Transcript

Welcome to Exploring the Word. Merry Christmas indeed

>> Jeff Chamblee: 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. Welcome to Exploring the Word. Merry Christmas.

>> Alex McFarland: Merry Christmas indeed. It's getting closer and closer and we welcome you to this edition of Exploring the word. Alex McFarland here, along with Bert Harper. And we are in the Old Testament book of Isaiah, just one of the great, great books of God's Word. And we're in chapter 17. If you've got a Bible, we invite you to open to Isaiah 17 and follow along with us and we'll go over God's, word.

Bert says any nation that loses moral foundation loses its social stability

But Bert, it's, The Lord has given us another day, another week, and what a blessing. And, I trust you were probably in a pulpit somewhere preaching God's word yesterday, weren't you?

>> Bert Harper: I was. I was at Ozark Baptist Church. I've interim pastor there. Been there over 10 months, going toward 11 and just enjoying. They had some Christmas music, had a great baptism. I got to baptize a brother and that had gotten saved. And we're just excited about what God is doing. And, we're praying that God's working in your church. You know, we hear a lot of things. Well, church is not what it was before, COVID but in many of the churches, God is working in such a real way. So make yourself open to him, find you a church and let God use you to, you know, just renew your own relationship and to help others. And so I think this is what should have happened in Isaiah's day, because we're in the period of what you would say judgment in chapter 17, verse 10. I'm looking a little bit ahead of that, Alex, but this really tells people what you don't want to do. Listen, you have for. Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not been mindful of the rock of your stronghold. Therefore you will plant pleasant plants and set out foreign seedlings. In a day you will make your plant to grow. In the morning, you will make your seed to flourish. But the harvest will be a heap of ruins in a day of grief and desperate sorrow. Alex, don't forget God. You know, that's. Isn't that our message to the people? Don't leave God out of anything in your life. Let be mindful. Isn't that what scripture says? Be mindful of the rock of your stronghold. He is, isn't he?

>> Alex McFarland: Well, he really is. You know, that verse leapt out at me. Thou has forgotten the God of thy salvation. And really it's talking about, well, really Moab and their power and their agricultural, strength. All this stuff is going to end. It's going to ebb away. And as a, culture, any culture, whether it be Moab or, you know, Israel, even America, as they fall away from God. Look at verse 12. Woe to the multitude of many people, which makes a noise like the noise of the seas, like the noise of the rushing of nations that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters. And it says in their rushing and in their noise, God will rebuke them. It's, There's the old saying, when, God rebukes you, you've been buked. But, you know, there's the implication of kind of chaos and lawlessness. Once, yes, the hand of blessing of God is gone, but just the moral structure. And Bert, I think about our own nation, how morality, is the boundaries or the guardrails, that helps a society be stable. Yes, I'm not talking about salvation, that's a personal relationship with Jesus. But any culture, and that includes America, that loses our moral order, our structure, our moral lawful foundation. There's going to be a noisy, rushing, and I think chaos and a, social unraveling is evidence of God's judgment.

>> Bert Harper: I agree with you. And when America, you know, and again, I love the slogan Make America great again. But I'm. It's. Yeah, most folks think economic, financial, you know, military. I'm not saying those are not important. They are important, especially when your finances is not going far enough. When things are difficult and hard and everything's high. I understand that. But if you do not have that moral foundation that God set aside, like when he established Israel. Now any nation, regardless of what nation it was, Israel or was established, gave the Ten Commandments, he gave the law. And he was saying, this is how you need to live. You need to have you govern yourself like that. And when any nation leaves those out, Alex, the foundation is being destroyed. And so this is what we're trying to do at afr, Exploring the Word. We, want evangelism to take place. Because guess what? Even when a nation is going in the wrong direction, there can be an individual people that are right and turn toward God, can't they?

>> Alex McFarland: Well, absolutely, absolutely.

One of the things that I think is evidence of godlessness is indebtedness

And let me just say that, and not to get off track, but, one of the things that I think is an evidence of godlessness and lack of moral restraint is indebtedness. And the way this country heard, I don't know, and I would not presume to talk about economics too much, but I think as of this year, here's something to pray about, folks. I think it takes about, the debt is 126% of our annual GDP, gross domestic product. I don't even know how, why aren't our leaders really proactively and maybe even in a panic working to address this, that the deficit is going up, up, up. But here's my point. insolvency and just lack of self restraint, lack of moral restraint, lack of economic restraint is evidence of a people and a nation not living for God. And so 17 largely is about the glory and the power of Moab, ebbing away. is it all right if we sort of segue into 18?

