Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to Pastor's Perspective. I'm your host, Brian Perez.
Speaker 1: It is Tuesday, the 24th of June, the 2 dozen
Speaker 1: day of the month. The year is almost halfway over.
Speaker 1: Got a question about the Bible, the Christian faith? Give
Speaker 1: us a call. We'd love to hear it. 888-564-6173 is
Speaker 1: our number. You can also send in your questions.
Speaker 1: Online, but we prefer to hear the sound of your voice,
Speaker 1: so give us a call 888-564-6173. And answering your questions today,
Speaker 1: we've got Bill Welsh, a pastor at Refuge Calvary Chapel
Speaker 1: in Huntington Beach, California. How you doing, Bill? Uh, I'm good.
Speaker 1: Thank you very much. Yeah, I just got back from the, uh,
Speaker 1: the pastor's conference out in uh Temecula. Nice.
Speaker 1: And, uh, Phil Metzger is joining us as well. He
Speaker 1: is the pastor of the pastor, not a pastor, the
Speaker 1: pastor at uh Calvary Calvary San Diego in San Diego.
Speaker 1: What's up, Phil? in the San Diego, in the, yes,
Speaker 1: of course. Although there might be one more than one
Speaker 1: San Diego, that happens every now and then where there's
Speaker 1: like a San Diego and, you know, New Mexico or something,
Speaker 1: who knows, but anyway, that's likely.
Speaker 1: 888-564-6173 is our number, and, uh, we're gonna go to
Speaker 1: the phones in just a little bit. As I mentioned,
Speaker 1: you can also send in your questions online. You can
Speaker 1: do that through the pastor's perspective Facebook Messenger, or, uh,
Speaker 1: DM us on the pastor's perspective Instagram, or go to kwave.com,
Speaker 1: look for the pastor's perspective page, and you can fill
Speaker 1: out the form, and that gets your question to us.
Speaker 1: I believe that is what Denise did when she sent
Speaker 1: in her question.
Speaker 1: Which has to do with Adam and Eve. The story
Speaker 1: goes that God created the heavens and the earth and
Speaker 1: created Adam from the ground and Eve from his rib.
Speaker 1: If you do the math and you look at Homo
Speaker 1: sapiens and Neanderthals, Adam and Eve were not the first people.
Speaker 1: So my question is, are Adam and Eve real or
Speaker 1: are they just a metaphor for the first spiritual being
Speaker 1: or something? Phil, what would you say to Denise?
Speaker 1: Yeah, thanks, Denise, for the question. I, I didn't hear
Speaker 1: how she sent it in, but maybe you didn't say.
Speaker 1: I don't know. Uh, was that an Instagram one, Brian?
Speaker 1: That was, uh, through Kwave.com. Kwave.com. That's cool. Really cool
Speaker 1: that they're sending them in like that. So yeah, Denise,
Speaker 1: to answer your question, like, you know, again, it's pastor's perspective,
Speaker 1: and we here on the show, we
Speaker 1: We believe the Bible is literal. We take the Bible
Speaker 1: really seriously. So, as it relates to Adam and Eve,
Speaker 1: we believe, because it's what the Bible tells us that
Speaker 1: they were the first people.
Speaker 1: That they are not, it's not metaphorical, it's not an analogy,
Speaker 1: it's not um it literally they are the first two people,
Speaker 1: so that God made Adam.
Speaker 1: And from Adam, he made Eve. And so, of course,
Speaker 1: you know, as you get into looking at, uh, you know,
Speaker 1: when you get into the anthropology of bones and all
Speaker 1: these kinds of things, sure, there's, there's uh different perspectives
Speaker 1: and so on, but we believe that Adam and Eve
Speaker 1: were the very first and they were literally the first
Speaker 1: two people.
Speaker 1: So did Neanderthals and stuff come from Adam and Eve,
Speaker 1: would you say, Bill? I, I would say there possibly there,
Speaker 1: there were, um, other, uh, animal species that have been
Speaker 1: mistaken for Neanderthals and that might have gone extinct, but I,
Speaker 1: I totally agree with what Phil just said, that the
Speaker 1: very first two human beings were Adam and Eve.
Speaker 1: All right, sometimes we think we know more than we
Speaker 1: think we know. You know, it's like, I do not
Speaker 1: think that means what you think it means, but I
Speaker 1: think that's one of them. I've seen some, I've seen
Speaker 1: some people that, um, look like Neanderthals. Let's just get
Speaker 1: real here, OK? And no, I just mean like, you know,
Speaker 1: I mean, we're, we're, we're, we're too quick to be like,
Speaker 1: you know, well, this is a different creature or altogether
Speaker 1: when to the person asking the question, and, you know,
Speaker 1: there's so much we don't know, but we do have
Speaker 1: to start somewhere, right?
Speaker 1: And for us, we start at the point of saying,
Speaker 1: we believe the Bible. So, can I explain every detail
Speaker 1: and explain the, the, those issues? No, I, I can't.
Speaker 1: I'm sure others that are much smarter could do that.
Speaker 1: But I do have to start somewhere. There is a
Speaker 1: point where you say, I have to accept something to
Speaker 1: be true, right? And so for us, that, that, that
Speaker 1: truth is, it begins at scripture. So, yeah, but I,
Speaker 1: I've played basketball with some guys that I thought, holy mama,
Speaker 1: that's a, that, that guy is a big strong dude. That,
Speaker 1: that guy could be a Neanderthal.
Speaker 1: And it comes down to a question too of who's
Speaker 1: doing the dating and do they have an agenda as
Speaker 1: they're as they're dating? I mean, it's, it's not far-fetched
Speaker 1: to believe that there's some paleontologists that have a, uh
Speaker 1: a very sincere and uh hardcore commitment to proving the
Speaker 1: Bible wrong and so messing with the dates. I, so
Speaker 1: I don't know. It is true. Denise, thank you for
Speaker 1: sending in your question online and Leslie also wrote to
Speaker 1: us online.
Speaker 1: And we'll go to the phones in a moment, by
Speaker 1: the way, 888-564-6173 is the number, but Leslie asks, What
Speaker 1: is a wife's responsibility and attitude supposed to be towards
Speaker 1: a husband who is in a backslidden state? How can
Speaker 1: she continue faithfully serving the Lord and in church while
Speaker 1: her husband is an open sin? And does that sin
Speaker 1: affect her? Bill, what do you tell Leslie?
Speaker 1: Still be the, uh, still be the witness in that
Speaker 1: in that marriage and uh and love that person and
Speaker 1: what what is the I I can hear it in
Speaker 1: my head in the old King James, where it says
Speaker 1: basically not just to the gentle ones, but to the
Speaker 1: fro word, remember that, that uh that word that was
Speaker 1: in there so so to the tough guy husband or
Speaker 1: the
Speaker 1: Belligerent husband, I guess. You still gotta give them a
Speaker 1: a a witness in your walk with Jesus and let
Speaker 1: them see the grace and the patience and the kindness
Speaker 1: and the honesty and and all that. Is it 1
Speaker 1: Peter 2:18? I was looking for it and uh you,
Speaker 1: your fingers are fashion online that speaking of slaves, yeah, OK,
Speaker 1: that's a little bit different than wife to husband, but
Speaker 1: slaves in reverend fear of God, submit yourself to your masters,
Speaker 1: not only to those who are good and considerate.
Speaker 1: And it just went away. Oh, sorry, that's OK. I
Speaker 1: didn't know you might consider it, but also to those
Speaker 1: who are harsh. So I mean God puts us in
Speaker 1: situations where it's, it's not always the, you know, the,
Speaker 1: the perfect situation where you got a, a solid Christian husband,
Speaker 1: a solid Christian wife, and, and so I know there's
Speaker 1: a lot of, uh, we got a lot of people
Speaker 1: in our fellowship that are are living that reality too and, uh,
Speaker 1: endeavoring to, to just live for Jesus in a, in
Speaker 1: a tough situation, yeah, Phil.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I just have so much empathy for the question
Speaker 1: and for Leslie asking the question because
Speaker 1: Especially when she asks, like, does that sin affect her
Speaker 1: and or you know, whether she's reading that for her
Speaker 1: or for somebody else, golly, just the idea that like,
Speaker 1: you know, when you're in a marriage, how that other person.
