Program 250
Living By Faith & Not By Sight

Learn what it means to live by faith and not by sight in this deeply insightful, inspiring program.

Welcome to WLC Radio, a subsidiary of World’s Last Chance Ministries, an online ministry dedicated to learning how to live in constant readiness for the Savior's return.

For two thousand years, believers of every generation have longed to be the last generation. Contrary to popular belief, though, Christ did not give believers “signs of the times” to watch for. Instead, he repeatedly warned that his coming would take even the faithful by surprise. Yahushua urgently warned believers to be ready because, he said, “The Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” [Matthew 24:44]

WLC Radio: Teaching minds and preparing hearts for Christ's sudden return.

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Part 1: (Miles & Dave)

Miles Robey: Martin Luther King, Junior was an American minister famous for his social activism. He won the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize for how he fought racial inequality with nonviolent resistance. If anyone understood acting on faith to do the right thing, he did. He once wrote, quote, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” Author, poet, and educator Patrick Overton, in a statement remarkably similar to one by Irish/Canadian novelist O. R. Melling, puts it another way. He says, quote, “When you come to the edge of all the light you have, and must take a step into the darkness of the unknown, believe that one of two things will happen. Either there will be something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly.”

Hello, my name is Miles Robey and you’re listening to World’s Last Chance Radio where we cover a variety of topics related to Scripture, prophecy, Biblical beliefs, practical piety and constant readiness for Yahushua’s return, whenever that may be. I don’t know who came up with the quote first, Overton or Melling, but I wanted to mention both of their names because their statements are so similar, one clearly drew inspiration from—if not outright plagiarized—the other. But it’s a good quote illustrating faith. It’s knowing that Yahuwah will provide us with ground to stand on, or He’ll give us wings to fly.

Today, Dave Wright is going to be sharing with us what it means to live by faith and not by sight.

Dave? Faith is vital to the Christian walk. We all know this. But what does it mean to live by faith and not by sight? On a practical level, what does this look like?

Dave Wright: That’s a good question. Let’s start with the Bible passage where we find this phrase. Would you please turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and read verse 7 for us? That’s 2 Corinthians 5, verse 7.

Miles: Sure, uh . . . It says: “For we live by faith, not by sight.”

Kind of a short verse. Not much there.

Dave: Right. So let’s look at this in context. Chapter 5 is just a continuation of Paul’s teaching in chapter 4. Chapter 4 starts out with Paul saying, “Therefore, since through [Yah’s] mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.”

Why don’t we lose heart? Because we have … faith. Read verses 6 and 7 of chapter 4.

Miles: “For [Yahuwah], who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of [Yahuwah’s] glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from [Yahuwah] and not from us.”

Dave: The treasure we hold inside is the light that comes from knowledge of Yah. This produces faith in us. Romans 12:3 tells us that Yahuwah has gifted everyone a portion of faith. Faith is what strengthens us to face life’s trials. What do verses 8 and 9 say?

Miles: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”

Dave: It is because of faith that we can be “hard pressed on every side, but not crushed.” In life, there will certainly be many times we’re perplexed, “but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” That’s what faith does for us. It strengthens us to endure.

Drop down now to verse 16.

Miles: Uhhh … “Therefore—”

Dave: Therefore. Consequently. As a result. Because of this reason … what?

Miles: “. . . We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Dave: This is the main point of Paul’s message here. The future that awaits the faithful—eternity lived in the joy of Yahuwah’s kingdom—is worth any amount of struggle in this life.

Paul is longing for that promised future, and it is the prize that awaits that keeps him focused. He doesn’t allow the problems of daily living to distract him. He stays focused and that’s what lets him continue preaching in the face of the intense persecution he faced. He knows that, even if he loses his temporal life, if he stays faithful he’ll still gain eternal life.

Paul is inviting all believers to embrace this same mindset. He tells us we can have confidence in Yah’s promises. This is what lets us focus on the future, rather than the current trials. Let’s keep going. Start reading with verse one of 2 Corinthians 5. Paul’s going to use a metaphor here, likening our current physical bodies to an earthly tent.

Okay, go ahead.

