September 15, 2024 • 29 mins
Discernment
Lost Everything, What's My purpose
The Soul vs Spirit, Is There a difference
Lost Everything, What's My purpose
The Soul vs Spirit, Is There a difference
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Discernment. We have people call up every single week talking
about discernment, and it's an important question and each case
may pose a different look at the word and the
action of discernment. But today I want you to think
about the day to day circumstances that you have to judge,
(00:30):
both spiritual and physical, and how to fine tune yourself
to that place of good discernment, that place of having
the sense of an old cow and eating the hay
and leaving the six Sometimes it's it's not always as
(00:52):
cut and dry as you'd like, And to develop the
ability to sift through things is a it's a great tool.
So today I want to talk about what scripture has
to say about discernment. Often, discernment is talked about in
(01:16):
scripture as judging, having the wherewithal to make a decision
between two or more options or things. But that word
judge or judgment takes on a negative connotation sometimes and
people get the word confused. One Corinthians two fifteen says,
(01:37):
but he that is spiritual judges all things. Matthew seventy
to one says, judge not lest you be judged, and
people get caught up in that, and the believer looks
around and says, okay, I'm not supposed to judge. And
(01:57):
unfortunately the world looks at this and they remember only
the parts of scripture that they can use in some
sort of defense of their own ways and actions. They
remember this and they say, look, see it says, don't judge.
But you need to learn to know the difference when
(02:18):
scripture uses the word judgment and how it's meant. Does
it mean discernment or does it mean criticism? The Late
Great New Testament scholar F. F. Bruce pen this judgment
is an ambiguous word in Greek, as it is in English.
(02:38):
It may mean sitting in judgment on people or even
condemning them, or it may mean exercising a proper discrimination.
In the former sense, judgment is depreciated. In the latter sense,
it is recommended. So knowing the difference of when to
(03:00):
of what discerning is, and if you're in judgment or
in criticism versus you're actually analyzing a situation, discerning when
something is good for you or bad for you, or
good for the situation or bad for the situation. You
(03:21):
need to look deep into things. It's very easy to
get to that place where where you kind of just
look at the surface. You concern your things yourself with
the things that are our surface or topical, rather than
digging deep. Tewod Corinthians ten to seven warns against this.
(03:43):
It says that you are looking only at the surface
of things that doesn't have benefit. John seven to twenty
fours is stop judging by mere appearances and make a
right judgment lying there that a right judgment is not
made simply by appearance. That's when judgement becomes a problem,
(04:08):
when it's it's you only looking at the the most
surface part of the issue and making a judgment, trying
to jump to a quick conclusion, rather than really understanding
what's taking place and why. And this becomes a huge
(04:29):
part of discernment, understanding and making that conclusion or judging
things properly. You know this by testing things, by examining
everything as first Thessalonians five twenty one says, examine everything carefully,
(04:52):
hold fast to that which is good. We talk about
that constantly on the program to test all things, holding
fast to that which is good. It's okay to examine,
to probe, to ask questions, even about your own faith,
because in doing so, it shows one its value and
(05:13):
that you care about it enough to know the question
to be curious. But two, it's it's you not just
giving into the surface. As John seven said, You're not
judging by mere appearance. You're trying to make the right
decision and the right judgment, and that comes from examining everything,
(05:38):
looking at all sides. How many times on this very
program does someone call up about a job situation that's
a tough decision, and oftentimes there's moving involved, more money involve,
less money involved, changes to the family lifestyle. These things
should all be looked at when you want to come
to a conclusion or using proper discernment as to what
(06:02):
that decision should be. Good discernment, although it can be
a craft at ability that can be honed for speed
or to be more efficient, that it shouldn't be something
you rush into. Just like looking at the appearance of
(06:23):
something or scratching at the surface of a concern a situation,
you don't want to rush into things. Proverbs nineteen two
says that it's not good to have zeal without knowledge,
nor to be hasty and miss the way, because these
(06:45):
things are important. Every little bit of an issue is
part of what you should be looking at, examining why
is this knowledge so important, Why is taking the time
so important? Because ignorance can bring destruction. It's not just
(07:12):
a lack of knowledge. Ignorance is the absence of more
tools that knowledge that will help you make the proper
decisions that will help you through that road of discernment.
Hoseiah four to six is my people are destroyed for
lack of knowledge, that kind of ignorance that leads you
(07:37):
to a bad decision, or leads you down a bad
road or something not healthy or productive. It is what
you are trying to steer away from. When you deal
with discernment, you're dealing with getting all of the information
(07:58):
you can, placing it in front of you and examining it,
not being surfaced, but going below and truly analyzing and
dissecting what's beneficial for you, what's beneficial for the whole,
for the family, for the group or community. Even when
(08:21):
people start to separate themselves and just think selfishly, is
when greater problems arise. The things that I command of you,
or request or even demand in scripture are not just
to be some sort of control freak. It really comes
(08:45):
down to knowing what's best for you, knowing what's best
for the whole, and asking you to participate in these
things or not to participate, as the case may be.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
So that.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
So that you can be a part of the whole,
not in some strange metaphysical sense, but truly knowing that
you are to communicate, worship with one another, spend time
with one another, and even be held responsible for the
decisions each person makes. This is why discernment is so powerful,
(09:22):
so potent, so important. Don't get lost in just your way.
