S1: Hello, friends. It's time for the second hour of Open
S1: Line with Doctor Michael. Right. Moody Radio's Bible Study Across America.
S1: We're talking about your questions about the Bible, God and
S1: the spiritual life. My name is Michael Melnick, and we're
S1: live sitting around the radio kitchen table taking your questions.
S1: So give me a call. The phone number, about half
S1: our lines are open always at the beginning of an hour,
S1: so now's a great time to get through. If you
S1: have a question, the phone number (877) 548-3675. If you can't call,
S1: just go to our website open Line radio.org. There's a
S1: link there that says Ask Michael a question. You can
S1: click on that. And uh, you can post your question there.
S1: Trish will put it in the mailbag. Uh, if you
S1: have a second cup of coffee, we're almost ready to
S1: go I hope so. Hope you have your Bible still
S1: open because we're going to go right to the scriptures.
S1: We're going to talk to Leola in Florida, listening on
S1: the Moody Radio app. Welcome to Open Line. Leola. How
S1: can I help you today?
S2: Hi. Thank you so much. Um, I have a question
S2: about Psalms 119. It's like a general question. Um, he's
S2: asking God to teach him and help him learn. But
S2: in some of the verses, uh, say Psalm one 1987,
S2: he says, they almost destroyed me on earth. But as
S2: for me, I did not forsake your precepts. And one
S2: more I'll give you 1 or 2. I have not
S2: turned aside from your ordinances, for you yourself have taught me.
S2: Is he saying that he doesn't mess up? Is this
S2: a promise?
S1: What do you think, Leola?
S2: I think he goes back and forth like he does
S2: every time I read those verses. I feel guilty and
S2: that I shouldn't read them because it's not me. I
S2: mess up.
S1: Well, yeah, but what do you think? Doesn't he? Doesn't
S1: the psalmist say he messes up, too?
S3: Yeah, but then he says he doesn't know.
S1: He doesn't say he doesn't mess up. He says, uh,
S1: that I keep your commandments. I think what he's saying
S1: is a general statement that he is doing his best
S1: to obey, that he is, uh uh, I mean, if
S1: I asked you, uh, do you seek to obey and
S1: do you mostly obey God's commandments?
S2: Yes.
S1: And I'm not asking. Uh. You try. Right. Do you
S1: ever mess up?
S3: Yes.
S1: Okay, there we go. Same as the psalmist, you know.
S3: Okay.
S1: Uh, it's it's his passion to obey God's word, but.
S3: Right.
S1: Uh, I'm sure he. You know, I read all these
S1: verses in the book of Psalms about even in Psalm
S1: 119 about being forgiven.
S2: Uh, right.
S1: So, uh, I don't think it's the psalmist is saying
S1: I'm perfect. Uh, but but, uh, you know, he's he's actually, uh,
S1: he's thanking God. Your word is a lamp for my feet,
S1: a light to my path. Uh, right. I am resolved,
S1: verse 12 112 I am resolved to obey your statutes
S1: to the very end. I think this is the kind
S1: of stuff that we want to say. Uh, it also
S1: talks about how, uh, in Psalm, for example, Psalm 130,
S1: the psalmist says, out of the depths I call to you, Lord,
S1: hear my voice. Uh, right, right. And then it says, uh, Lord,
S1: if you considered sins, Lord, who could stand? But there
S1: is forgiveness with you. There is forgiveness so that you
S1: may be revered. The psalmist recognizes, and the Book of
S1: Psalms recognizes that we all mess up, including you, Leela,
S1: including me and including the psalmist. But there is forgiveness
S1: with God. So. And that's why we're resolved to keep
S1: his statutes. Okay.
S4: Right. So thank you so much.
S1: Sure. Be like the psalmist, Leela. Be resolved to obey God. Okay.
S4: I will resolve to try. Okay.
S1: By the power of the Holy Spirit. Right? Okay. Thank you. Leela.
S1: Thanks for your call. We're going to talk to Janie
S1: in Hartsville, South Carolina, listening on. Welcome to Open Line. Janie,
S1: how can I help you today?
S5: Hi, doctor. I thank you so much for taking my call.
S1: It's my pleasure. How can I help?
S5: Um, I was wondering what your stance is on eternal security.
S5: I believe in eternal security, but I am under a
S5: pastor right now who believes that you can choose to
S5: walk away from your faith, um, and deliberate sin and
S5: continually falling away. Um, I guess just by choosing to
S5: walk away from your faith. And I don't believe that.
S5: But I know that there's some verses like Hebrews six
S5: four through six and Hebrews 1026 through 27 and a
S5: few others. And I was just wondering what, based on
S5: your study of the Bible, what your stance is on that?
S1: Well, uh, I believe in the security of the believer. Uh,
S1: and it's not because of perseverance of the saints. I
S1: really believe in the perseverance of the Savior. His his
S1: grip is a lot better than my grip. Um.
S5: Amen.
S1: And in John six, one of my favorite passages about
S1: this and and this is the words of Jesus in
S1: John 637, and I'm not telling you to disagree with
S1: your pastor, but.