Miles:

For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from [Yah], an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is [Yahuwah], who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight.

Dave: Verse 7, short as it is, is the summation of everything Paul’s said before: we live by faith, not by sight. It’s contrasting what we are to do with what we are not to do. We are to live by faith. That’s what we’re to do. We are not to live by sight.

Miles: Faith in … Christ?

Dave: Faith in Yahuwah and what He’s done for us through the life and death of Yahushua.

Now, we’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: faith is not feeling! Faith is what you exercise when you’re not feeling it. When you’re afraid; when you lack confidence. That’s when you exercise faith.

Grab your dictionary behind you and read the definition of faith for us.

I noticed you’re just leaving it here all the time now.

Miles: Yeah. I should just memorize the definition of faith. Then I could just rattle it off when you need it. Let’s see . . . It says “faith” is

Belief; the assent of the mind to the truth of what is declared by another, resting on his authority and veracity, without other evidence; the judgment that what another states or testifies is the truth. [Faith is] the assent of the mind to the truth of a proposition advanced by another; belief, on probably evidence of any kind.

Dave: Basically, faith boils down to a choice. We like to feel brave, we like to feel confident. But sometimes—even often times—circumstances leave us feeling afraid and lacking confidence. It’s at those times that we exercise faith: we choose to believe that what Yahuwah has stated is true because of who He is as a being. He’s reliable. He's trustworthy.

Miles: He’s all-powerful.

Dave: Yeah, that helps, too. When you’re in need, knowing that He’s the Creator and has all power lets you have faith—your mind can agree that the promise is true—based on the character and might and power of the promise-giver. That, and He’s infinitely loving as well.

We find this concept in Hebrews 11. What does verse 1 say?

Miles: Give me just a sec and I’ll tell you …

It says: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Dave: The marginal reference for “substance” is “basis.” Faith is the basis or foundation of things hoped for. But the author of Hebrews doesn’t stop there. He takes it one step further. He says faith is the evidence—the proof!—of things not yet seen. Now that’s quite the statement.

The fact that we have faith at all—because, remember, Yah has given to everyone a portion of faith—the fact that we have any faith at all is proof of things not yet seen.

We are to cling to the faith and hope we have in Yahuwah. The future might look dark; the present may very well feel overwhelming and discouraging and … confusing. But instead of looking at what’s surrounding us, we’re to focus on what is unseen. This is exercising faith.

Faith was something Yahushua wanted his listeners to understand. He’d say things like, “If you have the faith of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain ‘Move over there’ and it will.”

Miles: Yeah, I tried that when I was a kid. We were visiting Ben Lomond up in Scotland one summer holiday, and I thought it would be a good idea to see if I had the faith of a mustard seed.

Dave: Did you now?

Miles: My father wanted to hike up it and I didn’t want to, so I decided if I just moved the mountain, I wouldn’t have to! So, that morning after breakfast, I stepped outside, drummed up my faith, pointed at Ben Lomond and told it, “Go away!”

Dave: And?

Miles: Well, since it didn’t move, I decided maybe I needed to word it the same way it’s said in Scripture. So, drumming up my faith once more, I pointed at the far horizon and commanded it: “Move over there!”

Dave: And?

Miles: Let’s just say they didn’t need to redraw any maps on my account.

Dave: I can see you trying that! Obviously, what little Miles didn’t understand was that Christ was speaking metaphorically. When we’re facing a mountain of difficulties, we can by faith claim a promise and see a way opened before us.

We get an excellent definition of faith in the story of the centurion. Let’s read that. Would you please turn to Matthew 8 and read verses 5 to 10.

Miles:

Now when Yahushua had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, pleading with him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.”

And Yahushua said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

The centurion answered and said, “Lord I am not worthy that you should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

When Yahushua heard it, he marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”

Dave: If we’d been privileged to witness this exchange, what we would have heard is the centurion saying, “No need to come to my house. You have authority. I recognize your authority because I have authority, too. All you need to do is say the word and my servant shall be healed.”

And the very next thing we would have heard is Yahushua saying, “THAT is faith … and I haven’t found faith like this even among the Israelites!”

