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The Land and the Book - A Hunger for Prophecy · WPGM On Demand

0:08
S1: When believers truly believe Christ could return at any moment,
0:12
S1: everything changes. Priorities shift. Sin loses its grip. Eternity becomes real.
0:18
S1: But increasingly, youth group leaders are stepping away from virtually
0:22
S1: any mention of prophecy. Still, there's good news on the horizon.
0:26
S1: On today's program, we'll explore a hunger for prophecy. Plus,
0:30
S1: we'll help you untangle the news stories from the Middle
0:33
S1: East and a whole lot more. Welcome to the land
0:36
S1: and the book. Our host is Middle East expert, author
0:39
S1: and conference speaker Doctor Charlie Dyer. And I'm John Gager. Charlie,
0:44
S1: just imagine sailing the Sea of Galilee, which you've done
0:47
S1: about a hundred times, standing where David faced Goliath floating
0:51
S1: in the Dead Sea or walking the stone streets of
0:54
S1: Jerusalem's Old City. You've heard about these places. But in
0:57
S1: May 2027, our friends at Life in Messiah are inviting
1:02
S1: you to experience them for yourself. And during this study trip,
1:06
S1: you'll walk through the places where the biblical story unfolded
1:09
S1: as familiar passages move from black and white into vivid color.
1:13
S2: Join Bible teachers Levi Hazen and Jared Hall, who will
1:17
S2: help connect the history, geography, archaeology, and Jewish context of
1:22
S2: the land to the Bible, along with a licensed Israeli
1:25
S2: tour guide. This will be more than just a journey
1:27
S2: to biblical sites. Along the way, you'll also experience the
1:30
S2: land through life in Messiah's mission of sharing God's heart
1:34
S2: for the Jewish people. If Israel has been on your
1:37
S2: heart and your bucket list, consider joining life in Messiah
1:40
S2: for this unforgettable journey together. The trip is May 1
1:44
S2: to 14, 2027, and registration closes December 31st. See the land.
1:51
S2: Understand the story. Love the people. For more information and
1:55
S2: to register, go to. Life in messiah.org and click on
1:59
S2: the moody radio icon. That's life in messiah.org.
2:04
S1: Thank you Charlie. Well, Israel's election is this Tuesday. And
2:08
S1: all the parties and candidates are scrambling for votes. So
2:12
S1: what do we know right now? And what impact will
2:15
S1: President Trump's surprise endorsement of Netanyahu have on the election?
2:20
S2: Israel's elections are always rough and tumble, but this one
2:23
S2: seems to be a no holds barred, free for all.
2:26
S2: The earlier pledge by the four main opposition parties to
2:29
S2: attack Netanyahu but not each other fell by the wayside.
2:33
S2: Avigdor Lieberman, head of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, accused fellow
2:37
S2: opposition frontrunner Gadi Eisenkot of planning to form a unity
2:42
S2: government with Netanyahu and Likud following the election. Eisenkot denied
2:47
S2: the accusation and said he would not serve in a
2:49
S2: Netanyahu led government. In some polls, Eisenkot Yashar party leads
2:54
S2: Likud by up to six seats, while another poll has
2:57
S2: Likud leading by ten seats. However, in most polls, neither
3:02
S2: bloc of parties appears to be able to secure enough
3:05
S2: Knesset seats to form a government. But the only poll
3:08
S2: that really matters is the one in the voting booth
3:10
S2: on Tuesday. Several small parties are hovering right around the
3:14
S2: minimum vote threshold of 3.25%. If they exceed the threshold,
3:19
S2: they receive at least four seats in the Knesset. If
3:22
S2: they fall just short, they receive no seats. Benny Gantz,
3:26
S2: head of the Blue and White Party, withdrew from the
3:29
S2: race when it became clear he would fall short. Some
3:32
S2: of these smaller parties could be potential allies of Netanyahu,
3:36
S2: but to the extent they siphon off votes from Likud,
3:39
S2: they actually hurt him by reducing the number of Knesset
3:42
S2: seats for his party. Netanyahu's goal is to secure the
3:45
S2: largest number of seats in the Knesset to be given
3:48
S2: the first opportunity to form a government. If he can't
3:51
S2: achieve that, then he hopes to keep the opposition from
3:54
S2: being able to cobble together their own coalition of 61
3:58
S2: Knesset seats. And that's where President Trump's endorsement comes in.
4:02
S2: Netanyahu hopes that Trump's endorsement will refocus the campaign away
4:06
S2: from domestic issues and on to the threat from Iran.
4:09
S2: Most pundits have discounted the importance of the endorsement. However,
4:13
S2: it could potentially be important for two reasons. First, to
4:17
S2: the extent it reframes the election over who's best able
4:21
S2: to stand with the U.S. against Iran could help Netanyahu.
4:25
S2: And second, it could provide some much needed energy for
4:28
S2: the Likud party as they rally their supporters to get
4:30
S2: out the vote. By next week, we'll know if the
4:33
S2: endorsement had any impact, and by then, we'll also have
4:36
S2: a clearer picture of what it might take to form
4:39
S2: the next coalition government.
4:41
S1: Story number two President Trump has threatened to attack Iran
4:45
S1: after our election on November 3rd, but there have been
4:49
S1: rumors of a possible confrontation coming even sooner. How serious
4:53
S1: are the threats being made by both sides.
4:55
S2: Well, frankly, it's hard to say. You know, on the
4:57
S2: one hand, President Trump really doesn't want to create more
5:00
S2: problems that could raise the price of fuel and rattle
5:03
S2: the stock market less than two weeks before our own election.
5:07
S2: But on the other hand, he doesn't want Iran to
5:10
S2: feel as if his hands are tied and they can
5:12
S2: do whatever they want without fear of reprisal. Iran knows
5:16
S2: the U.S. and Israel are capable of inflicting more harm
5:19
S2: on that country, which is already reeling economically. They appear
5:23
S2: to be doing just enough to keep the price of
5:25
S2: oil high to impact our elections without forcing us to
5:29
S2: respond militarily. Now, President Trump has said any future attack
5:34
S2: won't involve U.S. ground forces, but he did threaten to
5:37
S2: use the U.S. Massive Ordnance Air Blast weapon, which is
5:41
S2: often called Moab. The problem is that this bomb wasn't
5:44
S2: designed to destroy underground bunkers like Iran's nuclear facility at
5:49
S2: Pickaxe Mountain, though it could be used against above ground
5:52
S2: sites and facilities, including military bases and other infrastructure. One
5:57
S2: possible course of action might be for the president to
6:00
S2: again approach Iran after the election with his original demands,
6:04
S2: eliminate their nuclear program, allow free passage through the Gulf
6:07
S2: of Hormuz, and stop supporting terrorist organizations in exchange for
6:12
S2: an end to hostilities and a gradual reduction in sanctions.
