WEBVTT - Hour 1: Bible Q & A with Steven Sanchez 0:00:08.750 --> 0:00:11.480 Do you have a question about the Bible? Do you 0:00:11.480 --> 0:00:14.660 ever wonder what we can know and understand about God? 0:00:14.690 --> 0:00:17.060 Or maybe you're struggling with an issue in your walk 0:00:17.060 --> 0:00:19.579 with the Lord and would just like some biblical guidance? 0:00:19.610 --> 0:00:23.239 If so, then you've come to the right place. Hello friends. 0:00:23.239 --> 0:00:27.230 Welcome to Open Line with Michael Riedel. Moody Radio's Bible 0:00:27.260 --> 0:00:30.889 study Across America. If you have a Bible question, the 0:00:30.890 --> 0:00:41.600 phone number to call today is 87754836758775483675. I'm Doctor Steven Sanchez, 0:00:41.630 --> 0:00:43.790 and I'm sitting in for Michael, who is away leading 0:00:43.790 --> 0:00:46.790 a trip to Greece and Turkey. I'm a professor of 0:00:46.790 --> 0:00:49.790 Bible at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, where I 0:00:49.790 --> 0:00:52.220 teach on the faculty with Michael. And we're coming to 0:00:52.250 --> 0:00:55.460 you live across the many stations of Moody Radio. And 0:00:55.460 --> 0:00:59.300 today we're sitting around the radio kitchen table answering your 0:00:59.310 --> 0:01:02.940 questions about the Bible, God, and the spiritual life. If 0:01:02.940 --> 0:01:09.059 you have a question, the phone number to call is (877) 548-3675. 0:01:09.090 --> 0:01:12.540 You can also send your questions through our open line website. 0:01:12.569 --> 0:01:16.500 Open Line radio.org. Just fill out the Ask Michael a 0:01:16.500 --> 0:01:21.330 question section and send us your Bible question. Open line radio.org. 0:01:21.360 --> 0:01:27.390 Again that phone number is (877) 548-3675. I hope you've got 0:01:27.390 --> 0:01:30.600 your cup of coffee poured and your Bible open, because 0:01:30.600 --> 0:01:35.490 we're getting ready to study the scriptures together. As we begin, 0:01:35.490 --> 0:01:38.970 let me take a minute and consider that it's September 0:01:38.970 --> 0:01:42.090 and here at the Moody Bible Institute, that means one 0:01:42.090 --> 0:01:45.630 thing students are back on campus. Let me tell you, 0:01:45.630 --> 0:01:48.750 it's a joyous thing to see classrooms full of young 0:01:48.750 --> 0:01:51.600 men and women eager to study the Bible and be 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:54.480 trained to serve. That's what we do in our undergraduate 0:01:54.480 --> 0:01:57.540 and graduate programs. We train men and women to serve 0:01:57.540 --> 0:02:00.340 the Lord wherever they are. We want them to live 0:02:00.340 --> 0:02:03.490 on mission for Christ, no matter how they make a living. 0:02:03.520 --> 0:02:06.940 Of course, as our students study, they have questions, and 0:02:06.940 --> 0:02:09.460 it's my job as one of the professors, along with 0:02:09.460 --> 0:02:12.669 my colleagues to help answer those questions. You know, frequently 0:02:12.669 --> 0:02:15.430 I run into an attitude that suggests some of them 0:02:15.430 --> 0:02:19.120 have been trained to think that it's wrong to ask questions. 0:02:19.120 --> 0:02:22.300 That is, if you ask questions, it says something might 0:02:22.300 --> 0:02:25.690 be wrong with your spiritual life, or that asking questions, 0:02:25.690 --> 0:02:30.760 especially difficult questions about the Bible or God, indicates maybe 0:02:30.760 --> 0:02:33.940 you lack faith. I'd like to suggest to you this 0:02:33.940 --> 0:02:38.140 morning that this attitude is incorrect. In fact, the Bible 0:02:38.139 --> 0:02:42.370 demonstrates that godly men and women often ask questions. And 0:02:42.370 --> 0:02:46.960 in fact, God created a world where asking questions is inevitable. 0:02:46.960 --> 0:02:50.140 There's no way a Christian can grow or progress in 0:02:50.139 --> 0:02:53.950 their spiritual life with without some measure of curiosity. We 0:02:53.950 --> 0:02:56.990 have to acknowledge, of course, that we won't always get 0:02:56.990 --> 0:02:59.960 an answer for every question we ask, and it is 0:02:59.960 --> 0:03:02.330 possible to ask questions in a way that is neither 0:03:02.330 --> 0:03:05.840 helpful for you or for the people around you, and 0:03:05.840 --> 0:03:08.600 in some cases is not honoring to God. But the 0:03:08.600 --> 0:03:13.460 idea of asking questions is a biblical concept. Question themselves 0:03:13.460 --> 0:03:17.240 are not bad things. Let's take a minute to consider 0:03:17.240 --> 0:03:19.790 what the Bible has to say about questioning. We have 0:03:19.790 --> 0:03:23.870 to begin by recognizing we are created beings. We are 0:03:23.870 --> 0:03:27.080 creatures specially made in the image of God. But we 0:03:27.080 --> 0:03:30.139 are created and that means we will not have total 0:03:30.139 --> 0:03:33.919 and complete knowledge of everything in life. God has withheld 0:03:33.919 --> 0:03:37.160 much information from us and it has been that way 0:03:37.190 --> 0:03:41.030 since the beginning. Adam and Eve knew that God loved them. 0:03:41.030 --> 0:03:43.550 They saw the world he created, but they did not 0:03:43.550 --> 0:03:46.520 know everything. Therefore, it's safe to assume that if they 0:03:46.520 --> 0:03:49.370 wanted to know something, they would have had to ask. 0:03:49.400 --> 0:03:52.430 And we can see this pattern at work throughout the 0:03:52.430 --> 0:03:55.820 lives of all major Bible characters. Men and women do 0:03:55.820 --> 0:03:59.900 not have total knowledge, so they have to ask. Sometimes 0:03:59.900 --> 0:04:04.400 they ask and receive answers with no rebuke. Think about it. 0:04:04.400 --> 0:04:07.730 When God promised Abraham the land of Canaan, he asked, 0:04:07.730 --> 0:04:09.470 O Lord, how am I to know that I will 0:04:09.470 --> 0:04:15.050 possess it? God doesn't rebuke him, but gives him a covenant. Gideon, please, Lord, 0:04:15.050 --> 0:04:18.920 how can I save Israel? God answers him. Mary herself 0:04:18.950 --> 0:04:22.339 asks an important question after the angel Gabriel told her 0:04:22.339 --> 0:04:25.010 she would bear a child. How can this be? And 0:04:25.010 --> 0:04:27.770 she received an answer. So I think we can safely 0:04:27.770 --> 0:04:30.830 say that asking questions does not have to be sinful. 0:04:30.830 --> 0:04:35.180 It's a sign of being human. That said, if the 0:04:35.180 --> 0:04:38.659 attitude behind the question is not genuine, then a question 0:04:38.660 --> 0:04:42.050 can be a sign that something is amiss. Again, back 0:04:42.050 --> 0:04:45.440 to the Bible. In the garden, the serpent began his 0:04:45.440 --> 0:04:49.940 attack on Eve with a question Did God actually say 0:04:49.940 --> 0:04:53.060 that was not an honest question? It was an attempt to. 0:04:53.089 --> 0:04:54.140 Deceive. 0:04:54.140 --> 0:04:56.880 Or in the Psalms, the writer confesses his longing for 0:04:56.880 --> 0:04:59.160 God to deliver him, while his enemies taunt him with 0:04:59.160 --> 0:05:03.150 the question where is your God? These opponents were not 0:05:03.180 --> 0:05:08.250 honestly seeking an answer. They were mocking him. Finally, although 0:05:08.250 --> 0:05:11.609 his question sounded innocent enough, Zechariah was rebuked by the 0:05:11.610 --> 0:05:14.550 angel Gabriel when he did not believe the words that 0:05:14.550 --> 0:05:18.839 God said. God knew. His question did not stem from 0:05:18.839 --> 0:05:23.280 genuine faith, but a skeptical heart. At times, questions can 0:05:23.310 --> 0:05:25.860 become problematic when they come from a heart that is 0:05:25.860 --> 0:05:29.099 resisting the Holy Spirit, or reduces to be humble and 0:05:29.100 --> 0:05:32.219 acknowledge that God is not obligated to give us every 0:05:32.250 --> 0:05:35.609 answer we want. Let me conclude by saying, the Lord 0:05:35.610 --> 0:05:39.029 knows we do not have total knowledge and that we 0:05:39.029 --> 0:05:42.210 will have questions. This is why he provided teachers for 0:05:42.210 --> 0:05:45.000 the church. This is why he provided a printed Bible. 0:05:45.000 --> 0:05:49.049 This is why he provided professors and scholars and pastors. 0:05:49.080 --> 0:05:52.409 You can have somewhere to go and get your questions answered. 