Participants:
Series Code: HCL
Program Code: HCL150003A
|
00:01 Hello, friends, grab your Bible and a friend,
00:03 and sit back as we explore God's work together 00:06 on this addition of "House Calls." 00:25 Hello, welcome to the best Bible program 00:28 on this side of the continent, and if I didn't believe 00:32 that I wouldn't have my good friend John with me. 00:34 Good to have you here, John. Good to be here. 00:36 I think we're kind of like in the middle of the continent. 00:39 Yeah, we're somewhere in the United States, 00:42 but you know where we are 00:44 because you've tuned in, so thank you. 00:45 Get your Bibles, get your pens, 00:47 invite your family and your friends. 00:50 That rhymes. 00:51 And we're gonna enjoy our excursion together 00:54 through the word of God. 00:55 And we're gonna have 00:57 an interesting topic today, John. 00:58 We're gonna talk about, is there life after life, 01:02 or is there an afterlife, and if the answers is yes, 01:06 when if the answer is no, why do people think that. 01:09 But um... 01:10 It's, you know, it's a very common 01:12 and popular question. 01:13 People want to know. People want to know. 01:15 Where am I going, after this is all done 01:18 and so we're gonna talk about that today, 01:20 and we're gonna talk about your Bible questions 01:23 and your comments. 01:24 We'll tell you how to send those in just a moment, 01:28 but before we do anything more, we always like to have prayer, 01:31 and John is designated as our prayerer, prayer. 01:35 So, John, would you bring us 01:37 before the throne of grace in prayer. 01:38 Dear Father in heaven, 01:40 we again ask for Your presence to be with us here. 01:42 Today, we open Your word, and invite You to, 01:47 to guide us through its pages 01:48 and to help all those that are hearing, 01:50 that are viewing this program. 01:52 To also have their hearts open 01:54 to receive from you the great gift of truth, 01:56 and so we love you, we give ourselves to you 01:59 here now in this program, in Jesus' name. 02:01 Amen. Amen. 02:04 Now, those of you that have tuned in before, 02:06 you know that a major part of our program 02:08 is Bible questions. 02:09 If this is where your participation is so important 02:12 and so needed. 02:14 So send your questions in. 02:15 If you mail them in, you know, I get, 02:17 I get mail from all over the globe, 02:22 I get it from Minnesota, I get it from New York 02:27 and Florida, and I got one the other day from Trinidad, 02:30 and sometimes we get them from as far as somewhere 02:34 in a different time zone, on a different continent. 02:37 But wherever you are, 02:39 if you want to sent some that are quickly, 02:41 that will arrive here quickly, 02:42 here's the email houecalls@3abn.org, 02:45 that's houecalls@3abn.org, 02:49 and we will attempt by the word of God 02:51 to answer your questions, 02:52 but if the answer is not acceptable or suitable, 02:56 write us back so we can clarify. 02:59 Now, John, what do you have for us today? 03:00 What question? 03:02 Well, I got a question about the Holy Spirit, 03:04 and the baptism specifically of the Holy Spirit, 03:06 and Carol is writing, she says, 03:09 "Are we to pray for the baptism of the Holy Spirit everyday, 03:14 or for the infilling of the Holy Spirit everyday, 03:16 or are they the same, 03:19 were not given the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost 03:23 actually receive it when we're baptized. 03:26 I thank God for your program and I watch every week." 03:29 Thank you, very much Carol. 03:31 Questions about the Holy Spirit, 03:33 and how we're to ask for the Holy Spirit, 03:35 and how we receive the Holy Spirit. 03:38 I have questions that have been around for quite some time, 03:40 and there are many examples of this obviously in scripture, 03:43 the Holy Spirit being sent out at Pentecost, 03:46 and other times specifically to individuals, 03:48 during it maybe an appeal to someone to come to Christ, 03:52 and even from those who follow Jesus, 03:54 but yet have not received the Holy Spirit. 03:56 So the answer to the question 03:58 really is yes to all those things. 04:00 So the baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs, 04:02 at times at baptism of immersion, 04:06 but also it can occur at various times 04:07 after that as well, 04:09 and so it's really up to the Lord, 04:11 the Holy Spirit descends 04:12 and pours himself into the heart 04:15 and minds of people, as we are open to receive him, 04:18 and that can happen at different times. 04:21 The first question here was about, 04:23 should we pray everyday 04:24 for the infilling of the Holy Spirit 04:27 or for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, 04:29 and these are the synonymous words, 04:30 these are the same thing. 04:32 So whether you're asking for the Lord to baptize you 04:35 by His spirit or to fill you, 04:37 to have an infilling of the spirit it is this, 04:39 you're talking about same thing. 04:41 There is one example here, 04:43 and I think on our recent program 04:44 we actually brought this, this passage up, 04:46 that Jesus comes to the disciples 04:47 after His resurrection, 04:49 included that disciples are already baptized by immersion, 04:52 that is already happened, 04:53 they already been following Jesus, 04:55 but after His resurrection 04:57 they, Jesus appears to them 05:00 in one of his four instances that we know 05:04 of at least that he comes to them 05:05 specifically after that, 05:06 and he says to them in John 20:21, 05:09 "Peace to you as the Father has sent me, 05:12 I also send you" and then verse 22, 05:16 and when he had said this he breathed on them, 05:18 and said "receive the Holy Spirit," 05:21 and specifically I think the reason 05:23 why I want to bring verse 21 here in 05:26 is because the receiving of the Holy Spirit 05:29 in this instance is connected 05:30 to the sending of the disciples out. 05:34 Jesus knows specifically that we cannot go out, 05:37 and utilize, and use the gifts 05:41 that He has given us through His spirit 05:43 unless He pours His spirit into us, 05:46 and so He did that with the disciples 05:48 so they could go out and begin to share the gospel. 05:51 Then we also see them not too much longer, 05:54 we know from Acts Chapter 1 and 2, 05:57 that they gather together, 05:58 they came together in spite of their differences 06:01 and the various personalities they had 06:04 and they sought Christ, 06:05 they sought Him to send His Holy Spirit which He did, 06:08 He poured out His spirit on them 06:09 on the day of Pentecost. 06:11 And then they went about preaching the gospel 06:13 and many received also the spirit, 06:15 I believe on that day. 06:16 So you're having-- 06:18 sometimes, John, you have a situation 06:19 where you're baptized initially, 06:21 and you're given the Holy Spirit 06:23 but then in other times in the future 06:24 you're filled with the Holy Spirit again, 06:27 and so some might call this revivals, 06:30 where you have a revival of your spirit, 06:31 God pours His spirit into you, 06:34 as a result of not only your need, 06:35 but you're seeking that closeness with him, 06:39 and a desire to get out there, 06:41 and get involved in sharing gospel with the others, 06:44 and the mission of Christ to seek and save the lost. 06:47 Usually it's centered around that, 06:48 but sometimes the Holy Spirit comes to, 06:54 in ways that maybe we have a personal need, 06:56 or need of not only knowing that Christ is with us 06:59 and he is close to us, 07:00 but also he gives us a healing or something else 07:03 and he does that through His spirit. 