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Transcript

Open Line with Dr. Michael Rydelnik - Hour 2: Bible Q & A · The Word On Demand

0:08
S1: Hello, friends. It's time for the second hour of Open
0:11
S1: Line with me, Doctor Michael Radulovic. I'm professor emeritus of
0:15
S1: Jewish studies and Bible at Moody Bible Institute. And this
0:18
S1: is Moody Radio Bible study across America. It's where we
0:23
S1: get to sit around the radio kitchen table and talk
0:25
S1: about your questions about the Bible, God, and the spiritual life.
0:29
S1: I try my best to bring you answers straight from Scripture.
0:33
S1: If you have a question, always. The beginning of the
0:36
S1: hour is a great time to call. The phone number
0:38
S1: here is (877) 548-3675. That's (877) 548-3675. Hope you'll call now with
0:51
S1: your question. If you have a question about the scriptures,
0:53
S1: people sometimes say, you know, I've heard this teaching. Don't
0:56
S1: know where what to make of it and I'll do
0:59
S1: my best to try and explain what scripture says about it.
1:02
S1: And then sometimes people will just read something in the
1:05
S1: Bible and they don't get it, or they're struggling with
1:08
S1: an issue in their life. People wonder, what in the
1:10
S1: world are we doing here with people calling? Here's the
1:14
S1: reason I'm here. Doing this is because I'm trying to
1:18
S1: help people take their next step in their walk with
1:22
S1: the Lord Jesus. That's really what we want to see here.
1:24
S1: I'd love to see life change in in the lives
1:27
S1: of our listeners. And you know, what helps me is
1:29
S1: as I prepare, as I engage with Scripture with you,
1:33
S1: it helps me take my next step with the Lord Jesus. And, uh,
1:38
S1: I just want to encourage you, this is not a
1:40
S1: trivia show. It's not a program where we talk about
1:44
S1: the most trivial aspects of the, of the Bible. Uh, although,
1:48
S1: you know, I'm pretty good at trivia, to be honest. Uh,
1:52
S1: my kids never, we used to have Bible trivia games
1:55
S1: that we would play when remember when Trivial Pursuit was
1:57
S1: a big deal? My kids never wanted to play Bible
2:01
S1: trivia with me. Dad always wins. Not fair. So anyway, uh.
2:06
S1: But that's not what this program is about. It's about
2:08
S1: life change and studying the scriptures. And so I, I hope, uh,
2:13
S1: if you have a question, you'll give me a call (877) 548-3675. Uh, (877) 548-3675.
2:24
S1: Really appreciate everyone that calls and everyone that listens especially.
2:27
S1: And you know, one of the things people tell me
2:29
S1: to hear, I'm riffing a little bit about this program.
2:33
S1: People tell me that the very question they had that
2:36
S1: week seems to be what someone else calls in and asks.
2:41
S1: So when you're calling, just remember you're representing the questions
2:44
S1: that other people have, and I'm glad you're calling and
2:47
S1: doing that. Do you want to tell you about our
2:49
S1: current resource? It's a great book by doctor Mike Fabares.
2:53
S1: It's called The Bible, A Book Like No Other. And
2:56
S1: what I love about it. Well, first of all, I
2:58
S1: did an endorsement for the book right on the first page.
3:00
S1: When you opened the book up, it says, I love
3:02
S1: this book. And I was the one that wrote that.
3:04
S1: It's not just the Bible I love. I love this
3:06
S1: book about the Bible. It uses archaeology and fulfilled prophecy
3:09
S1: and all sorts of evidence to explain how the books
3:12
S1: of the Bible are inspired, how they came into the
3:14
S1: canon of Scripture, how these books were chosen. It is
3:18
S1: a terrific book. And, uh, I'm so grateful that Mike Faber,
3:23
S1: who sometimes guest hosts this program he was on a
3:25
S1: couple of weeks ago talking about the book. Uh, he's,
3:28
S1: he's a good friend of mine and I so appreciate
3:32
S1: this book. I hope you'll want to copy the way we, we,
3:36
S1: we can send you one is we want to say
3:38
S1: thank you for your gift of any size. If you
3:40
S1: want to send in a gift, uh, you can do that.
3:43
S1: And we'll say thanks by sending you a copy of
3:46
S1: the Bible, a book like no, like it like no other.
3:49
S1: And then also I, there's some people who say, you know,
3:54
S1: I really appreciate the book and I want to give
3:56
S1: a gift for that, but I'd like to stick with
4:00
S1: you monthly. Give a gift every month, become a kitchen
4:03
S1: table partner and we so appreciate that. That helps Moody
4:07
S1: Radio so much with the budget. Every person that becomes
4:10
S1: a kitchen table partner, they're giving monthly so we can
4:13
S1: be on the air weekly. Either way, if you want
4:16
S1: to give a one time gift and get a copy
4:18
S1: of the book, or if you want to become a
4:19
S1: kitchen table partner, the way to do that is to
4:22
S1: call 877548. I'm sorry, 888 giving you the wrong number.
4:28
S1: Here it is 88864471228886447122. Or you can just go to
4:39
S1: open line radio.org. And by the way, if you give
4:42
S1: make sure to ask for the book, the Bible, A
4:44
S1: book like No Other by Mike Fabros. And we are
4:47
S1: going to go to the phones right now. Speak with
4:50
S1: Steve in Chicago listening on WSB. Welcome to Open Line, Steve.
4:54
S1: How can I help you?
4:56
S2: Uh, hi, Doctor Randall. A question. How come the people
5:01
S2: that are Christian are anti-Semitic to the Jews today?
5:09
S1: Well, every Christian is an anti-Semitic. You know that, Steve. Right.
5:13
S2: I. Right. But how can they be so obtuse? Who
5:18
S2: started Christianity?
5:19
S1: These Christians.
5:21
S2: Jewish rabbi.
5:22
S1: Yeah, the ones that are turning anti-Semitic. By the way,
5:26
S1: this is not the first time the church in, uh,
5:30
S1: in Germany tried to deny that Jesus was really Jewish.
