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Christians need to think about elections like Christians, not like politicians · Cultural Wars | America Out Loud News

• 0:36
  Welcome to Faith Is.
• 0:38
  I'm Pastor Rick Stevens, and this is the place where we understand that faith is absolute confidence in the trustworthiness of God.
• 0:48
  Now we know, you know, I know, everybody probably knows that faith is more than that, because we use qualifiers related to the word faith.
• 0:58
  I understand that.
• 1:00
  If you study theology, you will probably have heard someone talk about prevenient grace.
• 1:06
  Okay.
• 1:07
  All we're doing is trying to say that grace, as it works in our lives, generally, or I'm sorry, faith, grace is a different topic.
• 1:18
  We could talk about that.
• 1:18
  I've got a definition for grace too, but let's talk about faith.
• 1:22
  Faith in our lives as we live them out, is about developing confidence in God.
• 1:29
  That's why we say faith is absolute confidence in the trustworthiness of God.
• 1:36
  We had a conversation a couple of us this morning that God doesn't always do what we think he should do.
• 1:44
  And sometimes things happen that we think, hey, God, we'd like to talk this over.
• 1:49
  You know, the old idea have a little talk with Jesus.
• 1:52
  Yeah, we'd like to talk this over and get this straightened out.
• 1:55
  And yet we remember and we remind ourselves that we trust God's heart.
• 2:04
  We have absolute confidence in the trustworthiness of God because we know how God has behaved toward people, and we know his heart toward people, and we trust that, and we also remind ourselves, and this is sometimes hard for some people.
• 2:21
  We don't know everything God knows.
• 2:23
  So how can we pretend to argue with God that he should have done XYZ instead of ABC when we don't know what God knows?
• 2:35
  And so we, because we know from the pages of history, from the Bible itself, from our own experience, because we know that God is trustworthy, we continue to have faith, and we stretch in God's direction to have absolute confidence in the trustworthiness of God.
• 2:56
  I don't know how many of us will get to that absolute confidence, but we still have to have an ideal to strive for.
• 3:03
  So that's what we do here.
• 3:04
  Now I'm Pastor Rick Stevens.
• 3:06
  I'm the pastor of a church in Cape Coral, Florida, where we wrestle with all of the things that people wrestle with, including what I just described in a conversation from today.
• 3:16
  And that's okay that we wrestle with things.
• 3:19
  God's people have wrestled with things since the beginning of the recording of God's people and their history with God.
• 3:27
  We understand that.
• 3:29
  And we don't shy away from asking the questions.
• 3:33
  We don't shy away from wrestling with our confusions or our doubts or even dare I say our disagreements with God.
• 3:41
  We are happy to talk with him about that, and we are especially aware that we can talk to him, but we need to listen to what he says, and we need to trust him because he knows what he's doing.
• 3:55
  He's demonstrated that.
• 3:56
  So, all right, we're in the program today.
• 3:58
  We're going to take a few different topics or directions to talk about some things.
• 4:03
  And one of the things we're going to do is we're going to challenge each other to think like Christians.
• 4:09
  Uh, that's not always easy and obvious, and I will admit, I don't have any trouble admitting this, that Christians sometimes, maybe I could say often, disagree.
• 4:22
  Well, I'm not necessarily calling for everybody to agree with me, and you're probably not expecting everybody to agree with you.
• 4:32
  But we need to ask and answer these challenges of our day so that we can come to some agreements.
• 4:39
  Even if we don't have 100% agreement, God can guide us to think like Christians about important things, and especially important things where we have to make a decision and then act on that decision.
• 4:53
  So we're going to talk about some of that.
• 4:55
  Let's start off by reminding ourselves.
• 4:58
  It's easy to forget this.
• 5:00
  We get caught up in a lot of things, and there are so many things coming at us.
• 5:04
  But let me ask you again to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
• 5:13
  It seems to me that in his wisdom, God has given us that expression from the scriptures to remind us that when when we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, we are covering many of the world's most difficult challenges.
• 5:29
  As it relates to how people get along, power struggles, cultural differences, belief systems, lots of things.
• 5:37
  But when we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, we are covering a huge number of the conflicts that go on in the world today.
• 5:47
  And so we need to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
• 5:51
  And in case you weren't aware, and I'm a little bit aware, but not as not terribly aware that this past week, Israel celebrated its independence.
• 6:01
  And so that's another thing to remember that we pray for a country that has its independence and pray that God will continue to be with them.
• 6:11
  And when we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, we understand that we pray for the Jewish people that live there.
• 6:17
  We pray for the Arabs that live there.
• 6:19
  There are all kinds of groups that are represented in Israel, some because they've taken refuge there from hostile environments in their home country.
• 6:28
  Lots of things.
• 6:29
  It is a truly dynamic place.
• 6:32
  And you go to the city of Jerusalem, and it truly is international on so many levels.
• 6:38
  And by the way, as you pray for the peace of Jerusalem, would you pray about visiting the Holy Land?
• 6:46
  About visiting Israel, about visiting Jerusalem.
• 6:50
  Imagine, and I know that it's easy for me to say because I've been there, but I just I just want you to imagine what it would be like for you to be in Jerusalem.
• 7:00
  To be in Jerusalem for you to land in Tel Aviv and probably take a bus if you're with a tour group, and I recommend you go with a tour group.
• 7:02
  For you to land in Tel Aviv and probably take a bus if you're with a tour group, and I recommend you go with a tour group.
• 7:10
  We talk about that some more if you want to, but you're in the bus leaving the airport in Tel Aviv, and you're on your way to the first location, whatever that might be.
• 7:10
  We talk about that some more if you want to, but you're in the bus leaving the airport in Tel Aviv, and you're on your way to the first location, whatever that might be.
• 7:20
  Probably isn't Jerusalem, because my sense is that tours more often than not end up in Jerusalem, but it could be that you're on your way to
• 7:20
  Probably isn't Jerusalem, because my sense is that tours more often than not end up in Jerusalem.
• 7:27
  But it could be that you're on your way to Jerusalem, depending upon the tour you take.
• 7:32
  And imagine what it will be like when you get the first glimpse of Jerusalem.
• 7:37
  Much of it will look like a modern city, because it is.
