James wrote, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you…” (James 4:8). God is always near, friends, but are we drawing nigh unto Him. Closer to God, the further from the world. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1561/29?v=20251111
00:00:00 Introduction and Paul’s Words on Mars Hill
Friends, the Apostle Paul stood amongst all the idolatry scattered about on Mars Hill and said of the Almighty God, He be not far from every one of us. Words applicable then and even now. And you know, that’s our study just ahead from the International Gospel Hour. Thanks for tuning in.
SPEAKER 02 :
It’s time for our broadcast from the International Gospel Hour. I’m Jay Webb, and welcome to our study today as we embrace God’s Word to help us meet the challenges of today. Let’s open our Bibles and open our heart for this time of Bible study with our speaker Jeff Archie of International Gospel Hour, a broadcast of the Churches of Christ. Here’s Jeff.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, thank you, dear friends, and to our J-Web as well. It is good to have you with us. We are honored every time you join us for our studies here from the International Gospel Hour. I’d like to mention a couple of things very quickly. First of all, you’ll notice on our broadcast that we never ask you for your money. Everything that we offer here is free, and it is with our compliments. So if you hear something that we offer that you want, you feel free to reach out to us. And the best way to do that is our toll-free number. With just a name and an address, call our toll-free number at 855-444-6988, and we will see to it that you will get what’s coming your way of what you request of us. Speaking of our toll-free number at 855-444-6988, if there’s nothing that you need from our broadcast, we’d love to at least hear from you. So if you’ll take a moment, call 855-444-6988 and just say, Hi, I’m listening to your broadcast. If you can tell us the station that’s fine or the town that you live in, that’s all you need to do. We love to hear from our listeners. We love to know from whence you’re listening to our program. And we appreciate you tuning in here at the International Gospel Hour. You know, a young boy from New Haven, Connecticut was struggling to memorize the Lord’s Prayer. His mother was concerned by the child’s erroneous recitation of the prayer and sought counsel from her preacher. Well, the minister had the boy recite what he knew, and here’s what the little guy said. Our father who art in New Haven, how’d did you know my name? Well, the minister, of course, chuckled at the twisted phrases and complimented the boy on his work. And turning to the distraught mother, the minister commended her son for his brilliant theology. For he said, Your son has embraced two important truths. God is near, and He knows our names. You see, the boy misquoted the verse, but he did communicate biblical truth. Oh, out of the mouth of babes. God knows where we are, and He cares about our lives. You know, there is no place that we may go where the Lord is not near. He is omnipresent, all-present. He’s the omnipresent, all-present God. And though we cannot see Him, He is always near. One Sunday school teacher tried to communicate that God is always with us, even though we can’t see Him. One four-year-old claimed to understand the concept. He said, I know who He is. He’s the one who opens the doors at the grocery store. You know, the automatic doors. Children are special. But the psalmist wrote, Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there. If I make my bed in hell or the grave, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. Psalm 139, verses 7 through 10. Now, in some cases, friends, this is a comforting thought, and in other cases, it can be frightening. And yet, in every situation, the Lord is at hand. Philippians 4, 5. However, the Bible also encourages His children to draw near to Him. We are commanded to make His place constant in our thoughts and actions. Though He is always present, there is a special nearness that comes to those who draw near unto Him. For James wrote, Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. James 4.8 Often in our singing we ask God to draw me nearer, nearer. But friends, can we honestly say that we are doing our part to draw nearer to Him? Let us consider some times when God is near and when we should draw nearer to Him. But first, just a few words from our J-Web about our social media, and we’ll be right back.
