Christian Faith and Skunk Anecdotes

Oscar Navarro 1:04

There are some people and again I'm using that word Christian loosely , because it appears that they're not actually believers . It seems like they receive Christ with joy at the very beginning . It seems like they have a personal revelatory moment with the blood of Christ . But as life moves on , as they experience pain or suffering , as life doesn't turn out the way they may be they wanted it to , they begin to abandon God altogether . These people , as they at the beginning , they would say they want to be a part of the Kingdom of God . But if you search their hearts , really what they want is God to be a part of their kingdom manly kingdom , and I love the way Dr Keller calls it . He says these guys want blessers , not a savior . They want a sugar daddy , not a king . They want to suffer . They are sufferers in need of solution rather than sinners in need of a savior .

Emeal Zwayne 2:01

Welcome to another segment of Choose One and Only One . We're here on the Living Waters podcast . We choose one and only one . All right guys fall six feet into a pit full of cacti or cactuses .

Ray Comfort 2:20

Both are appropriate .

Emeal Zwayne 2:21

Yeah , I looked it up , get stung by 30 bees or get locked into a five foot by five foot closet with ten stinky skunks for 24 hours .

Ray Comfort 2:36

I choose the first , Easy Wait you guys are serious . Yes , first one .

Emeal Zwayne 2:42

Fall six feet into a pit full of cacti versus 30 bees , stung by 30 bees or getting locked into a piece , the piece . The piece Mark 30 bees . That's like getting sheep in your teeth .

Ray Comfort 2:58

Yeah , you're gonna get stung by bees . That's poison they put in you and that's gonna itch and swell . But , there's poison and some cactus .

Oscar Navarro 3:04

No these aren't poisonous cactuses .

Emeal Zwayne 3:06

Poisonous cactus .

Ray Comfort 3:07

No , you just add that why aren't we discussing the skunks ?

Oscar Navarro 3:14

I know Because I feel like after about 15-20 minutes maybe the smell would just get you sweet .

Ray Comfort 3:18

So is it , yeah , but it's locked in a closet without a laptop . That's how long how long , full .

Emeal Zwayne 3:25

No , you get your laptop with a skunk .

Oscar Navarro 3:26

Oh , okay , skunks . Yeah , I think I might go skunks .

Emeal Zwayne 3:29

As long as you can have the laptop in there .

Ray Comfort 3:30

Yeah , yeah , because you get used to the smell . I think , yeah , you're right , cactus .

Emeal Zwayne 3:34

One of my children loves the smell of skunk .

Ray Comfort 3:38

All right , there's a skunk oh there's a skunk behind you .

Emeal Zwayne 3:40

right there is , that's a reminder of Ken Ham .

Ray Comfort 3:43

Is that from Ken ?

Emeal Zwayne 3:43

Yes .

Ray Comfort 3:44

Yeah .

Emeal Zwayne 3:45

Stinky , stinkers .

Ray Comfort 3:46

So , Izzy , what would you choose ?

Emeal Zwayne 3:50

I think I'd go for the skunks Is the fourth one . I think I'd go for the skunks .

Ray Comfort 3:54

Three rappers rapping at the same time for $2,000 , a small word .

Emeal Zwayne 3:58

Hey , hey , hey , his name is Ray Ray . Ray Every day day gets up to pray , pray , pray . Now I don't get up anymore . I say I don't want to pray , I stay in bed . Yeah , I don't know , Oscar , what would you do ? I said skunks .

Oscar Navarro 4:11

You would do the skunks , I think . So I think I'm hoping I'd get used to that . The thing about cactus is I don't like they have to go in and then they got to come out , so it's like a double suffering .

Ray Comfort 4:22

I don't know if I appreciate that . Hang on a minute . If I landed with skunk , he dropped into a six one to skunks Six what you drop into a closet .

Oscar Navarro 4:32

You're in a five foot by five foot closet . There's no dropping , you're just in it .

Ray Comfort 4:35

Okay , so yeah , I'd just say , Lord , please take the smell of the skunks away . It's like the lion's den .

Emeal Zwayne 4:41

But the ten skunks Ray , one for each , come on . Oh yeah , Sounds quite interesting . Yeah , yeah , skunks are man . Skunks are interesting creatures . You guys see what they do . They go on their front paws , I think , with their tails up in the air , I don't think so and they go back yeah , they go backward toward you .

Ray Comfort 5:00

I saw two skunks at Seritas College about a year ago .

Emeal Zwayne 5:03

The skunk that stunk , yeah , I filmed them .

Ray Comfort 5:05

They're very fascinating .

Emeal Zwayne 5:06

Did you ?

Ray Comfort 5:06

really . Yeah , they're beautiful . I really tried to get a pet skunk , pet billy billy , but it's illegal in California .

Oscar Navarro 5:13

Is it really ? You can get them de-stunk ?

Ray Comfort 5:14

You can get them de-skunked yeah .

Oscar Navarro 5:15

I need that .

Ray Comfort 5:15

Yeah , and I was going to get a tract and talk about sin and how it's offensive to God and give it out when I count a little skunk everywhere .

Oscar Navarro 5:21

How you can be de-skunked .

Ray Comfort 5:22

You're not allowed in California . Interesting , have you ?

Emeal Zwayne 5:24

guys , I have an abortion , but you're not allowed a skunk . Have you guys ever been sprayed by a skunk ?

Mark Spence 5:28

No , but about 20 years ago I was on my way to go speak at an event and I saw something in the road and I couldn't swerve from it because there was cars around me . I'm like I just got to run over this thing , whatever it is , and it was a skunk . It was a dead skunk . It was already dead . It was already dead .

