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This week on The National Crawford Roundtable, the conversation transcends the typical talk of school shootings and gun control. The hosts engage in a meaningful discussion about what really stops criminal acts and how security can be improved in schools, often described as 'gun-free zones'. Are there real common-sense gun laws that would make a difference? Does the deterrence factor work both at schools and in churches? The Roundtable offers a fresh approach to outdated debates. Don't miss the conversation about groundbreaking LED technology – how it uses the power of light for healing – and a candid wrap-up of the complexities of holiday shopping. This is a packed episode filled with insights and valued reflections.
SPEAKER 02 :
Welcome to the National Crawford Roundtable podcast, a view of culture, current events and politics through a biblical lens brought to you by Preborn, saving babies and souls. Join us in the fight to save babies from abortion. Your gift provides a free ultrasound for a mother in need. 80% of the time she will choose life. Visit CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on the Preborn logo to donate to save babies now. and by SunPower LED light therapy devices. Bring light to your pain. Visit CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on the SunPower LED logo to get out of pain and improve your overall wellness. And now, here are your hosts, Neil Boron, Bob Duco, and John Rush.
SPEAKER 05 :
Back with another week of the National Crawford Roundtable podcast. And, of course, very happy to have the guys with us, Neil Boron, Neil Boron, live out of Buffalo, New York. And, of course, John Rush, Rush to Reason out of Denver, Colorado. Guys, how are you? Great. Doing good. One week to go until Christmas. We are getting closer and closer. You guys get your Christmas shopping done, you do that stuff.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
Does anybody still go out to the stores? No. I was actually at a mall last week, and I was amazed how empty it was right before Christmas.
SPEAKER 03 :
I don't know how they stay alive.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, I'm not sure either. Honestly, don't know how they stay alive. I'm a small business guy, so I try to go out, but I don't do much shopping. And, you know, there's, what, five shopping days till Christmas or something? So I've got about four days left till I start. There you go. That's just how it works for me.
SPEAKER 05 :
And it's, hey, you know what? Thank the Lord for 7-Eleven and gift cards, I guess. Anyway, we're going to talk this week about, obviously, the tragic Wisconsin school shooting and all the gun debates that are... You know, propping up every time something like this happens. We'll also talk about the latest with the drones, the New Jersey drones and such. And some of the stuff in presidential politics. We've got a few things to get to. But first, though, let's talk about the Wisconsin school shooting. This is obviously just a horrible tragedy. Anytime you see something like this, 15-year-old girl goes into the school and shoots up a bunch of people, kills a teacher, kills a student, injures a few others, and then kills herself. according to police with her gun. And they're still trying to determine exactly what the motive is. As of Wednesday morning, the police chief says, well, it looks like there's a number of factors involved in the motive, but they're not really releasing anything yet. So you hate to see stuff like this. Obviously, people need to be in prayer for those families that are grieving in such a tough time, and right before Christmas, of all things, too. So as Christians, we certainly need to be doing that. But, you know, we know and John, I'll throw it over to you. We know that things like this get politicized, especially by the left. We've already been hearing, you know, a bunch of different liberals saying, you know, how many more children have to die before, you know, Republicans take action? We have common sense gun laws and whatever. You know what? You could take every single gun law on the books in liberal left-wing California, apply them all in Wisconsin, and you know something? It doesn't stop things like this. We talked about this before. Sometimes bad things happen in an evil world. It doesn't mean we minimize it, but new gun laws wouldn't change anything.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I hear even, you know, Joe Biden and others, you know, we need more common sense gun control, which, by the way, there's no such thing. We need background checks, universal background checks. We need this. We need that. What reality is this young girl, 15 years of age, I don't believe and I might be corrected on this. And if so, I'm sure somebody will let me know. But I don't think there's a single state. out there that will allow a 15-year-old to buy a handgun. I'd be very surprised. I would be shocked if there is. I know there's some states where young people can buy long guns and things like that, but I don't believe that she could legally go into a gun store. Number one, she doesn't really even have the ID to pass most background checks that are in a lot of states that are out there now. And no, there's not universal, but a lot of states still do that. I'm not sure about Wisconsin. I, by the way, have not looked at their gun laws. I would be surprised, knowing as liberal as they are, if they don't have some things on the books similar to what California and Colorado have when it comes to buying guns at that age. I would be shocked in Wisconsin if she's able to legally buy a gun as a 15-year-old. Point being, it doesn't make any difference. And they use every one of these tragedies to further their agenda, which, by the way, guys, at the end of the day is to remove – all guns, period. They don't want the Second Amendment. They look at that as archaic. They want it to go away. They don't understand nor care. Actually, I think they do understand and they do care. That's why they want to see it go away, because if you can remove it, you can remove all of the rest of the Bill of Rights that we have, because that's the one that really keeps the rest of them in check.
SPEAKER 05 :
And you know something? Of all of those liberals, they, yeah, you got the ones that what they really, really want is to try to make guns illegal in America, which is absurd because the criminals out there, the entire black market for illegal guns, they're not going to go, oh, well, I guess we're breaking the law, so we'll turn them all in. No, it just means the only people that are going to have guns are bad guys, lawbreakers with guns. So we don't need that. But, you know, also, John, they know. They know full well that even the ones that don't want to ban guns, actually, they know that they can use this as a political tool against Republicans by creating the false perception that there's common sense gun laws that if they were just passed, these children wouldn't have to die in school shootings. But those Republicans and the NRA keep blocking it. And if they can trick people into believing that, then it can cause those swing voters to look at Republicans with stink eye. So, Neil, I want to get your take on this as well. And I know before you get into talking about this, one of the things we really want to encourage our listeners to do is to support our sponsors and thank our sponsors. We talk about Preborn. Let's talk about SunPowerLED.com, which has just been helping a lot of people.
SPEAKER 04 :
Totally. And I'm happy to talk about it. In fact, let me tell you a quick story. Excuse me, about a little over a week ago, I was helping a guy do some drywall. He had a problem in his rental apartment and his ceiling was damaged because the shower upstairs was leaking. And anyway, we got that fixed and I fixed the drywall for him. So I was standing on the bathtub in order to reach the ceiling and decided instead of waiting for somebody to bring a stepstool, I would just jump down from the tub. Well, I did. And I landed, I stuck it like a pro, and I made a comment. I just said, I said, I'm like a cat, you know, and he kind of laughed. And that was it. I went home, and I was watching a movie with my wife. Everything was fine, didn't feel a thing. And all of a sudden, I stood up after watching the movie. I couldn't move. My leg was locked. and the pain was so intense I was hopping on one foot. I couldn't bear any weight. Went right downstairs, grabbed the SunPower LED Super Palm, and put it on my knee for about 30 minutes. Went to bed, woke up in the morning, did it again. I woke up in the morning, I was able to walk pretty well, and I did it again. Did it again that night, and the following morning, no pain whatsoever. It was unbelievable how quickly it dealt with whatever happened. And that's the thing. It's using light that God himself created to reduce pain and swelling and promote healing. And I want you to check it out. Red Light Therapy from SunPowerLED. You can find it at CrawfordMediaGroup.net. Real quick, and I know you want to talk about pre-born, but I just wanted to add my two cents on this thing. You know, I don't know what the laws are in Wisconsin, but I bet it's illegal for a 15-year-old to have a handgun.
SPEAKER 01 :
It is. I checked.
SPEAKER 04 :
And it definitely is in school, right? You're not allowed to bring it. So the point is there are multiple laws broken. Who knows how many? Who knows who maybe gave her that handgun? But ultimately, laws were broken. That's the point. I mean, and so how many laws do you want to have? They're going to be broken if somebody intends to act in an illegal fashion. Exactly. And I don't know why that argument never seems to settle on the minds of liberals and progressives. The bottom line is every crime that's committed with a gun is done so illegally because they're breaking the law in order to do it.
SPEAKER 05 :
Anyway. That's right. Yeah. You are so right about that. And actually, Neil, there's something else I want to ask you about that in just a second. First, though, I do want to take a moment and ask our listeners to please support Preborn if you haven't done that yet. Or maybe it's just a thing where you have before and it's like, you know what, I want to go ahead and give them another gift. It saves some more babies' lives. Remember, pre-born is the main pro-life group that shows these ultrasound images of unborn babies to expectant moms. They do this in pro-life centers all across the country. And you know when a mom sees a picture of her baby, she doesn't go across the street to Planned Parenthood. She usually lets her baby live. And she usually accepts Jesus Christ, too. So what we want to do is pay for these ultrasound images, everybody, plain and simple. So here's two ways you can do this. Because we don't have enough ultrasound machines and enough ultrasound images being shown across the country. So here's how we save more babies' lives. Number one, buy an ultrasound machine. We need somebody out there, some people out there to buy ultrasound machines. They're $15,000 a piece. It's a nice tax write-off for you coming up on the end of the year. And your forever legacy will be that you stopped thousands and thousands of abortions year after year. For everybody else, just pay for an individual number of ultrasound images. $28 is the average ultrasound expense to stop one abortion, to save one baby's life. So take $28 times fill in the blank, whatever that number is, and that's your gift to pre-born. And anything you give to pre-born, 100% goes to the ultrasounds, not a penny for overhead. So we want you to give right now, if you would. Here's how you do it. Go online to CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on Preborn. CrawfordMediaGroup.net, click on Preborn. You can give right there. You can also give over the phone to a real live person. They answer 24-7, 833-850-BABY. That's 833-850-BABY. And we appreciate you folks doing that. So, Neil, let me ask you, Neil Boron, Neil Boron, live out of Buffalo, New York. What about with this school shooting and the gun arguments and such? You know, it gets politicized so much from the left. Oh, if we just if we just had more gun laws, we know that, as you said, you're right. The laws are going to be broken anyway. But here's the two main things, Neil, that I see in common every time I see these these kind of school shootings. Number one. There are no new gun laws that would have stopped that shooting, okay? And number two, they're all gun-free zones. You have teachers that aren't armed. And I'm not trying to pick on this school, okay? It's a Christian school. But teachers that aren't armed, I've got to imagine there are some teachers there that probably have concealed carry licenses. They're proficient with firearms. And in cases like that... Would I rather have a police officer, a resource officer? Sure. But if I don't have somebody right there, then I'd rather at least have a teacher familiar with guns that's packing that can maybe stop something like this sooner than when police can eventually get there.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, yeah. And, you know, I realize how shocking that sounds to some people. And there are definitely teachers that want nothing to do with a handgun. They just are not comfortable handling one or whatever.
SPEAKER 01 :
Right.
SPEAKER 04 :
But other teachers have backgrounds in military service or law enforcement. It's not that big a deal. And I think arming teachers is not a bad thing. In the right context, done the right way, I think it's not a bad thing. And by the way, how many churches, you know, have security teams where people are carrying in states where you're allowed to concealed carry? especially in rural areas. You know, 60, 70 percent of the congregations pack in heat, but nobody's hitting those churches, you know, for mass shootings because they know they're not going to get away with it. There's the deterrence factor. So I don't think it's a bad idea to consider something like that, and I realize it's controversial, but, you know, that ultimately is about protection and deterrence. It isn't about arming people who intend to break the law. It's about arming people who intend to protect innocent citizens like the students at that school in Wisconsin.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right. So true. John, your thoughts on that? Because it is a controversial thing, the idea of arming teachers.
SPEAKER 03 :
No, no, I'm with Neil. I mean, I think if you look at most of these individuals... Not all. There's a few rare exceptions, but for the most part, these guys are not heroes by any stretch of the imagination. Most of them are cowards, and what I mean by that, and I honestly believe in this case as well, if this young lady had known that there were several teachers on site, you know, packing, quote-unquote, and that she might risk... you know, being, you know, shot back at immediately. Believe me, that changes the perception in the mind of those individuals right off the bat. And to me, Bob, it's one of the biggest deterrents you can have because when these nefarious individuals are thinking about doing these things in the first place, that has to be the first thing that comes in their mind. You know, even if it's, okay, how am I going to, you know, disarm so-and-so because I know that they've got, you know, a gun in their desk or a gun on them or whatever the case may be. Just the reality that, hey, there are going to be people there shooting back at me if I do this. That changes everything.
SPEAKER 05 :
You know, it's interesting that you would think with all of the anti-gun people out there who believe in gun-free zones, you would think there would be a huge retail market for yard signs that say this house is a gun-free zone. But you know what? There's not.
SPEAKER 03 :
There's not a market out there for that. They're all cowards. They're not going to do that.
SPEAKER 05 :
Why would you put that kind of a message out there for the burglars? Of course nobody's going to do that.
SPEAKER 03 :
And really quick, going back to what Neil said a moment ago about the churches, and I'd have to go check the stats on this, but we cover... The three of us, a lot of different things on a daily basis. And the other thing, by the way, that's been coming out here of late on a lot of the national media is how many school shootings there have been. 323 was one report, which is so far off, it's ridiculous.
SPEAKER 05 :
CNN said 83. New York Times said 320.
SPEAKER 03 :
There's been like three all year when it's all said and done. So at any rate.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, thinking about what Neil said a moment ago, and I'm thinking, okay, you know, when's the last big church shooting that we've had? And I know there's been some synagogues and things like that, but churches where in a lot of cases, especially, you know, medium to large churches, even small churches, you know, there's somebody there that's now packing armed and so on. My point is I think now that that's become more well-known that churches are doing that, and I don't want to say this because I don't want it to happen, but we haven't seen a lot of that of late.
SPEAKER 05 :
Since New Life, really, in your backyard. Correct.
SPEAKER 03 :
What happened is churches armed themselves once that happened, and again, most of these criminals know that, so again, when's the last big one of those we've heard about?
SPEAKER 04 :
It's been a long time. Well, I think since New Life, there may have been Sutherland, Texas, and then there was the shooting.
SPEAKER 03 :
But that was one where, and I've interviewed that guy, there was a guy nearby that ran in there and actually ended up diffusing that whole situation, and that didn't end well for the shooter.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, all I'm saying is that they still happen, but they're happening at a less frequent pace because of the deterrence factor. And I don't know. I mean, I think that I interviewed a gentleman. He's an African-American pastor from Niagara Falls, New York. Wonderful brother in Christ. I had him in the studio. He was pushing back on Governor Hochul here in New York, who, on the heels of COVID-19, tried to make it illegal to carry in certain settings, including churches, because, quote, in her mind, they should all be gun-free zones, houses of worship, etc. He said, I've been a pastor for like 40 years, and I've got a small congregation. I don't have money to pay a security team. No one in our church, you know, would qualify. We've got an older congregation. When I'm standing in the pulpit, and I got 35 people sitting in the pews, and somebody comes in the back door armed, I want to be able to protect my congregation, and I'm And he held his ground along with some other pastors, black and white, just pastors that care about protecting their congregations. And ultimately, that thing was thrown out, and he's caring. He's caring in church. But yeah, I mean, think of the mindset of a pastor who's preparing a sermon on Sunday but saying, I've got to protect the people that I'm preaching to.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right. That's brutal.
SPEAKER 03 :
Which, guys, really quick, I mean, that attitude, which, by the way, I fully agree with. Let's protect the people that are inside of this particular building organization and so on. There's, by the way, a lot of other organizations that do exactly the same thing. Why don't we do that with our kids?
SPEAKER 05 :
I know. I know. Are they not a valuable enough asset?
SPEAKER 03 :
Thank you. Yes, they are the most valuable asset we have.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay, because I'll tell you what. We protect celebrities a whole lot better. We protect members of Congress a whole lot better. I mean, we protect just about everybody a whole lot better than we protect our kids inside the classroom.
SPEAKER 03 :
Bob, we do just the opposite. We tell everybody that these are gun-free zones where our kids are actually at. We do the opposite, Bob.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, exactly. Advertising.
SPEAKER 05 :
We put a neon sign out there that says, by the way, it's easy pickings in this school because it's a gun-free zone.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's a shame.
SPEAKER 05 :
I know. Now, John, you mentioned the thing. I want to go a little bit deeper about the media reports we're seeing about how many school shootings there are every year. People need to know there are left-wing schools. groups, left-wing anti-gun groups out there that tabulate their own data of how many school shootings, mass shootings, things like that there are. And they come up with their own liberal left-wing criteria for this. And then the media uses them as some kind of an actual source, a legitimate source. But we got to remember, during COVID, remember how COVID deaths were over-exaggerated because everything was labeled a COVID death, everything. That's right. Somebody gets a motorcycle crash with a fever, okay, well, that could be probable COVID. Therefore, we can call it a COVID death. So they dramatically inflated the numbers by making a mile-wide net to catch anything and call it COVID. Well, that's how these left-wing anti-gun groups do it. They will literally, if you look at, like, for example, the organization that New York Times cited, okay, do you know what their criteria is for a school shooting?
SPEAKER 03 :
Anything that happens on school grounds.
SPEAKER 05 :
That's right. School grounds. And by the way, look at all the inner city high crime areas. It's very common for gangs to gather together and pull out their guns on school grounds, out in the parking lot somewhere. Things like that happen, not even inside the school.
SPEAKER 03 :
In July when there's not even school in session, by the way. Right. That's right. Those get counted also.
