This is the Truth Network. Welcome to the broadcast ministry of Finding Purpose with Russ Andrews, where we seek to glorify God by making him known and guiding others towards their true purpose in life. No one is here by chance. God put us here for a reason. And the most important thing we can do is discover His plan for us and commit ourselves to it.
Keep listening as we learn from the Bible how to live wisely in God's world. which is the first step towards finding your purpose. Good evening, man. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you for this evening and Lord, thank you for We're full of heartache for what's happened in our country the last week, but.
At the same time, we're watching something glorious happen, and that's the advancement of your kingdom. And your light. is shining in the midst of the darkness. In this evil world that we live in. And the darkness must flee when the light enters.
And so, Lord, I pray that tonight... Your light will shine through your word. and through the words you've given me. I pray, Lord, that I would decrease so that these men would see you. and if they would be drawn into the light.
And if there's someone sitting here tonight who has never placed his trust in you, I pray that they would do that tonight. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Or if you will, open up your Bible to John chapter 1. I've entitled this message, A Great Light Has Dawned.
One of my favorite theologians, as you probably know, is Charles Haddon Spurgeon, who is considered the greatest preacher of the 19th century. He was born in Essex, England, on June 19th, which just so happens to be my birthday, by the way.
However, he was born in 1834, and he died on January the 31st, 1892, at the age of 58. On Sunday morning, January 6, 1850, there was a very heavy snowstorm, and Spurgeon could not make it to his normal church.
So he ducked into a small primitive Methodist chapel, where only a handful of people showed up because of the heavy snowfall, and even the minister didn't show up.
So a layman came up to preach that morning. And his text was Isaiah 45, verse 22. You need to remember this verse. Because it changed one man's life. Isaiah 45, 22 says, Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is no other.
Now Spurgeon was sitting about where Frank Pierce was sitting. And the layperson, I think it was a deacon, looked down at him and said, Young man. You look miserable. You need to look unto Christ and be saved. And that's exactly what happened to Charles Spurgeon on that.
Sunday morning. He was only 15 years old. And he began his preaching career the next year at the age of 16. On September 19th, 1858, Spurgeon, who at the time was 24 years old, gave a sermon on Isaiah chapter 9.
Now, you may know that Isaiah lived about 700 years before the birth of Christ. And it was a, remember from Hosea last year, it was a very dark time for the northern kingdom of Israel. The Israelites had turned away from God and they were worshiping many false idols. Moreover, Israel was being led by very evil kings. In fact, four of the last kings were assassinated.
That's how dark it was. Therefore, in 722 BC, God raised up an enemy, the Assyrian army, which invaded Israel, captured the city of Samaria, and brought the northern kingdom of Israel to an abrupt end.
However, In God's mercy, which He always, there's always a ray of hope in God's wrath. And it says mercy. And he sent a ray of light through the prophet Isaiah, which brought hope to a people living in darkness. Isaiah chapter 9. Reads like this.
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned. For to us a child is born. To us a son is given. And the government will be on his shoulders, and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace, there shall be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness. From that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty. will accomplish this.
Have you ever watched a storm that's passing over the ocean on a dark night when they're Not many stars out, and you can't see the moon because of the clouds that are covering the moon and the stars up. But what you see is amazing. You witness God revealing His power in the lightning strikes and in the sounds of the thunder. And this is what happened to Spurgeon. This is what he experienced one night, and it reminded him.
of the prophet Isaiah.
So on that Sunday morning in 1858, he preached from this text, Isaiah chapter 9. And here's what he said. 167 years ago. One evening last week, I stood by the seashore where the storm was raging. The voice of the Lord was upon the waters, and who was I that I should remain inside when my Master's voice was heard sounding along the water?
I rose and stood to behold the flash of his lightnings and listen to the glory of his thunders. The sea and the thunders were contesting with one another. The sea with infinite clamor, striving to hush the deep-throated thunder so that his voice could not be heard. Yet, over and above the roar of the billows might be heard that voice of God. as he spoke with flames of fire and divided the way of the waters.
It was a dark night. And the sky was covered with thick clouds, and scarce a star could be seen through the breaks in the storm. But at one instant, I noticed far away on the horizon, as if miles across the water, a bright light shining like gold. It was the moon hidden behind the clouds so that she could not shine upon us. But she was able to send her rays down upon the waters far away.
where no cloud happened to intervene. I thought as I read this chapter last evening. That the prophet seemed to have stood in a similar place when he wrote the words of my text. All round about him were clouds of darkness. He heard prophetic thunders roaring, and he saw flashes of the lightnings of divine vengeance.
