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- [02:38]
A
Foreign. Hey, everyone. Welcome to our July Bible in 365. Q&A with the one and only Pastor James Cadiz. Thank you for being here. Again, I just want to say thank you also for being by our side last week. And I also want to thank all of you who have sent us encouragement and prayer and just been uplifting us. I cannot thank you enough. Kate, on our team shared within our document some of the words of encouragement that you guys have sent, and it really blesses both of us and our families. So, again, thank you for that. It just absolutely means the world. I know, Cadice, you saw those, too. As well.
- [03:38]
B
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.
- [03:40]
A
Thank you.
- [03:41]
B
The kindness is overwhelming, and I. I definitely would have. I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else than where I was last week. It was hard, but, you know, glad that we were able to see that come into play and things come out into the light, you know, it needed to happen.
- [03:56]
A
Amen. Amen. So we are going to dive right in. We have a ton of questions this Q and A. We're going to start with the scripture questions first. We have hundreds of them, but we're gonna start with just the first five and then jump back to lifestyle and then jump back to scripture. So we're gonna kind of go back and forth. But, Pastor James, if you want to lead us in a prayer and we'll just. We'll just dive right in.
- [04:17]
B
Yeah, let's do this. Father in heaven, we just thank you, Lord, for this time that we have together. I just pray, God, that we would be guided by your spirit, Lord, that we would receive from you clearly and openly, and that, Lord, you would bring clarity to this discussion that your name would be lifted up. And we thank you, Father, for these amazing people that have a lot of very important questions. May they be answered thoroughly and effectively. And, Lord, may you just give us wisdom to be able to answer these questions in a way that will just edify others and encourage others. Because we know for every one question that's being asked, there are probably hundreds more that are asking the same question. So go before us now. Guide us in this time. We love you for the fact that you are our God and that you are with us and that you love us with an everlasting love. So go before us now. We ask these things. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
- [05:07]
A
Amen. All right, our first question is from Reuben. He asks, my brother, who isn't a Christian, has recently started asking a lot of questions. We discuss different topics. And he sends AI generated Responses. One response was about the differences in the accounts of the birth of Jesus found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Can you explain this for me? Thank you. I think it's also helpful, Pastor James, to talk about how, again, you shouldn't be going. I understand the sentiment of this, but also just to reiterate, like AI is artificial intelligence. Keep going back to the Bible for, for scripture and your questions and things like that. So don't, don't solely rely on AI generated respons for your, your walk with the Lord. But I know you have a lot to talk about on this topic because we've, I've, I've personally had conversations with you about this before.
- [06:05]
B
Yeah, look, this is a very, very important subject and there are many that have questions about this and I want to bring up a, a very, very good, meaningful discussion with respect to AI. Okay. The first thing that I want to say is that AI is a tool, it's not an authority. It can summarize arguments, but it can also, maybe even in some contexts, repeat skeptical claims. But what it does is it also omits context. And the problem is it will confidently present disputed theories as established facts. And you have to be very, very careful with that because the real question is not what did AI say? You got to be careful with that. Right. The question is what does the biblical text actually say? And that's what you have to look at. Now with that said, Matthew and Luke do not give contradictory accounts of Christ's birth. As a matter of fact, they are very complementary in nature. Now, if you're talking about the issue with respect to the genealogy, they are. There are different genealogies there. One is the genealogy that comes from Joseph himself, which within that genealogy is the cursed line of Yeconia, where in Luke the genealogy is of course different. That's the genealogy that comes from Mary's line. And they both actually prove that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. And we can get into that very, very deeply. Now with all that said, let me just simply say that Matthew has a different emphasis. He emphasizes Jesus as Israel's promised Messiah and I would even argue King. He takes on the role of King later. But it, this is, this is the emphasis of Matthew. Now his account focuses heavily on Joseph, as I had mentioned before. He focuses on the wise men, he focuses on Herod. He even focuses on a very important detail that we oftentimes don't talk about enough, and that is their flight into Egypt. Okay. He also speaks about Old Testament prophecy. He fulfills that. He, he speaks about the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy considerably because the emphasis is to Jews. Now Luke, who's the only gentile author of the New Testament, emphasizes Jesus as the Savior for all people. His account actually focuses more on Mary, the shepherds. The manage. The, the. The. The. Oh, my brain just farted. The manger. The, the, the scene of the manger. Sorry, the presentation in the temple. By the way, the presentation in the temple is a really interesting aspect of this. And, and I. This is all fresh on my head because I'm teaching through Luke right now. So it's interesting. And it also. He deals with other eyewitness details that surround his birth. Now that's because Luke is a historian and he's a physician. Joseph, of course, and the account that you see concerning Joseph, that is related to him, it would be more emphatic based on what you see in Matthew's account because of the Jewish connection. So if you were to talk about producing a sequence or a reasonable sequence, I would probably, just off the top of my head, I would say it would be Joseph and Mary travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem and then Jesus is born in Bethlehem. Of course, we know the story of him being placed in the manger, which is basically a big. It's a big massive stone cut in half that's sort of emptied out. And it was a place where animals drank their water from. So it would have been a really. That's a whole other interesting thing. The shepherds go and visit Jesus that night. Jesus is circumcised on the eighth day. That would probably be the next item that goes on. And then of course, Joseph and Mary in that time present him at the temple after the required period of purification. We read about this, by the way, in Joseph, in Luke and in Matthew's account. So we see that happen. And then sometime later, the wise men arrived. Now this is something people don't really pick up on, but Matthew doesn't say that they visited Jesus in the stable on the night that he was born. It actually says that they entered a house and. And saw the young child. So the picture here is that Jesus was probably two or three years old by the time the wise men went to go visit him. He. He wasn't in the manger. There was no manger scene with the wiseman. And of course, after being warned by God, Joseph, of course, takes Mary and Jesus into Egypt. And then after Herod dies, the family returns and settles in Nazareth. So if you want to talk about, like the early accounts of Jesus, those are the accounts that we have between Matthew and between Luke and then of course we jump into Luke's account, of course, of Jesus being in the temple when he is at that 13 year old age. So it is interesting because Luke chooses to, in my opinion, compress the account by saying that after fulfilling all the requirements of the law, the they returned to Nazareth. It was just a very quick like, you know, blip. Right. Matthew deals with it a slightly different way and there are some aspects about this that he chooses not to, to include. So as I mentioned before, we could get into the genealogies, I'll be very brief about that. Matthew presents Jesus's line through the line of David and Solomon, which brings you into Yeconiah, which is the cursed line, which interestingly enough, Jesus was not sired by Joseph, he was sired by the Holy Spirit. So the cursed line wouldn't touch Jesus physically. And then of course we know about Mary also coming from the Davidic line, also coming from King David, as was promised. And of course her line wasn't tied to Yoniah, wasn't tied to the curse line. So it is interesting to see that Jesus comes out of her womb and so it makes it so perfectly. The picture is just perfect. Now if, if I don't know what AI is being used here, but if these AI claims that are made or these things in AI contradict one another, like I like ask AI, you know, what are the statements being contradicted. But to see the problem is, look, here's the thing that happens. If you were to look at any interaction I've had with AI regarding biblical issues, it would be completely different. I would never go to an AI tool to tell me what the Bible says about something because it oftentimes gets it wrong. It doesn't understand all of these things. And the other thing too is don't be defensive with your brother. These questions may be evidence that God is working on him. Right? You know, just open the Bible with him, read through both accounts carefully. Make AI the, the skeptic the source of your skeptical approach. And, and, and let him see that Christianity doesn't fear honest scrutiny like Christianity is open to this. As a matter of fact, that's what Charlie was so good about doing. I don't care. Let's open this up and let's scrutinize this. And, and let's let stand, let's let the truth stand on its own. Okay, Now AI can begin a discussion. Great. That may be a great tool that God is using to open the discussion, but don't ever allow it to replace Scripture. Okay. Matter of fact, don't let it, don't let it replace sound reasoning or trustworthy biblical scholarship. Like, just avoid that altogether. So that's what I would say about that. It's a loaded question, but it's an important one.
- [14:09]
A
No, totally. The next question is from Debbie. Why did God take Elijah into heaven instead of having him die like the rest of us? Is he mentioned in Revelation, or does he have a special purpose in heaven?
- [14:25]
B
Okay, great question. I do think that Elijah is referred to in the Book of Revelation. There's a lot to be said. A lot of the why questions that we ask of God are really important questions to be asking. So you just have to prepare yourself for the fact that sometimes you're not going to really know the answer to, to the wise, you know, because we're not God. And look, the honest answer here, excuse me, is that Scripture doesn't explicitly tell us why God chose to take Elijah into heaven.
- [14:58]
A
Right.
- [14:59]
B
Without experiencing an ordinary death. As a matter of fact, if you go to Second Kings, chapter two, which is the account of it, it said, it tells us that as they still went on and they talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and, and then the horses of fire come and they take him up. But also that was tied into a litmus test that was related to Elisha's future calling as well. So we can make a, a, a, you know, sort of a, an educated guess with respect to that. But the reality of it is we don't know what the story is when it comes to that. These were absolutely extraordinary acts of God. But the Bible never says that Elijah was taken because God needed him to perform some kind of ongoing assignment in heaven. Now Elijah does appear again in the transfiguration of Jesus alongside Moses. Moses represented the law. Elijah clearly is representing the prophets in that transfiguration. And together they testify that the law and the prophets pointed to Jesus. And that's very, very clear. Malachi also prophesies that Elijah would come before the day of the Lord. Now, John the Baptist partially fulfills that prophecy because the Bible says that he came in the spirit and in the power of Elias, which is referring to Elijah. But Jesus also spoke of Elijah coming and restoring all things. So that's something that's yet to come. So this is one reason why a lot of Bible teachers believe that Elijah would be one of the two witnesses in Revelation 11. I speak about that, by the way, in the book that I wrote and that I'm writing as well, the part two of that where I talk about this. But the thing with Revelation is it never names those two witnesses. Okay. Although Moses and Elijah are probably strong candidates because these witnesses, they perform miracles that resemble those that were associated with what Moses and what Elijah did during the time of their lives. Now, some people say that one of those witnesses is going to be Enoch and Elijah because Enoch was taken up as well. But the reality of it is we just don't know. So that's what I would say. I would say that Elisha undoubtedly has a future prophetic role during the tribulation period. But we can't say with certainty that this is why God took him. Like, that's the only thing that, like, I, I won't be. I couldn't guarantee you that that's why it is. It'll be one of those questions. We're just gonna have to go to the Lord and say, lord, why did you do this? And then he'll blow our minds by giving us an amazing answer one of these days. That. That's what I think. And that's not a cop out. I'm just saying I can't answer when the Bible doesn't bring us that, that kind of clarity. And I think it's just really, really important to, to point that out.
- [17:43]
A
No, totally. Our next three questions are more resource oriented. One's from Melanie. I am trying to correlate the Old and New Testaments. Is there a trusted reference book or guide dedicated to showing how the two point to each other? Examples, Some of the prophecies in the Old Testament point to Jesus coming. I would like to quickly reference back and forth to these chapters and verses.