Speaker 1: That impacts you on so many levels, right? On just
Speaker 1: so many levels, and so,
Speaker 1: You know, the question, does it affect her? Of course
Speaker 1: it does. That's why somebody would write in with the
Speaker 1: question at all. On the other hand, it's also important
Speaker 1: to remember that like, as much as it is affecting
Speaker 1: you in that relationship, you also are your own person
Speaker 1: before God. And, you know, you stand before God as you,
Speaker 1: not as, oh, you were married to that person. And,
Speaker 1: and so to what Bill said there, just being a
Speaker 1: faithful witness, being a, a good spouse, a loving, respectful,
Speaker 1: caring human being.
Speaker 1: It that shouldn't impact, and I hope churches wouldn't say,
Speaker 1: oh gosh, you can't serve because of your situation. No,
Speaker 1: you stand before God and if you are a faithful
Speaker 1: witness of Christ, may God use you and, and bless
Speaker 1: you and um.
Speaker 1: And eventually bring your spouse into that same deep loving
Speaker 1: relationship with Christ. But certainly it does affect us. I mean,
Speaker 1: my gosh, we all affect each other so deeply, but
Speaker 1: it is important to kind of be able to pause
Speaker 1: and say, OK, but I stand in the grace of
Speaker 1: God on my own and not be
Speaker 1: Because of them, and those are two hard things to,
Speaker 1: to kind of put together, but boy, in the situation,
Speaker 1: you really have to do that. I am married, this
Speaker 1: is my spouse, I'm gonna love them and I'm gonna,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna be honorable and respectful. On the other hand,
Speaker 1: I stand before God and I am clean and free
Speaker 1: in Him.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and light always pierces darkness too and if that
Speaker 1: person's been living in in darkness for let's say, you know,
Speaker 1: most of their life, if not all of their life,
Speaker 1: and now they're in that, uh, um, you know, that
Speaker 1: relationship where the where the believer is in and and
Speaker 1: often it's a husband and not the wife that's the believer,
Speaker 1: but where the light comes in and and the darkness
Speaker 1: is getting penetrated by that light that keeps shining, yeah.
Speaker 1: And I'm I'm with you too, Phil, it's uh it's,
Speaker 1: it's hard to hear those stories where you know someone
Speaker 1: is not um.
Speaker 1: they're with someone who's not sharing their faith, you know,
Speaker 1: the most precious part of their life, and um, so yeah.
Speaker 1: Yep, Leslie, our prayers are with you, and again, yeah,
Speaker 1: just to reiterate this, it's affecting you in the sense
Speaker 1: that you're dealing with this, but it shouldn't affect your
Speaker 1: ability to serve the Lord and, you know, it's not
Speaker 1: like the church should if your church, what if her
Speaker 1: church is saying, well, until you get your act together
Speaker 1: at home, you can't serve here. Have you guys ever
Speaker 1: heard that, Phil?
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, and you know, it's, I mean, I've
Speaker 1: heard it, and then on the one hand, you know,
Speaker 1: I wanna say, oh gosh, that's terrible. I can't believe
Speaker 1: that happens. On the other hand, I just wanna be
Speaker 1: like clear. I, I've expressed almost those words to people
Speaker 1: when it's like,
Speaker 1: But I, but again, how they understand it, I really
Speaker 1: want to be clear, but sometimes we miss it. And here's,
Speaker 1: here's my heart behind that. Maybe you're in a situation
Speaker 1: in life where having to serve in the church isn't
Speaker 1: the top priority right now. That's not a reflection of
Speaker 1: who you are or your walk with Christ, or your
Speaker 1: ability to serve here. But maybe the best thing we
Speaker 1: could do for you is to give you that freedom
Speaker 1: to say, now, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: Kind of focus on this area of my life. I
Speaker 1: think sometimes, you know, you have a mom who's got
Speaker 1: a kid that's struggling, and they still want to keep
Speaker 1: up serving, but they just need to be given a break.
Speaker 1: That might be interpreted as, oh, they don't want me
Speaker 1: here anymore, and I would never want anybody to think that. But, um,
Speaker 1: you know, and I, I think for churches that struggle
Speaker 1: with that, they really have to make sure their, their, um,
Speaker 1: expression is clear. It's not about
Speaker 1: They're not worthy or capable. You know, none of us
Speaker 1: are worthy. It's only by the blood of Jesus that
Speaker 1: any of us have any right to stand before God
Speaker 1: or people. But on the other hand, I do want
Speaker 1: to be careful and thoughtful to the fact that people
Speaker 1: might be in a season where they need to not
Speaker 1: think that serving is necessary, where they're already serving their
Speaker 1: family in really unique ways. So, I don't know. I
Speaker 1: hope that makes some sense.
Speaker 1: Yeah, uh, you, you know, you wonder, Phil, how, how
Speaker 1: long was it before, um, as congregations began to form
Speaker 1: and gather, there was a need for, hey, we need
Speaker 1: some people to serve, and the context of your serving
Speaker 1: was in your social circles with your family and your
Speaker 1: neighbors and yeah, so serve Jesus all you can and
Speaker 1: keep shining.
Speaker 1: And what what was her name? Leslie. Let's pray for Leslie.
Speaker 1: Father God, I just pray for our sister Leslie who
Speaker 1: is uh feeling the the conflict of light and and
Speaker 1: and darkness there. And God, I just pray for her
Speaker 1: husband that you would soften his heart and let him
Speaker 1: see the light and the love and the truth of
Speaker 1: Jesus in in Leslie, and just pray there'd be uh
Speaker 1: there would be movement towards that father, even, even very,
Speaker 1: very soon in her husband's life, that maybe he'd start
Speaker 1: to ask questions or maybe he'd start to go with her.
Speaker 1: But, uh, that he would, he would be able to
Speaker 1: see what's being demonstrated through his bride in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. 888-564-6173,
Speaker 1: and we've got another marriage type question here on the phone,
Speaker 1: so let's go to that now. This is Carmen calling
Speaker 1: in from Anaheim, listening on Kwave.com. Hi there, Carmen, thanks
Speaker 1: for calling in today.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for taking my phone call. Excuse
Speaker 2: my accent. Um, I have a question. I, um, I
Speaker 2: have been a Christian since a long time ago. I
Speaker 2: married a person, uh, 3 years ago, um.
Speaker 2: We only dated for 2 months. Uh, the situation didn't
Speaker 2: work out in a Christian church we married. The situation
Speaker 2: didn't work out, or the marriage didn't work out, and
Speaker 2: I end up filing myself the divorce. And now we
Speaker 2: are divorced, but now we are, uh, we're starting to
Speaker 2: talk again. And my question is, is there any verse
Speaker 2: that I can rely on the Bible so we can
Speaker 2: Um, have, we have to marry again legally because of my,
Speaker 2: in my understanding is that
Speaker 2: Uh, like, we never, God blessed our marriage, and I
Speaker 2: always respect him and he respects me during the divorce process.
Speaker 2: But now, in order for us to start living again
Speaker 2: on the same roof, do we have to marry legally
Speaker 2: because I'm very, very afraid of the consequences, and I
Speaker 2: think that God has to um
Speaker 1: Carmen, quick question, what consequences are you afraid of?
Speaker 2: Legal consequences of being married, like, for example, um
Speaker 2: When I retire, I'm a low-income person, um, things like
Speaker 2: that and like financially not being supported, uh.
Speaker 2: That, that, that are the consequences of, of the, of
Speaker 2: the legal um
Speaker 2: To be, like, for example, that I have to pay
Speaker 2: apoa support, things like that, in case that our marriage didn't,
Speaker 2: doesn't work out again, because I know both of us
Speaker 2: know for sure that our marriages.
Speaker 2: God bless, God bless our marriage. But legally,
Speaker 2: Do we have to marry again to be to live
Speaker 2: in the same room?
Speaker 1: Like in God's eyes, do you have to remarry. Another
Speaker 1: quick question, how long have you guys been talking again?
Speaker 2: For, uh, maybe 2 months? 2
Speaker 1: months. So in those two months, you think you've seen
Speaker 1: enough growth to want to get married again? That's what
Speaker 1: you're saying?