Clouds in darkness for many a league were scattered through history. But he saw far away a bright spot. One place where the clear shining came down from heaven. And he sat down. And he pinned these words.
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned. Amen. Two thousand years ago, That great light that Isaiah saw shining upon the land of Israel was born in a manger in the little town of Bethlehem. And Mary named him what?
Jesus.
Now why did she give him this name? Because the angel Gabriel told her in advance, You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom.
will never end. Do you want to make sure that you belong to that kingdom? Because this kingdom The kingdom of man is passing away. In John chapter 1, verse 5, John says, The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it. Tonight I want to share with you Three truths concerning this light, and here's the first one.
God sent a witness to testify. before this lot appeared. I want you to look at verses 6 through 9 as we go through this text. John writes, There came a man who was sent from God. His name was John.
He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light, he came only as a witness to the light. The true light, that gives light to every man. was coming into the world.
Now this John is obviously who? John the Baptist.
Now, did you know that it was prophesied that God would send a man into the world? who would be the forerunner of the Messiah and who would announce his arrival.
Well, we learned this in Malachi chapter 3, verse 1. Listen to what Malachi writes. See, I will send my messenger who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple, the messenger of the covenant. Which covenant would that be?
The new covenant. Because the old covenant didn't work. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you desire will come, says the Lord Almighty.
Now, I want y'all to notice something in this verse. This is very important. I want you to see who's speaking here. It is the Lord Almighty who's speaking. And listen to what he says.
I will send my messenger who will prepare the way before me. It's the Lord Almighty who is speaking here. It's the Lord Almighty who is the same one who spoke to Moses from the burning bush when he told Moses. I am is sending you to Egypt to set my people free. He is the same one speaking to Malachi, and he's announcing that a messenger will precede him and announce his coming.
In other words, he's speaking, this is the pre-incarnate Christ speaking about himself. He is the Lord Almighty. And he's foretelling that a messenger will come to announce my arrival in the world. And that was John the Baptist. In John 1, 29, which we'll get to this coming week.
He says, look. Can't you see John the Baptist out in the desert? Pharisees are there trying to find something wrong with them. The crowds have come out there to see this strange figure that reminded them of Elijah. He's wearing animal skins and eating locusts.
And one day his cousin. appears in the crowd. And he and it's Jesus. And he says, look. the Lamb of God.
who takes away the sins of the world. You see, John came as a witness to testify concerning this light. that was now dawning in the land of Israel.
Now the Greek word From which we get the word witness, I'm going to teach you another Greek word. It's a very easy one: martus. Can y'all hear the word martyr in that word?
So many of the early followers of Jesus, including 10 of the 12 disciples, were martyred for their testimony that the word martyrs came to mean one who bears witness by his death. And as we're going to see later, John the Baptist became a martyr, did he not? He was beheaded by John, excuse me, by the majority of the art. King Herod. for his faith, and he became another martyrs.
Guess what, men? It's not our calling necessarily to be martyrs. But we are to be witnesses for Christ. and testify about what he's done for us to change us. Are we not?
This is what Charlie Kirk did. And he became one who was numbered among the thousands upon thousands of martyrs. who preceded him. in this great honor. This afternoon, as I was looking over this, I thought about what it says in Revelation chapter 6.
If you want to turn there real quick, Revelation 6, verses 9 through 11, last book in the Bible. John is given a vision. He's on the island of Patmos. And here he says, When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. I don't think they're not literally under an altar.
It's just a. It's just a that's a place of sacrifice. They've sacrificed their lives. And they called out in a loud voice. Jesus is right there with them.
How long, sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood? Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed, as they had been, was completed. Can you believe that? God has a number in mind. Because he knows all things.
He knows when the last martyr will have been Murdered. And I believe at that point. We'll see the clouds part. And Jesus will return. You see, one day the blood of the martyrs, all the blood of the martyrs in the history of the world, from Abel, who was the first martyr, to the very last martyrs.
will be avenged by the returning king. Who? In fact, flip over to Revelation. I gotta read this. Flip over to Revelation.
I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse, whose riders call faithful and true. With justice, he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood.
What does that remind you of? The crucifixion. Or it could be the blood of the martyrs. And his name is the word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.
Out of his mouth, guys, this is a picture. This is symbolic, so you can't take these symbols literally. He's not going to have a sword coming out of his mouth, but this is how John is describing it with symbols. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He'll rule them with an iron scepter.
He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh, he has this name written, King of kings and Lord of Lords. Let me ask you something. Do you want to face God's wrath one day? Because I'm telling you what, when he comes back.
