June 4, 2025 Show with John Samson on “God’s Merciful Providence & the Ministry of Angels”

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June 5, 2025

June 4, 2025 John Samson,author & Pastor of King’s Churchin Peoria, AZ, who will address: “GOD’s MERCIFUL PROVIDENCE& the MINISTRY of ANGELS” Subscribe: Listen:

00:02: Live from historic downtown Carlisle, Pennsylvania, home of founding father James Wilson, 19th century hymn writer
00:09: George Duffield, 19th century gospel minister George Norcross, and sports legend
00:14: Jim Thorpe. It's Iron Sharpens Iron. This is a radio platform in which pastors,
00:22: Christian scholars, and theologians address the burning issues facing the church and the world today.
00:29: Proverbs chapter 27 verse 17 tells us iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
00:37: Matthew Henry said that in this passage, we are cautioned to take heed with whom we converse and directed to have in view in conversation to make one another wiser and better.
00:48: It is our hope that this goal will be accomplished over the next two hours, and we hope to hear from you, the listener, with your own questions.
00:56: And now, here's your host, Chris Arnzen. Good afternoon,
01:08: Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Lake City, Florida, and the rest of humanity living on the planet Earth, who are listening via live streaming at ironsharpensironradio .com.
01:18: This is Chris Arnzen, your host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, wishing you all a happy Wednesday on this fourth day of June 2025.
01:28: I'm absolutely thrilled to have a returning guest today who's a dear friend of mine and who has been a supporter of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, a wonderful brother in Christ.
01:42: And in fact, not only am I glad that he is on the program today, I'm glad that he's on the planet
01:49: Earth because the church here on Earth was almost robbed of his presence not long ago, which is why he hasn't been on the program for quite some time.
02:02: I'm speaking of John Sampson. He is an author and he is the pastor of King's Church in Peoria, Arizona, which is a
02:10: Reformed Baptist congregation. And today we're going to be addressing God's merciful providence in John's life, especially recently.
02:20: And if we have time, we'll also discuss perhaps briefly the ministry of angels.
02:27: But it's my honor and privilege to welcome you back to Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, my dear friend,
02:33: Pastor John Sampson. Great to be with you, Chris, as always. Well, why don't you give our listeners more details about King's Church in Peoria, Arizona?
02:44: Well, as you said, we're a Reformed Baptist congregation. It started out just in our home, and we are just thrilled to have some great folk with us of all kinds of ages.
02:58: And I happen to be one of the two elders that we have right now. We're looking to grow that and grow our leadership.
03:05: But we're thrilled with what the Lord has done thus far. Amen. And if anybody wants more details on this fine congregation, go to kingschurchaz .com.
03:23: Well, why don't you start with letting our listeners know exactly what happened to you while actually in the middle of a sermon, while standing behind the pulpit at your church.
03:38: And I can't remember exactly what date this was, but tell us that as well. Yeah, if I would,
03:44: I would ask if I could go back a while and relate a story, because it has relevance, and it concerns a young Christian lady of 18 years of age in York, England.
03:59: She was born in Malta. She had Irish parents. She was engaged to be married to a really bright young man in the
04:07: British military. And the plan was that after the war was over, they would both serve the
04:13: Lord as missionaries together wherever he would lead them. Then he was sent over to France on D -Day,
04:20: June 6, 1944. The young man was thrust into the battle for the city of Caen in Normandy, France.
04:29: And tragically, just weeks afterward, on July 10, 1944, he was killed by one of the enemy's bullets.
04:38: On hearing the news of her fiancé's death, this young lady was obviously just devastated.
04:45: Grief obviously filled her heart. While attending church services there in York for the next several months, you'd actually hear of dramatic testimonies of divine protection.
04:55: Loved ones returned home, recounting the stories. All these returning soldiers were protected from great imminent danger.
05:05: Many of these soldiers were very, very conscious of the Lord's direct intervention in keeping them alive.
05:11: And yet this young lady had to live on, knowing the man she loved wasn't coming home. And of course, question after question plagued her mind.
05:19: Nothing that was said to her seemed to ease the pain and grief. And those hostile, those haunting questions continued on and on and on relentlessly.
05:31: And one day, she rushed into her bedroom, flung herself down on the bed in great grief, as she often did.
05:37: And then something very dramatic and life -changing happened. She recounts that the
05:43: Lord himself appeared to this young lady. The brightness of his glory filled the room, and he didn't say a word.
05:51: But in that moment, he stretched out his hand to her, and she was totally caught up with the look in his eyes.
05:57: And she beheld the greatest love and compassion in the world. All her questions subsided, and he smiled at her.
06:05: Her heart's cry was answered by one look into his eyes, full of unspeakable love.
06:11: Many may doubt that story, but that was her story. And then this young lady very rarely talks of that, that incident.
06:21: However, when she does, only really with close family and friends. Tears welled up in her eyes as she recounted the grace she found in Christ.
06:32: That story continues because at the same time, a Welsh military man was stationed in the same city of York in England, brought up as a
06:42: Roman Catholic. This young man had a dramatic conversion to Christ while serving in the
06:47: British Army in Gibraltar. In understanding the gospel, this young man came out of the
06:52: Roman Catholic system, facing the hostility of his family, and then trained to serve
06:59: British forces as a military chaplain, and very much an evangelist. He saw countless men come to Christ while serving in France and Belgium for an 18 -month period.
07:09: People were coming to Christ in the hundreds every week. Now, one day this young man was preaching in the city of York, and his eyes fixed on a certain young lady, the lady
07:19: I just related to you. The two began to court each other, married soon after. Years of married life passed, and the hope of having a child grew stronger and stronger.
07:30: They so wanted a child, yet time was marching on. Seventeen years of marriage came and went.
07:37: No child was coming. Just when it looked like all hope was gone, the young lady became pregnant.
07:44: Ah, what joy that must have been with that news. Two weeks before due date, the baby was coming.
07:52: Complications ensued, with the afterbirth coming first and the mother losing a whole lot of blood.
07:58: The mother wasn't doing well at all. The little baby was fighting for its life. Once born, the little one was whisked away into an oxygen tent, where every gasping breath was a severe struggle.
08:12: Years later, the father wrote these words. I have them written down. I remember when
08:18: I was called to the hospital, where my son lay near to death. When he saw me, he reached out desperately toward me.
08:26: I could do nothing. He was in an oxygen tent. The doctor gave me a knowing and sympathizing look and shook her head.
08:33: The lad was dying. He continued on. I found a corner where I prayed.
08:38: I thanked God for the joy that boy had brought into my life, for the privilege of having responsibility for his welfare, be it just for a very short time.
08:49: I told God how much that child meant to me and added, But really he belonged to you all the time,
08:55: Lord. I commend him to your safekeeping. He means more than life to me,
09:00: Lord. But though you take him, I'll love you still and will praise you all my days.
09:06: And then he writes, That, I learned later, many years later, was a sacrifice of praise.
09:12: Cutting to the chase, here's the story. Both the mother and the young child survived. In fact, the child grew to be a robust baby boy, gained all of his babyhood milestones early.
09:25: Then at age 13 months, he began to develop a cough, which became persistent.
09:31: The doctor diagnosed it as croup. Every night, between 8 and 9 p .m.,
09:38: and 11 and midnight, 5 a .m., 4 a .m., the boy would just cough with every breath he took.
09:45: The mother tried medicine, hot drinks each time, hoping for some measure of relief. The whole household tried to catch some sleep until the next coughing bout began.
09:55: So that was life. Every fall, every autumn, the boy was rushed to hospital to be in an oxygen tent to recover from these severe breathing and coughing bouts.
10:08: On his return home, the parents had to keep an electric kettle boiling in his bedroom all night to help with these croup attacks.
10:17: From September to May, from age 3 to 7, the boy wasn't allowed to play outside. His mother had to invent paper and pencil games to keep him amused.
10:26: At age 4, he had surgery to have his tonsils cut, removed, so it would help.
10:32: But there was no respite until age 7, when continual prayer was answered. Later on, this boy became so robust, though, that he played soccer, played in the soccer team at school, later in that Chester City schoolboys team.
10:51: At the age of 14 and 15, he was a top scorer. He once scored nine goals in a game.