6:16
S2: If Iran refuses, the U.S. could then launch a fierce
6:19
S2: but limited in duration attack to try to eliminate Iran's
6:23
S2: nuclear facilities and military capabilities, followed by the U.S. pulling
6:28
S2: its forces back from the region to keep Iran from retaliating.
6:32
S2: President Trump is often accused of using hyperbolic language to
6:36
S2: describe what he'll do. But don't confuse that with bluffing.
6:40
S2: He's demonstrated that he will act if a credible deal
6:43
S2: can't be reached, and hopefully Iran will have learned that
6:46
S2: lesson as well.
6:47
S1: If you're joining us in progress, this is the land
6:50
S1: and the book, a one hour flyover of the Middle
6:52
S1: East in the pilot's seat. As always, Captain Charlie Dyer.
6:56
S1: I'm John Yeager. We're working our way through a set
6:59
S1: of news stories, all based in the Middle East, as
7:01
S1: we do every week on our opening segment. King Tut's
7:04
S1: tomb was discovered 104 years ago, and speculation has surfaced
7:09
S1: that the tomb might not originally have been constructed for
7:13
S1: this young pharaoh. So what's the latest theory on Tut's
7:16
S1: final resting place?
7:18
S2: Well, you know, everyone's fascinated by the discovery of that
7:20
S2: fabulous treasures uncovered by Howard Carter. But those who visited
7:25
S2: the site in the Valley of the Kings, and I've
7:27
S2: been there several times, discover one amazing feat, as impressive
7:31
S2: as all the riches were that were found in the tomb.
7:34
S2: The tomb itself is perhaps the most insignificant of all
7:38
S2: the tombs in the valley. This was thought to be
7:40
S2: because of the shortness of his reign, but another theory
7:43
S2: surfaced back in 2015. What if Tut's tomb was actually
7:48
S2: just the outer rooms of a previous tomb originally constructed
7:52
S2: for the burial of Queen Nefertiti, the wife of King Akhenaten.
7:56
S2: Her tomb has never been discovered. Now, it would be
7:59
S2: unusual for a queen to be buried in the Valley
8:02
S2: of the Kings. But then Akhenaten was the pharaoh who
8:06
S2: abandoned the worship of Egypt's traditional gods to worship the
8:09
S2: sun god Aten. Using ground penetrating radar and micro gravimetry,
8:15
S2: researchers believe there might be additional rooms concealed beyond those
8:20
S2: where King Tut was buried. They also argued that the
8:23
S2: layout into the tomb follows the orientation for the burial
8:26
S2: of Queens, which turned to the left rather than the
8:29
S2: normal layout for kings, which turned to the right. They're
8:33
S2: now seeking permission to drill a small hole from above
8:36
S2: and then lower cameras through to explore the space. If approved,
8:40
S2: the drilling could begin as soon as next month. Could
8:44
S2: the tomb of King Tut actually hold one more impressive secret? Well,
8:48
S2: hopefully these researchers will be able to start answering that
8:51
S2: question in the coming months.
8:53
S1: Fascinating story there. Well, Israel is holding contentious elections, and
8:58
S1: so is the United States. But the Palestinian Authority announced
9:02
S1: that they were postponing their elections until next year. So
9:06
S1: why the delay, Charlie?
9:08
S2: Yeah, well, the Palestinian Authority blamed Israel, surprise, surprise for
9:12
S2: the delay, citing restrictions on the electoral commission and deteriorating
9:16
S2: conditions in Gaza and the West Bank. But analysts and
9:20
S2: potential insiders believe there's more to this story. A budding
9:24
S2: alliance between Hamas and a rival faction to Palestinian Authority
9:28
S2: President Mahmoud Abbas, with that faction led by Mohammed Dahlan,
9:32
S2: threatens to upend Fatah's electoral calculations and challenge its dominance.
9:37
S2: In short, Fatah postponed the elections because they're afraid they
9:41
S2: could lose. Instead of holding elections November 27th as scheduled,
9:46
S2: they're now being rescheduled for next September. Their last parliamentary
9:51
S2: elections were held in 2006 and Hamas won a surprising majority.
9:56
S2: Fighting between the two factions then happened the following year,
9:59
S2: which led to the split between Gaza and the West Bank,
10:02
S2: with Hamas controlled Gaza. President Abbas was elected to his
10:06
S2: four year term as president in January 2005, and there
10:10
S2: hasn't been another presidential election since then. This postponement is
10:15
S2: another reminder that whatever legitimacy the Palestinian Authority might once had,
10:20
S2: it's long gone. Sadly, the choices facing Palestinians seems to
10:24
S2: be between the continuing corruption or a Hamas dominated government
10:28
S2: that will return to war with Israel. Peace and prosperity
10:31
S2: don't seem to be an option on their ballot.
10:33
S1: Thank you Charlie. And that's a look at current events.
10:36
S1: If you're new to the program, segment three will bring
10:38
S1: us a look at Bible questions from our listeners. And
10:41
S1: if you've got one you'd like to get to us,
10:43
S1: we'd welcome that email connect at the land and the book@moody.edu.
10:49
S1: The land and the book@moody.edu. A hunger for prophecy is next.
11:09
S1: When believers truly believe Christ could return at any moment,
11:12
S1: everything changes. Priorities shift. Sin loses its grip. Eternity becomes real.
