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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 The Roundtable offers a fresh approach to outdated debates.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.
Messages about the crippling emotion of FEAR. How it impacts our lives and our walk with Christ, along with ways to mitigate it in our day-to-day lives through the power of prayer and community. This podcast collection is not intended to take the place of counseling, or psychological assistance. If you need someone to pray with or have an additional need that we can help you pray with, please reach out to us using the form below, or if you'd prefer it you may also call us at 303.481.1800 during business hours and someone will be happy to pray with you about fear or anything else you need.
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.
Join us as Alan J. Huth shares his personal reflections on the principles found in Matthew 18. From the story of childlike faith to the necessity of avoiding temptation, Alan navigates through each verse with thoughtfulness. We also hear a heartfelt testimony of how a near-death experience awakened a lifelong commitment to daily Bible reading and living a purpose-driven life.
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Alan J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
SPEAKER 05 :
Today we are in Matthew chapter 18. We'll listen to Faith Comes by Hearing's recording of the 35 verses of Matthew 18. Matthew 18
SPEAKER 04 :
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
SPEAKER 03 :
And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me. But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin... It would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world for temptations to sin, for it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes. And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire." And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire. See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector." Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them. Then Peter came up and said to him,
SPEAKER 02 :
Lord, how often will my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times?
SPEAKER 03 :
Jesus said to him, I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold with his wife and children and all that he had in payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, "'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.'" And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. And seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, Pay what you owe. So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, Have patience with me, and I will pay you. He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, You wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant as I had mercy on you? And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.
SPEAKER 05 :
Chapter 18 opens with the story about childlike faith. And I think I have childlike faith. But then when I thought about it, I thought, what does it even mean? Childlike faith is when a child jumps off of the monkey bars into a parent's arms. She doesn't even think about it, and that's because she trusts the parent. I also think of the bright, wide-open, innocent eyes of a child when hearing a story or seeing something new and simply believing. And then I think about childlike faith, that they try new adventures because they have not yet been discouraged or jaded with failure. So what I mean by childlike faith is that I trust. I trust in the Lord. I believe. And I trust and I believe even after discouragement or failure. The next principle of the chapter is that temptation is necessary. Now, I don't want to believe that, but that's what verse 7 says. For it is necessary that temptation come. But the next two verses remind me that I am to avoid temptation as best as I can, because temptation can lead to sin and sin to hell of fire. Now let's look at verse 10. It says, Now, I don't know what you think about children having guardian angels, but this verse gives a lot of credence to that, doesn't it? Again, it does say, See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. And isn't it cool that our angels always have God's attention? I also hope that I never grow out of my guardian angel, that it's not just when I'm a child, but that I also still have angels watching over me this day, and that they have direct access to God Almighty in heaven. In my journal in 2016, I wrote about the next section in this chapter. I titled it, Sin Correction. And I wrote four steps. Step one, go tell him alone. Step two, take one or two others. Step three, tell it to the church. Step four, if there's still no reconciliation or no repentance or no forgiveness, break fellowship. Is this how we handle sin today? Do we go tell that person alone or share with that person? And if that doesn't work, then do we take a few others and go visit with them? And if that doesn't work, do we get the church involved? Or do we just gossip about it through, quote, prayer requests? Hey, we need to pray for so-and-so and then share the story. And next comes this great verse, verse 20. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them. And what does that tell us? It tells us we ought not be lone ranger Christians. We need to be in fellowship, which means being in the church, which means maybe being in a small group, which means having a core of Christian friends around us that we can gather and pray for one another. But it means don't be a Lone Ranger Christian. And the chapter closes with forgiveness. In my journal in 2007, I wrote about this passage. We also need to forgive and be forgiving. People will stumble and cause others to stumble. So be forgiving. We will also stumble and cause others to as well. And we need forgiveness too. I have been forgiven a debt I cannot pay by Jesus, so forgive others. And I followed those entries with a listing of my prayer that day. Help me resist temptation. Keep me from falling. Help me be forgiving. Father, thank you for forgiving me more times than I deserve. And therefore, by that pattern, I too am to forgive others more times than maybe I think they deserve. Your forgiveness is unlimited. May mine be also unlimited. Also, Lord, lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen. Thanks for listening to AdBible today. You might wonder how I became a daily Bible reader. When I was 15 years old, a buddy and me stole his father's car. We could steal his father's car because his father was in Vietnam, serving in the war. So he was never home. So we took the car that day. Neither one of us with a driver's license. And we took off out east of Colorado Springs on a dirt road. We were flying down this dirt road at 60 miles an hour. And he lost control of the car. We began to spin, and we were going down the road, fishtailing, and he spun the wheel of the car 60 miles an hour. The car tumbled, crushed the top, tucked the wheels under, totaled the car. I was on a dirt road. I don't know if I was thrown out of the car or crawled out of the car, but I looked at that car, and I thought, am I even alive? Am I broken? Am I bleeding everywhere? And I began to pat myself down, and I felt like I was okay. So I stood up, and I was uninjured, amazingly. The sheriff came to draw up the accident. He said, it's a miracle you guys are alive. I got home that night, went down into my bedroom. My mother came to me and said, you ought to thank God you're alive. I was laying on my bed, and I was thinking about the day's activities, and I just thought, wow, I could have been dead today. I wasn't the driver. I was the passenger. I wasn't in control, but God was. At that moment, I figured out at 15 years old, God could take my life any time. He could have that day. So as I laid there, I thought, okay, you could take my life any day. So you saved my life today for a reason. For whatever reason that is, I'm going to live for you and that reason. As I said that, I heard a voice say to me, there's a Bible on your bookshelf. Get it down and read it. I must have heard something, because I got up, I went over to the bookshelf, and I pulled down a Bible. I opened it to the first page, just like I would any other book, and I began to read God's Word. I read Genesis chapter 1. The next day I read Genesis chapter 2. The next day I read Genesis chapter 3. And a chapter a day, I began to read God's Word at 15 years old. If you do that, by the way, it'll take you about three and a half years to finish reading the Bible a chapter a day. And that's a good plan. So that's how I became a daily Bible reader. And when I finished going through the Bible the first time, at 18 years or so, I just started over because I thought that's what Christians did was read their Bibles every day. So that's how I became a daily Bible reader.
In this compelling episode, we delve deep into the struggle between maintaining spiritual freedom and succumbing to fleshly desires. Our speaker passionately articulates the insidious nature of backsliding, emphasizing that it doesn't happen overnight but rather through gradual neglect of spiritual disciplines. Listeners are urged to steadfastly hold onto their faith, as yielding to temptations can set off a destructive chain reaction, much like an avalanche. With insights drawn from biblical teachings, we explore the importance of perseverance and fighting to stay aligned with God’s will.
SPEAKER 01 :
If you've ever wondered why you can't seem to maintain a level of liberty in your spiritual or sometimes have difficulty overcoming your fleshly desires. And if you want more than just a breakthrough, but you want to stay through, this message is for you. One more time.
