As you're well aware,
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we're living in
unprecedented times.
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Join us now for
today's special program.
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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I want to spend my life
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Removing pain
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Lord, let my words
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Heal a heart that hurts
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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Hello
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and welcome to
another 3ABN Today Bible Q&A.
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We're so glad that
you have joined us.
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You know, we look
forward each week to spending
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this special time with you.
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And we know you
love Bible study.
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I know we do here at 3ABN,
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and it's just a
blessing to open the Word of God
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and find the truths
that are just hidden.
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It's like a treasure chest.
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And we just
want to say thank you
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for your participation too.
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We've just been
flooded, this is a good problem,
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with your
questions and comments.
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So if you've never submitted
a question to this program,
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we want to
encourage you to do that.
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And this is how you can do it.
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Several ways you can
text us at (618) 228-3975,
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(618) 228-3975
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or you can always email us
your questions or comments.
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And that is BibleQA@3abn.TV
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That's BibleQA@3abn.TV
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And it's just
great because we know
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that you're interested
in studying the Word of God,
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and just thank you for
sending us your questions.
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I knew there's
one thing I forgot,
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and that is Instagram.
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We have some people
that are submitting questions
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via Instagram.
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And you can do
that at 3abn_official.
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So that's 3abn_official
and ask through Instagram.
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We're getting a
few more questions
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via that way.
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But, you know, we just want
to encourage you to look 3ABN
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upon many
different social media sites.
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We're on Facebook and Twitter
and, of course, Instagram,
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things like that, but thank you
so much again for your prayers
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and financial support
for the Ministry of 3ABN.
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I love flashlights and I
have this really cool one
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that I bought on Amazon.
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And it's got like
this massive battery pack,
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to me, it's pretty
massive and it goes on my head.
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I probably look kind of weird,
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but I got these like
bands that go around,
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and this battery on the back
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and this giant
light in the front.
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And we bought it
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because our cat tends to
not want to come in at night
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and she likes to
hide way out in the field.
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And so I've got this beam.
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I mean, it's like a locomotive.
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I mean, I'm pretty
proud of this thing, right?
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So I could just...
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Yeah, all right, Pastor Ryan.
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So I got these
like different options.
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I can click it to
like the brightest beam.
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I mean, it seems
like it goes for miles.
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Of course, it doesn't, but
it's a long ways out there.
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And I can just say Pebbles.
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I don't know why she does it.
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Every time she does
it, she turns her head
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and I can see
her two little eyes
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way out there in the
field reflecting the light.
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When I am thinking
about the Word of God, right,
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Psalm 119:105 talks
about God's Word being a lamp
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unto our feet and a
light unto our path.
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So, wow, that's powerful.
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God's Word is great, right?
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But it's a light to our path.
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And so today we're hoping
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to get through maybe 15,
16, 17 of your questions,
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and we want God's Word,
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the light to shine on
our path through His Word.
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So my name is Greg Morikone.
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I've got sitting next to
me, my beautiful wife, Jill,
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so good to have
you on today's program.
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Thank you, sweetheart.
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I love opening
up the Word of God,
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love doing programming with you,
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I love sharing with
you at home as well.
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Oh, yeah, it's fun
opening the Word of God.
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Jill enjoy
studying the Word of God
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as each person does here.
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Pastor Ryan, good to
have you on here, brother.
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Amen.
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It's always a
blessing to be a part
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of this wonderful program.
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And I like flashlights, too.
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Brother, that's great.
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Another thing we have in common.
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That's awesome.
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Yes. Okay.
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Pastor James, good
to have you on too.
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Relatively, new
participant to Bible Q&A.
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Yeah.
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But good to have
you on this program.
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What a blessing.
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Amen. Amen.
Getting the hang of it.
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And I need to
get some flashlights.
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Yeah, okay.
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All right.
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Pastor Ryan, maybe we
should actually donate
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some of ours to him.
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Yeah.
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I think we have enough.
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We can share some.
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Kind of a quick
format. Isn't it?
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Two minutes, three minutes.
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Very fast.
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Yeah. Yeah.
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Goes by in hurry.
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Yeah, we're getting hang of it.
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We're getting
the hang of it too.
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Right.
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Gradually.
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So why does the Word of
God mean something to you,
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Pastor James, 'cause I
know that it's been your life
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since you were converted,
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but you've studied
the Bible for years.
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Why does it mean
something to you?
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It's changed my life.
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I can't even imagine
where I'd be right now
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without the Word of God.
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And to be honest with
you, when I first got a Bible,
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my mom sent it to me
she said King James only,
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I could not
understand it whatsoever.
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You know, I was raised Catholic,
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only knew the Lord's Prayer.
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And I started
reading the gospel of John.
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By the time at the end
of the chapter I thought,
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"This is for the priest
like I can't understand it."
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So it was a miracle for
the Holy Spirit to come in.
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And for those of our viewers
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who may be struggle
with understand the Bible,
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we're new to it.
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God works the miracles
through His Holy Spirit.
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That's the
inspiration of the Bible,
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He works in miracle to change
our ability to understand it,
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and it'll change our lives.
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I like that
because there's someone
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maybe today that's viewing like,
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"Oh, this Bible
it is complicated.
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I have so many questions,
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you know, there
wouldn't be enough time
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to answer them all,"
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but in other
words, you didn't give up,
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hard to
understand, just kept reading.
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It was hard.
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It was painful, but I just said,
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"No, I got to get this."
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Praise God.
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Wow.
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Amen. That's great.
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Well, before we go
into the first question,
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Pastor James,
why don't you open us
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with a Word of Prayer, please?
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Thank you.
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Father in heaven, we
just want to thank You again,
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for this opportunity
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for our viewers, and
for us to study Your Word.
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And I've just been
blessed by the perspectives
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that others bring to
some of these questions.
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And they always are unique
to who we are in our life,
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our situation, and
they help us to recognize
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that Your words are living,
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breathing Word
that pours life into us
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as we studied as we search
it, as we seek to understand it.
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So draw us to you
through your spirit,
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the inspiration
of the Word of God,
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and guide each one
of our viewers we pray,
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in Jesus' name, amen.
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Amen.
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Thank you so very much.
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Pastor Ryan, I'm
gonna start with you.
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Sure.
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This is a good question.
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And it comes from Lily.
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She says, "I work
at a mining company
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and we work on Saturdays.
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I feel guilty
going to work on Sabbath,
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but I'm still working
while looking for another job.
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My question is this.
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If I give all my pay
rates for each Saturday
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that I work as
an offering to God,
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is it okay to
keep working on Sabbath
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when I'm on a shift?"
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Good question.
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That is a great question, Lily.
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And I can relate to that.
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Because I once had a job
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way back in the
day and of all times,
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the Lord wanted to
reveal the Sabbath truth to me,
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it was during the time
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when I was the only
one working in my family
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and trying to bring money
in and put food on the table
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for my family
during a time of hardship.
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And I had to make a decision
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because I was so
convicted as you were.
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And so I want to be
very direct in this answer.
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God does know your
heart, but at the same time,
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God knows what we know
and what we don't know.
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And James 4:17 reminds us
that he that knows to do good
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and does it not
to him it is sin.
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And so I want to encourage
you to trust in the Lord.
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If you know the
truth about the Sabbath,
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you feel guilty
because the Holy Spirit's
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convicting you trust in God,
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many times that
new job won't come
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until you step out
in faith and say, "Okay,
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God, I'm gonna trust You."
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That's what I had to do.
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I finally had to go up and
turn in my badge and my uniform
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and say, "I
can't do this anymore."
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I put the ball in God's court.
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I said, "Lord, You've
asked me to trust in You.
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You've told me to
believe in Your Word,
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and to obey You at all costs.
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Lord, You find me a job.
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Within two weeks, I
had a higher paying job,
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better hours,
every Sabbath off."
00:08:05.85\00:08:07.95
So that being said,
let's get to the Bible on this
00:08:07.98\00:08:09.68
'cause I have
already wasted a minute
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of this time doing
this, but Proverbs Chapter,
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not waste, but still my
time, pray for that clock.
00:08:13.32\00:08:16.39
Proverbs 3:5-6,
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"Trust in the Lord
God with all your heart,
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lean not on your
own understanding,
00:08:19.86\00:08:22.10
in all your ways."
00:08:22.13\00:08:23.47
That's important.
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"In all your
ways acknowledge Him,
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and He will direct your path."
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Go read Deuteronomy 28:1-2
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talks about the
beautiful blessings
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that God will pour out
on you if you obey Him,
00:08:32.37\00:08:34.64
but when you get
down to verse 15,
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it talks about all these curses.
00:08:36.41\00:08:37.95
And if you read Deuteronomy
28, I encourage you to read it.
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When we obey God,
God blesses us abundantly
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but when we
choose not to obey God,
00:08:43.28\00:08:45.15
we know the truth, and
we choose not to obey God.
00:08:45.19\00:08:48.06
Verse 15, and
onward is the result
00:08:48.09\00:08:50.63
of pushing God away
and not obeying Him.
00:08:50.66\00:08:52.83
It's because the
enemy now has access to us
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because we have
forsaken God's will.
00:08:54.83\00:08:58.00
Also, it's a love issue.
00:08:58.03\00:08:59.37
John 14:15.
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Jesus says if you love
Me, keep My commandments.
00:09:00.77\00:09:02.74
And you know, it's a test.
00:09:02.77\00:09:04.21
This is a test for you, Lily,
00:09:04.24\00:09:05.87
it was a test for
Israel in Exodus 16,
00:09:05.91\00:09:07.94
the test of the Sabbath,
00:09:07.98\00:09:09.31
we often have to
go through this test.
00:09:09.34\00:09:10.98
And so just pray to
God and ask our Lord,
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"Give me faith and
help me step out in faith."
00:09:13.42\00:09:16.22
Quit that job if you have to,
00:09:16.25\00:09:18.32
and say, "Lord, this is on you.
00:09:18.35\00:09:19.69
I want to be obedient to you."
00:09:19.72\00:09:21.06
And you know what, the
Lord will open the door
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if your heart is sincere.
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Amen.
00:09:24.23\00:09:25.56
Wow, thank you for the
answer from the Word of God,
00:09:25.59\00:09:26.93
but also for sharing
part of your testimony.
00:09:26.96\00:09:28.46
That's powerful.
00:09:28.50\00:09:30.07
Jill, this doesn't
say where it's from,
00:09:30.10\00:09:32.37
but a great question.
00:09:32.40\00:09:33.74
"I was listening
to a presentation
00:09:33.77\00:09:35.27
by Pastor Steve
and Tammy Conway,
00:09:35.30\00:09:38.04
very informative.
00:09:38.07\00:09:39.41
I've been
married for 29 years now
00:09:39.44\00:09:41.21
and my mother-in-law
Adventist, by the way,
00:09:41.24\00:09:44.08
doesn't like me at all.
00:09:44.11\00:09:46.01
She has told me
straight in my face
00:09:46.05\00:09:48.45
that she hates me."
00:09:48.48\00:09:49.82
Oh, that's strong.
00:09:49.85\00:09:51.19
"Is it a sin for me to
step back and live my life
00:09:51.22\00:09:53.76
and have nothing to do with her?
00:09:53.79\00:09:55.59
She has caused so much
pain in my life and sadly
00:09:55.62\00:09:58.73
it has affected my
children in a very big way.
00:09:58.76\00:10:01.86
I want to go to heaven."
00:10:01.90\00:10:03.23
Wow, thank you
for that question.
00:10:03.26\00:10:04.73
So, my sister, I
don't know your name,
00:10:04.77\00:10:06.20
but now that the Lord
Jesus knows you and loves you
00:10:06.23\00:10:08.80
and we'll be praying for you
in the midst of this situation,
00:10:08.84\00:10:11.54
but the thing
that I want to give you
00:10:11.57\00:10:12.91
is two words.
00:10:12.94\00:10:14.28
One word is forgiveness.
00:10:14.31\00:10:15.74
The other word
is reconciliation.
00:10:15.78\00:10:17.98
You see, forgiveness
only requires one person
00:10:18.01\00:10:20.42
to extend it.
00:10:20.45\00:10:21.78
Reconciliation takes two people.
00:10:21.82\00:10:24.25
Forgiveness does not mean
00:10:24.29\00:10:25.65
that we
automatically trust again
00:10:25.69\00:10:27.46
or lead a person into our life
00:10:27.49\00:10:29.99
but reconciliation means
healing in a relationship.