This is the kind of faith we’re to exercise in our daily lives; we’re to make it a habit to believe Yah’s word in all things. And we do this by focusing on what is unseen. This is how we live by faith. To clarify his point, Paul provides a contrast. He says, “We live by faith … and—”?

Miles: “Not by sight.”

Dave: Not by sight. That’s correct. It’s all about where we choose to focus. Paul is telling us that we’re to focus our attention, we’re to focus our faith on realities not seen, rather than on the world—the circumstances—surrounding us. The focus and center of our lives is to be on realities not seen.

Living by sight centers our lives—our attention, focus our energy—on the world around us. This is what we’re not to do.

Miles: It’s so hard. It’s so hard, you know?

Dave: Oh, it is! And technology makes it even more challenging. Did you know that people’s attention spans are literally becoming shorter? There is such a constant glut of information, and it’s all so readily available. We’re constantly being bombarded with a veritable flood of information. Technology brings the wealth of libraries, and newspapers, and cinema, best-selling novels, and more to our phones! Which aren’t plugged into the wall anymore. We carry them with us wherever we go. It creates a very busy, very un-quiet state of mind, making it hard to hear the still, small voice.

Miles: Not to mention all the distractions of modern life. Social media is a huge distraction for a lot of people. I know my own mental health improved when I got off of it.

And like you said, we don’t have to wait to read the news in the evening paper. The latest news is constantly available on our phones that we take with us everywhere. It’s really hard to not focus on the world around us.

Dave: It’s very easy to live by sight. The devil has made sure of it. It takes conscious effort on our part to choose to extend our focus beyond what’s right in front of us. If you take the train to work, you can use that time to memorize passages of Scripture, rather than scrolling through the latest headlines or social media postings. If you enjoy jogging, or perhaps you do manual labor. Instead of listening to the latest popular music hits or even talk radio on your ear buds, listen to a sermon instead. These are all choices we can make to extend our focus to the realities of the unseen, rather than the physical world around us.

Miles: It’s easier said than done.

Dave: It really is because we’re also contending with our fallen nature. Our fallen nature likes the easy way. We like to escape the stressors of modern living by disappearing into a movie, a novel, or a computer game.

Miles: So, just how are we to keep our focus on heavenly things rather than on the world around us? Any practical pointers we can use?

Dave: Paul gives us some in his letter to the Philippians. Our modern world may have distractions previous generations didn’t have, but the draw to focus on the seen rather than the unseen world has always been a temptation.

Let’s see what Paul advised. Turn to Philippians chapter 4 and read verse 8.

… You know what? Let’s read it in context. Start with verse 6.

Miles:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to [Yah]; and the peace of [Yahuwah], which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Yahushua.

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Well! That eliminates most things in modern media, doesn’t it?

Dave: Pretty much! But if we’ll do this, we will find it much easier to focus on unseen realities.

In fact, I want to issue a challenge to our listeners. Go on a fast! I don’t mean a physical fast; not all fasts are physical. Go on a spiritual fast. Go on a social media fast. Whatever is consuming your thoughts and attention, go on a spiritual fast where you eliminate that from your life.

Maybe it’s computer games. Maybe it’s novels or movies or … I don’t know. Tik Tok. Facebook. Twitter—or whatever they’re calling it now.

Miles: X? Z? I don’t know.

It could be sports, or YouTube videos. Celebrity gossip.

Dave: Whatever it is that is capturing the attention and keeping our focus away from spiritual realities. Try cutting that out of your life for just one week and using that time instead to focus on spiritual realities. I can guarantee you that you will see a tremendous shift in your ability to focus on eternal realities.

And chances are, you’ll come to the end of that week and decide you want to keep going with it.

Miles: They say it takes, what? Twenty-one days? Three weeks to form a new habit?

Dave: Three weeks might sound too much to start with, but if you can try it for just one week, my guess is that the impact you’ll see on your spiritual life when you fill the time left with spiritual things will be so great that you won’t even want to go back to the way you lived your life before.

What did Philippians 4 verse 7 say would happen if we do this? “And the …”? What?

Miles: Ummm … “and the peace of [Yahuwah], which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Yahushua.”

