Matt Slick Live

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If you want to learn more about Truth Network, or the Truth Network Podcast, please click the link in the description below. If you're hearing this, and you want me to come speak, or just meet, or do a Bible study, or whatever it is, you can just let me know. Because I'm thinking about, you know, maybe, it just depends, just a few days down there. I think a lot of friends want to meet some people, and you know, that kind of stuff, so that's what I want to do. All right, so you can contact me at, just go to the CARM website, c-a-r-m dot o-r-g in the home page, on the right hand side.

I'm just saying that. Anyway, you'll have all the information on the home page and stuff like that. All right, so, let's see, four open lines, 877-207-2276. Want to hear from you?

Give me a call. And let's just get on with Adam from Des Moines, Iowa. Adam, welcome. You are on the air. Hey, Matt. It's good to talk with you again. Hey, no problem, buddy.

What do you got? So, I've been struggling recently. Maybe I'll start with, I think, the bigger one. Right now, I feel like my desires for reading God's Word and prayer and spending time with Him is burdensome, and I don't like it. It makes me uncomfortable. I've never really liked reading, but I mean, these kind of things just bother me when I see these in my life.

So, I was kind of wondering if you've ever experienced something like this, and how would you point somebody toward getting this? Let me tell you, because you said this, and I don't say this hardly ever, but I experience the same thing on a regular basis. It has been that way for years and years and years.

And I've tried to figure out why. It used to be I'd read the Bible five, six, seven hours at a time and just couldn't get enough. But now that I'm older in the faith and I see things so many different ways and I study all the time, I'm in the Bible all the time that when I'm done doing stuff, I'm just kind of done. So, every now and then I think, I just should read the Bible just to read the Bible. And so, what I'll do is I'll go through, this is what I recommend, is I'll just start reading, maybe put a little tab in my Bible and just read for however long I feel like reading for. If it's five seconds, great.

If it's five minutes, great. I don't worry about it. I don't want it to be a burden. And even if I read one verse and I'm just done, talk to God about it. Because I don't want that burden to be there. Because I'm in the Bible a lot as a study book.

And that's different than a devotional book. But I get devotionally fed out of my studies. So, what do I do? I don't worry about it too much. I just move forward and try to read here and there and enjoy it when it comes up.

So, you know, just walk into the club. A lot of people have the same problem, same issue. It's not spiritual.

Yeah, I just ask that because, and I know looking at myself really isn't a good thing, but I just look at that kind of fruit and I'm like, how could I even call myself a Christian? You know, there's times where I'd rather be fishing than prayer and reading God's word and whatnot. You say fishing?

And it just seems so bad. You said fishing? Yeah, fishing. What do you fish for?

Anything I can catch. I suck at fishing, to be honest with you. But recently I've been going for like carp and catfish.

There you go. Yeah, I love fishing. I have some ponds around here I go to and I go for bass. I'm pretty good at catching bass. I know a river.

It's four times further away, but I can get trout out of there. And sometimes what I'll do is I go fishing. And literally I'll go fishing. I love to fish.

I've been fishing this one hole for years and I've caught some nice bass. Really, I just catch and release. And I have a wireless headset my wife got me. And I hook it to my phone, link it to my phone, and I will often just play praise music while I'm fishing. And some that I do and some that I don't. But the idea is I'm out there away from everything. And I try and talk to God out there because it's not a burden. Just say, Lord, just thank you. I'm just enjoying the trees and the wind and the water and how smart fish are. I can't catch them and things like that. Well, I have one more quick question for you.

This thing I've been chewing on for a little while. We know that in God's Word it says that God is not the author of confusion. And we see that at the Tower of Babel he confuses their speech.

And then we also see that, if I remember correctly, it's with the Egyptians that he confuses them and then closes the sea in on them. How do I reconcile that? Because I struggle with a lot of confusion in my faith with what a lot of things mean. I mean, there's a whole bunch of different, you know, quote, interpretations of different things. And I just want the truth, you know what I mean?

And so I guess that's where I'd ask, you know. You remind me a lot, Adam, seriously. I'm going to just tell you that when I was new-ish in the faith and when I was really starting to study, there was one book in the Bible that I would read and it would weaken my faith. It would cause me confusion. And I'd read it and I didn't get it.

