Love Worth Finding | Audio Program

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Luke 1:5

There is no substitute for prayer; it is to our spiritual life what breath is to our bodies. But sometimes, we find ourselves perplexed, because it feels our prayers are unanswered. Oftentimes, our unanswered prayers are due to our unoffered prayers. But when we sincerely pray, we can expect God to answer one of four ways.

Sometimes, God denies our request: He simply says no.

Perhaps our prayers are self-centered rather than God-centered. We could be asking God to underwrite our worldliness. We are to pray in Jesus’ name, in the will of God. If the answer is no, we must check our motives, to see if they are pure, if we are earnestly seeking His will.

Adrian Rogers says, “Prayer is not bending God’s will to fit our will; prayer is finding the will of God and getting in on it.”

Second, the answer to our prayers may be strategically delayed.

In Luke 1, Zacharias and Elisabeth had been praying for a child for many years. When hope seemed lost and their childbearing years were past, God told them they would have a son.

God always answers prayer in a way that will give Him the greatest glory. As we see in the stories of Daniel, Lazarus, and of Abraham and Sarah, He moves into impossible situations to work in miraculous ways.

He also delays in order to dispense His grace; the child He gave to Zacharias and Elisabeth was the forerunner of Jesus Christ, who came in the fullness of time. By waiting to bless them, He allowed their family to be a part of a greater story.

Sometimes, answers to prayer may be significantly different than we expect.

We may ask God for one thing and He gives us something else. If God doesn’t give us what we ask, He will give us something better and sweeter than what we asked, if we ask in the name of Jesus. Looking back, we may be thankful that we didn’t get what we prayed for.

Finally, God’s answers may be direct.

How wonderful is our Heavenly Father, who delights in providing for His children!

Apply it to your life

If your prayer seems unanswered, check your heart and your motives: are you praying for the glory of God? If so, keep praying; don’t stop until you have the answer in your hand or in your heart, or until God has told you no.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Matthew 27:22

In Matthew 27, Jesus Christ stood on trial before Pilate, and in verse 22, Pilate asked the most personal and pressing question: “What shall I do with Jesus?”

What we do with Jesus is an unavoidable decision each of us will make; what we decide—or not decide—will dictate our eternity.

We must consider Pilate’s decision: as the people cried out for Jesus’ death, Pilate’s voice of reason and conscience raised alarm. He examined the evidence and listened to witnesses, including his own wife (v. 19), and Jesus Himself, who confessed that He was the King of kings. (John 18:37)

Though the voices that confronted Pilate clearly revealed the right thing to do, his warped values pressured him to decide otherwise. Pilate was pressured by the public’s opinion; the people were viciously calling for Jesus’s blood. His boisterous pride, his lofty position, and plentiful possessions were more valuable than the innocent man standing before him.

At first, Pilate ignored the issue, then shifted the decision to King Herod. When Herod declined and sent Jesus back to Pilate, He confessed Jesus was faultless, yet decided not to decide.

However, as Adrian Rogers warns, “You cannot be neutral about Jesus.” Matthew 27:24 says, “When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.”

Pilate’s rejection of reason and misplaced values made Jesus’ trial a mockery of justice. Pilate’s “neutral” verdict condemned Jesus to death, and also condemned himself. We have an opportunity to make a different decision. Analyzing the evidence from Scripture, the witnesses of the saints, of old and of new, we know Jesus is exactly who He says He is. And perhaps the most crucial witness of them all is God the Father.

1 John 5:9 says, “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son.” We know that Jesus is Lord because after He was crucified, God reversed the decision of the court and raised Him from the dead!

Apply it to your life

You cannot be neutral about Jesus; you cannot avoid Him, escape Him, or bypass Him: so what will you do with Him?

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Romans 10:1-7

Jesus did not come to Earth as a great philosopher, educator, economist, or social worker; He came as a Savior. He came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10) and to meet man’s greatest need, which is salvation.

Romans 10:1-7 explains the simplicity of salvation.

First, we must keep in mind the righteousness that God rejects.

“For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:3).

We cannot be ignorant of God’s righteousness and try to establish our own righteousness. Self-righteousness is firmly rejected by God, and our attempts to keep the law and be good people are not enough. It is impossible to keep the Ten Commandments in our own strength; the Bible says that if we break even one, we are guilty of them all.