Dave: We can’t do this in our own strength. We’ve got fallen natures. The higher desires are constantly at war with the man of sin.

This is why Paul, in Romans 7, said, The good I want to do, I don’t do; but the evil I don’t want to do, is what I keep doing! But if we will choose to focus on what’s true, pure, holy and of good report, then the peace of Yah will help us by guarding our hearts and minds.

Miles: What a promise!

Okay. We’re going to take a quick break. We’ll be right back.

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Part 2: (Miles & Dave)

Miles: So we’ve talked about what it means to live by faith and not by sight: we’re to expand our focus to things seen by faith rather than getting distracted by the circumstances and struggles of our earthly lives.

Dave: This isn’t to discount those struggles. They are very real, and they do matter. Yahuwah cares about our daily lives, the things that matter to us, whether it’s work, or school, or kids, or parents; interpersonal relationships. All of these are important and as our loving Father, Yahuwah cares about this aspect of our lives. So, we don’t need to dismiss our struggles. They’re very real.

But the point is that we mustn’t let our faith be dictated by our circumstances.

Miles: What do you mean?

Dave: We don’t want to have weak faith when life is hard and strong faith only when life is good. It’s when life is hard, that we need to exercise faith!

Look: we’re living in a world of sin. We’re going to face various struggles and troubles. But those don’t need to hold our attention. We have the privilege of living by faith rather than the appearance of our circumstances.

Miles: So let’s bring it down to a practical level. How do we do this in our daily lives?

Dave: Well, the first thing to do is to be careful that we don’t fixate on the things we can see – the politics that worry us, the expensive bills that scare us. The word “fixate” means, literally, to “focus one’s eyes or attention upon” … whatever. Whatever it is that’s consuming our attention and drawing it away from Yah.

Miles: To be fair, it’s really easy to focus on what’s going on around us. We figure if we set aside Sabbaths for spiritual things, we’re doing pretty good.

Dave: Oh, sure. But if our habitual patterns of thought are to focus on temporal matters the other six days, then when life takes a turn for the worse—and it happens to all of us. Life has its ups, but it also has plenty of downs—when that happens, it’s easy to feel like everything is falling apart. Where’s your anchor? Where’s your support?

But as believers, we’re privileged to be able to take a different approach to life. Instead of focusing solely on current events, or our daily struggles, we have the privilege of looking beyond to eternal realities.

Miles: How do we do that? How do we keep our focus on eternal realities?

Dave: Well, first, we have to make it a priority to spend time with Yah in His word. If I’m not spending time with Yah, getting to know Him, studying the Bible, meditating on what I’ve learned, then I’m not going to be able to keep my focus there. That’s a choice we all can make. Are we going to stay up late reading, watching the telly, um … playing games on our phone or the computer so that we’re too tired the next morning to get up in time for private Bible study? We can choose where to focus, and our focus is what we choose to think about during our free time.

By free time, I mean obviously at work or in school we have to pay attention to what we’re doing. That’s going to engage our mind and it should. But what do you like to think about on your downtime? Where do you choose to focus then?

Miles: I like how you say it’s a choice. I can really see that. We may have fallen natures, but it’s still within our power how we choose to spend our free time, where we choose to place our focus.

Dave: And that brings me to my next point: make the choice to keep your attention focused forward.

The author of Hebrews likened this to a race. Let’s read it. Hebrews 12 verses 1 to 3.

Miles:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Yahushua, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of [Yah]. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Dave: This teaches us an important lesson: Christ endured the cross by keeping his eyes on the prize set before him. And, as he is our example in all things, that’s what we’re to do, too.

Take an Olympic athlete. In 2016, Wayde Van Niekerk, a South African sprinter set a new world record for the 400-meter dash that, to date, has still never been broken.

Miles: What was his time?

Dave: 43.03 seconds.

Miles: Wow!

Dave: Just to give you an idea of how incredibly fast that is, the second fastest 400-meter dash of all time was set by American, Michael Johnson in 1999. His time was 43.18 seconds, so in the world of racing, that’s quite a margin.

Now when these men run, are they looking behind them?

Miles: No.