S5: No, sir, I'm not. I'm just trying to get a
S5: handle on it myself.
S1: Yeah, but I do disagree with your pastor. It says
S1: everyone the father gives me will come to me. And
S1: the one who comes to me, I will never cast out.
S1: So what that's saying is, the Lord opens the hearts
S1: of people, and the person who comes to Jesus will
S1: be received by him. Right. And then it says, verse 38,
S1: I have come down from heaven not to do my will,
S1: but the will of him who sent me. So the
S1: Lord Jesus says, I always do the father's will. And
S1: now look what the father's will is in this case.
S1: This is the will of him who sent me, that
S1: I should lose none of those he has given me,
S1: but should raise them up on the last day. This
S1: verse is really clear. It's saying that if. If Jesus
S1: always does the will of the father, the will of
S1: the father is that he lose not one of us.
S1: Think about that. Uh, and and I think that that
S1: is crucial. If Jesus could lose you, or if he
S1: could lose me, then frankly, he's not who he claimed
S1: to be because he's not doing the will of the father.
S5: And so in verses like.
S1: Let's talk about Hebrews 1026, okay. Is that okay? Is
S1: that what you're talking about? I lost you there, Jenny.
S1: Are you there still? You mentioned Hebrews 1026 before. Uh,
S1: I hope you're still listening, Jenny. It says, uh, if
S1: we deliberately sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth,
S1: there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. I believe
S1: that that's referring to a sin of apostasy. An apostasy
S1: is this as someone who doesn't know the Lord, who
S1: gives lip service to believing in Jesus, maybe even think
S1: they believe in Jesus, but they have not really come
S1: to a full mind, heart and will faith maybe just
S1: a head knowledge, maybe just an emotional experience, but not mind,
S1: heart and will. And then when the going gets rough,
S1: they say I don't need this and they bail. It's
S1: not that they lost their salvation. They never had it
S1: to start with. Uh, when the Lord Jesus sees these
S1: people in Matthew seven, it says that they'll say, look
S1: at all the great things we did in your name.
S1: And he says, depart from me, you workers of iniquity,
S1: in Matthew seven, I never knew you. And that's the
S1: kind of apostasy that he's talking about here. People who
S1: made a show of their faith but didn't have a
S1: genuine faith, they abandoned it. And then, uh, That's what
S1: Hebrews 1026 is talking about. I hope that helps you
S1: a little bit. We're going to talk to Mary Jo
S1: in Chicago listening on WNBA. Welcome to Open Line, Mary Jo.
S1: How can I help you?
S6: Good morning doctor. God bless you.
S1: Thank you. You too.
S6: I have. Thank you. I have a question that, um.
S6: I'm afraid it's probably going to sound silly or trivial,
S6: but it's something that's, like, perplexed me for a while,
S6: and I have never heard anyone talk about it. And
S6: it's about the, you know, the creation story, right? And
S6: on the second page of the Bible, when it talks
S6: about how the serpent started a conversation with Eve, and
S6: it's described in a way that's just like, this was
S6: an ordinary thing, nothing outrageous, nothing miraculous about an animal talking.
S6: And and no one has ever discussed that. And it
S6: sounds so crazy to me. And it makes me wonder
S6: if before the fall, if mankind and the animals could communicate.
S6: And if part of the fall was to. Have you
S6: ever thought about that to begin with?
S1: Oh, sure. Uh. There are those who want to say
S1: that before the fall, it was like Doctor Dolittle. And,
S1: you know, if you could talk to the animals. I
S1: think that's not true. There's only two places in Scripture
S1: where animals talk. The other place is in numbers 22. When, uh.
S1: Balaam's donkey spoke, remember? And it says that God opened
S1: the mouth of the donkey to speak. And and so
S1: that was a supernatural event, I think, here in Genesis three.
S1: It's a supernatural event as well. But it's not. Obviously,
S1: it's not God opening the mouth of the serpent because, uh,
S1: God wouldn't encourage Eve to rebel. Who would? It's the enemy.
S1: In revelation 12 it says, the serpent of old, the devil, Satan.
S1: It defines him that way. So, uh, this is a
S1: passage where it never mentions Satan here in Genesis three,
S1: but it's the enemy who opens the mouth of the
S1: serpent supernaturally to speak to the woman. You say, well,
S1: she's not surprised. Well, we don't know that the Bible
S1: doesn't address it. Uh, when the Bible gives a narrative,
S1: it doesn't give everything that happened. It's not a videotape
S1: of the event so that we can say, oh, this
S1: is a video recording, and now we can see exactly
S1: what happened, what it is. It's giving us the data
S1: that we need for us to understand it. And it
S1: seems to me that it's saying, hey, look, the enemy,
S1: because it's obviously the enemy, a supernatural enemy opened the
S1: mouth of this serpent to speak, uh, and convinced Eve
S1: maybe because it was supernatural and shocking to her, but
S1: to disobey God. Nevertheless, this is not Narnia. It's not
S1: Doctor Dolittle. What this is, is that there is a supernatural,
S1: powerful enemy of God that opens the mouth of the serpent.
