Were Jesus and the disciples influenced by psychedelics? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Well, hi, this is Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day.
And yes, we do get some doozies. That's 1-833-843-2673. Our phone lines will be open for the next 25 minutes or so. So give us a call right now. You can also post your question on our Facebook, Instagram or Twitter accounts. And by the way, you can watch Adriel live in the studio on our YouTube channel. You can do that every weekday at eleven thirty a.m. and you can send us a message through our YouTube channel as well. And of course, you're always welcome to email us your question at questions at core Christianity dot com. First up today, here is a question we received from one of our listeners via voicemail.
Hi, I've always wondered about the story in Genesis 32, I think it is, where Jacob wrestles with a man who's called God or an angel. I'm confused about that and would like to understand what that's about. Thank you.
Bye. Hey, thank you for that question. I had the privilege of preaching through this text a handful of weeks back and just such an interesting story there in Genesis 32.
So a couple of things. Maybe I'll just read beginning in verse 22. That same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven children and crossed the fort of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream and everything else that he had. And Jacob was left alone and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, Let me go for the day is broken. But Jacob said, I will not let you go unless you bless me. And he said to him, What is your name? And he said, Jacob. Then he said, Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed. Then Jacob asked him, Please tell me your name. But he said, Why is it that you ask my name? And there he blessed him. And so Jacob called the name of the place Peniel saying, For I have seen God face to face and yet my life has been delivered. Now a couple of things, just the context. Jacob is here running from his brother Esau, hiding from his brother.
Really a lot of cowardice actually in the section leading up to this. He's about to see his brother God has called him to go back home after a period of several years away. And he's terrified because the last he heard his brother Esau wanted to kill him. And so he's hiding. He's afraid. So you got to imagine as he's confronted in the middle of the night all by himself, he probably thinks that the person who is attacking him wrestling with him is Esau, his brother. This is who he's thinking about. He can't sleep because he knows Esau is close by. So he probably thinks this is Esau. He says, Bless me. I'm not going to let you go until you give me a blessing.
Remember the conflict earlier in the book of Genesis related to the blessing and taking the blessing from his brother. And then he realizes, wait a minute, this isn't Esau at all. This is the angel of the Lord. This figure, this mysterious figure touches him.
His hip is knocked out of joint, if you will. And then he gives him a brand new name. What you have here is actually a lot of sort of baptismal imagery.
He crosses through the J book, which was an extension of the Jordan River. He's in this trial, if you will, this ordeal, this conflict. And God there through this process gives him a brand new name.
It's sort of how we think about baptism, going into the water and then coming through it, this trial, if you will, this ordeal, this judgment with a new identity in Jesus Christ. And so it's clear that this is an encounter that he has with the true and the living God, or the angel of the Lord, actually in the book of Hosea. In Hosea chapter 12, we read in verse 3, In the womb he took his brother by the heel. This is speaking of Jacob again. In his manhood he strove with God. He strove with the angel and prevailed. He wept and sought his favor. I think the picture here is Jacob, who's relied on his own cunning and wisdom and even deceit for so long, is now being humbled by the Lord.
And he walks away with a limp. And with a new trust in God, as this section in Genesis continues, it's amazing how essentially you have this sort of transformation. No longer are you going to be called Jacob, but Israel.
And so you have this picture of new life, if you will, of being confronted by God and challenged, called to confess even your sins. I mean, when he says, Who are you? I mean, the angel of the Lord knows who Jacob is. And he says, I'm Jacob.
That name means deceiver or supplanter. And so he's almost confessing, This is who I am. And God says, Not anymore. And that's precisely what the Lord does for us in baptism. We come through the waters, confessing our sins, and God gives us a new identity in his Son, Jesus.
And so a lot of things going on there, but hopefully that gives you some insight into the text. God bless. Thanks for that, Adriel. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We'd love to hear from you if you have a question about the Bible, the Christian life doctrine or theology or maybe what's happening in our culture right now and how your Christian faith intersects with that. Give us a call for the next 20 minutes or so. 833-THECORE.