He will be filled with the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. And I'm going to talk about that wrath in just a minute. How you can have a wonderful experience that takes you out from under God's wrath. See, Jesus is calling you and me. to be his witnesses and to testify about him.
Are you willing? J.D. Vance, if you saw him at the the wonderful worship event celebrating Charlie Kirk's martyrdom. He said that, again, he's not vice president, in case you didn't know that. He said that over the last 11 days, he shared his faith in Jesus Christ more with others.
than in his entire public career as a politician. Do you have more of a desire to share the gospel than ever before? Do you? Raise your hand if you do. I think Charlie Kirk has inspired all of us to be more bold in our witness.
2 Corinthians 5:20 says, We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. That's what he's trying to do. God wants to use you and me to make his appeal to our family members and our friends, to share the light that we have with them, so that they can come into the light and know that they have eternal life. John the Baptist was sent to be a witness and to testify concerning this light. That's the first truth.
Here's the second truth. The true light. Gives light to every person. See, John was sent by God to testify concerning the true light. The true light that gives light to every man who's coming into the world.
Now, this is a big statement. Here's something I thought about. Why does John write the true light? Why didn't it just say the light? Truth is a very important word here.
Sadly, ever since Satan appeared in the garden as a beautiful serpent to deceive the woman, there have been countless, thousands upon thousands, hundreds of thousands of false lights attempting to deceive the world. These false lights often appear as attractive Sincere. Articulate. and intelligent. We're legislators.
Did you know that? In Acts 20, verses 26 and 31, Paul wants the elders in Ephesus. In fact, this was the last time he met with these elders because he knows he's going back to Jerusalem and he's going to be martyred. Listen to what he says. The last thing he told him: keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.
Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in from where? Among you. from within the church. And will not spare the flock.
Even from your own number, men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.
So be on your guard. Remember, That for three years, I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. S listen, man. Satan's number one strategy. It is to keep people in their lost condition by trapping them in churches and religions.
Where they will never hear the true gospel, and no one will point them to the true light of the world. In 2 Corinthians 11, 13 through 15, Paul warns, For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It's not surprising then if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. They're in will be what their actions deserve.
I would not want to be one of these men. standing at the great white throne judgment. The vast majority of mainline churches And Europe England and America. or led by false teachers. who only dispense false light.
I've been observing this. since I was about 20. I'm 71. And I'm warning you, just like Paul did. Men, make sure you are attending a Bible-teaching church that points you to the true light.
Are you? Verse 9 says, The true light that gives light to every man. This is a very interesting verse. Notice that John uses the word light seven times in verses 4 through 9. Why seven times?
Because it's an important word. Light is so important to the world. Without light, we would all die. But more importantly, without the true light, we would all die eternally. That is, no one will be saved without the true light that came into the world.
I also want you to know and understand this truth. All unbelievers. Will one day stand before Christ and have no excuse for their lack of faith. Because the true light that is coming to the world has given them light to everyone. Paul makes this clear in Romans 1:18 through 20.
This is a verse, by the way, man, you need to memorize. The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the guilelessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness. Since what may be known about God is plain to them. Because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly what?
Scene. Be it understood from what has been made so that men are without excuse.
So God Reveals light into our minds and hearts. through creation. But he also does it through our consciences. In Romans 2, 14 and 15, Paul writes this, now listen carefully to what he says. Indeed, when Gentiles who do not have the law Do by nature things required by the law, they are law for themselves, even though they do not have the law.
Since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them. This is known, men, as the moral law argument. which says every person who's ever been born. has a conscience which bears witness that certain things are wrong. Therefore, since every person has a moral law within them, there must be a what?
A moral law giver. It's the proof of the existence of God. You can go to anywhere in the world. And at a certain age, I don't know what the age is, four, five, or six, seven. They know Innately, within themselves, without being told that it's wrong to tell a lie.
They know there's wrong to murder. Where does that law come from? It's already in our DNA. Who put it there? God The more law giver.
God's revelation of Himself, both in creation and in our conscience, is known as universal or general revelation. And what I mean by that, deep down inside, Everyone knows that God exists. Did you know that? Even atheists, because all atheists have done, they've just suppressed the truth. But if you hold a pistol to the head, they're going to probably, yeah, I've always kind of known he existed.
Now, there's another type of revelation. It's not a specific or particular revelation. This revelation comes by the gospel of Jesus Christ. When Jesus came into the world as the true light. He came as the personal revelation of God.
So when you saw Jesus, you saw who? Remember Jesus said, When you've seen me, you've seen the Father. I am the Father one. Be before Abraham was born, I am. He is the Explanation of God.