SPEAKER 02 :
You know the old devil, he tries to make you discouraged. One of the things he's been trying to discourage me on is people letting up and not coming to church. I'm really concerned Even tonight's congregation. People are backsliding. Can't stay. And can't stand to be blessed. Man ain't no time to let up now. Ain't no time to backslide now. Now when I talk about backslide. There are degrees of backslide. Till you can go all the way in the world. Say, what do you mean, Brother Hardy? Backslide means you fail to do the things you used to do. Because you won't backslide overnight into the world. You do a little bit gradual. You break that pattern. You let up. See, some people, they start letting up Wednesday night. Then pretty soon it's Friday night. Pretty soon, only time they come in Sunday. Then it's not very hard for the devil to knock them out Sunday morning. Then a couple weeks they're gone. Man, you got to fight. This is a fight. You don't let nobody take your crown. What did Jesus say? One of the last things to the church. He said, hold thou fast what thou hast. Let no one take your crown. And that's a warning. There's a warning out there. That someone is trying to take your crown of victory. Take your overcoming crown. And take your crown of life. If you let him, the devil will walk all over you. And once you start retreating, once you start yielding to him, then you just set it in motion like a snowball or an avalanche. Brother, you got to fight this thing. You're not going to make the heaven unless you fight. Somebody said, you mean to tell me I got to fight to get saved? No, you got to fight to stay saved. Getting saved is the easiest part. You know, having evangelistic ministry and getting people saved, that's the easiest thing. You get a crowd out there, God sets the conviction. You preach a convicting message, God gets them saved. Brother, that's the easy thing. But keeping them saved and making them a productive Christian, that's the hard part. How many say amen? How many hears me? Brother, I'm going to make it. Amen. If you could bet that you need to lay odds on that heart is going to make it. Because I got my mind made up. David said my mind is made up. My heart is fixed. Trusting in the Lord. I'm going to make it. If it's a rosy way to fly away, amen. But I know it's not going to be. Amen. Say amen. But whatever it takes, if I have to fight the devil every centimeter, every inch of the way, I'm going to make it. And I'm not going to let the devil take my grab. And I'm not going to fight the same fight for the same grab. I'm going to go on a deeper depth and higher heights. Amen. Say amen. Ain't no time to let up now. Brother, everywhere you look, it's saying Jesus is coming. I said you can look at the weather, it's Jesus coming. You can look at the world, it's saying Jesus is coming. You look at the church, it's saying Jesus is coming. Brother, I'm not going to let up. I'm going to press my way in. He said press. Press toward the mark. That word mark in the Greek is the goal line. It don't make any difference if you enter every race in the world. If you don't finish the line, if you don't get across the goal line, it don't matter. In football, you can run 99 yards, but if you don't go that other one yard, it don't matter. Amen and say amen. You can hit the ball and run around all the bases, but if he tags you out at the plate, it don't matter. Amen. I'm going to run. Paul said, I'm going to run. I'm going to fight. Amen. Say amen. I'm going to fight the good fight of faith. I'm going to lay hold on eternal life. I'm going to not let the devil take it. I'm not going to move back. I'm going up higher. Now, you don't stand still in the Lord. You're either progressing or regressing. Amen. You're either going into higher heights and deeper depths or you're going back. You're backsliding. You're not doing the things that you're used to. Then you stay in that little place a while and then you backslide a little bit more. And that is saying then and gradually you'll get all the way over here. You're nothing like you were when you were on fire. Jesus invited one church and said in Revelations, said, I tell you to repent and do your first works over. You know how you felt when you first got saved? You wanted to get in the church. You wanted to hear the word of God. You couldn't wait until it was prayer time. Everybody say amen. You couldn't wait to get in the word. You couldn't wait to tell somebody about Jesus. Oh, what's the matter, brother? He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. You should love him more. I want to know more. I want to know more. I want to know more. I don't want to get in the world. I don't want to be around that motley crowd. I don't want to be around those carnal people full of all their unrighteousness, ungodliness, filthy talk. I want to walk in the spirit. I want to walk with Jesus. I want to be like Enoch. And the day that we're living in was the night, the day of Enoch. Right before God sent the flood. Amen. And say amen. I want to walk with God. And one of these days, they're going to look for me. But I'm going to be gone. Because I'm going to walk right on into God's house. Hey, shake yourself. Sometime you got to shake yourself. Not let the devil put you over. He's not going to rob my prayer time. He's not going to rob my Bible study. He's not going to keep me out of church. Oh, you're so tired before church. But then at 15 minutes after church. And after the church bus goes. Then you're full of life, huh? Then the devil's got carnal things for you. You ain't liking me tonight. But I got a feeling. I'm going to preach, brother. You know you're miserable. Carnal and miserable. And like I say it, it's the truth. Some people got just enough salvation to be miserable. They know that they should do more than not doing it. They're scared to death to go all the way into the world. And they won't go all the way for God. Amen. And they're in between. And they got the Holy Ghost pulling this way. And they got the devil pulling this way. And they're tore apart. You got to let go of one of them. To get momentarily peace, you got to let go. You can let go of God and throw him down. Get momentarily peace until the devil got that trap. Until he gets you empty. And the classic example in the Bible is Samson.
SPEAKER 1 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 02 :
You'd have thought Samson would have appreciated the anointing on him. He was the only one in Israel. The only one on the face of the earth that the spirit of God would follow him mightily. He was invincible by the power of God. Satan couldn't do anything with him. They surrounded the city. Said we got him and at daybreak we're going to get him. God woke him up. The city was surrounded. They were kind of napping. The gigantic gates were closed. We got our enemy. Supposed to be the servant of Jehovah, mighty and strong. And old Samson went and grabbed them two gates. Now I'm talking about gates maybe 40 feet high. I'm talking about gates that are tons and tons of weight. He grabbed one in one hand and grabbed the other in the other hand and said, Oh God! I'm going to say amen. And God heard his prayer. And the power of God came on him and he picked them gates up. And not only did he walk, he walked up a hill. He walked up the mountain in front of that city. And planted those gates as a mighty memorial to the mighty delivering power of God. By God's spirit. He was invincible. For it's not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit. Say of the Lord, it's only the Spirit of God that makes you strong and invincible. When the enemy comes in like the flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift them astandard. But if you have leaked out, there is no one to lift us standard up. No one to lift the standard up. Samson called. God heard him. But he was backsliding. He was backsliding a little by little. You see, you don't leak out of the spirit all at once. Little by little. And that's the danger. You don't know you're emptying out. Baptize in the Holy Ghost. What does it mean to be baptized in the Holy Ghost? It means to be full inside and completely enveloped and covered outside. You know, kind of like now, if you get born again, then you get one measure of the Spirit. There are measures of the Spirit. Under the Old Testament, They couldn't have what we had. They could get full and like David, the cup would run over, but they couldn't be baptized. See, the difference between the baptizing and the filling is when you're filled, you're filled up. Then you're like David, it keeps coming and you run over. You fill up that glass of water, put a stopper in the sink, put it in the sink, keep the tap on. It's not only full. One measure, two measure, three measure full running over. One measure covering a full vessel. Half full, three quarters covered. Fully covered till it's absolutely covered with water and all you see is water. That's baptized. That all they see is the Holy Ghost. You're under the complete control of the Holy Ghost. Remember when you got the Holy Ghost? I remember when I got it. I remember when I came out of it. I found myself in the middle of the church, hollering. I didn't know how I got there. I was under the anointing of God. I was completely controlled by the Holy Ghost. And there I was. How many say amen? When I came to cognizance, here I was in the middle of the church. Hallelujah. Glory to God. Hallelujah. I was full. And that's the dangerous time. It's when you're full. The Spirit's on you. Here you're full. I'd like to illustrate it this way. By a seesaw. How many of you know what a kid's seesaw is? And we're going to call this the line of demarcation. And on this side, it's in the spirit. And on this side, it's in the flesh. When we talk about in the flesh, in control of the flesh. And when we talk about flesh, Paul uses means the old nature. For they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But if the Spirit of God dwell in you, you're not in the flesh, you're in the Spirit. That means you're in the new nature. You're controlled by the Holy Spirit in the new nature. When you're in the flesh, you're controlled by the old nature and Satan. How can you tell after being all the way full, you're getting close to being totally leaked out? You know how you can tell? You're in the middle of the seesaw. And the flesh is calling and the spirit's calling and you're in a battle. And you just can't do what you want. Remember when you were full of the spirit? Oh, you could pray anytime. My God, you couldn't stop praying. You went to bed praying, and your body had to pass out because your spirit was still praying and singing. And when your body finally woke up in the morning, your spirit's still singing and praying, and you got a song in the night season. And all the day long, everybody say amen. And there wasn't nothing to read the Bible, and revelation was coming. Joy came. And when the battle came, well, you rolled with the punches. You didn't even realize you were in the test. Amen. Because the spirit anesthetizes you. Is that what it is? Okay, I didn't know if I had that right. In other words, it numbs you to the flesh. The flesh was killed. Reckon yourself to be dead indeed. Under the flesh, under sin. But alive under God. You were alive under God. Nobody had to tell you he lives. He was alive in you. You could feel the vibrating and the moving and the reverberating of the Holy Ghost power. You were alive. You breathed the spirit. You walked in the spirit. You slept in the spirit. You were in the spirit. Your flesh was totally dead. Now here's being baptized in the Holy Ghost. You're all the way on the other end of that seesaw. Broke through to your out in heavenly places. Broke through to you singing and speaking in tongues. Amen. It was like before the service. Brother Murph got to praying, but then he broke through and he got all the way out in the spirit. He began to speak in tongues. He was all the way out. There was no flesh around. There was no flesh in it. There was no worldly thoughts in it. There was no body thoughts in it. You were out in the spirit. You were under complete control of the Holy Ghost. And see, I know what it takes to get full of the spirit and stay full of the spirit. You got to kill that man. You got to die daily. You got to crucify the flesh. You know what crucify means? The most agonizing death known to man. Sometimes it took him a couple days to die. Each breath you died a little bit and you fought against it. You know when you finally died up? Your bodily was totally exhausted and it could not fight anymore and it fell forward and you asphyxiated yourself. You smothered to death. Because on that cross, they had that little pad, you know where his foot was? It was there so that you could breathe. You pushed on that and pushed yourself out and breathed. And all the pain was wracking your body. And then you'd go down again. And the nails would tear at your body. How many say amen? And you kept doing it because you didn't want to die. Especially when you're not saved. You're fighting death. Jesus didn't fight death. He made sure every scripture was fulfilled. He quoted chapter after chapter to make sure that he was given a witness to Israel. How many say amen when they were fighting it? Until you were dying inch by inch, ounce of strength by ounce of strength until finally, you see that's why Pilate was so amazed that he