00:10:30.03\00:10:34.13
Forgiveness is
essential for salvation.
00:10:34.16\00:10:37.30
Reconciliation is not
00:10:37.33\00:10:38.70
because we cannot
force the other person.
00:10:38.73\00:10:40.94
Now forgiveness is biblical,
00:10:40.97\00:10:42.30
our salvation
is dependent on it.
00:10:42.34\00:10:44.64
1 John 1:9, "If
we confess our sins,
00:10:44.67\00:10:46.68
He is faithful
and just to forgive us
00:10:46.71\00:10:48.54
and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness."
00:10:48.58\00:10:50.95
So we need to go to God
and ask for forgiveness.
00:10:50.98\00:10:53.52
Matthew 6 is
probably one of the Scriptures
00:10:53.55\00:10:55.78
you're
referencing verses 14 and 15.
00:10:55.82\00:10:58.45
Part of the Sermon on the Mount.
00:10:58.49\00:10:59.82
Jesus says, "If
you forgive others,
00:10:59.85\00:11:01.42
then God will forgive you.
00:11:01.46\00:11:02.79
But if you don't forgive others,
00:11:02.82\00:11:04.33
then God will not forgive you."
00:11:04.36\00:11:07.50
And that is very clear
that it's very biblical.
00:11:07.53\00:11:09.60
God calls us, now we
can't conjure up forgiveness
00:11:09.63\00:11:14.67
in our own heart and life.
00:11:14.70\00:11:16.04
Forgiveness comes from God,
00:11:16.07\00:11:17.41
you can go to God and
ask Him for that forgiveness.
00:11:17.44\00:11:19.97
But let's touch
on reconciliation.
00:11:20.01\00:11:22.14
Reconciliation is also biblical.
00:11:22.18\00:11:23.85
2 Corinthians 5:18-19
says, "All things are of God,
00:11:23.88\00:11:27.68
who has reconciled us to Himself
00:11:27.72\00:11:29.72
through Jesus
Christ, and has given to us
00:11:29.75\00:11:32.55
the ministry of reconciliation."
00:11:32.59\00:11:35.12
You see sin when
Adam and Eve sinned,
00:11:35.16\00:11:37.19
there was this gap or
chasm between us and God.
00:11:37.23\00:11:41.16
And we were separated,
00:11:41.20\00:11:42.53
but Jesus came to
restore us to the Father.
00:11:42.56\00:11:45.80
Now was everyone
reconciled to God?
00:11:45.83\00:11:47.44
No, because everyone
has a choice to make.
00:11:47.47\00:11:50.31
Do they want to be reconciled?
00:11:50.34\00:11:51.67
So in this
situation, I don't know.
00:11:51.71\00:11:54.01
Does your mother-in-law
want to be reconciled?
00:11:54.04\00:11:55.91
Does she want to
heal that relationship?
00:11:55.94\00:11:58.45
That choice is on her.
00:11:58.48\00:12:00.55
Your job, your only job
is to extend forgiveness
00:12:00.58\00:12:04.05
and if God allow
God to work in her heart
00:12:04.09\00:12:08.52
to do that
reconciliation process.
00:12:08.56\00:12:10.83
Wow, thank you very much.
00:12:10.86\00:12:12.56
I love that
reconciliation, forgiveness.
00:12:12.59\00:12:14.36
Excellent.
00:12:14.40\00:12:15.73
Thank you so very much.
00:12:15.76\00:12:17.10
Pastor James, this is
another great question.
00:12:17.13\00:12:19.07
This comes from
Kimmy from Jamaica.
00:12:19.10\00:12:22.04
So thank you so
much for your question.
00:12:22.07\00:12:23.81
"Can a good person
00:12:23.84\00:12:25.17
that's an
unbeliever/atheist be saved?"
00:12:25.21\00:12:28.84
Great question.
00:12:28.88\00:12:30.21
This one is going to require
a little bit more time I think,
00:12:30.25\00:12:33.08
but there are three
scriptures I want to give,
00:12:33.11\00:12:34.68
three references I want to give
00:12:34.72\00:12:36.05
just in case we run out of time.
00:12:36.08\00:12:37.42
The first one is
in Romans chapter...
00:12:37.45\00:12:39.02
Actually, before we
give those references
00:12:39.05\00:12:40.42
let me just answer
the question simply, yes.
00:12:40.46\00:12:42.89
Questions is...
00:12:42.92\00:12:44.26
The answer to
that question is yes.
00:12:44.29\00:12:45.63
Okay?
00:12:45.66\00:12:47.00
So three
references I want to give
00:12:47.03\00:12:48.36
the first ones in Romans 2.
00:12:48.40\00:12:50.10
And we could go all
the way from verse 1
00:12:50.13\00:12:53.57
all the way through to verse 16.
00:12:53.60\00:12:55.97
And then the second
reference is going to be
00:12:56.00\00:12:57.71
in Zechariah 13:6-7.
00:12:57.74\00:13:00.41
And the third reference
is going to be Psalm 87.
00:13:00.44\00:13:03.55
All right, so those
are the three references.
00:13:03.58\00:13:04.91
Now the first one in
Romans 2 is really powerful.
00:13:04.95\00:13:08.08
Context, don't judge people.
00:13:08.12\00:13:10.05
So one of the things
that's really important for us
00:13:10.09\00:13:12.79
is to recognize
that God is judge,
00:13:12.82\00:13:14.42
Christ is judge.
00:13:14.46\00:13:15.79
It reminds me of a poem
that I memorized years ago,
00:13:15.82\00:13:17.59
"I dream death
came the other night.
00:13:17.63\00:13:19.29
And Heaven's gate swung wide
00:13:19.33\00:13:20.86
with kindly grace an
angel ushered me inside.
00:13:20.90\00:13:23.37
And there to my astonishment
00:13:23.40\00:13:24.97
stood folks I
had known on earth.
00:13:25.00\00:13:26.33
Some I judged and label,
Unfit or of little worth.
00:13:26.37\00:13:29.94
Indignant words came to my
lips but never were set free.
00:13:29.97\00:13:33.54
For every face
showed stung surprise.
00:13:33.58\00:13:36.54
No one expected me."
00:13:36.58\00:13:37.91
Right?
00:13:37.95\00:13:39.28
So we are as
Christians very quick to judge
00:13:39.31\00:13:42.58
who's going to be
saved, who's going to be lost.
00:13:42.62\00:13:44.02
And we need to
remember that in God's hands.
00:13:44.05\00:13:45.85
That's His
prerogative, it's not ours.
00:13:45.89\00:13:47.82
And then when the
context of Romans 2 tells us
00:13:47.86\00:13:52.03
that there are Jews
and there are Gentiles
00:13:52.06\00:13:54.70
who do what is right
and do what is wrong,
00:13:54.73\00:13:58.13
and the Jews do it
00:13:58.17\00:13:59.67
in the context
of knowing the law,
00:13:59.70\00:14:02.44
but the Gentiles do it
00:14:02.47\00:14:03.81
outside of the
context of knowing the law.
00:14:03.84\00:14:06.11
And God holds Jews accountable
to their knowledge of the law,
00:14:06.14\00:14:09.51
and He holds
Gentiles accountable
00:14:09.54\00:14:11.21
outside of the
knowledge of the law.
00:14:11.25\00:14:12.58
And if those Gentiles
do what the conscience says
00:14:12.61\00:14:14.92
is right to do,
they will be saved.
00:14:14.95\00:14:17.19
That's what
Romans 2 is telling us.
00:14:17.22\00:14:19.42
Now we're also
directed to Zechariah 13.
00:14:19.45\00:14:22.16
And these
verses are so powerful.
00:14:22.19\00:14:24.89
Again, for shortage of time,
00:14:24.93\00:14:26.26
I'm not going
to read the verses,
00:14:26.29\00:14:27.63
but Zechariah
13:6-7, basically tell us
00:14:27.66\00:14:30.00
that there are going
to be people in heaven,
00:14:30.03\00:14:32.17
who are going to
walk with Christ,
00:14:32.20\00:14:33.77
and then they're going to
ask Him as they look at Him,
00:14:33.80\00:14:35.34
they're going to ask
Him, they're going to say,
00:14:35.37\00:14:36.71
"What are those
wounds in Your hands?
00:14:36.74\00:14:38.51
What are those?"
00:14:38.54\00:14:39.87
And He's going to
say, "Those are the wounds
00:14:39.91\00:14:41.24
that I was wounded in
a house of my friends."
00:14:41.28\00:14:43.98
And of course, the
verse 7 tells us about
00:14:44.01\00:14:46.11
how the sword
awakened against the shepherd,
00:14:46.15\00:14:48.65
and the sheep are scattered.
00:14:48.68\00:14:50.02
It's His prophecy of
Christ and His crucifixion.
00:14:50.05\00:14:52.02
So they're going
to be people in heaven
00:14:52.05\00:14:53.59
who aren't going to know Jesus
00:14:53.62\00:14:54.96
or what He did,
He died for them,
00:14:54.99\00:14:57.13
and Jesus is going to explain
to them the plan of salvation.
00:14:57.16\00:15:00.23
And then Psalm 87 powerful,
basically the context of it
00:15:00.26\00:15:03.73
tells us, hey,
there's people in Philistia,
00:15:03.77\00:15:05.43
there's people in Ethiopia,
there's people in Israel,
00:15:05.47\00:15:08.60
there's people everywhere,
00:15:08.64\00:15:10.04
and God is going to
take into consideration
00:15:10.07\00:15:11.97
when He judges the
people, when He writes them up,
00:15:12.01\00:15:13.78
He's going to
take into consideration
00:15:13.81\00:15:15.34
where they were born.
00:15:15.38\00:15:16.71
Oh, this person
was born over here,
00:15:16.75\00:15:18.08
and that person
was born over there,
00:15:18.11\00:15:19.45
and that person
was born over there.
00:15:19.48\00:15:20.82
Here's their circumstance,
here's their situation.
00:15:20.85\00:15:23.22
And when God takes
that into consideration,
00:15:23.25\00:15:26.29
He writes up the
people according to the light
00:15:26.32\00:15:29.09
we have the situation
we're born in, etcetera.
00:15:29.12\00:15:31.56
So those are the
three basic scriptures
00:15:31.59\00:15:33.56
that I think would firm up
00:15:33.60\00:15:35.20
the answer and
the answer is yes.
00:15:35.23\00:15:36.67
There going to
be people in heaven,
00:15:36.70\00:15:38.03
you have an atheist whatever,
00:15:38.07\00:15:39.40
they lived up to
the light they knew,
00:15:39.43\00:15:40.77
they followed what
God gave them and...
00:15:40.80\00:15:42.80
Atheist would sense that
00:15:42.84\00:15:44.17
they haven't
rejected Christ, right?
00:15:44.21\00:15:45.54
Because I know
somebody is probably thinking,
00:15:45.57\00:15:47.04
"But what if they
downright rejected Christ?"
00:15:47.08\00:15:48.41
Obviously, that's...
00:15:48.44\00:15:49.78
And here's
another point real quick.
00:15:49.81\00:15:51.15
Some people are
rejecting the God
00:15:51.18\00:15:52.51
that isn't in the Bible.
00:15:52.55\00:15:54.22
Some people are rejecting
Jesus that isn't in the Bible.
00:15:54.25\00:15:56.99
God that burns
people for eternity
00:15:57.02\00:15:58.55
is not in the Bible,
the God of the Bible.
00:15:58.59\00:16:00.62
And some people
reject that and I say,
00:16:00.66\00:16:01.99
Praise God that you
rejected that picture of God.
00:16:02.02\00:16:03.49
That's not God at all.
00:16:03.53\00:16:04.86
That's good. Thank you.
00:16:04.89\00:16:06.23
Excellent answer. Yeah.
00:16:06.26\00:16:07.60
Praise the Lord.
00:16:07.63\00:16:08.96
Pastor Ryan, question
from Cindy lives in Alabama.
00:16:09.00\00:16:11.70
"Does the Father
come back with Jesus?"
00:16:11.73\00:16:14.20
Absolutely.
00:16:14.24\00:16:15.57
There's a quick and
simple answer to this question.
00:16:15.60\00:16:17.07
Okay.
00:16:17.11\00:16:18.44
I feel convicted just to go back
00:16:18.47\00:16:19.81
to that previous question.
