Voice of the Nazarene 4-12-26

Voice of the Nazarene 4-12-26

Transcript

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Coming to you from North Central Ohio, we share with you the Voice of the Nazarene, a week-by-week venture into the Word of God sponsored by the Bucyrus Ohio Church of the Nazarene. We join our pastor, Reverend Ray Lassau, and the Voice of the Nazarene.

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I want to go into the oldest book in the Bible, the book of Job, written literally thousands of years ago by a wealthy, wealthy, wealthy man of the East. But with all the wealth, there was one thing he desired more than anything else, and it changed his life. And he said here in chapter 23, verse 12, Neither have I gone back from the commandments of his lips. What God has to say, I've not gone back on it. He said, I've esteemed the words of God's mouth more than my necessary food. Job was saying that the word of God matters more than the next meal. He didn't have McDonald's on his mind or Taco Bell. All he had on his mind was the word of God. Could I talk to you about what will change your life? Is that all right? You know, people don't seem to like change much. Only a baby likes to be changed. And according to 1 Corinthians 15, verse 51, when we leave this world, it said all of us shall be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trunk. Between baby and dying, we don't like change very much. And only God knows how much some of us need changed. It's not just the baby over here in the crib. Some old-time babies have got some dirty diapers and dirty D-pins and need their attitude changed, need the vocabulary changed, need a lot of their actions changed. And I'm getting sad that I even showed up this morning the way you're looking at me. You look startled or whatever. But I believe we'd better have some kind of an experience that'll change us between here and eternity. I traveled 23 years as an evangelist across this country and out of it, preaching that God could deal with that carnal nature. That's something in us that wants to lose our temper and pout and show all of our hurts and our impatience and our all the different things. And then you go into the pastor and you find out you're in people management. Running from one crib to the next and giving out part and a mustache to get the nipple in and giving a sugar tit to somebody else and a pacifier to someone else and try to get the milk bottle to another and try to get everybody in the baby buggy and get us all in the same direction, managing people. I want to tell you something. If sanctification can't change us, we'd better hope that glorification will. But between a baby and dying, people don't like to be changed very much. We don't want our seat taken, we don't want our parking spot gone, and we want the same hymnal, and we want the same music, and so on and so on. But there's something that will change. What is it? It's the Bible. The Word of God will change us. Two little boys were playmates and they were playing, and most of the time they'd go over to grandmother's house. And they would get over to grandmother's house, and and uh they noticed, or the other boy noticed that his friend's grandmother was always reading the Bible. And he said to her, said, he said to his buddy, said, Why is your grandmother always reading the same book? Every time we go over, she's reading the Bible. He said, Well, I think she's cramming for finals. And I don't know what season of life that you're in, but I think some of us need to be cramming for the finals. We need to be getting into the Word of God. D.L. Moody said, God didn't give us the Bible to increase our knowledge. God gave us the Bible to change our lives. 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 16. All scripture, all scripture is given by inspiration of God. And it's profitable. It's profitable for doctrine, it's profitable for reproof and for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God might be thoroughly furnished unto all good works. Do you notice that little phrase is given by inspiration? What does that mean? It means that it's God-breathed. The 66 books of the Bible are God-breathed. The 1,189 chapters of the Bible are God-breathed. The 31,102 verses of the Bible are God-breathed. The 775,695 words in the Bible are God-breathed. This is not a book of miracles. This is a miracle book. And we'd better get the word of God into us and get into the word of God so that it can become transferable into us. Four things, real quick, like number one, the word of God is inerrant. Understand, it's written by 40 different men in 13 different countries on three different continents in three different languages over a 1,500 period of time. Listen to me closely. In the original manuscripts, there's no contradictions, there's no errors. Why? Because it's the inerrant word of God. And I believe in it from the beginning all the way through to the maps. Somebody asks, well, what's your opinion on this? My opinion doesn't count. I wasn't asked to write the Bible. Couldn't have if I'd been asked. But neither does your opinion matter either. It's the word of God, it'll stand whether you agree with it or you don't agree with it. It's God's word, it's in error. But also it's infallible. What does that mean? It means this: it'll never fail you. Things will fail you. People will fail you. Situations and circumstances may fail you. And I've had a lot of things through my life have failed me, but the word of God will never, ever fail. It's the word of God. And may I also add, thirdly, it's incontestable. Somebody asked Charles Spurgeon on one occasion, how do you defend the Word of God? And he said, uh, defending the Word of God is not my job. The Bible's like a lion. Just let it out of the cage and it'll defend itself. And may I also add, the Word of God is indestructible. Voltaire, the French philosopher, he died in 1778. He was the greatest critic of his time against the Bible. And he said about the Bible, the Bible is dead and it's