>> Bert Harper: It is, let me say if you look at it, it's really, in verse three it identifies that part of it, Damascus, which is Assyria, and Ephraim, which is Israel. In verse three it identifies them. And one more thing. Notice what it says in verse four, verse seven, verse nine, verse 11. In that day, the difficulties in that day. And I think that says, and you've done it already. But I think this emphasizes it even more. It is compounded one thing. When you dismiss God in this area many times it's like a, ah, snow, ball rolling down a hill. It's growing and growing and growing until it escalates and, you know, is destroyed. So, Alex, I think that is chapter 17.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, you know, there's the phrase several times in that day. I'm going to read verse four. It shall come to pass that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean. So it's a time of austerity and really depression, almost. It shall be as when a harvestman gathers the corn and reaps the ears with his arm. And it shall be as he that gathers ears in the valley of Rephaim. Okay. In other words, you go to pick corn and there is none. It's gone. Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it as the shaking of an olive tree. Two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough. Bert, I've shaken, ah, an apple tree to get apples down. And, let me think, I've shaken a, plum tree to get plums down. Although I don't like plums.

>> Bert Harper: Really? You were doing it for somebody else, right?

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah, exactly, exactly. Now, the worst of all, and some callers might correct me on this, would be Persimmons Now, I don't know if there's persimmons where y' all live.

>> Bert Harper: Yeah, there is. And yes, I, hear about them. You brought back a memory, and I'm just gonna share it. I grew up with, My next door neighbors were Mr. And Ms. Wilson. Now, I'm glad my name was Dennis.

>> Alex McFarland: Okay, I was just going to ask that.

>> Bert Harper: Yeah. But I had some tendencies, like Dennis. I'll put it this way. And, But she had pecan trees. And every year when the pecans were beginning to open, you know, they're in a shell, and then they. Those shells began to open up a little bit, I'd go down there and climb those pecan trees and shake those limbs. And I, hadn't about that in years, Alex, but that is. And guess what? You would have good years, and you'd have some more difficult years. But here in Israel, in Syria and in northern, kingdom Israel, they were lean years, year after year after year.

>> Alex McFarland: And you'd have to shake the olive tree all the more hard because there's not but four or five olives in the top of the tree. Verse 6, verse 7. Here's where I'm getting. Though at that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel. in other words, hard times will bring you to your knees. You know, hard times might, if we're wise, humble us before God.

>> Bert Harper: And it also says, look at the last part of verse 8. Nor the wooden images, nor the incense altars. In other words, what good are these pagan altars? God's going to do for you? In what? In that day, in the day that God has brought about. As they have drifted away from God, what good is it? No wonder they said, why have you forgotten me? Don't forget God. Don't rely upon science. Don't rely upon government. Do not rely upon relationships that are here on earth. What you look at is Jesus Christ. He is the Lord of all. And yes, those others are important. I'm, not. We're not denying that, but we're saying you do not want to miss out the most important relationship in your life, and that is with God through Jesus Christ. And here it is, verse 10. They had forgotten God and were not mindful of him. Alex, we don't need to commit that, do we?

>> Alex McFarland: Well, that's true. That is true.

Brent Austin writes about God's rebuke of many nations in chapter 18

Well, chapter 18 is a brief chapter, and it's kind of a difficult chapter about God's rebuke of many nations. Woe to the land shadowing with wings which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, that sends ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon water, saying, go, ye swift messengers to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning, hitherto a nation melted out and trodden down whose land the rivers have spoiled. Bert, you get the impression that there are, you know, when nations fall, other nations take it as an opportunity and people go to, I guess, for lack of a better word, loot.