0:05:52.410 --> 0:05:55.390 The Bible is a big book and godly Christians have 0:05:55.390 --> 0:05:58.930 many questions. If you detect that you're questioning results in 0:05:58.930 --> 0:06:01.990 hostility to God, or if you detect that your question 0:06:01.990 --> 0:06:05.980 stems from an overly skeptical spirit, then you should ask yourself, 0:06:05.980 --> 0:06:08.680 why is this so? Why am I wondering so deeply 0:06:08.680 --> 0:06:12.100 about this? Is an answer even possible? Is my question 0:06:12.100 --> 0:06:15.430 actually a form of doubt? Do I have a skeptical 0:06:15.430 --> 0:06:17.680 spirit that demands more of God than he is willing 0:06:17.710 --> 0:06:21.820 to give? Asking questions is expected, and it's our hope 0:06:21.820 --> 0:06:25.810 that your questions draw you closer to Christ. With that said, 0:06:25.810 --> 0:06:28.750 we welcome your questions this morning. The number to call 0:06:28.750 --> 0:06:35.980 is (877) 548-3675. Let's go to Dan in Scottsdale, Arizona listening 0:06:35.980 --> 0:06:39.400 on Wmbi online. Dan, what's your question today? 0:06:40.240 --> 0:06:45.250 Yes. In revelations, uh, they talk about a new heaven 0:06:45.250 --> 0:06:48.640 and earth. I was wondering, could that be like a 0:06:48.640 --> 0:06:53.140 new cycle for the, Um, you know, like the Bible. 0:06:53.860 --> 0:06:57.969 Like a new cycle for God, starting everything over again, 0:06:57.970 --> 0:07:04.120 creating new things all over. Yes, that's an interesting observation. 0:07:04.270 --> 0:07:06.190 I think we the best way to look at that 0:07:06.190 --> 0:07:11.530 would be God created once already. And the story of Scripture, 0:07:11.530 --> 0:07:14.500 the narrative line of Scripture is not that he's necessarily 0:07:14.500 --> 0:07:18.250 replacing everything that he already created, but that he's redeeming it. 0:07:18.280 --> 0:07:22.450 He's making it new. Some things are going to be replaced, 0:07:22.450 --> 0:07:24.670 but I don't think I would argue that God is 0:07:24.670 --> 0:07:27.280 going to, for example, start creating a new race of 0:07:27.280 --> 0:07:30.820 people or entirely new kinds of creatures. Rather, the theme 0:07:30.820 --> 0:07:34.660 seems to be he's redeeming everything that he already made. 0:07:34.660 --> 0:07:36.940 Why did it need to be redeemed? Because soon after 0:07:36.940 --> 0:07:41.650 he created it, it was corrupted by sin. And we 0:07:41.650 --> 0:07:44.890 have lived our lives, lived our existence underneath the curse 0:07:44.890 --> 0:07:47.860 of sin. God's going to remove that, and everything's going 0:07:47.890 --> 0:07:49.989 to be new in that sense. But I would not 0:07:50.000 --> 0:07:52.460 argue that he's going to, for example, create a new 0:07:52.460 --> 0:07:55.790 race of people or new types of creatures. Rather, he 0:07:55.790 --> 0:07:58.190 would be redeeming the old ones. Does that help? 0:07:59.690 --> 0:08:00.890 Okay. Thank you. 0:08:00.920 --> 0:08:04.580 You're welcome. All right, let's go to Bonnie. Listening in 0:08:04.580 --> 0:08:08.510 West Chicago, Illinois on WNBA. Bonnie, what's your question today? 0:08:09.680 --> 0:08:12.170 Hi. My question has to do with one of the 0:08:12.200 --> 0:08:16.850 items in Scripture when Jesus said in John 812, I 0:08:16.880 --> 0:08:19.790 am the light of the world. He who follows after 0:08:19.820 --> 0:08:24.050 me will not walk in darkness. Later on in John nine, 0:08:24.050 --> 0:08:27.590 he seems to qualify that when he says in John 0:08:27.590 --> 0:08:31.880 nine five, while I am in the world, I am 0:08:31.880 --> 0:08:35.689 the light of the world. I was wondering if that 0:08:35.690 --> 0:08:40.640 is a qualifier or if so, when would he not 0:08:40.640 --> 0:08:44.600 be in the world? And what does the coming night 0:08:44.630 --> 0:08:48.380 have to do with that in the context of John nine? 0:08:48.410 --> 0:08:50.370 I think we have to interpret texts like this, and 0:08:50.370 --> 0:08:52.830 the fact that in light of the fact that Jesus 0:08:52.830 --> 0:08:56.490 was only here doing his ministry for a few years, 0:08:56.490 --> 0:08:59.640 and while he was in the world, there were unique 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:02.579 things that were happening while he was around. While I'm 0:09:02.580 --> 0:09:04.980 in the world, I'm the light of the world. I'm here. 0:09:04.980 --> 0:09:08.280 Something special is happening, and it's unique to the incarnate 0:09:08.280 --> 0:09:12.600 presence of Christ right there in that place. Uh, when 0:09:12.600 --> 0:09:16.620 Jesus leaves, think about the consequences of that. I mean, 0:09:16.650 --> 0:09:19.800 the disciples are distraught. When when is he coming back? 0:09:19.830 --> 0:09:21.450 They stand there on the Mount of Olives. Is he 0:09:21.450 --> 0:09:23.100 coming back? And the angel has to tell him. Hey, 0:09:23.100 --> 0:09:26.220 he'll be back. Don't worry. But they were. They were 0:09:26.220 --> 0:09:29.849 under great distress because his physical presence was gone. I 0:09:29.850 --> 0:09:33.240 don't think Jesus is making a statement about whether he's 0:09:33.240 --> 0:09:35.250 with them all the time. He's going to say later 0:09:35.250 --> 0:09:37.110 in the Gospels, right, I'm with you always, even to 0:09:37.140 --> 0:09:39.360 the end of the age. So Jesus is with us, 0:09:39.360 --> 0:09:41.820 there's no question. And he is, in that sense, the 0:09:41.820 --> 0:09:44.400 light of the world. But there was something unique going 0:09:44.400 --> 0:09:47.320 on there at that time while he was walking this 0:09:47.320 --> 0:09:51.699 earth and living among people and healing and and calling 0:09:51.700 --> 0:09:54.730 them to himself. That was a special time that was unique, 0:09:54.730 --> 0:09:58.240 such that we would identify a difference. Go ahead. 0:09:58.630 --> 0:10:02.079 Because he also says in Matthew five that you are 0:10:02.080 --> 0:10:04.420 the light of the world. And that would have to 0:10:04.420 --> 0:10:07.300 be only as he is living within us. 0:10:07.330 --> 0:10:11.500 Well, that's right, his disciples, who then believe him and 0:10:11.500 --> 0:10:15.130 take that message to everyone else. They are functioning as 0:10:15.130 --> 0:10:18.339 representatives for Christ, and in that sense, he they are 0:10:18.340 --> 0:10:20.949 the light of the world. Some of these phrases, we 0:10:20.950 --> 0:10:23.530 have to interpret them specifically in their context, and they 0:10:23.530 --> 0:10:27.070 might mean something a little different in each place. Jesus comes. 0:10:27.070 --> 0:10:30.429 He brings a message. He passes it on to believing disciples. 0:10:30.429 --> 0:10:34.240 He leaves, they become his representatives, and they become light. 0:10:34.240 --> 0:10:36.610 Are they exactly the same light that Jesus is? Well, no, 0:10:36.610 --> 0:10:39.939 because they're not Jesus. But they do serve that function 0:10:39.940 --> 0:10:45.610 as his ambassadors, his witnesses to anyone who's listening. Does that. 0:10:45.640 --> 0:10:45.790 Help? 0:10:45.820 --> 0:10:48.340 Okay, so the knife that he's referring to would be 0:10:48.340 --> 0:10:53.439 his death. And the disciples just were not sure what 0:10:53.440 --> 0:10:55.420 to do other than obey and wait. 0:10:55.450 --> 0:10:57.370 That's right. They're going to obey and wait for him 0:10:57.370 --> 0:11:00.130 to come back. They're going to follow his example, and 0:11:00.130 --> 0:11:02.949 they're going to be witnesses of all that he's doing. 0:11:02.950 --> 0:11:05.079 And we're left to do that, too, right? We're still 0:11:05.080 --> 0:11:09.220 in that same phase. We are lights and examples for Christ. 0:11:09.309 --> 0:11:11.890 Thank you for your question. Thank you so much, Steve. 0:11:11.920 --> 0:11:14.920 You're welcome. All right. Let's go to Agatha in Cleveland, 0:11:14.920 --> 0:11:17.590 Ohio on Wtxf. 0:11:19.179 --> 0:11:26.380 Thank you. I, uh, recently, I, um, the apple was 0:11:26.380 --> 0:11:28.569 a forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. I want 0:11:28.600 --> 0:11:31.300 to know, is there still. I mean, I don't think 0:11:31.300 --> 0:11:34.090 it would be, but it just bothered me. So can 0:11:34.120 --> 0:11:35.380 we eat apples? 0:11:35.440 --> 0:11:41.140 So, uh, the apple is not identified in the Bible 0:11:41.140 --> 0:11:44.260 as the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. It's 0:11:44.270 --> 0:11:47.090 never stated that it's an apple. I'm sure the Apple 0:11:47.090 --> 0:11:51.440 industry is thankful for that because it's never stated. We 0:11:51.440 --> 0:11:54.140 don't know what that fruit was in the Garden of Eden. 0:11:54.140 --> 0:11:57.560 And so yeah, eat apples. Just make sure you wash them, 0:11:57.559 --> 0:11:59.929 because sometimes they have pesticides on the outside and they 0:11:59.929 --> 0:12:01.580 cover them in wax. And I like to take the 0:12:01.580 --> 0:12:04.250 little sticker off. But you can you can eat apples. 0:12:04.250 --> 0:12:07.460 That's fine. The the Bible does not identify that fruit 0:12:07.460 --> 0:12:09.260 at all. It just says it was a fruit. 