Temptations & Ministry: Matthew 4:1-25

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Bert Harper and Alex McFarland discuss the temptations of Jesus

Welcome to Exploring the word. For 30 years, Jesus lived in Nazareth most of the time. He spent some time in Bethlehem and then down in Egypt. But they came back to Nazareth by. But here is where it all begins. He decided that it was time with God, knowing it was time for him to be baptized by Jon the Baptist. And he was. And then in Matthew chapter four, it says that he was tempted. And this all began a, ministry. And I would say those temptations had to deal with. What kind of ministry would Jesus have that God had given him? Would he do it the easy way, or would he do it God's way? This is Bert Harper along with Dr. Alex McFarland, and it's our joy today to be with you, here on Exploring the Word as we're going through the Book of Matthew. Alex, again, the temptations of Christ right at the beginning of his ministry. And, I think it was Satan trying to get him off track. and guess what? That wasn't the last time Satan would try to do that, is it?

>> Alex McFarland: Well, you know, even before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Satan had tried to derail God's plan of salvation. You know, the temptation and the fall of sin in the garden. Genesis 3, had barely taken place. And yet a merciful God was already promising an eventual savior. That would be Jesus. Genesis 3:15, sometimes called the first Gospel. And Bert, you know, we read in the Old Testament a number of times the devil was trying to derail God's plan of salvation, whether it be the multiple enslavements of the Jewish people or Haman in the book of Esther trying to, kill the Jewish people. But Christ is born and it's time for his public ministry to begin. Last week we talked about the baptism of Jesus by Jon the Baptist. But here In Matthew chapter 4, Jesus is in the wilderness praying and being empowered by God the Father, even though Christ is God the Son, the incarnate Lord here on earth. Now, I know I'm throwing a lot on the table here, but you read Philippians 2, and that's one of the many passages that speaks about the Lord's dual nature. Fully God, fully man, but not fallen man. But Satan, if he could somehow connive and contrive and get Jesus to sin Christ couldn't have been our savior dying for the sins of the world. But praise God, the plan of God and the salvation, plan, the redemption story would not be derailed as much as Satan wanted to see that happen. As always, Satan tries, but Satan loses. And I think we should, take great encouragement in that.

>> Bert Harper: Amen. He is a loser. And, he has and will. Well, chapter four again, I'm just going to read this all the way through verse 11. I know that's usually, a little longer than we usually read on this program, but I think we look at this in the whole context, and then we will divide it up, the three temptations.

Bert: Satan tries to trip up Jesus with Bible passages

So chapter four, verse one. Then. This is after the baptism. Then Jesus was led up by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights afterward, he was hungry. Now, when the tempter came to him, he said, if you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. But Jesus answered and said, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Then, and those are important words, the devil took him up into a holy city, set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, if you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, he shall give his angels charge concerning you, and he in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against the stone. Jesus said to him, it is written, again, you shall not tempt the Lord your God. Again the devil took him up on an exceedingly high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, this is Satan to Jesus. All these things I will give you if you will fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said to him, away with you, Satan. For it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and him only you shall serve. Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him. Now, Alex, again. 40 days, fasting, and the temptation came. Satan, is an opportunist, isn't he?

>> Alex McFarland: Oh, my goodness, he is. Well, Satan is an opportunist, and he's a scripture twister. And not only the word meanings, but the applications of scripture, you know. And so here he's quoting Old Testament passages and trying as if Christ, the Son of God, could be, out fumbled in a Bible drill. You know, Bert, we used to have Bible drills where we'd teach scriptures memorization to children. And, here's the thing. God is the author of Scripture. You read in second Peter 1:19 through 21 that the words of the Bible never came about in the ancient times by the will of man. But holy men of God spoke as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Now, here's the amazing thing. Christ the Son is empowered and led by the Father, and Jesus is full of the Holy Spirit. At the baptism of Jesus, the Spirit descended like a dove, and the Spirit of God gave these words. And you and I have taught on the Holy Spirit much. I mean, you've got the incarnate Lord empowered by the Holy Spirit who gave these words. And yet Satan is going to try to trip up Jesus with the very words of Scripture. Not going to happen. But Jesus accurately handled the Word of God. And, let me just say this. We often quote Romans 12 and Philippians 4:8. Romans 12 talks about renewing our mind by the Word of God. Jon 17:17. We are sanctified by God's truth. Thy word is truth. Philippians 4:8. If anything is true, noble, praiseworthy, upright, think on these things as opposed to other things. Now, here's my point, Bert. Isn't the word of God our roadmap, our encouragement, our strength, cautionary words to help us avoid sin? restorative words when we need to be built back up? I mean, if the Son of God himself was dependent on the Holy Scriptures, how much more so we finite, feeble Christians, I mean, we need the Word, don't we?

