the "Living Word" program.
I hope and trust
that our time together
has been of great benefit,
as well as a commitment
to the service of God.
But let me invite you back every Lord's day morning to 7:30,
as we always give this time
to our Creator
and the things that He has asked
us to do before His throne.
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 a free CD or DVD
of the program.
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 as God's people
help the world
to understand
the sin of drunkenness.
Furthermore,
may we help the world
to know the ills of alcohol
in general
and the destructive nature
which it often brings
to the world around us,
for true Christians should not
want to take part in things
that are so destructive
to the world.
Where do you stand
on this matter today?
>> 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.
>>  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