Speaker 2: Uh, yes, the situation about getting back in the same roof, like, uh.
Speaker 1: All right, Phil, what do you say to Carmen?
Speaker 1: Uh, Carmen, thanks for calling in. This is a much
Speaker 1: more complicated, you know, it's easy to ask the question
Speaker 1: on the phone. I'm really glad you did, but also really, really, really,
Speaker 1: really want to encourage you to go to a church
Speaker 1: and invite a
Speaker 1: like a counselor to speak into your guys' situation because
Speaker 1: there's more specifics that we don't know, only what has
Speaker 1: been shared. So anything I say is related to what
Speaker 1: you've shared, and I know there's a lot more in
Speaker 1: every conversation, um, including the guy's perspective on all this. So,
Speaker 1: let me just say a few things. I got a
Speaker 1: lot of like red flags in things that you're saying, Carmen.
Speaker 1: And so hear me out as somebody who like,
Speaker 1: Actually, you know, I care about people and I wanna
Speaker 1: see you do well in the Lord and in your marriage, um.
Speaker 1: You know, I, I'm concerned that your concern of remarrying
Speaker 1: is that you might not make it again. So you
Speaker 1: would be repeating the marriage and then divorce again. And
Speaker 1: the reason that concerns me is because I, I think
Speaker 1: when you go into any kind of a marriage, when
Speaker 1: you go into a relationship with that already, like on
Speaker 1: the forefront of your mind, um, it's kind of like
Speaker 1: you're dooming something to failure before you've even gotten there.
Speaker 1: Especially my concern is that the Lord be the center
Speaker 1: of a marriage, and where the Lord's not gonna be
Speaker 1: at the center, like, I'm hearing legal concerns and, and, um,
Speaker 1: financial concerns, and these are all valid, and I, I
Speaker 1: appreciate that. I really, really, really do. But as a
Speaker 1: show that's focused on like your spiritual well-being, I'm just
Speaker 1: gonna say, as a, as a pastor, I would be
Speaker 1: concerned that your marriage isn't
Speaker 1: I'm not hearing the language of, we really want to
Speaker 1: bring Christ into our marriage this time. I think it's
Speaker 1: more like we're talking and we're enjoying conversation and maybe
Speaker 1: we want to get married again. Those are red flags
Speaker 1: for me of concern, and I think it would be
Speaker 1: good to speak to a counselor on that a little
Speaker 1: bit more. I would jump back into something you're asking.
Speaker 1: Is God blessing it or is God not blessing it?
Speaker 1: God blesses the covenant of marriage. He, he is in,
Speaker 1: he designed it and he's really behind it. But I
Speaker 1: think when, when God's not at the center of that
Speaker 1: covenant relationship, jumping back into this, uh, it could be real, real,
Speaker 1: real messy. Yeah, Bill, um, Carmen, I was just reading
Speaker 1: in 1 Corinthians chapter 7, where there's a section there
Speaker 1: obviously about marriage.
Speaker 1: Um, and it has this interesting verse that, uh, it,
Speaker 1: it might, well, in to, to a degree, it definitely
Speaker 1: relates to what you and your husband, former husband have
Speaker 1: been through, but says if the unbeliever departs, let him depart, uh,
Speaker 1: a brother or sister is not under bondage in such cases,
Speaker 1: but God has called us to peace. And so if, uh, I,
Speaker 1: I don't think you're under necessarily under obligation to, to
Speaker 1: get back together because you were married.
Speaker 1: Um, if, if, if he's departed and sadly, you know, it,
Speaker 1: it didn't work out, I, I think that really applies
Speaker 1: there that you're not necessarily under bondage to, um, to say, OK,
Speaker 1: I guess we got to go back to court and
Speaker 1: get married again.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I, I totally, totally agree with what Phil said.
Speaker 1: You need to sit down with somebody that would, would
Speaker 1: take longer than we have time for on this, this
Speaker 1: probably two programs to, to help you sort all this out. But, um,
Speaker 1: that you mentioned. That's uh 1 Corinthians 7 verse 15.
Speaker 1: But um the whole chapter is is about um.
Speaker 1: Well, first half of the chapter is about marriage, so.
Speaker 1: But yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so we can't provide like legal advice or anything
Speaker 1: like that, or, you know, but like Phil and Bill
Speaker 1: both said, I mean, what are the reasons you want
Speaker 1: to remarry? Is it just so it can be legal?
Speaker 1: Is it, you know, when they were married, they made
Speaker 1: a covenant.
Speaker 1: They were divorced. Does that, does God no longer see
Speaker 1: them as married? And now if they were to move
Speaker 1: in together or whatever, they're married again, they're married in
Speaker 1: God's eyes, maybe perhaps that's what she's we've seen that
Speaker 1: happen within the Calvary community, haven't we? Um, was it, um,
Speaker 1: was it Mike McIntosh, Mike Mike and Sandy that, uh,
Speaker 1: split up before they came to Christ and then they
Speaker 1: came to Christ and remarried, was that right?
Speaker 1: I think it was Jeff and Karen, or maybe the
Speaker 1: others that I was gonna mention, yeah, yeah, it's a
Speaker 1: beautiful thing when you see God really turn two hearts, um,
Speaker 1: to one another after they've turned their hearts towards Jesus and, uh,
Speaker 1: so that, that would be the main thing, Carmen, just
Speaker 1: pursue Jesus right now with all of your heart as
Speaker 1: a lover of your soul. Phil, any more thoughts from you?
Speaker 1: No, I just, yeah, it's so hard when like, when,
Speaker 1: when marriage becomes kind of the technicalities of are we
Speaker 1: this or are we that that that gets so hard.
Speaker 1: So what Bill just said there, it really
Speaker 1: You know, marriage in Christ is just like amazing, beautiful
Speaker 1: thing where I'm in a covenant with God and my spouse.
Speaker 1: But golly, when you get to those like technicalities of like, well,
Speaker 1: are we still or are we not? That, that's kind
Speaker 1: of those questions of like, who is this woman married
Speaker 1: to in the kingdom, you know, that, that was asked
Speaker 1: to Jesus. And then, and Jesus even talked about it. Well, that,
Speaker 1: you know, the reason divorce even exists is because of
Speaker 1: the hardness of man's heart.
Speaker 1: And so those things get really tough, but, uh, yeah,
Speaker 1: I think I, I like what you said too, Brian man, we,
Speaker 1: we're not a, this isn't legal advice, those are different shows.
Speaker 1: This is not a, you know, free legal advice today,
Speaker 1: you know, we have no idea. Yes, Carmen, thank you
Speaker 1: for your phone call today on pastor's perspective. We do
Speaker 1: recommend you talk to the pastor at your church or
Speaker 1: a Christian counselor or something to, uh, so that they
Speaker 1: can get into the weeds of what it is that
Speaker 1: you guys are trying to go after.
Speaker 1: 888-564-6173 is our number, and Brittany wrote in with this
Speaker 1: question for us. How can I become all that God
Speaker 1: wants me to be without being a Pharisee and seeking
Speaker 1: God's approval over everything in my life? I'm finishing my
Speaker 1: BA in biblical studies at Colorado Christian University. I'm trying
Speaker 1: to grow more spiritually minded with the class.
Speaker 1: But I've noticed that I seem to need a term
Speaker 1: for everything in the Bible to sound more dogmatic. Am
Speaker 1: I wrong in seeking hermeneutical advice every time, or should
Speaker 1: I just focus on the message? I'm doing online Bible
Speaker 1: studies with books for now and trying to give a
Speaker 1: more friendly approach. What would you say, Bill? I would,
Speaker 1: I would say let's ask the man with the masters
Speaker 1: about that, Phil.
Speaker 1: Doctor Phil, what do you say? I mean, I would
Speaker 1: say it's at a very, very basic level, who doesn't
Speaker 1: overthink stuff all the time, so, but.
Speaker 1: That's so true, Bill. Yeah, I mean, golly, I, I, I,
Speaker 1: I had so many thoughts just hearing you read that question, Brian,
Speaker 1: is like, it starts with the idea that like, gosh, I, I,
Speaker 1: I'd hate for anybody to assume that like, if you
Speaker 1: want to be all that God wants at the, the,
Speaker 1: the logical jump is that you would be a Pharisee. I, I,
Speaker 1: I think that would be the exact opposite. That, that,
Speaker 1: that to be all that God wants you to be.
