When the Christian Life Seems Impossible

How do you keep following Jesus life often feel so painful and discouraging.

That is one of the questions will be answering on today's addition of core Christianity hi this is Bill Meyer, along with my good friend Pastor Adm. Sanchez and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. You can call us right now with your question. At 833 the core that's 1-833-843-2673. You can also post your question on our Facebook or Instagram or twitter accounts and you can email us with your question at questions at core, Christianity.com. Well here we are. The day after the election and we know there is a lot of anxiety and tension in our country right now, so we thought it might be a good idea to start a program off with prayer so it really would you pray for us. Yeah I would love to pray for us, but I actually wanted to to first read Psalm 93 because I think it can be such a comfort to us right now, as believers in Jesus Christ. It says this the Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty, the Lord is robed.

He is put on strength.

This is belt. Yes, the world is established, it shall never be moved. Your throne is established from of old you are from everlasting. The floods have lifted up a Lord of the floods have lifted up their voice, the floods lift up their roaring mightier than the thunders of many waters mightier than the waves of the sea, the Lord on high is mighty your decrees are very trustworthy holiness befits your house Lord forever more. Let's pray father you are the Lord of heaven and earth and you reign you will robed in majesty Lord and and while the floods lift up their voice, you were mightier than the thunders of many waters mightier than the waves of the sea, old Lord you are mighty, help us God I pray in these days to continue to fix our eyes upon you upon your kingdom and we pray Lord that your gospel would continue to advance powerfully throughout our country and throughout the world would you Lord help us to grow in love for you and love for our neighbors in the hope that you've given to us through your word.

Be with us, Lord, we pray that you would be also with this nation. Grant us your grace and your mercy.

We pray in Jesus name, amen my man like you federal this is core Christianity and our first question comes from Lance who posted on her Facebook page he says what is the ministry of reconciliation. In second Corinthians chapter 5 is a specific kind of ministry or is it more broad than that. Hey Lance, I love starting off with this question because it puts us right into this wonderful passage of Scripture in second Corinthians 5 beginning in verse 17 of every versus 17 to 21. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation the old has passed away.

Behold, the new has come.

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation that is in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.

We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Reconciliation is this idea of making peace between two parties and there are few things Lance I think that you need to know from this text of Scripture one there needed to be a mediation between God and humanity. Why, because God was the offended party in our sin we we had sinned against the Lord is a we need to be reconciled in an this is just against the idea that many people today have in our society.

It says everything is fine between God and humanity.

God loves you just the way that you are well. In a sense that's true, but in another sense, know there is enmity tension between God and humanity because of our sin. And so we needed to be reconciled and number two the reconciler is Jesus himself.

That's precisely what Paul tells us here in second Corinthians 5. It's also what he says in Colossians chapter 1 verses 19 through 24 in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross where's the peace between God and humanity come from it comes from the blood of the cross of Jesus Christ. Here's 1/3 point Paul is talking about the apostolic ministry that was given to him by God. We are ambassadors. He says that it's as if God himself is speaking through us to the world, saying, be reconciled and this is what Christian ministry is all about.

This is the core of Christian ministry is the proclamation of the message of reconciliation through the blood of the cross of Jesus Christ.

There a lot of churches want to focus on all sorts of other things and sometimes those things are necessarily bad soup kitchens doing good things for the community, caring for the poor. That is a part of Christian ministry God calls us to that. But the fundamental thing that we need to have what makes the church. The church is the message of the gospel and Christian ministers are like ambassadors of God's kingdom who come with that message. The message of reconciliation. The message that peace has come through Jesus Christ and its come through the great exchange that you get in verse 21. It really just once again listen to what Paul said there for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin. That's Jesus, Jesus, the sinless one was made to be sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Know what is Paul talking about their it's not that Jesus was transformed into sin in some weird way know is that our sins were placed on him imputed to him, we might say credited to him so that his righteousness might be given to us and through that friends we have peace with God, thanks for your question Lance. What a beautiful picture of the gospel Israel. Thank you for that. This is core Christianity. If you have a question for us.