was dead so early. All of a sudden, all your natural strength is gone. You're totally, totally void of any energy. All your muscles collapse. So like Jesus, he said, I am out of joint. All my bones are out of joint. Did you ever get a thumb out of a joint? A finger out of a joint? And the pain? Oh, think of every bone out of joint. And the pain, the flesh is fighting it, don't want to die, but you're killing it. Finally, you got it killed. And the anointing's on you. And here you come with all of the spirit that God could put on you. How many say amen? And you're flying. You're flying. The devil's fighting you, but you ain't paying any attention. You're living above all that stuff. All that carnality. All that flesh. All that worldliness. You're seated in heavenly places. And in his presence is fullness of joy. And at his right hand are eternal pleasures evermore. Amen. The devil can't test you with flesh. You're too far in the spirit. You can get to the place you can't be tempted with the flesh. You're too far in the spirit. But the danger comes. Samson had all the anointings somebody could have. And you see, God only anoints you to do the thing he calls you to do. Come on now. You stop doing the thing. You don't have to sin. Just stop doing the thing God calls you to do. I can leak out this quick. All I got to do is stop praying. Stop reading the Bible. Stop studying and stop preaching. And I can stay in the church and never go out and backslide to the bottom. How many say amen? You got to fight to keep this anointing. You can't let yourself leak out. You can't let yourself get empty. That's what the devil's waiting on. He's betting on it to sidetrack you, get you in self-will, get you to let up. You're too tired to pray. Brother, I'm too tired not to pray. I'm going to pray if I don't do nothing else. If I don't do anything else, I am going to pray. Samson, let up. And the devil told him, go ahead in that city. He was with a holiday in that city. How many say amen? Somebody said, how could he be that way and have the anointing? Because you see, under the law, there was no law in the Old Testament. They were against it. And where there was no law, there was no sin imputed. How many knew that? Even though it's wrong, there was nothing that forbid it. Only it's sin imputed when it's a law and you break it. Where there is no transgression, there's no sin, Paul says. It's sin, but it's not imputed to you because there's nothing that says thou shall not. How many say amen? But he wasn't on the job of delivering Israel. And then the devil had him set up because he knew women was his weakness. So he's got, first of all, the first Philistine woman. And it's against the word of God. Because the word of God said that Israel, God's people, was not to mix with the Gentiles. Right. Tell me a lot of people didn't come to the service Sunday morning because they didn't want to hear the truth. Well, ignorance of the word don't excuse you. It's going to get you. You know what they say? Ignorance of the law is no excuse. The judge gives you 20 years. You better know because you're never dying so. They don't like me, Jesus. They don't like me, Lord. Amen. But I love them. I'm trying to save them from the trap. I'm trying to save them from the pitfall. I'm trying to save them from heartaches and griefs and sorrows and misery and woe. I'm trying. Lord, help me. Open up their eyes. Open up their hearts. I am concerned, Shirley. Shirley. I can't see the church that God may be a pastor over. I can't see the people leaking out and falling in the devil's track and getting places where he can destroy them. For he is a thief and he came up not to steal and to kill and to destroy. But Jesus said, I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly. We cannot fall in the trap of the devil. The Bible said, be not unequally yoked with unbelievers. No Christian is supposed to marry a sinner. As soon as you marry, you backslid. You hear me? I'm going to say it again. As soon as you marry a sinner, you backslid. What? Know you not that your body is the temple of God? Shall I take the temple of God and join it to an idol? Or Christ from Belial? Know you not that he that joins himself with a whore is a whore? And when you join yourself to an unbeliever, you are an unbeliever. And you never win them. They win you. I've watched it 45 years in my church with young people. I told them, I warned them, oh, I'll get them saved. Brother, if you can't get them saved before you marry them, then you're not going to get them saved. After you marry, you're the one to compromise. They don't like me, Jesus. But I hear something say preach. I even heard it in the congregation. And I'm going to preach it. Because the preachers are on me. The anointing's on me. Because God cares about you. God cares about you. And I care about you. Hey, I'm not here to play church. How to win friends and influence people. And have an easy good living. I'm here to make heaven my home. And help you to make heaven your home. And I want to tell you. The finishing line is just ahead. Press towards the mark. For the prize of the calling upon high. The calling up. God wants to call us up.
SPEAKER 01 :
Attention, friends of Sound the Faith. September is radio month, and we want to send you a free gift. It could be a CD or a book, and it's coming to you free if you write in with the call letters of this radio station written on the bottom left corner of your envelope. This will help us determine where our program is blessing people like you. Write to Sound of Faith, P.O. Box 1744, Baltimore, Maryland, 21203. Don't forget those call letters on the front of the envelope.
When sharing our faith, one of the major obstacles we face is the skepticism of whether or not Jesus existed and if the Disciples truly witnessed Him walk on earth. Join Rabbi, as he gives an answer to dispel these skepticisms using factual reasoning and supportive scripture.
Visit our website at DiscoveringTheJewishJesus.com
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to Discovering the Jewish Jesus. I'm your host, Dustin Roberts, and today Rabbi Schneider is diving into the deep waters of something that should be near and dear to each one of us, sharing our faith. Do you ever feel the gentle nudge of the Holy Spirit to share your faith, but you're not quite sure how? Or maybe you're wondering if you're even doing it right. Well, you are not alone. And that's why Rabbi wants to give us some practical tips on sharing our faith. You can learn more about Rabbi Schneider or this ministry by visiting discoveringthejewishjesus.com. That's discoveringthejewishjesus.com. But Right now, let's explore how we can be Jesus' ambassadors every day. Rabbi?
SPEAKER 03 :
Father God, we ask you to come and touch us by your spirit as we're tuned in together to this broadcast. Strengthen our hearts, O God, with faith by your word. Strengthen us and empower us, I pray, Father, for it's in Jesus' name and for his name we pray. And all God's people spoke Hebrew together and said, Amen and Amen and Amen. Beloved, if you're a born-again believer, if you're a believer in Messiah Yeshua, you have a desire in your heart to obey him. That's what the Spirit of God does. He comes in us and He imparts God's divine nature to us. And when the Spirit of God imparts His own nature to us, it puts within us a desire to obey the Father. That's why the Bible says that we're calling out Father. We want to obey. Jesus said, if you love me, you'll obey me. Part of obeying the Father, beloved, part of obeying Yeshua is being obedient in the realm of sharing our faith. You see, the scripture tells us that God didn't save us to hide our life somewhere, to put them under a bushel where no one could see us. But the Bible tells us that God saved us, that he would put us on a hill. that our light would shine for people to see. In other words, he wants to use our lives to draw others to himself. The Bible says that Yeshua taught, as the Father sent me, Yeshua said, so also now I send you. Paul tells us we have been made ambassadors of Jesus, that God wants to use us to go into the highways and the byways of life, into the grocery stores, into the dentist office, into our school systems, into our neighborhoods, into every aspect, every corner that our life goes into. He wants us to bring into all those nooks and crannies, beloved, the fragrance of His Son, both in the way that we live, in the presence of His Spirit that emanates through us, as well as, beloved, in the proclamation of our mouth. We can't just live in such a way that we're living as Christians without telling anybody. We have to tell people also. Think about it for a second. I'm a Jewish person. If the fragrance of the Lord is emanating from me, if people are maybe drawn to me because they just sense something positive coming from me, if they're drawn to me and then I treat them real kindly and they sense a lot of peace from me and they sense a lot of love from me and they see me wearing the yarmulke, but I never tell them about Jesus... I might actually lead them away from Jesus because they're thinking, you know, he was such a good person and look at how good he was. He treated me so much better than some of the Christian people I know, and he's not even a Christian. See, they could actually look at me and my life could be used to lead them away from Jesus if I don't tell them about Jesus. So the point is, is that we can't just live in such a way that demonstrates who Yeshua is. We can't just be kind to people. We also have to verbally tell them about Jesus and we need to tell them why we live the way we live and why we are the way we are. That's why the apostle Paul said in the book of Romans, he that calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. But then he goes on to say, but how shall they call upon him whom they've not heard? How should they believe in him whom they've not heard about, he says? And how shall they believe unless they hear? And how shall they hear unless we tell them? So, beloved, you and I have been chosen to be his witnesses. God said to Israel, you are my witnesses, declares the Lord. And now he's saying to the church as well, beloved, You are my witnesses. And that's why Yeshua said to his disciples, go wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit. And when he comes on you, he's going to clothe you with power and you will be my witnesses. Sometimes when we're sharing our faith with people, it's important to find out what they think about the Bible. Because if we begin to quote Bible scripture to them, but yet they're saying, I don't believe the Bible is true. It may be difficult for us to make the point as powerfully as we like to make it. Now the reason I say it that way is because God's Word speaks for itself. Jesus said, the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life. So the power of God is in the Word. If a person says he doesn't believe it, that doesn't stop the power of God from throwing through His Word. The Word of God is living and and sharper than a two-edged sword, able to pierce between the vision of soul and spirit and the bone and its marrow. The Word of God has power and accuracy in and of itself. On the other hand, beloved, it's good to be aware of some of these truths that I'm about to share with you. When a person says they don't believe the Bible, as I indicated on last broadcast, I talked about the archaeological evidence that we have for the Bible's historical accuracy. All over Israel, we've dug up all these things that give credence to the historical accuracy of both the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, as well as the New Testament. Nobody can deny that. Archaeologists don't deny it anymore. They have found too many archaeological artifacts that teach us and tell us that, yes, the Bible is a historically accurate document. Another argument that we have for the historical accuracy and reliability, beloved, of the Scriptures is the nation of Israel. I mean, think about the nation of Israel, the Jewish people. Here they were, a small group of people. And all these other nations have come and gone. The Babylonians have come and gone. The Persians have come and gone. The Medes have come and gone. The Roman Empire has come and gone. And yet here's this little group of people that God said, I've chosen you to be a people for myself out of all the peoples in the face of the earth. And all these other empires and all these other people groups have come and gone. And yet here's this group of people today we call the Jewish people, the nation of Israel, still here today. making contributions to society far beyond their numbers. It is supernatural. The Jewish people and their existence and their contribution to society, beloved, is evidence that what the Bible teaches is true and accurate and real because the scriptures teach us that God has his hand on the nation of Israel and the Jewish people in a special way. The third thing that I want to talk about in relationship, beloved, to the historical accuracy of the Bible, I'm relating now specifically to the New Testament. You see, when we look about what is an accurate historical source, in other words, is the New Testament a reliable, historical, accurate source? Can it really be trusted? Beloved, when we think about an accurate historical document, We think in ancient history, we think, for example, of somebody like Alexander the Great. As far as