10:58: His coaches were seeking to help him become a professional soccer player. The Lord had a different path for him, though, because today he serves the
11:08: Lord as a minister of the gospel. And I'm sure you'll agree in hearing all that, he's a trophy of God's grace.
11:15: Well, why do I tell you all this? Why do I tell you this, Chris? Well, let me give you the names of the two parents in the story.
11:21: The lady's name is Muriel Grace McNamara. The man's name is
11:26: Reverend Redvers Joseph Samson. The lady is my mother, and the man is my father.
11:34: So their story is my story, too. Wow. I haven't got to your question, but that's the background.
11:41: I'm very, very aware that the Lord has sustained my life even before this last year.
11:50: And that's the background for talking about this last year. Praise God.
11:56: Well, now move to the more recent past, where you are standing behind the pulpit.
12:05: I don't know how long you were into the sermon that Sunday, but tell us about it. And tell us the date as well.
12:13: Okay. What happened was, backing up about three weeks before that, I had a swelling on the right side of my face.
12:24: And within 20 minutes of it, I was in pain. Within three hours of it, I was in horrendous pain and had to go to hospital with it.
12:34: And it was obviously assessed. And after x -rays were taken,
12:40: I was told I was dealing with a very fast -growing mass.
12:45: It was taking over my face. And I was told, and that was kind of the surmisings,
12:54: I had maybe three or five days to live. This was taking over my body. They said it was a mass.
13:01: And I said, well, that's strange. I never go to mass. But it was a misdiagnosis.
13:10: It was an infection, but it had laid me up in a hospital bed. And because of that,
13:15: I wasn't active. I was in a bed most of the time. Fast forward, that was
13:21: February of 2024. Fast forward to March, and I was behind the pulpit, actually about to start this service.
13:30: I hadn't got to the sermon part. I was about to give the announcements, and it was right behind the pulpit.
13:39: So I was in full view of everybody. And I wasn't able to catch my breath.
13:44: And my wife looked at me and could see something was wrong. I said, are you okay? And I said, no.
13:51: And that's the last thing I remember for a little while. I clapped.
13:57: What was amazing was people on the front row saw something was wrong and came and caught me before I fell.
14:03: Wow. Immediately, my wife cried out, is there a doctor in the house?
14:13: And a doctor did in fact come forward along with, I thought it was just one.
14:20: In fact, I was corrected on this just a week or so ago. But it was actually two daughter nurses who happened to be there.
14:29: Both the doctor and the two nurses, his daughters, were visiting from Minnesota. The night before that incident, he found our church online at kingschurchaz .com.
14:40: Decided to come visit. Now, a male nurse was about to administer
14:46: CPR on me. He obviously thought I was gone.
14:52: I was basically dead there. But the doctor laid me out and just held up his hand and said, no, let's just wait.
15:02: That action, Chris, that action saved my life because my lungs were filled with blood clots.
15:09: If I had CPR, inevitably the clots would have gone straight to my brain and killed me.
15:16: Anyway, I went on to hospital where, again, I was misdiagnosed as having had a heart attack.
15:21: My heart was under stress in the middle of all this, but it wasn't a heart attack. And because I was misdiagnosed, they were planning on me having a procedure for the heart.
15:35: I was 10 minutes away from that procedure when another doctor burst into the room, the hospital room, asked me a series of questions and then said,
15:46: I'm stopping your procedure. I'm calling for x -rays of your lungs. Now, a few minutes later, a nurse walked into the room, asked me if I was ready for the procedure.
15:56: I said, it's been canceled. She said, no, it's not. We haven't heard that. I said, please, please go check with the doctor.
16:04: The doctor hadn't yet got the message out. He was still typing. So the message hadn't been received as yet.
16:12: Well, she checked. And indeed, now the message was received that he'd sent and I didn't have the procedure.
16:18: Again, this action of the doctor saved my life because the procedure would undoubtedly have killed me.
16:26: I'd have died on the operating table. The doctor would tell me later that it was his day off, but he felt compelled to come into work at the hospital that day.
16:39: I've had a number of conversations with him later and just thanked him again for all he did.
16:46: So in saying this and telling this story to someone just recently,
16:54: I told the man all of this and his reaction was quite intriguing to me. He said, obviously, angels are watching over you.
17:03: And I was intrigued by that because I hadn't mentioned God. I hadn't mentioned angels, but that's where his mind went immediately.
17:12: By the way, just to finish that, what I had actually suffered was what is called a saddle pulmonary embolism.
17:24: Pulmonary embolisms are not good, but the saddle is often a widowmaker, they call it.
17:31: You don't often survive that. And it's equally, maybe even worse than a heart attack.
17:38: There's supposed to be a two -year recovery. I've noticed afterwards
17:44: I would be jerking involuntarily. I've never really understood
17:51: PTSD. I've obviously encountered it. I'm a pastor. I deal with people in the storms of life and people often deal with things that they've gone through and it affects them for years and even decades.
18:05: But I've never really understood it till now because I would be watching a video on YouTube about saddle pulmonary embolism and it would be a three or five minute video.
18:17: And I would start jerking. My subconscious mind realized that's what
18:23: I dealt with and couldn't handle it. I would just be wanting to get to church.
18:30: I'm a pastor. I love church. I love the people. Love being with them. But I'd be on my way to church and it's as if my body knows that's the place where bad things happen.
18:42: And I would start jerking and my wife would have to turn the car around. It was many weeks before I could sit in a church service.
18:51: The actual idea of preaching was far from me. I honestly didn't know if I'd ever preach again.
18:58: I didn't know because I'd be in the service and then
19:04: I'd have to leave. My body would just start jerking. I didn't want to be the cause of anxiety for folk around me and I physically couldn't handle it.
19:14: So just very, very grateful to God, as you can imagine, for my life being preserved.
19:22: And that's the story, Chris. Praise God. And what a series of merciful acts of God's providence, all simultaneous.
19:35: Yeah. Or should I say one after the other is what I meant to say. This original doctor at the church service, we've not heard from him either before or since.
19:51: Wow. It was a one -time deal that he was there with his two doctor nurses and his action there saved my life.
19:59: Just amazing. Just amazing. Well, praise God for that. And we have to go to our first commercial break.
20:07: And when we come back, we will talk more about God's merciful providence. If anybody has a question, submit it to chrisarnsen at gmail .com.
20:17: C -H -R -I -S -A -R -N -Z -E -N at gmail .com. As always, give us your first name at least, your city and state, and your country of residence.
20:27: Don't go away. We'll be right back after these messages from our sponsors. James White here of Alpha Omega Ministries announcing that this
20:45: September, I'm heading out to Pennsylvania to speak at two events that my longtime friend
20:51: Chris Arnzen has lined up for me. On Thursday, September 18th, at 11 a .m.,
20:56: I'm speaking to men in ministry leadership at Chris's Iron Sharpens Iron Radio Pre -Pastor's
21:02: Luncheon at Church of the Living Christ in Loisville. Then, on Sunday, September 21st, at 1 .30
21:10: p .m., I'm speaking at Trinity Reformed Baptist Church of Carlisle on the theme, Can We Trust the
21:15: Bible is the Authentic and Inherent Word of God? I hope you can join Chris and me for both events.
21:21: For more details on the free pastor's luncheon, visit ironsharpensironradio .com.
21:27: That's ironsharpensironradio .com. For more details on Trinity Reformed Baptist Church of Carlisle, visit trbccarlisle .org.
21:38: That's trbccarlisle .org. God willing, I'll see you in September in Pennsylvania for these exciting events.
21:48: Puritan Reformed is a Bible -believing, kingdom -building, devil -fighting church. We are devoted to upholding the apostolic doctrine and practice preserved in Scripture alone.
21:59: Puritan Reformed teaches men to rule and lead as image -bearing prophets, priests, and kings.
22:06: We teach families to worship together as families. Puritan is committed to teaching the whole counsel of God so that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea.
22:19: We sing the Psalms, teach the law, proclaim the gospel, make disciples, maintain discipline, and exalt
22:25: Christ. This is Pastor David Reis of Puritan Reformed in Phoenix, Arizona.
22:32: Join us in the glorious cause of advancing Christ's crown and covenant over the kings of the earth.