You can call us at 833 the core that's 1-833-843-2673 hello my name is John Wesley I getting older and I was curious what the Bible is about hormone replacement therapy supplementation you are but John the Bible does not speak to this issue. Specifically, of course, you know, they didn't have that kind of thing when the biblical writers were writing and that means you're going to have to look at the teaching of Scripture and use wisdom. Godly wisdom to make a decision for yourself. The first thing I would want to say to you is that it is good to take care of our bodies, but it's important that we keep things in their proper perspective. I like to exercise to elect to go to the gym. It's been one of the big bombers with with coding everything going also to find other ways to work out to get exercise and there was a point in my life in college where I would hit the gym every day without fail. I became a little bit obsessive actually and I recall feeling an immense guilt. If for whatever reason I didn't go and work out on a particular date started to get unhealthy. I think as I was reading through the book of Philippians.

I was really struck by something that the apostle Paul said there in Philippians chapter 3 verses 20 and 21 is that our citizenship is in heaven, and from it from heaven. We await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen to what all said the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself to the bodies we do our best to maintain, to glorify if you will, are lowly can work and work and work trying to transform our bodies but one day those lowly bodies are going to be transformed by Jesus himself and brother. I think that that's something that we can all rejoice in right now, especially since you get older as we get older and we feel our bodies breaking down and we long to go back to that time would get a we could just do the kinds of things we did before I could jump like I did as a kid and run like I did as a teenager. That kind of thing what our bodies are deteriorating. But one day God is going to transform our lowly bodies that I'm not saying that supplementation is necessarily wrong or bad. I think with anything you're gonna want to weigh the side effects of of whatever it is that you're taking to determine if it's wise to do so or not and I don't know enough about the kinds of drugs that you might be referring to be able to weigh in what I am saying is take care of your body enjoy exercise but don't be enslaved to it and ultimately make sure that your hope is in what God is going to do for you at the resurrection of the dead in the fact that the Lord is going to restore are broken down bodies, one more verse for you is what Paul told Timothy member Timothy is he a young mantis as Paul is writing to me says to him, have nothing to do with irreverent and silly myths. Rather, train your self for godliness, for while bodily training is of some value in it is godliness is of value in every way as it holds the promise for the present life and also for the life to come. Bodily exercise brother is valuable.

John it. It is a good thing and so do it and and if there are, you know, some of these things that they can help you to do it as you get older. Well, that's a wisdom issue that you're going to have to determine for yourself, but make sure again that your priorities are right bodily exercise profits does profit a little exercise in godliness is what God calls each and every one of us to including you. God bless your brother there listening the core Christianity with pastor Adm. Sanchez and if you or someone you love has been struggling with depression want to tell you about a resource that we believe will be really helpful to you family. Here we are talking about the importance of taking care of your body and in our brains are part of our bodies, we can really wrestle with this. A lot of people really wrestle with depression mentally created this resource. Nine things everyone needs to know about depression and it is free for you when you sign up for a weekly newsletter.

We created this resource to give you a foundational understanding of what depression is and how Christians can best help someone who suffers from depression. So head over to core Christianity.com/offers to download nine things everyone needs to know about depression and it's particularly apropos right now because we know that with this whole covert situation. A lot of people have been feeling depressed or just despondent about life and so please give us a call for that resource 833-843-2670 3833. The core let's get to another question that came in. Joyce posted this on our website and she says when Jesus is tempted by Satan in the desert his answers to Satan's questions do not really seem like answers. Could you explain what Jesus answers really mean high joy so let's turn to that passage of Scripture. I'll go to Matthew's account in Matthew chapter 4, the temptation of Jesus seminary verses 1 to 11 then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil and after fasting for 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry and the tempter came and said to him, if you are the son of God command these stones to become loaves of bread. Jesus answered, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God and the devil took him to the holy city, and set them on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, if you are the son of God, throw yourself down.

