S1: Coming to you from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio.
S1: This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: The interesting thing about this week that we're in, and
S2: I just want to tell you, this is the week
S2: for a reset. I love Christmas, I love 4th of July,
S2: I love Memorial Day and Labor Day, but there's no
S2: date like a reset date other than Resurrection Sunday.
S3: I so agree. I am me, I am so with you.
S4: Yeah, absolutely.
S2: If there's ever a day for a holy reset as
S2: you're ramping up this Holy Week towards Sunday, that's a
S2: day when you can celebrate that your sins have been
S2: nailed to the cross and that our God is alive,
S2: and he's at work in you now. So whatever is
S2: left unsurrendered, you've got something that's just kicking your tail
S2: over and over again. Make this Sunday a day of consecration.
S2: Give it to God and watch him move. Well, we're
S2: in Holy Week, and one of the questions is, what's
S2: the chronology of everything that went down? The cursing of
S2: the fig tree, the clearing of the temple. You see
S2: the betrayal of Judas, you see the washing of feet.
S2: All these things have some chronology and some kind of
S2: method to this whole thing. Doctor Jim Coakley, big dog Prof.
S2: Here at Moody. How about that for a bio? And
S2: one of our elders at 180 Chicago and he's with
S2: us right now. How are you, my man?
S5: I'm doing great. Yeah. No, you're right that this week
S5: there's so much that's happening. And Christmas, we spend a
S5: whole month on the incarnation, but we hardly have enough
S5: time within between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday to get
S5: all of the events that took place in this week.
S2: Okay. Which gospel account do you like to go to
S2: when we see him flipping over the money changers table?
S2: Because there was huge exploitation of people coming for Passover
S2: to make sacrifice. What's going on with that narrative, and
S2: what passage do you love to use?
S5: Yeah, I like looking at Mark chapter 11 Because he
S5: mark does something that is very special. We call it
S5: the mark and sandwich. Basically, what he often does in
S5: this whole gospel is he'll sandwich between a central event,
S5: something on either end of it. And so we have
S5: the cursing of the fig tree on one end, and
S5: then we have the cleansing of the temple, as we
S5: so call it. And then we have him going back
S5: by that fig tree. And so they're all connected. And
S5: so I like that passage because we really see clearly
S5: what the theme is of what happens with this so-called
S5: cleansing of the temple. And that even is something that
S5: we need to clarify. Because what is cleansing? Is it cleansing?
S5: Is it cursing what is really going on here? And
S5: that's why some scholars call it the temple incident, because
S5: it leaves it a little more open.
S2: To touch on this chronology thing, though, for just a second.
S2: Why is it important? And some people try to undermine
S2: little different aspects of Scripture when they see what looks
S2: to be a different chronology. To me, it's just each author.
S2: The gospel is highlighting different aspects of all the events
S2: in in the life of Jesus, most particularly Holy Week.
S2: What do you say, Jim?
S5: Yeah, I totally agree. And I think this is where
S5: we see a great example of it with today's events.
S5: When we think about Palm Sunday or Coronation Sundays, I
S5: like to call it that took place when, of course,
S5: Christ is announcing himself as the King and Hosanna is
S5: being shouted. But then it says that again we have
S5: these events, and if we look at John's gospel, we
S5: can see he has it early in the ministry in
S5: John chapter two. But all of the rest of the
S5: gospel writers put it at the end of the Gospels,
S5: in the first day of the Holy Week.
S2: So he walks into the temple. He's already coming in
S2: with fanfare, riding on a donkey. And which is what's
S2: crazy about this is that he chooses more than just
S2: to fulfill Zechariah nine nine. He chooses to take the
S2: posture of an unusual king, not one setting himself up
S2: above or on par with the kings of this world,
S2: but actually lowly, taking a posture of humility and then whiplash.
S2: He goes into the temple and he starts flipping over
S2: granite tables. What do you say?
S5: Yeah, that is the kind of more schizophrenic nature that
S5: we have him being and sense riding in that sense
S5: of humility. But two donkeys are something that Kings Road Solomon,
S5: when he was coronated, basically probably did the same path
S5: that Jesus did down to the Gihon Spring to be
S5: coronated when he was there. And David said, put him
S5: on one of my donkeys. So this was a very
S5: clear royal kind of significant event. So it wasn't that
S5: he was just riding a lowly, lowly animal. It's just
S5: that this was what Kings did when they would be coronated.
S5: Because kings on horses without saddles, they're going to be undignified. Uh,
S5: and so they're going to fall off. And so even
S5: throughout the book of judges, we see leaders sons riding donkeys.
