Program 91: Beware the deadly leaven!

The “deadly leaven” of the pharisees was hypocrisy. Learn how to avoid this spiritual trap.

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.

Part 1: (Miles & Dave)

Miles Robey: Greetings and hello! Welcome to WLC Radio. I’m your host, Miles Robey.

Dave Wright: And I’m Dave Wright. Thank you for tuning in! If you’ve joined us before, you know that at WLC we prefer to use the Creator’s personal name, Yahuwah—or Yah—rather than the generic titles of god or lord.

The name of the son is Yahushua and means Yahuwah saves. El, eloah, elohim: those are all Hebrew titles used frequently throughout the Old Testament and refer to the Father.

Miles: We use the personal names of the Father and the son, not only because Scripture urges us to do so, but because the name of the Father actually contains an incredibly powerful promise! His name is a verb of being. So, when said in combination with your need, it becomes a powerful promise to claim. That’s really what it means to “call upon the name of the Lord,” like we’re told to in Psalm 105.

Dave: We recently had a program about that. If you missed it, you can still listen to it. Just go to our website, WorldsLastChance.com, and click on the WLC Radio icon. Scroll down and look for the program entitled “The Most Powerful Promise in the Universe.”

We’ve also got it posted to YouTube, so you can listen to it there, as well.

Miles: Today, we’re going to talk about hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is when a person feigns or pretends to be or believe something he really is not, or does not believe.

Dave: It’s being a fake.

Miles: Right. You’d be surprised by some of the famous people who were actually world-class hypocrites.

Dave: Oh, yeah? Like whom?

Miles: Well, John Lennon for one.

Dave: John Lennon of the Beatles?? Bite your tongue, man! That’s sacrilege!

Miles laughs: It’s true, though. We hear the name John Lennon and we think of songs about an idealistic world with no war or violence.

Dave: Right. So why do you say he was a hypocrite?

Miles: Because the one exception to his “no violence” rule appeared to be his partiality to the Irish Republican Army.

Dave: Uh, yeah. A terrorist group that likes to settle its disputes by blowing random people up with nail bombs isn’t something you’d think a true peace-lover would ever support under any circumstances.

Now that you mention it, Swiss philosopher, Jean-Jacque Rousseau was quite the hypocrite, too. In 1762, he published a groundbreaking work on the education of children.

Eighteenth-century European education was quite authoritarian in its approach. Rousseau argued that children should be given the freedom to play and explore with a benevolent, approachable father always available to answer their questions about the world.

Miles: That sounds like a good thing.

Dave: Of course! In fact, his philosophy on education still influences western education to this day.

Problem was, Rousseau abandoned all five of his own children at a foundling hospital … ostensibly because he believed an orphanage could do a better job raising his kids than he could.

Miles: That’s just wrong. Next to the word “hypocrisy” in the dictionary they should say: “See Rousseau.”

It illustrates my point, though: hypocrisy is an utterly disgusting character trait. It’s dishonest, two-faced. Not something any of us want to be. And yet, how many of us today are actually hypocrites?

Dave: I don’t think any of us are knowingly hypocrites.

Miles: No, of course not. But that doesn’t mean that we might not be hypocrites, even unbeknownst to ourselves.

Dave: That’s a good point.

Miles: The Saviour’s life was really made difficult by the hypocrites of his day: the Pharisees. In Matthew 16, Yahushua told his disciples to “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” [Matthew 16:6]

What can you share with us about spiritual hypocrisy? How can believers today guard themselves from becoming modern-day Pharisees?

Dave: Well, leaven or yeast, as I’m sure you’re aware, is a symbol for sin. In the context of Yahushua’s warning to his disciples, it’s not even so much physical sinning as it is incorrect beliefs and practices.

In Galatians 5, Paul warned: “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” [Galatians 5:9] That’s how yeast works. You add a pinch of yeast to a lump of dough, put it in a warm place, and in a short while, the whole lump of dough has been transformed into something else by the leavening action of the yeast.