SPEAKER 05 :
And all they have to do is pull out a gun. They don't have to fire it. Just pull out a gun. One gang member to another. Three gang members pull out guns. There are three, quote, school shootings that are listed there. What? fire it it's just considered a school shooting this is how some of these left-wing groups do it also again they find any bullets anywhere okay where you can have gang members that in the neighborhood in the vicinity think about how many gang-ridden schools and the vicinities there are one of these anti-gun groups uses anything within what's considered the school zone which is usually around a four or five or six block area and so gangland activity gets credited as school shootings so Those numbers are grossly skewed.
SPEAKER 03 :
Most of them, by the way, come from every town USA. I know, and you know what?
SPEAKER 05 :
It's a way for the left-wing media to trick Americans into believing that this scenario of somebody going into a schoolroom and shooting up children is happening dozens and dozens and dozens of times a year, and it's just not true.
SPEAKER 03 :
Nope, it is not true.
SPEAKER 05 :
It shouldn't happen, and we need to stop it.
SPEAKER 03 :
Really quick, too, Bob, don't forget, even a stray bullet, so say there's a rural school out there and there's some... hunting area nearby, which, by the way, can happen even a stray bullet that, you know, in the middle of summer or, you know, an early morning, you know, whatever, something just happens to land their school shooting.
SPEAKER 05 :
I know, exactly.
SPEAKER 04 :
I was watching the news with my wife the other day, and they said something about the 300 school shootings. And I immediately thought of the overinflated numbers. I wasn't sure how they calculated that. It's shocking to find that out. But she gasped when she heard that number. She said, how is that possible? Well, I guess if you're going to count it the way you're describing, then maybe it's possible. But yeah, that's disgusting.
SPEAKER 05 :
They know if they can trick if they can trick some of those soccer moms out there into going, oh, my, this is horrible. This is happening this often in this country that making them think that the kids getting shot up in a classroom is what's happening with that kind of a frequency. Yeah, it can cause them to look over to Republicans and go, boy, I'll tell you what, maybe those Democrats are right. You know, and these Republicans are the ones with blood on their hands and blah, blah, blah. It's interesting. It's such dishonest propaganda. It just makes my eye twitch. It really does.
SPEAKER 03 :
By the way, these are the same individuals that will inflate all sorts of other things and yet deflate certain crime to make it look good on their end. So they are manipulating the data on a consistent basis, guys.
SPEAKER 05 :
And by the way, can I also say the argument of going after gun manufacturers for stuff like this? This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life, going after the gun. Look, if a gun actually malfunctions and someone's injured, then of course the manufacturer's liable for that. Right. But if the gun functions the way it's intended to function, it can be used for good or for evil because the very same gun manufacturer produces a gun that a bad guy uses, also produces a gun that a good guy uses to save people's lives. Let me... Next time somebody gets killed by a drunk driver or plows their car into a crowd of people, do we now say, well, let's go ahead and sue Ford or General Motors because they're the ones who manufactured the car? It's the same car that's used to drive the pregnant mom to the hospital real quick to have the baby. Right. What do you think about that, Neil?
SPEAKER 04 :
Sue the manufacturers? No. I mean, that's a convoluted kind of thing, and I don't want to get into it right now because I want to say one more thing, and I know we're short on time this half hour. But, I mean, there's so many nuances to that whole thing. I do think that parents should be held liable if they're giving kids access to guns who illegally would be possessing or using them at that point. In other words, to not have a firearm in a locked cabinet and allow your 12-year-old to grab it and shoot a friend somewhere, I think the parents need to be held liable and or if they know about it, particularly if a kid makes violent overtures to certain people and says, I'm going to blow that guy up one of these days and for some reason either get them a gun or let them use... a gun that would constitute illegal use, then I think parents should be held liable for that. I don't know. It's controversial in certain circumstances because you could see the overreach people would want to take by just saying, well, if you had a gun in your house, you must be guilty. But I think there are certain cases where it would matter. I think parents are letting kids get away with far too much, especially when they know that they're troubled. A kid that has been posting violent things or saying potentially violent things, I think that parents need to take action at that point.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I mean, but this is a whole other conversation we could spend really an entire podcast on, which is safe gun ownership, proper training of your kids. I mean, guys, I grew up in a home and had a father where I started shooting, and I'm not exaggerating at age five or six, understood at the very early age what that gun could do, what it meant, what you weren't supposed to do, how you were supposed to treat it, all of the gun safety that goes with it, and not to get off on a tangent, but we don't do that anymore.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right. Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
We don't teach that anymore.
SPEAKER 05 :
That happened to much. I would agree. I would agree. I think it's important that the kids know, frankly, how guns work and kind of mystify it for them a little bit, demystify it, because then that way they realize how lethal and dangerous.
SPEAKER 03 :
That's right. Exactly. Yeah, when I was a kid, you know, growing up and, you know, it was a time where, you know, gun safes, things like that really didn't exist. You know, my dad just sort of hid guns all over the place, you know, wherever, you know, he happened to think that somebody that would be breaking in wouldn't be able to find them, that kind of a thing. But we all had a very healthy, two siblings, we had a healthy respect for guns. I can remember even a few times where friends would come over and they'd ask to see such and such. And it was like, no, that is not okay. We're not going to go do X, Y, and Z. And no, you're not going to look at my dad's gun. I mean, we knew on the front side how this was supposed to work because we had been taught that way.
SPEAKER 05 :
Absolutely. No, you're absolutely right. And by the way, we are going to, in the second half of the podcast, because we're coming up on the end of the first half, we're going to talk about all these drones, the New Jersey drones, and what's the latest with that and how should we look at this as we continue through the podcast. We do want to ask you folks also, please support the sponsors to this podcast because these sponsors are supporting us and we appreciate them doing that. One of them, of course, is Preborn. And if you haven't given to pre-born yet, do it now. You're coming up on the end of the year, folks, and this is a chance to go ahead and do it. If you will give to pre-born right now, you know that you're going to save babies' lives, everybody. You're going to do this. You're paying for ultrasound images for these moms to see pictures of their baby, okay, in pro-life centers. $28 is the average ultrasound expense to stop one abortion, to save one baby's life. So will you pray about a number of babies' lives you'll save? Take $28 times fill in the blank. And whatever that number is, that's your gift to pre-born. And 100% of what you give goes to fund ultrasounds, nothing for overhead. And, hey, we need some of you out there to buy ultrasound machines. We don't have enough of them, okay? They're $15,000 apiece. It's a nice tax write-off for you coming up on the end of the year. And your forever legacy is that you're stopping thousands and thousands of abortions year after year after year. So what do you say? Give to Preborn right now. You can go online to CrawfordMediaGroup.net, click on Preborn, give right there. And you can also call over the phone, 833-850-BABY. They answer 24-7, 833-850-BABY. We appreciate you supporting them. We also appreciate, Neil, our listeners supporting SunPowerLED because they do tremendous work getting people out of pain.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, and one thing we know for sure is that God created the human body to heal. If you sprain your ankle, it's going to get better eventually. If you've got a head cold, it's going to go away because our bodies can heal themselves. God made it that way. And SunPower LED helps foster that process, helps move it along. You've all seen video of an opera singer singing a particular note and can explode a champagne glass when the resonance of that particular note hits the right frequency. Well, same thing true with light waves. When the proper red light or near-infrared light is applied to the human body. It literally penetrates the skin. It goes to an area where there's swelling and inflammation. It begins to reduce that swelling, reduce the inflammation, and promote the healing process. It's an incredible thing that you really need to see for yourself. We're talking about the very light God himself created. This has nothing to do with big pharma, nothing to do with surgery. Check it out for yourself by going to CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on Sun Power LED. That's sun like sun in the sky, S-U-N, Sun Power LED. They have videos there you can watch and see for yourself how the very light God himself created can be used to help heal the human body. Thank God for that.
SPEAKER 05 :
And it's so great that it's all natural like that too, which is just phenomenal. 100%. i know we uh in the second half of this podcast we're going to be talking about the drones the new jersey drones what some of the latest is uh intel meeting that took place regarding that and what people are saying should we be concerned or not so we'll get to that maybe a few other things as well in the second half as we continue uh on the national crawford roundtable podcast we encourage those five-star reviews for us thank you very much folks and uh Of course, you can listen to us wherever you listen to our podcast. We appreciate you doing that. We're looking forward to the second half with Neil and with John and myself, Bob Duco, and that's coming up.
SPEAKER 02 :
This is a Crawford Media Group production.
SPEAKER 05 :
Continuing the second half of the National Crawford Roundtable Podcast with John Rush, Rush to Reason out of Denver, Colorado, Neil Boron, Neil Boron Live out of Buffalo, New York, myself, Bob Duco, The Bob Duco Show out of Detroit. You know, the first half we were talking about the whole gun debate following the Wisconsin school shooting and such. Let's talk about the drones, guys. What we're hearing now is that there was an intel meeting that the FBI and the FAA and all the security apparatus of the United States, apparently they had representatives meeting with the House Intelligence Committee yesterday. And the House Intelligence Committee is coming out, mostly Democrats, saying, yeah, they assured us that there's nothing to be concerned about regarding these drones. But they also said this is not a government operation, but there's no real harm or concern about these drones being up there. And so I guess... I don't know, John, for me, it seems like I don't want to be a conspiratorial guy. I've said all along, I'm open to the possibility. This is just a bunch of teenage nerds. I'm open to the possibility that it is some kind of government secret thing, but they just don't want to admit it. And I'm open to the possibility that you have foreign actors out there maybe working through American proxies to do some last minute surveillance before Joe Biden leaves. But it just seems to me that the answer that ought to be forthcoming right now is we now have identified these drones. These are the source of the drones. This is who's flying them. This is who's owning them. They have to know that. Why aren't they telling us that?
SPEAKER 03 :
Because I think they're looking for something that they don't want to scare the rest of the population into knowing is. Out there, there's conversation, and I think the one where some of the stories out there, conspiracies, I guess you could say, was there was a nuke out of Ukraine that was lost. I think that one's been pretty much dispelled. The one that continues to keep rolling along, and I've interviewed a couple of individuals that have some inside information. I guess you could say on my show, is that there is some nuclear waste that has been lost, and they don't know where it is, and that these drones, and the reason they're flying at night is because the signature of is much easier to find at night than it is during the day, that it's the DOE that's actually... you know, doing this. And again, why they don't tell us is, I guess, because if they don't want outright panic and people, you know, fleeing a portion of the country. I mean, I don't know. I don't know what the reasons for this would be. I mean, just be honest and tell people what's going on. But I think it's more along those lines, and I think it's the reason why you even see Donald Trump saying that basically he knows he can't say, and I don't know why they're keeping this hush-hush. I think they know the origins. They're just not saying. And I don't think it's anybody that's from another country, and I don't think it's anybody here doing it on our own shores. I think it's government.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, and it is plausible, that particular theory, that if there's some nuclear waste somewhere that's been lost and they're trying to find it, people have no idea if this is going to be another Lima, Ohio chemical kind of nightmare. Correct. Neil, it does make you wonder then – If any of us were in charge, might we possibly say, and I want to defend the Democrats and the apparatus here, but might we possibly say, hey, look, the lesser of the evils is lying to the public and not telling them because if we tell them the truth, we could create a panic and mass exodus and from regions that it doesn't have to happen to. And so maybe the lesser of the evils is to just keep a secret while we look for it. If that were the case, I could kind of see that.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, and I only agree with you for this reason, probably. I don't think it's a good thing to lie to the public, but the government does it all the time. And I'm not justifying it, but I mean, we were lied to that Joe Biden was fit to serve as president of the United States. We haven't really had a president during these past four years. Who knows who's running the country? But all of it based on a lie that he was mentally fit. He's not. And we saw that during the debate. But You know, are we being lied to? I think it's a strong possibility. We are being lied to. There's one other theory, by the way. I have my own theory on this. I think that the New York Giants are so dreadful this year. No, listen. This is a marketing ploy to rebrand and relaunch next year as a team called the New Jersey Drones. And, you know, join the NFL. And a lot of people are interested in the New Jersey Drones, so maybe they could actually get people in the stand. That's actually a good theory. Yeah. It's not horrible. There's so many strange thoughts that I have about this. Again, if they know anything, why aren't they telling the public? And I think there's so much distrust of government right now. And you heard what Donald Trump said. He's like, they know what it is. They know exactly what it is, and they're not telling you. And I would be curious to know why they're not telling you. He's leading us to believe that they know exactly what this is. And I think a lot of people...
SPEAKER 03 :
I honestly think he knows he just he can't because of where he's at and so on. The fact that he's not president right now, of course, you know, can't say which, by the way, for all of those individuals that have always said that, you know, he he leaked documents and he did this and he did that. Well, if in fact and we come to find out down the road that he in fact did know exactly right now what's going on and didn't say a word that disproves all of that other nonsense as well. It does.
SPEAKER 05 :
Which, by the way, let me – John, do you think, though, that it's – not to try to poke holes in this particular theory of we're looking for some nuclear waste or something.
SPEAKER 03 :
And that's all it is.
SPEAKER 05 :
I mean, I have no idea. But it's almost like I could see that if there were a particular county that they were scanning. But you've got an entire state of New Jersey that's being scanned, parts of New York, even parts of Pennsylvania. It just seems like that's a huge swath of land to be looking for something.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, keep in mind, though, if it's something that's delivered on rail, for example, and somehow a – Car, for example, got lost, which don't ask me how that happens, but I guess it's happened before. Put that one in quotes. Put that one in quotes. Lost. Yeah, I mean, supposedly it's happened before. This isn't the first time. And the one thing that, and this is where I asked my guests the other day about this, if you look at the way the drones fly, they're doing it very much in a grid pattern, meaning they are looking for something. So the question is, if it's not the DOE, then why? Honestly, for me, it's more scary if it's not that. If that's not the case, what are they looking for? I know.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, can I say something, too? I mean, one of the things that's been curious to me is that these things, for the most part, I mean, one of the former congressmen, Adam somebody, Kinzinger or something, was saying that he believes, and he apparently was in the military or a military pilot or something, but that, you know, look at Some of these things I see, he goes, I haven't really seen a drone. I'm seeing small manned aircraft. Well, maybe he's just missing the drones, but we're told that there are actual drones out there. But why would they have like proper FAA lighting on them, right? I mean, if this was like a nefarious foreign government somehow launching drones from a mystery ship out in the ocean. And coming to scan out, you know, the best way to attack the United States or something or find out how secure we are from a drone attack, you know, try to assess all that. Well, why would they put proper FAA lighting on them?
SPEAKER 03 :
Furthermore, Neil, why wouldn't we have shot them down by now?
SPEAKER 04 :
Correct. And that was part of what I was also going to say. And on top of that, why haven't we like scrambled jets or sent a Blackhawk helicopter up there? Blackhawks are used to flying in traffic, man. I mean, when they're low to the ground and there's a cat fight, dog fight in the air going on, they're avoiding objects.
SPEAKER 03 :
We have technology that could land them electronically where you don't even have to fire a shot. Don't forget that as well. So The reality is we could send out a mini EMP pulse near every one of those things and destroy them immediately, and they'd fall to the ground. So the reality is we're not doing that because they're ours. Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
And that would be the speculation, sure.
SPEAKER 05 :
Which I'm still open to the possibility that it might actually be the smarter thing to keep the public in the dark about it.
SPEAKER 03 :
And Bob, you could be, I'm not going to argue that one either. If it is something that, let's say it's even worse than nuclear waste. I don't know what that would be, by the way, but let's say it's something even worse than that. Yeah, do you want to keep the public in the dark and not have them in some sort of a panic mode where everybody immediately wants to leave the coast and drive away? you know, travel inward, I mean, that would be a total disaster. So which is better? I don't have that answer. I don't know what we're doing, so I don't have the answer to that.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, I know. I get it. I do know this, though. As we continue talking about this, we're going to shift the conversation to political, to presidential politics. And is Donald Trump... in essence, the de facto president right now. Frankly, I would argue that he is, and that doesn't bother me at all, but we'll talk about that. We also want you folks to support our sponsors. We appreciate them sponsoring this podcast, and Preborn is certainly one of them. You know, Preborn is a way to save babies' lives, folks. It's really this simple, okay? If you right now will decide that you're going to pay for some ultrasound images through Preborn, You're literally going to stop babies from being aborted. It's true. In pro-life centers, pre-born shows these ultrasound images. Moms choose life when they see a picture of their baby. But it takes money. $28 is the average ultrasound expense to stop one abortion, to save one baby's life. How many babies' lives will you save? Take $28 times fill in the blank. And whatever that number is, that's your forever legacy of the amount of babies' lives that you saved. And you know what? Some of you coming up on the end of the year that are looking for a nice tax write-off, how about buying an ultrasound machine? They're $15,000 a piece, and you can write it off for yourself. And you know something? Your forever legacy will be that you are stopping thousands and thousands of abortions year after year. Think about that, huh? And by the way, everything you give to Preborn, 100% goes to the ultrasounds, not a penny for overhead. So here's how you give. Go online to CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on Preborn. CrawfordMediaGroup.net, click on Preborn. Or you can give over the phone to a real live person. They answer 24-7. Call 833-850-BABY. That's 833-850-BABY. We appreciate you doing that. We appreciate you supporting our sponsors. Neil, one of the things we really appreciate, too, is SunPower LED and how they've been able to get people out of pain in a completely natural way, the way God actually intended it.
