>> The Bible. It's the word of God. Sharper than any two edged sword. This sacred book is living and active and contains all that's needed for life and godliness. Stay with American Family Radio for the next hour as we study God's word and take your Bible questions. Welcome to Exploring the Word
John Boler and welcome to Exploring the Word. Today we are in Psalm 84, so I encourage you to grab, a copy of God's Word and join along with us. I am Jon Bowler, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, Tupelo, Mississippi, filling in today for Alex McFarland as he is in Israel. Joined, joined today by Brother Bert Harper. Brother Bert, always good to see you.
Bert Harper We have. And guess what's happened. We got a special guest today.
John Boler Bring him on.
Bert Harper Well, we're going to try to find out. I think he's online. Is, is this a reporter from Jerusalem?
Alex McFarland This is brother Alex McFarland calling, exploring the Word. Yes, from Jerusalem.
Alex Shares Holy Land Visits And Their Biblical Significance
Bert Harper Well, what's your Bible question for us, Alex? No,
Alex McFarland well, listen, I just wanted to tell everybody, how we, we thank everybody for their prayers and we're having a great time. Tim Wildmon, Allison, myself, my wife Angie and I don't know, well over a hundred people I believe, from AFA Tours. And we're seeing the land of the Bible and the steps where Jesus walked.
Bert Harper Oh, amen. It is a special place to go. I'm so thankful you and Angie could go. And what have, what are you see, what have you seen and what are you seeing tomorrow?
Alex McFarland Well, thanks very much. We had a really busy day today. we got up very early and we drove to the Mount of Olives and we were at the top of the Mount of Olives and we looked across, of course to that very, very famous site of the old City of Jerusalem. And we looked at the Eastern Gate. Bert, you know, there is the Eastern Gate that Jesus will open up and walk through one day. And of course then we went down to the Garden of Gethsemane and Tim and I both, spoke and got to teach a little bit there in the actual Garden of Gethsemane. And you know, it's verified that some of those trees are more than 2,000 years old. So I mean, you think about it when Jesus was praying there in the, you know, the dark night of the soul, pondering the punishment and the pain he was about to endure. You know, some of those very trees that we were at today were there the night Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. And we went to Shepherd's field where, the shepherds were keeping watch and the angel appeared. Which, by the way, incidentally, Shepherd's Field is also known as the field of Boaz.
Bert Harper Right
Alex McFarland where Boaz, and you know, Ruth met M. The kinsman Redeemer. And also in that very, very same area, Samuel anointed David as king. Remember, Ruth and Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David. So, as you all know, I mean, this, this. Every place you go is just so rich with biblical history and biblical truth.
Travelers Encourage Young People And Discuss Visiting Israel
Bert, I will tell you, everybody's asked about you and everybody on the trip. People from Texas and Michigan and Louisiana and Florida and North Carolina and just people from all over, express, well, number one, great love for the Lord, but great love for AFR and great love for exploring the Word.
Bert Harper Amen, brother. Well, I want to tell you, Jon Bowler is doing a great job holding, holding your microphone down. And, we appreciate him and Dillon because, we're excited about what God's doing, not just in our generation, but the generation to come as well. So, Alex, thank you for calling and give, give our love to Angie, your. Your wife. And we'll keep praying for you guys as you make this trek. Journey through the Holy Land, brother.
Alex McFarland Amen. Amen. Well, tomorrow we're gonna go to Masada and the dead. And
Bert Harper yeah,
Alex McFarland lots of. One last thing. I give God the glory there. One family from, Michigan, I believe, Michigan brought their teenagers. And Angie and I had dinner with these, folks tonight, and the kids are loving it. And then there's several other young people on the trip as well. And I'm just, I'm excited for everybody being here, but especially for the young people getting a vision for God's word and just the great gospel story. So thanks for everybody's prayers and we'll. We'll be in touch.
Bert Harper Okay, thank you, brother. Be careful. Okay.
Alex McFarland God bless.
Bert Harper Yes, that was Alex McFarland, M. The CO. Host of Exploring the Word in Israel. And, Jon, those places I've been. And when he was talking about the Shepherd's Field, after you've been there, you just. Man. Yeah, I remember that. Yes, I remember that.
John Boler The Bible comes to life and, every Christian ought to have passport and every Christian ought to go to Israel.
Bert Harper Amen.
Psalm Eighty Four Background And The Sons Of Korah
Well, let's get started on Psalm 84. Let's
John Boler go
Bert Harper ahead. You go ahead and get reading and blast off, brother.
John Boler Well, Psalm 84. Let me just kind of give you a little bit of context, about, what Psalm 84 is, maybe at the beginning of your Bible. In, Psalm 84, there may be some, little footnotes. And those are easy, those are fun to read. It says the blessing of dwelling in the house of God to the chief musician on an instrument of Gath, the psalm of the sons of Korah. And you look at that and think, well, that doesn't mean a whole lot. But when you begin to dig and to see what, especially the sons of Korah and who they are and why they wrote this psalm. This is one of 11 Psalms that are in, the 150 Psalms. 11 Psalms like, Psalm 46, which closes, be still and know that I am God is written by the sons of Korah. Psalm 42. As the deer pants for the water, so my soul, longs for you. Written by the sons of Korah. But the sons of Korah, So Korah the father was a cousin of Moses and Eryn, and his story is not as good as the son's. Korah, decided to challenge the priesthood. And long story short, the Bible says there are numbers that the earth just swallowed him up. this is. Generations later, took a different route, than his father did. The Korah, were Levites, So they had responsibilities, in the temple. Ah, they were gatekeepers, they were doorkeepers, in the temple. They were musicians in the temple. And so these sons of Korah, they're writing this and the context here. You can take Psalm 84 a couple of different ways. Let me give you some application. First, as you begin to read about this, this is going to the house of God and worshiping. You can look at it in our own life as our life as a sanctuary and longing to go and to worship the Lord. You can look at an application of a church going to long to worship the Lord in the church. You can apply it to, one day when Jesus reigns as a millennial king and we worship him, you can apply it to heaven. How we long to go to heaven. And can you imagine being a doorkeeper right there in heaven, welcoming people in and out, but here, specifically, the sons of Korah. So the days of Hezekiah, the Assyrians, we talked about that in Hosea, have overtaken the northern kingdom. Their desire was to keep going south. They get to Jerusalem unsuccessful, but in that process, the danger of coming to the temple to worship. Now the Assyrians have gone away, and one of these sons of Korah is writing, remembering his time at the gatekeeper as the doorkeeper.
Longing For Worship And The Presence Of The Living God
But he's Going back.
Bert Harper Going back. He's been there, but he's going back.
John Boler Yeah.
Bert Harper What a vision this is. So what you're doing. And the word pilgrimage is used in verse five. I was reading someone. The differences in different ways you run to or run from. But a pilgrimage always has the destination in mind.
John Boler That's right.
Bert Harper So, and as you said, the application for those of us that want to go to church, and my mother in law experienced this after she got physically unable to go each Sunday. The longing for her to go and be there with fellow worshipers, you know, before the Lord, those. And my wife's grandmother, she was in the hospital and I came out there and she said, pray for me, I'll go home. And so I started praying she'd get better. And I got through. She said, that's not the home I'm talking about. You know, that pilgrimage. And it is heaven, a longing for that.
John Boler Ultimately this is talking about heaven. But picture in your mind going back days of Hezekiah and this son of Korah, he has a responsibility. He says in verse one, how lovely is your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts. It is wonderful, it is beautiful. But he's not just talking about a physical structure because verse two, he says, my soul, it longs, it even faints. That word faint means to exhaust with desire for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Oh, I love to go to the tabernacle, but I'm just not going a beautiful place. I'm going to a place to cry out to God. I'm going to a place to worship the Lord and I can't wait to get to that place. That's what he's talking about there in those first two verses.
Bert Harper And notice what he does. He includes soul, heart and flesh. My total being. With my total being, I'm wanting to be in the presence of the living God. And in other words, when you have a living God and you're living, you're talking about a living relationship. And he is desiring that to be in the presence.
Wholehearted Worship And The Joy Of Gathering With Believers
And listen, I remember this. there was a group of young people that came and toured through America. They were called Ugandan Thunder. They were orphans that were from Uganda and they would come through a tour. We had them at the church where I pastored. And you know, and the, the founder of the ministry there and he traveled with them and he would say, listen, in Uganda, it's a total body experience when you worship getting those kids Just praising God. And I call this a total body experience of worship inward and outward as well.
John Boler Would you call it true worship?
Bert Harper I think you do. And
John Boler anything less than that, it's got to be referent. But it's just true worship. There's not a part of whether it's body, soul, spirit. You give God everything,
Bert Harper everything,
John Boler every part of who you are.
