The Living Waters Podcast

In today's episode, the guys discuss the life of Jonathan Edwards. Looking at the lives and testimonies of Godly saints offers us a different perspective, inspiration and instruction. Jonathan Edwards is one of the most famous and impactful intellectuals to come out of American history, even in the secular world. His sermon, Sinners In The Hands of An Angry God, is studied in high schools and colleges alike.  Jonathan Edwards was born in 1703 in East Windsor, Connecticut. He is known as a great theologian, philosopher, a British American puritanism, a stimulator of the religious revival known as the Great Awakening and one of the forerunners of the age of Protestant missionary expansion in the 19th century. Rather than some theologians we hear about who lead poor family lives, Edwards was a dedicated husband and father to 11 children. The beauty of reading old theologians from a different era is that they had different blind spots than we do. This allows us to view things from a different lens and reveals more about who we are and the culture we live in today. Edwards became saved in 1721 under a delightful conviction meditating on 1 Timothy 1:17. His impact comes largely from the fact that he spent much time alone with God in the wilderness. At the age of 18, he had written 70 resolutions and meditated on them every single week of his life. Edwards and his impacts are considered to be cross-denominational. When he gave his sermon Sinners In The Hands of An Angry God, it was a frequent thing to witness a house full of outcries, convulsions and more coming from the audience with distress, admiration and joy. We often hesitate to bring fear into our gospel proclamations, however they should really be thoroughly flavored with fear. Edwards is someone who started life with the end in mind and lived a calculated existence. As the episode wraps up, we are encouraged to live a life dedicated to the Lord just like Edwards did, and remember that no figure is perfect.  Thanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating!  Links:Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Send us a textThanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating! Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Check out The Evidence Study Bible and the Basic Training Course.You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.Ray ComfortEmeal (“E.Z.”) ZwayneMark SpenceOscar Navarro

In today's episode, the guys talk about the signs of God’s judgment on nations. There are many people within the church who are hesitant and afraid to talk about the aspect of God judging, but this is an important part of the story of the gospel. In order for us to truly understand the gospel, we have to see Him as a judgemental God. In the Old Testament, a nation is important because of God’s plan to do something through them. In the New Testament, the nation changes from a homogenous group of people to His church. According to Revelation, every single country nation is essentially Babylon, a prostitute to God’s goodness. God promises to destroy Babylon. Man derives pleasure from lawlessness and there is a fearful future that awaits those who indulge. We Christians simply can’t survive today’s day and age with just a brief devotion every morning. Rather, we need to grab a hold of God’s word and allow God’s word to go through us. The gospel is the ultimate hope for our nation. It’s easy to feel depressed and pessimistic when we look at the world around us, but the Gospel offers  hope. We must not fear for our children to grow up in this world, but instead be honored that God chose us to parent the generation facing the biggest challenges of our lifetime. God isn't scratching His head trying to figure out what to do with this world. He is preparing an army to drive away the darkness and to make Himself known over all the world. People don’t look at sin from the perspective of a holy, righteous and pure God. From our own perspectives as sinners, it’s easier to brush off. One of the biggest disservices we can do is assimilate ourselves into the way of the world. We should be in the world, but not of the world and watch God’s transforming powers work through us. We as a nation have lost God’s blessings of long life, health and prosperity as we have turned our backs on Him. With God’s commandments, we are reminded, comes blessings for obedience. Restoration all begins with revivals and repentance within ourselves.  Thanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating!  Links:Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Send us a textThanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating! Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Check out The Evidence Study Bible and the Basic Training Course.You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.Ray ComfortEmeal (“E.Z.”) ZwayneMark SpenceOscar Navarro