Ray Comfort 5:46

You smell it in your car instantly .

Mark Spence 5:48

It's amazing you don't even have to run it over a skunk forever .

Oscar Navarro 5:50

Oh it like affected your car Ray .

Mark Spence 5:54

I think you accidentally ran over a cat one time .

Ray Comfort 5:59

That's one of the most embarrassing things they've ever done .

Mark Spence 6:01

Tell us about it .

Emeal Zwayne 6:03

That's in your dumb book .

Ray Comfort 6:04

It's in a dumb book . I was 18 years old . I was courting Sue coming back about 10 o'clock at night from their house . I was driving along my car in the dark and I suddenly saw something shoot in front of me . I heard thump , thump . I thought , oh , I ran over a cat . Oh , I better back up and save it some time . I backed up and I heard thump , thump and I panicked and took off and heard thump , thump Three times I ended up with a flat cat .

Oscar Navarro 6:25

That's very sad about it . True story I hit a kid with my car and the dad thanked me .

Ray Comfort 6:32

It was a goat .

Oscar Navarro 6:34

It's a true story no , a child . So I was driving down a residential street and I was driving really slow down this residential street and some kid runs out and slams into the back of my car and falls over and I stop and I'm like I'm going to prison for the rest of my life . This is it , like I'm done . I get out of the car and I meet the parents of the kid and the kid's kind of crying and discombobulated and the dad was like thank you so much for driving slow because people come racing through this street and ultimately , like , you saved his life . I was driving so slow that the kid , like , ran into the back of my car .

Emeal Zwayne 7:08

So he was driving . He must have seen what he missed you Maybe .

Oscar Navarro 7:11

Yeah , but the dad was really thankful . He was like man , thank you , if it was anybody else , that could have been really bad and Any damage to the car . So there was like this is kind of gross , but there is like skin on my car . Oh , skin , skin . Yeah , like his face like hit it and got scraped on the side of my car which is kind of gross .

Emeal Zwayne 7:32

What's the makeup on that skin ? Yeah , skunks , man skunks . They're really bizarre , I think there's times in my neighborhood the smell is so strong . I'm sure someone ran one over , so that's your breath . I would imagine if you run one over it's like it's going to linger . Yeah .

Ray Comfort 7:51

Oh yeah , it's bright .

Emeal Zwayne 7:52

Yeah , skunky , but it would be cool to have one Ray for a , you think people , you think it'd get a crowd for everything . Absolutely , I mean , what's wrong with ?

Ray Comfort 8:00

us they're so they oh , they've got the temperament of a kitten or cat . Oh , they do About the same . That's what I read when I looked into it , I hate cats . Yeah , but the cat , you can hold a cat and people are strokily strokin , that's what a skunk would do and it'd be just . I think people would be fascinated by it .

Emeal Zwayne 8:16

We should come out with scratch and sniff skunk tracks . We did , didn't we ?

Ray Comfort 8:21

I did have a track that had a skunk on it and said scratch and sniff . This is many , many years ago .

Emeal Zwayne 8:26

Easy idea stinks , it's stunk , it's past . All right , friends , we have a comment . This is from SJWF 53 .

Oscar Navarro 8:35

From W .

Emeal Zwayne 8:36

New to listening to you . You guys are amazing , trying to find the courage to witness to people after a long dry spell . As a new believer 21 years ago , if someone rejected the gospel or didn't want to listen , my confidence went down completely . But finding you guys is encouraging . I have to build my confidence back up after learning . If someone doesn't want to hear you I shouldn't be offended , but just to keep planting seeds . I just started listening to you this week after I heard Easy was on 511 news with Joe Schimmel and Chad , I decided to give you a listen episode on rebellious children . That woke me up . My kids are not saved and they are adults . Some of the things Pat said really hit home . Still praying for my kids Sorry , I wrote a chapter . God bless and keep up what you're doing , wow .

Oscar Navarro 9:21

So encouraging .

Sower Parable and Terrible Parables Discussion

Emeal Zwayne 9:22

Yeah , at NRB I went on with our good friend Joe Schimmel . How does he talk ? I dare not even try , you can't do it . He's got such a unique voice .

Ray Comfort 9:33

Ben Price does it . Oh , Ben Price .

Emeal Zwayne 9:35

This is Price ? Yeah , really good , but it was so refreshing because that guy loves the Lord . He exudes Christ .

Ray Comfort 9:42

And his voice shows it , the way he talks .

Emeal Zwayne 9:45

Oh , just passion and just a dear dear brother . So , yeah , I was on there and they put it up on their YouTube channel and , I think , other avenues . So , hey , thank you for joining us . Our new friend and look , people are still mentioning Pat Nemmers . His impact is far and wide , so good stuff . All right , friends , this podcast is brought to you by the million dollar , bill Gospel .

Mark Spence 10:09

Is that our most popular track we've ever sold ?

Ray Comfort 10:11

Yes , ever Over 200 million , right , yeah , and that was just one lady who's trying to reach a husband .

Oscar Navarro 10:17

In Belflyre , poor lady . Thanks , mark Still trying .

Ray Comfort 10:20

Mark , you've heard that probably 6,000 times . You still manage a little grunt .

Emeal Zwayne 10:23

Why isn't it one man trying to reach his wife ?

Mark Spence 10:25

Courtesy . No , it's the car , I feel like just every time I look at you make me laugh . Oh , thank you .

Emeal Zwayne 10:30

And Susan Plyftor . Don't forget , friends , the Living Waters mug in the evidence study Bible all at LivingWaterscom . Ooh , we got more joining in . We got to start harmonizing guys with that , I can't harmonize .

