Live from the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. It's open line with doctor Michael Melnick. Hello, friends. Welcome to Open Line. This is Moody Radio's Bible study across America. My name is Michael Melnick. I'm the academic dean at Moody Bible Institute and also a professor of Jewish studies there. I'm so grateful you're joining me around the radio kitchen table this morning. We're talking about your questions about the Bible,
God and the spiritual life. The normal procedure of this program is for those of you who are listening to, call in with your questions. Not so today. Today's a very special open line. We have a a group of guests here at the Moody Bible Institute. We're in the historic kind of historic studio B here. Uh, there was
a historic studio we've renamed this newer building. We still have the historic studio B, and we're all sitting around in here and our listeners are going to ask the questions not from the radio, but the listeners here in the studio. It's kind of a special day, but I'm sure they're going to ask the questions that you're thinking of out there. You're like, well, I wanted to ask that, so keep listening. I'm sure they're going to ask you
a question. We've got a lot of people working here today. Uh, Chris Segard, Joel Swan, Omar Mendoza handling all things technical, and Tricia McMillan is here producing as always. And of course, to hear is helping out. And Lisa thanks for that. If you like you can send a question to our website. And what you do is go to Openline radio.org. Click on the link there that says Ask Michael a question and if you're listening would like to get your question in.
That may be one way you can get it in. Uh, we'll be taking some of those questions as well. Uh, but I hope you get yourself a cup of coffee and get your Bible. Joining me for this first part of the program is someone that I rely on to hear teach the word all the time. His name is Mark Jobe. He's the president of Moody Bible Institute. I'm so glad you're here with me.
Michael. It's always a joy to be with you. And I love this program. By the way, big fan. My wife's a fan of the program as well. She's here in the studio as well. So if you hear extra loud clapping, that's her.
That's it. That's right. Well, uh, we're going to just get started with a question and we're going to start with Stephanie. Hi, Stephanie.
Good morning.
Where are you from, Stephanie Palatine. Palatine, Illinois. Okay. Northwest suburbs of Chicago. Glad you're here.
Thank you. So my question is, what are a few things we can focus on to point others to Christ? Believers and unbelievers and conversations with others during these times.
Are during these times. Very bad times that are uncertain financially. Wars in the world. Difficulties. I always say ask Mark job.
You know, Stephanie, that's a great question. I want to start by saying this. Every time I have a conversation with someone, I'm aware that God has already been working in their life way before I talked with them. So I go with the assumption that the Holy Spirit is already working there. And so it's not like I'm starting from scratch. I know that God is drawing them. And so I go with that assumption, first of all, that
God is drawing them. In fact, just yesterday we had a little boat ride and I walked out into the little balcony there and the captain and someone else were there. I initiated a conversation with them and, um, just life in general, and then started talking about spiritual things. And they perked up and I said, you know, people are being drawn to God these days because there's a lot of turmoil. And sometimes in the midst of turmoil, uh, people start looking to the heavens. And so there's a
felt need in everybody's life. When people came to Jesus, they didn't come because they were looking for a redeemer. They were looking for relief. Uh, someone was sick. Kid is demon possessed. They felt oppressed by the Roman government. So keep in mind God's drawing them. They, uh. Everybody has a sense of emptiness without God. And so go to those places. It may start with a divorce that's pending, a son that's in the hospital, depression, anxiety that they're
going through. And then connect it to God, who ultimately is the answer. That's how I approach it, typically.
