Am I Just a Fan or a Follower of Jesus?

A pastor a drill here and we want to hear from our podcast audience specifically, it was a call at 1130 Pacific time 833-843-2673.

That's 833 the court with your question about the Christian faith.

How I know if I'm a fan or an actual follower of Jesus. That's just one of the questions will be answering on today's addition of core Christianity will hi this is Bill Meyer along with Pastor Israel Sanchez and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. Our phone lines are open right now and you can call us for the next 25 minutes or so with your question. Here's the number it's 833, the core might want to make a note about 833 the core or if you want to use real numbers.

It's 1-833-843-2673. You can also post your question on our Facebook, Instagram or twitter accounts. You can watch a drill in the studio live right now on YouTube and send us a message. That way, and of course you can always email us a question at questions at core, Christianity.com first up today let's go to a voicemail received from one of our listeners in Indiana.

Revelation chapter 5 verse today. I let a friend. Thank you for that question.

I love opening up the broadcast.

With this vision. In Revelation chapter 5, where it is a vision John had John the apostle, he sent a series of visions that he receives from the Lord about things that were going to take place in here. His eyes are set on Jesus, the triumphant one for me just to be some of the that the context here. I'll start in verse one, and I'll read down to verse six. Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals and I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals and no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it and one of the elders said to me, weep no more. Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals between the throne and the four living creatures, and among the elders. I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. That was verse six that that last portion right there now, just think about this vision he hears about the lion of the tribe of Judah. You don't have to weep anymore. You don't have to be afraid.

Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah and so he's getting ready to cede to have this vision that he's imagining this great and mighty lion.

But when he looks between the throne and the four living creatures, and among the elders he sees a Lamb that is standing but it had been slain, or as though it had been slain, so this is a wounded lamb standing is a picture of the resurrection, having conquered death. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, but their other sort of strange things about this image of Jesus that John receives here in Revelation chapter 5 like he has seven horns and seven eyes now what is that all about well in the Bible, horn, or horns were a symbol of strength you think about the in of the ancient world. These horned animals roaming about using their horns to fend off predators or to impale people that you had to be careful around these things. These these horns, these enormous horns were a picture of strength of power well. This Lamb has seven horns, seven being the number of perfection in the Bible that is to say Jesus, the Lamb of God is all powerful and he's all seeing, all knowing, seven eyes, the seven spirits of God, which I think is is a reference ultimately to the Holy Spirit.

The proceeds from the Father and the son sent out into all the world and so John a meeting is given this glorious picture of Jesus. He's encouraged think you don't have to weep.

This is the Lord who has conquered death, he he's like a lamb standing in he's all-powerful and all seeing and that's frankly brothers and sisters. What we need to remember today and in this day and age as well that we serve the lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lamb who is standing who is all-powerful and all seeing great imagery and great explanation for that drill know you preached on the book of Revelation. In the past when your favorite books of the Bible and we actually have a great Bible study from core Christianity which you can get on Revelation, you can find out more by going to core Christianity.com/Revelation to learn more about our excellent Bible study on the book of Revelation. Okay, here's a number to call if you have a question for a drill and again were open to questions about the Bible, the Christian life Christian doctrine and theology cultural issues and how they intersect with our Christian walk.

Anything is open game and here's the phone number to call 833. The core will be taking calls for the next 50 minutes or so with that number 833 the core that's 1-833-843-2673. You can also leave us a voicemail on that same number 24 hours a day.

Here's a voicemail received from one of our listeners named Larry and Shirley have a great God and die great or a follower. Your rapture have been delayed be follower they have their baby God and don't have an opportunity.

But what six yes so there are really two questions. Their what about you know what is true faith, which is this really the one that I want to answer within the latter part of your question pertaining to this idea of the rapture of the church will people get this idea from first Thessalonians chapter 4 and if you listen to the broadcast here at core Christianity you know that that my position is that there is actually only one the second coming of Jesus.