>> Bert Harper: We really do. And the word he uses is from Deuteronomy each time, Deuteronomy 8, he uses that. And he continues on through the whole process. Deuteronomy 6:16 and Deuteronomy 6:13. Each time he uses the Scriptures. And again, they are all. They're the sword of the Spirit. They are our light, our, path, our lamp. It's all of those things. A shield to us, a high tower to us. The Word of God lifts us up. It really does. So when the tempter came to him, isn't that important? The Tempter, he said, now here's the question. If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. Again, he says that. He starts the temptation. Second one. If you are the Son of God. So here it is. Like it was in the first temptation that, the Satan, Lucifer came, Satan himself, with Eve and Adam. has God said, if you know, this is Satan's weapons. The issue of doubt, the issue of questioning who and who God was, who Jesus was, who we are. Again, Those are the things he tries to use to do those. And again he comes at that opportune time. And the first one he does is when Jesus was hungry. Notice verse two. He was hungry. And then Satan says to him, what about turning these stones into bread? Now, again, Alex, Satan is not omniscient. He doesn't know all, but he's observant. He would know the 40 days. He was watching. He was marking the days, and he is looking for the opportunity.

Bert says Satan is watching us as well, and he's right

Let me ask this, and we'll get back to this particular one, but I would say to this, Satan is watching us as well. At least one of his demons is watching us. He's not omnipresent either. Satan is local at one place at one time, but the demonic spirit in evil spirit is around us all. And here it is, Alex, he says if at that time, Satan, he knows when to hit and how to do it. He's observant, isn't he?

>> Alex McFarland: He really is. And Bert, you know what I think about that? there's a connection between the physical and the spiritual. Okay. Christ had, prayed and fasted for 40 days. That's wonderful. There is great power in prayer and fasting, and I recommend Christians learn the discipline of fasting. But there's this old saying, Halt. Halt. Don't make any major life decision if you're hungry, angry, lonely or tired. Right? And we've all. I've had, dear Christian friends, that, in a moment of pain and struggle or stress or worry or fatigue, you can make decisions that are less than ideal. I think about Jon the Baptist. We'll get there. In Matthew 11, okay, Jon the Baptist. In Jon 1, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And then when he's in a prison awaiting execution by Herod, he maybe in a moment of weakness, he sends a message to Jesus. Are you really the Messiah or do we look for another? He was in a place of physical duress. And so Christ is in the desert. He's hungry, and Satan comes. Satan is an observer. And, I'm sure Satan thought, oh, you know, he's physically weak, he's drained. I'm going to get him to turn these stones into bread. And, so you. The. These scriptures which Satan twists, all right, turning stones into bread, jumping off the roof of the temple, as if, you know, God is obligated to catch someone that might do such a thing. Or all the kingdoms of the world, Satan is offering Christ things that are out of God's will, contrary to God's word and would have derailed the plan of salvation. But praise the Lord, Bert. Just as we. We had a savior that hung on the cross till the bitter end, we have a savior that resisted the devil so that we could be redeemed.