S1: And that's that's what we should remember. The only two
S1: places here. And numbers 22. Numbers 22. Obviously. God working here,
S1: the enemy. Satan. Revelation 12 tells us that that it
S1: was Satan who did it. Okay.
S6: Yes. All right. Well, thank you very much.
S1: Yeah. Thanks. Uh, learning to recognize the voice of the enemy.
S1: Very important. Uh, apparently, Eve didn't get that. That's unfortunate. So. Well,
S1: we're going to take a break here. And when we
S1: come back, we're going to take more of your questions,
S1: so stick around. This is open line. My name is
S1: Michael Ray and we're studying the Bible, God and the
S1: spiritual life as you call (877) 548-3675. We'll talk about your questions.
S1: Stay with us. We'll be right back. Welcome back to
S1: Open Line. My name is Michael Riedel. I'm so glad
S1: to be with you today. You know, I love teaching
S1: the Bible. And one of the reasons I went to
S1: Dallas Seminary was I wanted to study with Howard Hendricks,
S1: who is the chairman of the Department of Education there
S1: at the seminary. And I took him for courses in
S1: how to study the Bible and how to teach the Bible.
S1: And he was just such a marvelous teacher. And it's
S1: so important for us to know how to teach. Because
S1: every one of us will teach the Bible sometime. We
S1: should be, uh, maybe in a Sunday school class or
S1: home group. Uh, maybe discipling someone one on one. Maybe
S1: it's just teaching our own kids or teaching our family members.
S1: But we're all teachers, and if we know Jesus, we
S1: have to teach others. And that's where our current resource
S1: comes in. It's called Teaching to Change Lives. It was
S1: written by Master Teacher, my favorite, one of my favorite professors,
S1: Howard Hendricks. Prof. Hendricks did a marvelous job, and in
S1: this book he teaches us how to teach heart to
S1: heart instead of just head to head. And it's your
S1: this book is yours. If you give a gift of
S1: any size to open line. It's our way of saying
S1: thanks so much for giving. Thanks so much for being
S1: part of the team. And, uh, we want to send
S1: you this book as a thank you, and I think
S1: you will love it. It's called Teaching to Change Lives. Uh,
S1: if you'd like to receive a copy, just give by
S1: calling (888) 644-7122 or go to Open Line Radio. Remember, it's
S1: yours for a gift of any size. And remember when
S1: you give ask for Teaching to Change Lives by Howard Hendricks.
S1: You're going to love this book. And we're talking to
S1: Jeremiah in North Lauderdale, Florida, listening on. I bet it's
S1: a lot hotter there now than it was in February.
S1: What do you think, Jeremiah?
S7: Yeah, it's pretty, uh, pretty warm down here. So. Yeah,
S7: we're getting out together. It's really. It's really hot. Yeah.
S1: How can I help you?
S7: Yeah. Thank you for taking my call. So I was
S7: my question is. So I was just doing a quick
S7: meditation on two verses, um, yesterday. First on John 118,
S7: John chapter one, verse 18, the first sentence where it says,
S7: no man hath seen, nor no man has seen God
S7: at any time. But I was just reading, um, Exodus 24,
S7: verse 10 to 11. In the beginning of the word says,
S7: the beginning of the verse says, um. Then they saw
S7: the God of Israel. So my question is, did, uh,
S7: when the elders went up to, uh, I say, um,
S7: when they saw a picture of God or. So my
S7: question is, uh, yeah.
S1: So a PowerPoint reproduction.
S7: Yeah. So my question is, um, did they saw, um,
S7: a direct, uh, sighting of God's full essence or was
S7: it just a glimpse or appetizer of a manifestation of
S7: God's glory?
S1: Mhm. Well, it seems to me that we need to
S1: see the, the word saw in a special way in
S1: Exodus 2411. God did not harm the Israelite nobles. They
S1: saw him. Obviously this is surprising because he says no
S1: one can see me and live. Uh, God did not
S1: harm the Israelite nobles. They saw him and they ate
S1: and they drank. The Hebrew word for saw is the
S1: word huzzah. And it's used, for example, in numbers 24,
S1: verse four, and numbers 2416. And there it means they
S1: saw in a vision. That's what the verb means to
S1: see in a vision. And so when it says they
S1: saw the Lord, I think it's only saying that they
S1: saw a vision of the Lord, just like Isaiah six,
S1: where Isaiah sees the Lord. I saw the Lord. He
S1: was high and lifted up. And you know, it says
S1: that in Isaiah six, I don't think he saw the Lord.
S1: He saw a vision of the Lord. Daniel chapter seven. Uh,
S1: Daniel sees a vision of the Lord, the Ancient of Days.
S1: But it's a vision. And same thing here in verse 24.
S1: They saw a vision of the Lord. Okay.
S7: Yes. Thank you so much for clarifying that for me.