Dave: They’re looking ahead, aren’t they? If they look behind them, they might veer into another runner’s lane or even trip and fall. Instead they keep looking ahead. And that’s what we’re to do, too. We’re to keep our eyes on the prize of eternal life in Yah’s kingdom. By keeping our eyes on the prize, we’ll be strengthened and to endure the difficulties between now and then.

Of course, this isn’t easy.

Miles: Nothing worth obtaining ever is.

Dave: Yahushua promised peace, he never promised ease. He promised to always be with us, he promised life more abundant, but he never promised an easy walk. And that’s okay. If he’s with us, that’s enough.

And we make it enough by reminding ourselves of the truth.

• We remind ourselves that though the wages of sin is death, the gift of Yah is eternal life through Yahushua our Savior. [Romans 6:23]
• We remind ourselves that if we lack wisdom, we can ask of Yah who gives to all freely and upbraideth not. [James 1:5]
• We bear in mind that Yahuwah is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in time of trouble. [Psalm 46:1]
• We remember Yah’s promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us. [Deuteronomy 31:6]

This is how we shift our focus to eternal realities, how we keep our eyes on the prize, by constantly keeping these truths in mind.

I want to close with Malachi 3:16. This is a little-known verse that gives us an intriguing glimpse into how important it is to remind ourselves of the truth, and speak on these things. Malachi 3 verse 16.

Miles:

Then those who feared Yahuwah spoke to one another,
And Yahuwah listened and heard them;
So a book of remembrance was written before Him
For those who fear Yahuwah
And who meditate on His name.

Dave: This is how precious our words of praise are to Yahuwah, and how important it is that we meditate on and speak of the truths we know because it settles us into the truth so that, no matter what happens, our faith is strengthened, and we are enabled to live by faith and not by sight.

Miles: That’s beautiful. Speaking for myself, it’s very strengthening to remember how Yahuwah has blessed me in the past. It gives me confidence for the future. Maintaining that attitude of gratitude keeps my focus on Yah.

Coming up: Why did Yahuwah punish David for something He “incited” him to do? Up next in our daily mailbag. Stay tuned.

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You are listening to World's Last Chance Radio.

WLC Radio: Teaching minds and preparing hearts for Christ's sudden return.

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* * *Daily Mailbag (Miles & Dave)

Miles: Today’s question is coming from a country that has one of the world’s lowest divorce rates.

Dave: Hmmm. Well, I’m going to guess that it’s not a Western country!

Miles: You’d be right about that! It’s also the country that boasts the world’s tallest statue.

Dave: Tallest statue?? Well, I’d say either the US with the Statue of Liberty or Brazil with the Christ the Redeemer statue, but you said it’s not a Western country?

Miles: Right. The Statue of Liberty is 46 meters, or 151 feet tall. With the pedestal it’s standing on, that bumps it up to 93 meters, or 305 feet.

Christ the Redeemer in Brazil is 30 meters, or 98 feet tall.

This other statue soars to a truly staggering 182 meters, or 600 feet in the air.

Dave: Wow. So who is it of?

Miles: It’s called the Statue of Unity. It honors a man named Sardar Patel. He was an independence leader in the western state of Gujarat in India.

Dave: That’s incredible. I’d love to see that.

Miles: I’ve seen photos and it’s truly amazing.

All right. Pranev writes, “Greetings, brothers, in the name of Yahushua. My wife and I have been studying the life of David and one thing has been troubling us. Could you please explain why Yahuwah was so upset at David for numbering Israel? This is really confusing us because Scripture says that Yahuwah Himself ‘incited’ David to do this, so why was He then so angry at David for doing what He Himself had incited David to do?”

Dave: I am so glad to have a chance to answer this question! And the reason I know the answer is that it used to bother me, too. So, I decided to study into it. Let’s first find out if Yahuwah really was the one that incited David to sin, because if He did, that’s problematic.

All right. Let’s start with reading the passage Pranev is talking about. Would you please turn to 2 Samuel chapter 24 and read verses 1 and 2?

Miles: All right, uh …

Again the anger of Yahuwah burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”

So the king said to Joab and the army commanders with him, “Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and enroll the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are.”