And I remember doubting, is it really true? I guess what book that was in the Bible. Let's see if you can come close. What book do you think it was? James. James?

No, not bad. It was a book of Romans for me. I'd read Romans.

Oh, yeah. I'd read Romans and go, this doesn't make any sense. And what I did was by faith, I understood that, you know, it's the word of God.

I had no problem with that. And I said, Lord, when I read the book of Romans, my faith is actually weakened. And I said, but I'm going to continue to read and study.

Teach me. Now when I read Romans, it strengthens my faith. And the reason the difference occurred is because it took me a couple, three, four years of study. And I started understanding what Paul the Apostle was teaching. The problem wasn't with the book of Romans. The problem was with me.

And I knew that was the case. I knew that always the problem with my spirituality, my desire to read the word, my desire not to pray as much as I should, the desire to read the word would be confusing sometimes. All of that I learned early on was simply my problem.

Not to be disregarding, you know, caring about others and, you know, that you have issues. Not saying, oh, just your problem. Don't worry about it. Grow up.

No, no, not saying that. It's just difficult sometimes. And I realized, though, that the problem laid in my understanding, my heart. And at the same time, I knew that God was patient with me. And so I rested in his patience while I muddled through so much stuff. And then it started opening up. And now when I read the Bible, I see so much in it.

I'm absolutely convinced of its truth. And it takes time sometimes to go through that. You just sound like that's what's happening to you.

You know? It's good to know that I'm not alone in this. No, you're not alone. Oh, no.

I think someone else said in the chat room that they were, I think I saw it, someone said they were to go through the same thing. But, you know, I've talked to people. I remember that something happened in seminary that really helped me a lot. There were some sinful struggles in seminary.

You know, I'm a lustful, prideful, arrogant, stupid, stubborn man. And I'm in seminary wanting to become a minister. And let's just say there were some things in my mind and heart that weren't very good that I was struggling with. And I went and talked to somebody about it.

That's a different story. But one of the things that helped me was when a friend in sem came over to get books on cults because I was the, you know, everybody knew I was the cult guy. You know, knew about all the cults and stuff. And we got talking. And he just opened up and told me the struggles he was having and they were the same ones I was having. And we just rejoiced, get this, we rejoiced that both of us were struggling in the same area. And it wasn't because we wanted to see someone sin, but we weren't alone.

We just weren't alone. That there are others who have troubles and we have doubts and yet we move forward into the storm. And just the onslaught of our doubts, our fears, our confusion, they buffet us from every direction. And what we do is lean forward and take one step at a time and know that the storm will not always be there as we pass through it. And it's difficult and it's confusing, but this is what we got to do by faith.

Because what God often does with people like, you've probably had the same problem I have, a genetic deformity called thick skull. Yeah. Yeah, you got it. Okay, same thing. Because my four by four in heaven that God uses to get my attention is now round.

All right? Whittled down quite a bit. Well, it is. It's a lot smaller and it's whittled down into a baseball bat now.

It's a four by four. So the thing is that those of us who endure that storm and the discipline and stuff like that often see things and learn things through them that really can help others. And God knows what he's doing. So what you have to do is one day at a time you say things like, Lord, I know this word of yours is true. And I know, Lord, that you know my heart is tired of reading it sometimes.

And I don't get the joy I used to. But yet, Lord, I'm going to just read a few words and just trust you as I move forward towards you. Please open my heart.

What else are you going to do? You can hide it from him. He already knows. Just talk to him.

Even if it's for just half a minute, just talk to him. Oh, something just flashed into my mind. I'd recommend you get the book called Answers to Prayer by George Mueller. Answers to Prayer by George Mueller. I'll tell you why after the break, okay? Write that down.

Answers to Prayer by George Mueller. After the break I'll tell you why. Hey, folks, we have a break coming up and we have four open lines. Why don't you give me a call? 877-207-2276. We'll be right back. It's Matt Slick live, taking your calls at 877-207-2276. Here's Matt Slick.

Welcome back to the show, everyone. I'll tell you about 20 after the hour if you want to give me a call. We have four open lines, 877-207-2276.

Four open lines. Give me a call. So, Adam, are you still there? Yes, sir. All right.