22:39: Puritan Reformed Church. Believe. Build. Fight. puritanphx .com
22:47: I'm Daniel Wolford, CEO and President of Lebanon Felt Credit Union, and we're excited to be part of the
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24:06: I'm Simon O'Mahony, Pastor of Trinity Reformed Baptist Church in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
24:11: Originally from Cork, Ireland, the Lord in his sovereign providence has called me to shepherd this new and growing congregation here in Cumberland County.
24:20: At TRBC, we joyfully uphold the Second London Baptist Confession, we embrace congregational church government, and we are committed to preaching the full counsel of God's Word for the edification of believers, the salvation of the lost, and the glory of our
24:36: Triune God. We are also devoted to living out the one another commands of scripture, loving, encouraging, and serving each other as the body of Christ.
24:44: In our worship, we sing psalms and the great hymns of the faith, and we gather around the Lord's table every
24:50: Sunday. We would love for you to visit and worship with us. You can find our details at trbccarlisle .org.
24:58: That's trbccarlisle .org. God willing, we'll see you soon.
25:13: I'm Pastor Bill Shishko of The Haven, an Orthodox Presbyterian church in Comac, Long Island.
25:20: I hold the Iron Sharpens Iron radio program hosted by my longtime friend and brother,
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26:57: Hi, this is John Sampson, pastor of King's Church in Peoria, Arizona.
27:06: Taking a moment of your day to talk about Chris Arnson and the Iron Sharpens Iron podcast. I consider
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27:30: I believe this podcast needs to be heard far and wide. This is a day of great spiritual compromise, and yet God has raised
27:37: Chris up for just such a time. And knowing this, it's up to us as members of the body of Christ to stand with such a ministry in prayer and in finances.
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31:13: We're now back with Pastor John Sampson of King's Church in Peoria, Arizona.
31:19: We were just hearing about a series of amazing, mind -blowing acts of God's merciful providence that saved
31:29: John's life, not only as an infant many years ago, but also just recently.
31:39: And John, has this, especially this recent near -death experience, well, actually, you were technically revived out of a state of death, how has this impacted your faith?
32:01: Well, it's obviously a confirmation of all, I believe. But it seems to be a remarkable story in the sense of its effect on others.
32:14: They can't help but see the hand of God in it, even if I don't mention the name of God.
32:21: So I've used it often in conversations, but in my own heart, it's just very, very clear to me.
32:27: I'm alive. Every breath is because of the grace, the mercy of God. And we have a theological name category for that called common grace.
32:35: And it shouldn't be common in the sense of cheap. It's common in that everybody alive gets it.
32:43: We get this grace of being alive because God didn't have to cause us to live through the night.
32:49: Like any of us, last night, and here we are. And so I'm very, very aware that life itself is a gift.
32:59: And it's certainly pressed upon me. And I certainly want to live my life for something beyond this life and live for the glory of God.
33:10: And you know how you can have a spring cleaning in your house and it can get the dust out?
33:17: Certainly that's done that in my life. There's these incidents of just renewing my resolve.
33:25: I want to live for the glory of God. I don't always achieve that, of course. I'm a sinner.
33:31: Thank God for the righteousness of Christ. And to me, my standing before God is because of Him alone.
33:37: I'm very, very, very aware that every day I live is a gift. Praise God.
33:46: And has anything become, as a result of this, challenging to anything that you perhaps were overlooking, neglecting in your way of demonstrating your faith, in your way of thinking, in your theology?
34:11: I mean, even people who have near pristine theology, as much as one can have on the planet
34:18: Earth when we're still plagued with sin, we can have a tendency to unintentionally diminish how personal our relationship with God is.
34:37: And we may know the scriptures about Him caring a bit more about us than sparrows that fall to the ground.
34:48: And we may know the scriptures about His counting the hairs on our heads, but very often those things do not profoundly impact us.
34:58: And we kind of, especially those of us who hear preaching a lot, sound preaching, and we read the scriptures, sometimes it could be taken for granted, become commonplace, and we are not revved up or excited about it.
35:14: But is there anything that you were challenged by? And perhaps even, did it change anything in you?
35:24: I think in a certain way, in a certain sense, yes, in that I don't think if you were to take, for example, sermons
35:33: I preached before this last year and then sermons today, you sense much of a difference.
35:40: Maybe you would, I don't know, but there's just a greater resolve. Everyone I talk to, everyone
35:47: I preach before, when sermons are put on the Internet, on YouTube, they go out and who knows who will hear that.
35:56: I want every sermon to have the gospel. There's no guarantee that people will be alive six hours from the sermon.
36:09: And there's just a greater resolve. What really irks me is when I hear Christian so -called messages without the gospel, and there's no urgency.
36:19: In many churches, though they would be doctrinally sound at times, you can look in the website and they pass all of the sniff test of a good statement of faith.
36:30: But you go to the service or you listen into the service and the message is, would you try
36:35: Jesus? Give him a try for 30 days or come back next week. We'll talk more about this as we continue this series.
36:43: I just don't see that in the scriptures, that there's such a lack of urgency.
36:50: And I think there's just a greater resolve. Get this gospel right and get this gospel out.
36:57: And there's a renewed sense. My wife says of me, I'm a street preacher behind the pulpit.
37:03: And though I love to exegete the text and go into the depths of my studies to make sure
37:11: I'm getting the text right, I want to make sure that in every sermon someone can bring someone to church and they know they're going to hear the gospel.
37:21: Praise God. It is no surprise to those who know you well, like I do, and I've even discussed this with you as a major part of your testimony on this program in the past.
37:40: But for those of you who do not know this, it may shock you. But before Pastor John was a confessional
37:49: Reformed Baptist, he was a Word of Faith Pentecostal heretic.
37:57: He was not only a pastor in that very dangerous, false theological system of Word of Faith, but he was a pastor and a talk show host.
38:09: And so he has come quite a way from that past and has come to discover, fall in love with, and boldly proclaim the doctrines of sovereign grace.
38:27: But one of the things that I have noticed over the years when it comes to my brethren in Christ who are sovereign grace -believing like you and I, sometimes we perhaps take our cessationism too far to the point when we are asking
38:57: God in prayer for anything that we are in urgent need of, whether it is a health crisis, perhaps we have a terminal illness, perhaps someone we love has a terminal illness, perhaps it could be a whole host of other things.
39:19: The thing that we have to be careful about in our cessationism is not to diminish an optimism in expecting
39:33: God to answer our prayers as we are praying for these requests.
39:42: Now, at the same time, we always have to be focused on the fact that whatever the
39:49: Lord's will is, is the best for us. But at the same time, we can't use that as an excuse to just be totally neutral on whether God will answer our prayer.
40:06: Am I making sense here, John? And what are your thoughts on that? I couldn't agree more. Yeah, we need to ramp up our expectation while resting in the sovereignty of God.
40:17: That's the balance I see in Scripture of pray with expectation, pray to the
40:25: God who reigns. I mean, many of the objections people have to where you and I would be regarding God's sovereignty is they say, well, if God is sovereign, why pray?
40:37: And my answer, and it's the answer of others who know the Scriptures, is we only pray because he's sovereign.
40:45: He's big enough to change these circumstances. He will get his will done as we pray to him.
40:52: And he's ordained not only the ends, but the means. His ends will be accomplished.
40:59: That's the God of the Bible. God doesn't try. A friend of mine,
41:04: Jim Osman, wrote a book, God Doesn't Try. God isn't trying to do anything.
41:10: He's not trying to speak. He has spoken. He's not trying. Jesus isn't trying to build his church.
41:16: He said, I will. I will build my church. He's not trying to get his will done.
41:23: The God of the Bible, Isaiah 46, his counsel shall stand.
41:29: He will achieve all his good pleasure. But we don't know what the good pleasure is. And that's revealed in Providence every day we live.
41:38: And I couldn't agree more. We need to ramp up our expectations. We pray to a
41:43: God who has everything under control. The winds and the seas still obey him from little five -mile -an -hour winds that we feel on our face to tsunamis that rip islands apart.
42:00: God is the God of the waves, the winds, the seas, the earth. The earth is the
42:05: Lord's, and he does what he wills. And we can pray to a God who has our best interest at heart.
42:11: And many times it is that he releases us and relieves us. And sometimes it isn't.
42:18: The Lord gives, the Lord takes. Blessed be the name of the Lord. But let's remember, he also gives as well as takes away.