>> Bert Harper: And loiter, you know, they're going to take advantage of. Of that, you know, and that's. That's been true through history. if it's a nation or an individual, a company, you know, and so here it is. The strength is in that relationship. But here they're going on. And those, verse one just grabbed me. Whoa, there it is. The woes. Anytime you see woe, it should get your attention. The. The land shadowing with buzzing wings. This is probably, some kind of insect that is coming in and eating. When you read this, a lot of it makes me think of the ten plagues in Egypt as you go through this. And again, that was attacking their gods. Here it is demonstrating that their pagan gods cannot deliver them there. In other words, really, they send them into further and further chaos and further. Further need. Alex.

>> Alex McFarland: Exactly, exactly. And so all of this, really, God acts redemptively, even in judgment, to call people back to himself, that they'll humble themselves and turn to God. verse seven says, in that time shall the present be brought unto the Lord of hosts, of a people scattered and peeled. That's a powerful wording, scattered and peeled. And from a people terrible from their beginning, a nation melted out and trodden underfoot, whose land the rivers have spoiled to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the Mount Zion. the Mount of Zion. One nation that will never go away and one city that will never be obliterated. the nation of Israel, the city of Jerusalem.

>> Bert Harper: And they're going to be drawn to them one day. Our eyes are on Jerusalem. We will be a part of that if we know the Lord Jesus. We'll be back with more right after this break.

>> Jeff Chamblee: Candice talks about finding out she was pregnant. Thankfully, an ultrasound provided by preborn allowed her to hear her baby's heartbeat.

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>> Jeff Chamblee: You seen, haven't you heard the good news of our Savior's birth? Word became flesh cause God kept his word. He came to bring peace on earth and light to the world.

>> Bert Harper: Rejoice.

>> Jeff Chamblee: Rejoice.

>> Bert Harper: Amen. You are Amen. Brent. Brent Austin did it again, man. He goes through AFR's music side archives, that John Wriley has sent to him and then he goes and listen and picks out these different songs. That brings us in and we appreciate that, Brent. I enjoy this tremendously.

Fire Away Friday is a great way to celebrate the Christmas season

Speaking of enjoyment, Alex, we always enjoy Fire Away Fridays. You know, it's kind of like anticipation when we get there because, it's not because we got all the answers, because we get to talk to more people and hopefully we give the answers that would glorify the Lord and get people in the right direction. But this coming Friday, guess what? We're going to get to ask some questions. How you like that?

>> Alex McFarland: I like that a lot. Because, you know, we have a very astute listener audience and we ask questions. And sometimes in years past, some of our Christmas trivia questions have taken a few minutes for people to get the answer, but invariably they always do. But we have a good time about it, don't we?

>> Bert Harper: Do. And we're going to celebrate and we're excited about it. Brent's going to participate. He's got his questions, he's getting them ready, I'm getting mine ready. And so what you can do, we treat it just like they do Trivia Friday, which comes on at 10 o' clock to 11:30 Central Time every day. And matter of fact, fact, I'm going to be on Trivia Friday this Friday. So I'm going to have a trivia day. But anyway, and so you can call in and ask a question or you can answer a question, or you can do both. Now here's the thing. Now on Trivia Friday, they only have one winner. But here on, exploring the word Trivia, we're going to have three. One of Brent's Question. One of your questions. And one of my questions will be a mystery question. And if you answer it correctly, you're going to get a gift, and it's going to be a good gift. Brent went hunting at the resource center and found some good stuff. So, anyway, we're anticipating Friday, and yeah, we're taking time out to tell you about it because we, we really do enjoy it and bring a little joy to this Christmas season. We're trying to do that, Alex. So I'm. I hope, everybody, I tell everyone and we'll have a great time.

>> Alex McFarland: I think we'll have a good show on Friday. We really will. we really will.

Alex says you find hope in the midst of the judgment in Isaiah

So we were in Isaiah, chapter 18, and there was, the nations that get well scattered and peeled. I'm still trying to get my mind around that language. That doesn't sound very appealing, does it?