Bert Harper Anticipating a worship service. you know, I've had one or two times. I've had to set out for a week or two, but during Cove Okay. And didn't get to go there. Man, my heart longed to be with God's people. yes, you can have worship. You can have three or four, but there's something about maybe a, dozen. Three dozen. A whole body of people praising God with their entire being.
John Boler I think it's safe to say when you miss church, do you miss church? And I think that's a true sign of someone in a right relationship with the Lord. There's times where you may have to miss sickness, you may travel different things that may come up. And if you have to miss. Do you miss. Do you miss church?
Temple Birds And A Musical Teaser Before The Psalm Continues
Bert Harper Verse, three. I think we this before we do. I could not help but think of Jesus in his wording about foxes and have hope birds have listen to it. Even the sparrow has found a home and the swallow a nest for herself where she may lay her young. Even your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God, the Lord listen. The smallest of God's creatures,
John Boler they've got a place right there in the temple, the court of the Gentiles. There would be cages of birds. I can imagine, if walking up and just hearing the birds chirp. They have a place and they're at peace.
Bert Harper And he's been there and now he's remembering. Just, when Alex was talking about the, the shepherd's field, my mind went immediately back there and I could picture that. And so when you've been with the Lord, he can remind us what it was like in that total worship. Well, we're going to come back in just a moment. We're going to continue in Psalm 84. It is a beautiful psalm. You don't want to miss it. Hello, I'm Bert Harper. Did you know that this content is listener supported? Without people like you, this podcast would not exist. That's why we need you. A generous monthly gift of any amount will sustain American Family Radio and specifically this podcast. Please consider becoming a monthly financial partner today by visiting afr.net give that's afr.net gift better is one day in your court. Better is one day in your house. Better is one day in your court. Thousands, Elsewhere. Better is one day in your courts. Better is one day in your house. Better is one day in your course. Thousands. Elsewhere. Amen. And amen. Brett. Thank you, brother. And, those of you that are wondering, why did y' all play that song? Stay tuned and you'll find out. Okay. It's coming. they call that a teaser, Jon. So we want to do that.
Pilgrimage Brings Steady Praise Through Life’s Changing Circumstances
Verse four and five have, something in common, and we're going to go right ahead. There's a break in between it, and Jon's going to deal with that. But verse 4. Blessed are those who dwell in your house. Now notice verse 5. Blessed is the man whose strength is in you, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. Okay. When you see that dwelling in the pilgrimage, that's our life. There are times when we dwell in a certain area, but sometimes we never get to the point where being uprooted does not hurt. All of God's great men have always been mobile. Think of that. Abraham had to be mobile. even Moses had to be mobile. For 40 years, he was really mobile. And then even King David had to be mobile. The apostle Paul, Jesus said, okay, birds have nests, foxes have holes, but the Son of Man has nowhere. And he's born there in Bethlehem, went to Egypt, came back to Nazareth, made Capernaum his headquarters. So, I think it says something about, we dwell with the Lord in his presence, but we're constantly journeying toward him.
John Boler We are. We are. When it says here in verse 4 and 5 that at the end of verse 4, they will still be praising you. And it's set on pilgrimage. Or that word pilgrimage is a highway. You're on a journey, you're on a road. And regardless if kingdoms are coming and conquering or whatever you may be going through in your life, they are still praising you, no matter what happens in life. And my Bible translation, and maybe yours, has this, and we see this often in the book of. In fact, the only time we see this is in the Book of Psalms, with the exception of just one or two times in the book of Habakkuk is this word Selah, and it just means rest. It means pause. It means think about it. they will still be praising you.
Bert Harper I want to say something about that. My wife went to a conference years ago with Evelyn Christensen. what happened when women pray. Just a strong writer, a pastor's wife, and she was talking about reading The Bible, devotionally. And, she said, I know you may want to do three chapters a day, and that's good. But said, when God speaks to your heart in a word, a phrase, a verse, stop and dwell on it for a while. She came home and she told me that some of the best stuff I've ever been told concerning the word of God, Jon,
John Boler just pause and just stop. my very, very elementary, music abilities. I know what a whole note is, and I know when you're supposed to rest when you're reading music. Other than that, I don't know. So reading this, you just. You pause. Because what he's about to say in verses 5, 6 and 7, and end of 8.
The Valley Of Baca Becomes A Spring Through God’s Provision
And then he says it again to pause. But let's get to verse five. Blessed is the man whose strength is in you, whose heart is set on. That's that highway, that pilgrimage. A journey, as they. Verse six. What? A verse. As they pass through the valley of Baca. So I want to pause. They're journeying back to Jerusalem to worship where they were. the opportunity was lacking because of the siege of the Assyrians. They're going back to worship and they're passing through this valley of Baca. Valley of Baca is an interesting word. It's somewhat hard to translate. The root word comes from a word that. That means weeping. So you could translate it that way. That, weeping. Difficulties of life. This word also comes from a word in the Middle east of the balsam tree, which is, a tree that grows in the valleys. And then as the rains come and as they're coming through this dry valley, there's pockets of rain. It's hard to translate, but that may be a good translation.
Bert Harper I believe it is. It's a journey. In any journey, especially when you're walking or on a donkey or even a camel, you know, you're going to make these, areas that, In the terrain that is difficult and hard. Okay, Regardless of what this is, you know me, I love geography. I said, I got to find where that Valley of Baka is. And I got it out. I checked my dictionary. I checked everything I could. Nobody could locate it. We don't know where it is. So here's what I come up with. It may be an unexpected place, a, place when you start looking and it looks clear, but you do not necessarily know what's in the valley between the m. Mountaintop here and the mountaintop there. But. But the supply is from the Lord. The rain comes from Him.
John Boler The rains come. So every person walks through the valley of Bac. Every person, whether it's the desert weeping, whether it's the unexpected. And the scripture says they make it a spring. If this won't preach, I don't know what will. When you go through the valley, use that as an opportunity to. To overflow with the Holy Spirit of God. In your most difficult places, you make it a spring, a place of supply, a place where the Lord can. Oftentimes when we go through difficult moments, we're either going to turn to bitterness and we're going to use that as an opportunity to be better. And the scripture says here they make it a spring. The rain also covers it with pools. And they go from strength to strength.
Bert Harper I couldn't help but think we live from faith to faith. M Guess what Faith brings on strength. Strength. And it's. Let me ask you this. Is it strength for the journey?
John Boler I think so.
Bert Harper It is. And everybody's journey is different. And in a journey, you're going to have the ups and downs and the hooks and the crooks. You're going to have some impending difficulties that come your way. But here it is. They go from strength to strength. From that refreshing. Go back to the children of Israel coming out of Egypt. Even in their wandering and in their wilderness wandering, God brought them to certain places. And some of those places were refreshing and some of those things were difficult. But he put them at strategic locations. That's
John Boler right.
Bert Harper So they could do what? Grow in him, learn from him, provision, protection. He had both.
Trusting God’s Strength Through Trials And Renewed Faith
John Boler Let me challenge somebody that may be listening today. And so at church Sunday, which I encourage, I pray you have a family of faith. Psalm 84 is a perfect example that there's nothing like having a family of faith to go into. Worship the Lord. And you've gone through just. You're going through the valley of Baca, you're going through difficult times, and somebody asks, how are you doing? The temptation is just to pour out everything that we're going through. And, and maybe even to the point of complaining, which we're supposed to don't do anything complaining or murmuring in life. What if you told them, I'm just going from strength to strength, which means God has been faithful. Yesterday he strengthened me. Then, my favorite verse is Isaiah 40:31. In Isaiah, where the Bible says that those who walk with the Lord shall renew their strength, you exchange the weariness of life, which is verse 30, verse 31. You exchange it for strength because you're walking with the Lord. Yes, you're going through a lot in life, but the Lord is carrying you from strength to strength. What a testimony that would be. And you'd probably have a, ah, deer in the headlight look, the person that you're talking to. But that's what it is. You just go from strength to strength. Because storms of life will never end until we see Jesus face to face.
Bert Harper You could not help. I could not help but think about the footprints in the sand.
John Boler Yeah.
Bert Harper two sets of footprints, except at the most difficult places. And there was one. Why was that? God. That's when I was carrying you. You know, he'll carry us on his wings. He will see us through.
John Boler There's a passage in Isaiah and, I think it's towards the end, even in your old age, I will carry you.
Bert Harper hey. Okay. Thank you
John Boler for that. I didn't think much of that years ago, but I think, Lord, you're still carrying me.
Bert Harper Amen.
John Boler Even as I get older. so verse six, that's for somebody today. You may need to go back and reread this and study this passage. Go from strength to strength.
Prayer Seeks God’s Attention And The Face Of His Anointed
Each one appears before God in Zion.
Bert Harper nobody does he start. And now he gives a prayer. He said, now notice what this is. It's praise and prayer. That's it, Jon. I mean, that's what we do. Lord, help us. There
John Boler is the connection there.