Speaker 1: I mean, Pharisees weren't trying to be all that God
Speaker 1: wants them to be.
Speaker 1: They were trying to bring God down to their level,
Speaker 1: not them going to his level, you know. And, uh,
Speaker 1: so the idea that like, to really go after God
Speaker 1: would make you a first. I, I, I'll be honest,
Speaker 1: I feel like that's actually what a lot of Christians
Speaker 1: think is like, if I'm gonna be really serious, I'm
Speaker 1: gonna become super legalistic and a kind of a jerk
Speaker 1: for people, you know, in Christ. And I, I just
Speaker 1: want to dispel that idea that that's a religious construct
Speaker 1: that
Speaker 1: that relationship, you know, um, we're in a relationship with Jesus,
Speaker 1: and that means it's growing, it's progressing. That doesn't mean
Speaker 1: he's growing, it means I'm growing and I'm learning. I'm
Speaker 1: learning more of his love and I'm learning to love
Speaker 1: him more, and in the process, I'm learning to love
Speaker 1: people the way that God loves people. So the idea
Speaker 1: about hermeneutical advice every time, um,
Speaker 1: I mean, again, I'm, I'm not sure that I see
Speaker 1: any distinction between focusing on a message and, and good hermeneutics.
Speaker 1: I think good messages come from good hermeneutics, that is,
Speaker 1: that we've really looked at the scriptures, we've really looked
Speaker 1: at the context, we've really studied it. I, I, I
Speaker 1: think bad messages come from bad hermeneutics. And so the
Speaker 1: idea that like, um, a message would, that you'd have
Speaker 1: to wrestle with either one of those. I see this
Speaker 1: with a lot of Bible college students, uh, and that
Speaker 1: is like
Speaker 1: We get super excited about the things we're learning, and
Speaker 1: not everybody likes digging into the Greek or the Hebrew.
Speaker 1: So give space for people that they just want to
Speaker 1: grow in Jesus. I get that part. If you feel
Speaker 1: like a Pharisee because you're telling people about Greek and,
Speaker 1: and cultural context, then you can tone that back. That
Speaker 1: doesn't make them wrong and it doesn't make you wrong.
Speaker 1: We all have different passions and loves. But as it
Speaker 1: relates to a good healthy relationship with Jesus, I mean, yeah, like,
Speaker 1: Brian said, you know, I've got, I got a PhD
Speaker 1: and it, it has not changed. I love Jesus as
Speaker 1: much as ever. I was so benefited by my education.
Speaker 1: I'd certainly hope that I'd never be a Pharisee. I
Speaker 1: have certain nerdy things that I really dig that I
Speaker 1: know other people just aren't gonna be into. That has
Speaker 1: nothing to do with being a Pharisee, though, not at all.
Speaker 1: And you're, you're one of the furthest people I've met
Speaker 1: from being a Pharisee in my whole life. I didn't
Speaker 1: know that you were a doctor too. Well, but, um.
Speaker 1: Uh, I was gonna say something and it has just
Speaker 1: escaped me. Uh, but I know what I was gonna say,
Speaker 1: you know, the scripture tells us to love the Lord
Speaker 1: our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and
Speaker 1: the mind is, is, it was, is involved in that.
Speaker 1: There's nothing I want to, uh, understand more clearly than
Speaker 1: what it is to have a relationship with God and
Speaker 1: understand His love for me. So I, I commend that, that,
Speaker 1: you know, heart of a, a scholar or heart of
Speaker 1: a student to, to dig down deep and then get
Speaker 1: out and live the relationship.
Speaker 1: Um, you know, my wife, my wife Joy, my wife Joy, and, and,
Speaker 1: and I, we, we don't, I mean, you could say
Speaker 1: in the 52 years we've been married, 52 years in
Speaker 1: 3 weeks, is it? Um, we've studied each other, we
Speaker 1: know each other well, but I don't think we ever
Speaker 1: sat down and it was like, I'm gonna figure you out.
Speaker 1: Maybe we should have, but, uh, it, it's worked out
Speaker 1: pretty well. Enjoy the relationship and, and keep digging in
Speaker 1: with your mind as well.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think the mind is one of those
Speaker 1: things that we don't, I mean, we, we can say
Speaker 1: we love the Lord our God with all our heart,
Speaker 1: with all our soul, when we're there Sunday morning singing
Speaker 1: worship and our hands are raised and everything, but I'm
Speaker 1: not saying that you're not using your mind when you're
Speaker 1: doing that, but when it comes to studying and getting
Speaker 1: into certain things, the longer you're a believer, should you
Speaker 1: be more focused on
Speaker 1: More studies, I mean, should every Christian aspire to be
Speaker 1: a doctor like Phil Metzger?
Speaker 1: No, don't do it. Don't do it, everybody. Uh, but
Speaker 1: we should aspire to the mind of that is constantly growing. Listen, don't,
Speaker 1: don't miss, um, yeah, it's, I'm so glad you said that, Brian,
Speaker 1: because people need to understand.
Speaker 1: We're all learners. We should be lifelong learners. That should
Speaker 1: never end. Some of us, and I'll call myself a weirdo,
Speaker 1: some of us weirdos choose formal education as a way
Speaker 1: to kickstart and keep, just keep fresh and keep growing.
Speaker 1: That was for me. I, I wanted the challenge. It
Speaker 1: doesn't make me better. It certainly doesn't even make me smarter. It's,
Speaker 1: I went through a
Speaker 1: particular process that not everybody can do that, but I,
Speaker 1: I know people who have none of that. They love Jesus,
Speaker 1: and they're also learners. So I think we need to
Speaker 1: make sure that we, we, we clarify that, like, not
Speaker 1: because of what you said, but it's, you're kind of
Speaker 1: giving the ball on the tee there for me. And
Speaker 1: that is to just remind people, you don't have to
Speaker 1: do formal education to keep growing, but to not keep growing,
Speaker 1: to not be studying the word, to not be growing
Speaker 1: in Bible studies, these things are important.
Speaker 1: Very good. 888-564-6173 is the number to call us on
Speaker 1: this Tuesday afternoon if you've got a question for Bill
Speaker 1: Welsh or Phil Metzger, 888-564-6173, and Brittany, thank you for
Speaker 1: sending in your question on Kwave.com.
Speaker 1: Next up, uh, how about Katy? Katy's question about everything
Speaker 1: going on in the Middle East right now. People believe
Speaker 1: that the end times are getting closer. Will my children,
Speaker 1: ages 2 and 4, be raptured with everyone else who
Speaker 1: believes that Jesus died for them, or will they be
Speaker 1: left behind? Bill?
Speaker 1: Great question. And, and I'm glad you're studying uh end
Speaker 1: times because I believe we're living in the end times.
Speaker 1: And uh I don't know, I don't know why I
Speaker 1: think about that uh that quote from uh Pirates of
Speaker 1: the Caribbean, where the, the girl says something about, I
Speaker 1: don't believe in ghost stories, and uh the villain uh, says,
Speaker 1: well you best be believing in them because you're uh
Speaker 1: you best be believing in ghost stories cause you're in one.
Speaker 1: And we are in the last days. We are in
Speaker 1: the end times, so yes, study the, the prophetic, uh,
Speaker 1: the scriptures on on on the prophetic uh aspect of,
Speaker 1: of our faith, but I, I believe we're, I believe, man,
Speaker 1: we're so close right now, when you see the the
Speaker 1: nations lined up right now against Israel, and it's been,
Speaker 1: but it's been like that for a long time, a
Speaker 1: number of those those uh uh would you say perennial
Speaker 1: enemies of of Israel are are still aimed at them.
Speaker 1: A couple of them seem to just recently.
Speaker 1: Dialed back to say, um, not that they've, you know,
Speaker 1: come on, on board with Israel, but they're at least
Speaker 1: thankful that uh a regime is possibly about to be
Speaker 1: toppled in Iran, but um.