S1: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think the only God we will
S1: ever see face to face is when we look in
S1: the eyes of our Lord Jesus, God the Son. That's
S1: how we will see God forever and ever. And, uh,
S1: thanks for your call, Jeremiah. We're going to talk to
S1: Iris in Augusta. Augusta, Georgia, listening on Wlp. Welcome to
S1: Open Line. Iris. How can I help you?
S8: Uh, yes. Thank you. Um, my question is in Luke 17, 2021.
S8: And when and I'm reading from the King James and
S8: when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom
S8: of God should come, he answered them and said, the
S8: kingdom of God cometh not with observation. Neither shall they say, lo, here,
S8: or lo, there, or ah, for behold, the kingdom of
S8: God is within you. Please explain to me what Jesus
S8: meant by saying, the kingdom of God is within you.
S8: Some Bible versions say in in your mix. But yeah,
S8: someone said to me recently, I actually put online that
S8: this that the kingdom of God would never be in
S8: anybody at any time. It was a place where people
S8: could go that had accepted Christ.
S1: Well, I'll try and explain it best I can. First
S1: of all, the verse should. I think the best translation
S1: is that the kingdom of God is among you. And
S1: what is the kingdom of God? It's God's rulership. That's
S1: what the words kingdom of God means. Now it has
S1: various expressions, but it means the rulership of God. And
S1: what Jesus is saying is in Luke 17, there are
S1: many people that believed that there would be a coming
S1: crashing in of the kingdom of God, that the kingdom
S1: of God would crash in and the whole world would
S1: be turned upside down. Now Jesus is saying is it's
S1: not going to be quite like that. They wanted to
S1: know that he was asked by the Pharisees, when will
S1: the kingdom of God come? What is it going to
S1: come crashing in? When will the Messiah defeat the enemies
S1: of Israel? Establish, throw out the Romans and establish a
S1: righteous kingdom on earth? And he said, look, the kingdom
S1: of God is not coming with something observable. It's not
S1: going to come crashing in, but rather, uh, don't say
S1: look here or look there. You see, the kingdom of
S1: God is among you. Wherever the King is, and Jesus
S1: is the King of Israel. That's where the the rulership
S1: of God is. And so he's saying, I'm right here.
S1: And the kingdom of God is among you. The rulership
S1: of God is available right now if you'll obey me.
S1: And one day he will return and it will crash in.
S1: You can read revelation 19. He returns and establishes his
S1: kingdom in a in a very dramatic way. But for now,
S1: we still are following the King. There's the spiritual aspect
S1: of the kingdom of God. He's our king. We're following him.
S1: The kingdom of God is among us even today. Does
S1: that does that help? Iris.
S8: Isn't it?
S1: Not. Not. Well, I would say it's in our midst.
S1: I wouldn't, I don't want to say. It's in our heart.
S1: It's among us. Uh, because as we follow the king,
S1: we are following, uh, his rulership. And it is among
S1: us right now. Okay.
S8: But the Holy Spirit, doesn't it deal with our heart
S8: that the seat of our emotions and our beliefs.
S1: Yeah, sure. But that because we believe in the King,
S1: we believe he's returning and the Holy Spirit empowers us.
S1: The kingdom of God is among us right now. The
S1: rulership of God is among us. Okay.
S4: Okay.
S8: Thank you.
S1: Great. So glad you called. Thanks for the call, Iris. Uh,
S1: we're going to talk to Anthony. Listening in Georgia. Welcome
S1: to Open Line. Anthony. How can I help you?
S9: How you doing, sir?
S1: Great. How are you?
S9: I'm doing well. So I have a question about the
S9: Ten Commandments. Um, I know I'm a new believer. Um,
S9: I wish I would have learned a long time ago,
S9: but the ten commandments. Um, when I always speak to
S9: someone about it, um, it's pretty clear that I should
S9: follow all of them, you know? But the ones that
S9: I see the same people saying that that tell me,
S9: like the preachers or the deacons or whatever, tell me. Yeah,
S9: you should follow all of them. Not just some of them,
S9: but they, uh, the the the one,. Uh. Uh. Keep
S9: the Sabbath holy. You know, um, I guess God said, um,
S9: the ones who didn't go out, they stayed inside the
S9: whole day, and they didn't work. They didn't go out.
S9: They didn't do anything. Okay, they can kind of explain
S9: that one to me.
S1: Sure. Uh, why? I'm. You're the simple question is this.
S1: What about the Sabbath of the Ten Commandments? Romans 15
S1: says this. Uh, I'm not, uh, I'm sorry. Romans 14
S1: verse five says one person considers one day to be
S1: above another day. Someone else considers every day to be
S1: the same. Each one must be fully convinced in his
S1: own mind. And so the Sabbath day, uh, can be capped.
S1: It cannot be capped. But here's the principle we do
S1: need to take from the Ten Commandments, the principle, the
S1: wisdom principle that we need one day for spiritual rest
S1: and spiritual renewal and physical rest. I think it doesn't
S1: matter what day according to Romans 14 five, but we
S1: do need to keep taking a day of physical rest
S1: and spiritual renewal. And that's how we keep the Sabbath.
S9: So it ain't necessary. The seventh day of the week.
S1: Pardon me?
