That is one of the most important verses in the entire Bible; our strength comes from the Lord. You and I can endure the trials and hardships that intrude into our lives, not because we are strong enough to bear them, but because our help comes from the Lord. We can walk through the valley of the shadow of death and not be afraid; not because we are in charge, but because the Lord is with us and our strength comes from the Lord. Today I want to urge you to establish and maintain a close and abiding relationship with God through Jesus Christ, so that when your life comes up against the obstacles, setbacks and challenges that we all must face you will have one great assurance; all my help comes from the Lord.

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Let me draw you back to the words of that headline and the two things it points out about the difference between Vladimir Lenin and Jesus Christ. The first thing that article said was “Lenin’s ideas are dead.” There is no great mass of people who continue to study and live by his teachings. There is no great mass of people who turn to his writings or speeches when they are trying to figure out how they are going to live their lives every day. Lenin may be a name they know, but it is not a message they love and trust and cherish.

Now consider Jesus Christ; for the last 2000 years people have been turning to and praying to and clinging to Jesus as they have sought to make decisions for their lives both great and small. How many times have you heard somebody say they are going to take some problem to the Lord in prayer? How many times have you said you were waiting for the Lord to show you the way or give you a sign or lead you where He wants you to go? Unlike Lenin, the ideas of Jesus are not dead. They are not the stuff of history; they are the lamp unto my feet and the light unto my path that guides my life every day.

Is there anybody here today who is ashamed to say that you seek to know the will of God by putting your faith in His son, Jesus Christ? Is there anybody here today who is willing to say that you read your Bible because you want your life to be pleasing to God? Is there anybody here today who still believes that the teachings of the Bible are true and relevant and will stand forever? That is where I am today; I say along with Isaiah 40, “The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God shall stand forever.” I say, along with Paul in Romans 1:16, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes.”

What philosophy or ideology has captured your attention? If anything has become more important and more informative to you than the gospel of Jesus Christ, you need to listen to Paul today. Paul says, “Whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me — put it into practice.” The things taught to us from the Bible are not outdated or passé; they may sound a bit old-fashioned, but they have outlived all the shifting philosophies and opinions of people whose names are now little more than footnotes in history.