Love Worth Finding

Guest (Male): Are you feeling tense about the new year ahead? Listen to Adrian Rogers.

Adrian Rogers: I am trying to tell you, my dear friend, that I along with the Apostle Paul can say it gladly and surely. I can do all things through Christ who is pouring his life into me. And I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. Now if you would face a new year without fear, if you want the source of your satisfaction and the source of your sufficiency and the source of your security steadfast, find it in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Love Worth Finding featuring the profound and practical messages of pastor and author Adrian Rogers. We're so glad you joined us here on this last day of 2025. The new year can bring so many different emotions. So many of us don't explore new territories because we're afraid of potential opposition.

But we can overcome fear when facing the unknown future, particularly in a new year. There are four key principles in the book of Hebrews to help us face tomorrow with confidence in Christ. So if you have your Bible, turn to Hebrews chapter 13. We'll begin in verse five as Adrian Rogers leads us into a new year without fear.

Adrian Rogers: Would you take God's word and turn to Hebrews chapter 13? And in a few moments, we're going to read verses five and six, which will be the basis of our study today. And actually today, we're talking on this subject: a new year without fear. Most of us are afraid of the unknown, and we don't know what this year's going to bring. We really do not.

With that in mind, look in God's word. Hebrews chapter 13, verses five and six. "Let your conversation be without covetousness." Now the word "conversation" there literally means behavior. Let your behavior be without covetousness and be content with such things as ye have, for he hath said, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee," so that we may boldly say, "The Lord is my helper. I will not fear what man shall do unto me."

The Lord is my helper. I will not, I shall not fear what man will do unto me. A new year without fear. And in these two verses, there are four incredibly wonderful thoughts that I have applied to my heart as I face a new year. And I want you to apply it to your heart. And I would like for you to face this new year by squaring back your shoulders, putting a smile on your face, and saying, "The Lord is my helper. I will not fear."

First of all, and here's the first thought: we have the contentment of his provision. The contentment of his provision. Look, if you will, in verse five. "Let your behavior, your conversation, be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have." Discontentment is a disease, and it takes away your joy, and it takes away your peace. And what is contentment? Contentment is not getting what you want, but it is wanting what you already have.

You see, contentment will make a poor man rich, and discontentment makes a rich man poor. Now, in the margin of your Bible, jot down this verse. We're talking about contentment. Our verse says "be content with such things as you have." Put this verse down: First Timothy, chapter six, and verses six and following. "But godliness with contentment is great gain."

Friend, let me tell you something. You are so rich today if you know the Lord and if you're content. I'm telling you, that is great gain if you know Jesus Christ and you have contentment. And then he explains it. "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. But having food and raiment, let us therewith be content."

If you've got something on your back and something to eat and you have Jesus Christ in your heart, my dear friend, you're blessed. You see, material things can never bring contentment. And the reason they cannot bring contentment is that material things can never satisfy the deepest need of your heart. That's the reason the Bible says in Ecclesiastes chapter five and verse 10, "He that loveth silver shall never be satisfied with silver."

Either you can't get enough of it, or when you get it, you find out it doesn't meet your need. That's the way it is with silver. "He that loveth silver shall never be satisfied with silver." When you get it all, it doesn't satisfy. And if you don't get it all, you want more. You see, this round world will never fit in your three-cornered heart. It cannot satisfy the deepest longings of your soul.

Why is this? Why can't material things bring contentment? Well, Jesus explained it in Luke chapter 12 and verse 15. He said, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." How true that is. Your deepest needs will never be met by material things. Nothing wrong with material things. They just simply cannot satisfy the deepest longing of your heart. Do you remember what the Bible says in Psalm 37 and verse 4? I love it.

It says, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desire of your heart." Now that doesn't mean that you'll have every surface need met, every whim, every fancy, every lust of your eyes and your flesh satisfied. Oh no. It means when you find all in Jesus Christ, when you delight yourself in the Lord, what your heart has really been seeking for, it will find. That's what that verse means. Delight yourself in the Lord, and you'll have the desire of your heart. What your heart really yearns for is God.

Friends all around me are trying to find what the heart yearns for, and only in Jesus can those things be found. The deepest need of your heart can be met. Now, he's talking here about living a life without fear. Do you know why we have fear? We have fear sometimes because we think our needs are not going to be met, or because we think that the things that we think are meeting our needs are going to be taken away from us.

Well, in this verse, he's going to tell us that God will never leave us nor forsake us. And godliness with contentment is great gain. We have something that can't be tampered with. Back in 1929 and '30, when the stock market crashed, there were men who jumped out of skyscrapers, committed suicide. Why? Because the things that they were trying to satisfy their heart with, they lost.