07:05 You know, one of the things, John, that Jesus relinquished 07:09 as a result of coming to this earth as one like us 07:12 is He gave up His ability to be everywhere at once. 07:17 Right. 07:19 And giving up that omnipresence 07:20 He uses, He works with the Holy Spirit 07:23 to meet out the benefits 07:25 of His sacrifice on the cross for us. 07:29 The substitution that He has given us, 07:31 and the salvation he brings to us. 07:33 That is all come through the Holy Spirit, 07:34 which is why in John Chapter 14, he said, 07:37 he encouraged the disciples, 07:39 make sure you pray for the Holy Spirit, 07:41 because I will send him, 07:42 ask me anything that you need. 07:45 I will send the Holy Spirit, the helper 07:47 to come into your life, 07:48 and to bring those things that you need to live the life, 07:51 that I've called you to live, and to complete the mission 07:54 that I've given you to complete. 07:56 Yeah, that's a, that's a very, you know, 07:57 that's a very interesting topic about the Holy Spirit 08:00 and the way he comes into our lives but I want to, 08:06 I want to add to what John just talked about, 08:10 and maybe expand on that a little bit more 08:13 because the Holy Spirit works in various ways. 08:18 One, he works to, 08:20 before we give our lives to Christ, 08:21 he works to convict us, and when conviction comes 08:25 and we invite the Lord to come into our lives, 08:29 then the evidence of the Lord in our lives, 08:32 so if the Lord is our savior is we first, 08:35 the fruit of the spirit show up, 08:37 and as the Lord sees our maturity, 08:40 he even imparts to us the gifts of the spirit. 08:44 So what happens is, you have the suggestion 08:48 that the spirit never stops working, 08:50 you know, one of the stories in the Bible. 08:52 The Lord talks about the wind 08:54 that comes from we don't know where it comes from, 08:55 we don't where it goes, 08:57 and so also is the work of the Holy Spirit. 08:59 You don't know, some people say, 09:01 well I was saved, 09:03 I've heard that phrase used so loosely, 09:04 I was saved at 14, 09:06 well that maybe when you accepted the Lord in your life 09:09 but that was not when the work of the spirit began, 09:11 that was when he decided to give, 09:13 to commit your life to the Lord, 09:15 to, to as Peter, was a perfect example, 09:20 of the Apostle Peter, he didn't accept, 09:22 he did not accept Jesus as soon as he saw Him, 09:25 his brother Andrew did first, and about a year and a half 09:28 after the following of Christ by Andrew 09:31 then Peter was invited, and then Bible says, 09:35 immediately he followed. 09:36 But there was a work, there was a connection 09:38 that was going on little more than an year, 09:40 about a year, year and half, 09:41 before he accepted that invitation, 09:43 and then we still see 09:44 that there was still a lot of work left to do in his life, 09:47 but the spirit was the one that was working in him, 09:49 even up to the point where just before the cross, 09:51 the Lord said to Peter when you are converted, 09:54 strengthen the brethren, 09:56 and on the day of Pentecost when the spirit was poured out, 09:59 the empowerment of Peter after his conversion 10:03 gave him the strength 10:04 to now be a part of the fulfilling of the gospel 10:07 which the Bible says, "And you shall receive power," 10:10 and so I want to talk about the work of the Holy Spirit, 10:14 the fruits of the spirit, 10:15 the power of the spirit and the gifts of the spirit. 10:19 And so you see that those are the ways, 10:21 so when you're saying, "Lord, if I wake up in the morning, 10:25 and I'm gonna ask for the spirit of God 10:28 to abide in my life." 10:30 What I'd like to point out is that he never stops abiding. 10:34 John 14:16, "I will pray the Father." 10:37 This is Jesus speaking to His disciples. 10:40 "I will pray the Father, 10:41 and he will give you another helper." 10:45 King James says, "Another comforter, 10:47 that he may abide with you forever." 10:51 And when you look that up in the context, 10:55 says what when he, "that he may abide with you forever," 10:58 and who is that, that he is speaking of? 11:01 "The spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive." 11:06 So the one that promises to abide with you forever 11:09 is the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive. 11:13 So what happens? How long is he gonna be around? 11:17 Verse 17 of John 14, "Because it neither sees him, 11:21 nor knows him, but you know him for he dwells with you, 11:25 and will be in you. 11:27 I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you." 11:30 And so when Jesus returned to the Father, 11:34 He sent the spirit and he says it's necessary that I go, 11:38 and there's only, there is one more function of the spirit 11:40 that I want to point out. 11:41 John 16:13, 11:46 "However, when he the spirit of truth is come, 11:49 he will guide you into all truth 11:51 for he will not speak on his own authority, 11:54 but whatever he hears, he will speak 11:56 and he will tell you things to come. 11:59 He will glorify me, glorify me." 12:01 Verse 14, "For he will take of what is mine 12:04 and declare it to you." 12:06 So the spirit never stops working in us, 12:09 and that's why you know, you think of the Holy Spirit, 12:11 and you think, well that's the New Testament, 12:13 but one text, Psalms 51:11, when David prayed, 12:20 the chapter we call that the chapter of his-- 12:22 not the chapter of his repentance 12:24 but the chapter of his re-conversion, 12:27 I can use that phrase in a broader sense, 12:30 because chapter 50 was where was repenting. 12:32 In chapter 51 he pleads to the Lord 12:35 and he says verse 11, 12:37 "Do not cast me away from your presence 12:40 and do not take your Holy Spirit from me." 12:44 So a lot of times we think 12:45 that the Holy Spirit was poured out 12:46 only in the New Testament times, 12:48 but the Holy Spirit has always continued to work 12:50 through those vessels that God has called 12:54 and that Jesus has commissioned. 12:56 And I think probably in the New Testament 12:57 what he is doing, 12:59 and the Holy Spirit in the way he is working, 13:02 it has to do with commissioning, 13:04 and getting the word through power out to the world, 13:08 and so, you know, we need to know that the Holy Spirit, 13:11 even before being in us is working. 13:13 That's right. 13:15 I like the passage here from John 14:17, 13:19 "He dwells with you and will be in the future," 13:23 Jesus' is saying, "in you," so at that point 13:26 the Holy Spirit was working absolutely on the disciples, 13:29 but he had not yet filled them with power 13:32 to be able to then not only transform their life, 13:36 but then allow them to move out into the world 13:39 to share the gospel with everyone else. 13:40 And so the formula I have, kind of like the P, three Ps. 13:44 Salvation from the penalty, 13:46 from the power and the presence of sin, 13:48 there's another formula I have, 13:50 and this is the Holy Spirit works on you first 13:54 then he works in you, then he works through you. 13:58 So when the spirit begins, he works on you, 14:01 if he can't work, if he does not work in you 14:04 before he works on you, when he works in you, 14:07 God both to will and do of his good pleasure, 14:10 then he can work through you, and those are the steps. 14:12 On you, in you, and then through you, 14:14 and when you look at the Bible, you exactly see 14:17 that the spirit worked on Peter, to call him, 14:19 worked in him, to qualify him, 14:21 then worked through him to commission him 14:24 to be a New Testament apostle. 