For it is written, he will command his angels concerning you, and on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. Jesus said to him again.

It is written, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test. Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, all these I will give you if you will fall down and worship me. And Jesus said to him, be gone. Satan, for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

Joyce, what we have here is a biblical chess match has Satan twisting Scripture in order to try to deceive Jesus and Jesus responds with what Scripture with the right understanding of Scripture and here were given insight. I think into one of the devil's tactics. Satan doesn't always flat out denied. The Bible denies Scripture what God has said sometimes he uses it in a subtle way to lead people astray. That's what he's doing here, he's pointing to these various promises in the Old Testament, and he's misapplying them to Jesus. You think you really are the son of God is calling into question his identity. If you really are the son of God will do this.

And Jesus knows because he was the one who inspired the holy Scriptures that the prophets spoke through his Spirit. He knows what the Scriptures truly mean what they truly teach and so he responds to the devil to the twisting of Scripture with the right understanding of the word of God and frankly brothers and sisters that something that we have to do as well. We have to be on guard one or satanic distortions of what the holy Scripture teaches even miss applications of the promises of God and we see this all around us in our day today don't weave people taking certain promises. Maybe Old Testament promises related to prosperity her long life in the land for obedience. Those kinds of things and applying them today. Without understanding them in their context and through Jesus Christ the devil is at work today still twisting the Scriptures and so we have to be on guard.

We have to study the word of God and we have to know it in its context, and we did the spirit of God to help us have understanding, but there's something else here.

I think beneath the surface Joyce that this whole scene gives us this picture of who Jesus truly is. It's really interesting. In Matthew chapter 2 Jesus came out of Egypt. In Matthew chapter 3 he went through the waters, he was baptized by John so out of Egypt through the waters.

Matthew chapter 4 he's tempted for 40 days and then in Matthew chapter 5 he goes up on a mountain and delivers God's law, the sermon on the mount to the people of God. In one sense you're in Matthew two through five. You have Jesus walking in the footsteps of Israel out of Egypt, through the waters tempted for now for 40 years before 40 days going up on the mountain like Moses right to receive and to deliver God's law. Jesus is coming as the new and perfect Israel, the one who was perfectly obedient in all the places where Israel under the old covenant was not obedient where they fell when they were tempted in the wilderness for 40 years and they send Jesus is tempted here for 40 days in the wilderness and he doesn't sin he resist the temptation and that's Joyce a great hope for us because we do send we fail we fall. Our hope is in the perfect one, Jesus Christ the righteous, and were given a glimpse into that perfect one here in Matthew four at the beginning of Matthew's gospel. So thank you for that question. Hope that helps to unravel this passage of the temptation for you Joyce.

Thanks so much for your question. This is core Christianity with pastor Adm. Sanchez and just a reminder that we are listener supported. So we count on people just like you to keep this program on the air, if you'd like to learn more about making a gift. Just go to our website which is core Christianity.com.

Later we were talking about the depression earlier in that resource that we have on depression. Gaylene has a question related to that, she says. I was wondering about why it's so hard to live the Christian life. It's one thing when you first really submit your life to God you're walking with the Lord in your seriously loving him for the first time but then you begin to feel mentally attacked you feel discouraged. How do we live through those attacks. I'm trying to do what's right and staying in the word, but the discouragement keeps coming. How can I keep going Gaylene, first let me pray for you heavenly father. I was scaling up to you.

And Lord, we know the struggle that she feels that she experiences.

