Transcript

American Family Radio takes your Bible questions live on American Family Radio

>> Bert Harper: 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.

Exploring the Word comes from Isaiah 40:30-31

Welcome to Exploring the Word.

>> Alex McFarland: Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. Well, welcome to Exploring the Word today with those famous words. That's from Isaiah 40, verses 30 and 31. Very, very well known, scripture, Bert. When I was in seminary, I worked at a Christian bookstore for a number of years. And, that was a great honor. And I remember people would buy a plaque or a T shirt and it would have this. Those that wait upon the Lord will mount up with wings like eagles. That imagery. And that verse from Isaiah 40:31 is beloved to many people, ourselves included. And we're going to continue in Isaiah. And, this is also our day of prayer. We'll take prayer requests.

Bert says Isaiah 40 exposes folly of human idolatry

But Bert, yesterday I found Isaiah 40 just to be so uplifting with every line of every verse. Didn't you?

>> Bert Harper: I did. And we cut off at verse 17. So we're just halfway through it and guess what? It does not stop. It continues in each one of these. And, again we'll go back to verse 18 and start. But I love the poeticness of, of Isaiah. Now again, I'm, I'm not the, you know, great linguist. I know that. But I can recognize it when I see it. Ah, or hear it. Listen to verse 21 and then listen, to verse 28, these two lines that introduce some thoughts. Have you not known? Have you not heard? And then verse 28. Have you not known? Have you not heard? Does that not set it up? I want to hear and see this, you know. And Isaiah does that. And he does that also, I think, in verse 18 when he says, to whom then will you liken God, Alex? Then he proceeds and tells about all these images. The conclusion is, there's no one like God, is there?

>> Alex McFarland: There? There isn't. to whom will you liken God? Or, what will you compare God to? And really, no one or no thing, because God is in a category of one. People sometimes say, what is the best illustration of the Trinity? And I don't think there is one, because there's nothing in the created world that is the word is univocal in, other words, exactly like God. And so, it goes on. And really, 1831, in light of the sovereignty of God, it exposes the folly of human idolatry. It's just ridiculous to be idolaters. And verse 18, what likeness will you compare to him? Well, there is none. And that's why verse 19, that idolatry is so fallacious. The workman melts a graven image, and the goldsmith spreads it over with gold and casts silver chains. He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooses a tree that will not rot. He seeks unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image that he shall not be moved. Now, I've got the King James here. But he that is so impoverished, he has no oblation or offering. So imagine someone who, the implication is they do not know the true and living God. They don't know how to worship or relate to God. So they get a piece of cedar. Because throughout all of human history, cedar is, a pretty perpetual wood. I mean, it takes years and years to corrode. That's why a lot of fence posts are cedar. but they traditionally, they would make idols and images out of cedar, and then they pay some workman to put gold leafing, on it or something like that. Bert, think about the folly of hiring a human to carve you out a household God, little G, or an idol. And you want to get the most expensive one you could. Because if you're going to make a little God or a fetish or some shrine to bow before, you want the best one you can afford to buy. It's just ludicrous. That can't bring salvation. That can't make you right with God. And so, fortunately, God has revealed how we can know Him. But it goes on this verse 21.

>> Bert Harper: Well, wait just a minute, Alex.

Bert says verse 20 of First Samuel deals with propating God up

I just got to ask you something. Okay, look at the last part of verse 20. New King James to prepare a carved image that will not totter. Now, when I came across this, I could not help but think of First Samuel, chapter five. Now, what had happened? Israel, was getting defeated, by the enemy. And so they got tired of it. So they thought they would bring the Ark of the Covenant out to the battlefield, and it would serve. And I'm going to use my language as a good luck charm, and they would defeat the enemy. But right. Reverse happened. The enemy won, and they took the Ark of the Covenant back with them. Now, here's what happened they put it in the temple to their God, which is Dagon. Okay, so when they came in the next morning, do you remember what the God that's made of the wood and the metal, what had happened to him? Alex, do you remember?

>> Alex McFarland: Dina, this is one of the first things you and I ever taught on. Now, almost 16 years ago, but Dagon, the fish God of the Philistines, you know, and this is in 1st Samuel 5. The Philistines put Dagon, their false God, right alongside the Ark of the Covenant. And as I remember, the next morning, it had fallen over, and they set it up.

>> Bert Harper: And then now, what they do after that, they propped their God up.