• 7:40
  But then you'll probably have, should have the opportunity to visit the Western Wall, the old city of Jerusalem.
• 7:47
  Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and please, if you're brave enough, pray for the opportunity.
• 7:53
  Your understanding of the world, and particularly of the Middle East will be different after you have visited Israel.
• 8:01
  After you've walked where Jesus walked, shall we say.
• 8:05
  Well, it's true.
• 8:05
  You can walk actually on the same ground that Jesus walked on.
• 8:11
  Same steps, same streets in Jerusalem.
• 8:14
  There's an area that is the same level, the same pavement that we can't prove it, but in all likelihood Jesus walked that same street.
• 8:26
  So anyway, I want to encourage you to do that.
• 8:29
  And by the way, let's circle back a little bit.
• 8:30
  I think you should go with a tour group for a number of reasons.
• 8:34
  It's not that Israel is not safe.
• 8:36
  I'm not wanting you to think that because I've been there twice.
• 8:40
  Both of my visits were fine.
• 8:42
  I never felt threatened by anything really.
• 8:45
  There was a little uncomfortable because things were different the first time.
• 8:48
  I was kind of used to that the second time, so I didn't have any reason for that discomfort.
• 8:54
  But that's true, any place you visit that's new.
• 8:56
  You can go to places in your home country.
• 8:58
  In the United States, I could go to places that I would feel a little bit uncomfortable because it's unfamiliar and I just don't know what's going on.
• 9:07
  I felt that way when I visited some sites in Atlanta, Georgia.
• 9:11
  No reason for me to be uncomfortable, no indication that it wasn't safe, none at all.
• 9:16
  But it was just different.
• 9:18
  And so I was just wasn't quite sure because I just hadn't been there.
• 9:21
  If I visited that same place again, I would feel differently because I had that experience.
• 9:26
  Anyway, think about, pray about, consider visiting Israel.
• 9:32
  You will think about things so differently, and go with a tour group for a couple of reasons.
• 9:37
  One, it's fun with a group of people.
• 9:39
  When you're there with a group of people, you get to interact and you notice things and you talk about seeing this and that and the other thing.
• 9:46
  And second, you'll be led by people who likely have a lot of experience with visiting Israel.
• 9:52
  Plus, you'll have Israeli guides, all tour groups have an Israeli guide, at least one.
• 9:58
  We were fortunate we had two with our group back in December when we went.
• 10:03
  But those guides give you a different understanding of things, and they understand the vast variety of what goes on in in Israel and the challenges of one thing or another that you and I, we just would not even be aware of, but they can explain it to you, and they can make sure, and they will make sure that where you want to visit is safe.
• 10:26
  Occasionally things happen in any country.
• 10:29
  It happens in our country.
• 10:31
  It happens in cities right around here that you hear about something, and so you're careful you don't go there till you know that it's safe again.
• 10:40
  And the same way in Israel.
• 10:41
  For example, it's not at all risky, or it wasn't when I was there.
• 10:47
  We got off the bus early in the morning or off the plane, sorry, early in the morning, got on a bus, went into Jerusalem to our hotel, got into our hotel rooms, and it's uh late morning, and I'm thinking, I've got all day, I need to do something.
• 11:00
  So I asked and was assured, because I asked a couple of times to make sure.
• 11:07
  Could I visit the old city?
• 11:08
  Would it be okay if I went and walked around?
• 11:10
  And I was assured without a doubt, sure, it was fine.
• 11:14
  Go ahead.
• 11:15
  Go wherever you want that there.
• 11:17
  So I did.
• 11:18
  I didn't go all over the old city, it's too big for that.
• 11:21
  But I visited some places.
• 11:22
  I visited the Western Wall, talked to people a little bit, not a lot, but a few ended up walking back to the hotel, which was not wise, but that was because it was a long way.
• 11:32
  It wasn't because it was dangerous, and and I was just fine.
• 11:35
  Well, I think you would have a similar experience.
• 11:38
  You could probably go to Jerusalem, for example, on your own.
• 11:41
  But you wouldn't get the whole picture of what I think you need to experience.
• 11:46
  So go with a group, find a reputable group, go with somebody you trust who can give you insights because they've had experience over time, and they will have a good guide.
• 11:56
  Anyway, I keep saying that, and I don't mean to, I don't mean to just keep saying it over and over.
• 12:02
  I say it because I really believe that you will understand not just Israel, not just the Bible.
• 12:11
  Certainly you will understand Israel and the Bible better, but not just them better.
• 12:16
  You will understand some of the world tensions by being there, seeing things, hearing things, noticing things, and it will help you understand, and I think have both compassion and resolve as you think about the world and the way it is.
• 12:35
  So anyway, seriously, and and don't be afraid.
• 12:40
  Now, some people are afraid.
• 12:43
  Uh I can't say enough.
• 12:46
  There was no reason to be afraid.
• 12:48
  And if there is reason because of tensions of one kind or another, the people that take you on the tour and the local tour guides, the Israeli tour guides, will keep you out of trouble.
• 13:00
  That's for sure.
• 13:01
  The next part of that is this.
• 13:04
  Everybody, underline everybody in Israel, depends on tourists coming to survive.
• 13:12
  It's an important part of their economy.
• 13:15
  And they are struggling.
• 13:17
  I know they're struggling because they don't have tourists, and I know firsthand from people that are there.
• 13:24
  So don't be afraid.
• 13:26
  They take good care of tourists, they protect tourists.
• 13:29
  If you go astray from your tour group into a place, an area where you shouldn't, that they tell you not to, then that's kind of on you, but you won't have any trouble.
• 13:39
  I have every confidence you'll get along just great.
• 13:43
  Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, visit the Holy Land.
• 13:47
  If you can't visit for one reason or another, perhaps you could help someone else afford to go.
• 13:53
  And you would give them a gift and say, I want to give you this to help you go to Israel.
• 13:58
  Maybe your pastor.
• 14:00
  Oh, there's the thought.
• 14:00
  Oh, there's the thought.
• 14:02
  Every church should send their pastor to Israel.
• 14:02
  Every church should send their pastor to Israel.
• 14:05
  If they haven't been there, send them immediately.