- [18:06]
B
Yeah, okay, so that's a really good question. And there are some, I think, some really good tools that do it. I personally would recommend, especially if you're looking for a lot of the Old Testament, New Testament parallels. And I'm serious, this isn't me just trying to sell something. This is me trying to actually help you guys grab this book that I wrote on the book of Revelation. And I work very. Oh, thank you so much. I. It's such a, such a powerful tool that I hope that the body of Christ will be blessed with. Because what I do is I go through the Old Testament and show you where in the Old Testament these things come from. Now with that said, if you're looking for old traditional tools, although I'm not a huge fan of cross referencing, the treasury of Scripture Knowledge is a good tool because it does contain 500,000 or so. They claim at least a half a Million cross references. But I personally am a bigger fan of. Of the Bible Prophecy Handbook that's written by. I believe it's. I'm going to look this up for you right now. I believe it's. It's Ramsey that writes it, but the Bible Prophecy Handbook is probably my favorite tool that actually does that. Also. Thompson's book of Bible maps and charts is really good. And Haley's Bible Handbook, I was just gonna.
- [19:32]
A
That's like. Yeah, Haley's is 10 out of 10. We have that as. And we. And on our app we have like a whole resources sect. And so we have a bunch of those that you named on there because I know we've had that question before. So. Yep, that's all really.
- [19:45]
B
And I think you have. You and Charlie got a Haley's Bible Handbook for me that got a little I love you note written in there.
- [19:51]
A
That's right. That's right. We still have it, too. The next question's from Chelsea. I'd love to have more context for all the Psalms and which ones David wrote during which times. Is there a companion reading guide you Recommend for Psalms 6, specifically?
- [20:08]
B
Oh, well, this is actually really easy. I mentioned Haley's Bible Handbook, which actually covers this quite well. It does really, really well. Also, if you want the fast shortcut, and it's relatively definitive, you can go through my introduction on the Book of Psalms because I identify who all the authors in the Psalms are. As a matter of fact, it is so interesting. One of the Psalms was actually written by Moses. And so if you go to james cadiz.com and you actually pull my introduction to the Book of Psalms, you will. I think you'll be very, very happy with what I bring there to you. And by the way, this is also the place of Haley's Bible Handbook of Maps and Charts. That is a phenomenal, phenomenal place where you can actually learn that as well.
- [20:56]
A
Yeah, the Maps and Charts book is fascinating. I remember Charlie just thumbing through that even at night when he was just unwinding for the day. And it's just. You learn a lot. It's mind blowing. It's really, really solid.
- [21:09]
B
Yeah. And I just also want to say this because it is unique to the Psalms that some of these books probably won't tell you. And I should probably just bring this out in the open because it is really important. Because of the 150 Psalms. There are some historical nuances that might not be completely caught, but one important qualification is that we can't confidently connect every Psalm of David to a particular event in his life. And I should probably say that because many of these books will do that, right? There are 70 or so Psalms. I think the number is 73 Psalms that actually identify David in their headings, but only like a smaller number name specific circumstances. So some of those circumstances will be like when he runs from absalom. Psalm chapter 3 is. Is where we talk about this. His sin concerning Bathsheba. That's the classic Psalm 51 passage. Or maybe the time that he was in the cave. Very classic. Psalm 57 and even Psalm 142. So some of these reading plans that. That are in these books will. Will assign every Davidic psalm, meaning every psalm written by David, to a specific event. And that's dead wrong. And I. I just without, like, anytime I give you a name of these reference books that you can have, I just want you to be aware of that nuance because it's very dangerous. Matter of fact, if you ran it in AI, it would probably do the same thing. So I just. I just wanted you to know that.
- [22:35]
A
No, it's good. The next question I jumped up to lifestyle. Let me just. It's the final scriptures question before we go back down to. Before we go back up to lifestyle. Well, it's not jumping, but I remember. Here we go. From Sarah. I'd like to do a deep dive of the Holy Spirit to understand his role more. Do you have any book or Bible study recommendations?
- [23:05]
B
Okay, so I could make this very, very easy for you. I did a series on the Holy Spirit that you could go to james cadist.com and listen to. One of them is very collegiate. In other words, it's just. It's a very definitive, very serious academic type of a work, if you look at that. But I also think that there are some really, really, really good books that have been written that actually deal with this, believe it or not, the Power and the Life of the Holy Spirit. Matter of fact, I don't think that's the name of the book. I think the book is called Living Water. It's Living Water by Pastor Chuck Smith. In my opinion, probably one of the best books written on the Holy Spirit that I have read. Practical books that's very, very solid. I really, really like it. Now, if you're looking for, like, a deeper systematic study, you know, something that's like, a little bit more academic. I think Ryrie's book is really, really good. I think it's called the Holy Spirit, so. By Charles Ryrie. I think it's really, really, really good. And I like Them both. I'm. I favor Chuck Smith's more probably because of where I came from, you know. But if you were like looking for a study and I would in. In this very specific order, I'm going to try to do this like non methodically. I would go through these passages probably in this order. I would go through John 14, John 15, John 16. Then I would go to the beginning of Acts. So I would go through Acts chapter one and Chapter two. Then I would go to probably Romans, Specifically Romans chapter 8. Then I would go to First Corinthians 12 through 14. People go to First Corinthians 12, 14 first. That would probably be the fourth order that I would go into. Then I go into Galatians 5 and then I'd read through all of Ephesians and a part of Colossians and you'll get a really, really good, solid understanding of the work and the ministry and the power of the Holy Spirit and I think you'll just absolutely love it.
- [25:08]
A
Yeah. All right. Jumping to lifestyle questions. Our first one is from Ellie. My name is ellie and I'm 15 years old. When it comes to submitting to authority, like it talks about in the Bible and like how most people are taught from an early age, how do you know when the proper time to submit to authority is? Like, for example, should you abstain from challenging authority when you don't think what is happening is right? Or should we always obey no matter the circumstance? Is there a certain time to obey and a certain time to challenge it? This reminds me of Charlie in 2020.
- [25:43]
B
Oh, it's, it's so true. I mean, if you really think about it, it also reminds me of where I was in 2020. I mean, I was, I was very specifically targeted by the governor of the state of California during that time. And we were telling him, get lost. Like, this is. We're going to do what we're going to do. Look, the Bible definitely teaches submission to authority, okay? But. But it does not teach blind obedience. I think that's kind of the big thing that we have to understand, okay? Every human authority, the Bible is under God's authority. Now that means that government officials, parents, teachers, pastors, even employers, right, they all have legitimate authority, but none of them has the right to command us to disobey God. Romans 13 speaks of that very, very clearly. It teaches us that governmental authority, like I said earlier, is ordained by God, but that's only subject to what God tells us to. They represent God and his purposes. Ephesians tells us the same Thing, you know, children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. So if you're. If your parents are telling you to do something evil, you have to be respectful to your parents and say, I just can't do it. The key word here is in the Lord, and that's really what matters. So our obedience to every human authority remains subject to our obedience to God. And you can't ignore that. Perhaps my favorite example of this is in Acts, chapter five. And it tells us that Peter and the other apostles answer to those that were accusing him. And they say we ought to obey God rather than men. Now, they made a calculated decision. And I want this. I want people to understand this. They made the decision to disobey governmental authority, but they also recognize the fact that they were going to take the punishment that came as a result of it. It wasn't like they went in and. And, you know, with a bunch of guns blazing and. And decided to just fight the government in that way. You know, the government ordered the apostles in that context to stop preaching about Jesus. They respectfully refused because they knew obeying that command would require them to disobey the Lord. Matter of fact, what it would do is it would require them to become something God never intended for them to be. Daniel's a great example. You know, he continued praying when the government prohibited it. If you remember the story of Shad, Mishak and Abednego, those are those their Babylonian names. Michelle, Azariah, and Hananiah was there was their actual names. They refused to worship the king's image. So another example of this are the Hebrew midwives. They're real heroes, in my opinion. They refused Pharaoh's order to murder the children. All of these people didn't rebel merely because they dislike the rule. There's a lot of people that rebel because they dislike rules, and that's just baloney. They refused because obedience would have required them to sin. I think that's probably the important thing. So helpful way to think about this. If an authority tells you to do something you dislike, submit. I mean, reality, okay? But if an authority makes a decision that you believe is unwise, well, okay, you can respectfully question it, you can appeal it, okay? But disagreement alone doesn't justify your disobedience. Now, if an authority tells you to sin or to participate in wrongdoing or to deny Christ or violate some clear biblical command or some command of God, well, you got to obey God instead. And so that's the idea. Now, by the way, if someone places you or another person in danger or asks you to conceal, abuse, or tells you to do something that's sexual or criminal or seriously harmful, you cannot remain silent. Right? Like, you got to run away, get away as far from the situation as you possibly can, and you need to immediately tell a trustworthy adult who can intervene. I bring this up because I have been in situations where there have been, forgive me for saying this, idiot pastors that have told women that they have to submit to authority when their husbands beat them. Right. No, sorry, that's. No, you leave and get that pile of garbage in prison. Okay? It's. You just don't do that. Okay? And I think that that's really, really, really important. By the way, I do. I should say this. This is another aspect, and this is something that Charlie would probably have wanted me to say. Okay? Challenging authority is not automatically rebellion. Like, I need people to understand this. Okay? Daniel respectfully appealed the king's command concerning food by proposing an alternative. And it worked, Right? Or Paul. This is my favorite one. Paul used his legal rights. I mean, his legal rights as a Roman citizen to actually fight something that was actually being done unjustly. So there are these rules that happen that you can actually do this. And, you know, we talked about 2020. This was one of the major issues that we confronted in 2020. The question was never simply whether the government possesses authority. We know that they possess authority. It does. The question was whether that authority was unlimited. And guess what? It wasn't unlimited. Okay? Government cannot take the place that belongs to God alone. So these are the things that you have to think about. And that's why you should be mindful of this. Ask these questions. Am I, you know, being required to violate scripture or do I merely dislike the decision? Those are the types of questions you need to ask. Right? Do you know, one of the things you should ask is, do I understand the situation completely? What does the law really say? Not does. What does somebody tell me? The law says you have to go and you have to do it. Have you raised the concern respectfully? Have you used the system that God has given you to appeal it? The bottom line is you do not submit when submission requires evil. You just don't.
- [31:35]
A
Amen. Our next question. The individual wanted to remain anonymous. They asked, why does God allow for infertility when we are told to be fruitful and increase in number to fill the Earth? In Genesis 9, do you have advice about how to not be mad at others who have newborns after miscarriage and infertility struggles after trying for years?