This, Yahushua was saying, is what the teachings and attitudes of the Pharisees will do to your Christian walk. It will transform it into something else entirely.

Miles: And not in a good way! So, is there anything we can do or know, is there anything we should understand so we don’t get … sucked into this self-righteous, hypocritical vortex of Phariseeism?

Dave: There is. Before we get into that, though, I just want to encourage every listener to keep an open heart. Don’t assume that the points we cover do not apply to you.

Instead, ask the spirit of Yah to show you how it applies to you.

Miles: That’s good.

Dave: One trait that is very common among Pharisees is name-dropping. They take pride in their connection to people they view as righteous or spiritually superior.

Miles: Church leaders.

Dave: Sure. Anyone that they feel increases their own importance by association. In Matthew 3:9, Yahushua told the Pharisees of His day: “Think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham as our father: for I say unto you, that Yahuwah is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.”

Whoever else you may know doesn’t recommend you to Yah. All that matters is if you know Yah.

Miles: This point goes along with one I’ve noticed about Pharisees and that is a Pharisee takes pride in external righteousness. What he does. He may keep the letter of the law, but he invariably ends up breaking the spirit of the law.

Dave: If you deliberately break the spirit of the law, you’re not righteous even if you keep the letter of the law. We have to remember that true righteousness is a condition of the heart.

Miles: Proverbs 4:3: “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”

Dave: Exactly. In the Sermon on the Mount, Yahushua said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see Yah.” He didn’t say, “Blessed are the pure in deed, for they shall see Yah.” [Matthew 5:8]

Miles: True.

Dave: Another thing Pharisees don’t do is mingle with unconverted people.

Miles: Oh, yes! Mustn’t dirty our robes of self-righteousness!

Dave: In everything Yahushua did, he was a friend of sinners. In Mark 2, he explained his method of operating. He said: "They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." [Mark 2:17]

Miles: Of course. How are you going to reach the lost if your circle of acquaintance is comprised exclusively of those who are saved? If you refuse to mingle with sinners, you’re a Pharisee.

Dave: And how are you supposed to draw people to Yahushua if you avoid them? It just doesn’t work.

A Pharisee is also very critical of others—especially in trivial matters. This can focus on anything from a woman’s hemline–

Miles: –Or whether she’s wearing pants, makeup, and jewelry!

Dave: To dietary choices and more. When you measure your self-worth, not by how much Yah loves you, but by how “holy” you think your actions are, you’re always going to be comparing yourself to others … and finding them wanting.

Miles: I’ve noticed that tendency.

If my choices are more conservative than yours, that means I’m on the right path and you’re worldly.

But if your choices are more conservative than I wish to go, that means you’re fanatical and I’m balanced.

Dave: Have you ever noticed that Yahushua was condemned that way, too? And if he was, we know we will be as well, so don’t get discouraged when this happens. Read John 15, verses 18 to 20.

Miles:

If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. [John 15:18-20]

Dave: Yahushua was too conservative for the Sadducees and too liberal for the Pharisees.

Miles: Isn’t that the truth? Give me a second to find Matthew 11 here. There’s a passage where Yahushua was confronting his critics for that very thing.

Here we go. Matthew 11, verses 16 to 19. It says:

But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, and saying:

‘We played the flute for you,
And you did not dance;
We mourned to you,
And you did not lament.’

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.

Dave: We can’t compare ourselves to other, fallible humans. By beholding, we become changed. It’s a law of psychology.

So, into whose image do you wish to be changed? That of another fallen human being? Or into the image of Yah?

Miles: That’s a good point. We always think of it in terms of entertainment. We don’t want to fill our minds with the violence and sexual impurity that’s so prevalent in novels and movies. But that applies to what we think about and who we idolize—or judge—as well!

