Dr. Brown Answers Your Toughest Questions

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We've got answers for the light a fire with your host scholar and cultural commentator Dr. Michael Brown your voice for more savvy and spiritual clarity 634-3105 ML dear Sir host Dr. Michael Brown in any way any ministry work we do anything that we talk about on the air anything having to do with Bible theology, spirituality, culture, moral political issues Israel what ever you disagree with me. What a challenge that something Pfizer open 866-34-TRUTH 784 Michael Brown absolutely delighted to be with you and we are going straight to the phones Sam in Columbus, Mississippi. Your first up today.

Thanks for calling Mark Stockwell called all our question. Look at what leads up to the court. All studying sometime back on the Calvinist doctrine character small church was never interested in it I would always just throw it out because of foreknowledge, you know that and all but the deeper I got into it the more I realized on undated little help so I wound up being turned you list debates absolutely wanderlust of you truly are our voice and so I just point us to the Lord showed me something specific you know for me.

Besides, we have a doctoral issues scriptural issues but in Matthew 20 5X will just let your one morning when you say the sowing and reaping the man who received the one talent you choose a master will be a hard man right you so you know your reaping what you don't. So of course the master said, we knew all this week while you done me the master was very upset of being called I heart my will in this and the doctrine of election, there appears to be no sowing and reaping evening and are in honor of exchange we get studied were stained our life in Christ and this law seems to be throughout Scripture, sowing and reaping in my question is do you sleaziest. You say that that that doctrine eliminates the sowing and reaping.

Yes it's it's a question and I appreciate you wrestling through the wishes and thanks for the kind words. So, of course, with any parable. It's meant to convey overall points and messages, and even though there may be equivalences that the stance for this in the stands. For this, obviously we don't want to go too far in deducing things from parables, but the question would be, just Calvinism paints a picture of God that makes him unfair or unjust or cruel in some way and although their Calvinistic friends of mine and Calvinistic leaders through history that extolled the grace of God in the beauty of God and say that Calvinism displays God's love because none of us deserve to be saved and God chose to save some of us that of course is true. But if Calvinism is true God simply chose to pass by multitudes of other people.

For reasons unknown to us, but having nothing to do with the quality of our lives, or lack thereof, and that by creation, the way he made us that ultimately were only doing what we were created to do and in other words, someone who was created by God with the ultimate purpose of being a wicked person who will be damned to hell is a testament to God's justice only did what they could do.

They could never not be wicked." If Calvinism they did not have the power to believe that Jesus died for them and even if they did believe it wasn't true because he didn't die for them, a soldier that would be like blaming someone who is handicapped. I was in a car wreck in their sign was that their spine was severed, and it's impossible for them to walk for me to blame them for not walking or hold them responsible. That's how many would see it so I know my Calvinist friends would have a response to that, but yes that the logic behind it is not consistent with the larger picture is he painted of God in the Scriptures. So thank you sir for the question sir appreciated an antidote when you referenced being a pastor of a small church.

There are so many large churches today have the privilege of working with some of them in administering and some of them and their thriving and healthy and great but thank God for those who labor for years. Sometimes a small communities sometimes with the ups and downs and challenges of life and ministry.

I used to tell our students in the midst of reviving the Browns revival school of ministry that it a pastor gave aspartame to come out and you may go out and there about the maybe 30 people in this church, and you might think always been her 20 years only 30 people said that man was the one that got the call the middle of the night when the press about the 14 and will commit suicide. That man had to go from the bedside of of a love one of the cognition die of cancer to then go and preach behind the pulpit so honor on him.

He thank you sir for the call 866-348-7884. Let's go to Trevor in California you are on the line of fire, and I love you and I black color you actually were instrumental in your white helpmeet… Down the road by Bridget all right thankfully I am in second James if you listening. Don't fall off the bike. I'm sure you get your stories on the other side with a good new strength tax okay just a little fun with their back to you. Yeah and go there you go.

I have a book with Dr. Patrick, you are about 11 but you cannot repeat personal revival and further energy that comes off the first part is wearing off. But that commitment. There left feeling big deal, but Bill Bill Baca godly things happening so that the title of the book that was written to John Kilpatrick and Larry Sparks is the fire that never sleeps and it doesn't list X number of keys Minsky's for sustaining personal revival so on the one hand, revival is a season of unusual divine visitation and we know that God uses it to wake up the sleeping church to bring about a great harvest of lost sinners to bring about fundamental changes in the body, but that revival in itself is something exceptional. The key is that we continue to walk and passion, devotion, consistency, truth right and that's that's really what you're talking about.

And that's part of the reason for the book so this is a great challenge there's no magic formula, but there are certain principles that we live by first is we've got to always remain jealous four times align with the Lord. It's it's just it's of brotherly you can hear me but we can hear you did for some background noise so if you're interacting up. I'll get back to you after share.