S5: So this is a pretty common kind of beast of
S5: burden that's used for carrying kings.
S2: That's fascinating. So was that exclusive to the Jewish people
S2: or was because the common nature of war and warriors,
S2: even in the Roman Empire, wouldn't have been a donkey
S2: per se?
S5: Oh, no. And this is why kings riding around kind
S5: of doing their normal royal duties. Uh, if you're going
S5: off to war, you're definitely riding a horse. But if
S5: you're riding around town doing official duties or going to
S5: be coordinated as king, you're riding on a donkey. And
S5: so that's the thing. Now, we do know that Christ
S5: is going to come riding a white horse someday. Yeah.
S2: So he's coming.
S5: In. He's coming in with the great judgment.
S2: Okay. What's going on in the cleansing of the temple?
S2: Let's just touch on that quickly, and then I'm going
S2: to carry it over because I want to get into
S2: the weeds on it. Big picture. What's happening?
S5: Yeah. Like we already mentioned, we have him cursing the figs. Uh,
S5: the fig tree that's not producing. Now, of course, people
S5: bent out of shape with. Well, how is it that Christ, uh,
S5: already knew that this was not the season for figs? Well,
S5: that's the point, is that he's using this as an illustration,
S5: as a parable, as it were. Uh, and when we
S5: look at all of the Old Testament again, I was
S5: fascinated by the passages like Isaiah five talking about Israel
S5: as a vineyard and not producing fruit. And so we're
S5: going back to that fruitfulness kind of imagery. And we
S5: have this great temple. Uh, it's all, as they say
S5: in Texas, all cattle and no all hat and no cattle. Yeah.
S5: And so it's the idea that it should be a
S5: place of prayer. And I think that's what Mark and
S5: other gospel writers emphasize. And instead it's become this place
S5: for marketeering kind of work. And it's not so much
S5: that commercialization is happening that that's not a problem in
S5: and of itself. It's where it's happening and what price
S5: they're charging to people for these animals. And so then
S5: he changes. He turns over the money changers tables. And then,
S5: you know, again, we see the fig tree and its
S5: the being, in a sense, withered. And it's really a
S5: foreshadowing of the temple, uh, kind of, uh, in a sense, uh,
S5: in a sense falling off of all of its accolades
S5: and it's being shown as totally vapid.
S2: Yeah. And reference for sure to 70 A.D. and and
S2: then beyond. Okay. Coming up here in a moment. Jim Coakley.
S2: Doctor Jim Coakley with me in studio here. We're going
S2: to tackle application because it's one thing to go, oh,
S2: these are the events. It's another thing to say, so
S2: what does that matter to me? The cleansing of the table.
S2: And how do we apply it to our lives today?
S2: Hang on.
S1: She was trying to earn her way to God, but
S1: God showed her she didn't have to. Ali is in
S1: the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: My house shall be called a house of prayer. But
S2: you made it into a den of robbers selling pigeons.
S2: Probably at increased sum of money because. yeah, they got
S2: a captive audience. Got to make sacrifices. But they were
S2: ripping off more than that, weren't they? Jim, doctor Jim
S2: Coakley is with me right now. Uh, professor, here at
S2: Moody Bible Institute, one of our elders at 180 Chicago
S2: radio in Chicagoland. This den of thieves metaphor goes way
S2: deeper than just a commerce problem. Right, Jim?
S5: Yeah. Because in a sense, we look at Mark quotes,
S5: all of Isaiah's 57 verse where it says, my house
S5: shall be called a house of prayer. And Isaiah goes
S5: on to say, for all the nations within the temple complex,
S5: you have the big temple with the Holy of Holies
S5: and everything else. And then you have, you know, the
S5: court of the women, and you have the court of
S5: the Gentiles. And there is debate about where this incident
S5: took place with him changing over the money tables. For
S5: a long time I've waffled. Is it on the Herodian
S5: street that we go to when we take tours to
S5: Israel and see it there on the corner, or is
S5: it up on the Temple Mount? I'm starting to lean
S5: now towards it was up on the Temple Mount, because
S5: this is where the court of the Gentiles was located,
S5: and they're taking space over for people from all nations
S5: to come to this temple during Passover. And they're reallocating
S5: that space for commercialization, and then they're charging exorbitant rates.