SPEAKER 04 :
There was a ton of distrust about the government that I think helped propel Donald Trump into the White House. And his victory was largely based on government distrust, distrust of big organizations like Big Pharma. So when he said that he was thinking about nominating RFK Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services, there was a lot of excitement about that, actually, because I think people don't trust Big Pharma. They've got a lot of dollars on the line and want to keep people sick, but the bottom line is there are alternative therapies for reducing pain and swelling, promoting healing, surgical wound care, etc., and simply using the light God himself created. It's an amazing thing. This same technology was used to heal my lungs after COVID. I was headed for the hospital. I wasn't able to breathe. I was at 79% oxygen saturation. And in about a week, the entire thing turned around with the help of SunPower LED. It's red light therapy. It's a particular device that shoots wavelengths of light, certain specific wavelengths into your body. You don't get burnt. You don't feel it, but it reaches the cells that need help. energizes the mitochondria, wakes up the cell, and promotes healing in your body. You need to see it for yourself. If you're a migraine sufferer, if you've got joint pain, check it out. SunPowerLED at CrawfordMediaGroup.net. Again, SunPower, like sun in the sky, S-U-N. SunPowerLED at CrawfordMediaGroup.net.
SPEAKER 05 :
Absolutely. And we appreciate you folks doing this as we continue through this podcast. You know, Donald Trump being the de facto president, actually, if we could, before we even get to that, John, I do want to get your take on the Biden administration auctioning off... Trump border wall for five cents on the dollar. Texas, by the way, is stepping in saying, you know what, we're going to buy it up then and we'll store it for Trump and then give it to him once he's in. But Ted Cruz, I thought, made a really good point when Trump, when he was asked about this, he said, you know, this may be criminal what they're doing. And then Ted, you know, people are like, oh, that's an exaggeration. But what Senator Cruz said is he said, think about his example was think if you had a sheriff in a town and that sheriff lost the election and he hated to lose. And he's mad now that he lost. And here comes the new sheriff. But before the new sheriff can be sworn in, the old sheriff decides to take the 10 squad cars that are worth $50,000 a piece and auction them off for a hundred bucks a piece. You're going to tell me that that sheriff wouldn't be indicted on charges for this. And so how is that any different than John, than what Joe Biden is doing right now with border wall?
SPEAKER 03 :
In my opinion, there is no difference. This is very criminal in its behavior, if you would, or what he's actually doing. He's doing it on purpose. It's a poke in the eye at Donald Trump and, frankly, all of the Americans that voted for Donald Trump, which, again, just as a side note, I talked in my program yesterday about how the Democrats have lost touch. With, you know, with the country. Another example right now, you've got a majority of the country that voted for Donald Trump because the very thing we're talking about in regard to the border. And yet this particular, you know, party and because, you know, let's face it, it is all part of the same party are going to do exactly what they're doing right now. That is nothing more than a poke in the eye at every voter that voted for Donald Trump.
SPEAKER 05 :
I know. Neil, what do you think about them selling off the border wall for pennies on the dollar?
SPEAKER 04 :
I just picture a kid about to lose a chess game, and he's had enough, and he flips the board and walks out of the room. Good example. If I can't win, I'm taking my sports equipment and going home or whatever. It's the idea that they're trying to stand in the way of the Trump agenda, and the Trump agenda is to crack down on illegal immigration. And I think the American people, honestly, should be outraged. I don't care what your background is. We spent money for a border wall that ultimately will be erected under the Trump administration, at least portions of it, I would think. And the idea that they're standing in the way of that so blatantly... You know, trying to step in the way to say, look, I don't care what the American people said at the polls this past year or how big of an issue illegal immigration is to people that want secure borders. We're just going to sell this stuff off because, you know, we're upset at the Trump administration and we're just going to stick it to them. And I think that they should be held accountable. And we're the ones who bought this. It's taxpayer money.
SPEAKER 05 :
It's taxpayer money. So we're the ones who bought this wall.
SPEAKER 03 :
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER 04 :
So 100 percent.
SPEAKER 03 :
And believe me, I can tell you right now from being around some of that type of product, that's not cheap stuff we're getting rid of, by the way, guys.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
Nothing in the government is cheap. I mean, that's going to be very expensive to replace, is my point.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, and it's taxpayer money being spent, and I don't see anybody upset about this. CNN, MSNBC, a bunch of Democrats in Congress, they ought to be griping about this or not. Of course not. So they're all complicit in this. So what do you think about Donald Trump kind of functioning as the de facto president at this point? It does seem like he is. I mean, look, you've got this gazillionaire Japanese businessman – who says, Trump is making me confident enough in the U.S. economy that I'm going to go ahead and invest $100 billion in the United States. $100,000 employees, I think, as well.
SPEAKER 03 :
Did I read that right?
SPEAKER 05 :
$100,000 employees, they're estimating, too. Yeah, Trump's not even in the White House yet. He's already meeting with the world leaders and basically starting to arrange the chess pieces already. I imagine that they're already doing some behind the scenes negotiations already with Iran and Hamas as far as getting those hostages released, too. So it really is, you know, if you think about it, Neil, let me ask you about this first. This is an historic thing. I've never seen this in my life before, where you have an outgoing president who's really not the functioning president anymore, and the incoming president actually functioning as the president, but before he's actually legally allowed to. I think it's a good thing that Trump is doing, but I find it incredible that he's seen as the president of the United States right now, not Joe Biden. Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, it really says a lot about the perceptions that the American people have about what's been happening in the White House over the last four years. And I don't think it's just that Joe Biden lost, so he's going away. I don't think he was ever present. I mean, this was sleepy Joe sitting in his basement. Remember that prior to the 2020 election? Where was he and where has he been? And why don't we see him more often or why haven't we seen him more often at press conferences and you know, in public, making public statements. It's because he's incapacitated, and I don't think he's actually been the president for the last four years. So I think Donald Trump, you know, I think that the public is welcoming the idea that we're going to have a president, a visible president, who's going to be accountable to the American people, who's going to say things and then follow up on those things, you know, make statements, make claims, and then make good on those claims. And I think people are hungry for that. So I don't see that the American people are going to push back at all. I think Democrats ought to be furious in one sense that he's sticking his nose in there. But on the other hand, I think they're just resigned to it. It's over, man. And the whole Biden thing ain't happening. Where's Kamala anyway? She's been invisible. So I think it's entirely appropriate because the world is ready for change. And here comes Donald Trump.
SPEAKER 03 :
Both of you guys understand the whole leadership principle. You've been around things long enough. Neil, you, the church, Bob, you as well. And the reality is this is something, by the way, that the other side, I think, has completely lost. They have forgotten. They don't know what real leadership is. They want to rule in a very Putin way, which, by the way, is not leading. It's dictating. And the reality is the American public doesn't want that. They will follow a good, solid, proven leader. It's why I believe Donald Trump was elected unanimously even by a popular vote. They're tired of not being led, and they're looking for a leader.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, think about John, think about the Mar-a-Lago press conference that Trump just I mean, for over an hour just the other day, allowed himself to be peppered with as many questions as the press wanted to hit him with. He was willing to do that for over an hour. And you can't even imagine just try to picture Donald Trump at that press conference only taking a few minutes and then looking down at a piece of paper saying, OK, hold on a minute. They told me who I told me to call on you. Oh, yeah. This person, OK, I'm supposed to call on you. And then the blank stares. And we just can't. Yes, you're right. Americans are hungry for some kind of leadership right now. And Donald Trump is showing that he's the guy that's in charge, let alone when January 20th comes here.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, I have the Fox News app on my phone, and I don't know if you guys do, but leading up to the election, well, after they named Kamala as the candidate, right? Sleepy Joe says, I'm backing out, and Kamala's it, and nobody had a vote on that, but here she is, and she's the candidate. Fox News started tracking how long it was before she held any kind of a formal press conference. And I believe that the last number I saw, or at least remember, was 105 days that she did not hold any kind of a formal press conference. Like you just described, that Donald Trump stood there and just took questions from the press, unprompted, no teleprompter, whatever, just answering questions. Kamala was nowhere to be found. And yet we were supposed to believe that she was capable of leading our government? I don't think so. Right.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, it really is showing that no matter what you may say about Donald Trump or his personality, his style, anything like that, I don't think anybody can question his ability to lead.
SPEAKER 03 :
Really quick, Bob, which, by the way, his style and demeanor and approachability and so on has changed dramatically. And, again, I think it comes from the assassination attempt, frankly. I think a lot of things changed at that point. But the way he's handling everything is just – it's 180 degrees different than it was prior.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah. Hey, what do you think about, you know, I'm curious your thoughts on how he's handling the media, because on one hand, he's basically telling, at least how it looks to me, he's saying, I am either going to be the guy who reaches out the olive branch and tries to get along with you, or I'm going to be your worst enemy. Okay. But we're not going to have some kind of middle of the road relationship. So he's willing to meet with MSNBC people. He's willing to You know, take their calls and talk with them, do the interviews, talk with the press, even have their back a little bit saying, you know, the press is important. We need to have them. But at the same time, he says to Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines Register, Iowa newspaper. OK, guess what? I'm suing you and your top pollster for election interference. ABC. OK, I'll take your 15 million dollars. CBS. I'm still hauling you into court. We'll see if we get an out of court settlement here. and they're just going to work down the line and start suing the media organizations. And you know something? I don't see that as a contradiction. I see that, John, as being smart. This is Trump saying, if you're going to lie, you're going to have to get better at it, okay? Because if you're going to play this game, I'm going to be your worst enemy. We can either be good friends or we can be horrible enemies, but the status quo is not going to exist anymore.
SPEAKER 03 :
I think the other thing that plays into this, and even Van Jones on CNN not that long ago, I think just a few nights ago, said that, you know, At one time, we were the mainstream media and all of these other sources, the social media end of things and so on, that was fringe media. And even Van Jones himself said, that has switched. We are no longer the mainstream. What used to be the fringe has now become mainstream. And I think Donald Trump, by the way, understands that. Unfortunately, I'm not sure all of mainstream other than maybe Van Jones understands that.
SPEAKER 05 :
I know. And by the way, Neil, we're coming up on the bottom of the hour. But your thoughts on that real quick. And then please tell us about SunPower LED after your thoughts, too.
SPEAKER 04 :
There's going to be a radically different administration in charge as of January 20th. And I think that so much skepticism about where our country's headed and who can be trusted. One big thing, people don't trust the government. We saw that in the election, and they definitely don't trust big pharma. Well, listen, if you're tired of big pharma telling you that you need pills or doctors telling you you've got to have surgery to deal with certain situations that you've been dealing with, like joint pain and arthritis and migraines, etc., you need to know that there's something that can completely change the direction you go with regard to treatment. It's the light. Using the light God himself created, And use that to help heal the human body. Certain wavelengths of red and near-infrared light harnessed inside of sun power LEDs, different devices. One of them is handheld. There's more like canopy kind of units that go over top of an entire table. unbelievable what light can do to restore cells, get them working properly to help heal your body. And you can learn all about it. You can watch videos and understand this for yourself simply using the light God created to heal your body. Go to SunPowerLED by visiting CrawfordMediaGroup.net. CrawfordMediaGroup.net. Click on the videos, watch and learn what the light God himself created can do to help heal your body.
SPEAKER 05 :
I'll tell you what, it works phenomenally. It does. We're also asking you folks to wind down this podcast. Give to Preborn. Let's save some babies' lives. Okay, we're coming up on the end of the year, and this is a time to say, hey, look, let's do this. Let's pay for some ultrasound images. Preborn shows these ultrasound images in pro-life centers across the country. But you know what? We don't have enough ultrasound machines, and we don't have enough money to pay for as many ultrasounds as we could. And that's the reason why we're asking you folks – Pay for some of these ultrasounds, okay? $28 is the average ultrasound expense to stop one abortion, to save one baby's life. How many babies' lives will you save? Take $28 times fill in the blank. Whatever that number is, hey, that's your gift to preborn. And 100% of what you give goes to fund ultrasounds. And for some of you out there that can do it, we need you to buy ultrasound machines. They're $15,000 a piece. If you buy just one, it's a nice tax write-off for you. But your forever legacy is you're stopping thousands of abortions year after year. Think about that. So right now, give to pre-born if you would, okay? 100% of what you give goes to fund the ultrasounds. Nothing for overhead. And you can give online at CrawfordMediaGroup.net. Click on Preborn. CrawfordMediaGroup.net. Click on Preborn. Or they answer the phones 24-7. You can give to a real-life person over the phone by calling 833-850-BABY. That's 833-850-BABY. And we appreciate you folks doing that. We appreciate you folks listening to the Crawford Roundtable podcast. And we welcome your five-star reviews wherever you listen to your podcasts. And John Rush, Rush to Reason out of Denver, Colorado. Neil Boron, Neil Boron Live out of Buffalo, New York. Myself, Bob Duco, The Bob Duco Show out of Detroit. Guys, always great having you with us and all of us getting together again. And we've got a week until Christmas. So look forward to our special Christmas program that we'll be doing next week as well. We'll see you guys later. Thanks for listening, everybody. Thank you. Merry Christmas, everyone.
SPEAKER 02 :
You've been listening to the National Crawford Roundtable podcast, a view of today's culture through a biblical lens brought to you by Preborn, saving babies and souls. Join us in the fight to save babies from abortion. Your gift provides a free ultrasound for a mother in need. 80% of the time she will choose life. Visit CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on their logo to donate. And by SunPower LED light therapy devices. Bring light to your pain. Visit CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on the SunPower LED logo to get out of pain and improve your overall wellness. You can download this podcast from Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and more from your local Crawford Media Group station's website or at CrawfordMediaGroup.net. And please give this podcast a five-star rating on your Apple app. Look for the notification on your app for when the next weekly edition of the National Crawford Roundtable Podcast is ready for you to download. This is a Crawford Media Group production.
In this enlightening episode, we delve into the formidable power of praise, especially during life's tumultuous storms. With heartfelt insights, Adrian Rogers draws from the narrative of King Jehoshaphat to illustrate the potent force that worship holds in overcoming adversities. As adversaries loom large, infusing intentional praise between strategic actions becomes a beacon of hope and a source of divine energy that confuses and defeats enemies.
SPEAKER 01 :
Pastor, teacher, and author Adrian Rogers has introduced people all over the world to the love of Jesus Christ and has impacted untold numbers of lives by presenting profound truth simply stated. Thanks for joining us for this message. Here's Adrian Rogers.
SPEAKER 02 :
Second Chronicles chapter 20. The message tonight is a serious message, but a helpful message, and it deals with praise. It deals with praising God IN THE TIME OF TROUBLE. THE TITLE OF THE MESSAGE, THE POWER OF PRAISE. NOW PRAISE IS A VERY POWERFUL THING. AS A MATTER OF FACT, I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU CAN ENJOY THE CHRISTIAN LIFE WITHOUT PRAISE. IT'S PRAISE THAT JUST INFUSES THE JOY AND LETS THE JOY BEGIN TO FLOW. IF YOU'RE HAVING DIFFICULTY WITH JOY, IT IS PROBABLY BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT PRAISING THE LORD. NOW BE HONEST, HOW MANY FOLKS ENJOY SPORTS, FOOTBALL, BASKETBALL, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? LET ME SEE YOUR HAND. THAT'S MOST OF US, MOST OF US. IF THAT'S A SIN, I PLEAD GUILTY. I REALLY DO, I ENJOY WATCHING SPORTS. I ENJOY WATCHING FOOTBALL AND BASKETBALL, ESPECIALLY FOOTBALL. BUT YOU KNOW, WHEN MY FAVORITE TEAM IS PLAYING, AND, AND SOMETHING WONDERFUL HAPPENS, I MEAN, THERE'S A SPECTACULAR CATCH OR SOME INCREDIBLE PLAY, SOME, SOMETHING THAT IS JUST STUPENDOUS, I HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING. I MEAN, EVEN IF I'M WATCHING BY MYSELF, JOYCE CAN HEAR ME IN THE OTHER END OF THE HOUSE. I JUST HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING. UH, I, IF, IF, IF WE SCORE OR WHATEVER, I HAVE TO SAY, ALL RIGHT, OR THAT'S GOOD, OR WOW, OR, YEAH. YOU KNOW, YOU'RE LIKE, DON'T YOU DO THAT? DO YOU DO THAT? YOU JUST, AH. IF YOU DON'T SAY ANYTHING WHEN IT'S HAPPENING, YOUR ENJOYMENT OF THAT GAME IS GOING TO BE GREATLY DIMINISHED. TRY IT SOMETIME. JUST TRY SITTING THERE AND WATCHING A BALL GAME AND DON'T EXPRESS YOURSELF. JUST WATCH IT. DON'T SAY ANYTHING AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS. YOUR JOY, YOUR ENJOYMENT OF THAT GAME WILL DIMINISH. SOME FOLKS SIT HERE IN CHURCH, BLESS ME IF YOU CAN. THEY DON'T GET ANYTHING OUT OF IT. IF THEY DO, IT'S GREATLY DIMINISHED. YOU GET INTO IT. BEGIN TO PRAISE. BEGIN TO LAUGH. BEGIN TO SAY AMEN. BEGIN TO NOD YOUR HEAD. PARTICIPATE. GIVE GOD THE GLORY. THE JOY WILL START TO FLOW. QUIT JUST BEING A NON-ENTITY IN A SERVICE LIKE THIS. YOU KNOW, IT, IT HELPS TO PRAISE IN TIME OF JOY AND, AND, UH, PRAISE BRINGS JOY. AND IT HELPS TO PRAISE IN TIME OF HELP. WHEN YOU'VE, WHEN SOMEBODY'S DONE SOMETHING FOR YOU, LEARN TO PRAISE THEM. GIVE HONOR TO WHOM HONOR IS DUE. THERE'S POWER IN THAT.