5:36
S1: Of course, scriptures are really clear, as you say, Steve.
5:39
S1: You're right. Uh, Romans nine five makes it really clear that, uh,
5:43
S1: one of the gifts that God gave the Jewish people
5:46
S1: is that from him from whom came the Messiah, uh,
5:50
S1: according to the flesh that Jesus is forever, eternally Jewish.
5:55
S1: He is after the incarnation. He was born the descendant
6:01
S1: of David. Jewish family and he is resurrected. Still the
6:08
S1: lion of the tribe of Judah as described in revelation five.
6:13
S1: He is forever in Jewish flesh. Uh, the God man.
6:18
S2: So no disagreement. Yeah. And you know, how can they
6:22
S2: also talks about having the the Gentile branch grafted in
6:30
S2: to the Jewish Messiah? And church forgets about that.
6:35
S1: Well, the Gentiles are are I think Romans 11, the
6:39
S1: grafting in is being grafted into the new covenant that
6:42
S1: God made with Israel. Uh, you can read about that
6:45
S1: in Jeremiah 3131 through 34. But they're grafted into the
6:49
S1: new covenant, which is given by the Messiah. What did
6:52
S1: the Lord Jesus say about the New Covenant? This is
6:55
S1: the new covenant in my blood. It is through his
6:58
S1: death and resurrection that we act. Uh, we actually experience
7:05
S1: the benefits of the New Covenant. Uh, and so yeah,
7:10
S1: it doesn't make a whole lot of sense about this
7:13
S1: hatred of the Jewish people. Sometimes people justify it and
7:16
S1: say that Jewish people today are not really Jewish. The
7:19
S1: church are the true is the true Israel. And so
7:22
S1: replacement theology is sometimes used as a justification to hate
7:28
S1: Jewish people. They say the real Israel is the church.
7:31
S1: And so the church is related to Jesus, and the
7:35
S1: Jewish people are not physically related to Jesus. But what's
7:39
S1: so interesting is in that passage in Romans nine, it's
7:42
S1: talking about Paul's great heart, his compassion, his brokenheartedness over
7:48
S1: Jewish people who don't believe how he wishes he could
7:51
S1: be accursed, if it only would mean that Jewish people
7:54
S1: could be saved. And he says, why? Because of the
7:57
S1: great blessings God gave Jewish people. He's talking about unbelieving Israel.
8:01
S1: And he says, from whom comes the Messiah?
8:03
S2: So I for I have forgotten that.
8:06
S1: Yeah.
8:07
S2: So that that's it's unbelievable.
8:09
S1: Jesus is related to the Jewish people at large, not
8:13
S1: just believers. So.
8:16
S2: Amen. Thank you and good luck on November 7th.
8:19
S1: Yeah. I hope you'll be with us. Uh, consider joining us.
8:22
S1: I'd appreciate it. Thank you for your call. Okay. Okay.
8:25
S1: Bye bye.
8:25
S2: Bye bye.
8:26
S1: Yeah. November 7th we're going to have the summit opposing
8:29
S1: anti the new Christian anti Semitism at Moody Bible Institute.
8:34
S1: It's going to be really exceptional day great day of learning.
8:38
S1: I just discovered our new president uh at Moody Bible Institute. Uh,
8:44
S1: Rick Nelson doctor Rick Nelson will be joining us for
8:47
S1: that day. He thinks it's a really important day and
8:50
S1: he'll be speaking as well. So Doctor Rick Nelson will
8:53
S1: be there. But also doctor Don Sweeting, the son of
8:56
S1: former president of Moody. And he himself is the former
8:59
S1: president of Colorado Christian University. Mark Yarborough, president of Dallas Seminary. Uh,
9:04
S1: also Everett Piper, former president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University. He's
9:09
S1: now president emeritus. And I'll be speaking. There'll be workshops.
9:13
S1: It's going to be a very special day of information
9:16
S1: and mobilization to oppose this ungodly new Christian anti-Semitism. We're
9:23
S1: going to talk with Janice in Caledonia, Michigan. My neck
9:27
S1: of the woods here listening on WGN B, welcome to
9:30
S1: Open Line, Janice. How can I help you today?
9:33
S3: Thank you. Michael. Well, um, in the Bible, it teaches
9:37
S3: us to be good stewards of the money that we earn. Mhm. Um,
9:44
S3: or that God is See all this, sweetheart? Um. Anyway.
9:51
S3: Teach us to be wise stewards with our money and, um,
9:54
S3: to seek out, like, wisdom from others that are wise biblically.
10:00
S3: So what are some of the good ministries to bless
10:03
S3: the Jewish people? I don't want to give my money
10:05
S3: to a one who's like 90% of the money's going
10:09
S3: to the business.
10:10
S4: Oh, yeah.
10:11
S3: Only, you know, I, I just don't want to do that.
10:14
S3: And I was listening one day and I caught it
10:16
S3: just in time. He said, and that's who I give
10:19
S3: to and I know I missed it.
10:21
S1: Okay, well, I'm going to mention three ministries, but there
10:25
S1: are better. There are not better. But there are other
10:28
S1: ones that are also good. But I'm going to mention
10:31
S1: three ministries. First of all, I came to the Lord
10:34
S1: and uh, I and there, by the way, I'm not
10:37
S1: limiting it, but these are three that.
10:39
S3: That I get that.
10:40
S1: Okay. Uh, first of all, I give to chosen People
10:44
S1: Ministries and the reasons I came to the Lord through
10:46
S1: that ministry. And I served with that ministry, and they
10:50
S1: partner with us to bring you open line. And it's
10:52
S1: a wonderful ministry. Uh, chosen People Ministries, the other one
10:57
S1: that I think, and I also give to this one, uh,
11:00
S1: is called Life in Messiah. And they partner with, uh, with, uh,
11:09
S1: Moody radio to bring you the land and the book.