S5: Some even say even for a dove, a pigeon is
S5: 25 times the going rate because they have, in a sense, a,
S5: you know, a monopoly on the market that people are
S5: going to pay just to have. And that was for
S5: a poor man's offering. And so they're they're really ripping
S5: off the poor. And I think when we look at
S5: the prophets and what they're crying against, it's abuse of
S5: the poor not allowing others to come in, kind of
S5: reclaiming space for their own selfish gain. And we see
S5: that over and over again. And by Jesus quoting from
S5: Jeremiah seven, the temple sermon from Jeremiah, he's really getting
S5: into their craw and really taking them to task for
S5: their wicked abuse of these temple practices.
S2: You know, I was sharing this yesterday in a message
S2: that it seems to me that what was ultimately being
S2: ripped off here was equal access to God, which is
S2: what prayer is. There's no passage cost for entry, and
S2: they've taken a house of prayer. And by way of commerce,
S2: they've cut off some people from feeling like there was
S2: access to God. And the beautiful thing about prayer is
S2: it's the ultimate level playing field. I mean, princes and paupers,
S2: everyone can go to God in prayer. So how do
S2: we apply this? How do you take this crazy event
S2: from 2000 years ago? And how does this ring true
S2: in our lives today? How do we relate to people?
S2: How does it work, Jim?
S5: Yeah, I think a couple of easy kind of low
S5: hanging fruit kind of things. One is we need to
S5: make sure that our temple is cleansed. And so we
S5: think about the fact that how are we presenting ourselves
S5: to a holy world? Are we living one way and
S5: not saying another and doing another. And so this is
S5: then the challenge in a sense, because this temple should
S5: have been a place for all nations to come and pray.
S5: But it wasn't because they were taking it over for
S5: other things. Is there something we're allowing to take over
S5: our temples that we need to, in a sense, remove?
S2: Good word.
S5: But then also exploitation. Again, we see the heart of
S5: the gospel, the heart for the care, for the underprivileged,
S5: for those who are poor. And they they abuse that.
S5: And that's going to always fall under a clear, you know,
S5: in a sense, in a sense cursing from God because
S5: that's not the way it's supposed to be. And so
S5: I think those two things are really easy things is
S5: what are we doing to, in a sense, make it
S5: more accessible for others who are maybe got challenges to
S5: come to the Lord? And how are we cleansing our
S5: own temples, as it were?
S2: You know, it's interesting because if you look at this
S2: experience of clearing the temple, you see that there's a
S2: ease of Access that a blockade has been put up
S2: to to all nations. I love your observation. Being on
S2: the Temple Mount, by the way, and the area for
S2: the Gentiles now being nudged away because we got to
S2: make more room to sell sacrifice of pigeons and the
S2: like at an inflated number. But, Jim, it's it's so
S2: easy in our own minds to set up who we
S2: think has access to God, how we look at people.
S2: And this can be a danger for people that have
S2: been in the church for a lot of years. What
S2: do you say to that? Because it can be a
S2: slow drift where we begin to have a even a
S2: mindset that, okay, this person's in. This person is out
S2: or this person's reachable, this person's not reachable. The beautiful
S2: thing about access to God is whosoever will still may come, right, Jim?
S5: Yeah. And I think we saw that in your heart
S5: yesterday in your message, where you talked about during a
S5: giving portion. The idea is somebody had given a large
S5: gift and you were glad you did not know who
S5: it was, because it might have a tendency to, in
S5: a sense, you know, give them more access, more favor,
S5: more let their voice speak louder than others. And then
S5: we dealt with, as you know, with another individual who
S5: had some challenges in our church. And, you know, how
S5: do we then in a sense not say, well, I
S5: need to only go to those who have money, who
S5: can help us advance our financial objectives and not really
S5: also display the heart of God loving people who are
S5: broken and need to do 180. So this is a
S5: this is a lesson for all of us to keep
S5: on relearning, isn't it?
S2: Yeah. It's powerful. All right. I'm going to I'm going
S2: to give you an opportunity wide open. As you look
S2: at Holy Week, what is your favorite aspect of Holy Week?
S5: Oh my. There's so many things because I like I
S5: like the, you know, the literary features, the theological features.
S5: Certainly the bookends of anointing is there. But I love
S5: the little incident where, of course, Peter denies Christ three
S5: times by a charcoal fire, and then same word is
S5: used the only time it's used used twice in the
S5: Gospel of John. Charcoal fire. We get to Jesus after
S5: the resurrection, where he's announcing to Peter and asking the question,
S5: do you love me? Do you love me? Do you
S5: love me? Again, that three fold denial, three fold questions.
S5: But what is it that our Lord does? Is he's
S5: preparing a fish breakfast for Peter by a charcoal fire.
S5: And so the place that Peter denied the Lord a
S5: charcoal fire, is the same place that Jesus was restoring Peter.