- [31:57]
B
Yeah. I have great advice. Adopt. You know, I mean, look, the command to be fruitful and multiply, it's not that. It's just fulfilled by having babies natural born. If for whatever reason you are physically incapable of having children, well, guess what? You get to adopt children. And, and it's beautiful, right? And it's one of these things where you, you, you, you've been given by God this like, amazing, amazing opportunity. Now, I said that passionately and quickly because all of my children are, are adopted, and I'm grateful to have them. And I think that I'm very much following that rule. But I do want to say this because I, you know, I got a little like, oh, man, I got to jump on this. Look, I am very sorry about how you feel. I want to, I want to acknowledge that because I think it's important. Look, infertility, especially within the context of trying again and again and again and miscarriage, there's very real grief in that context. As a matter of fact, the grief that comes from that is oftentimes worse then, like if you, if, if you were to go through a typical traditional scenario. So I don't want to start off by giving you a shallow explanation for something, but the scripture does give us some insight that we can grow and that we can learn from. Okay? And so again, the idea here is that the Bible gives us direction. And the Bible tells us that we're to be people who take advantage of every single moment that God has put in front of us to follow the initial instruction. And the initial instruction given to us with respect to being created in God's likeness and his image also tells us to be fruitful and to multiply and to replenish and to have dominion over. These are things that the Bible actually tells us. So if a door is closed in one area, ask the Lord to give you wisdom to go through another door. Just because you're struggling with infertility or just because you've had some miscarriages doesn't mean that you cannot be a mother or a father. And I want you to, to really hold fast to that because coming from the perspective of a man who has three adopted children and hopes to adopt a few more, there is nothing better. There is nothing better than to raise children up as a mother or, or a father. And it's something that we love and it's something that's very, very, very special. Now, concerning anger toward people with newborns, I want you to begin by being honest with God. I think this is, this is going to be probably the hardest thing that I've said so far in this. In this Q and A. Okay. You can genuinely love someone and still feel devastated by what their blessing reminds you of in terms of what you've lost. I want to be careful how I say this. I don't think you're on an unloving person by being hurt or saddened or even angry in some context, by watching the people closest to you have something that you feel like you can't have, but that doesn't automatically make you hateful or spiritually defective in any way. It means something very simple, and that is your grieving. Okay? The Psalms show us that God permits his people to bring him sorrow, to bring him confusion, even painful questions, right? Romans tells us this very, very clear. Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those that weep. So sometimes you may not. I want to be careful. I always say this. Sometimes you may not yet have the emotional strength to attend a baby shower, for example, or hold somebody's newborn, or even participate in every pregnancy conversation. I remember the multiple times when my wife and I had our heart set on a potential match for an adoption and it fell through. And to see how devastated my wife was. She had the license to behave the way that she behaved. She wasn't vindictive, she wasn't hurtful, she wasn't painful. She wasn't acting painful to other people, but she was suffering. So it's acceptable to establish temporary boundaries when you heal. There's nothing wrong with that. You can send a loving message or a gift without placing yourself in any kind of situation that overwhelms you. It's very different from resenting the. The parents of those babies or wishing that their child had not been born. Very, very different thing. Now, I do want to say this, and I want to say this in the most gentle way possible. When bitterness begins to grow, you have to confess it to the Lord without pretending that it's not there. You have to tell him the reality of what's going on. You have to ask him to help you separate another person's blessing from your own loss. Okay? Their baby did not take away the child that you wanted. You have to understand that. Right? God's goodness toward them is not evidence of his cruelty towards you, and it never will be. As a matter of fact, it may be the very opposite. Okay. It may be easy to say and extremely difficult to feel. So you've got to allow this healing to happen very gradually. Now, here's the thing that I want to ask you to do because this is important and it will accelerate your healing. In this context, don't carry this privately. I don't think you will because you've asked us a question very publicly. Yes, you've asked if you remain anonymous, but it's important. Grieve with your spouse rather than assuming you're, you know, like you, you, you're, you're on, you're in this on your own. Okay. Don't assume that your spouse is processing it the same exact way. If you do, it's going to head towards a rupture in your marriage. Talk with the mature believer who will listen concerning these issues. It could be a pastor. It could be, you know, somebody who will listen through these cliches. It's also wise to seek appropriate evaluation from medical professionals. Go to them, have them evaluate what's going on with your body. It could be a simple adjustment to be able to understand what's going on. But with that said, if it is a closed door, understand God may be opening an incredible door for adoption. And there's something very special about that opportunity. So I wanted to go back and revisit that a little bit because I'm very excited about adoption and I think that it's an awesome tool that God can actually use.
- [38:45]
A
Yep. The next two questions are individuals who are struggling with chronic illness. So I'll just do them back to back. Tammy asks, I have a chronic illness and sometimes I feel like I'm being punished because in parts of the Old Testament, God punished people by giving them plagues. Etc. I feel I have a relationship with God and he has been next to me in the hardest of times. So why do I feel like an outcast? I want my relationship to grow without feeling guilty about my illness. And then JJ also adds with his question, how can one draw close to God when illness is keeping one out of fellowship? Reading God's word, singing hymns. But I still am not feeling as close as I was in past times.
- [39:30]
B
Okay. So these are great questions and I can say this with great confidence. I can, you know, talk about this with great confidence because I deal with some physiological issues that can be very debilitating. And so I understand what that means and what that feels like. And sometimes we just have to understand some things that the rest of the world isn't going to understand if they're not feeling it right, if they don't know it. So for both Tammy and is it, what is it jj?
- [39:58]
A
Jj.
- [39:59]
B
Jj. So. So Tammy and jj, look, chronic illness can create all kinds of things. In your life, it can create physical pain and isolation. My favorite one to pick is exhaustion, okay? It makes you tired a lot faster.
- [40:16]
A
That's true.
- [40:17]
B
It definitely is at the center of spiritual discouragement. I can tell you that right now. Those feelings are very real, okay? They are created by the physiological condition that you are experiencing, especially when that physiological condition is related to neurology. So if you're dealing with a nerve disease of sorts, it makes it 10 times worse. That happens to be the. The fun one that I get to deal with. Those feelings are real, but they're not evidence that God has rejected you or that God is punishing you. In the Old Testament, God sometimes used disease as a very specific judgment against a particular people or even nations. However, you have to understand, the Bible never gives us permission to conclude that every illness is God's punishment for personal sin. As a matter of fact, the Bible tells us that's not the case. In John chapter nine, if you remember, the disciples saw a man who had been blind from birth and assumed that somebody must have sinned. And Jesus corrected them. He. He basically said, no, that's not the case. Jesus said, neither hath this man sinned. Notice what he says. Nor his parents. And then the reason why he says that person is blind is that the works of God should be made manifest in him. In other words, God saw that person worthy to be used by God to glorify God, to allow his work to be done. Job is another perfect example of this. He suffered terribly, even though his suffering was not punishment for some hidden wickedness. As a matter of fact, the Bible says that Job was a godly man, perfect in the eyes of the Lord. Paul lived with a thorn in his flesh. That's what he talked about in the New Testament. God didn't remove the thorn in the flesh, despite Paul asking him three very specific times. Timothy experienced this recurring physical illness, if you can remember, with his stomach that Paul actually talked about. And Paul actually left a person by the name of Trophimus behind because of the fact that he was sick. So none of these circumstances meant that God had abandoned them. As a matter of fact, some of these were people that were very anointed and very called by God. And so you have to go back to the Romans principle and just understand that God's not condemning you here and there's no condemnation, especially if you're in Christ Jesus. So God can discipline his children. Certainly he does that, right? But biblical discipline is very purposeful. And the people who are being disciplined as such are Aware of the fact that it's happening. He doesn't leave us guessing that every diagnosis or painful symptom or I have. I have an arm ache here, or I'm having a hard time walking today. Those things are not, you know, some unidentified punishment by God because of some unidentified offense. It just doesn't work that way. Okay, Your. Let me just say this. Over time, physical separation can begin to feel like separation from God as a result of chronic illness. But your ability to attend or sit in a building doesn't determine God's nearness to you. There are people who are not chronically ill who can't sit in a church building nowadays because of other circumstances that extenuate into their situation. I have lots of people that call me their pastor, that have never stepped foot in my sanctuary and for different reasons, unable to do it. There's people, you'd be surprised who they were if you knew, who call me their pastor, but could never step foot into a church because of the situation that they face. So that's just very, very important to understand. And. And going back to jj, look, the fact that you don't feel as close to God as you once did doesn't necessarily mean that, like, he's moved out of the way or he's not with you. Okay? Illness and exhaustion, medication, just like sleep disruptions, that's a big one, right? You know, pain, anxiety, all kinds of depression, all the things that I just mentioned can very much affect your concentration and your emotion and your faith can never be measured solely by the intensity of what we feel. If that was the case, and we're all going to hell, it's really, really bad. Sometimes drawing near to God means that you're continuing to trust what he has said when your emotions are completely unable to confirm it. And that's like a. That's. That's a super, super important mindset to be able to have. And that's something that I've learned to live by because the feelings in my body, if I went by those feelings and me and God are having, we. We have a hate relationship. Right? But that's not the case. And so what I would tell you is to keep reading the Bible, you know, sing the songs that God has told you to do, but don't turn those things into, like, some test that you have to pass to make God feel close again. That's just a lie from the enemy. Speak honestly to God. The Psalms. We just talked about this. The Psalms contain prayers from people who very much felt forgotten. David is a great example of this, you know, they, they felt very isolated and overwhelmed. God included those prayers in the Bible so that we could recognize the fact that when you lament before God, it's not unbelief. The whole book of lamentations was Jeremiah lamenting before God when he saw the destruction of the southern kingdom at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. So it's, these are the things that are, are critical. Now with that said, I think the church also has a massive responsibility here. If illness keeps somebody from fellowship, I think the entire burden should not rest on the sick person. I think that's really bad. Right? So I think you should contact your pastor, you should contact the elders of the church or the ministry leaders and tell them plainly that you need fellowship. Like, I can't, I can't leave, but I need fellowship. We have ministries at Calvary Chapel, Single Hill, where we actually go visit people in convalescent homes that we do ministry like that. It's really, really important because I, I think that it's critical. And James tells us, if any sick among you, bring them to the elders so that they can pray. Now I'm going to say this and I'm going to say it with confidence because it's a part of my life. And I want you to understand this with clarity because it's a part of my own heart. Your illness, whatever it may be, it may very well limit your body, but it doesn't reduce your value. Okay?
- [46:36]
A
Amen.
- [46:38]
B
It doesn't cancel your place in Christ. It doesn't make you an outcast from God's family. There are things that people around me do every single day that most human beings take for granted that I can't do. Okay? You're not guilty because you're sick and you're not forgotten because you can't presently participate in the type of things that you want to thank God for his love that's unconditional. Rest in that love and don't place your value on the sickness that you carry. View it as an asset because that's how I view it.
- [47:20]
A
Amen.
- [47:21]
B
I view the illnesses that I deal with as an asset. They have taught me to become the man that I am. And I wouldn't be able to minister to the people that I minister to on a day to day basis if I did not have those things to contend with. So be encouraged because God's with you and I don't want you to ever forget that.
- [47:38]
A
Amen. Our next question's from Carol. We talked about this in 2024. But it's helpful to just bring it up again. She asks, I want to know, if you get cremated instead of buried in a casket, will you still be raised up for heaven, or is it a sin to be cremated? I don't think I will be able to afford the casket burial. I'm 62 on Social Security and have had breast cancer and other ailments.