I think that it's interesting. Paul wrote Colossians while he was in prison. It says in Colossians four two, devote yourselves to prayer. Stay alert in it with thanksgiving. Okay. He says, you need to be praying. Here's what we need to be praying for, he says. At the same time, pray also for us that God may open a door to us for the message to speak the mystery of the Messiah for which I am in prison. So he's looking for opportunities. He wants them praying for open doors
in the prison. I think that's so interesting. He's not saying, well, I'm in prison. What am I going to say? He's looking for them to pray for him. I think we should be praying for open doors in our own lives. Uh, that whatever we're at, whether it's at work or walking the dogs in the neighborhood, even I have two dogs. I think our primary purpose for having dogs is not because of the great joy they bring. Because they bring a mess to the house. The reason we have dogs
is we walk them in our neighborhood. We get to meet all our neighbors. That's why we do that. And people talk to us. Uh, and, uh, he says, so that I may reveal it, uh, as I am required to speak. And then he tells them to act wisely. And also, you should always be gracious, seasoned with salt, make it flavorful. Mhm. Uh, so that you may know how you should answer each person. So I would say pray for open doors to learn to speak with boldness
seizing those moments, but also tact. Uh, and uh, we should point people to the Lord obviously do it, not in an obnoxious way, but in a flavorful way. And I think that happens as we talk to people. We diagnose where they're at, uh, by listening to them. So I think the key for ministering to people is actually learning to be good listeners. And then when we listen well, we can respond and ask good questions. And that's how doors seem to open for me and speak to those issues as best you can.
Thank you.
Okay.
Hi.
My name is Mary.
Hi, Mary. My question. Go ahead. Tell us where you're from. I'm always.
Mendon, Ohio.
Mendon, Ohio.
Yeah, it's near Salina. Do you know where Salina is?
Yeah, sure. Is there a big city nearby?
Lima.
Lima. Yeah.
Okay. Why does it take years for some prayers to be answered?
Ah, if only I knew. I'm not sure that anyone can give a perfect answer, but I'm going to again start with Doctor Jobe.
Well, you know, sometimes we think that prayer is convincing God to see it our way and to do things our way. Um, but Scripture is clear. Isaiah tells us that God's thoughts are much higher than ours. His ways are much higher than ours. And I believe that sometimes it takes years because, um, in fact, I just I just preached about this in chapel recently where, uh, do you remember the story of Mary, Martha and Lazarus? Uh, they believe their their brother is sick, and so they
call Jesus. And Jesus deliberately delays two more days. And it seems strange that the person that he loves, he doesn't run and try to fix it. But he had a bigger narrative, and I reminded our students that sometimes it feels like God is not answering our prayer immediately, but because God has a bigger narrative, sometimes he let it. He lets it get worse. In fact, none of us would really know the story of Lazarus. We we would barely know his name if Jesus had answered the prayer immediately.
But he waited. He waited until things got worse. He waited until Lazarus died, and then he resurrected him. And we all know the story because Jesus did not answer it when Martha and Mary wanted him to. And so we have to keep in mind that prayer is aligning our hearts with God's plan, not just trying to convince God about our plan. And I think when we pray in the spirit, we get more more aligned with the heart of God and more and more saying, God, you're sovereign.
This is what I would like, but Lord, not my will, but yours be done.
You know, I think that there's something important to remember. This is something that I really appreciated that message in chapel. But there's a a Jewish tradition that the spirit of the person stays by the body for three days. So the Lord Jesus waited for the fourth day. And then he raised Lazarus on the fourth day to prove that he could raise us all in the last day. And I think that that is one of the reasons he had a purpose for delaying. As long as a prayer
is in the will of God. I think it's it's really important that we recognize that and persist, because that's what Jesus said. He told them a parable. He told them a parable on the need for them to pray always and not to become discouraged. That means if I'm praying for something and it's a legitimate request, and it's something that would bring glory to God and and honor him,
and he's saying, no, so far, no, no. Persist. And the reason we persist is because God is probably teaching us something as we wait on him to to trust him. So I think that's why we have to do it. Just as he was teaching something to Martha and Mary about their brother Lazarus. Okay. Yeah. We're going to take a break here. Uh, and when we come back, uh, we're going to take more of your questions right here, uh, in our studio B at Moody Bible Institute with this
beautiful live audience. We're really grateful for you being here. Grateful for all of you listening. Stay with us. This is Mark Jobe. Michael Dolnick right here on Moody Radio's Open Line. We'll be right back. Back to Open Line with our live studio audience asking the questions today. So glad you're listening in today. Uh, it's it's just great to see all these faces asking the questions, I hope. I know they're asking questions that you've wondered about as
well as you listen. So keep listening and you can always write to us. The way to do that is go to Openline radio.org. Click on the link that says Ask Michael a question and you can fill out your question there. Now people have often often asked, where do we get the Bible from? I know it's God's Word,
but where is it from? How did these ancient books get turned into the the leather bound book that I'm reading, doctor Jay Carlini, uh, who taught for many years at Western Seminary in Portland, wrote a book called The Story
of the Bible, and that is our current resource. It's a great, informative journey through scriptures development, starting from divine inspiration to copying the transmission of that text and finally, well, not finally canonization translation modern translations that we're reading about today. If you want to know the story of the Bible, this is a great resource. It shows how God worked through human authors, scribes, translators to give us God's Word
that we should be reading regularly. And it is a great, great resource, and we want to send it to you as a way of saying thank you for any gift you send in, uh, a gift of any size. We want to say thanks and send you a copy of The Story of the Bible by Doctor Lainie. Uh, if you'd like to give a gift, all you have to do is go to our website, online radio.org, call (888) 644-7122 or open line radio.org. And you'll be able to give
a gift. And we appreciate it so much. We want to say hey use this resource by Doctor Jay Carlini, The Story of the Bible. We're going to go back to our questions right here in the studio.
