[ Choir singing ]
>> 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...
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...as we present
"The Living Word."

Now here is your host,
Ray Sullins.
>> Paul once proclaimed, "Do
not grow weary in doing good."
Thanks for joining us
this morning
for this service and work
of the Lord God Almighty.
The "Living Word" program
is committed
to proclaiming the simple truth
of Our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ,
which is confirmed for us
in the Bible.
And I hope you all have
your Bibles handy today
as we enter into this time
of worship
and as we sing praises to God
and study from His perfect Word.
As we begin our offering
to God this morning,
will you bow with me before
His mighty throne in prayer?
Our God and Father in heaven,
we are so thankful because
you are a great and awesome God.
We, Father,
know that you have blessed us
with everything that we need physically and spiritually,
and we thank you for that,
Father.
We also are thankful, Father,
for the opportunity
that we have this day
to gather and to sing songs
of praise and to worship You
and to lift up Your name
on high,
that we might show You
how much we love You
by obeying Your commands
and doing those things
in spirit and truth
which are according
to Your perfect Word.
And, Father, we ask that today
and every day we might shine
as lights in this world,
that we might help others
to know You through us,
and that ultimately we might
all be found faithful in the end
and receive the great
promises and rewards
that are given in Your Word,
the Bible.
And, Father, most of all, we thank you for the gift of Jesus
and know that we are
only found presentable
and justified because of Him
and the great sacrifice
that He made,
as well as His resurrection.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
It is now time to join in our
songs of praise this morning.
Our first hymn of the morning
will be one that challenges us
to know about the love of God.
So won't you join in
with the congregation
at this time as we sing
together "God Is Love."
>>  Come, let us all unite
to sing 
 God is love 
 Let heav'n and earth their
praises bring 
 God is love 
 Let ev'ry soul
from sin awake 
 Each in his heart
sweet music make 
 And sing with us
for Jesus' sake 
 For God is love 
 God is love 
 God is love 
 Come, let us all unite
to sing 
 That God is love 
 O, tell to Earth's
remotest bound 
 God is love 
 In Christ we have
redemption found 
 God is love 
 His blood has washed
our sins away 
 His spirit turned our night
to day 
 And now we can rejoice
to say 
 That God is love 
 God is love 
 God is love 
 Come, let us all unite
to sing 
 That God is love 
 How happy
is our portion here 
 God is love 
 His promises our spirits
cheer 
 God is love 
 He is our sun and shield
by day, our help, our hope 
 Our strength and stay 
 He will be with us
all the way 
 Our God is love 
 God is love 
 God is love 
 Come, let us all unite
to sing 
 That God is love 
>> Perseverance is
a difficult thing for all of us,
especially in the day and time
which we live in.
When there are
so many opportunities around us
for things to have,
and really all the things
that are presented before us,
we often fall victim to those desires and things around us
and often forget God
and do not put Him first.
Every time we go to the mall
or into a store,
we see something we like better
or that we want.
It doesn't matter
that we already have something
very similar.
We want the latest
and even the newest versions.
Every time
we drive down the road,
we see a car or a house
that we like better
than the one that we have.
It is because of all
of these things of the earth
that I say that often we have
a difficult time persevering
and continuing to accomplish what our God wants
despite there are so many things
around us of the world
that pull us in that direction.
How easy it must be
for the devil
to put these stumbling blocks
in our way
when so many things
are made today
to appeal to our flesh
and our fleshly desires.
No doubt, to persevere is
a biblical topic.
In fact, in 2 Peter 1,
beginning in verse 5,
we see that Peter includes
perseverance
among the Christian virtues
that one must have
in order to be found pleasing
to God.
How can we then know
that perseverance is something
that God has commanded,
besides the obvious
in the fact that God
has presented it in His Word?
Well, let's look at what Peter
goes on to say in that same text
in verses 8 and 9.
There we read,
"For if these things are yours
and abound,
you are neither barren
nor unfruitful
in the knowledge
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For he who lacks these things
is short-sighted,
even to blindness,
and has forgotten that he
was cleansed from his old sins."
You see, Paul also confirms
the need that we persevere,
and he says we also glory
in tribulation,
knowing that tribulation
produces perseverance
and perseverance character
and character hope.
That is found in Romans 5:3-4.