>> Alex McFarland: Yes.

>> Bert Harper: Okay, go ahead. Now, I have a whole sermon on. This is the reason I love it. But when you have to prop your God up.

>> Bert Harper: Yes, Something's wrong, isn't there?

>> Alex McFarland: Yes. Dagon got smashed into pieces the next morning. And they said this. The people of Ashdod said, the ark of the God of Israel must not stay here with us because his hand is heavy on us. And on dagon, our God. First Samuel 5, 2, 7. In other words, our God little gift, is jeopardized by the capital G, the God of Israel, because, as, Pharaoh reluctantly said, during the plagues, Moses, God is God.

>> Bert Harper: Amen. Amen.

>> Alex McFarland: So that's why I'm glad you brought that up in verse 20. You know, they make this idol and prepare it so that it shall not totter over. And let me just say this. You know, we can imagine some statue of a half man, half fish, Dagon. But, if your God is in your bank account, that can totter over quite easily.

>> Bert Harper: There's nothing that cannot be tottered over. You're right, Alex. Science. How about science?

>> Alex McFarland: Science. Oh, my goodness. Yeah. in France, there's a library with science books that at one point were thought to be gospel and were later shown to be false. And there's 12 miles of shelving of science books that are now antiquated and shown to be refuted. The word of our God stands forever, says Isaiah 40. And that's why just the almost, indignation of verse 21. Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundation of the earth? In other words, it's queuing up. where have you been that you haven't heard about the true and living God? And there's some incredibly majestic language. There's also something that's very important in verse 22. But, before I get into that, I want to throw it to you, Bert. I mean, look at the progression. Knowledge, hearing, telling, understanding. There's four ways in verse 21 that we are accountable to God. And here's the thing. You'll be judged on the response you gave to the amount of light you had.

>> Bert Harper: Amen, Alex.

>> Alex McFarland: And you've heard about Jesus. You have. People often speculate and they theorize. Oh, but what about. Let's just say, for, I've heard this many times, Bert. They'll say. Let's just say, for example, in some remote jungle, there was a man, and he was a good man. All right, you're setting up a hypothetical the God of all the earth will do, right? But here's the thing. Salvation is not about what God may or may not have done, about some hypothetical person that may or may not have existed. Jesus said this. Who do you say that I am? And you, friends, you can't say you haven't heard.

The evidence in the Bible proves that there is God, Alex says

>> Bert Harper: Okay, Alex, the last phrase. I'm picking on these last phrases in these verses, aren't I? But here it is. Notice. Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? Now listen, I believe this is using your mind, using your brain, you know, not just faith. No, using what? You have evidence given to you. The foundations of the earth. That the evidence is there for creation and a God that created it. And then when you look at the gods that people try to bring up themselves, that they've talked about in verses 19 and 20. Yes, the God. The God. The one and only God. Have you not understood that from the foundations of the earth, even nature proves that there is God. And listen, can you name one thing, Alex, that has design, that does not have a designer?

>> Alex McFarland: No. See, here's the thing. We've never observed information to come from a non intelligent source. Human DNA is information. the design comes from a designer. And whether it be the microscopic size of the cell or whether it be the macroscopic movements of the solar system, everywhere we look, this universe exhibits design, order, structure that only comes from an intelligent source. Chaos is never the mother of order.

>> Bert Harper: And this chapter is filled with this science evidence. Okay, again, you already brought up verse 22. Is it all right if I read it and I'll throw it to you, please? Yes, yes. And here it is. It is he who sits upon the circle or the sphere of the earth. And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He brings the princes to nothing. He makes the judges of the earth useless. But that first line, there it is, let me see. There's one place in the Bible says life is in the blood again. And here it is he who sits. and the real Greek word or Hebrew word is fear. It's not just circle, it's fear. Just like a globe of the earth. Alex?

>> Alex McFarland: Mhm?

>> Bert Harper: The evidence in the scriptures verifies true science.

>> Alex McFarland: It really does. And here's the point. at the time that Isaiah was written, how much people actually knew about, the spherical shape of the earth. I don't know how much human knowledge was out there, but there were different things. The Egyptians felt like the world sat on the back of a turtle. And I mean cosmology was very, primitive almost to a comical degree. And here is something that science would later verify, that God sees the spherical nature of the earth. That's just one of those little clues, the scientific accuracy of God's holy word.

