Transcript

Bert Harper: I love mountains. And I'll go out to preach in some hilly areas

>> Jeff Chamblee: M. The Bible. The Bible. It's the word of God, living and active, sharper than any two edged sword. It contains all we need for life and godliness. And it reveals to us the mysteries of God. Join us for the next hour as we study the Bible and take your Bible questions. This is Exploring the Word on American Family Radio.

>> Alex McFarland: Up and down the mid Atlantic region of the country, there are the Appalachian Mountains and the Blue Ridge region. And I'll go out to preach in some of those hilly areas and I'll be talking to people and they'll say, I live on a mountain. I live over on that mountain. And so we're going to talk today on Exploring the Word about the mountains we live on. And, we'll explain a little bit about some significant hills, some mountains from God's word and where we stand on those respective mountains. With me, Alex McFarlane is in the studio. Bert Harper and I welcome you, dear brother. It's good to be together.

>> Bert Harper: It's good to be with you. And I'm telling you, I like the mountains. You know, if you got the beach or the mountains, I choose the mountains.

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah.

>> Bert Harper: And, I heard my oldest son, Nathan, he said, dad, I got the perfect place for you and mom to go. And I said, where? He said, hawaii. He said, the mountains come right out to the beach. So I said, you mean we could all be happy that way? Huh? Huh? But I do love mountains.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, I know you've talked about one of your alma maters, Blue Mountain.

>> Bert Harper: Now listen, it sounds bigger than it is, but anyway, yeah, it's a mountain for northeast Mississippi, anyway.

>> Alex McFarland: Sure, sure.

The most important decision you'll ever make is to receive Jesus as savior

Well, folks, if you've got your Bible, be ready to turn to some scriptures with us because we're going to talk about some of the mountains in the word of God. And this relates to the gospel. Let me just encapsulate kind of what we're doing here. We, we're talking about the gospel and your relationship to Jesus Christ. Because the most important thing you'll ever do, the most vital decision you'll ever make, is to receive Jesus as your Lord and savior. I've got a friend, Bert, and he's a pretty well known Christian writer and minister, but he's got a sibling that's not a believer and in fact claims to be an atheist. And we were talking and a number of times this brother has said, please pray for this family member, which we do, of course. And he said to me this, and I want you to respond. He said, I cannot believe somebody would leave this world without addressing the God issue. I mean, really, because think about it. jobs come and go. We live, we age. There's health, there's sickness, there's youth, there's old age, if we are fortunate enough to. But I mean, ultimately, I mean, the thing about, you know, it's been said, one out of one die. And why is it, Bert, that people would, in the face of their undeniable mortality, why would people leave this world without addressing the God issue?

>> Bert Harper: I don't know. I'll be frank when I think you can probably tell me who said it. But it was about the person who believes God exists. And he came and Jesus Christ was God, the God man, and died on the cross and rose again. And it said, if I'm right about Jesus, you know, if I'm right about Jesus, I've gained everything. But if you are wrong about Jesus, about him not being a, God man, just another man, you've lost everything. And, you know, when, I think about the God issue, I had to take comparative religions in college and seminary, and just Christianity and the Bible on its face. Without faith, Alex. Without faith and believing Christ is far superior than any religion of the world. But when you start looking at the facts, you know, it. But why people would refuse to see that there is a design. Can you name a thing that has design that doesn't have a designer? I just can't comprehend anybody not settling that issue. Yes or no?

>> Alex McFarland: The evidence of God is all around.

>> Bert Harper: It is.

>> Alex McFarland: And let me just, digress for a moment and talk about. We frequently in our seminars that we do around the country, we'll talk about creation, conscience, scripture, savior, ccss. If somebody says, why should I believe in God? Because sadly, of those under 30, millennials and younger, atheism is kind of hot right now, oddly enough. And I meet. I'll be in churches, because by God's grace, I'm in front of 100,000 youth a year, easily. And I'll say, how many know somebody who would claim to be an atheist? How many of you middle school, high school, college? How many of you have a friend that would claim to be an atheist? Bert? No kidding. Hands down, it's 100%. Every audience now. Ten years ago, there might be three, four, five kids.

>> Bert Harper: It's changed.

>> Alex McFarland: I know now, creation, conscience, scripture, savior. I would submit to you, these things are best understood in terms of God being real. Creation had to have a creator conscience. Your knowledge of right and wrong. There's a law written on the heart There had to be a lawgiver. And then you've got the Bible, fulfill prophecy, amazing power. And then you've got Jesus who rose from the dead. All right, creation, conscience, scripture, savior, these four reasons alone. There must be a higher power behind it all.

>> Bert Harper: I think you come to the decision there's a higher power, and then you got to come. Who is the higher power? And when you do that, Scriptures, I mean, the Bible, I'm telling you what, it doesn't answer all the questions, but it points us to the one where we can get those answers, to those questions. And so, yes, so what are you going to build your life on? I agree, man. Why would you go out of this world and not settle the issue of God? And if you're open minded, I do believe you'll come to the God of the scriptures.