SPEAKER 1 :
HUH.
SPEAKER 02 :
A WOMAN TOLD A PREACHER, SHE SAID, THAT WAS A WONDERFUL SERMON. He said, well, praise the Lord. She said it wasn't that wonderful. Just praise one another. And praise God when God has done something for you. Give Him thanks. But one of the ways and things we need to do, one of the things we need to do and one of the ways that we need to praise is to praise in time of trouble. AND I WANT YOU TO SEE HERE IN A CLASSIC PASSAGE OF SCRIPTURE THAT FROM TIME TO TIME WE'VE LOOKED AT, BUT WE MUST NEED TO LOOK AT IT AGAIN, SECOND CHRONICLES CHAPTER 20, SECOND CHRONICLES CHAPTER 20. AND I, FIRST THING I WANT YOU TO SEE IS WHAT I'M GOING TO CALL A POWERFUL FOE, A POWERFUL FOE. LOOK, VERSES ONE AND TWO, AND IT CAME TO PASS AFTER THIS ALSO THAT THE CHILDREN OF MOAB, and the children of Ammon, with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. And there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side, Syria, AND BEHOLD, THEY THAT BE IN HAZARZON, HAZARZONTAMON, WHICH IS ANGEDDON." NOW HERE IS KING JEHOSHAPHAT, A GOOD KING. HE LOVES THE LORD AND HE'S TOLD, YOU'VE GOT SOME ENEMIES OUT THERE. THERE ARE THREE POWERFUL KINGS THAT ARE COMING AGAINST YOU. THE INHABITANTS THERE OF AMAM AND MOAB AND MOUNT SEIR HAVE COME AGAINST YOU. WE MIGHT AS WELL MAKE UP OUR MIND AND REAFFIRM THE, THE TRUTH THAT WE HAVE THREE MIGHTY KINGS THAT COME AGAINST US ON A REGULAR BASIS, SIN, SORROW, AND DEATH. THESE ARE THE CHRISTIANS' THREE GREAT FOES, THE WORLD'S THREE GREAT FOES, SIN, SORROW, AND DEATH. AND WE'RE FACED WITH THEM TIME AND TIME AGAIN. SO NUMBER ONE, A POWERFUL FOE. EVERY ONE OF US WHO LIVE THE CHRISTIAN LIFE WILL MEET OPPOSITION FROM TIME TO TIME, AND SOMETIMES THE OPPOSITION WILL BE FIERCE. NUMBER TWO, NOT ONLY WAS THERE A POWERFUL FOE, BUT THANK GOD KING JEHOSHAPHAT MADE A POSITIVE FOCUS. LOOK IN VERSE THREE, AND JEHOSHAPHAT FEARED AND SET HIMSELF TO SEEK THE LORD AND PROCLAIM TO FAST THROUGHOUT ALL JUDAH. HE SET HIMSELF TO SEEK THE LORD." NOW GOD FOR JEHOSHAPHAT WAS HIS FIRST THOUGHT, NOT HIS LAST RESORT. JEHOSHAPHAT SAID, THE ENEMY'S OUT THERE, BUT GOD IS UP HERE, AND I AM GOING TO SEEK THE LORD WITH ALL OF MY HEART. A POWERFUL FOE CAUSED HIM TO HAVE A POSITIVE FOCUS. HE SET HIMSELF TO SEEK THE LORD. AND NOT ONLY WAS THERE A POSITIVE FOCUS, BUT THERE WAS A PROCLAIMED FAST. LOOK IF YOU WILL IN VERSE THREE, THE LAST PART, AND HE PROCLAIMED A FAST THROUGHOUT ALL JUDAH. AMERICA IS SICK. IT IS TIME FOR THE CHURCH OF THE LORD GOD TO SHARPEN HER FOCUS and proclaim a fast to seek God. It is not that by fasting we buy God's blessings. God's blessings are always by grace, but yet God does business with those that mean business. And when we have a positive focus, fasting just simply sharpens the focus. It causes us to think about God in a way that nothing else that I know of does. NOW THE NEXT THING I WANT YOU TO SEE IS A, A PURPOSEFUL FELLOWSHIP. LOOK IF YOU WILL IN VERSE FOUR, AND JUDAH GATHERED THEMSELVES TOGETHER TO ASK HELP OF THE LORD. EVEN OUT OF ALL OF THE CITIES OF JUDAH THEY CAME TO SEEK THE LORD. EVERYBODY CAME TOGETHER TO SEEK GOD. WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IN AMERICA IF IN ALL OF THE CITIES OF AMERICA PEOPLE JUST GOT TOGETHER TO SEEK THE LORD, BLACK AND WHITE, BAPTISTS, ASSEMBLY OF GOD, METHODISTS, PRESBYTERIAN, LUTHERAN, PENTECOSTAL, WHOMEVER WANTS TO, WHOMEVER WILL, TO COME TO SEEK THE LORD, A PURPOSEFUL FELLOWSHIP. AND WHEN WE COME TO SEEK THE LORD, HE SHOWS UP. FOR OUR LORD SAID, WHERE TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED IN MY NAME, THERE AM I IN THE MIDST OF THEM. AND WHEN WE COME TOGETHER, NOT TO TRY TO HEAL RACISM, NOT TO TRY TO SOLVE POVERTY, NOT TO ENTERTAIN OURSELVES, NOT TO, UH, GET AMERICA DELIVERED FROM HER ENEMIES, BUT WHEN WE COME TO SEEK THE LORD, TO SEEK THE LORD, TO SEEK THE LORD, WE WILL BE IN ONE ACCORD AND THEN WE WILL BE FAR ABLE, FAR BETTER ABLE TO ATTACK ALL OF THESE OTHER PROBLEMS THAT NEED TO BE DEALT WITH. BUT WE CANNOT BYPASS THE ONE THING THAT WE MUST DO AND GOD HELP US THAT WE WILL DO IS TO COME TOGETHER TO SEEK THE LORD, TO SEEK THE LORD. LOOK AT IT, LOOK AT IT. VERSE THREE, AND JEHOSHAPHAT FEARED AND SET HIMSELF TO SEEK THE LORD. THE LAST PART OF VERSE FOUR, THEY CAME TO SEEK THE LORD. IT WAS A PURPOSEFUL FELLOWSHIP TO SEEK THE LORD. NOT POLITICAL, NOT SOCIAL, NOT RACIAL, BUT SPIRITUAL, COMING TO SEEK THE LORD, A PURPOSEFUL FELLOWSHIP, VERSE FOUR. AND THEN THERE WAS A, A PRAYERFUL FAITH. AND NOW I WANT TO READ ON THROUGH VERSE 13, LOOK AT IT. AND JEHOSHAPHAT STOOD IN THE CONGREGATION OF JUDAH AND JERUSALEM IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD BEFORE THE NEW COURT, AND SAID, AND I WANT YOU TO LISTEN TO THIS PRAYER. BEFORE I READ THIS PRAYER, I WANT TO SAY THIS. THAT WHEN YOU HAVE A PROBLEM, WHEN I HAVE A PROBLEM, IT IS VERY, VERY, VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU PUT YOUR EYES UPON GOD, THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THE CHARACTER AND THE NATURE OF GOD. AND IN THIS PRAYER THAT WE'RE ABOUT TO SEE, WE'RE GOING TO FIND FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NATURE OF GOD. AND WHEN A PROBLEM COMES, YOU NEED TO GLANCE AT YOUR PROBLEMS AND GAZE AT YOUR GOD. I WANT YOU TO SEE THE PRAYER THAT JEHOSHAPHAT PRAYED. NOW DON'T JUST GLANCE OVER THIS. DON'T JUST GLAZE OVER THIS. DON'T JUST GO THROUGH THIS CARELESSLY. BECAUSE THERE ARE FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NATURE OF GOD THAT ARE IN THIS PRAYER THAT GREATLY ENCOURAGED ME WHEN I LOOKED AT IT. FIRST OF ALL, JEHOSHAPHAT SAW GOD AS A SOVEREIGN GOD. LOOK IN VERSE SIX AND SAID, O LORD GOD OF OUR FATHERS, NOW LISTEN TO THIS, ART THOU NOT GOD IN HEAVEN? AND RULEST NOT THOU OVER ALL THE KINGDOMS OF THE HEATHEN? AND IN THINE HAND IS THERE NOT POWER AND MIGHT, SO THAT NONE IS ABLE TO WITHSTAND THEE? QUESTION, CAN THE PORNOGRAPHERS WITHSTAND GOD? CAN THE LIQUOR DEALERS WITHSTAND GOD? CAN THE BABY BUTCHERS WITHSTAND GOD? CAN THE SODOMITES WITHSTAND GOD? NO. THERE IS NONE. THIS IS WHAT HE SAYS, YOU RULE OVERALL. THERE IS NOT POWER AND MIGHT SO THAT NONE IS ABLE TO WITHSTAND THEE. AND IT'S ABOUT TIME WE BELIEVE THAT. PEOPLE GOING AROUND WRINGING THEIR HANDS, SAYING, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO? WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO? WELL, I CAN TELL YOU THERE'S NO PANIC IN HEAVEN. AND I CAN TELL YOU ALSO THAT THE HOLY TRINITY NEVER MEETS AN EMERGENCY SESSION. YOU SAY, WELL, PASTOR, I HAVE A BIG PROBLEM, ALL RIGHT? I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT THE BIGGEST PROBLEM YOU HAVE. I MEAN THE VERY BIGGEST. THEN I WANT YOU TO DOUBLE IT. THEN I WANT YOU TO DOUBLE IT AGAIN. THEN I WANT YOU TO CO, COMPARE IT TO ALMIGHTY GOD AND TELL ME THAT YOUR PROBLEM IS TOO BIG FOR GOD. LISTEN, JEHOSHAPHAT BEGAN TO PRAY, AND FIRST OF ALL, HIS PRAYER WAS ADDRESSED TO A SOVEREIGN GOD. SECONDLY, VERSE SEVEN, IT WAS ADDRESSED TO A STEADFAST GOD. NOW LOOK AT VERSE SEVEN, ART NOT THOU OUR GOD, WHO DIDST DRIVE OUT THE INHABITANTS OF THIS LAND BEFORE THY PEOPLE ISRAEL, AND GAVEST IT TO THE SEED OF ABRAHAM THY FRIEND FOREVER? WHAT DOES HE SAY? HE SAID, GOD, YOU MADE A PROMISE TO ABRAHAM. YOU SAID TO ABRAHAM, I AM GOING TO GIVE YOU THIS LAND AND IT IS YOURS AND IT IS YOURS FOREVER. AND NOW, LORD, THIS BUNCH IS COMING TO TAKE AWAY FROM US THAT WHICH YOU GAVE US. AND, LORD, WE ARE STANDING ON YOUR WORD AND WE'RE PRAYING ON THE BASIS OF YOUR PROMISE. YOU ARE A STEADFAST GOD. YOU DON'T CHANGE WHAT YOU SAID TO ABRAHAM. YOU'RE SAYING TO US AND WE'RE STANDING ON YOUR WORD. GOD IS THE SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND FOREVERMORE. AND THE GOD WHO HAS WORKED MIRACLES IN THE PAST IS THE GOD WHO CAN WORK MIRACLES TODAY. AND DON'T YOU INSULT GOD BY SAYING, WE CANNOT HAVE REVIVAL IN THIS DAY AND IN THIS AGE. IT'S AN INSULT TO GOD BECAUSE GOD IS STILL POWERFUL. HE STILL HAS POWER TO SAVE MULTITUDES, TO SHAKE CITIES, AND TO SEND REVIVAL. STUDY THE HISTORY OF REVIVAL. AND GOD HAS SENT REVIVAL IN DARK DAYS BEFORE, AND GOD CAN AND GOD WILL, IF WE WILL TRUST HIM, SEND REVIVAL TODAY. HE IS A SOVEREIGN GOD, HE IS A STEADFAST GOD, AND HE IS A SYMPATHETIC GOD. LOOK IN VERSES EIGHT AND NINE AS WE CONTINUE TO READ, AND THEY DWELT THEREIN, AND HAVE BUILT THEIR SANCTUARY THEREIN FOR THY NAME, SAYING, IF, WHEN EVIL COMETH UPON US, AS THE SWORD, JUDGMENT, AND BY THE WAY, AMERICA IS UNDER JUDGMENT, JUDGMENT OR PESTILENCE, AMERICA HAS PESTILENCE, IT'S THE AGE PESTILENCE, OR FAMINE, WE STAND BEFORE THIS HOUSE AND IN THY PRESENCE, FOR THY NAME IS IN THIS HOUSE, THAT IS, THEY'RE PRAYING ON THE BASIS OF GOD'S GLORY, AND CRY UNTO THEE IN OUR AFFLICTION, THEN THOU WILL HEAR AND HELP. IS THAT UNDERSCORED IN YOUR BIBLE? IT IS IN MINE. THEN THOU WILL HEAR AND HELP. I LOVE THAT. THE GOD WHO HEARS AND THE GOD WHO HELPS. HE IS A SYMPATHETIC GOD. IF WE CRY TO HIM, HE WILL HEAR AND HE WILL HELP. HE WILL HEAR, HE WILL HELP. HE IS A SOVEREIGN GOD. HE IS A STEADFAST GOD. HE IS A SYMPATHETIC GOD. THE BIBLE SAYS IN ALL THEIR AFFLICTIONS HE WAS AFFLICTED. HE'S TOUCHED WITH THE FEELING OF OUR INFIRMITY. Then next, He is a seeing God. Look, if you will, in verse 10, "'Now behold,' that is, Lord, take a look. "'Now behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, "'whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, "'these, Lord, that you protected "'when they came out of the land of Egypt, "'but they turned from them and destroyed them not. "'That is, we showed mercy to them. "'Behold,' I say, how they reward us.' TO COME TO CAST US OUT OF THY POSSESSION WHICH THOU HAST GIVEN US TO INHERIT." NOW WHAT'S HE SAYING? HE'S SAYING, GOD, TAKE A LOOK AT ALL OF THIS. JUST BEHOLD IT. YOU SAY, DO I HAVE TO TELL GOD TO LOOK AT WHAT HE ALREADY SEES? YES. DO I HAVE TO ASK GOD FOR WHAT HE KNOWS I ALREADY NEED? YES. BUT THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT OUR PRAYER THAT GETS GOD'S ATTENTION AND CAUSES HIM IN A VERY SPECIAL WAY TO FOCUS ON WHAT WE FOCUS ON. HE IS A SEEING GOD. AND TWICE, GOD IS ASKED TO BEHOLD THIS. VERSE 10, AND NOW BEHOLD. VERSE 11, BEHOLD I SAY. HE IS THE SEEING GOD. GOD KNOWS YOUR SITUATION. HE KNOWS YOUR ENEMY. HE KNOWS YOUR DANGER. HE KNOWS WHERE YOU ARE RIGHT NOW. HE KNOWS WHAT YOU'RE THINKING THIS VERY MOMENT. AND THAT HELPS US WHEN WE PRAY. THERE'S NOTHING THAT ESCAPES HIS NOTICE. NOT ONLY IS HE A SEEING GOD, BUT HE IS THE SAVING GOD. LOOK, IF YOU WILL, IN VERSES 12 AND 13, O OUR GOD. BY THE WAY, THESE ARE TWO OF THE GREATEST VERSES IN THE CHAPTER. O OUR GOD, WILT THOU NOT JUDGE THEM? FOR WE HAVE NO MIGHT AGAINST THIS GREAT COMPANY THAT COMETH AGAINST US, NEITHER KNOW WE WHAT TO DO. BUT OUR EYES ARE UPON THEE. AND ALL JUDAH STOOD BEFORE THE LORD WITH THEIR LITTLE ONES, THEIR WIVES, AND THEIR CHILDREN. OH, GOD, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. WE DON'T HAVE ANY STRENGTH. BUT, LORD, OUR EYES ARE ON YOU. HERE ARE OUR WIVES. HERE ARE OUR CHILDREN. HERE ARE OUR LITTLE BABIES. LORD, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. THEY'RE COMING AGAINST US. GOD, WE DON'T HAVE ANY MIGHT. WE DON'T HAVE ANY STRENGTH. HOLLYWOOD IS GREATER THAN WE ARE. THE LIQUOR PEOPLE HAVE MORE MONEY THAN WE HAVE. THE MEDIA SEEMS TO BE AGAINST US. WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. BUT GOD, OUR EYES ARE ON YOU. HMM. IF WE GO DOWN, WE'RE GOING DOWN WITH OUR EYES ON YOU. IF THEY KILL US, THEY'RE GONNA KILL US WITH OUR EYES ON YOU. LORD, YOU ARE THE GOD WHO CAN DELIVER US. YOU ARE THE SOVEREIGN GOD. You are the steadfast God. You are the sympathetic God. You are the seeing God. You are the saving God. AND SO WHAT THEY DID, FRIEND, THEY JUST CAME TO A PRAYERFUL FAITH AND BEGAN TO PRAY, NOT ON THE BASIS OF WHAT THE PROBLEM IS, BUT ON WHO GOD IS. NEXT THING, NOT ONLY A PRAYERFUL FAITH, BUT A PROPHETIC FACT. NOW THEY'RE PRAYING, AND WHEN THEY PRAY, GOD BEGINS TO SPEAK AND ANSWER. BEGIN NOW IN VERSE 14. And upon Jehaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation. And the Lord said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou King Jehoshaphat. Thus saith the Lord unto you, BE NOT AFRAID NOR DISMAYED BY REASON OF THIS GREAT MULTITUDE, THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS BUT GOD'S. OH! OH! THAT'S IT! THAT'S IT! THAT'S IT! THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS BUT GOD, A PROPHETIC FACT. NOW THEY'RE PRAYING. THEY'RE