R500 Something No One Should Live Without

Welcome to The Encouraging Word featuring the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilson about learning to pray today. Our Bible study starts in John 2 in just a moment with Dr. Don Wilson, but as we learn to pray, we're available to pray as well at 866-899-WORD or online at www.tewonline.org. We would love to connect with you.

And now, Dr. Don Wilson. I want to begin by asking a question. Have you ever asked of yourself, and I'm sure that you have, I know that I have, if I was to lose everything, what are some of the things that I absolutely could not do without? Now, life is filled with blessings. We are a blessed people. I know that I'm a blessed man, and I know that God has been good to so many of us. We can count our blessings, we sing about it. Count your blessings, name them one by one, and it'll surprise you what the Lord has done.

God is good, and He's blessed us, and we have so much to be thankful for, but if we were to lose everything, what are some of the things that are non-negotiable? See, I want to speak to you this morning from God's Word on some things no one should live without. This is a prayer that I pray in my own heart as your pastor. I ask God to help me to prioritize in my ministry to the point at which I'm able to share with God's people the things that are indispensable, because everything is important, and I'm not going to try and categorize things. I pray and trust that you've got a wonderful motor car to drive.

I'm going to do something a little different this morning. I'm going to share with you just four points today, four major points, four suggestions, four mandates from God's Word. We're going to look at four different passages of Scripture. Number one, a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

That would be on top of the list. I want you to turn with me to John's Gospel and chapter 2. Everyone take a copy of God's Word and turn with me to John's Gospel and chapter 2 this morning. Now most of us are very familiar with John chapter 3, because John chapter 3 deals with Nicodemus. But what we need to understand about John chapter 3 is that the story about Nicodemus and his conversion is an illustration of the last few verses of John chapter 2. Something happened in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, and Jesus spoke very clearly and he said something. Read it here with me. I'm going to read in verse 23.

Now while Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. Now folks, just watch me for a second here. I'm going to give you a guarantee. I will guarantee you that you and I can go to many places in the United States of America today and knock on many doors and ask most people, do you believe in God? And most people in America today are going to say yes.

Not all people, most people are. In fact, I believe that even atheists believe in God. I remember being in one place and the pastor said to me, we're going to go and visit the local town atheist. And so of course I went off and sat down with him and drank coffee and he was so vocal about the fact that he didn't believe God existed. And eventually I said to him, can I ask you one question? He said, certainly go ahead. I said, if you believe that God doesn't exist, why are you spending so much time and energy trying to prove that he doesn't exist if he doesn't exist?

Excuse me? It's like Oral Roberts. Many years ago, Oral Roberts preached faith. That God does everything by faith and then went out and built the world's biggest hospital.

Now am I missing something this morning? Listen to what Jesus said here. Jesus looked at Nicodemus and Jesus said, listen, there are many people who have got many things.

Nicodemus was no different. He was a man blessed and a man who had everything that opened and shut and yet he had the one thing that he could not live without. He did not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Listen to how he puts it. He says, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name, but Jesus would not entrust himself to them because he knew all men. And he did not need man's testimony about man because he knew what was in the heart of man. The book of James tells us that even the devils believe in God and they tremble, but they certainly don't know him. Many times, and I'm very privileged, people who worship with us by way of television who are not members of our church, they contact us for different reasons.

I had the opportunity to speak at length yesterday with a man by the name of Gerald and Gerald, if you are worshipping with us today, I want you to know that I pray for you and we all do here and we know that God is going to watch over you in a very special way. But a couple of months ago, I had a lady come to see me and she sat me down and she began to tell me about all the things in her life and all the struggles and the problems and the ups and the downs and the depression. And I looked at her and I said to her, listen, I have got the answer. I know exactly what you need. She said, you do? I said, yes. I know exactly what you need. She said, wait a minute, I've gone through life, I've counseled with people, I've looked, I've brought, I've travelled, I have sought after and you're going to tell me that you know exactly what I need?

I said, yes. In fact, what I'm about to tell you, you cannot live without, you cannot live without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Some here today, some worshipping with us today, you're in church and you look good and you sound good and you sing along with the hymns, but you've been looking and you've been searching and I want to say to you today, my friends, that there are some things that you and I cannot live without. You and I cannot live without a personal one-on-one relationship with Jesus Christ. It is absolutely indispensable to our very existence. It's the heart and soul of our existence. Our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Number two, the second thing no one should ever live without is a purpose in life.

