How the Psalms Tell Us About Jesus

Are all of the Psalms about Jesus? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Well, hi there.

Happy Friday. I'm 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. You can call us right now with your question. Our phone lines are open. We'll be taking calls for the next 25 minutes or so. Here's the phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Now, you can also post your question on one of our social media sites. And of course, you can always feel free to email us.

Here's our email address. It's questionsatcorechristianity.com. Up now first, let's go to Tony.

He's calling in from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tony, what's your question for Adriel? Hey, Pastor Adriel. I got a question that I'm starting to hear a lot about, like books that have been taken out of the Bible and, or even like what the Dead Sea Scrolls, when they were found, like the Book of Enoch, and then there's like 18 other books that apparently they're claiming that have been taken out of the Bible because they didn't, something to that didn't agree with what was written. And my concern, you know, like with end-time events, I'm thinking that, wondering if like this kind of stuff that's coming is part of the great deception. Tony, thank you for that question.

Thanks for sharing a little bit about kind of the reason behind the question. And, you know, it's interesting because actually the Book of Enoch, which you brought up in particular, is alluded to in the New Testament in a couple of places, in particular in Jude and in 2 Peter. And so these writings were around, but they weren't considered a part of the biblical canon, we would say.

They were well known. I mean, this is why Peter in 2 Peter is able to reference them, or in particular the Book of Enoch, a little bit because his audience would have known about them. But again, that's not to say that they were divinely inspired. I mean, even Paul, when he's preaching in Athens, is able to quote pagan poets and philosophers. It doesn't mean that they're divinely inspired. And so we distinguish between things that are out there that can be helpful, but aren't necessarily a part of the canon of Scripture.

Maybe there's some history or background there, historical context, and that shouldn't be an issue. Now, there are some traditions that do include or have a larger Old Testament canon. You think of the Roman Catholics, for example.

And so, you know, Protestant Bible is going to be different, but I think historically we're sticking with what the church, I would say, primarily held to as the primary canon. This is what God has inspired for us. Now, you asked, is this a part of that great deception? It's not the first thing that my mind goes to when I think about that great deception. John, in 1 John, he really talks about this, and he says the focus of the Antichrist and that spirit of the Antichrist that's at work in the world today is to take our eyes off of Jesus Christ, off of his person and work. And so there are, you know, a number of different strategies that Satan, the evil one, uses in order to do this. It could be false doctrine, it could be immorality, it could be any number of things, but the great deception centers around confusing people about the person and work of Jesus.

And it's been like that since the very beginning. This is why, you know, some of the earliest debates that the church was having in the first few centuries of the church centered around who is Jesus. And you get that even in 1 John in particular. There were people that were saying he didn't really come in the flesh, so they were denying the full bodily incarnation of the word. And so wherever you see people today minimizing the deity of Christ or the true humanity of Christ, minimizing his work for us on the cross to save us from our sins, that's how you know.

That's how you can identify the spirit of the Antichrist. It's working to lead people away from Jesus Christ, and so we need to be, as John says, vigilant, and I'm grateful to hear that you're seeking to do just that in your life. And may the Lord bless you as you continue to seek him and to serve him.

Thanks, Tony. Tony, thanks so much, and thanks for listening to Core Christianity. We'd love to hear from you.

If there's a passage in Scripture that's always kind of confused you, you'd like some clarification on it. Or if there's an issue in doctrine or theology that you'd like some clarification on, hey, we'd love to talk to you about that as well. We're also open to you if you have doubts about Christianity.

Perhaps you consider yourself to be an atheist or agnostic, and you just kind of stumbled on this program and hear us talking about these things about the Christian faith. Feel free to call us. We'd love to dialogue with you. Here's our phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to Connie, calling in at Independence, Missouri. Connie, what's your question for Adriel? Well, I'm sorry this question takes a while to even ask.

Please bear with me. When I was a little kid, I could ask my parents for anything. But they made it clear that if I said no, that was the final answer, and you weren't to ask again. Well, now I've become a Christian, and the Bible says to ask and keep on asking. And I think of that judge that only gave the woman justice because she was so persistent.