Bert Harper There is the connection. Let me read verses. 89. Okay. O Lord, God of hosts, hear my prayer. Give ear, O God of Jacob. There's that pause again. okay. Who am I talking? Sometimes that's what you need to do. We have a friend that sticks closer than a brother. He's the host of all the army. He is all of that a m wonderful, counselor. Yes, he is, you know, Almighty God. Yes, he is. Why would it take so many words to describe who he is, Jon?
John Boler Yeah.
Bert Harper Because he's God.
John Boler He's God.
Bert Harper And so here it is, he says, O God, give, ear, O God of Jacob. Selah. Oh God, behold our shield and look upon the face of your anointed Jon. Is this, not necessarily called a Messianic psalm, but it sure has Messianic tendencies.
John Boler You know, I love context. I love to get the context right. But the application and the prophetic, you can't help. You cannot isolate this to the temple. I think there's more there.
Bert Harper There is.
John Boler I think there's more there.
Bert Harper Notice that. Oh God, behold our shield. Is he describing God? He's. He is our shield. He. He. I go before you
John Boler Yeah.
Bert Harper I go before
John Boler you. Yes, yes.
Bert Harper And then. And look upon the face of your anointed.
John Boler Yeah.
Bert Harper To see his face, face to face with Christ my Savior, you know, and that promise of God, My people who are called by my name will do all that and seek my face. Not my hand, but my face. In other words, we're talking about relationship and we're talking about fellowship here, aren't we?
John Boler Yeah. 1 Jon 3. One that says, Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us that we should be called children of God. Children of God. It does not appear what we shall be, but we know we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. Therefore, if you have that hope, you purify yourself going back to the pilgrimage. Purify yourself of, that hope.
One Day With God Outweighs A Thousand Elsewhere
Verse 10.
Bert Harper Okay, we're going to get to this.
John Boler I was going to say this is the best verse, but we've already covered four or five better. Excuse me. I was thinking say better. That's how the song starts. For A day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. the doorkeeper. Going back to the sons of Korah, they had a responsibility to be that doorkeeper. As a part of the tribe of Levi, I would rather serve my God than anything else in the world. A day in your courts is better than a thousand. I'm going to put that as I'm going to put my pastoral heart on. There's no better place for a Christian to be with other Christians than in the house of God.
Bert Harper Jesus, when he sent them out. We had that question yesterday about when he sent the, apostles out two by two to the, you know, to the Jewish community. We discussed that quite a bit, and, here it is. Jesus always paired them off, put. Put them in groups, had the 12, you know, had. Had the 70, had the. The 500. That groups accountability and encouragement.
John Boler Yeah,
Bert Harper those two things in a, In your walk, in your pilgrimage, in your pilgrimage, Walt. The accountability and the encouragement.
John Boler Could Sunday to Sunday, to Sunday be strength to strength. To strength. To strength.
Bert Harper I found it true in my life. It's
John Boler true in my life. And
Bert Harper usually, hey, there's somebody there. And that's the reason in the early church, they met in the homes and they had an easier time to have this discussion and praise time. When you have hundreds of people together, it's difficult. That's why small groups are so important in a fellowship. Jon. That's
John Boler right.
Bert Harper And if you're just attending, I'll go back to when I had three boys. we need to do more than go to big church. We need those small groups, don't we?
John Boler Get plugged in.
God Gives Grace And Goodness To Those Who Walk Uprightly
Verse 11. For the Lord God is a son and a shield. The word sun here is not s O n, it's s u n. I find this interesting, research. The only time in the scripture that God's called the Son, Malachi calls him the son of righteousness. But the only time that the Lord is a so prophetic passage. In the new heaven and new earth, there is no s U n. But there is a light.
Bert Harper There is,
John Boler and it's the Lord God.
Bert Harper Well, that was in the beginning. at creation. There was light there, but then God separated those lights, and so it's pretty neat. Go ahead.
John Boler He says, the Lord will give grace and glory. No good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly. It goes right back to the pilgrimage, the highway of holiness. And walking uprightly with. Now,
Bert Harper what is good for the saint? Ephesians. I mean, not ephesians. Romans, 8, 28. Okay. God, does all things. He works all things for our good. Now, what is our good? Oh, easy life, easy trail. No valley of Baca. No difficulties, hard, no conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.
John Boler That's right.
Bert Harper That is the goal of God's will. After I'm saved, God's will for me is to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. Jon,
John Boler you've got the spiritual side. I'm going to throw the physical side in it. When you're walking through the valley of Baca, pull them shoulders back and walk uprightly. Because you're going from strength to strength. You're not. You may be down and downcast, but the Lord is your strength. You may not understand it all, but the Lord is your strength. The Bible says to walk uprightly. And he closes. O, Lord of hosts. Blessed is the man who trusts in you. This is the one writing who is having to go back to the place of worship because of uncertainty. He says, blessed is the man who trusts in you.
Bert Harper There's nothing that takes a place. And it's an old hymn. Trust and obey.
John Boler There's no other way.
Bert Harper There's no other way. And that's what we're on, exploring the Word. That's what we tell you. Trust the Lord Jesus Christ and walk with him in obedience. We're gonna take phone calls, Bible questions. That number. 888-589-8840. Let me give it one more time. Put it in speed dial for some of you. 888-589-8-8840.
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Caller Asks About Full Bodied Worship And Expressive Praise
John Boler And welcome back to Exploring the Word. If you've got your Bible questions, you can send them, phone number one more time is 888-589-8840. And let's go. let's go first brother Bert, let's go to Robert in Tennessee. Hello, Robert. How are you today?
Caroline Hello. I'm doing good today. I just love getting out of work at three o'. Clock. And listen, my brothers in Christ, you know, it's beautiful.
Bert Harper Amen. Brother.
Caroline My question, my question today is for brother Bert. And, I think I know what you mean, but could you expand on what you said about a full body worship?
Bert Harper Okay. let me go back to the Old Testament. David danced before the Lord. He was so full of gratitude. It doesn't mean a modern dance, but it meant that he was, just praising God with some type of a rhythm, singing and moving. And what that was in Uganda is these kids, we're talking about from 9 years old through 12 years old, and they were up there and like, they would sing. These are the days of Elijah and. And man, you just see them just praising the Lord and moving. You could sense that. And Robert, it transferred to those who were sitting and watching as we would join them in worship. Now, the reason I read that is because of Psalm 84, verse 2. My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh crowd for the living God. And, hold up holy hands. Oh, clap your hands. Oh, you people. we don't have to not use, We can't. Okay, Jon, you and I tried to talk about this. Don't let formality keep you from being moved by God's spirit.
John Boler Worship needs to be free.
Bert Harper It does. It
John Boler needs to be free. It doesn't necessarily have to be clapping hands or raising. It is expressive. But someone who is maybe not expressing all of that, they're free. They may be bowing their head in prayer. They may be worshiping. It's just free worship is never to be in a box.
Bert Harper One of the best examples. And Robert, I thank you for calling, asking that. This is really great for me. Ron Dunn, who is one of my favorite preachers. Did you ever hear him or hear about him?
John Boler I did.
Bert Harper Okay. Dr. Rogers. Adrian Rogers. People said, they'd ask him who feeds you the most. And he was introducing Ron Dunn, and he said, I want to introduce you. The man that I, you know, listen. And Ron Dunn, he was. He was an evangelist. He'd call himself, you know, a revivalist because of how he would go to churches. And he, was sitting up on the podium when they sat up there in the chairs, you know, and the pastor, they. They were sitting there together. And the pastor was holding up his hand. He put up his other hand and, he reached over and whispered to Ron, well, you're free to hold up your hands here. And Ron said, I'm afraid not to.
John Boler Yeah,
Bert Harper that's what we're talking about. That's what we're talking about. That's right. So that's what I mean, Robert, I've seen people worship the Lord, and all they're doing is bowing their head and their worship is as full as anybody, just holding up. It's the freedom to express that. Robert, thank you for that call. Good call, Good call.
Caller Wonders Whether Political Change Could Signal Divine Judgment
John Boler Let's go, let's go next to Krish, in Texas. Go ahead, Krish. Thank you for calling.
Caroline Yes, this isn't as much a question as it is a comment. but, Romans 13:1 says there is no authority except by God. And Daniel 2:21 says that God puts kings in power and loots them. And I have a feeling that this democratic onslaught is God's judgment on the United States.
Bert Harper Okay, Krish, I. It really could be.
John Boler We
Bert Harper don't know. We don't know. We don't know yet. There have been, think of slavery, okay, how horrible slavery was. It was sin justified, even using the Bible to justify slavery. And God's I think judgment came up on when they did not have to die and the blood did not have to if they'd done what God wanted them to do. so we don't know yet, but we understand God's not pleased with killing babies in the womb. He's not pleased with, so called same sex marriage, which is really not marriage at all. God's not pleased with that.