In this sense, in Hoseiah that an entire people are
destroyed due to lack of knowledge, to discernment becomes most valuable.
(09:44):
The importance of discernment cannot be understated, nor can it
be overstated. The importance of being able to discern how
you deal with any situation or any decision or choice
in life is important. However, often people will look beyond
(10:09):
scripture and not really understand that the majority of your
decisions can be understood and applied to the things of Scripture.
It's funny how God does that right, and throughout scripture
it points to ways and understanding and tools to be
(10:29):
used when discerning. Don't look at the surface things. Don't
judge by appearance, test everything, hold fast to that which
is true, which you can know. Judge using your spiritual
knowledge based on scripture. You know the difference between judgment
(10:50):
as far as criticism versus judgment as far as discernment,
that ignorance can bring diruction. So to educate, educate yourself,
show yourself approved is imperative. True discernment is is kind
(11:11):
of a big picture thing, not just what's in front
of you, but observing everything around you. This is an
interesting verse. Matthew sixteen three says, and in the morning
there will be a storm today, for the sky is
red and threatening. Do you know how to discern the
appearance of the sky but cannot discern the signs of
(11:35):
the times? And this, this verse is asking you to
pull away from from just those things that you're seeing
or understanding and using them as tools to understand the
bigger picture, not just the storm in front of you,
but what the season is or the sign of the times,
(11:57):
often a reference to things that are to come. And
you're to discern things by God's standards. You know the
difference to immerse yourself in God's word is the key
John eight fifteen sixteen. You judge by human standards, But
(12:25):
if I do judge, my decisions are right because I
am not alone. I stand with the Father who sent me.
I have much to say in the judgment of you,
but he who sent me is reliable, and what I
have heard from him. I tell the world that relationship
(12:46):
of understanding between that which you read and know in
scripture and that how that in which you use to
apply to everyday life scripture will help guide you into
discernment Hebrews four twelve. The Word of God is living
and active. It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Eric.
(13:11):
Welcome to the Jesus Christ Show.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Yes, hello, I've got a very serious question for you.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Okay, I'll give you a very serious answer.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
What is the meaning of our being here? And the
reason I'm asking that is I ran into a crisis,
lost everything that I had. I had a business, had
a nice truck, I had lots of toys, everything like that.
It all went down. So I was just like, what
am I going to do now? So what I ended
up doing I talked to an old friend of mine,
(13:40):
came back to where I grew up, and I tried
to start a charity to help save the lives of
dogs and cats. Fifteen thousand are being utianized every year,
and nationwide it's three or four million every year, and
these are innocent lives. So I tried to sort of
share already, you know, to try to change that, and
(14:04):
I got such a negative response from people. It just
shocked me.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
What what do you mean by negative response?
Speaker 3 (14:12):
I talked to people on the phone and they said
they empathized with the situation, but they did nothing to
help me help these animals. So I mean I ended
up having to shut it down, get a job, and
I've been struggling ever since to just try to make
you know, a living for myself while this is going on.
(14:34):
So what I'm wondering is, I mean, I totally devoted
everything that I had to stop this evil that's going on,
and I got absolutely no support from anybody.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Well, I mean, there's a lot of charities and a
lot of good causes out there, wouldn't you agree here?
Speaker 3 (14:52):
Of course?
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Okay, there's a lot of and people are bombarded by
them on a daily basis, and many people have already
through the maturity of their decisions had in their lives.
Have you know, they already have charities that they work
with or and sometimes they can't do anything. And something
that is your passion may not be other people's passions
as well. And the whole point I would imagine the
(15:15):
purpose of doing this is not only to stop it,
but to make people aware of it so that it
eventually stops as well. So it's not like just making
it stop in that one moment. It's that building awareness
is part of the purpose of any charity work or
anything that is noble is to build that awareness first.
And there's no one around saying that you didn't do that.