>> Bert Harper: Hallelujah. Now, Alex, I know you use halt, hungry, angry, lonely, tired. Don't make those decisions. My problem is I've got to make some of them because I am at that point in time. Okay. You know, especially the part of anger. What am I going do with anger? Okay, what do I do? And if I count to 10, you know, the anger is still there. So what you want to do is be so saturated in the word and that Jesus was. He is the word. But how he used Deuteronomy here, all three of his scriptures come straight out of Deuteronomy. How he had those in his mind and his heart, and he knew what to say and how to depend upon the Lord. Well, we're in the book of Matthew, chapter four, and we're going to continue doing this. But again, notice each time Satan says, if you be the son of God. If you be the son of God. And Jesus says, it is written. It is written. Listen, the power of the Word of God is real. That's the reason we do this program called Exploring the word. So it will encourage you to know the word of God, meditate upon the word of God, and then use the Word of God in your life. We'll be back right after this.

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>> Alex McFarland: I got stolen by the grave robber. Pick me up from that rock bottom Wash my soul in that holy water Brought me back to life

>> Bert Harper: One more stone rolled away One more sin or

>> Alex McFarland: been saved by G.R. this dead man, he ain't dead no longer. All because of that grave robber.

Last week was Truth for Youth Bible Week and we sold 65,250 Bibles

Welcome back. We celebrate the grave robber, the one who beat death and rose himself. Jesus Christ. We're in Matthew chapter four. We're going to continue there. In just a moment. A couple of things. One, I'm going to give the number because in the next segment, we'll take your phone calls and questions. We'd love to have you call in. The number is 888-589-885. But, Bert, I want to say a big, big, big praise the Lord and thank you. Last week was Truth for Youth Bible Week. And, we were praying for 65,000 Bibles. And I'm going to let you give the exact number, but I want to say a heartfelt thank you to all the AFR listeners and families that partnered with us. And, I believe we met the goal maybe and a little bit more, and thousands and thousands of American young people are going to get a copy of God's Word. Bert, what was the final total on the Truth for Youth Bible week?

>> Bert Harper: As of 8:00pm last night, it was 65,250.

>> Alex McFarland: Praise God.

>> Bert Harper: we know it hasn't gone down, but the possibility of it going up is a reality. And, if you want to get in contact, you may they. The matching is over, but you can still purchase those, those Bibles, if you want to use them in your Sunday school class. For your Sunday school class to give them to students, you can go to tfy.org tfy.org and, you can see what you can do about ordering them. So, Alex, 65,250. Praise God.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, amen. And don't we have a faithful family throughout the United States? Whenever we, we put out prayer requests or we've got some ministry, evangelism initiative, the AFA family, they always rise up, don't they?

>> Bert Harper: They really do. And let me just say it, I believe that's one of the reasons God has blessed afr because of partnerships. We don't just say, hey, it's just us. Don't be concerned about any other ministry. No, I mean, we talk about Eight Days of Hope. We talk about, you know, it's Concerning Truth for Youth Bible Week. we talk about the Greatest Journey. We talk about Operation Christmas Child so we minister and we partner with these individuals that the glory of God will be seen and the message of Christ will be heard. Alex. So, we need to continue doing that and we would not be able to do it if it were not for our prayer warriors. It was our those that give and share in the ministry financially. So we praise God for them. Yes, we do.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, very quickly I want to thank everybody. You know, this weekend we had Rick Metaxas, bestselling author, and we had people come from a number of states to South Carolina to hear Rick Metaxas. And so many, many people came up to me and they said, we love exploring the Word and we listen to AFR and there were a lot of young people there, high schoolers, college students, people of all ages. Rick Metaxas gave a rousing message about revival in America and we did Q and A. And I'm just grateful that AFR allows me to promote events like this that we're putting on. But right now I am in Warner Robbins, Georgia now, tonight and tomorrow night, I have got the great honor of preaching at Friendship Baptist Church. Dr. Paul Cowles and the staff there. There's revival and the website is friendshipbaptist.com if you happen to be in the area of Warner Robins, Georgia tonight and tomorrow. I'll be there at 6:30pm and I surely would love to meet everybody, Alex.