Dave: Turn over to Matthew 12. This shows another thing that Pharisees do and that is, they focus on rules to the exclusion of all else, even Yah’s revealed will.

Miles: All right. Which verses?

Dave: Matthew 12, verses 9 to 16.

Miles: “And when he [Yahushua] was departed thence, he went into their synagogue: And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days? that they might accuse him.”

Dave: Notice: The Pharisees point in asking Yahushua if it were “lawful” to heal on the Sabbath was simply because they wanted to accuse him of breaking the Sabbath. They couldn’t care less about the man in need of help. They were focused on being able to denounce the Saviour as a law-breaker.

Keep reading and let’s see what Yahushua’s answer was.

Miles:

And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days.

Dave: There’s the crux of the whole matter. That’s the spirit of the law: it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath day.

What happened next?

Miles:

Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other. Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. But when Yahushua knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; And charged them that they should not make him known.

Dave: Pharisees will always focus on rules, even when they’re breaking the spirit of the law. Focusing on rules let’s them reassure themselves of their own superiority as compared to others.

Miles: It reminds me of Yahushua’s words in Matthew 23. That’s a great chapter for learning about the attributes of Phariseeism. Anyway, in verse 23 He said: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”

I’ve always found this a really intriguing quote. On the one hand, Yahushua is saying: Sure! It’s good to be careful to scrupulously keep the law. That’s what he’s saying when he says: “these ought ye to have done.” But the problem was, they left the other—justice, mercy, and faith—undone.

Dave: Phariseeism is definitely alive and well today. Satan has made sure of it. It behooves each of us to ask Yahuwah to show us where we ourselves exemplify the traits of a Pharisee.

* * *

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* * *Part 2: (Miles & Dave)

Miles: If you’re just now joining us, today Dave has been sharing with us the traits of a Pharisee. Phariseeism isn’t just a phenomenon of first century Israel. It’s alive and well today.

Dave: Righteousness, holiness are states of being. They aren’t action verbs. When we make a full surrender to Yah, the Saviour covers us with his righteousness. It’s a gift!

The problem with a pharisaical attitude, though, is that Pharisees view holiness as an action verb. Something to which they must aspire. And of course, just as soon as you do that, you’ll always fail miserably.

Another attribute of a Pharisee is that he (or she) always assumes the worst of others. There’s no giving the benefit of the doubt if someone else should make a mistake. Pharisees are accusers.

Miles: That’s a serious indictment.

I’ve noticed, too, that a Pharisee is typically careless in how he or she talks about others. You just said that Pharisees are accusers and that’s the work of the devil. Revelation 12 verse 10 refers to Satan as “the accuser of our brethren … which accused them before our Eloah day and night.”

That’s what the Pharisees were constantly doing to Yahushua. Do you remember what happened in Matthew? They brought him a man who was demon-possessed and, naturally, everyone was amazed when Christ cast the demon out.

They said: “Is not this the Son of David?” [Matthew 12:23] Meaning, of course, “Is not this the Messiah?”

But listen to what it says in verse 24. It says: “But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.”

This is the Messiah himself they’re talking about! A perfect man. If the Pharisees could criticize the blameless “Lamb of Yah” himself, you know modern-day Pharisees will do the same thing to him again, in the person of his saints.

Dave: We need to remember that speaking ill of others is joining with Satan in his work and being an accuser of the brethren.

Speaking of words, a Pharisee tries to catch people in their words. They were constantly doing that to Christ. They’d set traps so that if he answered one way, they’d accuse him to the people as rejecting the law of Moses.

Miles: But if he answered another way, they could accuse him of being a revolutionary to the Romans. They tried to manipulate it so he couldn’t win either way!

Dave: That’s what Pharisees do. Pharisees are also easily offended. They’re the type that can “dish it out” but they can’t take it in return.

It can be easy to get our feelings hurt—especially when we don’t give others the benefit of the doubt. But we need take a deep breath, take a step back, and ask ourselves: “Am I taking offense at others failings, mistakes, even beliefs, too easily?”