The first and most fundamental thing for any believer's jealousy of the quality and consistency of your times alone with God.

We will wander, we will leave our first love.

We will lose our age. We will decline. In devotion, we will compromise her standards. All these things will happen if we do not spend adequate time consistently with the Lord. Schedules can vary with stuff to be jealous for that one thing that's helped me is periodic intensive times alone with the Lord because the busyness of life in this get so consumed, writing, and doing ministry work and sometimes busy traveling that that I will neglect that the depth of focus time alone with the Lord so more often than I have in my life. I just get alone. I cut back on ministry travel schedule to spend is probably averaging to every five weeks just adding along the entire weekend to be with the Lord. Uninterrupted just being with him that's been life-changing so that's number one number two is to keep reading, listening to taking things in that stir fire that stir hunger because staying hungry is really important there more lost people would be touch the more sick people to be healed. This more to be done to raise up a standard for the name of Jesus. So whether it's reading other things that challenge you. It could be missionary biographies could be testimonies of healing it can be stories of past revival.

It could be certain worship songs that take you to a certain place and remind you of the beauty of the Lord. So do things to stir yourself on a regular basis 1/3 thing would be giveaway which you have go out and do outreach if you feel miserable and you have nothing go out anyway. I found it is we live by the principle of give rather than hoard talking spiritually that God renews Lord of only got $20 in my pocket.

I'll give you a monetary analogy give Wright help that poor person annexing civil rights.

You $200 check that helps you ongoing your mission strip. It's the same kind of thing that often happens spiritually. So those are some of the things and then Journal Journal if you feel the Lord speaking to about something, write it down if if you're having an incredible encounter with God, ready to then go back and review your journal notes because that may stir you that may remind you, so these are some of the things that I believe will be healthy, the emotions you go up and down but you can live in a state of revived devotion and love, so hopefully some of those things will be helpful to you. Trevor so that was a come to mind is the most essential and foundational are you so much. I particularly interested in what you said that revival help. No change alters my body that type of thing up and have been starting with one or two people who are interested thing that change in a body well. Generally speaking English.

You are leading the congregation leading a denominational movement or something like that you don't have the ability to bring about that change. But it could be that your hunger your prayer.

Your crying out to God help spark something maybe you pray regularly for it for your pastoral leaders for year despite the fullness of God's blessing on them in the freshness of God's fire in them and in deeper devotion, and maybe they encounter God in a new way or are revived and brought back to first love. Maybe they begin to look at church and ministry and said what are we doing these adjusted traditions are we just repeating what others have done in and maybe that can then bring some type of reformation change for often the spark starts with just a few people have to spread and then spread to those who have the power to bring about change order birth something new if there's to be a change in culture and sometimes unlikely people in the birthing something new that they never plan to. But as a call for reformation change they launch into something entirely new. Thank you for the call.

I'm delighted to open one: now, 866-348-7884 Adam Sims, Michael, doing the line of fire with your host Dr. Michael Brown get on the line of fire by calling 866-34-TRUTH here again is Dr. Michael Brown is on the line of fire. Are you getting my emails you say Dr. Brown yesterday read that you because I knew people tune in for the first time. Another thanks if you remind yourself be sure to go to the website instructor Brown.org SK GR, Brown,.org, just click the run on the homepage to get the emails take a few seconds to sign up.

We want to get you in our welcome tour to you more about my own testimony from LSD. The PhD tell you about the 3Rs that form the foundation of our ministry and all the ways that we can serve you and help you keep you up-to-date as we are here friends to see the church to see each of you healthy, thriving, infused with faith and truth and courage so right where you are on the front lines of your world and the frontlines of life where you are be changing diapers big program computers. Preaching on street corner where ever you are in the frontlines was stand with you and help or into Sue go to the website instructor Brown.org and let us start pouring into today. All right we go to Montréal, Canada.

Adam, welcome to the line of fire Dr. Brown are you doing today doing very well thank you, you have a couple questions for you. The first point is that, regarding Janet chapter port being aware, the king of Sodom offered Abraham well you know after the whole scenario happened with delivering locked and all that and I want to know how God like you.

When Abraham rejected the king give.

How does that apply practically today because, for example, let's say somebody in business right and you know your working primarily with unbeliever right know how does the whole concept work of you know, rejecting you know the king of Sodom as well. Like today right so we know that God has the children of Israel plunger Egypt right and course they were to slaves. This was a way of getting wages, but took the wealth of the wicked, and gave it to God's people Israel is told to ask for that from every neighbor, and it was given to them and those physical skills meet physical riches were used, among other things to help build the tabernacle and we know that there verses about the wealth of the wicked being stored up for the righteous in the book of Proverbs right Sarah. That in itself is not a problem but Abraham's ethic was to say I didn't do this for money.