>> Bert Harper: I know it'll be good. We'll be praying and just trusting the Lord. And, when it's through, we want to hear a report. That's one of the most important things you see in the scriptures. Jesus would send the 70 out. Guess what they'd do when they got back? Give a report.

>> Alex McFarland: What great things the Lord hath done.

>> Bert Harper: Exactly. Paul would go on his missionary journeys and he would come back to Antioch, he'd go to Jerusalem, give a report, look what God has done. So we love to give this report concerning truth for Youth Bible Week. We love to hear the reports that we hear about what God is doing in your life, in ministry. So, make it a praise and let God. That's what we do when we have prayer time on Tuesdays is we say, hey, we want to hear the prayers. But we also want to hear the answer to prayer, the praise, and give a report of what God has done.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. Amen.

Alex: We need to examine our ministries in a local church here

Well, in Matthew 4:12 and following, Jesus begins his Galilean ministry. And so, the devil left him, verse 11. And angels came and ministered to Jesus,

>> Bert Harper: the word of God. Alex, real quick, before we get through with the three temptations. Let me share this with you. I think this was what kind of ministry Jesus would have. But I think it's a good way to measure our ministries, to see, yes, we are. We have the bread of life, but we're not in a bread business. Our business is not just to help people. Jesus came to preach, teach, and to heal. So, you know, the bread, the celebrity B business, we're not to make our pastors and, whoever, you know, celebrities. No, that's not the purpose of it. Jump off the pinnacle, and everybody will see who you are, and they will want to. They want to follow you. Listen, preach the word, Be instant, in season and out of season. Be consistent. And I would say the other thing. Don't be that competitive. bow down and. And worship me. You know, that's what he always wanted, competitive. It's not competition that we're in with other churches or anything. We're in a completion business to work out for his glory that he'll get the complete glory. I just wanted to throw that in. We need to examine our ministries in a local church here in a ministry of afr. What. What kind of ministry are we going to have? Are we going to produce? So, Alex, not bread business, not celebrity business or competitive business, but the Lord's business. That's what Jesus said. Do you not know? I need to be about the business business of our Lord. That was at 12 years old. Here it is at 30 years old, still answering that same question.

>> Alex McFarland: Do you know? and I want to get back to Matthew 4, but I got a little booklet. Y'. All. Y' all probably know I love to read, and we love books and good, you know, theological books. I got a little pamphlet. many years ago, in the aftermath of the Reformation in colonial America, there was a man named Samuel Miller, and he was a teacher at Princeton back when they were godly. but he wrote a little pamphlet called An Able and Faithful Ministry. I don't know if you ever heard of that. This is from a long, long time ago. But he basically said, a minister that is able and faithful is very simple. Preach the word we, have. And he said, you know, faithful to the scripture, faithful in our walk, a good work ethic. And you're right, it's not. And look, I believe in, you know, Samaritan's Purse and charitable ministries. We support those. But the. The Great Commission is fundamentally about getting souls saved. And we're to preach the Gospel. It's not like you say, not the Bread business. Certainly not a cult of personality and celebrity and able and faithful ministry. To paraphrase Samuel Miller, it's all about the Gospel.

>> Bert Harper: Amen. Amen.

>> Alex McFarland: Alex, we may never, must never forget that.

>> Bert Harper: We must not. Alison, before you get to verse 12 again, between verse 11, in verse 12, there is some time. Matthew is not necessarily doing everything chronologically. He does things kind of in groups, like the sermons. He puts a lot of them together. And, so here, verse 11, verse 12. it's not immediately after this. by the way, if you want to look at it in a way that, you're looking at it consecutively, you would read Jon, chapter one, verse 19, through chapter three, verse 36. All of that takes place between verse 11 and verse 12. I just thought it would help people to know that. Alex, go ahead.

