How Can We Truly Stop Worrying and Rest in God?

Hello, and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick, an Oklahoma rancher and farmer. Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for over 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say, time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick. Okay, here we go. Number four, and that'll be all for this afternoon, we can all head home. For those of you out on television, I'd like you to know that we tape four programs in a row, and once a month, so if you're ever coming through Tulsa about the first Wednesday of the month, you call us and you can be part and parcel of our studio audience. Well, we're down in numbers today for some reason or other, but whatever, we love to have you come and be part of the studio audience. And again, for all of you out there in television, in case you're interested in reading material or the videos, the audios, they're all available. And if you have any interest in any of that material for home Bible studies, for in your church, my goodness, we have a lot of churches using it, and we keep the cost as nominal as we possibly can. We don't do it to create a big profit, although we do hope to make enough on them to kind of cover our office expenses, that's basically what they're doing now. But if you're interested in any of that material, you drop us a note or call us on the 800 number and we'll get the information to you. Okay, I think that's all the announcements for now again, and we'll come right back where we left off, Ephesians chapter 5. I will have to commend our television audience, I really thought that I'd have a hard time keeping interest in these church letters, because everybody likes prophecy today, but we are. We're getting so much good comment on these programs in Galatians and Ephesians and so forth, so we appreciate hearing from you. I guess I should always thank people for helping us financially, you know I just don't have money on the brain, so a lot of times I forget even to mention that, but we do. We appreciate so much those of you that are so faithful in sharing your material things with us. Okay, let's go back again if you will to Ephesians chapter 5, and we were in verse 2, but again let's just start with verse 1, where we are to therefore be followers of God as dear children. And again remember it's just like a child who loves his parent, his parent loves his children, and this should be the relationship. Now verse 2, we're to walk in love, love is the key, we're to walk in love, and as Christ also has loved us, and has given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor, or today we would say with an aroma, with a sweet aroma, such as an incense or maybe a perfume or that which would come from flowers, sweet smelling flowers, and that's what His offering and sacrifice to God was in reality, even though the cross was a horrible place to look at physically, and the suffering that He went through, but you see the end result was the salvation of countless numbers of sinful people, it won't be as many I guess as we would like to think, but nevertheless that work of the cross is having its fruition in the salvation of multitudes throughout the last 2,000 years, and so it becomes then a sweet aroma to God because of what Christ did. Now again let's go ahead, I always like to use as many Scriptures as are feasible, come over to Philippians, just a page or two to the right, Philippians chapter 2, and dropping down to verse 5. This fits so perfectly, as we walk as dear children, then naturally it has to be a mental thing, everything we do starts in the mind, and so now Paul instructs us how this all has to work. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. You see how close that brings us to Him? I mean we get to the place where we think as He thinks. Now speaking of Christ, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. Now that sounds like a play on words of some sort, but what it really meant was that Christ did not feel or think that He was robbing something from the Godhead because He was God. Now verse 7, "...but to accomplish the work of redemption, to bring us to this place where we are literally the sweet aroma before God, He made Himself of no reputation, took upon Himself the form of a servant." Now the other word for servant is a bond slave, and so we actually became in society's thinking anyway, the form of a bond slave was made in the likeness of men. Now do you remember a few weeks or months back when we were in the unsearchable riches of Christ? Remember I tried to get people to think in these terms? To think, I mean it's beyond human comprehension to think that the Eternal, Sovereign Creator of the universe lowered Himself to such a place that He went the way of the cross. It's unthinkable, it's beyond thinking, but we take it by faith of course, and that is all part of the unsearchable riches of Christ, how that He humbled Himself and as a bond slave, made in the likeness of men, and then verse 8, "...being found in fashion as a man." See, He wasn't some ethereal creature, He walked as men walk, He ate, He