14:25 So in a practical way just to answer the question, 14:28 should we be praying 14:29 for the infilling of the Holy Spirit? 14:30 Yes. Of course. 14:32 Because in many times, 14:33 God needs to instill and fuse you 14:35 with the power of His spirit to do a work, 14:37 He wants to work through you, and recognizing that need 14:43 and then asking for the Lord 14:44 to do that is very important in our lives, 14:46 but we also should know 14:47 that in everyday of our lives the Holy Spirit is there, 14:50 and he's continually working in us. 14:52 It's not that you have to pray everyday, 14:55 so the Holy Spirit doesn't leave you. 14:57 So I'm saying you 14:58 you're praying for the Holy Spirit 15:00 always for Christ to always be in the heart, 15:02 and that you would hear His voice, 15:05 but sometimes there are things that happen that you know, 15:08 are involved 15:10 that you need power and strength for. 15:12 Maybe they're evangelistic or some outreach thing, 15:14 or something else. 15:15 Those are the times 15:17 to really pray for the baptism of the Holy Spirit 15:20 in the way that brings power to the message 15:22 and to your life as you look to share Christ with others. 15:26 You know, I love this topic, we need to do it, 15:29 I don't know if maybe we have, 15:31 but it would be good to do another one again 15:33 on just how the spirit works. 15:36 You know, this whole thing about conversion in the Bible 15:40 is so clear on conversion. 15:43 Conversion is compared to either being in the flesh, 15:47 or being in the spirit, 15:49 and one of the favorite passages in the Bible 15:52 in Romans 8:1, 15:56 "There is therefore, now no condemnation 15:59 to those who are in Christ, 16:02 who walk not according to the flesh, 16:05 but according to the spirit." 16:08 So when you look at the spirit the work is just so beautifully 16:13 Romans 8:14, 16:14 "For as many as are led by the spirit of God 16:18 these are the sons of God." 16:20 And when you look at the beginning 16:22 of the ministry of Jesus, 16:23 Matthew 4, the very first verse says, 16:26 "and Jesus," speaking of him, "he was led of the spirit." 16:30 So the leading that the spirit 16:32 that led Jesus in his human form 16:35 is the spirit that leads us in our human form 16:38 when we become part takers of a divine nature. 16:41 So here's what I would say, rather than saying, 16:44 I'm praying for the Holy Spirit to fill me everyday, 16:46 pray for the Holy Spirit to lead you everyday 16:49 because he's already come in, he's doing a work in you, 16:52 and the work that he's begun in you is not gonna, 16:54 he's not gonna, 16:56 he's gonna continue till that work is completed. 16:58 So pray that everyday 17:00 you will have an ear for the spirits of voice 17:02 so you can hear him leading you, 17:04 because you know, John, it's amazing, 17:06 sometime in the mornings 17:08 after I've finished reading the Bible, 17:10 done my devotions, I say "Lord, use me today. 17:16 Cause me to meet somebody 17:17 and what you've just shared with me, 17:19 maybe it could help someone," 17:21 and I have been amazed how God, friends have allowed me 17:25 to become a vessel of honor for him that day, 17:29 and I will get a phone call, one day I got a phone call 17:32 all the way from the Virgin Islands 17:35 about 15 minutes after I finished my Bible studies, 17:38 and it was on the very thing I just studied, 17:41 and I thought, "Lord you just got me ready 17:45 for this phone call." 17:46 That's what I'm talking about so what you want to do, 17:48 you don't want to pray for the spirit to fill you up, 17:49 and do nothing 17:51 because it's like filling your car with gas 17:52 and doing nothing. 17:53 You want to pray for the spirit to be, 17:55 he's already there, but now say, "Lord use me. 17:57 Holy Spirit, I'm making myself available 18:00 that Christ can be glorified through me." 18:01 That's right. 18:03 And so it's a powerful state-- 18:04 That's the really, really good one, 18:06 we can take one day 18:07 and just really dissect that all of the aspects 18:08 in how the spirits works. 18:10 Nutshell in you, on you, in you, through you, 18:13 as He leads you, and so praise God for that. 18:17 We have a Delores from the Amarillo, Texas. 18:21 Delores from Amarillo, Texas, has a question, she says, 18:25 "I have heard on 3ABN more recently 18:28 by one or two, in house speakers 18:31 the term "Father God." 18:34 When I hear this, it makes me wonder 18:37 how many Gods that person has? 18:41 It sounds irreverent, 18:43 and not an appropriate way to address God. 18:46 I have not seen that term used in the Bible, 18:49 I have seen in red, "God my Father," 18:53 which say, who is God, Father who art in heaven 18:56 which says, which Father. 18:59 However, I've not seen or read "Father God" 19:02 which says, which God. 19:05 What are your thoughts 19:06 and can you show me any references in the Bible 19:08 where God is addressed as Father God? 19:11 Is it common? 19:13 It is common for the Catholic Church 19:16 and some other denominations 19:18 to refer to their priests as Father such and such. 19:22 Is this a subtle way to merge into one religion? 19:26 Let me answer the last part. 19:28 No, we ain't merging into anything. 19:32 Let me use the term, 19:34 when you use the term "Father God," 19:36 one of the phrases Jesus, one of the statement Jesus made 19:39 is "Call no man your Father" 19:42 except your Father which is in heaven. 19:45 So when you say Father, it is not-- 19:49 Let me put the phrase correctly 19:51 Father, comma God not "Father God." 19:55 That's the better way they we're saying, 19:56 Father, God, not Father God, but Father comma God, 20:02 because when you see in the Bible, 20:03 Galatians 4:6 is a wonderful illustration of this. 20:09 Galatians 4:6, "And because you are sons, 20:13 God has sent forth the Spirit of His Sons into your heart, 20:18 crying out, "Abba, Father!" 20:21 that's Father, Father 20:24 and so who is the Father that's talked about? 20:25 Abba. 20:27 That's talking about the endearment of God to us. 20:29 Abba, Father, well, you find one Greek word 20:33 and one English word both meaning the same thing, 20:36 Abba Father, Father, Father, 20:38 and so what Father is being referred to here, 20:40 our heavenly Father. 20:42 So the term, we're not merging into any religions, 20:46 those are terms that people have used, 20:49 one of the things I always recommend to people not say 20:52 is mother God, and I've heard some preachers. 20:55 I heard a preacher once say that 20:57 and I pulled him aside in a heartbeat 20:59 and said, "There the Bible doesn't support a mother God," 21:03 but when you phrase, when you read the Bible 21:05 and you look at the phrase "Father," 21:07 our Father which art in heaven or who art in heaven, 21:10 which ever translation you have. 21:11 So, suffice to say that when somebody says Father God, 21:15 it's a term of in endearance 21:16 rather than a term of coming up with a new God, 21:19 because there's no new God, because Bible says, 21:22 "Thou shall have no other gods before me." 21:23 There's only our Lord is one God. 21:26 So, you know, I wouldn't, 21:28 but I could give you number of texts 21:30 where Father and God are used together. 