- [48:08]
B
Okay, well, the answer to that is very simple. This doesn't have to be a long one. I can tell you this authoritatively based on the Bible. You don't have an issue there. And I'll tell you why you don't have an issue. And I think it's really, really important to understand this. What cremation does is cremation literally accelerates what happens naturally when the body is actually buried. So if you were to cremate somebody today, you would look like somebody that got buried 50 years ago. That's, that. That's just the fact everything kind of falls apart the same way. So, no, it just doesn't work that way. And then thinking about how we know DNA and how it all works, I'm telling you right now, it doesn't work that way. Cremation is not a sin. Your method of burial has literally no power to prevent God from resurrecting you. Let me just read to you. I just pulled it up because I think it's. It's. It's really important. It's. It's 1 Corinthians 15:52, and it says this. It says, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead. And the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. The Bible tells. It makes it very clear we're going to be in a corrupted state when the resurrection happens. So you shouldn't feel guilty if you believe that you have to assume the financial burden that you can't afford. That's just crazy. I'm not calling you crazy, but it's crazy if anybody would put that on you. If creation cremation is what your family can reasonably provide or pay for, you know what? You can choose it and not worry about it. It's all it does, is accelerates what happens naturally. I think that's an important thing. So you're fine.
- [50:05]
A
Our next question is from Sarah. I've started tithing, but I'm also trying to get out of debt. Scripture teaches both Tithing and the importance of being debt free. But I haven't been able to find clear guidance on which should be taken priority. On which should take priority. Excuse me. Even after looking through Pastor Cadiz's resources biblically, should I continue tithing while paying off debt or focus on becoming debt free first?
- [50:30]
B
Okay, well, first of all, let me just simply say this. I have an immense love for Dave Ramsey. I think Dave Ramsey is incredible. And I love Dave Ramsey because Dave Ramsey encourages people to get out of debt who don't have any financial skill sets. That's why he does what he does. But it is not an unbiblical principle to be in debt. I want people to know that debt has a very useful tool and it can carry a financial instrument. That's really important. So if the goal right off the bat is just to get out of debt for the sake of getting out of debt, because you think that that's the biblical thing to do, that actually isn't the case. Now, if I'm going into debt to go buy a boat that I can have recreational fun with, maybe that. That you could. You might be able to argue that that might not be a biblical, but if you're going into debt in order to produce an asset, I would argue that God gave us the instrument of debt to be able to produce wealth for our families. That's a whole other story, something we could talk about later. I think it's an important thing to be able to understand because I would not be able to produce wealth for my children or my children's children if I did not understand the instrument of the. One of the financial instruments that's tied directly to debt. And I think that that's really, really important. Okay, Now I need. I. I need everybody to understand this. Tithing was specifically required of Israel under the Mosaic Law. In the New Testament, believers are commanded to give regularly, that's for sure, but they're also told to give willingly and generously according to what God has provided. So the New Testament does not place Christians under a legal requirement that every believer has to give exactly 10%. By the way, let me speak very specifically to the 10 rule. Everybody says, well, I give 10% because that's what's in the Old Testament. Actually, if you followed Old Testament tithing law, you would be obligated to give roughly 23% of your income. Okay, that is a fact. That is that materially. That is a fact. What you have to focus on is, is what Second Corinthians tells us in chapter nine. And it says every man, according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly or of necessity. For God loveth a cheerful giver. That's what he says. So the, the idea here, and this is really, really important, is that you understand that, yes, God asks you to, to give. He asks you to tithe, have to do it with the right heart. But I also think that the Bible says you should do it, but if you can't do it cheerfully, well, then you shouldn't do it at all. Now, the idea here behind it is that that doesn't mean, well, I'm not cheerful, so I'm not going to do it at all. It means you have to study the Scriptures and understand why it's such a powerful tool. Because when you take of your resources and you give of that to God, you will find a path for God's blessing. Now, I'm not saying this is not the health and wealth message. It says, you know, give $10 and I'm going to give you a hundred back. That's a lie, okay? God does, in many cases promise us the blessing of wealth, but he makes that very conditional. And the condition is, will you apply the principles of wealth? In other words, will you develop a skill set? Will you put your hands to the plow? Will you pursue that which is excellent? Will you actually learn how to multiply the money that you have? Wealthy people. I'm going to make myself very clear here. Wealthy people do not exchange their time for money. They actually exchange their money for time. Why? Because time is your most valuable asset. And the whole idea behind giving God a portion of your money speaks of the fact that money is not the major priority that time, in essence, is. And what you do when you give to God speaks even more vividly concerning where your real priorities are. So, so the idea here is really, really critical. Now I want to make this statement, okay? You have to go back to First Corinthians or Second Corinthians, Chapter 8, where he speaks of having a willing mind. This is, this is what he says. He says that you, you cannot do something without approaching it with that kind of understanding. And that last statement is critical. God doesn't require you to give money that you don't possess or to neglect like some legitimate obligation in order to maintain a particular percentage. That's a broken way of thinking, okay? Providing necessities for your household and making required debt payments are real and they are very biblical responsibilities. As a matter of fact, can I just tell you this? Nowhere in the Bible does it say that you're an evil person if you don't give on this specific day? Like, let's say you. You skip one Sunday and you don't tithe. The Bible doesn't call you evil, but it actually says you're worse than an infidel if you can't provide for your family. Okay, so. So the whole idea here is, is if you're going to tithe, you know, a certain amount of money while falling back to pay creditors, it's actually bad stewardship. But then you have to ask yourself, what did I do to get myself in that position in the first place? And. And what do I have to do to fix that problem that I don't ever allow to see that happening again? So this is the order. I think this is the order. The order should be provide for the essential needs of your household, not for the keeping up with the Jones needs. Right. The essential needs. Make every required debt payment on time. You should do it. Okay, I would go back and offer the caveat there by simply saying, you don't engage in debt unless that debt is for an asset, plain and simple. But if you're in a situation where you're paying off debt for everything else, including ice cream and pizza and all that good, you're good to get rid of that. It's important. Okay, here's the third order. I would say continue giving something consistently and willingly to the work of the Lord. It doesn't have to be much. It can be something small. So if, while you're in this process of doing this back, deny yourself maybe a cup of Starbucks coffee and put it in a little treasury to give to the Lord and be happy about it, because God will bless you because of your willingness to be able to make priority and direct as much remaining money as reasonably possible toward eliminating the bad debt. Now, if it's debt that's creating an asset, there's a whole other thing to say about that, which, by the way, one of these days we will do some financial education and maybe we'll tie it to the Bible in 365. I got to talk to Erica about that. There's some really cool tools that we can do biblical teaching on all of this. The other thing that I would say is increase your giving as the debt is reduced and your financial position improves. I've learned this, by the way. I've had the benefit of being around very wealthy people, and God has blessed me and my family considerably as well. The more God blesses you in this arena, the more you Tend to give by default anyway. Okay, so create a strict budget. It's, it's, I think that's really important. Stop acquiring consumer debt. Don't be a consumer, be a producer. So if the kind of debt you want to take on is something that's going to help you produce, meaning it's tied to an asset, by all means, go ahead and do it. I'll give you an example of this. Don't go out and buy a truck and get in a $70,000 debt for that truck if you just want a shiny new truck. But by all means, if you want to go into debt for a $70,000 truck, because that truck is going to be the primary tool used to bring money into your family, do it all day, okay? It produces tax benefits. There's all kinds of things that can be done with the management of assets. The bottom line is this, okay? You're called by God to walk in faithfulness in a multiple set of areas. You want to honor God through generosity and you want to honor your commitments by repaying what you owe. And you want to honor what God has given you in blessing your family, that you may walk righteously in providing for your children's children. So it's all kind of a complicated big web, but that's what you have to be aware of. The bottom line is do whatever it takes to, to get rid of that debt, especially if it's bad debt. And then give with a cheerful heart. But do not give at the expense of starving your family or putting your family in a difficult position. You would be called worse than an infidel for doing that.
- [59:03]
A
I think that'd be really interesting to do. Kind of like a side resource that maybe it's like a five day course or something with regard to just finances through Bible and 365. I think, I think it would be really fascinating and also super helpful even to our students with Turning Point.
- [59:23]
B
So I have the program for you and there are some great financial instruments that God has given us and provided for us to be able to utilize. And I'm going to say something that Charlie used to say. I don't ever say it nicely like Charlie did, but I'll just outright and say it. There's no reason why anybody in this country should walk in poverty in this country. There is no reason. There has never been an easier time in this country to produce wealth than right now. And I know a lot of people will say, well, look at how high the house payments are. And I get all that. But the one thing that we have that previous generations never had is in something as simple as this. I mean, it's amazing how quickly kids can produce residual income for themselves with just a simple set of disciplines that they can be taught. They can grow and they can walk in great abundance. And I don't think it's difficult. And it doesn't involve giving money to the Lord so that you can get a million dollars back. It involves developing a skill set and learning how to utilize a skill set to build wealth. And I think that that's a very, very important thing. And I think it's critical, and I really believe this because I think pastors especially should be the best examples of this. Yeah, you know, I. I think, I think that pastors should be the ones who are the biggest tithers in their church.
- [60:47]
A
That's true.
- [60:49]
B
It's difficult. I'm in competition with a few people. I don't know who they are, but I know I'm in competition because as my church, I don't know who gives and who doesn't give. But I got some big. I got some businessmen that I need to beat out. But. But the bottom line is there in this country, it's very. There's never been more opportunity. The problem is we're being programmed to not take advantage of those opportunities. And kids are coming out ripped off. That's why I think one of the most brilliant works that Charlie ever put together was talking about the College scam, that book that he wrote. There's so much wisdom in that, because what happens in academia is it encourages people into poverty instead of building wealth. And, and the habits that you learn in grade school, in elementary school, all those habits are habits that teach people how to walk in poverty, not walk in wealth. And I think that's a very important decision. It's why my children will never go to public school. And if they have to go to college, it will only be because they want to be a doctor or something like that. And even then I'm gonna try to keep them away from college.
- [61:55]
A
And Charlie, even with, with Turning Point education, Charlie was adamant about making sure that we had a program which is flourishing now, it's amazing, called Prep Year, where if you are a senior in high school, or let's say you're graduating senior in college and you're thinking about going to grad school or something like that, and you just want to take a beat of a gap year, because Charlie would always say he had a 13 year gap year. But it's one of those moments for these Students to be able to say, okay, before I rush into going into debt, going to college, why am I going to college? And instead, we're giving these students an opportunity to go to prep year where they can be poured into from amazing leaders and various industries that these students are interested in and also to different mentorships, having people come in and talk to them about finances. You know, there's people that come in from the admin and speak to them too. Different theologians, you know, we're sorry, so blessed to have amazing individuals to pour into these students so that they can have a well rounded understanding and viewpoint of after graduation. I now know after these nine months what I do want to do and what I do want to get into. And we also are able to provide them different mentors and different job opportunities. And selfishly, we do hire a lot of them because they're very, very well competent in their field. But it's really, really important to really take that time and that breadth of what I'm doing. Is it serving the kingdom and is it making an impact or am I just following and going with the flow of things? And I'm telling you, those students, they're phenomenal. You should actually come and speak to. We have a prep year in Dallas and then we're opening up a second one in Chicago this year. So I really think it would be special for you to speak to them. But if any of you out there have high schoolers or college age students who'd be interested in being involved with prep year, it's really a special program that we have that Charlie was really inspired by.