A purpose in life. Now I'm going to just read for you my favorite passage in Scripture. It's in Genesis chapter 12.

You can turn there with me. Some of you know it off by heart. Genesis chapter 12 and verse 1. I'm only going to read verse 1. That's what God said. The Lord had said to Abram, leave your country, leave your people, leave your father's household and go into a land that I will show you. Right from the beginning of the world, the very beginning of the existence of man, God let it be known that based upon and growing out of our personal relationship with Jesus Christ, that the one thing we cannot live without is God's purpose for our lives. Now folks, listen to me. Do you know what your purpose on this life is? If you want a prescription for depression and for discouragement, be somebody who gets up in the morning and basically in your heart you're saying, you know, I don't know what I'm doing or where I'm going or what I'm going to do and you're wandering around in a vacuum. You have no distinct decisive purpose.

God says that God directs us and He shows us exactly what it is that He wants us to do and when we step into the will of God, we become fulfilled people because we are functioning according to God's purpose. I have two brothers. My younger brother, Dr. Murray Wilton, is pastor of Southside Baptist Church in Huntsville, Alabama. He is an imminently qualified CPA. Imagine having a pastor who's a CPA.

I think it would be great. His business knowledge was tremendous. Worked for Arthur Young, made a lot of money, had plenty of motor cars and homes and everything that opened and shut. But I remember my youngest brother saying to my wife and I many years ago, saying, you know, I've got all these things but I do not feel fulfilled because I don't feel as though my purpose for life is being realized. I'm unfulfilled. I remember in 1981, when he was well in his thirties, my brother and I stood under a bridge in Africa on the Indian Ocean when my wife and I went to go and visit them. And here was my brother with this beautiful home, I mean a beautiful home, right on the Indian Ocean with this magnificent river just loaded up with fish that flowed into the Indian Ocean.

The fishing and the water sports and the seagulls and he was a mechanical and electrical engineer and my oldest brother looked at me and said to me, Don, I want you to know that I'm unhappy and I'm unfulfilled despite all I've got. You see, purpose is very important. Some of us here today, we might be wandering around aimlessly. You'd say to me today, Pastor, how can I know God's purpose? Seek it. Look for it.

Expect it. Ask God for it. Get on your knees before God and say, Lord, I have no agenda. I hold up my hands.

I give up. I step out. I step up to the plate.

You show me what you want me to do. Listen, folks, God is quite capable of directing us. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths. There's nothing more fulfilling than being a homemaker, fulfilled, because that's where God wants you to be. For being a business person in your business work and being fulfilled because that's where God wants you to be. Or being a teacher because that's where God wants you to be. For being an engineer because that's where God wants you to be.

For being a medical practitioner because that's where God wants you to be. And when you find yourself in the center of the purpose of God, guess what happened? That becomes your personal mission field. You become a minister of the gospel right there because you are slap bang in the midst of the purpose of God.

No one ought ever to live without that. Number three, a prioritized focus for life. See, we cannot only talk about a purpose in life, but a prioritized focus for life. Turn with me to Matthew's gospel chapter 16. Matthew's gospel chapter 16.

Everyone turn with me. This is a great passage of scripture. Matthew chapter 16, and I'm going to read verses 24, 25, and 26. Matthew chapter 16, a prioritized focus for life. Folks, it's not just purpose.

It has to do with commitment. Listen to what Jesus said. Jesus said to his disciples, if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself. He must take up his cross and he must follow me for whoever wants to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world and yet forfeits his soul?

Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? I love to read Ernest Hemingway, and you've heard me say this before, that it has been said that on his deathbed, Ernest Hemingway said, and I quote, my life is as empty as a broken TV with a plug pulled out. Is there anyone here today who's empty? You see, there's some things, my dear friend, you cannot live without. You cannot live without a personal relationship with Jesus. You cannot live without a purpose in life. You cannot live without a prioritized focus for life.

And we're talking about a deliberate, decisive decision to be committed, to say, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Now, folks, listen, all of you made a decision this morning. Now, I want to say this lovingly to you. It's easy for me to be here right now. Oh, I love it, I love, you don't ever have to beg me to stand up here, you know I love it. But folks, listen to me, I have to be here, because this is what I do. And not only that, I've got to be jolly well happy.

