R1096 Four Inescapable Questions. Pt.1

4 Inescapable Questions. That's today's topic from Dr. Don Wilton on this edition of The Encouraging Word. This is The Encouraging Word featuring the Bible-based teaching of Dr. Don Wilton, well-known author, evangelist, and perhaps best known as the pastor of Dr. Billy Graham.

Today Dr. Don takes us to Romans chapter 3 to talk about not one, not two, but four inescapable questions. As we open the Word together, know that we're connecting with you both on our phone line at 866-899-WORD, available for prayer anytime, 866-899-9673. We also have grand resources like this remarkable thing for grandparents. It's called Prayers That Avail Much for Grandparents. You'll find it on our website right now at TEWOnline.org, that and many more resources as well.

Now today's teaching with Dr. Don Wilton. You know, you come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior by only one means, and that's by repenting of your sin, confessing that sin to him, giving your heart and life to Jesus. The only way you can go to heaven is by giving your heart to Jesus. But you know, when you give your heart to Jesus, what you do for him is a mirror image. It is reflective of the Christ who lives in you, and I commend you for that. Our works are not the mark of our salvation.

They are the evidence of it. You and I will want to serve others and make a difference in other people's lives because the Lord Jesus Christ has come into our hearts and lives, and I just thank you for that. Folks, this is what it's all about, isn't it? You know, it's so easy for those of us all across the world, those of us who are part of the Lord's church. It's so easy for us to just eventually sit down and just take and take, and I just thank you today. You know, it's an amazing thing, folks, across this nation. I cannot imagine the amount of giving that was given over this season of giving.

Can you? Friends, I don't think anybody here today would want me to get up and just brag on America, but I suppose I would fall into the category of a well-traveled person. Like many of you, I've been around the world. I'm telling you, there is no more generous people than the American people. Don't stop. Don't allow the enemy to get to you.

Don't let what you hear some people overseas say about us get under your skin. Don't ever close down on your generous heart. And in the church, this year and in the years to come, we continue to ask the Lord to help us just give it away. That's why we're here.

We just want to give it away. And I'm grateful for your participation. And I just want you to know that I love you, and it is a very distinct honor to serve as your pastor and to be alongside of you and to see what the Lord does in and through us.

And I'm one of those people. I think this is going to be one of the greatest years ever. I really do. So I'd like us to have just a brief time of prayer together, and I want to pray for you today. I want to pray for you, and I want to tell you why I want to pray for you. Can I tell you why I want to pray for you? I want to pray, first of all, to thank the Lord for you.

I just want to thank the Lord Jesus for you. I really believe that God has his hand on many of you. And so it's not time to sit back.

It's time to step forward because we haven't even begun to scratch the surface. And the work that God has given to us is very significant, and it's massive. I don't think we can possibly imagine accepting to say, Lord, just use us to make a difference in the lives of others. That's why I want to pray for you.

Number two, I not only want to thank the Lord for you, but I want to pray for some of you today that you haven't got it yet. There's someone listening to me right now. Your heart is still closed, isn't it? And you know who you are. You don't need me to tell you that.

Right now, you know exactly who you are. Your heart is still closed. Now, folks, listen to this.

Listen to me, my friend. You can spend a life doing all kinds of things, but if your heart is closed to the things of God, you've got nothing. I want to pray that you would open your heart to the Lord Jesus. Some of you need to trust him as your Savior and Lord. You've never given your life to Christ. And you know it. In our country today, it is so easy to masquerade as a Christian.

This is the easiest nation in the world to give the appearance that you have of the relationship with the Lord, even through giving. But you know that you haven't done that. And as a result of that, you've got a thousand questions. And I want to pray for you that God would answer your deepest questions today because he loves you. And I want to pray for you because some of you are struggling so much. I know you are.

Many of you are very precious people, and some of you have been blessed so much. Just look at you. Look at you. Look at what you've got. Look at where you live. Just think about the abundance of food, folks, that we've had.

The roads that we travel, the motor cars we drive, the homes that many live in. And maybe you're listening to me today and you know that. You're surrounded, but yet your heart is closed to the things of God. And you've got questions. There's only one answer, and that is when you open your heart to the Lord Jesus. It's time to let go. And I want to say especially to some of you men who are looking at me today.

I don't single out the men, but some of you men are big time business people. And you're making all kinds of money and you're being blessed and you've got families and everything, but your heart is closed to the things of God. And that cannot continue like that.

You will hit a dead end, my friend. And it's time. This is a new day. Give your children a new dad, your wife a new husband, your business a new executive. And Jesus Christ, when he comes into your heart, he comes inside your life and he changes you from inside out. And he doesn't take away from you.