Hi Michael, I'm Jeff from northwest Ohio, and we're part of a discipleship class at home talking about the sovereignty of God. So my question is, how does God's sovereignty and man's free will work together in salvation?
If only I knew. I mean, that is one of the questions that people ask all the time. And they're what happens is theologians. Well, some theologians say they can explain it. And, uh, I had a book that explained it and I tried to read it, and I am I guess I'm not a philosopher because I'm like, I'm
not getting this. And then, uh, I have a friend who was the valedictorian, highest grades at Dallas Seminary when I graduated, and he was visiting my house, and he saw that book, and he picked it up, and I was cooking dinner, and he came into the kitchen and he says, do you understand any of this? And I said, no. And he said, good, because I felt really dumb as
I was reading this. And now here's the crazy thing to me is that both divine sovereignty and human responsibility are not just mentioned in the Bible, they're mentioned right next to each other. Um, and so I think it's a mystery. It's a secret that God understands. And we don't we're responsible. We need to believe God is sovereign. He calls and has that effectual call. He chose those who believe before the foundation of the world. He he, uh,
he did it right, but we're still responsible. Uh, and I'm going to let our, uh, friend, doctor Mark Jobe, explain how it works.
You know, Jeff, I get that question asked a lot. And it is as you try to wrestle through decisions and why things happened. It's a tough one when it comes to salvation. Particularly, though, let me just say this any theological view that diminishes your passion for evangelism is misguided. So I've encountered people that say, well, you know, God
is sovereign, so why do I need to share? Paul's the one that penned in Romans, specifically some of the passages about the sovereignty of God, and he was the most passionate evangelist that we know. So we know that God's sovereignty doesn't preclude us proclaiming the gospel. At the same time, we also understand that if we take on the responsibility to saving people that we become, we take the place of the Messiah. And so it's a beautiful
balance between God, your sovereign, and in control. But I am going to share with everybody as passionately and pray passionately as I can. And that's the beautiful balance that is there. So it shouldn't take away your passion, but it also shouldn't put a responsibility on your shoulders that only belongs to Jesus.
Yeah. You know, Philippians 212 says this, uh, it says work out your own salvation. And that a responsibility we have not to be saved, but to carry it out, to work it out. So we be believe and follow and obey. Work out your own salvation. And then the next verse says, for it is God who is working in you. Okay. God's sovereignty. And there right next to each other. And it happens all the time in Scripture. This is what, uh, what I think of Spurgeon. Uh, well,
let's start with this. Let's start with C.S. Lewis in the great book, uh, one of The Chronicles of Narnia, when, uh, these kids asked to be brought to Narnia. And this girl meets. Jill meets Aslan, the lion, and she says, we're only here because we called and said we wanted to come. And he says, you would not have called if I didn't make you call. I'm like, as far as the heavens are above the earth so far are my thoughts higher than your thoughts and my ways higher
than your ways. This is what Spurgeon asked when he was asked to, uh, how does he reconcile human responsibility and divine sovereignty? He said, I wouldn't try. I never reconcile friends. And I think that's we just we just live with both. So. Okay, okay, we've got our next question coming from my friend Rick right there, I see him.