0:12:09.650 --> 0:12:11.870 So we should thank Johnny Appleseed, huh? 0:12:11.900 --> 0:12:15.800 You should. And the. And the apple industry. And there's 0:12:15.830 --> 0:12:18.380 a there's a company in Israel. A fruit company in Israel. 0:12:18.410 --> 0:12:21.469 The name of the company translated into English is in 0:12:21.470 --> 0:12:25.490 the beginning, and their logo is an apple. And every 0:12:25.520 --> 0:12:27.350 time I look at that, I say, come on, guys, 0:12:27.350 --> 0:12:31.550 you're contributing to a misunderstanding. But yes, the fruit was 0:12:31.550 --> 0:12:35.000 never identified in Genesis. And so feel free. 0:12:35.030 --> 0:12:37.069 Feel free to eat before you ask that, because I 0:12:37.070 --> 0:12:40.400 love them and I, I don't know, just recently, like 0:12:40.400 --> 0:12:43.319 the last couple of days, I was like. And then 0:12:43.320 --> 0:12:45.450 I listened to you also. I heard you. Thank you 0:12:45.450 --> 0:12:46.800 for answering my call. You're welcome. 0:12:46.800 --> 0:12:47.459 You're welcome. 0:12:47.490 --> 0:12:49.620 Glad, glad, glad. 0:12:49.620 --> 0:12:53.670 That helps. Well, friends, it's time for a break. I'm 0:12:53.670 --> 0:12:57.300 Doctor Steven Sanchez, professor of Bible at the Moody Bible Institute, 0:12:57.300 --> 0:13:00.180 sitting in for Michael, who's leading a tour of Greece 0:13:00.179 --> 0:13:03.030 and Turkey. What a life. What a life. The phone 0:13:03.030 --> 0:13:12.150 number to call today is (877) 548-3675. That's (877) 548-3675. You're listening 0:13:12.179 --> 0:13:15.569 to Open Line on Moody Radio. Don't go away. We'll 0:13:15.570 --> 0:13:16.590 be right back. 0:13:23.190 --> 0:13:25.020 Do you want to read the Bible but don't know 0:13:25.020 --> 0:13:27.420 where to begin? Or maybe you just want to get 0:13:27.420 --> 0:13:30.060 more out of your reading of the scriptures. Well, have 0:13:30.059 --> 0:13:32.850 I got a book for you? It's called 14 Fresh 0:13:32.850 --> 0:13:36.780 Ways to Enjoy the Bible. This innovative guide presents 14 0:13:36.780 --> 0:13:40.260 practical principles to bring Scripture to life. Give a gift 0:13:40.260 --> 0:13:42.819 of any amount and we'll send you a copy just 0:13:42.820 --> 0:13:49.810 to say thanks. Call (888) 644-7122 or visit openline. radio.org. 0:13:57.460 --> 0:14:00.760 Welcome back to Open Line with doctor Michael Melnick. I'm 0:14:00.760 --> 0:14:03.670 Doctor Steven Sanchez, professor of Bible at the Moody Bible 0:14:03.670 --> 0:14:06.699 Institute in the studio for Michael, who's leading a tour 0:14:06.700 --> 0:14:09.310 of Greece and Turkey. The number to call with your 0:14:09.309 --> 0:14:18.700 question this morning is 87754836758775483675. We have a few lines open, 0:14:18.700 --> 0:14:22.030 but let's get back to your calls. Sam and Sam 0:14:22.030 --> 0:14:26.800 in Missouri listening on w mbu. I think, Sam, you're 0:14:26.800 --> 0:14:27.490 in Mississippi. 0:14:27.520 --> 0:14:34.900 Hey. Yeah. That's right. Mendenhall, Mississippi. Great. So just to, um, 0:14:34.930 --> 0:14:40.060 in revelation 1615. Um, sorry. That's my three year old 0:14:40.060 --> 0:14:40.430 in the back. 0:14:40.550 --> 0:14:43.250 Hey. Questions from the little ones. That's great. 0:14:44.660 --> 0:14:50.030 Sorry. Um. In revelation 1615, uh, John is seems to 0:14:50.060 --> 0:14:52.400 be quoting Jesus, and he says, behold, I am coming 0:14:52.400 --> 0:14:55.070 like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake 0:14:55.070 --> 0:14:59.060 keeping his garments on. Um, from my understanding, I believe 0:14:59.060 --> 0:15:02.450 that the church will not go through the tribulation period. Um, 0:15:02.450 --> 0:15:06.950 but this verse seems to be used in revelation three. Uh, 0:15:06.950 --> 0:15:10.940 verse three. The analogy is like a thief. Uh, and 0:15:10.940 --> 0:15:14.420 is being used in application to the church. Also in 0:15:14.450 --> 0:15:17.810 first Thessalonians five, Paul uses it, uh, and he seems 0:15:17.810 --> 0:15:23.210 to be talking to the church in Thessalonica. And in second. Peter, um, 0:15:23.420 --> 0:15:26.630 the analogy, like a thief is used again. So I'm 0:15:26.630 --> 0:15:32.210 just confused. Will the church go through the tribulation or, um, 0:15:32.870 --> 0:15:36.470 because of the analogy, uh, like a thief or will 0:15:36.470 --> 0:15:40.610 they be raptured? Is the analogy kind of a both 0:15:40.610 --> 0:15:43.010 and or either or is what I'm asking. 0:15:43.040 --> 0:15:46.940 I think the analogy here is a way for Jesus 0:15:46.970 --> 0:15:50.540 to use an illustration to remind people to be ready 0:15:50.570 --> 0:15:52.790 for the coming of the Lord. I don't think, especially 0:15:52.790 --> 0:15:55.970 in the passage you've given us. Revelation 15 1615. I 0:15:55.970 --> 0:15:58.460 don't think he's speaking about the rapture there. That's not 0:15:58.460 --> 0:16:03.050 in view. The issue is stay ready. Are you going 0:16:03.050 --> 0:16:05.600 to be ready? How do we keep how does Jesus 0:16:05.600 --> 0:16:09.500 keep his disciples ready for the fact that he's going 0:16:09.500 --> 0:16:13.670 to be gone for a while? And what happens when, 0:16:13.700 --> 0:16:15.740 so to speak, the boss is away? You know, we 0:16:15.740 --> 0:16:19.160 get a little lazy. We stop being so prepared. We're 0:16:19.160 --> 0:16:22.880 not focused. And how do you illustrate that to people? Answer. 0:16:22.910 --> 0:16:26.900 What's one time that people are never prepared for when 0:16:26.900 --> 0:16:28.880 they wish they had been, and it's for a thief 0:16:28.910 --> 0:16:31.880 to come steal their things? I grew up in Brooklyn, 0:16:31.880 --> 0:16:34.730 New York City. It's a great place. There are times 0:16:34.730 --> 0:16:37.370 when it wasn't a great place, and I remember dad 0:16:37.380 --> 0:16:40.590 having to change the hood of the van to the 0:16:40.590 --> 0:16:43.590 grill so that someone wouldn't come and steal the battery. 0:16:43.590 --> 0:16:46.350 And if there were nights where he forgot, sometimes we'd 0:16:46.350 --> 0:16:48.690 come out in the morning and the battery was stolen 0:16:48.690 --> 0:16:50.640 and you'd say, oh, we should have been ready. I 0:16:50.640 --> 0:16:54.690 think Christ the Apostles are using this analogy of a 0:16:54.690 --> 0:16:58.830 thief to keep Christians on their toes. Be ready. We 0:16:58.830 --> 0:17:02.430 don't know when he's coming. That's the key. I agree 0:17:02.430 --> 0:17:04.020 with you. I think we're going to be raptured. I 0:17:04.020 --> 0:17:06.060 think we're not going to go through the tribulation. But 0:17:06.060 --> 0:17:09.360 it seems to me these thief analogies are really about 0:17:09.359 --> 0:17:12.900 are you ready for Christ to come back? And Christians 0:17:12.900 --> 0:17:14.940 will fuss about whether it's a rapture or he's just 0:17:14.940 --> 0:17:17.040 going to come and set up something or not set up, 0:17:17.040 --> 0:17:18.570 or we're just going to be in the end, they 0:17:18.570 --> 0:17:21.000 fight about those things. I understand that, and that's fair. 0:17:21.000 --> 0:17:23.250 But the real issue is, are they ready for when 0:17:23.250 --> 0:17:25.709 Christ comes back at all? And so I look at 0:17:25.710 --> 0:17:30.240 passages like this as reminders. Jesus could come at any time. 0:17:30.240 --> 0:17:34.260 He could come at any time. Are you ready? Hope 0:17:34.260 --> 0:17:37.990 that helps. Sam. Let's go to Greg listening in Grand Rapids, 0:17:37.990 --> 0:17:41.649 Michigan listening on Wnib. Greg, how can we help you 0:17:41.650 --> 0:17:42.460 this morning? 0:17:42.970 --> 0:17:45.879 Hey. Good morning Steven. Good morning. Um, a couple of 0:17:45.880 --> 0:17:50.620 real quick questions. Um, in regards to spiritual warfare, and 0:17:50.619 --> 0:17:54.700 I believe I'm going through a period with spiritual warfare. 0:17:54.880 --> 0:17:59.140 I lost my wife of 43 years in December of 0:17:59.170 --> 0:18:03.730 2022 and just feel like I'm really being attacked. So 0:18:03.730 --> 0:18:07.270 I've been reading books in regards to spiritual warfare, and 0:18:07.270 --> 0:18:11.710 I find two different, uh, equations of the same topic. 0:18:11.740 --> 0:18:16.060 One is saying that we can, here on the earth, 0:18:16.060 --> 0:18:19.419 rebuke Satan in the name of Jesus Christ. I mean, just, 0:18:19.450 --> 0:18:22.899 you know, again, rebuking him with your word. I find 0:18:22.900 --> 0:18:26.290 others that I've read that say, well, you really can't. 0:18:26.830 --> 0:18:29.379 You shouldn't, because then you're opening up the door to 0:18:29.410 --> 0:18:34.720 Satan to actually more spiritual attacks. So how do you 0:18:34.720 --> 0:18:35.600 feel about that? 0:18:36.050 --> 0:18:39.169 I think that rebuking Satan is one of those things 0:18:39.170 --> 0:18:44.330 that should be resisted. We have an advocate. Let Jesus 0:18:44.330 --> 0:18:47.390 Christ do that. We come to Jesus and we ask 0:18:47.390 --> 0:18:51.230 him for help. We don't see a lot of rebuking 0:18:51.230 --> 0:18:53.570 by all the Christians all the time. In the New Testament. 