In today’s episode, the guys consider the topic of near-death experiences.  These phenomena seem to be rather common, and scientific study has even started to lend credence to them.  We as Christians may be inclined to write off these experiences, or even to be swayed by the emotional testimony of someone who claims to have had one.  But we need to consider near-death experiences with a respectful, humble attitude.  Like the Bereans, we want to hold the things we’re told up to the rubric of Scripture and see how they stack up.  So, does the Bible have anything specific to say about near-death experiences?  It offers ten examples of related situations, along with seven visions of heaven.  The common theme across all of these biblical events is the glory of God producing humility and fear, and these events offer parameters for how we might see God truly use near-death experiences today.  We also have a couple of important biblical guardrails to bear in mind as we consider near-death experience stories: the guardrail of the completeness of biblical revelation, and the guardrail of biblical context.  These two guardrails, the guys explain, teach us not to trust stories that claim to add to biblical revelation, and also keep us from proof-texting in our efforts to hold experience up to Scripture. While most near-death-experience stories ultimately miss the bar of biblical reliability, there is often reason to believe that those who claim to have had near-death experiences have, in fact, experienced something.  We don’t have to understand what exactly it is, though scientific research and studies based on cultural context offer some basic hints.  It is also absolutely possible for God to use near-death experiences to draw people to Himself; we don’t want to write off this possibility any more than we want to assume it.  Finally, we should bear in mind that near-death experiences, if nothing else, offer a segway to talk about the Bible.  They inherently involve the topic of death, which should direct our eyes to the One who rendered death powerless by defeating it on the cross! Thanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating!  Links:Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!Check out The Evidence Study Bible.Send us a textThanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating! Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Check out The Evidence Study Bible and the Basic Training Course.You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.Ray ComfortEmeal (“E.Z.”) ZwayneMark SpenceOscar Navarro

Today’s episode features another special conversation recorded at the recent NRB Conference!  This time, Eddie is joined by Living Waters VP of Outreach and Operations, Miguel, to conduct the interview.  This interview is actually more of a testimony, and the guys are excited to introduce listeners to the encouraging and challenging story of guest Virginia Prodan!  Virginia is the author of Saving My Assassin, a memoir recounting her experience as a lawyer defending persecuted Christians in Communist Romania under the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu. Virginia trained to be a lawyer, with the stated aim of finding truth in the law books so that she could stand up for it in the midst of her troubled society.  Rather than finding truth in law, an unexpected visit to a client’s church led Victoria to see that the truth was, in fact, Jesus Christ.  She was converted, and saw that it was a God-given mission for her to defend the persecuted Christians no one else would defend.  As she fought on behalf of believers, she was declared an enemy of the state, arrested, beaten, and tortured.  Eventually, she even became the target of an assassination order.  Virginia’s God-enabled display of peace and love under profound pressure had a marked impact on those around her - from guards shaken by her forgiveness to her assassin who, with gun in hand, believed the gospel message she shared with him.  Virginia’s efforts had the attention not only of her nation’s dictator, but of the watching world, and even such prominent figures as President Ronald Reagan.  As she watched, she saw God at work bending the most powerful men in the world to do His bidding, protecting her, and ultimately reshaping her nation from a place of deep darkness to a place where Christians thrive.   Virginia hopes that her story will urge other believers to speak up and act on behalf of truth, letting themselves be used as tools in God’s hands.  In this way, they will see His power on display, and may even find themselves used to reshape the trajectory of their entire nation! Thanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating!  Links:Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!Check out Virginia’s website to contact her, find resources, and check out her book!Learn more about NRB and its recent Send us a textThanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating! Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Check out The Evidence Study Bible and the Basic Training Course.You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.Ray ComfortEmeal (“E.Z.”) ZwayneMark SpenceOscar Navarro

Today, the guys share a special interview recorded at the recent NRB Conference!  The episode features not only theological and practical discussion, but a healthy dose of ribbing between an Australian and out resident New Zealander.  Who is the Australian, you ask?  He is none other than Ken Ham, CEO and founder of Answers in Genesis and a key figure in the development of the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum!  Oscar and his producer friend Eddie Roman caught up with Ken at the conference, and first asked him what the problem is in being a Christian and believing in evolution.  The problem, Ken explains, boils down to the need to take God at His Word and uphold the authority of the Bible.  If we work man’s view into our worldview and rework God’s Word to fit it in the area of creation and evolution, what is to keep us from doing the same elsewhere?  Even now, we’re seeing the generational impact of compromising worldview formulation, and the undercutting of Genesis 1-11 - the foundation of everything else to come - is leaving people open to question the rest of the Bible, too.   Moving forward, Ken, Oscar, and Eddie consider whether or not Christians are anti-science.  This question, Ken argues, requires careful definitions of terms.  There is a distinction between observational and historical science, and both Christians and non-Christians generally agree on the observational side of things.  Along the historical vein, there is frequent disagreement, but both the Christian perspective and the non-Christian “scientific” view require forms of faith.  Evolutionists, after all, believe in things that they cannot see or scientifically prove.  Ken roots the willingness to accept the wild notions of naturalism rather than affirming that God spoke and created in human nature and sin before wrapping up the interview with a connection to CRT, updates on the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum, and an introduction to his new book, Divided Nation. Thanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating!  Links:Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!Check Ken’s books, Divided Nation and Creation to Babel.Learn more about Answers in Genesis, the Ark EncounterSend us a textThanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating! Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Check out The Evidence Study Bible and the Basic Training Course.You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.Ray ComfortEmeal (“E.Z.”) ZwayneMark SpenceOscar Navarro