Moreover, By His Spirit, He's given us what? This book. This is specific revelation. Because it points to Jesus as the true light. It's by the light of this revelation that men and women can be saved.
All you have to do, men, If you're not saved, if you're not sure, if you have any doubt. is to come into the light. and believe the truth of God's Word. Tragically, Millions of people. who lived at time of Christ.
And have you heard the gospel since then? They suppress the truth. And in so doing, they reject Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life.
Now look at verses 10 and 11. He was in the world. And though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
Now I want you to think about this. Jesus was, and guess what? He still is, Jewish. He was born in Israel. He grew up among Jewish men and women.
For three years he traveled all over Israel, sharing the truth about himself, revealing himself as the true light, and performing miracles. And what was the result? A few believed. But the majority did not. Not either his own brothers for a while.
and not even religious leaders.
Now we can't pick on the Jews too much. Um Men have come to me before and said, How come the Jews don't believe? I said, Well, how come the Gentiles don't believe? In John chapter five, Jesus said to the religious Jews: Now, listen carefully. You diligently study the scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life.
These are the scriptures. that testify about me. Yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. In Luke 19, 41 through 44, we read, This is getting near the point of his arrest and his eventual crucifixion. It says: as he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it.
and said, If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace. But now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another.
Because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you. Do you think that our world is recognizing the time of God's coming. As history informs us. That prophecy was fulfilled in 70 AD when the Roman army marched against Jerusalem to put down a revolt. They built embankments.
They circled the city so that there was no way out. And then they overwhelmed the city walls and they entered the city and they slaughtered tens of thousands of men, women, and children. And they tore down the temple, leaving not one stone upon another. That's why Jesus was weeping. About 40 years before this happened.
Here's a warning. Don't be like the Jews who study the scriptures but refuse to come to Jesus to have life. You can come to a Bible study, I've seen it, for eight or ten years. And there's no change in your life. You can be ever hearing.
but never understanding. Here's the third truth. The true light shines through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Look at verses 12 and 13. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
Children born not of natural descent. nor husbands. Excuse me, nor a human decision or a husband's will, but born of who? God. Let me read it again.
Yet to all who received him, To those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. Children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or husband's will, but born of God.
Now I want to break these two verses down. Here's the first thing I want you to see. We all need to understand Jeff, you'll appreciate this. That we are not born God's children.
Now, J.D. Vance the other night made a mistake when he was talking, but I give him the benefit of the doubt. He said, We're all God's children. Is that true? No.
It's not. How many times have you been to a church before, and the minister will say something like this? Let's all of us stand up together as God's children. and recite the Apostles' Creed.
Now what impression does that leave on the minds of everybody sitting there? That we're all God's children. We're all gods. create creatures. But we don't belong to his family except by faith.
We're actually born God's what? The enemies. And we live under his what? Wrath. Doesn't that sound horrible?
It is horrible. And we're in that condition until something wonderful happens. This is why the gospel means good news, it's great news. John 3:36 says, Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him. If it remains on him, what does that imply?
It's always been there. Romans 5.10 says, For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life? Question. What do we all need to be saved from? No, it's the one I have.
He he's an A plus student, by the way. We need to be saved from the wrath of God. We need to be saved from God Himself. To be saved from his wrath, something wonderful must happen, which is we all must be reconciled to him.
So what does it mean to be reconciled? It means to put an end to the hostility that exists between enemies. That's what reconciliation is all about.
So how can we be reconciled to God?
Well look at verse 12 again. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. It's so simple. You know, if you look through the Bible and look at the words that God uses about salvation, Charles Spurgeon, look. Jesus says, enter.
Come. Receive. Believe. Turn.
Well those are pretty simple words. They are. Even a child can understand them. To be reconciled to God, we must receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior by believing in Him. J.C.
Ryle puts it like this: To receive Christ is to accept Him with a willing heart and to take Him as our Savior. To believe on Christ with the heart is to receive him. And to receive him. is to believe on him. In Romans 10, 9, and 10, in verse 13, Paul writes: That if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be what?
Saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified. It is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be what? Saved.
So, how many can call on the name of the Lord? Everyone. The door right now, listen, the door right now, until the second coming, is wide open. The problem the world has is that God has only given us one door. We need to be grateful that there is one door.
The week got it. No, I'm going to come this way over here. I'm going to come this way over here. I'm going to go serve at the soup kitchen and I'm going to go to church every day and I'm going to write a check for $10 to put it in the collection plate. I'm just going to try to be a good person.