0:18:53.570 --> 0:18:56.150 We see Christ doing that. We see the disciples and 0:18:56.150 --> 0:19:00.320 apostles doing that. We see even angels hesitating to do that. 0:19:00.320 --> 0:19:05.119 And so it's it's it's not an advisable practice. Does 0:19:05.119 --> 0:19:07.430 it open the door for more influence? I'm not sure 0:19:07.430 --> 0:19:10.250 I would say that that's what's happening. But I would 0:19:10.250 --> 0:19:12.740 say instead we have an advocate with the father. It's 0:19:12.740 --> 0:19:16.400 Jesus Christ. Come to Christ and ask him for your 0:19:16.430 --> 0:19:19.160 to defend you. Ask God to protect you. He's made 0:19:19.160 --> 0:19:22.909 promises that he will defend you. And we turn to him. 0:19:22.910 --> 0:19:25.040 We turn to Christ. We turn to the father for 0:19:25.040 --> 0:19:28.340 the help we need. When we feel that Satan is 0:19:28.340 --> 0:19:31.160 attacking and he does attack, I'm not denying that he attacks, 0:19:31.160 --> 0:19:34.459 but I think the most powerful advocate. We have the 0:19:34.460 --> 0:19:37.340 most powerful tool we have is not our own words. 0:19:37.369 --> 0:19:41.300 It's coming to Christ who has defeated Satan already. Now 0:19:41.300 --> 0:19:43.189 that does raise the question why am I feeling attacked 0:19:43.190 --> 0:19:46.490 at all? And the Lord, the Lord allows things to 0:19:46.490 --> 0:19:48.710 happen to us. He directs things to happen to us 0:19:48.710 --> 0:19:50.300 so that we might turn to him. And so I 0:19:50.300 --> 0:19:53.330 think that would be a better, a better process. Turn 0:19:53.330 --> 0:19:56.510 to the Lord. Who is your defender? Does that help 0:19:57.020 --> 0:19:57.859 as well? 0:19:57.890 --> 0:20:02.030 Absolutely. One of the authors I've been reading was Derek Prince, 0:20:02.450 --> 0:20:06.980 who actually advocates with using the power that Christ gives 0:20:06.980 --> 0:20:10.400 you to rebuke Satan. So it gives me something consistent. 0:20:10.760 --> 0:20:12.830 And again, I don't know if you know much about 0:20:12.830 --> 0:20:16.280 Derek Prince, but he's written quite a few books on 0:20:16.310 --> 0:20:17.780 that spiritual warfare. 0:20:17.810 --> 0:20:23.060 I don't see I don't see an actual deliverance of 0:20:23.060 --> 0:20:25.850 power from Jesus to us, in the sense that people 0:20:25.850 --> 0:20:28.490 want to use it. I feel at times that these conversations, 0:20:28.760 --> 0:20:31.790 these questions, sound like someone has maybe read a little 0:20:31.790 --> 0:20:34.119 too much Harry Potter and they want to use the 0:20:34.119 --> 0:20:36.939 power of Jesus like a wand. I have this power 0:20:36.940 --> 0:20:40.480 now that I can dispense at my will. Um, I 0:20:40.480 --> 0:20:42.790 just don't see that pattern in scripture so much. And 0:20:42.790 --> 0:20:46.210 because it's not really clear, I think we have an 0:20:46.210 --> 0:20:49.870 advocate and it's Jesus Christ, the defender. Let's come to him. 0:20:49.869 --> 0:20:52.869 Listen to that psalmist. Lord, where are you? Come to 0:20:52.900 --> 0:20:56.679 my aid. Defend me. Who can be a better defender 0:20:56.680 --> 0:20:59.890 than the Lord? True, right? True. So stick with him. 0:20:59.920 --> 0:21:01.510 Do you mind if I ask a real quick follow 0:21:01.540 --> 0:21:01.810 up question? 0:21:01.840 --> 0:21:02.860 Please go ahead. 0:21:03.190 --> 0:21:06.970 Yeah. This is in the same vein as spiritual warfare. Um, 0:21:06.970 --> 0:21:08.980 and I and I know that they're out there. My 0:21:08.980 --> 0:21:13.060 wife actually went to one, and they're Deliverance Ministries, where 0:21:13.060 --> 0:21:16.450 you actually go to either a church or a person's home. 0:21:16.450 --> 0:21:20.320 They lay hands on you and they try to deliver 0:21:20.320 --> 0:21:24.640 you from spiritual bondage. Uh, what do you think about 0:21:24.640 --> 0:21:26.770 these type of deliverance ministries? 0:21:26.770 --> 0:21:31.090 I think we have an advocate, Jesus Christ. I really do. 0:21:31.119 --> 0:21:33.310 I think Christians need to learn. We need to learn 0:21:33.310 --> 0:21:36.730 to turn to Christ. Turn to Christ, who is our deliverer. 0:21:36.760 --> 0:21:39.100 Turn in the power of the Holy Spirit. He can 0:21:39.100 --> 0:21:42.010 help us, and we need to learn to do that 0:21:42.040 --> 0:21:44.679 on our own. Jesus Christ can do that. And if 0:21:44.680 --> 0:21:46.540 you need a friend to be with you, to encourage 0:21:46.540 --> 0:21:49.480 you to turn to Christ, Amen. Bring that friend. But 0:21:49.480 --> 0:21:52.060 the idea that this one person has that power to 0:21:52.090 --> 0:21:55.510 do that for you, I just don't see that in Scripture. Yeah. 0:21:55.540 --> 0:21:57.760 Thanks for asking, Greg. Great questions. Yeah. 0:21:57.790 --> 0:22:00.250 Is it is it Steven or Stephan? 0:22:00.250 --> 0:22:03.730 Steven with a V, my mother would say. Yeah. Thank you. 0:22:03.760 --> 0:22:05.260 There you go. Great to talk with you, Greg. Thanks. 0:22:05.260 --> 0:22:06.040 You have a great day. 0:22:06.220 --> 0:22:09.400 Let's go to Jim in Albany, Georgia listening on w 0:22:09.430 --> 0:22:13.929 z q. Hi. Hi, Jim. 0:22:14.680 --> 0:22:18.790 I have I have a question about Luke chapter 13 0:22:18.820 --> 0:22:23.620 where Jesus is talking about people entering the kingdom. And 0:22:23.619 --> 0:22:26.920 in verse 25, there are people who have already rejected 0:22:26.920 --> 0:22:29.900 the king here in his ministry on earth, and they 0:22:29.900 --> 0:22:32.600 want to get into the kingdom. And his answer to 0:22:32.600 --> 0:22:36.590 them is, I don't know where you are from. Uh, 0:22:36.590 --> 0:22:41.570 I'm reading currently from the new American Standard, the King James, 0:22:41.600 --> 0:22:44.690 the new King James says, I don't know you where 0:22:44.690 --> 0:22:48.200 you're from. And he says the same thing again in 0:22:48.200 --> 0:22:53.090 verse 27. Uh, and New American Standard. I don't know 0:22:53.090 --> 0:22:57.260 where you are from. And I think that's kind of surprising. 0:22:57.260 --> 0:23:00.379 I understand that he might say, I don't know you. 0:23:01.130 --> 0:23:04.760 That's basically what he says in Matthew. Uh, on, uh, 0:23:05.030 --> 0:23:10.939 on the Olivet discourse. Uh, but then after rejecting those 0:23:10.970 --> 0:23:13.970 who have rejected him as king, he rejects them on 0:23:13.970 --> 0:23:16.159 the basis I don't know where you are from. But 0:23:16.160 --> 0:23:20.060 then in verse 29, he says, they will come from 0:23:20.060 --> 0:23:22.040 east and west. These are the people who do get 0:23:22.040 --> 0:23:25.520 into the kingdom. They will come from east and west 0:23:25.520 --> 0:23:30.030 and from north and south, and will be able to 0:23:30.060 --> 0:23:32.970 recline at the table in the Kingdom of God. And 0:23:32.970 --> 0:23:38.790 I just find it unusual, a little bit strange that 0:23:38.820 --> 0:23:43.679 here in Luke, the rejection is on the basis of 0:23:43.680 --> 0:23:44.609 where you're from. 0:23:44.609 --> 0:23:49.380 So, Jim, I think so. I'm a Yankee and you're 0:23:49.380 --> 0:23:51.510 from the South, right? So I'd love to say, well, 0:23:51.510 --> 0:23:56.640 it means that Jesus has favorites. And obviously that's not right. 0:23:56.640 --> 0:23:59.100 I think what Jesus is doing here is acknowledging this 0:23:59.100 --> 0:24:02.040 master doesn't know these people. And one way to say 0:24:02.040 --> 0:24:03.990 that you don't know these people is to use this 0:24:03.990 --> 0:24:06.720 figure of speech to say, I don't know where you're from, 0:24:06.720 --> 0:24:09.240 where are you from? It's another way of saying, I 0:24:09.240 --> 0:24:11.700 don't know you. And then at the end, when he 0:24:11.700 --> 0:24:14.399 refers to people coming from the east and the west 0:24:14.400 --> 0:24:16.650 and the north and the south, what he means there 0:24:16.650 --> 0:24:19.050 is people are going to come from everywhere. I don't 0:24:19.080 --> 0:24:21.990 know you. You're local. You just walked right in. But 0:24:21.990 --> 0:24:23.790 I don't know you. You're from around here. You don't 0:24:23.820 --> 0:24:26.250 know me. I don't know you. But in the end, 0:24:26.280 --> 0:24:29.010 people are going to come from everywhere to get into 0:24:29.010 --> 0:24:31.590 that kingdom. I think he's just using this where you're 0:24:31.590 --> 0:24:33.930 from as a figure of speech, a way of saying, 0:24:33.930 --> 0:24:37.200 I don't really know you, you don't belong here. And 0:24:37.200 --> 0:24:40.379 people from outside who are far away, they're going to 0:24:40.380 --> 0:24:42.990 get in, they're going to be recognized, they're going to 0:24:42.990 --> 0:24:45.449 be known, and they're going to recline at the kingdom. 