- [64:09]
B
And it's so valuable, I mean, it's so valuable if you're rushing to find something immediately. Like I said, my website has the biblical side of it. As a matter of fact, we even have a thing on our website that teaches you how to build skill sets in using the current financial instruments. Like the stock market, for example, is one of the best financial instruments in the world to be able to build wealth. We have that there. And I know for a fact what Turning Point is doing is extensive. It's very, very, very extensive. And I think that there's so much benefit that comes from it. But just go. If, if you're looking for it today, right now, you can search it on my website. You'll see it right there. But it's important to prep for this. I love that prep year. I just, I just, I completely forgot about this. Such a great.
- [64:59]
A
Oh, your kids can go there instead of college and then they'll Be all set. But no, it's a great question. Our next question is from Stephanie. My husband and I have a son with intellectual disability due to a genetic disorder. As Christ followers, we do our best to raise him to know Jesus, his love for us and our need for a Savior. I've combed through scriptures looking for assurance of salvation for our son, King David and Mephibosheth.
- [65:29]
B
Yeah. Mephibosheth. Yep.
- [65:30]
A
Wow, look at that. Okay, the man born blind in the Book of John and many other similar passages tug at my heart. I understand context and to always pray for what God has to teach me about himself. Do you have any words of encouragement or wisdom?
- [65:46]
B
Yeah. So let me just simply say this. First and foremost, your son's intellectual disability or capacity doesn't make him less valuable to God. And we all know that. Right? He's not less fully human. As a matter of fact, quite frankly, he may have. He may be in better touch with humanity than most. And I think that that's an important stipulation to carry forth here. He bears the image of God. He was created in God's likeness and in his image. And his life is not an accident or a punishment upon your family. I think that's a really critical point to bring out, and it's good to bring out for the benefit of everybody to hear. Now, the Bible doesn't give us one passage that formally explains the salvation of every person who lacks the intellectual capacity to be able to understand or consciously respond to the Gospel. However, the Bible gives us strong reasons to trust the mercy and justice of God concerning those who can't comprehend the moral responsibility or saving faith in, like, the, The. The. The ordinary way. I hate to say the ordinary way. Maybe. Maybe the mainstream way. Okay. Deuteronomy speaks of this. It talks about. I believe it's Deuteronomy 1, verse 39. It says, Moreover, your little ones, which you said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in hither, and unto them I will give it, and they shall possess it. So God recognized this meaningful difference between those who knowingly rebelled and those who did not possess the capacity to understand. And by the way, Deuteronomy is a critical context here, because Deuteronomy is in essence, Moses before he's about to die, telling the children of Israel the last important principles that God, he felt like God wanted them to know. So we learn from this passage alone that God never judges irrationally or unjustly. He perfectly understands what the abilities of our children are the abilities of your son, for sure. His limitations, the condition of his heart, his level of comprehension, all of those things God sees, and he sees perfectly. And we can trust him to judge according to truth rather than according to the expectations your son is very much incapable of meeting. And that's really, really important. By the way, my other favorite passage, this one is awesome, is David's infant son when he dies. If you remember, David was acting erratically. I mean, he was fasting and doing some crazy things when his son was sick. But when his son died, he all of a sudden cleaned up, started eating, and, like, everything was normal. His people went to him and were just completely freaked out. Like, why are you acting like everything is okay, David? And David says, now is he dead? He's dead right now. Wherefore, why should I fast? That's a question he asks, now that he's dead, why in the world should I fast? Can I bring him back again? No, I can't. That's what David's telling his people. But then he says this, and this is so powerful. He says, I shall go to him. I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me. In other words, I'm going to see him in heaven. Now, that passage doesn't determine this massive doctrine about what happens here, but it's. Again, it's another contributory passage, right? Even Jesus talking about suffer the little children to come to me. I think that there is a mindset where God understands and knows and recognizes each situation very specifically. Now, the accounts of Mephibosheth, for example, and the man that was born blind, they reveal God's compassion, okay? And by the way, it's appropriate to carry the assumption that disability represents something that is. That is not associated with personal judgment. As a matter of fact, quite frankly, I would actually say that when people struggle with disability, it's a matter of God finding them worthy for something very special.
- [70:05]
A
And.
- [70:05]
B
And we have evidence of that because when Jesus tells his disciples, this man hasn't sinned, nor his parents, but he was set aside for God to do something amazing. Through him, God found him worthy for something even more special. So with all that said, I say God completely understands. The Bible says that God completely understands your son. He loves him more perfectly than you can ever love him. That's an important stipulation to carry forth. And he will never. He will never judge your son for some intellectual capacity or incapacity that he did not give him. You. You understand what I'm saying? God is not going to say I expect this of you and then judge you for doing it when you didn't have the capability of doing it. So keep telling your son about Christ, okay? But ignore the fear that his salvation depends upon your ability to obtain the correct response from him. God knows, he sees it. You are responsible to love, to teach, to pray, to be faithful to him. You can entrust everything beyond that to a perfectly just and merciful Savior. And by the way, I just want you to know this. I'm saying that with conviction because one of the most precious human beings in my life is my little brother who has down syndrome, who deals with the same type of incapacities to understand the deeper issues that the average person who has a slightly different situation would understand. God is faithful. He knows what he's doing. And my little brother is one of the godliest little men you'll ever meet, but he can't explain substitutionary atonement. He doesn't understand those principles, but he knows how to sing a song where he says, I love Jesus. Everybody is different. And God sees him as such, and he is the ultimate judge. And I believe that your son's condition is in a healthy, perfect, safe spot. And we will, one of these days when we all go to be with him, we'll see him up there.
- [72:04]
A
Amen. Next question's from Don and Karen. The Bible tells us to leave our inheritance to our children and our children's children. Should we leave the inheritance if those children are atheist and live lifestyles that are an abomination to the Lord?
- [72:21]
B
So it's a. It's a really, really good question. And, and I can understand that. The one thing that I would simply say with respect to that is that it's something that you should pray to the Lord concerning. Right. I couldn't tell you yes or no. I can tell you that it is biblical. The Bible says a good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. That's actually what it says in Proverbs. So that's a principle of wisdom. I think that's an important thing to say. It's not an absolute command requiring parents to transfer their possessions directly to their children. You know, regardless of circumstance, you have to doing this. Let me just say this. The Bible commends planning. That's. That's a good thing to say. It. It commends being a provider. It commends building something that benefits future generations. It doesn't require us to finance rebellion by any stretch of the imagination or place resources into the hands of somebody who will predictably use them destructively. Okay. An inheritance in and of itself is not necessarily an endorsement of everything that an adult child believes or does. So if your child is an atheist but is financially responsible, leaving an inheritance may still be an expression of a God given parental love that could preserve a very important relationship. And you should not use money as a weapon to force a profession of faith because you could actually hurt that child. You know, a person can't be purchased into the kingdom of God. However, if you have a strong reason to believe that the inheritance will fund, you know, like drug addiction or criminal activity or something like sexual exploitation or something that will just like damage that kid, my goodness, you're not biblically required to hand that off to that person. And I think that that's really, really important. Okay, so let me, let me also say this, and this is from a very personal place. You're foolish if you own a home and you don't have a trust. Okay, you should do some estate planning. Estate planning is super critical. With that said, let me just simply say this. Even within the trust, you can create boundaries for how the inheritance is left for your children. Like, for example, if something happens to you or to your spouse, where your children are left with simply what is in the trust or what is in your estate, you can create rules or conditions by which the, the money can be released to them. So there's things that you should do to plan those things out. By the way, the statement about being a fool if you don't have a trust, I'll give you an example of why that's the case. John Wayne, when he died, just finally, I want to say seven years ago, settled his. They finally settled his estate seven years ago. It was wrapped up in probate for that long and his descendants got almost nothing. That's why there's some wisdom in being able to recognize that to set up the, set up the estate, protect it, you have an obligation to be able to do that. Now, with all that said, I don't think that you simply, you. I don't think your children are disqualified if they don't have a relationship with God, if they're responsible, if they will carry the family enterprise. Listen, you want Christ to be at the core of that? Absolutely. But if they can demonstrate financial responsibility and they're not driving themselves into a place of destruction, you know, I don't think that you have a reason to refrain from them. But I think that's something in between you and the Lord, and you're going to have to pray about. So the one thing that I will tell you is don't make the decision out of rage. Don't make it out of embarrassment. Don't make it even as a form of retaliation. I know some parents that do stuff like that. Don't do that. Pray. Examine each child's actual circumstance. You need to do that. Right. And then seek counsel from a. From a pastor who is faithful, a biblically faithful pastor. Don't speak to a pastor who's broken. I'm sorry. Okay. Talk to a pastor that understands what this looks like, and then speak to somebody who's a qualified estate planning attorney to actually put those wishes into fruition. I think it's really, really important. Okay. You may leave an inheritance to an unbelieving child without approving of their beliefs. And as a matter of fact, doing that and showing love may be something that might bring them into the fold. Okay. So you can also do the opposite when it's. It's important to be able to do. Okay. But keep in mind, Proverbs does command leaving a godly legacy. Okay. But it doesn't command reckless distribution. That's probably the better way of putting it. Right. So you've got to pray, seek some counsel, and go from there. Yeah.
- [77:16]
A
Our next question's from Grace. She says, I am going into my junior year at a public high school in Southern California. It feels like the things people are doing and even some of the things being taught are becoming increasingly dark and opposed to a biblical worldview. As an outspoken Christian and Club America chapter leader, there are times when I feel outnumbered and even a little lonely in my faith. How do I stand firm and guard my heart from the darkness around me without isolating myself from the people I'm called to love? Well, I love that she's a Club America chapter leader. I mean, we have the best students. We have the best students. So on fire for the Lord and just amazing patriots. I love them so much.