In today's episode, the guys talk about sinless perfection and its many errors. There are two angles people most often take to this topic. First is that once you’re saved, if you’re really saved, then you become completely sanctified and you will never sin. The second view is that you can get to a place where you grow so much in the process of sanctification where you no longer sin. Those that hold on to sinless perfectionism not only don’t understand what the Scripture says, but they also don’t understand the true nature of sin itself. If a person was actually tuned in with both of those things, they would never believe they were perfect or could be perfect. To believe yourself free of sin is a sin in itself.  Especially for young believers, the doctrine of sinless perfection is extremely harmful because it bypasses the Gospel. Ecclesiastes 4:20 says “There is no one on earth who is righteous. No one who does what is right and never sins.”, while 1 John 1:8 tells Christians “If we say we have no sins, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”  We can never attain the level of Christ and must not forget what he did for us. Even if we’re not as far as sinless perfection, we Christians all need to be weary of the pull towards legalism and ​​antinomianism, through which we may give no weight to sin. Sin is not an enemy out there, but rather a beast that we are all constantly fighting from within. The Scripture tells us that even as Christians, we are living in habitual sin and rebellion from God. It is natural to desire a life without sin after we have been saved, but we must remember that we have the advocate of the Father on our side. We often talk about sin as simply the act of doing something unrighteous. Augustin saw sin as ultimately disjointed loves. As long as we live in this fallen and broken world as fallen and broken people, we are going to sin.  Thanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating!  Links:Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Send us a textThanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating! Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Check out The Evidence Study Bible and the Basic Training Course.You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.Ray ComfortEmeal (“E.Z.”) ZwayneMark SpenceOscar Navarro

In today's episode, the guys focus on sanctification.  Sanctification occurs in two parts: initial sanctification occurs instantaneously when a person is saved and is all God's work.  This initial change involves being set apart for God and delivered from the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of Christ.  After conversion, we spend the rest of our earthly lives going through progressive sanctification, which is grounded in God's work of conforming us more and more to the image of Christ as we are involved and responsive. We play a passive role through dependence on God, and an active role through obeying and yielding to God.  God will ultimately complete the work He has begun of making us each holy as He is holy, but He uses our involvement as a means by which He completes this work.  Since we were made positionally holy at the time of initial sanctification, progressive sanctification is actually the process by which we become who we already are in Christ.  We are new creations, and as the flesh and Spirit continue to war within us, we can know that the completion of our sanctification is sure! There are several different views of sanctification, and the guys highlight the Wesleyan view with its practice of waiting for God to simply sanctify people out of certain sins.  Contrary to this view, the testimony of Scripture is that we must not sit on our hands, but rather get up and get moving!  The sign of a true Christian, the guys explain, isn't that someone has arrived.  Rather, it is that someone is sensitive to sin, continually responding to it by repenting and turning to Christ.  As the conversation winds down, the guys talk about the need for patience and accountability in relationships among Christians, as well as the importance of being in the Word every day.  We need to hear from God if we are to be changed; this requires the self-control of a daily commitment, and at times may require developing a taste for the different flavors of Scripture through increasing in knowledge of God Himself.  Ultimately, all the effort required of us is well worth it, as we can see the sweet reality of God renewing us after the image of His Son! Thanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating!  Links:Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!Check out The Evidence Study Bible.Send us a textThanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating! Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Check out The Evidence Study Bible and the Basic Training Course.You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.Ray ComfortEmeal (“E.Z.”) ZwayneMark SpenceOscar Navarro