• 14:05
  If they haven't been there, send them immediately.
• 14:09
  They will be a different pastor.
• 14:09
  They will be a different pastor.
• 14:12
  They will understand things differently.
• 14:12
  They will understand things differently.
• 14:14
  Um, I've gone on and on about that enough.
• 14:15
  Anyway, I've gone on and on about that enough.
• 14:17
  I should move on to something else, shouldn't I?
• 14:17
  I should move on to something else, shouldn't I?
• 14:19
  Well, let's do move on to something else, because you get that idea.
• 14:19
  Well, let's do move on to something else, because you get that idea.
• 14:22
  Over the last few weeks, I've been encouraging us, and I've been thinking a lot about this too, that we should think about the things that go on in the world like Christians.
• 14:22
  Over the last few weeks, I've been encouraging us, and I've been thinking a lot about this too, that we should think about the things.
• 14:33
  Well, you might say, Well, that's obvious we are.
• 14:35
  Well, yeah, we are, but we don't often, maybe I should say always, uh, maybe I should say not often enough, think about things like Christians.
• 14:47
  So for example, I have been keenly aware in recent years, really, that Christians today don't seem to have many convictions that guide their lives.
• 15:02
  We lived through a time when I was young, particularly when I was a child.
• 15:07
  I remember as I was learning about things and becoming aware of things, that there were a lot of expectations that demonstrated you were a Christian.
• 15:16
  Well, one of them was how you managed your hair, both for men and for women, more for women than for men, interestingly enough.
• 15:24
  It was about how you dressed, it was about the things you did.
• 15:28
  For example, years ago, many people would have said no Christian should have a television.
• 15:34
  Well, now we think that's just you got to be kidding me.
• 15:38
  Well, that's not altogether a bad idea because sometimes people watch more television than they should.
• 15:43
  And by the way, if you watch too much, turn it off, you might find that you get along a whole lot better and you have a whole lot less anxiety because a lot of television program, particularly news program, is designed to make you anxious, so you'll keep watching for the resolution that never comes.
• 16:02
  Oh, just a thought.
• 16:04
  Now, another thing I learned recently, we were talking about this, and one of the older gentlemen in our conversation said, Well, you talk about television.
• 16:13
  He said he remembers when radios were considered evil, and that no Christian should have a radio.
• 16:20
  Now, some of you wonder what's a radio, because we don't typically listen to a lot of radio these days.
• 16:25
  I understand that.
• 16:26
  But what he was saying was that Christians are often just knee jerk against things.
• 16:32
  And what I'm saying to us, to you, to me, we don't need to be knee jerk against everything.
• 16:39
  We need to be thoughtful about what we do and what we don't do.
• 16:45
  And if you have convictions, then that can guide your life.
• 16:48
  So if you have a conviction, uh, here I go again.
• 16:52
  Are you ready?
• 16:52
  Buckle your spiritual seat belt.
• 16:54
  If you have a conviction that you should attend worship every week, then you order your life to make sure you can be there.
• 17:03
  You get things done ahead of time, you put things off.
• 17:08
  Maybe you say, I'm going to church on Sunday, this won't get done until Monday.
• 17:13
  Well, see, those are the kind of convictional responses we need to have that we're going to go to church on Sunday.
• 17:21
  Importantly, then that means Saturday night, you're not out till 1 30 or 2 o'clock in the morning because you're saying I'm going to get enough rest to be with God on Sunday morning.
• 17:34
  And so even that is another part of that developing convictions.
• 17:39
  How many of us?
• 17:40
  I think not enough of us realize that when we gather at church with God's people, we are gathering not just with our friends.
• 17:50
  Sure, I hope they're your friends.
• 17:52
  I hope some of them are close friends.
• 17:54
  Some of them are probably just acquaintances.
• 17:57
  Maybe some you don't even know.
• 17:58
  Doesn't matter, but when we gather with the people of God, it's not just the people that are there.
• 18:04
  It's not about so much the songs that are sung or the sermon that's preached.
• 18:08
  I hope all of those are helpful and edifying.
• 18:11
  But what it's really about is we are meeting together with God.
• 18:17
  God promises he will be there.
• 18:19
  So when you think about going to church and developing a conviction, I'm not asking you to develop a conviction that just makes that a check mark.
• 18:25
  I got my God thing done for the week.
• 18:27
  No.
• 18:28
  No, it's more than that.
• 18:29
  It's the realization that when I go to worship with God's people, God is there.
• 18:38
  And that even includes when we're away from home.
• 18:42
  Sometimes people think, well, I'm on vacation, I'm on vacation from God.
• 18:47
  Let me encourage you that if we meet for worship with God's people, it's not so much about whether I'm comfortable because it's home for me.
• 18:57
  It's more about, am I really going to take the time, make it a priority to meet with God and his people?
• 19:06
  That's what's significant.
• 19:08
  That's the idea of developing a conviction.
• 19:11
  And then you live a life based on those convictions.
• 19:16
  Another conviction might be that you don't do certain things.
• 19:20
  Well, you might say, well, the Bible doesn't tell me about everything that I can do and can't do, so I guess I can do whatever I want to do unless the Bible specifically talks about it.
• 19:29
  The Bible does not specifically talk about every possible thing you could do or not do.
• 19:34
  Okay, I understand that.
• 19:36
  You understand that.
• 19:37
  It does give us principles.
• 19:39
  And the Holy Spirit does give us guidance.
• 19:41
  And if God is saying to you, do not do this, then that's God trying to get you to understand there's something going on here that you don't grasp, and you need to have a conviction to follow the promptings, old timers used to say, it's a good way to say it too.
• 20:00
  The promptings of the Holy Spirit.
• 20:02
  So he developed convictions.
• 20:04
  There may be some things you will do because you develop convictions.
• 20:09
  Well, that's what I mean.
• 20:11
  We should have things that guide our lives because we've decided this matters to me.
• 20:17
  The reason it matters to me is because it matters to God.
• 20:21
  All right, let's talk about another subject that I really wasn't going to think about quite this soon in the calendar year, but I've kind of been forced into it.
• 20:31
  Uh, not forced in the sense that I'm required to, nobody's requiring, nobody dictates to me what we talk about here.