>> Bert Harper: And he stretches out the heavens like a curtain, man. He stretches it out the other place. He rolls it out as a scroll. It's a beautiful science lesson in the book of Isaiah. Well, we're going to continue and we'll probably finish this chapter. So you don't want to go away. You want to hear the rest of the story?

>> Alex McFarland: it's so easy to politicize abortion, but the reality is there's a precious life at stake. And that little life doesn't have a voice.

>> Bert Harper: All that little life has is a heartbeat.

>> Alex McFarland: And it can be heard as early as five weeks on ultrasound. That's where preborn steps in.

>> Bert Harper: Preborn is a voice for the little ones.

>> Caroline: They do an ultrasound. And that's when everything changed. Because when I saw my baby and when I heard her heartbeat, that was it.

>> Alex McFarland: PreBorn Network of clinics offers free ultrasounds to women in crisis while showering them with God's love. This powerful combination doubles a baby's chance at life and has helped to rescue over 300,000 babies.

>> Bert Harper: To learn more about preborn's life saving.

>> Alex McFarland: Work, call pound250 and say the keyword baby. That's pound250baby or visit preborn.comafr all gifts are tax deductible.

>> Caroline: I called your name. I called your name, son. There's just nothing left to say. I call your name.

>> Alex McFarland: Jesus.

>> Caroline: Reaching out for grace.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen.

>> Bert Harper: I hope you're calling on the name of the Lord for salvation. Call upon the name of the Lord for help. Call upon the name of the Lord. For help, deliverance at the name of Jesus, Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. There's no other name given among men whereby we must be saved other than the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray you've trusted him and is following him. Well, Alex, today's the day of prayer. So those of you that will call in later. And that number, 888-589-8840, if you have it on your speed dial, it's right there. Or if you want to write it down, 888-58-9-8840. We try to take prayer requests on Tuesday, priority. On every other day it's just whoever comes. But on prayer day we try to make it that way.

Hannah's Heart Women's Conference through it all scheduled for January

One more thing, and it's a matter of prayer. I just talked to Anne Cockrell, who is one of the hosts for Hannah's Heart Women's Conference. The title is through it all. It's January 30th and 31st. It's here in Huppelo, Mississippi at Hope Church. And, there be a great singer and, worshiping Phil King and a great speaker, keynote speaker Jane Johnson, author of Mercy Like Morning and the Fellowship that will go on with the other women, sharing and telling and helping one another, praying for one another. It's a good thing to be a part of Hannah's Hearts Women's Conference through it all. And if you would like to register, you can go to afa.netevents that's afa.net events and be a part of Through It All.

>> Alex McFarland: M. Sounds really good, Bert. Sounds good. And is it AFA, afa.net afa events.

>> Bert Harper: That's it.

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Well, we're in Isaiah chapter 40. And by the way, we will, take prayer requests later on in the program. And the number, RIPLE 858-98-8840.

Bert says God sits above the circle of the earth, the spherical nature

If you've got, ah, prayer requests to share with us, but we talked before the break about. It says that God sits above the circle of the earth, the spherical nature. You know, by the way, in the book of Job, the very same word, for, the curved spherical nature. Job, the book of Job uses this very same Hebrew word, in job 224 to talk about the heavens. And Bert, I love to just some nights when the sky is clear and you can just see the stars, you look up. And many a night I've just been having a worship experience praising God. When I look at the starry heavens and it seems curved, you know, this spherical word, Job uses it to speak of the Heavens above. And God's word is scientifically accurate here, as evidenced by Isaiah, 40:22. The inhabitants of the earth thereof are as grasshoppers that stretch out the heavens as a curtain and spreads them out as a tent to dwell in. And the word tent there means like a vaulted ceiling. Bert, have you ever been somewhere where there's, like, cathedrals or a high vaulted ceiling above? Well, that's the wording there. That the heavens are like the roof of a tent spread out, vaulted above in the English translation, says tent. And God brings the princes to nothing. That means like leaders and kings and, elected officials. He makes the judges of the earth as vanity. And again, I'll say this, and I'll throw it to you. Doesn't mean God doesn't love people or care about people when it says that they are as nothing. But compared to the majesty, the immensity, the power of God. God is eternal. We are temporal. God is omnipotent. We are finite. God is omniscient, knows everything. We are limited. And so, ah, let's be careful. Before we get too arrogant and proud and think too much of our own strength and abilities. Let's wisely humble ourselves before Almighty God.