11:18
S1: But increasingly, youth group leaders are just kind of stepping
11:22
S1: away from virtually any mention of prophecy. Today's guest is
11:26
S1: pushing back as he encourages us to look up. Hey,
11:29
S1: welcome to segment two of The land and the book
11:32
S1: I'm John Gager. A frank conversation about prophecy is what's ahead. First, though,
11:37
S1: let's pause to recharge our batteries for ideas on sharing
11:40
S1: Christ with a Jewish friend. So you're having a great
11:44
S1: conversation with your Jewish friend. And then you mention the
11:46
S1: name of Jesus and it's like things go south in
11:49
S1: a hurry. What do we do when a Jewish friend
11:52
S1: reacts negatively to the name of Jesus? We'll ask Roy Schwartz,
11:56
S1: who's with Chosen People Ministries. What do we do, Roy?
11:59
S3: Well, I think trying to connect that that you have
12:02
S3: come to the God of Israel, that Jesus is the
12:06
S3: King of the Jews, and I'm made part of them.
12:09
S3: And so, yes, I'm sorry that you're offended by that,
12:12
S3: but there's no greater Jew in history that I can appreciate.
12:16
S3: And he's one of yours. And now one of mine.
12:20
S3: And I think from there you might find that a
12:23
S3: door might open and you could ask them questions. I
12:26
S3: would ask them, what is it that you have against Jesus?
12:29
S1: Ah, okay. And you're listening to you're not just preaching
12:32
S1: or being, you know, obstinate. You are asking for information.
12:35
S3: Yeah. Most Jewish people love to talk like anybody else.
12:38
S3: You know, we have a saying Jews are like anyone else,
12:40
S3: only more so. And so if you let them talk
12:44
S3: and hear what they have to say in reaction to you.
12:46
S3: Ask them questions. Following up. You'll find that there'll be
12:50
S3: other things to go from there to share and how
12:53
S3: there's this link between old and new.
12:56
S1: Love it. That's Roy Schwartz, vice president over congregations and
12:59
S1: fellowships for Chosen People Ministries. Moody graduate Dan Spader has
13:04
S1: dedicated his life to disciple making, teaching others how to
13:08
S1: take someone from seeker to making disciples themselves. More than
13:12
S1: 750,000 people in 90 countries and more have been trained
13:17
S1: to make disciples through organizations that he's led. Dan is
13:21
S1: the founder of Sunlife Ministries and currently serves as president
13:24
S1: of Global Youth Initiative, an alliance of organizations in 95
13:28
S1: countries committed to equipping young leaders for movements of multiplication.
13:33
S1: He's the author of four Chair Discipling Walk Like Jesus,
13:37
S1: Live Like Jesus, and co-author of Growing a Healthy Church
13:41
S1: and the Everyday Commission, among other titles. Hey, welcome back
13:45
S1: to the land in the book, Dan.
13:46
S4: It's great being with you, John.
13:48
S1: So what caused you to launch this new ministry called
13:50
S1: future Hope?
13:51
S4: Well, two years ago, when I had just passed the
13:54
S4: baton to a younger leader of, uh, Concentric Global Youth Initiative,
14:00
S4: I look forward to having a little bit of time
14:02
S4: on my own. And, uh, right at that time is
14:05
S4: when October 7th happened in Israel. I love Israel, been
14:08
S4: here over 60 times. Charlie discipled me in how to
14:12
S4: lead tours of Israel, taken hundreds, if not thousands of
14:16
S4: young people to study Jesus in Israel so loved Israel.
14:19
S4: But when that happened, I knew it was a game changer.
14:22
S4: And in the course of my study over the next
14:25
S4: two years, I want to really go deeper in the
14:27
S4: life of Christ.
14:28
S1: You did reading. What did you say? More than 100 books?
14:30
S4: Yeah, 120. I'm up to 125 books in two years.
14:34
S4: I really wanted to know what the Bible exactly said
14:38
S4: about end times, because in my spirit, I just knew.
14:41
S4: October 7th was evidence that all the world's going to
14:45
S4: turn against Israel in the last days, and obviously we
14:48
S4: see that going on right now. So I really began
14:51
S4: to study, and God put a deep conviction in my
14:54
S4: heart through a whole series of supernatural events. I was
14:58
S4: invited to come to the first ever Youth Prophecy conference,
15:02
S4: done by two guys that I've teamed up with, Jeff
15:05
S4: and Todd of the Prophecy Pros in Chino, California. They'd
15:09
S4: hoped for 3400 teens to come. They're going to teach
15:12
S4: through an overview biblical end times. And we went there
15:16
S4: with over 900 showed up another thousand online. And I
15:20
S4: was stunned by what I saw kids sitting there with
15:22
S4: open Bibles taking notes. We had question and answer time
15:27
S4: and kids would run to the mics 50 deep to
15:30
S4: ask profound questions about the end times, about their life.
15:35
S4: And so it just helped me realize this has to
15:39
S4: be multiplied. And that's when God began to speak to
15:42
S4: my heart about. We gotta train the next generation about
15:46
S4: the end times.
15:47
S1: You've written the disciple making value of teaching Christ's return.
15:51
S1: And I want to share an excerpt. You said recently,
15:53
S1: in a training situation with 50 youth pastors, I asked,
15:56
S1: how many of you have had a course on eschatology?
15:59
S1: Only one person raised their hand. In a similar discussion,
16:04
S1: a Christian publisher stated that in 25 years of publishing
16:07
S1: youth curriculum, they had never published a youth study on
16:10
S1: Christ's return. We've stopped preaching the return of Christ, one
16:14
S1: pastor stated. Study an older hymn book and you'll find
16:17
S1: that the majority of hymns, many in the last stanza,
16:20
S1: focus on the return of Christ. And yet, in a
16:23
S1: personal study of modern choruses, I could only find one
16:26
S1: chorus out of 50 that had anything about the return
16:29
S1: of Christ. And we wonder why our culture is drowning
16:33
S1: in anxiety. How do you begin, though, to address this
16:35
S1: huge gap?
16:36
S4: Dan well, that's a very stimulating thought in terms of
16:40
S4: how do we change this? What I found is pastors
16:43
S4: have stopped preaching prophecy as a result. Youth pastors don't
16:47
S4: know what they believe about it and are hesitant to
16:49
S4: even talk about it, even though it's 25 to 30%
16:52
S4: in scripture. And when we begin to work with youth pastors,
16:55
S4: I asked, why do you not ever teach this? Because
16:58
S4: young people, the anxious generation, are starving to hear about
17:02
S4: the blessed hope. So we begin to say, how do
17:04
S4: we change this? We've decided to go two directions. We've
17:07
S4: decided to go one, the route of events where we
17:11
S4: provide training, Bible centered teaching on the return of Christ.