21:32 And I believe that, when you asked the question, 21:35 where is God addressed as Father God, 21:37 surely, you've done your homework 21:39 because you don't often ask a question like that, 21:41 unless you know the answer 21:43 is the Bible doesn't address God as Father God. 21:46 But Abba Father is a term that's close to Abba, 21:50 that my Father, and Father, my God. 21:53 But number of passages in the Bible, 21:58 one of the ones that you see differentiation is made 22:01 between the Father and the Son is in John 20:17 22:06 and also in Matthew 4 22:10 you find the spirit of God descending on Christ, 22:13 you find the Son of God being baptized 22:16 and you hear the voice of God, the Father speaking, 22:19 so you have the Father God, the Son God and the spirit. 22:26 So, there you find God spoken of, 22:28 in the person of the Godhead. 22:32 But here's one that you could see the differentiation 22:34 between the Father and the Son and both being God, here it is. 22:38 He says, Jesus said to her John 20:17, 22:41 "Do not cling to Me--" 22:43 And I'm reading from the New King James Version, 22:44 "For I've not yet to ascended to my Father, 22:48 but go to my brethren and say to them 22:51 I am ascending to my Father and your Father, 22:55 to my God and your God." 22:58 So you have Father, God referred to there, 23:02 Jesus is saying I'm ascending to my Father 23:05 and to your Father, 23:06 to my God and to your God, 23:09 and then when you go to Hebrews now. 23:11 The Bible makes it clear in Hebrews Chapter 1 23:13 I believe it is, 23:14 let me turn there quickly, any comments John. 23:16 No, you're doing a good job. 23:19 So, Hebrews, now you find 23:23 Hebrews 1:8, 23:29 "But to the son he says 23:31 your throne, oh God, is forever." 23:34 So, if you said, Jesus is my God 23:37 and God Almighty is my God. 23:40 You find these terms are simply differentiating 23:43 between the Father and the Son, 23:46 but the term God is broad 23:48 in the sense of encompassing the Son, 23:50 the Father and the Holy Spirit. 23:53 So but as far as the term Father God, 23:55 I would prefer to say Father comma God 23:59 rather than Father God. 24:00 Almost saying like there, is there a different God, 24:04 you know, we're not, we're not talking about a new God 24:07 or an additional God. 24:09 So, anyway that's kind of-- 24:11 but just to answer the question, 24:14 no, we're not following Catholicism at all. 24:17 We're not referring to him as a priest 24:19 would be refer to as Father Lawrence, 24:21 as Father John, or you know, so on and so forth, 24:24 and in that sense, Jesus says "call no man your Father." 24:28 One more question? Yes, I think so. 24:30 This message comes from Kiza 24:32 and the question is, well it's a-- 24:36 it's a little long. 24:37 So I'm gonna try and pull out the question here 24:39 and just kind of paraphrase. 24:41 I was hoping you'd be able to help me 24:43 regarding a question that has stumped me, 24:46 I know God hates lies, 24:48 so I've struggled for years to workout why, 24:51 in the book of 2 Chronicles 18:18-23, 24:56 God uses a lying spirit to get rid of King Ahab 24:59 to bring about his down fall, 25:02 and so we're gonna go there and take a look here at, 25:06 at this passage from 2 Chronicles 18 25:13 and I'll begin here with, with verse 18. 25:22 By the way, this is Ahab and Jehoshaphat 25:25 kind of creating an alliance 25:29 to defend against an army 25:33 that is coming against them, I believe it was the Assyrians, 25:35 but I don't have it right in front of me. 25:38 Anyway, so they're here 25:40 and Ahab asks for some help from a prophet 25:44 which is, as a result of King Jehoshaphat 25:48 actually pursuing that King Jehoshaphat, 25:49 if you understand was a righteous king 25:52 and King Ahab was a wicked king 25:55 and it says in verse 18 that Micah who was the one, 25:58 who's the true prophet of God that came before them, 26:02 said, "Therefore, hear the word of the Lord. 26:05 I saw the Lord sitting on his throne 26:07 in all of the host of heaven 26:08 standing at his right hand and his left. 26:10 And the Lord said "who will persuade Ahab, 26:15 King of Israel to go up, 26:16 that he may fall at Ramoth-Gilead. 26:19 So one spoke in this manner 26:22 and another spoke in that manner 26:24 and then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord 26:27 and said "I will persuade him." 26:29 The Lord said to him "in what way"? 26:32 So he said "I will go out to be a lying spirit 26:34 in the mouth of all his prophets" 26:36 and the Lord said "you shall persuade him 26:38 and also prevail, go out and do so. 26:42 Therefore look, the Lord has put a lying spirit 26:45 in the mouth of these prophets of yours, 26:47 and the Lord has declared disaster against you." 26:51 So, some I know have read that and they say, well, 26:53 you know why does the Lord ask one of his angels, 26:56 one of the spiritual host to go and lie to Abraham, 27:00 to Ahab here? 27:02 And that's not really what's happening, 27:04 what is happening here is fairly common 27:07 that even occurs today. 27:09 This is a situation 27:10 where God is allowing someone to be tempted, 27:15 someone to be enticed to do something that would be, 27:21 that would go against what God's will is, 27:23 a test so to speak, 27:25 and in this case this test came upon Ahab 27:27 because Ahab was determined 27:30 to bring Jehoshaphat and his army along with him 27:35 to fight against this army that was coming against Israel. 27:40 And one of the things that you'll note here, 27:42 and this is the case with all of scripture 27:44 and it's just the way 27:45 that the Bible reads in various, 27:48 in many places and that is this, 27:51 often when the Bible says 27:55 with the Bible speaks of as the Lord allowing, 27:58 it says it as it reads it, 28:00 what you read is as if he does it, okay. 28:04 So, when God allows something to happen, 28:06 the Bible will actually say 28:09 in so many words that he actually does it, okay, 28:13 and this is very thing you've heard the term, 28:15 John that God hardened pharaoh's heart. 28:18 Right. 28:19 Well, did that mean God went down and said 28:21 "Pharaoh you're not gonna accept me, 28:23 I'm gonna harden your heart now if they go against me, 28:25 so when then I speak to you, 28:27 you'll resist me, is that what God did? 28:28 No. Absolutely not. Is that God like that? 28:30 No, but he allows the spirit, the evil spirit to test 28:35 and to come into pharaoh's life, 28:38 who is already resistant to God's voice 28:41 and God allowed that to happen which hardened his heart 28:44 against the message that God was to bring. 28:46 In very similar way here, 28:47 He's allowing this lying spirit, 28:49 an evil spirit who says, "Hey, I'll go do it." 28:52 And let me tell you, every demonic spirit 28:54 is very willing to bring someone's downfall. 28:57 There's no question 28:58 and here before Christ came and died on the cross 29:01 we have, we see clear access still by Satan and his host 29:05 to come before of the throne of God. 29:08 They always had to seek permission 29:10 into what they wanted to do 29:11 but in this case a lying spirit was coming before him 29:14 and asked to go ahead 29:16 and bring that lie before King Ahab. 29:20 And the Lord allows him to do this. 29:22 And it's nothing less than a test Ahab 29:25 and a temptation to Ahab that God allows, 29:28 but the Bible reads as if God does it 29:30 but really what it's saying 29:32 is God is allowing this to occur. 29:34 And to add to that, 29:36 one of the most beautiful thing's 29:38 that I want to just built on that 29:40 and that was, that's good what you said 29:42 is that God protects those 29:48 that stand for the truth 29:51 and God will not allow 29:53 someone who does not represent Him 29:55 to speak in his behalf. 