meaningless. Well, he died, and just a few years after he died, the very house that he lived in was bought by the Bible, the Geneva Bible Society. And they have printed thousands upon thousands of copies of the Bible in many, many languages. In the very house that the man said that the Bible was dead, but Voltaire is dead and the Bible lives on. Thank God. Now, may I just say this? The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the word of God will stand forever. I don't know about you, I want to read my Bible more. Pastor, you read your Bible. Well, the devil doesn't mind you reading the Bible to prepare a sermon, but he doesn't want you to prepare yourself. And I'd rather prepare myself. And I want to challenge you over the remaining part of this year. Get into some kind of a Bible reading plan that'll get you through the Word. Get into a plan. People tell me they're looking for a church where they can be fed. Quit saying that. The only one at the table not fed is a baby. You're embarrassing yourself. Now, why is it important to get into the Bible? Let me give you a few reasons. Number one, it reveals God's thoughts. Pastor, I want to know what God's thoughts are. I want to know what God is thinking. Well, look this. He said, For my thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down and the snow falls, guess what? They return from the returneth not thither, but watereth the earth and maketh it bring forth in bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing wherewith I said it. That's Isaiah 55. Read it. He's talking about as the rain comes down, as a snow falls from the heavens, it begins to soften the earth. It begins to saturate the earth. What I'm trying to say, if you get into the Word of God, the Word of God will get into you, it'll begin to soften your heart, it'll begin to melt you, and it'll begin to change you. You say, Well, I wonder what are what are God's thoughts on parroting? It's right there in the book. What are God's thoughts on finances? Right there in the book. What's God's word say about bitterness? What does God's word talk about and misunderstanding between two brethren or sisters in the church? It's right there in the word. Pastor, I want to understand my wife. You're driving down the road. Of course, some of you are old timers now. You got the big steering wheel. You're going down the road, and she said, Honey, you're thirsty, aren't you? No, I'm fine. I got a news place for you. She could care less whether you're thirsty or not. You're driving down the road, she said, Maybe you probably need the restroom, don't you? What are you saying, Pastor? I'm saying Matthew 12, verse 34, for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. And if you want to know the heart of God, you need to get into the word, for out of his heart flows what he has to say to you and I. It tells us the ways of God and the will of God. And here's the second thing. Reason you ought to get in the Word of God, it shows you the right path. Pastor, I don't know what decision to make. I don't know which way to turn. Well, it's all right there in the Bible. You heard about the pastor that went out to call on one of his parishioners. Vehicle was setting the driveway. He knew they were home, got out and walked up to the door, and he knocked and he knocked and he knocked, and no answer. Finally just got his phone out and he texted. He texted Revelation 3.20. Behold, I stand at the door, knock. If anyone will open the door, I'll come in. Went out and sat in his car for a moment, and his phone vibrated, and he looked at it, and he got a text back, and it was Genesis 3.10. Said, I heard thy voice. But I was naked and I hid myself. Well, I all I want to say is we need to get into the word of God. Billy Graham said, if you're ignorant of the word of God, you're going to be ignorant of the will of God. Psalm 119, verse 105, thy word is a lamp unto my feet. And a light unto my path. Away now. I don't know which way to turn. The word of God is a lamp unto my feet. Light unto my path. Everything you need to know. If you want the pathway lit up and get and make it clear so you know how to live your life, it's right there in the book. But thirdly, it builds our faith. And could I could I challenge you to get off of Facebook and get into the faith book? You can you can tweet that out if you want to. If you've got time for social media, you've got time to read the word of God. And most and much of what's on Facebook is not even true. And everything in the Word of God is 100% true. Romans 10, 17, so then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Faith is built by the Word. Acts 14, verse 7, talking about that preacher. And uh it said there they preached the gospel. That's what he was doing, preaching the gospel. And there said a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, and being a cripple from his mother's womb who had never had walked, the same heard Paul preach, speak, who steadfastly beholding him, perceiving that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, Stand upright on my feet, and he leaped and he walked. He leaped and he walked. The word of God builds faith in your heart. Many times when I'm going through a rough time and I've had my share, you can just have to trust me on that. I'm not going into it. But Psalm 21, 1 is a really bit of help. He simply said, I'll lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help. Sometimes you gotta look out. For he said, My help cometh from the Lord, which made the heavens. Have you heard? Have you ever been so low that you couldn't even see the top of the ground? Have you ever had the light just nearly knocked out of you? And your trust in people nearly destroyed, and you could not even see the future. Have you ever been that hurt? Have you ever been that down? Have you ever been that low? May I encourage you, that's when you better be looking to the Maker who made the heavens and the earth. He just reached out his hand and shoveled it around and poured out the oceans, spun out the seven seas, riveted