11:12
S1: And the executive director is a former student of mine
11:15
S1: and someone I have tremendous regard for. And several of
11:19
S1: my students now serve with life in Messiah, as some
11:22
S1: do with chosen people ministries. And so, uh, that's a
11:26
S1: life in Messiah is an outstanding organization as well. And
11:30
S1: they partner with Moody Radio as well. And then the,
11:32
S1: the third one does not partner with Moody Radio, but
11:35
S1: it's something that I really care deeply about. They do
11:37
S1: humanitarian aid in Israel. Uh, and they do it through
11:41
S1: the local messianic congregations. And it is, uh, if you're
11:46
S1: concerned about humanitarian aid. There are many people under the
11:48
S1: poverty line in Israel, and these people are bringing the
11:51
S1: good news of Messiah. Along with humanitarian aid. And that's
11:54
S1: called the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America. MJAA messianic Jewish
12:00
S1: alliance of America. I give to them and what they
12:03
S1: do is they provide you. There's something they have. I
12:06
S1: give to a specific project called the Joseph Project. So
12:10
S1: those are the ministries that I give to. Now there
12:12
S1: are others I give to as well, and there's other
12:14
S1: great ministries, but those are three that I strongly recommend.
12:18
S1: And they all do what they say. That's what's important.
12:24
S3: That.
12:25
S1: They all.
12:25
S4: So much.
12:26
S1: Okay. Thanks for your call. Really appreciate it. Uh, well,
12:31
S1: let's see our I think what we're going to do
12:34
S1: is we're going to take a break here. And when
12:36
S1: we do, uh, you can, you can check out those ministries,
12:40
S1: go to our website. You can see there's a link
12:42
S1: to the Chosen People Ministries. Uh, gift this month. It's
12:46
S1: a calendar with, uh, believer testimonies you can pass on
12:49
S1: to a Jewish person. And also, uh, there's my testimony
12:53
S1: in there as well. Uh, hope you'll check that out.
12:56
S1: We'll be right back with more of your questions right
12:59
S1: here on Open Line. Welcome back to Open Line. So
13:15
S1: glad to be with you today. We're having a great
13:18
S1: time in the word. And now, uh, we're going to
13:22
S1: take a call from Kelly in Fort Thomas, Kentucky, listening
13:26
S1: on the Moody Radio app. I'm so glad you're listening
13:28
S1: on the Moody Radio app. That's a great way to
13:30
S1: listen to any moody radio program and also have backups. Uh,
13:34
S1: I think it goes back a year and a half.
13:35
S1: You can listen to anything. Anyway, thanks for listening. Uh,
13:38
S1: on the app, Kelly. How can I help you?
13:41
S5: Hi there. Thank you so much. My question is kind
13:44
S5: of a two parter. First, what is the next step
13:49
S5: for a person after they become a Christian? They've accepted
13:53
S5: received the gospel and, um, they now, you know, big picture.
13:59
S5: It could be, oh, get in a church, read the Bible.
14:02
S5: But what could be the, um, like more specific, practical
14:06
S5: next step to tell them. And then also, if you
14:10
S5: are in relationship with someone and you have the opportunity
14:13
S5: to lead them to Christ, what is your responsibility around discipleship?
14:18
S1: Okay. Well, first of all, I'll tell you what I
14:20
S1: do the moment I someone prays with me to receive
14:24
S1: the Lord, the first thing I do is I go
14:28
S1: over assurance with them. And so I, I work through
14:35
S1: John 637 through 40. That that that passage promises that
14:42
S1: the Lord Jesus will first of all receive us. Secondly,
14:48
S1: he'll keep us. And then thirdly, he'll transform us. He'll
14:51
S1: raise us on the last day. So, uh, that's what
14:55
S1: that passage is about. And that's the first place that
14:59
S1: I go. The second thing that I say to them
15:04
S1: after we go over that passage is you've just entered
15:07
S1: into a love relationship. And what do you do in
15:10
S1: a love relationship? Well, in a love relationship, uh, you
15:13
S1: want to talk to the one you love? Isn't that crucial?
15:18
S1: And so that's what prayer is. And then secondly, if
15:21
S1: you love someone, uh, you want to listen to what
15:25
S1: they say. And that's what reading the scriptures, that's how
15:28
S1: you'll hear God's voice. Uh, read the scriptures. And so
15:32
S1: you talk to them, you listen to them, you talk
15:35
S1: about them. You know, people ask me, how come I
15:38
S1: talk about Eva so much? Well, I just love her
15:40
S1: so much for so long. I just can't not talk
15:43
S1: about her. Uh, I mean, she's my favorite person in
15:47
S1: the whole world. And so I talk about her. So, uh,
15:51
S1: that's a love relationship. That's why I talk about the
15:54
S1: Lord Jesus. Because he he saved me. Uh, that's a
16:00
S1: love relationship. So we talk about him. And then, uh,
16:06
S1: that I like hanging out with other people who love
16:10
S1: the one I love. And that's being in community. Uh,
16:14
S1: that's another aspect. Uh, and the last aspect is that
16:21
S1: I want to please the one I love, and that's
16:25
S1: obedience to the Lord Jesus. So obedience to the scriptures,
16:29
S1: what he says. And so that's what I go over
16:32
S1: with them, though I talk about those aspects of a
16:36
S1: love relationship. That makes sense.
16:39
S5: Yes.
16:40
S1: Okay. Uh, and then and I, you know, I'll get specific,
16:44
S1: here's what I recommend to people. If I'm talking to
16:47
S1: a Jewish person, they just came to the Lord. I said,
16:50
S1: I'll say, you need to get to know Jesus better.
16:52
S1: Start reading the gospel of Matthew, and I'll tell them
16:55
S1: to read a chapter a day or two chapters a day,
16:57
S1: depending on what kind of readers they are, and spend
17:00
S1: some time. So I try to be specific. I tell
17:02
S1: them to spend about five minutes a day in prayer,
17:04
S1: right up, and I explain to them acts, you know, acts,
17:08
S1: method of prayer, adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and then supplication or asking.
17:14
S4: Yes.
17:15
S1: And so I try to give them something. So I
17:17
S1: don't just say pray. I try to give them something specific. Uh,
17:21
S1: when I say and you need to find a church,
17:22
S1: usually it was, uh, if I was leading a congregation,
17:25
S1: I'd invite them to my congregation. That was what I
17:28
S1: would do. But, uh, or I even now, I invite
17:31
S1: them to my congregation, even though I'm not leading it.