29:57 This was huge, let me give you a couple of examples 30:00 and then I'll show you two scriptures. 30:02 When Saul was rejected by the Lord 30:04 and the Lord rejected him as King. 30:06 He went to an evil, 30:09 he went to a witch to get a word from the Lord 30:13 and an evil spirit mimicked Samuel the Prophet 30:19 and brought forth the prophecy of doom to Saul, 30:23 which came to pass. 30:24 When that happened, the Bible says 30:27 "Saul did not know 30:29 that the spirit of God had departed from him," 30:32 when God does not choose you any longer, 30:35 He does not allow the spirit of truth 30:37 to speak through you. 30:38 Therefore, if you come to me and I listened to you, 30:42 I could say as a true prophet I could say 30:45 "what you just said, God did not send you." 30:48 And what you're seeing in this story 30:50 is the enemies of Israel 30:52 always wanted to get an upper hand on Israel. 30:56 But God never allowed them to receive that information. 31:00 So, you have this lying prophet that's going to Ahab 31:05 and Ahab now thinks he's receiving good information 31:10 but God is saying, 31:11 when he comes with that information, 31:12 when you hear this information 31:14 know that I'm not speaking through him. 31:16 We're able to differentiate, and today, 31:18 let me give you an example. 31:19 I'll use a couple of this scriptures 31:21 to show you that, this pattern has been established 31:23 all through scriptures. 31:24 The Lord says to those who know the truth, 31:26 just listen to what they say and you'll know 31:28 whether or not I've sent them. 31:30 Jeremiah Chapter 23, the Bible says, 31:32 "Woe unto the prophets who said I have said 31:34 and I have not said, woe to the prophet 31:37 who said I have sent them and I've not sent them." 31:39 And then, here's one of the classic ones 31:42 that we've heard before 31:43 but now the context that it falls to. 31:45 John laid the context by showing you 31:47 in an application how it actually works. 31:50 God never speaks through false prophets. 31:52 So, when they to come to prophesize or speak, 31:54 you'll know instantly by what they say 31:57 that this lying spirit is working through them. 31:59 Here it is, Isaiah 8:20, this is the prime example, 32:04 "To the law and to the testimony 32:06 if they do not speak according to this word, 32:11 it is because there is no truth in them." 32:15 So, now go back to the application, 32:16 Ahab comes, lying spirit delivers a message to him, 32:21 he now goes and deliver that message 32:22 and the true prophet says, 32:24 God did not say that, you know why? 32:26 Because you're not speaking according to the law 32:27 and testimony 32:29 and then one more, in the New Testament, 32:31 "God always puts into place whether or not we can know 32:33 that this person is filled by God's spirit or not." 32:37 So, you find also when-- 32:39 let me read the second example 32:41 to before I read the third example. 32:44 1 John 2:3 and 4, 32:47 and once again these always tests, and let us know 32:50 that God is speaking through that individual, 32:52 here it is. 32:53 And today let me, before I read this text, 32:55 today John, there are many preachers preaching 32:58 and we know by based on what they said 33:00 that they're not being used by God. 33:02 I don't want to use names 33:04 in respect to those individuals, 33:05 whom God can still bring to the knowledge of truth 33:08 but there are many preachers preaching today 33:10 that are saying things that God has not said, 33:12 some of them even say on air, 33:14 God told me I'm being on a bus one day 33:16 and I'm gonna be very vague about this, 33:18 traveling with some people and on television, 33:22 this bus had a television and somebody said 33:24 "God told me that I'm gonna be the next president." 33:27 And I said that's a lie, and people turned to me 33:31 and said "How could you be so judgmental?" 33:33 I said God did not tell him 33:35 he's gonna be the next president. 33:36 I said watch, 33:38 he's not even gonna make it into the primaries 33:40 and he didn't. 33:41 About a month and half later when the primaries were-- 33:43 he didn't even get chosen to be on the podium 33:45 as one of the possible running candidates. 33:47 I said I've told you that 33:49 and they said, how do you know that? 33:50 I said because he doesn't speak the truth, 33:52 God is not gonna use a person 33:53 who tells lies as his mouthpiece. 33:55 So this example is 33:57 that spirit that came into him, God said okay. 34:00 Now watch this. He does not represent me. 34:04 So he's asking for this spirit? 34:06 Okay, I'm gonna send a lying spirit 34:08 that you'll know, that he's not my vessel. 34:12 And descending is the part that allows him to go. 34:16 But the Bible reads as he was sent. 34:18 But that's just because that even, 34:20 and here's the good news about this. 34:23 Those evil angels, demons have to go through God, 34:29 before he allows anything to happen to anyone. 34:32 God is sovereign, everything that happens here, 34:35 God has to be consulted. 34:37 He has to allow 34:39 and a lot of this don't like necessarily what he allows 34:43 because we suffer, we experience pain, 34:45 we have a lot of things we go through 34:47 that are very tough. 34:48 Job had the same thing but nonetheless God is with us, 34:51 and he stands for us and unless we put ourselves, 34:56 insert ourselves up against him, 34:58 speaking presuming to speak in his behalf 35:00 when God is not speaking through us. 35:03 We've nothing to fear because God is for you and you, 35:07 we can take confidence in that, 35:09 in many of these stories of the Bible. 35:11 You know another, 35:12 the final example I want to also bring out 35:14 in 1 John 2:3 and 4, 35:16 once again another example of how the Lord says, 35:18 you can tell that the spirit working through that man 35:20 is a lying spirit. 35:22 This is not Old Testament only, this is today 35:25 and you know as a person who knows truth. 35:27 You could say, that person is not telling the truth. 35:28 So what spirit is actually at work? 35:30 A lying spirit. Here's another one. 35:33 1 John 2:3 and 4, 35:34 "Now by this we know that, 35:36 we know him if we keep his commandments." 35:38 Verse 4, the key aspect, "He who says," he's speaking, 35:43 "I know him and does not keep his commandments is a liar 35:47 and the truth is not in him." 35:49 What spirit is at work? 35:50 A lying spirit and then finally in 2 John 35:56 well, 1 John 2:22, "Who is a liar? 36:01 But he who denies that Jesus is the Christ, 36:04 he is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son." 36:08 And 1 John 4:3, 36:11 "And every spirit that does not confess 36:14 that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, 36:16 is not of God 36:17 and this is the spirit of the antichrist, 36:20 which you've heard was coming 36:22 and is now already in the world." 36:25 And finally 2 John 7, 36:26 "For many deceivers have gone out into the world 36:29 who do not confess Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. 36:32 This is a deceiver and an antichrist." 36:34 What spirit do you think is working in all of them? 36:35 Lying spirit. 36:37 You know, I'd also add really quickly here, 36:38 you see a lot of these things of healings going on 36:40 and these mass healing stuff and. 36:43 The best way to know whether if it's of God or not, 36:45 is listening to what they say. 36:46 Right, so what you seeing is example here. 36:48 It's not an isolated incidence but what happened then 36:52 is still happing today 36:54 and when a prophet of God heard what they've said, 36:58 he said "That's a lie." 37:00 There's not a spirit of God in him 37:02 and it's all through the Bible. 