(15:39):
As far as the meaning of life, and I know
that that was your first question, but it was more
of a segue into your life situation. I will tell
you this, it's quite simple, Eric. The meaning of life
is to use your gifts and abilities along lines of
excellence to the edification of yourself and the edification of
(16:00):
others and to the glory of God. That's it. And
that doesn't say anything about success. That doesn't say anything
about you're going to make money, and it doesn't make
anything say any of that. It just means you're called
to utilize those gifts and abilities in a way that's
beneficial to yourself and to others in a healthy way,
(16:20):
and that it glorifies God.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
So how do I project that to other people? I mean,
we're talking about something that's a very serious problem, and
it's something that people can help with, but they choose
not to. And it's I mean, how can you see
something that horrible and not do something about it? You know,
(16:44):
I know people have their own limitations, but the response
I was getting was so discouraging. It was just unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
How many charities do you donate to Eric?
Speaker 3 (16:56):
Myself? I don't have the means right now to do that.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
Okay, So they mean have the means either, Well.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
That's that's not true. I mean in terms of the people.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
I mean, I e, how many how many charities do
you donate your time to? Eric?
Speaker 3 (17:12):
Well? At the Well? I full time? So the one
I started?
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Okay, So there's there's there's limitations in all things. And
I know that people get on their pet causes and
this is your focus and it should be and you
should be passionate about it and you should want to
see things done. But there are there are hundreds of
thousands of charities, both both large and small, throughout the
United States and the globe that need attention, and your
(17:40):
main goal above all else is to articulate this need
in a way that motivates motivates people of like minds
or interests to participate. If you didn't do that, there's
only one of two things happening. One they're not interested
and won't be interested, or two you didn't articulate it
(18:00):
well enough for them to understand the need. So both
of those can be addressed with. If the person isn't interested,
you tip your hat and you move along to the
next And if they are, would be interest, but you're
not provoking that or lighting that fire, then you need
to look at the way you're setting up and explaining
the need and what's going on. Those are the only
(18:22):
real options. It's very easy to put it on the
rest of the world and say, well, the rest of
the world doesn't have love in their heart for these things.
That's not true because there wouldn't be hundreds of thousands
of charities to boot, there wouldn't be all these things around.
You can't just you sound like you're pouting, like you
didn't get it your way. The way you expected it,
(18:42):
and I don't think that that's the healthiest way to
do it.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
The thing that disappointed me was just the sheer level
of just non response. It was just e floored me.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
I mean, did you look to see if there was
any other charities working towards that goal at all, either
in your area or in another.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
There are tons of them everywhere.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Then how come you didn't sign up with one of theirs?
How come you didn't go and volunteer and participate in
an organization that was already started because they don't go.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
To the root of the problem. They're treating the symptom.
As an example, there are people that I know that
have fifteen dogs or cats in their house and try
to save their lives, but doesn't stop where these animals
are coming from. And so there's there's nobody out there
that's really solving the problem.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
But maybe they went And I'm with you on that,
because there's nothing more frustrated than people putting band aids
on things that need to be amputated. But Eric, the
bigger concern here, Eric, is that maybe maybe they've tried
going down that path. Maybe they've gone down the path
you've gone down and found it to be unproductive, and
they said, Okay, we're going to work backwards now, and
(19:53):
we're going to try and triage the situation and help
where we can, and then work our way back to
a better understanding.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
So that people never ending.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
You know, life is that way.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
Rescue organizations save two thousand animals a year in Tucson,
and fifteen thousands still get killed every year and the
number keeps rising.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
But that's an education issue as well, because you have,
you know, movies coming out that have you know, puppies
in it or chihuahua's in it, and every child goes
that runs out and says, mommy, daddy, I wanta dalmatian,
I wanna a chihuahua, and the parents don't have the
fortitude to say no, that that having an animal in
(20:38):
your in your focus and in your care is a
huge thing, and it's an undertaking and it's not about
they're here for you. It's about your here for them,
and it's education. But it starts at that most simple
level that every time a movie comes out with animals
in it, that's when you should be flying, that's when
(21:00):
you should be educating, that's when you should be talking
There's there's a process to it, Eric, that's powerful and
that will work. All you're telling me is that the
process you tried didn't work. It doesn't mean that it
won't work. You know, you walk out in the middle
of the movie and they all have bad endings. You
have to play this one out. And just because it
didn't happen overnight doesn't mean that it won't that the
(21:23):
problem didn't happen overnight.
Speaker 3 (21:25):
Eric, this issy, you find a different path to the
root of the problem.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
I think your passion is right on. I mean, you
definitely have a passion and that passion comes from God.
To be that focused, laser focused and desiring to to
do something like this is huge and I commend you
on that. But that doesn't mean every way you go
to execute it is the right way. You see people
(21:50):
do this all the time. People execute things poorly all
the time. So you go back and you say, well,
that didn't work. Whatever it was you were doing didn't work.
So now point two is uh, finding out why you
think it didn't work and and go back to education.
Education is always going to be the key, uh, you know,
(22:11):
muscling this situation is that's been growing for a long time.
And it's not just in Arizona. It's all over the place.
So uh, trying to muscle that you're you're going to lose.