That's 1-833-843-2673. There's been a lot of discussion about marriage in our culture over the last couple of years and various voices with various opinions on marriage. But what is God's view of marriage? We actually have a booklet that dives into that very important topic.
Once again, this is a resource we want to put in your hands. It's called Why Would Anyone Get Married? And with all of the questions that people have today about relationships, about marriage, I know a lot of younger people, my generation, putting marriage off. What's the purpose? What's the big deal?
We could just live together, that kind of a thing. But what does the Bible say about marriage? What does God have to say about the union between a man and a woman? We want you to learn more about this. We know that this will encourage you, whether you're married or not, around you and what the Scriptures teach on this subject. So get a hold of this resource by going over to corechristianity.com.
Again, it's called Why Would Anyone Get Married? Well, let's go back to a voicemail that we received from one of our listeners. This is from Westor. Just wondering, been doing a lot of thinking, a lot of reading. Do you think Jesus and any of his disciples used psychedelic substances to kind of influence him in his teachings of God? I've always wondered that.
Thank you. Hey, brother, thank you for that question. It's something that has been suggested by people, even prominent podcasters out there, that really, where did Jesus get his wisdom, his insight? Where did the disciples get that from? Well, it was through psychedelic trips that they were on, taking mushrooms and those kinds of things. Now, is there any biblical basis truly for believing that?
No, in fact, just the opposite. And a couple things I'll say. One thing that the Bible makes absolutely clear is that Jesus was sinless, that he was led by, throughout his entire life, the Holy Spirit, if you will, as the second person of the Holy Trinity. And so the reason that's important is because there are prohibitions in scripture related to drunkenness, related to being under the influence, out of control, if you will. That's sin. And we know, according to scripture, that Jesus never sinned.
And so there's that right there. But another thing that the Bible makes absolutely clear is that when it comes to the insight and the wisdom that Jesus received, it wasn't as though it was mediated by some sort of substance. Jesus, as the second person of the Holy Trinity, God himself, is the Lord.
He doesn't need anything in terms of mediating his spiritual experience. When he assumed humanity, he breathed forth the Spirit of God to that humanity, as it were, and lived under the grace of the Holy Spirit throughout his whole life. And this is precisely what John says in John chapter 3. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. Whoever receives his testimony sets a seal on this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. Where did Jesus get his teaching from?
The authority? It wasn't from psychedelic mushrooms. This is the true and the living God come to us from heaven, sent by the Father, full of the Holy Spirit without measure. And so the insights, the wisdom, the gospel that he proclaims comes directly from heaven, directly from him.
And so, you know, when people try to say things like, oh, well, you know, maybe these visions that they were having and so on and so forth, they were induced by these substances. They're just not reading the scriptures. I mean, the Word of God tells us where this came from.
And so we have to submit to that, to what the scriptures say. Thank you for your question, and God bless. You're listening to Core Christianity, and we're always open to your questions. You can call us or email us anytime, 24 hours a day. We try to check our voicemails regularly and respond to our emails. And we have a call right now from Troy in Nashville, Tennessee. Troy, what's your question for Pastor Adriel?
Well, my question is, I appreciate, first of all, your ministry. And my question is, it's on YouTube and Google, anyone can find it there, that Elon Musk has manufactured a company that is building chips to intersect brainwaves from thoughts into the chip in order to function together. And he said it is to intersect the conscience and that the chip and the brain will work together. And he also has experimented on a pig. You will see it on YouTube that he has already done that. And he is saying that it's going to soon be a part of society. And one of his cohorts on YouTube is saying this, too. And I just want to know what you think about this and for the whole church to be aware of this, that something like this is going on.
And it's not a fake. You can find out for yourself. And I wonder what you think about it. Well, if the question is, do I think that this is kicking off the end times or that this might be the mark of the beast or maybe what leads to the mark of the beast? Because this idea was popularized by certain books that were recently written, this idea that the mark of the beast is a microchip or something that's going to be placed in an individual's hand or on their forehead. I think that that's not really the best way to read the Book of Revelation. The Book of Revelation is apocalyptic literature.