I hope we're beginning to see
that the idea
of being able to persevere is
truly a very biblical subject.
James also deals with this
in James 5 and verse 11.
There we are reminded of our
first discussion of the morning
and the quote that we used,
as we understand the fact
that James was trying to help us to realize
that we are those who do face many things in life,
but we still have to persevere.
The verse actually says,
"Indeed, we count them blessed who endure.
You have heard it said
about the perseverance of Job
and seen the end intended
by the Lord,
that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful."
Who had greater perseverance,
brethren and friends,
than Job himself?
He was a man
of great spiritual stature,
and he was one who was
a blessed servant of God,
who had so much of this world.
But then what do we find?
Well, he fell into the hands
of the devil.
However, Job, at the end,
was able to persevere
and ultimately remained faithful
to God
and did those things
that God had commanded of him
even though he had to repent.
When things started
getting tough, though,
he was one
who did have difficulty.
But he had to what?
Persevere.
So what about us?
When things start getting tough,
are we those who just fall away?
Or do we really persevere?
When temptation seems
to be attractive to us,
do we just accept them
and figure that we'll
worry about it later
or the consequences later?
You see,
we need to be more like Christ.
We need to endure.
We need to persevere
and persevere no matter come what may.
So, brethren and friends,
as we strive to do those things
that God has said,
may we always persevere
and endure
according to the perfect will
of the Lord.
This morning, we will
be continuing our series called
"The Better Things
from the Book of Hebrews."
Our specific topic today is
"A Better Maturity."
So please continue with us
this morning,
and after our next song
together,
I will return with this study
from God's Word.
The name of our next hymn --
"He Is My Everything."
>>  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 ev'ry 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? 
>> We're so glad you've
continued with us this day.
Now as we get right back
into our discussion
from the book of Hebrews,
as we've really been considering some different ideas
from each of the chapters
of the book of Hebrews.
And sometimes
we're not considering
maybe the most obvious things
that would be considered
from each of those chapters
but maybe trying to bring out some new,
great pearls of information
or nuggets of wisdom
that we might grow in
as Christians.
And in today's discussion,
we are going to be
at the end of chapter 5,
although there in chapter 5,
what we continue to see
from a discussion
that had already begun earlier
is the idea of the priesthood
of Christ
and the comparisons
of the old priesthood
and the priesthood
by which Christ
now is of a greater priest
and a high priest
under the order of Melchizedek.
And actually that goes
all the way into chapter 6
and further into the book
as well.
But in that discussion,
one of the things
that is really talked about
is the need
for spiritual maturity.
And so obviously
as we think about the idea
of Christ being a priest
and the knowledge
and the need that a priest
would have for knowledge,
we also understand that in
this book we are told ourselves
that we are priests of God.
Christ is that high priest,
and we, as the children of God, are those priests.
He is the only mediator
between us and the Father.
And so we no longer,
as under the old law,
have to go through an individual
or a man or a person,
a spiritual guider,
but we really go
only through Christ,
because we ourselves
have the ability as priests
to offer worship to God
and to do those things
that God has commanded of us
through His new covenant in
the way that He has commanded.
So what about spiritual growth?
There in verse 12, you might notice with me in the text
that it speaks about the fact
that there was a time, he says,
that they should have been
already teachers
in the Word of God.
And unfortunately, what we do
find in the Lord's Church today,
and really in religion
as a whole,
is people who are claiming
to be followers of God,
are servants of God,
who really aren't
very well versed in Scripture.
I find it interesting that
sometimes I'll mention a story
in the Old Testament,
a very familiar story,
or I'll mention a familiar story
from the New Testament
and I'll say, "Have you heard of that story before?"
in a Bible study or when I'm discussing with someone.
And they'll say, "Well, no.
I've never heard of that,"
and I'm almost just shocked
or perplexed.
How could you have never
heard of the story of Jonah
or of the story of maybe some
of the great events
that took place in Israel
or the story surrounding Noah
and those things?
I'm not sure how you could live this long in America
without knowing some
of those things
unless you have had no exposure
whatsoever to religious matters.
But when we again consider that,
what Paul is telling
the individuals here
is that most likely
you should now be teaching.
You should be those who are
the examples in and of itself.