Ray Comfort 10:42

Harmonize . If someone goes in a harmony in a church , I can't sing . I get pulled in with them .

Emeal Zwayne 10:46

Harmonize , harmonize , harmonize , harmonize . All right , friends , today we're discussing the parable of the sower and what it ? Means Aze , it's actually the soils . It's the soils , not the sower . Is that what you always say , Ray ?

Ray Comfort 11:02

Probably I don't listen to myself .

Emeal Zwayne 11:05

Probably , but I can't remember . Yeah , this is a very , very popular parable .

Mark Spence 11:14

Popular parable Popular parable .

Ray Comfort 11:16

Sermon series popular parables . You just like the alliteration , so it doesn't matter what it ?

Emeal Zwayne 11:20

says I love the alliteration .

Ray Comfort 11:22

It's a very pertinent and pregnant popular parable .

Emeal Zwayne 11:25

That's pretty .

Oscar Navarro 11:27

I actually thought it'd be really fun to do like a sermon series called Terrible Parables , Because if you pay close enough attention to the parables , it's convicting towards everybody the church and the unchurch , the moralist and the antagonist towards moralism . You know , there's something there that just convicts the soul , no matter where you're at and your faith . For that reason they're terrible parables .

Emeal Zwayne 11:51

You know , this is one thing I think is easy to forget , or maybe not Always talking about yourself . I'm not talking about myself .

Ray Comfort 11:59

I'm talking about myself .

Emeal Zwayne 12:01

Again from bearable , terrible parables . Unbearable , terrible . Shareable , shareable , terrible , no , but you know , I think sometimes we just forget , like nothing is within the pages of scripture on accident , which means that the divine son of God knew the exact number of parables that would be in scripture and the exact parables that would be in scripture , and he gave us these parables to give us , you know , insight into truth . And what I love about this one is Jesus gave a commentary on the parable . He actually went on to describe it and to open it up to the disciples .

Ray Comfort 12:38

Recover . Do you ever think who did shorthand while he was speaking ? What tape recorder did they use to get all his words Cause , every word he said is relevant and pertinent , and yet no one could write as fast as he was talking , so it had to be inspired by the Holy Spirit to give us these scriptures ?

Emeal Zwayne 12:53

Well , you know , you remember , jesus said to the disciples that the spirit would bring to remembrance everything that he said and taught .

Ray Comfort 13:00

And my words will not pass away .

Emeal Zwayne 13:01

Yeah , and I was listening to a sermon recently and the speaker was talking about how there are certain revolutionary events in all of our lives that we remember . Sometimes we can't remember what we had for breakfast , right ?

Oscar Navarro 13:14

A given day , three eggs .

Emeal Zwayne 13:17

But unless you're Oscar right , you at least remember things like where you were . I wouldn't remember I wasn't born , but where you were when JF Kennedy was shot . Ray , you probably remember when you first heard this the very second .

Ray Comfort 13:30

I remember seeing the headline in the paper . Also remember when the arm of one of those parking building , those arm things that come down , hit me in the head the other day . You'll never forget that , I'll never forget that it left an impression on my forehead . On my mind it was episode dumb .

Oscar Navarro 13:45

Yeah , For younger people like myself where we were when 9-11 happened .

Emeal Zwayne 13:51

Right , that would be the second example that I was going to use . Ray , we can hear you whisper . I'm sorry , I was just saying how , but when it hit me head on Saturday .

Ray Comfort 13:58

It was so loud . Strange it was 30 feet away , yelled out . Are you okay ?

Oscar Navarro 14:02

You're okay , you hear what happened . Why what happened ?

Ray Comfort 14:05

Well , I went and parked on the basement because it was World Surfing Championships . The parking building was packed and so I had not been down there before , went up an exit and it put me on the street and I want to use restrooms . So I had to go back in the parking building and I saw there was opening where cars go through . So I went through and the arm came down and hit me on the head . If I'd been a second earlier , it would hit me on the top of the head , would have sent me insane , which you would have known , who would have known the difference , how we have known , how we have known , but it hit me on the side of the head so it didn't crack my brain .

Oscar Navarro 14:32

There's gotta be a recording of this .

Emeal Zwayne 14:35

I was thinking here Like security recording . Oh , I know exactly what it is .

Ray Comfort 14:37

I would pay lots of money to get that . It's about 11-15 on Saturday morning .

Oscar Navarro 14:41

Can we reach out and see if we can get this on video ? Think about how many views it would get on YouTube .

Ray Comfort 14:47

I might , and a lot of happy atheists .

Emeal Zwayne 14:50

Bring it down , bring it down Ray , I think it is possible that you , of all people that have ever lived , have consumed more milk than anyone in history , cause you used to . I don't think you do anymore . You used to have three bowls of cereal a day .

Ray Comfort 15:05

I still consume a lot of milk , probably a couple of gallons every few days . I think it's raw milk .

Oscar Navarro 15:11

Warm , no not raw milk Raw .

Ray Comfort 15:15

It doesn't go past my eyes to go straight in the mouth , not past your eyes .

Mark Spence 15:18

We used to get delivered 16 gallons of milk every week to my house . What yeah , on Monday . Eight gallons on Monday and eight gallons on Thursday .

Oscar Navarro 15:26

Why Are ?

Mark Spence 15:26

you kidding me ? We love milk . We grew up with milk , oh good for you .

Emeal Zwayne 15:29

I love milk too . Strong bones , the landfrowing milk and honey .

Ray Comfort 15:33

Listen , I got a correction . It's not two gallons every few days , two gallons a week . That's what I go through now Two gallons a week .

