Love Worth Finding | Audio Program

Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: Psalm 23:5

Many go about today with an incorrect perspective of God. We may believe He is a cosmic killjoy, who only exists to break up our good times. However, when we know God’s heart and His goodness, we’ll find that we feel good about Him.

In Psalm 23:5, David uses three Jewish customs to exemplify how God truly feels about His children. Understanding their meanings can show us how to feel good about God.

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies…”

The Bible is full of stories of banquets, weddings, and miracles performed over meals; one could call God’s Word a continual feast. David says that God has welcomed us to His table and that He’s expected us and prepared for our presence.

Adrian Rogers says, “Jesus meets the deepest hungers of our hearts and satisfies the deepest longings. He prepared a table of replenishment when there was the enemy of inadequacy.”

Our fullness comes from Jesus’ restoration, remembrance, and redemption. Jesus doesn’t keep score of our wrongdoings, nor does He ignore us in anger when we fail Him. His disciple, Simon Peter, experienced this when he denied knowing Jesus three times. After His resurrection, Jesus reunited with Him over breakfast and lovingly restored their relationship.

“You anoint my head with oil…”

To anoint guests with oil is to acknowledge them as valuable, and refresh them before the feast. We can be glad in His presence; His mercies are new each morning. (See Lamentations 3:22-23.)

Serving God only gets better, and His grace gets even sweeter, and His presence gets more real.

“My cup runs over...”

Filling one’s cup to the brim is the utmost sign of hospitality and friendship. To claim that our cup is overflowing means God wants us to stay in His presence for longer. It signifies that we are loved, cherished, and welcome for as long as we want.

God is not stingy with His blessings, nor does He hold back; He gives freely, lavishly, wondrously, and abundantly. His peace passes all understanding, and His joy is unspeakable and full of glory.

Apply it to your life
In Christ, we are full, refreshed, and free; don’t let the devil convince you to think negatively about God. Instead, remember Jesus’s words to you: “Come and dine.”

Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: Psalm 23:4

In spite of our best efforts to forget, death is a very real fact. As believers, it’s something we don’t have to fear; rather, we can anticipate it.

In Psalm 23, King David reveals how to smile at death: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (v. 4).

First, David accepted death as an inevitable fact. There is no way around it, and no way to know when it will happen to us; we just know it will eventually, to each of us.

Second, David acknowledges that death has been defeated. From this perspective, we see that there can be no valley without mountains, and there is no shadow without light.

Adrian Rogers says, “Death is just a shadow because Jesus has become the death of death. He pulled the sting out of death, took the gloom out of the grave, took the dread out of dying. Jesus gives us a hope that is steadfast and sure. A shadow may frighten you, but it cannot hurt you.”

We also learn that there is no evil without a greater good. Because Jesus is our Jehovah, truth is mightier than error, grace is greater than sin, our Sovereign is greater than Satan, and life is greater than death.

David sees that death is no longer his enemy, but his servant. In death, we are finally made like Jesus, able to praise Him with our whole hearts alongside the saints of all the ages, becoming one with God.

In death, we see God’s presence and power. Adrian Rogers says, “There’s nothing that will bring you face-to-face with God more than the dark valleys of life.”

As stated in Psalm 23:4, His rod protects us from all of the powers of evil and His staff draws us close to Him.

Finally, death reveals the purpose of the Shepherd: to bring us out to the other side. David knew enough about a shepherd to know that he would never lead his sheep through a valley unless he was leading them to a better place.

Apply it to your life
Do you want to smile at death? Accept death as a fact, acknowledge that it has been defeated by Jesus, and consider it a friend, used to reveal God’s presence, power, and purpose.

Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: Psalm 23:3

It is in a sheep’s nature to wander away from the shepherd. But it is in the shepherd’s nature to restore his sheep. Likewise, we can expect to fall out of fellowship with God. But by His grace, we can learn how to get right with God and stay right with Him.

Psalm 23:3 says, “He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”

If we have wandered from the path of righteousness, we must first remember the ministry of the shepherd. Jesus is the good shepherd who restores His sheep when they are led astray.

He uses the rod for protection and correction.

For the stubborn sheep insistent on his own way, Jesus uses the rod, which is a shepherd’s chief weapon for protecting and correcting his flock. God loves us too much to leave us in our stubbornness. It would be foolish to resent the rod or quit because of it. God’s correction reveals our sonship, renews our worship, and restores our fellowship. Though correction is not joyous, it brings peace and fruitfulness.