You should be those who are
the standards of Christianity
when really you have
not accomplished that purpose.
Well, we know that that is
something given by God
and required of the faithful.
In fact, over in 1 Peter 3,
verse 15,
we see the challenge there
to sanctify the Lord God
in our hearts
and to always be
ready to give an answer
for the hope that lies within us
with meekness and fear.
You see, one of the things that
a Christian does is they grow
so that they might know the will
of God
and therefore be able
to give answers
based on what God has revealed
in His will.
You see, what does that require?
Well, it requires what
we learned there
in the book of 2 Timothy.
That we are diligent
or that we study
to show ourselves approved,
that we might be workers
of God who rightly divide,
who know the will of God enough to rightly divide it.
Paul himself was an example
of these things.
You might remember with me there
in 1 Corinthians 11:1,
when he challenged the people
to be imitators of him.
See, he was one who had become
a teacher,
not only in word
but also in deed and action,
that they could imitate him,
and if they did that, they
would be found pleasing to God.
And it wasn't just there,
but we actually see that in the
book of Philippians chapter 1,
that Paul mentions
how that his example
of persecution and trial
and difficulty
and even imprisonment
were great reminders of faith
to the brethren
to be able to do the same.
And actually, he says,
we're doing the opposite
of what you might think.
That the whole palace guard
and really everyone was aware
of his chains,
which only gave him more
opportunities to shine as light,
to shine as the light
of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
So yes, when they
should have been teachers
or ought to have been prepared or ready to be teachers,
they were not.
And so he goes on to say,
"For though by the time
you ought to have been teachers,
you actually need someone
to teach you again
the first principles of God."
What was their issue?
What was their problem?
Look at verse 13.
They were still in the milk
of God's Word.
In fact, the latter part
of verse 12 says,
"You have come to need even milk
again and not solid food."
If you'll notice there
in verse 13,
that's the contrast
that he begins to clarify.
He says, "You are partakers
of only the milk,
and therefore you are unskilled
in the Word."
Isn't that a sad thing?
That someone would remain
satisfied --
and what we really would say
is apathetic
and unwilling to change and grow
and become more
of what God wants.
How can we be faithful to God's
will if we don't know that will?
And how are we going to learn it
except we are either taught
and/or study that will
of God in his Word, the Bible.
So you can see here
that they were being rebuked
by the author here --
most likely again Paul --
being rebuked in the challenge
to understand
that they were like babes.
Now, we understand 100%
what that means.
I have a new grandchild, and he
is still partaking only of milk,
and yet he is growing every day.
But little by little now,
they are beginning
to introduce more solid foods,
but yet they're pretty
much liquidy as well.
But eventually he'll be able
to get ahold
of maybe some good meat
or some good potatoes
or things that are solid,
that help him to grow,
and he's going to grow
and become older and older
and stronger
and stronger physically
because of those actions.
And we would understand
that as that child gets
to be six months and a year
and two years old, that if he's still drinking milk,
he's never going to grow properly.
But then spiritually,
what do people do?
They keep talking about,
"I'm a Christian."
They keep focused
on only the fundamentals.
They really don't know the truth
of God's Word
because they haven't read it
and they haven't studied it.
You know, here's a question
I might ask of you.
Have you ever read the Bible
through?
And if you have never read
the Bible through,
you might want to do some soul
searching to ask the question.
If you've not even read
the Bible through,
how do you really know
what it says
other than what people
have told you?
You see the point?
We have to be those
who are growing,
and those Hebrew brethren
that were being addressed here,
the Hebrew Christians
were being told by Paul,
"You ought to now be teaching
and evangelizing
and turning the world
upside down
with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
But now, rather,
you need people to teach you again the very simple truths
of Jesus and the coming of Jesus
and the death on the cross
and the shedding of blood,
the simple aspects
of worshiping God."
Isn't that a sad thing,
that someone would be satisfied
with that?
And would you be
really satisfied with that
in a secular sense?
Certainly not.
Get on a job
and you're just always satisfied
with never growing
or never learning more,
because what's going to happen?
You're always going to be
the one who never is promoted
or never makes more money
or never gets any increases
in salary
because you're not growing,
you're not improving,
you're not getting better,
you're not learning more,
you're not applying
what you have learned.