17:33
S1: You know it if I'm local with them. Uh, so
17:39
S1: those are some of the things that I recommend with
17:43
S1: someone that when they first trust the Lord. But what
17:45
S1: is my responsibility is I feel like if I brought
17:49
S1: that baby into the world as a doctor, you know,
17:52
S1: I would want to make sure that baby grows up well. Uh,
17:56
S1: and if I can't do it myself, if I can't
17:59
S1: bring him to congregation with me, if I can't, uh,
18:02
S1: follow up and see how they're doing in the word,
18:04
S1: which is what I would normally want to do. But they,
18:08
S1: you know, it's just like someone prayed to receive the
18:10
S1: Lord on the radio with me right on open line.
18:14
S1: And he was from Florida. So the first thing I
18:17
S1: did is after the program, I got his contact information.
18:20
S1: And then I called a friend of mine who lived
18:21
S1: in the same town in Florida, uh, and got them
18:24
S1: connected so that someone could help him with the follow up.
18:28
S1: I don't think that we should, uh, uh, bring babies
18:32
S1: into the world and then leave them on the doorstep
18:34
S1: of some place. But sometimes you have to get someone
18:37
S1: else to be a caregiver. Okay.
18:39
S5: Right. Okay.
18:41
S4: Okay.
18:42
S1: Did that.
18:42
S4: Help? Yep.
18:43
S1: Okay. Thanks for your call.
18:45
S4: Yes. Thank you.
18:46
S1: Listen, I hope you get to do that many, many times.
18:49
S4: Me, too. Thank you. Okay. Me, too.
18:52
S1: Talk later. Okay. Bye bye.
18:54
S4: Okay.
18:54
S5: Thank you.
18:55
S4: Bye bye.
18:56
S1: Uh, we're going to talk with Robert in Spring Park, Minnesota,
19:00
S1: listening on Faith radio. Uh, 900 a m. I am
19:05
S1: so glad that Faith radio picks up one hour of
19:07
S1: open line. I'm always excited about that. Um, grateful for
19:12
S1: them listening in. Uh, thanks, Robert, for calling. Uh, how
19:16
S1: can I help you today?
19:17
S6: Yeah. This is a question about second chances. Uh, in Matthew,
19:22
S6: I believe, 1627, uh, it talks about if you miss
19:27
S6: the rapture, you will have seven more years to get
19:30
S6: right with Jesus. And that sounds merciful. It doesn't sound merciful,
19:37
S6: but it kind of reminds me of that parable of
19:41
S6: the ten virgins. Five were prepared and five were not.
19:44
S6: And the five did not, were not prepared. Uh, well,
19:49
S6: I'm assuming they didn't have a second chance. So, uh,
19:54
S6: I'm a little confused.
19:55
S1: I don't know what you mean by. Matthew 1627, it says,
19:59
S1: The Son of Man is coming with his angels and
20:01
S1: the glory.
20:02
S6: Yeah.
20:03
S1: Of his father. And then he will reward each according
20:06
S1: to what he has done.
20:08
S6: What he has done. So there's going to be teaching
20:11
S6: later on in the millennium, I believe, isn't there?
20:14
S1: Yeah, but I, I listen, here's what I can tell
20:18
S1: you about being ready for the rapture. Here's how everyone
20:22
S1: needs to hear this. I believe there will be a sudden, unexpected, imminent.
20:27
S1: And it can happen at any time. Return of the
20:29
S1: Lord Jesus. That's the rapture, right? And the way to
20:33
S1: be ready is to put your trust in Jesus now.
20:36
S6: Correct.
20:37
S1: To believe that he died for your sins and rose again.
20:40
S1: Don't count on other opportunities afterwards. Here's why. It's like
20:45
S1: the guy that said he's going to build bigger and
20:48
S1: better barns, right? More and more stuff. But then the
20:52
S1: Lord said, tonight your soul is required of you. And
20:56
S1: what that means is we could meet God. We don't
20:59
S1: have to wait for the rapture. We could meet him tonight.
21:02
S1: And I want to be ready. I want to be
21:04
S1: ready to meet him immediately and not say, well, I'll
21:08
S1: get another chance after the rapture. You know, uh, we
21:12
S1: can meet God today. Uh, he could take me home today,
21:15
S1: and I'm ready if he. If he takes me home today.
21:18
S6: So that's redeemed. Get redeemed now, right?
21:21
S1: Now is the time. Today is the day of salvation.
21:24
S1: That's what I would say. And not worry or be
21:26
S1: concerned or even consider what to do after the rapture.
21:31
S1: Let's get ready. All right. Listen, I can't tell. People, people.
21:35
S1: People tell me all the time. I'm going to do
21:36
S1: this later. Don't do it later. You don't have later.
21:39
S1: We don't know for sure. Uh, I've known people who
21:43
S1: seem in perfect health. And then they. Young women. One
21:47
S1: of my wife's dear friends, when she was a newlywed
21:50
S1: with a new baby, just married a few years, uh,
21:53
S1: 2 or 3 years with a brand new baby. She
21:56
S1: sat up in bed and said, I'm dying and fell
21:58
S1: over dead. Uh. Perfect health. It happens. But she was
22:04
S1: ready to see the Lord Jesus. And and so that's
22:09
S1: what I would say to anyone listening. Don't delay. Don't
22:12
S1: wait for later. If you've never put your trust in Jesus,
22:14
S1: do it now. Isn't that a good idea, Robert?
22:17
S6: That's a good idea. Just a little add on there.
22:19
S6: I talked to a lot of people. I live in
22:21
S6: a Presbyterian home. Uh, I've talked to people who say, well,
22:24
S6: I'm pretty good. Well, my answer would be that's not
22:28
S6: good enough.
22:29
S1: Yeah, pretty good ain't good enough, right?
22:32
S4: Yeah.
22:32
S6: They got to be ready now.
22:34
S1: That's very good. Thank you. Thanks for your call. Appreciate it. Okay.