>> Alex McFarland: I think that's wonderful. And, you know, it was prophesied that he would be called a Nazarene. He's in the area of Captain Capernaum, which is by the sea. And by the way, you can still visit that city, today. Capernaum, where. Which was really the headquarters of Jesus's ministry. And, this is a fulfillment of, Isaiah, chapter nine. The land of Zebulun, the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan Galilee of the Gentiles. This is so beautiful. The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And upon those who sat in the region of the shadow of death, light has dawned. Yet, the light of the gospel, the light of God's word, but the light of Christ himself. He's there now. Verse 17 is among the very first sermons Jesus ever delivered. Says from that time Jesus began to preach and to say. And here's the first public word really. Repent. Turn, Repent. For the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Bert, I think that our preaching in the 21st century must, like Jesus, include the word repent.

>> Bert Harper: It does.

Matthew uses kingdom of heaven 32 times in the book of Matthew

Don't have a fit over that word. Oh, that's archaic. No, it's a real word. It means a change of mind which leads to a change of direction. Now, if you have your change of mind and. Well, I think I'll go a different way. No, it's a change of your heart, your mind, your will, God, I'm going your way. And that's what it means. And again, kingdom of heaven. the word. Those terms, kingdom of heaven appears 32 times in the book of Matthew. Only five times does the kingdom of God appear. And you gave that reason, last Week. And it is, I believe, with all my heart, Matthew was writing mainly to the Jewish. That was his target. You know, most folks, when they write a book, I know you've written the ones you did. Okay, I'm targeting someone that's about an eighth grade. But those that I've had to read in seminary, they were. They were targeting a higher educational level that I had to go through in those days. But here it is. his target route was the Jewish people. And, they. Using God's name, even kingdom of God was something that they were very, very careful, cautious about. And he uses kingdom of heaven. So it is repent. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. One more thing. This kingdom is not of this earth. it's not a location at this point in time unless it's in the heart of believers.

>> Alex McFarland: Right, right, right. and, you know, it is in the heart of believers, and it's in the presence of the church. The kingdom of heaven is among you. And, you know, I love how Chuck Colson used to say that churches were little platoons, you know, groups of soldiers of the cross. Really. Yeah. But speaking of groups of disciples in verse 18, and Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon, called Peter and Andrew, his brother, and casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. Jesus says to them, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Bert, even when I was a little kid, I was just sort of amazed, mesmerized by this. They immediately left their nets and followed him. Going on from there. He saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and Jon, his brother, in the boat with Zebedee, their father, mending their nets, the fishing nets. Gotta sew them up and keep them, you know, not torn. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. And Bert, I used to wonder when I was in Sunday school as a kid, how did they know to follow Jesus? I mean, obviously the Holy Spirit was drawing them. But I wonder if they thought, oh, my goodness, this is. This might be the Messiah. We've heard about this in synagogue. and this man has called me, this teacher. let me ask you this, Burton. This is maybe a little bit speculative. To what degree do you think Jesus's, notoriety as a teacher, a rebbe, or a rabbi? he was teaching. He had been, like in Luke, ah, chapter four. He had been in the temple, quoting from Isaiah, the spirit of the Lord is upon me. do you think they had any exposure to Christ prior to the call of the disciples or was his name beginning to be known a little bit or what do you think or can we even know?

>> Bert Harper: I do think I I thought I did. Jon the Baptist had already been preaching repent and these guys possibly, probably knew about Jon the Baptist because Jon's notoriety was greater than Jesus at this time them going to hear him. And possibly could they have been there at the baptism because Jon's disciples were there? Could they have been any of them? And so I do believe they had some knowledge that this was possibly, again fully knowing. No, because I guarantee you they still wanted the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven to be earthly, to overthrow those Romans and get them out of our land. so I don't think this is the first contact, this is my thoughts first contact that they had seen Jesus. I believe they had heard and possibly seen what had happened. And now he says follow me.

>> Alex McFarland: Well in 23 through 25 Jesus is teaching in multiple synagogues again preaching the gospel of the kingdom. This is really unique. Not just turn to God but the gospel of the kingdom. And really the message of the kingdom of God. We call it biblical worldview. Because Bert, there is a fully orbed worldview that is under the heading of God's word. The Bible speaks yes to salvation, of course, marriage, family, morality, society, economics, forgiveness, conflict resolution, emotional health, joy, a work ethic, prosperity. I mean this good news of the kingdom. God has a plan for life and it's a good plan of blessing and peace and security.