0:24:45.450 --> 0:24:47.640 And some who are last will be first and first 0:24:47.640 --> 0:24:50.400 will be last. The ones who are close are out 0:24:50.400 --> 0:24:52.919 and the ones who are from far away. They're going 0:24:52.950 --> 0:24:55.950 to get in and remember the context in which he's speaking. 0:24:55.950 --> 0:24:59.910 Many of his people would have thought, hey, I'm definitely in. 0:24:59.910 --> 0:25:02.280 Thanks for your call. We're going to take a break. 0:25:02.310 --> 0:25:05.699 I'm Steven Sanchez in the studio for Doctor Michael Dolnick. 0:25:05.730 --> 0:25:08.610 When we come back, our producer, Trish McMillan, will bring 0:25:08.609 --> 0:25:11.010 the mailbag into the studio, and we'll answer some of 0:25:11.010 --> 0:25:15.240 the questions you've sent in. Don't go away. Stay right there. 0:25:15.420 --> 0:25:16.889 No te vayas. 0:25:24.670 --> 0:25:28.240 Ministry isn't a solo effort. You know my voice. But 0:25:28.240 --> 0:25:30.729 if you could see inside our studio, you'd see a 0:25:30.730 --> 0:25:33.609 team behind the scenes putting open line on the air. 0:25:33.640 --> 0:25:36.340 Look a little further, and you'd see into the homes 0:25:36.340 --> 0:25:39.010 of listeners like you who give monthly to make this 0:25:39.010 --> 0:25:42.159 ministry possible. And when you join our team of Kitchen 0:25:42.160 --> 0:25:45.250 Table Partners, I'll send you a Bible study moment email 0:25:45.250 --> 0:25:48.369 every other week with tips and encouragement. Become a kitchen 0:25:48.400 --> 0:25:53.740 table partner today by calling (888) 644-7122 or go to Open 0:25:53.740 --> 0:26:01.600 Line radio.org. We're so glad that Febc partners with Open 0:26:01.600 --> 0:26:06.190 Line with Doctor Michael Radonich, bringing the Febc mailbag every week. 0:26:06.190 --> 0:26:09.429 Learn how far East Broadcasting Company is taking Christ to 0:26:09.460 --> 0:26:13.780 the world at febc. Org on their weekly podcast. Until 0:26:13.780 --> 0:26:16.510 all have heard with Ed Cannon, you'll hear stories of 0:26:16.510 --> 0:26:20.650 lives changed by Messiah all across the globe. Again, you 0:26:20.650 --> 0:26:24.800 can hear the podcast when you visit febc. Korg. That's 0:26:24.830 --> 0:26:26.810 FBC Korg. 0:26:34.730 --> 0:26:37.760 Welcome back to Open Line. I'm Steven Sanchez sitting in 0:26:37.790 --> 0:26:40.879 for Doctor Michael Melnick who's leading a tour of Greece 0:26:40.880 --> 0:26:43.610 and Turkey. It's time for the mailbag segment where we 0:26:43.609 --> 0:26:46.129 talk through a few questions that you've mailed in. And 0:26:46.130 --> 0:26:49.070 joining me with those questions is our producer, Trish McMillan. 0:26:49.100 --> 0:26:52.040 Trish welcome back. Thank you. Tell us something about Michael 0:26:52.040 --> 0:26:53.750 and crew. What are they up to? I wish I 0:26:53.750 --> 0:26:54.170 was there. 0:26:54.200 --> 0:26:57.560 I know they are. They are on the journeys of Paul, 0:26:57.590 --> 0:27:00.560 trip through the Mediterranean. So kind of hitting Greece and 0:27:00.560 --> 0:27:03.830 Turkey like you just said. And they're on day two, 0:27:03.859 --> 0:27:07.040 I believe. And so if you want to see pictures 0:27:07.040 --> 0:27:11.270 of what they're doing, um, they're beautiful pictures. Um, they 0:27:11.300 --> 0:27:14.600 are posting pictures on the Open Line Radio Facebook page. 0:27:14.600 --> 0:27:16.280 And so you can get to that, either look for 0:27:16.280 --> 0:27:18.320 Open Line Radio or you can link to that from 0:27:18.320 --> 0:27:23.790 our website, which is Open Line radio.org. There's a link 0:27:23.790 --> 0:27:26.010 to our Facebook page, and you can look at the 0:27:26.010 --> 0:27:28.350 pictures that got posted from day one when they were 0:27:28.350 --> 0:27:33.210 in Athens. Um, today they've been in Corinth, and then 0:27:33.210 --> 0:27:35.880 they hop and keep moving on. And so Michael's gone 0:27:35.880 --> 0:27:38.580 for the next two weeks. Um, you're here this week, 0:27:38.580 --> 0:27:41.940 and Mike Weber's will be here next week answering Bible questions. 0:27:41.940 --> 0:27:44.100 And I'm so thankful that you're here. You're doing a 0:27:44.100 --> 0:27:45.030 great job. 0:27:45.090 --> 0:27:47.669 You're you'll be in good hands next week. It'll be. 0:27:47.670 --> 0:27:50.910 Great. Yeah. So we've got you covered. Um, while Michael's gone, 0:27:50.910 --> 0:27:52.620 and then he'll be back at the end of the month. 0:27:52.619 --> 0:27:55.740 I love these trips to the to these places where 0:27:55.740 --> 0:27:57.240 people like to call it the Holy Land. I'm not 0:27:57.240 --> 0:27:58.949 sure I'd call it the Holy Land or these places, 0:27:58.950 --> 0:28:00.810 but Israel, Israel, Israel for sure. 0:28:00.840 --> 0:28:01.649 For sure. Yeah. 0:28:01.859 --> 0:28:04.950 Um, but Greece, Turkey, Israel, I've been to these places 0:28:04.950 --> 0:28:06.899 many times, and I'm going to go to Greece in 0:28:06.900 --> 0:28:08.370 March with students on spring break. 0:28:08.400 --> 0:28:09.119 Have you been before? 0:28:09.150 --> 0:28:10.710 I have been a few times, yeah. 0:28:10.740 --> 0:28:13.830 So what is something in Greece that helped, I guess, 0:28:13.830 --> 0:28:17.100 bring some of Paul's writings to life? Yeah. 0:28:17.130 --> 0:28:21.149 You know, I think people forget, especially modern Americans, the 0:28:21.150 --> 0:28:25.109 world we live in today looks more like the first 0:28:25.109 --> 0:28:28.710 century world than ever before. And here's what I mean 0:28:28.710 --> 0:28:31.260 by that. Not in terms of technology or anything like that, 0:28:31.260 --> 0:28:34.770 but in terms of culture and social mores. Right? We 0:28:34.770 --> 0:28:37.410 live in a world where Christ and Christianity is not 0:28:37.410 --> 0:28:40.320 the only gig out there, so to speak. There are 0:28:40.320 --> 0:28:42.870 other options, and people have other options, and we see 0:28:42.870 --> 0:28:45.720 them living their lives in other ways, in other cultures, 0:28:45.750 --> 0:28:48.270 other religions. That was the way it was in the 0:28:48.270 --> 0:28:51.210 first century. You go to Corinth, you see the idols, 0:28:51.210 --> 0:28:53.790 you see the altars, you see all the other options 0:28:53.790 --> 0:28:56.520 that Christians had. And you realize, oh, yeah, being a 0:28:56.520 --> 0:28:59.370 Christian in the first century was hard. Sounds like today 0:28:59.400 --> 0:29:01.350 being in the first Christian in the first century might 0:29:01.380 --> 0:29:04.950 have been confusing. Sounds like today people were leaving other 0:29:04.950 --> 0:29:08.760 religions to come to Christ. Sounds like today. I really 0:29:08.760 --> 0:29:10.170 appreciated that very much. 0:29:10.200 --> 0:29:12.270 Yeah, lots of lots of other people saying, no, this 0:29:12.270 --> 0:29:15.090 is the truth. This is the truth. Follow this over here. 0:29:15.120 --> 0:29:17.760 The America of the 20s did not look as much 0:29:17.760 --> 0:29:20.080 like the first century as it does today, which means 0:29:20.080 --> 0:29:23.890 the Bible. The New Testament applies in even more ways 0:29:23.890 --> 0:29:25.840 than than ever before to our culture. 0:29:25.870 --> 0:29:27.220 You mean the 1920s? 0:29:27.250 --> 0:29:28.209 Did I say 19? What did. 0:29:28.210 --> 0:29:29.710 I say? You said the 20s. I meant. 0:29:29.710 --> 0:29:30.760 The 1920s. 0:29:30.790 --> 0:29:32.979 No, I had a I had a conversation with my 0:29:32.980 --> 0:29:34.810 husband the other day, and he was like, you know, 0:29:34.810 --> 0:29:36.400 it's not like it was back in the 20s. And 0:29:36.400 --> 0:29:39.310 I said, we're in the 20s. Do you mean do 0:29:39.310 --> 0:29:42.760 you mean that old joke? No, I just. It surprised 0:29:42.760 --> 0:29:44.470 me when he said that. I was like, wait a minute. No, 0:29:44.500 --> 0:29:48.100 we're we're in the 20s. We just don't. The 20s. Anyway, 0:29:48.100 --> 0:29:49.390 I was just clarifying. 0:29:49.510 --> 0:29:53.080 People long for an older time when things were simpler. Yeah. 0:29:53.110 --> 0:29:55.540 Guess what? Here we are in this complicated time, and 0:29:55.540 --> 0:29:57.820 God has given us his word to speak to this 0:29:57.820 --> 0:29:59.530 complicated time. Yeah. It's great. 