There's because ignorance is a pretty strong beast and it's
out there everywhere in hordes, and.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
It goes to it goes to a fundamental process. As
a matter of fact, I'll pay you a quick story here.
I was riding my bicycle home. I stopped at a
fast food place and there was a bird that was
sitting on a rail and it didn't budget didn't fly away.
There's obviously something wrong with it. Long story short, I
was riding away and I said, I can't just leave
this bird here, right, So I tried to get help.
(22:52):
I was on a bicycle and I needed to take
this thing five miles away. I tried to stop six
or seven people, even got a police officer to try
to help me with this little injured animal. Even the
police officer would.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
Not help me because it's not it's not in their language. Eric,
it's not in their.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
Language that that's really what my problem.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
But you're you're you're stamping your foot saying you don't
believe like I do. And that's not that's not a healthier,
productive way to do it. They'll look at you like
your nuts. That cop is you know, on the on
on call for all kinds of different things and sees
heinous things every day and says, you're you're really gonna
stop me to go take care of that bird right now.
That's not gonna motivate anybody. You can't just stomp around
(23:37):
and say you've got to you've got a care. That's
not how it works. You know, the the the early
Church didn't go around stopping saying you have to believe.
As a matter of fact, when uh, the Church in
its youth had leaders, had people that that you know,
were kings or leaders, governmental leaders that became Christians and
(24:02):
then felt, oh now people have to believe and started
forcing it on people. You got pollution and polluted Christianity,
which is you know, part of the garbage that exists today.
There's there, there's the pure line is is tossed out
because there was so much ugliness and forcing of people
(24:22):
to believe the Inquisition, these types of things ugly. It
doesn't produce faith or Christianity. It produces an ugly heritage
of forcing people to believe. And you can't do that.
You have to woo them with information and desire to
let them see the problem, own the problem, and cure
the problem. Angel Welcome to the Jesus Christ Show.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
Hello, Holy host, thank you for.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Taking my call, my pleasure. What's on your mind?
Speaker 1 (24:55):
Well, I don't I don't know my Bible very well.
I recommitted my life to God last summer, and I
did read the Bible. I read through the whole Bible
this year. But you know, I believe it's going to
take lots of study before I unders you know, understand
(25:18):
it better. My question is, and I've had some friends
that our non Christians asked me this, also, what is
the difference between your soul and your spirit? You know,
because it's used in the spiritual world and the secular world.
(25:40):
And I'm really curious and I really would like to know.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
What the differences between those two. Yeah, it gets into
a lot of sticky theology. So I'll go through that
quickly and then point you to some scripture. Uh, the
the word actually translates to mean the breath of life.
And when you deal with the word soul, Now there's
(26:06):
a couple different views theologically, and this is where people
get kind of caught up. There's something called dichotomists and trichotomists. Okay,
the dichotomists hold that the soul and the spirit are
two same names, you know, are two names for the
same thing, and they think that that basically it comes
down to the dichotomists, is just what it sounds like
(26:29):
it means. It means that you believe that there is
the body and the soul, and the soul and spirit
are kind of the same thing. Well, there's a different
group that are trichotomists that believe that there's actually three parts,
that there's the body, the soul, and the spirit. So
theologians go back and forth and debate this all the
time as to if the soul and the spirit are
(26:50):
two different things. I will point you to a couple
of verses, including Hebrews four to twelve, which is interesting.
Listen to these words very quickly, For the Word of
God is living an active sharper than any two edged sword.
It penetrates even to divide soul and spirits, joints and moorrow.
(27:11):
It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. So
there it sounds like it's separating the two or that
they at least can be separated. So some theologians believe
that the soul is the essence of humanity's being, their beingness,
and it is essentially who you are, and the spirit
is the aspect of humanity that connects with God that
(27:33):
makes it possible to have a relationship with God. So
those are some ideas. I will also recommend looking at
first Corinthians to eleven, James two twenty six, Colossians one
point nine, also Colausians three sixteen, and maybe that'll give
you a little place to start and to look around.
(27:55):
But keep in mind, this is one of those things
that that theologians do kind of argue back and forth
because of the way it appears in scripture. Sometimes they
seem interchangeable. But ultimately the truest understanding is that when
it's speaking of the spirit and when it's speaking of
the soul, it is referring to the immaterial part of
(28:17):
the body, the immaterial, that facet of your humanness that
is separate from the body, and that's what goes to
be with God and that's what defines and makes that
relationship possible. So I pray that helps and that you
(28:38):
can go and do some more studying. I love the
fact that you're studying Angel and that you're getting into
the Word of God. Keep in mind it is a journey,
don't expect it to end soon. And to spend the
time to ask those questions, to learn, to poke around
to you know, good word studies is always helpful. Learning
(28:58):
and getting lexicon and a good concordance that you can
go back and forth and study words is always helpful.