>> Alex McFarland: I really do, too. Psalm 19, very famously. And, oh, I love Psalm 19, but it talks about creation and conscience. It says, the heavens declare the glory of God. The firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, night unto night shows knowledge. Verse 3 of Psalm M:19. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Now, what that is saying is, look, the creation had to have a creator, the heaven and the earth. And everybody knows this. I've been to a lot of parts of the world, undeveloped, third world nations, where people living literally on the ground in a thatch roof, we'll talk about, the great God or creator. So three questions. Does God exist? Number two, what kind of God exists? And number three, how may I know this God?

>> Bert Harper: Amen. Good questions.

>> Alex McFarland: So there are some hills in scripture that point us to these things. Now, Bert, if I were to throw out to you what are in the word of God, what are some famous mountains?

>> Bert Harper: Let me see. How about Pisgah?

>> Alex McFarland: okay. Well, yeah, that is one.

>> Bert Harper: Nebo.

>> Alex McFarland: Nebo. Mount Nebo. Yeah. Okay.

>> Bert Harper: And then the Big Boy. Mount Hermon.

>> Alex McFarland: Mount Herman.

>> Bert Harper: Big Boy, Big Boy.

Matthew 17 mentions a number of mountains, but they weren't important

>> Alex McFarland: Probably the highest one.

>> Bert Harper: Yeah, the highest one. So are those important?

>> Alex McFarland: Well, you know, they are, but they weren't the ones I was actually thinking about.

>> Bert Harper: So if I were taking a test, I would not have passed that one.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, no, actually, I'm pretty, impressed with your knowledge there. You know, in Matthew 17, when they went up on the Mount of Transfiguration, which mountain was that? Wasn't that probably Hermon?

>> Bert Harper: That's probably Hermon. As I toured the Holy Land and I went there and I remembered the Scriptures and studied the Scriptures. I came away thinking, I believe this is the place.

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah, well, there are a lot of mountains mentioned, but I guess I'm going to be selective.

>> Bert Harper: Okay, let's see now. There's a lot of others. you know, there's a lot of mountains. So let's see which ones.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, everybody knows Mount California Calvary, and songs have been written, and we're going to get to that.

Alex Metz: Mount Sinai speaks of holiness of God but also sinfulness

But the one I want to start with, and again, folks, this is about your relationship to Christ, is a mountain called Mount Sinai. Now, very famously, the first of our three mountains we're going to visit today. Mount Sinai. What happened there?

>> Bert Harper: You got to go to Moses. let me see. He was up there all by himself until God showed up, right?

>> Alex McFarland: That's right.

>> Bert Harper: Matter of fact, I think God was there before him, and I think God drew him up there, and he, you know, something about hiding in the cleft of the rock, and no man can look upon me and live. A lot of stuff happened on Mount Sinai, Alex.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, the Lord appeared to him, and with the finger of God, the stone tablets were written, the two commandments. Mount Sinai speaks of the holiness of God, but it also speaks of the sinfulness of man.

>> Bert Harper: Ah.

>> Alex McFarland: And, you know, hiding in the cleft of the rock, he hideth my soul, in a dark, stormy land. wasn't it because of the glory of God pass by? Yeah. I mean, he had to get in.

>> Bert Harper: A safe place, and then God had to hold his hand over him. The cleft of the rock wasn't enough protection from that glory. He had to hold his hand up as it passed by, and he said he only saw the high hinder parts. In other words, it saw the train. you know, like Isaiah saw in the train filled the temple. The latter part of it. You talking about holy, Alex? what you just said is beyond. I think it's beyond description to tell about how important that is, the holiness of God.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, when Exodus 33 talks about Moses being really shielded, guarded, hidden in the cleft of the rock, would it be fair to say that speaks of the righteousness of Christ?

>> Bert Harper: It does.

>> Alex McFarland: Because here's the thing, friend. and listen. We're proclaiming this message because we care about you and we care about your soul. More importantly, Jesus cares about you. But if you think you can appear before a holy, eternal, infinite, all powerful, righteous, just, God clothed in anything other than the rock of Jesus, you're not going to be able. You'll evaporate. You cannot stand before God unless you are clothed. Really, in a fireproof garment, a holy proof garment, the righteousness of Jesus.

>> Bert Harper: And when Moses came down, he was aglow. I mean, to be in the very presence of God, it changed his life.