00:16:19.84\00:16:21.18
Yeah. Please, Pastor Ryan.
00:16:21.21\00:16:22.54
Because Lily had asked,
00:16:22.58\00:16:23.91
is it okay if she gives
her offering as an offering
00:16:23.95\00:16:25.35
the stuff that she
earned on the Sabbath?
00:16:25.38\00:16:28.18
I just want to quickly
address that a little bit.
00:16:28.22\00:16:29.72
I hope you're still watching.
00:16:29.75\00:16:31.55
You know the answer to
that is absolutely not.
00:16:31.59\00:16:32.92
It's not like God's going
to say, "Oh, you know what,
00:16:32.95\00:16:34.52
I'll overlook
the fact that You're,
00:16:34.56\00:16:35.99
you know,
disobeying My commandments
00:16:36.02\00:16:37.36
and if You just give Me money."
00:16:37.39\00:16:38.73
That's not how God works.
00:16:38.76\00:16:40.10
Remember, giving
tithe and offering
00:16:40.13\00:16:41.56
is a form of worship.
00:16:41.60\00:16:42.93
And remember,
Jesus said in Mark 7,
00:16:42.96\00:16:46.10
He said, "In vain
they do worship me,
00:16:46.13\00:16:47.97
teaching for doctrines
the commandments of men."
00:16:48.00\00:16:49.97
You know, rejecting
the commandment of God
00:16:50.01\00:16:52.14
for their tradition.
00:16:52.17\00:16:53.51
So just wanted to highlight
that because obviously,
00:16:53.54\00:16:56.85
God does not
want just your money,
00:16:56.88\00:16:58.85
He wants you to
be fully committed.
00:16:58.88\00:17:00.38
I just wanted to
add that in there.
00:17:00.42\00:17:02.15
To answer this question,
though, pertaining to...
00:17:02.18\00:17:05.05
Yeah, does the
father come back with Jesus?
00:17:05.09\00:17:06.42
Does the father come back?
00:17:06.45\00:17:07.79
Very simply put,
Jesus told Caiaphas,
00:17:07.82\00:17:09.22
the high priest,
as he was on trial,
00:17:09.26\00:17:11.19
right before he
went to the cross.
00:17:11.23\00:17:13.03
They asked him,
you know, confirm,
00:17:13.06\00:17:15.13
are you really the Son of God?
00:17:15.16\00:17:16.50
And this is what he
said in Matthew 26:64,
00:17:16.53\00:17:18.83
he says, "It is as you say,
nonetheless, I say you to you,
00:17:18.87\00:17:24.11
here after you
will see the Son of Man
00:17:24.14\00:17:26.31
sitting at the
right hand of Power,
00:17:26.34\00:17:29.11
and coming on the
clouds of heaven."
00:17:29.14\00:17:30.88
So what is this
right hand of power
00:17:30.91\00:17:32.31
that he's sitting on?
00:17:32.35\00:17:33.68
I believe very clearly
00:17:33.72\00:17:35.05
that this is the
power of the Father,
00:17:35.08\00:17:36.42
we get this idea of
kind of a throne setting
00:17:36.45\00:17:39.12
because the Father has a throne.
00:17:39.15\00:17:40.56
And Jesus even
said in Revelation 3:21,
00:17:40.59\00:17:43.22
when He was giving his message
to the Church of Laodicea.
00:17:43.26\00:17:46.43
He said, "To him who overcomes
00:17:46.46\00:17:47.80
I will grant to sit
with Me on My throne,
00:17:47.83\00:17:49.63
as I have overcame and sat down
with My father on His throne."
00:17:49.66\00:17:53.70
The right hand of power.
00:17:53.74\00:17:55.40
But also, I look at
this from within the context
00:17:55.44\00:17:57.84
of the seventh seal
00:17:57.87\00:17:59.57
because when the seventh
seal is opened right there
00:17:59.61\00:18:01.34
in Revelation 8:1,
00:18:01.38\00:18:03.01
it says, "There was silence
in heaven for a half-hour."
00:18:03.04\00:18:05.71
Why is there silence
in heaven for a half-hour?
00:18:05.75\00:18:07.78
That comes also
within the context
00:18:07.82\00:18:09.35
what we find in the
previous final verses
00:18:09.38\00:18:12.19
of the sixth seal
found in Revelation 6,
00:18:12.22\00:18:15.32
where we see very clearly there
that it's within the context
00:18:15.36\00:18:17.73
of the Second Coming of Christ,
00:18:17.76\00:18:19.13
the reason why
there's silence in heaven
00:18:19.16\00:18:20.60
is 'cause there's no one there.
00:18:20.63\00:18:22.16
There's no one there
so I very much believe
00:18:22.20\00:18:24.20
that there's plenty of evidence
to show that when Jesus,
00:18:24.23\00:18:26.27
even though it's the
Second Coming of Jesus,
00:18:26.30\00:18:28.74
the Father will
very much be there
00:18:28.77\00:18:30.24
present with Jesus
when He comes back.
00:18:30.27\00:18:31.97
Amen.
00:18:32.01\00:18:33.34
Amen.
00:18:33.38\00:18:34.71
What a glorious day that'll be
look forward to Christ coming.
00:18:34.74\00:18:36.58
Amen.
00:18:36.61\00:18:37.98
Jill, this comes
from Rudy from Newcastle,
00:18:38.01\00:18:41.45
when Jesus comes,
talking about when Jesus comes.
00:18:41.48\00:18:43.49
"So when Jesus comes,
will you be saved even
00:18:43.52\00:18:45.99
if you have no crown
00:18:46.02\00:18:48.16
and you never
bring someone to Christ?"
00:18:48.19\00:18:51.19
It's a great, Rudy.
00:18:51.23\00:18:52.76
I would say,
winning people to Jesus,
00:18:52.79\00:18:54.36
the stars we have in our
crown, that doesn't save us,
00:18:54.40\00:18:57.33
but it is a natural
outgrowth that we are saved.
00:18:57.37\00:19:00.40
It's evidence that
we walk with Jesus,
00:19:00.44\00:19:03.24
I want to ask you a
question that sort of similar,
00:19:03.27\00:19:05.34
are we saved?
00:19:05.37\00:19:07.68
Are you saved by what we do,
or what he did, what saves us?
00:19:07.71\00:19:12.21
And I would say both.
00:19:12.25\00:19:14.98
I would say not
just what he did,
00:19:15.02\00:19:16.79
we are saved by
grace through faith
00:19:16.82\00:19:19.32
that not of ourselves.
00:19:19.35\00:19:20.69
It's the gift of
God not of works,
00:19:20.72\00:19:22.06
lest anyone should boast.
00:19:22.09\00:19:23.93
So grace is a
gift, faith is a gift,
00:19:23.96\00:19:26.26
salvation is a gift.
00:19:26.29\00:19:27.63
And if you follow
that along in Ephesians 2,
00:19:27.66\00:19:30.00
even the works are a
gift that He gives us.
00:19:30.03\00:19:35.67
But we are also
saved by what we do.
00:19:35.70\00:19:38.64
Meaning, we have to
reach out, we have to accept,
00:19:38.67\00:19:42.14
we have to ask for forgiveness.
00:19:42.18\00:19:44.11
And then as we
journey with Jesus,
00:19:44.15\00:19:47.65
He changes us by
the indwelling spirit.
00:19:47.68\00:19:50.49
If you read the Word
of God, you find evidence
00:19:50.52\00:19:53.05
that we are called
to be His witnesses.
00:19:53.09\00:19:55.86
We are called to shine for Him
all throughout the Word of God.
00:19:55.89\00:19:58.66
I love Matthew 5:16, it says,
00:19:58.69\00:20:00.76
"Let your light
so shine before men,
00:20:00.80\00:20:02.96
that they may
see your good works."
00:20:03.00\00:20:04.33
So you notice the
Bible doesn't say,
00:20:04.37\00:20:05.73
strive to shine.
00:20:05.77\00:20:07.40
I got to work at
winning stars in my crown.
00:20:07.44\00:20:09.37
I got to try harder.
00:20:09.40\00:20:10.87
No, it just says,
let your light shine.
00:20:10.91\00:20:15.11
We share Jesus by
sharing the Word of God
00:20:15.14\00:20:17.61
with other people.
00:20:17.65\00:20:18.98
We share Jesus by
sharing our personal testimony
00:20:19.01\00:20:23.05
that He led us out of darkness
into this marvelous light.
00:20:23.08\00:20:27.26
We share Jesus
simply by our example,
00:20:27.29\00:20:29.99
think about the
thief on the cross,
00:20:30.03\00:20:31.39
he did not have a
lot of time to witness
00:20:31.43\00:20:32.96
'cause he was dying
when he accepted Jesus.
00:20:32.99\00:20:37.50
And yet his example,
00:20:37.53\00:20:40.07
the words he said at
that moment had an influence
00:20:40.10\00:20:43.30
on those around the cross.
00:20:43.34\00:20:45.21
And that was in the
final moments of his life.
00:20:45.24\00:20:48.28
So don't worry about
who you're winning to Jesus.
00:20:48.31\00:20:51.51
Simply live for Jesus
and let him do the rest.
00:20:51.55\00:20:54.75
Amen.
00:20:54.78\00:20:56.12
Yeah. I love that.
00:20:56.15\00:20:57.49
Let your light shine.
00:20:57.52\00:20:58.85
Fantastic.
00:20:58.89\00:21:00.22
Praise the Lord.
00:21:00.26\00:21:01.59
Let's see, Pastor James.
00:21:01.62\00:21:03.46
Good question here, it says,
00:21:03.49\00:21:05.93
"The people met and worshiped
on Sunday recorded in Acts.
00:21:05.96\00:21:10.10
Can we worship on both
days, Saturday and Sunday?"
00:21:10.13\00:21:14.74
That is a good question.
00:21:14.77\00:21:16.50
And the answer to
that question is sure
00:21:16.54\00:21:17.87
you can worship
on Sunday and Tuesday
00:21:17.91\00:21:20.38
and Thursday and Wednesday,
00:21:20.41\00:21:21.88
you can worship
any day you want to.
00:21:21.91\00:21:23.55
But there is a distinction
when you get into the Bible
00:21:23.58\00:21:26.61
when it comes to
media and worship.
00:21:26.65\00:21:28.65
And the distinction is
this that there is nowhere
00:21:28.68\00:21:31.39
in the Old Testament
or the New Testament,
00:21:31.42\00:21:33.76
where God in any way
commands worship on Sunday.
00:21:33.79\00:21:37.99
The only day that God is blessed
00:21:38.03\00:21:39.79
in the Bible is the
Seventh-day Sabbath.
00:21:39.83\00:21:41.36
He blessed and
sanctified, He set it apart.
00:21:41.40\00:21:43.37
In fact, in Ezekiel
Chapter 8, God actually tells us
00:21:43.40\00:21:47.20
that we should not
be worshiping the sun,
00:21:47.24\00:21:49.77
He shows His
people in dark apostasy,
00:21:49.80\00:21:53.24
their backs towards the temple
00:21:53.27\00:21:54.84
and they're worshiping the sun.
00:21:54.88\00:21:57.05
So Sunday worship
actually comes from paganism.
00:21:57.08\00:22:00.82
And the paganistic
roots of Sunday worship
00:22:00.85\00:22:03.72
crept into the church,
00:22:03.75\00:22:05.65
post the Apostolic age,
00:22:05.69\00:22:07.79
through a compromise
that was taking place
00:22:07.82\00:22:09.89
with pagan Roman converts
who came into the church
00:22:09.92\00:22:13.93
and Sunday was their
day to worship the sun.
00:22:13.96\00:22:16.26
And there was a
compromise that took place.
00:22:16.30\00:22:18.17
When you get into
the post-resurrection
00:22:18.20\00:22:21.07
time of the early
church, what you find is,
00:22:21.10\00:22:23.64
is that the early church
00:22:23.67\00:22:25.44
are meeting
together every single day,
00:22:25.47\00:22:28.08
including Sunday,
they're breaking bread,
00:22:28.11\00:22:29.74
and they're just
talking about Christ.
00:22:29.78\00:22:31.45
They're talking
about the great things
00:22:31.48\00:22:32.81
that God is doing, but
you never find anywhere
00:22:32.85\00:22:35.22
that God blesses,
00:22:35.25\00:22:37.49
sanctifies or
transfers the day of worship,
00:22:37.52\00:22:40.62
from Sabbath to Sunday.
