Question and Answer Program No. 86

I like the way one author put it that the power of God is not so much displayed in flashy miracles and showy demonstrations of power. The power of God is shown in the Gospel of Christ, which is able to change life. And God's greatest miracle, by the way, is not changing rivers in the blood or producing frogs or turning sticks in the serpent.

The greatest miracle on the planet, my friend, is what God has done in your life. Hello and welcome to this broadcast of Wisdom for the Heart. I'm Scott Wiley.

I'm here in the studio with Stephen Davey. This is the first Friday of the month, and the first Friday of every month, we set aside our normal Bible teaching to answer some questions that you've called in. I'm going to come back in just a few minutes and give you the number that you can call if you have a Bible question. But Stephen's eager to get started, and here's the first question of the day.

This is Darris from Kernersville. I have been reading into Exodus, and I'm in chapter 8 now, to the point of whenever he would have Moses and Aaron perform the miracle that God gave them for the plague, that the magicians or sorcerers from Pharaoh could almost duplicate these same things. So I guess that's my question is, where was that ability coming from for sorcerers to be able to duplicate a plague that God had commanded them to perform? Thank you, sir.

Thank you so much for calling. And you know, Stephen, I think that's probably a question many people have had as they've read that account. These guys are able to do the exact same thing that Moses can do. He's talking about Exodus chapters 7 and 8 and 9 a little forward. It's these ten plagues, and the first three are produced by Pharaoh's magicians, and it does raise interesting questions. And I think the answer is multi-layered. But if you go to chapter 7, we're told very clearly that the magicians of Egypt did the same things with their secret arts, and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them as the Lord said. So keep in mind, they are doing this. I don't think this is sleight of hand.

I think this is an imitation. This is what we'd call a sign and a wonder. This is a miracle in terms of them producing something that is against what natural ability would produce. And it has to go back to a source. Obviously the source is Satan. That raises the question, you know, how much power does Satan have? Well, Satan has whatever power God has delegated or allowed him to exercise.

And he does have delegated power. Just go read the book of Job. You'll find him influencing other people, causing them to go on murderous rampages against the employees of Job.

You'll find Satan able to touch Job's body and bring him, if you count it up, I think it's nineteen different diseases and horrible physical ailments. But also keep in mind that Satan could only do that because God gave Satan the permission to do it. So there's tremendous power, but it is delegated power. And I like the words of Martin Luther, the reformer, who said that Satan is a dog and he's a dog on the leash held by God.

So he can't run and do whatever he wants to do. God is in perfect control. But when you see a demonstration of power, it is rather alarming. And if you go to Exodus 7 and 8, up until the fourth plague, they're abled by their secret arts by demonic power given to them to actually imitate the plagues.

And I think it's important, though, when you get to the next list of that next triplet of plagues, they're unable to duplicate it. In fact, in Exodus 8, 19, the magicians say to Pharaoh, this is the finger of God. In other words, they knew that this was beyond their own ability and their own demonic secret arts, and God was behind this.

And of course, Pharaoh continued to harden his heart. Now, what about us today? What does this mean for us today?

And this is why I'm glad you asked this question. We have to be aware that even today, false teachers have power that enables them to deceive individuals into believing that they represent God or true power or the light. Jesus warned us in Matthew 24, there will arise false Christs or Antichrists, false prophets. And then, listen to this, and they will show great signs and wonders. In other words, they're going to do some miracles and wonders. They're going to have enough delegated power from their satanic source to imitate what might seem to be something from God. And so the warnings continue in the New Testament. In fact, the litmus test today for a true prophet is not whether or not they can heal or perform a miracle or show some sign or wonder. In fact, Jesus warned us that there will be many in the day of judgment who say, Lord, haven't we prophesied in your name?

In other words, haven't we said things are going to happen in the future and they happened and they did it in the name of Jesus? Jesus continues, and in your name have cast out devils. So they've been involved in exorcism. They have seemingly had power over the satanic world, even though they have been empowered by the satanic world.

I mean, how deceptive is that? Jesus goes on, and in the name of Jesus or in my name have done many wonderful works, but I will say to them, I never knew you. So here they are, unrepentant sinners. They're unsaved, but yet they are empowered by a demonic source, Satan himself, to perform signs and wonders. And then, of course, go all the way into the book of Revelation and watch the Antichrist do amazing, miraculous things. But his power is coming from Satan. That power is limited by the providence of God, and yet he will deceive millions of people because of his ability to perform signs and wonders. Thank you, Stephen. And I've always found it interesting and maybe a little bit funny that these plagues are God's judgment upon Pharaoh and the land of Egypt, but Pharaoh's magicians are actually making things worse. They're making more frogs, aren't they? That's an interesting thought.