I don't have any choice. Can you imagine if this morning I got up here and said to myself, you know, quite frankly, folks, life stinks, and I don't really want to be here this morning. In fact, I've got a toothache, and you know, so why don't we just, Steve, let's just sing a few of those old songs, you know, and let's go on home.

It'd be a pretty sad day. Not the case with you. When you got up this morning, I will guarantee you, some of you sat there in bed and said, should I, shouldn't I? Do we, oh, man, I do, do we go? I, man, I could tee off at nine o'clock before the heat comes, I, do I, listen, you made a deliberate choice this morning. And if you didn't feel well, guess what you do when you don't feel well?

You just stay at home. And you watch your favorite television preacher. Yeah, folks, listen to me. Life is filled with making priorities count.

When you got up this morning, you had to prioritize your focus. Jesus said, if you want to follow me, you must deny yourself. You must take up the cross. You must follow me.

You've got to be a person who says, listen, I am going to serve the Lord. I'm going to go to church. I'm going to prioritize my focus. I'm going to make my marriage work. I'm going to love my children.

I'm going to spend more time with my family. I'm going to be effective among the young people. I'm going to do this. You've got to make a deliberate effort and you've got to prioritize your focus and your commitment.

Otherwise you won't do it. Such a powerful challenge from Dr. Don Wilton, our teacher here on The Encouraging Word. And as we make and focus that priority to our commitment, we would love to give you some resources that'll help you grow. One of those is the daily encouraging word devotional. You can sign up for it, email it phonically on our website right now at TEWonline.org.

There you'll find a great deal of resources. And right now at this time of year, a great opportunity to get a number of those resources with a wonderful value. The Encouraging Word is having a summer book sale. Book prices will start at $6.

That's right, only $6. Visit us online at TEWonline.org and click the store tab located at the top of the page. We appreciate your support. The Encouraging Word is a viewer and listener supported ministry. Thank you for listening today.

Now back to today's great teaching with Dr. Don Wilton. I have to do that all the time when it comes to diet and I hate it. I get all my pictures back from vacations and things and the ones that I throw away are the ones, the pictures that are taken from the side. Have you ever noticed that I always try and preach standing straight on? Because I know as soon as I do this, the pictures of me, they just lie folks, let's face it. I have to make a deliberate choice. I've got to say to myself, listen, you need to get healthy.

You need to lose weight. You need to do, if you don't do that, if I don't do that, we won't do it. That's us by nature.

Listen folks, there's some things that you and I cannot live without. Prioritized focus. God's word calls it commitment. And our spiritual commitment is high on that order. If you don't make a commitment to serve the Lord in his church, you won't do it. If you don't make a commitment to singing in the choir, I want to know why some of you in the choir are not up here this morning.

What are you doing sitting down here? I want to know why some of you dads are not spending enough time with your children. I want to know why some of us who are married are not loving our spouses like we ought to. I want to know why some of us are struggling physically. I want to know why some of us are getting more and more and more and more tired. Why we never take a break, we never stop.

It's almost as though in America today, if you dare to tell anybody you're going on vacation, you've committed the greatest crime. Well, I'm going to beg to differ my friend. You and I have got to make priorities in our focus. And it begins with our relationship with God.

Otherwise it's not going to happen. There's some things we cannot live without. Number four, a personality which pleases Jesus Christ. Now, folks, this is going to be interesting. Go to Galatians chapter five, Galatians chapter five.

I want to just run through this again. We're talking about, wait a minute now, God has blessed us and these things are great. We want, we thank the Lord for everything. But are there some things that we cannot live without? Number one, a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Everything else hinges on that. Number two, a purpose in life. Number three, a prioritized focus for life. That speaks to my commitment.

It's not just what I do, it's who I am. It's non-negotiable. Folks, I don't want to go from this, I even had a couple in this church not too long ago turn up here on Sunday morning and I said to them, I sure thought you were away on vacation until today.

They said, oh yes, we had our vacation, but we've made a commitment in our family to be in church on Sunday and so we came back on Saturday night instead of Sunday night. I'm not saying you have to do that, folks. I'm saying that's commitment. That's commitment.

It knocks my socks off, but that's commitment. And number four, a personality which pleases God. Now all of us are personalities, all of us are characters. Galatians chapter five and verse 22, I want to read that verse for you. Listen to what the Bible says. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Against such there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their sinful nature with its passions and desires. And verse 25, since we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step or walk in the Spirit. In other words, what Paul is saying here, he's saying, listen, there are some things you cannot live without and one of those things is that your personality needs to reflect the Lord Jesus Christ.