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13, verse 5 that love “is not easily provoked.” Yahushua wasn’t easily provoked and if we want to be like him, we will lay aside our pride and we won’t be quick to take offense, either.

Turn to Matthew 15 and read verses 12 to 13, would you please? This is a more serious point than most people realize. Go ahead and read it once you’ve got it.

Miles: “Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.”

Dave: A Pharisee is also spiritually blind. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned and Pharisees lack the ability to spiritually discern things.

Miles: They “talk the talk” but they don’t “walk the walk.” This point reminds me of something else Yahushua said in Matthew 23. It’s verse 27. He said: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.

Dave: Pharisees present well. They may look like a Christian. They may dress, walk, talk, and eat like a Christian. But what flows out of their mouth will reveal what’s really in their hearts. And if what flows out of the mouth is criticism of others, a harsh, unforgiving spirit, you can know you’re listening to a Pharisee.

Turn to Matthew 15. It took the disciples a while to quit looking up to the Pharisees as these spiritually superior people, but Yahushua had a warning for them and that warning is for us because there are just as many Pharisees today as there were in Christ’s day, and we have just as hard a time discerning them.

You have it? Okay. Read verses 10 through 20.

Miles:

When he had called the multitude to himself, he said to them, “Hear and understand: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”

Then his disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”

But he answered and said, “Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”

Then Peter answered and said to him, “Explain this parable to us.”

So Yahushua said, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”

Dave: See, the disciples had just been accused by the Pharisees of eating without first taking the time to ceremonially wash their hands. They were concerned with the minutia of tradition and accused the disciples of being lawbreakers for simply failing to observe a man-made tradition.

This is what Pharisees do. They’re very quick to defend man-made traditions. But when it comes down to actually obeying the word of Yah, they come up with all these explanations why the law was done away with and is no longer binding.

Miles: They find it inconvenient to keep the law.

Dave: That’s a good way to put it. Obedience always requires a cross, and they don’t want to carry that cross.

Miles: You know, that’s an aspect of Phariseeism I never really connected in a practical way to Christians today, but it really fits.

Pharisees value convenience. Therefore, they’re going to value tradition over the cutting truths of Yah’s word.

Tradition is what we know. It’s what we’re comfortable with. Pharisees cite tradition because that’s what is known and understood.

Dave: Tradition is a major stumbling block for a lot of people. They would rather unify on beliefs they hold in common than be divided by the truth.

We see this happening all over today. The vast majority of Christians cling to pagan holidays because: It’s fun. It’s their time to get together with family.

And they completely ignore Yahuwah’s feasts because they’re sooo Jewish.

Miles: Well, not just that. Most Christians celebrate Sunday because it’s tradition. Not because Yahushua was resurrected then (he wasn’t) but because that’s what they’ve always done. And because our modern calendar revolves around the “weekend”, it’s the convenient choice.

Same with Jews and those Protestants that worship on Saturday. It’s not the Biblical Sabbath, but it’s on Saturday—the weekend. It’s convenient. So, like the Pharisees in Christ’s day, they cherish their traditions more than the word of Yah.

Dave: We need to ask ourselves some really cutting questions. And I’m speaking to myself here, too. Am I willing to discard every doctrine and practice, every tradition regardless of how popular it is, am I willing to set aside every single belief that doesn’t agree with Scripture? Am I willing to step free of error and stand alone even if no one else I know does, too?

Miles: Am I willing to follow truth regardless of the cost?

Dave: In their busy-work to make themselves ready for eternal life, Pharisees cling to these popular traditions. But that’s not what saves you. Would you read Mark 7, verses 5 to 9? This is Mark’s account of the incident we read earlier in Matthew 15. It’s got some added details I think are important.

Mark 7, verses 5 to 9.

Miles:

Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?”

He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:

‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

For laying aside the commandment of Yah, you hold the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.”