So one of the guys in the chat room says that he's felt the same thing you have over the years, more than once, and I have too. Now, I recommended this book, Answers to Prayer by George Mueller. Have you ever heard of George Mueller? No, sir. Okay. Well, George Mueller will make you feel really bad, okay?

That's why it's so good. Because George Mueller was a skinny little man who was a pagan sinner who got saved and then lived by faith and prayer. And some of the things that happened because of his prayer life were incredible. But he was gifted in prayer. And in this book what he does is he lists out, like a diary, various things about prayer. Now, he would pray for one thing or another.

One story, for example, is the orphans that he built an orphanage in England in the 1800s, and they didn't have any food. So they just got around the table and started praying. And they would just pray for 20 minutes. Everybody could pray for 20, 30 minutes. And somebody would be knocking on the door. And some guy would come in and go, you know, I was just coming back from the market with all my food that all the people didn't buy, and I just had an urge to come in here.

Do you guys need anything? And they would have dinner. And this is how it always was with him. And it makes you feel bad because you go, oh, that's what being spiritual is.

But you feel good because it's like, oh, wow, that's what you do. And what he was was a man who trusted God. And it began in small things, and it grew. In small things, he would ask God about something. But the key was getting into God's will.

A lot of times what we want is to have God get into our will because we think we know what's better. And what he would do is if he had an impression to do anything, he'd pray about it for two, three, four, five weeks. He wanted to know if it was from God or from his own flesh. And if he was convinced it was from God, then he would talk to his wife about it, and they'd pray.

And they would slowly move into the direction of God and wait for God to do things. And so God did. My favorite story in that account, in what he wrote, was as he trusted the Lord to build an orphanage because the Lord put it on his heart.

And it's in this book, and little things, little things that would occur that were just the blessing of God. And there was a point where this orphanage was built, and this new thing called electricity was out, but they didn't have the money for it. And it was winter, and the furnace was about to go out. And they had a couple hundred kids. And he did not want to shut the furnace down in the winter, because that's where it was in England, because it would get pneumonia.

And they couldn't put in kerosene lanterns because if one kid knocked one over in a wooden building, you could lose 200 lives. And so they were stuck. But he knew that it was God who had opened up the door, and he had step by step trusted God. He says, God, if this is what you will, then I will just rest on what you say.

It's not my problem, it's your problem, because you're the one calling me to do this. And that's an important principle. We sometimes want God to do what we want him to do. We should wait and see what God wants us to do. And in that, when we find that, the word and prayer both become more alive, because we're in his presence and in his will.

So though sometimes it's because God is letting us experience a desert time, so that when we walk through the desert, we strip off those things from us that we don't need, and the only thing left is our relationship with Christ and our trust in Christ. So there's a lot of variables how God works. So back to the story. So George Mueller knew there was no option other than to pray and ask God to stop the cold north wind as it blew, that on the day that the workers were to come in and shut the furnace down in order to repair it, he asked God, would you please stop the cold north wind, because we don't have any other options. And he prayed and he asked God that the men who would work would have a mind to work hard and get it done so the orphans would be taken care of. And on the day that they came to shut the furnace down, the cold north wind stopped blowing and a warm south wind was blowing. And the men shut the furnace down, and they worked for 18 hours, if I remember correctly, like 18 hours. And they were, of course, tired. They got the furnace out and done. And George Mueller asked the foreman, would the men be willing to come back tomorrow, I think it was like Sunday, I forgot the details, it's been a while since I read it, would they be willing to come back early and get this done for the orphans? And he went and asked all the men, and every one of them said no, they would not come back early the next day.

Instead, they all stayed through the night and worked and got it done. And when they were finished and they turned the furnace on and the heat was coming through, then a cold north wind started blowing again. And to get to that place of faith sometimes takes a desert for us to walk through. And in that process, we find out what we're made of. Do we trust God or do we trust our feelings?

Do we trust his word or do we trust our impressions? And then we seek his face and move forward. And little by little, God opens up the word, opens up our hearts, and we enjoy him all the more. And then we see the rewards of that time that we benefit from later on in our lives. I don't know if that makes any sense or if that helps, but there you go.

No, it totally does. I just want to say that you're a real help and a blessing, and I thank you for all that you do, especially for the questions that you've answered for me. Well, praise God. I want to give glory to God because if you knew what I was really like, you'd say, yeah, it's a miracle because I was not worth anything. God in his mercy and nothing more than that.