17:16
S4: And we've designed four books that we're working with an
17:19
S4: overview Biblical Prophecy, The Daniel Project, The Olivet Discourse, Jesus
17:24
S4: Own Words and End Times, and then Book of Revelation
17:27
S4: is the last one we hope to develop. And we're
17:29
S4: going to seek to train youth pastors. So we're doing
17:32
S4: a trainers institute in January and February this next year
17:35
S4: to train youth pastors with resources and tools to begin
17:40
S4: to teach eschatology. It's just not being done and young
17:44
S4: people are starving from it. John, when I began to
17:48
S4: read all those books, I really came across the Niagara
17:51
S4: Bible Conference, the history of that, and that really has
17:53
S4: the roots of Moody Bible Institute, Biola, the Bible Conference movement.
17:58
S4: I saw something very similar to today that people lay.
18:01
S4: People wanted prophecy, but they weren't getting it. And so
18:06
S4: they started this Bible conference. It went on for over
18:08
S4: 30 years. It started the Bible conference movement. Interesting research
18:12
S4: in that. Dale Moody was invited to come at one
18:15
S4: of these conferences, and he went and he was shocked
18:18
S4: at the interest people had in prophecy. He said, I
18:20
S4: bet young people would respond to it, too. He invited
18:24
S4: a group of 251 college students came to his Northampton campus,
18:29
S4: and they spent a month studying prophecy out. At the
18:33
S4: end of that, without any prompting, 99 students said, we
18:38
S4: want to go on the mission field because of what
18:40
S4: we learned about Jesus return. The time is short. We
18:44
S4: got to go now. That was the beginning of the
18:46
S4: student volunteer movement, where over 20,500 young people in the
18:51
S4: next 50 years went on the mission field. I'm a
18:54
S4: byproduct of that. And so I believe the time is right.
18:58
S4: God wants that same thing to happen again.
19:01
S1: A hunger for prophecy. That's our focus today on the
19:03
S1: land and the book. I'm John Gager, my guest, Dan Spader,
19:07
S1: founder of Sunlife Ministries and president of Global Youth Initiative.
19:11
S1: You've written when we leave out Christ's return, the gospel
19:15
S1: subtly becomes man centered instead of God centered. It fails
19:20
S1: to honor God for what he will yet accomplish. What
19:22
S1: do you mean by this? And again, how does that
19:24
S1: connect with our understanding and and willingness to evangelize?
19:27
S4: Well, one of the things I found in America, we
19:30
S4: spent a lot of time talking about the gospel, and
19:32
S4: that's the good news of Christ. But the gospel really
19:36
S4: includes both the creation, the fall, the redemption, and then
19:41
S4: the restoration. And it's like when I go to a movie,
19:44
S4: I never walk out two thirds of the way through.
19:47
S4: I want to see the ending because the ending determines
19:50
S4: so much of the plot and the details of it.
19:53
S4: The same is true when you study Bible prophecy. You
19:55
S4: begin to realize that Jesus is coming back, and Jesus
20:00
S4: plan for us is far greater than anything we can
20:04
S4: imagine right now. That the gospel includes Jesus died, buried,
20:08
S4: rose again, and is coming back. That's first Corinthians 15
20:12
S4: to give us glorified bodies so that we can rule
20:15
S4: and reign with him. And when you don't tell that story,
20:19
S4: it's like going to a movie and walking out three
20:22
S4: quarters of the way through the gospel becomes all about me,
20:26
S4: my interests, a ticket to heaven, and how to live
20:29
S4: a better life rather than the glory of what God
20:33
S4: has coming down the road for us.
20:34
S1: I just wish Dan Spader, our guest, had more energy,
20:36
S1: don't you? You know, it's so true. I think we
20:39
S1: have been guilty for generations now of selling people eternal
20:43
S1: fire insurance rather than a transformed life. How does understanding
20:47
S1: biblical prophecy, though, deepen our apologetic depth and our confidence
20:51
S1: in God?
20:52
S4: Well, my friend Jack Gibbs often makes a statement that
20:55
S4: people argue you can't prove the existence of God. He says,
20:58
S4: I believe you can. Prophecy does that. And, you know,
21:02
S4: the more I've studied the scriptures, you begin to see
21:04
S4: prophecy in. Isaiah says, I'm the only God that predicts
21:08
S4: the future. I tell you what's going to happen, and
21:11
S4: I make it happen. And when you begin to see
21:14
S4: the fulfillment of biblical prophecy, whether it be Christ's first coming,
21:18
S4: 109 references to his first coming or his second coming,
21:23
S4: you begin to understand that only God tells and knows
21:27
S4: the future. And so it solidifies our apologetic understanding that
21:33
S4: God exists. The Bible is real. It's not made up
21:37
S4: of falsities and we can trust it 100%. And that's
21:42
S4: the beauty of that, because you can prove the existence
21:45
S4: of God. I believe through understanding prophecy.
21:49
S1: This is the land and the book. Dan Spader is
21:52
S1: fueling a hunger for prophecy as we talk together. C.S.
21:56
S1: Lewis once commented, the historic church held the return of
21:59
S1: Christ to be so central to the Christian faith that
22:02
S1: they felt it could not be put aside or buried
22:05
S1: as some peripheral doctrine without losing Christianity itself. Dan, what
22:10
S1: has led the modern church to give the return of
22:12
S1: Christ a lesser status? What's the the false payoff here?
22:16
S4: During my era, there are some megachurch pastors. I won't
22:19
S4: mention their names, but begin to state that, oh, don't
22:22
S4: teach prophecy. It's a distraction. Well, none of us would
22:26
S4: go to a church that only teaches 75% of the Bible.
22:30
S4: And yet that's what's happened. And so because prophecy is
22:34
S4: not being championed, Jesus is coming back. Jesus has a
22:38
S4: glorious plan. The best is yet to come without understanding
22:43
S4: that we become very man centered in our gospel. For years,
22:46
S4: I've spent my life focusing on the life of Christ.
22:49
S4: Two things how he made disciples and how he built
22:52
S4: movements and multiplication. And we've seen God multiply that all
22:55
S4: around the world. Well, as I've studied the return of Christ,
22:59
S4: what it's done more than anything. And I love Jesus.