>> Alex McFarland: Let m me say this. I was on the road preaching, and, it was my privilege to represent the American Family association last fall at a few events. And I was on the east coast, and I always loved to know what people do. And I asked, there, was a lady, I said, what do you do as a career? She said, well, I'm an engineer at the nuclear plant. A fine Christian lady. And I said, wow. And she said, well, we have the reactor and they drop the rods down in the core. And, I was listening to this with a little bit of trepidation, I have to tell you. And I said, are you worried about exposure to radiation? And she said, well, she said, they check us every week and we have to wear these meters that we don't have too much exposure. She said, every now and then, some of us react and we carry a little more radiation on our person than is appropriate. But she said, I will tell you this. And there's the water where the cooling of the core is. She said, at night it glows blue. The water glows blue. She said, when all the lights are out, you can see the water that cools the reactor glows blue. And, the merits or not of nuclear power is not what I'm getting at. My point is this. If being near a finite created element could cause you to radiate, how about the one who created those elements now?

>> Bert Harper: No wonder Moses.

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah, no wonder Moses. Do you need to be saved, my friend? Do you need the righteousness of Christ and the blood atonement? Let me explain why. If it's unsafe for you to be near the nuclear plutonium, how much more dangerous unprepared to be near the one who created the plutonium? You see my point?

>> Bert Harper: So Mount Sinai is where God did meet man, and man would see the holiness of God. But man went. The greatest need was still unmet.

>> Alex McFarland: Still unmet. we're going to talk about that.

>> Bert Harper: We're going to talk about that meeting that day.

>> Alex McFarland: Three important hills and their significance to you on exploring the Word.

>> Bert Harper: We'll be back right after the break with more the three most important hills in the Bible. And that'd, be a good trivia question for you and a good Sunday's good question to ask your class just this next Sunday.

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>> Jeff Chamblee: This is exploring the word on American family Radio.

>> Bert Harper: We found out that Mount Pisgah, Nebo, and Hermon are not the three most important mountains that's mentioned in the Bible, although they're interesting and, and some important things happen there. But we're looking at three, and we've discussed one, Mount Sinai, and we've got two more to cover. Alex, are you going to reveal what is behind door number two?

>> Alex McFarland: Well, it's not hard to go there, I don't think. Mount Calvary. Calvary. And you're talking about, Sinai and the sinfulness of man, the holiness of God and the need for this second mountain, Mount Calvary, the mountain of the cross. Winston Churchill, who I love. I revere Winston Churchill. I hope we see him in heaven. I tend to think that we will, based on his media.

>> Bert Harper: I do as well. Let me remember that. And before you go to the quote, I had the privilege of traveling, traveling to England about three years ago, Jan, my wife and I, and we got to go to his burial site.

>> Alex McFarland: Oh, wow.

>> Bert Harper: Yeah. In place of him being buried there in London, you know, all the. Where every. A lot of them are buried. He chose to be buried out in a rural church outside of London, not far from where he was born, matter of fact, in a home out there. And we got to see his burial site and his wife and we had a church service in the church there, where it's in a church cemetery. And it was one of the highlights of my life. And we found out a little bit about the history of Winston Churchill and There's evidence possibly that he'll say, we know the nanny that took care of him and put the word of God in his mind, hopefully in his heart, early on, made a very big, significant difference in his life.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen.

>> Bert Harper: I think there are some possibilities there.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, at one point he was sick, and, somebody asked him if he was ready to meet God. And Churchill assured the person that he was, but smugly, at that point in his life said, the real question is whether the Almighty is ready to meet me. Now, that's not the right attitude.

>> Bert Harper: No, it's not.

>> Alex McFarland: And, I think Churchill did have a change of heart. But here's the thing. When you leave this world, my dear friend, and you stand before God, it will not be peer to peer interaction. am I right?

>> Bert Harper: God is not man and man is not God.

>> Alex McFarland: That's right.

>> Bert Harper: And we better get ready to meet. What was the quote? You were going to quote him and I took us off target there. You were going to talk about what Churchill said?

>> Alex McFarland: Well, that was it. he said, the question is whether the Almighty is ready to meet me, which is not.

>> Bert Harper: That is the question, isn't it? That he had.

>> Alex McFarland: But we've got to ask, are we ready to meet God? Now, I mentioned Psalm 19 at the beginning of the program. And you've got the creation of God, the creation of the world. But then you've got the content of the. In verse seven of Psalm 19, it says, the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. There's a lot the Bible says about conversion. And let me read this of our need for conversion from Psalm 19. it ends, and it says, who can understand his errors? Cleanse me, thou from secret faults, keep back thy servant. Also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Then shall I be upright and shall be innocent of great transgression or much transgression. Now, verse 14 of Psalm 19 should be all of our desire. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. Okay, here's my point. Mount Sinai was all about our sin, the law of God, the guilt of man. Mount Calvary is about the mercy of God and the need of man. Who can understand his faults? None of us. John Piper said this. The bad news is you're a whole lot worse sinner than you think you are. The good news is God's a whole lot bigger God than you think he is.

Alex: The Passion of the Christ reveals God in his character and his glory

Let's talk a little bit about Mount Sinai. What happened there on that most significant of hillsides? Bert, what happened?