the earth is concerned and historians are concerned, Alexander the Great was absolutely a real person, and we have facts about his life from history. But yet did you know that the earliest historical document that we have concerning Alexander the Great is 100 years old? And yet no one questions the historical accuracy of it. Well, guess what, beloved ones? The historical document of the New Testament is a far more superior historical document than the documents that we have about Alexander the Great. Here's the reasons why. Number one, with the New Testament that we call in Hebrew the Brihadashah, we have people that wrote about him, beloved, that were his contemporaries. We have people that wrote about Yeshua that lived with him, that knew him, that saw what he did and heard, beloved, his voice. So, for example, I'm going to start out. with the book of Peter. Listen to what the Bible tells us, what Peter tells us in 2 Peter, beginning in chapter number 1 of verse 16. Peter, Kepha says this, For we did not follow cleverly devised tales. So he's right from the beginning. He's saying this is no myth. He's right off the bat cutting that argument down to its root. He said this is no myth. Listen once again. For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord, Yeshua Mashiach. He says, but we were eyewitnesses. He continues on. He's speaking now of the transfiguration experience described in the Gospels. Verse 17, for when he received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to him by the majestic glory, this is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. And he says, and we ourselves are heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with them on the holy mountain. This is referred to in the gospels. We call it the transfiguration experience where Yeshua took the three with them. on top of the mountain and was transfigured before them. And the Spirit of God spoke there that they all heard, this is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. Peter said, I was a witness of this thing. I'm writing real history here. And so the historical documents of the New Testament, beloved, are written by people that walked with Jesus, that held his hand, that walked arm in arm with him. Listen to what John said similarly. In the book of 1 John, the first chapter, beloved, hear the word of God. John begins, chapter 1, verse 1, by saying, what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with, listen now, our eyes. He said, I heard it with my own ears. I heard his voice. I saw it with my own eyes. I saw the miracles. I saw him heal people. Let's read it again. What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, and what we beheld with our hands handled. In other words, John's saying, listen, I touched him. I touched him. I was with him. And now I'm going to share with you what happened when I was with him. He continues on in verse number three. What we have seen and heard, we proclaim to you also. So the New Testament, beloved, is the best type of historical document that we can get because it was written by eyewitnesses that were with him, not secondhand witnesses, but direct witnesses. And not only that, but it was written by a multiplication, a multiplicity of eyewitnesses, right? Peter, John, Mark, Paul, who had a different type of encounter after Yeshua was raised from the dead. These were people that experienced him firsthand.
SPEAKER 01 :
You're listening to Discovering the Jewish Jesus with Rabbi Schneider, and he'll be right back with the second half of today's message. But first, I want to share an announcement about a special podcast we're going to release this coming Sunday. We have a special podcast called Seize My Word. And it is a great way to fall asleep or just sit back and listen and soak in God's Word. It's a calming audio presentation from Rabbi with relaxing music in the background. And Rabbi gently reads passages of Scripture that are designed to quiet your mind and help you focus your heart on God's promises. It's a really unique resource and it's perfect for winding down and disconnecting from the chaos of the day. And even God modeled us an example of rest and a time to connect with him on the Sabbath. So I want to encourage you to find Seize My Word on YouTube and all your favorite podcasting platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, this coming Sunday, December 22nd. And now back to Rabbi.
SPEAKER 03 :
I love what Luke tells us concerning the historical accuracy of the New Testament, that we can trust it, that we're standing, beloved, on solid ground, that we don't have to be shaken when somebody says, I don't believe the Bible. I believe it was written from man. No, no, no. That's why Peter says this is real. And none of this came from one's own interpretation, but men that were moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. And so listen to what we have here concerning the historical accuracy of the New Testament as it is recorded by Luke. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but hallelujah, the word of the Lord abides forever. Hear the word of God as I begin reading, beloved, from the book of Luke chapter one, verse one. And as much as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, Just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses, he's speaking about some of those that I just wrote about, Peter and John. He says, just as those who were from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word have handed them down to us. He says it seemed fitting in verse number three. So what he's saying here is just as these eyewitnesses like John and Peter and Mark wrote their account, Luke's about to say it seemed fitting for me also. So I'm beginning again, verse three. It seemed fitting for me as well having investigated everything carefully from the beginning to write it out to you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus. And so Luke is writing this out for us in consecutive order. He's researching carefully. Notice the way he goes about it. He's doing it scientifically as real history. And so if a person says these things to you concerning like, you know, I think the Bible was just, you know, man trying to grasp who God was, but it isn't really breathed from God. No, it is breathed from God. And you can tell them that the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament are historically accurate documents by any historian standards. If you apply the same historical standards to the New Testament as you would any other ancient historical document, this comes through, beloved, as a viable, vibrant historical document that can be trusted. Hallelujah. Praise God and amen. Now, with that being said, knowing that the Brihad Hashah, the New Testament, is a historically accurate document, and in as much, it accurately records to us both the things that Yeshua did and said in our defense of our faith, let's consider what Yeshua said. Jesus said, "'I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but through me.'" Jesus said, unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. And many other statements like this that are exclusive So considering Yeshua's words of exclusivity, that he alone is the way to God, and now thinking about this in relationship to sharing our faith, I want to share with you a response, an argument that many of you have heard before, but it's very, very, very powerful. It might have been coined by C.S. Lewis, I forget. I have found it very extremely effective. It's called the liar, lunatic, or Lord argument. Here's what we do. We first of all explain this. The New Testament is an accurate historical document that is actually recorded for us the words of Jesus. Jesus said he was the only way to God and the only way to heaven. And so we only have three choices to determine who Jesus was. The first option is that he was a lunatic. What do you mean by that? I mean that there's people all over in mental institutions throughout the world that think there's somebody that they're not. So when we consider who Jesus is in relationship to his words, option number one is that he's a lunatic. He thought he was somebody that he wasn't. Option number two was that he was a liar, that he was claiming to be somebody that he knew he wasn't. So option number two was that he was deliberately lying, that he was claiming to be somebody that he wasn't. But option number three, beloved, is that he is who he said he was. He is the Lord. You see, you only have one of three choices. Either he's a liar claiming to be somebody that he knew he wasn't. Option number one is that he's a lunatic that he thought he was somebody that he wasn't. Option number three is that he's the Lord. He was who he said he was. To just have an opinion of Jesus that he was a good man or a prophet, that isn't a possibility, because he claimed to be the only way to God. And so a good man wouldn't claim to be the only way to God. A prophet, someone that was just a prophet, wouldn't claim to be the only way to God. I am the way, the truth, and the life, he said. No one comes to God but through me. And so we can only be a liar, the lunatic, or the Lord, who He says He was. And you need to face that decision because what you do with this will determine your destiny. Listen, I just shared with somebody who Jesus was. I asked them, What do you think of Jesus? Because, beloved, the Holy Spirit gave me that specific question to ask people. What do you think of Jesus? Because when people respond, we know exactly where they're at. When I asked this man today the question, what do you think of Jesus? He said, I believe in God. What did that tell me? That's why that question is so precise. It's an exacto knife. Listen, beloved, when you ask that question, the Holy Spirit uses it to help us to diagnose where a person's at. When that person said, I believe in God, you know what? I knew that he didn't know Jesus. Because if he would have known Jesus, he would have said, I love Jesus. He's my savior. I love him. He didn't say that. And knowing where he was, beloved, I was able to proceed and witness to him. People need to be challenged with the reality of heaven and hell. Jesus talked more about hell in some measurements than he did about heaven. Of course, we have the book of Revelation, et cetera, but Jesus talked often, often about hell. And beloved, you and I are his ambassadors. As he was sent into the world, so also now are we sent into the world. So I'm going to pray for you right now that God will quicken you, beloved, to begin to share your faith. Listen, you haven't been chosen to be accepted by everybody. Jesus said, if the world would have loved me, it would have loved you. But he said, I'm not from the world. He said, I have not chosen you to be accepted by everybody. He said, woe to you if everyone speaks well of you and puts their arm around you. He said, I haven't come to bring peace but a sword. Beloved, we're not in this world to be loved and liked by everybody. We're in this world, beloved, to be his witnesses. And Jesus said, if we're ashamed of him and his words in this wicked and adulterous generation, then he's going to be ashamed of us. when he comes again with the glory of the Father. You know what? You don't have to be ashamed any longer. From this point forward, beloved, you can repent. You can make up your mind from this day onward that you will be a witness. You may stumble. You may fall. It doesn't matter. God can still use your witness. What's most important is that you're being obedient. So, Father, I pray for these beloved ones that, Father, are listening to the sound of this broadcast right now. Father, I pray right now that you will quicken them, Father, by the Spirit of God, by the Ruach HaKadosh. I pray for divine age, Father, for them, for fire. Quicken, come alive, Father God. Those that have been passive, those that have been sluggish, those that have been secret Christians, quicken them, Father, that they would become alive, that they would, Father, take upon the mantle of Jesus, God, and go to the highways and the byways preaching the gospel. Father, sharing their testimony, inviting people into a relationship with God, for you've told us, Father, that you've made us ambassadors of Messiah, reconciling the world back to you through him. So, Father, I bless your people today. Raise up your church, Abba, to be your witnesses. In Second Samuel, chapter 24, verse 24, we read about David wanting to offer up to Father God an extravagant offering showing his love. When he got to the place that he wanted to offer his offering from, he went there to purchase the threshing floor as the altar for it. When the owner of the threshing floor saw David and heard what David wanted to do, he offered to give the threshing floor to David that David could offer up his sacrifice from. David said, far be it from me to make an offering to Father God that cost me nothing. David insisted on purchasing the threshing floor even though someone had offered to give it to him. David then proceeded to pay for it and he offered to Father God an extravagant offering showing his love. The next part of the text says this. It says, the Lord's heart was moved. When you and I present our offerings to the Lord out of love, you know what, beloved one? It moves God's heart. I want to encourage you. Let's love him today by presenting to him an offering that will move his heart because it comes from a pure place.