22:38
S6: Thank you very much.
22:40
S1: Okay. Bye bye. We're going to talk to, uh, Leanne,
22:45
S1: I think. And that's it. Leanne in Chicago listening on WMBI.
22:49
S1: Welcome to Open Line. Leanne, how can I help you?
22:52
S7: Thank you for taking my call, doctor Melnick um, my
22:56
S7: question is, um, is it biblical for, uh, the Lord's
23:02
S7: Supper communion to be given to a shut in at
23:05
S7: their home or at the hospital? Um. Uh, recently I
23:11
S7: asked our pastor and he would not feel comfortable. He said, um,
23:17
S7: Paul says communion is to be observed when you come
23:19
S7: together as a church. First Corinthians 1118. But, um, I
23:24
S7: know you know, other churches, pastors do go and give
23:28
S7: communion to shut ins. So what do you what is
23:31
S7: your thought on that?
23:32
S1: I'm not one to argue with your pastor. It's your church.
23:34
S1: And you know, you should be respectful of that. Uh.
23:38
S7: Right.
23:39
S4: Right.
23:39
S1: I think also that sometimes people go to shut ins
23:43
S1: because they think that communion is a sacrament, meaning it
23:48
S1: gives grace. I don't believe that's true. I don't think
23:51
S1: we receive grace that it is just it's just a memorial,
23:55
S1: not just it is a an important memorial. Uh, but
24:00
S1: it is only a memorial. It is not a sacrament. Uh,
24:03
S1: it's a great symbol. It's a great reminder. That's what
24:05
S1: it is to. And it's a declaration of the Lord's
24:08
S1: death for us until he returns. So that means he's
24:11
S1: alive as well. So, you know, but what does it
24:16
S1: mean that in the church gathered, does it have to
24:18
S1: be in a particular building? I don't think so, in
24:21
S1: my opinion. Just if if you go see someone who's
24:25
S1: a shut in. Uh, you're gathering two people together. That's
24:31
S1: sufficient for for the Lord's Supper. Or sometimes the body
24:35
S1: of believers from different congregations gather together at some event
24:38
S1: and they'll have the Lord's Supper. I personally think it's
24:41
S1: okay to have the Lord's Table together at that time. Uh,
24:45
S1: it doesn't have to be only, uh, in a, in
24:51
S1: a church service. Uh, it seems to me sometimes. Another example, uh,
24:56
S1: very often Messianic Jews get together for a Passover Seder,
25:02
S1: a messianic Seder celebrating Messiah at Passover, and they use
25:06
S1: the third cup to have the Lord's Supper, the third
25:09
S1: of the four cups at the Seder. And so, uh,
25:13
S1: does that mean it's not it's just in a home
25:15
S1: with some believers, but they're all part of the body.
25:19
S1: And so that's acceptable to me, too. But. I wouldn't argue.
25:24
S1: I mean, if I went to a congregation that didn't
25:26
S1: believe that, I would be respectful of the congregation and
25:30
S1: and the leadership's decision, don't you think that's the best
25:33
S1: way to go about it? I hope.
25:37
S4: So.
25:37
S7: Thank you.
25:37
S4: Yeah, I.
25:38
S7: Just okay, I just wanted your view. Thank you.
25:40
S4: I appreciate it.
25:40
S1: Thank you. Well, we're going to come back with the
25:42
S1: mailbag in just a moment, so stay with us. This
25:44
S1: is Open Line with Michael Dolnick on Moody Radio. We'll
25:47
S1: be right back. And we're back. It's open line with
26:07
S1: Doctor Michael Riedel. And it's time for the Far Eastern.
26:11
S1: The Febc mailbag. Far Eastern Broadcast Company joins with us
26:15
S1: partners with us to bring you the mailbag every week.
26:18
S1: Appreciate that ministry so much. They reach the world through
26:21
S1: media and through personal engagement. If you'd like to, if
26:25
S1: you'd like to check out their podcast, go to their website, fbc.org,
26:30
S1: that's febc.org. And there's a link there to their program
26:36
S1: until all have heard. Uh, again, there's a lot of
26:39
S1: other information as well. Check out febc.org. And joining me
26:45
S1: for the mailbag this hour is Tara. Hey, Tara. I'm
26:50
S1: so glad to be with you.
26:51
S8: Hi, Michael. I am glad to be here with you
26:53
S8: as well.
26:54
S1: So here we are at, uh, looking at the questions
27:00
S1: that people sent in. And, uh, I, I always wonder, uh,
27:06
S1: you know, there's always questions that seem they're almost repetitive,
27:10
S1: but they have a different twist. And I think that's
27:12
S1: one of the first questions we're going to go to.
27:15
S8: That's right. We have Timothy from Tennessee listening through FCM,
27:21
S8: he says. Or he asks when someone has asked Jesus
27:24
S8: into his heart. Is it ever the case that God
27:27
S8: just doesn't want that person? He's looking for that assurance
27:31
S8: of salvation?
27:33
S1: Yeah, a lot of people ask that. But, you know,
27:35
S1: one of the things that he writes is that he says,
27:39
S1: I see in this question, how can I be a
27:41
S1: child of God when there is complete emptiness in my
27:44
S1: prayer life? And he talks about that he had prayed
27:47
S1: and he doesn't have a job, and he's become homeless,
27:51
S1: and he's convinced that God didn't want him. Now, I
27:54
S1: want to say that we need to come at this
27:56
S1: from scripture. One of the most important verses that I've
28:02
S1: mentioned a couple times already today is John 637 through 40,
28:08
S1: where it says that whoever the father gives me will
28:13
S1: come to me, and I will certainly not cast him out.
28:17
S1: John 637 is where it says that. So if we
28:22
S1: have sincerely come to the Lord Jesus. And by the way,
28:25
S1: you say, well, only if the father comes, uh, gives
28:27
S1: him will someone come to him. That's what the verse says.
28:32
S1: But the fact that anyone would want to come to
28:34
S1: the Lord Jesus if you want to, then the father
28:38
S1: opened your heart to do that. So everyone the father
28:42
S1: gives me will come to me. So if you are,
28:45
S1: that means if you want to come to the Lord Jesus.