SEEKING GOD. THEY'RE SAYING, GOD, WE HAVE NO MIGHT. WE HAVE NO UNDERSTANDING. WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. BUT WE'VE, WE'VE, WE'VE SET OURSELVES TO SEEK YOU. WE'VE GATHERED TOGETHER TO SEEK YOU. WE'VE PROCLAIMED TO FAST TO SEEK YOU. AND GOD THEN BEGINS TO MOVE. AND GOD BEGINS TO SPEAK. AND GOD TAKES A SPIRIT ANOINTED PREACHER TO BRING A MESSAGE. THANK GOD THAT THE SPIRIT OF GOD DOES ANOINT. THANK GOD FOR SPIRIT-FILLED MESSENGERS. AND THE MESSENGER SAID, HERE'S THE MESSAGE FROM GOD. HERE IS THE PROPHETIC FACT THAT WE NEED TO SEE ONE MORE TIME. VICTORY BELONGS TO GOD. THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS, BUT GOD'S. NOW, THE PROPHETIC FACT BRINGS US TO THE POTENT FORCE. AND WHAT IS THE POTENT FORCE? WELL, BEGIN NOW IN VERSE 16 AND READ THROUGH VERSE 22. HERE'S WHAT THE MAN OF GOD SAID. HERE IS WHAT THE PROPHET SAID. TOMORROW GO YE DOWN AGAINST THEM. BEHOLD, THEY COME UP BY THE CLIFF OF ZIZ, AND YE SHALL FIND THEM AT THE END OF THE BROOK BEFORE THE WILDERNESS OF JAPAN. Ruel, and ye shall not need to fight in this battle. Set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem, FEAR NOT, NOR BE DISMAYED. TOMORROW GO OUT AGAINST THEM, FOR THE LORD WILL BE WITH YOU.' AND JEHOSHAPHAT BOWED HIS HEAD WITH HIS FACE TO THE GROUND. AND ALL JUDAH AND THE INHABITANTS OF JERUSALEM FELL BEFORE THE LORD, WORSHIPING THE LORD. AND THE LEVITES OF THE CHILDREN OF THE KOTHITES AND OF THE CHILDREN OF THE KORHITES STOOD UP TO PRAISE THE LORD GOD OF ISRAEL WITH A LOUD VOICE ON HIGH. BY THE WAY, IF YOU DON'T LIKE LOUD MUSIC, YOU WOULDN'T LIKE IT HERE. THEY BEGAN TO PRAISE THE LORD GOD OF ISRAEL WITH A LOUD VOICE ON HIGH. AND THEY ROSE EARLY IN THE MORNING, AND WENT FORTH INTO THE WILDERNESS OF TO, UH, TECHOA. AND AS THEY WENT FORTH, JEHOSHAPHAT STOOD AND SAID, HEAR ME, O JUDAH, YE INHABITANTS OF JERUSALEM, BELIEVE IN THE LORD YOUR GOD. AND BOY, THERE'S ANOTHER ONE OF THESE GREAT STATEMENTS IN HERE. BELIEVE IN THE LORD YOUR GOD, SO SHALL YOU BE ESTABLISHED. BELIEVE HIS PROPHETS. SO SHALL YE PROSPER. GOD RAISED UP A PROPHET AND GOD SAID, BELIEVE HIM IF YOU WANT TO PROSPER. AND WHEN HE HAD CONSULTED WITH THE PEOPLE, HE APPOINTED SINGERS UNTO THE LORD, THAT THEY SHOULD PRAISE THE BEAUTY OF HOLINESS. AND THERE'S ANOTHER GREAT PHRASE. SINGERS UNTO THE LORD, THAT THEY SHOULD PRAISE THE BEAUTY OF HOLINESS, AS THEY WENT OUT BEFORE THE LORD, AND TO SAY, PRAISE THE LORD, FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOREVER. AND WHEN THEY BEGAN TO SING AND TO PRAISE, THE LORD SET AMBUSHMENTS AGAINST THE CHILDREN OF AMMON, MOAB, AND MOUNT SEIR, WHICH WERE COME AGAINST JUDAH, AND THEY WERE SMITTEN. FOR THE CHILDREN OF AMMON AND MOAB STOOD UP AGAINST THE INHABITANTS OF MOUNT SEIR, UTTERLY TO SLAY AND TO DESTROY THEM. AND WHEN THEY'D MADE AN END OF THE INHABITANTS OF SEIR, EVERY ONE HELPED TO DESTROY ANOTHER. AND WHEN JUDAH CAME TOWARD THE WATCH TOWER IN THE WILDERNESS, THEY LOOKED UNTO THE MULTITUDE, AND, BEHOLD, THERE WERE DEAD BODIES FALLEN TO THE EARTH, AND NONE ESCAPED." NOW WHAT IS THE POTENT FORCE? THE POTENT FORCE IS PRAISE. NOW, THE PROPHET OF GOD SAID, THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS, BUT THE LORD'S, BUT YOU HAVE A PART, AND YOUR PART IS PRAISE, AND YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HIDE UNTIL IT'S ALL OVER. NOW A LOT OF US WOULD HAVE SAID, NOW GOD, WHEN IT'S ALL OVER, HUH, WHEN WE HAVE THE VICTORY, THEN WE'RE GOING TO PRAISE YOU FOR THE VICTORY. BUT GOD SAYS, OH NO, THE BATTLE IS MINE, THE BATTLE IS, IS NOT YOURS, BUT YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HIDE UNTIL IT'S OVER, AND, AND YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO PRAISE, ON THE FRONT END, NOT AT THE REAR END. BUT YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO PRAISE AT THE BEGINNING, NOT AT THE CONCLUSION. YOU CAN'T PRAISE AFTER IT'S OVER, BECAUSE IT WON'T BE OVER UNTIL YOU BEGAN TO PRAISE. I WONDER, HAVE YOU LEARNED TO PRAISE GOD IN YOUR PROBLEMS? YOU SAY, I CAN'T PRAISE GOD IN THE MIDST OF MY PROBLEMS. WELL, THEN GO AHEAD AND LIVE WITH HIM. LET'S GO AHEAD AND LIVE WITH HIM. BUT FRIEND, IF YOU WILL DO WHAT THIS WONDERFUL TWENTYTH CHAPTER OF SECOND CHRONICLES TEACHES US TO DO, YOU CAN PRAISE AND SEE GOD MOVE. DID YOU KNOW WHAT PRAISE IS? PRAISE IS FAITH EXPRESSING ITSELF. THAT'S ALL PRAISE IS. PRAISE IS JUST FAITH TURNED INSIDE OUT. NOW, WE, WE COME TO GOD, WE MUST ASK GOD. THAT'S WHAT THESE PEOPLE DID. THEY CAME AND THEY ASKED GOD, THEY SAID, GOD DELIVER US, OUR EYES ARE ON YOU, HELP US. THAT'S PETITION. BUT PETITION MUST BE MARRIED TO PRAISE. PETITION SAYS PLEASE, PRAISE SAYS THANK YOU. BUT PRAISE SAYS THANK YOU ON THE FRONT END. SEE, PRAISE BRINGS GOD INTO IT. DO YOU REMEMBER THAT PASSAGE OVER THERE IN PSALM 22 VERSE 3, WHERE GOD OCCUPIES THE PRAISE OF HIS PEOPLE? WHAT IS GOD'S ADDRESS? WHERE DOES GOD LIVE? PRAISE IS GOD'S ADDRESS. WHEREVER THERE'S PRAISE, GOD SHOWS UP. GOD OCCUPIES THE PRAISE OF HIS PEOPLE. THE TWO WINGS OF POWER ARE PETITION AND PRAISE. NOW, LET ME TELL YOU TWO THINGS PRAISE WILL DO. I LOVE IT. AND IT'S RIGHT HERE IN VERSES 16 THROUGH 22. HERE'S TWO THINGS PRAISE WILL DO. PRAISE INFUSES THE ENERGY OF GOD. NUMBER TWO, PRAISE CONFUSES THE ENEMIES OF GOD. PRAISE INFUSES THE ENERGY OF GOD. PRAISE CONFUSES THE ENEMY OF GOD. WHEN YOU BEGIN TO PRAISE, GOD'S ENERGY JUST BEGINS TO FILL YOU. IT INFUSES YOU WITH ENERGY AND POWER BECAUSE GOD IS IN THAT PRAISE. AND WHEN YOU BEGIN TO PRAISE, NOT ONLY IS THAT PRAISE VERY HEALTHY FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT, IT IS THE AMBIENCE, THE ENVIRONMENT THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT OCCUPIES, BUT SATAN IS ALLERGIC TO IT. SATAN BREAKS OUT WITH HIVES. When you begin to praise God, Satan gets confused. Now here are these enemies. Here are the inhabitants of Ammon and Moab, Mount Seir. And they're all coming against one enemy, against Israel. And here goes the army of God. And they're just going against the enemy. And they're singing the battle hymn of the Republic. And they're singing victory in Jesus. And they're singing what a mighty God we serve. AND SATAN GOES BANANAS. I MEAN, THEY TURNED ON EACH OTHER. THEY BEGAN TO KILL ONE ANOTHER AND DESTROY ONE ANOTHER. THEY GOT IN ABSOLUTE CONFUSION. PRAISE FRACTURES THE UNITY OF THE ENEMY. AND PRAISE FORMULATES THE UNITY OF THE BELIEVER. Oh, how we need to be bound together, praising the Lord God. What a potent force is praise. It infuses the energy of God. It confuses the enemy of God. And so there's a potent force. And now what happens? Well, look, if you will, in verse 25. There is a provided fortune. And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, THEY FOUND AMONG THEM IN ABUNDANCE BOTH RICHES WITH THE DEAD BODIES, AND PRECIOUS JEWELS, WHICH THEY HAD STRIPPED OFF FOR THEMSELVES MORE THAN THEY COULD CARRY AWAY. AND THEY WERE THREE DAYS IN GATHERING OF THE SPOIL." IT WAS SO MUCH. NOW HOW ABOUT THAT FOR A SWITCH? HERE THEY HAVE AN ENEMY. THIS ENEMY LOOKS LIKE IT'S GOING TO DESTROY THEM. YOU SAY, OH GOD, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO. THEN GOD, AS THEY SEEK THE LORD IN FASTING AND PRAYER, GOD SENDS THEM A MESSAGE. THEY OBEY THE MESSAGE. THEY BEGAN TO BELIEVE GOD AND PRAISE GOD. THE ENEMY IS PUT INTO CONFUSION. AND NOW THEY'RE LEFT WITH ALL THIS BOUNTY, THESE SPOILS. TREASURE. FOR THREE DAYS THEY'RE TRYING TO LOAD IT UP AND CARRY IT OFF. IS GOD'S MESSENGER BOY. YOU SAY, WHY DOESN'T GOD KILL THE DEVIL? DID YOU KNOW THAT GOD USES THE DEVIL? IF WE WILL BEGIN TO PRAISE THE LORD, THE DEVIL WILL BECOME OUR SERVANT TO ENRICH US. I HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THE TIMES THAT I'VE BEEN IN SPIRITUAL BATTLE, AND I GUESS I'VE BEEN IN SPIRITUAL BATTLE ALL MY LIFE. SOMEBODY ASKED ME THE OTHER DAY, HE SAID, ARE YOU UNDER PRESSURE? I SAID, I DON'T KNOW. I don't know, I've never been any other way. It's like the woman didn't know her husband was drinking until one day he came home sober. I mean, I've just been under pressure, I guess. I don't know whether it's pressure or not. I just live this way. I'll tell you one thing. There have been some times when I've been under pressure, pressure. There have been some times when, I mean, it's really, really, really been tough. EVERY ONE OF THOSE TIMES WHEN I'VE TURNED TO THE LORD, NOT ONLY HAS HE BROUGHT ME THROUGH, BUT HE'S MADE ME RICH EVERY TIME, EVERY TIME. I HAVE COME OUT WITH BOTH HANDS FULL OF RUBIES AND DIAMONDS AND EMERALDS AND GOLD. AND THOUGH I WOULDN'T CHOOSE IT, I WOULDN'T TAKE ANYTHING FOR IT, For the way that what the enemy meant for evil, God used for good. And David cut Goliath's head off with Goliath's sword. And God takes that which the enemy means against us for evil. AND GOD USES IT FOR HIS GLORY AND HIS GOOD. GOD WANTS TO DO THAT FOR BIBLE BELIEVERS IN AMERICA. AND WHAT WE THINK ARE CALAMITOUS THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN THESE DAYS, IF WE WILL SET OURSELVES, SET OURSELVES, SET OURSELVES TO SEEK GOD IN FASTING AND PRAYER AND PRAISE, WE'LL SEE GOD DO A MIRACLE IN AMERICA. AND I'M, FOR ONE, I'M HUNGRY TO SEE IT HAPPEN. AND WHEN IT HAPPENS, HUH, NOBODY'S GONNA GET THE PRAISE BUT JESUS. AS A MATTER OF FACT, YOU'LL HAVE TO GET TO PRAISE BEFORE IT HAPPENS. AND IT'S JUST, IT, IT'S A PROVIDED FORTUNE. VERSE 25, AND THEN VERSES 26 THROUGH 30, A PEACEFUL FUTURE. LOOK IF YOU WILL IN VERSE 26 HERE, AND ON THE FOURTH DAY THEY ASSEMBLED THEMSELVES IN THE VALLEY OF BARAKA, FOR THERE THEY BLESSED THE LORD. THEREFORE THE NAME OF THE SAME PLACE WAS CALLED THE VALLEY OF BARAKA UNTIL THIS DAY. THEN THEY RETURNED EVERY MAN TO JUDAH AND JERUSALEM, AND JEHOSHAPHAT IN THE FOREFRONT OF THEM, TO GO AGAIN TO JERUSALEM WITH JOY. FOR THE LORD HAD MADE THEM TO REJOICE OVER THEIR ENEMIES. AND THEY CAME TO JERUSALEM WITH SALTRIES AND HARPS AND TRUMPETS UNTO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD." WHAT A DAY THAT MUST HAVE BEEN. AND THE FEAR OF GOD WAS ON ALL THE KINGDOMS OF THOSE COUNTRIES. WHEN THEY HAD HEARD THAT THE LORD HAD FOUGHT AGAINST THE ENEMIES OF ISRAEL. SO THE REALM OF JEHOSHAPHAT WAS QUIET, FOR HIS GOD GAVE HIM REST." ROUND ABOUT, A PEACEFUL FUTURE. DOESN'T MEAN THAT THE ENEMIES LOVED HIM, THEY STILL HATED HIM. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS? THE BIBLE SAYS, WHEN A MAN'S WAYS PLEASE THE LORD, EVEN HIS ENEMIES WILL BE AT PEACE WITH HIM. DOESN'T MEAN THEY'LL LOVE HIM, THEY'RE JUST AFRAID OF HIM, JUST AFRAID OF HIM. WOULDN'T IT BE WONDERFUL AGAIN IF, IF, IF THIS WORLD WERE AFRAID OF THE PRAYERS OF GOD'S PEOPLE? WOULDN'T IT BE WONDERFUL AGAIN IF THEY SAY, DON'T TOUCH THEM, THEY'RE HOLY PEOPLE. DON'T MESS WITH THEM, GOD IS WITH THOSE FOLKS. THEY DON'T HAVE ANY RESPECT FOR US TODAY, THEY LAUGH AT US, THEY MOCK AT US, AND WELL THEY OUGHT BECAUSE WE DESERVE IT. BUT FRIEND, I WANT US TO COME TO A PLACE WHERE THEY SAY, DON'T, DON'T MESS WITH THEM, GOD IS WITH THEM. AND WHEN A MAN'S WAYS PLEASE THE LORD, HE MAKES EVEN HIS ENEMIES TO BE AT PEACE WITH HIM. WELL, THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED A LONG TIME AGO. WOULDN'T YOU LIKE TO SEE IT HAPPEN AGAIN? I WOULD. NOW, I DON'T WANT ANYBODY TO GET FRIGHTENED NOW, BUT I WANT TO GIVE YOU TEN FACTS. I KNOW THAT'S A LOT. I'M JUST GOING TO, THEY'RE GOING TO BE SHORT. BUT IF YOU'VE GOT SOME PROBLEMS, HERE'S WHAT I WANT YOU TO DO. LISTEN TO ME NOW. NUMBER ONE, YOU NEED TO LEARN TO SEE ALL SATANIC OPPOSITION AS OPPORTUNITY. GOT IT? SEE ALL SATANIC OPPOSITION AS OPPORTUNITY. THAT'LL PUT A DIFFERENT FOCUS ON IT. NUMBER TWO, SEEK GOD, SET YOURSELF TO SEEK GOD BEFORE YOU TAKE ANY ACTION. NUMBER THREE, REMEMBER THOSE TIMES WHEN YOU SEEK GOD THAT HE HAS SHOWN HIMSELF FAITHFUL IN THE PAST AS JEHOSHAPHAT DID. THINK BACK ON OTHER TIMES WHEN HE DELIVERED YOU. NUMBER FOUR, BEGIN TO STUDY THE WORD OF GOD FOR A PROMISE ON WHICH TO STAND. NUMBER FIVE, LET THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD MAKE THAT PROMISE REAL AND LIVE IN YOUR HEART. NUMBER SIX, REFUSE ANY CONFIDENCE WHATSOEVER IN THE FLESH. NUMBER SEVEN, GIVE YOURSELF TO FULL, FREE, UNRESTRAINED, OPEN WORSHIP AND PRAISE OF THE ALMIGHTY. NUMBER EIGHT, BEGIN TO PRAISE GOD IN THE FACE OF OPPOSITION AND IN THE FACE OF THE ENEMY. NUMBER NINE, EXPECT GOD TO SEND CONFUSION TO YOUR ENEMIES. NUMBER TEN, GET READY FOR A BLESSING. GET READY FOR A BLESSING. THAT'S WHAT THIS CHAPTER IS TELLING US.