It brings scripture to life and lets it breathe a
little more. Kf I am six forty on demand
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Discernment. We have people call up every single week talking
about discernment, and it's an important question and each case
may pose a different look at the word and the
action of discernment. But today I want you to think
about the day to day circumstances that you have to judge,
(00:30):
both spiritual and physical, and how to fine tune yourself
to that place of good discernment, that place of having
the sense of an old cow and eating the hay
and leaving the six Sometimes it's it's not always as
(00:52):
cut and dry as you'd like, And to develop the
ability to sift through things is a it's a great tool.
So today I want to talk about what scripture has
to say about discernment. Often, discernment is talked about in
(01:16):
scripture as judging, having the wherewithal to make a decision
between two or more options or things. But that word
judge or judgment takes on a negative connotation sometimes and
people get the word confused. One Corinthians two fifteen says,
(01:37):
but he that is spiritual judges all things. Matthew seventy
to one says, judge not lest you be judged, and
people get caught up in that, and the believer looks
around and says, okay, I'm not supposed to judge. And
(01:57):
unfortunately the world looks at this and they remember only
the parts of scripture that they can use in some
sort of defense of their own ways and actions. They
remember this and they say, look, see it says, don't judge.
But you need to learn to know the difference when
(02:18):
scripture uses the word judgment and how it's meant. Does
it mean discernment or does it mean criticism? The Late
Great New Testament scholar F. F. Bruce pen this judgment
is an ambiguous word in Greek, as it is in English.
(02:38):
It may mean sitting in judgment on people or even
condemning them, or it may mean exercising a proper discrimination.
In the former sense, judgment is depreciated. In the latter sense,
it is recommended. So knowing the difference of when to
(03:00):
of what discerning is, and if you're in judgment or
in criticism versus you're actually analyzing a situation, discerning when
something is good for you or bad for you, or
good for the situation or bad for the situation. You
(03:21):
need to look deep into things. It's very easy to
get to that place where where you kind of just
look at the surface. You concern your things yourself with
the things that are our surface or topical, rather than
digging deep. Tewod Corinthians ten to seven warns against this.
(03:43):
It says that you are looking only at the surface
of things that doesn't have benefit. John seven to twenty
fours is stop judging by mere appearances and make a
right judgment lying there that a right judgment is not
made simply by appearance. That's when judgement becomes a problem,
(04:08):
when it's it's you only looking at the the most
surface part of the issue and making a judgment, trying
to jump to a quick conclusion, rather than really understanding
what's taking place and why. And this becomes a huge
(04:29):
part of discernment, understanding and making that conclusion or judging
things properly. You know this by testing things, by examining
everything as first Thessalonians five twenty one says, examine everything carefully,
(04:52):
hold fast to that which is good. We talk about
that constantly on the program to test all things, holding
fast to that which is good. It's okay to examine,
to probe, to ask questions, even about your own faith,
because in doing so, it shows one its value and
(05:13):
that you care about it enough to know the question
to be curious. But two, it's it's you not just
giving into the surface. As John seven said, You're not
judging by mere appearance. You're trying to make the right
decision and the right judgment, and that comes from examining everything,
(05:38):
looking at all sides. How many times on this very
program does someone call up about a job situation that's
a tough decision, and oftentimes there's moving involved, more money involve,
less money involved, changes to the family lifestyle. These things
should all be looked at when you want to come
to a conclusion or using proper discernment as to what
(06:02):
that decision should be. Good discernment, although it can be
a craft at ability that can be honed for speed
or to be more efficient, that it shouldn't be something
you rush into. Just like looking at the appearance of
(06:23):
something or scratching at the surface of a concern a situation,
you don't want to rush into things. Proverbs nineteen two
says that it's not good to have zeal without knowledge,
nor to be hasty and miss the way, because these
(06:45):
things are important. Every little bit of an issue is
part of what you should be looking at, examining why
is this knowledge so important, Why is taking the time
so important? Because ignorance can bring destruction. It's not just
(07:12):
a lack of knowledge. Ignorance is the absence of more
tools that knowledge that will help you make the proper
decisions that will help you through that road of discernment.
Hoseiah four to six is my people are destroyed for
lack of knowledge, that kind of ignorance that leads you
(07:37):
to a bad decision, or leads you down a bad
road or something not healthy or productive. It is what
you are trying to steer away from. When you deal
with discernment, you're dealing with getting all of the information
(07:58):
you can, placing it in front of you and examining it,
not being surfaced, but going below and truly analyzing and
dissecting what's beneficial for you, what's beneficial for the whole,
for the family, for the group or community. Even when
(08:21):
people start to separate themselves and just think selfishly, is
when greater problems arise. The things that I command of you,
or request or even demand in scripture are not just
to be some sort of control freak. It really comes
(08:45):
down to knowing what's best for you, knowing what's best
for the whole, and asking you to participate in these
things or not to participate, as the case may be.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
So that.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
So that you can be a part of the whole,
not in some strange metaphysical sense, but truly knowing that
you are to communicate, worship with one another, spend time
with one another, and even be held responsible for the
decisions each person makes. This is why discernment is so powerful,
(09:22):
so potent, so important. Don't get lost in just your way.