Hi, I'm Rick from, uh, northwest Detroit area. Um, my question is, uh, my children prayed when they were young to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and they're not walking with the Lord. Haven't for many years. How do I reconcile that? Are they saved? Are they not saved? Because when they prayed that prayer, it seemed very, very genuine. We had lots of discussion and. And now they have no interest. They're not walking with the Lord.
You know, Rick, I think that there's a lot of parents that struggle with that same idea. And I would say this when a it's it's somewhat challenging to discern because our salvation is never by works. Um, and sometimes someone makes a decision and then starts living in the flesh. The problem with being a believer that's not living right
is that there's a question of fruit. Um, and so I would say this, I would say that, um, when people's fruit comes into doubt for a long period of time and, um, then you have to go to the root and say, did they really understand? Did they really make a decision? And if someone, especially when they were young, prayed a prayer but hasn't demonstrated a lot of fruit in their life, then my heart would be to make sure that they understand what it means to follow. Only
God knows, ultimately. But if I haven't seen a lot of fruit, then I'm going to press in to say I want to make sure, you know, and I would press them in. I would continue to evangelize until I see fruit, because I think when, um, when someone is in the vine, they will show fruit. Um.
Also, I think that it's so important that we recognize that children sometimes will we'll assent to something and they really believe it, you know, because they believe their parents when they're kids. But as they get older, they make adult decisions. I've talked to a lot of people who
are really committed followers of Jesus. They said they made a decision when they were very small, but then, as they were in their teen years and or even a little bit older, that's when they were really confronted with, do I really believe this? Something happened in their life, a breakup with a boyfriend or a girlfriend or some sort of tragedy? The loss of a loved one? Something happens in their life and they think, do I really
believe this? And they said, yes, I do. And others say, you know, I had this event happen in my life. My dad died and I didn't think it was fair that God took him so young. And and then they say, I just don't believe this. And, and I think that's what happens. Children will often assent to what their parents think, but they will come to an adult decision, and I have often thought that we have to keep praying for those kids and not be obnoxious, not beat them over
the head. You know they will talk about it with us as we pray for them. And the the other issue that we parents have to do is we have to just keep loving them and keep that relationship strong. So it's not based on, you know, well, I'm only going to be loving towards you if if you follow this faith and, you know, a lot of times as people hit midlife, I knew a guy. He abandoned the faith. He got kicked out of Christian college. He was, uh,
just troublesome. He married a Jewish woman who didn't know the Lord. He was not walking at all, denied at all. And then they adopted a baby. And he thought, what am I going to give this child? And all of a sudden he came back to the faith. And that's how I met him, because he thought, I need Michael to help me with my. My wife, you know, here and to share the good news with her. And she did come to the Lord. But, uh, the the interesting thing to me is he said I believed it all along.
I just didn't want to live by it. And so in midlife, he came. So you just don't know. You don't know. Keep praying.
Thank you. Okay.
Here comes our next question.
My name is Bill, and I'm from Palatine, Illinois. Uh, doctor? Doctor, Jobe, this reference comes out of Second Kings two. How do I begin to understand why? The story of Second Kings two, where Elisha, the jeering young men and she bears fit into God's character and redemptive story?
Yeah. That's it. I, I like that passage particularly because what were they calling Elisha?
Uh, old baldy head, maybe.
Yeah. That's it. And I.
I hadn't thought of that when I asked the question.
Yeah, I think you did it on purpose, Michael. I think that was specific. Yeah.
Uh, my.
That's one of my life verses.
You know, and just, uh, you know, in case you make.
Fun.
Hey, watch out, because something could happen, right? Yeah.