SPEAKER 01 :
Amen. And to give a gift of any amount, call 800-777-7835. That's 800-777-7835. And we want to say thanks for your gifts. So when you give, we'll send you a copy of our latest newsletter. It's packed with the most current news and updates. And you know, the Feast of Dedication or Hanukkah, it begins this year at sunset on Christmas Day, December the 25th. And did you know that this holiday, it was celebrated by Jesus? Yep, that's right. In the book of John chapter 10, while the people are celebrating the festival of lights, Jesus is asked if he's the one they've been waiting and hoping for. They were looking for a Messiah-like figure who rescued them from the Greek Assyrians. They were looking for a Messiah to rescue them from the Romans. It is a wonderful passage of Scripture, and these feasts, they are great ways for believers to share the good news of Messiah with Jewish friends and family. If you'd like to learn more about this, visit our website. You can also give an offering there to support this ministry, discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And now here's Rabbi to share God's sacred and special blessing.
SPEAKER 03 :
The words from the Aaronic blessing in the book of Numbers chapter 6, verses 22 through 27, helps us to realize how good God is to you and I personally. So receive His blessing into your life, and then beloved one, go bless somebody else in Jesus' name today.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yevarechei Yahweh vayishmarecha Ya'er Yahweh, P'navei Lecha, Vichu Ne'echa Yissa Yahweh, P'navei Lecha, Ve'asem Lecha
SPEAKER 03 :
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 01 :
This program is produced and sponsored by Discovering the Jewish Jesus. And I'm your host, Dustin Roberts. Join us again tomorrow when Rabbi Schneider shares how to witness without fear. Hear more Thursday on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.
In this compelling episode of Born to Win, we delve into the profound biblical prophecies found in the book of Revelation. Ronald L. Dart explores the concept of a thousand-year reign where Satan is bound, allowing Jesus Christ to rule with His saints on earth. Intriguingly, listeners are introduced to the two resurrections that occur a thousand years apart, and the implications of these events for humanity's ultimate fate.
SPEAKER 02 :
The CEM Network is pleased to present Ronald L. Dart and Born to Win.
SPEAKER 03 :
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent which is the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into a bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled. This important piece of news is given to us by John in the 20th chapter of Revelation, right at the beginning. And having told us this, that Satan would be bound for a thousand years and we wouldn't have to deal with him anymore, he opens our minds to understand a couple of new things here that, it's funny, he tells it to us almost as though he thought we already knew. He tells us that there is not merely one resurrection at the time of the end, that there are two resurrections a thousand years apart. Now, that's an interesting problem, and that's something to work out. Now, we do understand that the thousand years could be symbolic, like other numbers in Revelation, but there's no hint of that here. In fact, rather, the way everything gets worded, it seems to mean that, give or take a hundred years, that we're talking about a thousand-year period of time in which Jesus Christ rules the earth, the saints rule with him, and during that period of time, Satan is utterly without any influence in this world. Now, there are two chapters in the Bible that deal with the resurrection of the dead. Both of them deal with the first resurrection. They are 1 Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians 4. I won't take the time to read them to you here. But they make it plain that all the dead in Christ are raised at his return. Now, let me explain. What this means is that everyone who is really a Christian, everyone in whom is the Holy Spirit, everyone who has met whatever requirements there are for salvation, will be either changed into a spirit being or resurrected from the dead at the return of Christ. What this means is that everyone who is written in the book of life is raised in the first resurrection. Now John continues in verse 7 to say, And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, the number of whom is like the sand of the sea. Now this is a little more difficult. After a thousand years of the rule of Christ on the earth, along with the saints ruling with him, with Satan having been bound and sealed up and shut up in a bottomless pit somewhere where he can't have any influence on world affairs, when he is released, there are multitudes of people who can still be deceived. Go figure. You would think by that time that the presence of Christ, the rulership of God, the fact that the world is working for a change would have some influence on them. But these people that are deceived are everywhere. They are typified by Gog and Magog. In Ezekiel 39, and also in chapter 38, you'll find that Gog from the land of Magog attacks the people of God who have been at rest and at peace for some time. Those two chapters back in Ezekiel actually deal with this same period of time, if you'd like to study them. Now, in chapter 39 of Ezekiel, in verse 1, He says, Therefore, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshach and Tubal. Now, when he throws in this expression, the chief prince of Meshach and Tubal, do you remember in an earlier program we talked about this prince of Persia? who withstood Michael the archangel for all these days as he was trying to reach Daniel. This seems to be another in that class of disobedient spirit. They're going to be powerless while Satan is bound, but they're going to be ready to be active on his return. And so what is released here is not merely a nation, but a prince, a spiritual prince called Gog, influential over many of the people of the earth. And it's not just one area of the earth that he deceives. It's people from the four quarters of the earth that he deceives. It's a strange circumstance. Then it went on to say in verse 9, They went up on the breadth of the earth and compassed the camp of the saints round about and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured all of them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet were cast. And the devil shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. It seems that at the end of all these things there is a need to gather up all the loose ends and dispose of them once and for all. Everyone has had a chance, yet so very many have refused God even without the deception of Satan. It seems we are not going to be allowed to blame the devil for everything that's gone wrong on this earth. We're going to have to carry some of the blame ourselves. In verse 11, John continued in his vision to say this, And I saw a great white throne and him that sat on it from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. Now, what is it when the dead stand up? Well, that's a resurrection, isn't it? So here are some dead people who are being brought back to life. The dead, small and great, stand before God and the books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged out of those things that were written in the books according to their works. Now this has to be the second resurrection. The common image of this passage here is the judgment day. In other words, here's this great judicial bench with a judge behind it and a gavel in his hand and an austere judge, and here is this poor sinner who's brought before him, and the books are open, and they read all of his sins and the good of his life and the bad of his life out of these books. And if the bad outweighs the good, he goes to hell, and if the good outweighs the bad, he would wait a minute, wait a minute. We don't believe that, do we? We don't really believe that when all is said and done, that it's a question of the balance scales that have to do with whether a person is saved or not. Isn't it the blood of Jesus? Aren't all of our past sins blotted out when we accept Christ? Aren't we granted entrance into the kingdom of God by grace through faith and not of works? Well, then what is this all about, this thing of people being judged? Do we have it right? Now, there are a few things that call the common image of this into question. For example, when do you judge a prize fight? Well, if you're sitting there watching it on television, there are a couple of three guys sitting around the edge of the ring, and they're judging the fight as the fight is in progress, right? They're giving points, taking away points, imposing penalties on fighters who break the rules. The judgment of a fight is is going on while they are fighting. What happens at the end of the fight is nothing more than tallying up the points. We add them up on the one side, we add them up on the other side, and this guy's got 40 points, the other guy's got 39. He's a winner by a decision. Well, now, so judgment goes on while the act is going on, while life is going on. Now, the next question in this is, why is the book of life opened in this judgment? Everyone written in that book was in the first resurrection. We ought to know then at this point there is no one in that book when it is opened. Why open it then? Well, the only logical reason to open the book of life again is to write some new names in it. Now, for some strange reason, the idea that the book of life would be reopened and names written into it at this late date is troubling to some people. The idea that a class of people might live again in the flesh and get a chance to have their names written in the book of life doesn't sit well. But why shouldn't God give people a second chance if he wants to? And what if it isn't a second chance at all? What if it's the first chance they ever really had at salvation? Now, I'm okay with burning Hitler alive. I mean, you take someone who has been that evil and that wicked, and we bring him up before judgment, we find him guilty. I have no problem whatsoever with taking him out and throwing him into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. Visualize a cauldron with lava, molten lava in it. That seems fitting for that kind of evil. I can see Goebbels and Martin Bormann and all that ilk being thrown in there alongside of him. But there's a small problem with the thesis that has these individuals tortured for all eternity. You know, the idea that in hell they jump about from one hot brick to another, that they may stand for a while upside down on a hole with their feet sticking out and steam coming up around their feet. Some of the images from Dante's Inferno. You know, even with the likes of these men, torturing them is a problem. Torturing them for a week is a problem. Torturing them for a month is a problem. But, you know, there is a theology which says they will be tortured in terrible agony and horrible pain day and night, not merely for a month, not merely for a year, not for a hundred years, not for a thousand years, but forever. We'll talk some more about this in just a moment.