0:29:59.560 --> 0:30:02.260 And God is still changing lives. That's right. Through his word, 0:30:02.260 --> 0:30:04.750 which we have. So our first question is from Carmen 0:30:04.750 --> 0:30:07.690 in Illinois. She listens to WNYC, and she says that 0:30:07.690 --> 0:30:09.850 the four Gospels, and I will add in the Bible, 0:30:09.880 --> 0:30:14.830 were written to a different culture. What applies to us now? Um, 0:30:14.860 --> 0:30:17.380 is it the Jesus and repent, you know, live for him, 0:30:17.380 --> 0:30:20.060 work on sinning. That's what I believe. Should I change 0:30:20.060 --> 0:30:20.990 how I believe? 0:30:21.020 --> 0:30:23.420 Following on from what we were just saying. Yeah, it's 0:30:23.420 --> 0:30:26.990 true that the Gospels were written to the first century. Um, 0:30:26.990 --> 0:30:29.810 you might even say maybe people have heard that different 0:30:29.810 --> 0:30:32.810 gospels were written to a Jewish audience. One was written 0:30:32.810 --> 0:30:35.420 to more of a Gentile audience to deal with Gnosticism 0:30:35.420 --> 0:30:38.240 and all the religions that are out there. Fair enough. 0:30:38.270 --> 0:30:40.880 Those things are true. But I think we can grab 0:30:40.880 --> 0:30:43.460 all four gospels and say the cultures that they were 0:30:43.460 --> 0:30:46.520 written to back then were closer to one another than 0:30:46.520 --> 0:30:49.670 they are today. And so it's appropriate to ask the question, 0:30:49.670 --> 0:30:52.640 how much of that applies? Right. And I think what 0:30:52.640 --> 0:30:56.150 she has listed there, uh, turn to Jesus. Repent. Live 0:30:56.150 --> 0:30:58.790 for him. Work on sinning. Those are the basic principles 0:30:58.790 --> 0:31:02.030 on not sinning. Those are the principles. How we live 0:31:02.060 --> 0:31:04.940 those out in life is going to look different in 0:31:04.940 --> 0:31:08.300 our culture today, in some cases than others. Right. I mean, 0:31:08.300 --> 0:31:12.030 some sins are the same, whether you're 18, 20, 1920 0:31:12.030 --> 0:31:15.920 or 1820 BC. Right. Don't steal your neighbor's wife. Don't 0:31:15.920 --> 0:31:18.960 steal his stuff. Don't take the Lord's name in vain. 0:31:18.990 --> 0:31:22.530 Like these are things that are transcultural, but other things 0:31:22.530 --> 0:31:25.260 might be different depending on the culture that we live 0:31:25.260 --> 0:31:27.630 in today. And they just don't apply. I mean, I 0:31:27.630 --> 0:31:30.960 don't go to a temple today. I don't bring an altar. 0:31:30.990 --> 0:31:33.120 I don't bring a sacrifice to an altar. And so 0:31:33.120 --> 0:31:35.670 any commands that are culturally bound that way are going 0:31:35.670 --> 0:31:39.000 to have to be adapted for living in the 21st century. Okay. 0:31:39.030 --> 0:31:42.480 How do we figure out which ones are culturally tied 0:31:42.480 --> 0:31:46.260 and which ones are kind of take precedence over how 0:31:46.260 --> 0:31:46.530 we live? 0:31:46.560 --> 0:31:49.890 We're going to do that humbly, because we are prone 0:31:49.890 --> 0:31:53.850 to pick something that we like and impose that on everybody, 0:31:54.300 --> 0:31:54.630 especially if. 0:31:54.630 --> 0:31:55.830 It's easy for us, especially. 0:31:56.310 --> 0:31:57.840 If it comes to us naturally. 0:31:57.870 --> 0:31:58.110 Right? 0:31:58.140 --> 0:32:00.870 Right. We're going to do that in community. I think 0:32:00.870 --> 0:32:04.020 believers should make these kind of decisions in community, meaning 0:32:04.020 --> 0:32:08.220 a church, a gathering of believers that know you and 0:32:08.220 --> 0:32:10.140 you know them and you talk to each other. It's 0:32:10.140 --> 0:32:12.120 not just you and the Holy Spirit in your closet, 0:32:12.120 --> 0:32:16.050 but rather we interpret in our communities. And then we're 0:32:16.050 --> 0:32:20.100 going to do it slowly and carefully because, look, we're 0:32:20.100 --> 0:32:23.670 not perfect interpreters. And so when I decide I'm not 0:32:23.670 --> 0:32:27.510 going to do this because it fulfills a principle that 0:32:27.510 --> 0:32:29.640 I think I see in Scripture, I'm going to say, 0:32:29.640 --> 0:32:33.000 all right, I need to have Christians ever done this before. 0:32:33.000 --> 0:32:34.560 And if the answer is, oh, yeah, this has been 0:32:34.560 --> 0:32:36.990 a long part of Christian tradition. Okay, that kind of 0:32:37.020 --> 0:32:40.200 makes sense. If I just made this up last night, 0:32:40.290 --> 0:32:42.900 I'm going to be very careful in deciding what I 0:32:42.900 --> 0:32:45.030 should choose to obey or choose to not obey. Okay. 0:32:45.060 --> 0:32:47.040 But most of the basic principles I think, are laid 0:32:47.040 --> 0:32:47.730 down for us. 0:32:47.760 --> 0:32:50.790 Okay. All right. Thank you. You're welcome. With that, Tony 0:32:50.790 --> 0:32:54.930 in Alabama has been following Christ for 46 years. Um, 0:32:54.930 --> 0:33:00.480 his church that he attends has is using Yeasted bread 0:33:00.480 --> 0:33:04.050 for the Lord's Supper, um, which he has not been 0:33:04.050 --> 0:33:07.410 able to take in good conscience. Because conscience, because of 0:33:07.410 --> 0:33:10.560 what the Scripture teaches, it teaches you to use unleavened bread, 0:33:10.560 --> 0:33:14.440 and that is historically what they've used. Um, and also 0:33:14.440 --> 0:33:18.760 some of the connotations to what Levin signifies in Scripture, 0:33:18.790 --> 0:33:23.080 meaning sin. Um, are there suggestions he doesn't want it 0:33:23.080 --> 0:33:25.030 to be an issue in the fellowship he's going to? 0:33:25.060 --> 0:33:29.830 So are there suggestions on how he might, uh, partake, 0:33:29.860 --> 0:33:32.590 not partake? Like, how should he handle this situation? 0:33:32.620 --> 0:33:35.410 I really respect this question because we all have our 0:33:35.410 --> 0:33:40.420 own convictions, and being sensitive to how we hold our 0:33:40.420 --> 0:33:43.870 convictions is is an important sign of maturity. I think 0:33:43.870 --> 0:33:45.760 in the Christian life, it doesn't surprise me that this 0:33:45.760 --> 0:33:48.310 man has been following Christ for 46 years. Like, okay, 0:33:48.310 --> 0:33:50.620 we can see that at work here. Some people hold 0:33:50.620 --> 0:33:53.709 their convictions close to their heart, others hold them out 0:33:53.710 --> 0:33:55.420 in front of them like a knife, and they poke 0:33:55.420 --> 0:33:59.380 everybody around them. So, uh, good. Thank you, Tony, for that, 0:33:59.380 --> 0:34:02.590 for that approach. Um, I would start by saying, I 0:34:02.590 --> 0:34:05.500 don't think the Bible teaches that we have to use 0:34:05.500 --> 0:34:08.439 unleavened bread. I don't think it teaches that. I think 0:34:08.469 --> 0:34:10.210 it I think we see that happening. 0:34:10.300 --> 0:34:11.530 Models that. 0:34:11.560 --> 0:34:14.580 There's no question that that's what they did. But I 0:34:14.580 --> 0:34:17.310 don't can't think of a scripture where Paul says, and 0:34:17.310 --> 0:34:20.219 you must use or Jesus says, and you must use. 0:34:20.219 --> 0:34:23.790 That's what they did. But is that a command for 0:34:23.790 --> 0:34:26.460 us to obey? I would say it's not a command 0:34:26.460 --> 0:34:30.690 for us to obey. Um, so that's number one. Number two, 0:34:30.719 --> 0:34:34.620 be careful about this conviction because it can be divisive 0:34:34.650 --> 0:34:37.320 as you've identified in your church, right? I mean, we 0:34:37.320 --> 0:34:41.310 do communion together. We're communing with the Lord. We're doing 0:34:41.310 --> 0:34:43.830 this together. We're communing with one another. And so there 0:34:43.860 --> 0:34:47.640 is a sense in which if people see you not taking, 0:34:47.640 --> 0:34:49.800 is there a good reason, and then it provides an 0:34:49.800 --> 0:34:53.400 opportunity to have a conversation about this and seeds of 0:34:53.400 --> 0:34:56.520 division get sown in. I think it starts with recognizing 0:34:56.520 --> 0:34:59.460 I don't think the Bible actually teaches this. So here's 0:34:59.460 --> 0:35:01.589 what I would do. I would say, okay, can you 0:35:01.590 --> 0:35:06.090 invite your leadership to add a few pieces of unleavened bread, 0:35:06.090 --> 0:35:09.360 some matzo crackers to the communion plate? I think that's 0:35:09.360 --> 0:35:13.480 a real simple solution. Nowadays people add gluten free bread 0:35:13.870 --> 0:35:16.390 and you can make your choice. And that makes sense 0:35:16.390 --> 0:35:20.440 to me. Um, keep your conviction to yourself. I would 0:35:20.440 --> 0:35:22.480 say that's really important. Like, don't feel like you need 0:35:22.480 --> 0:35:25.239 to impose this on everyone else. It's yours. If the 0:35:25.239 --> 0:35:27.040 Lord has given this to you. Keep it to yourself. 