>> Bert Harper: We find out God revealing himself in his character and in his glory. And man does not measure up. Man comes far short. his glory was revealed just in the Shekinah glory that came forth. And his character was revealed in the Ten Commandments. And even in that, man finds himself coming short. So the whole idea of Mount Sinai, can you build your life on the person who says, I've. You remember the rich man who says, I've kept all these from my youth up? Jesus looked beyond his words and looked to his heart and he said, well, I tell you what, there is one commandment. He didn't utter it, but he asked the question, go and sell thy goods and give it to the poor. And he did not want to do that. He went away sad because he had great riches. And the Bible says, thou shalt not what covet, and also, thou shalt have no other gods before me. I think when he walked away, he demonstrated that two of those commandments were not real to him, Alex. And that is the whole truth. When you look at those 10 Commandments and you see the character of God revealed, and you see who we are, adultery in your heart, committed murder in your heart, all these things, it shows who we really are. We come short. We come short of the glory of God. That's what is revealed on Mount Sinai.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, exactly, and that's why we needed Mount Calvary. Now. Adrian Rogers preached so eloquently. I mean, few people could, really wield the English language like Adrian Rogers did. And he said, on a skull shaped hill outside of Jerusalem, man murdered his maker on Mount Calvary. so much is happening there. I mean, in a way, it's bloody and hard to see the film the Passion of the Christ, which Mel Gibson created more than a decade ago. I remember, Bert, I was asked to be at a screening of it in Florida. At that time I was doing some work for the North American Mission Board. And I was there with, Elmer Towns and David Jeremiah and some people, and Bill Bright, the late Bill Bright of Campus Crusade. And, a small group of us were there and Mel Gibson came and gave us a private rough cut screening. It wasn't the finished product, but it was close. And he said, I need you all you preachers to help me promote this. And he said, and this is not an endorsement of everything Mel Gibson's ever said or done, but I appreciate his heart. He said, I pray this will Be a tool for evangelism. Well, the lights went down and we saw the Passion of the Christ, which I would encourage everybody to see. It is very, very hard to see. and I'll tell you this. I've got a friend, Gary Habermas, world expert on the resurrection, and he was a technical advisor in the elements of the crucifixion. The film was very gory. The film was hard to watch. Somebody asked Gary Habermas, did you think that film was accurate? And, it was given an R rating because of the brutality and the violence. Christ being beaten with a cat of nine tails, crown of thorns nailed to the cross. Habermas, the expert on this subject, he said, well, if anything, the film probably wasn't violent enough. Now, my point is, on that mountain, Mount Calvary, the mercy of God overshadowed the darkness of sin. The law of God was satisfied, but the loving, the compassion of Jesus was manifested. I mean, we could go on and on, couldn't we? About.

>> Bert Harper: Yeah, that's why so many songs have been written at Calvary, you know, On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross on which the prince of glory died. Alex, Mount Calvary stands. Okay, let me say Mount Sinai is here. And the third one, which we're not going to reveal yet, stands here. But the peak in the middle reigns highest. Mount Calvary is the place where Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin. That the righteousness of God could be made available to us. Now, what is that? Righteousness? Go back to Mount Sinai. You got it. Let's make that connection. On, Mount Sinai, we saw the righteousness of God, the character of God, the glory of God revealed. In here, on Mount Calvary, we see where Jesus, who knew no sin, became that sin, that we might be made, what, righteous? Yes, made righteous. We were not born righteous. That's important to know, isn't it? Not born righteous, but made righteous through the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And Mount Calvary is the only place, not another place. There's no other.

What if Abraham had chosen the wrong mountain for Isaac's sacrifice

One more thought, and I want to hand it back to you. We get a picture of that in Genesis chapter 22, when Abraham is told by God to go to a mountain that I will show you later and take your son and offer your son Isaac. How many mountains? down there in Mount Moriah, there were several mountains, but there was only a ram caught in a thicket on top of one of those mountains. Have you ever thought, what if Abraham had said, you know, that mountain's too high. I believe I'll. God, I don't like that mountain. I'm going to select my own mountain to offer up my son. If he had chosen the wrong mountain, the sacrifice of the ram would not have been there.

>> Alex McFarland: Isn't that something?

>> Bert Harper: I know that. I'm still a kid, Alex. So I still play the what if game, you know, when you're a kid, you play what if every once in a while. We need to play that what if game. What if Abraham had chosen the wrong mountain? Now, I relate that to someone who is listening. If you're depending upon your own righteousness, you are choosing the wrong mountain. If you're choosing to be a member of the right church and baptized in the right manner with the right exact words, you're choosing the wrong mountain. There's only one. And it's where Jesus Christ took our place.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen.

>> Bert Harper: On Mount Calvary. That is the place.

>> Alex McFarland: There's a song, you know, we love songs. And I know you're going to know this one. Bert. I must needs go home. By what?

>> Bert Harper: By the way of the cross.

>> Alex McFarland: The way of the cross.