42:25: Amen. Well, we have Stacey in Lloyd Harbor, Long Island, New York.
42:35: And Stacey says, knowing of your Word of Faith Pentecostal background, can you explain your own thoughts on your mother's vision?
42:46: Yeah, that's a very good question because cessationists usually fall into two categories when it comes to hearing stories like that.
42:58: They either say, there's no way if you believe in sola scriptura that that actually happened, or they'll just shrug their shoulders and say,
43:09: I don't know. In fact, I very often am in that latter category. I just don't know what to say.
43:16: What do you say about that? Good question. Because it's my mother,
43:25: I've never known her to lie to me, to my face.
43:31: The fact that the way she talked about it was very different from the normal thing.
43:39: Oh, the Lord just showed me this. The Lord appeared to me and said this. There's just this casualness about it all.
43:47: It's like, yeah, I met with the mailman last night and he told me this and that.
43:52: There's no reverence and awe. And the way my mother spoke about it was very deeply impactful.
44:01: Scripturally, I obviously hold to sola scriptura. The Bible is sufficient. I also believe in the sovereignty of God.
44:09: Jesus is Lord now, Lord of heaven and the earth.
44:17: And the Bible says that he's retained in heaven until he comes again. But he's also
44:23: Lord in the sense of he can walk on the earth and he's not violating some outward command that he's under obligation.
44:33: Jesus appeared to Paul after the resurrection. And he has, I think, perfect liberty to do what he wishes in the earth.
44:43: And it could well be his purpose at very rare times.
44:49: I think it would be very rare. But I believe he can appear.
44:57: The fact that he didn't say anything, again, is significant. So that my mother wasn't building any doctrine.
45:02: The Lord showed me this and he showed me who the Antichrist is or was or the date of his second.
45:10: There was nothing of that. It was simply her testimony was she had a look in the face of Jesus that absorbed all of the hurt that was just so agonizing for her.
45:23: And she was a changed woman. So the result was greater sanctification in her life, the release from all bitterness.
45:31: I tend to believe her. I tend to believe her. And the fact is,
45:38: I do believe the Lord Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth and can do what he wills.
45:43: But everything should be tested with Scripture. And there was no doctrine that came out of this experience that would cause me to say, oh, that can't be right.
45:53: So that's kind of where I stand. And, of course, I'm sure you would agree with me that it can be dangerous to base major decisions or develop major beliefs of doctrine and theology based on experiences.
46:18: A hundred percent. We have to go back to his God -breathed and inerrant word to base whatever we think, say, and do upon that for not only to be honoring and obedient to God but also to be safe in the knowledge that we are truly following his will when we do it.
46:46: And even though I told you that I was one of those that shrugged their shoulders when
46:53: I hear credible brothers and sisters bring those kinds of things up,
47:00: I think the vast majority of these stories are false that we hear and see on TV, especially when you're hearing them from charismatic and Pentecostal televangelists and so on.
47:16: Yeah. I had someone tell me with my experience of basically dying next to the pulpit, wow, this was a good book opportunity.
47:31: You could write a book about your trip to heaven in those 45 seconds and what you saw.
47:39: There's all kinds of things out there that are just so off, and yet there are things that are pervasive in the
47:49: Christian environment. And I'm with you a hundred percent. Just about all of them are absolutely just fraudulent and off -base and unscriptural, and we test everything by the word of God.
48:02: Yeah, you very often hear stories like that when they are given in detail, they wind up falling apart as being contradicting what the
48:14: Bible teaches, especially when you hear about these people who have gone to heaven, allegedly, according to that, or even hell, and got pulled out of hell.
48:30: That was one of the things in my armor when I began reading the works of Kenneth Hagan.
48:40: He's got a book out there still called I Believe in Visions, where he recounts his encounters with Jesus.
48:48: And I read through it, and it was just nonplussed, is the way I would say. I can't understand.
48:54: And if he met with the risen Christ, John, who knew him more than any other man on earth, leant into his breast at the supper, fell at his feet as a dead man when he encountered him as the resurrected, risen, glorified
49:12: Lord. And there was just no reverence. Jesus appeared to me and talked about the next phase of my ministry.
49:20: I don't believe he saw Jesus for one moment. Yeah, I don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth, because he is one of the darkest and most diabolical and arrogant and self -righteous wolves in sheep's clothing
49:42: I've ever heard speak. I mean, the man not only believes that God the
49:50: Father has a physical body, of course, just about Kenneth Copeland's height and weight, of course, he adds that.
50:00: So basically, God the Father is pretty much like Kenneth Copeland in appearance.
50:08: But he actually, and I heard him say this with his own mouth, he said that God the
50:17: Father told him that he, Kenneth Copeland, could have died on Calvary to rescue humanity from their sins.
50:29: Unbelievable. That's such damnable heresy. And let's see,
50:37: I just wanted to give a shout out to a— I don't have no strong opinion, of course. I just want to give a shout out to a listener that I don't recall ever hearing from before,
50:53: Marla in Springfield. No, she's actually listening from Decatur in Springfield, Illinois.
51:02: I love your show. I am learning so much, and my soul is being edified. So thank you for that,
51:08: Marla. And by the way, since this is your first time contacting me during the show, if you give me your full mailing address,
51:20: I will have cvbbs .com, Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service, ship out to you a brand -new, free
51:29: New American Standard Bible. So thank you very much for that wonderful word of encouragement today.
51:41: Now, we can't overlook the whole concept of angels.
51:48: There is a danger on both ends of the spectrum with angels, and I don't know if you agree with me on your own experience, but once again,
52:02: I'm giving a little dig to my fellow Reformed brethren, that I think that we all too often ignore not only the mystery of angels, angelology, but we ignore the dangers and the reality of demonology of demons.
52:29: And Reformed people seem to be all too paranoid to appear charismatic or Pentecostal, so they try to avoid discussions on those issues or mention them as briefly as possible.
52:48: And then on the other end of the spectrum, you have charismatics and Pentecostals going overboard with fanciful stories and deceptions, and even
53:05: Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox worshiping angels, although they would never admit that, they would just say they're venerating them, but they're worshiping them, no matter what they say.
53:18: But when we come back from the break, I would appreciate it if you could just mention, even if briefly, some of what you believe about the ministry of angels.
53:28: And once again, if anybody has a question, submit it to chrisarnson at gmail .com.
53:34: We'll be right back. It's such a blessing to hear from Iron Sharpens Iron radio listeners from all over the world.
53:52: Here's Joe Riley, a listener in Ireland, who wants you to know about a guest on the show he really loves hearing interviewed,
54:01: Dr. Joe Moorcraft. I'm Joe Riley, a faithful Iron Sharpens Iron radio listener here in Atai in County Kildare, Ireland.
54:09: Going back to 2005, one of my very favorite guests on Iron Sharpens Iron is
54:14: Dr. Joe Moorcraft. If you've been blessed by Iron Sharpens Iron radio, Dr.
54:29: Joe Moorcraft is a member of the Hanover Presbytery. Joe Moorcraft is also the author of an eight -volume commentary on the larger catechism, Heritage. This is a thoroughly biblical church, unwaveringly committed to Westminster standards.
54:38: And Dr. Joe Moorcraft is the author of an eight -volume commentary on the larger catechism. Heritage is a member of the
54:44: Hanover Presbytery, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, and tracing its roots and heritage back to the great
54:54: Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. Heritage maintains and follows the
54:59: Biblical truth and principles proclaimed by the Reformers, Scripture alone, Grace alone, Faith alone,
55:05: Christ alone, and God's Glory alone. Their primary goal is the worship of the Triune God that continues in eternity.
55:11: For more details on Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming, Georgia, visit Heritage Presbyterian Church dot com, that's
55:18: Heritage Presbyterian Church dot com, or call 678 -954 -7831.
55:25: That's 678 -954 -7831. If you visit, tell them
55:30: Joe O 'Reilly, an Iron Sharpens Iron radio listener from Attoye in County Kildare, Ireland, sent you.
55:43: Hello, my name is Anthony Uvinio, and I'm one of the pastors at Hope Reform Baptist Church in Cornwall, New York, and also the host of the
55:50: ReformRookie .com website. I want you to know that if you enjoy listening to the Iron Sharpens Iron radio show, like I do, you can now find it on the
55:59: Apple's iTunes app by typing Iron Sharpens Iron radio in the search bar. You no longer have to worry about missing a show or a special guest because you're in your car or still at work.