• 20:38
  For that I'm grateful.
• 20:40
  But I do want to talk about what's going on with elections.
• 20:44
  The reason I want to talk about that is because too many Christians don't think about elections until a week before they have to cast their vote.
• 20:53
  They don't even pay a pay serious attention to things.
• 20:56
  I've had people talk about how, well, I watch the commercials on TV and I get the cards in the mail, and that I kind of go through those, and that helps me decide.
• 21:00
  TV and I get the cards in the mail.
• 21:02
  And that I kind of go through those and that helps me decide.
• 21:06
  Let me say.
• 21:06
  Let me say unequivocally.
• 21:08
  Unequivocally.
• 21:10
  Ignore those television ads and throw those cards that you get in the mail away.
• 21:10
  Ignore those television ads and throw those cards that you get in the mail away.
• 21:16
  All of that is designed very intentionally to promote a candidate, or to attack a candidate.
• 21:16
  All of that is designed very intentionally to promote a candidate.
• 21:23
  Or to attack a candidate.
• 21:26
  None of them are designed to tell you the truth about a candidate.
• 21:26
  None of them are designed to tell you the truth.
• 21:31
  Okay?
• 21:32
  They just aren't.
• 21:34
  So throw that stuff away and pay attention on a different level.
• 21:38
  Go meet the candidates.
• 21:40
  One of the best things you can do is go meet the candidates that you're going to be asked to vote for or against.
• 21:48
  Take the time.
• 21:50
  Go to the trouble.
• 21:51
  And the main thing I want to mention today, and there's a lot of things I could mention, is that when you evaluate who you're going to vote for, stick to your principles.
• 22:03
  It's very important.
• 22:04
  There are a lot of transient kind of issues.
• 22:06
  Let me tell you one.
• 22:08
  Since I've lived a little while, I know this is transient.
• 22:10
  I don't like it.
• 22:11
  It's terrible.
• 22:13
  I want it to go away, but it's one of those things that in my lifetime I've seen it come and go.
• 22:19
  And that's the high price of gas.
• 22:21
  The high price of gas is not a reason for you to cast your vote.
• 22:27
  The low price of gas is not a reason for you to cast your vote.
• 22:31
  All right.
• 22:35
  And you will hear politicians blame other politicians.
• 22:39
  They're the reason that it's high.
• 22:41
  You will hear people blame back and forth all this.
• 22:44
  That's a transient issue.
• 22:46
  They use those things to manipulate your thinking.
• 22:50
  Ignore those kinds of issues and stick to your principles.
• 22:55
  What is right and what is wrong?
• 22:58
  And that's what matters more.
• 23:00
  You have to remember that when you listen to political conversations.
• 23:04
  It's most often, and they don't say this up front, but it's most often about the interests of the politicians.
• 23:14
  They generally are not as principled as you are.
• 23:17
  They have interests.
• 23:19
  You may be shocked by this, but almost every politician in the forefront of their mind, even those who you like best and you think are most honest and principled, are constantly thinking.
• 23:33
  How is this going to affect me?
• 23:36
  What's in it for me?
• 23:38
  And that guides their thinking.
• 23:41
  There are so many interests at play in the political world.
• 23:44
  So many.
• 23:45
  I don't even hardly know where to start to describe that, but when you begin to pursue an important policy decision, and you begin to advocate for that, and you get involved in talking to people, you quickly discover that it's more about interests than about principle.
• 24:03
  So I've been involved in trying to protect children, particularly in the education environment, from the harmful potential of artificial intelligence.
• 24:12
  Well, you would think that'd be easy.
• 24:14
  It's not.
• 24:18
  Read that pornographic materials in our state of Florida.
• 24:22
  You'd think that'd be easy.
• 24:23
  We have been fighting this battle for years.
• 24:26
  It is not easy.
• 24:28
  It's not necessarily because the people involved disagree.
• 24:33
  They sometimes try to hide their disagreement because they think it might be controversial and get them in trouble with high-minded ideals.
• 24:41
  But it's always about interests that are going on and influences, often invisible to most of us.
• 24:50
  So as a Christian, stick to your principles, and as I've often said and will say often, vote for the candidate that will lessen evil.
• 25:00
  That's how you can apply your principles to their stated positions.
• 25:06
  Which candidate will lessen evil?
• 25:09
  Now I know you can't always tell.
• 25:11
  That's sometimes challenging, but you will rarely go wrong by voting for the candidate that will lessen evil.
• 25:19
  And always evaluate that based on your principles, not the issue of today of the day.
• 25:25
  Gas prices have in my lifetime gone up and down.
• 25:28
  They'll do it again.
• 25:29
  But vote for the candidate that will lessen evil.
• 25:31
  Well, we got more to talk about, and I'm out of time for this segment.
• 25:34
  We'll be right back.
• 25:35
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• 25:35
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• 25:53
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• 25:56
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• 26:00
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• 27:11
  Oral hygiene hasn't changed in 50 years.
• 27:14
  Brush, floss, repeat.
• 27:17
  We're told to use fluoride, which doesn't really address the acid creating bacteria.
• 27:23
  That is where the dentist recommended spray dental defense system shines.
• 27:27
  Sprite products contain xylitol, a natural sugar, which helps get rid of those nasty, smelly acid-creating bacteria in our mouth.
• 27:37
  The best way to care for your teeth and gums is by using spray.
• 27:40
  The spray dental defense system has a wide variety of products, toothpaste, mouthwash, mints, and chewing gums that are designed to work together to keep your teeth clean and mouth healthy and smelling sweet all day long.
• 27:54
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• 28:00
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• 28:02
  Ask your dentist about xylitol and the spry products.
• 28:02
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• 28:06
  Sprite can be found online and at all fine natural product retailers.
• 28:06
  Sprite can be found online and at all fine natural product retailers.
• 28:09
  I'm Doug Evans, author of the Sprout Book.
• 28:09
  I'm Doug Evans, author of the sprout book.
• 28:12
  And I'm also a father with a three-year-old daughter.
• 28:12
  And I'm also a father with a three-year-old daughter.
• 28:15
  And that's why we grow sprouts.
• 28:15
  And that's why we grow sprouts.