And before we leave this, let me just deliver again one more warning to you, even in this 21st century. I like the way one author put it, that the power of God is not so much displayed in flashy miracles and showy demonstrations of power. The power of God is shown in the gospel of Christ, which is able to change life. This is something that satanic or demonic forces cannot replicate, and that is the changed life. God's greatest miracle, by the way, is not changing rivers into blood or producing frogs or turning sticks into serpents. The greatest miracle on the planet, my friend, is what God has done in your life when he changed your heart that was dead in sin and brought you to life, made you a part of the family of God, and will one day change your body to be immortal, and you're going to live forever. That's the greatest miracle. Satan can't even touch that. In the meantime, what he does do is delegate it by God for God's purposes, so we have no need to fear. But instead, let's give glory to God and continue serving him. Amen.

Thank you so much. Well, friends, let me give you the number that you can use if you have a question about the Christian faith or the Word of God. Our Bible question line is 910-808-9384. That's a special number that we've set up just for this purpose.

We don't and we can't answer that number. It's only designed for you to call in and record your message. We recently received a question asking what time that number is available, and it's 24 hours a day. You can call any time that you have a question, and we'll answer it on a future broadcast. That number once again is 910-808-9384. Here's our second question of the day.

My name is Love. I'm from Montgomery, Alabama. I want to know what the Bible says about different denominations. I've been told that the Church of Christ said they are the only true church and the only people that would go to heaven.

What does the scripture say about the different denominations? Thank you so much. Well, Love, we were so glad to hear from you, and thank you for listening to Wisdom For the Heart down there in Birmingham, Alabama. I think Stephen's going to be able to help you from God's Word today.

Yes, thank you, Love, for that. We could start by referring to the first designation of Christians. It wasn't Baptist or Presbyterian or Episcopalian or whatever. All the way back in Acts 9, verse 2, Saul, before he's converted and then his name is familiar to us as Paul, the apostle, but Saul is heading to Damascus.

He's going to arrest Christians. And the text says, if he found anyone belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. So the first designation for Christians is the Way. There weren't Protestant denominations until the Reformation. Five hundred years ago, you basically had the church, and the Catholic church, it was called simply one holy church, and then that splintered into Protestant denominations that we know of today, and they tended to come and go. We're watching some mainline denominations basically disappear in apostasy and unbelief. But keep in mind that any church that says, we are the one true church, or any church that says, we belong to the one true denomination, that's tenuous ground. In fact, that's frightening. I wouldn't belong to a church or denomination that claimed to be the only way to heaven.

Why? Well, because the only one that can make that claim is the Lord Jesus, who said, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me. So heaven is gained by people belonging to Jesus, and that can take place in any denomination. That can take place in places where there are no denominations. Overseas, in other countries, there are underground churches that aren't part of denominations. They simply believe the Gospel. Jesus makes that claim. Now let me say this. Why so many denominations?

Because that might be a follow-up, Scott, that loves thinking of asking. I think that denominations are part of God's protection. I think it was a dangerous thing to have one church under the leadership of a few men and one pope. All that the enemy had to do was corrupt one man or a few men and the entire church under their leadership, face great threat in doctrinal error. So here we are celebrating the Reformation, and those who protested the Catholic Church, those protesters, became known as Protestants or Protestants. They were protesting the corruption of Catholicism.

And now they have splintered, obviously, over a variety of non-essential doctrines. And what I mean by non-essential is you can go to heaven, whether you've been baptized or not. You can go to heaven, whether or not you believe in eternal security.

You can go to heaven, whether or not you believe in sign gifts or not. And of course, our church has beliefs built into our doctrinal statement. But I think that God protects the church in this manner.

And even though I'm very committed to the things that we teach and, as a pastor, what we believe, I know that there are people going to heaven who don't believe certain things that I believe that are what we would call those non-essentials. And so what happens is the enemy, Satan, who wants to attack the church because he hates the church. In fact, Jesus said, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

So we know that Satan wants to prevail over the church. But what does he have to do? He can't come after one man. He can't come after, you know, a dozen cardinals or bishops. He has to go after every local church. And I think in this way, though it might be frustrating that there are so many interpretations of non-essentials and so many denominations and so many kinds of churches.

I think it's God's protection. And love, I think our personal advice for you would be that if you are part of a church where the gospel is proclaimed and the Word of God is preached, then that's exactly where you need to be. You don't need to be worried about changing to some new denomination that has a secret truth that you don't have access to. Right.