So he gets all the glory that he can use, but I'll just tell you, if he's using someone like me out there in the world, it's pretty bad. He's scraping the bottom of the barrel. That's how bad it is. That's encouraging. Thank you, sir. I really appreciate it. Hey, call back anytime, brother, okay? Awesome. Be blessed. You too. All right, folks, that was Adam. We should be praying for him, so remember him in your prayers tonight and tomorrow and the next few days, that God would bless him. And for those of you out there who relate to what Adam has said about sometimes the dryness and the word isn't just alive and you're wondering and confusion comes in, let me just tell you, God allows that.

He allows it. An illustration I'd like to give is about going into the desert. You know you're going into the desert. You might have a bunch of canteens and a hat and sunglasses and everything. What's left when you come out? You go in with the same stuff or you strip the bear.

That's what happens in the desert sometimes. The only things left is our relationship with Christ. Folks, you have four open lines, 877-207-2276. We'll be right back after these messages. Hi, Matt, it's just an honor to speak with you. Do not put yourself down in the present tense. Yes, you were a wretch, you were an evil, wicked sinner, but you are the righteousness of God and Jesus Christ. You are a saint.

He sees you as pure and honest and holy and white. That's right. And that's who you are. That's right. Isn't that because of Christ?

Absolutely. But these men that are always saying, oh, I'm the biggest sinner. I mean, the pastors know the God. And I'm thinking, that's not true. And if it is true, they're not being a very good representative of, hey, you want to be a Christian? You can be like me and be a big sinner and have anger issues.

But anyway, sorry. But I am very impressed with the men who call you and are so learned. They may be pastors, I don't know. But they're so serious about the Word and they're so refreshing and they're so humble and they listen. Like the last guy, it's just so refreshing that there are men that are that humble that will admit, I'm not perfect, I need help. I mean, pride is such a bad disease, but these guys are so amazing.

I know you have all types of calls. So what I want to get right into is the scripture that I noticed a while back, and I haven't heard anybody speak on it, is about when Mary and Joseph went to the temple to dedicate Jesus because he was the first born male child that opened her womb. But she couldn't get there until she had waited her, I think, 23 days of purification, and there were some sacrifices, you know. But then it says, And when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth.

And the child continued to grow as an expert and become strong. So it's only been a month or less since Jesus was born, and so they go home. And so I'm thinking, okay, I have always thought that the Magi, you know, presented their gifts to them when they were still in Bethlehem. Well, not according to the truth. Right, it was a few years later. That's correct. Yes.

So they had gone home, and there's so many neat ways to determine that. Did you know that already? Yes, I've known that.

So what's your question? I don't hear it preached. My question is, why don't we ever hear it that preached? We are assuming that when Joseph had the dream... Wait, wait, wait, wait.

Hold on, hold on. So you mean that that is what? That the Magi were, you know, it wasn't when he was a little baby, it was a couple years later, because that's when it was.

Most people don't know that. Or is it because the text dealing with Jesus growing in wisdom? What's your question about?

Oh, no, no, no. It's about the people, I've never heard anyone say, when the Magi went to give their gifts, to present their gifts, and I think I know how it all happened, because I've been studying this for a long time, to present their gifts to Mary and Joseph. And I think it was for financing purposes, because then they then had to go to Egypt from Nazareth, that the Magi indeed were not in Bethlehem.

They went to their home in Nazareth. That's right. Oh my gosh, you're so refreshing. I've never read that or seen that, or maybe it's out there, and I've just been like... Because too many people don't study the Word. There's all kinds of things that are taught that people don't... It's like this all the time.

People think they know what it says, they make assumptions, and they move forward. Yeah, I've known about that for years. Oh my gosh, that is wonderful. Well, you know, I then go on to kind of prove it with all these little hints, just hints.

It's beautiful. Like the shepherds, when they went... I think every word that the first angel spoke, and then the multitude spoke, one thing, the light was there, it was bright.

That was the glory of God at his visit. And I think that caused their brain to remember every word that was spoken. I don't think they had to try to remember it from their buddies later on. Because they said, we're going to go and we're going to tell them this thing. And they don't say this thing, but they say it. And I feel like they spoke out every word. It wasn't just Mary and Joseph, because it made it sound like it was half the village. And I, because it was mandatory that all the family line went there to Bethlehem, and Mary was of the Salon of David. So let me ask you...