He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of Yah, that you may keep your tradition.

Dave: This is Phariseeism at its worst, and it’s all throughout nominal Christianity today.

Miles: I’m going to disagree with you there just a bit. It’s not just among nominal, worldly Christians. This ugly trait of Phariseeism crops up even among the most conservative of Christians. In fact, I’d say it’s even more prevalent among conservatives than liberals.

Pharisees judge even devout believers for not holding to their personal standard of feast or festival observance.

I’ve seen it. For example, take the lunar Sabbath. This is a new truth and we’re all still learning. Here at WLC, we believe Sabbaths are calculated from conjunction. However, there are some very sincere people who calculate by the first visible crescent. Others believe it was done by the horned crescent. Still others by full moon.

Now, I personally believe they’re wrong … [but the point is: do you look down on people who have a different understanding of how the Sabbaths and the annual feasts are to be calculated? Do you look down on those who observe them in a different way than you do?

Dave: That’s very true. It’s so easy to shake our heads in astonishment at how gullible the Israelites were in thinking the Pharisees were so pious. And yet, the spirit of the Pharisees is alive and well across all bodies of believers.

Miles: It can be very subtle, but that’s part of what makes it so hard to recognize today.

Dave: It’s interesting you should use differences in Sabbath observance and calculation as an example. That’s what the Pharisees did to Christ, too. You remember when Yahushua healed the man born blind? This offended the Pharisees. John 9:16 says: “Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of Yahuwah, because he keepeth not the Sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.”

This is typical Pharisee reasoning. It says: Because you don’t keep the Sabbath the way I do, you’re not of Yah.

Miles: How egotistical!

Dave: Absolutely it is. But that’s a Pharisee for you.

This brings me to another point. And that is: Pharisees hold in contempt those who don’t agree with their interpretation of Scripture. They’ll go so far as to mock and deride those who don’t see everything the way they do.

We can see this in the same story of the man born blind. Here, why don’t you read it from John 9, starting at verse 24?

Miles:

Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give Yahuwah the praise: we know that this man [Yahushua ] is a sinner. He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. . . . If this man were not of Yahuwah, he could do nothing. They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out. [John 9:24-25, 33-34]

Dave: In a very real way, the spirit of Phariseeism is a soul-destroyer, not a soul-winner. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we need to search our hearts. Are we actively seeking to win souls? Or, by our judgmental attitude and harsh spirit, are we leading people astray? Are we living and sharing the fullness of the gospel message?

A Pharisee can actually do more harm to the cause of truth than an atheist. Read Matthew 23:13, would you please?

Miles: “But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.”

Dave: This is serious! And we need to, again, carefully search our hearts asking Yahuwah to show us what we need to surrender to Him.

* * *

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

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* * *Daily Mailbag (Miles & Dave)

Miles: Time for our Daily Mailbag. Maggie Donnelly from Dundalk, Ireland has a question for us.

Dave: Did you know Ireland is home to one of the oldest lighthouses in the world?

Miles: Really?

Dave: Yeah. Spain has the oldest operating lighthouse in the world, but Ireland has the second oldest. It was built in 1172 and is still being used.

Miles: You know, you really should write your own book of Dad’s Totally Fascinating, Utterly Useless Facts.

Dave: Well, it’s more fun collecting them than writing about them. Anyway, what does Maggie have to say?

Miles: She’s got a question that I think more and more believers, particularly in the west, will be encountering in the future. It has to do with witchcraft.

Dave: There’s been a growing number of people in the west returning to the ancient pagan traditions—or what they think they were. In eastern countries where there’ve always been heathen religions, believers encounter this on an ongoing basis, but you’re right: it is growing in the west.

Miles: She writes: “My sister is extremely upset because her daughter recently revealed she’s a witch. Is there still hope for my niece? Or has she committed the unpardonable sin? My sister has cut off all contact with her daughter and insists the rest of the family do the same. I’m very close to my niece and refused to do it, so now my sister is mad at me. I don’t know how to handle this situation so I’m asking: what would Jesus do?”