He uses the staff to retrieve.

The shepherd’s solution for the straying sheep is a staff, which is a crook used to harness and retrieve sheep. When we stray away from God, He retrieves us with His love and draws us back to Him with His grace.

He anoints His sheep and restores them to righteousness.

For the sheep that have been hurt by the enemy or the elements, the shepherd anoints their wounds with healing oil. God has anointed us with the Holy Spirit, which protects us from the enemy’s infliction. After He ministers to His sheep, God restores us that He might master us. After we’re restored, we ought to follow Him on the path of righteousness closer than ever, observing and obeying Him.

Adrian Rogers says, “If we don’t go from restoration to righteousness, we will go right back to the same problem.”

The shepherd’s reputation is based on the activity, welfare, and obedience of his sheep. We stay right with God in order to reveal His majesty to others. Jesus is our saving Jehovah; He leads us so that we can bring glory to His name.

Apply it to your life
Are you a sheep in need of restoration and guidance back to the path of righteousness? Love God, thank Him for His loving chastisement, observe, and obey.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Psalm 23:2

Psalm 23:2 says, “He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.”

Though we can obtain great intelligence here on earth, we are spiritually inept, much like sheep. In stressful seasons of life, we can convince ourselves that we don’t have time to be still and rest. But God has called His sheep to lie down in green pastures and to drink from the still waters; we need to learn how to handle stress. We can handle stressful times, first by knowing the security we have in our Shepherd.

We are secure in Jesus: the good, great, chief Shepherd.

The New Testament describes Jesus much like the Old Testament describes a shepherd: full of compassion, care, and courage. A good shepherd will fight for his sheep, fending off anything that threatens his flock. Likewise, this is telling of Jesus’s character in the Gospels, who leaves the ninety-nine to retrieve the one who has wandered. (See Matthew 18:12.)

Jesus is also our sufficient Shepherd.

One source of stress is the fear that our needs may not be met. But in Matthew 6:33, Jesus tells us to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added...”

In Psalm 23, the green pastures are symbolic of His Word; and the still waters, His spirit. God intends for us to have our fill in Him, and be satisfied. When we are first satisfied in our relationship with God, we can begin to manage our stress.

Finally, we have serenity in our good Shepherd.

Sheep will not lie down until they are content; neither will people. A reason for our stress could be that we've forgotten to take time to slow down, to be still, and know that God is God. (See Psalm 46:10.)

Psalm 104:34 says, “May my meditation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the LORD.”

It’s not enough to study Scripture; we must be in the habit of digesting what we’ve read, and regularly carving out time to rest in His promises.

Apply it to your life

Do you have a hard time handling stress? Find in Jesus Christ your security, His sufficiency, and the serenity that comes from meditating on the Word of God.

Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: Psalm 23:1

We can have all the things of this world and yet still be dissatisfied in our lives. Wealth, fame, and fortune do not fulfill a longing only God can satisfy.

The secret of satisfaction is found in Psalm 23:1, which says, “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.” This short verse is packed full of promises that, when correctly understood, can change our perspectives. We can be satisfied no matter what material wealth we may or may not have.

First, we notice what the Psalmist, David, calls God: The Lord, which translates to “Jehovah.”
Jehovah is the most sacred name, for it claims God as self-existing, having neither a beginning nor an ending.

When we claim God as Jehovah, we speak of His deity. But in the next phrase: “...is my Shepherd,” we speak of His humanity.

Adrian Rogers says, “In the Lord Jesus, we have sovereignty and sympathy, a king and a shepherd. We have a God who is able and a shepherd who is available, a God in the heavens and a shepherd in our hearts.”

In John 10, Jesus is called the Good Shepherd, who will lay down His life for the sheep (v. 11).
But in Hebrews 13, He's called the great shepherd, who rose back to life for the sheep: “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant…” (v. 20)

He died to take care of the penalty of our sin, and He rose again to overthrow the power of our sin. And as the chief shepherd, He will one day take us from the presence of sin. Because He is sovereign, and He is our shepherd, the secret to satisfaction is the Lord, Himself. We must have a personal relationship with Him, as Jesus says in John 10:14: “I know My sheep and My sheep know Me.”