Well, let's put this into some kind of practical terminology. Let me give you some suggestions as to a personality that reflects Jesus Christ, that pleases God. Number one, be yourself, be yourself. You'd say to me, pastor, how does that reflect the Lord? You know how that reflects the Lord, folks? Don't try and be somebody else, be yourself.

Do you know why? Because God made you so special. Folks, listen, I'm making a whole round about you. We spend far too much time pruning ourselves. Now I'm all for getting in shape physically and I think we should and I should. And I'm all for eating the right things and I'm all for looking good and all those other things. Young people, listen to me, listen to me, especially you young ladies, but all you young people, don't go through life spending all your time trying to become somebody else that you're not. You are special just as you are. You are uniquely made. And so what if your nose goes this way instead of that way? Ha ha ha ha!

Be yourself, that pleases God. Number two, be positive, be positive. Have you ever heard or met anybody who wakes up in the morning and says, you know, I think I'm just going to be critical of everything today. Have you ever met someone who just seems to go through life underground? All the time, there's always something wrong. Ha ha ha ha! Always, be positive, that pleases the Lord.

Just thank God for your circumstances. Number three, be personal, be personal. Do you know what personal means?

Our young people always tease me about this. With me, it's that eyeball to eyeball stuff. It's being personal, it's got something to do with the fact that you interact with people. Don't become an isolationist. Be personal, folks. Listen to me, it pleases the Lord. Make other people feel comfortable.

Be proactive in that, put yourself out. Number four, be generous. Oh, I'm speaking to the wrong crowd about generosity, I know that, but be generous, folks. You are generous, but I'm going to ask you a question.

If we're going to have a personality that pleases the Lord, have you ever met anybody who's got a tight hand? And you need a crowbar to open their hand to give anything to anybody else. They've got homes they never share with anybody else. They drive motor cars that they never share with anybody else. They've got bank balances they never share with anybody else. They've got food they never share with anybody else. They've got boats they never share with anybody else. They've got personality they never share with anybody else.

They've got influence they never share it with anybody else. Be generous in your personality and your spirit. You say to me, pastor, how do I know if I'm generous?

You know if you're generous. When last did you do something for somebody else? When last did you buy somebody else a Coke at the Coke machine? When last did you bake a loaf of bread for somebody and take it to them? When last did you call somebody? When last did you do something?

When last did you pay somebody else's green fees? Or are you always out fumbling everybody? Be generous. Can you God bless you?

No, you know that. You know why I believe God's blessing this church, folks? You've been generous. Let's take the generosity of this church to another whole level.

Let's take it to another whole level. Number five, be biblical. Say, how can you be biblical in your personality? Be biblical, my friend. What that means is it means that the word of God is the reflecting agent of your personality. You are striving to apply God's word and his standards to your personality.

Here it is. You are living out God's word. That pleases God. Book of James chapter one, James puts it like this. He says, don't just hear the word of God, do it.

Do it. Number six, be compassionate. Be compassionate. That's a personality that pleases the Lord, compassion. Be compassionate. Care about other people.

We can ask a lot of questions. When last did you pick up a phone and call somebody? Maybe for no reason. Just pick up the phone.

When last did you just step out of line and put a hand on a shoulder? Folks, all of these things are things that we do because we determined to do them by God's grace. And as we make that determination because of God's grace in our life, we know that there's more than just what we hear. I pray that as we listen to God's word taught today by Dr. Wilton, we would be ready to make some changes, some course corrections, some adjustments. We're here to pray you through those adjustments at 866-899-WORD.

And before we get away, the most important part of our day with Dr. Don Wilton. Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ? Why don't you pray this prayer with me right now? Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner and I know that Jesus died for me on the cross. Today, I repent of my sin and by faith, I receive you into my heart. In Jesus' name. My friend, I welcome you today into the family of God.

This is exciting news. We call that the most important part because we are here to let you know Jesus loves you. If you just gave your life to Christ, praying with Dr. Wilton moments ago or rededicated your life to Christ, we would love to connect you with Dr. Don with resources that are absolutely free. You can call us at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673. Or meet us on our website at TEWOnline.org. That's TEWOnline.org. Matter of fact, you can even email Dr. Don. He would love to pray for you and hear from you. It's just Don, D-O-N, at TEWOnline.org. We'll see you next week.