Dave: Hm. Sounds like a situation where everyone’s emotions are at the boiling point.

Well, let me say right off that I agree with you, Maggie, that the last thing you want to do is cut off all contact with your niece. Think about it: what is the strongest power in the universe?

Miles: Love. The love of Yah.

Dave: Right. And if you completely withdraw from the person you’re trying to draw to Yah, you’re not going to get very far.

Miles: That’s true. We all need to remember that.

Dave: I’ve noticed that a lot of believers feel extremely uncomfortable around people who self-identify as witches or pagans.

Miles: Neo-pagans.

Dave: Well, whatever they call themselves. Christians tend to fear them and back away. This is unfortunate because, again, how are we to draw them to the truth if we back away and have nothing to do with them?

Miles: I think you’re right that it’s fear-based. People hear “witch” and assume “devil-worshiper” and can’t get away from them fast enough.

Dave: Which is unfortunate. Most are very live-and-let-live individuals. Furthermore, if being in the very presence of a witch were that dangerous, missionaries would never be sent to heathen lands.

Satan is a defeated foe. You don’t need to be afraid of a defeated foe!

Furthermore, a number of Bible scholars make a sound linguistic argument that the original word referred to poisoners, and not what we think of as witches at all.

Miles: Poisoners. As in, someone who poisons someone else?

Dave: Yes. Way back when, poison was a popular and effective way of killing someone.

Miles: Interesting. So, getting back to Maggie’s question: what would Yahushua do in a situation like this?

Dave: Yahushua would love. It’s that simple and that profound. In Luke 8, verse 2, we learn that Yahushua had cast seven evil spirits out of Mary Magdalene. That means he didn’t cut Mary Magdalene out of his life. He didn’t withdraw from her. He didn’t cut her out of his life. He helped her.

Miles: I can see that. We know from both Luke 7:34 and Matthew 11:19, from Christ’s own words, that his enemies frequently denounced him precisely because he was a “friend of sinners.”

Dave: So, what should Maggie do? The same thing Yahushua did: talk to her. Ask polite, interested questions. Listen to her when she talks to you.

Invite her to your house for a meal. Accept the invitation when she invites you to her house. Be a friend.

This doesn’t mean the niece is lost. Don’t let fear keep you away from someone Yahushua is trying to draw to himself.

Miles: You do that, Satan wins.

Dave: The thing we must always remember is that sinners were drawn to the Saviour because he treated them with kindness and courtesy. He was a friend to them, so they were his friends. He loved them.

Love draws. Disapproval repels. Always. If you want to draw someone to Yah, you will draw them with love because that’s how Yahushua did it.

Miles: It’s really the only thing that works, isn’t it?

All right. Next question is from Sanju in Tongi, Bangladesh. He says: “Dear Miles and Dave: Based on your experience, what sin would you say Christians of the last generation need to be most careful in guarding against?”

Hm. That’s a really great question.

Dave: I would say that, categorically, the sins Christians need to guard against the most are sins of the mind.

Miles: Like what? Porn? Seems like porn addiction has just exploded. The Internet has made it so easily available.

Dave: Porn certainly comes under that category of sins of the mind. However, there’s another that is even more dangerous and that is self-deceit. Are we deceiving ourselves?

Miles: I’m not following.

Dave: Self-deceit can be as straightforward as stubbornly refusing to consider any new ideas that contradict what you already believe. This happens when a people insist that they already have all truth and their beliefs are without error.

Miles: Yeah, I’ve run into that attitude before. They get angry at you and won’t even consider the possibility that they might have made a mistake. They just reject it without studying it out.

Dave: Self-deceit, though, can be as subtle as twisting Scripture to fit what we want it to mean. The subtle mind-games we play to justify doing what we want to do can be extremely difficult to discern, but we need to be aware of this.