SPEAKER 02 :
Are you on Instagram? Follow International Gospel Hour on Instagram. Just search International Gospel Hour, click follow, and you are set. Keep up with International Gospel Hour on Instagram.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you. Friends, God is near in times of suffering. So many times in moments of illness, death, or other tragedies, people ask, Where is God? We must understand that He is near at these times as He is at others. It is not His desire for His people to suffer, but in a world tainted by sin, suffering is going to be and is a reality. At these times of suffering, we must draw near to God as He draws near to us. The Bible says in Psalm 145, 18, The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth. In times of trial we must call upon God earnestly and often, and He will answer our pleas. The psalmist said in Psalm 22, verse 11, Be not far from me, for trouble is near, for there is none to help. In Lamentations 3, 56 and 57, You have heard my voice. Do not hide your ear from my sighing, from my cry for help. You drew near on the day I called on you and said, Do not fear. You know, friends, God is near in times of success. And God must receive the glory for all of our successes. If God were not near in these matters, there would be no success. However, success will often cause people to forget God rather than draw near to Him. Moses warned the Israelites that they must remember God after they had successfully defeated the people of Canaan, Deuteronomy 8, 10-18. A time of success is not a time to eat, drink, and be merry, Luke 12, 20. It is a time to praise and draw near to God. During Abraham Lincoln’s tenure as president, he was visited by a guest who sought to flatter him by saying, Back in my home state, people say the welfare of the nation depends on God and Abraham Lincoln. Humbly, Lincoln responded, You are half right. He later said, Without divine assistance, I cannot succeed. With it, I cannot fail. Success comes from God. Consider also that God is near in times of temptation. Every person has sins which so easily beset him, Hebrews 12, 1, and it is very difficult to resist the temptation to commit these sins. We should know that in moments such as these the Lord is at hand to help us resist these temptations. Peter wrote, The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations, 2 Peter 2.9. He sees a way when we do not, and we can be sure that no temptation is too powerful when he is near, 1 Corinthians 10.13. Yet we must draw near to him and use his word to defeat Satan. We should regularly repeat, Lead us not into temptation, in our prayers, Matthew 6.13. Let’s also consider that God is near when we sin. Now, this is not stated to comfort us, but to frighten us. In one sense, we are separated from God when we sin, Isaiah 59, 1 and 2. We are separated from His fellowship and blessing. However, we should know that He is near to observe our thoughts and actions and will punish accordingly. The Bible says the eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good, Proverbs 15, 3. When we sin, we must acknowledge that it cannot be hidden from God. We should repent of our sins and ask for His forgiveness quickly. We should pray as David did when he sinned with Bathsheba, Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Psalm 51 11 Dear friends, if we were to summarize these thoughts today, we could easily conclude that in every moment of life, God is present. We must draw near unto Him, and His promise is that He will draw near unto us as well. The Bible says they should seek the Lord if happily they might feel after Him and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us. Acts 17.27 Some wonderful thoughts today, and I want to credit a young brother in Christ by the name of Brent Arnold. And a wonderful article that he simply titled, Draw Me Nearer. And it is my pleasure to share that today as we desire to draw nearer unto God. You see, friends, God is not the one that moves. It’s us. And so when we want God near us, He’s there. But are we drawing near to Him with our obedience and doing what we need to be doing? Have we drawn near to Him through faith and a repentant heart, confessing our faith and baptism into Christ? That draws us as near to the Christ as we could possibly get. And then to be added to His church. Friends, the plea of all, draw me nearer, because God is always near. At this point in time, I’d like to pause and offer a free gift to you. We like to offer a number of study tools, and we have our free Bible study course by mail that is available. Here is our J-Web with the details.
SPEAKER 02 :
Our long-time free Bible study course by mail is always available. Have you tried it yet? Just call us toll-free at 855-444-6988 and leave your name, address, and just say, Home Study. That’s it. You may also go to our website at internationalgospelhour.com, click on the Contact tab, and leave us the same information, name, address, and type Home Study in the message box. Study the Bible at your own pace. Again, it’s free from your friends here at International Gospel Hour.
SPEAKER 01 :
And friends, we are more than honored to share that Bible study with you. Maybe you’ve heard us offer that before on our broadcast and you’ve never tried it. We’d like for you to give it a try. Again, it’s absolutely free. And we would be honored to send that Bible study material to you. We want to draw nearer unto God, and we believe that our studies here and tools that we offer to allow you in your study will help you do that very thing. We are honored that you joined us today for our study, and we look forward to studying together on another occasion. I’m always grateful for your choice here at the International Gospel Hour. Your choice to join us here as we study the Word of God together. We’ll continue these studies together at another time, but for now… Thank you for joining me today on the International Gospel Hour. I’m Jeff Archie, and friends, keep listening.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you for listening today to God Be the Glory, and we hope that our study today will draw you closer to His Word to walk in His way. Feel free to listen to our other programs at our website at internationalgospelhour.com and join us next time Till we meet again.