I thought there was a ton of people there that heard those wonderful words. Yeah, but you got another question related to it, to all this? Well, no, I'm just going on to explain how there are other clues that this was the case. For one thing, the magic I say in the very beginning, we saw a star in the east.

A lot of people try to explain it like a star went way up, way up, way up. But then, when they get to Herod, and they find out Bethlehem is where they need to go, of course he gets them alone and says, you know, you need to come back here and tell me. But they had told him...

Hold on, Pat, Pat, Pat. So if you have a question, you know, it's great, because we're just doing a Bible commentary here. But you're right, the Magi didn't go there.

I was just so excited about these clues that have been here all along. And the word, I'm like a bulldog when it comes to the word of God. And when I hear pastors coming... I tell you what, I got one you can take a look at, okay? Okay, yeah. Alright, Matthew 24, 36. I mean, you better be speaking, Ryder, I'll get upset, because it's like the word of God is... Let me give you something to go check out, alright? So you can write this down. Okay, Matthew 24, 36, and Luke...

Hang on, one second, my pen dropped, I'm in my car now. Oh, okay. Matthew 24, 36.

Okay, I got it, I got it, go ahead. Matthew what? Matthew 24, 36, and Luke 27, 26, I believe it is. Okay, no, Luke 17, 26, excuse me. Okay, Luke 17, 26, alright. Luke 17, 26, okay. And then Matthew 13, 30, alright?

Now go check those out, except in Matthew 24 and Luke 17, it's about two men in the field, one is taken, one is left. Read through the paragraph, and here's a question. Who was taken? And then do your research, okay? All these scriptures have to do with that same incident.

With who's taken. Just read the context, and read the context of those. Starting at Luke 17, 26, start reading the next few verses. Matthew 24, 37, start reading the next few verses. Matthew 13, 30. Wait a minute, Matthew 24, 37 or 36? It's Matthew 24, 37.

37, okay. And it's about, as it was in the days of Noah, et cetera, okay? Okay. Oh, that's maybe above my head, but I will do my best. Just read those and see what you come up with, okay? See, I try not to use the internet, I want to find it from the Word of God.

That's the Word of God, go check out the Word of God. If you like finding things, go look there and see what you find, okay? And then call me back sometime. I will. All right. Okay, well, God bless. Thank you so much. You too. God bless, okay. All right, hey folks, three open lines if you want to give me a call.

877-207-2276. Let's get to Matt from California. Matt, welcome, you're on the air.

Hey, Matt. Yes, I'll try to make it quick. Just wondering what your position is with regards to Genesis 3, where the serpent is described as being crafty and everything, and then Eve is inevitably tempted by the serpent, but then the serpent consequently is cursed for having done so. But commonly it is said that Satan was in the garden, and Satan was somehow imparting himself upon the serpent.

Although in Genesis it doesn't say that anywhere, but I know somewhere in the New Testament there is some reference by either Paul or Timothy saying something about the serpent of old, and I think they're referencing that. Yeah, I had the references for you. I tell you what, hold on, we'll get to the break, and then on the other side of the break we'll tackle it, okay? I'll show you. All right.

All right. Hey folks, we have three open lines if you want to give me a call. 877-207-2276. We'll be right back after these messages. It's Matt Slick live, taking your calls at 877-207-2276. Here's Matt Slick. Welcome back to the show, everyone. We have four open lines. Why don't you give me a call, 877-207-2276. Let's get back to Matt in California. Welcome.

Yeah, I'm still here. So I was asking the question regarding Satan being said to have been in the Garden of Eden, and just puzzled by that because I mull over that as to why a serpent would have been described and then be said to have been cursed if Satan was really the guilty entity. Well, first of all, Satan would use that which is familiar to a person in order to deceive them. This is a principle that's really important because a lot of Christians don't realize that the enemy will use familiar things in people and situations in order to bring us into bondage.

It happens with unbelievers a lot. And so it says a serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made, and he said to the woman, Indeed, as God said, you shall not eat from the tree of the garden. Now, this is kind of an enigmatic statement in Genesis 3.1. So are we saying then that it was normal for animals to speak?