56:09: Just subscribe on the iTunes app and listen to the Iron Sharpens Iron radio show at any time day or night.
56:16: Please be sure to also give it a good review and pass it along to anyone who would benefit from the teaching and the many solidly
56:22: Reformed guests that Chris Arnson has on the show. Truth is so hard to come by these days, so don't waste your time with fluff or fake news.
56:30: Subscribe to the Iron Sharpens Iron radio podcast right now. And while you're at it, you can also sign up for the
56:36: ReformRookie .com podcast and visit our website and the YouTube page. We are dedicated to teaching
56:42: Christian theology from a Reformed Baptist perspective to beginners in the faith, as well as seasoned believers.
56:48: From Keach's Catechism and the Doctrines of Grace to the Olivet Discourse and the Book of Leviticus, the
56:54: Reform Rookie podcast and YouTube channel is sure to have something to offer everyone seeking biblical truth.
57:00: And finally, if you're looking to worship in a Reformed church that holds to the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, please join us at Hope Reform Baptist Church in Coram, New York.
57:10: Again, I'm Pastor Anthony Invinio, and thanks for listening. Pastor Bill Sousa, Grace Church at Franklin, here in the beautiful state of Tennessee.
57:29: Our congregation is one of a growing number of churches who love and support Iron Sharpens Iron radio financially.
57:38: Grace Church at Franklin is an independent, autonomous body of believers which strives to clearly declare the whole counsel of God as revealed in Scripture through the person and work of our
57:51: Lord Jesus Christ. And of course, the end of which we strive is the glory of God.
57:58: If you live near Franklin, Tennessee, and Franklin is just south of Nashville, maybe 10 minutes, or you are visiting this area, or you have friends and loved ones nearby, we hope you will join us some
58:11: Lord's Day in worshiping our God and Savior. Please feel free to contact me if you have more questions about Grace Church at Franklin.
58:20: Our website is gracechurchatfranklin .org. That's gracechurchatfranklin .org.
58:29: This is Pastor Bill Sousa wishing you all the richest blessings of our
58:34: Sovereign Lord, God, Savior, and King, Jesus Christ, today and always.
58:53: I'm Dr. Tony Costa, Professor of Apologetics and Islam at Toronto Baptist Seminary.
58:59: I'm thrilled to introduce to you a church where I've been invited to speak and have grown to love,
59:05: Hope Reform Baptist Church in Corham, Long Island, New York, pastored by Rich Jansen and Christopher McDowell.
59:12: It's such a joy to witness and experience fellowship with people of God like the dear saints at Hope Reform Baptist Church in Corham, who have an intensely passionate desire to continue digging deeper and deeper into the unfathomable riches of Christ in His Holy Word, and to enthusiastically proclaim
59:29: Christ Jesus the King and His doctrines of Sovereign Grace in Suffolk County, Long Island, and beyond.
59:36: I hope you also have the privilege of discovering this precious congregation and receive the blessing of being showered by their love, as I have.
59:45: For more information on Hope Reform Baptist Church, go to hopereformedli .net.
59:52: That's hopereformedli .net. Or call 631 -696 -5711.
01:00:01: That's 631 -696 -5711. Tell the folks at Hope Reform Baptist Church of Corham, Long Island, New York that you heard about them from Tony Costa on Iron Sharpens Iron.
01:00:15: Iron Sharpens Iron Radio first launched in 2005.
01:00:33: The publishers of the New American Standard Bible were among my very first sponsors.
01:00:39: It gives me joy knowing that many scholars and pastors in the Iron Sharpens Iron Radio audience have been sticking with or switching to the
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01:01:48: And the NASB is my Bible of choice. Here's a great way for your church to help keep
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01:02:16: James White here of Alpha Omega Ministries announcing that this
01:02:35: September, I'm heading out to Pennsylvania to speak at two events that my longtime friend
01:02:40: Chris Arnzen has lined up for me. On Thursday, September 18th at 11 a .m.,
01:02:45: I'm speaking to men in ministry leadership at Chris's Iron Sharpens Iron Radio pre -pastor's luncheon at Church of the
01:02:53: Living Christ in Loisville. Then on Sunday, September 21st at 1 .30
01:02:59: p .m., I'm speaking at Trinity Reformed Baptist Church of Carlisle on the theme, Can We Trust the
01:03:04: Bible is the Authentic and Inherent Word of God? I hope you can join Chris and me for both events.
01:03:10: For more details on the free pastor's luncheon, visit ironsharpensironradio .com.
01:03:16: That's ironsharpensironradio .com. For more details on Trinity Reformed Baptist Church of Carlisle, visit trbccarlisle .org.
01:03:27: That's trbccarlisle .org. God willing, I'll see you in September in Pennsylvania for these exciting events.
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01:04:55: I'm Simon O'Mahony, pastor of Trinity Reformed Baptist Church in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
01:05:01: Originally from Cork, Ireland, the Lord in his sovereign providence has called me to shepherd this new and growing congregation here in Cumberland County.
01:05:10: At TRBC, we joyfully uphold the Second London Baptist Confession, we embrace congregational church government, and we are committed to preaching the full counsel of God's word for the edification of believers, the salvation of the lost, and the glory of our triune
01:05:25: God. We are also devoted to living out the one another commands of scripture, loving, encouraging, and serving each other as the body of Christ.
01:05:34: In our worship, we sing psalms and the great hymns of the faith, and we gather around the Lord's table every
01:05:39: Sunday. We would love for you to visit and worship with us. You can find our details at trbccarlisle .org.
01:05:47: That's trbccarlisle .org. God willing, we'll see you soon.
01:05:53: Welcome back, and before I return to Pastor John Sampson and our discussion of God's merciful providence,
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01:09:21: and put I need a church in the subject line. That's also the email address where you can send in a question to Pastor John Sampson of King's Church in Peoria, Arizona.
01:09:33: And just before the break, John, as you may remember, I was talking about the ministry of angels, which
01:09:42: I wanted you to at least briefly explore with us.
01:09:48: One of the classic passages that we know of is in Hebrews 13 verse 2, do not neglect hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.
01:10:09: Can you exegete that passage for us? I think it's pretty self -explanatory.
01:10:16: It's telling us as a command not to neglect hospitality to people we don't know.
01:10:25: And that in doing that activity, being open, and in fact, more than open, showing hospitality, the scripture is saying that some, doesn't happen all the time.
01:10:38: It doesn't happen every time you do it. It doesn't happen every time someone has done it in church history, but some have entertained angels unawares.
01:10:50: They are able to look like real people, and they don't come in all with their wings showing.
01:11:02: They look like people in need. And in showing hospitality, the encouragement is you're not aware of all that you're doing or who you're doing it for, especially when they're strangers.
01:11:16: If you know your brother Clive is visiting from New York and you're in Arizona and you take them in for the it's not likely to be an angel.
01:11:28: It's a stranger. And that's the stipulation. But it's an encouragement to show hospitality, and in doing so, you can be serving angels, which is an interesting thing.
01:11:43: You've entertained angels, you've accommodated angels, and yet other
01:11:48: Bible verses tell us that angels are sent to serve the heirs of salvation.
01:11:54: Believe it's Hebrews chapter 1. It says, they're all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation.
01:12:05: One of the things angels do is, I'm sure they're active with car wrecks by keeping
01:12:15: God's elect people alive until they come to faith in Christ. They're heirs of salvation.
01:12:22: They may not know it, they may not look like it, but their life has been preserved because of the activity of angels by stopping something that would have crushed them from crushing them.
01:12:35: Dealing with fires that took place in houses, and someone comes in and shouts, and there's a fire.
01:12:45: Who was that? Never saw them before. Didn't see them afterwards. Could that have been an angel? We don't know.
01:12:51: Many of the activities of these angels, I think that's what is going on in Hebrews 13, that the activity of angels happen when we're unaware of it.
01:13:04: So, live your Christian life, show hospitality, because you could then be serving angels in that capacity, even though their main mission is to serve the salvation.
01:13:17: Yes. In fact, it may surprise some of our more staunch, cessationist,
01:13:24: Reformed Baptists out there who don't like to talk about these kind of things.