Dave: This does sound like Yahuwah influenced David to do what He later punished him for, which, of course, if true wouldn’t be fair. We’re going to have to dig a bit deeper to find out just what’s going on here. Turn to 1 Chronicles 21 verses 1 and 2. This is a parallel account to what you just read in 2 Samuel.

You have it? Go ahead.

Miles: “Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, ‘Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are.’”

Dave: So this is a completely different perspective. Now, one way this has been explained is by saying that Yahuwah, in His foreknowledge, will allow Satan to act in ways which, eventually, result in the refinement of believers. For example, in 2 Corinthians 12, Paul says he was given a “thorn in the flesh,” a “messenger from Satan” to torment him.

So that’s one explanation: Yah allowed Satan to tempt David, thus revealing what was in David’s heart.

Miles: Do you agree with that explanation?

Dave: Well … no. That explanation works sometimes, but with regards to this passage specifically, I think there is different explanation. And there needs to be. Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” only affected him. David’s sin ended up costing the lives of many Israelites, so I think we do need to look for another explanation.

Let’s read 2 Samuel 24 verse 1 in some other versions. Can you just look it up on your monitor there? Find some other translations?

Miles: Sure, uh … Nope.

… Nope. The first two I looked up both said the same thing: “The anger of Yahuwah burned against Israel, and he incited David against them.”

Let’s try … oh, here we go. This one says: “And again the anger of Yahuwah was kindled against Israel, and He moved David against them.”

Dave: Good. Any others say anything different?

Miles: Yeah, this one’s really different. It says: “Now again the anger of Yahuwah burned against Israel, and it incited David against them.”

Dave: So some translations say “He” while this one says “it.” In other words, it was the “anger of Yahuwah” that incited David against Israel.

The reason we’ve got these differences in translation is that, in the original Hebrew, the verb “incite” has no subject. So it’s left up to the reader to decide just who or what incited David.

Miles: Interesting. What’s the literal translation?

Dave: Well, you could say “There was who moved David against them.” That sounds awkward.

Miles: That sounds really awkward!

Dave: Or you could say, “For one moved David against them.” Again, it’s not clear. Some translators, as we’ve seen, assume it’s Yahuwah or His anger. But that’s just an assumption. It could have been David’s own evil imagination. He was human, after all. Or his fear, fear of a more powerful foe.

Miles: It could have been Satan, like in the parallel account in 1 Chronicles.

Dave: Sure! 1 Chronicles says “Satan rose up against Israel and incited David.” The word “Satan” simply means “adversary.” Perhaps one of David’s counselors gave him bad advice. The truth is, we simply don’t know. However, knowing that the original Hebrew does not actually say it was Yahuwah and that was an assumption on the part of the translators, I’m inclined to think it was not actually Yahuwah.

Miles: So that removes the unfairness angle.

Dave: I don’t believe the evidence supports that it was Yahuwah because in the very next verses, Yahuwah is trying to dissuade David from pursuing that course of action by giving him sound advice. Read verses 3 and 4 of 2 Samuel 24.

Miles:

But Joab replied to the king, “May Yahuwah your Elohim multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?”

The king’s word, however, overruled Joab and the army commanders; so they left the presence of the king to enroll the fighting men of Israel.

Dave: Sometimes Yahuwah speaks through humans, trying to influence a better course of action, and I believe that’s what we see happening here.

Miles: I want to see what it says in 1 Chronicles.

Ah! It says virtually the same thing. It says:

But Joab replied, “May Yahuwah multiply his troops a hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord’s subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?”

The king’s word, however, overruled Joab; so Joab left and went throughout Israel and then came back to Jerusalem.

Dave: This is even more clear. Joab is telling David that if he does this, it will bring guilt on Israel. This is another reason why I believe the translations that supply Yahuwah as being the one to incite David are incorrect. Yah doesn’t tempt.

Miles: That’s a really good point. James 1:13: “When tempted, no one should say, ‘Yahuwah is tempting me.’ For Yahuwah cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone.”

Dave: Excellent verse. I hadn’t thought of that one, but you’re right. So that brings us to the other part of the question which is why Yahuwah was so angry at what David did. Why was it a sin?