He just gives it all back to you. And your cup will overflow with the blessings of his grace. So I want to just pray for you. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ today. We proclaim the name of the Lord in all the earth. We thank you that Jesus Christ came to this world, born in Bethlehem, died on a cross in Jerusalem, was buried in a grave, conquered sin, death and the grave, left our sin right there, stone graveyard dead, was raised by the power of God on the third day, appeared to over 500, then ascended to be seated at the right hand of the Father, now praying for us because God loves us. We worship you today. Lord, I want to thank you.

I take personal privilege today to just thank you for the scores and hundreds, thousands of people all across this land who love you and who this season have just given of themselves. Lord, there have been people standing in soup kitchens, serving meals, taking care of orphans, going on mission trips, packing up boxes of goods, loving others in the name of Jesus. Father, today, in the name of the Lord, I thank you for these most precious, giving people who are always there, seemingly denying themselves for the sake of others because of Jesus. And in the name of Jesus, I bless them in the name of the Lord today. And I ask you, Father, to just pour out your spirit upon such people as these. Fulfill their every need and desire.

Lord, at the same time, with so many others today, with a husband, with a wife, a son, a daughter, with precious people, I pray for someone today worshiping at this very moment who doesn't need another sermon. They know they do not belong to you. Lord, in my own city, I am surrounded by people like that. They belong to country clubs, churches, they are on school boards, they sit on the council, they are my friends and your friends, they are people who ride on the same bus, they live next door, and they don't know Jesus. They are jolly fine people. Some of them, Lord, are the very best.

We consider them the salt of the earth. They are kind, generous, hospitable, open-hearted, always there, but they don't know Jesus. And what is it proper to man if he gain the whole world and yet lose his own soul? Father, today we pray that by your spirit, all across this land, that people would come to know Jesus Christ, whom to know is life eternal. Now, Father, as we open your word, speak to our hearts, we pray.

And may your name be glorified as we pray these things all together in Jesus' name, amen. All right, I want you to open your Bibles this morning to the book of Romans, and we're going to be in chapter three just to begin with. So I really want to encourage you to get a copy of God's word.

That is what this is about. It's about God's encouraging word. And Jesus Christ has an encouraging word just for you today. I want to read a passage of scripture for you.

And then I'm going to share something rather remarkable with you today that the Lord has put upon my heart. Because I'm going to speak to you about four inescapable questions, four inescapable questions. I guess what I'm about to tell you is whether you like it or not, you'll never be able to tiptoe around these four questions. They are four inescapable questions. Now I've got a lot of questions.

You know that. Some of you have been around me long enough. You've got a lot of questions.

I know that because I've been around you long enough. But these are four inescapable questions that I think as we face the new year, we must provide the answer. I actually don't have the answer, but God does. So I want to read to you just to begin with in Romans chapter 3 verse 10. As it is written, there is no one righteous. No, not one. There is not one person who understands. No one who seeks God or people have turned away. They have together become worthless.

There is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves. Their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.

Their feet are swift to shed blood. Ruin and misery mark their ways and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now may the Lord write this word upon our hearts. One would think that we were reading the resume of much of these United States of America.

There is no fear of God before their eyes. I told you that you would say of me, well, pastor, we know how many questions you have because you're asking them all the time. I said to you, the problem is I know how many questions you have because I hear you asking them all the time. Together we are a people who have questions. I could share with you today if it were possible. If I was to break confidentiality, which I would not, I could share with you today many questions that people have that I know about.

One can just imagine how many questions there are that I know nothing of, nor do you. I know of people who are saying, I don't know if my marriage is going to work anymore. What can I do about my marriage?

My marriage is in trouble. What can I do about it? I've got some people that I know that are saying, what can I do about my son or my daughter?

What programs can I get them into? How can I help them? How can I stop whatever it is that is going on? I've got people who are asking questions about economics, a lot of us, aren't we? What is the world going to look like this year? Are we going to see an economic upturn? We've just gone through a Christmas season and they are telling us that retail took a good turn for the better. Some of the economic indicators are looking better. Economists seem to be, maybe even in just a little way, a little more optimistic than what they were this time a year ago. It looks like the economy may improve. There may be more jobs. I've got people who are saying, what am I going to do in order to provide for my family? How am I going to do that? Where can I get a job?

How many more resumes do I need to send out? I know people who have big health issues. We prayed this morning in our prayer meeting early this morning for some of our people that we know that have got real health concerns.

What's next? What treatment should I take? Which doctors should I consult?

Do I need to go to a specialist? What about my elderly parents? How am I going to take care?

Where shall I go next? I've got people from every walk of life asking every question of life. But my friends, there are four inescapable questions that I want to share with you. And I'm going to give you these four inescapable questions.

And I'm going to try and tell you what God has to say about them. You're listening to Dr. Don Wilton, our teacher here on The Encouraging Word. Don't go away.

He'll be back with the rest of today's message in just a moment. But Dr. Don wants me to remind you, we're here to pray with you 24 hours a day at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673. If you'd rather connect on our website, it's keyboard to keyboard at tewonline.org. tewonline.org is our website. As a matter of fact, Dr. Don's email address is simply don at tewonline.org.