>> Bert Harper: Alex, go back to verse 18 and the question that was asked. And then you get the thrust of what he's talking about. Those idols, as you said earlier, what he talks about science and what he talks about even rulers. To whom then will you liken God? There's no one like him. The princes may have some power, the judges have authority, but compared to who is like God, they are, as you said, nothing. The grasshoppers. So this is who you want to please. You serve and you worship for an audience of one. If you please God, you're in good standing. And that's our desire. It's my desire to please him. Alex. It continues on here in this great chapter. Scarcely shall they be planted, scarcely shall they be sown, scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, when he will also blow on them. And they will wither and the whirlwind will take them away like stubble. There's no security so strong that we have here upon earth. No matter what is planted, no matter what is built, no matter what you have that can stand the storms that God may send. Now, why would he send them? Sometimes for destruction, yes, but sometimes to get our attention. That we would turn and not rely on our own folly. Alex, when we start relying on our bank account, our life insurance, our health, you're relying on the same thing. Now, we thank God for those things, but our reliance on them, it's he who gives us the power to get wealth, isn't it?

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. Amen. if we can work a job and, put food on the table, it's just because the good Lord has enabled us to do that. And verse 25 again, which is very much like verse 18. To whom will you then liken me, or shall I be equal? Saith the Holy One. God is trying to remind us that there is no one like him, in terms of creation and in terms of salvation. Lift up your eyes on high and behold who hath created these things that bringeth out their host. By number, he calls them all by names, by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power, not one faileth. Why do you say O Jacob and speak O Israel? And you're about to hear something that people today assume. Even my way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God. Hast thou not known, has thou not heard that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not faint, neither is weary. There is no searching of his understanding. By the way, Bert, about verse 27, let me say, if you believe you can get away with sin, don't believe that my way is hid from the Lord. No. All that we, the Reformers, they use the Latin word coram Deo before God, every day and every action is in the visible sight of God. The other thing. And Bert, I want your opinion on this. my judgment is passed over from my God. It doesn't mean that your, your just claim is ignored by God or forgotten by God. See the two things here that God sees both. If you're sinning and willfully disobeying, God knows, be assured. But if you feel like you are abandoned, forgotten, your, cause has been trampled over. No, God sees, doesn't he, Burk?

>> Bert Harper: He does. And Alex, notice this. I know. I just want to bring it out. It makes it clear. When you look at verse, 26, lift up your eyes on high. In other words, when you look up at the, stretches out the heavens above, you see the handiwork of God. Then it talks about, like I said in verse 21, have you not understood the foundations of the earth? Now, that's kind of beneath, and he sits above the circle of the earth. But you look above, you look around, or you look below, you see God, who is likened unto him, all creation above, around, and Below, demonstrate our God his power. And I think that's what he's going to finally get to here. about, as you have said, the greatness of his might in verse 26. And the strength of his power. There's nothing missing. There's no shortcoming. There's nothing lack in any of that. You look around, you can see God is God. And there's no one likened unto him above, around or below.

God gives power to the faint, and to them that have no might

Alex. That's the power of our God, isn't it?

>> Caroline: Amen.

>> Alex McFarland: verse 28. The everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, faints not, neither is weary. There is no searching of his understanding. He gives power to the faint, and to them that have no might, he increases strength. if you need some strength, if you feel weary, then, lean on the one who is all power, and he will hold you up.

Alex: The waiting on the Lord is different from just sitting around doing nothing

And then this brings us to this very appropriate conclusion of Isaiah 40, the verses that we began with. Even the youths shall faint and be weary. The young men shall utterly fall. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. Bert, we've mentioned that bit of verse written by AW Tozer now about 65 years ago. But he said that the true Christian is an oddity to this world. You know, he's, lifted up when he's humbled. He's healthiest when he's at death's door about to enter the presence of God. He might be dead broke, but in reality is the richest person in town. if you have everything, but you don't have Jesus, you're bankrupt. On the other hand, you. If you have Jesus and nothing more, you're rich. Because in Christ we have it all.