And that's where their security was. Well, friend, you better have your security and your sufficiency and your satisfaction in something that can't be tampered with. And in this book of Hebrews that we're reading from, the writer of Hebrews says in chapter 10, verse 34, talking to these people, he said, "Why, you took joyfully the spoiling of your goods." Suppose today soldiers were to come in, go into your house, and carry out all of your material possessions.

Could you still praise the Lord? If your delight is in the Lord, you could. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he'll give you the desire of your heart. Be content with such things as you have. Did you know the word "content" literally means self-contained? It's used in Philippians chapter four, and Paul says in verses 11 and following, "Not that I speak in respect of want, for I've learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content."

Now when Paul wrote this, he was in prison. But he said, "I've learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things, I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need." And then he says, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

And that literally means, "I can do all things through Christ who is pouring his life into me." You see, learn a life of contentment. Have the contentment, dear friend, of his provision: Christ himself. The deepest need of your heart can be met in the Lord Jesus Christ. You say, "Preacher, that's just preacher talk." Well, I'll tell you this much: you're looking at a rich man because I would not sell the contentment I have in Jesus Christ for any price that you could name. For anything.

I am content in the Lord Jesus. That doesn't mean I'm satisfied with myself. That doesn't mean that I don't have any ambition. I am trying to tell you, my dear friend, that I along with the Apostle Paul can say it gladly and surely. I can do all things through Christ who is pouring his life into me, and I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content.

Now if you would face a new year without fear, if you want the source of your satisfaction and the source of your sufficiency and the source of your security steadfast, find it in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so number one, number one, if you would face a new year without fear, know the contentment of his provision. Look at it again. "Let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have."

Second thing: not only the contentment of his provision, but know the companionship of his presence. The companionship of his presence. Continue to read. "Let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have, for he hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." I don't know what I'm going to face next year, but there's one thing I know. I know he will never leave me. I know he will not forsake me.

Isn't that wonderful? In him I have all, and he will never leave me nor forsake me. This may be the most encouraging verse in all of the Bible. Now again, we fear because we're afraid we're going to have to face something we don't understand, and we're going to have to face it alone. I've talked to some people who felt so alone. I went out to talk to a person who was hurting so much.

And I said to that person, "Why don't you call a friend?" They said, "I don't have a friend. I don't have a friend." Well, I said, "Oh, yes you do." And I told her his name. And it is one who has said, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." Dr. Abraham Maslow, famed research analyst, said, "The truth is that the average American does not have a real friend in the world." That's what this psychiatrist, analyst said.

And psychiatrist Alfred Adler said, "All human failure spring from a lack of love." And then he named some of them: alcoholism, workaholics, depression, suicide. He said all of this springs from a lack of love. People need someone to love, and they need to be loved. And without it, their lives are filled with fear and frustration. And so our verse tells us that we can face a new year with the certainty of his provision and with his companionship in our hearts and in our lives.

Now look at that verse. He says, "I will never leave thee." Do you see it? Never. Now, the Greek scholars tell us this sentence, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee," actually has five negatives in it. Now we say a double negative is bad English, but evidently, it wasn't bad Greek. For there are five negatives in this verse just simply to express it.

And here's what it literally says: "I will never, no, not ever, no, never leave nor forsake you." Let me give that to you again. "I will never, no, not ever, no, never leave you nor forsake you." One preacher was visiting an old grandmother in his church trying to give her comfort in her old age. I believe she knew the Lord better than he did, however. And he took out his Greek New Testament and was reading this to her and explaining that there were five negatives there.

And the old grandma said, "Well, God may have to say it five times for you Greek boys, but once is enough for me. I will never leave you nor forsake you." Oh, my dear friend, there's the companionship of his presence. Look at the word "leave" nor "forsake." Do you see that? "I will never leave nor forsake you." What it literally means is, "I will not abandon you." It means, "I will not give up on you."

And it literally means, "I will not leave you a helpless orphan. I will not forsake you." You'll not be forsaken. I'm speaking today to some women whose husbands have walked out on them. I'm speaking today to some children whose fathers have forsaken them. I am talking today to some men whose wives have left them, others who have felt abandoned and forsaken by whatever.

But there is one, my dear friend, who will never leave you. And so what does that mean to me as I face a new year? When I'm discouraged, I know that he sees me through because he's there. I've been with those who are dying. I've been with those who are facing heartaches, been to funerals, as you have. And I have watched those who know the Lord Jesus Christ, and I have seen a difference, my dear friend, in those who know Christ and those who do not know Christ.

I spent some time in the hospital with a man who just in a few hours would step over on the other side. I held his hand. We prayed. I said, "Is everything right?" He said, "Pastor, everything is right. I am ready. For me to live is Christ, and for me to die is gain." How do you answer that? My dear friend, by the word of one who has said, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee."