>> Bert Harper: There's no other way but this.

>> Alex McFarland: I shall ne' er get sight of the gates of light. If the way of the cross.

>> Bert Harper: I mean, it is the only way. Jesus says I am the way. The truth. I love the Definite Article. Now, you know you were an English major, right?

>> Alex McFarland: Yes, I was.

>> Bert Harper: Okay, I was not. I tell folks I would have got a free ride in education if I had known how to write. But when you make single digits, on your ACT score with English, don't sell yourself. Shut up. Listen. God's had to. That's how poor I was. But God can take those foolish things and make something out of them. But I just want to show the Definite Article. I'm always looking for repeated words. Always look for that definite article. In certain areas, I am the way. The truth, the life. What does that mean? There's no other way.

>> Alex McFarland: There's no other way.

>> Bert Harper: There's not. I'm not a way. Not all roads lead to Rome. Not all roads lead to heaven. Jesus is the way. There's no other way but this.

>> Alex McFarland: You know, I do a lot of traveling, and people love. It's, a little bit of a status symbol to brandish a passport with a lot of stamps in it. I've met people, you know, for graduation, we went to Paris. For high school graduation, we've been to England. We went to Zanzibar. We've been to India. You know, We've been. And if people really want to be impressive, they've been to Australia and, New Zealand and to Antarctica.

>> Bert Harper: Oh, man.

>> Alex McFarland: Because, you know, if you want to.

>> Bert Harper: You don't go any further.

>> Alex McFarland: That's right. If you want to hit all seven continents. Ah, but I want to tell you, friend, you've never been anywhere until you've been to Calvary.

>> Bert Harper: Amen.

>> Alex McFarland: And maybe you did that seventh continent few people get. You've been to Antarctica, but if you haven't been to Calvary, you just haven't been anywhere. you know that song, the Way the Cross Leads Home? I love that song. The last verse says, I bid farewell to the way of the world, who walk in it nevermore. For my Lord says, come and I seek my home. And he waits with an open door. The way of the cross leads home.

Friend, today maybe God is calling you to scale Mount Calvary

Friend, today maybe God is calling you to scale Mount Calvary. And the funny thing, you go up this mountain by humbling down your life, and you need to admit and say, lord, I need you. I cannot save myself. My money can't buy me heaven. My effort can't earn me heaven. My track record isn't worthy of heaven. Lord, I'm lost. Please save me. Now, what we want to say is. And we've got another hill. We've talked about Sinai, the law of God that does condemn you. Calvary, the salvation of God that you're being offered right now. you need to say, lord, I admit I'm a sinner. Lord, I believe Jesus, the Son of God. See, on that cross, it was a purposeful death. Jesus was not a martyr dying for his faith. He was a savior dying for you. And it was a very intentional, purposeful death. His death on the cross, his subsequent resurrection, is the one thing, the one and only remedy that will forgive your sin, save your soul, heal your broken heart, restore your life, and guarantee you heaven. Today. Would you walk the hill by way of prayer? Would you come up this hill called Mount Calvary?

>> Bert Harper: Amen. Alex, what you said was he purposefully did that. He endured it. when we hear the words, he spilled his blood. That's really a misnomer. He poured his blood. Spilling, he gave it. He is accidental. Pouring is purposeful. He purposefully went to the cross. Now, Alex, you remember what he did before he did that. He went to the garden and prayed. If there be any other way, let this cup pass from me. The only way that Jesus could redeem mankind was through the cross. And the only way mankind, can come to the Father is through the cross. The cross of Jesus Christ. There's no other way. And if you're trying some other way, Alex has already said it. I'm putting my thoughts in. If you're trying some other way, if you think you can be good enough, if you think you can have the right philosophy of life, if you can think, okay, I've got a Christian worldview. Well, listen, you can be right on evolution and say it's false, and I believe in creation. You can even be right on tithing, Alex, and say, man, I believe there's something special about giving a, tenth of my income to church or to ministry. You can be right on all those things and yet miss the cross. Don't miss it. I mean, the cross, is it Mount Calvary? And because of Mount Sinai, we see the need of Mount Calvary.

>> Alex McFarland: Oh, Amen.

>> Bert Harper: We all come short of the glory of God. We do not measure up, do we? Our best is not sufficient.

>> Alex McFarland: Exactly. You know, there was a song a few years ago, a praise tune. Crucified, laid behind the stone. And it says, like a rose, treasure trampled on the ground. he took the fall and bore it all for us. See the stone that covered the tomb and the stone that would be your gravestone too is the law of God that you've broken. But Calvary is the solution. Now we've got another mountain to climb, so stay tuned when Exploring the Word comes back after this brief break. One more of God's three significant mountains.

>> Bert Harper: Preborn's whole mission is to rescue babies from abortion to and lead their families to Christ. Last year, Preborn's network of clinics saw 8,900 mothers come to Christ. Please join us in this life saving mission. To donate, go to preborn.com afr exploring.