- [78:05]
B
I almost feel unworthy of answering the question because, I mean, her question is, like, the question already has a bunch of answers. I mean, Grace, you have a ton of wisdom. You have a ton of wisdom. I'm gonna call you Charis because that's how you pronounce your name in Greek, and it means favorable. This is where your. Your name comes from. That's where we get the word charisma from. Like, you are a favorable person, and, boy, do you have that. Let me. Let me just tell you. Okay? Let Me just say this. What you're describing is difficult, but you're not alone. Okay? This was the problem that Charlie faced. This is the problem that so many other people face. One of the favorite. One of my favorite examples of this is. Is Daniel. Daniel was a young man that was placed in an educational system that was designed to reshape his identity and his worldview. People don'. Look at the story of Daniel that way. Daniel was in his young teens by the time he was taken by Nebuchadnezzar into Babylon. And that's exactly what he was in. He was in an educational system that was designed to change all of that stuff. He learned what Babylon taught without allowing Babylon to determine what he believed. I think that's really important. Daniel 1:8 actually says that. It says that Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself. Okay? So clearly you've already done that. Daniel decided where he stood before any moment of pressure came his way. Okay? And you need to do the same thing. I think you've already done the same thing. You've got to know which biblical convictions are non negotiable and determine in advance how you're going to respond when they are challenged, because they will be challenged. And keep this in mind. If you even think about what Jesus prayed for all of us, he. He never prayed that we would be removed from the world, kind of wish we. He did pray that, but he didn't. He. He said this. He said, I pray that thou shouldest take them, that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but thou shouldest keep them from the evil. I mean, that's like. That's powerful. Like, Lord, he. He told the Father, don't take them out of the world. Just keep them from evil. Protect them. He was saying this of his disciples. You are not called to isolate yourself from unbelievers. There's nowhere in the scriptures where it teaches that. But you are called to remain faithful while living out your life. You're called to remain. You're called to be faithful to what God has asked you to do while you live your life, even amongst them. Let me take it a step further, okay? Isolation will prevent you from becoming a witness. But if you assimilate, it's going to destroy your witness. So the goal can't be either. Guarding your heart means that you have to be selective about the things that shape you, okay? Be kind and approachable to everybody. Like, look at the playbook of Charlie's life, okay? He was kind and approachable to everybody. He Put the microphone down so people could talk to him. Okay? Choose your closest friendships carefully. You have to. You cannot have people close to you that are going to harm you. They have to be the. The people that are the closest to you need to be the people that will help you to accomplish your God purpose, your kingdom purpose. But the people you love do not automatically receive permission to influence your convictions. They can't. Okay? You have to stay closely connected to people like your parents, your church, your youth leaders, mature Christian friends. You got to stay close to them. Okay? But don't attempt. This is my opinion. Don't. Actually, I think it's a biblical opinion. Don't attempt to. To stand alone simply to prove that you're strong. You'll never make it by doing that. Right. Remember that your classmates are people that the Lord loves, okay? They're not your political opponents. They're not like projects to be defeated. Because, listen, look, I've been to Amfest. I've been to many other places, and I see these amazing, young, enthusiastic kids. They're babies in my mind, right? And sometimes it's really easy to get caught up in winning the debate, but it's not about winning the debate. Learn to ask questions, learn to listen carefully to what they say, and speak to the truthful issues without. Without becoming cruel to them, putting them down or being arrogant. Right. If you're going to be outspoken, which you should be, it doesn't require you responding to every comment or turning to every conversation into like some major confrontation. Sometimes courage means that you're going to be speaking out loud. But sometimes wisdom means that you're listening and waiting for the right opportunity. Right? So just because you have the courage to speak doesn't mean you have the wisdom to actually execute that. And you need to be able to have both. Okay? And I think that's really important. That's why I actually loved Charlie putting down the microphone. He put down the microphone because Charlie recognized he needed wisdom from the Lord to be able to speak and knew that by putting down the microphone, it kept him from being knee jerk in his reaction, and it allowed him to be able to understand the matter and to do this. And I think that that's really, really, really important. And. And even Peter tells us to do this exact same thing. He says, sanctify the Lord in your hearts and be ready to give an answer. That's what he says. Be ready to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is within you. But look what he says. He Says you do it with meekness and with fear. That's the idea. So here's the practical exhortation I would give you. Begin each school day. I'm sure you probably already do this right, with reading the Bible and praying before other voices begin to start competing for your attention. Don't let them compete for your attention. Get that straight first. That's why we call them devotions. We devote ourselves to God so that we aren't moved. Then maintain a strong Christian fellowship outside of school. You have to do that. It's critical. The other thing I would tell you is find at least one other believer on campus with whom you can pray regularly. Find them in a corner, pray, identify things, even if it's a teacher. But if it's a student, even better. And then take some time to learn why you believe what you believe. So that the talking point slogans that you hear with all of these social media influencers doesn't replace good, solid biblical thinking. I hear too many people give out the talking points. But don't make intelligent arguments. Think about why you believe what you believe. And set boundaries around conversations, okay? Around things that you know, even in your entertainment, what you watch, the relationships that you have. Make sure those boundaries preserve who God has called you to. To. To be. Now, I will say this. There's one important caveat for this, okay? Which, by the way. Well, let me. Let me just say this. I think this will summarize the whole matter. If you are right now in a position where you're being seriously harassed, you're getting threats, there's, you know, any kind of inappropriate conduct, because there's a lot of that kind of thing happening right now on school campus. Go to people you can trust about it so that you can deal with it. I don't want you to deal with that alone, okay? Especially if you feel outnumbered. I want you to have a strategic alliance with people that will help you through everything, and it's really, really, really critical. Now, remember this, okay? Truth is never going to be determined by the. By the large crowd, okay? Elijah, he. He also believed at one point that he was the only one that had the truth. Okay? But God reminded him that even though there's not a large crowd, there's a remnant. There's people that are with him. And just know you have those people. Lean into them, be close to them, and stand with a common purpose. And I think that you are going to be in great shape.
- [86:10]
A
Amen. Our next question is similar. Her name is Emma. How do you tell when you should be a living testimony or avoid people who seek what is against biblical values. To be specific, I'm looking for a literary agent, but the majority I've seen so far spread woke ideology, and I feel like pursuing business with them would be morally wrong, personally.
- [86:37]
B
Can you help me understand, Erica, what she means by a literary agent? Is that what I heard you say?
- [86:42]
A
Right? I think she's trying to write a book. And so I think that she's trying to find a literary agent who would be able to help publish and do all the different things for her book that's not woke. So, I mean, the other option is you just, you know, self publish. But, yeah, I think she's looking for a literary agent who is more conservative leaning or Christian. Okay, yeah.
- [87:11]
B
Okay. Yeah. This is important. Okay. Because First Corinthians tells us not to accompany ourselves with people that are ungodly, especially in relationships like this, which is really important, like a business type relationship. But I do want to say this because this is, like, really important. We wouldn't be able to function in society if we refused to do business with everybody who held unbiblical beliefs. I mean, we wouldn't. You wouldn't. You wouldn't be able to get in
- [87:34]
A
a plane and fly, right?
- [87:36]
B
Yeah, yeah, it would be. Let me mute this for a second. You know, you wouldn't be able to do anything, you know, buying something from a company or hiring a plumber, you know, working with some unbelievable, you know, unbelieving professional. It can't mean that you endorse everything that they believe. So I just want to say that. But let me say this about a literary agent. The reference that you're making, too, that can involve a whole much, a lot more of an influential relationship, because that person will represent your message. They will negotiate on your behalf. They're going to advise you about the kind of content that you actually put into your book, and they will also shape, in my opinion, how your publishers will perceive your work. Because, correct me if I'm wrong, Erica, when you say literary agent, you're meaning somebody that is going to, like, be her manager for writing a book. Is that how I understand that?
- [88:25]
A
Usually that's correct, yeah.
- [88:28]
B
I might sound like a fool for saying this, but it's not a term that I've actually heard before, so.
- [88:32]
A
No, no, no, it's fine. It's fine. I mean, there's. There's some. You. You truthfully do not need a literary agent to write a book. You don't. You can self publish. You can have self Agency, you don't, you don't need. It's helpful. It's helpful, especially navigating through all the different channels of being able to get your book out on shelves. But for the most part, I mean, we live in such a day and age that you can do anything and everything on your. I mean, look at people who write and sing songs like they don't need. You know, I'm not saying it's the same as a literary agent. I'm just saying they were blessed now to be in a position where you do not have to go through the normal chain of command in order to get something that you have personally created out in the world.
- [89:15]
B
Right. Yeah. Like this book. This book is self published. I wrote it, I self published it. And I did have a person that I worked with that kind of helped me with the planning side of it, but I didn't need any of that. And by God's grace, I was number one bestseller in 13 categories on Amazon for that, for that book. So you can do it without any of that. But I would say, because I know there's plenty of them. Right. You should determine whether the agent holds your views. Just, just think about it like this. Find an agent that loves God.
- [89:54]
A
Well, this is for honestly, any industry, for regardless if it's for books, it goes for modeling, it goes for acting, it goes for even sports. As a sports agent, you know, if there, this is something that holistically, if you are going to have someone represent you, negotiate your contracts, negotiate your finances for those contracts like it's. This is a holistic thing. Just in general, what you're saying.
- [90:22]
B
Yeah. And I will tell you, look, I've even had Christian organizations. I had one just recently come to me, big, big publisher, and offer me an advance on part two of my revelation book. And the contract didn't make sense. It wasn't good for me or my family. And I just said no, by the way, they're one of the big ones. One of the big, big ones. And I said no. And they're still bothering me, but I just knew it wasn't, it just wasn't a good choice. I'm not aligned with, I'm. It's not like I'm not aligned with them, you know, but I just know from a business perspective what's better for me and my family. And of course I'm thinking about my children. So just because they are godly doesn't mean that they're also the right choice. You have to actually be wise and in how you engage so there's a lot to be thinking about. But a relationship like that, I'd be very, very careful about. That's what I would say.
- [91:11]
A
Our next question's from Kelly sue. We have about 20 minutes left. How does a wife remain steadfast when she is exhausted by the caretaking of her once healthy and active husband that has suddenly and unexpectedly fallen ill? He being the breadwinner, faith filled leader and strength of the family?
- [91:32]
B
That's a very, very, very tough question.
- [91:34]
A
I mean, caretaking is not, it's not easy. It's. It's hard. No, it's hard. And you need a village around you. Not, not saying that you need other caretakers, you understand? What I'm saying is like, it's not, it is. Takes a toll on you if you do not have either boundaries or other people helping you. You can't do.
- [92:01]
B
Yep.
- [92:02]
A
You can't do it alone. You can't do it alone. That's very, it's very hard. That's hard.