John Boler He's not. And what happened last Tuesday? Krish, thank you for your call. And, and you know, a, lot of times after a presidential election, usually the next election cycle, which is two years after the other party, usually picks up many, many seats. So this has been common. But I think it's a reminder whether it's Democrat or Republican, because it seems like we're just going back and forth and back and forth. And I think God is letting us know that government's not the answer, and it has to be the Lord. But, even
Bert Harper for those of us that voted the other way, government is not the answer.
John Boler That's right. But
Bert Harper God is.
John Boler And anytime in the Bible, there were wicked kings or even, go back to the days of the Book of Acts where there was intense persecution. There was always a remnant, and there was a remnant that was on fire for God. And I pray that through the difficulties of what's happening in the United States of America that it wakes up the church and we go on our face before the Lord. And even in the midst of difficult times, there is a fresh anointing of the Spirit of God that's happening in our churches through all of that. So, yeah, I would love to see different things on the government issues, especially related to moral issues. But, you know, my hope is, I'm looking up. Thank you, Krish. Thank Krish. Thank you for your call.
Revelation’s Two Witnesses Are Protected Until Their Work Is Finished
Let's go to, let's go to Kristie Anyabwile in Louisiana. Kristie Anyabwile, thank you so much for calling. Go ahead with your, with, with your, question.
Caroline Okay. Can y' all hear me?
John Boler Yes, ma'. Am.
Caroline Okay, so I'm going through a call wash, so I apologize, but. So the verse Revelation 11, 7, it says now, when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will attack them and overpower and kill them. And so I've always kind of wondered about dispersed and, you know, who is it? Like, like, does this apply to us? Like, when we're finished our work, you know, is God gonna pick something that is gonna actually kill us type thing, I guess you could say. Or is this just something the enemy did? Or.
Bert Harper Okay, we're talking about the two witnesses.
John Boler We are, we're talking about two witnesses there in, in the book of Revelation. So these two witnesses are, Are not identified. there's a lot of, curiosity, of who these two witnesses are. And there's also even, scholars that believe more of a figurative, where it's not necessarily two individuals that, it could be something besides two individuals. I'm more on the camp. I do believe it's two individuals, that are witnessing. They're there, at the Wailing Wallnua area. They are a target of the enemy. They are a target of Satan. They are a target of the Antichrist. And, when that scripture, that there in verse 11. Excuse me, chapter 11, all of that is related to those two witnesses, who lose their life. But then you move down to verse 11, where they are resurrected. yes, they've got a target from the enemy, but God is protecting them.
Bert Harper And notice the terminology in verse 7. When they finish, you can't help. And then, like you said, the three and a half days, what did Jesus say on the cross? It is finished. So I don't read too much into it, but I can't help but see it. we've got a task to do. Those two witnesses have the task to do, and God protects them, keeps them alive. No matter what they tried, they kept them alive until they had finished the task that God had for them in mind. Now, the enemy, ascended from the hot, bottomless pit. Is this the first time he comes up? It doesn't seem like that to me. In other words, it seems like he could have got his groundwork going and then coming and doing that, but he's still on the timetable of Jesus. And I'm reminded, in the Book of Jon, especially Jesus going to the cross again and Again, he said, my hour has not come, My time has not come. but then at the end he says my hour has come. That's right. So we're. And it goes back to the other comment that was made concerning the judgment of God and what's going on here. Our confidence is in God, but it's also in his time. And, we can trust him, can
John Boler we? Amen. Kristie Anyabwile, thank you so much for that question. I love the book of Revelation and if you're reading through it, keep, it up. Just remember it's the revelation of Jesus Christ. It's not a scary book. It is about Jesus.
Bert Harper We need to give the number because we may have time for another call. And that number is 888-589-8840.
John Boler All right, all right. Thank you, Kristie Anyabwile, for that call.
Healing, Unanswered Prayer, And God’s Greater Purpose
Let's go to, Dwight in Alabama. Dwight in Alabama. Thank you so much for calling. Go ahead.
Alex McFarland Thank you so much for what y' all do. I listen to AFR on the way to work every morning on the way home, and it sure helps me stay on the straight and narrow path. But, what I had a question about is, saw a
Caroline snippet
Alex McFarland from the series the Chosen where Jesus is speaking to the man with the infirmity. And
Caroline Jesus
Alex McFarland acknowledges
Caroline that the
Alex McFarland man has faith to be healed. And. But
Caroline Jesus asked the man what would, honor his Father in heaven more. You being healed or you not being healed, but yet still keep your faith and hope in Christ Jesus. And I was wanting to know if that specifically in Scripture. And I'll hang up.
Bert Harper Okay, this is interesting. I don't haven't watched Chosen all this. I watched that one specifically, just this week and here it is. He's talking to James the Less. Okay. You know, you had two in the Chosen. I'm not talking about in the Bible. And he's talking to James the lesson. And he's just gav. Given them the instructions that they're going to go out and preach and heal, cast out demons. And he's sitting there and you can see it in the scene. What about me? What about me? So at the end he comes in struggling to get to Jesus and he asking that question, you know what would be. It's not in the scriptures that way. Let me just say that, Dwight. It's not in the scriptures, but, God's glory is seen. And I can't help but think of, Joni Eareckson. Tada.
John Boler Yeah.
Bert Harper and wow. Alex and I. Alex is friends with her. I've gotten to meet her, Jan and I have, and we've gotten to interview her. And, she is talking about God's glory, said, yes, God could heal me and I didn't have to have my neck broke. But what I would have missed had this not happened to me, it changed her whole life. It changed her focus. And because of Jerry, you know, Joni Eareckson, Tada. The glory of God is seen through that exact comment that's in the chosen that Jesus makes to James the Less. Yeah.
John Boler Ah, you know, there are so many. We long for the physical side where we desire healing above anything else. And praise God that He, that he heals. And praise God that He can do that. But his work is so much greater sometimes than the biblical side of it.
Bert Harper I've experienced it and I know, I don't talk a lot about other songs other than the Christian songs that we have here, but I do thank God for some of my unanswered prayers. Jon. selfish. And God answers prayers. We think if he doesn't give us what we've asked for, we've missed it. But God, he does say no.
John Boler He does. And it's not from, I don't love you, it's, I do love you. And I know the future.
Bert Harper I do. And that scripture says, if you ask for bread, will he give you a stone? If you. You know, I've seen people be blessed in it. In place of them drawing toward the Lord, it drew them away because what they were doing, they were concentrating on the blessing rather than the blesser. And that's the focus. And it goes back to what we're talking about here. our hope is in God, in Jesus Christ, in our relationship with him, not what he gives us, not even the land that he has given us. That doesn't mean we don't struggle to keep the freedom.
John Boler Yeah.
Bert Harper As I've said many times, the gospel works under all conditions. Yeah. But missions works in freedom.
Believers With Christ And A Final Invitation To Worship
We got another caller.
John Boler All right, all right, let's go. let's go to Rich, in Virginia. Thank you so much for calling today. Go ahead with your question.
Caroline Sure. I know that the Bible says that absent from the body, present with the Lord for believers. I was wondering, is that in paradise, Heaven? Are they the same place?
Bert Harper Okay, great question.
John Boler I believe right now, if you were to pass away, you are with the Lord Jesus Christ,
Bert Harper wherever He is.
John Boler Wherever he is. I am not really concerned about the location, even though I believe it is heaven. I am with the Lord. Jesus Christ.
Bert Harper Okay? And what you've got to do, you look at this. When Jesus comes back, according to Corinthians, the dead in Christ shall rise first. that means they're resurrected bodies, but it means their spirit, their soul is with. The Lord is to be there. He told the thief on the cross, today you'll be with me in paradise. I think wherever Jesus is, Paradise, heaven, we're with him. There's going to be a new heaven one day, so it's going to even be different than that, Jon.
John Boler That's right.
Bert Harper Hey, we got us. We got a great future ahead of us, if you know Jesus Christ.
John Boler I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking. I'm just going from strength to strength. And I encourage you this morning or this afternoon, if you listen to us on Exploring the Word, that, you already begin to make plans this coming Sunday. Maybe you haven't been in a church in a long, long time, but you come back this Sunday. It's a place of worship. it's a place where you can honor the Lord. It's a place where you can fellowship. it's a place where you can praise the Lord Jesus Christ. He is worthy of all praise.
Caroline The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.
>> The Bible. It's the word of God. Sharper than any two edged sword. This sacred book is living and active and contains all that's needed for life and godliness. Stay with American Family Radio for the next hour as we study God's word and take your Bible questions. Welcome to Exploring the Word
John Boler and welcome to Exploring the Word. Today we are in Psalm 84, so I encourage you to grab, a copy of God's Word and join along with us. I am Jon Bowler, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, Tupelo, Mississippi, filling in today for Alex McFarland as he is in Israel. Joined, joined today by Brother Bert Harper. Brother Bert, always good to see you.