>> Jeff Chamblee: The word on American Family Radio. Connect with Alex and Burt on the Exploring the Word Facebook page. Facebook.com exploringtheword your words give us life that's never ending.

>> Bert Harper: Your words bring us love that never fails. Everything else will fade away, but what will remain? Oh, y.

>> Alex McFarland: Exploring the Word is back. Alex McFarland with Bert Harper. And we're going to return to our talk of three significant mountains and what they mean to you. I do want to mention that Exploring the Word, a ministry of the American Family Radio Network is on social media, Facebook and Twitter and things like that. You can follow us. We would be very honored if you would like our page and you can find us online. You can also contact us. We love to hear from you, whoever you are. If you like the show, let us know if it is a blessing to you or maybe you have a Bible Question or just a prayer request, but whatever is on your heart, you can contact us. Word W O r d f r.net.

Alex Carland is a full time evangelist and teaches apologetics

>> Bert Harper: And Alex, I want people to know that you're a full time evangelist. I keep the fires home fires burning here in Tupelo. Yes. I go out some, Jan and I do. But you're on the road week in and week out all through the year. And if they want you, they can go to alexmcfarland.com that's right. And they can find out something. You have what you would call an enlistment where they can see and they can ask because, there are certain things that need to take place for a full time evangelist. I can't imagine tell what a full. There's not a lot of you guys around anymore.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, there really aren't. and I appreciate you giving that out. Yes. My website is just my name. Alexmcfarland.com and I've been on the road, started out really doing apologetic seminars, which I still love to do. And I teach apologetics at a number of universities, which is defending the faith. But I realized early on that the church needed not just data, but they needed, the power of the Holy Spirit and revival and awakening.

>> Bert Harper: I want to say that's what sets you apart from many. I won't say all because I think that would be a wrong thing to say. But for many of those that are apologists, yours with that, evangelism, the spirit of the Lord, you know, the appeal to come to Christ, it sets yours, with a different tone, I would say.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, let me tell you who my two heroes are. I've got a lot of heroes that I have been touched by and look up to, including yourself. But I guess if I had two heroes, one would be Josh McDowell and one would be Billy Graham.

>> Bert Harper: If you combine those two, you're doing all right.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, defending the faith and proclaiming the faith. Amen. So, I love it. I'm in easily 150 to 200 cities a year. And wherever you are, I mean, if you want to talk about doing a seminar, if you want to do, an evangelistic event in your church or your community, or if you want me to go to the local university and do Q and A with an atheist. Been there, done that. Love it. Go to alexmcfarland.com Amen.

>> Bert Harper: One more thing I want you to do. And we both do this. Greenville, North Greenville University. They are a very big support. AFA and North Greenville, they really help you in carrying out what God's calling is in your life.

>> Alex McFarland: They do. North Greenville University is a Southern Baptist college in South Carolina. It's been there since 1892. It was started as a school for the kids of the bootleggers. What's interesting is in the upstate of South Carolina in 1892, Southern Baptist missionaries wanted to evangelize the children of the moonshiners.

>> Bert Harper: They had plenty of them back then.

>> Alex McFarland: I understand they did. the word is there's probably still a few left, but, at any rate, North Greenville Baptist College grew and grew and grew. Today it's about 3,000 students. It's a world class university. It's my privilege to lead the apologetics and Christian worldview department there. I will say this, and I'm so proud of North Greenville and I know there are a lot of good schools like this, but, when the redefinition of marriage and, homosexuality began to really be enforced on much of academia, the trustees of North Greenville said, hey, not us. We will close up shop before that happens. And so it is a fully accredited world class university and unapologetically standing on the word of God.

>> Bert Harper: Well, I want to give a little out to my alma mater, Blue Mountain College.

>> Alex McFarland: Please do. Yes.

>> Bert Harper: matter of fact, Dr. Ronald Meeks, one of the professors, called in not too long ago on the Q and A and just said appreciation. But you know, Blue Mountain, where I got my degree, and the biblical department was beyond measure. The others added to it. It wasn't anti. It wasn't like the biblical department against everybody else. I think they supplement and complement one another. And then, I saw another one of their Bible professors, Dr. Mims. And just this past weekend, and he was telling me, m. I get to hear you and Alex and say, I appreciate you guys. So we're proud of the universities that we're connected with and we thank God for them.

>> Alex McFarland: I meet a lot of really great Blue Mountain alums.

>> Bert Harper: We are, I'm telling you, they're everywhere and it's shocking.

Let's look at Mount Olivet, the mountain of God's return

But anyway, we need to get on to that third mountain now. Mount Sinai. Let me make sure of this, because I want to. That reveals the sovereignty of God and the, excuse me, I got ahead of myself. That reveals the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man. Mount Calvary shows the mercy of God and the need of man. Now what about the third mountain?