S9: I said so it ain't. It ain't just the seventh
S9: day of the week.
S1: No, we have to have a Sabbath, but not necessarily
S1: the seventh day of the week. It's okay if you
S1: want to do it on the seventh day of the week.
S1: I'm okay with that. You want to do it on Friday?
S1: So be it. Uh, you want to do it on Tuesday?
S1: That's good. But, uh, and every pastor knows this. Most
S1: pastors work on Sunday, and, uh, their preaching and meeting
S1: with people and doing all sorts of stuff, and then
S1: they take Monday or Friday off, so. Oh, oh, you know, but, uh,
S1: we need a day for spiritual renewal and physical rest and,
S1: and that's what we should do. And you want to
S1: do it on Saturday? That's great. Uh. Another day. That's
S1: fine too. Um.
S9: So I have one more question. If it's okay.
S1: Um, no, we're out of time. I'm sorry to tell
S1: you that, uh, but, uh, I'm really grateful for your call.
S1: I appreciate it. Uh, we're going to be taking a
S1: break in just a bit. I did want to remind
S1: you about our current resource I mentioned. It's called Teaching
S1: to Change Lives by Howard Hendricks. The way you can
S1: find that is to go to our website, openline radio.org.
S1: Or you can call 886447122. And when you call, remember
S1: when you give a gift of any size, we're going
S1: to send you teaching to change lives for anyone that
S1: has a anyone that gives a gift. We want to
S1: say thanks, send you that. That wonderful tool teaching to
S1: change lives. We're going to take a break here. When
S1: we come back, we're going to have the Febc mailbag.
S1: Trish is bringing it in. Uh, you can always reach
S1: us for the mailbag by going to Open Line radio.org
S1: and leaving a question at Ask Michael a question. We're
S1: coming right back. So stay with us right here on
S1: Open Line. I'll be right back. Welcome back to Open Line.
S1: So glad to have you here with us as we're
S1: talking about the scriptures together. Really appreciate that. It's time
S1: for the Febc mailbag. Uh, the Far Eastern Broadcasting Company
S1: is a terrific ministry that brings the gospel to people
S1: through media and through personal engagement. It's a ministry that helps.
S1: It's one of our partners here on the program. I
S1: recommend it strongly, and you should find out a little
S1: bit more about it by going to their website. And
S1: you'll see their podcast is there. It's called Until All
S1: Have Heard and I check it out. It features Ed Cannon.
S1: You find out what they're doing all around the globe
S1: with bringing people the gospel. And coming into the studio
S1: right now is she's out of breath from running. I
S1: could do.
S10: Laps around the studio. No, I don't, I.
S1: Producer of Open Line. Hey, you were doing laps from
S1: the outer part of the studio to.
S10: The inner.
S1: Part of the studio.
S10: Right. Just going back and forth.
S1: That's it. Uh, so, uh, listen, Tricia, I, I think
S1: that you are doing a great job as producer. I've
S1: always said that, but I think you really improved today
S1: by bringing an associate team member in.
S10: I did, I did she's a cutie. Yeah. I brought
S10: my eight year old daughter into to work today because
S10: she said, I want to see what you do. And
S10: Saturdays are a great time to do that because.
S1: Well, and she asked a great question, how to study
S1: the Bible.
S10: As an eight.
S1: Year old.
S10: Last hour I took notes.
S1: Oh, good. I think you recognized it.
S10: I did, I did, yeah. So. But in case someone
S10: didn't hear it real quick, first, do you understand what
S10: you're reading? Paraphrase it. Explain what happened in one sentence.
S10: See what? What does God want me to learn? And
S10: if you've heard us talk about the specs, those were
S10: the questions that you asked. Um, and then talk to
S10: your mom, which, you know, or talk to a believer
S10: who's further along, who can say, actually, you're way off track, or, yeah,
S10: you've got this, you're growing. Yeah.
S1: Well, when you're an eight year old, talk to your
S1: mom or dad. Exactly, exactly I think. Yeah. So Anyway,
S1: I appreciate her being part of the team today and
S1: I appreciate you being always part of the team. Uh,
S1: people have no idea. Even they think you just bring
S1: in the questions. You know, this this whole before the
S1: radio program began today, you were telling me all the
S1: things I need to do.
S10: And the.
S1: Great reminder.
S10: Yes.
S1: Yeah, yeah. I just love that after about this teamwork.
S1: And I appreciate everyone that listens. You're part of the team.
S1: I appreciate everyone that gives occasionally like for a book
S1: like we're offering right now as our thank you teaching
S1: to change lives. And also I appreciate all the kitchen
S1: table partners, people who give regularly to Open Line every
S1: month so that we can be on weekly. It means
S1: so much to me. I appreciate your participation in the program.
S1: We also like sending you our Bible study moment every
S1: other week. Trisha produces it, even I I've been doing
S1: it a lot with Eva. Have you noticed that I have?
S1: I love it, I.
S10: Love.