Well, spiritually
it would be the same disaster
if we don't do
what God wants us to do.
As we think about that, then,
in the book of Hebrews
chapter 6,
we might also notice
that there is an explanation
of their problem.
In verse 1 beginning,
he says,
"Therefore, leave the discussion
of elementary principles
and go on to perfection."
He lists the elementary
principles
such as the doctrine
of baptism and the resurrection
and laying on of hands --
these things that you
really have already known.
Leave those things.
But now you need someone
to teach you again.
He says, "How sad.
Because I would rather
that you go on to perfection."
See, that's what he's talking
about back in chapter 5:12-13,
when he says, "You're
still just focused on the milk.
You really haven't matured.
You really haven't grown."
The final thing I want you
to notice
with me this morning
is found there in verse 14.
In that verse it says,
"But solid food,
solid food belongs to those
who are of full age."
You see that good steak dinner is really a dinner
that is for not that infant
that we were talking about
a moment ago, but that adult,
somebody who's got the teeth
and the ability to chew
and then to digest that food properly.
It might even make someone who
is not able to eat that sick.
Even an adult
who has maybe health problems,
they might become sick
because they are not full grown
or their body is
not physically functioning well.
You see how important it is
to be spiritually healthy,
to spiritually grow,
to be ready, as it says here,
for that food that is for
the one of full age,
that is for that adult?
Are you an adult Christian?
Are you growing, and
have you grown into that adult
that God wants you to be?
Or rather are you one
who is still a babe in Christ?
Well, again, we find so many examples of this
there throughout
the New Testament.
One is interesting there
in the book of Corinthians --
1 Corinthians in chapter 3.
He actually tells
the Corinthians something
very similar to what he says
to the Hebrew brethren
in the other text.
There in verse 1 he says,
"Brethren, I would like now
to speak to you
as people who are mature,"
but what is the problem?
He says, "But you are carnal.
You are like babes in Christ.
I have fed you with milk
and not solid food,"
and even until now, he says,
you're still not able to take the solid food.
He's not saying that
as a good thing.
He's saying it
as a negative thing.
The same way as a father
or grandfather,
I wouldn't give
a six-month-old steak.
I would continue
to give them the food
that actually helps them
to mature and grow to maturity,
because I understand
that they need to keep growing
and increasing and moving
toward being full grown
to receive what it is that
they are able then to receive.
Peter makes a similar statement
and even gives a similar warning
in 1 Peter 2:2
when he says,
"Don't be as newborn babes."
And what is the problem again?
Just desiring the milk
of the Word.
But he says really grow thereby.
Well, you've got to have milk
to grow, but some time,
at some point, you've got to move on to the meat.
And so what is it
that the meat allows you to do?
Look one more time
in our verse 14 there.
It says,
"The one that is of full age
by reason is able to
then exercise their senses
to discern both good and evil."
How can you be an adult,
how can you really be profitable
in this life
unless you know what the things
are that you need to know,
unless you have the knowledge,
the knowledge spiritually
of good and evil,
and therefore to discern what is
godly and what is ungodly.
How are you going to be that
Christian that you need to be?
How are you going to be
that adult that you need to be
as a Christian,
unless you really have grown?
So let me challenge us as was
challenged by the author here,
that we not be caught up
in just the fundamentals,
that we not just be satisfied
with drinking milk
but that we grow by being those
who eat what we need spiritually,
so that we understand
what even Jesus himself said,
that those who hunger
and thirst after righteousness
will be filled.
>> I love Thy kingdom,
Lord 
 The house of Thine abode 
 The church
of the 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 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 
>> What a wondrous time
we've had together
to participate in the worship
before God this day.
I hope we've all been encouraged
through our time spent together.
And please remember
that you are invited
to join us every Sunday morning
at 7:30
as we commit ourselves
to this service to God.
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 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 at our website.
That address --
TheLivingWordProgram.com.
Or if you prefer,
you may call us at 417-869-2284.
How blessed we are
to have the Word of God,
which guides us in all things pertaining to life
and godliness.
The question is, are we growing
in the Word of God daily,
and are we maturing in Christ
as children of God?
Why not make sure today
that we are growing according
to the will of God
and that all we are doing
in our daily lives
is leading us
towards eternal salvation?
>> 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.
[ Choir singing ]