How many people believe based on what is convenient? And yet, we never analyze our beliefs that way.

Miles: I never thought of it that way before, but you’re right.

Dave: Would you read Matthew 16:24 for us? Here Yahushua is explaining a reality of the Christian experience that we tend to gloss over, but if we’re truly living according to Yah’s will for our lives, it will very much be a reality we have to deal with.

Miles: It says: “Then Yahushua said to his disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

Dave: If you are truly following Christ, you will be carrying a cross, too: the cross of obedience. That’s what he meant by saying he must “deny himself.” If you’re not denying self daily, if you’re not carrying that cross of obedience, then you need to ask yourself what is “off” in your Christian walk.

Miles: Okay, that was going to be my next question: how can we truly know if we are living in conformity to the will of Yah, and how can we know if we’re deceiving ourselves?

Dave: There are three questions each one of us needs to prayerfully ask ourselves.

First: “Do I believe that the Bible is the word of Yah and I am to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of Yah? Or do I view it as a sort of spiritual metaphor and I can, sort of, pick and choose what suits me?

Miles: You answer that honestly, that will really cut deeply, won’t it?

Dave: The second question will, too. Ask yourself: “If I do believe the Bible is Yah’s word, am I truly living my life by its precepts? Am I obeying it to the best of my understanding and ability in the strength Yahushua gives me?”

And finally, ask yourself: “If I’m not, why not?”

To close, would you read Revelation 3, verses 17 to 19?

Miles: Aw, yes. The message to the Laodiceans.

It says:

Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.

Dave: There is hope in Yahushua even for those who are self-deceived.

Listen, if you are deceived, you’re not going to know it. You can’t! You’re deceived! But what you can do is simply pray and say, “Your Word says that I am blind and deceived. I can’t see it—but then, I’m blind. I will accept by faith that Your assessment of me is true. Please forgive my sin and arrogance. Please give me Your gold, tried in the fire; cover me with the garments of Your righteousness and apply Your eye salve to my eyes.”

Yahuwah is the answer for everything, even self-deception. So don’t wait. Ask Him to reveal yourself to you today, and ask that He give you a heart willing to obey every truth He reveals to you.

Miles: Yah is always the answer. Whatever you need, whatever help, guidance, anything. He’s the answer.

If you’ve got a question, just send it in. Go to WorldsLastChance.com and click on Contact Us. We look forward to hearing from you.

* * *Daily Promise

This is Elise O’Brien with your daily promise from Yah’s Word.

Second Corinthians 4:16 to 17, contains a promise for those who struggle with failing health. It says: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”

Constant struggles without respite can be discouraging, but chronic health issues are even worse. Even in such situations, Yahuwah has the power to strengthen and sustain.

In the early spring of 1905, Walter and Civilla Martin were traveling through the state of New York in the United States. They met and became good friends with a couple named the Doolittles. Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for a good twenty years. Mr. Doolittle was crippled and had to use a wheelchair to get to his business.

Despite their serious health problems, though, the Doolittles were joy-filled Christians who encouraged and inspired everyone they knew. One day, while the Martins were visiting with their new friends, Dr. Martin asked them the secret of their consistently bright and cheerful outlook.

Mrs. Doolittle replied simply, “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.”

Dr. and Mrs. Martin were so inspired by the boundless faith of this one, simple statement. Mrs. Martin went home and, writing from the heart, immediately turned it into a poem.

Why should I feel discouraged
Why should the shadows come
Why should my heart feel lonely
And long for heaven and home

When Jesus is my portion
A constant friend is he
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know he watches over me

I sing because I'm happy
I sing because I'm free
His eye is on the sparrow

And I know he watches me

The next day, Mrs. Martin mailed her poem to Charles Gabriel who set it to music. It has become one of the best-known gospel songs ever written, encouraging faith in multitudes.