>> Alex McFarland: I would call the third significant mountain, Mount Olivet. And as many people know, Mount Olivet is going to be the place where Christ, returns and he touches down and the Bible talks a lot about it. Do you know, for centuries, pious Jewish people have been buried on the slopes of Mount Olivet because they believe that's where the resurrection of the dead will take place.

>> Bert Harper: And they want to be first.

>> Alex McFarland: They want to be first. And in fact, many Christians around the world, throughout all the centuries, have been buried with their feet pointed east toward Mount Olivet because, Jews and Christians alike, and how we pray for the salvation of the Israelite people, obviously. But they believe when Messiah comes, he will touch down on Mount Olivet and the resurrection. The graves will be opened, the dead will rise. So we've climbed Sinai, the mountain of God's judgment. We've climbed Calvary, the mountain of God's salvation. But today, as we close, let's take a look at Mount Olivet, the mountain of God's return.

>> Bert Harper: Amen. Ah.

>> Alex McFarland: I mean, isn't it amazing?

>> Bert Harper: He will rule and reign. You know, Alex, that's exciting to know that he will rule and reign. Right now, God's in control, don't you think? God's not. It's going that way. But he has given leeway, I'd say, you know, have you ever heard that? Give them enough rope and they'll hang themselves, you know, the world has kind of got the rope, and we're going in a bad direction. But God will reign it in one day, and he will reign, and he will rule. It shows you the sovereignty of God, doesn't it?

>> Alex McFarland: Well, it really does. Mount Olivet speaks of the sovereignty of God and the destiny of man.

>> Bert Harper: Amen.

>> Alex McFarland: you know, the Bible says, let the heathen rage, meaning that God is in control. And God's providential control of the world is in no way diminished or endangered. God is in control. right now you have an opportunity to turn to Christ. You have an opportunity to grow in Christ and to serve Christ, the spirit of God. I believe even as we speak right this minute, all around the world, God is beckoning to people, even lost people. And atheists and the militant anti God voices in our culture. The Holy Spirit is still calling out. But there is going to come a time when the window of opportunity is going to be gone. And we don't know when that is. No human knows, friend. Don't you let anybody tell you they've somehow calculated the date of Christ's return.

>> Bert Harper: I remember in 1988, this. I got this book. It said 88 reasons Christ was coming in. 88, gave 88 reasons. Of course, he didn't. The next year, he Wrote another book. I'm, being facetious. 89 reasons. You know what the 89th reason was? He didn't come in. 88. I mean, that's how foolish it is to try to.

>> Alex McFarland: I remember that, too.

>> Bert Harper: You remember that? 88 reasons why. And it was, of course, the 40 years away from, you know, from Israel. Yeah. Generation. And no man knows the time or the date. Can we know the seasons? I get a little skeptical on that. I'll be very frank. I just. What does the Bible teach about his return, more than anything else, is to be ready.

>> Alex McFarland: Yes.

>> Bert Harper: I mean, you know, it says to be ready. And the only way, you know, is through Jesus Christ. And you got to go through Mount Calvary to be ready for Mount Olivet, don't you?

>> Alex McFarland: That's right. you know that famous song? I love that song. Is this the crowning day? and it has this refrain. It says, I'll live for Jesus not anxious be Jesus my Lord, I soon will see glad day, glad day is this the crowning day When I will see my friend and gladly I would be Dangers and troubles end if Jesus comes today See, nobody can calculate the day or the hour, but what we do know is he is coming back.

>> Bert Harper: Every generation, even Paul and Peter, they anticipated him coming in their day. Now, is there anything wrong with that? No, there is nothing wrong with that. We need to anticipate his coming without naming the date.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, in a figurative sense, you can live on Mount Olivet, being ready, watching, being faithful. And I would say this, as a Christian, okay, you know the Lord. You are trying to feed your soul and grow in the Lord. Now you've got to pray every day. That's you talking to God. You've got to read the Word. That's God talking to you. With the help of the Holy Spirit. Live, by implementing God's Word into your life, letting the Scriptures shape you, change you sometimes reprimand and correct you, moms and dads. You are the priest of the home. You're passing the faith onto your kids. You're being a witness. You're part of a local assembly.

Christ is coming, and you want to be ready, Bert says

You. You see, Christianity is individual, but it's also corporate. I mean, you as a person are to walk with the Lord, but as part of a church, corporately, to be a part of the local body of believers. But living in light of the fact that this might be the day. I mean, it could. Friend, before this radio broadcast is over in just a couple of minutes, I believe there could be that trumpet blast and the catching Away.

>> Bert Harper: You never know.

>> Alex McFarland: Christ is going to come, and you want to be ready. Now, what if. Let me just ask this. While we're talking about mountains. What if, you know, you're sinful? You know, Jesus is the way, but you put it off. What if today is the day of Olivet, but you're still standing back on Sinai?