37:03 Elijah and Elisha, give me a double portion of the spirit, 37:07 these men tell the truth. 37:09 But false prophets that ask for the spirit 37:11 and there's so many examples. 37:12 In the New Testament, 37:14 when the apostles were performing miracles. 37:15 One person says, "Hey, I want the same power, 37:17 what did the demons do to that man?" 37:19 Tore him up. 37:21 Tore his clothes up, 37:22 went into streets running naked, 37:23 you cannot, God never allows his Holy Spirit 37:27 to work in someone whose life is not dedicated to him. 37:30 That's simply what that is. 37:31 Now, this is an easy transition to our topic for today. 37:34 Oh, it is, it very much is. 37:36 And by the way, in transitioning, 37:37 if you have any question you want to send to us, 37:39 here's the email that you'd like to send them 37:41 to housecalls@3abn.org that's housecalls@3abn.org 37:46 and I guess you can sense, 37:48 we enjoy answering Bible questions. 37:50 So, do us a favor 37:52 and continue sending them our way. 37:54 We appreciate it. 37:55 Transition, John, into the topic today. 37:57 Yeah, our topic today is about "The Afterlife." 38:02 And even more than that, I think the question 38:04 that we often hear and see, 38:07 we feel frequently from people as pastors is, 38:11 you know what happens when my Mom or Dad dies, 38:13 you know, where are they are going? 38:14 What's going to become of them? 38:16 And there is a bit of anxiety out there, 38:17 especially today with the afterlife 38:20 and connections as well to the after world, 38:23 with the other world. 38:25 Today I'm amazed, John, at the programs 38:27 how they have become so overtly spiritualistic today. 38:31 Because, I'll tell you back when I was young growing up, 38:34 you didn't seen this stuff on TV 38:35 but, now it's a regular thing to have, 38:38 you know, the ghost chasers and-- 38:42 Ghost whisperers? 38:43 Ghost whisperers is an actual program. 38:45 You know, I'm talking about like the, 38:47 the guys they go out and search for ghosts 38:49 in haunted houses and things and their encounters. 38:52 But everything is, they're pursuing this spiritual world. 38:56 They want the knowledge of that. 38:58 And let me tell you, the devil is all too willing 39:01 to give them that experience they're looking for. 39:03 And of course he couches that, he shares that in a good light, 39:07 you know sometime we hear of, you know witches aren't bad, 39:10 all witches aren't bad, 39:11 you know the bad witches deal with black magic 39:13 and the good witches, you know, deal with good things 39:16 and so it kind of tries to paint a smooth, 39:20 a kind of a good picture of the wicked host 39:25 and what they do. 39:26 Now they don't realize that they're wicked, 39:28 but, indeed they are, and so, 39:31 we want to kind of come at this in a practical way? 39:34 I think we're not trying to be text intensive this time 39:38 because we covered this topic before. 39:39 But we surely want to give Bibles verses. 39:41 Oh, yeah, absolutely, we're gonna give you Bible text, 39:42 but we want to talk about it in a practical way 39:46 and approach it in light of the questions 39:48 we know that are out there. 39:50 Right, you know two of the passages that are, 39:51 I want to ask you to go to Job 7:10 39:56 and we're gonna begin with Ecclesiastes 9:5 and 6. 40:00 These two passages establish, you know, 40:03 we're not gonna be talking about, 40:05 when people go to heaven 40:09 but surely they do not go at the time of death. 40:11 We're gonna establish more of the whole conversation 40:15 about the afterlife. 40:16 That has been the consuming, 40:18 and thank you, John, for bringing that up. 40:19 That has been the consummation of this market today, 40:24 the market has been inundated 40:26 with things about the afterlife. 40:30 I saw an advertisement for, 40:36 it's like NYPD, 40:39 NYPD something like New York Police Department. 40:42 But the commercial look like, people that, 40:46 police that had died, 40:48 were now assigned to spirit cases 40:53 in different locations, 40:54 these, they were still police but in an afterlife sense. 40:58 And I'm thinking, this is so ridiculous, 40:59 but you know what happens, 41:01 when people don't have a foundation in scriptures 41:03 these verses, these things 41:04 begin to plant thoughts in their minds 41:06 that long enough you could look at things long enough, 41:10 they start making inroads into your mind 41:12 and make you think that, this is how it really is. 41:14 But let's start with a couple of passages. 41:17 One of those that makes it very clear 41:19 that when life ceases, 41:21 there's no more continuation after that 41:23 is Ecclesiastes 9:5 41:25 and I'm in the New Kings James Version, 41:27 "For the living know that they will die, 41:29 but the dead know nothing." 41:32 Kings James, "No, not anything and they have no more reward, 41:38 for the memory of them is forgotten." 41:40 That means their memories cease to function. 41:44 Verse 6, "Also their love, their hatred, 41:48 their envy have now perished. 41:50 Nevermore will they have a share 41:54 in anything done under the sun." 41:57 So, when you have these people as you gave the illustration, 42:01 going into houses, with these machines there, 42:05 I'm listening for certain sounds 42:07 and certain tones. 42:10 Oh, there was just a rush of air. 42:12 I think one just passed by us. 42:14 You know, this is so dramatic and so cynical in the sense, 42:18 but that's what they're doing nowadays. 42:19 They're trying to find these spirits. 42:20 Oh, and then they had a commercial once that, 42:24 will you spend a night in this house 42:26 for $100,000 I said, yes, I will. 42:31 I'll be glad to spend a night at that house for a $100,000 42:34 because there's nothing in there. 42:35 That's right. 42:36 Because, I know the reality of the after, 42:39 I know the reality of when the dead are dead, 42:41 but I also acknowledge the fact that evil spirits do exist. 42:44 But I have no fear because my God is my protector. 42:47 He also said the safest place to be on any given night 42:50 is in the graveyard. 42:51 Yeah, you want to have a peaceful rest? 42:53 Nobody will mug you in the graveyard, 42:56 in New York City. 42:57 They ain't coming in there. 42:59 So but, but now let's go ahead this passage, 43:01 so first of all, the living know that they're gonna die. 43:05 You know the older we get John, 43:06 the more we start thinking about mortality 43:09 and we go from plans for college, 43:12 plans for family to the word legacy. 43:16 Because we know that this is eventual, 43:19 but so, so what happens if I, if somebody dies, 43:22 you know, we take him to the cemetery. 43:24 What does the Bible say? 43:26 Will I smell them, will they be in house 43:28 moving clocks and numbers and all that? 43:30 What does the passage say? 43:31 Not at all, I fact I'm gonna read from, 43:33 I think I'm in Job... 43:34 Seven. Seven. 43:36 And I will start with verse 7, 43:38 "Oh, remember that my life is a breath. 43:41 My eye will never see, again see good. 43:44 The eye of him who sees me will see me no more. 43:47 While your eyes are upon me, I shall no longer be." 43:50 That's right. 43:51 "As the cloud disappears and vanishes away. 43:54 So, he who goes down to the grave 43:55 does not come up. 43:57 He shall never return to his house 44:00 nor shall his place know him anymore." 