These emails. Just the other day, Don was reading an email from a friend, literally halfway around the world, who by the power of God working through The Encouraging Word, the Bible itself and Dr. Wilton's teaching, had revolutionized his life. He'd come to Christ from another faith just by listening to the broadcast. God is at work. And if you'd like to share what God's doing in your life, Dr. Don would love to hear from you and pray for you. Just email him, don at tewonline.org. Again, that's don at tewonline.org.

Now back to today's great teaching with Dr. Don Wilton. So here are the four questions, all right? Number one, what can I do? That's the first question.

What can I do? Number two, who can I speak to? Number three, how can I know? Number four, where will I go? I want to answer these questions today. These are four inescapable questions. Number one, what can I do? Now I have that question, you have that question. What can I do related to my marriage?

What can I do related to my children? One question that I have asked myself many times is what can I do about my health? We're all concerned about health, aren't we?

So let's pick on that one for a moment. I'm concerned about mine. I don't have any concerns, let me just say that.

I've just gone through all the rigmarole and I got an A plus and I'm very happy for that, very grateful. But I think it's a good question. How can I keep well? How can I be fit and healthy?

Because I want to be productive. How can I turn the corner? How can I be vigorous in life and vibrant in what I do?

How can I feel well? But folks, there is one question that is inescapable and it's not what can I do about my health or what can I do related to my family or what can I do in order to get a job? The inescapable question according to God's word is what can I do about my sin? Some of us may need to get healthy again. Some of us may need to repair damage to our family.

Some of us may need to get a job. All of us, every single person according to the word of God has got a massive death defying sin problem. Romans chapter 3 and verse 23, the Bible says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. What can I do about my sin? What a powerful teaching from God's word from God's servant, Dr. Don Wilton.

What can I do about my sin? You know, as Dr. Don has been teaching, it's our prayer that you've heard more than just the wonderful, unique South African brogue of Dr. Don Wilton, but that you've heard something that's really coming from the power of God itself. You're hearing the voice of God letting you know that he loves you. He has a plan for your life. No matter how far you've run, no matter how far you've even turned your back on God, today could be the day to say yes to Jesus. You've heard Dr. Don as he's been teaching and preaching from Romans chapter 3, but now open your heart as he steps in the studio to share what's on his heart next. 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. Welcome to the family of God. I'm just convinced that some of you were praying along with Dr. Wilton moments ago, and the quietness of your heart, you said yes to Jesus Christ.

You know, sometimes we just have to say, Me too, Lord, as we hear a pastor praying and helping us understand how simple it is to say yes to Jesus Christ. We'd love to speak with you more about your decision, or perhaps a decision you still know you need to make, but want some questions answered, we're here right now at 866-899-WORD and would love to take your call. That's 866-899-9673.

Not just now during the broadcast, but 24 hours a day, except don't put it off. If the Lord has stirred your heart and convicted you to make a decision, let's talk about that decision right now. Call us at 866-899-9673. And if you've given your life to Jesus Christ or rededicated your life, Dr. Wilton has some wonderful free resources he wants for you to have absolutely free. If you'll call us, the number again is 866-899-9673, or meet us online as well.

That's T-E-W online dot O-R-G. That's T-E-W online dot O-R-G. And while you're there, you'll discover great resources like this. Hello, everybody. You know, my friends know me as Don Wilton, pastor, friend, neighbor, dad, husband, grandpa. But I'm going to tell you people all around the world just like you know and identify Dr. Billy Graham as that man that God used to reach so many people around the world for the Lord Jesus Christ. I had the privilege of knowing Mr. Graham in a very personal and intimate way, both as his friend and as his pastor.

In fact, for many years, I drove up to his home in Montreat, North Carolina, and visited with him every Saturday. Just like friends do everywhere, we sat together and ate together, walked, talked. We discussed politics, friends, places, people. We laughed our heads off. We did everything one could possibly imagine. That's why I wrote this wonderful book, Saturdays with Billy.

It's all about a personal relationship. And I hope and pray that Saturdays with Billy will be a blessing to you, will inspire you, and will encourage your heart, just as Mr. Graham encouraged my heart and changed my life. God bless you, my friends.

That's just one of many great resources available here at The Encouraging Word. And again, the relationship Dr. Don had with Dr. Billy Graham was a remarkable one. I had the privilege of going up on a Saturday. It was around Christmas.

We went and sang Christmas carols. And to see and to meet Dr. Graham and to see their relationship, it really comes to life in this book. I pray, I encourage you to get a copy. Again, you'll find ways to get it in a number of places, everywhere books are sold. But we'd love to share it with you from our website at www.tewonline.org. That's www.tewonline.org. You can learn more about getting your copy at 866-899-9673.