But my life verses from Leviticus 13. If a man loses the hair on his head, he is bald. He is clean. And that's what. That's what Leviticus 13 says. Uh, I think there's a couple of things. These are it says in my version, some small boys. I'll read you the verse from there. Elijah went up to Bethel. He was walking up the path. Some small boys came out of the city and harassed him, chanting, go up, Baldy, go up, Baldy! He turned around and looked at them
and cursed them. In the name of the Lord. My goodness. Then two female bears came out of the woods and mauled 42 of the children, and then he returned to Samaria. Wow. Well, first of all, I would never translate that. Small boys. I believe the Hebrew refers to, uh, young adults. So think of a gang. And if only 42 of them were perished from the bears, how many were there? Wilding and attacking the prophet? Hmm. And why were they attacking
the prophet? Because their great rebellion against God and his word. Because the prophet gave it. And so, as a warning to this. Think about it. They're going around on camels with leather tunics, you know, and they're looking rough. And, you know, these are the ones that were rebelling against God, and this was a great sign that they needed to to really yield themselves to the Lord. And so that's what I would say. Uh, I hope I hope that helps.
Thank you.
Yeah. We're going to come back in just a moment with more of the questions from this live audience. Stay with us. This is Open Line with Mark Jobe, Michael Melnick. We'll be right back. Welcome back to Open Line. I am so happy to have this live audience here asking the questions, but some questions have come in via email. The way to do that is to go to Open Line radio.org. That's the website. There's all sorts of links there that you're going to find helpful at Openline radio.org.
And one says Ask Michael a question. If you click on that, if you're listening, you can always write your question in. And joining me right now for the Febc mailbag is Tricia McMillan. Uh, I am so grateful that Far Eastern Broadcasting partners with us. The Far Eastern Broadcasting Company partners with Openline, with Moody Radio to bring Openline to you. And they, uh, they help bring the Febc mailbag every week. Febc brings the gospel through media and
through personal contact to people all over the globe. It is a really marvelous ministry. Check it out. Go to their website, febc. And there's a link there to their podcast called Until All I've Heard. I know you're going to really, uh, be encouraged by listening to that podcast until all have heard. Joining me also right now is Tricia McMillan, producer of Open Line and also helping me answer these questions because of our live audience being here. I made Eva come to the studio today and Eva
is here. She's the person that usually texts me the answers to questions because she's home listening, but today she's here, so she'll straighten it out, right? Right. Live without a text. So. Okay, Tricia, what have we got?
All right. First question is from Jill in Texas who listens on the Moody Radio app. She would like clarity with being led by the Holy Spirit in evangelism. Since we're commanded to go and spread the gospel and make disciples. Is that all the leading that we need to talk to anyone and everyone, wherever we go, at every opportunity? I have a hard time discerning who to talk to about the gospel and when to share.
Well, I like the principles that you guys talked about. First.
A couple segments, a.
Couple segments ago, but the verse that has really encouraged me to talk to every person that I have a chance to talk to, no matter if it's the barista Easter in Dunkin Donuts, or, you know, the person in the bank or the person that I just run into walking down the street. Is Colossians chapter one, verse 28 and 29. And I memorized this verse years ago in the original Living Bible.
The original, the original, because that was what Paul wrote, right?
No, because you know what? There's been so many different editions of it. It doesn't read the same as when I originally memorized this. You know, back.
Back when Ken Taylor wrote.
It. Ken Taylor. Yeah. Ken Taylor was, you know, a college student at the time. Um, but because it says so everywhere we go, we talk about Messiah to all who will listen everywhere we go, warning them and teaching them as well as we know how. This is my work, and I can do it because of the Holy Spirit
who is at work within me. Now, if you have the new American standard, which is my my favorite version, it says we proclaim Messiah, admonishing every man and teaching every, person with all wisdom so that we may present every person complete in Messiah. So I think everywhere we go, we need to talk about him at every opportunity.
So I think that one of the things that happens is I try to get people to be curious. So I listen to people if I'm, you know, getting an Uber, I listen to the driver, I talk with the driver. I try not to be obnoxious, but people love to talk about themselves. And so I just ask them questions about themselves. And even as to and we and then finally they'll say, and what do you do? And there are times, you know, when I used to lead a messianic congregation. Uh, not when I was a professor at Moody,
but I was in a Jewish community. And I'd get a Jewish person talking and they'd say, and what do you do? And I'd say, you don't want to know. And they'd say, why? And I'd say, well, you just get upset. They said you work for the IRS. No, no, it's totally fine what I do. But you'll just be upset. No, I won't get upset. You promise you won't get upset? And then I tell them I lead the congregation with Jewish people who believe in Jesus, and they start to
get upset. I said, see, I told you you'd get upset. No, no, I'm not upset. Why do you believe that? And I felt by doing that they gave me permission to explain. And that's something that I try to live by all the time. Uh, you know, people say, what do you do for a living? I'm a professor. Where? Moody Bible Institute. Really? But, uh, to me, that that helps people understand where I'm coming from. And so I just look for opportunities and. And why would you do it?