Adrian Rogers says, “Salvation is not a reward for the righteous; it is a gift for the guilty. Salvation is not a goal to be achieved; it is a gift to be received.”

Second, this passage shares the righteousness that God reveals.

“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4).

We don’t have to search for salvation: He has already found us (see Romans 10:6-7); Jesus Christ is our righteousness.

Finally, we see the righteousness that God receives.

“...if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

In order to receive salvation, we must confess Christ as our reigning Lord. He must rule over our lives. We must confess that He is our risen Lord, who was crucified, buried, and raised from the dead. And we must unashamedly confess Him as our redeeming Lord.

Romans 10:12 says, “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.”

Jesus has never disappointed anyone. He is the only one who satisfies, and He is all-sufficient, able to save us from our sins.

Apply it to your life

Do you understand the simplicity of salvation? Don’t depend on our own righteousness; instead, confess that Jesus Christ is your reigning, risen, redeeming Lord today.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Matthew 12:22-32

Each of us faces a spiritual deadline that, if crossed, will result in the commission of unpardonable sin. This is not a moral, intellectual, or verbal sin; it is blaspheming the Holy Spirit.

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a sin against light; it is attributing to Satan the work of the Holy Spirit when one knows better.

Though we can commit this sin without saying a word, it is not accidental; we would do it knowingly and willfully, with our eyes wide open.

In Matthew 12, Jesus heals a demon-possessed man and opens his eyes and mouth to see and speak. Full of pride, the Pharisees claimed Jesus performed this miracle by the power of Satan.

In verse 31, Jesus says, “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.”

Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is a sin against redemption; Jesus was healing this man out of His love. It is a sin against reason; Jesus explained He couldn’t have cast out Satan if he worked for him. A kingdom divided will fall—even the devil’s. (See Matthew 12:25-29.) It is a sin against revelation; the pride in the hearts of the Pharisees prevented them from being able to see the legitimacy of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, performing miracles right in front of them.

Adrian Rogers says, “When men and women stand before God to be judged, they’re not going to be judged primarily by the sin they committed, but by the light they rejected.”

A person who commits blasphemy against the Holy Spirit opens himself up to deception. We cannot have our sin and God’s truth at the same time.

This sin also has a deadening power; if we reject the truth of Jesus Christ, something dies within us. Little by little, we’ll stop feeling the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

And if the Spirit’s presence in our lives fades out, we’ll see the magnitude of its destruction. This sin puts our hearts in a place where it is impossible to be saved.

This is why we must honor even the slightest desire or conviction to follow Jesus now, before it is too late.

Apply it to your life

Don’t sin against redemption, reason, or revelation. Come to Jesus, following the conviction of the Holy Spirit, before you cross a line you can’t uncross.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Luke 16:19-31

There was a time when we did not exist, but there will never be a time when we will not be. Death is unavoidable, but it is not the end. Our eternal destiny waits for us five minutes after death.

In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus shares a parable full of contrasts. This story stresses the importance of settling our relationship with Jesus Christ on this side of death.

First, Jesus points out the contrast in two men’s lives: one was rich, the other poor. (See Luke 16:19-21.) They were born into different classes and were part of different social hierarchies; one had much and the other had little.

Jesus also spoke of the contrast in their deaths. When the rich man and the beggar died, they were buried according to their manner of life.

Yet, this passage also shares the contrast of their eternities.

“So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom” (Luke 16: 22-23).

Jesus pulls back the curtain to reveal the other side of death. The beggar was ushered to Heaven, while the rich man watched from Hell.

Describing the glories of Heaven, Jesus shares that the man who once begged for crumbs was now seated at the highest place of honor.

Adrian Rogers says, “Heaven is all that the all-beneficent loving heart of God would desire for you. Heaven is all that the omniscient mind of God could design for you. Heaven is all that the omnipotent hand of God could prepare for you.”

But Jesus also taught the agony of Hell and demonstrated it with His own death. The justice of God demands it, therefore, we cannot discard the doctrine of Hell.

Jesus reveals Hell to be a place of sensual, emotional, and spiritual misery; and because our spirits are eternal, the torments of Hell are eternal. (See Luke 16:24-29.)

But if we come to Jesus in repentance and faith, we can know, without a doubt, that He will save us and keep us for all eternity.