23:03
S4: I love teaching the life of Christ, the incarnate. I
23:06
S4: call it the eye. Christ. You have the iPhone, iPad,
23:09
S4: the eye, Christ, the incarnate Christ. But when you begin
23:12
S4: to study the returning or resurrected Christ, that's the fuel
23:16
S4: that drives the engine of disciple making.
23:20
S1: You write, we live differently when we know justice is coming.
23:23
S1: Rewards are real and our lives matter eternally. Why isn't
23:27
S1: this self-evident to pastors and youth workers to the point
23:30
S1: that we are consumed with Christ's return.
23:34
S4: With all due respect, I think a lot of pastors
23:36
S4: get so caught up in the the needs of the moment,
23:39
S4: the here and now, and I'm convinced the only way
23:42
S4: you can meet a lot of the emotional needs of
23:44
S4: the here and now is championing the glorious future that
23:48
S4: we have. It says people understand the blessed hope. The
23:51
S4: Bible calls it the blessed hope of the return of Christ.
23:55
S4: It's when you grasp that, then everything else takes on meaning.
24:00
S4: John Bevier, who's written a book, The King Is Coming,
24:02
S4: and in that book he makes a statement. He went
24:04
S4: down to Brazil and he was asked to speak in
24:06
S4: a stadium to 12,000 leaders. He thought these were just
24:10
S4: going to be laypeople. They were all pastors. And he
24:13
S4: was shocked. And he said, well, how big is your church?
24:15
S4: He said, 300,000. How did you get to church at 300,000?
24:20
S4: And the man looked at him and said, very honestly, John,
24:22
S4: I go to America a lot. In America, you talk
24:25
S4: about how to have a better life and get a
24:28
S4: ticket to heaven. Down here we talk about our glorious
24:31
S4: future with the returning Christ, and these people are living
24:35
S4: for the future, not for the here and now.
24:39
S1: Wow. All right, you got 30s or so. What would
24:42
S1: you do to encourage listeners to respond to all this?
24:45
S1: What should we now do? Having heard from Dann Spater.
24:48
S4: I jokingly like to say we launched this new ministry
24:51
S4: called future Hope, and we're building the airplane as we go.
24:55
S4: And so we've done some research, we've done some analysis.
24:59
S4: I'd encourage listeners to go to future Hope dot now,
25:02
S4: future Hope dot now, our website, they can sign up
25:05
S4: for emails there. And, and we're beginning to do a
25:08
S4: couple trainers institutes. We have 5 or 6 events that
25:12
S4: we're doing around the country. But our goal ultimately is
25:15
S4: to train 500 youth pastors. We call them master trainers
25:19
S4: that can go out and, and communicate to the next generation.
25:24
S4: The passion for Jesus returned to bring That focus back
25:28
S4: to the gospel message that Jesus Christ came. He died,
25:32
S4: he rose again, and he is coming back. And so
25:35
S4: we're developing training manuals. We're developing events to help youth
25:39
S4: leaders communicate the message of Jesus return.
25:43
S1: Boy, well said, and I love the enthusiasm. And we'll
25:46
S1: link you to Dan's website at ours, the land and
25:49
S1: the book.org. More to come as we visit with Gerald
25:53
S1: Peterman next on the land and the book. The Bible
26:07
S1: is a book of wonders written by a God of wonders.
26:11
S1: No surprise, then, that when we study it, we wonder.
26:14
S1: We've got questions piled upon. Questions. Well, it's a good thing.
26:19
S1: Doctor Gerald Peterman joins us now in the studio here
26:21
S1: on the land and the book. He's a guy who's
26:23
S1: been studying the book of ultimate wonders for decades. Good
26:27
S1: to connect today, Jerry.
26:28
S5: It's been a privilege.
26:29
S1: Yeah, it always is neat to know what listeners are
26:31
S1: wondering about. And I find the questions fascinating. By the way,
26:35
S1: let me say up front, if you've got a question
26:37
S1: that you've never submitted to us, what are you waiting for?
26:40
S1: Email us at the land and the book at dot edu,
26:45
S1: the land and the book@moody.edu. Can't wait to get to
26:49
S1: Carlene's question. We'll do that after. I try to kind
26:52
S1: of get you to close your eyes here and just
26:55
S1: imagine with me sailing the Sea of Galilee, standing where
26:58
S1: David faced Goliath, floating in the Dead Sea, or walking
27:02
S1: the stone streets of Jerusalem's Old City. Of course, you've
27:05
S1: read about these places, but in May of 2027, our
27:09
S1: friends at Life in Messiah are inviting you to experience
27:12
S1: them for yourself. During this study trip, you'll walk through
27:15
S1: the places where the biblical story unfolded as familiar passages
27:19
S1: move from black and white into vivid color. Then join
27:23
S1: Bible teachers Levi Hazen and Jared Hall, who will help
27:26
S1: connect the history, geography, archaeology and Jewish context of the
27:31
S1: land of the Bible, along with a licensed Israeli tour guide.
27:34
S1: This will be more than just a journey to biblical sites.
27:37
S1: Along the way, you'll experience the land through life in
27:40
S1: Messiah's mission of sharing God's heart for the Jewish people.
27:44
S1: So if Israel has been on your heart on your
27:46
S1: bucket list, consider joining life in Messiah for this unforgettable
27:50
S1: journey together. The trip is May 1 to 14, 2027.
27:55
S1: Registration closes December 31st. See the land. Understand the story.
28:00
S1: Love the people. For more information and to register, go
28:03
S1: to Life in messiah.org and click on the moody radio icon.
28:08
S1: That's Life in messiah.org. All right, we're headed for just
28:12
S1: about everybody's favorite Bible story or one of in the
28:15
S1: Old Testament, the story of Samson. Carlene wants to know,
28:19
S1: what am I to learn from the story of Samson?
28:21
S1: In my Sunday school class, we studied the book of judges.
28:24
S1: And so of course, Samson, we can't come up with much.
28:28
S1: He was disobedient, rebellious, immoral, and disrespectful to his parents.
28:33
S1: Any thoughts on what I should learn from Samson?
28:36
S5: Uh. Great question. I completely agree with Carlene when she
28:38
S5: says Samson was disobedient. And what can I learn from
28:41
S5: this guy?
