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Woodland Hills Church of Christ episodes

October 15, 2023 Philippians Intro Part 3
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40 min
October 12, 2023 Daniel 2
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43 min
October 08, 2023Prayer and Providence
How do we understand God’s providence? If I pray for something and it does or does not happen, was that God or just chance? To an unbeliever, this would just seem like confirmation bias.
Introduction: This is a wonderful group of questions that is often on the minds of Christians. Our approach will be:
A general understanding of prayer & its purpose
Discerning an answer to prayer: God or chance?
God’s promises of answered prayer
Providence in relation to prayer
General Understanding of Prayer
Prayer is an act of faith. Before all else it is dependence on God. Such faith and dependence does not care how God answers a prayer. He has the knowledge of what is best and we don’t. The intention of prayer cannot be to direct God to fulfill our desires. The foundation of prayer is God’s will not ours.
1 Timothy 2:1-2 There are different kinds of prayer and prayers for different purposes. All types of prayers are either appropriate or inappropriate depending on the occasion. Public prayer especially is occasion and purpose driven and not intended to cover everything that could or should be said. Private prayers can be far different.
Public prayer does not include preaching and admonishing the audience. Instead, everyone should be able to pray through the leader. The leader is praying on behalf of the church not to the church. We are talking to God, no one else.
Discerning the Answer to Prayer: Was that God or Chance?
It is common for people to make guesses concerning what God is doing and the answer to prayer. This fits the question above. A believer would say an event was an answer to prayer and an atheist would say it was just chance.
Ecclesiastes 8:16–9:2 “then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun…the same even happens to the righteous and the wicked.”
As a reminder, scripture gives us five reasons for events in this life:
God did it
Satan did it
Consequences of choices made whether good or bad (Proverbs)
Answer to prayer
Time and chance (Ecclesiastes 11-12)
When we pray and we can see that God answered, we should give thanks to God regardless of which of the above took place. Sometimes the answer may come in ways that we do not recognize – especially in the short term, but we still have have a thankful trust that God is hearing and answering. Consider the following:
God’s Promises of Answered Prayer
1 John 5:13-15
1 John 3:19-22
John 14:12-14; 15:7-8
“Was that God or chance?” The problem with the wording of this question is that, whether intentionally or unintentionally, it expresses doubt. See James 1:2-5.
Is the Bible God’s word or not? If it is God’s word, then we need to rest in faith/trust that he will answer in his time and in his way. First and foremost, prayer is based on absolute trust that God has never failed his promises.
Our expectations of God answering within a certain time period is a lack of trust.
Consider the parents of John the Baptist. How long had they been praying for a child? And how long had it been since they gave up praying? Little did they know that God had a purpose in delaying the answer to their prayers.
Luke 18:1-8
Many times we ask questions like this concerning trials. Especially in the case of trials, we can be very much like Job. Like Job, we are expecting relief from the trial or expecting relief from the trial in a certain way (was that really an answer or not?). Remember, God’s answer to Job was, “It’s none of your business how and when I go about answering your prayers. In fact, your prayers miss the mark of how fully I care for you and your lack of trust in the care I have for you.”
Concerning how an unbeliever would evaluate God’s answer to prayer: whether or not God answers prayer is not the basis upon which we would prove the existence of God. If an unbeliever is skeptical of God through his personal observations of answered prayer, he is using the wrong measure. Such observations are too subjective.
First, to make such an evaluation assumes that God will answer our prayers exactly the way we prayed them. What if we prayed a bad prayer, one that would be to our hurt? Would not a good Father give us a “fish” instead of the “stone” that we prayed for?
Consider, with all the prayers Joseph would have uttered over his 23 years of captivity and separation from his family, it was not until the very end that he was able to discern God’s purposes.
Providence in Relation to Prayer
The word “providence” is never used in the Bible in reference to God, but the idea certainly applies to God. Here are a few ways the word is used:
Acts 24:2 “Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, most excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation…”
Romans 13:14 “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”
1 Timothy 5:8 “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
The definition of the word carries the idea of “providing by forethought for achieving a purpose.” Divine providence is the foresight and resultant provisions God has made to bring about his desired goal.
Ephesians 1:4 “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him…”
Ephesians 1:5 “…he predestined us for adoption to himself…according to the purpose of his will…”
Ephesians 1:9 “…making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time…”
Of course, God does many things that have to do with him fulfilling his purposes that do not specifically connect with our prayers. But God also works providentially as a result of our prayers.
God working “providentially” and working “miraculously” are not the same thing. The miraculous was used by God through Christ and those so gifted in order to clearly reveal God’s intrusion into the world. The miraculous is clearly discerned by the unbeliever (Acts 4:13).
However, what God does providentially to bring about his purposes is not discerned by those who reject God. This is what the question is addressing – “To an unbeliever, this would just seem like confirmation bias.”
For example, what would a historian answer concerning why Babylon fell? Persia? Greece? Rome? And yet, God claims their destruction every time.
Consider Isaiah 10:5-6. God used Assyria to punish his people. Israel could discern this because God told them of his plans.