She was wearing him down with her coming. And I don't want to be driving God nuts just to get an answer of prayer. How do you know whether to keep pestering God or give up and accept no is the answer? And then the Bible says to ask in faith, nothing doubting, or you will receive nothing from him. And so how do you ask in faith for something I've already asked for before, but I haven't received yet?

Like maybe he'll heal me and maybe he won't. Does that make sense? It makes great sense, Connie, and thank you so much for the question.

And what an important question. You brought up Luke 18, verses 1 and following, the parable of the persistent widow. Let me just read some of that and then get to the heart of my answer to your question. I will give her justice so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming. And the Lord said, hear what the unrighteous judge says, and will not God give justice to his elect who cry to him day and night?

Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? One thing I'll say with regard to prayer, Connie, is we know that God hears us when we pray according to his will. And so from the outset, I think we can say, is what I'm asking in line with the will of God?

Now, there are some things we just don't know. I don't know if it's God's will for me to be physically healed in this situation. So that's a separate issue, but there are some things that we know are clearly in line with God's will. We know that there are other things that aren't clearly in line with God's will. For example, if we were praying for something evil or wrong or sinful to be accomplished, well, no. Or if our prayer was rooted in selfishness or faithlessness, there, too, there's a real issue. So confident prayer is rooted in the fact that we know we're praying according to the will of God. And even there in Luke chapter 18, God's elect are crying out for what?

Justice. They're saying, how long, O Lord? It just sort of reminds me of the scene in Revelation chapter 6 where the martyrs are crying out to God beneath the altar, saying, how long until you avenge us?

How long until you judge the world? And Jesus' point here is, Connie, and this is something I think you need to know, God is never bothered by your prayers. The Lord delights to hear us crying out to him in faith. And while we don't always get what we want, when we ask, when we don't know, you know, okay, Lord, are you going to heal me here? We don't always know exactly what the Lord's hidden secret will is for our lives. We can still come to him as his children and in faith. And does there come a point where we say, okay, you know, maybe I'm going to change up my strategy of prayer here because it seems like the Lord isn't answering this specifically?

Maybe, but if it's still something that weighs heavily on your heart, I would say don't give up. Continue to pray, continue to seek the Lord and to come to him in faith. And you said, well, what does that look like? Well, that passage that you brought up is from James where James says, you know, if anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach, but let him ask in faith without any doubting because the man who doubts is double-minded. You know, if like the wave of, the waves of the sea that are driven and tossed by the wind, let not that man think that he will receive anything from the Lord.

And so coming in faith looks like coming to God and knowing, believing, this is Hebrews 11, believing that he's the rewarder of those who diligently seek him, that he does indeed hear you through his son, Jesus Christ. And not only that he hears you, but again, that he delights to hear our prayers as our Heavenly Father. And so I think we're encouraged to be persistent in prayer according to the will of God, even though it seems like God's will is not being accomplished immediately or in my timing. We're continuing to pray and we're doing so with the firm belief, with the firm confidence that God wants to hear our prayers through Jesus Christ. And so, Connie, may you be encouraged to continue to lift your voice up to the Lord, knowing, and this is the other thing that's being highlighted there in Luke 18, but also in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus encourages us to pray and to ask and to seek and to knock. And he says, if you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give good gifts, the Holy Spirit, to those who ask him?

The focus here is on the fact that if that unjust, unrighteous judge listened, how much more will God, your Heavenly Father, who cares about you and who delights to give you good things, listen and hear you? And I think that the issue that we oftentimes have is we have difficulty discerning what the best thing is in a given situation. We don't know what's best for us, just like with our kids, for example, you know, they might think the best thing for me right now is to eat 10 Hershey's bars for breakfast.

And that might be what they want, right? But we know, you know, as a parent, no, that's actually not what you need to get you through the day. And God sees what we don't see. He knows what we need before we even ask. And so we entrust ourselves to him in prayer and say, Lord, your will be done.

God bless you, Connie. Thanks so much for listening to Core Christianity. Just a follow up question for you, Adriel, on the topic of faith. How would you respond to there are some Christian leaders, even well-known Christian leaders and even some denominations that would say, if you have enough faith, this will happen. You will be healed.

