R360 Shaking Hands with God

Shaking Hands.

It's something we do every single day, or at least we did before the pandemic. But what does it mean to shake hands with God? The Encouraging Word. This is The Encouraging Word with Dr. Don Wilton, well-known pastor, author, evangelist, seminary professor, and today his message from Philippians chapter 4 is called Shaking Hands with God. We'll open God's Word in just a moment, but first Dr. Don wants you to know we're connecting with you both on the phone at 866-899-WORD.

That's 866-899-9673. We'd love to pray with you and for you and connect you with great resources. Or we can do the same thing on our website at www.tewonline.org. That's www.tewonline.org. While you're there, sign up for the daily encouraging word devotional. It comes out email-a-phonically every day.

That's www.tewonline.org. And now Dr. Don Wilton. Now friends, I have something very special to share with you today, perhaps a little bit different to what we have grown accustomed to doing at this time, and yet in some ways not different at all. It's a wonderful thing to meet together with God's people. As you know, we are in the middle of a study in the book of Ephesians, and in fact the next section that we're dealing with is related to the gifts that God gives to us.

And I'm looking forward to being able to share with you what God has laid on my heart through His Word. And literally thousands of people, probably over 100,000 people who are worshiping by way of television today, so many people are hurting. The exit polls in the recent presidential election, many of them made a statement. They said that it seemed of the less than half of the people that voted, that they voted to keep the same administration in place for one basic reason, and that was that they felt that life was so good that they didn't want to change anything.

Everything was on the up, so why change anything? You know, friends, we know that that is not true. When we look around our world today, when we go to our hospitals and when we talk to our family members and when we love one another, a lot of our people are hurting today. And you know, all needs that we have can be summarized really in three basic areas. We can talk about three basic needs to all people.

I want you to turn with me in your Bibles to Philippians chapter 4, and I want you to just keep it open at Philippians chapter 4 this morning. Before I read two very important verses, I want to remind you of something that we don't need to be reminded of, and that is that all needs fall into three categories. Number one, there are people who have physical needs. Our people today are hurting physically. I'm finding more and more of our people being diagnosed with cancer, with other diseases and illnesses that are dreaded things that cause tremendous anxiety, a lot of sorrow, a lot of pain.

Even as we speak right now, I could probably give you a list of names. We spend a lot of time in our church praying for others, and it's one of the most wonderful things that we do, isn't it? We have many of our people today who are suffering physically. We have many in hospital right now. There's a sense in which I could fill up the rest of this hour just talking about physical needs right here in this congregation.

You just look around Spartanburg. There are people who are hungry in our backyard, people who have nothing. That's why we're so grateful for those who spend so much time giving to others. Organizations like Mobile Meals and the Downtown Rescue Mission, our church, which is involved in the front line through our benevolence ministries and the helping center, people who don't have clothes to wear. Some of them resort to going to malls like the Westgate Mall, not to shop.

No, sir. They go to the mall so they can get a roof over their heads. They go to the mall so that they can get a little bit of warmth. And when they get to the malls, we reject them because they don't fit.

They very soon are accused of looking like shoplifters. And so we watch them with hawk eyes. There are people who are hurting today physically. We've got people in our congregation right now that are sitting here right now that are in such pain that it's a miracle that they can even sit. We've got people who have material needs in our world and in our community that it's a miracle that they're even alive. We want you to know just how much we love you today. We really do.

You're very special to us. But there's a third category of need that's common to all people. It's a spiritual need. All of us have a desire to know God, to seek after him, to know the mind of Christ. The Bible says it is unnatural to be out of fellowship with God. We desire to have fellowship with him and to grow in him. But our sin has dragged us down. Our sin has separated us from him.

And there are three categories of spiritual needs. First of all, there are those who are lost and they're all around us. We become so complacent within the comfort zones in which we live that we forget that our world is filled with lost people. I will guarantee you right now in Spartanburg, in the Piedmont Valley, from north to south and east to west, that while we stand and worship God, there are literally hundreds upon thousands of lost people right now in our backyards.

People who have done well, people who belong to every kind of club and society, people who have won a claim and made a great deal of money, some of them the very best that the world has. And yet the Bible says they lost. They're standing one heartbeat away from an eternal separation from God. No matter how nice and no matter how good, no matter how many times they've gone to church, there are lost people here this morning. You know exactly who you are. You're sitting up there in the balcony. You're sitting down here in the middle.