No, it doesn't seem to be the case. But here's one of the things that we have to ask is, wait a minute, why is Eve talking to this thing? A snake gets up and starts talking? I'd be like, what the heck?

But no, she has this conversation, and that's one of the issues that is of concern about this. So what was the snake? Well, some people say it really was a snake, and some say it really wasn't. It was something else, but we don't know because of the word in Hebrew. We do know that what was written was written with a purpose.

In one sense, it's absolutely literal. In another sense, not as much because Genesis 3 has a lot of some poetic issues in it, but it's brilliantly written and contains truths. And, of course, it does say that the serpent was there, and it's true, and Eve was there, and it's true, and God was walking in the garden. It's all true.

That's really what happened. And so when it says a serpent was more crafty, what we're seeing is the compilation of the statement under inspiration of God for us to learn. Now, the serpent was involved somehow with its own demise, and this is something I can't go beyond what the text says to say what that was, what kind of a creature it really was. But generally speaking, it's said to be a snake.

Okay, that's fine. But it says it was more crafty than the beast of the field, and it doubts the word of God. Now, was it really the devil?

Well, yes, it was. Because in 2 Corinthians 11, 3, it says, But I'm afraid that as a serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your mind shall be led astray from the simplicity of the word of God, etc. And then in Revelation 12, 9, and the great dragon was thrown down the serpent of old who's called the devil and Satan.

So he's the serpent of old who's called the devil, and so it really was the devil who was in the form of the serpent familiar to something with Eve and who then deceived her. So it really did occur. It really was like that. And there's questions about it we just don't have answers to. Like, does she not know she's talking to an animal?

And so this is one of the questions not answered. Yeah, that part, the part with regards to her speaking with an animal, because it doesn't give a lot of information regarding whether that was normal for them to do so. We just know in this day and age it's not normal, apart from what that incident with the donkey speaking to, I can't remember the name of the false prophet, Balaam, yeah. But in general we would find that quite unusual as to whether that was normal at that time. But it seems very strange that the animal was cursed and him, the animal being made to eat the dust, well, if it was just a snake then that wouldn't be a curse because that would have been kind of normal procedure for a snake anyways to slither upon the ground unless a snake like that didn't exist until it was cursed. And then it became legless and armless. Right, so yeah, like it could have been not in the way, like a serpent, sort of like a lizard with legs.

Right, a skink or something like that, yeah. Yeah, it's a bit of an enigmatic passage because of these issues. And when I look at the passage I see things in there that it's obvious to me it was designed with another issue in mind because in Genesis 3.1 we have the doubting of God's word and then Genesis 3.4 the modification of God's word and then Genesis 3.3 the modification of Genesis 3.4 the contradiction of God's word. And then in Genesis 3.6 we see where the word of God is submitted to Eve's feelings, desires, her own understanding. And I think that's the message that is coming through is the issue of the fall and the methodology of that.

The doubting of God's word, the contradiction of God's word, the modification of it as well, and the submitting of God's word to our preferences and desires. That seems to be more of what's going on rather than a biological lesson, if you get my drift. Yeah, it just is always puzzling to me. Well, within the recent couple of years when I started thinking about this and some people asking me some questions and I was like, yeah, it doesn't actually mention Satan in that account of Genesis, but I know that it does reference later on.

Right, it does. And the references there are 2 Corinthians 11.3, Revelation 12.9. 2 Corinthians 11.3. Yeah, because it's a serpent that deceived Eve, 2 Corinthians 11.3. And I did research during the break, so this is not from memory.

And I'm reading my notes. And then the great dragon who's thrown down, the serpent of old, who's called the devil and Satan, that's Revelation 12.9. So that connects them all. Okay. What do you make of the part where the serpent says that you will not truly die? The contradiction of God's work.

You will not die in this day? Uh-huh. But where they...

I mean, because they don't actually die in that moment. Yes, they do. When she does eat of it.

Yes, they do. Because you've got to understand something. In Genesis 2.17, God says, but from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat. If you eat from it, you will die. Now let me ask you, did they die when they ate it?

The answer is... No. Yes, because God said they would. Now what you have to do is look at, well, what does he mean by death? We think of it as a physical thing, but you've got to understand, physical death is the result of spiritual death. The physical is the result of the spiritual actuality. Our regeneration in our bodies will come later because of the belief, the actuality spiritually in us. So they did die that day.