S5: I mean, that's powerful. That shows again that our our
S5: Lord was focused that week on what he was doing
S5: to minister to his disciples and to us as well.
S2: You know, the amazing thing about Holy Week, Jim, is
S2: it's a golden opportunity for us to consecrate our lives again.
S2: And this isn't just once a year. This is why
S2: I'm not big into I love goals, but ordering our
S2: life in such a way that we live each day
S2: with such a well-ordered life that we're aimed at the
S2: glory of God and the good of others. What a
S2: golden opportunity, though, to prepare for Resurrection Sunday and say,
S2: this is a holy reset in my life and we
S2: can look at all the different teachings. You look at
S2: the life of Judas. God, don't make me one that walk.
S2: Be one that walks away. You look at the the
S2: metaphor of feet. We know that beautiful feet bring good news.
S2: We see the feet of Judas walking away. We see
S2: Jesus washing feet. My goodness, how we walk matters, right, Jim?
S5: Oh, it sure does. And I think that's really, you know,
S5: the beauty that we could spend the rest of our
S5: days just contemplating on just the effects of this week
S5: in terms of our walk. And that's the beauty and sadness, really,
S5: of why we only spend, you know, eight days speaking on,
S5: you know, the death, burial and resurrection and Palm Sunday,
S5: where we have so many more spiritual themes that could
S5: really help us in our daily walk and walking by
S5: the spirit and taking that path along with Jesus. And
S5: I look at the Apostle Paul, he goes through the
S5: same events he's going through, you know, mock trials. He's
S5: having a meal with his, uh, with his friends on
S5: the boat before it's shipwrecked. So it's almost like this
S5: is a pattern, a paradigm for the Christian life. We're
S5: going to go through persecution. We're going to go through
S5: things just like our Lord did. But the gospel goes forth.
S5: I love the last verse of the book of acts.
S5: It goes forth unhindered. Uh, and that's the beauty of
S5: why we go through these things and remember what our
S5: Lord did in this Holy Week.
S2: Love it. Okay. Final question. What's the fresh thing God's
S2: doing in Doctor Jim Coakley's life right now?
S5: Oh, uh, again, uh, I just dealt with this just
S5: over the weekend, my wife realized I was spending a
S5: little more time on an app that I shouldn't have.
S5: And it wasn't bad. It was just a game. But
S5: I just realized it was taking time away from from
S5: her and from things I need to be focused on. No,
S5: I need to have some, you know, outlets and some recreation.
S5: But it's the idea I need to have more healthy ones.
S5: And so again, I'm just like everyone else. I need
S5: to constantly revisit those kind of things.
S2: That's healthy to hear. I think everyone breathes a sigh
S2: of relief like, oh, good. If Doctor Jim's getting on
S2: a game a little bit long, that's that's you know what, Jim?
S2: I thank you for being vulnerable like that because I
S2: think sometimes we can give people a facade, unintended facade,
S2: you know what I mean, Jim?
S5: Yes.
S2: And we need to let people know we're all on
S2: this path of discipleship.
S5: And I shared that with a young guy at our
S5: church yesterday. Just did, you know. Yeah, I shared it,
S5: you know, and so I shared it with with Caleb.
S5: And he was I could just see him, him kind
S5: of just smiling because, you know, he realizes that. Yeah.
S5: I mean, these are challenges we're going to face the
S5: rest of our life.
S2: I love it. Doctor Jim Coakley Oh, by the way,
S2: if you want a phenomenal I, I'm going to I'm
S2: going to plug this one because my wife says it
S2: is the book. I don't know if we got this
S2: link ready to go. We do super day. Okay. This book,
S2: my bride says, is the book that has had more
S2: impact of her understanding how the Bible fits together and
S2: seeing things as she reads that she had never seen before.
S2: They're great. Yeah. Isn't that terrific? But.
S5: So, thinking about Holy Week, I was thinking of these
S5: same techniques all the way through. And, you know, out
S5: of order. And, you know, again, time management, all these
S5: things that are principles in the book are really at
S5: play in this Holy Week.
S2: Yeah. Beautiful. All right. Super guy. How do the folks
S2: get a link for a resource that might fuel their
S2: Bible reading like it did my bride.
S3: Text the word fresh. That word fresh will get him
S3: the link to 14 Fresh Ways to Enjoy the Bible.
S3: So the word will be fresh. That number again is
S3: 805 five, five, 78, 98. And you'll be texting the
S3: word fresh.