the earth with beautiful rivers, piled up the mountains, reached over and flipped the switch and turned on the sun lamp, plugged in the moon for a night light. He taught the birds how to fly and the fish how to swim, and he put the honey in the bee. And if the God that gave all of that, created all of that for us to enjoy, he can take care of our little simple needs. And I've said many times, God, you slumber not, you don't sleep. If you don't mind, I'm just gonna trust you, I'm going to bed tonight. Why? Because my trust is in the Lord that's the maker of heaven and the earth. But let me give you a fourth reason. It's our only offensive weapon against the enemy. May I just simply say to you, the enemy wants to destroy you, and we do have an enemy. And by the way, that your enemy is not God, Satan is your enemy. Quit being upset at God all the time. Our enemy is the devil. And he's got a target on your back. And I want you to know the more you do for Christ, the bigger it becomes that target. I got a call from a friend of mine, hadn't heard from him for a while. And he called me yesterday on the phone, and somewhere in all, he's 20 years younger than me. I think he's one. He said, as a boy, I remember, I remember going to grandma's, said, she had your records. And we'd play those records and those songs. And uh after a while, dad would come in, he he forbid us to listen to you. And he he shut off the record player and wouldn't let us play your records, said you're my favorite. He didn't demand much. He said, You were the first one in the holiness movement that hired a band behind you and and singers. If you was as bad a singer as I am, you'd needed a band behind you too. You talk about getting a target on your back, boy, I got shot from everywhere. You know the only tune the devil has is a spit tune. Anybody that can't sing and won't sing ought to be sent to sing, sing, and made to sing. You know what's worse than ten people that can sing and will sing is one person that can't sing and will sing. So what? And he said, Do you remember when you started holding revivals Monday through Sunday, everybody else was holding 10-day meetings? I said, Yes. But I said, I came in on the first night and preached my heart out, the autumn would fill out, would fill up who wants to spend nine more days there. So I'd start on Monday and close on Sunday. We went on radio. It was a little dinky thing, it wasn't much. It was 30 some stations, 18 years, but it cut across the country, 50,000 watts of mountain power. Put out a little publication that went out to thousands. Started a tape club, and people began to get saved long after I'd moved on to another meeting, they'd share those tapes. But you became a target. A target. And the devil is our enemy. Understand something. You have only one offensive weapon. And Ephesians 6 14 talks about it. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, having on a breastplate of righteousness and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above all, taking the shield of faith wherewithal you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation. Are you ready? And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Are you running around without even a sword? Don't you understand? We're in a battle. All hell has broke loose. Our nation's in trouble. The nations of the world are in trouble. War is in the air. And the devil's fighting in every form and from every angle of attack, and Christians standing around without a sword. And the sword of the Spirit is, the Bible said, the word of God. The devil will come along and he'll tell you you can't accomplish anything. And Philippians 4.14 tells us I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me. The devil come along and he'll tell you you can't accomplish anything, you're no match. But the sword of the Spirit is Isaiah 54, 17. No weapon formed against me shall prosper. Devil come along and tell you if God loved you, he wouldn't have allowed all this to happen. But the sword of the Spirit says Romans 8 28. We know that all things work together for the good of them that love the Lord, who are the called according to his purpose. Devil will tell you you're all alone, you're by yourself. But we serve a God who will never leave us nor forsake us. Do stick a thing closer than a brother. Devil tells you you have no future, but God says, I've got plans for you. And they're not of evil, but of good. And the devil will come along and he'll tell you everybody's turned their back on you. But the word of the Spirit says, If God be for me, who could be against me? Preacher, how did Jesus overcome the devil? With the word of God. He said, It is written. You're going to have to know your Bible a little bit. Your best defense is what you memorize and get into your mind and let it soak into your heart. So when the devil comes, you've already got something up there to use when he's fighting you from every angle. And we're no match for the devil without the word of God. You're not going to handle temptation. Jesus, during that 40 days of temptation, use the word of God. It's the only way. It's the only offensive weapon. And I'm trying to tell you to pick up the sword and begin to work on the devil. Then the word of God lifts us up when we're down, and you're going to be down. There are days when you can't even see the bottom, let alone the top. And when life allows things to happen that are unexplainable, people leave you, and you can't even understand why, and it doesn't make any sense, and even counseling sinners can't help you. But the word of God, when the bottom falls out, Jeremiah was in that place. Can I read it to you? He said in the 20th chapter, verse 7, O Lord, thou hast deceived me. He was down on God even. I was deceived, thou art stronger than I and hast prevailed. I'm in derision daily. Everyone mocketh me, saying, I'm I'm in the deepest depression that I've ever been. For since I spoke, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil because the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me