It just took hundreds of years later for it to fully manifest into a physical cessation of function. But you see, the wages of sin is death. Romans 6.23 and Isaiah 59.2 says that your sins have caused a separation between you and God. So we have to understand that when God defines something or uses it, we have to understand what he is saying, not what we think it means. Because you will die. Genesis 2.17, if I ask people, did they die?

They all go, no. Oh, so God was wrong? So God was wrong? Is that what you're saying?

That's a clear statement. It seems like to create a bit of a mystery and not to want to say that God was wrong, but to try to make sense of how life is actually that, but then it says this. Exactly. But then he also says, but then he excommunicates them from the garden, lest they should eat of the tree of life and be immortal.

Right. So it's like, well, if they died, I wouldn't think there would be that option to... To stay in the physical fallen state because the resurrected glorified body is yet future. The bodies we're in now, if we could make a choice where we went through a sci-fi whatever thing and you'd come out for a thousand dollars and your physical body wouldn't decay anymore, you'd just continue to live forever like this.

The body would say, yeah. But the Lord would say, you're missing out. You're missing out on what real physical resurrection life is. The physical body has died and we're in the process of dying. And just as God said, you will surely die when you eat this. And they did because God said so. So now what we have to do is understand what He meant by death. And this is one of the things a lot of Christians fail to do is understand when God says something, it's true. Why is He using the word differently than we do? Because we're the ones who have to adapt. So one of the things to know is this.

For example, another word like this that has a change of meaning when you start studying it is the word know. K-N-O-W, to know something. Well, God doesn't know unbelievers. He says so.

Get away from me, I never knew you. Matthew 7.23, Jesus says. Well, wait a minute. God knows all things. How could He not know anybody? Well, that's the problem.

You've got to go research. When He says I know you, it means you're saved. When He says I don't know you, it means you're not saved. And you can find this out through various scriptures. John 10.27-28, Galatians 4. 3 and 4.

Or 4.18, excuse me. And you find these various verses and you say, oh, so God's using the words differently than we do. He does it with the word all very clearly. He does it with the phrase the many in Romans 5.

There's these phrases and these things I show people. It doesn't mean the same thing that we do sometimes, but we often do. For example, John 3.16.

God's love the world. The word world means every individual, right? Who says?

Who says? Because Jesus says, according to Matthew 15.24, He says I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The house of Israel is the nation of Israel. He wasn't sent to all the nations, all the people groups. He was sent only to the nation of Israel because of the covenant.

But the covenant was broken by Israel, so we the Gentiles are grafted in. So when it says God's love the world, now, oh, it means all the people groups and all the nations. Because now when you understand biblical theology, now you know what the word world means in that context. Just like the word all. The word to know. Also the word for know.

Okay? And the word die. We've died with Christ.

How's that possible? So there's codes, not codes, but just word patterns. And I showed them to people in various Bible studies and wanted to get the idea that they can look. And so Genesis 2.17 is one of them. And I asked people, did they die? Yeah, no, they didn't die. So God's wrong?

And then they're puzzled. Well, that's what it says, right? So you're saying God's wrong? Then maybe your understanding is wrong. So let's go through.

And that's how we were. It's like just seeing as a bit of a mystery, too, like one's trying to unpack, not necessarily wanting to say that God's wrong, but kind of saying, why is it saying that when it seems to indicate something else? So it's like trying to make sense of it.

Because God's word is so deep, and it's inspired in so many different levels and ways. And the more you study it, the more you'll find there are patterns and codes and treasures buried within his pages. That's the case. I can tell you things like this.

I know several. Yeah. The more I try to study deep, deep into it, and I'm amazed by your confidence and your clarity and that you settle upon certain views of Scripture and you're able to be rock solid, where there's so many areas where I'm like, I'm not really sure. Well, you know, call back tomorrow. Let's talk about that. We're out of time, okay? Okay. Seriously, it's a really worthwhile topic, assurance of things versus not.

You're learning, all right? Seriously, it'd be great to talk to you. All right.

Appreciate it. Okay, we gotta go. Matt from North Carolina, give me a call tomorrow. And Chris, just want to say hi. We'll say hi tomorrow. Hey, God bless everybody. We'll talk to you then.