44:03 Is that clear? Yeah. 44:05 You can't get any clearer than that. 44:08 The person is saying, "The eyes that see me," 44:12 I like that "The eyes of him who sees me 44:15 will see me no more." 44:17 In other words, I'll use a story, one lady said, 44:22 she, I got a call from a young man in Florida, 44:24 and this story is repeated once on a program 44:26 but, the little boy said, 44:28 his mother kept visiting him in his room. 44:30 Little young Adventist boy and he says, 44:33 with that southern accent, "sir," 44:36 I said next time this happens, I told him what to do 44:39 and it never happened again, 44:40 and there are people that say, you know, 44:42 one mother said, I saw my daughter 44:44 appear in the kitchen while I was cooking 44:46 because I missed her so much. 44:47 She had died about a month and a half earlier, 44:49 I wanted so badly to embrace her 44:50 but I knew that was an evil spirit 44:52 and she called on God's name and whatever she said, 44:58 she said this apparition vanished 45:01 and never saw it again and that's what happens here. 45:03 So, will a person see the person that dies again? 45:06 Yes or No? No. 45:08 See? 45:10 So you see these are, what are these? 45:11 What's happening here? 45:14 To me, well, a death, clearly there is, 45:16 there is a rest in the grave. 45:18 There is no longer a continuance 45:20 on anything that happens under the sun, 45:22 Ecclesiastes talks about the events 45:23 that happen on this earth, they have no influence 45:25 or involvement with. 45:27 That Job 14 says, 45:29 that he will wait until his change comes. 45:32 Rest in the grave until that change happens, 45:34 we know of course from 1 Corinthians 15, 45:37 that change occurs at the second coming, 45:39 at the resurrection. 45:40 That's right. 45:42 So one of the things that's amazing to me John, 45:43 is how accepting 45:48 that the dead continue on in the afterlife, 45:51 in consciousness. 45:52 How that is so destructive to the resurrection. 45:57 Right, it's like it has been cancelled. 45:58 It cancels the need for, 46:00 it makes the resurrection just kind of an anticlimactic event. 46:03 Right. 46:04 When the second coming is all about 46:07 bringing all the saints back together with him 46:10 to heaven at the same time, 46:12 it's a great reunion that happens of all the ages, 46:15 of all the people that are followers of Jesus 46:18 back to heaven with Him and yet it's anticlimactic 46:22 because you know what, the teaching goes, 46:25 that Jesus brings all those that have already died 46:27 back with him to this earth 46:29 instead of going from earth to heaven 46:31 after a resurrection, the resurrection's gone. 46:33 Right, the resurrection has been almost deleted. 46:35 And then the answer is, 46:37 well, the only reason the resurrection is happening, 46:39 the reason why it's important is so we can get new bodies. 46:43 It, it's so now following that train of thought through. 46:47 If they are in heaven, we know they're not, 46:49 I want to make sure so that 46:51 you don't miss the portion of the program. 46:53 They're not in heaven, but if they were, 46:55 what form are they there? 46:57 Some people say, they are souls and there are spirits, 47:00 but when Jesus ascended to heaven 47:01 he ascended in a bodily form. 47:04 He did not ascend to heaven in a spirit form. 47:06 Acts 1, the same Jesus that you have seen, 47:09 that you have seen go, 47:12 you will see him coming like manner 47:14 as you have seen him go. 47:15 He went visibly, they saw the nail prints, 47:18 they saw the hole in the side. 47:21 When He was resurrected, He had a physical body, 47:23 but that was a glorified body, 47:26 people have gotten this idea of spirit 47:28 and spiritual mixed up. 47:30 Paul the apostle talks about spiritual bodies 47:33 not spirit bodies, but some denominations, 47:37 some large denominations talk about spirits 47:41 that existed prior to the earthly birth, 47:43 these spirits come down and get into the body 47:46 and then when they die, the spirit goes back up, 47:49 and this is like the spirit conveyer belt 47:51 that happens back and forth, back and forth, back and forth 47:54 that all these spirit gods are making spirit babies 47:57 and sending them to the earth 47:58 that they come into the baby's body 48:00 at the time of birth, 48:02 so they're kind of hanging out inside 48:03 until they die and they go back. 48:05 That's the concepts that exist 48:07 on a large, large worldwide scale 48:11 through a particular denomination. 48:12 Yeah, and it's the concept of what we once referred to 48:15 as the immortal soul. 48:17 That's right. 48:18 Immortality, here's the amazing part about that is, 48:21 that as human beings, the Bible is very clear 48:26 that we have today in our sinful state, 48:28 we have lost immortality. 48:31 Right. 48:32 Yet, to embrace the teaching of the immortal soul, 48:36 you have to retain it. 48:39 And in fact, the Bible says very clearly 48:41 that the reason why God sent an angel 48:43 to guard the gate and access to the tree of life 48:49 is because, He did not want Adam and Eve 48:51 who now were sinners to have, to be immortal sinners. 48:55 So there is proof right there 48:56 that they had lost their immortality 48:57 yet we as a church, at large, 49:00 I'm talking about most churches still teach 49:02 that we have an immortal soul. 49:04 Right, and immortality even to build strongly on that, 49:09 God never created Adam and Eve, 49:11 they were not immoral at the creation, 49:14 they would have received the gift of eternal life 49:16 on the condition of obedience. 49:18 If Adam and Eve were immoral, they couldn't have died 49:21 and so that test came to them 49:23 because they did not have the mortality. 49:25 If they have been obedient they would have received, 49:27 so Romans 6:23, "The wages of sin is death, 49:31 but the gift of God is eternal life 49:32 through Jesus Christ our Lord." 49:34 That was true from the very beginning, 49:35 that was not just true in the New Testament times, 49:37 that was always true. 49:39 So when a person is obedient, what do they get? 49:41 The gift of the eternal life. 49:43 So this whole idea 49:44 that immortality is the natural property of the human being, 49:47 the Bible says in 1 Timothy 6:16, 49:50 speaking of God who alone, who alone has immortality. 49:55 He's the only one that has it but then in 2 Timothy 1:10 49:59 speaks about how we're gonna it. 50:00 The gospel brings immortality, the Bible says, 50:03 and I'll just read it, but, speaking of the gospel, 50:07 "but has now been revealed 50:08 by the appearing of our savior, Jesus Christ, 50:10 who has abolished death 50:12 and brought life and immortality to light 50:16 through the gospel." 50:18 So the immortality that we're gonna posses 50:20 when we put on immortality." 50:21 1 Corinthians 15:53 and 55, "When we put on immortality, 50:26 that will happen at the final trump." 50:28 But doesn't happen at death. 50:29 There's no life outside of having our body. 50:33 Wonderfully said. Perfectly said. 50:35 The Bible speaks of no life outside of our body. 50:37 That's right. 50:39 You know, this is one of the problems 50:40 why scientists have issues with faith. 50:45 Hmm. Sure. Now let me explain myself. 50:47 Scientists know, and doctors know, 50:53 they know that our brain, and the cells it contains, 50:58 and the ability it retains to be able to give us thought 51:02 is what drives men and women, 51:04 us to process information into thinking, 51:06 to have a cognitive ability. 