Speaker 1: Yeah, dig in. I, we're just what we're talking about
Speaker 1: with the, the last, uh, the last question. It's a
Speaker 1: it's a huge part of our faith. It's the blessed
Speaker 1: hope that Jesus will return for his church and, and
Speaker 1: the world will once and for all be balanced, the
Speaker 1: new heaven, the new earth, the new Jerusalem, and the
Speaker 1: new you, Phil.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and, and I know our time is coming to
Speaker 1: the commercial, Brian, if it gets there, I won't hear
Speaker 1: music just a little, uh, no there, so I don't, uh, ramble, ramble.
Speaker 1: The question 2 and 4 year olds, will they be raptured? Yeah, I,
Speaker 1: I mean, a 2 and 4 year old, we're gonna
Speaker 1: say are in that category of children who are not
Speaker 1: going to be held accountable at that, you know.
Speaker 1: Generally speaking, to like, you know, have you prayed this prayer?
Speaker 1: Have you done this? I, I, I, I think we're
Speaker 1: talking about kids that are still under their parents and under,
Speaker 1: under that. So I wouldn't be worrying like, oh my gosh, if,
Speaker 1: if the rapture happens, what's gonna happen to my kids?
Speaker 1: God loves your kids even more than you do. And
Speaker 1: so it's hard to imagine that he's got them, he'll
Speaker 1: take care of them.
Speaker 1: Amen. Katie. Thank you for sending in your question online.
Speaker 1: We're going to go to a break now and we'll
Speaker 1: be back with more of your questions. What would you
Speaker 1: like to ask Bill Welsh and Phil Metzger? They're gonna
Speaker 1: be in the studio for about another 30 minutes. 888-564-6173
Speaker 1: is the number to call, 888-564-6173. If you're watching on Facebook, YouTube,
Speaker 1: or Instagram, the number's right there on the bottom of
Speaker 1: your screen, so pick up your phone and call us up, 888-564-6173.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to Pastor's Perspective. 888-564-6173 is our number today.
Speaker 1: My name is Brian Perez. We've got about 25 more
Speaker 1: minutes to go, and we would love to chat with you.
Speaker 1: 888-564-6173 is the number. Answering your questions today. We've got
Speaker 1: Bill Welsh, a pastor at Refuge Calvary Chapel in Huntington Beach,
Speaker 1: or Pastor A.
Speaker 1: Maybe I should say that. Pastor, is it Emeritus or Emeritus?
Speaker 1: however you spell it, I still don't know what it is.
Speaker 1: It's Emeritus, yes, and, uh, Phil Metzger is here too.
Speaker 1: He's the pastor of Calvary San Diego, Doctor Phil, and, uh,
Speaker 1: he's there by his bookshelf. Look at all those books
Speaker 1: that he's read. My goodness, impressive. Talk about, uh, loving
Speaker 1: the Lord your God with all your mind.
Speaker 1: Is that wallpaper? No, no, it's it's a real book.
Speaker 1: It's fake, guys. No, no, no. Oh no, I'm a,
Speaker 1: I'm a like, guys, I'm a nerd. I'm a book fanatic.
Speaker 1: I love it, and, uh, yeah, there you go. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Books are awesome. All right, 888-564-6173 is our number. Here's
Speaker 1: another one that was sent in online, and then we'll
Speaker 1: go to the phones with Pedro, you'll be up next.
Speaker 1: Claudia wants to know. Uh, she says, first of all,
Speaker 1: I am not defending Judas, but
Speaker 1: Jesus's birth, death, and resurrection were written in the scriptures.
Speaker 1: Was was Judas's betrayal also written? Was Judas destined to
Speaker 1: be the one who would betray Jesus? Can you give
Speaker 1: me scriptures that can put my mind at ease with
Speaker 1: these questions, Phil?
Speaker 1: Yeah, sorry, I was on muting again. Apologies. Um, I
Speaker 1: love that she prefaced that like, I'm not defending Judas. Yes,
Speaker 1: you are no, I'm just kidding. Uh, you're not. Um, yeah,
Speaker 1: the Bible does talk about, uh, Judas's betrayal. Um, in
Speaker 1: Zachariah chapter 11, we, we read about them paying 30
Speaker 1: pieces of silver, and Judas was a part of that.
Speaker 1: And so Zachariah chapter 11 verses 12 and 13 speak
Speaker 1: to that, um.
Speaker 1: So yeah, it is. And also there's a, there's an
Speaker 1: interesting verse in Psalm 41, where Jesus says, even my friend,
Speaker 1: the one I trusted, who shared my food has turned
Speaker 1: against me. And so, uh, you know, there's a couple
Speaker 1: of verses that really clearly describe that there was going
Speaker 1: to be this betrayal, and there's others, by the way,
Speaker 1: I'm just grabbing those too. So, good question. Yes, Judas's
Speaker 1: betrayal is in the scriptures. But
Speaker 1: But does it call Judas by name, or is it
Speaker 1: more of a there's going to be someone in the
Speaker 1: future who is going to be a friend, etc. and
Speaker 1: then this guy happened to fit the mold and so
Speaker 1: it's like, OK, it's gonna be him or maybe I
Speaker 1: don't know, again, this is a question that was sent in,
Speaker 1: so we can't ask a follow up, but yeah, OK, yeah,
Speaker 1: that's really good. You're right. It's not by name, but
Speaker 1: what you do, so.
Speaker 1: So how do we figure out if he fits the mold,
Speaker 1: is that you look at all the different things that
Speaker 1: the Bible says about that person, and then if, if
Speaker 1: he's done one of them, you go, Oh, well, maybe
Speaker 1: that's him, maybe not, right? This is the dilemma people
Speaker 1: are having with anti-Christ, right? There's been plenty of people
Speaker 1: who fit the bill, but they haven't fit all of
Speaker 1: the bill. They haven't met all of the criteria. And
Speaker 1: so Judas in Old Testament, um, uh, you know, in
Speaker 1: The New Testament, he fits the bill perfectly of all
Speaker 1: the different scriptures that talk about the betrayal of Jesus.
Speaker 1: And so therefore we know that he is that person
Speaker 1: that betrayed him. Yeah, that's a great, that's a great point.
Speaker 1: He's not named by name. It doesn't say Judas, but
Speaker 1: he does fit everything that is described about the one
Speaker 1: that would betray Jesus. He exactly to the T, he
Speaker 1: fits that bill. And Bill, do you fit the bill?
Speaker 1: Hopefully not that bill.
Speaker 1: But, um, he's Jesus, in a sense, he prophesized Judas
Speaker 1: betrayal at the Last Supper. He doesn't call out his name,
Speaker 1: but when he's asked, you know, who is it, he
Speaker 1: says it's the one that I, I'll give the bread to,
Speaker 1: and he gives that bread to Judas. So he points
Speaker 1: him out to his disciples that had the disciple that
Speaker 1: had asked the question, but not by name.
Speaker 1: And I guess you would have to say he knew
Speaker 1: all along, and yet he still invited him in to his, uh,
Speaker 1: his inner circle. Claudia, thank you for sending in your
Speaker 1: question online. Now we're gonna go to the phones. Here
Speaker 1: is Pedro in Pomona listening on FM 107.9 K wave. Hello, Pedro,
Speaker 1: what's your question for us today?
Speaker 1: Hey, how's it going, guys? Um, uh, I guess my
Speaker 1: question is, uh, so, um, I'm a new believer in, uh, Christ, um,
Speaker 1: I've been following Christ, uh, passionately for like the year,
Speaker 1: last year and a half, um, so, um, you know, I,
Speaker 1: I've been working as a nurse now for about 5 years, um, but.
Speaker 1: But my plan originally since I was like 5 years old,
Speaker 1: you know, all the way up until high school, I've
Speaker 1: always wanted to be a uh a police officer. So
Speaker 1: I've always had that desire to work in law enforcement
Speaker 1: and um ever since, um, you know, I, I gave
Speaker 1: my life to Christ and uh
Speaker 1: You know, even prior to Christ, you know, that, that,
Speaker 1: that drive to to seek a career in law enforcement
Speaker 1: always comes up and pretty much my question is I
Speaker 1: just want to know if, if that's something that I
Speaker 1: want to do or is that something that maybe God
Speaker 1: had implanted in me, uh.