00:22:40.66\00:22:42.32
You don't find that
anywhere in the Bible.
00:22:42.36\00:22:43.89
So yeah, you can worship God,
00:22:43.93\00:22:45.26
you can meet
together any day of the week,
00:22:45.29\00:22:46.90
but there is one day
that God has sanctified,
00:22:46.93\00:22:49.66
blessed, and set aside.
00:22:49.70\00:22:51.03
And that day in
accordance with His Word,
00:22:51.07\00:22:53.47
His commandments, that day
is the Seventh-day Sabbath.
00:22:53.50\00:22:56.67
That is the
only day in the Bible
00:22:56.71\00:22:58.84
where God actually
commands us to worship.
00:22:58.87\00:23:00.88
Now in the end of time,
there's going to be a conflict
00:23:00.91\00:23:03.85
between specifically the Sunday
00:23:03.88\00:23:06.05
and the worship
the God has outlined
00:23:06.08\00:23:08.22
and we see that
conflict identified
00:23:08.25\00:23:10.22
in Revelation 13,
and Revelation 14.
00:23:10.25\00:23:12.72
So it's going to become a
conflict and at that time,
00:23:12.75\00:23:14.89
we need to be really careful
00:23:14.92\00:23:16.29
that we don't
actually substitute
00:23:16.32\00:23:19.23
the day that it
comes from the pagan roots
00:23:19.26\00:23:22.03
for the day
that is in the Bible.
00:23:22.06\00:23:23.73
Amen.
00:23:23.77\00:23:25.10
Thank you so much, Pastor James.
00:23:25.13\00:23:26.47
Great answer. Praise the Lord.
00:23:26.50\00:23:28.64
Pastor Ryan,
this comes from Donna,
00:23:28.67\00:23:31.34
and I want to
pronounce this accurately.
00:23:31.37\00:23:33.44
Loxahatchee, Florida.
00:23:33.48\00:23:36.41
Not so sure,
but you can tell me,
00:23:36.44\00:23:38.31
you can write us and let me know
00:23:38.35\00:23:39.68
if I pronounced that right.
00:23:39.71\00:23:41.05
Good question, though.
00:23:41.08\00:23:42.42
Thank you so much.
00:23:42.45\00:23:43.79
Can you tell me what 1
Corinthians 15:51 means?
00:23:43.82\00:23:47.66
Absolutely. Well, let's read it.
00:23:47.69\00:23:49.02
Okay.
00:23:49.06\00:23:50.39
This 1 Corinthians 15:51.
00:23:50.43\00:23:52.19
And we're actually
going to read beyond verse 51
00:23:52.23\00:23:54.33
because the
answer is given somewhat
00:23:54.36\00:23:56.70
in the following
verses if we allow to say.
00:23:56.73\00:24:00.24
So notice 1 Corinthians 15:51,
00:24:00.27\00:24:02.67
it says, "Behold,
I tell you a mystery.
00:24:02.70\00:24:05.04
We shall not all sleep,
but we shall all be changed."
00:24:05.07\00:24:08.74
Okay, so
obviously the sleep concept
00:24:08.78\00:24:11.81
here is in
connection with death.
00:24:11.85\00:24:13.68
We see right there in John 11,
00:24:13.72\00:24:15.25
where Jesus is talking
about the death of Lazarus,
00:24:15.28\00:24:17.15
he says, "You know
what, Lazarus is asleep,
00:24:17.19\00:24:19.05
that I'm gonna go and
I'm gonna wake him up."
00:24:19.09\00:24:20.76
And the
disciples said, "Hey, look,
00:24:20.79\00:24:22.26
Jesus, if he's taking a nap
00:24:22.29\00:24:23.63
why we're going to go
wake this brother up?"
00:24:23.66\00:24:24.99
Jesus like, "No."
00:24:25.03\00:24:26.83
He's dead.
00:24:26.86\00:24:28.20
In fact, it says, he plainly
says to them Lazarus is dead.
00:24:28.23\00:24:30.87
Speaking of his death as asleep.
00:24:30.90\00:24:32.53
Even Paul often uses
this even in 1 Thessalonians 4
00:24:32.57\00:24:35.94
there we see him talking about,
00:24:35.97\00:24:37.47
you know, "I would
not have you ignorant,
00:24:37.51\00:24:39.01
brethren, concerning the saints
00:24:39.04\00:24:40.38
who have fallen asleep."
00:24:40.41\00:24:41.74
So this sleep reference
here, we shall not all sleep.
00:24:41.78\00:24:43.61
What he's saying is,
we're not all going to die
00:24:43.65\00:24:45.91
because are there going to
be people alive on this earth
00:24:45.95\00:24:48.18
when Jesus returns?
00:24:48.22\00:24:49.55
Absolutely.
00:24:49.58\00:24:50.92
In fact, you're going to
find this within the context
00:24:50.95\00:24:52.29
of the Second Coming of Jesus.
00:24:52.32\00:24:53.66
Again, it says, "We
shall not all sleep,
00:24:53.69\00:24:55.12
but we shall all be changed."
00:24:55.16\00:24:56.73
What does that change mean?
00:24:56.76\00:24:58.09
Let's continue reading
00:24:58.13\00:24:59.46
because it gives
us an context here.
00:24:59.49\00:25:00.83
Verse 52, it says, "In a moment,
00:25:00.86\00:25:02.43
in the twinkling of an
eye, at the last trumpet."
00:25:02.46\00:25:04.53
So this is Second
Coming wordage, okay?
00:25:04.57\00:25:07.84
It says, "For the
trumpet will sound,
00:25:07.87\00:25:09.70
and the dead will be
raised incorruptible,
00:25:09.74\00:25:11.81
and we shall be,"
there it is again,
00:25:11.84\00:25:13.38
"we shall be changed."
00:25:13.41\00:25:14.74
But what does that mean?
00:25:14.78\00:25:16.11
Verse 53 and 54,
00:25:16.14\00:25:17.48
"For this corruptible
must put on incorruption,
00:25:17.51\00:25:19.91
and this mortal
must put on immortality."
00:25:19.95\00:25:22.65
So notice we're mortal before,
00:25:22.68\00:25:24.02
but now we're given
the immortality by God,
00:25:24.05\00:25:25.49
verse 54.
00:25:25.52\00:25:26.86
"So when the corruptible
has put on incorruption,
00:25:26.89\00:25:29.06
and this mortal
has put on immortality,
00:25:29.09\00:25:31.63
then shall be brought to
pass the saying that is written,
00:25:31.66\00:25:33.83
'Death is
swallowed up in victory.'"
00:25:33.86\00:25:35.20
This change it is taking
place we're being transformed
00:25:35.23\00:25:38.57
literally in body and mind,
00:25:38.60\00:25:41.80
our natures are being
changed made like unto Christ.
00:25:41.84\00:25:44.27
In fact, right there
in Philippians 3:20-21.
00:25:44.31\00:25:47.18
I love this text.
00:25:47.21\00:25:48.54
It says, "For our
citizenship is in heaven,
00:25:48.58\00:25:50.68
from which we also
eagerly wait for the Savior,
00:25:50.71\00:25:53.35
the Lord Jesus Christ,
who will," there it is,
00:25:53.38\00:25:55.45
"transform our lowly body
00:25:55.48\00:25:59.15
that it may be
conformed to His glorious body,
00:25:59.19\00:26:02.59
according to the
working by which He is able
00:26:02.62\00:26:04.39
even to subdue all
things to Himself."
00:26:04.43\00:26:06.43
So we will not all sleep,
but we will all be changed.
00:26:06.46\00:26:09.80
We will be given immortality,
given new glorious bodies,
00:26:09.83\00:26:12.70
new minds, beautiful nature
00:26:12.73\00:26:16.37
made just like
unto Jesus Christ,
00:26:16.40\00:26:17.87
it's gonna be awesome.
00:26:17.91\00:26:19.24
Well, that's
encouraging, isn't it?
00:26:19.27\00:26:20.61
Yes, it is. Yes, it is.
00:26:20.64\00:26:21.98
Thank you, Pastor Ryan.
00:26:22.01\00:26:23.35
Jill, a question here.
00:26:23.38\00:26:24.71
It says, "What does Paul
mean in Philippians 1:15-16?
00:26:24.75\00:26:30.32
Who is Paul referring
to in these two texts?"
00:26:30.35\00:26:33.99
So let's read the text.
00:26:34.02\00:26:35.36
I'm going to read
Philippians 1:15-17.
00:26:35.39\00:26:38.46
"Some indeed preach Christ
even from envy and strife,
00:26:38.49\00:26:41.46
and some also from goodwill.
00:26:41.50\00:26:43.43
The former preach
Christ from selfish ambition,
00:26:43.47\00:26:46.50
not sincerely,
00:26:46.53\00:26:47.87
supposing to add
affliction to my chains,
00:26:47.90\00:26:50.01
but the latter
they preach out of love,
00:26:50.04\00:26:52.14
knowing that I am appointed
for the defense of the gospel."
00:26:52.17\00:26:54.71
So your question was,
who is Paul referring to?
00:26:54.74\00:26:56.78
And we'll address that,
00:26:56.81\00:26:58.15
but I also want to look
at what is Paul referring to
00:26:58.18\00:27:01.48
or what is the
present-day application
00:27:01.52\00:27:03.39
we could make for this,
00:27:03.42\00:27:04.75
but let's look at who
was Paul referring to.
00:27:04.79\00:27:06.29
Of course, we know this
would be a Prison Epistle.
00:27:06.32\00:27:09.69
Paul wrote it
while he was in prison.
00:27:09.72\00:27:12.66
And it's he's
referring to his opponents,
00:27:12.69\00:27:14.86
who tried to gain
control over the territory
00:27:14.90\00:27:17.07
and converts during his absence.
00:27:17.10\00:27:19.50
We see him something
similar happened in Galatians.
00:27:19.53\00:27:21.97
It seems like he would
go to different places,
00:27:22.00\00:27:24.24
he would witness he would leave,
00:27:24.27\00:27:25.77
and other people would come in,
00:27:25.81\00:27:27.78
and try to undo the
work that he had done.
00:27:27.81\00:27:30.61
We see that in Galatians 1,
00:27:30.65\00:27:31.98
you can look that
up in six and seven.
00:27:32.01\00:27:34.02
He says, "I marvel
00:27:34.05\00:27:35.38
that you were
turning away so soon,
00:27:35.42\00:27:37.59
from him who called
you in the grace of Christ
00:27:37.62\00:27:39.72
to a different gospel,
00:27:39.75\00:27:41.09
which is not another,
00:27:41.12\00:27:42.62
but there are
some who trouble you
00:27:42.66\00:27:44.26
and want to pervert
the gospel of Christ."
00:27:44.29\00:27:46.76
So this happened
over and over again
00:27:46.80\00:27:48.60
in Paul's ministry,
00:27:48.63\00:27:50.23
but what is Paul referring to?
00:27:50.27\00:27:51.83
You know, I believe
that doing the right thing
00:27:51.87\00:27:53.74
is really important
00:27:53.77\00:27:55.10
but doing it with
the right motivation
00:27:55.14\00:27:57.57
is equally important
if not more important.
00:27:57.61\00:28:01.01
As Christians, we must
not only do the right work,
00:28:01.04\00:28:04.15
but we need to do it
with the right attitude.
00:28:04.18\00:28:06.15
If you are a preacher,
00:28:06.18\00:28:08.65
you can preach
from the wrong attitude
00:28:08.68\00:28:10.55
from an attitude of strife,
from an attitude of self-will,
00:28:10.59\00:28:14.16
from an attitude of pride,
or an attitude of ambition.
00:28:14.19\00:28:17.53
Ask yourself, "Do I care
more about winning arguments
00:28:17.56\00:28:20.86
or witnessing for Jesus?
00:28:20.90\00:28:22.66
Do I care more about numbers
or about the needs of others?
00:28:22.70\00:28:27.27
Do I care more
about converts or Christ?"
00:28:27.30\00:28:30.54
To me, those are
questions that we need to ask
00:28:30.57\00:28:33.34
as Christians every single day,
00:28:33.38\00:28:35.11
why do I do what I do?
00:28:35.14\00:28:38.05
That's what I get
from that passage.
00:28:38.08\00:28:39.75
Wow. Amen.