SPEAKER 01 :
If you would like to learn more about how you can know Jesus or deepen your relationship with Him, simply click the Discover Jesus link on our website, lwf.org. For a copy of this message or additional resources, visit our online store at lwf.org or call 1-800-274-5683. Thank you.
Join Barbara and Darren as they explore the importance of seeking new opportunities and stepping out in faith. Listen to testimonies of individuals finding miracles on their journey and learn how changing your environment can lead to new beginnings and fulfillment in life. Through candid conversations, they emphasize the transformative power of prayer, the necessity to leave comfort zones, and trusting in God's perfect plan for our lives.
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to Call to Freedom with Barbara Carmack. This is Jimmy Lakey, and I'm delighted that you are joining us for this half hour. You can reach Call to Freedom at Box 370367, Denver, Colorado, 80237, or by going to the website at www.freedomstreet.org. If you want to leave a message or order a Word Power Daily Reading Bible Guide or a Freedom Street Express newsletter, you can call us toll free at 1-877-917-7256 and leave your name and address, including your zip code. If you want to talk to Barbara right now, she is expecting your call. You may call that same toll-free number, 1-877-917-7256 to speak to her. And now, let's join Barbara in the studio.
SPEAKER 02 :
You will be listening to a Darren Live broadcast today. By the amount of calls and emails I've received, you have enjoyed hearing shows from the past. On this program, Darren and I talk about the negative effect that fear has on a person's life. And we discuss the fact that God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind. Thank you for joining us today. approach it as an opportunity to see God at work in your life. As we join the broadcast, Darren is talking about our special friends, Jack and Nancy. Let's join this Encore Darren Live program now.
SPEAKER 06 :
And we've been doing those meetings there for over three years. And we probably should have kept a Tuesday miracle log because we've had so many. And people getting born again, set free, finding new friends. The list could go on and on. And, you know, even Jack was mentioned in the newspaper out in Strasburg.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. Yes.
SPEAKER 06 :
Jack the meter man.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes. The meter reader.
SPEAKER 06 :
It was really, really a neat article about Jack. Jack and Nancy are frequent visitors to our class. In fact, not just visitors. They're kind of old timers. But we have a good time and we see people growing in the Lord. And that's so exciting to me to see people that are fighting that great big monster, the big main monster the devil throws against us as that monster called fear. And it's not just called a monster in scripture. It's called a spirit monster.
SPEAKER 02 :
That's right. And it is sin. When we give into those things, so many of us, we give into fear or we give into anxiety or worry. And I know some people don't believe those are sins, but those are sins. And it says God didn't give us the spirit of fear. And it's because it is so detrimental in our lives. God isn't that kind of God to give us that fear. But he gave us power and love and a sound mind. And Darren, that's such a reassurance. Praise God. I need to apologize. I need to apologize to you and the listening audience. You're speaking to me? Yes, I'm speaking to you. I need to apologize to all of you because yesterday Holy Spirit was nudging me saying, you know, you had a couple of prophetic words for people and he was saying ears, ears. and someone has a problem with their ears, and they just cannot hear. It's either a big vacuum, it's like they're inside of a drum, or it's ringing, or something like that. And I didn't say anything on the show. Of course, we had three calls, and half an hour just goes boom, boom, and it's gone. And so all afternoon, he kept... telling me about ears last night. We get to the meeting and we had such a great time. And I'll tell you, over 50 people came during that. It was windy and cold. I mean, and I'll tell you, I was amazed. We have some really true diehards in the Lord. I just, I love all of you. Praise God.
SPEAKER 06 :
What's your apology?
SPEAKER 02 :
So, and then I get there and during prayer, Holy Spirit is saying ears again. And I didn't do it. And I just ask your forgiveness because I got home and I started reading the envelopes. And one of the prayer requests was, please pray for my ears. I have ringing in my ears. So in Jesus name, I thank you, Father God, that if this person is listening or any of you that have problems with your ears this morning. Put your hand over your ears in Jesus name. I know Holy Spirit wants to heal you because he was nudging me all day yesterday. I asked his forgiveness and he is ready to heal you today. And in Jesus name, I thank you, Father, that you are going by the unction of Holy Spirit to everyone that has a problem in their ears so that they can open their ears, their natural ears in here. And Father God, I ask also that you open their spiritual ears. to hear the word of God. In Jesus' name, thank you for this healing. Hallelujah. Amen.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, we also had a marvelous miracle shared with us last night. A lady who received a tremendous miracle in the class probably two months ago has been coming alone by herself the last few weeks because her husband was working night shift. Well, he held up his hand last night. He said, I had a major miracle. I got a new job and twice the pay that I had before.
SPEAKER 05 :
Isn't that great?
SPEAKER 06 :
And, you know, we prayed for things like that, that God would just bring around the best employment possible But he's the type of guy that will go out and ask, make himself available for those openings. And, you know, you can pray and pray in your prayer closet, but some days you have to get out and go out and fill out a job application. You have to go out and make a move. And I have a letter in front of me here, and I'll let you put the name on this guy that you want to put on him. I mean, if you would describe this guy.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, we can just call him Single Guy.
SPEAKER 06 :
Single Guy. Okay. In fact, that's the way he signed his letter. Now, I'm not going to tell you whether he's in Garden City, Kansas, Georgetown, Colorado, Carr, Colorado, Otis, Joe's, Raton, New Mexico, down in Canadian, Texas. I'm not going to say where this guy's from, okay? But he's from a small town. Okay, here's what he says. Dear Darren, I'm writing to you because during your show I'm working. I don't always get a chance to listen to your show. I don't have a computer. Now here's my details. I'm 36 years old, a male. I've never been married. I have no kids. That's good. Darren, I'd like to be, well, I mean, you shouldn't probably have kids if you have never been married, right?
SPEAKER 05 :
That's true.
SPEAKER 06 :
I would like a miracle because I live in a small town and all the Christian women here are in high school. Well, he probably should draw a line through that option.
SPEAKER 02 :
I don't think that's the total truth, though, either. I think there are other single women who are Christians.
SPEAKER 06 :
He said, yes, I am a born-again Christian. I want to meet the soulmate of my life. Pray for me. Would you write to me and let me know? Well, instead of writing, I'm going to send him a copy of this tape. But here's what I'm going to say. You know, I've driven up and down I-25 for many, many thousands of miles. I've never seen anybody catch trout in the middle of I-25. Well, you say, how stupid an illustration. Well, no, it's not really stupid. The reason you don't catch trout in the middle of I-25 is there's no trout there.
SPEAKER 05 :
That's right.
SPEAKER 06 :
So if you want to find trout, you're probably going to have to get off the highway and drive up in the mountains and find a stream where there is some trout.
SPEAKER 02 :
And we're not saying there are no single Christian women there, but he just hasn't met them.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, it sounds like it. But here's my point. If I want to catch catfish and I'm fishing for catfish, I've just got to have catfish. Probably I'm going to have to maybe go to Kansas or down in Oklahoma or down into Texas. I'm going to go down where they have a lot of warm water. If I want catfish, if you're going to catch what you're after, you got to go where they are. That's my point. And I, you know, we have a lot of people talk to us and they give us, they give us, they just think they've got an impossible situation. No, you know, there are no borders there. keeping you from driving to Denver. And there are a lot of single, wonderful Christian ladies here in Denver.
SPEAKER 02 :
Job opportunities are absolutely wonderful. Job opportunities are wonderful. In fact, probably better than in this little town.
SPEAKER 06 :
In this little town. Okay. Also, I know a little bit about Tulsa, Oklahoma. I mean, there's an abundance of singles there, both men and women. And if you're not finding what you're looking for where you are, guess what? Get yourself in the vehicle and get going.
SPEAKER 02 :
That's right. There's Bible school there, and I'll tell you, there are people that are 45 and 50 going to that Bible school.
SPEAKER 06 :
And some older than that.
SPEAKER 02 :
And I know two men from this exact area where he's from. After graduating from high school, they went to Tulsa, and they found their wives in Tulsa. I mean, we just read here in Genesis, Darren, about Isaac. He didn't have a wife, and Abraham sent the servant to the foreign country, Haran, which was many days east of where they lived. to find a wife for him. Also, Jacob, he ran away from home for fear of his brother Esau, but he found a wife in another country also. So they left home and they found a wife. Now, if you say, well, I can't leave home, then you are limiting God because there's no such thing as I can't. I know I lived in the Greeley area for 40 years. And Darren, when you were talking about moving to Denver, I said, oh, this is home. I can't do that. And God almost had to kick me out of there. But he did. And praise God that he did, because our life has changed. And I'm so fulfilled and satisfied.
SPEAKER 06 :
And you like Denver.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, I love Denver. Yes. A lot of people in like city.
SPEAKER 06 :
We happen to like it.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I'm from the country. I was raised on a farm.
SPEAKER 06 :
Now, here's what we're saying, folks. Some of you are where you are, and you're complaining because there are just no opportunities. And I would agree with you. In some communities, there are very limited or no opportunities, maybe for marriage or for job, for employment, for advancement. Don't let fear keep you there. You may be in a very comfortable paralytic. Now, I want you to hear me, paralytic loop situation. Some of you are in a paralytic loop in the middle of Denver saying, oh, I just can't find a good church. Oh, I just can't find anybody to fellowship. I can't find anybody to lay hands on me and pray the prayer of faith and put their faith with mine so I can get healed. Or I could find a better job if somebody just agreed. Oh, I can't find any good friends. Hey, try Tuesday night. We have some delightful people on Tuesday night.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, or try so many times in these apartment complexes, there's community centers. Try getting out of your little four walls and meeting the person across the hall or meeting the person down the street. It does take effort on your part. You cannot sit at home, watch television and expect to find somebody or a job or be in fellowship. That is impossible. And so we encourage you. You must make a decision. God has the best for you, but you have to believe that if he sends you somewhere, it's the very best for you.
SPEAKER 06 :
You know, I've talked to quite a few people that were doing the loop, and they were paralyzed in their situation. And they said, oh, Brother Darren, would you pray for me? And they'd give me a request, something like this. You know, I need to find a wife, or I need to find a husband, or I need to find a better job. And I have a rather creative mind, so I'd stand there for a little bit, and I'd say, well, have you thought about it? Oh, no, I couldn't. No, no, that wouldn't work. And, you know, you go through six or eight or ten options. And then they got all the reasons why that wouldn't work. And then I walk away saying, well, guess I just found out why it just won't work for them. They're going to be locked in. Or I might tell somebody, you know, you could be healed. Oh, let me tell you about my family. They start giving me their family medical history. And I say, now I know why you're not healed. is you have accepted the limitations of your situation, and that's tragic. That is really, really tragic.
SPEAKER 05 :
It is.
SPEAKER 06 :
Don't allow the devil to get you in a corner and plaster up all the walls and do all that kind of stuff, and then you tell me, well, I just can't get out of here. Yes, you can. Mm-hmm. Yes, you can. And praise God, we still live in a free country. Bless God. And there are no fences across I-70 or I-25 or I-80. We flew this weekend down to Phoenix, and there weren't any doors on Phoenix keeping us out of there or out of Tucson. And when we got back to Denver, there were no barbed wire fences keeping us out of Denver.
SPEAKER 02 :
Praise God.
SPEAKER 06 :
Now, come on, folks. There's a way to change your circumstances, and it might be that you have to put down your pet little idol called fear. Now, I have been there. I know what it's like to feel fearful. I know what it's like to say, well, there's new territory. I mean, could I get a job? Yes, I've driven clear across the country and found a job in a brand-new city.
SPEAKER 02 :
I think it also involves laziness, too, because we get into a rut or we get into a schedule or a routine. And the very idea of getting out of that is just absolutely impossible for us to think about. And because we're so familiar with what we're doing, we can't possibly get into any new adventure or area. And I say, wow, that is that's tremendous to be able to think about. Hey, I'm going to do something brand new that I've never done before and get excited about it.
SPEAKER 06 :
And you've got to know this, that God is in your town, whether it's a little town, a big town, or a big city. He's there. But he's also down the road and around the bend and over the hill. He's there also. And if you give him a chance, and I look at it this way. When I drive through the farming communities, I look at a grain elevator, and sometimes I see these trucks that drive in for a load of grain. And you know that grain is not going to come out in the middle of the street. It's not going to be half a mile down the other end of town. You have to get under that spout in the elevator for that grain to drop in your truck. Some of you are trying to get God's glory where you are. And God says, look. My glory is going to be on your life and my blessing is going to be on your life 50 miles down the road. And you're going to have to move. If you're going to find that place of blessing, you're going to have to move.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, that's what he did with Abraham. That's what he did with Joseph. That's what he did with many, many.
SPEAKER 06 :
Abraham's father was an idol maker. They had to be very wealthy, but God says, Abraham, you're moving. And he didn't have a map. He didn't really know where he was going. He just believed God and went for it.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, and he had much more success than if he would have stayed there. Also, I have a verse from Genesis 28, verse 20 through 22, when Jacob had run away from home to go to his uncle Laban's house, his mother Rebecca's brother. And he saw a ladder going down from heaven and angels up and down the ladder. I think that was God telling him, I'm going to take care of you, Jacob. And Jacob said something to God. God, if you will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take and give me food to eat and garments to wear, and I can return to my father's house in safety, which he did many years later. Then this stone, which I have set up as an altar, as a pillar will be God's house. And of that thou does give me, I will give you a 10th of all that you give me. Now, this is the second time that this tide is mentioned once with Abraham meeting Melchizedek. Now with Jacob, I believe Darren, when we put God first and we say, God, I'm going to get to know you and you're going to bring all of my desires together. If this young man can say, Father God, I'm going to give you the first part of my day. I'm going to make sure that I tithe and I give you what is yours. And I'm going to make sure that my life is congruent, Lord, the way you asked me to do it. Then God will bring the woman in his life. I truly believe that.
SPEAKER 06 :
Now, I believe this too, Barbara, that many times God just gives us a choice. And let me give you an example. We talked to a lot of people are from North Dakota. So let me pick on North Dakota for a minute. If you don't like real cold winters and real hot summers, you probably shouldn't live in Bismarck, North Dakota. Now, I haven't lived there, but that's what they tell me. They have hot, hot summers and they have real cold winters. Well, guess what? You have a choice. And if you don't like cold weather, why don't you move south? And, you know, God may just be saying, you know, I don't care whether you live in Albuquerque or whether you live in Riverside, California, or whether you live in Tucson, Arizona. I don't really care. Or maybe you want to go down to Brownsville, Texas. I just don't care. But see, I believe that he gives us many times that choice.
SPEAKER 02 :
I know. I've always wondered when there's a great flood along a river or something and all their houses are absolutely flooded. And this doesn't happen just once in 100 years. This happens maybe every 25 or 30 years. Or every 10 years. They've got to rebuild. Or on the slopes of California and their house goes down to the sea and they build there again. I'm going... Are they stupid or something? I mean, I would get up on the shore far away, at least two or three miles away, if I knew that might happen again. And people are, what are they, creatures of habit? They have got to go and rebuild again.
SPEAKER 06 :
You know, many people tend their life, I should have, would have, could have, you know, I could have done better, I should have moved, and they didn't move.
SPEAKER 02 :
They didn't move.
SPEAKER 06 :
They didn't move.
SPEAKER 02 :
And they got destroyed, man.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, let's talk to, there's a lady on the phone, Pam in North Glen, how are you?