Revelation 8:3-5 illustrates God’s answer to prayer in the punishment of Rome. But would Rome or any present day historian have discerned that?
Proverbs 3:5-7
Philippians 2:12-13; 4:6-7
1 Timothy 2:1-4
Conclusion: “And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart…Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:1, 8)
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48 min
October 08, 2023 Life Lessons From Peter
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37 min
October 08, 2023 Philippians Intro Part 2
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43 min
October 05, 2023 Daniel 1
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37 min
October 01, 2023 Bible Q&A: Paradise, New Heavens and New Earth
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54 min
October 01, 2023Matthew 13, Hearing, but Not Understanding: The Parable of the Sower
Hearing, But Never Understanding
The Parable of the Sower
Introduction: Among Christians, this parable is probably the most well known. At first the message seems simple, straightforward. But on closer examination, there are some significant challenges in the text. When the disciples asked why Jesus spoke in parables to the crowd, his reply was, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.”
Jesus goes on to quote Isaiah 6:9-10 in verses 14-15. But listen to the how Isaiah recorded God’s words: “Go say to this people: keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive. Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
What is your conclusion from these words? There are some people that it has not been given to know the gospel message. There are some people that God has made their hearts dull, their ears heavy, and their eyes blind, lest they understand and be saved. Now, is the parable of the sower simple? Is it possible that some of us have not been given to know the secrets of the kingdom?
Further, Jesus stated in Mark 4:13, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?
Getting Ready to Hear the Parable
Jesus told five parables to the crowd. In each of them following the Sower he began the parable with, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to…” There should have been no question in the minds of the people that Jesus was talking about the kingdom and that his stories were intended to give them pictures of the coming kingdom.
Though Matthew places the question of the disciples and the explanation of the Sower following the parable, their inquiry and Jesus’ explanation was not given until after all five parables had been delivered to the crowd.
In Mark’s account, Jesus is even more bold in explaining why he speaks to the crowd in parables: “But for those outside everything is in parables, so that they may indeed see but not perceive and may indeed hear but not understand lest they should turn and be forgiven.” (Mark 4:11-12)
Remember, everyone in this crowd are believers in God. All these people are Jews who listen to the scripture being read each Sabbath and participate in worship to God. As Jesus has often done, he is differentiating between believers. Some will fail to attain to the kingdom. We are therefore mistaken if we read the parable and conclude that none of us could be wayside ground, stoney ground, or thorny ground. Attending worship periods does not mean we are exempt from being the first three soils. After all, these people came to hear Jesus.
Now go back to the quoted text in Isaiah: Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
How would the teaching of Isaiah and Jesus intentionally make it so this people would not be saved? And why would the Lord keep people from being saved?
Both Isaiah and Jesus are preaching a standard of serving God that the people refuse to accept. It is an expectation of high commitment to the Lord & his ways as is illustrated by the parable.
It shouldn’t be difficult for most of us to put ourselves in the position of this Jewish multitude. They have grown up believing something they are sure is the truth. Their parents and grandparents believed the same thing. They are sure they are right; but they are wrong. They are not a little wrong; they are so wrong that if they don’t change they will be lost. Is anyone here concerned that you could be wrong? I hope your answer is yes, because with that answer, you will not be one of the first three soils.
The Parable and Jesus Explanation
The question, why do you speak to them in parables, has the sense of, why do you speak to them in hidden messages; why not spell it out?
Jesus’ answer explains why the parable is so important in teaching dull people. The parable does not carry the meaning on the surface, and therefore challenges the hearer to search, investigate, and most importantly, give serious introspection. Remember that later this day Jesus will tell parables of the hidden treasure and pearl of great price which teach the need to search and sacrifice all we have to attain the kingdom.
Though Jesus speaks of “insiders” and “outsiders,” the goal of the parable is to get people to repent; to recognize their dull condition and actually see with their eyes and hear with their ears. The conclusion of the parable: “He has ears to hear, let him hear!” With this we would conclude that Jesus’ response is not that Jesus is trying to keep people from being saved, but that he is weeding out people who do not have the heart he desires.
The point of teaching by parable is that it can easily be dismissed or shrugged off as a story of interest but quickly forgotten. It is a test for the hearer. But it is not just the parable; God has revealed many truths in his word that we might look at briefly and then just shrug off because it does not immediately peak our interest. Our problem is that when it is God’s word, we cannot afford to allow that to happen. As opposed to other things in life, there are eternal consequences to dismissing biblical truths that do not interest us or we do not understand.
Let’s focus on the quotation Jesus uses from Isaiah. Note the whole text: 6:9-13.
Notice especially the question of Isaiah, “How long, O Lord?” The answer is, until the whole nation has been taken away and destroyed because they do not hear and understand so that they Lord can heal them. Can you imagine preaching to the people that long and not getting a response?
Isaiah made the heart of the people “dull” because they were not impressed with God’s ways. The more Isaiah preached, the more his preaching sounded like the “same old message.” We have Christians who have heard the “same old message” for so long that it has made them dull. It is truly an old message; it is not fresh and new every time they hear it. Therefore, the more they hear it, the more “old” it becomes and the less likely it will ever turn their hearts to passionately love God. We can get into a habit of hearing but never seeking or doing. “I love to hear the old story?”