S1: It, I need someone to keep me on track. So
S1: I have even there with me, and we have a
S1: great time studying the word together and sending you that
S1: digital Bible study every other week. If you become a
S1: kitchen table partner, it's a special, special thing for those
S1: of us who are kitchen table partners. Anyway, if you'd
S1: like to become a kitchen table partner, the phone number
S1: is 886447122. Or you can go to Openline radio org.
S1: Really appreciate it when you do that. Thanks so much.
S1: Okay Tricia, what questions have we got today.
S10: Okay. Our first question is from Deb in Florida, listens
S10: to Wkez and she is asking about Matthew 27, verse 46,
S10: which is at Jesus crucifixion. Crucifixion says about three in
S10: the afternoon, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, Ellie, Ellie,
S10: lema sabachthani? That is, my God, my God, why have
S10: you forsaken me? When Jesus said this on the cross,
S10: did God turn away from him? Was it to make
S10: people think back to Psalm 22? Was there a separation
S10: of the Trinity because I thought the Trinity was always one.
S10: Thank you for always answering questions from us.
S1: Psalm 22 is what Jesus is quoting there in the
S1: very opening words, My God, my God, why have you
S1: forsaken me? Now remember this that I think Bonhoeffer is right.
S1: He calls the Book of Psalms the prayer book of
S1: the Messiah. I think, and Jesus is expressing the words
S1: of David there to express how he felt. It is
S1: a rhetorical statement, and a rhetorical statement is a or
S1: a rhetorical question is a question that we know the
S1: answer to. And it's not an expression of doubt. It's
S1: an expression of suffering. My God, my God, why have
S1: you forsaken me? Why are you so far from my
S1: deliverance or from my words of groaning. It doesn't mean
S1: that Jesus doesn't know the answer to this question. He's
S1: using it to express his anguish. That's how he feels.
S1: It's a rhetorical question. Now, some people have said the
S1: reason he feels this way is because the Father and Son,
S1: when the Lord Jesus took all the sin of the
S1: whole world on him, that the father and the son
S1: broke fellowship for the first time in eternity. I don't
S1: believe that. I don't think there ever was a time
S1: where father and son had their fellowship broken. On the
S1: basis of saying that the father and son broke. Fellowship
S1: comes from a misunderstanding of a verse in the book
S1: of Habakkuk. And in that book, uh, in chapter one,
S1: it says, here I'm turning to it. Uh, it says
S1: in chapter one, uh, that your eyes are too pure
S1: to look upon evil and, uh. And so they say,
S1: because God can't look at evil when the sin of
S1: the world came upon the Lord Jesus, the father turned
S1: his back on the son. Here's the verse. It says,
S1: your eyes are too pure to look on evil, and
S1: you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. So verse 13, backup 113 they say, ah, look,
S1: God couldn't look at Jesus because sin came on him
S1: and therefore he turned away. There's even, you know, songs
S1: that people sing that have the father turned away? Mhm. Uh,
S1: that's a misunderstanding of Habakkuk 113. Your eyes are too
S1: pure to approve of evil. You cannot tolerate wrongdoing. It
S1: doesn't mean to look with a. It means to look
S1: with approval. It doesn't mean that he can't see. If
S1: he couldn't see sin. If God can't look at sin,
S1: he couldn't look at you. Trish or me or Omar.
S1: Especially Omar. Right. No.
S10: No. Especially any.
S1: Of us. No, no, I'm just teasing. But, uh, especially me.
S1: You know, I really feel that way, but God sees
S1: me all the time. What this is saying is, in
S1: Habakkuk one, God can't approve of evil. What the Lord
S1: Jesus is saying I feel anguish at the at the
S1: pain of suffering of at the crucifixion. It doesn't mean
S1: that the father turned away from him. The father and
S1: Son never broke fellowship in all eternity and never will.
S1: And so that's how I understand it. It's a rhetorical question,
S1: expressing the anguish the Lord Jesus felt at the crucifixion and.
S10: And how much more, um, encouraging is that? Because if
S10: if you follow that theology that God would break fellowship
S10: with Jesus for taking the punishment of our sin, then
S10: why wouldn't he break fellowship with me every time I sin.
S1: Yeah. That's right. Yeah, yeah.
S10: And so if that didn't happen, then it shows his
S10: faithfulness to us, even when we sin, that we can
S10: come back to him and he will hear our prayers
S10: and see us.
S1: And here's the thing. When I sin, if I stray,
S1: you know who's watching me? God, who can see me?
S1: God himself. Yeah. And he's using that to pull me
S1: back because he sees me. He brings all sorts of
S1: circumstances in my life to remind me to confess, to
S1: remind me to agree with him, to restore me to
S1: fellowship in that sense. So. Okay. Yeah. He sees me
S1: all the time. Uh, by the way, he sees you
S1: and he sees Omar, and he sees every listener. You know,
S1: he's watching us.
S10: Yeah. So. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, great. Thank you for that question, Deb.
S10: I hope that cleared that up for you. Um, Angela
S10: wrote us from Indiana, listens and said, I believe, absent
S10: from the body present with the Lord for believers. She
S10: wants to know do non-believers souls go to hell and
S10: then later reunite with their bodies? Like, is there a.