In this sense, in Hoseiah that an entire people are
destroyed due to lack of knowledge, to discernment becomes most valuable.
(09:44):
The importance of discernment cannot be understated, nor can it
be overstated. The importance of being able to discern how
you deal with any situation or any decision or choice
in life is important. However, often people will look beyond
(10:09):
scripture and not really understand that the majority of your
decisions can be understood and applied to the things of Scripture.
It's funny how God does that right, and throughout scripture
it points to ways and understanding and tools to be
(10:29):
used when discerning. Don't look at the surface things. Don't
judge by appearance, test everything, hold fast to that which
is true, which you can know. Judge using your spiritual
knowledge based on scripture. You know the difference between judgment
(10:50):
as far as criticism versus judgment as far as discernment,
that ignorance can bring diruction. So to educate, educate yourself,
show yourself approved is imperative. True discernment is is kind
(11:11):
of a big picture thing, not just what's in front
of you, but observing everything around you. This is an
interesting verse. Matthew sixteen three says, and in the morning
there will be a storm today, for the sky is
red and threatening. Do you know how to discern the
appearance of the sky but cannot discern the signs of
(11:35):
the times? And this, this verse is asking you to
pull away from from just those things that you're seeing
or understanding and using them as tools to understand the
bigger picture, not just the storm in front of you,
but what the season is or the sign of the times,
(11:57):
often a reference to things that are to come. And
you're to discern things by God's standards. You know the
difference to immerse yourself in God's word is the key
John eight fifteen sixteen. You judge by human standards, But
(12:25):
if I do judge, my decisions are right because I
am not alone. I stand with the Father who sent me.
I have much to say in the judgment of you,
but he who sent me is reliable, and what I
have heard from him. I tell the world that relationship
(12:46):
of understanding between that which you read and know in
scripture and that how that in which you use to
apply to everyday life scripture will help guide you into
discernment Hebrews four twelve. The Word of God is living
and active. It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Eric.
(13:11):
Welcome to the Jesus Christ Show.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Yes, hello, I've got a very serious question for you.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Okay, I'll give you a very serious answer.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
What is the meaning of our being here? And the
reason I'm asking that is I ran into a crisis,
lost everything that I had. I had a business, had
a nice truck, I had lots of toys, everything like that.
It all went down. So I was just like, what
am I going to do now? So what I ended
up doing I talked to an old friend of mine,
(13:40):
came back to where I grew up, and I tried
to start a charity to help save the lives of
dogs and cats. Fifteen thousand are being utianized every year,
and nationwide it's three or four million every year, and
these are innocent lives. So I tried to sort of
share already, you know, to try to change that, and
(14:04):
I got such a negative response from people. It just
shocked me.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
What what do you mean by negative response?
Speaker 3 (14:12):
I talked to people on the phone and they said
they empathized with the situation, but they did nothing to
help me help these animals. So I mean I ended
up having to shut it down, get a job, and
I've been struggling ever since to just try to make
you know, a living for myself while this is going on.
(14:34):
So what I'm wondering is, I mean, I totally devoted
everything that I had to stop this evil that's going on,
and I got absolutely no support from anybody.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Well, I mean, there's a lot of charities and a
lot of good causes out there, wouldn't you agree here?
Speaker 3 (14:52):
Of course?
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Okay, there's a lot of and people are bombarded by
them on a daily basis, and many people have already
through the maturity of their decisions had in their lives.
Have you know, they already have charities that they work
with or and sometimes they can't do anything. And something
that is your passion may not be other people's passions
as well. And the whole point I would imagine the
(15:15):
purpose of doing this is not only to stop it,
but to make people aware of it so that it
eventually stops as well. So it's not like just making
it stop in that one moment. It's that building awareness
is part of the purpose of any charity work or
anything that is noble is to build that awareness first.
And there's no one around saying that you didn't do that.
(15:39):
As far as the meaning of life, and I know
that that was your first question, but it was more
of a segue into your life situation. I will tell
you this, it's quite simple, Eric. The meaning of life
is to use your gifts and abilities along lines of
excellence to the edification of yourself and the edification of
(16:00):
others and to the glory of God. That's it. And
that doesn't say anything about success. That doesn't say anything
about you're going to make money, and it doesn't make
anything say any of that. It just means you're called
to utilize those gifts and abilities in a way that's
beneficial to yourself and to others in a healthy way,
(16:20):
and that it glorifies God.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
So how do I project that to other people? I mean,
we're talking about something that's a very serious problem, and
it's something that people can help with, but they choose
not to. And it's I mean, how can you see
something that horrible and not do something about it? You know,
(16:44):
I know people have their own limitations, but the response
I was getting was so discouraging. It was just unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
How many charities do you donate to Eric?