Psalm 116, verse eight: "For thou hast delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling." When I am discouraged, his presence sees me through. When I'm lonely, his presence cheers me up. And you can be lonely. I believe that the holidays are the most lonely time of the year. People are told everywhere they're supposed to be happy, and they realize they're not. They see everybody else acting happy, and they feel so lonely.

Death and divorce and desertion, even travel makes you lonely. Success can make you lonely. You often hear it's lonely at the top. Old age makes you lonely. You can be lonely in a big crowd. You can be lonely at a mall. Loneliness: one of the chief maladies of our age. But Jesus has said, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." What I'm saying, my dear friend, is when I'm discouraged, his presence sees me through.

When I'm lonely, his presence cheers me up. And when, my dear friend, I'm worried, his presence just calms me down. You see, we need just to practice the presence of the Lord this coming year. You're going to be tempted. And my dear friend, you cannot close doors—there are no locked doors with God. The thing that I think helps keep us all straight is to know that Jesus Christ never leaves us, never forsakes us.

And when the devil comes and knocks at our heart's door, we can just simply say, "Jesus, please go answer the door." The Lord is there with us to take care of us. Now here's a third thing. Watch it. Dear friend, I want you to see it. His contentment: I have the contentment of his provision. I have the companionship of his presence. And then I have the confidence of his promise. I love this.

Now watch it. "Let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have, for he hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." Now we're going to zero in on that little phrase, "He hath said." Just underscore it: "He hath said." This, my dear friend, is the confidence of his promise. A promise is no better than the one who makes it.

Again, in the Greek language, this is an intensive. And what it literally says is, "He himself hath said. He himself hath said." Now who is it that says, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee"? It is the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God. This is the confidence of his promise. And so his omnipotence answers to me when I say, "God, I just don't have the strength for next year."

He says the omnipotent God answers and says, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." And when I say, "God, I'm afraid that I have to go through the next year," the omnipresent God says, "I will never leave thee." And when I say, "But God, I won't know what to do," the omniscient God says, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. I am with you." And my dear friend, he himself hath said it.

And then last of all, you'll know the comfort of his protection. Because, my dear friend, when you have his contentment and you have his companionship and you have his confidence, then you must have his comfort and his courage. Look in verse six. "So that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper." Now look at it; put it together. Verse five: "He hath said." Verse six: "That we may boldly say."

"He hath said." "He hath said." "That we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper. I will not fear what man shall do unto me." So here, how do you face a new year without fear? Well, you find your contentment in Christ. You find your companionship in Christ. You find your confidence in Christ. And then you'll find your comfort in Christ, so that we may boldly say, "The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me."

Now you're going to face some things. These Hebrews—these Hebrews Christians, these in the book of Hebrews to whom this book was addressed—they faced some heartache, some trials. I'm not trying to tell you that it's going to be all honey and no bees. Oh no. My dear friend, this coming year may be a very horrendous year for you.

But I'm telling you that you can stand upon the promises of the word of God and say boldly, "The Lord is my helper. I will not fear what man shall do to me." Those to whom this was written were facing opposition from family, from friends, and from foes alike. They were facing mockery and brutality and robbery. And yet they could say, "I will boldly say the Lord is my helper. I will not fear."

I hope you'll say that. I hope you'll say that. "The Lord is my helper. I will not, I will not, by the grace of God, I will not fear." Now we don't know, we don't know what's going to happen. We don't know what this coming year is going to be. I just don't know. But I do know that I can boldly say the Lord will be my helper. Now friend, I don't know what you're going to have to go through this coming year.

I don't know. I don't know what sickness, I don't know what heartache, I don't know what trouble. But I know that I know that I know that I know that you can say, "I can boldly say the Lord is my helper. I will not fear what man shall do to me." And when you face this new year, I want you to find your contentment in Jesus. I want you to find your companionship in Jesus.

I want you to find your confidence in Jesus. And then you'll find your comfort and your courage in Jesus. With all of that in mind, listen to it just one more time. "Let your conversation be without covetousness. Be content with such things as you have, for he hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee, that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper. I will not fear what man shall do to me."

Guest (Male): And what an encouraging message as we conclude 2025. Well, if you're fearful of what the new year has in store, rest assured you can find contentment, companionship, confidence, comfort, and courage in Jesus. Thanks so much for studying in God's word with us here on this last day of the year.

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A seminary student reached out recently and let us know why he listens to Pastor Rogers every day. "These messages are full of the simplest but most profound knowledge. Many well-known theologians have to write books to get their point across, but Adrian Rogers puts things so simply." Oh, I love that. And if you resonate with it, let us hear from you today.

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