S1: Someone asked about that? Uh, you know, people talk about
S1: going to hell. I'm not sure that I think it's
S1: based on the translation of the word Sheol in the
S1: Old Testament was translated by the King James as hell
S1: as the abode of the dead. And when people go
S1: to the dead, when they go to be dead, for example,
S1: in the story of Lazarus and the rich man, Lazarus
S1: goes to Abraham's bosom. It's not a location. It means
S1: he's in the presence of God. And Abraham is there
S1: bringing him comfort for all the suffering that he had.
S1: He's being held and comforted. Uh, then the rich man
S1: can see this, but he is suffering and he is
S1: awaiting judgment. He hasn't been judged yet, but he is
S1: awaiting judgment. And he's in a place of of great suffering.
S1: And he is still in his immaterial body. And not
S1: until the great White Throne judgment described in revelation 20
S1: will he and any other person who doesn't know the
S1: Lord be resurrected face judgment? And then the Bible says,
S1: this is one of the saddest truths of the Bible.
S1: Those who have not trusted in Jesus will be cast
S1: into the lake of fire, which is what I think
S1: most of us mean by hell. And that is yet future. Uh,
S1: but there's a the greatest suffering is being separated from God.
S1: And that happened immediately to the rich man. And that's
S1: what happens to any person who doesn't know the Lord
S1: when they die. They are separate from God. Their immaterial
S1: body goes there, but they will then be resurrected and
S1: face the final judgment, the great White Throne judgment that
S1: will happen before the new heavens and the new earth.
S1: The new creation begins.
S10: Does the Bible say anything about? If they're resurrected, are
S10: they reunited with the physical body?
S1: Yeah. They're going yeah, they're they're going to have a
S1: resurrected immortal body that is cast into the lake of fire.
S10: Okay.
S1: Mhm.
S10: Okay.
S1: It's that's the eternal death. It is heartbreaking. Yeah. You know,
S1: I never want to talk about that without talking about
S1: the way to avoid it, which is trust in Jesus
S1: and believe that he died. Taking the punishment that we
S1: deserved was raised again, proving he's God just in him.
S1: All you have to do is say, I trust Jesus,
S1: that he died for me and rose again. If you're listening,
S1: don't even think about the lake of fire. What you
S1: need to think about is how to spend eternity with God. Uh,
S1: beginning now and forever. To be his child. That's. That's
S1: the great news. Yeah.
S10: And if that's something you want to know more about,
S10: you can go to our website, openline Org, and there's
S10: a link up in the top corner that says something
S10: like Knowing Christ. You can click on that. It'll take
S10: you to a page where this gets laid out a
S10: little bit more, and you can request information, um, about
S10: that and some resources that can help you grow if
S10: you decide to trust Jesus. Um, you can find that
S10: again at our website, openline Radio.com. And in the top
S10: right corner click the button. It says Know Christ. Um,
S10: so yeah, I'd encourage you to do that.
S1: Well, we're going to take a break here. Yeah. Tricia,
S1: thanks so much for bringing these questions in. And mostly,
S1: thank you for bringing Maisie in.
S10: Hi. You're welcome.
S1: I love seeing her. That's great. Uh, we're going to
S1: come back with more of your questions in just a moment.
S1: This is open line. I'm Michael Ray Melnick. That was
S1: Tricia McMillan. We'll be right back. So stay with us.
S1: Welcome back to Open Line. I'm Michael Redlick. You know,
S1: so many times people say that they want to talk
S1: to their Jewish friends about the good news of Jesus,
S1: but they're not sure how. One of the best ways
S1: is to talk about Isaiah 53. If you think I'm
S1: not sure about what that passage means in Isaiah, that
S1: great messianic prophecy, check out Chosen People Ministries. One of
S1: our partners, their current offer, which is a copy of
S1: a free book called Explaining Isaiah 53. All you have
S1: to do is read this book and you'll understand the passage,
S1: and it'll be a great passage for you to talk
S1: about with your Jewish friends. Or you could just pass
S1: the book on to your Jewish friend, explaining Isaiah 53.
S1: If they're interested, they'll be able to read that and
S1: understand that passage much better as it reveals the Lord Jesus,
S1: the suffering servant of God. And if you'd like a
S1: copy of explaining Isaiah 53, just go to our website openlibrary.org.
S1: Scroll down till you see the link. It says a
S1: free gift from Chosen People Ministries. Click on that. It'll
S1: take you to a page where you can sign up
S1: for your own copy of Explaining Isaiah 53. Now we're
S1: going to talk to Meg in Davenport, Iowa, listening on
S1: welcome to Open Line. Meg, how can I help you today?
S11: Thank you for being there. Um, when you told the
S11: lady this morning about, um, the meaning of the word Lucifer,
S11: it means morning star. Um, I was curious, because we
S11: have a Christian school in our area named Morningstar Christian Academy. Um,
S11: I'm sure you can explain how Isaiah 1412 and revelation 2216. Um,
S11: makes sense because Jesus in revelation 22, says he is
S11: the morning star.
