>>  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.

>> Welcome to
"The Living Word" program

on this wondrous Lord's
Day morning.

It is always a blessing
and honor

to have you with us
as we approach the throne of God

and as we worship Him
and commit this time

to the things of worship
before our God.

It is my hope and prayer
that this morning

we will each do our part
to participate

and make this time acceptable
in his sight

and according
to his perfect will.

And as always, as we begin our
offering to God this morning,

may we approach his mighty
and wondrous throne in prayer.

Bow with me, please.
Our God and Father in heaven,

we are so thankful for this,
another day of life.

Father, we are so thankful
for the rich and wondrous gifts

that you give us daily.

And Father, we realize
that we only have

our being and substance
and the ability to live

and to have a good life
because of you.

And we thank you.

Father, help us this day
as every day

to live righteously
in your sight.

But even more so today
as it is the Lord's day,

help us all to give you
a proper sacrifice

to make offerings before your
throne that you might be found

certainly pleased
with what we do.

Therefore, that we might
be recipients

of your blessings today,

as well as
your blessings eternal.

And Father, we thank you for the greatest of all gifts, Jesus,

the sacrifice he made,
his death,

burial and resurrection --

those things that allow us
to be justified even today.

And through your grace,
love and mercy,

Father, please save us
in the end.

In Jesus name, we pray.
Amen.

Well, it's time to lift up
our voices to the throne of God.

So at this time,
won't you join in

with the congregation
as we sing together

"Do You Know My Jesus?"

>>  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 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? 

>> Some of the most
exciting times in life

are when we are rewarded
for something

that we have done well
or accomplished.

Often we are given
trophies or medals

or even those types
of certificates

which all acknowledge
our achievements and honor one

for a job well done.

I think this is the same idea

that we are reminded of in the Book of Jude in chapter one.

In verse 20 we read,

"But you beloved,
building up yourselves

on your most holy faith,
praying in the Holy Spirit.

Keep yourselves
in the love of God

and looking for the mercy
of the Lord Jesus Christ

unto eternal life."

Here we see that we are
to be doing certain things

in order to receive
the great reward, eternal life.

You see, we have a reward that's
coming for a job well done.

And it is the ultimate

and the greatest gift
that has ever existed --

a gift from God himself
that is worthy and proper

only for those
who are true to him.

However, if you also notice
in these verses,

there are things to do
in order to be a recipient

of this wondrous gift
of eternal life.

Let's therefore consider
a few of those things

and remember that there is
something that we are required

to do in order that
we usually get something back.

We know that basically in life,

anything worthwhile
takes effort.

And in order for us to receive
the things that we want,

including even substantial
financial help to live,

that it takes time,
it takes effort,

it takes even a job

or the work that is
required to sustain such.

But in Christianity,
we really must understand

that there are similar
types of requirement.

Notice back in our text there
in the Book of Jude this morning

that it clarifies for us some of
those things that are necessary.

It says, "Build ourselves up
in the most holy faith."

You see here, it says
that faith is very important

to one who is following God.

In fact, we even know
from Hebrews chapter 11

and verse six that
we know faith is required,

for it is impossible
to please God without faith.

James further helps us
to understand this

when he says, "Faith
without works is dead" --

James chapter two and verse 26.

You see, faith is necessary
to receive eternal life.

The second thing mentioned there
in verse 20 is prayer.

Prayer is such an important part
of the life of a Christian

because it is the avenue

by which we are able
to talk to our God

whenever we need him.

In prayer, we can praise God,

we can thank him,
we can make requests of him,

of anything
that we have need of.

Oh, how wonderful
it is to understand

that we are able to communicate
with God in prayer

in order to receive
eternal life.

Love is another thing that is
brought up in the same text

and in relationship
to our reward

we are required, obviously,

to be those who not only
have been loved by God,

but those also who love.

Isn't it Jesus Himself

who said that the first
and greatest commandment

was to love the Lord your God
with all of your heart

and all of your soul
and all of your mind?

Matthew Chapter 22
beginning in verse 37.

And furthermore, Paul said,

"Now abide faith,
hope and love.

These three,
but the greatest is love" --

First Corinthians chapter 13
and verse 13.

So you tell me,
is love necessary?

Certainly it is.
And finally, in our text,

we see that we are
to be looking for mercy.

How wonderful it is to know
that we serve a God

who is all merciful
and forgiving.

In fact, mercy is
one of the very reasons

that God has done so much for us

to make sure that we can
ultimately achieve the goal

in order to receive
the wondrous reward.

Without God's mercy, we would
not receive eternal life.

So the question is,
are we living for God

in such a way that we know
that there is a reward,

an eternal reward awaiting us,
one prepared for the faithful?

Is an eternal life
worth every effort?

And shouldn't we do today
and every day what God requires

that we might receive such?

This morning we will be
continuing our series,

which is entitled
"The Better Things

from the Book of Hebrews."
And our specific topic today

will be focusing
on a better perseverance.

So please continue with us
this morning

and after our next song
together,

we will be led in this study
from God's Word.