It's prophetic. You have so many symbols there. And oftentimes the numbers are symbolic. Oftentimes the imagery that's painted for us as John is having these visions, almost like dreams, the things that he sees are symbolic of something else. So for example, you have at the beginning of the Book of Revelation seven golden lampstands.
Those are symbolic of the seven churches that were there in Asia Minor. So we have to understand the Book of Revelation according to its context. And when it talks about people being marked with this mark, the mark of the beast described in places like the end of Revelation chapter 13, more than anything, I think that's association with the pagan worship, the system there of idolatry, a rejection of the gospel, not believing in Jesus Christ, and an embracing of false worship, idolatry. Specifically, what's interesting is in other places throughout the Book of Revelation, the children of God are marked as well. They have the name of God written on their foreheads. You see this at the very beginning of chapter 14. So right on the heels of the description of the mark of the beast, 14.1 says, Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Father's name written on their foreheads. So you have this contrast here between those who embrace this idolatrous system of worship, this false worship, marked by the beast, characterized by the beast, and those who embrace Christ, and the gospel sealed with the Holy Spirit. I don't believe that an individual can take the mark of the beast accidentally. That's what a lot of people are concerned about, Troy. You think about this technology that's out there, and what if I get this or that, and I accidentally took the mark of the beast, and I'm eternally condemned?
No. If you believe in Jesus Christ, if you're a follower of Christ, if you've trusted in Him truly, and you belong to the true and the living God, you have been sealed. You belong to the Lord. You're not going to accidentally take the mark of the beast.
So I think it's unhelpful to speculate about these things with technology and all of that. I think we have to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus through His word. Obviously we want to be aware of the things that are happening around us, but we don't want to just speculate about, well, this must be the mark of the beast, and that's probably the Antichrist, that kind of thing. No, you fix your eyes, Troy, on Christ and on the word, and being plugged into a solid local church, man, that's what God calls you to. And I pray that as you do that, the Lord would give you peace in the midst of all the things that are happening around us. God bless.
Thanks, Troy. Appreciate you calling in and being a regular listener to CORE Christianity. We'd love to hear from you if you have a question about the Bible, the Christian life, doctrine, or theology. Our phone lines will be open for the next six, seven minutes or so. We'll take your call at 833-THE-CORE. And by the way, we're going to record a second program today after our live show, so you can actually call in for the next 30 minutes or so, 35 minutes or so if you have a question.
1-833-843-2673. Let's go to David from St. Louis, Missouri. David, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Hi, Adriel.
Is my audio clear? Yeah, I can hear you good, David. What's your question? Okay, great. I just want to make sure you're on my headset.
So I have a question. I have a guy in Africa that is contacting me through social media. Obviously, he is asking me for financial help.
And the situation here is it's completely legit. We video chatted. He's taking it around his community through a live video. We pray together regularly. And he has actually has taken the responsibility to the ministry for 25 plus boys.
And that's completely legit. And surely after we met, and obviously I'm a little, I guess you could say, reluctant to send him money, obviously, for all the right reasons. But surely after we met, all of my son's friends, which are all boys, obviously, we have one girl, wanted to start going to church. So now I've kind of found myself not responsible for taking the ministry for 15 boys in my neighborhood without fathers. So my question is, my discernment, I believe, is good. I feel like God is calling me to somehow financially send him whatever I can. So what is your advice for that?
Yeah. Man, well, one, praise God. It sounds like, what a cool opportunity first with the friends of your son, you said, who are coming around. Man, praise, you know, I came to faith, really, I mean, began walking with the Lord through the hospitality of a Christian family. Just having me in their home.
They had a son who was my age and so spending time with them. So you never know how God is going to use you, your family, your hospitality. And I love your desire, not just to care for the people in your community, but also for the saints who are abroad. And of course, that's commended throughout scripture, I think, 2 Corinthians 8. We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed and a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means of their own accord.