A personal relationship with God means we are eternally secure in Him, permanently His, and protected by His grace.

Apply it to your life
The Lord God is our Shepherd, our provider, our healer, our peace and righteousness; He is the ever-present banner. We will never be satisfied apart from Him. Do you have a personal, permanent, protected relationship with Him?

Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: Galatians 6:1-3
Whether we are saved or lost, we will all carry burdens at points in our lives; but we do not have to bear them alone. Galatians 6 shows us what to do with our burdens.

First, this passage addresses the burdens we take up, the ones we share.
“Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:1-2).

As believers, we are called to take up the burdens of another brother or sister who is hurting—to restore those who have backslidden. We must remember that a broken person doesn’t need a lecture; he needs to be brought back to fellowship with God. A backslidden Christian is like a broken place in our net of believers. He needs us to approach him gently, humbly, and sympathetically. To fulfill the law of Christ, we must love our brother back to fellowship with God and mend the broken place in the net.

There are also burdens we bear, the ones we shoulder.
“But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load” (Galatians 6:4-5).

We are not called to lives of ease, but of discipline. God lays burdens upon us and expects us to shoulder them ourselves. It is our own responsibility to repent and be saved.

Finally, there are burdens we give up, those we roll onto the Lord.
Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you...” Our loving Father urges us to lay brokenhearted burdens at His throne; our burdens can be used to bring us to our Master’s feet.

Adrian Rogers says, “Burdens come to the high as well as to the low; they come to the rich as well as to the poor, to the saints and the sinners, the old and young. These are burdens we were never meant to carry alone.”

Apply it to your life
If you are a believer, you are called to lift another’s burdens and bring backslidden brothers and sisters back to Jesus. Realize your own burden of responsibility to share God with others; cast your heartaches upon Jesus, for He cares for you.

Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: Matthew 18:21
One of God’s greatest gifts to us is forgiveness; He forgives us of our own sins, and He empowers us to forgive others who sin against us.

Forgiveness is costly; the forgiveness of our sins cost the precious blood of Jesus. And sometimes, it costs something of us to forgive others. Yet, Scripture provides endless reasons to forgive, no matter the cost.

First, we must forgive one another because God has so willingly forgiven us.
Ephesians 4:32 says, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

Second, if we do not forgive, we shut out the forgiveness of God.
Matthew 18:35 says: “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

Adrian Rogers says, “As long as you have an unforgiving spirit in your heart, you cannot get the forgiveness of God.”

Third, if we don’t forgive, our unforgiving spirit will do us great emotional damage, namely, bitterness.
We don’t just forgive an individual for their sake, but also for our own sake. So long as we keep our brother “on the hook” for something he’s done against us, we will also remain on the same hook.

Adrian Rogers says, “When you forgive, you set a prisoner free, and discover that the prisoner was you.”

Finally, forgiveness restores a broken fellowship.
Matthew 18:15 says, “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.”

We must forgive freely and quickly, taking the initiative and approaching offenders with a heart ready to receive them. We must forgive fully, not half-heartedly, and it must be final. Once we forgive, we must bury the offense in the grave of God’s forgetfulness and not bring it up again.

As a result, we set ourselves free from the prison of bitterness, and set our brother free from his guilt. Once free, there can be reconciliation, which can lead to revival.

Apply it to your life
Is there anyone that you’re harboring hate for or holding a grudge against? Is there bitterness in your heart? In the name of Jesus, deal with it; ask God for His strength to forgive. Don’t let an unforgiving spirit keep you from having genuine spiritual revival in your life.

Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: John 16:7
There are things we will never understand until we lay down our intellectual pride and let the Holy Spirit speak to us. Only when the Spirit speaks can we understand three truths regarding who we are and what God makes us.

John 16:7 says, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”

First, the Holy Spirit teaches the truth about the sinner’s basic problem.
A man is a sinner because of what he is and what he has done. Born into this fallen world, it is in our nature to give in to sin.
A man is also a sinner because of what he has not done. God made us to know, love, and serve Him; when we do not do that, we are refusing Him the glory He deserves.
But our ultimate problem is that we are sinners for not believing, because the greatest sin is unbelief. Unbelief is the parent sin, out of which all other sins come; it is proof of man’s wickedness, and it is what separates us from God forever.
Second, the Holy Spirit shows the truth about the Savior’s bountiful provision.
When we believe in Jesus Christ, He changes what we are at our very core and gives us a new nature. Adrian Rogers says, “Christians are not just nicer people; they’re new creatures.”
He also forgives us for what we have done. Every stain, blot, or blemish of our past is washed whiter than snow, buried in the grave of God’s forgetfulness.
He gives us the righteousness we need in order to be saved.
Finally, the Holy Spirit proclaims the truth about Satan’s broken power.
Jesus’s death on the cross was God’s greatest victory over evil. Satan’s kingdom was crushed; he now sails a sinking ship and rules a doomed domain.