Speaker 3 (16:56):
Myself? I don't have the means right now to do that.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
Okay, So they mean have the means either, Well.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
That's that's not true. I mean in terms of the people.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
I mean, I e, how many how many charities do
you donate your time to? Eric?
Speaker 3 (17:12):
Well? At the Well? I full time? So the one
I started?
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Okay, So there's there's there's limitations in all things. And
I know that people get on their pet causes and
this is your focus and it should be and you
should be passionate about it and you should want to
see things done. But there are there are hundreds of
thousands of charities, both both large and small, throughout the
United States and the globe that need attention, and your
(17:40):
main goal above all else is to articulate this need
in a way that motivates motivates people of like minds
or interests to participate. If you didn't do that, there's
only one of two things happening. One they're not interested
and won't be interested, or two you didn't articulate it
(18:00):
well enough for them to understand the need. So both
of those can be addressed with. If the person isn't interested,
you tip your hat and you move along to the
next And if they are, would be interest, but you're
not provoking that or lighting that fire, then you need
to look at the way you're setting up and explaining
the need and what's going on. Those are the only
(18:22):
real options. It's very easy to put it on the
rest of the world and say, well, the rest of
the world doesn't have love in their heart for these things.
That's not true because there wouldn't be hundreds of thousands
of charities to boot, there wouldn't be all these things around.
You can't just you sound like you're pouting, like you
didn't get it your way. The way you expected it,
(18:42):
and I don't think that that's the healthiest way to
do it.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
The thing that disappointed me was just the sheer level
of just non response. It was just e floored me.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
I mean, did you look to see if there was
any other charities working towards that goal at all, either
in your area or in another.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
There are tons of them everywhere.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Then how come you didn't sign up with one of theirs?
How come you didn't go and volunteer and participate in
an organization that was already started because they don't go.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
To the root of the problem. They're treating the symptom.
As an example, there are people that I know that
have fifteen dogs or cats in their house and try
to save their lives, but doesn't stop where these animals
are coming from. And so there's there's nobody out there
that's really solving the problem.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
But maybe they went And I'm with you on that,
because there's nothing more frustrated than people putting band aids
on things that need to be amputated. But Eric, the
bigger concern here, Eric, is that maybe maybe they've tried
going down that path. Maybe they've gone down the path
you've gone down and found it to be unproductive, and
they said, Okay, we're going to work backwards now, and
(19:53):
we're going to try and triage the situation and help
where we can, and then work our way back to
a better understanding.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
So that people never ending.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
You know, life is that way.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
Rescue organizations save two thousand animals a year in Tucson,
and fifteen thousands still get killed every year and the
number keeps rising.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
But that's an education issue as well, because you have,
you know, movies coming out that have you know, puppies
in it or chihuahua's in it, and every child goes
that runs out and says, mommy, daddy, I wanta dalmatian,
I wanna a chihuahua, and the parents don't have the
fortitude to say no, that that having an animal in
(20:38):
your in your focus and in your care is a
huge thing, and it's an undertaking and it's not about
they're here for you. It's about your here for them,
and it's education. But it starts at that most simple
level that every time a movie comes out with animals
in it, that's when you should be flying, that's when
(21:00):
you should be educating, that's when you should be talking
There's there's a process to it, Eric, that's powerful and
that will work. All you're telling me is that the
process you tried didn't work. It doesn't mean that it
won't work. You know, you walk out in the middle
of the movie and they all have bad endings. You
have to play this one out. And just because it
didn't happen overnight doesn't mean that it won't that the
(21:23):
problem didn't happen overnight.
Speaker 3 (21:25):
Eric, this issy, you find a different path to the
root of the problem.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
I think your passion is right on. I mean, you
definitely have a passion and that passion comes from God.
To be that focused, laser focused and desiring to to
do something like this is huge and I commend you
on that. But that doesn't mean every way you go
to execute it is the right way. You see people
(21:50):
do this all the time. People execute things poorly all
the time. So you go back and you say, well,
that didn't work. Whatever it was you were doing didn't work.
So now point two is uh, finding out why you
think it didn't work and and go back to education.
Education is always going to be the key, uh, you know,
(22:11):
muscling this situation is that's been growing for a long time.
And it's not just in Arizona. It's all over the place.
So uh, trying to muscle that you're you're going to lose.
There's because ignorance is a pretty strong beast and it's
out there everywhere in hordes, and.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
It goes to it goes to a fundamental process. As
a matter of fact, I'll pay you a quick story here.