- [92:07]
B
Yeah, I think, I think you summarized it actually quite well. And, and I want to say this because it's important, right? Look, remaining steadfast with, with, with helping your husband doesn't mean pretending that you're not exhausted, right? Like, you have to acknowledge that you're exhausted. Because if you're, if you don't acknowledge you're exhausted, you're, you're going to run. Both, both of you are going to run into the ground. It doesn't mean that you're not supposed to be grieving. Look, here's, here's the thing. You're grieving more than your husband's health. Like, I think this is, like, this is important to understand. You're actually grieving the sudden loss of the life that you guys shared because the roles that gave your family stability is gone, right? So the, whatever the future it was that you expected, you're grieving all of those things right now. And I'm not saying that your husband has lost his value. What I'm still saying is that your, your husband is still present. But much of what was once, what once felt familiar as a family has completely changed. So that's a real form of grief and you should be allowed to name it without feeling guilty or disloyal or even be accused of being somebody that's, that's as such. But there's a verse that does come to my mind. I think it's really important. It's in Galatians. It says in chapter six, bear you one another's burdens. And so fulfill the law of Christ. And I don't think I'm taking that out of context. The command is addressed to the body of Christ. And. And it doesn't say that one exhausted has to carry, you know, one exhausted wife should carry her husband, the household, the finances, the children, all the emotional distress by herself. That's crazy, right? The church should help bear this burden. So the first thing that I would tell you is tell your pastor, tell the elders, your family, trusted friends, exactly what is needed. Tell them how you're feeling. By the way, avoid general statements like, we're struggling, okay? Because if you say, oh, we're struggling, you know what you're going to get? You're going to get. People say, oh, we'll be praying for you, okay? I think you should be very specific about the things that are happening. You know, maybe it's mentioning, can I get someone to provide a meal on a particular day? Like, let's do a rotation, or someone that might stay with your husband while you find some moment of respite, you know, just. Just a time of. Of rest, maybe while you go to an appointment or to maybe help with transportation or errands or even cleaning or some level of home maintenance, you know, he had to maintain the home, something like that, you know, or to maybe assist with some paperwork that you're not acclimated in or accustomed to be able to handle. Whether it be that or insurance or resources for disability or financial planning, like, all of those things, you have to be very specific, you know? And by the way, I would also arrange, like, put on a schedule so that when you don't feel like it, it still happens anyway for your health, like regular visits, so that the both of you are receiving some kind of fellowship within the context that you find yourself in. You have to create a dependable schedule of some level of respite, some level of rest, rather than waiting for an emergency. If you wait for an emergency, you are going to be in trouble. Now, leave it to me to say this. Leave it to me to bring this to your attention. But you have to care for your body, okay? You've got to sleep. You've got to eat right. You've got to take care of yourself. You've got to do the things that are necessary in order for you to be able to be healthy. You know, in First Kings, chapter 19, Elijah was literally losing his mind. He was going crazy. He was literally physically and emotionally depleted. I mean, he was a wreck. And God didn't just, like, go in and start condemning Him God said, dude, go to sleep. And then gave him food and then made him go to sleep again, woke him up and give him even more food. So it was he, he needed that and it gave him a little bit more strength. And then he said, hey, get to work. So, you know, also from one other perspective, and if your husband is anything like the way, I think he's probably very much grieving at the loss of his strength, at the loss of, you know, his employment. It's a very difficult thing as a man to no longer be able to provide for your family. So do your best to include him in this process, right? Include him in these decisions. Bring him into the fold with. With whatever you have that you can bring him into the fold with, because bringing him in that place will also help him to strengthen and to get better and to find victory in these very difficult circumstances. And just remember that God's grace will carry you through this. His sustaining grace will arrive through other people. In some cases, it will arrive at medical care, practical assistance. Receive it all, because God wants to bring it your way. And I'm just going to say this, remaining steadfast by continuing to love your husband is important, but don't confuse faithfulness with self destruction. Don't allow this to be your license to destroy yourself. Right? Ask for help before you completely collapse. Don't let that happen. Establish regular rest, care for yourself, okay? Allow the church to function the way God designed for the church to function, okay? You are his wife. That's super, super, super important. But you're not his medical team. You're not his financial system, you're not his church community, okay? You're certainly not a source of strength. That whole burden belongs to the Lord. And he will bring it in through his body. He will bring it in through other people. But you can't take that on.
- [97:53]
A
Next question is from Christine. My uncle had a heart attack on Tuesday. The doctors were able to revive his heart, but he had no brain activity and ended up passing away the following day. My uncle had fallen away from the church and was not a believer. I know we have a good, just and merciful God. Do you think in the time between the heart attack and when he passed, he was given the opportunity to accept Christ?
- [98:17]
B
Well, the answer to that is it's highly possible that could have happened. But I'm going to also visit another area that I think is really important and it goes back to how salvation is obtained. Salvation is not obtained by your actions. It's not obtained about what you do or what Your emotional state is in the moment. Salvation is obtained by putting your faith and trust in Christ. So what's to say your husband did not put his faith in, or, I mean, your, your uncle did not put his. Yeah, your uncle didn't put his faith and trust in Christ long before you ever knew about it and decided to go out on a whim.
- [98:49]
A
Right.
- [98:50]
B
He still has a salvation that God had promised him. The one thing that I will tell you is we have people that are in near death situations that go to the Lord and God saves them right away. What about the, the, the thief on the cross? Jesus told him, hey, you're going to be with me in paradise. So I, I will say that although we're not promised, everybody's promised this opportunity to repent at the last minute. We don't know what happened. And we don't even know if he really, truly did put his faith and trust in Christ and just went through a moment where he basically said, I want nothing to do with the Lord, even though he didn't really believe that. So I can tell you, I can tell you that it's appropriate to hope that your uncle turned to Christ before death. But like, just understand that's not to say that he probably hasn't already done it. Okay. But all that hope that we have has to remain in the hands of the Lord, and it's in a better place to remain in than our hands. Okay? So, you know, I think that the, the lesson from this is life is short.
- [99:54]
A
Amen.
- [99:55]
B
So make sure you have short accounts with God, and I think that's probably the appropriate thing to say here. And Lord willing, your uncle we will see in heaven one day.
- [100:03]
A
Amen.
- [100:04]
B
That's our hope and our prayer.
- [100:06]
A
Amen. Next question is from Dominique. With the rise of Christian influencers and misinformation, I've heard several people say quotation, Jesus prays for us in heaven, end quote. Does he really do that, being at the right hand of God? Or is there any scriptural basis of this?
- [100:26]
B
Okay, yeah, this is a really good question because it is funny to see people online who have all of a sudden become theologians and act as though they have formal training in this stuff, which is a little crazy. But with that, I will say that there is direct scriptural support for saying that Jesus intercedes for believers in heaven. We do, we do say that. If somebody says Jesus prays for us, I don't think it would be unreasonable to express it, but I think that the biblical word is more intercedes. I think There is a technicality and that technicality matters, right? Romans 8 says, who is it that condemneth? Is it Christ that died? Yea, rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us? Hebrews 7 does the same thing. You know, wherefore he is able to save them? To the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing that he ever liveth, to make intercession for us. John chapter two describes Jesus as our advocate. First John chapter two, by the way, describes Jesus as our advocate. He says, my little children, these things I write unto you that you said not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. So Jesus is being described as the advocate who is with the Father, who advocates for us. So with that said, let me dig into what some of the social media influencers are saying just for a second. His intercession doesn't mean that Jesus must continually persuade an unwilling Father to love or forgive us. Okay, like, like that's, that's kind of an important thing. This. I want to get rid of the, the, what appears to be some of the main street, the, the mainstream mindset that exists within some teachings that teach this. The Father already loves us, okay? He sent the Son for our salvation. Okay? So the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are united. This isn't Jesus going to, to the Father and saying, I want to change your mind, I want to change your mind. I want to change your mind. Okay? It also doesn't mean that Christ repeatedly offers Himself as a sacrifice. That would also be incorrect. His sacrifice was completed once and for all. Hebrews 10:12 actually tells us that the presence of Christ at the Father's right hand is a continual testimony to the sufficiency of the work that he has done. That's finished. He. He represents believers before the Father as our, as our living high priest and our advocate. So it's a priestly role that he takes on when, when Satan accuses and when we sin and when we feel condemned. Our security doesn't depend on our ability to defend ourselves. Jesus Christ, because we've put our faith and trust in Him. He represents us on the basis of his righteousness and his completed sacrifice. Hebrews talks about this. He is our high priest right now. Soon one day will become king. So we also see Jesus in, in the, in the, in the Bible, praying for his followers like in passages like John. I think it's John 17. It's either John 16 or 17. My, my brain isn't I think it's John 17. He also prays for those who would later believe through the message of the apostles. So we know that he's talking about us. So the claim that Jesus intercedes for us isn't like some speculation that influencers bring up online. It is a very explicit biblical doctrine. Okay, he died for us. He rose from the dead. He sits at the Father's right hand, and he presently intercedes for those who belong to him. He is our high priest, but you have to understand how that works, and that's a very, very important part of it. He's our advocate, and I think that that's important. He functions as our high priest.
- [104:36]
A
There are three questions. I know we're getting closer to our end of time, but I want to. These three questions I want to hit before we end. So we'll just. We'll just pepper through them if that's good.
- [104:50]
B
Yeah, happy to do it.
- [104:50]
A
No problem. No problem. Next question's from Dina. I recently divorced my husband of five years due to ongoing struggles with instability, mental health issues, addiction, and financial issues. Even though we are divorced, I still care about his well being. I have been pulling back my financial and emotional support little by little, but I am still sacrificing some of myself to help him. How do you know the difference between being loving and supportive toward an ex spouse who is struggling financially and emotionally versus enabling them or staying emotionally tied in an unhealthy way? What does a godly balance look like?
- [105:26]
B
Okay, so this is. This is one where I have to be brief about on purpose because there's too much about your situation that I just don't know.
- [105:35]
A
You don't know. Right.
- [105:37]
B
So I want to nuance all of this by just.
- [105:39]
A
Complete is everything.
- [105:41]
B
Yeah. And there's a lot of context that I just don't know. Okay. But assuming that the grounds for your divorce are biblical, and I don't know if they are or not, I just don't know. I don't know the circumstances. Right. Because that provides other. There's other issues tied to your. To your interaction with him right now as we speak, based on what happened with the divorce.
- [106:05]
A
Right.
- [106:06]
B
That's something you're gonna have to sit down with. Somebody who knows a situation and can ask questions. Like, I would ask a whole bunch of questions before I commented on this. On this question. Okay. So. So, Dina, if. If someone doesn't require protecting them, if, if you're living, if you're no longer. Well, first of all, your husband should be the Shelter for you. You shouldn't be the shelter for your husband. You're not even married anymore. So there's a lot of things that I have to be able to. That I have to. That I need to be able to understand, because I need to know if your relationship is even a supporting relationship or if it's an enabling relationship. I just don't know, you know? And if it. If it's an. If it's an enabling relationship, then it's very damaging. Right. Like, for example, if you're enabling him, then your money is supporting addiction or irresponsible behavior. Is it. If it is, you're enabling him. Maybe the same emergencies continue to repeatedly occur without any meaningful change. You're probably enabling him. Okay? If. If he. Here's a big one. If he continues to use guilt or threats or some kind of emotional crisis to keep you involved, believe it or not, you're enabling him. If you respond to him. If you're. If you are. Here's one that you probably most people would not like hearing. If you're functioning as his wife or his counselor or rescuer, even though the marriage has ended, you are absolutely enabling him, and it's not healthy. So helping him damages your own financial situation. You are enabling him. If it damages your emotions, you're enabling him. If your assistance that you give him allows him to avoid things that he has to face, like treatment or some sort of employment mechanism or accountability, then you're enabling him, and it's not good. Right. And by the way, this is why Galatians tells us to bear one another's burdens. And then in a few verses later, says, for every man shall bear his own burden. Right. Because there's a condition to that. So there's so much more to this that I just can't answer because I don't know. Right.
- [108:19]
A
And that's where I think probably having, like, a local pastor or someone within her sphere of influence that can, you know, pour into her, into the situation is probably, like, the best thing just to have someone locally, you know, be there for her through this.
- [108:33]
B
Amen. Amen. And. And, you know, you can love him without. Without being emotionally bound to him. And. And even then, I feel weird saying that because I just don't know the circumstances. I really don't know what you're. What. So I would have to know more. But I hopefully I've given you a little bit of an outline because it is. It is deeply consequential here.
- [108:51]
A
Totally. Our next question is from Stacy. How do we pray for those who are Muslim, how do we share Jesus with them? I know that's like a two hour thing in itself.