01:13:34: But the late David Straub, who went home to be with the
01:13:40: Lord after a battle with brain cancer, I can't remember how long ago that was.
01:13:46: I think it may have been in the 1990s that he passed away. But I remember when he preached at the church where I was saved in the 1980s on Amityville, Long Island.
01:14:01: He was telling the story. He was the founder, by the way, of Reformed Baptist Mission Services, which no longer exists, unfortunately, to my knowledge anyway.
01:14:13: But he was telling the story about how he was warned when going to Romania that Nicolae Ceaușescu's communist police, when
01:14:34: Romania was still under the rule of communism, that they would stop vehicles randomly, and they would search people who were on the bus or whatever vehicle that they were stopping to rob them, search them and rob them of their money.
01:15:01: And David happened to be on a bus with thousands of dollars stuffed in his coat.
01:15:12: It was for the planting of a Reformed Baptist church in Romania. And I can't remember the very large amount of money he had, but it was thousands of dollars.
01:15:26: And sure enough, the bus that he was on was stopped, and the police boarded the bus.
01:15:41: They're going through the passengers one by one, asking them to open up their coats and their wallets and pocketbooks and all that.
01:15:55: And when they were approaching, getting closer and closer to David, he was obviously getting worried here.
01:16:04: He had a lot of money that he was about to lose for this church plant.
01:16:13: And the man sitting next to David, who he did not, David did not know this man, he was a total stranger, had a coughing fit, and he couldn't stop coughing.
01:16:27: And it so distracted the communist police on the bus that they passed by David Stroup and never searched him.
01:16:39: Because they would have certainly robbed them of that money, because it was such an exorbitant amount.
01:16:47: And David believes, he wasn't absolutely certain, he couldn't prove it, but he believes that was an anvil.
01:16:55: Especially since he was in such deep prayer, silently, when this was occurring.
01:17:04: And he thought, certainly I'm going to lose this money for the church plant. And that's what happened.
01:17:11: So I just wanted to bring that up, because he was a
01:17:17: Reformed Baptist, a cessationist, and yet he did not deny that that could have been an angelic being sitting next to him.
01:17:28: Yeah, no, I think there should be a category in our minds, as those who embrace the
01:17:36: Scriptures, to say that God is within his rights to use angels at his discretion.
01:17:45: And the implications of these texts that we read, there's explicit statements, but there's a lot of implicit ideas that stem out of those explicit statements, like the
01:17:57: Hebrews 13, 2 passage, that says we can be involved and engaging with angels and unaware of it.
01:18:05: You know, when you were talking about God's merciful providence, preventing people from perishing in automobile accidents and other things, because they are among his elect that he is going to bring to himself at some point.
01:18:31: And of course, he does this even for the non -elect, for the reprobate on occasion.
01:18:37: He rescues, just as you were saying earlier about common grace. But when it comes specifically to the rescue of those that are not yet regenerate, but are of the elect, and God will, before they depart this earth, save them,
01:18:58: I am reminded of a verse that is routinely brought up by our theological opponents,
01:19:05: Arminians and Roman Catholics and others who are not Reformed. They'll bring up 2
01:19:11: Peter 3 9. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.
01:19:32: And I believe that this is a text that is very frequently, one of the most frequently twisted texts by those outside of the
01:19:44: Reformed faith, because they are trying to convey a message that Peter is telling us that God is demonstrating this patience to everyone, because he doesn't want anybody to perish.
01:20:03: But isn't it true that, number one, Peter was speaking to the church, he was speaking to Christians, and the elect are those who are the only ones who are treated with this unique patience that is being described here, that is a promise, and that it is a promise that none of the elect will perish until they come to repentance, because God is not equally patient with all humans, even the reprobate.
01:20:43: There are teenagers snuffed out in the prime of their youth who are rebels against Christ, who hate
01:20:51: Christ. So, am I making sense here? You're making a whole lot of sense.
01:20:57: Yeah, the passage, again, needs to be seen in its context.
01:21:03: And the previous verse, verse eight, says, but do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that's who he's writing to, that with the
01:21:12: Lord one day as of a thousand years and a thousand years was one day, the Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise of some count slowness, but is patient toward you, who is the you, the you are the beloved, not wishing that any,
01:21:27: I think the any is the you, you are the beloved. He's not wishing that any of the you, beloved, should perish.
01:21:35: He's not willing that they perish, but all, who's the all, all the you, beloved, well, all do what?
01:21:43: He's not willing that any of the you, beloved, should perish, but that all the you, beloved, should reach repentance.
01:21:50: And that's exactly what you've articulated. We can even go further, because in chapter three, verse one, we know who the you is.
01:22:01: Verse one, this is now the second letter that I'm writing to you, beloved. Right. Absolutely worse.
01:22:08: So, math is not my major, but if there's the second time, there must be a first time.
01:22:18: And the first time is first Peter. And first Peter chapter one and verse one, he explains who the you, beloved, are in explicit terms.
01:22:30: Chapter one, verse one, Peter, this is the first time he's writing to the you, beloved.
01:22:36: Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ to those who are elect. There it is. Amen. And otherwise, you have a frustrated
01:22:50: God who wants to do something that does not occur. As you were saying earlier,
01:22:58: God doesn't try to do anything. Yeah. The understanding that Arminians and Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox and all those outside of the
01:23:12: Reformed faith and the cults, they believe that God is trying to do things and failing constantly.
01:23:21: Yeah. Even though many, if not most of those folks would never say it like that in those words, they would have to come to admit that.
01:23:32: And that even comes to the death of Jesus Christ on Calvary as a substitute.
01:23:43: If Jesus died on Calvary for every single human that ever lived and ever will live with the intention to redeem them from their sins, then he's failed because only a remnant, a small percentage of those people will be redeemed.
01:24:03: And it also goes even further. When you are grossly incorrect about this issue, what did
01:24:13: Christ actually accomplish on the cross? Did he redeem his people or did he just make them redeemable?
01:24:22: Did he make them savable? We believe, hallelujah, that he, with certainty, accomplished in perfection his mission.
01:24:34: And he redeemed his people, and every one of those will eventually, in his timing, become regenerate and saved.
01:24:43: And these are the folks for whom he's extending patience until they come to repentance.
01:24:54: So true. We're talking about a sovereign God, and I'm not the first one to use this as a definition,
01:25:02: I'm sure, but it's really a God who does what he wants, when he wants, the way he wants, without having to ask permission.
01:25:12: He reigns, he rules. Providence is a subsection of that.
01:25:18: It comes under the overall banner of sovereignty, and providence is the ordering of all events to achieve those sovereign purposes he has.
01:25:31: So providence is kind of the overflow. And when we go there, the objection is, well, if you are saying
01:25:38: God is the one who's ordained all events, he must have ordained evil.
01:25:45: And we have to say, yes, he's ordained that evil would take place.
01:25:51: Now, evil is not a substance. You don't have a block of evil or a bucket full of evil.
01:25:58: Evil is rebellion. It's a sinful act of rebellion.
01:26:05: But if you think of what was the most evil act that's ever taken place on planet
01:26:12: Earth, it would have to be the crucifixion of the Son of God on the cross—your exact point.
01:26:20: In Acts chapter 4, you'd think, if you're of a different persuasion, it wouldn't read the way we're reading it.
01:26:28: Where in Acts chapter 4, the early church was praying, and rather than saying
01:26:35: God made the best of a very, very bad situation, it says that the very event of the cross, of Jesus dying on the cross, happened.
01:26:49: The word providence isn't in the text, but the word predestined is.
01:26:55: I'm reading Acts chapter 4, the early church prayed.
01:27:01: Verse 24, Sovereign Lord, this was after the apostles were released.
01:27:10: They heard it. They lifted their voices to God and said, Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth, the sea and everything in them.
01:27:18: And it goes on to say, through the mouth of our father David, your servant said, by the Holy Spirit, why did the
01:27:23: Gentiles rage and the peoples plot in vain? Kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together against the
01:27:30: Lord and against his anointed. All a quotation from Psalm 2. Here we go.
01:27:35: Verse 27, For truly in this city, which city? Jerusalem. They're praying in Jerusalem, just a very short time after the event of the cross.
01:27:48: Truly in this city, they were gathered together against your holy servant, Jesus, whom you anointed.