>> Bert Harper: It doesn't. Now, this is Ethiopia. Look at all you want. What you want to do in these chapters. Look at the first verse and try to figure out who it's to. Some of them are more difficult than others because now Ethiopia in that time is still the Ethiopia we have today. But it's a big area and it involves a lot of territory. And when you see what they did, again, the rivers, and you can see it's a big area, the inhabitants of the world. And, but here's verse four is kind of a. I tried to go through each one of these chapters and what verse? when you're going through chapters like this, Alex, you can get lost in all the words and, and how it goes. It really can. I understand that. But if you'll look for one verse that kind of ties it in together, build on either side of it, it'll help you. Mine was verse four. For so the Lord said to me, I will take my rest. I will look from my dwelling place like clear heat and sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. Notice. I will take my rest. God is going to be there. He will bring the judgment in his presence. But also. And you've already said it. Even in this judgment he wants to deliver. Here he is. I'm ready. The nation may be destroyed or judgment, but out of that nation, individuals can come to me, and I will in no wise cast out. So, Alex, you find hope in the midst of the judgment, don't you?

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah. And, you know, like in, chapter 19, verse 2, I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians, and they shall fight, every one against his brother and everyone against his neighbor, city against city. And kingdom against kingdom. And the spirit of Egypt shall fall in the midst thereof. You know, we could probably spend a fair amount of time trying to, parse out the meaning of the spirit of Egypt. And maybe it could be morale or just the, hope of deliverance. Or maybe the spirit of Egypt has been like it was for a long time, a pagan spirit, a spirit against the true and living God. But let me say that whenever there's a civil war, and I don't mean it in the context of like the American Civil War, but brother against brother, I mean, that, that's just what you see There in verse 2 is a picture of self destruction. Self destruction. And the Egypt, the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel Lord. And a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts. Kind of interesting language. The true Lord is letting sinful pagan people fall into the hands of, evil lords, little case l, oppressors. It really is. And let me just say there's a lot. I know we're kind of going quickly here. Look at verse 11 before you.

>> Bert Harper: Alex, do you mind me going back to verse three before you go to verse 11?

>> Alex McFarland: Sure, sure.

>> Bert Harper: You was talking about what the spirit was. I think it. I, really do believe it answers its own self in that one verse. The spirit of Egypt will fail in its midst. I'll destroy their council. They will consult idols and the charmers, the mediums and the sorcerers. That is the spirit of Egypt. it's nearly anti God. It is pagan in all of its. So the spirit of the whole nation is looking elsewhere other than God. And notice every one of those is, let me say this, I think every one of those is demonically fed. Okay. So that. I think that's the spirit of Egypt at that time.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, and you know what's ironic is that in the Bible, going for one thing, Egypt is always, pictured as down. Going down to Egypt. well, Egypt is a negative thing because it's pagan. There was the Egyptian bondage. And I think about this. did you ever ponder on how God told Joseph and Mary to go to Egypt to escape the, wrath of Herod? Right?

>> Bert Harper: Correct.

>> Alex McFarland: And there's a prophecy out of Egypt. Have I called my son. And I thought Egypt is bad, but being around Herod, that's even worse.

>> Bert Harper: Wow.

>> Alex McFarland: I mean, when you read about, like in verse three here, the charmers, the idols, those that have familiar spirits, which are demons, wizards, demon possessed people and wizards, that's real bad. But being around Herod would have been even worse.

>> Bert Harper: And when you have to go to Egypt to escape evil, it's bad times. It is. It really is. And what you have here in chapter 19, verses 1 through 15, that out going through these are the judgments that's coming against them. But notice in verse 16, and I'm not saying we don't need to cover any more there in verse 11, that you were going to, it changes. And notice it says in that day, in verse 16, in that day, you notice these words and it's a little different. Notice, it'll change over and there will be. It's going to be a great outcome. In other words, the immediate judgment on Egypt is real. It is horrible. But there's going to be a day when Egypt, even in Egypt, they're going to turn toward God. And we'll get to that in the last verse.

Bert: Verse 12 in Isaiah 19:11 essentially says judgment is coming

But you just go into verse 11, Alex, before I, stop you, brother. I'm sorry. Go ahead, man.

>> Alex McFarland: Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, and the counsel of the wise counselors of Pharaoh is become brutish. And that's a reference to something almost subhuman, just, not rational. How say ye unto Pharaoh? I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings. Where are they? Where are thy wise men? And let them tell thee now. Let them know what the Lord of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt. All right, verse 12 is essentially saying judgment, is at the door. And they didn't even see it coming. You know, the print. See, when you talk about princes or Pharaoh, wise leaders, your sons, of ancient kings. Listen, your family history is not going to save you. Your title is not going to save you. You feel like you have, you can. You're smarter than God. It's not going to save you. And God is saying, look, judgment is coming. And the best you got that couldn't even see it coming.