Emeal Zwayne 15:39

Seriously , guys , I wanna research your brains , the stuff you guys enjoy . How can anybody enjoy milk unless they're a baby ?

Ray Comfort 15:49

I had a school year , what the Bible says a land flowing with milk .

Emeal Zwayne 15:53

And honey . Yes , but you didn't read the original Greek .

Ray Comfort 15:55

No , the honey is too sticky . It's just a land flowing with milk .

Mark Spence 15:58

No milk and chocolate . The first thing I did when I got here to the ministry was I put a cup of milk in the freezer for about a half an hour . Nice and cold . Why don't you have room temperature , Mark ? Do you call it room temperature ? Kinda sin , why would I do that ?

Emeal Zwayne 16:13

I'm sorry . Milk , I don't comprehend it . Milk with cereal yummy , with sugar , nice things . Milk with chocolate syrup or hot chocolate ?

Oscar Navarro 16:24

You're a sweet tooth is the problem I'm realizing .

Emeal Zwayne 16:27

Bro milk is disgusting .

Oscar Navarro 16:29

There's no flip .

Emeal Zwayne 16:30

They're so good they're so good .

Mark Spence 16:31

They're helping you to get to the mouth .

Emeal Zwayne 16:33

It's chewed grass Milk in my teeth wonderful .

Mark Spence 16:35

You need some milk Milk by itself . I don't know why I find out .

Emeal Zwayne 16:39

This is why your bones are fragile .

Ray Comfort 16:40

I don't wanna tell why you don't like it . Some cows chewed it and chewed grass , they spit it out .

Emeal Zwayne 16:46

And to milk , what's a car ?

Mark Spence 16:48

Car If you go to a spence dinner in Sioux City , iowa , where my family's all from . It's usually just a big pot of stew that's been simmering all day long , and then they just put a big old gallon of milk . Depending on how many people , two gallons of milk .

Oscar Navarro 17:03

You don't drink water . That is the widest thing for a six .

Emeal Zwayne 17:06

And you just made it worse by combining milk with food . How in the world can you ? That's like drinking coffee while eating food .

Mark Spence 17:13

I like milk with pizza . What ?

Emeal Zwayne 17:15

You do that too . Okay , anyway , we got a show to do . You guys just drive me nuts . Speaking of which , the parable of the milk . The sower , yeah , or the soils . It's been called different things .

Ray Comfort 17:26

All right , let's- . How do we get on to the thing ? I have no idea . I'm thirsty now .

Emeal Zwayne 17:30

It's you guys . All right , matthew 13, . I'll read portions and we'll stop beginning in verse 1 .

Jesus Explains the Purpose of Parables

Emeal Zwayne 17:38

On the same day , jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea . Stop .

Oscar Navarro 17:41

And great .

Emeal Zwayne 17:44

And great multitudes were gathered together to him so that he got into a boat and sat and the whole multitude stood on the shore . I mean , how cool is that ?

Ray Comfort 17:54

If you've been surfing , you know the wisdom of that . If you're out on a surfboard , there's no wind . You can hear surfers talking from two miles .

Emeal Zwayne 18:00

Okay , what is it about that ?

Ray Comfort 18:02

Because , there's nothing to hold the sound back , but I heard sound travels better on water .

Emeal Zwayne 18:08

It does , because there's not trees and things to rocks to slow it down .

Ray Comfort 18:11

It's just got Goes . And so when the crowd packed around Jesus , they would have trampled him to death , almost because they want to hear what he said . We just got him out in a boat and his voice was amplified by being on that boat . Yeah , just such wisdom . Obviously because he created everything and you know how it worked .

Emeal Zwayne 18:28

Ray , you appreciated acoustics , didn't you Open up preaching ? You'd always , wherever we go , I'd see you walk around . You do a clap . Oh yeah , right , it gets sound there .

Ray Comfort 18:37

No , no , I was encouraging myself and saying you're a good preacher .

Mark Spence 18:41

Pat on the back .

Ray Comfort 18:42

Yeah , check the acoustics , check the wind . Very important Doesn't matter at the beginning if there's a fountain by here , but after 20 minutes there's a fountain going sound like Niagara Falls after that 20 minutes . So it's really important to get the wind behind you and get good acoustics . What does the fountain sound like ? How do you spell that ? Ray T-H-A-T-T-H-A-T-R-A-Y .

Emeal Zwayne 19:05

Then he spoke many things to them in parables Stop .

Mark Spence 19:10

What is the purpose of a parable ? Why didn't you just speak plainly Well ?

Emeal Zwayne 19:14

he'll tell us Things in parable , saying Behold , a sower went out to sow and as he sowed , some seed fell by the wayside . What do you mean by seed Seed fell by the wayside ? This happens when you're on your sixth episode of the week and the birds came and devoured them . Some fell in stony places where they did not have much earth , and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth . But when the sun was up they were scorched and because they had no root they whithered away . And some fell among thorns and the thorns sprang up and choked them . But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop , some a hundredfold , some 60 , some 30 . He who has ears to hear , let him hear . So , so divine timing . So , sower , get it . Mark , mark , look confused . I'd explain it to you . Too much milk , too much milk .

Mark Spence 20:09

How do you live with yourself ? How does Rachel live with you ?

Emeal Zwayne 20:11

Gloriously , gloriously and so , yeah . So Jesus gives a parable . And Mark , you gave you , posed a good question . Verse 10 says and the disciples came and said to him why do you speak to them in parables ? He answered and said to them because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven , but to them it has not been given . Whoever has to him , more will be given and he will have abundance , but whoever does not have , even what he has will be taken away from him . Therefore , I speak to them in parables because seeing they do not see , hearing they do not hear , nor do they understand . And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled , which says Hearing you will hear and shall not understand , and seeing you will see and not perceive

Understanding the Parable of the Sower

Emeal Zwayne 20:50

.