In today's episode, the guys talk about Christian justification, the foundation upon which our faith is built. Justification by faith is one of the pillars of the reformation. Justification is defined as an act of God’s grace wherein he pardons all of our sins and accepts us as righteous in His sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone. To be justified means more than to be declared not guilty, but rather to be declared righteous before God. Today, the doctrine of justification is under attack, specifically by Christians in the deconstruction movement.  However, confusing justification and sanctification will undermine the gospel and turn justification by face into justification by performance.  If we have been declared righteous, then sanctification will complete its work inside of us on that day when we see Him. The work of grace is absolute thoroughness because it comes from God, not from us. Oscar speaks to the significance of double-impunity and the selflessness of Christ becoming sin for us so that we may become the righteousness of God before Him. Often, we become so accustomed to the world of our faith that concepts like this don’t contain the weight they deserve. The more we see ourselves as sinners, however, the more graceful God seems in our eyes. We can’t begin to imagine God’s anger and wrath towards our sins. When we understand the righteousness of God and his wrath towards sin and sinners, then we are truly able to understand the love and grace shown to us on the cross. Diminishing His wrath also diminished His love and grace. Shifting gears, the guys discuss justification as a theology which should penetrate our daily lives, seep into the trenches of everything we do. Humans are programmed to be constantly justifying our own actions. When we truly understand what God has done for us and that he is ultimately pleased with us, all of those fears melt away.  Justification fortifies our life of those things, and what a relief that is!  Thanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating!  Links:Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Send us a textThanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating! Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Check out The Evidence Study Bible and the Basic Training Course.You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.Ray ComfortEmeal (“E.Z.”) ZwayneMark SpenceOscar Navarro

In today's episode, the guys talk about Christian discipleship and what it should look like. Not only do we see discipleship mentioned throughout the New Testament, it is at the very heart of the Great Commission. We often don’t focus enough on the fact that God holds all authority of heaven and earth. The guys define discipleship as any student, pupil, apprentice or adherent as opposed to a teacher. In the ancient world, it is associated with people devoted to a religion or philosophy. People tend to view the Great Commission as a commandment to go out and create converts, but really it commands us to make disciples. Disciples are followers of Jesus whose lives are marked by God and reflect His glory through thought, word and deed. The only way to make a disciple is by sharing a life with them and true discipleship is seeing how this individual we are looking up to handles day to day affairs.  The word disciple comes from the word discipline, which is exactly what we need to be a part of God’s army. Knowing that discipleship is a lifestyle creates better accountability for every believer. You can not make a disciple unless you are a disciple yourself. Christians are called to share the content of the gospel in the context of relationships that reflect God’s relationship with us. Then, they guys share advice for communicating with someone in a loving way when the conversation has gone off the path. On one hand, we should not be afraid to challenge a Biblical brother in his sin. On the other hand, we must be the type of person who is willing to confess his own sins. Part of Biblical discipleship is being comfortable in calling out our brothers. We must also realize that if we are not being disciples to our children, they will in turn be discipled by other people. The only real sign of true Christian growth is a life rooted in holiness.  Thanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating!  Links:Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Send us a textThanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating! Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Check out The Evidence Study Bible and the Basic Training Course.You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.Ray ComfortEmeal (“E.Z.”) ZwayneMark SpenceOscar Navarro

In today's episode, the guys talk about the importance of Christian counseling.  Christian counseling is one means by which we may look at ourselves and our health in a holistic way; that is, from physical, spiritual, and mental lenses.  While people looking for counsel need to follow advice that Ray offers to read the Bible and obey what they read, they also need to understand that physical and mental realities impact overall well-being.  Counseling, the guys go on to explain, is a modern-day need.  It has not always been available, and Christians have lived for centuries without it.  However, the shift to modernity (and the isolation modernity fosters) has not been good for the human soul, and has created the need for a dedicated space for focused conversation on matters of the heart.  These conversations do not all need to take place in formal counseling contexts, though.  At its core, Christian counseling is simply Christians talking together, speaking truth to one another, and exhorting one another. Not all counseling calls itself "Christian," and even church counseling can be unhelpful.  The guys dive into what to look for and what to avoid in counseling, first warning against the dangers of secular counseling.  Secular counseling lacks a foundational sense of human nature, sin, and the remedy of the gospel.  It also tends to either offer no constructive input at all or point the counselee inward to the self.  Church counseling can go awry, as well, by taking a "just stop it" approach to helping people.  What people truly need is counseling that gets to the heart, seeing where they may be harboring idols and how the gospel applies to their lives and struggles.  The guys offer extensive counseling resources to explore, run through counseling principles, and explain why they espouse a counseling model called nouthetic counseling.  Nouthetic counseling involves "confronting a friend" and leads the guys to their final charge to listeners: do the work of counselors simply by speaking truth and wisdom into others' lives! Thanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating!  Links:Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!Check out Ray’s book God Speaks. You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Send us a textThanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating! Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Check out The Evidence Study Bible and the Basic Training Course.You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.Ray ComfortEmeal (“E.Z.”) ZwayneMark SpenceOscar Navarro