SPEAKER 02 :
Join us online at borntowin.net. That's borntowin.net. Read essays by Ronald Dart. Listen to Born to Win radio programs every day, past weekend Bible studies, plus recent sermons, as well as sermons from the CEM Vault. Drop us an email and visit our online store for CDs, DVDs, literature, and books. That's borntowin.net.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right, all right. I will let you give you for the moment the idea we're going to torture Hitler for all eternity. Do you want to do it or shall I? Now, I don't know about you, but I think torturing somebody for an hour would be a drag, depending on how badly you hated that person. I really think I would have had enough of it by sundown. Don't you think you would have? And what does torture do to the character of the person who is doing the tormenting? Well, maybe the devil's doing it, but frankly, why should the devil torture these people? They've been serving him all their lifetime. I mean, this is no big deal, and he's not going to be in much of a position to be tormenting anybody. He's being tormented himself. But, you know, this is not even here where the problem lies. Take my granddad for an example. J.D. was a kindly fellow. He was not the least bit religious. I never, in all the time I knew him, never knew him to go to church. And the only time I ever heard him speak of God at all was to take his name in vain. It had to do with a description of a bass boat or with a fishing rod, and he put some appellation on it to have to do with God. That's the only time I ever heard him speak of God at all. But there was a funny thing about the man. He was generous. He was kind. He never would turn his back on a person in need. He would have given a bed to a man who didn't have one. He would have given the shirt off his back to a man who needed it. He was really a very good man in terms of the way he actually lived his life and the way his life impacted other people. He was a good father for his children, a good husband for his wife. Actually, one of the reasons I liked him so much is that he was my protector. He protected me from my aunts and my mother, who thought I should be chastised for my misdemeanors. He didn't much like that idea at all, so I love the old guy dearly. Now, I suppose if God wanted to just leave J.D. dead, I could understand. I would be disappointed, but I could understand. I might even be able to squeeze in some understanding if he were judged and executed for his sins, though in the Bible it is only people who take a life who forfeit theirs, and so it's hard to figure why my granddad should be executed for his sins when he never killed anybody. Far from it. The death penalty seems a little stern to me for someone who frequently uses bad language, don't you think? But even crusty old gents like my grandfather are not the problem. Everyone who has ever thought this through knows that billions of people have died on this planet without ever having a chance to be saved. What about them? What about the children? Let's just take some children in Somalia who starved to death before they ever get to the age they would go to school if there had been a school for them to go to. What about them? I was chatting with a fellow once who held the traditional belief that you either get saved in this life or else. You don't get saved in this life, you go to hell. He believed, as I do, that there is no other name given under heaven whereby we must be saved in the name of Jesus. It was Peter who said it. And he said, This, Jesus, is the stone which was set at naught of you builders, who has become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name given under heaven whereby we must be saved. The reference, in case you need it, is Acts 4, verse 12. Now, I'm sorry, but I don't believe that all the religions of the world are headed the same direction but by different means. Neither did Peter. Peter felt that if you did not believe in Jesus, you weren't going to be saved. Neither did Jesus believe that all these religions were going to the same place by different roads. In John 14 and verse 6, Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. Now I believe that. Peter believed it. Jesus taught it. So this fellow and I were both agreed that those who had never heard the name of Jesus had never had a chance to be saved. What about those people I wanted to know? Are they condemned to hell and eternal torture when they had no chance, not any chance, to do otherwise? Now, mind you, hell is forever. It's not just a bad weekend. Well, he said, I believe if they never had a chance to be saved, they are saved. Well, very comforting, I thought, but I still had a question. I asked him, why then do you send missionaries to these people? To give them a chance to be lost? Well, think about it. If they never had a chance to be saved, they are saved. So if you send a missionary to someone who has not yet had his chance to be saved, what you're really doing is giving him a chance to be lost. Well, I was going on about this once to a relative who thought I was balmy to think God would ever be so merciful as to give someone a second chance. Never mind how many chances God's given me. I mean, I've had more of them than I should have had. But she heard me out, and then she concluded, well... I just believe that God will make a way. Exactly. So do I. And I believe we have right here in Revelation 20 a hint. Not only that there is a way, but how it might possibly work out. Now I know I have listeners who feel like I do. Old J.D., my grandfather, was not a bad fellow. And it's hard for me to think that God wouldn't love the old guy more than I do. and that he might have some unfinished business with him. I sure want to see him again, and my dad, and my mother, and a few other souls I have come to love whom, well, if I believe some people, I would never see them again. Now, I have an article I'd like to send you that has a detailed study of this question. If you'll drop me a line or give me a call at the address we have in this program, I'll send you a free copy. Ask me for the article entitled, Is There Only One Chance at Salvation? Is There Only One Chance at Salvation? I'll send you a free copy of it. You can get your Bible out. You can sit down and study your way through it, and it will help you come to grips with a question that has troubled all kinds of people down through the years. Continuing in verse 13, "...and the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead that were in them, and they were judged every man according to their works." And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Now that doesn't sound so good, because on this one there seems to be no resurrection. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. So when all is said and done, there is a separation. There is a division, as the Bible would put it, between the sheep and the goats. There are those who are Christ, and there are those who are not. When all is said and done, and there is a final destruction for those who, when they do get a chance, still reject God. But the question is a little more complicated than some might lead you to believe. And, if it is of any encouragement to you, you may see people again that you thought you had lost forever.
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Stay with me. I'll be back in just a moment. For a free copy of this radio program that you can share with friends and others, write or call this week only. And request the program titled, Revelation No.
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27.
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Write to Born to Win, Post Office Box 560, White House, Texas 75791. Or call toll free, 1-888-7000. Bible 44 and tell us the call letters of this radio station.