Apply it to your life

You don’t have to gamble with your destiny; come to Jesus today and be saved. Pray for your loved ones and share the Gospel with them before it is too late.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Matthew 24:35-39

Though we don’t know the exact day or hour, the Bible shares what the Last Days will look like, when Jesus Christ returns, and history reaches its climax.

Matthew 24:37 says, “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be…”

Understanding the days of Noah reveals why this day and age is ripe for Jesus Christ to come again.

According to Genesis 6, the days of Noah were days of secular philosophy.

New Age beliefs are so prevalent in our day, some have infiltrated some churches. Fearful of the threat of being called bigots, once great denominations have strayed away from sound doctrine.

Noah’s days were full of scientific progress.

They were days of great knowledge, prestigious intellects, and great cities. Likewise, the technological achievements we see today are awesome and frightening.

Noah’s days were also marked by social plagues—by violence and vengeance.

We, ourselves, live in troubling times, full of crime, revenge, and corruption.

They were days of sexual perversion and sick imaginations.

These same sinful urges are being celebrated today, made fashionable rather than shameful.

They were days of selfish prosperity.

No matter the state of our wealth, we cannot allow comfort to lull us to sleep.

The days of Noah were also full of solemn preaching.

Noah was a preacher of righteousness who proclaimed the wrath of God as he built the ark.

Adrian Rogers says, “God never sends judgment without first sending warning.”

The final mark of those days was sudden panic:

“For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:38-39).

The flood came when everything seemed to be going fine. When they least expected it, God ushered Noah and his family into the ark and shut the others out.

Adrian Rogers says, “When Noah drove that last nail into the ark, he may have had nothing left. When he came out of the ark, he had inherited the Earth. He went in a minority and came out a majority.”

Apply it to your life

It pays to serve Jesus, the ark of safety, who saves us from our sins. Put your faith in Him today.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Revelation 20:11-15

The Book of Revelation prophecies that at the end of the Great Tribulation, Jesus will come with His saints in power and great glory to rule and reign and judge the sins of the world.

Revelation 20 sets the scene of the final judgment, when God settles the score and judges the sins of those who are not in Christ Jesus.

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away…And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened…” (Revelation 20:11-12).

Whether we believe in Him or not, we will all meet Jesus Christ. He is unavoidable; He cannot be deceived, disputed, or discredited.

Adrian Rogers says, “If you don’t meet Him as Savior, you will meet Him as Judge.”

This passage also describes those who are called to the judgment:

The out and out sinner who hates God

The self-righteous who thinks he is too good for judgment

The procrastinator who intended to be saved but never confirmed his salvation

The unsaved church member who has religion, but not the Lord

The one who has never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Not one sin has escaped God’s knowledge; every sin will be accounted for—secrets that have been repressed will be revealed.

“And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books” (Revelation 20:12).

Like any earthly courtroom, the evidence and the defense will be presented, and then the verdict will be handed down. And what waits at the end of a Christless life is a sure and severe eternity in Hell.

But Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus…”

Adrian Rogers says, “I’m not going to stand before the great white throne, and I’ll tell you why: I settled out of court. I have given my heart to Jesus Christ and, on that cross, He took my sin and my judgment.”

Through the blood of Jesus, our sins can be buried in the grave of God’s forgetfulness, never to be brought up against us again.

Apply it to your life

Have you settled out of court? Choose to follow Him today, lest you stand before the throne of God in judgment.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Mark 8:35

When God made the human soul, He made it in His own image; therefore, human souls are endless, timeless, dateless, and measureless. The soul is the most valuable part of each of us and, so often, the first thing we sacrifice for the things of this world.

Mark 8:35-36 says, “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”

Our souls are priceless treasures of infinite worth; each one was created by God. Every soul has the potential to be transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ. Our souls are also valuable because of their durability; they last for all eternity.

Adrian Rogers says, “Your soul will be in existence somewhere when the sun, moon, and stars have grown cold—either in Heaven or in Hell. You could never cease to exist any more than God Himself could cease to exist.”

Souls are also extremely rare; each is unique. We must also remember that Jesus died upon the cross, paying the price with His blood and agony to show how much He desired our souls.

Therefore, we must be extremely careful with our souls. To exchange them for the things of this world would be a foolish transaction.