You will be financially successful. You know, how would you respond to that? You know, that's taking and abusing the scriptures that talk about praying in faith, because they're now saying it's not about praying in faith according to the will of God. It's about praying in faith according to your will, what you want more than anything else, and who doesn't want to be perfectly healthy and rich and whatnot. And they place this huge burden on people, making them feel like, well, the reason I'm not those things is because I don't have enough faith, or maybe there's some secret hidden sin in my life. And so what do I think about that kind of teaching? I think it's totally bogus, and I think it's really harmful for the church, and it devastates people, their lives, you know, people who really embrace this ideology. It leaves them feeling like God has let them down, and it promises people things that God never promised to us.

And so it's dangerous, and we need to watch out for it. Well said. Thanks for that, Adriel. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Love to hear from you if you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life.

Maybe something going on at your church that you're concerned about, doctrinal issues, or something that in your church's government that you're like, I'm not sure this is really right. Hey, Adriel, be happy to talk to you. Here's the phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE. That's 1-833-843-2673.

Let's go to Mark calling in from Oklahoma. Mark, what's your question for Adriel? Hi, my question is Revelation 22 17. Is that the final invitation to accept Christ for non-believers?

Hmm. Well, so Revelation 22 17, the Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let the one who hears say, Come. And let the one who is thirsty, Come. And let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

What a beautiful invitation. And what's being echoed here is the language of the prophet Isaiah in particular. Isaiah 55 verse 1. Let's just go there really quickly because it's wonderful to see how the scriptures tie together.

Isaiah 55 verse 1. Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and he who has no money, come, buy, and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me and eat what is good and delight yourselves in rich food. This invitation isn't just for the last invitation at the end of time.

This invitation is for right now. It's for you, for all of us, for those listening right now who are exhausted and spiritually beat up and tired and consumed with the worries of life and weighed down by sins. Hear this invitation to come, everyone who thirsts. It's like what Jesus says at the end of Matthew 11. Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. I'm gentle and lowly in spirit. You'll find rest for your souls.

Mark, I think this invitation really here is coming at the conclusion of the book of Revelation, an invitation for all of the readers of the apocalypse to do precisely what Jesus called the churches there in Revelation 2 and 3 to do. I counsel you. What does Jesus say to the church of Laodicea? You're poor, miserable, blind, and naked.

You need that eye salve so you can see. You need to come to me in repentance. And so this is, I think, not just a call that's issued for the very end of time, but a call that's issued throughout this entire age, this very period. There is coming a final moment where there is no more opportunity, and of course the book of Revelation talks about that as well with the great and final battle, the final judgment, the great white throne judgment that's described right before this scene that you've brought up in Revelation 22.

And so that time is coming, but right now, today is the day of salvation, and Jesus invites each and every one of us to come to him. Thanks for reaching out. Really well said.

Thank you for that, Adriel. This is Quora Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. I think you would agree that we have a very divided culture, a divided nation right now on a variety of different issues, and one of probably the most controversial happens to be the issue of abortion. And because of that, we've created an excellent resource for you that we think will help you develop a biblically informed view on the sanctity of human life. Yeah, the resource is called Fearfully Made, and it is just about that, the wonder and value of human life, even in the womb. And so this is one of the ways we want to equip you as a follower of Jesus Christ to have conversations with friends and family members about this very important topic, a very controversial topic, as Bill said, but one that the Scriptures speak to so clearly. And this devotional, Fearfully Made, 30-day resource, is going to equip you to have those kinds of conversations. So I hope you get a hold of it over at QuoraChristianity.com forward slash offers to get your free digital copy of our new devotional. Just a reminder, when you go to our website, there's also a place where you can make a donation to Quora Christianity. We don't play commercials on this program. We don't receive money from a church or denomination.

We actually count on people just like you to make regular gifts to keep us on the air. And you can do that by going to QuoraChristianity.com. You can also join what we call our inner Quora. Those are folks that have agreed to make a monthly gift to Quora Christianity. So check that out again at QuoraChristianity.com. Well, we do receive voicemails here at the Quora. You can call us 24 hours a day and leave your question on our voicemail system.

It's 833-THECORE. Here's a voicemail that came in from one of our listeners named Allison. My question is the psalmist in Psalm 2 when he says, Kiss the Son, lest ye be angry. Who's the son he's referring to? Is he referring to Christ when he writes this? Is he thinking of the coming Messiah? Thank you.