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And I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away and there was no more sea. John is still in vision, and in this vision he sees a new heaven and a new earth. The first one, the one that you and I are used to, and remember, by the way, the word heaven, if you're going to take the Greek word and really translate it equivalently into English, the word is sky. I saw a new sky and a new earth, for the first sky and the first earth were passed away and there was no more sea. In other words, the environment of the earth as we know it is gone and it's all new. Now, I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. Now, the New Jerusalem is not on the earth at first. It's in heaven. And it's a bride prepared for her husband. Her husband, of course, is Jesus Christ. Wow! The tabernacle of God is with men. You know, I don't want to take a big issue about going to heaven when we die because of the fact that going into the presence of God is like going to heaven. That's no problem. But what you need to understand is that what this picture is, the tabernacle of God is with men. God comes to the earth. It's a new earth, but it's still the earth. And God comes down to dwell with men. And they're going to be his people. And God shall be with them and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. And there shall be no more death, no more sorrow, no crying, nor any more pain. For all of the former things are passed away. What a change. What a world. To consider that the crying, the death, the pain is over. You know, it's a little hard to imagine how we could all be so easily cleared of the past, of the pain of the past, and the suffering of the past. For indeed, we in this lifetime pick up a lot of scars. We get hurt lots of different ways. We get hurt more often than we'd like to think about. Will we not remember any of that? Or perhaps we will have come to the place to where we really understand the meaning of that. that the pain and the suffering that we went through in this life shall have taken on a whole new meaning because of who we are and where we are and who we are with. Take Jesus Christ, for example. Will he no longer be the lamb slain from the foundation of the world? Well, no, we will know him as that. We will know him as our Redeemer. In a sense, his wounds are a badge of honor. The holes in his hand and the hole in his side are those things which identify him to us as our Savior, and we love him for that, and we love him for what he did. The memory of that will not be gone, and I think probably the marks of it would not be gone. And if not for Him, then why for us? And so I think that the reason why there will be no more sorrow or pain, how it's possible that sorrow could be replaced by joy, is because we have come to realize that there was a reason behind it all. And now we know what it is. Now we can see the character that we have developed. Now we know what we have become in God. and it is worth every bit of it. And he that sat upon the throne, Revelation 20, verse 5, said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said to me, Write this, for these words are true and faithful. And he said to me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to him that is thirsty of the fountain of the water of life freely." He's talking about a spiritual thirst here, folks, not just the old parched throat that can be cooled with a Coca-Cola. He is talking about that hole down inside of man that was made to be filled with God and God alone. He is talking about that lack that is inside of man, that man was made without something that man has needed in all of our life. We've searched for it, looked for it, hungered for it, thirsted for it, wanted it, and never could find it because it isn't here. and it won't be here until he is here. He that overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. He that overcomes. You know, to overcome, you have got to come up against adversity. There has to be an obstacle for you to climb over. To overcome means that there has to be some wrestling going on. In other words, there has to be the game, as it were. There has to be the challenge that you meet, that you run up against and win. A basketball team goes on the court and overcomes their opponent, they win. The truth is, he is saying, the winner will inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he will be my son, and that's why we were put here, to overcome, to win. And in the winning becomes something greater than any of us could ever have imagined. But the fearful will have no place there, verse 8. And the unbelieving and the abominable and the murderers and the whoremongers and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. That's the second death. I don't think I'd want to be one of those. The fearful and the unbelieving. Instead of those who are courageous and who believe and have faith. That's the distinction that's made. And there came to me one of the seven angels that had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and he talked with me and said, Come with me, and I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife. What John is about to see is the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. a city of such staggering beauty that John was at great pains to try to describe it for us, and we read it and try to read between the lines of what he meant and what he was trying to show us. You know, this is basically what I think most people think about when they think about heaven, is the description of this city. It's not really heaven. It's the new Jerusalem, the heavenly Jerusalem, if you will, that's come down to the earth where we are, And where those who are written in the Lamb's book of life, those who have washed their garments clean in the blood of the Lamb, those who have been forgiven, who have received God's mercy and have been given life can enter into this incredible city. I suppose it could be a little bit like going to heaven and the thought of going into this city like going to heaven. But in truth, I think most of us think more in terms of of coming into the presence of God. Jasper and pearls and streets of gold and all those wonderful things are very exciting, but they're nowhere near as exciting as coming into the presence of God Himself, of coming into the presence of Jesus Christ our Savior, and coming to understand what they have done and why they are doing it, and to realize what they have made of us. It's almost too much. Until next time, this is Ronald Dart reminding you, God does not intend to spend eternity with a bunch of losers. You were born to overcome.
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You were born to win. The Born to Win radio program with Ronald L. Dart is sponsored by Christian Educational Ministries and made possible by donations from listeners like you. If you can help, please send your donation to Born to Win, Post Office Box 560 White House, Texas 75791. You may call us at 1-888-BIBLE44 and visit us online at borntowin.net.
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Christian Educational Ministries is happy to announce a new full-color Born to Win monthly newsletter with articles and free offers from Ronald L. Dart. Call us today at 1-888-BIBLE44 to sign up or visit us at borntowin.net.
Join Charles Stanley in this enlightening episode as he uncovers the depth of living each moment in the awareness of God's constant presence. Throughout life's daily activities, from waking up to resting at night, understanding that we are encompassed by divine love provides an unparalleled peace. Explore how this awareness transforms our lives and leads us to find ultimate security and joy in God's companionship.
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Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Wednesday, December 18th. God hasn't left us alone, but are you aware that He is with you? Today, we are reminded to open our eyes and ears and develop our awareness of God's presence.
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Now, when you think about it for a moment, you are aware of lots of things. There are a lot of things going on that you're unconscious of, but today, right now, you are aware of where you are. What about, in your mind, where is God? Are you aware of His presence? Are you aware that when you awakened, that you were awakened in the presence of God? Will you be aware that you're driving in the presence of God? That you'll be laboring all day in the presence of God? And that you'll be laboring among your fellow laborers in the presence of God? That you'll come home in the presence of God? That you'll be with your family in the presence of God in the evening? And whatever you do throughout the night, you're going to do it in the presence of God. Why? Because there is no better way. to go to bed at night, then they go to bed in the awareness of the Son of God living within you, who's your friend, your companion, your Savior, your Lord, your Master, your Helper, your Provider, your Healer, you name it. He's all of that. You wake up in the morning, before I'd get out of bed, thank You, Lord Jesus, for a good night's rest. Or maybe I didn't rest so good. Maybe sometimes I can't sleep or whatever it is for a while. I'm going to get up in the morning and just thank You, Jesus. Thank You that You woke me up this morning. Hallelujah. For the simple reason, we have a relationship. And, listen, He can stop you faster than you can bat your eye if He wants to. Look how long He's put up with all of us. And you know what He wants most of all? He wants you to be aware that He's your heavenly Father, that He loves you and that He's the source of everything in your life that's good. But if I get too busy? I don't have time for the Word of God." Or, I'm distracted by other things in life, and the truth is there are many distractions that we're not even aware of. Don't have time to think about our Lord because we are attracted to or distracted by something else. Now, what I'd like for it to do for a moment is to give you a few statements. These are things that are true. You're living in the awareness of His presence, and the first one is this. He's continually in your thoughts, your conscious and your subconscious. It doesn't mean you just think, God, God, God. It means that He's so real to you. Listen, you don't have to think. In other words, just that quick, He has your attention. And you don't have to say, well, I'll get the Bible and see what the Bible says. I need to call so and so. No. Living in the awareness of His presence means that instantaneously Whatever's going on, I am, listen, I am conscious of His presence as something He may be doing. And so, if you're walking and living in His awareness of His presence, that'll be true. Secondly, you're continually seeking His guidance. Listen, if you're living in the awareness of His presence and you have a decision to make, You don't have to go around asking somebody else. It doesn't mean you shouldn't ask for information when necessary. But when you're living in the awareness of His presence, you know what? You have the ultimate director in your life at that moment to tell you exactly what to do. He may tell you to go to someone else for information or whatever it might be. But living in the awareness of His presence, you are never at a loss for the simple reason that He will direct your life and show you exactly what you should do next. Likewise, you will view Him as a constant companion. And in other words, many people say, where is God? He's in heaven. Well, is that my relationship to Him? Is that the way I see God? No. God, through the Holy Spirit, is in my heart, in my life, in my conscience, my subconscious. He's here. And the more aware you are of His presence, it'll begin to express itself in many ways. You'll see Him as a constant companion. In other words, you don't have to go somewhere to pray. You don't have to go somewhere to confess your sin. Listen, if you're saved by His grace, He's living within you. And He's always there. And remember this, He doesn't turn a deaf ear to one of His children. So you don't have to say, oh, I hope God will hear me this morning. What you want to be able to do is to live the kind of relationship with Him that whatever the issue is, you know He's there. He has the answer. He's not going to mislead you. What an awesome sense of security we have in knowing we have that kind of relationship with Him. Then, of course, you're going to have peace in your heart. Listen, when you're living in the awareness of His presence in your life, no matter what happens, There will be an overwhelming sense of peace that will cover you. Well, because listen, the peacemaker is on the inside, the One who has all power to change your circumstances. He's within you doing what? Living out His life through you. So, there's going to be a sense of peace when there are storms. And I think most all of us have been in storms of life where everything around us was stormy and dark, and there didn't seem to be any hope. But when you set your attention upon Him, all the darkness disappeared. All the insecurities disappeared because, listen, when you are aware that you are in the presence of holy God, you're in the presence of omnipotence, of absolute indescribable love that has no, it has no circumference, it has no measurements