>> Bert Harper: Amen. Preaching, teaching, healing, threefold ministry. We, yes, we are praying for that. We got a lot more to say. but we're going to take calls in the next segment. That number triple H589-8840.

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>> Alex McFarland: dust on our Bibles, brand new iPhones. No wonder why we feel this way. We walk with our idols blindly blows and I'm doing with those idols and Dusty Bibles.

>> Bert Harper: Part of the ministry of Exploring the Word is to get the dust off of your Bibles. Open it up, read it, meditate on it, study it. And that's what we do on Exploring the Word. And at the last segment we take phone calls and that number. We are ready for more phone calls. We've got several lines that are open. Is 888-589-8840. That's 888-589-8840. We would love to have your question.

Alex: What's going on with people asking questions about the Ethiopian Bibles

And Alex, real quickly before we go to the first caller again, what's going on with people asking questions about the Ethiopian Bibles? We had a lady that just called in, she didn't want to be on the air. Richard said she was asking about that and Richard now saying what's what, is it being promoted or something or do you know?

>> Alex McFarland: well I think there's just it's kind of gone viral a little bit. but again we always say, before we go chasing after books that are not of the canon, let's read and really familiarize ourselves with the ones that actually are in the canon. Okay, let me say this. Ethiopia is one of the early, early nations that a lot of people became Christians in. But here's the thing. The Ethiopian, let me just say the so called Ethiopian Bible is an ancient, in an ancient language that's not really spoken anymore but is used in some of their church services. And our Bible, the Protestant Bible contains 66 books, 39 old, 27 new. And the defense of those books being the canon that God gave, is just renowned. I mean without going into too much detail about this, now the canonicity of, of the books that are in your normal Bible is incredibly, incredibly well documented. Now the Ethiopian Bible has not 66 books but 81 books. And so there are other books, that are what are called apocryphal writings that were never really recognized by the early church. For one thing, they weren't written by an apostle, one who had seen the Lord. They were never fully recognized by the church at large. In other words, they didn't meet several key tests for canonicity. And Bert, I think maybe one of the reasons is that people, they might think, oh my goodness, have I believed something wrong? A lot of what's called clickbait, clickbait in the social media world will have some, you know, sensationalistic title. you know, what if the Bible you were reading is wrong? You know, it's been popularized, it's Nothing new. Listen, 30 years ago when I was in seminary, we studied some of these non canonical writings that came hundreds of years after the life of Christ. They were not written by the apostles. I mean, I would call it at, best an historical curiosity. Nothing necessarily wrong with studying it. But, if you're going to invest time reading ancient works that have for centuries been rejected as non canonical, at least give equal, if not more time to reading the actual Bible that every strata of Christendom has recognized now for 2000 years.

>> Bert Harper: Okay. We hope that helps everyone. And, if you need help on that, you can go to our podcast. You can go to afr.net go to podcast, scroll down and, listen, mark this date down. It is, August 10th, 2026. And that'll, help. We need to, Mike, give that Brent a little, notoriety. If you have questions about the Ethiopian Bible, come to this and we write

>> Alex McFarland: about it in our books. Questions?

>> Bert Harper: Books.

What is the difference between regeneration and justification? Please give references

Okay, let's go to Louisiana. And it's Jon. Jon, thank you for calling today. Go right ahead, brother. Yes, my question is, what is the difference between regeneration and justification? And, do they happen at the same time or different times? Please give references for all your answers. Okay. What does the word regeneration mean, Alex?

>> Alex McFarland: it really means to be made alive.

>> Bert Harper: Okay. And justification means

>> Alex McFarland: that we are made right in the sight of God.

>> Bert Harper: Okay, when does this happen? With each?