S1: Do you feel stuck or paralyzed? Are you ready to
S1: break free? Here are your questions answered. It's time for
S1: ask Pastor Carl.
S2: The issues cited in a little note that I received.
S2: And we're going to give you the portal how to
S2: get in your questions about discipleship, overcoming stuff, anything to
S2: help you take your next step with Jesus. That's what
S2: I'm tackling here Monday mornings. Bottom of the hour. And
S2: this is you know, this is a very typical type
S2: of email that I would get. So I protect your
S2: identity here. But Pastor Carl, my heart is broken. I'm
S2: having such a hard time healing. I feel like it's
S2: never going to happen. I'm trying, but all my baby
S2: steps don't feel like enough. Here's the cliff notes to
S2: my story. I'll protect identity here a little bit. I
S2: got divorced a year ago. I was married 20 years,
S2: and during that time my ex-husband was abusive. Abusive in
S2: almost every way. But for me, the worst was the
S2: verbal and psychological abuse. It changed me. Now there's little
S2: themes in here I'm going to pick up on. Okay.
S2: I wish I could say that it made me stronger,
S2: but that would be a lie. It made me fragile.
S2: It completely unraveled the very fabric of who I was.
S2: I thought that after the divorce, things would get better.
S2: But that hasn't been the case in the last year.
S2: I've dealt with the death of my marriage, the trauma
S2: and all the abuse and my ex dating, getting engaged
S2: in just a in a few weeks, getting remarried. Oh,
S2: you can feel it, can't you guys? Yeah, I've been
S2: reading my Bible, though. I struggled to get it done
S2: some days I've been doing a lot. All caps of praying.
S2: I listen to messages. I've gotten some counsel. Been in therapy,
S2: worked out, and tried unsuccessfully to even eat healthier. I've
S2: done all the stupid positive affirmations that never work. But
S2: despite all my efforts and all my baby steps, I'm
S2: still broke and traumatized and have no self-esteem. I don't
S2: feel like I've been healed at all. I feel stuck
S2: in this place of mourning and self-hatred. Pastor Carl, how
S2: do I heal? How do I start thinking positively about myself?
S2: How do I get unstuck and move into what God
S2: has planned for the next chapter of my story? Thanks
S2: for listening. And then her name. Sister, we love you.
S2: And my heart breaks for you. I want to tell
S2: you a couple of things that are pretty unconventional here.
S2: First off. First off, You having some a little bit
S2: of indignation about your ex-husband sauntering off into a new marriage?
S2: That is normal. That is okay. And you know what
S2: I want to tell you in Imprecatory prayer might be
S2: in order here. What's an imprecatory prayer? We find it
S2: all over the Psalms. We find Psalms that say, God,
S2: the pit that they've dug for me. Let them fall
S2: in it. God, the the thing that I'm up against
S2: right now. God, you see it? Would you please make
S2: the wrongs right? And there's an interesting Psalm. I don't
S2: have it open right now. Let me flip to it
S2: here really quickly. Psalm 112. This is you ready for
S2: this man? This is. This is the way to. I
S2: know this sounds crazy. This is the way to get
S2: back at spiritual knuckleheads that you've had in your life.
S2: This is the way to get back. Psalm 112. Listen
S2: to this. Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who
S2: fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments. His
S2: offspring will be mighty in the land. The generation of
S2: the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in
S2: his house, and his righteousness endures forever. Light dawns in
S2: the darkness for the upright. He is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
S2: It is well with the man who deals generously and lends,
S2: who conducts his affairs with justice. This all this is
S2: saying is keep walking rightly. Order your life to do
S2: the right thing no matter what. For the righteous will
S2: never be moved. He will be remembered forever. He's not
S2: afraid of bad news. His heart, his firm trusting in
S2: the Lord. His heart is steady. He will not be
S2: afraid until he looks in triumph on his adversaries. He
S2: has distributed freely. He has given to the poor. He is.
S2: His righteousness endures forever. His horn is exalted. Look at
S2: the payoff. Verse ten. Last verse. The wicked man sees
S2: it in his anger. He gnashes his teeth and melts away.
S2: The desire of the wicked will perish. The best way
S2: to deal with the pain of adversaries, even in this
S2: case an ex-husband, is to outlive them. Now you might say,
S2: and she said, I'm worse off for all of this.
S2: I'm not okay. This trial hasn't made me mature and complete,
S2: lacking in nothing. Like we find in James one two
S2: through four. Here's what I would say. This is the
S2: lost art because I hear a thread in what you're saying, sister,
S2: and the thread is a lot of getting busy reading
S2: the Bible, going to church, doing a lot of praying,
S2: listening to The messages gotten wise counsel doing all the
S2: stupid her quote stupid positive affirmations that never work and
S2: I couldn't agree with you more. Here's what I would say. First,
S2: David got down. I mean discouraged, he was so discouraged
S2: he was panting like a deer for flowing streams of water.