00:28:39.78\00:28:41.12
Thank you, Sweety.
00:28:41.15\00:28:42.48
Yeah, great
answer. Praise the Lord.
00:28:42.52\00:28:44.69
Pastor James, this
doesn't say who it's from.
00:28:44.72\00:28:46.92
Good question though.
00:28:46.96\00:28:48.29
Okay.
00:28:48.32\00:28:49.66
"If you are not
baptized with water,
00:28:49.69\00:28:51.49
will you not go to heaven?"
00:28:51.53\00:28:54.33
So if you're not
baptized with water,
00:28:54.36\00:28:55.73
will you not go to heaven?
00:28:55.76\00:28:57.10
This is a great question.
00:28:57.13\00:28:59.13
And the reason why
this is a great question is
00:28:59.17\00:29:00.87
because Jesus is
pretty emphatic about this.
00:29:00.90\00:29:03.94
Let's just read a
verse here in John 3:5.
00:29:03.97\00:29:07.58
Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus,
00:29:07.61\00:29:09.11
he's talking about how
we get to heaven, basically.
00:29:09.14\00:29:11.95
And Jesus says, "Verily, verily,
00:29:11.98\00:29:13.52
I say unto you," John 3:5,
00:29:13.55\00:29:15.78
"except the man
be born of water,"
00:29:15.82\00:29:17.89
referring to baptism,
00:29:17.92\00:29:19.25
"and of the spirit
referring to the Holy Spirit,
00:29:19.29\00:29:22.02
he cannot enter
into the kingdom of God."
00:29:22.06\00:29:25.56
So we know here that
the Bible wants baptism
00:29:25.59\00:29:30.10
to be part of
this plan of salvation.
00:29:30.13\00:29:32.03
It's very
significant, very important,
00:29:32.07\00:29:34.30
but the question is asked,
00:29:34.34\00:29:35.70
"If you were not
baptized with water,
00:29:35.74\00:29:37.94
will you not go to heaven?
00:29:37.97\00:29:39.74
And the answer
to that question is,
00:29:39.77\00:29:41.61
no, that's not actually true.
00:29:41.64\00:29:44.11
We know that
00:29:44.15\00:29:45.48
because of the
thief on the cross.
00:29:45.51\00:29:46.85
The thief on the
cross put his faith in Jesus
00:29:46.88\00:29:50.29
on that day just before he died,
00:29:50.32\00:29:52.35
he was sentenced to
death along with Christ
00:29:52.39\00:29:54.76
and the other thief
and one of the thieves
00:29:54.79\00:29:56.32
put their faith in Christ.
00:29:56.36\00:29:57.69
They said, "You
know, remember me
00:29:57.73\00:29:59.06
when you come
into your kingdom."
00:29:59.09\00:30:00.43
And Jesus said,
"I will remember you,
00:30:00.46\00:30:02.93
I'm telling you, you're going
to be with Me in paradise."
00:30:02.96\00:30:05.23
And so that thief
was guaranteed salvation,
00:30:05.27\00:30:07.74
but he couldn't be baptized.
00:30:07.77\00:30:09.57
What are we going to do now?
00:30:09.60\00:30:10.94
The Bible says we
should be baptized.
00:30:10.97\00:30:12.31
Jesus says you can't be.
00:30:12.34\00:30:13.68
So the only answer
to that happens to be
00:30:13.71\00:30:17.25
the
righteousness of Jesus Christ.
00:30:17.28\00:30:19.61
The righteousness of
Jesus Christ is actually
00:30:19.65\00:30:21.52
how we're saved by his life,
00:30:21.55\00:30:23.08
his perfect life and
his substitutionary death.
00:30:23.12\00:30:25.42
So when Jesus goes
to John the baptizer,
00:30:25.45\00:30:28.42
he actually says to John,
"I want you to baptize me."
00:30:28.46\00:30:31.23
And John the
baptizer says, "No way.
00:30:31.26\00:30:33.46
I'm not even going to
touch your shoelaces."
00:30:33.50\00:30:35.23
He says, "No, no,
we have to do this
00:30:35.26\00:30:37.57
to fulfill all righteousness."
00:30:37.60\00:30:39.87
In other words,
Jesus Christ has filled up
00:30:39.90\00:30:41.90
all of the righteousness
that we need to be to be saved.
00:30:41.94\00:30:45.37
The thief on the
cross got his baptism,
00:30:45.41\00:30:47.61
he got his righteousness,
we all get his righteousness.
00:30:47.64\00:30:50.08
Now we live lives
in post-righteousness
00:30:50.11\00:30:53.55
of Jesus Christ, and
that those lives are lives
00:30:53.58\00:30:56.08
that are filled with the
fruit of that righteousness,
00:30:56.12\00:30:58.09
but we're not
saved by the fruit.
00:30:58.12\00:30:59.69
The fruit testifies
that we put our trust
00:30:59.72\00:31:01.46
in the
righteousness of Jesus Christ.
00:31:01.49\00:31:03.22
So we are going to be baptized,
we need to be baptized,
00:31:03.26\00:31:05.39
but if we can't be baptized,
00:31:05.43\00:31:06.76
we have Christ's righteousness
00:31:06.80\00:31:08.13
and Christ's righteousness
is how we're saved.
00:31:08.16\00:31:10.07
And, of course, our
lives will bring forth.
00:31:10.10\00:31:11.60
If the thief could have
come down off the cross,
00:31:11.63\00:31:13.30
he would have been baptized.
00:31:13.34\00:31:14.67
Yeah, that's right.
00:31:14.70\00:31:16.04
Absolutely. Wow.
00:31:16.07\00:31:17.41
So much pressure, James.
00:31:17.44\00:31:18.77
Yeah, great answer.
00:31:18.81\00:31:20.14
Whoo!
00:31:20.18\00:31:21.51
It is happening fast, isn't it?
00:31:21.54\00:31:22.88
All these answers
from the Word of God.
00:31:22.91\00:31:24.25
I'm just taking a
breath right here.
00:31:24.28\00:31:25.61
Maybe you are too at home.
00:31:25.65\00:31:26.98
I want to encourage you
00:31:27.02\00:31:28.35
that you can
always go to 3abnplus. TV
00:31:28.38\00:31:30.75
to watch these
programs video on demand,
00:31:30.79\00:31:32.72
which means you
can watch it later.
00:31:32.75\00:31:34.09
It's there you can
play it, you can pause it,
00:31:34.12\00:31:35.86
you can go back,
reverse if you want to say that
00:31:35.89\00:31:38.96
and watch it again
like, "Wow, that was great,"
00:31:38.99\00:31:40.56
because to write
all these answers down
00:31:40.60\00:31:41.96
and whoo it's a lot
happens really quick.
00:31:42.00\00:31:43.63
And I can see everyone here,
00:31:43.67\00:31:45.00
we almost need
oxygen masks to keep up.
00:31:45.03\00:31:47.07
But it's fun, right?
00:31:47.10\00:31:48.44
The Word of God is
alive and well ad wow,
00:31:48.47\00:31:50.14
it's just encouraging.
00:31:50.17\00:31:51.74
If you want to
submit a question to us here
00:31:51.77\00:31:53.78
at 3ABN Today Bible Q&A,
00:31:53.81\00:31:56.28
you can do it at (618) 228-3975.
00:31:56.31\00:31:59.91
You can text it
00:31:59.95\00:32:01.28
or you can also
email at BibleQA@3abn.TV
00:32:01.32\00:32:06.15
we always welcome your questions
00:32:06.19\00:32:07.72
and comments
here for this program.
00:32:07.76\00:32:10.13
Pastor Ryan and Jill,
we have several questions
00:32:10.16\00:32:12.53
on like marriage,
family, sexuality, and things.
00:32:12.56\00:32:14.63
So, Pastor Ryan, I
want to go to this one here.
00:32:14.66\00:32:16.73
This comes from
Marguerite from Transylvania.
00:32:16.77\00:32:20.84
It says, "I am
a..." Let's see here,
00:32:20.87\00:32:22.80
it's a pretty
long question, comment.
00:32:22.84\00:32:24.74
"I'm a 28-year-old woman
00:32:24.77\00:32:26.11
just recently came to the truth.
00:32:26.14\00:32:28.64
My question is if it is
not good for a man to be alone,
00:32:28.68\00:32:32.45
and I'm assuming that
the same goes for women,
00:32:32.48\00:32:34.85
and I do have the
desire to get married,
00:32:34.88\00:32:37.19
will God bring
someone into my life
00:32:37.22\00:32:39.69
when I'm ready?
00:32:39.72\00:32:41.06
Or does He give you the
desire but not fulfill it?"
00:32:41.09\00:32:44.69
Wow!
00:32:44.73\00:32:46.06
"For some reason, I
get very discouraged
00:32:46.09\00:32:48.00
by what Paul says
about staying single,
00:32:48.03\00:32:50.73
I do desire to get married
00:32:50.77\00:32:52.33
and without
sounding too desperate here.
00:32:52.37\00:32:54.50
The fact of the matter is
that I'm almost 30 years of age.
00:32:54.54\00:32:58.04
Some Christians used to tell me
00:32:58.07\00:32:59.54
that God might
want me to stay single
00:32:59.57\00:33:01.58
and never get married,
00:33:01.61\00:33:03.11
but then why should I have such
a strong desire for a husband?
00:33:03.14\00:33:06.68
If it just
doesn't make sense to me,
00:33:06.72\00:33:08.78
please help me out."
00:33:08.82\00:33:11.19
That's a beautiful
question, Marguerite.
00:33:11.22\00:33:12.89
And thank you so
much for submitting that.
00:33:12.92\00:33:14.76
I'm going to do
my best to answer it
00:33:14.79\00:33:16.12
in the time I'm given.
00:33:16.16\00:33:17.49
And so I just
want to remind you,
00:33:17.53\00:33:18.96
much of the council
that we received from Paul
00:33:18.99\00:33:20.86
about marriage to
couples that are married,
00:33:20.90\00:33:24.03
and also couples
that are unmarried,
00:33:24.07\00:33:25.63
is found within we're
in 1 Corinthians 7:40.
00:33:25.67\00:33:28.80
And the fact that you referenced
00:33:28.84\00:33:30.17
that you were kind of
discouraged by what Paul says
00:33:30.21\00:33:32.27
I'm sure you're
familiar with these verses,
00:33:32.31\00:33:33.81
but perhaps I can
bring some encouragement
00:33:33.84\00:33:35.91
and straighten
some things out here
00:33:35.94\00:33:37.41
in this next couple of minutes.
00:33:37.45\00:33:39.15
I want to highlight the fact
00:33:39.18\00:33:40.52
that what we
read in the majority
00:33:40.55\00:33:41.88
of this passage, and we
have to be reminded by this,
00:33:41.92\00:33:44.09
and this is not any way I
want to give a disclaimer,
00:33:44.12\00:33:46.05
this is not in any way
diminishing or trying to say
00:33:46.09\00:33:48.52
that this passage
is not inspired by God
00:33:48.56\00:33:50.19
because I believe it is,
00:33:50.23\00:33:51.56
but we also have to remember
00:33:51.59\00:33:53.70
that even Paul himself admits
00:33:53.73\00:33:55.66
three or four
times in the same passage
00:33:55.70\00:33:57.37
that some of the
council that he's given
00:33:57.40\00:33:58.87
is his own opinions and
not necessarily from the Lord.
00:33:58.90\00:34:01.54
Let me highlight a few of those.
00:34:01.57\00:34:02.90
1 Corinthians 7:6, he says,
00:34:02.94\00:34:05.07
"But I say this as a concession,
00:34:05.11\00:34:07.54
not as a commandment."
00:34:07.58\00:34:09.18
So he's
highlighting the fact that,
00:34:09.21\00:34:10.58
you know, hear what I'm saying,
00:34:10.61\00:34:11.95
but it's not necessarily
to the letter of the law.
00:34:11.98\00:34:14.28
1 Corinthians 7:12, he says,
00:34:14.32\00:34:16.99
"But to the rest
I, not the Lord, say."
00:34:17.02\00:34:20.36
Okay, so he's highlighting
the fact that it's him saying,
00:34:20.39\00:34:21.82
not the Lord.
00:34:21.86\00:34:23.19
1 Corinthians 7:29.
00:34:23.22\00:34:24.56
Again, he says, "But
this I say, brethren."