51:10 And when we start talking about it as Christians, 51:12 as Christians talk about the afterlife 51:14 and the soul leaves the body, and the brain behind, 51:18 that there's this conscious existence. 51:21 It sounds ludicrous to them. Right. 51:24 It sounds ignorant to them 51:27 because the brain is what gives us thought. 51:31 The brain is what causes to be alive, 51:33 and when the brain dies, 51:35 and it returns to dust in the grave, 51:37 how can you as Christians say 51:40 that you have consciousness apart from your brain? 51:45 Right. Okay, wonderfully said. 51:47 It doesn't make any sense to them 51:49 and so they, they see this as a oxymoron, 51:52 the impossibility, faith 51:55 and believing that kind of stuff in science. 51:57 No, no, no, that's impossible. 51:59 But if we just understood it biblically, 52:03 they wouldn't have the barrier, at least in this regard 52:06 because scientists, we agree with science, 52:09 the Bible agrees with science in that when you die 52:12 the memories, all the things that your brain had 52:15 and it had been retaining for years that you learned, 52:17 that ceases along with it. 52:19 And when God raises you up in the resurrection, 52:22 hopefully the first resurrection, 52:24 but when you are raised up, 52:26 you are able then to resume what you had known 52:30 and continue to learn going forward. 52:33 But your brain 52:34 is what gives you the ability to learn to function, 52:36 that gives you consciousness. 52:38 It is impossibility 52:39 that the soul has that apart from your body. 52:42 You know when the Bible says 52:43 in that day his thoughts perished, 52:45 Ecclesiastes 9:5 and 6 say, 52:46 or in that very day his thoughts perish, 52:50 that's why there is no such thing as brain transplants 52:54 because the seed of your thoughts, 52:56 this, this, allow me to use the phrase loosely here, 52:59 this groovy grey matter, 53:02 when I say groovy because all the grooves 53:04 are places where thoughts have been created. 53:08 We think of somebody says, 53:09 "Well, if you have a smooth brain, 53:11 you're an idiot," I mean, literally speaking 53:13 because these grooves are all created by new though patterns, 53:17 new branches, I'm using very layman's terms, 53:23 when new thoughts, they fire then you continue. 53:26 Like somebody does something for the very first time, 53:29 like when I first took up calculus, huh, 53:32 I had no clue what I was looking at, 53:34 but after about two or three months, 53:36 man, I was so proficient at it then 53:38 when I went to college and was taken, 53:39 I got math books at home in my library now, 53:42 I open that book, I have no clue what I'm looking at. 53:46 And I was a master at that in school. 53:49 Yeah. Why? 53:50 Because I have not exercised that, 53:51 and all those grooves that were created there 53:53 have ceased to function. 53:54 In other words, they stopped firing 53:56 because I didn't start continue to feed those thoughts. 53:58 One of the reasons why people believe the things they do 54:01 is because somewhere along the line 54:02 the thought is planted 54:04 which the brain accepts and it fires, it ignites, 54:07 and they continue feeding that. 54:09 There's a book called, "Evidence of the Afterlife: 54:10 The Science of Near-Death Experiences." 54:13 I'm not gonna give you the author's name 54:15 'cause I don't think you should read it, 54:17 but they said this is the evidence, 54:18 a scientific evidence of the afterlife, 54:21 and the persons that wrote the book, 54:24 I'll say that, well, 54:25 one of the first things they did was, 54:28 they measured the weight of the person prior to death 54:30 and right after death and they said, 54:31 "Oh, there's a few grams difference." 54:34 So that must've meant this so, no, that speculative, 54:37 that must mean the soul departed. 54:39 And you get all these books, Near Death Experiences, 54:42 Out of Body Experiences, The Tunnel of Light, 54:44 and The Bright Light, Seeing Angels during NDEs, 54:48 seeing deceased family members during near death experiences. 54:51 Well, you know, how you see family members 54:52 during near death experiences? 54:55 Dr. Dean Edell, an ABC doctor, 54:57 many years ago when I was in California, 54:59 I used to watch him on ABC News. 55:01 he came up with a medical reason 55:02 why you see these apparitions in your brain. 55:05 He said in 80 percent of those cases, 55:08 these were beliefs 55:09 that the person embodied already. 55:12 Either theologically, spiritually. 55:14 Recorded somewhere, too. Or and they embraced it. 55:17 So these thoughts that were planted there 55:19 begin to fire out of order, and you think 55:21 it's an experiences happening now 55:23 when the brain is holding on for life, 55:25 and it's like a misfiring, it's like an engine, 55:27 you know, all of a sudden, 55:29 the spark plugs a firing out of order, 55:32 and this is evidence that, you know, something is dying. 55:35 The power to the engine is dying, 55:36 or whatever the case may be. 55:37 But this is how Satan is able to give you the idea 55:42 of the afterlife. 55:43 It's called familiar spirits. 55:45 So if you know someone that said 55:46 they've seen their mom or dad, 55:48 here's what Bible says in Leviticus 19:31, 55:51 "Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits, 55:56 do not seek after them to be defiled by them. 55:58 I am the Lord your God." 55:59 So when these talk show hosts that are the medium, 56:03 the Long Island medium, 56:04 this comedian, blonde hair lady, 56:06 The Long Island Medium, she has a show, 56:08 where this very well dressed young man 56:10 who's a in the yuppie lifestyle, he says, 56:13 "I'm getting messages from your mother. 56:15 Does a number nine mean anything to you?" 56:17 These are familiar spirits, demonic spirits 56:20 that conjure up the identity of your parents 56:22 and appear to you in that particular form. 56:24 And not only that, the ones that are talking 56:26 and revealing information about the one 56:27 that they're interviewing with? 56:29 This is, they have a connection in with the demonic world, 56:32 and they're giving information, 56:34 they're impressed with information 56:35 about the individual they're talking to. 56:37 So we think of it as "Wow! 56:39 What amazing things, they got so much power, 56:41 no one could've known that. 56:42 Are you kidding me? The devil knows that. 56:43 Right. They've been around. 56:45 These demons have been around, they've seen this 56:46 and they give that information 56:48 to the person you're talking to. 56:49 You know, if a chord can trace 56:51 all the calls you made on your cell phone, 56:53 don't you think that these evil demons 56:54 that have been around can trace your life 56:56 and bring up back certain things 56:58 to make a person believe that you are alive? 57:00 Yeah. 57:01 Yeah, it truly is something that I think not only are, 57:03 is interested in is the world interested in, the society, 57:05 especially our society in America 57:06 is interested in today, 57:08 but it's something that the devil's getting bored. 57:11 And he's just, he's playing a bit, 57:13 and I think he is more and more, 57:14 he is having fun with this, 57:17 and as we continue into our next program with this topic 57:20 we want to kind of expose some of this tactics today. 57:23 That's right, and so friends continue studying your Bible 57:25 because here at House Calls, we believe 57:28 that the best foundation for truth is God's word. 57:31 Study it and you'll not be deceived. 57:33 God bless you. |
Revised 2016-07-11