and a derision daily. Then I said, I'll not make mention of him nor speak anymore in his name. I'm not going to preach anymore. I'm not going back to church. He didn't help me anyway. I'm not going to read my Bible. I'm going to get out of my small group. I'm not going to have an accountability partner. And then he said, Good gracious. He said, But thy word was in my heart as a burning fire, shut up in my bones. I was weary with forbearing and I could not stay. He said, When I was down, the word of God lifted me up. And I want to say to you, when you're down, remember, God will never leave you nor forsake you. Just read Galatians 6 9 when you're down. Don't be weary in well-doing, for in due season you'll reap if you faint not. If you're down, 1 John chapter 4, verse 4, greater is he that is in me than he that's in the world. The average home in America has four Bibles. But only 11% of those Bibles are read. What happens if you take your Bible and you read it four times a week? What happens, Pastor? Feeling lonely? It drops by 20% if you read your Bible. Just four times a week. Anger issues, it drops 32%. Bitterness in relationship drops 40%. Alcoholism drops 57%. Sex outside of marriage drops 68%. Feeling spiritually stagnant drops 60%. Viewing pornography drops 51%. Now, sharing your faith jumps 200%. Discipling others jumps 230%. What are you saying, Pastor? I'm trying to call you to arms. I'm trying to get you to accept it, read it, meditate in it, sit under it, stay in church, get into a small group, and get into the Word of God. Years ago, they had a program on TV, and I saw it once up at Smitty's store. Mom and Dad didn't have TV at our house. It was a program called Wanted Dead or Alive. It was black and white. And I can't already believe that as young as I am. That as a boy. And uh it it focused on Steve McQueen. Anybody ever heard of Steve McQueen? Anybody ever saw Wanted Dead or Alive? Some of you spiritual folk, okay? Well, Steve McQueen was one of these men's men. Don't you hate to shake a hand with a man and it feels like a fishtail? Be a man or a mouse. Speak up and squeak a little. He didn't want any stunt men hard in any of his movies. I don't know if you knew that. He said, if you're gonna send a stuntman into a burning building, I'll go into the burning building. You're gonna have a stuntman jump off the cliff, I'll jump off the cliff. Steve McQueen. His life began to fall apart and he got into alcoholism. It led him into drugs. His life began to spiral out of control. And soon it was women, and then many women and orgies and a terrible life. Time passed in his life, and he met a girl that he really fell for. And he asked her for a date, and she said, I don't think you and I need to date. Well, he said, I just want to be with you. He said, If you want to be with me, you can go with me. He said, Where are we going? She said, We're going to church. And that Sunday morning, there at church when they gave the altar call and everyone was standing, Steve McQueen stepped out of the aisle. He thought, My life is so filthy, so messed up. I'm so God forsaken. If there's a God I need to find, he made his way down the aisle and gave his heart to Jesus Christ. Now, you got to understand that he was in Hollywood and he had a lot of connections. And immediately he wanted to talk to the evangelist that was known worldwide, and he connected up and through the organization was able to sit down with Billy Graham. And he said and he wept in the presence of Billy Graham and he said, Mr. Graham, you and I are so different. I'm not like you. I was a drunk. I was abusive. I was an alcoholic. I was on cocaine. I've been on her. I've smoked weed. You've not had any of that kind of background. He said, I was a womanizer. He said, Do you think God could forgive a person that's done all that I've done? Billy Graham reached over and picked up his Bible that he preached from. And he he turned it over here to Titus, chapter 1, verse 2. And he read to Steve McQueen, in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised from the beginning of the world. And he underlined it and wrote by it Steve McQueen and handed it to him and said, You can keep this. This is your Bible now. In hope of eternal life. God, which cannot lie, promised from the beginning of the world. Well, right after that, Steve McQueen was diagnosed with cancer. It was so bad that there was no remedies here in the States. And so he tried an experimental treatment down in Mexico. When they found him, he was in a recliner and he was dead. And lying on his lap was that Bible that Billy Graham had given him and underlined it and written his name by it. And it was turned to Titus 1, 2 at his finger, and his hand was touching that little verse. In a hope of eternal life. God that cannot lie, promised from the beginning of the world. Thank God for the word. It's our promissory note for heaven. If you get the word of God into you and you get into the word of God and it becomes so transferable, you can live by the word. You become a living Christian. You live out the word. We live the word. People look at our life and they read the only Bible they'll read is your life. And I challenge you in closing this morning. Please, please promise me. You'll get into the Word of God in the weeks ahead. Start spending some time. Shut down Facebook for a little bit. Turn off every other distraction. Set aside a little bit of time and begin to get into God's Word, and you'll be so amazed how the Word of God will get into you. You'll be changed. You'll be changed. You'll want that change after God begins to really change you. You'll change your mind on some things. You'll change your view on a lot of things. You'll be changed. And one day we'll be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last drop.

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Thanks for being a part of the Voice of the Nazarene. Visit us every Sunday at 9 a.m. with BNC's Pastor Ray LaSalle. For more information regarding BNC, visit UsyrusNazarine.org.