Yeah. You just, you know, you kind of raise that issue and you think, well, man, I work in a bank or I'm a house painter or I'm a mechanic or whatever, but whatever you do, there's something in that that helps you to bring up the issue of your faith in Jesus.
I have a friend who's a salesman and he says, uh, I sell insurance, but that's really not very important. There's something much more important about me.
Right. And, you know, some people would say, well, you know, I don't.
What is.
It? I don't work outside the home. Maybe, you know, maybe you're a mom at home or you're a grandmother or a grandfather who's retired or whatever. You can say, I've got the most important job in the world. I get to spend time with my grandchildren. Well, why is that such an important job? And then you can talk about that. Yeah.
So.
And I found when there's something in your life that you're excited about, it's like, let me tell you about this new sweater I found. I mean, it just you find every opportunity that you can to talk about it and bring it up. And I, I don't I don't think that we view the gospel as the same way necessarily, unless it is actively working in our hearts and our lives. Um, even beyond it, like just oozing out of us. But like, I'm excited about this, and you need to know why this is so important.
Yeah, right. Yeah. And never be ashamed. Yeah. Don't say. Oh, I you know, I like the situation that Michael talked about. You'll be upset, but it's not because we're ashamed. You know, we.
Just wanted not to be.
Upset. We're just excited about what we're talking about. We never need to be ashamed or to preconceive that they're going to think of us in a negative way, because let's just go ahead and talk about how much we love Jesus and how much Jesus loves them.
I have a great friend in my neighborhood. He's, uh. I was walking my dogs. His kids were petting the dogs, and that's how we met. And he said, uh, he said, uh. So, uh, what do you do? And I said, I'm a college professor. This is about 8 or 9 years ago. He said, oh, really? What do you teach? And I said, Jewish studies. And he said, where? And I said, Moody Bible Institute. He says, oh, you're the guy that lives on the corner. We heard
about you in this neighborhood And I said, oh, you did. Anyway, it turned out his grandfather was my rabbi growing up in Brooklyn.
So here we are in Chicago. Yeah.
And, uh, and he said, uh, so you're one of those Jewish people who believe in Jesus. And I said, yeah. He says, why in the world would you do that? I said, do you have some time? I can tell you. And he said, yeah. And he wanted to know. And and we've had great discussions about it for a long time.
So all right, next question is from Pamela in Ohio listens to Wtxf. What is the significance and the use of the mezuzah? Can you explain its purpose? I'm also curious if it's appropriate for non-Jewish individuals to use a mezuzah. Also big fan of your program and proud to be a kitchen table partner, which is our monthly supporters. Okay, thank you for that.
Uh, Deuteronomy six says that we should bind the word of God. You know the words hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And loving the Lord with all our heart and our soul and our strength bind these words on our hearts, right? Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house, when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand, on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house. The word doorpost in
Hebrew is mezuzah. And so Jewish people have taken this very literally. And they have these cylinders, these.
Kind of little boxes.
Boxes.
There are a lot of different styles. Yeah.
That have these words written very small and placed inside the written in Hebrew in the mezuzah, and they bind them to the doorposts. And we do too. Even if you came to my office at Moody Bible Institute, I have a mezuzah on the door.
To remind us of the importance of God's Word. And when.
You go.
In.
And when you go.
Out.
That's what it is. And some people wear them on a pendant, like.
Yeah, like a necklace. Yeah.
About the importance of putting God's word in your heart. And what do you think? Is it only for Jewish people?
No. I think anyone could do this. It could be a reminder. And it could also be a conversation starter. Like, why do you have. What is this and why do you have it there? And then you could say, because the God's Word is so important to me, and this is to remind me to live by it as I come and go out of my house all the time.