S1: Mhm. Well, morning stars is Jesus is not a morning star.
S1: Just so you know. Nor is Satan. They are not.
S1: These are figures of speech. Uh, the morning star is
S1: the first sign of of, uh, the day coming. It
S1: brings light and and it's beautiful. And so it says of, uh,
S1: Satan shining morning star, how you have fallen from the heavens.
S1: So if you know Isaiah 1412 and following 12 through
S1: 15 and then also, uh, Ezekiel 28, where it talks about, uh,
S1: that the that Satan was the anointed cherub in the
S1: Garden of Eden and he was so glorious. It's saying
S1: that it's just saying that he was a glorious figure
S1: that fell to earth, that was cast out Stout because
S1: of his rebellion and sin. But the true one, who
S1: is glorious and beautiful in the the sense of bringing
S1: light and and in that sense, the that figure of
S1: speech is rightly applied to the Lord Jesus as well. Remember,
S1: it's just a figure of speech. It's not a technical
S1: name and not a technical term. It's a figure of
S1: speech about the one that is this glorious figure. And
S1: was Satan a glorious figure when he was the anointed cherub?
S1: You bet. Uh, and in the same way he, just
S1: as he fell the same term could be applied to
S1: the Lord Jesus, who never fell, who was always perfect
S1: and was glorious. Always. So is that does that help
S1: you at all?
S11: Sure. That makes lots of sense. Just wanted to thank you.
S1: Great. Sure. Thanks for your call. Appreciate it. Meg. Uh,
S1: we're going to talk to Don in Jupiter, Florida, listening on, uh,
S1: welcome to Open Line. How can I help you today?
S12: Thank you. Doctor. My, question is Matthew 14, the parable
S12: of the treasure and the pearl. Some are saying it's
S12: an unsaved man looking for salvation. Others are saying it's
S12: Israel and the church. Your thoughts?
S1: Well, uh, let's read those verses to people so they
S1: know what we're talking about. Uh, beginning with 14, uh,
S1: verses 44 through 46. Matthew, is that what you said?
S1: Matthew 1444 through 46? Uh, I don't think you're right.
S1: I think it's 1344 through 46.
S12: 13 should be right. Correct.
S1: Yeah. Yes. Uh, here's what it says. Uh, the kingdom
S1: of heaven is like treasure buried in a field that
S1: a man found and reburied. Then in his joy, he
S1: goes and sells everything he has and buys that field. Again,
S1: the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search
S1: of fine pearls. When he found one priceless pearl, he
S1: went and sold everything he had and bought it. The
S1: Kingdom of Heaven is the Kingdom of God. God's rulership,
S1: God's relationship with us in our life. It's not talking
S1: about the church here. Uh, it's not talking about the
S1: hidden church all of a sudden being revealed. What it's
S1: saying is that when a man finds the value of
S1: following the Lord of coming under his rulership, of following
S1: the king, uh, coming to know him, that it's worth everything.
S1: He goes and sells everything, and he has and buys
S1: that field. He goes and sells everything and buys that pearl.
S1: It is so precious, so valuable that it's worth everything.
S1: We have to come to know the Lord. That's what
S1: that's talking about.
S12: Thanks a lot. Appreciate it.
S1: Yep. By the way, it is. You know, uh, so
S1: often people say, is it really worth it? I've been
S1: following the Lord Now see, how many years would that be? Uh,
S1: 53 years. Uh, and, uh, so there were some costs,
S1: but it was worth it because of the great value
S1: of knowing the Lord forever and ever. And so, yeah,
S1: I want to encourage you. If you've not made that decision,
S1: it is more than worth it. It is the most
S1: glorious thing that God could do for us, uh, to
S1: give us an eternal relationship with the Lord Jesus. So, uh,
S1: trust him. Let's talk to Kelly. Listening on RMB in Florida.
S1: Welcome to Open Line, Kelly. What can I do for you?
S13: Hi. Hi. Um, I'm wondering about the definition, and I'm
S13: reading it as as we're talking. Um, spare the rod,
S13: spoil the child. And I'm just. I'm concerned about someone's spanking.
S13: And I mean, I don't.
S1: Listen, Kelly. We're out of time. But here's the answer.
S1: I think it's just saying we need to discipline our children.
S1: Kids need two things love and limits. Uh, and however
S1: we do it, that's the best way to do it. Uh,
S1: Love and limits doesn't have to be spanking. So, anyway,
S1: thanks for your call, Kelly. Uh, thanks for listening, everyone.
S1: That's the program for the week. We'll be back again
S1: next week. Uh, thanks to the Open line team. Tricia. Omar. Brianna.
S1: Keep in touch with us during the week by checking
S1: out our web page. Open Line radio.org has all the
S1: links you're looking for, whether it's how to become a
S1: kitchen table partner, get our resource, or the chosen people offer.
S1: Keep reading the Bible. We'll talk about it next week.
S1: Open line with Doctor Michael Ray Melnick is a production
S1: of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute. See
S1: you next.
S14: Week.