In Matthew 10, Yahushua asked: “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” [Matthew 10:29-31]

No matter what happens in your life, you can be assured that the Father is still in control and He will remain right by your side throughout all of it.

We’ve been given great and precious promises. Go, and start claiming!

* * *Part 3: (Miles & Dave)

Miles: As a kid growing up, I must confess I always thought the Israelites of Christ’s day were a bit, well, dumb, to be honest. How could they revere the Pharisees so much? Couldn’t they see through their hypocrisy?

But you spell it out like you’ve done for us today here, Dave, you put it in a modern context and it becomes much harder to recognize.

Dave: It does. Most especially in ourselves. But we’ve got to analyze and search our hearts.

A Pharisee neglects his family responsibilities in the name of religion. That’s hypocrisy!

A Pharisee is easily offended.

A Pharisee cannot appreciate true worship and genuine praise. They’re boring to him. He’d rather be reading a book, or watching a movie, or even sleeping in.

A Pharisee focuses on the outward appearance and equates the outward appearance to holiness.

A Pharisee puts his trust in his own works, rather than in the Saviour.

Miles: A Pharisee teaches Yahuwah's law, but does not live it.

Dave: As you said earlier, a Pharisee will “talk the talk” but won’t “walk the walk” of a godly life.

And even in teaching the law, a Pharisee will interpret Scripture in a shallow way without truly understanding it, and without the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. 2 Timothy 2:15 has some important instruction for us.

Would you read that for us, please?

Miles: 2 Timothy 2:15? All right. It says: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to Yah, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Dave: This is the work set before us today. We are to search our hearts diligently. We are to study the Scriptures, being very careful to interpret them correctly, not just conveniently.

And, we are to be very wary of the spirit of the Pharisee. Not just in others. But in ourselves, too.

Miles: It’s very easy to see it in others. Not so much to see it in myself.

Dave: Thankfully, Yahushua has given us some guidelines. Let’s read it. Turn to Matthew 7. As Miles reads this, I want us all to listen carefully and apply these principles to ourselves. Not just to those we see and find so easy to judge. Apply it to yourself.

Got it? All right. Verses 15 to 20 of Matthew 7.

Miles:

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

Dave: It’s only by asking for spiritual discernment and then comparing ourselves to the Saviour that any of us can discern if our fruits are good or bad. Again, we like to apply this verse to others. But what about applying it to ourselves?

We can’t afford to play around with sin. We can’t afford to remain deceived as to our own condition.

Miles: No, we really can’t. The time to search our hearts is now.

Our character—our thoughts and feelings—is the only thing we take into Yah’s kingdom with us. And folks: you don’t develop character in a crisis. All that happens is you reveal what your character already is.

Dave: And we’re developing those characters every single day, with every decision we make. Are we going to stay up too late watching a movie so that the next morning instead of getting up early for our personal devotions, we hit the snooze button and go back to sleep?

Those are the sorts of decisions we’re making on a daily basis that are going to determine whether our characters are fit for eternity or … not.

Miles: When Yahushua returns, he’s going to see Yah’s masterpiece: men and women, saved by grace and recreated in Yah’s own image through faith.

But, you know? Satan’s going to have his masterpiece, too. He’s going to have men and women recreated into his own image.

Dave: And again: the decisions you’re making on a daily basis, the decisions I’m making on a daily basis, are determining whose image we’re going to reflect throughout eternity. Are we, by faith, accepting the righteousness of Christ to cover us? Are we asking him for the divine eye salve to be able to discern what he wants to teach us?

Miles: There really is no time to waste. If we’re not actively choosing to surrender to Yah and allowing Him to write His law on our hearts, we are—by default—choosing to allow Satan to make us in his image.

Don’t be lost by default. Be proactive! Choose to surrender to Yah today.

Join us again tomorrow, and until then, remember: Yahuwah loves you . . . and He is safe to trust!

* * *

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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.