Bert Harper We have. And guess what's happened. We got a special guest today.
John Boler Bring him on.
Bert Harper Well, we're going to try to find out. I think he's online. Is, is this a reporter from Jerusalem?
Alex McFarland This is brother Alex McFarland calling, exploring the Word. Yes, from Jerusalem.
Alex Shares Holy Land Visits And Their Biblical Significance
Bert Harper Well, what's your Bible question for us, Alex? No,
Alex McFarland well, listen, I just wanted to tell everybody, how we, we thank everybody for their prayers and we're having a great time. Tim Wildmon, Allison, myself, my wife Angie and I don't know, well over a hundred people I believe, from AFA Tours. And we're seeing the land of the Bible and the steps where Jesus walked.
Bert Harper Oh, amen. It is a special place to go. I'm so thankful you and Angie could go. And what have, what are you see, what have you seen and what are you seeing tomorrow?
Alex McFarland Well, thanks very much. We had a really busy day today. we got up very early and we drove to the Mount of Olives and we were at the top of the Mount of Olives and we looked across, of course to that very, very famous site of the old City of Jerusalem. And we looked at the Eastern Gate. Bert, you know, there is the Eastern Gate that Jesus will open up and walk through one day. And of course then we went down to the Garden of Gethsemane and Tim and I both, spoke and got to teach a little bit there in the actual Garden of Gethsemane. And you know, it's verified that some of those trees are more than 2,000 years old. So I mean, you think about it when Jesus was praying there in the, you know, the dark night of the soul, pondering the punishment and the pain he was about to endure. You know, some of those very trees that we were at today were there the night Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. And we went to Shepherd's field where, the shepherds were keeping watch and the angel appeared. Which, by the way, incidentally, Shepherd's Field is also known as the field of Boaz.
Bert Harper Right
Alex McFarland where Boaz, and you know, Ruth met M. The kinsman Redeemer. And also in that very, very same area, Samuel anointed David as king. Remember, Ruth and Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David. So, as you all know, I mean, this, this. Every place you go is just so rich with biblical history and biblical truth.
Travelers Encourage Young People And Discuss Visiting Israel
Bert, I will tell you, everybody's asked about you and everybody on the trip. People from Texas and Michigan and Louisiana and Florida and North Carolina and just people from all over, express, well, number one, great love for the Lord, but great love for AFR and great love for exploring the Word.
Bert Harper Amen, brother. Well, I want to tell you, Jon Bowler is doing a great job holding, holding your microphone down. And, we appreciate him and Dillon because, we're excited about what God's doing, not just in our generation, but the generation to come as well. So, Alex, thank you for calling and give, give our love to Angie, your. Your wife. And we'll keep praying for you guys as you make this trek. Journey through the Holy Land, brother.
Alex McFarland Amen. Amen. Well, tomorrow we're gonna go to Masada and the dead. And
Bert Harper yeah,
Alex McFarland lots of. One last thing. I give God the glory there. One family from, Michigan, I believe, Michigan brought their teenagers. And Angie and I had dinner with these, folks tonight, and the kids are loving it. And then there's several other young people on the trip as well. And I'm just, I'm excited for everybody being here, but especially for the young people getting a vision for God's word and just the great gospel story. So thanks for everybody's prayers and we'll. We'll be in touch.
Bert Harper Okay, thank you, brother. Be careful. Okay.
Alex McFarland God bless.
Bert Harper Yes, that was Alex McFarland, M. The CO. Host of Exploring the Word in Israel. And, Jon, those places I've been. And when he was talking about the Shepherd's Field, after you've been there, you just. Man. Yeah, I remember that. Yes, I remember that.
John Boler The Bible comes to life and, every Christian ought to have passport and every Christian ought to go to Israel.
Bert Harper Amen.
Psalm Eighty Four Background And The Sons Of Korah
Well, let's get started on Psalm 84. Let's
John Boler go
Bert Harper ahead. You go ahead and get reading and blast off, brother.
John Boler Well, Psalm 84. Let me just kind of give you a little bit of context, about, what Psalm 84 is, maybe at the beginning of your Bible. In, Psalm 84, there may be some, little footnotes. And those are easy, those are fun to read. It says the blessing of dwelling in the house of God to the chief musician on an instrument of Gath, the psalm of the sons of Korah. And you look at that and think, well, that doesn't mean a whole lot. But when you begin to dig and to see what, especially the sons of Korah and who they are and why they wrote this psalm. This is one of 11 Psalms that are in, the 150 Psalms. 11 Psalms like, Psalm 46, which closes, be still and know that I am God is written by the sons of Korah. Psalm 42. As the deer pants for the water, so my soul, longs for you. Written by the sons of Korah. But the sons of Korah, So Korah the father was a cousin of Moses and Eryn, and his story is not as good as the son's. Korah, decided to challenge the priesthood. And long story short, the Bible says there are numbers that the earth just swallowed him up. this is. Generations later, took a different route, than his father did. The Korah, were Levites, So they had responsibilities, in the temple. Ah, they were gatekeepers, they were doorkeepers, in the temple. They were musicians in the temple. And so these sons of Korah, they're writing this and the context here. You can take Psalm 84 a couple of different ways. Let me give you some application. First, as you begin to read about this, this is going to the house of God and worshiping. You can look at it in our own life as our life as a sanctuary and longing to go and to worship the Lord. You can look at an application of a church going to long to worship the Lord in the church. You can apply it to, one day when Jesus reigns as a millennial king and we worship him, you can apply it to heaven. How we long to go to heaven. And can you imagine being a doorkeeper right there in heaven, welcoming people in and out, but here, specifically, the sons of Korah. So the days of Hezekiah, the Assyrians, we talked about that in Hosea, have overtaken the northern kingdom. Their desire was to keep going south. They get to Jerusalem unsuccessful, but in that process, the danger of coming to the temple to worship. Now the Assyrians have gone away, and one of these sons of Korah is writing, remembering his time at the gatekeeper as the doorkeeper.
Longing For Worship And The Presence Of The Living God
But he's Going back.
Bert Harper Going back. He's been there, but he's going back.
John Boler Yeah.
Bert Harper What a vision this is. So what you're doing. And the word pilgrimage is used in verse five. I was reading someone. The differences in different ways you run to or run from. But a pilgrimage always has the destination in mind.
John Boler That's right.
Bert Harper So, and as you said, the application for those of us that want to go to church, and my mother in law experienced this after she got physically unable to go each Sunday. The longing for her to go and be there with fellow worshipers, you know, before the Lord, those. And my wife's grandmother, she was in the hospital and I came out there and she said, pray for me, I'll go home. And so I started praying she'd get better. And I got through. She said, that's not the home I'm talking about. You know, that pilgrimage. And it is heaven, a longing for that.
John Boler Ultimately this is talking about heaven. But picture in your mind going back days of Hezekiah and this son of Korah, he has a responsibility. He says in verse one, how lovely is your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts. It is wonderful, it is beautiful. But he's not just talking about a physical structure because verse two, he says, my soul, it longs, it even faints. That word faint means to exhaust with desire for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Oh, I love to go to the tabernacle, but I'm just not going a beautiful place. I'm going to a place to cry out to God. I'm going to a place to worship the Lord and I can't wait to get to that place. That's what he's talking about there in those first two verses.
Bert Harper And notice what he does. He includes soul, heart and flesh. My total being. With my total being, I'm wanting to be in the presence of the living God. And in other words, when you have a living God and you're living, you're talking about a living relationship. And he is desiring that to be in the presence.
Wholehearted Worship And The Joy Of Gathering With Believers
And listen, I remember this. there was a group of young people that came and toured through America. They were called Ugandan Thunder. They were orphans that were from Uganda and they would come through a tour. We had them at the church where I pastored. And you know, and the, the founder of the ministry there and he traveled with them and he would say, listen, in Uganda, it's a total body experience when you worship getting those kids Just praising God. And I call this a total body experience of worship inward and outward as well.
John Boler Would you call it true worship?
Bert Harper I think you do. And
John Boler anything less than that, it's got to be referent. But it's just true worship. There's not a part of whether it's body, soul, spirit. You give God everything,
Bert Harper everything,
John Boler every part of who you are.
Bert Harper Anticipating a worship service. you know, I've had one or two times. I've had to set out for a week or two, but during Cove Okay. And didn't get to go there. Man, my heart longed to be with God's people. yes, you can have worship. You can have three or four, but there's something about maybe a, dozen. Three dozen. A whole body of people praising God with their entire being.
John Boler I think it's safe to say when you miss church, do you miss church? And I think that's a true sign of someone in a right relationship with the Lord. There's times where you may have to miss sickness, you may travel different things that may come up. And if you have to miss. Do you miss. Do you miss church?