>> Bert Harper: Alex, again, these words are just, they're powerful but poetic. strong but tender. You know, that's who God is. Notice he gives. He does. What does he give? Power. Who does he give it to? The weak. Remember that scripture where it says he has chosen the foolish things and the weak things to confound the wrong, the strong and the wise. Here it is. This is also what he does. He gives power. When I am, weak, I am really strong. When I recognize my own weakness. The strength of the Lord comes through, and he increases it. I could not help but think of the book of Romans, where He gives what? More grace. More grace. More grace. He gives what is needed at the time of the need. Not before, not after, but during that period of time. He will carry us through. And you see that he carries us through. And the youth shall Faint. And I love that term even. You know, when you. I was talking to someone here that I work with, and, he was talking about, you know, man, about 10 years ago, I could do this and do this now. It sure is different. Well, even the youth shall faint and be weary. Young men shall utterly fall. The ones that you would think would be ready and able, there's an end of their strength. There's, a time when they do not measure up. But those who wait. And let me say this, again, we'll finish this up today. The wait, Alex, it's not just sitting around doing nothing. It's trusting God expectantly doing what he's called you to do. If you don't fulfill God's purpose in your life of continuing to serve the Lord. You know, like Paul was in prison, he didn't sit on his hands and say, well, I'm here. I can't do anything. No, what did he do? He wrote many of the. He wrote the prison epistles. What was he doing? He was waiting on the Lord. Doing what? Serving him. That's what we're to do. I've had to wait on the Lord, but that doesn't mean I stop and quit. I continue doing his work in my life, cooperating with him to fulfill his purpose in our lives. the waiting on the Lord. we don't want folks to miss what that means, do we?

>> Alex McFarland: Well, you know, in Luke 19:13, Jesus said, Occupy till I come. Bert, you pastored for many years, and you're just one of the most exemplary Christians I've ever known. I really, really mean that. I want to ask you, what does it mean? Luke 19:13. Occupy till I come.

>> Bert Harper: Okay, I think it says this. let me go back to another scripture. when Samuel showed up in Bethlehem to crown the next king, and Saul paraded his sons out, tall, dark and handsome, and, Samuel says, and I'm putting it in my vernacular, is this all you got?

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah. Really.

>> Bert Harper: And, and. And he says, no, I've got another son, but he's out keeping the sheep. I didn't think it was worthy of him coming in.

>> Alex McFarland: You don't need to see him.

>> Bert Harper: But what did. What did Samuel say? We will not sit down till he comes. You catch that? I'll wait. And sit down. Yes, wait. I'm going to. I'm the. I am the prophet that God has sent here, and I'm going to occupy my space. I'm going to hold the authority to wait upon until this Happens, Yeah.

>> Alex McFarland: Indeed. Indeed. you know what the Bible says this and, that, it's in First Corinthians that the preaching of the gospel is foolishness to them that are perishing.

One of the things we can do is consistently pray for a Holy Spirit revival

You know, it was in the news today, Bert, that, Scott Adams, who was a cartoonist, he had a very famous cartoon. he died of cancer, but about, I don't know, a month ago, he was interviewed and, he said he had become a Christian and that, he knew he was dying and he had sort of thought about it, thought about it, and he realized he needed to get right with God. And he did. He became a believer. This is the man that did the Dilbert cartoon strip. I was amazed, Bert, at just how many ridiculed him in the comments under articles. They were just ridiculing. And we are in a, culture that many just have contempt for the very mention of Jesus or God. So one of the things that we can do, no matter what your age, and do it strongly, consistently pray for a Holy Spirit revival. We certainly need it, don't we?

>> Bert Harper: We do. Renewanation, renew, renew. Triple 858-98-8840.

American Family Association stands on biblical truth that all human beings are divine

We want your prayer request. The American Family Association's mission is to inform, equip and activate individuals to strengthen the moral foundations of our culture. Our goal is to be a leading organization and biblical worldview training for cultural transformation. We stand on the biblical truth that.

>> Alex McFarland: All human beings, including the unborn, are.

>> Bert Harper: created in the image of God and are endowed by him with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Thank you for standing with the American Family Association.

>> Alex McFarland: Don't, stop praying. Don't stop calling on Jesus name. Keep on pounding on heaven's door.

>> Caroline: Let your knees wear out the floor. Don't stop believing.

>> Alex McFarland: Cause mountains move with just a little faith.

>> Caroline: And your father's heard every single word you're saying. So don't stop praying.

>> Alex McFarland: Don't stop praying. And praying is what we're going to do in this part of exploring the Word.