Emeal Zwayne 20:50

For the hearts of this people have grown dull . Let me just camp there for just a second , guys . That's terrifying . To become dull of hearing , to not be struck with the power of the truth , of God's word . That's , I mean , that's kind of a pandemic . That's , I think , going on in America today , because people , I think , have become inoculated , don't you think , ray ?

Ray Comfort 21:15

Oh , john 3.16 has tatted on the forehead of almost every unsafe person . They just know it back and forth . You know , jesus died for me . Don't give me that junk , don't push it down my throat . I've got my life to live and we have a nation that's kind of inoculated , because the gospel has been preached without the law to make it make sense .

Emeal Zwayne 21:33

Yeah , hardness of heart .

Mark Spence 21:36

It's a terrifying thing Just picture all of the people that were around Jesus when he's teaching that . It's like an algebra class where all the students are just kind of nodding and but nobody's understanding what the professor is saying , except for maybe just a few . Well , that's kind of like what's happening here . Yeah Right , jesus is speaking in parables , and without a parable he did not speak to them . It says how crazy is it to hear the word of God , not understand it , and just walk away . Wow , just not caring , just walking away . And then there came a time where it says oh , look , now you're speaking plainly to us , right , he's a well , it's been granted you to understand .

Emeal Zwayne 22:14

Yeah , you didn't know into here . Yeah , and you think about the judgment of having heard God's word and rejected it . You know that's wow . I mean people talk today about , oh , I wish I lived in the day of Jesus and I would know for sure . Ah , you're going to keep greater condemnation on yourself if that were the scenario . You know , having heard , having seen and we've talked about it before , just seeing is not believing . I mean , the Roman soldiers saw that Christ rose again from the dead . That didn't do anything for them . We can go on and on with examples , but I mean , right , they knew that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead . That didn't change their heart . Now they wanted to kill him . They watched him heal people , but then they were so concerned about the . He violated the Sabbath . Blindness , man , is deep and destructive .

Oscar Navarro 23:06

I also think there's an aspect here that we've talked often on this podcast about the inverted kingdom , the upside down kingdom of Jesus . So , if you think about the kingdom of man , it's built by speakers , it's built by people who want to be heard , who are constantly talking , who you know ? The politicians , the power brokers , the entrepreneurs , the businessmen that can wax wisely and draw people near them . God's kingdom is being built by hearers , by listeners by ones that slow down and humbly learn at the feet of their Savior .

Emeal Zwayne 23:40

That's good , oscar . All right , so Jesus gives now the interpretation . I mean before that , in verse 16 , he said but blessed are your eyes for they see and your ears for they hear , for surely I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see and did not see it , and to hear what you hear and did not hear it .

Ray Comfort 23:56

Wow , that doesn't make sense . If you think Jesus was just a great teacher , you think what is he saying ? Blessed are you ? Because you're looking at me , wow , you know he's either the ultimate egotist or he's God in human form with a lowly heart , as Jesus said of himself . It's thrilling when you understand who Jesus is and what he said .

Mark Spence 24:17

Boy . It shows you what side of history you're on when you're listening to the parables of Jesus and you're not understanding them . You're on the side of judgment , wow , right . And if you are understanding them , you're on the side of mercy and grace . Yeah . And now hindsight , right , obviously 50-50, . But can you imagine being in that position and then hearing that maybe understanding that and being the disciples and going to us has been granted . Well then , where does that leave the them ? Into a place of judgment . Mm-hmm .

Emeal Zwayne 24:43

Terrifying to see Jesus say that and the inference that has made concerning that it's horrifying and you know , I don't know what made me do it yesterday , but the family and I were talking about just drunkenness and stuff and how it affects people . For some reason Richard Nixon came to mind and years ago I had listened to some of the tapes . I mean he taped himself and , boy , that was his undoing right Because so much incriminating evidence came out . But I went on to , you know , to just listen to something of his and it said some about Nixon talking on the phone , drunk or whatever , but he just blasphemed . It was crazy and I had to shut it off . But he started out by saying to the guy he was talking to did you like the God bless America part ? Because he said God like real , sincerely , god bless America . And he goes oh sir , that was so warm and so good . And I'm thinking listen to this .

Emeal Zwayne 25:38

Yes , man , right here , you know just going for it , and then he , and then he goes . I really meant it , I believe it with my whole heart . And then , not like a sentence or two later , he fully blasphemes God , I'm like , oh , I shut it off and I went to something with the JFK .

Ray Comfort 25:55

I'm sorry , easy York , your Nixon was really good . I am not a crock .

Emeal Zwayne 26:03

It's actually really good .

Mark Spence 26:04

Really , it's shaking your face . I feel prideful now . He looks just like him . I mean his current state Decaying .

Emeal Zwayne 26:14

But then I went on to listen to JFK and I regret it because he blasphemed Jesus . His name meant nothing and I'm just thinking man is there .

Ray Comfort 26:28

JFK . Jfk blasphemy Like , yeah , just Catholic . Yeah , what was the tape that you were listening to over there ?

Emeal Zwayne 26:35

It was just a phone recordings , Again same thing .

Ray Comfort 26:37

Oh phone recordings Phone recordings .

Emeal Zwayne 26:38

Yeah , yeah , so private , right ? I mean , they're not going to do it in public like that . But again , I was just thinking , man , that terrifying day when you stand in front of God and give account for every time you threw his name around like it was felt .

Ray Comfort 26:53

Look at how quickly he went into eternity .