Temple Birds And A Musical Teaser Before The Psalm Continues
Bert Harper Verse, three. I think we this before we do. I could not help but think of Jesus in his wording about foxes and have hope birds have listen to it. Even the sparrow has found a home and the swallow a nest for herself where she may lay her young. Even your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God, the Lord listen. The smallest of God's creatures,
John Boler they've got a place right there in the temple, the court of the Gentiles. There would be cages of birds. I can imagine, if walking up and just hearing the birds chirp. They have a place and they're at peace.
Bert Harper And he's been there and now he's remembering. Just, when Alex was talking about the, the shepherd's field, my mind went immediately back there and I could picture that. And so when you've been with the Lord, he can remind us what it was like in that total worship. Well, we're going to come back in just a moment. We're going to continue in Psalm 84. It is a beautiful psalm. You don't want to miss it. Hello, I'm Bert Harper. Did you know that this content is listener supported? Without people like you, this podcast would not exist. That's why we need you. A generous monthly gift of any amount will sustain American Family Radio and specifically this podcast. Please consider becoming a monthly financial partner today by visiting afr.net give that's afr.net gift better is one day in your court. Better is one day in your house. Better is one day in your court. Thousands, Elsewhere. Better is one day in your courts. Better is one day in your house. Better is one day in your course. Thousands. Elsewhere. Amen. And amen. Brett. Thank you, brother. And, those of you that are wondering, why did y' all play that song? Stay tuned and you'll find out. Okay. It's coming. they call that a teaser, Jon. So we want to do that.
Pilgrimage Brings Steady Praise Through Life’s Changing Circumstances
Verse four and five have, something in common, and we're going to go right ahead. There's a break in between it, and Jon's going to deal with that. But verse 4. Blessed are those who dwell in your house. Now notice verse 5. Blessed is the man whose strength is in you, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. Okay. When you see that dwelling in the pilgrimage, that's our life. There are times when we dwell in a certain area, but sometimes we never get to the point where being uprooted does not hurt. All of God's great men have always been mobile. Think of that. Abraham had to be mobile. even Moses had to be mobile. For 40 years, he was really mobile. And then even King David had to be mobile. The apostle Paul, Jesus said, okay, birds have nests, foxes have holes, but the Son of Man has nowhere. And he's born there in Bethlehem, went to Egypt, came back to Nazareth, made Capernaum his headquarters. So, I think it says something about, we dwell with the Lord in his presence, but we're constantly journeying toward him.
John Boler We are. We are. When it says here in verse 4 and 5 that at the end of verse 4, they will still be praising you. And it's set on pilgrimage. Or that word pilgrimage is a highway. You're on a journey, you're on a road. And regardless if kingdoms are coming and conquering or whatever you may be going through in your life, they are still praising you, no matter what happens in life. And my Bible translation, and maybe yours, has this, and we see this often in the book of. In fact, the only time we see this is in the Book of Psalms, with the exception of just one or two times in the book of Habakkuk is this word Selah, and it just means rest. It means pause. It means think about it. they will still be praising you.
Bert Harper I want to say something about that. My wife went to a conference years ago with Evelyn Christensen. what happened when women pray. Just a strong writer, a pastor's wife, and she was talking about reading The Bible, devotionally. And, she said, I know you may want to do three chapters a day, and that's good. But said, when God speaks to your heart in a word, a phrase, a verse, stop and dwell on it for a while. She came home and she told me that some of the best stuff I've ever been told concerning the word of God, Jon,
John Boler just pause and just stop. my very, very elementary, music abilities. I know what a whole note is, and I know when you're supposed to rest when you're reading music. Other than that, I don't know. So reading this, you just. You pause. Because what he's about to say in verses 5, 6 and 7, and end of 8.
The Valley Of Baca Becomes A Spring Through God’s Provision
And then he says it again to pause. But let's get to verse five. Blessed is the man whose strength is in you, whose heart is set on. That's that highway, that pilgrimage. A journey, as they. Verse six. What? A verse. As they pass through the valley of Baca. So I want to pause. They're journeying back to Jerusalem to worship where they were. the opportunity was lacking because of the siege of the Assyrians. They're going back to worship and they're passing through this valley of Baca. Valley of Baca is an interesting word. It's somewhat hard to translate. The root word comes from a word that. That means weeping. So you could translate it that way. That, weeping. Difficulties of life. This word also comes from a word in the Middle east of the balsam tree, which is, a tree that grows in the valleys. And then as the rains come and as they're coming through this dry valley, there's pockets of rain. It's hard to translate, but that may be a good translation.
Bert Harper I believe it is. It's a journey. In any journey, especially when you're walking or on a donkey or even a camel, you know, you're going to make these, areas that, In the terrain that is difficult and hard. Okay, Regardless of what this is, you know me, I love geography. I said, I got to find where that Valley of Baka is. And I got it out. I checked my dictionary. I checked everything I could. Nobody could locate it. We don't know where it is. So here's what I come up with. It may be an unexpected place, a, place when you start looking and it looks clear, but you do not necessarily know what's in the valley between the m. Mountaintop here and the mountaintop there. But. But the supply is from the Lord. The rain comes from Him.
John Boler The rains come. So every person walks through the valley of Bac. Every person, whether it's the desert weeping, whether it's the unexpected. And the scripture says they make it a spring. If this won't preach, I don't know what will. When you go through the valley, use that as an opportunity to. To overflow with the Holy Spirit of God. In your most difficult places, you make it a spring, a place of supply, a place where the Lord can. Oftentimes when we go through difficult moments, we're either going to turn to bitterness and we're going to use that as an opportunity to be better. And the scripture says here they make it a spring. The rain also covers it with pools. And they go from strength to strength.
Bert Harper I couldn't help but think we live from faith to faith. M Guess what Faith brings on strength. Strength. And it's. Let me ask you this. Is it strength for the journey?
John Boler I think so.
Bert Harper It is. And everybody's journey is different. And in a journey, you're going to have the ups and downs and the hooks and the crooks. You're going to have some impending difficulties that come your way. But here it is. They go from strength to strength. From that refreshing. Go back to the children of Israel coming out of Egypt. Even in their wandering and in their wilderness wandering, God brought them to certain places. And some of those places were refreshing and some of those things were difficult. But he put them at strategic locations. That's
John Boler right.
Bert Harper So they could do what? Grow in him, learn from him, provision, protection. He had both.
Trusting God’s Strength Through Trials And Renewed Faith
John Boler Let me challenge somebody that may be listening today. And so at church Sunday, which I encourage, I pray you have a family of faith. Psalm 84 is a perfect example that there's nothing like having a family of faith to go into. Worship the Lord. And you've gone through just. You're going through the valley of Baca, you're going through difficult times, and somebody asks, how are you doing? The temptation is just to pour out everything that we're going through. And, and maybe even to the point of complaining, which we're supposed to don't do anything complaining or murmuring in life. What if you told them, I'm just going from strength to strength, which means God has been faithful. Yesterday he strengthened me. Then, my favorite verse is Isaiah 40:31. In Isaiah, where the Bible says that those who walk with the Lord shall renew their strength, you exchange the weariness of life, which is verse 30, verse 31. You exchange it for strength because you're walking with the Lord. Yes, you're going through a lot in life, but the Lord is carrying you from strength to strength. What a testimony that would be. And you'd probably have a, ah, deer in the headlight look, the person that you're talking to. But that's what it is. You just go from strength to strength. Because storms of life will never end until we see Jesus face to face.
Bert Harper You could not help. I could not help but think about the footprints in the sand.
John Boler Yeah.
Bert Harper two sets of footprints, except at the most difficult places. And there was one. Why was that? God. That's when I was carrying you. You know, he'll carry us on his wings. He will see us through.
John Boler There's a passage in Isaiah and, I think it's towards the end, even in your old age, I will carry you.
Bert Harper hey. Okay. Thank you
John Boler for that. I didn't think much of that years ago, but I think, Lord, you're still carrying me.
Bert Harper Amen.
John Boler Even as I get older. so verse six, that's for somebody today. You may need to go back and reread this and study this passage. Go from strength to strength.
Prayer Seeks God’s Attention And The Face Of His Anointed
Each one appears before God in Zion.
Bert Harper nobody does he start. And now he gives a prayer. He said, now notice what this is. It's praise and prayer. That's it, Jon. I mean, that's what we do. Lord, help us. There
John Boler is the connection there.
Bert Harper There is the connection. Let me read verses. 89. Okay. O Lord, God of hosts, hear my prayer. Give ear, O God of Jacob. There's that pause again. okay. Who am I talking? Sometimes that's what you need to do. We have a friend that sticks closer than a brother. He's the host of all the army. He is all of that a m wonderful, counselor. Yes, he is, you know, Almighty God. Yes, he is. Why would it take so many words to describe who he is, Jon?