28:41
S1: Not dating advice?
28:43
S5: Absolutely not. So I don't think we've got anything in
28:48
S5: the book of judges that we can imitate about his life,
28:51
S5: but we should ask a different question. And that question is,
28:56
S5: what can we learn about God who uses someone like Samson?
28:59
S5: Because it just might be that we kind of think
29:02
S5: I'm more like Samson. You know, most of my life
29:04
S5: is disobedient, and yet he shows up. Samson shows up
29:08
S5: right in the hall of Faith in Hebrews. So there's
29:11
S5: something about his he's hanging in there with God, even
29:14
S5: though he had many, many mistakes. Now let's talk about it.
29:17
S5: God can work through unlikely candidates, folks that we would
29:21
S5: think there's just no way God could work. God was
29:24
S5: merciful and gracious. When we are full of error, he
29:27
S5: hangs in there with us. Jephthah is not much better
29:29
S5: than Samson. So I would say God longs to help
29:32
S5: his people. And what can we learn is that even
29:35
S5: though Samson has all these faults, God worked with them
29:39
S5: to help other people to help the nation of Israel.
29:42
S5: Not much, but I think that's a way to get
29:44
S5: us started.
29:45
S1: And maybe Samson also is something of a cautionary tale.
29:48
S1: You know, don't let your eyes dictate your morals. Uh,
29:52
S1: let's be wise in the choice of a spouse. On
29:55
S1: and on. We could learn things not to do from Samson.
29:57
S5: Oh, John, that is a great clarification because Carlene was asking,
30:01
S5: what can I imitate? Or how about this things not
30:03
S5: to do, right? Let's not be let's not be absent self-control.
30:08
S5: Let's not disrespect our parents. Yeah. Good call.
30:11
S1: All right. Let's go to Jamie's question. She says on
30:14
S1: a recent program, Doctor Peterman used the name Yahweh and
30:18
S1: said it is sometimes incorrectly pronounced as Jehovah. I'd appreciate
30:22
S1: knowing a reference or two where this applies and what
30:25
S1: the name should say.
30:27
S5: Let's. Let's think about the language of the Old Testament Hebrew,
30:31
S5: which is of course a modern language too. And the
30:33
S5: Hebrew language is consonantal. That is, it's made up of consonants,
30:37
S5: absent vowels. So this name Yahweh is YHWH. You might
30:43
S5: say it's four letters called the Tetragrammaton. Now the question
30:47
S5: becomes how do we pronounce it? And for hundreds of years,
30:51
S5: how to pronounce this name was a question mark and
30:53
S5: people weren't sure how to do it. What vowels do
30:56
S5: you put in, so to speak? So when does this
30:59
S5: name Jehovah first occur in the English language? It comes
31:04
S5: to us through William Tyndale, his translation of the Old Testament,
31:08
S5: way back in the 1500s, where he found the divine name.
31:12
S5: And then he added in vowels. But Jehovah is not
31:17
S5: Hebrew because Hebrew doesn't have a J sound. Hebrew doesn't
31:21
S5: have that sound. So it is Yahweh. The first letter
31:26
S5: is a y sound, and the rest of these vowels
31:29
S5: have been pieced together from other examples of how you
31:32
S5: might pronounce the name. So Jehovah is understandably old. People
31:37
S5: are accustomed to it, but it's not the proper way
31:40
S5: to pronounce the divine name.
31:41
S1: All right, I got to take you back. You tossed
31:43
S1: out a word there that kind of made me go,
31:45
S1: what a Tetragrammaton. Which is what defined.
31:49
S5: Oh, yes. Uh, Tetragrammaton from the words uh, four and letters. Tetragrammaton.
31:56
S5: Four letters. So the Hebrew name Yahweh YHWH. When folks
32:01
S5: are unsure how to pronounce this. And through centuries we
32:04
S5: have been. It just gets called the Tetragrammaton, the four letters,
32:09
S5: the four letters of the divine name.
32:10
S1: All right, see, this is one of 10,000 reasons why
32:13
S1: Doctor Gerald Peterman answers your Bible questions, and I do not.
32:16
S1: But you can know with confidence that when you email us,
32:19
S1: you're talking to a guy who knows the word. So
32:22
S1: why not email that question of yours to the land
32:24
S1: and the book@moody.edu. The land and the book@moody.edu. Fascinating email
32:33
S1: from Hong here. He says, I got a question about self-denial.
32:37
S1: I am currently unemployed and eligible to collect Social Security
32:41
S1: because of my savings and living as a minimalist, and
32:44
S1: no one else depended on my income. I can get
32:47
S1: by without collecting Social Security or working. I'm told by
32:50
S1: other Christians that I'm foolish and should enjoy the fruits
32:54
S1: of my labor and my senior years. I should not
32:57
S1: look for work and just collect security and enjoy life.
33:00
S1: But I want to be a good steward and advance
33:02
S1: the kingdom. Please tell me where I'm wrong biblically.
33:06
S5: I read Hong's question and I read it again, and
33:10
S5: I was just astounded at his heart that he really
33:14
S5: wants to please God. He doesn't want to just follow
33:17
S5: everyone else's advice or the world's advice. He just wants
33:20
S5: to know what's the right thing to do. So he
33:23
S5: brought me just great encouragement asking this question. So short
33:27
S5: answer to Hong's question is, I think he ought to pray,
33:30
S5: follow the guidance of the spirit and his conscience. But
33:32
S5: as always, I have a longer answer.
33:34
S1: All right, let's hear it.
33:35
S5: And it's something like this. Hong talks about being a
33:39
S5: good steward. And of course, good stewardship is all over
33:42
S5: the Bible. And sometimes good stewardship is about money and possessions,
33:46
S5: and sometimes good stewardship is about what we do with
33:50
S5: our time. So Paul says, make the most of the
33:53
S5: time because their deeds are evil. And other times stewardship
33:57
S5: is what we do with our spiritual gift. So Peter
34:01
S5: says in first Peter 410, as each has received a gift,
34:05
S5: use it right. As good stewards of God's manifold grace.
34:10
S5: So my longer answer is I'm asking Han to pray,
34:15
S5: to pray and seek more counsel. And then ask himself
34:18
S5: the question, how has God gifted me to help other people?