- [109:03]
B
It is, it is, because the problem with Islam is, the problem with Islam is Islam centers around a mindset of deception. So, so, so trying to debate with a Muslim is going to be very, very difficult. Think about it like this. Their own Quran, which by the way the most reliable of their extant manuscripts exist 300 years, maybe even more than that since, you know, after the time Muhammad even died, as a matter of fact, the Quran itself only mentions the word Muhammad four times. And it's not the word Muhammad, it's Muhammad, which is completely different, which it actually may be referring to Christ. So putting aside the ecstasy of the manuscripts, putting aside the unreliability of it all, putting aside that Muhammad might not even be a real character here, think about the core of what it says. If I open up the Quran right now and I read it, there's a section in the Quran that says, for those of you that don't know, my mom and my dad were both born and raised in Egypt. So Arabic is my, is my second language. What that says is they deceived, referring to the Jews. So Allah deceived because Allah is the chief of deceivers. So the one thing that you can't do is you can't begin by attacking Muhammad or the Quran. It will usually end the conversation from the very beginning because they are trained to act at that level. That's what they do. They're trained to do it. They're trained to attack Christianity and that's what they're taught from the very beginning. Okay? So you've got to, first thing you have to do is you got to love them genuinely. If you don't have a genuine love for Muslims, you're not going to be good at what you do. I have a friend, Jay Smith, who in my opinion might be the most prolific debater who takes down Islam at one of the highest levels. And his whole heart, he cries for Muslims every single day. And by the way, the greatest scholars of Islam don't know how to treat what he says. By the way, the greatest scholars in Islam right now don't know what to do with some of the problems they're having with the original text. Yasser Qadhi, who might be one of the greatest Islamic scholars who lives in the United States of America in Texas specifically, basically admitted that the hadith doesn't have any real tool to be able to substantiate its authenticity. So it's Just very interesting. So look, you have a Muslim neighbor, you have a co worker or a friend. Do not treat them as a debate to be one. It will never work. They will never listen to you. Okay? Share meals with them, build the trust, answer questions honestly and live in a way that makes the grace of, of God visible. Right? Pray for them, speak clearly and remember that only the Holy Spirit can open someone heart to believe. So, so ask for the Holy Spirit for opportunities to speak to them and make yourself well familiar with the Bible. So much so that when they bring up the false teaching, you're going to be able to deal with it pretty well. By the way, my opinion, I think one of the greatest resources to learn about Islam and how to deal with it is my friend Jay Smith. You can go to, I think it's
- [112:22]
A
fander films.com is that F A N?
- [112:26]
B
Yeah. P F, P F A N D E R P. Yeah, P F A N D e R Fander. Fanderfilms.com he is. Or let me look it up. I'm gonna just look it up really quickly because Jay, Jay by the way, is a very close and dear friend.
- [112:43]
A
Is it a money resource or is
- [112:44]
B
it a. Oh, it's got hundreds of free videos and, and, and also things. And he is in my opinion, one of the number one. He, he is, in my opinion, one of the number one authorities on Islam alive right now.
- [113:03]
A
Interesting.
- [113:04]
B
And he, he is a, a colleague. I'm proud to call him my colleague. It's. Yeah, it's fandorcenter.org so P F A N D E R C E N t e r fandorcenter.org and, and Jay Smith is amazing. The other thing you can do if you want to know more about him, is type in J. Smith, James Cadiz. Go to Google, type in J. Smith, James Cadiz. You'll see us talking about Islam together. And I've done many projects with him and he is in my opinion, one of the most brilliant scholars alive right now that takes down Islam in ways that most people could never even begin to imagine. And he can teach you how to do it literally in, in a short period of time. He's a brilliant, brilliant communicator and I would absolutely recommend it. And all this stuff that I've learned over a lifetime, this guy could teach you in, in hours.
- [113:57]
A
That's awesome. That's really, really helpful. Well, Kate, we'll have to put his resource under our resources tab too. Okay, our final question and then we're going to wrap and we'll see you guys in August is from Nancy. I've heard that the devil hears when we speak words aloud, but I. But can't know our thoughts like God does. I've experienced many times when I speak something out loud and it feels like the enemy has a way to sabotage. I found myself praying only silently and more hesitant to pray aloud. Is there any validity to this? I know we are to pray and praise, but why do I feel so apprehensive now to voice my prayers aloud?
- [114:37]
B
And I remember when I went through this, and I still do every now and again, like, man, I better shut my mouth. I don't want the enemy to hear my words because the devil is that sophisticated. But the answer also lies in the fact that he is sophisticated and that he knows and he's very good at studying us. So I wouldn't worry because I think he's going to get whatever information that he needs by the ability to be able to study us in a way. Now, I will tell you this. The Bible never teaches us that Satan can read our minds. He can't. Okay? Only God alone possesses that knowledge. But he's sophisticated enough where he can actually see things and, and, and, and be able to be able to make guesses, right? So Satan and, and, and demons, of course, his demons. They can hear spoken words, they can observe behavior, they can study patterns. They can, they can make very intelligent conclusions like a con artist would in, in maybe reading you or an interrogator would in being able to have a question. So they've watched humanity for a very long time. They've watched humanity for 6,000 years. Okay? But keep this in mind. They're created beings and they are limited, okay? They're not omniscient, they're not omnipresent, and they're not even close to being equal with God. So silent prayer is very biblical. Hannah did that, by the way, in First Samuel, chapter one. I love that story, by the way. It's the first story that I ever read to my oldest daughter. The very first night that we brought her home and, and, and told her that she's an answer to our prayer. And, and just. It's a beautiful, beautiful story. But God heard her perfectly in her silence, you know. But the Bible does contain many examples of us praying and praising out loud and, and why we should. I don't think that there's any biblical warning that speaking a prayer out loud would give Satan any kind of permission or power or some kind of special legal opportunity to sabotage it. So don't let the Enemy own real estate in your mind. Okay. We also do know that the enemy cannot act independently of God's sovereign authority. He has to go to the Lord. We know that based on what we read in the book of Job. So your apprehension, I think, probably developed because your mind has associated speaking aloud with something bad happening afterwards. You know, maybe you say something and then something happens. And I think that fear then begins as a result of interpreting every difficulty as some kind of a confirmation of a bias that you're beginning to perceive in this. In the situation. And I'm not like some doctor who's trying to analyze this. I'm just telling you based on my experience, okay? So whether that fear originated through some kind of spiritual intimidation or some kind of anxiety that you felt based on something that happened to you or. Or like a disappointment that you experience as a result of an attack that you got, the answer is still the same. You have to bring it under the authority of what the Bible teaches you. And. And this is what the Bible tells you about Satan. The Bible says submit. This is James, chapter four, by the way. Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. That's the first command that's given by James. He says, resist the devil and he will flee from you. So you can pray silently, you know, whatever you choose. Nothing wrong with that. But don't pray silently because you're afraid that Satan will overhear and defeat God's purposes in your life. It's just not. It's just not biblical. Right? Pray aloud when it helps you to concentrate. That's a great time to be praying aloud. Right? Sometimes I have to do that, otherwise I'll just fall asleep in certain contexts and. And praise God openly. You should do that. You should read Scripture aloud. That's a really awesome thing to do. The enemy doesn't like it. And keep this in mind. If you. If you don't do those things, you're allowing the enemy to determine the volume of the very worship that you give to God. Don't. You don't give him the control that he wants to have.
- [118:33]
A
Right.
- [118:34]
B
If this fear continues to control your prayer life or expands into some level of what I would call persistent anxiety, talk to somebody about it honestly and have them be a partner with you to pray because it could become something that could affect you. Right. Look, you don't need to live under that burden because Satan is indeed limited. He is. Okay? And also remember this Christ is the. He's the one that made us more than conquerors. He's victorious. So no spoken prayer will make God less capable of protecting you or guiding you. And no spoken prayer is going to allow the enemy to do anything that God doesn't want happening for his glory and for your benefit.
- [119:18]
A
That's.
- [119:18]
B
That's what I would say.
- [119:19]
A
Amen. Okay. Another month under the belt. We're so grateful. Yeah. Yeah. So grateful for you and again for your family, for your prayers. And we're thankful for all of you guys as well, who continue to just support us and send in questions. And it really is an honor to be able to be in the Word with all of you daily. There is nothing more powerful than reading God's Word every single day. Especially just like how Pastor Cadiz said out loud is just unbelievably soul filling, but also, it's your sword. And we are in the middle of one of the most intense spiritual battles, but we're on the winning side of that. So God is good.
- [120:13]
B
Yeah. Amen. And we have watched the enemy again and again and again and again attempt to rob the people of God. We've watched the enemy attempt to destroy the minds and the hearts of those who are seeking God. And the beautiful aspect that comes with all of this is that God will not allow it to happen. God will always prevail. The truth is, is literally in front of us, and it's just a matter of us trusting in the Lord, that He is sovereign in the way that he brings these things about. And we saw an example of this last week. You know, that God is. God is faithful and his justice is perfect, and it's without flaw. And I think that the liars will lie, the exaggerators will exaggerate, the dog and pony shows will continue on, but God sees through all of that, and God prevails over all, and God will continue to rule and reign overall.
- [121:18]
A
Amen.
- [121:18]
B
And we're going to trust in him and we're going to watch him do great things. And, you know, I was thinking about this the other day, Erica. I thought it was such a. Such an encouraging thing because I was thinking about my own mom and my dad, who, you know, my dad went to go be with the Lord a few years back, and my mom.
- [121:34]
A
Wow.
- [121:34]
B
A long time ago.
- [121:35]
A
Right. And.
- [121:36]
B
And I'm just thinking, you know, I have these moments in my life where I. Where. Where I say, man, I wish my mom could see this or I wish my dad could see this. And I just realized they. They don't wish that. I mean, they're in a place where they're seeing the greatest of the greatest. And I think that with our limited awareness of what that looks like and what that feels like, we feel bad for some reason, but God is rewarding them for the labor. God is rewarding them for their faith and trust that they put in him, and we can rejoice. And as much as I tell myself, man, I wish Charlie could see just how well the message and the legacy continues to go and just how awesome of a job you're doing. It's like Charlie's with the Lord. He's. He's not. He's not looking at. Like, he's. He's just. He's experiencing the reward, and he's like, come on, when are you coming up here?
- [122:37]
A
Oh, man, I missed it.
- [122:38]
B
You know, it's. It's just. It's God's faithfulness, it's his goodness, and he knows what he's doing, and. And we can find rest and comfort that to live is Christ and to die is gain.
- [122:49]
A
Amen.
- [122:50]
B
And that's. That's what we're seeing right now. You know, we have everything to live for, and we have everything to die for. It's just awesome. God is faithful and. And we can trust in him for all of these things.
- [123:03]
A
Yep. Yeah. I'll have you close us out in prayer, and then we will see all of you in a month from now, in August for our live Q and
- [123:13]
B
A then, Father in heaven, we thank you, Lord, for your goodness and your faithfulness to us. Lord, we thank you for the fact that you are good, that you are the God of heaven, and that you love us with an everlasting love. We thank you, Lord, for the fact that you continue to answer our prayers. We thank you for the fact, Lord, that we can rest in you and rely upon the fact that you know better than we do. And that, Lord, we are in your hands. And those that are not with us are even in your hands. We thank you for that, Lord. We just pray for the filling of your spirit, Lord. We pray for your comfort, your peace, your knowledge. Give us a hunger for your word like we've never had before and keep us always looking to you. So, Lord, we love you and thank you. We look to you and we ask these things. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
- [123:56]
A
Amen. God bless you. Thank you for everything, Pastor Cadiz, and we will see you guys in August. Take care.
- [124:04]
B
Love you guys.