>> Alex McFarland: I think they happen simultaneously at the moment of salvation. You know, it's good that we were in, Matthew 4:17. Jesus says, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. So here's the thing. Justification means that we're made right in the sight of God. Regeneration is that our spirit is made alive. And this happens, I think, simultaneously at the moment of salvation. Now let me give you some verses like Ephesians 2, 8, 10. For by grace are you saved through faith, not of works. So justification to be put right in the sight of God is a free gift that we don't earn. And you can read like Romans 10:13. Whoever calls on, the name of the Lord will be saved. Romans 5:1. We are justified by faith, and we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And so, I think of 2nd Corinthians 5:17. If anyone is in Christ or a new creation, Bert. That regenerates, spirit made alive. It once was dead, but now is made alive. Titus 3:5 through 7 is another scripture. Regeneration. And, and I want to say this, Burton, I'll throw it back to you. That could happen even right now, somebody listening to the radio right now. You might be in the car or wherever, and you maybe you think, well, gee, I've tried to be a good person. Have I done enough? Here is the key to salvation. You must be made alive, spiritually born again. Jesus said in Jon 3. And when you admit your sins, and then you put your faith in Jesus, and you could pray it right now, you know sincerely from your heart to God. Dear God, I admit that I'm a sinner. I'm sorry for my sin. I do believe Jesus is the son of God. He died for me. Lord, I'm receiving you as my forgiver and my leader. Dear Jesus, I believe in you. Save me now, Bert, if somebody were to sincerely put their trust in Christ, that regeneration, that justification forever right in the eyes of God, that could happen as easy as a prayer right now, this very minute.

>> Bert Harper: You don't have to wait to get to church. You don't have to. You can do it right where you are. And I pray you would.

Ann in Texas says she believes God loves her despite childhood abuse

Well, let's go to Anne in Texas and thank you for calling. Go right ahead. Yes, so my question is,

>> Alex McFarland: Growing up, I was abused as a child for most. Most of my childhood. And I think, and I am a born again believer. I'm almost 65 now. and. But I don't really think that I truly get it down in my heart and spirit that God does love me as much as he does. And I'm wondering, how can I truly get it?

>> Bert Harper: Okay. And I, I don't want to be complicated. I'm kind of simple on this. Go to the cross. Look what Jesus did for you, Anne. For me, for Alex. He loved us. That he became obedient even to the death of the cross. That's love. Look at the prodigal son. Here's that son that left, with an attitude, man. He left with an attitude. all I want from you, dad, is your money. And he gets back, goes through life, but he comes back home. And what does the Father do? He runs. He kisses him. He welcomes him back. God loves you, Anne. The abuse, it was real. Listen, abuse is real. But listen, God is with us through all that. He cares for you and he loves you. Nobody. There's that song, Alex. Nobody ever love me like Jesus. That's a true statement, isn't it?

>> Alex McFarland: It really is. bless you, sister. You know, it's a truth that much of our view of the heavenly Father is informed by our experiences with our earthly father. And, you know, here's another truth. Emotions Follow belief. Usually. Now, your true standing with God is based on the promises of his word. And you might think, well, I don't know that I feel it. feelings follow later on. I mean, the engine pulling the train is God's truth. And God's promises, emotions are somewhere down the way. They will come. And I would encourage you to take God at his word. And here's a verse, Romans 5:8, says God demonstrated his love and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And the word demonstrate there means to tangibly prove. And Bert hit it right on the money. how do you know God loves you? The cross. But painful, bad things happened. Yes, they did. And, that's unfortunate, but all I can say is what the word of God says. For God so loved Anne in Texas that he sent his one and only son. And so, Bert, I've met a lot of people like that. Could we just pray right now? And that we would know. I mean, we can know that God loves us. Trust God at his word. God would not lie to you. The Lord would not mislead you. And in his word and by that cross, he has promised his true, true love for us. Would you pray about this?

>> Bert Harper: I will, Father.