>> Bert Harper: Alex, there's. To me, a word that caught my attention in verse 12 is in the latter statement. Let them know, what the Lord of hosts has purposed against Egypt. Regardless if it's judgment or deliverance, it's always with purpose that God permits it or causes it. Sometimes it is permission. In other words, God permitted this to happen. It can be difficult. It can be hard even to believe believers, but it is always purposeful. That really, what was it you say? This God, Christianity, is the one that offers a origin, a purpose and a destiny. Alex, listen, if people can get a hold of that, it really does sum it up.

>> Alex McFarland: Doesn't really does. You know, over the weekend, Bert, I won't digress, but for a moment, but I was watching Charlie Kirk was at Oxford University, and the students and some of the professors were debating him in this video, I guess it's from a year or two ago about what does the Bible say about homosexuality. And I was watching this student, and he boastfully said to Charlie Kirk, he said, I have studied the classics, I have read literature, I am a classicist. And he proceeded to just, I don't mean to be cruel, but flaunted ignorance about the Bible. And he was saying all this stuff that nowhere does the Bible condemn homosexuality, and nowhere does the Bible say marriage is between a man and a woman. And then he was even dabbling with some of the Greek words and he was getting it egregiously wrong. And I was just. I thought. And frankly, I prayed for this young man in this video, but I thought the boast, the arrogance, the cockiness. And just like in Isaiah 19:11 and following how a lot of people are going to get a rude awakening, I'll just say this. You can't outsmart God. And you know, for the criticisms about the Bible, by the way, let me just say this. Some of the greatest minds in human history, and I'm thinking about everybody from, some of the early church fathers. I'm not going to say, you know, Peter, Paul and John, the writers, but what's called the post apostolic Fathers, you know, people like Justin Martyr and you know, the, you know, William, of Ockham and Anselm and Aquinas and, not to mention Aristotle. Folks, you gotta understand some of the greatest intellects of human history have done a deep dive on challenging biblical passages and come up and said, wow, the Bible is true. And so when I see these YouTubers that, you know, are gonna, you know, hey, I read on a blog site that the Bible is false, blah, blah, blah. I'm like, look, you know, I love you kids, but you're out of your league. You know, humble yourself and believe what the word of God says.

>> Bert Harper: Verse 14. And I think we may can do one or two verses and get through chapter 19. We'll see. The Lord has mingled a perverse spirit in her midst. There it is again. And they have caused Egypt to err in her work. Now listen to this next word. It really does. It's graphic but picturesque as a drunken man staggers in his vomit. M. That is what it's like when you're living on your own and you're drunk with your own pride, you're intoxicated with what your knowledge is rather than God, it spews out of your mouth, and it's like a man staggering in his own vomit. Alex, that is a picture of what people do when they go ignorantly, as you just said, arrogantly against God.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, but, you know, some are going to turn to God. And, you know, I think about this, and I would encourage people to read like, 17, through 19. And it talks about, five cities shall speak the language of Canaan, verse 18, and swear unto the Lord of hosts. In other words, the judgment does prompt some to wisely turn to Christ.

>> Bert Harper: Amen.

>> Alex McFarland: Bert, could you imagine if, like, Berkeley University became the epicenter of evangelism in America?

>> Bert Harper: Amen.

>> Alex McFarland: I mean, could you imagine if, you know, Hollywood, California, or, I mean, think Dearborn, Michigan, which is now intensely Islamic. But imagine if suddenly they did a 180 and turned to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and believed in Jesus. These things can happen. And, Bert, I just want to challenge everybody to pray for revival. In the world, of course, certainly in Europe. But in America, we need revival. It can happen. Charles G. Finney, the great evangelist of the 19th century, he said, God is probably more willing to send revival than we're willing to pray for it. But if we would pray, he would work. And when I read a little portion here, 17 through 19, in spite of all this judgment and degradation, there is a little bit of a turning to God.