Alex McFarland: We maximize on prayer requests and praises on Tuesdays

Welcome back to the program, Alex McFarland and Bert. and you know, we've got a few lines open if you want to call in. we take Bible questions every day, and we certainly will today as well. But, on Tuesdays, we kind of maximize on prayer requests and praises. If you've got a testimony, a praise report, we'll, join you in lifting up the name of the Lord. But if you've got things on your heart, a prayer request, and, certainly there's a lot to pray about the number is 888-589-8840. And let me just briefly remind everybody, if you would pray about joining me at the COVID this summer, the Billy Graham Training center in Western North Carolina. I'll be there twice, July 17 through 19, teaching on, Daniel and Revelation. I'll be there July 27 through 31, teaching apologetics with Gary Habermas. The website for that is the COVID T H E C O V E the COVID dot org. Well, Bert, are you ready to take some calls and we'll, as they say, brag on Jesus?

>> Bert Harper: Amen. We'll do it.

Kathleen suffers from vertigo and needs prayer for her

Let me give this. This came through yesterday, and we ran out of time. Kathleen, who, communicates quite a bit through Facebook, our Facebook page, and you can as well, but shared with, Brent that we need to pray for her. Her vertigo. And I don't know, unless you suffer from vertigo, you don't know how, debilitating it is. I'm telling you, I have, and I know that. So, Kathleen, we're praying for you. Also, I put in a prayer request for Iran. It is written more people are dying, and it is at a strategic place. So just be praying for the people there in Iran. There's a lot of them really wanting freedom. And a lot of believers are in Iran. And, they've cut off the Internet because that's where most of it was taking place, salvation. So just be praying for those.

Larry: Did Jesus preach more than three years or less

So I wanted to bring that to our attention first. Let's go to Alabama. And it's Larry. Larry, thank you for calling.

>> Caroline: Yeah, I've got a couple of things. how do I get on the list to get a certificate for reading a Bible last year?

>> Bert Harper: Okay. you can, Do you have Internet access?

>> Caroline: Yeah.

>> Bert Harper: Okay, you can, email [email protected] and it will get to us. [email protected] Larry. And say I read the Bible through. Go ahead with the other question.

>> Caroline: Yeah, did Jesus preach more than.

>> Bert Harper: Three and a half years? Okay, right at three and a half years is what he preached, wasn't it, Alex?

>> Alex McFarland: It was. His ministry was, three. Really three to three and a half years. And I don't really believe his. We don't have any record of his ministry lasting longer than that. You know, it's interesting. he was baptized by John the Baptist when he was 30 years old, and his crucifixion was three years later. So from the start of his public ministry till his death on the cross was really, you know, roughly three years.

>> Bert Harper: But it is amazing. Even as a 12 year old young man, he needed to be about his father's business. So even though that public ministry was not taking place, Alex, he was still. He was growing in favor with God and man, wasn't he? During that period of time, up to 30 years of age, in wisdom and.

>> Alex McFarland: Stature and in favor with God and man? Yes, he was.

>> Bert Harper: Amen.

Larry: Anna, thank you for calling. I love you guys. Let's go to Mississippi

Thank you, Larry. Let's go to Mississippi. Anna, thank you for calling.

>> Caroline: thank you for taking my call.

>> Bert Harper: Yes.

>> Caroline: I love you guys.

>> Alex McFarland: We love you. Blessings.

>> Bert Harper: You bet.

Anna calls in with a prayer request for her brother Randy

>> Caroline: I have a prayer request.

>> Bert Harper: Okay.

>> Caroline: My brother from another mother got hit by a motorcycle, about a year ago, and it totally crushed his pelvis. He's had 13 surgeries for them to rebuild it. His body's rejected everything they put in it. They're going in tomorrow and they're pulling everything out.

>> Bert Harper: Oh, wow. He'll never be able to walk again.

>> Caroline: And they're gonna chain his leg up in his hip, and if that don't work, then they're gonna take off his leg.

>> Bert Harper: Well, do you mind giving us his first name, Anna?

>> Caroline: Randy.

>> Bert Harper: Randy. Okay, Write Randy down and let's pray for him. It's going to be very important. 24 or 48 hours. Alex, is Zard if I pray for Randy?

>> Alex McFarland: Yes. Lead us, would you?