>> Bert Harper: What happens, Bert, man, you're lost. There's no hope. You're left behind. your destiny is sure, but it's not heaven. And you got to come. As you were reading that, I could not help but think of Psalm 118, verse 24, a verse that a lot of people quote. This is the day which the Lord has made. We'll rejoice and be glad in it. Now, I know people use that for every day, and it's true. But again, going back to a definite article, this. It's talking about a particular day. Now, what day was it? If you read verses 22 and 20, three, you'll find out. The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in his eyes. The day that. Mount Sinai. The mountain. Mount Sinai. Mount Olivet hinges upon is Mount Calvary.

>> Alex McFarland: Exactly.

>> Bert Harper: If you're trying to live under Mount Sinai, under the law and please God by keeping the commandments, you'll never measure up. If you're trying to be ready for that coming without going through Mount Calvary, being ready for his return without going through Mount Calvary, without going through Christ. listen, that is the day. Every other day hinges upon that day that Jesus became sin for us, Alex.

>> Alex McFarland: Exactly.

>> Bert Harper: Someone's called it the red letter day. It's the day that every day is hinged upon. What have you done with Jesus? and so we're here on Exploring the Word. Alex and I are, We take this serious about evangelism and the purpose for Christ coming. He came to seek sinners. And Paul said, of which I am chief. You know Paul, A Pharisee of the Pharisee. Concerning the law, he said, perfect. He still needed to be redeemed. Mary, the mother of Jesus, whom God found great favor, highly favored among all women. You know what I love? Martin Lowry's song. This one that you deliver will soon deliver you.

>> Alex McFarland: I love that line.

>> Bert Harper: Isn't that the truth here? We're talking about Paul, probably the greatest Christian who's ever lived. Would you think that's possible?

>> Alex McFarland: I think that's true.

>> Bert Harper: He needed a savior. Mary, possibly the greatest woman who's Ever lived, Needy. The Savior. We stand in need of Mount Calvary.

>> Alex McFarland: We really do. We really do, folks. And we would challenge you to joyously, consistently walk with the Lord. Live for the Lord. Mindful of Mount Olivet. He is coming back.

>> Bert Harper: He is.

>> Alex McFarland: when I saw, Mount Olivet in the Holy Land a couple of years ago, I remember looking at that, I thought, that is where it will be Jesus. This same Jesus who you saw ascend into the heavens will come back in like manner. and the Bible says, be ready, be faithful. You know, speaking of trusting God and being faithful, there is a story told of a drought that hit a town in the Midwest and a local church called a prayer meeting and everybody showed up to pray. And, you know, crisis has a way of getting our attention like that. And the pastor stood before the church, it was packed. He saw an 11 year old girl sitting in the front row with excitement. And next to this little girl, it's a prayer meeting for rain. She had an umbrella.

>> Bert Harper: Amen.

>> Alex McFarland: And the beauty and the innocence of that made the pastor smile because he compared the faith of that little child with the faith of the rest of the people in the room. I mean, trust is to take an umbrella to the prayer meeting for rain.

>> Bert Harper: Amen.

>> Alex McFarland: Now, friend, look, do you really trust him? Are you standing on Mount Olivet knowing he is coming back today? I'm going to be faithful. I'm going to stand for Christ. You know, let me say this. I mentioned Gary Habermas, one of the world experts on the resurrection of Christ. We had him at one of our conferences. Well, we've had him many times, but he gave a talk on 1 Corinthians 15 about not only Christ's resurrection, but the resurrection from the dead. And of course, Paul famously says, therefore, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the.

Bert Harper: Habermas says stay with Christ and stand for him

>> Bert Harper: Work of the work of the Lord.

>> Alex McFarland: Your labor in the Lord is not in vain. And we put up a video that got 2 million views in about two months. Habermas goes, look, Christ rose. The tomb is empty. He is with you this moment. He is coming back. And he said, why would you throw in the towel? Why would you fall into sin? Why would you bail out on your family or your church? Why would you give up when you can have a guarantee of eternal life? You know, you are going to see him face to face when he comes back. You are going to be rewarded in heaven because of Olivet, because of Calvary, because of the empty tomb and the risen Christ, said Habermas. And we agree we have every reason to joyfully stay with Christ and stand for him.

>> Bert Harper: Mount Sinai, you don't want to live there. Mount Calvary, you can't live there. Jesus did that. But on Mount Olivet, expectancy, using it figuratively, we wait patiently, Patiently and expectantly, serving the Lord until he comes.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen.

>> Bert Harper: We don't give up. We don't turn back, do we, Alex?

>> Alex McFarland: We don't. This is exploring the Word on the American Family Radio Network. Bert Harper, Alex McFarland. We encourage you to read the word, grow in Christ, help others find Christ. Tell somebody about the show. We'd appreciate it. But more than anything, what, Bert we.

>> Bert Harper: Want everybody to know about Jesus. So tell them about the Lord Jesus.

>> Alex McFarland: The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast do not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.