34:23
S5: And then I'm hoping he can find joy in not
34:27
S5: taking any more money, living on his savings and volunteering
34:30
S5: his time for other people's good. I don't know what
34:32
S5: that would be, but perhaps since he has demonstrated that
34:36
S5: he's very financially savvy, perhaps he could invest time free
34:40
S5: of charge in helping other people be good stewards of
34:43
S5: their money and possessions, and then find joy in doing that.
34:47
S5: So he doesn't need to fly to Hawaii and hang
34:49
S5: out on the beach to have a good time. I
34:51
S5: think you can have a good time by serving other
34:54
S5: people and doing it free of charge.
34:56
S1: Now, does that mean people who do fly to Hawaii
34:59
S1: and go on the beach are wrong?
35:00
S5: No, no. Absolutely not. I'm assuming that they prayed about
35:03
S5: this and God led them there, right? But I think
35:06
S5: we can all be very different. What Hong has heard
35:08
S5: from several different people is, no, you must do this.
35:11
S5: You must have a good time. You must relax. You
35:13
S5: must get all the money you can. And my response
35:16
S5: is there's nothing wrong with relaxing and having more money.
35:18
S5: But that doesn't have to be his choice, right? God
35:22
S5: can lead him in a different direction.
35:23
S1: Well, that's a really great perspective. Thank you for sharing that.
35:27
S1: Let's get to Gene's question. How can the Jews recognize
35:31
S1: the Antichrist as the Messiah if he will not be Jewish?
35:35
S5: Well, I know that many readers of Scripture conclude that
35:38
S5: the false Messiah or the Antichrist is a Gentile. But
35:43
S5: not every reader of revelation draws that conclusion. It's very difficult.
35:47
S5: But to get back to the real meat of this question,
35:49
S5: let's remember that our Lord Jesus Himself said Matthew 2424
35:54
S5: false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great
35:59
S5: signs and wonders so as to lead astray, if possible,
36:03
S5: even the elect. So the short answer to this question
36:07
S5: is the Antichrist will have great power of deception. Whether
36:11
S5: he's Jewish or Gentile, he will have such power of
36:13
S5: deception to deceive many people into thinking he is the Christ.
36:19
S5: Even early in the ministry of Jesus, remember he asked,
36:22
S5: who do people say I am? Peter says, You're the Christ.
36:24
S5: It's the right answer. And then our Lord Christ talks
36:27
S5: about what Christ will do die. And Peter says, oh,
36:29
S5: you're not. No you're not. So many times people misunderstand
36:33
S5: what the Messiah is to do. Now, we've learned from
36:36
S5: Scripture what the Messiah does and how he fulfills God's
36:40
S5: plan and rescues way.
36:42
S1: A really important conversation today on the land in the
36:44
S1: book with Doctor Gerald Peterman, who welcomes your questions, send
36:48
S1: an email, will you, to the land and the book@moody.edu.
36:53
S1: Don't go away. Charlie Dyer is back with his devotional
36:56
S1: That's next on the land and the book. Most of
37:11
S1: us are intrigued with final words. You know, there are
37:14
S1: books about people who are famous and maybe not so famous,
37:18
S1: books about people who are infamous and what were their
37:21
S1: last words. We read them, ponder them. And, you know,
37:24
S1: it's interesting. The Bible also offers us a number of
37:28
S1: final words, moments to ponder. Charlie, I understand that's at
37:31
S1: the heart of your devotional today.
37:33
S2: It is. We're going to be looking at the final
37:35
S2: words of David.
37:36
S1: All right. We'll get to that after we take in
37:37
S1: this testimony from an Israel traveler. Listen to this thought.
37:45
S6: The first thing that God ministered to my soul was
37:47
S6: when we were at the Sea of Galilee, and we
37:50
S6: were asked to never underestimate small beginnings, because we were asked,
37:55
S6: why do you think God chose Galilee so that Jesus
37:59
S6: could have his ministry? And really is because we should
38:02
S6: never underestimate small beginnings. The other thing was when we
38:05
S6: went to Magdala and I saw the ministry, the importance
38:09
S6: of the influence of the women in the Christianity history.
38:13
S6: And the other thing that I saw is God has
38:16
S6: taught us to fight for our faith, no matter if
38:18
S6: it cost us our life. And the other thing is
38:21
S6: to how to deal with the adversaries of life and
38:25
S6: people that never are in accordance with you. And you
38:29
S6: should come to Israel, because you will never read or
38:32
S6: study the Bible in the same way again. And the
38:36
S6: Word of God will just jump out of his pages
38:38
S6: and will minister to your life.
38:42
S1: Charlie will turn things over to you for today's devotional.
38:45
S2: Thanks, John. You know, in another week, most people in
38:48
S2: the United States will be going through a time of transition.
38:50
S2: I'm referring to the switch back from daylight saving time
38:53
S2: to standard time. At that time, when we wander through
38:57
S2: our houses, setting all the clocks back an hour. Thankfully,
39:01
S2: the devices like smartphones and watches make the process a
39:05
S2: little easier. But I remember visiting the home of my
39:08
S2: wife to be for the first time, and seeing all
39:11
S2: the clocks owned by her father. Getting them all reset
39:15
S2: and then all readjusted so they would chime, bong or.
39:18
S2: Cuckoo at exactly the right time, took a skill and
39:22
S2: patience he had, but that I could only imagine. A
39:26
S2: quote that's attributed, rightly or wrongly, to Mark Twain goes
39:30
S2: something like this. The only person that likes change is
39:33
S2: a baby with a wet diaper. But like those clocks
39:36
S2: in just over a week, change is inevitable. We are
39:40
S2: all in the process of changing. Hopefully we're all being
39:44
S2: transformed into the image of Jesus. The process isn't painless,
39:48
S2: but it is necessary. As we look toward life's transitions,
39:52
S2: I thought it might be helpful to focus on some
39:54
S2: of the most memorable final words of transition from the Bible.
39:59
S2: Someone's final words are often their most important and profound,
40:02
S2: like cherished possessions they want to pass on to loved ones.
40:06
S2: So for the next three weeks. Let's look at the
40:09
S2: final words spoken by three individuals in the Bible David, Jesus,
40:14
S2: and the Apostle Paul. Today's words are from second Samuel
40:18
S2: 23 and were likely spoken from David's royal palace in Jerusalem.