SPEAKER 04 :
Hi, Darren. Hi, Barbara. Hi. How are you? Doing good. Great. Last night when I left the meeting, and I was talking to you, Barbara, last night about my husband.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 04 :
And a ton of bricks fell on me as I was turning the corner into the driveway. My husband is a reasoner and a planner. And I know you're supposed to ponder. And that's a lot different than reasoning, isn't it?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
And... How do I go about praying that reasoning thing away from him?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I believe that Ephesians 1, 17 and 18 is really good. And I would really pray to know that he is, I mean, born again. I know sometimes it's really hard for a wife to sit down with a husband and Honey, do you really know that Jesus is Lord of your life? If you know that, then you can read Ephesians 1, 17 and 18 and pray that for him, that his eyes, the spiritual eyes would be open for him. Because I know you and I have talked about it, that he just doesn't believe in giving to the Lord. And that is a real important part of being a born again Christian. And so we need to ask God to change that mindset that he has, because it is really carnal. It is a carnal mindset that he has. So change those patterns of what he grew up thinking and hungering and thirsting. That's another thing you need to pray for him. Matthew five, six. Oh, good. Good. That's great.
SPEAKER 06 :
I would bless your husband with the thirst for righteousness. And Pam, let me say this to you. I spent several years in college. But if the colleges had the answers, you know, we'd be lined up from here to Boulder trying to break the doors down to get in there. And the answers for mankind are not really found at the mind and the reason level. They're found in the heart. And one reason we have so many metal breakdowns in the United States is we try to reason and we're trying to make the mind do something God didn't create it to do. The mind really needs to be a servant of the spirit. So can I read a little scripture to you? Sure. Okay, in Romans 8.6 it says, For it does not subject itself to the law of God. It's not even able to do so. And those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, that's good.
SPEAKER 06 :
And, you know, we try to get people to have a spiritual identity, and many people try to have a mental identity. They say, above all, I have to reason, I have to think, I have to figure things out, I have to deduct, I have to, you know, all that stuff. And that person is really bound that does that. So I suspect your husband is bound just because he's depending on his mind too much.
SPEAKER 04 :
That's what I see here more and more that I've been home. Right.
SPEAKER 06 :
So then fear, of course, is right there at the door to paralyze a person's thinking. And this is a scary world. If you don't really trust in God, this is a scary world. Because all you have to do is read just the headlines. If you didn't read the paper, just read the headlines. Just listen to a little CNN news. I mean, you'd freak out. And it's no wonder that there are a lot of people committing suicide today. And a lot of the younger people today are taking that option of suicide. They're saying, hey, the adults haven't figured this out. They've screwed up our world. And I just think I'm just going to check out. And a lot of them do. And that's because they're trying to reason it out, trying to figure it out. And there are a lot of things, very honestly, you just plain won't figure. Know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. Now, he won't let you give your tithe, right?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, we go around and around about it. I'm trying to be a submissive wife, which is hard for me to do sometimes. But he's a money handler, and he does it really well. Except for that.
SPEAKER 02 :
Does he do it really well? Yes, he does. Do you have everything that you desire?
SPEAKER 04 :
Um...
SPEAKER 02 :
90% of it, yes. Do you? Okay. I'm saying if you would talk to him and say, could I take the money that I earn and give that 10%? You're not asking him to give you all the paycheck to God, all your paycheck to God. You're just asking for 10% of your paycheck. And let's do an experiment for 90 days.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. I was going to suggest that, but. With me not working for the past couple of months, I know that's a lame excuse.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, but now you are working again, right?
SPEAKER 04 :
I'll be starting here at the end of the week. Okay.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I would agree with Barbara there. I believe God will just do things for you.
SPEAKER 04 :
I do, too.
SPEAKER 06 :
Your husband needs to see something.
SPEAKER 04 :
That's right.
SPEAKER 06 :
God's not beyond being challenged there. In fact, this is one area and only area in Scripture where he says, test me. Try me out. Try me out.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. Because I think he's a reasoner and he's overwhelmed by that fierce thing going on. We're not going to have enough money.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I tell you what, when you pray for your husband, buy him the spirit of fear.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, and bless him with peace and with righteousness.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right, Pam.
SPEAKER 03 :
God bless you. God bless.
SPEAKER 06 :
We love you.
SPEAKER 03 :
Love you, too. Okay. Bye-bye.
SPEAKER 06 :
Let's talk to Seal and Greeley. How are you?
SPEAKER 03 :
I'm doing pretty good. Good. I've looked into you guys off and on for quite some time, but this is the first time I actually got through when you were actually there. Oh, well, good to know.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, we're glad you called.
SPEAKER 03 :
I was... I was listening, and I just came out of an appointment and heard you talking about going and getting a job somewhere else and getting out of the four walls. Right. I just wanted to share with you an experience that my husband and I had. We were living in Minnesota, and we were planning our vacation to northern Minnesota. And the night before we left, we really felt like the Lord was telling us to come to Colorado to visit his mother. And so the next day, instead of going to northern Minnesota, we came to Colorado. While we were here, we had been thinking we'd always wanted to move back here so he could be by his mom. And it's been, it was, I think, like 10 years. And while we were here, all of a sudden we thought, you know, Oh, let's see if there's jobs. And we were here for a week. During that week, I called on a job position, got a job. My husband went back, or we all went back. I quit my job that I had. and we moved to colorado did your husband get a job here too yes he did actually he came here on the promise of a job oh and um he didn't even know for sure if he'd get it or not um but if you trust that god is faithful and he is telling you that that's where you need to be um all it's going to work out exactly so has he taken care has he taken care of you Oh, yes. I mean, it did take time for my husband to get here because we had to sell our other home. But we had time to see each other like we met in between for a couple months. But the good thing was within two weeks of my husband getting here, Here, we bought a new home.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, praise God.
SPEAKER 03 :
And I think it was just the timing, because the people whose home that we bought had been thinking about selling their home, and so God wanted to place us in the place where we were.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 03 :
And He didn't want us to get a different home, so there were other things that had to fall in line. So it's really been wonderful.
SPEAKER 05 :
Good.
SPEAKER 03 :
We've been working and doing... Well, actually, now I'm a stay-at-home mom, so... God's blessing us tremendously because we listen.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes, that's right. And you obeyed. You did more than listen. Shema. That word Shema is in Deuteronomy 6.4. And it's a Hebrew word meaning listen with the intent of obeying. That's what you did. That's what you did.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, I was listening yesterday with Dr. Zodiati.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
It was so wonderful. And I had always wanted a Hebrew-Greek study Bible. I had Dr. Sodiatis, and I gave it to my pastor because he'd always wanted one, and I just gave it to him as a gift.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, you blessed your pastor.
SPEAKER 03 :
So do you have one? No. Well, I got a cheap one, and it wasn't the same one. I didn't realize that. I thought I was getting the same one, and I don't like it as much, but... It'll work until I can get a different one.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, we'll pray that you get a Dr. Zodiani's Hebrew-Greek study.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes, thank you. Yes, I'm going to be looking for the New Testament one that he was talking about. The Greek one.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes, the Greek one.
SPEAKER 06 :
You know, we were so honored to be able to interview a man of that stature on our show. I mean, that's like a dream for us. We've had his Bible for a number of years, and that was actually a rerun that we did on Monday. because we weren't able to get on the plane. All the planes were full coming back from Phoenix. So we did rerun that show, and so many people are blessed.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, I'm glad you did because I would have missed it because I didn't get to hear it before that.
SPEAKER 02 :
God bless you. Listen, if you're not on our mailing list and you haven't gotten a devotional from us this year, we'd be happy to send you one if you give John your name and address. Okay. All right. Wonderful.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you so much.
SPEAKER 02 :
Delightful call. It was great.
SPEAKER 06 :
Thanks, Celia.
SPEAKER 02 :
Bye now. Bye. Wow, what a great praise report. Yeah.
SPEAKER 06 :
Amen. It's important. Amen. I'll tell you, we have just about a minute to go. And folks, we want to tell you, we absolutely love doing these radio shows. And more than that, we love watching our listeners grow in the Lord. Yes.
SPEAKER 1 :
877-917-7256
SPEAKER 01 :
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SPEAKER 1 :
Thank you.
Join us as Rabbi Schneider delves into the trustworthiness of the New Testament, examining criteria that historians have used to judge ancient documents. Discover how the words and testimonies of those who walked alongside Jesus offer solid ground for faith and understanding. Whether you're seeking to deepen your faith or exploring these enduring works, this episode is a chance to feel the historical and personal weight of Jesus’ presence, and to consider the transformative power His words have over our lives today.
SPEAKER 03 :
Welcome to Discovering the Jewish Jesus. I'm your host, Dustin Roberts. And for the next 25 minutes, we're going to be looking at life's most important questions. Sometimes we can feel like just another face in the crowd. But what if I told you that you're not just a statistic, you're a unique individual with a purpose and your purpose goes beyond your daily routine. It's true. Today, Rabbi Schneider, he's going to explain why God's not just interested in humanity as a whole, but in you individually. This message is called The Accuracy of Scripture. And if you'd like to learn more about Rabbi or this ministry, go online to our website, discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And now here's Rabbi Schneider.
SPEAKER 02 :
Father, we bless you today. Lord Jesus, our Messiah, we bless you today. And we pray that you will use this broadcast to bring people to salvation and to cause us to become greater soul winners for you. And all God's people spoke Hebrew and said, Amen and Amen. We began to say that the most profound questions in life are these. Who am I? Where did I come from? How did I get here? What's going to happen to me when I die? And what am I on earth for? We said that these questions can really only be answered in the light of eternity. I pointed out the fallacies in getting our identity from this world or in living for the things of this world, because all that's in this world is passing away. But Jesus said, if you build your house on me, it's like a man that built this house on a rock. and your house is going to stand, even when the waves come and the storm blows, you're going to stand because you built your house in the eternal. We talked about that. But I want to move on today, beloved, to dwelling deeper into a subject that I touched on in the earlier broadcast that answers these questions and helps answer these questions, and that is this. Do the words of Jesus as recorded in the New Testament really give us the answers to life's greatest questions? Does the Bible, the Word of God, really answer the questions, who am I? Why am I here? And what happens to me when I die? Well, we know the Bible begins with these words in the book of Genesis. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Beloved, there is no other way to answer the existence of the universe and the reality of our existence other than the fact that there was a first cause. The Big Bang does not answer the problem of first cause. It had to start somewhere. It had to start with the cause that had no cause, and that first cause is God. The second area that we need to dwell and that I want to dwell in more deeply today is, but does the Bible really accurately record for us what Jesus said? In other words, does Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, when they record for us the words of Jesus, is the Bible an accurate record of what Jesus really said? Can it really be trusted? As I said on an earlier broadcast, no one doubts The literal historical personage of Jesus of Nazareth. Everybody knows, all historians, secular, religious alike, know that there was a literal historical person that walked upon the earth, Jesus of Nazareth. The question was, who was he? And we talked about that. The greatest amount of information that we have on who this Jesus was is the New Testament. But the question is, can the New Testament be trusted? And does it accurately record for us what Jesus did and what He said? Now I alluded to the fact earlier that Ancient historical documents were judged by certain criteria that historians agreed upon. And the New Testament writings, beloved, have the highest credibility in terms of the tests that they passed for being considered a valid, authentic, historical document. Why? Because number one, the New Testament was written by people that actually lived during Jesus' lifetime. It wasn't written by people that lived hundreds of years after his death. Alexander the Great, the records that we have of him, were written by people that lived more than 100 years after his life, yet no one doubts the accuracy of them. How much better the New Testament that wasn't written by people that lived 100 years after Jesus died, but rather the New Testament was written by people that walked with Jesus, that heard what he said, that touched him. In fact, Paul documented the people that Jesus appeared to after he had risen from the dead. And Paul starts out at the grave that Jesus appeared after he had risen from the dead, first to the two women at the tomb. And then Jesus appeared to the disciples, his apostles. And then Paul said this, not only did he appear to the apostles, Not only did he appear to the two women at the grave, he's not saying this is only symbolic. He's saying this is real. He really appeared to these people. He said, not only that, Paul said, but he appeared to me. I was on the road to Damascus to arrest, Paul said, any Jew that was believing in Jesus. And while I was on the road, Jesus appeared to me and he blinded me and knocked me off my horse. And I was on the ground blind and I couldn't see. And I spoke to the one that had blinded me. And I said, who are you? And he said, I'm Jesus who you are persecuting. Now get up and it will be told what you must do for me. So Paul says, he's alive. He's real. He appeared to me and the words that I'm giving you, these aren't fairy tales. These aren't myths. We're not making these up. I met Jesus. He spoke to me. But I love what Paul said next. Paul said, not only that, But this Jesus appeared to 500 people that were gathered together in one place all at the same time. And Paul said this, and most of those of the 500 that he appeared to at the same time, he said, are still alive today. And so Paul's making this historical argument that, no, this Jesus of Nazareth, He's not a figment of somebody's imagination. He's a real historical reality. He's the God of the universe that became flesh, who entered into space and time and revealed Himself to us. And John said, and of His glory we all received and we all saw. And so, This Jesus, beloved, it's not the Jesus that we think of when we think of Easter bunnies and fairy tales. No, Jesus is God. And He's alive, He's here, He really came, and He's making a demand on your life and in my life. And He's saying, unless you repent, you shall perish. He said, unless you believe, Jesus said, that I am He. Who is He? God in the flesh that died for your sin that died for your sin and made a way for you to come into relationship with God and go to heaven. Jesus said, unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sin.
SPEAKER 03 :
You're listening to Discovering the Jewish Jesus with Rabbi Schneider. He's going to be right back. But first, I want to let you know that you can watch full episodes of Discovering the Jewish Jesus on Roku television. We have episodes that are filmed in the Holy Land and outreach events from Nigeria and Gulu, Uganda, all sorts of places. Every episode is available to help deepen your understanding of scripture and the Jewish roots of your faith. So search for Discovering the Jewish Jesus on Roku today. Did you know that this ministry is all about preparing the way for the inevitable return of King Jesus? Well, it's true. And we'd love for you to partner with us in this life-changing mission today. Together, we will change lives, not just locally, but all over the world. To support this team, call 800-777-7835. That's 800-777-7835. Or you can visit us online at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And now here's Rabbi Schneider.