• 28:18
  Did you know that you could take seeds, add water, and get fresh organic vegetables in three to five days without soil, sunshine, or fertilizer for unconscious?
• 28:18
  Did you know that you could take seeds, add water, and get fresh organic vegetables in three to five days without soil, sunshine, or fertilizer for under a dollar a serving?
• 28:31
  That's the miracle of sprouting, and I want to share that with you.
• 28:36
  Go to the spouting company.com slash out loud and use the code out loud for a special offer.
• 28:44
  Let's get real.
• 28:44
  Let's get loud on America Loud Talk Radio.
• 28:46
  This is a McCullough Report, and I'm Dr.
• 28:48
  Peter McCullough.
• 28:49
  But I want to put in a word about the bear bar.
• 28:53
  The bear bar, and we feature bear bar products on the America Out Loud Shop website.
• 28:58
  So go to America Out Loud Shop and get your discount.
• 29:01
  You are going to want to try the bear bar.
• 29:03
  Get a whole box.
• 29:04
  The flavors include the original, turmeric, spicy, and herb.
• 29:10
  Now these are all natural, uh, no GMOs, no artificial ingredients whatsoever.
• 29:17
  They're carefully baked and made uh in a facility in San Diego, California, under the watch of uh Brian Bowers, who I personally know.
• 29:26
  So these are in a sense handcrafted.
• 29:29
  Uh they have great ingredients and all the natural ingredients uh that your body is going to want.
• 29:36
  Now they're not a sweet bar.
• 29:38
  Uh they are savory, meaning when you eat them, you get a great sense of satisfaction.
• 29:44
  I told Malcolm on our last show.
• 29:46
  Uh you get a sense of uh feeling healthy when you eat the bear bar.
• 29:51
  Um I think one of the best applications is crumble it up and you can put it on uh a salad, for instance, probably the best salad topper I think I've uh ever had.
• 30:01
  And uh, but you certainly can eat it as a snack.
• 30:04
  Uh Malcolm likes to eat them right before I come on our show.
• 30:07
  No wonder he's in uh such a good mood when he comes on with me on America Out Loud Pulse.
• 30:13
  So when you eat a bear bar, this is not like any other energy or power bar.
• 30:17
  This is uh healthy.
• 30:19
  Check them out, go to America Out Loud shop, uh, and then search for the bear bar.
• 30:25
  Order a box.
• 30:26
  I I'd suggest order a box for each one of the flavors now so you get a sense of uh what they are.
• 30:33
  Non-GMO, gluten free, that's important for me.
• 30:37
  I'm gluten-free.
• 30:37
  I know I can have any one of the bear bars.
• 30:40
  So let's get real.
• 30:41
  Let's get loud on America Loud Talk Radio.
• 30:45
  Well, only when the government vows to the people will America become great again.
• 30:51
  This is Malcolm Out Loud here.
• 30:53
  Join me in pushing back against censorship, my fellow Americans.
• 30:58
  Right at the top of America Outloud Dnews are the words.
• 31:03
  Many voices, one freedom, united in the First Amendment.
• 31:11
  Now is our time, my fellow Americans.
• 31:14
  America Outloud dot news.
• 31:17
  Liberty and justice for all.
• 31:42
  But now we want to turn to the scriptures and I want to talk about one of the stories from the Bible.
• 31:48
  I like stories, I like the Bible stories.
• 31:51
  They are very instructive.
• 31:52
  And one of the interesting things is that we know, you know, I know, and I'm gonna keep saying it, we know that Easter never ends.
• 32:04
  Now, for a long time, I remember, I guess it was just me, sometimes that happens to all of us, that it seemed like Easter was a day, not a season.
• 32:16
  You know, we think about Christmas because we think about it most of December, and so we think about the Christmas season.
• 32:22
  Well, the Christmas season really extends after Christmas, as the church tells the story of the Bible, and so does Easter.
• 32:30
  The Easter season continues because Easter never ends.
• 32:35
  Say that over and over, say that to your friends.
• 32:38
  Easter never ends.
• 32:41
  When you go to church Sunday, say to people, Easter never ends, and watch them look at you funny.
• 32:48
  I've gotten used to it, I kind of enjoy it.
• 32:52
  So because of that, because of that idea that it's a day or it's an event, we sometimes have overlooked the stories that are related to the resurrection of Jesus.
• 33:04
  And we're gonna look at one of them this week, because it's really quite interesting and instructive and challenging.
• 33:14
  So from Luke chapter 24.
• 33:16
  This this story emerges.
• 33:19
  I'm gonna read it from the Christian Standard Bible and um just let you enjoy it.
• 33:24
  Now that same day, two of them were on their way to a village called Emmaus.
• 33:28
  Now the two of them were two followers of Jesus.
• 33:32
  They were on their way to a village called Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem.
• 33:37
  Together they were discussing everything that had taken place, and while they were discussing and arguing, Jesus himself came near and began to walk along with them.
• 33:47
  But they were prevented from recognizing him.
• 33:50
  Then he asked them, What is this dispute that you're having with each other as you are walking?
• 33:56
  And they stopped walking and looked discouraged.
• 33:59
  The one named Cleopas answered him, Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who doesn't know the things that have happened there in these days?
• 34:08
  What things?
• 34:09
  He asked them.
• 34:11
  So they said to him, The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, powerful in action and speech before God and all the people.
• 34:21
  And how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death.
• 34:26
  And they crucified him.
• 34:28
  But we were hoping that he was the one who was about to redeem Israel.
• 34:33
  Besides all this, it's the third day since these things happened.
• 34:38
  Moreover, some women from our group astounded us.
• 34:42
  They arrived early at the tomb, and when they didn't find his body, they came and reported that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive.
• 34:51
  Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said.
• 34:56
  But they didn't see him.
• 34:58
  He said to them, How foolish you are, and slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken.
• 35:00
  How foolish you are and slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken.
• 35:03
  Wasn't it necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and enter into his glory?
• 35:03
  Wasn't it necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and enter into his glory?
• 35:09
  Then, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted for them the things concerning himself and all the scriptures.
• 35:09
  Then, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted for them the things concerning himself and all the scriptures.