Speaker 1: You know, to seek that type of career because, I mean,
Speaker 1: that's even, you know, before Christ, that just that since
Speaker 1: I was a kid, that's all, that's all I wanted
Speaker 1: to do. And even now, like me following Christ, me
Speaker 1: and my wife, we did a, a fast, you know,
Speaker 1: because I just want to make sure we did a
Speaker 1: 40 day fast just wanting to seek, you know, his approval, uh,
Speaker 1: seek his knowledge is, is this something that I want
Speaker 1: to do or is it something that he wants me
Speaker 1: to do? And I just.
Speaker 1: Um, I just want to know if that's, you know,
Speaker 1: if it's from, you know, God for me to do
Speaker 1: that or, or not. So Pedro, quick question before I
Speaker 1: bring Bill and Phil on, um, you decided to pursue nursing.
Speaker 1: Was that instead of law enforcement? I mean, you still
Speaker 1: have the desire to do law enforcement, but why did
Speaker 1: you go off into nursing instead of pursuing law enforcement?
Speaker 1: Um, you know, I, I did pursue nursing and, uh,
Speaker 1: when I was about 19 years old, um, you know,
Speaker 1: I did get married very young and, um, I, it's
Speaker 1: something that my mom did, um, and I honestly, I
Speaker 1: felt like it was just something that I needed. I
Speaker 1: wanted to do something quick to, um, to support my family.
Speaker 1: My wife was, yeah, she was pregnant at the time
Speaker 1: with my son, and I was like, I need to
Speaker 1: do something to um support my uh my my new
Speaker 1: wife and my and my son. Yeah, for sure. Bill,
Speaker 1: what do you say to Pedro? I think you've, uh,
Speaker 1: I think choosing a very noble profession and a tough profession,
Speaker 1: especially in the, um, the cultural climate that we're in
Speaker 1: right now. Um, Paul talked about that in Romans chapter 13.
Speaker 1: I'll I'll, I'll bet you anything you probably have already
Speaker 1: read that, haven't you, Pedro?
Speaker 1: Where he he talked about those that are in authority
Speaker 1: are placed there by God and, and you're in a sense, uh,
Speaker 1: really a, a servant of God who is laboring for
Speaker 1: peace in in a troubled world. So I think it's
Speaker 1: a wonderful, uh, noble thing to to pursue that and
Speaker 1: how would you test it? Um, I, I think you're
Speaker 1: doing it right now by by calling and asking some advice,
Speaker 1: and I'm sure you've prayed this through and just ask
Speaker 1: God confirm it, Lord, I.
Speaker 1: I don't want to waste time in my life. I
Speaker 1: want to go in the direction you've called me to
Speaker 1: go and in, um, oh, so many times in, uh,
Speaker 1: in my wife's in my life together, our our marriage,
Speaker 1: we have placed, um, um, possible situations and scenarios before God.
Speaker 1: Show us what you want us to do. I remember
Speaker 1: when I was living out in in the in desert
Speaker 1: hot springs and just praying, God, do you want me
Speaker 1: to pastor a church in this in this area? There'd
Speaker 1: been some requests and I said, I have to hear
Speaker 1: from God.
Speaker 1: And I just went alone and hiked up on the
Speaker 1: mountain above desert hot springs, sat down one afternoon and
Speaker 1: and prayed and just said, God, I just need to know. I, I,
Speaker 1: I don't want to waste time. I want to be
Speaker 1: right in line with you, and it'd be too long
Speaker 1: of a story to tell you how God just in
Speaker 1: without question, put the pin in the map for us
Speaker 1: in Desert Hot Springs in 1981.
Speaker 1: And that's where we served planning a a Calvary Chapel
Speaker 1: out there, but God will, he'll he'll speak to you
Speaker 1: in how many different avenues are there through which God
Speaker 1: can speak, you know, obviously through the word of God
Speaker 1: and and through friends that you, you trust and circumstances
Speaker 1: and just say, God, show me and lead me and
Speaker 1: rest in that rest in the fact that he will.
Speaker 1: Phil Metzger.
Speaker 1: I just think Pedro, you and your wife sound really awesome.
Speaker 1: You sound amazing. I mean, new believer, fasting for 40 days,
Speaker 1: waiting on God. Good Lord, this is awesome. This is like,
Speaker 1: you're asking the question, I really wanted this and does
Speaker 1: God really want that? Why can't it be a little
Speaker 1: of both, man? You know, it's something that's been in
Speaker 1: your heart since you were a kid. You, you're not,
Speaker 1: you're not in.
Speaker 1: You, you have to trust that if, if you're going
Speaker 1: down that path and you, you're believing and sensing it
Speaker 1: could be the Lord, and you just don't know, what you're,
Speaker 1: what you're going after isn't a sin issue. It's not
Speaker 1: like there's, it's like sinful, right? You're just trusting and
Speaker 1: believing maybe it's the Lord.
Speaker 1: Then trust that the Lord could show you if it's
Speaker 1: not his will, and you're, you're allowed to like go
Speaker 1: after these things, you know, it's a noble thing, as
Speaker 1: Bill said, I, it sounds like both of your professions,
Speaker 1: nursing and then police work. It sounds like you've got a, um,
Speaker 1: a real heart for service, public service. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: if your wife is on board and you feel like
Speaker 1: maybe God's leading you in that, then you can take
Speaker 1: steps forward. Again, I, I don't have a magic wand
Speaker 1: and it doesn't work like that, but
Speaker 1: How do I know God's will? I really would like
Speaker 1: to do something, and I'm, I'm seeking Him and nothing
Speaker 1: is telling me that it's a no, then keep moving
Speaker 1: forward and just trust God's in that stuff. I think
Speaker 1: so often we get confused about God's will. Like, does
Speaker 1: it mean I have to turn left or turn right?
Speaker 1: And if I was supposed to turn right, but I
Speaker 1: turn left, and the more I keep walking, I'm walking.
Speaker 1: Further and further away from that intersection where I was
Speaker 1: supposed to turn right and then we all freak out
Speaker 1: and we wonder, did I go the wrong way, you know,
Speaker 1: 40 years from now, Pedro might be calling in and wondering,
Speaker 1: what do I do? I didn't pursue what I wanted to,
Speaker 1: and I think I'm so outside of the will of God.
Speaker 1: Does he forgive me? Does he love me, etc. Of course, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1: And, and I would say in 40 years, um, don't
Speaker 1: be surprised if you don't have doubts like that, because
Speaker 1: you're gonna hit that point where you're like, oh man,
Speaker 1: most of my life is behind me. Did I choose
Speaker 1: well and we get all like in our headspace about
Speaker 1: that stuff. But, you know, God's bigger than that, and
Speaker 1: our lives are not consumed by the decades we have
Speaker 1: here on Earth. We're gonna be with the Lord forever.
Speaker 1: So let's say you, let's say you are 70 and
Speaker 1: you say, oh gosh, I, I, I, I, there's so
Speaker 1: much more I should have done. What about this and
Speaker 1: what about that?
Speaker 1: Dude, God is bigger than the thing that we could
Speaker 1: have done. Like, I, I can't mess up what God
Speaker 1: wants to accomplish. Seriously. We have to be like, sin
Speaker 1: can ruin that. But if I'm going after God and
Speaker 1: I'm just seeking the Lord, and I'm doing my best, I,
Speaker 1: I think we need to think of our lives more
Speaker 1: like a GPS sometimes with the Lord, where it's like,
Speaker 1: I take wrong turns all the time, and I repent
Speaker 1: of those, and God's super faithful to say, OK, then
Speaker 1: make a right turn at this point now. Let's, let's, let's,
Speaker 1: let's do that. It's no big deal. But I think
Speaker 1: as I get older,
Speaker 1: I do have those moments where I go, Oh man,
Speaker 1: what if I had turned left here? Would that have
Speaker 1: been a different path? And, and I think the devil
Speaker 1: can use some of that stuff to discourage us. The
Speaker 1: truth of the matter is that God loves you. He
Speaker 1: loves your family, and you don't have a bad choice
Speaker 1: in front of you right now. You follow God, you
Speaker 1: serve the Lord, you love your family, and you serve
Speaker 1: your community and what you feel called to. You're gonna
Speaker 1: finish your life and go to heaven and hear well done,
Speaker 1: good and faithful servant. I think, you know, that's gonna
Speaker 1: be worth it all. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Pedro, does this help you?