>> Bert Harper: There is. And then there's going to be a day when it really happens. Verses 24 and 25. It concludes after this judgment, after what Alex is saying, there is hope will turn to it, and some will. Ultimately, in that day, Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria, even a, blessing in the midst of the land, whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, the blessed is Egypt m my people, and Assyria the work of my hands in Israel, my inheritance. What a statement. But that is the power of what you said. Revival. Hey, we. We're not going to be in the millennial. No, but we can have a. A, you know, a little bit of the millennial heaven here upon earth when we turn away from our way and we turn to God. And we're praying for that, aren't we, Alex?

We're going to take your calls and Bible questions after this brief break

>> Alex McFarland: We really are. Billy Graham said it said, revival is when heaven comes to earth, and it can happen. We must pray for it. Well, we're going to take your calls and Bible questions after this Brief break. Here's the number. 885-8984-088858-98840. Call us. We're back after this.

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Exploring the Word returns Friday with a couple of questions ready

>> Alex McFarland: Welcome back to Exploring the Word. Welcome back. We'll kind of, put the pause button on the end of Isaiah 19 and pick it up again tomorrow. But right now we're going to go to questions. The number is 888-589-8840. And got, a couple of questions coming in. Got a couple of lines open. So if you'd like to ask a question, you'll, you'll very probably get through today because there's a couple of open lines and we'd love to hear from you. And, again, hey, at the end of this week, we're going to have a great show. I think fire away. Friday is always great. But, you know, one thing I think you and I have had a lot of fun with Bert is that every year around Christmas, you, Brent and myself, we do a lot with Christmas questions and content. And it really is fun, isn't it?

>> Bert Harper: It really is. And I just tell you, Brent Austin is a, Christmas, you know, library of that trivia of that knowledge. And so, you know, we accuse him of having a lot of useless information, but not at Christmas. It's good you getting it ready, aren't you, Brent? Yes, I am. And now you sound like my wife, by the way. Yeah. So much useless information. But it's not going to be that way Friday. It will be good. So we're looking forward to it. So get your questions ready and, we'll do our best. we would rather this Friday have kind of quick answers. not the long, that take up a long, long time like we do on a regular basis. But anyway, we'll take whatever you give, but we're looking forward to it. Alex, you ready? Yeah. Go ahead.

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah. Where should we begin?

Kent: I've never heard anybody say you have to be baptized

>> Bert Harper: Okay. You and I are on the same track. Let's go to Ohio. Kent, thank you for calling. Kent. Yeah. Kent, you're on, brother. Go right ahead.

>> Alex McFarland: Okay.

>> Bert Harper: Hi.

>> Caroline: Yes, So I was just calling to find out. I have, a couple guys that I work with. One of them believes that you have to be baptized in the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. And the other one believes you have to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. I've never heard anybody say you have to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Only I'm not sure what belief system that is. Do you know who it would be? And I just want some clarification. In the word. I believe in Matthew 26. Instead of 26 or 28. It says, Be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, but be baptized by the name of Jesus Christ. Which would you say is completely accurate? Or do you think it could be either or any of the above?

>> Bert Harper: okay, Kent, thank you. Alex, we're getting this question quite a lot lately. Have you noticed?

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah, I think we did. Friday.

>> Bert Harper: I think we did. Go ahead. But Kent, it's good question. So we love for you to answer. Alex, go ahead.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, Matthew 28:19, and this is the words of Christ, because it's in red. Jesus said, go ye therefore, and teach all nations. Now listen to it. This is how Jesus tells us to do it. Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I've commanded you. Now, Bert, about 30, 35 years ago, there was a movement that, it was the Jesus only movement. And there are a lot of movements that I could talk about. And I don't want to expend our time on some latter 20th century American movements. But, there was this idea because in the book of acts, in Acts 2:38, there is the phrase in English translations. And I, I really remember, I was a youth pastor, and I remember when this was kind of, a big controversial thing and some people got really upset. But in Acts 2:38, it talks about in the name, well, repent. Be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of Sins. And it really m. In the original Greek, it's upon the remission of sins. So a sub controversy was does water baptism save. Now here's the thing about it. some people nowadays say it's got to be in quote, the sacred Name only. There's this thing called the Sacred Name movement. Let me just cut to the chase. Father, Son, Holy Spirit, the one triune God is indivisible. You could legitimately baptize in the name of Jesus. a, ah, born again believer. See, we believe in what we call believers baptism. You could legitimately baptize someone in the name of God. You could legitimize. If you're talking about the biblical God, you could baptize one in the name of the Father or the Spirit, because Father, Son, Holy Spirit are indivisible. Bert. and I don't know, I think people split hairs over. I think that traditionally throughout the church and of course in the spirit of Matthew 28:19. the full regal holy name of the members of the Trinity is appropriate. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Don't you, Bert?