00:34:24.59\00:34:26.26
Again, he's highlighting
the fact I say this.
00:34:26.29\00:34:28.10
And then, of
course, the big one,
00:34:28.13\00:34:29.46
1 Corinthians 7:40, he says,
00:34:29.50\00:34:31.53
"But she is
happier if she remains
00:34:31.57\00:34:33.50
as she is
according to my judgment.
00:34:33.54\00:34:36.10
I think also I
have the Spirit of God."
00:34:36.14\00:34:38.57
So he's highlighting the
fact that some of these are his,
00:34:38.61\00:34:41.44
you know, spiritual opinion.
00:34:41.48\00:34:43.08
And but we still need to take it
00:34:43.11\00:34:44.51
'cause I believe
there's great beautiful counsel,
00:34:44.55\00:34:46.61
and I believe it still
is inspired by the Lord.
00:34:46.65\00:34:48.55
So that being
said, let's start back
00:34:48.58\00:34:50.39
and read a couple
of these texts here.
00:34:50.42\00:34:52.02
1 Corinthians 7:8-9.
00:34:52.05\00:34:54.36
Let's read what it says here.
00:34:54.39\00:34:55.72
He says, "But I
say to the unmarried
00:34:55.76\00:34:57.16
and to the widows.
00:34:57.19\00:34:58.53
It is good for them if
they remain even as I am,
00:34:58.56\00:35:01.56
but if they cannot
exercise self-control,
00:35:01.60\00:35:03.83
let them marry.
00:35:03.87\00:35:05.20
For it is better to marry
than to burn with passion."
00:35:05.23\00:35:07.44
So he's
highlighting the fact that,
00:35:07.47\00:35:08.87
you know what if we absolutely
00:35:08.90\00:35:10.24
can't, then we
need to be married,
00:35:10.27\00:35:11.61
it's better to be married
than to burn with passion
00:35:11.64\00:35:13.21
and fall into an immoral
sexual type relationship.
00:35:13.24\00:35:16.88
1 Corinthians 7:25-26, he says,
"But now concerning virgins,
00:35:16.91\00:35:20.98
I have no
commandment from the Lord,
00:35:21.02\00:35:22.72
yet I give judgment as
one whom the Lord of His mercy
00:35:22.75\00:35:25.49
has made trustworthy."
00:35:25.52\00:35:27.42
And verse 26, he says,
00:35:27.46\00:35:28.79
"I suppose
therefore that it is good
00:35:28.82\00:35:30.83
because of the present distress,
00:35:30.86\00:35:33.60
that it is good for a
man to remain as he is."
00:35:33.63\00:35:35.66
He's saying, according
to this distressing time,
00:35:35.70\00:35:38.40
Paul lived during the
time of the time of Nero,
00:35:38.43\00:35:41.07
when Nero was, you
know, killing Christians.
00:35:41.10\00:35:43.30
And it was a very troubling time
00:35:43.34\00:35:45.01
of tribulation for Christians.
00:35:45.04\00:35:46.37
So Paul is saying
a lot of the saying
00:35:46.41\00:35:48.44
remain as he is
single, based on the fact that,
00:35:48.48\00:35:51.21
you know, you don't
need any distractions.
00:35:51.25\00:35:52.65
In fact, he's going to
say that in just a moment,
00:35:52.68\00:35:54.72
talking about distractions,
00:35:54.75\00:35:56.08
you don't need any distractions.
00:35:56.12\00:35:57.45
It's good to
remain single, if you can,
00:35:57.49\00:35:58.95
but he also says it's
not a sin, if you marry.
00:35:58.99\00:36:02.12
Notice, 1 Corinthians 7:28,
00:36:02.16\00:36:04.06
he says, "But
even if you do marry,
00:36:04.09\00:36:05.99
you have not
sinned," there it is,
00:36:06.03\00:36:07.73
"and if a virgin
marries, she has not sinned.
00:36:07.76\00:36:09.40
Nevertheless, he goes such
will have trouble in the flesh,
00:36:09.43\00:36:13.23
but I would spare you."
00:36:13.27\00:36:14.60
In other words, he
says, "You know what,
00:36:14.64\00:36:16.30
I want to spare you of this
because in this marriage time,
00:36:16.34\00:36:19.14
in this time of distress,
00:36:19.17\00:36:20.51
you might
experience some trouble.
00:36:20.54\00:36:21.88
And then I've got to
add this last text here,
00:36:21.91\00:36:23.31
1 Corinthians 7:35, it says,
00:36:23.35\00:36:25.31
"And this I say
for your own profit,
00:36:25.35\00:36:27.58
not that I put a leash on you."
00:36:27.62\00:36:30.32
He says, "But
for what is proper,
00:36:30.35\00:36:32.69
that you may serve the
Lord without distraction."
00:36:32.72\00:36:35.42
There it is.
00:36:35.46\00:36:36.79
Paul is not saying
it's a sin not to marry.
00:36:36.83\00:36:38.19
In fact, I want
to encourage you,
00:36:38.23\00:36:39.56
Marguerite, to ask the Lord,
if you desire a good husband,
00:36:39.59\00:36:42.60
I believe a good woman deserves
a good man and the Lord.
00:36:42.63\00:36:45.07
And a good man
deserves a good woman.
00:36:45.10\00:36:47.14
But, you know, again,
we shouldn't just make
00:36:47.17\00:36:48.84
that our number one priority.
00:36:48.87\00:36:50.21
I think that's
what Paul is saying
00:36:50.24\00:36:51.57
to become a distraction
00:36:51.61\00:36:52.94
during these distressful times,
00:36:52.97\00:36:54.31
especially in the last days,
00:36:54.34\00:36:55.68
we need to make sure
our focus is first on God,
00:36:55.71\00:36:57.95
and then, of course, praying
humbly and sincerely saying,
00:36:57.98\00:37:00.25
"Lord, if you have a good
woman or a good man, for me,"
00:37:00.28\00:37:03.08
whichever case it is,
00:37:03.12\00:37:04.45
if you're a man or a
woman, in this case, say, "Lord,
00:37:04.49\00:37:06.65
please give me that spouse
00:37:06.69\00:37:08.46
that you would have me to have."
00:37:08.49\00:37:09.82
Amen.
00:37:09.86\00:37:11.19
Wow, yeah, thank you so much.
00:37:11.23\00:37:12.56
So there's a whole lot
more that can be said but...
00:37:12.59\00:37:14.36
Thank you so much.
00:37:14.40\00:37:15.73
Talking about
marriage and sexuality.
00:37:15.76\00:37:17.10
I want to just
give a little disclaimer
00:37:17.13\00:37:18.47
on this next
question, it's coming to Jill.
00:37:18.50\00:37:19.90
This one has some description
00:37:19.93\00:37:21.27
pertained to some
sexuality and things.
00:37:21.30\00:37:22.67
So if you have someone in
the house that you're like,
00:37:22.70\00:37:24.17
"Well, I'm not sure I want
them to hear this question."
00:37:24.21\00:37:25.91
Just giving a
little forewarning here.
00:37:25.94\00:37:27.91
And this person,
actually, Stephen says,
00:37:27.94\00:37:30.05
"It's a little embarrassing
to ask this question,
00:37:30.08\00:37:31.61
but I'm sure
I'm not the only one
00:37:31.65\00:37:32.98
that has this question."
00:37:33.01\00:37:34.35
So thank you so
much for submitting this.
00:37:34.38\00:37:35.78
So, Jill, the question is,
"I agree that the commandment
00:37:35.82\00:37:38.85
could be better stated
as thou shalt not have sex
00:37:38.89\00:37:42.26
with anyone
you're not married to,
00:37:42.29\00:37:44.46
but the sex includes
such things as oral sex,
00:37:44.49\00:37:48.03
mutual masturbation,
00:37:48.06\00:37:49.60
what the massage
books term sexual massage,
00:37:49.63\00:37:52.90
and even really
passionate kissing and embracing
00:37:52.93\00:37:56.04
what does the Bible
have to say about this?"
00:37:56.07\00:37:58.74
Thank you, Stephen, so
much for that question.
00:37:58.77\00:38:00.74
You know, I would
say first and foremost,
00:38:00.78\00:38:02.88
that purity is not
a line in the sand,
00:38:02.91\00:38:05.58
where we say we come this far,
and we can't go any further.
00:38:05.61\00:38:09.02
Purity is a state of heart.
00:38:09.05\00:38:10.49
In fact, Jesus talked about it
00:38:10.52\00:38:11.85
when he gave the
Sermon on the Mount.
00:38:11.89\00:38:13.42
If you look at
Matthew 6, Jesus said that,
00:38:13.46\00:38:16.56
"I did not come to
destroy the law and prophets,
00:38:16.59\00:38:18.63
I came to fulfill,
and not only fulfill
00:38:18.66\00:38:21.40
but to magnify and
to elevate the law."
00:38:21.43\00:38:24.60
In Matthew 6:27-28.
00:38:24.63\00:38:26.67
He said, "You have
heard that it was said of old,
00:38:26.70\00:38:28.34
'You shall not commit adultery.'
00:38:28.37\00:38:29.97
But I say to you that
even if you look with lust
00:38:30.01\00:38:33.64
on someone that is the same
as having committed adultery."
00:38:33.68\00:38:37.38
So we say the physical
act of adultery is sin,
00:38:37.41\00:38:40.48
but to be honest with you,
00:38:40.52\00:38:41.88
thoughts of lust is
sin in God's eyes as well.
00:38:41.92\00:38:47.09
So if we look at
it, from 2 Timothy 2,
00:38:47.12\00:38:51.46
this is Paul giving
counsel to his son in the faith.
00:38:51.49\00:38:55.00
2 Timothy 2:22.
00:38:55.03\00:38:56.40
He says, "Flee
also youthful lusts,
00:38:56.43\00:38:59.70
but pursue
righteousness, faith, love,
00:38:59.73\00:39:02.30
peace with those
who call on the Lord
00:39:02.34\00:39:04.14
out of a pure heart."
00:39:04.17\00:39:05.54
We are called to flee
sexual temptation not to pause
00:39:05.57\00:39:10.38
and dally with it,
00:39:10.41\00:39:11.75
not to flirt with it, but
to flee sexual temptation.
00:39:11.78\00:39:16.28
Now this is just
being very frank right now
00:39:16.32\00:39:18.55
but heavy petting,
passionate kissing.
00:39:18.59\00:39:22.46
You mentioned
mutual masturbation,
00:39:22.49\00:39:25.16
we call that foreplay,
00:39:25.19\00:39:26.56
and that leads to
sexual intercourse.
00:39:26.59\00:39:30.10
So if you are
engaging in behavior
00:39:30.13\00:39:33.74
where the end
result will lead to that,
00:39:33.77\00:39:36.87
the Word of God says
00:39:36.91\00:39:38.24
we are called to
stay away from that
00:39:38.27\00:39:39.67
because God calls us
to have a pure heart,
00:39:39.71\00:39:43.24
pure thoughts,
pure mind before Him.
00:39:43.28\00:39:47.22
1 Corinthians, he says,
"Flee sexual immorality,"
00:39:47.25\00:39:50.45
that's 1 Corinthians 6:18-20.
00:39:50.49\00:39:53.62
And that's the highest standard
and when you look at it,
00:39:53.66\00:39:55.72
it might seem impossible,
00:39:55.76\00:39:57.63
but we don't do it
in our own strength.
00:39:57.66\00:39:59.63
We don't grit our
teeth and try harder.
00:39:59.66\00:40:01.96
We don't say,
"Okay, I just lost it.
00:40:02.00\00:40:03.83
I can't do that
again or I just did this."
00:40:03.87\00:40:06.03
Go to the Lord
Jesus, seek His grace,
00:40:06.07\00:40:10.11
seek His strength,
and seek His deliverance.
00:40:10.14\00:40:13.31
He's the one who gives
us purity when we fallen.
00:40:13.34\00:40:16.64
He's the one who covers us
when we've stepped into sin,
00:40:16.68\00:40:20.25
and He's the one
who pulls us out,
00:40:20.28\00:40:22.95
and enables us
to walk in purity.
00:40:22.98\00:40:25.55
Wow. Thank you so much.
00:40:25.59\00:40:26.92
Yeah, thank you so much again
00:40:26.96\00:40:28.29
for that question
that you submitted.