Let me add one more thing, love. Here's a verse to write down. Ephesians chapter four verse five, where we're told there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism that is of the Holy Spirit. He doesn't say there is one church. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism. And how do we get into the living church that is on its way to heaven?

Well, we're told that as many as received him, Christ, to them he gave the right to become children of God. So the question, love, for you and all of our listeners isn't whether or not you belong to the right church because the only one church is going there. The question is do you believe in Christ? Have you believed the gospel?

If you have, you've been included in the family of God. If you haven't, Scott's going to give you our number. Give us a call. We'd like to help you know Christ personally and come to know the one that's going to take you to heaven, not through the doors of a church, but through the door which is Christ himself. That number, if you would like to speak with us, is 866-48-BIBLE. 866-48-BIBLE. Our staff would be delighted to speak with you. In fact, if you'd like a resource to help you understand the gospel, ask them to send you a copy of the sermon, The King's Pardon.

We'd be happy to send that off to you. It's a wonderful sermon that helps explain the gospel in very simple terms. Now, we have another number that you use if you have a Bible question that you want answered on a future broadcast. That number is 910-808-9384.

Call that anytime. So Stephen, we were just talking about how it is that we get to heaven and that, of course, is through our response to the gospel. We have a question about what heaven will be like.

My name is Alicia Kinsey and I'm calling from Raleigh, North Carolina. My question for today is, do you believe that once we die, we will be entered into certain areas of heaven from the work that we do while we're here on the earth? Alicia, thank you so much for calling in with that question. So Stephen, are there levels of heaven based on our works? Well, I wouldn't use the term levels of heaven. I think what she's probably after is levels of reward or levels of responsibility or maybe degrees of joy or whatever.

And I think we can approach it that way. And the first thing, if you look through Scripture, you'll find that there are differing degrees of joy in heaven. The Lord said in Luke chapter 15, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who don't need repentance.

If you have more joy, it's possible to have less joy. And we know that there is great joy in the conversion of a sinner. The Lord said that there are rewards in heaven. And of course, the Apostle Paul did as well. But you could look at Matthew chapter 5 and Matthew chapter 6, where the Lord talks about their reward is given to them in full on earth when they do things for men to applaud them. Matthew chapter 6, verse 20, lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys.

So we need to acknowledge that there are degrees of reward. Jesus made it very clear to the church that in the coming kingdom, there's going to be responsibilities that will vary. And it's going to depend upon our faithful service to Christ now. So if you go to Matthew chapter 25, for instance, where it talks about the individual with talents, with money, and you remember one invested it and doubled it, one buried it out of fear, and the Lord rewarded the one who invested it by giving him even more, and this is a reference to the coming kingdom, when we will be given responsibility based on our service. That doesn't mean we might not get in.

You get in one way. That's by faith in Christ alone. So we're not talking about getting into the kingdom, getting into heaven, the eternal state. We're talking about what we're going to do and how we're going to enjoy it and how we're going to serve him. Now let me say, when you talk about degrees of joy, be careful here.

No one's going to be unhappy in heaven, okay? I kind of like to think of it, Elisha, as a graduation line. I don't know where you were in that graduation line, but I remember mine from high school and from college and from two different seminaries. There were guys in line with me and gals that had their black robes on and their hats and tassels, and I had that. Then there were some that had this braided cord around their neck, and I didn't have that. I didn't have that either, Stephen. That was for the magna cum laude, the summa cum laude. Those are the ones who earned the highest grade point averages, and frankly, they worked harder than I did. But if you asked me, hey, Stephen, are you happy to be graduating?

Oh, my cup would have been full. I was thrilled to be graduating, and I think that's heaven. We're all going to be thrilled to be there. But there will be people who will have a deeper sense of joy that I don't experience simply because they served, they worked, they labored more faithfully. And then, of course, 1 Corinthians chapter 3, where we're told of the coming reward based on our service for Christ. By the way, if you're at the bema seat, that is the judgment seat of Christ described for us in Paul's letter to the Corinthians, you're a believer. The great white throne that ends human history is for all the unbelievers, but the judgment seat of Christ, the bema seat, is a place of reward. And so Paul writes to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, for if we walk by faith, verse 7, not by sight, we are of good courage. And I say and prefer rather to be absent from the body, to be at home with the Lord. Therefore, we have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, he's writing to Christians, so that each one may be repaid or recompensed for his deeds in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. And I don't really care for that translation because it sounds like we're dealing with sin.

The words good or bad could be understood as whether profitable or unprofitable. So what happens at the bema seat is that you will be rewarded for all the profitable things you did for Christ. Will that be a time of great joy?