whatsoever. That's the kind of God He is. And that's the kind of relationship He wants with every single one of us. There are many people who are saved. who go to church, they've been baptized, all the things that have happened to you, but you don't live in the awareness of His presence. So, what are you living for? Where are you headed? What do you want to accomplish in life? How are you going to get it done? If you're not walking in His presence and fulfilling His will, then what are you doing? Here's what's happening. Time is going by. And you may be accomplishing this or failing at that. But what's the purpose of it all? The awareness of His presence keeps us focused on where God wants us to go, what He wants us to do, and how He wants us to do it. And He, listen, He's continually focusing us on the ways in which He operates in our life so that we don't have to fear. We don't have to be afraid. We don't have to be wondering what we're going to do when the storms come in our life. And we're going to have a sense of joy in our life and a consciousness of the good things that He's doing. When you live in the awareness of His presence, everything changes for good, no matter how tough it can be. Because listen, you have holy God, so to speak, on your side in your life. And listen, He is absolutely committed, watch this, He is so committed for not only our salvation, He's so committed to revealing His will to us. And to God is to discover that will. Look at the cross for a moment. That was the ultimate expression of the ultimate love that could ever be expressed by anybody, that being the case. And I am aware of His presence in my life. I can always look at what's going on in my life, whatever it is, I know that there is a love that's beyond my comprehension. There is a love I don't fully understand. In other words, if He loved me enough to die for me, And He loved me enough to indwell me. And He loved me enough to write my name in the Lamb's Book of Life. And He loved me enough to seal me forever as a child of God. I don't want to live without the awareness of His presence. Because every single solitary thing we need, He makes available. What does He want? He wants relationship. The awareness of His presence. Why? Because that intimate awareness just absolutely fulfills every desire that a person can have. And that's what He wants for us. See, I want you to be aware. That I'm here. I want you to be aware that I love you. I want you to be aware that I'm looking out for you. I'm going to protect you. I'm going to take you through this deep, dark valley, but I want you to be aware. It's dark. You can't see two feet in front of you. You don't know what's happening, but I want you to be aware of this. You are walking through the darkness in my awesome light. I see all the way to the end, and you're going to be okay. You know what? Riches can't give you that. You can't buy that. Only God by His grace and love and mercy can give you that. And when I think about all the things that come to us as a result of the awareness of His presence, sift all of our decisions through Him, wake up every morning to a brand new day. Listen, a brand new day with the same Jesus who started out with us in the very beginning. And think about this, that the person who indwells you, the Holy Spirit, before you were ever born, He knew all about you. In other words, think about this. God has these awesome goals and He's going to bring them to pass. And out there somewhere in life, we have to make a choice. Am I going to believe God? Am I going to trust Jesus? Or am I going to do it on my own? And so many people have decided they don't need God in their life. It is the most, watch this carefully, it is the most foolish. It is the most damaging. It is the most eternal, destructive decision you'll ever make to decide you're going to live without God. It's the worst decision you could possibly make. And you say, I'll get by. No, you won't. You cannot get by a God. created you with a purpose and loves you, went to the cross for you, and who has a sense of direction for your life and all the good things that He can provide for your life, when you absolutely, purposely refuse Him, ignore Him, shut Him out, defame Him, you're making a mistake that'll cost you your eternity. He wants us to live in the awareness of His awesome loving, joyful, peaceful, providing. You can just get the dictionary out or send them a book and go through all the words that you possibly can and you'll never be able to fulfill all that He is to us. That's who He is. And remember this, God's not dependent upon us. We're dependent upon Him. Watch this. We don't have a thing He needs. We need everything He has. To live in the awareness of His presence is to acknowledge who I am really, creation of God. It's to acknowledge that He knows the best for my life. It's to acknowledge that He knows what His purpose is. And He is willing to show you if you'll trust Him, if you'll surrender your life to Him. He's not going to let you just hang out in life. He'll give you a sense of purpose. Why? Because this is what He's all about. He's all about not just creating us, but creating us for fellowship. And as we saw in the very beginning in Genesis, let us make man in our own image. Why? So that God could express His love and His power in your life and mine. But if I neglect Him, if I refuse to acknowledge it, then I will pay a price. And so, what happens is when a person begins to get a glimpse of, now what does the awareness of His presence mean in my life? It means that while I'm sitting in church and listening to somebody else's voice, I'm walking out with the truth of holy God in my mind and heart. It means that I want to walk in such a way that the Holy Spirit has freedom to express to me, in me and through me and for me, the will and purpose and plan of God. I want to be able to walk out and know that the next decision I have to make, He's going to help me make it. Watch this. Why does He want this relationship? God doesn't need it. Here's the reason He wants it. Because He desires to express in you, to you, through you, for you who He is. He desires to express His love for you, His provision, He wants for us, He desires for us because He, listen, He says, let us make man in our image. He didn't need that, but He desired it. And He created you ultimately, listen, to do what? To reflect Himself. What did Paul say in Romans? He says, God predestined. That means before the time, before the time ever started, God did something. What did He do? He predetermined beforehand that you and I would be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that the very life of Jesus would be evident to other people. And the more you and I walk in the awareness of His presence, the more of who He is is going to be seen in our life. God is everywhere. And so, you and I have the privilege of living every day in the awareness of His presence. When the Spirit of God is able to get to your mind and heart and soul and spirit, and you begin to realize that God, who cannot be fully described and cannot be contained, He's this awesome God of ours. When you begin to realize that He is your Creator and your heavenly Father, and your joy and your peace and your future and your happiness and your everything, when you begin to be aware of that, your whole life's going to change. You know why? Because you'll not be able to think up anything God does not desire to provide for you when you surrender your life to Him. The awareness of His presence. When I'm asleep, I know He's there. When I'm awake, I know He's there. When I'm reading the Word, I know He's there. When you are living in the awareness of His presence, He's always there. Well, He's there, He's here. Whatever you're thinking, whatever's going on in your life, He's there. What He wants is this. It's almost like He's saying, I'm here. Just listen to me, I'm here. Look, I'm right here. I'm going to provide whatever's necessary in your life. He could not give us a greater gift following His Son coming into our life than the privilege of living in the awareness of His presence. It's all there. Now, you say, well, I'm not a Christian, so what's that mean to me? It means if you continue to live like you're living, you'll stand before God one day and give an account for a wasted life. A life that rejected. Well, look and think about it. That rejected the love of God. Think about this. When you reject Jesus, you reject the Father. And to reject Him, to reject God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, is to reject life. And you reject that which has absolutely no substitute. And my prayer is that you But ask the Lord Jesus Christ to give you a little glimpse of your life, that you'd be willing to confess the sin that He's going to show you. Ask Him to forgive you, that you don't deserve it, but that you know that the Bible teaches, because you've heard it over and over again, maybe it's the first time you ever heard it, that He sent Jesus, His Son, into the world primarily for the purpose, not only of revealing God to us in a whole different perspective, but to die and to shed His blood on the cross, which was God's way of, listen, fulfilling that debt of sin we owe. He paid the price for our sins, His life. And now He forgives you of your sin, writes your name in the Lamb's Book of Life, you become a child of God. And then you begin this awesome journey that many of us have walked a long time. You can't win without Him, and you can't lose with Him. That's the choice we have. And I pray you'll make that wise choice, allowing Him to come into your life and begin to start living, really living, for the first time. And Father, how grateful we are for your patience. And I pray that You'll just sink these simple truths. You can take one thought here and one thought there and vice versa, whatever it might be, and drive them home in different ways to different people's hearts. But Lord, most of all, to see that You love us and that You desire that we live in the awareness of Your presence, which is a presence of awesome, indescribable love and goodness and mercy and kindness. Thank you for loving us like that. It's our prayer in Jesus' name. Amen.
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Thank you for listening to part two of Developing Our Awareness. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
Liz talks with Joe Beckler, Vice President of Christian Business Men’s Connection (CBMC) – the largest marketplace ministry in the world with local sites all across the country. Men account for over 75% of all suicides. Men are twice as likely to be addicted to drugs and alcohol. 36% of children don’t live with their fathers. And yet, only about 10% of churches have a men's ministry! That is why CBMC equips men to be an ambassador for Christ within the marketplace and their sphere of influence. Encouraging and training men to invest in other men, while surrounding themselves with a trusted team of advisors and accountability is what sets CBMC apart in today’s culture. www.cbmc.com.
Sermon Overview
Scripture Passage: Acts 5:1-11
In Acts 5, the Early Church was in the blaze of revival. However, the devil crafted a new attack from within the church, through Ananias and Sapphira.
After seeing another church member receive praise for selling his property and giving everything to the church, Ananias, and his wife Sapphira, lied about their own offering to receive the same praise. Right on the spot, God struck them both dead. Considering this grave warning, each of us must ask ourselves if we are living supernaturally or superficially.
Filled with pride, Ananias and Sapphira pretended to have a devotion to Jesus they did not have; they became hypocrites. The Holy Spirit gave Peter the gift of discernment and exposed the lie through him. Peter then revealed that this couple didn’t just lie to men, they lied to the Spirit of God. It is unspeakably serious to lie to the Holy Spirit; we could never fool Him.
As Christians, we will be judged as sinners, servants, and sons.
Our judgment as sinners was settled at the cross of Jesus Christ. The judgment for our service will be dealt with at the judgment seat of Christ. The judgment of sons is the way God the Father disciplines us and grows us day by day.
What happened to Ananias and Sapphira was their judgment as children of God. This punishment can sometimes be very severe.
But the judgment of God can save us, too. God doesn’t take vengeance on his own children. God, in mercy, took Ananias and Sapphira to keep them from further sin. It was a saving judgment for the church, as well. Through this example, the church saw how God felt about sin.
Adrian Rogers says, “God will do certain things as an example in the physical world to show how He feels in the spiritual world.”
Their hypocrisy did not stop the Early Church; hypocrisy shouldn’t stop us today. Hypocrites come and go, but the church of the Lord Jesus marches on.
Apply it to your life
We are saved by grace, but one of these days we will face the judgment seat of Christ and give an account for how we stewarded our lives. If you’re a child of God, sin in your life is more serious than sin in the life of an unsaved person. Be careful that you do not lie to the Holy Spirit.
Get a full explanation of how we don’t have to allow our circumstances to determine our level of peace.
Dive deeper into God's promises and how they relate to humility.