S2: His tears were his food day and night. Yeah. Salty tears.
S2: And those tears were screaming one thing. Where's your God? Whoa!
S2: These things I remember as I pour out my soul.
S2: And then he speaks to himself. Why are you so downcast?
S2: Oh my soul. And why are you in turmoil within me?
S2: Hope in God, for I shall again praise him, my
S2: salvation and my God. My soul is cast down within me.
S2: Therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan. Deep
S2: calls to deep as the roar of your waterfalls. All
S2: your breakers and your waves have gone over me. Here's
S2: what a lost art in our world today. In fact,
S2: I had a young man come up to me and
S2: said yesterday, he said, that thing that you said about
S2: spending five minutes alone with God in the morning just
S2: to hear him, not to talk to him, just to
S2: hear him. Is one of the greatest things I've ever
S2: done in my life. Just a young man. Here's what
S2: I need you to hear. I need you to sit
S2: alone with God early in the morning. Pour out your
S2: heart to him and be silent. I want you to
S2: have armed yourself before you sit down alone with him,
S2: with passages of his goodness. The fact that he sees
S2: your pain. The fact that he knows what you're going through,
S2: his providence, his love, the faithfulness of God cited all
S2: the way through the scriptures. And then gently, in the
S2: quietness of the dark, say, my soul is downcast. Lord,
S2: help me with the grace to put my trust in you.
S2: Whether you feel far away or close by, my soul
S2: magnifies Nafis, you begin to rehearse the truth of God's power,
S2: his providence, his goodness. Is it hard? It's hard. But
S2: I am encouraged when I get into moments of deep discouragement.
S2: And I do that. David had a downcast soul and
S2: he spoke to it. Put your hope in God. It's
S2: not hope in Bible reading. It's not hope in doing
S2: lots of praying or talking with God. It's listening to him.
S2: It's a lost art. Spending time alone with God. Let
S2: the tears fall. It might be your breakfast that day,
S2: but I'm convinced God will feed your soul. That's what
S2: David said. It's one other thing I want to add.
S2: Get with a friend or two, please. Leaves, get with
S2: a friend or two. Have someone who can bear those
S2: burdens with you, weep with you, and encourage you and
S2: point you back to God.
S1: She's a choreographer extraordinaire and everything is Greek to her.
S1: Super die is in the crew. It's Carl and crew
S1: on Moody Radio.
S2: Even the Windex bottle, it's all Greek to her.
S3: Everything.
S2: Every bit of it is Greek to her. Okay, I
S2: want to break something down for you. We've got a
S2: golden opportunity in me and super dire. Yeah, we're buddies
S2: on this one, aren't we, kiddo? Resurrection Sunday?
S3: Absolutely my favorite.
S2: Isn't it the best day of the year?
S3: The best.
S2: It's better.
S3: Week.
S2: I know some of you are Christmas hounds. I get that, but.
S4: Well, the thing about Christmas, I was going to say
S4: the the Christmas holiday is setting up for what happens
S4: this Sunday. I mean, we're celebrating because Jesus is here
S4: and he's going to do the thing that he does
S4: this upcoming Sunday. Yeah.
S2: And by the way, Christmas, when did it find out
S2: when it was first celebrated? It's relatively new compared to
S2: celebrating the resurrection of Christ.
S4: Oh, yeah.
S2: Boy, the keys are in there. There's fire coming off
S2: those things right now. He's burning.
S3: On.
S2: It. You already got.
S4: It. 336 A.D..
S2: I was going to guess 400, so I was off
S2: 70 years.
S4: That's pretty good.
S2: Um, it's it's interesting because. Yeah, 300 years. Those poor
S2: kids never got to get up on Christmas Day.
S4: What a bummer.
S2: For 300 years, they never, never had Christmas. But. But
S2: they had Easter.
S3: Easter.
S2: And and that's the point. Listen, here's here's. And I
S2: love Christmas. So don't be thinking that now I love Christmas,
S2: but Easter. Resurrection Sunday. Are you kidding me? This is
S2: the day for a holy reset. Let me give you
S2: some fuel for your belly. Titus two I love this passage.