Thank you for Ann calling today. And, Father, strengthen Ann. In Jesus name, we pray for her

Thank you for Anne calling today. She's touched my life. And, Father, if she's touched my heart, she's touched your heart. You're mindful of the pain that she went through. You're mindful of the difficulty of her knowing your love. But I pray, Father, that she goes back and remembers that you were there all the time you were with her. And now, God, you have a plan for her and a purpose. And you've used Anne today to let Alex and myself point people who. Other people who've been abused to Jesus Christ. And, Father, strengthen Anne. Help her receive what all the love that you have. And I can't help but think about songs and when I'm the love of God. That if we could understand the love of God. And the sky was the scroll, the oceans were the inkwell and all the stalks were the quills that we would drain the ocean dry to know of your love. And God I pray in would understand that. Live in that. I know she said she believes it now, Father, let that experience follow that belief. In Jesus name, we pray for her and for others who are listening as well. In Jesus name. Amen. And thank you for. Guys, get Ann's, phone number and address. We want to send her. And we want to. I want to send you something. It'll get out of the resource center, and we're going to share that with you. But thank you, Anne, for calling. Okay, put her on hold, Brent, if you can, and let Richard get that information. And, Okay, I think we got it. Yeah, let's go to True in Kentucky. True. Thank you for calling.

>> Alex McFarland: Hello?

>> Bert Harper: Yes, you're on. Go right ahead.

>> Alex McFarland: Yes, sir.

I was wondering about the different crowns they talk about in the Bible

>> if you could name them all

>> and where I can find him.

>> Bert Harper: Okay, Alex, here's the challenge. I know I've done it, but I usually have notes in front of me. Your mind is you. You receive things so well. I have to have notes. Can you remember crown of righteous program on this? Yeah, we have.

>> Alex McFarland: Let me tell you, a couple years ago, Bert did a spectacular outline. Well, for one thing, there's the crown of righteousness. second Timothy 4, verse 8 says that we, get as believers a crown of righteousness. James 1, verse 12 talks about the crown of life. You know, first Peter 5, 4 talks about a crown of glory. That really is for pastors and teachers. Bert, I know there are a lot of, there are other crowns. There's, a crown for soul winning and being a witness. Basically, if I remember your outline, there were five kinds of crowns.

>> Bert Harper: That's right.

>> Alex McFarland: Was that right?

>> Bert Harper: You're right and true. What you do you have a concordance? Get in. Your concordance is one of the greatest tools anyone can have in their Bible, equipment. Okay, Your Bible discipleship equipment. And look up the word crowns and look at the NewSong Testament and you will find every one of those. And let me just share with you. And again, I'm not being mean, but I am being truthful. You looking them up and finding them on your own will do you. I. I'm telling it will become real. More real to you if you found that out. I can hear things, Alex, and it blesses me. But then when I go back and check it out and read the scriptures and look it up on my own, does it become that? I say it becomes more real to me and becomes mine. Does that make sense?

>> Alex McFarland: And let me just say, folks, you do want crowns in heaven because, the Bible says we're going to lay our crowns at his feet. In fact, there's a Christian musical group called Casting Crowns. Some people have said, what in the world does that mean? Well, even after salvation, you're going to get rewarded, but all we're going to do is lay him at his feet. And I bet we're going to quote Psalm 115, verse 1. Not unto us, O Lord, but unto your name give glory. Because we wouldn't have anything without King Jesus. The crowns really belong to him.

>> Bert Harper: There is casting crowns. I know people's got a lot of good names for their groups, but mine is. I love casting crowns. What? What? What a great name. Mercy Me is good, too, but I love casting crowns and their music as well. True. We hope that's helped you. Casey, sorry we couldn't get to you. Call back tomorrow or. And tomorrow is the day of prayer. So if you've got a lot of prayer requests, get them ready for tomorrow and we'll share them with you. And, Alex, we'll continue in Matthew, chapter five. We're moving on our brother.

>> Alex McFarland: I've got a dear friend named Brad Howard in Richmond, Virginia. He needs prayer for a health issue, and I'll elaborate tomorrow on that.

>> Bert Harper: Today we answer questions. Tomorrow, day of prayer. We want to ask God, do a great work in all of our lives.

>> Alex McFarland: The views and opinions expressed in this

>> Bert Harper: broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.

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