There are two comings of Jesus one at the rapture and then the second coming at a later point, I think often times that the verses in the Bible that people .2 to make a case for the rapture are actually just about the second coming, that the final judgment, but that's where you can read about that is first Thessalonians chapter 4 in particular.

Now the that the big question here in my mind. I think one that all of us should ask ourselves in that many people are concerned with is what is the nature of true faith right. It's one thing to claim that you believe in Jesus, but we all know people who say oh yeah I'm a Christian.

I believe in Jesus but whose lives don't reflect the teaching of Scripture. They are not members of local churches.

They don't really follow Jesus and so how do we define true faith well, faith has three parts knowledge. There's a knowledge about what it is that we believe in their stairs and assent were assenting to these truths. You can't have faith without knowledge, but then there's also this third piece, which is really important in its trust.

It's trusting in Jesus personally for your salvation. For the forgiveness of your sins, not just enough to say I believe he existed. He was a historical figure like Abraham Lincoln or George Washington. It's are you personally trusting in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.

And there's this beautiful story in the Gospels but I think paints a picture of what this is like perfectly.

That's what I just want to read this because again it's so important from Mark chapter 5.

Listen to this great crowd followed Jesus and thronged about him. There was a woman who had a discharge of blood for 12 years and who had suffered much under many physicians and had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.

She heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in a crowd and touched his garment, for she said if I touch even his garment, I will be made well. Immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease and Jesus perceiving himself the power had gone out from him immediately turned about in the crowd and said, who touched my garments.

His disciples said to him you see the crowd pressing around you and yet you say who touched me, and he looked around to see who had done it, but the woman knowing what happened or came in fear and trembling, and fell down before him and told him the whole truth, and he said to her daughter, your faith has made you well.

Go in peace, and be healed of your disease okay.

What I love about this. This story is here. You have this woman was tried everything she's got all these physicians things have only gotten worse and worse and worse.

She's hopeless and there are many people like this today just to just feel hopeless. She's crushed.

He's in the state of uncleanness has this flow of blood. Under the law.

She would've been ceremonially unclean for she's in one sense, cut off from the worshiping community.

She's an outsider and yet she thinks if I can just lay hold of Jesus's garments will be made well and she does. She clings to him and she's healed. And Jesus is your faith has made you well it's it's a beautiful picture of fate, because that's what faith is. It's an unclean hand. It's our unclean hand unclean because of our sins, laying hold of the righteous robes of Jesus Christ.

Yet a lot of people in this story were around Jesus bumping into him into the crowd to get him in the crowd but only this woman by faith laid hold of him and so II would I would say that would like just to be a fan of Jesus is as you say in your and your question might be around Jesus around the things of the Christian faith. But you don't really lay hold of them for yourself. We need to lay hold of the righteous robes of Jesus Christ for ourselves and how we do that we can do that right now by faith, by trusting him by entrusting ourselves to him that's that's what true faith is anything so the question thank you for the great explanation they drew very helpful. This is core Christianity with pastor Israel Sanchez and the you know Halloween coming up here in just a couple of weeks and whenever we start approaching Halloween we start getting a lot of questions about demons and Satanism. We also get a lot of questions about angels throughout the year here on core Christianity.

We actually have a free resource that answers many of those questions in a rule tells a bit about that right now. Yes, the free resources called nine frequently asked questions about angels and demons and as we set on the broadcast before especially think things like the New Age movement. There's all sorts of confusion about angels, the role of angels, the role of demons you know what they're doing in the world today in spiritual warfare. In particular, there's a lot of confusion about this.

So we made this free resource for you. Nine frequently asked questions about angels and demons and it's it's a free resource. As I said, you can get it. Our website core, Christianity.com. It's a free PDF download and if you go to core Christianity.com/offers. You can find there. Just look for nine frequently asked questions about angels and demons. Let's go back to our phones. If you have a question for a drill. Here's the number to call will have the phone lines open for the next 10 minutes or so if you call us at 833.