You're looking at me now. You're trying to concentrate and you're lost and you know it. Maybe you've come to church not only today, but maybe you've gone to church for weeks, months, years.

It's the right thing to do. But dear friend, you're lost. You don't know him. You know that God knows that you're lost because he's the one who saves you and you've never met him. But then there are those who are saved and they're very committed people. We have them all over our congregation, all over the choir here this morning. Now orchestra, down looking after our children, doing all the things that enable us to worship. Wonderful God called committed men and women, young people who prepared to stand up and stand tall for the Lord Jesus Christ. And God is using you mightily.

But then there are those who are saved and not committed at all. You know exactly who you are this morning. You're sitting back there in the front and upstairs and downstairs. You love the Lord. You know him. You're going to heaven.

There's no doubt about that. But you're not serving him. You're not committed.

You have a beautiful voice and you sing. The reason you're not in the choir this morning because you're not committed. Oh, you know the Lord, you love him, but you're not prepared to pay the sacrifice. You're not prepared to practice and put in the time.

You're not prepared. You're not prepared to do those things because you're not committed to the Lord. Maybe you come to church just on Sunday mornings. The reason you don't come on Sunday night and Wednesday night is not for any other reason. You're just not committed. Now, a lot of people are very busy and your spirituality is not measured by whether or not you come on a Sunday night or a Wednesday night.

Not for one minute. I'm not suggesting that. But the reason you only come to church on Sunday morning is because you're not committed. It costs too much.

It's going to put you out. The reason that you don't tithe is because you're not committed. You couldn't imagine tithing. Doesn't matter what the Bible says.

The Bible can say you've got to give 10 percent minimally of your income to God's house. The reason you don't do it is because you're not committed. You're not committed to Christ.

You have a real need. It's a spiritual need. The reason you don't teach Sunday school here and you've got a gift of teaching.

God's blessed you. You're just one of those people. You can sit down and you can get out a blackboard and you can get out the word of God and you can be such a blessing to others. And the reason why you don't do it is because you're not committed. That's why you don't do it. That's why you don't do it.

You're saved but you're not committed. You've got a need this morning. You see there are all kinds of needs we could go on and I have a burden today beloved friends. Maybe it's your business. Maybe you rent out part of your business and somebody is about to renege on their rental agreement and you know it's going to give a burden to you. And you don't know what to do. Maybe it's a financial need that you've got and you can't make a payment on your car or your house.

Maybe it's a family need, a son or daughter and you love them so much and they're breaking your heart. And even as you sit here this morning, your son is nowhere spiritually. He makes up every excuse. He's got to go and work. Maybe he's at college and you know very well at college he doesn't even darken the door of a church.

When he comes home he talks a little bit about God but he or she have no commitment to the Lord. There are needs everywhere. And I want you to know how much we love you today. Writing here in Philippians chapter 4 verses 6 and 7 I want to read to you what God's Word says we need to do about the needs in our hearts. Listen to this verse 6, do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication or petition with thanksgiving. This is thanksgiving folks. With thanksgiving present your request to God and the peace of God which transcends or passes all understanding will guard or keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

There are three principles that the Bible tells us about and I want to share them with you this morning. Principle number one, don't be anxious about anything. This morning you're sitting here and you're wracked in pain or you're facing whatever it is you're facing. And if you're anything like me I spend half my life trying to hold on to all the circumstances and things that I have to deal with personally. In my work, in my ministry, in my life we hold on to these things. And the word be anxious for nothing, the double negative that is sent there is basically do not allow anything to captivate you in anxiety.

Don't let it hold you because what happens is when you hold on to something, beloved friends, you become like a boiling volcano. Things just begin to build up and build up and anxiety builds up. Worry, worry, worry. We are so good at worrying. We worry about budgets and we worry about car payments and we worry about our physical needs and we worry about our girlfriends and we worry about everything. And the Bible says do not worry about these things. Oh, that's so much easier said than done, isn't it? What do you mean don't worry?

What do you mean don't worry? Do we become blase about these things? Do we just throw up our hands and say well then, you know, it doesn't matter. No, that's not what God is saying because God gives us principle number two. Tell God everything. You see, the letting go of our anxieties and the letting go of the things that we are holding to ourselves, the letting go of all the needs and circumstances of our lives is done within the context of handing it over to God. You're not just letting it go unto yourself.