slept, He got weary, and He had all the attributes of a man, although He was still God, and so being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself. The Jews didn't humble Him, the Romans didn't humble Him, He humbled Himself, and permitted them to do what they did. Oh goodness, do you ever stop to think as they were laying Him on that wooden cross, and I don't care how they did it, whether it was by wooden pegs, or steel pegs, or whatever, with just a word. He could have zapped the whole today, I guess maybe I'm the only one, but I had a lady in New England that said she liked my little colloquialisms, or whatever. He could have zapped the whole caboodle of them, couldn't He? And there'd been none left but He Himself, but He didn't. Why? Love, see, love kept Him on the cross, and so He humbled Himself, became obedient unto death, not just an ordinary death, not even a crucifixion death. Now you know the Romans crucified Jews by the thousands. I read one time that at one point in Roman history there were 2,000 Jews hanging on crosses along one of the Roman roads, 2,000 of all at one time. So it wasn't just the death by crucifixion that made it so extraordinary, but that in His death He took upon Himself all the sin of humanity. That's what made His death, as Paul speaks of it here, even the death of the cross. It wasn't just a matter of fact that He was crucified as bad as that was, but that all the sin of the whole human race, from Adam until the last person that will be zapped at the end of the kingdom, all their sin was laid on Christ. Now you see, that could never even have been a thought in our mind had He been anything less than the Creator God. If He'd been anything less than the all -powerful, sovereign God, He could have never taken the sins on the world on Himself, but He did, and we have to take that by faith. It's mind-boggling. Again, it's the unsearchable. Who in the world can comprehend how one man could have taken all the sin of all the world? But He did, and if He didn't, then we might as well fold it up and go home. But He did, and we can believe it. So even the death of the cross. Let's come back to Ephesians chapter 5 again, and so we're to walk as a result of that. Since He has paid the sin debt, and He has now declared us a child of God, not by virtue of anything we've done, now I'm not against church membership. I'm not against some of these things in their rightful place, but all the multitudes that are doing that for salvation, and they're ignoring this. Do you think God's pleased? Heavens no, He's not pleased. When He's done everything that needs to be done, and then people get the idea, well if I join the church I'll make it. Man, I've got to be blunt, they're not going to. I don't care what church it is, whether it's mine or yours or anybody else's, but we have to come back and recognize that it was that death of the cross that made it possible for God to make us His dear children, and consequently out of our love in return. Since He loved us, that love is to be returned, and we are to walk the walk that He wants us to walk. And then Paul again comes right as he does so often, he shows us the other side of the coin. But fornication, that is sexual immorality in all of its rankest forms, and all uncleanness, covetousness, let it not be once named among you as becometh saints. Now he doesn't go through the whole long list like he did in Ephesians 2, or he did in Galatians 4, or in Romans chapter 3. Oh it's a horrible list, but he does name some of the key ones among which is covetousness. Now that reminds me of Romans 7. Let's go back there a moment. Romans 7 again, where a lot of people have controversy because they can't quite figure out what Paul's talking about. Whether he's talking about a lost person, his own lost estate, or if he's talking about a believer who's had all these problems. But the one thing I want you to see here is verse 7 of Romans 7. What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? Is the Law in itself evil? Well God forbid, banish such thinking. Nay, I had not known sin, or my old Adamic nature, which is really what sin is in Romans in the singular. It's that old Adamic nature. He said, I would have never known about my old Adam, but by the Law. For I had not known lust, or desire is a perfectly legitimate word. I had not known desire, except the Law had said, thou shalt not covet. Now over the years I've always taught that you realize you can hardly commit a single sin against God without coveting first. That's why Paul will constantly refer to coveting, because it is the benchmark for everything else. Now the same way back here in Ephesians, verse 3. Sexual immorality, uncleanness, or covetousness, desire that is not good. And he says, let it not once be named among you as becometh sin. Then he goes on and lists some more. Oh my, the bag is full isn't it? Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient or normal, but rather use your breath to give thanks. Now I've had people come to me with this verse, and they say, you mean it's not right for us to tell a joke and have a good laugh? No, that's not what it means. Man, nobody appreciates a good laugh more than I do. Oh there's nothing wrong with a good laugh, it's healthy. My goodness, David had all kinds of opportunity to rejoice. Paul says in Philippians to rejoice. Well you don't have to walk around with a long face, we don't have to walk around as though death has just been warmed over on us. No, but when it comes to foolishness and the filthy thinking of the world, no, we're not to have it, because it just doesn't fit. But rather we're to use our breath, we're to use our tongue to give thanks. Well and the best two verses on prayer in the whole Bible. When people today call or write about prayer, this is the first place I take them. The best verses on prayer, Philippians 4, verses 6 and 7. Philippians 4, 6 and 7, all got it? Be careful or worry about nothing. You know you've heard, you've seen these little wall plaques, haven't you? Why worry when you can pray? Well there's more to it than meets the eye, because we do. We're not supposed to worry, we can be concerned. I think every one of us have concerns, and we have a right to have those concerns, but we're not to fret and worry. So he says, don't worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with what? Thanksgiving, see? It doesn't do you any good to petition God if you forget to thank Him for it in advance. Thank Him for it in advance, as you pray, as you whatever it may be, but you thank Him for it first, because that's the criteria, see that's the modus operandi for prayer. Make it with Thanksgiving, and then let your requests be made known unto God. He isn't limiting it, it can be anything, as long as it's within godly reason, of course, but let your requests be made known unto God. And as I teach these verses, you've heard me say it more than once. Here's our privilege, here's what we can come and we can ask with Thanksgiving, but God may say no, He may say not now, He may even say maybe later, He may even say yes, but regardless of how He answers, verse 6, you've already got the answer in verse 7. We've got the answer to our prayers in verse 7, and what is it? And that is the peace of God, see? No matter how He answers our requests, the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep our hearts and minds. See why we don't have to worry? That's why, because the peace of God is what keeps us, and it's beyond, again, human understanding, and He will keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, who is the Creator of all, and He is able, and we have to trust Him for that. But I guess we're all human, and we do, we worry, we fret, we get concerned overly so, and yet I think most of us have to admit that through all of our tight spots, we came through it with God's help, and that's where we have it over on the world. I'm always stressing that God never promises that we're going to go through life without problems. We're going to have just as many problems, if not more, than the world around us, but what's the difference? We have God with us in our problems. We have Him to take us through, and we can rest assured. In fact, here's another. Go all the way back to Psalms 37. Now you see, this is David even under the law, but I can still go back, and I can use it in application, and it's a beautiful couple verses. Psalms 37, which fits right along this same thing, that the peace that passeth all understanding will keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Look what David writes. Psalms 37. Okay, drop down to verse 5. My, what a promise. Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. Maybe not in our timing, but in His. Isn't that a promise? My, I've gone through trying times, and I just about wear that verse out. But you know what it means to commit something? It means you take it and you leave it. I think I've given this example even on the program. Regardless of what you think of the post office, I think most of you, you go and you drop your letter in the mail slot, and do you go home and for the next week fret, worry, whether it got there? No, because as soon as you drop that letter, providing you had it stamped and all as it should be, when you drop that letter, what did you do? You committed it. You committed it to the postal service, and you don't go home and worry and lose sleep. Well I wonder if it got there? Because you're assuming that it will, and so you dropped it, you committed it, and you let it go at that. Now this is what the verse means. When you have a need, you have a problem, you have a concern, you commit it to the Lord. You take it to Him, and you leave it there. You don't hang on to it. You know if you'd hang on to that letter, it never will get in the slot. You still got it, but you let it go. It's committed, it's on its way. Now the other one I like is verse 7. Verse 7, rest in the Lord. You know what it means to rest? It means relax. Turn it over. Don't hang on to your problems. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently. We're in a society of instant gratification. Give it to me now Lord, I'm in a hurry. No, we have to learn to wait patiently for Him. And then David goes on to say, "...fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass." Boy, we see that every day, don't we? We look at the ungodly world around us, and all of their prosperity, and all their wealth, and we sometimes wonder, well, why? Well, don't worry about that. Those are all things that are in God's hands. But our responsibility is to commit our way unto the Lord, trust in Him, and let Him bring it to pass in His own time. Sometimes it takes a lot longer than we think. It may take years, but God will do it in His own time. All right, back to Ephesians chapter 5, verse 5. And again he comes back to the opposite side of the coin, and if professing Christians, now I can't think that professing Christians would do this kind of lifestyle, even though they do profess themselves as Christians, but a professing Christian better read some of these things, because we're living in a society where these things are almost the norm. For this you know, no whoremonger, or an unclean person, nor a covetous man who is an idolater, these kind of people have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Well that's plain language, isn't it? How can people say, well, don't you think the grace of God will be sufficient? No, I don't think so, because my Bible says they will not be in the kingdom of Christ and of God. In fact, turn back to the right to Colossians again. Colossians chapter 1, verse 13. Now these are all the same words that Paul is using throughout his letters. Colossians 1 verse 12 and 13. Colossians 1 verse 12. "...giving thanks unto the Father, who hath made us meet, or has prepared us to be partakers of the inheritance..." There's that same term again. "...of the saints in light, who has delivered us from the power of darkness..." Where all these things he's been talking about take place constantly. "...and has delivered us from that power, and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son." Now come back and compare that with Ephesians 5. These people, whoremongers, unclean, covetous, idolaters, they do not have the inheritance that Colossians spoke of in the kingdom of Christ. No way. I don't care how they shake it up, they will not be there. Now then verse 6. "...let no man deceive you with vain words..." Now I'm not going to have enough time for this verse, I can see it already. "...let no man deceive you with vain words, for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience." Now remember, God is not pouring out His wrath today, where the whole world is under grace, but His wrath is coming. His wrath is coming. But before we go back and look at that in Psalms, turn with me to 2nd Timothy chapter 2, verse 16 and 23 both. Now here again, within a matter of a few pages in your New Testament, you've got three times, and there's probably others that I haven't even found, there are three times where we are to look out for deceitful, false teaching, and it's abounding. My goodness, like I told more people in Indiana the other day, you ought to hear some of our phone calls on Monday morning. Why on Monday? Because they heard it the day before, and it's just ridiculous. All right, verse 16 of 2nd Timothy 2. "...but shun, turn your back on profane and vain babblings." Now I wish I had more time, whenever I see the word babbling. You remember back in the book of Acts, when Paul came down to Athens, and the big intellectual philosophers called what he said babbling. Let's hear what this old babbler has to say. But you know a few years ago Iris and I were on Mars Hill, and you know I couldn't help but smile inwardly as well as outwardly. Here on that big stone on the way up to Mars Hill is this beautiful bronze plaque, not to Socrates, not to Plato, not to Homer, but to the apostle Paul. So all the babblers have long been forgotten, but the Greek government or whoever did it, put a huge bronze plaque to honor the apostle Paul. So he wasn't the babbler, they were. Well anyway, verse 16. "...shun profane and vain babblings, for they will increase the more to ungodliness." It's not going to bring you into godliness. Then I'm going to skip all the verses in between, and come down to verse 23. Verse 23. "...but foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strife." In other words, don't ask foolish questions, in fact over and over we'll have to stop now. I've told people umpteen times when I have a question, I say okay, but don't ask me who's the third son of the second wife of king so and so by in the Old Testament, because to me that is vain. There is no need to get all hung up on some of little details that are way back there in the Old Testament. They have nothing to do with us today, and yet they can just get so hung up on it that they have to have this all straight, and listen, that's nothing but vain babblings, and the whole thing is to get down to what does Paul really teach. Thank you for watching Through the Bible with Les Feldick, a weekly Bible study. If you would like more information about the Les Feldick Ministries, a Bible study in your area, or about this program, write to Les Feldick Ministries, Route 1, Box 760, Kenta, Oklahoma 74.