John Boler Yeah.
Bert Harper Because he's God.
John Boler He's God.
Bert Harper And so here it is, he says, O God, give, ear, O God of Jacob. Selah. Oh God, behold our shield and look upon the face of your anointed Jon. Is this, not necessarily called a Messianic psalm, but it sure has Messianic tendencies.
John Boler You know, I love context. I love to get the context right. But the application and the prophetic, you can't help. You cannot isolate this to the temple. I think there's more there.
Bert Harper There is.
John Boler I think there's more there.
Bert Harper Notice that. Oh God, behold our shield. Is he describing God? He's. He is our shield. He. He. I go before you
John Boler Yeah.
Bert Harper I go before
John Boler you. Yes, yes.
Bert Harper And then. And look upon the face of your anointed.
John Boler Yeah.
Bert Harper To see his face, face to face with Christ my Savior, you know, and that promise of God, My people who are called by my name will do all that and seek my face. Not my hand, but my face. In other words, we're talking about relationship and we're talking about fellowship here, aren't we?
John Boler Yeah. 1 Jon 3. One that says, Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us that we should be called children of God. Children of God. It does not appear what we shall be, but we know we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. Therefore, if you have that hope, you purify yourself going back to the pilgrimage. Purify yourself of, that hope.
One Day With God Outweighs A Thousand Elsewhere
Verse 10.
Bert Harper Okay, we're going to get to this.
John Boler I was going to say this is the best verse, but we've already covered four or five better. Excuse me. I was thinking say better. That's how the song starts. For A day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. the doorkeeper. Going back to the sons of Korah, they had a responsibility to be that doorkeeper. As a part of the tribe of Levi, I would rather serve my God than anything else in the world. A day in your courts is better than a thousand. I'm going to put that as I'm going to put my pastoral heart on. There's no better place for a Christian to be with other Christians than in the house of God.
Bert Harper Jesus, when he sent them out. We had that question yesterday about when he sent the, apostles out two by two to the, you know, to the Jewish community. We discussed that quite a bit, and, here it is. Jesus always paired them off, put. Put them in groups, had the 12, you know, had. Had the 70, had the. The 500. That groups accountability and encouragement.
John Boler Yeah,
Bert Harper those two things in a, In your walk, in your pilgrimage, in your pilgrimage, Walt. The accountability and the encouragement.
John Boler Could Sunday to Sunday, to Sunday be strength to strength. To strength. To strength.
Bert Harper I found it true in my life. It's
John Boler true in my life. And
Bert Harper usually, hey, there's somebody there. And that's the reason in the early church, they met in the homes and they had an easier time to have this discussion and praise time. When you have hundreds of people together, it's difficult. That's why small groups are so important in a fellowship. Jon. That's
John Boler right.
Bert Harper And if you're just attending, I'll go back to when I had three boys. we need to do more than go to big church. We need those small groups, don't we?
John Boler Get plugged in.
God Gives Grace And Goodness To Those Who Walk Uprightly
Verse 11. For the Lord God is a son and a shield. The word sun here is not s O n, it's s u n. I find this interesting, research. The only time in the scripture that God's called the Son, Malachi calls him the son of righteousness. But the only time that the Lord is a so prophetic passage. In the new heaven and new earth, there is no s U n. But there is a light.
Bert Harper There is,
John Boler and it's the Lord God.
Bert Harper Well, that was in the beginning. at creation. There was light there, but then God separated those lights, and so it's pretty neat. Go ahead.
John Boler He says, the Lord will give grace and glory. No good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly. It goes right back to the pilgrimage, the highway of holiness. And walking uprightly with. Now,
Bert Harper what is good for the saint? Ephesians. I mean, not ephesians. Romans, 8, 28. Okay. God, does all things. He works all things for our good. Now, what is our good? Oh, easy life, easy trail. No valley of Baca. No difficulties, hard, no conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.
John Boler That's right.
Bert Harper That is the goal of God's will. After I'm saved, God's will for me is to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. Jon,
John Boler you've got the spiritual side. I'm going to throw the physical side in it. When you're walking through the valley of Baca, pull them shoulders back and walk uprightly. Because you're going from strength to strength. You're not. You may be down and downcast, but the Lord is your strength. You may not understand it all, but the Lord is your strength. The Bible says to walk uprightly. And he closes. O, Lord of hosts. Blessed is the man who trusts in you. This is the one writing who is having to go back to the place of worship because of uncertainty. He says, blessed is the man who trusts in you.
Bert Harper There's nothing that takes a place. And it's an old hymn. Trust and obey.
John Boler There's no other way.
Bert Harper There's no other way. And that's what we're on, exploring the Word. That's what we tell you. Trust the Lord Jesus Christ and walk with him in obedience. We're gonna take phone calls, Bible questions. That number. 888-589-8840. Let me give it one more time. Put it in speed dial for some of you. 888-589-8-8840.
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Caller Asks About Full Bodied Worship And Expressive Praise
John Boler And welcome back to Exploring the Word. If you've got your Bible questions, you can send them, phone number one more time is 888-589-8840. And let's go. let's go first brother Bert, let's go to Robert in Tennessee. Hello, Robert. How are you today?
Caroline Hello. I'm doing good today. I just love getting out of work at three o'. Clock. And listen, my brothers in Christ, you know, it's beautiful.
Bert Harper Amen. Brother.
Caroline My question, my question today is for brother Bert. And, I think I know what you mean, but could you expand on what you said about a full body worship?
Bert Harper Okay. let me go back to the Old Testament. David danced before the Lord. He was so full of gratitude. It doesn't mean a modern dance, but it meant that he was, just praising God with some type of a rhythm, singing and moving. And what that was in Uganda is these kids, we're talking about from 9 years old through 12 years old, and they were up there and like, they would sing. These are the days of Elijah and. And man, you just see them just praising the Lord and moving. You could sense that. And Robert, it transferred to those who were sitting and watching as we would join them in worship. Now, the reason I read that is because of Psalm 84, verse 2. My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh crowd for the living God. And, hold up holy hands. Oh, clap your hands. Oh, you people. we don't have to not use, We can't. Okay, Jon, you and I tried to talk about this. Don't let formality keep you from being moved by God's spirit.
John Boler Worship needs to be free.
Bert Harper It does. It
John Boler needs to be free. It doesn't necessarily have to be clapping hands or raising. It is expressive. But someone who is maybe not expressing all of that, they're free. They may be bowing their head in prayer. They may be worshiping. It's just free worship is never to be in a box.
Bert Harper One of the best examples. And Robert, I thank you for calling, asking that. This is really great for me. Ron Dunn, who is one of my favorite preachers. Did you ever hear him or hear about him?
John Boler I did.
Bert Harper Okay. Dr. Rogers. Adrian Rogers. People said, they'd ask him who feeds you the most. And he was introducing Ron Dunn, and he said, I want to introduce you. The man that I, you know, listen. And Ron Dunn, he was. He was an evangelist. He'd call himself, you know, a revivalist because of how he would go to churches. And he, was sitting up on the podium when they sat up there in the chairs, you know, and the pastor, they. They were sitting there together. And the pastor was holding up his hand. He put up his other hand and, he reached over and whispered to Ron, well, you're free to hold up your hands here. And Ron said, I'm afraid not to.
John Boler Yeah,
Bert Harper that's what we're talking about. That's what we're talking about. That's right. So that's what I mean, Robert, I've seen people worship the Lord, and all they're doing is bowing their head and their worship is as full as anybody, just holding up. It's the freedom to express that. Robert, thank you for that call. Good call, Good call.
Caller Wonders Whether Political Change Could Signal Divine Judgment
John Boler Let's go, let's go next to Krish, in Texas. Go ahead, Krish. Thank you for calling.
Caroline Yes, this isn't as much a question as it is a comment. but, Romans 13:1 says there is no authority except by God. And Daniel 2:21 says that God puts kings in power and loots them. And I have a feeling that this democratic onslaught is God's judgment on the United States.
Bert Harper Okay, Krish, I. It really could be.
John Boler We
Bert Harper don't know. We don't know. We don't know yet. There have been, think of slavery, okay, how horrible slavery was. It was sin justified, even using the Bible to justify slavery. And God's I think judgment came up on when they did not have to die and the blood did not have to if they'd done what God wanted them to do. so we don't know yet, but we understand God's not pleased with killing babies in the womb. He's not pleased with, so called same sex marriage, which is really not marriage at all. God's not pleased with that.
John Boler He's not. And what happened last Tuesday? Krish, thank you for your call. And, and you know, a, lot of times after a presidential election, usually the next election cycle, which is two years after the other party, usually picks up many, many seats. So this has been common. But I think it's a reminder whether it's Democrat or Republican, because it seems like we're just going back and forth and back and forth. And I think God is letting us know that government's not the answer, and it has to be the Lord. But, even
Bert Harper for those of us that voted the other way, government is not the answer.