28:49
S1: The father did that, and the one who comes to
28:52
S1: me I will never cast out. So the Lord Jesus
28:56
S1: will always receive us. That's what I want to say
28:58
S1: to you, Timothy. Now you say, my prayer life is dry.
29:01
S1: My life isn't going the way I want. Here's the thing.
29:05
S1: We can come to the Lord Jesus. And one of
29:07
S1: the problems, and I'm trying to encourage you as best
29:11
S1: I can, that sometimes we want to blame God for
29:14
S1: what's going on in our life. I've never seen anyone
29:17
S1: that God says, okay, you're going to lose your job.
29:19
S1: You're going to be homeless. I'm not caring for you.
29:22
S1: There are other issues in our life that brings that about,
29:26
S1: that sometimes it may even be in resistance to God.
29:29
S1: So here's what I want to encourage you to do, Timothy.
29:34
S1: I want you to go there. I'm sure there's a ministry,
29:40
S1: a church, uh, maybe even a ministry to people in
29:44
S1: your area, ministering to people who are without homes, who
29:49
S1: are struggling. Go to them and get help, get advice,
29:55
S1: get biblical counsel, uh, find out what it is in
29:59
S1: your life that's causing this great blockage. Don't give up
30:02
S1: on prayer, but go to people who are designed, who
30:06
S1: have their ministries designed to minister to you and get
30:10
S1: some help from them. Uh, now, did you say someone
30:14
S1: else called with a follow up question about when someone
30:16
S1: called wrote about assurance before.
30:19
S8: Yes, we had a caller in the first hour who
30:22
S8: wanted some verses about the assurance of salvation. And then
30:26
S8: we had a caller just a few minutes ago who
30:29
S8: wanted those same verses, such as John 637 to 40.
30:33
S1: Okay, so John 637 to 40, the other verse that, uh,
30:37
S1: Eva mentioned last hour during the mailbag when we talked
30:40
S1: about it was first John 513. I've written these things
30:45
S1: to you who believe in the name of the Son
30:47
S1: of God, so that you may know that you have
30:51
S1: eternal life. First John 513. We can know it based
30:54
S1: on the facts. Read the book of First John. You
30:56
S1: can see the facts that we've put our trust in Jesus. Uh.
31:00
S1: Then we know that our sins are forgiven and that
31:04
S1: we are his child. That's, uh, if you remember, there
31:09
S1: is the, uh, the engine that drives this train are
31:13
S1: the facts, then we have faith in the facts, and
31:16
S1: feelings will follow. Uh, and the verse I mentioned that's
31:20
S1: more about, uh, an existential experience is, uh, Romans chapter eight.
31:30
S1: Let's see if I can pull my glasses up here
31:33
S1: so I can see better. Uh, in Romans eight, it's
31:38
S1: where we cry out, ABBA, father! It's verse 16, verse 15.
31:44
S1: We didn't receive a spirit of slavery to fall back
31:48
S1: into fear, but you receive the spirit of adoption, by
31:52
S1: whom we cry out, ABBA, father! The Spirit himself testifies
31:56
S1: together with our spirit that we are God's children. And
32:00
S1: if children also heirs, heirs of God and co, heirs
32:03
S1: with Messiah, seeing that we suffer with him so that
32:06
S1: we may be glorified with him. So the spirit testifies
32:10
S1: to us that we're his. How do we do. If
32:12
S1: you're crying out to God in need, you say, well,
32:15
S1: why am I in need if I'm God's child? Well,
32:17
S1: children have needs. If we cry out to God and
32:21
S1: when we have a need, that means that we understand
32:23
S1: who our father is. And that's sort of the existential,
32:26
S1: experiential aspect of assurance. Who do you cry out to? Uh, when,
32:31
S1: when there's a crisis? And I'm hoping it's you're crying
32:35
S1: out to God because that's sort of an experiential testimony to, uh, our,
32:40
S1: our relationship with him, don't you think?
32:43
S8: I do, I do thank you.
32:45
S1: In my lowest places, my worst times. This is how
32:49
S1: I know. I genuinely know the Lord. Do you know
32:51
S1: how I don't cry out to social service agencies? I,
32:57
S1: I cry out to God.
32:59
S8: Absolutely.
33:00
S1: Yeah. That's it. So anyway, okay, any other questions there?
33:04
S8: Great. Yes, we have Dave from Missouri listening through WHCB
33:10
S8: could you speak to whether there is a place or
33:12
S8: an opportunity for reconciliation ministry in the local church?
33:18
S1: Well, what kind of reconciliation does he say? What he's
33:21
S1: talking about.
33:22
S8: Conflict resolution and things of that nature so that we
33:26
S8: can handle them a godly way rather than the way
33:28
S8: that the world might approach it.
33:31
S1: Uh, can can congregations bring people together or, or, or
33:38
S1: conflicting groups together in a church? That's sort of the idea. Well,
33:44
S1: there are some scriptures that teach that that ought to
33:47
S1: be an aspect of, of what churches do. Here's a
33:53
S1: couple of verses that I might consider or have someone consider.
34:00
S1: Hebrews chapter, I think it's chapter 12. Let's see if
34:04
S1: my my page turning will work here. Hebrews 12 verse 14.
34:12
S1: Pursue peace with everyone and holiness. Without it no one
34:16
S1: will see the Lord. So that's an injunction on believers
34:20
S1: to pursue peace, right? Uh, yes. Yes. And, and I
34:25
S1: think that congregations can do that. Then there's the other
34:29
S1: idea of Matthew 18, when the Lord Jesus talks about
34:34
S1: when there's a conflict within the church. Uh, try and
34:37
S1: resolve it personally. If you can't, then bring it to
34:39
S1: the church. And, and that seems to me that individuals
34:44
S1: can get reconciled. Reconciled that way. Uh, through church leadership,
34:49
S1: helping them with it. Uh, so Matthew 18 and then, uh,
34:54
S1: another one, and this is an important transition here that
34:57
S1: I would say is sometimes you have people that are
35:00
S1: just at odds, and the church may do their best
35:03
S1: to try to bring them together. And in Romans chapter 12,
35:11
S1: this is a verse that I think is important. Romans 1218,
35:15
S1: people are to know this. Um, it says, uh, if
35:21
S1: possible on your part, live at peace with everyone. And
35:26
S1: so what I tell people sometimes when I was a pastor,
35:30
S1: you know, you should try to figure out how to
35:33
S1: live at peace. It's on your part. Live at peace.