Hey, Allison, excellent question. And what a beautiful psalm, Psalm chapter 2, with a focus on the Davidic king, the Lord's anointed. Often when you see that language of the Lord's anointed, it's talking about the king. And David, of course, was that king after God's own heart. God made the special covenant with him in 2 Samuel chapter 7. And here, one of the things that's so amazing is what's highlighted is the rule of the Davidic king.

And not just the rule of the Davidic king over, you know, a small piece of land in the Middle East, but the rule of the Davidic king over the whole earth. I will tell of the decree. The Lord said to me, You are my son today. I have begotten you, verse 7. Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession.

This is really quite wild. I mean, those promises that were made to Abraham are expanded here. The land, the focus of the rule of God's king, is the whole earth.

The glory of the Lord God Almighty spreading throughout the whole earth. And here in particular, the nations of the world are called to repentance and to put their faith in this king. Now, in terms of the psalm, you think of its initial reference. You know, the early readers would have been thinking about David as they read this and those great promises that were made to David. And of course, we know that the psalm is pointing forward to the true son of David. The greater son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ himself, the ruler, as John says in the book of Revelation, of the kings of the earth. And so when we read in verse 12, kiss the sun lest he be angry and you perish in the way for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. That is referring to the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a call to submission. It's a call to repentance.

Saying, kiss the son, worship him. If you reject him, that's bad news. That's more than bad news.

You will be doomed if you reject him. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. And that's what each of us are called to do. And not just each one of us, but the kings of the whole earth.

The whole world is called to repentance and faith because Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. God bless. Amen.

So well said. Thank you for that, Adriel. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

Let's go to Bruce calling in from Kansas. Bruce, what's your question for Adriel? Yes. In Mark eleven fourteen, is there evidence to support the belief that this fig tree is symbolic of some other entity? Mm hmm.

Bruce, great question. So this is Jesus's cursing of the fig tree. And the fig tree in scripture is sometimes a type or picture of Israel, the people of God. And this makes perfect sense here, because what you have is one in the beginning of Chapter eleven, the triumphal entry, Jesus coming in as the great king of Jerusalem. He entered the temple, verse eleven, and went into the temple.

And when he had looked around at everything as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. Now, immediately after this is when you have the story of the cursing of the fig tree. When they came from Bethany, he was hungry and seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf.

He went to see if he could find anything on it. And when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, may no one ever eat fruit from you again. And his disciples heard it. Now, what does Jesus do right after that? So he's written into Jerusalem. He's gone and checked out the temple. Then he cleanses.

Then he curses the fig tree. And then, this is verses fifteen and following, he cleanses the temple. He came to Jerusalem, entered the temple, and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple.

And he overturned the table of the money changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. And he was teaching them, saying to them, if it not written, my house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations. Now, so right here you have, in one sense, this judgment against the temple. The old covenant worship. You think also what's going to happen when Jesus is crucified. You know, the veil in the temple being torn in two. And the prophecy that Jesus makes in the gospels of the fact that the temple itself is going to be destroyed.

Why? Because Jesus in his body is the very temple of God. And he has come. The temple was a picture of a greater reality.

Now the reality is here. And so the cursing of the fig tree, in one sense, is this picture of that judgment that came against the temple and this religious system full of hypocrisy. Of course, the following verses, again, in verses twenty and following, as they passed in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away at its roots. And Peter remembered and said to him, Rabbi, look, the fig tree that you cursed has withered. And Jesus answered them, Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain be taken up and thrown into the sea and does not doubt in his heart but believes what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. What's interesting there is that the talk of this mountain comes in the context of them being there on the temple mount and Jesus judging, cursing. The hypocritical worship that was taking place there in the temple had become a den of thieves and robbers. And so the cursing of the fig tree is not just Jesus got upset at this random tree and fed, you know, I don't like you, you should die. No, it's almost like a parable. It's a sign of judgment, not primarily against the tree per se, but against a hypocritical religious system that wasn't bearing any fruit, that had rejected Messiah and turned away from him that eventually in the following chapters is going to crucify him. And we know that he was crucified for our redemption and for the forgiveness of our sins. God bless. Thank you.