You are releasing everything to God and the Bible tells us very, very clearly do not be anxious about anything but in everything. Tell God about it. Have you told the Lord about what is in your heart today? Have you just simply shared that with him?

You're listening to Dr. Don Wilton. Such great, direct, simple concepts. Are we speaking to God honestly?

Have you done that today? It's so foolish for us to think we can fool God. He knows our hearts. He knows what's going on before we even ask it.

So let's be honest. If you'd like to have someone pray with you and for you, our prayer team is ready at 866-899-WORD. Jot the number down.

Store it in your cell anytime. We'd love to pray with you or connect you with resources at 866-899-9673. We can connect on our website as well at www.tewonline.org. Many folks are still asking about the new book that Dr. Don released just a month or so ago called Saturdays with Billy about his time with Dr. Billy Graham. You can get a copy. The audiobooks are releasing now as well.

Again, the details are on our website at www.tewonline.org. It's a powerful book. It's as if you're hopping in the car and going with him every Saturday to spend time with Dr. Billy Graham.

It's called Saturdays with Billy, available wherever great books are sold, but also on our website at www.tewonline.org. Now, back to today's great teaching with Dr. Don. I want you to know, honey, I married you and I love you and that hasn't changed and everything's on the rocks, but I want you to know whatever it takes and however it takes, I want our marriage to come back together again. Lord, could you just help me because I know the moment I see her, I'm going to start getting angry again. Just let it go. Tell God about it.

Tell him about everything. Now, that word everything means everything, big things and small things. We don't like sometimes to talk about small things.

We think they are too small and insignificant, but God wants to know about everything. It's kind of like our children. When they're small and they come home from school and they just sit. One of the things my wife taught me many years ago, she said, if there's any time at which you can be with the children, it's when they come home from school.

Now, it's not easy for a working man or woman, but why is that such a special time? It's a special time because a small child will just talk. Don't ask their teachers about it. Teachers get more information than they need. They just talk.

They just love to share all about mommy and daddy. That's why you need to be nice to your children's teachers. Just tell the Lord about it. But there's a third principle. You see there's really only one principle before we get to the third principle. Principle number one is tell God about it. Principle number two is tell God about it. Principle number three is tell God about it. Fourth verse, same as the first, tell God about it. Second verse, same as the third, tell God about it.

Whatever my need, whatever my circumstances, tell the Lord Jesus Christ about it. But there is a third sub-principle because Paul knows our weaknesses and he breaks it down. He says, don't worry about anything. He says, tell God everything, principle number two. But principle number three is shake hands with God.

Shake hands with God. I want to show you something very interesting in this passage. Paul says in verse six, do not be anxious about everything but in everything, and he tells us how by prayer and petition, the word petition or supplication means literally like little children do when they make a list for Santa.

You need to make a list for God and you need to put it down there believing with all your heart that God is going to come down the chimney and he's going to leave a package for you. There's something so sweet and precious about little children, isn't there? Jesus understood that, he said, suffer the little children to come to me. He wasn't just talking about salvation, he was talking about the tenderness of their minds.

The simplicity of their understanding and yet the depth of their grasp of the sovereignty of God. Perhaps that's what Jesus was about. He says, petition me. With thanksgiving, that seems to be rather retroactive, don't you think? Yeah, we're told to be thankful before we've even heard what God's going to do about it. God says, thank me in advance to the answers that I give.

I want you to claim the victory. Now folks, you cannot explain that because when you claim the victory in Christ, you are simply placing your trust and confidence in God's sovereign grace. That means whatever God determines to do is going to be right for you. God says, if you shake hands with me, listen what will happen, the peace of God, which passes all understanding will keep your heart and mind through Christ Jesus. If you shake hands with me, it means that you are going to come into full agreement with who I am. Eddie Robertson, would you come here please, sir? How are you doing today, Eddie?

So good to see you. Would you shake my hand? What did you just do when you walked up there and I held my hand out to you, Eddie? I opened my hand, first of all, and I reached out to take yours, I squeezed it. Why did you open your hand?

I couldn't get in any other way. Well, why don't you give me a fist? Is that a handshake? That's not a handshake. What would that tell me if you gave me a fist?