We know you talk about it in your word. We pray for her Lord, that you would sustain her that you would sustain her faith that he would help her in the midst of the attacks of the evil one to be grounded in your word in the true promises of of your Scriptures to have her eyes fixed upon your son Jesus and his love and goodwill toward her. I pray Lord Jesus that you would be with her that you would strengthen her and that he would cause her Lord to abide in you to rest in you, Lord, even in the midst of the feelings of depression even in the midst of the feelings of anxiety and fear. Lord, would you be her anchor and her comfort in Jesus name, amen doing the first thing I want to say to you is, you're not alone. I was just reading something that Martin Luther wrote Martin Luther was of course you know the guy that helped to spearhead that the Protestant Reformation, which a lot of us are just thinking about the end of October covering these core Christian doctrines focusing on the importance of the teaching of the Bible and in salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone knows what Luther did and he wrote this about the Christian life. Listen said the entire life of the faithful is a sort of exercise and hatred against the remnants of sin in the flesh which murmur against the spirit and faith.

The godly repeatedly feel terrorists then faith fights against the lack of trust and despair as well as against lust, anger, pride, revenge, etc. the battle continues in the godly as long as they live in some more violently in others more gently.

Hence, they have sorrow and hatred for sin combined with faith. Therefore, they cry out with Paul in Romans chapter 7 verse 24 wretched man that I am who will liberate me from this body of death, Luther goes on to say the hearts of the godly are sadder over their sins and fear of death than they are joyful over the life and inexpressible grace given through Christ.

Indeed, they struggle against this lack of trust and overcome it by faith. Yet this spirit of sadness always returns. Therefore, their life is marked by continual repentance until death healing. You are not alone.

The godly as people throughout history have felt the exact same struggle that you're talking about Martin Luther himself, the Protestant reformer set up throughout our entire lives are our lives as Christians are going to be marked by continual repentance until death because the fact of the matter is always carrying about this body of sin if you will, and until were in the presence of the Lord is going to be a fight in it so important that you understand that because I think sometimes Christians have embraced this wrong idea of the Christian life that is supposed to look like you know about a bed of roses, just that you know the victorious Christian life all the time. Never a struggle. I'm always living on the mountaintop, if you will, that is just not the ordinary Christian life.

The ordinary Christian life looks like. Daily putting to death our sins fighting against that unbelief looking to Jesus and clinging to his cross, and it is just Luther who knew what that was like the apostle Paul himself. Like Luther, quoted there in in Romans chapter 7, he was able to safe, wretched man that I am who will deliver me from this body of death thanks be to God through Jesus Christ. The first I just want you to know Gaylene that you're not alone, that this is what the Christian life is like that. It doesn't mean that that there are moments and seasons where things feel better. Where where it seems as if we are on the mountaintop and the Christian life and were really experiencing a sense of joy and peace in the presence of the Lord. But there are those repeated valleys that we go through as believers, that II do want to say. If you are struggling with depression. One get a hold of that resource that Bill already mentioned earlier in the program that you can get for signing up for our newsletter, but it is good to also consider sitting down with the doctor, someone who could give you a better sense of maybe there is a chemical issue, a chemical imbalance, Gaylene, that is also contributing to these feelings of despair and darkness and I don't want to minimize that I think too often the church has minimized clinical depression. In particular, so it is important that if you're having these feelings consistently that you consider sitting down with a doctor who might be able to encourage you and and give you some guidance, at least as far as that's concerned. But with that knowing that as you walk with Jesus as you pursue the Lord right there are seasons of joy and peace and there are seasons of lament.

I also think of the book of Psalms is one of the things that we see throughout the book of Psalms right, you don't just have the Psalms of Thanksgiving and the Psalms of praise. You also have the lamentations where the people of God are crying out to the Lord saying where are you feels like you're distant. It feels like I'm being crushed by my sins by that sense of isolation by that sense of loneliness you know who else took up the Psalms of lament on his lips, your Savior, Jesus Christ. Go to him turned to him because he knows and he loves thanks for listening to court Christianity to request your copy of today's special offer. Visit us at court, Christianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar or call us at 1-833-843-2673 that's a 33, the court when you contact us. Please let us know how you been encouraged by this podcast and be sure to join us next time.

As we explore the truth of God's word together