Evidence of this is seen in our passions. It is seen in the goals for our life. If a person on your job or in your school asked you what your goal is for your life, how would you answer? Would it be the career position you would like to attain, the wealth you would like to collect, or the status you find desirable? If so, you have not grasped the secrets of the kingdom. You have eyes to see, but do not see; ears to hear, but do not hear.
This is where the parable comes in. The parable describes different ways people become dull, ears that are heavy, eyes that are blind, and hearts that do not understand.
Some believers are like the first soil. They read the scriptures but never really understand (penetrate their heart) its importance in the sense of the priority it ought to be in their life. Thus the devil snatches it away, and though they are still “religious,” they go through the rest of their lives unimpressed.
Notice also that Satan is involved in the wayside ground heart – “he snatches away what has been sown in his heart.” This implies an urgency of response. Christian, do not delay. Delay is disobedience. And delay allows Satan to snatch it away.
Some Christians are like the second soil. They were initially excited about their salvation, but never grow beyond that initial stage of just being glad to be saved. Since their knowledge remains superficial, the difficulties of life exacted a toll on them so that they lost what it meant to thrive, grow, and be strong as a disciple. Again, they are still religious, but they are dead.
When trials cause our faith to wither, we have proven Satan’s argument to God concerning Job. We have demonstrated that we do not really love God for who he is. We just want the “goodies” he provides.
There are also Christians like the third soil. They are happy to come to Christ for a variety of reasons, but one of those reasons was never that Christ was the source and the true meaning of life for them. Because of life’s demands, distractions, and pursuits, they never quite have the time to invest in bearing fruit for the Lord. Their life is choked with so many things that they do just enough so that your plant is alive; but it is impossible for it to have true worth for the Lord. These have lost sight of why we have Bible classes or meet Sunday evening. Eph. 4:11-16 – so much to get done – 4 hours out of 168!
Choking out our time for God, family, and our spiritual family are the important, eternal things. Everything else is under the “urgent” category. Jesus’ principle is plain: Don’t let the urgent crowd out the important in your life.
Those who know the secrets of the kingdom are the good soil. These are opposite of the crowd who were not interested enough in Jesus teachings to seek an answer. The crowd came to hear a sermon, but they never understood and never sought to understand. Some would call Jesus a bad preacher; he didn’t make it plain to everyone. But Jesus called the people bad listeners!
If the day comes where we understand everything taught & preached, that teacher or preacher will have failed. God’s words are not given in such simplicity that it can be easily scooped up and digested. His words reveal his mind, and his mind is not simplistic. Even after we have heard it, it will take desire, seeking, and work to truly grasp its full meaning and assimilate it. That is the responsibility of us the listeners.
The parable also teaches the principle of not discounting or immediately disagreeing when we hear a teaching that is new to us. Most Jews never did grasp the concept of the kingdom. Even the disciples, though accepting of Jesus’ teaching, gradually came to understand it. We too often quickly disregard a teaching that does not immediately fit into our “pre-understanding.” Consider how we feel about people in the religious world who quickly reject a plain passage about baptism. We can’t believe they are so hard-hearted, so undiscerning! And yet, I have caught myself doing that with other truths and I have watched Christians throw something out after considering it for 10 seconds. This is very dangerous!
To the One Who Has, More Will Be Given
Verse 12: Jesus lays down a principle of multiplication – “to the one who has more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” This statement summarizes all that Jesus has said. When a person’s ears are so dull as to not hunger for spiritual insight, to not seek to find the answers to what the Lord has revealed, and to be satisfied to just know some biblical facts as did this crowd, even that which they have will be taken away from them. In other words, their dullness will only get worse.
Notice that those who came into the house wanted to know the answer to the parable now. They saw the urgency. That urgency is exactly what the wayside heart did not have. You and I know what happens when we do not take opportunities to learn when it is fresh on our minds; we forget and something else replaces our interest. It also speaks to the clutter that has filled our minds that comes from the world. It is this clutter of worldly interests that Satan uses to “snatch the word sown in our hearts.”
Listen carefully to 13:19, “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it…” Okay, what do you do when you don’t understand something taught from scripture? That is exactly what happened when Jesus gave these parables. No one understood it. Simply not understanding was not the problem; the problem was what they did about it. Some walked away while others sought the answer. The devil couldn’t touch the seekers. The seekers got the answer and were “given more.” Those who walked away were in the majority and the devil snatched it out of their heart. So, what do you do when you don’t understand? How long have you been at your present knowledge of scripture? Will we claim that God made it too hard, or will we seek until we find? That is why Jesus spoke in parables, to divide seeker from the dull of hearing.
What then does the Lord desire? That we have a burning desire to know him and understand all about him from everything he has revealed, and from that, love him with our heart and soul and mind and strength. “And Jesus called out, ‘He who has ears, let him hear!’” (Lk. 18:8)
Berry Kercheville
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37 min
October 01, 2023 Philippians Intro
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45 min
September 28, 2023 Prayer Recap
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45 min