35:36
S1: But sometimes others won't acquiesce to that. They won't want
35:41
S1: to live at peace. They can't disagree without being disagreeable.
35:45
S1: And because of that, sometimes it's better to say, you
35:48
S1: know what? Maybe we should go to different congregations and
35:51
S1: live at peace with each other that way. Uh, and
35:56
S1: the model I have for that is in Genesis. Remember
36:00
S1: in Genesis, when lot's shepherds couldn't get along with Abraham. Shepherds.
36:07
S8: I do.
36:08
S1: Well, you know, the ministry of reconciliation that I understand
36:12
S1: from Scripture, which we have, is to reconcile people, bring
36:18
S1: peace to people through sacrifice. And what Abraham does is
36:22
S1: he says, look, look everywhere. If you want to go west,
36:26
S1: I'll go east. You want to go north, I'll go south.
36:28
S1: Wherever you want to go. You go there and we'll.
36:32
S1: And he actually divided or separated from lot, so that
36:37
S1: inasmuch as it was his responsibility, he was going to
36:41
S1: be at peace with his relative. He said these things
36:43
S1: should not be. For we are relatives, we are kinsmen.
36:47
S1: And so the idea is that to keep the peace,
36:51
S1: they separated. And sometimes I think that's what churches have
36:54
S1: to say. You know what, you guys, this group needs
36:57
S1: to go to another church because you're just never, never
36:59
S1: going to be happy here or this individual. You guys
37:02
S1: need to go to another church. That's sometimes what has
37:05
S1: to happen to keep the peace. But that's what I
37:07
S1: think the answer is.
37:09
S8: So thank you for that. Abraham is a good example
37:12
S8: of how to be a peacemaker.
37:14
S1: Yeah, exactly. Sometimes to separate. Yeah. Is there a let's
37:18
S1: do one more question if we've got it.
37:20
S8: We have Jim Montana listening and from KMBI. And he says,
37:25
S8: I have been having trouble accepting how one man's blood
37:28
S8: can pay for the sins of all mankind. Mhm. So
37:32
S8: another question about salvation.
37:34
S1: Yeah. Um, yeah. You know, uh, people don't understand that
37:39
S1: the it's not intrinsic in blood. You know, we talked
37:44
S1: about this earlier that where it talks about the body
37:47
S1: and blood, both are sacrificial, uh, blood, sacrificial body. It's
37:52
S1: the sacrifice. Second Corinthians 521 says, uh, he made him.
37:58
S1: God made him Messiah. Jesus, who knew no sin to
38:03
S1: become a sin offering on our behalf that we may
38:06
S1: become the righteousness of God in him. In the Old Testament,
38:10
S1: there were all these sacrifices that painted a picture, and
38:14
S1: that picture was of substitution. I deserve to die. The
38:18
S1: animal dies instead. And ultimately it is the Messiah who
38:22
S1: is a perfect sacrifice without sin. That's the problem. None
38:28
S1: of us could do it. It had to be God
38:31
S1: in the flesh who is without sin to be the
38:33
S1: perfect sacrifice him. He made him who knew no sin
38:37
S1: to become a sin offering on our behalf. It's not
38:39
S1: that he became sin. He became a sin offering. He
38:42
S1: was a substitutionary sacrifice. He took the punishment we deserved.
38:46
S1: And then now we're given new life by him. Uh.
38:51
S1: He died so we can live. And he's alive. And
38:54
S1: that's how come he can make us alive. We're going
38:57
S1: to go to a break here, but, uh, thanks for
38:59
S1: that question. That's a great reminder. Listen, if, if you've
39:01
S1: never put your trust in that one for all. Sacrifice
39:05
S1: of the Lord Jesus, now's the time. Trust in him.
39:08
S1: He died for us. He rose again, and we need
39:13
S1: to just trust in him and will be forgiven. We'll
39:15
S1: come back with more questions in just a moment. Stay
39:17
S1: with us. This is open line with Michael Riedel. Mike.
39:34
S1: Welcome back to Open Line. So glad to be with
39:37
S1: you today. Uh, I do want to tell you about
39:42
S1: some upcoming events. We've got a summit in Chicago on
39:48
S1: November 7th. It's a summit opposing the new Christian antisemitism.
39:52
S1: It's a very important day. Some exceptional speakers, if you
39:55
S1: want to join us. Uh, I hope you will. The
39:59
S1: best thing to do is register. Go to Open Line radio.org.
40:02
S1: Click on that link and the. There's. You can go
40:07
S1: to the link in the registration page. When you register.
40:10
S1: Use radio 20 as a code to get a discount
40:13
S1: and I hope you will join us. Very important day.
40:16
S1: And then also I mentioned earlier, there's the Chosen People
40:20
S1: ministries calendar. Messianic Jewish calendar has a bunch of testimonies. Uh,
40:24
S1: go to open line radio.org and you can click on
40:28
S1: the link there that says A Free gift from Chosen
40:31
S1: People Ministries. When you click on that, you'll be taken
40:34
S1: to a page with the Special Believer Messianic Jewish Believers
40:38
S1: Edition with all their faith stories. I think you'll really
40:41
S1: like that. Again, go to Open Line radio.org. Click on
40:44
S1: the Chosen People Ministries gift link and you will get that.
40:48
S1: And then also there's a cruise coming up in, uh, uh,
40:56
S1: June of, of 2027 to Alaska. Karl Clausen and I
41:00
S1: will be the teachers on that. It celebrates 100 years
41:03
S1: of Moody Radio, Micah Tyler's leading worship. It's going to
41:05
S1: be a great time as we go to Alaska. It's
41:08
S1: going to be a fantastic trip. Looking forward to that
41:11
S1: as well. Uh, now let's, uh, talk to Giselle in Florida,
41:16
S1: listening on WKES. Welcome to Open Line, Giselle. How can
41:20
S1: I help you?