It might tell you I have something here or I... You're holding on? What about, it looks a bit aggressive to me? Right. It might be I throw a punch at you. Okay. All right.

I don't care how big you are, brother. Now listen. Eddie, you opened up your hand. Do you know where the handshake came from?

No. From years ago when men were at war together and they would carry weapons and the trouble would settle down and they would come to a gentleman's agreement and they would offer the handshake. And when you offer a handshake, Eddie, let's do it together. I open my hand. There it is.

You can all see it. There's nothing in my hand. I open my hand and he opens his hand and our two hands meet.

They become one. Now, Eddie has said to me and I've said to him that I'm offering you the openness, not of my hand, but symbolically of my whole life, but when you open your hand to me, God says, I will fill your hand. I'm not going to leave your hand empty.

I'm coming into a partnership with you. So what do you feel with that empty hand, Eddie, when I or someone takes your hand and I take hold of your hand? What do you feel? I feel strength.

Strength? You're gripping it. Okay. I feel acceptance too. You feel acceptance? There's a oneness that I'm on your side.

You're on my side. We're sending a message. It's a handshake and there's something about that.

Thank you so much, brother. God is extending his hand to us, all of us. God is saying, would you take my hand this morning? Would you give me a handshake?

Now I know that you're hurting physically. I know that you have needs materially. I know that you have needs spiritually and you don't know where to turn or how to turn or what to do about it, but God in Christ Jesus is saying, take my hand. Give me a handshake. The problem is that most of us, when we reach out to shake God's hand, our hand is so filled up with everything that we cannot shake his hand. And the Bible says that God cannot accept a hand that is anything but completely open.

Be anxious for nothing. It is a complete release of myself to God. And when I open myself up to him and he takes my hand, I receive his strength. His blood flows into me. I get nourished by him. He becomes my partner. He becomes my caretaker.

He's the great physician. He takes control of everything that I'm doing. And God says, won't you take my hand?

Sometimes the simplicity overwhelms us, doesn't it? When God just says, take our hands. I pray that as you've heard Dr. Wilton preach from Philippians 4 today, you've not just heard our pastor and our great friend and lover of God's word, the encouraging word, but you've heard the voice of God opening your heart to a decision that needs to be made today.

You've heard Dr. Wilton preach. Now as he steps into the studio, I pray you'd open your heart to what he wants to share next. Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ?

I'm so happy to hear that. Why don't you pray this prayer with me today? Dear God, I know that you love me very, very much, and I know that the Lord Jesus Christ came and died on a cross so that I might be forgiven of my sin. Today, I repent of my sin. I confess my sin to you, and I invite you to come into my heart and into my life by faith. In Jesus' name I pray. If you've prayed that prayer, let me be the first one to welcome you to the family of God.

This is wonderful. I hope that you know how much I'm gonna be praying for you and how very important this is for me. Call us so that we can talk to you and connect you in the right place so you can begin this wonderful journey. If you just prayed along with Dr. Wilton moments ago, perhaps to rededicate your life or to give your life to Jesus for the very first time, why don't you let us celebrate with you and give you some free information Dr. Don wants you to have to help you grow. Our phone number is the best way to reach us, 866-899-WORD. You can call right now and let us know what God's doing in your life. Let us know how we can pray for you at the encouraging word, 866-899-9673 is the phone number, but we can also connect on our website at www.tewonline.org. That's www.tewonline.org.

It's also a great place to discover wonderful resources like this. This resource set will provide encouragement now and for the days ahead. You will have a renewed focus on the promise and power of prayer and for your freedom as an American. Call us at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673 to request free indeed and 31 days of prayer book. Thank you for supporting the encouraging word as we continue to proclaim the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ to a nation in desperate need of biblical truth.

That's just one of the many great offers available on our website at www.tewonline.org. I pray you'll join us tomorrow. I'm so excited about the next message from Dr. Wilton.

It's called Facing Tomorrow with Confidence. We'll be headed to Mark 4 tomorrow. Perhaps you can invite a friend to join you as we listen and open God's word together. Know that also you can hear today's program again or share it with a friend from our website at www.tewonline.org. Thank you so much for your prayerful and financial support of the ministry of the encouraging word. That's how we're here to share the love of Jesus.