• 35:15
  They came near the village where they were going, and he gave the impression that he was going farther, but they urged him, stay with us, because it's almost evening, and now the day is almost over.
• 35:16
  They came near the village where they were going, and he gave the impression that he was going farther, but they urged him, stay with us because it's almost evening, and now the day is almost over.
• 35:25
  So he went in to stay with them.
• 35:25
  So he went in to stay with them.
• 35:28
  It was as he reclined at
• 35:28
  It was as he reclined at the table with them that he took the bread, blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them.
• 35:36
  Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, but he disappeared from their sight.
• 35:43
  They said to each other, weren't our hearts burning within us while we were while he was talking with us on the road and explaining the scriptures to us?
• 35:53
  That very hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem.
• 35:56
  They found the eleven and those with them gathered together who said, The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon.
• 36:04
  Then they began to describe what had happened on the road and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
• 36:11
  What a fascinating story.
• 36:13
  So they're walking probably home to Emmaus, says seven miles.
• 36:19
  We don't know exactly where that was.
• 36:21
  It's been lost in time.
• 36:23
  That's true for a lot of things in Israel.
• 36:25
  We just don't know where they were.
• 36:27
  Many things have been lost because of time.
• 36:29
  But we know they were trying to make sense of the events that had just happened.
• 36:35
  And remember, this is the same day as the resurrection.
• 36:39
  We're trying to make sense of it, walking along, and really having all kinds of trouble.
• 36:45
  So who shows up?
• 36:47
  Jesus.
• 36:48
  But it says in the text that I read that they were prevented from recognizing him.
• 36:56
  Now I don't know exactly what was going on there.
• 37:00
  Some people have said, well, it was the evil one, the devil that prevented them from recognizing him.
• 37:06
  I don't know if that's the whole story of that.
• 37:09
  It does seem a little odd that Jesus would prevent them from recognizing him, except the way the story turns out, it doesn't turn out to be so odd.
• 37:18
  But one of the questions we ought to ask ourselves, one of the questions I want to ask you, what pretend what prevents you from recognizing Jesus?
• 37:28
  See, that's a compelling question for all of us.
• 37:31
  What prevents us from recognizing Jesus?
• 37:35
  What are our blind spots?
• 37:37
  You know, we have some things in our understanding of the world and events and life that cause us to think certain ways because we take certain things for granted.
• 37:51
  Well, what are the things that we assume that we know all about that affect our thinking about Jesus?
• 38:00
  What prevents us from seeing him clearly?
• 38:04
  Well, they have this conversation and explain to Jesus their difficulties figuring out what's happened, and he describes them rather interestingly.
• 38:15
  If you look at verse 25, many English translations say it this way or almost the same words, but he says, How foolish you are and slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken.
• 38:29
  Well, how foolish you are.
• 38:32
  That sounds like almost to our ears an insult.
• 38:35
  Now I don't know why the English translators use that word.
• 38:39
  There's likely a good reason for it.
• 38:41
  But I think one of the things we must remind ourselves is that Jesus wasn't making fun of them or trying to be difficult with them.
• 38:50
  He wasn't saying they were silly or foolish in the way we tend to use that word.
• 38:56
  What he was saying is maybe more like when did you guys get put in the slow group?
• 39:03
  What how could you be so thick headed and not understand?
• 39:06
  And it's no different than the way he challenged his disciples from time to time.
• 39:11
  Is why why they couldn't just believe?
• 39:14
  And so we need to ask ourselves, what keeps us from just believing?
• 39:19
  And we all struggle with that.
• 39:21
  That's why it's so important for us to develop absolute confidence in the trustworthiness of God.
• 39:28
  So Jesus now begins to make sense of what they couldn't sort out for themselves.
• 39:35
  And it says that he began with Moses and all the prophets to explain what had happened in Jerusalem using the scriptures that they had.
• 39:44
  Now the phrase, Moses and all the prophets, is their way, the typical way in Jesus' time of referring to the sacred scriptures that they had, what we might call the Old Testament.
• 39:57
  So it's a kind of a phrase that wasn't meant to say it's this book, this book, and this book.
• 40:03
  It was the collection of the sacred scriptures.
• 40:06
  And so be he began to explain it all using the old, what we would call the old testament.
• 40:12
  Now, I've thought a lot about this.
• 40:32
  Well, I I am really fascinated and frustrated, unhappy that we are find ourselves in a time that wants to reject the old testament.
• 40:45
  And sometimes I wonder if the idea of rejecting the old testament isn't a symptom of the truth crisis of our times.
• 40:54
  We we just really aren't interested in the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
• 40:59
  We're we're interested in hearing what we want to hear.
• 41:02
  And so we reject what we don't like, and so if we read something in the Old Testament that we don't like, then we look for a reason that we can reject the whole thing, because I just don't want to hear that.
• 41:13
  Well, really?
• 41:15
  That's a sad commentary on our willingness to engage and to understand and to learn and to grow.
• 41:22
  But it might be part of it.
• 41:26
  The other curious thing is that if Jesus could explain his death, burial, and resurrection to these people using the Old Testament, who do we think we are to reject it?
• 41:40
  And by the way, this wasn't the first time Jesus used the Old Testament.
• 41:43
  He he referred to it.
• 41:45
  If it's good enough for him, it should be good enough for us.
• 41:48
  Now, let's get into the specifics.
• 41:51
  How I wish Jesus had told us what he said.
• 41:55
  It'd be so helpful.
• 41:56
  But we can't.
• 41:58
  But let's think about what we know about the Old Testament and how we should be willing to embrace it and understand what God is saying to us.
• 42:00
  The Old Testament and how we should be willing to embrace it and understand what God is saying to us.
• 42:06
  The first thing about the Old Testament that I want to remind us to give it credibility and to think about it is that the Old Testament reminds us that God is one.
• 42:06
  The first thing about the Old Testament that I want to remind us to give it credibility and to think about it is that the Old Testament reminds us that God is one.
• 42:16
  The ancient prayer, the Shema, that God's people had prayed for a long time, and that's wrapped up in the gospel when Jesus said, What's the greatest commandment?
• 42:16
  The ancient prayer, the Shema, that God's people have prayed for a long time, and that's wrapped up in the gospel when Jesus said, What's the greatest commandment?