>> Bert Harper: I agree fully. The Father so loved the world that he sent his son, initiated from the throne and Jesus voluntarily. It wasn't a draft. Jesus voluntarily came to be born of a virgin to become flesh and remain. Now it's a different kind of flesh. But anytime you see Jesus after his birth, he is in one place at one time. Now he can go from one to the other, but he'd only be in that one place at one time, as you look at it. And so he does gives credit. The Holy Spirit of God convicts us and he draws us and then he stays with us. I just think in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. You're just praising God for all aspects of your salvation. You really are. But I agree with you, Alex, in any one of those, you're still, it is God and God alone that we are saved, not through anything else. That number is, call-858-98840.

When the family is looking for a good Bible based church, uh,

And we do have some lines open. I think we would have time for your question. Let's go to. Is it. Yeah, it is. Harold in Texas. Harold, thank you for calling.

>> Ryan: thank you for taking my call. I appreciate it.

>> Bert Harper: You bet, brother, go right ahead.

>> Ryan: simply put, when the family is looking for a good Bible based church, I want to make sure we find, you know, we don't get sidetracked by because there's so many churches out there that are just off their rockers, not Bible based. The way they should be, but they lure people in and I want to make sure that. How do you look for the signs that we're on a Bible based church or that this isn't a Bible based church? Because there's some, there's some real really off, off people out there.

>> Bert Harper: Okay, Harold, great question. We get this question quite often too. And not just on the radio, but emails and different ways. Alex, if they have a website, go to a website and look if they have it posted, you know, things they believe, what they believe. And you can look at that, Harold, and see some of it. If not, you go to one that you maybe ask about from different people. If you've seen a person that you work with live by and they seem to have a heart for God and they seem to be straight shooters concerning scriptures. What church do you go to and look at it and see? Alex? that's the way to start. After you get there, you listen and you just hear what the word of. What is this? The pastor preaching the word of God. You want to know that, don't you?

>> Alex McFarland: Exactly. And you're on my website. I don't reference my own website all that much, but on AlexMcFarland.com under Resources, Bert, I wrote ah, a little pamphlet on what to look for in a church. And it's really based on, you know, the things you and I talk about. But I want to give some of those. And this is paramount, number one, no discussion. Scripture is the focus on the gospel and the word of God. We call it a high view of scripture. And Bert, I would respectfully ask a pastor the hard questions. You know, do you really believe in what the book of Genesis says about creation? Do you really believe about what the book of Genesis says in gender, male and female, period? There, there is no third non binary, no male and female. And then, what about Jesus? Is he in this church's view, a way to heaven or the way to heaven? And so on my website I've got a list of about 10 or 12 things that I think are important. But Bert, more than ever, if you're searching for a church folks, it's got to be ah, a thorough, thorough vetting out. Because as the caller said, there's just so much. Really unbiblical, just drift. Bert, I got to tell you this, and I know we've got more calls, but a major, major evangelical church in North Carolina that in years past has been known as a great stalwart, defender of the faith. But the pastor of 40 years retired. And a couple years ago they got a young guy who's probably about 40. And I'm not bashing youth, I'm m really not. But this mother called me about a week ago just distraught. And her daughter, who's about 21 or 22, who had been a faithful Christian young lady, suddenly thinks she's a lesbian and now thinks maybe she's an agnostic. And do you know this? And I gotta tell you, this is one of the biggest Southern Baptist churches in North Carolina. Went to the minister and the minister said, well, what you feel is what you feel.

>> Alex McFarland: I nearly ran off the road when I was on a cell phone. Folks, we have to have to stand by the word of God.

>> Bert Harper: Amen. It does not change. It is settled in heaven, isn't it, Alex?

>> Alex McFarland: It is. Jesus said, heaven and earth. This is Matthew 24:35. Heaven and earth will pass away, but the word of God will never pass away. And so you've really got to look and ask. If you're going to give your time and tithes to a church, don't waste it on one that doesn't fully believe the Bible.