We are called, and you know this, to be generous, to support our brothers and sisters who are in need. Now, generally, I am suspicious of the kinds of things that you get sent to you on social media. I get those kinds of messages, too, on social media, people sending me pictures of orphanages and those kinds of things. And I think if you talk to missions agencies, they will also highlight, you know, there's a lot of shady stuff out there, sadly. And there are a lot of people trying to take advantage, you know, resources that are sent towards missions that don't actually get used for the mission or for those who are in need. I think you're wise in wanting to be careful, and I think doing as much research and getting as much information as you can is good. And if you can corroborate the sort of story that you're hearing, that might be helpful. Generally speaking, for me, as a rule, I wouldn't respond to those kinds of requests that I've received on social media, which doesn't mean that they're all bad, per se.
I just don't know. So you need to do the research and check that out to see if it passes muster. And so I would say, at the end of the day, you have to do that. And if you feel like you can with a clear conscience, go ahead and send some help, then do it. And I think that the Lord will bless you and honor you in that, but I just would hate to see you taken advantage of. So it sounds to me like you're having conversations, you've Zoomed with these folks, maybe even, I think, reaching out to some other missions agencies and seeing these kinds of scams happening and see if they could give you any insight. But I just want to say, may the Lord bless you in your desire to be generous, and especially as you're ministering to the kids in your neighborhood. May God give you wisdom, and just favor with them as you share the love of Christ. David, God bless. Some great counsel, Adriel, and I love that idea of checking with some missions agencies that are on the ground in that area to see if this is legitimate. Yeah, we wouldn't want David to be taken advantage of.
We know so many people have been in the past, so it could be a risk. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Just a reminder, we have this great booklet on marriage available. It basically talks about what is the meaning and purpose of marriage according to the Bible. When a lot of people are asking questions about marriage these days, you can find that on our website corechristianity.com slash offers.
It's called Why Would Anyone Get Married? We'd love to get that into your hands for a donation of any amount. Let's get back to the phones. We have Taylor on the line from Springfield, Missouri. Taylor, what's your question for Pastor Adriel?
Hi, thank you guys for taking my call. I am a new believer. Well, I've always believed in God, but I'm brand new to my relationship with Jesus and just keeping it one-on-one, you know? So my question is, I've been saved and I've been baptized and I know that it's not a feeling, you don't just get a feeling, but I'm struggling to connect or to understand the Holy Spirit and seek direction and counsel from the Holy Spirit. I just sometimes feel like, I don't know, I overthink it or I'm just so human I can't hear the spirituality part of it.
I just am struggling a little bit. Taylor, I'm so grateful to hear how the Lord has been working in your life and what an exciting time as a newer believer. And there can be so many feelings and emotions associated with that season of the Christian life, the sort of newlywed days of walking with Jesus and maybe for the first time understanding the Gospel, what it's all about, experiencing God's presence. And I think sometimes in our lives as new Christians, God gives us just a special sense of his presence, almost as if to show us, yes, I am real, you can trust in me. But those feelings aren't always there and I remember for me as a new Christian when those feelings left, I really struggled. Did God leave me?
Did I do something wrong? But I think what the Lord was trying to teach me and maybe what the Lord is wanting to teach you is to trust in his word, not in how we feel. And one of the ways, the primary way that the Spirit speaks today, Taylor, is through scripture, illuminating the word of God. And so if you want to grow in your ability to hear God speaking, to be led by the Spirit, which we're called, right? This is something we're called to do, to be filled with the Spirit, to be led by the Spirit. Well, it happens as you're grounded in the word of God. And so can I just encourage you, one, make sure that you're in a solid church that faithfully teaches the word, but two, be in the word consistently in your own life asking God the Holy Spirit to speak to you, to reveal his truth to you more and more. It's sometimes what we call the illumination of the Holy Spirit. God, the Spirit inspired the words of scripture for us so we can take them to the bank and say, this is God's word. And now as we read it, he illumines it to our minds and hearts so that we might receive it for ourselves.
And may God do that for you, Taylor, in this season of your life. God bless. Thanks for listening to CORE Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at corechristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833-THE-CORE. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program. And be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's word together.
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