0:35:27.040 --> 0:35:29.560 Don't force. Number three, don't force it on other people. 0:35:29.560 --> 0:35:33.160 And then recognize that it will be hard to hide 0:35:33.160 --> 0:35:36.219 the fact that you're not taking this. It is. Maybe 0:35:36.219 --> 0:35:38.110 bring your own. I'm not sure I would want to 0:35:38.110 --> 0:35:41.109 recommend that, but I don't necessarily think it's sinful. The 0:35:41.110 --> 0:35:43.720 issue is don't let this become a source of division. 0:35:43.719 --> 0:35:47.200 And maybe the simple solution is invite your leadership to 0:35:47.230 --> 0:35:49.690 add a few pieces of matzo in the plate for you. 0:35:49.719 --> 0:35:51.219 And that would be an easy way to do it. 0:35:51.250 --> 0:35:52.420 Yeah. Okay. 0:35:52.450 --> 0:35:54.549 All right. Thanks for that question, Tony. I hope that 0:35:54.550 --> 0:35:56.980 that helps. Um, I think there are so many things 0:35:56.980 --> 0:35:59.529 of conviction that it can be easy to make them 0:35:59.530 --> 0:36:04.000 divisive in our churches. Um, and so, so I appreciate 0:36:04.000 --> 0:36:07.420 the response that we can apply to lots of other things. Yup. Um, 0:36:07.420 --> 0:36:09.969 Michael in Illinois listens to WNBA and wants to know 0:36:09.980 --> 0:36:13.130 how did Christ's name evolve to Jesus? I thought I 0:36:13.160 --> 0:36:15.379 had heard it was Yeshua, but I don't know how 0:36:15.380 --> 0:36:17.960 it got from that through the different languages. 0:36:17.989 --> 0:36:18.589 Sure. 0:36:18.710 --> 0:36:23.810 Um, this is an issue of translation and how languages 0:36:23.810 --> 0:36:29.960 pronounce things differently. Okay, so my grandfather's name is Jesus, okay. 0:36:29.989 --> 0:36:33.530 And when I say that in non-Spanish speaking contexts, almost 0:36:33.530 --> 0:36:37.520 everyone says to me, don't you mean Jesus? And I say, no, 0:36:37.520 --> 0:36:40.820 we're speaking English, I mean Jesus, but if we're speaking Spanish, 0:36:40.820 --> 0:36:45.439 then I mean Jesus. Language is pronounced the same words differently. 0:36:45.440 --> 0:36:49.220 And so in Hebrew or Aramaic, Yeshua is the pronunciation 0:36:49.219 --> 0:36:53.629 of Jesus's name Joshua. But as we move into Greek 0:36:53.660 --> 0:36:56.299 and into Latin and into all the other languages that 0:36:56.300 --> 0:37:00.950 we use, different languages simply pronounce that name differently. So 0:37:00.950 --> 0:37:03.110 the question becomes, should I call him Yeshua or should 0:37:03.110 --> 0:37:04.820 I call him Jesus? I think the answer is who 0:37:04.850 --> 0:37:07.850 are you speaking to? We're speaking in an English audience. 0:37:07.880 --> 0:37:09.730 We call him Jesus. Why? Because that's what we all 0:37:09.730 --> 0:37:13.780 call him. Speaking maybe to a messianic community or a congregation, 0:37:13.780 --> 0:37:16.780 you might use Yeshua. And it's different. And it's an 0:37:16.780 --> 0:37:19.420 issue of what language you're speaking in. We all know 0:37:19.420 --> 0:37:21.640 we're talking about the same person, okay. 0:37:21.640 --> 0:37:24.280 And Christ is a similar thing, right? Because that would 0:37:24.280 --> 0:37:25.570 be Messiah in. 0:37:25.690 --> 0:37:28.840 That's right. Moshiach in Hebrew. But then Christos in Greek, 0:37:28.840 --> 0:37:31.690 which then becomes Christ in English. Okay. And so we've 0:37:31.690 --> 0:37:35.830 got just different languages translating names and pronouncing them differently 0:37:35.830 --> 0:37:38.200 as we normally do across language. Okay. 0:37:38.380 --> 0:37:42.790 All right. Thank you for that clarification. You want to 0:37:42.820 --> 0:37:43.150 you want. 0:37:43.180 --> 0:37:43.660 To do. 0:37:44.020 --> 0:37:45.129 Do you want to do one more. 0:37:45.160 --> 0:37:46.180 You want to go to the break. 0:37:46.210 --> 0:37:48.160 No. Let's do number two. Do we have time for two. 0:37:48.190 --> 0:37:53.170 Sure. Robin in Illinois listens to WLM in Luke 16 nine. 0:37:53.200 --> 0:37:56.590 What does Jesus mean by unrighteous wealth? 0:37:56.620 --> 0:37:59.440 Yeah, this is a tricky it's a tricky passage because 0:37:59.469 --> 0:38:04.660 Jesus seems to be encouraging behavior that was unrighteous, right? 0:38:04.690 --> 0:38:08.810 This guy's a manager. He's about to get fired, and 0:38:08.810 --> 0:38:12.380 he wants to make friends so that they'll take care 0:38:12.380 --> 0:38:14.180 of him when he has no job. And how does 0:38:14.180 --> 0:38:16.580 he do it? He takes the master's bill and says, hey, 0:38:16.580 --> 0:38:19.280 you owe 50. Write down 30. He just gave him 0:38:19.280 --> 0:38:21.770 a discount, right? So the idea is when he leaves, 0:38:21.770 --> 0:38:24.379 everybody's going to take care of him, right? I think 0:38:24.380 --> 0:38:29.089 it's important to recognize Jesus is not encouraging dishonesty. He says, 0:38:29.090 --> 0:38:31.310 I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of 0:38:31.340 --> 0:38:33.620 their unrighteous money, so that when it fails, they may 0:38:33.620 --> 0:38:36.140 welcome you into your eternal dwellings. I think he's praising 0:38:36.140 --> 0:38:42.799 the man's creativity. He's praising the man's initiative and resourcefulness, 0:38:43.010 --> 0:38:48.350 interest and guaranteeing making sure that his future will be secure. 0:38:48.410 --> 0:38:51.739 And for Jesus listeners, the point would have been make 0:38:51.770 --> 0:38:54.589 sure your future is secure. How do you make future? 0:38:54.739 --> 0:38:56.989 How do you make sure your future is secure? Turn 0:38:56.989 --> 0:39:02.060 to Christ. Turn to Christ. Believe the gospel. That's what 0:39:02.060 --> 0:39:05.390 he's encouraging. They're not encouraging you to pad your time 0:39:05.420 --> 0:39:08.790 sheet or cheat on your taxes. He's not encouraging that. 0:39:08.790 --> 0:39:12.600 He's encouraging. This man did whatever it took to make 0:39:12.600 --> 0:39:15.810 sure his future was secure. What are we doing? And 0:39:15.810 --> 0:39:17.910 our answer is we're looking to Christ. And when we 0:39:17.910 --> 0:39:21.510 proclaim the gospel, we're telling others, hey, turn to Christ. 0:39:21.540 --> 0:39:23.430 That's how you make your future secure. 0:39:23.430 --> 0:39:26.580 And that is as simple as believing that Jesus was 0:39:26.580 --> 0:39:28.799 sent as a baby to live the perfect life that 0:39:28.800 --> 0:39:32.489 we couldn't because we're sinners. He died for our sins 0:39:32.489 --> 0:39:34.680 on the cross. Was buried, rose on the third day 0:39:34.680 --> 0:39:36.780 proving he was God. And you just have to trust 0:39:36.780 --> 0:39:37.380 in him. 0:39:37.380 --> 0:39:38.640 Believe the gospel. 0:39:38.670 --> 0:39:41.370 Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures is 0:39:41.370 --> 0:39:43.590 what we see in the book of acts. Yep. Believe 0:39:43.590 --> 0:39:45.239 the gospel. It's as simple as that. 0:39:45.270 --> 0:39:45.719 All right. 0:39:45.750 --> 0:39:46.589 Thank you for that. 0:39:46.620 --> 0:39:47.219 Good questions. 0:39:47.219 --> 0:39:49.890 Thank you. Thank you. If you have a question for 0:39:49.890 --> 0:39:52.589 the mailbag, you can go to our website, which is 0:39:52.590 --> 0:39:56.760 Open Line radio.org. And there's a little form you can 0:39:56.760 --> 0:39:59.310 fill out that says Ask Michael a question. Those go 0:39:59.310 --> 0:40:02.009 right to my inbox. And so I can add those 0:40:02.010 --> 0:40:04.900 to the mailbag for next week. Um, so again, open 0:40:04.900 --> 0:40:08.320 line radio.org and I will be back next hour with 0:40:08.320 --> 0:40:09.580 more mailbag questions. 0:40:09.580 --> 0:40:10.299 Excellent. 0:40:10.330 --> 0:40:14.500 You're listening to Open Line with Doctor Michael Dolnick, and 0:40:14.500 --> 0:40:16.750 we'll be back in just a minute with your questions. 0:40:16.900 --> 0:40:26.770 If you have a question to call, the number is 87754836758775483675. 0:40:37.300 --> 0:40:38.739 When autumn rolls around. 0:40:38.739 --> 0:40:41.770 People are always interested in the Jewish fall holy days. 0:40:41.770 --> 0:40:44.800 That's why Chosen People Ministries is offering a free booklet, 0:40:44.800 --> 0:40:49.090 Celebrate Israel's High Holidays. This booklet explores the fall Jewish 0:40:49.090 --> 0:40:52.930 high holidays of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. Don't 0:40:52.930 --> 0:40:55.719 miss out, just go to the Open Line website. Open 0:40:55.719 --> 0:40:59.140 line radio.org. Scroll down and click on the link that 0:40:59.140 --> 0:41:02.230 says A free gift from Chosen People Ministries that will 0:41:02.230 --> 0:41:03.770 take you to a page where you can sign up 0:41:03.770 --> 0:41:07.790 for your very own copy of Celebrate Israel's High Holidays. 