Mark Spence 26:56

How often do we see that when we're witnessing or talking to someone and we see them , we hear them use God's name in vain . I don't know about you guys , but at that very moment I think of the weight of that . They have no idea that they are storing up the wrath of God that would be revealed on the day of judgment and I think of this very encounter is going to be on that day . Wow , you know , there's not a lot of things where we can say that it's like that , that we encounter , that we see because obviously we don't watch stuff that we shouldn't be watching but those sort of the blasphemy . It slips in out and about as we travel around , as we witness , as we share and just interact with people , and I go , oh boy .

Ray Comfort 27:34

Boy , it's so good to challenge someone and say why is it ? There's only one name throughout history that's been used as a curse word not Mother Teresa , not Mack , not Rasputin .

Oscar Navarro 27:43

Paulian Mark Spence . Sorry , I just stuck my toe .

Ray Comfort 27:45

Or Hitler , nobody , only Jesus Christ . And I ask a non-Christian why ? Why is Jesus Christ's name used so often internationally , not just in our nation but throughout the whole world ? And Jesus told us John 7 , 7 , the world hates me because I testify of its deeds that they're evil .

Emeal Zwayne 28:03

You know what blasphemy , especially of the name of Christ , I think testifies to me . More than anything , it's the demonic nature of it , because you think about how there are so many things people won't say because of superstition oh , don't say that You're gonna have bad luck or whatever . But they're not even superstitious enough to say , oh , I'm not gonna use the name of God or Jesus because , who knows , who knows ?

Oscar Navarro 28:25

You know what I mean .

Emeal Zwayne 28:26

I think it's so demonically infused and there's some people who do it with such gusto Like , and they say the name of the living Son of God .

Oscar Navarro 28:34

It's terrifying .

Emeal Zwayne 28:36

So Jesus gives the definition . Did I read it yet ? Oh no , I haven't . Okay , verse 18 . Therefore , hear the parable of the sower . When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it , then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart . This is he who received seed by the wayside , but he who received seed on stony places , this is he who hears a word and immediately receives it with joy . Yet he has no root in himself , but endures only for a while , for in tribulation and persecution arises because of the word . Immediately he stumbles . Now , he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears a word and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and he becomes unfruitful . But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it , who indeed bears fruit and produces some 100 fold , some 60 and some 30 . So there we have it , oscar , your thoughts .

Oscar Navarro 29:33

Yeah , we have three different kinds of quote-unquote Christians here . We've got the conceptual Christian , the cosmetic Christian and the careless Christian . The conceptual Christian to start . Maybe we can start there and we can go through all three of these individually . The conceptual Christian likes Christianity in theory , but they have not had a personal , powerful , transformational experience with the blood of Jesus Christ . It has not affected them personally .

Oscar Navarro 30:00

During COVID , when we started meeting as a church we opened up a little early we noticed a trend that there were some new people coming , but these new people were coming into our church personally . What we noticed is that they wanted us to spiritualize their political opinions . They liked the moral version of Christianity . They wanted to give money but they ultimately just wanted to spiritualize , like their moralism or their political positions . But when you dug in a little bit you realized that there was no personal conviction . It was like every time we preached about sin it was like , oh man , this Bible really knows the sin of those people . But they never walked away on a Sunday going man , thank you for pointing me to Christ . I needed grace in my life today . And so there's the conceptual Christian , the person that likes the idea of Christianity , the way it brings moralism in order to the world . But they have not had a personal experience , a transformational experience with the blood of Christ .

Emeal Zwayne 31:04

Yeah , that's true . And I'm thinking back , mark , to all the people that we knew back in the day when we were pastoring . But even before that , in the backyard days , when we had that Bible study and so many seemed so sincere , so legitimate , I mean I would have almost bet my life on them being genuine believers . And then it ends up being evident that they fall in line with what Oscar just shared .

Mark Spence 31:31

Yeah , I remember listening to one of those friends Teach on John 17 several years ago , when he was even in high school , and I remember thinking to myself Wow , what an amazing teaching this is . Yeah , and funny enough , I was on his website yesterday and he is trying to give advice on how to be sexually intimate with your spouse and he has an open relationship when they are allowed to do whatever they want to do , and he talks about dating porn stars .

Mark Spence 32:01

Yes , and this person actually became a pastor at yeah , at one point , and not my church , and he had walked away from that . Yeah and I remember just looking , looking at his website , thinking what happened to you ? Yeah , what happened to you . I was just overwhelmed with emotion as I was looking at this pompous Individual who has no regard for anyone or anything other besides himself . Person after person . After person has just fallen away .

Emeal Zwayne 32:35

Yeah , and , and it seems like those who once professed Christ and then go back to the world . It seems like there are a hundred times worse Than they were before .

Oscar Navarro 32:47

It's almost like they're trying to make up for lost time , or something you know , yeah , and that sort of brings us to the second one , which is the cosmetic Christian . Because there are some people and again I'm using that word Christian loosely because they're , you know it appears that they're not actually believers . It seems like they receive Christ with joy at the very beginning , like it seems like they have a personal Revelatory moment with the blood of Christ . But as life moves on , as they experience pain or suffering , as life doesn't turn out the way they maybe they wanted it to , they begin to abandon God altogether . These people , at the beginning they would say they want to be a part of the kingdom of God . But if you search their hearts , really what they want is God to be a part of their kingdom , manly kingdom . And I love the way dr Keller calls it . He says these guys want blessers , not a savior . They want a sugar daddy , not a king . They want to suffer . They are sufferers in need of solution rather than sinners in need of a savior .

Emeal Zwayne 33:48

Wow , that's good .