>> Bert Harper: Amen. I hope that helps. Harold. Again, to start, see what they say. If they have a website, check it out and see what they say. and then when you get there, get that appointment, ask the questions. Alex, your website is what?

>> Alex McFarland: alexmcfarland.com and there's a tab Resources. It's a free little guide what to look for in a church.

Burt Harper calls Tammy from Oklahoma to discuss Bert Harper fan club

>> Bert Harper: Okay, let's go to Oklahoma. Tammy, thank you for calling.

>> Caroline: Hello?

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

>> Caroline: Well, I want to know. I love you, Burt. By the way, I just want to tell you that.

>> Bert Harper: Well, the Bert Harper fan club meets in a phone booth down the street. I'm sorry, Jamie, go ahead.

My question is, what can you tell me about Jesus's siblings

>> Caroline: My question is, what can you tell me about Jesus's siblings? And I don't recall any interaction, mentioned in the Bible. I just was curious and I knew if anybody would know, you all would be able to tell me.

>> Bert Harper: Okay, Alex, let me set it up. Is that all right? Jesus was in Nazareth and Jesus was teaching and his, brothers and started calling him. Well, in our vernacular. Are you crazy? And, But he had four brothers and at least two sisters, did he not?

>> Alex McFarland: That's true. And let me give you a few of the places where this is referenced. It's in Matthew 12:46, it's in Luke 8, and it's in Mark, chapter three. And it taught well and in John chapter seven it says for not even his brothers believed in him at that point. So yeah, there's references to Jesus. Galatians 1:19 speaks of quote James, the Lord's brother. But I would say all these siblings were half siblings.

>> Bert Harper: They were Joseph, you know what I mean? They were Joseph's children, not of the Holy Spirit. And, and probably two of Jesus's brother wrote, wrote books that we have in the unit has a book of James and Jude probably. And so praise the Lord after the, after the resurrection it changed everything, you know what I mean Alex, concerning that. Okay, Tammy, thank you. Guess what we're going to do. We're going to stay with it. From in Louisiana we got Tammy again. Tammy, thank you for calling.

Should Christians as Christians support Israel? Tammy says she's undecided

>> Caroline: Yes, I had I would have wanted to get your opinion and your advice. There's so much controversy going on. Should we as the church and Christians support Israel? I know Tucker Carlsen and Candace Owens, even my children are having some questions. Some of the Catholic church came out against it. I just, you know, I had always believed that we should as Christians support Israel. So I would just like to get your take on that.

>> Bert Harper: Let me make one quick statement. Alex is really speaks well on this. You support Israel and their right to exist and their boundaries and their right for protection. We support them all the way. It does not mean support that everything they do is godly. No, it's not. But we support them as a nation to exist and to protect themselves and their boundaries, don't we Alex?

>> Alex McFarland: We really do. every Christian and every church and certainly the United States of America should definitely support Israel. Because I got to tell you, and Bert and I write about this rather extensively in our brand new book 100 Bible Questions on Prophecy in the end Times. I say that the rebirth of the nation of Israel in May 14th, 1948 is a Super sign of the end times. Right? And so for one thing, Israel, like every other sovereign nation, Israel has the right to exist. Israel has the right to self defense. Oh my goodness. Of course they have the right to defend themselves. They're our, our longest ally in the Middle East. It is a guarantee. If Israel weren't there, the, the Middle east would turn fully Islamic terrorists. But in other verses, Genesis 12, Genesis 27, Numbers 24, God says I will bless them that bless you Israel and curse them that curse you. That alone should be enough to prompt us to stand up for God's special called out people Israel.

>> Bert Harper: Tammy, we hope that helps and thank you for calling. Stand strong yourself, Angela. Teresa, we would have loved to gotten to you today, but we were unable to. But we'll be back tomorrow. We're going to be in Isaiah. We'll start in chapter 20, and, we'll probably get through at least 23. We're expecting to do that, and we hope we do. And, so tell other people about American Family Radio and especially exploring the Word. But more importantly, tell them about Jesus.

>> Jeff Chamblee: The views and opinions expressed in this.

>> Bert Harper: Broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of.

>> Alex McFarland: The American Family association or American Family Radio.