I was riding my bicycle home. I stopped at a
fast food place and there was a bird that was
sitting on a rail and it didn't budget didn't fly away.
There's obviously something wrong with it. Long story short, I
was riding away and I said, I can't just leave
this bird here, right, So I tried to get help.
(22:52):
I was on a bicycle and I needed to take
this thing five miles away. I tried to stop six
or seven people, even got a police officer to try
to help me with this little injured animal. Even the
police officer would.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
Not help me because it's not it's not in their language. Eric,
it's not in their.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
Language that that's really what my problem.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
But you're you're you're stamping your foot saying you don't
believe like I do. And that's not that's not a healthier,
productive way to do it. They'll look at you like
your nuts. That cop is you know, on the on
on call for all kinds of different things and sees
heinous things every day and says, you're you're really gonna
stop me to go take care of that bird right now.
That's not gonna motivate anybody. You can't just stomp around
(23:37):
and say you've got to you've got a care. That's
not how it works. You know, the the the early
Church didn't go around stopping saying you have to believe.
As a matter of fact, when uh, the Church in
its youth had leaders, had people that that you know,
were kings or leaders, governmental leaders that became Christians and
(24:02):
then felt, oh now people have to believe and started
forcing it on people. You got pollution and polluted Christianity,
which is you know, part of the garbage that exists today.
There's there, there's the pure line is is tossed out
because there was so much ugliness and forcing of people
(24:22):
to believe the Inquisition, these types of things ugly. It
doesn't produce faith or Christianity. It produces an ugly heritage
of forcing people to believe. And you can't do that.
You have to woo them with information and desire to
let them see the problem, own the problem, and cure
the problem. Angel Welcome to the Jesus Christ Show.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
Hello, Holy host, thank you for.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Taking my call, my pleasure. What's on your mind?
Speaker 1 (24:55):
Well, I don't I don't know my Bible very well.
I recommitted my life to God last summer, and I
did read the Bible. I read through the whole Bible
this year. But you know, I believe it's going to
take lots of study before I unders you know, understand
(25:18):
it better. My question is, and I've had some friends
that our non Christians asked me this, also, what is
the difference between your soul and your spirit? You know,
because it's used in the spiritual world and the secular world.
(25:40):
And I'm really curious and I really would like to know.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
What the differences between those two. Yeah, it gets into
a lot of sticky theology. So I'll go through that
quickly and then point you to some scripture. Uh, the
the word actually translates to mean the breath of life.
And when you deal with the word soul, Now there's
(26:06):
a couple different views theologically, and this is where people
get kind of caught up. There's something called dichotomists and trichotomists. Okay,
the dichotomists hold that the soul and the spirit are
two same names, you know, are two names for the
same thing, and they think that that basically it comes
down to the dichotomists, is just what it sounds like
(26:29):
it means. It means that you believe that there is
the body and the soul, and the soul and spirit
are kind of the same thing. Well, there's a different
group that are trichotomists that believe that there's actually three parts,
that there's the body, the soul, and the spirit. So
theologians go back and forth and debate this all the
time as to if the soul and the spirit are
(26:50):
two different things. I will point you to a couple
of verses, including Hebrews four to twelve, which is interesting.
Listen to these words very quickly, For the Word of
God is living an active sharper than any two edged sword.
It penetrates even to divide soul and spirits, joints and moorrow.
(27:11):
It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. So
there it sounds like it's separating the two or that
they at least can be separated. So some theologians believe
that the soul is the essence of humanity's being, their beingness,
and it is essentially who you are, and the spirit
is the aspect of humanity that connects with God that
(27:33):
makes it possible to have a relationship with God. So
those are some ideas. I will also recommend looking at
first Corinthians to eleven, James two twenty six, Colossians one
point nine, also Colausians three sixteen, and maybe that'll give
you a little place to start and to look around.
(27:55):
But keep in mind, this is one of those things
that that theologians do kind of argue back and forth
because of the way it appears in scripture. Sometimes they
seem interchangeable. But ultimately the truest understanding is that when
it's speaking of the spirit and when it's speaking of
the soul, it is referring to the immaterial part of
(28:17):
the body, the immaterial, that facet of your humanness that
is separate from the body, and that's what goes to
be with God and that's what defines and makes that
relationship possible. So I pray that helps and that you
(28:38):
can go and do some more studying. I love the
fact that you're studying Angel and that you're getting into
the Word of God. Keep in mind it is a journey,
don't expect it to end soon. And to spend the
time to ask those questions, to learn, to poke around
to you know, good word studies is always helpful. Learning
(28:58):
and getting lexicon and a good concordance that you can
go back and forth and study words is always helpful.
It brings scripture to life and lets it breathe a
little more. Kf I am six forty on demand
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