I do this for any any person and no one is going to be able to say hey I made Abram rich it's only God that's can be able to sit so that was his personal ethic before God. You can live that out in many many different ways.

For example, when Paul said that even though he was entitled to financial support for his ministry work that he was not gonna be deprived of his boasting.

It is refreeze agog command prayed so I can boast about that. But if I don't receive income for and work extra to support myself. That's my boast so there may be something that you do and let's let's just say, get this, the practical application. Let's say that that you have somebody that is really been against you personally and really try to hurt you right and you have an opportunity to do good to them and you contact them, say hey I discovered this if you fix this it'll save you thousands of dollars a month, and the like. What like you do that for me okay this will look I pacing nothing.

Why because you just did it out of love you just did it right it to do that as a Christian, but to say when you can't make money off of other people. As long as it's legitimate honest, fair, of course, you can't. It's just good business so and how did Abraham get the rest of his wealth.

Obviously he traded he sold the head flocks. He did whatever he did.

As such, is that God rained down the money from heaven on him right.

But this was an okay I did a righteous thing to rescue a cousin here and that we can pay me for that, and those who builds a why I paid it I helped Abraham get rich note to him that was like a gift, work hard, fine, but then that was like get that that's on the planet right you have one more question right yeah exactly. Thank you and I really really clarify. I appreciate your short. Also, another question I have mono practical level and II wanted to hear from somebody like you over 40 years of ministry experience like yourself you know on this matter.

So I happen to be in ministry and… For example, you know you feel the Lord calling you perhaps to move into a different aspect of ministry example let you know if someone's been pastoring for a certain number of years and they feel like maybe it time to you know maybe move on in order to you know may be going to evangelism something like that when it comes to making a big move in ministry. How would you suggest going about it to make sure you heard right of the Lord mental go about it properly right so the levels of this meaning if you did just had a sense, you have an inkling you just boy, I don't have the same grace to be doing well is doing before and I feel Phyllis prompting will that you keep praying about you.

You lean into the light that you have an US the Lord for greater clarity, then you might share it with your spouse or other leaders to say pray with me. I don't know what to make of this. I have the sense that others may say it was the Lord showed me six months ago.

You can be transitioning. I just been waiting for you to come to meeting may start to get confirmation like that. Another thing is to start to give yourself to doing some of the other things cycle Still pastoring, but I got this if ancestors the other start to outreach as a grab a few people at church at the student. This is outreach or maybe really feel God's grace and it feel wow this is this is him so the more you do that walk in the light that you have is closer and closer to the light gets brighter and brighter.

Right.

Other times it is. There are a motion we get worn out seasonal with your heart time the aggressors and screen on the other side agreements I can have it. That being said, I've been spoken to by God at different times over the years with intensity and with dramatic clarity and I knew it was the Lord and when I knew it I shared it with others.

God spoke this to me.

I have to act on it now.

If I was in leadership at that time with ministry. Then of course I share it with others. The site I'm convinced God spoke this to me and I'm sharing it with you. If everyone says is not God. While now that's okay. Let's all pray I really believe it is. Let's Oprah. I ultimately have to do what I believe God spoke to me to do, even if I was one night I listened to the warnings taken seriously, but ultimately have to give account to God or it could be that that corporate wisdom it's been to slow down. Maybe my timing is off mate. Maybe it's the Lord, but I haven't processed it properly, but that's why say can be at different levels, so those those are some of the practical thoughts. May the Lord God, you, my brother, I did teaching series old 1020 hrs. of teaching on how to be led by the spirit.

It's an older series but you might find it practical it's it's on the website asked her to Brown.org in the store with all your resources. Thank you for the call 866-348-7884 a, let's go to Michael Fort Worth Texas if you could turn that radio down there would be great okay are you there yes go ahead and I have been a I am. I am a a a Gentile, elderly men and it shows that we will be experiments and BMI buried in a yellow lab bad day just to clarify, Michael that's that's on talking about believers in Jesus that's talking about the people of the nations that will enter the future kingdom. Once Jesus is returned on the earth and and they will they will support and serve the nation of Israel. It's not saying that Gentile Christians will serve Jewish people in the world to come. Not saying that you are if you're a follower of Jesus you serve Jesus and I serve Jesus and and we serve one another in love.

As fellow believers but gentiles don't serve Jews in the church we we serve the Lord together.

Greg will give like a plate that will be very vast and it will be very family out of I go out of town really good no associate about you Michael get saved today so that you can serve the Jews know that's that's not it.

But see at the end of the age of