>> Bert Harper: Father, I thank you for Anna having the heart and the mind and the faith to call in and say, we need to pray for Randy. And Father, we are. We don't know all that is going on, but you do. You know what is needed. And Father, we trust you. We trust you. And more than anything, like Randy, it sounds like he needs to have this spirit of acceptance of what is taking place and trust in you. And we pray that Randy would trust you, if he hasn't already, that he'd put his heart and his faith trusting you as Savior and Lord as he turns to you. We pray in this. In, believer in. As believers in Christ, in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you, Anna.

Alabama man paralyzed after drowning in pool at 16; now 19

Let's go in Alabama. And it's Bambi. Bambi and Alabama. Go right ahead.

>> Caroline: Hey, y'. All. my son, he's 19. He turned 19 December 27th. when he was 16 years old, he got into a pool accident saving a small kid. And he became. He hit his head on the wall and at the bottom of the pool and became, paralyzed instantly. On top of that, he drowned. So he was fully conscious as he was drowning. so. But, you know, he. Thank God we have him here today with us, but he's paralyzed from the Chest down, but he doesn't have any brain damage, thank God. but he's really down, man. And, and I need some really tough people who have real strong prayer, real strong belief to just please y' all ask God to give that his name is Isaiah, to give him what he needs, man, to get out of this rut like he don't go out of the house and he's, he's pushed away all his friends. He's 19 and he's handsome and he's smart and he's. I just.

>> Bert Harper: We need help, Bambi. We hear that if any, anybody in our family, a nephew of mine paralyzed after a car accident. The paralysis is difficult and hard. I just. Bambi, have you read any books by Johnny, Erickson? Tada.

>> Caroline: No, but I know who she is though.

>> Bert Harper: Let me just listen if you can google that and find out books and I think it would might give him, and you hope Alex, would you agree?

>> Alex McFarland: I would agree. And what's, what's his first name? Bambi.

>> Caroline: Yes.

>> Alex McFarland: What's his first name, if you don't mind us asking?

>> Caroline: Isaiah.

>> Alex McFarland: What a great name. Wow. you know, I've known a couple of people that, including Johnny, she's a friend of our family, but that were paralyzed and it's not easy, but a great magnificent ministry can emerge from this. But let's pray together. Father, in the name of Jesus, I lift up this young man Isaiah. And in the name of Jesus I pray that the spirit of joy would come upon him and vision. And Lord, your spirit would minister and give him strength. What a tragedy to be paralyzed. But even in spite of the loss of this mobility and there are limitations, but with it also comes really empowerment And Lord, make this young man a trophy of your power to touch lives. We lift him up to you. Thank you for Bambi, bringing this prayer request to our attention. And Lord, I pray as a radio audience we would be faithful to pray for Isaiah that you would do just a work of joy and vision and power in his spirit and soul. And we thank you for the results. In Jesus name, amen.

>> Bert Harper: Amen. Thank you, Bami.

Please pray for Peggy's family since today would have been her birthday

Let's go to Ohio. Tammy, thank you for calling. Exploring the word. Go right ahead.

>> Caroline: Good afternoon. Thank you for taking my call. I just would like for you all to pray for the family of my sister in law, Peggy. Today would have been her birthday. We lost her last October and she was a rock in the family. And I know that her girls, I'm sure are struggling Today, since today is her birthday. So if you could just pray for, the family of Peggy and especially her daughters.

>> Bert Harper: Alex is artif. I pray this.

>> Alex McFarland: Please lead us.

>> Bert Harper: Father. Thank you. For Tammy. Father, we can get so caught up in our own lives. We don't think of the struggles of others. But praise God that Tammy sees that of Peggy's family that's gone on, Father, on birthdays and special days, especially after the first time that they're experiencing this, it brings great, difficulty many times. So I'm praying for her daughters, Father, that they would choose to look unto you, the author and finisher of our faith. As the psalmist says, I will look under the hills from whence my help comes. My help comes from m the Lord and Father, I pray they would seek you, rely upon you, and trust you even now, in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you so much. Tammy.

Deborah: I would like to pray for a young lady with stomach problems

Let's go to North Carolina. And Deborah. Deborah, thank you for calling.

>> Caroline: Oh, you're welcome. I would like to pray for a young lady. Her name is Teresa. She's having stomach problems. She had to go to the emergency room. And so we just pray that whatever they need to do, they do. And, that the most of all, I think a lot of people eating bad foods. A lot of the food is contaminated.