00:40:28.32\00:40:30.56
Pastor Ryan, I'm gonna
actually come back to you
00:40:30.59\00:40:31.93
because in the
last few questions
00:40:31.96\00:40:33.43
with Pastor James
and Jill has to do
00:40:33.46\00:40:34.80
with like diet
and foods and stuff.
00:40:34.83\00:40:36.23
So, Pastor Ryan, this one
comes from Marion, Oregon.
00:40:36.26\00:40:39.67
"Is it idolatry to
have a picture of Jesus
00:40:39.70\00:40:42.40
in the church or my home?"
00:40:42.44\00:40:44.47
Yeah, you know,
it could be depending
00:40:44.51\00:40:45.84
on how you idol
it or worship it.
00:40:45.87\00:40:49.68
I think it's no more a sin
00:40:49.71\00:40:51.05
as having a
picture of your family,
00:40:51.08\00:40:52.58
your wife, your husband,
you know, your children,
00:40:52.61\00:40:54.88
anything like that,
but I think the key is that
00:40:54.92\00:40:56.69
we stick to what the commandment
00:40:56.72\00:40:58.65
actually tells us
in relation to this.
00:40:58.69\00:41:00.52
So Exodus 20:4-5,
let's read it within context.
00:41:00.56\00:41:04.26
It says, "You shall
not make for yourselves
00:41:04.29\00:41:05.86
a carved image of any likeness,
00:41:05.89\00:41:08.53
anything that
is in heaven above,
00:41:08.56\00:41:10.27
or that is in the earth beneath,
00:41:10.30\00:41:11.77
or that is in the
water under the earth."
00:41:11.80\00:41:13.57
But notice verse
5 it goes with that.
00:41:13.60\00:41:15.50
It says, "You shall not
bow down nor serve them.
00:41:15.54\00:41:18.74
For I, am the Lord
God, am a jealous God."
00:41:18.77\00:41:21.88
We have to
understand this from a worship
00:41:21.91\00:41:23.85
an idol worship perspective.
00:41:23.88\00:41:25.71
The reason why God gave this is
00:41:25.75\00:41:27.08
because there are
many people in the world
00:41:27.12\00:41:28.45
who they set up
certain things as an idol,
00:41:28.48\00:41:30.82
and they worship these things.
00:41:30.85\00:41:32.52
And that is what
God is addressing here.
00:41:32.55\00:41:34.46
I actually had a gentleman,
you know, you mentioned this,
00:41:34.49\00:41:36.96
I think at the
beginning of the program
00:41:36.99\00:41:38.33
or maybe a previous program,
00:41:38.36\00:41:39.69
where you had, you
know, you had pictures
00:41:39.73\00:41:41.56
and, you know,
had statues and things
00:41:41.60\00:41:43.16
you pray to
pictures of Mary and Jesus
00:41:43.20\00:41:44.80
I actually had a
gentleman in Louisiana,
00:41:44.83\00:41:46.74
one of my meetings who came,
00:41:46.77\00:41:48.10
he was full practicing Catholic.
00:41:48.14\00:41:50.07
And he came to me
toward the end of the meetings,
00:41:50.11\00:41:52.07
as he had seen all of the truth.
00:41:52.11\00:41:53.48
And he had made a
decision for Christ
00:41:53.51\00:41:55.14
to come out of
the Catholic Church
00:41:55.18\00:41:57.05
and to join the
Seventh-day Adventist Church,
00:41:57.08\00:41:58.58
he brought me this
couple of interesting pictures,
00:41:58.61\00:42:00.75
he showed me his little
shrine he had in his home.
00:42:00.78\00:42:03.82
And it wasn't just,
you know, beautiful artwork
00:42:03.85\00:42:06.05
of Jesus of some kind.
00:42:06.09\00:42:07.42
It was actually
pictures of Jesus,
00:42:07.46\00:42:08.82
statues of Jesus in a crucifix,
00:42:08.86\00:42:10.99
pictures of Mary and
all these different saints,
00:42:11.03\00:42:12.73
statues of the saints,
00:42:12.76\00:42:14.10
you know, laced
with gold and silver,
00:42:14.13\00:42:15.46
and these
precious claws and things.
00:42:15.50\00:42:16.83
And he had it
set up in his home,
00:42:16.87\00:42:18.20
and he showed me,
"So this is my shrine,
00:42:18.23\00:42:19.73
I would bow to these
and I would pray to them
00:42:19.77\00:42:21.94
because we were taught,
you know, in Catholic Church,
00:42:21.97\00:42:23.61
that it's okay to that."
00:42:23.64\00:42:24.97
I think that's what
Jesus is saying here.
00:42:25.01\00:42:26.88
I've had people to challenge,
you know, at my meetings,
00:42:26.91\00:42:28.74
and they'll see
an artist's portrayal
00:42:28.78\00:42:31.35
of what Jesus
might have looked like,
00:42:31.38\00:42:32.71
we don't know
what Jesus looks like.
00:42:32.75\00:42:34.08
But they're artists' portrayals.
00:42:34.12\00:42:35.45
And I've had people come there.
00:42:35.48\00:42:36.82
Oh, that's an image,
00:42:36.85\00:42:38.19
you're breaking
the commandments,
00:42:38.22\00:42:39.55
you know, an image
and artwork of some kind,
00:42:39.59\00:42:41.02
that's different having it
then completely worshiping it
00:42:41.06\00:42:44.33
or bowing down to it, serving
00:42:44.36\00:42:46.13
as the type of idol or God.
00:42:46.16\00:42:47.86
And that's what
we have to stick to
00:42:47.90\00:42:49.23
is notice what the commandment
says and what it doesn't say.
00:42:49.26\00:42:51.63
In this sense, it's
okay to have a picture
00:42:51.67\00:42:53.87
as long as you're
not worshiping it.
00:42:53.90\00:42:55.74
Okay, good. Yeah.
00:42:55.77\00:42:57.27
Thank you very
much, Pastor Ryan.
00:42:57.31\00:42:58.97
All right, Pastor
James, good question here
00:42:59.01\00:43:00.98
from Debbie from Washington.
00:43:01.01\00:43:02.48
Thank you so much.
00:43:02.51\00:43:03.85
"Regarding foods,
00:43:03.88\00:43:05.21
please explain Mark 7:18-23."
00:43:05.25\00:43:10.15
All right, Mark 7:18-23,
00:43:10.19\00:43:13.46
is where Jesus is
confronted by the Pharisees.
00:43:13.49\00:43:17.06
And He has been eating,
00:43:17.09\00:43:20.56
but He forgot to wash His hands.
00:43:20.60\00:43:21.96
Oh-oh.
00:43:22.00\00:43:23.33
Oh-oh.
00:43:23.37\00:43:24.70
And so the
Pharisees get on about this
00:43:24.73\00:43:26.50
because they had
their rules and regulations
00:43:26.53\00:43:29.00
that were added to
what God had laid out.
00:43:29.04\00:43:32.11
And it was a big
no-no for him to do this.
00:43:32.14\00:43:35.04
And so they got on Him.
00:43:35.08\00:43:36.41
And so Jesus responds,
00:43:36.44\00:43:37.78
and the verses that
Debbie is asking about,
00:43:37.81\00:43:40.28
verses 18 to 23,
we just read those.
00:43:40.32\00:43:42.72
"And He said unto them,
00:43:42.75\00:43:44.09
'Are ye so without
understanding also?
00:43:44.12\00:43:45.45
Do ye not perceive,
that whatsoever thing
00:43:45.49\00:43:47.96
from without
entereth into the man,
00:43:47.99\00:43:50.06
it cannot defile him.
00:43:50.09\00:43:51.43
Because it
entereth not into his heart,
00:43:51.46\00:43:53.03
but into the belly, and
goes out into the draught,
00:43:53.06\00:43:55.26
purging all meats?
00:43:55.30\00:43:56.73
And this verse, these
verses that we've just read
00:43:56.77\00:44:00.44
are the key verses,
they're very difficult.
00:44:00.47\00:44:03.10
And the reason why
they're so difficult,
00:44:03.14\00:44:04.74
and I really
appreciate this question,
00:44:04.77\00:44:06.21
Debbie, 'cause I coming from
a Catholic background again,
00:44:06.24\00:44:09.21
eating meats all my life,
00:44:09.24\00:44:10.68
I struggled with this because
some of the newer translations
00:44:10.71\00:44:13.52
of the Bible actually
translate this incorrectly.
00:44:13.55\00:44:17.12
They take a little
bit of liberty here,
00:44:17.15\00:44:20.16
and they
translate this little phrase
00:44:20.19\00:44:23.16
that we just read,
00:44:23.19\00:44:24.53
"Insane this Jesus
declared all foods clean."
00:44:24.56\00:44:28.40
That's what you have
in the NIV, the Amplified,
00:44:28.43\00:44:30.40
the NASB, the
ESV, the ASV, the RSV,
00:44:30.43\00:44:35.04
you have a statement
00:44:35.07\00:44:36.40
that isn't actually
supported by the Greek.
00:44:36.44\00:44:38.64
And the problem
with that, of course,
00:44:38.67\00:44:40.18
is that you're
adding to the Word of God,
00:44:40.21\00:44:41.61
Jesus, nowhere in this chapter
00:44:41.64\00:44:44.55
is Jesus talking about
clean and unclean meats.
00:44:44.58\00:44:47.18
In fact, Debbie,
what he's talking about,
00:44:47.22\00:44:48.68
what they're talking about
is eating with unwashed hands.
00:44:48.72\00:44:51.25
That's it.
00:44:51.29\00:44:52.62
And Jesus is saying, you know,
"If I don't have clean hands,
00:44:52.65\00:44:54.39
and I eat something,
00:44:54.42\00:44:55.76
it's just going
to go into my belly."
00:44:55.79\00:44:57.19
But your thoughts, the things
00:44:57.23\00:44:58.89
that you're
thinking and the things
00:44:58.93\00:45:00.33
that you're judging Me about
00:45:00.36\00:45:02.73
those are really
actually going to defile Me.
00:45:02.76\00:45:04.57
You're saying that eating
with unclean hands defiles,
00:45:04.60\00:45:06.67
but it's not
eating with unclean hands
00:45:06.70\00:45:08.44
that defiles in this situation.
00:45:08.47\00:45:10.34
It's the thoughts.
00:45:10.37\00:45:11.87
It's the thing
that your thinking
00:45:11.91\00:45:14.58
and the critical
words that you have,
00:45:14.61\00:45:16.21
and the critical
thoughts that you have.
00:45:16.24\00:45:17.58
They're really defiling you.
00:45:17.61\00:45:18.95
Excellent.
00:45:18.98\00:45:20.32
Thank you so much, Pastor James,
00:45:20.35\00:45:21.68
you have a great answer.
00:45:21.72\00:45:23.05
Now, Jill, this is
a question from Joel,
00:45:23.08\00:45:24.79
"Why should we fast
00:45:24.82\00:45:26.92
and how long
should we fast for?"
00:45:26.96\00:45:29.19
Thank you so much, Joel.
00:45:29.22\00:45:30.63
In my mind, Christian fasting
has two sides of the same coin.
00:45:30.66\00:45:34.33
On one side of
the coin in fasting,
00:45:34.36\00:45:36.80
the purpose of fasting is
to draw us closer to Jesus.
00:45:36.83\00:45:39.70
On the other
side of the same coin,
00:45:39.73\00:45:41.84
the purpose of
fasting is to push away.
00:45:41.87\00:45:44.57
It's like a
weapon against the enemy
00:45:44.61\00:45:46.57
to push away
anything that's pulling us
00:45:46.61\00:45:49.41
from Jesus or any
idol that's in our life
00:45:49.44\00:45:52.35
that's pulling us from Him.
00:45:52.38\00:45:54.22
If you look at the Word of God,
00:45:54.25\00:45:55.58
there's so many
purposes for fasting.
00:45:55.62\00:45:57.82
We see that David fasted
00:45:57.85\00:45:59.19
for the healing of a sick child.
00:45:59.22\00:46:00.72
Nineveh fasted in
an act of repentance.
00:46:00.76\00:46:03.53
Nehemiah fasted in grief.
00:46:03.56\00:46:05.39
The Israelites
fasted to gain victory.
00:46:05.43\00:46:07.73
Esther fasted to
gain supernatural favor
00:46:07.76\00:46:10.10
with the king.
00:46:10.13\00:46:11.47
Saul termed Paul
later, fasted to gain clarity.