0:41:12.710 --> 0:41:15.739 Welcome back to Open Line. I'm Doctor Steven Sanchez, professor 0:41:15.739 --> 0:41:18.230 of Bible at the Moody Bible Institute, in the studio 0:41:18.230 --> 0:41:21.560 for Doctor Michael Radonich, who is on the moody journeys 0:41:21.560 --> 0:41:25.100 of Paul Tripp. He'll be back in two weeks. Until then, 0:41:25.100 --> 0:41:28.339 let's go straight to your calls. Robert in Cleveland listening 0:41:28.340 --> 0:41:31.819 on w CRF. How can I help you today? 0:41:32.420 --> 0:41:36.380 Yes, Steven, thank you for answering my call. I have 0:41:36.380 --> 0:41:40.340 an identity issue than a Christian. Most of my life. 0:41:40.340 --> 0:41:43.700 But I have an identity, uh, with something in my life. 0:41:43.730 --> 0:41:46.250 Or should I say a number of things? Knowing how 0:41:46.489 --> 0:41:51.440 basically how one should live versus where one should not live. 0:41:51.469 --> 0:41:55.910 And my question is, is that my loving football, baseball 0:41:55.940 --> 0:41:59.060 and basketball and wanting to watch them, could that become 0:41:59.090 --> 0:42:03.410 a sign of me putting God, I mean, putting idols 0:42:03.410 --> 0:42:05.930 before God. That's where I'm at with that. 0:42:05.960 --> 0:42:08.660 So let me ask you a question. Do you ever 0:42:08.660 --> 0:42:10.819 leave church to go catch the football game? 0:42:12.080 --> 0:42:12.710 No. 0:42:12.739 --> 0:42:16.430 All right. Do you avoid spiritual things because the time 0:42:16.430 --> 0:42:18.739 has been taken up with watching a baseball game? 0:42:21.380 --> 0:42:25.040 I probably have, but I can't say it happened more recently. It's. 0:42:25.070 --> 0:42:27.469 It's an important question. And what I'm basically asking is, 0:42:27.469 --> 0:42:31.040 to what extent do the things you love crowd out 0:42:31.040 --> 0:42:34.190 the spiritual things that are more important? Does that make sense? 0:42:34.430 --> 0:42:37.430 See how that works? Yes. What I'm asking there is. Wow. 0:42:37.460 --> 0:42:39.470 You know, if you if you follow the news and 0:42:39.469 --> 0:42:42.050 you check the score. Aaron judge hit another home run 0:42:42.050 --> 0:42:45.200 last night. It was a grand slam. That's one thing. Uh, 0:42:45.200 --> 0:42:48.680 when I'm ditching out of church early, avoiding conversation, I'm. 0:42:48.680 --> 0:42:51.620 I'm not reading my Bible. I'm not praying. I'm not 0:42:51.620 --> 0:42:55.310 serving because these other things are taking up more time 0:42:55.310 --> 0:42:57.770 in my life than I think we should. We should 0:42:57.770 --> 0:43:00.020 consider that that might be an issue. And it doesn't 0:43:00.020 --> 0:43:01.779 just have to be sports. All right, let's not pick 0:43:01.780 --> 0:43:06.280 on the sports people. For others, it's investing. It's their money. Ready? 0:43:06.280 --> 0:43:07.630 I'm going to say this one. This one might get 0:43:07.630 --> 0:43:10.810 me in trouble. For others, it might be their children. 0:43:10.989 --> 0:43:13.330 I mean, they they dote on them to an extent 0:43:13.330 --> 0:43:15.610 that they too, can become an idol. C.S. Lewis wrote 0:43:15.610 --> 0:43:18.580 about this in The Great Divorce. A great example of 0:43:18.580 --> 0:43:20.830 maybe it's just a little too much love for some 0:43:20.830 --> 0:43:23.110 of these other things that are not as important as 0:43:23.110 --> 0:43:26.350 the Lord himself. And there's no rule ten minutes, five minutes, 0:43:26.350 --> 0:43:28.450 two hours. Should I ever go to a game? Should 0:43:28.450 --> 0:43:30.520 I never go to a game? But I like the 0:43:30.520 --> 0:43:33.730 way you began this question with it's an identity. It 0:43:33.730 --> 0:43:37.660 can become an identity issue. And when I identify with 0:43:37.660 --> 0:43:41.380 my hobbies, whatever they are, I love to go backpacking 0:43:41.380 --> 0:43:43.570 and hiking and all that sort of thing. When that 0:43:43.570 --> 0:43:47.620 becomes my identity more than Christ and people know it. 0:43:47.650 --> 0:43:50.529 I think we might say, yeah, that's something to be addressed. 0:43:50.560 --> 0:43:51.580 What do you think? 0:43:53.350 --> 0:43:55.660 I thank you very much for addressing that. I feel 0:43:55.660 --> 0:43:57.549 somewhat the same way. Thank you very much. 0:43:57.580 --> 0:44:01.480 You're welcome. Thank you. Robert, Let's go to Santiago in 0:44:01.480 --> 0:44:04.210 Tennessee listening on w FCM. 0:44:06.219 --> 0:44:07.930 Yes. Hi. Hi. 0:44:07.930 --> 0:44:09.820 What's your call today? What's your question? 0:44:10.630 --> 0:44:14.109 My question is, Steve, is that, um. I know that 0:44:14.110 --> 0:44:17.169 the heart is very important, but why the heart is 0:44:17.170 --> 0:44:20.380 so important to God? Because, I mean, there's a lot 0:44:20.410 --> 0:44:23.170 of passages in the Bible that talks about the heart, 0:44:23.170 --> 0:44:26.020 but why the heart is so important? I mean, we 0:44:26.050 --> 0:44:28.989 have a human heart, of course, the flesh, the heart 0:44:29.020 --> 0:44:33.310 that we have inside our body, but the heart for God. 0:44:33.310 --> 0:44:37.420 Why is so important? Because, um, and I believe it's 0:44:37.420 --> 0:44:40.360 Psalm 37 says, delight yourself also in the Lord, and 0:44:40.360 --> 0:44:42.910 he shall give you the desires of your heart. But 0:44:43.210 --> 0:44:46.120 every time that we desire something is something like from 0:44:46.120 --> 0:44:50.350 this world or something from the spiritual world. But that's 0:44:50.350 --> 0:44:54.969 why this main reason, uh, because sometimes we worship him 0:44:55.120 --> 0:44:58.960 with our lips. But he says that our heart is 0:44:58.960 --> 0:45:01.390 so far from him because even though we worship with 0:45:01.390 --> 0:45:04.180 our lips. But why did he say that our heart 0:45:04.210 --> 0:45:05.410 is so far from him? 0:45:05.440 --> 0:45:09.430 Because the heart is the source of our intellect, our will. 0:45:09.670 --> 0:45:11.500 In the Old Testament they would have used a different 0:45:11.500 --> 0:45:13.960 organ for that. But as we move into the as 0:45:13.960 --> 0:45:17.169 we as we think about where we get our ideas from, 0:45:17.170 --> 0:45:21.130 our motivations, the heart functions metaphorically as the source of 0:45:21.130 --> 0:45:25.630 those things. I'm thinking specifically of Proverbs 423 above all else, 0:45:25.660 --> 0:45:30.489 guard your heart, for from it flows everything the course 0:45:30.489 --> 0:45:32.739 of your life, the springs of your life. This is 0:45:32.739 --> 0:45:34.900 the core of who we are. And nowadays we would 0:45:34.900 --> 0:45:37.210 think about that not physically so much, but our mind, 0:45:37.239 --> 0:45:40.750 what we think, what we say, what we do. If 0:45:40.750 --> 0:45:44.140 we get corrupted at the heart, at the source level, 0:45:44.140 --> 0:45:47.469 that's going to affect everything, right? If we get corrupted 0:45:47.469 --> 0:45:50.620 in the heart, the rest of the physical body falls apart. Well, 0:45:50.620 --> 0:45:55.569 spiritually speaking, if the heart is left unguarded and becomes corrupted, 0:45:55.570 --> 0:45:58.010 then that's going to affect all the rest of our lives. 0:45:58.010 --> 0:46:00.650 It's an important issue. We're not always careful. Thank you 0:46:00.650 --> 0:46:03.919 for your question. Well, that's our first hour. I hope 0:46:03.920 --> 0:46:06.230 you found that helpful. Isn't it great to dig into 0:46:06.230 --> 0:46:08.990 the Bible this way? So don't go anywhere because there's 0:46:08.989 --> 0:46:11.300 another hour of open line coming up on most of 0:46:11.300 --> 0:46:14.420 these radio stations. I'll take more of your calls. Trish 0:46:14.420 --> 0:46:17.029 will be back with the mailbag, and we'll keep studying 0:46:17.030 --> 0:46:19.250 the Bible together. If you have a question, the number 0:46:19.250 --> 0:46:28.370 to call is (877) 548-3675. Again (877) 548-3675. You can also send 0:46:28.370 --> 0:46:32.390 your questions to our open line website. Open line radio.org. 0:46:32.390 --> 0:46:35.270 Just fill out the Ask Michael a question section and 0:46:35.270 --> 0:46:37.669 you can send us your Bible question that way. Open 0:46:37.670 --> 0:46:43.010 Line radio.org Open line with Doctor Michael Dolnick is a 0:46:43.010 --> 0:46:47.570 production of Moody Radio, a ministry of the Moody Bible Institute. 0:46:47.600 --> 0:46:50.270 We'll be right back. Don't go away.