>> Bert Harper: Listen. Okay, yeah, we don't have to go there, but I do. How many people's problems are in their diet? Listen, God has really let me to understand that in the last few years. And so we will pray that. But for Teresa, we want to pray for her. Alex, Theresa, would you pray?

>> Alex McFarland: Yes, Father. God, in the name of Jesus, we lift up Teresa, Lord, that you will help her. We thank you for, the fact that her name has been brought to us. And, Lord, physically, spiritually, even nutritionally. Lord, we lift up Teresa, and we thank you in advance for what you're going to do. And I think about Isaiah 53, verse 6. By your stripes, we are healed. present tense verb. We are healed in you. And so, Lord Jesus, you. You undertake for this person and for all of us as well. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

>> Bert Harper: Amen. Deborah. Thank you.

Two of Jimmy's oldest brothers have lung problems and heart problems

Let's go to Tennessee, the Volunteer State, and talk to Jimmy. Jimmy, thank you for calling today. Go right ahead. You're on the radio. Yes, sir.

>> Caroline: I just want to pray for us. my oldest brothers in the hospital, have lung problems and heart problems. He's my oldest brother out of seven boys.

>> Bert Harper: I'm youngest, so I just want to.

>> Caroline: Have, you guys Pray for me. My family has. Whatever the outcome.

>> Bert Harper: Okay. M. Jim, you're the youngest of seven boys. Is that what I heard?

>> Caroline: Yes.

>> Alex McFarland: Yes, sir.

>> Caroline: I'm 64 and he's 83.

>> Bert Harper: Well, I just got to ask this. I'm a. I'm from a family of nine. I'm the youngest. Now, were there any girls, Girls in there besides those seven boys? Yes, sir.

>> Caroline: It was 11 of us in all, but all my three sisters. That's on the glory.

>> Bert Harper: Okay. Well, brother, listen, thank you for calling us. And we're going to pray for your brother Alex. Is that our. I pray.

>> Alex McFarland: Yes. Lead us.

>> Bert Harper: Father, I thank you for Jimmy and having, a large family. I know, the joy and the heartache. And when you have that many, there's usually as they get older, there's something always going on with one of them that has illness. I know that's true. Has been true in my family. But I'm praying for this oldest brother, God, that you would be with him, speak to his heart, draw him closer to you and those other five that is between Jimmy and his oldest brother, Father, that you would draw every one of them to you. And, I thank you that we can call upon you. We can trust you, Father. You're doing your work wherever it is. Father, we make ourselves available to you to do your work in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you. Amen.

We have one more prayer request today, and it's in Virginia

What a blessing it is to have a day of prayer. We got one more today, and it's in Virginia, and it's Trillia. Trillia, thank you for calling.

>> Caroline: Hello. Thank you for taking my call.

>> Bert Harper: Yes, ma'. Am. How can we pray for you today?

>> Caroline: Oh, I'm praying. I asked him to pray for my son, because, we have been, The doctor had been, Diagnosed him with the. So many things. But it's about, mental health. And into this point, you don't want to take the medication because as none of the medicine is helping. He's been. He's, rush hour. And after this moment, you know, he's. It was my partner prayer. And now to this moment, it's not. It's not really.

>> Bert Harper: Okay.

>> Caroline: Mine is not there.

>> Bert Harper: Okay, Trillia. Well, we're going to pray. Alex, would, you lead us. We got about a minute and ten seconds left, I think, but we can go in prayer for Trillia and her son, can't we?

Lord, we need your holy spirit to strengthen not only Julia's son

>> Alex McFarland: Yes, we can. Let's pray. Lord, in the name of Jesus, we lift up Trillia and her son. And Lord, I hear about medicine. He doesn't want to take and depression. And Lord, so many people across our nation are on meds and things about, emotions and their state, of mind. Lord, we need your holy spirit to strengthen not only Trillia's son, but no doubt millions of others. So, Lord, I pray, pray you'll give strength, health, clarity of mind. And Lord, that our mind will be at peace because it is stayed on you. So for this family and countless others, we lift them up and we thank you for your healing touch. In Jesus name, amen.

>> Bert Harper: Amen. Thank you for all you call and pray for these, but read ahead tomorrow. Chapter 41. It does not let you listen to this. Fear not, for I am with you. Be m not dismayed, for I am your God. That's our God. Join us tomorrow for more of exploring the Word.

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

>> Caroline: Broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of.

>> Bert Harper: The American Family association or American Family Radio.