41:22
S9: God bless you, doctor. Michael. Uh, my question has to
41:25
S9: do with, uh, Levites and priests. My understanding is that
41:30
S9: only Levites could be priests, but when I read in Ezra,
41:34
S9: it refers to Levi's and priests as if priests weren't Levites.
41:39
S9: So could you help me with that?
41:41
S1: Okay, yes. All priests came from the tribe of Levi. Okay,
41:47
S1: so they were technically Levitical priests. They were from the
41:51
S1: tribe of Levi. But all Levites did not come from
41:56
S1: the line of Aaron. So they were all all the
41:59
S1: all the Aaron was a Levite. He was from the
42:02
S1: tribe of Levi, but only his descendants became priests. They
42:07
S1: came from the line of Aaron, the brother of Moses. Right.
42:13
S1: So in a sense, you could say all priests are Levites,
42:16
S1: but all Levites are not priests. Do you understand what
42:20
S1: I mean by that?
42:22
S9: Yes, I and that's what I was. That's what I
42:25
S9: was like. It. Can that be okay? So that is
42:27
S9: the case.
42:27
S1: Yeah. That is all priests are from the line of Levi, uh,
42:32
S1: and the line of Aaron, but all Levites are just
42:36
S1: from the tribe of Levi, not from the line of Aaron.
42:38
S1: So that's why all, all priests can be all priests
42:43
S1: are Levites, but all Levites are not priests.
42:45
S9: And not priests. Okay.
42:47
S1: And they have different functions, sort of like the the
42:49
S1: Levites were the associates that helped the priests.
42:52
S4: Okay, okay.
42:53
S9: Got it. Thank you very much.
42:55
S1: Okay. Thanks for your call. Appreciate it. Uh, we're going
42:57
S1: to talk with Edward in Texas. Listen to KHCB. How
43:02
S1: can I help you, Edward?
43:04
S10: Uh, thanks for taking my call, doctor. Michael. Uh, could
43:09
S10: you tell me what Isaiah 571 means?
43:12
S1: Maybe I better read it. Let me just turn there.
43:16
S1: I don't have it memorized off the top of my head. Uh,
43:19
S1: here's what it says. The Righteous One perishes and no
43:23
S1: one takes it to heart. Faithful men are swept away
43:27
S1: with no one realizing that the righteous one is swept
43:31
S1: away from the presence of evil. He will enter into peace.
43:35
S1: They will rest on their beds. Everyone who lives uprightly.
43:41
S1: I think this is taking a different perspective on death.
43:44
S1: It's saying that the righteous one dies and no one
43:49
S1: thinks anything of it. But it's actually something that's very
43:52
S1: positive because he enters into rest and he's swept away
43:56
S1: from the presence of evil. He goes into the presence
43:59
S1: of God, and he's no longer in the presence of evil.
44:02
S1: I think that's all it's talking about that it's you know,
44:05
S1: when we see the righteous dead, we say, oh, what
44:07
S1: a shame. And he's saying, oh, I'm so happy to
44:09
S1: be with the Lord. So okay.
44:12
S10: Oh, okay. Thank you, Doctor Michael.
44:15
S1: Yeah, sure. I'm glad you called. Thank you. We're going
44:18
S1: to talk to, uh, Brooke in Pennsylvania listening on Wjks
44:25
S1: in Pennsylvania. Hey, Brooke, how can I help you today?
44:29
S4: Hi.
44:30
S11: I'm just so happy to talk to you. I just
44:33
S11: want to say that I. I just forced myself to
44:37
S11: call because I just never I never do. And, um.
44:40
S1: I'm glad you called. Thank you.
44:42
S11: I'm just thankful to be, you know, kind of like,
44:46
S11: hear the other people that are part of the earthly
44:50
S11: cloud of witnesses. Um, Um. I wanted to ask you, doctor, um,
44:57
S11: because I was thinking other people have so many good questions.
45:01
S11: I was wondering what would my question be? Um, the
45:04
S11: only thing I can think of is, um, when I
45:07
S11: saw a documentary on Amazon a while ago and I
45:11
S11: can't remember the name of it at all, but I
45:13
S11: know they have a lot of good things on there. Um,
45:17
S11: that it, it hinted or it said something about um
45:22
S11: like that, they think that Joseph um, invented the Hebrew language,
45:28
S11: but of course we know that it would come from
45:31
S11: um divine inspiration, but I'm wondering if, if you have
45:36
S11: any support or.
45:37
S1: There's, there's nothing about Joseph having started the Hebrew language
45:42
S1: that I can tell. It does say that Joseph understood
45:46
S1: what the language they were speaking. Uh, when he was
45:50
S1: in Egypt, he was speaking Egyptian. Right.
45:53
S4: Okay.
45:54
S1: But he understood what his brothers were speaking. Uh, they
45:56
S1: were probably already speaking Hebrew at that time. And so
46:01
S1: I wouldn't say Joseph was the inventor. He was someone
46:04
S1: that knew the language. Okay.
46:07
S11: Get with the written. Do you think it was a
46:08
S11: written language already?
46:10
S1: Uh, it could be. It was written by the time
46:12
S1: of Moses because he's the one that wrote the Pentateuch. So.
46:15
S1: And there are documents from earlier as well. So anyway,
46:18
S1: thanks for your call. Really appreciate it. That's the program
46:21
S1: for the week. Thanks for listening, everyone, especially those of
46:24
S1: you who called or sent in questions. Really appreciate it.
46:27
S1: Check out our website, Open Line radio.org. It has all
46:30
S1: sorts of links of the things you're looking for. Keep
46:33
S1: reading the Bible. We'll talk about it next week. Open
46:36
S1: line with Doctor Michael Melnick is a production of Moody Radio,
46:40
S1: a Ministry of Moody Bible Institute. See you next week.