40:23
S2: There's no question as to their importance. Second Samuel 231
40:27
S2: begins by saying very directly. Now these are the last
40:31
S2: words of David. This doesn't mean they're the final words
40:34
S2: that came out of David's mouth. First Kings two probably
40:38
S2: records some of the very last words spoken by David
40:40
S2: as he approached death. But second Samuel 23 1 to 7,
40:45
S2: records David's final message, his final song to the nation.
40:50
S2: It's his swan song, so to speak. The last great
40:53
S2: psalm to come from his pen. Twice in verse one,
40:57
S2: which is the first stanza of this song in three parts,
41:00
S2: David refers to the message as his declaration. That word
41:04
S2: can have the idea of a prophetic Announcement. Pay attention,
41:07
S2: David announced. You're about to hear the final message from
41:11
S2: someone who was blessed in a unique way by God.
41:14
S2: You're about to hear the final song of someone who
41:17
S2: tried throughout his life to sing in harmony with God.
41:21
S2: David is convinced his final words are important. That's why
41:24
S2: he begins by asking everyone to pause and pay attention
41:29
S2: in the second stanza of his swan song. In verses
41:31
S2: 2 to 4, David summarizes his life. He doesn't go
41:35
S2: into mind numbing detail about all the spiritual highs and lows.
41:40
S2: Those are already cataloged in the rest of first and
41:43
S2: second Samuel. Instead, David wants his audience to focus on
41:47
S2: two great truths he discovered during his life. The first
41:51
S2: was the truth that God had spoken through him. And
41:55
S2: the second was that God had spoken to him. Look
41:59
S2: at each one carefully. David was conscious that God had
42:02
S2: used him as an instrument to speak to the nation.
42:05
S2: just as David had skillfully plucked out a tune on
42:08
S2: his harp. So the spirit of the Lord spoke through me.
42:11
S2: His word was on my tongue. David realized the awesome
42:15
S2: privilege he'd been given of sharing God's message to the people.
42:20
S2: But even as God used David to speak to the nation,
42:24
S2: God also graciously taught David timeless truths about the importance
42:29
S2: of being a godly leader. And the most important, expressed
42:32
S2: here poetically by David, is the truth that a godly
42:35
S2: leader can make a positive impact. A person who leads
42:39
S2: by doing what is right is. He says, as the
42:42
S2: light of the morning, when the sun rises, a morning
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S2: without clouds, when the tender grass springs out of the
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S2: earth through sunshine after rain. A leader who seeks to
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S2: follow after God in all his ways stands out like
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S2: the brightness of the sun peeking over the mountains at dawn,
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S2: or like the rays of sunlight that appear when the
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S2: clouds part following a storm. Simply put, a leader who
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S2: strives to do what's right in the eyes of God
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S2: stands out as dramatically as light stands out from darkness. Then,
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S2: in verses 5 to 7, the final stanza of his
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S2: swan song, David moves from the personal to the prophetic.
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S2: He tried to follow God. But life is about more
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S2: than just what happens to one man, even one as
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S2: important as King David. In his final words to the nation,
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S2: David wants his listeners to focus less on him and
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S2: more on what God has in store for the future.
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S2: David has such confidence in the future because of the
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S2: everlasting covenant God had made with him. David is here
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S2: referring to the Davidic covenant, to which God promised David
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S2: that his dynasty would endure forever. Ultimately, this was fulfilled
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S2: through Jesus, the final Son of David, who came as
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S2: Israel's Messiah. David didn't know all the details of how
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S2: God would fulfill his promise. But David could still confidently
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S2: announce that God had ordered and secured every part in
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S2: a way that would help complete his salvation. In pointing
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S2: his audience to the future, David uses the final stanza
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S2: of his song to apply the lessons he learned to
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S2: those now listening to him. Because God has been so
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S2: faithful to David. David had absolute confidence in God's ability
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S2: to do the same for his descendants and for all
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S2: who put their trust in God. So David ends his
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S2: song with a warning to those throughout the ages who
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S2: would read his words, the worthless. Every one of them
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S2: will be thrust away like thorns. For a time the
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S2: wicked can appear to be winning. Even in David's day,
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S2: he faced more than his share of treachery caused by
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S2: those who refused to follow God. But David discovered that
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S2: God always won in the end. The wicked were like thorns,
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S2: and that's why the heavenly gardener is armed with iron
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S2: in the shaft of a spear to prune out and
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S2: throw them into a fire to be burned. You can
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S2: remain faithful to God even when facing life's problems, as
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S2: long as you remember that God has already announced how
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S2: the story will end. Just like Jesus parable of the
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S2: tares and the wheat. A time is coming when the
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S2: wheat will be gathered into the barn, and the tares
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S2: will be taken away for judgment. So what's the purpose
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S2: for David's final psalm? What is it he wants us
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S2: to hear and understand from his last words? I see
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S2: two important lessons for us today. First, David wants us
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S2: to realize the importance of being men and women who
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S2: passionately pursue God. God might not speak through us today,
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S2: but he has certainly spoken to us through His Word.
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S2: And those who choose to live by the truth of
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S2: God's Word will stand out like the light of morning,
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S2: at sunrise in an otherwise dark world. And second, David
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S2: wants us to remember that God's plan and his control
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S2: extend on into the future. David might have been stepping
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S2: off the stage of history, but God was still in control.
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S2: His promises and his blessing weren't dependent on one man,
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S2: even a man as great as David. Our hope for
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S2: the future rests not in kings or priests or prophets
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S2: or preachers or presidents. Our hope for tomorrow rests in Jesus,
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S2: the ultimate Son of David, and in the promises God
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S2: made to us in His Word. He is the one
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S2: who will bring to completion our salvation. David discovered that truth,
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S2: and his final advice to us is that we can
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S2: still count on God to be faithful.
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S1: What a great reminder. Still count on God to be faithful.
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S1: Thank you Charlie. Appreciate that. Great work and I hope
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S1: you've enjoyed the program. Boy, our time has gone quickly.
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S1: I want to thank our producer, Dan Anderson, our host
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S1: Charlie Dyer, and you for listening. I'm John Yeager, the
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S1: land and the book is a production of Moody Radio,
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S1: a Ministry of Moody Bible Institute.