Speaker 1: Yeah, so much, thank you so much guys. I really,
Speaker 1: really appreciate you guys taking the time to, to, uh,
Speaker 1: to speak with me and give me some advice and, uh, yeah,
Speaker 1: thank you and uh I just wanted.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for the for the radio uh
Speaker 1: this radio station. I've been listening to it a lot
Speaker 1: when I go to work and when I come home
Speaker 1: from work and it's just, uh, you know, definitely watering
Speaker 1: me every single day and uh thank you guys so
Speaker 1: much for the advice. In advance, thank you for your service, Pedro. Yes, indeed,
Speaker 1: thanks for calling in today on Pastor's Perspective at 888-564-6173.
Speaker 1: Here's a question sent in from Audrey, wants to know,
Speaker 1: how do I know when a relationship I'm in needs
Speaker 1: to be over? He does not want to be married.
Speaker 1: He will not compromise about finding a job that will
Speaker 1: bring him closer to home. He's currently an on the
Speaker 1: road trucker. He's out on the road 4 to 6
Speaker 1: weeks at a time, only comes home for 4 days,
Speaker 1: then he's off again. Uh, there's no consistent communication with
Speaker 1: his son.
Speaker 1: Or with me he deflects he gas lights.
Speaker 1: So question one again, how do I know when a
Speaker 1: relationship needs to be over? Oh man. Oh, what's say
Speaker 1: you do we want to answer this? It sounds like
Speaker 1: it is. Yeah, that's a hard thing to say, right?
Speaker 1: That's a tough thing to say. And I, I'm sorry
Speaker 1: that we're saying that and it's, I think I wanted
Speaker 1: people to hear if this person had called in, I'd
Speaker 1: say the exact same thing first to say, I think
Speaker 1: this person already knows that it is over and, and
Speaker 1: if you need to hear us to say.
Speaker 1: Everything you just described points towards that, then I'll, I
Speaker 1: will second you on that. It certainly does. And I'm
Speaker 1: sorry for that, and I think that's awful and that's
Speaker 1: a huge bummer. Um, but you're asking the question like,
Speaker 1: is it over? And I, I have a feeling that
Speaker 1: you already know the answer to that, and that's a bummer.
Speaker 1: And I'd encourage you to, um,
Speaker 1: To to seek a circle of um of believers around
Speaker 1: your sisters getting around you and praying with you and
Speaker 1: praying for you to stay close to uh hopefully the
Speaker 1: church that you're involved in, but uh it, it could
Speaker 1: be a very, very rough road ahead for you in
Speaker 1: the very near future.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Audrey says that, uh, he has, uh, inconsistent communication
Speaker 1: with his son. I don't know if that's a son
Speaker 1: that you guys have together, but, um, again, Audrey's hoping
Speaker 1: for the best that they would get married someday, but
Speaker 1: all these red flags, it, it might get worse before
Speaker 1: it gets better, right? If he, if he's showing you
Speaker 1: this now, may not be an indication that he's gonna
Speaker 1: change it anytime soon. But what do I know?
Speaker 1: No, but you're right, Brian. When you, and when you
Speaker 1: add a kid into that, again, we don't know the age,
Speaker 1: we don't know if it's his or not, it wasn't
Speaker 1: really clear, but assuming it is and assuming that, I mean,
Speaker 1: just not alone, man. I, I, I feel for the
Speaker 1: writer because it's like, it's easy for me to say,
Speaker 1: I think the relationship's over, but it's not mine. To
Speaker 1: be in that and to have a kid together and all, I'm,
Speaker 1: I'm seriously, we're sorry for you in that situation and
Speaker 1: believe that, you know, God could still bring some healing
Speaker 1: in that, but you're right, it could get worse before
Speaker 1: it gets better. And that's tough. That's really hard.
Speaker 1: Audrey, thank you for calling in today on Pastor's Perspective.
Speaker 1: Luis also wrote in, he wants to know if it's
Speaker 1: OK to tithe to a Christian nonprofit organization, as I
Speaker 1: do not currently belong to a specific church. Bill, what
Speaker 1: do you say to Luis? Yes.
Speaker 1: It is OK. Yeah, it is OK. OK, Phil.
Speaker 1: Yeah, um, let me send you my information and you
Speaker 1: can start driving that. I'm just kidding.
Speaker 1: Sounds like Phil wants to profit from his nonprofit, uh, no,
Speaker 1: I'm joking, yeah, yeah, no, I mean, I think I
Speaker 1: agree with Bill on that. I'd also, I mean, I
Speaker 1: think we're all free well-beings and we can give and
Speaker 1: do as God leads us and shows us. I'd love
Speaker 1: to express to that person though that it'd be so
Speaker 1: good to get involved in the church. Forget the tithe
Speaker 1: part for a second. Let's cut that out a bit.
Speaker 1: Don't assume I'm talking about tithe, but I do want
Speaker 1: to say.
Speaker 1: It's a bummer that you're not like a part of
Speaker 1: a church. Um, and I'll say this because not only
Speaker 1: do you need the church, but I think that that
Speaker 1: local community also needs you. Uh, you know, here, here
Speaker 1: you are writing in to say, I have money that
Speaker 1: I want to give to a nonprofit. Like, I want
Speaker 1: to be a part of the kingdom work. I think
Speaker 1: that means that you're missing out on being a real
Speaker 1: support to a church, and that church would, you know, uh,
Speaker 1: I think you need to be in a home church
Speaker 1: as well. So give whoever you want, whatever, but get
Speaker 1: into a local church, man.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and we don't know why Luis isn't involved in
Speaker 1: a local church. Maybe he's new to the area, maybe
Speaker 1: he's afraid to try a church, maybe he's experienced church
Speaker 1: hurt in the past, but he knows that even though
Speaker 1: churches might let him down,
Speaker 1: Uh, I don't know. There's just so much here to
Speaker 1: this question, which is why we prefer to talk to
Speaker 1: you guys. Uh, we do have the opportunity for you
Speaker 1: to send in your questions online, but then we read
Speaker 1: your question and we're left with more questions. So call
Speaker 1: in when you can. We understand that sometimes you can't
Speaker 1: call in, but, um, if you're still looking for a church,
Speaker 1: I don't know if you've found one.
Speaker 1: Since you sent us this email, but you can go
Speaker 1: to Calvary Chapel.com. There's a church finder feature there, type
Speaker 1: in your zip code and something might pop up that
Speaker 1: says near you, and you can go visit that. So
Speaker 1: check that out at uh Calvary, yes, Calvary Chapel.com. Stanley
Speaker 1: in Huntington Beach, welcome to Pastor's Perspective.
Speaker 2: Hi, um, uh, I'm a Christian and I just wanna
Speaker 2: be your prospect, um,
Speaker 2: Yesterday my
Speaker 2: close cousin uh.
Speaker 2: He's a sergeant officer. He got killed in the freeway,
Speaker 2: tried to helping somebody else. Uh,
Speaker 1: I think I heard about this on the news.
Speaker 1: This was your cousin? Yeah, oh my gosh, so sorry, Stanley.
Speaker 2: But, but, uh, uh, the sad thing is famous is
Speaker 2: I tried to, uh, give just send a new, new
Speaker 2: message you couldn't use they never accept it, um.
Speaker 2: Uh, in the funeral, not funeral, in the hospital, my, uh, uh,
Speaker 2: his brother.
Speaker 2: His older brother, which is my, my young, among the, the,
Speaker 2: the cousin, I'm, I'm the older one.
Speaker 1: OK.
Speaker 2: And then there's another older one because we don't have
Speaker 2: uncle or my uncle's side only, only left to his father,
Speaker 2: but his father is the elderly home and his mother
Speaker 2: is in the home with dementia.
Speaker 2: so his youngest son, he's been taking care of mother
Speaker 2: and his uh wife, supposed to be wife. Uh, they've
Speaker 2: been taking care, and then two months ago I've been,
Speaker 2: I saw him, so I asked him, Did you married?
Speaker 2: Do you put the license in? He said he did,
Speaker 2: and he said he did. I don't know if they're
Speaker 2: real or not. And then yesterday, they, uh, his father
Speaker 2: and all all other.