Understanding the Parable and True Conversion

Emeal Zwayne 33:50

So , ray , you've done some teachings on this parable and , I believe , a job , ray . Yeah , I believe congratulations , yeah , good guy .

Mark Spence 33:59

Good guy , good guy .

Emeal Zwayne 34:04

This TV show I you know , when we go to the Paris Olympics I want to look for that guy . Yeah , I bet he's still out . He's still out there .

Ray Comfort 34:14

That's from that television program , season four .

Emeal Zwayne 34:17

Yeah , yeah . Those of you who've heard the podcast for any amount of time , you've heard us talk about Alan . Yes , my name , alan was TV show . So , ray , give us some insight .

Ray Comfort 34:28

Yeah , the the key to the parable so is what Jesus said was disciples , when they didn't understand the parable . So he says , in verse 13 of one of the instances again , mark for , I think Do you not understand this parable ? How then will you understand all parables , in other words , the parable the sower , which talks about true and false . Conversion , is the key to unlock the mystery . All the other parables , the wheat and the tears , true and false . Foolish virgins and the wise , true and false . The sheep and the goats , true and false . The good fish and the bad fish , true and false . Those who'll be cast out on the day of judgment , who were continued to be workers of iniquity . Jesus will say I never knew you depart me , worker of iniquity . And that's why it's so important to use the Lord to bring the knowledge of sin , because if you look at the virtue of the good soil , here are the genuine convert is he that receives the seed , and a good and honest heart Doesn't say that he's good , he receives it . And a good and honest heart . In other words , he's honest about his own sinfulness . And that's why I continually say to people when I witness to them Do you understand ? This is making sense , because I want to know if it's making sense to see if they're receiving it in a good and Honest heart .

Ray Comfort 35:35

They're the ones that receive the word and bring forth fruit , some 60 , some 40 , some 100 fold the wayside here , as he receives the seed , but because he doesn't value it , he lets the devil take it away . There's no understanding . Which is what the law brings by the law is the knowledge of sin . Paul said I had not known sin . But by the law , scripture says the law is a school master . What does a school master do ? It teaches . It brings knowledge . A school master to bring us to Christ .

Ray Comfort 36:03

So it's so essential to open up the law as deep as Jesus did and Expound the spiritual nature of the law Lust as adultery , hatred is murder , lying lips and abomination to the Lord . To bring the knowledge of sin so that the sinner will understand the cross and Value the word that spoke to . But not let it , did not let the devil take it away . The stony ground here I see that receives the seed and it goes in , but because it's stony ground in a time of tribulation , temptation and persecution , when the Sun comes out , it withers and dies and that's the only way to tell us someone's a genuine convert . It's time . Just let them come under tribulation , temptation , persecution . Let them go into a lion's den while their fists get of the heavens or they get to their knees . That's the difference between true and false . Then there's the thorny ground . Here he receives the word , but the love of money and riches and the cares of other things overtake him and choke the word why ?

Ray Comfort 36:59

because he doesn't value it . He hasn't understood the value of what we have in Christ . We don't have a religion . We have the very source of life Living within us . We've conquered death , and so I couldn't care less about riches compared to what I have in Christ , and so I value Jesus and I'm gonna hold on to him right through into eternity .

Oscar Navarro 37:21

It's good .

Emeal Zwayne 37:22

Yeah , you know you think through all of those and you can first identify with having Temptations in the past and connection with those you know as believers we all have . I mean , Christ was tempted to worship Satan . You know he was tempted to test God and so you know it's important for us to remember that we can identify . But but , Ray , I like what you said right , we all face tribulation , but which direction are you gonna go ? And that's gonna be determined by whether or not you're really regenerated , Whether or not you really are that good soil here , who who's been transformed and converted . It transforms everything .

Ray Comfort 38:02

We don't go from one hero to the other . You're either one of the heroes or you're not . If we good soil here You're gonna hold , you're gonna bring forth fruit . Jesus sent his lambs among walls . Hmm , why ? Because if they were good soil , they're gonna stay . He said . Whoever puts his hand to the plow and looks back isn't fit for the king and the word fit in the Greek as you . That oh , which means ready for use . The soil has been turned by the , by the spate of God's law , to receive the seed that's going to bring forth fruit . So so important to make sure those who hear the gospel Understand what you're talking about , otherwise it's gonna just bounce off them .

Emeal Zwayne 38:36

Yeah , mark , before Oscar hits us with that third C , the doctrine of eternal security . I , because I know there's some listening to us now and there's that , that terror . Oh no , what if I'm ? What if I'm one of those you know those here that fell on on any soil besides a good soil , and there is a place where we need to examine ourselves to see .

Mark Spence 38:59

Yeah , Well , listen , by virtue . The fact that you're concerned is a is a great place to be . You know , when Jesus said , depart from your worker of iniquity , I never knew you , he couldn't actually say that if at one point he actually knew you . Right , he's not schizophrenic , right ? Amidst of that , he who Jesus saves , he saves to the uttermost and the gutter most , as one person had said , as salvation belongs to him , well then it belongs to him and we're gonna be kept in him . I like the way race says it . Right , it's not once saved , always save , but it's if saved , always saved . You know , are you saved ? Examine yourself to see if you are in the faith . And it's better to examine yourself now than on the day of judgment , when you do hear those fearful words depart from you , worker of Iniquity , I never knew you , yeah .

Mark Spence 39:40

So , yeah , the importance of knowing who we are in him brings a sense of a security , but it also leads to eternal security .