Oh, absolutely. When you receive from Christ for your service what you know he empowered you to do, and that's why later we're told we're going to take those rewards and we're going to throw them at his feet, we're going to lay them at his feet, because we know that he empowered us to do those acts of service. So we're all happy, we're all thrilled, we're all joyful in heaven. In the coming kingdom, that thousand-year reign, we're all happy, we're all joyful, we're all immortal, we're all serving Christ. But there will be a depth of joy known to those who've served more faithfully, but there will be reward for those who serve Christ.

Is it possible to lose reward? Oh, absolutely. First John, you're going to have to go there because we're out of time. First John talks about losing our full reward, not our salvation, but our full reward by disobedience. So let's serve Christ, depend on his grace, and one day receive from him a full reward for having faithfully served him. Yeah, that's good, Stephen.

So this concept that Elisha brings up, the Bible actually presents it as motivation for us, right? That we are to live in light of eternity because of what you've described for us. Elisha, thank you so much for calling today. And by the way, when you introduced yourself, you mentioned you were from Raleigh. If you don't have a church home, I wanted to make you aware that Stephen pastors a church in Cary, North Carolina, which is right next to you. And any of our listeners, if you are ever in our area, we would love to have you visit us for a worship service on Sunday. The name of the church is Colonial Baptist Church, and you can learn more at colonial.org. We have time for one more question today, Stephen.

This is Gary from Burlington, North Carolina. My question is, when the Bible speaks of the new heaven and the new earth, when we come back after the tribulation, is the heaven that we go to after we leave our body as believers, is it the same heaven that comes back to the new earth or is actually heaven changed in any way when it is brought back after the tribulation? Thank you for your ministry and your teaching. I look forward to your response.

Gary, thank you so much for calling in with that question. Stephen taught a series called Thy Kingdom Come. In that series, if you go to our website, wisdomonline.org, and look for that series, Thy Kingdom Come, you'd find it in the resource section, you're going to find that there are manuscripts for each one of those messages. Those manuscripts have the full text of Stephen's message, as well as some diagrams that help illustrate the things that Stephen's talking about. So Stephen, that would be kind of the long answer on the Millennial Kingdom, but can we help Gary right now with maybe a more condensed answer?

Absolutely, Scott. Gary, great question. In 2 Peter 3 and verse 11 and 12, since all these things are to be destroyed, he's talking about the earth, the heavens being destroyed, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness? Verse 12, looking for the hastening, the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning and the elements with intense heat will melt. So according to his promise, we are looking for new heavens and a new earth. Let's keep a distinction in our mind between the heavens, which could be translated the universe, and heaven with a capital H. When you think of a new heaven and a new earth, you're thinking of a new universe, and that's what the Bible is referring to.

Often it will put it in plural text form. Heavens and earth. When we talk about dying and going to heaven, that's a capital H, and that is simply referred to really as the presence of the Lord. And keep in mind that is a literal place, that's why I like to capitalize that H for heaven, it's a literal place, and think of the Father's house. That's described for us in Revelation, as God alluded to the fact that we talk about those dimensions and all of that.

That's going to descend during the millennial kingdom. After the millennial kingdom, earth and the heavens are destroyed, and the final judgment takes place, a new earth is created, and in that heaven, capital H, which is the Father's house, descends permanently on the new earth. This is going to sound really strange, but heaven is on earth. The Father's house, which is the place of residence where you're going to have your abode, you're going to have a residency with its streets of gold and gates of pearl, that's going to be resting on that Jerusalem allotment.

We're running out of time here. So to summarize, the heavens are the universe, earth is where we're living right now, and it's going to be remade and given immortality, so to speak, it'll last forever. Heaven, with a capital H, is the Father's house, and that's where you'll have a place of residency.

Heaven, think of it this way, is the Father's house. Well let me give you our Bible question line one last time. It's 910-808-9384. If you have a Bible question, we would love to hear from you. And our phone number in the office is 866-48-BIBLE. I mentioned earlier that if you'd like a copy of a message that really explains the Gospel well, ask for the message, The King's Pardon, when you call. We'd be happy to send that out to you. I also encourage you to visit our website, wisdomonline.org. We post the audio and written transcripts of all Stephen's teaching to that site.

So if you ever miss a broadcast, you can keep caught up. If you'd like to write to us, our address is Wisdom for the Heart, PO Box 37297, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27627. It is always encouraging to us when we hear from listeners. In fact, getting the mail is one of the highlights of our day. We would love to hear from you. When we come back on Monday, Stephen's going to continue through his series. Make sure you join us for that right here on Wisdom for the Heart.