Speaker 2: Uh, my auntie call because we on the upper level
Speaker 2: is only at the one my uncle who is at home,
Speaker 2: I tell him because of the shock and then, um, the,
Speaker 2: my auntie then they all ask me.
Speaker 2: Uh, who's gonna take care and do they get married?
Speaker 2: And they all want me to ask that question. I said,
Speaker 2: In that point, if she loved so much in her
Speaker 2: and she's been helping it, it's like she'll be the wife.
Speaker 2: Um,
Speaker 1: so you're wondering, so, so what's your actual question though, if, if,
Speaker 1: if he married, if he's married, or I, I, what,
Speaker 1: what is it that you're wondering?
Speaker 2: They want me to ask him.
Speaker 2: Are you married and who's taking the elderly mother?
Speaker 2: OK. And who's gonna take care of the body, you know,
Speaker 2: the house. And they have a 2 sons too.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, uh, somebody has to begin to answer the questions,
Speaker 1: the family questions there, and, uh, you know, Stanley, I don't,
Speaker 1: I don't know if it would be you or or
Speaker 1: who in the family, but somebody has to begin to
Speaker 1: make the phone calls or knock on the door and
Speaker 1: show compassion and stand alongside this woman, whether they were
Speaker 1: married or not, and
Speaker 1: And bring some comfort and introduce Jesus into this, uh, this,
Speaker 1: this whole tragedy. I, I, I love the the the
Speaker 1: psalm that says, uh, the Lord is close to those
Speaker 1: whose hearts are broken and so he's he's with you
Speaker 1: in this and with the family in this and, um,
Speaker 1: you just take step by step and ask the hard question.
Speaker 1: There isn't any way to do it and any easier
Speaker 1: way to do it but just pray and step into
Speaker 1: it and and bring a whole lot of compassion and um.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Now, the question that Stanley asked our screener, uh,
Speaker 1: it says that, uh, no one knows if they were
Speaker 1: actually married. The family wants me to ask the woman.
Speaker 1: They want Stanley to ask the woman if they were married.
Speaker 1: Stanley's wondering if he should, because it's more for financial
Speaker 1: reasons and like Stanley mentioned, taking care of elderly parents
Speaker 1: and things, so.
Speaker 1: Uh, Phil, uh, Stanley's wondering if he should do it.
Speaker 1: Is there a reason why he should not do it?
Speaker 1: I mean, not looking at it sounds like it sounds
Speaker 1: like the family elected him, right? Or or last man
Speaker 1: standing or whatever, but these are the bummer things that like,
Speaker 1: there's no way, there's no way to soften the blow
Speaker 1: that when someone dies, there's a lot of super uncomfortable, difficult,
Speaker 1: frustrating conversations that have to happen. This is one of them.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, you know, and here he is. Stanley's,
Speaker 1: you know, obviously, as he's sharing with us, he's grieving
Speaker 1: for very good reason. Within 24 hours they're already having
Speaker 1: this conversation, so I totally get it, and that's a
Speaker 1: real bummer. Um, love to offer a quick prayer for
Speaker 1: Stanley and his family, and, um, and obviously for this
Speaker 1: officer who was killed and for those grieving. Um, so yeah,
Speaker 1: let me just pray, but I think Stanley, honestly, like
Speaker 1: my gut tells me, and I'm just, I was praying
Speaker 1: and saying, Lord, like, how do you help somebody in
Speaker 1: this situation?
Speaker 1: You just have to step into some really hard things
Speaker 1: right now. That's the reality. There's no way around that.
Speaker 1: It's a hard time. Somebody's gonna step into some hard things.
Speaker 1: You're at least open to calling a bunch of pastors
Speaker 1: to talk about it. So good on you for that.
Speaker 1: Trust that the Lord will give you grace to step
Speaker 1: into the difficult things. Be kind, be thoughtful, don't be selfish,
Speaker 1: be considerate, and I think the Lord will use you.
Speaker 1: So yeah, maybe I can just offer a prayer for
Speaker 1: him and the family and.
Speaker 1: Lord, we're grieved to hear about this LA sergeant who
Speaker 1: was killed and, um, the family and just the whole situation.
Speaker 1: I pray for Stanley that you would use him to
Speaker 1: be a peacemaker, Lord, in moments that are just, they're
Speaker 1: so grievous, they're so sad, and, um, there's nothing that
Speaker 1: can like just, it just wrecks us so much at
Speaker 1: at this kind of a death, and bless him and
Speaker 1: help him and use this.
Speaker 1: Situation as hard and as difficult and as sad as
Speaker 1: it is, that you would bring your the light of
Speaker 1: your love into this family in a new and a
Speaker 1: fresh way, even as they grieve that you'd be super
Speaker 1: present in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Stan Lee, thank
Speaker 1: you for calling us today on Pastor's Perspective. Got time
Speaker 1: for one more question sent in online. Regina recently saw
Speaker 1: a video about the world being flat.
Speaker 1: The person who was talking was giving scriptures to back
Speaker 1: up their claim. In the Bible, the firmament refers to
Speaker 1: the expanse or vault of the sky separating the waters
Speaker 1: above from the waters below. I would like to know
Speaker 1: the pastor's perspective on this because it's in the Bible,
Speaker 1: and now I'm second guessing if what I've learned about
Speaker 1: space was not even true. Phil, let's say you, I'm
Speaker 1: sure one of your books back there is about the
Speaker 1: flat Earth, right?
Speaker 1: Yeah, right. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I, let me just
Speaker 1: start with like, this is like a cultural phenomenon where
Speaker 1: the internet, and I'm not blaming the internet, but like the,
Speaker 1: it's interesting that in 2025, there's a larger percentage of
Speaker 1: people actually believing that the earth is flat than there
Speaker 1: was before. You'd say, well, that's because we have more evidence. Actually,
Speaker 1: we have less and less evidence for a flat earth.
Speaker 1: I mean, just like unbelievably less evidence. Not only that,
Speaker 1: so like that's like just scientifically, there's no evidence for
Speaker 1: a flat earth.
Speaker 1: Scripturally, you, you can take any verse to make it
Speaker 1: say whatever you want to say, but the truth is,
Speaker 1: the Bible does not say that. In fact, there are
Speaker 1: other passages talking about the currents and so on, and
Speaker 1: there's no current without the world being round. It wouldn't,
Speaker 1: it just wouldn't happen that way. It's not possible. It's
Speaker 1: like scientifically, it's physically impossible. So the idea that, um,
Speaker 1: you know, a couple verses, please don't let that confuse you,
Speaker 1: don't let that throw you off. No, the world is
Speaker 1: not flat.
Speaker 1: Again, let me just be clear, this is not some
Speaker 1: like Christian like I'm not gonna hang my hat on
Speaker 1: this like as a Christian thing, but the Bible does
Speaker 1: not indicate a flat earth. Scientifically there's not a flat earth,
Speaker 1: so I'm not a flat earther.
Speaker 1: All right, very good. Phil Metzger, thank you for being
Speaker 1: on Pastor's perspective today. How can people find out more
Speaker 1: about Calvary San Diego?
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, we, um, our website, CalvarySD.com, also Instagram. We're,
Speaker 1: we're we were probably more on Instagram than the interwebs,
Speaker 1: but Calvary SD.
Speaker 1: And uh yeah, love to love to see people in
Speaker 1: our area. If you're listening, come on down. All right.
Speaker 1: And Bill is one of the pastors at Refuge Calvary
Speaker 1: Chapel in Huntington Beach. If you're listening right now on
Speaker 1: Tuesday afternoon on Kwave, uh, in about half an hour,
Speaker 1: Bill is gonna be live on Refuge Radio. It's Tuesday.
Speaker 1: Bill does refuge radio live on Tuesday, so that'll be
Speaker 1: going on here at 4:30. Bill, you ready for us
Speaker 1: at 4:30? Yeah, and Phil's gonna be my special guest. Oh, perfect. Phil,
Speaker 1: don't go anywhere.
Speaker 1: All right guys, we'll talk to you tomorrow. Today's episode
Speaker 1: will soon be archived on Facebook, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening and watching Pastor's perspective.