• 42:25
  And he said, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as your
• 42:25
  And he said, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself.
• 42:30
  That comes out of what's we call the Shema from Deuteronomy chapter six.
• 42:34
  Look at verses four and five.
• 42:37
  What it starts out with is something that we sometimes overlook, and we shouldn't.
• 42:42
  It says, starts out in Deuteronomy.
• 42:45
  Here, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
• 42:50
  Now, we sometimes think about that is that, yes, God's people have always followed the one God.
• 42:58
  We haven't been, and God has warned us against this, we haven't been people to adopt many gods.
• 43:05
  Pagan cultures adopted many gods.
• 43:07
  It was very unusual for God's people to have one God.
• 43:11
  And notice that he says, the Lord is one.
• 43:15
  Now, not only is he one God, but he is the same God.
• 43:19
  That's the understanding from this description that God gives us of himself.
• 43:24
  So when you see Jesus in the pages of the New Testament, then you see God in the pages of the Old Testament is the same person.
• 43:34
  It's God.
• 43:35
  God expressing himself as Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
• 43:39
  It's no different.
• 43:40
  God is one.
• 43:41
  So you can't divide up God and say, I like this expression of God, but I don't like this expression of God.
• 43:48
  No, the idea that the Lord is one, and that's reinforced in the daily prayer of God's people from ancient times, then that teaches us that we can't pick and choose the expressions of God that we like.
• 44:02
  Leave out the stories of Jesus we don't like, leave out the Old Testament because we don't like it for one reason or another.
• 44:08
  Sometimes people might say, Well, the New Testament is all about grace, and the Old Testament's all about law.
• 44:15
  And so we're under grace, so we we can kind of push the other aside.
• 44:18
  No, that doesn't work either, because grace is throughout the Bible.
• 44:22
  You can't say that there's not grace in the Old Testament, because there clearly is.
• 44:28
  Now, I really suspect that rejecting the Old Testament is pandering to some people's sensibilities.
• 44:38
  Whatever those are and how they've developed them, that's a different question.
• 44:41
  But some people seem to have these sensibilities about themselves, and and so they're unwilling to be challenged with the truth.
• 44:50
  So if I read about something that God did in the pages of the Old Testament, and I don't like that particular story, and I wonder how God could act that way or ask his people to act that way, that's a problem of my sensibilities to that.
• 45:06
  Not so much a problem with God, it's my problem of do will I encounter the truth, and as God reveals himself, will I wrestle with that?
• 45:13
  And so we have too many people today that have a preference for rejecting anything that makes them uncomfortable.
• 45:20
  That's a serious problem.
• 45:21
  Another thing that might be the reason that people reject the Old Testament today is they simply don't know it.
• 45:26
  They just aren't aware of what its message is, and so it's easy for us, relatively easy for us, to reject that which we don't know.
• 45:36
  And so it might not just be a quick question of they don't like some of it.
• 45:41
  I think that's definitely mixed in there, but maybe they just don't know the Old Testament well enough to get the idea.
• 45:48
  It could be related also, and I don't think it's any one of these, it's a combination of influences, that that we have a preference in our culture today for the new as opposed to the old.
• 46:00
  And so maybe because we call it the Old Testament, people are thinking that means it's out of date, it's passé.
• 46:08
  We don't have to think about it anymore.
• 46:10
  We focus on the new.
• 46:12
  Well, there's definitely reason to focus on the story of Jesus as found in the New Testament.
• 46:17
  I get that, but there's no indication from Jesus Himself to any other spokesperson mentioned in the Bible that we should reject the Old Testament.
• 46:26
  So maybe we could help ourselves with that by starting to call the Old Testament not the Old Testament, but the first testament.
• 46:33
  Few people are doing that.
• 46:34
  You may have heard that, refer to it as the first testament, and then the New Testament as the Second Testament.
• 46:41
  So we have one and two.
• 46:43
  And maybe that would help.
• 46:44
  I don't know.
• 46:45
  I suspect it's more prejudicial in nature than of that kind of thing.
• 46:49
  So, but let's do a thought experiment.
• 46:51
  All right, we're not going to reject the Old Testament because clearly Jesus doesn't, and he clearly embraced it here in this story when he told his story from Moses and the prophets.
• 47:02
  So let me ask you a question.
• 47:05
  Think about this, don't just put it off.
• 47:09
  But if you needed to explain the story of Jesus to someone, and you could only use the first testament or what we usually call the Old Testament, how would you explain the story of Jesus using those materials?
• 47:28
  Moses and the prophets, or what we call the Old Testament or the First Testament.
• 47:33
  Now, my first wrestling with this idea was kind of to panic and say, Yikes, I don't know how I would do that.
• 47:41
  Well, that's kind of a normal reaction.
• 47:43
  That may be your reaction, because after all, you, me, we all depend upon the story of Jesus as told by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
• 47:52
  We've got those.
• 47:52
  Why do we need to worry about that?
• 47:54
  And to be sure, we don't have to.
• 47:56
  That's a little bit in our day of a of an artificial limitation.
• 47:59
  But as a thought experiment, as a challenge to stretch in God's direction, how would you explain the story of Jesus?
• 48:09
  How would you explain that Jesus is the Messiah just using the information from the first testament or what we call the Old Testament?
• 48:21
  Well, let me give you a few ideas to help you think about that.
• 48:24
  Could you explain the story of Jesus from the story of creation in Genesis?
• 48:31
  In the beginning, God.
• 48:33
  And so there you have first reference that before anything that we know about existed, there was God.
• 48:43
  And so now God has begun to reveal to us what's going on.
• 48:48
  And so you would talk about God creating people in his own image.
• 48:52
  You might talk about God telling people there's one tree that you need to stay away from, you can't eat the fruit of that.
• 48:59
  The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is not good for you.
• 49:00
  The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is not good for you.
• 49:03
  Don't go there.
• 49:03
  Don't go there.
• 49:05
  And yet that's what Adam and Eve did.
• 49:05
  And yet that's what Adam and Eve did.
• 49:07
  They went there, they were deceived by the tempter, and they ate the fruit, and that resulted in what we call the fall, or the entrance of sin into the world or death.