Miles: Well, yeah, because governments today conduct census studies all the time. Is that a sin?

Dave: The difference is that, in Israel, you only had the right to count or “number” what belonged to you. Israel belonged to Yahuwah, not David.

Miles: Ohhhh!

Dave: A census was taken when you wanted to go to war, so you knew how many fighting men you had. David didn’t need to go to war. Furthermore, it was a reason—an excuse—for David to tax the people. Turn to Exodus 30 and read verses 11 and 12.

Miles: “Then Yahuwah said to Moses, ‘When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay Yahuwah a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them.”

Dave: It was Yahuwah’s prerogative to demand a census. Now, from the accounts in 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles, I don’t know whether David required Israel to pay the ransom or not. My guess is he probably did, but that’s just a guess. Either way, it was wrong of David to do that and it’s why he felt guilty afterward. It’s why General Joab remonstrated with him and warned him it was wrong.

Read verse 10 of 2 Samuel 24.

Miles: “David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to Yahuwah, ‘I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, Yahuwah, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.’”

Dave: This was before Yahuwah sent a prophet to David to rebuke him. David knew it was wrong to number Israel but he’d done it anyway, which is why he felt so guilty afterward. Israel belonged to Yah, not David, so it was extremely presumptuous of David to do that.

Miles: Okay. That makes more sense. I’ve always wondered about that, too. Thanks, Pranev, for a great question!

We’ve got time for one more question, if you keep your answer brief.

Dave: All right. Ask me a brief question.

Miles: … Here’s one. Cliff from Barrie in Ontario, Canada has a question about our live broadcasts. He says: “I’ve been listening to your broadcasts on YouTube but would like to see if I can listen on my shortwave radio. Where would I find broadcast times listed?”

Dave: If you go to our homepage on WorldsLastChance.com and scroll down, you’ll see a section that says “WLC Shortwave Radio Broadcast.” In that section you’ll see some hyperlinks. One of them says “WLC Radio Schedule.” Click on that to see a schedule of times by language.

Now, I should add that at this time, we’re not yet broadcasting in all languages. Some languages’ radio programs are still only available on our website and on YouTube. Currently, we’re broadcasting in English, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese. But keep checking back. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get the other languages on air soon, too.

Until then, though, you can still listen to them on YouTube and WLC.

There. Was that brief enough?

Miles laughs: It was! Good job.

I just want to add one thing and that is, when you share with people about WLC Radio, remember that a lot of people are bi- or multi-lingual. Or, you might be listening to it in one language, but someone else might be more comfortable if their native language is different. So, check out the list of languages in which we have broadcasts available. On our website, near the top of the home page, is the WLC Radio icon. Click on that to find a listing of the various languages we broadcast in. You might prefer to listen to it in English but a friend or relative may find it easier to listen in Arabic, or Spanish, or … I don’t know. Mandarin. Tagalog. Whatever. I’m just saying you’ve got a lot of options available.

All right! Up next is Jane Lamb with another beautiful promise from Scripture. Stay tuned.

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Daily Promise

Hello! This is Jane Lamb with your daily promise from Yah’s Word.

In remembering a friend of his who had died, British rocker Rod Stewart described him as, quote, “The kindest guy I ever knew.” To me, kindness is the most beautiful personality trait there is. I love Bible verses that describe Yahuwah’s kindness. Kindness draws the heart like nothing else.

When Lesa Shirley-Sheffield was only 19, she was working as a hairdresser. One day, a woman came into the salon. She was obviously exhausted and under immense pressure. When Lesa asked if she could help her, the woman explained that her sister was very sick and needed a haircut but they’d been turned away from salon after salon because the woman was in a wheelchair. She was almost in tears as she explained that she’d already washed her sister’s hair; they just needed help getting it cut.

“I’ll be happy to help you,” Lesa assured the woman. The woman was so grateful, she thanked Lesa repeatedly as she went out to the car to get her sister. While she did that, Lesa went to her station and moved her hydraulic chair to one side so there would be plenty of room for the wheelchair. The woman could just stay sitting there and not have to get out.