Yeah. Okay. Thanks for bringing those questions. Yeah. We have a question from one of our audience here in the studio who tell us who you are.
I am Bryce. I'm with my wife, Anna.
I'm really glad you brought Anna with you.
Yeah.
Glad to see you guys.
She's my right hand. We are from Franklin, Tennessee. And good morning, Michael and Eva. I think I know the answer, but I just it always gets me in John 131 and John 133 twice it says I did not know him. I believe this is John the Baptist baptizer speaking. And we all know he was Jesus's cousin, so I don't understand. I did not know him.
Uh uh, let's, uh, let's read the whole verse there. John 131. Verse 31, it says, I didn't know him, but I came baptizing with water, so he might be revealed to Israel. Then verse 33, I didn't know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water told me, the one you see, the spirit descending and resting on. He is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.
Seems interesting. I've just been reading John, um, and just read this yesterday, and I don't think it meant he didn't know him. Like, oh, this is Yeshua, my cousin who lives in Nazareth. But I think the knowing indicates he didn't realize that he was the Messiah like from a child. I don't think that Jesus wore a little button, said Yeshua the Messiah, so everyone would know who he was. Neither did he wear a button that said Yeshua the Child Carpenter. You know, he was just a regular person,
a regular cousin. And at this point.
Think about how annoyed Cousin John was when he saw Yeshua. He was always the good kid. Except for that time when he stayed behind in Jerusalem. But otherwise he was the kid that was like, why is he always doing the right thing? And we're not.
He's never getting in trouble. What's going on?
Yeah. So. And even when he stayed behind, he was obeying his father in heaven. So, uh, anyway, uh, I hope that it's not that he didn't know Jesus. It's that he didn't know he was the Messiah. So. And and that was revealed to him.
At the baptism.
At the baptism. So, Anna, uh, I actually asked you to get up there at the microphone with, uh, with Bryce because you told me today that you guys are kitchen table partners?
We are indeed.
Yay!
Thank you.
Kitchen table partners are people who give monthly to open lines so that we can be on the air every week, and we're really grateful for it. So just tell us. I'm amazed when every, every time I meet a kitchen table partner. Uh, what is it that prompted you to become a kitchen table partner?
We'd been listening to Open Line for at least a couple of years, and we were supporting Moody Radio in general because we loved so much of the programming. But as we've been listening and especially, I would say, the last two years, we have such a heart for Israel and for the Jewish people. And you bring that perspective
so much to your programming. And we have become so committed to Open Line every single Saturday that we've adjusted our life schedule to be at our kitchen table, making coffee, sharing the word with you and Eva and any of your guests, and we just feel like it's an investment that we can tangibly participate with Open Line and keep you on the air because you've impacted us.
Hey, you can become a kitchen table partner too by going to our website, Open Line radio.org, and we'll talk about that more when we come back in just a moment. Thank you.
And we're back with our live audience right here at.
The Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. Our studio B live audience asking the questions today. So grateful. Joining me today in the second half of the this hour has been Eva Wright. And she's still here. I'm glad she's here answering questions. There's a couple of things I need to mention before we get back to questions. We were just talking about Kitchen table partners at the end of the
last segment. I'm so grateful for Anna and Bryce from Franklin, Tennessee, being kitchen table partners and their commitment to this program. I so, so appreciate it. And one of the things that I like to do, Trish and I produce a Bible study moment every other week for people who do become kitchen table partners. And so you get it in your mailbox, your email, click on it and hear a little Bible study ten minutes or so. And I hope
it really encourages people in the word. Uh, but I mostly appreciate the generosity and graciousness of people who stand with us because it takes a whole team to bring this program. You can see even today we have Tricia here, our producer, our engineers. It's it's not just me. And I so appreciate the partners, kitchen table partners who are part of the team. If you're listening and you think, yeah, I think I'd like to become a kitchen table partner,
call 88864471228886447122. Or just go to open line radio.com. And also, uh, we have a conference coming up here at Moody Bible Institute. It's coming up just on April 12th. It's called called, and it's a women's conference. Uh, some great keynote speakers. Elizabeth Whitson. Excuse me. Sandra Gillan workshops. Uh, pre-conference intensive. It's really terrific. Just go to Moody conferences. By the way, this is only for the women listening. Uh, men, I know you want to go, but you can't. It's a
women's conference. Uh, Moody conferences.com, and there are online and in person.