John Boler That's right. But
Bert Harper God is.
John Boler And anytime in the Bible, there were wicked kings or even, go back to the days of the Book of Acts where there was intense persecution. There was always a remnant, and there was a remnant that was on fire for God. And I pray that through the difficulties of what's happening in the United States of America that it wakes up the church and we go on our face before the Lord. And even in the midst of difficult times, there is a fresh anointing of the Spirit of God that's happening in our churches through all of that. So, yeah, I would love to see different things on the government issues, especially related to moral issues. But, you know, my hope is, I'm looking up. Thank you, Krish. Thank Krish. Thank you for your call.
Revelation’s Two Witnesses Are Protected Until Their Work Is Finished
Let's go to, let's go to Kristie Anyabwile in Louisiana. Kristie Anyabwile, thank you so much for calling. Go ahead with your, with, with your, question.
Caroline Okay. Can y' all hear me?
John Boler Yes, ma'. Am.
Caroline Okay, so I'm going through a call wash, so I apologize, but. So the verse Revelation 11, 7, it says now, when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will attack them and overpower and kill them. And so I've always kind of wondered about dispersed and, you know, who is it? Like, like, does this apply to us? Like, when we're finished our work, you know, is God gonna pick something that is gonna actually kill us type thing, I guess you could say. Or is this just something the enemy did? Or.
Bert Harper Okay, we're talking about the two witnesses.
John Boler We are, we're talking about two witnesses there in, in the book of Revelation. So these two witnesses are, Are not identified. there's a lot of, curiosity, of who these two witnesses are. And there's also even, scholars that believe more of a figurative, where it's not necessarily two individuals that, it could be something besides two individuals. I'm more on the camp. I do believe it's two individuals, that are witnessing. They're there, at the Wailing Wallnua area. They are a target of the enemy. They are a target of Satan. They are a target of the Antichrist. And, when that scripture, that there in verse 11. Excuse me, chapter 11, all of that is related to those two witnesses, who lose their life. But then you move down to verse 11, where they are resurrected. yes, they've got a target from the enemy, but God is protecting them.
Bert Harper And notice the terminology in verse 7. When they finish, you can't help. And then, like you said, the three and a half days, what did Jesus say on the cross? It is finished. So I don't read too much into it, but I can't help but see it. we've got a task to do. Those two witnesses have the task to do, and God protects them, keeps them alive. No matter what they tried, they kept them alive until they had finished the task that God had for them in mind. Now, the enemy, ascended from the hot, bottomless pit. Is this the first time he comes up? It doesn't seem like that to me. In other words, it seems like he could have got his groundwork going and then coming and doing that, but he's still on the timetable of Jesus. And I'm reminded, in the Book of Jon, especially Jesus going to the cross again and Again, he said, my hour has not come, My time has not come. but then at the end he says my hour has come. That's right. So we're. And it goes back to the other comment that was made concerning the judgment of God and what's going on here. Our confidence is in God, but it's also in his time. And, we can trust him, can
John Boler we? Amen. Kristie Anyabwile, thank you so much for that question. I love the book of Revelation and if you're reading through it, keep, it up. Just remember it's the revelation of Jesus Christ. It's not a scary book. It is about Jesus.
Bert Harper We need to give the number because we may have time for another call. And that number is 888-589-8840.
John Boler All right, all right. Thank you, Kristie Anyabwile, for that call.
Healing, Unanswered Prayer, And God’s Greater Purpose
Let's go to, Dwight in Alabama. Dwight in Alabama. Thank you so much for calling. Go ahead.
Alex McFarland Thank you so much for what y' all do. I listen to AFR on the way to work every morning on the way home, and it sure helps me stay on the straight and narrow path. But, what I had a question about is, saw a
Caroline snippet
Alex McFarland from the series the Chosen where Jesus is speaking to the man with the infirmity. And
Caroline Jesus
Alex McFarland acknowledges
Caroline that the
Alex McFarland man has faith to be healed. And. But
Caroline Jesus asked the man what would, honor his Father in heaven more. You being healed or you not being healed, but yet still keep your faith and hope in Christ Jesus. And I was wanting to know if that specifically in Scripture. And I'll hang up.
Bert Harper Okay, this is interesting. I don't haven't watched Chosen all this. I watched that one specifically, just this week and here it is. He's talking to James the Less. Okay. You know, you had two in the Chosen. I'm not talking about in the Bible. And he's talking to James the lesson. And he's just gav. Given them the instructions that they're going to go out and preach and heal, cast out demons. And he's sitting there and you can see it in the scene. What about me? What about me? So at the end he comes in struggling to get to Jesus and he asking that question, you know what would be. It's not in the scriptures that way. Let me just say that, Dwight. It's not in the scriptures, but, God's glory is seen. And I can't help but think of, Joni Eareckson. Tada.
John Boler Yeah.
Bert Harper and wow. Alex and I. Alex is friends with her. I've gotten to meet her, Jan and I have, and we've gotten to interview her. And, she is talking about God's glory, said, yes, God could heal me and I didn't have to have my neck broke. But what I would have missed had this not happened to me, it changed her whole life. It changed her focus. And because of Jerry, you know, Joni Eareckson, Tada. The glory of God is seen through that exact comment that's in the chosen that Jesus makes to James the Less. Yeah.
John Boler Ah, you know, there are so many. We long for the physical side where we desire healing above anything else. And praise God that He, that he heals. And praise God that He can do that. But his work is so much greater sometimes than the biblical side of it.
Bert Harper I've experienced it and I know, I don't talk a lot about other songs other than the Christian songs that we have here, but I do thank God for some of my unanswered prayers. Jon. selfish. And God answers prayers. We think if he doesn't give us what we've asked for, we've missed it. But God, he does say no.
John Boler He does. And it's not from, I don't love you, it's, I do love you. And I know the future.
Bert Harper I do. And that scripture says, if you ask for bread, will he give you a stone? If you. You know, I've seen people be blessed in it. In place of them drawing toward the Lord, it drew them away because what they were doing, they were concentrating on the blessing rather than the blesser. And that's the focus. And it goes back to what we're talking about here. our hope is in God, in Jesus Christ, in our relationship with him, not what he gives us, not even the land that he has given us. That doesn't mean we don't struggle to keep the freedom.
John Boler Yeah.
Bert Harper As I've said many times, the gospel works under all conditions. Yeah. But missions works in freedom.
Believers With Christ And A Final Invitation To Worship
We got another caller.
John Boler All right, all right, let's go. let's go to Rich, in Virginia. Thank you so much for calling today. Go ahead with your question.
Caroline Sure. I know that the Bible says that absent from the body, present with the Lord for believers. I was wondering, is that in paradise, Heaven? Are they the same place?
Bert Harper Okay, great question.
John Boler I believe right now, if you were to pass away, you are with the Lord Jesus Christ,
Bert Harper wherever He is.
John Boler Wherever he is. I am not really concerned about the location, even though I believe it is heaven. I am with the Lord. Jesus Christ.
Bert Harper Okay? And what you've got to do, you look at this. When Jesus comes back, according to Corinthians, the dead in Christ shall rise first. that means they're resurrected bodies, but it means their spirit, their soul is with. The Lord is to be there. He told the thief on the cross, today you'll be with me in paradise. I think wherever Jesus is, Paradise, heaven, we're with him. There's going to be a new heaven one day, so it's going to even be different than that, Jon.
John Boler That's right.
Bert Harper Hey, we got us. We got a great future ahead of us, if you know Jesus Christ.
John Boler I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking. I'm just going from strength to strength. And I encourage you this morning or this afternoon, if you listen to us on Exploring the Word, that, you already begin to make plans this coming Sunday. Maybe you haven't been in a church in a long, long time, but you come back this Sunday. It's a place of worship. it's a place where you can honor the Lord. It's a place where you can fellowship. it's a place where you can praise the Lord Jesus Christ. He is worthy of all praise.
Caroline The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.
In this episode of Exploring the Word, John Boler and Bert Harper lead a rich discussion of Psalm 84, a song about longing for God’s presence, worship, and the journey of faith. They explore the psalm’s background, including the sons of Korah and their role as temple gatekeepers, and reflect on what it means to worship with your whole being and to keep praising God through life’s difficult valleys.
The hosts also discuss the value of Christian community, the encouragement and accountability of gathering with fellow believers, and the hope of moving “from strength to strength.” Listener questions take the conversation into topics including expressive worship, political change and God’s sovereignty, the two witnesses in Revelation, suffering and healing, and what happens to believers after death.
Earlier in the episode, Alex McFarland calls in from Israel to share highlights from the group’s visit to the Mount of Olive and the Garden of Gethsemane. His reflections on the Bible’s history and places set the stage for an episode centered on Scripture, worship, perseverance, and trust in God.
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