The core let's go to Viola and St. Louis, Missouri Viola what your question for pastor. Israel I would like to know why why John the Baptist in Matthew 14 so King Herod.

It was not lawful for him to have his sister not want to because her husband was still alive, allegedly because he was dead and they were just fooling around had not gotten married because Judah that what he is his daughter in law came because she couldn't wait for him to have another son hurt man enough to hurt and acutely soaking clinically. Thank you for that question. So Matthew Chapter 14 is that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the same of Jesus and he said to the servants.

This is John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and this is why these miracle miraculous powers are working him for Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife because John had been saying to him, it is not lawful for you to have her and so it seems like this was an adulterous relationship and John the Baptist is speaking the truth that the power here.

He's calling this guide to repentance. And as we know, when you do that it the vernacular be like you call people to repentance and as a result, John the Baptist is martyred, but he was essentially calling out that the broader sins of society he was rebuking them he was calling Herod to repentance and it it it ended up in in his martyrdom and so that that's really the simple answer there. It was an adulterous relationship that he was he was calling out, not good and that a paradigm like the response very much as we learn and that that particular gospel story.

This is core Christianity with pastor Israel Sanchez. Let's go to sailor in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma sailor what your question for Israel thinking I call I likely mainly what the Bible about praying for an annual bill and over the line. I went last night to pray for my friend I've known for 20 years and now it's time can I know the truth and everything and I know she's a Christian and is undergoing a statement on I thought I just can do nothing on you got to come by loss of air.

It was just too sad for me. I guess they didn't know what you don't know what the Bible says about what we should do when we are confronted with the reality of death. It's overwhelming and too often in our culture today. People tried to to treat death is just the sort of natural thing makes a normal part of life that kind of thing. But that's not what the Bible teaches us about death.

The Bible teaches us that death came into the world through sin.

Paul in first Corinthians chapter 15 calls it the last enemy to be destroyed death is a monster.

It's a monster and wouldn't when we see that monster firsthand. We can become overwhelmed. We can live as you as you experienced sister. We can we can feel this overwhelming sense of what what can I do in this situation, but the reality is we can't solve the death problem in and of ourselves we don't have the means. A lot of people in the world right now are trying to do that they're trying to come up with new ways to be a science and technology to overcome death to ask you know expand that the human lifespan and so on and so forth.

The answer to death was in the past in Jesus Christ.

This is why Christ came to put away our sins and to conquer death to rise again from the dead and a couple of passages that you can meditate on one tardy party mentioned first Corinthians chapter 15 where Paul talks about the reality of the hope that we have in Jesus's resurrection. So you see your friend her body broken down because of disease, in sickness and we know you know we have the hope that that's not our final state that Jesus has conquered death and that one day all those who are in Christ are going to be raised incorruptible, perfected in holiness with no more sickness or sin.

So I would say meditate on that that chapter in the Bible.

First Corinthians chapter 15 another passage that I think of just in light of of what you said is what Paul said in the second Corinthians chapter 4 he says we do not lose heart. Verse 16. Though our outer self is wasting away our inner self is being renewed day by day for this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. As we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen for the things that are seen are transient things that are unseen are eternal. May the Lord bless you as you continue to minister to your friend as you come alongside of them then and maybe reading some of these passages of Scripture can be an encouragement but fixing your eyes on the one who conquered death, Jesus Christ, God bless you know, Israel. I really do appreciate the fact that whenever we talk about death on this program you do correct this false assumption that it's, you know, as you said somehow just a natural part of life and going back to you know the biblical roots of of sin and death and just saying no, that's not a good thing. It's Jesus that it was not a good thing and we need to remember that when the world is giving us a very different message, religion, friends, is man's way of coping with death so often right that that's what it is the Christian faith, which is the true religion is God's revelation of what death is it in and not just a way for us to cope with it to feel good about ourselves to feel a little bit better. It's how God sent his son into the world in history to conquer death.