01:27:54: And then it's going to list sinners who sinned, both Herod, one, and Pontius Pilate, two, along with the
01:28:04: Gentiles. That's a group, but that's three, and the peoples of Israel.
01:28:10: So all of these people were gathered together against your holy servant,
01:28:16: Jesus. All of these committed sin, Herod, Pontius Pilate, Gentiles, Jews.
01:28:23: And then it says, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
01:28:31: There it is. The worst sin, the most evil act, and the most evil actions of humanity is the crucifixion of the holy spotless
01:28:42: Lamb of God. And yet, they did their actions and God predestined it.
01:28:48: God ordained it. And it's the argument of from the greater to the lesser. If that's true, that in the most evil act in history,
01:28:58: God's pleasure, his predestinating purpose was achieved, it's true of everything else.
01:29:05: And as abhorrent as that might be, that God has a plan that includes evil, what we're faced with, if we don't buy this, because we don't say,
01:29:16: I don't like this, you've got purposeless evil, evil that has no purpose.
01:29:23: And God is like this ambulance crew showing up to scenes thinking,
01:29:29: Oh no, this has happened. What good can we get out of this? He's just a responder, which we call the medical people responders.
01:29:40: God is more than a responder. He does respond to our cry to him. But he's the one who has ordained the very breath in our lungs to keep us.
01:29:55: And we need to grasp this because this is the God of the Bible. When we stand before God, we're not going to have a
01:30:02: God who's saying, I'm so glad you made it. We were worried about you.
01:30:09: It didn't look like you were going to make it. This sovereignty of God is not just something we like because we've got a hankering after it.
01:30:19: We like this doctrine. It's unpleasant to us because we think we should be on the throne.
01:30:25: There's a famous quote of Spurgeon, and I'd love to just recount it.
01:30:32: Here it is. There is no attribute of God more comforting to his children than the doctrine of divine sovereignty.
01:30:39: Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe troubles, they believe that sovereignty, look at this, hath ordained their afflictions, that sovereignty overrules them, and that sovereignty will sanctify them all.
01:30:58: And there is nothing, that's strong language, there is nothing for which the children of God ought more earnestly to contend than the dominion of their master over all creation, the kingship of God over all the works of his own hands, the throne of God, and his right to sit upon that throne.
01:31:17: On the other hand, there is no doctrine more hated by worldlings, and he's speaking here of those outside the faith and of Christians who have warped thinking that are thinking according to pagan culture rather than biblically informed, no doctrine more hated by worldlings, no truth of which they have made such a football, something they kick around, as the great, stupendous, and yet most certain doctrine of the sovereignty of the infinite
01:31:47: Jehovah. Men will allow God to be everywhere except on his throne. They'll allow him to be in his workshop to fashion worlds and make stars.
01:31:57: They will allow him to be in his almonery to dispense his alms and bestow his bounties.
01:32:04: They'll allow him to sustain the earth and bear up the pillars thereof, or light the lamps of heaven, or rule the waves of the ever -moving ocean.
01:32:13: But when God ascends his throne, his creatures then gnash their teeth.
01:32:19: And when we proclaim and enthrone God and his right to do as he wills with his own, to dispose of his creatures as he thinks well, without consulting them in the matter, then it is that we are hissed and execrated.
01:32:35: And then it is that men turn a deaf ear to us, for God on his throne is not the
01:32:40: God they love. They love him anywhere better than they do when he sits with his scepter in his hand and his crown upon his head.
01:32:50: But it is God upon the throne that we love to preach. It is God upon the throne whom we trust.
01:32:57: That says it all. You and I are here, everyone listening under the sound of my voice. People can say, what has
01:33:04: God done for me lately? You know what he's doing? He's actually holding your brain cells and the cells in your body together as you're defying him.
01:33:15: That's how gracious he is. Amen.
01:33:21: And we have a listener named Glenn in Lincoln, Rhode Island. Glenn says, how would you respond to the atheists and agnostics that I have run into who will occasionally say things like, you
01:33:40: Christians talk a lot about how much you believe in heaven and how glorious it will be to be there, and that you can't wait to be there, and you want everyone that you love to be there.
01:33:57: And yet, when any of you get sick, you're praying on your knees that they would be healed and live longer on this earth, delaying their entrance into heaven.
01:34:10: How can we explain this to people? I think the answer is we haven't been to heaven yet.
01:34:19: And so this is all we know. And for us that live here every day as a privilege to think and act and worship, to put
01:34:31: God first, what would I rather have? One week to serve God or two weeks?
01:34:38: One year to serve God or 10 years? I'd love to have the 10 years if I can.
01:34:44: Heaven is awaiting us as the people of God. But I want to make my life count now, and I love all my friends and relatives and those
01:34:54: I meet to know the Lord Jesus as well. And for them to not only squeak into heaven with the last 30 seconds of their life crying out to God in genuine repentance, or the last minutes as the thief on the cross did, his soul was saved.
01:35:15: But far better to come to Christ early in life and live a life of benefit for the kingdom of God.
01:35:26: According to God's own design when he created us, there is a built -in fear of death and desire to live.
01:35:42: And of course, there are exceptions. There are elderly saints who just can't wait to leave this earth and enter into heaven.
01:35:52: I can even remember my mother on her deathbed when she was dying of pancreatic cancer.
01:35:59: She, every time I visited her, which was every day, she would ask me,
01:36:06: Chris, do you think the Lord will take me today? I want to go home to him, Chris. I want to go home to him.
01:36:12: Do you think today's the day I get to go home? And so there you had my mother wanting to leave this earth.
01:36:20: But when you're talking about people in the prime of their health and their youth, or at least relative youth, we don't typically have that attitude.
01:36:34: We want to live, and we will be pleading with God to spare us on all kinds of issues where death is approaching, where death is imminent.
01:36:48: And even Jesus, he obviously healed people and raised people from the dead.
01:36:55: Lazarus is obviously one of the most famous examples. He not only wept when
01:37:01: Lazarus died, but he raised him immediately after.
01:37:08: He wept even though he knew he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead. And I've heard people say,
01:37:15: I believe Jesus was weeping over the unbelief of Lazarus' loved ones, that they doubted that Jesus was going to raise him or something.
01:37:27: I don't buy that. I think he was just literally weeping over losing his friend. But how do you explain those issues?
01:37:37: Yeah, it's that desire to stay alive that is built in.
01:37:43: As you said, it's embedded in us. We don't want to succumb to death.
01:37:51: Death is described as an enemy, and rightfully so. The wages of sin is death, and that's why when someone dies, they're being paid the wage that is due to them.
01:38:04: That's what we deserve. That's where the gospel comes in. What we've done is committed acts of great rebellion.
01:38:14: Every time we think and act and speak with sin in our hearts in terms of the outward action, it is grievous to God, and God could have wiped us all out, rightfully so.
01:38:32: All of the angels, would the elect angels would be still singing, holy, holy, holy, wouldn't miss a beat.
01:38:39: God did not have to serve us or enter into this world, but God loved this world in this way.
01:38:49: He gave his only begotten son. He sent his son into the world to be born of a virgin, to live a sinless life and die an atoning death on the cross.
01:39:00: Three days later, be raised from the dead. Now be at the place of all authority in the universe, so that anyone who repents and believes this good news, crying out to him, will be saved from the righteous judgment of God.
01:39:15: But there's still something in us that doesn't want to die or go through the pains of death.
01:39:22: We don't want it to be this long, arduous experience that we would shrink from that.
01:39:28: We would shirk from that. We would ask God that it wouldn't be that way, because it's built in us to want to live.
01:39:37: The great news is on the other side, absent from the body, present with the Lord. So it's not a contradiction.
01:39:45: It's just the human element we have. Those that are close to death, who are in severe pain, they feel it very, very strongly.
01:39:53: I'd love to be out of this pain, especially if I know the Lord. I want to be out of this pain, so I can be with my
01:40:00: Master, with my Lord and Savior. So it's not a contradiction. It's just the human condition. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
01:40:10: Lord. We need to understand our redemption. We will, after death, be with the
01:40:19: Lord. We'll be clothed with a new resurrection body. We believe in the resurrection of the body, and there's just life and blessing forevermore for those who know him.
01:40:32: But without him, it's been said, with Christ, there's an endless hope. Without him, there's a hopeless end.