As far as our guest
speaker today,

we are happy to have again
Brother Jerry Sullins with us.

Brother Jerry
is the director of the Bible

Institute of Missouri
here in Springfield.

And we always thank him
for joining us

to lead him in our main thoughts
when he is able.

Now it's time to join together
in our second

Song of the morning.
The name of the 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!" 

>> Well, it's great to have you

in our viewing audience
again today.

We're continuing a series
from the Book of Hebrews,

a wonderful book that is written
that gives us great confidence

in our salvation
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Basically, the book was written
to a group of Jews,

or to Jews themselves,
who are having very much,

we would say, difficult problems
in remaining faithful to Christ,

but having a desire
to return back to the old law.

So therefore,
in these 13 chapters,

we basically have
how Jesus Christ is greater

than all things
that related to Moses

and to the law of Moses
and to the Hebrew faith,

which should also give us
great confidence,

as is seen in chapter three
of this great book.

And chapter three gives us great
confidence in Jesus Christ,

our Lord, which is the intent
of this entire book.

Confidence in our salvation
that it is much greater,

not even than just Moses,

but we can see indications
throughout the book

that basically it is showing us

that we can have confidence
in Christ over anything

and everything that this world
has to present to us.

So we're going to walk
through chapter three today

and show how that Jesus was not
just better

than the angels,
as has been already spoken,

and also his salvation
is sure and steadfast

while it was not sure

and steadfast
under the law of Moses.

But today it actually speaks of
the man himself, that is Moses,

and how Jesus is greater
than Moses himself.

We're going to make reference
to chapter three,

so I hope you have
your Bibles open

so that we can examine
what is said in chapter

three concerning how Jesus
is greater than Moses.

Beginning verse one, it says,
"Therefore,

Holy brethren, partakers
of the heavenly calling.

consider the apostle and
high priest of our confession,

Jesus Christ."

He was the Apostle, which simply
means he was one sent of God.

And he is also the one,
as it says,

the high priest
of our confession.

The high priest,
much higher

than the high priest
of the faith

that is found in Moses
and his law

that was given by God himself
also to a specific people

at a specific time
for a specific purpose.

But now, through Jesus Christ,

as we have made
a great confession

concerning Jesus Christ
and obeyed the Gospel,

our salvation is certainly
secured in Christ

as we become obedient
to His will.

Now, Moses, as it
is stated in this text,

as it is being written
to mainly Jewish Christians

who were basically falling
away from the faith,

it says that Jesus Christ,
verse two,

who was faithful to him,

who appointed him as Moses,
also was faithful in his house.

Faithful to whom? To God.

Because Moses actually
was directed by God

to build a tabernacle
in which God himself

would dwell
in the most holy place.

And he built everything
as God directed

after Moses had been up
on Mount Sinai

and received
all of those instructions

as to how the tabernacle
was to be built.

Moses was faithful
in building that house,

but Jesus Christ is greater
than Moses

because his house,
the house that Jesus built,

is greater than the tabernacle,
which was a shadow of things

that were to come in
Christ himself.

Jesus built his house.

He built his church,

of those of whom we who have
obeyed the gospel are a part,

or we are the Church.

Jesus made a statement to Peter
in Matthew 16, verse 18,

after he had asked
all of his disciples,

"Who do men say that I,
the Son of man, am?"

And say they said,
"Oh, some say that you are

John the Baptist, Jeremiah,

Elijah or one of the prophets."

But then Jesus asked,

"But who do you say that I am?"

And Peter said,

"Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God."

And then in verse 18,

Jesus said to Peter,
"You are Peter.

And upon this rock" --
that is the confession that

he made -- "I will build my church and the gates of Hades

shall not prevail against it."

And he gave him
and the rest of the apostles

the keys
to the Kingdom of Heaven.

We are a part of that kingdom.

In Ephesians chapter one,
verses 22 and 23,

"God has put all things
under his feet,"

that is Jesus' feet,
"and gave him to be head

over all things to the church,
which is his body,

the fullness
that filleth all in all."

Yes, the Church
is the kingdom of heaven.

It is the kingdom

that Jesus established here
on Earth by his death,

burial and resurrection
from the grave.

In Colossians 1, verse 13,
there the statement is made:

"He has delivered us
from the power of darkness

and translated us into
the kingdom of his dear son,

in whom we have redemption
through his blood,

even the forgiveness
of our sins."

How could anything relating
to the law of Moses or Moses

himself be greater
than Jesus Christ

and the kingdom
that he brought into existence

that brought salvation to all,

as you heard this past week
on this television program?

But therefore, as it says,
continuing after it

presents a doctrinal truth

in which we can
have confidence through Christ

because his kingdom is greater

and Jesus is greater than
Moses himself.

Then we see words
of encouragement

found
in the rest of this chapter.

These words of encouragement

gives us
great hope and confidence.

But first of all,

the scripture says
that we must not do what?

"Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts,

as in the rebellion in the day
of trial in the wilderness

where your fathers tested me,
tried me

and saw my work 40 years.