When the women returned, Lesa struggled to hide her shock. Never in her young life had she encountered anyone who was as clearly near death as the sister. Composing herself, she stepped forward with a smile. Remembering it later, she recalled, quote, “You would have thought I had given them a million bucks simply because I moved the chair to make things easier on them.” As Lesa styled the sister’s hair, the three women chatted and laughed. It was an encounter Lesa has never forgotten. But it wasn’t over yet. As the women were leaving, the woman who had first come in asked for Lesa’s contact information. Lesa gave the woman her salon card, which had all her contact information on it.

Two weeks later, Lesa got a call from a local funeral home asking if she would come and style the hair of a woman who had passed away. Lesa was puzzled. She had never received such a request before and she didn’t recognize the name of the person who had passed away.

“Are you sure you have the right person?” She asked. The funeral home assured her that they did, saying they had her business card and an envelope for her. Still puzzled, Lesa arranged a time to come over. When she arrived, she recognized the face of the deathly ill woman whose hair she had cut just two weeks before after everyone else had turned her away. A bouquet of flowers was sitting beside an envelope on which was Lesa’s name.

After carefully styling the woman’s hair, Lesa opened the envelope. Inside were two $100-dollar bills and a letter. The letter read:

Dear Lesa,

We will probably never cross paths again here in this life, but I wanted you to know what your kindness meant to my sister and me. You see, we had been turned away that day and actually treated rudely by several salons. Watching someone die is hard enough but feeling like no one cares when you are at your lowest is terrible. My sister had been a hairdresser for years, and one of her final wishes was that her hair be cut before she died. Not important to some, but she had begged to have it cut. Your kindness to us that day was something that touched my sister, and she said when we left, ‘It’s my request that this Lesa do my hair when I’m gone, and I know she will because she’s what kindness is.’

Lesa couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. That something so simple had meant so much to someone else broke her heart. She tried to give the money back but the funeral home refused to accept it, saying the woman had been adamant that Lesa receive it.

What the woman couldn’t have known, but Yahuwah did, is that Lesa’s car was in desperate need of repair. The total cost of the repair? Two hundred dollars.

Ecclesiastes 11 verse 1 tells us, “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.”

We have been given great and precious promises. Go and start claiming!

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Part 4: (Miles & Dave)

Dave: As we’ve recently learned at WLC, Christ’s return won’t have obvious warning signs. Yahushua repeatedly warned that his return would be unexpected and take even believers by surprise. So, the Second Coming will occur when life appears as “business as usual.”

This is why it is so important that believers learn to live by faith and not by sight. One day, Christ will return. But that morning when you wake up and get breakfast will be no different from every other day preceding it. This is why it’s essential that we remind ourselves of what is true, we keep our attention focused forward, and we focus on what we know and not what we see. Then, whether he comes tomorrow or after we die, we’ll be ready to meet him in peace.

Miles: And, obviously for each of us, his return is as near as our last breath.

Dave: That’s right.

Miles: Thank you for joining us today. If you enjoyed today’s program and would like to share it with friends or family, you can find it on our website at WorldsLastChance.com or on YouTube. Look for Program 250, “Living by Faith and not by Sight.” That’s “Living by Faith and not by Sight,” Program number 250.

If you’re listening on YouTube, let us know what you think in the comments. If you enjoy our programming, consider giving us a thumbs up to help others find our channel. Click on the alert button to receive notifications when new episodes are uploaded.

We hope you can join us again tomorrow, and until then, remember: Yahuwah loves you . . . and He is safe to trust!

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You have been listening to WLC Radio.

This program and past episodes of WLC Radio are available for downloading on our website. They're great for sharing with friends and for use in Bible studies! They're also an excellent resource for those worshipping Yahuwah alone at home. To listen to previously aired programs, visit our website at WorldsLastChance.com. Click on the WLC Radio icon displayed on our homepage.

In his teachings and parables, the Savior gave no “signs of the times” to watch for. Instead, the thrust of his message was constant … vigilance. Join us again tomorrow for another truth-filled message as we explore various topics focused on the Savior's return and how to live in constant readiness to welcome him warmly when he comes.

WLC Radio: Teaching minds and preparing hearts for Christ's sudden return.