No one ever gains the whole world, and whatever part of the world you would gain, you cannot keep forever. The world cannot meet your deepest longings—neither pleasure, nor possession, nor philosophy could ever satisfy, because God made us for Himself.

To lose your soul would be a tragic, irreversible loss—after death, we don’t get a second chance.

It’s an immeasurable and irreplaceable loss. All the wealth of this world cannot compare to the value of a soul. It’s an inexcusable loss—completely avoidable.

Finally, to lose our souls is a fatal tragedy; our souls are worth billions of worlds like ours.

Adrian Rogers says, “If I had a thousand souls, I would give every one of them to Jesus.”

Apply it to your life

Are you playing games, gambling with your soul? To lose it to this world would be a foolish, fatal tragedy. Give it to Jesus, who saves it and keeps it for all of eternity.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Psalm 42

Depression is a passive, continual feeling of sadness that seems to linger. It is an attitude that nothing feels good or is worth feeling good about; it is compounded by a state of constant hopelessness.

Depression is a valid and dangerous health crisis. Christians can struggle with depression.

King David was a man after God’s own heart. Yet, in Psalm 42, he admits to a spiritual dryness, endless tears, and feeling shame and defeat. He lingers over the memories of what once was, and he admits he’s overwhelmed by his circumstances.

This honest and unfortunately familiar prayer reminds us that we can’t ignore this severe problem. We must learn how to deal with depression and realize our spiritual provision.

First, we must look inward and honestly, firmly, ask ourselves why we’re cast down.

“Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? (Psalm 42:5).

We must close the door, figure out what happened. Whether it is circumstantial or clinical, we must get it out in the open so we can look at it and understand its effect.

Then, we can look upward in faith.

“The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me—a prayer to the God of my life” (Psalm 42:8).

Whether we understand it or not, whether we’ve analyzed it correctly or not, we must keep our eyes on Jesus and continue to trust in Him. He is our Rock, strong and tender, who named every star in the sky and binds up every wound.

Finally, we must look onward and focus on the future.

“Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance” (Psalm 42:5).

No matter what’s happening to us, it is not God’s final plan.

Adrian Rogers says, “God is too good to be unkind and too wise to make a mistake. When we cannot trace His hand, we can trust His heart.”

This is the sure promise in the midst of our depression: Our God will see us through. God has not forsaken us; He never has and He never will.

Apply it to your life

Are you down, feeling hopeless, or battling depression? Look inward, upward, and onward. There is hope, and it begins with trusting Jesus, even when things don’t make sense. Choose to praise Him, even when it hurts.

Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: Joshua 3:1-5

In Joshua 3, the children of Israel were on the brink of blessing. Between them and a land of opportunity was a raging river of difficulty. However, they had with them the Ark of the Covenant, a reminder of God’s presence with His people, and their guide to the Great Unknown.

“And Joshua said to the people, ‘Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you’” (Joshua 3:5). Joshua instructed his people to keep their eyes on the ark, to move only when it moves, to follow its lead.

When we keep our eyes on Jesus, He will guide us through uncharted places.
We don’t have to know the future to walk victoriously, so long as God’s presence leads us. We must be sure not to run out in front of God’s plans; timing is more important than time. He must remain at the head, and it’s our job to simply follow.

When we keep our eyes on Him, He will also grant His unfading promises.
Jesus is our ark of the covenant; He is proof that God keeps His promises to us. Those promises are good for all saints, in all seasons, and in all situations. His Word is settled in Heaven, unfading, even today.

When He guides us, Jesus will also guard us with His unfailing power.
The children of Israel passed through the Jordan River on dry ground because they were guarded by the God of power.

If we believe in God’s unfailing ability as the Israelites did, there’s no telling what sort of blessings we’ll experience. In order to trust in God, we must know Him.

Adrian Rogers says, “Every command of the sovereign God is a promise of the living God that He will perform in you and through you what He commands you to do.”

The Israelites’ crossing of the Jordan River is a picture of the Gospel, in which Jesus went into the river of death and stopped it from flowing so that we may pass through.

As the Lord our God, He is sovereign; as the living God, He is sufficient. And as God of all the Earth, He is in control of every situation.



Apply it to your life
Are you facing a new season of life or uncharted territory? Don’t get ahead of your Guide; follow God through the Great Unknown today.