00:46:11.50\00:46:15.90
Daniel fasted to gain
further understanding from God.
00:46:15.94\00:46:19.07
And there's many more examples
of fasting in the Word of God.
00:46:19.11\00:46:23.35
Motive is super important.
00:46:23.38\00:46:25.18
We don't have
time to get into that,
00:46:25.21\00:46:26.68
but that's very important.
00:46:26.72\00:46:28.05
We can fast for
all the wrong reasons
00:46:28.08\00:46:29.65
to try to earn favor with God
00:46:29.68\00:46:31.45
or become more spiritual
or be it's a prideful thing.
00:46:31.49\00:46:35.12
We want other people
to think better of us
00:46:35.16\00:46:37.86
because we fast so
there's many motive,
00:46:37.89\00:46:40.63
it's super important
as we look at fasting.
00:46:40.66\00:46:42.86
As we look at types of fasts,
there are many types of fasts,
00:46:42.90\00:46:45.23
I just want to
highlight a couple.
00:46:45.27\00:46:46.70
There's what we
call an absolute fast
00:46:46.74\00:46:48.30
with no food and water.
00:46:48.34\00:46:49.67
Moses experienced this.
00:46:49.70\00:46:51.04
This was when he was
upon the mount with God,
00:46:51.07\00:46:53.81
you can look it up in Exodus 34,
00:46:53.84\00:46:55.68
he went 40 days with
no food and no water.
00:46:55.71\00:46:59.85
This is before the
giving of the Ten Commandments.
00:46:59.88\00:47:01.58
Now we know he had
supernatural strength from God
00:47:01.62\00:47:05.55
in order for this to take place.
00:47:05.59\00:47:07.66
Esther fasted for three
days, with no food and no water.
00:47:07.69\00:47:11.76
We have what I
call the Daniel fast.
00:47:11.79\00:47:13.70
This is Daniel in Daniel 10.
00:47:13.73\00:47:16.00
He's fasting for three weeks,
00:47:16.03\00:47:17.83
and the Word of God
said he ate no meat,
00:47:17.87\00:47:20.17
no wine, nor pleasant food.
00:47:20.20\00:47:22.24
This is a fast of certain foods,
00:47:22.27\00:47:24.57
not a complete fast,
00:47:24.61\00:47:25.94
but maybe picking certain
foods that you would fast.
00:47:25.97\00:47:29.84
We talked
earlier about sexuality,
00:47:29.88\00:47:32.65
there's actually, a sexual fast,
00:47:32.68\00:47:34.92
you can find that in
the Word of God as well.
00:47:34.95\00:47:36.85
The Israelites engaged in that.
00:47:36.89\00:47:39.09
This is Exodus 19,
00:47:39.12\00:47:40.49
prior to the giving
of The Ten Commandments,
00:47:40.52\00:47:42.62
and if you look
at 1 Corinthians 7,
00:47:42.66\00:47:44.63
there's a little
reference to that as well.
00:47:44.66\00:47:46.86
We have corporate fasting.
00:47:46.90\00:47:48.23
You see, Ezra and
the children of Israel,
00:47:48.26\00:47:50.17
this is, of
course, the second return
00:47:50.20\00:47:52.17
from Babylon back to Jerusalem.
00:47:52.20\00:47:54.07
They fasted and
prayed for God's protection.
00:47:54.10\00:47:56.74
We have the
early Christian church
00:47:56.77\00:47:58.34
fasting and setting
apart Saul and Barnabas
00:47:58.37\00:48:01.14
for the first
missionary journey.
00:48:01.18\00:48:03.45
And they fasted corporately
before that took place.
00:48:03.48\00:48:07.08
We also have what
I call soul fasting,
00:48:07.12\00:48:09.28
this is not food fasting.
00:48:09.32\00:48:10.82
This is fasting things are
out of balance in your life,
00:48:10.85\00:48:13.92
or maybe something that
takes a lot of your time.
00:48:13.96\00:48:16.93
This could be
fasting social media
00:48:16.96\00:48:18.96
for a certain amount of time,
00:48:18.99\00:48:20.43
fasting the
radio, I've done that
00:48:20.46\00:48:22.50
I'm going to drive in the car,
00:48:22.53\00:48:23.87
I won't listen to
the radio instead,
00:48:23.90\00:48:25.33
I would take that time to pray
00:48:25.37\00:48:27.87
and spend with God it
could be fasting magazines
00:48:27.90\00:48:30.41
or the Internet
or even chocolate.
00:48:30.44\00:48:33.24
Okay, I said that.
00:48:33.27\00:48:34.61
So there are
many different things
00:48:34.64\00:48:36.21
that we can choose to fast,
00:48:36.24\00:48:37.58
but the purpose of it is
to draw us closer to Jesus.
00:48:37.61\00:48:41.82
Amen.
00:48:41.85\00:48:43.18
Amen.
00:48:43.22\00:48:44.55
Thank you so very much yeah,
great explanation on fasting.
00:48:44.59\00:48:45.92
Yeah, I love that.
00:48:45.95\00:48:47.29
Pastor James, let's go to
this question here it's...
00:48:47.32\00:48:50.63
They want to know an explanation
00:48:50.66\00:48:52.03
pertained to Romans 14:2,
00:48:52.06\00:48:56.13
only the weak
eat vegetables only.
00:48:56.16\00:48:58.67
Okay.
00:48:58.70\00:49:00.04
So Romans 14:2 says,
00:49:00.07\00:49:01.40
"For one believes
that he may eat all things
00:49:01.44\00:49:03.14
in other who is weak
eats," King James, "herbs."
00:49:03.17\00:49:06.17
And this is a very significant
00:49:06.21\00:49:11.41
conflict that Paul is
dealing with here in Romans 14.
00:49:11.45\00:49:15.02
Actually, it's one that
we talked about earlier.
00:49:15.05\00:49:17.72
Judaizers would
follow him wherever you went.
00:49:17.75\00:49:19.59
They tried to
undermine his ministry
00:49:19.62\00:49:20.96
and their main focus
was to get new believers,
00:49:20.99\00:49:23.36
new converts, Gentile believers
00:49:23.39\00:49:25.39
to start keeping
the ceremonial laws,
00:49:25.43\00:49:28.00
which included Sabbath
00:49:28.03\00:49:29.63
that were extra to
the Seventh-day Sabbath
00:49:29.66\00:49:32.20
and included
eating certain foods,
00:49:32.23\00:49:34.14
certain herbs, and certain foods
00:49:34.17\00:49:35.84
during the special
occasions, these convocations,
00:49:35.87\00:49:38.81
these special days
that God had set up.
00:49:38.84\00:49:41.31
All of these ceremonial laws
were fulfilled in Jesus Christ,
00:49:41.34\00:49:44.51
and all of them
were shadows and types
00:49:44.55\00:49:46.28
of the plan of salvation.
00:49:46.31\00:49:47.65
Some of them we
still look at today
00:49:47.68\00:49:49.02
even like the Day of Atonement,
00:49:49.05\00:49:50.39
for example, in
which we are living.
00:49:50.42\00:49:52.15
So Paul is dealing with
believers in the church.
00:49:52.19\00:49:55.66
Those that are in the
faith, some of them are weak,
00:49:55.69\00:49:57.63
who are the weak ones.
00:49:57.66\00:49:58.99
They happen to be the Jews.
00:49:59.03\00:50:00.46
Why?
00:50:00.50\00:50:01.83
Because they've
kept the ceremonial laws
00:50:01.86\00:50:04.00
for generations.
00:50:04.03\00:50:05.73
Okay, and now all of a
sudden, what Moses gave them,
00:50:05.77\00:50:08.47
they've got to let go of?
00:50:08.50\00:50:09.84
Ooh, that's not
going to be easy.
00:50:09.87\00:50:11.21
The Gentiles they're coming in.
00:50:11.24\00:50:12.57
They're like,
"Ceremonial laws what are those?
00:50:12.61\00:50:14.34
Oh, don't worry about those.
00:50:14.38\00:50:15.71
Oh, okay, we don't
have to worry about those?
00:50:15.74\00:50:17.08
Let's not worry about those."
00:50:17.11\00:50:18.45
So they're the stronger
00:50:18.48\00:50:19.81
because they don't
have to worry about
00:50:19.85\00:50:21.18
what the Jews are
really struggling with.
00:50:21.22\00:50:23.55
And so Paul
basically says, "Listen,
00:50:23.59\00:50:25.39
don't despise
those who aren't keeping
00:50:25.42\00:50:28.09
eating these
herbs and keeping these,
00:50:28.12\00:50:30.13
Jews, and don't judge
those that are Gentiles.
00:50:30.16\00:50:33.83
We're all in the faith,
we're all going to stand
00:50:33.86\00:50:35.76
before the
judgment seat of Christ,
00:50:35.80\00:50:37.23
don't put a stumbling block
00:50:37.27\00:50:38.60
before your
brother, your sister,
00:50:38.63\00:50:39.97
let everyone be fully
persuaded in their own minds."
00:50:40.00\00:50:42.94
And I love that
because that's a principle
00:50:42.97\00:50:44.54
that we need in
our society today.
00:50:44.57\00:50:46.01
Let people have a
little bit of freedom,
00:50:46.04\00:50:47.38
a little bit of wiggle
room to make a decision
00:50:47.41\00:50:49.38
based on their conscience
00:50:49.41\00:50:50.75
and what they're convicted of.
00:50:50.78\00:50:52.11
And this is especially talking
about people in the faith.
00:50:52.15\00:50:54.98
So that's my understanding
of the context of Romans 14.
00:50:55.02\00:50:57.99
Amen.
00:50:58.02\00:50:59.35
Thank you so much.
00:50:59.39\00:51:00.72
We have just
like 50 seconds left,
00:51:00.76\00:51:02.09
I'm going to put a
little challenge out there.
00:51:02.12\00:51:03.46
All of you can
make a comment on this.
00:51:03.49\00:51:04.83
I'm going to
summarize this question quickly
00:51:04.86\00:51:06.19
comes from Addie.
00:51:06.23\00:51:07.56
"How do we study the
Bible, understand it,
00:51:07.60\00:51:09.86
and connect scriptures
00:51:09.90\00:51:11.23
from different
books of the Bible?"
00:51:11.27\00:51:13.94
Thank you, Addie.
00:51:13.97\00:51:15.30
Strong's Concordance
is what worked for me
00:51:15.34\00:51:17.31
and it's fantastic.
00:51:17.34\00:51:18.67
You can get an app,
you can download it,
00:51:18.71\00:51:20.08
you can use a hard
copy, it changed my life.
00:51:20.11\00:51:22.54
I don't know if you
want to add something to it.
00:51:22.58\00:51:23.91
No, absolutely.
00:51:23.95\00:51:25.28
That's exactly
where I was going as well.
00:51:25.31\00:51:26.65
For someone who's, you know,
00:51:26.68\00:51:28.02
not an advanced
student of the word,
00:51:28.05\00:51:29.38
get to a Strong's Concordance,
00:51:29.42\00:51:30.75
either the book or the app,
00:51:30.79\00:51:32.12
you can
cross-reference all those words.
00:51:32.15\00:51:33.66
It's powerful, powerful tool.
00:51:33.69\00:51:35.02
In this question, they
asked about a study Bible.
00:51:35.06\00:51:37.23
I know you like...
00:51:37.26\00:51:38.59
I love my Android Study Bible.
00:51:38.63\00:51:40.06
Hands down, it's my favorite,
00:51:40.10\00:51:41.73
but I was going to
say I like Bible Hub.
00:51:41.76\00:51:43.40
It's an app and I love
it and you can do the same.
00:51:43.43\00:51:45.43
You get the
Strong's and all that too.
00:51:45.47\00:51:46.84
Excellent. Good job.
00:51:46.87\00:51:48.37
Wow, 50 seconds.
00:51:48.40\00:51:49.84
All right, we're
going to take a quick break
00:51:49.87\00:51:51.21
and we'll be right back.
00:51:51.24\00:51:52.57
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00:51:52.61\00:51:55.74
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00:51:55.78\00:51:57.41
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00:51:57.45\00:52:00.12
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00:52:00.15\00:52:02.42
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00:52:02.45\00:52:05.69
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00:52:05.72\00:52:07.92
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00:52:15.93\00:52:19.70
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00:52:19.73\00:52:21.30
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00:52:25.41\00:52:29.04
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