Therefore, I was angry
with that generation

and said they always
go astray in their heart

and they have not known my way.

So I swore in my wrath

they shall
not enter into my rest."

No, my friends,

my brothers and sisters
in Christ, through Christ,

we must be careful as we seek
to understand who He is, that

He is the savior of the world
and accept that

and become obedient
to the Gospel.

We must not harden our hearts
as those people

in the Old Testament
who were led by

Moses out of Egypt,
hardened their hearts and said,

"Why have you led us out
into the wilderness

here at Rephidim
to die of thirst?

Now we've been delivered
from Pharaoh and slavery,

and you have led us out here
to die in the wilderness."

Exodus Chapter 17.

Well, of course, God
gave them water at that time.

They were hardening
their hearts.

Also, we know just
a little bit later

in their wilderness
and wanderings,

that is, they sent out spies
to the Promised land.

And because of their rejection
of the two spies,

Joshua and Caleb,
who said even though we

are said to be grasshoppers
in their eyes,

that is the people of Canaan,

we can still take this land
with the power of God behind us.

Beware, lest you become a person
of unbelief in your heart,

in and dividing yourself
from God Himself.

Our society today
is in very much trouble

because they have rejected
the God of heaven

for the most part.

Many are no longer Christians

following God's will or desiring
to be Christians

because the world has taken
control of their lives.

Beware of this as verse 12 said,

"Lest there be in any of you
an evil heart of belief --

of unbelief in departing
from the living God."

Verse 14, "For we have
become partakers of Christ

if we hold the beginning
of our confidence

steadfast to the end."

We must be faithful.
We can have our confidence,

our eternal life
in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

No, it's not found
in any other person.

Not in Muhammad,
not in Joseph Smith,

not in any man who has
brought around any religion

that people follow today,

basing their faith upon visions
that are not from God,

messages that are not from God,
creeds and doctrines

that are not from God,
but from men.

No, we must base it upon
Jesus Christ our Lord.

It was Jesus who said
in John 14, verse six,

"I am the way
the truth and the life,

and no man cometh
unto the Father except by me."

The last verse of chapter
three says,

"So we see that they could not
enter in because of unbelief."

And my friend, you will never
enter into that heavenly home,

you will never have that
everlasting salvation,

you will not have that hope
of eternal life in this life

if you reject the Savior,
Jesus Christ the Lord.

Yes, it is possible.

for you to reject God and Jesus

to such a way that you will
fall off the cliff.

Hebrews Chapter six.

That you will not be able
to return again unto repentance

because you will have
hardened your heart so much

that you will not repent
of your sins.

You will not believe
that Jesus is the Christ.

You will not confess
His precious name before men.

And even though
you've been baptized

for the remission of your sins
as Jesus has directed,

you will fail to have
eternal life

because you have left
Jesus at the cross.

You have denied
your Lord and Savior.

We plead with you
on the behalf of Jesus Christ

that you will not be
a part of those people

who reject Jesus Christ,
our Savior and our Lord.

That you will not leave
this life as an unbeliever

and have no hope
of eternal life.

If you have any questions
concerning your faith,

please call us.
Please ask us.

We will be glad to help
you reach that eternal home,

to consider your salvation
before Jesus Christ the Lord.

Is it secure?

Can you have that confidence
in Jesus Christ

that is given to you
in His holy Word?

We plead with you
on the behalf of Christ and pray

that you will accept and do
His will to have eternal life.

>>  Someday you'll stand
at the bar on high 

 Someday your record
you'll see 

 Someday you'll answer
the question of life 

 What will your answer be? 

 What will it be? 

 What will it be? 

 Where will you spend
your eternity? 

 What will it be? 

 Oh, what will it be? 

 What will your answer be? 

>>  What will it be? 

>>  Sadly you'll stand,
if you're unprepared 

 Trembling,
you'll fall on your knee 

 Facing the sentence
of life or of death 

 What will that sentence be? 

 What will it be? 

 What will it be? 

 Where will you spend
your eternity? 

 What will it be? 

 Oh, what will it be? 

 What will your answer be? 

>>  What will it be? 

>>  Now is the time to prepare,
my friend 

 Make your soul
spotless and free 

 Washed in the blood
of the Crucified One 

 He will your answer be 

 What will it be? 

 What will it be? 

 Where will you spend
your eternity? 

 What will it be? 

 Oh, what will it be? 

 What will your answer be? 

>>  What will it be? 

>> Again, let me thank you
for choosing to be with us

this morning
for "The Living Word" program.

I hope our time
together has been

a great encouragement to us all.

And let me remind you
that you're invited

every Lord's Day morning at 7:30
to come to gather

and to worship God
with us here on this station.

But for now, let me ask 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,

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 N. 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 be a people
before God

who show forth a great
perseverance in all we do

so that we might demonstrate
that characteristic of God

before the world

and be found pleasing
in His sight in all things.

The question: Are you striving
to persevere before this world

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 

 Till night shall vanish...