01:40:39: And so we need to get the gospel to people. Atheists, God doesn't believe in them. God doesn't believe in atheists, in that he's made himself very, very clear.
01:40:49: Romans 1 is clear. He's made his existence known, his eternal power in Godhead, and men suppress that truth.
01:40:58: We need to get them the gospel, first of all, laying the groundwork of the law to show us our need of salvation, because our greatest deliverance, rescue, is not from the experience of death, as hostile and as arduous as that is.
01:41:19: The greatest thing we need redemption and rescue from is an audience with God, not being right with him, not having a mediator.
01:41:28: With Christ, there's an endless hope. Without him, there's a hopeless end. So we say to all, come to Christ while there's time.
01:41:35: Come. Please, we beg you, come to Christ. He is the resurrection and the life.
01:41:44: Hallelujah. And we are going to continue this conversation in the final segment, which will be immediately following this last commercial break.
01:41:54: And once again, if you have a question, submit it to chrisarnson at gmail .com. Give us your first name, at least, your city and state of residence, and your country of residence if you live outside the
01:42:06: USA. And don't go away. We're going to be right back with John Sampson after these messages. I'm Dr.
01:42:19: Joseph Piper, President Emeritus and Professor of Systematic and Applied Theology at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
01:42:28: Every Christian who's serious about the Deformed Faith and the Westminster Standards should have and use the eight -volume commentary on the theology and ethics of the
01:42:38: Westminster Larger Catechism titled Authentic Christianity by Dr. Joseph Moorcraft.
01:42:44: It is much more than an exposition of the larger catechism. It is a thoroughly researched work that utilizes biblical exegesis as well as historical and systematic theology.
01:42:56: Dr. Moorcraft is pastor of Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming, Georgia, and I urge everyone looking for a biblically faithful church in that area to visit that fine congregation.
01:43:07: For details on the eight -volume commentary, go to westminstercommentary .com, westminstercommentary .com.
01:43:15: For details on Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming, Georgia, visit heritagepresbyterianchurch .com,
01:43:23: heritagepresbyterianchurch .com. Please tell Dr. Moorcraft and the saints at Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming, Georgia that Dr.
01:43:32: Joseph Piper of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary sends you. When Iron Sharpens Iron Radio first launched in 2005, the publishers of the
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01:48:26: Bible is the Authentic and Inerrant Word of God? I hope you can join Chris and me for both events.
01:48:32: For more details on the Free Pastors Luncheon, visit ironsharpensironradio .com.
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01:48:58: Yes, and I hope every man in ministry leadership listening will be at the next
01:49:06: Iron Sharpens Iron Radio Free Pastors Luncheon on September 18th, and I hope that all of you, whether you're men, women, or children, will be at the
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01:49:45: I should say—on Sunday morning, which is why we meet at 1 .30 p .m.,
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01:50:09: So for information on both of these events, go to IronSharpensIronRadio .com, and you'll see two rotating banners at the top that are describing each of those two events, and we hope that you can come to both of them.
01:50:28: All right, we're back now with John Sampson, and we have been discussing God's merciful providence, and one of the things that we read in Philippians 1 .21,
01:50:48: that classic text where we have Paul saying, for to me to live is
01:50:58: Christ and to die is gain. So that is somewhat of a
01:51:03: God -breathed answer to—I'm trying to remember now—Glenn in Lincoln, Rhode Island, when he was asking how to respond to skeptics and scoffers who are trying to accuse us
01:51:20: Christians of not really believing in heaven like we say we do, if we were terrified to die.
01:51:26: But I think that that answer that the apostle Paul gives is a perfect, very brief summary of why
01:51:36: Christians want to stick around, at least one of the reasons. Am I correct? Absolutely.
01:51:43: I'm looking at the verse just now, Philippians 1 .21, and the verse before it adds weight to verse 21.
01:51:54: Paul writes, It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now, as always,
01:52:03: Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death, for to me to live is
01:52:12: Christ and to die is gain. With my own experience, should I have died at the pulpit side,
01:52:22: Christ would be honored. Should I have lived, and I did,
01:52:28: Christ hopefully is being honored. I'm able to share with you,
01:52:34: Chris, one of the things we do at King's Church is we record our sermons and audio.
01:52:42: They're available in audio, but we also have a YouTube channel, and the folk at the church there, they took a five -minute segment of one of my sermons where I preach the gospel, and they just were of the opinion, let's see what the
01:52:59: Lord will do with this. And we've put it out there, and this is since I almost died.
01:53:06: Well, died and came back, and very briefly away for 45 seconds or maybe a minute.
01:53:14: But you know, Chris, over a million views of that YouTube video has occurred.
01:53:21: So that's glory to God, because since that 13, 14 months ago experience, we got the gospel out to over a million people.
01:53:37: Hallelujah. Well, I want you to now summarize what you most want etched in the hearts and minds of our listeners before we go off the air today.
01:53:49: Rather than rail against this doctrine of providence, just rejoice in a
01:53:55: God who's kept you alive, even to hear the gospel. And if you have responded to that gospel, what grace has been given to you.
01:54:05: But when we look at the lives of those around us, friends, family, we're often grieved by what takes place in their lives.
01:54:13: But our confidence, our trust is in this God who is sovereign, who is working out his providence.
01:54:22: We don't know what his providential plan is. He works all things according to the counsel of his will,
01:54:28: Ephesians 1 .11. But we don't know what that will is oftentimes until it's revealed. It's like the sunshine that comes that breaks through the darkness when a sunrise occurs.
01:54:39: Only as the second proceeds and the next second, you see more of the sunlight and what it reveals against the darkness.
01:54:49: So it is with providence. We don't know what God will do, but he will always do that which is right in his sight.
01:54:57: He does what he wills in heaven and earth. This doctrine is what
01:55:03: Spurgeon would call the pillow upon which to rest your head. Maybe I could finish with a quote from a famous hymn,
01:55:11: God Moves in a Mysterious Way by William Cowper. I'm sure many of our listeners will be very aware of this.
01:55:20: It's one of the stanzas. God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform.
01:55:26: He plants his footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable minds of never failing skill, he fashions up his bright designs and works his sovereign will.
01:55:43: Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take. The clouds that you much dread are big with mercy and will break in blessings on your head.
01:55:55: Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for his grace.
01:56:02: Behind a frowning providence, he hides a smiling face. His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour.
01:56:12: The bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower.
01:56:18: Blind unbelief is sure to err and scan his work in vain.
01:56:24: God is his own interpreter, and he will make it plain.
01:56:31: Amen and amen. And by the way, it's interesting that you chose
01:56:37: By God's Providence to read an excerpt from that glorious hymn, because I was going to recommend a very short book that our listeners can get multiple copies of and give out, or if you're a pastor listening or deacon and you want to stock your tract rack with this, it's only 32 pages long.
01:57:08: The Banner of Truth is published a book by John Murray titled Behind a
01:57:13: Frowning Providence. So you might want to get a hold of that, and I would urge you to get it from cvbbs .com,
01:57:23: the sponsor of this program, and just mentioned Behind a
01:57:28: Frowning Providence by John Murray, published by Banner of Truth. Well, John, as always, it has been a joy to have you on the program.
01:57:41: Please don't wait too long to return to the show, and I have enjoyed every single minute with you today immensely, and it's amazing.
01:57:54: I've known you for a long time, and I feel like we have fellowshiped face -to -face, but we've never even met face -to -face before.
01:58:04: Well, I hope that the
01:58:12: Lord in his sovereign providence will open up the door for us to meet face -to -face on this side of the grass, as they say.
01:58:24: I'd love that, too. Yes, amen. And hopefully that will indeed happen at some point.
01:58:31: In fact, maybe one of these days you could be a speaker at my biannual
01:58:36: Iron Trump and Zion Radio Pastors luncheons, and give your testimony on how you left the
01:58:44: Word of Faith movement. Yeah, I'd love to do that. All right, well, let's keep in touch about that, and I want to remind our listeners of the website for King's Church in Peoria, Arizona, where John is the pastor, kingschurchaz .com,
01:59:02: kingschurchaz, for arizona .com. Now, I want to thank also everybody who listened today, especially those who took the time to send in questions.
01:59:11: I want you all to always remember for the rest of your lives that Jesus Christ is a far, far greater