Fantastic. If you have an opportunity to come down to campus free parking. It's really good.
Also, I want to mention one other thing. Uh, that, uh, Passover is coming April 12th and Chosen People Ministries is offering a booklet called Passover A time for redemption. Appreciate, uh, Chosen People Ministries partnering with us and also offering this book. It's a free copy that shows how the Passover Lamb foreshadows the coming of the Messiah, Jesus, our true Passover lamb. And if you'd like a copy of that, just go
to our website openlibrary.org. Scroll down, you'll see it says a free gift from Chosen People Ministries, and you click on that. It'll take you to a page where you can sign up for your own copy of Passover A time for redemption.
And got.
Them.
All.
In there. There we go.
All right. My name is Philip. Um, I'm from Accra, Ghana, West Africa.
Wow, that's a long trip.
Long trip? Yeah. So, um, how does God express his anger in these days?
Ah.
You know the Bible. This is this is the kind of question where, you know, people say, oh, God was angry. And that's why there was a hurricane or a tornado or some natural disaster or the flooding. And I think I feel very reluctant to say that God's just zapping someone. And here's why. Because the were it not for his mercy, we'd all be consumed. You know, I would be a little pile of of dust and and ash. Uh, if
God judged me every time, I deserved it. And and so I think that's very important for us to remember. I think of Luke 13, where the Lord Jesus, uh, they come to him and they say, have you heard about Herod? Not Herod. Pilate mixing the blood of the sacrifices with Galileans. And they were probably offering their Passover sacrifices, and he killed them and mixed their blood with the sacrifices. And the Lord Jesus, uh, doesn't he doesn't answer the
problem of evil differently. He points out, what about the Pool of Siloam? Or there's a tower there fell on people. Uh, and this is what he says in both circumstances, whether it's a natural disaster, like a tower falling over or a. Human guilt disaster like Pilate doing this wicked thing. The Lord Jesus says, do you think that these Galileans were more sinful? Do you think these people who live in Jerusalem were more sinful? No, I tell you, but unless
you repent, you will all perish as well. Then he tells the story of the barren fig tree. And the point of that is, if God were to express his anger for everyone that deserves it, would there be towers falling on all our heads? There be pilots, you know, murdering us all. But God is merciful. The thing that we need to remember is that these events, we all deserve them. But God calls us to repent and turn
our lives over to him. And his anger is then relented, and his mercy is seen in us not being having towers falling on us all the time. I think that's something that's important. Did you want to add anything on that?
I knew in John nine where he talks about who sinned, that the man was blind. And Jesus said, neither this man nor his parents sinned, but so that the glory of God might be made known. I think we should be very careful and not point at people and say, this happened to you because you sinned. This is on you because you're wicked, or this happened to that city because it's a wicked city. You just don't see that in the scriptures.
But what we do see is, boy, that should have happened to me.
Yeah. And also, and also we see that God causes the sun to. And the rain to, to fall on the just and the unjust alike. And we should thank him for his mercy and not be pointing our finger at people for being wicked.
And part of the reason for these tornadoes and hurricanes and floods and all these things is because we live in a fallen world and the whole creation is groaning, looking forward to its time of redemption. Romans eight says, and so I think rather than calling out God's anger at people, Let's recognize God's mercy that this isn't happening all the time, and not only God's mercy, but call upon people to experience God's mercy.
By their faith in.
Their faith in.
Jesus, in his resurrection.
Yeah. Thank you Philip. Thanks for that. Well, I can't believe first hour is open. That's. Thanks for listening, everyone. The fastest hour I've had in a long time. Keep listening. There's a second hour of Open Line with our live audience coming up in just a few minutes. If your station doesn't carry Open Line, check out our website or our podcast. You can listen to it there. During the the break, check out our web page. Open Line radio.org
has all sorts of links that you'll find interesting. Uh, how to get our current resources, how to hear something about where I'm going. You can check out my web page there as well. Our Bible study across America will continue in just a moment. Open line with Doctor Michael Ray is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.