It's not going to work. Salvation men. is totally the work of God. Look at verse 13 again. Children born not of natural descent nor of human decision or husband's will.
but born of God.
Now when John writes, children born, He's not talking about physical birth. He's pointing to the new birth or the second birth. the spiritual birth. The birth from above. Oh.
This is exactly what Jesus was talking about when he talked to the most religious teacher in all of Israel, whose name was what? Nicodemus, he said, Nicodemus, I tell you the truth. Unless you are born again. You cannot see the kingdom of God. He was Israel's teacher.
And he was saying, if you're not born again, you don't even understand what you're teaching. We got a lot of teachers like that. today in churches, in Sunday school classes. They don't even know what they're teaching. Rouse says the birth here spoken of is the new birth or regeneration, that complete change of heart and nature which takes place in a man when he becomes a real Christian.
Is a change so great that no other figure but that of birth can fully express it. It is it has went a new It is as when a new being. With new think about this. Does this describe you? A new being.
with new appetites, new wants, and new desires is brought into the world. It's a new birth. A person born of God is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things are new.
Cass, does that describe your life? Do you have a B C and an A D. Can you see a change in your life? It might be gradual. It normally is gradual.
Do you hate sin more than you used to? Do you love the Lord more than you used to?
So, what do we learn about this new birth? First, the first thing, most importantly, no one can save himself. You can't be saved because of your bloodline. Because of who your parents are. Grace does not pass from parent to child.
Secondly, you can't be saved because of your own will, that is, by your own self-efforts or works of the flesh. Human nature cannot change itself. Finally, you can't be saved by the will and actions of others. No minister or priest, not anyone, can convey God's grace to another human being.
So how is man saved? A man can only be saved by God and by God alone. Look at the end of verse 13. But born of God. Salvation, men, is totally the work of God.
Rouse says, believers become what they are solely and entirely by the grace of God. It is to God's free grace preventing, calling, converting, renewing, and sanctifying. That they owe their new birth. They are born of God, or as the third chapter says, distinctly, born of the Spirit. Paul writes in Ephesians 2, 8, 9, For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves.
It is the gift of God, not by works, so no one can boast. Is that clear enough? It's not by works. It's is solely By grace Through faith.
Now I want to close with this. I want to share with you something that's incredible. When a man is truly, have you been truly born again? When you were born again, It's only that moment. that God becomes your heavenly Father.
And you become his son. By adoption. Turn me to Romans chapter 8 quickly. Romans 8. And I want to read 14 through 17.
It may be in your outline. Those who are led by the Spirit of God are what?
Sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received a spirit of sonship or the spirit of adoption.
Well you know why he uses adoption here? Because in Roman culture, They were a society with a lot of laws, and they had a lot of laws about adoption. And when a father adopted a Uh uh an orphan. into his family. The law was so tight, so specific, that that adopted son had the same rights and privileges as the natural-born son.
That's what God is telling us. When you place your trust in Jesus, he adopts you into... His family. and he calls you son and then look at this. And by him we cry what?
Abba Father. And then the Spirit Himself testifies with our Spirit that we're God's children. In other words, you begin to know in your inner being. That God is your Heavenly Father and that you're His Son.
Now, if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. I was watching the news some time ago. And there was a news person out on the streets of Jerusalem. And he was interviewing a man. And I could hear behind the man this little boy going, Abba, Abba, Abba.
What's he saying? He was, yeah, but really he was saying, Daddy, daddy, daddy. God becomes our is so intimate that he becomes our heavenly daddy. And I hope you had a good daddy. If you didn't, you have one now in God.
And we can come to him with any need. God wants us to have a very intimate relationship with Him. And the reason we studied the Bible is so that you can get to know him. more intimately, more personally. And this is why 2,700 years ago, The Lord Almighty spoke through his prophet by saying, For to us a child is born.
To us a son is given. And the government will be on his shoulders, and he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, prince of peace. everlasting Father. Is God your Heavenly Father? I hope so.
Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for your word. Lord, thank you for this meant being here. Thank you, Lord, for the way you're working throughout the world. I just see the light, dear God, driving out the darkness.
Particularly these young people. Lord, I pray that you would drive out the darkness in our hearts. And I pray, Lord, that we would have a desire and a hunger to know you more intimately. and to develop discipline to study your word. In Jesus' name I pray.
Amen. You've been listening to Finding Purpose with Russ Andrews. This broadcast is made possible because of the prayers and financial gifts of listeners like you. If you want to learn more about our ministry or support us as we reach others with God-centered Bible teaching, please visit us at findingpurpose.net.