• 49:07
  They went there, they were deceived by the tempter, and they ate the fruit, and that resulted in what we call the fall, or the entrance of sin into the world, or death.
• 49:21
  We are now, because of sin, because of that overstepping, we are now separated from God, separated from the source of life.
• 49:21
  We are now, because of sin, because of that overstepping, we are now separated from God, separated from the source of life.
• 49:30
  And so God pushed Adam and Eve away out of the perfect garden he had made for them where they could thrive and prosper forever.
• 49:40
  Remember, God did not intend for people to die because they were connected to him, the source of life.
• 49:47
  But now they're pushed out, and now they have certain things that they have to do.
• 49:51
  God explains all of that.
• 49:54
  But importantly, in that story, there's reference to God's speaking to the tempter, the Satan, as it's called in the text of the Old Testament.
• 50:05
  And God says, I'm going to send someone who's going to crush your head.
• 50:12
  Well, that's a reference to the final resolution of evil, where God, when you crush the head of a serpent, again, a reference in Genesis, you kill it.
• 50:27
  And so God is saying, I'm going to send someone who will handle that.
• 50:32
  It's the first promise of a Savior.
• 50:35
  And it's a beginning way to explain to people what the coming of Jesus was all about.
• 50:40
  You could go on to talk about the flood and how God was upset that he had made people because that things had gotten so bad that it was out of control, you might say.
• 50:53
  And so God called Noah, said, Build an ark, get your family inside.
• 50:58
  I'm going to save you, and I'm going to essentially start over.
• 51:02
  Well, he did all that.
• 51:04
  World was destroyed by the flood.
• 51:07
  Noah comes out, and it's not very long.
• 51:11
  Very short time that we discover that sin was a stowaway on the ark.
• 51:17
  The problem of sin still had not been dealt with.
• 51:21
  And God, in spite of his best efforts to clean up the mess, realized the mess was continuing.
• 51:27
  We needed someone to save us.
• 51:29
  And along comes Jesus to do just that.
• 51:32
  Well, that would be one way you could use the Old Testament for that.
• 51:35
  Maybe you would use the story of the covenant, where God formed a people, invited Abram to join him in covenant, and how God, in the covenant ceremony, and you can read about this in Genesis 15, took responsibility for the totality of the covenant.
• 51:52
  God took responsibility for keeping the covenant both on his side and Abram's side.
• 52:01
  And so we know, this is a very shortened version of the story, but you understand this.
• 52:07
  We know that people, Abram's side, did not keep the covenant requirements, and sin entered the world.
• 52:15
  And so God, by having taken responsibility for the covenant way back then, realized that the wages of sin is death.
• 52:25
  And so he sent his son because he had taken responsibility for the covenant to represent people and to stand in our place and endure the penalty of sin.
• 52:37
  And in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, we see that problem resolved.
• 52:43
  Maybe you would use Egypt and the delivery delivering Egypt uh Israel from Egypt and from slavery.
• 52:50
  That's another way that we could explain the coming of Jesus using Old Testament ideas.
• 52:57
  How would you do it?
• 52:58
  What would what would be your approach to that?
• 53:00
  You could use other stories from the scriptures, certainly to begin to explain all that, but where would you start?
• 53:07
  How would you understand that?
• 53:09
  Well, Jesus did all of that, and they came and they invited him in to spend time with them to have a meal with them.
• 53:17
  And absolutely riveting and fascinating.
• 53:20
  Here's Jesus, the guest, and they don't know who he is.
• 53:23
  Remember, from the beginning, they could not, could not identify him, had no idea it was Jesus.
• 53:30
  They get into the house and they sit down for the meal, and Jesus, their guest, now acts like their host.
• 53:40
  And he takes the bread and he blesses it and he breaks it and he hands it to them.
• 53:46
  And as he does that, suddenly their eyes are opened, and they recognize it's Jesus.
• 53:55
  Unbelievably unbelievable.
• 53:57
  Verse 31, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, but he disappeared from their sight.
• 54:05
  You know, earlier I asked what keeps you from seeing Jesus.
• 54:09
  Now I want to ask, what keeps you from having your eyes opened?
• 54:15
  What would it take to open your eyes to the reality that the Bible tells the truth, to the reality that Jesus came, died, was buried, rose again, walked through death to resurrection for us, to atone for the sins of the world?
• 54:35
  What would it take for you to embrace that true story?
• 54:40
  What would it take for you to allow Jesus to forgive you, to make your life new, to reconnect you to the source of life, so that you could walk with him in new life?
• 54:55
  What would it take?
• 54:57
  Maybe I should ask it a different way.
• 54:59
  Are you willing to let God open your eyes?
• 55:04
  And that's that's our prayer right now.
• 55:07
  Lord, open our eyes.
• 55:10
  We want to see Jesus.
• 55:11
  Would you be willing to pray that prayer?
• 55:13
  Maybe you've struggled with faith.
• 55:15
  Maybe you've heard me talk about absolute confidence in the trustworthiness of God, and you're thinking God cannot be trusted.
• 55:22
  Would you be willing to pray a prayer that says to God, open my eyes to really see the truth?
• 55:29
  So many people believe this was wrong with me.
• 55:32
  Or are you stubborn and say, I don't want anybody to open my eyes, not God or anybody?
• 55:38
  I put it in that strong a terms.
• 55:39
  Most people don't like that idea, but isn't that kind of sort of really what we're saying when we reject him?
• 55:46
  And when we're not even willing to say to God, I'm willing for you to open my eyes so I see things clearly.
• 56:00
  Are we really willing to let God show us what's the truth?
• 56:00
  Are we really willing to let God show us what's the truth?
• 56:06
  Are we really willing to see that He is the way, the truth, and the life?
• 56:06
  Are we really willing to see that he is the way, the truth, and the life?
• 56:13
  Or are we so stubborn that we refuse to even consider it?
• 56:13
  Or are we so stubborn that we refuse to even consider it?
• 56:21
  Consider it.
• 56:21
  Consider it.
• 56:22
  It's life.
• 56:22
  It's life, and I hope you'll trust him.
• 56:24
  And I hope you'll trust it.
• 56:25
  I'm Pastor Rick.