Emeal Zwayne 39:47

Yeah , amen , yeah , and I want to encourage those listening now who Do have a fear of God , you do believe the gospel , you have seen transformation in your life , you are broken over your sin , that you do cry out to God For forgiveness . I want to encourage you to hold on to the fact that he holds on to you , mm-hmm , that no one will snatch you out of his hand . Nothing will separate you from his love . He has sealed you with the Holy Spirit of promise , and so there is a place for examining . But there has to come a place once you've discovered way . I do fear God , I do love God . It's his doing , and then you need to rest in him , right ?

Ray Comfort 40:25

Yeah , I think it's important and consoling to examine who it was that Jesus was saying depart from me . He said depart me you workers of iniquity , mm-hmm , that's those who work lawlessness , also you who practice lawlessness .

Emeal Zwayne 40:39

Yeah , practice lawlessness .

Ray Comfort 40:40

So if you call yourself a Christian but you are violating that law , you're committing adultery or lying and stealing and blaspheming you really need to get before the Lord and say I need you to create a clean heart me Because and if you're a Christian that stays away from sin , then you , if you , can take total assurance of your salvation . God is faithful . He's able to keep you from falling and present you faultly , present you faultless before the presence of the glory with exceeding joy . No one will pluck you out of his hand , as he said .

Oscar Navarro 41:08

That's good , yeah , that third one , ray , you alluded to it which is the careless Christian . I call it careless because they have a divided heart . They think they're .

Ray Comfort 41:17

They're following the kingdom of God sinner would probably be better .

Oscar Navarro 41:19

I like sinner . Okay , yeah , I knew you were gonna say something like that . They , they have a divided heart . Their loyalty is split between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of man . They are always anxious and worried because , yeah , they want to worship God , but they also worship their financial security . Yeah , they want to worship God , but they also worship their moral superiority . Yeah , they want to worship God , but they also worship their own reputation . And the reality about God is that he does not share his throne . You cannot be a dual citizen in God's kingdom . You are either bowing to God , the Lord of Lords and the King and Kings , or you're bowing to man . There's no which way about it .

Emeal Zwayne 42:00

Yeah , absolutely

Understanding Salvation and Evangelism

Emeal Zwayne 42:02

yeah . And again , this was not communicated haphazardly , it wasn't communicated whimsically , this was communicated purposefully by Jesus and he explained it . It's , it's one of the few parables that he actually opened up isn't it neat to have the the correct interpretation .

Ray Comfort 42:23

Oh , the best commentary in the world .

Emeal Zwayne 42:26

By God himself . Yeah , it's just wonderful friends and and this should give us Understanding as we observe , things at times can be confusing to us . Wait , why , why is this guy responding this way now ? I mean , he seemed to be so on fire for the Lord and he seemed to love God . What's going on ? No , I mean crisis is making it clear and and this isn't you know , something that should surprise Christians . I mean , jesus talked about the wheat and the tears that you know , the fish that I mean , he gave different parables on this and , ray , you said there's that key of understanding of true and false conversion .

Emeal Zwayne 42:57

Yeah and so . So it's important for us to Understand that and then to recognize that , friends , salvation is of the Lord . We have to , we have to grasp that and we have to know and understand that God saves . And if you are looking to your different Mechanisms as the source for people coming to Christ , that's a scary place to be . We have to have that yearning in our heart to see people saved . But if we get confused and thinking , man , if I , if I just get this right analogy , if I , if I preach with enough passion , if I find this person at the right time , then they're gonna get saved , hey , god can orchestrate through that . Yeah , he could give you the right tone , you can give you the right words , you could give you the right illustration , the right scripture to heart and mind . But it's him who saves . Seriously , guys , isn't that ? Isn't that so refreshing to know these not only just the author , but also the finisher of our faith ?

Ray Comfort 44:02

means you can relax in your evangelism .

Emeal Zwayne 44:04

Yeah , yeah , salvation is of the Lord and and I think people sense that right , if you're , if you're like trying to close a deal and trying to , you know I got to do this versus , hey , I'm at peace . You know , I went out with with a guy not long ago that that I interviewed on our YouTube channel and it was such a joy to sit there with him and just be totally at peace and to be able to say to him I'm not here to earn my salvation . You know that I'm not being paid to sit here with you right now . I'm not trying to earn God's favor . All that is sealed and done for me , good , I love you so good , and I'm here to be a conduit through which God works to divinely reach you .

Oscar Navarro 44:44

It is free and let me say this to anybody who's listening to this and realize that maybe you're one of these seeds that are falling on rocky ground , that are being choked out by weeds and you're afraid . You're afraid to to give up on your earthly kingdom endeavors . I would point you to Matthew 16 , verse 24 to 26 , which Jesus says if anyone wants to come with me , he must deny himself , take up his cross and follow me . And here it is , for whoever wants to save his life Will lose it , but whoever loses his life because of me will find it . The Lord is inviting you into a place of repentance in which you give up your life to get your life and the promise , the power of being able to do that comes when we realize that it's Jesus himself that gives his life up first so that we could have a life . Amen .

Emeal Zwayne 45:36

Great word , oscar . All right , friends , there you have it , you've got the parable , you got the interpretation and you got our insanity all Rolled up in one glorious bundle . Friends , don't forget the million dollar bill gospel tract . A couple hundred million have gone out . Get them , give them . And don't forget the Living Waters mug , the evidence study Bible . All at Living Waters Come . That was great , right , thank you , friends . And don't forget podcast of living waters . Calm with your thoughts and comments and insights , and remember to give us your Comments and your rating , wherever and whatever and whoever , and I'm done . Thank you for joining us , friends , we'll see you here next time on the Living Waters podcast . The ultimate cure for insomnia .

Ray Comfort 46:28

It's the first time you got it right . Oh , oh and oh shit im dead .