When we receive Christ, we become more like Him every day. That is what our faith is all about, and what the Holy Spirit is working within us.

Apply it to your life
Have you laid down your intellectual pride and allowed the Holy Spirit to impart things only He can show you? Understanding man’s sinful nature and the Savior’s provision, are you becoming more like Jesus?

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Leviticus 2:11

Leviticus 2:11 says, “No grain offering which you bring to the Lord shall be made with leaven, for you shall burn no leaven nor any honey in any offering to the Lord made by fire.”

Leaven in the Bible represents evil, sin, and corruption. Leaven ferments; it works quietly and stealthily in lukewarm conditions.

Jesus warned us about three kinds of spiritual leaven in Matthew 16:

-Leaven of the Pharisees, which is legalism

-Leaven of the Sadducees, which is liberalism

-Leaven of Herod, which is worldliness

The absence of leaven in this offering reminds us that we must present the Lord Jesus Christ in His purity.

The Bible also uses honey to represent excessive sweetness.

The popular “honey gospel” tells us God is love: inexpressible, infinite, eternal love; but that’s only part of the truth. When this half-truth becomes the whole truth, it is entirely untrue. Yes, God is love, but He is also a holy God who will not acquit the wicked or condone sin.

Adrian Rogers says, “Let us beware of loveless truth and truthless love.” The absence of honey in this offering reminds us that we must present the Lord Jesus Christ in His integrity.

Leviticus 2:13 says, “And every offering of your grain offering you shall season with salt…” We are to present the Lord Jesus with much salt.

Matthew 5:13 says, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?”

Salt decontaminates, prevents decay, and restrains corruption. It activates, preserves taste, heals, stings, and penetrates. And if you’re not careful, it dissipates; when salt loses its savor, it has no other use but to be tossed out on the roads.

The problem with our society is not the leaven, it is the salt-less saints. It’s time for salt to do its work.

Adrian Rogers says, “When the message we preach is bloated with leaven and dripping with honey, rather than supercharged with salt, friend, we have become good for nothing, salt-less saints.”

Apply it to your life

Are you cautious of the leaven and honey in your church and in your life? Do you bear the salt in which we have been called to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: James 1:21-25

We cannot grow as Christians if we are not actively studying the Word of God. It’s not enough to know facts about and within Scripture. When we go to the Bible to extract truth, we fail; rather, we must receive the truth and welcome it in.

The Book of James shows us how to understand the Bible, and reveals four ways to welcome the Word of God.

We first welcome the Word with a repentant spirit.
"Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls" (James 1:21). There is a moral qualification to hear from God; hangover sins and unrepentant hearts can keep us from understanding Scripture.

When we study the Bible, it is crucial that we first make a full confession of sin and ask God to search our hearts for any trace of wickedness.

We also welcome the Word with a receptive spirit, with meekness, which is a teachable spirit.
James 3:3 says, "Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body." Likewise, God wants to break us and take us under His control, making us sensitive to His commands.

Third, we welcome the Word with a responsive spirit.
"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves" (James 1:22). Once we understand the Scripture we read, we must obey it; if we don’t, we are self-deceived.

Adrian Rogers says, “A study of the Bible gives you knowledge about God. Obedience gives you knowledge of God.”

Finally, we welcome the Word with a reflective spirit.
"But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does" (James 1:25). When we read the Bible with a reflective spirit, the Bible reads us in return. It gives us a new perspective of our lives and shows our truest selves. Rather than quickly glancing at Scripture, we must learn to gaze into it.

Apply it to your life
Are you actively receiving the Word of God with a repentant heart and a receptive, responsive spirit? Remember, as Adrian Rogers says, “The best way to understand the part of the Bible you don’t understand, is to obey the part you do understand.”