S2: Verse 11 and 12 for the grace of God has appeared,
S2: bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness
S2: and worldly passions. And to live self-controlled, upright and godly
S2: lives in this present age. I want you to make
S2: Resurrection Sunday a holy reset. I want you on Friday
S2: to nail to the cross. And we're actually going to
S2: be doing this at one in Chicago at our Good
S2: Friday service. I just gave away something that's going to
S2: be an incredible treat. We're going to be nailing to
S2: the cross symbolically, not only the sins of the past,
S2: but even the battles of the present. And we're going
S2: to be believing God for resurrection power. Why? Because the
S2: tomb is empty and his grace has graces appeared, training
S2: us to renounce ungodliness. Worldly passions and to live self-controlled,
S2: upright and godly lives in this present age, waiting for
S2: our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our
S2: great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Wow. See, Resurrection Sunday
S2: is a day when you can say, God, I renew
S2: my commitment to you. Get anything ungodly out of me.
S2: Worldly passions squared away. Give me self control. Help me
S2: live upright and godly in this present age. Watch what
S2: God can do. Make it true of you this Resurrection Sunday.
S1: Do you feel stuck or paralyzed? Are you ready to
S1: break free? Hear your questions answered. It's time for ask,
S1: Pastor Carl.
S2: All right, boom crew. I need you to know something
S2: I want to. I don't care how long I'm here
S2: on radio. Monday mornings at the bottom of the hour.
S2: I want this to become a place where we get
S2: after it like we haven't even yet. What do I mean?
S2: Our commitment here is to help you take your next
S2: step with Jesus. I've learned some stuff about discipleship over
S2: the over over the years. I'm mainly the school of
S2: hard knocks. I've got sacred scholars all over my body,
S2: physically and in my heart. Sacred scars are beautiful things,
S2: and some of you still have wounds, and God wants
S2: to take those wounds and turn them into sacred scars.
S2: Isn't that kind of a cool metaphor? Um, so here's
S2: what I want you to do. As we give you
S2: a link here, I want us to and we're going
S2: to do this. I'm going to answer a question here
S2: in a moment, but I want to give you a
S2: link right now because I want to banner ad this.
S2: I want to get after these questions of not the
S2: hypostatic union, and not how many angels can fit on
S2: the needle on the pin of a needle or anything
S2: like that. That's that's Michael Ray Dolnick stuff on Open Line. Um,
S2: but what I want to get after here is discipleship questions.
S2: What's got you stuck? How do you overcome? What's holding
S2: you back? What sin are you battling with that you
S2: need victory on? And I'm going to tackle these things
S2: head on. And and I'm going to protect your identity
S2: as I'm about to with a letter that came in
S2: to me here. And it doesn't need to be a
S2: long letter. It can be a few sentences, but if
S2: you've got questions related to discipleship, I want to get
S2: after them. Now, some of them come in and they're
S2: so similar I try to bundle them together. And so
S2: I'm there's no way I'm going to respond to these
S2: emails personally, but I will on air. Okay. And so
S2: get them in knowing generally speaking, there's a lot of
S2: people struggling with something. You are super di. How do
S2: they get questions in here?
S3: Real simple. Get those questions in by texting the word pastor.
S3: takes the word pastor to 800 555 7898. The word
S3: is pastor and the number is 805 five five 7898.
S3: The info will come right to your phone.
S2: Yeah. Okay. Carl. Pastor Carl, I listen to you daily
S2: on Moody in the morning. Thank you. First off, I
S2: listen to your story of your walk with Christ. It
S2: brings me so much joy because I feel there is
S2: hope for my son going to leave his name out.
S2: See how honoring I am here, guys. He is so
S2: lost with anxiety and rebellion. He's such a wonderful kid,
S2: young man who has so many struggles with life in school, loss, anxiety.
S2: I know he now this is where I want you
S2: to listen closely. I know he knows Christ, but he
S2: is so far from him. He has gone to Christian
S2: schools his whole life. Sitting in chapel. I have prayed
S2: over this young man, but some days I see no hope.
S2: My heart breaks for you and I feel your pain.
S2: It's hard. Would you please pray for. Gives her boy
S2: his name. And I will to come to the end
S2: of himself. To give his life fully to God. Blessings
S2: from a mother whose heart is breaking for her son. Okay,
S2: so I'm not going to mention the woman's name here,
S2: but I want to talk to you, sister and all
S2: you other sisters and brothers who feel the same thing.
S2: I hammered this last Friday and I'm going to get
S2: after it again. I want you to be clear on something.