SPEAKER 02 :
Jesus said, unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sin. Now again, how do we know that? Because the New Testament tells us this, but can the New Testament be trusted? And that's what I was making the point of, that according to the standards of historians, the New Testament passed all the tests in flying colors of that which can be trusted as an ancient historical document, because it was written by people, listen, that were alive during Jesus's own lifetime. not people that lived 100 years after he died, people that walked with him, people that talked with him while he walked on earth, people that he appeared to after he had risen from the dead. And not only that, beloved, we have a multiplicity of witnesses, not only Peter, James, Paul, and all the writers of the New Testament, but others, beloved, that Paul was speaking of the 500 people at the same time, as well as people like myself and some of you today that Jesus has supernaturally appeared to. So we do well to pay attention to the words of Jesus in the New Testament, that they could be trusted, that this is a reliable, historical, accurate document telling us what Jesus said. And what did Jesus say? He didn't teach the doctrine of political correctness today. He didn't say all roads lead to the same place. He didn't say that as long as you're a good person, you can go to heaven. He didn't say that it doesn't matter if you don't believe in me, as long as you believe in God, you're a good person. No, Jesus said, unless you believe that I am He, you'll die in your sins. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to God but by me. You see, beloved one, it's not going to be long before you and I die. And when we do, it's going to be too late. Because the Bible said it's appointed for man once to die and then comes the judgment. That when you and I die, it's over. We'll have made our decision. And some of you are listening to this broadcast and God is knocking at the door of your heart. The Bible says, if today you hear His voice, do not harden your heart. Because what happens is, when the Holy Spirit is knocking on the door of our heart, when God is beckoning us, come. When we feel the weight of the Holy Spirit on us, nudging us to humble ourselves, to ask God, forgive me, forgive me. I've sinned. I need to turn my life over to you. I want this to be a new beginning for me. When we feel God doing that, beloved, if we open our heart and invite him in, Jesus said, behold, I stand at the door of your heart and knock. If you open the door, I'm going to come into you and we're going to be in relationship together and you're going to be saved. But Jesus said, unless we open the door of our heart, if we feel him knocking and we don't respond, if we keep our heart hard, if we don't yield to the voice of the Holy Spirit, if we don't soften ourselves to the presence of God and open up and let him in and say, yes, what happens, the Bible says, is that God begins to withdraw himself from us. so that we don't have an opportunity anymore. In other words, the Bible says God will not strive with man forever. But when men refuse, listen now, to receive a love of the truth, when it's being offered to them, There comes a point where God will stop offering, He'll withdraw Himself, and He'll let that person that resisted permanently become hardened. And the result of that, according to the Word of God, if the Word of God is true, that person will spend the rest of their life, the rest of eternity in hell. Now, I know today hell is not a popular doctrine, but do you know that the Bible actually talks more about hell than about heaven? And as I said earlier, Jesus said straight and narrow is the way that leads to life and few there be that find it. But broad and wide is the way that leads to destruction and many there be that take it. You see, there's thousands of ways to be wrong, but there's only one way to be right. You can be wrong by giving your life over to entertainment. You can be wrong by giving your life over to sex. You can be wrong by giving your life over to careers. You can be wrong by giving your life over to another person. You can be wrong by living your life trying to please other people. You can be wrong a thousand different ways, but there's only one way to be right, and that's to live your life and for me to live my life for Jesus. So right now, I want to give you an opportunity, if God's knocking at your heart, just to say, Jesus, I feel you. This is true. Forgive me of my sin. I receive you. Come into me and save me now. So if you'd like to repeat after me now, let's just do that. Lord Jesus, I sense that this is your Holy Spirit speaking to me. I turn to you now. I ask you to forgive me of my sins. Thank you for dying for me. I acknowledge you died in my place on the cross and I receive your gift of forgiveness, your gift of salvation. Please forgive me now. Wash me of my sins by your blood. Come into my life by your Holy Spirit and save me. Thank you, Lord. Amen. Now, if you just prayed that prayer, beloved one, I want to encourage you to call a pastor somewhere, look in the phone book under evangelical churches or Bible-believing churches, call some churches up, say, do you believe that the Bible is literally the Word of God? Look for a Bible-believing church. Make an appointment with the pastor. Tell that pastor what you did. Tell that pastor that you want to start living your life as a committed Christian, or if you have friends or family members that are committed Christians, call them and start following Jesus. Do something immediately to begin to put into practice the commitment that you just made to the Lord. Start attending church on a regular basis. Start giving your finances to God. Start serving God's people in the church. Start living your life as a Christian. Start reading the Bible. I want to encourage you to start reading in the Gospel of John and just read straight through. I don't know if it's a chapter a day, two chapters a day, whether you're going to be so hungry you'll read the whole book at once. But read the Bible at least a couple chapters every single day. Start moving, beloved, into this new life and old things are going to pass away for you and all things are going to become new and Jesus is going to bless you. He said, seek first the kingdom of God and everything else shall be added unto you. Oh, my goodness gracious. Father God, we that know you repent of not being greater soul winners. Father God, of letting loved ones that we know that don't know you, letting them, Father God, go to hell without ever witnessing to them. So, Father, I pray that you would put a great spirit of courage on your people that are watching this broadcast right now, that they would begin to tell their friends and neighbors and loved ones about you, Lord Jesus. Amen and amen. What do you think of Jesus? I got this concept, beloved, from a dream that God gave me that he was showing me how we need to be witnessing to people and how imperative it is. In this dream, I found myself in a room. And in the room, beloved, was a simple couch. I was sitting on the couch. There was a lady sitting next to me. I couldn't see her face. And the next to the lady on the other side of the couch was this big guy about probably 6'3", 200-something pounds. And I had my head leaning on this lady next to me. And I felt like after the dream was over, the Lord was telling me it was just a symbol of being secure in relationship. You know, David said in one of his Psalms that he had stilled his soul like a child at rest on his mama's knee. You know, God is predominantly obviously revealed in the New Testament as Father, but within God's nature are also the feminine attributes. In fact, in some of God's Hebrew titles, we have him revealing himself to us in the feminine. For example, when he revealed himself to Moses, and all God's goodness passed by, and the Lord proclaimed his name to Moses, and the Lord said, I am Yahweh God, compassionate. And that word for compassionate, which is the first word that the Lord used in describing himself to Moses, actually comes from the Hebrew word rachum, which is a feminine word. It means mercy. And so predominantly, we refer to him as our father. But within God is both the male and female natures. So in this dream, getting back to the dream, I had my head leaning on this woman. I couldn't even see her face. I think it just meant securing the relationship the way a young infant is secure in its mother's arms. And then I turned to the man that was sitting on the couch and I asked him this simple question. What do you think of Jesus. Immediately, the dream shifted. I found myself in a second room. I'm sitting on a couch, and there's a young woman in the room, about 23 years old. And I say to this woman, listen, beloved ones, the same question. I believe that God Himself, by the Holy Spirit, gave me the question. I said to her this, what do you think of Jesus. And she answered and said this, well, I know he said a lot to the church, but he never said anything to me like about being boyfriend, girlfriend. And I know that sounds strange when I say that to you. And then the dream was over. And I knew when it was over that it was too strange. The whole thing was too strange. What are you saying? And the Lord was saying to me, what was happening in that second phase of the dream is that I was showing you that there are so many people out there, they've heard that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. but they never heard, the Lord was showing me, that I love them uniquely, especially, and individually. And that's what that girl was saying in the dream. Well, I know he said he loved the church. I know that he loves the world generically, but I never heard him say anything to me about being boyfriend, girlfriend. You see, she was wanting an intimate relationship. In fact, it's a type of relationship that Jesus is calling us to. He's calling to us, beloved ones, to Revelation 19, to the marriage supper of the Lamb. So God was telling me, when you witness to people, my church, don't just witness to them generally. Don't just say that God so loved the world. But when you witness to people, witness to them in such a way that you tell them that I love them. that, for example, if their name is Bill or Mary, you say, Bill, Mary, God loves you so specifically, personally. Bill, Mary, He knows everything that's going on in your life. And Bill, He's got a special plan for you. Mary, He's got a special destiny for you. Mary, God created you for Himself. Bill, God loves you more than you could ever realize. But the only way you're going to know His love The only way you're going to fulfill his purpose for your life, Bill Murray, is when you invite him into your life and make him the center of your life. God loves you today. He loves you individually, specifically, and specially. Would you receive him right now? He's knocking at the door of your heart. Beloved, the Bible speaks of there being a famine on the earth, not for food, but for the Word of God. You know, we're living in a time where there truly is a famine on the earth for the Word of God. So much teaching and preaching today is based on just making people feel good. But the truth oftentimes is not being taught. I want to ask you, beloved, to support me and to support this ministry. We're committed to teaching the truth and supporting this ministry, beloved. It ensures that I'm going to continue to be a blessing to you and that you're going to be used of God and rewarded for building his kingdom on the earth. Beloved, just do what the Holy Spirit tells you to do. That's all I've ever asked. If you sense him leading you to financially support me in this ministry, just obey him immediately. If you don't, don't do it. Just obey him, beloved, and you're going to be blessed. There always is a blessing. Now, Dustin, can you share with our listeners how they can support us and give?
SPEAKER 03 :
I'd be happy to, Rabbi. If you sense the Lord knocking on the door of your heart and leading you to financially support discovering the Jewish Jesus with a gift of any amount, then please reach out to us today. Call us at 800-777-7835. And if it's easier, you can give online at our website, discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And for those of you who feel called to support this ministry even further, I want you to know about a great resource and our partnership with Freewill. Freewill is an online and intuitive platform that simplifies the process of creating a will. It's free and it's user-friendly. And when you use free will, you can ensure that your earthly blessings continue to further the kingdom's work even after your days here on this earth are done. If you'd like to discover more about free will, I want to encourage you visit DiscoveringTheJewishJesus.com. Click on the resources tab and then need a will. You'll find all the details. It's free and it's easy. Once again, thanks so much for helping us extend our message and bring the hope and the healing of the Jewish Jesus to so many people all over the entire world. Once again, our address is Discovering the Jewish Jesus, P.O. Box 777 Blissfield, Michigan 49228. And many people, sometimes they don't remember that you can also text in your donation. Just type the keyword rabbi to the phone number 45777. We look forward to hearing from you soon. And now let's wrap up today's message on the accuracy of Scripture with God's sacred and special blessing. Rabbi.
SPEAKER 02 :
What I love about the Aaronic blessing is that it did not originate with man. The words actually proceeded from the very essence of God himself. The blessing comes from the book of Numbers, chapter six. So listen to these words and receive the blessing of the Lord into your life today.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yevarechech Yahweh, vayishmarecha. Yair Yahweh, penavelecha, vichunecha. Shalom.
SPEAKER 02 :
The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift you up with His countenance. And the Lord give you, beloved one, His peace. God bless you and shalom.
SPEAKER 03 :
This program is produced and sponsored by Discovering the Jewish Jesus. And I'm Dustin Roberts. Come back next week when Rabbi Schneider gives us some deep revelation from the book of Ephesians. That's Monday on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.
In this captivating episode, Liz Franzel sits down with Nick Vujicic, a motivational speaker and founder of Nick V Ministries, to explore the profound impact of human trafficking in America. With his personal triumph over physical and mental obstacles as a backdrop, Nick calls upon listeners to recognize and combat the insidious issue of modern slavery. Discover how you can contribute to protecting vulnerable communities as we reveal the frightening truth behind the statistics, and learn tangible steps you can take to make a difference.
SPEAKER 02 :
This is Liz Franzel with Crawford Media Group, and today we are privileged to have Nick Vujicic with us today. He is the founder and CEO of Nick V Ministries, renowned speaker around the world and best-selling author. This month is National Human Trafficking Month, and we'll be talking about his mission to end this horrific crime against humanity. Nick, it's an honor to have you here with us today.
SPEAKER 01 :
Liz, thank you so much for having me on.
SPEAKER 02 :
Nick, you have such an amazing testimony and for our listeners that might not know, you were born with no arms or legs and you have overcome what some would say are impossible circumstances, but we know that all things are possible with God and you are a testament to that. Can you tell us a little bit about your story and how you overcame incredible challenges?
SPEAKER 01 :
Look, thank you so much for asking. I am so blessed at 42 years of age to be able to always let everyone know that first and foremost, having no limbs sounds pretty difficult. But I always tell people that it's not about the physical difficulties as much as the disabilities of the heart and the mind. And for me, you know, people could look at me at school and judge me or decide if they interact with me, isolate themselves from me or even bully me. And I think it was around age six that I knew that I was different than everyone else. And for the first time, I thought, well, that might be an issue. I was raised in a beautiful, loving home, went to church every week. My dad was a pastor, and I was asked by many people, why were you born this way? I did not know why. My brother and sister were born with limbs. People then asked me, what do you want to be when you grow up? I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up. And I really felt like I was a burden to my parents. I had ups and downs at school as any student, but obviously had a lot of unwanted attention and definitely fears about my future. The Bible says that God has a hope, plan, and future, and I didn't understand if that verse would really be for me ever. I thought I'd be a burden to everyone around me, never get married, never be happy, never have children, never even get a job. And so I premeditated and planned a suicide attempt at age 10. I attempted in my bathtub and tried to drown myself because all I could see were broken pieces. And by the grace of God, I was stopped by one thought, imagining my parents at my grave wishing they could have done something more. And I didn't want to leave them with that pain. And I just am so glad I decided to stay by His grace. Age 15, I read John chapter 9, a man was born blind. No one knew why he was born that way. And Jesus was asked, why was he born with his disability? And I very much, as you can imagine, related to that story. The blind man gets the fingers of Jesus that are sticky and icky from the mud, and then he sees. And the blind man didn't ask any questions. And I realized, God, if you had a plan for a blind man, And you have a plan for me. And the blind man didn't ask for your plan, but he trusted you. And so, God, today I trust you with my greatest disability of death, of sin, that both you conquered on the cross, Jesus. And so I gave my life to Jesus at 15. At 17, I became vice president of my high school. I did a speech. And the janitor pulled me aside later, and he said, God's going to use you to go around the world. and share your story. And I actually said, I have no story. I don't know what you're talking about. And by the grace of God, started ministry at age 19. I've now gone to 84 countries, met 34 presidents and prime ministers. A billion people in China know who I am, and a billion people in India know who I am. And then out of the story, obviously not preaching, preaching. But then outside of those two closed countries, We've been in many others preaching the gospel to 10% of the whole world.
SPEAKER 02 :
That is absolutely an amazing testimony and I thank you for sharing that. I know who you are and that's why it's such a privilege to be able to talk with you today and I'm so thrilled that we can share you with our listeners. Today we are talking about human trafficking because this month is National Human Trafficking. You know, it's getting more attention but it's still not really being acknowledged a lot by the media. Give us some insight on what it is and how this even happens.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, look, there's so many different things that I needed to learn. I really want people to go to nickveeministries.org, find out the champions for the Brokenhearted series, click on human trafficking. For two years, we've been actually interviewing experts in different fields, including human trafficking, to really understand where this really is in our own backyard and For about two decades, everyone thought that this was more of an international problem. But more so, people are realizing it's actually happening in our own schools, in front of our own children. They don't need to be as violent kidnapping people for sex slavery in our own backyard. They just get lured in from social media, actually, by peers of their school now. People don't understand that a lot of media attention is not really going down to the root issue. People don't still know that there are $100 million worth of lobbying money for bills to pass continually pornographic material in our country. People don't understand that 67% of all teenagers are actually producing sexual images of themselves on their cell phones. People don't understand that one in three girls by age 17 have been raped in America. One out of five boys by age 17 raped in America. What's devious of all these things and other things that, I mean, it's very dark, very heavy to also understand the CPS and foster care system. I have had many friends in the foster care, incredible opportunity to help these children. and they ask these three siblings who are two, four, and six, hey, let's take a photo together as a family. And one of them says, okay, and comes back naked. And so there's a ton, ton, ton of foster kids waiting to go into a loving, protected home. There's a lot of corruption in our country, a lot of fragmented systems between county to county, and it's pretty disgusting as we learn these things. But What's most devious is no one who actually is being trafficked will say that they're being trafficked because they don't think they're being trafficked because they actually get brainwashed. And so what's crazy is, well, that's just what we do. This is who we are. And this is my new circle. It's unbelievable. And this is actually infiltrated to coaches, teachers and even parents in America.
SPEAKER 02 :
When you say infiltrated, what do you mean by that?
SPEAKER 01 :
Actually, softball coaches, basketball coaches, teachers of different tutorials, and even parents actually being part of the pimping and sexual acts. And more of that is going to be revealed here in America. Yaku Boyens is the tip of the spearhead of this issue. And as a church, you know, as a Christian... We need to go to what we really—I mean, no one's really talking about this in the church at all. No one's really bringing this in in education. Louisiana's done a great job in bringing education for adoption and helping unexpected pregnancies with teenagers to know about adoption on just the precipice. It's the first of its kind. It really needs to be mandated. That needs to be mandated. What also needs to be mandated is the real danger to parents as well to warn what human trafficking really is, to know the signs of your own child going through that. But what's crazy is this. There are surveys out there that say that one in five men who go to church on a weekly basis are actually addicted to pornography. And we're not talking about pornography. We're not talking about, you know, just to Gen Z to keep your pants on. to understand the sexualization of a generation. And when we now look at, I mean, even Christian schools, go to the football little team there and hear their conversations. And if you overhear some conversations, you'll actually probably hear someone asking their peers, how many trophies do you have? And that actually means how many girls have you slept with? And so the whole way that the enemy has come in and infiltrated and sexualized and debilitated our young people and attacking them without any buffer because they're on their phone seven hours straight a day. And this is now, this is real. And there is a lot of work to do, a lot of work to do. And I think the church needs to be aware of it. educate their schools, every charter school, every Christian school, every public school, every home, but also in the church to start talking about this as, hey, how many foster kids can we get out of that risk?
SPEAKER 02 :
You had mentioned some of the training you do. What are some of the signs that we can look for that would kind of alert us to something that's off?
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, look, it's really peer-to-peer and really isolation and even some emojis. If you actually do some audits on your teenagers, as far as I'm concerned, everyone has their own house rules. But there are expert curriculum and signs of the types of emojis that pimps use, how they go trolling. You know, they're meeting people that they've never met before or they're being coerced in the school. There are signs of isolation. There are signs of even eye contact when they're lying. And just to have an atmosphere at home of saying, don't do this, don't do that, don't meet strangers, to actually sit down and have discussions with your family about what this really is. It is absolutely not surprising to me that 330,000 children are missing, with 3 million that have come over the border completely missing. But even before the border crisis that we have had in recent years, there's hundreds of thousands of people. In DFW alone, there are estimated 400. I'm from Dallas-Fort Worth. estimated 400 active slaves being pimped every single night in Dallas. And it's really interesting to know that those clienteles are normally people who earn more than $150,000, who have two children, and who are aged between 45 and 55 years of age. And you just would never believe that those are the people that are having sex with minors, And so even Native Americans, people don't understand right now, Native Americans are seen as exotic. And so we've been to Native American reservations, and they're taking, the Mexican cartels in Montana are taking daily children and women. And because of the jurisdictions, guess what? The federal government still has not been able to stop this kidnapping right in front of their eyes. And as soon as they get off the reservation, they actually can get away with it. It's happening on a daily basis. Tons of missing kids from Native Americans. People have no clue what's really going on.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, that is tragic news. And such, you know, the statistics are so, so huge. We're visiting with Nick Vujicic, founder and CEO of Nick V Ministries. renowned speaker and best-selling author, and we've been talking about the work his ministry is doing to help end human trafficking. Nick, would you tell our listeners where they can go to find out more about your ministries and actually get involved in this tragic crime against humanity?
SPEAKER 01 :
Please, thank you very much. nickveenministries.org is where you go. Go click the tab of Champions for the Brokenhearted. you will see then 12 topics that we've chosen, and one of them that we deep dive into is human trafficking. We have been doing that intentionally for two years. Check out Jacob Boyan's ministry. Check out A21, Christine Kane. Check out other people out there that we have shown free resources for all churches, all families, and teenagers alike to just Help them understand we need to address this. We need to address this now and do all that we can and not rest until it's done.
SPEAKER 02 :
Absolutely. Thank you for bringing this to light, Nick, and so much for joining us today.
SPEAKER 01 :
I love you so much. Thank you so much.