That's true, that's real regardless of what you think.

Regardless of how you feel.

Jesus Christ came into the world and conquered death and sin by his life, death and resurrection from the dead, that is our hope, brothers and sisters as as Christians and and so we have the revelation of our hope. But we also have the that clear picture that the Bible paints for us of the terrible thing that death is so let's stop pretending like it's it's fine. It's not that big of a deal. People just pass on. It's a natural part of life know it is the last enemy to be destroyed and we know who has the victory, it's Jesus a man. This is core Christianity let's go to Christine calling from Walnut Grove, Missouri Christine what your question for Israel and that we will in any way to bring on the reign of Gaia. Thank you for that question. Christina might my view is that the Messiah Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and is currently raining. I was just talking about.

First Corinthians 15 it says he must reign until he has put all of his enemies under his feet in the last enemy to be destroyed is death, and so right now King Jesus is seated at the right hand of the father and he is raining out well through the church by his word and spirit as the gospel goes out the kingdom of Messiah is growing even now. But that's not a kingdom that you and I built. We can't, Jesus is the one who said I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Now we are in no called to with the gifts that God gives us edify one another edify the body of Christ. But here's what we need to understand we are first and foremost, recipients of God's kingdom. This is something that God is giving to you and to me, through the grace of the gospel. Think about what the author the Hebrew says in Hebrews chapter 12. Therefore, let us be grateful. This is verse 28 of Hebrews 12. Let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken unless thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe for our God is a consuming fire.

You see this reality of the fact that the kingdom is something that's given to us. It's this gift throughout the Bible in Luke's gospel, in particular in Luke chapter 12 verse 32 in Luke chapter 18 verse 16. Even in the book of Daniel goat go to go to Daniel in Daniel chapter 7 verse 27 the kingdom is not something you and I built something we receive by the grace of God it and that's just a beautiful reality.

And boy doesn't that take the pressure off know were called as citizens of this kingdom to reflect the righteous rule of our king to preach the message of the kingdom to share that with those who are need a message of forgiveness a message of grace. And that's how the kingdom advances not by taking over that the institutions of this world is not by forcing people to think like we do with regard to moral issues that's not how the kingdom of Jesus advance the kingdom of Jesus advances by the word and spirit of God and its to the word and spirit that we received this kingdom that God gifts to us that bless you Christine, thanks for that question you're listening to core Christianity. One of the ways you can ask a question is by emailing us.

Here's our email address its questions at core, Christianity.com got this email from Megan. She says my sister attends a church where they call the leadership apostles and give personal prophetic words. I'm skeptical and I feel like people giving prophetic words.

Seems like fortune-telling is giving a personal prophetic word biblical and what if in a prophetic word given the person knows information about you that they weren't given previously yeah think that's it a great question well in Scripture.

You do have prophets in the Old Testament. These prophets were part of the theocracy in Israel. They were bringing to bear the truth of God's covenant to the Kings often the rebellious kings in the New Testament you also see prophets like in the book of acts. One individual named Actavis in particular and then Paul talks about the gift of prophecy in places like first Corinthians chapter 14 the question is, are those gifts the sign gifts like prophecy still around in the church today. Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 20 that the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Now that I know that that we don't have a lot of time to get into this right now but I take that to mean that that the prophets that were there even in the time of the New Testament were foundational, once and for that early.

As the gospel was going out. Ordinarily, what you should have in the church is not apostles and prophets, pastors and teachers, and that's why Paul gives us qualifications for pastors and teachers, elders and deacons in places like first Timothy three and Titus chapter 1 it's it's as if he setting the church up for this is what the perpetual life and ministry of the church is in a look like it's gonna look like faithful Bible teachers.

People who were committed to the word of God to the prophetic Scriptures as they been delivered to us fixing our eyes on Jesus, after we got a focus back to the word of God and a growing in Christ.

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