S2: Being in church or a Christian school, or going to
S2: a youth group or all these different spiritual activities are
S2: zero indicator that your kid is in Christ, zero that
S2: that has nothing to do with it. Now we talk
S2: a lot about Matthew seven here. But preaching in the
S2: name of Jesus, baptizing in the name of Jesus, and
S2: doing mighty works in the Jesus, did not pre-qualify any
S2: one to go to heaven, because Jesus said to many
S2: who would say that I never knew you. Okay. And plus,
S2: the goal here isn't getting fire insurance so that you
S2: avoid hell. The goal here is the abundant life. So
S2: this mom's barking up the right tree. There's a presumption
S2: that we make that is often flawed, and that is
S2: that going to church and even having indications of maybe
S2: even getting baptized. We got a baptism coming up at
S2: 180 Chicago, and I had a precious girl come up
S2: to me that's just begun following Jesus six months ago,
S2: raised in a in a tradition that she got baptized
S2: young and with tears in her eyes from another country.
S2: She says, pastor, I need to get baptized. I said,
S2: you do. awesome because now she is a repentant follower
S2: of Jesus Christ. So here's what I would say. I
S2: had Sean McDowell on with me when I was guest
S2: hosting for Chris Brooks last week, and he said something profound.
S2: He has asked, anecdotally, 30 adult kids that were raised
S2: in the church to great parents. Imperfect but great parents.
S2: Please don't wear this. Your kid has their own free will.
S2: Don't condemn yourself. Own anything you can own, but don't
S2: condemn yourself. And he asked 30 kids, have you? Did
S2: you ever come to the point in your life where
S2: you were broken over your sin and you repented of
S2: it because you knew you needed a Savior? Only one
S2: responded yes, out of 30. Doctor Sean McDowell is a
S2: Apologists who deals with issues of today in profound ways.
S2: He's Josh's son. Great kid. That further undergirds my firm
S2: belief that many kids that we're praying to get fully
S2: alive in Christ have never been alive in Christ. Am
S2: I saying that or all are in that group? No,
S2: I would say there is the one out there out
S2: of 30, but I think that's a good rule of thumb.
S2: Given the preponderance of evidence. And look at the ten
S2: virgins in what Matthew 25, the ten virgins waiting for
S2: the groom to come. They're all dressed up the same.
S2: They all got lamps in their hand. Only five of
S2: the ten have oil in their lamps. The other five
S2: didn't have. And I believe it's representative of the Holy
S2: Spirit filling their life. They were not alive. They had
S2: no light. They had no juice for light. So here's
S2: what I want you to do. I'm going to give
S2: a resource out that is very important. Calling all parents
S2: with kids that you want them to be fully alive
S2: in Christ. You might need to be praying that they
S2: would come alive in Christ. There is undeniable zeal to
S2: be plugged into the church. When you are plugged into Christ,
S2: and Christ is in you. So I want you to
S2: grab this resource, and I want and I'm going to
S2: keep hammering this more and more because it's something we
S2: got to get after the it's it's titled nine Ways
S2: to Know You stand with God and he stands with you.
S2: And this is why it's such a great tool for parents.
S2: You can use this. And by the way, people that say, oh,
S2: I'm not supposed to be looking at fruit baloney. Of
S2: course you are one for expressing judgment. No. To love
S2: people well. And if you look at this, you'll see characteristics,
S2: although imperfect, but are characteristic of men and women who
S2: are in Christ. Men and women. Boys and girls. So
S2: look at it. Pray through it. If this is not
S2: characteristic of your kid, start praying that they would. Be
S2: found by Jesus. More than fully committed to Jesus. Because
S2: you can only be fully committed to. And I would
S2: call that the sanctification process. You can only be fully
S2: committed to someone that you are first born into. So
S2: take it away, somebody.
S3: Yeah. The title again Carl's talking there. That blog nine
S3: Ways to know that you stand with God and God
S3: stands with you. We'll get that to you. Just text
S3: the word stand. The word is stand to 805, 55, 78, 98.
S3: Text the word stand 805, 55, 78, 98.
S2: You know, we had a text that came in while
S2: I was sharing the story, said, I'm a grandmother raising
S2: two grandsons. I'm experiencing the same as that. Mother, please
S2: pray for my grandson. I'm not going to say the name.
S2: We will. So, father, these two young men that are
S2: have been brought to our hearts this morning, we pray.
S2: And for these that are grabbing this blog right now,
S2: this represents hundreds, maybe thousands of kids the parents long
S2: to see born again. Lord, we pray right now in
S2: the name of Jesus. Holy Spirit, move across this land,
S2: across this globe and take kids that were raised in
S2: church and bring them into Christ for sure. And we
S2: pray it in Jesus name a men.